《The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 There was a small rumor that a village was destroyed . ¡°That¡¯s not an unusual thing to happen¡±, thought Loren, as he was drinking at a bar run by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild . It was unfortunate for the people in the village, but for a pioneered village that was developed to create more farmland, it kind of made sense . It was a village that was built on land that people dared not to venture into . To whatever that the land was home to, humans were the invaders . If the conflict is between human beings, it would be an argument concerning right of residence . But since it is usually in lands untouched by humans, conflict with the previous residents most likely cannot be resolved by talking . If the previous residents are not happy with the new ones, destruction is the only possible destination they will end up at . Loren then turned his slightly drunk eyes down towards the front desk of the Guild . There he saw a board that gave adventurers, people who did things that normal people would not do for a living, jobs in the form of quests . ¡°Man, there are more of them now¡± The board was filled up with pieces of papers advertising quests up to the point where you couldn¡¯t see the board itself . Loren heard the adventurers in front of it, trying to decide what quest to go on . ¡°The village was south of Vesta . Well, it was close to the Forest of Chaos¡± ¡°But it wasn¡¯t that deep into it . Does a monster that could destroy a whole village even live there?¡± ¡°Maybe it was a herd of them . That would be a catastrophe for farmers¡± Although Loren was listening to their chatter, it wasn¡¯t the fact that the adventurers were loud and distracting or the reason behind the destruction of the village that was the problem . The problem that he was facing was, ¡°I¡¯m broke¡­¡­¡± Loren was not originally an adventurer . He belonged in a mercenary group, and he was a mercenary that would fight in wars for his clients . He was there for as long as he could remember, and was there ever since, until recently the group was destroyed during a war . As a result, Loren was sitting in the back of the bar, with only a glass of alcohol to company him . As someone who used to be a mercenary, Loren had experienced numerous victories as well as losses . For a long time, the group was able to make it through the losses . But in the most recent battle that they participated in, their luck finally ran out . What looked like a won battle suddenly turned south, and Loren saw his group be split apart and many of his comrades being killed, but he managed to survive and escape . Because of all that happened to him, it was not surprising that his wallet was almost empty . The words ¡®mercenary¡¯ and ¡®saving¡¯ didn¡¯t go along with each other, and that was true for Loren . He did not have any money saved up, or even tried to . He even had to ditch most of his belongings at the battle site . The only thing Loren had was the leather armor he wore, his great sword, and a few silver coins in his pocket . That was all of Loren¡¯s possessions . It was better than nothing, but it was clear that if he could not find a job, he would be wandering in the streets soon enough . While fingering the metal tag around his neck, he tried to think of a way to make some money . The metal thing around his neck was his identification tag, which served as proof that you were an adventurer . The material used to make the tag reflected your adventurer rank, and Loren¡¯s tag was made of cheap copper . As your rank goes up, your tag is made from a better, rarer metal, but to Loren that was of little concern . What filled his head were ways to obtain a certain amount of money through quests that adventurers of his rank could take . But there was another problem . ¡°There¡¯s no one for me to go on a quest with¡­¡­¡± His comrades were either killed, or separated . From the eyes of others, mercenaries were people who made a living from killing people, and were not viewed fondly . It was natural to only know people from your own mercenary group, and have no friends or acquaintances outside of the group . Loren was no exception, and being someone who escaped from the battlefield, there was no one he could trust . That was also the reason that he chose to become an adventurer . It was not hard to become an adventurer, with no background checks aside from criminal records . He was easily able to become an adventurer by paying the registration fee . But it was troublesome that he had no comrades to go on quests with him . In whatever you do, doing it alone was not a good sign . Whether the job may be slaying monsters, gathering herbs or stones, or looking for lost objects or persons, doing it alone was too dangerous . It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t have the confidence in his skills and abilities to fight and defend himself, but it was because if something happened and he was alone, it is most likely that he will face death . ¡°I guess I¡¯ll clean the ditches . ¡± It was not a job he was looking forward to doing . To Loren¡¯s surprise, there were many quests that seemed far from something that adventurers would do, such as cleaning ditches or going down into the sewers . But it was less dangerous than other quests, and the rewards were unexpectedly high . In order to survive and get food on the table, getting covered in mud and sewer waste was not a bad choice . It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to be covered in mud and grime, but as a war veteran, if someone asked him to choose between battle trenches and sewers, he would choose the sewers . He was willing to turn a blind eye on smell and unfavorable working conditions if it meant earning money . Plus, ditches and sewers were within human living areas which made the job safer than most, even when alone . After deciding that it wouldn¡¯t be too bad, he was starting to get up to go to the board to look for a quest when he suddenly heard a voice, ¡°Hey you . You¡¯re looking for a quest, aren¡¯t you?¡± Loren looked up and saw a young man with blond hair wearing a new set of leather armor and a sword by his side . The man sat down across from Loren without any permission, leaned over and continued talking . ¡°From what I can see, you¡¯re a swordsman, and alone as well . Seems like you want to accept a quest, but you don¡¯t have anyone to go with . If you¡¯re up for it, wanna join my party and help us on our quest?¡± ¡°If this were back when I was a mercenary, I would definitely refuse,¡± thought Loren as he observed the young man sitting in front of him . If you accepted every job offer that came to you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to live long as a mercenary . Gathering information and performing background checks on the client, as well as the area of operation was the norm for Loren . But this was an exception . To put it simply, it was because he had no money . In society, people won¡¯t take you seriously without any money to back you up . The young man continued, ¡°My party has enough people to form a party, but we don¡¯t have enough people to be in the frontline . From what I can see, you¡¯re an experienced swordsman . You should join my party and join us on quests . You won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Cleaning the sewers was safer, but if there was another way, he would gladly take it . While the young man continued to convince Loren to join his party, Loren was trying to decide whether the hand that was held out to him would save him or lead him to destruction . ¡°What kind of quest did you accept?¡± Loren asked, thinking that the guy was looking for a frontline because he already had a quest in mind . He was planning to decline the offer if the guy said he didn¡¯t pick a quest yet, but the young man, thinking that he had Loren hooked, told him, ¡°It¡¯s a pretty easy quest . I have a thief, magician, and a priest in my party, but there might be a lot of enemies this time . I¡¯m pretty worried about being the only frontline . ¡± ¡°Tell me the details, because I might not be much of use . As you can see, I¡¯m copper rank,¡± said Loren, holding up the tag around his neck . ¡°I told you, it¡¯s an easy quest . We just need to hunt some goblins that appeared in the forest,¡± the young man laughed, while Loren could do nothing but nod awkwardly . Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Loren knew in his head what goblins were . Goblins were ugly creatures . Their color ranged from green to dark green, and were the size of a child . They could be found almost anywhere and reproduced quickly . They were ferocious monsters but had low intelligence, and were not that strong either . But their high reproduction rates and strength in numbers were not to be underestimated . There was an undeniable fact that goblins could mate and reproduce with almost any living thing that has reproductive organs, and fully grow during the span of a few days . Although new adventurers hunt them day by day, they show no sign of going extinct . ¡°No wonder he says it¡¯s an easy quest,¡± thought Loren as he gazed at the rest of the swordsman-like young man¡¯s party members . The young man¡¯s name was Sarfe . He was quite new to the job of an adventurer himself, and dreamed of being a hero . While Sarfe was going on and on about his dreams, Loren couldn¡¯t understand what made Sarfe be this optimistic, despite being similar ages . As Sarfe went on, Loren decided not to pay much attention to him . Siting next to Sarfe was a girl with short brown hair dressed like a thief . She was looking at Sarfe, who was still going on about his dream to become a hero, with sparkling eyes and a small blush . Loren recalled that her name was Naren . She was Sarfe¡¯s childhood friend and left her village along with Sarfe to become an adventurer . With nimble movements and skillful fingers, she was the party¡¯s thief . Although the class name is thief, they are not criminals . The class ¡®thief¡¯ as an adventurer is completely different from the criminal ¡®thief¡¯, and as an adventurer, it is legal to introduce yourself as a ¡®thief¡¯ . Their job is to locate and disable traps as well as pick and open locks . Loren had no idea as to why the class was called ¡®thief¡¯, just like the criminal ¡®thief¡¯ . ¡°I guess they couldn¡¯t think of a good name for the class,¡± thought Loren as moved his gaze to the next person . Next to the thief was a female magician wearing a blue robe and a staff propped next to her, and was listening to Sarfe with a bored expression . Although she acted annoyed by Sarfe, Loren could see that she glanced at Sarfe every time brushed her blond hair out of her eyes and let out a small sigh . It was obvious that she was only acting annoyed and was very intrigued by Sarfe . Her name was Oxy, and although she didn¡¯t know Sarfe as long as Naren, she met them the day Sarfe and Naren became adventurers, and formed a party together . She was around the same age as the two, but she graduated from a school for magicians, and her staff was proof of that . Sarfe told Loren that she was able to use 3 spells a day, but Loren had no idea how impressive that was because he didn¡¯t know any magicians during his days as a mercenary . Magicians were usually hired by aristocrats or royalty, and the ones who weren¡¯t were usually adventurers . Loren knew of no one who was a magician that was a mercenary . Since Sarfe told him so proudly, he decided that 3 spells a day must be an extraordinary feat, but wondered if a person who can only use 3 spells a day be useful at all . Since Loren didn¡¯t want the party to hate him, he decided not to say it out loud . Loren believed that in order to survive as a mercenary, there was a need to read between the lines and not create a bad atmosphere . Loren then looked at the last person . Sitting next to Oxy was a girl wearing a white colored priest¡¯s robe and her black hair tied up in a ponytail . Her name was Lapis . As a priest she served the god of knowledge, and continually glanced at Loren with apologetic eyes and a troubled smile . She was also invited by Sarfe to join the party, and she knew them longer than Loren but shorter than Oxy . She became a full-fledged priest not too long ago, but instead of working for the church, she became an adventurer in order to see what the world was like to gain experience . Priests prayed to their deity to perform divine arts, and Lapis told Loren in an embarrassed manner that her skill in divine arts was not that great, and she can only use divine arts twice a day . Loren didn¡¯t understand why she was acting embarrassed, but assumed it was because she couldn¡¯t use divine arts as frequently as other priests . Same with magicians, from Loren¡¯s knowledge, there were almost no priests that worked as mercenaries . They usually worked in the church, and the few that did come out of the church would not willingly work as a mercenary . Loren had never seen a divine art, but he had thought a number of times how having a priest that can use divine arts, which can heal injuries and poison, would be beneficial to the group . By this time, Loren thought that Sarfe would get bored of talking, but seeing that he was still at it, Loren interrupted him by saying, ¡°Can we talk about the quest now?¡± Loren sighed inside as he looked at Sarfe, who looked disappointed being stopped from talking, and the two girls gave Loren dirty looks as well . Although Loren was low on money, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he joined a difficult party to work with . One problem was that Loren just became an adventurer and had no experience at all, but the rest of the party did not have much more than he did . The other problem was that everyone else in the party except for Sarfe was female . The party was balanced class-wise, but was unbalanced gender-wise . In a mercenary group, there are usually no women . Loren heard from one of his comrades that it was because there were few women who became mercenaries in the first place, and because in groups with women, there was a high chance that problems would occur in the group . It was a quite rude thing to say about women, but Loren had seen groups split up or straight up fall apart because of women, and thought it wasn¡¯t a story without any sort of evidence . If he put that into consideration, it was a party with high chance of problems occurring within the party . But Loren convinced himself that he wasn¡¯t going to be with them for long, and faced Sarfe again . ¡°I¡¯m just saying that talking here isn¡¯t going to get us any money . Unlike you guys, I don¡¯t have much money to work with, so I want to talk about the job . Got a problem?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right . Now that we¡¯re introduced, let¡¯s get to the details of the job,¡± replied Sarfe . But a sudden complaint from Naren stopped Sarfe . ¡°Hey Sarfe, are we really taking this guy along? He used to be a mercenary . You really think it¡¯s ok to invite a guy who would do anything for money into our party?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a misunderstanding,¡± thought Loren, but he didn¡¯t speak up to deny the previous comment . It was because there were in fact, mercenaries who did anything for money . But if one asked if that was most mercenaries, Loren would have say it was incorrect . Including the group that Loren was in, most mercenary groups chose what job to take and what not to take . Although it was true that not many mercenary groups did anything for money, it was also true that groups that did do anything for money brought bad reputation on mercenaries . Bad reputation was one thing that was very likely to become rumors and gossip . ¡°Naren you agreed to get another person to be the front line with me, remember?¡± said Sarfe . ¡°I did, but it can be someone else and not this guy, can¡¯t it?¡± replied Naren . But then Oxy said, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped . We¡¯re a party with very little experience, and most adventurers wouldn¡¯t want to join us . But since he has battle experience, at least he will be useful to our party . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but still¡­¡­ . Well, what do you think, Lapis?¡± said Naren, not ready to give up . Lapis looked at Naren, then at Loren, then cocked her head and told her, ¡°He doesn¡¯t look like a bad person to me . ¡± ¡°Haaaaa, you¡¯re so na?ve . You say that because you don¡¯t know what mercenaries are like,¡± sighed Naren . ¡°Well it¡¯s true that I grew up in the church and I don¡¯t know what mercenaries are like, but I¡¯m confident in my ability to judge people,¡± ¡®I¡¯m not asking you guys to let me join the party,¡± Interrupted Loren, ¡°I¡¯m just asking you to bear with me just for this quest . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with letting you in the party if it¡¯s fine with you,¡± said Sarfe . But Loren didn¡¯t answer him . He had no intention in staying in a party where he wasn¡¯t going to be liked by the members . He knew that there wasn¡¯t going to be any merit for him to stay in that sort of group . He had already made up his mind that once he earned enough money, he would leave them and search for a different party to join . ¡°The quest is from a village and they want us to hunt goblins that appeared in the area . The village takes around 3 days by foot . ¡± continued Sarfe, but Naren said, ¡°It¡¯s the village of Ain, right? If we¡¯re going there why did you pick a quest for hunting goblins and not a different kind of quest?¡± As Sarfe was scratching his head with a troubled expression, Oxy said, ¡°You mean exploring the recently discovered ruins? There¡¯s no way the Guild would let us take that sort of quest . It¡¯s obvious that they will ask more experienced adventurers take it . ¡± ¡°But at this rate, we¡¯ll never be able to take good quests,¡± complained Naren . ¡°Come on Naren, we just need to be patient . As soon as we finish some quests like this one, we will have a good reputation, and then the Guild will let us take better quests . ¡± Sarfe told her, and Naron didn¡¯t say anything more . ¡°What an unorganized party,¡± thought Loren, but he was glad that they would finally be able to move on . ¡°So, do you have any idea how many goblins there are, or how large the herd is?¡± asked Loren . ¡°I¡¯m not sure . Apparently, some hunters from the village saw them in the forest but ran straight back as soon as they did . But they¡¯re just goblins, there¡¯s nothing to worry about . ¡± replied Sarfe in a carefree manner . Although Loren was worried about Sarfe¡¯s easy going manner, it was also true that goblins weren¡¯t that hard to deal with, so he decided not to say anything more . Sarfe continued, ¡°I¡¯d like it if we can depart tomorrow, if there¡¯s no problem with that . ¡± ¡°Hmmmmm, seems all right . ¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s okay if we each get ready for the trip and meet up tomorrow morning, in front of the east gate?¡± There were no objections to his suggestion . Loren then brought back his thoughts to his wallet . It had almost nothing left, but there was enough to buy rations to last for 6 days . It meant he was going to run out of money, but he was certain that they would be able to hunt things on the way for food . He then thought that maybe it would be fine if he sacrificed a meal or two in order to buy a blanket to use . With these thoughts in mind, the group disbanded to get ready for the trip in the morning . Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The next morning, Loren showed up at the east gate . He had his supply of food in a small cloth bag, his great sword strapped around his back, and wore his battered leather armor . It was not much, but it couldn¡¯t be helped because he had to leave everything in the battle site and did not have any money to buy proper equipment . He seemed to be early, since he couldn¡¯t see Sarfe or anyone else from the party . So he decided to have a little chat with the guards until the rest of the party came . While talking with the guards, Loren finally found out the name of the city he was in, which was Kapha . Loren knew nothing about this city at all . He assumed that it was a city within some country, but since mercenaries weren¡¯t confined to one specific country, and since he barely escaped from the battlefield, there was no way Loren would¡¯ve known anything about Kapha . ¡°It¡¯s a good city . It¡¯s not as good as the capital but the food is good here and people are nice . Plus it¡¯s my hometown as well,¡± said the young guard . Loren couldn¡¯t really understand the meaning or significance of a hometown . For as long as Loren could remember, he was a mercenary, and kept on moving from battle to battle . For someone like Loren who was never able to settle in one place, he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly envious of the guard, who looked like he believed from the bottom his heart that Kapha was a good city . But settling down meant quitting being a mercenary, which meant thinking of a different way to make a living . If one¡¯s group disbands, it could mean two things . Either join a different group, or quit being a mercenary and look for a different job . As Loren was thinking that being an adventurer in this city and settling here wouldn¡¯t be too bad, Sarfe and his party finally showed up . Everyone had full bags on their backs and looked better equipped compared to Loren, who had nothing but a small cloth bag . ¡°Are they your friends?¡± The guard¡¯s bright and easygoing manner suddenly turned slightly sour . Loren thought that maybe he had something against adventurers, but quickly dismissed the thought because that meant he wouldn¡¯t have been so nice to him . ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I don¡¯t look like an adventurer,¡± thought Loren as he replied, ¡°More like business partners . I¡¯m just joining them for this quest . ¡± ¡°Not trying to sound like a hater but you should leave that party as soon as you can . A guy that invites a bunch of women to his party is never a decent one . ¡± Loren thought maybe he was just jealous, but he wasn¡¯t one to point that out . He let out an awkward laugh and started walking over to Sarfe and the girls, waving at the guard behind him . ¡°Did you wait long?¡± Loren shook his head . Although they had agreed to meet up in the morning, it wasn¡¯t as if they chose a specific time to meet up . He was also able to gain information from the guard while waiting . No time was wasted, so he didn¡¯t think that he needed to complain at all . ¡°Well we¡¯re all here so let¡¯s get going . Walking all the way there is going to be a pain so let¡¯s borrow a carriage . ¡± The members of the party agreed with Sarfe, but Loren stopped in his tracks . Since the village was a 3-day¡¯s walk, he thought that they were going to walk there . However, if they were going to rent a carriage, he was going to have to help pay for it . After buying rations for the next few days and spending a night at the cheapest inn he could find, he didn¡¯t have enough money to rent a carriage . At this rate he would have to go on foot while everyone else rode the carriage . As he was debating to either borrow money or run at the same pace as the carriage, he felt some coins slide into his hand . Surprised, Loren look next to him, a black-haired girl wearing the clothes of a priest was looking up at him, with a finger on her lips . The others were too busy looking for a carriage and did not notice the actions of Lapis, the priest . ¡°You¡¯re in a tough spot, right?¡± Before Loren could say anything, Lapis continued with a smile on her face . ¡°These are 10 copper coins . It should be enough to take you to the village and back, so please use them . ¡± Loren looked at the coins in his hand, then turned his gaze back to Lapis, giving her a puzzled look . Lapis stuck her tongue out and said to Loren, ¡°I¡¯m lending them to you so please use it . ¡± It was good for Loren that he didn¡¯t have to say out loud that he didn¡¯t have any money, but lending money was not normal among mercenaries . Among mercenaries it was unwise to do so because it was a profession where no one knew if he was going to be alive the next day to return the money, which led to many arguments . Loren decided that maybe it was different for adventurers . ¡°If you owe me one here, you might help me later to return the favor, so it¡¯s sort of an investment as well . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand lending money for free, but basing an action on calculations and careful thought was something that he did . He decided to stop giving it much thought and gladly accept her offer . He put the coins in his pocket and slightly bowed his head toward Lapis, expressing his thanks . Lapis smiled, telling him not to worry about it . As Lapis walked away from him, he heard the voices of Sarfe and the rest of the party getting close . ¡°We found a carriage . The ride to the village is going to cost 5 copper coins . ¡± It was exactly half of what Lapis had lent him . As Loren reached into his pocket and gave Sarfe the money, he was relieved that he didn¡¯t have to make a fool of himself . ¡°Can¡¯t thank you guys enough . Walking just wastes time and stamina . ¡± The man taking them was a farmer from the village who came to the city to buy supplies . He came to the town with furs and crops to sell, and bought food and tools and was about to go back . Since he sold most of the things he brought, there was a lot of space left in the carriage . He decided to take the 5 of them to make a bit of extra money . ¡°You¡¯re adventurers that are going to come to the village to exterminate the goblins, right? Then I should take you back to the village as fast I can . ¡± Loren felt if that was the case, he could have given them a cheaper fee, but since Sarfe and his party was already thanking the man, he held back the urge to try to change the price . Although using a carriage is faster than walking, horses that pull carriages have more strength than speed, so they are not as fast as war horses . But it was twice as fast than going on foot, and the farmer said that if they left in the morning, they would spend a night on the road and reach the village around noon the next day . Staying inside a carriage for a day and a half wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do but to Loren, who had similar experiences back when he was a mercenary, it wasn¡¯t the worst thing ever . He thought of striking conversation with Sarfe to try to get some understanding between them, but couldn¡¯t find an opening to because of Naron, the thief, and Oxy, the magician . Lapis was asleep the whole time and the farmer was busy driving the carriage, so in the end Loren put his head between his knees, closed his eyes, and just waited for time to pass . As the sun was setting and getting close to night time, the carriage stopped . ¡°Let¡¯s camp here for tonight . ¡± Travelling the road during the night was usually not an option . The roads were quite safe because soldiers and adventurers exterminated monsters and thieves (the criminal kind) often, and as long as you stay on the road, you would not run into big problems . But still, there was a chance that you would run into monsters or thieves . There was higher chance of that kind of accident happening at night, so the only people who would do that are those in a hurry, those who hired strong guards, or fools who do not know of these risks . The farmer was not any of them, and Loren thought they would be staying in an inn . If they were not going to stay at an inn, it meant they were going to camp outside . When Loren thought about the situation carefully, he remembered that he didn¡¯t even have enough money to rent a room . The only money he had were the coins Lapis had lent to him in the morning, and 5 copper coins was barely enough to rent a stable stall, so he wouldn¡¯t have any left to get a ride back to the city . If that were to happen he would have to borrow more money, so he was kind of relieved they were camping outside . ¡°Ahhhh, I¡¯m so tired and my butt hurts!¡± ¡°Stop complaining . We have to finish setting up camp before it gets dark . ¡± Naron and Oxy got out of the carriage talking in loud voices, while Sarfe and the farmer watched them with wry smiles on their faces . They were in the middle of a plain, with no trees or abandoned structures where monsters or thieves could lurk, but Loren looked around the camp and scowled . In a situation where they had no idea what could be lurking near them, loud noises would bring attention to them, and with no cover at all, making a fire would mean someone could see them from miles away . He wished they would move to sunken terrain with more cover, but he had no knowledge of the surrounding terrain and didn¡¯t know if there was any place like that nearby . All he could do was trust Sarfe and the farmer to know more about the surrounding area and do his best to be cautious of any sort of intrusion . He was already feeling frustrated, but Sarfe¡¯s next words gave the killing blow . ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to keep watch tonight . ¡± ¡°You mean¡­ just the two of us?¡± Including the farmer, there were six of them . If they took 3 watches in pairs of 2, it would be much easier on everyone . Loren thought that he had a special reasoning for wanting just the 2 of them to keep watch, but Sarfe¡¯s reply was surprising¡­ in a completely different way . ¡°Well, it¡¯s tough without any sleep so it¡¯s gonna have to be the two of us . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re only going to have one person watch at a time?¡± To a former mercenary like Loren those words were unbelievable . Of course, the number of people available was different, so Loren wasn¡¯t expecting anything fancy, but in his mercenary group it was normal to act in pairs, whether they were keeping watch or scouting . The only time they would act solo was when they were alone, or there was an absolute need to split up and act independently . ¡°You got a problem? The leader is telling you to do it so just shut up and do it!¡± He was about to explain to Sarfe the dangers of keeping watch alone, but Naron saw that he wanted to say something and interrupted him with a loud, rebuking tone . Oxy didn¡¯t say anything, but she must have been thinking the same thing, because she was giving Loren a cold look . Lapis didn¡¯t seem interested at all and looked sleepy even though she slept the whole time on the carriage . She was rubbing her eyes and stifling a yawn . Loren decided that it was no use trying to convince them . ¡°Alright . You and me . Who¡¯s going to take watch first?¡± ¡°You can take first watch . I wanna sleep . ¡± He wondered if it was ok for the leader of the party to act like this, but didn¡¯t say anything, as it was clear that even if he tried to argue no one was going to be on his side . ¡°Alright . I¡¯ll wake you up halfway during the night . ¡± ¡°Sounds good . ¡± Sarfe waved his hand, signaling that the conversation was over . Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel a clear anxiety and let out a deep sigh . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 4 Chapter 4 The premonition that Loren felt earlier soon became a reality . It wasn¡¯t exactly from the watch itself though . After parking the carriage on the side of the road, tying up the horses, and eating dinner made from provisions, everyone went to their tents to rest except for Loren, who sat next to the fire keeping watch . After a while, he started hearing voices leaking from one of the tents . He froze and it took him a second to comprehend what he was hearing . The voices were coming from the tent that Sarfe was supposed to be sleeping in . Two obscene female voices came out of the tent that was shaking on its own . Loren wasn¡¯t the type of person who enjoyed eavesdropping, but he was easily able to guess what was going on inside that tent . ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯re in the middle of a field¡­¡± He didn¡¯t have the stomach to go and say something, and all he could do is sit by the fire and tried to let the situation sink in . At the same time, he realized how awkward it would be to go and ask to change shifts . He couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that they would go on until morning, but another thing on his mind was that there was no water nearby . No one in their right mind would think about starting something indecent in this sort of place . The thought of them using up their precious water supply to clean up crossed his mind . It was very likely that inside of Sarfe¡¯s tent was going to be smelly and moist . By morning the smell would mostly be gone, but it was going to remain at the time to change shifts . Loren didn¡¯t want to stick his head into that tent . ¡°Couldn¡¯t he have waited for a different time?¡± Even worse, he could hear two female voices . It meant that out of the three of the girls in Sarfe¡¯s party, two of them were in that relationship with him . Although he could make out two voices, he hadn¡¯t spent enough time with them to know exactly who they were . He was sure that the thief girl was one of them, and his drowsiness was kept away by thinking stupid thoughts like who the second girl was . Loren looked down into the fire, thinking that it wasn¡¯t all that bad . If someone were to ask if he could sleep, he would answer that he probably couldn¡¯t . Back when he was a mercenary, there would always be someone else keeping watch with him . Right now, there was no one . Sarfe and the girls didn¡¯t count . He hadn¡¯t spent enough time with them, and he was going to leave after finishing their current quest anyway . His heart was restless at the fact that it was the first time ever that he spent time alone with no friends by his side . He smiled bitterly as he recalled the night before . He spent it in a large room of a cheap inn with strangers, but couldn¡¯t get any deep, sound sleep . He repeatedly woke up until the sun started to rise . It led to him to go to the meeting early without being able to get rid of his fatigue . Loren threw a dry branch in the fire as he thought about his health . Sleep deprivation and weakening stamina . Both would eventually slow down his movements and decision making . It wasn¡¯t to a critical point, but it didn¡¯t change the fact that Loren¡¯s body required rest . However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to rest . He had been avoiding the thoughts of what happened to his comrades in the last battle, and a frown appeared on Loren¡¯s face as the loneliness of keeping watch alone brought back those memories . If they were alive, there was a chance to meet them again, but the battle was so gruesome that the possibility was very small . ¡°Well, I can still hope that someone made it out just like I did¡­¡± ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Although he uttered those words out loud, he didn¡¯t expect anyone to be near to hear them . Surprised, he stood up and reached for his sword . ¡°I apologize if I startled you, I didn¡¯t mean to do that . ¡± The girl in front of him wearing the clothes of a priest, panicking and waving her hands in front of her was Lapis, who should¡¯ve been sleeping in her tent . Realizing that it was not an enemy, Loren stopped reaching for his weapon . But he didn¡¯t expect one of the party members, who were supposed to be asleep, to speak to him and gave Lapis a quizzical look, wondering why she did . ¡°Well ummmm¡­the tent next to me¡­you know¡­¡± Lapis guessed that Loren was silent because he wanted her to explain why she came out of her tent, and started explaining with an awkward tone . As soon as Loren heard the first few words, he immediately understood what she was talking about and let down his guard . In other words, it meant Lapis wasn¡¯t taking part of what was happening inside that tent . Although Sarfe¡¯s tent was made with thick cloth that could keep out cold, it wasn¡¯t enough to keep noise from seeping out of it . Had she had slept until morning, she wouldn¡¯t have known about this, but to her luck, she woke up in the middle of the night . Although she was a priest that grew up in a secluded environment, she could easily guess what was going on inside that tent, and falling back to sleep listening to those voices was extremely difficult . ¡°Um, I can¡¯t go back to sleep anymore¡­and-¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I get what you mean . Unfortunate¡­¡± Loren replied to Lapis with an exhausted tone and in return she gave him an awkward smile, then, for some reason, sat down next to him . ¡°Is it ok if I stay here with you until I get sleepy again¡­or¡­until they settle down?¡± As she was already sitting down, Loren just nodded his head, unable to say no . Since they were in the middle of a field, it wasn¡¯t as if there were other places to settle down around them . It was convenient for him to have someone else with him since it was a way to keep the drowsiness away, and if she were to go someplace else and something happened to her, it would be his responsibility for not keeping a good watch . ¡°Are they always like that? Being an adventurer isn¡¯t the safest thing to do, and I understand that not being sure you¡¯re going to survive the next day might take it to that direction, but still¡­¡± ¡°As much as I would like to say they aren¡¯t, this happens quite often, actually . Would it be too sarcastic to say that I¡¯m glad that they are healthy?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t expecting that kind of reply from Lapis . As a mercenary, Loren never had the chance to have a personal conversation with a priest . As one who killed and fought battles for a living, a priest who served god was in a completely different world . Loren¡¯s image of a priest was an old man with a difficult expression, who you had to pay an enormous amount of money to hire . The priest girl next to him, who was sighing and spouting vulgar sarcasm, was way different than what Loren expected, and was surprised that priests like her existed . ¡°Is it too much to ask them to choose the place and time to do those kinds of thing? Well, most gods¡¯ teachings say to give birth and multiply, so in that perspective, I guess they aren¡¯t doing the wrong thing though . ¡± ¡°Speaking of gods, how much are there? What god are you serving again?¡± Digging into personal matters was a hated by mercenaries . Mercenaries all have a memory or two that they don¡¯t want others to know about, which is why Loren was careful not to do so . But it was still a long way from sunrise, and he got the feeling that Lapis, who seemed to be friendly and talkative, wouldn¡¯t mind him asking . Plus, it seemed that Lapis didn¡¯t want the conversation to stop either . ¡°I serve Kuhklu, the god of knowledge . Also, you should count gods by saying ¡®how many¡¯, not ¡®how much¡¯ . I don¡¯t mind it, but some priests are picky about it so you should be careful . ¡± ¡°Thanks for the heads up . I¡¯ve been a mercenary my whole life so I don¡¯t know a lot about these kinds of things . ¡± ¡°I forgot about that . Why did you choose to become an adventurer?¡± A small frown appeared on Loren¡¯s face, but he felt that it would be unfair of him to not answer her question when she had answered his . After a brief silence, Loren finally replied . ¡°The group I was with doesn¡¯t exist anymore . ¡± ¡°Oh¡­I¡¯m sorry for asking about it . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . It¡¯s something that happens all the time . ¡± Although there are quite a few groups that claim they¡¯re invincible, most of them don¡¯t live up to that expectation . Most mercenary groups have victories and losses, give and receive casualties, and expand or decrease in numbers . But sometimes an unlucky group would suffer a large casualty that it can¡¯t recover from . That time it was just that it was Loren¡¯s group that ended up with the short end of the stick . ¡°I wish I could¡¯ve found a different group to join, but I was pretty much broke arriving in the city, and strength was pretty much the only thing I had to work with to earn money . ¡± ¡°I see¡­Loren, was it? You do look pretty strong . ¡± Lapis¡¯ gaze fell on the great sword next to Loren . It was an extremely rugged sword that Loren had been using for a very long time . It didn¡¯t have any sort of decoration or ornament on it and its huge blade was long enough to reach Loren¡¯s chest . The grip was built for holding the sword with two hands and had a cloth wrapped around it, and was very heavy, as its appearance suggested . It took Loren a few years to be able to wield it to his satisfaction, and with continuous repairing and reforging, he had used it until now . ¡°Isn¡¯t the blade as thick as my waist?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if she was implying that the blade was thick or that her waist was thin, so he raised the sword with his left hand to compare them . The materials used to make the sword, blade, grip and all, was pure metal . Lapis¡¯ eyes widened, seeing Loren lifting such a heavy object easily with one hand . ¡°You¡¯re able to hold it with one hand¡­that¡¯s incredible . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s made to be held with both hands, but I¡¯ve trained with it enough to be able to use it with either hand . ¡± Loren stood up and thrust the sword into the ground . ¡°Want to compare?¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see . ¡± Loren meant it as a joke, but Lapis, who didn¡¯t have much else to do, stood up and pressed her back against the blade . ¡°What do you think? My waist is thinner, right?¡± Loren looked at the blade, then at Lapis¡¯ waist . There wasn¡¯t any part of her waist that was visible past the blade¡¯s width . It meant that like she said, Lapis¡¯ waist was indeed thinner that the blade . When he turned his gaze slightly lower, he saw that her butt was peeking out of the edge . But he couldn¡¯t say that it was fat, because it was natural for girls her age . ¡®W¡­What do you think? I¡­I¡¯m thin, right? Uh, a¡­am I not?¡± Loren¡¯s lack of an answer started to cause Lapis to panic . She must have interpreted Loren¡¯s silence as a sign of kindness, and started to feel uneasy . ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re thin . My sword is way thicker . ¡± ¡°Y¡­yes, of course . There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t be . ¡± Your butt isn¡¯t, though . Although the thought occurred in his mind, he refrained from saying it out loud . Meanwhile Lapis puffed out her chest and went on with a relieved tone, trying to sound like she wasn¡¯t worried at all . Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The conversation with Lapis continued until morning . Although Loren thought of switching watch duty with Sarfe at one point, he despised the idea of putting his head into a tent where business was done . He concluded that it would be better if he just continued watch duty until morning . The business inside the tent ended quite late into the night, and Loren thought that Lapis would go back to her tent to sleep . He was surprised when she said she would accompany him until morning . Although Loren wasn¡¯t going to complain about having two people keeping watch, he was concerned that the lack of sleep was going to affect Lapis during the day . But after she told him that back in the church there were times where she was not allowed to sleep and that staying up a night was no problem, he gladly accepted her offer . The two chatted endlessly until morning . Lapis didn¡¯t have much to offer, as she grew up in the church, but she tried her best to keep the conversation going by searching for things to talk about, and Loren appreciated her efforts . But when the conversation turned to Loren about when he was still a mercenary, there were parts where he was reluctant to talk about . He wondered why a priest that grew up in a church would want to listen to about his experiences as a mercenary, but he concluded that as a rookie adventurer she wanted to gain as much knowledge as possible to help her . As he was trying his best to answer what he could to her questions, morning came . ¡°Huh? It¡¯s morning already . What happened to my turn?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . What¡¯s past is past . ¡± Perhaps the sun¡¯s rays reached the tent . Sarfe came out and asked Loren in a confused way, but Loren replied, hiding his irritation . As he saw Naron and Oxy come out in a disordered appearance with no embarrassment at all, a sigh escaped his mouth before any kind of complaint could . As he watched Sarfe scratching his head with an embarrassed expression, he made a firm decision to leave the party once the job was done and look for a different way to earn money . ¡°We¡¯re leaving as soon as we eat . It¡¯s not much longer to the village . ¡± Loren facepalmed, irritated at the villager, who didn¡¯t understand why he said that . Sarfe and his party answered in a lighthearted voice, seemingly unaware of the situation . Lapis let out a troubled laugh . The rest of the trip was a peaceful one, with no encounters with enemies or problems at all . Apparently, it was true that every now and then soldiers and adventurers cleaned up monsters and thieves near the road . The village they arrived at was a normal pioneered village . Protected from outside harm by a simple but strong fence was a bunch of houses made from logs . The fields were located outside the fence, but that couldn¡¯t be helped . The village was built to create more farmland, so if they tried to expand the fence every time they made a new field, the task would be endless and would cost them more manpower as well . It was the minimum amount of defense possible, and couldn¡¯t protect the villagers from the dangers from outside . Living in such as village required understanding that danger was always near, and it was way harder living in it than living inside a city . Right next to the village was a large forest . Loren looked at it as he got off the carriage, thinking that it must be the forest where the goblins had appeared . As He started stretching and loosening his body, Sarfe got off the carriage and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go . ¡± It was right before noon, so going in the forest wasn¡¯t a problem . But Loren thought that it was normal to greet the client, the village chief, first and go over the details of the job, but when he told that to Sarfe, Naron scowled at him . ¡°We just have to hunt down the goblins . Why should we go over the details?¡± ¡°To ask about the numbers and stuff . And I thought that it was normal to go greet the client¡­¡± ¡°We can just have the guy that took us here to tell the village to tell the chief . How long are you going to make us take on such an easy job?¡± Loren believed that no matter how difficult, a job was a job . That was why Loren thought that they should greet the client, but he let out another sigh knowing that the party wouldn¡¯t accept his view . Even in mercenary groups, the leader greeting the client was common sense, but apparently it didn¡¯t apply to the line of work called adventurers . ¡°I¡¯ll tell the chief, so you guys can go ahead and finish it as soon as possible . ¡± Hearing the villager say that, Naron glared at Loren . Loren gave up trying to convince them and Naron, seeing that Loren wasn¡¯t saying anything, snorted with a proud look on her face . Sarfe put his hand on her head and said to everyone in the party, ¡°Let¡¯s go finish this quickly so the village could be safe and sound . ¡± ¡°Yeah . We don¡¯t need this sensitive mercenary to get this job done . ¡± ¡°Naron, he¡¯s going to be our shield during battle . There¡¯s no way we¡¯re not taking him . ¡± Loren fingered the grip of his sword, not amused at the fact that they thought of him as a meat shield . He didn¡¯t have any objections being the frontline, but there was no way he would feel good about being treated like an object . ¡°Um¡­I¡¯ll make sure to heal you when you get hurt . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if she was trying to make him feel better, but as soon as she said that, Naron¡¯s bad tempered voice rang out . ¡°Healing him is a waste . Just save it for when Sarfe gets hurt . ¡± ¡°Uh¡­huh . ¡± Naron¡¯s strong words overwhelmed Lapis¡¯, but Loren looked toward her and shook his head, telling her not to worry about it . Now that he thought about it, the only thing he had in his bag were the provisions that he bought . He didn¡¯t have enough money to buy other essentials such as medication, and if he were to be gravely injured, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it . His mood didn¡¯t get any better as he decided that when it came to the worst, he would just have to tear his clothes to use as bandages . Meanwhile, Sarfe and the others said goodbye to the villager and started into the forest . Loren knew that if he was late they would be mad at him again so he swiftly followed after them, not wanting anything else that would make his mood even worse . ¡°Okay for now, I¡¯ll stay in front and Naron will back me up . Oxy and Lapis stay behind us, and Loren take the rear . ¡± Loren nodded in silence . It was a solid and reasonable formation, but uninteresting at the same time . It meant that Sarfe at least knew the basics of moving together as a party . While keeping watch at the rear, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that because they didn¡¯t gather any information on the goblins from the village, it had them wandering around the forest aimlessly, making the search take longer . It was like trying to fish in a pond not knowing if there were fish in it or not . In this case, Loren and the party was the bait . Asking about specific points where fish can be caught meant a high probability of getting a catch, but putting bait on a hook and hurling it in randomly was relying completely on chance, and is also very inconsistent . ¡°Hey look, Sarfe . Raspberries . ¡± ¡°Raspberries, huh . I haven¡¯t eaten for a while now . Let¡¯s take some with us . ¡± ¡°Um, everyone? Shouldn¡¯t we focus on finding the goblins first¡­¡± After a while, Loren couldn¡¯t help but want to leave . Without any information, they indeed had been wandering in the forest, with no hope of completing the quest . On top of that, Sarfe and the two girls showed interest in raspberries, of all things, and proceeded to pick them . Lapis, as flustered as she was, tried to stop them, but none of them seemed to listen to what she was saying . At this point Loren didn¡¯t even feel like trying to say anything, and even started faintly hoping that all the noise the three of them made would attract the goblins to their spot . ¡°Do you think this is fine?¡± After a while, Lapis gave up trying to talk to them and asked Loren with a defeated look on her face . But Loren couldn¡¯t find any words to give her an answer . It would be a big problem if mercenaries were to set aside the quest and start acting of their own accord, but since Loren didn¡¯t know if it was the same for adventurers . He wasn¡¯t sure if he could condemn them about anything, but he was sure that it was useless to even try to talk sense into them . ¡°They can do what they want to . I don¡¯t even care anymore . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t even try to hide his rough tone . ¡°Ah, you gave up, right?¡± ¡°Are you saying that you haven¡¯t given up yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very close to, though . ¡± Seeing Lapis¡¯ shoulders drop as she replied, Loren felt slightly relieved . Loren thought that he must be extremely tired to be relieved by something on this level . He wanted to get the job done as soon as possible and head back, but to do that he needed Sarfe and the girls¡¯ help . Even if he were to give up and leave, he didn¡¯t have a way to pay for a ride back to the city or to pay Lapis back . Loren had no choice but to watch Naron pick raspberries, with Sarfe following her here and there, and Oxy look for herbs . ¡°How are you so calm about this?¡± He asked Lapis, who was with him watching the other three, out of boredom . He was slightly surprised when Lapis answered with a glare . ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel too good being addressed like that . ¡± Loren instantly understood that she was irritated with how he was calling her . He stopped for a moment and thought about ways to call her without offending her any further . ¡°Lapis-san?¡± * ¡°Lapis is fine . Why did you say it like a question?¡± ¡°I never had the opportunity to call someone of the opposite gender by her name . ¡± The only women that Loren had spoken to were servers at the bar . Gathering food and supplies were usually done by others, so he had never spoken with people from other stores, either . Since they went from battle to battle, he didn¡¯t get close enough to any of them to call them by their names . ¡°Well you can call me Loren as well . ¡± ¡°No, please let me call you Loren-san!¡± ** Loren frowned, thinking Lapis didn¡¯t want to be that friendly . Lapis saw this and became flustered, and tried to explain what she meant . ¡°It¡¯s well, um . It¡¯s just that because of how I usually talk, it makes me say names like that . It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to get too familiar with each other, and well¡­¡± ¡°You can call me however you want to . ¡± Loren felt a slight relief again, seeing Lapis waving her hands and trying her best to explain what she meant . He then looked over to the rest of the party, who paid no attention to him and Lapis at all, and started praying for goblins to attack them . Chapter 6 Chapter 6 In a slightly listless atmosphere, Loren¡¯s eyes suddenly turned sharp . Lapis, slightly surprised, watched Loren as he started to reach for the great sword strapped to his back . ¡°Wait! I just heard something!¡± Naron¡¯s warning rang out a moment after Loren¡¯s sudden action, and everyone tensed up . Loren scanned the area, concluding that the others noticed the danger too late . They were within the forest, but he decided that it wasn¡¯t a problem because they were in a small clearing, with space to move around and see their surroundings . As soon as he used his left hand to pull the string strapping the cloth wrapping his sword, it fell off, revealing the blade . He pulled out the sword in front of him with his right hand and put his left hand on the handle, right above his other hand, and switched his thought process for battle . Even for mercenaries, who were in battle very often, straining their senses for battle all the time would chip away at their minds . Loren had seen too many who broke their minds and hearts doing so, thus he made sure to switch back when he wasn¡¯t in battle . He didn¡¯t have time to enjoy the energy flowing through his body before he spotted a few shadows moving behind the trees . The shadows looked small and humanoid . Based on how deep into the forest they were currently in, and the speed of the moving shadows, he was sure that they were not children lost in the forest . ¡°What is it? Monsters?¡± Sarfe asked Naron, but his hand wasn¡¯t even on the grip of his sword . Naron, although she pricked up her ears, hadn¡¯t even grasped the direction of where the monsters were coming from . She kept looking around, pricking her ears and squinting, but she hadn¡¯t noticed that Loren already found the enemy and was tracking them . Loren, wondering if this party was going to be okay, was trying to decide if he should point out the enemy¡¯s location, but wasn¡¯t sure if he should take Naron¡¯s job . Before he could decide, the enemy made the first move . A few arrows flew at them, threading the space between the trees . They didn¡¯t have much speed to them, and some of them flew off into a completely different direction . But still a good amount of them were headed toward where Loren was . ¡°Ugh!?¡± Most of them missed their target and fell around them, but one of them grazed Oxy¡¯s shoulder, spraying a bit of blood . Sarfe and Naron shifted their gazes to Oxy at the sound of her pained voice . ¡°What are they doing!?¡± Loren cursed . The two should know how much of an advantage they could give an enemy if they looked away during battle . Not even facing the way the attack came from, but instead facing a cry from a comrade, was equivalent to begging the enemy to make the next move . Loren¡¯s eyes turned to the monsters that started to run out from between the trees . They were green and ugly, with shields made of wooden planks and short, rusty swords . Loren swung his sword at the goblins . The sword and the wooden shield clashed . Loren¡¯s sword didn¡¯t cut through it, as his sword wasn¡¯t made to cut . But instead, with its weight and sheer force, it smashed through the shields and crushed the goblin¡¯s arm, then ripped its body into two bloody pieces of meat . Before the pieces could even hit the ground, Loren swung the sword again and hit the second goblin right on the head . A dull sound erupted, and another goblin lost its life, spraying around things that couldn¡¯t be made out if it was bone or flesh . ¡°Crap! These goblins!¡± Sarfe finally realized who the attackers were and pulled out his sword, while Naron pulled out her knife to protect Oxy, who had her hand on her wound . ¡°Defensive arts!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need them!¡± Loren answered Lapis wildly and kept swinging his sword . The third goblin instantly got crushed between the blade and a tree . Loren reflected the second wave of arrows with the flat of the blade, then tracked the direction where they were coming from . He was able to find the goblins with bows, but was irritated at where they were standing . There were trees blocking the way so it was difficult for him to rush at them, and there wasn¡¯t enough space between the trees for him to freely swing his sword . He wished he had a knife or a shorter sword . He then glanced at the ground and saw a small sword that belonged to one of the dead goblins . He picked it up and threw it at the archer goblins . The feeble sword flew across the clearing and hit one of them, but only succeeded in giving a shallow cut . Loren picked up another one and prepared to throw it but the goblins let out a cry, surprised that Loren had a way to attack from a distance, and started to run away . ¡°We¡¯re not letting them get away! Let¡¯s go!¡± Watching Sarfe giving out orders, Loren thought ¡°You didn¡¯t even do anything¡­¡± Naron and Oxy followed his orders but Loren gave his sword a swing, shaking off the blood stained on it, and stopped them . ¡°I don¡¯t think chasing is a good idea . ¡± ¡°What do you mean? Our job is the hunt the goblins . We finally found them, so we should chase them and make sure we destroy their nest . ¡± ¡°Yeah! A lowly mercenary like you shouldn¡¯t butt into the leader¡¯s decision . So just shut up and follow him!¡± Loren stopped and didn¡¯t even try to talk back to Naron . No matter how low intelligence the low rank monster called a goblin had, they weren¡¯t stupid enough to leave their nest completely vulnerable . Their quest didn¡¯t say that they had to exterminate the nest . All they needed to do was walk around and hunt down a certain number of goblins and receive their reward, so Loren wanted to avoid danger such as going into the nest, but it seemed that the rest of the party wasn¡¯t going to listen to him . While he was comforting himself thinking that it wasn¡¯t the first time he was working under a useless leader, Lapis came up to him and started walking next to him . ¡°Your friends are way up ahead . ¡± Loren told Lapis without thinking, revealing his irritation, but Lapis smiled, not affected by it at all . ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right . But I decided that this is the best place to be . ¡± He remembered that if he excluded himself, Lapis was the newest member of the party . ¡°It¡¯s not that I have an ulterior motive or anything . Since priests and magicians usually fight with warriors to protect them, and since Sarfe and Oxy are together, I thought that it would be natural for me to be with you, Loren . ¡± ¡°Is that how I should take it?¡± ¡°Yes, please take it like that . ¡± Seeing her replying with a smile, Loren didn¡¯t feel like pushing the conversation any further . There was no point in doing so either because what Lapis said was indeed true, and the only thing he could do is try to guess what she was trying to imply . ¡°Well, it seems she has a good personality of her own . ¡± Thought Loren as he accompanied Lapis to where Sarfe was headed . Tracking the goblins wasn¡¯t difficult . They weren¡¯t smart enough to cover their tracks, so it was easy for a thief like Naron to track them . But the tracks were visible even to Loren, so if she couldn¡¯t find them, she probably should become something other than a thief . In fact, blood spilled from the goblin that Loren had injured gave a such a clear sign, even an amateur could find them . ¡°Just asking . ¡± Loren turned to Lapis, who was walking next to him . As one who had experienced many battles, it was easy for Loren to distance himself from people and talk in a voice where it would only reach the ears of whoever he was talking to . ¡°How strong are they? Especially our leader¡¯s skill on the sword . ¡± Judging from Sarfe¡¯s reaction to the goblin attack, he would be labeled as a failure in Loren¡¯s mercenary group . He would either be sent to be retrained or to the very frontlines of battle for no reason . Loren didn¡¯t want to put someone like him as a leader for sure . Lapis replied without hesitation . ¡°Loren, you used to be a mercenary, right? Okay, let¡¯s see¡­Have you heard rumors of the mercenary called the ?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that name before . ¡± It was a name that was known among mercenaries . He was famous not only among mercenaries, but was well known swordsman in general . The was a legendary mercenary known to bring victory to his allies but death and destruction to his enemies . He was a being that no one wanted to meet in battle, both as an ally or an enemy . It was because if he was an enemy it would mean death, and if he was an ally there was a risk he would take all the credit . Mercenaries got more offers the more they took part in battle . The existence called the was distanced from others for that reason . Although there were mercenaries with titles here and there, the was considered the one of the strongest . It was believed among mercenaries that the only ones who could stand up to him was the , who used both sword and magic, or another swordsman called the . ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s as strong as him?¡± ¡°Even if ten million Sarfe¡¯s got together, they wouldn¡¯t be able to beat the . ¡± It was a confusing way to compare, but Loren understood that she meant Sarfe wasn¡¯t strong at all . No matter how strong the is, he would run out of steam going against ten million enemies . But if that many number of people couldn¡¯t beat him, it meant that Sarfe was very weak . ¡°You guys must be insane, trusting your lives to that kind of guy . ¡± ¡°Loren, we¡¯re in the same shoes right now, you know?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you¡¯re right . I have no money . I can¡¯t say that you¡¯re insane . ¡± If Loren didn¡¯t have the problem of being broke, he probably wouldn¡¯t have chosen to become an adventurer . ¡°Being broke sucks . It¡¯s like I don¡¯t have a say in the decisions I make . ¡± ¡°Well, how should I put it . My condolences?¡± Loren wondered why she said it like a question, then suddenly stopped in his tracks . Lapis stumbled, not expecting Loren to stop walking . She then saw Sarfe with his hand up as if he was signaling them to stop . ¡°Look, a cave . That must be their nest . ¡± Sarfe must have meant to talk softly, but Loren facepalmed at how loud his voice still was . ¡°The trail of blood goes into it, and Naron is sure of it as well . ¡± ¡°Are we going in? I¡¯d rather not . ¡± The cave was barely wide enough to fit two people side by side, and there wasn¡¯t enough space for Loren to pull out his weapon and fight . But Naron appeared from a nearby brush and started to make fun of him for saying so . ¡°Then just go back . But you¡¯re not getting any of the rewards . ¡± ¡°They¡¯re just goblins, so we should be fine . If you¡¯re worried about weapons, try this . ¡± Sarfe then handed him a small sword that belonged to one of the goblins he had slain . ¡°I brought this because I thought maybe we could find a use for it . ¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not completely thoughtless . ¡± Thought Loren . He was actually a bit impressed at Sarfe, but not at the sword . It was made poorly and it was so blunt it couldn¡¯t even cut anything . But it was better than nothing, so Loren strapped his great sword onto his back and took the sword . ¡°Oxy, use a spell to give us some light and Naron, watch our surroundings . Looks like there¡¯s no problems . Let¡¯s go . ¡± Loren sighed again, wondering how many times he had sighed already and didn¡¯t even want to count, at the fact that they didn¡¯t even have a torch or lantern with them . Of course, Loren didn¡¯t have them either, but that was only because he didn¡¯t have the money to purchase them . ¡°They don¡¯t have anyone keeping watch or hiding, and no traps either . ¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go . There might be villagers in there . We should hurry and save them . ¡± Oxy raised the staff she was holding . ¡°Behold, light . . ¡± A magic light appeared at the tip of the staff . Loren didn¡¯t understand why they would use the spell already when they didn¡¯t even step into the cave yet, but had completely given up on them a while ago so he didn¡¯t even try to point it out . ¡°Let¡¯s go . ¡± As soon as Oxy gave a nod, Sarfe started walking toward the entrance of the cave, with no way of knowing everything going on in Loren¡¯s mind . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 7 Chapter 7 It was most likely a trap . That was the thought that kept going through his head . Although goblins had low intelligence, it was hard to believe they were stupid enough to not post anyone to keep watch at the entrance . Even mindless beasts, if they lived in packs, would make sure that some of them were guarding the entrance to their nests . But there were no signs of any goblins keeping watch . ¡°Lucky that there isn¡¯t anyone on watch . They must have been so scared they forgot to . ¡± Loren started shutting out Sarfe . If he didn¡¯t, he knew his mind wouldn¡¯t last until the quest was over . But still, their conversation managed to reach his ears as static . ¡°The trail of blood is still here so they must have gone this way . ¡± ¡°In the end they¡¯re just goblins . They were so hurt they didn¡¯t even think about setting watch . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s your take on this Loren? Lapis asked Loren and looked up at him, quite interested in Loren¡¯s opinion . He was about to keep silent but then reconsidered, thinking that maybe talking to her will keep his mind off Sarfe and the others . ¡°It¡¯s a trap for sure . No guards mean they¡¯re ready to ambush us . ¡± ¡°Goblins have that kind of knowledge?¡± ¡°Not sure . I don¡¯t know much about goblins . But I do know that even monkeys set up watches . I don¡¯t think goblins would do less than monkeys . ¡± ¡°The difference in intelligence between goblins and monkeys . That¡¯s kind of interesting . ¡± Lapis put her hand on her chin started speculating with a serious look on her face . Loren looked at her and felt a different kind of disbelief than with Sarfe and the others . Since she was a follower of the god of knowledge, Loren thought that her way of thinking couldn¡¯t be helped, but still, there was a time and place for that, and right now was definitely not the time and place . ¡°Are you saying that you think goblins are more intelligent than monkeys?¡± ¡°Well, of course they are . ¡± Although he thought of it as a problem, he diligently answered her because it helped keep his mind off his problems . ¡°Of course, huh . I don¡¯t think so . Monkeys live in societies, they use tools, and they learn . How different can they be from humans?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t find anything to say and continued to chase after Sarfe and the others . He didn¡¯t have a logical answer like she had just now . He thought that goblins were smarter than monkeys because he felt that they were . He had no clear evidence . But if he said that out loud, it would sound like he was saying that there isn¡¯t much of a difference between humans, monkeys, and goblins . ¡°I guess it just means we shouldn¡¯t underestimate them?¡± Not being able to come up with a good argument, he concluded that Lapis may be right, and muttered under his breath . Lapis heard him and nodded, looking straight at his face . Meanwhile, Sarfe and the others were pulling further and further ahead . Since the only source of light was Oxy¡¯s magic, Loren made sure not to lose sight of them . He couldn¡¯t help but worry that they were being too careless going this fast . Loren was about to make a point when Sarfe suddenly stopped . The path was slightly curved, and Loren couldn¡¯t see what the three in front were seeing . As Loren started to suspect that something happened, Sarfe spoke up . ¡°There¡¯s a chamber up ahead, and there¡¯s light pouring out of it . ¡± If that were true, it meant whatever is inside there could see Oxy¡¯s light as well, and there was no point in stopping here . However, Loren decided not to interrupt Sarfe . ¡°An ambush?¡± ¡°Kind of sucks that they have bows . ¡± Naron and Oxy started a carefree conversation . Sarfe, who finally made up his mind, faced them and told them his decision . ¡°I¡¯ll charge in first and block the arrows . You guys follow me up . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got guts to run face first into an ambush with arrows ready for you . ¡± Thought Loren, looking at Sarfe with pure amazement . Even though the enemy were goblins, Loren thought that running into archers in this narrow cave with no space to dodge the arrows was suicide . ¡°Do you need the magic ?¡± Sarfe nodded when Oxy asked him, and she closed her eyes and proceeded to cast the spell . Loren found nothing to say, seeing that she was using one of her three spell usages on such a thoughtless charge . He felt Lapis tug at his sleeve . ¡°You seem dissatisfied . ¡± Not wanting to show his true thoughts, he averted his eyes and answered her, who asked him in a teasing manner . ¡°Hmm, not sure . ¡± ¡°If you were in charge, how would you handle this situation?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure why she wanted to know, but answered her, thinking of it as a change of pace . ¡°I¡¯d pile raw wood in front of the cave and set in on fire . ¡± Loren believed that it was the simplest yet most certain mean of attacking enemies within a sealed space such as a cave . He wasn¡¯t sure how large the cave system was, but the smoke and heat would eventually fill up inside . After that, most creatures inside would be dead soon enough . ¡°We¡¯d need oil for that . ¡± It¡¯s not easy to burn raw wood . To do what Loren was thinking of, they would either need lots of oil or dry wood . ¡°I don¡¯t have a flint or any oil so I would give up and leave . ¡± Loren answered Lapis, realizing how sad it was to not have any money to buy supplies . ¡°I see . ¡± Lapis looked convinced and didn¡¯t say anything more . Instead, Sarfe called him . ¡°I¡¯m going to have you come with me . ¡± ¡°Do I not get any protective spells?¡± ¡°You have a big sword, so just use that as a shield . ¡± Oxy said loudly with a frown on her face and Naron nodded her head, agreeing with what she said . ¡°Sorry, but we can¡¯t spare another spell for defense . Instead I¡¯ll make sure to cover you . ¡± ¡°Alright then . Unfortunate for me, though . ¡± What Loren had in his hand right now was the small sword one of the goblins used . Trying to deflect arrows with it was going to be very unreliable, and using his great sword as a shield would hinder his movements because of its massive size and weight . The thought that this wasn¡¯t the first time a helpless leader had given bad orders gave him a little bit of comfort . Loren gripped the sword tightly, and Sarfe took it that he was ready and shouted . ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Loren followed him, not amused by the fact that the enemy must have heard him from a mile away . It was pretty much telling the goblins that they were going towards them . Soon enough, arrows started raining down on them . Sarfe, who was in front, tried to parry them but failed . But the protection magic reduced the speed of the arrows, and none of them were able pierce Sarfe¡¯s leather armor and dropped onto the floor . Loren was quite impressed by the magic and how useful it was while striking down an arrow that got past Sarfe . ¡°Damn, this is so dull . ¡± The sword broke the arrow rather than cut through it, and the pieces dropped on the ground . He didn¡¯t have time to be complaining about the sharpness and was about to jump into the clearing where the goblins were waiting . Loren suddenly stopped in his tracks, while Sarfe suddenly fell down and rolled right into the awaiting goblins . ¡°Sarfe!¡± Naron, who was right behind Sarfe, rushed into the area followed by Oxy and Lapis . ¡°Hey, wait!¡± As the three of them rushed past him, he was barely able to get a hold of Lapis¡¯ collar and stopped her . Lapis let out a slight moan, but seeing Oxy sprawl onto the ground as well, she realized why Loren stopped her . ¡°A trap!?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a smart one in there somewhere!¡± There was a small dent in the floor that could barely fit a foot, well camouflaged in the rough ground . It was a simple trap, done by digging a small hole in the ground, but unfortunately Sarfe and Oxy didn¡¯t notice it and got caught on it . ¡°Sarfe! Get up!¡± There was no way the goblins would ignore such a defenseless opponent . Another barrage of arrows rained down . Although Naron deflected some of them, the rest got through and lodged into Sarfe¡¯s right shoulder and left thigh, as well as in Naron¡¯s right flank . ¡°Damn it! How dare you!¡± Oxy cursed and got ready to use a spell . Loren ignored her and scanned his eyes through the goblin ranks . Around ten archers . Many with small swords and clubs . In the deepest part he saw one that was a whole size larger, holding a staff made from animal bones, and wearing a golden necklace with a strange light emitting from it . ¡°Is that the head?¡± Based on the way it was dressed and its size, Loren guessed that it was . Still held by her collar, Lapis muttered ¡°Is that¡­a goblin mage?¡± ¡°A high rank monster . This is bad . ¡± For goblins that had a high reproduction rate and expanded quickly, it was possible for a special one to be born . Or it could¡¯ve been born as a regular goblin, but through experience, change into something different . Those individuals were called high rank monsters and were known to be a few times more dangerous than normal goblins . Packs led by the high rank often became more dangerous as well . Goblin mages were rare even among the high ranks, as it meant that a goblin somehow gained magical knowledge, making it one of the most dangerous among them . Going against them without any preparation meant only disasters were waiting . Loren decided that they should retreat, but Sarfe and Naron, who were closest to the goblins, were under attack by arrows, and Oxy was already chanting a spell . ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Although he knew that giving a warning and helping the others was what he should do, he concluded that it was impossible to save all of them . He looked back at the path that they came from, but what he saw left him speechless . ¡°We got flanked!?¡± He thought that it was a straight path to this area, but maybe because of the dim light or maybe because Loren didn¡¯t pay close enough attention, the path they came from was filled with goblins with a few larger ones behind it, all of them rushing towards the area where Loren and the others were in . Chapter 8 Chapter 8 ¡°Guess I¡¯m not getting out of this easily!¡± There was nowhere to run, being pincered in by the two groups . As Loren decided that the only way out was to cut through them, he heard Oxy finish chanting her spell . ¡°Scatter the sands, bring upon slumber! ¡± Based on Oxy¡¯s movements and line of sight, Loren saw that she was using on the goblins in front and was irritated at her decision . He knew that she was trying to help Sarfe and Naron, but if they were to successfully retreat, it was better to use it on the goblins behind them . But Oxy was too focused on them and didn¡¯t seem like she noticed the goblins behind them . Loren changed his mind and thought that they still had a chance if they could at least get through the goblins in front, and waited for Oxy¡¯s spell to take effect . But he narrowed his eyes, seeing a strange light coming from the goblin mage¡¯s necklace . At the same time for an unknown reason, Lapis, who Loren was still holding her by the collar, became limp . As her knees buckled, Loren immediately let go of her and before her knees could hit the floor, he managed to catch her and lend her his shoulder . ¡°Hey! What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± He didn¡¯t have time to check what was wrong with Lapis, who looked dumbfounded, because he heard Oxy¡¯s panicked voice . ¡°What? How!?¡± Loren soon found out why . Although the spell had been used, there was no sign of any of the goblins going to sleep . The goblins then rushed at Sarfe and Naron at once . ¡°You bastards! Get away from me!¡± ¡°S¡­stop! Let go of me!¡± There was no way Sarfe could get up and fight with an injured shoulder and leg . Naron, who injured her flank, was unable to go against them either and they pushed her to the ground . ¡°Hey! Get away from her!¡± The goblins showed no mercy, bringing their weapons down on Sarfe . As dull swords chipped away at his flesh and the clubs struck bone after bone, Sarfe screamed in pain . Naron shrieked as the goblins started to rip her clothes off . Oxy became pale at the sight and before she could do anything, the goblins tackled her from behind and covered her, not even letting her scream . Loren knew that he couldn¡¯t save them . He then started to take steps forward . For a second,the thought of leaving Lapis here crossed his mind . Lapis couldn¡¯t move her limbs, much less grab onto Loren¡¯s shoulder, and was getting carried by Loren . To him, she was dead weight . If he left her, he would be able to move around quicker and the goblins would be focused on new prey, letting him run away with little to no problems . The only problem was dealing with the guilt later, but considering the pros, he thought it wasn¡¯t a bad choice . Lapis looked up at Loren, who was still trying to decide, and gave out a small sigh . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, just leave me . ¡± It was a completely different tone than until now . Loren was more surprised that she told him to leave her here than the change in the way she talked . ¡°I¡¯m in the way, correct? They won¡¯t kill a woman that easily, but they will kill you for sure . Don¡¯t mind me and just go . ¡± He sensed a feeling of defeat in her voice . But what struck his heart was that she was saying all this just for him . So what Loren did was silently grip the sword in his left hand tighter and put Lapis under his right arm . ¡°Hey?¡± ¡°Shut up, you might bite your tongue . ¡± After getting a better grip on her, he gritted his teeth and took a step forward, then suddenly started dashing toward the exit . All the screaming from behind him and weird moaning sounds coming from Lapis didn¡¯t reach his ears anymore . He swung his left arm in a wide arc right at the base of a goblin¡¯s neck . The goblin¡¯s body tore into two pieces and Loren kicked them away, then bashed the forehead of another goblin who jumped at him . The blade lodged into its head and broke off . Loren, as soon as he felt it break, hurled the rest of the sword at another goblin, then picked up a club and continued to speed up . He rushed past Sarfe, who was getting hacked to pieces in a pool of blood, and Naron, who was stripped naked and held down on the ground, and went straight toward the archers . A few arrows were fired at close range . No matter how bad they were at using bows, Loren was close enough that it was almost impossible to miss . But to the goblins¡¯ surprise, not even one of them managed to hit Loren, and before they could even act confused, they got a knee to the face and flew away . Right before the arrows were launched, Loren immediately jumped to the side and as soon as the arrows flew past, he jumped and kicked off the wall, propelling himself towards the goblins and landed the attack . He didn¡¯t even bother looking at his work as continued running, at a speed that seemed impossible to reach while holding a person . He dashed toward the goblin mage, who was standing behind more archers . But the goblin mage wasn¡¯t ready to back down without a fight . It started muttering something and raised a finger and pointed it at Loren . A ball of fire appeared at the tip and started moving in Loren¡¯s direction . It was the beginner level magic spell , and it flew at him faster than the arrows . Loren couldn¡¯t dodge in time and it struck him on the left shoulder . Loren grimaced at the impact and the pain of fire burning his flesh, but it wasn¡¯t enough to slow him at all . The goblin mage, shocked that the spell didn¡¯t stop Loren, was readying another spell . ¡°Too slow!¡± Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t about to give it time to use another spell . Cutting off the pain in this left arm from his consciousness, he rammed into the goblin mage . He took a wide swing at it and the hit immediately crushed its head open . At the same time, he threw away the now broken club, and before the goblin mage could fall onto the ground, reached out and snatched the necklace that emitted the strange light when Oxy used her spell . ¡°I wish you would just leave that . ¡± Lapis muttered in a small voice, looking at the necklace with the corner of her eye, but Loren ignored her and jumped into the tunnel in front of them . It was the other way they came from, but they didn¡¯t have a choice . There was a chance that the tunnel led to a smaller space, but there were side tunnels and Loren prayed that they could use them to dodge the goblins and escape . ¡°How are you running so well without any light?¡± Lapis asked him, sounding impressed . Her tone was a lot more relaxed, but lacked the politeness that Lapis¡¯ usual way of talking had and Loren wondered if she was putting on airs until now, but he didn¡¯t answer her and continued to run . ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can see in the dark?¡± ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re loud . I can¡¯t focus . ¡± There was no way Loren could see where he was going in the dark tunnel . But back when he was a mercenary, he learned how to figure out his surroundings by using the reflections of sounds that he made . It was a technique mostly used during times where they couldn¡¯t use a light, such as during an ambush, and although it helped, it wasn¡¯t the most accurate . If he lost focus there was a chance of tripping over uneven ground or crashing into a wall, so he didn¡¯t have any time to spare talking to Lapis . ¡°Getting carried around like a sack gets pretty boring . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that . It¡¯s a matter of life and death so please be quiet . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but how about this . ¡± As soon as Lapis said that a soft white light shined, illuminating their surroundings . Loren squinted and realized that the light was coming from his chest and guessed that Lapis had something to do with it . He slowed down slightly and looked down at the girl . ¡°Can you see now? I won¡¯t ask you to carry me like a princess, but can you at least carry me on your back?¡± Lapis asked him with her limbs still dangling . He could¡¯ve ignored her, but he felt an eerie tone from her voice and gently let her down from under her arm and proceeded to put her on his back . ¡°Ah, that¡¯s better . Now that that¡¯s out of the way, Loren, thank you for saving me back there . ¡± As soon as she got on his back, she started talking politely again . Loren wondered what the change in her way of talking meant as he continued deeper into the tunnel, now illuminated by the light . ¡°But why did you decide to save me? You left everyone else to die back there . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t flinch at the fact that she said he left Sarfe and the rest to die . He knew that she was simply just asking him what she was thinking, so he answered her in a daunting manner . ¡°I just felt like it, you were lucky, I still owe you money . Just choose one . I¡¯m sure one of them is the answer . ¡± ¡°Is it okay if I take it that Loren is a kind person?¡± ¡°If that were true I wouldn¡¯t have left the others . ¡± He told Lapis with a wry smile and a teasing tone, but she didn¡¯t seem to be offended at all and quietly leaned onto his back . ¡°But you still saved me so I¡¯ll think of it as that . ¡± ¡°Think of it as you want to then . ¡± It didn¡¯t matter to Loren about how Lapis thought about him . When Loren told her to do as she liked, she told him she would with a smile on her face . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 9 Chapter 9 ¡°Oh yeah, about what happened earlier . ¡± Loren was jogging through the tunnel with Lapis on his back . The sword pressed onto Lapis¡¯ body must have been uncomfortable, as she squirmed around on Loren¡¯s back . But she still couldn¡¯t move her limbs to help herself . ¡°Earlier?¡± She neared her face toward Loren¡¯s shoulder . Naturally their bodies got closer, but the only thing Loren felt on his back was his sword that was lodged between the two of them . ¡°The way you talk changed . Is that how you talk naturally?¡± Lapis stopped squirming . Loren got the feeling that she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, but he continued on, deciding that it was better to know as much as he could about her, especially because he was going to be with her for a while . ¡°Your body as well . Is there a reason why it stopped moving?¡± ¡°Do I¡­do you have to know why?¡± After hearing Lapis¡¯ reluctant voice, obvious that it was something she didn¡¯t want to talk about, Loren started to have second thoughts about digging deeper into this matter . It wasn¡¯t information that he needed, but there was always a chance that information that may not be needed contained something important . Judging from the situation that they were in, he wanted every piece of detail he could find . But at the same time, he didn¡¯t want to push too hard and ruin his relationship with Lapis either . Since Sarfe and the others were gone, the only ally he had left right now was Lapis . ¡°I won¡¯t force you to, but it would be easier to think around it if you told me . ¡± He made it so that Lapis would make the decision . He decided to tell her what was on his mind, then see how she would react . ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­since you already saw everything, I guess I can tell you . ¡± After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she whispered into his ear . While thinking that a woman whispering into his ear was something that ran down his spine, he focused on Lapis¡¯ voice, not slowing down and continuing to scan his surroundings . ¡°Loren, how much do you know about demon kind (demon kin?) . ¡± * Loren almost stopped in his tracks at Lapis¡¯ question, but remembered that they weren¡¯t in a situation to be stopping . He slowed down to a jog while trying to recall what he knew about demon kind . They generally didn¡¯t have much interactions with humans . In this world, there exists races other than humans such as demi-humans and beast kin who lived in their own societies along with humans . Demon kind was one of them but didn¡¯t have a good reputation among the other races . They had little to no interaction with humans, much less other races, and were generally thought of as the name of the race suggested . But in fact, there were only a handful that lived up to that reputation and it wasn¡¯t that they were impossible to interact with . Although they had higher physical abilities and higher affinity to magic, they weren¡¯t interested in other races, and their tendency to use anything however they could to benefit them was the root of their bad reputation . But people like that existed among humans as well and it all depended on the personality of the individual, so the mercenary that told him all of this warned Loren not to think ¡®just because they¡¯re demon kind¡¯ . Most of them didn¡¯t believe in gods either, which made many churches dislike them as well . They looked almost the same as humans except for the color of their eyes, which were a deep purple color . Beings called demon lords popped up every now and then and brought fear upon the world, but they were just rulers of demon kind and rarely tried to control monsters and take over the world . Loren told Lapis all he could recall about demon kind . After he was done, Lapis nodded and said ¡°I¡¯m one of the demon kind . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± Based off Loren¡¯s knowledge, demon kind didn¡¯t believe in gods . Gods didn¡¯t share their powers with those who weren¡¯t believers, and if Lapis was indeed demon kind as she said, it would contradict the fact that she was a priest . Because Lapis was on his back, he saw her face more clearly and saw that her eyes were pitch black just like her hair . Her physical characteristics were different to those of the demon kind as well . ¡°We definitely don¡¯t believe in the supreme god or the earth goddess and such, but the knowledge god has similar tastes as we do so¡­¡± ** Although gods oversaw different things, ideals such as love and peace were a part of their teachings . But Lapis told Loren that the teachings of the knowledge god didn¡¯t include any of them, and that the only thing taught was to gain knowledge, then search for further knowledge . This teaching wasn¡¯t well known by demon kind, but there was a small number of followers among them . ¡°Since the Knowledge god considers magic a form of knowledge, priests of the Knowledge god can use magic as well as divine arts . However, the priests of other gods cannot use magic, only the divine arts their god bestows them . ¡± *** This is why Loren was surprised when Lapis conjured light using a magic spell . Priests usually only used the divine arts of their god, and Loren never heard of a priest who used magic on top of that . ¡°Does that mean a human priest of the Knowledge god can use magic too?¡± If this was true, it meant that priests of the Knowledge god could fill two roles at the same time, and would be high in demand from both adventurers as well as mercenaries . Even if it were to be expensive, having one person fill the roles of two was too good of a deal . ¡°There may be some that can, but no one should be as good as I am . I¡¯m demon kind . It¡¯s only natural for me to have higher specs . ¡± Lapis sounded slightly proud of herself . Loren thought that she wasn¡¯t wrong . He had no idea how much strength Lapis possessed, but if she had enough to cover one person¡¯s worth for both magic and divine arts at the same time, it wasn¡¯t something not to be proud of . ¡°So, why is a demon kind like you an adventurer? Don¡¯t you guys usually stay inside the mountain range in the middle of the continent?¡± The reason why demon kind didn¡¯t interact much with other races . Although their bad reputation and their personalities played a big part, the biggest reason was where they lived . They were surrounded by a high stone mountain range in the center of the continent, and it was physically very difficult for people to go in, much less go out . There were many theories about why they lived in such a place, and Loren didn¡¯t know too much about it, but the most known one was that they retreated into the mountains because of persecution against them . ¡°Actually, we come outside quite often . ¡± Now Loren was certain that demon kind were way different than what he knew about . ¡°We just don¡¯t get caught . We look similar to humans, so if we are careful we look just like humans who are a bit more distinguished . ¡± ¡°Is that so,¡± Loren thought . Loren believed that individuals that have over a certain amount of skill, whether that be swordsmanship or magic, had an aura coming from them that told others what that individual was capable of . Although sometimes inaccurate, it would still give an idea of what that individual was . If the demon kind was as powerful as he had heard, he thought it would be hard not to notice them among humans . Lapis managed to sense Loren¡¯s confusion and continued to explain . ¡°People that have strength or skills that are obvious to the eye either don¡¯t come to human lands, or they come out with restrictions . ¡± ¡°Restrictions?¡± ¡°Yes, and that explains my situation as well . ¡± She raised her right hand, which was around Loren¡¯s neck, slightly . Her movement was sluggish, and it seemed like she couldn¡¯t move how she wanted to . ¡°This is artificial . ¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Currently all four of my limbs as well as my eyes are artificial ones with some magical tampering on it . I can only move them by using my mana, and it uses quite a bit as well . ¡± Loren then looked closely at Lapis¡¯ right hand, and even though Lapis had explained just now, he couldn¡¯t tell the difference between that and a real hand just by looking at it . ¡°Did you notice that Oxy¡¯s magic didn¡¯t work earlier?¡± Loren had noticed that . The spell she had used against the goblins had no effect, and that was one of the reasons that the party collapsed . ¡°That was probably because the goblin mage activated something that had the effect . It¡¯s not a spell that goblins could use, so I¡¯m guessing that it had some sort of magic item . ¡± Lapis explained that the spell diffused mana using mana itself, making it impossible to use any kind of magic within an area . It took a lot of mana and control to use, which made it very unlikely that the goblin used it . ¡°It¡¯s not something the mana capacity of a goblin can handle, so it probably used a storage-type magic item to use it . ¡± ¡°You mean this?¡± Loren then showed her the necklace that he ripped from the goblin mage¡¯s neck . Lapis looked at the golden necklace for a while and eventually nodded . ¡°This is probably it . But what I find troubling is how a goblin got a hold of a magic item like this, with a spell that even humans have trouble using . ¡± When Loren took the necklace earlier, Lapis told him that she preferred that he leave that . It was most likely because she realized that it was the reason she couldn¡¯t move her limbs . However, Loren judged that it wasn¡¯t a spell that activated continuously, as Lapis was able to move her limbs little by little . Lapis said that it was a storage-type, so Loren guessed that as time passed, mana would be stored into the necklace, so he decided to keep it in his pocket . ¡°My eyes managed to keep functioning, though . ¡± ¡°I see . What about the way you talk?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­it¡¯s not that that way of talking is more natural . The way I¡¯m talking right now is natural as well . Actually, the way I talk right now is the natural me . ¡± Lapis talked as if she were trying to make excuses . ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡¯s natural for demon kind either . Well¡­how should I put it¡­It¡¯s like I switch consciousness during battle . ¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Since my arms and legs stopped working because of and it became a dangerous situation, my consciousness naturally switched, and I started talking like that . ¡± Her explanation made sense to Loren . Loren himself changed his consciousness in and out of battle . He believed that the result of it going too far and changing the way a person talked or changing personality wasn¡¯t that weird of an explanation as well . ¡°I see . I got you . ¡± ¡°I told you to leave me because at the time I believed that it was the most optimal decision . Thank you, Loren, for ignoring me and carrying me all the way here . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t see Lapis¡¯ face directly because she was on his back, so when he looked over his shoulder, his eyes met hers, and judging from her serious face, he knew that she meant that from the bottom of her heart . ¡°Although demon kind like me have quite the bad reputation, we aren¡¯t ones to forget a debt . ¡± ¡°Ah, okay . You can repay me however you want to . But that¡¯s only if we¡¯re able to get out of this cave . ¡± Loren was jogging the whole time, but the tunnel continued into the distance . Although they passed crossroads and caverns, it felt as if the end of the tunnel would never come, and Loren replied to Lapis bluntly, trying to hide his embarrassment . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 10 Chapter 10 ¡°Still, don¡¯t you think there¡¯s something abnormal about this cave?¡± After staying silent on Loren¡¯s back for a while, Lapis suddenly spoke up . Loren, who was running with the help of the magic light Lapis had conjured, looked at her with a face asking her what she was trying to say, while trying not to get his feet caught in holes in the ground . ¡°Loren, you¡¯ve been running for quite a distance since we were attacked by goblins, but we haven¡¯t reached the end of the tunnel yet . ¡± That was something Loren agreed with . Even though he had someone on his back, he had run nonstop for a long time, and covered a long distance as well . But the tunnel continued, not even changing shape . They passed a few chambers filled with items that the goblins gathered, but they passed the last one a while ago, and the tunnel they were in just kept going . ¡°I though these goblins lived in a natural cave, but this is too unnatural . It¡¯s definitely strange . ¡± ¡°I agree . Who knows how long this is going to continue . ¡± After reaching the end, Loren planned on going back and searching the side tunnels, but it didn¡¯t seem like the tunnel was going to end anytime soon . If it were a natural cave, the tunnel would¡¯ve gotten a lot narrower, but it continued on without changing size . Although the floor and walls looked natural, Loren started doubting it and began to think that the cave was artificial . ¡°You want to head back?¡± Loren started to get a sense of urgency going deeper and deeper down into the cave, but even if they were to head back, it meant going back to the place where they separated from Sarfe and the others . He didn¡¯t want to think about what was going on in there, but what he was certain that the goblins were concentrated there . There was no way they could sneak past them, and it would mean that Loren would have to get through a horde of goblins with Lapis on his back . ¡°I hope there is an exit on the other side . ¡± ¡°If there was, it would mean that Loren has tremendous luck . ¡± Loren had trouble deciding whether luck was on his side or not . He was lucky that he managed to survive through all the battles in his mercenary days, without any lasting injuries . But the group that he was a part of being destroyed was very unlucky for him, so he couldn¡¯t decide . ¡°In any case, don¡¯t expect much of it . ¡± ¡°Mine isn¡¯t that good either . ¡± For some reason Lapis joined in, and Loren turned to her with a puzzled look . ¡°Well, my parents took my arms and legs as well as my eyes when I came out of my country so . ¡± ¡°Ah¡­that¡¯s unfortunate . ¡± Loren was surprised that she had parents, but when he thought about it, it made sense . Of course, demon kind had parents . There was no way they grew from trees or anything like that . But he had to agree that her own parents taking her limbs and eyes away was very unlucky, and started to think which of them had the worse luck . ¡°I became an adventurer, but my party were those kinds of people . ¡± ¡°Okay, I got it . Looks like you¡¯re way more unfortunate than I am . ¡± ¡°They had a few screws loose when it came to thinking and paying attention, so it was easy for me to hide my identity, though . ¡± ¡°Stop . You don¡¯t have to say it . ¡± Under the onslaught that Lapis brought, Loren had no choice but to admit that she was unluckier than he was . He thought that saying things like this without hesitation was why demon kind continued to have a bad reputation . ¡°On top of that, my parents hid my limbs and eyes somewhere in human territory . I can¡¯t go home until I find them, as well as gain experience in the human world . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to compete . ¡± ¡°But even if I find them, how would I put them back onto my body?¡± ¡°Go back home and ask your parents . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand what happened between her and her parents that it ended up with getting her limbs and eyes taken away and hidden . He also couldn¡¯t understand how she could describe it as just ¡®unfortunate¡¯ . ¡°Um, Loren?¡± While he was immersed in such thoughts, Lapis, the subject of those thoughts, brought Loren back to reality . Loren was wary that maybe she had something even worse up her sleeve, but when he looked at her, he saw that she was pointing in front of him and faced the direction she was pointing . After all this time with the tunnel continuing forever, Lapis saw some sort of light ahead of them . ¡°It¡¯s not a dead end, is it?¡± ¡°If it was there wouldn¡¯t be light shining . ¡± ¡°But a light at the end? Does that mean there are more goblins there?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure . I don¡¯t sense any, though . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure how much he could depend on demon kind¡¯s senses . But they were known for their high strengths and capabilities, and Loren decided that their senses would be pretty accurate . He slowed down from a jog to taking light footsteps, taking care not to make any noise . ¡°Get rid of the light . ¡± Loren could see a bit, thanks to the light coming from the direction he was walking toward, and asked Lapis to extinguish the light she conjured using magic . As soon as Loren asked, Lapis extinguished the light . It became dark again, but they could see their surroundings vaguely thanks to the light pouring in . ¡°You can¡¯t stand on your own yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m such a nuisance . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . ¡± Lapis seemed embarrassed that she couldn¡¯t move yet, but Loren had asked her without expecting much, so he wasn¡¯t disappointed at all . ¡°I¡¯m going to apologize ahead of time . I might have to shake you off if it¡¯s an emergency . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . I¡¯m in the way when you reach for your weapon . ¡± In the narrow tunnel, Loren couldn¡¯t use his weapon to its full potential . But he didn¡¯t have anything else to fight with, so he had no choice but to use his great sword in an emergency, and that would mean he had no choice but to shake Lapis off his back to draw it . To Lapis, who couldn¡¯t move any of her limbs, it would hurt quite a bit, so Loren decided to apologize to her now because he could see the possibility of it happening . ¡°It would be nice if I didn¡¯t have to draw it, though . ¡± Loren continued to walk slowly toward the light shining through the cave . Although it took a while, they managed to reach the light pouring out with no problems . It was a dead end, but there was a crack in the wall, barely large enough to fit a child, and the light was pouring out from it . After examining it for a while, Loren found out that it wasn¡¯t connected to the outside and that it wasn¡¯t large enough for him or Lapis to pass through . ¡°I could probably pass through if I crawled, but I can¡¯t move my arms and legs well yet, and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s at the other end, so I don¡¯t really want to go alone¡­¡± Although Loren had useless thoughts, such as maybe her butt will get caught, but he agreed with many things she said, and decided against sending her ahead alone . ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to break the wall and widen the crack . ¡± Since there was no other way they could pass through, it was the only option they had . Loren didn¡¯t have any sort of tool with him to widen the crack, but he did have a great sword on his back . He hoped that, since the crack was large, the wall around it would be somewhat weak and easily crumble . He set Lapis down against a wall in a sitting position and drew his great sword . ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bit loud . Keep watch for anything that notices us . ¡± ¡°You can count on me . ¡± After seeing Lapis nod, he held his sword upside down and struck the wall around the crack with the tip . Since his sword didn¡¯t have a proper blade, it was like striking the wall with a slab of metal, and slowly but surely the wall started to crumble . Even the sturdiest weapon, if not used the way it was meant to be used, would be greatly damaged . Loren decided that if he managed to get out of alive, he would have to take his sword to a smith or buy a new one . While he was working, he heard Lapis¡¯ voice . ¡°It seems like it¡¯ll take a while . ¡± Great swords weren¡¯t meant to be used to dig holes . And even though the wall was somewhat brittle, it was still completely made of rock, and it didn¡¯t look like he was making much progress . Lapis¡¯ outlook was correct, and Loren kept on striking his sword on the wall, not wanting to waste any time replying . To their luck, no monsters were attracted to them by all the noise he was making . If some monster noticed them, Loren would have to fight it protecting Lapis at the same time, who couldn¡¯t move well, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight properly . ¡°I guess we¡¯re lucky the wall isn¡¯t that hard . ¡± The crack itself was fragile from the wind eroding it for many years, so Loren was able to make the crack bigger and bigger with the tip of his sword . He continued for a while, thinking how easy it would be if he could swing the entire sword at the wall . Eventually the crack became large enough for Loren to crawl through . Loren hit the blade a few times to get the rubble off of it and strapped it onto his back . ¡°Now we can somehow get through . ¡± ¡°Good work . Sorry to trouble you again, but it would help a lot if you could pull me across the wall . ¡± Although quite a long time had passed, Lapis¡¯ limbs remained unmoving . The crack wasn¡¯t large enough to fit Loren with Lapis on his back, so the only way was to do as Lapis just said, for Loren to go in first and pull Lapis through . ¡°It¡¯s going to take some work . ¡± ¡°I apologize . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . It¡¯s too late to back out, anyway . ¡± Loren told Lapis, who was apologetic, not to worry about it, and got down on his knees in front of the crack, and proceeded to crawl out of the tunnel . Chapter 11 Chapter 11 It wasn¡¯t hard for Loren to crawl through the crack . It wasn¡¯t that high, so he had to crawl flat on the ground and the great sword on his back was slightly in the way, but those weren¡¯t big problems to him . Getting Lapis, who still couldn¡¯t move much, was the tricky part . In a situation where the goblins might catch up to them if they took too much time, Loren was wondering what he should do . The next thing he knew, he saw Lapis start inching toward the crack, bending and wriggling her body like a worm . As soon as she got close enough, Loren reached out, grabbed her body, and pulled her the rest of the way . ¡°Well, we¡¯re on the lucky side . ¡± They were able to make it to the other side without any of their pursuers catching up, so that¡¯s how Loren evaluated the situation . He was also relieved that the place they ended up in wasn¡¯t within the goblin¡¯s nest . And although they crawled on the floor to get through the crack, the only thing covering their clothes was dust and rubble . Lapis¡¯ clothes seemed to have it worse because of the color, but if this was still within the goblin¡¯s nest, her clothes would have been covered with stains and smells from things much worse than dirt . ¡°Thank you, Loren . You helped me so much . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . More importantly, what do you make of this place? I want your opinion . ¡± Staying in a sitting position on the ground, Lapis looked at the scene in front of her . It wasn¡¯t blinding, but there was enough light that they could make out their surroundings clearly, unlike inside the tunnel . A large space with a high ceiling . They could see everything because the walls and floor were emitting light, and it definitely did not look like the inside of a cave at all . Lapis, who still couldn¡¯t walk, pulled herself across the floor to a wall and put her face up so close that she almost touched the wall . After observing it for a moment, she pulled away and said in an impressed voice . ¡°I¡¯m surprised . This is mana material . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a building material seen in places such as ruins of the ancient kingdom . The technique is unknown, but it¡¯s quite exceptional, because it takes mana from the atmosphere and converts it into light . ¡± The Ancient Kingdom was something even Loren knew about . It referred to a kingdom that thrived in the distant past . It was an outstanding magic civilization and it was said that they had half of the world under their rule . Their citizens included humans, demi-humans, beast kin, as well as demon kind . Since magic was so intertwined into their culture, there was no doubt that it was magicians that held great power and high status . It meant that most of the ruins excavated in the present once belonged to magicians, and it was said that during the kingdom¡¯s peak of development, cities floated in the sky . However, although it was said to have been very technologically advanced, it suddenly disappeared and scattered all the different races, eventually forming the lands that existed today . ¡°Speaking of ruins of the Ancient Kingdom¡­wouldn¡¯t finding one be worth a fortune?¡± Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t something that you can find every day . Some relics that were excavated were worth way more that Loren could ever imagine . ¡°I think the best you can do is try not to get completely ravaged by the adventurer¡¯s guild and robbers . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­quite the dream right there . ¡± ¡°Rather than that, Loren, can you scrape off a part of this wall? It¡¯s not that strong, but it¡¯s a reliable source of light, and it¡¯s also valuable research material . ¡± Loren had already broke part of the wall of the cave of the goblins¡¯ nest, so it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to break another one . He nodded at the crack they came through and said to Lapis, who was looking at him with eyes sparkling with expectation . ¡°There¡¯s a lot of them over there . ¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true . ¡± Loren picked up Lapis, who was trying to drag herself regardless of her clothes getting dirty, like how a cat would pick up her kit, and carried her to the crack in the wall . Lapis thanked him for the act, as it kept her clothes from getting dirtier, and started to choose parts of the building material and stuffing them in her pockets . ¡°You can keep doing what you¡¯re doing . But if this is ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, aren¡¯t we in a pretty bad situation?¡± Traps and guardians, as well as countless other methods of chasing away intruders, were part of the ruins most of the time . It was more dangerous for the important ruins, and if what Loren had heard about them were true, they were in in an unimaginable amount of danger . ¡°Maybe . Maybe not . ¡± Lapis seemed to have finished stuffing her pockets and continued . ¡°Although you say ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, it goes from the best to the worst . ¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Loren asked Lapis as he reached under her arms and helped her onto her feet . She managed to stand up, but as soon as Loren relaxed his arms, she started staggering and almost fell . Loren sighed as he saw that her limbs still remained unmoving . ¡°The dangerous ruins that Loren is thinking about do have its dangers, but there are also ruins that no one really cares about . ¡± Loren, thinking it was dangerous to stay in one place too long, put Lapis on his back again . Lapis, who quietly let Loren do his thing, continued while clinging onto his back . ¡°Out of all the ruins that have been found, the dullest one that I know of is an ancient restroom . ¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°Perfect air conditioning and lighting system with private stalls . Complete with a sewer system and great ventilation . Of course, there are no traps or guardians . It would be weird if they did . ¡± Loren thought that only someone who was crazy would place traps or guardians in a restroom . He also thought that there wouldn¡¯t even be much to protect, but a thought that crossed his mind unknowingly made it to his lips . ¡®Well, there could be at least one to protect whoever¡¯s using it . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s an idea that I¡¯ve never thought of before¡­¡± ¡°Men are most distracted when they are using the toilet or sleeping with women you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a mercenary¡¯s way of thinking, but I don¡¯t think that the magicians of the Ancient Kingdom lived so close to danger . ¡± The two scenarios that Loren presented usually resulted in getting stabbed in the back or getting sniped by arrows or magic, and was taught among mercenaries that those were the most dangerous times, but it seemed that Lapis didn¡¯t really understand . ¡°That is why not all ruins are dangerous . In fact, there are less dangerous ones than there are safer ones . ¡± Now that he thought about it, the ruins that they were in were buildings used by civilians, so it did make sense that there wouldn¡¯t be any traps or guardians . If they were research facilities or held treasures, it would be a whole different story, but it also made sense that compared to the whole kingdom, there would only be a handful of them . ¡°Then first we have to find out what kind of ruin this is . ¡± ¡°Yes, exactly . ¡± ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a dangerous one . ¡± After checking if Lapis was firmly settled on his back, Loren started walking slowly . It wasn¡¯t like he had any place in mind . Although the area they came out to was large and had a high ceiling, Loren thought they were in some kind of room, but after observing his surroundings, he found out that they were in a middle of some sort of corridor . He thought that if he followed it, they would be bound to end up somewhere . It meant walking around carelessly in a ruin with possible dangers, but Loren thought it would be better than going back into a cave full of goblins . ¡°I¡¯ll put my guard up . Can I count on you to keep watch as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to detect traps or anything with magic, so I¡¯ll be counting on you if enemies pop up . ¡± She gave the grasp of the great sword on Loren¡¯s back a light tap . In the hands of Loren, it was a weapon of great force because of its ridiculous weight, but at the same time it was a sword made of ordinary iron . It was effective for cutting and smashing things, but was useless against spiritual or magical things . It was more than enough in battle, but in a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, it seemed quite lackluster . ¡°If it comes down to the worst, we may have to think about going through the goblins¡¯ nest . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯d like to avoid . ¡± Although Loren had slain the goblin mage, there was no way to know if that was the only one . Plus, Lapis had seen a few goblins with larger bodies among the ones that flanked them . She guessed that they were hobgoblins, another type of high ranked goblin . If one asked her if Loren could fight through them on his own, lapis would have to tilt her head . Also with herself not being able to move at all, she understood that she was completely dead weight to Loren . ¡°The best thing would be getting out of here without running into anything . ¡± ¡°Based on my daily deeds, I don¡¯t think things will go too smooth for me . ¡± ¡°Same here . I don¡¯t really believe in gods, so it wouldn¡¯t be right to pray to one either . ¡± Loren let out a troubled laugh as he thought that it was probably way worse for him than Lapis when it came to daily deeds . He suddenly stopped and reached over his right shoulder to his great sword . It was a movement that signaled he was about to draw his weapon, so Lapis tensed, bracing for when Loren would shake her off . Loren didn¡¯t go as far to draw his sword yet, and instead lowered his waist, readying himself to be able to move anytime . ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Quiet . Something¡¯s coming . ¡± The corridor in front of them turned into a corner . Although Lapis was clueless about it, Loren sensed something coming towards them and stopped . If it were a street corner in a city it wouldn¡¯t be dangerous at all, but in an ancient ruin there was very low chance of it not being dangerous . ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we run¡­?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be lucky if it lets us . ¡± There was the choice of running back the way they came immediately . But Loren wanted to gather as much information as he could about the ruins . If he could see what was coming, he was bound to get some sort of information, so he decided he would choose to stay or run after he saw what was coming . Lapis, who was on his back, understood what he was trying to do . ¡°I can still use enough magic to keep it busy for a bit . Just tell me when . ¡± As Lapis whispered into Loren¡¯s ear and he nodded back to her, whatever that was coming towards them was right around the corner . What came around the corner saw Loren, who had tensed his legs and was ready to make a move, and spoke up . ¡°There¡¯s a scary looking brother here with a sister on his back . ¡± * ¡°What!? Why the heck is something like that in these ruins? Is it an illusion or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault they¡¯re there! If it was an illusion wouldn¡¯t it be showing us something better?¡± ¡°They¡¯re humans, I think . They have heat, at least . ¡± ¡°Kinds of a harsh place to be lost in . ¡± What came from across the corner was a group of armed individuals, most likely a group of adventurers . On their chests were silver identification tags . Chapter 12 Chapter 12 ¡°So, you guys were running from goblins and managed to find your way in here? Unfortunate for you, big guy . ¡± The man dressed like a thief laughed out loud as Loren finished explaining what happened to them, with Lapis still on his back . He looked older than Loren and had a stubble beard . He combed his fingers through his short, brown, unkempt hair and continued to laugh loudly . ¡°Their party got wiped out but they survived, you know? I would say that that¡¯s the thing farthest from being unlucky . ¡± The man who scolded the thief was a warrior as well as the leader of the party, and he introduced himself as Ritz . His equipment was orthodox for a warrior, with leather armor reinforced with iron plates as well as a buckler and a long sword . All of them seemed old, but they were well kept and he had the air of a veteran around him . The thief that Ritz scolded snorted and looked away, but the woman, dressed like a hunter with a bow in hand, pulled on his ear and swung his head back . ¡°Jack, bad att . i . tude . ¡± ¡°Ow, that hurts Nim! Stop pulling! What¡¯re you going to do if it comes off!?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need ears if you¡¯re not going to listen . ¡± The female hunter glared at the thief named Jack . The woman, her blue eyes now half open, had stunning blonde hair and from between her hair were her ears, long and pointed like the blades of short daggers . Although Loren had heard of them before, it was the first time meeting one in person, so his eyes automatically focused on her ears . ¡°Is this the first time you¡¯ve seen an elf?¡± The old man dressed like a magician noticed him staring, and asked him . He had his white hair pulled back and knotted, and carried a straight black staff in hand, wore a gray robe, and introduced himself as Quartz . All four of them were silver rank adventurers . Compared to Loren, who just became a copper rank adventurer, they were two ranks above him, with the iron rank separating them . It wouldn¡¯t be wrong if he called them veterans . ¡°Ah, sorry about that . It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve met one in person . That was impolite of me . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t mean to stare, but the others might¡¯ve found his gaze uncomfortable, so he started to apologize, but Quartz waved it off . ¡°I don¡¯t blame you . She¡¯s quite the beauty, after all . ¡± ¡°Quartz, if you want to keep your eyes, shut up . ¡± The elf named Nim warned Quartz coldly, who was still laughing . Loren thought she was joking, but when she used her free hand to pull out a dagger from her belt, he took a step back, with a frightened expression . ¡°I¡¯m not going to be here much longer, but I don¡¯t want to lose my eyes . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll forgive you with one of them . ¡± ¡°Hey, stop messing around in front of them . You¡¯re making them feel awkward . ¡± Ritz silenced Quartz, who was acting scared, and Nim, who looked quite serious, and turned to Loren . ¡°I¡¯d take you guys to the entrance if I could, but we¡¯re in the middle of a quest here . We don¡¯t have the time . We¡¯re competing with another party right now . ¡± ¡°Expedition of the ruins near the Village of Ain . Heard of it?¡± Hearing Nim¡¯s flat toned voice, Loren recalled a conversation he had with Sarfe and the others . He remembered that Naron had talked about taking a better quest near Ain, and guessed that they were in the newly discovered ruins . ¡°We don¡¯t know how dangerous these ruins are, but unexplored ruins usually make good money so we accepted the quest, but we got some compet . i . tion . ¡± Jack spat, annoyed . Quartz continued where he left off . ¡°We¡¯re currently competing with the other party . The rewards of the quest will differ based on what kind of information we bring back, so we¡¯re in a hurry . ¡± What they were trying to say was, they couldn¡¯t help . But Loren understood and agreed to what they said . Within mercenaries, people with a credible endeavor, who helped others for free, didn¡¯t exist . Loren thought that it would be the same for adventurers . If they were going to pay a price, depending on how tall the stack of coins would get, they might help, but Loren didn¡¯t have that sort of money . ¡°I know . I have no intention of getting in the way . If you can just point towards the exit, we¡¯ll take it from there . ¡± Since he had Lapis on his back, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have them lead him to the exit . But he couldn¡¯t ask them to help no matter what because they had their own job to complete . It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a chance at getting out . If Ritz could tell him the direction of the exit, he would have a general idea of where to head towards, and if he followed the paths that Ritz and his party came through, it would be quite safe because they would have had to cleared out traps and monsters on the way here . ¡°About that¡­¡± Ritz responded hesitantly to Loren¡¯s words . Loren thought gloomily that maybe he was trying to make them pay for the information, but remembered that not many things were free in this world . If it came to that, he was ready to ask Lapis for some money . However, Ritz¡¯s words were something beyond what Loren expected to hear . ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t know either . ¡± ¡°Unfortunate . ¡± Loren unconsciously responded in that manner . In his mind, he was unsure of how Ritz and his party came all the way here, but didn¡¯t know the way back . If they were copper rank, he could guess that they didn¡¯t map the ruins as they came or just completely forgot, but they were silver rank adventurers . Even Loren, who still wasn¡¯t too familiar with adventurers, was confused how they came to explore new ruins but don¡¯t know the way out . ¡°No, it¡¯s not what you think . It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t map as we came or just forgot . ¡± What Loren was thinking must have been written on his gaze . Ritz nervously started to explain . Loren was uncomfortable at the fact that he looked at Ritz with such eyes, but it turns out that Ritz wasn¡¯t facing him directly, but more towards his shoulder . ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°Sorry . It must have been in my eyes . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can¡¯t move because you¡¯re scared, but that definitely wasn¡¯t the kind of gaze from a person being carried by someone else . ¡± Lapis sensed the irony in his words, and retreated on Loren¡¯s back . Wondering what would happen if they knew what Lapis really was, Loren questioned Ritz . ¡°So what¡¯s the reason why you guys don¡¯t know the way back?¡± ¡°We fell down . It was a pitfall . Jack here failed to uncover a trap . ¡± Ritz glared at Jack, who was trying to hide behind Quartz, but Nim kicked him down . Loren felt sorry for Jack, as Nim started stomping him, but asked Ritz to continue . ¡°We were lucky there wasn¡¯t poison or spikes at the bottom, but we fell down a whole floor . It was too high to climb back up so we were looking for a way out¡­¡± Loren looked up at the ceiling . It was high enough for him to swing his great sword around with no problem . It was definitely too high for any of them to reach . ¡°If someone was still up there, we could¡¯ve pulled each other out, but all of us fell down together . ¡± ¡°Jack, I won¡¯t forget you landed on top of me . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much different than falling on the floor, anyway . ¡± At Jack¡¯s words, Nim realized that everyone¡¯s gazes were focused on a certain part of her body, and readied her bow with a fearsome glare . ¡°If you have any last words, I¡¯ll listen . ¡± Looking at that part, Loren could see what Jack was trying to say, but he forced himself with all his might not to show it on his face, because he didn¡¯t want to die yet . Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be able to do the same, as he felt her silently press her face onto his back . She must have not been able to keep in her laughter, as Loren felt her shake slightly on his back . Lapis¡¯ on the other hand, were large enough to be self-a . s . sertive, and even if he compared them modestly, Nim didn¡¯t stand a chance . ¡°In any case, Jack dies . ¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything wrong!¡± ¡°Well, there you have it . ¡± Ritz turned to Loren, trying to face away from Nim, who started chasing Jack with her bow ready to fire, and said with an exhausted voice . ¡°As much as I would like to tell you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the exit even if I did . ¡± ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± Even silver adventurers were p . r . o . ne to get caught on traps sometimes . Rather than that, Loren was more surprised that none of them, even Nim, who Jack fell on top of, didn¡¯t seem have any injuries after such a fall . ¡°Some of us were hurt pretty badly, you know? But we made do with the potions that we brought . And that¡¯s where I¡¯d like to talk to you guys about something . ¡± ¡°If you mean divine arts, I can use one more time . ¡± Before Ritz could even start explaining the details, Lapis raised her head from Loren¡¯s back and cut into the conversation . Loren didn¡¯t know what she was talking about and Ritz was surprised that Lapis saw right through him, but quickly calmed down . ¡°Once, huh¡­¡± ¡°I can guarantee that it works better than potions . If you can give me some time, I¡¯ll probably be able to use it once more . ¡± Loren glanced at Lapis, confused . Lapis realized what he was trying to say and whispered into his ear . ¡°They want me to go with them to make up for their lack of potions, probably . ¡± The potions that adventurers carried around healed injuries when used, but they weren¡¯t that effective and the effects were not instant, either . Compared to that, had instant effects and had higher healing capabilities than potions . ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean they¡¯ll just get rid of me and then take you?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t move, so they¡¯ll probably need someone to carry me, right?¡± If they were going to use Lapis as a medicine box, they didn¡¯t need Loren . Although Loren started to feel danger, Lapis had thought this through already . ¡°If they use a person from their party to carry me, it would decrease their numbers in a fight . If Loren were to carry me and also protect himself to some extent, they would all be able to fight . Even if they were to leave us behind, it wouldn¡¯t leave as bad of an aftertaste, either . ¡± ¡°Do I look that inhuman to you guys?¡± Though Loren and Lapis had tried their best to keep their voices down, their whole conversation was heard by Ritz, who asked them with a disappointed face . Loren and Lapis looked at each other and replied at the same time . ¡°Quite a bit?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t deny that I look pretty rough, but still¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry . If anyone says take the girl and kill the guy, we kill him on the spot . ¡± The rest of the party let out a nervous laugh as Nim continued to say dangerous things . It seemed that this was the usual for this party, and Ritz gave Loren, who was laughing nervously, his suggestion . ¡°Sorry, but our conditions are having the young lady use her divine arts on our orders . If you can accept this, I¡¯ll let you guys stick with us until we find a way out of these ruins . How does it sound?¡± ¡°We accept . Please take good care of us . ¡± Before Loren could say anything, Lapis accepted Ritz¡¯s suggestion . Ritz looked at Loren, asking if he was okay with her decision . But Loren thought that it was fair for Lapis to choose, as she was the subject of the conditions, and wasn¡¯t going to say otherwise . ¡°Well then, negotiations are complete . Guess we¡¯ll be taking care of each other until we get out . ¡± Ritz then held out his left hand . Loren glanced at Ritz¡¯s hand and with a smile on his face, trying to look likable, grabbed it with his left hand and shook . Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Now their total number was six . If they counted people who could walk on their feet, it would be five, but in any case, the group started moving, led by Ritz and Jack . Quartz the magician was in the middle, and Nim the hunter, as well as Loren, still carrying Lapis, was in the back . But since Loren had his hands full, he was worried that the back line was weak . ¡°It¡¯s okay, trust me . ¡± Nim, who was walking beside Loren, patted Loren¡¯s shoulder to help him relax . The shoulder she lightly touched was covered with medicine and wrapped in bandages . Loren had left his shoulder, burnt from the goblin mage¡¯s magic, unattended because he was too focused on getting away from the goblins . Ritz saw the injury, and although they didn¡¯t have any potions, they helped disinfect the wound, put burn medicine, and wrap bandages around his shoulder . Although it was much better now, it still stung when touched . While he steeled his face, trying not to let the pain show, Lapis, who was on Loren¡¯s back, whispered into his ear . ¡°If it becomes unbearable, please tell me . ¡± Lapis was supposed to be able to use divine arts two times a day . But she told Ritz she had one use left . Mana used to cast magic and the power to use divine arts were totally different, so divine arts had nothing to do with Lapis trying to regain control of her limbs . She didn¡¯t tell Ritz about the extra use and decided to save it . Loren guessed it meant that she wanted to use the last one for his injuries because he had taken her with him . ¡°I¡¯m fine . They treated it, anyways . ¡± To be honest, Loren wasn¡¯t comfortable with lying when making deals with others . Although it depended on the opponent, Loren believed that when it came to making deals, both sides should be honest and straightforward with each other . But Loren decided that Lapis¡¯ choice wasn¡¯t the worst either, because he wasn¡¯t sure if he could trust Ritz and his party completely . ¡°But still, this is one weird ruin . ¡± Jack, who was walking up front, muttered while looking around their surroundings . Loren, who wanted more information, wasn¡¯t about to miss a thought from a veteran adventurer, so he p . r . i . c . ked his ears to what Jack was saying . ¡°Since they said it was unexplored, you would expect enemies to be things that aren¡¯t living, like golems or undead, right?¡± Jack turned around slightly and glanced at Loren . Loren had a vague feeling that Jack wanted him to respond, but he didn¡¯t have much experience to give Jack his opinion . His very first quest was exterminating goblins, and he¡¯d never stepped foot inside a ruin before, either . Loren was wondering how he should respond, but Jack, who apparently wasn¡¯t expecting an answer, continued . ¡°But nothing of the sort is coming out in these ruins . ¡± ¡°Are you saying that there¡¯s no enemies? Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure how long these ruins had remained undiscovered, but if it was from the time of the Ancient Kingdom, it would be a few hundred years for sure . It wasn¡¯t an amount of time a person could survive, and without any contact from outside, as Jack had just said, it would make sense that only golems or undead could exist here . Since those weren¡¯t coming out, Loren thought that there might not be any enemies, but apparently reality differed, as Jack showed a frown as he turned his head back ahead of them . ¡°About that . I¡¯m not sure why, but the only enemies we encountered so far are goblins . ¡± ¡°Goblins in Ancient Kingdom ruins? Did they get in from outside?¡± Goblins were tough creatures . They would crawl into anywhere if it meant getting out of wind and rain, and would start reproducing there, and before long, would increase in numbers rapidly . They could live almost anywhere, and in worst cases, they would even live in sewer systems under large cities . Of course, even if it was Ancient Kingdom ruins, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they started multiplying in it, and Loren thought maybe that was the case, but Jack shook his head, still facing ahead . ¡°Well . Apparently, the entrance to these ruins were sealed when it was found . It means that no one could¡¯ve come in from the entrance . The guy that found it hired a few magicians and unsealed the entrance . ¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still a chance there might be more cracks like the one we came through¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . Since we b . u . mped into you guys, the chance that there are holes all over these ruins and the goblins came from those holes . ¡± ¡°But there¡¯s still things that can¡¯t be explained just by that . ¡± Quartz, who was listening to Jack and Loren¡¯s conversation, joined in . ¡°If the goblins came from outside and multiplied in here, it would mean there are no guardians in these ruins at all . ¡± ¡°Maybe they died over the long period of time?¡± ¡°Then there would be some sort of remains of them . If they were all ghosts or undead, it would be a different story, but that itself would make these ruins quite the particular one . ¡± Undead monsters don¡¯t make good guardians in general . Quartz explained that because undead were originally human, it was difficult to give them orders . What was usually done was either have a large number of them that could only follow simple orders, or the master of the ruins itself was an undead and had its own army . Quartz thought that it was hard to believe that they would disappear without a trace, and it would be weird that they didn¡¯t find any sort of trace of them if they did exist at one point . ¡°Personally, I¡¯d prefer the theory of the goblins coming in from outside . ¡± Ritz spoke up . He had a reason for hoping the goblins came from outside . The goblins Ritz and the others had encountered were before they fell into the pit, which meant they were above the floor that they were in right now . If the crack Loren had come through was where the goblins came from as well, it meant that they found a way to climb up to the upper levels, and if they could climb up, they would also find a way out of there . ¡°Of course, it¡¯s possible that there are cracks everywhere and goblins came through all of them . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s something I don¡¯t want to think about . ¡± If that were true, it meant that there would be packs of goblins all over the place . To silver ranks like Ritz, it may not seem like much, but to Loren, who just witnessed a whole party getting destroyed by them, it wasn¡¯t something he would like to encounter again . ¡°Oh, more goblins from the front . ¡± In a straight corridor with nothing between them and the goblins, Ritz let out a warning . As soon as Loren heard him, he tried to let Lapis down but Nim stopped him . ¡°It¡¯s nothing . Loren just watch behind us . ¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± He could check if there were any enemies coming from behind without using his arms . While Loren looked back to see if there were enemies, Nim quickly notched an arrow on her bow and without taking time to aim, she fired the arrow with ease . The arrow flew over the heads of their front line, and lodged in the eye of the goblin in front, instantly killing it . ¡°There¡¯s not many . Seven of them . ¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t need back up with magic, right?¡± ¡°Nah . It¡¯ll be over in a flash . ¡± After nodding at Quartz, Ritz readied his sword and shield and rushed into the goblins . He bashed one with his shield, and with a swing of his sword, the head of another spun in the air . Ritz then quickly went to the goblin he had knocked down and cut its head off . Meanwhile another arrow from Nim struck another goblin, and before the goblins could even react, all seven of them were dead . ¡°That was pretty clean . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to be proud of . We¡¯re silver rank, remember?¡± Loren, slightly impressed at the quick fight, called out to Ritz, but Ritz responded flatly . While Loren thought that watching how Sarfe did things made him see simple battles way better than they actually were, Ritz continued . ¡°If four silver ranks had trouble with seven goblins, we wouldn¡¯t be able to go on for long . ¡± Now that he mentioned it, Ritz and the others were indeed high ranked adventurers . Loren apologized honestly, thinking that he may have offended them . ¡°Sorry about that . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good . Should be a good learning opportunity for copper ranks like you . ¡± At the same time, Ritz was going around the goblins corpses, which were decapitated or had arrows sticking out of them, and started cutting off an ear from each of them . While Loren was watching him, wondering what he was doing, Ritz finished cutting off seven ears and put them in a small sack, and then handed it to Loren . For a second Loren thought it was trash, but he decided that it meant something, and looked at Ritz, who averted his eyes and talked quickly . ¡°Your quest was exterminating goblins, right? You may have failed to get rid of the nest, but you¡¯ll still get rewarded for killing some . To us, it¡¯ll only be a bunch of change, but you guys need the money, right?¡± Loren made sure to take note that the ear was the proof of hunting for goblins . * ¡°You sure?¡± Loren didn¡¯t know how much a goblin was worth, but giving them the proof of hunting meant the same thing as giving them money . ¡°If you don¡¯t want it just toss it wherever . A goblin is only worth five copper coins, so there¡¯s no need for us to take it either . ¡± ¡°You should take it . ¡± Nim added . ¡°Unusual for Ritz to let go of money . We can tell other adventurers about this . ¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just trying to look out for my juniors . ¡± ** ¡°I¡¯m surprised . It¡¯s going to rain spears tomorrow . ¡± Nim, who had kept a straight face until now, looked very surprised, and Ritz, who apparently did something that was very unlike him, tossed the sack at Loren and started to argue with Nim . ¡°Let¡¯s keep it . They¡¯re giving it to us, anyway . ¡± Lapis recommended Loren, as he caught the sack without thinking and hung it from his waist . Chapter 14 Chapter 14 They didn¡¯t run into any problems while exploring . As Ritz said earlier, the only monsters they encountered were goblins, and they were quickly taken care by him and his party . The goblins¡¯ corpses were laying strewn along the ground, with one ear missing . Loren was worried that they would become undead, but there was no way for them to bury them inside the ruins, and if they were to burn them, the smoke would fill up the corridor . They had no choice but to leave them as is . ¡°Even if they do become undead, they¡¯re only goblins so it shouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal . ¡± Although Ritz answered Loren¡¯s worries, Loren did not want to meet ghosts or undead goblins . Putting that aside, thanks to all the goblins that showed up, the sack on Loren¡¯s waist was now full . It wasn¡¯t much at first, but as the number of ears increased, the goblins¡¯ blood started seeping into the sack, and started giving off an awful stench . As much as Loren wanted to throw it away, he couldn¡¯t, because it was given to him by Ritz and his party . He couldn¡¯t handle it roughly either, because it could be traded in for money . Loren wondered if no one else was bothered by the smell, so he looked around, but no one seemed bothered by it except for Lapis . She was grimacing, and because she was trying not to breathe through her nose, Loren could hear her heavy breathing . ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m getting aroused or anything . ¡± ¡°I know . You don¡¯t have to tell me . ¡± Even if she didn¡¯t say it, there was no way Lapis could be in the mood, anyway . Nim, who was watching the two of them with a smile, suddenly became serious and let out a warning so everyone could hear . ¡°Wait . Something¡¯s wrong . ¡± Ritz and his party responded instantly . Ritz, the warrior, raised his shield, and Jack, the thief, scanned their surroundings . Quartz, the magician, raised his staff and looked around . ¡°Nim, what is it?¡± ¡°The smell of the air changed . I smell blood other than goblin¡¯s blood in the air . ¡± At Nim¡¯s words, Loren sniffed but the only thing he could smell was the goblin¡¯s blood coming from the sack, and couldn¡¯t smell what Nim was talking about . Loren was surprised that Nim was able to detect a different smell, despite being right next to him with goblin stench covering up all the other smells in the area . ¡°Blood smells like iron, but is there really a difference between the smell of human blood and goblin blood?¡± Lapis asked Loren with an unamused voice, but there was no way that Loren knew the answer to that . ¡°I won¡¯t tell you guys to stop talking, but from here on out we should be careful . When it comes to sight and hearing, Nim¡¯s is the sharpest . ¡± ¡°Her figure is sharp too¡­Oww!?¡± Jack, who said one thing too many, received a kick on the back from Nim . Although Jack had the larger body and looked stronger than Nim, she must have put in quite a bit of strength into that kick, as Jack fell face first onto the ground . ¡°Stop messing around¡­I just said we need to be careful . ¡± ¡°Come on, it¡¯s getting too serious here . If we don¡¯t relax it¡¯s not good for our mentalities . ¡± Jack laughed and rubbed his back as he stood up, looking around the area, while Ritz just looked at him, exasperated . ¡°From what I can see, there¡¯s nothing like what Nim said around here . Which means it¡¯s a bit ahead from here . ¡± ¡°Whatever . Let¡¯s go . ¡± Ritz, who decided that it was a waste of time trying to deal with Jack, gave the order, frustrated that he wasn¡¯t apologetic at all, Although they would slow down, everyone agreed that it was better than becoming like what Nim sensed, or fighting with whatever caused it without preparation . ¡°The young lady can¡¯t move yet?¡± While moving slowly through the corridor, Ritz asked Loren . Loren looked behind at Lapis, who tried raising her arms up and down, and shook her head . ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s going to take a bit more time . ¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t able to stand? Your arms should be fine . ¡± ¡°I know this is embarra . s . sing, but my whole body seems to have frozen from all the fear and tension¡­¡± Ritz let out a bored expression at Lapis¡¯ excuses, but then said to Loren . ¡°I don¡¯t know where you found her, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for both of you if you took her back to her church?¡± ¡°That¡¯s something for her to decide . I can¡¯t really say anything about it . ¡± Loren thought that they weren¡¯t close enough for him to say anything about what she should do, but didn¡¯t feel like explaining that to Ritz . He knew that he didn¡¯t have a way with words, and there was a chance that he would say something that he didn¡¯t need to . Loren didn¡¯t have any thoughts about Lapis¡¯ true colors, but most people didn¡¯t think the same way he did, and he wasn¡¯t sure how Ritz and the others would react if they found out . So Loren decided that there was a need for them to keep it a secret, and if he was going to do that, he shouldn¡¯t talk much . ¡°Hey, look at that . ¡± While Loren was thinking such thoughts, Jack, who was looking around, raised his voice . Loren stopped thinking and looked toward the direction Jack was pointing, and what caught his eyes was something on the ground a distance ahead of them . Loren wasn¡¯t sure what it was at first . It was a distance where he could just make out that there was something on the ground, but maybe because her job was a hunter, or maybe because it was because she was and elf, Nim was able to make out what it was, and muttered under her breath, trying to keep something in . ¡°Armor¡­b . l . o . o . d . y . ¡± Even after finding out what it was, Ritz and the party didn¡¯t cease to be cautious . As much as they wanted to rush in and examine it, they were careful to look for traps or whatever left the b . l . o . o . d . y armor on the ground, and after taking a good amount of time to make sure there were no dangers, they walked closer to the thing lying on the ground . ¡°It¡¯s armor all right . Leather armor . But this doesn¡¯t tell us anything . ¡± Ritz went close and leaned over to look at it more closely, but soon gave up trying to gain any sort of information . As Nime said, it was leather armor covered in blood, but it in such a shape that they could barely recognize that it used to be armor, and there was nothing that let them know who¡¯s it was . ¡°One thing¡¯s for certain . The wearer is definitely dead . ¡± Even Loren could tell that the amount of blood was from a fatal wound, and there was blood all over the floor as well . If all that blood was from one person, there was no way he would be alive . ¡°The only people who came other than us was the party we¡¯re competing against, but maybe they fell down here too?¡± ¡°Was there anyone who was wearing leather armor in their party?¡± At Quartz¡¯s words, Ritz and Jack both crossed their arms and started thinking deeply . Nim, who was standing next to Loren, who thought that they must have forgot who was in the other party, spoke up with a cold glare at the men, who still couldn¡¯t remember . ¡°Ritz and Jack are too careless . Quartz is going senile . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not senile!¡± ¡°Then hurry up and remember . Who had leather armor in the other party?¡± ¡°Ugh¡± Quartz let out a small groan, but it wasn¡¯t easy trying to recall something he had already forgotten . ¡°Just give up and accept the fact you¡¯re going senile . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not senile, I¡¯m not . I¡¯ll remember soon enough . ¡± Quartz started gritting his teeth and tried to remember as hard as he could . Around him, Ritz and Jack were growling, not able to remember at all either . Nim ignored all of them and told Loren . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Me? Not your party?¡± ¡°We should let them think for a bit . They might remember eventually . ¡± Nim, who completely cut off the other three, gave the information to Loren, who was thinking if it was okay for her to do that to her party . ¡°If the armor was from someone in the competing party, the person wearing it was a thief . ¡± ¡°Looks like it . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem . I want your opinion on the next thing . ¡± Magicians usually didn¡¯t wear armor, but instead wore robes made of cloth, and priests wore equipment made of cloth as well, and sometimes wore chain mail under it . When it came to defense as well as being able to move quickly, it was usually equipment for thieves or warriors, but the leather armor didn¡¯t have any reinforcements to make it st . u . r . dier and was quite light . Based on this, Loren could tell that it belonged to a thief even without having seen the other party . But that wasn¡¯t what Nim was worried about . ¡°If we¡¯re to continue with the theory that it¡¯s one of the members from the other party . Their thief was a woman . ¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure what that signified, but Lapis, who was listening on his back, seemed to find something wrong . ¡°From what I saw, the only monsters that came out in these ruins are goblins . ¡± ¡°What about that?¡± ¡°Goblins don¡¯t usually kill women . It¡¯s because they can use them for other things . But if the wearer of this armor was a woman, it means she was killed . That¡¯s what¡¯s strange . ¡± Loren looked again at the remains of the armor on the ground . In its current state, it was hard to tell if it was armor made for a woman . But if it was like Nim said and the wearer was a woman, it was weird that she was killed on the spot, as Lapis just said . ¡°It¡¯s not like something hit her and killed her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not impossible . But there¡¯s too much blood . ¡± Loren agreed with Nim . Even if something like an arrow had killed her, it was hard to think that goblins¡¯ weapons could make a wound that caused so much bleeding . ¡°There¡¯s too much blood . It¡¯s likely that she was taken apart on the spot . ¡± ¡°That would be unusual for goblins . If their prey was alive, they would prioritize their entertainment and take it to their nest . ¡± ¡°Then I guess there might be something other than goblins here . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s what it comes down to . ¡± After being silent for a moment to collect her thoughts, Nim asked Loren . ¡°The crack where we met you two . Do you remember the way back?¡± ¡°Yeah . It was mostly a straight tunnel, anyway . ¡± ¡°Okay . Ritz . ¡± Ritz stopped thinking and turned toward Nim . After waiting for him to completely turn his attention to them, Nim suggested to Ritz . ¡°Something¡¯s weird . We should go out and restart . ¡± ¡°Wait a second . I feel that something¡¯s wrong as well, but we don¡¯t know for sure if these remains are from the other party . We need a clear reason to retreat . ¡± ¡°It won¡¯t look well if we say we came back because we found b . l . o . o . d . y armor . It¡¯s a different story if we found their identification tags, though . ¡± Nim scanned the area with her eyes, but there was nothing of the sort laying on the ground . ¡°We can be extra cautious, but retreating is out of the question . It¡¯ll effect our jobs in the future . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if that¡¯s what Ritz decides, but¡­¡± ¡°I know . We¡¯ll head back if we find things like tags . ¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s fine . ¡± Nim stopped being persistent as Ritz presented the conditions for retreat . Loren, who had no choice but to follow Ritz regardless of whether he agreed with his decision, stayed silent and nodded . Chapter 15 Chapter 15 There is a saying that misfortunes never come singly, but that didn¡¯t seem to happen to Loren this time . After a while pa . s . sed since Loren and the others had found the remains of the armor, Lapis tapped Loren on his shoulder . Of course, she tapped the shoulder that wasn¡¯t injured, and Loren realized that she was able to move her limbs again . ¡°You alright now?¡± ¡°Yes . Sorry about all the trouble . ¡± Loren made sure to check with her before he softly let Lapis down from his back . Lapis stomped her feet a few times and stretched out her arms over her head, then nodded . ¡°Did you unfreeze, young lady?¡± Ritz said to Lapis with a smile, without any sort of sarcasm in his voice, and Lapis didn¡¯t detect any either . ¡°Yes . Riding on Loren¡¯s back was so comfortable, so I wanted to stay a bit longer, but I would be in the way, so . ¡± ¡°Are you guys in that sort of relationship, by any chance?¡± Loren was immediately about to say no, but Lapis covered his mouth with her left hand . Loren was surprised at her actions, but was even more surprised at what came out of Lapis¡¯ mouth . ¡°Yes, we are . ¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s something that can¡¯t be overlooked . You managed to catch quite the jewel there, brother . ¡± Jack sounded very happy for some reason . As Jack was about to cheer them on, Nim calmly landed a kick from behind . ¡°If you want to draw attention, do it alone . ¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to get killed by you before monsters ever get the chance to¡­¡± ¡°I think so too . ¡± Quartz agreed with Jack, who was lying face first on the ground, groaning . Although it looked like Nim didn¡¯t go easy on him, it seemed like it didn¡¯t do much damage, as Jack quickly got up and stroked his back . ¡°This means that you can fight now, right?¡± Loren nodded at Ritz . It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t partic . i . p . ate in fights until now, but it was awkward to do so, because he would have had to let down Lapis first . If it were an emergency, Loren was going to drop her, but he did feel some guilt to dropping a girl from his back . ¡°Then I count on you to keep watch behind us . Young lady, you can support him . ¡± ¡°You can count on us . ¡± Now that they were a six-man party, Ritz and Jack were in the front line, and Nim and Quartz were in the middle . Now with Loren and Lapis in the back line, they continued on their way down the corridor . ¡°Loren, this is quite the rare experience we¡¯re having right now . We¡¯re helping investigate Ancient Kingdom ruins, and even better yet, it¡¯s an unexplored one . It¡¯s a job that copper ranks never get to do . ¡± Just when he thought Lapis was finally able to walk by herself, she kept talking to him with a small voice, sounding very excited . The party that was competing with Ritz¡¯s party . In a situation where a silver rank party may have suffered extreme losses and where there shouldn¡¯t be anything to be optimistic about, her happy expression and excited atmosphere didn¡¯t match . Loren thought that maybe this was one of the personalities of demon kind that other species hated, and nudged Lapis, who was looking around here and there next to him, with his elbow . ¡°You do realize the situation we¡¯re in, right?¡± Loren asked Lapis in the softest voice he could . Lapis looked back at him, puzzled for a second, then after a moment, suddenly clung onto Loren¡¯s left arm and said with a quiver in her voice . ¡°Loren, I¡¯m scared . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s way too forced . ¡± To Loren¡¯s luck, Ritz and the others, who had completely left the back to the two of them, didn¡¯t notice them talking quietly . Loren wondered what to do with Lapis¡¯ excitement, but he couldn¡¯t think of a way to act in the situation they were currently in . It was a bother if she did a poor job of acting frightened, but her current state of looking excited and interested with no trace of being scared didn¡¯t seem right either . ¡°I got that you¡¯re intrigued and all, but keep it down a bit . Alright?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, I guess . ¡± Lapis looked like she wasn¡¯t convinced, but she let go of Loren¡¯s arm and nodded . ¡°By the way, what is the goal we are trying to accomplish?¡± ¡°Investigating the ruins is the main objective, but we¡¯re also investigating what happened to the other party . Not sure what we should prioritize . ¡± Lapis nodded at Nim¡¯s upright response, then continued . ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I recommend that we return to the pit fall where everyone fell down . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear why, young lady . ¡± Ritz asked Lapis, who suddenly suggested, for an explanation . Lapis started to explain her suggestion to everyone like it was nothing . ¡°The pit fall that everyone fell through was most likely a trap for intruders . ¡± ¡°Of course, it was . ¡± Jack wondered why she was pointing out the obvious, but Lapis just continued . ¡°Since the trap wasn¡¯t set up to kill, it¡¯s likely that this whole floor was made for intruders who fell into the trap . ¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that they kept monsters loose in here and let them deal with the intruders . But why would they go through all the trouble?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but in any period and country, it didn¡¯t really matter how they treated intruders, so . ¡± Everyone made an unpleasant face at her words . She was implying that they were making use of intruders that couldn¡¯t move anymore or killed by monsters for something else . They didn¡¯t know what exactly, but everyone guessed that it was something unpleasant . ¡°Putting all sentimental thoughts aside, there is no way there¡¯s anything important on this level . So if our objective is to investigate the ruins, staying here would be meaningless . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s your reasoning for going back to the pit fall?¡± ¡°I think there is a maintenance hatch near it . Or some path to collect the people who fell here . Whatever it may be, it would lead back to the upper levels . ¡± Ritz stopped and thought about Lapis¡¯ suggestion . ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot . Even more since we don¡¯t have any other thoughts . ¡± Nim easily agreed with Lapis, but Jack seemed against it . ¡°Wait a second . There was nothing like that where we fell down . ¡± ¡°Since the trap doesn¡¯t kill instantly, I believe that the pathway to the upper level is hidden somewhere . ¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t detect anything like that . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about, so¡­¡± Nim and Quartz both nodded at Ritz¡¯s words . Lapis seemed to understand that she shouldn¡¯t agree with them and let out a troubled laugh, while Loren, who didn¡¯t want unnecessary trouble, kept a straight face and looked away from Jack . ¡°d . a . m . n it, I can¡¯t argue with that . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then . Let¡¯s go back and search the place where we fell . ¡± Since the leader made the decision, everyone in the party reacted quickly . Although they were just going back the way they came, they were able to reach it without any problems thanks to Quartz, who had made sure to map the paths they took . ¡°Is there really a way to go back up?¡± The place was right in the middle of the corridor, and other than it stretching in front and behind them, there was no sign of a hidden pa . s . sageway Lapis had talked about . They could see the hatch of the pit fall on the ceiling, but it was already closed and the ceiling was too high for any of them to reach . ¡°As much as I would like to say to shut up and search, I really don¡¯t see anything like it . ¡± ¡°I mean, we¡¯re silver adventurers . If there was a hidden pa . s . sageway we would¡¯ve found it already¡­¡± The sound of something heavy and hard moving sounded as Jack was talking . Everyone braced for whatever was coming next . Loren looked up and saw the hatch open with a pole coming down from it . Everyone, confused at what was happening, stared at Lapis, who had her hand on the wall . ¡°What did you do?¡± No one said anything, so Loren asked Lapis, who was standing next to the wall, on the behalf of everyone else . ¡°It¡¯s hard to see because of the mana material, but there is a control panel here . ¡± Loren looked closely at the part of the wall Lapis was pointing at . He couldn¡¯t believe that there was such a thing on the dimly glowing wall, but after staring at the wall for a while, he could make out pale lines etched onto it . Loren, who wasn¡¯t a magician, wasn¡¯t sure what kind of device it was, but apparently, those who were knowledgeable about these things realized that it was indeed what Lapis said it was . ¡°Isn¡¯t this something you should¡¯ve noticed old man?¡± ¡°Idiot . A thief like you should be able to notice those sorts of mechanisms . ¡± Jack and Quartz immediately started blaming each other . Meanwhile,the pole continued to descend, and when it hit the floor, handles extended from either side of it . ¡°Man, it feels like we¡¯ve been walking around for nothing . ¡± ¡°Lucky for Loren and I though . If you had returned to the upper floor, we wouldn¡¯t have run into you . ¡± ¡°I guess you guys were lucky . But still, can we even climb this?¡± The ladder wasn¡¯t thick, and it wasn¡¯t wide either . It seemed st . u . r . dy enough for the girls to climb, but looked like it would break if a warrior with full armor like Ritz tried to climb it . ¡°It¡¯s from the Ancient Kingdom . I doubt that climbing it would break it . ¡± Although that¡¯s what Lapis said, she wasn¡¯t that confident in her words . The ruins were quite old . No matter how technologically advanced the Ancient Kingdom was, there was no way it could stand against time, and it wouldn¡¯t be strange if it got weaker over time . ¡°I¡¯ll go first . ¡± Jack was the first one to volunteer . ¡°When it comes down to weight, Nim could go first as well, but I¡¯m the only one who could jump back down if there are monsters up there . ¡± ¡°Good decision . Hurry up and go . ¡± * ¡°You¡¯re saying that with a different nuance, aren¡¯t you?¡± Jack made a pathetic face for a moment at Nim¡¯s words, which sounded like she wanted him to take responsibility for not being able to find the ladder . But he grabbed onto the ladder and started climbing up with light, swift movements, as expected of a thief . Jack reached the top in no time, grabbed the edges of the hole, and pulled himself up . ¡°It¡¯s alright . Coast is clear . The ladder¡¯s st . u . r . dy, too . Come up one at a time . ¡± They could see Jack leaning over the hole, telling them to come up . The remaining members looked around at each other, trying to decide who should go next . Chapter 16 Chapter 16 ¡°Hey Lapis . Sorry to interrupt your good mood . ¡± As he watched Ritz clumsily climb up the ladder, he called Lapis, who was standing next to him with a big smile on her face, as calmly as he could . Lapis, who was in a good mood being able to explore Ancient Kingdom ruins, turned her smiling face toward Loren . ¡°Once we climb up there, wouldn¡¯t they tell us to go home?¡± Unlike Lapis, who was too excited at the rare opportunity, Loren was calm the whole time . Lapis froze at Loren¡¯s words . ¡°Ritz and the others know the way back because they fell down to this floor, right? If we go up, it means they know the way back from there . ¡± All they had to do now was see if taking them further so they could use Lapis¡¯ divine arts once, was worth it . If Loren was in their shoes, it would be easier if he told them that they were lucky to get out and to go home, even it meant not being able to use divine arts . Loren thought that veteran adventurers would come to a similar conclusion, but apparently Lapis hadn¡¯t thought that far ahead, as was still frozen on the spot . ¡°What should I do . This is unexpected . ¡± ¡°I guess you have your moments as well . ¡± ¡°I was too excited by the fact that I could explore the ruins¡­ But we really must go to the upper floor . There¡¯s really nothing down here . ¡± Loren turned his gaze from Lapis, who looked troubled, to Ritz, who was still climbing the ladder . To Loren, having Ritz tell him the way back and getting out of there wasn¡¯t a problem . To adventurers like Ritz and his party or to someone who acted out of intellectual curiosity like Lapis, the ruins might be a fun place to be, but to Loren it was just a dangerous place that he could care less about . But seeing Lapis this dispirited, he felt like he wanted to grant her wish despite the dangers he might have to face . ¡°Is there like, anything we have to offer?¡± ¡°Other than divine arts? That¡¯s a difficult question . If I told them I could use magic as well, I would look too suspicious . ¡± ¡°Anything like knowledge or skills?¡± ¡°If I can find out what kind of ruin this is, I¡¯ll have a pretty good idea of what these ruins look like . ¡± The information that Lapis just said was very useful, even to someone like Loren who didn¡¯t know anything about exploring ruins . He thought that it was more efficient if they had a basic idea of what the insides looked like than to walk around with no idea . ¡°That¡¯s impressive, but how would you know?¡± As Ritz barely managed to climb to the top, Quartz started to climb up, but because of his robe and his old age, he was even slower than Ritz . As Loren asked Lapis, he saw Nim¡¯s face become frustrated at how slow the two before her were, and at how long they were making her wait . ¡°Loren, do you know what the adventurer guild looks like inside?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but there¡¯s the floor with the front desk and a place where you can eat, right? There¡¯s also the archives and the guild master¡¯s room¡­ Something like that?¡± Loren, who hadn¡¯t been an adventurer for long, didn¡¯t know too well about the building so he told her what he saw and heard about, and Lapis nodded . ¡°The details don¡¯t matter, but buildings like the adventurer¡¯s guild look like each other no matter where it is located . Apparently, it¡¯s so that employees could adapt faster whenever they move around to different locations, but the same thing can be said for ruins as well . ¡± Loren saw Quartz, who was halfway up, miss a rung and fall back down . Since it was quite a long fall, Loren was worried that he may have hurt himself, but he immediately stood back up, rubbing his butt . But he let out a groan as Nim, who was even more frustrated now, kicked him down . Although Loren knew she wasn¡¯t being serious, and Quartz knew that as well, he couldn¡¯t help but see it as abuse, so he averted his eyes . ¡°People in the Ancient Kingdom built things functionally and efficiently, so most of the time buildings are built similarly . ¡± ¡°Any exceptions?¡± ¡°There always exceptions . Apparently, that stayed the same from ancient times, and there are weirdly built ruins every now and then . ¡± Lapis crossed her arms, annoyed . Although slightly unreliable, Loren thought that the fact that Lapis was a priest of the Knowledge god who used divine arts as well as being quite knowledgeable about ruins was good enough of a reason for Ritz to tell them they could stay . Loren concluded that if he told Ritz what Lapis just told him before Ritz tells them to go home, there was a high possibility that they could stay . As he decided that he would make the effort for Lapis, who still looked frustrated, Quartz gripped the edge of the hole and froze . ¡°This is bad!¡± As soon as he yelled, Jack jumped over Quartz and back down the hole . Ritz followed right after him, and shouted as he descended . ¡°Goblins!¡± As soon as Nim heard him, she readied her bow . At the same time Jack landed on the ground without a sound, and Ritz landed as well with a dull sound . ¡°Quartz, jump down!¡± Quartz was almost at the top, and it was twice as high than when he fell earlier . Jack and Ritz could jump down thanks to their agility and sturdiness, but Quartz saw how high up he was and hesitated . Then came the problem, the horde of goblins . The goblins¡¯ daggers and clubs scraped his head and shoulders, and he lost his grip on the edge and started falling headfirst toward the ground . Lapis feared that he might fall on a poor place and be badly injured, but by then Loren, who had been right beside her, was already on the move . Loren started climbing up the ladder at an incredible speed for someone who had a large great sword on his back, and as soon as he caught Quartz, jumped down with no problem at all . ¡°S-sorry . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have time for that right now! Run!¡± Quartz started to thank Loren as he gently put him down, but at Ritz¡¯s voice, Loren looked up to see what the problem was . As soon as he saw the goblins start dropping down the hole, he started to run . ¡°What is that!?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to know! All I know is that there¡¯s a lot of them!¡± Nim and Lapis quickly understood the situation they were in and had already started . Ritz was running in front of everyone, but Loren decided that from a party¡¯s perspective, it was natural for the leader to be in front and choose where to go, and it wasn¡¯t that Ritz was quick to run away . Loren slowed down slightly to let Nim, Lapis, and Quartz ahead of him and got the rear . Loren asked Jack, who was running beside him, what had happened upstairs, but the only thing he got from Jack was a panicked shout . Loren looked back, wondering what had made a silver adventurer like Jack make such a sound, and a small moan escaped his lips when he saw what made Jack scream . What he saw was an avalanche of goblins . He saw goblin after goblin drop down . Those who landed on the floor were crushed by the ones who came after, some of them broke their bones, and they acted as cushions for the goblins that came later . It was a sight that would make anyone want to scream . Loren couldn¡¯t see an end to it, so he discarded the thought of fighting them and focused on running . ¡°What is this!? What the hell is this!?¡± ¡°This is a ruin right!? Why are there so many goblins¡­where the hell were they hiding, anyway!?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t want to die trampled by goblins . ¡± ¡°Shut up and run . That¡¯s the only thing we can do right now . ¡± All of them kept running, complaining and rushing each other the whole time, but they had no idea where to run, and just continued to run blindly through the corridors . If they took one unlucky turn and ran into a dead end, the only end that awaited them was death from a horde of goblins . Every single one of them tried to think of a way out, but none of them could think of something that could stop a horde of goblins, and could do nothing but pray they don¡¯t run into a dead end . ¡°T-this is¡­¡± ¡°This, isn¡¯t looking too well . ¡± The first ones to start running out of stamina was Quartz, who was way older than everyone else, and Lapis, for reasons that only Loren could guess . Lapis was slowing down because her prosthetic feet had run out of mana due to all the sudden harsh movements . As the two slowed down and were about to be passed by Loren, he wrapped his arms around each of their waists, hoisted them up, and started running with both under each arm . ¡°H-hey . Are you okay . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to it . ¡± Running while carrying disabled comrades was something mercenaries did all the time, and Loren had done this many times before . Compared to sturdy mercenaries wearing full armor, an old man wearing a robe and a girl wearing priests¡¯ clothing was way less of a burden . Loren not slowing down even with the weight of his armor added to that, his strength and stamina was at a level where even Jack and Ritz were surprised by them . ¡°Sorry young one¡­I¡¯ll make sure to thank you later¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the trouble again, Loren . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine . Don¡¯t worry about me and try to use your brains . We¡¯re going to get caught eventually . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure who had more stamina, humans or goblins, but compared to them, who all had armor and equipment, the goblins, who had weapons but were lighter in general, seemed to have the upper hand . Although they couldn¡¯t lose the goblins and the goblins couldn¡¯t catch up to them either, it was only a matter of time before they would be unable to move anymore . If the goblins caught them at that moment, their sheer numbers would crush all of them . Loren continued to run behind Ritz and the others, praying that the two he was carrying would think of a solution . Chapter 17 Chapter 17 ¡°Blast them in an area with Fire Ball . ¡± ¡°Against that many? Same thing as pouring water on a hot stone . Don¡¯t recommend it . ¡± ¡°Block them using Earth Wall . ¡± ¡°Make a wall large enough to block this entire corridor? I can do it but¡­against that many it¡¯ll only give us a moment to pull ahead . ¡± After Loren told them to use their heads, Quartz and Lapis, under Loren¡¯s arms, were discussing ways to try to deal with the goblin horde . Although it seemed like a discussion, all they were doing was Lapis giving suggestions and Quartz saying it won¡¯t work, and to Loren it didn¡¯t look like they were getting anywhere . ¡°How about Fire Storm?¡± ¡°I can use it, but twice is my limit . Do you think that would do anything?¡± ¡°Most likely not . ¡± Lapis glanced behind her and replied weakly . There were so many goblins that Loren didn¡¯t even want to try and count them, and even he, who wasn¡¯t an expert in magic, could see that there were too many to get rid of using a spell once or twice . ¡°Mister Quartz, you must be quite the magician, being able to use Fire Storm . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m impressed at your deep knowledge in magic as well, Miss Lapis¡± Loren, irritated that the two started complementing each other and laughing, looked up at the ceiling . ¡°I don¡¯t mind you guys being friendly and all . But if we don¡¯t think of something quick, we¡¯re all going to be goblin food . ¡± ¡°No, I believe Nim and I would become seed beds . ¡± Although Lapis gave an unexpected return to Loren¡¯s slight joke, Quartz returned an objection to it . ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that . A woman from the other party most likely was killed and eaten . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the thought of being the mother of goblins, but being food for them sounds quite annoying as well . ¡± Loren was slightly confused at her words, which lacked a sense of danger . It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t care at all for the party, so Loren thought maybe there was a good reason for her not to feel any danger . He was about to interrogate her about it, but Nim¡¯s desperate voice caught his attention . ¡°This isn¡¯t good . I¡¯m almost¡­¡± Out of the people running on their own legs, Nim, who most likely had the least amount of stamina, started to slow down . Despite Loren¡¯s stamina and strength, there was no way he could carry another person along with the two under his arms already . Even though his back was open, anyone could see that if he carried Nim on his back it would just make him tire faster . ¡°If I carry you on my back, it¡¯ll be less of a problem . ¡± Unexpectedly, the one who said that was Jack . Loren was surprised that it wasn¡¯t Ritz, who was stronger that Jack, who said it but instead it was Jack that did . Nim¡¯s reaction to it surprised him even more . ¡°Sorry¡­I might have to count on you . ¡± ¡°Whoa, this is really bad!¡± Jack must have sensed something from Nim¡¯s modest response and panicked, but it didn¡¯t help the situation at all . ¡°It¡¯s not much of a solution, but I do have an idea . ¡± Loren decided that if no one gave an idea, even a slightly unreasonable one, they would be wiped out soon enough, so he ran up next to Ritz . Ritz turned his head towards Loren . ¡°Hey, do you remember the way back?¡± ¡°Not me¡­but Jack should remember . ¡± Loren turned to Jack for confirmation, and saw Jack nod . ¡°Then can we go back to the hatch where the goblins came down from?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t use the route we came, but we¡¯ve been going through the same corridors for a while now, so it¡¯s possible . ¡± Loren felt gloomy at the fact that they¡¯ve been going in circles a few times . It meant that they wasted time and stamina, but he knew it couldn¡¯t be helped because in their current situation, there wasn¡¯t time for them to make calm decisions or track where they were going . ¡°Then take us back to the hatch . ¡± ¡°What are you going to do there?¡± To Ritz and Jack, that hatch which rained down a lot of goblins was something they wanted to avoid, and couldn¡¯t see at all what Loren was trying to suggest . ¡°There¡¯s that many goblins that rained down from the upper floor . I¡¯m sure there aren¡¯t any more of them coming down right now . ¡± ¡°Why does that matter¡­¡± ¡°They were able to come down at once, but they won¡¯t be able to do that climbing up, right?¡± Goblins couldn¡¯t fly . That was something anyone knew, but since they couldn¡¯t, they would have to use the ladder to get back to the upper floor . When they came down, they could ignore their casualties and come down many at a time, but if they were to climb the ladder that Lapis had put down, only one or two of them could climb it at once . ¡°This way we wouldn¡¯t get crushed by their numbers . ¡± ¡°B-but think about it . They aren¡¯t that dumb . They¡¯re not going to wait for us to climb the ladder, right? If they reach us before we¡¯re all out that¡¯s the end . ¡± Ritz pointed out an obvious problem with the plan . Loren knew that based on how Ritz wasn¡¯t that good at climbing ladders, they would be swarmed by the goblins before he even had a chance to climb . ¡°We can buy time with magic . Use Fire Storm to burn the front and Earth Wall to block the ones in the back . ¡± If they tried to block all of them with a wall, it would break instantly from the goblins¡¯ momentum . So, Loren thought that they could burn the front and kill their momentum, then stop them with the wall . He didn¡¯t think that would be enough to stop them, but it would be enough to buy them some time . ¡°I see . You can count on me to do that . ¡± After hearing Loren¡¯s plan, Quartz bumped his fist on his chest, telling him that he could do it . But that wasn¡¯t enough to take Ritz¡¯s anxiousness from his face . ¡°But that¡¯s not a number that you could just stop at once . ¡± ¡°We just have to climb up before the wall breaks . Even if we don¡¯t make it in time, it¡¯s my plan . I¡¯ll take the rear . ¡± ¡°You serious? You know that that¡¯s not a number one person can handle, right?¡± ¡°I just have to deal with the ones that get past the fire and the wall . I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have to face too many at once . Just try to climb as fast as you can so that doesn¡¯t happen . ¡± Loren gave Ritz a smile, and after thinking for a moment at his words, Ritz gave the order to Jack . ¡°Jack, take us back to the hatch . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± ¡°Quartz, get ready to use the magic Loren talked about . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± ¡°When we get there, Jack, you go up first . Then help the others up . I¡¯m the leader of this party, I got the rear . ¡± Ritz, reluctant about Loren taking the rear, announced that he would be the last one up, but Loren denied it with a shake of his head . ¡°With how slow you climb the goblins are going to be all over you . There¡¯s no way we can let you take the rear . ¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°With a bit of backup, I can scale the ladder easily . I¡¯m the most suited for the job . Don¡¯t worry . ¡± While Ritz had been clumsy and slow when he climbed the ladder earlier, Loren had dashed up the ladder like it was nothing and caught Quartz . Ritz couldn¡¯t say anything more, because it was obvious with a glance who had the better chance of surviving . ¡°I may be new to the whole adventurer business, but I was a mercenary before this . I¡¯ve covered my comrades¡¯ asses so much that I¡¯m bored of it . Leave it to me . ¡± ¡°Sorry¡­I¡¯m counting on you . ¡± Ritz bowed his head slightly, and Loren nodded, telling him not to worry about it . Then Jack let out a nervous shout . ¡°We¡¯re about to reach the hatch! You¡¯d better pray that it ran out of goblins to pour down!¡± If there were still goblins coming down from the hatch, they would be pincered in by them and the ones chasing them and there would be no chance of survival . But Loren thought that it wouldn¡¯t be realistic because it would mean that the ruins contained an unimaginable number of goblins in it . That thought led Loren to think that this was the best chance they had to get out, and Jack saw the hole in the ceiling and shouted . ¡°They¡¯re not dropping down anymore!¡± ¡°Nice! Looks like luck hasn¡¯t left us yet! Start climbing!¡± Jack, who was in front, jumped onto the ladder and started climbing without even breaking momentum . Ritz, who reached it a moment later, readied his sword and shield and Nim ducked past him and followed Jack up the ladder . ¡°Old man, the spells!¡± ¡°Swirl before my eyes, o scarlet flames, rage before me . ¡± At Loren¡¯s signal, Quartz started chanting his spell . A swirling pillar of flame erupted from the ground and reached all the way up to the ceiling, burning all the goblins in the front . The flames covered up the whole corridor and killed quite a bit of goblins in its wake, and screams and shrieks erupted from the goblin ranks . ¡°Stand fast, wall of dirt . ¡± The heat coming from the flames and the shrieks and burning smell coming from the goblins . The wall burst up and completely separated them from it . ¡°Now¡¯s our chance! Climb!¡± Lapis, who Loren freed from under his arm, ran to the ladder and started climbing at a speed which matched Jack and Nim . Meanwhile Quartz, who had used two spells in a row, looked dizzy and was climbing at a slower pace than he had before . ¡°Come on, climb a bit faster will you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush him . We don¡¯t want him to fall . ¡± Loren stopped Ritz, who impatiently tried to rush Quarz . If he slipped and fell again, he would have to catch him again, and in case he couldn¡¯t, Quartz might receive injuries that could immobilize him . Putting that into consideration, it was easier if they made sure every one of them reached the top safely, even if it took some time . ¡°But the wall isn¡¯t going to last much longer . ¡± They succeeded in killing the goblins¡¯ momentum with the fire and the wall, but they were already onto breaking the wall that Quartz had set up . ¡°What¡¯s going on? I know the magic only lasted for a bit, but with the amount of flames, it should be burning hot in there . ¡± In Loren¡¯s calculations, the fire would make the walls and the floor burning hot, making it difficult for the goblins to approach the wall . Since the goblins were barefooted, their feet would burn if the approached the burnt floor . But the goblins had already rushed up to the wall and started banging on it . ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong with them . Goblins shouldn¡¯t have the pride or guts to be so persistent in chasing their prey . ¡± Ritz had his sword and shield raised, but he looked pale . The fact that these goblins were like nothing he had faced before made even a silver adventurer like him anxious . ¡°Think about that later . Right now, just think about escaping . Here, your turn to climb . ¡± Quartz, who was climbing for his life, just got pulled up by Nim and Jack . When Ritz saw that, he hesitated for a second, but immediately sheathed his sword and started climbing the ladder . But his climbing speed was far from being fast . Loren hoped that he would reach the top before the wall crumbled, but fate seemed to sneer at his wish, as a large crack appeared in the wall while Ritz hadn¡¯t even made it to the middle . ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to have to fight one . ¡± Luckily, the corridor was large enough for him to use his great sword with no problem at all . Watching the crack widen and listening to the pounding behind it, Loren reached behind him with his right hand . He grabbed the handle of his sword, removed the cloth wrapped around it, and pulled it out . He gripped the sword with both hands, his left hand above his right, and prepared himself . The wall crumbled, as it were waiting for that stance, and as soon as the burnt up goblins saw him, they roared and rushed toward Loren . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Although the goblins broke through the wall, it wasn¡¯t like the whole thing broke down . Only a portion of it broke where the goblins were coming out of, so the wall was still quite functional . Loren decided that it was still possible to buy some time . He stirred himself up and took a swift step forward and swept his great sword sideways, cutting two of the goblins in half . As he caught another one with a back swing, he realized something; the floor was too clean . After all these goblins raining down from the hatch getting slashed by his sword, there should have been quite a bit of goblin corpses around it . However, though there were bloodstains on the floor, he couldn¡¯t find any of the corpses . Loren, although not too familiar with monsters, had heard about goblins¡¯ eating habits . Loren knew that they would eat anything that they could find, but wondered if it was so bad that they would go as far as to eating the corpses of their own . But still, it was weird that there was no trace of anything left . Loren, thinking about how many weird things he has encountered this time around, continued to swing his sword with ease . The goblins¡¯ shields and weapons were meaningless against the weight and the force of the great sword it was being swung with . While crushing shields, snapping daggers, and rendering the defenseless goblins into hunks of meat, Loren, without even turning around, called up to Ritz . ¡°Are you up yet!?¡± ¡°S-sorry!¡± Loren glanced up at Ritz¡¯s anxious voice and saw that he just above the half way point . Loren decided it was going to take a while, and with a feeling close to giving up, he kicked a goblin that tried to slide under him and stabbed it . ¡°Can¡¯t you guys pull him up!?¡± Ritz was still far from the top, but Loren asked without thinking . Meanwhile more of the wall crumbled before him, allowing more goblins to flood though . Loren knew he could still fend them off, so he calmly looked at the number of goblins and the speed which the wall was being broken, and resumed swinging his sword . Loren could feel the sensation of cutting flesh and crushing bones in his arms . Taking a step back so he wouldn¡¯t trip on the dead goblins, he heard the bad news from Lapis . ¡°Loren! More goblins have appeared up here as well! Jack and Nim are fighting them, but they¡¯re slowly increasing in number!¡± ¡°Goblins again!? Why do these ruins like goblins so much!?¡± Irritated, Loren took another swing, and another corpse rolled at his feet, staining the floor with its blood . ¡°Ritz! Are you there yet!¡± ¡°Wait just a bit more!¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine but the guys up there aren¡¯t! If we take too long, we¡¯re going to be pincered from both sides!¡± ¡°I know! Damn it! I¡¯m so clumsy!¡± Loren focused on his own opponents, thinking Ritz and the others had to manage it themselves somehow . The number of goblins coming past the wall continued to increase, and Loren immediately realized that soon enough, even he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them all . He was keeping them away from the ladder, but he started feeling impatient as the goblins started to surround him . Even in such a situation, a calm part of Loren¡¯s head caught strange movements from the goblins surrounding him . Although the goblins came toward him bloodthirsty, as soon as they saw their allies¡¯ dead bodies, they dropped their weapons and started gathering the corpses, ignoring Loren completely . Loren had no idea what caused them to do that, but thanks to this weird behavior, he faced less goblins than he had first expected . None of the information in his head explained their weird behavior, but he wasn¡¯t about to ask them about it . Even though he didn¡¯t know the reason, it was an opportunity . Not thinking about the logic behind it, if he killed a good number of goblins and spread the corpses around him, the goblins would retrieve them and leave, thinning their numbers . There was no way that he was not going to take advantage of that . The goblins that surrounded him were the ones that didn¡¯t pick up the corpses, so if he focused on those, the goblins coming after would have to retrieve their corpses, and the number of goblins that Loren would have to face would not increase by much . Loren couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the two types of goblins, but he tried to choose to kill the ones that didn¡¯t retrieve the corpses . Above him, Ritz finally made it to the top and Quartz and Lapis pulled him up . ¡°You need to hurry Ritz . Jack and Nim can¡¯t handle all of them . ¡± ¡°Hurry up Mister Ritz . The goblins aren¡¯t our only foes . ¡± ¡°Huh? You mean something other than goblins finally appeared?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Something that looks like a goblin . ¡± ¡°What are you talking¡­Jack! Damn it! Jack!¡± Ritz suddenly shouted and tried to rush up the last few rungs, but misplaced his foot, and Quartz and Lapis barely caught him from falling . Loren was irritated at Ritz¡¯s clumsiness, but judging from their conversation, something had happened to Jack, and guessed that he needed to get up there as fast as he could . ¡°Man, why does so much shit¡­Keep coming at me!¡± Loren, for the first time, changed the way he swung his great sword . Up till now, he had only used his arms, but this time he twisted his body while he swung his sword, using the strength in his whole body . He was already able to crush many goblins with a single swing, but this strike was sharper and faster than ever . The goblins that took the strike not only got cut into two pieces, but became nothing but a rain of blood and pieces of flesh, and those flew back and rained into the goblins out of the sword¡¯s reach . Loren, who massacred the large number of goblins around him, used that opening to jump onto the ladder and climb up . He then swung his sword at the ladder beneath him, making sure that the goblins couldn¡¯t chase him up, and finished climbing up the ladder, setting foot on the upper floor with no help needed . He immediately readied his great sword and looked around at the situation, and saw Jack lying down with his back against the wall, blood dripping from his head . Ritz was using his sword and shield to protect Jack, while Nim was struggling against something that pushed her down onto the ground . ¡°What the hell is that?¡± No matter how Loren saw it, the things that were causing this situation were goblins . At least, they looked like goblins . Goblins were usually green and small like a child, but these were closer to black and were larger than Ritz, who was quite large himself . ¡°Loren, Nim is in trouble!¡± ¡°Hey old man, what about your magic!¡± ¡°I¡¯m completely out! I can¡¯t even use elementary level spells for a while!¡± Quartz pointed to one of the goblin like monsters lying on the ground, smoke emitting from its body . Quartz was able to kill it with a spell, but now he was out of spells to use . ¡°Loren, you have to help Nim!¡± At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren remembered he had things to take care of before assessing the situation . He ran up to the mock-goblin, with an arm that had a knife lodged into, it that was reaching for Nim¡¯s clothes . Before it could react, Loren kicked it square in the face . If it were a normal goblin, the kick would¡¯ve broke its neck and sent it flying, but the mock-goblin snapped its head right back and threatened him with a low growl . Loren ignored it and swung his great sword at the base of its neck . ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!?¡± The sword that easily cut through numerous goblins got stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s hard skin and muscle, not even reaching its bones . Blood dripped from the cut onto Nim, but the mock-goblin showed no signs of caring about the injury, raising its body to reach for Loren . Loren pushed down with his great sword to keep it from standing up . Nim, who was pushed down, managed to pull the knife out of the mock-goblin¡¯s arm, and while it was distracted by Loren, she stabbed it in the eye . The eye wasn¡¯t hard like its skin, and the knife sunk deep into it . The mock-goblin roared and snapped its head back, covering its injured eye with both hands . Nim used the opportunity to slip out from under it, while Loren pulled out his great sword, and with a fissured yell, swung it at its neck with all his might . Although the blade got stopped by the skin and muscle earlier, Loren knew what to expect this time . The blade ripped through its skin and muscle, reaching the bone and crushing it . Added with the cut he made before, the mock-goblin¡¯s head flew off, blood erupting from its neck . ¡°You okay Nim!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine . But Jack and Ritz aren¡¯t . ¡± Loren turned to Ritz at her words . He saw Ritz dodge the mock-goblin¡¯s grab, step close into it, and plunge his sword into its flank . Loren thought that it was over, but with a swift movement that seemed to disregard the blade lodged in it, reached out and grabbed Ritz¡¯s head . ¡°You bastard! Let go!¡± Even regular goblins had quite a bit of strength, but if it was larger than Ritz, Loren had no idea how strong it would be . He could imagine what would happen if something with so much strength grabbed his head . Ritz knew it as well, and he twisted his sword to try and get out of its grasp, but the mock-goblin¡¯s grip didn¡¯t waver, and Ritz¡¯s body started creaking as it slowly started to put pressure into its hands . ¡°D-damn it! My bones!¡± Ritz would¡¯ve been crushed by the mock-goblin, but Loren intervened before that could happen . While it was busy with Ritz, Loren charged at it from behind, and with his momentum and centrifugal force added to the strike, he knocked its head right off its shoulders . A moment after the head flew off and blood spewed from its neck, it dropped down onto its knees, dropped down, and fell straight into the wall . ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°You saved me . I was about to become a rag doll . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it . How¡¯s Jack?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alive¡­¡± Although he was still bleeding from his head, he was alive . When Loren asked what had happened, they gave their explanation . At first, there were regular goblins, but two of the mock-goblins appeared . They were able to kill one with Quartz¡¯s magic, but Nim¡¯s arrows had no effect on the second one, and she was pushed down onto the ground . Jack had tried to save her, but another one showed up and smacked him into the wall, and that¡¯s when Ritz entered the fray . ¡°Sorry Jack . It¡¯s my fault . ¡± ¡°Hey, stop it, you¡¯re being disgusting . Modesty isn¡¯t your thing, so just tend to my wounds already . ¡± Jack pointed at his head and Nim, who kept apologizing in a sad manner, with her ears drooping forward . Nim nodded and started to treat Jack¡¯s injury . Loren decided to leave them at that, and walked over to Lapis, who was squatted down, next to the two mock-goblins . ¡°Did you find something?¡± ¡°I can guess, but if my speculations are right, it means we¡¯ve wandered into quite an unpleasant kind of ruin . ¡± ¡°Unpleasant ruin?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t believe such words from Lapis, who was happy that she was able to explore these ruins earlier, and raised a quizzical voice, but Lapis didn¡¯t answer him . Instead, she walked up to Ritz and cleared her throat . ¡°Mister Ritz, I¡¯d like to make sure of something . ¡± ¡°Do we have to come with you?¡± ¡°No, but it should be in line with exploring the ruins . But above all else, if we don¡¯t hurry and shut down these ruins, it¡¯s going to cause lots of trouble . ¡± Lapis tilted her head slightly to the side, waiting for an answer . Ritz looked at Loren, asking for his opinion, but Loren shrugged, telling him not to ask him . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 19 Chapter 19 ¡°In any case, let¡¯s move from this place . If we stay, the next wave will come . ¡± At Lapis¡¯ suggestion, Ritz looked at Jack¡¯s condition . Jack had suffered a blow to the head from the mock-goblin, and though Nim had treated it, he wasn¡¯t in a good condition . He shook his head to clear his mind, but it seemed ineffective . ¡°Should I use Divine Arts?¡± Lapis asked Jack, whose head was bandaged up and was chugging a potion, but he shook his head . ¡°Don¡¯t need it . The potion is working . My head is still a bit dizzy though . ¡± ¡°A blow to the head is quite dangerous, so I recommend seeing a doctor when we get back to the city . ¡± ¡®Thanks for the warning . If we¡¯re able to get back safely, I¡¯ll do as you say . ¡± ¡°Can you move?¡± Jack bit at Ritz, who seemed worried about him . ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid . If you want me to move just give the order . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good to push yourself . ¡± When Nim, still looking discouraged, said that to Jack, who was trying to put up a bold front, he patted her on the shoulder, trying to reassure her . ¡°I just took a good one and went unconscious . Don¡¯t worry about it . I can move properly . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one with the bigger problem . I¡¯m out of magic spells . I can¡¯t fight anymore . ¡± Quartz spoke up apologetically, but no one blamed him for it . If Quartz hadn¡¯t used his magic to kill one of the mock-goblins, the situation would¡¯ve been way worse, and everyone thanked him for that, much less think of him as a burden . ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped . In any case, let¡¯s hurry and move from here . More goblins might come, and if those black ones come again, I don¡¯t think we could handle them . ¡± As soon as Ritz spoke up, Nim lent Jack her shoulder and helped him up . Then the group started to walk away from that place . Loren, who had instantly slain the two mock-goblins that even silver adventurers had a hard time dealing with, and Lapis, who announced that she found out something about the ruins, led the group . ¡°What were they? Their skin and flesh were hard, but their bones were even harder . Were those a kind of high rank goblin?¡± Loren looked at his great sword¡¯s blade as he asked Lapis . The blade was able to cut down the two mock-goblins, but Loren found some large nicks in the blade . It wasn¡¯t as sharp as most swords and was used more like a blunt weapon, but the edges were close to crumbling . ¡°They were similar to hobgoblins, but I¡¯m sure that those were probably goblins that got larger . ¡± Lapis was walking forward with no hesitation at all . It was as if she knew where she was going, and although cautious, she was leading the group confidently . ¡°If that was a hobgoblin, there was no way they would¡¯ve survived such a blow from Loren and not die . That probably could¡¯ve made an ogre¡¯s head fly off, couldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Never fought one before, so I have no idea . What were those black goblins?¡± ¡°Loren, have you noticed anything else?¡± Since Lapis asked him a question instead of answering his question, Loren decided to tell her about what he noticed while he was fighting . ¡°The goblins were retrieving other goblins¡¯ corpses . I don¡¯t think they were going to preserve them as food . The goblins here are definitely strange . ¡± Lapis wasn¡¯t walking that quickly . They had no choice because of Jack and Quartz, but Loren was becoming slightly paranoid about more goblins appearing out of nowhere . He realized that he was thinking about goblins again, and tilted his head . It was true that from the cave all the way to the ruins, the only monsters he had seen were goblins, but that didn¡¯t mean that the next thing that came out would be goblins as well . As Loren warned himself that biased thoughts will cloud his judgment and affect his reaction when the next problem occurred, Lapis seemed to have read his mind and told him . ¡°The only monsters in these ruins are goblins . Probably . ¡± ¡°What?¡± Loren was confused that the monsters that appear in an Ancient Kingdom ruin would be limited to goblins . It wasn¡¯t that he wanted there to be a guardian of sorts like he had heard from stories, but the probability of it happening being completely zero wasn¡¯t too satisfying, either . ¡°Loren, have you heard of pharmaceutics and alchemy?¡± The question seemed unrelated to what they were talking about until now . But if it was from Lapis, who was demon kind, Loren decided that she must have a reason for it and answered her question . ¡°I¡¯ve heard of it . But I don¡¯t know anyone who practices them . ¡± ¡°Knowing about it is enough . Then do you know about the test subjects people who practice them use?¡± For a second Loren was at a loss for words as he couldn¡¯t understand what Lapis was talking about, but immediately realized what kind of answer Lapis was looking for . ¡°You mean mice? The ones they use to test new medicine and stuff¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct . Then do you know why they use mice?¡± Loren didn¡¯t know the answer to this one . He didn¡¯t know anything about this kind of topic at all . ¡°Do you think a mercenary would know something like that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a useless piece of information, anyway . They use mice as test subjects because they have short sexual cycles, grow quickly, and produce many offspring at once . Do you know anything else that fits this description?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got a clue . ¡± A creature that could mate with anything, grow up in no time, and increase in numbers rapidly . Loren said the name of the creatures that he had encountered enough for a lifetime during this quest with disbelief . ¡°Goblins?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly right . They¡¯re easy to breed, economically stable, won¡¯t hurt one¡¯s conscience, and humanoid . Are there any other creatures that are more fit to use as test subjects? I don¡¯t think so . ¡± Lapis explained with quite a bit of emphasis, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure what she was trying to emphasize, and just asked her about a word that caught his ears . ¡°Economically sound?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll eat anything they¡¯re given . Whether it be leftovers or corpses . Records from the Ancient Kingdom says that when they gave them trash from the city, the amount of trash decreased by 80% . ¡± ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s pretty economically sound?¡± ¡°Plus, no matter how many goblins gathered together, they were nothing but dust to the Ancient Kingdom . It seems that while they were increasing their numbers, they selectively bred them at the same time, and made all sorts of different kinds of goblins . ¡± When Lapis said different kind of goblins, Loren thought of the black mock-goblin that he had faced earlier . If that wasn¡¯t a hobgoblin or any sort of high rank goblin, the kind of goblin that Lapis talked about seemed to be what the mock-goblin was . ¡°This is why there are quite a number of goblin farms inside Ancient Kingdom ruins, but this is something more terrible than that . ¡± Judging by the conversation, Loren guessed that they were in a farm that people in the Ancient Kingdom used for breeding test subjects, but before he could mention anything, Lapis denied his speculation . Wondering what was terrible about this place, Loren waited for Lapis to continue . ¡°This isn¡¯t an ordinary farm . ¡± As she said that, Lapis was about to reach the corner of the path . From the shadow of the corner, two goblins suddenly jumped out . Loren was about to raise his great sword, but Lapis grabbed their heads like she was picking flowers on the side of the road . Though it looked like she didn¡¯t put any strength in her arms, the goblins¡¯ heads turned 180 degrees with their bodies still facing forward . At the same time as Loren heard bones being broken, Lapis reached into her pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and a bottle filled with perfume, and sprayed the contents of the bottle onto the handkerchief . She wiped her hands, which touched the goblins¡¯ heads, and casually kicked in front of her two times . Lapis then walked past the dead goblin corpses, which flew back a few meters, not even bothering to take notice of them . Her movements seemed way too natural, and since it occurred past the corner, Loren, who was walking next to her, was the only one who saw it . ¡°You¡­You¡¯re pretty strong, aren¡¯t you?¡± If she could pull something like that off, Loren wished she could¡¯ve done it earlier . But if the others saw that Lapis, who didn¡¯t look like she was trained at all being skilled in close quarter combat, there was the danger of her losing their trust and losing her credibility . Usually, priests couldn¡¯t snap a goblin¡¯s neck with their bare hands . ¡°Well, it¡¯s me we¡¯re talking about, so . Back to the subject . This isn¡¯t an ordinary farm . It¡¯s definitely a farm, but it seems that they were conducting experiments of physical modification and improvement, and evolution at the same time . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°To put it simply, they were enhancing the strength of goblins as regular goblins . The goblins that chased us . Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s strange that there were no high rank individuals in that horde?¡± High ranked monsters were indeed rare, but it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if there were at least one or two of them within that many number of goblins . Lapis was saying that it was strange that they didn¡¯t see any sort of high rank goblin at all . ¡°It¡¯s probably because the goblins produced here are adjusted so they won¡¯t evolve into high rank individuals . They were trying to improve only goblins, so it wouldn¡¯t have any meaning if they became hobgoblins or goblin mages . ¡± In experiments, the same species of the test subject are always used . That must have been why the researchers of the Ancient Kingdom adjusted the goblins, but Loren frowned at their bad tastes . Loren guessed that one part of the adjustments that they made was making the goblins chase intruders until they caught up . Then the goblins themselves would chase intruders away, so there was no need to put a separate protection system . ¡°They¡¯re okay with them growing bigger, though?¡± The mock-goblin that he had faced earlier was way larger than an ordinary goblin . Loren still found it hard to convince himself that the mock-goblin was an ordinary goblin . ¡°Even though they¡¯re big, they¡¯re still goblins . ¡± ¡°Do you think the goblins in here found the crack and entered the cave? Also, wasn¡¯t there was a goblin mage over there?¡± ¡°The adjustments are probably limited to inside the ruins . It must have evolved because it ran outside of it . ¡± Lapis said it like he should¡¯ve found that out easily, but to Loren, there was no way he could know, nor did he want to . ¡°Anyways, this is that kind of facility . I believe that it was dormant, but I¡¯m not sure what restarted it . It could¡¯ve been someone who did it manually, or whoever unsealed the ruins itself was the key that did it . ¡± ¡°What about them not using women as seed beds or collecting corpses?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for seed beds . There¡¯s probably equipment that breeds them, and baby goblins should be produced there . The corpses are probably being reused to make new ones . This is quite an eco-friendly facility, reusing their trash . ¡± ¡°If we leave it like this, wouldn¡¯t it become a big problem?¡± This is what Lapis had said earlier . Loren tried to confirm, but her reply made him think maybe Lapis herself didn¡¯t seem to think it was that big of a problem . ¡°That big black goblin is an improved goblin . It was made in this facility, but the problem lies within its actions . ¡± ¡°Problem? What in the world would that be¡­¡± ¡°The goblins from this facility don¡¯t need seed beds . But the goblin that attacked Nim tried to rip off her clothes . ¡± For a second Loren wasn¡¯t sure what Lapis was trying to say, but immediately guessed what Lapis meant and his face became slightly pale . ¡°Have you realized? There¡¯s no need to, but it assaults women . It means that it knows about assaulting women for reasons other than mating . ¡± Animals generally mate in order to reproduce . This was the same for monsters, and although goblins quenched their sadism by assaulting women, the goal itself is to reproduce . There was only one existence that Loren knew of that did it for enjoyment . ¡°In conclusion, there were traces of human inside those goblins . Probably the people from the party that was competing with Mister Ritz¡¯s party . ¡± ¡°Are you sure you can call that a goblin?¡± ¡°It definitely is a goblin . You don¡¯t call a goblin born from a human mother a half goblin, right? Even if there are traces of human in it, a goblin is a goblin . ¡± Loren stopped trying to understand what she was talking about . It was because he decided that knowing that these ruins were built to produce goblins was currently up and running, and that some of them had the intelligence of a human, was enough, and everything else was unnecessary information . ¡°The reason I said that it was going to be a big problem, is because this facility physically enhances and improves goblins, and the fact that the goblins produced in this facility are obtaining human intelligence and learning abilities . ¡± ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll produce an even stronger goblin from the experiences of the mock-goblins . After repeating that many times over¡­What do you think would happen if goblins became tougher than dragons, accumulated knowledge and experience, and gained abilities according to its strength? That¡¯s why I said we need to make these ruins dormant again . ¡± Lapis spoke of a future that Loren didn¡¯t want to think of, but she said it in such a relaxed manner, it seemed like she thought it was someone else¡¯s problem . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 20 Chapter 20 ¡°You said return it to its dormant state, but how?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t really thought that far ahead . It¡¯s not like I know everything . There¡¯s many things that I don¡¯t know about . ¡± To Loren, nothing rang a bell when it came to shutting down the ruins . He asked Lapis, but apparently there were things that even she didn¡¯t know about . Loren thought that it would be so much easier if Lapis, who seemed to know a lot about ruins, knew how to shut it down, but Lapis added with a huffy look . ¡°Every ruin is different, so there isn¡¯t a definite way to do it . It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t done enough research . ¡± ¡°Uh, okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s written all over your face Loren . That¡¯s not a good thing . ¡± ¡°Then where are we headed right now?¡± Luckily for Loren, Ritz caught up to them and changed the subject . When Loren gave her a questioning look, Lapis looked slightly dissatisfied, but sighed and answered . ¡°I was thinking of searching the rooms of the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s citizens . I¡¯m sure there was a person in charge of this place, and the manual for these ruins are most likely there as well . ¡± ¡°There were people living here?¡± There was no detailed record of where the capital of the Ancient Kingdom was . Some said that it was at the bottom of the ocean, and others said it was flying up in the clouds, and the records of how it perished were nonexistent as well . If the records did exist, adventurers would swarm it, looking for lost knowledge and technology, but nothing of the sort had been found yet . Even if someone managed to find it, it wouldn¡¯t be in a place that was close to any city or village . Loren had traveled here from the village of Ain for the quest, so he knew how far the goblin nest was from there . Loren was surprised that people actually used to live in this remote place, but Lapis seemed to have an idea and started talking about it . ¡°They did have the magic , but paying the high mana cost of using such a spell just for transportation between the city and the facility isn¡¯t ideal . ¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t know . ¡± ¡°It would be better to make living quarters inside the facility and make sure people can live comfortably there . ¡± ¡°Is that the way it is?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly how it is . There should be houses for the researchers and related people in here . We should go and search their homes for a way to shut down the ruins . Also while we¡¯re at it, if we find anything of value, we take them for ourselves . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t proudly announce that you¡¯re going to steal stuff . ¡± Ritz, who was walking behind him, said to Lapis with a tone of exasperation, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care . She tightened her fist and firmly declared . ¡°The owners have died hundreds of years ago . It¡¯s not stealing if they¡¯re dead . ¡± ¡°But still . If these ruins were put on pause, wouldn¡¯t it mean the people in the Ancient Kingdom, did it? Then wouldn¡¯t they have already taken everything valuable?¡± Loren thought that if he were the one in charge, that¡¯s what he would¡¯ve done . Lapis suddenly looked disappointed and drooped her shoulders . ¡°Yes, that¡¯s probably true . And in that case, it¡¯s also possible that they took the manual for the ruins and it doesn¡¯t exist here . ¡± ¡°If that¡¯s true, what are we going to do?¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± Loren looked behind him with a troubled face, as Lapis returned his question with the same question . He saw Ritz and the others, but they were in no shape for another battle . Ritz and Nim were still able to fight, but Jack¡¯s injury prevented him from being able to fight freely, and Quartz was out of spells . Loren himself wasn¡¯t in his best condition either . ¡°Man, my sword¡­¡± Along with the crumbling blade from the fight with the mock-goblin, it seemed that there was damage done to the blade itself as well, so his sword was slightly tilted . The goblin was indeed quite tough, but it was also because Loren hadn¡¯t repaired it well from the last battle he fought as a mercenary, and even though he regretted not taking it to get repaired, his regret didn¡¯t do anything for him now . ¡°I think it¡¯ll break after another two or three of those mock-goblins . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a problem . But¡­procuring another weapon isn¡¯t going to be easy . ¡± ¡°If it breaks, I¡¯ll think of something then . Right now, we need information . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we need . Time to raid!¡± After firmly raising her voice, she opened the door in front of them . Jack made a shocked face as Lapis suddenly opened the door without even checking for traps, but Lapis walked in with no worries at all . Loren guessed that they reached the living quarters, and Lapis¡¯ actions were based on the calculation that no one would put a trap on their own door, but he still thought that she was acting overly confident . When he walked in after Lapis, he saw her already searching for things . ¡°Is she okay?¡± Ritz, who came in a moment later, asked Loren, but all he could manage to do was shrug . It was indeed a question that Loren didn¡¯t know the answer to, but he didn¡¯t want to tell that to Ritz and make him uncomfortable . ¡°I¡¯m actually quite familiar with these kinds of ruins . Rest assured and leave everything to me . ¡± The room looked like a private room, with a bed and bookshelf, but both had rotted over the long period of time . Lapis started flipping them over with no reserve at all, and though her actions looked like she was familiar with the place, it also looked as if she was flipping over random things, so it was hard to tell if she actually knew what she was doing . ¡°She knows more than us for sure, so we should let her do her thing . ¡± That was all Loren managed to tell Ritz as Lapis started to look more like a robber than a priest, pulling out shelves and flipping the bookshelf . ¡°There¡¯s nothing useful at all . ¡± Lapis¡¯ raid moved from room to room . She didn¡¯t find much of anything valuable, but still managed to find a few books and accessories, as well as some coins . The books were written in the Ancient Kingdom language so Loren had no idea what they were about, but Lapis told him that they were all about the ruins, so if Ritz and his party took them back, it would end their expedition in a success . ¡°Can¡¯t we just take these and go back home?¡± Ritz¡¯s objective was to gather information on the ruins, not reverting it to the state it was in before . If they were done with their job, heading back and letting the country or guild handle this situation was indeed an option . Loren knew that if he was in their shoes, he would have asked the same thing . Even more so if the people in his party were injured and half of them unable to fight . ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but¡­I hope you can get back safely . ¡± Although Lapis replied in a light tone, the words were from a person who knew exactly the current state of Ritz¡¯s party . It would be fine if they were lucky enough to reach the exit without running into anything, but chances of that was slim, and if they ran into a large number of goblins or mock-goblins, there was no way there were going to survive . Ritz had to choose whether to take that risk, or even if it meant facing further dangers, stick with Loren, who could fight the mock-goblins head on, and Lapis, who could use Divine Arts . Both had their pros and cons . Loren knew that it was completely up to Ritz, and decided not to say anything . ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if you guys came with us? It¡¯s not like these ruins are going to go out of control in the span of a few days . Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we report this and let the higher ranks take care of this¡­?¡± ¡°When you say higher ranks, do you mean gold ranks and mystic* ranks? I wonder how long it¡¯s going to take for word to reach them?¡± Lapis was talking about adventurers who were a rank or two higher than Ritz and his party . The rank system started at copper, iron, silver, and above those were gold and mystic ranks . Adventurers who were above gold were said to have exceeded the limits of humans, and their strength was incomparable to the ranks below . There weren¡¯t that many, and the number of gold ranks were in the hundreds, while the number of mystic* ranks were in the tens . The highest existing rank was the crimson** rank, but less than ten of them existed . Lapis was implying that there was no way to know how much time and money it would cost to ask those people to take on this quest . ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you decide to go back . I pray that you can get out safely . ¡± Ritz was at a loss for words, looking quite discouraged . ¡°You¡¯re pretty ruthless . ¡± Loren whispered to Lapis, and Lapis replied, also in a whisper . ¡°There wouldn¡¯t be anything beneficial for both groups if we force them to stay . ¡± ¡°So it¡¯s already decided that I¡¯m going with you . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s-¡­¡± Lapis, who was flipping through yet another book, suddenly went silent . She slowly stopped flipping through the book and looked up at Loren . ¡°You¡¯re not, going to come?¡± Lapis suddenly asked him, looking like a puppy about to be thrown away . Loren, wondering how serious she was being right now, answered without a pause . ¡°Too late for me to turn back now . I won¡¯t leave you on your own . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m relieved . This is a bit too much for me to handle alone . Thank you . ¡± Loren rubbed his nose and looked away from Lapis, who was smiling at him . He didn¡¯t have any experience of anyone thanking him back when he was a mercenary, and although Lapis¡¯ straightforward gratitude and happy expression didn¡¯t feel bad, it did make him feel a bit of embarrassment . ¡°I have some good news for you, Loren . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Although she said it was good news, Loren couldn¡¯t really take it seriously at this point . Without showing it on his face, he lamented that ever since he accepted Sarfe¡¯s invitation, nothing good has happened to him . Not noticing Loren¡¯s frustration at all, Lapis took out a book from the shelf and waved it proudly in front of Loren¡¯s eyes . It was definitely old, but somehow preserved very well, and although the color was faded from it and the corners were crumbling, he could make out the words on it . ¡°Even if you put that in my face, I have no idea what it says . ¡± ¡°This is the manual we¡¯ve been looking for . It has the instructions for shutting down the ruins as well . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re able to read that, huh . Impressive . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Knowledge god, after all . ¡± Loren, thinking that other priests of the Knowledge god probably wouldn¡¯t know how to read the language, stared at the book held up in front of him . Lapis opened up the black leather cover and pointed at a part of a page to tell Loren where the instructions were, but of course he couldn¡¯t understand a word that was written on there . ¡°Are all priests of the Knowledge god this extensively knowledgeable?¡± ¡°There are some . Like me . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t miss Lapis¡¯ gaze slightly turning away from him . He guessed that saying that priests of the Knowledge god knew many things was just an excuse, and all the things she knew were things the demon kind knew about . ¡°So, what do we need to do?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a control room somewhere . We need to use the control panel to get it to shut down . Let¡¯s head over there immediately¡­ Have you made up your mind, Mister Ritz?¡± Ritz looked back at his party, then back at Lapis, and finally made up his mind . ¡°We¡¯ll go with you guys . I feel like we¡¯ll have a higher chance of surviving if we do . ¡± ¡°I see . Then let¡¯s hurry to the control room . Once we get there, the job should be as good as done . ¡± Lapis closed the manual and tucked it under her arm . As Ritz made his decision, the only thing left to do was act . For Loren, whose thoughts became completely pessimistic at this point, couldn¡¯t help but think that there was no way they would get to the control room without trouble, and tightened his face . Chapter 21 Chapter 21 ¡°The person who oversaw this place must have been a nice person . There aren¡¯t any weird riddles we need to solve or keys we need to find . ¡± Lapis, while jogging toward where it seemed to be the control room, was evaluating the person who oversaw the facility . ¡°Mean people would make up riddles that would make you want to rip your heart out trying to figure out . ¡± ¡°You serious?¡± Loren didn¡¯t really get it, but he wondered what kind of ruins Lapis had explored before this one . He wanted to ask her, but had a feeling that she would start talking about something unspeakably terrifying, so he was scared to ask . ¡°I¡¯ve read it in a book . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you did . ¡± Lapis somehow guessed what Loren was thinking, and gave a reply, but to Loren, it sounded like nothing but an excuse . He would believe her even if she said that she explored tens and twenties of ruins already . This is what his image of Lapis was at this point . ¡°I really did read it in a book, you know!?¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say that that¡¯s true, so hurry up and lead us to the control room!¡± Surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t Loren that rushed Lapis, but it was Ritz, who was running right behind them . Although he chose to follow Loren and Lapis, it didn¡¯t change the fact that half his party couldn¡¯t fight and they didn¡¯t know when more goblins would appear . Loren thought that if it were just goblins, Ritz could handle them on his own, but the fight with the mock-goblin seemed to make him want to avoid goblins at all costs . ¡°Man, this quests sucks . ¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t understand that feeling . ¡± Loren understood that Ritz couldn¡¯t help but curse . He didn¡¯t know much about exploring ancient ruins, but he didn¡¯t believe that there would be many of them that would take them to one such as the one they were in right now . He thought that Ritz and his party were very unfortunate to have chosen this quest, but Lapis softly whispered to him . ¡°We¡¯ve wandered into these ruins, you know? We¡¯re way unluckier than they are . ¡± ¡°Can you read minds or something?¡± ¡°Loren, you keep writing your thoughts all over your face . You should really be careful, okay?¡± At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren reached up and rubbed his face . When he was a mercenary, he never looked straight at a person¡¯s face and tried to guess what that person was thinking . No one had said that to Loren until Lapis had just now . But since Lapis had accurately guessed what he was thinking so many times already, he decided that his emotions and thoughts must really be easily guessed by looking at his expression . ¡°In comparison, I would say that the party that was competing against Ritz¡¯s would be the unluckiest . ¡± ¡°Yeah, well¡­I guess that¡¯s true . ¡± ¡°Well, enough chatting for now . We¡¯ve arrived . ¡± Lapis stopped in front of a pair of large double doors . It didn¡¯t have a keyhole or handles on it, so Loren wondered how Lapis was going to open them . He watched her walk up to them with the manual in hand, and with her other hand, swiftly traced a part of the doors . The parts where Lapis traced started glowing and the doors opened forward without a sound . ¡°That¡¯s impressive . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early for compliments . ¡± The room they walked into was quite large . Lined up and stacked up across the wall from the entrance were a large number of boxes, and there were words in the Ancient Kingdom language written on them . It was a dreary room with nothing else inside it, but Loren looked at the walls on either side and saw large double doors on both . ¡°This is the control panel . This can control the whole facility . ¡± Lapis walked up to one of the boxes and touched the surface, then started hitting it . As soon as she started doing that, the words on the boxes started to change . But all Loren could tell was that they were changing, and had no idea how they were changing . ¡°Can you do this?¡± ¡°Of course . You can count on me . This is a piece of¡­¡± Lapis stopped talking . Loren looked at what Lapis was staring at and saw that red words on the surface of the box . ¡°Uh, what?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is weird . It keeps kicking me out when I try to operate it . I was able to turn on the control panel and all I need to do is send the shutdown signal¡­¡± Lapis, looking unsatisfied at the result, tried again to gain control, but the red words popped up again . Loren didn¡¯t know what they said, but he did know that Lapis failed to gain access yet again . While Ritz and the others looked on with anxious looks, Lapis knitted her brow and read through the manual again and tilted her head . ¡°This is strange . I didn¡¯t mess up operating it . ¡± ¡°If that isn¡¯t the problem, do you have any idea what might be?¡± ¡°If there was anything I would¡¯ve fixed it already¡­I wonder what¡¯s wrong? Maybe the control panel itself became weird after all the time that passed? If that¡¯s the problem, there¡¯s no way to fix it . ¡± As she said that, Lapis traced her fingers on the box once again . This time the whole surface flashed red and black words started flowing across the surface . The sudden change made Ritz and the others back off, and Loren, who was surprised as well, continued to watch over Lapis . Lapis put her hand on her chin and started thinking, and after a moment clapped her hands together . ¡°That¡¯s right . This is a laboratory . ¡± ¡°What about it? Anyways, what¡¯s with the red box and the words on them?¡± ¡°There are always researchers inside laboratories . ¡± ¡®That¡¯s¡­I guess there is . ¡± ¡°Researchers are usually registered into the laboratory¡¯s system . ¡± ¡°So, what? What are you trying to say here?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand what Lapis was talking about and began to get irritated, but she took no notice of it and traced her finger on the box¡¯s surface once again . Meanwhile, the words that were flowing across the surface of the box sped up, and the light that was being emitted from the walls became disgusting shade of red as well . Then the three doors on each wall fully opened . ¡°H-hey . What¡¯s going on?¡± Ritz asked Lapis nervously, but she replied without even looking up, with her hands still moving furiously . ¡°I¡¯ve failed the biometric authentication . ¡± ¡°Biometric¡­What?¡± ¡°This control panel is only supposed to be operated by researchers registered into the system . Since someone that isn¡¯t registered, in this case that would be me, tried to operate it, it kicked me out . ¡± ¡°What?¡± Ritz and the others started panicking as they finally understood what was happening, but Lapis paid no attention to them and kept working . ¡°Since I failed to send the shutdown command three times, it locked me out . I can¡¯t operate it . ¡± ¡°Is that what the red and black words are talking about?¡± Although Loren asked Lapis, a part of him knew that he was wrong . He felt himself becoming more pessimistic by the minute, but after all the bad things that kept happening to him, he started to think it might be okay to have pessimistic thoughts . ¡°That¡¯s incorrect . The red words in the beginning were warnings, but these black words aren¡¯t . ¡± ¡°Then what does it say?¡± ¡°To put it simply, the system recognized us as intruders . ¡± Although Lapis said it like it was nothing, the reality that they were facing wasn¡¯t something that should¡¯ve been said so lightly . At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren smiled weakly, and the rest of them turned pale . During all that, Lapis continued to work . ¡°What are you doing!? This is really bad!¡± Ritz tried to grab Lapis, but Nim and Jack, who managed to stay calm, held him back . They did so because they knew lashing out at Lapis wouldn¡¯t do anything, but their worry and anxiousness could be seen on their faces . ¡°The facility¡¯s defense mechanism just activated . ¡± ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± It may have been obvious for some people, but Loren had no idea what was going to happen . After Loren had asked for an explanation, Lapis put her thoughts together and explained their current situation . ¡°The ruins have recognized us as foreign existences, and will eliminate us using goblins . ¡± ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°I believe that all the goblins that are already produced will all rush towards this room, so for the time being, please keep them away . ¡± Ritz and his party¡¯s faces were filled with despair . Loren grabbed the handle of his great sword and prepared for battle . If the mock-goblins came it would be quite a hard fight, but there was a chance that they wouldn¡¯t show up . There were three entrances, but he didn¡¯t think that many of them would swarm in at once . As Loren thought that if it were a few of them at once they still had a good chance, he heard Lapis¡¯ voice . ¡°I¡¯ll try to fool the system . Once I get in, it won¡¯t matter how many goblins are here . ¡± ¡°I just have to buy you some time, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯ll be defenseless while operating this, so . ¡± ¡°How do you even know how to do that, anyway . ¡± Although he felt hopeless, Ritz must have realized that fighting was the only choice they had right now . Ritz asked Lapis as he readied his sword and shield . ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Knowledge god, after all!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t say that every time, you know that?¡± Loren snapped at her convenient excuse . Part of him was trying to warn Lapis that it won¡¯t work for everything, but the other part was trying to save the reputations of other priests of the Knowledge god that were out there . He also didn¡¯t want Ritz and the others to get a mistaken image of them, either . ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything that isn¡¯t true you know?¡± ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t, but¡­Never mind, just keep doing what you¡¯re doing . ¡± As much as Loren wanted to defend the priests¡¯ reputations, he reminded Lapis that there were other things they had to do right now . Lapis nodded and went back to focusing on the control panel . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 22 Chapter 22 ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Ritz¡¯s voice rang out throughout the room . The monsters that burst through the doors were regular goblins . Although there weren¡¯t as many as earlier, when they were being chased down the corridors, there were still quite many them . Plus, the ruins had recognized Loren and the others as intruders, so there was no way to know how many more goblins were on the way . ¡°Damn it, fighting is the only chance we¡¯ve got! Quartz, move closer to the young lady! Nim, stay near them and support us with your arrows! Jack, can you move!?¡± ¡°Yeah, I got this, god damn it!¡± Although he was injured, Jack¡¯s voice rang out loud and strong . Loren decided that he was fine and started swinging his great sword . The room was large enough for him to swing it about with no problem . The problem was that it wouldn¡¯t stay intact for much longer, but Loren decided not to think about it and jumped into the midst of the goblins, bashing the blade against them . The great sword, which was more of a blunt weapon than a sharp blade, caught a few goblins that jumped towards him, and while some of them split into two pieces and spraying blood everywhere, others got their bones crushed and fell limp onto the ground . Loren made sure to crush them with his foot, as they weren¡¯t completely dead yet, and looked for his next prey . He then saw a black mock-goblin enter the room from one of the other doorways . ¡°Crap! It¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Leave that one to me . ¡± The mock-goblin didn¡¯t have a weapon in its hands, and reached for Loren with its bare hands . Loren raised his great sword high over his head and charged towards it . He let out a yell and brought the sword down on the mock-goblin, which raised its left arm to try to block the strike . He cut right through its arm and the sword sunk deeply into its shoulder, all the way to its collarbone . As blackened blood spewed out from the cut, Loren put his foot on the screaming mock-goblin and pulled his sword out . He used that momentum to raise it above his head again and swung it straight down onto its flank . Luckily, he didn¡¯t hit any bones, and with the force behind the strike, cut the mock-goblin¡¯s stomach open . As soon as the great sword passed through, its intestines started dropping out onto the floor . But the mock-goblin paid no attention to its injury and went straight for Loren, who had just finished the swing . Loren was surprised at its toughness, but as he returned a backswing, it caught the mock-goblin right on the neck, and it sank to the ground gurgling blood . ¡°That¡¯s incredible¡­No matter how many times I see it . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve got time to talk, use it to kill more goblins . ¡± Warning Ritz, who was staring at him blankly, Loren looked down at the blade of his great sword . The great sword, which was completely doused in the dark blood of the goblins, looked like it didn¡¯t take much damage, but to Loren, who was holding the blade aloft, knew that it wouldn¡¯t last much longer . ¡°This isn¡¯t good . ¡± He murmured to himself, as he swept his great sword across some goblins that neared him . If it were just the regular goblins, he could use the great sword for a bit longer with no problem, but the large mock-goblins, whom were way tougher, drained the blade¡¯s durability much quicker . ¡°Lapis! How much longer is it going to take?¡± Loren had no idea what Lapis was doing, but she had said that once she did it, the goblins wouldn¡¯t be a problem anymore . The only thing he could do was pray that she would finish what she was doing, before his sword broke . ¡°I¡¯m trying my best, you know?¡± Quartz was standing near Lapis, and Nim was near him, planting arrow after arrow into the goblins . Every time she released an arrow, a goblin fell, but they kept on coming, wave after wave through the doorways . ¡°My opponent is a system of the Ancient Kingdom ruins . There¡¯s no way it¡¯s going to fall that easily . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need that kind of talk! I want to know how much longer it¡¯s going to take!¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take more than a few minutes, but it won¡¯t take an hour . ¡± Loren was irritated at her ambiguous reply . There was no way for him to tell time inside that room . In cities, there was usually a magic item inside a clock tower that told the time, but once you left the city, there was no way to check time . He knew there was no point in blaming Lapis, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about the irritation that was building up . ¡°If only I had a magic spell left¡­¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be helped . It can¡¯t be helped, but I¡¯m also about to run out of arrows . ¡± Nim tried to comfort Quartz, who was regretting not being able to do anything, but her face became grim as she saw her supply of arrow slowly deplete . If she could retrieve some of the arrows from the goblin corpses it would be a bit better, but fights were happening all around her, so she couldn¡¯t find an opening to do so . ¡°There¡¯s no end to them! The bodies just keep piling up!¡± Silver adventurers like Jack and Ritz had no problem dealing with normal goblins, but the mock-goblins were a bit of a different story . Goblin corpses were strewn all over the floor, and they soon started seeing goblins collecting the corpses . ¡°They¡¯re not forgetting to retrieve the corpses, huh . ¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re valuable materials and sources of information after all . ¡± As Loren was taking care not to slip on the blood across the floor, he heard Lapis say something he couldn¡¯t ignore . He swept his great sword and cut through a group of goblins, then turned his head toward Lapis . ¡°What did you say just now?¡± ¡°Materials and source of information?¡± ¡°I understand material, but why source of information?¡± ¡°They should be using them as sources of information for enhancing goblins . The best way to get battle information and experience is through physical experience, after all . ¡± Loren gulped and looked down at a goblin¡¯s corpse lying on the ground . Apparently, the ruins were collecting corpses like these, and using the experience from its brain to create new goblins . As Loren found out that killing the goblins meant that they were helping the ruins enhance the goblins, he planted his palm on his forehead . ¡°Then that means, the more we fight them¡­¡± ¡°The goblins get tougher and tougher . According to the manual, it takes a while for the ruins to make the physical bodies, but installing the experience only takes a few seconds . ¡± ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is¡­¡± Right when Loren was getting a bad feeling, a new wave of goblins rushed into the room . Ritz and Jack both looked tired, but immediately moved to fight them off . They soon realized that these goblins were slightly different than the ones from before . The goblins until now had swung their weapons aimlessly and couldn¡¯t properly use their shields, and weren¡¯t that hard to deal with . But the new goblins knew how to use their weapons as well as their shields, and were harder to fight . ¡°What¡¯s happening? They got smarter!?¡± ¡°You good for nothing goblins!¡± Although they knew how to use their weapons, their fighting style wasn¡¯t that different from the ones before, and they still weren¡¯t a match for Ritz and jack . But their large numbers were still a threat, as both started being covered in small cuts and bruises . One of Nim¡¯s arrows was used to kill a goblin, but they soon started blocking her arrows with their shields and weapons . ¡°The chances of us surviving is going down as time carries on!¡± ¡°After they gather enough information from normal goblins, the start inputting them into the enhanced goblins . ¡± Lapis was flipping through the manual with her right hand, while her left hand was still working on the control panel . If what the manual said was true, it meant that the experiences from the goblins they were fighting now were going to be used on the mock-goblins . They were a threat already, and Loren didn¡¯t want to think about how strong they would get once they learned how to fight . ¡°They aren¡¯t even at full power right now . If they start equipping themselves with weapons we¡¯re actually done for . ¡± Before, the goblins didn¡¯t stand a chance against Loren¡¯s great sword, but the newer ones started to clash their weapons and shields against it . Of course, that meant there was more pressure put on the blade, even though he wasn¡¯t facing the mock-goblins . There was already a very thin, but visible crack beginning to form on the blade . Loren was worried at how much longer the great sword would last, as he kept feeling an unpleasant sensation while swinging it around . But the goblins didn¡¯t care about Loren¡¯s worries at all and kept charging at him . Slowly, Loren started getting small cuts here and there as well . ¡°The big one¡¯s here!¡± The bad news reached Loren¡¯s ears . He looked to the doorway that Ritz was pointing at and saw the mock-goblin, but this one was carrying a giant wooden club in its right fist . As soon as he saw that it was armed, he kicked off the floor and charged towards it . He acted immediately because he knew that Ritz and Jack couldn¡¯t handle this one, but the mock-goblin didn¡¯t even act surprised, and raised its club against Loren¡¯s great sword . After a loud clang erupted from the clash of iron against wood, Loren¡¯s strike was stopped . Not only that, Loren seemed to have lost in terms of strength and force, and he got pushed back a few steps, almost falling over . It immediately ran towards him, not missing a chance to retaliate, and brought down its club onto Loren . Loren brought his great sword up and barely caught the strike, using all his strength to stop it . ¡°You¡­¡± He poured even more strength into his arms, trying to push it away, but its enhanced arms didn¡¯t move so easily . In the antagonized situation, the mock-goblin looked at Loren and seemed to laugh at him . ¡°You¡­You smiled just now, didn¡¯t you?¡± Loren didn¡¯t know if it understood what he was saying . But as soon as he muttered those words, the mock-goblins smile seemed to widen . It was most likely a ridiculing smile . As soon as Loren had that thought, he felt something snap in the deepest corner of his mind . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 23 Chapter 23 ¡°Don¡¯t you dare look down on me!¡± If he was losing in terms of strength, there was no need to rely on his arms . Conjuring as much strength as he could, he planted a kick into the mock-goblin¡¯s stomach . He was feeling a burning sensation in his mind, like someone had shot a burning steel rod into his head . The kick withered the mock-goblin, pushing it off of Loren . But the smile didn¡¯t disappear from its face . It believed that the human that lost to it in terms of strength was putting up a useless struggle, and that it would eventually beat him . But Loren¡¯s next move made its smile stiffen . Loren immediately rushed at the goblin with more force and speed than before, completely giving up on defense . Although it was stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s club yet again, it widened its eyes at the impact that came through it . As the mock-goblin took a step back, Loren took another step forward and attacked it . The blow that Loren delivered, which was even faster than the one before, was again, stopped by the mock-goblin¡¯s club . But the club, which had blocked all three of Loren¡¯s attacks, couldn¡¯t take the sheer power of the last blow and snapped in half . The mock-goblin panicked and pushed goblins away from itself, as it tried to gain distance from Loren, but Loren continued to increase his speed . Loren didn¡¯t let the mock-goblin get out of his range, and the fourth strike that he released crushed all the goblins in his path, directly hitting the mock-goblin¡¯s arm . The sword cut right through the skin, flesh, and bones, splattering blackened blood everywhere . The mock-goblin let out a roar from the pain, but immediately got flung backwards again by a tackle from Loren . It couldn¡¯t regain its balance, and all it could do was look at Loren¡¯s great sword flash from right to left . The next blow struck its right forearm, going straight across its body and out the other side . It had so much force behind it, that the mock-goblin¡¯s arm was still spinning in the air when the body crumbled onto the ground, blood spurting from the cut . But Loren¡¯s charge didn¡¯t stop there . Loren¡¯s arms continued to accelerate every step he took, and his great sword was being swung so fast that a rumbling could be heard from the air around him . He didn¡¯t care if he was using the blade or where he was aiming at . As he swung his great sword around him at an unbelievable speed, his attacks became a single whirlwind . Anything that the winds touched were cut down, gouged, and crushed into mere pieces and blown away . Ritz and Jack saw the fierceness of the attack and nervously decided to stop fighting, and took a step back to where Nim and Quartz were . They didn¡¯t want to risk getting caught in windstorm that was raging on . ¡°What in the world is that¡­¡± Jack muttered with a dumbfounded look on his face . That was how fierce and one-sided Loren¡¯s attacks, which looked like a storm, were . The goblins who tried to apporach him were immediately reduced to black and red pieces and blown across the room . Some of them tried to run away, but they were pushed back by the goblins who came in from behind them, all of them falling prey to the raging wind . A few mock-goblins came as well, but even they were only able to take one or two blows from Loren before they ended up like the other goblins . ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like the rumors? His body is as the wind, and after the wind passes through, nothing is left standing in its wake¡­¡± ¡°You talking about the mercenary >? There¡¯s no way, right? Why would a title-bearing mercenary become a copper rank adventurer?¡± ¡°Come on! Do you think that there can be two or three different people that can pull this off!?¡± No one could give an answer to Jack . Rumors said that the mercenary >, who was said to be able to fight toe-to-toe with the strongest mercenary, could turn the tide of battle just by taking part in it . Although he didn¡¯t use magic like > and >, his skill on the sword was said to surpass both . In battle, his existence was considered the same as the god of death, and Ritz nor his party could believe that a renowned swordsman like him could be the lowest ranking adventurer . Putting aside whether Loren being > was true or not, they couldn¡¯t deny the fact that he alone was turning the tide of this fight, and started getting hope that they would be able to survive . ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think this is going to work out somehow?¡± ¡°Overly optimistic . Not good . ¡± Nim said coldly to Quartz, whose voice was getting lighter . ¡°You saying that we shouldn¡¯t be hopeful!?¡± ¡°No . It¡¯s not good to leave it up to him . We have our pride as silver ranks . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± Jack scratched his head at Nim¡¯s assertion . Nim then pointed to Loren, who was still charging at the goblins coming towards them without even slowing down . ¡°That¡¯s not good . ¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean not good?¡± Jack and Ritz had no idea what she meant . Nim was able to realize it thanks to elves¡¯ excellent sense of hearing . ¡°That great sword . It¡¯s about to break . ¡± ¡°What!?¡± What Nim pointed out was something Loren was already aware of . Although he continued to change goblins into mutilated corpses, the sensation he was getting from the grip as well as the noises from the blade told him that the great sword wasn¡¯t going to last much longer . Loren knew that ever since he was a mercenary, getting excited or receiving a serious injury during battle pulled a trigger inside him, and that made him able to display strengths that he normally couldn¡¯t . He couldn¡¯t choose when he wanted to use it so it wasn¡¯t that easy to use, but Loren had been saved by this power more times than he could count . Of course, there was a downside to it, and the recoil usually left him powerless and exhausted, but he decided that he was fortunate that it had activated . Fortunate for Loren, but unfortunate for his great sword . Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t going to last as long as his body . He used the strength in his arms and the speed that he was swinging it around with to make up for the weakening blade, but it seemed to be at its limit . As Loren cut off the head of a mock-goblin, not even sure how many he had killed up till now, it happened . As the mock-goblin¡¯s head hit the floor, a loud clang sounded from Loren¡¯s great sword, and the blade broke off . ¡°Damn it!¡± Loren cursed without thinking, but his broken sword didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t fight . The great sword¡¯s blade was originally quite long, so he was still able to fight with the bottom half that was still intact . But a shorter blade meant less damage, and although he could swing it faster, each blow did less . ¡°Hey, this is bad! His weapon broke! Are you done yet!?¡± Ritz, who watched as the wind flung the broken blade at the wall, asked Lapis, who was still working on the control panel . She glanced up as she heard the blade crash into the wall, but immediately returned her eyes to the control panel in front of her . ¡°Hey, how is it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t finish immediately even if you rush me . ¡± ¡°I can see that! But your partner is going to be in trouble soon!¡± Along with Loren¡¯s damage, his reach got shorter as well . It meant engulfing less goblins in his attacks, and he couldn¡¯t keep it up for long . If there was no chance of the flow of goblins stopping, Lapis was their only hope . ¡°I know, I know! I put in the commands for shuting down and stopping the goblins! But the last one¡­The end code isn¡¯t going through!¡± Lapis¡¯ voice got louder and rougher from her irritation . Ritz, who couldn¡¯t understand half the things she just said, softened his voice slightly and asked . ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°To put it simply, the controls won¡¯t stop! If this would shut down, the other commands I put in would go into effect, and both the ruins and the goblins would stop and would start falling apart!¡± ¡°If it just needs to stop, can¡¯t we just destroy it?¡± ¡°Please do it if you can! This is something that survived for hundreds of years, and still works like it¡¯s supposed to! It will stop if you destroy it! Please try!¡± Ritz told Lapis to back off a bit, and swung his sword down onto the control panel . But he couldn¡¯t even make a scratch on it . His sword got deflected off the control panel . ¡°What the!?¡± ¡°There is a magic spell protecting the surface, it won¡¯t break with normal attacks! We need something like a cursed sword to break it!¡± Their conversation reached Loren¡¯s ears . He didn¡¯t understand the technical parts, but he understood that in order to do something about this situation, they needed Lapis to stop the control panel or something to destroy it . He also knew that Ritz had tried to destroy it, but a magic spell was protecting it and couldn¡¯t do it . After collecting all the information, he got an idea . He had no idea if it would work, but he didn¡¯t have anything to lose at this point . ¡°Lapis! Get away from there!¡± He swung his sword in a wide arc and forced a bunch of goblins off of him, and shouted at her direction . Without checking to see if Lapis did what he told her to, he plunged his hand into his pocket and found what he was looking for . It was something that activated when the user willed it, but to make sure that it would activate for sure, he had to say he wanted to use it out loud . Loren threw the object at the control panel and shouted at the top of his lungs . ¡°Activate!¡± The object flying through the air was a pendant that was emitting gold light . ¡°The > pendant!?¡± Lapis, who was hurrying away from the panel, saw what it was and started moving away even quicker . When the pendant landed on the panel, it released the charged-up mana it had gathered since the goblin mage had used it, and from Loren¡¯s shout, disabled the magic that was protecting it . ¡°Come on, break!¡± Loren raised the remains of his great sword above his head, and heaved it at the panel with all his remaining strength . It flew across the room and crashed straight into the panel . Even without the spell, the panel was quite hard, but it still couldn¡¯t handle Loren¡¯s full strength and force, and the sword sunk deep into it . ¡°W-whoa, that was dangerous¡­¡± Although some of the pendant¡¯s mana had recharged, it seemed that there wasn¡¯t too much, as the range of its magic didn¡¯t reach Lapis . Even so, Lapis was about to complain that Loren could¡¯ve made her lose control of her limbs once again, when Loren suddenly collapsed right in front of her eyes . ¡®Wha-!? Loren! Loren, are you okay!?¡± Ritz and his party watched Lapis panic and run towards Loren . Around them, the words on the control panel slowly disappeared, and all the goblins around them dropped down one by one, as if someone cut the strings of a puppet . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 24 Chapter 24 ¡°Loren, you¡¯re awake . I¡¯m so glad . ¡± Loren woke up to Lapis peering into his face and something heavy pressing onto his stomach . He raised his right hand and slapped it onto his forehead and pressed down . He felt a soft bed under him and a clean blanket covering him . The heaviness he was feeling was Lapis sitting on top of him, and when Lapis moved her face right up to his, he flicked her forehead quite hard . ¡°Ow!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t recklessly sit on top of a guy . ¡± Lapis leaned backwards, her hand on her forehead and tears in her eyes . She then gave Loren look full of complaints and pointed around the room with her other hand . ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to sit down other than here . ¡± Loren, still lying down, turn his head to look around . It was an ordinary hospital room . Other than his bed, there was a table and a shelf, but no chairs . Strong sunlight and a gentle breeze was coming from the window, and the breeze was flapping the curtains on it slightly . ¡°A hospital¡­?¡± Loren decided that he must be in a hospital, and Lapis nodded . ¡°Yes, this is a hospital . Do you want to hear what happened after you passed out?¡± Loren nodded without hesitation . He remembered up until he had moved to destroy the control panel, but he had no idea what happened after and how he was alive . ¡°What¡¯s the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°Up to when I threw my sword . ¡± Loren lost consciousness before he could see if he was able to destroy the control panel . Since he wasn¡¯t in the ruins or in the afterlife, he knew that he must have succeeded in destroying the control panel, and wanted to hear from someone who knew what happened after that . ¡°It looks like your consciousness and memory is fine . People who let their consciousness and power go out of control often have mental damage, but I¡¯m glad that Loren¡¯s berserk seems to be a harmless one . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s good ones and bad ones?¡± ¡°Of course . Anyway, about the events after Loren threw Loren¡¯s great sword . ¡± Thanks to the pendant and the broken great sword Loren had thrown at the control panel, it stopped functioning completely . Due to it shutting down, the commands for stopping the goblins and shutting down the ruins went through . The goblins stopped moving and the ruins stopped as well . ¡°No one¡¯s going to be able to restart those ruins ever again . ¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, because you completely destroyed the control panel . It can¡¯t be fixed either because the pendant got rid of the magic circuits inside it as well . ¡± Lapis believed that in the era that they were currently in, destroying those ruins were a good thing . It hadn¡¯t mattered to the Ancient Kingdom, but with the level of magic culture of current society, it wouldn¡¯t be able to hand such a ruin . Even if people tried to use it for military purposes, the only orders the goblins would take would be ones related to the ruins, so all they would be able to do is let the goblins loose in an area and spread fear and confusion . If it was going to be used like that, it was better if no one could use it anymore . ¡°Ritz and his party were quite mad, though . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not surprising . We made the ruins useless . ¡± Although they meant it as a joke, it was a fact that they said some grudging things . Since they had messed up their quest, it wasn¡¯t surprising that they said a thing or two at them, but Ritz and his party didn¡¯t resent Loren at all . But Lapis decided that she didn¡¯t have to tell Loren that . Ritz and his party did indeed gather lots of information on the ruins, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore because the ruins were pretty much useless now . They weren¡¯t able to find treasure or anything else of great value, so the rewards for their quest didn¡¯t add up too much . Adding up the expenses they used to get ready for the expedition and treating their injured members, they were at a loss . But despite that, Loren still saved their lives, so they were all quite thankful to him . Even though Loren was misunderstanding how Ritz and his party felt about him, Lapis had no intention on correcting it since she was not the cause of the misunderstanding in the first place . ¡°It¡¯ll be troubling if I make weird connections, so . ¡± Lapis already knew what direction she was going to take this conversation . Although Ritz and his party were high ranking adventurers and were good people, getting friendly with them was slightly troublesome for her . That¡¯s why she was trying to make him think they didn¡¯t like him too much . ¡°Did you say something?¡± Lapis¡¯ murmur hadn¡¯t reached Loren¡¯s ears . Lapis decided that it was bad if something she let out carelessly and made Loren suspicious of her, so she forcefully continued the conversation . ¡°Although the expedition itself ended in a failure, they still did their work so they got a lot of the rewards, so I don¡¯t think you have to worry so much . ¡± ¡°But I still did something pretty bad though . ¡± At Loren¡¯s apologetic tone, Lapis decided that it wasn¡¯t good to keep talking about it, so she coughed and changed the subject . ¡°The guild is going to send an expedition team to the ruins and make sure it¡¯s sealed properly . It can¡¯t be used anymore so it shouldn¡¯t need sealing, but I guess you can¡¯t be too careful . ¡± If an official expedition was going to be conducted, they would search around the area as well, and that meant the girls in Sarfe¡¯s party might be rescued . Lapis realized the possibility but didn¡¯t care at all . Whether they get rescued or not, she wasn¡¯t going to meet them ever again so it was a waste of time to think about them . ¡°Who carried me here? Where is this, anyway?¡± ¡°I did . I couldn¡¯t let Ritz and the others carry you . Also, this is the hospital in Kauffa . They did offer to help, but they had their own injured to take care of . ¡± Loren and Lapis and Ritz¡¯s party did get together within the ruins, but were originally separate parties . Since it was the norm for parties to take care of their own members, it would¡¯ve been awkward if Lapis let them carry Loren . ¡°Looks like you helped me quite a bit . ¡± ¡°No, no . Don¡¯t worry about it . Speaking of failed quests, the quest for exterminating goblins that we took was considered a failure . Three members of the party hasn¡¯t come back and we weren¡¯t able to destroy the nest, and we don¡¯t have any proof of hunting, so . ¡± The sack that contained the goblin ears was lost sometime during the fight . Loren had to focus on fighting for his life so he couldn¡¯t manage to keep track of it at the same time, and wondered where he dropped it . As a result, they didn¡¯t receive any sort of reward from the adventurer¡¯s guild . Loren sighed at his mistake . ¡°Sorry about that Lapis . ¡± Although Loren had lost the sack, Lapis could¡¯ve harvested a lot from all the goblins that had stopped after the control panel broke . The ones they killed were collected by the goblins but there were still a lot of goblins left in there . But she didn¡¯t do that because everyone knew that they weren¡¯t out of danger just because the ruins shut down and Ritz suggested getting out of there as fast as they can . Because of that she couldn¡¯t collect anything afterwards . ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . Oh, and I¡¯ve already taken the carriage fee that it took to get back here from your wallet, but the treatment fees and the hospital fees that were added are a different story . ¡± Loren felt gloomy after hearing those words and didn¡¯t want to get up anymore, so he relaxed his body and kept lying down . The sole reason he accepted the quest was because he had no money, but he lost the sack with the proof of hunting, and above that, he had other fees he had to pay . The carriage fee that Lapis took from his wallet was money she had lent him as well . When he heard Lapis say that she added the treatment fees and hospital fees, he looked at Lapis . ¡°I¡¯ll pay for them for you, so don¡¯t worry . ¡± Lapis understood what Loren was thinking and answered . ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°Around three days . We took a day coming back so you¡¯ve been here for two days, and the hospital bills will cost five silver coins . ¡± Loren sighed as he learned that it was a cost that he couldn¡¯t pay, while Lapis smiled and moved her face closer to Loren¡¯s and whispered . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much . I¡¯m lending you the money, but I¡¯m not going to ask for any interest . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t pay it even if you did . ¡± ¡°I won¡¯t remind you either . And you can pay in installments as well . ¡± In fact, Lapis was the only one who had a profit from the quest, but she was keeping it a secret from Loren . It was because while she was looking for the manual for the ruins, she slipped things that looked valuable in her pockets . Even a thief like Jack couldn¡¯t notice her doing it, thus she was the only one who made it out with valuables in her hand . All the things she found were accessories with magic spells on them, and decided that the person who oversaw the facility was a woman . Also, she guessed that the > pendant that the goblin mage had was from the control room . She speculated that it took the pendant and left the ruins and eventually evolved into a goblin mage . There was no way for her to check if it was correct, though . ¡°Aren¡¯t the conditions a too good?¡± ¡°Instead, please stay with me for a while . ¡± She fired herself up as she got to the main point . What Lapis was aiming for was Loren himself . Loren was quite experienced and trustworthy, and he didn¡¯t change his attitude towards her even when she told him that she was demon kind, which were hated by most people . A person like that was already hard to find . Not only that, Lapis left her home to learn about the world and she was disguised as a priest, but even though she was a powerful demon kind, there was a limit to what she could do alone . But if she partnered up with a swordsman, they would be able to work as a party, and when she would need to partner up with a random party, it would cause less trouble for her . That was how hard it was for a priestess to move on her own . People would keep coming to her with ulterior motives, and even if she could get into a good party, they may not let her leave even if she wanted to . ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad trade . What do you think?¡± Lapis wasn¡¯t comfortable with using money to bound Loren with her, but she didn¡¯t want to lose him so she was willing to turn a blind eye . Even when she put herself in Loren¡¯s shoes, she could see the merits of moving with a priest . A swordsman would benefit a lot from a priest who could heal injuries instantly . ¡°W-what do you think?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t responding . Lapis was worried that she might have made him angry, so she asked him again nervously . He looked past Lapis and at the ceiling, exhausted, and replied . ¡°I¡¯m in no state to refuse . ¡± ¡°So, does that mean you accept?¡± ¡°Promise me . It¡¯s until I pay off my debt . ¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine . I¡¯ll be in your care Loren . ¡± Lapis¡¯ face lit up brightly . As he watched her smile from beneath her wondering when she would get off him, he wondered how he was going to pay her back . But Loren had no idea . Beneath her bright smile, Lapis was thinking of ways she could increase Loren¡¯s debt so she could keep him at her side . This is how a broke mercenary started walking down the path of an adventurer . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 25 Chapter 25 There was a rumor that a village was destroyed . Loren, who was sitting in the bar inside the adventurer¡¯s guild with a drink in front of him, thought that he had heard something like that before . It wasn¡¯t an uncommon thing to happen, and was something that would reach your ears if you stayed at the adventurer¡¯s guild . Spreading farmland was something any country or n . o . ble constantly worried about . More farmland meant more harvest . More harvest meant more products to sell, which meant more tax money, and that meant more money flowing into their pockets . One or two villages disappearing didn¡¯t stop them from trying to make more of them . They may be frustrated, but would immediately stamp the paperwork to create another one, to get back the money they had lost . In the end, it was all about money, and no one could run from the clutches of money . Loren sighed as he thought about how he was one of those people, but heard a cheerful voice that seemed to chase away his gloomy thoughts . ¡°Huh? Loren, are you already having a drink?¡± A black ponytail bouncing up and down . A white robe worn by priests, who served the G . o . ds . A girl, that eight, even nine out of ten people would look back and stare at if she pa . s . sed them, opened the doors of the bar and found Loren, who was sitting in a corner, and called out to him . ¡°But Loren, do you have money to pay for it?¡± The priestess that served the Knowledge G . o . d, who walked up to Loren¡¯s table and talked to him, was Lapis . Loren frowned at her question, remembering that he didn¡¯t have any money . Loren used to be a mercenary, but the group he was a part of was destroyed not too long ago . He had managed to survive and reach the city he was in right now, and became an adventurer to make a living . On his first quest, not only did he lose the little money he had, as well as the great sword that he used since when he was a mercenary, he had let his power go berserk and was sent to the hospital from the recoil . He thought that it wouldn¡¯t take long for him to recover, because his injury wasn¡¯t that severe, but apparently it took quite a toll on his body and the doctor told him to stay put for two more days . The two days pa . s . sed by quickly, and Loren was now out of the hospital, but he had made a promise to Lapis, that in exchange for her paying his hospital bills, he would have to partner up with her until he could pay off his debt . To start off, Lapis had paid his hospital fees, which costed five silver coins . Along with the ten copper coins she had lent him when paying for the carriage, the total was five silver coins and ten copper coins . However, because the doctor told him to stay put for another two days, his debt sprung up to ten silver coins and ten copper coins . ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯d want to drink some alcohol after all that time in the hospital . ¡± Without waiting for Loren to respond, she called a pa . s . sing waitress and gave her four copper coins, and ordered a gla . s . s for herself . ¡°I would like to pay for him as well . ¡± The alcohol in Loren¡¯s cup was the cheapest one they had, but even that costed two copper coins . He had ordered alcohol by habit even though he had no money . He buried his head in his hands at the fact that his debt just increased again . Lapis took the gla . s . s that the waitress brought, held it with both hands, and started sipping it . ¡°You know it¡¯s not good to drink alcohol on an empty stomach, right? Especially when you just recovered . Let¡¯s order something to eat . ¡± ¡°You know I don¡¯t have any money, right?¡± Loren immediately b . u . t . ted into his own words, asking himself why he had ordered alcohol, while Lapis took out a few copper coins from her pocket . ¡°I¡¯ll be paying of course . ¡± ¡°My debt¡¯s just getting larger and larger . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it so much . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to collect it from you every now and then . Plus, all you need to do is stay with me, so it¡¯s not that bad either . Miss waitress, I¡¯d like an egg sandwich with no mustard please . And a ham sandwich for him . ¡± Lapis stopped a nearby waitress and told her order, giving her ten copper coins for the food . In the bar run by the adventurer¡¯s guild, everyone had to pay when they ordered . Since adventurers weren¡¯t the most trustworthy, if they took the money after they finished eating, they would try to leave without paying or would act like they already paid . Of course, there was almost no chance of getting away with it scot-free, but they did fight for a living, which could cause potential fights and injuries, and there were also adventurers whose jobs were thieves . However, there were still a handful that managed to get away with it, so the guild had made the rule that forced you pay first . Loren looked at the waitress, wondering why she gave him the alcohol even though he didn¡¯t pay, and she gave him a smile that seemed like she understood his situation . As he was feeling uncomfortable that he made her be considerate towards him, he asked Lapis what was on his mind . ¡°How much is a ham sandwich, anyway¡­¡± ¡°Five copper coins . It¡¯s the same price as the egg sandwich, you know?¡± Loren looked at Lapis, who was wondering if she should¡¯ve ordered an egg sandwich instead, and sighed deeply . ¡°My debt just keeps increasing . ¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to have to find some work . But Loren, you lost your weapon, right? What are you going to do about that?¡± The great sword that Loren had used wasn¡¯t something that would be sold at an ordinary shop . It was as tall as him, including the grip, and its blade was thicker than Lapis¡¯ waist . It was a big and heavy weapon that not many people could use, and there was no way something like that would be sold at any ordinary shop . Loren couldn¡¯t imagine how expensive it would be if he were to have one made as a special order . He missed his sword, but regretting about past events was going to get him nowhere . He looked towards the quest board, deciding that he needed some money first . ¡°A quest that I don¡¯t need a weapon to do, huh¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go clean sewers . You¡¯ll smell bad . Oh, I know a good deodorant that you could use . Do you want me to accommodate some? If you agree to that, I don¡¯t mind you going in the sewers . ¡± Loren looked at her like she was planning something fishy, but Lapis¡¯ eyes were dead serious as she responded . ¡°You said you¡¯ll stay with me, right? Of course, I wouldn¡¯t like it if Loren smelled like the sewers . ¡± Loren could understand her point, so he reluctantly crossed out cleaning sewers from the list of quests he could do from his head . Lapis¡¯ idea of using deodorant after going into the sewers wasn¡¯t a bad one, but Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel that the rewards of the quest would only be a fraction of what it would cost . ¡°Is there any other quest that I can accept without a weapon?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± As Lapis rested her cheek on her palm, the waitress came back with the food, and slipped the egg sandwich in front of her . Then she proceeded to put the ham sandwich in front of Loren . ¡°Let¡¯s eat first and then think about the difficult parts later . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re talking about something that¡¯s difficult though¡­¡± Although Loren said that in a tired manner, the smell of the sandwiches tempted him to take one of them and pop the whole thing in his mouth . Loren had spent his time in the hospital for the past few days . He had to eat hospital food the whole time, and although it was good for his body, the taste wasn¡¯t . To Loren, who had lived off hospital food for four days, the taste of ham and mustard inside freshly baked bread tasted too good . ¡°Hey, look at that guy . He¡¯s a b . u . m (freeloader?) . ¡± ¡°Man, he¡¯s only a copper rank but he¡¯s having a girl buy him food . Wish we could get some leftovers . ¡± Loren heard the voices of two men drinking at a table that was near his . On their chests were iron cla . s . s identification tags . The adventurers, who were a higher rank than Loren, were watching what was going on between him and Lapis, and decided to interrupt them . He gave the situation a good thought, as he gulped down the sandwich and licked the mustard off his fingers . He guessed that his current position was something others could jeer at . But whether it could be overlooked or not was a whole different problem . ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to just ignore them Loren?¡± Lapis was holding her egg sandwich with both hands and was nibbling the corner of it . She glanced towards the adventurers, who were laughing and making fun of Loren, with the corner of her eye, but quickly lost interest and went back to eating her sandwich . ¡°Not sure if you know, but in these cases, if you let them look down on you, they¡¯ll keep on looking down on you . ¡± ¡°Is that what all mercenaries think? I don¡¯t really get it, but I don¡¯t think they¡¯re worth your time . ¡± She smacked her lips at the sandwich with thinly sliced boiled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, and continued . ¡°Because people like them will never get a girl to buy them food . ¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°The h . e . l . l did you just say!¡± They immediately reacted to Lapis¡¯ venomous words and jumped up, kicking away their seats . Loren stood up and walked towards the two, only stopping to put his hand on Lapis¡¯ shoulder . Lapis wasn¡¯t even looking at them . ¡°Good job provoking them . I¡¯ll go kill them really quick . ¡± ¡°You can¡¯t kill them, you know? It¡¯ll be a crime . But leaving them ninety percent dead is okay, because it¡¯s an unspoken agreement between adventurers . Also, you can¡¯t take their belongings, okay? You¡¯ll be arrested for theft . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± ¡°Oh, and if you break the things in the store, you¡¯ll have to compensate for it . Well, I¡¯m going to pay for it so I don¡¯t mind if you break a few things . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a discouraging thought¡­¡± The adventurers outnumbered him two to one, and on his chest, was a copper identification tag . The two adventurers weren¡¯t afraid of Loren at all, seeing that he was a lower ranking adventurer . ¡°Is this guy stupid? We¡¯re iron rank, you know?¡± ¡°If you grovel on the ground and ask for forgiveness, we¡¯ll just take the girl and leave you alone . She¡¯s a priest, right? There¡¯re many ways we can use her . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already had your fun with her, right? So why not let us¡­¡± Loren felt that he would want kill the guy if he heard him finish what he was saying, so he punched him in the face, making sure to hold back quite a bit . If Loren was a normal adventurer, the punch would have started the fight, but he was able to wield a heavy weapon that normal adventurers and mercenaries wouldn¡¯t even be able to hold up, and swing it around like it was nothing . Of course, being able to wield such a weapon, his strength wasn¡¯t something that could fit within ordinary limits, even if he did hold back . The adventurer, who was caught off guard, didn¡¯t even last a second against the punch . He flew backwards, in a spiral spin, and crashed into the wall of the bar, along with a set of a table and a chair . ¡°Oh¡­The table and the chair are going to cost quite a bit . ¡± Lapis was already standing next to Loren, who dropped his shoulders at not holding back enough . He remembered that there was one more adventurer, but when he looked down, he saw him sprawled on the ground with a big b . u . mp on his head and eyes rolled back, with a piece of a chair next to his head . ¡°Geez, how can they say such a thing to a young maiden . ¡± Lapis said angrily as she tossed the rest of the chair on top of the unconscious adventurer . As Loren wondered if he should point out that a maiden wouldn¡¯t use a chair to knock an iron rank adventurer unconscious, he sighed when he saw Lapis hand money to the waitress, telling her it was for repairs . Chapter 26 Chapter 26 ¡°You chose quite the safe job, collecting herbs . ¡± After the one-sided sc . r . a . p at the bar, Loren went to the quest board, chose a quest at random, and walked out, wanting to avoid the commotion . The quest that he picked was ¡°gathering herbs in a nearby forest¡± . Since there weren¡¯t any strong monsters living there, the difficulty was the lowest, and the guild bought the herbs at two copper coins apiece . It seemed like selling resources and ingredients rather than a quest, but to the guild, which had adventurers getting injured all year long, the more they could get their hands on the better . This is why this quest was always on the quest board . ¡°There¡¯s no monsters there so I don¡¯t need to have a weapon . ¡± To Loren, who didn¡¯t have a weapon, this quest was perfect for him, but when he thought about how cheap the herbs were, he didn¡¯t feel like doing it . The amount of money he needed to compensate for the chair, table, and the wall that broke when Loren punched the iron rank adventurer was four silver coins . The wall costed three silver coins and the table and chair costed one, so no Loren¡¯s total debt was fourteen silver coins and ten copper coins . ¡°You¡¯re going to need seven hundred and fifty herbs to pay off your debt . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say something so discouraging . There¡¯s no way there¡¯s that many of them in this forest . ¡± The forest they were heading towards wasn¡¯t that large . That¡¯s why there weren¡¯t dangerous monsters, but there was no way such a small forest would have the number of herbs that Lapis pointed out . It took an hour to get to the forest . Loren wasn¡¯t sure how it worked, but he did know that the day was split into twelve parts, and an hour was one out of the twelve . In large cities, the bell rang at every hour to tell the time . As soon as they reached the forest an hour later, Loren walked in and started looking for herbs . Herbs had helped Loren a lot back when he was a mercenary, so he knew a lot about them . They had slightly pointed leaves and was hard to mistake for a different plant . ¡°This is so dull . ¡± Lapis, who was following Loren, stopped to pick a stalk . She raised it up in front of her eyes and stared at it . She then threw it into the sack she was carrying . ¡°Why are you collecting herbs too?¡± ¡°I need to earn some money too . I won¡¯t look good if I don¡¯t have any money to lend you when you need it . ¡± Loren thought that she didn¡¯t need to do such a dull quest, as she seemed to have enough money already to lend him some, and drooped his head with a limp expression . He figured lending him money was the reason why Lapis, who had enough money for herself, was taking part in the quest . ¡°Anyways Loren, you¡¯re missing quite a lot of them . ¡± ¡°Ugh¡­I¡¯m not good at these kinds of things . ¡± Loren had found quite a bit and put them into his sack, but he couldn¡¯t help but overlook some . Lapis was gathering the herbs that Loren missed, but the sizes of their sacks were roughly the same, showing Loren how much he was overlooking . ¡°If there was a battle or two going on, repaying you would be so much easier . ¡± Although Loren said that, if someone asked him if he wanted to go back to being a mercenary, he couldn¡¯t say yes without hesitation . He lived most of his life as a mercenary, but it wasn¡¯t like he enjoyed killing people for a living . He was sad that his group was destroyed, but now he started thinking of it as an opportunity to turn a clean slate . ¡°Even if there was a battle, you don¡¯t have any equipment . Or do you want to try signing up as a soldier and get equipment that way?¡± ¡°That¡¯s something I¡¯d rather not do . ¡± In Loren¡¯s eyes, the equipment given to ordinary people gathered by the recruiting office or who were drafted was miserable things . Although the country readied funds to purchase good equipment for soldiers, but the money would pa . s . s through the hands of a few people, and the large sum of money would disappear . Even though the funds get smaller, the amount of equipment they need doesn¡¯t change . Of course, the leftover funds reflect the quality of the equipment, and the soldiers were given spears that snapped after one jab, leather armor that would crumble just by wearing it, and other things that seemed like a joke . This wasn¡¯t known among ordinary soldiers, but the member who oversaw the group¡¯s finances told Loren that this was why the soldiers they faced in battle were so weak . ¡°We¡¯re really not finding much . ¡± After some time pa . s . sed since they started gathering herbs, Loren and Lapis reached the far end of the forest . Which meant they managed to cross the whole forest while gathering herbs . Even after walking this distance, Loren¡¯s sack that contained the herbs that he gathered was only half full . The number of herbs that he managed to gather was around twenty . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped . This quest is always open, so someone is always coming here to gather herbs . ¡± The sack of herbs that Lapis had was the same size as Loren¡¯s . There was enough time until sundown, but considering the time it¡¯ll take them to get back to the city, they needed to start heading back now . Loren didn¡¯t want to risk sleeping outside without a weapon, and wanted to sleep in a bed if he could . ¡°I guess we should head back . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re at a slight loss, though . ¡± Loren gave Lapis a nervous look, but Lapis continued with a cool face . ¡°The inn that the guild recommends costs thirty copper coins a night . Food would cost between five to seven copper coins . If you decide to have a drink, a gla . s . s costs two copper coins . In total, a day¡¯s living expenses range from forty-five to fifty-three copper coins . ¡± Loren gloomily did the calculations and figured out that the money he would get from the herbs wasn¡¯t enough to cover all of that . He had to face the reality that if this continued, there was no way he was going to be able to pay Lapis back . ¡°I would like to suggest making up your mind about borrowing money from me to get some good equipment . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to start thinking about that . Wait, how are other copper rank adventurers living? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Loren thought that maybe they were covered in debt as well, and Lapis answered as she tied her sack tightly . ¡°They¡¯re definitely head deep in debt . That¡¯s why they try to get quest where they get paid a lot . If they succeed earn money, and if they fail they might die . The most solid route is raising your rank to iron and having a veteran party pick you up . ¡± ¡°I guess this world is pretty rough¡­¡± Loren started thinking that maybe mercenaries were more fortunate in terms of money . There was no need to worry about money, and they even got small allowances . They would give their equipment to whoever was in charge of them, it would come back before the next battle, all repaired and ready to go . ¡°I guess the commander and the guys in accounting didn¡¯t have the easiest of times . ¡± ¡°Although it differs from person to person, that¡¯s how everyone is living . ¡± Even though she said with a teacher¡¯s tone, it wasn¡¯t going to increase the number of herbs in their sacks . On the way back, Loren wondered if he should get a weapon, even if it meant increasing his debt, and try a better quest . But he felt something around them and silently threw his sack at Lapis . ¡°Are you saying that I should carry your stuff?¡± ¡°No . Be quiet for a second . ¡± Loren clasped his fists and silenced Lapis, who was about to complain . Lapis realized that Loren felt something, held her tongue, and hugged the sack that Loren had thrown her in her chest along with her own . ¡°This way . Something¡¯s here . ¡± Loren picked up a scent of beasts within the green smell of the forest . He heard a low growl and stepped off the path in the direction which the sound came from . ¡°If something¡¯s there shouldn¡¯t we run?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but I¡¯ve got a bad feeling . ¡± Although Loren agreed that what Lapis said was reasonable, he followed his intuition and ran through the forest . The bad feeling Loren felt soon became a reality in front of their eyes . ¡°Loren! A young girl is lying unconscious!¡± They reached a small clearing, and lying in the middle was a young girl wearing a white dress, her blonde hair all over the place . Lapis was focused on her, but Loren found the source of the scent of beasts hiding in the trees around them . ¡°Something¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Forest wolves!¡± Lapis realized that they were surrounded as Loren warning rang out, and immediately said the name of the beasts . The wolves lived in forests and weren¡¯t that large, but they moved in packs and hunted in packs, which made them somewhat dangerous . Alone, they weren¡¯t that dangerous, but their danger level rose exponentially, and were the were the causes of death for a great number of adventurers in the forest . ¡°We¡¯re going to save her! You have no objections, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but Loren you don¡¯t have a weapon!¡± ¡°This is enough to handle these dogs . ¡± Loren swung his fist lightly and charged . The forest wolves saw Loren charge and some of them broke off the pack and rushed to intercept him . One of the wolves jumped from tree to tree and lunged at Loren, but got hammered straight in the face with a fist . It flew backwards, spinning, with a broken nose and teeth and crashed into a tree . While it died without a sound, another wolf got its neck crushed, thrown onto the ground, and its head crushed . Another wolf tried to bite onto Loren¡¯s boots but couldn¡¯t bite through the thick leather, was grabbed and swung straight into a tree, and its back broke . The last one, which tried to slip past Loren and attack Lapis, got its tail grabbed at the last second . It tried to bite Loren but was swung around and got its neck snapped . All of this happened within a short moment and the forest wolves, which just lost four of their members, became wary of Loren . ¡°Can you eat them?¡± ¡°Their meat isn¡¯t meant for eating, but their pelts are worth some money . Loren, do you know how to skin animals? I don¡¯t know how . ¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a knife either, so I guess we¡¯ll have to give up on that . ¡± Both came to gather herbs, and didn¡¯t have anything to help them carry four wolves . Although he regretted not being able to take the wolves, but he knew there was no other choice since they had no way of bringing them back . Loren left the corpses on the ground and took a step forward . The rest of the forest wolves understood that they didn¡¯t stand a chance and ran off . Loren wasn¡¯t one who liked chasing beasts that won¡¯t attack, and continued to brace himself for a while longer, making sure that they didn¡¯t come back . After he saw that they weren¡¯t coming back, he relaxed and slowly walked back to the fallen girl . The girl looked like she was around ten years old . Loren thought maybe it was a trap, but couldn¡¯t think of anyone who would want to set a trap for him using a young girl as bait, and couldn¡¯t find anything of the sort nearby . ¡°I¡¯ll keep guard, so can you check on her?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . ¡± They were dealing with a young girl . Loren decided that Lapis, who was a girl as well, would be better suited to check on her . Lapis crouched next to the girl and checked her pulse, then checked her clothes and body . Loren, watching her at the corner of his eye, looked around him . Although the forest wolves backed off, there was still a chance that they would attack again . ¡°This girl sure is lucky . ¡± The girl, lying on the ground, had dirt and fallen leaves stuck in her hair . Lapis seemed to feel sorry for her and started dusting off her face and body . ¡°Lucky? Even though she was about to get attacked by wolves?¡± ¡°Yes, because we found her before she could get eaten . Plus, while Loren was dealing with four of them, the others didn¡¯t attack her . If you don¡¯t call this luck, I don¡¯t know what you would call it . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­Since there¡¯s people with bad luck, I guess there are people with good luck as well . ¡± ¡°This world is made so well . By the way, do you have any idea of who the unlucky people are?¡± Lapis lifted the unconscious girl and smiled at Loren . Loren quickly averted his eyes from that smile . Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Although they didn¡¯t know who or what she was, there was no reason for them to stay in the forest tending to the young girl . Loren thought that someone who knew the girl might be in the area, so he left her with Lapis and looked around, but he couldn¡¯t find a trace of anyone . They couldn¡¯t just leave her in the forest alone, so they decided to take her back to the city . ¡°I don¡¯t really want to do this . ¡± ¡°Then should we leave her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s even worse . ¡± Even though the girl was around ten years old, she was a bit too big for Lapis to carry, so Loren let her carry his sack of herbs and decided to carry the girl on his back . He was surprised at how light the unconscious girl was when he picked her up . ¡°She¡¯s light, right? It¡¯s not like she¡¯s thin . She¡¯s actually pretty healthy . She¡¯s probably from a wealthy family . ¡± Lapis walked up next to Loren and touched the girl¡¯s foot . Although she was found in the forest, she was barefoot . ¡°She doesn¡¯t have much muscle, and the flesh on her hands and feet aren¡¯t hard . Either she didn¡¯t walk around much, or was taken care of very well . ¡± ¡°Rather than that, she must be insane to be barefoot inside a forest . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . Usually your feet would get cut up really bad . ¡± Even if you were careful, if you walked around barefoot you would get cuts and sc . r . a . pes . But the girl¡¯s feet were smooth and clean with no cuts whatsoever . Loren was curious about her feet, but what was really on his mind was the white dress she was wearing . The dress was pure white, with no stains on it at all . If didn¡¯t make any sense if she had wandered in the forest . ¡°Well, I guess we can ask her when she wakes up . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m kind of worried that people would think we kidnapped her . ¡± ¡°Well, two rough looking people are carrying around a helpless girl, so . ¡± ¡°Can you not naturally include me like that?¡± They continued to talk the whole way back, and when they reached the city, Lapis suggested they take the girl to the adventurer¡¯s guild . They looked like they would be stopped at the gate, but the soldiers in Kauffa didn¡¯t stop people much . ¡°Apparently, they¡¯re pretty lax about it, unless you obviously look like a criminal . ¡± ¡°Well, even if they did mistake us for kidnappers, we don¡¯t really have a way to talk out of it . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there are people who would attempt kidnapping with a priest in their party . ¡± ¡°Priests are pretty amazing, huh . ¡± ¡°Nothing beats priests when it comes to social trustworthiness . ¡± Although Lapis puffed out her chest and bragged, it wasn¡¯t like priests did amazing things, but instead their trust came from the fact that they served the G . o . ds . When they reached the guild, everyone¡¯s gazes were on Loren, who had two girls with him . But Loren stopped feeling the gazes soon enough and tilted his head . While he was thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be weird if adventurers like the ones in the morning showed up, Lapis reached the front desk and explained their situation, and came back with the receptionist . ¡°Is it correct that you found and rescued someone in the forest?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right . Here she is . ¡± Loren turned around and showed her the girl . She stood and looked at the girl for a while, and seemed to have found something . She called over the other employees at the desk, and they ran towards them with a stretcher . ¡°We¡¯ll take her from here . Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah . I can¡¯t keep her here on my back forever . ¡± Loren gently let the girl down from his back and laid her on the stretcher . As the employees stood up and picked up the stretcher, Loren saw their surprised faces . As he was thinking that they were surprised at how light the girl was as well, the receptionist called him over and asked him to follow her past the receptionists¡¯ desk . ¡°I¡¯m just saying, I didn¡¯t kidnap her . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that a kidnapper wouldn¡¯t hand over the person he kidnapped to the adventurer¡¯s guild . It¡¯s nothing like that, but I¡¯d like to talk to you about something . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay if it¡¯s the two of us, right?¡± ¡°Yes, with the priestess please . ¡± Loren felt that they weren¡¯t going to be questioned and looked towards Lapis for her opinion . She noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and nodded, so Loren decided that there was no problem and followed the receptionist into a drawing room . ¡°Let me get straight to the point . I¡¯d like to put a restriction on your actions . ¡± The receptionist told them that as soon as they entered the room and sat down . It was so sudden that Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about, so instead Lapis started talking to her . ¡°What do you mean? Is there some sort of problem with us?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing like that . The guild is going to investigate the girl, and until we are finished, we don¡¯t want you to move around too much . ¡± ¡°Do you mean that there¡¯s something with the girl?¡± ¡°Currently, there is nothing we can tell you about that . ¡± As he watched Lapis and the employee talk, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think they were being quite unreasonable . But an authority wielding organization like the guild often did unreasonable things, so he wasn¡¯t angry . Thinking that it was nothing compared to what leaders of mercenary groups did, and Loren asked the employee something important the popped up in his mind . ¡°How long is it going to last, and how much are we going to be restricted . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the exact period, but I believe it¡¯s going to be a few days . For the restriction, we don¡¯t want you to leave the city, and if possible, stay at the inn that we tell you to . ¡± ¡°That sounds pretty serious . ¡± The restrictions were loose, but it was pretty much the same thing as being contained and arrested . It wasn¡¯t something he could just agree to . No matter how much authority the guild had, Loren wasn¡¯t going to do something that he didn¡¯t want to and showed his irritation . The employee tensed as she felt pressure coming from him, but wasn¡¯t going to back off . She clenched her teeth and continued slowly, trying not to let her voice tremble . ¡°We¡¯ll ready rooms at the inn >*, on the main street . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know which one your talking about . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t familiar with this city . In fact, he wasn¡¯t familiar with any city due to moving around a lot when he was a mercenary, but he still didn¡¯t know anything about the city he was staying in . He didn¡¯t have a chance to gather information on the city, so even though the employee gave him the name of the inn, he had no idea what kind of place it was . ¡°It¡¯s one of the best inns in the city . It¡¯s really fancy and expensive as well . ¡± ¡°Of course, we will pay for the rooms and the food . And if you want to go and entertain yourselves, just put it on the guild¡¯s tab, and we will pay for that as well . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s really gracious of you . ¡± ¡°Are adventurers easily persuaded by this kind of thing?¡± The guild was going to pay for everything . Lapis acted very surprised, and Loren snorted . ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It sounds too good to be true . Between mercenaries, it¡¯s common sense not to take jobs that pay really well . ¡± If they said they would pay for rooms at an ordinary inn, Loren was planning on listening a bit longer, but saying that they would let them stay in a good inn as well as pay for their food and entertainment was just too suspicious . ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more humane to act as if you didn¡¯t notice that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the last person I want to listen to talking about how to be human¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to firmly protest about how you¡¯re treating me . ¡± Loren raised his hand and stopped Lapis, who was about to argue with a sullen expression, and asked another question to the employee, being careful not to raise his voice . ¡°Anyways, about the girl that we brought here . What is there to her . ?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re going to investigate . ¡± The employee didn¡¯t give him an exact answer, and from that Loren understood that he didn¡¯t turn the conversation the right way . Loren was thinking that being loyal to your job was indeed a virtue, but he didn¡¯t like the fact that they were keeping things from him . Lapis started to talk this time instead of him . ¡°You do realize that we¡¯re not satisfied with that answer, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Just tell us this then . What do you think the chances are that this will work against us?¡± Lapis looked straight at the employee, and she silently looked away from her, eyes wandering . Lapis didn¡¯t seem like she was going to go on and silently waited for the employee to answer . After thinking for a long time, the employee sighed, knowing that Loren and Lapis wouldn¡¯t accept the guild¡¯s suggestion at this rate . She looked at them and opened her mouth . ¡°I believe that there¡¯s very little chance of that . A few people in the guild have seen the girl before, but the only way we can make sure who she really is, is either when she wakes up or after a few days of investigation . ¡± ¡°Loren, this means that the girl is from a faraway city, and high status as well . ¡± The employee didn¡¯t even bother saying if Lapis was correct or not . Instead, she smiled at them, but it looked forced and unnatural, so Loren guessed that Lapis was right . ¡°I see . So until you find out who she really is and make sure we¡¯re unrelated to her, you want us where you can see us . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t confirm . ¡± ¡°Loren, I think it¡¯s fine to accept their offer . Once they find out that we had nothing to do with the girl being in the forest we¡¯re free to go . For the next few days we can live and have fun off of the guild¡¯s money . ¡± The employee was at a loss of words at Lapis¡¯ easy going manner, her smile twitching . While hoping that the she wouldn¡¯t be too stressed out, Loren told her that he accepted the guild¡¯s offer . ¡°So, you¡¯re going to prepare the rooms and the money, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it immediately . A room for¡­ two is okay, right?¡± For some reason she looked like she wanted to get a blow in somehow . ¡°I don¡¯t mind . ¡± ¡°Hey, miss priestess, watch what you¡¯re saying . We¡¯ll be getting two separate rooms, of course . If you can¡¯t accept that, the none of this ever happened, got it?¡± Loren¡¯s words rang out clearly as he looked at both of them with a serious face . Although for different reasons, both Lapis and the employee sighed . Chapter 28 Chapter 28 As Lapis had said before, the inn that the guild prepared was indeed high quality . Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel uncomfortable spending someone else¡¯s money, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to mind at all and enjoyed all the inn had to offer until she was satisfied . ¡°You¡¯re pretty bold, you know that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll miss out on a lot of stuff if you don¡¯t have fun when you can, you know?¡± As Loren was wondering if that was the case, their bliss time came to end . The adventurer¡¯s guild had contacted them that the girl they had rescued had regained consciousness . Two days had gone by since they had stayed at the inn . They were summoned to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so Loren pulled out Lapis, who didn¡¯t want to leave, and headed towards the guild¡¯s front desk . They were immediately pa . s . sed inside . ¡°Thank you for coming . I will now tell you the results . ¡± The lady that started talking as soon as they sat down was the employee that talked to them two days ago . Her lips were tightened, determined not to let the two of them say anything until she was done . Loren didn¡¯t know that she felt so bullied, and put his hand on the back of his head awkwardly . The employee didn¡¯t notice Loren¡¯s apology and continued with a serious expression, telling them exactly what she was told to tell them . ¡°There are no problems concerning the two of you, so we¡¯ll take off the restrictions we put on you . You¡¯re free to go now . ¡± Loren was surprised at the anticlimactic conclusion, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem satisfied with what the employee told them . ¡°Is that it? Is there no explanation of the situation for us?¡± ¡°Do you need one?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . I¡¯m not sure why you thought we didn¡¯t need one . ¡± Lapis tilted her head, looking confused, and the employee went silent, with a difficult expression . Loren didn¡¯t want to poke his head into trouble, but since he had promised Lapis that he would stay with her, he couldn¡¯t just leave her and go on his own . ¡°The following information has been shared only to adventurers iron rank and above that the guild has chosen . ¡± Loren guessed that since they were limiting information, there was something to the girl which made them act secretive . Even among mercenaries, there was information that only the leaders knew and normal mercenaries often didn¡¯t know or were required to act like they didn¡¯t know about it . Due to these experiences, Loren was satisfied with the employee¡¯s words, but Lapis wasn¡¯t one to back off without all the information she could get . ¡°But the ones who brought her here was us, right? I don¡¯t know what the situation is, but don¡¯t you think there should be some sort of explanation for us?¡± Lapis¡¯ beaming eyes met the employee¡¯s glare . Loren thought he saw sparks erupting from between them and looked away at the ceiling . As the information was for iron rank and above, the employee had no reason to tell them anything and she probably wanted them to understand that and leave, but Lapis didn¡¯t want to miss a chance to get her hands on information that she shouldn¡¯t be able to get normally . Loren knew that this stalemate would last until one of them was too tired to go on, so he patted Lapis¡¯ back and drew her attention . ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Sorry but my partner is a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d . If you try to keep things from her she can¡¯t help but try to find out what it is . ¡± ¡°Well¡­I¡¯ve heard that that¡¯s the case most of the time . But this is something that the guild has decided, so¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I know . You can¡¯t talk about it . I won¡¯t force you to . ¡± ¡°Wait, Loren!?¡± Lapis, who thought Loren was going to wrap things up, raised her voice slightly, but Loren patted her on the head with a bit of strength in his hand . The strokes not only make her head shake, but caused her neck to sway as well, so Lapis couldn¡¯t help but go silent . Then Loren faced the employee and casually asked her . ¡°By the way, is the information already out? You can at least tell us this, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­yes, we have already selected adventurers and told them everything . ¡± Since it wasn¡¯t related directly to the information, she replied to his question . As soon as he heard her reply, Loren lowered his hand from Lapis¡¯ head and took her arm, then stood up . Although Loren had stopped patting her on the head, her head was still shaking inertly . ¡°I see . Then since we¡¯re innocent, we¡¯ll be taking our leave here . We¡¯ll check out of the rooms by the end of today as well . ¡± ¡°That would be very helpful . Thank you so much for your cooperation, mister Loren . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been treated pretty well for the past few days . Don¡¯t worry about it . ¡± He used his free hand to wave back, dragging Lapis out with his other hand . After being dragged for a while, Lapis whispered to him . ¡°You¡¯ve got a plan, right?¡± ¡°Yeah . They¡¯ve got strict confidentiality so you wouldn¡¯t have gotten anywhere . If she did tell you, then that itself would be a whole different problem right there . ¡± If the employees were people who would share information that they weren¡¯t supposed to with a slight push, then he couldn¡¯t trust the guild at all . From that perspective, the fact that the employee refused to tell them the information, even though Lapis was in a bad mood, raised Loren¡¯s view and evaluation of the guild . ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± ¡°Trying to force someone to talk is too bothersome . What we have to do is just find someone that can . ¡± ¡°Do you have an idea of someone who would?¡± ¡°Yeah, so help me find him . I know his name and what he looks like, so it won¡¯t take that long . ¡± Lapis didn¡¯t know who Loren was trying to look for, but if it meant finding out what the guild was keeping from them, there was no reason for her to refuse . She pulled out her arm from Loren¡¯s grasp and put her arms around Loren¡¯s . ¡°Hey, seriously¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where we¡¯re going, so please escort me, Loren . Come on, let¡¯s go . ¡± Loren knew that she wouldn¡¯t let go even if he told her to, so with Lapis still clinging to his arm, he walked about the bar and started talking to an adventurer . After talking to a few of them and going around a few stores, Loren and Lapis reached a bar located at the edge of the city . Loren heard that the person he was looking for was here, so he stepped in with Lapis still clinging to his arm and looked around . It was late in the evening and the sun was going down . The candles were turned on and there was some light shining inside, but there wasn¡¯t enough to light up the whole place, so it was still quite dark, making it hard to see . Loren found who he was looking for sitting at a table in the corner, and walked over to him with Lapis . ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long, so I guess long time no see isn¡¯t the most proper . You mind if I sit down?¡± When Loren said that, the man, who was sitting with a gla . s . s of ale and a plate of sliced cheese, looked up towards him, surprised . ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you guys . How¡¯d you know I was here?¡± ¡°I asked around . ¡± ¡°The tip cost around thirty copper coins, but I¡¯ll see it as necessary expenses and pay for it . It¡¯s been a while, Mister Jack . ¡± The person that Lapis bowed her head to as she sat across from him along with Loren was Jack, the silver rank thief they had met on their previous quest . When Loren and Lapis sat down, a waitress came to take their orders . Loren tried to dismiss her, but Jack had already put in two additional orders . ¡°Come on, let me buy you a drink . I owe you one . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I did something that great though¡­I ruined your quest if anything, so¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid . It¡¯s true that we didn¡¯t make as much, but that couldn¡¯t be helped in that kind of situation . We¡¯re lucky to have gotten out with our lives . It would be a lie if I said I didn¡¯t have any complaints, but it¡¯s all in the past now . Don¡¯t worry about it . ¡± ¡°Sorry . ¡± ¡°Hey, I said don¡¯t worry about so it¡¯s fine . Anyway, you didn¡¯t come all the way here to find me just to say that, right?¡± The waitress brought two cups of ale and placed it on the table . Jack pushed the cups in front of Loren, who was trying to decide how to start, and Lapis, who was sitting silently next to Loren . ¡°Drink up . We can talk afterwards . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t want to refuse what was given to him, so he took the cup and felt the refreshing sensation of carbonated liquid go down his throat . Next to him, Lapis picked up the cup with both hands and started sipping the drink . ¡°So, what brings you here?¡± As Jack pushed the plate of cheese towards him, Loren told him the reason why they were looking for him . ¡°The thing is, we picked up a girl in a nearby forest two days ago,¡± ¡°Huh? You guys were behind that? They said that the quest was only for iron ranks and above . Is that what you want to talk about?¡± Loren glanced at Lapis, who started reaching for the cheese as she continued to sip her drink, and Jack sat back in his seat, understanding what Loren was trying to say . ¡°I understand your situation, but I¡¯m a silver rank, you know? Do I look like I would just tell you everything you want?¡± ¡°Not at all . But I couldn¡¯t think of anyone else that might sell us the information we want . ¡± Still sitting back, Jack crossed his arms and stared at Loren in the face for a while . Loren had no intention of saying anything until Jack said something, so he continued drinking his ale . ¡°Just saying . An adventurer who leaks information on a job is third rate . No one like that can become silver rank . ¡± That was exactly what Loren thought . There was no way anyone would trust that kind of person, and Loren didn¡¯t think that someone like that would be able to become a high-ranking adventurer . Despite knowing that, he had still hoped that with the right price, Jack would leak them the information, but apparently Jack was a lot more bound to obligation than he thought . Loren decided that this wasn¡¯t going to work and was about to give up, but Jack leaned forward across the table and whispered . ¡°But then again, I owe you one for saving Nim . If you promise that you don¡¯t tell anyone that I told you this, my mouth might just slip . ¡± Jack remembered that Loren had saved Nim, a female elf that they met along with Jack, from being a . s . saulted by a goblin . That¡¯s why Jack told them that he¡¯ll bend the adventurer¡¯s code if they kept the fact that he was the one who told them a secret . ¡°I promise that we won¡¯t cause you any trouble . ¡± ¡°Same for me . ¡± As both Loren and Lapis agreed to his terms, Jack looked at both of their faces . He then told them that it was their choice whether to believe the information he told them was true or not, and started talking in a hushed voice . Chapter 29 Chapter 29 ¡°First of all, the girl that you brought back is Shayna Lonbaltear, from the city-state of Hanza . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know about anything Jack just said . When he looked at Lapis for more information, she immediately provided him with the information he needed . ¡°The city-state of Hanza is a small state centered around the city of Hanza, which is a three-day trip by carriage to the south of Kauffa . I have never heard of the name Shayna but the house of Lonbaltear is the head of the state . ¡± ¡°You really know your stuff, huh?¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­You can praise me more, you know?¡± Loren ignored Lapis, who was puffing out her chest proudly, and asked Jack to continue . Jack decided to ignore Lapis as well and continued, looking straight at Loren . ¡°Shayna is the head of the state¡¯s only daughter . Her status isn¡¯t too surprisingly high, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can treat her crudely either . ¡± Loren agreed that even though the state was small, the daughter of the person who was at the top wasn¡¯t someone they could treat roughly . But helping a small city-state didn¡¯t seem like something the guild would benefit from . He couldn¡¯t help but feel like the whole thing seemed strange, and asked something that was on his mind . ¡°I can¡¯t understand why we had restrictions put on us, when the only thing we did was bring her here . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy . They didn¡¯t want you telling people . Think about it . A lady from a high-status family was left in the woods all alone . People will gossip and spread rumors all over the place . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure how that worked, but decided to agree with what Jack said . n . o . bles and royalty would often do things that would seem meaningless to the common folk . Loren believed that it was smarter not to question anything, because if he kept on questioning everything, the conversation would be at a standstill . ¡°Usually when you help a person, there¡¯s some amount of rewards that you would receive, but there are two reasons why you guys didn¡¯t receive anything . One, no one requested for the search . Two, they weren¡¯t able to confirm whether the girl is actually Shayna herself . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s been two days, but they still haven¡¯t been able to find out?¡± Jack shrugged at Lapis¡¯ exasperated tone . ¡°Don¡¯t ask me . The guild says that she¡¯s most likely who she says she is, but the messenger they sent to Hanza hasn¡¯t come back . ¡± Loren thought that something was definitely strange . Loren and Lapis brought the girl two days ago, and even if the guild sent a messenger to Hanza right after, he would still be on the way to Hanza . As Loren was wondering why the guild would proclaim that the messenger wasn¡¯t coming back, Lapis answered his question . ¡°It¡¯s not limited to the adventurer¡¯s guild, but messengers from large organizations carry a magic item that periodically sends a signal that indicates their location . It¡¯s most likely that the signals have disappeared . ¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what the adventurer¡¯s guild would think . It¡¯s not something they want to prioritize, but they don¡¯t want to anger the state either . So, they call out to the iron rank adventurers and have a few parties accompany the girl to the city . It means that a quest for taking her back to Hanza is out . ¡± Jack then added that it wasn¡¯t something silver ranks would do, as he took a gulp of his drink . The girl was high status, but the state didn¡¯t have much of a relationship with the guild . It meant that the rewards weren¡¯t going to be that good, but they would still have to be considerate of the person they were guarding . Even if it meant getting a connection to the city-state of Hanza, it wasn¡¯t a good quest for high ranked adventurers either way . ¡°It¡¯s not as top secret as I thought . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s still about a quest and usually, I wouldn¡¯t talk about it . The reason why the guild didn¡¯t tell you, is because this isn¡¯t something for copper ranks to worry about . ¡± ¡°What should we do to b . u . t . t our heads in it then?¡± As soon as Lapis said those words, Loren and Jack looked at each other . Jack was exasperated at Lapis and turned towards Loren, and Loren looked towards Jack, knowing that Lapis would say something like that . ¡°Is there a specific reason to why she wants to?¡± ¡°No . It¡¯s probably because of curiosity . ¡± ¡°Of course, it is . A well-kept girl from a n . o . ble family was left lying alone in the woods, three days away from her city . I can¡¯t help but want to know more . ¡± Although Lapis emphasized the fact that it couldn¡¯t be helped, Loren had no idea what part of it made it that way . But there was one thing that he did know, and he told it to Lapis . ¡°They wouldn¡¯t bother with us, we¡¯re just copper ranks . ¡± ¡°I was hoping there would be a loophole somewhere . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­¡± ¡°There is one, you know?¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Loren replied weakly to Jack . ¡°It¡¯s a special case, though . If you get recommended by a silver rank adventurer, a copper rank can get treated as an iron rank . ¡± ¡°Even if that did happen, we didn¡¯t receive the quest itself . ¡± ¡°But we did . ¡± Loren narrowed his eyes and looked at Jack . Jack, while trying to figure out what was behind that glare, continued his explanation . ¡°The quest came around to Ritz . If Ritz allowed it, you can squeeze in there with our recommendation . ¡± ¡°That sounds wonderful . I¡¯d love it if you could¡­¡± Loren¡¯s hand covered Lapis¡¯ mouth, preventing her from trying to accept the offer . Though Lapis was about to complain, Loren silenced her with a look, and turned to Jack . Although Jack had brought it up, Loren understood that recommending someone was easier said than done . If the ones recommended failed or didn¡¯t live up to the expectation in any way, it meant that the reputation of the ones who recommended them would fall as well . ¡°I don¡¯t think it would be a problem . Ritz would probably say the same thing . ¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t force you . You can decide if you want to take the quest or not, I¡¯m just saying it¡¯s possible to . But¡­¡± Jack stopped talking and gazed over Loren¡¯s body . Loren didn¡¯t understand what he was trying to say, so Jack told him apologetically . ¡°But you know, I¡¯d prefer it if you¡¯d get a weapon first . ¡± Jack was there when Loren¡¯s weapon broke . That¡¯s why he knew that Loren didn¡¯t have one, and although he had faith in Loren¡¯s strength and skill, he was hesitant about recommending someone without a weapon . Loren then realized that if he couldn¡¯t secure one, he might not have to take part in this quest . He was about to say that he didn¡¯t have the money to buy a new weapon, but faltered as he saw Lapis staring at him with half-open eyes . ¡°Uh, but¡­this¡­is¡­¡± ¡°Come on Lapis . You know what kind of situation I¡¯m in, right¡­?¡± ¡°Hey, Jack . I¡¯ll do something about my equipment by tomorrow . Can you go ahead and give us the recommendation?¡± In the end, Loren lost to the pressure of Lapis¡¯ silence . ¡°Man, you¡¯ve got nothing on her . She¡¯s walking all over you . ¡± ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t need you to remind me . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s you we¡¯re talking about, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have something ready by tomorrow . I¡¯ll go talk to Ritz about this . Well, there¡¯s not going to be any silver ranks going on that quest, so you¡¯ll get in no problem with our recommendation . ¡± ¡°Thanks, man . So¡­ Lapis . ¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Since the conversation was going the way she wanted it to, the pressure that Lapis was emitting just a moment ago had vanished without a trace . Loren willed his mind to say the words that he really didn¡¯t want to say . ¡°Lend me some money . ¡± Increasing his debt wasn¡¯t good at all . But if he couldn¡¯t prepare equipment, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take better quests and would have to use his fists to fight instead . So, he decided to take this opportunity to borrow what money he could to buy equipment . ¡°Equipment? You¡¯re going to buy some?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll be causing trouble for Jack . ¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Lapis started thinking for a while and then asked Jack a question . ¡°About the quest . What will the departure time be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the details, but they have to make sure Shayna is healthy enough to move, so they said in three days at the earliest . ¡± After Lapis heard Jack¡¯s reply, she started counting her fingers, seemed to come to a conclusion, then faced Loren . ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren . I can lend you the money no problem, but is it possible that you can wait one day?¡± ¡°Well¡­I¡¯m the one borrowing, so if you want me to wait, I¡¯ll wait . ¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s equipment, that means you want to buy a weapon like a greatsword, right? If that¡¯s the case, I feel like the money that I have right now isn¡¯t going to be enough, so I¡¯ll go get more money . ¡± Loren¡¯s feelings darkened slightly, as he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get a weapon like the one he had before to have right away . It was hard to believe that a weapon of that size and weight would be sold at an ordinary store . He was planning on finding something similar, but that was going to be difficult as well, so he was going to have to compromise . ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve got things to do, so I¡¯ll be on my way . ¡± She slowly and smoothly stood up, and quickly walked out of the bar . After watching her go, Loren decided to leave as well, but Jack stopped him as he was about to stand up, so he sat back down . ¡°You¡¯re not in a hurry, right? Join me for a bit . ¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind¡­¡± Even if he wanted to go look at some equipment, he wasn¡¯t sure how much Lapis was going to be able to lend him . He decided that he had some free time to spend with Jack, and took a gulp from his cup, but almost spewed it all over at Jack¡¯s next words . ¡°We¡¯ve both got it pretty rough, having fallen in love with odd girls . ¡± ¡°¡­How did we get to this topic again?¡± It was so sudden that Loren couldn¡¯t put any emotion into his comment, while Jack was nodding like he understood how Loren felt . ¡°I know I know . I understand . I¡¯m getting walked all over by Nim as well, but I guess this is what the weakness called love brings us . ¡± Loren, as he wiped the ale from his mouth, had already guessed their relationship during the first time they were together, but it was kind of awkward coming from Jack¡¯s own lips . ¡°But you know, I¡¯m starting to think that getting sat on by that thin b . u . t . t of hers isn¡¯t that bad . ¡± ¡°Hey, if she hears that you¡¯ll become a beehive on the spot . ¡± Conversations like these were bound to go around one way or another . He was giving a warning as well as some advice, but the alcohol had already worked up to Jack¡¯s head and didn¡¯t reach him . ¡°Her touchiness is also part of her charm . ¡± ¡°You drunk¡­and you¡¯re talking fondly of the girl you love at the same time . What am I supposed to do about this¡­ . ¡± Loren decided that he was going to need more alcohol to deal with Jack¡¯s drunk behavior, hugging himself and squirming as he kept talking about Nim, and ordered another cup from a pa . s . sing waitress . Chapter 30 Chapter 30 The next day . Loren opened his eyes and shook his head, ridding his head of alcohol and drowsiness . There were quite many bottles stacked on the table, and across from it was Jack, completely knocked out with his cheek on the table . Loren tried to recall what happened the night before, and buried his face in his hands as he remembered Jack going on and on about how he was in love . The frightening thing was that Jack had kept talking about Nim, the elven hunter, until both of them went down from all the alcohol . Since Jack was the one buying the alcohol, Loren thought that it wouldn¡¯t be too bad to listen to him talk for a bit . But it started to become a pain after Jack kept on going through the night, and as the bottles piled up, Loren started to feel less and less . Although Loren had listened to Jack the whole time, he wasn¡¯t sure which one of them fell asleep first . When he woke up he found himself leaning back against his chair, and Jack was sleeping soundly in front of him . ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­you were here the whole night?¡± Loren turned his sleepy eyes towards the voice that came from the entrance of the bar and saw Lapis walked in, with the morning sunlight shining behind her . Lapis, who was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the day before, walked towards him . Exasperated, she tapped Jack on the shoulder to see if he was still asleep, and then walked next to Loren . ¡°Umm¡­Well, yeah . ¡± ¡°After leaving last night, I remembered that we didn¡¯t get a new room at the inn . ¡± ¡°Now that you mention it . We had to check out of the inn that the guild let us stay in . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done it and moved our things as well . Loren, you don¡¯t have much so it wasn¡¯t hard at all . ¡± Lapis¡¯ words took a while for Loren, who drunk too much, to process, but he eventually grasped what she was saying and glared at her . He could understand checking out, but if she wanted to move his things, she would have to step into his room . ¡°How did you get into my room?¡± ¡°They let me in pretty quickly once I told them that I was with you . ¡± Loren wondered if it was fine to do that, but the inn was one of the best ones and was also one that the guild recommended . There would be times when customers couldn¡¯t come to take their things, and it would be too much work to go through loads of procedures for them . He didn¡¯t know what the baseline was, but decided that there must be a way to get into your party member¡¯s room using their information and knowledge as a party . If that was the case, Lapis¡¯ actions weren¡¯t that unusual . ¡°I got us new rooms at a different inn as well, so don¡¯t worry . ¡± ¡°Sorry for the trouble . ¡± ¡°I got the money ready too . As much as I would like to start shopping¡­what are you going to do about the payment here?¡± The number of bins stacked on Loren and Jack¡¯s table was quite high . They had eaten quite a bit of side dishes as well to go with all the alcohol, and it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how much money it costed . Loren was going to let Jack pay for everything, but since he was pa . s . sed out, he couldn¡¯t just leave him here . When he was wondering what he should do, a helping hand reached out . ¡°Jack, here you are . ¡± A woman walked in just like Lapis had a moment ago . Loren and Lapis remembered her thin figure, but while Loren was wondering if that was something he could say out loud, she suddenly kicked Jack, who was still asleep, straight on the back . A loud noise erupted, and Loren and Lapis thought that it would be enough to wake Jack up, but he didn¡¯t even respond to the kick and was still asleep . ¡°Nim, right? It¡¯s been a while . ¡± ¡°Hey Lapis . I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been that long though . ¡± ¡°Have you come looking for Jack?¡± ¡°Yeah . I¡¯ve been looking for this b . a . s . t . a . r . d . ¡± ¡°Umm well . He was here because I wanted to ask him some stuff, so¡­¡± Loren was the one who came to Jack in the first place . Jack was drinking even before he came, so Loren wasn¡¯t the reason that he drank all night, but he didn¡¯t want him to take all the blame, so he started to talk, but faltered as Nim stared at him closely . ¡°Loren is a good boy . Lapis should follow your example . ¡± ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m a bad girl?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you decide that . I¡¯ll tell Ritz that he tried to do something good for his juniors . I¡¯ll pay for all of this too . ¡± Nim gave Loren a thumbs up as she said that, but it was hard to guess what she was thinking from her expression, and Loren stayed there wondering if it was okay for him to leave . Since he wouldn¡¯t leave, Nim made Loren stand up and pushed him out of the bar . ¡°Should we go apologize later?¡± ¡°I think it should be fine . Rather than that Loren, am I such a bad girl?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me that¡­¡± For some reason, Lapis was worried about what Nim had said earlier . Loren refused to answer her question and started walking towards the shopping district, towards the shops where they were going to buy his equipment . Although there were many shops there, they weren¡¯t ones that ordinary people would go to . It consisted of shops that sold items and equipment for adventurers, and it existed in any large city . Lapis said that she had already researched and found a good place to get his equipment, so he followed her to one of the stores . ¡°Most importantly, what we need is a weapon and some armor . You can¡¯t live as an adventurer without these . ¡± The store that they went into sold weapons and armor . There were many weapons hung on the walls and the place was filled with armors of different shapes, sizes, and materials . It was quite a thrilling sight . At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren pointed at the leather armor he was wearing, but she immediately shook her head . ¡°You¡¯ve been using that for too long . It¡¯s time to get new ones . ¡± Loren wondered if it was actually that bad, but the armor that he had been using since his mercenary days was indeed ripped in a few places . When he was a mercenary, one of the members would mend it for him, but he couldn¡¯t after he became alone because he had no idea how to . ¡°Loren¡¯s fighting style involves getting hit by your opponent quite a bit, so we should think about getting something harder than leather armor . ¡± But Loren couldn¡¯t think of wearing something heavy like iron plated armor . It would just get in the way and he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight like he wanted to . Even so, leather armor with lots of reinforcement wasn¡¯t the best either . Keeping it in shape was too much work . That¡¯s why his mercenary group gave everyone leather armor, which is easy to replenish . ¡°I recommend these . I think this one would look really good on you . ¡± What Lapis brought him was a long coat, not armor . Loren didn¡¯t understand why Lapis brought him a coat, but Lapis soon started explaining why . ¡°It looks like an ordinary coat . But this is in fact a magic item . The cloth was woven with many layers using silk from black widows . This is a great find . Plus, it only costs five gold coins . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite an incredible on you¡¯ve found . ¡± ¡°A coat that is enchanted with < protection=¡±¡±>> and < auto=¡±¡± recovery=¡±¡±>> would usually cost ten times this price . Your defense will increase just by wearing this on top of leather armor . We must definitely buy this one . ¡± ¡°Ten times¡­Why don¡¯t you tell the owner?¡± If what Lapis said was true, the store would be at quite a loss . Forty-five gold coins was an incredible amount of money, and Loren felt bad about cheating the owner of all that money, but Lapis folded the coat up and pressed it onto Loren . ¡°It¡¯s the store¡¯s fault for not knowing, so it¡¯s fine . ¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± Loren looked towards the old man sitting at the counter in the back of the store . The old man was looking towards them, and although they weren¡¯t talking that loud, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that the old man knew what they were talking about, so Loren whispered to Lapis . ¡°I think he knows . ¡± ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t . Even if he did notice, we just need to buy it before he changes the price . It has a price tag, after all . ¡± The coat indeed had a tag that read five gold coins . It looked new, and Loren wondered if it was really okay, but Lapis walked around the store, looking for the next item . ¡°Huh? This is weird . I had my eyes on that¡­Owner, where did that one go? Don¡¯t tell me someone bought it?¡± ¡°Who the h . e . l . l would buy something like that . It was too big to leave out here so I moved it to the back . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were able to move that . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s my line¡­¡¯cough¡¯ I had a few people move it inside . ¡± ¡°I see . Then can you go get it?¡± ¡°Wait a bit . There¡¯s no way I can move that thing so easily . ¡± After the brief conversation, Lapis and the owner walked into the back of the store . Loren, with the coat in his arms and feeling left behind, decided to walk around the store until the two came back . The store itself wasn¡¯t that large, but it had a good a . s . sortment of weapons and armor, and Loren had fun looking at all of them . Although Loren¡¯s wallet was empty and he had to resort to borrowing money to buy equipment, he thought that it might not be bad to come get a secondary weapon once he had enough money . As he noted to himself the location of this store, his eyes stopped at a shelf inside the store . Propped against it was a sword . Its scabbard glistened with gold and silver decorations, and its black leather grip had gold and silver ornaments as well . Its straight blade glistened in the dark interior of the store . Loren didn¡¯t use long swords a lot, but it¡¯s beautiful blade made him want to pick it up . But as he was reaching for it, another hand swooped in from beside him and s . n . a . t . c . hed it away . ¡°I had my eyes on this . It¡¯s not something that a muscle head like you could master . ¡± Although the sudden insult surprised him, Loren made sure it didn¡¯t show on his face and turned his head towards the voice, and saw a young man standing there . He looked younger than Loren, had burning red hair, strong willed eyes, and although his clothes were one of normal people, he had an iron plate hanging on his chest . ¡°It¡¯s not something a copper rank like you could buy in the first place . Know your place idiot . ¡± Loren wondered why he had to be insulted by someone he had met for the first time, and younger than him at that, and stayed silent . He had a feeling that if he said anything the situation would get messy, and the sword only piqued his interest and he didn¡¯t really want to see it that much anyway . Since Loren didn¡¯t say anything, the young man must have thought that he had won, and took the sword to the counter . Right as he did that, the owner came out and sold him the sword, while Lapis came out dragging a large package . ¡°Did something happen Loren?¡± ¡°No, not much . ¡± ¡°Hmm? The long sword that was here, it got sold . That was quite the weapon, but it¡¯s nothing compared to this one that I brou-I mean found, it¡¯s a few ranks lower for sure . ¡± ¡°You know, your tongue¡¯s slipping is quite easy to make out . I don¡¯t feel bad so I¡¯m not going to stick into you too deep . ¡± ¡°Sticking into me too deep, Loren you¡¯re such a perv . ¡± Lapis let out a vulgar giggle . Loren brought his fist down onto Lapis¡¯ head and looked what was inside the package that she had brought . ¡°Now this is another¡­¡± The object that came out of the package . At a glance, a sigh of admiration escaped his lips . Chapter 31 Chapter 31 The quest from the guild was for taking Shayna Lonbaltear back to the city-state of Hanza . Back at the inn, as soon as Loren and Lapis got back from buying everything they needed, word came from Jack that there was a meeting the next day with the other adventurers they would be joining for quest at the guild . Loren¡¯s debt to Lapis had increased quite a bit . A new set of leather armor costed fifteen silver coins . The black coat that Lapis had recommended him to buy costed five gold coins The weapon that Lapis found him costed fifteen gold coins . She also bought him stuff like medicine and daggers and such . They bought everything adventurers needed from armor and weapons, to tools for maintenance, rations, and a change of clothes . ¡°Along with the amount that you already owe as well as rounding down the cost, your debt is now twenty-three gold coins and eighty silver coins . You don¡¯t have to worry about the copper coins . ¡± ¡°That sounds like a small fortune right there . ¡± ¡°Adventurer equipment itself is worth a small fortune, after all . ¡± As soon as Lapis paid the frowning store owner, Loren had finally got everything to be able to work as an adventurer . Loren thought the meeting with the other partic . i . p . ants was pretty sudden, but proceeded to cancel the room for two that Lapis had checked in and switch to two separate rooms . He left Lapis, who looked dissatisfied, and spent the night alone, and the next morning he met up with her and headed to the guild . As soon as they got there, Loren went to the counter and told them that they were recommended by Ritz for the quest . In the room that they were brought to, was a female employee that posted the quest as well as Shayna herself, wearing travelling clothes instead of the dress that they found her in . Around them were around twenty iron rank adventurers who decided to partic . i . p . ate in the quest . If a handful of them were from one party, it meant that there were a few parties partic . i . p . ating in the quest . Among the iron rank adventurers, Loren noticed the red-haired boy that he had met at the store the day before, who had s . n . a . t . c . hed the sword in front of his eyes . At the same time, the boy noticed Loren as well, pointed at the copper tag on his chest, and complained to the employee . ¡°Hey . Isn¡¯t this quest meant for adventurers who¡¯re iron rank and above?¡± ¡°Those two have been accepted to join this quest by the recommendation of silver rank adventurers . ¡± ¡°So they used connections . ¡± On the laughing boy¡¯s waist was the black longsword he purchased the day before . His armor was well made as well, reinforced with steel plating . ¡°There is a rule by the guild that if recommended by a silver rank adventurer, a copper rank adventurer can be treated the same as an iron rank adventurer . There is no problem for the two of them to partic . i . p . ate in this quest . ¡± As the employee gave an explanation to all the adventurers who were staring at Loren and Lapis, trying to judge their worth, Loren smiled slightly at the fact that the employee didn¡¯t deny the fact that it was all about connections . But apparently the explanation irritated the boy even more, and he stuck his finger at the tag on Loren¡¯s chest . ¡°I already told you yesterday to know your place, low rank . I don¡¯t know what kind of tricks you played to get beneath a silver rank adventurer, but you¡¯d better not get in our way . ¡± In fact, Lapis was a copper rank adventurer just like Loren . But she didn¡¯t look interested at all in what the boy was saying, but instead was just looking at how the situation was playing out with a troubled expression . Loren then reluctantly replied to the boy¡¯s words ¡°Yeah, yeah . We¡¯ll be on the edges and make sure not to get in your way . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you even have the guts to talk back?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure what do say at the boy¡¯s further provocation, but the employee decided to b . u . t . t in . ¡°Please leave it at that . You¡¯re all here to join the same quest . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lump me in with them . ¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll take it that you want to get in the way of completing the quest and penalize you by the guild¡¯s standards . ¡± That was enough to make the boy close his mouth, and after glaring at Loren, he walked back towards where the rest of his party was . ¡°You two as well, please be aware that partic . i . p . ating in quests with this manner is an exceptional case . Please try not to stir up any trouble . ¡± ¡°Sorry about that . I¡¯ll apologize so can you let us off the hook this time?¡± As Loren bowed his head and apologized, the employee didn¡¯t have anything else to say, so she turned back and scanned around the room at all the adventurers inside and said in a loud voice . ¡°I¡¯d like to thank all of you that decided to partic . i . p . ate in this quest . This quest will be an official one from the guild itself . You must safely take Shayna Lonbaltear to the city-state of Hanza . ¡± The blonde haired girl named Shayna looked scared at all the adventurers standing in front of her, but managed to bow her head when the employee mentioned her . ¡°Shayna is the daughter of the president . Please make sure not to be disrespectful . It will take three days to get to Hanza, and the guild will provide carriages for you to ride . We want you to guard her on the way there . The reward will be twelve silver coins per person . ¡± To Loren, the amount that the employee showed seemed like quite a bit of money, but it was a three-day trip getting there and another three-day trip coming back . It meant two silver coins a day, and since it cost around fifty copper coins for an adult to live for one day, it wasn¡¯t that good of a reward either . ¡°Wait a second . Those copper ranks are getting the same amount?¡± The one who asked was a young man . ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you lower the amount of rewards for those two?¡± ¡°Although it¡¯s just for this quest, they will be treated as if they are iron ranked adventurers . There will be no difference in the reward . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right? It¡¯s already difficult to have newbies on the same quest, but now you¡¯re saying that they¡¯re going to get paid the same as us? Hey, you guys say something too . ¡± Loren c . o . c . ked his head at the adventurer who was shouting at him with his forehead turning slightly purple with rage . ¡°Say something? What kind of thing do you want me to say?¡± ¡°Of course you should say that you only need half the amount and you¡¯ll share the rest with us iron ranks! Can you not even think of that with you own head!?¡± Loren stood in silence at the young adventurer who continued to walk towards him, shouting . He somewhat understood what the adventurer was trying to say, but if someone asked him if he would say what the adventurer wanted him to say, the answer was no, as he had no obligation to do so . But while Loren stood there trying to figure out a peaceful way to make the adventurer in front of him to shut up, Lapis spoke up from beside him . ¡°But if it¡¯s a rule that the guild itself has set up, there¡¯s no reason for us to give up half of the rewards, is there?¡± ¡°What did you just say, b . i . t . c . h? I dare you to say that to me one more time!¡± He changed his focus to Lapis and tried to grab her, but his attempt ended in failure . It was because Loren grabbed the young man¡¯s wrist of the arm reaching for Lapis . ¡°Hey you, you want to have a go¡­¡± Since anything was fine as long as you didn¡¯t kill your opponent, it was a common agreement among adventurers that if you didn¡¯t fight back, it was your loss . Loren remembered that as he looked at the young man trying to escape from his grasp with a smile . He then slowly started to strengthen his grip . ¡°What are you¡­Come on!¡± The adventurer had leather gloves on, but his face turned pale as ripping sounds erupted from where Loren was squeezing and he let out a cry of pain . Loren was one who used a hunk of iron as a weapon . In order to use a greatsword, you not only needed strong arms, but you needed a strong grip as well . Loren had the required strength, and was crushing the adventurer¡¯s wrist, glove, muscle, bone and all . ¡°d . a . m . n it¡­Let go, d . a . m . n you!¡± No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn¡¯t escape Loren¡¯s grip . The sound coming from his wrist started getting louder and louder, and it was obvious that it would become a fatal injury, so he gave up trying to escape . Instead, he reached for the dagger hanging from his waist with his free hand . As soon as he saw him move, Loren flicked his wrist, still holding onto the adventurer¡¯s wrist . That alone was enough to fling him into the wall, breaking it, and the adventurer fell unconscious as he dropped to the floor . It wasn¡¯t like the man was small . He was quite muscular and he had all his adventurer equipment on him as well . Loren¡¯s strength spoke for itself, as he could fling the adventurer away with ease . ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you don¡¯t kill your opponent, right? So, anyone else have anything to say to me? If not, I¡¯d like if you could continue on with the details of the quest . ¡± As Loren said that with a smile, a part of the adventurers looked away, while the rest looked at him, impressed . If they thought about it for a bit, they could see that Loren had a large package that was as tall as him on his back . Even if they didn¡¯t know what was inside it, it was obvious that it was his weapon, and they should be able to guess that Loren had the strength to wield it . They weren¡¯t stupid enough to fight someone who possessed way more physical strength than themselves . ¡°Moving on, the guild has already sent several messengers to Hanza . Of course, they were sent to inform them that we have the head¡¯s daughter under our care, but none of them has been able to reach Hanza . ¡± That meant that there was some sort of danger on the way there . In addition to that, it was something that not even a single messenger sent from the guild was able to get past . It was up to each of them to guess how dangerous it is, but still, one of the adventurers raised his hand and asked the employee . ¡°You know it¡¯s going to be dangerous, yet that¡¯s it for the reward? That¡¯s way too low, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°At this point, we are not sure what the danger is exactly . We will provide medicine and equipment maintenance . Also, we will change the reward based on what you encounter during the quest . ¡± A few of the adventurers¡¯ faces brightened at the sound of extra rewards, but others had scowls on their faces . It was because they understood that what the employee was saying was that if they wanted the extra rewards, they had to prove that the danger was indeed worth more money than they were offered . ¡°As I have already mentioned before, this is an official quest from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild . You can decline the offer at this time, but if you do you will be penalized . Also, if this quest ends in success, there will be a certain amount of benefits from the guild along with the reward . ¡± ¡°Everyone, please take me to my hometown . I cannot promise anything right now, but I will make sure to inform my father of your kindness . ¡± Shayna finally decided to open her mouth and bowed her head deeply . Loren knew that since he was there not only because of Lapis but because of the recommendation from Ritz as well, there was no backing off . While he scanned the room to see what the other adventurers¡¯ actions were, Lapis went to receive the contract for the quest and started looking through it . Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Loren had never done an escorting job before . He believed that hiring an escort was something rich people of people of high status usually did . He wasn¡¯t sure if it was a fact, but his understanding was that those kinds of people would never hire mercenaries, who were violent and rough by nature most of the time . Because of that, he wasn¡¯t sure how escorting worked, and thought that Shayna would be put on a carriage and the rest of them would surround it . However, after seeing the three carriages, he realized that his a . s . sumption was incorrect . ¡°We get to ride in carriages too, huh . ¡± ¡°If we walked we wouldn¡¯t be able to get there in three days . ¡± The carriages weren¡¯t that big, and looked more like carts used to carry goods and baggage . In fact, Loren was astonished at the guild¡¯s ability to ready their means of transportation, as almost all the adventurers had accepted the quest . The only reason that almost all the other parties joined the quest was because of the event where the young adventurer had a quarrel with Loren . After being defeated, his party declined the quest . Loren thought that there would be some retaliation from the members of the young adventurer¡¯s party . Although he didn¡¯t know what they thought of him on the inside, it seemed that they understood that anything was fine as long as no one died . ¡°Well, this is helpful . ¡± To Loren, who carried around a gigantic weapon, not having to walk was a good thing . He did train and build his body to be able to handle the sheer weight of his weapon type, but not having to waste stamina was always a good thing . ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re able to march around with that on your back . ¡± ¡°I got used to it . That¡¯s all there is to it . ¡± Loren climbed into the carriage as he said that, but here a problem occurred . There were seats on both sides of the carriage but when Loren tried to sit down, the carriage tilted over to his side due to the combined weight of him and the weapon on his back, and took up most of the s . p . a . ce . ¡°Only thing we can do here is have everyone else cram other side while Loren and I sit over here . ¡± The guild planned on having each carriage carry eight people, so sixteen adventurers on two carriages . Along with the carriage with Shayna and seven adventurers to accompany her, there were a total of twenty-three of them partic . i . p . ating in the quest . So if Loren and Lapis took over one whole side of the carriage, it meant that six others were going to have to sit across from them . Although the weight balanced out, they would have to be cramped up . The atmosphere was already not good, as iron rank adventurers had to give up their seats to Loren and Lapis, who were a rank lower than them . ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this . I¡¯ve got no excuse . ¡± Loren bowed and apologized sincerely, knowing for a fact that this was his fault . The other adventurers were taken aback at Loren¡¯s sincere apology, after a moment seemed satisfied by it, and one of the older adventurers of the group spoke up . ¡°Can¡¯t be helped . ¡± ¡°Sorry . I owe you guys one . ¡± It seemed that the situation was resolved, but soon enough another nuisance appeared . The red haired boy, who should¡¯ve been riding on the other carriage, jumped onto the carriage Loren was on . He must have guessed that this was going to happen and came over, and shouted at Loren, who was apologizing to the other adventurers . ¡°Hey low rank! Not only do you not know your place, but you¡¯re causing trouble for the other adventurers? How much do you have to get in our way before your satisfied!?¡± Loren covered Lapis¡¯ eyes, which immediately charged with bloodthirstiness, with his palm, and even though the way he said it was a problem, what he said wasn¡¯t wrong and he had no excuse for it . The red haired boy seemed to know that as well, and opened his mouth to continue, but the older adventurer from before gave an angry shout . ¡°Shut up kid! This conversation is already over! Go back to your carriage right now!¡± While the red haired boy stood there with his mouth wide open, not being able to respond, the other members of his party hurried over and dragged him back to their carriage . While that was happening, Loren took the opportunity to observe the red haired boy¡¯s party . A woman with straight blonde hair wearing a magnificent full plated iron armor . A brown haired girl with freckles holding a curved wooden staff wearing a dark navy blue robe . A girl with blue, bob cut hairstyle wearing a white priest clothes and a crosier . The red haired boy¡¯s party consisted of the four of them . ¡°Is making a party with one guy and a lot of girls the trend right now?¡± Loren recalled that the party that he went goblin hunting with was like that as well, and Lapis, still blindfolded by Loren¡¯s palm, whispered back . ¡°The one that looks like a knight is Layla . The magician looking one is Ange . The priest¡¯s name is Roll, and if I remember correctly she serves the Water G . o . d . ¡± ¡°How do you even know all this?¡± ¡°I saw the register at the guild . The red haired boy¡¯s name is Klaus, by the way . They are currently up and coming adventurers . ¡± ¡°Up and coming¡­from where?¡± If what Lapis said wasn¡¯t just some sarcasm, it meant that the red haired boy named Klaus had a patron or something backing him up . ¡°For now it seems like the Adventurer¡¯s Guild itself . I didn¡¯t have enough time to investigate who sent him in, though . ¡± Lapis said she would continue her investigation later . Loren couldn¡¯t decide what to be more surprised at . Klaus, who had support behind his back, or Lapis, who just told him she would investigate the matter . In the end, he decided to stay silent . ¡°On a different note, the older adventurer right there is Broas, and is a veteran who has been doing this for twenty years . ¡± ¡°Humph . You trying to say that even after twenty years I¡¯m still stuck as an iron rank?¡± ¡°Of course not . Even out of the many iron ranks, only a handful of them manage to rise up to silver ranks . I¡¯m impressed that you possess the skill to not have suffered major injuries and continued being an adventurer for twenty years . ¡± Loren was so surprised that Lapis had said something to another person that didn¡¯t contain any sort of poison that he lowered his hand that was covering her eyes . Lapis, who had recovered her vision, saw Loren¡¯s surprised expression, grabbed his collar and started demanding an explanation . The other adventurers looked at them and started to loosen up, while Broas crossed his arms and looked away . ¡°Hmm? Are you blushing?¡± ¡°Shut up¡­ Just go sit down already . ¡± Broas gave a rough response to Lapis¡¯ teasing . Having a foul mouth wasn¡¯t uncommon among adventurers, and Loren decided that Broas was a way nicer person than he looked and bowed his head one more time . ¡°Thanks for the help . ¡± ¡°You need to shut up as well . Just keep flirting with that thing next to you . ¡± Broas waved his hand, signaling that the conversation was done, and Loren decided that pursuing the topic any further was impolite, so he stopped Lapis from saying anything else and whispered to her . ¡°Ritz and his party are quite amazing, huh . ¡± ¡°They¡¯re incredible enough to send in copper rank adventurers into an iron rank quest . ¡± This meant that Loren and Lapis was there due to their influence . It was quite painful for Loren but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all by it . ¡°Making connections is a talent as well, you know?¡± ¡°I got it I got it . I got it so please calm down . ¡± At Loren¡¯s cry of surrender, the carriages that carried the adventurers and the carriage that carried Shayna started moving . ¡°Hey . Doesn¡¯t it feel kind of weird?¡± Since the trip was going to take three days, it meant that they would have to spend at least two nights on the road . But the drivers that the guild had hired weren¡¯t trained to drive during the night, so they had to stop all the carriages in the evening and set up camp . Loren said that as he got off the carriage and glanced at the carriage that Shayna was supposed to be riding on as it came to a stop behind them . The two carriages that carried the adventurers ran in front and behind the carriage that Shayna was on, and Loren noticed that the driver of the carriage behind them looked unwell . ¡°Hey, you alright?¡± As Loren approached the carriage, the driver was breathing heavily as he wiped sweat off of his forehead with a slightly pained expression . ¡°Did something happen?¡± ¡°No¡­nothing out of the ordinary, but I¡¯m not feeling too well . ¡± The drivers that the guild had hired were healthy looking young men, but the one that was driving the carriage that carried Shayna looked like he was sick and was sweating a lot . ¡°Everything¡¯s alright inside, right?¡± ¡°I-it should be fine¡­¡± Although the driver stuttered, it didn¡¯t look like he was trying to hide something, and Loren decided that he was really not feeling too well . ¡°Hey kid, what¡¯re you doing?¡± Loren pointed at the driver as Broas got off the carriage and walked towards him . ¡°The driver¡¯s condition doesn¡¯t look good . ¡± ¡°What?¡­ Hey you guys! Before you set up tent, get spread some sheets or something on the ground!¡± Broas looked at the driver¡¯s face and turned and shouted to who looked like his party members, and helped the driver get off the carriage . As Loren was helping him, Klaus got off from his carriage and walked over towards him . ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing, low rank!¡± ¡°Lapis, can you go check inside the carriage? If I remember correctly this all the adventurers in this carriage should be women . ¡± ¡°That should be correct . You can count on me . ¡± Lapis climbed onto the carriage and poked her head inside . Meanwhile Klaus, who had been ignored, started bite at Loren . ¡°Hey you! Answer me!¡± ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t have time to deal with you right now . ¡± ¡°What did you just say!?¡± As Klaus started to get loud as Loren tried to shrug him off, he decided that he would have to make him shut up, one way or another . As Loren started to think of ways to do so, Lapis¡¯ voice caught his attention . ¡°This is bad Loren! Please come over!¡± ¡°Move . Don¡¯t get in my way . ¡± Loren shoved Klaus out of the way and walked towards Lapis, who looked panicked as she pulled her head out of the carriage . Lapis held the cloth that covered the entrance up so that he could see inside . The sight that Loren witnessed made him catch his breath . ¡°What the h . e . l . l? What in the world happened?¡± Shayna, wearing traveler¡¯s clothes, was there . She was leaning against the wall of the carriage, soundly asleep . There was nothing wrong with her, but what happened around her was what surprised Loren . All seven female adventurers were there, but every single one of them was pale and covered In sweat, just like the driver . Some were barely conscious in their seats, while some weren¡¯t even in their seats, but lying down on the floor unconscious with their eyes rolled up . It was indeed an abnormal sight, and Loren called Broas, who was tending to the driver, in a loud voice . ¡°Broas! Can I get some help here?¡± ¡°Why are you being so loud¡­whoa, what¡¯s happening here?¡± Broas looked inside the carriage and said in a hollow voice . The other adventurers faltered when they saw what was happening as well . Loren decided that there wasn¡¯t any room to be considerate, climbed into the carriage, and started carrying the women out of there . Chapter 33 Chapter 33 ¡°Hmm? Umm? This is¡­¡± Lapis was groaning near the adventurers that were setting up camp . In front of her was the driver of Shayna¡¯s caravan and the adventurers that were riding on it laid down onto a large blanket . All of them were unconscious, but were grimacing . Lapis announced that as a priestess she had medical experience and was examining them, but judging from her expression and the sounds coming from her mouth, Loren decided that the situation wasn¡¯t good . Judging by the weapon that Loren carried around, everyone believed that Loren was quite strong . Of course they had Loren move the patients out of the caravan . As he remembered that, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver slightly . The bodies of the female adventurers that he carried out were ice cold . Since he used to be a mercenary, he had experience dealing with corpses . He had felt many corpses, allies¡¯ and foes¡¯, and knew the coldness of a dead body . Even so, Loren was so surprised at how cold they were that he didn¡¯t even hear Klaus complaining that he had his hands all over the girls¡¯ bodies . As he cautiously called out to Lapis, who was still examining the driver and adventurers, he worried that maybe they weren¡¯t even alive anymore . ¡°How are they?¡± ¡°Two of them are already dead . ¡± Her answer was surprisingly concise . It was so brief that Loren thought that he had misheard her, but seeing the other adventurers turn towards her with shocked expressions, he was reaffirmed that he didn¡¯t mishear anything . ¡°Dead?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯m not sure what the cause of death is, but both of their breathing and hearts have stopped . ¡± Lapis pointed to two of the female adventurers¡¯ bodies . Since they weren¡¯t moving and their eyes were closed, Loren couldn¡¯t tell the difference between the two and the rest of them, but thought that if Lapis said they were dead, they must be dead . ¡°Is it true that two of them are dead?¡± Broas, who was taking charge of setting up camp, heard what Lapis had said and walked over . Among the adventurers that were on the quest, he seemed to be the oldest, and seemed to be well acknowledged among them as well . No one complained when he took charge and gave out orders . The only one not being obedient and complaining was Klaus, and Broas didn¡¯t want to make him follow orders, so Klaus and his party were left alone to set up their own camp . If one showed knowledge that came from experience, Loren didn¡¯t mind following his orders, but thought that not everyone thought the same way, so he decided not to mention anything . ¡°Yes it¡¯s true . Do you want to check as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that just in case . ¡± After replying Broas kneeled next to the adventurers that Lapis pointed out . He then proceeded to put his finger on their wrists and necks, and stood back up . ¡°They¡¯re dead all right . No mistaking that . ¡± ¡°Yes, they are totally truly completely dead . ¡± Loren wondered if it was necessary to emphasize that part, but what she said next made him forget what he was thinking about . ¡°I recommend that we cremate the bodies right here . ¡± ¡°What?¡± Loren knew that Broas couldn¡¯t help but be surprised . Even Loren himself was quite surprised at Lapis¡¯ suggestion . Ways of burying the dead differed in different regions . But most of the time the dead were buried in the dirt, whether or not the body is put in a casket . It wasn¡¯t that cremation wasn¡¯t practiced, but in areas where it was done frequently there was usually a good reason for doing so in the past . ¡°Right here!?¡± Broas wasn¡¯t going to carry around the dead adventurers the whole trip . But it was obvious that he didn¡¯t think of cremating them either . Lapis continued as she saw the confusion . ¡°If you don¡¯t want to cremate them right now, I suggest we hurry back to Kauffa . ¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure but¡­those two are becoming undead . ¡± At Lapis¡¯ words, commotion arose from around them . Becoming undead meant someone or something that died becoming a monster in the form of a zombie or ghoul for various reasons . There were several ways one could become undead, and some of the most common ways were magic spells, being cursed by a high rank undead monster, or when someone had a strong attachment to his current life . ¡°How is that happening?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, there¡¯s another priestess here so you can ask her to examine them, you know?¡± Priests were experts when it came to the undead, which were dead beings who lost their way . It was hard to believe that Lapis would make a mistake, but she said to check with a different priest if they doubted her . ¡°Hey, don¡¯t get our priest¡­¡± ¡°Klaus, anything that has to do with lost souls is the job of a priest . Please let me¡­¡± Klaus was about to complain about Lapis bringing up his party member, but the blue haired priestess stopped him . Klaus still looked unsatisfied, but the priestess named Roll walked up and kneeled next to the female adventurers . ¡°My G . o . d the G . o . d of Water . Show us the path and bestow it upon us . ¡± She cut her finger with something like a symbol on her chest, and Loren, watching her, muttered without thinking . ¡°She really looks like a priestess . ¡± ¡°Are you saying that I don¡¯t look like one?¡± Loren looked away as Lapis glared at him with scornful eyes . He didn¡¯t mean to mutter that out loud, and if someone asked him if Lapis looked and acted like a priestess, he would have trouble giving an answer to that question . While they were doing that, Roll had finished examining the dead adventurers, stood up, and brushed off the dust off her knees . ¡°I see impurity from their bodies . They will indeed soon become undead . ¡± ¡°Seriously¡­This is another bothersome situation we got here . ¡± Although it couldn¡¯t be helped, they needed to explain to the dead adventurers¡¯ party members why they had to be cremated, and they also had to preserve their belongings and find a place to cremate them . They also needed to gather things to fuel the fire . Broas sighed at the unexpected increase in workload, but knew that sighing wouldn¡¯t get them anywhere . He scratched his head and started working on what needed to be done . They couldn¡¯t do the cremation near the campsite . After explaining the situation to the dead adventurers¡¯ party members, the bodies were taken far away from the campsite and cremated . Luckily, since the sun had gone down, they couldn¡¯t see the smoke rise up, but watching the fire light up its surrounding in a red light wasn¡¯t the best feeling, even for Loren . ¡°Things are getting quite strange . ¡± Loren nodded at Lapis¡¯ words as she finished pitching her tent and putting her sleeping bag inside . Her gaze was pointed at Shayna, who was sitting down alone by a log . Although they didn¡¯t know what caused it, all the people who were in the same caravan collapsed, and two even died . It was no surprise that everyone else were afraid of her . But the quest was getting her safely to Hanza, so they couldn¡¯t treat her roughly . So they decided to put Shayna¡¯s tent in the middle of the camp and have everyone else¡¯s tent around it, but it was obvious that they were just trying to distance themselves from her . Loren decided that this kind of treatment wasn¡¯t good for a ten-year-old girl, so he made up his mind, but before he could tell Lapis, she walked over and said to him . ¡°I think it¡¯s okay to do what you think is right . ¡± ¡°You fine with that?¡± Loren confirmed with Lapis, even though she had just given him the go ahead . ¡°I don¡¯t mind . Is there a reason for me to stop you?¡± Lapis put her hand on Loren¡¯s forehead . As he felt a ticklish sensation when she moved it around like she was patting him on the head, Loren looked at her . ¡°All I¡¯m asking you is to come with me when I want to go do something, and let me accompany you when you want to go do something . I have no intention of forcing you to do anything you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s another¡­¡± ¡°So go ahead, do what you want to do . ¡± As Lapis saw him off with a smile on her face, Loren walked towards Shayna, who was sitting alone in the middle of the campsite, and called out to her . ¡°Hey, if you¡¯d like, you want to come eat with us?¡± The food that Shayna was given were tasteless rations . It was hard bread and dried meat that could be eaten without being cooked, but she hadn¡¯t touched it at all . Loren felt others stare at him as Shayna raised her head to the voice directed towards her, but continued . ¡°It doesn¡¯t taste good when you eat alone, right?¡± ¡°Umm, well¡­I just don¡¯t feel like eating . ¡± She must have thought that Loren was angry that she hadn¡¯t touched her food, and looked back at him with wary eyes . As Loren wondered if his face was that scary, he waved his hand, letting her know that he wasn¡¯t angry with her at all . ¡°You should eat at least a little bit because we¡¯ve got a whole day of travelling tomorrow you know?¡± ¡°Yes¡­I understand, but wouldn¡¯t it be a bother¡­?¡± If given this sort of treatment so bluntly, even a ten-year-old girl would be able to guess what kind of situation she was put in . ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . My party member said she doesn¡¯t mind either . ¡± ¡°alright . Then¡­I¡¯ll join you for a while . ¡± Loren reached out to Shayna and beckoned her to follow him as she stood up . While some looked at them disgusted and others warmly, Klaus said in a loud voice so everyone in the area could hear . ¡°As expected of copper ranks, you¡¯re so good at flattering your client . You¡¯re trying to get a good impression so that you would receive more rewards right? Or else you wouldn¡¯t try to get close to something like¡­¡± I need to shut him up . He didn¡¯t mind, but he decided that it wasn¡¯t something that Shayna should listen to, so he grabbed the log that she was sitting against with one hand and lifted it up . He was about to throw it in Klaus¡¯ direction, but something flew past him before he could let it go . Loren froze and watched Klaus be hit square in the face by the object and fall onto his back . As he slowly lowered the log, he saw that the object that flew past him was a piece of firewood . Then he also found out that it was Lapis who threw it with all her strength . Ange and Roll rushed to Klaus¡¯ side . The knight named Layla glared at Lapis but immediately looked away . ¡°Lapis, is it okay if I look over?¡± The knight¡¯s face was full of fear . Loren took one look and was able to identify it . Loren stood between Lapis and Shayna to block her view and asked Lapis, and she gave a cheerful reply . ¡°There¡¯s no problem at all . You can come over with Shayna . ¡± Shayna couldn¡¯t see Lapis because Loren was in the way . As she looked up to Loren, confused, he patted her head to let her know that everything was all right, and decided that he would never ever try to guess what the knight saw behind his back . Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Another difficulty arose the next morning, just as they were about to depart . The adventurers that were riding with Shayna the day before refused to ride in the same caravan as her . Minus the two that died, the remaining five adventurers had all regained consciousness before morning and were able to move around on their own . But all of them explained that they weren¡¯t sure when and how they went unconscious, and absolutely refused to ride with Shayna for the second day . Everyone understood that it couldn¡¯t be helped that they felt that way . Two of them had already died just by riding in there . There was no guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t happen again, and it was natural to think that you might be the next victim . But that didn¡¯t mean it was okay to leave the client all alone in the caravan . Since the quest was to escort her safely, they were supposed to protect her immediately if something were to happen, so it was out of the question not to have anyone around her . ¡°This isn¡¯t good . ¡± Broas grumbled but didn¡¯t look like he wanted to ride there himself . As Loren thought that it was an obvious way of thinking, Lapis spoke up like she just thought of it . ¡°Then what if we ride with her?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Lapis clapped her hands together as if it was a good idea . Loren was fine with it if Lapis didn¡¯t mind, but he still had some worries in the back of his mind . It seemed that Lapis understood what he was thinking, but she said to Loren enthusiastically . ¡°We were fine last night . ¡± The night before, Loren had invited Shayna over to their tents for dinner . He couldn¡¯t stand watching Shayna being alone, and also didn¡¯t like the idea of a ten-year-old girl sleeping alone, even if it was in the middle of camp, and after discussing it with Broas, moved their tents near Shayna¡¯s . Although Shayna said she didn¡¯t feel like eating and didn¡¯t eat much, it seemed like she was delighted by Loren¡¯s consideration, and was even more delighted when Loren and Lapis had moved closer to her tent . But the fact that she didn¡¯t feel like eating anything told Loren that she was quite strained mentally, so he did his best to continue to talk to her . Even after spending a whole night with her, there was no sign of him losing consciousness or feeling ill at all . That was why Lapis suggested that it would be okay for them to ride in the caravan, but Loren couldn¡¯t make up his mind . ¡°Are you saying that Shayna should stay inside a swaying caravan all alone?¡± ¡°Of¡­course not . ¡± When she put it like that, Loren had to think again . Leaving a young girl like Shayna, who must be very anxious at this point, all alone in the caravan wasn¡¯t something Loren wanted to do, and wanted to avoid doing that at all costs if it could be avoided . He had learned how hard it was to be alone the hard way when his mercenary group disbanded . ¡°Then I think this is where you should speak up . ¡± After Lapis told him that, he walked over to Broas and suggested that the two of them ride with Shayna . ¡°You guys okay with that?¡± ¡°Yeah . There¡¯s nothing wrong with us even after spending a night near her . I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a problem with Shayna herself . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯re fine with it, then I guess we¡¯ll do that . In fact, it¡¯s quite helpful as well, since leaving the client alone isn¡¯t the best thing to do . ¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s settled then . But aren¡¯t the other caravans already quite full?¡± ¡°No one wants to ride in that one, so they¡¯ll have to endure being cramped . Rather than that, if anything happens, call me immediately, okay? It¡¯s going to be a lot more troublesome if something happens to you two . ¡± Loren¡¯s suggestion was accepted quite easily . It was mostly because no one else wanted to ride with Shayna . ¡°Ah, Onii-san¡­¡± As Loren and Lapis climbed up into the caravan, Shayna looked at them with a mixture of surprise and delight . Loren waved his hand as he climbed in, trying not to let her feel uneasy, but soon left her in Lapis¡¯ care, sat behind the driver, and started keeping watch over the driver and the inside of the caravan . Although the driver was feeling a lot better than the day before, he still didn¡¯t look too well and it would be a problem if he couldn¡¯t drive properly . Along with that, it was a good position to call for help if something happened, but to the others it looked like a male adventurer who was thinking he shouldn¡¯t sit close to a girl of high status, so no one said anything . Soon enough, they cleaned up camp and started on towards Hanza . ¡°Hey, we got to be careful from here on out!¡± There was a good reason for Broas to shout out to everyone . All the messengers that the guild had sent out to Hanza had disappeared on the second day . That meant there was a high chance that they would encounter it during that day, so it was obvious that everyone was on high alert . ¡°Is everything, going to be okay?¡± The tension and anxiousness seemed to have reached Shayna as well, so Lapis gave her a smile and told her . ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine . We¡¯ve got an incredible mercenary on our side . ¡± ¡°Is that supposed to be me?¡± ¡°Who else would there be, mister Slaying Wind?¡± ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, but that¡¯s not me, you know?¡± Lapis¡¯ smile turned into a grin as she called him by that t . i . tle, but Loren denied that it was his . Loren scratched his head and continued awkwardly as Lapis gave him a blank look . ¡°I get that a lot, though . But there¡¯s no way someone like me would have such an extravagant t . i . tle . ¡± ¡°So does that mean you haven¡¯t met Slaying Wind before?¡± ¡°Of course not . If I did I wouldn¡¯t be alive right now . ¡± As Loren shrugged, Lapis pressed her finger against her chin and thought for a moment, then asked Loren with a searching gaze . ¡°By the way Loren, do people every call you dense?¡± ¡°Quite often, why?¡± ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re dense . I see . ¡± Shayna watched Lapis with wonder as she nodded her head like Loren¡¯s reply solved everything . Loren wasn¡¯t sure what Lapis had found out, but didn¡¯t dig any deeper into the matter . Instead, he focused his attention outside the caravan while listening to Lapis and Shayna¡¯s idle chatter . ¡°It¡¯s so peaceful, it¡¯s quite anticlimactic . ¡± They had traveled for a while now and was almost noon when Lapis said that as she stifled a yawn . There were no attacks that they thought there would be, they were moving on track, and there was nothing wrong with Loren or Lapis, who were riding with Shayna the whole time . ¡°It looks like they¡¯re looking for a place to take a break . ¡± As he listened to the driver, Loren was surprised at how fast the time pa . s . sed . But then he saw a few silhouettes on the road in front of them . ¡°Someone¡¯s in front . ¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re travelers?¡± Loren squinted to try to make out the silhouettes . Since Loren, who was riding the caravan in the middle, it was obvious that the people riding the caravan in front noticed them as well . There were slightly more than ten silhouettes standing in the middle of the road . They seemed to not have noticed the caravans, as they showed no movement to get out of the way . The caravan in front started to slow down . ¡°Did something happen?¡± The caravan Loren was in started slowing down as well . Lapis asked Loren what the situation was, but Loren wasn¡¯t so sure himself, and eventually all three caravans came to a stop, wary of the people on the road . ¡°Hey, who are you guys and why are you here?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you see that you¡¯re in the way?¡± A few of the adventurers got off and walked to the people on the road . Usually, people would run if they see multiple armed adventurers that were shouting, but the silhouettes on the road didn¡¯t even flinch . Loren left Shayna in Lapis¡¯ care, got out of the caravan, and walked towards Broas . ¡°Looks like something¡¯s wrong . ¡± Broas put his hand on his forehead to block the sunlight and spoke to Loren . Loren nodded and squinted towards the same direction Broas was facing and tilted his head . ¡°I can see that, but what are they?¡± The figures in the road ahead of them looked like regular townsfolk . They weren¡¯t armed and were just standing there, so Loren thought maybe they weren¡¯t dangerous, but soon changed his mind . It was because they weren¡¯t inside a town or a city, nor close to one . But the figures in front were dressed like ordinary people living in towns . The way they were dressed didn¡¯t match up where they currently were, and that b . u . mped Loren¡¯s level of caution towards them . ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± It was right when Loren was about to tell Broas . A few of the figures noticed the adventurers nearing them turned around at an impossible speed, opened their mouths so wide it seemed like their jaws had unhinged, bent their fingers like talons, and started walking towards them at a slow pace . ¡°Broas!¡± ¡°The h . e . l . l¡­Hey you guys, get back!¡± The adventurers that went to check on the figures saw their sudden reaction and knew something was wrong . They immediately drew back in order to avoid unnecessary battle . The figures chased after them towards Loren and the others . ¡°Whoa whoa, what¡¯s going on? Aren¡¯t they from a nearby town?¡± If they were monsters, the adventurers would¡¯ve drawn their weapons and attacked them . But although the figures that were coming towards them were weird, they were dressed just like ordinary townsfolk, and made them hesitate to draw their weapons . Meanwhile the priestess Roll, who just got off the caravan with the other adventurers, shouted and got everyone¡¯s attention . ¡°Everyone, be careful! Those are undead!¡± ¡°What? Undead in broad daylight?¡± There were a few adventurers that shouted in surprise, but Loren calmly observed the undead monsters that were coming closer . He wasn¡¯t an expert on them, but it wasn¡¯t the first time he¡¯d seen them . Since many in battle died with regrets, there were times when the bodies weren¡¯t taken care of fast enough and became undead . Of course, things like ghosts never showed during the day, but kinds like zombies, which were undead monsters with physical bodies, sometimes wandered in the battlefield during the day . ¡°So does that mean those are zombies?¡± As Loren muttered out loud, a group of people rushed past him . It was a party that consisted of a red haired boy in the front, followed by a female knight and magician, and a priestess in the back . Klaus and his party drew their weapons and rushed towards the nearing undead . ¡°d . a . m . n it those guys, they just went off¡­¡± Broas let out a disgusted sigh, but Loren thought that it wasn¡¯t an incorrect action to make . If it were just a few zombies, four iron rank adventurers should be enough to deal with them, and Loren realized that this was a good chance for him to see what Klaus and his party could do, so he looked ahead with interest . Chapter 35 Chapter 35 ¡°Klaus, don¡¯t step up too far up . ¡± Layla¡¯s warning rang out but Klaus ignored her, drew his sword, and continued to charge . The undead glanced at the blade, which was shining brightly reflecting the sun¡¯s rays, and took a step back . Seeing that, Klaus smiled . ¡°Zombies are no match for me!¡± Since the undead had physical bodies and were able to move under the sunlight, Klaus guessed that they were zombies . Zombies, which were one of the lowest rank undead monsters, were able to increase their numbers by biting and killing their prey, but in terms of strength copper rank adventurers could beat them easily . For iron ranks, even if the zombies¡¯ numbers were a few times larger than the party¡¯s, they could exterminate them easily . But that didn¡¯t matter to Klaus . He was an up-and-coming adventurer, and expected of great things . And for a particular reason, he needed to show everyone how skilled he was . That¡¯s why he decided to take the lead while the other adventurers hesitated . The girls in his party understood that, so they followed after him with no complaints . ¡°Go back to being dead!¡± The blade flashed and struck the neck of the zombie in the front . Since they were already slow moving, there was no way it could dodge the attack, so the blade ripped through its flesh . But Klaus frowned at the feeling that reached his hand . If they were zombies, their flesh should be brittle from the injuries and rotting . But the zombie that he had just cut down looked no different from when it was alive, and he couldn¡¯t see any traces of wounds or rotting . He had also swung the sword with enough strength to cut a man¡¯s head off cleanly, Klaus had felt resistance and wasn¡¯t able to cut through . ¡°You!¡± But Klaus was an iron rank adventurer . As soon as he felt resistance he put in more strength and forced the blade through and kicked away the now headless body . ¡°They¡¯re hard!¡± Next to him, Layla swung her sword at a zombie¡¯s shoulder, but it was stopped at the collarbone . She swept its feet from under it as it started reaching for her, pulled her sword out of its shoulder, and brought it down on its neck, twisting the blade to wrench its neck off . ¡°These aren¡¯t zombies!¡± At Layla¡¯s warning, Roll folded her hands in front of her chest and mumbled a prayer, then gasped as she opened her eyes . ¡°Everyone, they aren¡¯t zombies . They are revenants!¡± Everyone tensed at Roll¡¯s warning . Revenants were ¡®those who returned¡¯, and were a type of undead . They occurred almost the same way as zombies . Someone dying with strong attachments to the living world, made by a high ranking undead being, or magic . The difference between them and zombies was that although zombies have quite a bit of strength, it was still about the same as the body before it died, while revenants were way stronger than the body was before it died and had some intelligence . They were stronger than zombies, and was hard for copper ranks to face head on, and if there were enough of them, they could overpower iron ranks as well . ¡°Do they need reinforcements?¡± Broas reached for his weapon . After glancing at Broas and saw that his weapons were twin battle axes, and turned his attention back to Klaus . ¡°I don¡¯t think so . ¡± Klaus¡¯ fighting was incredible enough for Loren to give him that good of an evaluation . Even after finding out that their enemies were revenants, Klaus didn¡¯t flinch and continued to swing his sword at them . Each stroke of the blade reduced a revenant to pieces, and after looking at them go, Broas lowered his hands from his weapons . ¡°I guess he wasn¡¯t all talk after all . ¡± ¡°I guess so . ¡± Loren nodded at Broas¡¯ words . Setting aside whether he liked Klaus or not, the skill and strength that he possessed was indeed impressive . ¡°You just going to be an indifferent spectator?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know yet . We¡¯ll see . ¡± Loren replied to Broas like that, but knew that he was correct about one thing . Loren was certain that the reason why Klaus kept b . u . t . ting into him was because he was partic . i . p . ating in the quest using connections . Loren was sure that Klaus didn¡¯t like the fact someone without the necessary skill had managed to snag a job that wasn¡¯t meant for them . So Loren was curious whether or not Klaus himself had the accordingly skillful and strong . But only half of his attention was focused on the fight . The other half was focused around them . It was odd that ten to twenty undead would suddenly appear on the road . He thought that the cause of it was lurking somewhere in the area . There was also a possibility that whatever generated the undead was using the revenants as bait and could ambush them from somewhere . Undead had low intelligence in general, but high rank beings that could create undead were often as intelligent or even more intelligent that humans . One of the famous ones were vampires, and even Loren knew about them . ¡°Maybe I¡¯m worrying too much . ¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Just talking to myself . Anyways, it looks like it¡¯s going to be over soon . ¡± As Loren pointed out, the number of revenants that were fighting Klaus and his party were going down steadily . Not only Klaus, but the knight named Layla was quite skilled with the sword as well, and every time the blade flashed a revenant fell, and when the priestess Roll hit them with her mace, the moving undead became the dead . The only one that didn¡¯t have a turn was the magician Ange, but that was something that couldn¡¯t be helped . Along with the fact that there was no need for her to a . s . sist her party members with magic, since they were all skilled, there was a limit to how many spells magicians could use . Calmly a . s . sessing the situation and knowing how to not use spells when it is not necessary was also a talent . ¡°This is it!¡± It happened when Klaus took a step towards the last remaining revenant . As he kicked the ground, his feet and the longsword in his hand gave off a phosph . o . r . escent glow . ¡°What the h . e . l . l is that!?¡± As Broas yelled in surprise and Loren¡¯s eyes slightly widened, Klaus¡¯ strike that was faster than any of them before dug into the revenant¡¯s shoulder and cut it all the way down to its waist with no resistance at all . ¡°Klaus!? You idiot!¡± ¡°Klaus¡­¡± ¡°Looks like he got carried away . ¡± Klaus gave Loren a smug look but was soon being scolded by the girls in his party . ¡°How many times have I told you not to show that for no reason!¡± ¡°B-but come on . It¡¯s not that big of a deal¡­¡± ¡°Klaus, we don¡¯t know who might be watching . We told you so many times to restrain yourself¡­¡± ¡°We could¡¯ve won easily even if you didn¡¯t use that . You¡¯re such an idiot . ¡± ¡°Ange, I was just¡­¡± Apparently the cold words of the magician dealt the most damage, and Klaus faltered as he was trying to make an excuse . Meanwhile, Broas stood frozen with his mouth wide open, still not able to believe what he just saw . ¡°What was that just now? He disappeared . ¡± ¡°Your eyes couldn¡¯t follow him, huh . Must suck to be old . ¡± ¡°p . i . s . s off! Are you saying you could see him?¡± ¡°Well, yeah . ¡± Although that¡¯s what he said, if he had been up against Klaus without knowing about that move, it was hard to say if he would be able to respond to it . That¡¯s how much faster Klaus¡¯ movements had increased . The sharpness of the sword he wielded was impressive as well . It cut the hard body of a revenant into two with one strike . It wasn¡¯t like Loren couldn¡¯t do the same himself, but that was with the weapon he had . An ordinary longsword would become dull before going halfway through it or even break . ¡°What in the world was that?¡± ¡°About that . ¡± Lapis joined in on their conversation . Broas jumped in surprise at the voice behind him that crept up without him noticing, but Loren stood there unfazed and looked at Lapis suspiciously . ¡°You know what it is?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . I¡¯m not a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d for nothing, you know . ¡± Lapis puffed out her chest but Loren silently urged her to move on . She let out a small sigh, looking unamused, but started to explain Klaus¡¯ movements . ¡°That was probably > . ¡± ¡°Magic?¡± Loren took a guess judging by its name, but Lapis shook her head . ¡°No . There is a spell that has a similar effect called > isn¡¯t limited to the person himself, but it¡¯s a ¡®Gift¡¯ that can also amplify the abilities of the user¡¯s belongings as well . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty convenient . ¡± If what Lapis said was true, Klaus could amplify the ability of not only his weapons and armor, but amplify the effectiveness of all his belongings and items as well . Both Loren and Broas could understand how beneficial that was . ¡°It¡¯s not something you could see every day . Most of the time, only people who have the potential to become heroes or braves can use that . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure what the difference between a hero and a brave was, but was certain that they were existences leagues above others . He sighed as he couldn¡¯t help but think that it was a bother that someone like Klaus, who was something close to them, hated him . ¡°I guess¡­it could be a talent to get conceited about . ¡± Loren wondered why someone with such talents would be an adventurer, but stopped thinking about it as he decided that no matter what was going on with Klaus, he was unrelated to it . ¡°Right now he has the support of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, but it seems like it¡¯s safe to say that he has the support of some country as well . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care . Has nothing to do with me anyway . Probably won¡¯t see them again after this job is done . ¡± Loren started walking forward as he said that . Lapis followed him as he walked towards Klaus, who he had just said he had nothing to do with . ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Nothing much, but for now¡­¡± Instead of Klaus and the girls, who were still making a fuss, Loren turned towards the dead bodies lying all around them . ¡°We¡¯ve got to bury them . We can¡¯t just leave them in the open . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . ¡± Lapis nodded at the words that Loren had muttered . Chapter 36 Chapter 36 After burying the revenants, they continued down the road . The encounter with the undead gave some of them thoughts of going back to Kauffa, but since they accepted the quest knowing that there would be some sort of danger on the way, going back wasn¡¯t an option . While preparing to bury the bodies, Loren checked their belongings, but none of them had anything peculiar, and the only things they had were wallets and jewelry, nothing to let him know who they were or where they came from . But on the other hand, that itself told him that they were common folk from a nearby city . They loaded the belongings into the caravans just in case . If they had any relatives they needed to give them back to them, and even if they didn¡¯t it would serve as proof that they had defeated undead monsters . But still, carrying the belongings of the dead wasn¡¯t the happiest thing, and the party¡¯s morale sunk slightly . Klaus and his party, who had defeated the group of revenants by themselves, was now acknowledged and had a high evaluation among the adventurers . But Loren continued to ignore him, as he kept on sending smug looks his way . After a while, an incident that lowered the morale of the party even further happened . The driver of the caravan Loren and Lapis were on had died . Loren noticed that the caravan was moving unnaturally, even though they weren¡¯t getting attacked, and went over to the driver¡¯s seat . When he tapped the driver¡¯s shoulder, the driver suddenly fell off the caravan . He panicked and grabbed the reins and stopped the caravan, but the driver was already dead . The cause of his death was unknown . Lapis immediately examined him, but all the injuries on the body were scratches and bruises from falling down from the caravan, and couldn¡¯t find anything that could¡¯ve been the cause of his death . On top of that, the body was already halfway undead, so they had to cremate it on the spot . ¡°What the h . e . l . l is happening?¡± Sitting next to Loren was Lapis, who was driving the caravan . Apparently priests of the Knowledge G . o . d knew how to drive as well, and Loren thought that if the Knowledge G . o . d was such a handyman, maybe more people should start following him . ¡°I wish I knew . ¡± On Lapis¡¯ other side, Shayna sat leaning onto Lapis, sleeping soundly . She looked like she was sleeping peacefully, but Loren frowned slightly as he wondered what she was thinking inside about their current situation . She hadn¡¯t eaten much since the day before . She looked fine, so it seemed that she still had some strength in her, but not eating anything worried Loren . Food was important no matter what you did . Since she wasn¡¯t eating, Loren decided that she was must be stressed out mentally . As he continued to be alert on their surroundings, Lapis muttered to him . ¡°It seems like there are a few in that direction . ¡± She said it so suddenly that Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying, and after a moment realized what she had meant and looked towards the direction she was facing . He saw a large plain, but couldn¡¯t find anything of the sort Lapis had talked about . He was relieved and thought that he must be worrying too much, but Lapis gave an additional blow . ¡°They can¡¯t be seen by human eyes . ¡± Loren then remembered . Although it couldn¡¯t be noticed just by looking at them, Lapis¡¯ eyes were artificial . Her limbs were prosthetics as well, and they were being used to hide the fact that Lapis was a demon . Loren found that out during his very first quest as an adventurer, and also learned that Lapis¡¯ goal was to gain experience as well as search for her lost limbs and eyes . Leaving that aside, since her eyes were artificial, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was some sort of special function built into them . ¡°There are some over there as well . Around twenty of them . ¡± ¡°What is wrong with this area?¡± Lapis tilted her head at Loren, who had given up trying to search the area and muttered with a lowered voice . As the caravan was going slightly off track, Lapis fixed the pathing and whispered in a hushed voice . They were both trying to be considerate of Shayna, who was still sleeping . ¡°There are a bunch of undead roaming in broad daylight . That means there is a source somewhere . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty depressing thought when it¡¯s going to be night time soon enough . ¡± Undead were more active during the night than during the day . They could see quite a few of them right now during the day, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel melancholic as he thought about how many there would be once the sun set . ¡°In the case of an emergency, let¡¯s take Shayna and run away . It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll definitely be able to reach Hanza . ¡± ¡°Am I the only one that feels that there are more undead the closer we get to Hanza?¡± ¡°Hahaha . That¡¯s such an unpleasant thing to say . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something to be laughing about, geez¡­¡± Loren sighed, but their worries soon started to become a reality as night came . As they were trying to find a place to spend the second night, many different kinds of undead became active and started attacking them . ¡°d . a . m . n it! What is this!? There¡¯s no end to them!¡± Broas yelled, blood and flesh flying around him as he swung his axes . Around him were a large number of zombies, with their muscle and intestines showing beneath their rotting flesh . If it were a few or even a decent sized group of them, they could¡¯ve dealt with them without any problems, but against a seemingly unending number of undead, even iron rank adventurers had a difficult time . The adventurers would get tired and eventually be unable to move, but to the undead, such things didn¡¯t exist . That meant no matter how much they were cut or pummeled, as long as a part of them could move, they would continue to attack . To add on to that, there were revenants mixed in with the zombies every now and then . Since they were higher ranking monsters than zombies, they were stronger and moved more smoothly than them, and didn¡¯t feel fatigue as well . They joined the zombies, which were surrounding the adventurers, and started attacking as well . ¡°S-stop! Get away from me!¡± ¡°Ow, it hurts, it hurts! Stop biting! Stop eating me!¡± The female adventurers that had been riding with Shayna and lost consciousness the first day were far from being completely healed, and tired faster than the others . The zombies knocked them down and started biting off the flesh that wasn¡¯t protected by their armor or clothes . The other adventurers tried to help them, but the revenants attacked them as if they were waiting for them to turn away, knocked them down, and started biting at their throats . ¡°O-onii-san¡­¡± Of course Loren, Lapis, and Shayna were in the middle of it as well . With Lapis standing near him and Shayna clinging onto his waist, Loren reached back towards his weapon, grabbed it, and muttered . ¡°I get to try it out on rotting flesh, huh¡­Unfortunate . ¡± ¡°Do you have time to be complaining?¡± ¡°Not much, apparently . ¡± As he spoke, he took off the cloth around his weapon and pulled it out completely and took a wide swing . As the giant blade ran through in a sideways arc, zombies and revenant alike were cut down or crushed, and flesh and blood rained down in its wake . Loren¡¯s attack didn¡¯t end there, and when he swung it in a return arc, more zombies flew away, reduced to chunks of meat . ¡°Whoa, how are you even able to swing that around?¡± As the weapon stopped in front of Broas¡¯ surprised eyes, its black blade was noticeable even in the dark of night . There were patterns engraved in gold on the blade, but what was the most surprising was its size . It was longer and thicker than the great sword that Loren used before, as well as slightly wider, and the grip was slightly shorter because of that . But after swinging it around a few times, Loren decided that there was no problem and he could use it just fine . A long, thin strip of leather was wrapped around the grip to stop his grip from slipping, and the leather itself was pitch black as well . ¡°It¡¯s called getting used to it . Anyways, what do we do about this?¡± Loren swung the sword around one more time with his hand and set it on his shoulder and patted Shayna, who was still clinging onto his waist, with his other hand to try to comfort her . He then asked Broas, who was able to run towards them thanks to the number of undead being reduced . The number of undead attacking the camp didn¡¯t seem to falter no matter how many they killed . In fact, it seemed like they were increasing in number as time went on . Although the question of where all of them were coming from lingered, there was no time to be thinking about that, but instead if they didn¡¯t figure out a way to escape this situation, it was obvious that they would be overrun sooner or later . ¡°Why are there so many of them?¡± As Loren took another swing with his great sword and mowed down a few of the undead, Lapis, who was dancing around dodging the zombies¡¯ grasps, answered . ¡°It must be because we are the only living beings in the area . To the undead, living beings are like bonfires . They swarm to it like moths to flame . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a good sign . Broas, moving forward or heading back, which do you think is better?¡± Loren asked Broas which was the better decision, getting past the undead and continue on to Hanza is better or if going back to Kauffa . At that point, almost all of the adventurers were wiped out, and it was difficult to continue on with the quest . Broas groaned at the two options he was given . ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the leader of everyone here, you know . ¡± ¡°Even so . I won¡¯t complain after . ¡± Broas should¡¯ve been in a party, but Loren didn¡¯t see anyone of the sort with him . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they got separated or they fell prey to the undead, but he decided that the opinion of a veteran like Broas was the most reliable in this situation . ¡°Then we should head towards Hanza . It¡¯s not about the quest anymore . There might be less undead towards Kauffa, but it¡¯s better if we go to Hanza even if there are more undead because it¡¯s way closer . There¡¯s no way it¡¯ll be overrun . ¡± ¡°You got a better idea Lapis?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t think of any . ¡± ¡°Are you fine with that Shayna?¡± Loren asked the girl still clinging to his waist, and she nodded . ¡°Then it¡¯s settled . Is there a caravan that we can still use?¡± For some reason, undead such as zombies or revenants didn¡¯t attack living things other than humans . They only attacked those that were similar to them, and didn¡¯t attack animals such as horses . So all the horses were okay, but two out of the three caravans were being dragged around by the panicking horses . The last one was the one Loren was riding, and it escaped damage because they released their horse from the caravan and tied it onto a post . ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the undead in the area . Broas, you go connect the horse to the caravan . Lapis, put Shayna in there so that we could depart at any time . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± ¡°I got you! Dammit, none of my party¡¯s alive!¡± Broas cried as he got to work . Lapis took the Shayna from Loren¡¯s waist, ran to the caravan, and put her inside . While they were working, Loren took the great sword from his shoulder and swung it once again, using brute force to drive back the undead that were nearing them . ¡°Those who are still alive get over here! We¡¯re going to force our way through to Hanza!¡± Although he had no intention of helping anyone else, he didn¡¯t want to leave anyone behind so he called out, but no one responded to his voice . Loren thought gloomily that they must be the only ones alive, but then he saw undead being cut down in a line coming straight towards them . ¡°Can¡¯t believe that out of everyone, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s alive, low rank . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s my line . ¡± The ones who came were Klaus, who was cursing as he came close, and his party members . Although they were covered in blood and dirt, the fact that they were still alive told him how skilled they were . But to Loren, they weren¡¯t really ones that he would welcome with open arms . ¡°Going to the city of Hanza? What are the odds?¡± ¡°Very low . If you don¡¯t like it go to someone else . ¡± Klaus scowled as Loren spat at him, but there was no one else alive in the area, and every one of them knew there was no time to be thinking about another way . ¡°Klaus, this isn¡¯t the time to be arguing . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right Klaus . We need to work together to get out of this . ¡± At Layla and Roll¡¯s argument, Klaus grudgingly followed Loren to the caravan . No matter what he thought of them, Loren had no intention of kicking anyone who was still alive out, so he pointed to the caravan with his head, telling them to hurry up and get in . Klaus returned a glare as they proceeded to walk towards it . As Loren thought maybe they should¡¯ve left them behind, something behind the magician girl from Klaus¡¯ party, who was the last one in line, caught his eye . When he saw what it was, he reflexively shouted in a loud voice . ¡°Duck!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if the magician named Ange realized his warning was meant for her . She looked at him with a bewildered expression and let out a small voice . Immediately after, something caught her with a sideways swipe, s . n . a . t . c . hed her up, and held her high above the ground . Chapter 37 Chapter 37 ¡°That¡¯s a¡­¡± Lapis gazed at Ange, who was carried high up in the air, and said the name of the thing that did so without a trace of urgency in her voice . ¡°Dragon zombie¡­No, it looks like it¡¯s a bone dragon . ¡± What had popped up from under the ground and s . n . a . t . c . hed Ange, who was running in the back, in its jaws and carried her up into the air was a dragon made of pale white human bones . Loren and the others now felt the ground rumble and tensed up as they watched the dragon dragged its giant body out of the ground . ¡°It¡¯s so big!¡± ¡°Of course it is, it¡¯s a dragon . ¡± Lapis leisurely responded to Loren¡¯s cry . Although it was an undead monster made of bones, it had an appearance that was fit to be called a dragon . Broas paled at the sight and fled inside the caravan, meanwhile Klaus and his party seemed to have forgotten about Ange for a moment and stared at it . Ange yelled from above their heads . ¡°Layla! Don¡¯t worry about me! Take Klaus and go!¡± ¡°Ange! There¡¯s no way¡­I¡¯m coming to save you!¡± Layla and Roll held Klaus back as he yelled back and tried to run back with his weapon in hand . ¡°Let go! I have to save her!¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd! There¡¯s no way we can go up against that monster!¡± ¡°Klaus, please value your life!¡± ¡°Are you saying we should leave her behind!? There¡¯s no way I can do that!¡± ¡°What should we do Loren?¡± Loren smiled weakly at Lapis, who asked him looking like she wanted to leave everyone behind . Ever since he met Klaus in the equipment store, he had been looking down on him, and if Loren thought that leaving him here wasn¡¯t the worst choice ever . He scratched his head . ¡°As someone who knows how hard it is to lose something, it¡¯s hard for me to just leave . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t dislike that kind of thing you know?¡± As Lapis giggled at his words, Loren felt a bit sorry that he was having her help him deal with something dangerous, but made sure to remind her . ¡°I can¡¯t defeat it, okay? I¡¯m just an ordinary mercenary after all . ¡± ¡°At the count of three, I¡¯ll use something that will capture its attention . Do something while it¡¯s distracted . ¡± ¡°I thought the only divine arts you could use is >?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you one that I just learned, warm and fresh . ¡± Loren nodded at Lapis, who thumped her chest, then ran towards the bone dragon without hesitation . At the count of one, he rushed past Klaus, who was still crying out . At the count of two, the dragon noticed Loren and faced its empty eyes towards him, with Ange still in its mouth . Ange cried in pain as the dragon clamped her a bit stronger than before . They didn¡¯t eat living things, but they enjoyed negative emotions from them such as resentment, pain, and sorrow . That was why the dragon didn¡¯t kill her immediately, and instead slowly started to sink its teeth into her . As he counted three, he saw Ange spit out blood and wondered if he could save her before she died . ¡°Under the name of G . o . d, shine >!¡± As the count hit three, Lapis used her trump card . The blinding light didn¡¯t only burn away the darkness of the night, but burned away the smell of undead as well and burst in front of the dragon¡¯s nose . It penetrated its eyes and burned the surface of the bones, but didn¡¯t harm Ange at all . Lapis told Loren about this beforehand so he had covered his eyes when the light erupted . He ran under the dragon and swung his great sword with all his might . He heard the annoying sound of metal grinding against bone, and the place where he struck crumbled to pieces, and the dragon lost its balance . He ran up the side of the dragon, which was falling down on its other side, jumped off, and brought his sword down on the back of its head . ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to prey on someone like her! Spit her out!¡± He wasn¡¯t able to cut the dragon¡¯s head off, but the impact made it open its mouth and drop Ange¡¯s body . Loren caught Ange as he was dropping and as soon as he landed, he started running away from it . ¡°Lapis! Start the caravan!¡± ¡°Got it! I¡¯m leaving anyone who doesn¡¯t get in!¡± As Lapis shouted and whipped the horse, Klaus and his party, who were looking at the chain of events, stunned, hurried into the caravan . As soon as Loren dove into it, the horse started galloping . They could see the dragon chasing them with its regenerated leg, roaring with anger . ¡°Good thing the guy is made up of bones and doesn¡¯t have any wings . ¡± Loren looked back at the chasing dragon as he put Ange down and muttered . Ordinary dragons had a film of skin on their wings that caught the wind, but even though the bone dragon had wings, there was nothing covering them . Lapis, who was driving the caravan, said to Loren, who was thinking that if it could fly they would not be able to outrun it . ¡°Dragons use magic to fly so their wings don¡¯t matter, you know?¡± ¡°Wait, so that thing can fly?¡± ¡°Most undead aren¡¯t intelligent enough to use magic . So I¡¯m pretty sure that can¡¯t fly . ¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± As Loren began to get his hopes up that they could escape it, Lapis pointed out the cold reality . ¡°But there¡¯s too much of a difference between that and the horse . It¡¯ll catch up to us in no time . ¡± If it caught up to them, they would have no choice but to fight it . Loren started thinking if it was possible to defeat it with the people that were there in the caravan . At his feet, Ange coughed up a bit more blood because of the violent shaking of the caravan . ¡°Ange isn¡¯t looking good . Can¡¯t you drive softer!?¡± Klaus started to talk, his face very pale, but Broas immediately grabbed his collar and yelled at him . ¡°You idiot! If we slow down even a bit, it¡¯ll catch up to us!¡± ¡°But! But at this rate Ange isn¡¯t going to make it!¡± From what Loren could see, even though the dragon didn¡¯t kill her so that it could feed off of her negative emotions, the wounds that it inflicted were quite fatal . Since she was coughing up blood, it was most likely that some of her organs were damaged, and all the shaking wasn¡¯t helping at all . But compared to the bone dragon chasing them, the speed of the horse wasn¡¯t exactly what he could call fast, and if they slowed down even a little, it would catch up immediately . ¡°Are you telling Ange to die!?¡± ¡°If we get caught by that pile of bones, we¡¯re all going to die!¡± Loren sighed as he found out that Broas didn¡¯t think that even with all of them fighting, they wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat the bone dragon . Dragons were indeed terrifying creatures . Loren knew for a fact that the only reason he was able to retrieve Ange from the bone dragon¡¯s jaws was because it didn¡¯t think of Loren and the others as a threat and was letting its guard down . ¡°Hey priestess . Your name is Roll, right?¡± Loren called the blue haired girl dressed like a priest, who was clinging onto the caravan trying not to get flung off . She was in a crawling position on the floor, but managed to nod in Loren¡¯s direction . ¡°You can use divine arts, right? I don¡¯t care if you use them up to your limit, so go ahead and heal her . ¡± ¡°Hey, are you sure? If we end up having to fight that dragon, we¡¯d need a priest¡¯s divine arts, or else¡­¡± Loren calmly replied . ¡°If we end up fighting it we already lost at that point . Using them now or later makes no difference . ¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Klaus looked at him with a surprised expression . Even if it was as Loren said, if they end up fighting they would lose for sure, it was normal to think like Broas, having divine arts be available to heal during the fight, so Klaus didn¡¯t expect Loren to say he didn¡¯t care if they used all the charges . In fact, since Roll was in Klaus¡¯ party, he could have told her to use her divine arts to heal Ange . But even so, he had no intention of letting Roll use her divine arts because it could be some of their lifelines later on . ¡°I can¡¯t let my priestess use hers though . If she dies even after the healing, you¡¯ll have to give up . ¡± After saying that, Loren carefully walked up to the driver¡¯s seat to check up on Lapis . There was no source of light to help them see except for the moonlight, and even so it was pitch dark . Even though it was almost impossible to see anything and the road was really bad, Lapis kept the caravan going at full speed in the dark . Loren felt afraid not being able to see ahead of them moving at this speed, but Lapis didn¡¯t look scared at all, but instead looked ahead with a serious expression . ¡°Can you see where we¡¯re going?¡± Loren asked Lapis as he remembered that her eyes were prosthetics, and Lapis glanced at him . ¡°Of course . I can see everything clearly . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be awkward to explain to the others . They haven¡¯t noticed yet, but they¡¯re going to think it¡¯s weird when they do . ¡± ¡°Just tell them I have really good night vision . If that doesn¡¯t work, tell them it¡¯s all intuition . ¡± Although no one noticed yet because of they were focused on the dragon chasing them, Lapis being able to drive a caravan in pitch darkness without any hesitation was too unnatural . It wasn¡¯t something anyone could do, and while Loren was thinking of ways to explain it when they do finally notice, Lapis gave him very halfhearted suggestions . ¡°I hope they¡¯ll believe it . ¡± ¡°Rather than that, could you fetch me the red-haired boy from the back?¡± Loren faltered at Lapis¡¯ sudden request, not knowing what she was trying to do . ¡°Red hair¡­you mean Klaus, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s Klaus or just an idiot, but the red-haired one . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t understand what she wanted to do, but since she was asking for someone specifically, he decided that it must be something important . He went back inside the caravan and grabbed Klaus, who was watching over Ange as Roll used her divine arts to heal her, by the back of his collar . ¡°W-what are you doing!?¡± ¡°What do I do with this?¡± Loren walked back to Lapis with Klaus struggling in his hand and raised him in front of Lapis and asked . Lapis let go of the reins with one of her hands and extended it out to Loren . ¡°Please hand him over . ¡± ¡°Sure . ¡± Loren held Klaus up to Lapis, still holding him by the back of his collar . Lapis then grabbed him by the front of his collar, and suddenly threw him towards the horse that was pulling the caravan . ¡°Whoa!?¡± Klaus yelled in surprise as he flew in the air, landed face down on the horse¡¯s rear half, and held on for his dear life . If he fell, he would either be trampled by the horse or run over by the caravan, and even if he did dodge those, he would become prey for the bone dragon . ¡°W-what is wrong with you!?¡± ¡°Stay there and use > on the horse!¡± Lapis swung the whip as she yelled at him . It should¡¯ve hit the horse, but instead it hit Klaus, who was hanging on to its rear, and he let out a cry of pain . ¡°We¡¯re going to get caught at this rate! If we don¡¯t want to get caught you need to use > on the horse and speed it up . Hurry!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never used it on something living before¡­¡± ¡°You were boasting about it so much earlier, so just use it!¡± As Lapis swung the whip again, and Klaus let out another cry and a pale light began to emit from his hands . The light disappeared into the horse, and Loren felt the horse suddenly go faster . The shaking increased as well, so Loren grabbed a rope to keep himself steady . ¡°See, you can do it if you try! Now do it stronger! You don¡¯t have time to fall asleep! We need to keep this up until morning!¡± ¡°Is it going to help when morning comes?¡± ¡°Bone dragons are weak to sunlight even amongst other undead monsters . It should stop chasing us once morning comes . Come on! The light is becoming weak again!¡± Klaus¡¯ painful cries rang out in the peace of night as Lapis swung the whip over and over . ¡°Well¡­He won¡¯t die, I guess . ¡± Loren thought what a pitiful sight it was, but there was no way he was going to stop Lapis from what she was doing . He urged Shayna, who was about to poke her head outside to see what¡¯s going on, back into the caravan, sat down, and closed his eyes, trying to shut out the image of the bone dragon and Klaus getting whipped out of his mind . Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Loren opened his eyes . The caravan was still shaking, but it wasn¡¯t as disastrous as it was before . Sunlight was pouring in from a crack in the hood, and Shayna was asleep leaning onto him with an innocent sleeping face . Still sitting down, he looked around the caravan and saw that nothing had been destroyed . Before he closed his eyes, Ange was laid down in front of Layla and Roll, but when he looked over to them, Broas was laid down beside her as well, and the two girls were glaring at him . ¡°You seem so carefree . ¡± Roll sounded angry as well, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand why they were angry at him, because there was nothing else he could do in that situation and didn¡¯t feel that he needed to stay up until morning . They could¡¯ve gotten caught by the bone dragon, but in that case it would¡¯ve been either going down fighting or getting killed while asleep . Loren preferred dying in peacefully in his sleep than dying while fighting . ¡°It looks like we outran it . But what¡¯s wrong with Broas?¡± Although Ange was still coughing with the smell of blood coming from inside her mouth, she looked a lot better than the night before . But Broas¡¯ face was pale, his breathing was shallow, and looked like he could die anytime . Loren looked at Layla if there was an attack from something else than the bone dragon, but the knight just shook her head . ¡°We have no idea . He became like this after a while . He¡¯s been getting worse ever since . ¡± ¡°Have you tried healing him?¡± ¡°Roll used divine arts after resting for a while but it had no effect . ¡± Loren pulled away Shayna from his body, being careful not to wake her up, laid her down on the floor, walked over to Broas and looked at his face more carefully . Broas¡¯ face was noticeably blue and wet with sweat, and his eyes didn¡¯t have any focus . ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s an illness, but¡­this isn¡¯t good . ¡± Loren had no medical experience, but he could tell that Broas was in a bad shape just by looking at him . He easily guessed that a wrong move could cost him his life . ¡°Ange¡¯s condition is getting worse as well . We¡¯ve used > two times already, but there were too many deep wounds, the best we could do is keep her alive . ¡± Although Layla told that to him, there was nothing he could do right now . Loren silently turned away from them and poked his head out to the driver¡¯s seat, thinking that the only thing they could do was pray that they will get better . ¡°Loren, you¡¯re awake . It¡¯s a pretty good morning . ¡± Lapis, who must have been holding the reins throughout the whole night, gave him a smile with no trace of fatigue at all . He looked up, and the sky was a clear blue with the rising sun¡¯s rays shining down on them as if the whole incident from last night didn¡¯t even happen . Either the horse was a tough one or it was all thanks to Klaus¡¯ power, it managed to gallop at full speed throughout the night, and was still pulling the caravan with ease at a comfortable pace . On its rear half, Klaus, who had been whipped countless times, was still clinging onto it with his eyes rolled up . Although it was so that they could run away from the bone dragon, cold sweat ran down his forehead as he imagined how much Klaus had been whipped during the night, and hoped that the experience didn¡¯t open up any new doors . ¡°How long till we reach Hanza?¡± Right now, that was more important than Klaus¡¯ future . Lapis thought for a moment and replied blankly . ¡°I don¡¯t know . I¡¯m not even sure if we¡¯re going in the right direction . ¡± Loren was alarmed for a moment at Lapis¡¯ confession, but guessed that it was something that couldn¡¯t be helped . Even though an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t even have been able to drive the caravan, Lapis had driven it the whole night at an impossible speed . He couldn¡¯t blame her if she went down a wrong road or two . ¡°It was a single path, though . ¡± ¡°In that case I guess it¡¯s fine . ¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look too good back there though . ¡± Loren shrugged as Lapis turned her head behind her . ¡°The front doesn¡¯t look good either you know?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine . After a while he starting saying things like ¡®Noo¡¯ and ¡®More¡¯ . ¡± At those words Loren looked at Lapis like she was a monster . Lapis looked at his expression and gave him a sly smile . ¡°I¡¯m joking . But don¡¯t you think getting whipped by a beautiful girl is a reward?¡± Loren felt disgusted at the question . He knew that such preferences existed in the world, and although he didn¡¯t know anyone that would enjoy that kind of thing, if someone asked him if he could get used to it or understand it, the answer would definitely be no . ¡°I¡¯m not into that sort of thing . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m relieved . I wouldn¡¯t have known what to do if you had answered yes . ¡± Loren gave her a troubled face, since he had no idea if she actually meant what she said, but it soon turned into one of confusion as she held out the reins in front of him . ¡°Loren, can you at least drive it in a straight line?¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°Then can I count on you? I¡¯ve been up all night and I¡¯m almost at my limit . ¡± When he thought about it, while he was sleeping, Lapis had been driving the caravan the whole time they were being chased by the bone dragon . Since he knew nothing good came out of sleep deprivation, he was fine with driving the caravan for a while, so he sat on the driver¡¯s seat and took the reins from Lapis . ¡°If you¡¯re going to sleep you should go inside . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t think the driver¡¯s seat was well suited for sleeping . Although there was one that was injured and another that was sick, Loren thought that laying on the floor would be better, but Lapis shook her head and declined . ¡°No no, just lend me your shoulder . I like this better . ¡± Lapis didn¡¯t even wait for Loren to respond as she rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep almost immediately . Loren was surprised at how quickly she fell asleep, but guessed that running away all night brought a lot of anxiousness and fatigue, and focused on keeping the caravan on the road, being careful not to move his body as much as he could . ¡°It would be really helpful if I knew where we are¡­¡± He guessed that they were heading towards Hanza, but since he wasn¡¯t certain that they were going the right way, it made him worry . As he thought how nice it would be to know they were going the right way, something tugged at his back . When he looked back, he saw Shayna pulling at the cloth that was wrapped around his great sword to get his attention . He turned back as far as he could without losing control of the reins . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Onii-san¡­everyone else in the back¡­¡± At Shayna¡¯s worried tone, Loren looked past her and saw Layla and Roll collapsed on the floor . He wondered why bad things kept getting worse, but even if he were to stop the caravan, there was no way for him to know what was going on . ¡°What¡¯s happening¡­are we getting cursed or something?¡± ¡°What should we do Onii-san?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Onii-san, call me Loren . There¡¯s nothing we can do right now . There¡¯s no way for us to treat them right now . We¡¯re going to have to get to a city first . ¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re getting close to Hanza, Loren Onii-san . ¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Shayna nodded and pointed at the forest and plains around them . ¡°I¡¯ve walked around outside of Hanza a lot for my father¡¯s job . I remember this view so I think we should see the city in a little bit . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s the best news I¡¯ve heard in a while . Is our luck turning back?¡± Since Shayna was from the area, what she said was very reliable . If they could reach Hanza, there would be medical supplies as well as doctors, and there would be a higher chance saving the four in the back . Loren saw the walls of the city shortly after Shayna told him that they were getting close . Since it was the center of the city-state Hanza, the walls surrounding the city were tall and thick . On one of the sides was a large gate, and whoever wanted to get into the city had to pa . s . s through there . He was worried that the guards wouldn¡¯t let them in since they were carrying one wounded and three unconscious members, but they should be able to call a doctor for them, and if he told them they brought the president¡¯s daughter, they shouldn¡¯t be able to treat them roughly . As he was thinking that, Lapis, who had been asleep leaning onto his shoulder, woke up and gave him a warning . ¡°Be careful Loren . Something isn¡¯t right . ¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she was talking about . As they got closer to the gate, where usually there would be a line of people trying to get in, he couldn¡¯t see anyone there . But if there were lots of undead roaming around, of course people wouldn¡¯t want to travel, so it didn¡¯t seem like an unnatural sight to him . But then he realized that there were no guards at the gate either . Even if the number of people coming to the city decreased, it was hard to imagine that they had abandoned post . As Loren realized that this was what Lapis was talking about, she softly took the reins from Loren¡¯s hands . ¡°Please be ready to fight whenever . ¡± ¡°Alright . But¡­the whole city?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure . If the gates were closed I would¡¯ve guessed they barricaded themselves inside, but the gates are wide open . ¡± It was unnatural that the gates were left open even though no one was there . It pretty much told them that something had happened . ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Nothing other than going in . Even if no one¡¯s inside there might still be supplies, or they might have moved the barricade inside the city . ¡± Either way, their goal was to take Shayna back to Hanza, so they had no choice but to go inside . Plus, Ange had to be treated as soon as she could or she could die, and they couldn¡¯t ignore the chance that Broas, Layla, and Roll, who had collapsed for an unknown reason, could become like the female adventurers that died the first day . ¡°I guess luck isn¡¯t on our side after all . ¡± Even so, they didn¡¯t have the option of turning back . With their luck, Loren had the feeling that even if they did, they would again encounter the bone dragon that they tried so hard to run away from . ¡°It¡¯ll work out somehow . Okay, let¡¯s go . ¡± In contrast to Loren¡¯s heavy thoughts, Lapis didn¡¯t seem to think of the situation heavy at all, and sped up the horse slightly and started heading towards the entrance . Loren had no way of stopping her, and could only watch as the entrance grew larger and larger . Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Usually there would be travelers and merchants . The gatekeepers who would stop and inspect them before letting them in . It was the first time Loren had gone through a gate with no one there at all, and the eeriness he felt was something he never felt before on the battlefield . Lapis, who was sitting next to him, was looking around the area in a relaxed manner . Every now and then she would whip the horse but instead hit Klaus, and watching him twitch spurred the eeriness Loren was feeling even more . ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we let that down?¡± Putting aside the eeriness, Klaus, who was unconscious on top of the horse, in a sense was an injured person as well . That meant Lapis was the one who injured him, but Loren decided to ignore that and gave the suggestion, but Lapis bluntly made a disgusted face . ¡°I don¡¯t want to touch that thing you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to if I could either . ¡± Klaus was hanging onto the rear end of the horse, and for the horse, having something twitching on its back wouldn¡¯t be the best feeling, but Loren didn¡¯t feel like stopping the caravan and getting him down . That was how disgusting a person twitching while having his eyes rolled back into his head was . ¡°Still, there really isn¡¯t anyone in here . ¡± They pa . s . sed through the gate and into the city, and now the caravan was strolling down the main street, but there was no one there, and it was completely silent . It was like a ghost town, but it wasn¡¯t roughed up at all but instead everything looked in order . ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s been attacked by undead either . ¡± If that was the case, there should be traces of it, but as far as Loren could see there were no signs of the citizens fighting anything in the streets . He couldn¡¯t see any broken windows or buildings, or even bloodstains anywhere . ¡°I never thought a clean city with no one in it would be so eerie . ¡± ¡°Walking through an empty city with you . Doesn¡¯t it sound very romantic?¡± Compared to Loren, who was cautiously looking around with narrowed eyes, Lapis, who was holding the reins, said that with a smile on her face . Loren couldn¡¯t understand her sensibility, but decided that there was no need to point that out and hurt her feelings, and end up adding coldness to the eeriness he was feeling . ¡°Before we do anything, we should search for a hospital . You haven¡¯t forgotten we have four people dying back there, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . Shayna, do you know where we could find a hospital?¡± Asking a resident about the city was the quickest way to find out . At Lapis¡¯ question, Shayna poked her head out of the caravan, took a look around, and pointed in a direction . ¡°I think there was one over there . ¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go in that direction . ¡± Lapis turned the horse towards the direction Shayna pointed out . The caravan rolled down the ordinary looking street, minus the fact that no one was there . The hospital Shayna had pointed to that they arrived at a while later looked like a clinic run by an individual . There were hospitals that were run by the state itself, but the only hospital Shayna knew of was the one they were currently at . ¡°My father said that there was a really good doctor and brought me here . ¡± ¡°Is it mistaken to think that that sounds kind of strange?¡± A city doctor being more skilled than doctors in hospitals run by the state wasn¡¯t the most unusual, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure about the president of the state bringing his daughter to a clinic instead of a state-run hospital . ¡°In our current situation, I believe this is actually the better choice . ¡± Lapis said as she looked at Shayna, who was clinging onto Loren¡¯s waist, while she parked the caravan near the clinic and untied the horse from it . ¡°I don¡¯t want to go near a large facility while we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on with the city . ¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nothing in particular . Rather than that, can you carry everyone out of the caravan? Come one, you should help too . ¡± Lapis called Klaus, who had been lowered down from the horse . Although he had taken many blows to the back, he was still in way better shape than the others . He regained consciousness as soon as he got off and sunk to the ground as if all the strength was sapped out of him . ¡°Can¡¯t you let me rest for a bit? It¡¯s pretty much thanks to me we got away from that dragon . ¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten that Loren was the one who saved Ange from the dragon, right?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± As Loren was exasperated that Klaus barely remembered after being told so, Klaus stood up and faced him, with his gaze pointed downwards, muttered in a voice that Loren could barely make out . ¡°U-umm, well¡­Thanks¡­for saving Ange¡­¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t saved her just yet . If you have time to be saying that, use it to carry everyone inside instead . ¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± Loren smiled at Klaus, who looked crest-fallen but replied to him honestly . ¡°Now that I think about it, you were whipped by my priest the whole night¡­Did it open any kind of new doors inside of you?¡± ¡°Wha!? No way!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not thinking it¡¯s not too bad or anything right?¡± ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m normal!¡± ¡°¡­So you understand that awakening to that kind of thing is abnormal . ¡± Klaus was red and looked like he wanted to say something, but thought for a moment, glaring at Loren, and eventually said nothing as he turned away from Loren and started walking towards the caravan to help carry the others out . Lapis whispered teasingly to Loren, who was watching Klaus walk away . ¡°You didn¡¯t have to provoke him to get him back to his usual self you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that . I was just teasing him . ¡± After brushing her away with a wave of his hand, Loren walked over to the caravan as well to carry the others out . He decided to carry Broas and leave the other three to Klaus . He wasn¡¯t trying to let Klaus do all the work, but it was because the other three were all girls as well as members of Klaus¡¯ party, so he was just trying to be considerate . He wasn¡¯t sure how Klaus interpreted it, but instead started unloading what little they were able to take from the camp . They couldn¡¯t take what was already unloaded, but they were able to bring with them what they had decided wasn¡¯t needed for setting up camp and left inside the caravan . Inside were food and some medical supplies . This was barely enough for first aid, and Loren was worried that it wasn¡¯t nearly enough to treat the three who were unconscious and one who was greatly injured, but Lapis soon found something better . ¡°As expected of a medical facility, even if it¡¯s personally run . There¡¯s so much medicine left . ¡± There was also a hospital ward with beds, and as Loren and Klaus moved Broas and the girls in there, Lapis and Shayna came in with armfuls of medicine . They had been searching the clinic while Loren and Klaus were carrying the wounded . ¡°If we have this much I think I¡¯ll be able to handle most things . ¡± ¡°Alright . Then can you get on to it quickly? I won¡¯t be able to sleep well if they end up dying after we managed to get them all the way here . ¡± Loren had no experience or knowledge in medicine . When he asked Klaus, he replied that he did not have any either and told him it was Ange was the one that had that kind of knowledge, but right now she was the one who needed treatment . ¡°I understand . I have a lot to do so Loren can you take Shayna and stay outside?¡± ¡°Are you telling me to go out too!? They¡¯re my party members you know!?¡± Klaus complained at Lapis¡¯ suggestion as expected, but Lapis gave him a despising look, and he stammered at its intensity . ¡°I¡¯m going to start treating them, so I¡¯ll have to loosen as well as take off their clothes¡­Are you saying you want to watch me do that?¡± ¡°Ugh, well, no¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also be taking Broas¡¯ clothes off as well, and I believe that wanting to watch the bare body of a middle-aged man is quite a high-level taste . ¡± ¡°I never said I have that sort of taste!¡± Lapis silently pointed at Ange and the girls as Klaus shouted out, his face completely red, and he immediately covered his mouth . Lapis then pointed towards the door, telling him to get out . This time he followed her instructions and left the room, and as Loren was about to follow him Lapis called him back . ¡°Loren, can you let Klaus handle keeping watch around the perimeter, and can you take Shayna and explore the area around us?¡± ¡°Me? With Shayna?¡± While Loren stood there questioning the pairing, Lapis continued . ¡°I feel like Klaus wouldn¡¯t be able to find much, and I don¡¯t want to entrust Shayna to him . ¡± ¡°Is it a bother if I leave her?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t against exploring the area, but taking Shayna was a whole different story . There was no telling what they would encounter out there, and Loren didn¡¯t want to put a young girl in danger, so he couldn¡¯t understand Lapis¡¯ suggestion . ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned this before, but to treat them I¡¯ll have to take off their clothes . The girls wouldn¡¯t be too bad, but I think that Broas¡¯ naked body would be too much of a bad influence on her . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to strip him naked?¡± Loren thought that going that far wouldn¡¯t be necessary, but since Lapis knew what she was doing, he guessed that it was necessary . Showing Shayna something like that would not be a good thing . ¡°A walk around the area should be fine . Shayna is from this city, so she should know her way around as well . ¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true . ¡± If she was a princess of sort, Loren thought she wouldn¡¯t know too much about the city itself, but up until this point, it seemed like she knew some things about it . ¡°Can you do that for me?¡± Unlike when dealing with Klaus, Lapis¡¯ face was serious, and since she had a proper reason behind it, Loren didn¡¯t feel like setting up an argument, so he nodded . ¡°I¡¯m bringing her back as soon as I think it¡¯s dangerous . ¡± ¡°Of course . I¡¯m counting on you . ¡± Since she had asked him to do it, the only thing he could do is start acting . Even though she explained logic after logic, Loren still wasn¡¯t comfortable with the idea, but took Shayna, told Klaus to keep watch, and slowly walked out the building . Chapter 40 Chapter 40 The clinic that Loren and the others ran into was in the middle of the shopping district, so there were a lot of different stores in the area . After leaving Klaus to guard the clinic, he took Shayna and after walking around slowly for a while, he started going into the stores and examining its products . ¡°The vegetables are wilted, but they aren¡¯t rotten . There¡¯s no trace of any fighting anywhere . There¡¯s some houses with their meals left unfinished and a bit messy, but no traces of an attack . ¡± ¡°I wonder where everyone went?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t find the words to answer Shayna¡¯s question . In fact, he himself wanted to ask the same question, and wished someone could pop up and explain what happened, but there was no way that things would be so convenient . ¡°This place looks too alive to have been abandoned by a group of people . Most of their things are still here, including their valuables . ¡± In the stores and houses that they went into, all the money and valuables were left there untouched . A mercenary would have looted them with no hesitation, but Loren didn¡¯t touch any of the things he found . Loren had looted enemy bodies on the battlefield before, but this wasn¡¯t a battlefield, and the owners weren¡¯t enemy soldiers . In addition to that, taking things from people who disappeared for an unknown reason didn¡¯t appeal to him at all . ¡°Shayna, do you know what the population of this city is? ¡°Population?¡± Shayna asked him with a blank look on her face . Loren waved, telling her not to worry about it . It looked like even though she knew about the city and the area around it by following her father around, she didn¡¯t know about things like the population . ¡°Judging from the size of the city, I guess it would be around thirty to fifty thousand? No one would believe that this many people disappeared like smoke even if I reported it . ¡± Whether they were able to return Shayna to her parents or not, once they returned to Kauffa, they had the responsibility to go to the adventurer¡¯s guild and report the deaths of the others who had joined them, as well as what happened to the city of Hanza . But Loren sighed heavily as he guessed that even if he reported exactly as what happened and what he saw, the guild wouldn¡¯t believe him . Loren knew for a fact that it was true because he was seeing it with his own eyes, but to someone who did not would scoff after listening to a report saying that the population of a whole city-state had disappeared . That was how unreal the situation was . ¡°There¡¯s no way a person could just disappear without a trace . If I could find traces of blood or dead bodies, then it would be a whole different story though . ¡± ¡°Onii-san¡­¡± Loren heard Shayna, who was walking beside him while holding onto the coat he was wearing, let out a worried cry, and became embarra . s . sed that he had been talking out loud the whole time . Saying things like if he could find a dead body in front of a girl who was from this city was being very inconsiderate . ¡°Sorry, I was irritated . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m fine . But¡­I really wonder where father and everyone else went?¡± a . s . suming that Shayna¡¯s parents were okay and still in the city, Loren guessed that they would be in the central area . There were quite a few reasons to why he thought so, but the main reason was that most of the time, but those with authority usually built their mansions or castles in the center of the city . Getting there wouldn¡¯t be hard . They just had to go all the way down the main street . Although Hanza had high walls, it seemed that it wasn¡¯t designed for street fights, as there was one large street that went straight to the center of the city . Loren wondered if it was okay to build the capital city like that, even though it was a small city-state, but in the end it wasn¡¯t really his problem to worry about . ¡°I wish I could go search the president¡¯s home as soon as possible . ¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if there were survivors left in the city, but since it was so quiet inside, Loren guessed that it was most likely that they would be inside the president¡¯s home in the center of the city . That was why he wanted to check to see if there were any survivors, and if there were, take them and say goodbye to this spooky city, but four out of the seven of them were in no shape to move, and figuring everything out among the remaining three was too dangerous . ¡°It¡¯s best if we wait for the four of them to recover before we start moving, but do we really have that much time on our hands?¡± Whatever may be the reason for the city to become like this, if there was something or someone that willed this to happen, it was close enough to say that they did not have much time at all . Loren¡¯s thoughts caused him to be unfocused on his surroundings, and noticed it a heartbeat later than Shayna . ¡°Onii-san, someone¡¯s there . ¡± It was after they had searched inside a number of houses . They could not find anything so they were on the way to another house when Shayna strongly tugged on his clothes . As he came back to reality at her words, Loren saw a woman looking at them from behind the corner of a nearby building, and called out to her . ¡°Wait! We aren¡¯t suspicious people . ¡± The thought that he was already a pretty suspicious character due to the fact that he intruded other people¡¯s homes and stores crossed his mind . But although the woman trembled for a moment, she didn¡¯t run away and instead just stood there, continuing to watch them . ¡°I¡¯m really not someone suspicious . I¡¯m and adventurer that came here on a quest, but saw the state of the city and I¡¯m trying to figure out what happened¡­¡± ¡°Are¡­you here to help?¡± The woman that nervously asked him looked around twenty . She had dark brown hair, with no other outstanding characteristic whatsoever . ¡°Not exactly, but are you a resident of this city?¡± ¡°Yes . My name is Shutel . ¡± ¡°What happened to this city? Where did everyone go? Why are you still here?¡± Loren asked question after question to the woman named Shutel . Her eyes widened at all the sudden questions, but after a moment quietly shook her head . ¡°I don¡¯t know . A few days earlier the people around me suddenly started going crazy¡­I was scared so I hid in my bas . e . m . e . nt, and I just came out because I ran out of food . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any family?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not married, and my parents have already pa . s . sed away . ¡± ¡°Is there anyone else besides you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Loren thought that he would finally know what happened, but Shutel didn¡¯t give any useful information at all . If she lived alone it couldn¡¯t be helped, but Loren couldn¡¯t hide the disappointment on his face . ¡°Umm, aren¡¯t you the president¡¯s daughter?¡± Shutel noticed Shayna standing next to Loren, who was trying to decide what to do, and she nodded at her question . ¡°The I would suggest going to the president¡¯s mansion¡­Many of the city¡¯s soldiers are stationed there, and there are fences all around so I believe that they would be safe . ¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s our only option . ¡± The problem was the four injured, but Loren guessed that once Lapis treated them, they would be recovered enough to ride the caravan . He decided that they should get to the mansion as soon as possible and group with the survivors, so he started turning back to discuss it with Lapis . ¡°What¡¯re you going to do?¡± ¡°P-please take me with you! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to make it to the mansion by myself . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t see anything that blocked the main street . So he thought that she would be able to get there safely, but if there was something hiding in the area waiting for someone to pa . s . s by, and if that someone happened to be a woman, it would indeed be hard for her to run away . ¡°Alright, I guess you can . Follow me . ¡± Although he wasn¡¯t able to identify the enemy, Loren decided that finding a survivor made some progress, and headed back to the clinic where Lapis was waiting . When they reached it, Klaus, who was guarding the clinic as he was told to, was about to reach for his sword at the sight of a woman he never saw before . But after Loren explained that she was a survivor, he went back to keeping guard . Since Klaus at least did what he was told to do, Loren guessed that his pride and bad mouth came from the environment that he grew up in wasn¡¯t the best one, and decided he was somewhat likeable . They were about to go inside the clinic to head to the room Broas and the girls were being treated, but they b . u . mped into Lapis before they reached could . ¡°I¡¯ve finished treating them but you shouldn¡¯t enter for a while . ¡± Lapis didn¡¯t let them enter the clinic . Although Loren thought it was a bit weird, but he went on to tell Lapis about Shutel and his speculations about how the survivors were most likely at the president¡¯s mansion in the center of the city . He also told her about the results of his exploration, how he couldn¡¯t find any enemies or any other survivor other than Shutel . ¡°The sun¡¯s still high up, so right now would be the best time to move . What do you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­but¡­¡± Lapis crossed her arms and thought about Loren¡¯s suggestion, but then started telling him about the conditions of the four people in the clinic . ¡°The three with the unknown illness are fine . They will recover after some more rest . The problem is Ange . She lost too much blood from her injuries, and her organs are badly damaged as well, so I can¡¯t recommend moving her at all . ¡± ¡°How long until we can?¡± ¡°She needs to rest for the rest of the day at least . Once Roll recovers, her divine arts should be available as well, so we should be able to move her tomorrow . ¡± ¡°Accidentally killing her would leave a bad aftertaste, I guess . ¡± But if they chose not to move, it meant that they would have to spend the night not knowing what exactly was out there . At this point, there was no way to know for sure how dangerous that would be . ¡°There¡¯s the option of leaving Klaus here to guard them while we go on our own . ¡± ¡°Loren, that¡¯s a pretty cold as well as ruthless thought right there . ¡± Loren let out a troubled laugh at Lapis¡¯ calm response . If spending the night here was indeed dangerous, Loren knew that leaving Klaus and the four injured was the same thing as leaving them to die . Even for Loren and Lapis, it meant they had to guard Shayna and Shutel by themselves, and would increase the risk of danger for themselves as well . ¡°What will you do?¡± ¡°We stay here for tonight . We go after everyone recovers . ¡± Right now, the only ones who could fight were Loren, Lapis, and Klaus . Loren decided that the three of them sticking together was a lot safer than splitting up and increased their chances of survival . ¡°I understand . Then we¡¯ll have to set up camp . ¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case I¡¯ll help . ¡± Lapis stopped Shutel with a raise of her hand . ¡°There¡¯s no need for that . I¡¯ll have you and Shayna stay put in different rooms . ¡± ¡°But¡­at least let me take care of Shayna . ¡± Shutel tried to argue, but Lapis bluntly refused . ¡°If you wish to stay with us, you¡¯ll do as we say . If you cannot, we cannot take you with us . ¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Shutel was confused at the sudden change in Lapis¡¯ way of speaking . Loren softly nudged Lapis¡¯ side with his elbow, drawing her attention . ¡®I¡¯m sorry . I the way I speak norm¡­I mean the way I spoke during my days of training as a priest slipped out¡­But we¡¯ll have you do as we say . Is that clear?¡± Lapis seemed to come to her senses at Loren¡¯s nudge, cleared her throat, and said to Shutel once more . Shutel was still confused, but realized that Lapis wasn¡¯t going to change her mind so she nodded her head reluctantly . Chapter 41 Chapter 41 Chapter 41: Starting Preparations As the sun was setting, Loren was starting a fire in a furnace he found in a nearby blacksmith¡¯s shop . It was shaped like a pot, and although it was quite large, it wasn¡¯t too hard for him to carry it back to the clinic . After he put coal inside, he pulled the lever on it, and hot flames shot out of the opening . There was a spell that controlled the flames inside, so it was possible to control the intensity of the fire . It was a magic tool that used the mana of the user through holding down the lever, and Lapis told him that it was quite an expensive tool, but Loren didn¡¯t care about its price if it could do its job . But it was indeed very useful, and Loren was thinking of taking it with him, as its fire controlling feature would make it a better version of a bonfire . Anyways, when the fire started going, he held the crucible he found at the shop with a pair of tongs, put in the ingredients he found from nearby buildings, and held it over the furnace . Since what he was doing would emit a lot of heat, if he wasn¡¯t careful, it could start a fire, so he was doing this outside of the clinic, sitting on a chair . ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lapis asked him while he was working . Her curious gaze was focused on his hands, but Loren didn¡¯t respond, but instead silently focused on his work . The ingredients inside the crucible wouldn¡¯t become anything just by roasting it over a fire . He gripped the lever and pulled it up and down, letting air inside the furnace . The coals inside started burning furiously, and after increasing the fire using the magic spell, the fire became hot enough to start melting the ingredients inside the crucible . ¡°Loren, getting ignored is kind of sad, you know?¡± Loren replied to Lapis, who was looking frustrated, without letting his eyes off his work . ¡°What does it look like I¡¯m doing? I¡¯m trying to be a blacksmith here . ¡± ¡°Huh, what are you trying to make?¡± The city was silent during the day, but there was no telling what could come out at night . Since there were undead popping up around the city, there was a high probability that something else like them might be around as well, so currently Klaus was destroying nearby buildings and making a barricade around the clinic with the rubble . The reason Klaus was chosen for the job was mostly due to the power of his Gift, but Loren suspected that this was Lapis¡¯ plan . In the case this became a problem later, all the responsibility would fall upon Klaus . ¡°It looks like our opponents are mostly undead, so you would need an appropriate weapon . ¡± ¡°Are you saying the great sword isn¡¯t going to be enough?¡± Loren looked over at the great sword sitting next to him . Loren guessed that this great sword, pitch black from its grip all the way down to the end of the scabbard, wasn¡¯t an ordinary great sword, but currently it was nothing but a black sword . Well, judging from its enormous size and weight, most might not agree that the sword was normal at all, but from the viewpoint that it didn¡¯t have any special features to it, it was in fact, normal . ¡°I want to take it easy if I can . ¡± Loren never thought of swinging around such a heavy weapon as difficult but doing so continuously will eventually tire him down . So after thinking for a while, Loren reached a conclusion to make the things he needed in order to make things easier, which led him to what he was currently doing . ¡°I see . So, what are you making?¡± ¡°The cla . s . sic type of weapon when it comes to dealing with undead is silver, right?¡± Near Loren was a cast for making thin plates . Loren poured the contents of the crucible into the cast and after it became about the length of his palm, he hit it out of the cast, and picked it up with the tongs . He then set it onto the anvil he brought from the shop and hammered it to sharpen the edges, then cooled it off in the barrel of water at his feet . A loud sizzling sound occurred along with the steam, and Loren turned and poured in more ingredients into the crucible and started melting it again . ¡°Silver weapons? But where did you find all that silver?¡± Lapis rolled up her sleeves and took out the thing that Loren dropped into the barrel of water . The blade-like object was in no way a masterpiece, but when she rubbed the black surface with her finger, a silver shine appeared from underneath . ¡°Well¡­it was something that needed to be done¡­¡± As Loren gave her a vague answer, Lapis turned her gaze to the bag behind Loren, which seemed to have the ingredients, and opened it . Inside were silver coins . Different nations used a different amount of silver for the coins, and often were mixed with other metals if there weren¡¯t enough silver, but it was indeed something that could be used as silver ingredients . There was some jewelry in there too, but most of the things inside were silver coins . Lapis looked up and said to Loren with a serious look on her face . ¡°Isn¡¯t destroying currency supposed to be a crime?¡± ¡°Hmm, was it?¡± Even as Loren played dumb, his hands continued to move . Crimes only become crimes when there is someone to regulate it, but in Hanza there was nothing of the sort, and nothing was stopping Loren from what he was doing . ¡°Anyways, where¡¯s Shayna and Shutel?¡± ¡°I locked them up in different rooms . ¡± Locking them up didn¡¯t seem like the most peaceful thing to do, so Loren guessed that she just meant that she locked the door, but Lapis then added . ¡°I barricaded their doors with chairs and tables, so they can¡¯t come out even if they wanted to . ¡± ¡°You actually confined them . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so rude . Not being able to get outside means nothing can go inside . I nailed the windows down too, so it should be perfect . ¡± Loren returned his gaze back down to his hands and asked Lapis in a low, quiet voice . ¡°So, what did you notice?¡± ¡°Your question is so vague, I¡¯m not sure how to respond . ¡± Loren sighed at Lapis¡¯ calm response . As Lapis c . o . c . ked her head at his behavior, Loren then purposely said to her in a complaining manner . ¡°You can¡¯t tell me, either, huh . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that . Your question was, in fact, vague, so I¡¯m not sure what to tell you . ¡± ¡°About these series of events . You¡¯ve noticed quite a bit already, right?¡± ¡°For example, why we found Shayna in the forest? Why the forest wolves didn¡¯t attack her? The mysterious illness that Broas and the others have? The fact that we found a survivor at this timing?¡± Loren gave Lapis, who rolled the questions off her tongue, a sharp glare . If Lapis had an explanation for everything she just said, Loren believed that it wasn¡¯t too far off to say that most of the mysteries behind this whole thing was uncovered . The problem was whether Lapis was willing to explain it or not . ¡°I¡¯m sorry if you got your hopes up, but the only thing I know right now is that Shayna is very suspicious, Broas and the others¡¯ conditions are due to energy drain, and that Shutel is nothing but suspicious . ¡± He thought she would withhold for a bit longer, but Lapis unexpectedly gave him the information just like that . That surprised him, but what was more surprising was the word ¡®energy drain¡¯ . He just had the knowledge about it, but energy drain was a special ability of high rank undead, and it absorbed life energy and mana from the living . Those who died from it couldn¡¯t rest peacefully, but instead wandered as undead . ¡°Are you saying that Shayna is the cause?¡± ¡°If you see what happened to the people who rode with her, that¡¯s what you would think, right? But from what I can see, Shayna is human . A completely normal one, in fact . ¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I can¡¯t figure out . There is the possibility that a high rank undead monster is following us, but it¡¯s highly unlikely . ¡± Some famous high rank undead were vampires, who suck blood, or liches, which high cla . s . s magicians sometimes turned into, but if something like that were following them, it would be stranger not to notice them . That¡¯s the kind of existence they were . ¡°In any case, I¡¯m acting on the a . s . sumption that Shayna is suspicious . That¡¯s why I tried to keep her away from Broas and the others, and I¡¯m not letting anyone near them . I performed a ritual for warding off evil in the room as well . ¡± ¡°You?¡± Loren was surprised yet again . Warding off evil was indeed for warding off bad things, but although she was hiding it, Lapis herself was a demon . As Loren thought a demon warding off evil seemed like a bad joke, Lapis said to him, looking slightly offended . ¡°We¡¯re a race that are skilled in using evil and magic . Of course, we have ways to deal with them . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°This technique can be casted on the body as well . ¡± As Lapis said that proudly, Loren raised his hand to his forehead, not understanding what she meant, but then remembered what happened at the camp and looked at Lapis . It was when Loren said he wanted to invite Shayna, since all the other adventurers were afraid of her . Lapis had told him to do as he wanted, as she put her hand on his forehead like she was patting him on the head . ¡°You¡­The reason I didn¡¯t fall unconscious . ¡± ¡°By the way, the reason why I¡¯m fine is because the same spell is incorporated into my prosthetics . For Klaus¡­I guess it just shows that he has the potential to become a hero>¡± Lapis was very skeptical when it came to Klaus, but instead of trying to figure out what was going on with him, Loren wanted to figure out what was going on until now . ¡°What about Shutel?¡± ¡°A lone survivor at this point of time in the city . She¡¯s basically announcing to the whole world that she¡¯s suspicious . Well, is she really a survivor?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reason why you put them in separate rooms, right?¡± Putting aside the reasoning and situation, Loren¡¯s goal was to take Shayna back to her parents . But putting her near someone that they knew was suspicious, without any protection, could only look like Lapis was using her as bait . But to Loren, using a young girl like that wasn¡¯t something he could overlook . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Loren . Leave this kind of dirty work to me . I¡¯m a demon, after all . ¡± She must¡¯ve said is since Klaus wasn¡¯t around, but after hearing that, Loren stopped what he was doing . ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say things like that . Whatever you are, right now you¡¯re my partner, right?¡± For a second after being told that, Lapis had a blank expression, looking like she didn¡¯t understand what Loren had just said to her . After a moment, she avoided his gaze and slowly turned her back to him . ¡°W-well, you know . Umm, I guess I¡¯m your partner . Well, more like your client . Or you debtor . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care whichever you are . Don¡¯t keep things to yourself and talk to me . ¡± At Loren¡¯s aggressive and blunt words, Lapis looked back at him with a slightly embarra . s . sed look on her face . ¡°You¡¯re right . Yes, I¡¯ll do that a bit more . ¡± As Loren sighed, wishing she would¡¯ve just done that from the start, Lapis looked again at the bucket at his feet, which was now filled with quite a few silver plates . ¡°So, how are you going to use these?¡± ¡°Going to use them as throwing knives . It should be enough for zombies and revenants . ¡± As soon as Loren replied, a roar from far away echoed throughout the night . It seemed to have reached the ears of Klaus, who was making barricades, as he came running back to the clinic . Looking at him, Loren guessed that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to sleep at all tonight as he drew the great sword closer to him . Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Chapter 42: Appearance after Defending Where did they all come from? Loren couldn¡¯t find out the answer to that question, but he could speculate . They were probably in a facility underneath the city . Someplace people wouldn¡¯t go near . Loren guessed that they were gathered in the sewers that ran underneath the city . Zombies and revenants did have some resistance to the sunlight but having resistance didn¡¯t mean that undead didn¡¯t hate the sunlight . More so if they were monsters like ghosts or wraiths, which couldn¡¯t exist under the sunlight at all . So, it made sense that they were in a place where the sunlight would never reach . Loren thought maybe that place was the sewers . No matter how thoroughly he would explore the surrounding area, he wouldn¡¯t think about searching the sewers or the drains . To put it simply, it was dark and stinky down there . But undead don¡¯t care about things like that . Unlike when they were alive, undead were indifferent about those kinds of stimuli . ¡°I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this . ¡± The groaning and moaning that echoed throughout the city got louder as soon as the sun set, and now they could hear it coming from everywhere . Loren and the others managed to set up a barricade made of rubble around the clinic and made bonfires to light their surroundings . If their opponents were living humans, turning off all the lights and staying low would¡¯ve been a good countermeasure, but that kind of strategy had no effect on the undead . They were drawn to the presence and warmth of the living . The light and heat coming from the bonfires might catch their attention . But even if they put that into consideration, to Loren, securing vision was the highest priority . Because around them was already under the rule of darkness, and darkness always sided with the dead . ¡°This got pretty messy, but are you ready?¡± Klaus, with his long sword in hand, nodded silently to Loren, who had his great sword on top of his shoulder . Loren thought he looked quite nervous, but it wasn¡¯t surprising . He had no idea how much undead were inside the city, but it was probably way past the hundreds or thousands, and they were right in the middle of them . It was impressive that he even had the will to fight in this situation . ¡°If we die, the injured inside the clinic will die as well . Keep that in mind . ¡± ¡°I know . You don¡¯t have to remind me . ¡± After he replied, a pale light wrapped around his arms and legs . The light spread onto his armor and weapon as well, and eventually his whole body shone under the dark of the night . ¡°Convenient . I¡¯m jealous . ¡± ¡°Not really . ¡± Lapis b . u . t . ted in . She applied the anti-evil ritual on the whole clinic and made it somewhat harder for undead to break inside . Loren thought that she could¡¯ve done that for all the adventurers who were a part of this quest . But when he asked her, the only thing she said was that it was too much work . ¡°Klaus¡¯ ability is indeed effective, but to the undead he will look bright and shining . Their focus would be on him . ¡± The undead attack the living due to resentment and jealousy towards them, but another reason is that they are attracted to vigor and mana . Lapis explained that the power of Klaus¡¯ Gift was converted from his life energy, so it was very attractive to the undead . ¡°Bring it on . I¡¯ll send all of them back to the underworld . I won¡¯t let them lay a finger on my friends . ¡± ¡°Well, not all of them became like that because they wished to be, I guess . ¡± As he said that, Loren took out one of the silver knives he had made earlier and suddenly raised it about his head and threw it . The silver blade twirled in the air and lodged deeply into a zombie¡¯s chest and it fell and stopped moving . Now that Loren knew there was indeed undead lurking around, a thought suddenly occurred, so he asked Lapis . ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re coming up from the sewers, but they won¡¯t pop up from one of the toilets inside the clinic, right?¡± ¡°It should be fine . I made sure to block off those doors very carefully . ¡± It wasn¡¯t the cleanest thing to say, but the undead had no consideration for cleanliness . There was a possibility that they could come up from the toilet . Lapis seemed to have already thought of that and made sure that nothing could enter nor exit the restrooms . ¡°Even if Broas and the other wake up, they can¡¯t use the restroom, huh¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯ll have to keep it in somehow¡­Since I nailed the doors shut so that it wouldn¡¯t open . ¡± If one of the people inside woke up and went to the restroom without knowing about their situation, there was a possibility that everything could¡¯ve crumbled from the inside, so Lapis made sure to get rid of that possibility . ¡°Getting attacked from behind is never pleasant, after all . ¡± Loren muttered and threw another silver knife . This time it penetrated ghosts that appeared to ooze out of the wall, and they disappeared with a screech . Ghosts cannot be killed by ordinary weapons, but if it was possible with a weapon made of silver, since silver was said to exorcise evil . Since they had no tangible body, instead of having to use one knife for each one like the zombies, the knife was able to pa . s . s through multiple ghosts, killing them at once . ¡°O wandering ones, return to where you belong . ¡®Turn Undead¡¯¡± When Lapis raised a symbol of the Knowledge G . o . d and chanted scriptures, more ghosts that were about to come out faded into a white mist without a sound . ¡®Turn Undead¡¯ was an ability that priests had and was different from Divine Arts* . Although it costed a small amount of the priest¡¯s stamina and mental energy, there was no limit on using it . The effectiveness differed based on the amount of faith the priest had, but apparently Lapis was a devout follower, as not only the ghosts but the zombies returned to normal corpses as well . ¡°They aren¡¯t coming in as I thought they would . ¡± Loren muttered as he killed two more zombies with his knives . He expected an avalanche of zombies to attack them just like the goblins back in the Ancient Kingdom ruins, but although the numbers were great, they were surrounding the clinic and slowly closing in, and he saw a bunch of them on the streets as well, but the situation wasn¡¯t as dire as he thought it would be . ¡°That¡¯s not quite true . Look over there . ¡± Loren looked towards where Lapis was pointing and saw Klaus . There were hordes upon hordes of undead surrounding him, but fortunately he was killing multiple zombies with each swing . ¡°They are all focused over there . ¡± ¡°I guess he does stand out . I¡¯m going to go help him a bit . ¡± As he said that, another silver knife flew and killed another few undead, but more of filled their ranks, crushing the bodies underneath their feet . ¡°How many of those did you make?¡± ¡°Around thirty . I ran out of materials, rather than time . ¡± There was no use having any left over . They weren¡¯t good quality, and if some were left over, it could lead to some troubling situations, so Loren kept throwing them without hesitation, determined to use them all up . ¡°Wh!? Wait! It just grazed me!?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry about that . They aren¡¯t balanced well so my aim is off . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to help me, why don¡¯t you swing that sword of yours instead of throwing those?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m but an ordinary mercenary¡­¡± Loren grudgingly got into stance with the black great sword at his waist . He then stepped forward and released a scooping swipe into the undead surrounding Klaus . Seeing the amount of force and momentum, Klaus was about to say something, but there was no way he could cancel such a heavy blow . Of course, there was no way Loren would make the mistake of hitting Klaus, and the strike met a part of the ring of undead surrounding Klaus, and a few zombies erupted into spurts of blood and were reduced into pieces of meat . ¡°Is it too selfish of me to ask you to think a little before you attack?¡± Klaus said in a shaky voice, as he had turned his back to Loren¡¯s strike at the spur of the moment . Loren¡¯s strike had indeed succeeded in killing many zombies at once, but of course the blood and flesh that flew about had splashed inside as well as outside the ring of zombies . If that were to happen it would splash onto Klaus, who was in the center, so although he didn¡¯t take everything to the face, he still got covered in blood and pink debris from head to toe . ¡°Oh, sorry¡­¡± ¡°Ugh¡­it¡¯s smelly and sticky¡­¡± Klaus complained but didn¡¯t stop moving . Since his sword was affected by his Gift ¡®Boost¡¯, the long sword didn¡¯t break or bend even when used in a way that would ruin a normal sword, and its sharpness stayed the same as well . The zombies trying to attack the clinic were all attracted to where Klaus was like moths to flames . The only thing Loren and Lapis had to do was take care of the undead that weren¡¯t heading towards Klaus, which wasn¡¯t hard at all . ¡°Looking at him fight again, he¡¯s pretty competent . ¡± ¡°Well, those with Gifts can be really capable depending on how they are used . ¡± ¡°Stop admiring and help¡­p . i . s . s off!¡± He tried to complain, but no matter how many of them he cut down, the horde kept coming, so he couldn¡¯t talk even if he wanted to . Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t just standing there watching . He was moving the corpses out to the side so that it wouldn¡¯t get in the way and killing wandering ones with his great sword . ¡°In the battlefield, there¡¯s always a few that trip on the enemy¡¯s corpses . It¡¯s important to keep your feet clear, you know?¡± ¡°I see . That¡¯s a good piece of information to know . ¡± ¡°You guys!¡± As Loren moved the corpses to the side and talking about knowledge on the battlefield, Lapis was nodding and started taking notes . Klaus couldn¡¯t stand it, so he cut down the zombies around him with brute force and was about say something with the little time he bought . It was at that moment . Along with a large exploding sound, a corner of the clinic got blasted away from the inside . As Klaus froze with surprise, the undead that were attacking him were dealt with Lapis¡¯ ¡®Turn Undead¡¯ and Loren¡¯s great sword, but Lapis¡¯ eyes were already focused on the crumbled corner of the clinic rather than the undead . ¡°W-what was that!?¡± With Klaus panicking behind them, Loren and Lapis¡¯ eyes were on the silhouette, who was most likely responsible for the destruction, that came out carrying an unconscious Shayna . Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Chapter 43: Conversation and Pursuit ¡°Hey Lapis . What happened to the anti-evil ritual?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just for warding off evil . It doesn¡¯t make the building stronger or anything like that . ¡± Loren looked at the part of the clinic that was blown away and asked Lapis in a scornful manner, but she replied in a flat tone . The ritual that Lapis performed was impenetrable against the undead from outside, but that was just for keeping the undead away, and didn¡¯t affect the building itself at all . ¡°Also, it keeps things from coming it, but it doesn¡¯t have any effect on something that is trying to get out . ¡± ¡°Not as useful as I thought it would be . ¡± ¡°The same thing has been protecting you this whole time, you know?¡± As Lapis replied to Loren¡¯s disappointment with a scornful gaze, Loren immediately looked away and played dumb . Klaus shouted loudly at their exchange, continuing to mow down zombies after zombies that continued to flock towards him . ¡°The clinic¡¯s defenses have been breached, you know? Panic a bit, will you guys!?¡± ¡°Even if you say that¡­¡± Loren¡¯s gaze was still focused on the rubble of the demolished part of the clinic . His eyes were glued onto the shadow that stood above it all . ¡°Seeing something like that just takes it around and doesn¡¯t even make me want panic . ¡± The figure that Loren mentioned was indeed humanoid but displayed a form that was far from a human . It definitely looked like a person . The figure wearing normal women¡¯s clothing looked like someone that you wouldn¡¯t even take a second glance if you walked past her on the street . But the large difference was the yellowish mist that was being emitted from her entire body into her surroundings . The figure wearing the mist that sent a chill down the spine and gave off a bad vibe just by looking at it, had an unconscious Shayna in her arms and stared at Loren with eyes the same shade of yellow as the mist . ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a bit, haven¡¯t you Shutel?¡± At Loren¡¯s call, the figure, whose brown hair floating around her, bent her lips into a smile . ¡°I knew you were suspicious, but I didn¡¯t think you had quit being human . ¡± He didn¡¯t have any evidence, but the uncomfortable vibe that he got just by looking at her and the eerie yellow mist around her, made it seem obvious that Shutel wasn¡¯t anything close to a human being . That was exactly why Shutel slowly walked down from the rubble and onto the street, right in the middle of all the zombies . If she were a normal human, the zombies would¡¯ve flocked to her and started tearing at her flesh, but they just stood where they were, paying no attention to her . ¡°What are you going to do with Shayna?¡± When Lapis threw a question at her as Shutel turned her back towards them and started to walk away, Shutel stopped and answered without even looking back . ¡°It is none of your concern . This girl is the one that he has put his hands on, and has granted the treasure upon her body . He has pa . s . sed on, but I have the responsibility to complete what he had started . ¡± ¡°She actually spoke . ¡± Although zombies used to be human, they were unable to speak human tongue . Even revenants, which were known to have some intelligence, did spout things that sounded like words, but it is known that they couldn¡¯t have a meaningful conversation at all . Loren didn¡¯t actually know all this, but since he had believed that undead were unable to talk with humans, he couldn¡¯t hide his surprise because he thought that Shutel was some sort of undead, due to the fact that the zombies didn¡¯t attack her . ¡°That¡¯s probably a Wight . They¡¯re undead that are a bit smarter than revenants . ¡± ¡°So undead have different names based on how smart they are¡­¡± ¡°no, not exactly¡­¡± Suddenly the yellow mist erupted from Shutel¡¯s body and covered the area, interrupting Lapis . Loren tensed as he expected it to block their sight, but it was far from a smokescreen, something more atrocious than that . ¡°Wights are users of powerful energy drains . If the yellow mist touches you it steals your mana and life energy . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any business with you lot . Become prey for the zombies, is what I would like to say, but¡­¡± Shutel finally turned towards Loren and Lapis, with a quizzical look . ¡°An ordinary human would immediately be unable to move a finger, but why are you two not affected?¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s because we have means to deal with it . ¡± Lapis said proudly, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if there was much meaning at all taking such an att . i . tude against an undead . Shutel continued to look at Loren and Lapis, but after a while she turned around once again . ¡°Whatever . In any case, you wouldn¡¯t last long dealing with all these zombies and revenants, anyway . Even if you did, once I complete what he started, there¡¯s no way the living could resist it . ¡± ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Loren tried to stop Shutel from leaving, but at that moment the zombies stood in his way, blocking her from view . ¡°This isn¡¯t looking too good . ¡± Even though Shutel left, the yellow mist did not disappear, and was still surrounding the area . As she looked at it, her words contained a bit of panic inside them . ¡°Klaus and I are fine . I won¡¯t succ . u . mb to an energy drain of this degree, and Klaus has the protection of his Gift . ¡± ¡°Am I the problem, by chance?¡± ¡°The evil warding ritual does increase your resistance, but if you continue to be within the range of this energy drain, either your resistance will fail or the ritual will lose its power . ¡± What Lapis had provided Loren wasn¡¯t something that completely mitigated the effects of an energy drain, but only raised his resistance so that he would withstand the effects . That in addition to Loren¡¯s natural resistance, was why nothing happened to him until now . But while he was within the mist that Shutel had emitted, which had the energy drain effect, he was constantly being exposed to the effects of the energy drain, so Lapis was saying that eventually his resistance would succ . u . mb to it or the ritual would lose effect . He had to escape to a place outside the effects of the energy drain before that happened, but if he did that he wouldn¡¯t be able to chase after Shutel, the source of it all . ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to take it as it comes . Can¡¯t be helped . ¡± ¡°Not going after her isn¡¯t an option, I see . ¡± From what Shutel had said, her top priority was getting her hands on Shayna, and didn¡¯t seem to want to chase them down or anything . Although they would have to get through the ring of zombies, backing off would be much easier than chasing after Shutel, but Loren didn¡¯t choose that option . ¡°Shutel said something about completing his work or something like that . I don¡¯t know what that means exactly, but if something that humans can¡¯t overcome happens, it¡¯ll be really troublesome if we don¡¯t stop it . ¡± ¡°I feel like some nation will do something about it once it starts getting out of hand, but stopping it before it happens can¡¯t hurt, I guess . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been expecting something like this to happen anyway, am I wrong?¡± ¡°I expected Shutel to make a move, and I did feel a weird indication, but I didn¡¯t expect her to be a wight . She apparently let Shutel in because she knew Shutel would make a move, and that would give a signpost to the key to this whole incident, but even Lapis didn¡¯t know that Shutel herself would be an undead . ¡°Higher the rank of the undead, the better they are at masking their presence . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty annoying . ¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m fine with chasing her, but what should we do with the clinic?¡± If Loren and Lapis chased after Shutel, the defenses of the clinic would decrease drastically . There were still many undead around the area, and exterminating them before chasing would take too long, and by the time they finished, it would most likely be that Shutel would be done with what she was planning to do . ¡°I¡¯ve got this . ¡± While Loren was wondering what they should do, Klaus made the declaration . ¡°The protection on the clinic still works, right? And the undead that get close are all attracted to me . If I keep killing the zombies at the hole, The building should be fine . ¡± ¡°That might be true, but that means you¡¯ll be on your own until dawn . ¡± Once the sun rose, there was a high possibility that the light-hating undead will go back to wherever they were hiding during the day, but there was still a long way until sunrise . During that time, if Klaus had to continually deal with the undead all by himself, the undead would infiltrate the clinic through the hole that Shutel had made . Once that happens, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine what would happen to the people inside . ¡°It¡¯s for my friends . Leave it to me . Is what I would like to say, but this is going to be pretty hard, even for me . So it would be helpful if you guys¡­ the two of you could defeat the wight and come back as soon as possible . ¡± When they heard those words, Loren and Lapis glanced at each other and said to Klaus in harmony . ¡°¡®That way of talking is pretty disgusting''¡± ¡°I-I can be sorry for things, okay!? I owe you one for saving Ange as well . ¡± The second half got quieter and was hard to make out, but Klaus immediately recovered and looked back at Loren and Lapis, and said clearly . ¡°So leave this to me, please . ¡± ¡°Well, since it looks like you¡¯ve made up your mind, I guess we could leave it to you . ¡± If it was Klaus when Loren first met him, he would¡¯ve scoffed and would¡¯ve told him not to be so full of himself, but to Loren it seemed he could trust the Klaus he was seeing right now . That¡¯s why when Loren replied to him like that, he thumped his chest with his fist and undertook it . ¡°I promise that I¡¯ll protect this place until you two get back . ¡± ¡°Buy me a drink when it¡¯s all over . ¡± ¡°¡­Shouldn¡¯t that be I¡¯ll buy you a drink when it¡¯s all over?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the money to even if I wanted to . I¡¯ve become an adventurer because I was a broke mercenary, after all . ¡± As Loren said something quite pathetic, Lapis grabbed his hand and started pulling on it . ¡°We¡¯ve got no time to lose . I¡¯ll track Shutel so let¡¯s go . ¡± ¡°Got it . Alright Klaus, you¡¯d better not die . ¡± As Loren said that to motivate him, Klaus held up his longsword and replied . ¡°Unfortunately, until I have a household with Ange, have a lot of children, a lot of grandchildren, and have them see me off, I won¡¯t feel like dying . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty luxurious dream you¡¯ve got there¡­¡± ¡°Roll and Layla will be my concubines . ¡± Klaus said something completely unexpected with shining eyes . ¡°Isn¡¯t it better if we have him die here?¡± Loren was being quite serious as he asked Lapis, but she didn¡¯t answer . Instead, after sending an ice cold glare resembling a blizzard in the far lands of the north, she started running after Shutel, still holding onto Loren¡¯s hand . Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Chapter 44: Moving On and Using Magic Loren and Lapis ran through the dark city . It was bright around the clinic because they made sure to secure vision, but since they were getting far away from it, the only source of light they had were the moon and stars . While they were running at almost full speed, they exterminated zombies that popped up occasionally . ¡°My eyes are infused with mana so they¡¯re fine, but¡± Lapis said while running ahead of Loren, in a slightly impressed manner . ¡°I¡¯ve noticed since before that you can see in the dark quite well . ¡± Loren had carried Lapis on his back and ran through a pitch-dark tunnel in one of the earlier jobs they were on . ¡°Things like these are all about getting used to . ¡± Loren¡¯s opinion was that anything can happen on a battlefield . Ambushes and night raids were common, so seeing in the dark was something you needed to survive, and Loren wasn¡¯t an exception, so since he was young, he had trained himself to be able to move around in the dark . ¡°But the problem is that undead have nothing that indicates where they are . It¡¯s so hard to sense them . ¡± ¡°Well, your senses are unbelievable, since you¡¯re still able to cut them down . ¡± Unlike people, undead aren¡¯t alive . That is why it is very difficult to sense them . Loren was very anxious because things almost undetectable kept suddenly jumping at him . Although he could see them when they moved, and the fact that they were slow was helping him defeat them, it was a situation where he could be dealt a fatal blow any time, so he couldn¡¯t let his guard down . ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up, dammit . ¡± Loren cursed as he swung his great sword again and sliced a zombie that flew at him into half . He heard something splatter onto the street, but it was too dark to see what flew how much, and Loren was a bit thankful that it was night time, as he didn¡¯t have to see the unpleasant objects and colors . ¡°Can¡¯t you conjure light using magic?¡± ¡°Running around with a light in a lightless city like this will basically be shouting out our location . ¡± ¡°Who¡¯s going to care about that?¡± Loren felt that there were no living humans in the city . If there were, there was no way it would be overflowing with undead . The feeling that they were being focused onto him and Lapis was one reason . If there were other survivors, the undead should be going to them as well . ¡°At least Shutel would care, don¡¯t you think?¡± If the only undead were zombies and revenants, Lapis wouldn¡¯t have cared too much about showing off their location . But their opponent was a wight, which has the same amount of intelligence as a human . In addition to that, the wight was the cause, or in a position that led to the situation they were currently in . ¡°Having more zombies sent over is going to be annoying, but it¡¯s going to be a problem if she sends over something like a bone dragon . ¡± ¡°If that happens the only course of action is to run as fast as we can . ¡± ¡°Leaving Shayna behind?¡± Loren was stuck on an answer . If he thought like a mercenary, the only option was to leave Shayna and retreat . But when he asked himself if he could do that, he couldn¡¯t find an answer . ¡°I¡¯ll worry about that once that time comes . ¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re trying to change the subject, aren¡¯t you?¡± Loren tried to fool her, but when Lapis pointed it out he frowned slightly . But Lapis didn¡¯t seem like she was going to go any further with it and closed her mouth, seeming to wait for Loren to say something . It cut their conversation, so Loren continued what they were talking about earlier . ¡°This whole situation, do you think it will be resolved if we defeat Shutel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so . ¡± The response to his question was very simple yet very cruel . As Loren took a sharp breath without realizing, Lapis started explaining like it was nothing . ¡°There is probably a culprit behind this whole disturbance . And it¡¯s not Shutel herself, but the being she was talking about . I¡¯m not sure what he did, but he did something to Shayna and failed, then left this place . ¡± ¡°Looks like it . ¡± ¡°And this ma . s . s outbreak of undead . It is probably all his doing but he isn¡¯t here anymore, so even if we defeat Shutel, the undead will still remain the way they are . ¡± Lapis said it easily, but the contents were showing an unbelievable reality . It was unknown at that point how much of city state¡¯s population became undead, but if the whole population of its capital city became undead, the numbers would definitely be over ten thousand . If that many undead were let loose without any sort of control, it was already past the control of a few individuals, and it was a situation where the government or the army would have to make a move . ¡°Loren, two from the right . ¡± Loren unconsciously almost stopped thinking, but Lapis gave him a warning against the zombies that popped up, and he was able to cut down both of them with a single swing of his great sword . ¡°That¡¯s not funny at all . ¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t . In fact, my prediction is only an a . s . sumption based on if the casualties are kept at a minimum . ¡± Loren looked at Lapis, wondering if there was anything more, but she took no notice of his gaze, and shrugged her head as she ran . ¡°I¡¯m more concerned about the treasure that was given to Shayna . A wight alone is quite bothersome, but if something greater than that decides to show up, these zombies and revenants will look cute compared to it . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think these guys look cute at all, though . ¡± Loren cut down another zombie as he said that . As he heard liquid splattering onto the dark alley, Loren gave his great sword a light swing, worried that the same thing was all over the blade . ¡°d . a . m . n, there¡¯s so many undead, it¡¯s kind of depressing . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re lucky it¡¯s night time . If it was during the day it would be quite a mess . ¡± Undead rarely came out during the day . And night time was when undead could display their full potential . If that is the case you usually wouldn¡¯t say that you were glad that it was night, but Lapis was thankful that it was night time . She thought that because since the undead in the city haven¡¯t been that state for a long time yet, most of them weren¡¯t much different from when they were alive . Lapis didn¡¯t care much because she was a demon, but the zombies that Loren were killing included young children, and if it was during the day, when he could see his opponents, depressing might have not cut it . ¡°Loren, now that I think about it . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? I don¡¯t have a good feeling about what you¡¯re about to say, but go ahead . ¡± Loren replied to Lapis, not expecting much, as he continued to cut down the zombies that attacked him sporadically, The undead should be focused on Klaus, who was in an area lit up with bonfires as well as using the power of his Gift constantly, but there were still quite a few undead attacking them in the dark streets . As they neared the center of the city, the number of zombies and revenants increased, which made Loren focus more and more on them . ¡°The only ones alive for sure in this city is us and Klaus, right?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t approve that you¡¯re aren¡¯t including Broas and the girls . ¡± He knew that she didn¡¯t include them because it wasn¡¯t certain whether they would survive or not, but Loren wished that Broas and the girls from Klaus¡¯s party would survive, and so he rebuked Lapis, who naturally didn¡¯t include them . ¡°Let me rephrase . The only ones that are currently conscious and are aware of this situation is us and Klaus, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t count our opponent and Shayna . ¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that there aren¡¯t any witnesses in this situation?¡± Loren experienced an even worse feeling at the word witness . But the only things that were around the area were undead, and indeed the only living beings were him and Lapis, and Klaus was trying very hard to be alive, but they were already very far away from him, and weren¡¯t within his view . In the case of Broas and the girls, it was unknown whether or not they regained consciousness, so Lapis was right when she said no witnesses . ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°I was thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I went slightly serious . ¡± Loren thought for a moment as Lapis asked for his opinion . Of course, he didn¡¯t stop killing the undead that continued to pop up, but he thought about it the best he could while doing so, and after killing a few more undead, he finally got to a conclusion . ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t really think you should . Doesn¡¯t seem like anything good will happen . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, right?¡± In the dark of the night, when it was almost impossible to see anything, Loren and Lapis crossed eyes . In that moment, Loren seemed to realize that it was impossible to talk her out of it, but a feeling that he shouldn¡¯t give up drove him to continue the argument . ¡°You shouldn¡¯t . My sword is enough to kill the undead for now, anyway . I don¡¯t think you need to force yourself to use your powers . It¡¯s a different story if something like a bone dragon appears, though . ¡± As soon as Loren said that, a violent tremor ran beneath his feet . As he tried to keep his footing on top of the shaking ground in disbelief, Lapis said to him in a very happy voice . ¡°You said that it¡¯s okay if a bone dragon comes out, right?¡± ¡°¡­I shouldn¡¯t have said that¡­¡± Loren was recalling a saying that included the phrase ¡®speak of the devil¡¯ . It was a saying which meant that words which come out of the mouth could sometimes summon the whatever the words were subject to, but even though Loren wished he didn¡¯t say anything, it was too late . The increasing tremors started to put cracks in the street and buildings around them were collapsing, the dragon made of bones that chased Loren and his group on the way here broke through the ground with a ear piercing roar . ¡°If you do not let me use my full power every now and then, I may start losing my touch . ¡± Instead of her usual gentle expression, Lapis¡¯ eyes turned sharp with aggressiveness . Lapis, whose way of talking changed as well, stood face to face with the bone dragon trying to climb up onto the ground, and raised her right palm towards it . ¡°Pa . s . s the river of sorrow and arrive at its abyss . If you desire to knock on the gates to heaven, may your sins be judged by crimson . >¡± The color of crimson filled Loren¡¯s sight . He couldn¡¯t see anything else . There wasn¡¯t a roar or scream, nor sounds of crumbling or burning . Everything just disappeared into the crimson brilliance . ¡°What¡­ . the h . e . l . l?¡± It wasn¡¯t like Loren hadn¡¯t seen magic before . But he couldn¡¯t believe that the thing that just unfolded before his eyes was the same kind of magic that he had seen until now . ¡°Make sure to stay behind me, alright?¡± Lapis said to a speechless Loren in an awfully gentle tone . ¡°If you do not, you would die in a way that even your ashes would not remain . ¡± Lapis¡¯ words were like a whisper . At the same time, the crimson brilliance that filled his sight disappeared . It disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, making Loren doubt that there was ever a great fire in front of his eyes . But the damage that it did was right in front of him . ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± Everything had disappeared . The stone blocks that made the street, the buildings around it, the bone dragon clawing its way up, and the undead that started to gather in the area . All of it was gone, and the sight that came into his eyes was just exposed, hollow earth . He wasn¡¯t sure how much of the area became like that, but a quite large area of the city disappeared in a blink of an eye . ¡°I guess my control was a bit poor¡­But I¡¯m satisfied that I could use magic at full blast . ¡± ¡°What was that just now¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fire type extreme magic¡­but as I had thought, it was hard to control with these prosthetic limbs and eyes . If I had my eyes at least, I could¡¯ve increased the range on it . ¡± Lapis was saying that she had held back on the range, but after seeing the spell completely incinerate the bone dragon along with the undead around it, as well as the buildings in the area, Loren had nothing to say about her comment . ¡°What¡¯ll happen if you¡¯re at perfect condition? Actually, do you even need me?¡± ¡°it¡¯s just a bad joke Loren . There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to use this kind of magic during battle . It¡¯s flashy and has great firepower, but that¡¯s all there is too it . There¡¯s no way I don¡¯t need you Loren . ¡± Lapis told him as she stepped into the bare earth that the spell had hollowed out . As Loren followed her, he was worried that the ground would be burning hot, but the only thing he felt was dirt, and nothing like burning soil . As Loren wondered what the logic behind it was, Lapis continued . ¡°Plus, I¡¯m a priestess, so it would be bad if people find out I could use magic . I wouldn¡¯t usually do this kind of thing . ¡± Lapis stretched her arms, saying that it was a good stress relief . As Loren followed Lapis towards the center of the city across the earth, he realized that she didn¡¯t answer anything about what would happen if she was in perfect condition . He didn¡¯t feel like pushing for an answer and swore to himself that he would try to stop Lapis whenever she says she wants to use magic . Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Chapter 45: Arrival and Appearance A large area of the city had burned and disappeared due to Lapis¡¯ magic spell . But apparently the effective range of the spell was longer than it was wide, and the damage reached close to the president¡¯s mansion . While Loren felt a cold shudder inside looking at the great deal of damage that was done, Lapis walking along the traces of her spell in a carefree manner, conjured a magic light on the tip of her finger and secured vision around them . ¡°Why now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve used a gigantic magic spell . They know our location, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore . ¡± Lapis said it like it was nothing . Loren was confused at her words, and asked her the question that of course, had to be asked . ¡°Then why did you use such a spell?¡± ¡°¡­Hehe¡± After a moment of hesitation, Lapis stuck her tongue out and gave Loren a deceiving smile . ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Hehe¡¯ me¡± ¡°No, but I needed to use a spell like that to defeat a bone dragon . I used it because I needed to . ¡± Lapis switched to a serious expression and started explaining, Loren continued to look at her with a skeptical gaze and pressed on . ¡°In reality?¡± ¡°I think a weaker spell like > would¡¯ve been fine . ¡± Surprisingly, Lapis plainly admitted that she chose the wrong spell . The current situation was because Lapis, who was holding back the whole time, let loose all her pent-up feelings in the form of one of her flashiest magic spells . But since she had admitted it so plainly, Loren thought that it was stupid to blame her any further and decided to change the subject . ¡°The spell you just used . It¡¯s unrelated to the number of times you could use Divine Arts, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not related at all . They¡¯re completely different . I can still use Divine Arts three times . ¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you could use it two times before?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown a bit since then . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know what growth was for a priest, but if the number of times she could use Divine Arts increased, it was something to be happy about, and the progress itself wasn¡¯t something to be worried about . ¡°Time to go, I guess¡­¡± Lapis smiled as Loren decided to think of it as he could get injured an additional time now and suggested that they move ahead . ¡°That¡¯s the most constructive action . ¡± Undead shouldn¡¯t have emotions such as fear . But maybe there was a chance that Lapis¡¯ magic had struck fear among them . That was how smoothly they reached the president¡¯s mansion, without running into any undead . Loren thought that a leader of a nation would be living in a castle of some sort, but the mansion that they reached had quite a fine structure but was far from being a castle . It was surrounded by a moat, with a somewhat tall wall on the other side, and past it was the mansion, so to Loren it looked like a fortress . On a normal day there would be soldiers stationed on the bridge to protect it, but currently there was no one to be seen . Loren and Lapis crossed the empty bridge, went through the gates, and stopped in front of a s . p . a . ce that seemed like a yard that led to the mansion . ¡°You¡¯re quite reckless to have come all the way here . ¡± In the middle of the yard was a stand that looked like a stone altar . On top of it was Shayna, who wasn¡¯t moving at all, wearing a white dress that looked like the one she was wearing when Loren and Lapis first found her in the forest . In front of it was Shutel, who was now wearing a black robe . Around it was bonfires, giving off enough light to see across the whole yard . ¡°You¡¯ve got bad taste . What are you up to?¡± A girl laid on top of an altar . It looked like an evil ritual for worshiping some evil deity, and Loren raised his sword and glared at Shutel . ¡°This is all for accomplishing the work that my master has left . ¡± ¡°Who the h . e . l . l is that master you¡¯re talking about? What are you trying to do to a young girl, you pervert?¡± The corner of Shutel¡¯s lips twitched . At the same time Lapis, who was watching the situation beside Loren, burst up in a small laugh . Watching Lapis¡¯ cover her mouth with her hand and trembling from trying to keep the laughter in, Loren continued to insult Shutel . ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the words of a pervert . You¡¯re so called master must be more perverted you are . Perverts like you should rot in h . e . l . l, since you¡¯re undead anyway . ¡± ¡°W-what!? You uneducated savage!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t completely deny uneducated and savage, but I know not to put my hands on a young girl like that . You can¡¯t even do that, you pervert . ¡± ¡°Age doesn¡¯t matter! This girl had the apt . i . tude!¡± Blood did not flow in the veins of the undead . That was why Shutel¡¯s face stayed the same color, but her face twisted with anger, and glared at Loren with hatred . As Loren looked back with a glare of his own, Lapis interrupted . ¡°Apt . i . tude for what? I¡¯m slightly interested . What is the treasure that was bestowed to her?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way people like you would understand . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the knowledge G . o . d . If it is indeed something amazing, I would love to learn it . ¡± Lapis asked her as she put her hand on Loren¡¯s chest, telling him to wait . Shutel opened her mouth and looked like she was about to refuse, but Lapis interrupted her . ¡°You¡¯re not going to say that you can¡¯t, right? You¡¯re trying to complete the work of your great master . If you can¡¯t even explain it to others in a way they could understand, it would mean that you don¡¯t understand it yourself, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°You could at least explain it, regardless of whether or not we could understand what it is, right?¡± Lapis asked in a challenging manner, but Shutel sneered at her . ¡°Trying to buy time, eh? Whatever . The preparations are complete, and you won¡¯t be able to run anyway . If you wish to know, I will tell you . What the great work of my master is . ¡± Loren wanted to cut her down immediately, but the arm that Lapis had in front of his chest was holding him back with unexpected strength, despite how it looked . Guessing that Lapis had something in mind, all he could do was listen to Shutel . ¡°The apt . i . tude that this girl had . It was for the treasure my master possessed . An apt . i . tude for the jewel of conquering death . ¡± Loren glanced at Lapis, but she just turned her gaze towards him and shook her head . The jewel that Shutel spoke of was something that even Lapis, who seemed like she knew everything, hadn¡¯t heard of . ¡°It is the product of my master¡¯s research . It sucks people¡¯s lives and bestows the power to overcome death . ¡± Loren was exasperated at Shutel, who started explaining everything, but it seemed to have piqued Lapis¡¯ interest, as she started focusing on what Shutel was saying . ¡°My master gave me the power as well, but since I had no apt . i . tude for it, I was only able to overcome death halfway . ¡± The tone of her voice got lower . It seemed like she was disheartened that she wasn¡¯t able to meet her master¡¯s expectations, but although wights didn¡¯t die easily they weren¡¯t impossible to kill . As Loren thought maybe the experiment was a failure, Shutel¡¯s voice got louder and higher again . ¡°But my master¡¯s research finally showed results in this land! When my master found this girl, he was certain that she had the apt . i . tude and that she would bring complete results, and gave her the jewel!¡± ¡°So it looks like someone from somewhere who was researching immortality used a magic tool that he developed to create a culmination of his research, but none of his subjects had the apt . i . tude so he continuously got incomplete results, but he found Shayna, who had the apt . i . tude, so he did stuff . ¡± ¡°I could understand that much even without you summarizing it . ¡± ¡°I see¡­Umm Shutel, there¡¯s one thing that doesn¡¯t make sense yet, but it seems like the story ends when he found Shayna . ¡± Shutel¡¯s face clouded at Lapis¡¯ words . ¡°My master was mortal . There was one miscalculation . ¡± ¡°Judging from the fact that there were incomplete works, I don¡¯t think there was only one miscalculation . ¡± ¡°Loren, be quiet¡­what was that miscalculation?¡± Lapis asked after silencing Loren . Lapis did so because if his words made Shutel mad and she stopped talking, it would be unbearable, but it seemed like his words didn¡¯t reach her ears . ¡°It was that a child¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t able to keep its sanity against the power of death flowing into it . ¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The jewel probably sucks the life of others and change them into undead¡­having something like that poured into her, do you think a child¡¯s mind could bear all of it?¡± Having something alien poured into your body . On top of that, the feeling of that something changing yourself into something that isn¡¯t living . Even though he didn¡¯t understand what it felt like, he concluded that it was extremely disgusting, and it wasn¡¯t something that was bearable, even if you weren¡¯t a child . ¡°She rejected it . ¡± ¡°Correct . This girl, amid her pain, used the spell > and disappeared from this land . ¡± ¡°Shayna used >? Ah¡­I see . So, she was halfway from becoming one . ¡± ¡°Do you mind explaining, Lapis?¡± ¡°Shayna was about to become undead by the power of the jewel, but then showed signs of rejection and used the power of the undead she was about to become to cast a spell and fled from this place . She didn¡¯t set coordinates of her destination, so it was a so-called > . I understand most of it now . ¡± ¡°You said Shayna was human, right?¡± Lapis did in fact, say that Shayna was human . Lapis gave Loren an apologetic look . ¡°She almost became one, so she¡¯s not one yet . So currently Shayna is still human . The adventurers inside the caravans getting ill and dying was due to the jewel that she was carrying . ¡± A jewel that sucked the life out of people . Shayna was sucking the life out of the people around her unaware . ¡°By any chance¡­the power that was poured into Shayna¡­was the people of Hanza¡­How many lives did the jewel suck up?¡± ¡°For a great achievement, sacrificed must be made . The more the better . ¡± ¡°This is the worst¡­¡± Without thinking, Lapis covered her face with the palm of her hand . Lapis started explaining it indifferently to Loren, who was looking back and forth between her and Shutel, confused . ¡°Most likely, the jewel has turned the people of Hanza, the whole city-state, into low rank undead . Shayna, who has been given the power, based on the amount and the spell she used during the rejection, she will turn into a high rank undead . ¡± ¡°Any way to stop it?¡± ¡°At this point, none . Shutel said it earlier . The preparations are done . ¡± ¡°Exactly . The preparations are done, and in this moment, my master¡¯s work will be complete!¡± As Shutel raised her arms high towards the sky, on the altar in front of her, a bright, white light erupted from Shayna¡¯s chest . Although it was light, there was no heat emitted from it, but instead it started emitting a chill so cold that even Loren started to shiver . ¡°Like, isn¡¯t this really bad?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . Honestly speaking, this is very bad . ¡± There was a bitterness in Lapis¡¯ voice . She lowered the arm that was holding Loren back, closed her fist, and glared at Shutel, who was laughing loudly . ¡°You definitely won¡¯t die a decent death, you know . ¡± ¡°I won¡¯t die . Not until I deliver this result to my master! You should celebrate as well . Then bow down before my master and offer him your lives!¡± The light pouring out from Shayna became even brighter . Amid the blinding light, Loren covered his eyes with his arm and Lapis, perhaps due to the fact that her eyes were prosthetics, continued glaring at Shutel, who was on the opposite side of Shayna and the light, without protecting them . Shutel raised her voice to the two of them . ¡°This time for sure, sp . a . w . n from the power of the jewel and the soul of the girl! The one who conquered death! >!¡± In that moment, the presence that filled the s . p . a . ce sent a nasty chill down Loren¡¯s spine, one that felt like a nail made of ice being hammered into his heart . Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Ch . 46: Starting Battle Shayna¡¯s body floated above the altar, with the hem of her dress swaying . Her shining golden hair that was full of youth earlier before, lost its glow and was now looked cold and lackl . u . s . ter . Her half-opened eyes were vacant and unfocused, and from her small, weakly open mouth sounded an unpleasant moaning that would make one plug his or her ears . White mist continued to seep out of her pale, sickly looking skin, and it flowed along Shayna¡¯s body and onto the altar, then to the ground . The object on her chest that had been releasing a blinding light was now emitting a faint, hazy glow, which gave Loren a bubbly sensation on his skin . ¡°Ahh¡­this, this is the work of my master¡­unmistakably, the true king of the dead¡­¡± Shutel¡¯s voice quivered, most likely due to her joy . Since she was already undead, she couldn¡¯t feel what Loren, who was still living, was feeling from Shayna . ¡°This is the worst . Yes, definitely the worst . ¡± As Lapis took a step back, like she was getting pushed back by Shayna¡¯s presence, grinding her teeth, Shutel announced triumphantly with her voice still quivering from her joy . ¡°This is the end! The time has come, when everything will bow down to the great works of my master!¡± ¡°You¡¯re making it sound like a single > is going to end the world¡­Well, if something like this is ma . s . s produced, maybe that might happen, but there is a flaw in your thinking . ¡± Shayna, who was now a No Life King, didn¡¯t look like she was going to start moving anytime soon . Lapis raised a finger and pointed it at Shutel while standing a few steps behind Loren, who had his great sword raised and facing Shayna despite being a . s . saulted by a chill that sent shivers down his spine . ¡°Flaw? What are you even¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s!¡± Lapis lowered her finger as she raised her voice and interrupted Shutel . As Shutel stopped talking unthinkingly at Lapis¡¯ loud voice, Lapis took the opening to point out the fact to her . ¡°The existence that appeared here is definitely a > . But about this > . Is this a being that is controllable in any way?¡± ¡°What?¡± Looking at Shutel, who responded with confusion, Lapis became certain of one fact . But it was a useless fact for them, and at the same time a very crucial problem for Shutel . ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that you summoned a > in an uncontrollable state . ¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­No, but the > should only target living beings like you! I¡¯m already undead so¡­¡± ¡°Oh ok . I got it . You¡¯re a braindead idiot!¡± Shutel¡¯s face turned blank at Lapis¡¯ sudden cursing, even forgetting to get mad . Lapis then followed up in an even louder voice and pointed at Shayna . ¡°That over there is a >! It is the highest ranking undead that drags everything in this world into death and reigns over it as its king! There¡¯s no way an undead with free will like you will be allowed to exist!¡± ¡°Whahh!?¡± In dismay, Shutel took two, three steps back from the No Life King floating next to her and glanced up at Shayna . Coincidently, her gaze met the hollow eyes of Shayna . ¡°Eeek!?¡± Shutel let out a small cry . She was an undead so she shouldn¡¯t feel any fear, but her body was tense with definite fear and while she was frozen in place, Shayna slowly raised her hand towards her . ¡°Stop! I¡¯m¡­¡± She didn¡¯t get the chance to finish her sentence . As soon as Shayna¡¯s attention focused on Shutel, something that looked like white flames erupted from Shutel¡¯s feet and then engulfed her body . When the flames disappeared, Shutel had a blank expression that was void of any will at all . She was bowing down, as if she were a subject bowing before the authority of a king, and from her mouth was a growl that sounded nothing like words . The yellow fog around her body disappeared, and she stopped emitting it as well . ¡°Unbelievable . She drained the wight¡¯s power and turned it into an ordinary zombie . ¡± ¡°What can we even do about that thing¡­wait, does that mean I have to kill Shayna?¡± Loren understood that his opponent was the highest ranking undead > . But it still looked like Shayna, and when he asked himself if he could raise his sword against it, he was at a loss of words . ¡°If you could cut it down, I would like for you to do it, but our opponent is a > you know? It has multiple layers of magic and physical defenses and has a constant energy drain field around its body . If you can manage to kill it¡­uh, wait, umm?¡± Lapis stopped talking and started thinking, but before she could finish, the zombie that was Shutel sensed them and climbed over the altar towards them . In the situation that an enemy came towards them and was trying to grab onto them, Loren swung his great sword and cut it into two, slantwise from its shoulder . ¡°c . r . a . p! It faced this way!¡± His action caught the attention of Shayna and her hollow gaze was now facing Loren, and raised her palm, as she did with Shutel moments before . Loren guessed that if he got hit with the white flames, he would turn into a zombie as well, so he quickly dashed towards the side to dodge what was coming . At the same time Lapis darted in the opposite direction of Loren to try to throw off Shayna¡¯s aim . ¡°>¡± White flames burst from the ground that Loren stood on a heartbeat before . Seeing that the flames disappeared without catching Loren, Shayna, still above the altar, slowly turned and started chasing after Loren with her gaze . Loren understood that as soon as he stopped the flames would come for him again, so he continued to run, stepping to the left and right, trying not to run in a straight line . Shayna seemed have found out Loren¡¯s motive, as she moved her lips to form a different word . ¡°>¡± She lightly waved her hand and flames erupted from it, flying towards Loren in the shape of a fan . Loren dodged it by leaping backwards in a hurry, but by doing so he lost all the distance he had slowly been gaining on her . ¡°I can¡¯t get close! Being able to cut her down or not isn¡¯t even the problem here!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any knives left!?¡± ¡°I used them all up on the zombies!¡± ¡°Nuuu¡­Lost ones, return to where you belong . >¡± Lapis groaned and then used an exorcism spell . Shayna¡¯s body glowed for a moment, but immediately disappeared, and it didn¡¯t look like she took any damage at all . She didn¡¯t even try to face Lapis, but instead was focused on Loren, who was zig zagging his way towards her . ¡°Of course, it would get resisted¡­It didn¡¯t even tickle her . ¡± ¡°Maybe you don¡¯t have enough faith!?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a priest who could exorcise a >, bring one here right now!¡± As soon as Lapis shouted, she dove away, and white flames erupted where she had stood . Shayna wasn¡¯t looking at Lapis, but she knew she was there . She tried to attack Lapis when she was caught off guard, so she pulled a feint, looking at Loren while attacking her, but Lapis wasn¡¯t an ordinary being either . ¡°Stones of red, strike the enemy >¡± The spell that Lapis used while dodging shot four bullets made of fire from her fingers, and all of them hit Shayna in the face . It was an attack that would¡¯ve seriously injured a person, but when the flames cleared, Lapis saw that it didn¡¯t even leave a burn on Shayna¡¯s face and growled . ¡°I guess an elementary cla . s . s spell won¡¯t even leave a mark . ¡± As Lapis muttered under her breath, Shayna looked away from Loren and faced her, finally acknowledging that she was an obstacle . As Shayna slowly raised her palm towards Lapis, Lapis stood still and looked straight back at her with a sly smile . ¡°Are you sure? That it¡¯s okay to look away from him?¡± The moment that her attention moved away from him . There was no way Loren would miss such an opportunity . Shayna was in the middle of launching an attack on Lapis as well, so he dashed straight towards her, knowing that this was his only chance to close in . ¡°You can hate me for this!¡± Loren brought his great sword down from over his head, straight onto Shayna¡¯s forehead, but the blade couldn¡¯t capture her . It was because Shayna sensed Loren¡¯s attack and leaped down from the altar, whilst casting > at Lapis . Loren¡¯s attack caught the hem of her dress and crashed down onto the altar, destroying it . ¡°Lapis!¡± Loren continued with a scooping stroke from under, but Shayna dodged it again . But Loren was determined to stick close to her and went in for another strike, but he saw Lapis being engulfed in white flames, and shouted in surprise . ¡°I¡¯m fine! One hit won¡¯t do anything to me . ¡± When the flames died, although she was breathing heavily, Lapis wasn¡¯t turned into an undead . It was an attack that even a wight succ . u . mbed to, but if she was able to withstand it, didn¡¯t that mean Lapis was tougher than a wight? The thought crossed through Loren¡¯s mind for a moment, but his body was still moving to keep within attacking range of Shayna, launching strike after strike with his great sword . ¡°Loren be careful! What she¡¯s using isn¡¯t magic so there¡¯s no need for her to chant spells! The attacks will come suddenly!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that impossible to be careful of?¡± Currently Shayna was raising her palm before she attacked, but according to Lapis that wasn¡¯t a necessary action, so if she stopped doing that, there was no way for Loren to know that an attack was coming . Rather than that, Loren thought bitterly . It was hard to believe that Shayna had battle experience, but Loren was astonished at the fact that she evaded all his blows . He guessed that since she was a > her physical abilities would be considerable, but her dodging his every attack whilst floating made it feel like he was fighting against smoke or a heat haze, and although he was keeping her down, Loren felt panic slowly rising inside . ¡°Loren! Aim here!¡± Lapis¡¯ voice reached his ears . While continuing his attack, Loren faced Lapis and saw that she was pointing at her chest . ¡°The place where it¡¯s glowing! Normal > don¡¯t have anything like that! I¡¯m not sure what will happen, but it¡¯s worth a shot!¡± It was where the > had been . Although it was feeble, there was a light coming from Shayna¡¯s chest, and Loren wondered whether he should do as Lapis said, but when the No Life King heard what Lapis said, it reflexively covered its chest with its hand . Seeing that, Loren decided what to do . ¡°You¡¯ve seen a regular > before¡­? Well, seems that Lapis is right and aiming for it is worth a shot . ¡± Of course, there was no response from the No Life King . Instead, still covering the glowing part with its arm, faced Loren with its hollow gaze and let out a sharp screech . It was loud enough to make Loren want to cover his ears, but if he did it would mean that he would have to stop attacking and would give the No Life King an opening to recover . Loren decided that he should endure it and keep attacking, but then he felt a strange sensation in his arms and legs, making them heavy and sluggish, slowing him down and slowing his attacks as well . ¡°Loren! The > strengthened its energy drain! If we don¡¯t hurry it will overcome the protection that I cast on you!¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re running out of time¡­¡± He had to strike the chest of an opponent that he couldn¡¯t even land a single blow on until now, so Loren didn¡¯t have time to consider his options . He decided that he didn¡¯t care if he blacked out later, and he heard a click in the corner of his mind, like a piece fitting into place . Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Ch . 47: Wrapping Up and Losing Consciousness Loren shot off at a speed that was incomparable to the speed that he had been moving until now . The fire that the No Life King shot out didn¡¯t even graze him and burned empty s . p . a . ce that no one was standing on . Loren then plunged within reach and struck a sideways blow, and the No Life King¡¯s barrier tried to block it, but was cracked open . It didn¡¯t let out a sound or show any signs of surprise, but it dodged Loren¡¯s attack by moving back, while giving off an air of dismay . It then proceeded to attack Loren again, but lost sight of him . ¡°This way . ¡± The No Life King turned around to the sound of Loren¡¯s voice behind it, to see the tip of his great sword flying towards its chest . It reconstructed its force field and tried to block the blade, but before its eyes, some sort of design on the surface of the black blade emitted a suspicious light and easily cut through the reconstructed force field, and grazed its chest . It immediately used > and tried to burn Loren, who should¡¯ve been in front of it, but seeing that his blow didn¡¯t fully reach the No Life King, Loren immediately pulled back with the same speed . By the time the flames shot out of the No Life King¡¯s palm, Loren was already out of its range . His speed was unbelievable for someone who was wielding such a heavy weapon like a great sword, and thinking that it wasn¡¯t going to able to catch him in an attack, the No Life King roared . The roar, which if a living being heard, would have the life sucked out of them, wasn¡¯t enough to stop Loren . Not waiting for the fan of flames to die, Loren raised his great sword and rushed forward . The flames parted before the blade of his sword, as if letting him through . The No Life King froze at the unbelievable phenomenon, and as soon as it did it was met by a series of strikes like a raging wind, and for the first time, it was forced to focus on dodging and defending itself . The force field and the great sword met each other again and again, making an irritating sound ring through the air, and in the midst of parrying the unending attacks, it was desperately searching for a breakthrough . The fact that Shayna, who became the host for the No Life King, didn¡¯t have any sort of battle experience was working in Loren¡¯s favor . Not being able to make a breakthrough for this situation that it never experienced before, the No Life King was being exposed to Loren¡¯s attacks and was being forced back little by little . The flames that it shot out in desperation was swept away by the raging slashes, and didn¡¯t even singe Loren¡¯s hair . But unlike the No Life King, Loren was but a human, so he eventually started tiring, and his continuous attacks stopped as well . As his attacks started to slow down, the No Life King frowned as noticed that Loren was getting exhausted and was unable to continue his attacks as he wanted to . But Loren still desperately tried to hold on, but eventually his attacks stopped, and he plunged his great sword into the ground, leaning onto it like a staff . ¡°d . a . m . n it¡­¡± As the No Life King shot an empowered > in his direction, he faced the flat of the blade towards the and hid behind it to try to catch his breath . Although the great sword became somewhat of a shield against the fan-shaped flames, the flames still engulfed the area around Loren, and the heat and the lack of oxygen would eventually stop him from moving completely . The No Life King was sure of its victory . But the future that it predicted didn¡¯t come to pa . s . s . ¡°Take this!¡± Loren¡¯s voice came from above the No Life King¡¯s head . It was unknown to anyone how relevant the motion was, but when the No Life King looked up, it was met by the sole of Loren¡¯s boot crashing into its chest, making its small body lose balance and stagger back . It swung its arms around, not knowing what just happened, trying to get Loren away from it . But since Shayna was still a child, no matter how much it swung its arms, Loren had the superior reach and physical strength . Before the No Life King could even think of reconstructing a force field, Loren¡¯s right fist, with the momentum of his whole body behind it, was driven into its chest, where Loren¡¯s foot had caught before, along with a blunt sound . As it received the full force of the blow, it got knocked onto its back and slid quite a distance across the ground, raising clouds of dust . ¡°You¡¯re pretty reckless . Engaging in hand-to-hand battle against a No Life King? Unbelievable . ¡± Lapis, who was watching from the side, saw everything from start to finish . Loren making it seem like he was tiring was all an act, and he hid behind his sword with strength left over . When the No Life King used its flames, thinking it had won, he used his great sword as footing and jumped up, launching a kick at it . He immediately followed up with a punch to its chest to make sure and was able to apply damage since it couldn¡¯t block it . ¡°That¡¯s not enough take you down, is it?¡± He took a step back, reached behind him with his left hand, grabbed the handle of his great sword that was still in the ground, and pulled it out with just one arm . Instead of taking a stance, he used the momentum and centrifugal force to mow down the upper body of the No Life King, which was trying to get up . The blade of the great sword caught the glowing part of its chest and gave it a shallow cut . Along with the two blows Loren had landed before, a dry cracking noise sounded . The next moment, it shattered into small pieces and it scattered around the feet of the No Life King, which was trying to get up . ¡°Ah¡­¡± As a small light returned to the hollow eyes of the No Life King, a small voice escaped from its lips . Upon hearing it, Loren immediately stopped his next attack . At that moment he was attacked by fatigue and fell to one knee but managed to plunge his great sword into the ground and use it to support himself . ¡°d . a . m . n, the recoil¡­but¡­¡± He could barely move his body . This always happened, but normally by this point he would¡¯ve easily gone unconscious, and although he was feeling a quite foggy, he was still conscious and could still see the No Life King in front of him . Loren himself knew very well that it wasn¡¯t that he got used to it . If it was something that he could get used to, he should¡¯ve gotten used to it a long time ago . Then why was he able to keep conscious? As he wondered that, his gaze naturally went to the great sword he was using to support himself . ¡°There¡¯s no way¡­right?¡± If there was anything that changed since the last time, that was about it . But if the great sword was indeed the cause, the sword he held would be what was known as a demonic sword, and its rarity was immeasurable . Of course, there was no way it would be sold at a store, and even if it did, its price would be two or three digits longer than the price he got it for . As the thought went through his head, he was about to look at Lapis, but he heard something drop to the ground near him and his eyes turned to it . ¡°O¡­nii¡­san¡­¡± On the ground was Shayna¡¯s left arm . From the section where it ripped off the shoulder, he saw that the arm was filled with some white substance, with no trace of any flesh or blood . Shayna stared curiously at her left shoulder and tried to stand, but this time her right leg ripped off and caused her to drop down again . ¡°What the h . e . l . l¡¯s happening¡­¡± ¡°Her body is breaking down . Turning a human into a No Life King is an absurd spell in the first place . The jewel was probably what was keeping her together, but since it broke it can¡¯t maintain her body anymore . ¡± As Lapis walked over, she observed what was happening to Shayna and presented her speculation . Shayna¡¯s left arm, although it kept its shape for a while longer, eventually collapsed like it was made of ashes, and the white dust scattered off in the wind . ¡°Can¡¯t we do anything about this?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s an illegal spell called >¡­ . but on top of making a spell that you cast onto yourself into something you could use on others, it has been modified to be able to become high ranked undead like a No Life King . It¡¯s just absurd in so many places . And the victim is paying the cost . There¡¯s nothing¡­that we can do . ¡± Even while Lapis was talking, Shayna¡¯s body was collapsing . The white dust that dropped to the ground didn¡¯t stay, and Shayna, who was watching it with an expressionless face, locked eyes with Loren, who was watching her, unable to move, and asked him in a hoa . r . s . e voice . ¡°Onii¡­san . Am I¡­going to die?¡± ¡°Yeah, apparently so . ¡± He didn¡¯t feel like lying or be ambiguous, and simply told her the truth . ¡°I see¡­But if it means¡­I¡¯m not causing anyone trouble¡­I¡¯m glad . ¡± Although the jewel confined her in to be the No Life King, part of her consciousness was still there . She had a grasp of what kind of damage and casualties she would bring about if she continued to be the No Life King . That was why Shayna was able to say that she was glad that she was defeated before she hurt anyone else . ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you¡­Onii-san . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me . I didn¡¯t do anything . All I did was cut you down . ¡± Putting aside whether it was a saving grace for Shayna, Loren cut her down because there was a need to do so . But looking at it from the viewpoint of their original goal, it meant that they failed . In this situation, Loren didn¡¯t want to hear Shayna thank him, and preemptively tried to stop her, but Shayna still opened her mouth . ¡°Thank you . ¡± ¡°¡­Dammit . ¡± She seemed to have pushed herself to say that, as the collapsing sped up, and Loren, scolding his unmoving feet, inched towards her . He wanted to at least hold her hand before her last, and seeing that, Shayna raised her collapsing right hand slowly towards him . ¡°Huh? W-wait!?¡± Lapis was about to say something, but Loren didn¡¯t stop and kept going forward to hold Shayna¡¯s hand, and eventually succeeded in getting ahold of it . But even that only lasted a moment, as the hand that he felt in his crumbled into white dust . ¡°Onii-san, you¡¯re a good person¡­¡± Shayna, with her crumbling face, managed to smile and whisper one last thing to Loren, who couldn¡¯t do anything except grip the white dust in his hand . ¡°But I think you¡¯re a bit careless . ¡± Shayna¡¯s voice suddenly became clearer . Surprised, Loren couldn¡¯t think of a reason why, but felt his consciousness fade away rapidly . He couldn¡¯t even ask Lapis what happened or keep his body up . He slowly sank to the ground, and at the same time his body fell sideways, Shayna crumbled away completely into white dust that seemed to cover Loren . ¡°Loren? Loren!?¡± Although he didn¡¯t know why, Loren knew for sure that this time he won¡¯t even be able to move a finger, and he completely let go of his consciousness, listening to Lapis call his name . Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Ch . 48: Resting After Waking ¡°Of course this is where I end up . ¡± Loren was lying on top of a hospital bed, listening to Lapis, who seemed to be in a bad mood . He silently looked up at the ceiling, trying not to look at her . The location was the city of Kauffa . Loren was lying in a room in one of the few hospitals in the city . ¡°Do you know how hard it was for me after that? You¡¯re way too heavy for me to carry with these thin arms of mine . Plus, you¡¯re way taller than me, you know? Your feet were dragging even when I carried you on my back . ¡± ¡°Yeah, my boots have cuts and sc . r . a . pes all over . I might have to get a new pair . ¡± His expenses would increase, but a pair of boots wasn¡¯t that expensive . While he was thinking about the cost of the boots and asking Chuck, who seemed like he would know much about this kind of thing, if he knew a place to get a cheap pair, Lapis¡¯ scolding continued . ¡°You were heavy enough, but I had to drag your great sword as well, you know? I believe that it would be fair for you to make up for this service, don¡¯t you think?¡± Loren¡¯s great sword was something a normal warrior would have trouble holding with both hands, but Lapis said that she was able to drag it, so he was able to get a general idea of how strong she was . ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that later . Anyways, hey Lapis?¡± ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± Lapis had been complaining the whole time, but when Loren spoke in a tired voice, she stopped doing so and answered him . Maybe she wasn¡¯t that mad, and she just wanted to complain . Or maybe she was just fast and clear when switching over . Loren had no idea, but he asked Lapis the one thing he had to know . ¡°What happened after that?¡± Shayna, who had become a No Life King . Loren had shattered the jewel on its chest and defeated it . Apparently normal No Life Kings didn¡¯t have weaknesses like that, so Loren knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat other ones in the same fashion, but anyways, he was able to defeat it and while it was disappearing, Shayna¡¯s consciousness returned . He remembered up to the point where he reached out to her to comfort her and took her hand . At that moment he felt that Shayna had whispered a few things to him, but he blacked out right after so he couldn¡¯t recall what they were, and so he decided that he needed to check with Lapis what happened after . ¡°The thing is, I¡¯m not sure . ¡± Lapis pulled up a chair next to the hospital bed and sat down . ¡°Loren, you went up to it as its body was crumbling, but that was really careless, you know? A > doesn¡¯t exactly die even after its body disappears . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Do you know that every living thing has two different bodies, Material and Astral?¡± Loren immediately shook his head . ¡°Material is the physical body . Astral can be considered as the spiritual body . The two of these merging together makes up the existence of a living being . This can be slightly confusing, but even if you damaged the material side, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that you damaged the astral side . ¡± Lapis peered into Loren¡¯s face, wondering if he understood . The explanation that Lapis gave was simple enough for Loren to understand, and he nodded for her to continue . ¡°There are only a few beings that are aware of both of them . The logic behind growing back missing limbs by using high rank Divine Arts is in this area, but I won¡¯t go into that . So, unless both of these bodies are destroyed, they won¡¯t truly die . ¡± Lapis then said that for beings that are not aware of the two types of bodies, the death of the material body is the definition of death . In that case, since the astral body is still alive, it is possible to revive them with the highest ranking Divine Arts, > . But even the astral body will weaken and eventually die if its material body isn¡¯t alive, so there is a time limit for reviving people . ¡°What is the difference between that and a ghost?¡± ¡°A ghost is an astral that has been rooted to this world, although it is but a shadow of its former self . Since it is but a shadow, it is impossible to resurrect it . Although it seems that necromancers are still researching this . ¡± ¡°I got what you¡¯re saying . But if the material dies, the astral will die as well, right?¡± ¡°But the thing is, if the being is aware of the two, even if the material is destroyed, it can live on for a while in its astral state . A > is one of those few beings . ¡± So what Lapis was trying to say was that although Shayna¡¯s body started to crumble from the recoil of the jewel, but that was just the material body, and was unsure of whether or not it was the same for the astral body . If the astral side was untouched, it was impossible to say that the No Life King had truly died, so Lapis was angry that Loren was too thoughtless . ¡°Well, you don¡¯t need that kind of information when you¡¯re a mercenary . I¡¯ll admit that I was careless, though . ¡± ¡°Yes, indeed . But in any case, the disappeared, and you only lost consciousness, so it seems that the recoil was powerful enough to destroy the astral body as well . ¡± Lapis voice had a bit of relief mixed in it . That meant that although she was angry about Loren¡¯s actions, she was worried about him, and Loren coughed, starting to feel slightly embarra . s . sed . But then something caught the corner of his eye . The only thing in front of his eyes was the ceiling, but at the corner he saw a small girl with wings wearing a dress . She was floating there, without needing to flap her wings . The girl, who was hovering in his sight ever since he regained consciousness, looked very similar to Shayna, and it seemed like Lapis couldn¡¯t see her at all . ¡°Falling unconscious¡­was that really all that happened?¡± Loren asked Lapis, worried that he hit his head really hard and something was wrong with his mind . Of course, he didn¡¯t mention anything about seeing a girl in the corner of his eye because he didn¡¯t want anyone to think that he had gone insane or something . ¡°You¡¯ve gone through a few examinations just in case, but you¡¯re quite healthy . But this time you were a lot more weakened than last time . You were one step away from dying, to be exact . ¡± Lapis, who had taken Loren back to the clinic in Hanza, was fl . u . s . tered at Loren¡¯s condition and made Klaus, who was already exhausted from defending the place, go get the four who were sleeping in the clinic and throw them in the caravan along with Loren . She then fastened him onto the horse and forced them to come all the way back to Kauffa . Thanks to their efforts, they were all able to survive, but Klaus, who was being worked overtime using > nonstop, pa . s . sed out completely and was currently confined to a bed with Ange and the other girls, now recovered, to look after him . He wasn¡¯t a bad person if he was just slightly more honest, so Loren hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be traumatized by this incident, but there was no way of him knowing . Of course, if he didn¡¯t work so hard, Loren might have died, so he was thankful . He decided that he should go meet him when he recovered, but then recalled what Lapis had said about his condition, and muttered quietly . ¡°The medical expenses were quite a bit, weren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been hospitalized for seven days, Loren . If you only count the hospital charges it would be about seventeen silver coins¡­but this time, there is an expense for something else . ¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°As I mentioned before, you were one step away from dying . It was a race against time, and your condition was so bad that normal treatments wouldn¡¯t have saved you in time . ¡± As Lapis crossed her arms, wondering how he could be so weakened even though he wasn¡¯t even injured, Loren sighed, knowing what direction this conversation was going . So basically he was almost dead and normal treatments wouldn¡¯t have worked, so in order to save him they did something that wasn¡¯t normal treatment . And because it wasn¡¯t a normal treatment, it cost extra . Loren could already see the conversation going in that direction, so he just asked Lapis . ¡°How much did it cost?¡± ¡°We used elixirs, which are one gold coin per bottle, and we used five of them . ¡± ¡°You know you could¡¯ve just let me die, right?¡± Five gold coins was a lot of money . But if it was for an elixir, which was the highest quality healing medicine, it made sense . But it was an amount that would make someone want to die again, so Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should be happy he didn¡¯t die, or if he should be sad that he didn¡¯t die peacefully . ¡®Onii-san . It might sound awkward coming from me, but if you¡¯re living, good things are bound to happen . ¡¯ Loren looked at Lapis in surprise as he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, but it seemed that the voice didn¡¯t reach Lapis, and she gave him a blank look when their eyes met . ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Onii-san . I doo feel sorry, but when I touched your hand, I thought ¡®I don¡¯t want to die¡¯, and so this happened . ¡¯ ¡°What the h . e . l . l?¡± Lapis continued to look at him with a blank face as he unknowingly muttered out loud, confused . The girl floating in his sight frantically waved her arms . ¡®Onii-san . You can talk to me even if you don¡¯t say it out loud . I¡¯m an astral body that¡¯s living in your material body, after all . ¡¯ {What about my privacy then?) As he replied with a sullen thought in his mind, the girl drooped, disheartened . ¡®I¡¯ll stay away from the deepest parts as much as I can . But¡­if it¡¯s going to cause you too much trouble, I¡¯ll leave immediately . ¡¯ (What will happen if you do?) ¡®I don¡¯t have a material body and can¡¯t reconstruct one, so I¡¯ll eventually disappear . ¡¯ (I can¡¯t tell you to leave after hearing that¡­) Loren didn¡¯t feel like he could be so cold hearted as to make someone who knows she¡¯s going to die, to leave . The thought that he had a girl living inside his mind gave him a heavy feeling, but he forcefully convinced himself that it could be solved over time and that there was no reason to be hasty . ¡°Umm¡­Loren? Is there something wrong? Are you not feeling well?¡± Since Loren stopped talking, Lapis, who was thinking maybe there was something wrong, asked him in a reserved voice . After replying that nothing was wrong, he said with resignation in his voice . ¡°It means that you paid the expenses in my stead, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes . Umm¡­I¡¯ll go ahead and add it to your debt . Along with the hospital charges and medicine and other things, it will be six gold coins and twenty silver coins . ¡± ¡°So it¡¯s right at thirty gold coins, huh¡­my debt¡¯s just getting larger and larger . ¡± ¡°The quest is considered a failure, but we will still get some hazard pay . They wouldn¡¯t believe that a No Life King appeared, but we will get rewards for the zombies and revenants . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it become an uproar? It was a city-state, but still, a whole nation perished . ¡± No one actually said that, but based on Lapis¡¯ speculation and Shutel¡¯s att . i . tude, it was likely that Hanza was no more, and thinking about the effect it would have on the nations around it was enough to hurt anyone¡¯s head . But Lapis¡¯ response to his words was a complicated one . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Well, the thing is¡­the herd of undead that was around Hanza disappeared completely . ¡± For some reason, the winged girl in the corner of his sight puffed out her chest . She looked like a fairy, but she was the astral body of the highest ranking undead, a No Life King . When he guessed that on the way back, she somehow took care of all the undead that were in the area, Shayna nodded, saying that he was right . ¡°Well in any case, the threat is gone, so I guess its fine . ¡± ¡°But because of that they wouldn¡¯t believe that a bone dragon appeared . ¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be helped . It just means that it¡¯ll take longer for me to repay my debt . ¡± ¡°For that matter, I don¡¯t really care whichever . ¡± At her words, Loren came to the realization that he was starting to not care about it either . While looking at Shayna fall on her face for some reason, he decided to rest and closed his eyes . Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Ch . 49: Hearing about Destruction A rumor was going around, that a city had been destroyed . ¡®They¡¯re probably talking about Hanza, right?¡¯ As the winged girl floating in the corner of his sight pointed out, Loren, sitting alone in the Adventurers Guild¡¯s bar, was staring at the cup of cheap alcohol in his hand . A village being destroyed wasn¡¯t that uncommon, but a whole city falling was bound to be a ruckus . Unlike villages, which popped up and disappeared all the time, a city was there for a long time and was more advanced, as well as have a name for itself . If something like that were to be destroyed, there would be many casualties of people and a . s . sets . On top of that, Loren wasn¡¯t completely unrelated when it came to the city of Hanza, and during his last quest, it was destroyed by a certain someone . There wasn¡¯t a public announcement, and it was under investigation from neighboring nations, but the city of Hanza and the villages around it were destroyed completely . Although it was on a small scale, a city-state had been destroyed, and the other city-states in the region glared at the remaining land . All of them saw it as an opportunity to expand their territory, but Hanza shared borders with several of them . People at the guild were betting on which one would attempt to seize it first . Of course, if they do it poorly, they will receive the label of an aggressor nation, and for now, none of the nations were too keen on getting their hands on the land, where the citizens all disappeared for an unknown reason, at a moment¡¯s notice . Apparently, the race to investigate and check out the empty land had developed to where bloodshed had started, but that was something Loren wasn¡¯t aware of . ¡®Liquor tastes pretty weird . This is the first time I¡¯ve had any . ¡¯ The girl who was curiously looking inside the cup in Loren¡¯s hand was the daughter of the president of Hanza, who Loren was supposed to take back to the city . The girl named Shayna, during the quest that Loren was on, was turned into the highest ranking undead, a >, by whoever it was that destroyed the nation, and was defeated by Loren . Of course, no matter how experienced of a mercenary Loren was, there was no way he could defeat a > on his own, and there were different reasons why he was able to, but anyways, this girl who had been defeated by Loren, cut off her spirit from her body and escaped death by possessing Loren¡¯s body, and has been doing so until the present . ¡°You can taste it?¡± Shayna raised a finger to her lips when Loren unthinkingly muttered out loud . Loren was the only one who could see the girl . At first, Loren thought she was a ghost floating around, but when he asked her, she said that she was just information reflected on his eyes, and it wasn¡¯t that her spirit was right there in front of him . When he asked her why, she said that if she let her spirit out, people who could see spirits could see her, and her existence would be exposed . Shayna¡¯s spirit currently existed within Loren¡¯s spirit, and when looked at from the outside, although they might feel something strange, Loren¡¯s spirit acted as a cloak and made hers hard to find . Loren did have some complaints about how his body was being used, but it didn¡¯t seem like there was anything weird happening to him, and there was no way he could tell Shayna to leave, since if she did, she would die completely, so he decided not to think about it . ¡®Our senses are linked, so I can sense what you¡¯re sensing up to a degree . ¡¯ At her response, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that there would be a problem or two that would emerge from that . It felt like it would be fine if he could discuss with his partner, who seemed to know everything, but although his partner was supposed to be a woman who was going by as a priestess, if he tried to tell her that he was sharing his body with an undead, he knew for a fact that it wouldn¡¯t bring anything good for him . ¡°A normal priest would try to exorcise¡­but I can¡¯t help but think she¡¯ll treat me like a guinea pig¡­¡± Loren knew she wouldn¡¯t do anything that might kill him, since they were in fact partners, but it also meant that as long as he didn¡¯t die, she could do anything she wanted with him . Loren decided that while there was nothing wrong, he would keep quiet about it, but when he thought about the fact that there was the spirit of a young girl inside him, an inexplicable feeling washed over him . A slight creepiness, an uncomfortable feeling . No need to worry . I usually have the sense sharing turned off, and I sleep early and wake up late . Loren wasn¡¯t sure how to express her current state, but he did think it was kind of strange for an existence that became an undead say that she slept early . ¡®I¡¯m also happy that you talk to me¡­but I think it is better if you don¡¯t talk out loud . People would look at you funny . ¡¯ Now that she mentioned it, Loren looked around slightly, and although there was quite a bit of people in the guild that day, he couldn¡¯t find anyone that was looking at him or making notice of him . It was unknown to him, but when he was there at the bar before, some adventurers had called him a freeloader . That time Loren had beat one of them up pretty bad, and Lapis, who was treated like his wallet, had injured the other one pretty bad as well . That incident had spread around quite a bit through the bar¡¯s waitresses, so unless the person hadn¡¯t heard about it, no one wanted to mess with him . Of course, if they saw the size of the great sword he had beside him and had sense to their mind, they would realize the strength and skill Loren must possess to be able to use it, and would keep from messing him with him, but there are always exceptions . ¡°Huh? Loren? Starting the morning with a drink again?¡± The person that called out to Loren was a girl wearing the clothes of a priestess, with her black hair tied up in a ponytail swaying behind her . The girl, whose looks would make eight, nine people out of ten look back at her if they walked past her, walked up to Loren¡¯s table with light footsteps and eyes sparkling with curiosity about pretty much anything, and without asking for permission, naturally sat down in the seat in front of him . ¡°Drinking without any food to go with it isn¡¯t good, you know? Ah, excuse me, could I have a cup of the same thing he¡¯s having?¡± The girl that stopped a waitress and started ordering things right after she sat down was Lapis, who had been working with Loren from a little while back . She was a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d, and was the lender of his debt, but in fact she was demon kin, who were the black sheep of the world, and was currently was living far away from the land of demon kin . ¡°Is it okay for priests to drink first thing in the day?¡± ¡°Nowhere in the precepts of the Knowledge G . o . d does it say that you can¡¯t drink . ¡± She said with a cool face as she took the gla . s . s that the waitress brought her . As Loren raised his gla . s . s to his lips, thinking that she could¡¯ve ordered something better, since she had the money to do so, Lapis held the gla . s . s that was handed to her with both hands, asked him wonderingly . ¡°By the way Loren, did you pay for that?¡± ¡°I paid before I got it . Got the hazard pay from last job, after all . ¡± The last job itself was the incident where Hanza was destroyed and Shayna became an undead . For the job itself, Shayna was considered dead, the city was destroyed, so it was far from being a success, so it was considered a failure, and although it wasn¡¯t because Loren fought a >, it was the cause of him weakening and getting hospitalized . The job had him at a deficit, but he still received subjugation rewards for the zombies and revenants he defeated along the way, and although it wasn¡¯t even close to being enough to pay back his debt, he did have some money on him . He used that money to pay for his drink, but as soon as he said that he did, Lapis gazed at him with disbelief, dumbfounded . ¡°Loren¡­actually paid!?¡± ¡°Hey, why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°But¡­It¡¯s Loren we¡¯re talking about you know?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act all surprised like that . Shouldn¡¯t you be telling me to pay my debt instead of using it on drinks?¡± ¡°I told you I won¡¯t extort . ¡± That was indeed one of the conditions for Loren to borrow money from her . But if she actually wasn¡¯t going to do so, it kind of thinned the feeling of reality that he had borrowed money from her . In addition to that, Lapis wasn¡¯t going to put interest on it, either . Loren thought that if she wanted to make his debt larger, she should put interest on it, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to be concerned about that at all . ¡°I¡¯m not trying to make money off of you, anyway . ¡± Lapis said as she took sips of liquor from her gla . s . s, but if that were true, Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she wanted to accomplish by lending him all that money . ¡°Thirty gold coins isn¡¯t an amount that you could return easily, either . ¡± Several adventurers sitting near them spewed the drinks in their mouths or choked on their food and started coughing when they heard the amount that rolled off Lapis tongue . Loren spun the gla . s . s in his hand lightly, knowing it couldn¡¯t be helped . The amount that Lapis just mentioned was the total that he had borrowed from Lapis, but if you think about it normally, it was an unbelievable amount . Three gold coins was enough for a family of four to live well for a year . This meant that Loren borrowed the ten years¡¯ worth of living expenses for a family of four . ¡°I guess adventurers don¡¯t make that much, huh . ¡± If they were surprised, Loren guessed that it meant thirty gold coins was a lot of money . But when Loren was in the battlefield back when he was a mercenary, among the generals and well-known mercenaries, quite a few them had magic weapons and armor that costed hundreds of gold coins . It wasn¡¯t once or twice Loren had thought that if they died in battle, he could take those for himself . It meant that generals and mercenaries could make that much and have connections that let them get their hands on such equipment, and Loren decided that compared to that, a debt of thirty gold coins wasn¡¯t too bad . ¡°It¡¯s not that adventurers don¡¯t make a lot, its that they don¡¯t know how to make profit . ¡± Lapis said that with a cool face, but for the last quest, Lapis had the same treatment as Loren did, and would be at quite a deficit . But since she said that with such confidence, his curiosity got the best of him, so he asked her . ¡°So, you mean that you made profit out of the last job?¡± ¡°Yes, of course . ¡± Lapis answered like it wasn¡¯t a surprise, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she did and where she went to be able to brag so confidently about making profit . ¡°We didn¡¯t get that much for defeating the zombies, right?¡± ¡°It was only a little bit . ¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t spend much for preparations so that was enough to be profit?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Lapis leaned forward onto the table and lowered her voice . When Loren followed her and leaned forward onto the table as well, Lapis covered her mouth with her hand and whispered . ¡°I picked up quite a few things¡­¡± ¡°Wait a second . ¡± ¡°Even if you tell me to return them, there¡¯s no one for me to return them to . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± She had a point . The whole nation had perished, so as Lapis said, even if she took something from there, there was no one to give it back to . ¡°It¡¯s not a large amount . I was too focused on carrying you . I just took some stuff from the clinic and the shops around it . Oh, and I also brought the simple furnace that you made, so don¡¯t worry . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem¡­I guess it¡¯s fine . ¡± There were no people in Hanza, and there wasn¡¯t a government either, so it was basically a lawless area . People that go there would of course, take whatever they could find, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that it was better for the stuff to be in Lapis¡¯ hands than people like that . That was why he stopped pursuing the matter, but he decided that he should still say something, so he declared . ¡°This time it¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t make it a habit . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . I¡¯ll be careful about that . ¡± Lapis nodded obediently, but how much that meant would be unknown until the time came, so Loren gulped the rest of the liquor in his gla . s . s while glancing at Shayna, who had a troubled smile on her face . Chapter 50 Chapter 50 Ch . 50: Accepting the Job ¡°By the way Loren, I forgot to mention something important . ¡± Loren moved away from Lapis, who was still leaned towards him, telling him that she wasn¡¯t done talking, and ordered another drink from a pa . s . sing waitress . She gave him an awkward expression when he put the coins that paid for it in her hand, but immediately switched to a customer service smile and walked away across the counter . Loren was shocked at the fact that even the waitresses might be thinking that it was weird for him to pay, but Lapis reached over, grabbed his shoulder, and forced him to turn and face her, not giving him a chance to be upset . ¡°Are you listening?¡± ¡°Yeah . What did you forget?¡± ¡°As you may know, I have a mission . ¡± Lapis sat back down in her chair, satisfied that Loren faced back towards her, but Loren had no idea what she was talking about, and c . o . c . ked his head with a suspicious look . ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°My arms and legs and eyes . ¡± When she said that, Loren remembered that her limbs and eyes were prosthetics, but c . o . c . ked his head again, wondering if it was as extravagant to say that it was her mission . ¡°Other than my mission to gain experience in this world and become a great person, I had a mission to recover my body parts . ¡± ¡°You were searching for them?¡± ¡°Yes¡­but sometimes I think maybe it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t . ¡± Shayna tripped when Lapis said so nonchalantly . Loren worried that if this was enough to make her trip, she would hurt her knees or her waist, but then remembered she was astral and there was no need to worry about that . ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m looking for parts of me . ¡± ¡®Umm, what exactly is Lapis?¡¯ Shayna asked Loren, who was looking at Lapis, who was emphasizing what she said by raising her fist . Loren thought about how to explain it to her but guessed that since the girl in front of him was in fact a No Life King, and even if she found about Lapis¡¯ ident . i . ty, she wouldn¡¯t go around telling people, so he silently told her what Lapis was . ¡®Demon kin, I see . It makes sense . After becoming what I am right now, I can see that she isn¡¯t human, but she wasn¡¯t anything I¡¯ve seen before, so it makes sense that she¡¯s demon kin . ¡¯ Loren was impressed that she found out so much by herself . Shayna gave him a proud look, then pointed at the great sword next to him . ¡®That¡¯s not an ordinary great sword, either . I¡¯ll have to observe it more to know details, but it seems to be able to easily break through the defensive barriers of a No Life King, as well as heal you . ¡¯ Loren looked down at the great sword, thinking if what Shayna just said was true . When he fought the Shayna before, his attacks reached her without any problem . This was against a No Life King, which had strong defenses against both physical and magical attacks . Loren had figured that the curiosity-filled demon in front of him had something to do with it, but when he thought that it was something Lapis had readied for him, he also thought that if it was from Lapis, it wasn¡¯t strange for it to have such abilities . Loren then unexpectedly felt soft hands on his cheeks, and his head was forced in the direction of Lapis . ¡°Loren? Are you listening?¡± ¡°My bad, I wasn¡¯t . ¡± Loren decided that being honest was better than telling her that he was listening, then have it backfire on him . Lapis let out a discontented growl, but immediately released him, put her hands on the table, leaned over close to his face, and said with a stronger tone . ¡°I¡¯ll say it again, okay? I¡¯ve located a place where a part of me might be . ¡± ¡°Which means that our next job has something to do with that place, right?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Lapis showed him a quest form that she must have gotten from the quest board with a beaming smile . She rotated the form towards Loren, and after looking through it, Loren stared at Lapis¡¯ face . ¡°It¡¯s a bit embarra . s . sing if you look at me like that . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that . You sure this is really a quest meant for adventurers? The explanation on the form was indeed something that would make Loren stare at Lapis suspiciously . Seeing Lapis smile and nod, as if to say of course, he went over the form again to reconfirm what he had just read . This is what it said . ¡®By Volf Adventurer Training School This year¡¯s graduate practical training will be combat training in the school¡¯s underground dungeon . We have put out this quest because we want adventurers to accompany them . The reward is thirty silver coins per person . We request that you accompany this year¡¯s graduates into the dungeon . At the same time, escort them when needed . ¡¯ ¡°Adventurers are trained?¡± Loren looked around at the adventurers sitting near him, finding that hard to believe . Not that he was any better but seeing them drinking and babbling first thing in the morning, it was hard to believe that they were trained . Loren himself wasn¡¯t trained, and yet he called himself an adventurer . At Loren¡¯s question, Lapis replied slowly, as if choosing her words carefully . ¡°On paper, that¡¯s their goal¡­but if I remember correctly, they¡¯re an inst . i . tution that take talented children of aristocrats and citizens and raise them into future heroes and braves . ¡± ¡°Like Klaus?¡± Loren recalled the red headed young man that he met during the quest to Hanza . Klaus had a Gift, abilities that only those with the apt . i . tude for being a hero or a brave, was rumored to have the backup of the adventurers¡¯ guild or some nation, and to Loren, the image of a trained adventurer fit him perfectly . ¡°Yes, Klaus probably graduated from such an inst . i . tution . ¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not really on board with this job . ¡± To put it simply, it was an inst . i . tution that raised people like Klaus, and it meant that there might be many with similar personalities as him . Loren didn¡¯t mind being looked down upon too much, but if someone asked him if he was fine with going where a lot of those kind of people were, he would have to say no . ¡°So, what does this final exam and what you¡¯re looking have in common in the first place?¡± ¡°So, this Volf Adventurer Training School has a large dungeon underneath it . ¡± Lapis told Loren that there were quite a few dungeons around the world and building an adventure training school on top of it was quite common . The various tools and resources found in the dungeons was what brought people to it, then people start businesses off it, the businesses then bring even more people, and the area will continue to develop . The reason for building a school on top of a dungeon was by doing so, teachers with abilities above a certain level would gather, and talented youngsters would gather and be taught under their guidance . These talents would be the force against the dungeon if anything were to happen, and the school itself was expected to be a lid for the dungeon entrance . ¡°Usually only the shallow floors are open to students, but for this particular training, the whole thing is opened . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s school property, right? Isn¡¯t it okay to just go in there as adventurers?¡± ¡°If it was a different dungeon, yes . ¡± Lapis frowned as she continued . ¡°The dungeon under Volf Adventurer Training School is a bit of an exception . The school¡¯s executive rights to the dungeon has been recognized, so outsiders can¡¯t step in . ¡± ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Loren didn¡¯t understand the merits of having exclusive use of a dungeon . The resources inside of it was traded on the market expensively, but not allowing people to go in would bring complaints from adventurers, and it didn¡¯t seem like the students and teachers there would be able to make a lot of money from exploring it . ¡°There are many speculations . Its difficulty is low compared to its size, there lies resources that they want to themselves, something is sealed underneath, there might be troubles that occur if they let people who don¡¯t understand the situation step inside . ¡± Lapis believed that all of them were just rumors, and the only fact was that the Volf Adventurer Training School had exclusive rights to the dungeon underneath it . ¡°I¡¯m not that interested, but what you¡¯re looking for is down in that dungeon, right?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a high probability, I believe . ¡± Only for that part did Lapis nod with a serious look on her face, and Loren let out a long, thin sigh . ¡°I guess it¡¯s fine . It¡¯s not like we have any other jobs to do . Let¡¯s go with that one . ¡± ¡°As expected of Loren, you make it so much easier . I¡¯ll go sign up the two of us . Leave the transportation and preparation to me . ¡± As soon as she got Loren¡¯s approval, Lapis s . n . a . t . c . hed up the quest form and started walking over to the guild area with delighted steps . As Loren saw her off, a waitress brought the gla . s . s of cheap liquor he had ordered, and when he received it, although it didn¡¯t even taste good, he took a large mouthful . ¡®Onii-san . Isn¡¯t your weapon a bit too large for exploring dungeons?¡¯ The great sword that Loren had used before was quite large as well, but the pitch-black great sword he was currently using was even longer than that . It wasn¡¯t made for skirmishes in tight spots, and it hadn¡¯t been long since he started using it, so he couldn¡¯t use it at the level that he used his old great sword, which he had been able to use like a part of his body . Therefore, when it came to going into tight s . p . a . ces like dungeons, he might not be able to use it sufficiently enough . ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a bit wide enough, I can still use it pretty well . ¡± If the job description was correct, the main job was to accompany the school¡¯s students, not fight something . In the case of an emergency they would have to fight to keep the students from dying, but Loren was being optimistic, thinking that if wasn¡¯t, there was no need to fight at all . ¡®I think it would be better to have some sort of spare weapon . ¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­my debt would increase even more . ¡± Although he knew Lapis wouldn¡¯t come to collect it herself, having his debt increase wasn¡¯t something he felt good about . He would need a good amount of silver coins, even for just an ordinary weapon . ¡°If I¡¯m not careful, I might be forced to buy something weird¡­I guess I¡¯ll ready a dagger somehow . ¡± The hazard pay that he received should be enough for that much at least, and even if he couldn¡¯t he could buy sc . r . a . p iron and use the little furnace that Lapis had brought back from Hanza and make one . Even if he were to do so, he would have to do it in secret, or Lapis might get upset that he didn¡¯t rely on her, and Loren swirled his gla . s . s of cheap liquor, thinking about how troublesome it was . Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Ch . 51: Reunion After Arrival ¡°So, why are you here?¡± When Loren asked the red headed man in a not-so-friendly voice, the man flinched, but managed to answer him in a clear voice . ¡°What¡¯s so bad about me taking a job for my alma mater?¡± In front of Loren, who was surprised at how small the world was, sat Klaus, who he had worked together with on his last job . Since copper ranks like him and Lapis was able to go on the same question as iron ranks like Klaus and his party, it meant that the quest had no rank limitations . Sitting next to Klaus was the magician named Ange, the knight named Layla, and the priestess named Roll . After Loren and Lapis had decided to take the job at the adventurer training school, Lapis had gone and registered them and prepared . The next day, when they boarded the carriage that the guild provided, they met Klaus and his party inside . ¡°Weren¡¯t you hospitalized?¡± ¡°I was . Since that priestess of yours treated me like a dog . ¡± Even though Klaus put it like that, all Lapis did was smile, and didn¡¯t react to it . ¡°It was just mental damage and bruises from being whipped so I was able to get out after they healed . We decided on this job since we agreed on taking a simple job after what happened during the last one . ¡± ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is that this job is easy?¡± ¡°If nothing happens, yeah . All you need to do is follow the students . Easy, right?¡± Something about Klaus¡¯ words nagged at him, but it did sound like an easy job . In any case, Loren¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to follow the students and earn money, but it was to go inside the dungeon and search for Lapis¡¯ body part, which meant he had to think of ways to either do so without them noticing, or luring them towards where he wanted to go, making his job far from being easy . ¡°Most of the students who take this exam are pretty capable . The only monsters you meet in the early floors are low rank ones like goblins and cobolts . It¡¯s more difficult for a problem to happen than them failing the exam . ¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t underestimate goblins . You should be wary of them . ¡± Klaus stirred slightly at Loren¡¯s quiet mutter . Goblins were monsters that even villagers who were slightly strong could defeat, and it wasn¡¯t clear what to be wary about . But he felt the weight of Loren¡¯s words, and knew he couldn¡¯t ignore them . ¡°This is an honest warning . Remember it . ¡± ¡°I-I see . I¡¯ll keep that in mind . ¡± For a second, Klaus thought Loren was joking, but judging from his voice and expression, he understood that Loren was indeed giving him a warning and decided to receive it honestly . ¡°Anyways, one of yours has been glancing at me the whole time . Does she want something from me?¡± Loren had noticed the gaze of Ange moving between him and outside the carriage ever since the conversation between him and Klaus started . Ange seemed to think that she hadn¡¯t been noticed, but to Loren, it was so obvious, he wondered if she really thought he hadn¡¯t noticed . Getting looks wasn¡¯t the most comfortable, so he decided to ask . ¡°Oh, Ange¡­come on, Ange . ¡± ¡°Well¡­I heard that you were the one who saved me during the last job . ¡± When they were moving together during the last quest, an attack from a bone dragon had left Ange with critical injuries . During that attack, Loren had saved her from the dragon¡¯s jaws . Ange had learned this not long ago from the rest of her party and had been stealing glances at Loren because of that . ¡°I guess something like that might¡¯ve happened . ¡± ¡°Please let me thank you, Loren . If you didn¡¯t save me there, I would¡¯ve died back there . ¡± ¡°Sorry about taking away your boyfriend¡¯s highlight there . He¡¯ll definitely save you next time . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t say that out of sarcasm, but because he realized during the last quest that Klaus had feelings for Ange, and the next time the situation occurred, Klaus would do so . ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll look forward to that . ¡± ¡°Something like that not happening again is the best, though . ¡± Although a hero arriving in the moment of need sounded good, Loren believed that not getting into such situation in the first place was important . ¡°Ange, I¡¯ll try my best to meet your expectations . ¡± ¡°Klaus¡­¡± Loren looked away as they locked hands and stared into each other¡¯s eyes . The carriage that the guild had readied wasn¡¯t that large, and the only parties that accepted the quest was Loren¡¯s and Klaus¡¯, so they were the only ones in there . And currently there was a pair of a young man and a young woman looking at each other, holding hands, and whispering sweet things to each other . It couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren felt uncomfortable, so he looked around the carriage, holding back the urge to jump out, and saw Layla and Roll in bad moods, glaring at the two, who were in their own little world . Meanwhile Lapis¡¯ empty eyes wandered all over the place, with a face like she had reached enlightenment . Loren wished they would hurry up and arrive at their destination, but physical distance wasn¡¯t something that would grow shorter by wishing or praying for it to do so . From the description given when they left Kauffa, even though they left early in the morning, they wouldn¡¯t reach the city which the Volf Adventurer Training School was located until in the evening . Loren concluded that he should just go to sleep . Someone in his former mercenary group had said, most things pa . s . s while you¡¯re asleep, and when he heard those words, he thought that it was just the words of a lazy person, but in his current situation, those words seemed like gold to him . ¡°Lapis, I¡¯m going to go to sleep . Wake me up later . ¡± ¡°Okay, Loren . Sweet dreams . ¡± Loren faced out the window and closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him, listening to Lapis¡¯, who sounded like she was keeping something bottled up in order to make herself sound calm . How much time had pa . s . sed since then? Loren woke up to a light shaking . He shook his head to get the rest of the sleep out and raised his body from leaning against the wall of the carriage and then realized that Lapis was shaking his shoulder . ¡°The driver says that we¡¯ll arrive at the city soon . ¡± ¡°I see . Thanks for waking me . ¡± ¡°No problem . ¡± When Loren looked away from Lapis and into the carriage, Loren was surprised at the sight before his eyes . Klaus and the girls, who had been sitting in front of him, were all fast asleep, snoring with their mouths wide open . He wouldn¡¯t have thought much of it if it was just one or two of them, but seeing that it was all four of them, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel there was something artificial about it and glared at Lapis . ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°They built out such a pink atmosphere, I used > without thinking . ¡± Loren realized he made a mistake . Because he had escaped into sleep first, there was no one to stop Lapis¡¯ acts . If Loren was awake, he could¡¯ve stopped Lapis from using magic, but with extreme stress piling up and no one to stop her, she had taken hard measures . ¡°Don¡¯t you think this is a bit too rough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay . I used the spell secretly, so they shouldn¡¯t remember it . ¡± Although Lapis said it with confidence, Loren couldn¡¯t fully trust her . A priestess being able to use magic was already abnormal, but to use that magic on people that weren¡¯t even enemies was, thinking from common sense, wasn¡¯t something tolerable . While Loren worried that if one of them somehow noticed, it could bring about a critical result, Shayna made a large circle with her arms . ¡®It¡¯s okay, Onii-san . The red-headed person and the others fell asleep without noticing anything . ¡¯ When he asked her how she knew, after he went to sleep, she apparently pulled her astral body away from his and examined what was happening outside, and that was when Lapis used her spell against Klaus . ¡®I only went out for a bit, so Lapis didn¡¯t see me . ¡¯ He wasn¡¯t sure if Lapis could see Shayna in her astral form, but it was easier to set up measures if he a . s . sumed that she could . Shayna nodded solemnly when he thought they could never be too careful . ¡°Is something wrong, Loren?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing . Just getting a slight headache from this situation . ¡± ¡°I see, take care . Anyways, that¡¯s our destination . A long time had pa . s . sed during his sleep, with the sun¡¯s rays slowly turning redder and redder, and from the window, Loren could see a large city in the distance . Kauffa was quite the size when you looked at it from the outside, but this city was even larger, and Lapis told him that it was called Montelgal, and that it was a trading city . It wasn¡¯t that it had a local specialty or anything of the sort, but the resources and tools the adventurer training school distributed to the stores was what stimulated business across the city . ¡°On top of that, children of aristocrats who enroll in the school as well as their relatives come and go frequently, so merchants who target them gather as well, so there¡¯s a lot of activity . ¡± ¡°Not a kind of place I¡¯m familiar with . ¡± It was common for normal residents to distance themselves from mercenaries . It couldn¡¯t be helped, because it was a job that made a living off a detestable action called war . The mercenary group Loren was in was quite disciplined compared to most, but they weren¡¯t everyone, and sometimes there were people who didn¡¯t look any different from bandits . That was why they weren¡¯t welcome in lively places with normal people, so they naturally grouped with their own . Lapis took a sharp breath as she guessed those situations from Loren¡¯s casual remark, but immediately replied . ¡°You¡¯re an adventurer now, so now it¡¯ll become a place that you¡¯ll be familiar with . ¡± ¡°Could be . ¡± ¡°Of course, it will . Oh, when we arrive, we¡¯re going to go straight to the adventurer¡¯s guild, so getting a room will be after that . ¡± She knew how tired both were, so Loren asked her . ¡°It can¡¯t wait until after we get rooms?¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s already this late, if we go to the inn first, the reception will close . We need to report that we arrived safely, and that we are the ones who accepted the job . ¡± ¡°Would there still be rooms left?¡± Loren guessed that since it was a lively city, rooms would be quick to fill up . When he was a mercenary, it was common for them to race for rooms at inns that accepted mercenaries, and those who lost had to camp outside the city . ¡°It should be fine, but in the worst case, we can get the guild to show us alternatives . It¡¯s a guild in a large city like this, so they should have a few places . ¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wake Klaus and the girls?¡± They were on the same quest as them . It hadn¡¯t been long since they met, but Loren believed that Klaus the girls weren¡¯t bad people and didn¡¯t want them to oversleep . ¡°Let¡¯s wake them up when we get a bit closer . If they start playing up again, my killing intent will start surging up again . ¡± ¡°Agreed . ¡± Loren agreed to Lapis¡¯ excuse, knowing that they didn¡¯t mean harm, but it wasn¡¯t tolerable for those who were watching, either . Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Ch . 52: Encounter After Arrival Although the carriage was stopped at the city entrance, it was sent into the city without much of a search . The other travelers were searched thoroughly, and when Loren traveled to different cities when he was a mercenary, they would be searched and examined very strictly and took a very long time before they could enter, but they were let in so easily it was quite anticlimactic . According to Lapis, the carriage itself was prepared by the adventurer¡¯s guild, and the driver was a guild staff as well, so it pretty much meant that the guild vouched for them, so they were able to enter without harsh examination . Although one may think that if you disguised your carriage as the guild¡¯s or steal one you could enter and leave any city you want to, but Lapis explained that there were pa . s . swords and keys that linked the carriage to the driver, so if one of them were wrong, the carriage would not be considered one of the guild¡¯s . Also, there was a heavy regulation that anyone caught disguising his carriage as the guild¡¯s or using it illegally would receive the maximum penalty, regardless of who it is . In any case, after they safely entered the city and were swayed by the carriage a while longer, they reached the city¡¯s adventurer¡¯s guild . After thanking the driver and getting off the carriage, they realized that they forgot to wake up Klaus and the girls, but they told themselves that they would wake up on their own, or the driver would wake them up, and went to take care of their work . Their actual job was to be at the school, so all they had to do right now was report to the guild that they arrived, and hand them the certificate they had received when they accepted the quest back in Kauffa, so they were done in no time . ¡°Let¡¯s ask one of the staffs about rooms, and let¡¯s take a good night¡¯s rest . ¡± It was already dark outside, and the school was already closed, so if they were to go there the next day, all they had to do was rent rooms and rest . Lapis wasn¡¯t one that liked to go to noisy places, and although Loren had been taken to the entertainment district by his fellow mercenaries when they visited cities like this, currently there was no one to invite him, and he didn¡¯t know the city well anyway, and if he wanted to drink he could do so at the guild, so there was no reason for him to go out . ¡°For tomorrow, is it fine to go to the school after breakfast and meet our client, the princ . i . p . al, for instructions?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine with me, but is it okay for us to be so laid back?¡± ¡°I heard that they choose teams to enter after the accompaniment arrives, so they don¡¯t enter the dungeon all at once . ¡± ¡°That¡­could be troublesome . ¡± Hearing Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis gave him a curious look and asked him a question . ¡°What¡¯s troublesome?¡± ¡°There¡¯s going to be a few teams that enter the dungeon, right? If all of them go in at once, I don¡¯t know how large the dungeon is, but they would know that a few allies would be in there with them . ¡± ¡°Ah, so if only one team enters, they would be in there alone and unaided, so the difficulty could increase . ¡± ¡°Exactly . Well, for your own goals, would it be more convenient if only a few of them go in the dungeon?¡± Even though the job was to accompany the testing group that entered the dungeon, they also had to search for Lapis¡¯ body part, and they would have to move around the dungeon without anyone else noticing . Loren thought that if there were other groups near them, it meant a higher chance of Lapis getting seen while moving on her own and wouldn¡¯t be favorable for Lapis . ¡°Well in that case, there¡¯s other ways of doing things . ¡± ¡°Give me an example, just for reference . ¡± Loren asked her, knowing that she would give him a good-for-nothing answer, and Lapis answered him in a matter-of-fact way . ¡°Disable all of them¡­¡± ¡°Right, got it . Only a few of them going in would be more favorable to me than you . ¡± The thought of rendering students unable to move, even if it was for the sake of Lapis, made Loren¡¯s heart ache . Loren was willing to help her if she was going to try to be secretive, but when the thought of ¡®when it comes to disabling students¡¯ crossed his mind, he realized that he was a . s . suming that she would make him do it somehow, so he shook his head to chase those thoughts out of his head . ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry . I¡¯ll take care of it easily in secret, without them even realizing it . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t . They¡¯re students taking an exam, you know? How are you going to take responsibility if they fail?¡± ¡°There¡¯s always next year . ¡± ¡°You know I won¡¯t help you with that, right?¡± ¡°I bet you won¡¯t . ¡± Lapis stated without any disappointment . As Loren thought that if she did attempt to do so, he would have to stop her, Lapis gave him a nonchalant smile and waved her hands in front of her chest . ¡°I¡¯m just joking, okay? I¡¯ll fine some other way when the time comes . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re jokes make my blood run cold, you know that¡­?¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s warm it up with some drinks and food, shall we?¡± Lapis invited Loren to the guild¡¯s bar, saying that it was a good time to get dinner . Unlike the guild in Kauffa, the staff in this guild had no way of knowing about Loren¡¯s situation . At Kauffa¡¯s guild, the waitresses would take Loren¡¯s order even if he didn¡¯t have any money because they knew that Lapis would come afterwards and pay for it, but it didn¡¯t work that way at other places, so Loren¡¯s only options was to find some way to pay for food with the money he had or eat with her . ¡°You¡¯re not going to say that you want to eat all alone, right?¡± ¡°Of course not . ¡± Meals eaten alone didn¡¯t taste that good . Loren possessed enough sentiment to feel that . ¡°Then let¡¯s eat together . It seems that we don¡¯t have to worry about rooms, either . ¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°This guild runs an inn in the floors above . I went ahead and rented two rooms, so we don¡¯t have to worry about sleeping outside . ¡± Loren was familiar with bars running inns in the same building, but he didn¡¯t expect the adventurer¡¯s guild to run both a bar and an inn . One would think, how many things the guild was dealing in, but both bars and inns were facilities that adventurers needed and thinking about how some guilds ran weapon and equipment shops as well, it wasn¡¯t that surprising . ¡°We don¡¯t know how long we would be in the dungeon until we hear the details tomorrow . We might have to live off rations for a while, so let¡¯s treat ourselves to some good food . ¡± Even Lapis couldn¡¯t get her hands on details such as how long the exam was going to be, but when adventurers went to explore dungeons, they would be in there for days, even weeks sometimes . It was almost impossible to find food or water inside dungeons, and the food and water they bring with them had to be compact as possible, so they would end up eating rations the whole time . This time they were going in with students, so Lapis guessed that it wouldn¡¯t be that long, but also guessed that the school might limit food to rations to let the students get used to it . ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think there is a need for us to do the same as them but eating good food right next to students eating rations doesn¡¯t feel too good either, though . ¡± ¡°I agree with you on that one . ¡± Loren sat down at the corner of the bar, but he pushed the menu towards Lapis without even looking through it . Lapis, who was looking through the menu, trying to decide what to order, saw the menu that Loren pushed towards her and gave him a puzzled look . ¡°Order mine too . You¡¯re paying anyway . ¡± ¡°You can order what you want, you know?¡± Lapis said so, without denying the fact that she was paying, but Loren shrugged . ¡°I¡¯ve eaten at bars often when I was a mercenary, and the only thing we¡¯ve said when ordering was ¡®give us meat and alcohol¡¯, and we would get our food . I don¡¯t know what I should order . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s interesting¡­What did you do say in Kauffa?¡± ¡°The waitress gave me recommendations . ¡± Since Loren was at the guild¡¯s bar very often, he became acquaintances with the waitresses that worked there . At first, Loren asked them to give him food and drinks, but after getting friendly with each other, they started giving him recommendations and told him which dishes were good and to try them at least once . Loren was thankful for the information, as he didn¡¯t really care about food, but it was the first time he¡¯d been in this guild¡¯s bar and didn¡¯t know any of the waitresses . He guessed that he would just have to order food and alcohol, but since he was with Lapis, he decided to leave everything up to her . ¡°You should show some interest in this kind of thing too, you know?¡± ¡°On the battlefield, if you have food, that¡¯s more than you could ask for . You¡¯re lucky if it tastes good, but as long as it filled your stomach it¡¯s fine if it doesn¡¯t, right?¡± Not having any food wasn¡¯t uncommon, so it was quant . i . ty over quality . It wasn¡¯t once or twice that eating wasn¡¯t something to enjoy, but instead it was an action to keep you from starving . After going through such experiences repeatedly, you would stop caring what went in your mouth . ¡°That¡¯s pretty dull, but then again, it was when you were a mercenary . ¡± While muttering under her breath, that she just needed to slowly reform him, Lapis started thinking about what to order for Loren . Leaving that to her, Loren looked around the bar . The atmosphere wasn¡¯t much different that the bar in Kauffa . A fun atmosphere that was sometimes noisy, sometimes unruly, and a bit dirty . As Loren thought that the atmosphere shouldn¡¯t be too different because it was used in the same way, he narrowed his eyes at a group that was out of place . It was a very young group . The group seemed unbalanced, with three men and one woman, but they seemed quite friendly with each other, and were talking too each other in hushed voices, glancing around the bar with curiosity . In front of them was a simple meal and cups, they didn¡¯t look like they contained alcohol . He started observing them, thinking that it was rare for adventurers to come to a bar and not drink alcohol, but his sight immediately blocked by a group of rough-looking adventurers . One of the adventures from the group began to bother the lively looking girl with short black hair . Her companions, the three young men, stood up to stop him, but the rest of his group blocked them and couldn¡¯t help her . After confirming that the girl looked uncomfortable and her companions were getting blocked by the other adventurers, Loren stood up from his seat, not saying anything to Lapis, who was still looking at the menu . Bothering waitresses and employees was common among mercenaries as well, and it was laughed off if it didn¡¯t go too far, but if a mercenary did that to a customer, as he was, he couldn¡¯t complain if he got beaten up by the rest of his group . To Loren, who had been taught that by his former companions, couldn¡¯t ignore what was happening in front of his eyes . ¡°Loren?¡± Lapis stopped Loren, who had started to move towards the quarrel, without looking away from the menu, and told him . ¡°I don¡¯t mind you doing it, but don¡¯t kill them, okay? You don¡¯t want to go to prison before we even start the job, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know . I¡¯ll go easy on them . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s disturbing other customers, so go shut them up quickly . ¡± Lapis told Loren that she would order the food in the meanwhile, not worried about him at all, and Loren told her to leave it to him, and continued walking over to the quarrel that was still going on . Chapter 53 Chapter 53 Ch . 53: A Warning After the Interruption Loren, walking over to where the dispute was taking place after receiving Lapis¡¯ unmotivated sendoff, was surprised when he saw the group who seemed to be the victims . He knew that they were young, since he had seen them from afar, but when he got closer, he saw that they were still at an age that could be considered children . To Loren, they looked around fourteen or fifteen, which was still considered as children . It depended on the region, but most places considered sixteen to be the start of adulthood . The group of adventurers that were bothering them were a lot older than them . One of the adventurers, who was a few years older than Loren, grabbed the hand of the girl and tried to pull her away . The girl getting pulled away had short black hair and looked lively, but her face was colored with surprise and confusion . The three boys that were trying to stop it from happening yet being cut off by the other adventurers was a well-built boy with a blonde crew cut, a frivolous looking boy with slightly long brown hair, and a short, timid looking boy, also with brown hair that was in a bowl cut, wearing clothes like those of a priest . While Loren looked around at them, both the kids and the adventurers froze, looking dumbfounded, as they saw him walking towards them . ¡°W-who are you supposed to be?¡± The adventurer grabbing the girl¡¯s arm asked him who he was . Loren didn¡¯t answer him, but instead observed the face of the girl who had her arm held for a while . After a moment, as the girl looked back at him, wondering what he was about, Loren asked her . ¡°You¡¯re not playing with each other, right?¡± ¡°N-no! They suddenly told me to drink with them¡­¡± ¡°Ha! We saw some kids wandering around in the bar this late, so we just said that we¡¯ll show you how to play!¡± The girl tried to shake him off, but she wasn¡¯t a match for him, and the adventurer still had a tight grip on her . After confirming the situation, he asked the three boys that were being held back by the adventurers . ¡°You guys need help?¡± ¡®P-please help!¡± ¡°Shut up! We don¡¯t need help!¡± ¡°Cloud!¡± The one that asked for help was the well-build boy with the blonde crew cut . The one who made the bullish remark was the frivolous looking boy, and the one that stopped him was the one with the bowl cut . The boy with the crew cut had a better physique than the other two, but since he was the first one to ask for help, Loren guessed that he was either timid or he was that desperate, and both weren¡¯t good tendencies . But since he walked over to help them, he decided that their personalities weren¡¯t of importance . ¡°The h . e . l . l, are you? You trying to poke your nose into our business? No one called you, so back off!¡± The adventurer holding the girl¡¯s arm started ranting, but Loren paid no attention and grabbed his wrist . ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s smart for kids to be in a bar, you know?¡± An ominous noise sounded from where Loren was grabbing the adventurer¡¯s wrist . The adventurer was forced to realize what the sound was before he could even start to wonder what it was . It was the sound of his flesh and bones screaming . While his bones were creaking, his flesh was being crushed, blood circulation stopping, and his fingers becoming numb, Loren looked into his eyes and continued, without even batting an eye . ¡°Bothering kids isn¡¯t something adults should do . ¡± ¡°G¡­Gah!? Y-you! Let go! Let go!¡± The adventurer let go of the girl, but the pressure from Loren¡¯s hand that threatened to crush his wrist didn¡¯t lighten . He tried to shake Loren off, but he couldn¡¯t move his hand at all, as if it was fixed in the air, and all he could do was watch as it was getting crushed inside Loren¡¯s grip . He couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and called out to his companions, who were still holding the boys back, for help . ¡°Hey! Let go of them! Help me with this guy! My wrist is going to get crushed!¡± Seeing their companion wailing, the others realized the abnormality of the situation and surrounded Loren, but Loren paid no attention, and continued to slowly crush the wrist in his hand . ¡°Stop! Let go!¡± The adventurer screamed as he saw blood drip out through Loren¡¯s fingers . It was proof that his wrist wasn¡¯t broken but was the crushed to the point where the bone shards were ripping through his flesh and skin, and he realized that soon enough, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use his wrist ever again . ¡°Let him go!¡± One of the other adventurers pulled out a short blade without thinking . Although it was a bar, it was run by the adventurer¡¯s guild . The adventurer knew that he would be punished for using a weapon, but he was completely swallowed up by Loren¡¯s presence, and couldn¡¯t make calm decisions anymore . ¡°I¡¯ll let him go if you guys back off . So, what do you guys say?¡± Even with the white blade glistening in the dim light of the bar, Loren didn¡¯t flinch and didn¡¯t let go either . All that changed was his gaze towards the adventurer who pulled out the blade . Until now, no matter how bad their att . i . tudes were, he looked at them as people, but suddenly his gaze was one that was looking at an object . Since Loren was looking at them, the adventurers found that out whether they liked it or not . Because they found out, they realized that they had done something irreparable the moment they drew their blades . If they backed off as Loren said right now, they would be labeled as cowards who ran away even after drawing their weapons . But if they attacked Loren, the outcome waiting for them would be worse than one crushed wrist . ¡°Any longer, and he won¡¯t be able to use his arm again . ¡± During that time, Loren¡¯s fingers had continued to dig into the arm further and further . The bones were already completely crushed, and the bleeding had been going on for quite a while as well, but it was still at a point where if the adventurers took him to a high-ranking priest and made a large donation and received a high cla . s . s healing Divine Art, he could recover . That was why Loren confronted them with a choice . Continue like this and face irreparable results, or risk their reputation falling slightly and back off . Both didn¡¯t let them off scot free, but Loren decided to at least give them a choice, and soon enough the adventurer that drew his blade put it away and raised his other arm towards Loren . ¡°Alright¡­we¡¯ll back off . So please let him go . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re not lying, right?¡± ¡°If we lie here, we¡¯ll be at a point we can¡¯t get back from . We¡¯ll back off, so let him go! He¡¯s already foaming!¡± When Loren looked back at the adventurer whose wrist he was holding, he saw that he was already unconscious, and was foaming at the mouth . It seemed that the pain and the shock of seeing his bone ripping through his flesh and skin was too much for him to handle . When he let the adventurer go, his limp body crashed down on the floor, and his companions picked his body up in a hurry . ¡°Going to say, ¡®remember this?¡¯ or something like that?¡± Loren asked the adventurers as they recovered their companion¡¯s body and were about to leave, but the adventurer that drew his weapon shook his head . ¡°We¡¯d rather you forget our faces . If someone like you remembers us, we can¡¯t even hit on girls carelessly . ¡± Loren was impressed that with the way they made sure they sowed no seeds of future trouble when they decided to back off, they lived up to their names as adventurers . If he were against atrocious mercenaries or some thugs, they would be foolish and say lines like what Loren had said and he would remember their faces, but Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel the decisiveness in the adventurers¡¯ att . i . tude of cutting ties with any sort of trouble . ¡°You should choose your opponent wisely . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep that in mind . ¡± The tags swaying on the chests of the retreating adventurers were copper . After seeing that they weren¡¯t even iron ranks, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sorry for what he did . Most adventurers were iron or copper ranks, and their numbers were many . Even within the same rank, they ran the gamut, and Loren wondered around where they would be, but they quickly vanished from his sight . While he decided that judging from their skill there wouldn¡¯t be any retaliation against him later, the girl that he helped nervously called out to him . ¡°Umm¡­Thank you so much . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . You guys just caught my attention a bit . ¡± Loren¡¯s decision to help them was based on his own agenda . Loren waved his hand at the girl, as he wasn¡¯t looking for any thanks . ¡°But you saved me!¡± ¡°Glad that you¡¯re safe, is what I¡¯d like to say . But you guys are still kids, right? If you hang out at places like this, you¡¯ll get hit on by some weird people, you know?¡± He could¡¯ve also said that it was because they seemed open and easy to hit on, or that they seemed easy to play around with . On top of that, Loren couldn¡¯t help but give them a warning regardless if it was none of his business because they still looked like children . ¡°We¡¯re sorr-¡± ¡°Hey old man! Who do you think you are to scold¡­¡± ¡°Stop it Cloud . He helped us, remember?¡± ¡°Come on, Al! There¡¯s no reason for us to get¡­¡± ¡°I said stop it . ¡± Out of the three boys that were walking over, thanks to the adventurers holding them back running away, the frivolous looking one started turning on him, while the one with the bowl cut was stopping him as best as he could . If they were a bit older . If they were, for example, Klaus¡¯ age, he would¡¯ve felt like educating them a bit further, but they were younger than Klaus, at an age that Loren considered as children . He turned around, ignoring them since educating them wasn¡¯t his job, but the well-built boy with the blonde crew cut jumped in front of him . ¡°My name is Ain, the leader of this party . Please let us thank you . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need thanks . It¡¯s something I did on my own . None the less, you should choose where to chatter wisely . Especially if you can¡¯t deal with things with your own strength . ¡± ¡°W-we¡¯re sorry . We wanted to take a peek at the bar¡¯s atmosphere as a change of pace . ¡± It seemed like they had some circ . u . mstance, but that wasn¡¯t something for Loren to know . He pushed past Ain, who was about to say something more, and walked back to the table where Lapis was waiting without looking back . ¡°Welcome back, Loren . You didn¡¯t break anything this time . ¡± Loren let out a nervous laugh at the words Lapis said to him as soon as he got back . If he punched or kicked, he would¡¯ve broken this and that, as Lapis was expecting, but Loren knew that as well . ¡°I¡¯ll dry up in no time if I keep paying fines or compensation every time something happens . ¡± ¡°No doubt . ¡± ¡°But I¡¯m still surprised that the ones being picked on were a party as well . ¡± ¡°Is that so? If that¡¯s the case¡­fate might bring us to them again soon enough . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see . I¡¯m not that confident on this, so I guess we¡¯ll have to look forward to it . ¡± Loren looked at Lapis, who was still flipping through the menu, not being able to choose what to order, and sighed, thinking about how what she mentioned wasn¡¯t something that they would want to look forward to . Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Ch . 54: Confusion after Being Surrounded The next day, Loren went with Lapis to their client, Volf Adventurer Training School . The retaliation from last night¡¯s adventurers ended as a worry, so he was able to spend the night at the inn peacefully, getting more than enough sleep and rest . This was the first time he¡¯d ever seen a school and entered school grounds . He knew that it was a place to educate children with knowledge, culture, and experience, but Loren had been taken care of by a mercenary group ever since he remembered, so he had never gone to school before . Most mercenaries had never gone to schools before, and many of them couldn¡¯t do calculations, and couldn¡¯t read or write either . In Loren¡¯s case, he learned how to calculate, as well as read and write, from his group¡¯s clerk because it would be inconvenient when dealing with job contracts, so he could do so at a general level . ¡°From what you¡¯ve told me, it seemed like it was a very capable group . ¡± Lapis sounded very impressed as they pa . s . sed through the school¡¯s gates . ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a mercenary group that made sure to educate their members like that . ¡± ¡°You sure? It was the norm for us . Of course, there were some who didn¡¯t want to since we were a bunch that became mercenaries, but almost everyone could read and could at least write their names . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite absurd, you know? If you go to a nearby village and ask the residents to write their names, most of them can¡¯t do it . ¡± ¡°Well, villagers don¡¯t sign contracts . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the problem¡­¡± Environments where children could get proper education wasn¡¯t common . Lapis knew that in some nations, only people high cla . s . ses could do so . But hearing that a mere mercenary group would give such education to the whole organization, Lapis thought that it was more abnormal than special . ¡°Either the leader was an outstanding person, or he was just crazy¡­¡± ¡°Hey Lapis . What do you think that is?¡± Loren¡¯s weirdly tired voice pulled Lapis, who was muttering to herself while immersed in her thoughts, to reality, and she looked towards where Loren was pointing . Shrill voices sounded from a crowd at the end of her sight . A thick wall of young girls was surrounding something . Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t see from outside what was in the middle, but the voltage of the cheering and screaming from the girls were almost at their peak, so it seemed like there was something incredible in there . ¡°This is a school, right?¡± ¡°It should be . It might be break time or study hall or something . ¡± Lapis knew that if it was cla . s . s time, there was no reason for such a crowd form, but it was currently still early morning, and was hard to think that it was already break time . Then she scanned the area, thinking that it would be a good time for teachers to come and break it up, and confirmed that there were a few of them in the area . But for some reason all of them had resigned looks on their faces and were watching the girls from afar, and none of them went over to them . ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know . In any case, it¡¯s got nothing to do with us . ¡± As Loren said that, immediately losing interest since the crowd just caught his eye and no more, there was movement within the crowd . Lapis sensed that whatever was in the middle started to try to break through but seeing that the shrills increased in volume every time that the thing pushed through the crowd, whatever that was being surrounded was something that gave them joy just by touching them . ¡°Something¡¯s coming out . ¡± ¡°Is that some sort of egg?¡± As soon as Loren said that, a red headed man dressed in something that looked like a suit toned in navy blue managed to break free from the crowd and showed himself . The man¡¯s face, which looked a few years younger than Loren¡¯s, was familiar to both Loren and Lapis, but because of where he came out of, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at him with confused gazes . ¡°Good thing you guys are here . You¡¯re on your way to talk about the job, right? Let me go with you . ¡± ¡°Klaus? I won¡¯t ask you why you¡¯re here because I know you¡¯re taking the same job, but what were you doing?¡± The man who looked quite tired from getting through the crowd was none other than Klaus, who was dressed up slightly . Behind him were a countless number of girls staring at Klaus¡¯ back with gazes of envy and adoration, but Klaus paid no attention and started talking to Loren . ¡°Well, I told you this is my alma mater, right? I kind of dressed since this is the first time I¡¯ve been here in a while¡­but I got surrounded by the students . ¡± ¡°Those students are still waiting behind you . ¡± ¡°Ah, this is troubling . Hey girls, you still have cla . s . ses, right? I need to go to the princ . i . p . al to talk about a job . ¡± ¡°Are you going to be an inspector for the dungeon exploration exam!?¡± They could see the crowd getting excited when one of the girls asked Klaus . After stopping the girls, who were starting to move to surround him again, with his hand, Klaus answered the girl¡¯s question with a troubled smile . ¡°Yeah . I¡¯m here to take the job as an adventurer . ¡± ¡°Klaus for this year¡¯s exam!?¡± As the rustling got louder, Klaus backed off slowly as the girls tried to close their gap and told them in a smooth voice, as if trying to appease them . ¡°I guess so¡­I need to go talk with the princ . i . p . al about that . So¡­w-wait, Loren! Why are you trying to leave me behind!?¡± Loren and Lapis, who didn¡¯t want to deal with it, were walking away, but turned back, annoyed, when Klaus called out . While the hostile gazes of the girls turned towards Loren, Klaus hurriedly ran over to Loren and for some reason gave him a resentful look . ¡°We¡¯ve accepted the same job . You can go with me, you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re busy, right? We could¡¯ve gone and taken care of it while you deal with your cute juniors¡­Where are the usual three at?¡± ¡°I told them I¡¯m going to come to the school to get the job explanation, but they told me to go alone¡­The three of them graduated here as well, but for some reason they don¡¯t like coming here with me . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t surprised, as he glanced at the girls behind Klaus, who were still looking at him with hostility . It seemed that Klaus was very popular among the students, and it wasn¡¯t surprising that any girls that were with Klaus would be met with hostility . Loren could understand why Ange and the other girls didn¡¯t want to come, since they would have to deal with a horde of girls that were giving even him harsh looks, even though he was the same gender as Klaus . ¡°I¡¯m a graduate so I can show you around . So please let me go with you . I can¡¯t escape even if I tried . ¡± He said to Loren in a small voice, but since it was so small, he had to get closer to Loren to say it . It was a troublesome case for Loren, but when he thought about it, a portion of the students were attending the school because they were talented, but many of them were from a high cla . s . s . He didn¡¯t know what kind of repercussions he could face later if he treated them harshly, and if Klaus was thinking the same thing, he could understand why Klaus wasn¡¯t being so hard on them . Understanding Klaus¡¯ predicament, Loren decided that leaving him here was pitiful . ¡°Can¡¯t be helped, I guess¡­Alright, let¡¯s go . ¡± When he grabbed Klaus¡¯ shoulder and pulled him towards the direction they were going, the girls that surrounded Klaus cried out at the slight rough treatment . ¡°What are you doing to Klaus!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch Klaus with those dirty hands of yours!¡± ¡°Where are you taking him? We¡¯re not done talking with him!¡± Klaus went pale at the things they yelled at Loren . To Klaus, who knew what kind of person Loren was, knew that insulting him was a very dangerous thing to do . It wasn¡¯t surprising that he went pale because he was the cause of those insults . He panicked and tried to stop the girls, but before he could do so, Loren stepped forward facing the girls, who went silent for a moment at the atmosphere that Loren was radiating, and said in voice that wasn¡¯t loud, but could still be heard clearly . ¡°Shut up . You want to get messed up?¡± It wasn¡¯t as if he had his hand on the great sword on his back . But the girls went pale all at once when they heard Loren¡¯s voice, filled with killing intent . Not only that, the girls that were closer to Loren started foaming at the mouth and dropped unconscious . On top of that, regardless of whether they were conscious or not, students who wet their pants or skirts started popping up, thus becoming even more chaotic . While screams, wails, and howls flew around, Loren was shocked at the situation that he had caused . He thought they would shrink away at the most at his coercion, and didn¡¯t expect them to foam and faint, or even incontinence . ¡°Aren¡¯t they a bit too fragile?¡± ¡°No, that made my own blood run cold too . ¡± As Klaus said that with a pale face, Lapis, who was standing near them, stared at Loren with intrigued face . Her expression looked more like one of suspicion after witnessing something mysterious, rather than being surprised at Loren¡¯s coercion . As Loren wondered if she felt something, Shayna popped out from the side and giggled . ¡®I think mixing a bit of a No Life King¡¯s vibe with Onii-san¡¯s killing intent was the problem . ¡¯ When Loren sighed at what she¡¯d done, Shayna flew around in his sight, as if she couldn¡¯t hold back her anger . ¡®They called Onii-san¡¯s hand dirty, you know!?¡¯ Shayna said angrily how it was unforgivable, and Loren wasn¡¯t sure how to respond . He did feel a slight happiness that she had gotten angry for him, but the resulting chaotic situation seemed a bit too much . When he told Shayna that he was happy, but to tone it down next time, although she looked like she wasn¡¯t satisfied, she nodded and blinked out his sight . ¡°I felt an odd presence just now . ¡± Lapis told him, still staring in Loren¡¯s direction . Although Shayna only used a slight amount of her power for a fraction of a second, Lapis had felt it, so Loren, astonished at her senses, played dumb . ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything . ¡± ¡°Really? Was I imagining it¡­no, maybe Loren is just a very scary person? Scary enough to make such a horrible scene?¡± ¡°The students here are probably too fragile . I¡¯ve been in battle and I¡¯ve come back from battlefield, remember? It must have been too much for kids that haven¡¯t experienced real battle . ¡± As Loren decided to go with that explanation, Lapis, although she looked like she wasn¡¯t convinced, couldn¡¯t think of any other explanation, so she stopped investigating . ¡°Is that so? Anyways, let¡¯s get back to work . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to the princ . i . p . al¡¯s office, right? I¡¯ll take you there, follow me . ¡± As Klaus took the lead, Loren and Lapis started talking in low voices . ¡°Didn¡¯t his att . i . tude become way to good compared to the first time we met him?¡± ¡°Maybe he holds everything inside . He¡¯s waiting to stab us from behind when our guards are down . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer if you said I reformed, but¡­whatever¡­¡± Since Klaus, who was a graduate, was guiding them, there was no worry about them getting lost in school grounds . With Klaus, whose shoulders drooped but didn¡¯t stop leading them, in the lead, Loren and Lapis left the havoc behind them . Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Ch . 55: Selecting After Moving ¡°Volf Adventurer Training School was built in honor of the achievements of an adventurer from about three hundred years ago, named Volf . ¡± Klaus was giving explanations that no one asked for as he lead Loren and Lapis down the hall . Lapis was listening quietly, thinking of it as more knowledge, but Loren couldn¡¯t feel interested even if he was told the name of an adventurer from hundreds of years ago . Most mercenaries¡¯ thought processes were impulsive or simple, and few of them thought in long terms . Loren had some of those tendencies as well . The member that was in charge of his education constantly told him to fix it, so he reformed some of them, but this bad habit tended to show itself when he couldn¡¯t seem to find any interest in the subject . While thinking that his financial situation was one of those, Klaus¡¯ explanation continued . ¡°I don¡¯t need to explain anything about Volf, right? He has an innumerable amount of achievements, and it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that most students here set him as their goal . ¡± ¡°What are some of his achievements? Unfortunately, I don¡¯t know too much about common information because of priestess training and such . ¡± Although Lapis asked that, Loren guessed that it was a lie . In the first place, Lapis was one of the demon kin, who lived in one part of the continent, and it was suspicious if she even trained to become a priestess . It was also very unlikely that Lapis wouldn¡¯t investigate information beforehand . Since she knew that their destination was Volf Adventurer Training School, it would definitely be strange if she hadn¡¯t done any research . Then came the question of why she was making Klaus explain, so he asked Lapis why in a whisper . ¡°It¡¯s like checking to see if I¡¯m right . ¡± She was comparing the information that she had to Klaus¡¯ information . ¡°Let¡¯s see . I¡¯m not sure if they are true or not, but there are countless stories of him slaying dragons, and countless discoveries or ruins . There is even a story about defeating and sealing an evil G . o . d . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t people think that they¡¯re fake?¡± Lapis asked him in a chilling manner . If it was the Klaus from before, he would have been angry that she had called the deeds of an adventurer that he admired fake, but it seemed that he was indeed reformed, as he just let out a troubled laugh instead of lashing out . ¡°It¡¯s true that it sounds unbelievable just by hearing stories . But there is evidence that support a number of them . That evidence is the dungeon spreading under the Volf Adventurer Training School . ¡± ¡°What?¡± If the subject was about the destination of their job, Loren was interested . Klaus was surprised at Loren¡¯s sudden interruption since he had been silent the whole time, but he immediately showed a soft smile and continued his explanation . ¡°The dungeon under the school is said to have been created by Volf . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like he dug it, right?¡± Loren felt that itself would be quite a feat, but an adventurer¡¯s achievement being that he dug a dungeon didn¡¯t sound cool at all . ¡°It¡¯s said that he put the existing dungeon under his control . ¡± ¡°You can do that with dungeons?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also said that he solved the mechanics of the dungeon core, but there¡¯s no record of that . But if you look at the dungeon, it would make you think that it might be true . ¡± According to Klaus, there was a distinction in difficulty for each floor . It was structured as a training ground for dungeon exploration, and it was said that Volf made it that way for the adventurers for later generations . Earlier floors having little danger and the danger level increasing for deeper floors was the same for other dungeons, and Lapis said maybe this dungeon wasn¡¯t special, Klaus answered . ¡°This dungeon has ten floors, but you can only go to the ninth floor . You need the princ . i . p . al¡¯s permission to go into the tenth floor . ¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that that¡¯s where the evidence of Volf¡¯s achievements are?¡± ¡°Exactly . I¡¯ve only been there once before I graduated, though . If the students can make it to the ninth floor during this exam, they could go to the tenth floor as a reward . ¡± Klaus explained that they would get permission before the exam began . That was a good piece of information to Loren . The reason that they accepted the job was because a part of Lapis¡¯ body might be located in the dungeon, and from Klaus¡¯ explanation, he guessed that there was a high chance of it being in the tenth floor . Then it seemed like their goal would easily be achieved if they followed the students into the tenth floor after then managed to make it to the ninth floor . On top of that, he now found out why this dungeon wasn¡¯t open to the public . He wasn¡¯t sure what kind of protection there was, but it seemed like there was a mechanism that prevented outsiders to break into the tenth floor and steal those evidences of Volf¡¯s achievements . ¡°By the way, the exam will continue until the students give up, so you should be prepared for being down there for a while . The longest I know of is one month . ¡± ¡°So you would have to stick with them the whole time . It¡¯s not much of a profitable job, huh . ¡± ¡°Yeah . That¡¯s why graduates are mostly the ones that take this job, but why did you guys decide on this job?¡± Loren wondered how he should answer Klaus¡¯ question . He couldn¡¯t straight up say that they had business with the dungeon . ¡°We were interested . Both Loren and I aren¡¯t proper adventurers, so we were interested in what kind of place a training school was . ¡± Unlike Loren, Lapis was able to answer the question immediately . At her answer, which was so smooth it seemed scripted, Klaus looked convinced, while Loren away to hide his exasperation at Lapis¡¯ reaction, which seemed prepared beforehand . They finally reached the princ . i . p . al¡¯s office . The job was from the school, but their client was none other than the princ . i . p . al . So of course they would go meet him, and when they arrived, Klaus opened the door to the office . ¡°Welcome! I¡¯m the princ . i . p . al of Volf Adventurer Training School, Volf the Tenth!!¡± Klaus stiffened at the sudden loud sound that came from across the doorway, while Loren covered his ears and Lapis swiftly hid behind him . Loren saw Klaus¡¯ knees shake from taking the full brunt of the sound, while he and Lapis were able to react him time, with a chill going down his back, but the chill got even worse after he saw the person who was supposed to be the princ . i . p . al . Across from them was a man like a small mountain . He was wearing formal clothing that matched his t . i . tle of princ . i . p . al, his scale was way different than ordinary people . Loren was on the tall side as well, but the man sitting down at the desk across the room was so big that his line of sight didn¡¯t differ from Loren¡¯s even though he was sitting down . ¡°What are you standing there for! Hurry up and get inside!¡± Looking at the walls shake with his ears still covered, Loren pushed Klaus, who was frozen in place, with his elbow, while wondering if it was really necessary to shout like that . Klaus slowly stepped into the princ . i . p . al¡¯s office, with a stretched smile on his face . ¡°I-it¡¯s been a while, princ . i . p . al . You look well, as usual . ¡± ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re in good health as well!¡± His voice was still loud, as expected . Loren flinched at the voice, which he could still hear clearly even though he was covering his ears . Lapis, who was still hiding behind his back, had her hands on her head, trying to endure the loud sound . ¡°H-hey princ . i . p . al . Could you lower your voice a little bit please?¡± ¡°Shut up Klaus! Do you think I haven¡¯t heard of your deeds after you graduated this school!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry about those cases¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? You are? It does seem that you¡¯re a bit different than from what I¡¯ve been hearing about you . ¡± The tone of his voice dropped slightly . It was still loud, but it was bearable without having to cover his ears, so Loren put his hands down and Lapis popped her head out from behind his back . ¡°You¡¯ve had a change of heart, Klaus . Looks like you¡¯ve learned some humility . ¡± ¡°Sorry for worrying you . ¡± The princ . i . p . al snorted as Klaus bowed his head . ¡°If you were still the same as I¡¯ve been hearing, I was going to teach you a lesson or two before the job, but it doesn¡¯t seem like I need to anymore . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been blessed with the opportunity already . ¡± ¡°You were lucky . ¡± Klaus and the princ . i . p . al were having a conversation that Loren didn¡¯t understand, but it seemed that they came to a settlement . Antic . i . p . ating that, Loren called out to the princ . i . p . al, who was looking at Klaus with a satisfied smile, while shifting into a position that he could run away at any time . ¡°Hey, is it alright if we talk about the job now?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry about that . I heard that one of my former students was causing trouble, so I thought there was a need to give him a warning, but I didn¡¯t need to . ¡± ¡°Happy to hear that, but don¡¯t get your voice up again . ¡± After hearing Loren¡¯s words, which he said thinking that the princ . i . p . al might be the one who needed a warning, the princ . i . p . al looked at Lapis, whose head was peeking out from behind Loren¡¯s back, and looked back at Klaus . ¡°Seems like this year we¡¯ve got people who are quite skilled . Klaus, are they the cause of your reform?¡± Klaus looked down in embarra . s . sment as the princ . i . p . al glared at him again . ¡°It¡¯s embarra . s . sing to say, but yes they are . ¡± ¡°Hmm . Hey big guy, it seems that I need to thank you . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I lose to you in size, but I don¡¯t care much about being thanked, so can we talk about the job?¡± At Loren¡¯s urge, the princ . i . p . al put two stacks of paper on top of his desk . Although the papers were normal sized ones, Loren thought it interesting that they looked like little bits of paper in the hands of the princ . i . p . al, then walked up to the desk and took one of the stacks . ¡°This is the roster for the students that will take the exam next . There will be two groups, one with Klaus¡¯ party, and the other with yours . You will enter the dungeon with them . ¡± ¡°My name is Loren . The one behind me is Lapis . It¡¯s the pair of us that received the job . ¡± From behind Loren, Lapis softly slid the doc . u . ment that they had received from the adventurer¡¯s guild in Kauffa in front of the princ . i . p . al . After going through it, confirming that there were no mistakes, he put it in one of his drawers . This meant that it was accepted, and it would be returned to them with the princ . i . p . al¡¯s stamp after the job was done . ¡°The job description is accompanying the testers . a . s . sisting them is not allowed in general, but if they ask you for advice, you can do so . Everything that happens down there is their own responsibility, and even if they lose their lives, the responsibility won¡¯t fall on you . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind rescuing them, right?¡± ¡°Of course . But if that happens, come straight back up . The testers will have to make maps as they go, but I will provide a map of the dungeon for you beforehand . ¡± Since the exam was already done many times before, they were able to make a close-to-complete map, and in the case of an emergency, they were to use it to return to the surface . If the testers received help from the proctors, it was impossible to measure their skills . Which meant that the exam would end when it is deemed that they need a . s . sistance . ¡°The exam is over once they get past the fifth floor, but it is fine to go as far as they can . Of course, the number of floors they get past ties in directly with their evaluation . To put it backwards, the exam won¡¯t end until they get past the fifth floor . If they give up, that¡¯s where the exam ends . Any questions?¡± ¡°I heard from Klaus that if we reach the ninth floor, you¡¯ll allow us to enter the tenth floor . Is that true?¡± ¡°It is indeed . You¡¯ll reach the stairs to the tenth floor if you defeat the keeper on the ninth floor, to be exact . The place is usually sealed, but I¡¯ll give the pa . s . s to the students . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of shabby to be called a reward?¡± ¡°If you could take something, that is allowed as well . ¡± The words of the princ . i . p . al, who said it with a grin, was unexpected to Loren . He thought so because permission to take something from where things related to the adventurer Volf was an exceptional reward . ¡°The same goes for the proctors . If you could take something, I dare you to try . But I won¡¯t take responsibility for anything that happens, so keep that in mind . ¡± ¡°Oh, so there¡¯s some good-for-nothing trap or guardian, I¡¯m guessing . ¡± The princ . i . p . al¡¯s att . i . tude told Loren that there was something down there that would prevent people from doing so, and it wasn¡¯t something that students or low rank adventurers could face off against . It must be that when encountered, if you didn¡¯t take anything it would let you through, but if you did you would have to defeat it or get past it to leave the dungeon . ¡°So, out of the two parties, who will be in charge of which?¡± Loren looked at Klaus, but he told Loren to pick first . Since Klaus was a graduate, he must have the confidence to do fine with any party he ended up with . After thinking so, Loren looked back and forth between the stacks of papers with the information of the parties on them, and then took one of them in his hand . ¡°Let us be in charge of this party . ¡± ¡°Very well . But¡­any basis behind your decision?¡± When the princ . i . p . al asked Loren, he answered with his eyes scanning the surface of the papers . ¡°I guess this is what you would call fate . ¡± Lapis, who was still hiding behind Loren¡¯s back, peeked over his shoulder and took a look at the papers in Loren¡¯s hand . Lapis saw that the party leader was Ain, and the descriptions of the other party members, and realized that it was the party that Loren had helped the night before at the bar, and knew that was why Loren chose them . Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Ch . 56: Introduction to Departure It didn¡¯t take long for them to introduce themselves . Mostly because it wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯ve met each other . Loren knew they were quite young when he met them at the bar, but when he looked at them in daylight, he couldn¡¯t help but feel conflicted when he saw the hint of youth in their faces . ¡°Loren, you do look a bit old for your age, after all . ¡± ¡°Yes I know, so you don¡¯t have to remind me . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know his exact age . If he counted from his earliest memories, he should be slightly over twenty, but he didn¡¯t know the exact number . No one around him really cared, and he didn¡¯t care about it either, since it wasn¡¯t necessary information for a mercenary . The fact that it was a profession which didn¡¯t guarantee that you would live to an age which you would worry about getting old was a factor, but looking at the young students, he couldn¡¯t help but feel old . ¡°It¡¯s okay Loren . You¡¯re still young . ¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better . Anyways, how old are you, Lapis?¡± ¡°Oh, Loren . I didn¡¯t know you had such a roundabout death wish . ¡± ¡°Oh come on¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m kidding . I¡¯m just as old how I look . ¡± Apparently, looking young but having lived for a very long time, which was the case for many demon kin, didn¡¯t apply to Lapis . But this was coming from her own mouth, so he didn¡¯t know if it was true or not . ¡°Hey, the two of you . Thanks for being our proctors . ¡± The one that came up to them and greeted them was Ain, the leader of the party that Loren and Lapis¡¯ oversaw . Although he was still a boy, he was well built, wearing a hauberk and was carrying a long sword and a round shield, which was standard equipment for a warrior in the front line . His blonde crew cut gave him a rough impression as well . ¡°We don¡¯t need a proctor though . ¡± The one who muttered that was the smaller boy named Cloud . He was wearing leather armor like the one Loren was wearing, but had fewer parts and only covered his chest, and he had an estoc hanging at his side . Loren guessed that he was a swordsman who relied on speed during fights . ¡°Stop it Cloud . He¡¯s an adventurer . He¡¯s going to become scary if you make him mad . ¡± The one who whined was the boy with the bowl cut named Al . He was wearing priest¡¯s clothes with similar design to Lapis¡¯ and had a mace with him . When Loren asked, Al had said he was a priest in training to the Supreme G . o . d, but his weak and timid nature did not make it seem like he was . ¡°Thanks a lot for last night! You really saved me there!¡± The one who called out to him in a lively voice was Feim, wearing a robe and holding a wooden staff, like an orthodox magician . She was a magician, as her appearance was, and told them that she could use one spell per day . ¡°Do you think they could make it to the ninth floor?¡± Loren asked Lapis quietly after they were introduced, and Ain and his companions were getting ready to enter the dungeon . Loren and Lapis¡¯ had already brought their what they needed into the school along with their equipment . Lapis¡¯ belongings were in a backpack on her back, but Loren didn¡¯t have one since he had his great sword strapped on his back . I stead, he had a pouch hanging from his left arm, and he also had a knife hanging on his left waist, that he had purchased for this job . ¡°Loren, you can use knives too?¡± Lapis moved the conversation into a completely different direction . ¡°Yeah, somewhat . I used them to slit enemies¡¯ throats on the battlefield . ¡± He drew the knife as he said that, but although it was shaped like a knife, it was way longer than what a knife should be, and the thickness of the blade was like that of an axe or a hoe . ¡°That looks more like a short blade than a knife . I¡¯m surprised the shop had something like that . ¡± ¡°This was the only knife at the shop in Kauffa . Its durability is top notch, but no one was buying it since it was so bulky, so the owner sold it to me for ten silver coins . ¡± ¡°I could¡¯ve readied one if you¡¯d told me . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s a spare weapon anyway . It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s sharp and durable . Lapis snorted in discontent at Loren¡¯s response . On the books, the equipment and the great sword on Loren¡¯s back was all bought at the weapon shop in Kauffa, but behind the scenes, Lapis seemed to have brought it all and sold them to Loren through the shop . She didn¡¯t say so herself, but it was quite obvious at this point . His debt to Lapis had grown to thirty gold coins, which was a small fortune, but he knew that the equipment wasn¡¯t something that could be bought with that amount . If he asked Lapis to get him a spare weapon, she was sure to bring him something expensive, and although it would be a good deal when compared its actual worth, but Loren didn¡¯t have the capacity to be increasing his debt again by several gold coins . ¡°So, how are they?¡± ¡°Their skill levels? It might be a bit tough . ¡± As she looked at Ain and his party packing their things, the evaluation that she gave them was a quite a rough one . ¡°They could probably manage to get to the fifth floor, but any further might be hard . ¡± On the map that the princ . i . p . al gave them were detailed descriptions of locations of traps and monsters that sp . a . w . ned on each floor . Lapis used that information to calculate the difficulty of each floor . ¡°That¡¯s only if a . s . suming the monsters in this dungeon are the same as normal monsters . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Loren asked Lapis, feeling confused . Since he used to be a mercenary, he had never been inside a dungeon, and he didn¡¯t know about the differences of normal monsters and ones that sp . a . w . ned in dungeons . ¡°To put it simply, monsters which bodies are left behind when they die are normal and monsters which are sucked back into the dungeon, leaving a part of their bodies, are ones that are sp . a . w . ned by the dungeon . ¡± ¡°They are different in power?¡± ¡°Yes . It depends on things like the size of the dungeon . ¡± Lapis said he shouldn¡¯t underestimate them just because they look the same . But the dungeon they were entering was one that was used for training students, so Lapis guessed the monsters were either the same or weaker than normal ones . ¡°When it comes to the worst, we¡¯ll just have to have them get wiped out¡­¡± Lapis started muttering things that were surprisingly dark . Loren immediately responded . ¡°You¡¯re going to stop by the bottom floor before we go up to report? I won¡¯t help you, you know?¡± ¡°This is where you should stop me . Why are you planning to just watch me do it?¡± Loren looked away at her response . The two of them were casually talking about things that would be problematic if Ain and his party overheard them . ¡°Now that I think of it, if your body part is in the tenth floor, how did it get there in the first place? There¡¯s stuff that an adventurer from three hundred years ago collected, right?¡± The thought occurred that Lapis was a demon kin that walked the continent from that time, but if he were to believe what Lapis had told him, she wasn¡¯t alive that long ago . When Loren told her that a part of her being down there didn¡¯t make sense, Lapis thought to herself for a moment and answered him, choosing her words carefully . ¡°It¡¯s most likely that¡­my parents sneaked inside . Either there is a side entrance somewhere, or it wasn¡¯t even remotely difficult for my parents to infiltrate it¡­¡± She said it like it was easy, but this dungeon was property of the school¡¯s, and the entrance was heavily guarded, to the point where there were no stories of anyone being able to infiltrate it . But if Lapis¡¯ parents, who were demon kin as well, were able to walk in and out easily, it meant that the security was mostly meant for humans . ¡°What in the world are your parents?¡± ¡°Do you want to meet them next time? I¡¯ll invite you if you want . ¡± Lapis smiled as she said that, but when Loren saw it, he felt that there was some other meaning included as well, but he decided that he should be honest . ¡°Not really¡­Anyways, what made you believe that a part of your body is here?¡± Lapis looked disappointed when Loren said he didn¡¯t want to go, but at Loren¡¯s question, she suddenly took Loren¡¯s right hand . Loren was slightly surprised when Lapis grabbed his hand, but Lapis paid no attention and asked him, still holding onto his hand . ¡°Loren, do you know that your right hand is here?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course . It¡¯s my right hand . It would be weird if I didn¡¯t know . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same thing . It¡¯s a part of my body, so I have a vague feeling of where it is . ¡± Although she explained that knowing your right hand is there and knowing that a part of your body that has been ripped off is in a certain area is the same feeling, Loren couldn¡¯t really understand it . But Loren thought that it was something that he couldn¡¯t understand no matter how long he thought about it, so he decided not to ask Lapis about it any further . ¡°Lets say that we rely on that feeling, the problem would be how do we get all the way down there . ¡± ¡°The final measure would be immobilizing the four of them with > or something, and then go down and¡­¡± ¡°You guys ready?¡± As soon as Lapis started scheming again, Loren confirmed with Ain since they seemed to be finished packing . While Lapis stopped talking, Ain started cheering his party up as they picked up their bags . ¡°The pa . s . sing mark is the fifth floor, but our goal is the tenth floor . ¡± ¡°We can do it . No problem . ¡± ¡°Can we really do it¡­¡± ¡°Of course, we can! We trained and studied hard for this . ¡± What Ain had said caught Loren¡¯s attention . From Lapis¡¯ eyes, they weren¡¯t skilled enough to reach the bottom floor, but apparently their goal was to reach it . If that was the case, if they could manage to achieve their goal, Lapis¡¯ goal would be achieved as well, without having to resort to more violent methods, and that would be better . ¡°If only advice would be enough for them . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you should get faint hopes up . ¡± Loren thought that it would be a lot easier if they could help them directly, but the students were the main actors for this job, and Loren and Lapis were the side characters . ¡°Let¡¯s help them without them knowing and keep them going forward . ¡± ¡°Yeah . ¡± ¡°Hey, the two of you, let¡¯s go . ¡± At Ain¡¯s call, Loren and Lapis and the students walked towards the entrance of the dungeon . The entrance was inside the school building . It was to keep anyone other than the students from entering, but they would have had to consider the worst case scenario, someone sneaking inside the school, so Loren walked while looking around, searching for traps . Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Ch . 57: Departure after Encounter The image that Loren got when he thought of a dungeon entrance was quite a showy one . But the entrance of the dungeon he was about to enter was a simple one that was way different from what Loren was imagining, being stairs that extended below from one of the rooms of the school . Loren felt anticlimactic, but he braced himself again, as he told himself that the entrance had nothing to do with the difficulty of the dungeon itself . Loren and his group ran into Klaus and his group at the room leading to the dungeon . Loren saw Ange behind the group of students lead by Klaus, which was made up of four girls for some reason, but seeing her sour face, he laughed a bit as it was clear that she wasn¡¯t happy about the situation Klaus was put in . ¡°You guys going down too?¡± Loren nodded, but he c . o . c . ked his head as the group of girls Klaus was leading directed gazes of hostility at him . He wondered if it was that unpleasant for them to see him be friendly with Klaus, who seemed to be popular and liked by everyone in the school . He then recalled the doc . u . ments that the princ . i . p . al had handed him concerning the examinees . ¡°Aren¡¯t your members a bit different?¡± Loren didn¡¯t remember the details of the other group, but he did remember that it wasn¡¯t a party full of girls . On top of that, all the girls were dressed as swordsman, and he was sure that the structure wasn¡¯t so deviated . ¡°We heard that Master Klaus was going to be proctoring, so we had the group switch with us . ¡± The one who answered was one of the girls standing behind Klaus . The strong willed looking girl with blond pigtails in vertical spirals, speaking for all the girls, spoke to Loren without any fear and with her chest puffed out . ¡°It would be foolish to lose the chance to have Master Klaus, who was called a prodigy during his time as a student, to proctor us . ¡± ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Loren asked Klaus, not even trying to hide air of ¡®I wasn¡¯t asking you¡¯, and Klaus answered him with a slightly stretched smile . ¡°Parme Pentatonic . I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not interested, but she¡¯s a comtesse from a certain nation . ¡± ¡°Be thankful, adventurer . I¡¯m not someone you would normally be able to speak to . ¡± Even though she said that as she looked down on him, Loren didn¡¯t even look at her and asked Klaus again . ¡°Are cla . s . ses and ranks in effect in the school?¡± ¡°Officially students are treated as students, regardless of cla . s . s¡­but it¡¯s true that talented students and students born of high cla . s . s a . s . sert authority sometimes¡­sorry . ¡± ¡°Why are you the one that¡¯s apologizing?¡± Loren sighed as Klaus¡¯ voice became smaller and smaller . He guessed that Klaus was embarra . s . sed at the things that he¡¯s done until now, but as one that was watching him correcting his ways and att . i . tude, he felt that Klaus didn¡¯t have to act so ashamed . ¡°That¡¯s right! There¡¯s no reason for Master Klaus to apologize to someone like this¡­¡± ¡°Hey you, how about you be quiet for a bit . Especially if you like me . ¡± Klaus stopped Parme calmly, with a shadow cast over his face . Loren didn¡¯t really care how much the girl went at him, but not having to deal with it didn¡¯t hurt either . Losing interest in the girls, Loren turned his attention to Ange, who was standing behind them with a sour face . ¡°That¡¯s a scary face you¡¯re making there . ¡± ¡°You understand how I feel, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a good guess . But if you¡¯re like that, wouldn¡¯t it worry Klaus and not look good to the students?¡± Ange might not have cared about the students, but when Loren pointed out the possibility that she could be worrying Klaus, her expression went slightly back to normal . Glancing at some of the wrinkles still left on her forehead, Loren looked around her . ¡°What happened to the other two?¡± ¡°Boycott . This time it¡¯s just me and Klaus . ¡± Loren remembered that there wasn¡¯t a limit on how many could take the job at once . It seemed that Layla and Roll decided that they didn¡¯t want to deal with this atmosphere and refused to come . ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you refuse to come as well?¡± ¡°Are you saying that I should let throw Klaus into a crowd of girls all by himself?¡± Loren tried to step away from Ange, slightly overcome by her sudden threatening look, but Ange kept closing the gap . ¡°Listen . It¡¯s true that Klaus is good looking and is quite skilled . And thanks to you, he¡¯s lost his arrogance and his personality became rounder . But still . His quickness when it comes to making moves on girls hasn¡¯t changed at all!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember fixing that part of him, either . ¡± It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t remember, but it was that he didn¡¯t know about it . Seeing that the rest of Klaus¡¯ party were women and all of them had feelings for him, Loren guessed that he was somewhat fast at making moves, but regardless, it didn¡¯t really harm Loren in any way . ¡°If I let Klaus go into a dungeon with no one to keep an eye on him . By the time they come back, all of them will have hearts floating over their heads!¡± ¡°Uhh, okay . ¡± ¡°If he¡¯s careless, in a few months he¡¯ll have girls flocking all over him, telling him ¡®this is your child, acknowledge it¡¯!¡± Loren thought that was saying too much, but when he glanced at Klaus, he was looking away with a pale face . Hearing Ange say that, some of the girls around him had their eyes wide open with surprise, but some of them were blushing with happy looks on their faces . ¡°I have to stay with him to prevent that . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a disaster you have to deal with . Good luck . ¡± After giving Ange a half-hearted voice of encouragement, Loren walked up to Klaus again, put his hand on his shoulder, and pulled him closer . ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it, alright?¡± ¡°Ahahahaha¡­Thanks for the warning, I guess . ¡± Seeing Klaus laugh weakly, Loren got the feeling that he was already beyond saving . If crime of pa . s . sion was the reason behind his group getting wiped out, he could face an extreme loss of face, and Loren could only pray that he wouldn¡¯t come back to hear such stories . ¡°So, who¡¯s going first?¡± Seeing that Loren was finished talking, Lapis asked to everyone in the room . The stairs into the dungeon was in the corner of the room, but it wasn¡¯t wide enough for all of them to go down at once, and since there were two groups, one had to go before the other . Loren didn¡¯t think one was more advantageous than the other, but decided that it was better for the students to talk it out among themselves . ¡°We¡¯ll let you go first . Got it?¡± ¡°Wait a second . Don¡¯t decide it on your own . ¡± Parme, who was looking down on them to the last, and Ain, who was talking head on . The conversation between party leaders started out quite heated, but their main point was to make the other party go first . As Loren wondered what made them so desperate to make the other go first, Lapis whispered into his ear . ¡°Both parties don¡¯t have a thief . ¡± Loren realized now that she mentioned it . Ain¡¯s party consisted of two warriors, a magician, and a priest . Parme¡¯s party were all swordsmen, so there wasn¡¯t a thief in sight . The school was one that trained adventurers, so they would be training thieves as well, but it was strange that either parties didn¡¯t have one . The usefulness of a thief went without saying when exploring dungeons . Various traps set here and there or hidden doors . Opening locks on doors and chests all required the skill set of a thief, so not having one was very strange indeed . ¡°The aristocrat girls don¡¯t have one most likely because they look down on the job and didn¡¯t invite one to join them . ¡± It wasn¡¯t surprising that aristocrats would look down on such jobs . There was also no way they would go out of their way to learn the skills of one . Even so, going down into a dungeon without having one seemed dangerous even to Loren, who had no experience exploring dungeons . ¡°They wouldn¡¯t need one if they are going to ignore chests, and it is possible to detect traps if you look carefully enough or poke the ground in front of you with a stick . ¡± Lapis pointed to one of the girls, who had a long stick as tall as she was along with her weapon . Lapis guessed that she had the role of hitting the floor and walls to check for traps . ¡°On the other hand, Ain and his party probably didn¡¯t have anyone to learn the skills . They seem like a group of close friends anyway . ¡± ¡°Then couldn¡¯t they have added a thief into their party? There isn¡¯t a limit for how many can be in a party . ¡± It was common for a party to have four or five members . This piece of knowledge was based on the experiences of many adventurers, where any lower than that would make it harder to detect and deal with dangers, and any more would slow the group down . Of course, if you were to ignore efficiency, you could pair up with someone else or invite however many people you wanted to . ¡°I¡¯m guessing that they weren¡¯t acquainted with anyone who¡¯s a thief . The four of them look like they¡¯re a closed community, in any case . ¡± Lapis said that because they were a party that consisted of close friends, they couldn¡¯t invite anyone from outside their group even though they knew they needed a thief . Although on a different scale, similar situations happened among mercenaries as well . When the number of members decreased for whatever reason and they try to increase members by letting some in from other places, many of them don¡¯t want to do so . Because of this, they try to fill the holes left open by themselves instead of recruiting more people . ¡°It¡¯s the same thing as villagers not liking outsiders . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty blunt way to put it¡­¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why both of them want the opposing party to go first and test the waters . ¡± Loren let out a nervous laugh as Lapis rounded the conversation up, and the argument between Ain and Parme seemed to have reached a conclusion . When Loren looked at them, he saw Parme red with frustration and Ain with a proud look on his face . ¡°Alright, you guys first . ¡± ¡°You¡¯d better remember this, commoner . You¡¯ll pay a high price for this . ¡± Parme grinded her teeth but didn¡¯t seem to argue with what was decided . She gathered the other girls and with Klaus, who was continuing to bow his head, and Ange, who was still in a bad mood, and went down the stairs into the dungeon . ¡°But wouldn¡¯t letting the other go first only matter if you were going the same way?¡± If they took different paths, going first or last wouldn¡¯t matter . Lapis answered Loren¡¯s question without even trying to hide her exasperation . ¡°If they use the method taught by the school, they would take the same road . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean . ¡± ¡°I took a peek at the school¡¯s curriculum before we came¡­and it seems that when it comes to exploring dungeons, they teach the students to put their left hands on the outer wall and stay next to that wall . ¡± ¡°I heard that method doesn¡¯t work if the exit to the dungeon is in the middle of the maze . ¡± If you were trying to exit the dungeon by following the outer wall, the exit had to be somewhere on the outer wall . ¡°In that case they make used of the map they drew on the first round and start over . ¡± ¡°Sounds like you would need a lot of patience . ¡± Loren stifled a yawn as he watched Ain and his party getting ready to draw a map and discussing when to enter, thinking that exploring dungeons wasn¡¯t something mercenaries, who were mostly short tempered, would do . Chapter 58 Chapter 58 Ch . 58: Rushing in and Exploring ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head in . ¡± Ain suggested after a while had pa . s . sed since Parme and her party had descended the stairs . It seemed that along with letting Parme go first and letting her clear the way, he also had the thought of not going in right after her . Both weren¡¯t the coolest, but this time Loren was a proctor, so he knew that he had no say in what Ain decided . ¡°It¡¯s not the most respectable action . ¡± But next to Loren was a priestess that didn¡¯t care about their position . The students gave her hostile looks as she said what Loren, who was walking beside Lapis without a sign of being intimidated, didn¡¯t even say out loud without hesitation, and her complaints flowed towards him . ¡°In the first place, the ulterior motive of letting women walk in front and ensuring your own safety isn¡¯t good . If I were the examiner, I would deduct a lot of points . ¡± ¡°Adventurers aren¡¯t knights, after all . Maybe they¡¯re taught to do whatever they can to survive . ¡± That was something relatable to mercenaries as well . In general, the battlefield was accepted to be a place where the ones who survived were in the right . Actions based on the manners and courtesies of knights were applauded, but if you died doing so you would end up being laughingstock . ¡°Just saying Lapis¡­you would use whatever and whoever you could to get your hands on unknown knowledge, won¡¯t you?¡± When Loren pointed that out, Lapis stared at Loren and crossed her arms . ¡°Hm? Maybe they¡¯re quite capable . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting worried if I should keep being in a party with you . ¡± As Loren looked at Lapis with a stretched smile, after a while Lapis laughed and told him that she was joking, but Loren decided that he would be happier off not wondering if she was really joking or if she was being serious . ¡°Also, it¡¯ll probably fall short of their speculations . ¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Lapis asked him, but at the same time they reached the bottom of the stairs and Ain, who was in front, opened the door to the dungeon . The pa . s . sageway on the other side was dark, and Loren saw that the pa . s . sage split into two corridors a short way down . ¡°It¡¯s too dark . Feim, light the torch . ¡± ¡°Got it . ¡± Feim used a flint to light the lantern that she was holding . Ain the others gave a sigh of relief as the light shone across the walls . ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go . ¡± Ain and Cloud stood in front, and Al and Feim followed behind them . The corridor was wide enough to fit two of them side by side, and the ceiling was high enough that the light from Feim¡¯s lantern didn¡¯t reach it . Seeing how high it was, Loren judged that there was more than enough s . p . a . ce for him to swing the great sword on his back . ¡°The ceiling is pretty high . ¡± Loren nodded to Lapis, who was looking up . ¡°There¡¯s enough room for me to swing my great sword . ¡± ¡°Loren, how can you see all the way up there?¡± Loren realized as she pointed it out . The light from Feim¡¯s lantern didn¡¯t reach the ceiling . That meant the ceiling was still covered in darkness, and there was no way Loren should be able to see it, but when he looked up again, he could see the stone ceiling very clearly . ¡°¡­I told you before that I have good night vision . This amount of light is enough for me to see it faintly . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Lapis seemed to have lost interest at Loren¡¯s response and didn¡¯t poke any further, but inside, Loren was freaking out . When he called out to Shayna, who was inside him, she answered immediately . ¡®Eyes of the undead can see through the darkness . ¡¯ Loren thought that Shayna could sense what he was feeling, but apparently Shayna could restore her own senses into his organs as well . To the undead, darkness was always near them, and were able to perceive things in the dark . The eyes of Shayna, most likely because she was the highest ranking undead ent . i . ty, a no life king, seemed to see through darkness itself, and by synchronizing her sight with Loren¡¯s eyes resulted in him being able to see where the lantern¡¯s light didn¡¯t reach . He thought that maybe Shayna could¡¯ve told him beforehand, but he thanked her, knowing that she did it for him . While he was talking to Shayna, the group had continued down the corridor and reached the first crossroad . If they were following the school¡¯s teachings, they would go to the left, and without even discussing it, Ain and his party started down the left corridor . ¡°I think that Klaus and his group went right . ¡± Lapis c . o . c . ked her head as Loren whispered to her . Based on the school¡¯s curriculum that she peeked at, going to the left, as their group had done, was the standard, but Loren denied it . ¡°Parme and her group went first, but don¡¯t you think they wouldn¡¯t put up with clearing the way for Ain and his party?¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of understandable . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I think they probably went right . They would get the same results if they put their right hands on the wall anyway . ¡± This method of conquering the dungeon worked as long as you followed the outer wall, so it didn¡¯t matter which side the wall was on . If you integrated the rest of the method properly, all you needed to do was pick a wall and follow it . Then if the other group guessed that their group would follow the manual, they would have chosen to go down the right path since they didn¡¯t want to clear the way . ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to tell them that?¡± The actions of Ain and his party was based on the thought that Parme and her group would make sure it was safe, but if Loren was correct and they weren¡¯t following them, the direction they were going in was still dangerous . If Loren warned them that Parme and her party weren¡¯t moving in front of them, Ain and the others would be more alert, but Loren didn¡¯t feel like telling them . ¡°They haven¡¯t asked me . My job is to be a proctor, so my position is being able to give them advice if they ask for it . ¡± Loren thought that there wouldn¡¯t be anything that would be life threatening since they weren¡¯t far from the entrance and they were still in a shallow floor . The chances of something alarming happening was slim even if they didn¡¯t realize Parme¡¯s group wasn¡¯t in front of them, and even if something did happen, Loren was told by the princ . i . p . al that the students were responsible for heading back, so Loren didn¡¯t feel any responsibility . ¡°And if they ask for help in such a shallow floor, it would be impossible for them to reach the bottom floor . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point . ¡± Lapis agreed with Loren¡¯s words and shifted her eyes to the two in front . Although they had the tip of their weapons touching the walls and floor, they were moving quite fast under the a . s . sumption that they were taking the same path Parme¡¯s group did . The priest and magician followed behind them . Loren thought it was a formation that was vulnerable to sudden attacks from behind, but when he thought about it, the ones at the back was him and Lapis, so if anything came up from behind, they were the ones who would have to deal with it . ¡°Aren¡¯t we acting as pretty good shields?¡± Even if the monsters were produced by the dungeon, Loren doubted that they would be smart enough to recognize students from proctors . ¡°Maybe making use of your proctors well is also part of the exam . ¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I can¡¯t willing be used if I didn¡¯t get warned beforehand . ¡± ¡°From the looks of that princ . i . p . al, I can¡¯t deny the possibility that he just forgot to tell us . ¡± Loren recalled the giant he saw in the princ . i . p . al¡¯s office . He indeed looked like he didn¡¯t care about details . Judging from his name, he most likely had the blood of the ancient adventurer in his veins, but if you were to ask if the child of a hero is a hero, many times that wasn¡¯t the case, and even if he possessed the power to become a hero, there was a possibility that he was a failure as an educator . ¡°It¡¯s all part of the reward so we can¡¯t really complain . ¡± ¡°The reward seems pretty cheap then, no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s closer to volunteer work, I guess . ¡± The two of them were having hushed conversations as such while they were walking, but there was a reason behind it . They were very bored . They were moving along quite fast, but Ain and Cloud were still on the lookout for traps and enemies, meanwhile Ain and Feim were ready to use magic or divine arts at a moment¡¯s notice . Although all of them were on alert, no enemies were appearing . They didn¡¯t encounter any monsters on the path that Ain was taking them, as if Loren¡¯s guess was wrong and Parme¡¯s party came this way already and took care of everything . ¡°I guess it¡¯s because we¡¯re on a shallow floor . ¡± ¡°Nothing coming out is kind of creepy . ¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Monsters no popping up meant that they had a lot of free time, but it also meant that they weren¡¯t in danger, and Loren thought that was a good thing . But Lapis denied his thinking . ¡°As long as this is a dungeon, even if it is on a shallow floor, there should be points where monsters spring from . ¡± And if there were points where monsters appeared, no matter how large the dungeon is, the chances of not coming across them were slim . But the group hadn¡¯t even seen a glimpse of a monster yet . ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that we¡¯re lucky?¡± The one who joined their conversation was Feim, who was still holding the lantern . The other three were too busy being on guard to join their conversation, but since all Feim was doing was holding the lantern, so she had the time to be able to do so . ¡°I hope we¡¯ll be able to put it off as luck . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re so pessimistic . You¡¯ll start looking old like the guy next to you, you know?¡± All Loren could do was scratch his head at the unexpected attack, while Lapis covered her mouth with her hand and turned her back to Loren, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably . Loren knew that she was laughing, but he was aware of the fact, so he couldn¡¯t really complain . ¡°It¡¯s okay mister, I like people who look older . ¡± ¡°Pfff!?¡± Lapis spurted for a different reason than before at Feim¡¯s unexpected words and started coughing . Loren continued to scratch his head, not sure how to respond to her words . It did seem like she was complimenting him, but she still mentioned that he looked old so he couldn¡¯t find anything to say, since he wasn¡¯t sure if he should be mad or thankful . ¡®Onii-san, is this person an enemy¡­?¡¯ While soothing Shayna, whose voice rang out in his head with a freezing feel to it, Loren started worrying if he could finish the job safely, as it seemed that the dungeon wasn¡¯t the only thing that posed a threat to him . Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Ch . 59: Considering During Battle Loren and his group finally ran into monsters after they climbed down to the second floor . In the end, they found the stairs to the second floor before they encountered any monsters, but they ran into four goblins in a small room that they stepped in a short distance from the stairs . Ain and his party immediately prepared to fight them . Their speed was one of those who had trained quite a bit, and Loren, who didn¡¯t expect much of them, thought it would be okay to give them a pa . s . sing grade . He then looked towards the goblins in front of them . They were monsters that had given him a hard time in an ancient ruin that sp . a . w . ned them endlessly, but if they didn¡¯t have the numbers, they were normal and weak in general . But Loren¡¯s brows furrowed at the goblins that they encountered since seemed even weaker than the ones he imagined were weak . If he didn¡¯t learn that the strength of the monsters depended on things like the scale of the dungeon, he would¡¯ve thought that the goblins were struck with some illness, since their hands were trembling, trying to hold up their shabby daggers and shields . As Loren decided that it wouldn¡¯t even be a match against these monsters, Ain and Cloud, who were the frontline, raised their weapons and yelled . But there was one that attacked before they even moved . It was the magician, Feim . Of course, Loren would¡¯ve felt disgusted if she used the one spell she could use in this situation, but Feim didn¡¯t use a spell neither the staff in her left hand . But instead she hung the lantern on her staff and pulled out a dart from her robe pocket with her right hand . The dart that shot out from her hand sunk itself into the shoulders of one of the goblins . But the dart¡¯s needle wasn¡¯t that long . A goblin¡¯s skin was quite thick and had the defensive capabilities of leather armor, so Loren didn¡¯t think that a dart that barely penetrated it would even make it flinch . But in contrary to his expectation, the goblin that got hit by the dart dropped its weapons and started rolling on the floor, clutching the area where the dart hit it . ¡®Yes! It¡¯s working!¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty nasty . The needle was dipped in poison . ¡± Lapis watched Feim, who raised her fist, with half opened eyes . Loren wondered whose thoughts were more nasty . Feim¡¯s, who had thought of using poison, or Lapis, who immediately saw through the poison, but his thoughts were blown away by the sound of sword hitting against sword . When he looked over, he saw that Ain and Cloud had started fighting the goblins, and Ain had taken on two of them since he had a shield, and Cloud was handling the last one . Ain¡¯s fighting style was very pa . s . sive . He used both this sword and his shield defensively, and didn¡¯t seem like he was trying to deal damage to his opponents . But from the perspective of keeping the aggro of the two goblins, he was doing his job as the front line . Cloud was using his speed to apply blow after blow . Estocs specialized in thrusting and stabbing, so they weren¡¯t meant for swinging and clashing with other weapons . That was why you would try to get under your opponent¡¯s guard and be constantly attacking, but in this case, the goblin was so weak it could not keep up with Cloud¡¯s movements . But even so, it tried to block Cloud¡¯s attacks with its shield and dagger, then put in a counter, but Cloud didn¡¯t go far in, but instead attacked then retreated immediately so the goblin¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t reach him . But to Loren, Cloud¡¯s way of fighting, continually dealing small cuts to a weakened goblin, just looked like he was playing with it, and wasn¡¯t the most pleasant thing to watch . ¡°Al! Now¡¯s your chance! I¡¯ll hold it down so hit it!¡± ¡°Ehhhh! It¡¯s still moving though!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you have to make sure it doesn¡¯t move anymore!¡± Holding his mace with both hands, Al slowly walked closer to the goblin that Feim had immobilized, while Feim put her foot on the goblin¡¯s back to keep it from moving . ¡°Hurry up! The poison isn¡¯t that strong!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­Okay¡­¡± Al swung the mace in his hands with tears in his eyes . The goblin that Feim was pinning down squirmed and struggled to escape, but Feim stomped down with more force, not letting it go . ¡°Take this!¡± With a yell that sounded a bit disheartened, the mace was swung down, aimed at the goblin¡¯s head, but it missed and hit its back around the scapula with a blunt sound, and the goblin cried out in pain . ¡°Haaa!¡± The next blow hit the goblin¡¯s arm that it raised to cover its head and it bent in a weird direction . As the goblin¡¯s cries got even louder, Al wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at his mace, confused . ¡°Why isn¡¯t it hitting?¡± ¡°Well, of course it wouldn¡¯t hit since you¡¯re closing your eyes as you swing it down¡­¡± Loren unthinkingly said so out loud . As a proctor, he wasn¡¯t supposed to help them unless they asked for it, but he felt that Al might hit Feim this kept going on . Even if it didn¡¯t happen, he felt sorry for the goblin, not being able to be released from its misery . ¡°But if I swing down with my eyes open, I¡¯ll see things that I don¡¯t want to when it hits¡­¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t . Why did you even become an adventurer? Honestly¡­¡± As Loren started yelling, Lapis wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind so he couldn¡¯t grab Al . Al, who was looking at Loren in confusion, remembered that the goblin was still alive, and swung his mace down again . ¡°Lapis, why¡¯d you stop me?¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, but you¡¯ve got to keep it in . It¡¯s beyond the job of a proctor, and this exam is most likely meant to teach them these things . ¡± ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t know it would be this bad as well . They say it¡¯s the exam for graduating, but there must be a wide range for quality among the graduates . ¡± A complaining look appeared on Loren¡¯s face for a while, but he eventually clicked his tongue and patted Lapis, who was still hugging him, on the head . He meant that it was okay for her to let go now, but Lapis didn¡¯t let go of his waist . ¡°Hey, Lapis?¡± ¡°Loren, your waist is a lot thinner than I thought . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s still thicker than yours . Anyways, so this dungeon is school property because of that too?¡± When Loren asked, Lapis let go of his waist with a questioning look on her face . ¡°The dungeon sp . a . w . ned the goblins, right?¡± ¡°Yes, since there isn¡¯t anything that would let monsters in from the outside . ¡± ¡°So that means those weak looking goblins were sp . a . w . ned by the dungeon for the sake of the exam, right?¡± At Loren¡¯s words, Lapis turned towards Ain and the other students . Ain, who still wasn¡¯t going on the offensive, was still dealing with two goblins, and Cloud was still giving light cuts to the goblin he was against as well . The goblin that Al and Feim were trying to kill was still struggling under Feim¡¯s foot due to Al¡¯s accuracy being so bad, and Feim was trying to stick another dart into its back . ¡°Loren, it¡¯s true that the strength of the monsters change depending on the scale of the dungeon, but dungeons don¡¯t sp . a . w . n weakened monsters on purpose, you know?¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Think about it . If you were to sp . a . w . n weakened monsters, why not just sp . a . w . n ordinary monsters that are just that weak . Why would you go through the trouble of sp . a . w . ning them in a weakened state?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me something I can¡¯t answer . ¡± Loren gave up, knowing that there was no way he would know something Lapis didn¡¯t . Lapis folded her arms in front of her chest and frowned at Ain and the others, who were still fighting . ¡°Since you say that the monsters are weakened, they must be weakened . Then the problem is what is causing it . ¡± Just in case, Loren turned his focus to Shayna and asked her if it was her doing . He thought maybe her energy drain weakened the goblins, but Shayna told him it wasn¡¯t her . ¡°I don¡¯t believe the dungeon would do something inefficient like sp . a . w . ning monsters in a weakened state . Then there would be two possibilities . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s the first one?¡± ¡°They were somehow weakened after they were sp . a . w . ned . ¡± ¡°Second one?¡± ¡°The possibility that the sp . a . w . n system is malfunctioning . ¡± ¡°So, you don¡¯t know which one the cause is?¡± ¡°There¡¯s not enough information . ¡± Loren sighed, because either way, it meant that there was something going on in the dungeon . He¡¯d rather have had another one of Shayna¡¯s pranks as the cause, than have trouble come his way, but that wasn¡¯t a possibility anymore since he had already asked her . ¡°I only smell trouble¡­¡± ¡°I would want to head back as well if it wasn¡¯t for a part of my body being down here¡­but then that would mean that on top of failing the job, we would have to pay a penalty, so that¡¯s a problem as well . ¡± ¡°Just out of curiosity, how much would the penalty be?¡± ¡°Five times the reward . Can you pay that Loren?¡± ¡°You know what my wallet is like right now, right?¡± Of course, there was no way Loren could pay the penalty with what he had in his wallet . He didn¡¯t know what disasters would await him if he failed to pay the penalty, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be something to look forward to . ¡°I won¡¯t blame you if you decide to leave on your own, you know?¡± Loren guessed that Lapis would be able to pay the penalty without difficulty . Lapis gave him a troubled laugh, as if that were true . ¡°Yeah, right . We accepted this job because I wanted to in the first place . ¡± ¡°If you say so . ¡± After a countless number of attempts, Al¡¯s mace finally hit the goblin¡¯s head . The goblin stopped moving, as the blow finally killed it . Monsters sp . a . w . ned by the dungeon would be absorbed by it, leaving behind a part of its body as material, but nothing was left behind when the goblin disappeared . ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°Interesting . I guess there are times when they don¡¯t leave behind materials . ¡± Al looked around, while Feim seemed interested at the unexpected result . Behind them, Cloud finally killed the goblin he was fighting and ran towards Ain, who was still holding off two of them . The goblin that Cloud killed sank into the ground and disappeared, but nothing was left behind yet again . Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Ch . 60: Talking While Walking After the fruitless battle with the goblins, Loren and the group found the stairs to the third floor without encountering any monsters again . The fact that they weren¡¯t encountering any monsters at all made it obvious that there was something weird was happening, so Loren thought Ain and his party would feel uneasy, but they were far from being uneasy . In fact, they were rejoicing at the fact that they didn¡¯t encounter any more monsters . ¡°At this rate, we¡¯ll reach the fifth floor in no time . ¡± The other students nodded happily at Ain¡¯s words, but in Loren¡¯s eyes, if they were to become adventurers at their current level, the possibility of all of them surviving for a year was equivalent to him suddenly being able to use magic tomorrow . He seemed to have been misled by the fact that they were examinees, realizing that those who took exams weren¡¯t always ones who had the ability to pa . s . s . ¡°Seems like they would have a short run . ¡± Lapis muttered indifferently, as if she was thinking the same thing, and all Loren could do was nod . ¡°By the way Loren, have you noticed?¡± ¡°That there¡¯s no sign of blonde pigtails and her party?¡± Lapis pouted slightly at Loren¡¯s response . Loren guessed that she expected him not to know and ask her, and start the conversation from there, but Loren couldn¡¯t pull off feats such as feigning ignorance and asking back, when the answer was clear as day to him . On their minds was the party that entered before them, led by Parme with Klaus proctoring them . According to the map given to them by the princ . i . p . al, there should only be one set of stairs that led to the levels below, and since they were moving so smoothly, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they had caught up to them by now . But there was no sign of them at all, which raised Loren¡¯s concern . ¡°Their skill levels are higher, and they have more combat experience, so they must be moving a lot faster than us . ¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like we pa . s . sed them either . ¡± Ain and his party took quite a while to defeat the weakened goblins . It was unlikely that they had overtook Parme¡¯s party . ¡°Maybe they already made it down to the fifth floor . ¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Lapis growled as she spread out the map and checked their pathing, making sure the students couldn¡¯t see it . ¡°It depends on how skilled the other party is . If they are like ours, they shouldn¡¯t be able to get past the fourth floor . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Parme¡¯s party, they are near the top when it comes to swordsmanship alone . ¡± Feim interrupted Lapis¡¯ muttering . Ain and the rest of the party were ahead of them, but she had slowed down to where they were . Lapis¡¯ mood worsened as Feim came over, but Loren covered Lapis¡¯ face with his palm, as her expression started becoming stern, and decided to ask her a few things . If it wasn¡¯t related to exploring the dungeon, it didn¡¯t count as advice or warnings, so it was a move based on the calculation that it didn¡¯t stray from the limits of a proctor . ¡°Is that blonde pigtail called Parme that strong?¡± ¡°Of course . The girls in her party are all swordsmen that are in the top ten for this year¡¯s exam . ¡± ¡°What is this difference in level between the two groups?¡± ¡°Hahaha, you think so too?¡± Feim laughed, but it wasn¡¯t a laughing matter for Loren . And if what Feim said was true, it meant that Parme¡¯s group was already at the fifth floor or even further . ¡°We¡¯re not n . o . bles and we¡¯re not talented either . We¡¯re just a group of ordinary people . ¡± ¡°Wait, I thought the training school was meant for raising talented people . ¡± Loren turned towards Lapis, since she was the one who said so, and Lapis nodded, telling his she wasn¡¯t lying . ¡°That¡¯s the basis . But you know, even if you¡¯re talented, there are people with greater talents than others . ¡± Loren knew that was true . A wide range would exist, and on one side of the spectrum would be those with incredible talent, while ones who were just barely more talented than most would be on the other . ¡°It¡¯s fine for the people at the top, since they could work hard together, but for people in the middle and below, we feel inferior when we see those people who are called prodigies . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m beginning to get what you¡¯re saying¡­¡± From what she had just said, although the school slogan was to raise talented individuals, but it seemed that they were accepting those that weren¡¯t talented at all . Loren started wondering why they would do that, but Lapis gave the answer . ¡°It¡¯s because some people find relief when they see and know that there are people below them . It may be effective, but it¡¯s quite a worthless thing they¡¯re doing . ¡± ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s not all that bad . We¡¯re taught how to fight and given education properly, after all . ¡± Loren wondered if Klaus knew about this, but he concluded that he most likely didn¡¯t . It was because if he did know, he wouldn¡¯t have let Loren in charge of a dropout level group . ¡°We get support funds from the nation as well . ¡± ¡°Judging from that, the school¡¯s probably receiving some sorts of funds as well . ¡± They were having to enroll the ordinary along with the talented, just so they could raise extraordinary individuals . When considering the flow of money going into the school from the nation as tips or rewards, the princ . i . p . al could surprisingly be categorized as a corrupt individual . That¡¯s what Loren concluded, but Feim¡¯s words rejected it . ¡°It¡¯s likely that the school is receiving funds, but I doubt that the princ . i . p . al knows about it . ¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that? Isn¡¯t he the one in charge?¡± ¡°There are other people in charge of the school¡¯s finances . You know that the princ . i . p . al is the descendant of the adventurer this school was named after, right?¡± Loren already guessed that from the princ . i . p . al¡¯s name, and then realized . ¡°He¡¯s just letting them use his name . ¡± ¡°Even he¡¯s being hired, to be exact . ¡± Lapis added . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if the princ . i . p . al knew about this, but he knew that if he did know, he wouldn¡¯t agree to do so . ¡°We¡¯re not sure what the princ . i . p . al thinks about us, but we¡¯re not expected to pa . s . s this exam in the first place . ¡± Feim drew a conclusion to the conversation, but to Loren it seemed like a very dangerous matter . Under ordinary circ . u . mstances, Feim and the rest of the students wouldn¡¯t be able to pa . s . s this exam, be branded as failures, and would be forced to continue being students or go find a different way to make a living . But the current dungeon wasn¡¯t sp . a . w . ning monsters at all for some unknown reason . They were still only on the third floor, but Loren guessed that it would be similar enough on the fourth and fifth floors . If this went on, it would mean Ain and his party pa . s . sing the exam even though they weren¡¯t skilled enough and would be sent out as full-fledged adventurers . This wasn¡¯t good for Ain and his group, and it wasn¡¯t good for whoever would become their client . ¡°I have a question . ¡± Lapis raised her hand . ¡°Is the priest named Al the same?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°He told us that he was a priest of the Supreme G . o . d . Unlike the other G . o . ds, not anyone can become priests of the Supreme G . o . d . ¡± It was the strongest G . o . d of them all and was considered a being above all the other G . o . ds, and in order to become a priest, you needed social standing as well as skill and ability . Since Lapis knew that, she couldn¡¯t understand how a priest of the Supreme G . o . d was with Feim and the others, who knew they were drop out level . ¡°Al is a bit different . His name is Alford Veronica, and is the second son of a n . o . ble . ¡± If he was a n . o . ble as well as a priest of the Supreme G . o . d, Loren wondered if he had the social status and ability . His skill with his mace was disastrous, as he saw when he failed to kill the goblin multiple times, but if his skill as a priest was high, it was something that could be overlooked . ¡°Al didn¡¯t only become friends with a bunch of ordinary commoners like us, but he¡¯s someone we could rely on to help us with his knowledge and divine arts . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s someone reliable?¡± The att . i . tude that Al had shown Loren a short while before didn¡¯t make it seem like he would be reliable at all and he couldn¡¯t believe it, but he was stunned to see that Feim was being serious . ¡°Well, he is a bit timid and can¡¯t use his weapon at all . ¡± ¡°I can hear you¡­¡± Al said with a laugh as he walked in front of them, but Feim didn¡¯t pay any attention and continued . ¡°But he¡¯s still reliable, you know? We only made up our minds to take the exam because Al encouraged us that we would be able to get to the fifth floor, and if we could get past it, the tenth floor isn¡¯t a dream . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve watched you guys listen during cla . s . s and train hard . Of course, we might not be able to do things well, but if we work together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to do it . ¡± As Al said that in a timid voice, the others nodded . At the sight of students that were considered dropouts trying their best to pa . s . s the exam, Loren asked Lapis, who was standing next to him with a bored look on her face . ¡°You think that¡¯s a likely story?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . One of them could awaken to new powers . One of them could have skills like Loren¡¯s berserk . Hard for me to say . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s always the possibility of our expectations being wrong, right?¡± ¡°Being hopeful isn¡¯t a bad thing . Maybe . ¡± Lapis managed to squeeze words out that wasn¡¯t even on her mind . Loren thought that there was no need to say it like that, but if their current situation continued, the party would pa . s . s the exam, regardless of their skill level . They were just walking without running into any obstacles, after all . ¡°Hey, there¡¯s the stairs to the next floor!¡± The other three ran forward at Ain¡¯s voice . As Loren watched their backs, he wondered if he should be worried at the fact that they got through the third floor without encountering any monsters, which hinted that something was wrong with the dungeon, or if he should worry about the children in front of him, who were moving ahead without realizing . Chapter 61 Chapter 61 Ch . 61: Arriving After Minding Their Business Loren¡¯s worries became a reality . They had found the stairs to the fourth and fifth floor without encountering any monsters, the reason still unknown . ¡°This is crazy . ¡± It wasn¡¯t surprising that those words escaped Loren¡¯s mouth . After all, the exam was about exploring the dungeon, but it had only taken them half a day, according to Loren¡¯s senses, to reach the fifth floor, which was the pa . s . sing line . It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if it would take much longer, and the speed that they were going through was unnatural . But that was something that couldn¡¯t be helped . After all, they didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, and on top of that Ain¡¯s party didn¡¯t come across any traps either . That meant they had been able to walk all the way down to the fifth floor, which of course wouldn¡¯t take them long at all . Loren then asked Lapis, who was holding the map . ¡°Hey¡­are these guys lost?¡± ¡°Good point you¡¯ve realized there Loren . ¡± Lapis had been looking at the map, making sure that it wasn¡¯t visible to Ain and the others, and made a remark as if she was a detective talking to her a . s . sistant . ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with them . They sometimes go in roundabout routes, but most of them had been the shortest routes possible . It¡¯s as if they know which path to take . After being told that, Loren looked at the party in front of them . The one that was drawing their map was the magician Feim . But the one who was deciding where the group went was Ain, who was the leader of the party, and he sometimes discussed it with Al . ¡°This map marks the locations of traps as well¡­and they should have been caught by a few of them already . ¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t activate?¡± There were only two reasons for the traps not activating that Loren could think of . The first was the trap not activating . The other was someone disabling the trap before Ain and his party had reached it . If it was the first one, it meant that there was something wrong with the dungeon, and if it was the second one it was most likely Parme¡¯s party that did so, but if it wasn¡¯t, they would have to put into consideration a third party . ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like we need to worry about the light one . ¡± ¡°I agree . He doesn¡¯t seem like the type to scheme things . ¡± The remaining three were all suspicious . They couldn¡¯t tell if they were scheming something or cheating yet at this point, but one of them possibly possessed information regarding the map of the dungeon that only the proctors were supposed to have . ¡°Is the exam finished once you reach the fifth floor?¡± ¡°No, it officially ends once you find the stairs to the sixth floor . Choosing to go on further is up to the examinees . ¡± ¡°I see . Hey you guys . ¡± Loren called out to Ain and the others . His action wasn¡¯t something to be proud of as a proctor, but to Loren it was something that had to be done, and he was going to have Lapis turn a blind eye as well . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ain suspiciously replied . He was well built, and his crew cut gave him a rugged impression, but his fighting style showed that he wasn¡¯t aggressive, and Loren guessed that he had more of a defensive way of thinking and acting . Loren started making his point . ¡°The exam ends once you find the stairs to the sixth floor, right?¡± ¡°Well, yeah . Basically . ¡± ¡°Then can you guys withdraw from the exam here?¡± Ain became speechless with surprise on his face at Loren¡¯s sudden proposal, but in his stead, Cloud walked closer to Loren and b . u . t . ted in . ¡°Hey, what the h . e . l . l are you¡­¡± ¡°You guys started realizing it too, haven¡¯t you? It¡¯s an exam but you only ran into monsters once . It¡¯s also weird that you haven¡¯t been caught by a trap either . ¡± At Loren¡¯s words, Cloud lost his momentum, and Ain looked away from him . It seemed that although they thought that it didn¡¯t hurt to have an easy exam, they had realized that something was wrong, and were wondering if pa . s . sing the exam like this would mean anything to them . If so, Loren thought he could still expect something from them, but Al suddenly joined in . ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense . This exam was prepared by the school . If there was some trouble, the school would have cancelled the exam before it even started . ¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right! It¡¯s not cancelled, so there¡¯s nothing to be embarra . s . sed about!¡± Cloud found his momentum again and started shouting again, and Loren scratched his head . ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about embarra . s . sment . There are troubles you could find before, and there are some that you can¡¯t . Don¡¯t you think that the dungeon malfunctioning during the exam is unnatural?¡± ¡°It could¡¯ve been adjusted like this!¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand why anyone would lower the difficulty of the dungeon for an exam . The school might be able to do so, since it managed the dungeon, but if the school was doing so, they would be a corpse maker, not a training school . ¡°It¡¯s an exam for students who are going to become adventurers . Why would they want to lower the difficulty?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Cloud was at a loss for words, but a helping hand was offered to him . ¡°It might be the school trying to help students gain confidence by clearing the dungeon . ¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right! That¡¯s another possibility¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say that possibility exists . Then the teachers of this school are G . o . d forsaken idiots, you know?¡± Helping someone succeed at something was indeed a method to boost confidence . Loren knew that, and he had seen it been done many times when he was a mercenary . The experienced mercenaries would plan it to give the new recruits confidence and courage, but he remembered that it was quite a difficult thing . Because it didn¡¯t have any meaning if the new recruits found out about it . Not letting them find out about it, as well as making sure that the plan worked, was what made it so difficult, and it wasn¡¯t something that could be done by lukewarm adjustments . Like their current situation, if the students knew that the difficulty was lowered, it didn¡¯t have any meaning whatsoever . ¡°Then what to do you want us to do!?¡± ¡°I told you . How about heading back to the school and reporting it to the princ . i . p . al and the teachers . You might have to redo the exam, but it should be better than pa . s . sing it like this . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! You¡¯re telling us to fail it, after coming all this way!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not joking, I¡¯m being serious . And if you want to talk about pa . s . sing or failing, in my eyes you guys are a bunch of failures . Even if you become adventurers, you¡¯ll be lying under the dirt within a year . ¡± ¡°But that¡¯s just your opinion, isn¡¯t it?¡± Al stepped in yet again as Cloud couldn¡¯t find anything to say . ¡°Only the G . o . ds know the future . As someone that isn¡¯t even close to being a G . o . d, I don¡¯t think you could see what our futures are . ¡± ¡°I think I could make a prediction, can¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Predictions could be wrong, can¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Do you think it would be wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone here asked you for advice, am I wrong?¡± Since the examinee pointed out that he was going outside the boundaries of a proctor, there was nothing more Loren could say . If things went wrong, they could report that he got in the way of the exam, and he could get penalized . Loren had tried to look out for them, giving them advice even though they didn¡¯t ask for it, but he wasn¡¯t willing to take it that far, and although Feim had a trouble look on her face, Cloud and Ain seemed to agree with Al, so he decided that there was nothing more he could do . ¡°Alright, my bad . I tend to stick my neck into other people¡¯s business . ¡± As Loren showed signs of backing off, the party went back to moving forward with Ain looking worried, Cloud with a grim look, and Al immediately losing interest in Loren . As Loren slowly walked after them, Lapis walked up and said to him . ¡°Good try Loren . ¡± ¡°Sorry about that . It¡¯s my fault if our job evaluation goes down . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . I¡¯m getting a vague feeling that this job will end in failure again anyway . ¡± Loren¡¯s face darkened at the words, failure again . Loren¡¯s success rate after he became an adventurer was very low, in fact, the only job he succeeded in was picking herbs, and he had failed everything after that . If he failed one again, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make any money, his reputation would keep going down, and the rumor that he was leeching off Lapis would gain authenticity . ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be worrying about others right now . ¡± Loren let out a mocking laugh, while Shayna said words of encouragement in his head . ¡°It¡¯s not Loren¡¯s fault that the jobs are ending in failures though . ¡± ¡°That might be true, but results are everything, after all . There¡¯s no excuse as long as it¡¯s considered a failure . ¡± As Lapis saw Loren droop his shoulders, she wondered if he was the one who needed a boost in confidence by success, but for some reason whenever Loren took a job, even ones that seemed easy brought upon situations that made them become exponentially difficult . If they accepted an easy quest, he would notice what she was trying to do, and if by any chance, that job became difficult and ended in failure, it would end up with Loren losing confidence even further . Lapis glanced at Loren, who was walking next to her, and continued thinking . She guessed that maybe instead of trying to get an easy job, pick a random one, and if it ended in failure, she would find a reason to convince him that it wasn¡¯t his fault, and comfort him that way . ¡°I think your reputation at the guild is rising, though . I write up reports every time, and they are always surprised that we manage to survive . ¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel any better¡­It¡¯s either being stubborn about living or having bad luck . ¡± ¡°If I say that those count as skill, the children would say that not encountering monsters count as luck, won¡¯t they . ¡± ¡°If this c . r . a . ppy luck of choosing jobs that end in failure is skill as well, then I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°Ah, let¡¯s stop this Loren . This is going to become an endless loop of negative thoughts . ¡± Lapis stopped Loren from thinking any further with a straight face but filled with panic inside . She thought he would start thinking positively if she talked about positive things, but she didn¡¯t expect his mind to go towards the opposite vector . Once his thoughts went in that direction, anything she said would be taken negatively, and would be difficult to follow up . ¡°Anyways, about our current problem . Do you think they would head back after finding the stairs to the sixth floor?¡± ¡°Definitely not . They said something about going down all the way, too . ¡± ¡°Then do you think the sixth floor will not have any monsters as well, like the past few floors?¡± That was a question Loren couldn¡¯t answer . From what he had seen from the floors above, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the floors below would be the same, but there was one thing that caught his mind . ¡°I don¡¯t know, but there¡¯s probably a reason why the pa . s . sing line is the fifth floor, and they don¡¯t require going down any further . ¡± ¡°Yes, oh . We¡¯re almost at the stairs leading down . Let¡¯s see what their reactions are . ¡± Loren thought that was a quite spiteful way of looking at things . Ain the others let out a resounding shout of joy as they found the stairs that lead down to the sixth floor . Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Ch . 62: Continuing After Pa . s . sing ¡°This means we pa . s . sed the exam, right?¡± Feim said while peeking down the stairs leading down to the next floor . ¡°Yeah, but we¡¯re going to go for the deepest floor . ¡± As Ain nodded and declared so, Cloud nodded as well . Al had a satisfied smile on his face, and Feim looked back towards Loren and Lapis with a slightly worried face . ¡°No reason to look over here . We¡¯ve got nothing to say . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re only proctors, after all . ¡± Loren answered with dissatisfaction on his face, while Lapis answered with a smile on her face, but with her voice filled with sarcasm . After glancing at the two of them with hostility in his eyes, Ain looked back towards his party members and said to them with fresh resolve . ¡°Okay, we¡¯re going to reach the bottom floor and take Volf¡¯s fortune and show the whole school that we¡¯re this capable . ¡± ¡°Yeah then all those n . o . ble brats will be so frustrated . ¡± ¡°We can do it . Even if we can¡¯t do it alone, if we work together, we definitely can . ¡± As they huddled and got ready, Loren watched them in silence, dissatisfaction still covering his face . He really wanted to tell them to head back, but when he calmed down and thought about it, Loren and Lapis had business on the bottom floor as well, and in order to get into the tenth floor, they needed the permit that was given to the students . Putting that into consideration, although telling the students to go back was appropriate suggestion, having them go on was better for their own business . ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± Lapis interrupted Ain and his party¡¯s conversation . Since Lapis was the one that called him, not Loren, Ain gave her a questioning look, but Lapis didn¡¯t take any notice and asked what she wanted to . ¡°About the permit to the bottom floor . May I ask what it is and who has it?¡± ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± As expected, the one who started was Cloud . But he was a lot quieter than when he lashed out as Loren . Lapis was a neat and clean priestess when she didn¡¯t say anything, and even when she did, as long as she didn¡¯t expose her wickedness, so to say, she was affable, and on top of that, she was quite beautiful . It seemed that Cloud couldn¡¯t lash out at her in the same manner as he did to Loren . ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it will become more dangerous from here on, so I want to gather as much information that could be useful in the case of an emergency . ¡± ¡°In that case, I have it . ¡± Ain answered Lapis¡¯ question . Ain took out a silver necklace from underneath his breastplate, and on the chain was a silver ring . ¡°May I take a look?¡± ¡°Y-yeah, I don¡¯t mind . ¡± After asking for permission, Lapis defenselessly walked up to Ain, took the chain around his neck, and took a careful look at the ring on her palm . The chain was still around Ain¡¯s neck, so Lapis¡¯ body was very close to his, and as Loren saw Ain¡¯s face get flushed, he couldn¡¯t help but get a bored feeling . ¡°I see, this is the key . Thank you . ¡± After examining the ring for a while, Lapis pressed the ring and the chain onto Ain¡¯s chest and thanked him with bow and a smile on her face . This made Ain¡¯s face even redder, but Lapis immediately walked back to Loren without taking any notice . ¡°T-that was good enough? Then let¡¯s go down to the sixth floor now . ¡± Ain managed to declare so, with his face still flushed and voice slightly fl . u . s . tered . No one disagreed, and the group, led by Ain and Cloud, were met by a totally different sight than what they had seen in the previous floors . ¡°What¡­is this?¡± No one in Feim¡¯s party could answer her question, while Loren and Lapis were speechless at what they were seeing . At the bottom of the stairs was a stone corridor, like the previous floors . But the difference was that there were transparent, but at the same time clouded, mucus scattered everywhere . On top of that, the mucus was squirming its body and slowly moving along the floor and walls of the corridor . ¡°This is pretty disgusting . Behind Ain and the others, who were standing there speechless, Loren couldn¡¯t hide his disgust as he looked around at what the light from the lantern was shining on . Lapis, who was looking around curiously at the sight, squatted down beside the nearest blob of mucus and stared at it for a while, then stood up and told them the ident . i . ty of the mucus . ¡°These are slimes . ¡± ¡°Slimes? You mean slimes as in those kinds of slimes?¡± Even Loren, who had grown up on the battlefield, heard about slimes before . Of course, he had seen some, since they sometimes popped up after battles had ended . They were indefinite blobs of liquid and were categorized as simple and inferior monsters with no will or emotion at all . They possessed different elements sometimes, based on the environment they live in, but they were slow with low defenses, and could be easily killed by destroying their cores with something as simple as a stick . ¡°I think these are probably slimes . ¡± ¡°Oh man¡­we¡¯ve come to a bad place . ¡± The students¡¯ gazes focused on Loren when he muttered that . Feim gave him a puzzled look, while the other three looked at him as if he was stupid . ¡°It¡¯s only a bunch of slimes . What are you so scared for?¡± Cloud crushed one under his boots as he said that . It was easily crushed since it was mostly liquid, and it spread across the floor weakly as its core was destroyed . ¡°What I¡¯m scared of is none of your business . ¡± ¡®Ha! If you¡¯re scared of monsters like these, you must not be much in the first place . ¡± Cloud continued to make fun of him, but Loren ignored him . ¡°Lapis, do you have a torch?¡± ¡°Yes, I do . ¡± Loren pulled out his large knife hanging from his waist with his right hand and held the torch Lapis had handed him in his left . Lapis lighted the torch with a flint, and Loren raised it high over his head . ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind him . Let¡¯s go . We haven¡¯t met Parme¡¯s party yet, so they should still be ahead of us . Nodding at Ain¡¯s decision to move one, Cloud moved next to him at the front and started walking ahead . Walking behind Feim and Al, Lapis said to Loren, sounding slightly impressed . ¡°Loren, you know how scary slimes can be . ¡± ¡°These guys are dangerous . They don¡¯t have any unnecessary thoughts or emotions, after all . That makes them able to accurately respond to prey . It¡¯s true they¡¯re slow and can be killed easily¡­but if the conditions are met, they could even take down experienced mercenaries . ¡± ¡°Any experience?¡± ¡°In a battlefield before . ¡± Loren said with a grim look on his face . Loren went silent for a moment, recalling that time, and started telling her the story . ¡°It was a terrible battle . Well there aren¡¯t any battles that aren¡¯t terrible . Anyways, I¡¯m not sure who was playing around, but there was a lot of magic used, and lots of allied and enemy soldiers died, so after the battle there were way too many bodies to clean up . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­According to one research, slimes are creatures that appear in places where mana is built up or disturbed, so I guess a slime sp . a . w . ned there . ¡± Lapis told Loren that if enough magic was used in situations such as battles, the mana in the area becomes disturbed momentarily . And when water, blood, and corpses are added to that disturbance, slimes are born . Loren had experienced such a battle, but in general, slimes were creatures that ate anything they found that could be consumed . ¡°There were so many bodies, we decided to let it eat some of them . ¡± ¡°Ah¡­I can already see how it ended . ¡± ¡°We knew it would grow bigger as it ate, but we didn¡¯t expect it to multiply . ¡± Regardless of how it sp . a . w . ned, slimes were living creatures . Of course, they would grow when they ate, but slimes proliferated by splitting into two after they had gotten large enough . The slimes, which had an abundant supply of bodies to consume, grew rapidly and multiplied, and continued that cycle . ¡°In the end, there were so many slimes, they became like a giant tidal wave in the battlefield . ¡± Loren muttered about how much of a nightmare that was . The slimes ate everything they could, including water and dirt along with the bodies, and multiplied in number and size, then started consuming everyone in the area, allies and enemies alike, and that was the horror that Loren had experienced . ¡°A giant wave full of melting bodies mixed with a lot of other things¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need an explanation . What will you do if I start imagining it?¡± ¡°I still have nightmares about it sometimes . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re making me lose my appet . i . te¡­Well, at this rate, today¡¯s dinner will be disgusting rations¡­¡± Since she rejected an explanation with such a disgusted face, Loren didn¡¯t need to force one . But when he looked around, hoping that the students would now feel some of the feelings of dangers that he was feeling, but they just had disgusted expressions on their faces and didn¡¯t seem to feel any sense of danger at all . Seeing that, Loren decided that it was hopeless, but then Lapis snuggled up next to him a lot closer than she needed to . ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing special, but I just thought that this is probably the safest place right now . ¡± Loren could understand some of what Lapis meant by that, so he didn¡¯t say anything and continued walking . To those who didn¡¯t understand the situation, it seemed like they were just flirting with each other, as Ain immediately looked away, while Cloud clicked his tongue and glared at Loren . Al immediately lost interest in them and turned around, but Feim was looking at Lapis, who was hugging Loren from the side . ¡°Are you two in that sort of relationship?¡± ¡°What do you mean, that sort?¡± ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°Feim, there may be a little bit of what you are expecting, but this is different from that . ¡± Feim turned red as Lapis interrupted her question in a flat voice . ¡°If you understand our current situation, you would understand that this is the safest position¡­but I guess it¡¯s a bit difficult for you to that . ¡± ¡°Safe?¡± Since Lapis had used the word safe, it meant that they were currently in danger . But Feim seemed like she didn¡¯t feel the amount of danger that Lapis was currently sensing . ¡°Feim! Don¡¯t mind them . Hurry up, we can¡¯t move on because you¡¯re the one with the lantern!¡± Feim was still wondering about Lapis¡¯ words but chased after the others when Cloud called her . ¡°Man, it¡¯s full of slimes . What do we do about this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot of work, but let¡¯s crush them one by one . It won¡¯t hurt to lessen every possibility of danger . ¡± Agreeing to Ain¡¯s suggestion, Cloud and Al started stomping and hitting the slimes on the floor and walls one by one . Ain also started running his sword through the slimes¡¯ cores, so their progress slowed down . ¡°They won¡¯t last two seconds if something attacked us right now . ¡± Lapis, who was still clinging onto Loren, said it like it was someone else¡¯s problem, but Loren¡¯s eyes followed Ain and his party . ¡°Do you think there¡¯s something that would attack with all these slimes around?¡± ¡°I wish there would be . ¡± Lapis lowered her tone and hung her head . Slimes were creatures that consumed anything that they could . In a situation where so many slimes existed, Lapis couldn¡¯t imagine something other than slimes being there . ¡°Hey! I found something!¡± Lapis¡¯ thoughts disappeared as she heard Cloud¡¯s loud voice . Chapter 63 Chapter 63 Ch . 63: Unable to Decide After Being Attacked Something was lying on the floor down the corridor, where the light from the lantern didn¡¯t reach . Miraculously, there were no slimes in that area . It had leather armor around it with long brown hair sprawled all over, and to Loren, it looked like a person . ¡°It¡¯s one of the girls from Parme¡¯s party . ¡± Cloud, who had slowly walked up towards it, quickened his steps as he saw what it was . It wasn¡¯t certain if the girl was conscious or not, but she didn¡¯t react to the footsteps nearing her and continued lying face down on the ground . ¡°H-hey?¡± Cloud called out with fear in his voice, but the girl still didn¡¯t move . Cloud turned back to his companions, but none of them had an answer . ¡°Is she¡­alive?¡± There was no way for them to know how long the girl had been lying there . But with so many slimes in the area, it would be weird if she had fallen unconscious somehow and managed to be okay . Then it would be normal to a . s . sume that she was dead, but Ain and Cloud couldn¡¯t tell if the girl lying before them was dead or alive . ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Um, let¡¯s see . ¡± Ain, who didn¡¯t know how to deal with this, poked the girl with the tip of his sword . The girl didn¡¯t react to it . As Ain and his party looked at each other, deciding that she was indeed dead, the girl¡¯s body suddenly started twitching . As Ain and Cloud took a few steps back, the girl¡¯s twitching body somehow rolled face up . ¡°Ahh!?¡± One of two let out a cry of surprise . In any case, they had seen the girl¡¯s face . What they saw was a mask-like face, like a bad craftsman had made it . Her eyes were half open, but instead of her eyeb . a . l . l . s, they could only see black voids under her eyelids . Her mouth was open as well, but they couldn¡¯t see her teeth or tongue . Since she had a pretty face, the hollow holes that her eyes and mouth had become gave a strange air about her, and even after she rolled face up, her body was still twitching and didn¡¯t show any signs of stopping . ¡°W-what is this!?¡± Cloud lashed out in disgust . As if responding to Cloud¡¯s voice, something started gushing out of the girl¡¯s eyes, nose, and mouth . ¡°Is this a slime?¡± Ain said in a shaky voice as he saw what had come out of the girl¡¯s body . It was indeed as a slime, as Ain had said . It seemed to have attacked the girl in some way and killed her, then invaded her body through any places it could find and trampled through her insides . ¡°Then that means¡­¡± Cloud paled as he realized that the body in front of him was nothing but skin . It meant that nothing that should be inside a body was left inside, and that was inside was the slime . Although it wasn¡¯t reading Cloud¡¯s mental state, the girl¡¯s body erupted from the inside and splattered . The slime that had eaten her insides had jumped out from inside . Its body, which was usually transparent, was bright red, as if it hadn¡¯t been long since it ate all the girl¡¯s flesh and blood, and inside its translucent body, they could see the parts that hadn¡¯t been digested yet floating around . ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Cloud¡¯s reaction slowed at the sight before him . There was no way a slime would look past an opportunity that its prey stopped moving . ¡°Cloud, watch out!¡± Ain¡¯s response was quicker since he didn¡¯t everything that Cloud saw . He blocked the slime¡¯s body with his shield and pushed Cloud back, but the slime started to reach for Ain¡¯s body, along with the shield . ¡°You!¡± Ain tried to shake the slime off by swinging his shield, but there was no way it was going to fly off so easily . He was so focused on his shield, he didn¡¯t see the rest of the slime that were in the girl¡¯s body crawling and reaching towards him . By the time he realized, one of them caught his right foot and the one on his shield started reaching for his hand, and he fell into utter fear . ¡°H-help me!¡± ¡®Ain! d . a . m . n it! Let go of him!¡± Cloud got back to his senses as he heard Ain¡¯s call for help, and he thrusted his estoc into the slime that was grabbing Ain¡¯s foot, but to a slime that could only be killed if its core was destroyed, a thrusting weapon such as an estoc wasn¡¯t effective at all . The slime, unfazed at the strikes, covered up to Ain¡¯s ankle, and his boot started to change color as it started dissolving . ¡°Ow!? d . a . m . n it! My hand is burning!?¡± In the case of the girl, they killed her somehow and then proceeded to enter her body and ate it away from the inside, but this time, since Ain was struggling or since it grabbed onto a bad location, it started eating away at Ain before killing him . Ain¡¯s hand and the part of his arm that the slime was covering started melting and inflaming and started turning red and black, as if acid had been poured on there, and Ain screamed as he tried to peel it off . ¡°Al! Do something!¡± ¡°Do what¡­¡± Cloud¡¯s estoc didn¡¯t even make the slime flinch, and there was no way he could grab it bare handed, so he asked Al for help, but he didn¡¯t have a way to peel the slime off either . ¡°Um, the way to deal with slimes is¡­¡± While Ain and the others were shouting about, Feim was reaching all over her robe, trying to look for something to deal with the situation . Her gaze repeatedly went towards Loren, and Loren was aware of it, but he didn¡¯t say anything since she didn¡¯t ask him anything, so he silently watched Ain, with Cloud and Al pacing around him, but after a while he sighed, looked at Feim, and pointed to the torch that he was holding over his head . Feim pondered about what that meant, but eventually she seemed to have thought of something, as she took a small bottle out of her robe, ran past Ain and the others, and poured the thick contents onto the dead girl¡¯s body as well as here and there in the area . ¡°Ain! Hold your breath!¡± After shouting a warning, Feim smashed the lantern next to the body . The pieces of the lantern flew about, and the fire that was burning inside it spread onto the body and turned into a large flame . ¡°Feim!? What are you doing!?¡± ¡°We learned in cla . s . s that the only way to get rid of slimes wrapped around a body is to burn them!¡± Burning slimes was known as one of the most effective methods against them . Sometimes it wasn¡¯t depending on the species, but most slimes hated fire since most of their bodies were made up of water . What Feim had poured over the body was oil . It was oil used for lanterns, which were made to burn especially well . The fire that started spreading had started burning the slime that was wrapped around him . As black smoke started rising and emitting a bad smell, the slime either seemed to realize that it was burning or seemed to feel the pain, as it started retreating from Ain¡¯s body . But Ain wasn¡¯t getting out unscathed either, since he was so close to the flames and the heat . He had turned his face away from the smoke and smell from the burning slime, but he started getting burns on his body . But after waiting for an opportunity for the slime to weaken its grip, Ain had managed to peel them off his arm and leg, and rolled out of the spot, coughing and taking care to shield his burned arm . ¡°You okay Ain!?¡± ¡°d . a . m . n it! That was horrible!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to treat you with medicine and bandages because I still want to save up my healing divine arts . ¡± Ain was saved from falling prey to the slime, but he wasn¡¯t in a good shape . There were holes in his boots, and his left arm, which he held his shield with, was swelled up and had burns all over it . And due to the flames, he had light burns on his face and neck, and Al started putting medicine and bandages on them . ¡°How would you rate how they did in that situation Loren?¡± Lapis had been watching the whole thing in silence, and asked Loren, still clinging onto his waist . Loren thought for a moment, keeping his torch above his head, and answered . ¡°I¡¯m not that experienced as an adventurer, so . ¡± ¡°How about as a mercenary?¡± ¡°I guess it was okay? Especially throwing the fire without hesitating . ¡± Slimes were quite tough against physical attacks . Even if a part of their bodies were crushed, cut, or ripped, they wouldn¡¯t flinch since they didn¡¯t feel pain . If you didn¡¯t have a way to accurately destroy the core, it was common for the situation to become like what Ain and Cloud had shown . To prevent that from happening, you would need a way to exterminate it quickly, and one of them was to kill it with fire . If you had a magician that could use plenty of spells, depending on magic was a way, but if you had a magician that could only use a few spells like in the mercenary company that Loren was a part of, or if you were in a situation where no magicians were there, burning slimes were usually the only option they had . And in if you or one of your companions were caught by one, the only way to pull it off was to burn them along with the slime . Even if you tried to crush the core, you could end up hurting whoever was being attacked, and the slime would find a way inside the body through the injuries . One of the reasons that Loren was holding a knife and was holding a torch above his head was so that if a slime attached itself onto him, he could immediately crush its core with the knife, or if he couldn¡¯t, use the torch to burn it along with his body . Loren knew that the great sword on his back wouldn¡¯t do anything against slimes . ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if we give up and head back?¡± Loren suggested so, seeing Ain¡¯s condition, with all the medicine and bandages on his body, but he backed off as Ain shook his head and Cloud glared at him . ¡°We told you, we¡¯re going to the bottom floor!¡± ¡°I heard that, but what about your light? You have an extra lantern?¡± When Loren said that, Cloud looked at the burning girl¡¯s body and the slime and looking at the fragments of their lantern scattered about, realized that they had lost their source of light . Loren thought that breaking the lantern to light the fire was quite a violent method, but he knew that there wasn¡¯t much time for Feim to open up the lantern and transfer the kindling, so he didn¡¯t think that she should be blamed for throwing it on the floor, but Cloud seemed to have a different thought . ¡°Hey, what are we going to do? We still have a long way to go!?¡± As Cloud drew closer to Feim with a grim face, she looked around at the others with an awkward look on her face . ¡°We don¡¯t have any spare lanterns?¡± ¡°I have one . It¡¯s okay Cloud, we¡¯re fine . ¡± Al took some fire from the flames erupting from the girl¡¯s body along with a bad stench and lit the spare that he had brought . The party seemed relieved as they regained their source of light, but then their attention went to the burning body . ¡°One of them dropped out here . ¡± ¡°The problem is whether they headed back or kept going¡­Judging from Parme¡¯s personality, I think they probably moved ahead . ¡± ¡°Klaus is with them, but then again, he¡¯s only a proctor . If he didn¡¯t say anything, I¡¯m sure Parme would¡¯ve continued ahead . ¡± ¡°What should we do?¡± At Cloud¡¯s question, Ain thought for a moment while rubbing his injured arm, and eventually declared strongly . ¡°We go forward . We can¡¯t go back only this much . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all hold oil and kindling for the slimes . And even if we see Parme¡¯s group or Klaus, don¡¯t go near them . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s a good one burning right now, so let¡¯s get the fire from there . ¡± The slime that had attacked them was being burned along with the body, was writhing on the floor with its movements getting slower and slower . Ain and the party decided that it was okay to leave it like that and started getting fire from the flames burning its body . ¡°I¡¯ll hold the lantern this time . If this one breaks, we¡¯re done for, so keep that in mind . ¡± ¡°Burn it if you think you¡¯re in danger . Got it . Ain, if it hurts, I¡¯ll lend a shoulder?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine . ¡± Ain decided to throw away his shield, since it had been dissolved here and there by the slime, and had been burnt by the flames on top of that . They would¡¯ve taken equipment from the dead girl¡¯s body, but Feim had already burned everything, leaving nothing useful for them to take . ¡°Feim, mark this area on the map, just in case . Other slimes will probably eat everything after the fire dies, but we still have to report it when we get back to the surface . ¡± ¡°Okay . ¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go . ¡± The party started moving forward at Ain¡¯s call . As Loren started following them, he realized that Lapis, who was still clinging onto him, was pulling his sleeve, so he looked towards her . ¡°Loren, I¡¯ll leave finding the opportunity to you . ¡± ¡°Opportunity? What opportunity?¡± ¡°This and that . Breaking away from this party, for example . ¡± Lapis suggested abandoning the job without any hesitation and looked at the backs of Ain and the others who were walking ahead of them . ¡°You¡¯re not planning on dying with them, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, yeah¡­but without them we won¡¯t be able to get to our destination, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll work out . Just leave it to me, Loren . ¡± Lapis said with confidence . Lapis had said there was a way, so she certainly had something up her sleeve, but using that meant that they would be leave Ain and his party and going off on their own . Loren sighed at the fact that Lapis had given him the responsibility of finding the opportunity, and started thinking . Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Ch . 64: Sudden Changes After Continuing While Loren¡¯s thoughts were elsewhere, Ain and his party continued ahead . They crushed or burned every slime that was in their way, since one had ambushed them and injured Ain, so their pace was slower than before, but they were still moving forward . But their situation was getting worse . Ain still had enough strength left to walk on his own, but since he had burns on his arm and left his shield behind, he wasn¡¯t able to fight to his content . And for Cloud, who was lending Ain his shoulder, it was already proven that his estoc wasn¡¯t effective at all against slimes, so he couldn¡¯t play his role as a front line properly . But Al and Feim were able to drive away the slimes, so they could still manage to continue . But even that was due to them having oil and fire, and even if they managed to keep the flames, they didn¡¯t have an unlimited supply of oil . The oil was fuel for the lantern as well and they had to leave some for the way back, so they had to use it sparingly . ¡°This is going downhill . ¡± Lapis muttered while clinging onto Loren¡¯s back . Cloud and Ain gave them harsh looks, thinking that they were flirting with each other without considering time and place, but Loren was sensing something wrong with Lapis, as she didn¡¯t let go at all . At first Lapis continued to dodge his questions, but when Loren kept on asking, she finally told him what was going on . She told him that her limbs, which were prosthetics, weren¡¯t moving properly . After she explained that she was clinging onto his body to hide it, Loren immediately decided to carry her on his back . Loren had experienced a situation where Lapis couldn¡¯t move her limbs before . She couldn¡¯t move them because a spell that dissipated mana was used, and since her prosthetics ran on mana, they malfunctioned temporarily, and she couldn¡¯t move . So, Loren thought that the same thing was happening, but Lapis shook her head . ¡°It¡¯s not that there isn¡¯t any mana . It¡¯s more like it¡¯s not transmitting properly¡­¡± Looking at Lapis not giving him a clear answer, Loren guessed that she wasn¡¯t fully aware of what was going on . ¡°I can move them if I try really hard, so drop me in the case of an emergency . ¡± Although Lapis whispered that to Loren, there was a reason why he didn¡¯t want to carry her on his back . It was because they had no idea where the slimes could attack from . Slimes were made of mucus so they could climb almost anywhere and crawl into the smallest of cracks . Whether it be in the trees or inside stone walls, they climbed and crawled into any place they could and attacked their prey . He had only been against slimes in the battlefield, but he had seen mercenaries and soldiers being killed by slimes that fell from trees, jumped out of openings in baggage, or jumped out from within piles of bodies . If such slimes existed in a dungeon . Loren understood that it was a place that was full of places to hide and ambush . Hanging on the ceiling and dropping on the heads of prey that pa . s . sed below, oozing and reaching out of cracks in the walls, and since there were cracks on the floor as well, there was no telling where they could attack from . In this situation, carrying Lapis on his back, which was his biggest blind spot, meant that it increased the danger for both, so it made him even more anxious . On top of that, the students that he was proctoring would keep on looking at him, thinking that they were flirting . It was a situation which anyone would flinch at, and it wasn¡¯t a good atmosphere . ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we head back?¡± ¡°Shut up you perverted b . a . s . t . a . r . d . ¡± They continued searching for a while, and whether they were lucky or unlucky, a short while after they found the dead girl¡¯s body, they came across the stairs to the seventh floor . Ain and the others were happy at first, but what awaited them at the bottom of the stairs was a denser population of slimes than the floor above . ¡°Is the sixth floor and below breeding grounds for slimes, by any chance?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Feim answered Loren, who sounded fed up as he saw the innumerable slimes on the walls and floor, with surprise in her voice . ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t this bad? Even if we reach the bottom, will we have enough oil to get back to the surface?¡± Cloud started complaining, but Al pointed to his bag and answered . ¡°There¡¯s still enough oil in my bag . It¡¯s okay, it should be enough for the way back . ¡± ¡°Why do you have so much oil?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon . I thought we would get lost . So, I brought a lot more oil than we would normally need . Good thing I did . ¡± ¡°But if this goes on, wouldn¡¯t it become impossible to go forward?¡± Al answered Ain¡¯s justified question with confidence . ¡°Parme and her group will probably have gotten rid of a bit already, and there¡¯s no reason for us to deal with every single one of them . ¡± ¡°They could¡¯ve headed back after that girl died¡­¡± ¡°Then they should have b . u . mped into us . We didn¡¯t meet them, so it means that they are still ahead of us . ¡± Ain and Cloud couldn¡¯t find any words of refute, so they looked at each other, nodded, and started moving . Feim looked at the three of them with worry, but still chased after them, while Loren watched their backs for a while before he started slowly walking after them . ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t related to your body part, right?¡± As he asked Lapis while walking after Ain and the others, Lapis shuddered on top of his back . He turned, thinking that something had occurred to her, but when their eyes met, Lapis shook her head over and over . ¡°I don¡¯t know what part of my body is here, but no matter what it is, it won¡¯t cause situation a situation like this . Trust me . ¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not that suspicious of you, anyways . But this isn¡¯t normal at all, is it?¡± ¡°Yes . a . s . suming the floors below are in a similar state, I¡¯ve never heard of slimes covering half a dungeon . ¡± After saying that, she went silent for a moment, and opened her mouth again . ¡°Something I¡¯ve never heard of before . This is very interesting . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a greedy scholar here . We¡¯re not sure if we can even make it out alive . ¡± Ain and his party were the ones currently taking care of the slimes, but if Loren and Lapis had to head back by themselves for some reason, Loren was the one who was going to have to deal with them . Lapis had extra torches in her bag, but when it came to chasing slimes off on the way to the surface, it would become exceedingly difficult the lower they went . ¡°Even I¡¯m not such a girl that prioritizes her hobbies to satisfy her curiosity in this situation . ¡± ¡°That¡¯d be fine if it were true . ¡± Surprisingly, Lapis had a dangerous air about her that she would enjoy her hobbies to the point of ruining herself . Loren felt so and let out a weak laugh as he realized that if something were to happen, he considered the options of knocking Lapis out unconscious and drag her across the floor if he had to but left out the option of abandoning her . ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing . ¡± As he answered Lapis and continued walking, Shayna appeared in his sight, batting her wings . ¡®It¡¯s okay Onii-san . I¡¯ll use my power as a No Life King to its full potential to get you and Onee-san to the surface if I have to!¡¯ As Shayna declared with her fists in front of her chest, Loren told her that he was looking forward to it, and then realized that due to him thinking, he was quite behind and started to walk faster, but then stopped abruptly . ¡°Loren?¡± Lapis, suspicious at Loren¡¯s sudden stop, called out but Loren didn¡¯t say anything and looked down at his feet . Loren felt slight tremors under his feet . Although it was very slight, but if he could feel it across a stone floor, it meant that something was happening in the corridor ahead, and when he looked up, he saw something that he wished that he hadn¡¯t . It was the sight of Ain and the others running back as fast as they could . They were running with all their might, without any regards to the slimes that they were crushing under their feet . As for what they were running from, Loren saw a large wall of slimes that filled the whole corridor, gushing towards them like a flood . Loren¡¯s face stiffened, and he immediately turned around and started running back the way he came . ¡°Hey proctor! Why are you running away!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± ¡°Then at least run after we run past you!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t afford to do that!¡± There was nothing Loren could do against a wall of slime that filled the corridor barreling towards him . All he could do was run, praying that it didn¡¯t catch up to him . Even if he tried to burn them with his torch, against that, he could only imagine himself getting crushed by sheer number . ¡°Where the h . e . l . l did they come from!?¡± When Loren shouted, Cloud shouted back . ¡°We don¡¯t know! They just came from the other side of the corridor!¡± ¡°Move your legs if you have the strength to move your mouths! We¡¯ll get caught!¡± ¡°Guys! This way!¡± After Feim¡¯s cry, Al shouted out, and Loren sensed that they weren¡¯t behind him anymore . When he looked back, all he saw was a semi-transparent wall of slime, and didn¡¯t see a trace of the students that were running behind him . ¡°Did they get swallowed!?¡± ¡°No, I think they ran into a side road . ¡± Since Loren was carrying her, Lapis was able to see everything, and told him all that happened . Apparently, Ain and the others had ran into a branching corridor to wait for the wall of slime to pa . s . s . ¡°Would you call this getting separated or losing sight of them!?¡± ¡°Does it really matter?¡± ¡°Of course, it does! Depending on if it¡¯s them getting separated on their own or if it¡¯s me losing sight of them, it would affect the success of the job!¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about that in this situation¡­?¡± ¡°I mean, if I ran after then ran past, we would¡¯ve gotten caught¡­¡± Even as he spoke, Loren¡¯s speed didn¡¯t falter . On top of Loren, who was running at a distance from the wave of slimes, Lapis looked back at the wall of slime crashing towards them and said with a sigh . ¡°I¡¯m sure you can worry about that once we get out of this situation, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Definitely . ¡± Loren felt that she had a point, so he shelved the problem and continued running through the corridor with all his might, at a speed that seemed impossible to reach for someone with a great sword and a person on his back, without tripping on the slimes beneath his feet . Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Ch . 65: Meeting Again After Running Slimes were slow . That couldn¡¯t be said in general, considering the wall of slimes that was closing in on Loren from behind, but normal slimes were indeed sluggish . That was why Loren guessed that maybe instead of dealing with every single slime that they came across, running through at a pace they wouldn¡¯t get caught would be the correct way to explore a slime infested dungeon . That was how fast Loren was running after they separated from Ain and his party . Of course, the wall of slimes didn¡¯t let him run slower, but Loren slipped past slimes that reached for his feet, dodged ones that dropped from above, and dashed through the dungeon using only the light from his torch as his guide . ¡°Loren, do you have a destination in mind?¡± Lapis asked Loren as she turned back every now and then, checking the distance between them and the slimes, and Loren answered her without dropping speed . ¡°Not really . ¡± ¡°Yeah, I knew that¡­¡± The map that they had received didn¡¯t help at all . Loren was running through the corridors so fast that they couldn¡¯t pinpoint where their current location was . Since they lost their location, and with nothing but stone walls and floors everywhere, there was nothing to distinguish them and no signs of anything they could use to find it . On top of that, they couldn¡¯t even use the method of putting your hand on the wall . The method only worked for the outer wall, but they didn¡¯t know which wall was the outer one . To put it simply, they were lost . ¡°What do you think happened to them?¡± At first Lapis didn¡¯t know what Loren was talking about, but then realized that he was talking about Ain and the others and sighed . ¡°Hey stop that . You¡¯re tickling my neck . ¡± ¡°Oh, sorry about that . I don¡¯t care at all . They won¡¯t be of any help in this situation anyway . ¡± Just because they went off in a side corridor didn¡¯t mean that they were safe . A portion of the slimes could have gone after them, or they could¡¯ve run into another pack of them . But regardless of whether they survived or not, it didn¡¯t change Loren and Lapis¡¯ current situation . ¡°Rather than that Loren, you¡¯ve been running for quite a while now, but are you okay?¡± His bag and equipment, including his great sword . On top of that, Loren was running with Lapis on his back as well . Lapis knew that constantly running with such weight on his back would be sapping his strength . She became worried about him, but Loren didn¡¯t seem to slow down at all . ¡°The battlefield is a harsh place . ¡± Wet sounds erupted from under Loren¡¯s feet since he was crushing slimes under his feet . If he slowed down, he would get caught by the slimes, but if he ran too fast, he could slip and crash onto the ground along with Lapis . Loren¡¯s skillfulness on his movements and body balance, making him not got too fast nor too slow, made it seem like every mercenary could do so . ¡°It¡¯s said that the ones who run out of steam die first . That¡¯s why the first thing we were trained on was to continue running . We had to wear equipment and hold bags, and sometimes even other members . Your weight is nothing compared to them . ¡± ¡°About that Loren . ¡± Lapis tried to change subject, but her words were cut off by a sudden floating sensation . When Lapis looked around, wondering what happened, her blood ran cold when she saw that Loren had ran right into a hole in the middle of the corridor . Running into traps usually meant death, but Loren easily landed at the bottom and continued running . Instead of being a trap of instant death, apparently it was just a hole that forced victims to a lower level . Lapis was relieved when she realized that, but her expression hardened again as she realized that they had jumped down to the eighth floor . ¡°What was that?¡± When Loren, who stayed calm, either not realizing they were on the next floor or didn¡¯t care, asked Lapis, she remembered what she was going to say and started to talk, but saw the numerous slimes coming down the hole like a waterfall and tapped Loren¡¯s shoulder . ¡°They¡¯re coming Loren!¡± ¡°They won¡¯t stop chasing just because the floor changed, huh¡­¡± As Loren muttered bitterly as he sped up, Lapis leaned forward, put her lips right next to Loren¡¯s ear, and told him what she had meant to tell him earlier . ¡°It¡¯s about my arms and legs not moving . ¡± ¡°Out of mana?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s enough mana in the area . Way more than enough, actually . ¡± Lapis¡¯ limbs, which ran on mana, weren¡¯t moving, but she said that there was enough mana around them . Nothing came to Loren¡¯s mind, since he wasn¡¯t a priest or a magician, but he did understand that it was strange . ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Would you understand if I told you that they aren¡¯t functioning properly because the mana around us is too thick?¡± He didn¡¯t completely understand, but he did get what she was trying to say . Anything could be harmful when it was too abundant, and it seemed that in their current situation, it was mana . ¡°Do you know the cause?¡± ¡°No . But if you can buy me some time, I could possibly adjust them . ¡± ¡°Time, huh . ¡± Loren glanced back . The wave of slimes that was chasing after them even after dropping down, was still coming after them without slowing down . Buying enough time for Lapis depended on how much longer Loren could run . ¡°There¡¯s no one else, so if I could get my arms and legs moving, I could burn away the slimes with magic¡­¡± ¡°Wait Lapis . ¡± Loren interrupted Lapis . As Lapis wondered what happened, she saw someone pop out of a side corridor, and understood why Loren stopped her . ¡°Klaus!?¡± The person that popped up from a side corridor and started running beside Loren was Klaus, holding Ange in his arms . Lapis realized that she was interrupted because it would¡¯ve been bad if she had been overheard by them . She then looked back and saw that the number of slimes had increased and understood the circ . u . mstance that Klaus and Ange had been put under . ¡°You two have been chased as well!?¡± ¡°Hey! It¡¯s you guys! What a coincidence!¡± ¡°Not a good one, I can tell you that . ¡± Apparently, Klaus and Ange were being chased just as Loren and Lapis had . It seemed that when they reached the big corridor, they saw another wall of slimes coming towards them and started running in the same direction as Loren . The wall of slimes had sped up due to merging with the slimes that had been chasing Klaus . ¡°What happened to the students?¡± ¡°We got separated while running away from that . One of them got engulfed by a slime head first, and I couldn¡¯t save her . ¡± ¡°I came across her a little while ago . Her body was filled with slime, and one of the students in my group got injured from it . Burn it next time and don¡¯t leave behind trouble for me . ¡± ¡°We couldn¡¯t afford to!¡± As he saw Ange, who was stiff in Klaus¡¯ arms, nod at him, he realized that Klaus really couldn¡¯t afford to . If there were too many slimes that dropped onto the poor girl¡¯s head, they might¡¯ve had to run and not been able to burn her body . But leaving trouble for other examinees was still out of the question . ¡°Anyways Klaus . Do you know where we are?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m too busy running . On top of that, I¡¯m carrying Ange, so do you think I could run while checking the map?¡± ¡°Not much of a difference as us, huh . ¡± Loren had guessed as much, but he was slightly disappointed when he heard the words come out of Klaus¡¯ mouth . But since there was the possibility of Klaus being disappointed in the same fashion, Loren decided that the feeling was mutual . ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing you don¡¯t have a destination in mind either?¡± ¡°Same for you, right!?¡± ¡°Unlucky¡­How are we going to lose that thing?¡± The wall of slime chasing after them kept at a distance, not coming closer nor falling farther away . Loren thought that having Lapis burn it away with her magic after regaining control of her limbs, but now that they had grouped up with Klaus and Ange, they couldn¡¯t do anything reckless . ¡°The floors weren¡¯t like this when I took the exam!¡± ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°How would I know!?¡± ¡°We should get to the ninth floor . ¡± Ange joined the conversation from in Klaus¡¯ arms . Ange, who had her arms around Klaus¡¯ neck on top of being carried by him, said with a flushed face . ¡°If we can get to the keeper on the ninth floor, that¡¯s a safe area where dungeon monsters won¡¯t come into . ¡± ¡°Even if you say so Ange, we don¡¯t have the key to get in there . Only the examinees have the key, so even if we made it, we would be stuck there surrounded by slimes . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be the same even if we made it to the tenth floor?¡± As Loren b . u . t . ted in, Klaus, who had experienced the exam, told him . ¡°The tenth floor is where Volf¡¯s fortune is stored, but there¡¯s a transport gate to the surface there . ¡± ¡°Then won¡¯t you be able to take anything you want once you reach it?¡± All you would have to do is take as much treasure as you could and jump into the gate . Loren thought that would be possible, even with a guardian around, but Klaus said otherwise . ¡°But the guardian is in front of the gate, and the gate isn¡¯t open . If you don¡¯t take anything, the gate with activate, but if you try to take something, you can¡¯t use it until you defeat the guardian . ¡± ¡°You would have to get to the tenth floor in the first place for either to happen, though . ¡± As Ange finished the explanation, this time Lapis, who was on Loren¡¯s back, continued the conversation . ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ve got an idea so let¡¯s head to the tenth floor . ¡± ¡°An Idea?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say right now . Only that there¡¯s a chance for us to be saved . So, let¡¯s look for the keeper on the ninth floor, and access the tenth floor . ¡± At Lapis¡¯ proposal, Klaus and Ange looked at each other for a moment and immediately nodded . They concluded that if they didn¡¯t have a better idea, they should stick to Lapis¡¯ . ¡°Then let¡¯s think about our current location and how to get to our destination . ¡± ¡°Leave it to me . I¡¯ve been down here quite a bit, so I¡¯ll know in time . ¡± ¡°I think we should focus on getting away from that before we think about anything else, though . ¡± At Loren¡¯s words, the other three looked behind and saw the semi-transparent wall, sighed, and while Loren and Klaus sped up, Lapis and Ange clung onto their partners, trying not to get in their way . Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Ch . 66: Saving After Grasping the Situation Doing something about the slimes that were chasing them was top priority for Loren and Klaus . Even if they were trained or had the power of a Gift, Loren and Klaus were only human, and couldn¡¯t escape the boundaries of fatigue . Even if they could move for long periods of time, it didn¡¯t last forever, and they knew that they would eventually tire and get swallowed by the slimes chasing them . ¡°Klaus . Go hack at it for a bit . I¡¯ll carry Ange in the meantime . ¡± ¡°You want me to go in there and kill myself!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay . I believe in you . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust that unfound trust of yours!¡± Loren thought maybe he could do it, but seeing how Klaus declined, it seemed that his > ability wasn¡¯t as convenient to be able to upset overwhelming quant . i . ty . ¡°Not as useful as I thought . ¡± ¡°The thought of trying to do something about that with just a sword is ridiculous!¡± Loren thought that shouting would just make him tire faster and shorten the time for the slimes to catch up, but he did acknowledge the fact that he was the one that made him do so, so he decided not to say anything . They continued running, but after turning a few corners and running through straight corridors, they realized that the pressure that they couldn¡¯t feel the pressure from behind them anymore . Slowing down slightly, they looked back and saw that the overwhelming number of slimes had disappeared . ¡°Are we saved¡­?¡± ¡°What? How? I mean, we should be happy if we¡¯re okay, but¡­¡± The fact that they were saved all too soon and so suddenly without notice, made Klaus suspicious that something worse might come their way, and started looking around . As Loren braced himself for whatever would come next, not understanding their situation, Shayna appeared in front of him . ¡®It¡¯s okay Onii-san . I took care of the slimes . ¡¯ Shayna said proudly, wanting to be praised . Not sure what to do except to appreciate her efforts in his mind, and when Loren asked her for an explanation, apparently Shayna had used her powers as a No Life King to save them from the wave of slimes . ¡®I used energy drain on the slimes and weakened them to death . ¡¯ Slimes were very inferior and simple creatures . Of course, if many of them group, they became threats that even Loren and Klaus couldn¡¯t deal with, and they had just experienced it, but individually, they weren¡¯t strong at all . Shayna had drained the life out of each one of them little by little, so that Lapis wouldn¡¯t notice, and wiped them out . The effects didn¡¯t show immediately since there were too many of them, so even if a bunch of them had died it didn¡¯t make much of a difference, and because she couldn¡¯t strengthen the powers due to Lapis¡¯ high senses . ¡®I can¡¯t do this too often . Onee-san almost noticed . ¡¯ If Lapis found out that the astral body of a No Life King was residing within his own, both Loren and Shayna had no idea what sort of actions she would take . They had a feeling she would try to purge the No Life King as a duty of a priest, or she might follow her curiosity and start to view Loren as a target of observation . Or it might be something completely different, but in any case, the one thing they did know was that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good, so both Loren and Shayna were being careful not to let her notice and didn¡¯t want her to find out . After reminding her to be careful, Loren opened his mouth, trying to convince the others otherwise . ¡°Maybe it found other prey somewhere else?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the students? We need to go help¡­¡± ¡°You trying to catch the attentions of the slimes again by moving around recklessly?¡± Loren stopped Klaus, who set Ange down and started to wander off, and although he had a worried look on his face, he knew that Loren was right and stopped trying to go off . ¡°Then what do we do?¡± ¡°First of all is our current location . You can find it out with some time and walking, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s start with that . ¡± Klaus and Ange were given a map since they were proctors as well . Loren followed as Klaus spread out his map and started walking . Ange didn¡¯t have a problem with her body so she could walk on her own since the threat of the slimes had pa . s . sed . But Lapis¡¯ limbs, which were prosthetics, were still unmoving so she was still gripping onto Loren¡¯s back, but there was no way they could tell Klaus and Ange that . ¡°Did your priestess get injured?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just here because I want to . ¡± Lapis¡¯ response to Klaus was unfriendly . It might¡¯ve been a reaction to Klaus being careless around women, and while Loren smiled, thinking that this is what meant to be unapproachable, but Ange frowned and glared at him . As they followed Klaus, who smiled nervously and sped up to escape from Ange¡¯s glare, a moment later he pointed at a spot on the map . ¡°We¡¯re right here . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t help but doubt him at the quick identification of their current location . He didn¡¯t really think that Klaus would be able to find it . But when they started moving, the corridors matched what was on the map, which meant that Klaus indeed knew where they were, and Loren looked at him in surprise . ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal . I¡¯ve been down here many times back when I was a student . ¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever felt glad that you¡¯re with me . ¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t really complimenting me, are you . ¡± When Loren told Klaus that there hadn¡¯t been anything to compliment him about, he seemed to know that, as he shrugged in silence . In any case, since they knew their location, they didn¡¯t have to fear getting lost, since the location of the stairs were shown on the map . Loren and Klaus were indeed worried about the students, but if they tried to go look for them it would place themselves in danger, so they aimed for the stairs to the tenth floor, deciding that they should return to the surface and explain the situation to the princ . i . p . al first . Klaus suddenly stopped, put his hand to his ear, and started listening carefully . As Ange asked Klaus what he was doing, Loren and Lapis heard what Klaus seemed to have heard . ¡°Did you hear that?¡± ¡°It sounds like a person¡¯s voice¡­but we¡¯re the only ones down here, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, so that means its most likely one of the students . So¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to go check, aren¡¯t you? Go ahead, but keep your eyes on the map, alright?¡± Klaus was a good person in general . That was why dishonesty angered him and he couldn¡¯t be cold to those who were attached to him . But then again, if he kept putting his hands on whoever became attached to him, he was nothing but an unprincipled b . a . s . t . a . r . d, but if Ange could do something about that part of him, Loren had started to believe that he could become quite a decent person . In this situation, Loren wanted to get out of the dungeon as soon as possible, but he knew that since Klaus heard someone that could be one of the students, he couldn¡¯t just leave . ¡°Thanks . My hands are pretty full just trying to protect Ange . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m busy enough with Lapis alone, so don¡¯t expect much . ¡± ¡°Won¡¯t we be able to manage one or two more if we work together?¡± ¡°You do realize that you¡¯re basically saying that you¡¯re willing to leave behind five, six of the students out of seven, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Klaus started pondering Loren¡¯s words, but Loren was already thinking that leaving some of them behind couldn¡¯t be helped . He would help if he could, but helping others was meaningless if it meant posing danger to himself . ¡°How about you worry about it later and go check on the voice¡­¡± Pinpointing the location of a sound within a dungeon was a difficult thing to do . On top of being unsure of which direction the sound was coming from due to echoing off the walls, the corridors themselves reflected the aspect of a dungeon, where even if you heard a sound, it could be coming from the other side of the wall . But as they moved relying on the cries they heard intermittently, they managed to reach the location where the sounds originated . There, Loren and the group saw Parme on the verge of tears, stuck inside a transparent wall all the way under her arms . Her blonde roll pigtails were messy, and tentacles that had spouted from the transparent wall were trying to pull her completely in . Parme tried to resist but since she had nothing to hold onto, her struggles were in vain and she was slowly getting pulled into the wall . ¡°Parme!¡± When Klaus called out, Parme¡¯s face, covered in tears, brightened for a moment but she immediately shook her head and stopped him from coming closer . ¡°Please don¡¯t Master Klaus! Just leave me and save yourself!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°I¡¯m beyond saving . Once I¡¯m swallowed, there¡¯s no way to escape . The parts that are already swallowed are being eaten away at¡­If you will show me mercy, please burn these slimes along with myself!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± In the case that it was apparent that the victim couldn¡¯t be saved, burning them along with the slimes could be considered as an act of mercy . Feeling yourself slowly melt away and eventually suffocating to death was a harsh way to die, and Parme didn¡¯t want to die that way, but Klaus didn¡¯t have the determination to burn her while she was still conscious . ¡°If you can¡¯t, please walk away . I don¡¯t want to show myself getting eaten by these slimes . ¡± Parme said so because she knew she would cry and wail and plead for her life disgracefully, but with Klaus¡¯ personality, he couldn¡¯t choose the option of leaving her . When he walked up to try to pull her out, more tentacles emerged from the wall and started reaching for him . ¡°d . a . m . n¡­I can¡¯t even get close¡­¡± ¡°Hey Klaus, watch Lapis for a minute . ¡± Deciding that she could at least stand in place, he lowered her down and gave her the torch he was holding, and tapped Klaus¡¯ shoulder, telling him to stand back . He then walked towards where Parme was stuck . Of course, the tentacles reached for him as they did for Klaus, but Loren didn¡¯t even try to dodge them and let them wrap around him . He slowly reached over Parme, who was watching him dumbfounded, and grabbed the base of her neck . ¡°What? Excuse me¡­?¡± ¡°One, two¡­!¡± Along with a shout, Loren mustered up the strength in his arms and forcefully pulled Parme¡¯s body out from the wall . Some ripping noise reached his ears in that moment, but he paid no attention to it and threw her behind him, towards the others, then calmly ripped the tentacles that were wrapped around his body, and leisurely walked back towards them . ¡°I knew you were strong since you used that great sword but¡­incredible . ¡± ¡°Anyone can do this if they train long enough . ¡± As Klaus shook his head rapidly, telling him there was no way, Loren wondered if it really wasn¡¯t . As Klaus started rejoicing that they had saved one of the students, Parme, who had been thrown on the ground, let out a sharp scream . When Loren and Klaus looked towards her, wondering what was wrong, they saw Parme on the floor, her face bright red with tears in her eyes, and covering her chest with her arms . She was almost completely naked . The two of them looked back towards the wall where Parme had been captured, saw her ripped up clothing and undergarments floating inside, and understood the situation . ¡°So that was the ripping noise I heard before . ¡± ¡°It was already melting, so it wasn¡¯t your fault . ¡± As they finished up their conversation, they looked towards the girls, as if they were looking for agreement, but as soon as Loren turned, a lit torch flew towards him . Ange¡¯s staff was thrown towards Klaus and hit him straight in the face, causing him to bend over in pain, while Loren managed to catch the torch, turned away from the girls, and started burning the wall of slimes . Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Ch . 67: Reorganizing and Heading for the Bottom Floor Parme, who had been rescued, covered her face and sobbed for a while, but with Lapis and Ange comforting her, she slowly started to calm down . In the meantime, Klaus looked up again to check on her, but he was silenced by Ange¡¯s iron fist, while Loren was busying himself burning any slimes that got close . When Parme finally calmed down, Ange took out a thin blanket out of her bag and covered her, while Lapis checked on her injuries . Since she had said earlier that she was already being eaten, Lapis had expected harsh injuries, but although the injuries weren¡¯t light enough to take easily, they weren¡¯t too serious either . ¡°The injuries aren¡¯t bad, but the state and the range is the problem . Loren, can I use >?¡± Lapis judged that if left alone, it would leave behind scars for sure . As she asked Loren, thinking that a girl of her age with such scars all over her body was too pitiful, Loren simply nodded . ¡°It¡¯s fine so go ahead and heal her . ¡± ¡°You sure?¡± Lapis prepared to use her healing divine arts as soon as Loren approved . A priest¡¯s healing divine arts was a lifeline not only within the dungeon, but to adventurers in general . Klaus was confused at Loren¡¯s decision to use one of the limited usages on Parme . ¡°Well, it is a bad move considering our situation . ¡± Parme had lost all her equipment and was more of a burden than anything . So Loren knew that using divine arts on injuries that wasn¡¯t a threat to her life would be confusing to anyone . ¡°She¡¯s training to become an adventurer . She should be prepared to have scars on her body . ¡± ¡°Could be . But it¡¯s fine, I guess . ¡± As Loren patted Klaus on the shoulder, telling him not to think of it too hard, he stopped arguing . Next to them, Lapis was about to use > on Parme . ¡°G . o . d of Knowledge, please heal her using the method you could find within that stupidly large amount of knowledge you possess . ¡± ¡°Those aren¡¯t the words of prayer, are they!?¡± ¡°Prayer isn¡¯t bound to specific forms . ¡± When Lapis touched Parme¡¯s body along with a plausible explanation, the divine arts quickly displayed its effects, as the injuries from the slimes started healing . ¡°Is it just me, or is the healing working really well somehow?¡± ¡°Those who believe will be saved . ¡± Seeing Parme¡¯s injuries disappear and returning to healthy looking skin, Ange asked Lapis with swear running down her cheek, as if she were seeing something perplexing, but Lapis responded in a solemn tone . ¡°So how is it, actually?¡± ¡°No idea . Don¡¯t ask me . ¡± Although Klaus asked him, Loren had no way to answer . He guessed that the basic specs of being a demon could have had something to do with the effectiveness of the divine arts, but for some reason he couldn¡¯t look past the fact that the prayer might have had something to do with it as well . ¡°In any case, blonde rolls can move now so let¡¯s get moving . Nothing good will come out of staying here for too long . ¡± ¡°I apologize¡­for the inconvenience . ¡± Parme hung her head, the att . i . tude she had shown before entering the dungeon was nowhere to be seen . Feeling that being ashamed the whole time wasn¡¯t good for the atmosphere, Loren tried poking some fun at her as a joke . ¡°But are we going to pull her around with only a blanket around her?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯ll accept it . ¡± Loren had said it expecting her to complain, but to his surprise, she had easily complied . As Parme¡¯s face turned bright red, Loren became troubled as he didn¡¯t know what to do but help came from Lapis . ¡°Ange and I could at least lend you underwear . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s an emergency, so we¡¯ll go with the size that fits better . ¡± Adventurers tried their best to pack as little as they could . It was obvious since they would have to be moving constantly, so whenever they went exploring or on subjugation, they only took the absolute minimum of what they needed . Even to them, extra underwear was essential, so Lapis and Ange carried around a few changes with them . Some might wonder why they would do so in the limited s . p . a . ce in their bags, but the jobs of adventurers often got them injured as well as dirty . From experience, adventurers knew that wearing dirty or contaminated clothes would worsen their injuries or cause illnesses . Rarely did they have any room to take extra clothes, but always having extra underwear or underclothes, which constantly touched the skin, was the common understanding . ¡°I brought an extra pair of boots, so I¡¯ll lend you those . ¡± Magicians could often take more things since they didn¡¯t have heavy equipment to worry about . Ange seemed to be so and brought an extra pair of boots, in case the pair she was wearing got ruined by a trap . ¡°For the top¡­mine is too big . Ange, yours seems like a perfect fit . ¡± ¡°Grrr¡­¡± ¡°The bottom¡­Hmm? Yours slips off, huh . I guess I¡¯ll lend mine then . ¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡± ¡°For clothes¡­Loren, lend her one of your shirts . ¡± ¡°Here . ¡± With the difference in height between Loren and Parme, his shirt reached down and easily covered her all the way down to the middle of her thighs . ¡°I don¡¯t know how to thank everyone¡­I¡¯ll repay this debt someday¡­¡± ¡°Worry about that if we manage to get back to the surface . It¡¯s not certain we can get out of here yet . ¡± Stopping Parme from bowing her head, Loren told her in a matter of fact way, not letting any emotion into his words . If he somehow gave her some measure of hope, and that hope was to be crushed, the emotional drop would be a hard one . So that was why he couldn¡¯t let her feel saved in a situation where they had no idea what would happen . ¡°Parme, do you know what happened to the other members of your party?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Master Klaus . My hands were full just trying to run away, and before I realized, I was caught inside the slimes¡­so I don¡¯t know what happened to them . ¡± When Parme told Klaus that she didn¡¯t know, although he looked disappointed for a moment, he immediately regained his composure and patted her on the head to try to comfort her . ¡°Master Klaus¡­¡± As Parme¡¯s cheeks turned red, Ange started coughing very loudly . As Loren was watching the three of them, Lapis spread her map of the dungeon and walked up next to him . ¡°Do you long for things like that?¡± ¡°Not even a bit . Doesn¡¯t suit me, and I don¡¯t want anything like that . ¡± ¡°Sounds like you . By the way, are we going to go to the keeper on the ninth floor like this?¡± Parme joining them could be taken as an accident, but it just meant that they had another person they needed to protect, so Loren decided that it wouldn¡¯t have too much of an impact on them . But in fact, they had to hurry harder than before to defeat the guardian on the tenth floor, so they could send Parme back to the surface . ¡°Klaus and Ange, the two of you go ahead and protect Parme . Lapis and I¡¯ll take care of the enemies . ¡± ¡°But¡­No, you¡¯re right . Got it, leave her to us . ¡± The first had to do something about the keeper guarding the exit of the ninth floor, and Klaus was about to argue when Loren said that the two of them will take care of it, but he quietly obeyed him, as if he had thought of something . Impressed at how quick Klaus now was to understand, Loren lead Klaus and the others down the corridor with Lapis, who regained control of her limbs, walking next to him . ¡°So, this is where the keeper is¡­¡± A short time after they had rescued Parme . The only monsters they encountered on the way were slimes, and by either burning or slipping pa . s . s them, the group managed to reach the area on the ninth floor where the keeper resided, but what awaited them wasn¡¯t a keeper blocking their way, but an unmoving stone doll with its hands and knees on the ground . The doll, which would¡¯ve been taller than Loren if it stood up, wasn¡¯t damaged at all, but for some reason it didn¡¯t show any signs of moving . ¡°Is this the so-called keeper?¡± When Loren asked Klaus, who knew more about the dungeon than he did, he nodded . ¡°It¡¯s a stone golem that the school made . But to see that it stopped functioning¡­¡± ¡°This is supposed to be strong, right?¡± When Loren asked for confirmation, both Klaus, who was knowledgeable of the dungeon, and Lapis, who was knowledgeable in general, nodded at the same time . ¡°It¡¯s not as strong as metal type golems, but stone golems are still powerful . But to be able to cause a breakdown like this¡­¡± ¡°Lucky for us, but the problem is who did it . ¡± They now didn¡¯t have to fight it to enter the tenth floor, but the problem was who or what was it that broke the golem . After all, it was hard to think that whoever did it would be satisfied by doing this, which meant there was a high possibility that the being would already be in the tenth floor, which they were about to enter . If that was the case, they would most likely face whoever it was down there . ¡°There¡¯s no damage on the golem¡¯s surface . If I remember correctly, it had an auto repair ability, but if it took enough damage to cause a breakdown, it repaired itself to fast . Klaus said as he examined the golem . ¡°Then how did this guy stop like this?¡± ¡°For a fair method, Isn¡¯t there a divine art that could deal damage without inflicting wounds?¡± ¡°Are you talking about >? That¡¯s one of the few attacking divine arts . ¡± Klaus knew that if the golem was defeated by magic, there should be signs of burns or damage, but there wasn¡¯t so he thought of the possibility of divine arts . Against his thought, Lapis immediately shook her head, denying the possibility . ¡°> is indeed a divine art that inflicts just the impact to an opponent and barely leaves any wounds, it is but a beginner level divine art, so its power isn¡¯t much . Do you think it would be enough to defeat a stone golem?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°The only people who might be able to do that would be a very high-ranking priest . Then what would such a priest be doing here? And why would he defeat the keeper?¡± ¡°No idea about that one . ¡± There was too little information to make a judgment . As Loren easily gave up, Lapis asked Klaus . ¡°What other methods would there be if they weren¡¯t fair?¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯m wrong, but there¡¯s a pa . s . sword that acts as a deactivation key for the golem and it changes every month¡­and of course the teachers know what it is . If you pay them enough, you might be able to get them to tell you what it is . ¡± That was an obvious act of misconduct . Which was why Klaus hoped he was wrong, but with the sight in front of him, he had to put it into consideration . ¡°Either way, we need to go down . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . ¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up and go . All of you, don¡¯t be surprised no matter what comes out . ¡± On the other side of the unmoving golem, was a single door . Judging from where it was, Loren guessed that it was the entrance to the tenth floor and signaled Lapis, who was standing next to him, and when she saw it, she walked up and turned the k . n . o . b . After confirming that it didn¡¯t open by pushing and pulling on it, she put her palm on the door and started muttering something . Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Ch . 68: Reunion at the Bottom Floor The door to the bottom floor easily opened after Lapis put her hand on it and muttered a few words . It happened so quickly that Loren wondered if there was actually a seal . ¡°What did you just do?¡± To Klaus, what Lapis had just done was unbelievable, as his eyes became wide open with surprise, in contrast to Loren . Seeing his reaction, Loren understood that the door had been sealed properly, but when he thought about it, whatever Lapis had just done wasn¡¯t something that could be done ordinarily and realized that it shouldn¡¯t have been shown to the other . So, he panicked and looked towards Lapis, wondering how she would react, but she answered like it was nothing . ¡°I tried copying the wavelength of the mana used to undo the seal . I examined the key, after all . It¡¯s quite simple . ¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Since Klaus was a swordsman, he was about to stand down with Lapis¡¯ explanation, but this time Ange, who was a magician, let out a confused voice . On the front among the members there, Ange was supposed to be the expert on mana, so Loren was alarmed that her confused response would cause more suspicion towards Lapis, but Lapis easily responded to this as well . ¡°A thief that came to confess at the temple I was training at secretly taught me this technique when I told her I was going to become an adventurer . You shouldn¡¯t think that a thief can¡¯t touch something just because you sealed something with mana . ¡± As she told Ange that it was a technique of a thief, she stopped looking suspiciously at her for now . Since it was outside of her expertise, she couldn¡¯t say if what Lapis said was true or not and decided that there was no reason to be suspicious of it . ¡°Is that story true?¡± Seeing that the conversation was now done, Loren quietly asked Lapis, and she answered him in a hushed voice . ¡°It¡¯s true that a handful of thieves know the technique of picking locks using mana . But the source of the technique is us . ¡± In this case, us didn¡¯t mean priests of the Knowledge G . o . d . Loren understood that since Lapis was a demon, the technique sourced from them . Loren wondered why they decided to develop and spread the technique to thieves, even though it was only a handful of them, and was worried that when Klaus or Ange had the opportunity to travel with priests of the Knowledge G . o . d in the future, the level of skill and techniques they would expect from that priest would be very high . ¡°Okay, the door is open . It¡¯s a waste of time just standing here and chatting, so let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡± As Lapis insisted that there was nothing more to talk about, the group started going down the stairs on the other side of the open door . The stairs leading to the tenth floor was longer compared to the ones for the upper floors, but other than that, it was almost the same, and the group reached the tenth floor . They immediately realized why the stairs were longer than the others . The bottom floor wasn¡¯t a dungeon like the floors above, but instead it was just a wide s . p . a . ce . In places across this wide s . p . a . ce were showcases packed with many kinds of items and tools . The ceiling was high and had light sources installed so it was possible to see across the whole floor, and Parme let out a voice full of admiration as she put her torch against the wall . ¡°This is Volf¡¯s legacy¡­¡± The things that were more valuable were stored inside the showcases, but everything else was stored adequately, with some were just piled up next to the walls . But even those radiated its own mana, while the gold, silver, and jewels were shining brightly, and one look told them that it was worth a fortune . ¡°The last time I¡¯ve been here was before graduating, but it¡¯s quite a sight, no matter how many times I see it . ¡± Klaus looked around with slight nostalgia . From what Loren had heard, Klaus was quite the honor student and had been here before, so he asked him out of slight curiosity . ¡°Hey Klaus, were you able to take something from here?¡± ¡°No, I returned to the surface without taking anything to avoid fighting the guardian . I didn¡¯t want to put my companions in danger . ¡± When Klaus looked Ange with a smile, she looked back at him with flushed cheeks and a s . p . a . ced-out expression, while Loren and Lapis overtly sighed and looked away . Meanwhile Parme looked at the two of them enviously . ¡°Alright, anyways . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who asked . ¡± ¡°Anyways! Where would the preceding visitors be?¡± The tenth floor was vast . And due to the showcases, there were places they couldn¡¯t see, and wouldn¡¯t be surprising if someone or something would be lurking there . On top of that, because of the items radiating mana all around the place, it was hard to sense others that might be there, so Loren felt that it wasn¡¯t a situation where they could let down their guards . ¡°I was expecting there to be an ambush or two . ¡± Since the keeper on the ninth floor was deactivated, it was almost certain that whoever did it was on the same floor . And that someone was most likely someone partic . i . p . ating in the exam, with a high possibility of fraud . So, Lapis had expected that person to consider that they would be coming behind him and ready something to hold them back or even set an ambush, but it seemed that her prediction was wrong, as they didn¡¯t meet anything of the sort . ¡°Nothing happening doesn¡¯t hurt . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re so na?ve, Klaus . ¡± As Lapis said with a sigh, Klaus looked at her, not sure what he said wrong . ¡°Nothing here means that the person has already finished what he came here for, you know? It means that he finished it before we even got a chance to find out what it was . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­I guess that¡¯s true . ¡± ¡°On top of that, if it was one of the students, he would know that we would find out that he attempted fraud, so even if we return to the surface, he would already be running away . Well¡­as proctors, it wouldn¡¯t affect our job results even if he gets away . ¡± Reporting the facts and letting the school decide what happens after could count as doing their jobs as proctors . Then it was easier if no one was there on the bottom floor and nothing happened . ¡°Lapis, you didn¡¯t forget why we came here, right?¡± ¡°Of course not . I¡¯m looking for it right now . ¡± In the same way Loren and the others were scanning the area, Lapis was doing the same, except she was actually looking for the part of her body, which was what she and Loren had come here for . But still, whether it be one of her arms or legs or eyes, if the actual thing was just sitting around there somewhere, she would have to explain it to Klaus and the others somehow, so she was trying to think of a good explanation . As Lapis decided that in the worst case, she would have to put them to sleep, one of the showcases in the corner caught her eye . Although all the expensive looking items were stored inside the showcase, on top of that particular one was a transparent jewel . Lapis walked over to it and reached for the jewel on top of the showcase, which was on the same height as her eyes, took it, raised it above her head, and peered in to it with one eye . ¡°Umm Lapis? Sorry to bother you¡­but I don¡¯t think we have time for that . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . ¡± Lapis obeyed Klaus and put the jewel back on top of the showcase . But Loren managed to see her only pretend to do so and drop the jewel into her sleeve . ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad it¡¯s easy to carry around . ¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Looks like my left arm . Not bad, but not good either, I suppose . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know the principle behind how Lapis¡¯ left arm was processed into the transparent jewel that she had snuck into her sleeve . And he didn¡¯t know how the jewel will go back to being her arm, but seeing that she wasn¡¯t distraught or worried, he guessed that there wasn¡¯t a problem . ¡°But if you take that, wouldn¡¯t the guardian wake up¡­?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t part of Volf¡¯s fortune so it should be fine . ¡± Lapis told him that if the guardian was for those who tried to take part of Volf¡¯s fortune, it shouldn¡¯t react to them, since her arm wasn¡¯t part of it . Thinking that they could escape without having to worry about involving Klaus and the others in danger, started looking around for the exit, deciding that they should leave as soon as they could . But then he realized that he couldn¡¯t even find the entrance that they came through . ¡°The entrance vanished?¡± ¡°I-it closed up as soon as we set foot inside this floor!¡± When Parme, who seemed to have seen it happen, said so, they all glanced at each other . Now that they thought about it, if one could go back up the way he came, he wouldn¡¯t have to face the guardian, and although it would take longer, they could take whatever they want to . They then realized that the entrance got blocked off in order to stop anyone from doing so and would have to go through the guardian . ¡°Now that I think about it, it was that sort of system . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget something so important . ¡± As Klaus said with a laugh, Loren hit him in the chest with the back of his hand, and started looking for the exit, ignoring Klaus, who sank to the floor clutching his chest, while Ange and Parme rushed over to help him up . After a while, Loren saw where the rows of showcases ended . On the other side was a slightly vast empty area, and on the wall across it, was a door . Seeing that there was nothing else like it, he guessed that this was where the guardians were as well as the exit to the surface, and called the others over to head over there, when he saw four shadows standing in front of the door . As he was about to call out to them, he heard something cutting through the air, flying towards him . He immediately drew the great sword on his back and used it as a shield, and immediately after, he heard something hard hit the flat of the blade . ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± The sound caught the attention of Klaus, and while watching him run over with his sword drawn, Loren rested his great sword on his shoulder, and bent over to pick up what had bounced off it . ¡°A dart, huh . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve reached here faster than I thought . ¡± The one who called out was the priest Al, who was part of Ain¡¯s party, who they separated from when running from the wave of slimes . But the one who attacked was Feim, who was standing next to him with a smile on her face . ¡°If you would¡¯ve gave up and one back, it would¡¯ve saved us so much trouble . ¡± ¡°How should I take the fact that you attacked me?¡± The tip of the dart glistened . It was most likely poison, and Loren was sure that throwing it at him wasn¡¯t an accident . ¡°That¡¯s a warning not to get in our way until we reach our goal, of course . ¡± On both sides of Al, who said that, was Ain and Cloud, with their weapons drawn . For a moment, Loren thought that they were all in in together, but Ain and Cloud¡¯s faces were expressionless, and their eyes were unfocused . ¡°Hey, those two¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I used > on them to make them my p . a . w . ns . ¡± Feim answered instead of Al . In her hand was a crushed piece of paper instead of a dart, and she then threw it towards Loren with a shout . ¡°>¡± The piece of paper that was thrown started glowing, and instead of disappearing it shot bullets made of fire . As Loren cut through them with his great sword, Lapis shouted a warning . ¡°Be careful! They are supplementing their use of magic with scrolls!¡± ¡°What are they thinking?¡± Due to the special method of making them, scrolls that contained magic could be used not only by magicians, but by those with other jobs as well . Using them caused the effect of the magic written on the scrolls, but not many were distributed in the market and were also very expensive, so they weren¡¯t used very often . ¡°I¡¯m doing what needs to be done to achieve my goals, of course . ¡± The smile on Al¡¯s face wasn¡¯t the same as the timid looking priest that they had traveled with . Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Ch . 69: Recommending After Listening ¡°You have some time to tell us about it?¡± Al c . o . c . ked his head at Loren¡¯s question . ¡°I¡¯m not sure . I haven¡¯t achieved my goal yet, and¡­¡± Al¡¯s gaze turned away from Loren . Klaus was slowly inching towards Al, but he stopped as he turned towards him . ¡°The prodigy of our school is here as well, so wouldn¡¯t it be a disadvantage to me if I spend too much time talking?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you at least give us a reason why? We¡¯re supposed to be your proctors . ¡± While saying that, Loren was wondering if he could close the gap between him and Al and cut him down before he could make a move . But the answer to that thought was a no . On top of Feim keeping them in check by dangling another scroll from her fingers, Ain and Cloud, who were hypnotized, were standing in a position where it was impossible for him or Klaus to make a move on Al . ¡°Even if we go back up, we can¡¯t say that we don¡¯t know anything . ¡± ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re going to be able to return to the surface? Well, whatever . ¡± Al sighed at Loren¡¯s words, but it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to do something against them without explaining anything . ¡°It¡¯s nothing much . Although I may be the second born of a n . o . ble household, don¡¯t you think that I won¡¯t be able to succeed even if I became an adventurer?¡± ¡°I think that would depend on your att . i . tude . Loren didn¡¯t think one had to be reborn to be successful as an adventurer . Of course, he couldn¡¯t deny that talent would play a big part in it, but he couldn¡¯t agree to the idea that Al couldn¡¯t succeed because he was the second born of a n . o . ble house . ¡°It would¡¯ve been different if I was talented like Klaus . ¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say that people think in different ways, so go on . ¡± ¡°Luckily, I had enough knowledge to become a priest, and was able to smuggle many different doc . u . ments when I left my home . ¡± When Al studied those doc . u . ments, looking for information that could benefit him, he found one that had information on the Volf Adventurer Training School, which he was going to enroll in . ¡°How much do you know about Volf¡¯s achievements?¡± ¡°Just a little . ¡± Loren forgot most of the things Klaus told him right after he arrived at the school . It was mostly because he wasn¡¯t interested since it was all useless information to him, but as Al continued his explanation, he wished that he paid better attention . ¡°Volf achieved many things, but what piqued my interest was the story that he sealed an evil G . o . d and put it here . ¡± ¡°An evil G . o . d?¡± Loren¡¯s brow furrowed at the shady word that popped up, but he had a vague feeling that Klaus had said something like that and tried to recall it . ¡°I think Klaus mentioned it along with slaying dragons and ancient ruins . ¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t listening to my explanations, were you¡­¡± Klaus sighed, but Loren didn¡¯t feel the need to follow up, and prompted for Al to continue . ¡°I¡¯m a priest of the Supreme G . o . d¡­But what if I were to revive an evil G . o . d and become its priest?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°It means that I could become that G . o . d¡¯s high priest . ¡± Al declared proudly . Loren looked away from Al, who was standing there pleased with himself, not sure how to respond, and turned towards Lapis and the others who were behind him, looking for help . Loren understood up to thinking of a different method, since if Al continued to serve one of the most well-known G . o . ds, he would be one priest among many . But reviving an evil G . o . d that no one worshipped and become its high priest seemed like a good and bad idea at the same time, so he didn¡¯t know what to do . ¡°Hey Lapis . Can you switch with me?¡± ¡°No way Loren . From that conversation, anyone could see that there¡¯s no use talking to him . Please don¡¯t push trouble towards me . ¡± Lapis made a very unpleasant face, so Loren had to give up on leaving the situation in her hands . Even Lapis, who was willing to hardships for knowledge, didn¡¯t seem to want to deal with Al at this point, and it was plain that she was going to let Loren finish out the deal . ¡°Ahh¡­I want to check, just in case . ¡± Scratching his head, Loren shifted his gaze away from Al to Feim, who had a nervous looking smile on her face . ¡°Why are you over there?¡± ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t have talent as a magician . Even if I graduate and become an adventurer, I¡¯ll just end up with random adventurers who tell me what to do and work all day, you know? So, I thought maybe it would be worth to bet on Al, who¡¯s trying to make a name for himself right now . ¡± ¡°He¡¯s talking about an evil G . o . d¡­but you¡¯re not being threatened?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­But he said he¡¯ll give me money, and it seems that the evil G . o . d sealed in here isn¡¯t seen as an enemy by the other G . o . ds . ¡± Feim said that if it was a powerful being that could be a threat to the other G . o . ds, there would be records or legends about it in every church . But there was no church that told of such a being sealed under the training school . ¡°So, I thought that there wouldn¡¯t be a big deal . ¡± ¡°If the evil G . o . d isn¡¯t a big deal, there wouldn¡¯t be much good coming out of serving it . ¡± ¡°Oh, you might be right . ¡± Loren and the others watched with bored expressions as Feim¡¯s response seemed like she had just realized it, while for some reason Al had a proud look on his face and informed Loren, who didn¡¯t want to deal with them anymore . ¡°We¡¯ve already found its body . ¡± ¡°What?¡± An evil G . o . d being sealed there was already a fishy story, so even if Al said that they found the body, you didn¡¯t have to be Loren to think that he was lying . But Al confidently pulled out an item from the pocket of his robes . It was a box about the size of his palm . It had complex patterns on its surface, which had a metallic glint to it, and Al raised it above his head to show Loren and the others . ¡°This is the body of the evil G . o . d that Volf sealed . ¡± ¡°Looks pretty cheap . ¡± The designs were indeed complex, but there weren¡¯t any ornaments or gold or silver colors on it either . The box itself had a metallic glint, but Loren guessed that it was probably iron, not n . o . ble metal . It looked like something that a local blacksmith could make after paying a few silver coins, but according to Al it was where the evil G . o . d was sealed . Loren, wondering how serious Al was, decided that he should be cautious just in case, and brought his great sword under his arm . ¡°a . s . suming that the box is what he says it is¡­¡± Lapis called out, as if she had realized something . As Loren stood in front of her, hoping that she would just switch with him, she said something unbelievable . ¡°Isn¡¯t that the reason behind the dungeon not sp . a . w . ning normal monsters and being overrun by slimes?¡± ¡°As expected of a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d . You¡¯re probably correct . ¡± Loren had a feeling the expectations of priests of the Knowledge G . o . d just got higher, but that wasn¡¯t important . Rather than that, what Lapis had said shocked everyone else . ¡°Lapis, what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Slimes are creatures that appear when the mana in an area is too thick or disturbed, so if a being that¡¯s called an evil G . o . d is about to awaken, those things could happen, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°T-then the current dungeon is¡­¡± Lapis nodded at Ange¡¯s words of panic . ¡°The so-called evil G . o . d inside that box that¡¯s about to revive is the cause . The appearance of all the slimes, as well as the dungeon malfunctioning is all because of that . ¡± The dungeon was usually managed by the school, and the bottom floor was sealed off so no one could enter . Then it was hard to believe that Al could¡¯ve timed everything so perfectly in order to revive the evil G . o . d . Klaus was about to point that out, but Lapis said the answer before the words came out of his mouth . ¡°It¡¯s probably coincidence . ¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s coincidence . Well, if something like an evil G . o . d¡¯s guidance existed, you could say that it was meant to be . ¡± ¡°It was the guidance of the evil G . o . d . ¡± ¡°I guess it was meant to be then . ¡± Al a . s . serted, and Lapis acknowledged . As the rest of them looked at them, not sure if they should be surprised or exasperated, Lapis continued her explanation . ¡°In other words, the future high priest over there plotting to revive the evil G . o . d, and the evil G . o . d was about to awaken, would typically be called coincidence, but could be called a necessity if you put the evil G . o . d¡¯s guidance into consideration . ¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that they aren¡¯t related?¡± As Loren asked for confirmation, Lapis nodded honestly . ¡°The evil G . o . d started to awaken when I started plotting to revive it . What else would you say other than it was meant to be!?¡± Al seemed to want it to be a necessity, but to Loren and the others it was nothing but a bad coincidence . But because of it, at least one of the students was dead, so they weren¡¯t going to let it pa . s . s as a joke, but when they considered if that was enough to kill Al and Feim, the answer was a no . ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°Um¡­I think the correct thing to do would be capturing them and handing them over to the school . ¡± Klaus answered Loren¡¯s question without confidence . ¡°Then let¡¯s get it over with . ¡± ¡°How can a bunch of adventurers possibly manage to capture me?¡± As Loren stepped forward to apprehend Al, Ain and Cloud stepped in his way, brandishing their weapons . Behind him was Feim, who was getting ready to throw another scroll, so they had to deal with these obstacles somehow to get to Al . ¡°If I could just awaken the evil G . o . d¡­¡± Al was thinking that he had nothing to be afraid of if he could awaken the evil G . o . d while Ain and Cloud were keeping Loren and the others busy . The only way they would know if that was correct or mistaken was if the seal was undone, but there was one thing that Al was mistaken about . The doc . u . ments that Al had taken did not mention anything about how to undo the seal, but since it was so loose that the mana from it was affecting the dungeon, he decided that it would be undone with a final push . As he prepared himself to feed his mana into it, two blunt sounds echoed across the floor . As Al turned towards the sound, wondering what had happened, gulped as he saw Ain and Cloud, who he sent to keep Loren busy, spin around and fall to the ground . Loren, who raised the tip of his great sword in front of Feim¡¯s nose as she was trying to activate her scroll, narrowed his eyes and said in a small but cold voice . ¡°Give up . Or I¡¯ll cut you to pieces . ¡± Al thought that it was just an empty threat, but the killing intent behind Loren¡¯s words were real, and he could only watch with wide eyes, as Feim drop the scroll in her hand and sink to the ground, while forgetting to even breath . As the box dropped from Al¡¯s strengthless hands and dropped to the floor with a sharp sound, Al dropped to the floor like Feim, not being able to stand the pressure behind Loren¡¯s words . Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Ch . 70: Being Summoned After Revival ¡°I guess it¡¯s all settled now?¡± Seeing that Al and Feim had no will to fight anymore, Klaus asked Loren, but Loren didn¡¯t say anything and just shrugged . He was able to subdue them with only coercion, but he felt that it was mostly due to Shayna, who was puffing out her chest proudly in the corner of his eye . It was hard to think that they, as future adventurers, even though they were currently students, would lose the will to fight at one glance . ¡°Tie them up with rope or something for now . It¡¯ll be troublesome if they start acting up again . ¡± ¡°You mean all of them, right?¡± Klaus sent a pitiful glance towards Ain and Cloud, who were on the floor . The two were in a bad state, as they seemed unrelated to this matter, but they were used by Ain and ended up being knocked out by Loren . Klaus wondered if they really needed to tie them up, but since they weren¡¯t sure if they were still under the influence of > or not, there was a need to neutralize them . Klaus knew that, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel bad for them . ¡°All of them . Unfortunate for them, but let¡¯s just put it as mismanagement of their companions . ¡± ¡°Okay . ¡± Klaus nodded and started tying Feim and Al with the rope that Ange had brought out of her bag . ¡°What should we do now?¡± Lapis, looking at the process, asked Loren . ¡°Well¡­I guess we go back to the surface using the transport gate, right?¡± ¡°What should we do about that?¡± Loren turned to where Lapis was pointed, and his face hardened as he saw what was there . In his sight was the box that Al had dropped, which supposedly sealed an evil G . o . d inside . The box, which had been an ordinary metal box when Al had been holding it, was lying on the floor, but some of the designs on its surface started emitting an eerie purple light . ¡°Oh, come on¡­Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°For some reason, I agree with what you¡¯re thinking . ¡± It was already proved that the abnormality of the dungeon, which was supposedly caused by the near revival of the evil G . o . d, and what Al had been planning were unrelated . In that case, Al already being apprehended, with no more will to fight, was a separate problem than the evil G . o . d¡¯s revival . ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s going to revive right now!?¡± ¡°Such bad timing . ¡± Loren started to panic, but on the other hand, Lapis was very calm . Of course, it wasn¡¯t because she had a way to deal with what was happening before them . ¡°W-what¡¯s going to happen!?¡± As Parme, who had been watching everything quietly, cried out in dismay, the box on the floor slowly started glowing brighter and started emitting flashes of purple light, and anyone could see that it wasn¡¯t normal . ¡°Ah, the evil G . o . d is reviving to save me in my time of trouble!¡± ¡°Klaus, smack him and shut him up, will you?¡± When Loren told him, seeing Al crying out, becoming all emotional and wiggling on the ground like a worm, Klaus sighed and struck him on the back of the head . Al lost focus for a second, but he quickly recovered and pushed Klaus away, and started crawling towards the box, glowing with intense light . ¡°Now, lend me your power!¡± ¡°Shut up and stay asleep . ¡± Loren said with a frown and dropped his heel onto the back of Al¡¯s head . Along with a very blunt sound, the blow seemed to have knocked him out, as Al¡¯s body gave one last shudder before he stopped moving . Everyone else thought he was dead, but Loren didn¡¯t seem like he cared, as he kicked him back and turned to the box . ¡°What do we do about this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s much we can do at this point . ¡± As Lapis said in a give up tone, Loren thought for a moment and said to her like the thought just popped up in his head . ¡°How about we pretend we didn¡¯t see anything and return to the surface?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit too late for that . ¡± Klaus and the others gave a bored look at Loren¡¯s heartless proposal . Lapis said out loud as she continued looking at the box with a great deal of interest . ¡°I think something is coming out . ¡± ¡°I was afraid it would be something like that . ¡± Nothing had gone right for Loren ever since he quit being a mercenary . He had started acknowledging his bad luck, so he already had a vague feeling that he wasn¡¯t going to be able to just walk away from it like throwing away rotten food . ¡°It¡¯s coming . Brace yourselves, everyone . ¡± If they were to trust what they had been hearing about what was in the box, it meant that whatever was coming out was an evil G . o . d . If they witnessed something like that manifest in the current world, who knew what else could happen . As they prepared themselves at Lapis¡¯ warning, the box on the floor started emitting the brightest light yet . Loren kept his eyes on the box, and within the blinding light, he saw the shape of the box crumble and increase in area, reshaping itself . Eventually the light died, and a young-looking man stood in front of them . He had sleepy eyes and unkempt hair . His clothes were ordinary ones you could find anywhere, but what caught Loren¡¯s attention was his sleepy eyes . His eyes were purple . ¡°Whew . Where is this place?¡± As the sleepy looking man turned towards Loren and Lapis, scratching his head, Loren raised his great sword and glanced at Lapis . Lapis caught Loren glimpsing at her, realized what he was wondering, and shook her head . Only demons had purple eyes . Loren believed that a demon had come out instead of an evil G . o . d and wasn¡¯t sure if he should be relieved that it wasn¡¯t an evil G . o . d, or if he should be worried that he may have to confront a demon . He looked at Lapis, wondering if it was someone she knew, but from her response, it didn¡¯t seem like it was . ¡°No answer, huh¡­Whatever, I guess I¡¯ll start off with finding someplace to sleep . ¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± The man, who stifled a yawn, lost interest in them and started to turn away when Loren called out to him . The man opened his mouth to answer his question, but after opening and closing it repeatedly, he eventually sat down . ¡°Too much work to answer . ¡± ¡°Are you the evil G . o . d that the adventurer named Volf sealed?¡± Loren decided that since there was a story, his question wouldn¡¯t be too far off from the truth, and the man laid down onto his side and answered him, not even bothering to look at him . ¡°Yeah . I remember people calling me the evil G . o . d of sloth . There were so many people trying to kill me back then, it was troubling . ¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re an evil G . o . d?¡± ¡°Does that really matter? All I want to do is be asleep . ¡± The man rolled over towards Loren and continued . ¡°I remember the guy named Volf . I let him seal me because he said that I could sleep all I want to . I wonder why I was able to break out?¡± ¡°The seal most likely deteriorated over the years . ¡± Lapis said quietly . ¡°There is no such thing as a seal that lasts forever, after all . If hundreds of years pa . s . sed, the chains would loosen . ¡± ¡°Oh, that much time has pa . s . sed, huh . Then I guess Volf is already dead . ¡± The man pulled himself up and sat crossed legged . ¡°Then I guess that means a lot of things have changed outside . Looking around sounds fun . Even though it sounds like a lot of work . ¡± ¡°Is there the option of being sealed again?¡± Loren asked out of desperation, but the man shook his head . ¡°At first I thought it would be fine to be sealed again and continue sleeping . But it¡¯s quite uncomfortable inside . I¡¯d rather sleep on a soft bed if I could . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we could let an evil G . o . d out of here!¡± Klaus raised his sword and shouted . Next to him, Ange pointed her staff towards the man and prepared to cast a spell . After looking at the two of them, annoyed, the man turned his gaze towards Loren, who was still not sure what he should do, and Lapis . ¡°What about you two?¡± ¡°Difficult question . I would prefer if you would behave . ¡± ¡°What if I said I don¡¯t want to . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Ahh whatever . Listening to your answer is too much trouble . ¡± Loren thought it was selfish of him, since he was the one who asked, but the man didn¡¯t seem to care, as he put a finger on the floor and started writing something . Klaus moved before even considering what the man¡¯s actions were . He used > to close the gap between them in an instant and swung his sword at the man¡¯s neck before he could even react . Everyone thought that the man¡¯s head would fly off with blood flying everywhere . But reality betrayed their expectations, as although Klaus¡¯ blow met the man¡¯s neck, his blade moved no more . ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Your skills aren¡¯t bad, but your weapon is . You probably won¡¯t even be able to cut my nails with something as blunt as that . ¡± Klaus jumped back, shocked that his blow hadn¡¯t even made a scratch . The man didn¡¯t seem to care about following, as he continued to write on the floor, and retreated his finger when he was done . ¡°I¡¯ll leave something to keep you guys busy, just in case, so have fun . If fate allows, I¡¯ll see you¡­that might be too troublesome, actually¡­¡± After saying that, the man¡¯s body started sinking into the floor . Apparently, he was thinking of retreating as he summoned something, but Loren couldn¡¯t follow, as the words that the man had written started glowing . ¡°Putting meeting again aside, how about you name yourself?¡± Loren asked the man, knowing there was no way to stop him, and as he continued sinking deeper into the floor, he looked at Loren with sleepy eyes, and said one last thing before he sank completely . ¡°Evil G . o . d of sloth, Dauna Slotharcadia . I have a feeling we¡¯ll see each other again . ¡± After those last words, he sank through completely . At the same time, a pitch-black, unstructured lump appeared from underneath, as if it traded places with the man . ¡°Another slime!?¡± As he cried out, wanting a break from slimes, the giant black slime that had been summon started moving towards them . Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Ch . 71: Exterminating After Retreat As the slime came closer and closer, Loren and the others stepped back farther and farther . Meanwhile Feim, who had been conscious the whole time, was still tied up together with Al and the other students, who were unconscious . Loren and the others were pulling Ain and Cloud, who had been knocked out, away from the slime as they retreated, but the slime ignored all the showcases and the items littered around it and continued to chase after them . ¡°Do we burn it?¡± Loren suggested a method that was very effective against slimes, but Klaus disagreed . ¡°Fire is no good in here . It would burn the cases and items around it . I won¡¯t stop you if you¡¯re willing to pay for the damage . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t let my debt get any bigger . ¡± Although some of the items were protected, but there were things such as doc . u . ments and paintings that were stacked up without any protection as well . If they were to use fire, there was no telling how much damage it would cause . Of course, the bill would be sent to Loren and Lapis would be the one who would pay it, so Loren¡¯s debt would skyrocket . ¡°Loren let¡¯s burn it . I¡¯d love to be the one to do it . ¡± ¡°Lapis¡­¡± Lapis¡¯ eyes sparkled at the idea of Loren¡¯s debt increasing . As she started pulling at his sleeve, excited that she could increase his debt without any effort, Loren sighed at softly pushed Lapis towards the slime . Lapis, who was now unintentionally right in front of the slime, panicked and hid behind Loren¡¯s back . ¡°What are you doing!?¡± ¡°Shut up . I¡¯ll burn it so go get tangled in there!¡± ¡°No way! Who would benefit from me being covered in tentacles and slimes¡­Would you, Loren?¡± She dropped her voice and asked hesitantly, with a meek face, and when a question mark appeared on Loren¡¯s face, she raised her fists in front of her chest with a determined look on her face . ¡°If Loren, who¡¯s always getting the short end of the stick, will benefit from it, I, Lapis, will gladly go and be covered with tentacles and slimes . Here I go!¡± Loren grabbed Lapis¡¯ collar and threw her behind him as she started walking up to the slime and cut down the tentacles that were reaching for her . ¡°I¡¯m jealous that you two are so close, but are we going to keep on retreating like this?¡± Klaus didn¡¯t have his weapon drawn . He couldn¡¯t because he was pulling Al and the others with all his might so they wouldn¡¯t get caught by the slime . Ange and Parme were helping, but they could only carry one between the two of them, so Klaus was dealing with three of them on his own . ¡°Can¡¯t we run past this thing once we reach the entrance?¡± Although it was a giant slime, it wasn¡¯t wide enough to fill up wall to wall, so there was s . p . a . ce around it . Loren thought it would be possible to run past it, dodging its tentacles, but Klaus shook his head and said in a bitter voice . ¡°While carrying them?¡± Al and the others, all tied up, were quite heavy . Loren and Klaus could carry one of them each and run, but there were four of them, and if Loren were to carry two of them, he would be considerably slower, and it would increase the risk of getting caught by the slime . And even if they were to let the girls carry them, even one would be hard, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge the slime, much less run . ¡°Fighting wouldn¡¯t really work either . ¡± Loren cut through more tentacles that reached forward . Although they were cut, the tentacles were almost liquid, so even if they were splattered everywhere, they were absorbed by the main body and nothing changed . ¡°There¡¯s no end . ¡± ¡°Ange, can you do something with your magic?¡± Ange, who was pulling Ain¡¯s body, shook her head . ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about a slime that large with my magic!¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t good . ¡± They were able to keep a distance between them and the slime while discussing what to do since it was slow, but they couldn¡¯t do so anymore . The slime suddenly sped up . Loren thought that it got irritated that it couldn¡¯t reach its prey, but it was a slime, which shouldn¡¯t have any emotions, so he couldn¡¯t understand why it suddenly sped up . The slime barreled towards them . Surprised at its sudden change in speed, Parme slipped and fell on top of Cloud, who she had been dragging . As the slime attacked, not missing the opportunity, Loren threw Al, who he had been carrying, grabbed Parme¡¯s hand, and pulled her back with all his strength . ¡°Ahh!¡± Parme sank right into Loren¡¯s arms, letting out a cute scream that didn¡¯t fit her personality, but there was no way for Cloud to escape . His body was immediately pounced on by the slime and was swallowed whole . ¡°Ahh¡­I¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think about it! It was an accident, got it!? Go help Ange if you¡¯ve got time to think . ¡¯ As Parme was stunned in his arms, as she heared noises that sounded like bones breaking from inside the slime¡¯s body, Loren slapped her on the cheek and pointed towards Ange . Loren muttered under his breath as he watched her stagger towards Ange in bewilderment . ¡°Should we just feed these guys to it and run while it¡¯s busy with them?¡± ¡°I can agree to that . ¡± As Lapis started kicking Al¡¯s body forward violently, Feim, who was being carried by Ange, started struggling, so Ange and Parme had to hold her down . ¡°Well, we have to have the culprits so we can explain to school¡­¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t one of them be sufficient?¡± ¡°Cloud¡¯s death was an accident, but Ain was just being used . ¡± ¡°Then how about handing over Feim as the culprit and leaving this one?¡± When Loren pointed at Al, who was still being kicked forward by Lapis, Klaus went silent with an awkward expression . Even though the revival of the evil G . o . d was just a coincidence, Klaus didn¡¯t seem to want to show Al much mercy since he had plotted it in the first place . But he didn¡¯t seem to think that it was enough to feed him to the slime, so all he could do is keep his silence . ¡°I agree with leaving all of them behind!¡± Ange, who was carrying the struggling Feim with Parme¡¯s help, agreed with Loren . It seemed that it was because it was just too much work, rather than really wanting to leave them, so she was leaning towards dropping the extra weight and making sure to save themselves . ¡°Let¡¯s just leave them! We can just let Parme do the testimony . ¡± ¡°I-Of course I¡¯m planning to testify¡­¡± Parme, fl . u . s . tered that she was suddenly mentioned, agreed, and when Ange looked at Klaus, he turned towards Loren with an uneasy air around him . ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll go with leaving them when it comes to the worst¡­¡± ¡°Loren!¡± Right as Loren made the heartless decision, Lapis let out a warning . The slime, which had been consuming its prey, suddenly stopped and started chasing after Loren again, faster than before . The slime seemed to have sped up since it wanted more after it finally tasted its first prey, and Loren, who was closest to it, was a second too slow to respond . ¡°d . a . m . n it!¡± Loren cursed and lifted his great sword in front of him like a shield and was pounced on by the slime while in that position . Loren, as he was taken in by the slime all the way to his shoulders, moved his great sword around and tried to peel it off him . ¡°Loren!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind me! Run past it while you can!¡± The black blob that tried to swallow him slowly stole his ability to move due to its viscosity . As he still struggled, Loren stopped Lapis, who was about to run towards him to help, and yelled at them to escape while he kept it busy . ¡°But!¡± ¡°Just go! I can handle this on¡­¡± The slime covered his head before he could finish . Although he was able to take a deep breath before it did, he knew that he would end up like Cloud if he couldn¡¯t do something before suffocating, so he started swinging his great sword around . If he could destroy the slime¡¯s core, the slime should die, and he would be free . The problem was that he couldn¡¯t see it since the slime was pitch black, and that even if he managed to find it, he might not be able to crush it since he couldn¡¯t move his arms like he wanted to, but he knew that acting was more important than thinking, so he continued swinging his sword recklessly . ¡®Onii-san! I¡¯ll help!¡¯ Loren frowned as he heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind . (Lapis will notice!) ¡®But if I don¡¯t help, Onii-san will die! We can worry about that later!¡± The slime¡¯s grip on him tightened as time went on, and Loren¡¯s movements were getting slower since he was trying to move while holding his breath . If he couldn¡¯t do something, he soon wouldn¡¯t be able to move a finger, and would either be crushed or suffocate to death . (I guess I don¡¯t have a choice! Do it!) ¡®Here it goes! Energy drain, full power!¡¯ With Loren¡¯s permission, Shayna deployed her ability without restraint . The energy drain, powerful enough to kill normal slimes in an instant, started eating away at the black slime from inside, but as expected of a slime summoned by an evil G . o . d, its grip on Loren showed no signs of weakening . But at the same time, Shayna channeled the life energy siphoned from the slime into Loren¡¯s body . Loren, who was almost out of air, converted the life energy into strength and started swinging his great sword again . (Don¡¯t screw with me! No way I¡¯m going to be eaten by a slime!) Something clicked in the corner of his mind . Although he was suffocating, with his newfound strength, Loren¡¯s arms started moving at a speed incomparable to the speed he was moving before . Even with close to no air, relying on just the strength Shayna was giving him, the great sword started accelerating, overpowering the slime as it started ripping through it, the pieces starting to fly around splattering all around, and somehow managed to find the core . As he felt the sensation of his sword hitting something, Loren put more strength into his arms and pushed . Eventually the core split in half, and his sword struck the floor . At the same time, the coreless slime couldn¡¯t keep itself from dying, losing its viscosity, and as it spread across the floor like plain liquid, Loren managed to take a deep breath to come back to life, before falling to his knees, and dropping to the floor with a splash . Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Ch . 72: Worried After Waking ¡°I think we should do something about ending up in the hospital every time Loren, don¡¯t you think?¡± As Lapis told him as she sat down next to a hospital bed, peeling a fruit with a knife, Loren let out a growl, complaining that is wasn¡¯t like he wanted to be sent to the hospital, as he sat up . They were in the hospital in Kauffa, and it was a place that he became familiar with ever since he became an adventurer . Loren wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if had waken up in the hospital where the training school was at, but he was bewildered when he woke up to find out that he was at the hospital in Kauffa . ¡°I left Klaus and Ange back at the school . They have to report what happened during the exam, after all . ¡± The transport gate on the floor where Volf¡¯s legacy was stored was set to transport the user to a room within the school, but Lapis explained that she had messed with the settings to be able to transport people to other locations . Telling Klaus, Ange, and Parme that she had to take Loren, who was unconscious, to a hospital, she sent the three of them to the surface, while she took him and jumped to the city of Kauffa . ¡°You were in very bad shape . You were covered in slime and unconscious, while your arms and legs were shaking, just like a newborn fawn . ¡± ¡°How did you explain to Klaus and the others about being able to mess with the transport gate settings?¡± ¡°I told them it was because I¡¯m a priestess of the Knowledge G . o . d . ¡± Thinking that the expected quality of priests of the Knowledge G . o . d just got even higher, Loren decided not to think about it, and tried to imagine what he was like based on Lapis¡¯ description, but immediately stopped . When he thought about it, it probably wasn¡¯t the prettiest thing to imagine, and imagining a man covered in slime, even if it were himself, wasn¡¯t the best thing to do . ¡°So, how¡¯s my condition?¡± Loren knew that he had been close to death every time he had been taken to the hospital . He had a feeling that this time was no exception as he asked Lapis but c . o . c . ked her head with a frown . ¡°Strangely, it wasn¡¯t too bad this time . ¡± Lapis put the fruit she was peeling onto a plate that was on top of a stool next to her, wiped the juice from her hands with a cloth, and picked up a piece of paper that was spread on top of it . ¡°Your injuries this time is a dislocated shoulder and damage on the tendons of every joint . On top of that, a few pulled muscles and internal bleeding here and there . ¡± Loren was aware of the symptoms she listed . Usually after the sensation of something fitting into the corner of his mind, he would fall into a strengthless state, but this time it seemed that Shayna had compensated what he had spent by channeling the energy drained from the black slime using her energy drain . But on the other hand, the energy was too much for Loren¡¯s body to handle so as a result, it was damaged as if he had severely overworked it, especially around his arms . ¡°It will take a few days for it to heal completely . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too fast?¡± From what he had heard, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising if it took twice as much as Lapis had said, but Lapis puffed out her chest and told him . ¡°You have an excellent divine arts user right here, after all . ¡± ¡°Sorry about that . I¡¯ll be in your care . ¡± ¡°But to put it the other way, it means that you¡¯ve suffered injuries that¡¯s going to take a few days to heal, even with a divine arts user like me . You understand that¡¯s quite severe, right?¡± Loren honestly nodded at Lapis¡¯ glare . He did think that his injuries were a lot lighter than he had expected, but he understood that his injuries were still quite severe . On top of the, he couldn¡¯t move his body like he wanted to, so he had no way to tell her wrong . ¡°So, how long was I out?¡± ¡°About three whole days . Klaus and the girls finished the reports and are already back . ¡± She said that she went to ask them about how everything ended just a while ago, as she reached for a different piece of paper on the stool . ¡°Al, who was the prime culprit, was sent back to his parents, and seems like he was sent straight to a monastery . He probably won¡¯t be able to come out under the sun his whole life . ¡± Lapis explained that in aristocratic society, monasteries were used to send off those who couldn¡¯t be shown in public . There was no way for outside people to know if they were actually sent to monasteries or if they were sent to someplace darker, but apparently those who were never walked under the sun again . ¡°On the books, Feim has dropped out of the school, but in fact she was expelled . I¡¯m not sure where she is now . She isn¡¯t a n . o . ble so she wouldn¡¯t be sent to a convent, so she there¡¯s a chance she actually became an adventurer . ¡± There was no need for a license to become an adventurer . With her lightness, Loren thought it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she became one . But what would happen after was beyond his imagination, and she wasn¡¯t someone that Loren wanted to meet again . ¡°Cloud¡­is treated as killed during the exam . His body¡­since it was swallowed by the slime, and because of what Loren did¡­what was left of it was gathered and buried . Ain is treated as retired from exam, and what to do now is up to him . ¡± Putting Al aside, since Ain was very close to the other two, Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he could deal with the fact that one of them betrayed for money and the other got swallowed by a slime and died . It would be quite a shock and coming back from it was completely on his will, so all Loren could do was pray that he could find rest . ¡°Parme failed the exam and will have to take it again . All I could say that it was unfortunate that her whole party was wiped out, and it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± ¡°What happened to them?¡± ¡°One of them died . We saw her . They probably won¡¯t be able to retrieve her body . The other two are missing . The school has sent down search parties, but chances of their survival are very slim . ¡± Three nameless students had died in the dungeon, but apparently it wasn¡¯t that unusual to the school . It was unfortunate that they got caught in the appearance of the slimes due to the revival of an evil G . o . d, but adventurers losing their lives due to unlucky circ . u . mstances wasn¡¯t an unusual thing . ¡°Klaus brought a message from Parme . It says, ¡®I will make sure to repay you . If you ever travel close to my home, please come pay a visit¡¯ . You¡¯re so lucky Loren . It¡¯s an invitation from a pretty girl, you know?¡± Lapis joked around, trying to lighten the mood, but Loren murmured under his breath . ¡°Blonde rolls aren¡¯t my type . ¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s unfortunate for her . Then do black hair ponytails suit your tastes?¡± Loren frowned silently as Lapis asked him, pointing at her own hair . If he said it did, it would be somewhat strange, and if he said no, it would get awkward . No matter which he chose, it wouldn¡¯t be the best answer in the situation, so he could only give her silence . ¡°No response is a little bit sad too, though . ¡± Lapis didn¡¯t really look sad at all, but Loren changed the subject . ¡°What happened to the job?¡± Their job was being exam proctors . He knew that they didn¡¯t fail, but if one were to ask if it was a success, Loren couldn¡¯t really say so either . The exam itself had become messed up, but they weren¡¯t the ones who caused it . They were unrelated and not responsible for the student named Al trying to seize Volf¡¯s fortune, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they did proper jobs as proctors . ¡°The school considered the job a success . Klaus said that the princ . i . p . al promised they would . ¡± Lapis threw the paper back onto the stool, took the plate with the fruit on top of it, and cut the fruit into six pieces . After taking one and giving the rest to Loren, she threw it into her mouth and started chewing delightfully . ¡°It would¡¯ve been something to protest about if it was considered a failure . Most of the things that happened weren¡¯t even because of us . ¡± As Lapis said after she swallowed, Loren asked her another thing, while looking at the plate of fruit in his hands . ¡°What about the revived evil G . o . d?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been reported to the princ . i . p . al and the adventurer¡¯s guild . All the questioning tired me out . ¡± There were no doc . u . ments or legends about the evil G . o . d of sloth, and even the princ . i . p . al who was a descendant of Volf, didn¡¯t hear anything from his predecessors . The box that it was sealed was within the records of all the items in the floor, but it was recorded that it was an unknown object and was treated obscurely . ¡°Thinking about him is a waste of time . No one knows where he went . He called himself an evil G . o . d, so there¡¯s no way he left any tracks, either . ¡± ¡°Was he¡­demon kind?¡± The eyes of the revived evil G . o . d were purple . In this world, the only ones with purple eyes were demons . ¡°I¡¯m not sure . ¡± ¡°His features were indeed so, but he is a being that was sealed hundreds of years ago . It¡¯s hard to tell if he¡¯s a demon just by the color of his eyes . If I go home, maybe I could find some records about him¡­¡± Keeping in the urge to ask what kind of home she came from, Loren asked her another thing . ¡°What about your arm?¡± ¡°This?¡± Lapis swung her left arm . It didn¡¯t look any different, but Lapis looked at it with a satisfied smile . ¡°It¡¯s finally flesh and bone . Only this arm, though . ¡± ¡°Congratulation, I guess?¡± ¡°Thank you . I hope we can keep this up and get my whole body back . ¡± After saying that, Lapis¡¯ expression suddenly turned into a serious one, surprising Loren, and put her arms on the bed, putting his face closer to his . ¡°So Loren, do you have anything to say to me?¡± He couldn¡¯t think straight as she looked right at him from such a close distance, and almost opened his mouth, but he willed himself to calm down and close it . It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t know what she wanted him to tell her . He had let Shayna, who was inside him, use her powers as a No Life King to its fullest to survive the slime¡¯s attack . There was no way Lapis wouldn¡¯t notice it, but Loren wanted more time before talking about it . But her expression was too serious to not say anything, so after thinking as fast as he could, the one answer he arrived at reached his lips . ¡°Sorry for making you carry me all the way to the hospital every time, Lapis . Thank you . ¡± When Loren said that with a meek expression on his face, although her face reddened at his unexpected reply, Lapis still puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction . ¡°Is that not what you were looking for?¡± Loren played dumb, knowing that it wasn¡¯t the answer Lapis wanted, but after a long sigh, she pulled away from Loren, scratching her head . ¡°It¡¯s fine . I¡¯ll be satisfied with that for now . ¡± As he knew she meant she will wait until he was ready to talk about it, Loren nodded back at her . ¡°Thanks . ¡± Even if she knew, she would play dumb until he told her . Loren slowly closed his eyes, grateful for Lapis¡¯ kindness . He still needed a few days to recover completely and needed to recover his lost strength, and he started feeling tired and sleepy from talking too long . ¡°Rest well for now . Let¡¯s go find another job once you¡¯re feeling well . ¡± He felt Lapis stand up . She seemed to have guessed that Loren was falling asleep, as his eyes closed, and decided to leave the room . ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll take the hospital bills and payment for my divine arts from your rewards, okay?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯ll be much left . ¡± As Loren sighed, guessing that her payment would be more expensive than the hospital bills, he felt Lapis let out a small giggle . ¡°I hope we will succeed on our next job and make some money . ¡± She then said good night, and Loren felt her presence disappear from the room . As his eyes continued to remain closed, Loren felt worried if such a job will ever come his way, but he yielded himself to his drowsiness and started falling into a deep sleep . Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Ch . 73: Hearing a Story Without Destruction There wasn¡¯t a rumor about a school that shut down going around . The job that he had accepted for it via the adventurer¡¯s guild, was supposed to have given significant human as well as material casualties, but apparently it wasn¡¯t enough to shake the school¡¯s foundation . Either that, or that muscle head of a principal was actually quite good at his job, thought Loren as he was in the guild¡¯s bar with Klaus, who was buying him a drink . As for why, ever since Loren became an adventurer he had been with him quite a bit, and from his standpoint, Loren had helped him many times and was very thankful and it seemed like he felt that he owed him a lot, so he had called him saying that he wanted to buy him a drink . At first Loren wasn¡¯t interested, but as Klaus continued to ask him, he decided that Klaus would leave him alone if he let him, so today was the day that they had decided to meet up . ¡°I don¡¯t know about drinking from the middle of the day, though . ¡± It was something he had been doing since he became an adventurer but having someone buy him a drink was a different story, he thought as he swirled the cup in his hand . The drink inside was something a lot more expensive than what he usually drank, and he felt a bit bad . Sitting in front was Klaus, with a plate of sausages in front of him and drinking the same thing as Loren, looked at him with surprise . ¡°What¡¯s with that face?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were one to worry about something like that . ¡± Loren wondered if he looked like such a rough person . He had never seen someone drink before working, at least, back when he was a mercenary . Most of them didn¡¯t because they knew it would cost them their lives . But of course, there were exceptions so there were some who drank regardless, but those were exceptions of exceptions, so they weren¡¯t relevant . ¡°Adventurers have some time on their hands when they aren¡¯t on jobs, so it must be different from being a mercenary . ¡± Klaus said with a small smile when Loren told him about the times when he was a mercenary . The smile along with his good looks was enough to convince Loren why women couldn¡¯t resist him, but since he was the same gender, all he could do was snort . ¡°I think that smacking your lips on expensive drinks when the sun is high isn¡¯t too bad every now and then . ¡± Loren dropped his gaze down to the purple liquid swirling inside his cup . The cheap drinks that Loren usually drank was mostly made from grains, but what was in his hand was made from fermented grapes . The cheap alcohol that the bar served was stored in large barrels and was poured from it, but what they were having was inside a bottle, which he guessed raised the price even more . ¡°It¡¯s wine from Vargenburg . They say that this year¡¯s batch is exceptional . ¡± ¡°Vargenburg? Where¡¯s that?¡± Klaus froze for a second at Loren¡¯s question . After a moment he gave Loren an unbelievable gaze, but Loren glared back, since he didn¡¯t like it when guys stared at him like that, and he didn¡¯t like the way Klaus was looking at him . Klaus saw Loren glaring back and waved his hands in a panic, afraid that he had worsened his mood . ¡°Wait a second . You know the name of this city, right?¡± ¡°Kauffa, right?¡± ¡°Kauffa is a city of a nation on the southwestern part of the continent called the Kingdom of Vargenburg, but have you not heard it before?¡± All Loren thought was, ¡°Oh, okay¡± . He did think he was a bit too unconcerned, but back in his mercenary days, information such as the name of the nation and what the locals called place where the battlefield was going to be was only needed by the leader or the executives . To mercenaries, who didn¡¯t belong to any one nation, they first thought about who their enemies were and how to defeat them rather than the name of the nation or the land, and that was still the same for Loren . ¡°If you start getting more known as an adventurer, you¡¯ll get job offers from the nation as well as nobles so you should really gather some information . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m barely making enough to feed myself, so I don¡¯t think such a day will be coming anytime soon . ¡± He didn¡¯t say the it won¡¯t ever come, but if such a day were to come, it would be far into the future . ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that long with your skill with your sword . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s just my arm strength . Anyone could do what I can if they could swing this around . ¡± As Loren patted the black great sword next to him, Klaus let out a weak laugh with an awkward smile on his face . Anyone could tell that Loren¡¯s main weapon, his great sword, was exceedingly heavy just by looking at its gigantic size . Klaus couldn¡¯t think of anyone other than Loren who could swing such a weapon around . It was heavy enough that if someone asked him if he could use it like Loren could, he would immediately say no . ¡°I did learn normal swordsmanship¡­but it didn¡¯t really sink in . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to see it once . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much . Even my leader told me I wasn¡¯t cut out for it and gave up trying to teach me . ¡± Loren felt an indescribable emotion when the word ¡®leader¡¯ left his lips . When he was still a mercenary fighting under his leader, he had never imagined that he would experience his group being destroyed, being separated from his companions, and becoming an adventurer in an unknown place . But in reality he was an adventurer in the city of Kauffa, located within the Kingdom of Vargenburg, with no idea where his companions were or how many of them managed to survive . On top of that, he had a demon priestess that served the Knowledge god that stood as his companion, so he had no idea what other kinds of people he would meet . ¡°Any news about your mercenary companions since then?¡± ¡°No idea . Not going to search, either . I won¡¯t find much even if I try, anyway . Unlike citizens, mercenaries like us have no information regarding our identities and backgrounds . It¡¯ll be a waste of time . ¡± It sounded good when put has being a rootless wanderer, but mercenaries were existences without guaranteed identity or status . The only thing that sort of did was the group itself, but if it disbanded, like Loren¡¯s did, even that disappeared . ¡°Well, fortune¡¯s already given me so many strange meetings . Maybe I¡¯ll run into them one day . ¡± ¡°Hopefully you do . ¡± ¡°Well, even if I did, I don¡¯t intend on going back to being a mercenary . I don¡¯t feel like making a living off lives at this point . I made some promises as well . ¡± ¡°Okay, enough of the annoying talk . Who would want to watch two men facing each other in the corner of a bar, drinking during the middle of the day?¡± A girl with black hair pulled up into a ponytail, wearing priest¡¯s clothes, interrupted their conversation and sat down next to Loren . As she sat down, with an annoyed look on her pretty face, she pointed at Loren¡¯s cup and ordered the same thing to a passing waitress . ¡°Lapis, did you find any good jobs?¡± When Loren asked the girl sitting next to him, Lapis shrugged . She had caught wind that Klaus was going to buy Loren a drink, came with him, and while the two of them were drinking, she went to the receptionist to see if there were any good jobs, but from her response it seemed that the results weren¡¯t satisfying . ¡°There weren¡¯t any that came to me . Well, there are those kinds of days, I guess . ¡± When the waitress returned with a tray with a cup on it, Lapis took it, thanked her, and gulped down half of the contents . Wine tasted nice and was easier to drink than other alcohol, but it was still alcohol, so Loren was worried that Lapis would get drunk quickly, but since she was no ordinary girl, but instead was demon kind, which had powerful abilities, so he guessed that she would be fine and didn¡¯t say anything . ¡°I can pay for yours as well, you know?¡± Klaus said to her since he had seen her pay when she ordered, but Lapis wiped her lips with the back of her hand, put her cup on the table, and snorted . ¡°I would gladly accept if Loren were buying, but I¡¯ll never accept anything from you . ¡± ¡°No way I could buy you anything¡­¡± Strangely, Loren didn¡¯t end up in the red after the last job . But even though he had some money on him, his wallet was still very light . ¡°It¡¯s just a metaphor . I don¡¯t want anything from someone who leads a harem party, with a bunch of mistresses on top of a wife . ¡± ¡°Looks like I¡¯m quite hated . ¡± ¡°I hate snakes, but they¡¯re still better than you . ¡± Lapis¡¯ view of Klaus was very low . But it was something Loren could understand, so he didn¡¯t say anything and watched Lapis flame Klaus . Klaus¡¯ personality seemed to have gotten a lot softer since Loren had met him, but it didn¡¯t seem like his quickness to lay a hand on women didn¡¯t change, and it didn¡¯t seem like he was going to change it either . But he thought that it was a problem for Klaus and those around him, and didn¡¯t concern him at all, so he decided not to worry about it . But of course, he knew that Klaus¡¯ personality was one of an enemy towards women, so he didn¡¯t feel like stopping Lapis insulting him . ¡°I¡¯m only here since I followed Loren, so don¡¯t mind me . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­well, okay . ¡± ¡°Oh, I do acknowledge your ability, so I¡¯ll be sure to make use of it when something happens . ¡± ¡°A-ahahaha¡­¡± In a previous job, Klaus had been tied to the back of a horse and was forced to use to increase the limits of the horse in order to escape from an enemy, and Lapis had whipped Klaus through the whole night to do so . Klaus seemed to have recalled that experience, as he averted his eyes with a stretched smile, and Lapis turned towards Loren, who was drinking silently . ¡°There weren¡¯t any good jobs, but if we don¡¯t work, you¡¯ll be wandering on the streets . ¡± ¡°Borrowing money from you again is painful, too . ¡± The promise that Loren had made with Lapis . He would continue being with Lapis until he had paid back his debt to her . The conditions weren¡¯t bad, as Lapis had said she wouldn¡¯t forcefully collect and he could pay whenever he could, but it was already at an enormous amount, over thirty gold coins, so he didn¡¯t want to increase it any further if he could . ¡°I don¡¯t mind but continuing to lend will cause you to be concerned, and I believe that work is precious, after all . ¡± ¡°But there wasn¡¯t a good job, right?¡± If they forcefully accepted a bad job, it wouldn¡¯t end well . Even if it wasn¡¯t, all the jobs that Loren went on and the jobs that Lapis brought, which were supposed to be for copper rank adventurers like them, increased in difficulty one way or another . If force was added on top of that, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what sort of dangers would await them, but apparently Lapis was thinking of something completely different . ¡°There wasn¡¯t a job, but I¡¯ve thought of something nice . ¡± Her eyes sparkled, excited to tell him, but on the other hand, a shadow crossed over Loren¡¯s face . Loren was worried that whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t going to end well, but he gave up, knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to change her mind, so he gulped down the rest of his drink and prepared himself . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Ch . 74: Deciding After Listening ¡°I¡¯ve thought about why the jobs always go wrong . Why Loren fails them, even though you have more than enough skill . ¡± Loren swallowed the urge to say that since they were a party, his failures was her failures as well . There was no way Lapis didn¡¯t know that . If she put it that way even thought she knew, it meant that she was doing it on purpose . Loren didn¡¯t respond and gazed back at Lapis, knowing that she was trying to tease him, and eventually Lapis beaming face started to cloud, and eventually turned into one of disappointment . ¡°Umm, I don¡¯t think failing a job is the responsibility of a single party member alone¡­¡± When Klaus tried to interrupt, looking back and forth between Loren, who didn¡¯t respond, and Lapis, whose expression became darker and darker, Lapis glared like him like a guard dog glaring at a stranger . ¡°I know that . I¡¯m not looking for a response from you . I¡¯m so disappointed . ¡± Lapis said angrily, but it didn¡¯t look like she was as angered as she talked, so when Loren nudged her to go on, she changed her expression and started talking about what she had realized like it was something good . ¡°We fail because we accept the job . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t accept a job, we can¡¯t fail . ¡± ¡°Are you drunk already?¡± Loren responded coldly at Lapis, who had a proud look on her face . Part of what she had said made sense . Success and failure came with the job . Then if they didn¡¯t go on a job, there wouldn¡¯t be any evaluation, therefore they couldn¡¯t fail . It was a legitimate thought . Other than the fact that they wouldn¡¯t be able to work as a result . Adventurers received jobs from the adventurer¡¯s guild and made a living off the rewards . If an adventurer were to do as Lapis just suggested and not take jobs, they wouldn¡¯t have any income and go broke . Although, Loren had been failing job after job, so he hadn¡¯t been able to receive enough rewards, so it was hard to say he was making a living . Loren¡¯s mood got darker as he reached that thought . ¡°Um, what part of that is a good thought? The only thing I¡¯m hearing is stop being an adventurer . ¡± In his dark mood, Loren didn¡¯t even feel like asking, but Klaus asked Lapis in his place . Lapis realized that she had tread into dangerous waters as she saw Loren¡¯s mood, so instead of biting at Klaus like she had done before, she answered his question . ¡°To put it simply, we should do jobs that aren¡¯t in the form of a quest . ¡± Loren wondered what she was even saying at this point, but in front of him, Klaus clapped his hands together, like he had understood what Lapis was trying to say . He realized that he was the only one that didn¡¯t get the direction the conversation was going, so he asked for an explanation, not caring if it was the stuck-up priestess or the nodding swordsman . ¡°So what Lapis is trying to suggest is going hunting to receive extermination rewards, right?¡± ¡°Exactly what this womanizer just said . ¡± Klaus asked for confirmation, and Lapis nodded with an insult . Ignoring Klaus, who sighed, Lapis started explaining to Loren in detail . Strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t a quest . Although it wasn¡¯t a job that was specifically requested by anyone, the adventurer¡¯s guild had a different set of job that consisted of adventurers exterminating monsters and bringing in parts of them as proof of extermination and getting paid for it . This was paid during normal quests as well, so there were many like Loren who thought they were a set, but in fact they were completely unrelated to quests so the guild would take the parts and pay the rewards regardless of where they were collected from . This was because exterminating monsters contributed to making the area safer, and by paying for adventurers to do so, the guild could say that they were trying to make places safer and it would give them a better image . On top of that, some guilds would receive money from the nation it was in for its efforts, and since materials from monsters were usually brought to it, they could sell those for profit as well . The nations would have safer areas for a low cost, while citizens would have to worry less about monsters, adventurers could get paid even without accepting quests, and the guild would gain both money and reputation, which became a positive system for everyone . ¡°So, I would like to suggest following the highway to the north from here and exterminating some monsters in that area . ¡± If they took the highway to the north, the chances of encountering monsters declined drastically . That was why Lapis had suggested travelling a distance away from the highway yet following its path . And they would be travelling for quite a few days, so they would need to buy food and items to last them the whole trip . Loren thought that if he couldn¡¯t defeat enough monsters to compensate for the costs, he would be in the red, which wouldn¡¯t be any different from failing a quest . When he told that to Lapis, she had an answer even for that . ¡°I¡¯m thinking of hunting near the which is north of here, and it¡¯s a place that¡¯s abundant in monsters, but even if it ends in an empty swing, if we report the route that we used to the guild, we could receive money for that . ¡± Not encountering monsters proved that the route was relatively safe . Lapis explained that safe routes had value in themselves . Lapis avoided answering a value to whom, and Loren decided that there must be or might not be people who couldn¡¯t use the highway due to circumstances . ¡°Either way, I think that we would be able to make a bit of money . ¡± ¡°As long as we don¡¯t lose the monster parts, yeah . ¡± Lapis and Klaus both laughed nervously as Loren continued to take the conversation in a bad direction . Many times, people would say, always expect the worst, but in Loren¡¯s case, it seemed that he tended to think about things in a bad direction and took it a bit too far . ¡°It won¡¯t be that dangerous since we¡¯ll be wandering near the highway, so I think it would be fine . ¡± ¡°The guild will evaluate it as contribution to the guild even though it isn¡¯t a quest, so I think it¡¯s a good idea . ¡± ¡°To be clear, I don¡¯t want you and your party to come, okay? This is a job between me and Loren . ¡± ¡°I know . Of course, I¡¯ll hold back from getting in between the two of you . ¡± As Lapis snarled with her gaze and her tone, not wanting Klaus and his party full of girls to come with them, Klaus backed off easily . ¡°We¡¯re not short on money, after all . The two of you should have a good time together on the trip to the Black Forest . ¡± ¡°What kind of place is the Black Forest?¡± Lapis reddened at the words, have a good time together . Loren asked Klaus, trying not to look at her, Klaus looked up, trying to recall what he knew, and started talking about the Black Forest . ¡°It¡¯s two days north of Kauffa by foot, and it¡¯s a large forest . The overgrowth is quite thick, and it gets darker the farther in you go, which is where it got its name from, the Black Forest . There are many monsters living in there, and there are species of fairies, elves being one of the most prominent, living there as well . ¡°Elves, huh . ¡± When Klaus mentioned elves, the first thing he thought of was a woman named Nim, who was a member of a silver rank party that he had traveled with before . She was great with a bow and had a slender body, along with all the other characteristics of elves, but most people knew elves as a species with beautiful looks, pointed ears, thin body structure, lived in villages within forests far away from humans, and had their own unique culture . They were a closed society, and only a handful of them left to live with humans or become adventurers like Nim . ¡°If you¡¯re planning to lay hands on them you should reconsider . They¡¯re not citizens of the kingdom so our laws don¡¯t apply to them, but apparently, they govern the forest with their own laws . If you get caught there¡¯s no telling what would happen to you . Even if they¡¯re beautiful, it¡¯s not worth it . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not you, you know that?¡± Klaus felt down again at Loren¡¯s immediate cutting response, and Loren knew that laying hands on elves was something only fools or the reckless would do, and he wasn¡¯t either . ¡°Let¡¯s ignore this indiscriminate playboy . So, Loren, about this suggestion . It¡¯s not bad, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Loren started thinking . If a person repeated failure after failure, he would get frustrated by it and would need to get a breath of fresh air every now and then . Looking at Lapis¡¯ suggestion from that stance, he thought of the two of them spending a few days together travelling didn¡¯t seem that bad . The last job, although it was quite rough, ended in success, so he felt like he didn¡¯t need to force himself to get a change of pace, but he decided to ignore or feign ignorance in order to not waste Lapis¡¯ efforts . ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go with that this time . ¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s settled . We need to go buy food and supplies . ¡± Loren left Lapis to decide what they needed . It could be considered as making her do al the work, but the biggest reason for his decision was that since he didn¡¯t have much money, he would have to rely on her wallet . ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll leave the selection to you . ¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll at least carry the stuff, right?¡± Loren nodded immediately . Even if he couldn¡¯t offer money, if he didn¡¯t offer physical labor as well, it would look like Lapis was actually taking care of him . ¡°Then let¡¯s get to searching . It¡¯s best to start acting immediately when it comes to these things . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to walk with alcohol in my system¡­well, I guess it¡¯s fine . ¡± Loren stood up, accepting Lapis¡¯ invitation, hitting his slightly dizzy head, and called out to Klaus, who was still feeling down . ¡°Now that it¡¯s been decided, I¡¯ll see you around . ¡± ¡°Y-yeah . Take care . ¡± Klaus raised his head and saw Loren off after he had said goodbye . Seeing Lapis pull him out into the city, Klaus could only think of them as a guy and girl with a good relationship . He couldn¡¯t help but admire them as he drank the rest of what was in his cup, and started thinking about which party member he should go to comfort him, thoughts which would lower the temperature of Lapis gaze to freezing if she heard them . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Ch . 75: Discovering on the Way Loren and Lapis bought all the food and supplies they needed and departed Kauffa the next day . Since it was going to be a round trip taking a few days, they bought quite a bit of things, which cost quite a bit, but on top of that, Lapis had rented a donkey to carry their luggage . In these cases, many adventurers would rent carriages or animals, or hire porters via the guild, who were people who specialized in transporting things . Many, meant that there were some who didn¡¯t opt for either, and in that case, it meant they had enough party members to distribute and carry the luggage among themselves, but Lapis didn¡¯t have any intentions of letting anyone else into their party or hiring a porter . ¡°We¡¯re going on a laid back trip, so might as well let it be between just the two of us . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know if her decision was correct or mistaken . But he did think that if Lapis wanted to do so, he should respect her decision, so he didn¡¯t put a word in and took the donkey¡¯s bridle . Once he got his backpack and put the rest of the luggage on the donkey¡¯s back, they were set to go . They continued north after leaving the gates of the city, slowly walked next to the highway with no signs of rushing . ¡°If something happens, just let go of the donkey . It¡¯s trained to return to Kauffa on its own . ¡± If they were to suddenly encounter something, they wouldn¡¯t be able to protect it . But Lapis told Loren in advance, since she knew he would start worrying that if the donkey somehow died, they would have to compensate for it . ¡°It¡¯s not completely certain that it would make it back, but it would still be better than letting it die standing still . ¡± ¡°Did you not rent a horse because its more expensive?¡± ¡°Of course . Horses are very expensive . ¡± Horses, which were used by the army as well, were hard to acquire, and were very expensive as well . It wasn¡¯t like Lapis couldn¡¯t rent one, but she gave up on the idea due to the cost . ¡°Horses are better when it comes to speed and stamina, though . ¡± ¡°When you put it like that, I guess the guild is pretty incredible . ¡± On a previous job, the guild had easily readied horses and caravans, along with drivers . He didn¡¯t think of it much back then, but since they tried renting one and found out the cost, it showed him just how much power the guild possessed . ¡°I heard it¡¯s a two-day trip one way, so does that mean we¡¯re going to be camping tonight?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t help but wonder about a guy and a girl camping together, but he had already guessed from his short adventurer career that adventurers weren¡¯t ones to worry about things like that . Like Klaus¡¯ party, some parties with one guy and multiple girls camped together like it wasn¡¯t a big deal, and sometimes even slept in the same tent . Among the many opinions, such as not being able to carry enough tents due to there already being plenty of other things to carry, driving the guy back when he tries to make a move, or just going with it if the guy tries to do so, Loren wondered which one Lapis would have . ¡°Hmm? Loren you wanted to camp with me? If you would¡¯ve told me earlier, I would¡¯ve brought one tent and one sleeping bag . ¡± Looking away from Lapis, who had a satisfied smile on her face, Loren looked at the donkey¡¯s back . There were tents and sleeping bags for two people, so unless something happened, it wouldn¡¯t become a situation that Lapis had just said . ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet . ¡± When Loren said so keenly, returning his gaze back towards Lapis, she puffed out her cheeks in complaint and elbowed his ribs . ¡°Why did it suddenly go from camping to a matter of life and death?¡± ¡°I mean, come on . You¡¯d wrench off the head of anyone who would try to put their hands on you, right?¡± Lapis¡¯ arms were thin and didn¡¯t look built, but Loren knew that there was unimaginable strength hidden within . In order to suppress her powers as a demon, Lapis¡¯ parents had taken her limbs and eyes, so currently they were prosthetics . The prosthetics, which were made using demon technology, functioned as expected of objects that were made by them . After all, Loren had seen Lapis strangle goblins to death with her bare hands, and knew that wasn¡¯t something ordinary women could do . It could be seen that the strength came from her arms being artificial, but seeing how she was particular about finding her actual limbs, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that they were more powerful than the ones that were made . In the previous job, Lapis had recovered her left arm . It could be said that Loren had a good reason to be afraid . ¡°That depends on the time and the person . Stop saying it like I wrench people¡¯s heads off anyone and everyone . ¡± ¡°So it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s me?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s too much of a straight way of asking, isn¡¯t it? Even I¡­need time to prepare¡­this and that¡­¡± Lapis reddened and started rubbing her fingers together . As Loren felt he had learned something new, that although Lapis teased him a lot, if he gave her a straight response, she would start acting like this, he pushed her back, as she started muttering things in a small voice that he could barely hear, and urged her to start walking again . ¡°There¡¯s a post town on the way, so we¡¯ll get rooms there . ¡± It took a long while for Lapis to come out of her maze of delusions and unknown thoughts . Lapis said that the highway they were following north was maintained well, and there would be a post town after around a day¡¯s worth of walking . Of course, there was such a town near the Black Forest, and she was planning to make it their base of operations and hunt around it . ¡°If we have to, it can¡¯t be helped, but I¡¯d rather not camp outside if I don¡¯t have to . I prefer sleeping on beds . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care . Sleeping on the floor huddled together is common in my former line of work . ¡± ¡°Sounds like you would be covered in dirt and sweat when you wake up¡­¡± Lapis sounded disgusted, but Loren had woken up like that many times, so he just shrugged . There was no use telling her that on the battlefield you were lucky if you could get any amount of sleep, and sleeping laying down was sometimes a luxury . And even if you were covered in dirt and sweat, you would rarely get a chance to wash it off, and sometimes you would be covered in blood along with the sweat and dirt, but still being able to sleep when you can no matter the circumstance was the job called a mercenary . ¡°Humans are strange . They call themselves civilized, but they¡¯re fine with going to bed without cleaning themselves up, and their homes don¡¯t have baths . What part of them are civilized?¡± ¡°Baths?¡± Loren knew of baths . It was the name of a facility where hot water was put inside a large tub and people would go inside it, but Loren had never experienced it . Gathering a large amount of water was hard enough, but heating it all up would cost even more time, and he would be paying a large sum of money just to wash off the dirt and grime off his body, and seemed very inefficient . And although that was the only thing you could do, it required a large amount of space, so you wouldn¡¯t find one in a normal inn, and Loren had only heard about such things being within castles of royalty and mansions of high class nobles . He had also heard that in some regions hot water sprang from underground, and in those places, they used that water to make businesses that provided baths, but he had never been to those regions before . ¡°Most demons have baths in their homes . They¡¯re so nice, but I¡¯m confused at why it isn¡¯t as widespread among humans . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to clean your body, you could just dump water on yourself and wipe with a cloth . ¡± That¡¯s what people usually did . Sometimes they would heat the water if it was too cold to use plain water, but even if they did, a pail of water would suffice, and wouldn¡¯t need enough to dip your whole body in . ¡°Baths aren¡¯t about their function, it appeals to your mind and emotions . You¡¯ll get it when you try . ¡± ¡°Okay, I guess?¡± Loren gave a lukewarm response at Lapis¡¯ emphasis, but was thinking that the day where he would try a bath would never come . ¡°Next time when we look for a job, let¡¯s go somewhere that has baths . I need you to know about the greatness of baths . ¡± ¡°Even if you recommend it so eagerly¡­¡± They slowly walked along the highway with such conversations, sometimes near it, sometimes far off, but time continued to pass without encountering any monsters . Lapis told Loren that it was because quite a few adventurers thought of the same thing and did what they were currently doing quite often, so the areas around the highway were relatively safe . ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you know? Travelers could use the highway without having to worry about monster attacks . ¡± ¡°Feels like our pockets are still going to be pretty empty, though . ¡± ¡°We won¡¯t make a lot, but it¡¯ll be fine since we won¡¯t be in the red, won¡¯t it?¡± Lapis said so, but things started getting strange when the sun started to set and the sky started turning red, and night was about to fall . From the amount of time and distance they had traveled, Lapis said that they should be arriving at the post town, but when she squinted in the direction they were travelling, she saw it . ¡°Huh? Something¡­seems wrong . ¡± Loren already saw what she was pointing out . In front of them, where the highway led up to . There was an area with no hills or trees, but even though everywhere around it was getting darker, that place was still glowing red, as if the setting sun¡¯s rays was still shining on it . And from that place, Loren could see numerous pillars of smoke rising into the sky, and if the highway was going in that direction, it meant that something was happening at their destination . ¡°It¡¯s burning, alright . ¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s burning, after all . ¡± Seeing the red among the rest of the sky changing from blue to red to the black of night, Loren and Lapis realized that something was burning . ¡°Is there a village or a city around here other than the post town?¡± ¡°Not that I know of . ¡± Loren guessed that since she had said no, there wasn¡¯t anything else in the area . If that were true, what was burning was the post town they were heading to, and only smelled trouble . ¡°Sleeping on a bed tonight might be difficult . ¡± ¡°I guess life doesn¡¯t always go the way you want it to . ¡± Seeing Lapis disappointed, Loren wondered if it was such a big deal . But standing there would get them nowhere, and they decided they couldn¡¯t turn back, regardless of whether there would be trouble or not, so they reluctantly started trudging towards the red light in the distance . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Ch . 76: Waiting and Seeing, Then Choosing When the two of them reached the town, all that was waiting for them was flame and soot . The small town was destroyed and burned down, with red flames roaring everywhere . The black smoke emitted from the flames rose up into the sky, and a burning smell filled the area, along with the sick smell of burning bodies that could be seen among the rubble . ¡°This is¡­¡± There was a body lying next to Lapis¡¯ feet as well . It was the body of a middle-aged man, most likely a resident, and his face was one of terror . Loren crouched next to the body and frowned as he saw a single cut, from its shoulder down its back . ¡°A strike from behind . Do you think a monster did this?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t find any traces of claw or teeth marks of a beast type monster . Then maybe a monster that wielded a weapon . When Loren asked Lapis if it could be the work of goblins or orcs, Lapis looked at the condition of the body and shook her head . ¡°The cut is too deep to be a goblin, and too shallow to be an orc . Either way, they wouldn¡¯t just leave the bodies here like this . ¡± Both goblins and orcs were omnivorous and ate humans as well . It was hard to believe that they would just leave bodies that weren¡¯t even burnt without eating them even a little bit . ¡°Then I guess humans did this . ¡± ¡°Most likely . They made quite a mess . ¡± Lapis sighed as she saw a burning house collapse in the distance . The humans that had raided the town seemed to have destroyed everything thoroughly . They looted everything they could, destroyed everything they could, and set the town on fire after they were done . ¡°Survivors?¡± ¡°If there are, they¡¯d have quite the luck . They should give us a little bit . ¡± Lapis joked, but her expression was serious . Loren thought anyone would be the same, but he had a different problem to worry about . ¡°Our beds just disappeared . ¡± ¡°Your boldness to think of that in this situation is reassuring . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like the first time I¡¯ve seen something like this, so . ¡± Seeing raided towns and villages weren¡¯t rare when being a mercenary . Loren himself, or the group he was with rather, had never done things like that before, but he had seen mercenaries hired by their client¡¯s enemies do so before, as well as the remains . It didn¡¯t mean that he was used to seeing it or not feeling anything when he did, but he experienced it enough to know that nothing came out of panicking or getting angry . ¡°A fire this big is going to be a pain to extinguish . ¡± ¡°Why do they do this to people of the same race?¡± Loren scratched his head at Lapis¡¯ question . He didn¡¯t have an answer for it . He could just say that there was a town and then there were bandits, but he knew that Lapis wasn¡¯t looking for such an answer . ¡°My bad . I can¡¯t answer that . ¡± ¡°Sorry Loren . I didn¡¯t mean to trouble you . ¡± Lapis said in a hurry as Loren managed to squeeze those words out . ¡°It¡¯s just that we demons have a strong bond with each other because we¡¯re a race that¡¯s hated by others . Of course, we fight each other because of clashing interests and rivalries and such, but this is different . I was just wondering why . ¡± Thinking of demon kind gave him an image of a brutal society, but it seemed that he was wrong . Humans were easily doing things that even demons couldn¡¯t understand, so Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that maybe humans were a cruder and more vulgar species . ¡°Well, we demons are ones to do things even more thoroughly so that this would seem like child¡¯s play, though . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s sort of relieving . ¡± ¡°Their way of starting the fire wasn¡¯t good enough . There¡¯s going to be remains at this rate . ¡± ¡°Alright . Shut up for a little bit . ¡± Lapis¡¯ words spoiled everything, but for some reason Loren felt relieved . Now his value of human beings as a peace loving, logical race didn¡¯t crumble . ¡°So, what should we do now?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see . We could start with searching for survivors I guess . ¡± ¡°And after that we look for valuables, got it . As expected of you Loren . Let¡¯s get to it . ¡± ¡°You¡¯d be a beautiful and pure looking priestess if you just shut your mouth¡­¡± When Loren said beautiful and pure, Lapis put her hands on her cheeks, which turned so red it was noticeable among the glow of the fire . Watching her turn her back to him and start muttering something under her breath, Loren sighed, thinking that they didn¡¯t have time to be talking like this, as looked for a tree far away from the fire to tie the donkey to . ¡°They really went through everything thoroughly . They might actually deserve some recognition for this . ¡± The two of them searched the burning town, but the town had been raided so thoroughly that even Lapis was slightly impressed . First, there were no survivors . There may have been some who had been able to escape the town, but for within the city, not a single living resident could be found . All of them, from young to old, male and female, were killed . On top of that, there were nothing of any value left behind either . Anything that was of any worth, from money to furniture to accessories to food, was all taken, and although he knew it wasn¡¯t a good thing, he couldn¡¯t help but be impressed at the clean plunder . ¡°They¡¯re really skilled . They aren¡¯t ones that became bandits a yesterday or the day before . ¡± ¡°Some experts?¡± ¡°These sorts of experts should just die . ¡± It meant that the only things that were left in the town were the buildings and bodies . ¡°It¡¯s a post town . Didn¡¯t they have any soldiers?¡± ¡°Seems like they did . They were all burnt to a crisp over there though . ¡± Lapis was pointing towards the center of the town, and at the clearing, she had found the bodies of armed soldiers, piled up and burning . Even though it wasn¡¯t a large town, it was important to travelers, so it seemed that there were a few dozen soldiers posted there, but all of them had been killed . ¡°Were there some really skilled bandits? The might¡¯ve not been elites, but they¡¯re soldiers, right? But they still got wiped out by bandits . Maybe they were new soldiers?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that . They¡¯re all burnt, so . ¡± If the band of bandits were a very large one, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising to have heard some rumors about it, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard anything of the sort back at Kauffa . ¡°I hope not, but ex-mercenaries? The battle that destroyed my group . A lot of other groups met the same fate . ¡± The battle that destroyed the mercenary group Loren was a part of, which marked the start of his life as an adventurer, had many groups that were participating in it . Loren¡¯s side had lost as a result, but both sides suffered great losses, so Loren guessed that there many of them disbanded as well . Such mercenaries becoming bandits wasn¡¯t uncommon, but almost never became such a large organization like the one that had raided the town . Because if they were so large, there was no reason to call themselves bandits when they could just be a new group of mercenaries . ¡°Some group became bandits¡­and became larger as it consumed stray mercenaries, seems likely . ¡± ¡°They can¡¯t go back to being mercenaries, now that they¡¯ve sunk their hands into crime . That¡¯s not a happy story . ¡± No matter how large the organization became, if the core was made up of criminals, it would stay criminal . So, Loren¡¯s guess was that while they continued their criminal acts, they continued to consume others that were in a similar predicament and grew like a snowball . As a former mercenary, Loren hoped he was wrong, but from the skilled method of raiding, with the way they plundered and killed, he guessed that there was a very high chance that he was right . ¡°By the time a strike force is sent out, there¡¯s no telling how many villages and towns would end up the same way . ¡± If the organization was so large, there was no way the soldiers stationed at the villages and towns stood a chance . The nation would eventually find out about it and send a strike force to destroy it, but Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much damage would be done before that happened . ¡°That¡¯s troubling . Should we destroy them?¡± Lapis asked Loren after hearing his words, but Loren looked at her and blinked for a moment, not understanding the meaning behind her words . After a while he understood what she had said and replied with a nervous laugh . ¡°Our opponent is a group with at least two hundred people you know? And if my guess is correct, they¡¯re battle accustomed mercenaries . They aren¡¯t people we can deal with just the two of us . ¡± ¡°Then will you watch the damage spread until the nation starts moving?¡± When she said she didn¡¯t mind doing that either, Loren couldn¡¯t give her an answer . Loren didn¡¯t have a desire to become a hero . He may have had a chivalrous spirit that didn¡¯t let him ignore someone in need, and it shouldn¡¯t have been anything more than that . But his personality didn¡¯t let him ignore damage that he knew was going to spread, but it wasn¡¯t as optimistic to let him walk towards possible death . ¡°The best course of action would be taking another day to return to Kauffa and alert the soldiers¡­but how long would it take for the nation to start moving after that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­well, yeah . But still, does that mean we can do anything¡­?¡± ¡°Can we really not do anything? Loren and I¡­with the amount of power between us, can we really not do anything about this situation?¡± ¡®Onii-san! I¡¯m here with you, so it¡¯s okay even if you die! You can become an undead!¡¯ As Shayna appeared in the corner of his eyes, Loren silently declined her offer with a laugh, looked up, and started thinking . Getting his ass kicked like this wasn¡¯t fun indeed . He wasn¡¯t exactly the victim, but the residents wouldn¡¯t be able to rest peacefully, and would be wanting him, who discovered the destroyed town, to do one thing . ¡°Revenge¡­huh¡­¡± There was no reason to wipe them out . If they dealt enough damage, they would slow down, and if it went well, they would scatter . Then it would be easier for the soldiers to deal with them, and the damage would lessen . ¡°Alright . I won¡¯t be able to sleep well until I thank whoever took our nice beds, I guess . ¡± ¡°Then speed is key Loren . The bandits¡¯ guards would be down since they just succeeded a raid . ¡± Looking at the burning town, a wicked smile appeared on Lapis¡¯ face from within the darkness . Loren smiled back, with a fresh recognition that Lapis was indeed demon kind . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Chapter 77: Attacking After Discovery They found the bandits¡¯ camp unexpectedly easily . It was because they didn¡¯t try to hide themselves in the first place . When he thought about it, a band of two hundred or so ex mercenaries who became bandits already sounded like a threat, but its power could be equal to an army, so Loren guessed they thought that nothing other than a gigantic army would be a threat to them . ¡°I was the one who suspected this, but this is quite a sight . ¡± An area that they arrived at after a minute of walking from the remains of the town . In the middle of a clear, flat area, men who seemed to be bandits, were camping there with bonfires lit, and as Loren had just said, it wasn¡¯t a group that could be touched with halfhearted determination . ¡°They do as they want, but I guess they aren¡¯t thoughtless either . ¡± Lapis said in an annoying voice as they peeked out from a small depression in the ground a distance away from the camp, where its lights wouldn¡¯t find them . Since they had enough power to win against almost any opponent head on, what they needed to be careful against was ambushes, and staying in the middle of clear land was the best way to do so rather than stay in a place that shielded their view . Loren didn¡¯t know if they chose the place with that thought in mind, but Lapis said that moving based on the assumption that they did posed less danger . ¡°It would be better to assume that they are somewhat smart, rather than assuming they are idiots . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, but can we even move in on that?¡± If they tried to get near from their current location, they would immediately be spotted by the bandits on watch . Even if they were to form a plan, the surrounding was just flat land, with nothing that they could use to their advantage . Loren had indeed been a skilled and experienced mercenary, and although he somewhat thought so himself, he wasn¡¯t as arrogant as to think that he could march against a hundred, two hundred enemies and come back out alive . ¡°We can¡¯t use the classic fire or water attacks . We can¡¯t set a trap large enough for those numbers either . ¡± ¡°Loren you seem to know a lot about those kinds of things . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve attacked and been attacked like that, so . But this time both ways won¡¯t work . ¡± There wasn¡¯t anything around them they could set fire on, nor rivers or swamps to draw water from . Flat plains didn¡¯t benefit attacking nor defending, but that was the same for the enemy as well . If the gap in power was hopelessly large, there was no way to fill it . ¡°Let¡¯s see . I could use a large-scale magic and force fully annihilate them . ¡± ¡°You could use such a spell?¡± ¡°Who do you think I am? Even though I don¡¯t have my limbs and eyes, I¡¯m still a powerful demon . And currently I¡¯ve retrieved my left arm . ¡± Lapis said as she twirled her left hand, but Loren couldn¡¯t really believe her . He knew that powerful magicians could use spells that could turn the tides of a battle, but a spell that could annihilate two hundred enemies seemed like something from a fairy tale . ¡°Of course, there¡¯ll be a price, so I¡¯d like to avoid using them if I could . So, could I ask you something Loren?¡± Since they were huddled together in a small depression, Lapis could stare into Loren¡¯s eyes from a close distance . Loren could see her looking at him in the dark of the night, with the light from the camp barely reaching them, because of Shayna, who was inside him, but her straight gaze made him think that she saw right through him . ¡°I would like you to present every single card we could use, but what do you think?¡± Inside Loren, or inside his astral rather, which was his spiritual body, was a girl named Shayna that had been turned into the highest ranking undead called a No Life King in a previous job, but Loren hadn¡¯t explained that to Lapis yet . He had been saved by her powers many times already, so it was safe to assume that Lapis knew about it, but she was playing dumb until Loren decided to tell her himself . Loren guessed that since she was currently asking for an explanation, she was either relying on its powers, or there was no other option . ¡°I know you can¡¯t help but be wary of me . I understand that I¡¯m a person that you can¡¯t be wary enough of . It¡¯s kind of sad, but¡­¡± ¡°Umm¡­well¡­you know¡­¡± As her face really clouded in sadness, Loren felt guilty about hiding things from her . ¡°But from our current situation, I would like you to give me information, but how do you feel?¡± ¡®Onii-san, shouldn¡¯t we just be honest and tell her? It¡¯s a bit painful to leave Onee-san an outcast like this . ¡¯ It seemed that Shayna felt the same way as Loren did . As Shayna sent her thought to him, he thought that this would be the best timing to tell Lapis, so he decided to do so . ¡°About Shayna, who we couldn¡¯t save on our previous job . ¡± ¡°I see . Would it be safe to assume that you¡¯re ready to tell me?¡± Lapis interrupted Loren, who had started to talk, and Loren nodded, surprised at her question, confirming that she was correct . ¡°Then let me guess . Shayna¡¯s astral is living inside Loren¡¯s astral . It¡¯s impossible to tell since she usually uses your astral as a cloak, but if she excites her astral, she can use a part of her powers as a No Life King, am I correct?¡± ¡°You already know everything . ¡± Loren sighed that she already knew everything, but Lapis told him with a serious look on her face . ¡°Guessing the truth and asking for confirmation are two different things . ¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see Shayna?¡± Lapis shook her head at Loren¡¯s question . ¡°I can¡¯t . Feeling a strange presence and feeling that it was similar to the No Life King that I¡¯ve seen before raised my suspicions . Seeing the powers activate turned it into conviction . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s still pretty incredible . ¡± ¡°Thank you . And now, we can finally set up a plan . ¡± Lapis smiled and put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulder as she said so . Loren didn¡¯t understand what she meant by that, but then Lapis told him casually . ¡°So, Loren, please go attack the camp . ¡± ¡°Hey¡­are you trying to kill me here?¡± Lapis said it like it was nothing but cutting in alone into more than two hundred enemies was a foolish act, which wouldn¡¯t work whether it was an ambush, or it was head on, that he wouldn¡¯t return from alive . Since she just told him to do that, Loren started wondering if he did something to get on her bad side . ¡°I¡¯ll support you, so don¡¯t worry . ¡± ¡°But¡­that would kill me as well¡­wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Killing the first few bandits is the key . ¡± Loren understood from the way she talked that she wasn¡¯t joking and wasn¡¯t trying to get him killed, but he still couldn¡¯t see a win condition . On the other hand, Lapis seemed to know that they had a good chance of succeeding . ¡°If it were just the two of us, I wouldn¡¯t use this sort of plan, but with Shayna it¡¯s a whole different story . I think that we have a good chance of winning . ¡± ¡°Seriously¡­?¡± They were against a number that was impossible to go against between the two of them, but Lapis declared that going in alone gave them the highest chance of victory . Logically thinking, Loren couldn¡¯t agree, but with Lapis saying so with such confidence and himself not having a better idea, he knew he couldn¡¯t change her mind, so his only options were to go with her plan or fall back . ¡°Seems like an impossible plan . But I can trust you, right?¡± ¡°Leave it to me Loren . I don¡¯t intend to let you go here, nor let those bandits do what they want . ¡± As Lapis put her fist on her chest and told him not to worry, Loren couldn¡¯t find any traces of lies or hesitation in her words or her expression . So, Loren decided to believe her and lowered the great sword from his back and held it in his hands . ¡°Loren, I can¡¯t speak with Shayna . Can she hear my words through you?¡± ¡°Yeah . She said she could link her senses to mine . ¡± ¡°Then please listen Shayna . What I want you to do, is to make allies . Can you do it? Please tell me if you can¡¯t . ¡± ¡®Hmm¡­I understand . Please tell Onee-san that I could do it . ¡¯ ¡°Seems like she could . ¡± Lapis nodded and turned towards the bandits¡¯ camp . Nothing seemed to have changed . It didn¡¯t seem that they noticed where they were, and were still making rounds, keeping watch . ¡°Let¡¯s begin . Let¡¯s show those bandits, who raided the town and ruined our dinner and beds, hell¡± Lapis seemed to have said it very seriously, but Loren, who was about to run in, tripped when he heard it . As she looked at him with a confused gaze, Loren said with a nervous laugh . ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t your motivation just turn really stingy?¡± ¡°What do you mean Loren? It¡¯s commonly said that a grudge over food is terrifying . And this time we have a grudge over beds as well . We have to make sure that they go dance with the devil in hell . ¡± ¡°What happened to getting revenge for the residents of the town?¡± At Loren¡¯s question, Lapis gave a look like she had just remembered it, and an evil smile appeared on her face . ¡°If we put that into consideration, we can¡¯t even give them time to repent . ¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m starting to feel sorry a bit sorry for them . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s an unfavorable trend Loren . In times like these, you need to send them to the afterlife mercilessly, cold-heartedly, and cruelly . ¡± ¡°Did you need to mention cruelly?¡± Loren shuddered as he wondered what ¡®cruelty¡¯ was for demon kind . Lapis replied without changing her expression or the air around her . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that the results are going to be cruel, right?¡± ¡°What am I going to be doing¡­¡± ¡°Nothing different than usual . Fight the enemy and cut them down . Just that . ¡± Loren guessed if that was the case, it wasn¡¯t different than what he always did . Next to him, Lapis started preparing spells or divine arts to assist him . ¡°I¡¯ll leave the timing to you . I¡¯ll assist you as I see fit . ¡± ¡°Alright . I¡¯ll be going . ¡± A large body and a giant sword . With movements unexpected from someone wielding both of those, Loren flew out into the night out of the depression they were hiding in . Not long after he did, he was spotted by the bandits on watch, and those with bows gathered to take him out . If he kept going like this, wouldn¡¯t he be running through a rain of arrows . The thought crossed Loren¡¯s mind, but when the archers raised their bows, a bright light exploded through the night from behind him and dyed the area in white . He wasn¡¯t affected since he had his back to it, but the archers, who were looking towards him, were blinded by the sudden bright light, more so because they had been looking into the dark for a long time . ¡®Onii-san! Go, go!¡¯ ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice!¡± It was a small opening, but it was more than enough for Loren . He used that time to dash in and close the distance to the enemy camp and used the momentum he built to charge into a corner of the campsite . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Ch . 78: Concluding After Ambush Loren never hesitated once he put his mind to doing something . But he never attacked over two hundred enemies alone before when he was a mercenary . It wasn¡¯t that he believed Lapis, who said it would be fine . He acted because he knew the enemy wasn¡¯t ready for battle and was either excited about the success of the raid or about to go to sleep and thought that he could manage to cut down a few of them . Of course, he had no idea what would happen after the first few, and if there wasn¡¯t a plan, he would soon be surrounded and killed, but he guessed that things would be fine . Letting things develop as they go wasn¡¯t a very good way to do things, but for jobs such as mercenaries, they often found themselves in such situations, and only those who could do something about it could live longer . ¡°W-who are¡­Gahh!?¡± Loren, who closed the distance between him and the enemy with Lapis¡¯ light behind him, swung his great sword in the direction of the voice . The under swing, with the force of momentum behind its weight, caught the body of the enemy, who was shielding his eyes from the blinding light, ate into it diagonally, and went through the other side without any resistance . With the sound of wet fibers snapping and bones cracking ringing out, the upper body of the bandit that Loren cut through spun into the air, while the lower body fell and spurted blood and flesh everywhere . After counting one, Loren continued without breaking momentum . Because the first one died without even being able to scream, he managed to leap towards one of the archers, who had no idea what was going on, and swung his great sword to the right and then to the left, hoping it would hit something . As one got caught from under his jaw and fell on his back, screaming as his face was split in half and another got caught on the shoulder and got his arm ripped off, the light Lapis had conjured had faded and the area returned to darkness, with only the light from the bonfires left . Among the bandits who lost their sight, some swinging their weapons around blindly and others shooting their bows without aiming, Loren continued to find ones who were injured and kill them . ¡°Attack! Attack!¡± ¡°Damn it! Who the hell!?¡± Lapis¡¯ light and the screams of the bandits that Loren injured alerted the whole camp of an attack . Of course, that was to be expected, so Loren calmly counted the bodies rolling around on the ground and turned his focus to Shayna, who was inside him . ¡°That¡¯s a few of them!¡± ¡®Leave it to me . ¡± The No Life King inside Loren activated her powers . A black mist, so black that it was noticeable even in the darkness, erupted from the ground and covered the area around the dead bodies . As Loren looked on, wondering what she was doing, as the bodies were nothing but pieces of flesh, the black mist covered the bodies, and with crunching sounds coming from within, they started to gather them into a single lump . Maybe she couldn¡¯t make useful undead with bodies that were destroyed into pieces . But that thought was overturned by the black mist that gathered the bodies into one large piece . ¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t make much since there aren¡¯t enough bodies, but is that okay?¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t mind so hurry!¡± Since Loren was just a single person that attacked a whole camp, there was only so much panic he could cause, and he was starting to panic as he continued to cut down bandits around him . ¡®Come to me! Undead Knight!¡¯ What emerged from the black mist was something¡¯s thick left arm . Although it looked like a human¡¯s arm, it was a few times thicker than one, and spread fear among those who saw it, as it was shriveled up like a mummy¡¯s arm . What emerged next was the head, a giant skull . Its body was one of giant human well, with shriveled skin hanging on bone, with a rusted breastplate equipped onto it . It¡¯s lower body and legs then emerged, along with a rusted waist pads and armored boots, and lastly, emerged its right arm, wielding a halberd with red rust covering it . Loren had quite the large body, but even he had to look up at the thing that emerged from the mist, which was an undead that Shayna had summoned called an undead knight . While the bandits froze at the pressure from the giant halberd, the summoned undead knight roared into the night sky, and suddenly swept it across sideways . The rusted blade didn¡¯t seem like it could cut through much, but the strength and speed behind the swing tore through the bandits that were in its path, and the bodies flew into the air . It was done very casually, as if it were cutting grass, but several bandits losing their lives every time the halberd was swung was a complete nightmare, as even Loren couldn¡¯t help but stop attacking and stare at the sight . ¡°That¡¯s not much?¡± ¡®It¡¯s not much at all . Onii-san could defeat it, you know?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯d like to avoid fighting that if I could¡­¡± The bandits started retaliating, as the undead knight swung its halberd around with brute force, not caring to dodge or defend itself . Arrows were shot from a distance, and those with heavy equipment swung their weapons onto its body . The attacks weren¡¯t completely meaningless, as the arrows pierced it and the weapons cut into its body and created cuts, but the undead knight showed no sign of caring, as it continued to swing its halberd around with unchanging momentum . Undead didn¡¯t feel pain or fatigue in the first place . They were beings that continued displaying the same performance until they were destroyed or exorcised . ¡°Can I beat it¡­?¡± ¡®Of course, Onii-san is strong, after all . But I can summon more than one undead knight, so it could be dangerous for you if there are a lot of them at once . ¡¯ The black mist gathered the bodies of the bandits that the undead knight had killed, and a second undead knight rose from it, as if agreeing with Shayna¡¯s words . ¡°I can¡¯t deal with that . ¡± He hadn¡¯t counted properly, so he wasn¡¯t sure how many of the bandits he had killed but seeing that it wasn¡¯t on par with the speed that the undead knights were killing them, he put his great sword on his shoulder . With a second undead knight joining the fray, the speed at which the bandits were being killed became twice as fast . If the speed that they were dying doubled, it meant that the amount of bodies was increasing twice as fast as well, so the third and fourth undead knight were created not long after the second one had been . ¡°What are these things!¡± ¡°Damn it! Our attacks aren¡¯t doing anything!¡± ¡°Run! Dying against monsters like these is just stupid!¡± By the time the fourth undead knight started its killing, the bandits completely lost their will to fight . It wasn¡¯t as if their attacks weren¡¯t hitting, but seeing that they couldn¡¯t defeat these giant undead, fear flowed throughout the bandits, and seeing that they started scattering and running away, Shayna created a different kind of undead . ¡®Zombie Dogs, go!¡¯ It seemed to take a lot less bodies compared to the undead knights . At Shayna¡¯s call, countless numbers of undead dogs with rotting bodies jumped out from the black mist and launched themselves at the fleeing bandits from behind or jumped in front of them, blocking their escape . ¡°What the hell are these guys!? Where¡¯d they come from!?¡± The zombie dogs, since they were easier to summon than undead knights, were being cut in half or crushed by the bandits¡¯ attacks . But there was more of them being summoned than the amount that were being defeated, a ghastly sight spread out in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, as the bandits started becoming overwhelmed, with the dogs ripping their throats, as well as ripping their stomachs open and started tearing through the intestines . ¡®None of you will escape! All there will be is annihilation! A massacre! Become food for the dogs while regretting you were ever born!¡¯ Loren looked up into the sky with a pale face, muttering under his breath as he heard Shayna¡¯s loud laughter ringing in his head . ¡°Scary¡­So scary¡­Today¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever thought you were scary . Someone, please tell me how she created dogs out of humans¡­¡± ¡®I wonder why? It¡¯s not that Onii-san . I¡¯m just feeling a bit excited right now . I¡¯m not a scary girl . I promise!¡¯ Shayna told Loren in a hurry when she heard his vacant words . Thinking that it might be too late, Loren looked around at the gruesome picture of hell around him, with bonfires being knocked down, the tents on fire, undead knights turning humans into lumps of meat on one side, and zombie dogs tearing into screaming bandits on the other . All he did was kill around a dozen bandits, and after that things just kept on getting bigger . On top of that, their plan was to scatter them into smaller groups so they would be easier to deal with, but currently, out of the close to two hundred bandits, most of them fell prey to the halberds or the dogs, and it was hard to tell if any of them were lucky enough to have escaped . ¡°What is this? How did this happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a plan limited to night time, only applicable to those outside the law, after all . ¡± As Loren turned towards Lapis, who had walked up next to him unnoticed, with frightened eyes, she looked at him with a slightly offended face and said with an annoyed voice . ¡°You¡¯re mean, looking at a person like she¡¯s some ghost or something . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be seeing anything but ghosts in a situation like this . ¡± To Loren, the time since the ambush started to the time everything was destroyed was an instant . The large scale group of bandits that seemed impossible to deal with without an army just a little while ago was nowhere to be seen, with the bandits running around blindly, being cut down, dragged onto the ground and being bitten all over, screaming, and calling for help as they died . ¡°They reaped what they sowed . There¡¯s no room for sympathy . ¡± ¡°I want to feel a little bit of sympathy for them¡­¡± What the bandits did wasn¡¯t something that could be accepted . If they were caught and judged under the law, Loren would¡¯ve thought that they reaped what they sowed and felt no sympathy towards them . But when he wondered if what they did was enough to be attacked by undead and become their prey, he couldn¡¯t completely say so . ¡°Be reborn as good kids in the next life, okay? So, Loren, once this settles down and you release the undead, a fun time of looting will await us . ¡± ¡°I think the evil inside your stomach will put on a good match against them . ¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What part of my smooth, white stomach is evil¡­Loren? Don¡¯t turn your back on me and look, see?¡± ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t lift up your clothes in a place like this! Stop pressing it against me! Let me go!¡± Although cries of help and death cries continued to ring out around them, the two of them ignored them all and started messing around with each other, as Lapis tried to take hold of Loren¡¯s head, and Loren tried to escape her clutches . Although she wasn¡¯t out of the loop, Shayna realized that she was forgotten at the moment, so after ordering the undead to continue to search and destroy, she went back inside Loren¡¯s astral to rest until they remembered her . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 79 Chapter 79 Ch . 79: Discovering During Search ¡°It¡¯s time to have some fun searching through the tents . ¡± Lapis declared cheerfully with a smile on her face, but on the other hand, Loren was looking around at the campsite with a bored look on his face . It was still dark since it was still nighttime, but the bandits, trying to run away from the undead that Shayna had summoned, knocked over all the bonfires and caused the fire to spread, so the campsite was quite bright . The light from the flames exposed the horrifying state of the campsite . However, surprisingly there weren¡¯t many bodies . It was due to most of them becoming materials for the undead Shayna had summoned, or had been consumed by those undead, so although all the blood splattered everywhere was still there, it could be said that the aftermath didn¡¯t look too bad considering what had happened . As for the undead, the undead knights were patrolling around the campsite, while the zombie dogs were running around searching for survivors and making sure that no one that that had seen or will see this horrific scene will live to see the sunrise . ¡°What are we going to do about this¡­¡± The number of undead grew enough that they could easily surround a village or a town and destroy it . Loren understood that it was needed to take on hundreds of bandits, but now it was as if an army of undead had replaced them, and in terms of threat, it became greater than before . ¡°Wasn¡¯t the plan to do some damage and let them scatter out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m kind of impressed that we¡¯re a lot more capable than I thought . ¡± ¡®Don¡¯t worry Onii-san . ¡¯ Shayna¡¯s voice sounded in Loren¡¯s head . Her voice, which couldn¡¯t be heard by Lapis, was a cheerful one, as she tried to clear his worries as much as she could . ¡®The ones that I made will disappear once morning comes . ¡¯ Shayna explained that since they were summoned to close the gap in numbers, they weren¡¯t made properly, so they would return to dust after some time had passed . And so there was no need to worry about a pack of undead monsters attacking a city . ¡°You¡¯re sure they¡¯re going to disappear, right¡­¡± Loren couldn¡¯t completely believe that the horde of undead that killed all the bandits would disappear when the sun came up, but there was no way he could deal with them all on his own either . ¡°Well, them disappearing will give us a whole new problem though . ¡± ¡°Huh? What problem?¡± When Lapis responded to his muttering, Loren told her something new that started to worry him . ¡°Shayna says these undead will disappear when morning comes . If that happens, even if we explain what happened here, no one will believe us . ¡± ¡°Hmm? What are you talking about?¡± With all the blood splattered everywhere, it was obvious that many people were killed, but Loren thought that without the undead, it would be impossible to explain who had done it in what fashion . He thought so because he thought they should report to the adventurer¡¯s guild that they destroyed a large group of bandits, but upon hearing that, Lapis¡¯ looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about . ¡°Don¡¯t we have to report this to the guild or to the nation? This many people died, and a post town was destroyed as well . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange . I wonder what happened?¡± As Lapis¡¯ played dumb, Loren was about to ask what she was saying, but closed his mouth as he realized what she was thinking . As Loren continued to stare at Lapis, wondering if she was actually going to do it that way, but she shook her head with a confused look on her face, and folded her hands in front of her chest . ¡°This is a disaster . It¡¯s certain that many lives were lost here, but we¡¯re not sure how it happened . As much as we¡¯d like to figure out what happened, we¡¯re in a hurry . Let¡¯s take only the things that the dead don¡¯t need and leave the investigating to others . ¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to play it?¡± ¡°Hmm? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about Loren . ¡± ¡®Onii-san, what is Onee-san talking about?¡¯ While continuing to frown at Lapis, Loren explained to Shayna what she meant . It seemed that Lapis was planning on acting like she had nothing to do with the past event . She planned on acting like she didn¡¯t know anything about why the post town was attacked, why there was a large-scale campsite near it, and that it had been completely destroyed by undead . ¡®Will that work?¡¯ ¡°There aren¡¯t any witnesses or evidence, so¡­¡± The bandits had wiped out all the people in the post town, and most of the bodies were probably burnt down to ashes along with the rest of the town . And the bandits that did it were killed by undead, and were either used as material for more undead, or sank into their stomachs . ¡®That¡¯s true . There aren¡¯t any witnesses!¡¯ ¡°So, if we keep our mouths closed, the truth will be buried forever¡­or you want to shut my mouth just to be sure?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say scary things like that Loren . We should hurry and search for things we could take and get out of here . ¡± Lapis was the one who was saying scary things . But she did have a point, so Loren sighed and walked towards Lapis, who was waving at him to follow her . The bandits¡¯ campsite wasn¡¯t far off from the town they had attacked . A post town was a place that adventurers and travelers stopped by to find a place to spend the night, so anyone could be travelling towards there . What would a traveler do if he saw the burning town? It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if he went back the way he came, but if it were a somewhat experienced adventurer or if that person decided to gather some information before he headed back, the bandits¡¯ campsite would be found in no time . If that happened, there was a risk of them getting spotted and being asked for an explanation . If that happened, they were the ones that would be in a tight spot . It was because there was no way they could be honest and say that they used the power of a No Life King to summon undead and killed all the bandits . If they did, an extermination quest could pop up at the guild with their names as the targets . As Loren thought that Lapis was putting such things into consideration, but she said something completely different . ¡°If other people find this place, there¡¯ll be less things for us to take!¡± ¡°You look way more like a bandit to me . ¡± ¡°What do you mean!? I¡¯m just suggesting that we collect some useful things from the campsite that people disappeared for some mysterious reason . ¡± Loren wondered if a person could be more shameless, but he did agree that someone coming and taking what could be theirs wasn¡¯t a fun thing . It used to be the property of someone he didn¡¯t know, but on top of not knowing whose it is anymore since it had been in the hand of the bandits, the people of the town were mostly dead, so there was no way to return it to them either . So, he couldn¡¯t help but think that using it for their good wasn¡¯t a bad thought . ¡°Food and clothes will be bulky so let¡¯s leave those . I¡¯m not sure if you need one, but you can¡¯t take a young woman back even if you find one, okay?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s good . Our targets are precious metals and jewels and such . Coins are good too, but not the copper ones . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s the kind of words that come from a bandit, you know that?¡± Loren and Lapis started kicking down tents and going through the luggage in them . To run an organization, even if it were a group of bandits, you would need food, clothes, and other goods, but all of them were stolen items . They might¡¯ve been essentials for bandits, but they weren¡¯t important enough for Loren and Lapis in their current situation . ¡°If they only raided villages and post towns, the chances of finding metals would be slim . ¡± Precious metals and accessories, which would be worth a lot when sold, were things that bandits would definitely put their hands on, but to villagers and residents of small towns, they didn¡¯t have a need for things like those since it wasn¡¯t going to feed them in any way, so they rarely had them . Which was why Loren guessed that they wouldn¡¯t find them, and as if it were saying that Loren was correct, they couldn¡¯t many of them from the tents that Lapis went through . It was to be expected, since it was things that were stolen from villagers and residents in small towns that didn¡¯t have the time to dress up, but Lapis couldn¡¯t hide her disappointment . ¡°Do you think there would be any coins?¡± ¡°Yeah, a little . ¡± Loren guessed that there was a slim chance for that as well . The money used in villages were silver at the most, and gold coins were rare . Jewels were useless as well . Silver coins were mainly used in post towns as well, and there usually wasn¡¯t a business large enough to use gold coins . Based on that, they would most likely find food and miscellaneous items, mainly copper coins, and possibly kidnapped people . For people, it would be troubling if they found any, but Loren guessed that they wouldn¡¯t . The ones who destroyed the camp were undead, after all . The undead that Shayna summoned recognized Loren and Lapis, so they weren¡¯t attacked, but for others, Loren didn¡¯t think that they were smart enough to tell the difference between bandits and victims . ¡°Wow . This is full of copper coins Loren . This many would be hard to carry around, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis seemed to have found what she was looking for, but it seemed that Loren guessed right . As Loren thought that there was no way she would load the large amount of copper coins and take them back, he heard Lapis¡¯ surprised voice reach his ears . ¡°Loren! Come look at this!¡± ¡°What is it? There¡¯s no way there¡¯ll be something to be so surprised about . ¡± He walked towards Lapis, who had flipped over a few more tents and was going through the things in them, but he froze when he saw what she was pointing at . It was a large box . It looked like one that clothes would be put in, but when Lapis opened it, he saw that what was in side wasn¡¯t close to something like clothes . There were indeed some clothes inside, but there was someone lying unconsciously in the middle of the clothes . Smooth blonde hair reaching down to the shoulders . Pale white skin with simple green clothes . A small child that looked around ten years old . With a face that made it hard to tell if the child was a boy or a girl, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the bandits kidnapped the child . But Loren was surprised to see that the child¡¯s ears were long and pointed, like the female archer from the silver rank party that he knew . ¡°An elf?¡± ¡°Looks like it . This smells like trouble again . ¡± They couldn¡¯t close the box and pretend they didn¡¯t see anything, but if they took the child with them, they had a feeling they would be sucked into another troublesome situation . As Loren looked up at the sky, wondering why this child had to be here, Lapis looked at him with a troubled laugh, wondering what they should do . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Ch . 80: Awakening After Withdrawal In the end, all they managed to take from the campsite was a small bag filled with silver coins and cheap looking accessories . That and a few bottles of expensive looking alcohol and some food . Lapis complained that the rewards didn¡¯t match the hardship they went through, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure what kind of hardships she was talking about . If they were to talk about hardships, Loren thought that it would happen more often as time went on . The elf child that was laid on top of the donkey caused him to have the thought . Although it looked like a child, Loren thought that there was no telling how old it actually was, but Lapis explained that elves aged at the same pace as humans up to a certain age, and from that point changes to their appearances stopped showing, and although they were a race that lived for a long time with young appearances, it was okay to think they looked like their age until they reached adulthood . As well as no matter how young and beautiful an elf looked, she could be over ten times your age, so he should be careful when trying to put his hands on one . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if such a time would come, but he decided to keep that in mind . ¡°But then again, why was this child stuffed in a box inside the campsite?¡± As Loren asked as he took the reins of the donkey, Lapis didn¡¯t answer . It seemed that there were things that even a priestess of the Knowledge god didn¡¯t know . It was hard to tell if the child was a boy or a girl from the way it looked, but Lapis easily took care of that . The method she used was grabbing Loren¡¯s wrist and shoving his hand onto the elf¡¯s crotch . ¡°So?¡± ¡°You f¡­he¡¯s a boy . ¡± Lapis asked him with a cool face, while Loren stopped himself from cursing at her and her nasty method and told her the result based on the sensation on his palm . ¡°Oh, a boy . Why would the bandits kidnap an elf boy¡­Well, there are people with those kinds of tastes, so I guess it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if there was demand and supply for that . ¡± ¡°Why did you have to suddenly do that? It just felt awkward since he¡¯s a boy, but what were you going to do if he was a girl?¡± No matter how pretty his face was and looked like a child, feeling what was down there was still unpleasant, and Loren frowned, but if the child was a girl, that would¡¯ve been even worse . He shivered at the thought of his hand touching between the legs of a young girl . ¡°Then we could just say that you were lucky . ¡± ¡°Lucky my ass you wicked demon!¡± Loren thought that she could¡¯ve done it herself, but then that meant a pretty girl would be reaching between the legs of a young girl, or a young boy, and felt that it would be a totally different dangerous situation . As he gave up, deciding that it was fine since the victims were him and an unconscious person, Shayna couldn¡¯t help but think that Onii-san was slowly becoming influenced by Onee-san¡¯s actions, but she knew not to say such a thing to Loren . ¡°So, what are we going to do with him?¡± They started moving before the sun rose . Lapis knew that there was a high chance of them being spotted if they stayed at the campsite for too long, and Loren agreed . If they were spotted and questioned, Loren knew that he would feel too much guilt to hide the truth completely . Lapis would be able to play dumb and lie her way out, but unfortunately Loren wasn¡¯t good with words . ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t considered leaving him behind . ¡± Even after they left, the summoned undead were still wandering around within the campsite . If Shayna was right, they would return to dust once the sun came up, but if they left the boy there, the undead would¡¯ve found and eaten him . Loren guessed that Lapis didn¡¯t go with that since she had something in mind, but her response wasn¡¯t very clear . ¡°It was just a feeling, I guess . The fact that we met an elf on the way to a forest with a village of elves kind of bothered me . ¡± ¡°Like superstition?¡± ¡°Something like that maybe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like elves would curse you if you killed one of them, right?¡± ¡°Even if that were true, the ones that would be cursed is the undead . ¡± Lapis put Loren in a darker mood with her harsh words, but she continued explaining why she didn¡¯t leave the elf boy behind . ¡°But no matter the circumstances, it¡¯s hard to think that he was there of his own will in that situation . Then it would mean that he was most likely kidnapped . I¡¯m sure that his family is very worried right now . ¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got some kindness in there, after all . ¡± Even if part of her thoughts was taking the child back to the elves so they wouldn¡¯t be treated poorly, what would happen there wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing . Loren was relieved that the conversation didn¡¯t go in the direction of using the child to lure out some of the elves, capture them, and do whatever . He wasn¡¯t sure why the bandits kidnapped the child, but since they had brought him all the way here, they must have been planning to sell him . As Loren thought that since elves were sold at a high price because of their looks, he thought that Lapis could¡¯ve said that a more grown elf could be sold at a higher price, she looked at him with a harsh glare . ¡°I¡¯m guessing you were thinking of something horrible, from the looks of it . ¡± ¡°Put your hand on your chest and think about it carefully . ¡± ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t think of something like making the boy tell us where his village is and infiltrate it making it look like we helped one of their children and take over it from the inside, you know!?¡± ¡°You¡¯re literally thinking about it right now¡­¡± As Loren sighed as it was even worse than what he had imagined, Lapis laughed and waved at him as if she were joking . They walked along the highway as they had such conversations, but the sun was high in the sky by the time the boy woke up . The first thing he did as he woke up from the donkey¡¯s swaying back and rubbed his eyes was scream . ¡°Hm? Hey, did you just hear someone scream?¡± In front of Loren were a few dead ogres sprawled on the ground . Loren and Lapis¡¯ original goal was to defeat monsters and take the materials back to Kauffa and receive extermination rewards, but they ran into large man-eating monsters called ogres a short while before the boy woke . They were a few times stronger than humans, and although they lacked skill, shields and armor sometimes couldn¡¯t stand a blow from them . For ordinary copper rank adventurers, a few of them would mean that they would most likely be wiped out, and they were monsters even iron ranks would have trouble with if enough of them were there . There were about ten of them . They weren¡¯t something copper ranks could even imagine dealing with, but Loren and Lapis defeated all of them without much trouble, with just the two of them . The elf boy woke up to the two of them cutting off parts for proof of extermination as well as ones that could be used as materials . ¡°Huh? Did some traveler see us?¡± Lapis, who was gouging off the ogres¡¯ fangs and horns, raised her head up at Loren¡¯s voice with blood dripping from her hands . There were a few bodies of ogres lying around, covered in blood and with their horns and fangs missing, and the elf boy, seeing all this, screamed and fell off the donkey¡¯s back and tried to crawl away . ¡°Hey hey, where are you going?¡± Lapis rushed over to the crawling boy and put her foot on his back . She didn¡¯t mean to be mean to the boy, but she had to since her hands were covered in blood from taking the ogres apart . But when looked at from the side, it was a girl covered in blood stomping on a crying and screaming elf boy, not letting him escape . It was so ghastly that Loren couldn¡¯t help but stop what he was doing and give a hand to the elf boy to help him up, but his hands were covered in blood as well, so the boy started screaming louder than before . ¡°You¡¯re pretty loud, you know?¡± As Loren looked around, not sure what to do, Lapis calmly started putting strength into her foot . Although it was a very small amount, it was enough to make the elf boy moan, and he tried to escape from under her, but he couldn¡¯t get anywhere, so after a while he gave up and stopped struggling . ¡°Loren, could you go wash your hands and look after him? I¡¯ll go finish taking the ogres apart . ¡± Loren went and washed the blood and fat off his hands with water from a wineskin that they had readied earlier, dried them, and picked up the elf boy from under Lapis¡¯ foot and set him back on top of the donkey . ¡°Don¡¯t be so scared . We¡¯re the ones who saved you, you know . You remember who kidnapped you and how they treated you, right?¡± After he said so, Loren started wondering if the boy could understand him . The elf named Nim that he knew of had learned human tongue and could communicate with him, but he remembered hearing about how among the elves that didn¡¯t go near humans had their own language and couldn¡¯t communicate with them either . As Loren wondered which one the boy would be, the elf boy that had first looked at him with fear started remembering the situation he was in and what had happened before he lost consciousness, and Loren let out a sigh of relief as he saw the fear on his face start to disappear . ¡°You¡­saved me?¡± Loren wondered how he should answer him . If he said no, it was obvious that the boy would start being afraid again . But even if he said yes, with no idea what Lapis would do after, he wasn¡¯t sure if that was the right answer to give either, so when he glanced at Lapis, who was still taking the ogres apart, noticed his gaze and nodded without looking up or stopping her hands . It seemed that she was leaving this one up to him . Assuming so, Loren replied slowly to the boy, who started showing uneasiness at the lack of an answer . ¡°Yeah, we saved you . We saved you from the bandits that kidnapped you . I¡¯m Loren, and the priestess over there is Lapis . We¡¯re headed the Black Forest, but are you an elf from there?¡± As Loren asked, he thought that it would be troublesome if the boy said no, but the elf boy nodded . ¡°The forest that I live in is called that by humans . I learned it from the merchants that come to my village . ¡± It seemed that the village that the boy was from had some amount of interaction with humans, so he could communicate with Loren with no problems . Thinking that this was good news, he felt that although Lapis was working on the ogres, her ears were focused on them, so he continued talking to the boy to gather information they might need . ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Chapter 81 Chapter 81 Ch . 81: Gaining Information from Assessment The elf boy¡¯s name was Feuille . Loren had spent around half a day gaining needed information from him . Finding out his name was already hard, but since Feuille was young, his speech became garbled sometimes and couldn¡¯t remember things here and there, which made the information that Loren got be quite vague . But since Lapis, who had been listening to their conversation, organized all the information, so by the time Feuille became tired of talking and fell asleep on the back of the donkey, they had most of the information they needed . According to it, Feuille was from one of the villages of elves living in the Black Forest and was ten years old . While helping gathering fruit and herbs in the forest with his friends, they had accidentally gone too close to the outskirts of the forest, and unfortunately ran into bad looking men . The men had tried to capture them and take them, but they lacked finesse, killing half the children and letting the rest escape . The only one who was caught had been Feuille, who had tripped and fell . After tying his arms and legs, the men carried him for around a day and into the campsite, and was thrown in the box that Loren and Lapis found him in . He was scared at what was going to happen to him, but after crying himself to sleep, he didn¡¯t remember seeing anything . Loren couldn¡¯t tell if his luck was good or bad, but since he hadn¡¯t been found by the undead because he was unconscious inside the box, his life had been spared, so Loren guessed that his luck wasn¡¯t bad . ¡°There isn¡¯t really any interesting information . ¡± Lapis said as she looked at Feuille, who was sleeping with his arms around the donkey¡¯s neck, but to the victim himself, it was a matter of life and death, so Loren thought interesting or not wasn¡¯t relevant . But he couldn¡¯t help but feel that entering the forest with Feuille was dangerous, but when he told Lapis, she gave him a confused look . ¡°Why would you think we would be in danger?¡± ¡°They could think that we¡¯re with the ones who killed and kidnapped their children . ¡± ¡°People who kidnapped a child wouldn¡¯t come back to return him . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± Lapis was right if it were thought about calmly, but there was always the chance of a misunderstanding, so if the elves caught wind of humans having custody of one of their missing children, Loren thought that they could believe they were the ones who did it . ¡°It¡¯s elves, you know?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s a possibility . ¡± Lapis understood that even if they weren¡¯t suspected, the elves could imagine that they were they brought back their child for things such as doing something to the village or looking for some rewards or compensation, and for some reason, bringing the child back out of kindness wasn¡¯t an option . ¡°There are lots of weird ones among elves, after all . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d want a demon saying that about them . ¡± Lapis was offended at Loren¡¯s poking remark, but she didn¡¯t counter, since it wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t have a clue about what he was talking about . As they continued like that, they had reached the city that was closest to the Black Forest by the end of the day . ¡°We really didn¡¯t have enough information . I didn¡¯t expect there to be a branch office for the adventurers¡¯ guild in this city . ¡± Before they went to get rooms for the night, they went to the branch office they found by chance and gave them the extermination parts and materials from the monsters they had encountered . When Feuille had woken up, Loren and Lapis had been taking apart ten ogres, but they had defeated quite a bit of monsters before that . They had quite a bit, so they decided to take care of them before they entered the forest . ¡°You balance it here too?¡± As Loren put the bags, which were bloody and looked unsettling, on the front desk, the girl standing behind it took them without breaking her smile and shook her head . ¡°All we do here is take and assess . We issue certificates, so please go to one of the base guilds and receive your money . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± It was slightly troublesome and was unsure if the guild would give them the money when they returned, but it was helpful that they didn¡¯t have to carry around everything the whole trip . On top of that, this branch had a bar along with it, like the guild in Kauffa, so Loren pointed at Feuille, who was walking and looking around the place, and told Lapis . ¡°I¡¯ll take care of things here, so go get him something to eat . He probably hasn¡¯t eaten anything in a while . ¡± Being kidnapped, tied up, and thrown into a box, it was hard to think that he had been treated decently . To a young child, missing one or two meals was quite harsh, so as Loren asked Lapis, worrying about Feuille, she nodded and took him towards the bar . Although it was called a bar, it was closer to a restaurant, so as he saw them off, he hoped there were things that even a child like Feuille could eat, and when he turned around back to the girl at the desk, he saw that she was looking at them as well with interest . ¡°Did you see anything new?¡± As Loren asked her to put up a lighthearted conversation, the girl realized that she was staring at the companions of one of her customers and nodded her head in embarrassment . Loren wondered if they didn¡¯t see many elves in the area but thought that would be weird since the city was right next to the Black Forest, and there were elves inside that interacted with humans . ¡°My partner? With her youth and looks, she could probably become anything she wants, instead of being a priestess, in my opinion . ¡± Loren casually pointed out something that was most likely not what attracted the girl¡¯s attention, and as he thought, she shook her head this time . ¡°Your partner is indeed very pretty¡­but pardon my rudeness . You had an elf child with you¡­so I couldn¡¯t help but look . ¡± As she bowed her head as she apologized, Loren waved his hand telling her not to worry about it and wondered why what he thought was wrong earlier was in fact right, so he continued the conversation . ¡°This city is right next to the Black Forest, right? Don¡¯t you see elves often?¡± ¡°Yes, until a little while before . ¡± Loren felt disturbed when he heard the words, ¡®little while before¡¯ . It meant that it wasn¡¯t rare to see elves in the city . But they had stopped seeing them for a while now . ¡°Every now and then elves would come out of the forest to sell things they gathered in the forest and woodwork . ¡± ¡°And they stopped coming since a little while ago?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all . The people who did business with them got worried that they didn¡¯t show, so a few of them hired a few guards and went into the forest, but¡­¡± The girl the put her hand to her mouth and beckoned Loren to get close . Loren leaned over the counter, guessing that it wasn¡¯t something to say out loud, and the girl told him in a small voice . ¡°No one has come back . It¡¯s only been two, three days, and the Black Forest is quite a large forest so they might still be investigating . ¡± The girl¡¯s hands hadn¡¯t stopped working through the whole conversation . She counted the number of extermination parts, sorted the materials, and recorded the amount and values onto the document in front of her . ¡°If they don¡¯t come back soon, we¡¯ll have to put up a search quest for them, but we¡¯re a small branch office and don¡¯t have much money to spare, so we are considering asking nearby branches for a decision . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a worrisome story . ¡± ¡°I agree . There aren¡¯t any reliable adventurers here, either . We¡¯re small, so not a lot of them come here . It¡¯ll be helpful if a kind adventurer somewhere goes to see what¡¯s going on . ¡± Loren gave a troubled laugh as the girl glanced at him . Putting Feuille aside, although Loren and Lapis were a party just by themselves, they had brought in ten ogre¡¯s worth of materials, so it was obvious that they were quite strong and skilled . Although they were copper rank, it wasn¡¯t a feat that normal copper rank adventurers could pull off . The girl might¡¯ve been hoping that skilled adventurers would go to the Black Forest and see what¡¯s going on, but to Loren, he didn¡¯t care about his personal evaluation, but he didn¡¯t want to work for free . ¡°Won¡¯t someone go if a quest is put out?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to know how much the rewards should be until the situation is clear, so . ¡± ¡°An investigation for an investigation quest . Well, I might be interested in taking it if I¡¯m feeling like it and it¡¯s worth enough money, but I do have a partner . It¡¯s not something I could decide on my own . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . Okay, the assessment is done . This would be the certificate . ¡± The girl changed the subject, as if she had just tried asking, recorded the results, signed that there were no mistakes, and handed the document to Loren . As he thanked her, took it, and started heading towards where Lapis was, the girl said in a small voice behind him . ¡°If you decide to take it, I¡¯ll make sure you get some extra, you know?¡± When Loren turned over his shoulder, the girl smiled and pointed towards the quest board . Loren could see that there wasn¡¯t a quest on there like what the girl had mentioned, but it seemed that it would be put on there soon enough . ¡°I¡¯ll be in your care if that happens . ¡± After saying so, he walked over to where Lapis and Feuille were sitting . He saw Feuille devouring stew, bread, and salad, and Lapis, who was looking at Loren with a smile . ¡°Welcome back Loren . How was it?¡± Loren gave her the certificate he had received, knowing that it wasn¡¯t what Lapis was asking about . Not saying anything, Lapis took it and looked through what was written on there and put it in her pocket . ¡°So, what else?¡± Lapis asked Loren, wanting something else, so he pulled a chair and sat down, and started telling her what the receptionist girl had told him . Previous ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Hey guys Kaoto here . Oh man the days off were such a blast! I got to do quite a bit of things that I kept on hold, and it was a lot of fun . Then I realize that I have regular work schedule from this week¡­ Well, since I¡¯m done with this chapter and it should be posted within the next three minutes, I guess I¡¯ll play a bit of God Eater 3 to get ready for the next large update, watch a movie, and go to sleep early . Yeah, that sounds good . Chapter 82 Chapter 82 Ch . 82: Resting at the Inn In the end they decided to get rooms and rest, but when they got there, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what to do with Feuille . He had been thinking about getting three rooms since there were three of them, even if it cost more, but then he started wondering about leaving Feuille in a room all by himself . Although he was an elf, he was only ten years old . Thinking that it wasn¡¯t good to leave a young child alone, he was about to have him stay in the same room, when he suddenly started feeling piercing glares on his back, causing him to turn behind him . They were in the first floor of the inn, which like most inns, was where they served customers their meals, and it seemed like most of the glares were from the customers sitting down there behind him . He could tell that they weren¡¯t filled with things like bloodlust or opposition, but he couldn¡¯t immediately understand what was behind them . And it seemed that for some reason, the ones from the women seemed especially cold, and as Loren rubbed the back of his neck, Lapis whispered to him . ¡°This is just a feeling¡­but I think everyone thinks that Feuille is a girl . ¡± When told that, Loren looked down at Feuille, who was looking up at him . Elves were known to be beautiful, but Feuille especially looked like he could be either, so it was very difficult to know just by looking at him, and if he didn¡¯t talk, he could easily be thought of as a girl . Realizing too late that it couldn¡¯t be helped if he was seen as someone who was trying to take a young girl into his room, Loren thought of putting Feuille in Lapis¡¯ room, but Lapis frowned at the suggestion . ¡°Regardless of how he looks, Feuille is a boy . ¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s true . ¡± ¡°Are you telling an unmarried girl of age to spend a night with a man!?¡± ¡°¡­Umm, yes . ¡± Ignoring Lapis, who was complaining about the moment of silence before his response, Loren scratched his head, wondering what to do . If everyone looked at him coldly if he tried to take Feuille and didn¡¯t like it if he tried to make her take him, there was only one option left . ¡°How about all three of us staying a large room?¡± ¡°Oh, you guys were a family?¡± The one who asked was the owner of the inn . When the middle-aged man mentioned it, Loren thought about the composition of his current companions, but putting himself who was human, Lapis who was demon kind, and Feuille who was an elf as a family, seemed too chaotic . ¡°We¡¯re not actually a family, but a lot of things happened . I¡¯ll appreciate it if you don¡¯t pry further . ¡± ¡°Three silver coins a night for a large room for five, including two meals . Extra towels and warm water are extra charge, alright?¡± The owner was trying to be sensible since they weren¡¯t a family, but to Loren it was additional mental damage, and even with a tired look on his face, he slid three silver coins on the counter . Although he didn¡¯t have much money, he had a few silver coins in his wallet . He felt that if he let Lapis pay, it would worsen his image with the people behind him, so he immediately paid before Lapis could . Seeing the money, the owner gave him a key and told him where the room was . Frowning at the painful spending, Loren went up to the second floor with Lapis and Feuille and entered the room for five . After putting his equipment and bags down and sitting down on the bed to take a breath, he saw that Feuille was staring at him . ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± When he said to Feuille, who was standing in front of the doorway, he asked him with a worried look on his face . ¡°Umm¡­What¡¯s going to happen to me?¡± It did seem that he was being a little vague, but Loren looked at Lapis, wondering how to answer him . Lapis, who had put down her things as well and was sitting on a different bed than Loren, noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and put her index finger on her chin, her gaze wandering about around the ceiling, and answered . ¡°If we think about it in an orthodox way, we would have him come with us to the Black Forest and take him back to his village would be one option . ¡± ¡°If you think about it normally, yeah, but what do you mean by orthodox? Is there an option that isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°¡­Do you want to know?¡± ¡°No, so keep it to yourself . ¡± Knowing that it wouldn¡¯t be anything good, Loren shut up Lapis and turned towards Feuille, who was still standing in front of the door . ¡°If you have a way to contact your friends or family, do it . If not, take us to your village . The forest isn¡¯t a place where a child like you could wander around alone, right?¡± Feuille looked confused when Loren asked him to take them to his village, but Loren meant that they would protect him until they reached it, and as Lapis let out a nervous laugh, Loren glared at her . Looking at his reaction, Loren thought that the elves must have a lot of trouble with insolent people going after them for their looks . ¡°It¡¯s not like we have business with your village . We¡¯re just going to take you there . ¡± ¡°Will you really? I don¡¯t have any money to pay you¡­¡± Feuille knew that Loren and Lapis was adventurers since they stopped by the guild . So, he assumed that since they were people who took quests and were paid for it, they were going to ask for money to take him to his village . Loren sighed, knowing what Feuille was thinking . ¡°We aren¡¯t going to take money, so don¡¯t worry about it . ¡± ¡°T-then you¡¯re going to take it from my parents¡­?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t stop himself from thinking, ¡®I see¡¯ . Taking money from Feuille, who was a child, wasn¡¯t the proudest thing to do, but taking a lost child home and receiving gratuity didn¡¯t seem like a bad idea . But Loren shook his head and chased the thought out of his mind . ¡°We don¡¯t do jobs that deliver lost children home and take money for it . ¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Finding you must¡¯ve been something more than chance, so might as well see it through . We¡¯ll take you home and won¡¯t ask for money, so don¡¯t worry . ¡± ¡°Why would you go that far¡­?¡± Since Feuille looked surprised and didn¡¯t seem to believe him, Loren wondered how he could convince him, but then realized that there was no need to . If he accepted their offer, that was fine, but even if he didn¡¯t, that wouldn¡¯t trouble them either . Even if they parted ways with him at the edge of the forest, it wouldn¡¯t hurt them at all . It would in fact be easier for them if they did, but he was reluctant letting a powerless child walk all alone inside a forest, since it seemed like something that could keep him from sleeping at night . ¡°There¡¯s no reason . If anything, it would be¡­¡± ¡°That this person is very soft-hearted inside . ¡± Lapis interrupted Loren . Loren was about to argue that he wasn¡¯t soft-hearted, but what he was doing right now indeed looked like he was, so when Lapis looked at him, asking if she was wrong, he couldn¡¯t say anything . ¡°So how about going along with his suggestion, and after you get home safely, if you want to pay him back somehow, then I think you could give him something in return . ¡± ¡°R-really?¡± Feuille looked relieved at Lapis¡¯ kind words and moved from where he was standing and sat down at an empty bed . It was supposed to be a room for five, but there were only three beds, so Loren, confused, looked around and saw two long sofas, and guessed that they were meant to be used as beds as well . As Loren thought that they were fortunate to have enough beds to use between the three of them, Lapis said to him as if she had just remembered something . ¡°So, Loren, all we do know is eat and sleep, and enter the Black Forest tomorrow . ¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°This inn . The owner said that extra hot water and towels were extra charge, right? You see, I¡¯d like to clean myself before I go to bed¡­¡± Loren recalled what the owner had said while Lapis complained at the bad service . ¡°I mean, he said extra, right? Water and towels should be included in the room charge . ¡± As Loren said so, knowing that his memory wasn¡¯t wrong, Lapis asked him another thing with a confused look . ¡°Then would ordering extra water and towels mean that they won¡¯t give us enough to use?¡± Loren thought that wasn¡¯t true . No matter how cheap the inn, they would provide enough hot water to clean one¡¯s body, and since they were renting a room for five, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to order enough water and towels for five people, and it was hard to imagine that wouldn¡¯t be sufficient for the three of them . If there were a problem, it would be that Loren and Feuille would have to step outside while Lapis was washing herself, but that wasn¡¯t much of a problem either . ¡°I¡¯m fine with one person¡¯s worth of water and towels, and Feuille probably won¡¯t use much either, so you can use the rest, you know?¡± ¡°Thank you, but¡­then what was the owner talking about when he mentioned extra?¡± ¡°No idea . Maybe some customers use a lot of water and towels? Or some of them spare no expenses?¡± Although Loren didn¡¯t say out loud, he understood that the owner had mention extras because he was being sensible about a whole different thing . It was because his companions were a girl named Lapis, and a boy named Feuille who looked like a girl . Loren had thought that since she was Lapis, she would catch onto it, but apparently it wasn¡¯t understood to demons . Loren guessed that since they were used to taking baths, even if they were in a situation where they needed extra water and towels, they would just wash themselves in the bath . ¡®Onii-san, could you explain what he meant to Shayna?¡¯ At the voice that rang in the back of his head, he almost told her that it was ten years too early for her to know, but the voice belonged to a consciousness within his astral, who was also a No Life King, and undead of the highest rank . She wouldn¡¯t become an adult after a mere ten years, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he should say it was too early for a child to know, or if he should say he¡¯ll explain when she becomes an adult . ¡®Onii-san? Did Shayna ask something bad?¡¯ Seeing Loren¡¯s reaction, Shayna started worrying that she had done something wrong, but Loren, who regained his composure when he heard her voice, dodged the question by saying he¡¯ll explain when he felt like it, and laid down on his bed . Previous ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Hey guys Kaoto here . Ahh dang it my phone broke¡­ I was planning on upgrading soon, but not this soon . Was thinking in like two or three months when I saved up enough . Oh man I don¡¯t want to spend extra money that I didn¡¯t plan on using, but I don¡¯t want to downgrade either . This¡­is a tough decision . In any case, it seems that Loren just unlocked some new titles for himself . Will he live up to them? We¡¯ll see . Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Ch . 83: Sensing After Camping The three started towards the Black Forest the next day . When Loren returned the room key, the owner looked like he wanted to say something, but Loren gave him a glare with just enough pressure in it to keep his mouth shut . Loren didn¡¯t care much about what was said to him, but he didn¡¯t want to hear something that would lower others¡¯ impression of him either . He guessed the owner was confused why he didn¡¯t order extra water and towels, but he wished he would understand that even if a man and a woman stayed in the same room, they wouldn¡¯t always need to order any . ¡°Let¡¯s restock on supplies and start heading towards the forest . ¡± Said Lapis, who had no way to know what was going on in Loren¡¯s head . They couldn¡¯t take the donkey they rented, so they left it at the guild branch and went to get more supplies . ¡°Ahh damn it¡­¡± The expenses needed for the job was split between Loren and Lapis . But still, the things that Loren couldn¡¯t pay for with the money he had was all paid by Lapis, so it could only look like he was being taken care of by her . There was no way others would know that he was going to pay her back, so even at the store, people around him looked at him coldly . ¡°I don¡¯t think your debt got higher at all . ¡± They were only buying some more rations and medicine as well as a burner and oil, and although the amount needed increased due to Feuille being with them it wasn¡¯t that much . ¡°I¡¯ll put Feuille¡¯s on your expense tab, okay?¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± If he told her, Lapis would¡¯ve split it, but since he was the one who offered to take Feuille home, he didn¡¯t feel like letting her pay for half of it, so he didn¡¯t and just nodded . Although Lapis showed a look of complaint for a second, her expression immediately returned to normal, and she started wrapping up the things they bought and paid for it . ¡°Umm¡­I¡¯ll pay for everything you bought for me when we get to the village¡­¡± Loren interrupted Feuille by putting his hand on his head and patting him with an awkward smile on his face . But with Loren¡¯s large hand and Feuille¡¯s small head, to Loren he was patting on the head, but to Feuille it was being spund around in place, so as he stumbled around, he managed to catch hold of a shelf and not fall . ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . Just focus on getting to your village for now . We don¡¯t know where it is, so you¡¯ll have to take us there, alright?¡± ¡°O-okay . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t thought this through, either . We¡¯re planning on hunting monsters in the forest, so it¡¯ll be great to have an elf who¡¯s familiar with the forest helping us out . ¡± At Feuille¡¯s worried look, Loren told him the way he could help that he had thought about the while night . Loren didn¡¯t mind him thinking that they were helping him out of kindness, but he also knew that not asking for something in return could cause him to doubt and be suspicious of them . People tended to not trust in those kinds of things . To put Feuille at ease, Loren decided to tell him that they were looking for something in return . But if he was too greedy, he could give a bad impression to Feuille¡¯s parents as well as those in the village . And so, Loren decided on getting information about the Black Forest through an elf who was familiar with it . This way he wasn¡¯t being greedy and wouldn¡¯t hurt the elves in the village either . Even if they didn¡¯t get much information, it was fine since they never planned on having an elf with them in the first place, so if they did get some useful information, that was a bonus . ¡°So, don¡¯t think about it too hard and let us take care of you, alright?¡± ¡°Thank you . ¡± As Feuille thanked him and Loren took his hand from his head with a smile, Lapis, who had finished shopping, tugged his sleeve . ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that you could direct that kindness towards me sometimes?¡± ¡°I believe I¡¯m pretty lenient about your actions, don¡¯t you think?¡± At Loren¡¯s words, asking if he should be even kinder than he was, Lapis ran off, thinking that he might do the opposite . As they finished buying everything they needed and ate lunch, they started walking towards the Black Forest . The forest was half a day away . It was very large and got its name from the fact that the deeper you go, the darker it became from the canopy blocking the sunlight, but there were several races, including elves, that lived there in small villages . ¡°There¡¯s creatures from goblins and orcs to races like us elves as well as fairies . ¡± On the road, Feuille talked as best he could, trying to tell Loren and Lapis¡¯ all he knew about the forest . ¡°What¡¯s the difference between elves and fairies?¡± ¡°Fairies are small and have wings, while elves are big and don¡¯t have wings . It¡¯s said that we used to be the same as race . ¡± ¡®I must look like a fairy . ¡¯ In the corner of Loren¡¯s eye, Shayna fluttered the wings on her back . As Loren looked at the girl that only he could see, thinking if it were so, Lapis gave an added explanation . It was said that fairies and elves used to be beings that only had astral bodies called spirits . Among those that somehow got physical bodies, the ones who received human like bodies became elves, while the ones who retained their forms as spirits became fairies . Both races liked natural environments such as forests, hated metals like iron and copper, were quite proud, and tended to look down on humans . The elf archer he had met before didn¡¯t have an air of pride about her and didn¡¯t look down on others, but maybe she changed after spending so much time with humans . Since they departed the city past noon, they reached the border of the forest by the time the sun set . Loren thought they were going to enter, but Lapis suggested setting up camp for the night and enter the forest tomorrow . Lapis said that it was dangerous to enter the forest, which was already dark inside, during the night, and it wasn¡¯t a smart thing to do, and Loren as well as Feuille agreed to it . ¡°The forest gets dark if you go deep into it, but my village is located where the sunlight still reaches inside, so it¡¯s definitely better to go in during the day . ¡± ¡°Do you know the way to your village?¡± ¡°Yes¡­I think it¡¯ll be fine . ¡± To Loren and Lapis, all the trees looked the same, and couldn¡¯t imagine there being any paths . But it seemed that Feuille saw something differently than them, as he nodded after looking at the forest for a while, and Loren was relieved that it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to take him back home . ¡°Well, whatever the case, let¡¯s camp for now and worry about everything tomorrow . ¡± ¡°Is it fine to camp so close to the forest?¡± Close or far from the forest didn¡¯t seem any different since it was plains everywhere, but if something were to pop up, it was most likely going to be from the forest . Loren thought it would be better to camp farther away, but Lapis looked between the forest and the plains . ¡°I think it would be easier to get wood for the fire and shield ourselves from the wind if we are closer to the forest . We¡¯ll be windswept the whole night if we camp away from the forest, you know?¡± They didn¡¯t bring any firewood since they were going to a forest . Adventurers didn¡¯t buy things that they could procure at their destination . On top of that, the wind that blew during the night in the plains were quite cold, so it was impossible to block all of it, even inside a tent . Which is why Lapis suggested that they use the trees as a shield against the wind, and at the same time make it easier for them to gather firewood . ¡°What do you think Feuille?¡± Thinking this was a time to use the knowledge of an elf, Loren turned to him, and Feuille looked towards the forest and perked his ears, then turned back to Loren . ¡°I think it should be fine . There¡¯s no sign of dangerous animals for now . ¡± ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s do it . ¡± Once they decided on a course, all that was left to do was act . Putting down his backpack, Loren too out a large tent and skillfully set it up, made a hole where they were going to make into a cooking stove, and piled up stones they picked up around the area . After doing so, this time went slightly inside the forest where the foliage was dense and was hard to see, dug a deep hole, and hung a lantern on one of the branches to gain sight . While Loren was doing that, Lapis and Feuille gathered firewood from the forest and piled them up on the stove that Loren readied . ¡°This should do it for one night . ¡± He lit the lantern and the stove, and the camp was complete . They didn¡¯t bring any cookware to keep their bags light, so they couldn¡¯t cook anything even with a stove, but they could at least boil water and warm the hard bread and dried meat, so Loren guessed that it was enough . ¡°If we¡¯re going in from morning, we should hurry and go to sleep . ¡± ¡°What should we do about keep watch?¡± ¡°Rotate between you and me, I guess . Half the night each . ¡± ¡°Umm, what about me¡­¡± ¡°Go to sleep . Sleeping is a child¡¯s job, too . ¡± Feuille seemed to want to help, uncomfortable that he was the only one not doing anything, but Loren declined . It was hard to imagine that a child like him could keep watch, and he would be moving with them the next day, so he wanted to let him sleep until morning, but Feuille frowned, thinking that Loren thought he was useless . ¡°We¡¯ll be counting on your memory tomorrow in the forest . I¡¯m just saying I want you to be well rested . ¡± As he stroked his head again, a smile returned to Feuille¡¯s face . As Loren thought that a child¡¯s gloomy face made the whole air gloomy, Lapis started rubbing her head against him for some reason . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Loren, if you could stroke my head too . ¡± ¡°¡­Think of your age . ¡± ¡°I feel like Feuille is getting better treatment!¡± It should¡¯ve been fine to leave her alone, but since she said it like that, being the soft-hearted person that he was, Loren didn¡¯t want her to get in a bad mood . When he put his hand on Lapis¡¯ head, which was tilted towards him, and started stroking it gently, Lapis narrowed her eyes in comfort, and after a while, she pulled away, satisfied, and raised her fists in front of her chest . ¡°Now I can fight another day!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Although Loren didn¡¯t understand what she meant, if she was happy, he was fine with it, but then his face stiffened . By the time he reached for the great sword on his back, Lapis, who had a soft and comfortable look on her face, was on alert as well, and a moment later, Feuille looked towards the forest with his ears twitching . ¡°Huh? This is¡­¡± ¡°I guess we should¡¯ve set up camp farther away from the forest, huh . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s hindsight . Definitely hindsight . ¡± Lapis argued with Loren . There wasn¡¯t any nervousness in their words, but all of them could hear footsteps from within the forest headed towards them . Chapter 84 Chapter 84 Ch . 84: Causing an Accident after Attack ¡°Seems like there¡¯s a lot of them . Any idea what they are?¡± Loren drew his giant heavy pitch black great sword . Lapis braced herself as she put Feuille behind her, while Feuille tried his best to hear the footsteps and identify them . ¡°From the footsteps, I think they are forest wolves . ¡± ¡°Oh, those . ¡± Loren had heard of them before . They were wolves that lived and hunted in packs inside forests and were somewhat dangerous and were responsible for a lot of the deaths of new adventurers that went on easy jobs in the forest . As soon as Feuille identified them, they howled and started running towards the camp and jumped at them . When Loren swung his great sword across, it went straight through the wolf in front, from its brows to its tail, and I fell onto the ground in two pieces . A return swing caught the body of another wolf that pounced to bite him, and splattered blood and intestines on the ground . ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Although he had killed two if the wolves in the blink of an eye, a third one immediately attacked him, and as he kicked it away since he didn¡¯t have time to swing his great sword, he looked around and couldn¡¯t help but mutter at what he saw . Forest wolves usually moved in packs, so Loren had expected that there would be quite a few of them . But the number of wolves that surrounded the camp while he was dealing with three of them was way more than he had expected . ¡°Maybe a few packs gathered together?¡± Shielding Feuille behind her back, Lapis raised her right palm towards the wolves that surrounded them . Reacting to her movement, one of the wolves jumped at her to tear off her hand, but in the next moment its head turned behind it along with a blunt sound . Not minding their fallen comrade, the other wolves started pouncing on her as well, but while another one got its head spun backwards, another was twisted so hard its lower body was facing upside down with its hind legs facing upwards, and one by one, the wolves started dropping dead like flies . ¡°Huh? What!?¡± As Feuille looked at Lapis in bewilderment, not able to believe that was the work of the priestess that was protecting him, Lapis shook her right hand, which did all the work, and looked at the rest of the forest wolves, who didn¡¯t seem like they were going on back off . ¡°This is strange . Were they supposed to be this brave?¡± Lapis tilted her head in confusion as she snapped off the head of another wolf that tried to attack her . Forest wolves weren¡¯t that brave as individuals, which was why they moved in packs, but they weren¡¯t cowards either . But they also had the intelligence to know that they should back off after seeing a few of them being killed so easily . But the wolves that surrounded them didn¡¯t run, but instead kept attacking even though they could see others being mowed down and twisted apart . ¡°What are these guys?¡± ¡°No idea . Maybe they want us for dinner very badly?¡± As she joked, Lapis¡¯ right hand stabbed another wolf that was aiming for her throat right in its jaw . Feuille¡¯s face stiffened as he watched her slam the wolf onto the ground and crushing its head with her heel . ¡°This isn¡¯t something I want to show a child, but it can¡¯t be helped, right?¡± ¡°You can just put him inside the tent!¡± The blade of the great sword swung with just his right hand turned a few wolves that were jumping towards Loren into lumps of flesh in midair . One that was caught in his left hand by its throat thrashed around to escape, but its limbs went limp as it¡¯s respiratory tract and spine was crushed . ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be more worrisome if he¡¯s somewhere we can¡¯t see him?¡± ¡°I can relate¡­I guess . ¡± Dropping the wolf which he crushed the neck of, he gripped his great sword with both hands again and acknowledged Lapis¡¯ excuse . ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind them coming at us if we could eat them, but it¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t . ¡± When he had asked Lapis about it some time ago, she had said their meat wasn¡¯t that good to eat . The number of bodies increased every time he swung his great sword left and right with blood flying all around, but if they couldn¡¯t make use of them, they were nothing more than trash . ¡°Looks like we might have to relocate the camp . ¡± With all the bodies lying there, the stench of blood started flowing throughout the area . On top of that, from the bodies that Loren had cut open with his sword, came the stench of their intestines as well . As Loren said so, thinking that even if they managed to drive the wolves away, it wouldn¡¯t be a place he would want to sleep in, Lapis said in an annoyed voice . ¡°Moving again? I don¡¯t really want to . ¡± ¡°So, you say . But do you really want to sleep with all this?¡± That would keep her from arguing . That¡¯s what Loren thought, but Lapis seemed to have thought of something, as she caught Feuille, who was holding onto her from behind, by the base of his neck, and threw him into the tent and closed it . As Loren watched her as he continued cutting down wolves, wondering what she was about to do, Lapis raised her left arm . ¡°Whoa whoa . Don¡¯t tell me that you¡­¡± ¡°Swirl before my eyes, rage about, O crimson flames ¡± Before Loren could even try to stop her, the spell created a strong vortex of flames . But it wasn¡¯t just one . Four storms made of fire appeared around the camp and engulfed the wolves surrounding them, burning high up into the night sky . ¡°Hehehe, what do you think about this mastery of magic . It¡¯s more powerful than before because of the amount of mana that I don¡¯t need to use for left arm anymore!¡± Lapis said proudly, but Loren silently raised his fist and dropped it into her head quite strongly . As Lapis crouched with her hands covering the top of her head with a moan, the four vortexes of flames disappeared as they were released from her control . ¡°What are you doing¡­?¡± ¡°You know¡­What were you going to do if someone saw you!?¡± ¡°A mysterious sage appeared from the forest to save us!¡± ¡°You want another one?¡± When Loren waved his fist in front of Lapis¡¯ eyes, she put her palm against it as she shook her head with a slightly pale face . ¡°Please don¡¯t . It¡¯ll sink right in . ¡± ¡°Geez¡­Well at least that should¡¯ve made them run off¡­¡± Before he could finish, Loren raised his right hand as if to protect his neck . The next moment, a forest wolf that suddenly jumped towards him bit him on the arm . ¡°Loren!?¡± ¡°These guys¡­¡± Listening to Lapis¡¯ cry of surprise, Loren couldn¡¯t believe what was going on before his eyes . Many of the forest wolves that surrounded the camp were turned to ashes by Lapis¡¯ magic, and the rest should have retreated . But the wolves didn¡¯t run away, and instead, waited for the fire to die down, and attacked Loren when he let his guard down . The wolf growled and tried to sink its fangs deeper into Loren¡¯s arm, but its upper and lower jaws were grabbed by Lapis . By the next second, disregarding its jaw strength completely, Lapis peeled the wolf from Loren¡¯s arm and tore it in half . ¡°Are you okay Loren!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing . But what the hell is wrong with them?¡± Not fearing the fire and continuing to attack their prey despite seeing so many of their comrades die, could only be described as insanity . From the actions of the forest wolves, which seemed to ignore their survival instincts, Loren could even feel something bloodcurdling from them . ¡°Do we look that delicious?¡± ¡°You look hard and not that delicious so it¡¯s probably either me or Feuille . ¡± An awkward look appeared on Loren¡¯s face when he heard that . There was nothing happy about being told that he looked good to eat, but hearing that he wasn¡¯t, right in his face, wasn¡¯t a good feeling either . ¡°I don¡¯t think my guts are as bitter as a demon¡¯s, though . ¡± ¡°Are you trying to say that mine are!?¡± ¡°By elimination, Feuille is the one who looks good . ¡± ¡°I would look delicious too, right!? I¡¯m just as good as Feuille! My skin and flesh are youthful and look so ripe for the picking!¡± Lapis said things that could be misunderstood by others if they were listening in a loud voice, but Loren looked towards the forest wolves, which were still surrounding the camp, even though their numbers decreased drastically . They treaded the burnt ground, with the leftover heat burning their paws, but they didn¡¯t look like they gave up on attacking them . ¡°We¡¯re going to have to kill them all, huh¡­¡± Loren haven¡¯t heard of animals that continued fighting until the whole herd was wiped out . But he could imagine the pack of forest wolves in front of him attacking them until the last one died, and a shiver ran down his spine . This definitely wasn¡¯t something normal . ¡°If you get pressured, your legs could get swept from under you, you know?¡± Lapis warned Loren in a callous voice, as if she had sensed something from his words . ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you want to become their food, though . ¡± ¡°Screw that . ¡± One of the forest wolves sank to the ground before it even reached them, killed by the heat from the ground . Although they saw their comrade wasn¡¯t moving anymore, they others didn¡¯t stop coming forward . With the stench of burning skin, fur, and flesh reaching his nose, Loren gripped his great sword again, but confusion could be seen on his face . ¡°We¡¯ll think about the cause later . We have to get through this first . ¡± ¡°I know that . I know, but¡­¡± Two of the wolves jumped towards them . Loren swept his great sword through their stomachs, and the bodies dropped to the ground . One of them died instantly, but the other didn¡¯t, and even with its insides spilling out of its wound, it crawled towards Loren and tried to bite his foot, but Loren crushed its head . ¡°This is disgusting . ¡± ¡°Yes, this is quite¡­unnatural . ¡± In the end, the forest wolves that attacked them didn¡¯t retreat until the last one of them died . Chapter 85 Chapter 85 Ch . 85: Rushing into Abnormality The next morning, Loren and Lapis cleaned up the camp and were finally ready to head into the Black Forest . Loren gathered the bodies of the forest wolves that attacked them into one large pile, and Lapis used the magic to turn everything to ashes . They had gathered as much of the splattered pieces of flesh and wiped the blood and burned those as well, but the rusty iron smell of blood and intestines still drifted in the air, so the two of them weren¡¯t able to spend a good night . They had considered moving, but after the attack, both didn¡¯t have the will to take everything down and set it up again, so they decided to put up with it and stay there . ¡°Are you two alright?¡± It wasn¡¯t surprising that Feuille was worried about them . Although Loren and Lapis had taken turns keeping watch, when it was their turn to sleep, they couldn¡¯t sleep at all due to the smell . Not sleeping for one night wasn¡¯t a problem for both, but the lack of sleep still showed on their faces . For Feuille, after he had been thrown into the tent, burrowed into a sleeping bag to wait the attack out, but he fell asleep in there until morning, so he had gotten enough sleep . ¡°It¡¯ll probably work out somehow . ¡± ¡°After we reach Feuille¡¯s village, I¡¯d like to borrow a bed . ¡± Even if it didn¡¯t affect their actions, it didn¡¯t mean that the bad mood from lack of sleep went away as well, so as Lapis said so with a sullen look, Feuilled nodded quickly . ¡°Please rest as much as you want . I¡¯m sure everyone will welcome you . ¡± ¡°I hope so . I guess that¡¯ll be something to look forward to . ¡± To be honest, Loren wanted to turn around and head back . That was how creepy last night¡¯s attack was . He could say that the attack itself was because they camped near the forest wolves¡¯ habitat . But the way they attacked, ignoring the survival instinct that animals and beasts should have, indicated that there was something wrong with the forest, and along with the stories of elves not showing up in the city anymore and the people who went to investigate not coming back, he couldn¡¯t help but see the Black Forest in a creepier way . ¡°How long would it take to get to your village Feuille?¡± Lapis, who was walking behind Loren, who slowly stepped into the forest with caution, asked Feuille, who was walking beside her . Feuille looked at the situation around him and said after thinking for a while . ¡°I think it would take around two hours to get there . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite far . ¡± Elves were also familiar with how to walk in the forest . Although how to move efficiently and choosing easy paths within the forest was common knowledge for them, it wasn¡¯t so for humans, and if one were to ask if humans could walk the same paths as elves, the answer was a no . Elves could easily go through places that were blocked by undergrowth and vines, as well as paths that would cause humans to trip . Lapis whispered to Loren that it was why they shouldn¡¯t take an elf¡¯s sense of travel time in the forest as it is . Without even nodding, Loren, who was stepping through shrubbery to make a path, suddenly swept his hand through the air . As Lapis braced herself and Feuille looked at him with a surprised face, Loren pulled what he had snatched in midair up to his eyes, and wrapped around his right hand was a snake, which had its neck gripped tightly by him . The snake which wrapped itself almost up to Loren¡¯s elbow, seemed to have jumped down from the tree above to bite one of them, but it wasn¡¯t large enough to eat any of them . But the snake still opened and closed its mouth and twisted its body to somehow try to bite Loren¡¯s hand . ¡°This smells bad Lapis . Careful . ¡± After saying a warning, Loren crushed the snake¡¯s neck in a heartbeat . After seeing it losing its strength and dangling from his arm, he threw the body into a thicket . As soon as it landed inside, the thicket started moving, and a ripping sound started sounding from inside, which soon became a gnawing sound, and Feuille went pale . ¡°What kind of hellish place is this?¡± Lapis said in a tired voice, knowing immediately that something was ripping apart and eating the snake¡¯s body . They quickly moved along, as they didn¡¯t want to know what was inside the thicket eating the snake . ¡°How do you elves live in such a dangerous place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not usually like this¡­¡± A mouse that scurried beneath their feet caught some sort of insect and started nibbling on it . The mouse was suddenly pierced by a vine that attacked it from above, losing its life, and the vine started sucking its body fluids with great speed . When they looked up, there were a few bodies of some animals hanging from pointed branches, and an animal that looked like a monkey was eating them single mindedly . As Loren wondered if there was a bird that did something like that, a giant bird came up from behind the monkey-like animal, snatched it in its claws, and flew off into the sky . ¡°Hey, what kind of place did we come to? Is the Black Forest supposed to be this bloody?¡± A different monkey that looked like the one that the bird carried off attacked them from above . As Loren saw it and punched it away, making a fist sized dent in its face, it flew through the trees, crashing into branches, and when it landed, rustling sounds and sounds of it shrieking rang out, as if something had attacked it, causing Feuille to jump . ¡°What was it?¡± ¡°I believe it was a forest ape¡­but it¡¯s strange . They are indeed omnivores, but they usually eat fruits and nuts, and rarely attack other animals¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m don¡¯t know, but I guess there are days where it wants to eat meat . ¡± Even as he said so, Loren knew that it wasn¡¯t something like that . ¡± But he couldn¡¯t help but feel that if they didn¡¯t joke around and lighten the mood, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go any farther . ¡°Lapis, anything you know or found out?¡± Loren decided that this was a time to rely on the priestess of the Knowledge god and asked her, but Lapis was looking in the direction the forest ape flew off with a difficult look on her face . As Loren guessed that she saw something that they couldn¡¯t, Lapis shook her head and said quietly . ¡°I thought they might¡¯ve become atrocious, but it doesn¡¯t seem right . Their actions are too trackless for someone to be controlling them either . ¡± As soon as she said that, something wrapped around Feuille¡¯s body . He started getting pulled upwards by it before he could even scream, but Loren, who was right beside him, held onto his body with his right hand, and when he ripped what was wrapped around his body with his left hand, a cry rang out from above a nearby tree . When he looked up, there was a giant frog over a meter long, hanging upside down from a tree . What raised Feuille up seemed to be its tongue, and although the frog was indeed large, it was slightly too small to swallow Feuille whole . Loren kicked the tree, shaking it, and when the frog dropped down, he crushed its head with his foot . ¡°This is ridiculous . ¡± Small bugs immediately swarmed the dead frog¡¯s body . Disgusted at seeing it immediately being taken apart and eaten, Loren pulled the tongue off Feuille, who on the brink of fainting, and lightly hit him on the back . ¡°Ugh!?¡± ¡°Things will keep on coming if you stand still . I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, but if we don¡¯t hurry and reach your village, it¡¯ll get more troublesome . ¡± ¡°G-got it . ¡± Belatedly realizing that he almost got eaten, Feuille¡¯s body shook from fear, but seemed to understand that if he stopped something else could come for him, as he nodded and started walking again . ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t think it would be safe to go on like this without any countermeasures . ¡± They started walking through the shrubbery in the direction Feuille was pointing, but Lapis immediately said to Loren . ¡°If some sort of bugs attacks us, there would be nothing my divine arts and your sword can do about them . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true . ¡± No matter how skilled Loren was with the great sword, there was nothing he could do against a swarm of bugs . There weren¡¯t any signs of something like that attacking them now, but with the current state of the forest, it was only a matter of time for bugs to see them as prey and attack them . ¡°But what could we do about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to borrow Shayna¡¯s power . ¡± ¡®Me?¡¯ At Lapis¡¯ words, Shayna appeared within Loren¡¯s sight . Lapis and Feuille couldn¡¯t see her, but Lapis continued to talk to Loren . ¡°I think it would be good to have her unfold her energy drain lightly and use it as a shield . That would kill small bugs and animals with little life energy, and slightly larger animals will run off . ¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the bugs and small animals become zombies?¡± ¡°We can only ask Shayna to adjust her powers . ¡± As Lapis continued, telling him that she wasn¡¯t sure if it was possible or not, Loren asked Shayna if she could do it . Shayna thought for a moment, but eventually put her fist on her chest . ¡®I¡¯ll try . Leave it to me Onii-san . ¡¯ As soon as Shayna said that, the shrubbery in front of them started turning from green to brown . Bugs around it started dropping to the ground as well, and small animals that came to eat them soon flipped onto their backs and stopped moving . ¡®I have my power expanded thinly, loosely, and widely . ¡¯ ¡°I guess we won¡¯t need insect repellant in the summer . ¡± On the ground, which was easier to see among the shriveled grass, were only bugs and small animals . Larger animals ran away from Shayna¡¯s power that started sucking up their life force, and there didn¡¯t seem to be any changes in the trees above, which most likely had more life on it . ¡°It¡¯s easier to walk as well . ¡± The shrubbery wilted so there was nothing in the way of their feet . The trees were still a nuisance, but there were still far away enough from each other to walk between them, so their travelling speed became significantly faster . ¡°Huh? What? What¡¯s going on?¡± Feuille had already been confused at what was going on with the forest, but this time, his mind couldn¡¯t keep up with the fact that the grass started wilting for no reason . He looked towards Loren and Lapis, who seemed to know what was going on, but they couldn¡¯t tell him what was going on, so Lapis looked away, while Loren gave a troubled laugh . ¡°It¡¯s a secret . Adventurers always have a few cards up their sleeves . Remember that . ¡± Thinking that there wouldn¡¯t be any other adventurers with a card like his, Loren encouraged Feuille, who looked like he understood and didn¡¯t at the same time, to move forward, and they continued deeper into the forest . Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Ch . 86: Encounter after Discovering Although Feuille had told them that his village was two hours away, it seemed that it was indeed in elven standards, as around double that time had passed until they arrived at something like a village . The way there wasn¡¯t an easy one, where they continued to see things fight each other, with the winner eating the loser . As they continued to see such bloody sights, Feuille¡¯s face had gone from blue to pure white, while Loren and Lapis had disgusted looks on their faces . ¡°These animals keep attacking us too . Who knows what would¡¯ve happened if Shayna wasn¡¯t with us . ¡± If Shayna hadn¡¯t been using her energy drain around them, they might¡¯ve been attacked by many more things . If some of them were bugs, both Loren and Lapis had no way of dealing with them, so they might¡¯ve had to retreat . If they were unlucky, they would¡¯ve fell right then and there . ¡®Onii-san, I can keep going so leave it to me . ¡¯ Shayna, who was floating in the corner of Loren¡¯s sight, said as she puffed out her chest, but Loren was very thankful to her . ¡°So, is that the village you live in Feuille?¡± Across the trees and shrubbery was an open space . There were fences as tall as a person, and on the other side was a few buildings made of logs . They were still in the undergrowth so it was slightly dark, but they could see sunlight pouring in on that spot . ¡°Yes! This is my¡­¡± ¡°I see . This is, huh¡­¡± Feuille started to answer in a light hearted voice, but stopped when he heard Loren mutter over him, and looked up at him, looking towards the village from the shadow of a tree . Not having the time to notice Feuille¡¯s reaction, Loren, who was looking over at the village, asked Lapis, who was looking at the village as well, in a small voice . ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°The question is so vague I can¡¯t specify an answer . ¡± Hearing Lapis¡¯ response, Loren gave her a hard look . Noticing it, Lapis shrugged . ¡°What do you mean by how it is?¡± ¡°How the village looks . What do you think about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too quiet and I don¡¯t see anyone . ¡± Hearing her words, Feuille looked back at his village . Usually there would be armed adults at the entrance, as well as adults that patrolled the fence, and on the other side would be children and their parents . But right now, he couldn¡¯t see a trace of anyone . Worry started to build up inside, as he thought maybe something had happened to the village, and he wanted to run in there as fast as he could, but both Loren and Lapis continued to stay within the shadows and didn¡¯t show any signs of moving out . ¡°Umm¡­Loren? Lapis?¡± ¡°I know what you want to say . I know that, but¡­¡± As Feuille tried to ask them until when they were going to be hiding there, Loren answered him, scratching his head . Feuille¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, as he felt a refusal to go any closer if he could in his words . ¡°This is obviously strange . It¡¯s still the middle of the day, but we can¡¯t see anyone . It¡¯s like screaming that something happened . ¡± ¡°I agree¡­Loren! Above you!¡± Lapis, who agreed with Loren¡¯s muttering, suddenly let out a cry of warning, as if she had seen something . Loren, immediately reacting by swinging the great sword he had been holding in his right hand, drawn, but when he discerned the thing that was the cause of Lapis¡¯ warning, he released his left hand from the grip of the sword and blocked his face . From above his covered head, the thing that attacked bit into his arm, and at the same time, wrapped its arms and legs onto Loren¡¯s body . ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right¡­¡± Taking a good look at what bit him, Loren couldn¡¯t help but let out a mutter of disbelief . What had attacked him from above silently, without him noticing until Lapis had warned him of it, was an elf with disheveled hair . The elf which bared its teeth and was biting onto his arm was male, and from its physique, he could see that it was still a boy . The elf boy breathed heavily, let out a growl like a beast, and started putting more strength into his jaws, trying to bite off Loren¡¯s flesh, but his bites were shallow, as his teeth couldn¡¯t get through Loren¡¯s well-built muscles . But blood still flowed from the places where his teeth tore through his skin . ¡°Did elves eat people?¡± Being hesitant about punching or crushing the elf boy away as he did with the forest wolves in front of Feuille, Loren stuck his great sword into the ground, and started peeling him from his left arm . But although Loren should¡¯ve been stronger, the elf boy was a lot stronger than he expected, and wasn¡¯t able to peel him off, and both struggled to do what they were doing . ¡°For crying out loud . What are you doing to Loren?¡± Lapis grabbed the collar of the boy with her right hand and pulled . She thought it would get him off, but even though she pulled with enough strength to rip his clothes, she couldn¡¯t peel the elf boy off Loren . Lapis, holding the piece of ripped clothing with an annoyed look on her face, grabbed the boy¡¯s neck from behind and forcefully pulled him off . On top of that, to keep him from biting her or Loren again, she threw him towards the village with quite a bit of strength, and the boy flew in an arc and landed on the ground . Even after landing, the momentum sent him rolling . ¡°Loren, are you okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, but¡­¡± The place where he was bit had teeth marks on it, and he was bleeding from a few places . The injury wasn¡¯t a big deal, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel an eeriness from it . Loren was afraid that something bad had entered his body from the wound and he would become like the elf boy, but the wound immediately stopped bleeding and the teeth marks disappeared . ¡®Leave the treatment to me Onii-san . No matter what happens, Shayna will do something about it . ¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s very reliable of you¡­¡± ¡°Does your body feel any different?¡± As Lapis looked at him with a worried look, Loren took a moment to check himself, and shook his head slightly . ¡°I¡¯m fine . The problem is that . ¡± The elf boy that Lapis had thrown hit the fence, which stopped its rolling . He didn¡¯t feel like being merciful to someone who had suddenly bit him, but he didn¡¯t feel like killing an elf in front of Feuille, who was looking with his eyes wide open, not being able to comprehend what was going on . Pulling out the great sword that he stuck into the ground, Loren emerged from the tree he was hiding behind and started walking towards the village, hoping that the impact from Lapis¡¯ throw had got the boy back to his senses . He looked down at the elf boy, who was groaning from being thrown . ¡°Be careful Loren . ¡± ¡°Well, with how he was thrown, I doubt he¡¯ll be able to stand for a while . ¡± From what he had seen, even a human would need quite a bit of time to recover from being thrown like the boy had been . Since elves were thinner and more delicate than humans, they were less resistant to physical damage, so Loren guessed that there was a possibility that the boy could be injured so bad that he couldn¡¯t move . ¡°Hey, have you come to your senses?¡± All that came back was a low, meaningless growl . As Loren started to think it was hopeless, the growl suddenly got louder . As Loren backed off, bracing himself, the elf boy¡¯s growling slowly turned into screams, his body started convulsing, and he started scratching his chest and stomach . ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some sort of disease?¡± While Lapis was saying, looking at the situation from behind Loren . Feuille cried out and tried to run to the elf writhing in agony, but Loren held him back by grabbing the base of his neck . ¡°Sarion! It¡¯s me! Feuille! Don¡¯t you recognize me!?¡± As Feuille desperately called out to the boy writhing on the ground, even as he was being held back, a small light of sanity returned to his eyes . Right when Loren thought ¡®could it be¡¯, The boy named Sarion let out a gurgled scream that he hadn¡¯t let out before and threw up a large amount of blood from his mouth . When Loren looked at him closely, he saw that there was blood oozing here and there on his clothes, and it was slowly dying his clothes in red . ¡°Wounds?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something that simple . ¡± Lapis pointed to a part of the boy¡¯s clothes dyed in blood . When he looked closely, he could see something wriggling under the clothes, and seeing that every time it moved, the boy¡¯s screams became louder, he backed away from the boy named Sarion, still holding Feuille by his neck . ¡°Sarion! Get a hold of yourself Sarion!¡± The boy stretched his arm out towards Feuille¡¯s voice . The boy who reached out knowing that it wasn¡¯t going to reach, as if asking for help, dropped his hand to the ground as if someone had cut the strings of a puppet, and the screams stopped as well . ¡°What did this to him¡­¡± Leaving Feuille, who was stunned in shock, with Lapis, Loren walked up to Sarion¡¯s dead body . The boy was already dead, but there were several lumps under his clothes in several places, squirming . He couldn¡¯t decide whether investigating what was under there would help them avoid ending up like the boy, and he knew it was going to be a disgusting sight, but he eventually made up his mind and turned over the clothes where a lump was . ¡°Ugh!?¡± It couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren let out a cry of disgust . Beneath the clothes was a small being with a single pair of wings on its back, single-mindedly biting into the boy¡¯s body, tearing his flesh, and eating it . Chapter 87 Chapter 87 Ch . 87: Investigation after Predation At a glance, it looked similar to Shayna . A palm sized girl with shoulder length flaxen hair, a white dress, and a pair of transparent wings on its back . But the definitive difference was that everything was covered in blood, and its somewhat cute looking face made it seem even stranger . ¡°What the hell¡­¡± The girl¡¯s head rose at Loren¡¯s voice . The girl who had been biting into the dead elf¡¯s body stared at Loren¡¯s face, and as Loren started wondering if he should fake a smile, the girl opened its bloody mouth wide and suddenly pounced towards Loren . Unintentionally, without thinking, Loren moved his body backwards and knocked the small girl down with his hand . With the full strength of Loren¡¯s arm, which allowed him to swing around his great sword skillfully, there was no way a being the size of a palm would stand a chance . A small dense sound and the feeling of something small hitting his hand . The thing that jumped towards Loren was slammed onto the ground face first, splattered something red around it, and stopped moving . ¡°That¡¯s¡­a fairy . ¡± Feuille pointed at it with a trembling voice . ¡°But why¡­This hasn¡¯t happened before¡­¡± As Feuille muttered, confused at what he was seeing, but Loren didn¡¯t know what was happening either . As he bent down to pick up the fairy that he had knocked down, thinking that they needed more information, he realized that the body of the elf boy, which the fairy had been eating, was still twitching . ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me¡­¡± As if waiting for Loren to say that, lumps started forming all over the boy¡¯s body . Loren immediately understood what was happening and shouted to Lapis and Feuille . ¡°Get back! There¡¯s more of them inside!¡± What showed up from the body, ripping through skin and clothes, were small beings the size of a palm . There all looked different and had different hairstyles, some looking like girls while some looked like boys, but all of them wore simple clothing, and were blackish red, as if they had been bathing in blood . Although the question of how all of them were inside the poor elf boy¡¯s body occurred in his mind, Loren had a bigger problem to take care of . As if they were tired of the taste of elf, the small beings flapped their wings and started attacking Loren, who was the nearest . If it were a normal monster, Loren wouldn¡¯t have hesitated to drive it back with his great sword . But the innumerable amount of fairies flying at him were too small to use his sword against . He could¡¯ve killed a few of them using the atmospheric turbulence created by the blade and mass of the sword, but there was way too many of them . He considered dropping his great sword and batting them down with his hands, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could do that in time, and the time that he spent thinking shortened the time for retaliation even further . By the time he thought it was bad, the fairies with open mouths and bloodshot eyes were almost at his face . Bracing himself for a few places being torn off and eaten, Loren raised his arm and gritted his teeth, but the pain he had expected didn¡¯t follow, and instead, all he felt was a few light impacts on his arm . During battle, closing your eyes was the same as suicide . Because Loren had been taught that, he was able to keep his eyes open, and from across his arm, he could see things dropping to the floor, and when he lowered his arm, the sight of the fairies dropping to the ground like bugs being hit with repellant . ¡®Onii-san, please praise Shayna . ¡¯ Hearing Shayna¡¯s voice filled with joy from being able to take care of the situation, Loren had a good idea of what happened . It seemed that Shayna, seeing that it was impossible to stop the fairies physically, strengthened the energy drain she had been using as insect repellant, and took the lives of the fairies . Being so small, fairies had a smaller life force than humans . Shayna seemed to have acted off the calculation that although there were many of them, the energy drain would do its job, and as she had expected, the power had protected Loren¡¯s body from them . (Thanks, you saved me there . ) Even if he got attacked, he didn¡¯t think that he would become like the elf boy, but he knew that he would¡¯ve been quite injured . Which is why he thanked Shayna in his mind, then started investigating the dead fairies around him . But as if Shayna couldn¡¯t adjust her strength at the sudden attack, the fairies on the ground were all shriveled up like mummies . Picking up one of them, Loren started examining its wrinkled body . ¡°Fairies aren¡¯t a race to do such bloody things¡­but why did these?¡± ¡°No idea . The only thing I know for sure is that things that don¡¯t do this are doing it . ¡± ¡°So why no one¡¯s in the village¡­It can¡¯t be¡­¡± After saying so, Feuille looked towards the village, terrified at what he had just imagined . They had caused quite a ruckus, but there was no sign of anyone coming out of the village to see what was going on . ¡°In any case, it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯ll become undead . ¡± After examining the dead fairy, Loren handed it to Lapis, who was walking towards him . Although handing over a dead body was quite an abnormal thing to do, Lapis took the body, not seeming to care, took off its clothes and started examining it front and back . ¡°No signs of drugs¡­parasites, and magic . Other than the fact that it¡¯s shriveled up, it looks normal . ¡± ¡°You just took of its clothes without a second thought, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It was a boy . ¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you that . ¡± Unhappy that Loren¡¯s attitude towards her turned cold, she threw the body behind her back . It arced across the trees, and as soon as it landed, they could hear something fighting, and realizing that something was fighting over it, Feuille went pale . ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll put a spell of protection over Feuille . ¡± Lapis put her hands on Feuille¡¯s shoulder as he stood in place, frozen . ¡°Go ahead . Something biting me from the side gives me shivers . ¡± ¡°Loren¡­should be fine, I think? You have that as well . ¡± Lapis pointed towards the great sword that Loren held . When Loren raised it up, wondering what the matter with it was, Lapis touched its blade and said proudly . ¡°This had a mechanism that protects its wielder . It won¡¯t let any bad things such as curses near you . ¡± ¡°How do you know the functions of this when you randomly found it in the weapon shop?¡± In fact, the weapon was something Lapis had procured from somewhere for Loren, who had lost his weapon during a job, and had schemed with the weapon shop owner to sell to him . Of course, Loren hadn¡¯t bothered confirming with Lapis, and Lapis hadn¡¯t said a thing about it to Loren, but Loren knew it was something like that when he bought it . ¡°I¡¯m a priestess of the Knowledge god, after all . ¡± ¡°Stop being so unreasonable to other priests of the Knowledge god . ¡± Loren started feeling even sorrier for the priests of the Knowledge god other than Lapis . Although the only ones there were him and Feuille, it was a problem if Feuille got an inflated image of them . ¡°Enough about that . How about we go inside the village? We need to investigate, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really not, but I guess we should . ¡± There was a chance there could be survivors . Even if there weren¡¯t, Loren guessed they could find clues to what happened, and started walking towards the village with his great sword in hand . Lapis, with Feuille in tow, followed him . They entered from a torn part of the fence surrounding the area, the sight that waited for them was a terrible one that he couldn¡¯t imagine seeing for Feuille, but for Loren and Lapis, it was what they had expected to see . The attack seemed to have been a sudden one . Within the houses they entered, although they were ransacked, they found signs of preparing food, and in some houses they saw remains of meals on the table . Although, all of them were devoured by something . They found a few bodies as well . They couldn¡¯t tell if they tried to fight or run away, but there were bodies of dead elves leaning against the side of the road or against walls everywhere . Those were destroyed horribly by something as well, and was impossible to tell how the cause of death . ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it was just the fairies . ¡± Lapis muttered as she looked at the destroyed wall of the building, and a dead body that was leaning onto the remains . ¡°There are buildings with destroyed walls all over the place, so it seems like it was attacked by medium sized to large monsters as well . ¡± ¡°Searching for the culprit won¡¯t mean anything in this forest, I guess . ¡± Loren shook his head at the large number of possibilities . Even if they did identify who did it, it didn¡¯t seem to matter to them in their current situation . After all, the village had already been destroyed, and there were no signs of survivors . ¡°There were traces of attempts to hide children as well . ¡± There were bodies of dead children in basements and large chests . The parents must have put them in there, praying that they would survive the attack, but it seemed that they couldn¡¯t escape the clutches of the attackers, and none of the prayers were answered . ¡°No, there was the child from before . ¡± ¡°You mean that he had managed to survive until today¡­I don¡¯t know what to say . ¡± Lapis closed her eyes and folded her hands, and said a short prayer . Seeing her, Loren thought for a moment that she looked like a priestess, but when he thought about it, her job was a priestess, and thinking that she looked like one was kind of rude . ¡°What do you think¡­happened to everyone in the village?¡± Feuille, who had seen the horrible state of the village, being pulled around by Loren and Lapis, asked them in a hollow voice . It was possible to imagine based on what the village looked like, but Loren, not having a definitive answer, looked towards Lapis, as if asking her what they should tell him . ¡°I think it¡¯s not fair that you turn things like this to me . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but still . ¡± When it came to words, Loren couldn¡¯t even compete against Lapis . He could¡¯ve just told Feuille what he thought, but if he did that, there was no way to tell if he could endure the shock . ¡°Well, my guess is probably a bit different than yours though . ¡± After letting out a sigh, Lapis turned towards Feuille, who was looking towards them with clinging eyes . ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many people lived here, but I think that there are too few bodies for the scale of the village . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s always the line of the bodies being eaten completely, but it¡¯s unnatural to think that no one was able to escape an uncoordinated attack . ¡± A small light returned to Feuille¡¯s eyes . When Loren heard those words, he was convinced that she might be right . Putting aside what attacked the village, what most of those who won¡¯t fight would do was either run or hide . Then it wouldn¡¯t be strange for there to be residents that chose to run, and it was hard to say that none were able to escape . ¡°If it were as well planned and coordinated as the attack on the post town, it would be a different story¡­So Feuille, do you have any idea of a place where the people of the village would run away too?¡± There could be survivors . Being presented with such a possibility, Feuille told Loren and Lapis the only place he knew of that could be used as refuge . Chapter 88 Chapter 88: 88 Ch . 88: Running after Investigating ¡°Hidden village of fairies?¡± Loren repeated what Feuille had said . Feuille, looking up at Loren, nodded . It sounded suspicious, but putting the name aside for now, Loren asked Feuille for an explanation . ¡°You know that fairies live in this forest, right? But there¡¯s a village of high-class fairies among them . ¡± ¡°Why would you run there?¡± Loren had heard that elves and fairies were in a close position to each other as races . Although their sizes were different, it was aid that they shared the same ancestors . Loren didn¡¯t know what kind of paths they each took to become so different, but because both races acknowledged the fact that they were once one, they tended to build villages and live in similar places . ¡°The chief of the fairies lives there . Since we elves and fairies were once the same race, it was decided that we run to his village in an emergency . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± ¡°So how do we get there?¡± Lapis asked, thinking that since it was a hidden village, getting there wouldn¡¯t be simple . But at her question, Feuille cocked his head with a troubled look on his face . Loren sighed, seeing that although he knew about it, he had never been there before . ¡°I guess we¡¯ll have to search the village again . ¡± ¡°I believe we¡¯ve gone through it quite thoroughly though . ¡± Although all they did was examine what happened, they had gone through most of the village . The village wasn¡¯t that large either, so Lapis found it hard to believe that they had missed something, but she considered the possibility of finding something new, since they were looking for something else . At Lapis¡¯ words, Loren asked Feuille one more time, trying to raise the chances of them finding something . ¡°Feuille, can you think of anything that could help us? ¡°Umm¡­¡± Understanding that all they had to work with was his memory, Feuille tried hard to recall something that could be of use to them, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could do so on the spot . Even as they stood there, time went on . Thinking that they wouldn¡¯t find anything if they didn¡¯t start moving, Loren called out to Lapis, who was watching Feuille . ¡°How about we start looking through the village again, and Feuille can keep thinking while we do . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . We might find something useful, so let¡¯s start searching . ¡± When she said the word useful, Loren, knowing about her habits, couldn¡¯t help but feel worried, but he forced himself to ignore it and turned to Feuille, who was still thinking . ¡°Alright, you stay here . We¡¯ll go look through the place again . Shout if something happens, alright?¡± ¡°O-okay . ¡± After hearing him respond, Loren and Lapis started investigating the village again . But it wasn¡¯t a favorable thing for Loren, as it meant that he would have to go through the remains of the attack again, but he started searching here and there, grimacing as he did so . After all, the remains of the attack were still fresh . Although he was used to seeing dead bodies and blood, the process of flipping them over and putting his face close to them was quite depressing, so Loren tried not to think of it as much and silently continued what he was doing . ¡°Elves aren¡¯t really fashionable and don¡¯t have much jewelry and such . They are a race that says, ¡®We¡¯re already look beautiful, so we don¡¯t need to dress up¡¯ . ¡± ¡°That sounds really biased¡­Hey, you want to tell me why you¡¯re talking about jewelry?¡± When Lapis said in a bored voice as she flipped over a shelf, Loren asked her in a threatening voice, but whether it be that she didn¡¯t hear him, or acted like she didn¡¯t hear him, she continued to blabber on . ¡°They are a race that lives off the forest, so they don¡¯t have many things like money and such¡­which makes it quite boring . ¡± ¡°Wait a second . What are you looking for?¡± ¡°Information regarding the hidden village of fairies, right? Am I wrong?¡± Lapis gave him a questioning look, and although he didn¡¯t feel satisfied with her answer, she wasn¡¯t wrong, so he continued what he was doing . ¡°They traded with a human city, so there should be money used to pay them¡­I wonder where they¡¯re at?¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait . You¡¯ve been talking about things that are unrelated, you know that?¡± Loren put his hand on Lapis¡¯ shoulder and turned her towards him, but Lapis, who had been forced to turn, glared at him with a huffy look . ¡°I¡¯m looking for what we need, you know? Hints about the hidden village, right? What¡¯s worrying you so much, Loren?¡± She said it so boldly, the thought that he might have been mishearing things crossed Loren¡¯s mind, and he let go of her shoulder . As he apologized to her as she fixed her clothes, and was about to return to investigating, Loren turned around and grabbed her shoulder again when he heard her next words . ¡°Oh look, a stack of silver coins . ¡± ¡°Woah, woah, wait a second . Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to steal money and jewelry . ¡± When Loren but in as Lapis pulled out a stack of silver coins wrapped in leather from out of the shelf, Lapis hugged it by her chest and said with a serious face . ¡°Dead people don¡¯t use money, and don¡¯t dress up either, you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong . ¡± ¡°Even if we leave it, it would rot away here, or it¡¯ll fill up the wallet of whoever finds their way in here . Then wouldn¡¯t it be better if it filled up our wallets instead?¡± ¡°¡­I won¡¯t stop you taking them . But if there are survivors give it back, alright?¡± If the owner wasn¡¯t here anymore, as Lapis mentioned, he was most likely dead, so Loren guessed that it would be fine to make what they found theirs . But if the residents were hiding at the hidden village, the coins that Lapis was holding onto should be returned to them and wasn¡¯t something Lapis could take . ¡°Loren, my motivation to look for information is leaving me¡­¡± If there were residents that survived and escaped to the hidden village that Feuille had mentioned, they had the right to inherit what was left . Even if what they found wasn¡¯t rightfully their property . It was normal to think that if the owner wasn¡¯t alive, the rights to everything that was left in the village . Looking for the hidden village meant looking for possible survivors, and that meant giving back everything they had found, and realizing that, Lapis seemed to have lost motivation . ¡°Lapis, be serious, okay? If we¡¯re not careful, we might not be able to leave this place alive . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lapis¡¯ response sounded carefree . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should feel relieved that she responded as usual or scold her that she wasn¡¯t being cautious enough . Thinking that since Lapis seemed to be powerful even among demon kind, she might not consider their current situation as dangerous, both being relieved or scolding her didn¡¯t seem like the right thing to do, so without concluding, Loren was about to go back to his work, but Lapis tapped his back . ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Loren, I forgot something important . ¡± Slightly taken aback at her serious tone, Loren nodded, and Lapis continued . ¡°This village was attacked at least once, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, well . We can see that . ¡± ¡°Where do you think whatever that attacked the village went?¡± Loren started thinking . If it were in the village, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter . They were able to enter and investigate because it wasn¡¯t here, but when asked where it went . ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± If it went far away, it was fine . But if it remembered that it found a large amount of prey here, Loren realized that it wouldn¡¯t have gone too far . ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many times the village was attacked, but¡­it should remember that there was prey here, whatever attacked . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­I guess . ¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they come back?¡± A dark shadow covered Loren¡¯s mind at Lapis¡¯ words . It was possible that because they weren¡¯t acting normal, and were acting berserk, their movements and actions became simple . Coming back to where prey was found was something animals did all the time, and it wasn¡¯t surprising if whatever attacked the village would do so as well . ¡°On top of that, we entered the village in broad daylight, right?¡± ¡°Lapis let¡¯s go get Feuille . ¡± Loren was already moving before Lapis even finished talking . Lapis followed behind, as if she knew that Loren would start moving . If something had seen them enter the village, as Lapis had feared, and if that something was connected to what attacked the village . The information that new prey had entered the area would already be in its ears, and if it was, Loren could only think of one thing it would do . ¡°Crap! This place is still dangerous!¡± ¡°I think we realized that a bit too late!¡± They heard Feuille shout in the distance . Loren thought they should have left the place as soon as they confirmed that it was destroyed, but it was already too late . ¡°Loren! The dead elves!¡± When he turned towards Lapis¡¯ voice, there were small winged beings that started popping out of the bodies with ripping sounds . Seeing that they were all fairies, he cursed and continued running towards where they left Feuille, wondering how this was all happening . ¡°Fairies aren¡¯t born from eggs, so they couldn¡¯t have laid any¡­Then why are fairies emerging from the elves¡¯ bodies? Because they¡¯re close races? But then what¡¯s triggering it?¡± Lapis was muttering something about the unbelievable sight was happening around them, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand a thing she was saying . But getting Feuille was top priority, so as he continued running, slipping through a few buildings, he saw Feuille running for his life towards him . ¡°Loren! The fairies are back¡­¡± ¡°I know! Grab on, we¡¯re going to get out of here!¡± As Loren slid to a stop, raising a dust cloud, grabbed Feuille¡¯s hand, pulled on it, put him under his arm, and started running back towards Lapis . ¡°Umm¡­Oh, they¡¯re already here . ¡± Although Lapis didn¡¯t follow why Loren suddenly turned back towards her, she saw the swarm of fairies that were chasing Feuille, turned around with a sigh, and started chasing after Loren, with the fluttering of wings chasing behind them . Chapter 89 Chapter 89 Ch. 89: Meeting after Running ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that this isn¡¯t a good situation. What do you think?¡± Lapis asked him as they ran through the forest, but Loren had too much on his plate to answer her. He was running through a place that was hard to run in and had a child under his arm. Although it was easier than running while carrying Lapis on his back, but because the fairies chasing after them were so fast, he was having to run at full speed, and he was so tired that if he lost focus even for a second, his feet might stop moving. ¡°Can¡¯t Shayna drive them away?¡± ¡®I¡¯ve been working on it¡­¡¯ Of course, Shayna¡¯s voice didn¡¯t reach Lapis¡¯ ears. Only Loren could hear her. Hearing her, Loren moved his eyes and looked around, and saw there were fairies here and there falling to the ground, but it didn¡¯t seem to have much effect because of their sheer numbers. ¡°If we stop, we¡¯ll end up being eaten. What do we do!?¡± ¡°Burn them?¡± ¡°Do you prefer being burned to death than eaten to death?¡± Lapis¡¯ magic was powerful. It wasn¡¯t something they would want to use in front of Feuille, but in the crisis they were in, Loren knew that they couldn¡¯t afford to be picky. But they were currently running within a forest, and if Lapis were to use the magic she used at the campsite before they entered the forest, it would burn everything around them as well as the fairies, and there was no telling how big of a fire it would become. If that happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape scot free either. ¡°Can¡¯t you use spells other that aren¡¯t fire attribute?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that good at them¡­because they aren¡¯t that cool.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t choose magic based on how they look!¡± Although he said that, he couldn¡¯t tell her to use something she couldn¡¯t. ¡°We¡¯ll eventually be caught!¡± ¡°They¡¯re smaller and can navigate through the forest better than us, after all.¡± Since Loren had a large body, he had to be careful about choosing the spaces between the trees he could fit through, but the fairies that were chasing them could get past almost every opening, so they were chasing after them in almost a straight line. ¡°Do fairies ever get tired!?¡± ¡°They do, but I have a feeling that even if they do, that won¡¯t stop them.¡± When Loren glanced back, what he saw were fairies with bloodshot eyes and blood covered mouths, gnashing their teeth and fluttering their wings. The sight was even scarier because of their cute looking faces, so Loren turned back, afraid that if he looked at them too long, they would appear in his nightmares. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like we could talk to them either. ¡°What should we do?¡± Although she didn¡¯t sound worried at all, Loren could see a hint of uneasiness on her face, so instead of saying anything, he got a better grip on Feuille and focused on running. If he was told to charge into the fairies, swinging his great sword, although he would get quite injured, he could do so, but if he was told to think of a way to drive them back or find someplace to hide, he didn¡¯t think he could think of any. So, Loren decided that all he could do was keep running while hoping that Lapis could think of something. After a while Lapis asked Feuille, who was hanging limp under Loren¡¯s arm, a question. ¡°Is there a lake or a swamp that¡¯s somewhat deep in the area?¡± ¡°There¡¯s one that way.¡± Feuille pointed in a direction. Confirming the direction in which he was pointing at, Lapis tapped Loren on the shoulder, somehow leaned into him while running at top speed, and yelled into his ear loud enough so he could hear her over the flapping of wings. ¡°Let¡¯s go that way!¡± ¡°That way is¡­¡± I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a lake or a swamp, but there¡¯s water! You know what to do, right?¡± After thinking for a moment, Loren realized Lapis¡¯ intentions. It was possible that they could wait out the swarm of fairies that were chasing them. ¡°Same as bees, huh.¡± ¡°Yes. Now all we have to do is hope that the water is as clean as possible!¡± Among the things one could do when being chased by bees that sting, jumping into water is one of them. Creatures like bees won¡¯t follow under the water because their wings would get wet. Although she wasn¡¯t sure if the fairies were the same, Lapis guessed that there was a high chance that they won¡¯t follow them anymore. But on top of needing a deep source of water, they had to be inside it from head to toe. If the water was somewhat clean, it would be endurable, but if it was green or mixed with rotten mud, they could be hesitant, even though their lives depended on it. ¡°Feuille! Is it a lake or a swamp!?¡± ¡°Uhh, umm?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a swamp, hurry up and tell us! We need to be prepared if it is!¡± Loren could even jump into a sewer if it meant saving his life, but he still wanted some time to prepare mentally. That was why he wanted to confirm beforehand with Feuille, but because of the sudden questions as well as bouncing up and down, his mind was muddled and couldn¡¯t give a proper reply. During that time, the trees cleared up and they could see the water they were aiming for. ¡°Loren, it¡¯s a lake!¡± The color of the water wasn¡¯t brown or green. Instead, the water looked clear and blue. ¡°I guess it¡¯s not a problem then! We¡¯re jumping in! Hold your breath!¡± ¡°Just like that!? Loren!? Oh my¡­<>!¡± Chasing in after Loren, Lapis used something that he wasn¡¯t sure if it was magic or divine arts. Loren¡¯s body sunk down into the water regardless of whether it took effect or not. The water was so clear that he could see quite far off. Loren had been worried that because of the state of the forest, inside the lake would be the same way, so even if they were able to escape the fairies, this time they would have to run from creatures underwater. But clear water wasn¡¯t a suitable for many creatures to live in. If it was this clear, it was possible to see if anything was coming towards them, so Loren guessed that it would be fine and looked up, and a shiver ran down his back as he saw the fairies flying above the water. If it were bees, they would swarm above the water for a while, and eventually give up and fly away, but the fairies showed no signs of going away, and were waiting for them to come back up. As he held his breath, Loren decided that they were in a bad spot. As he was afraid that they would have to choose between drowning and having their faces torn apart, Lapis pulled on his clothes. When he turned towards her, she opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath. Water should¡¯ve rushed into her lungs and pushed out all the air, but Lapis took breath after breath like nothing happened, and nudged Loren to do so as well. ¡®Onii-san, what Onee-san used was a spell that allows you to breathe underwater. It¡¯s okay so let go of your breath and try breathing.¡¯ Loren hesitated, even seeing Lapis doing so, but with Shayna urging him on as well, he opened his mouth and tried breathing in the water. But the water didn¡¯t gush in, as if stopped by an invisible wall, and instead, he felt cold air flow into his lungs. When he turned to Feuille, who he was carrying, was in the middle of trying it out himself as well, he was relieved to see that he was doing fine as well. As he did so, Lapis grabbed his hand and started pulling him. With their difference in size, even though it was underwater, Lapis couldn¡¯t move Loren at all, but since they couldn¡¯t talk, Shayna explained what she was trying to say. ¡®Onii-san, the effect of the spell isn¡¯t permanent. If we don¡¯t escape to a place we can surface, you¡¯ll still die, you know?¡¯ Although it seemed like they escaped drowning, they weren¡¯t safe yet. So, as he let Lapis pull him along, Loren looked for somewhere they could escape the fairies flying overhead. But no matter how far they traveled, the shadow above showed no signs of going away. The lake didn¡¯t look that large, but if there were enough fairies on the surface to cover the whole lake, that was a ridiculous amount of them. As Loren wondered what they could do as he looked upwards at the shadow, he eventually gave up and looked back down, and cocked his head as he saw Lapis trying to chase something away. As he got closer, thinking that there was no way there could be ones that could dive underwater, his widened as he saw that it was indeed a fairy. ¡°W-wait, wait a second! Please listen to me!¡± The fairy that kept coming back even as Lapis continued to slap away seemed to be a girl. At the clear voice that rang out within the water, Loren stopped trying to run away, and Lapis stopped trying to hit her. Seeing that the two of them stopped, the fairy that was going around Lapis stopped in front of her. ¡°Mister and miss human, are you two still normal? Have you been running from that? If so, how about I help you out here, and then you can help us?¡± All the fairies they had met until then had just tried to bite them, not try to talk to them. Loren was confused at the appearance of the fairy that could breathe underwater, as well as talk. ¡°I¡¯ll guide you, so could you at least hear me out?¡± The fairy girl, with her chestnut hair swaying in the water, tried to lead them somewhere, flapping her wings. Knowing that she was their best chance at getting out of the situation, Loren and Lapis started walking through the water after her. Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Ch. 90: Requested after Guidance The sane fairy girl that suddenly appeared. Their situation became better now that the fairy was taking them to safety, but it was only because they had no other option, so they continued to follow behind her. Above them was the shadow of the swarm of fairies who seemed to have lost their sanity, waiting for them to surface, and along with a mysterious and unreal feeling at the fact he was breathing as he was moving underwater, they reached a small hole on the bottom of the lake. After a while since they entered the hole, which was barely large enough for a person to crawl through, they hit a wall, and the hole stretched upward. But that was barely large enough for a single person to go through as well, and although Lapis and Feuille had no problem, Loren, who had a wide build as well as a great sword on his back, couldn¡¯t go through, so he had Lapis pull his sword from above, and he managed to get through after. Managing to get through, Loren put his hands on the edge of the hole and pulled himself out from the water. When he looked around, shaking off the water, he saw that they were in some sort of cave, with a soft, white light illuminating the area. ¡°Ugh¡­I¡¯m soaking.¡± When he turned towards the voice, he saw Lapis, soaking wet, sitting on the floor, squeezing the water out of her clothes. Loren and Feuille were wearing light clothing, so it wasn¡¯t much of a deal, but although the priest¡¯s clothing that Lapis was wearing was simplified to be easy to move in, it used way more cloth compared to Loren¡¯s clothes, and with all of it completely wet, it was heavy and uncomfortable. ¡°It¡¯s because Loren suddenly jumped in¡­¡± ¡°I mean, what else should I have done?¡± ¡°I only got <>. I had other spells that could keep us from getting wet and protecting us from water pressure, you know?¡± Although Lapis gave him a reproachful look, Loren doubted that she would¡¯ve been able to get everything done in time. Although he thought so, he knew that if he said it out loud, it would worsen Lapis¡¯ mood even further, so he decided to stay silent. ¡°I¡¯m just going to take everything off¡­I can¡¯t move in this¡­¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Lapis seemed to know that it was pointless to blame Loren, as after she had cursed lightly at him once more, she started squeezing and pounding on her clothes to try to make it feel less uncomfortable, but she eventually gave up, and started taking off her clothes, grimacing at the feeling of wet clothing peeling off her skin. Loren wondered if it was okay to start taking off her clothes without hesitation in front of a man, but wearing wet clothes was indeed uncomfortable, so it was hard for him to tell her to keep them on. If possible, Loren wanted to take off his clothes and dry them next to a fire, but while he was wondering if they could find something to burn in the cave and if there was a place they could start a fire, something flew in front of his face. ¡°Can we talk?¡± It was the fairy that had led them there. As if she had used magic that Lapis had mentioned beforehand, her dress and wings didn¡¯t have a single drop of water on them. ¡°Can you understand me mister human?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can hear and understand you.¡± Whatever the case, she was the one who saved them. As Loren responded, thinking that he should be polite, the fairy smiled and perched on his shoulder. ¡°So, for introductions, I¡¯m Corne of the fairy race. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°She talks pretty slowly.¡± When Lapis commented on the fairy that introduced herself, Loren turned his head towards her, but immediately looked away. It seemed that Lapis had been steadily taking off her clothes, and when Loren turned towards her, she had taken off everything except for her underwear, and was folding them and stacking them up next to her. Which meant that her chest and stomach was in plain view, and although Loren didn¡¯t mean to look, the image was burned into his eyes. ¡°Hm? Loren, your face is all red.¡± ¡°Shut up. Cover yourself up a bit, will you?¡± ¡°Even if you say so¡­Loren¡¯s the only one who¡¯s looking.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem.¡± When Loren curtly, trying to hide his red face, Lapis stared at him, not understanding what he meant, and after a while, a wide grin appeared on her face. ¡°Loren? Are you embarrassed, by any chance?¡± ¡°Lapis, I hate to break it to you like this. But I can¡¯t like a girl with no sense of shame.¡± When Loren decided to give her a warning before she started teasing him again, Lapis immediately picked up her clothes and tried to cover her chest. But she didn¡¯t seem to want to put wet clothes on her skin again, and after pushing and pulling her clothes from herself for a while, she looked up at Loren with a troubled face. ¡°Umm, Corne, right? As you can see, we¡¯re wet rats here. We¡¯d like to dry ourselves, so is there anything you could do?¡± ¡°Then follow me. Our home is just up ahead.¡± Accepting Loren¡¯s request, the fairy named Corne floated up from Loren¡¯s shoulder and started slowly flying deeper into the cave, waving for them to follow. Loren, calling Lapis, who was half naked, and Feuille, who was sitting on the floor, decided to follow after Corne. ¡°How is this place like this?¡± Temporarily holding her wet clothes in her arms, Lapis looked around and asked Corne. But Corne cocked her head, not understanding what she meant. ¡°From what I can see, this place is an underground cave.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. This is below the place you call the Black Forest.¡± ¡°Why is it so bright?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because of the glowing moss growing on the rocks. I don¡¯t know why they glow, though.¡± At Corne¡¯s explanation, Loren put his face close to one of the rocks. There was indeed a thin layer of moss growing on it and could see that the light being emitted from them was illuminating the whole cave. ¡°It¡¯s the type of moss that could be found in nature type dungeons. It can be found in many places, so it¡¯s not that rare.¡± Lapis told Loren, who was examining the walls. ¡°Is it different from the walls from the Ancient Kingdom ruins we saw before?¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t the same thing just because it glows Loren.¡± Previously, when they had investigated an Ancient Kingdom ruin that was made for breeding goblins, they had seen that the building material for the walls, and remembering that, Loren asked Lapis, but she said he was wrong. ¡°The ones in the ruins are on a different level, from its rarity and light quantity to its price.¡± ¡°Everyone, how about looking at the walls later and keeping up? You¡¯ll catch a cold, you know?¡± As Corne called them, worried, they stopped what they were doing and hurried after her. After walking a while, the cave opened into a large dome like space. On the ground were stone buildings that weren¡¯t taller than his waist, and Loren thought for a second that it was like a replica of a small city, but a look at the small winged beings moving to and from the buildings told him it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Big people came.¡± ¡°They came.¡± Responding to Corne¡¯s voice, fairies that looked like boys and girls flew up slowly towards them and started flying around them. Even though he knew they wouldn¡¯t attack them, because of his first encounter with them, he found himself reaching for his great sword, but Lapis stopped his hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay. They¡¯re not enemies.¡± ¡°Y-yeah, my bad. My hand moved without thinking.¡± ¡°I know how you feel, though.¡± Lapis didn¡¯t forget them being chased as well. The swarm of fairies was something even Lapis thought was scary, as she knew it couldn¡¯t be helped that Loren was anxious. ¡°Everyone, you can dry your clothes here.¡± Corne pointed towards a hole in the wall of the dome. When Loren walked near it, he saw that it was way to small for a person to go through, but apparently it was connected deeper underground, and there was warm air flowing out of it. ¡°I was wondering why it wasn¡¯t cold even though it was underground. This is how they control the temperature.¡± ¡°You could dry your clothes near this hole. It¡¯s dry and warm, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take her offer. If we leave our clothes here, it would dry quite quickly, and this place seems the warmest as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to listen to our story while your clothes dry.¡± ¡°You said you wanted help, right?¡± Watching Lapis hanging her clothes on the edge of the hole where the warm air was blowing from, Loren said to Corne, who was fluttering in place, Corne winced and nodded her head. ¡°Tell me about it. You¡¯ve saved us, so we¡¯ll do our best to solve it if we could.¡± Loren told Corne, looking at Lapis finish hanging her clothes and taking off Feuille¡¯s clothes to hang them as well, and with a serious look on her face, Corne flew around in front of his face, raised her fists in front of her, and in her expansive way of talking, told Loren. ¡°I want you to kill our chief.¡± Chapter 91 Chapter 91: 91 Ch . 91: Planning from the Situation ¡°A power struggle or something?¡± Loren asked her, as that was the only reason he could think of that someone in a lower position would want to kill someone in a higher position, but he knew that he was wrong even as the words came out of his mouth . Loren didn¡¯t know much about the fairy race in the first place . Based on the way they spoke Loren couldn¡¯t imagine them having something like a power struggle . In fact, Corne looked confused and didn¡¯t understand what she had been asked, so Loren apologized and asked her to continue . ¡°So, I want you to kill our chief . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite a thing to ask, you know? What happened?¡± ¡°So our chief, he became crazy . ¡± Turning to put the sight of Lapis trying to take of Feuille¡¯s wet clothes, while Feuille resisted and the two starting to grapple with each other, Loren asked Corne, who sat down on a rock with her shoulders drooped, to explain further . According to her, the chief of the fairies started becoming crazy from a little while ago . Fairies were a whimsical race that liked to pull pranks and tended to be very curious, so the often played tricks on the elves that lived in the forest, as well as humans that entered it . It seemed to have started when the pranks started deviating from the boundaries of pranks . ¡°Until then, they were all just silly pranks . ¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°For example, switching the salt that an elf was using to sugar, pouring muddy water on top of a human that was walking in the forest . Just things like that . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty annoying, but¡­keep going . ¡± ¡°We were just pulling pranks like that, but one day, the chief suddenly told us to raid the food storage in the elf village . ¡± The elves would starve if they lost their food . They would ask other villages for help, so they wouldn¡¯t starve to death, but the damage would be great . Even if the forest was plentiful, many of the elves would have to work extra hard to fill it up, so many fairies tried to repel it . But the chief and the fairies around him forced it through, and stole all the food in one of the villages . ¡°We asked the chief to return all the food . But not only did the chief didn¡¯t listen, he ate all the stolen food . ¡± ¡°All of it!? That¡¯s incredible . It should¡¯ve been quite the amount of food . ¡± But that wasn¡¯t all . The chief and the fairies around him, having tasted the feeling of taking food from the elves, started reaching out to other villages as well . ¡°The elves got angry for sure, right?¡± When he glanced at Feuille, he had been stripped down to his underwear by Lapis . While Lapis was humming as she hung his wet clothes, Feuille was hugging himself with a red face, but when he noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, he shook his head . Seeing that Feuille didn¡¯t know anything about it, Loren turned his focus back to Corne . ¡°The elves did get angry . ¡± Although her expansive way of talking stayed the same, sadness mixed into her voice . Loren thought it was because they had angered the elves, but what Corne said next was completely different . ¡°The elves came to protest, and we all thought the chief would apologize . ¡± They thought, which meant that it didn¡¯t go that way . Although apologizing might not cut it for the excessive act, Loren couldn¡¯t think of another way that could end things peacefully . Since it didn¡¯t go that way, it meant the situation worsened . It wasn¡¯t like she was reading Loren¡¯s mind, but Corne slightly tucked her chin, looked down, and the words spilled from her mouth . ¡°The chief killed all the elves that came to protest . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something you should be saying so calmly . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t help butting in . The one who ordered to steal the other¡¯s food, ate all of it, and was the one who caused all the damage, killed the ones who came to protest just because they came to protest . If this happened among humans, it would become war . What was unfortunate for the elves was that instead of acting as a whole race, they acted as separate villages . And when comparing magic skills, fairies had the upper hand in both skill and mana, and the elves were against the chief, which was the most powerful among the fairies . ¡°Of course, us fairies suffered large casualties as well . ¡± That was a sad thing for Corne, but she also thought that would be enough to stop the chief . If their numbers decreased, even if the chief was a powerful magic user, it would be harder to force the elves away . But the chief replenished their fighting power in an unbelievable way, and started reaching towards the other elf villages as well . ¡°Did he prey on the elves or something?¡± Lapis suddenly interrupted . At her words, Feuille¡¯s face stiffened and Corne looked down with a sad look . ¡°What do you mean?¡± When Loren asked Lapis, who seemed to know what was going on, Lapis started explaining . ¡°Elves and fairies are close races, but as a species, fairies are slightly higher in class . So if a fairy meddles with an elf¡¯s body, if it goes well, it could create more fairies from it . ¡± Although Lapis said something horrible like it was nothing, she didn¡¯t forget to add, ¡®It doesn¡¯t usually happen, though¡¯ . ¡°But this explains the elves being eaten out from the inside and the fairies coming out of the dead elves¡¯ bodies . The chief had been continually using his powers, and eventually became able to spread it so far that it influenced the whole forest . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what happened . ¡± Corne confirmed what Lapis had said . It meant that the chief was the cause behind the abnormalities in the Black Forest, and it wouldn¡¯t stop unless the cause was taken out . ¡°We can¡¯t let the chief alone any longer . It would cause us fairies who live in this forest to be persecuted, and the elves would be hunted down to extinction . ¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you want us to kill him . ¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not like we want him to die . ¡± But it was also true that there seemed to be no other way . In any case, it was very unlikely that the chief, who didn¡¯t listen to his fellow fairies, would listen to a human like Loren . And since he had also killed all the elves that came to him, it was hard to think he would go easy on them, and it would most likely become a battle the moment they met . ¡°But what made him crazy? He wasn¡¯t always like that, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡­but we don¡¯t know either . ¡± ¡°Do you have any idea? Like he ate something different or he put something on weird . ¡± Corne¡¯s brows furrowed as she started thinking . In the meantime, Loren lightly hit away Lapis¡¯ hands, which silently reached out to him, as if trying to take his clothes, took off his coat, and handed it to Lapis to hang to dry . ¡°Umm . I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s what caused it . ¡± ¡°Anything is fine . We need all the information we could get . ¡± Corne nodded at Lapis¡¯ words and started talking about what she had recalled . ¡°Actually, we fairies like things that are shiny and pretty . ¡± The first thing that came to Loren¡¯s mind was a crow . The bird, which had a tendency to collect shiny things, took anything it could find to its nest, but sometimes it was things like coins or gems, but apparently fairies had similar tendencies . ¡°Most of the things that are collected are taken to the chief, and then he gives them out or decorates the village with them . But a little while ago, some fairies brought in something weird . ¡± ¡°Something weird?¡± Loren wondered why they would even think of collecting something they knew was weird, but apparently that logic didn¡¯t apply to fairies . Corne then stood up, spread out her arms to the fullest, and told Loren . ¡°It was a shiny metal box about this big, and had a design on it that we¡¯ve never seen before . ¡± ¡°Alright, wait a second . ¡± She had spread her arms out to the fullest, which meant it was about as large as her . And Corne was the size of Loren¡¯s palm . Which meant that the metal box was possibly around the size of his palm . So it made Loren think that her description of the box seemed similar to another box that Loren had seen before in a different place . ¡°Hey Lapis . I think I¡¯ve seen a box like that recently¡­¡± ¡°What a coincidence Loren . I was thinking the same thing . ¡± The previous job they were on . At the end of the dungeon during the exam that students took at the adventurer training school, they had seen one of Volf¡¯s fortune, which sealed the evil god of sloth inside it . It was exactly like what Corne had descried, a metal box with complicated designs on the surface . ¡°Am I the only one who wants to think it¡¯s a coincidence?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to think that too¡­but I can¡¯t think of anything else . ¡± If it was indeed what Loren and Lapis were guessing it was . Loren could feel his mood sinking . The last time, their opponent retreated on his own . It could be that it was because it just revived, but the evil god was also quite lazy, living up to his namesake of sloth, and although there were some casualties, Loren believed that it was very little considering that they were against someone who called himself an evil god . But on top of not knowing what kind of evil god they would be against this time, judging from how much the fair chief had changed, it seemed that it had quite a bit of influence already, and the chances of it backing off easily was very slim . ¡°But still, we can¡¯t just walk away after hearing all this . ¡± ¡°¡­I have a feeling your kindness will be what takes your life Loren . ¡± The best thing they could do was find a way to the surface and leave the Black Forest as if nothing had happened . But Loren wasn¡¯t someone who could just leave after hearing the details and circumstances . ¡°We owe her one since she saved us . We could at least think of some way to deal with the chief, right?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like not doing anything is an option, so I guess we could . Umm, Corne, was it? Please answer the questions that I¡¯m going to ask you . Then we¡¯ll try thinking of something . ¡± ¡°O-okay . ¡± After a sigh, Lapis started asking Corne questions in quick succession . Watching her do so, he waited for his coat to dry, thinking that it would be a good sight only if she wasn¡¯t half naked . Chapter 92 Chapter 92: 92 Ch . 92: Accepting after Questioning Lapis¡¯ interrogation lasted until Loren¡¯s coat was completely dry . By then Lapis¡¯ and Feuille¡¯s clothes had dried as well, and while Feuille had put them on as soon as they dried, Lapis put her clothes on with a difficult face after she had finished questioning Corne . ¡°How was it?¡± When Loren, who had been waiting for her to finish, asked her, she shook her head, as if giving up, and finally opened her mouth . ¡°First, this place seems to be the hidden village of fairies . ¡± Loren had guessed this place was so since Corne had mentioned the fairy chief, but it seemed like he wasn¡¯t wrong . They had been looking for clues to find it, but it seemed like they had managed to directly find their way there . That was good news, but it was bad news at the same time . It was about the residents of Feuille¡¯s village . They were looking for the way to the hidden village because they thought maybe the residents fled there . But they couldn¡¯t see any elves in the area, and there was no way they could be inside the small buildings the fairies lived in . Which meant that the elves hadn¡¯t fled to this place . ¡°I asked her just in case, but she said there weren¡¯t any elves that came here . ¡± ¡°Is there someplace similar to this?¡± ¡°Not any that Corne knows of . ¡± It wasn¡¯t like all hope was lost . The elves fleeing to the hidden village was just Feuille¡¯s guess, and they had no idea what they actually did . There could be some that fled to other villages . But there was no way to know for sure, and the only thing they did know was that Feuille was the only elf currently there . ¡°Everyone¡­¡± Feuille was shocked at the fact that he could be the only one who survived, but neither Loren nor Lapis could find any words to say to him . ¡°Being kidnapped by bandits, but surviving because of that is quite the luck, right?¡± ¡°Loren, that¡¯s not something you should say out loud, even if you think it . ¡± Loren and Lapis said to each other in hushed voices . Half of them was a mercenary that experienced a companion that was doing fine the previous day become a cold body the next day, and the other half was a demon that didn¡¯t really care about anything other than her interests . But it wasn¡¯t like they couldn¡¯t sense the mood, but although they didn¡¯t say anything careless that could make Feuille feel worse, they didn¡¯t really understand how shocked he was, so they couldn¡¯t think of anything to say to him . ¡°Umm, on a different note, the chief seems to have locked himself in the deeper part of the village behind a blockade, and if we want to kill him, we have to start by breaking past it . ¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Corne and the fairies break it?¡± Loren thought that the fairies, with their magic skills, could unlock a blockade or two by themselves . ¡°It seems they could do something about it if they try very hard . ¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°It means that even if they could get past the blockade, they won¡¯t have enough power to defeat the chief . ¡± Even if the fairies broke through the blockade to fight the chief, if they didn¡¯t have any mana left, they couldn¡¯t face him . That was why although Corne wanted to defeat the chief, she was having trouble doing so . Even with the current total current strength they possessed, they couldn¡¯t defeat him, which was why they decided to resort to asking outsiders like Loren for help . ¡°Is Corne in somewhat of a high position here?¡± ¡°High enough to be in charge of everyone, it seems . ¡± Corne¡¯s suggestion was to have all the fairies in the village break the blockade that was closing the path, then have Loren and Lapis go to where the chief was and kill him . ¡°Hey, it¡¯s fine if I¡¯m misunderstanding . But you said you could break past the blockade if all the fairies helped . That means that the chief is stronger than all of you combined, right?¡± ¡°I guess so . ¡± Needing the powers of all the fairies combined to get past the blockade the chief set up meant that the strength of the whole fairy village barely balanced out the strength of the chief . It was perceivable how strong the chief was, and wasn¡¯t hard to guess how much of a pain he would be to deal with . ¡°Can the two of us defeat him?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll work out if we don¡¯t mind others . ¡± To Loren¡¯s worried words, Lapis¡¯ response was strong . Because they were worried about someone seeing them, Lapis hesitated using her powers, and Shayna, who was within Loren, couldn¡¯t use her powers to the fullest . But if that were gone and they could use their powers without any limits, both Lapis and Shayna were powerful beings, and would be able to stand their own against the chief . ¡°Well, even if there were people looking, we could probably talk our way out . ¡± ¡®Onii-san, Shayna will secretly help too!¡¯ Even if they didn¡¯t go all in, between the strengths of the demon Lapis and no life king Shayna, Loren thought they could go even with the chief . Either one of them could destroy a whole nation if they wanted to . Since all he could do was swing his great sword, Loren was thinking he would be able to be an annoyance at most, but Lapis and Shayna were thinking that putting Loren in front and supporting him would work out . ¡°So are we fine with accepting her request?¡± ¡°Yes . I¡¯ve talked about the rewards already as well . ¡± Loren thought that Lapis had just been questioning Corne, but it seemed that she had made her request into a job, and even talked about payment . As Loren was impressed at how quick she was with it, Lapis started talking about the payment details . ¡°Although I said we decided on the payment, it won¡¯t be anything fancy . After all, fairies are a race that don¡¯t have many metal items, just like elves . ¡± ¡°They don¡¯t look like they¡¯d eat much either, so there wouldn¡¯t be much to give us either . ¡± ¡°If you think about it that way, the fact that the chief ate all the food from the elf village is quite terrifying . Maybe they have stomachs made of iron and very strong stomach acids?¡± ¡°No idea . So what condition did you agree on?¡± Fairies had less contact with humans than elves did . He couldn¡¯t think they had money stored anywhere in the village, and asked Lapis . ¡°She promised that if we manage to kill the chief, we could choose one thing what they have, and take it . ¡± Lapis¡¯ conditions bet on there being something of value among the things that the fairies had gathered . Even if there wasn¡¯t anything that would be expensive, if they could find a gem, that would still be worth quite a bit . ¡°Even if we don¡¯t get lucky, I¡¯m looking forward to finding something that would give us some profit . ¡± ¡°That seems reasonable enough . ¡± There was also the option of asking for more, since the fairies were desperate for help, but Loren thought that taking advantage of them wouldn¡¯t feel good when they received their payment . So he thought that the condition that Lapis had chosen, which allowed them to take the job in a good mood and keep them from being in the red, seemed just right . ¡°We leave Feuille here . No objections, right?¡± ¡°Of course not . ¡± Feuille raised his head when they said that, but neither Loren nor Lapis was going to take him to the chief . There was a possibility that the fairy chief had killed everyone in his village . Then it meant that it could be a chance for Feuille to avenge them, and he did indeed want to strike a blow . But even knowing so, the reason why Loren and Lapis wasn¡¯t going to take him was because of what Corne had said earlier, that the chief created new fairies out of the dead bodies of elves . ¡°If we take you, we need to protect you . And in the case that the chief makes fairies out of your body, we¡¯ll be attacked from both front and behind . ¡± So when Loren asked Feuille to keep his feeling in, he looked like he wanted to complain, but he silently looked towards the ground . Seeing it as he understood his reasoning, Loren told Corne, who was floating around and wondering when their conversation will end, that they would accept her request . ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that we¡¯ll be able to do something, though . ¡± ¡°That would be wishing for too much . We¡¯re thankful that you are willing to help us . ¡± Corne flew around Loren happily . Loren decided not to follow her with his eyes, since he would get dizzy if he tried, and asked Corne, who was still flying around him . ¡°We can count on you guys to break the blockade, right?¡± ¡°Of course . We¡¯ll be as much help as we could . ¡± ¡°So you¡¯re fine with the request being defeating the chief? Killing him?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, please do so . ¡± There was a small moment of silence before the words came out of Corne¡¯s mouth . Loren didn¡¯t know what kind of thoughts and feelings went through her mind in that short moment, but since she managed to give him a definite answer, he gave her a firm nod . Chapter 93 Chapter 93: 93 Ch . 93: Beginning Battle ¡°The plan is simple . The corridor that connects to the place the chief is in . Corne and the fairies will break the blockade that¡¯s in the way . Then we will go through it and make contact with the chief, defeat him, and the job¡¯s done . ¡± ¡°You said it so easily¡­Well, that¡¯s pretty much it though, I guess . ¡± Loren and Lapis had reached the entrance to the corridor that lead to where the chief was, led there by Corne . Of course, they had left Feuille in the care of the other fairies, so he wasn¡¯t there . ¡°Alright . You¡¯d better not let Feuille in . If he manages to get in, we¡¯ll leave the chief and just run for it . ¡± When Loren made sure to remind them, Corne put her fist on her chest and said with confidence . ¡°Leave it to me . In the worst case, I¡¯ll use the spell to stop him . ¡± ¡°You can be pretty violent if you want to, huh¡­¡± The spell that Corne had mentioned wasn¡¯t something that would be used to stop someone . It was a spell that could turn a living thing into stone, and if It wasn¡¯t dispelled, the victim would be a stone statue forever, and was an offensive spell . If Corne, who was a more powerful magic user than elves, and in a high position among the fairies on top of that, used such a spell on Feuille, there was no way he would be okay . ¡°I¡¯m sure you know, but don¡¯t kill him, alright?¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Corne said lightly, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure how much he could trust a fairy¡¯s words, so he was still worried . ¡°Putting that aside, are you fully prepared Loren?¡± Loren looked down at himself . There was nothing special he needed to prepare . The clothes that he always wore, boots, and leather armor . The black coat that he put on over all of it, and his black great sword in his hand . This was all of Loren¡¯s current equipment . He had some other stuff that he brought with him, but they were either still wet or didn¡¯t help him during battle, so he left them behind with Feuille . ¡°I¡¯m good . ¡± ¡°I see . Corne, if you could please . ¡± ¡°I got it . Here it goes . ¡± On her command, the powers of all the casters in the village amassed to her . Apparently . Loren did feel some in the air, but there wasn¡¯t any flashing lights or explosions, so he couldn¡¯t feel how much had been gathered . ¡®That¡¯s pretty much what magic is Onii-san . Feeling pressure even though it¡¯s not an offensive spell is already quite incredible though . ¡¯ Shayna explained to him, but it still didn¡¯t ring a bell to Loren, so Shayna sighed and started syncing her sight with his . When she did so, although he couldn¡¯t see anything until then, he started seeing a distortion around Corne, who was concentrating with all her might . The distortion reached up to a height that even Loren had to look up at it, and judging from her size, he was able to see and understand that something powerful was gathering around her . ¡®That¡¯s the amassed mana . ¡¯ ¡°I see now . This is convenient . ¡± ¡®It¡¯s the eyes and sight of a no life king though, so I can¡¯t link it for long . It could things that could make you slowly lose your mind . ¡¯ After saying so, Shayna cut the link and Loren¡¯s sight became normal again . ¡°Okay then, here it goes!¡± Something erupted from Corne¡¯s body . Loren didn¡¯t know what it was, but he understood that she had unleashed whatever had been distorting the space around her that he had just seen thanks to Shayna . It flew into the corridor in front of them, and after a while, air with a foul stench started seeping out from the other side, causing Loren and Lapis to cover their noses with their arms . ¡°The blockade is broken . ¡± Corne, who had been fluttering around earlier but was now barely able to move, told them . ¡°What the hell is this smell?¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely coming from where the chief is, but¡­I really don¡¯t want to go near where this is coming from . ¡± ¡°W-wait! That will be troubling . ¡± At Corne¡¯s worried words, Lapis laughed told her she was joking . ¡°Okay Loren, after you . ¡± ¡°You¡­I¡¯m the front line, so I guess I should go first¡­¡± Since there was no telling what as waiting for them at the end of the corridor, so there wasn¡¯t the option of letting a priestess go ahead of him but being asked to go ahead didn¡¯t feel good either . But Loren steeled himself, knowing that nothing would happen if he didn¡¯t act, and stepped into the corridor with Lapis following behind him . There was glowing moss on the rocks and walls here as well, so they could see without a problem, but with each step they took, the stench got stronger and stronger . As Loren started thinking about wanting to turn back because of the smell, the corridor ended, and they arrived in an open area . ¡°Is this where the chief is at?¡± Loren grimaced at the stench that filled the place as he looked around . He thought he would find out what the stench was from since he was nearing the origin, but although they should be very close, he couldn¡¯t figure out what it was . Before, he and his fellow mercenaries had been ordered to go on consecutive battles and hadn¡¯t been able to wash themselves for a while, and what he smelled now was like what he smelled from everyone then . ¡°The smell of sweat and dirt and¡­rotting food is all mixed together . ¡± Lapis identified the smell while covering her mouth and nose with her hand, but it didn¡¯t seem like they would find out if Lapis was right or if it was something else completely unless they investigated . But they didn¡¯t have the time to do so . It was Lapis who first noticed it, as expected . It was in the deepest part of the open area they entered, right by the back wall . At first Lapis couldn¡¯t understand what it was . But after a while, she realized it might be something that someone had become, she pulled on Loren¡¯s sleeve as he had a disgusted look on his face . ¡°Loren, that¡­is that what I think it is?¡± When Loren looked towards where Lapis was pointing, he was at a loss for words at what he saw . There was a skin colored mountain . They were in a spacious area with a ceiling that was quite high, but what in the world was the giant thing that almost reached it . ¡°Umm? This isn¡¯t¡­No way¡­¡± A skin colored blob that was wet with something that was most likely sweat . The blob seemed to be separated into parts by something like wrinkles but seeing that the largest out of them was expanding and withering, they could see that it was a living thing . But to the question of what kind of living thing it was, Loren didn¡¯t have an answer . The thing that looked so abnormal was taking root alongside the wall . ¡°It seems like that¡¯s the source of the smell . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t feel like touching the thing that glistened in a slimy fashion and looked like someone had poured oil in it, so he walked near it with a disgusted face and poked it with his foot . Lapis panicked and tried to stop him, but it was already too late, and the giant thing¡¯s attention turned to Loren . ¡°Who¡­are you¡­?¡± ¡°It spoke!?¡± Although he wasn¡¯t sure where it was speaking from, he heard it speak, and it spoke responding to Loren¡¯s action . Loren slowly back off from the giant blob that talked, even though it was talking in broken phrases, and asked Lapis, who was backing off as well . ¡°Lapis, what the hell is that¡­¡± ¡°We came here to find the fairy chief, so you have an idea of what we just encountered, right?¡± It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a vague idea of what it was . But checking what he¡¯d been told against the blob in front of him that started to move, he didn¡¯t want to believe it . ¡°You¡¯re kidding me¡­This thing is the chief?¡± It was in fact natural to think that it was the chief, since they had encountered it at the place where they were told the chief was residing in . But the fairies that they had met until then were palm sized boys and girls like Corne and was nothing like the chunk of meat in front of them . 13 ¡°What the hell!? Why is this the chief!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me . ¡± There was only about one thing Loren could think of . ¡°He ate too much and got fat¡­¡± Loren and Lapis had no idea how large the chief originally was, but since he was a fairy, it was hard to think that he was tall enough for the two of them to look up at him . So, Loren concluded that he became the gigantic thing in front of him due to eating all the food he stole from the elves . ¡°But this is a bit too much, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°He¡¯s so big he can¡¯t even move in his own . ¡± ¡°Maybe it won¡¯t be too hard to kill him, I guess . ¡± Loren had thought the task would be quite difficult since he had heard that the chief was more powerful than all the fairies in the village combined, so he was relieved that it wouldn¡¯t be so hard since their opponent couldn¡¯t move, but he then immediately jumped away from where he was standing . Almost at the same time, a few bolts of fire landed where he had just been standing, scattering flames in the around the spot . ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like he¡¯ll give us an easy time just because he can¡¯t move . ¡± The chief indeed couldn¡¯t move on his own . But not being able to move and not being able to fight were two different things, and especially if you could use magic, you could fight if you had consciousness . ¡°Looks like if we don¡¯t start trying, we¡¯ll be the ones who get killed . ¡± As Loren muttered and gripped his great sword more tightly, the giant chunk of meat shuddered, whether it was from being nervous of fighting, or from joy that new prey was in its sight, as it started scattering its stench around again . Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Ch . 94: Continuing Battle It became that they gave the fairy chief the first hand, but their retaliation was swift and strong . Lapis had stepped back to assess the situation, while Loren had stepped forward, pulling his great sword over his head, and slammed it down onto the giant hunk of meat . It guessed that from what it looked like, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard, but if it were reinforced by magic, that wouldn¡¯t be the case . So, Loren¡¯s first blow had almost all his strength behind it . ¡°Giii¡­¡± The sound coming from the chief didn¡¯t sound like a scream . But Loren¡¯s blow still sunk deep into him, raising a splash of blood . ¡°Looks like our attacks go through¡­but¡­¡± Loren immediately jumped back from the spot . It was because the part of the flesh that Loren cut into was picked up and slammed into where he was standing a moment ago . Along with a sound like hitting the floor with a wet rag, the wound that Loren inflicted opened wider and resulted in more flesh and blood scattering over the ground, but the chief showed no signs of flinching . ¡°His senses are deafened and his body¡¯s so big it doesn¡¯t seem like my attacks are doing anything . ¡± But he seemed to know that he was injured, as he started crawling across the ground away from Loren . ¡°He isn¡¯t running away, right?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s that over there . ¡± Lapis pointed to a mountain near the chief¡¯s body which was almost as large as it . Loren hadn¡¯t noticed it since the chief¡¯s giant body had all his attention, but when he took a closer look he saw that the mountain consisted of the bodies animals living in the forest, as well as the bodies of elves, and it seemed that this was contributing to the stench along with the chief . ¡°I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this . ¡± ¡°Feeling? He¡¯s definitely going to do it . ¡± Lapis had a disgusted look on her face as well, but the chief didn¡¯t take notice of them and continued crawling to the mountain, slammed his body onto it, and from where he stuck to it, Loren and Lapis could hear him chew on things that were soft, hard, and wet . ¡°He¡¯s eating, right?¡± ¡°Definitely . ¡± Eating to recover injuries . It was an understandable thing to do . But it wasn¡¯t something to do in front of enemies, so Loren looked at the chief disgustedly . ¡°I understand why you¡¯re looking at him like that but¡­his wound is healing . ¡± Lapis chided at him . The wound that Loren had inflicted was closing in an unbelievable speed, and eventually became larger than before . ¡°Would this guy not die as long as he¡¯s eating?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure . Well, it¡¯s not like he has an infinite amount of food . ¡± Thinking that they would have to steadily shred through until the food ran out, Loren continued attacking the chief . The blade of the great sword cut into his flesh and created new wounds, but while he was eating, the wounds closed, and the part became even larger than before . Thinking that just cutting wouldn¡¯t work, he switched to swiping the blade sideways after landing a blow . This not only widened the wounds, but tore off chunks of flesh, which splattered onto the ground . Loren thought that this would do more damage than just cutting, but when the chunks of flesh hit the ground, something unexpected happened . The flesh split up into small pieces and suddenly became fairies that attacked Loren . Since he didn¡¯t expect fairies to come out from the flesh he had cut off, Loren couldn¡¯t respond to their attacks fast enough . He let his left hand go of the great sword and raised it in front of his face to at least protect his neck and eyes . The newborn fairies lunged onto his arm . ¡®Energy drain!¡¯ Right when the fairies¡¯ teeth were about to tear through Loren¡¯s teeth . Shayna unleashed her power as a no life king . The fairies¡¯ life energies were stolen in an instant, causing them to drop to the ground . Loren back away from the spot and thanked Shayna . ¡°Turning into fairies if you cut part off . That¡¯s annoying . ¡± ¡°Swirl before my eyes, rage about, o crimson flames <>¡± As Loren cursed, Lapis used the spell she had been preparing . Flames erupted from the ground, engulfing the chief¡¯s body, and Loren put his hand in front of his face to protect it from the heat . On the other side of his hand, Lapis¡¯ magic burned the chief, but Lapis muttered with a grim expression before it even ended . ¡°There¡¯s too much moisture¡­it¡¯s not going to burn completely . ¡± As Lapis had said, the chief¡¯s large body was still there after the flames died . The surface was burned and a part of it had crumbled into ashes, but from under it, new flesh bubbled up and soon the surface became slimy again . ¡°What do we do? Dice him up and crush the pieces?¡± ¡°Can Shayna do something with her energy drain?¡± Lapis asked him . It seemed possible that a no life king class energy drain could do something about the now even larger fairy chief by draining his life energy without wounding him any further . ¡®I¡¯d rather not, if possible . ¡¯ But Shayna disagreed with the suggestion, not wanting to use her energy drain at all . ¡®I¡¯ll keep using it to keep the fairies off like I did before¡­but I¡¯m sorry Onii-san . I don¡¯t want to energy drain the main body . ¡¯ Shayna told Loren in a weak thought . As he blocked some bolts of fire that the chief shot while eating with the flat of his great sword, he asked Shayna why . ¡®I found out when I sucked all the fairies just before, but¡­the life energy of this chief isn¡¯t good at all . He tastes bad, actually . ¡¯ As the voice that only he could hear told him so, Loren wondered how to respond . It was the first time he had heard that life energy had taste, and to a living being like Loren, he couldn¡¯t imagine what bad tasting life energy tasted like . ¡®This is a first for me as well, so how would I explain this¡­Umm, I can try my best to explain how it tastes . ¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­¡± No matter how good the explanation was, it would just tell him how bad it tasted, and nothing more . But Loren was surprised that the fairy chief had life energy that tasted so bad that Shayna, who had become a no life king, would refuse to consume it . ¡°How is it Loren?¡± Lapis couldn¡¯t hear their conversation . The only way she could communicate with Shayna was having Loren tell her the conclusion of his conversation with her . ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point . This guy tastes really bad . ¡± ¡°Ahh¡­Then I guess we can¡¯t make her do it . ¡± Confused that Lapis gave up on Shayna¡¯s energy drain so easily, Loren asked her . ¡°That convinced you?¡± ¡°Yes . ¡± The chief, who was still eating, continued to shoot bursts of fire at them, as if they were a nuisance . Lapis quickly made a hand sign in front of her chest and said in a quiet voice . ¡°God of Knowledge, protect us from the power of magic < >¡± A dimly shining, transparent membrane enveloped them, and as the bolts of flame met it, they disappeared along with a sound like water dousing fire . Watching the chief shake in frustration that his attacks weren¡¯t going through, Lapis used another divine art in quick succession . ¡°Invisible fist of god, smite my enemies <>¡± The shard of divine power that Lapis drew out . The giant ball of pure energy that seemed to reflect the degree of her faith, slammed into the chief¡¯s body . It sunk deeply into him and sprayed blood all over, as if a god had come down and dealt the blow, but Lapis, who had initiated the attack, snorted in dissatisfaction . ¡°It wasn¡¯t enough to crush him completely¡­I need to train more . ¡± ¡°Is that divine art supposed to be something like that?¡± Loren thought that it would take an enormous amount of power to crush a giant body like the one in front of him . The chanting seemed too short, considered that it was something to control such a power . ¡°Of course not . This one usually only has the power of a buff young man punching with all his might . ¡°There¡¯s no way you could crush the chief with something like that, you know?¡± ¡°I mean, my devout faith is the source, so . ¡± Wondering if she was in a position to say that, Loren continued to deal blow after blow to the chief . Each blow inflicted wound after wound, but seeing them every one of them heal, he couldn¡¯t help but think that his attempts were futile . ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any priests that have such a deep faith to the Knowledge god as I do . What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­Well, I guess that¡¯s kind of convincing . ¡± If he could keep in mind the fact that she just had a different nature than other priests of the Knowledge god, he could see that she could indeed be a devout follower . ¡°But if slicing or hitting doesn¡¯t work, what to we do about him?¡± ¡°Well, if we go by the book, burning him would be the best, but¡­¡± Lapis¡¯ words became a murmur as she looked around . As he wondered what she was doing, Loren swatted away another piece of the chief that was thrown at them away with his great sword . ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to burn him if this were outside . ¡± ¡°Yeah¡­this isn¡¯t the best place . ¡± Although the place wasn¡¯t completely sealed, they weren¡¯t in a place that had good ventilation . It was obvious that if they burned such a large hunk of meat, the heat and stagnation of the atmosphere would be a problem . ¡°Then how¡­huh?¡± Loren stopped what he was saying . When Lapis followed Loren¡¯s gaze, wondering what happened, she saw that the mountain of food had almost depleted . It was kind of impressive that he had managed to keep eating while dealing with them, but when it was gone completely there would only be one thing that he would turn his attention to . ¡°I don¡¯t even need to guess that he¡¯s going to try to eat us . ¡± ¡°I really wish this is a dream . ¡± Until then, to the chief, he had been being injured by something, and healing them made him hungry, so he ate . But now that the food was almost gone, it was obvious that since he would still be hungry from healing, he would think about eating whatever caught his eyes . It meant that his attacks would get stronger, and to Loren and Lapis, who couldn¡¯t find a breakthrough, it wasn¡¯t a welcome turn of events . ¡°So, for real, what should we do?¡± Sensing that the attention of the blob of meat, which they didn¡¯t even know where the head was, was slowly turning towards them, Lapis said in an actual troubled voice as she looked up at the chief crawling towards them . Chapter 95 Chapter 95: 95 Ch . 95: Excavating after Continuing ¡°Don¡¯t just stare at it!¡± As Lapis started up at the chunk of flesh coming towards her, Loren put his arm around her waist and dove sideways . A moment later, the part of the chief¡¯s body that had been thrown at them landed where Lapis had been standing, splattering blood everywhere . And when Loren swung his great sword with his left hand, more of the chief¡¯s body was dug out, and when the piece fell to the floor, it turned into a large number of fairies that started attacking Loren and Lapis . ¡®Energy drain¡­Ugh, I really don¡¯t like this¡­¡¯ When Shayna activated her energy drain, even as she complained, it killed the fairies quickly and they fell to the ground, but when they did, the chief¡¯s body covered them and immediately consumed them . ¡°He finally started eating himself . ¡± ¡°This is getting more pointless by the second . ¡± Lapis muttered like it wasn¡¯t their problem as she was still being carried under Loren¡¯s arm, but Loren didn¡¯t have the time to respond . He was too busy slashing away the fleshy arms that were being slammed down at them with the great sword that he was holding with just his left hand . On top of that, if he cut off a part, it would change into fairies and attack them like the rounds of a shot gun, so the situation was out of his control . ¡®I know I can¡¯t throw up, but I still feel like I¡¯m going to throw up¡­¡¯ Since Shayna didn¡¯t have a physical body, she couldn¡¯t throw up even if she felt like it . She could cough out all the chief¡¯s life energy she had sucked up, but even if she did, it wouldn¡¯t get rid of her discomfort . ¡°We won¡¯t get anywhere if we don¡¯t think of something!¡± The chief, who was attacking over and over as if he didn¡¯t feel the pain of his body being ripped away, was quite considerable, but Loren¡¯s skill with the great sword, parrying and cutting away at them with the heavy weapon using one arm, was incredible as well . The sound of flesh hitting steel rang continuously, and in the midst of pieces of flesh and blood flying everywhere, Lapis sighed as red stains started appearing on her clothes . ¡°I¡¯m going to have to buy a new pair of these clothes when I get back¡­¡± ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to be saying something like that!¡± ¡°Priest¡¯s clothes are expensive you know? The fabric is quite good as well . ¡± ¡°Worry about your life rather than your clothes!¡± Loren wanted to back off for a moment, put Lapis down, and use his great sword with both hands, but the chief¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop, so he couldn¡¯t retreat even if he wanted to . He had considered letting go of Lapis, but if he let her go while the chief¡¯s attacks were still continuing, the he would start targeting her as well, and with the overwhelming mass he possessed, Loren didn¡¯t think that her delicate body would be able to take the blows . Of course, since she was a demon, there was a chance that she could take them like they were nothing, but Loren wasn¡¯t going to take any chances . He didn¡¯t want to when it was a situation where one mistake could mean death . ¡°Do you mind slowing down a bit!?¡± The sensation of something clicking into place in his mind . If it came, Loren would start showing greater strength, but once it did, it would put him on a timer . He just had to defeat the chief before that limit, but if he couldn¡¯t, he would just be lying on the ground, waiting to be eaten . ¡°Loren, could you do as I say?¡± Lapis said, looking up at him from under his arm . When Loren turned his eyes toward her, still partying the chief¡¯s attacks, Lapis twisted her body into a strained position and put her hand on his chest . ¡°I¡¯m going to do something reckless . But if you remember this sensation, your fighting capabilities will rise exponentially . ¡± ¡°What are you trying to do!? Don¡¯t alter me or anything, alright?¡± ¡°Of course not . There¡¯s no way I could without a facility or equipment . ¡± Even as she complained about what Loren thought she was, her hand felt about his chest . As he felt ticklish at her movements, after a while he realized that Lapis¡¯ palm started getting warmer on his chest . With the warmth, which seemed too hot to be body heat, piercing through his skin and muscle and spreading throughout his body, and the sensation of something being pulled out of a deep place, Loren shook slightly, even as he continued fighting the chief . ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°I believe that Loren¡¯s berserk converts your life energy or health into strength . But that will exhaust you quickly and it¡¯s dangerous for your body as well . ¡± The grip of Loren¡¯s great sword creaked . It was the sound d of Loren gripping it with more strength than ever . At the same time, the next blow against the chief¡¯s attack was faster and stronger than any of those before . As if showing off that it was different than the ones before, the chief¡¯s body tore deeply, and the chief, who hadn¡¯t even flinched no matter how much he had been cut, started backing away from Loren, as if it was felt fear at the first sensation of pain . ¡°Oh . ¡± ¡°This is self enhancement that all demons can do . It¡¯s not as good as Gifts since you can only use it on yourself, though . ¡± With the chief flinching at Loren¡¯s attack, Lapis used the chance to slip out from under Loren¡¯s arm and jump backwards . She decided to do so because she knew Loren couldn¡¯t use his strength to it¡¯s fullest if she was there . ¡°If you remember the sensation of mana manipulation, you could use it at will . This time I forced it out, but don¡¯t forget the feeling of it . ¡± As he listened to Lapis¡¯ explanation, he stepped towards the chief, who was trying to get away from him, and brought his great sword in an upwards swing . Whether he had too much momentum or he miscalculated the distance, the tip of the sword dug into the ground, raising Sparks as it sunk into the chief¡¯s body, engraving a deep wound and causing the chief to scream . ¡°V-vooouuunnnddd!?¡± ¡°Shut up! Stop running so I could cut you to pieces!¡± He forced the upwards slash to a stop with brute strength, then brought it back down . The two deep wounds caused the part of the body to rip off, and when it hits the floor it turned into fairies, but Loren swung at them with the flat of the blade . After swatting them away like flies, Loren took another step forward and thrust his sword deep into the chief¡¯s body and twisted it . With blood splitting out of the wound, the chief wriggled around to try to dislodge the sword from his body, but Loren drove it further in . ¡°Hmm?¡± The tip of the sword that was pushed in deeply . Loren¡¯s brows furrowed at the weird feeling he felt from it . While feeling that the screaming was too loud, Loren twisted the sword left and right to check it . Every time he did, the screams got louder, and after a while, he pulled out the sword and almost let go of it in surprise as he saw a hand grabbing the middle part of the blade . ¡°What the hell!?¡± From its size, he could tell that it was a being that was around his or Lapis¡¯ size, not a fairy . Shuddering that it was grabbing onto the great sword¡¯s blade, Loren slowly started pulling it out of the body . Usually, the fingers wouldn¡¯t be unscathed, but for some reason, the blade didn¡¯t dig into the fingers that were grabbing it at all, and the arm started coming out slowly and slowly from the wound along with the blade . ¡°¡­Disgusting . ¡± ¡°Loren, what did you pull out of the chief¡¯s body?¡± A right arm that was protruding from the body of the chief, who had stopped attacking for some reason . Judging from the smooth skin and small amount of muscle, it looked like the arm of a woman, but the sight of it sticking out of the chief¡¯s body was abnormal in every way possible . ¡°What should we do with this?¡± ¡°Well¡­what else can we do other than pull it out?¡± At Lapis¡¯ reply, Loren looked at the chief . The flesh that made up his body was unmoving, making the attacks a moment ago seem like a lie . He wondered for a moment, looking at the female arm dangling from the flesh, but he eventually stuck the great sword into the ground, reluctantly grabbed the arm with both hands, and started pulling . Because the body wasn¡¯t that hard, with the owner of the arm trying to crawl out as well, the chief¡¯s body ripped open soon enough, revealing the head and shoulders of the arm¡¯s owner . Blonde hair close to white wet with blood and fat, and a set face . As soon as the head was pulled out completely from the body, it started coughing, throwing up something thick with blood mixed in it, and Loren quickly let go of its arm, grabbed his great sword, and ran back to where Lapis was watching . In the meantime, after continuing to throw up, making disgusting sounds, it stopped and wiped its mouth with its free hand, breathing hard, and then suddenly pulled itself out up to its waist . Of course, it was completely naked . And it was the body of a young woman . 14 Not even trying to cover her chest, the girl wiped her face with her arm for a while and sniffed her hands, then pulled the rest of her body out and set her bare feet onto the ground . ¡°Aww, this is bad . It stinks and it¡¯s slimy and I¡¯m covered in blood and it¡¯s ruining my looks . ¡± The girl, who was checking her naked body, eventually turned towards Loren and Lapis, who were looking on at her from a distance, and called out to them with a smile that contained no hostility at all . ¡°Thanks a lot, you two . I was worried when I was released by him . These guys don¡¯t seem to cook and eat everything raw, even if it¡¯s a bit rotten, so I thought I was going to die being fed all this garbage . ¡± When she looked at them with a smile, Loren raised his great sword without thinking . Her eyes looked exactly like a person¡¯s, but the pupils were purple . ¡°I¡¯m not going to do anything, so you don¡¯t have to be so tense . I¡¯m thankful for you, after all . If you didn¡¯t pull me out, I would¡¯ve been with this big guy forever . ¡± ¡°Can I ask your name?¡± Lapis asked the girl instead of Loren, who couldn¡¯t speak a word . After looking at Lapis like she was looking at something strange, the girl answered her question . 4 ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a pretty one, but whatever . I¡¯m Gura Gluttony . I used to be called the evil god of gluttony a long time ago, and some adventurer sealed me, but I¡¯ve been revived . Is that good for an answer?¡± Lapis nodded and asked another question . ¡°You don¡¯t have any intentions of getting sealed again, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Nope . I want to fix my mouth after being fed such horrible things . And I¡¯ve been sealed for long enough, right? It shouldn¡¯t be a problem if I go stretch my legs a bit . ¡± As the girl named Gura suggested to her, Lapis started at her for a while, but eventually lowered her gaze and told her . ¡°As you please . ¡± ¡°Alright . I guess I¡¯ll be going then . Oh yeah, hey mister, what¡¯s your name?¡± Loren, who hadn¡¯t been expecting her to call out to him, answered honestly out of surprise . ¡°It¡¯s Loren . ¡± ¡°I see, you¡¯re called Loren . Alright Loren . I¡¯m really thankful for what you did for me today . I¡¯ll pay you back somehow . Bye . ¡± Before Loren could say anything, Gura waved at them with a smile still on her face and kicked off the ground, like she was diving underwater, and disappeared under the ground headfirst . The body of the chief that was left behind started rotting away, as if many days had passed, and the rotten flesh that was turning into liquid started trickling onto the ground . ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . It seems that because the chief released the evil god, and they¡¯ve been combined together until now, and since the evil god isn¡¯t there anymore, he died . ¡± As Lapis had said, the chief had become a giant blob of dead flesh . Realizing that if they didn¡¯t flee from the spot, they would see and start smelling something they wouldn¡¯t want to, they decided to leave the thinking for later and hurry back the way they came . Previous Next ©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©`©` Hey guys Kaoto here . So in the original, Gura talks in Kansai dialect, if I¡¯m not mistaken . I wasn¡¯t sure what kind of dialogue I should use in English, and I¡¯m not really good at separating ways of talking either, so I thought I¡¯ll just do it normally and make a note at the end . We¡¯re almost done with volume/arc four, with the next chapter being the last one . This one went by pretty quickly . Since I haven¡¯t touched Hero of Black for a while, even thought I said I would, I¡¯ll try to do something like work on this series one day, and the other on the next, and so on . Hopefully I don¡¯t forget and it works smoothly . Hope you enjoy and I¡¯ll see you guys in the next chapter! Chapter 96 Chapter 96: 96 Ch . 96: Returning Without Incident It was a few days after Loren and Lapis had ran back to where Corne was, that the chief¡¯s death had been confirmed . From what Loren and Lapis told her, she could see that the chief had died, and although they understood why Corne wanted to make sure the chief was completely dead, wanting them to wait until the investigation was done was unexpected . ¡°We could think of it as saving money for food and rooms . ¡± Loren¡¯s job used to require him to go from battlefield to battlefield, so he wasn¡¯t concerned about not being able to go back to the city . Lapis had complained slightly, but after Loren had agreed to Corne¡¯s wishes, she went with his decision . But it was a village of fairies that were way smaller than them . There was no where for Loren and Lapis to stay in, so they had to pitch tents and sleep in sleeping bags during the few days . ¡°It¡¯s basically camping, and even the food¡­¡± As the evil good of gluttony named Gura had said, fairies were accustomed to eating their food without cooking them . So what the fairies gave them were thing like grass and fruit . Loren and Lapis were stunned by this, so they got permission to use fire in a corner, and ate the rations they had brought, as well as fish they caught in the waterway that connected to the village and managed to survive the past few days . The confirmation of the chief¡¯s death took so long because of the state the body was in . Since the body started rotting away as soon as the evil god left it, the fairies couldn¡¯t tell if it was the chief or some other being, and on top of that, the smell was so bad that they couldn¡¯t get close . They brought a mountain of flowers and herbs to mask the smell as best as they could and burned the body bit by bit to gather evidence, and eventually they concluded that it was indeed the chief . ¡°Thank you so much . You really saved us here . ¡± It seemed that Corne had become the new chief . For Feuille, since it was most likely that his village had been wiped out, Corne had contacted another village to take him in . Feuille had lost not only his family, but his whole village as well, but he had a long life ahead of him, and Loren could only pray that a day will come when the wounds in his heart will heal completely . ¡°So, about the rewards for the job . ¡± Corne had led them to a building that looked like a storage in the corner if the village . When they got there, other fairies were taking things out of there . They were doing so since Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t get inside, but they still had to pick, and the pile was growing bigger and bigger . ¡°As promised, you can take one thing you like . ¡± Hearing those words, Lapis immediately started sifting through the items . Loren didn¡¯t even move to touch them, but instead just stood back and watch Lapis go through the items in the pile one by one . In the first place, even if there were two jewels, Loren couldn¡¯t tell which one would be worth more . So he decided that leaving it to Lapis, who was knowledgeable about these things, would be the most efficient, but after a while Lapis¡¯ hands stopped . ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± When Loren called out to her, she turned towards him like rusted hinges on a door . Wondering what made her move like that, Loren walked up and looked over her shoulder, peered into her hands, and frowned when he saw what was in there . ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± What Loren saw was a transparent gem that didn¡¯t seem valuable at all . It was quite large, but it wasn¡¯t cut well, and didn¡¯t seem like something Lapis would be surprised at, but he tilted his head, feeling that he¡¯d something like it before somewhere . ¡°Loren, this¡­¡± At Lapis¡¯ seemingly puzzled voice, as if she wasn¡¯t sure what she should do, Loren realized what it was, and his eyes widened in surprise . ¡°It¡¯s that¡­right?¡± Lore recalled when they went to the adventurer training school in their previous job . What was in her hands right now was the same as the thing she had found and taken from the bottom floor of the dungeon . ¡°Which one is it?¡± ¡°My right arm¡­I think . ¡± It was one of the parts of Lapis out of her arms, legs, and eyes, that her parents had taken from her and hidden in various places before she came to the human world . Currently, Lapis had found her left arm at the adventurer training school and returned it to normal, but it seemed that the fairies had found another one from somewhere and stored it . ¡°I think they found it in the forest somewhere and brought it¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s convenient, I guess . ¡± Loren thought it was fortunate she found what she was looking for, but Lapis didn¡¯t try to ask for it, and just had a troubled look on her face . ¡°What¡¯s wrong? We¡¯re going with that, right?¡± He didn¡¯t know what kind of valuables were there, but a part of Lapis¡¯ body was irreplaceable, so Loren couldn¡¯t think of any other option . He thought they should just receive it and go, but Lapis seemed to have a different opinion . ¡°I¡¯ll give up on this for now . ¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t sell this for money . Loren will be getting nothing . ¡± Lapis said that and tried to return the gem to the pile . Loren reached from next to her and grabbed it, and before Lapis could do anything, he showed it to Corne . ¡°Corne, give us this as our reward . ¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± ¡°Loren!? What are you doing!?¡± Loren shoved the gem they received into Lapis¡¯ hand as she tried to argue, and then said to her . ¡°If you¡¯re that worried about it, let¡¯s say that you gave me my share and reduce my debt . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­but that¡¯s¡­¡± Even if Loren¡¯s debt was reduced, it didn¡¯t give him any sort of liquid income . Although there were advantages for both, with Loren getting his debt reduced, and Lapis getting a part of her body back, they were still at zero when it came to money . ¡°We have the invoice for the extermination rewards we got before we came here right? That should be enough . ¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Loren cocked his head at Lapis¡¯ apologetic attitude . As Loren wondered what had happened, the conversation started going in a bad direction . ¡°The invoice was with our other stuff¡­¡± ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Before we came here, we jumped in the water, right?¡± Loren picked up where the conversation was going . Although they had to in order to escape the fairies, they had been under the water long enough as well as deep enough for everything including their clothes and things to get wet . He didn¡¯t need a further explanation to guess what had happened . ¡°It got wet, huh¡­¡± ¡°Yes, very . I tried drying it, but the ink is all blotched and can¡¯t be read . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­unfortunate . ¡± At that time, Loren couldn¡¯t think of anything else they could¡¯ve done . It was a disappointing result, but it wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault, so Loren gave up on it easily . ¡°Well, I get my debt reduced, and you get your body back . This is fine, isn¡¯t it? Even if you give up on it this time, you would have to come back to get it another time, right? Just take it . It¡¯s better than coming again . ¡± When Loren put patted Lapis on the head, signaling that the conversation was over, she still had a troubled look on her face, but she eventually smiled at him and hugged the gem he had handed her . ¡°I¡¯ll put a spell that will keep you from getting wet on the way back . ¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks¡­wait . Is that waterway the only way in and out of here?¡± ¡°The other way is blocked by the former chief¡¯s body . ¡± Loren sighed again . If he were to choose between jumping in the water or trying to get the rotting flesh out of the way, jumping in the water was easier, and Corne said she would cast a spell so they wouldn¡¯t get wet, so the decision was simple . ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll be on our way now . ¡± ¡°Loren, Lapis . We¡¯re really thankful for what you¡¯ve done . If you didn¡¯t do something about the chief, we would¡¯ve been put under his weird spell and would¡¯ve attacked someone . ¡± As they gathered their things and were getting ready to leave, Corne fluttered around them, thanking them as well as casting a few spells . ¡°We won¡¯t forget your kindness . ¡± ¡°We took the job and got our rewards, so it¡¯s not like you owe us anything . ¡± ¡°Even so . You could¡¯ve just ignored everything and left the forest . Corne is very thankful . I don¡¯t want you to forget that . ¡± ¡°Got it . Until fate wills us to meet again . ¡± Saying goodbye to Corne, who looked unwilling to part, Loren and Lapis dove into the waterway that took them to the village . Although he could feel the coldness of the water on his skin, since Corne had put a spell that kept him from getting wet, he didn¡¯t have to worry about being uncomfortable in wet, cold clothes . ¡°Why can¡¯t it be like this every time¡­¡± This time they didn¡¯t accept a job, so they didn¡¯t fail . The invoice for the extermination rewards was impossible to read so nothing much was expected from it, but all they lost was the money they used to come to the Black Forest including the equipment and food they bought, but it shouldn¡¯t have been that much . But they had been able to retrieve a part of Lapis, and Loren¡¯s debt had somewhat decreased . And in recent times, Loren would usually end up in the hospital at the end of a job, but this time he was perfectly conscious and wasn¡¯t injured that much either . ¡°Maybe you feel that it wasn¡¯t enough¡­¡± ¡°No . ¡± ¡°Damn it, next time for sure¡­¡± ¡°Who the hell are you!?¡± ¡°So, you say, but actually?¡± ¡°No, so keep swimming!¡± Corne¡¯s spells allowed them to speak underwater as well, and Lapis started teasing Loren . Jabbing at her lightly, making her swim in front, he thought that an ending like this time, where he wasn¡¯t that injured, was conscious, and wasn¡¯t in the red too much, wouldn¡¯t come by too often, and started swimming slowly after her . Chapter 97 Chapter 97: 97 Ch . 97: Recommended after Beginning There was a rumor going on that many things had been destroyed . The Kingdom of Varganburg, which was in the southwest part of the continent, was in the state of confusion . Many villages and a few cities had been destroyed in the span of a short time, and two beings known as evil gods had been revived, after all . The high officials of the nations, who had received the information from the adventurer¡¯s guild, started requesting jobs to experienced adventurers, suddenly preparing armaments, so regardless of the military department or the office workers, almost all the officials were in an uproar . So, it seemed, but to an ordinary adventurer like Loren, it didn¡¯t concern him much, and he was spending a relaxing time, as usual . Lapis had sent a report to the adventurer¡¯s guild about what had happened during the monster extermination trip they had gone on as a change of pace from failing jobs . Loren had left it all to Lapis, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about it at all . Although it seemed to have given Lapis a lot more work to do, as the priestess of the Knowledge god was muttering complaint after complaint . But Loren ignored them, as if he had no compassion . Loren hadn¡¯t expected much for the extermination rewards . They had received an invoice at the city they arrived in during their trip, but with everything that happened afterwards, it got wet and was impossible to read . They had thought it would be hard for them to receive money with the ruined invoice, but the guild of Kauffa kindly contacted the guild in the city they received the invoice from and confirmed they would be able to pay a portion of it . It was only a portion of it since the invoice couldn¡¯t be read and some of it was taken off for the expenses needed for the guild to confirm the payment, but Loren and Lapis complied with the guild¡¯s request, thinking that it was better than nothing, and managed to receive some money . Loren¡¯s wallet was slightly heavier because of it . Although, the debt he owed Lapis was quite an amount, so he wasn¡¯t really in a good spot financially, but since he could pay off whenever he could, there was no rush to pay it back, so Loren¡¯s wallet was the fullest it had ever been since he had become an adventurer . ¡°Well, it¡¯ll take my mind off some things, at least . ¡± Sitting alone with a bottle and a glass in the guild¡¯s bar, Loren muttered along with a self-mocking laugh . For his debt to Lapis, it was reduced by quite a bit . It was due to Loren making a deal with her to do so as his share of the reward, while Lapis took what she was looking for . When they returned to Kauffa, Lapis had told him she would reduce his debt to ten gold coins . His debt had been reduced to under half of what it used to be, but Loren thought that seeing it as a lot or a little depended on the person . Loren didn¡¯t really care, to be honest . There was no interest or collateral, after all . No collecting and he could pay it off whenever and how much he wanted to . The conditions seemed like a joke . Despite being a former mercenary, and no matter how much common sense he lacked, Loren knew that lending money on those terms wasn¡¯t normal . He was beginning to think that the debt was to give him a reason to be with Lapis . If it wasn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t explain why Lapis happily looked for valuables from the destroyed villages and the bandit camp they had destroyed and tried to take them . If her aim was money, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she worked him like a horse and gave him the minimum amount of money he would need to eat and sleep, while taking everything else . Because she didn¡¯t do so, it led Loren to believe that her aim wasn¡¯t money . She often tried to plan to increase his debt, but that could be taking a precaution for Loren somehow getting his hands on enough money to pay it all off . But about the last thought, since there was no proof that she wasn¡¯t trying to fatten him up to eat him, in a sense, so he wasn¡¯t completely sure . ¡°Loren? Umm, Loren?¡± Loren, who was lost in thought, came back to his senses at a voice calling him . When he turned towards the voice, the one who was sitting in front of him, leaning forward, wasn¡¯t the priestess that he was partners with, but instead it was one of the guild¡¯s receptionist . Since he usually used the same window at the same time, he usually met the same receptionist, but the girl that was staring at him was the receptionist of the window he always used . ¡°Can you hear me Loren? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Sorry, I was lost in thought . Did you want something?¡± When Loren asked her, refilling his empty glass, the girl pulled out a plate of cheese out from somewhere, put it softly on the table, and held an empty glass in front of him . At her actions, Loren couldn¡¯t help but look at her face . The girl looked around the same age as Lapis . Her chestnut colored hair was tied up so it wouldn¡¯t bother her while working, but if she let it down it would be quite long . Her face was cute than pretty, but she was a receptionist at the guild, where lot of rough people were, so it was hard to think that her personality matched her looks . That could already be noticed when she asked Loren for a drink, but with the way she brought something as payment, she could even be considered faultless . ¡°I wanted to talk to you about something, so I thought I¡¯ll join you for a drink . ¡± It was just past noon . Of course, the guild was still up and running, and even if it was to talk to an adventurer, it didn¡¯t seem like the right time to be drinking . ¡°Is it alright? You¡¯re still working, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°The adventurer¡¯s guild front desk employees are allowed quite a bit of discretion when it comes to negotiating with adventurers, so it¡¯s fine . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t buy drinks for someone whose name I don¡¯t know . ¡± ¡°My name is Ivy Bridgeguard . ¡± Although Loren was surprised at her immediate reply, he started pouring the contents of his bottle into the empty glass that had been held in front of him the whole time . 5 ¡°So, what do you want to talk about?¡± If she needed some alcohol to talk smoothly, Loren wished she could hurry up and drink so they could start talking, but Ivy put some of the liquor in her mouth, threw a slice of cheese that she had brought in there as well, and just continued to make a blissful expression instead of talking . When Loren fretfully urged her to start talking, she finally started talking, as if she had just remembered why she came to him . ¡°Actually, I was wondering if you could take the rank-up exam . ¡± What she said was completely unexpected . It wasn¡¯t something to be proud of, but Loren¡¯s success rate as an adventurer was extremely low, so he had thought he wouldn¡¯t be qualified to rise in ranks at all . When he had asked other adventurers, they had told him that usually after two or three successful jobs and if you were believed to do well off on your own, you could immediately be promoted to iron rank . Of course, it was after successful jobs, and there was rarely someone like Loren, who failed job after job . ¡°It¡¯s true that your success rates are one of the lowest of the low¡­¡± Loren¡¯s feelings sunk as it as she said it in such a straight way . The thought that he wasn¡¯t meant to be an adventurer, and he should just go back to be a mercenary crossed his head, and it seemed that it was all over his face, as Ivy quickly followed up . ¡°But when considering the scale of the incident you were caught up in, it¡¯s not something that a copper rank adventurer could get through . It¡¯s actually impressing that you¡¯re still alive . ¡± ¡°That true, huh . ¡± ¡°Yes, definitely . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it were true, but there was no reason for a guild employee to be so supportive of a particular individual, and if Ivy, who had seen many adventurers until now, said so, it must have been true . Even if he was satisfied with that for now, he didn¡¯t understand the intentions of the guild, coming to him through one of their staff and recommend him to take the rank up exam . As Loren started to think something was suspicious, Ivy, who had been sipping her drink, started talking in an easing tone, as if it were small talk . ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed, but the nation Kauffa is part of isn¡¯t in a good state right now . ¡± It wasn¡¯t that Loren had done anything, but he and Lapis were the ones who leaked the information that made it so, and Loren, who started to feel awkward being there, slowly turned his eyes away . Ivy continued, not saying anything about it . ¡°Villages being destroyed is indeed sad, but it happened quite often . But if things like post towns and cities get destroyed, the nation needs to take action . ¡± ¡°Us down here want it to do something for villages as well, though . ¡± ¡°Yes, I agree with that . But I¡¯m sure you could understand that even the nation has a limit to what it could respond . ¡± Putting whether it felt good or not aside, Loren understood that there were things that could and couldn¡¯t be done . If it were an organization that did anything, it would be a different story, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard of anything like that existing in the world . ¡°And so, since the adventurer¡¯s guild tries to maintain public order, so in a sense we¡¯re trying to raise the standard by strongly recommending people to take the rank up exam . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Loren could understand everything up to that point . But if that was it, it was a very weak reason for Ivy to go to the trouble of coming to him . ¡°One more thing . ¡± Ivy continued, as if she knew that Loren would think that . ¡°If the ones who brought all this information every time were the lowest ranking copper rank adventurers, how would the people who received this information feel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think status has anything to do with the reliability of the information . ¡± When he replied honestly, Ivy gulped the rest of her drink with a difficult expression on her face . ¡°My work would be so much easier if everyone said that . ¡± ¡°¡­Must be hard . Here, drink up . ¡± ¡°Thank you . ¡± Feeling for her, Loren took the bottle and started pouring Ivy another glass . After gladly accepting it and taking another gulp, Ivy started talking in a tired voice . ¡°The people above don¡¯t think so . They say they can¡¯t count on information from copper rank adventurers . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t understand why . ¡± Even in mercenary groups, information from veterans were more important than those from new recruits . Even if it wasn¡¯t thrown in the dirt, it was easy to think that there were mistakes or misunderstandings . ¡°So, my superiors told me they want you make sure you take the exam to do something about it . ¡± ¡°And you had to go through the trouble of coming to me, huh . Thanks for your hard work . ¡± ¡°And I had to find an opening when you weren¡¯t with Lapis on top of that . She looks like she¡¯d react sensitively to things like this, after all . ¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re saying I¡¯m easier to deal with?¡± ¡°It means that you seem like you would accept it honestly if I talk to you about it honestly . ¡± If he was being considered easy prey, he was about to change that, but what Ivy said didn¡¯t make him feel that bad, so Loren raised his glass to his lips to hide his annoyed face . ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing, you know . Of course, the exam will be the same as the regular ones, and just between us, I¡¯ll waiver the exam fee, so could you please take it?¡± If Lapis were here, she wouldn¡¯t have accepted so easily, thinking that there was something else behind Ivy¡¯s reasonings . But Loren thought that since the girl was sent to meet him to give him that explanation during her work time, the chances of that were quite low . And Loren himself knew very well that conspiring with copper rank adventurers didn¡¯t mean anything . ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I need to ask my partner¡­Well, I¡¯ll try to convince her . Is that enough?¡± Although Loren told her he couldn¡¯t promise her, Ivy let out a relieved smile, as if that was enough . Chapter 98 Chapter 98: 98 Ch . 98: Concluding after Reporting ¡°So, did you tell the guild girl that you¡¯ll take the exam?¡± It was currently night time . As Loren told Lapis what happened during the day while they were having dinner at the bar in the guild, Lapis asked him that question . As she sat across from him, with a plate of sausages and a glass in front of her but not touching either of them as she listened to Loren¡¯s story, Loren put down his glass and slowly shook his head . ¡°I told her that I¡¯ll talk about it with my partner first . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s good . I¡¯d say you handled it pretty well . ¡± Even though Lapis praised him, Loren wasn¡¯t sure what he did well . All he had done was postpone his answer until after he had asked for Lapis¡¯ opinion, but Lapis continued as she poked the sausage in front of her with her fork . ¡°In these cases, if you don¡¯t have the materials that are worth basing your decision on, it¡¯s best to avoid answering immediately . If that isn¡¯t possible, make sure your replies can be interpreted in different ways, while not saying anything that could be used against you, and try to buy time to ask for someone else¡¯s opinion . ¡± ¡°You just want to make things complicated, don¡¯t you?¡± If he were to do that every time something similar happened, the conversation would go nowhere and only time would be wasted . As he glared at Lapis while thinking that, she stuck her fork in one of the sausages, and averted her eyes in the most natural way as she brought it up to her mouth . Seeing Lapis take a bite out of it, letting out a good snapping sound as she did so, Loren slightly regretted not giving a definitive answer earlier, and started pouring himself another glass . ¡°Anyways . ¡± Seeing that Loren¡¯s focus turned from her to the bottle of alcohol, Lapis continued the conversation . Although he wanted to question her further, he had a feeling it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere, so he decided to listen to what Lapis had to say . ¡°So, the adventurer¡¯s guild wants us to take the rank-up exam, am I right?¡± Loren nodded slightly . After seeing him do so, she made an unexpected suggestion in a confident manner . ¡°Then how about we tell them that we¡¯ll do it if it¡¯s the rank-up exam for silver?¡± ¡°Jumping past iron? Does that mean anything?¡± ¡°Not really . But if the guild wants us to rank up so badly, I thought maybe we could take advantage of that and try to push some demands that usually wouldn¡¯t go through on them . ¡± As he thought he could understand why Ivy had made sure that Lapis wasn¡¯t with him when she came to talk to him, Loren asked her another thing . ¡°You think it would go through?¡± ¡°Most likely not . ¡± Although she was the one who proposed the idea, she easily denied it . As Loren sighed, not sure what she wanted to do, Lapis swung her fork as if it were a baton and continued . ¡°If they refuse, we just act like it can¡¯t be helped, and then ask them to waiver the rank-up exam for iron this time . ¡± As she said they should make new demands without giving up, Loren looked at Lapis with a frown, not sure if he should be exasperated or impressed . ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°If that¡¯s not possible either, we ask them to waiver a portion of it . Since they are the ones who want us to take it, trying to take as many freebies we can is the smart way to do it . ¡± Lapis way of thinking was pushing demand after demand, anticipating that the other party would give in somewhere . She didn¡¯t seem satisfied with just the fee being waivered, but Loren thought maybe she was being a bit too greedy . ¡°What about when you can¡¯t come to a compromise?¡± The guild should have a firm line that it couldn¡¯t cross, so if they couldn¡¯t come to an agreement, the whole thing might be cancelled . If that happened, they would be losing the perk of not paying the exam fee, but Lapis responded coolly . ¡°Then we decline taking the exam itself . ¡± ¡°But then¡­¡± ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s an advantage for us to become iron rank right now in the first place . ¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± If they became iron rank, the amount of rewards they receive would increase . Loren thought that was a good enough reason, but on top of that, there were more information you could access, fellow adventurers would look at you differently, and you would be raising your status slightly . The cons would be the jobs getting more difficult, and the responsibility coming with it increasing as well, but Loren thought it was a trivial matter compared to the pros . That was why he couldn¡¯t understand why Lapis said there were no advantages . ¡°Well, we¡¯re supposed to be copper rank adventurers, so we¡¯ve been taking jobs for copper ranks¡­but I think that for some reason, we¡¯ve been doing things that are well out of a copper rank adventurer¡¯s capability every single time . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­I guess?¡± It wasn¡¯t like they wanted it to happen or they made it happen, but ever since Loren became an adventurer, most of the jobs he took were things that would never be given to copper ranks . ¡°What do you think would happen if we became iron rank adventurers?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that¡­?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel that we¡¯ll get caught in something that iron ranks wouldn¡¯t ever be doing . ¡± There weren¡¯t many people who would willingly walk towards trouble . If the job were to end somewhere far from trouble, Loren was fine with that, and had no intentions of sticking his head into it . But judging from his experiences up to that point, it resulted in troubles coming towards him, even though he didn¡¯t want anything to do with it . ¡°You might have a point there . ¡± ¡°Right? We¡¯ve been doing jobs that make people wonder how we¡¯re still alive . As a result, Loren¡¯s success rate should be one of the lowest in the whole guild in Kauffa . ¡± ¡°Wait, if I¡¯m one of the lowest, shouldn¡¯t you be as well?¡± Loren stopped her as she said something that he couldn¡¯t just let past . Since they were a party together, Loren and Lapis should have been doing the same jobs, so Loren thought it was weird that only his success rate would be considered the lowest, but after thinking for a moment, Lapis said something very heartless . ¡°I¡¯ve actually done a few jobs successfully on my own, so my success rate is higher than Loren¡¯s . ¡± Although the two of them were a party, they weren¡¯t with each other around the clock . Of course, Loren had his and Lapis had her private time as well as things to do on their own, and Lapis had been using that time to do simple jobs such as collecting herbs and materials . And so her success rate was the number of times she had succeeded higher than Loren¡¯s . ¡°When did you¡­¡± ¡°This is all for Loren, you know . Don¡¯t make such a scary face . ¡± Lapis said to him, not afraid at all by his glare . Loren didn¡¯t understand the logic behind her doing all those jobs behind his back and telling him it was all for him . ¡°If both Loren and I have the lowest success rate in Kauffa¡¯s guild, it would sound bad, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you meant . ¡± If both of them were failing, they would be at the bottom as a party as well . Loren realized that Lapis doing some easy jobs on her own would make their success rate slightly better, so he interrupted her explanation . Although he wished that if she were going to do so, she could have invited him to go along, but whenever the two of them went on a simple job, there was a chance something that made it far from simple could happen, so when putting that into consideration, Lapis going on her own might have been the optimal thing to do . ¡°Am I the jinxed one¡­?¡± It seemed that Lapis¡¯ jobs stayed easy when she was solo . Which meant that the one who was pulling unnecessary factors around was someone other than her, which naturally meant that it would be him . ¡°It could be that the condition is only when we¡¯re together, so don¡¯t worry about it . ¡± As Loren started falling into a loop of negative thoughts, Lapis followed up . In fact, the prominent reason for Lapis was that it would be troublesome if they were denied from jobs because of a low success rate . But she had no intention of upsetting Loren, so her follow up was a very quick one . ¡°Anyways, going back to the rank-up exam . What do you want to do?¡± ¡°As much as I would like to add and take off conditions and have fun negotiating with the guild, but if you don¡¯t think well of it, how about just taking it?¡± Loren thought that the guild staff was wary of her because she said and thought those kinds of things, but instead of saying so, he asked her something else . ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it if you do . ¡± She seemed to leave the final decision to Loren . After thinking for a moment, Loren told her his thoughts . ¡°I think trying it would be okay since it¡¯s free . ¡± If they passed, they would receive the qualifications to be iron rank adventurers for free . Even if they didn¡¯t it wouldn¡¯t hurt their finances and wouldn¡¯t bring any problems either . So, Loren concluded that it was worth taking a shot at . ¡°Then let¡¯s go with that . ¡± Since Loren made up his mind, Lapis had no intention of arguing, and since they were in consensus, they would be going along with the guild¡¯s recommendations and taking the rank up exam . Chapter 99 Chapter 99: 99 Ch . 99: Auction at Exam Site ¡°Thank you so much . I was worried that you would keep complaining and eventually say that you wouldn¡¯t do it . ¡± Ivy, a receptionist girl at the guild, said with a smile on her face . After talking with Lapis and deciding to take the exam the night before, when he told Ivy that, she let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly . Wanting to strike the iron while it was hot, Ivy took Loren and Lapis to a training ground near the guild where the exam was to take place . ¡°I¡¯m also thankful that you responded so quickly . I thought it would take a bit more time . ¡± What Ivy was worried about were things that would¡¯ve happened if Loren let Lapis do all the negotiating . In that point, Ivy¡¯s decision to approach Loren when he was alone was the best one, and Loren was impressed, thinking that she was indeed someone who had dealt with many kinds of adventurers through her job, but he guessed that it wouldn¡¯t make her happy even if he told her that . It would mean that her prediction that things could¡¯ve been a lot messier was correct, after all . ¡°What would the exam be like?¡± Lapis asked Ivy casually, not mentioning that she was thinking about doing everything Ivy was worried about . Loren was about to wonder why a priestess of the Knowledge god like Lapis didn¡¯t know that, but he immediately stopped himself, realizing that his image of priests of the Knowledge god was being poisoned by her . There was no way a priest of the Knowledge god would know everything, and Lapis was just abnormal, so he knew that this natural expectation wasn¡¯t a good thing . ¡°Let¡¯s see . There¡¯s no written exam . If there was, most people wouldn¡¯t be able to leave copper rank . ¡± Unable to write . Or read, or in some cases, there were adventurers who couldn¡¯t do either, and that was a lot of people . If there was a written exam for such adventurers, even getting to iron rank would be a difficult challenge . For the higher ranks, there were written exams, but that was because to become a high ranking adventurer, you would need knowledge and intelligence as well as skill . ¡°So the exam is practical . You would be doing a practice match with a proctor that the guild provides . ¡± ¡°Would Lapis be doing the same?¡± To Ivy, it sounded like Loren was worried that priests, who weren¡¯t really meant for combat, would have to take the same type of exam . But in fact, Loren was worried about the proctor who would be going against Lapis, since she was a demon and was easily more powerful than he was . If Lapis went overboard and twisted off parts of her opponent, it would be apparent that she was skilled enough, but the proctor would be in a pitiful state . ¡°It¡¯s waived for priests and magicians . Instead, we have them show us a spell . ¡± The guild¡¯s training ground was a large one-story building near it . Inside was bare ground, and adventurers could go there to practice combat and magic . Almost anyone could use it if they were a part of the guild, so it was used to train new adventurers or practice moving with new members, as well as experienced adventurers training novices . Hot blooded adventurers didn¡¯t use the facility much, so it was mostly used for rank-up exams . ¡°That¡¯s going to be easy, but what about Loren¡¯s opponent?¡± Lapis looked slightly disappointed . A short time before during their last two jobs, Lapis had regained both her arms out of her limbs and eyes that her parents had taken from her and replaced with prosthetics . After that, she didn¡¯t have a chance to test them out in combat, so she had been hoping to do so, but Loren was relieved that the opportunity didn¡¯t present itself . ¡°Of course, we have information that Loren is a skilled swordsman, so we¡¯ve prepared someone good . ¡± In a comical fashion, Ivy pointed to a person waiting in the training ground . The man with a slime yet trained figure and red hair, opened his eyes wide in surprise when he saw Loren, and started looking between him and Ivy repeatedly . ¡°It¡¯s new ace among the iron rank adventurers, Klaus!¡± ¡°Wait a second! My opponent for the mock battle is Loren!?¡± As Klaus started panicking, a wondering face appeared on Ivy¡¯s face . As Loren guessed that she had somehow tricked Klaus into becoming a proctor without explaining everything, the conversation between the two proved that he was right . ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me about this! I would¡¯ve declined if I knew he was my opponent!¡± ¡°But I promised you that I¡¯ll spend a night with you if you agreed to become a proctor and beat your opponent, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you said!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who said that a copper rank adventurer was no match for you so I should wait with the key to my room, right?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± As Klaus was at a loss for words, Loren and Lapis¡¯ cold glares pierced into him . ¡°Klaus, you¡¯re the leader of a harm party including Ange as well as a knight and a magician, but have you been hitting on guild girls as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s one¡¯s personal preference so it¡¯s not something I can say about . But women will be the death of you, you know that?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s my private life, so it¡¯s none of your business . ¡± Klaus responded to their cold words without hesitation . Giving up, knowing that he probably wouldn¡¯t change his ways unless he experienced a life-threatening experience, Loren asked Ivy . ¡°In any case, I just need to fight him and beat him to a pulp, right?¡± ¡°Yes, please destroy him so that he can¡¯t move his legs and waist properly . ¡± ¡°What!? Wait a second! Lying isn¡¯t good!¡± As Ivy said something quite violent with a smile on her face, Klaus quickly stopped her . When Loren nudged him to explain, Klaus started explaining the rules to the exam, glancing at Ivy to keep her mouth shut . ¡°Winning or losing doesn¡¯t matter in general . If you lose badly, you would lose points, but if you manage to fight decently, there¡¯s no problem . If the exam was based on victory or defeat, since it¡¯s against a copper rank and an iron rank, most adventurers won¡¯t be able to pass . ¡± There weren¡¯t many adventurers that were skilled swordsmen like Loren was, so a copper rank adventurer with more skill and experience than iron adventurers were very rare . Then it would¡¯ve been obvious after a bit of thought that the mock battle wouldn¡¯t be based on victory, but for some reason, Ivy seemed to want Loren to crush Klaus . ¡°Can I ask what the circumstances are?¡± ¡°Well, that person over there has been hitting on every guild girl that caught his eye . ¡± As Lapis put her arm around Ivy¡¯s shoulder and leaned in towards her and asked her in a small voice, Ivy replied in a hushed voice as well . ¡°No matter how many times we warn him he doesn¡¯t show signs of improving, and sometimes new girls that don¡¯t know about him almost fall for him, so we¡¯ve decided that this can¡¯t keep going on . ¡± ¡°So, you ended up becoming the bait and luring Klaus out here, am I correct?¡± ¡°Yes . I used the condition I mentioned before to do so . ¡± At Ivy¡¯s clear confession that she tricked Klaus, Loren started to feel sorry for him . Klaus¡¯ attitude was indeed a problem, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel that there would¡¯ve been a better way without having to trick him . ¡°But no matter how you tricked him, a promise is still effective as a promise, am I correct?¡± ¡°Well, yes, but with Loren¡¯s skill¡­¡± ¡°If victory or loss doesn¡¯t matter, he can lose on purpose if he wants to . ¡± At the words Lapis said with a smile, Klaus and Ivy¡¯s expressions froze . Realizing what was going to happen, Loren dropped his shoulders and sighed . ¡°So, the two of you . Let¡¯s start the bidding, shall we? The good will be the right to decide if Loren will fight seriously or go easy and lose at a good time . ¡± ¡°Wait a minute Lapis! That¡¯s cheating, isn¡¯t it!?¡± As Ivy started panicking, Lapis said calmly . ¡°Cheating? What do you mean? Winning doesn¡¯t matter, and the progress is what¡¯s important, right? And it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve asked you to pass Loren unfairly . It¡¯s about whether he beats up the proctor to a pulp or give up at a good time . That¡¯s it . ¡± ¡°Your pride as a swordsman won¡¯t let you lose on purpose, right?¡± ¡°Strictly speaking, I¡¯m a mercenary, not a swordsman, so I don¡¯t care as long as it¡¯s going to mean money in my pocket . ¡± If it were a fight to the death, it would be a different story, but what they were about to do was a mock battle, which victory or loss didn¡¯t matter . So, Loren thought that going on board with Lapis¡¯ plan to get a bit of pocket money wouldn¡¯t be bad . His answer was unexpected to both Klaus and Ivy, as Klaus¡¯ face loosened while Ivy, still stiff, looked at Lapis¡¯ face awkwardly . ¡°So, now that we¡¯ve gotten Loren¡¯s approval . How much can you pay?¡± At Lapis straightforward question, Klaus and Ivy quickly took out their wallets from their pockets and started looking through them . Loren whispered to Lapis, humming as she looked on with a smile . ¡°Are you serious about this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure . I¡¯m pretty interested in seeing Ivy cry after getting her room key taken though . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s my share?¡± ¡°How about seven to three, with Loren getting seven?¡± ¡°Not bad . Count me in . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t going to go with it if Lapis took the larger share or if it was exactly half . But since she immediately responded with him getting the large share, it meant that Lapis was interested in where this would go and didn¡¯t care about the money . Loren didn¡¯t have a reason to miss a three-way opportunity to satisfy Lapis¡¯ curiosity, rake Klaus over some coals, and show Ivy what happens when she tries to use someone conveniently . ¡°Alright, the two of you . Let¡¯s start piling up what¡¯s in your wallets, shall we?¡± Seeing Ivy and Klaus making bids in front of Lapis, who had an innocent yet crooked smile on her face, which made it hard to believe she was actually a priestess, Loren stifled a yawn, thinking that it would be a while before the exam would start . Chapter 100 Chapter 100: 100 Ch . 100: Interruption after Successful Bid After looking on for a while, Loren started thinking that they were lucky not many people used the training ground . It was because the bidding between Klaus and Ivy was getting quite heated up . Loren didn¡¯t care what the results were, but to the ones who were bidding, the one who couldn¡¯t knock it down would be in a very unfavorable position, so they were that serious about it . What started at copper coins soon moved to silver, and the amount of silver coins increased rapidly was well . Loren thought that it would keep going, but because Lapis had limited to what was in the contesters¡¯ wallets, the one who had more money would be the winning side, so Ivy successfully bid at twenty silver coins . ¡°I had a bad feeling about today¡­¡± Ivy said with heavy breathing, as if the excitement hadn¡¯t left her yet, as she looked at Klaus droop his shoulders in the corner of her eyes . ¡°Good thing I trusted my instinct and held onto more money than usual . ¡± Loren honestly thought that she was lucky . It was because Loren thought that although there were many felt intuitions, only a few could follow it and be successful . ¡°If you¡¯ve had enough of this, don¡¯t bet the keys to your room so lightly . ¡± ¡°Are you interested Loren? The keys to my room?¡± As Ivy asked him, not seeming like she had enough, all Loren could do was shrug lightly . Realizing that Lapis was glaring at her very coldly, Ivy quickly retreated from the spot . ¡°Loren, I guess I have no choice but to beat you to get her keys . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re not giving up either, huh¡­¡± Loren sighed as Klaus raised a wooden sword used for mock fights with newfound determination . Getting serious for his own desires so straightforwardly was something that could be respected, but his motivation was too impure . ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start this!¡± ¡°I guess¡­but what about my weapon?¡± When Loren asked Ivy, she made a startled face . Since it was a training ground, there were of course a selection of weapons that could be used for mock fights . There were swords of many different shapes and sizes, as well as things like maces and staffs . There were different kinds of bows as well as arrows with blunt ends . But there weren¡¯t any great swords that Loren could use . Loren¡¯s weapon was so large and heavy that ordinary people couldn¡¯t use it, so there was no way someone would want to use something similar for mock battles . ¡°Wouldn¡¯t Loren be at a disadvantage?¡± Ivy made a difficult face when Lapis asked that . There were adventurers that used unique weapons . In that case, they would usually be allowed to cover the blade to kill the sharpness . If it were a blunt weapon, they would allow the use of it and if heavy injuries were suffered the guild would treat it, but the lethality of Loren¡¯s weapon wasn¡¯t something you could get rid of by putting a cover on it . But if Loren used something else, he would be taking the exam on an unfamiliar weapon, so he would be in an equally unfavorable position . ¡°So would this mean we¡¯ll reschedule this after we think of some way?¡± As Ivy stayed silent with a difficult look on her face, Klaus lowered his weapon, thinking that there wasn¡¯t a way to make it work . Even Lapis thought of cancelling it and there was no other way that redo it, but with conditions that made it more favorable for Loren, but Loren took off the great sword from his back, leaned it against the wall, and casually took a wooden two handed-sword that was hanging from it . ¡°I¡¯m not that confident on these, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± It seemed that Loren was going to go against Klaus with that sword . As Ivy asked him, worried that it would be too difficult for him, considering that Klaus used long swords on a daily basis and was quite an experienced iron rank adventurer, but Loren nodded . ¡°It¡¯ll be hard to find a replacement for Klaus, anyway, so the conditions won¡¯t change much whether it be now or later . ¡± ¡°Are you looking down at me a bit, challenging me on an unfamiliar weapon?¡± To a swordsman like Klaus, Loren using an unfamiliar weapon meant that it was enough for the likes of him, so a steepness mixed with his frivolous expression . Loren, on the other hand, checked out the sword by swinging it around lightly a few times, faced Klaus, and told him . ¡°The chances of you winning goes up, you know?¡± ¡°Loren, I¡¯d like to thank your consideration . ¡± As Klaus attitude turned around immediately, Lapis and Ivy¡¯s shoulders sunk . It meant that the keys to a girl¡¯s room came before his pride as a swordsman, but since it was so much like him, they didn¡¯t even feel like complaining . ¡°Alright then, please start and get it over with . ¡± ¡°Well, looks like you just threw everything a them . ¡± Lapis pretty much left everything up to them, as if she didn¡¯t care anymore, and Ivy signaled for them to begin . As they looked on, Klaus raised his word with one hand, but Loren did something strange . Although he had been holding the sword normally, he suddenly turned it upside down, directed the tip towards the ground, and pushed his hands, which were on the handle of the sword, and pushed in against his chest . ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it . It¡¯s something I learned from the person who taught me how to use the sword that helps ease the mind . ¡± After answering, Loren quickly gripped his sword properly again, and aimed it at his opponent . ¡°Are we starting?¡± ¡°Yeah, Bring it on . I¡¯ll let you have the first hand . ¡± Because Loren was a lower rank than he was, along with the fact that he was using an unfamiliar weapon, Klaus raised his weapon again and told him to start . Against it, Loren didn¡¯t seem upset at all, but instead raised his sword above his head, and swung it down towards Klaus head on . Loren was someone who used a very heavy weapon . The wooden sword¡¯s weight was nothing compared to his great sword, so the speed that he raised it and brought it down was faster beyond comparison as well . But still, it was a head on downwards blow . It was too visible to Klaus, as he blocked it diagonally with his sword, and let it slide past him . Klaus tried to retaliate immediately, but his body couldn¡¯t step forward, but instead he jumped back, trying to gain distance between them . Chasing after him, Loren swung his sword diagonally upwards, and feeling the wind that it caused, Klaus clenched his teeth from the shiver that went down his spine, knowing that it was a wooden sword . ¡°Are you familiar with that sword too, actually?¡± ¡°No . Far from my best . ¡± A weak laugh escaped Klaus¡¯ mouth, hearing that even with the speed he saw was far from his best . If he had stepped towards him unprepared, Loren¡¯s swords would¡¯ve caught him straight on, and although it was wooden, he would¡¯ve been rendered unable to move . Although Loren¡¯s attacks weren¡¯t as sharp as when he was swinging his great sword, his movements were one of someone who trained with the sword long enough, so Klaus became warier of him . ¡°You still going to let me be on the offensive?¡± ¡°No . My turn now!¡± As Loren taunted Klaus, who hadn¡¯t attacked a single time yet, Klaus shook his head slightly and immediately took a sharp step towards Loren along with a swing of his sword . Loren¡¯s sword could be used with either one or both hands, and although it was smaller than a great sword, it was longer and wider than the one-handed sword Klaus was using . So it couldn¡¯t make a sharp routing, so it would be used like a great sword, as Loren had done just before . Loren most likely had selected it thinking it was the closest thing he could use like his normal weapon, but Klaus¡¯ sword, although losing in power, its speed and routing should have been quicker . Using that advantage, Klaus attacked Loren, focusing on speed, but Loren blocked and dodged his attacks calmly, with the smallest movements possible . ¡°I guess it indeed is different than what he¡¯s used to . ¡± Lapis said as she watched the fight between Loren and Klaus . Loren¡¯s usual fighting style was dealing blow after blow, using his weapon¡¯s weight along with his strength to ignore his opponent¡¯s defenses, but since his current weapon was wooden, he couldn¡¯t get past Klaus¡¯ defenses . On the other hand, Klaus moved quicker and weaved in between Loren¡¯s attacks, dealing attack after attack repeatedly . But he couldn¡¯t get past Loren¡¯s skillful defense, so the battle continued on, with both of them not being able to land a single blow on the other . ¡°If they were using real swords, Klaus would have died a few times over already though . ¡± ¡°Loren¡¯s incredible . ¡± Lapis¡¯ evaluation impressed Ivy, but her face stiffened at what Lapis said next . ¡°If Loren could use his great sword, the number of times Klaus died would already be up to two digits, I think . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s let them continue for a bit longer, and if neither of them can find an opening, let¡¯s stop it . ¡± Klaus couldn¡¯t get past Loren¡¯s defenses, but although Loren was on the offensive sometimes, his attacks were dodged or parried, which cut off his chain of attacks, letting Klaus retaliate . Although Ivy didn¡¯t think it was hopeless, she understood that even if it were to go on, it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere . ¡°I think that would be the best¡­Hmm?¡± Lapis agreed to Ivy¡¯s suggestion, but her eyes narrowed as if she noticed something . As Ivy wondered what she noticed, the next moment, she saw a small shadow run in between Loren and Klaus, who were trading blow after blow, and shouted . ¡°No!¡± The moment the shadow ran in was right when Loren and Klaus were both in the middle of letting out attacks . If one went in between, he would be receiving both attacks at once . The shadow was small as well, most likely a child, and it was hard to believe that a child could survive a blow from Loren as well as Klaus . But the result that Ivy expected didn¡¯t happen . Loren and Klaus stopped with their swings completed . The wooden swords in their hands didn¡¯t have a blade, and close to the handles were jagged marks, and a heartbeat later, the blades, which most likely had been snapped off, spun down from above their heads and landed on the ground . ¡°What!?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Klaus was surprised at the broken sword in his hand . Loren threw the useless sword on the ground and asked the being that interrupted them . ¡°Well, you were doing something that looked fun, so I thought I¡¯d interrupt . You guys are adventurers, no?¡± Talking in a slightly arrogant manner, the being that put her hands on her waist was a girl that was way smaller than Loren or Klaus . Her clothes were made from quality material and was tailored well, like clothes worn by nobles, and it wasn¡¯t something to be wearing when interrupting two adventurers in a battle, and she didn¡¯t hold a weapon either . She had long, blonde hair, and it was clean and glossy, making it obvious that it was taken care of quite well, and the word princess fit her perfectly . But it was clear that she had somehow snapped both Loren¡¯s and Klaus¡¯ sword, and they didn¡¯t know what she did, which made them wary of her . The girl circled around and looked at all of them, as if not noticing their wariness . ¡°I¡¯ve come to request a job . Hear me out . ¡± Chapter 101 Chapter 101: 101 Ch . 101: Requesting after Moving ¡°So you want to talk about a job, right?¡± They were at the bar in the guild . The blonde girl sitting in front of him squirmed in her chair as she looked around . Loren was looking at the girl suspiciously, while Lapis, who was sitting next to him, was looking at her with a small smile that didn¡¯t anyone know what she was thinking . ¡°That¡¯s right, but you chose quite the lively place . ¡± Around them were adventurers looking for jobs and drunk customers, and the waitresses were weaving in and out between them, and it was indeed a sight that could be described as lively . ¡°You don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not bad . It¡¯s aesthetic . ¡± Even if they were to move, Loren didn¡¯t know a quiet and fancy shop that the girl might like . Lapis might have known, but such a shop would be very expensive, and he had no intention of going somewhere like that . ¡®Onii-san, Onii-san, be careful . ¡¯ The voice of a girl that couldn¡¯t be seen rang out in the back of his mind . The girl that became a no life king, the highest ranking undead, after a whole city being sacrificed . Existing in her astral body after losing her physical one, she was living within Loren¡¯s astral body . That was the girl named Shayna, who had spoken to Loren . ¡®I sense something strange from her . The same smell as me, to be exact¡­¡¯ ¡°Hmm, you . You have a strange air about you . You¡¯re keeping something inside, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Choose your words carefully, alright? I¡¯m not keeping anything around me . ¡± Before thinking that she found out, what came out of Loren¡¯s mouth was a warning filled with killing intent . Even if he could put aside the fact that Shayna was an undead, it didn¡¯t change the fact that she had helped him many times . Since the girl had said he was keeping her without even knowing anything, there was no way he could just take it, and he couldn¡¯t help but put killing intent into his words . It was killing intent that had been toned throughout countless battles . Even though it wasn¡¯t pointed towards them, just feeling it made the waitresses stop in their tracks and the people around him widened their eyes and looked towards him, making him the center of attention . But even though the girl in front of him got the full brunt of it, she didn¡¯t even blink, and looked at Loren¡¯s face coolly with interest . Becoming upset with her attitude, Loren started considering leaving without hearing about her job request, but he stiffened at the cold air that came from in front of him . It might have been actual cold air . But Loren felt the chill in his spine sending a fright all the way inside to his core and ended up not being able to stand up from his seat . ¡°Don¡¯t get so upset . I admit that it was a poor choice of words . I won¡¯t ask you to forgive me, but I¡¯d appreciate if you¡¯d accept my apology . ¡± As the girl switched to a commendable way of talking and bowed her head, Loren looked at her in disbelief . Around them were customers who were bubbling at their mouths, waitresses that became paralyzed with fright and sank to the ground, but no one had no idea what happened . It seemed that it was only Loren, who was in front of the girl, and Lapis, who was beside him, that understood that the blast of cold air was from her . ¡°It seems like we¡¯ve been noticed by something ridiculous . ¡± Although she had felt the same thing as Loren, Lapis said so in a joking manner . The girl, who had been called something ridiculous, didn¡¯t seem to be upset and just smiled . 6 ¡®Onii-san, this person is probably an Elder . ¡¯ ¡°Elder?¡± Loren unthinkingly repeated what Shayna had told him . Hearing what he said, the girl looked at him like she had found something very interesting . ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been trying quite hard to hide it, but you found out . ¡± ¡°Huh? Is Kauffa going to end today? A lot of things have been destroyed and ended ever since I started being with Loren, but this is the most extreme out of all of them . ¡± With Lapis muttering on about gathering her belongings and money before everything ended at the corner of his eye, Loren asked Shayna about elders . ¡®To put it simply, they are vampires . ¡¯ Shayna used the knowledge of the no life king to explain to Loren . Vampires were beings that sucked blood . They were like a catastrophe, attacking humans, getting stronger when they drank their blood, and turning their victims into low class undead, and a single vampire could even destroy a whole nation . Vampires differed based on how they were born, and the lowest class was born from men and women with pure bodies that had their blood suck by a vampire and becoming the same type of vampire . Even if they were low class, they were still something to be feared, since they had enough power to annihilate a village or a town . For the higher classes, there were those who became vampires by ritual called Trues, in the same way Shayna had been turned into an undead, and depending on their abilities when they were alive, they were feared to be able to annihilate a whole nation . The ones above them were what Shayna had just told Loren, called Elders . They couldn¡¯t really be considered being born, but instead, it was said that they were beings that just came into existence for some reason . They had mana and life energy that enormous couldn¡¯t even fully describe, and they couldn¡¯t be wounded by mediocre magic swords or spells, had a lifespan that could be described as infinite, had almost complete resistance to things such as holy water, sunlight, and silver that were weaknesses of normal undead . Whether they could be called undead or not was still a popular discussion among scholars, and they haven¡¯t reached a conclusion . ¡°So, this is an elder?¡± ¡°What do you mean this? Well, I messed up my wording earlier, so I guess it¡¯s fine . ¡± As the girl puffed out her cheeks slightly with a complaining look, Loren looked at Lapis with a troubled face . If what Shayna said was correct, the girl sitting in front of him had the power to destroy a whole nation by herself . To be honest, Loren felt like this was out of his hands . ¡°For starters, can you tell us your name miss Elder?¡± When she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she easily took the role of being the negotiator . From her personality, Loren thought that she would be reluctant or tease him about it but seeing that she instantly came in to help him, he realized that they were talking with a dangerous individual . ¡°I can¡¯t tell you my family name for a reason . Call me Dia . ¡± The girl who called herself Dia nodded slightly . Lapis nodded back and continued her question . ¡°About the job you told us you want to request . What kind of job is it, and would it be something that humans like us could do?¡± When thought about calmly, if the girl named Dia was indeed what Shayna said she was, there shouldn¡¯t be a reason for her to come to humans, who were way weaker than her . That was why Lapis said ¡®humans like us¡¯, but after hearing that, a troubled smile appeared on Dia¡¯s face . ¡°I was thinking of asking that young one as well¡­¡± A hint of annoyance missed in her voice . Everyone who was there when Dia appeared should have been there as well, but Klaus and Ivy were not . Now that Loren recalled what had happened, he realized that it was a frightening thing that happened . When Dia stopped their battle and told them she wanted to request a job, Klaus had said that he didn¡¯t have any business with a child, and to come back after a few years . As a result, Klaus was spun around on the spot two and a half times and landed on the ground face first and lost consciousness, so Ivy had to take him to the hospital . Loren couldn¡¯t see what she did to him, but he did know that she wasn¡¯t a magician . Loren thought then that maybe even a young girl could spin Klaus around vertically, but now that he found out what she was, he was surprised at Klaus¡¯ luck that it only ended with getting spun . ¡°Well, no use talking about those who aren¡¯t here . To the question of do I think you two are up for the job, the answer is I have no idea . ¡± If you could know whether the person could successfully get the job done just by looking at them, you could just request it to those who could . But if that were possible, the word called failure should disappear, and the number of adventurers would increase, but it seemed that reality wasn¡¯t so, and no one had that ability . ¡°Next, for the question of am I fine with the two of you, I can answer that with confidence . If I¡¯m going to request a job, I¡¯d like to request it to you . ¡± ¡°Can I ask why that is so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy . I¡¯m interested in you two . So much that I want to request this job . ¡± Dia put her elbows on the table and leaned forward, putting her chin on top of her folded hands . ¡°Interest, you say?¡± ¡°Yes, interest . I was also a bit interested in the boy with the gift that I patted a bit¡­¡± She stopped talking and looked at Loren with a meaningful gaze . Not knowing why she would do so, Loren looked away feeling troubled, and seeing that, Dia smiled . ¡°You two are more than interesting enough to pique my interest . A swordsman with a strange air about him, and a priestess with a strange air about her as well . ¡± At Dia¡¯s words, Loren¡¯s heart started beating a tempo faster . It seemed that this vampire girl not only notice the presence of Shayna within him but was close to finding out that Lapis was a demon . ¡°The greatest reason was the gesture that the swordsman made . ¡± ¡°Me?¡± Loren cocked his head, not knowing what she was talking about . Seeing him confused, Dia¡¯s smile became even wider . ¡°If you don¡¯t know, I can tell you about it, but doing it for free won¡¯t be exciting . How about I make it one of the payments for accepting my job?¡± ¡°So, what would the job be?¡± As Loren almost responded without thinking, Lapis stopped him with her hand and asked Dia about the job . ¡°It¡¯s nothing difficult . Two days south from this city is a ruin . I want you to escort me there . ¡± Dia said again that it wasn¡¯t difficult . Hearing that, Loren and Lapis looked at each other, trying to find out what their client¡¯s intentions were . Chapter 102 Chapter 102: 102 Ch . 102: Talking on the Way Once they got the supplies they needed, borrow a donkey to carry their things, report to the guild that they had been nominated for a job, they were ready to go . On the way, Lapis tried to collect the money that Ivy had bid during the bidding war at the training ground, but she got into an argument with her, as she said that it was void because the fight had been cancelled, but nothing much happened . The payment for nominated jobs was negotiated between the client and the adventurer, but Dia didn¡¯t have any money, so she instead offered one of her barrettes as payment . It had elaborate designs made of silver as well as a few gems, and since Lapis appraised it to be around one gold coin at the least, she decided that it was good enough payment . ¡°Iron rank adventurer identification tags will be issued to the two of you . ¡± The rank-up exam had been stopped due to Dia interrupting it, so Loren thought that he would have to do it again, but after her argument with Lapis, with the two of them agreeing on Ivy paying half the bidding price, Ivy said to the two of them as she gave the money to Lapis . ¡°We haven¡¯t passed it, right?¡± ¡°Strictly speaking, no . ¡± Ivy told Loren as she gave the tags to him and Lapis . The tags they received were legitimate iron tags and weren¡¯t fake . ¡°Why did we get promoted?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure . There seemed to be a word to promote you or something of the sort . ¡± As Loren cocked his head, Ivy did the same as she replied . It was a confusing story, but Loren received it, thinking that if they were going to give it to him there was no reason not to take it, and walked back to where Lapis and Dia were waiting . The meeting place was the south gate of the city . When Loren gave Lapis, who was waiting there, the iron tag, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at it, then looked at Dia, who was standing by herself . Unlike them, Dia was wearing a dress that didn¡¯t look fit for moving outdoors, but when she noticed Lapis looking at her, the corner of her mouth rose . ¡°Is this your doing?¡± ¡°Hm? I wonder . ¡± Avoiding a direct answer, Dia suggested that if they were ready, they should hurry and depart, so they headed out the gate . At first, Loren and Lapis thought Dia would have a carriage ready due to the way she was dressed, but Dia planned to walk all the way to their destination . ¡°There¡¯s no carriage that will satisfy me in a city like this . ¡± Carriages¡¯ level of comfort depended on its build and quality . The cheapest ones were not comfortable at all, and carriages that royalty rode were made so that the vibrations from the wheels couldn¡¯t be felt . Dia, who was an Elder, seemed to have used those top-quality carriages on a daily basis, so she didn¡¯t find any of the ones at Kauffa suitable . ¡°Walking is better than using a low-quality carriage . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t not tiring as fast be good enough to ignore the quality?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t feel fatigue, so . ¡± Undead didn¡¯t feel fatigue in the first place . Elders, which were classified as vampires, didn¡¯t feel fatigue as well . Loren felt it was strange that someone who didn¡¯t feel fatigue would complain about comfort, but Lapis told him that high class vampires cared about things like that . ¡°I don¡¯t need food either . But I might drink with you if you have some . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re not old enough to drink¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, right?¡± ¡°Women won¡¯t like you if you talk about age, you know that?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t old enough to talk about love matters¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing that on purpose, aren¡¯t you? Aren¡¯t you?¡± The sight of Dia, who was already wearing clothes that weren¡¯t fit for walking outside, latching onto Loren, who was way taller and wider than her, by his waist and swinging him around, was completely abnormal . Loren still had his things in hand, as well as leather armor and black coat, and his great sword on his back, so including the weight of his belongings on top of his own weight, it should¡¯ve been impossible to lift him up . As Lapis watched Dia swing Loren¡¯s body around and around, she thought that if this continued it would gather the attention of people on the road, and weird rumors would start spreading, but er worry dissipated soon enough . ¡°I said south of Kauffa, but I never said we¡¯ll be following the road . ¡± As Lapis tugged on the reins of the donkey, prepared to be the center of attention, Dia came to stop her with Loren under her arm, his eyes spinning . ¡°We¡¯ll go straight to our destination . This direction to be exact . ¡± ¡°¡­There¡¯s no road . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry . I know the direction . I¡¯ll lead . ¡± After saying that, Dia started walking towards the fields without hesitation, still carrying Loren . Lapis wondered what she should do, but since Dia had taken Loren, there was no way she could let that pass, and after sighing, she tugged on the reins and followed Dia into the field . There was no one around to see the strange sight of a girl carrying a well build man and a girl chasing after her with a donkey in tow . ¡°Hey you . ¡± ¡°My name is Lapis . ¡± On the way, when Lapis responded as Dia called her, she realized that neither she nor Loren had told Dia their names . Usually they would have noticed it earlier, but Lapis guessed that since Dia seemed so uninterested in those things, they couldn¡¯t find a good time to do so . ¡°Oh, Lapis, I see . And this one?¡± ¡°Loren . Please give him back . He¡¯s mine . ¡± Taking advantage of Loren being unconscious, Lapis said something quite bold, but her face was dead serious, and she snatched Loren from under Dia¡¯s arm as she looked at her surprised and put him on her back . It was mostly because she had regained her physical arms that she was able to carry Loren, who was larger than her, along with the great sword on his back . Her former prosthetic arms were quite high performance as well, but since she was worried about the joint where her body and the prosthetics met, she couldn¡¯t use her strength to her content . ¡°Lapis, you aren¡¯t an ordinary one, are you?¡± ¡°I am ordinary . It¡¯s not like I have special powers or anything . ¡± If Loren was awake and had been listening, he would¡¯ve complained that there was no way, but to Lapis, she hadn¡¯t said anything wrong . She was indeed ordinary, among the demon kind . Although among humans, Lapis was a very skilled magician as well as priestess, but in the world of demons, it wasn¡¯t as if she had especially incredible abilities . Rather, she was sent out of demon territory to gain experience, and although she wasn¡¯t weak, she wasn¡¯t particularly powerful either, so she was indeed ordinary, without any special powers . She didn¡¯t have to point out that it was among a different crowd . If it caused Dia to misunderstand, and continue to misunderstand, it would make it easier for Lapis to move around . ¡°You mean at your birthplace, no?¡± As Dia laughed, seeing right through her, Lapis cursed inside . She had guessed that Dia had most likely realized it, but what she just said confirmed that she knew exactly what Lapis was . ¡°Don¡¯t make such a scary face . Your pretty face is all ruined . If your partner Loren saw you right now, even a hundred-year romance could turn sour . ¡± As Dia turned back towards her and said to her teasingly, Lapis looked slightly upset, and then said in a flat voice . ¡°You aren¡¯t old enough to talk about love matters¡­Oh, you aren¡¯t as you seem, is that right?¡± ¡°After being told that these many times, I think it¡¯s fine for me to start getting upset¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get more wrinkles if you get mad, grandma . ¡± ¡°Grand¡­I mean, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m that sort of age¡­¡± ¡°How many greats do I have to put before it?¡± Dia¡¯s face tightened even further at the additional comments, but since Lapis did have a point, she couldn¡¯t argue strongly . ¡°W-well, I did live at least five hundred years . Put as many as you want . ¡± What Dia said was shocking to Lapis . She knew that DIa had lived for a long time, but she was surprised that the number of years Dia had lived was way more than she had expected . ¡°Five hundred¡­Someone who¡¯s actually experienced the Ancient Kingdom . ¡± The Ancient Kingdom, which once ruled the whole continent and flourished, was said to have been destroyed around three, four hundred years ago . Even if it was four hundred years ago, since Dia had lived for five hundred, she should have witnessed what had happened to it . ¡°Yes, although it was during its last years . ¡± A smile appeared on Dia¡¯s face, one that a young girl which she looked like wouldn¡¯t make . Lapis unthinkingly slowed down, widening the distance between them, but Dia quickly wiped the smile off, and her face returned to normal . ¡°I¡¯ve lived through then, so I¡¯m quite knowledgeable about it . Although, since it wasn¡¯t long since I was born, when the kingdom fell, the older Elders had told me about the things I didn¡¯t know . ¡± ¡°Just out of curiosity, how long has the oldest individual been living?¡± Although she knew it was impolite, Lapis asked Dia, knowing that this was he only chance she was going to get . After thinking for a short moment, with her gaze wandering around, she answered . ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but the oldest said that he was born during the age of the gods . ¡± It was said that the gods had descended to create the world . The basic myth that was told throughout the world was during the course of many years, the gods created many different kinds of beings to build out the world, and after judging that the world could be managed by those beings alone, they returned the their own world to look over their creation . Of course, this was very long ago, and trying to count the years would be foolish . The years that the gods took to create the world was currently called the age of the gods, and if what Dia said was true, the oldest of the Elders had been living since that time . ¡°That¡¯s interesting . ¡± ¡°Most of it is what I¡¯ve heard from others, but there should be a lot of time to tell you about some things . ¡± As Lapis¡¯ curiosity started to grow, Dia let out an awkward laugh, and started to distance herself from her as her eyes started shining . Chapter 103 Chapter 103 h. 103: Talking While Preparing ¡°Why did the Ancient Kingdom perish?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was gone before I knew it. Our species don¡¯t interact with humans at all, after all. We were considered monsters, so.¡± It would take them two days to reach their destination, which meant that they needed to camp for a night. Of course, Loren and Lapis was prepared for it, so when the sun set and the sky started turning red, they stopped travelling and started setting up camp. Loren, who had literally been swung round and round by Dia and lost consciousness, had woken up on Lapis¡¯ back, and was currently untying their stuff from the donkey, and was starting to pitch the tent. Lapis, who dug a small hole and put dried grass and wood and started a fire, set up a stand using metal bars, put a pot on top of the fire, cut salted meat and vegetables and threw them in there, and let it simmer as she adjust the fire, was in the middle of asking question after question to Dia, who was sitting near the fire. ¡°Why are Elders treated as vampires? From what I¡¯ve heard, classifying them as undead itself sounds quite strange.¡± ¡°You would have to ask whoever made the classification, but it¡¯s most likely because of our inescapable characteristic, our blood impulse.¡± Beings called Elders weren¡¯t affected by the weaknesses of normal vampires, which set them apart from them. So, Lapis couldn¡¯t understand why they would be classified as vampires. After all, they couldn¡¯t be stopped by running water, killed by silver, and they walked under the sun like it was nothing. But Dia concluded that it was because of their blood impulses. ¡°Other than that, we are also relatively weak to Divine Arts, but the biggest reason is our blood impulse. Vampires suck blood, after all.¡± Dia herself didn¡¯t know the reason why either. But even Elders, who didn¡¯t need any food, couldn¡¯t escape from the impulse of wanting to suck blood. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it. We can¡¯t substitute it with animal blood, and blood from cultivated humans don¡¯t last long. Once the thirst comes, even the will of an Elder can¡¯t resist it.¡± ¡°So that means you¡¯ve done it quite a few times.¡± Although Lapis asked it easily, her words had a heavy meaning to them. Having blood sucked by a vampire meant that the person would either turn into a low rank undead or become a normal vampire, and either way, it would mean death for that individual. ¡°Well, yes. For us, one person a year is enough, so we won¡¯t make much of a mess as other vampires.¡± ¡°That would still be five hundred people. That¡¯s quite the number.¡± According to Dia, she was over five hundred years old. Since Dia wasn¡¯t a vampire that was born after having her blood sucked, that meant that there was a time when she was young, so although the number of people may not equal her age, it meant that it was at least that many people. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to think if five hundred people in five hundred years is many or few.¡± The number five hundred made it seem like a lot, but when seen as over the course of five hundred years, it seemed small. When considering the number of lives lost in battle over five hundred years, its number would be hundreds of times more, so compared to that, it seemed like a very small number. ¡°If you think about the race as a whole, wouldn¡¯t it be quite a bit?¡± As Loren said as he hammered in the nail to keep the ropes down, Lapis came back to her senses. If it were Dia alone, it would be five hundred people during five hundred years, but with number of all the Elders combined, the number would be many times higher. ¡°There¡¯s a bit more than a dozen of us.¡± Dia said it like it was nothing, but it meant that there were over a dozen victims each year. It was way smaller compared to deaths in battle. But Lapis thought that if there were more than a dozen people going missing everywhere, people would find out about it and would become a problem. ¡°We have villages of humans that supply us blood, after all.¡± ¡°You mean you are keeping humans?¡± It was an unsettling thought. Noticing that Lapis¡¯ tone got harder, Dia shook her head. ¡°Regardless of how it looks, we don¡¯t have such intentions. As lords of the land, we require one person to be given to us each year, and in return we give the villages many blessings. It¡¯s a deal.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re keeping them, right?¡± ¡°I told you, regardless of how it looks. I believe it¡¯s better than kidnapping people and killing them. The villages usually select the oldest person.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such village.¡± If there were any sort of interactions with other people, through supplies or information, there was no way such villages could be hidden from the age of the gods. The information would slip out from somewhere, and nations would gather their forces to put an end to it. ¡°We hide them, we protect them, and we isolate them.¡± Dia explained that by making sure the village only interacted within itself and by making it so that outsiders could never find it, and on top of that, making sure that its existence was kept secret, the Elders had maintained these villages that supplied blood for many years. ¡°Was it okay for us to hear that? Don¡¯t try to kill us later or something like that.¡± Loren was worried since Dia was telling them things that had been kept secret until now. Telling them about things they shouldn¡¯t know could mean that she wasn¡¯t going to let them go alive, but Dia denied such thoughts in a light tone. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if you tell others about this, they would just laugh it off.¡± ¡°The fact that we heard it from an Elder herself would erase the credibility.¡± Adventurers usually dealt with normal vampires. It wasn¡¯t something a copper rank adventurer could handle, and even for iron ranks, they would have to expect large casualties. Trues were beings that heroes, whole nations, or large organizations would have to move to try to subdue. Either of them still seemed realistic. But when it came to Elders, the credibility of the story would thin out. There were very few stories of people meeting Elders. Although their existence was known, to ordinary people, they were beings within stories, so it lacked realism. ¡°It¡¯s not like we aren¡¯t outgoing, but we don¡¯t reveal our identities either. People won¡¯t realize we are Elders unless we tell them, anyways. This time is a special case.¡± Dia had revealed her identity because Shayna, who was within Loren, realized that she was, and if Loren didn¡¯t say the word ¡®Elder¡¯ out loud, Dia would not have told them. ¡°Since we are on the topic, the point of this job is related to those villages.¡± Loren, who finished pitching the tent, walked over to the fire and sat on the ground. Although Lapis didn¡¯t let Dia out of her sight, her hand stirred the contents of the pot, making sure they didn¡¯t burn onto it, and threw in some salt and other spices every now and then to adjust the taste. ¡°Actually, I am the youngest among the Elders.¡± ¡°At five hundred years old?¡± ¡°The others are older, and Elders themselves occur naturally, so there¡¯s no way of knowing when a new one will appear.¡± Elders did not have biological parents. That was why it was impossible to know when another would appear, and it was possible that no other had appeared for the past five hundred years. As a result, the youngest Elder was over five hundred years old. ¡°Young Elders live under the protection of another Elder, and until that guardian decides you are ready to be on your own, you receive education, building up knowledge and power.¡± ¡°Which means that you are under the wing of someone else. Oh Loren, could you taste this?¡± Lapis took a small scoop of what she was stirring, poured it into a bowl, and handed it to Loren. Loren wondered if it was something to do during such a serious conversation, but Dia didn¡¯t take any notice and just nodded. ¡°Even now, I am under the protection of another Elder. Oh, there¡¯s nothing I could tell you about the other Elders. I don¡¯t have the right to tell information about others, after all.¡± ¡°Not interested anyway. Lapis, I think this needs more salt. It¡¯s bland.¡± Loren had no intention of having any sort of interactions with beings that humans couldn¡¯t handle. Information on other Elders would be useless for him, and to him, the taste of the stew Lapis was making was more important to him. ¡°I think you should get used to light taste¡­but okay. Oh, you can keep going.¡± Even as she exhorted at Loren¡¯s thought, she threw in extra salt into the pot. ¡°This feels sort of unsatisfactory, but whatever. When an Elder leaves the protection of his or her guardian, they are given land to use as a base, as well as the villages of humans within that land.¡± ¡°So, you mean¡­¡± They had heard from Dia that their destination was a ruin. From the flow of the conversation, Lapis guessed that it was the land that she was given to use as a base, but Dia shrugged. ¡°I was just told by my guardian to go there, so I don¡¯t know if that is the land that will be given to me. It might be, or it might be where there is information of a different land.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s like a test to see if you¡¯re ready to be on your own?¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± ¡°Is it alright to ask for help?¡± From what Loren had heard, it was a test to see if a young Elder could be on her own, so he wondered if it was okay to ask others for assistance. Dia nodded at his question. ¡°Using others to reach your goal is a type of skill, after all.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s just reaching where your guardian told you to go, it doesn¡¯t seem that dangerous.¡± ¡°If so, I wouldn¡¯t be asking for help.¡± At Lapis¡¯ optimistic guess, Dia looked up at the sky and sighed. ¡°First, the guardian will ready some obstacles. On top of that, there should be some interference from other Elders, so it won¡¯t be that easy.¡± ¡°Why would other Elders interfere?¡± Lapis cocked her head slightly in wonder. Loren snorted quietly, as if he had heard something boring, and told her as he handed the bowl back. ¡°There are factions among Elders as well, I bet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s as you say. Two beings with will start an argument, while three will start a power struggle, and that goes for Elders as well.¡± ¡°It seems like we¡¯re in the middle of something very troublesome, don¡¯t you think? Should we have gotten a better down payment?¡± Being able to be on her own meant that she was being recognized as an adult, a proper Elder. While under someone else¡¯s protection, she wouldn¡¯t have a say in matters, and the others wouldn¡¯t count her when making decisions and such, but once she became an adult, she would be included in all those things. Loren and Lapis didn¡¯t know what kind of factions there were among slightly over a dozen Elders, but for this case, it meant that Dia would join the faction that her guardian was in, and it would be a nuisance to the other Elders, therefore they would try to interfere. ¡°If you manage to become an adult, would you join your guardian?¡± ¡°Most likely. I owe it to my guardian for protecting me until now, as well as sharing land and people with me. I won¡¯t turn as soon as I become an adult.¡± Dia smiled after saying that, and then said to Loren and Lapis, whose expressions were clouded with the thoughts of the troubles yet to come. ¡°So that is why I ask you two to help me become an adult. Don¡¯t make such faces. If I succeed, I¡¯ll think of extra payment, and on the way there, I¡¯ll answer as many questions that my knowledge allows me to.¡± ¡°Then I guess we should make the most out of it.¡± Scooping the finished stew into a bowl, Lapis immediately started asking Dia questions, and Loren, who wasn¡¯t that interested, received the bowl from Lapis and started eating, while telling himself that since it was a job that he had accepted, he must see it to the end. Chapter 104 Chapter 104 Ch . 104: Explanation During Watch ¡°Shall I keep watch during the night? I don¡¯t need sleep . ¡± Loren and Lapis ate the stew that Lapis had made, but as she had said in the beginning, Dia didn¡¯t even try to eat a bite . Loren thought it was a waste, but he felt that it wasn¡¯t right to try to get her to eat, so he didn¡¯t say anything . ¡°Do vampires only drink blood?¡± ¡°Not really . But we prefer not to . ¡± ¡°Should I go catch some mice or snakes in the area? I¡¯ll squeeze them really hard . ¡± ¡°It can¡¯t just be any kind of blood . ¡± Dia frowned, but Loren nor Lapis knew what kind of difference there was in blood . But they decided that since Dia herself said so, there must be a difference, and Loren took out a leather pouch that contained wine from one of the bags . Dia complained that the smell of leather would stick, but she took the cup that was given to her, as if she felt awkward just looking at them eat, and started sipping it . After all of that had passed and they finished eating, was when Dia said that she would keep watch . ¡°There¡¯s no way I could let the client keep watch . ¡± Loren argued immediately . Dia was indeed a vampire, as well as an incredible being called and Elder, but at the same time she was their client, and as one who was hired, there was no way he could let his client keep watch . Lapis agreed with him, but Dia cocked her head slightly at his words and replied . ¡°But I don¡¯t sleep, you know that?¡± But Loren wished that she would . Although he knew she wasn¡¯t a threat, she was still a vampire, and it was scary to think that she would be walking around during the whole night . But telling someone that didn¡¯t sleep to sleep was strange thing to do as well . ¡°That¡¯s up to you . ¡± ¡°No, putting aside the fact that I¡¯m an undead or a vampire . It¡¯s going to start getting dangerous from tonight . ¡± The words that came out so smoothly from her mouth almost slipped through Loren¡¯s mind, but he quickly asked Dia again . ¡°What was that about tonight?¡± ¡°I think it will be dangerous . It won¡¯t be strange for those who don¡¯t want me to get to the ruins to start interfering . ¡± ¡°Do you have any idea of what might be coming in detail?¡± ¡°Most things won¡¯t be surprising . Humans or monsters or vampires . Anything they could muster up, I believe . ¡± As Dia said such a disturbing thing like it was nothing, Loren was about to draw the great sword on his back, thinking that this job was going to be messy as well, but Lapis stopped his wrist . ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°I think Loren should sleep and regain your energy . ¡± ¡°What are you trying to get out of Dia while I¡¯m asleep?¡± ¡°Since when could Loren read my mind!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so obvious!¡± ¡°You two are so carefree . ¡± As Loren glared at Lapis, who had a fake smile on her face, he peeled her hand off of his wrist . Lapis drew her hand back towards her chest, rubbing the back due to Loren grabbing it too hard, and as she watched Loren draw the great sword from his back, she asked Dia with a sigh . ¡°Then does that mean we will keep going? There¡¯s no reason to camp here if no one¡¯s going to sleep . ¡± ¡°Personally, I would prefer the two of you to sleep . ¡± If they weren¡¯t going to rest, there was no reason to camp . Lapis thought that it would be better to keep going towards their destination rather than stop . ¡°I¡¯ll be having you two work quite a bit tomorrow, so I was going to keep you safe until morning . ¡± ¡°The way you say it makes me nervous . ¡± He had no idea what Dia meant by them working quite a bit, but since she was willing to keep watch since she wanted them to be well rested, he guessed that it wasn¡¯t going to be an easy task . On top of that, she was an unearthly being called an Elder, so that made the worry pile up even further . ¡°This is the reason I¡¯ve asked humans, who have inferior abilities, for help . I¡¯m a vampire . Since the ones who are trying to interfere are vampires as well, it¡¯s fine to think that they know my weaknesses, is it not? I¡¯m a vampire as well . ¡± Thinking about Dia¡¯s words slowly, Lapis asked her to continue . ¡°It means that it won¡¯t be surprising if they ready something that I can¡¯t deal with . That¡¯s why I asked humans for help in the case that happens . ¡± An Elder devising a plan to interfere with another Elder and being carried out by an Elder . Since they were the same type of being, it was obvious that they would know the best about themselves, so it was possible to think of things that would be effective . ¡°Since we¡¯re still far from our destination, it¡¯s unlikely that they would send in something lethal . Which is why I wanted you to rest now while you could . ¡± Dia¡¯s words, which was comforting since it meant that their current situation wasn¡¯t that dangerous, but at the same time, it told them that the closer they got to the ruins, the more dangerous it would become . ¡°Just wondering, what kinds of things would be used?¡± Unlike Loren, Lapis was more interested in the methods of interference . Although Elders were vampires, they had almost no weaknesses in the first place . Things that were fatal to Trues or normal vampires weren¡¯t effective against Elders . ¡°You won¡¯t be able to even if you tried, but the simplest is overpowering me with the power of another Elder . Between us Elders, the older you are, the stronger you are . And among them I am the youngest . ¡± Dia laughed, saying there was no way she could win, but to Loren and Lapis that was already something close to a death sentence . ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be over if an Elder that doesn¡¯t want you to make it appears?¡± ¡°Not quite . Of course, I¡¯ll get overpowered, but the opponent wouldn¡¯t have the strength to deal with you two after . Which means that as long as I¡¯m with you, there won¡¯t be a situation where you would face off directly with another Elder . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s some good news, although barely consoling . ¡± Lapis said with a suspicious tone and expression . Loren thought that if they ended up fighting against an Elder there was no way of winning, but even if that Elder and Dia faced off against each other, he quickly realized that they still wouldn¡¯t have the upper hand . ¡°If we get into such a situation, we¡¯ll have to go against whatever forces the Elder brings without your help . ¡± ¡°Yes, you would . ¡± ¡°What kind of things are we going to have to face, damn it . ¡± ¡°No idea . I would think that it wouldn¡¯t be anything I can¡¯t handle, though . ¡± Dia said it to give some comfort, but it wasn¡¯t comforting at all . There weren¡¯t many things that an Elder couldn¡¯t deal with, and if something like that was brought out, there was nothing they could do about it . ¡°Well, I hope a high-class dragon won¡¯t come out . ¡± ¡°If something like that comes out, I give up . ¡± ¡®If it¡¯s something around a bone dragon, I¡¯ll be able to help Onii-san . ¡¯ As Loren spoke in a fed-up manner, Shayna said to him encouragingly . Bone dragons, which were made up of bones, were slightly different than the dragons that Dia was talking about, but it was still as dangerous . Loren and Lapis had been chased by one before, but putting Lapis aside, if Loren was to face off against it head on, he couldn¡¯t imagine beating it . ¡°I¡¯m not sure about low-class dragons . It will be easy for them to prepare wyverns and lesser dragons, which aren¡¯t far off from beasts . Wyverns had forelegs that were assimilated with its wings, and stood on its hind legs, looking like something that failed to become a dragon . Lesser dragons were low rank dragons, and only thought about hunting and mating . Among the nations on the continent, they had organizations that used them for sending messages during battle as well as supporting and attacking from the air, and since the humans were able to tame and use them, there was no way Elders couldn¡¯t do the same, so Dia said that it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they use them for interference . ¡°For vampires by the way, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if True classes come . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s a scary thing you just said . ¡± Loren wished she would say such important things in a more serious manner, but it seemed like to Dia, True class vampires weren¡¯t much of a threat . The difference in strength between Trues and Elders was imminent, and it was to a point where there was a wall between them, and to Elders, Trues weren¡¯t threatening at all, but to a human like Loren, either one was an eccentric monster, and were beings that he didn¡¯t want to face if he could . ¡°There are power struggles and factions among vampires as well . Trues were originally people who longed for great power and long lifespans and willingly became undead, you know? Of course, they would try to fawn upon factions that will benefit them . ¡± ¡°Not being able to get away from those strains even after dying is pretty sad . ¡± Loren thought that they became undead to escape these things, but Dia had a different opinion . ¡°There¡¯s no way you could escape from those unless you die and perish . I think that the ones who try to become Trues by magic or rituals want to be caught by the strains and struggles of the undead instead of the living . ¡± Loren wondered if that was the case, but the only ones who knew were the Trues that became undead by such magic, so there was no way to confirm . ¡°Well, even if something like that came, I could deal with it easily . If you get tired you can go to sleep if you want, okay?¡± As she said it in a way that made her seem like she was their caretaker, Dia hugged the wineskin that Loren had handed her earlier, which she had been pouring wine from and drinking it since dinner time . Not sure what to think of at the sight of Dia, who looked like a young girl, holding a wineskin, Loren plunged his great sword into the ground next to him and although he couldn¡¯t see into the darkness, he started looking around hoping he could at least catch something that would let them know something was coming, while Lapis threw more firewood onto the dying fire, strengthening it . Chapter 105 Chapter 105: 105 Ch . 105: Battle after Attack Time passed, where the position of the moon told him that it was halfway through the night, Loren was looking up into the sky, sitting down and leaning back against the blade of his great sword, which he had stabbed into the ground . Near him was Dia, still drinking wine, and next to her asking her questions was Lapis, who for some reason kept on glancing at him . In the end, even though they set up camp, no one went to sleep . As she had declared earlier, Dia planned on not sleeping at all, and Lapis, out of curiosity, was trying to extract as much information as she could out of her . Loren felt a strong opposition against sleeping while his client was awake, so all of them were currently awake . Part of Loren¡¯s reason was Dia staying up, but the stronger one was the feeling that he shouldn¡¯t let Lapis and Dia alone together . Although she didn¡¯t interact with people at all, Dia was someone who lived during the final years of the Ancient Kingdom, someone you usually wouldn¡¯t be able to meet . There was bound to be some dangerous knowledge within the things she knew, but since she was an Elder, things that were dangerous to humans might not seem so dangerous to her, so Loren was anxious that she would say something that could possibly mean the end of the world . ¡°You¡¯re not trusted at all . ¡± When Dia said with a laugh as she saw Loren all worried, Lapis puffed out her cheeks slightly . ¡°He has faith in me so it¡¯s okay . ¡± As Loren wondered if there was a difference between the two, he smelled something on the wind and slowly stood up . ¡°They¡¯re here . ¡± ¡°It seems so . ¡± Seeing Dia and Lapis stand up at the same time as he pulled his great sword out of the ground, Shayna, who took the form of a girl with wings, suddenly appeared in front of him . ¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll tune our sights . ¡¯ Loren, who was but a human, didn¡¯t have the power to see in the dark . But when his sight was linked with Shayna¡¯s, he started to be able to see things the same way as a no life king . The dark of the night turned bright in the blink of an eye, and where he saw nothing but an empty plain before, what he saw now made him grimace and take a step back . At the end of his sight was a countless number of beings . The beings who were surrounding them didn¡¯t have any expressions, but instead their faces looked like masks . Their clothes were ones that ordinary people would wear in villages or cities, but they weren¡¯t something that would be seen worn on the plains in the middle of the night . As Loren asked himself why he didn¡¯t notice until now, he saw the beings wavering red with hollow eyes within the no life king¡¯s sight, he got a good idea of why . It was because all the beings surrounding had become vampires . Unlike living beings, the undead had a very thin presence . Since they were moving, it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t have any presence at all, but since he was with beings with very strong presences such as Dia and Lapis, as well as himself, he wasn¡¯t able to differentiate them . ¡°Lapis, how did you not notice?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren . I was too busy talking with Dia . ¡± Lapis, whose eyes were prosthetics, were able to see through the dark and should have been able to spot the vampires faster than Loren . But she was too busy trying to extract as much information as she could from Dia, she wasn¡¯t paying attention to her surroundings . ¡°Don¡¯t blame her . I didn¡¯t notice until now either . ¡± Dia said to him as Lapis looked embarrassed, Loren had no intention of blaming Lapis ofr anything . He had no intention of pushing the fact that he didn¡¯t notice to someone else in the first place . ¡°More so, I didn¡¯t notice because I wasn¡¯t worried about them . ¡± ¡°That should be something to be worried about¡­¡± In a situation that decided whether or not she could be on her own or not, Loren thought that not paying attention to her surroundings was too careless . But when he thought about it, normal vampires weren¡¯t a threat at all to her, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if she wasn¡¯t worried . ¡°There¡¯s way too many . They¡¯re all vampires, too . ¡± ¡°Not all of them . Look again . ¡± Loren looked again at Dia¡¯s words and saw that indeed only a part of them had glowing red eyes, while the others were looking forward with dark, hollow eyes . ¡°I told you that only pure men and women could become vampires, right? If there were that many, what in the world have they been doing this whole time, won¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°So you mean¡­¡± Lapis wrapped her arms around her and looked around with her eyes wide . Dia sensed what Lapis was about to say and nodded . ¡°The Elder probably attacked some village or town and sucked the life out of all of the people there . What a disgusting thing to do . ¡± At her words, the beings surrounding them slowly started coming closer . With blank expressions and hollow eyes, and with their arms stretched forward as if wanting something, the beings started trudging forward, and seeing them, Loren hesitated for a moment, but quickly tightened the grip on his great sword . He knew it was a sad thing that happened, but there was no way to save someone who had drained of their blood and killed . ¡°There¡¯s no choice, huh . ¡± Even if they left them alone, they would find their way to someplace else and look for victims . Rather than showing them mercy by not killing them, Loren thought that killing them here and letting them move on, not letting them kill anyone else, was a better mercy, immediately stepped forward and swung his great sword through the shoulder of one that was closest to him . The heavy blade sunk into the poor victim¡¯s shoulder and cut down all the way down to the stomach without any resistance, as if there wasn¡¯t a difference between bone and flesh, and sprayed blood and flesh around . He swung the blade back, into another one¡¯s waist, ripping it in half, with the top flying away and the bottom sinking to the ground . Although Loren had killed two of the undead in an instant, a smile didn¡¯t appear on his face . There were too many of them . Killing just two of them didn¡¯t change anything, as a countless number of undead still surrounded them . And because Loren had killed them so extravagantly, spraying flesh and blood all over the place, the ones with red eyes started moving more smoothly, and started moving closer to the camp, leaving the slow ones behind . ¡°So annoying!¡± As one of them tried to jump on him, Loren smashed his great sword into it . His blows had easily ripped through the ones before, but this one caught the blade between its hands and tried to stop the blow before it reached its body . A vampire¡¯s body was a way stronger than when the body was human . Because of their superhuman strength, it was very difficult for humans to fight them, which was one of the reasons why they were so dangerous, and the vampire succeeded in slowing down Loren¡¯s blow . But in the next moment, the blade in its hands accelerated again, and crushed the surprised vampire head on . ¡®Onii-san, you¡¯re able to use it now!¡¯ It was the self-enhancing spell that used mana . Loren had become able to activate the skill that Lapis had taught him how to use on his own . With this, he could enhance his base strength, which made him be able to display superhuman strength for a moment . ¡°I can¡¯t keep it activated constantly though . It seems that I don¡¯t have that much mana . ¡± He had already confirmed that he could barely keep it activated for five minutes . But a spell that only lasted five minutes wasn¡¯t something that could be used in actual battle, so Loren thought of a different way of utilizing it . Not looking back at the body that sunk to the ground after suffering the full brunt of the blow, Loren swung the sword sideways in a wide arc . The sight of the undead in its path being ripped apart in half along with the sound of metal smashing into flesh and bone didn¡¯t look like the work of a human . It was proof that Loren was using the self enhancement just when he needed it when swinging his sword, dealing a stronger blow than usual . Activating the spell when he needed it instead of activating it constantly seemed simple, but it was in fact a very difficult thing to do . If he mistimed the activation, the power of the blow would fall, but by using his skill and intuition as a swordsman to cover it, he was succeeding in dealing powerful blows, incomparable to when he used his great sword normally . ¡°!¡± Next to him, Lapis was using her abilities as a priestess . Each time , which had the power to cleanse the undead, was used, a few of the undead were engulfed in white flames and turned to ashes without even letting out a scream . Although it didn¡¯t work on Shayna when they fought against her as the no life king, it seemed to have an instant effect on the undead around them, and as she saw undead after undead turn to ashes, Lapis gripped the sigil on her chest . 8 ¡°Loren! Look! I¡¯m doing priestess-like things!¡± ¡°Hearing those words from your own mouth¡­I¡¯ve got nothing to say . ¡± Although exasperated, Loren turned the undead into chunks of flesh, blow after blow . When facing off against the undead, weapons would usually be consecrated or be made of silver, but Loren¡¯s great sword had a black blade made of unknown material . Loren was worried if it would be effective against undead, but no matter how tough they were, it seemed that they couldn¡¯t continue moving if they were cut in half or crushed . ¡°Incredible . I¡¯m impressed that you could do something like this even as a human . ¡± Dia, who was standing behind Loren and Lapis, looking at the situation, raised a voice of wonder . That was how well the two of them were decreasing the numbers of their attackers . On top of that, neither of them was injured, and were waging a one sided battle, so Dia couldn¡¯t help but be surprised . ¡°It looks like there¡¯s nothing for me to do . ¡± ¡°You can always help us a bit, you know?¡± Although Loren did feel opposed to making his client work, but he had a good reason to ignore it . It was because of the vampires mixed within the attackers . He could make quick work of normal undead, but for the vampires, he couldn¡¯t defeat them without using self enhancement . Of course, he could immediately defeat them when he used it, but the more he used it, the more it drained his mana, and because of the numerous attackers, he soon started running out of breath . But there were still many enemies left, so even though she was his client, it was natural for Loren to think of wanting the help of Dia . ¡°By a bit, do you mean this much?¡± Hearing Loren¡¯s words, Dia waved her small hand . Although it was a small, simple action which didn¡¯t cut through the atmosphere nor shatter the earth open, but with just that, the heads of the attackers in an area flew off . Since they were already dead, blood didn¡¯t spurt out everywhere, but the sound of the heads hitting the ground rang out, and the blood flowed out from the sinking bodies, dousing the ground in red . The silent scene of death took Loren and Lapis¡¯ breath away . ¡°I don¡¯t care which is first, the attackers being wiped out or the sun rising, but do your best . ¡± Wiping out a portion of the attackers, Dia sat down, as if her job was now done . If his client defeated more enemies than he did, him being hired would become meaningless, so Loren raised his great sword above his head and cut into the attackers, while Lapis, with her sigil in hand and using , continued reducing the number of their enemies . Chapter 106 Chapter 106 Ch . 106: Increased Payment Loren ended up swinging his great sword until morning . The undead that attacked them were slow and weren¡¯t a threat individually, but there were just too many of them . At the enemies whose numbers didn¡¯t seem to drop no matter how many he cut down, Loren started to worry that it could come to the worst, the sky began to lighten, and morning soon came so the attackers gave up and disappeared . After all of them disappeared, Loren pried his unmoving fingers off the handle of his great sword and dropped it to the ground . Thinking that it would¡¯ve been bad if there had been more proper vampires than there were, Loren stuck his great sword into the ground and sat down on the ground, breathing hard . Loren thought that the only reason they managed to drive the attacker off was because most of them were the slow, zombie like enemies . The amount of fatigue he felt told him that if it wasn¡¯t for that, it would¡¯ve been possible that they would¡¯ve fell prey to them . But he couldn¡¯t afford to rest all day . Although they had survived the attack during the night, it couldn¡¯t be said that they were completely out of danger¡¯s path . Even though they didn¡¯t know who it was, the fact that there was an attack meant that whoever it was knew their position, and there was no telling when the next attack would be . ¡°Let¡¯s start moving . We can¡¯t handle another attack . ¡± ¡°Looks like we took quite the difficult job . ¡± Lapis quickly started taking down the camp even as she complained . Loren stood up to help her, but Lapis stopped him with her hand and he ended up sitting down again . ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the camp . Loren you should rest as much as you can . ¡± Even though she had used <> the whole time, unlike divine arts, it didn¡¯t drain any of her strength, and since she was a demon, she was stronger than a human as well . Watching Lapis, who showed no signs of fatigue other than lack of sleep, quickly take down the camp, Loren took deep breaths and relaxed his body, trying to recover as much as he could . ¡°I¡¯m impressed that you managed to keep swinging that until now . ¡± Dia was looking at Loren¡¯s great sword . Although it was made of many kinds of materials from its handle to the tip of its blade, the great sword, which was completely composed of the color black, had cut through and crushed the undead all night, and as a result it was sticky with flesh and blood . Loren knew that he should wipe it off or else it would rust the blade, but his body wouldn¡¯t listen to him, and although he tried to reach for it, he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to lift it up . ¡°Keep resting . I can wipe it for you . ¡± Seeing Loren¡¯s shaking hand reaching for his great sword, Dia grabbed it by the blade and pulled it out of the ground . Seeing a small girl lifting a sword that was taller and thicker than her was a strange sight, but what made Loren¡¯s eyes widen was that Dia had grabbed the blade, which caused her hand to be covered in blood as well . Vampires getting drunk off blood was well known . It was a phenomenon where a vampire that touched or saw blood would lose its reason and start killing left and right, but although Dia was an Elder, she was a vampire as well, so she should have the same kind of thirst . Although it was the blood of the undead, Loren was afraid that if she touched human blood, she would get drunk from it . But with just a disgusted expression at the blood on her hand, she took the wet cloth that Lapis had brought her and started cleaning the blade . ¡°H-hey?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry . We Elders can keep all other impulses except our blood impulse that happens once a year down with our willpower . Which is why there is no way for us to keep our blood impulse down . ¡± ¡°Just wondering . Is there a possibility that one time hasn¡¯t come around yet?¡± It seemed to be an impulse so strong that they couldn¡¯t keep it at bay . And since Dia was an Elder, if she somehow went under its influence and attacked them, there was no way for them to escape . And from what she had told them, one person would have his blood sucked out completely . If it wasn¡¯t, the supposed five hundred victims should be existing somewhere . Loren had heard before that the powers of a victim of a vampire was reliant on the parent vampire . Undead that were victims of normal vampires as well as Trues were already quite terrifying, so if undead created by Elders were roaming all around free, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the world would end soon enough . ¡°Ahh, well, you know . If it happens, I¡¯ll think of something . ¡± As Dia looked away slowly as she said that, Loren, without thinking, forced his body to move away from her, and seeing him, Dia frowned . ¡°It¡¯s a joke . I¡¯m already done with it . If not, I wouldn¡¯t ask humans for help . ¡± ¡°Bad taste for a joke¡­¡± It was a life relating matter . Wiping cold sweat, Loren sat down again, and Dia picked up the cleaned great sword and handed it to him . ¡°A great sword made of magic iron . Humans have quite fine weapons as well, I see . It must have cost you a fortune . Take good care of it . ¡± ¡°Magic iron?¡± ¡°What? You¡¯ve been using it without knowing?¡± As Dia looked surprised, Loren glanced at Lapis . Lapis, who was putting up camp, didn¡¯t seem to notice their conversation, much less his gaze . ¡°You know that demon kin reside in the center of the continent, surrounded by mountains, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s a metal that could be found there . It¡¯s a valuable material that gains different attributes when mana is poured into it, so it¡¯s very rare to see a weapon which is made up of so much of it . It¡¯s usually spread thin across a normal steel blade or just the blade being made of it . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite expensive, I¡¯m guessing?¡± Judging from Dia¡¯s explanation, he could tell that it was a very valuable metal . The rarer something was, the more expensive it was, so Loren decided to confirm with Dia, and she looked at the sword and thought for a moment . ¡°It¡¯s made of genuine magic iron . Its core is most likely magic iron as well . On top of that, there are many runes engraved on it as well . I¡¯m not sure why a rune to make it lighter isn¡¯t incorporated¡­¡± As she muttered that there should be room to include it, Dia gave her conclusion after a while . ¡°With the material and runes, gold worth ten times its weight wouldn¡¯t be enough . If you are a true swordsman, you wouldn¡¯t try to let go of something like this . ¡± Loren gulped at Dia¡¯s appraisal . The amount of money that he had borrowed from Lapis was quite a bit but finding out that it was worth way more than that, Loren couldn¡¯t help but be surprised, and while he sat there speechless, Lapis, who seemed to have finished packing everything up, was next to him . ¡°That¡¯s incredible . Loren you¡¯re so lucky that you could buy something like that . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Loren¡¯s words implied something . When Loren had bought the great sword at Kauffa, Lapis and the shop owner had been suspicious, so Loren believed that Lapis had prepared it somehow and made the owner sell it to him . Loren asked Lapis if it was fine to say that he managed to get his hands on something he wouldn¡¯t be able to buy at its full price by chance, but Lapis answered with a smile . ¡°Of course, it is . ¡± ¡°I see . So that¡¯s what it is . ¡± From their conversation as well as her realizing what Lapis was, Dia had understood what was going on . ¡°Don¡¯t sell it just because it¡¯s expensive, okay?¡± ¡°I know . I won¡¯t . ¡± Nodding at Lapis, Loren took the sword from Dia, stood up, and strapped it onto his back . Watching him with a satisfied expression, Lapis clapped her hands . ¡°So, we¡¯re done with packing up, so let¡¯s get moving . Loren got some rest as well, and it¡¯ll be bad if we get attacked again . ¡± ¡°Not going to lie¡­I can¡¯t deal with that many opponents for a while . I¡¯m the weakest out of all of us her, you know . ¡± Although he replied so, despite what he just said, he could feel his body recovering at a rapid pace . Of course, this wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s own power . It was Shayna, who was within Loren, using the life energy she had siphoned using energy drain and pouring it into Loren, speeding up his recovery in an inhuman speed . If she poured in too much, she would drain her own strength, but Shayna was powerful enough to aid with Loren¡¯s recovery without a problem . ¡®I sucked out a lot from the attackers, so don¡¯t worry Onii-san . ¡¯ Loren was slightly worried that Shayna was using her powers to help him recover, but when her words that seemed to laugh his worries off reached his mind, Loren laughed nervously . ¡°But compared to the great sword and coat you¡¯re wearing; your armor is quite shabby . ¡± Dia told Loren as she started leading the way, leaving the campsite behind . Out of his equipment, his great sword and coat was something Lapis had readied, but his clothes and leather armor were normal ones he bought at the shop . To Loren, it was enough to serve its purpose and didn¡¯t feel like he needed anything better, but to Dia, it seemed unsatisfactory . ¡°You have such fine equipment, so you should be at least be using armor that meets the standards as well . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford them, so . ¡± It wasn¡¯t like there weren¡¯t any items like his sword and coat that were worth way more than their price but coming upon such items wasn¡¯t easy . And although his debt had decreased, he still owed ten gold coins, and since his income wasn¡¯t much either, he didn¡¯t have the money to upgrade his equipment . ¡°From the attack last night, I was just thinking about how the payment I promised you wasn¡¯t enough . If we manage to get to our destination, how about I present you equipment?¡± ¡°Thanks for offering, but the payment is split between me and my partner . ¡± Loren thought that he shouldn¡¯t accept payment that only he could receive . There was the option of getting the payment in money and splitting it with Lapis, but that would mean that there would have to be money that was worth half of the price of the equipment Dia would give him in his wallet, but he didn¡¯t have that amount . ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all . Loren¡¯s equipment being upgraded means that I¡¯ll have an easier time . ¡± ¡°That might be true, but¡­¡± ¡°If you want to say it won¡¯t feel right, then there¡¯s also the option of increasing your debt by half the amount of the price of the equipment . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it to raise it any further¡­¡± Since she didn¡¯t remind him, the load wasn¡¯t too heavy, but Loren didn¡¯t want to increase it if he didn¡¯t have to . ¡°Then how about I ready some other type of payment for Lapis . That¡¯s fine, no?¡± ¡°I guess, yeah . ¡± ¡°Wow Loren, extra payment . It makes you want to try harder, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis said happily, but the thought of the pack of undead from the night before lied heavily in Loren¡¯s mind . It was doubtful that those were the full force of whoever sent them, and the closer Dia got to the ruins, the higher the chance of something more dangerous attacking them . Having thoughts that he should be happy after the extra payment after he had survived the whole thing, Loren quickened his pace slightly . Chapter 107 Chapter 107 Ch. 107: Explanation after Delay The group had left the campsite, but they still had a day¡¯s worth of walking to reach their destination. If they moved smoothly, they would reach the ruins at nighttime, but Loren suggested they slow down a bit and spend a night slightly far off from it. Dia, who wanted to reach the ruins as soon as she could, didn¡¯t like his suggestion and said they reach their destination as quickly as possible, but Loren didn¡¯t listen to her, and forcefully slowed down their speed. ¡°You¡¯ve realized something, haven¡¯t you?¡± Lapis, who didn¡¯t say her opinion, asked Loren. Near him, Dia glared at him, telling him that if it wasn¡¯t a good reason, she wouldn¡¯t go easy on him, but since he had nothing better to do, Loren explained why he suggested so. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s to mess up the interferers¡¯ schedule.¡± ¡°Schedule?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s just a guess, but the route we¡¯re using is known to them, right? If it wasn¡¯t, there¡¯s now way they could send such a large amount of undead straight to that particular place last night.¡± It was the pack of undead that they couldn¡¯t wipe out completely even with Dia wiping out a portion of them, Lapis cleansing them one after another, and Loren swinging his great sword around all night. Of course, it was way more than a few dozen, and if such a large number of undead were wandering around that area in plain sight, they would notice them, and since they didn¡¯t, it meant that they came from the opposite way of them so that they reached their campsite in the middle of the night. To make that possible, there was a need to have a general idea of where they would set up camp. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t walk on the road, it shouldn¡¯t be surprising if we run into a village or two. But we haven¡¯t, so it means Dia selected a route that far off from them, which would limit the number of routes she could take.¡± Villages weren¡¯t always near roads or highways. Small villages existed here and there, and even if they weren¡¯t following the road, it was strange they hadn¡¯t seen one yet. ¡°Of course. I want to stay away from meaningless confusion and fighting. There¡¯s the ones who want to interfere, as well as the fact that I¡¯m not a being that would be welcomed at human dwellings.¡± Not welcomed, was a very moderate way to put it, but Loren had no intention of pointing that out, so he just nodded. Dia¡¯s thought of not wanting to involve humans was favorable to him, but he felt that it was a bit too late for that. He thought so because he was sure that a few villages had become victims and turned into the pack of undead that attacked them the night before. But Loren didn¡¯t say anything about it, and just prayed that the victims found peace wherever they went. ¡°I think that whoever is trying to interfere is piecing together our route and the speed we are travelling at, and calculating where we would be at what time, as well as where we would camp, and set a schedule based on that.¡± ¡°So, you want to slow down on purpose to mess up their calculations.¡± It wouldn¡¯t mean anything if there was someone spying on them, but Loren thought that it was better than not trying anything. ¡°The second reason is to make sure that the time which we run into such problems is during the day.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care whether it be night or day.¡± ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t, but it¡¯s troubling for us. What human would want to jump into the middle of undead in the dead of the night, when they are the strongest?¡± The undead were weak against the sunlight. Of course, when it came to Elders, it wasn¡¯t a fatal weakness any longer, but they were still somewhat weaker during the day. He wasn¡¯t sure what was waiting for them at the ruins, but if they reached it during the evening and started exploring during the night, trouble was bound to hit them during that time. ¡°Putting into consideration there¡¯s going to be at least one more attack, it should be better than rushing in there at night.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re trying to reduce the chances of meeting two attacks, I see.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t have such a reason, I was about to think that you were just trying to prolong the inevitable, but since you have a legitimate reason, I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Dia, who had looked upset, couldn¡¯t seem to bring herself to keep urging to hurry up, so she decided to listen to Loren¡¯s suggestion. But Loren still had a feeling they would run into a second attack, but then noticed that Dia was looking into empty space, as if she had noticed something. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± Not responding to Loren¡¯s question, a bright smile appeared on her face as she continued staring at a point in space and started running off. He wasn¡¯t sure what had gotten into her, and all Loren and Lapis could do was follow Dia with their eyes, and as she stopped in the middle of nothing, she raised her arms and said with a smile. ¡°Master! What are you doing here!?¡± During her words, the space in front of her warped. Loren and Lapis stiffened at the sight, but Dia wasn¡¯t alarmed at all, and just stood there with her arms outstretched, and suddenly a hand appeared out of the distorting space, grabbed it, and widened it. Eventually, when the distortion was wide enough for a person to go through, a woman with platinum blonde hair, wearing a black dress that was open wide at the chest appeared. The woman looked around slowly, then confirmed the sight of Dia looking at her with a smile and her arms outstretched, frowned for a moment, and dropped her fist on Dia¡¯s head. ¡°Ow!? M-master!?¡± Putting her hands on her head, Dia tried to argue, but the woman put out an index finger in front of her face and made a scary face, then started scolding her about the importance of security and being cautious. ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Master¡¯ me you idiot student. An Elder who is about to be on her own standing in place with her arms outstretched, defenseless. What were you going to do if I was an enemy? Do you want to get killed?¡± Dia drooped her shoulders as she got scolded by the woman who just appeared. ¡°But master. I knew it was your spell from the way the spell from the way it felt¡­¡± ¡°It¡­It¡¯s not bad to be confident in your abilities. But too much of it will lead to carelessness and bring about unexpected results. Do you want to get killed?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dia seemed down at being scolded by the woman, but Loren and Lapis, who had been looking at the whole thing from the start, were frozen in place, not sure how to react. The woman, who finally seemed to notice them, coughed, and bowed in a manner that even Loren, who knew nothing about courtesy, could see as refined. ¡°Excuse me for the sudden visit. Sorry for surprising you.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah¡­I mean, who are you?¡± Since Dia wasn¡¯t wary of her, it seemed safe to think that she wasn¡¯t an enemy. But if someone that you didn¡¯t know suddenly appeared in front of you, it would be impossible not to be wary, so Loren, with his hand on the handle of his great sword, asked the woman without getting any closer. ¡°I ought to have introduced myself first. Let¡¯s see¡­Call me Sierra.¡± A woman that didn¡¯t introduce herself normally, was wearing a dress that didn¡¯t match the plains that they were in, and whom Dia, and Elder, called master. With these conditions, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what the woman was, and even thought he was sure he was correct; Loren cautiously asked the woman. ¡°Are you¡­an Elder as well?¡± ¡°Indeed I am. And I am the former caretaker of Dia, who you are helping.¡± A being that didn¡¯t name herself properly, appeared in the middle of a plain far from any road in a dress, and someone that Dia the Elder called Master. With these conditions, it wasn¡¯t hard at all to guess who the woman was, but Loren still asked, without letting his guard down. ¡°Are you¡­an Elder as well?¡± ¡°Indeed I am. And I am also the former guardian of Dia, whom you are assisting.¡± The woman named Sierra, who had answered his question, looked to be in her mid-twenties. But since she had introduced herself as Dia¡¯s guardian, and Dia called her Master, she would be well over five hundred years old, and was an Elder as well. On top of that, with Dia trying to get on her own, she was the one who had prepared this test, and was the reason that he and Lapis were on this job. ¡°What kind of business does her former guardian have with us at this time?¡± Even if she was related to Dia in the form of her former guardian, Loren couldn¡¯t help but be wary of her, as she had appeared after the attack. Sierra seemed to understand him, so even though she saw Loren, who still had his hand on his weapon, and Lapis, who had taken a defensive posture, she didn¡¯t seem to be upset at all and proceeded to answer Loren¡¯s question with a calm face. ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on interfering at all with the exam. But it seems that someone very troublesome is interfering, so I got worried.¡± ¡°Master, you were worried about me¡­¡± Dia didn¡¯t even try to hide her smile when she heard that Sierra had moved for her. Loren was worried that she was being too careless, but that seemed to be the same with Sierra, as she brought her fist down on Dia¡¯s head again and started scolding her. ¡°Stop acting like you¡¯re my student forever. I told you that the others considered you ready for being on your own because your skill with magic surpassed mine, haven¡¯t I? How many times do I have to tell you to watch your actions since you¡¯re finally going to become a proud member of the Elders¡­?¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like I want to interrupt your pleasant teacher-student time.¡± He had no intention of saving a teary-eyed Dia from Sierra¡¯s scolding, but he felt that it would go on for a while, so he interrupted them. ¡°If you know who is getting in our way, shouldn¡¯t you start by telling us about it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­true. The person who is your opponent is Stoos. She isn¡¯t particularly powerful, but she is still quite troublesome.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± As Lapis wondered what she meant by not powerful but still troublesome, Sierra answered her. ¡°The stronger an Elder is, the less likely it is for it to borrow the strengths of others. On the other hand, the less powerful it is, the more it would try to find pawns to put around it.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that are opponents are many. That¡¯s indeed troublesome.¡± Sierra nodded as Lapis growled, and then her eyes turned back to Dia. ¡°From my standpoint, I cannot help you. But with your strength, you should be fine, and with the helpers that you have are formidable as well, but don¡¯t let your guard down.¡± ¡°Master¡­¡± Sierra reached for Dia¡¯s head, but instead of a fist, this time she patted her on the head with her palm and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t make such a face. You¡¯re my student. You will be fine. I¡¯ll be waiting for the day that you will join us as a member of the Elders.¡± As she said so while patting Dia on the head, after a while, Dia looked straight at Sierra¡¯s eyes, and nodded. Chapter 108 Chapter 108: 108 Ch . 108: Thinking after Warning As Dia continued looking at her with a smile, after telling them what they needed to know, Sierra disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared . Since the one who had given the test, and because it was troublesome if the interferers found out that information about them had been leaked and set up new plans, she believed she should keep contact to a minimum . Loren thought Sierra could¡¯ve assisted them, but it seemed that there was a line she wouldn¡¯t cross, so the only thing she gave Dia was information . ¡°The information itself is helpful enough, no?¡± Dia told Loren, who had a complaining look on his face, as she started walking again . Dia was satisfied knowing the identity of their enemy, but to Loren, it was another Elder, and the only thing they found out was that she had many pawns and didn¡¯t feel like the information helped at all . ¡°Dia you must like your master a lot . ¡± As Loren went silent, since he couldn¡¯t tell his client what he was thinking exactly, Lapis spoke out, and Dia said happily as a wide grin spread across her face . ¡°Of course . Master looked after me for a long time, and she¡¯s very kind . ¡± ¡°She came to give us information on the interferer, after all . ¡± Lapis smiled as well . Dia¡¯s smile widened even further, as if she was happy that good things were said about her master . Although Loren was concerned about the lack of vigilance, but when he thought about it, although Dia was an Elder who had lived around five hundred years, she wasn¡¯t of age and had learned many things from Sierra, so it could be considered that Sierra was her whole world . In that case, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Dia trusted Sierra so much, so Loren kept silent, thinking it would be insensitive to interrupt her, as she was telling Lapis more about Sierra with a smile . ¡®Onii-san, are you wary of her?¡¯ The one who said to him was Shayna . The girl that almost became a no life king, who was within Loren¡¯s astral body, was currently the being that was closest to him, and seemed to be able to sense his emotions . ¡°Doubt anyone other than yourself and your companions during a job, that¡¯s the mercenary style . ¡± It would be troublesome if Dia heard him . So Loren muttered in a small voice that no one else could hear . ¡°Speaking of master, Loren . About the teacher who taught you swordsmanship . ¡± Taking no notice of Loren¡¯s thoughts, Dia said to Loren in a good mood . Although confused at the sudden change in subject, Loren decided that even if he continued thinking about Sierra he wouldn¡¯t conclude, so he went with it . ¡°What about my teacher?¡± ¡°Who in the world is he?¡± When Dia asked her, the image of a single man popped up in the back of hisi mind . The man who had picked him up before he could even remember anything and raised him as a mercenary . Although it hadn¡¯t been long since he last saw him, when he thought about him, it seemed like a long time had passed, and Loren let out a troubled laugh . Now that the group had disbanded, Loren didn¡¯t know where he was or what he was doing, or if he was even alive, but he felt that the man who had raised him was still alive . ¡°I was a mercenary before an adventurer, and he was the leader of the group that I was a part of . I learned it from him . Although he said I don¡¯t have the talent, so I only learned a bit . ¡± It was also because of him that Loren had started using the great sword as his weapon of choice . Because the leader had told him that since he didn¡¯t have the talent for skill he should train his strength, Loren had devoted to training his body, and was able to use large weapons that normal people couldn¡¯t use . ¡°He wasn¡¯t that famous of a mercenary . He didn¡¯t have a title either . He was caring person, but as a mercenary he was normal . ¡± It was Loren¡¯s evaluation of him as an individual . As a leader, he had brought the whole group together quite well, and his commands in battle were very clever and experienced, as there were a few times they had turned the tables on a losing battle because of them . But in the end, with the fact that the group had been destroyed, it couldn¡¯t be said that his command wasn¡¯t something divine . ¡°Was he a human?¡± The question that Dia had asked Loren after his evaluation was strange, so Loren looked at her with a blank expression . If she was being silly, Loren would¡¯ve noticed it from her expression, but Dia¡¯s face was serious, so he knew in an instant that she wasn¡¯t joking, so after recalling his memories of the leader, he concluded . ¡°I believe he was human . There wasn¡¯t anything strange about him . ¡± ¡°I see . That¡¯s strange . ¡± At Loren¡¯s response, Dia said with an unsatisfied expression . As Loren waited for her to continue, not sure what she was so concerned about, Dia told him what it was . ¡°You remember when you were fighting that cocky child at the training ground in Kauffa?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that old to forget something that recent . ¡± It was in the middle of Loren¡¯s rank up exam from copper to iron, and it wasn¡¯t that long ago . ¡°That time, you were using a normal two-handed sword instead of a great sword . ¡± Among the training weapons, there wasn¡¯t a great sword like the one Loren usually used, so Loren had fought the one who Dia had called a cocky child, Klaus, with a weapon he didn¡¯t normally use . With an unfamiliar weapon, he couldn¡¯t close in on him, and on top of that, Dia had interrupted them so the fight hadn¡¯t gone to the end . Remembering that far, Loren remembered that Dia had said something about the gesture he did being interesting . ¡°First, the one who taught you the sword knows how to fight like a knight . The moves you made were tracing the basic fighting style of a knight . ¡± Why would the leader of a mercenary group know the fighting style of a knight? That was indeed an interesting point, but Loren thought that it wasn¡¯t something uncommon . There was the possibility that the leader¡¯s fighting style was coincidently similar to one of a knight, and it wasn¡¯t uncommon for knights who lost their nation or had been dismissed to become mercenaries . If one had fought with or been taught their skills, it wasn¡¯t strange for a mercenary to learn how to fight like a knight . Even if it wasn¡¯t, there was always a chance to fight enemy knights in the battlefield, so there was the possibility it had come naturally . ¡°With that amount of experience and mastered swordsmanship to the point where he could teach others, I would think that he is quite the genius though . ¡± Dia seemed to think it was strange that such a genius wouldn¡¯t make a name for himself, but Loren hadn¡¯t heard anything about him being well known . Even Loren, who wasn¡¯t interested in such things, had heard of well-known mercenaries such as ¡®Sword Demon¡¯, ¡®Slaying Wind¡¯, and ¡®Hellfire blades¡¯ . If his leader was someone like them, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t have heard about it, so Loren thought that he wasn¡¯t well known at all . ¡°Well, even so, that¡¯s not what caught my interest . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s something else?¡± ¡°Resalute . A knight¡¯s resalute . ¡± It was the salute that knights made to each other in a duel . It meant that they would fight fairly within the bounds of knightly order, and of course, it wasn¡¯t something a mercenary would do . Loren used to think that it was a strange thing to be taught . It wasn¡¯t something you would do during battle, and unless it was against knights that followed some sets of rules, it was unnecessary . But for some reason, the leader had taught Loren the resalute . He had stopped being so persistent about it after Loren changed his weapon to the great sword, but he had told him to do it when he used a normal sword, especially in a duel, and Loren kept it even now . Loren thought it as showing respect to his leader, who taught him how to fight, but Dia was interested in that resalute . ¡°I know it¡¯s strange for a mercenary to do it . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it . Not whether you do it or not, but how you do it is strange . ¡± Loren cocked his head at Dia¡¯s words . Her being interested in how he was doing it, not whether he was doing it or not, was unexpected, so he wasn¡¯t sure how to respond . ¡°Usually a knight¡¯s sword is devoted to his master, so it is pointed upwards . ¡± As she walked, she reached out to a short tree and easily pulled it out with her childish arm, held it with both hands, and held it at her chest . The tips of the branches were pointed up towards the sky, and Dia said that this was a normal knight¡¯s resalute . ¡°But Loren¡¯s resalute pointed his sword downwards . This isn¡¯t normal . ¡± ¡°Maybe some nations do it differently . I¡¯m not sure what nation Leader saw it in, though . ¡± There were numerous nations in the world, and there was that many knights as well . Loren thought that there would be knights that resaluted as he did, but Dia disagreed . ¡°There are different styles of sword techniques, but for resalutes, this stance is almost universal . No matter where the knight is from, it would be strange if he didn¡¯t take this stance . Of course, this is what I learned from my master, but it¡¯s the knowledge of a long living Elder . ¡± ¡°You said almost just now, right? So that means there¡¯s nations that are different . ¡± Loren thought there were exceptions to everything, but Dia threw away the tree and shook her head once more . ¡°There is indeed exceptions . I only know one exception¡­but that¡¯s why I can¡¯t help but be interested . After all, the exception is something no one in the current world knows about . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s some vampire knight . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t want the think that Leader was an undead, but when Loren asked Dia about the possibility, Dia shook her head again . ¡°There are no knights among vampires . There aren¡¯t any nations in the first place either . ¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Loren¡¯s question was silenced by Dia¡¯s gaze . As his words were caught in his throat, Dia said to him in a somewhat uncertain tone . ¡°I can¡¯t talk about this so easily . There¡¯s the possibility that your leader arranged it in a weird way . So I want more information on him . What¡¯s his name?¡± Loren recalled his leader¡¯s name . The name of the person who raised him and taught him all the knowledge and skill he possessed . ¡°Juli Muthschild . That¡¯s his name . He used to brag that he had a family name even though he¡¯s a mercenary . ¡± ¡°I see . Let me think for a bit . I¡¯ll tell you when I find something out . ¡± After saying so, Dia ended the conversation and started walking towards their destination again . Following her, Loren started thinking about his leader¡¯s identity, even though he knew he wouldn¡¯t find out anything . Chapter 109 Chapter 109 The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 109 Preparing to Intercept Loren and the others started to walk again, and time moved along without anything happening during the day . As for those that might try to disturb them, their forces mainly consisted of undead, and so they would not go out of their way to attack during the day, when their powers were weakest . So aside from the attack at the campsite, the company didn¡¯t even feel their presence at all . As they were off the main road, they didn¡¯t pass by travelers either . As for other towns, Dia made sure to use routes that avoided them, so they were never even close . Loren had then wondered about the possibility of being attacked by wild monsters, but this too had been dismissed early on . After all, the person who was leading them, while she looked like a young girl, she was a vampire that was over 500-years-old . Dia did not want her identity to be known while they were in town, but she had told Loren and the others when they were alone . So there was no longer any need to hide it . And her presence could be felt from far away . If you had even the slightest ability to be able to detect it, then you would know that she was too dangerous an enemy to get near to . And so that was also keeping monsters away . Even Loren had seen a few monsters in the distance and they had run frantically away when noticing Dia¡¯s presence . And so it was clear that not even a starving beast would attack them as long as Dia was nearby . ¡°Should we stop here?¡± And so they had traveled a good distance without any trouble . Dia saw that they would reach their destination soon enough, and so Loren and the others decided that they would camp here and get some rest . ¡°But isn¡¯t it a little early?¡± While the sun was starting to descend in the sky, it was still quite high . Dia felt that they could reach their destination before the sun set if they continued on . But Loren and Lapis thought this was a good time to stop if they were to camp at all . ¡°We can see a lot from here . ¡± ¡°And there is no one to disturb us . ¡± They said as Loren began to take their stuff off of the donkey . Dia had assumed they would start with preparing the tent, and so she narrowed her eyebrows when she saw what Loren took out first . ¡°What are you doing?¡± What Loren had taken out was not the tent . It was a single shovel . Chapter 110 Chapter 110: 110 Ch . 110: Attack after Midnight Time passed, and when the moon was high up in the sky . As Loren was keeping watch, fighting the urge to fall asleep, he noticed a smell that reached his nose in a night breeze, and slapped himself on the cheek to wake himself up completely . He had meant to hold back, but his sleepiness caused him to fail, so along with a sharp pain that almost made his eyes tear up, a sharp clear sound rang out, and Lapis, who was crouched near him, trembled slightly and her head shot up and she looked around in a panic, while Dia, who was leaning against the dirt wall, rubbed her eyes and looked at Loren with an annoying gaze . Loren was too busy dealing with his sleepiness that he didn¡¯t notice the two of them, but it seemed like they were almost asleep . Loren didn¡¯t even try to scold them, but instead he looked past the dirt wall to see what the smell on the wind was, and his expression hardened, teeth grinding, at what he saw . With his sight being linked to Shayna¡¯s, it allowed him to see the sight before him, regardless of it being night time . What he saw was dense crowd of corpses of rotten flesh and bones that he didn¡¯t even want to attempt trying to count how many there were . ¡°They went down in rank, but increased in number . ¡± Lapis walked up beside him, hitting her cheeks to chase away her sleepiness and said in a bored voice as she saw the enemy in the distance, but when she saw Loren¡¯s face, she knew that he was looking at something more, so she squinted and looked again into the approaching enemy, and pulled back in surprise at a shadow towards the back . ¡°What is it¡­?¡± Dia knew from Loren and Lapis¡¯ reaction that they weren¡¯t looking at the herd of zombies and skeletons, so she looked in the same direction, saw the shadow in the back, and her eyes widened slightly . It was the shadow of a giant dragon . But the dragon¡¯s eyes were dark and its body was in tatters with no webbing on its wings, holes all around its body, and some sort of liquid dripping from its body, smoke rising from where it hit the ground . Usually where there would be sharp fangs lined up, more than half of them were missing, giving it a creepy feel . ¡°A dragon zombie¡­¡± A monster that was born by turning a dead body of a dragon into an undead . As a monster, it was no different than a normal zombie, which was the lowest rank undead, but since dragons were large and powerful to begin with, dragon zombies were a great threat . Unlike normal dragons, dragon zombies lost the ability to use their breaths as well as their magic . Although dragon corpses were very rare so they were barely seen, their size and strength, as well as their sturdiness on top of being undead, dragon zombies were monsters that could topple a whole nation . ¡°Seems like our opponents are quite serious . ¡± ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem so surprised Loren . ¡± Seeing a rotting dragon corpse should be quite shocking, so Lapis expected some sort of reaction . But although Loren did look surprised that such a thing was their opponent, there was nothing than that, which confused her . ¡°It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve seen one . There was one that was buried beneath a battlefield that woke up during the night and it was a nightmare . ¡± It was hard to meet a living dragon, but Loren said that corpses were found quite often . Although it was unknown if it died of age, fighting another dragon, or some other unknown reason, but every now and then there would be a corpse buried under the ground in plains, forests, and swamps that people wouldn¡¯t step foot in . They would usually return to dust, but rarely, due to a few bad conditions being met, it would become undead and crawl out of the ground . ¡°Those places usually become battlefields since there¡¯s nothing around there to be damaged or destroyed . I have no idea if they become zombies since a lot of people die above it or it¡¯s the land itself that¡¯s like that though . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that . Just wondering, how did you survive it?¡± ¡°I just held my head down and ran . I was lucky I didn¡¯t die . It crumbled on its own when the sun came up . ¡± Since the dragon zombies that appeared on the battlefield had no master, after spreading death and destruction for the night, they normally burned away in the sun after . If the body remained, they could sell the body for a high price, but since everything burned when the sun came out, nothing would remain of it . Which meant it was nothing but an annoyance as well as a disaster . ¡°How about this time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I have the option of running this time . ¡± Even if he ran, since Loren and the party were the targets, it would continue to chase him down . The reason why Loren escaped the dragon zombie on the battlefield was because its targets included his allies as well as his enemies . Repeatedly taking care to not become a target and by running as far as he can while someone else was being attacked was the reason why he survived, so when it came to straight up running away by himself, he wasn¡¯t confident if he could pull it off . ¡°How about fighting it full strength?¡± ¡°Are you telling me to die?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯d do pretty well against it . You can use your self-enhancement as well so . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s something you could go against with a bit of enhancement . ¡± ¡°Hmm . ¡± Wondering if it was really impossible, Lapis threw the stone she was holding . Thinking that it was a lot easier to deal with their opponents since they completely looked like enemies, the stone that Lapis threw flew straight in the air and went through several skeletons and zombies, scattering rotten flesh, and turned them back into corpses . The next stone that she threw right after went through several zombies and completely decimated a skeleton . ¡°Damn¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got my physical arms back after all . All thanks to you Loren . ¡± As Loren wondered if he did anything, Lapis continued to throw stones . Although there was a great number of them, zombies and skeletons moved very slowly . Since they could see in the dark, Loren and Lapis noticed them and started attacking while they were still far away, so currently they were completely on the offensive . Loren couldn¡¯t throw stones like Lapis could, but he still used his sling and managed to defeat them one by one, but using their sheer numbers as a weapon, the undead that surrounded them came closer and closer . ¡°I don¡¯t understand . ¡± Dia muttered as she threw stones at the undead as Lapis was doing . ¡°I can see that the dragon zombie in the back is a threat, but the rest are just rotting corpses and bones . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than enough for me . ¡± ¡°That might be so, but this is interference directed at me, isn¡¯t it? Does the enemy really think this is enough to stop me?¡± The goal of their enemy was not to kill Loren or Lapis . It was to interfere with Dia and cause her to fail . But since Dia was and Elder, she couldn¡¯t be stopped easily . Even attacking with normal vampires wasn¡¯t enough, and although the dragon zombie was a threat, zombies and skeletons wouldn¡¯t even be close enough to stop her . ¡°What is she thinking?¡± ¡°Get rid of the assistance and then go for you . Or this attack is a bait . Or she has a way to defeat an Elder with this attack . These are some obvious possibilities . ¡± Lapis picked up a stone that was larger than the rest, and threw it in the same manner as the smaller stones . It flew off with the same speed as the smaller stones and crushed even more undead, but even as her brows furrowed as the smell of rotting flesh began drifting in the air, she picked up the next stone . ¡°By the way, would defeating the dragon zombie be easy for you?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have any trouble, but because of what it is, it would be difficult to do so in one hit . ¡± ¡®It would be slightly difficult for me in my current state . ¡¯ Shayna said to Loren, as she was listening to Lapis and Dia¡¯s conversation from within him . Loren thought that since she was the most powerful undead, a no life king, she could easily defeat a dragon zombie, but her answer was not what he expected . ¡®Since I don¡¯t have a physical form, it¡¯s hard for me to affect things in the real world . It¡¯s too large to energy drain it completely, and if I want to use magic, I have to do it through Onii-san . ¡¯ This wasn¡¯t based on the knowledge and experience of Shayna herself, but it was judgment based on her knowledge as a no life king, so Loren guessed that she was correct . When Loren silently asked her what if she was a proper no life king, Shayna replied to him proudly . ¡®I can erase it without a trace in a blink of an eye . ¡¯ Loren was reminded again that he was housing an incredible being inside of him . ¡®When they get close, I¡¯ll activate my energy drain slowly . It will weaken the dragon zombie as well, so good luck with the rest . ¡¯ Thanking her for doing what she could to assist him, Loren swung his sling around . They had to do something about all the undead before they could focus on the dragon zombie . ¡°There¡¯s no way you could purify it using , is there?¡± ¡°No matter how much of a pure and faithful follower I am, there is a limit to what I can do . ¡± Loren wondered if Lapis could do something with her powers as a priestess, but her response was something along the lines that he expected, so he listened to it without reacting . ¡°So we either hold them back until morning, or I go in and start attacking¡­¡± ¡°Umm, Loren? You just ignored me!? Loren, come on¡­¡± As Lapis started to persist, Loren shoved a stone into her hand and made her go back to throwing them, then picked up a stone for himself . But they didn¡¯t have an unlimited amount, and soon there were only a few left . ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to have to get in there after all . ¡± Although it seemed like the number of undead decreased by quite a bit, there were still enough of them that their number couldn¡¯t be counted . Loren thought that the only way was to cut through them when they ran out of stones . He felt like he could manage the zombies and skeletons, but he was worried about whether he could defeat the dragon zombie . Since he couldn¡¯t think of any other way, he steeled himself and slowly pulled out the great sword on his back . Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Ch. 111: Newcomer during Attack As the undead continued to fall around the encampment, penetrated and crushed by the stones being thrown at them, Loren pulled out his great sword from his back and jumped over the dirt wall and the ditch and stretched. He then ran towards the undead and with a wide arc of his great sword, he cut through a few of them and sent them flying. ¡°Travelling with you two, I¡¯ve been wondering sometimes.¡± ¡°About what?¡± Lapis, who was throwing stones as she saw Loren run out of the encampment, replied to Dia, who had stopped throwing them. She continued to throw stones and crush whatever parts of the undead she hit. ¡°He¡¯s a human, right?¡± Dia was pointing at Loren, who had left the encampment and was swinging his great sword around. In an open area with no allies or obstacles near him, Loren could make the most use of his reach and power, so as soon as a zombie or skeleton entered the reach of his great sword, they were immediately cut down or crushed. With the momentum and casualness as if he were mowing grass, he immobilized a few undead with each swing, and along with Lapis¡¯ stones, they were decreasing the number of enemies slowly but surely. ¡°He¡¯s a human no matter where you look, isn¡¯t he?¡± At Lapis¡¯ response, Dia crossed her arms and frowned. From her expression, Lapis noticed that she wasn¡¯t satisfied with her response, so she stopped throwing stones and looked at Loren, who was in close combat with the undead. Although Lapis evaluated Loren as a very skilled mercenary, she never thought that his abilities were out of the boundaries of a human. She did hear from him that there was something inhuman living within him, but even with putting that into consideration, there was no quiver in her judgment that Loren was a human. ¡°But he¡¯s using such a weapon, you see? His strength must be extraordinary, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s so, but I believe he is human because he uses such a weapon.¡± This time Dia couldn¡¯t understand Lapis¡¯ response, so as she wondered what she meant, Lapis threw a large stone at a group of undead that neared the encampment, and after crushing their heads with the weight of the stone, she started explaining. ¡°Elves could never use such a weapon in the first place, no matter how hard they try. Dwarves can¡¯t either since they are too short.¡± ¡°That is true.¡± ¡°Any sane demon wouldn¡¯t even think about using such a large and heavy weapon, then wouldn¡¯t it be humans who would decide to use a weapon like that?¡± Although her conclusion drawn by the process of elimination wasn¡¯t the kindest, it was enough to convince Dia. But then another question popped up, and Dia asked Lapis again, with a wondering look. ¡°But the only ones who could make a great sword out of magic steel like that one is demon kind, no? Why would demons make something that they wouldn¡¯t use?¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right, now that you mention it. I mean, not that I know the details of where it came from.¡± As Lapis continued to press that she had no connection whatsoever to the great sword that Loren was currently using, Dia had no intention of pushing the matter further. But since she didn¡¯t get a proper answer, the mystery just got deeper. ¡°By the way, not trying to ask for details, but where on earth did you bring that from?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too sure, but I saw it in the back of the storehouse back home, so I took it thinking that it might be useful for something. It seems like it was going to be melted down and the materials were going to be used for something else. Not that I would know anything about it.¡± Another stone launched from Lapis hand and turned more of the undead back to corpses. As she glanced beneath her, she saw that her supply of stones were almost gone, and thought that it might be time she started using <>. ¡°If it was kept safely in the back of the storehouse, wouldn¡¯t it have been something important? Your parents must be surprised when they find it gone.¡± ¡°They cut off my arms and legs, and on top of that gorged my eyes out, so this should be basically be part of my allowance. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about your actual parents, right¡­?¡± Dia¡¯s voice quivered, as if she had heard a scary story, but to Lapis it was a true story, and was something that she didn¡¯t want others to thing that it was nothing but a scary one. To her, taking a bunch of things from the storehouse at home was nothing more than a child¡¯s prank, but she wasn¡¯t sure if others would agree, so she believed that it wasn¡¯t something to tell others. ¡°I won¡¯t ask any further. I feel like it would just be listening to a scary story.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be thankful if you don¡¯t. It¡¯s not like I have a scary story to tell, anyway.¡± After replying, Lapis turned her attention back to Loren. But his opponents were nothing more than zombies and skeletons, so as long as he could use his great sword, they posed no danger to him, so Lapis quickly switched from him to the dragon zombie that was slowly but surely getting closer. The dragon zombie¡¯s movements were very slow. There was still quite a bit of distance between it and their encampment, so it was possible to hit it with magic. But sour thoughts crossed Lapis¡¯ head. Although undead, with the size and hardness of a dragon still present, it was hard to believe that weak spells would do any damage. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll leave the small ones to Loren.¡± Lapis¡¯ eyes narrowed, and took aim at the dragon zombie across the sea of undead. In her hand was a stone the size of a baby¡¯s head. As she held the heavy stone with one hand, she drew her arm back and threw it towards the dragon zombie. The stone flew towards its head in a straight line, and when it hit, along with a loud crack, the stone shattered, along with skin, scales, flesh, and blood scattering everywhere as well. ¡°I was hoping it would do more¡­¡± The next stone she threw barely peeled off a part of the dragon zombie¡¯s head as well, and although some bone showed from the injury, it wasn¡¯t even close to stopping it in its tracks. Although it was obvious that her attacks weren¡¯t effective, Lapis continued to throw stone after stone at the dragon zombie¡¯s head. Every time, it would shred its rotten flesh and skin, but didn¡¯t do any meaningful damage. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to attack it with spells after shredding its surface a bit further?¡± A few more stones were thrown at its head, but each one of them shattered after only taking a bit of its skin and scales off. Seeing that, Dia raised her palm towards the dragon zombie. ¡°You can leave the magic attacks to me.¡± Losing its outer flesh and skin, the dragon zombie¡¯s defenses had decreased by quite a bit, so Dia thought that if she used a spell, she could defeat it easily. As she decided to use a high damage spell, her expression then turned to one of surprise, and from her lips, escaped a weak mutter. ¡°What¡­impossible¡­¡± She had a feeling she heard something. Lapis didn¡¯t know what it was, but it sounded like Dia¡¯s name, so she thought that someone had called her. As soon as Lapis heard it, Dia¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Dia?¡± Lapis called out to her in confusion, as Dia was confidently about to use a spell, but didn¡¯¡¯t. But Dia didn¡¯t answer and lowered her palm and brought it up to her face and stared at it in disbelief. Although she didn¡¯t know what happened, Lapis stopped thinking about her. ¡°Swirl before me, crimson flames <>¡± Since she understood that Dia couldn¡¯t move, there was no reason for her to hesitate. The fire magic created a storm of red flames around the dragon zombie, burning all the undead within its range. When there was nothing else to burn, and the spell lost its effect, the flames died and the burnt corpses dropped to the ground, but within it, the dragon zombie continued to move slowly towards them, even with a large portion of its body burnt. ¡°What is going on¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I would like to ask. Why a priestess could use such a magic spell. Very interesting.¡± As soon as she heard the voice near her, Lapis steeled herself as she grabbed Dia and jumped out of the encampment. Jumping over the dirt wall and landing in front of Lapis and DIa was a young-looking man dressed like a butler, with red eyes and long white hair. ¡°I am a True that serves the Elder Stoos. My name is¡­I don¡¯t really have one. But I was the first to serve Master Stoos, so please call me First.¡± ¡°Okay then First. What did you do to Dia?¡± Lapis asked the True that called himself First as she put down Dia and pushed her behind her back. Judging from the timing that he appeared and Dia started acting weird, Lapis guessed that First had done something to her, and as a result, rendered her unable to use her powers, but First didn¡¯t answer her easily. ¡°What in the world would you be talking about? Even if I did do something, why would I have to tell you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± ¡°Rather than her, shouldn¡¯t you be more worried about yourself? I was ordered by my master to eliminate the adventurers assisting Dia.¡± As First, who had his hand resting on his chest and had been bowing, lifted his head and looked at her, Lapis scoffed at his words and called out in a loud voice. ¡°Loren! I¡¯ll be fighting a True. Can you deal with the dragon zombie?¡± ¡°Sounds like a lot more than I could handle, but alright! Do something about him before I die!¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± After hearing Loren¡¯s response, Lapis hit her left palm with her right fist, and cracking her joints. ¡°I¡¯ll think about things later. I¡¯ve decided that getting rid of the danger is top priority.¡± ¡°What a violent young lady. But do you believe that you have even the slightest chance of defeating me?¡± Neither of the two had any weapons. But since one was a True, a high rank vampire, and the other was a priestess, one would think that the priestess would be at a disadvantage. But although the one standing there was a priestess, Lapis was no ordinary priestess, so with no hint of fear in her eyes, she stretched her right arm out, and as First wondered what she was doing, she flicked her fingers, taunting him to attack. Chapter 112 Chapter 112 Ch. 112: Interrogation after Battle Loren had noticed the True before Lapis had called him. A priestess, which wasn¡¯t a frontline occupation, doing close combat against a True would be difficult, so Loren knew that he should back her up, but there was a reason he couldn¡¯t do so. It was because as he had been mowing down the undead, he himself had caught the attention of the dragon zombie. Because of that, Loren, who was now its target, was having to deal with it. Loren was taller than most, but the dragon zombie still towered over him with its long body, and if it could make use of it, Loren would be killed without being able to do anything. But that didn¡¯t happen because the dragon zombie couldn¡¯t move its body properly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s rotting, so¡­¡± The only way it could attack was using its front legs and its head. Its body and tail were completely rotten, and as it walked, parts of it crumbled and released foul smelling liquid, so if it were to attack with them or make sudden moves, it looked like they would crumble away completely or rip off. But although its methods of attack were limited, if even one of them hit, it would do a great amount of damage, or even kill him, so there was no room for Loren to let his guard down. He dodged the bite that came down from over his head, then jumped back out of range of one of its front legs as it swiped at him. As Loren swung his great sword at the leg before it retreated, rotting flesh and rotting juice flew around, letting out a foul smell in the area. Since the dragon zombie was an undead, it didn¡¯t feel any pain. But as if it at least felt disturbed that a blade cut into its leg, it slammed it onto the ground, trying to crush Loren. But Loren had already moved. He had run across and landed a blow on its other leg. Loren tried not to think about the flesh and juice that flew around again, but since it had the body of a dragon, although it was rotting, it had a hard body, so Loren¡¯s great sword didn¡¯t stick that deep. On top of that, since the dragon zombie didn¡¯t feel pain, it felt no hesitation either, so with all the immediate retaliation, Loren couldn¡¯t put much strength into his blows. ¡°This is getting nowhere.¡± ¡®Ah, you¡¯re thinking about something bad, aren¡¯t you Onii-san?¡¯ Shayna called out to him in the back of his mind as she seemed to notice something, but Loren took no notice and gripped his great sword tighter with both hands, and until then he hadn¡¯t been spreading his legs out much so he could retaliate as soon as he dodged an attack, but he spread out his legs wide, as if rooting himself on the spot. ¡®Onii-san? What are you doing? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ Shayna, who had been borrowing Loren¡¯s sight and watching the battle against the dragon zombie, saw it slamming its front leg towards Loren, who had changed his stance, couldn¡¯t help but let out a scream-like thought to him. But Loren ignored that as well, and as the dragon¡¯s leg came down on him, Loren¡¯s arms swung his sword with great strength and momentum, and the blade lodged into the leg, way deeper than before, and as steel met bone, a metallic sound rang out. Of course, although Loren¡¯s attack was powerful, it wasn¡¯t enough to cut off the dragon zombie¡¯s leg. But it was enough to swerve the attack off course, and the leg landed right next to him, barely missing. By then, Loren had already pulled his sword out, and using the momentum, he spun around and landed another blow, strengthened even further, onto the leg that had hit the ground. As she heard steel hitting bone again, Shayna watched in disbelief. Although their opponent was undead, it was still a dragon, and was hard to believe that a human could divert its attack with just the strength of his arms. Moving straight to his next attack was unbelievable, and both attacks cutting through its flesh and going down to the bone was unbelievable as well. On top of that, even though so much force was behind the blows, the great sword wasn¡¯t even chipped the slightest. ¡®I¡¯m lost¡­Onii-san, are you really human?¡¯ ¡°Never mind what I am, so lend me some of your mana!¡± When Loren said that, Shayna realized. It seemed that those attacks had been strengthened by the self-enhancing technique that Lapis had taught him. But dealing with an attack from a dragon cost a significant amount of mana, and Loren didn¡¯t have much in the first place, so with the last two blows, he had almost depleted his mana. ¡®I see. In that case, I¡¯ll give you all the mana you need Onii-san.¡¯ The amount of mana that a no life king, the highest ranking undead, was immense. Shayna wasn¡¯t a complete no life king, so she didn¡¯t have as much as real ones, but it was still way more than Loren had. But since Shayna only had her astral body, if she used all her mana, she would be erasing her own existence, so there was a need for her to save a portion of it as she lent the rest to Loren. But it was still more efficient and would cost less mana if Shayna were to use spells through Loren¡¯s body. Loren was fortunate that the dragon zombie wasn¡¯t in a good shape. The rotting had spread quite well, so it was crumbling away in many places, which made it impossible for it to use its breath attack. It went through the motions a few times, but every time it did smoke started to pour out of holes in its body, and it couldn¡¯t cast its breath. If it could, then its fight against Loren would¡¯ve been going on differently, but in the current battle between them, the dragon couldn¡¯t hit the self-enhanced Loren, and after its attack missed, Loren would deal a powerful blow, so slowly but surely, cuts started appearing on its legs, neck, and head. Meanwhile, Lapis, who was going against a True, was being hit repeatedly. The True vampire who called himself First, was shooting spell after spell at Dia, who couldn¡¯t move for some reason, and Lapis, who stood in front of her, trying to protect her. ¡°What happened to that attitude of yours, hmm? This is very one-sided.¡± As First asked Lapis, bullets of fire shot out from his palm, and it melted away into the air as it hit Lapis¡¯ defensive barrier. But that wasn¡¯t the end of First¡¯s attack. He continued to use spells of different elements at her, while Lapis continued to block them with her barrier. ¡°I¡¯m just getting started you know. Can you block everything? Do you have enough mana left?¡± Even at First¡¯s taunting words, Lapis¡¯ expression didn¡¯t change. Her eyes continued to gaze at First¡¯s face, and only her hands moved, not letting any of his attacks get through. First soon started to feel irritated. From what he could see, his barrage of weaker spells didn¡¯t seem to penetrate Lapis¡¯ barrier at all, so he decided to use a stronger spell. ¡°Can you block this spell¡­Ugh!?¡± First tried to ask Lapis in a cool fashion, but immediately jumped away as he felt a shock followed by pain on his cheek. The spell he had been constructing had dissipated because of his sudden movement, but what surprised First more was that Lapis was standing where he had been a moment ago, with her fist swung through. ¡°What¡­what just happened?¡± Judging from the circumstances, the only conclusion First could come to, was that Lapis saw that he was about to use a powerful spell, instantly closed the distance between them, and punched him away. But First denied that thought. After all, all Lapis had been doing was blocking his attacks. It was difficult to think that she would be able to move close to him in such a state, wearing priest clothing, at a speed that a True like him couldn¡¯t sense. On top of that, damaging a True with just a fist was unbelievable. Trues, which were high rank among vampires, couldn¡¯t be hurt by steel weapons of adventurers, and even if they had weapons made of silver, which undead were weak to, although they would feel quite a bit of pain, it wouldn¡¯t be lethal. But the punch that Lapis threw had enough force behind it to make him jump away. ¡°How in the world¡­¡± ¡°Are you done attacking? I¡¯ve grasped a good idea of your capabilities, so I¡¯d like to start my attack.¡± ¡°What¡­¡± First tried to ask her what she meant, but a loud cracking sound came from his face. Before he could even realize that he had been punched in the face, Lapis¡¯ fist dug into his stomach, and as he bent over to clutch his stomach, Lapis dropped her elbow on the base of his neck. The blows would¡¯ve killed a human, but to a True, it was far from lethal. As First tried to keep from blacking out from the pain and impact, he swung his arms around and started to back off, Lapis jumped back with leisure and muttered. ¡°I guess you¡¯re insensitive to pain and shocks since you¡¯re an undead.¡± Undead of lower ranks, such as the dragon zombie Loren was facing off against, would be able to continue attacking without concern for pain, but vampires were highly intelligent, and maybe because they retained the forms they had before death, they could feel pain. But since they were still undead, their sense of pain was dull, so even if they received attacks that would kill the living, it wouldn¡¯t be a lot of damage. ¡°It won¡¯t be worth my time breaking you since you don¡¯t scream or feel fear.¡± ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°I want to ask you before you break. What did¡­what the hell did you do to her?¡± When she pointed to Dia, who still couldn¡¯t move, the atmosphere around Lapis changed. Her gaze became harsher, and First stepped back a few steps at the pressure she was now emitting, as if it was a physical barrier. Lapis continued to glare at him as she walked closer. ¡°If you tell me I let you die easily¡­¡± ¡°Who do you think you¡¯re talking to!¡± The lightning bolt he shot as he finished was softly brushed away by Lapis¡¯ left hand, and as he stepped in, trying to deliver a blow that will get past her defenses, Lapis grabbed his right wrist, so the punch never reached her. ¡°Impossible! You¡¯re stronger than a True!?¡± First tried to shake off her grasp, but no matter how much strength he put in, his wrist didn¡¯t budge, as if it was stuck in place. ¡°H-how is this possible!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions, not you. Answer them when you feel like it. I¡¯ll make sure to listen.¡± No matter how hard he shook and pulled, Lapis¡¯ grip didn¡¯t loosen even slightly. So First decided to use a spell at close range, so he raised his left palm towards Lapis, but as soon as he did so, his right wrist was immediately crushed by Lapis, and his eyes widened as he watched her rip it off. ¡°Handing me your left hand after you handed me your right is praiseworthy.¡± Lapis laughed as she held First¡¯s left wrist. It immediately started to creak, as if screaming from the immense strength and pressure Lapis squeezed it with. ¡°I must answer to your praiseworthiness. Alright, I¡¯ll deal with you kindly.¡± As Lapis said ominously, First tried to lunge at her with his fangs in desperation, but as soon as he opened his mouth, both his fangs were snapped. First covered his mouth with his now handless right arm in shock, but before he could even say anything about losing his fangs, his left wrist, which was still within Lapis¡¯ clutches, was crushed as his right wrist was. Following both his wrists and fangs, First¡¯s shoulder was then grabbed and crushed, and his knees were crushed with a kick as well, making him unable to stand, leaving him in a kneeling position in front of Lapis, looking up at her. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while before things to settle down over there. Let¡¯s being, shall we?¡± Glancing over at Loren, Lapis gripped both of First¡¯s shoulders with her both hands. Listening to his flesh and bone being grinded together, First finally realized that the girl in priest clothing wasn¡¯t who she seemed to be. Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Ch . 113: Moving after Results ¡°I thought I was going to die¡­¡± It was a long while after he had started battle with the dragon zombie, that Loren stopped and stuck his great sword into the ground, muttering as he leaned against it . Loren, who had been repeatedly hitting back the dragon zombie¡¯s simple attacks from its forelegs and bites with enhanced blows and putting in some of his own attacks when he saw opportunities, managed to cut off one of its legs, and a few more attacks later, managed to immobilize the dragon by cutting of another, then another few attacks later, he managed to get close and get a blow on its neck, and as its movements grew slower, he pummeled his sword onto its head and managed to succeed in defeating it . But during that whole sequence of events, some of the dragon¡¯s attacks had scraped him, and some had hit him head on, blowing him away, so there were injuries all over his body, and his leather armor and coat were in shambles, in no shape to be used . ¡°This is bad . I¡¯ll have to get new ones . ¡± It was the coat that Lapis went through all the trouble to get him, but with all the holes and rips in it, it seemed impossible to sew back together, he took it off, folded it, and threw it in his other belongings, and he ripped the leather armor which was barely hanging onto his body, and threw it away . ¡°The smell got onto my clothes too, huh . ¡± He didn¡¯t pay attention during the fight, but while he was blocking, dodging, or parrying the dragon zombie¡¯s attacks at close range, its fluids had seeped into his clothes, and now had the rank stench of rotten flesh on them . Loren sighed as the thought of getting new clothes crossed his mind . Clothes weren¡¯t the cheapest . Used ones could be bought for a somewhat cheaper price, but Loren¡¯s body was muscular, and there was quite a bit of muscle on his arms and legs as well . Normal clothing would be too tight and hinder his movements, so it was difficult for Loren to find clothing that fit him . He had an extra change of clothes in his bag so he was good for now, but when he got back, he would need to get a new change to make up for the ruined one, and the thought of going through clothing stores gave him a feeling of dread . His body wasn¡¯t in good shape either . Zombie were obviously rotten, which meant their claws and teeth were very unclean, and Loren knew that, so he knew that the injuries he got could get contaminated worse than other kinds of injuries . To prevent that, he needed to clean his wounds with clean water, or alcohol with high concentration if needed . If he didn¡¯t, viruses would seep into his body from his wounds, and would cause the flesh around them to rot, or even lead to illnesses that could kill him . Loren guessed it would be the same for the claws and fangs of a dragon zombie, so he urged his tired body and took a steel bottle filled with alcohol from his bag, uncorked it, and without thinking, he took a mouthful . ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be drinking it . ¡± Some of his fellow mercenaries drank it saying they were getting clean from the inside, but Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it had any effect . He had unthinkingly drunk it since he was very thirsty, but a larger part of him thought that it was a waste to use it to clean wounds . Telling himself that it was a necessity, Loren filled his mouth with alcohol again and after rolling up his sleeves, sprayed it on his arms, and then dripped the contents of the bottle on his neck and back . He now smelled like alcohol but deciding that it was better than the smell of rotting flesh, he finished pouring quite an amount onto himself, then gulped the rest down his throat, and closed the bottle, feeling slightly better . ¡°Lapis, how¡¯s your side?¡± As he put the bottle back, Loren then took out bandages, and started wrapping it around his arms . It was something he had done since his days as a mercenary, so he skillfully bandaged a large wound and cut it, completing first aid . As Loren moved his arm lightly, checking the tightness of the bandages, the silence around him told him that Lapis had finished her fight with the True, so as he looked around looking for her, he found her a distance away staring from behind with her mouth open . From the looks of it, it didn¡¯t seem like she was injured at all . Her white priest clothing was clean, with no signs of tears or blood . ¡°Hey Lapis? What¡¯s wrong? That stupid look is ruining your beautiful face, you know?¡± ¡°Umm, well . Thank you? I mean, Loren! Did you¡­defeat the dragon zombie?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t use its breath, so I managed to do it somehow¡­Sorry Lapis, the coat you got me is ruined . ¡± Since he attacked the hard dragon zombie many times, Loren thought that his great sword could be ruined as well, but unlike the coat, it wasn¡¯t chipped at all and wasn¡¯t bent or cracked either, and had done its job completely . Loren was thinking he should thank Lapis for preparing such a sharp sword . ¡°Coat¡­I mean, I can care less about it being ruined, but are you saying you managed to defeat it with just ruining the coat and leather armor?¡± ¡°Just as you see it . There were a few times I thought I was a goner, but I guess it¡¯s possible if you try . ¡± As Loren pointed to the remains of the dragon zombie with no forelegs and a crushed head that was a formless pulp, Lapis sighed deeply and shook her head, holding her forehead with her palm . ¡°You said something about coming to save you before you die, but you defeated it before I could even try . What even are you Loren?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­I tried it and did it, you know?¡± It wasn¡¯t like he did something wrong, but Loren felt kind of sorry . Lapis glared at the remains of the dragon zombie and muttered disappointedly . ¡°My plan to coolly come in and save Loren when he is struggling to improve my image¡­¡± ¡°Does that really matter?¡± ¡°I saved up my strength so I could defeat it in one blow too . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that . What if you didn¡¯t make it in time and I died?¡± Loren was slightly upset that Lapis had been going easy on their opponents, but he remembered that Lapis was a demon, so when he thought that it was common for her to think in such a way, it seemed silly to be angry, so he dropped his shoulders weakly . On the other hand, Lapis, although she was acting as usual by saying such things, inside, she was so surprised she was worried that she had said something weird . It was true that dragon zombies were way weaker than dragons themselves . But even so, it was still way stronger than a human, so Lapis didn¡¯t think it was something a human could defeat alone . ¡°Well, we could call it a job well done, I guess . ¡± ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right, but whatever . What happened to the True?¡± As Lapis thought that Loren would have a difficult time with the dragon zombie, Loren thought that a True would be enough to give Lapis some trouble . After all, Trues were high class among vampires, and were powerful among undead in general . Therefore, Loren thought that although demons were also powerful, the fight would be difficult and would be injured, but judging by Lapis¡¯ appearance, it didn¡¯t seem that she was injured, and her clothes were clean . For a moment, the thought that maybe the True had run away crossed Loren¡¯s mind, but Lapis let out a troubled laugh as she scratched her head . ¡°Well, umm, about that . I might have let my wild side out of control¡­¡± ¡°You what?¡± ¡°I got carried away and went full strength, something like that . ¡± ¡°Hey?¡± ¡°I-it can¡¯t be helped, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ve finally got my real arms back, and an opponent that wouldn¡¯t break even if I go a bit hard appeared . And on top of that, its an opponent that will heal even if I break it, so I couldn¡¯t stop myself¡­¡± ¡°You forget that you¡¯re a priestess sometimes, don¡¯t you Lapis?¡± When Loren glared at Lapis, Lapis¡¯ mouth opened and closed, trying to find an excuse, but she seemed to conclude that nothing she said would be an excuse, so she hung her head and shoulders . ¡°So, what happened to the victim?¡± ¡°I was twisting him up, and he suddenly turned to ashes and blew away in the wind . ¡± Lapis explained that when vampires died, they didn¡¯t leave behind a physical body . Vampires themselves were beings that strayed off from the laws of nature, and the price showed when they died, as they melted into ashes . Stubborn ones could regenerate from such a state, but in order to do so, the ashes must be in one place, and if it was scattered in the wind, only very powerful vampires could come back from that . ¡°I¡¯m not sure about Elders, but that¡¯s what happens up to Trues . ¡± ¡°Speaking of Elders, where¡¯s Dia?¡± While he was talking to Lapis, Loren noticed that he couldn¡¯t see Dia anywhere . When he asked Lapis, Lapis pointed in a direction . When he looked that way, he cocked his head as he saw Dia with a knee on the ground, unmoving . ¡°Did she get hit by something¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem so¡­but she suddenly became like that . ¡± ¡°And you couldn¡¯t get the reason out of the True, am I right?¡± ¡°I did try really hard squeeze it out of him . ¡± Lapis indeed did squeeze very hard, both mentally and physically, but in the end, the True died without even saying anything much of use . Lapis did feel like she went too far, but since she was dealing with a vampire, which was dense against pain and regenerated, half-hearted measures were useless, so she thought that it couldn¡¯t be helped that he had died . With the appropriate preparations and instruments, it was possible to make even vampires to talk, and Lapis knew most of the skills, but making them talk with just her hands proved very difficult . ¡°It looks like Dia seems to know something though . ¡± Lapis guessed that she knew at least what had happened to herself . What she had said before she had frozen led Lapis to believe that . ¡°Hopefully she tells us when everything settles down . ¡± ¡°Can we start with either moving or doing something about that? It stinks . ¡± The stench was mostly from the remains of the dragon zombie, but it also came from the shards of skeletons and pieces of zombie all over the place, and it didn¡¯t look pleasant either . Gazing around them, Lapis nodded, agreeing with Loren and started thinking about how they should move Dia, who was still frozen . Chapter 114 Chapter 114 Ch . 114: Speculating While Moving Eventually, Loren and Lapis gave up on trying to clean everything . There were just too many bodies, and the dragon zombie was too large to move . Although they knew they couldn¡¯t do anything, it didn¡¯t help the stench at all, so they were walking towards their destination under the night sky . ¡°There¡¯s no way we could spend the night there . ¡± Loren and Lapis had decimated a great number of undead, a True, and a dragon zombie at the place where they planned to camp for the night . Although it wouldn¡¯t be the last, Loren hoped that they had done enough damage so that their enemy wouldn¡¯t be able to mass a similar force and attack anytime soon . ¡°Are you okay Loren? Humans die so easily unless they sleep, so I¡¯m worried . ¡± Lapis was carrying a silent Dia on her back . After the attack, Dia, who had been stunned and unmoving, didn¡¯t seem to budge where she was kneeling even after they had finished packing up and were ready to move on . They couldn¡¯t leave her there, but they couldn¡¯t stay there either, so Loren suggested that he carry Dia, but Lapis refused and said that she would carry her . Loren was used to carrying heavy things on his back, so he thought that he should be the one to do it, but Lapis seemed to have her own thoughts . She was being wary of Dia¡¯s fangs being so close to Loren¡¯s neck, as he was only a human . ¡°It would be a disaster if you were bitten . ¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the same for you?¡± ¡°I mean, I can manage, so . ¡± Lapis smiled as she picked up Dia, but the fact that she said she could do something about being bitten, when normally if vampires sucked blood from living beings, they would end similarly, made Loren think about how powerful demon kind were . ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re such an efficient party, don¡¯t you think?¡± When Loren looked at Lapis¡¯ face, wondering what she meant, she looked back with a serious expression . ¡°Well, we¡¯re walking in the plains at night without a light . ¡± Now that she mentioned it, Loren remembered that his sight was still linked with the no life king Shayna . A normal party would use torches or lanterns, and move in the darkness of the night . But the two of them had no need for such things, and were walking as if it were daytime . The only one that was shaking in fear was the donkey, since it was the only one that was walking in pure darkness . ¡°Can you do this with your real eyes too?¡± When Loren asked Lapis out of curiosity, Lapis answered with a proud look . ¡°Whatever I can do now, I can do with my real body . ¡± ¡°Even beating up a True with just your hands?¡± ¡°Easily . It¡¯s actually more difficult right now . I can fight a lot better since I can allocate the mana I used for my arms down to my legs, but I still can¡¯t move how I want to since I¡¯m worried that the joints would fall apart . ¡± ¡°Priestess¡­¡± ¡°Should I eventually introduce myself as a monk soldier?¡± Loren wondered if that would be fine with her, it didn¡¯t seem like she cared, so he thought that it wasn¡¯t something he could say about it . ¡°Is Dia still down?¡± ¡°Hmm . I wonder . ¡± When Lapis turned over her shoulder to look at Dia¡¯s face, Dia saw that she was being looked at, and raised her head slightly from Lapis¡¯ back . Her face was quite shaken, which was unlike the calm self she had been showing, and made her seem like the young girl she looked like . ¡°She¡¯s supposed to be over 500 years old, though¡­¡± ¡°Not mentioning that is an act of kindness you know?¡± ¡°Why was she suddenly not able to fight in the first place?¡± Loren thought that if there was a reason, he needed to know . He hadn¡¯t asked until now since Dia wasn¡¯t in a state to talk, but since she was able to respond, he immediately asked her, and when Dia heard him, she looked down, still clinging to Lapis¡¯ back . Loren regretted asking, as it seemed like she couldn¡¯t speak yet, but after a moment of silence, Dia managed to form words . ¡°We Elders¡­don¡¯t speak our true names . ¡± ¡°Seems so . ¡± Loren recalled when Dia had introduced herself to them for the first time, she had said she couldn¡¯t tell them her family name, and to call her Dia . Loren thought that there was a good reason for it, so he hadn¡¯t asked her about it, but it seemed that it was the same for them as a race . ¡°For us Elders, our real names are connected to our very existences . ¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Although it seemed that she had come out with something very important, but Loren couldn¡¯t understand what she meant . When he looked at Lapis for help, since Lapis was more versed in magic and divine arts, she thought about Dia¡¯s words for a moment, as if she was letting the words sink in, and asked her . ¡°Is that like a so-called True Name?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is . ¡± ¡°I see . ¡± Lapis seemed to understand, but Loren was still in the dark . ¡°Would you like to hear about it Loren? If you ask, I could explain it¡­¡± As Lapis showed a sense of superiority of knowing something he didn¡¯t, Loren felt slightly annoyed, he didn¡¯t show it, but instead replied in an uninterested voice . ¡°You don¡¯t have to . Shayna probably knows, anyway . ¡± ¡°What!? O-okay, I¡¯ll tell you, I mean, please let me explain . ¡± Shayna possessed the knowledge that a no life king would have . Loren guessed that she would know about the ¡°True Name¡± that Lapis had mentioned, but since Lapis seemed to want to explain it to him very badly, he decided that there was no need to ask Shayna and silently motioned for Lapis to go on . ¡°Shayna is quite troublesome¡­Even more so because only Loren can see her . Umm, True Names . It is said to be something that anyone can have, and it¡¯s a name that is used to indicate one¡¯s own existence . ¡± ¡°Could you explain it simpler?¡± Although Loren seemed to be quite educated for a mercenary, when it came to practical matter such as magic, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that he couldn¡¯t understand the theoretical things Lapis told him at all . Which is why he asked Lapis for an easier explanation, but Lapis went silent with a troubled look on her face . ¡°Umm . How would I explain this¡­This was the only explanation when I learned about it¡­¡± ¡°What if I tell you that it¡¯s like a magic name that if someone says it, he has every part of that being in his hands?¡± Dia explained from Lapis¡¯ back, helping her . As Lapis looked at him to see if the explanation was good enough, even though she wasn¡¯t the one who came up with it, Loren seemed to get a vague image of what it meant, and nodded slowly . ¡°So your magic name was used against you?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly . ¡± Dia¡¯s face turned sullen again . Loren had a good idea where the conversation was going, but until it was said clearly, he couldn¡¯t use it as solid intel, so even though he didn¡¯t feel like it, he needed to hear it from Dia, so as he rubbed the back of his neck, he continued to ask her . ¡°Who else knows your True Name other than you?¡± There was no answer . That itself was an answer in a sense, but Loren pressed on . ¡°I have my own guess . Want to hear it?¡± ¡°¡­Tell me . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s most likely her master Sierra that knows Dia¡¯s True Name other than herself . It¡¯s such an important name, so it¡¯s not something you can just tell anyone . ¡± ¡°Based on your assumptions Loren, wouldn¡¯t it be Sierra who is getting in our way, not Stoos?¡± It was unlikely that the True who called himself First was able to force that information out of Sierra, who was an Elder . Instead, Dia¡¯s True Name was something that couldn¡¯t have gotten into anyone else¡¯s hands unless Sierra had leaked it . But if was leaked, the one who did it couldn¡¯t be anyone other than Sierra herself . ¡°I think it¡¯s Sierra who did it . ¡± ¡°Can I ask why?¡± The feeling that she didn¡¯t want to believe and the fact that there could be no other explanation seemed to be fighting each other inside, as Dia¡¯s voice was trembling . Pretending not to notice it, Loren continued his thought . ¡°The dragon zombie . If something like that¡¯s walking around, there¡¯s no way no one wouldn¡¯t notice it . And being what it is, if found, it would definitely cause an uproar . ¡± ¡°But there was nothing like such, and it was able to attack our camp, which means there¡¯s a high possibility that someone sent it our way . ¡± ¡°Even though we slowed down to screw our enemy¡¯s plans . But they still knew our location, which means someone had to confirm where we were . ¡± ¡°I see . So you think that Dia¡¯s master is suspicious since she came to us earlier . But why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about motives . More so if it¡¯s something within the confinements of Elders themselves . ¡± ¡°Would you understand if I told you that Elders take pride in things that they excel in?¡± Loren thought about what Dia said in almost a whisper, eventually recalled a certain conversation . It was something Sierra had said when she had come to check on Dia . ¡°Does your master excel in magic?¡± ¡°Loren, are you saying¡­¡± ¡°She said it herself . The reason why Dia was considered capable of leaving her master¡¯s care was because her skills in magic surpassed Sierra¡¯s . ¡± Loren thought that a student surpassing her master was proof that the master had taught her well, but apparently Elders couldn¡¯t think of it that way . It was easy to dismiss it as silly, but as long as Dia didn¡¯t say so, it could be said that Loren was correct . ¡°I guess, that would be so . ¡± As Dia muttered, not able to object Loren¡¯s reasoning, buried her face in Lapis¡¯ back, not letting the two of them see her face . Chapter 115 Chapter 115 Ch . 115: Recovering while Moving ¡°Anyways, we¡¯ve got to get to the ruins . ¡± Loren declared as he walked swiftly through the dark of night . While there was no response from Dia, Lapis asked him with a questioning look . ¡°If this exam is indeed rigged, wouldn¡¯t it be pointless to go there?¡± ¡°No, what should be there is definitely there . ¡± Lapis couldn¡¯t understand why Loren could say so with such confidence, so she continued to ask him . ¡°If the plan is to kill Dia during the exam, wouldn¡¯t it be pointless to ready anything?¡± Lapis couldn¡¯t help but think that readying something with no intention of giving it was pointless, but it seemed that Loren had a different opinion . ¡°Not really . If there wasn¡¯t, it would raise suspicion among the other Elders . ¡± Loren thought that there would be no way the other Elders wouldn¡¯t be tracking the movements of Sierra, since she was the one who made the test . What Sierra was to give Dia if she passed it . It was something to help Dia create her own base of operations as an Elder, but what would happen if the other Elders noticed that it wasn¡¯t prepared? ¡°Let¡¯s say she did prepare everything . What do you plan on doing?¡± ¡°Easy . We take it and go against Sierra . ¡± Dia looked up at him when he mentioned opposing Sierra, but Loren continued . ¡°So what if someone who is going to be on her own parts ways with her master? It¡¯s a different story if you aren¡¯t prepared, but since you are, don¡¯t be crying about opposing her . ¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°If you like her so much, then get strong enough that she can¡¯t hurt you . And then you can try or even force her to be friendly . Or do you think that if she thinks you¡¯re a nuisance, you should let her kill you?¡± ¡°No, not at all¡­¡± As Dia mumbled, Loren stuck a finger between her eyebrows . As Dia widened in surprise, Loren twisted his finger and pushed into her head . ¡°Then think about what you could do . She won¡¯t be appearing during the test anymore, anyway . ¡± As Loren flicked her forehead with his finger, Dia glared at him with teary eyes, but seeing her covering where he had pushed into, seemed to him that a bit of her brazenness had returned . ¡°You think that Sierra won¡¯t intervene anymore?¡± Lapis, who had been watching the whole thing, decided to speak up, seeing that Dia seemed to be feeling slightly better . Although he had tried to encourage her and succeeded in doing so slightly, he knew that she needed time to collect her thoughts, so Loren decided to answer Lapis¡¯ question . ¡°She won¡¯t . If my prediction is correct . ¡± ¡°May I ask what it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because if Sierra really wants to kill Dia, she would take one of the many easier ways to do so . ¡± Sierra was Dia¡¯s master and with Dia being very fond of her, and on top of that, she knew Dia¡¯s True Name . Loren thought that there would¡¯ve been plenty of chances and methods to get rid of her without waiting for the exam . There should¡¯ve been a reason why she didn¡¯t do so until now, and Loren was guessing it was appearance . ¡°Well, normally thinking, if a student that is more skilled than the master suddenly dies or is killed, the first to be suspected is the master . ¡± ¡°That was why she hadn¡¯t tried to kill her?¡± ¡°Yeah, and she waited for a time like this, and most likely leaked information to people who had no problem killing her . ¡± Although Lapis understood what Loren was talking about, there were still some things that bothered her . ¡°Then she could¡¯ve just killed all of us at the beginning of the exam, no? There¡¯s no reason to wait until now, is there?¡± Loren shook his head at Lapis¡¯ words . ¡°If the student is incapable, the reputation of the master drops . If she takes pride in her magical skills, having others say behind her back that she was horrible at teaching would be unbearable . ¡± Loren thought there had to be times where Dia shined to appeal to the other Elders watching, that the exam was still going on . It required quite a bit of time, and it needed to make the others think that Dia was capable, and after she showed that, Sierra wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the responsibility falling on her . ¡°So it probably means that the appealing time is over . ¡± ¡°This is troublesome . ¡± ¡°Seems like both humans and vampires are riddled with troubles . ¡± Loren thought that since both races had their own wills and thoughts, there wasn¡¯t much of a difference in that sense . The only ones who thought of things no one else would were geniuses, or someone who lived among things that were completely different than humans, and meeting such a being was rare, and from Loren knew, stories of things that exceeded human knowledge only existed in fairy tales . ¡°Then the Elder named Stoos that Sierra told us about that is our enemy¡­¡± ¡°Either Sierra played her, or she was planning on getting in Dia¡¯s way in the first place, and Sierra joined her . ¡± ¡°I starting to feel sorry for Dia now . ¡± ¡°Really? I won¡¯t sympathize though . ¡± To Loren, who was protecting Dia, he had no interest in what kind of being his enemy was, nor if she was being used or not . It was because it summed up to one thing, defeating his enemy . If he didn¡¯t have to, it made things easier, but if he had to, it was better to do it as quickly as possible . That¡¯s all it was to him . Of course, this didn¡¯t include whether it was possible or not . Loren understood that he didn¡¯t stand a chance against Elders . ¡°In any case, all we have to do is get to our destination, clear the exam or whatever is waiting for us there, successfully help Dia be on her own, and our job is done . ¡± ¡°You say it so simply, but it¡¯s not something we could do so easily isn¡¯t it? Stoos wouldn¡¯t back off at this point and is sure to come back . ¡± If she hadn¡¯t been found out, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for her to draw back after suffering a certain amount of casualties . But in this case, they knew who she was and had launched two large attacks, so she had already suffered a large casualty . ¡°Even if Sierra doesn¡¯t come, Stoos might still come to fight us if she has to . Do you have any hope of winning against an Elder?¡± ¡°Not really, but we can¡¯t say we¡¯re going to quit because we can¡¯t, right?¡± If they quit here, it meant abandoning Dia . ¡± Loren asked if she could do so, but Lapis didn¡¯t try to answer, but instead drooped her shoulders . In fact, she felt that she could do so very easily, but she knew that if she said that, on top of being thought of as a stereotypical demon, there was a chance of making herself look bad to Loren . But replying something that Loren would think good of wasn¡¯t the correct answer to her either, so she decided to stay silent and follow Loren¡¯s lead, but there was no way she could know that Loren had realized her thought process in the short amount of time . ¡°So, this is a bit of self-talk that¡¯s not much of a prediction at all . ¡± Since their next course of action was pretty much set, the group had started moving again . Lapis didn¡¯t pay attention to Loren, as if she hadn¡¯t heard him, but Dia, who was being carried on her back, looked towards him . ¡°If someone you tried to kill didn¡¯t die as planned, but instead managed to reach her goal . And on top of that, instead of thinking of how to kill her, you might think of striking a deal and getting back together . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It depends . If there are grudges or something mixed, it would be hard to balance, but don¡¯t you think a bit of jealousy could be kept in check and make it a profitable relationship?¡± As Loren looked at Dia, she looked back at him for a moment, but eventually nodded and tapped Lapis on the shoulder, and as she caught her attention, she climbed down from her back and started walking on her own . ¡°Either way, nothing will start unless I become a proper Elder . ¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly . ¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s take our time . The sun will soon rise . It¡¯s better if we arrive at the ruins around dawn, no?¡± Although they had moved from their planned campsite after the attack, they weren¡¯t that far from their destination, so if they moved too quickly, there was a possibility they could arrive there before the sun rose . As Dia pointed that out, Loren thought that she had finally regained some of her thoughts, as he slowed down slightly . Chapter 116 Chapter 116 Prologue The woman opened her eyes . She looked around and saw that she was floating in a space with white murky clouds swirling around her . ¡°Where¡­is this?¡± As she continued to look around, trying to figure it out, she tried to recall her last memories . But the only thing she could remember was a shadow looming over her, an orange light, and a sharp pain in the chest and neck . As soon as she did so, she doubled over, clutching her chest, as the pain and burst of emotions that she recalled coursed through her body . She started to fall to her knees, but a pair of hand caught her on the shoulders and held her up . ¡°Deep breaths . Try to get your breathing under control . ¡± As an unfamiliar voice whispered to her, she did as she was told and started to breathe deeply and calmed down after a short while . ¡°Are you alright? Can you stand?¡± When the voice called out to her again, the woman turned to see the person who was holding her, and she saw that it was a boy wearing a mask . ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright now . Umm¡­Can I ask who you are?¡± When she asked, the boy smiled and let her go . ¡°This is my world . A special space for me, it¡¯s creator . ¡± The boy then spread his arms, and the clouds swirling around the two of them dissipated, revealing their surroundings . In front of them, was a sea of clear water, stretching as far as the eye could see, and behind them, was a large temple, gleaming white . ¡°This is¡­¡± As she whispered, looking around in awe, the boy looked back towards the temple and told her . ¡°Welcome to ¡®Soul Sanctuary¡¯ . ¡± ¡°¡¯Soul Sanctuary¡¯¡­hmm? Soul? Are you saying I¡¯m dead?¡± When she asked the boy, he was silent for a moment, and then replied with a troubled smile on his face . ¡°I guess that would be the case, unfortunately . ¡± When the woman heard those words, she froze, trying to process them, and after a long silence, she managed to form the words from her mouth . ¡°If I¡¯m dead, then that would mean this is the afterlife, wouldn¡¯t it? I thought it would be a bit more crowded, though . ¡± The boy let out a laugh . ¡°It¡¯s true you died, but this isn¡¯t the afterlife . ¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°This is a safe haven . A special place for wandering souls like yours . ¡± ¡°Wandering souls¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, but not just any soul . Usually a soul would need my permission to enter this place, but a strong soul can manage to make its way in this place . One with a powerful conviction . One with a wish that it would sacrifice everything to make come true . ¡± The woman couldn¡¯t help but give the boy a puzzled look as she heard his explanation . ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that I came here without your permission?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . You¡¯re a strong soul with a wish you want to make come true . ¡± ¡°A wish¡­¡± ¡°Yeah . Can you remember what it is?¡± The woman started thinking . What could I possibly want? If what the boy said was true, what would I want so badly, that I would give up everything for it? She tried to remember her last memories . The pain, the light, and the burst of emotions she felt . After a while, she looked back at the boy, who smiled as he saw the fire in her eyes . ¡°Looks like you found it!¡± With no hesitation, she told him her wish . ¡°I¡­I want to kill¡­the Hero . ¡± ¡°Hehe¡­Hahahahahaha!!¡± As the boy burst out in laughter, the woman lashed out at him, looking hurt . ¡± ¡°W-why are you laughing? Is there something wrong with my wish!?¡± As she glared at the boy, he quickly stopped and waved his hands at her . ¡°No, no . I didn¡¯t mean anything like that . ¡± ¡°Then why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that it was exactly what I expected, but as the creator of this place, I can see everything about you . ¡± ¡°What?¡± The boy then stopped smiling, looked up into her face, and stared into her eyes . ¡°That¡¯s a strong wish, but is that really the wish? The one wish that you would give up everything, even your very existence, for?¡± The woman continued to lock eyes with the boy, but soon looked away . She indeed had another wish . One that she longed for more than anything else . She wanted to return to him . The place where he was waiting for her . But it was something that she couldn¡¯t let come true . She looked at the boy again, with strength in her eyes . ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my wish . I want to kill the Hero, nothing else, no matter what!¡± At her reply, the boy sighed . ¡°I told you . I know everything about you right now . I know what you really want . ¡± But seeing that there was no hesitation in the woman¡¯s eyes, he smiled . ¡°But if you say so, I guess that¡¯s your wish then . ¡± ¡°¡­Thank you . ¡± The woman looked down and said in a small voice . ¡°Well, with that cleared up, it¡¯s time to go on to the next step . ¡± The boy took her hand and started leading her into the temple, and the woman had no choice but to follow him with a puzzled look on her face . ¡°What do you mean by the next step?¡± ¡°Making your wish come true, of course . ¡± She looked at him with shock . ¡°It¡¯s possible!?¡± ¡°Of course, it is . It won¡¯t be easy though . It¡¯s killing a Hero after all . I¡¯ll need your help to do it . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to do it yourself? But how? You said you were the creator of this place . ¡± The boy turned and glanced back towards her, while continuing to lead her deeper into the temple . ¡°You¡¯re right . But that¡¯s only part of it . I¡¯m actually a living being, and this place is just a part of my heart . I can send my consciousness in here and leave whenever I want to . ¡± The two of them then entered a large round room with a large crystal in the middle . The boy mentioned for the woman to come over to the crystal . ¡°Try touching it . ¡± When the woman reached out and touched the crystal, suddenly, her vision changed, and she started hearing birds chirping and felt warm sunlight on her skin . She saw a garden filled with blue and purple flowers . ¡°W-what is this!? What did you do!?¡± As she started to panic, the boy put his hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down . ¡°Now, you can link your senses to mine whenever you want to . You can see what I see and hear what I hear, as well as taste, feel, and smell . You can unlink it whenever you want, or just link whatever sense you want to . You just need to will it to happen . ¡± As the woman tried what the boy explained, she saw that she could do all those things . ¡°Why¡­?¡± When she asked in confusion, the boy smiled and replied . ¡°Granting your wish is going to take quite a while, you know? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get bored soon, so you would need some sort of entertainment, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡­guess so?¡± The boy then started to walk out of the room, fading slowly with each step . ¡°I¡¯m heading back outside . I need to start preparing . We can talk to each other anytime as well, so don¡¯t hesitate to call me . ¡± As the boy¡¯s figure got lighter and lighter, the woman stopped him . ¡°Wait!¡± The boy turned back with a puzzled look on his face . ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I say something weird?¡± ¡°You said you would grant my wish, right?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the price? There¡¯s no way you¡¯re going to do it for free . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a wish you would sacrifice anything to make it come true, isn¡¯t it?¡± The woman hesitated for a moment . ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°In that case, it doesn¡¯t matter what the price is, isn¡¯t it? As long as your wish comes true . ¡± After a moment, she smiled . ¡°Of course . Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter . ¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s settled . ¡± The boy smiled, but the woman called out one last time . ¡°I know that you know who I am already, but I haven¡¯t properly introduced myself . ¡± She looked at the boy in the eyes and said firmly . ¡°My name is Grea . And I just want to say¡­thank you¡­¡± The boy smiled and took off his mask, and Grea was shocked when she saw his face . ¡°Don¡¯t thank me yet . I haven¡¯t done anything yet . ¡± The boy turned and started walking again, finally fading into nothingness, with his final words echoing throughout the chamber . ¡°My name is Zack . I¡¯ll see you later¡­Grea . ¡± Grea stood speechless, with the image of Zack¡¯s face still burned into her eyes . But after a quick thought, she closed them and smiled . She still wasn¡¯t sure what had happened and how she got here . It was still difficult to believe the things Zack had told her about . She wasn¡¯t sure if it was reality or if it was just a dream, but there was one thing she was certain of . If it was all but a dream, she didn¡¯t want to wake up from it . ¡­Not yet . She smiled as she the name of the boy escaped from her lips . ¡°Zack¡­huh¡­¡± Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Ch . 117: Battle after Appearance ¡°To think that you would come out yourself . I¡¯m honestly surprised . ¡± Stoos laughed at Dia¡¯s words . When she did so, Lapis took a step back, her expression stiffening, and Loren stepped up, with his great sword ready, to be the front line . ¡°Are we doing this? This isn¡¯t in our favor at all . ¡± Although Lapis had said something downbeat, Loren couldn¡¯t help but agree . After all, even though their opponent was unarmed while he had a great sword, his hands were sweaty, and a cold chill was going up his spine ever since he saw Stoos . Even to Loren, who was battle hardened, the pressure he felt from her was so great, he thought that his knees would buckle . ¡°To think that an Elder that isn¡¯t hiding her animosity would be this much¡­¡± Lapis as well, who was able to go toe to toe with ease against a True, was being pressured like Loren, with cold sweat running down her cheek and neck . Although a bead of sweat ran down Lapis¡¯ white, glossy skin, she didn¡¯t bother to wipe it . It was because if she did so and lost focus for even a moment, there was a chance she could be killed before she could even finish wiping it . ¡°I guess it was true that there is an unscalable wall separating Elders and Trues¡­I¡¯d rather punch through a hundred Trues than face her . ¡± ¡°You think only a hundred or so would balance it out? You¡¯re cute . ¡± Stoos smiled, as if she had heard a funny joke . She was completely looking down on them, but it was with good grounds, and since Loren knew that as well, he couldn¡¯t say anything back . Although the woman was just standing there, he couldn¡¯t see an opportunity to rush in and attack . No matter how he attacked, he only saw himself being killed immediately, so naturally his hands, which were holding onto the grip of his sword, was moist with sweat . ¡°No good Lapis?¡± ¡°If I at least had all my limbs¡­but there¡¯s nothing I can currently do . ¡± ¡°As expected of an Elder, I guess . ¡± ¡°It would be different if Dia could join us . ¡± Loren glanced at Dia at Lapis¡¯ words . She was biting her lips and looking at Stoos in frustration, but when she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she managed to shake her head slightly . Race wise, the two of them were equal, but there was a definite difference between the them . ¡°I¡¯m sure you know already, but I know her True Name . ¡± As Stoos said so playfully, two things became apparent . One was that Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, was siding with Stoos to disrupt Dia¡¯s exam . The other was that if a fight broke out, Dia couldn¡¯t be counted as any help . ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell you where I got that information, right?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that I was so hated . ¡± When Dia managed to moan out, for some reason, Stoos¡¯ eyes widened slightly, as if she was surprised . ¡°Dia, you¡¯re misunderstanding something . ¡± ¡°What?¡± When Dia questioned the word misunderstanding, Stoos, still smiling, started to explain what she meant . ¡°Sierra didn¡¯t plan on killing you or anything . She doesn¡¯t hate you at all, in fact, she loves you so much it disgusts me . ¡± ¡°Huh?¡± This time Loren was the one who let out a stupid voice . Since Sierra had leaked Dia¡¯s True Name, as well as sent hordes of undead, anyone who heard that she loved Dia would have the same response as Loren did . ¡°To put it simply, what she didn¡¯t like was that the topic of Dia going on her own came from other Elders, not her . ¡± According to Stoos, when it came to Dia becoming a full fledged Elder, Sierra had planned everything carefully, and was going to do it when she thought the time was right . But the other Elders caught wind that Dia¡¯s skill in magic surpassed that of Sierra¡¯s and decided that it was a waste for such a powerful Elder to not be on her own . Sierra had been against giving Dia the exam, but since majority ruled, the exam was to be held . Stoos then went on to explain that Sierra wasn¡¯t satisfied, so she did all those things . ¡°I thought it was stupid as well, but if I went along with her plans, I could absorb her into my side, so I decided that it was worth a shot . ¡± ¡°What the hell¡­So what would happen after . ¡± ¡°If Dia fails the test, it would mean the reputations of the Elders who recommended her to take the exam would crumble, and the exam would completely be under the management of Sierra, wouldn¡¯t it? If that happens, it means that things would go back to how she planned everything to be . ¡± ¡°She¡¯s definitely loved¡­quite heavily . ¡± As Lapis sorely said so, Dia blushed and looked down . There was no way to tell if she blushed from happiness or embarrassment . ¡°So, anyways . I want you to retire here . ¡± ¡°But selfishly¡­¡± Dia couldn¡¯t help but mutter, but Loren agreed with her . A student being pushed around by her master wasn¡¯t the most uncommon thing, but just because of that, on top of taking advantage of a power struggle, as well as wasting such forces, including a True, which had been destroyed by Lapis . Loren thought it was way past the boundaries of selfishness, but it seemed that Stoos didn¡¯t like it either, so she said in a tired voice, combing her red hair . ¡°If all goes well, Dia as well as Sierra would join our side, so a True and a dragon zombie is worth losing . ¡± ¡°Is it alright for you to say all that?¡± The things that Stoos said wasn¡¯t for Dia to know about . Since she had revealed everything, Loren asked her, wondering what she was thinking, but Stoos just shrugged . ¡°It¡¯s cheap for the price of two Elders, but it¡¯s true that I spent a lot of my forces . On top of that, Sierra told you earlier that I was involved, didn¡¯t she? It¡¯s just a bit of retaliation . ¡± Stoos complained that she didn¡¯t like that Sierra had interfered with the exam and had told them of her involvement . It meant that Sierra did so to convince Dia that she had nothing to do with all that happened during the exam, as well as make Stoos the enemy . ¡°Isn¡¯t this all a bit too careless? It would be obvious that the master is the mastermind the moment True Names pop up . ¡± ¡°Both Sierra and I thought you would wipe out with the second attack . She must have thought she could just make up an excuse for why Dia couldn¡¯t move . Even if that didn¡¯t work, if Dia became unconscious, manipulating her memories wouldn¡¯t be too difficult . ¡± ¡°What about the difference in strength between Elders and Trues? If that True went against Dia without knowing he True Name, I don¡¯t think he would¡¯ve been a match . ¡± Stoos easily answered Lapis¡¯ question . ¡°There are Trues that specialize in combat and could go toe to toe against an Elder . But although, it seems that the one I sent was crushed by that girl over there . ¡± Stoos¡¯ gaze turned to Lapis, as if she was looking at something creepy . Dia seemed to have a good guess of what Lapis was when she met her, but it seemed that Stoos still had no idea . With just that, it was obvious how capable and better Dia was . ¡°That¡¯s the whole story of this exam . And going back to the beginning, I¡¯d love it if Dia would just retire the exam here . Fighting you and chasing you off is another method, but that would be tiring, and you two don¡¯t want to die either, no?¡± ¡°Well, if I were to choose between dying and not dying, I don¡¯t really want to die . ¡± But Loren didn¡¯t lower his great sword or let go of his stance . He didn¡¯t take his eyes off Stoos, who was smiling slightly, not even considering him a threat, as he asked Dia behind him . ¡°You¡¯re our client . We have no choice but to go with your decisions . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to retreat if it¡¯s too much, though . ¡± Lapis said with a nervous laugh, but she was glaring at Stoos too, still ready for anything . ¡°Give us orders, Ms . Client . ¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Dia stuttered for a second, but immediately looked at Stoos straight in the eye, and said in a clear voice . ¡°I¡¯m not going to move based on my master¡¯s expectations . Since I started this exam, I¡¯m going to do my best to finish it . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s what she says . ¡± ¡°So, negotiations broke down? It might be okay for Dia since she doesn¡¯t die, but the two of you could . Are you sure?¡± Stoos said to Loren and Lapis, telling them to convince Dia otherwise if they wanted to live, but Loren scoffed at her words . ¡°One thing you should know about mercenaries . We don¡¯t betray our clients unless they betray us first . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re currently an adventurer, though . ¡± When Lapis cut in, mentioning that titles were important, Loren couldn¡¯t help but give her a dirty look . Ignoring it, Lapis gave Stoos a hard look . ¡°Our opinions are set . What are you going to do now?¡± Stoos folded her arms in front of her chest, looked down, and sighed deeply . The act was full of openings, and although it looked like there were many opportunities to attack, Loren still couldn¡¯t think that he could charge . ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped then . All I can do is eliminate the obstacles, defeat the examinee, and call it a day . ¡± Stoos spread her crossed arms and spewed words filled with hostility, a twisted smile appearing on her face . ¡°Come, mortals, if you think you¡¯d be a match for an Elder . With everything you¡¯ve got, so you would have no regrets on the road to the underworld!¡± Even though the intimidation within the words was so great it seemed like physical pressure, Loren gripped his great sword tighter, and ran straight towards Stoos without hesitation . Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Ch . 118: Stuck During Battle Since he had decided to do it, there was no delay in Loren¡¯s actions . The speed that Loren leaped forward surprised Lapis and Dia, even though they knew he was going to run forward . But Stoos was still way more powerful than Loren in every way . The blade of the great sword, which was swung with such force that it made a ripping sound in the air, whizzed through empty air, as Stoos leaned backwards, and even when he swung the sword back for another blow, she was already outside of his range . ¡°That¡¯s an interesting weapon you have . A great sword made of magic steel? Where did you find such an antique?¡± ¡°No idea!¡± Loren activated the self enhancement spell for a split second and instantly closed the distance between them and attacked again, but again, he couldn¡¯t hit her . He returned the blade and tried to go for another, but before he could, he was surprised by the face of a smiling red-haired woman in front of his, which caused him to jump back greatly . ¡°Your decision-making speed seems okay . ¡± Stoos, who had been closing the distance between attacks to an extend that Loren could feel her breathing, didn¡¯t chase Loren, who had backed off again, and just stood and pointed her finger at him . Loren blocked the fireballs that had erupted from the fingertip without any chanting or declaring the name of the spell with the flat of his sword . Although he was blown backwards by the explosion and impact, he didn¡¯t let go of it . ¡°I¡¯m just getting started, you know?¡± More fireballs continued to fly towards Loren . As he continued to block them with his sword, he stood firmly and braced against the explosions . ¡°Play with me as well, won¡¯t you?¡± While Stoos¡¯ attention was on Loren, Lapis quickly dove under her nose . Stoos just glanced at Lapis¡¯ fist, which was thrown at her stomach, as it was stopped by an invisible wall of some sort, not reaching her . ¡°Are you a monk or something? I guess you can¡¯t judge a book by its cover . ¡± As she said so, she kneed Lapis in the ribs, the hem of her dress flapping . Lapis barely managed to block it with her elbow, but couldn¡¯t kill the impact, so her light body was blown away and hit the ground, bouncing a few times . Using the momentum to get far away from Stoos, Lapis stood up immediately, her white clothes covered in dirt and dust, but before she could regain her footing, she saw Stoos pointing at her, and jumped further back . Immediately after, a few arrows made of lighting penetrated the place where she had been standing . Not even looking to see if her attack hit, Stoos, glanced at Dia, who still wasn¡¯t moving, raised her hand, and caught the blade that Loren swung down on her, without even looking at him . ¡°Oh? As expected of magic steel . I can¡¯t just crush it with my hand . ¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Loren tried to pull his sword back, not even having any time to be surprised that Stoos had caught it with her bare hand, but even with his strength, it didn¡¯t move from her clutch, as if it was stuck there . The kick that he made in desperation was, like Lapis¡¯ punch, deflected off an invisible wall, and didn¡¯t even make a scratch . ¡°You¡¯ve got a bad foot habit . Kicking a woman is just rude . ¡± As she said so, Stoos swung the great sword to the side . With just that movement, Loren was plucked from the ground and flung sideways as well, and when she let go of the sword, throwing it, he flew away as well . ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you that you held onto your sword . But that¡¯s it . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t take his eyes off Stoos, even as he was flung away and was rolling in the dirt, but when he saw her take a step towards him, he started rolling faster away . As if chasing him, Stoos stomped the ground where he was, and with the force of the impact blowing up sand and dirt, Loren continued to roll away . ¡°!¡± A white light erupted from beneath Stoos¡¯ feet as she tried to chase Loren further . Lapis had used . Stoos had taken the full hit, but when the light disappeared, she stood there, same as before, with a small smile on her face . ¡°That tickled . A somewhat faithful follower, I¡¯m guessing?¡± ¡°I am a model as well as ideal priestess of the Knowledge god!¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t a monk¡­?¡± When Stoos said so, along with a roar, the blade of a great sword was slammed into her neck . But it was again blocked by the invisible wall, right before it could hit . Loren had dashed within range in one jump and tried to land a blow, but seeing that it was blocked yet again, he moved away from the spot immediately . Stoos didn¡¯t chase, but instead lightly caressed her neck, then smiled at him, as he readied his great sword again . ¡°You¡¯re an excellent swordsman I¡¯ll give you that . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m overjoyed at the praise . I¡¯m going to make that cool face of yours pale up, so you¡¯d better be ready . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re eloquent as well . But you should say things you can¡¯t do, you know?¡± Loren grinded his teeth as Stoos laughed . It was true that there was a hopeless difference between the two of them . With the weight of Loren himself added to the weight of his great sword, it was quite the heaviness, but Stoos had the strength to swing them around with one arm, as well as use spells without chanting them . She was resistant to Lapis¡¯ , along with an invisible wall that blocked any sort of physical attack . With no idea how to defeat her, let alone hit a blow, it was apparent that Loren and Lapis couldn¡¯t do anything . ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can just back out!¡± Loren activated the spell of self enhancement again . He kicked off the ground and launched a fierce attack at Stoos . Stoos was about to take it with her palm again, but she noticed a phosphorescent light emitting from the blade, and instead of her palm, she swung her arm to counterattack . Sparks flew when the blade and arm came into contact, with a noise that didn¡¯t sound like a sword hitting flesh, and this time both Loren and Stoos were pushed back from the impact . ¡°That¡¯s really an interesting weapon . What did you just do?¡± Stoos said as she glanced at her right arm that blocked the attack, after firing a fireball at Lapis to keep her in check . There were no visible wounds on her white skin, but the part where Loren had hit her had turned red, like a bruise mark . Loren, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, as he plunged the tip of the great sword into the ground, using it like a staff, but at Stoos¡¯ question, he exhaled deeply and replied . ¡°Think for yourself, Elder . ¡± ¡°Stingy, I see . Well, whatever . ¡± Stoos guessed that she hadn¡¯t blocked the attack completely . Judging from the state of her arm, she had blocked the sundering blow itself, but hadn¡¯t been able to kill the impact . She surprised that a human, a normal swordsman on top of that, could deal such an attack, but to her, it was just that . It was more than enough for her healing factor to kick in, and even if she was hit with a hundred of them, it wouldn¡¯t be close to fatal . And judging from Loren¡¯s state after the blow, it was easy to guess he was using some sort of energy or ability . She wasn¡¯t sure if it was mana or life energy, but she knew that it took a great toll . She guessed that he couldn¡¯t use it in succession but seeing him barging at her again after catching his breath, she realized she was wrong . ¡°You can do it again?¡± Loren¡¯s second strike was faster than the first . Stoos blocked it, putting a bit of strength in her arm, frowning as she felt a slight quiver of pain, and looked at it, ignoring Loren, who was flung back again . The blade still hadn¡¯t reached her skin, but the damage was increased than before, with the red hue being larger, and she turned her eyes to Loren, who was getting up, with slight surprise . Meanwhile Loren, enduring the fatigue in his whole body, stood up using his great sword as support, thinking that he was lucky that Stoos still thought of him as a lesser being, which kept her from following up with an attack of her own . He didn¡¯t know what he was doing either, but he guessed that the sword carried a few mechanics to it . In any case, when he dashed forward, activating self enhancement, he also imagined putting all his strength into his sword when he swung it, and when he did, he noticed that the strike was more powerful than usual . Although it wasn¡¯t enough to get past the Stoos¡¯ defenses, it seemed that he was doing a bit of damage, and a smile appeared on his face as he knew that it wasn¡¯t completely neutralized . But the price was very high . Every attack, he was attacked by a feeling of all his strength leaving him, and if Stoos seriously wanted to kill him, if he had used such an attack just before, he couldn¡¯t dodge or parry everything she threw at him . ¡®Onii-san, are you alright? Should I give you some more?¡¯ Under normal circumstances, Loren shouldn¡¯t be able to perform the attack more than once . The reason why he could do so in rapid succession was thanks to Shayna, who was lending him power from the inside . ¡®As expected of an Elder . My energy drain isn¡¯t that effective . But it¡¯s working nonetheless, so there¡¯s no problem with supplying you with more energy . ¡¯ (Thanks . I know it¡¯s difficult but lend me a bit more of your strength . ) When he replied to Shayna in his mind, he immediately felt a surge of strength . The immediate replenishment of strength was possible due to Shayna using energy drain every time Loren attacked Stoos . Shayna had been transferring the drained energy to Loren . ¡®It¡¯ll be impossible to drain her completely . She¡¯s recovering as well, probably since she¡¯s on the draining side . ¡¯ Elders, who had enormous amounts of mana and life energy, seemed to have incredible recovery as well, as even with Shayna¡¯s energy drain, it was impossible to defeat her . But because of it, he was able to regain his strength to continue attacking, so he thanked Shayna quietly . ¡°! ! ! A short break, and another !¡± ¡°Damn you! So annoying! You know it¡¯s not working! It doesn¡¯t hurt, but it tickles!¡± ¡°! Annoying you is good enough! !¡± While Loren was catching his breath, Lapis used in rapid succession to keep Stoos¡¯ attention on her and keep her from attacking him . Even though it didn¡¯t do any damage, it seemed to cause discomfort, as Stoos waved her arm, blowing up dirt and sand, and tried to attack Lapis, but with her own powerful abilities, she continually dodged Stoos¡¯ attacks, using at every chance she found . ¡°One more, coming up!¡± Loren kicked the ground, putting in even more strength than before, and swung at Stoos . Since her attention was turned completely towards Lapis, she couldn¡¯t even dodge the attack, and could do nothing but raise her arm again . This third attack, same with the previous two, didn¡¯t reach her body, but this time Loren wasn¡¯t flung back, but instead the great sword and her arm were suspended at the point of collision . 13 ¡°It got stronger again!? What in the world are you¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just an adventurer!¡± As Loren roared and tried to push the blade into Stoos¡¯ arm, she kicked him away . With all his strength used up in the attack, Loren couldn¡¯t dodge it and took the full brunt of it, but even as he flew back and rolled on the ground, he didn¡¯t let go of his great sword . ¡°An impressive attack, but even with a hundred or two hundred of those, it won¡¯t reach me . ¡± Stoos declared, fixing the hem of her dress and rubbing the arm that blocked Loren¡¯s attack . ¡°If you¡¯re expecting help from Dia, you should stop right now . As long as I have her True Name, she won¡¯t be able to move . ¡± Ever since the fight started, Dia hadn¡¯t moved a step . It was because she understood that if she wasn¡¯t careful, Stoos would use her True Name and make matters worse . Although it was possible for Stoos to tie her up with her True Name even though she wasn¡¯t moving, but with Loren and Lapis attacking, it didn¡¯t seem like she was going to use it anytime soon . ¡°I¡¯m not done yet . Chapter 119 Chapter 119: 119 Chapter 119 Ch . 119: Settling after Consulting ¡°Lapis, could you buy me some time?¡± Loren went in to attack Stoos again, not giving up even though they couldn¡¯t find a way to defeat her . Dia, who had moved close to Lapis as she was following up Loren, asked Lapis, watching Stoos fight back barehandedly . ¡°Time?¡± ¡°Yes . I something I want to talk to Loren about . ¡± If Dia herself went in to help, Stoos would use her True Name to stop her . So Dia concluded that to do something, she had to form a plan with Loren or Lapis . Although Lapis thought it was a reasonable conclusion as well, she couldn¡¯t think that there could be anything to help them defeat Stoos, but she also thought that since Dia had gone through the trouble of asking her for help, there was a chance that her and Loren could open up some path to victory . ¡°I can¡¯t do so for long though . ¡± ¡°A little bit is fine . It won¡¯t take long at all . ¡± When Dia said so with confidence, it was enough to make Lapis think that there was a way to get them through . Lapis clapped her fists together . Luckily, they were in in the ruins in the middle of a large plain, so even if she used her abilities, no one was there to see her . She knew she couldn¡¯t defeat an Elder, since her body wasn¡¯t complete and in good shape, but she was confident that she could at least buy some time . ¡°Make it short please . I don¡¯t want to die . ¡± ¡°I know . ¡± Seeing Dia nod, Lapis used the self enhancement spell she taught Loren on every part of her body . Feeling the strength surge within her, Lapis shouted to Loren, who was still battling Stoos . ¡°Loren! Switch!¡± ¡°Lapis!?¡± Although surprised that Lapis had shouted out to him, Loren followed what she said and jumped backwards, creating a large distance between him and Stoos . When she tried to chase after him, Lapis, who was fully enhanced, stopped Stoos in her tracks with her fist clenched, and punched Stoos one fist after another, so fast that it was a blur . ¡°Really, what in the world are you!?¡± Lapis¡¯ fists didn¡¯t reach Stoos . But the impacts still stopped her, so she faced Lapis with a look of surprise . ¡°I¡¯m a model priestess of the Knowledge god, an adventurer! And Loren¡¯s partner!¡± ¡°There¡¯s definitely something wrong with those titles!¡± Ignoring Stoos¡¯ wailing, Lapis continued to throw punch after punch . As Loren watched her, thinking that no one who saw this would think that Lapis was a priestess, but dismissing the thought since it was Lapis he was looking at, Dia, who had asked her to buy some time, came close to him . ¡°Loren, let¡¯s talk . ¡± ¡°Is it about something that could get us out of this situation?¡± ¡°Yes . But let me see your great sword first . ¡± Loren handed her the sword that he hadn¡¯t let go even once this whole fight . Dia took the giant weapon that even a normally strong man would have trouble picking up, scanned its blade, and after a moment, handed it back to Loren . ¡°Listen carefully . I have an idea . It¡¯s¡­¡± Loren leaned forward as Dia waved for him to get closer . She started whispering in his ear in a voice that he could barely make out . After Dia finished and moved away from Loren¡¯s ear, Loren¡¯s eyes widened at what he had just heard and couldn¡¯t help staring at her . ¡°That¡¯ll work?¡± ¡°It should . I¡¯m not completely certain, but Stoos would back off . ¡± ¡°If you want me to do it I will¡­but are you sure?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind . Do it please . ¡± Loren could sense a strong determination in her reply, so he stopped questioning . ¡°Alright . If it¡¯s fine with you, I won¡¯t say no . ¡± ¡°Please . We¡¯ve got one chance . ¡± After replying, Dia¡¯s gaze went from Loren to Lapis, who was fighting . Although she could fight Stoos, it was obvious she was at a disadvantage . After all, all her attacks couldn¡¯t get through Stoos¡¯ defense, while Stoos¡¯ attacks were draining her health bit by bit . But she wasn¡¯t being pushed around in any sense and seeing that she was able to go somewhat toe to toe with an Elder, it was apparent that her abilities weren¡¯t normal . ¡°It¡¯s late to ask, but you aren¡¯t human, are you?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason for me to answer that . ¡± ¡°The other one was a human swordsman¡­but what is something like you doing here?¡± ¡°Being an adventurer . Also, a priestess of the Knowledge god . ¡± ¡°What even is a priestess of the Knowledge god¡­¡± Lapis smiled at Stoos¡¯ response, but the two of them stopped when they heard Dia¡¯s voice behind them . ¡°Lapis! We¡¯re done! Switch!¡± Without even nodding at Dia¡¯s words, Lapis mustered all her strength into one final blow . The blow, which contained a enormous amount of mana as well as her strength, still wasn¡¯t enough to get to Stoos, but it managed to push her back, and Lapis immediately jumped away from the spot . As if threading a needle, Dia ran past Lapis, her skirt flapping in the wind . Seeing her run straight at her, Stoos laughed . ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s no use? I know your True Name¡­¡± ¡°Shut up . ¡± Seeing Dia and her clenched fist, Stoos was about to say her True name, but her eyes narrowed as she saw Loren with his great sword raised a few steps behind her . When Stoos laughed at another useless attempt, Dia shouted, still in an attacking stance . ¡°Do it Loren!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± At Dia¡¯s signal, Loren imagined all the strength he had pouring into his sword and swung it . Of course, from his position he couldn¡¯t his Stoos, let alone Dia . But during the attack, he let go of his great sword . ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Although she didn¡¯t know what they were up to, Stoos felt that she still needed to stop Dia, so she said her True Name, but in front of her, Dia¡¯s head was cut off her body, and she came at her faster than before . When Loren had let go of the sword mid-swing, it flew forward, spinning towards Dia from behind, but she didn¡¯t block it, causing it to cut through her neck . At the same time, her face went blank as her true name started to control her consciousness . But her headless body wasn¡¯t influenced and continued to charge, and as Stoos froze in surprise, Dia¡¯s raised fist knocked through her defense and plunged into her chest . The powers of the Elders collided with one another, cancelling each other out for an instant, but within that moment, Loren¡¯s great sword, which was still flying after cutting off Dia¡¯s head, dug itself into Stoos¡¯ neck, with Dia¡¯s headless body in her arms . ¡°Ugh¡­Ah!?¡± With her powers and Dia¡¯s powers cancelling each other, there was nothing to stop the blade . Still, she tried to muster all the power she could and defend herself, but it was already too late, and the steel blade cut through her neck like it was nothing, and her head flew into the air . ¡°You¡¯re kidding¡­¡± Even though she was just a head, she somehow managed to talk, and she looked at her headless body, with a hole in its chest . Lapis walked over and gently picked up Dia¡¯s head, which was lying on the ground near them . ¡°Cutting your head off right before you heard your True Name, so your body isn¡¯t affected¡­and using it to attack? You¡¯re insane . ¡± ¡°Might be . But it was a good idea, no?¡± Dia¡¯s head, which was picked up and was in Lapis¡¯ arms, said in an amused voice . She too, was somehow able to speak without her body, and even Lapis had no idea how that was possible . ¡°B-but it¡¯s just that my head was cut off . ¡± ¡°I think so too . That¡¯s exactly why I¡¯ll do this . ¡± When Dia turned her gaze towards her body, which was hugging Stoos¡¯ body, it erupted in raging flames . As it consumed Stoos¡¯ headless body as well, both turned to ashes . ¡°Hey!?¡± ¡°Now you literally can¡¯t even move a finger . Do you still want to do this in that state?¡± As Dia smiled at her, Stoos couldn¡¯t reply immediately . Since they were Elders, they wouldn¡¯t die just because they were heads . But if their bodies were turned to ashes, it greatly limited what they could do, so she couldn¡¯t do anything, much less fight, even if she used Dia¡¯s True Name to stop her again . ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you want to continue . But I don¡¯t know what will happen to you . ¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°What would happen if we bury her? Would her body regenerate?¡± Lapis said something horrible with a bright smile on her face, but no one stopped her . Loren had lost consciousness and the two Elders were just heads, so there was in fact, no one to stop her . ¡°It would, but it would take quite a bit of time . ¡± ¡°Y-you think you¡¯ll get away with this!? Your True Name¡­¡± Stoos started saying with frustration, but Dia let it slide as if it was nothing . ¡°No reason to worry about that either . I lost most of my body as well . I can change my True Name when I reconstitute it . That¡¯s the end of it . ¡± ¡°You can change your True Name?¡± ¡°We usually don¡¯t . But since I lost so much of my body, I¡¯ll have to make some changes when reconstituting anyway, so it¡¯s a good opportunity to . ¡± Dia looked down at Stoos¡¯ head on the floor from Lapis¡¯ arms, asking her what she was going to do . Stoos tried to think of some way to get out of the situation, but couldn¡¯t find one, and after a while, she muttered with her voice shaking . ¡°¡­I¡¯ll retreat¡­so please don¡¯t bury me . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather burn you than bury you though . ¡± Lapis said something horrible again, just like that . Therefore, the battle against an Elder ended in the ruins, where nothing else was moving . Chapter 120 Chapter 120: 120 Ch . 120: Resting in the Hospital ¡°Just because you couldn¡¯t get through the defense barrier of an Elder, wasn¡¯t it too brutal to let my student get rid of it, and cut her along with Stoos?¡± Loren looked at the smiling face of the owner of the cold voice bitterly . Straight platinum hair and white skin . And with looks that anyone who saw her would say that she was beautiful, although there was a slight hard impression to Loren, she had a stretched smile that covered it . She was wearing normal civilian clothing that wasn¡¯t strange in any way, but it threw Loren off since she had a noble air about her . And such woman was sitting on the chair next to his bed . ¡°Maybe you should put your hand on your chest and think really hard about why that happened . ¡± With the weariness that was attacking his body, even talking was bothersome to him, but he felt that if he didn¡¯t say something he would be hearing complaint after complaint, so when he said so with sarcasm in his voice, the woman brushed her hair and replied without the slightest annoyance . ¡°I had to . It was all out of love . ¡± ¡°What a bothersome love . ¡± Although Loren said so with a sigh, the woman¡¯s smile didn¡¯t disappear . They were currently inside a room int the hospital within Kauffa . Loren was lying on the bed with his upper body raised . ¡°If you had persuaded Dia to give up, you wouldn¡¯t have gone through all that trouble . ¡± ¡°She herself didn¡¯t want that . Be happy at your student¡¯s growth, stupid master . ¡± Loren felt a slight chill as the word stupid unintentionally left his mouth, but Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all . He was talking with a being who could decimate the city, and even the whole nation, but the word still slipped out of his mouth . ¡°And how is that student of yours doing right now?¡± ¡°She¡¯s feeling quite inconvenient since she¡¯s just a head, but she¡¯s preparing to be on her own at the ruins . ¡± The final obstacle of the exam was facing another Elder named Stoos . She tried to make Dia fail, and they had to constantly move about while battling her, but in the end, Loren cut off Dia¡¯s head, and her body rammed into Stoos¡¯, disabling her defenses, and immediately after, Loren¡¯s great sword, greatly enhanced with all his strength, managed to cut off Stoos¡¯ head as well . Since they were Elders, both Dia and Stoos didn¡¯t die, but Stoos gave up and Dia successfully passed the exam and seemed to be setting up preparations at the land that she was given to make it her home . They had won and their job was successful as well, but the aftermath wasn¡¯t clean either . After all, both Elders were just heads, and Dia had burned both their bodies . Loren had lost consciousness, seemingly have poured too much of his strength into his sword . The only one who could move properly was Lapis, and with Dia¡¯s instructions, she had opened the entrance to the space where the base was located, carrying Loren, throwing away Stoos¡¯ head somewhere in the area, and many other things, and seeing that Loren hadn¡¯t recovered even after all that, she tied him to the donkey that everyone had completely forgotten about and returned to Kauffa . The diagnosis was prostration to the extreme . * He was in such a state since he all his strength into his sword, thinking that there was no way he could hold back against an Elder, spending almost all his mana and life energy . Therefore, he was at the hospital he frequently ended up in and was in the middle of recovering, but in that meantime, Sierra, Dia¡¯s master, had paid him a visit . ¡°She said that if I listen to what she says for a while, she¡¯ll let this whole thing slide . And she said that she¡¯ll hate me forever if I don¡¯t, so of course I have to listen . ¡± ¡°An Elder¡¯s ¡®forever¡¯ seems pretty long . ¡± Sierra sighed, going from a smile to a depressed frown . Loren thought she reaped what she sowed, but he also knew that with all the time that Elders had on their hands, being hated by someone you love would be hard . As Loren thought that if doing errands would get Dia¡¯s forgiveness Sierra should do them, she asked him in a strengthless voice . ¡°Do you think about a hundred years will be enough?¡± ¡°Damn, that¡¯s pretty long . Well, I have no idea . I won¡¯t be alive anyway, so I don¡¯t care, either . ¡± ¡°Loren, you¡¯re so cold . ¡± ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t touch me! Stop shaking me!¡± 14 Loren wailed as Sierra grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him back and forth . Sierra shook him for a while, but she noticed the light dizziness in his eyes and finally pulled away from him . ¡°So¡­did you come all the way here just to complain?¡± As Loren looked up at the ceiling, feeling fed up, Sierra clapped her hand together, as if she just remembered . ¡°Oh, right . I came because Dia told me to . ¡± ¡°Then hurry up and take care of it and go back to your grave . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re really cold . You¡¯re probably the only human that an Elder visited on his hospital bed, you know?¡± Sierra opened the traveling bag at her feet . What came out was something unexpectedly large compared to the size of the bag . Sierra tossed the folded leather onto Loren¡¯s knees . ¡°What is¡­Ugh!?¡± Loren cried out in surprise, as it was way heavier than Sierra made it seem and picked the object up . It was an orange-brown colored leather jacket . It was large as well as heavy, as if it was meant for Loren . ¡°Your armor was ruined during the job, right? Dia wanted me to get you something of the sort, so I brought some things . ¡± ¡°This is armor?¡± ¡°Pegasus leather, triple tailored . There¡¯s complex chain mail and impact absorbing padding in between them as well, specially made by an Elder . With anti-magic treatment on the surface, it¡¯s a fine piece of work . ¡± Sierra then threw gloves and boots on his knees as well . ¡°These are made from the same material, just slightly tougher . The surface treatment is the same as well . ¡± ¡°Why did you throw them on my knees?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to break them . That¡¯s just the only place I could put them . ¡± Luckily, human legs weren¡¯t made to break so easily . Loren was worried that the boots would soil the blanket and sheets but since they were brand new, they made no such marks . ¡°Dia already gave you the money, beforehand right? So, this concludes your payment . ¡± ¡°If you¡¯re willing to give some extra, I¡¯ll take it . ¡± ¡°Greed will ruin you . Live humbly, alright?¡± Sierra closed her bag and stood up from her chair . As Loren looked up at her, she shrugged . ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving now . I don¡¯t want to meet that scary girl, and there¡¯s a lot more errands that Dia wants me to do, and lots of things needed for her base that I have to gather . ¡± ¡°Sounds like a lot of work . Good luck . ¡± As Loren said so blandly, Sierra waved at him and was about to leave, but suddenly stopped, as if she remembered something, and turned back towards him . ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot I had a message from Dia . ¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Since he had been unconscious until he got to the hospital, as well as Dia being in her head-only state, the two of them hadn¡¯t been able to say their goodbyes . As Loren thought that was it, Sierra raised her index finger . ¡°First, Thanks for taking care of me . I have no intention of moving anytime soon, so if something happens, don¡¯t hesitate to ask for help . ¡± ¡°Tell her thanks as well . ¡± Loren thought that was it, but Sierra didn¡¯t move, but instead raised her middle finger . ¡°Second, about the leader of your former mercenary group . ¡± ¡°Oh right, I totally forgot about that . ¡± During the job, since Dia was curious, Loren told her the name of his former superior . After saying that she would tell him if she found out anything, she hadn¡¯t presented anything yet . ¡°The name Juli Muthschild is still a mystery, and I will continue investigating . But about the resalute that you do, I¡¯ll give you some information, although uncertain . ¡± ¡°Which is¡­¡± It was something him and Dia had talked about before . Loren had done a resalute that differed from normal knights . Dia had mentioned that she had an idea of what it was . ¡°A knight¡¯s resalute offers his sword to his lord . But there was an order of knights that instead of offering their swords to their lord, they pointed their blades down, offering them to the earth . ¡± ¡°Hm, what were they called?¡± As Loren asked her, quite intrigued, Sierra¡¯s reply made him doubt his ears . ¡°Noona Magic Kingdom, Knights of the Fourth Order . Commonly known as Planetes Knights . I¡¯ve heard that they had quite a high degree of freedom, as they almost never moved as a proper organization, but instead the members moved on their own jurisdiction . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that sort of nation . ¡± Loren wasn¡¯t well versed in geography . Since he had been moving from battlefield to battlefield when he was a mercenary, he wasn¡¯t interested in the names of the places he was at . But there were still places and nations that he had heard of, but it was the first time he had heard of the nation that Sierra had just mentioned . ¡°Of course, you wouldn¡¯t know . I would expect most people to not know this either . ¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, Dia said something similar as well¡­So is there such a place?¡± Since it was a place not many people knew about, Loren wondered what kind of unexplored region it was in, but Sierra shook her head . ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist in the current world . That¡¯s why no one knows about it . The only ones who do are beings like us and elves who lived for a very long time . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Remember this . And try not to let it out easily . The Noona Magic Kingdom is an extinct nation and is what you would refer to as the Ancient Kingdom . Which means that leader of yours that taught you swordsmanship is somehow connected to the Ancient Kingdom . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t find anything to say . There was a part of him that thought, ¡®so what?¡¯ . It was because even if he knew techniques from the Ancient Kingdom, it didn¡¯t change anything . But at the same time, he was interested . He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how in the world did he learn such a thing . ¡°That¡¯s all I know right now . I¡¯ll give you a notice once I find out more . This is all Dia asked me to tell you . ¡± ¡°I see¡­Can you thank her for me?¡± ¡°Of course . Oh, and let me thank you as well . Thanks to you, she could be on her own . ¡± ¡°Thanks, from you? Not sure if I did something for you to say that¡­¡± Sierra waved at him once more, and then this time, she walked out of the room, not looking back . As he watched her leave, Loren sighed deeply, put the jacket, boots, and gloves on top of the chair Sierra had been sitting on, and leaned back on his bed . ¡°Loren, how are you? Is anywhere hurting or itching or are you not feeling well in any way?¡± Right after Sierra left, Lapis entered the room . ¡°Hm? Where did you get the jacket and all these things? You didn¡¯t buy them, did you?¡± Although he was on the way to recovery, he was still quite weak, so he couldn¡¯t walk around the city on his own . So, Lapis looked at the gear that Sierra had given Loren, wondering where he had got them . ¡°Did you pass by anyone on the way here?¡± ¡°No . I didn¡¯t see anyone . ¡± Based on the timing of her coming in, Loren thought that Sierra and Lapis would¡¯ve walked pass each other . But since it seemed like they didn¡¯t, Loren wondered how that was possible, but immediately stopped thinking about it . Sierra was an Elder who lived hundreds and thousands of years . He guessed that there was a way for her to leave without letting Lapis know of her being there . ¡°Never mind then . Dia sent the extra payment she promised . ¡± ¡°Who brought it to you?¡± ¡°No idea . The person handed it to me and left right after . ¡± Loren thought that there was no need for him to tell Lapis that Sierra had been there . He also thought that there was no need for him to tell her the things Sierra had told him . It wasn¡¯t completely reliable, and even if she knew about it, nothing would be different . ¡°Loren, you¡¯re hospitalized again . Your bills are increasing as well . ¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to think about it¡­Take out the amount from this job¡¯s rewards, will you?¡± ¡°That would be about half of you rewards gone, then . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine . At least there¡¯s something left . ¡± Loren lied down on the bed and closed his eyes slowly, thinking that it was better than his debt increasing . What he had heard from Sierra shocked him quite a bit, but the fatigue that was left in his body easily started to bring sleep to him as soon as he closed his eyes . Since the information wasn¡¯t certain, he decided he would worry about it when he would have to . After that thought, he let the sleepiness overtake him, and fell into a deep sleep Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Ch . 121: Talk about Investigations and War There was a rumor that a few villages had been destroyed . It wasn¡¯t something unusual . Villages appeared and disappeared all the time, so it wouldn¡¯t grab any attention whatsoever . But this time it was different . There was also a rumor that it was due to a vampiric calamity . Vampiric calamities referred to disasters caused by vampires . A vampire appearing in a village, converting a few people into its slaves, then those lesser undead would attack others, and after continuing that bloody cycle, all the humans would be replaced with undead . It would result in a horde of undead that the nation couldn¡¯t ignore, so even though it was a rumor, the government launched an investigation in case such a situation would happen . ¡°I don¡¯t think they would find a horde of undead anywhere, though . ¡± Looking at Lapis, who chimed like it was none of her business, sitting in front of him, Loren tilted the cup of liquor in his hand and swirled it slowly . As Lapis had said, there was zero chance that a horde of undead would be found . It wasn¡¯t that Lapis had received a revelation from the Knowledge god . A little while before, Loren and Lapis had received a job straight from the client, instead of through the Adventurer¡¯s Guild . It was during that job, that the villages were turned into undead, resulting in an undead horde, that was used to attack them . But the horde, along with the True that caused the vampiric calamity, were completely wiped out . Loren hadn¡¯t reported this to the guild . It was because he thought that if they wanted to know, they should ask the Elder that caused all of it . Apparently, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was a powerful organization, and had connections to monsters that could converse with humans . If not, there was no way the guild could get their hands on some of the information they possessed . In any case, the job was a direct contract from their client, so he and Lapis had no responsibility to give the guild any information on what had happened during it . If they didn¡¯t report and the Elders didn¡¯t say anything either, there was nothing the guild could do about it . Even if they knew something had happened, they couldn¡¯t carelessly aggravate the Elders, and if they tried to do something to Loren and Lapis and they found out about it, it could offend them as well, so there was nothing they could do . That was why Loren thought that the guild was letting them move around freely . ¡°I feel sorry for the people investigating . ¡± No matter how hard they investigated, they wouldn¡¯t find anything . The Elders had all left, and the undead horde, which was the main point of the investigation, most of them were defeated by Loren and the sunlight and were back to being immobile corpses . Loren thought it was harsh to send people on an investigation which nothing would turn up, but since it was still a job they would be paid according to the number of days, so Loren hoped that the adventurers that he didn¡¯t know the names or faces of wouldn¡¯t think of it as wasted time . ¡°Well, that¡¯s the least of their worries . ¡± Loren said quietly as he looked down at the notice from the guild that was spread on the table . It was a form that the guild used to spread important information far and wide throughout the adventurer community . The contents were so shocking that it almost made Loren forget a lot of things that were on his mind . ¡°They¡¯re skirmishes, but still an official war between nations . ¡± Unlike Loren, Lapis wasn¡¯t interested in it at all . On the paper that Loren was looking down on told him that the Kingdom of Wagenburg, the nation that Kauffa resided in, was warring with the nation of Schoenbryn, which was located to the northeast, and the battle was going on in an unnamed plain on the border . The reason for the war wasn¡¯t specified . Loren thought it was a pathetic reason anyway . Wars never started with a good reason, and many were started over the smallest of things, but rather than that, because of them, the circulation of goods got slower, people were drafted from cities and villages, and because of that, there would be less soldiers policing areas, leading to increase in crime . ¡°The guild always remains neutral, though . ¡± Even though they were neutral, they still had to receive jobs from both nations . In fact, most of the jobs on the board were straight from Wagenburg . They spanned from recon missions to guarding important people to guarding bases and fortresses . It was probably similar in Schoenbryn, and because of the influx in jobs, the guild was quite packed . ¡°As a mercenary, does it make you tingle with excitement?¡± When Lapis asked him, he asked it again to himself . ¡°Not interested . No intention of participating . Also, I¡¯m a former mercenary, alright?¡± ¡°But it seems like you would make quite a bit, don¡¯t you? This might be your chance . ¡± Until a short while ago, he had been thinking that if a war broke out, he could pay his debt in no time . But currently, when he asked himself Lapis¡¯ question, he realized that he wasn¡¯t interested at all, and he raised the glass he was swirling and gulped the rest of the contents down . ¡°No interest at all . I¡¯m content with how I¡¯m living right now . ¡± It was his true feelings . In any case, it was a lot lighthearted and safer than on the battlefield, constantly on alert and the air prickling around him, missing meals and sleep all the time . Although, he had been exposed to dangers far worse than anything on the battlefield the past few jobs, but he had made it out alive every time, so he thought that complaining was too much of a luxury . ¡°Hearing that makes me a bit happy . : Seeing Lapis¡¯ gaze on him as she smiled happily, Loren averted his own, feeling slightly embarrassed . A complaining look appeared on Lapis¡¯ face for a moment when he did so, but she immediately stood up and changed the subject . ¡°Then that means avoiding jobs related to the war¡­which there aren¡¯t many of . ¡± The guild wasn¡¯t an organization to pass on jobs from the nation that paid well . Not just because the guild was a mutual aid organization to adventurers, but because the guild itself was a profit organization . With so many good paying jobs, there was no reason for them to pick up ones that didn¡¯t look promising . ¡°Loren, do you have enough money saved up to last you until the war ends?¡± Loren scowled at Lapis¡¯ sudden question . It was a topic he didn¡¯t want to hear about, but it didn¡¯t seem like he could get away without answering, so he managed to spit out a reply . ¡°You¡¯re asking even though you already know that I don¡¯t, aren¡¯t you?¡± With all the debt he had, there was no way he had anything saved up . In fact, all his debt was from Lapis, and even with no interest nor deadlines, Loren wasn¡¯t the type of person to keep any money when he owed some . ¡°Of course . Then I guess we can¡¯t go without taking any jobs at all . You won¡¯t survive until the end of the war . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to say so, but yeah . ¡± Loren did have a bit of coins in his wallet . But since they didn¡¯t know when the war would end, whether it be a few days or a few weeks or even longer, if one was to ask if he had enough to last without working at all, Loren would have to shake his head . If he used all his coins with no income . He would be slowly going dry . ¡°Then I guess we need to find work . ¡± Loren couldn¡¯t deny Lapis¡¯ words . As if she had seen through all of this, she pulled out a piece of paper from an inner pocket and spread it out on the table . ¡°There¡¯s really nothing much other than jobs related to the war . ¡± It wasn¡¯t that there weren¡¯t other jobs, but the guild didn¡¯t recommend jobs that weren¡¯t related to the war, so naturally, those were the ones that would catch one¡¯s eye . ¡°I tried to find one that¡¯s as unrelated as possible . ¡± ¡°You already investigated¡­?¡± Usually, having the needed information already investigated and gathered beforehand would be something to be praised, but it was Lapis he was looking at . He couldn¡¯t just praise for what she did because he couldn¡¯t put aside the possibility that she could have secretly induced many factors to engineer the current situation, so all he could do was look at her bitterly . ¡°This is the one I recommend we should do¡­what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing . Go on . ¡± Whether it be that she predicted correctly, or everything went according to her planning, it wouldn¡¯t change what came next, so Loren gave up and told Lapis to go on . Lapis cocked her head as she looked at Loren, but she soon pulled herself together and started explaining the job to him . Chapter 122 Chapter 122 Ch. 122: Choice and Interruption Three pieces of paper were spread out in front of Loren. They were copies of the job descriptions that Lapis had taken from the quest board next to the counter. Since Lapis wanted him to choose one, he was about to take one and start reading through it, but when he thought about it for a second, it could be seen as Lapis making him choose between the said three, but when he looked at her, wondering if she was planning something again, she smiled at him, wondering if something was wrong, so Loren just stopped thinking about it. He was moving with Lapis, who had been kicked out of her home amongst the demon kin to explore the world. Deciding that there was no use being concerned about it after all their time together, he looked through the three papers and saw that although they weren¡¯t about participating in the war, they were related to it. ¡°Reconnaissance in unknown territory? This is going through one of the possible battlefields. I¡¯ve done some of these as a mercenary, but if you meet with an enemy squad, it¡¯s immediately going to become a full-on battle.¡± It was a job to scout out the terrain and condition of the battlefield before the actual battle started. Going in without knowing anything about the battlefield was a great disadvantage, and it was normal to use a large amount of time and manpower to know everything you could about it, but it would mean thinking and doing the same thing as your enemy, so skirmishes were a common occurrence. In the worst case, the main forces would be deployed, and the battle would start right then and there, which was what Loren was wary of. If they made the wrong predictions, it meant the two of them would be mixed into the midst of the war. ¡°Guarding the supply squad to the main forces is a no as well. It¡¯s common sense to hit the enemy¡¯s supplies, so unless the defenses are rock solid, it¡¯s more unlikely that there won¡¯t be an attack. There would be a lot of mercenaries that are quick on their feet¡­and even though it¡¯s a job in the back lines, the rewards are too cheap.¡± It was because it was thought to be quite safe since it was in the back lines, but there was no way adventurers could fend of even a small group of trained mercenaries, and the chances of being attacked was quite high as well. Another factor was that attacking the supply squad was a popular job since whatever was recovered during the attack would belong to the attackers. Goods and money, and in the worst case, even people. The morale of the attackers would be very high, and so was the danger. ¡°If it was within the boundaries of your country it would be easy¡­but that¡¯s not the case with the current war, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. It seems that the war is in the east border for this nation and south border for the opposing one. No idea why it¡¯s in such an obscure place.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Loren thought it was obvious that the nations were fighting over something. If it was something simple, such as land, the war would be within the boundaries of either of them. But the location that Lapis had told him belong to neither of them, so Loren couldn¡¯t think of a reason why they would be fighting in such a place. ¡°It¡¯s the plains in the southern central part of the continent. There are tribes of beast kin living there, although they are not their own country.¡± Which meant they were fighting over unclaimed territory. Since there were beast kin living there, Loren thought that it belonged to them, but their social standing on the continent was very low, so there was no way it would be theirs. ¡°Beast kin? They¡¯re the race who look like humans but have some characteristics of animals, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hypothesized that the people of the Ancient Kingdom created them.¡± In other words, animal-human hybrids, or chimeras. It was thought so because the Ancient Kingdom was known for such research, but no one knew if it was true. Since they had the characteristics of different animals, many of them were stronger than humans, but their lifespan was shorter. ¡°Must be a nuisance for the people already living there.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a single war that isn¡¯t a nuisance to someone.¡± As Lapis gave him a very dry answer, Loren shrugged and looked at the last piece of paper. It was about guarding a caravan full of supplies to a village near the battlefield. ¡°This is another one with a not-so-low possibility of being attacked.¡± A village that was a distance away from the battlefield. The client, the village chief, wanted bodyguards to guard the caravan filled with supplies the village needed. Even if it wasn¡¯t directly related to the war, there were usually no merchants who would willing go near the battlefield. But because of that, there would be no supplies going to the villages in the area and affect the people living there. Loren guessed that the village chief, who posted the job, managed to find a merchant and needed people to keep him and the goods safe until it reached the village. Although Loren was willing to take it even though the rewards were poor, since people¡¯s lives were on the line, he looked at the paper again and frowned. ¡°Four days to reach the village. Eight for a round trip, with eight silver coins per person.¡± ¡°Everyone seems to be ignoring this because you need to pay for your own necessities as well.¡± It was a joke. Even though it was away from the battlefield, considering the high possibility of being attacked, there was nothing to gain from it. He could understand that after paying the merchants for the goods and his service they won¡¯t have much left for the rewards, but knowing why the other adventurers skipped over it, Loren flicked his finger on the paper. ¡°This one isn¡¯t any good Lapis. It¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Even if a person needed to work to survive, no idiot would take on a job that would leave him worse off than before. There was the option of cutting costs to try to make a profit, but Loren knew from experience that people who tried that tended to have a dreadful time. ¡°A dangerous job that doesn¡¯t pay enough and doesn¡¯t make any sense from start to finish. I¡¯d rather stay and starve.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that Loren. There¡¯s a job I want you to take.¡± Loren slowly turned and glared in the direction the voice came from, while obvious disgust appeared on Lapis¡¯ face. Although it wasn¡¯t hard to know that he wasn¡¯t welcomed, the young man with red hair named Klaus took no notice and placed his hands on the table the two of them were sitting at. He was a capable and well-known adventurer within the guild, backed up by some country, and usually traveled with three beautiful girls, but currently none of them were to be seen. ¡°What do you want? What are you plotting?¡± When they first met, he was so insufferable even Loren hated him, but with a few experiences together, he seemed to acknowledge Loren¡¯s skill and abilities, with improvements to his attitude, and although he was still bothersome, Loren didn¡¯t really hate him anymore. With his special ability Gift, Klaus was someone who could be considered a hero, but with a drawback for being very sloppy with his relationship with women, and since he didn¡¯t try to fix it even though he was aware of it, Lapis treated him like scum. ¡°What do you mean, plot? Especially against you Loren.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the right way of thinking. Then with what intentions did you interrupt our conversation?¡± ¡°I told you already. There¡¯s a job I want you to take.¡± ¡°One of these?¡± When Lapis pointed to the three pieces of paper on the table without changing her look of disgust, Klaus nodded deeply. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Ahh, wait, let me guess. It¡¯s the one about the village, right?¡± Klaus froze when Loren said that. Lapis guessed that Loren was correct, while Klaus looked at him in wonder. ¡°Why did you think so?¡± ¡°The other two are related to the nation. The client is some army official. Most of the time they¡¯re snotty old men or unlikable bastards.¡± Loren¡¯s explanation seemed very biased, but Lapis knew that for some reason, most of them were as Loren had said. In any case, when it came to the nation or the army, there were rarely likable young men or cute women. ¡°But the last one, the client is the village chief.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, but my first image of a village chief is an old man.¡± Whether it be due to wisdom from years of experience or some other reason. In any case, the image of a village chief to Lapis was what she had just said. It was the same for Loren, but he also knew that there was more to it. ¡°If the village has been there for a long time, the chief is indeed usually an old man, but for a newer one, the chief could be a young man or woman.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°And even if it were an old person, there¡¯s usually a daughter or granddaughter.¡± ¡°Ahh, I see.¡± Village chiefs were usually slightly better off than the other villagers. Of course, they had big responsibilities, but putting that aside, because they were wealthier, their daughters or granddaughters were good looking most of the time. Of course, that wasn¡¯t always so, but even in that case, there was always that one good looking girl in the village, and the villagers usually couldn¡¯t go against the chief¡¯s orders. ¡°So, it¡¯s related to women.¡± When Lapis said with a glare so cold that it could freeze one¡¯s soul, Klaus, who had a disturbed smile on his face as he still stood with his hands on the table, suddenly looked at Loren with a distraught face. On top of that, he grabbed Loren¡¯s hand and started begging in a pitiful voice. ¡°Please Loren! I¡¯ll even pay you extra! So please listen to what I have to say!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to¡­I already have a bad feeling about this¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anyone else to turn to!¡± Loren tried to shake Klaus off, but he couldn¡¯t, with Klaus gripping it with unexpected strength, so he used his free hand to push Klaus¡¯ face away as he tried to get closer. ¡°You bastard¡­You¡¯re using <>, aren¡¯t you!? I¡¯m not into another man holding my hand! Let go!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let it go until you listen to what I have to say!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say it in a way that could be misunderstood!!¡± Loren roared and started using his feet to peel Klaus off, but Klaus held on fast, determined to cling on. Lapis, who was watching the whole thing unfold, wondered if she should help peel Klaus off to resolve the situation, or see where it would end up, just out of curiosity. Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Ch . 123: Presentation to Negotiation ¡°If you take the job, I¡¯ll pay five silver coins beforehand . Five more after the job is done . ¡± That was the first thing Klaus said after Loren finally managed to peel him off . ¡°Is that per person?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­Y-yeah . Twenty silver coins in total . It isn¡¯t bad, isn¡¯t it? Then¡­¡± ¡°No way . ¡± Klaus brightened up for a second at Lapis¡¯ response, but Loren cut her off . Lapis ignored Klaus, who was at a loss for words, and looked at Loren, wondering why he said so . ¡°Jobs that start by talking about money can never be trusted . Those who jump at jobs like these can never live for long . ¡± ¡°I see . I¡¯ll go throw this thing out then . ¡± When Lapis said so in a cold voice and pointed at Klaus, Loren¡¯s stern face crumbled slightly . ¡°I mean¡­we can at least listen to what he has to say . ¡± ¡°Make up your mind . ¡± Lapis¡¯ voice hardened slightly at Loren¡¯s indecisiveness, saying that Klaus¡¯ offer couldn¡¯t be trusted, but then wanting to hear him out . Loren responded in an unsure manner, very unlike his usual self . ¡°Yeah well¡­I mean, if the conditions are solid, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a reason to be so hard on him, you know¡­¡± ¡°Loren, are you getting soft on Klaus, by any chance?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m being soft on him in any way, but¡­anyways . ¡± Loren forced the conversation in another direction, knowing that he was at a disadvantage . Lapis already knew so due to the air around him, but instead of pushing it, she calmly went with the change in topic . ¡°If you want our help, tell us everything, no secrets . After that, I¡¯ll tell you the minimum conditions we¡¯ll help you for . ¡± ¡°If we find out you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll snap you in half . What part of you would be how I¡¯d be feeling at the time . ¡± Intimidated by Loren, who told him to tell them everything, and Lapis, who completely threatened him, the words started spilling out of Klaus¡¯ mouth . ¡°As you could see by the amount of rewards, the girls and I were talking about how we shouldn¡¯t take this . ¡± ¡°The girls? So Ange and the other girls are on board with this?¡± Klaus was currently in a party with three girls . Since Loren thought that the whole thing had something to do with women, he thought that Ange and the other girls wouldn¡¯t want to take part in it . From the few times he had met them before, all of them had feelings for Klaus, but they were also annoyed and tired of Klaus¡¯ and his sloppy habits with women . He guessed that they would be fed up with him soon, and thought that maybe today was that day, but from what he just heard, it didn¡¯t seem to be so . ¡°They agreed to lend a helping hand to the village in distress . ¡± ¡°That was easy . So, what¡¯s the actual reason?¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you would keep it between us¡­¡± ¡°Why would I give two damns about the love affairs in your group?¡± Although he said that, Loren wasn¡¯t someone to spread the word about such things . He didn¡¯t care if the girls found out about it, he just wanted to know what Klaus¡¯ intention was . ¡°Well, actually, the village chief¡­¡± ¡°Young?¡± ¡°Not that much . But she has an outstanding charm, in a sense¡­She was a housewife until her husband passed away last year¡­¡± ¡°Did you start feeling sorry for her when she started crying?¡± ¡°Yeah, and some other intentions as well¡­¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s going to be the death of you? Don¡¯t expect to die peacefully in a bed . ¡± Although Loren had said that, Klaus¡¯ life was his own, so no matter how it ended, it wasn¡¯t something for him to be concerned about . ¡°Well¡­hahahaha¡­¡± When Klaus laughed without even a hint of remorse, Loren snorted, and Lapis sighed deeply . ¡°So how about it? Will you help?¡± ¡°Since you came over to us and begging, I¡¯m guessing that means no one else other than your group wanted to do this?¡± ¡°Pretty much . I wouldn¡¯t have accepted it if it weren¡¯t for the chief . ¡± Klaus said so very clearly . As he wondered where he got that gut of his, Loren started to think . He understood that the correct thing to do was push the whole thing away, saying that it wasn¡¯t their problem . But other thoughts swirled in his mind as he glared at Klaus, who was looking at him with eyes full of expectation . This young man named Klaus could be summed up as human trash, as he had been showing them, but there was a small part of him that couldn¡¯t leave anyone in need . He also had a rare Gift called <>, so if personality was taken out of the equation, he was quite the skilled swordsman . On top of that, although it was unknown how long they would stay with him, the girls in his party were all very skilled as well, so they were quite capable as a party as well . They weren¡¯t bad people to gain favors with . There was the possibility that Klaus would forget it, but Loren knew that he wasn¡¯t that much of a scum . ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know each other . I¡¯d be willing to do it depending on the payment . ¡± When he told his opinion to Lapis, although the disgust didn¡¯t drop from her face, she nodded, as if she wasn¡¯t rejecting Klaus completely . ¡°I¡¯ll join depending on the payment as well . ¡± ¡°Is twenty silver coins not enough?¡± Klaus suggested the original amount he presented, but Loren shook his head . ¡°No, it¡¯s not worth the trouble . ¡± ¡°We¡¯ve become iron rank adventurers as well . If you want our help, it should be enough for our services . ¡± When Lapis said that, Klaus¡¯ face brightened for some reason . ¡°You ranked up? Congratulations . ¡± ¡°Oh right, you were my opponent on the exam . Did you not hear the results?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me anything after it ended vaguely . ¡± There had been a rank up exam, but Loren¡¯s opponent during that exam was Klaus . As Klaus had said, it ended weirdly since there had been an interruption, but for some reason Loren had passed and was now a proper iron rank adventurer . ¡°And so, we decided to increase our payments . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not that welcoming . ¡± ¡°Give it up . So, our conditions are ten¡­¡± ¡°Fifteen silver coins upfront, another fifteen after the job, so a total of thirty per person . If you cover the necessary expenditure, we¡¯ll accept the job . ¡± Lapis interrupted Loren and told Klaus a specific amount . Klaus looked surprised, but Loren knew why . The condition that Lapis presented was over three times the amount that Klaus had suggested . If he wasn¡¯t surprised, it meant that he had suggested a low payment to try to rip them off . ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡± Klaus managed to squeeze the words out of his mouth, which was agape with shock, and Loren agreed . Loren¡¯s suggestion was going to be ten silver coins upfront and ten after per person, for a total of forty silver coins . Even that was double Klaus¡¯ suggestion, and Loren thought that was a bit much as well, but not only did Lapis ask for more than that, she asked him to cover their expenditures as well, showing how she never refrained herself . ¡°I won¡¯t force you . If you don¡¯t like it, you can go ask others . ¡± Klaus looked to Loren for help at Lapis¡¯ cold and unapproachable attitude . But Loren had no intention of giving him a helping hand at this point . It was because Lapis had gone as far as to interrupt him to propose her conditions . Lapis had more experience as an adventurer than Loren . Which made him believe that Lapis¡¯ proposal would be suitable payment for iron rank adventurers than what he was thinking of . But he also believed that Klaus couldn¡¯t pay it . The original payment was eight silver coins . Making him pay sixty to help him on the job, even though it was because of a woman, made Loren pity him slightly . ¡°We¡¯re acquaintances, right? Can¡¯t you lower it a bit?¡± ¡°I would believe it¡¯s still cheaper than market price . ¡± ¡°That might be true, but I don¡¯t have enough to pay that . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my problem . ¡± Although her voice was still cold, Lapis quickly glanced at Loren . He didn¡¯t know exactly what she wanted, but he had a good guess of what it was, so instead of calling out to Klaus, who was hanging his head at Lapis¡¯ words, he called out to her . ¡°Keep it at that Lapis . It¡¯s not like we¡¯re strangers . Can¡¯t we lower it a bit?¡± ¡°Loren¡¯s the leader, so I¡¯ll follow what you say . ¡± ¡°Klaus, I can¡¯t lower it that much . Fifty silver coins upfront for the two of us as well as the expenses . How about that?¡± Loren felt that he didn¡¯t lower it enough . But he also felt that if he did, it wouldn¡¯t do any good for Klaus either . He was someone who would end up losing his life if he didn¡¯t learn his lesson with women sooner or later . ¡®I think it¡¯s going to be a meaningless effort, Onii-san . ¡¯ The one who jabbed in as cold as Lapis, was the girl named Shayna, who had been turned into a No Life King, being reduced to just her astral form after losing her physical body and was residing within Loren¡¯s spirit . Watching Klaus rejoice at the discount and bowing his head over and over, thanking him, he wondered if it was as Shayna had said . Chapter 124 Chapter 124 Ch. 124: Departure after Preparation Since Klaus was the one covering their expenses, Lapis went all out. After creating a contract and making Klaus sign it, not trusting him, she took over a dozen silver coins and decided to use it to buy what they needed. ¡°Should I go accept this job?¡± ¡°No. Come shopping with me. We¡¯re joining Klaus on this so we¡¯re going to have him register us as part of his party. If they went without saying anything to the guild, they wouldn¡¯t receive the payment. Loren thought that he would have to go register for the job, knowing that people would look at him funny for going on such as job, but since Lapis said that it was Klaus¡¯ job, he glared at him as he sighed with relief that Loren and Lapis had accepted his request. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be the party leader, so you would have to listen to my orders.¡± Loren thought so too, but the temperature of Lapis¡¯ glare dropped steeply, so Klaus immediately waved his hands in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m joking, okay? I¡¯ll register you as party members, but you can move on your own.¡± ¡°Make sure it¡¯s temporary, okay? If you registered us as a legitimate party, I¡¯ll pluck it off.¡± As Loren thought that he shouldn¡¯t ask what, Klaus paled as he covered his crotch and nodded repeatedly. After that little exchange, letting Klaus deal with all the troublesome things, Loren and Lapis went out into the city to prepare for the upcoming job. ¡°We have an ample funds this time. We shouldn¡¯t hold back and buy everything we need.¡± ¡°Go easy, alright? There might be a time when we have to go crying to him for help.¡± Loren thought that even though they should take advantage of it, there was a line they shouldn¡¯t cross. Even when he was a mercenary, when a member would ask for help to the others, although there were some hardships that came with it, he would still be able to recover from it. It was because the ones helping him made sure to adjust it so that it wouldn¡¯t go too far. And when they were the ones who needed assistance, they would be treated the same, so it was sort of an unspoken agreement. Because Loren knew that, although he thought that Klaus reaped what he sowed, they shouldn¡¯t push him into a corner. ¡°Us crying to Klaus?¡± When Lapis cocked her head, wondering if there would ever be such a scenario, Loren neither nodded nor shook his head, but instead pat her on the shoulder. ¡°The chances aren¡¯t zero, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Hm, that might be so. I guess I¡¯ll have to give up on the best quality sleeping bags and comfort pillows.¡± ¡°What the hell were you thinking of buying?¡± What she mentioned was indeed something they needed, but it was something they already had and needed to buy, much less best quality ones, so Loren couldn¡¯t help but say so as Lapis looked disappointed. The next day, after using up all of Klaus¡¯ money to buy what they needed, the two of them arrived at the place where Klaus told them to meet him. It was at the east gate of the city, where Klaus and his party were ready to go, along with a few carriages carrying the supplies. The village chief, their client, was there as well. ¡°Thank you so much for accepting this kind of job.¡± The woman, wearing good quality clothes and wearing her brown hair up, bowed and thanked them. She had a full-figured body that stretched the fabric on her clothes, with her chest seeming to bounce every time she moved, and seeing Klaus look at them with a sloppy gaze in the corner of his eye, Loren thought no wonder Klaus fell so easily. ¡°Loren¡­¡± The sharp sensation of getting pinched on his thigh along with a grumpy tone from Lapis made him avert his gaze from the chief¡¯s chest to her face. ¡°I hope not you out of all people Loren. But depending on the circumstances, I¡¯ll rip it off.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a scary thought¡­¡± Loren¡¯s equipment consisted of the leather jacket, gloves, and boots he had received from his previous client, along with his usual great sword strapped to his back. His pants were made of tough material, but they were bought from a store, so if Lapis wanted to, she could rip his flesh off his bones, and with no sign of her letting go of his thigh, Loren felt cold sweat running down his back. ¡°I¡¯m the village chief Rose. We¡¯ll be in your care on the road.¡± When Rose bowed her head again after introducing herself, Klaus let out a loose smile as he stared at her chests, and at this point, Ange and the other girls finally found out what it was all about, and kicked him, sending him sprawling to the ground. Looking away from the chief, who looked surprised at what was going on, Loren turned to the people around the carriages, who seemed to be people from Rose¡¯s village, and felt that something was off. ¡°Loren? I¡¯ll really rip it.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t you¡¯re going to make me wet myself. Well, don¡¯t you think something is off?¡± The reason why lapis said ¡°rip off¡± again was due to the villagers near the carriage. It was what Loren thought was weird as well. ¡°Why are there only women in this whole group?¡± The ones who were tying up the goods on top of the carriages. The ones who were loading sacks in there. All the villagers who were doing them were women, with no men to be found. Although it wasn¡¯t wrong that men weren¡¯t doing the hard lifting, it was still strange. There was the slight possibility it was because the village chief was a woman, but even so, no men at all was still not normal. ¡°Were they all taken to fight the war?¡± Lapis seemed to have noticed the slightly unusual sight, let go of Loren¡¯s thigh, and looked around. No matter where they looked, there were no men anywhere. ¡°They took all the male villagers? There wouldn¡¯t be many of them in the first place, and they wouldn¡¯t even be much of help anyway. It would instead leave the village without a work force and anger them. I wouldn¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Then maybe they were too busy to come?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something more important than getting supplies that¡¯s the lifeline of the village? I don¡¯t know what that could be.¡± ¡°That might be true.¡± There must¡¯ve been a reason for it, but since Loren was an adventurer hired for a job, he didn¡¯t feel like poking around too deep, so once he chased the thoughts out of his head, the carriages were ready, as Rose called out to everyone. ¡°We¡¯re going back to the village. We¡¯ll be in your care.¡± With that as the signal, the donkeys started pulling the carriages, and the whole group started moving. Loren and the others put their belongings wherever in the carriage was open and walked next to the slow-moving carriage to guard it. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you accepted a job like this.¡± The one who came near Loren and talked to him was Ange. Instead of responding, he looked at Klaus, whose body was shrunk up with an apologetic expression on his face, and saw that the other two girls, a knight and a magician, were scolding him. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear anything from Klaus?¡± Although they were temporary members, Loren thought that Klaus would¡¯ve have explained things to his main party members, but also thought that it could¡¯ve been awkward to try talking about it. ¡°No, we haven¡¯t heard anything. If we knew it was going to be something like this, we would¡¯ve let him do this on his own.¡± ¡°Complaining during the job isn¡¯t very impressive.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡± No matter what the job is, once you¡¯ve taken it, you should complete it. As Loren noted that that didn¡¯t change whether you were a mercenary or an adventurer, Ange nodded. Of course, he knew how much she and the other girls would want to complain, so he didn¡¯t blame them. ¡°He asked us to help. I don¡¯t know about anything else. I know there¡¯s a lot of things you want to say, but even though his motives might¡¯ve been impure, he still wants to help those in need.¡± Loren knew that those who were smart would never take this job. Those who were idiots could¡¯ve taken it to help those in trouble. Although taking a job with impure motives, but at the same time trying to help a troubled village wasn¡¯t something to praise, it could be having a delicate balancing sense. But Loren wasn¡¯t sure if Klaus was aiming for that at all. To be honest, he thought that it was more likely that Klaus took the job blinded by lust, but if he told that to Ange, it would put Klaus in a more awkward place, and there wouldn¡¯t be any good coming out of it. ¡°Well, just try to keep him in check so he doesn¡¯t go off too hard.¡± ¡°With our fists and feet, swords and magic?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t there be a more peaceful way¡­?¡± Loren wondered why they thought of using force as their first option, but he concluded that it must be because of their anger towards Klaus had accumulated that much. As Loren thought maybe he should warn Klaus to be more considerate to his part members, Lapis presented a question. ¡°You could just let him do things his way, can you not?¡± ¡°That could be so, but it¡¯s better to avoid a tragedy if you could, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that so? I can¡¯t shake the feeling he would go and ruin himself headfirst no matter what you tell him.¡± Lapis¡¯ impression of Klaus was almost at the bottom line. As Loren wondered if women saw things and felt that differently than men did, he patted Ange, who had been listening to him and Lapis with interest, on the back lightly, ending the topic, and redirected his attention to keeping watch around them. Chapter 125 Chapter 125 Ch . 125: Encounter during Travel Everything was peaceful for a while after they left Kauffa . They would eventually have to get off the road to get to Rose¡¯s village, but while they were on the road, with soldiers patrolling around it, there was no danger to them . It was so peaceful that Loren thought that out of the four days it took to get to the village, they probably didn¡¯t need guarding for the first two . Loren felt that the spending the night was quite comfortable as well . Among Rose and her villagers as well as Loren and Klaus¡¯ party, the two of them were the only men, so Loren thought it would be quite uncomfortable, but when it came to work, as well as when keeping watch, which the two parties took turns doing, Lapis was the only one he was with, so things were as usual . ¡°Can we do something about tying up Klaus at night?¡± ¡°Loren, are you saying we should let a wolf loose inside a pack of sheep?¡± It was very so, since all the people other than Loren and Klaus were women, and Loren sighed as he watched Klaus be tied up from shoulder to knees and thrown into a one-person tent . The food was like none other than he had seen before . They had agreed to eat what they had brought instead of sharing what Rose had brought, but it was because Klaus had their expenses, and Lapis didn¡¯t hold back . Of course, since they needed the food to last the whole job, there wasn¡¯t anything over the head, but what came out was still way better than the provisions that they were used to, and that caused the girls to treat Klaus even harsher, but Lapis paid no attention and enjoyed the luxurious meal . ¡°With enough money, even dried meat tastes different . ¡± ¡°How much did this cost¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret . It¡¯s free, anyway . Loren, do you want a drink? Believe it or not, it¡¯s wine that isn¡¯t thinned in water . I had it poured into a vintage wineskin as well . ¡± ¡°What are you doing? I mean, I¡¯ll take it though . ¡± He knew it wasn¡¯t something he should drink during the middle of a job, but he wasn¡¯t someone to make something that tastes good into something that doesn¡¯t taste as good . Wine thinned with water was something that was drank by adventurers instead of water, and Loren had drunk it before as well, but of course, it wasn¡¯t something that tasted that good . ¡°The bread is pure flour as well, and the cheese is good quality as well, so if you put it on top of the bread and sear it¡­it tastes so good . It goes so well with the wine . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re enjoying yourself to the fullest, aren¡¯t you¡­?¡± ¡°Maybe put some pieces of dried meat on it as well . Too bad we don¡¯t have any vegetables . They don¡¯t last a few days . ¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you throw potatoes in the campfire earlier?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to retrieve them later and put butter on them . It tastes good you know . You¡¯re going to have some, right?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah . ¡± Rose and the villagers had pots they used to stew their ingredients so they were doing okay, but Klaus and his party were eating hard brown bread and dried meat that looked like the soles of a boot, and were drinking either wine thinned in water or just water . With Lapis eating her delicious meal next to them, of course their morale would be low . Loren would¡¯ve suggested sharing if he could, but there wasn¡¯t enough for everyone, and he didn¡¯t want to give them his share of the food either, so he just sat there and ate the great meal with Lapis . That was how the first two days went, but things changed from the third day . It was because they went off the main road and went onto the path that led to Rose¡¯s village . Although it was a path that led to a village, it wasn¡¯t one that many people used . It was only used when the villagers transported supplies or merchants went from village to village, so it wasn¡¯t maintained too well . The carriages shook as they rolled on the uneven ground, slowing their progress, and with no soldiers on patrol, there was more risk for danger, so as bodyguards, all their senses were on alert . ¡°This is a harder job than I thought it would be . ¡± As Lapis looked around, Loren was pulling one of the wheels of a carriage out of a hole in the path . With only women, it would¡¯ve been possible if the carriage was empty, but since it was full of supplies and the weight was near its limit, it was quite the feat to get it out of the hole, which Loren managed to do . ¡°That should do it . ¡± He put his hands on the carriage, and without even grunting, he lifted it up slightly . At the same time, one of the villagers lightly whipped the donkeys, which caused them to move forward, and the carriage finally slipped out of the hole . Loren brushed the dust off his hands, watched the company move once more, and followed, looking around them as Lapis was doing . Their surroundings were a simple plain with nothing but grass, so their outlook was good, but it was the same for anyone looking at them, so with nowhere to hide, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel danger . ¡°It won¡¯t be hard to see something coming, but there¡¯s nowhere to hide . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we hired adventurers like you to protect us . ¡± Rose was the one who responded to his words . Seeing Klaus¡¯ face starting to loosen up at her glossy voice, but immediately tightening back up as he felt Ange and the other girls¡¯ glares on him, Loren said something that could be taken as a warning as well as a complaint . ¡°Then you should put more thought in the payment . No one would take your job with the current one . ¡± ¡°But there¡¯s people like you who took it . ¡± As Rose replied with a smile, Loren just snorted, not giving her a reply . It seems that Rose had put bodyguard jobs up with similar conditions as the current one . As Loren was impressed that she managed to find people to take the job every time, Rose leaned forward slightly and said in a whispery voice . ¡°There might be a next time . In that case, I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing you again . ¡± Seeing her movements and voice, Loren had a good guess of what it was . It seemed that every time, she had been depending on adventurers like Klaus to bite the hook . He had no idea how far her ¡°service¡± went, and how long she had been doing this, but sensing that she was quite good at what she did, he backed off as naturally as he could as she stepped closer to him . ¡°This time was by chance, so there¡¯s no next time . For us, anyway . ¡± ¡°Hm, you¡¯re a hard person . ¡± Seeing Klaus mesmerized at Rose, who had bent over slightly, emphasizing her chest, Loren waved his hand as if he was batting a bug away, signaling for her to go away . ¡°If only our leader had half that self-control¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s useless to hope that . ¡± ¡°This must be a trial from god . ¡± Hearing the girls around Klaus muttering, Lapis had a smug look on her face for some reason, but after making sure that Rose had left, Loren returned his attention to his surroundings . He then suddenly smelled something in the air that shouldn¡¯t be there and looked upwind . When attacking coming from upwind was quite na?ve, even when put into soft words, but if being found out wasn¡¯t a hindrance, it wasn¡¯t a bad place to attack from, with the tailwind helping them . ¡°Something¡¯s there!¡± The whole company tensed at Loren¡¯s warning . The smell that drifted on the wind was unpleasant body odor and the smell of leather . They were smells that warned Loren of danger, as he was familiar with them during his life on the battlefield . ¡°Bandits . ¡± When Klaus drew his sword, nasty looking men suddenly stood up from the middle of the field, as they had been lying in wait for victims to show up . They were wearing dirty leather armor, which was what made Loren aware of them, and they had different weapons as well . The bandits would¡¯ve preferred their victims closer to them, but with Loren realizing they were there, they had no choice . Loren immediately assessed that they couldn¡¯t run . If they left all the supplies, there was a chance they could do so, but it was hard to believe that the villagers would want to leave their lifeline behind . It wouldn¡¯t matter if they died, but if the bandits took the supplies, they were going to go down the same path anyway . But Loren still asked Rose . ¡°Are you willing to abandon the supplies?¡± ¡°W-we can¡¯t! Without it, we¡¯ll¡­¡± As her response was the expected one, Loren scratched his head . If they couldn¡¯t run, the only option they had was to fight . When he squinted his eyes, he saw around twenty armed men, and unthinkingly said to Lapis next to him . ¡°You could handle them by yourself, right?¡± Lapis immediately elbowed him in the gut . When seen from others¡¯ perspectives, it might¡¯ve looked like Lapis was annoyed that Loren said something a bit stupid . But knowing that Lapis was a demon, and with the amount of force behind the jab, Loren felt a chill go down his spine for a moment . ¡°What are you saying Loren? I¡¯m just a priestess . I know a bit of self-defense, but there¡¯s no way I could deal with all those bandits . ¡± Her blow didn¡¯t deal that much damage to Loren . Although there was a dull sound when her elbow made contact, to him it felt like he was poked very hard, so he looked at Lapis, thinking that she had held back, but for some reason she had a vexing look on her face, so he realized that it was because of the quality of his armor . At the same time, he reminded himself that they were with Klaus and his party as well as Rose and her villagers, so they couldn¡¯t depend on Lapis¡¯ abilities . ¡°Sorry . That was a bit mean . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you understand . ¡± After apologizing and letting the people around them know that it was a joke, Lapis¡¯ face loosened up and she nodded . ¡°Then leave this one to me . That number is no match for me . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped . Protecting the weak is our job too . ¡± While Loren and Lapis were doing their thing, Klaus and one of his party members, the knight named Layla, both readied their swords and stepped forward . Ange moved behind them with her staff in hand for support, and Roll the priestess stood even farther back, watching the whole situation . ¡°I guess we¡¯ll watch for separate detachments and protect the goods . ¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be fun¡­I mean, the villagers will need protection . ¡± Letting Klaus deal with the situation, Loren walked over to the villagers and carriages, his hand still on his great sword . Lapis covered her mouth with her hand as she followed him, warning herself to watch what she said . Chapter 126 Chapter 126 Ch. 126: Cleaning Up after Attack Just because weapons were drawn didn¡¯t mean a fight was going to break out right away. It was since just because some bad looking men were in wait for them, didn¡¯t mean they were bandits. To Loren, it seemed fine to just attack them, but Klaus, weapon drawn, shouted to the men who appeared. ¡°Who are you people?¡± There was no answer. The men, who were probably bandits, readied their weapons and all charged at Loren and the company, as if not wanting to give them a chance to run away. Loren scanned the area and saw that there were around twenty bandits, and with the only ones defending being Klaus and Layla, he didn¡¯t think just the two would be able to intercept all of them. ¡°Are we going to have to step in to help?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± As Loren and Lapis were having a stale conversation, Klaus started running. Loren had seen Klaus fight before and remembered his fighting style. Of course, he remembered his speed and strength as well, but the speed that Klaus moved in was nothing like the speed he remembered. ¡°He¡¯s faster than before.¡± It was impossible to stop around twenty people with just two. It was impossible even for Loren, and if he tried to fight near the villagers or the goods, there would be some sort of harm that could be done. If he wanted to prevent that, he had to fight at a distance. Which meant he had to fight up front. ¡°A few would still get past.¡± After he muttered, Layla ran in a moment after Klaus ran off, her blonde hair rippling in the wind. ¡°Kill the men! Immobilize the women! It¡¯s time to time to make bank! Let¡¯s get them!¡± Listening to the leader of the men, Loren was about to draw his great sword, but stopped. Lapis cocked her head, confused, but Loren had his reasons. ¡°If I were running in, yeah, but if I start swinging this here the blood and flesh would splatter the goods.¡± With the amount of force behind Loren¡¯s blows, any human would easily be cut in half. Loren didn¡¯t think that was a bad thing, but with the goods containing ingredients and clothes, he knew it would be quite the problem if blood and body parts would be splattered on them. ¡°Hopefully Klaus and his party take care of all of them.¡± Lapis nodded as she said so, which was what Loren wished as well, but as he thought that it would be impossible, Klaus reached the first enemy. The bandit swung his thick axe with all his strength. Against the blow that would¡¯ve broken his sword if he blocked it, Klaus met it straight on with his sword. The axe and sword met slammed into each other with a loud clang of steel meeting steel. Usually the axe would come out on top, but Klaus¡¯ blade deflected the axe. Although it wasn¡¯t enough to rip the axe from the bandit¡¯s hand, it threw him off balance, and although he mustered his strength again for another blow, Klaus was a few times faster than he was. A swift blow to the neck. Instead of a slash, it was a straight pierce, and as soon as the blade went through the bandit¡¯s neck, Klaus immediately pulled it out and dashed towards his next target. Slipping through the swords swung at him, Klaus¡¯ blade flashed left and right. Almost immediately, blood spurted from the deep cuts that the sword made in the bandits¡¯ necks. The bandits stopped in their tracks as they saw Klaus take down their comrades with a single swing, so fast that the flying blood didn¡¯t even hit him. ¡°They got scared. Idiots.¡± The bandits¡¯ response was so bad, the words slipped from Loren¡¯s mouth. It was because the only options they had was ignore their comrades facing Klaus and attack Rose and the villagers directly. If they did so, they could¡¯ve done some damage while Klaus dealt with one or two of them, and possibly distract him by attacking the people he was trying to protect and try to find an opening to defeat him. But they flinched at the sight of their comrades dying and froze, so they couldn¡¯t do that anymore either. ¡°Well, that makes it easier for us.¡± Loren was supposed to do something about the bandits that got through Klaus, but with them freezing, the chances of that were reduced significantly. If none of them got close to the supplies, Loren didn¡¯t have to attack them and just leave it to Klaus and Layla, which made it easier for him. Even while he was thinking, Klaus killed two more, and Layla, who had just met her first opponent, and killed him. Although she wasn¡¯t as fast as Klaus, Layla was quite skilled with the sword. She seemed to have learned an orthodox swordsmanship, but she also had an air about her that she had honed her skills and techniques in actual battle, not just training. Seeing another one of their comrades fall to Layla, as he had underestimated her since she was a girl, the bandits finally realized that the adventurers they were facing were no ordinary adventurers. ¡°Why are there veteran swordsmen in this group?¡± The leader of the bandits shouted, but Loren felt a bit sorry for him. Usually you wouldn¡¯t expect a swordsman with a Gift and a knight. It was very possible to overpower a few capable adventurers with sheer numbers. ¡°You¡¯re our of your league, so just give up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll just let you escape. If we let people like you go, you¡¯d just attack someone else, so we¡¯ll have to take care of you here and now.¡± ¡°Give me a break, damn it! Run!¡± Unlike the army, it was difficult to manage bandits and expect high morale. Klaus and Layla had already killed around half of them, and each bandit was scared that he would be next. Once they lost the will to fight, it was as one would expect, with the bandits throwing their weapons away and running. Klaus and Layla froze when they suddenly showed their backs. It was because they wondered if they should attack someone from behind. Klaus¡¯ personality kept him from following, while Layla¡¯s knowledge as a knight stopped her, but Loren could only think that their decision was na?ve. Since bandits weren¡¯t worth anything even if they were kept alive, so although they were retreating, not attacking them was unthinkable, and Loren was itching to run out and attack them. But he knew there was other reasons for not doing so, and that was because their jobs were to protect the supplies, but there was someone who moved as the bandits were fleeing. ¡°Scatter the sand, bring upon slumber! <>¡± Ange raised her staff and chanted. The spell took effect and the leader of the bandits fell, followed by the rest of them. The other bandits who saw this froze again, which gave Klaus and Layla enough time to make up their minds and catch up, and they were either killed or tied up with rope. ¡°That was pretty anticlimactic.¡± ¡°I guess there was nothing for us to help with.¡± The villagers cheered as Klaus and Layla returned, sheathing their weapons. The cheers became even louder when Rose ran into Klaus¡¯ arms and he caught her, while his party members didn¡¯t look amused. ¡°As expected of you, Klaus.¡± ¡°No, it was just because our opponents were weak. And it wasn¡¯t all me.¡± ¡°That may be true. So, let me thank you first. I was worried what would happen, but thanks to you we¡¯re all safe.¡± From her position, she wrapped her arms around Klaus¡¯ waist, and when she squeezed, of course her chest pressed against his body, and he could feel the soft sensation over his leather armor. Ange and the other girls glared at him, but the only thing Klaus could think of was the sensation of Rose in his arms and didn¡¯t notice the threatening looks. Impressed that they were still managed to function as a party, Loren walked over to the sleeping bandits. ¡°Are you looking for something?¡± Lapis tagged along and asked him as he squatted next to one of the bandits and searched their armor and weapons. ¡°There¡¯s a war going on near here, right? I was wondering if they were deserters or something.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t they a bit too weak to be soldiers?¡± It may have seemed like that to Lapis, but from what Loren saw, it seemed more correct to say that Klaus was too strong for them. Since Klaus was that strong, it made sense that he stopped the bandits in their tracks, and as a result, no harm came to Rose and her villagers. ¡°I guess they¡¯re not. Kind of strange to say unfortunately, but they¡¯re just bandits.¡± Loren knew they weren¡¯t mercenaries either. If they had any measure of battle experience, they wouldn¡¯t have stopped when they saw Klaus¡¯ fight. ¡°Hey you! How long are you going to hug Klaus!¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s indecent!¡± ¡°You too Klaus! Do something about your loose face!¡± ¡°Umm Loren? What should we do with the bandits that are still alive?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if there¡¯s more of them somewhere and they come to save them. I¡¯ve no intention of taking them, so I guess I¡¯ll just take care of them right here.¡± Ange peeled Rose off Klaus, Roll pummeled him, and Layla¡¯s fist cracked across his cheek. As Rose¡¯s eyes widened in shock, Layla grabbed the knocked down Klaus by the collar and dragged him off, while Ange and Roll stopped Rose from going after him with threatening looks, Loren took out the knife he used to carve materials, and kneeled down next to the sleeping bandits, unaware of their fates. Chapter 127 Chapter 127 Ch . 127: Deriving at Destination ¡°Hey Loren . What happened to the bandits?¡± ¡°Just leave them . They¡¯ll survive if they¡¯re lucky, if not someone will probably finish them off . ¡± Although he had been beat up by the girls, Klaus seemed to be completely fine . Ange used to do him quite a bit, but he must have gotten tougher as it didn¡¯t seem to have done anything . But Loren wondered how he was fine after taking a beating from Layla . He was even more confused how he survived the priestess Roll¡¯s attacks, when he thought about it, he realized that there was no way a priestess could deliver blows that could knock a swordsman unconscious, and cocked his head, wondering where that image came from . ¡°Anyways, it looks like you¡¯ve gotten stronger than before . ¡± ¡°Of course . I¡¯m backed by a nation and they expect great things from me . ¡± Klaus told Loren something that he wasn¡¯t sure if he should¡¯ve heard . But he guessed that since Klaus talked about it, it wasn¡¯t a problem, so he asked him something . ¡°By nation, you mean¡­¡± ¡°Wagenburg, of course . Where else?¡± Loren sighed in relief since he wasn¡¯t sure what he was going to do if Klaus named somewhere else . If an adventurer backed by another nation was acting in Wagenburg, it would¡¯ve been a serious problem . Loren knew those kinds of adventurers existed . It was difficult for a nation to send soldiers or knights to others, but it wasn¡¯t so for adventurers . He also knew that among mercenary groups, there were groups that gathered information on other nations . Of course, they weren¡¯t talked about openly, but there were rumors that went around . If they played it correctly, they could be backed and act on behalf of a nation, but if they were found out, the nation would ignore them, and the nation that found out about them would stop at nothing to destroy them, so it was a risky position to be in . He had suspected his own group to be something of the sort, but when he asked his leader, he laughed it off, and since then, although he knew it had nothing to do with him, he kept his ears open . It must¡¯ve been the same for adventurers, where some might be working as spies, but it seemed like Klaus and his party were not . ¡°I don¡¯t think Layla would mind since I feel like we¡¯ll be seeing you two a lot . ¡± ¡°I think you should make sure to get confirmation first on these types of things . ¡± Exasperated that Klaus had told him this, without getting permission from Layla, who seemed to have been sent by the nation, made a mental note to not tell Klaus anything that he didn¡¯t want others to know about . After traveling further and camping for another night, the company reached Rose¡¯s village right before noon on the fourth day . Other than the bandits that attacked them, there was nothing that bothered them, and Loren started to have slight hopes that this job would be a simple one . But his hopes were immediately shattered when he saw the people from the village come out to greet them . ¡°Loren, there¡¯s definitely something wrong with this village . ¡± The villagers had come out and greeted them and started unloading the goods and carrying them back to the village, but the scene was very weird to Loren as well . It was because there wasn¡¯t a single male villager who came out . On top of that, most of them were old or children, with only two young women . ¡°This village . Not only are there no men, there aren¡¯t many women either . ¡± ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to say such a village doesn¡¯t exist, I¡¯m seeing it with my own eyes¡­¡± Rose¡¯s village was a farming village . There were gardens and fields around the village, and the villagers raised crops to make a living . Not having any men to do the work was already abnormal, but there weren¡¯t many young women as well, and with only the elderly and children, it would be impossible for the village to function . Klaus and his party seemed to have picked up on the abnormality as well, as Klaus walked over to Loren with a tense expression . ¡°Loren, have you noticed?¡± ¡°Well, at this point, who wouldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Is this heaven?¡± Loren stared straight into Klaus¡¯ serious face, not sure what he had heard for a second . He couldn¡¯t see any playfulness in it, so when he realized that Klaus was being dead serious, Loren clenched his fist slowly . ¡°Wait a second! If you punch me my neck will break!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry . I¡¯ll hold back so it¡¯ll just make a large dent in your face . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s bad as well!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Although it could barely be called an excuse, Loren gave up on hitting Klaus and lowered his fist, then grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards the villagers around the carriages . ¡°Do you see anything strange?¡± ¡°There are a bunch of women . What a wonderful village . ¡± ¡°¡­Is there anything else¡­?¡± Keeping his frustration back, Loren asked in a low tone, strengthening his grip on Klaus¡¯ shoulder, and as Klaus grimaced at the pain in his shoulder, he wondered what kind or response Loren was expecting, and eventually found an answer . ¡°There are a lot of young girls and elderly women? But Loren, discriminating women based on age or looks isn¡¯t a very good¡­Ow! It¡¯ll break!¡± ¡°Do you try to get with any girl you see?¡± ¡°Of course not! I just don¡¯t judge women based on those characteristics!¡± Loren let go of Klaus¡¯ shoulder, as his straight answer gave him a sort of a refreshing feeling . Freed from Loren¡¯s tight grip, Klaus cocked his head as he massaged his shoulder, as if finally realizing what Loren was talking about . ¡°But it¡¯s strange that there aren¡¯t any men . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reason for that . ¡± Rose suddenly interrupted their conversation . Loren hadn¡¯t noticed her walk up to them, as all his attention was on Klaus, so he stepped back a few steps in surprise, but Klaus didn¡¯t even blink, as a sloppy grin appeared on his face . ¡°What kind of reason would that be, chief? Can you tell us?¡± ¡°Master Klaus¡­But what would you do if I told you?¡± ¡°Not a doubt . If there¡¯s a woman in need, there¡¯s no way I could ignore her . If there¡¯s anything I could do to help, I¡¯d do it gladly . ¡± ¡°Ahh¡­Master Klaus . ¡± Rose said emotionally . Klaus didn¡¯t let his smile fall, but Loren was trying to get away from there as quietly as he could . Of course, Loren wasn¡¯t someone who would immediately try to help a village even if he heard about a village¡¯s plight . The only ones who would do that were the hero of a fairy tale and wouldn¡¯t be something that adventurers or mercenaries would do, but apparently it wasn¡¯t so for Klaus . It might¡¯ve been because of that personality of his, the nation thought that if they took care of him, he would use his gifts for them, but it didn¡¯t concern Loren, but Klaus, with his head still turned to Rose with a smile, grabbed his belt . ¡°Where are you going Loren? You should listen to what she has to say with me . ¡± ¡°No . I¡¯m not interested . ¡± ¡°You¡¯ll listen even though you¡¯re not interested . I¡¯m the party leader . ¡± Loren was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, but when he thought about it, even though he was a temporary member, he was currently still part of Klaus¡¯ party, and Klaus was indeed the leader . It seemed harmless to ignore him, but the fact that Loren thought that it seemed childish to go against his word that he would listen to the leader just because he didn¡¯t want to listen to the chief, showed the upright side of him . ¡°Just saying, if you decide to take it, it means extra payment . And I can¡¯t guarantee that Lapis would agree to help either, so keep that in mind . ¡± Loren said to Klaus, not wanting to take an extra job without extra payment, Klaus whispered back, still not taking his eyes off Rose . ¡°I know . No matter what happens, I won¡¯t ask you to help for free . ¡± ¡°I mean, you could just stick to the original job¡­¡± Loren couldn¡¯t understand sticking your head further into trouble, but seeing Klaus go back to talking with Rose, with Rose continuing to thank him, he already knew the reason . ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another village to the north of this one¡­¡± ¡°What about that village? Was there a conflict?¡± ¡°No, we are very friendly with each other . People came and went between the villages, but a few days ago, people stopped coming . ¡± Since the people who came almost everyday suddenly stopped coming, Rose became worried and sent a few young men to check on them, but they never returned . ¡°We knew something was wrong, so this time we sent more men and asked the soldiers that protect our village to go with them¡­¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t return either?¡± Rose nodded at Klaus¡¯ response . Suddenly losing communications with another village wasn¡¯t uncommon . Villages could disappear anytime, whether it be attacked by monsters, raided by bandits, or get caught up in a battle . It was more likely so if the village was still in the middle of building up . ¡°Seeing that both groups didn¡¯t come back, I warned everyone to forget about the village and not to go close . ¡± Rose¡¯s decision was a bit late . But it was still better than not trying anything, so she planned to write a petition to the nation to do something about the situation, but even as she went through the process, for some reason, there were continuous cases of people walking over in the direction of the neighboring village . ¡°And because of that, all the men went off somewhere?¡± ¡°At first it was just the men, but then women started disappearing too, as if being attracted to something¡­¡± If it were just men, Loren thought that maybe it was a succubus, but when she mentioned that it was both the men and the women, Loren wasn¡¯t sure anymore . It was apparent that the reason lied at the neighboring village, but with the investigation groups not coming back, there was no information at all . ¡°Master Klaus, if you are willing to help us, could you please go to the neighboring village and investigate what the problem is, and save the people who disappeared?¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say anything for now, but I¡¯m not someone to leave a woman in distress . Please don¡¯t worry . ¡± ¡°Ahh¡­Thank you so much Master Klaus¡­¡± Rose jumped into Klaus¡¯ arms as he showed a reassuring smile . Seeing him hug her back . Loren started wondering when Ange and the other girls would stab him to death and remove the problem . Chapter 128 Chapter 128 Ch . 128: Demanding after Unifying ¡°If they are that troubled, we should help . ¡± Unexpectedly to Loren, the one who said that was Layla . Unloading the carriages wasn¡¯t part of the job description, so after borrowing a room in Rose¡¯s house, the party had a meeting, centered around Klaus . The proceedings were of course, about the situation he and Loren had heard from Rose and whether they should help or not . Loren expected everyone except Klaus to cast negative votes, but the one who suddenly betrayed him was Layla . ¡°I may be an adventurer, but I¡¯m a former knight . I can¡¯t leave the weak asking for help . ¡± ¡°I knew I could count on you Layla . ¡± ¡°Although, the sequence of events our leader went through to obtain this information makes pisses me off¡­¡± Layla clenched her fist so hard it was shaking, but Klaus didn¡¯t mind it . She even started grinding her teeth as Klaus started applauding with a big smile, but Loren thought that unless something physical occurred, it was impossible to let him become aware . ¡°As a priestess¡­I also cannot ignore people in trouble¡­¡± Roll followed up with her own opinion nervously . This was within Loren¡¯s expectations . Although there was the difference of payment or free charge, priests in general had the mentality of having to help those in need, and if a priest ignored them, it would be a problem . ¡°As a priestess of the Knowledge god, I don¡¯t think we should leave people in trouble . ¡± Although she said so with dead eyes and a flat voice, this was within Loren¡¯s expectations as well . If it were only Loren, she immediately would¡¯ve told him she didn¡¯t want to stick her head into any unnecessary trouble, but on the surface, she was a priestess, so she had to say that . Loren and Ange were the ones left, but Loren thought that there was a very low chance that she would disagree . In this circumstance, if she did disagree, he would be impressed at her straight personality, but there was no way she could¡¯ve stuck with Klaus this long with one like that . ¡°I guess¡­there¡¯s no use for me to be against it . In that case I¡¯ll agree, but you owe me one, alright Klaus?¡± ¡°Thanks Ange . ¡± As Loren expected, Ange calculated that disagreeing with the two girls that agreed already wasn¡¯t the best thing to do, and when she poked Klaus with her finger, Klaus smiled and took her hand . Looking at them with cold eyes, as Ange¡¯s face reddened and a small smile appearing on her face, Loren tried to resist . ¡°I won¡¯t do it for free . That¡¯s something I can¡¯t take back . ¡± Since he couldn¡¯t avoid it, he had to make it as worth his time as possible . He had to at least secure extra payment, but in the back of his mind, he knew that it would be a difficult matter . After all, Rose was thinking that she had managed to snag Klaus using her charms as a woman, so it didn¡¯t seem like she would pay anything extra . Even if she were to pay something, it could be that she spends a night with Klaus instead of payment . It seemed difficult to squeeze it out of Klaus as well . He had already paid them fifteen silver coins, and he was tight on money as well . Although he was backed by the nation, he didn¡¯t get all the money he wanted or with no conditions, and there was a limit to what he and his party could spend . ¡°For that, let¡¯s see . I understand that since you¡¯re only a temporary member, I shouldn¡¯t force you on jobs you don¡¯t want to take . ¡± Layla said so and nodded . The reason why her words pointed only towards Loren, was because Lapis had already agreed with helping, and since she couldn¡¯t go back and say she wanted extra payment as well, a weak laugh escaped her lips, which stretched across her face into a forced smile . ¡°How about this . Klaus and the four of us who agreed pay you two silver coins each, for a total of ten . Would that be enough?¡± When Layla presented the idea, the air around Lapis became even heavier . Klaus and the girls didn¡¯t seem to notice, but Loren could see that Lapis didn¡¯t like it, but it would be strange if he suddenly refused the payment, and with her position, there was no way Lapis could say that she didn¡¯t want to pay . ¡°That¡¯ll do . I guess . ¡± Loren decided to immediately jump on the suggestion . He might¡¯ve been able to raise the amount if he tried . It was because Klaus and the girls had no idea if the job was something they could accomplish on their own, and needed all the help they could get, and it would be troublesome if they lost Loren . But at the same time, it would mean taking money from Lapis, who had no choice but to agree with them, and to Loren, that meant there was nothing good for her . ¡°Thanks for cooperating Loren . ¡± Waving his hand to stop Layla from bowing, Loren said in a grumble . ¡°I already came this far . I can¡¯t go back to Kauffa alone . ¡± ¡°Since we all agree, let¡¯s start heading towards the village Rose spoke of . ¡± When Klaus said with a big smile on his face, Layla and Ange pummeled him to the ground . As Roll looked on with a sigh as she stepped on him, Loren drew close to Lapis, who still had the smile stuck on her face . ¡°I¡¯ll give the coins back later . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s something I already paid . Please keep it¡­¡± When Lapis said without even batting an eyelash, Loren frowned and whispered again . ¡°You don¡¯t have to act so stubborn you know?¡± ¡°Then please buy me something worth two silver coins after the job¡­that¡¯ll do . ¡± Loren nodded when he finally saw her expression change into a tired one . If that would be enough to cheer her up and stable her mental, it wasn¡¯t a bad deal . ¡°S-so¡­the neighboring village¡­¡± ¡°We should start by going to that hag and asking her the distance and other pieces of information, as well as supplies . ¡± ¡°It would be much easier if she would pay extra¡­but since Klaus accepted it, I doubt she would do such a thing¡­unfortunately¡­¡± ¡°Why does he get caught so easily, I wonder . ¡± ¡°I believe we can only take it as a trial from god¡­¡± ¡°Then your god must be a mean one . But as someone who got tangled up in all this, who am I to say about others?¡± Ignoring Klaus, who had recovered from being stomped on by Roll, trying to take the lead again, Loren and the girls went to Rose to try to receive any kind of supplies they could get . ¡°Our village doesn¡¯t have much to offer¡­If the nation did something, I wouldn¡¯t have to ask you to do it¡­¡± Rose¡¯s response was pretty much what they had expected . She also kept glancing at Layla, who was dressed like a knight, making it worse . Although she had only prepared and hadn¡¯t reported the incident yet, Loren knew that there was almost no chance of the nation doing anything . The nation was at war, after all . There was no way they would send anyone to deal with a small village¡¯s problem . Layla hung her head because she knew that as well . ¡°But Master Klaus has accepted . ¡± When Rose said so with a smile, Klaus blushed and smiled back . While Ange and Roll immediately started punching him in the gut, Loren sighed in exasperation and said to Rose . ¡°I get what you want to say . But aren¡¯t you being a bit too dirty about this?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make it sound like that . I¡¯m just someone who doesn¡¯t have the means to fight that¡¯s appealing to you for mercy . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand why you want to do this . But just handing everything over without cutting yourself even a little bit isn¡¯t the most praiseworthy thing to do, no?¡± Loren understood weak or helpless people asking stronger people for help . But Loren believed that even so, the ones asking for help should of course, carry a part of the burden as well . But even when he said that, instead of responding, all Rose did was smile . After thinking for a moment, Loren lowered his voice slightly . ¡°So that means you can¡¯t give us anything to help?¡± ¡°I believe ¡®we can¡¯t give you anything even if we wanted¡¯ is the correct response . ¡± ¡°I see . I guess it can¡¯t be helped . By the way, since there¡¯s no payment, it means there¡¯s no problem if we fail and we don¡¯t need to report back, right?¡± Rose looked at Loren with a wondering face, not understanding what he was saying for a moment, but her expression changed as she heard Loren¡¯s next words . ¡°If you paid us, we would carry the risk of failing, and report back to you, whether the situation is wrapped up or not . But since there isn¡¯t, it means you don¡¯t need those either, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°What I mean is, it¡¯s alright if we made it so that we failed immediately after we leave, and just go back to Kauffa . ¡± If there was no payment, there was no risk or penalty if they failed . Then all they had to do was silence Klaus somehow immediately after they left the village, consider the job a failure, and head back to Kauffa . Since Layla, as a knight, wanted to help them, things wouldn¡¯t go that smoothly, but Rose had no way of knowing that . ¡°Please, you can¡¯t!¡± ¡°Then at least try to help, dammit . Don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re weak, getting help is natural . Well, the biggest problem is that our leader is sloppy when it comes to women . ¡± ¡°B-but¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you need to pay us money . There¡¯re things like food, water, or alcohol that you could supply us with, right? Maybe lend us a donkey to carry our things . What I¡¯m saying is, at least try to show a cooperative attitude . ¡± Loren knew the village was in a tight spot . On top of that, without any men, they didn¡¯t have enough working hands either, so he understood that Rose wanted to save as much as she could for them . But trying to solve the problem without carrying any of the burden wasn¡¯t a good thing, and hearing Loren¡¯s demands to give them what they could, Rose started calculating in her head, while cold sweat ran down her brow . Chapter 129 Chapter 129 Ch. 129: Conversation during Travel In the end, Loren was able to borrow a donkey to carry the food and medicine Rose provided to them. It had resulted in him telling her that they could fail the job on purpose, but since it was a personal job from Rose herself, not the guild itself, it wouldn¡¯t leave any bad marks on his career, so it was quite lighthearted. Rose did have a sullen look on her face, but Loren felt that she wasn¡¯t even being that serious. After all, if one were to hire six iron adventurers it would take a few dozen silver coins, but the supplies they had received wasn¡¯t even close to that amount. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you have been able to increase our payment if you tried?¡± ¡°Since they¡¯re in a tight spot, they could think of countermeasures. It¡¯s better to play it safe for these types of things.¡± Lapis seemed dissatisfied, but publicly she was on the side that agreed with Klaus, so she couldn¡¯t express her dissatisfaction loudly, so all she could do was whisper to Loren, but Loren shook his head. Loren knew that greed would only bring more trouble. He thought that they should be satisfied that they got something out of nothing. From Rose¡¯s description, the neighboring village was only a few hours away, so since they didn¡¯t have anything to do while the villagers unloaded the carriages, they decided to head there. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to go though.¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, but could you give in already?¡± Layla said in response to Loren¡¯s complaint with a troubled laugh, but what was on his mind differed from what she was thinking, so Loren shook his head, wanting to clear the misunderstanding. ¡°It¡¯s not about the extra job. I made the village give us supplies, and I got extra payment. I still have complaints, but I¡¯m convinced.¡± ¡°Then what are you thinking about?¡± ¡°About the neighboring village.¡± According to Rose, the closest village to hers was to the north. The size was almost the same, but farther north, past the village, was a slightly large forest, and when Loren looked at the map, he saw that the battlefield that the two nations were fighting at was past that forest. ¡°Nearing the battlefield means more danger. You¡¯d understand why I don¡¯t feel like doing this, don¡¯t you?¡± To a former mercenary like Loren, the battlefield was like an old home to him, but it wasn¡¯t someplace he wanted to step close to either. His words of not wanting to get close if he could, came from knowing the dangers of that place. ¡°Well, there¡¯s a forest between, and it¡¯s quite large, so wouldn¡¯t it be fine?¡± Roll said, looking upwards in a diagonal direction as if recalling the map in her head, so Loren replied as he scratched his head. ¡°Only if they were fighting head on with each other. But if they were to go around and attack from the side, the cavalry could go around a forest very quickly.¡± Loren knew how scary cavalries were. Their mobility and penetrating abilities were way more powerful than normal soldiers and weren¡¯t opponents you would want to meet in battle. ¡°You¡¯re so worrisome.¡± When Ange remarked so, surprised at his attitude, Loren shrugged. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to survive the battlefield if you aren¡¯t.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really want to get near one then.¡± ¡°If you keep adventuring with that, wouldn¡¯t you have to one way or another?¡± When he nodded towards Klaus, who was in the front holding the reins of the donkey, Ange thought for a moment. ¡°Klaus is supported by the nation, so he would have to be in battle one day.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll try to help him so that wouldn¡¯t happen, but we don¡¯t know for sure.¡± A nation supporting distinguished adventurers or adventurers with potential did mean they considered them to help in battle, but more than that, they were also expected to find and explore ruins, as well as hunt down monsters to keep the nation safer. Anyone could understand how foolish it would be to send someone who could do all these things to a battlefield, where only battles are waged, but there could still be times where they would have to face the enemy in war. ¡°I¡¯ve started wondering if I should start thinking of switching parties.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my problem but¡­actually, I¡¯m more confused why you haven¡¯t left him yet.¡± Loren thought that Klaus wasn¡¯t a bad person. He showed a bit of hubris every now and then, but he was a good person in general. Being sloppy with women was a big fault in his personality, but the fact that if it was a woman, age or looks didn¡¯t matter, he could be considered a philanthropist as well. ¡°So, he has a fairy tale protagonist kind of aura?¡± The girls agreed to what Lapis had said. Klaus, who was still leading the donkey, as well as the only one not participating in the conversation, turned back towards the other members who were talking about him with an ashamed face. ¡°Could you stop judging me like that behind me?¡± ¡°Think of it as a rare chance to find out what the girls think of you.¡± With Loren cutting him of so directly, Klaus looked forward again, with the look still on his face. Loren snorted as he looked at Klaus¡¯ back, but Ange¡¯s next words almost made him choke. ¡°By the way, how do you think of Loren, Lapis?¡± ¡°What would that mean?¡± When Lapis calmly responded to Ange¡¯s sudden question, Ange pulled on her sleeve with sparkling eyes filled with curiosity. ¡°You heard what we thought of Klaus, so this time you could tell us how you feel about Loren.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯s related.¡± ¡°I¡¯m interested too. It¡¯s nothing anything difficult. Just think of it as small talk until we reach our destination.¡± Layla had joined in, and Roll nodded deeply next to her. When Loren covered his face with his palm, wondering how the conversation took such a weird turn, Lapis calmly placed her finger on her chin and thought for a moment, and then replied with a smile. ¡°I¡¯d like to invite him to my home sometime soon.¡± ¡°I see. You like him so much you want to introduce him to your parents.¡± Lapis smiled at a surprised Layla and an Ange and Roll who were blushing and smiling happily for some reason. ¡°But I¡¯m a priestess, so it¡¯s also difficult to take that step. That¡¯s what I currently think.¡± It wasn¡¯t that priests were forbidden to marry. But since they served a deity, getting together with someone and breaking up repeatedly wasn¡¯t good for their image, so they had to be very careful when choosing someone. That was what Lapis was talking about, and although she felt that she liked Loren enough to introduce him to her parents, but wasn¡¯t sure of him as a husband, which was a very humble way to express affection. ¡°Good to see that you two are getting intimate Loren.¡± ¡°Shut up and keep walking.¡± As Klaus looked back at him again, smiling, Loren kicked him in the butt, making sure to hold back. He thought he had held back quite a bit, but seeing that Klaus floated up in the air very slightly, he realized that he failed to do so, Klaus rubbed the part where he got kicked, putting a note in the back of his mind to make sure to use <> when teasing Loren or he would really be hurt. ¡°That¡¯s one of the troubles being a priestess.¡± When Ange muttered so, watching Loren and Klaus with a glare, Roll said timidly. ¡°Umm Ange, I¡¯m a priestess as well¡­¡± ¡°If you like Klaus you better be prepared. That¡¯s not someone who could be content with loving one person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s, umm¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s definitely going to make lovers and mistresses. I¡¯m already determined to deal with it.¡± As Layla said so proudly, everyone other than Klaus wondered what she was so proud of, but she herself didn¡¯t notice. ¡°You should really fix that personality of yours. Isn¡¯t Ange the one you love?¡± Before, when Loren had seen Ange at the brink of death, he couldn¡¯t believe that the worry Klaus showed towards was a lie. But he couldn¡¯t understand him hooking up with other women, and as that irritated him and made him want to kick him again, Klaus put some distance away from Loren and nodded with confidence. ¡°Of course, the one I love the most in this world is Ange. That¡¯s a fact.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°But loving Layla and Roll, and all the countless women that I haven¡¯t met yet equally is the main duty of myself.¡± ¡°¡­Oh, okay.¡± Loren was impressed at the courage Klaus had, to say something like loving all women equally, even though he didn¡¯t want to feel it. You couldn¡¯t walk the battlefield without courage, and Loren was quite confident in his own as well. But while Loren felt that he was no match for Klaus and felt a weird sense of defeat with a lack of frustration, he watched Ange and the girls all attack Klaus from behind him. Chapter 130 Chapter 130: 130 Ch . 130: Arriving at Neighboring Village After walking for a while, having conversations as they did so . A few members had suffered light injuries before they even reached their destination, but other than that, nothing stood in their way, and they arrived at the village that Rose told them about just as the sun was starting to set . Its size was like Rose¡¯s village and looked like any other village as well . But although there were signs that it was inhabited until recently, when they scanned the area, it was nothing but a ghost town . ¡°Naturally thinking, something¡¯s going on in there . ¡± After going around once and standing in the center of the village, Loren¡¯s gaze was directed at the dense forest to the north of them . The forest was creepy, since he couldn¡¯t see inside at all in the dying sunlight, but at the same time it just looked like a normal forest . ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit simple? It¡¯s possible that the village got attacked by monsters or something, isn¡¯t it?¡± In Lapis¡¯ arms were vegetables and salted meats she got from who knows where, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but look at her sharply . ¡°I found them in the food storage, but it¡¯s about to rot, and that would be a waste . We should use it for our own good instead of wasting it, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°If we find villagers, you¡¯d better pay them back . ¡± Loren was hesitant to take the village¡¯s food, which could be considered a part of their fortune . But as Lapis had said, he knew that it was better for them to eat it than let it all rot . So, it was Loren¡¯s opinion that although they should use what they could, but make sure to pay the villagers in case they were found and made sure to express that firmly to Lapis . ¡°Alright then . I¡¯ll do that . ¡± Lapis agreed to do so quite easily . Loren continued staring at Lapis, thinking that she somehow knew that she wouldn¡¯t have to pay anyone anything, but Lapis started laying out the ingredients she brought, not paying any attention to him . ¡°They aren¡¯t fresh, but good thing there are vegetables . It looks like we¡¯ll have a good dinner tonight . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice . By the way, where are the others¡­¡± Right as Loren started, he saw Ange and the girls bring sausages as well as some barrels out of the houses, and sighed, but then he saw Klaus bring a cow out of the cow shed and gulped . ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Wondering what his voice sounded like as he called out to them, all of them started stuttering excuses like Lapis, and so Loren put his hand against his forehead and sighed . He thought that what they were doing was theft, but since it seemed that using what was available was part of an adventurer¡¯s creed, he didn¡¯t feel like saying anything more . ¡°You guys pay the villagers too if we find them, alright?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty strict when it comes to these things, huh . ¡± Klaus said, impressed, but the cow that he had brought was quite thin and weak since it had been tied up for a while . Although it hadn¡¯t starved to death yet, it proved that the people who took care of it had been gone for a while, but it still didn¡¯t tell where they went . ¡°What¡¯re you going to do with that cow?¡± ¡°I thought maybe we could get some milk . ¡± ¡°Not with how thin and weak it is . Take it back . ¡± ¡°Alright . But these animals are lucky . There isn¡¯t anyone to take care of them, but they haven¡¯t been attacked by beasts or monsters . ¡± Loren thought for a moment at Klaus¡¯ casual words . Livestock in these kinds of villages were often attacked by beasts or monsters regardless of villagers being there or not . On top of that, the fact that they weren¡¯t attacked even though there was no one to take care of them was strange . ¡°Ill tie it back, but I could give it food, right? I don¡¯t want it to starve . ¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine . I¡¯ll help . ¡± He wasn¡¯t sure what happened to the villagers, but the animals were still alive . There was no need to make them starve, so Loren decided to go with Klaus to tie to cow back up and feed them . While they did all that, the sun had started to set and their surroundings started to get dark, so the company decided to camp in the middle of the village . They had considered borrowing some of the villagers¡¯ houses and sleep there but sleeping in houses which the owners had vanished mysteriously wasn¡¯t the most pleasant, and everyone except Loren declined . ¡°All of you definitely can¡¯t come to the battlefield . Sleeping next to corpses happen all the time . ¡± ¡°But you will get attacked if they turn undead . ¡± ¡°Every now and then, yeah . Things like that happen . ¡± As Loren had said, there were times where soldiers died because bodies that hadn¡¯t been treated properly turned undead and attacked them . To prevent that, most of the time the bodies in good shape were tied up and stuffed into bags . ¡°Just for reference, what were bodies in bad shapes like?¡± Ange asked, and Loren replied like it was nothing . ¡°Bodies with no heads or missing limbs won¡¯t turn undead, but even if they did, they can¡¯t move . ¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have asked¡­¡± Ange said with a sullen face, but to Loren it was nothing out of the ordinary, and it was something he had gotten used to . Of course, there was a small bit of unpleasantness that didn¡¯t disappear, but Loren thought that such things could become bearable with experience . ¡°Anyways, lets get ready for dinner . Tonight¡¯s is going to be good, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes . We got the ingredients and the water from the well is good to use so we have a lot of that as well . ¡± While they were looking through the village, they found that the village¡¯s well was still okay . For the water, Loren some up and rubbed it on his arm, and after waiting for a while, this time he put a little bit in his mouth, tasting it then spitting it out, and seeing that nothing happened, he then drank some and waited for a bit again, making sure it was safe . ¡°It¡¯s probably fine . But boil it just in case . ¡± ¡°Got it . Should I use ?¡± ¡°Feels like a waste, but if you¡¯re just going to sleep after go ahead . But if you were going to do that, did I really have to go through the trouble of checking it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you . But there¡¯s the possibility of something we might be hesitant to put in our mouths even though it doesn¡¯t hurt us . ¡± Loren guessed that could be so, but Klaus and the other girls started looking at the water like something scary was in it . ¡°There¡¯s a limit to how much I can clean with , so let¡¯s use it on the water we brought to lower the chances of getting upset stomachs . ¡± There were two priestesses in the party . They had many uses of Divine Arts, but they still couldn¡¯t waste a charge just for cleaning water . ¡° is a simple Divine Art, so I¡¯ll use mine . Roll should save hers . ¡± Lapis said and proceeded to use on the water . From Lapis¡¯ point, it seemed that Roll was more skilled as a priestess than she was, and skilled healers should save their strength in case something happens, so Lapis decided that a common Art such as could be done by herself . ¡°So that means Roll is a better priestess than you are?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, yes . Only as a priestess, though . ¡± Lapis seemed to imply something, and Loren knew what she meant . Since Lapis was a demon, all her abilities combined, Roll was no match for her, but there was no way she could mention that in front of everyone . It seemed that Roll had more charges of Divine Arts as well . ¡°Difference in amount of faith?¡± ¡°Something like that . ¡± Lapis sadly agreed, and Loren patted her on her head to make her feel better . As they had such conversations, Lapis continued to prepare the food . Although, it wasn¡¯t much in the first place . She just cut the ingredients they gathered from the houses into pieces and threw them into a pot they had found in one of the houses as well, poured water in it, and added salt they had found and herbs they had picked in the area and prepared to stew everything, but it was still better and warmer than eating rations, and dinner with soup was nice as well . The only downside was that they had to eat the bread they had brought . There was bread left in the village, but they were all rotten and weren¡¯t in a shape to be eaten . ¡°Women who can cook are nice . ¡± When Klaus said such carefree words so nonchalantly, while in a village where the villagers had mysteriously disappeared, Loren replied in a cold voice, as he thought that Klaus might be something on a whole different level . ¡°If you try to hit on her, I¡¯m going to make you go cold . ¡± ¡°You see . I¡¯m not really into sleeping with other another man¡¯s woman . ¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t slept with her . And she¡¯s not mine, either¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Then there could be an opportunity¡­¡± As Klaus started to say so, the blade of the great sword that Loren had drawn from his back plunged into the ground less than an inch away from his foot, making the smile on his face freeze as he saw a black wall suddenly appear in front of his eyes . ¡°You say something?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait for dinner to be done . ¡± As Loren asked Klaus in a cool voice that didn¡¯t make it seem like he had just plunged his sword into the ground, almost stabbing someone in the foot, Klaus immediately replied in a bland voice . Everyone was at a loss of words at his quick-wittedness and guts . Chapter 131 Chapter 131: 131 Ch . 131: Approached after Sunrise The sun rose and soon morning came . The group took turns keeping watch, but when the eastern sky was slowly turning white, Loren and Lapis were on watch, and both let out sighs of relief as they squinted at the sun coming up . Although spending the night at a village where all the villagers disappeared was necessary, it wasn¡¯t the nicest feeling . Since nothing happened, they couldn¡¯t help but feel some relief . ¡°No one came . ¡± There was no one who entered nor came out of the forest . ¡°What should we do today then?¡± ¡°We could start with investigating the village again and think about whether or not to check out the forest . If there¡¯s something going on, it¡¯s either the village or the forest . ¡± There was nothing out of the ordinary that they could see . Lapis nodded at Loren¡¯s opinion that those two were the only leads they had, and looked towards the tent that Klaus and the girls were sleeping in . ¡°I guess they aren¡¯t like Sarfe . ¡± Loren wondered where he had heard that name and treaded through his memories to place it, and after a while, he remembered that he was the leader of the group that Lapis had been in, and had been the one to invite him to join them . He remembered what he had done during their first job as well and understood that Lapis was worried that Klaus would do something similar . ¡°Well, he¡¯s not iron rank for nothing . He must be considerate of place and time . ¡± ¡°Or he learned how to be so . ¡± ¡°Either way, as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt us . ¡± There was a lot of firewood, possibly because the forest was so close . They took some of it and Loren started a fire . ¡°I guess we could start boiling water and start breakfast . Could you go wake up Klaus and the girls?¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± Seeing Lapis nod, Loren put a pot on top of the fire and poured water in it . Since he thought it wasn¡¯t good to eat heavily, he decided to do something simple, taking thin slices of bread, grilling them lightly, and putting cheese that were also lightly grilled on top of them . Drinking alcohol first thing wasn¡¯t good either, so he took a few tea leaves from his bag and dumped them into the boiling water, making a thin tea . As Loren was thinking that this should suffice as breakfast, Klaus and the girls started crawling out of their tents . ¡°You¡¯re pretty adept Loren . ¡± Klaus said, impressed as he saw what Loren had prepared, but Loren didn¡¯t respond and just told him to get changed . With his life on the battlefield, Loren was used to sleeping with all his armor on, but Klaus and the girls seemed to have chosen to take off all their equipment and sleep lightly, so they had to put everything on again . But probably since they had been adventurers for a while, it didn¡¯t take them long to suit up and come back out . ¡°Eat then we work . We¡¯ll investigate the village again . ¡± ¡°Alright . Hopefully we find something that would tell us what happened . ¡± Loren said as he handed Klaus a cup full of tea, and Klaus took it and shook his head, chasing away the rest of his drowsiness as he took a sip . ¡°You used good leaves . It has a good scent . ¡± ¡°We had a funder this time around . ¡± ¡°¡­If it¡¯s from my own pocket, I guess I¡¯ll make the most of it . ¡± As Klaus said with a nervous laugh, Loren handed him fresh bread with cheese on it as well . As he took it, Klaus realized that all the girls were staring at him, and he tilted his head as he bit into the bread . ¡°Did you finally realize my charms or something?¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty lively first thing in the morning . ¡± Loren stared at Klaus with half opened eyes as he combed through his hair, but his brow furrowed as he noticed a wondering gaze from Lapis and grumpy looks from Ange and the other girls . ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Loren, are you getting friendlier with Klaus, by any chance?¡± Lapis asked him, as if speaking for all the girls . Feeling uncomfortable being stared at by everyone, Loren replied . ¡°He hasn¡¯t done anything, so there¡¯s no reason to treat him badly either, no?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry . As long as his womanizing habits aren¡¯t fixed, we can¡¯t be friends . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s relieving . ¡± Lapis put her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief . Seeing the other girls finally look away, satisfied, Loren looked back towards Klaus, wondering if it was a good thing if they were satisfied with such a response, but Klaus just looked back, still chewing the bread, asking him if he needed anything . Loren decided to stop thinking about it and start breakfast as well . As he went back to slicing the bread, putting them on the fire and putting cheese on top of them, Shayna¡¯s voice rang out in the back of his head . ¡®Onii-san, something¡¯s coming . A great number of them . ¡¯ When he asked which direction, she told him west . Putting down the knife and bread he was holding, Loren looked to the west . A field spread out past the houses of the villages, but he couldn¡¯t see anything like what Shayna had just warned him about . But it was a warning from a no life king, so he couldn¡¯t let his guard down just because he couldn¡¯t see anything, so Loren tied his great sword that was next to him on his back . ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong?¡± As Lapis picked up the bread he had put down and took a bite, Loren wondered how he should word it . He didn¡¯t think they would believe him if he said something was coming even though they couldn¡¯t see anything . Of course, he could tell Lapis that it was Shayna if it were just her, but he couldn¡¯t say that when Klaus and the others were there as well . If he couldn¡¯t mention Shayna, there was no credibility to his words . ¡°I think I saw something . ¡± Loren said so, knowing that there was no credibility whatsoever, yet not able to think of anything else to say, but Lapis¡¯ face grew grim . She threw the bread away and tapped Ange, who was reaching for a slice of bread . ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°Ange, could you use the spell, ?¡± ¡°O-of course . It¡¯s an elementary level spell¡­¡± The spell was a simple one that allowed the user to see off into the distance, and as Ange had mentioned, it was an elementary level spell . It was a spell any magician could use, and it wasn¡¯t something you would ask if they could use, but every now and then, there would be magicians who specialized in attacking spells, so it was common practice to ask . ¡°Then please use it . ¡± ¡°That direction? Got it . ¡± Ange didn¡¯t question Lapis¡¯ request and started chanting . ¡°What¡¯s happening? I can¡¯t see anything¡­¡± ¡°Dunno, but I felt something bad . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t like how what he was saying was so vague, but there was nothing he could do about it . He even considered telling them about Shayna but comparing whatever was coming towards them and a no life king, it was obvious which one was more dangerous . ¡°Mercenary¡¯s intuition? Sounds legitimate . ¡± ¡°You doubt me?¡± Loren asked Klaus, but he threw the rest of the bread in his mouth and shook his head . ¡°It¡¯s the intuition of a battle-hardened mercenary . What else would you do except believe it?¡± Nodding at Klaus¡¯ words, Layla and Roll immediately started taking down the tents . Loren felt kind of bad since they couldn¡¯t even eat properly, but as Loren was trying to think of how to apologize, Ange¡¯s warning reached his ears . ¡°I see a cavalry! Their numbers¡­I don¡¯t know, but a lot!¡± ¡°Judging from the direction, it looks like they¡¯re from the side of Wagenburg . I feel like there wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I don¡¯t want to meet them either . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it only smells like trouble . ¡± The possibilities that Loren could think of was the war going on farther north, past the forest . He guessed that it was probably some sort of unit that was participating in it . There wasn¡¯t enough information to know why they were coming towards the village, but adventurers making food with ingredients they found in an abandoned village wouldn¡¯t be a good first impression . ¡°Nothing good¡¯s going to come out of them finding us . Ange, are they coming this way?¡± Loren stomped the fire out . He had used dry wood so there wasn¡¯t a lot of smoke that went up, but to keen eyes even a light smoke trail could be visible . ¡°It looks like they¡¯re coming straight for the village . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to run . We¡¯ll have to hide in a house or storage . ¡± Loren considered running into the forest, but he wanted to avoid heading into it when they weren¡¯t sure if something was wrong with it, so he took it out of their options . ¡°Let¡¯s go with that then . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be the leader of this party, right¡­?¡± Klaus immediately started moving, but Loren glared at his back with half opened eyes . Since Loren had received the information from Shayna, there was no way Klaus could¡¯ve known anything about the situation they were in, but since they now knew, it should¡¯ve been Klaus to think and make the decisions . ¡°Yeah, but you seem like you¡¯re more experienced, you know?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t deny it . ¡± Although he said that, he wasn¡¯t sure what to think of Klaus not saying even a single word . Not even knowing his thoughts, everyone started taking down their camp quickly and covering their tracks . Chapter 132 Chapter 132 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Before long, just as Loren had sensed and Ange had confirmed with her , a group of riders arrived in the village . But by then, Loren¡¯s group had already cleared their camp and left the plaza . At first, they had thought about hiding in a warehouse or some cattle pen; however, after some careful consideration, they concluded that once the riders arrived and found no one in the villages, they would search those places next . So, they chose a suitable home in the village and hid there . Dealing with the donkey that carried their luggage was another problem . But in order to be able to apologize and explain things in case the villagers came back, they also led it into the house . ¡°They have nice equipment . ¡± Loren muttered . He closed the window¡¯s shutter so that it wouldn¡¯t look out of place, and was peeking outside through the slits to check out the riders . He believed them to be Vargenburg¡¯s soldiers . There was still the possibility that they were robbers though . Still, Loren didn¡¯t think that there was a robber gang powerful enough to mobilize dozens of riders like this . ¡°Vargenburg¡¯s regular soldiers . I¡¯m sure of it . ¡± Layla, who was also peeking outside the window, confirmed their identities . Loren considered that if she, a former knight of Vargenburg, had said so, then it couldn¡¯t be wrong . ¡°What do Vargenburg¡¯s soldiers do at a place like this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m sure it has something to do with the war . ¡± As Layla answered Ange¡¯s question, the troopers rode deeper into the village, and some of them spread out . Judging by their behavior Loren assumed that they were likely scouting and checking out the state of affairs here . That didn¡¯t say anything about their intentions though . ¡°Would be fun if we could snatch one . ¡± To understand the situation, asking the person himself would be easiest . But if they did that, they would definitely be branded as criminals . Working in such a large number, it was certain that these Vargenburg soldiers were acting on someone¡¯s orders . If they hindered their job, things would be neither pretty nor fun . ¡°Should I secretly capture one of them?¡± Lapis proposed in response to Loren¡¯s words, but he shook his head . ¡°If you do, you¡¯ll turn the whole empire into your enemy . ¡± ¡°Miss Layla, would your connection manage somehow?¡± Layla had looked startled at the word ¡®capture¡¯, but her expression stiffened immediately, and she pondered for a short while . She tilted her head in contemplation while groaning quietly . ¡°It¡¯ll be difficult . I¡¯m not sure if I can get through to them or not . These soldiers are following some secret order; if this is handled poorly, it¡¯s very likely that we¡¯ll be arrested here . ¡± ¡°Even that will be fine, I think . ¡± Loren grumbled . He had been unwilling to take on this job from the beginning; bumping into the kingdom¡¯s soldiers and getting arrested halfway through would be a splendid reason to give it up, wouldn¡¯t it? However, being tied up, even for a short a time, wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience . Loren himself couldn¡¯t bear the thought of it, letting Lapis and the others have such an experience, was not an option . ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to talk if there¡¯s someone I know¡­ No, wait, that person is probably¡­¡± Layla, who was looking outside with bated breath, seemed to have discovered a familiar face among the troopers that had stopped at the plaza; she inched her face close to the window slits . ¡°I¡¯ve probably found someone who I can talk to . I¡¯ll go out first . I¡¯ll call you out if things go well; if not, I¡¯ll shout, and you guys run . It won¡¯t be a big deal if only I get caught . ¡± Said Layla, after looking closely at the troopers for a while, as if to verify her memory . She then moved away from the window and before the group could ask any questions, she leapt out of the house . There was no time to stop her; Klaus and the others couldn¡¯t do anything but watched her leave in shock . Loren and Lapis took up the reins of the donkey, ready to run away at any moment and listened closely for any sounds from outside . The troopers immediately noticed Layla and surrounded her, but it seemed like she had introduced herself as a Knight of Vargenburg immediately: they didn¡¯t arrest her, but took her to the square where troopers were gathering instead . ¡°Will Layla be alright?¡± Ange asked worriedly . As if to reassure her, Klaus hugged her shoulders and pulled her towards him . Roll seemed to be jealous of it and quietly leaned on Klaus; he put his hand on her waist and also pulled her to him . ¡°What are you guys doing?¡­¡± Loren questioned bluntly; he was feeling doubtful about whether they really understood the situation . When he noticed Lapis, who was beside him, looking up at him with expectant eyes, he scratched his head . ¡°No, I won¡¯t do that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve lost to Klaus here, I think . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about winning or losing, not that I want to win, in the first place . Rather than that, focus on the current situation . If Layla gives a warning, we have to run right away . ¡± Loren said as if chiding . Smiling wryly, Klaus took his hands off the girls, and they hurriedly distanced themselves from him while blushing . Lapis looked dissatisfied, but she seemed unwilling to pursue the matter further and just quietly watched for any progress with bated breath . Finally, they heard Layla calling from outside: ¡°Talk is done! It¡¯s alright to come out now!¡± Klaus and the other two girls were relieved that Layla had seemed to handle things well . But Lapis still looked tense, and Loren once again put his hand on his great sword in alert . ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong? Layla said it¡¯s alright¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something to accept without questioning . I¡¯ll go first . ¡± He and Lapis believed they shouldn¡¯t let their guards down until they could be absolutely certain that everything was alright . But it was probably no use telling Klaus about that, so Loren decided to go out by himself first . It was so that he could buy some time for the others to escape if anything happened, but they didn¡¯t seem to understand . Klaus still nodded with a puzzled face though . As Loren pushed the door at the entrance open, a number of soldiers were waiting for him . They looked surprised that his hand was still on his great sword . Layla stepped out a bit quickly from behind them and spoke to him: ¡°Of course, you¡¯ll come out first . It¡¯s alright, really . There¡¯s no problem at all . ¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they tell us to disarm or something?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t . But don¡¯t go berserk . If you do, I don¡¯t know what kind of damage you¡¯ll cause . I, knight Layla, will guarantee your safety myself . ¡± Having the knight using her own name to assure it, Loren accepted that everything was alright and finally moved his hand away from his weapon . He felt relief flooded the atmosphere as he did so . Turning around, he met Lapis¡¯ eyes; she was peeking out through the slits . He beckoned them over, indicating that all was good . ¡°Could you please come this way? The captain wants to talk to you about something . ¡± A soldier told Loren once everyone had come out and led him away . Following him, Loren was taken into the center of the group of troopers gathering in the plaza, and came face to face with one of them . ¡°Excuse me for staying on horseback . I am Karl Belnadotte, a Knight of Vergenburg . I am currently the Captain of this group . ¡± The one who introduced himself was a middle-age man, who dressed in nicer armor than the surrounding soldiers . He had an impressive beard, and the gaze he gave Loren from his horseback was not that unpleasant despite the hint of caution it held . Loren bowed slightly in return . ¡°Loren, adventurer . I am here due to some circumstances . ¡± It was good manners to introduce your name after being introduced; even Loren understood that much . In this kingdom, knights were also a part of the aristocracy, and Loren had thought that they wouldn¡¯t have bothered about things like the name of an adventurer . But the reaction of this knight didn¡¯t make him feel any distaste . ¡°Thank you for letting me know your name . I have heard a bit about your circumstances from Knight Layla . As I understand, you were entrusted by the neighboring village to investigate the unusual happening here; is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s about it . ¡± Loren felt a little reluctant about the term ¡®entrusted¡¯ . To be correct, he was temporarily instated as the leader of the party, but he had no intention to explain that to the knight in front of him . Even though it couldn¡¯t be helped, having others known that someone like him had taken the role of the temporary leader was embarrassing to him . And, by all rights, Klaus should have been the one to stand here and talk to this knight as the leader . In a manner of speaking, Loren felt like he had been cajoled into this somehow . Even though he had been the one to step up first, he wanted to complain about how wrong the role assignment was . ¡°Is that¡­ Sir Klaus? There¡¯ve been rumors about him for some time now . I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s a brilliant adventurer . ¡± Glancing behind Loren, Karl saw Klaus and bowed ever so slightly . Klaus also bowed to him in return . Admiring the difference in treatment, Loren tried throwing a question once Karl¡¯s eyes had returned to him: ¡°What are you doing here, Sir Knight of Vargenburg?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a classified military mission, so I can¡¯t talk about it . But we plan to enter the forest and head for the northern exit . ¡± Was it proper to say that, Loren wondered . With the war going on, he couldn¡¯t think of any other reason why they would come out of the forest from the northern exit except to strike the enemies from the flank or the rear . Riding through a forest didn¡¯t seem like a very good idea, but the forest wasn¡¯t that dense to make passing it on horsebacks impossible . They probably could make it if they slowed their speed . ¡°However, there¡¯s something that bothers me a little . That concern has gotten stronger once we arrived at this village . ¡± ¡°Would it be alright for me to ask what it is?¡± Lapis asked Karl before Loren could open his mouth . Karl looked alert for a moment, but once he noticed that the one who had asked the question was a girl in priest clothing, he softened just a little . When Loren was thinking how convenient it was to have clothes that could announce to everyone that one was a priest, Karl spoke . ¡°You have known that there is a war going on in this vicinity, I believe . ¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve heard of that . ¡± ¡°The truth is, desertion has been happening one after another in both armies . ¡± That was not anything unusual, Loren thought . In the first place, there were very few people going to wars because they liked it . Most people did because they had no other choice, and as they could die at any time, he could understand why some wanted to run away . It was a bit concerning if desertion was happening in both sides, but the chance of dying wasn¡¯t that different for front line soldiers whether their side was winning or losing . So, it was not like people would run away only when they were losing . ¡°It seems like the deserters have taken refuge in this forest . ¡± Karl turned his stern eyes to the forest and scowled . ¡°I thought that they would hide in this village before passing through the forest, but if this place has become vacant, then where did they go?¡± ¡°Are you thinking that they¡¯re staying in the forest?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . But we don¡¯t have the time to ponder or investigate it . ¡± Having said that much, Karl made a proposal to Loren as if he had just come up with it: ¡°If it¡¯s alright, what do you think about travelling together with us? Since the village has been in this state, I believe you have also thought about investigating the forest . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to take part in wars . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that . If you come with us, you¡¯ll be able to grasp the state of affairs in the forest to some extent, and it¡¯ll be safer than you going through it alone, don¡¯t you think? I also believe that it¡¯ll be safer for us to cross the forest with some adventurers than by ourselves . What do you think?¡± It could be said that the ability to detect danger of adventurers was superior to that of knights or soldiers, whose main purpose was to fight . In exchange, they could borrow the knights¡¯ and soldiers¡¯ combat ability to pass the forest ¨C that was what Karl was proposing . It was not such a bad bargain, but was there a catch in it somewhere? Loren wondered . He looked at Karl, who was waiting for his answer while considering what to do about it . Chapter 133 Chapter 133 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul In the end, Loren decided to accept Karl¡¯s proposal . As he had said beforehand that he didn¡¯t want to participate in the war, he decided that he would just feign ignorance till the end no matter what he was told . Should anything happen in the forest, it would be a merit to have more people ¨C that was the reason why he accepted the proposal . He had been supposed to confirm with Klaus first, but since Klaus himself just approved it readily, the other girls also had no complaints . And things just went along like that . ¡°Will only us walk?¡± ¡°I apologize for it, but we don¡¯t have horses to lend you . Since we¡¯ll move slowly in the forest, you walking probably wouldn¡¯t be a problem . ¡± Talking about borrowing horses, Loren actually had no experience riding a horse . He had never ridden a horse during his mercenary days, and horses were extremely expensive to be of practical use to begin with . Moreover, horses that had been trained for battles were also rare; one wouldn¡¯t be able to ride them unless one belonged to the army . It was the same for Klaus and the others . The only ones who had ever ridden a warhorse were Layla, a knight and for some reason, Lapis . ¡°How did you ever ride a horse?¡± ¡°That is, well, a secret of the maiden . ¡± Lapis laughed mysteriously . He could have pressed her for an answer, yet since they wouldn¡¯t be lent horses anyway, Loren just stopped the conversation there . Without horses there was no difference whether she could or couldn¡¯t ride a horse . Karl decided to leave some troopers in the village in case any villagers return . At the same time, he let the two return to the main force to report about the unusual happening here . Loren thought that the kingdom¡¯s involvement might improve the situation . Nevertheless, there was no way back anymore, unless the state of affairs changed . ¡°So, let¡¯s go . ¡± At Karl¡¯s command, the cavalry slowly advanced into the forest . Loren¡¯s group was at the front, walking near Karl . The forest was quite gloomy inside, but the trees didn¡¯t grow too thick to hinder riders¡¯ pass . There were also paths formed by villagers coming and going, so there seemed to be no issue for the slowly-moving cavalry . The biggest problem was their width . Human footpaths weren¡¯t wide enough for horses to line up side by side . Thus, Karl instructed the troop to advance in two columns . ¡°How long does it take to pass through this forest?¡± ¡°About two hours on foot . ¡± Military personnel were generally the ones who knew most about topography details . There were maps on the market, but the information they recorded were very vague; in many cases, the country concealed the exact distance and location . ¡°For some reason, the atmosphere here is a bit strange . ¡± As they went forth on the forest paths, Karl looked around and muttered . ¡°Have you noticed? There are no signs of birds, animals or even insects in the forest . It¡¯s too quiet . ¡± Loren had also noticed without Karl pointing it out . A forest was a place where various creatures lived . It wouldn¡¯t be strange to see the signs of their presence, to hear their sounds or to catch a glimpse of their shapes . Yet there were no birds and not a single animal he could find when he looked around; it wasn¡¯t normal . ¡°If there are deserters or villagers here, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to have signs of them . ¡± ¡°On the other hand, having no signs of them so far is rather eerie . ¡± Lapis, who was walking next to Loren, voiced her feelings . Not just Loren group, the soldiers were also having the same thoughts . Some of the troopers looked around with anxious faces, representing the uneasiness they felt . ¡°I¡¯ll want to investigate this if we have time, but I can¡¯t say that . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a good tendency for soldiers to be anxious . ¡± ¡°It¡¯ll end once we leave the forest . ¡± Karl said, but the whole group had to stop just a short while later . ¡°Messenger here! There¡¯s people ahead!¡± When the news came from the group that had gone ahead of them, it had been about one hour since they had stepped into the forest . Karl immediately ordered the whole troop to stop and rode ahead himself to check what the messenger had reported . Loren¡¯s group also followed him . When they arrived at the vanguard, a bewildered-looking soldier pointed to a human figure standing alone on the path ahead and reported to Karl, who was approaching him . ¡°Captain, there¡¯s a person . ¡± ¡°A villager?¡± The human figure looked to be female; she didn¡¯t show any reaction even after seeing a cavalry . She wore the common clothes of villagers, and didn¡¯t appear to be armed . They couldn¡¯t see her face due to the distance and the gloom of the forest, but her just standing straight without even swaying was quite unsettling . ¡°Is it human?¡± As Loren muttered, Shayna¡¯s voice spoke up in his mind . [¡®Doesn¡¯t seem to be an undead, onii-san . ¡¯] [¡®Any signs from the surroundings?¡¯] [¡®That¡­ I don¡¯t know for sure . There seems to be some, but at the same time doesn¡¯t¡­¡¯] Loren heightened his alertness at Shayna¡¯s vague words . If even the King of the Dead couldn¡¯t be sure of the situation, then it couldn¡¯t be normal . [¡®It feels like something is hindering me . Please be careful, onii-san . ¡¯] Loren didn¡¯t need Shayna to tell him that . Seeing Loren laid his hand on his greatsword, Klaus group and Lapis also became tense . And of course, Karl also began to give orders seeing them like that . ¡°Be alert! We don¡¯t know what will happen!¡± The change happened right at that moment . The first thing Loren could sense was a sweet aroma tickling the back of his nose; it felt just like a flower¡¯s nectar was mixed into the air . Loren reflexively covered his mouth with a hand, but he couldn¡¯t stop breathing . ¡°Wh-what is this?¡± Noticing that Karl¡¯s confused voice seemed to be strangely faraway, Loren beat at his chest . Every time he breathed in the heartburn-inducing air, a haze shrouding his consciousness . Loren fell to his knees . It also appeared to affect the cavalry; some began to fall from their horses with a confused expression on their faces . ¡°Loren-san, are you alright?¡± He couldn¡¯t help breathing but every time he did, his consciousness became hazy . Loren could feel an alarm bell ringing somewhere in his head, telling him to run away from this place immediately . But his arms and legs just wouldn¡¯t do what they were told . Just when he thought how ugly it was to be like this, Lapis, who was standing beside him, put her hands under his arms and helped him up . The tone of her voice was unexpectedly calm . ¡°Things seem to have become strange again . ¡± Even though she was talking right next to him, her voice also seemed to come from a distance . It was just like getting drunk on some strong wine . Loren desperately shook his head to maintain his consciousness, but the drunkenness became stronger every time he breathed; so that just standing by himself became a difficult thing . ¡°Lapis¡­ Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course I am . Won¡¯t you praise me?¡± Lapis said with a grin . As Loren staggered on his feet, she kept a hand on his waist and lent him a shoulder to help him stand . But he couldn¡¯t even reply to that; his consciousness had begun to dim . ¡°What about Klaus and the others?¡± ¡°Seems like the ladies are no good . They have all gone down . Klaus-san is¡­ amazingly, he seems fine . ¡± ¡°The cavalry¡­¡± ¡°All are no good . Most have fallen from their horses and just lied there . ¡± ¡°Is that¡­ so¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t collect his thoughts at all; just breathing had become a rough thing to do . Loren suddenly became very aware of Lapis¡¯ body pushing against him . As he grasped her free hand for a moment without really knowing what he was thinking, he got a punch to his face . The pain radiating from his cheek and the taste of blood inside his mouth woke his mind for just a moment, and his awareness immediately turned hazy again . ¡°Just what is this, really¡­?¡± ¡°Well? This¡­ seems to have become a critical situation . ¡± Lapis¡¯ tone changed, which signaled Loren once more that they were in a really bad situation . But even as he thought about options, the sweet scent pouring into his mouth and nose scattered all thoughts away . ¡°A poison¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so . To be able to penetrate Loren¡¯s protection that easily, the culprit seems to be quite brutal . ¡± Lapis answered . She looked around and quietly clucked her tongue . ¡°And, we¡¯re surrounded . ¡± Numerous human figures began to emerge from the shades of the trees . Where had that many people hidden up until now? They looked like villagers and soldiers, and their appearances and genders varied . They slowly walked up, grabbed the immobile soldiers that had fallen from their horses and dragged them into the depth of the forest . Would the horses panic and go on a rampage? Strange, wondered Lapis, while casually waved her arm at an approaching human figure . The head of the figure that had been trying to grab her was shredded just by that action, with the pieces flying up and disappearing into the trees . Blood squirted up from the headless body . The scent of blood woke Loren¡¯s mind a little . ¡°Run¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to . Klaus!¡± Lapis called and Klaus, who was keeping the girls up, turned around . His face was painted with surprise: at the unfamiliar expressions on Lapis¡¯ face or at the change of the situation, no one knew . ¡°Can you run?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m not sure . I can¡¯t leave the rest behind . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right . Let¡¯s see if we can use the horses for transportation . ¡± ¡°What about the soldiers?!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s abandon them . It¡¯s impossible to save everyone anyway . ¡± Lapis hurriedly gave Klaus instruction, and he immediately began to load the unconscious girls on the back of a horse that wasn¡¯t shifting around . Lapis kicked down one approaching figure and grabbed the collar of another and shoved it into a tree . Then she lightly lifted Loren, who was still leaning on her shoulder, to a horse¡¯s back and nimbly sat astride it herself . ¡°It¡¯ll be nice if we can escape by running away, but that must be impossible . ¡± ¡°Where can we run to?!¡± With three people on a horse, there was no more space for a rider . Klaus had no choice but to take the reins and pulled the horse along . Lapis shrugged at him . ¡°Well, where to, I wonder? Away from here at least . Let¡¯s go . ¡± ¡°Understood . I¡¯ll leave the destination to you!¡± Lapis wondered what to do if the horse wouldn¡¯t run, but it obediently broke into a run with a light kick to the stomach . In order to keep up with the horses, Klaus activated a on himself and followed her with enhanced speed and vigor . Chapter 134 Chapter 134 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul The horse did run, but not that fast . Even though the way it ran was unsure somehow, they should be thankful that it did run at all, Lapis thought . She didn¡¯t know if Loren, who she was holding on the back of the horse, was aware or not . Sometimes he clenched his teeth or knocked at his own head in an attempt to clear up his mind, but it didn¡¯t seem to work . ¡°It¡¯s useless . You should sleep, if you like to . ¡± ¡°Lapis¡­¡± Loren muttered and looked at her over his shoulder . For a brief moment, Lapis was thoroughly surprised at the gaze he directed towards her . The molten eyes on his flushed face carried such interest for the opposite sex that she had to wonder if it was too blatant . Needing to confirm it, Lapis cautiously spoke to him even as she blushed involuntarily: ¡°Loren, could it be that you¡¯re thinking about¡­¡± ¡°Quiet¡­ ¡®s nothing¡­¡± Loren replied in a somewhat ashamed voice . He let himself fall face down on the horse¡¯s neck and made a ragged sound while thrusting a fist into his own head . Lapis knew she should make him stop, but she could somehow guess what kind of state Loren was in right now from his gaze and expression earlier; if she stopped him, things would become impossible to stop . Klaus¡¯ shriek-like voice came from behind her then, making the horse stop . ¡°Wait! Now is¡­ tch, uwah?!¡± Lapis turned the horse around to look . The girls had reached out and grasped Klau¡¯s hand, who was pulling the reins of the horse carrying them . He was right in the middle of shaking them loose . Ange slipped down from the horse with intoxicated eyes and a smile on her face, and clung to Klaus¡¯ neck . Before one realized, Layla had also dismounted and was hugging him from behind, while Roll clung tightly to his leg with both arms . Normally, Lapis would have yelled at them, but she couldn¡¯t after seeing the state Loren was in . It was clear that something was causing these usually-cannot-happen things to happen . ¡°Well, what should I do?¡± Strangely, the idea of helping Klaus didn¡¯t cross Lapis¡¯ mind at all . The problem was Loren . She could somehow guess what was happening to him . If this continued, Loren would probably endure it with his will, but it wouldn¡¯t be good for his body, not to mention especially hard on his mind . For a moment, Lapis considered just coming at him, but she immediately shook her head to chase that thought away . She didn¡¯t want to be rejected, and if it turned out that Loren didn¡¯t desire her, there would be problems with their relationship from now on . And above all, doing it on horseback in a forest was no way to her taste . ¡°I don¡¯t mean that the first time must be on a canopy bed, but well . ¡± She joked while patting Loren, who was lying on the horse¡¯s neck . ¡°Shayna, can you hear me? If yes, take control of Loren¡¯s body for a while . As you are the No Life King, you can do that much, right? I will apologize later if there¡¯s any problems . ¡± As Lapis made her appeal, Loren¡¯s body, which had been lying face down, twitched . A short while later, it rose up and turned around with an emotionless face . Even though she felt slightly uncomfortable as the empty eyes turned towards her, Lapis still spoke to Loren¡¯s body, which was staring at her without moving . ¡°Did you succeed?¡± ¡°¡­Yes, onee-san¡­¡± The words came from Loren¡¯s mouth, in Loren¡¯s voice, but didn¡¯t belong to him . The flatness of the tone, as well as the words that he normally wouldn¡¯t use caused something like a chill running down her spine . Still, Lapis spoke . ¡°So you succeeded . ¡± ¡°Because onii-san voluntarily gave me the control . ¡± Loren replied, but Lapis could sense that regardless of the appearance, the person inside was different . Of course, it went without saying that this other person was No Life King Shayna, who normally reside quietly inside Loren . By all rights, it was not an easy thing to take control of someone else¡¯s body while dwelling inside it, even to a No Life King . For it to go smoothly, Loren must have been giving the control of his body to Shayna by his own will after noticing his own unusual condition . ¡°Do you have any difficulty moving the body?¡± Even though both Loren and Shayna were from the same race, there was a clear difference in their physiques . Movements were basically the same, but if the different sensation coming from the difference in physiques became a hindrance, it would need some getting used to . ¡°I don¡¯t . But I think fighting is impossible, onee-san . ¡± Shayna answered . She had looked at her arms and body as if they were something strange, and began to raise the arms and turned the neck and such . Even though Loren¡¯s physical strength could be used as is and she could easily lift the greatsword, Shayna herself didn¡¯t have the knowledge or skills to fight with it . It would be just like swinging a big sword around, and even though that was kind of a threat of its own, it would be impossible for Shayna to fight like Loren . ¡°And, I don¡¯t recommend maintaining this state for a long time . ¡± By nature, being forcibly moved by someone else that wasn¡¯t its owner like this wasn¡¯t a good thing for Loren¡¯s body, Shayna said . Moreover, some adverse effects might happen to his mind due to the separation from his body, no matter how temporary it was . Such an unnatural state should be corrected as soon as possible . ¡°It¡¯s either one of these two: Just abandon everything and run away if the worst happens, or give the control back to Loren, assuming that he¡¯ll accept me . ¡± ¡°Onee-san, you are such an adult¡­¡± Shayna bashfully blushed just a little, but the appearance was that of Loren . The gap between the action and the appearance was so big that Lapis felt dizzy . ¡°A-aside from that, is there any inconvenience?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . That¡­ is a bit uncomfortable¡­¡± Shayna hesitantly looked down at her own crotch . Lapis understood what she wanted to say with that action; she looked up at the sky and sighed, unable to say anything . The difference in physique between Loren and Shayna was definitely a problem, but something even more problematic was their difference in gender: Loren was a man, and Shayna was a girl . In short, Loren had something that Shayna originally didn¡¯t have, and the feeling of a non-existing organ brought confusion and discomfort to her . ¡°I have decided that this is a very serious situation . ¡± ¡°O-onee-san¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to tell him to give me some detailed data later¡­¡± ¡°Please stop, onee-san . Onii-san will die mentally . ¡± Shayna flapped her hands in a panic . The action would be cute had it been done by a girl, but it was a deadly weapon being performed by a well-trained swordsman like Loren . The horse whinnied in annoyance at all the fuss being done on its back . Lapis soothed it while smiling wryly and apologizing to Shayna, who was still waving her arms around . ¡°Sorry sorry . It was a rather bad joke . ¡± ¡°Please stop, really . Onii-san can hear this . ¡± Lapis¡¯ face twitched slightly at those words . While residing inside Loren, Shayna was able to see and hear the state of the outside world by synchronizing with his sensations . Conversely, now that she was in control of the body, she seemed to be able to transmit what she saw and heard to Loren . ¡°As I have become the No Life King, I¡¯m alright with the total darkness I reside in, where I can¡¯t hear anything . But Onii-san is human, and spending a long time in a state where there¡¯s no sound or no light can cause abnormalities to his mentality . ¡± ¡°I feel like there is a kind of torture just like that . ¡± ¡°Therefore, I¡¯m still maintaining my synchronization with onii-san¡¯s sense of sight and hearing . Please act while bearing that in mind, onee-san . ¡± ¡°I will keep it in mind . ¡± Wondering what kind of retaliation would await her once this was all over, Lapis shuddered slightly and turned her eyes towards Klaus and the girls, who were still entangling with each other on the ground . Seemed like Klaus was trying desperately to fend off the girls, but even though he had an advantage in terms of individual power, he was overwhelmingly disadvantageous in terms of number . The situation was slowly becoming one where it was impossible to say that his defense wouldn¡¯t break . ¡°So unexpected . I thought you¡¯d just go with the flow and do it . ¡± ¡°There are occasions when I care about the timing and situation too!¡± Klaus was trying to peel the girls off him somehow, but he couldn¡¯t be too rough with his companions . The girls were in no state to care about places or situations though; they just thrust their hands into any gaps of his armor and clothes and trailed their tongue along his nape . Klaus was overwhelmingly disadvantaged . ¡°Also, doing it with them while they¡¯re being dosed with such a horrible drug is no fun at all!¡± ¡°I¡¯m having troubles reacting to that even if you press me . ¡± ¡°Please! Do something-!¡± Klaus asking for help while being approached by women was an extremely rare sight that might never ever happen again if one missed it, Lapis thought . But this was not the time to happily watch . ¡°It¡¯ll be a little rough, so forgive me, OK?¡± Lapis waved her hands without waiting for a reply, and Klaus and the three girls who were coiling themselves around him were all blown away and crashed into the trees . Klaus, who still had his senses, was able to immediately get up as the girls had acted as his cushions and lessened the impact . But the three girls hadn¡¯t landed well and had taken some damages; they were writhing in pain and unable to stand up . ¡°What¡­ Or rather, wasn¡¯t it too much for ¡®a little rough¡¯?¡± ¡°I was trying to blow you all away in one go with <>¡­ Was it too rough? I don¡¯t have time to peel them off one by one . ¡± <> was one of the few offensive spells in the list of spells deemed legal to practice by law, which was dominated by protective and healing spells . Being hit by it was just like being punched by an invisible fist; it was not a spell with the power to blow away four people including Klaus . ¡°It¡¯s already too late by now, but can I ask who you are?¡± ¡°Just a priestess serving the God of Knowledge . Let¡¯s keep it at that . ¡± Her words did not allow for any arguments . Klaus immediately understood that it was not something for him to delve into; he nodded to show his acknowledgement while enduring the pain running through his body . Chapter 135 Chapter 135 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Anyway, we have to find the culprit of this incident and deal with them . ¡± Lapis went deeper into the forest with Loren accompanying her . She actually also wanted to bring Klaus along to increase fighting power, as he was still able to behave normally under this circumstance . But if she did, the three girls who were affected by this phenomenon would become a problem . Of course, they couldn¡¯t leave them and carrying three unconscious people would seriously affect their mobility . If something were to happen, it would become troublesome . As a last resort, Lapis had ordered Klaus to watch over the girls and gone into the forest with Loren, or rather Shayna . As Loren¡¯s physical strength and stamina were pretty much retained, Shayna was able to move fast enough to keep up with Lapis, who was leading the way . ¡°Onee-san, I¡¯m sorry but-¡° ¡°Would you stop with that ¡®onee-san¡¯?¡± Interrupting Shayna¡¯s attempt to talk to her, Lapis stopped and turned around . The expression on her face somehow looked like both anger and perplexity . ¡°Onee-san, I can¡¯t call you that?¡± ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s alright if Shayna-chan calls me that, but your appearance is now Loren-san¡¯s, isn¡¯t it? To be called ¡®onee-san¡¯ by a well-trained swordsman bigger than me is in no way comfortable¡­¡± The tone of her voice had returned to normal . Lapis told Shayna in an embarrassing voice, as she didn¡¯t seem to notice it . ¡°But onee-san, I can¡¯t speak like onii-san . ¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you to imitate him, but¡­ Can you manage somehow?¡± Not sure if it was discouraging or motivation-dampening but to Lapis, Shayna¡¯s way of speaking was a more serious problem than the strange phenomenon happening in the forest right now . Unless she managed to do something about it, she didn¡¯t think she would be able to muster up the energy to face the culprit of all this . ¡°I-I¡¯ll try?¡± ¡°Please do . It directly affects my spirit . ¡± ¡°So, uhm, Lapis-sa¡­san? There¡¯s something I think we have to do before we deal with the culprit . ¡± Even though she still stuttered, Shayna seemed to have really considered her words . Lapis could accept it more or less, and prompted her to continue . To be honest, Lapis didn¡¯t really enjoy being called ¡®san¡¯ by something with Loren¡¯s face, but when she thought about it, she didn¡¯t really want Shayna to address her without any honorifics either, so she couldn¡¯t say anything . ¡°The villages and soldiers, if we don¡¯t find them first then with their number, they will be a hindrance later when we face the culprit, won¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so . ¡± Lapis immediately rejected Shayna¡¯s suggestion . It was so decisive and immediate that Shayna tilted her head and wondered if there was any reason behind . Lapis explained to her: ¡°This strange phenomenon doesn¡¯t seem to be caused by people being manipulated . I think we won¡¯t be able to make the villagers and soldiers move at will under the current circumstances . ¡± ¡°This is like a hive mind behavior . So they¡¯re not being controlled?¡± Shayna examined the current happening in her own way . After all, this was something that could easily incapacitate her host Loren . For her own safety as well as for her host to be able to return, she had to figure out what exactly had attacked the villagers and soldiers by affecting their minds . She was wondering if those affected were being controlled, but Lapis seemed to disagree . ¡°This is not a systematic mind control, I think . ¡± Lapis had started walking again; she told Shayna, who was walking behind her, in a preaching tone . ¡°When controlling others, if the ones under control are not in a stable state by themselves, it¡¯ll become a laughable situation even if the control is good . ¡± It was impossible to control someone who was acting wildly . If one could be controlled, they wouldn¡¯t act wildly, and it would be strange if they didn¡¯t move in some sort of order . From Lapis¡¯ point of view, Loren had seemed to be trying to endure something out of control before switching with Shayna; it was difficult to imagine controlling him in such a state . ¡°So it¡¯s some factor that makes everyone act wildly?¡± ¡°That information doesn¡¯t remain inside Loren-san, does it?¡± Lapis tried asking with some anticipation, and Shayna shook her head . ¡°I rarely synchronize with onii-san¡¯s senses . I could feel that onii-san was very flustered before we switched, but I don¡¯t know anything about his state of mind . ¡± ¡°I see . I¡¯ve anticipated this¡­ It¡¯s just like my guess . ¡± ¡°So you guessed it . ¡± Hearing that, Lapis puffed up with just a tiny bit of pride . Loren would have said something about this, but unfortunately it was Shayna in Loren¡¯s body now, and Shayna just intently waited for her next words . After keeping her proud expression for a while, Lapis just gave up and quietly sighed . ¡°This is so difficult¡­¡± ¡°Eh? Eh? Did I make a wrong reaction just now?¡± ¡°If I make such an expression, Loren-san would interrupt and say something like ¡®I know¡¯, or ¡®don¡¯t do useless things¡¯ . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lapis-sa¡­san¡­ I-I will try harder . ¡± Shayna clenched her fists in a motivational pose; but as it was Loren¡¯s body, it looked somehow eerie . ¡°Well, it¡¯s alright . Talking about guessing, judging from the girls¡¯ reaction, I guess this is something related to libido getting out of control . ¡± ¡°Libido?¡± ¡°Think of it like a man pushing a pretty woman down and keeping at it all night, or a woman being pushed down by a handsome man and pushed back, and they grappled with each other in a mess . ¡± Lapis just wanted to give a super simple explanation to Shayna, who looked like she didn¡¯t really understand . But the question Shayna threw back at her made her face froze: ¡°Lapis-sa¡­san also wants to do that?¡± ¡°This is not the time to talk about what someone wants to do or not . ¡± Lapis couldn¡¯t answer that frank and pure question, so she changed the subject . She was furious at herself for being unable to answer it immediately and decently, but her cheeks also became hot due to the feeling of being made fun of by that question of Shayna, who was certainly younger than her in age, not to mention in race . ¡°W-well, this somehow seems to be more about lust than libido . And with the idleness and gluttony, I can kind of guess the culprit of this incident . ¡± ¡°Lapis-san, are you alright? Your face is a bit red . ¡± ¡°A-Anyway! I don¡¯t expect the villagers and soldiers to be manipulated to attack us, so let¡¯s leave this for now . ¡± With that decisive declaration and a glare from Lapis, Shayna lost the will to delve deeper into that subject and just nodded . ¡°So, let¡¯s make finding the culprit our top priority . ¡± ¡°Haa¡­ But Lapis-san, this is so difficult to say¡­¡± ¡°What is it? Even if it¡¯s difficult to say, it might be something important . Please just speak clearly!¡± As Lapis said it would be a problem if she didn¡¯t tell her something because it was difficult to, Shayna pointed to the trees and said: ¡°I think we¡¯re surrounded . ¡± ¡°Eh? You don¡¯t say¡­¡± Lapis looked around in panic . She had thought that she didn¡¯t see or hear anyone, but now she realized for the first time that the gaps between the trees were full of human figures who looked to have completely lost their senses . They were surrounding her and Shayna . ¡°I, of all people¡­¡± ¡°Sis¡­ no, Lapis-san, please hold on! Everyone makes mistakes once or twice . ¡± ¡°That tone, with that face makes me feel so exhausted¡­ No, it¡¯s alright now . Let¡¯s vent my anger on them . ¡± Lapis said, half desperate, and raised her left hand . Thinking that it was becoming more an annihilation before going forward rather than a retreat, Shayna reached for the greatsword on her back and lifted it up . Regardless of who was inside the body, Loren¡¯s well-trained arm easily raised the sword; even though she knew nothing about the techniques, Shayna thought she would be able to at least swing the sword around to defend herself against anyone coming near . ¡°Until onii-san comes back, I won¡¯t let anyone touch Lapis-san, even just a finger!¡± With a slashing sound, Shayna unsheathed the sword in one take . She was in a ready-to-fight stance when she saw the figures coming out from the trees and involuntarily gulped . Lapis was also in a fighting stance with fists clenched, and she could also sense her gulping . Human figures were coming out from the trees¡¯ shadows . There were only twenty of them, but the problem was how they dressed . ¡°Wh-what¡­¡± Lapis couldn¡¯t continue after the interrogative word . That was not unreasonable: Of all things, the ones who came out were all men and looked to be a mixed group of soldiers and villagers based on their attire, and while there were no problems about their upper bodies, they didn¡¯t wear even just a single piece of clothes on their lower bodies . In short, the things that shouldn¡¯t be seen were swinging and danging in plain sight . Even Lapis was at a loss for words due to the surprise of it, and Shayna switched to holding the greatsword with one hand while covering her eyes with the other . ¡°Lapis-san?! What on earth is happening?!¡± ¡°Even if you ask me¡­ As they¡¯re under the influence of lust, maybe to be able to go at it right away? Or maybe they come here right after doing it and don¡¯t have time to put anything on?¡± ¡°Wha-wha-wha-what should we do?! I can¡¯t fight while looking at those things!¡± Aside from being very young, Shayna had originally come from a good family; asking her to fight while seeing men¡¯s bare lower bodies was impossible . As for Lapis, her mind had already been not-calm due to the thing with Loren; now that she was suddenly presented with such a sight, she had absolutely no confidence that she could keep her composure . ¡°Let¡¯s draw back! Let¡¯s go refresh our mind and body somewhere . ¡± ¡°Roger . We¡¯ll do a strategic withdrawal!¡± It was more running away than withdrawing, but once a plan had been made, Lapis was quick to execute it . She immediately used <> to clear a corner, then grabbed Shayna¡¯s hand and ran off through that opening . Chapter 136 Chapter 136 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Lapis was running in the gloomy forest, her face faintly colored with fear . She looked over her shoulders; Loren, with a greatsword on his shoulder, was running after her, but his face was distorted with fear . It was not an expression usually seen on his face, and Lapis wondered if that was what he looked like when he felt scared . She had no references though, so she turned around again and shrugged lightly . Inside Loren¡¯s body was a girl called Shayna, and it was her who formed the body¡¯s expression . Even though it was the same body, the two of them must have felt fear in different ways; it was not certain that Loren would make the same expression Shayna had just now . ¡°Are they chasing us?¡± ¡°They are!¡± Being chased by demons was what adventurers do; that was one of the things Lapis had signed to . Being chased by soldiers and adventurers couldn¡¯t be helped as she was from the Daemon race; she had also used to that . But Lapis hadn¡¯t even expected to be chased in a forest by countless crazy, naked-from-the-waist-down men . Surely enough she didn¡¯t feel prepared at all . ¡°Why do I have to go through such a thing like this?!¡± ¡°As a daily activity?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that bad?! I strongly protest!¡± Shayna thought that shouting while running would mess up one¡¯s breathing and cause excessive tiredness but Lapis¡¯s body, with support from her demon abilities, didn¡¯t seem to be exhausted by that . Just then, a man suddenly reached out from the shade of the trees ahead and tried to block them . Lapis threw a punch at his face, coloring trunks of trees in red . ¡°It¡¯s strange that we can¡¯t shake them off, but how did they get ahead of us?!¡± ¡°Are we in a normal space now?¡± The man fell backwards . Lapis thought about adding a kick just to make sure but just gave up . No matter how high her ability was, it was still impossible to deliver a high kick towards the guy¡¯s temple while running . If she were to make a more natural kick, it would have to be a front kick, and the place such a kick hit would be his lower half body . But this man was, just like the ones who were chasing them, naked from the waist down for some reason . A front kick might hit that vital, difficult-to-mention part of him . It would be alright if he had been wearing clothes, but Lapis just couldn¡¯t imagine having her own feet come into direct contact with that thing . Anyways, Lapis asked Shayna about her grumbling: ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I think we have already been under the influence of the culprit of this strange happening, just like how onii-san has . If that¡¯s the case, maybe we¡¯ve already been trapped in some area and won¡¯t be able to get out . ¡± ¡°In short?¡± ¡°Even though we¡¯ve tried our hardest to run away, it¡¯s possible that we¡¯re actually just running in a circle . ¡± ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t it strange that we don¡¯t see the backs of our pursuers?¡± ¡°Maybe they separated and are hiding in the shades of the trees and will come out when we pass by, again and again . ¡± Lapis didn¡¯t remember the faces of each pursuer . She agreed with Shayna¡¯s idea that a fixed number of the men pretended to chase them while the others hid and came out to block them repeatedly . But if that was the case, there would arise a new problem . Lapis scratched her head in annoyance . ¡°In that case, it¡¯ll be meaningless no matter how much we run, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll run out of strength before long, and will be captured . ¡± It was easy to guess whose stamina would deplete first ¨C theirs, who just kept running single-mindedly or of those men, who hid between the trees after running for a bit . Even though Lapis had quite high stamina due to her demon heritage, it was still impossible to run away from pursuers who could take breaks while chasing her . ¡°Well then, we have no choices but to intercept them somewhere, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Or breaking free from the area we¡¯re trapped in . ¡± Neither of it was easy . One had no choice but to do what needed to be done though ¨C Lapis made up her mind . ¡°First of all, let¡¯s deal with our pursuers . ¡± ¡°I have no confidence about it, but I¡¯ll try¡­ Ah . ¡± Shayna stopped in the middle of the sentence . Thinking there was some problem, Lapis looked over her shoulders and saw Shayna pressing at her temples . Her expression changed from innocent and childlike to stern and bloodthirsty . ¡°If it¡¯s that kind of work¡­ I¡¯ll take charge of it!¡± Instead of Shayna¡¯s unfamiliar tone, the tone of voice that reached Lapis¡¯ ears was familiar . ¡°Loren-san?!¡± He had stopped as his expression changed . Lapis saw their pursuers approaching him from behind and raised her voice in warning . But Loren had already raised his greatsword with both hands and swung it around with a roar . The blade cut deeply into the trees around them and slightly into the torso of the approaching man without stopping . The body was slashed into two, blood and flesh spread around . Seeing the clothed upper half body being cut off from the naked lower half body, the pursuers didn¡¯t even flinch . They started leaping at Loren with the momentum of their run . But trying to grab at Loren, who was wielding a sword, while they were barehanded, was just a mad attempt . ¡°Come on!¡± Loren slashed the sword upwards and cut one of the men into two from crotch to head in a straight line . He pulled the sword back and split another man into two again, from head to crotch this time . The two severed parts of the corpse slowly fell to left and right while Loren emerged in the middle, leaning forward with a violent shake while being showered in blood . Thinking that Loren¡¯s losing his stance was a good opportunity, the other men rushed in with increased vigor . But despite the unstable stance, he still swung the greatsword with his right hand; those on the path of his blade have their upper body torn off, making the cross-section of their bodies visible . The bodies were cut into halves and fell away . New fountains of blood spayed in the air and Loren, having lost his balance, fell to his knees . Lapis rushed up to him, but he raised a hand to stop her . ¡°Loren! You¡¯re still under its effect¡­ This is not good, please change places with Shayna!¡± It seemed like Loren¡¯s mind was still being influenced by some force hiding in this forest . Lapis immediately realized that in order to fight, he had forcibly used the battle¡¯s tension to trick himself . If this continued, his mind would be deeply affected by this phenomenon . But he ignored Lapis¡¯ advice and didn¡¯t switch places with Shayna . ¡°I can¡¯t let someone who¡¯s not used to killing, kill . Unlike magic and such, the feeling stays on your hands . ¡± No matter how inhuman an existence she had now become, Shayna had originally been a very young girl . No matter how desperate the situation was, making such a young girl feel the blade cutting through flesh and bones and smell the stench of blood was¡­ And Loren could still remember the repulsion he had felt when taking away another person¡¯s life with his own hands . ¡°Leave it to me . I will try to keep my sanity until it all ends . ¡± ¡°And after it all ends¡­¡± ¡°If I become mad, run . Or¡­¡± Loren took a quick glance at Lapis¡¯ face, then immediately returned his eyes to the enemies in front of them and fixed his grip on the sword . ¡°Deal with me in any way suitable then . I won¡¯t hold any grudges, I think . ¡± ¡°Such things¡­¡± Lapis wanted to say that she wouldn¡¯t be able to do that, but before the words came out, Loren had stepped forward . He swung the sword that had been resting on his shoulder downwards, and the head that received its direct hit was crushed into pieces and scatter in all directions . Loren cluck his tongue at that . He had been able to cut one man into half with a single stroke of his sword before, but now he could only smash them . This meant he wasn¡¯t in good shape, and couldn¡¯t control his mind or body as he wanted . Loren had realized that he had just used brute force to smash the head rather than slicing it . The headless body was still standing and swaying on the same spot as if it couldn¡¯t be stopped . Loren gave it a kick and turned his eyes to another prey . But he could feel his vision flickered for a moment, and grinned his teeth . Breathing in the air thick with the stench of blood and mixed with that sickeningly sweet scent made Loren¡¯s consciousness turn hazy . [¡®Onii-san! Don¡¯t overdo it and just switch with me, please!¡¯] Shayna spoke to him, but he didn¡¯t pay it attention . He asked her for a favor instead: Using Energy Drain, the ability of a King of the Death, to supply him with power . Shayna didn¡¯t question what he planned to do; she just immediately sucked up magic power and life force from the pursuers and the trees and poured it into Loren . Feeling the power flowing into himself, Loren tried to drag out the sensation caused by the phenomenon, something he hadn¡¯t been able to do by himself . ¡°It doesn¡¯t even sway at this level¡­ It just coats over the fight in my head . ¡± As if to give himself a hint, Loren only focused on the enemies swarming before his eyes and the greatsword he was holding . Right now, only these two things were important; nothing else was . He drove all other thoughts out of his mind and only focused on fighting . ¡°I won¡¯t¡­ . let you do it!¡± In a corner of Loren¡¯s roaring mind, the feeling resurrected . Something clicked and Loren, feeling the clinking sound of it, lifted the corners of his mouth to form a ferocious smile . Chapter 137 Chapter 137 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul With a roar, Loren crushed to pieces several trees as thick as adults¡¯ necks with a single slash of the sword . While wood blocks danced in the air, their pursuers¡¯ bodies became chunks of meat and red droplets that fell to the ground . Loren dashed through them with a terrifying smile etched on his face . He was not that fast, but the brute strength of it made even Lapis shudder . It would be understandable had he only cut through them; his sword was sturdy and sharp enough . It would still require unconventional strength, but it was still under comprehensible category . But instead Loren had just smashed several trees to bits . It showed how exceptional the weight of the weapon as well as the strength of its wielder was . It was beyond Lapis¡¯ understanding . ¡°This is¡­¡± Lapis had witnessed Loren being like this multiple times so far . It was a kind of rampage where he went berserk as if his shackles had suddenly been removed, then lost consciousness like a suddenly-snapped thread . The more immense the power was, the bigger impact Loren¡¯s body received . He usually ended up in the hospital afterwards . For a moment, Lapis wondered if this was a poor choice . No matter how powerful the attack was, it was a useless ability if he couldn¡¯t fight continuously and had to pull back . But at the same time, Lapis could think of another possibility, and it might have been the best; she immediately changed her mind . It could be said that the situation was getting worse and worse . The soldiers that had gone with them into the forest had been wiped out almost completely, and the ones who had brought this to them, Klaus¡¯ party, had been incapacitated . Moreover, the missing villagers and soldiers had lost their minds and were chasing them in a disgusting-beyond-words state . She couldn¡¯t think of any good outcome if things went on like this . But if Loren had to pull back, they could use it as an excuse to run away from this place . Of course, there was still the problem of dealing with their pursuers in order to be able to run away, but the rampaging Loren had almost finished with that . As for the problem about being trapped in some weird space as Shayna had feared, once they didn¡¯t have to worry about the pursuers anymore, Lapis was confident that she could manage it somehow . So, letting Loren continue to run wild, then carrying him and quickly escaping once he had lost consciousness was not bad . In the current situation, Loren going berserk was not as bad as the worst scenario . Lapis watched Loren¡¯s back with some concerns . He had leapt right into the midst of the enemies, and was smashing them down together with the trees . She was worried that Loren would use up his strength before the enemies¡¯ number decreased, but Lapis had prepared herself for the worst . She would deal with the remaining pursuers then, and give those half-naked men some flying kicks right at their lower bodies . If Loren knew of her resolution, he would just scoff ¡®It¡¯s your prosthetic legs!¡¯ . But from Lapis¡¯ point of view, whether prosthetic or not, it was still connected to her body and was still her own legs that she used . To touch something, one didn¡¯t want to touch, some resolution was needed after all . While Lapis was gathering her determination, Loren was turning their pursuers into meat chunks one by one . His greatsword smashed down trees and bodies alike just like a storm . Loren moved in the center of that storm, wrecking destruction on his surroundings . Lapis watched him, and noticed something a bit strange after a while . Loren¡¯s rampage normally didn¡¯t last this long . This kind of rampage continuously and viciously consumed a lot of Loren¡¯s various strengths, from physical strength to magic and mental strength . The price for such power was immense, but this rampage Loren was displaying seemed to last longer than usual . ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why . ¡± The reason for it suddenly struck Lapis . It was the existence of Shayna inside Loren . Shayna, who possessed the abilities of the No Life King, was making free use of <>, a spell peculiar to the undead . It enabled her to steal power from living creatures in her surroundings and poured it into someone else . Lapis had taught Loren self-boosting spells before, but he had never been able to use them for an extended period because the amount of magic power his body had, was too little . To make up for this shortcoming, Loren had thought of a solution: asking Shayna to use <> to prolong the spells . This helped Loren be able to use strength boost for quite a long time by continuously consuming magic . Lapis realized that it could also be used for rampages . With this, Loren¡¯s rampage would not stop as long as there were still living things around him . No matter how much power he used, he would not lose consciousness . He would eventually stop when the power consumed exceeded the power supplied, but as things were now, no one knew when that would happen . ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then this is problematic . ¡± Lapis sounded impatient . Loren¡¯s rampage was a phenomenon that brought about great backlash to Loren himself . It hadn¡¯t become too bad because his power would run out before anything too serious could happen, and he would lose consciousness . But now, because of Shayna¡¯s <>, his power would not run out that easily . His rampage would continue on, and he would continue to fight for a long time . Until now, he had always ended up in the hospitals after shorter rampages . How much worse would the backlash to his body be after a longer one? Lapis couldn¡¯t predict it, but there was no doubt that Loren would sustain more damages than ever . She feared that if he was unlucky, he might even receive some fatal damage that he would have to deal with for the rest of his life . She had to stop him ¨C Lapis didn¡¯t take much time to make that decision . If she let him continue to fight like this, his body would definitely fail . ¡°Loren! Don¡¯t do it! Please stop fighting!¡± If it could be stopped by words, it wouldn¡¯t be a rampage . Lapis knew it was impossible, but she still tried with words first . Loren¡¯s movements didn¡¯t falter at all . In that case, violence would be the only way to stop him . That led to another problem though: if she wanted to, she had the confidence and power to kill Loren . Only her arms had been returned, but compared to when all of her limbs had been prosthetics, she was now able to use considerably powerful magic again . Despite Loren being a capable mercenary, despite the armor being a gift from an Elder, despite his weapon being something Lapis had brought her from her hometown, she still believed she could overpower him . But she couldn¡¯t afford to kill Loren here . In the first place, the purpose of her fighting him was to stop him before his body failed; if he died because of their fight, then everything would be meaningless . On the other hand, she also knew very well that he was not an opponent she could go easy on or just try to immobilize . Normally, he was below her level, but he could still retaliate . Now, in the midst of a rampage, his combat ability had increased . The only saving grace was, Loren was not in the condition where he could fight with a perfectly clear mind . If he had been, with his experiences in combat, Lapis might suffer an embarrassing defeat at some unexpected point . ¡°Let¡¯s prepare to give each other some injuries, shall we?¡± She wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain Loren without hurting him, but she didn¡¯t think she would be unscathed either . Lapis wrapped both arms in magic and used spells to enhance her strength . Lapis had wondered if she should use some weapons against Loren, who was still swinging his greatsword and mass-producing corpses, but she felt that using subpar weapons would give her disadvantage instead, so she decided to face him bare-handed . And it was probably unlike that Loren had a lot of experience fighting with bare-handed opponents . After all, it was not strange to associate standing barehanded before a greatsword-wielding Loren with death . There was no experience to gain from fighting someone that got killed immediately, so she believed that he was not used to fighting bare-handed enemies . Also, an unrestrained Lapis could still easily kill a man even barehanded . ¡°Loren! That¡¯s enough already . Please stop!¡± The number of their pursuers had dropped to near zero at that time . Smashed wood blocks and human remains had covered the ground and around them, trees had been cleared from an area as large as a public square . In such a setting, Lapis rushed straight towards Loren while raising her voice . The gross state of the ground under her feet didn¡¯t slow her down at all . She stepped on chunks of wood and lumps of meat alike, scattering them around . The Loren she confronted wasn¡¯t in a normal state . Lapis spread her arms, kicking at the various things under her feet while running; magic could be seen like a shimmering heat haze around them . Right in front of her was Loren, who held his sword high above his head and swung downwards with great force, as if he didn¡¯t care about defense at all . Lapis felt a little worried about being attacked by Loren . A sane Loren would probably never, ever do such a thing . But in addition to him going berserk, Lapis had now directed hostility towards Loren to attract his attention; it couldn¡¯t be helped that he now considered her an enemy . She told herself to be patient until she could stop the fight while crossing both arms over her head to receive the sword¡¯s blow and stop it . As the blade crashed against her protective magic and sparks of fire rose up, Lapis felt the strength of the blow she had somehow stopped, and involuntarily gulped . In her current condition, she could probably stop a blow from a sliver rank adventurer with just one arm . But Loren¡¯s attack, which she had stopped with both her arms, had not only stopped her track but had even pushed her back two or three steps while scraping off her magical protection . Lapis had expected this, but she was still surprised . Of course, she was not in top condition herself, and she had to go somewhat easier so that she didn¡¯t kill him . Still, she was a demon, and it was unexpected for a human to be able to make her switch to defense . But Loren¡¯s blow wasn¡¯t something that can be blocked with just one arm, and she had to use both instead . ¡°How unexpected, Loren . ¡± Lapis said with admiration . She was still good: no matter how powerful Loren¡¯s blow was, she still had managed to catch it . It would be a simple strength contest from now on, she thought . If she pushed using her strength, she could easily incapacitate him . That was why when Loren began putting even more strength into the sword, surprise was clearly shown on Lapis¡¯ face . ¡°No way¡­ I can¡¯t push him away?¡± They were in a strange state where Lapis¡¯ arms and Loren¡¯s sword were crashing against each other . Lapis tried to push the sword away, but she could feel the blade pressing at her instead . She planted her feet on the ground and braced herself, but she was being pushed back little by little . She once again looked at the swordsman called Loren before her with surprise . ¡°Loren¡­ You really¡­¡± On the other side of her arms and the greatsword was Loren¡¯s face; he probably had no self-awareness . If she lost focus even just a little, she would easily be blown away, or fell to her knees due to the pressure . She stared at that face and muttered with fear . Chapter 138 Chapter 138 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Lapis knew that Loren¡¯s black greatsword had been granted some special abilities . She didn¡¯t know all of them, but she knew that one was the offensive power against magic . In short, Loren could defend against and intercept magic attacks with that sword . Lapis had never thought that there would come a day when she found that ability so reproachful . ¡°This is quite dangerous . ¡± The blade of that greatsword was currently right above Lapis¡¯ head . Her magic-coated arms were protecting her against it, but the sword was cutting into the protective magic layer by layer . In addition to the weight of the sword and the strength put into it, the pressure of the blade pushed down on Lapis and made her unable to move . She tried to push back but couldn¡¯t at all, as the strength of a berserk Loren surpassed that of Lapis, who was trying to keep her power in check . If she didn¡¯t handle this well and let herself continue to be pushed like this, it was not unlikely that the blade would split her head . Lapis had to give Loren¡¯s true strength an upward revision . Of course, Lapis had no plans to just obediently let her head be split, so she switched to a more powerful spell and loaded a large amount of magic into her arms . This stopped the blade from cutting into the magic layer and began to push it back . Loren didn¡¯t seem surprised at that . During a rampage, his mind only thought about fighting; there was no room for surprise . Instead, he pulled the sword back and struck down on Lapis¡¯ head again in a second, even more powerful blow . If Lapis received it directly, she didn¡¯t know if she would be pushed back this time . So, she gave up defending and used her magic-clad right arm to fend the blade off . She could still feel the weight of the blow, but was able to dodge the sword as planned . Making use of the opportunity, she stepped into Loren¡¯s space . ¡°It¡¯ll hurt somewhat, but please bear with me!¡± A dull pain coursed through the right arm she had used to ward off the blade earlier . It probably couldn¡¯t be used properly in this state ¨C Lapis gave up and extended her left hand to hit Loren¡¯s torso . At the same time, she forcefully stomped her right foot and let the impact run through her body while twisting to amplify it . She let the force pass from her shoulder to her left arm, then struck Loren . Lapis¡¯ palm strike was loaded with enough power to break a normal man¡¯s ribs and if it was taken directly, to make him writhe in pain . Loren didn¡¯t put up any defense, so that was what she had expected . ¡°This¡­¡± But after that decisive blow, Lapis immediately jumped backwards to gain some distance and cautiously stood in a fighting stance while scowling at Loren . Her strike had contained enough power to make an ordinary man faint, but the sensation from her palm had told her that the force hadn¡¯t struck Loren at all . ¡°I know that an armor gifted by the Elder, the highest ranking vampire, must have its own defensive power, but I didn¡¯t think that it¡¯ll be this strong . ¡± Lapis¡¯ blow had hit the leather jacket Loren was wearing . This jacket was a reward from a being called Elder, the highest ranking vampire in their previous mission . It was made from three layers of Pegasus hide, with ultrafine chain mail and shock absorbent materials inserted in between . It had nullified Lapis¡¯ moderated blow . ¡°Isn¡¯t it too effective?!¡± Lapis complained in a scream . But the berserk Loren didn¡¯t understand her circumstances at all, and didn¡¯t take a break from his attacking frenzy . He hadn¡¯t received any damages from Lapis¡¯ blow and immediately went for a counterattack . His blade came in at a wind-cutting speed, and Lapis twisted her body to dodge it . ¡°No, really, I¡¯ve come to not wanting to become your enemy, Loren . In a lot of ways . ¡± Lapis muttered while looking at Loren, who immediately pulled the sword back after that strike and returned to his assured stance . Be it emotion-wise or ability-wise, Loren had become someone Lapis didn¡¯t want to make an enemy of . That didn¡¯t mean this battle could end here though . ¡°Really, what should I do now? What a pain . ¡± A pursuer whom Loren had missed killing earlier crept up on Lapis from behind without notice . But his head suddenly shot up into the air, and it was Lapis who had hurled it away . Thanks to the spells, she now had the stamina and attack power to kill normal humans with ease, yet it didn¡¯t work with Loren . As his ally, she would think that his armor being able to nullify her attack was a good thing . But in the case where she had to stop his rampage like this, Lapis just wanted to spew venom at the so-called Elder that had given Loren the armor . But there was only Loren in front of her now, so there was no one to direct the venom at . ¡°If things go wrong, do I need to be ready to kill you¡­?¡± Lapis wasn¡¯t willing to . But if she wasn¡¯t prepared to do it, she herself might be in danger; the rampaging Loren did have the power to endanger her . ¡°There is¡­ no other choice! If you die, please don¡¯t blame me!¡± An unprecedented amount of magic surged up from Lapis¡¯ arms . Unlike the heat haze from before, it burst into a flaming white light while her ponytail and priest robe fluttered . The earth and wood blocks under her feet were blown away . Her eyes shone with violet light as if they were artificial . Her face, which usually emitted a calm aura, now carried a stern and razor-sharp look . Loren didn¡¯t seem faltered at her changes at all; he just rested his greatsword on one shoulder . Lapis expected the blow he would strike next to be stronger than ever . She clenched both of her fists, ready to catch it directly and crush the blade . ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Loren will be the first opponent I fight in earnest with!¡± It was not that bad, Lapis thought and laughed . In contrast, Loren just kept silent . Even the part of his mind that had originally been reserved for conversation now only focused on the fight . He charged forward without so much as a battle cry . Lapis had raised her fists, ready to rush in to meet Loren¡¯s strike when something so golden that it was almost white suddenly blocked her vision . ¡°What?¡± Lapis reflexively stopped, but Loren didn¡¯t . He charged on without losing momentum, but when he was still a distance away from Lapis, he suddenly stopped and flopped down to the ground . Lapis didn¡¯t think that he had used up his strength . From his state, she could see that he was still able to go on for quite a while . He would have exhausted his strength much earlier had Shayna stopped supplying him with power . Basically, it seemed like Shayna didn¡¯t try to look at the outside world while she synced with Loren¡¯s senses . She had answered Lapis¡¯ call earlier because Lapis had touched Loren¡¯s body and directly addressed her . If one spoke normally, it almost never reached Shayna . Whatever it was, Lapis turned her eyes to the being that had interrupted her vision for a moment . Appearing right between Lapis and Loren was a woman with almost-white blond hair, which she let flow freely down her back . A bright red tube top hugged her voluptuous chest, and the hotpants she was wearing fully exposed her belly while barely reaching her thighs . She was quite tall, and her line of sight was somewhat higher than Lapis¡¯ . She looked down on Lapis and immediately grinned . ¡°It¡¯s been a while, hasn¡¯t it? Do you remember me?¡± Strange quirky tone, frank aura . And above all, the purple eyes that were looking at her . Lapis did remember . ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Eh? Why is your aura different from last time? Are you getting serious? Being two-faced is so cool! Or something like that?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not like that!¡± As Lapis unintentionally blushed and raised her voice in protest, her tone returned to normal . ¡°Oh, you changed back? It was you being serious, right? Well, whatever is fine, I guess?¡± The woman facing her totally suited the word ¡°grinning¡± . Lapis muttered her name with a weary and confused tone . ¡°Gula Gluttony, the Evil God of Gluttony¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me Gula-chan?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I will address you so intimately . ¡± Seeing Lapis being so guarded, Gula looked a bit sad . It was not the kind of sadness that came from the bottom of one¡¯s heart; Lapis knew it was just for show . ¡°I¡¯m sad . I¡¯ve gone through the trouble to help you, and yet¡­¡± ¡°Help?¡± ¡°That boyfriend of yours . Loren, isn¡¯t it? He seems strange, so I help a bit . ¡± Lapis¡¯ eyes widened slightly at Gula¡¯s words . She had even had to make up her mind to face the berserk Loren, but this evil God had quietly and easily neutralized him . Lapis couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised . ¡°How the hell did you¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a s-e-c-r-e-t . If you are friendlier to me, I¡¯ll tell you, but¡­ You, what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s Lapis . I¡¯m a priest . ¡± ¡°Priest?! Are you lying? Huh, what a strange child . ¡± Gula said, a hand on her forehead as if she was recalling something . Lapis relaxed her stance and asked while still keeping an alert eye on Gula . ¡°What did you come here for?¡± The woman called Gula standing before Lapis looked like a normal human but bore the same eye color of demons . She was a being called an evil god, and had even been sealed . Lapis had asked, thinking that such beings would never come for nothing . But Gula kept silent for a while, then turned her eyes towards Lapis and clapped . ¡°You see, I said before that I wouldn¡¯t forget Loren¡¯s favor, didn¡¯t I? If you get into any trouble, I¡¯ll help . ¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the reason you¡¯re standing here? That¡¯s the reason you came?¡± Gula claimed that she had somehow known that Loren was in a dilemma after seeing him going berserk, and had come to intervene . There was nothing wrong with that; whether it was trustworthy or not was a different story though . But it didn¡¯t explain why Gula had come to this forest . ¡°A too-smart child is not very charming, you know?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be discouraged that easily, so please stop . ¡± Lapis¡¯ shoulders drooped miserably . Gula seemed to find it amusing and laughed loudly . She stopped after a while and wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes . ¡°Actually, I sensed the presence of an old acquaintance around here . So I wondered if I should come to collect them . ¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect much, but it seems like I¡¯ve succeeded in attracting their attention somehow . ¡± Gula licked her lips and turned her eyes to their surroundings . Noticing her glance, Lapis once again got back into a fighting stance . From the shade of the trees outside the area Loren had wrecked destruction upon, a fresh group of human figures began to appear one by one as if they had been lying in wait . Chapter 139 Chapter 139 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Hah, unsavory things are swarming out . ¡± Gula grinned and said it in an easy tone . But Lapis, who had come to crouch down besides Loren, stiffened once she saw the newly-appeared figures . The ones who had attacked them earlier had looked and acted strangely, but they had still appeared to be normal villagers and soldiers . But the ones surrounding them now looked abnormal right from their appearances . ¡°Why are they all stark naked?!¡± It was not unreasonable at all for Lapis to scream . The ones coming out from behind the trees were all muscular men . As Lapis screamed out, they all undressed, as if they agreed upon this beforehand . They had bloodshot eyes, which were all locked on Gula and Lapis, and their breathing got heavier . ¡°I hate this¡­ Loren, do something about this please¡­¡± Lapis began smacking the unconscious Loren¡¯s head, but of course, he didn¡¯t respond at this . ¡°Now wait, he doesn¡¯t wake up . Is that alright?¡± ¡°Hm? Uhm? Is that so?¡± Gula¡¯s laid-back expression didn¡¯t change at all despite being surrounded by naked men . She looked as if she didn¡¯t notice them . After humming for a while, Gula seemed to be unable to come to a conclusion about whatever she was thinking and simply turned around, walked to Loren¡¯s side, and lightly poked at him with her toes . ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s fine . He¡¯s still alive . ¡± Being poked by Gula¡¯s toes, Loren¡¯s body moved slightly . As Gula had said, it was proof that he was still alive, and Lapis felt relieved for the time being . ¡°Now wait, this is not the time to feel relieved!¡± ¡°Right, why do they leave it dangling like that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say dangling and such, please!¡± Lapis had tried to not pay attention, but once it had been described like that, she couldn¡¯t help but be conscious of the men and their dangling things . Wouldn¡¯t it be much more refreshing if she just burned down the whole forest? But before Lapis could be swayed by that dangerous thought, Gula stopped poking Loren and walked towards the men in a nothing-worth-being-so-cautious-about gait . ¡°Gula?!¡± ¡°You take some rest . I¡¯ll be a proper partner to these¡­¡± One of the men grabbed Gula¡¯s shoulder while she was speaking . Before she could do anything, he pushed her to the ground with all his strength . At the sight of blond hair suddenly spreading on the earth, Lapis half rose up to come and help, but Gula waved a hand to stop her . ¡°It¡¯s alright it¡¯s alright . I¡¯m doing quite well, aren¡¯t I?¡± Gula said, but the man was still keeping a hand on her shoulder . A smile that Lapis didn¡¯t want to see at all appeared on his face, and he lifted his leg to straddle Gula . ¡°How dirty¡­ I might even lose my appetite . ¡± Gula looked at the naked man straddling her and said; she didn¡¯t even try to get up . The words didn¡¯t reach the man¡¯s ears, of course . However, in the next moment, the upper half of the man¡¯s body suddenly vanished . ¡°What the hell just¡­?¡± Even Lapis could only see his upper half body disappearing . The remaining lower half body kept the leg-raised posture for a short while . But before long, blood poured out from the cross-section, and it also vanished while falling to the ground . ¡°I wanted to try eating that . Tasted bad though . ¡± Gula sat up . The naked men were still surrounding them . They leapt at Gula as if they hadn¡¯t seen the other man vanishing at all . ¡°So it¡¯s fine if I keep you company?¡± Not even bothered to be on guard, Gula stood up . At the same time, the upper half bodies of the numerous men leaping at her vanished without any warning just like the man earlier . Their lower half bodies also vanished after that, but the remaining men didn¡¯t falter whatsoever . ¡°I¡¯m not picky, but it¡¯ll be nicer if what I eat tastes good . ¡± A man was coming at Gula with his arms wide open as if to embrace her . Both arms vanished starting from the shoulders, displaying two neat cross-sections . The force of blood shooting out combined with the loss of balance due to losing his arms made him fall to the ground . Then his head vanished, then his upper body vanished, and finally his lower half body vanished . The men rushing at Lapis also had body parts vanishing here and there, as if they had been gouged out . In the end, they all disappeared without leaving a trace in the world . ¡°What is¡­ happening?¡± ¡°Hhm? Even you can¡¯t see?¡± Gula waved her right hand in the empty space . Lapis strained her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t see what had erased those macho men from this world . ¡°What¡­ is this¡­¡± ¡°Loren?!¡± Hearing the voice beside her, Lapis reflexively touched Loren¡¯s arm . Since he had fallen face down, he still lied on the ground . He slightly opened his eyes and let out a groan . ¡°Are you alright?! Can you move?!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ What happened¡­?¡± Loren lifted his head . He placed his hands on the ground to lift himself up but couldn¡¯t, as if there was no strength in his arms . Noticing that, Lapis turned him to a face-up position and helped him sit up . ¡°You suddenly collapsed . Did something happen?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . I suddenly lost all my strength¡­ When I came to, I was on the ground¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, I took a bite at you . ¡± Gula made a praying gesture with her left hand while waving her right hand . Just that, and the upper half body of the naked man rushing at Lapis from behind vanished without a sound or any piece of scattered meat . Before blood could even spurt out from his lower half body, it also disappeared abruptly at a wave of Gula¡¯s hand . ¡°Loren, can you see anything?¡± ¡°This¡­ is it Shayna¡¯s vision? I can kind of see¡­ a lot of huge mouths . ¡± Loren, who still couldn¡¯t move and was being held sitting up by Lapis, could see things that look like gigantic transparent mouths flying about Gula . They leapt into the air at Gula¡¯s signals and bit the attacking men . As for where in the world the eaten bodies disappeared to, he had no clue . This information was hard to get from his vision . However, as Gula was controlling the mouths, it was natural to think that the bodies were being digested somewhere connected to her . ¡°How can you see it? Ah, the one inside helped you, right? That¡¯s quite a being, to be able to see my < > . ¡± Gula signalled for the flying transparent mouths to come back . They gathered around her at her command and snapped their teeth while Loren stared at them . ¡°I used this mouth to eat delicious things, but it¡¯s hard to fill my stomach with it . ¡± Gula pointed at her own lips with an index finger . She licked it with a loud slurp, then turned her clouded gaze to the remaining naked men . They didn¡¯t falter even after receiving gaze, but Lapis shuddered . She had noticed that Gula was looking at them not as on humans but as on something close to livestock, something to eat . ¡°Well, I have lots of mouths, but when I don¡¯t want to use my own mouth, I¡¯ll use these Predators . The taste won¡¯t bother me as much, and I can still fill my stomach . ¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ From what you said, those mouths that I can¡¯t see are linked to your stomach?¡± Lapis asked somewhat hesitantly, and Gula nodded easily . ¡°That¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°Do you¡­ eat humans?¡± Hearing that question from Lapis, Gula folded her arms and tilted her head in puzzlement . Around them, attacked by invisible mouths, the men¡¯s bodies were being gouging out bit by bit until they disappeared . ¡°But Lapis-chan, you do it too? You also eat animals¡¯ meat, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That, well¡­¡± ¡°For me, I don¡¯t see any difference between animals¡¯ meat and these guys¡¯ meat, aside from the taste . ¡± Gula said and caught the remaining arm of a man, who had vanished while rushing at her, before it could fall to the ground . She held it by the wrist and took a bite at the shoulder part . With blood smeared around her mouth, Gula chewed a couple of times, then immediately spit out the mix of blood and gnawed meat . ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste nice . Good enough to fill the stomach though . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Evil God of Gluttony¡­¡± Lapis muttered with tension . Gula threw the severed arm away and wiped her blood-stained mouth . ¡°That name is a bit too much now, isn¡¯t it?¡± Probably because they had gone crazy, the slaughtered men didn¡¯t scream at all . And even when they had been killed, their bodies were immediately consumed by Gula¡¯s Predators, leaving nothing behind . It was almost one-sided . And on the face of Gula, the one who was devouring them, was quite a happy, if not unpleasant smile . Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul The atmosphere changed right after that . Lapis was holding Loren up and watching Gula¡¯s massacre unfold when she noticed the change and reflexively tightened her hold on Loren . ¡°¡­Do you want to strangle me to death?¡± ¡°S-sorry . But¡­¡± ¡°Seems like something is coming . That smell is¡­ getting stronger . ¡± The smell Loren mentioned was the sweet scent that was making him lose his mind, and probably was what had stolen the soldiers¡¯ and villagers¡¯ awareness . It had suddenly become stronger . ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to make me unconscious now before it¡¯s too late?¡± Feeling that his senses were going hazy again, Loren prompted Lapis . Lethargy attacked his whole body, his awareness flickered, and he lost the ability to move . But if he did something strange or blurted out something weird while being held by Lapis, he would mentally die later . Hearing Loren¡¯s proposal, Lapis looked down at him with a troubled expression . He was in a quite battered state now . Even though it hadn¡¯t come to anything fatal due to Gula stopping in the mid of his rampage, the backlash had definitely caused damage to his body . ¡°But in this state, just a single blow might kill you, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°How come the first thing you think of is knocking me out?¡± If it was only to make him unconscious, a <> spell would be sufficient; there was no need for a blow . Even though Loren¡¯s magic resistance was high, if he himself didn¡¯t wish to resist it, magic could work on him with no problem . ¡°You want me to use a sleeping spell?¡± ¡°Can I ask you to? I feel like it¡¯ll become dangerous if I continue like this . ¡± Loren just wanted to quickly fall unconscious before he could do anything strange . But Gula came and placed her palm on his forehead before anyone could notice . ¡°Hey?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving back what I bit off before, plus a bit of interest . ¡± Gula¡¯s hand clutched at Loren¡¯s forehead lightly . From that hand, Loren felt something he couldn¡¯t comprehend pour into his body . He immediately tried to shake her hand off, but Gula didn¡¯t let go and held on tight with a strength that made Loren unable to move even his neck . ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Heh, all done . Don¡¯t you feel more comfortable?¡± Gula smiled cheerfully and quickly let go of Loren, who was still trying to rise up even though his strength was no match for hers . He wanted to complain, but immediately noticed the changes in his body and swallowed the words down . The fatigue he had been feeling since Gula showing up had disappeared, and he didn¡¯t feel the haze in his mind whenever he inhaled that sweet scent anymore . ¡°I munched on you a bit when you were going berserk to make you behave . I¡¯ve just returned it, and I¡¯ve also enhanced your resistance to the phenomenon happening in this place . ¡± Still keeping his eyes on Gula¡¯s smiling face, Loren got up from Lapis¡¯ arms . The pain has receded completely and his mind cleared up . The feeling of sickness and fatigue vanished from his body . ¡°Are you alright, Loren?¡± Lapis asked, as she followed Loren and stood back up . He silently nodded . He didn¡¯t really understand what Gula meant by munching on him, but he guessed it was about his stamina and life force . She had taken away some of them to stop his rampage . Her returning that force back to him was conceivable, but he couldn¡¯t understand her intention of enhancing his resistance . ¡°What the hell are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Right, I wonder how will things progress from here? Well, in the worst case, I have returned enough stamina for you to run away . The aftertaste will be bad though . ¡± ¡°Aftertaste?¡± Lapis wanted to clarify Gula¡¯s remark, but she didn¡¯t elaborate any further . Her gaze turned away from them to somewhere beyond the remaining naked men . ¡°Since the scent has become this heavy, you must be over there . ¡± ¡°Gula-chan¡­ I feel so sad . ¡± Hearing the voice, Loren frowned in confusion . Lapis¡¯ eyes widened, and she looked around restlessly, as if she had become suspicious of something . ¡°I¡¯ve just woken up and spread my love around here, you know . Seeing my lovely captives being gobbled down like that makes me really sad . ¡± [What love?] Loren wondered while his sixth sense, cultivated through countless battles, rang a spectacular alarm bell in a corner of his mind . The speaking manner was similar to one of an aged woman, who could be found in a tavern or brothel . Yet no matter how much his brain refused to accept it, the deep voice seemed to belong a man . ¡°Hey Lapis, is there something wrong with my hearing? Somehow I hear a man¡¯s voice¡­¡± ¡°Loren, your hearing is probably alright . Because I also heard a man¡¯s voice . ¡± Gula¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift . Seeing the figure slowly come out from behind the naked man, Loren unthinkingly fixed his grip on his greatsword, and Lapis clung to his arm as if she was hugging it . ¡°Love¡­ It¡¯s beautiful yet ugly, fleeting yet powerful, fragile yet strong¡­ And, without a doubt, has faults . ¡± The naked men made Loren feel extremely unpleasant, but if he were to be asked who was more unpleasant, them or the newly-appeared figure, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer right away . The newcomer was that kind of existence . First of all, the height was taller than that of the naked men by two heads . The hair gleamed glossily as if it was combed through with some kind of oil . And the face was, unmistakably, the chiseled face of a man, with a small mustache and a cleft chin . Shifting his gaze downward, Loren saw a neck as thick as the waist of a woman . Further below was a brawny torso packed with muscles that was, for some reason, straining in a black mesh shirt . ¡°Ugh¡­ Blergh¡­¡± Perhaps because the sight was so shocking, Lapis began to get sick while still clinging to Loren¡¯s arm . He rubbed her back and shifted his gaze further down . His eyes met a pair of tight leather pants hanging so low that they could barely be called low-rise . The muscles squeezed into those pants made the legs¡¯ outline clearly visible . Moreover, he could clearly see a very noticeable bulge in the middle . Unwilling to believe what he had seen so far, Loren turned his gaze back to the face . ¡°Really?¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I can feel a very hot gaze on me . Have I charmed you, dear boy?¡± If this was a mental attack, then the sweet scent from earlier was no match for it; Loren thought with a shudder . He began to think that he probably would have gone crazy right here if he hadn¡¯t received that resistance power from Gula . ¡°It¡¯s understandable . Everybody yearns for this attractive body of mine after all . ¡± ¡°No, I think you¡¯re so gross that he¡¯s become immobile due to the mental damage . Look at the priestess next to him . She¡¯s trying so hard to not vomit, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Ah, forgive my rudeness . It¡¯s alright, cute priestess . I¡­ swing both ways, you know . ¡± Lapis screamed and hid behind Loren . Loren, despite being used as a shield, was also filled with the desire to run away from this place as soon as possible, but he couldn¡¯t . In addition to the revolting feeling for the being in front of him, Loren could also feel the heavy pressure of facing another entity similar to Gula, a so-called Evil God . If he didn¡¯t play well here, an easy escape wouldn¡¯t be a choice at all . ¡°Stop making heart eyes, you idiot . What the hell are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to build a love nest . ¡± ¡°What love nest? You just call people here with no discrimination at all . It¡¯s started to become a big mess, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll welcome anyone who gathers here . I¡¯m a philanthropist . ¡± Loren desperately tried to control the nausea brought about by all the wriggling muscles and asked Gula: ¡°H-hey, what the hell is that¡­?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve understood somewhat, haven¡¯t you? I don¡¯t really want to admit it, but he and I are the same kind . ¡± ¡°Now, excuse me, but what do you mean by ¡®don¡¯t really want to admit¡¯? Being jealous of my beauty, are you Envy?¡± ¡°Have you gone senile while sleeping? I¡¯m Gluttony . And you are Lust . ¡± Hearing that the muscle head who used feminine speech in front of them was an Evil God, and of Lust no less, both Loren and Lapis stiffened up . Paying no mind to their reaction, Gula continued her explanation: ¡°Luxuria Lusterity, Evil God of Lust . He¡¯s a queen who calls himself a philanthropist just because he¡¯s fine with both genders . And there¡¯s no age limit for him . Upper limit is dying grandpas and grandmas, and the lower limit is¡­ I can¡¯t really say it out loud, but his range is extensive . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no limit for love . Nice to meet you . ¡± Lapis, who was hiding behind Loren, pressed her forehead into his back and desperately tried to suppress her nausea and scream . That was quite painful for Loren, but he couldn¡¯t move even an inch . All he could do was looking-back and-forth between a grinning Gula and a winking Luxuria . Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°And what did you come here for? It can¡¯t be to stuff my lovely children into your bottomless stomach, right?¡± Luxuria asked Gula . Gula clicked her tongue sharply and made a truly contemptuous face at his question . ¡°Don¡¯t say stupid things . Even if you beg me, I¡¯ll never come just to eat your kids or whatever . ¡± ¡°Why did you come then?¡± Luxuria talked while wiggling his body from side to side, and it just increased Loren¡¯s discomfort . [Couldn¡¯t he stay still?] Loren wondered . He wasn¡¯t able to cut into their conversation though . Just when he had decided that he had no choice but to endure it, Gula spoke as if on his behalf: ¡°Stand still . You¡¯re scaring these two pitiful kids, you know . ¡± ¡°What are they scared for? Did I do something?¡± ¡°Even while doing nothing, you¡¯re still a lump of revolt . ¡± [That is absolutely correct] Although these were Loren¡¯s thoughts, he couldn¡¯t say it out loud ¨C in fact he couldn¡¯t even nod in agreement . He could only applaud Gula¡¯s choice of words in his mind . ¡°Let¡¯s talk business . Just quietly come with me, will you?¡± Gula went straight to the business . Luxuria¡¯s answer was short . ¡°I refuse . ¡± ¡°State your reason . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gone through the trouble to build a nest and gather all these cute children of love here . Why should I abandon all and let you take me somewhere?¡± To be clear, Loren believed they should burn down this whole forest instead of evacuating everyone . There was still some uncertainty about it, but he had a hunch that releasing those still under the influence of this Evil God of Lust into the world wouldn¡¯t bring about anything good . Gula showed Luxuria, who had turned away in a huff, a dangerous smile . ¡°I can use brute force, you know . ¡± ¡°Try then . I¡¯ll teach you how helpless gluttony is before the power of love . ¡± Undeniable tension rose between the two Evil Gods . Something very bad would happen for sure . Following his senses Loren began to try gaining some distancing from that place while still shielding Lapis . But before he could, Gula clasped her hands together in front of her chest and cracked her knuckles . ¡°What can a sex-obsessed idiot like you teach me?¡± ¡°Your body is the only nice thing about you . How about I push you down and personally teach you the splendor of love?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat you, muscle-head daruma!¡± (Xem: Daruma is a round shaped doll) The cleft chin macho made a gesture of fondling something with his hands, and Gula suddenly charged . The force of her fist was almost undetectable, and as befitting the differences in their physiques, Luxuria received and stopped it with the palm of one hand . The collision gave out a thunderous sound totally unlike flesh meeting flesh, but it was Luxuria who fell backwards . The naked men stepped forward and formed a wall of nude bodies in front of Gula . Wet with their own sweats, their bodies gleamed brightly under the sun . Unconcerned, Gula slammed her fist into the row of men . Being under an Evil God¡¯s influence didn¡¯t mean having an Evil God¡¯s strength, and the bodies of those struck by Gula¡¯s fist burst as if they had exploded . Before the blood spray could fall to the ground, Luxuria threw a fist at Gula as a return gift . But his fist couldn¡¯t reach her: it stopped midway with a deafening noise as if it had collided with something invisible . Loren could see a semi-transparent gigantic mouth literally bite into Luxuria¡¯s fist . The fangs of Gula¡¯s < > could easily bite off the naked men¡¯s bodies, and they did manage to stop Luxuria¡¯s blow, but they could only make faint impressions on his skin . ¡°Is my hand delicious?¡± ¡°It tastes gross, idiot!¡± Gula started ordering more mouths to attack Luxuria . Meanwhile, Luxuria thrust his other hand into the mouth biting him and tore it off with all his strength . With both hands free, he began to intercept Gula¡¯s mouths . Whenever fist and mouth clashed, a sound blast and shock wave would spread, disturbing the earth and sand and blowing the naked men away . But Luxuria only had two hands while Gula¡¯s Predators were numerous; even though the mouths broke once hit, it seemed to Loren that Gula had the upper hand to some extent . ¡°I¡¯m pushing you back just like this!¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll let you? Take this <> . ¡± Loren thought it would be something similar to Gula¡¯s < >, but the scene unfolding before his eyes was disgusting beyond that . As Luxuria clenched his fists, countless clones of himself emerged from his body and proceeded to hug the mouths with their thick arms . Just one Luxuria was causing enough mental damage to Loren, multiple of them made Loren¡¯s very soul scream . Unable to run away and with Lapis clinging to his back, he desperately endured it . One by one, and with looks of ecstasy on their faces, the cloned Luxurias disappeared together with the mouths they were hugging . ¡°You still use that disgusting technique!¡± Gula said through gritted teeth . ¡°Even though it was through my clones, they did ascend to heaven while being in my embrace . Calling it disgusting is a bit exaggerated, isn¡¯t it?¡± Luxuria replied while continuing to wiggle his body . Even though Loren desperately wanted to run away, he couldn¡¯t speed out of there as he would like to . If he made a wrong move, he would attract their attention and bring danger to himself . And, in a forest influenced by an Evil God, would he be able to escape from his hands just by running? That was a problem in itself . Even though it was already too late by now, Loren began to regret not bringing Klaus along . Despite his interest being towards women only, Klaus did have the same mind-set as Luxuria, and Loren wondered if he would be able to somehow stop the Evil God because of that . ¡°Not good, I¡¯ve reached my limit . ¡± Watching < > being offset by <> and disappeared, Gula said with regret . ¡°We¡¯re basically on the same level . ¡± ¡°Idiot . Shouldn¡¯t you have realized that before doing all this?¡± Luxuria didn¡¯t try to attack Gula further . Was it because he knew Gula would just offset his attacks, or because he actually hadn¡¯t really wanted to fight from the beginning? Whatever it was, the Evil Gods¡¯ quarrel seemed to stop here, and Loren breathed a sigh of relief . He was immediately shocked by the words Gula spoke next though . ¡°Well, can¡¯t be helped then . Let that swordsman onii-chan and his girl over there be my agents . ¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± ¡°Gula, they surely are cute kids, but I don¡¯t understand how they can beat me when even you can¡¯t?¡± ¡°You tone down a bit, and I give them some help . And you can¡¯t use Evil God¡¯s power . How does it sound? The match ends when they give up, or when you take a blow from them . ¡± ¡°Even if they go numb after hitting me, I¡¯ll still lose? I¡¯m ok with this though . ¡± ¡®Don¡¯t drag me into this!¡¯, Loren wanted to scream . But it was an Evil God who had dragged him into this, thus he didn¡¯t know what the hell she would do if he offended her . Denying her statement in front of Luxuria might not be a wise course of action . ¡°How¡¯s this: If I win, you have to obediently go with me . If you win, turn this place into a love nest or a garden of pleasure as you like . Then never come out again until this world ends . ¡± Declared Gula while glaring and jabbing a finger at Luxuria, who was still wiggling his body as he always did . She then returned to Loren¡¯s side . [It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if I spoke to her now, would it?] After short contemplation, Loren feeling a bit cold feet, decided to object . ¡°Don¡¯t drag me into this . ¡± ¡°Do you want to see us keep on fighting then? I don¡¯t care about the damages to this area if we do, but do you?¡± ¡°If you two fight in earnest, then¡­ Give me some examples . ¡± ¡°Well, the forest will be gone, and the terrain here will be altered . ¡± Loren immediately understood that the battle would be on such a level that it couldn¡¯t be allowed to happen . And the thought of it being on the verge of happening gave him shudders . But even with that fact in mind, Loren still had something to say . ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any benefit for me to get involved in this though . ¡± So what if a forest in a place that had no relation to him disappeared, or the terrain in that place changed a bit? It still didn¡¯t answer the question of why he had to fight that Evil God of Lust . If he couldn¡¯t escape this, then at least he should get something out of this . In that case, even if things later came to a point of no return, he wouldn¡¯t regret it that much, or so Loren believed . ¡°Benefit¡­ benefit huh . Well, it¡¯s surely a bit unfair to have to fight that without anything on offer . ¡± ¡°Do I even have a chance to win to begin with?¡± ¡°I have a feeling that you¡¯ll be able to manage to win somehow, but¡­ You said ¡®I¡¯ . Can it be that you want to fight him by yourself?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I should let Lapis fight him in this state . ¡± Pointing at Lapis, who was still shaking and clinging to his back, Loren said . Gula pondered for a bit with a troubled expression, then clapped Loren on the shoulder . ¡°I¡¯m pleased that you don¡¯t want to let priestess-chan fight . Alright, I¡¯ll offer you one benefit . ¡± ¡°Will you really offer me a proper benefit?¡± Loren glared from the corner of his eyes at Gula to emphasize his doubt . ¡°Of course . I¡¯m called an Evil God, but I¡¯m a woman who keeps her words . Just trust me . ¡± Full of confidence, Gula beat her chest and answered . Chapter 142 Chapter 142 ranslator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Gula gave no details about the benefit she was offering . Loren had tried to get her talking, but she had said nothing other than it would be something good . Even though Loren had every intention to pursue the matter, he was worried that Gula would tell him ¡®I¡¯ll just fight Luxuria myself then¡¯ if he complained . So, for the time being, he had no choice but to trust her words . As Loren readied his sword and stepped forward to face Luxuria, the Evil God looked at him with a strangely hot gaze . It gave Loren chills, not only in his spine and guts but all over his body . He still managed to glare at him though, and the Evil God muttered following before letting out a passionate sigh: ¡°It¡¯ll be wonderful if you continue to glare at me like this . ¡± From the bottom of his heart, Loren wanted to run away and cry, but he couldn¡¯t . He wondered what sin he had committed to be cornered into a predicament like this, but there was no answer . ¡°First of all, how long can you make it in your current condition?¡± Lapis, who was standing next to a happy-looking Gula, asked him worriedly . She was still looking pale, and was holding her fists close to her chest . Loren raised his sword, thinking the only good thing in this whole situation was that Lapis wasn¡¯t involved and . ¡°I¡¯m going¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome at any time, and any place . ¡± Luxuria fluttered his hand to beckon Loren, and Loren kicked at the ground and thrust his sword forward . Since Loren tried as hard as possible to not get close, his first attack was a thrust that made use of the greatsword¡¯s length . The movement would be minimum, and he could attack from a two arm¡¯s length distance . That was what Loren had expected, but his eyes widened in surprise when Luxuria easily knocked his sword down to the ground with just one hand . Loren still kept his grip on the hilt but with both arms thrust out, his balance was lost . He forcibly lifted up the blade and slash upwards at Luxuria . But his sword was easily pushed off track by a swat from Luxuria, and Loren himself leapt to the side as if he had been hit by the rebounded sword . Luxuria¡¯s fist appeared where Loren¡¯s head had been just a moment ago . Right after swatting Loren¡¯s sword away, Luxuria had stepped in and struck him with such incredible speed that his eyes hadn¡¯t been able to catch it . Loren had somehow managed to dodge the blow and Luxuria, who was still in his fist-out stance, looked at him with a broad grin on his face . ¡°Nice reflex . You¡¯ll surely cry out nicely . ¡± Loren fixed his grip on the sword while wondering if this was what a predator being hunted by another predator felt like . In that sense, it was similar to dealing with Gula, but this guy brought fatal mental damage while Gula brought physical danger . Loren wondered which was the lesser of two evils while commencing his next attack . This time, it was a close range slash from the side, where the sword point would only graze Luxuria . There was no need for a proper blow in this battle, as Luxuria would admit defeat as long as he took one hit . Luxuria himself would decide if the blow was half-assed or not, but Loren believed it was important to strike him once anyway . However, the blade¡¯s trajectory was once again changed with just a tap from the Evil God . Loren was able to maintain his almost-lost posture but deep down, he was astonished . The greatsword¡¯s weight and his strength had been incorporated into the slash . The force was enough to dent a shield, and if his opponent was to receive it with a sword, it could cut both sword and wielder into halves . And yet, Luxuria had brushed off the blade with just one single movement as if it had been a twig . His expression hadn¡¯t even changed, and he had been bare-handed . Loren wondered what he should do with such an exceptional being of an opponent while making another attack . But it was also brushed off by Luxuria, properly and easily . Loren was thinking there was no way he could win this when Gula told him: ¡°Use self-boost!¡± He tried to remember the sensation Lapis had taught him . Recalling the feeling of something that was probably magic spreading to every nook and corners of his body, Loren raised his greatsword and moved with a speed completely different from before . Luxuria didn¡¯t seem particularly surprised; he simply repelled Loren¡¯s strike with one palm, and the sword was once again swatted away without leaving so much as a cut on the Evil God¡¯s skin . But unlike before, Luxuria¡¯s own hand was also knocked away with force . Even so, the Evil God only looked surprised for a very short while . He immediately pulled his hand back and warded off Loren¡¯s second, then third attack with ease . ¡°Your muscles are very nice, but you don¡¯t put enough love into them . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk . I¡¯m about to throw up . ¡± Loren ground his teeth and put all his strength into the next attack, but it once again failed to get past the Luxuria¡¯s hand defense to touch his body . In the first place, the speed of Luxuria¡¯s hands and Loren¡¯s sword was too different . No matter how fast Loren tried to swing his sword, Luxuria¡¯s bare hands would never be slower . Loren¡¯s attacks, which couldn¡¯t even graze the Evil God¡¯s palms, simply couldn¡¯t reach his body . ¡°Can I perform some counterattacks? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll nurse you properly if you become unable to move . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m seriously horrified . If I can¡¯t move, just leave me alone!¡± Loren swung his greatsword while screaming out those words . Luxuria caught the blade with one hand . Loren was unable to move, and the Evil God drove his log-like leg into Loren¡¯s flank . Surprisingly, the force was absorbed by the jacket Loren was wearing; most of it didn¡¯t reach his body at all . But there was still the impact of being kicked: Loren was literally blown off to the side, and he rolled around on the ground a couple of times . ¡°Eh? What a nice jacket you¡¯re wearing . I thought it¡¯d be a decisive blow . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re truly a monster in many ways¡­¡± Luxuria hadn¡¯t seemed to put that much strength into the kick; he hadn¡¯t even pulled his leg back and just kicked out . But he was able to send flying aside not only Loren, a well-trained, large build man, but also the heavy greatsword he was carrying . The power Luxuria kept hidden must have been unthinkable . Just like Luxuria had said, without the jacket, that kick would have ended him . Loren understood that very well . ¡°I should aim for some place that jacket doesn¡¯t cover next . ¡± Luxuria said . Whenever he put strength into his legs, the muscles there could be seen twitching under his tight pants . Loren thought of how he would hate to be kicked by those legs and lost composure for a moment, but then straightened his stance again . Just then, Gula, whose approach he hadn¡¯t realized at all, placed a hand on his shoulder . ¡°I¡¯ll help you a bit . Do the same thing you do when using self-boost . ¡± From her hand, something poured into Loren¡¯s body with such force that made Loren wonder if it was even alright to receive such a thing . He believed it to be the magic Gula possessed, and immediately sensed its flow throughout his body . ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? You should explain things more clearly . ¡± Not understanding Gula¡¯s instructions, Loren muttered . No matter how much boost Loren got from an Evil God, the only thing he could do was attacking head on . Loren stepped forward with that thought in mind . But the speed of his step was different from before, and he was bewildered for a moment when he noticed . But Luxuria was closing in, and Loren couldn¡¯t stay bewildered forever . He put off that sentiment and swung the greatsword down towards the Evil God . Luxuria moved to catch the blade in his hand like before . Yet his expression somehow stiffened momentarily, and he turned to dodge the strike instead . Having lost its target, the blade hit the ground . Wondering why Luxuria hadn¡¯t caught the blade, Loren pulled the sword upwards in a diagonal slash . The Evil God once again chose to dodge instead . ¡°Amazing . You¡¯re already this powerful with just a bit of help from Gula-chan . You¡¯re so wonderful . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Loren stepped forward and swung the sword down again . This strike also couldn¡¯t touch Luxuria¡¯s body, but at the same time, it also wasn¡¯t repelled . Not giving up, Loren took one more step forward and made an upward slash from Luxuria¡¯s crouch to the top of his head . The Evil God dodged again . It seemed like since Loren had borrowed Gula¡¯s power, Luxuria could no longer stop his attacks barehanded or swat them away . Noticing this, Loren tried to change into the offensive . But then Luxuria gave Loren a casual kick to the stomach, sending him flying backwards . The ground shook with the force of the impact . ¡°You need to come up with something better if you plan to hit me . ¡± ¡°This guy is such a monster . ¡± That kick was meant to be a counterattack and targeted Loren¡¯s abdomen . It made him feel slightly nauseous and lose his breath . The kick contained so much power that without his jacket, all of his internal organs probably would have ruptured . ¡°Bastard! I can¡¯t touch him at all!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just give up? I¡¯ll invite you into my love nest then . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die!¡± Loren truly believed from the bottom of his heart that death would be better than joining that love nest . He raised his sword again for that very reason . Just then, Lapis, who was standing beside Gula, looked at Luxuria in surprise and asked . ¡°If Loren loses, that thing and him will¡­?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of late to react at this point!¡± ¡°N-no, I don¡¯t like that, Loren! I don¡¯t like that!¡± ¡°Neither do I!¡± Loren answered and decided to try one thing he hadn¡¯t yet . It was probably the last option for him . He didn¡¯t know whether it would be successful or not until he tried it, but if he didn¡¯t, the situation would just become worse and worse, and there would be no way to break the deadlock . ¡°Your eyes look like you¡¯ve made some kind of resolve . Very well, come!¡± Having noticed the look in Loren¡¯s eyes, Luxuria invited him and gave him a fascinated flirty gaze . Feeling his resolution crumbling, Loren braced himself and began to focus on the remnants of Gula¡¯s power inside him once more . Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren was able to smoothly execute the first step of his plan, as it was something he had done multiple times: performing self-boost with the magic received from Gula . He didn¡¯t really understand the details, but he somehow managed to do it by following the sensation and mental images . He had never failed at executing self-boost, maybe because Lapis¡¯ teaching method was good . ¡°That again? Your skill doesn¡¯t match your determination, does it?¡± Luxuria moved first this time, as if he could sense magic coursing through Loren¡¯s body . Instead of using his fist, the Evil God attacked with a kick . Loren used the flat of his sword to defend himself from the impact and wordlessly focused his awareness towards Shayna . [¡®There¡¯s a somewhat strange aura, so I feel a bit reluctant¡­¡¯] Shayna didn¡¯t know what was happening in the outside world since Loren wasn¡¯t sharing his vision with her . Normally, Loren found her state to be quite pitiful and would try to share his senses with her as much as possible . But this time, he thought he shouldn¡¯t share his vision even if she asked . Lapis and him were old enough that shocking sights didn¡¯t have that much impact on them anymore . But Shayna was much younger, and Loren was worried about the mental impact she would take . After sharing that thought with Loren, Shayna began supplying him with magic power . The power he had received from Gula was immense and powerful, but it would be exhausted soon if he kept using it . In order to push back the point of exhaustion, Loren had asked Shayna to supply him more power with Energy Drain . This would dramatically extend the length of his self-boost; Loren himself couldn¡¯t even predict for how long he would be able to use it . ¡°Is this a war of attrition, I wonder?¡± Sucking from Lapis would mean preying on an ally . Since she still didn¡¯t know how much power an incomplete King of Death like Shayna could absorb, Evil Gods like Gula and Luxuria were out of the question . Hence, the targets of Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain were the trees in the surrounding and the naked men, almost all of which had fallen . It seemed like Shayna had also realized that Loren was using a stronger version of self-boost . The effect of Energy Drain was stronger than ever: the trees withered in the blink of an eye while the men¡¯s bodies became wizened . Receiving such an immense supply of power from Shayna, Loren focused only on the greatsword he was holding . Even while dodging punches and kicks that held deadly power, his mind was wholly occupied by the thought of slaying his opponent . Before long, Loren could feel something clicked in his mind . ¡°You won¡¯t make any progress if you continue to defend only¡­ huh?¡± Luxuria broke off in the middle of the sentence . Loren had suddenly attacked . The Evil God leapt back to dodge, his eyes widened at the speed of the strike . He was built much larger than Loren, and the scene of him leaping lightly looked rather unpleasant for some reason . But Gula and Lapis didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to him; they were captivated by Loren¡¯s strike . It was released at such a speed they had never seen from Loren . ¡°What was that just now?¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± Loren let out a roar, his voice making the air vibrate like a jolt of electricity . Lapis reflexively covered her ears with her hands and recoiled . Gula stood still, her expression stiffened slightly and Luxuria unthinkingly stopped moving at Loren¡¯s sudden change . Loren raised his greatsword and charged at Luxuria . He didn¡¯t seem to have a specific aim, didn¡¯t even set up a proper path for the blade . He simply struck at the Evil God consecutively . Luxuria was able to somehow dodge the first few blows, but he soon gave that up . He reinforced his hands with magic and instead chose to meet Loren¡¯s attacks directly . That showed how fierce Loren¡¯s attacks were . Even if Luxuria had chosen to continue dodging them, he would have needed to prepare to take some hits . That said, even though Luxuria¡¯s hands were reinforced with magic, him parrying Loren¡¯s strikes with bare hands was still quite extraordinary . But Luxuria himself also found Loren¡¯s attacks to be extraordinary . ¡°What¡¯s with this boy?! Isn¡¯t he too fast?!¡± Speed-wise, Luxuria should have had the upper hand, seeing how he was using bare fists while Loren was wielding a heavy sword . But he noticed that the attacks successively coming at him matched the speed and frequency of his fists . Luxuria shot a magic shock wave from his fist in order to gain some distance from Loren . But Loren not only cut off the shock wave but also continued to pursue him . ¡°What is this?! If you¡¯re capable of something like this, do it right from the beginning! It¡¯d be much cooler, right?¡± Seeing Loren suddenly switch to offensive only, Gula complained with a voice full of expectation . Next to her, Lapis scowled intently at Loren, who was attacking continuously with a power she had never seen before . His movements seemed to be different from his usual rampages, even if she also counted the ones she had just witnessed . ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what it is?¡± ¡°What? Lapis-chan, if you know he was hiding a secret talent like this, you should have told me . ¡± Gula pat Lapis on the back as she told her this . But the next moment, she was surprised by Lapis grabbing her top . ¡°It¡¯s not that! This is unlike what I know!¡± ¡°W-wait a bit, Lapis-chan . If you pull that hard, it¡¯ll show!¡± Gula frantically pulled down her tube top, which had ridden up thanks to Lapis¡¯ grabbing . Lapis didn¡¯t notice Gula¡¯s distress at all . Her mind was full of the realization of the god damn thing Loren had done . ¡°He is combining them!¡± ¡°Combining¡­ what with what?¡± ¡°He was combining self-boost technique with his rampage!¡± Lapis had guessed correctly . Loren had known that he wouldn¡¯t have been able to compete against Luxuria if he fought the usual way . So, he had decided to activate his rampage state, but not from a normal state as usual: he had activated it from the enhanced state after using self-boost . He had simply thought that if going into rampage from a normal state could make him become relatively strong, then going into rampage from an enhanced state would make him become even stronger . And he wasn¡¯t wrong about that . ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Physically fighting against one of us Evil Gods is overwhelming for humans . ¡± Luxuria couldn¡¯t make any effective counterattacks against Loren . Whenever he was about to throw a punch or a kick, countless slashes would come at him, driving him into a defensive stance . From the look of it, the fight had become one-sided, with attacks coming from Loren only . Some of Luxuria¡¯s defenses had come a bit late, and Gula believed it would only be a matter of time before he took a blow . ¡°This is not good! Loren always loses consciousness as a backlash from his rampages! If he forcibly enhanced his rampage, do you understand how much backlash his body will have to take?!¡± If he forcibly did something he shouldn¡¯t have been able to do, he would have to pay an appropriate price . Rampages caused a lot of damages to Loren¡¯s body to begin with . It hadn¡¯t been fatal so far and he hadn¡¯t sustained any irrecoverable damages because he had always exhausted his strength and lost consciousness before reaching that point . But this time, Shayna was continuously supplying him with power, and Lapis worried that this rampage might cause dangerous damages to Loren . Not to mention that he was supplementing the rampage with the power received from an Evil God . Lapis wasn¡¯t sure how harsh the backlash would be . ¡°We must stop him!¡± ¡°We can, but¡­ It¡¯ll mean he gives up . ¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Once the battle was stopped, it was unlikely that Loren would be able to enter the fight again . Unable to continue fighting would mean giving up, which meant he lost . If it was just losing, then Lapis wouldn¡¯t hesitate at all . But it was not an exaggeration to say that losing here meant death to Loren . ¡°He might not be able to recover¡­ But if the fight stops here, he¡¯ll die mentally¡­¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we should quickly make a decision¡­ Even if that idiot is completely rotten, he¡¯s still an Evil God, and he won¡¯t just simply take a blow anytime soon¡­ If there¡¯s an opening now, Loren probably can make it . ¡± ¡°An opening¡­¡± Loren continued to attack, and Luxuria continued to dodge, even though just barely . Lapis watched them and thought about how to create an opening for Loren . With folded arms, Lapis contemplated for a while . Then she threw a question at Gula, who was watching her with interest . ¡°Gula, is it correct to say that Luxuria is lustful, and a philanthropist who is alright with both men and women?¡± ¡°Your words are a bit too generous, but that¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°Which does he prefer, men or women?¡± ¡°He has no preference . He likes anything and everything with no discrimination . Macho or lanky, men or women, young or old, they are all the objects of his lust . ¡± ¡°Hm, in short¡­¡± Lapis unfolded her arms, extracted both arms from her sleeves, and put her hands inside her clothes . She rummaged for a while, then finally placed both hands on her lapel and took a deep breath . ¡°Luxuria!¡± She didn¡¯t need a response . But when she confirmed that the Evil God had turned away from his fight and looked towards her, she pulled her lapels open . Of course, her clothes fell away from her upper body as a result . Moreover, Lapis had taken off her chest cover during the rummaging earlier, and her naked upper body was now fully exposed with not a single thing concealing it . Her action was so sudden that both Gula and Luxuria were surprised . They had thought she would do something, but she had just undressed and exposed her upper body . Gula thought Lapis had been thinking too much and lost her mind, but Luxuria was captivated by the naked sight of the two bulges and their darker tips . ¡°Well! Those look delicious¡­¡± To someone who liked both men and women and could associate anything with lust like Luxuria, the sight of Lapis¡¯ half-naked body was so beautiful that it was more than enough to distract him even during a fight . However, his opponent, Loren, was in a berserk state, and wouldn¡¯t be distracted even if Lapis had gone completely nude . The result was, even though Luxuria had only been distracted for one moment, it was enough of an opening for Loren, who had nothing in mind but the fight . The first blow was a direct hit on the top of the head . Luxuria¡¯s head wasn¡¯t split open as his magical defense seemed to be still working, but the impact made him stagger . An upward slash followed right after, and a scream erupted from the Evil God¡¯s mouth . Even so, Loren¡¯s attacks didn¡¯t stop . Luxuria¡¯s defense seemed still held on tight, so the blade didn¡¯t cut into his flesh . But the sound of steel continuously clashing against flesh and the Evil God¡¯s high-pitched scream reverberated in the air . Amidst all that, Lapis straightened her clothes with a slight blush on her cheeks . ¡°That idiot . Even the way he got defeated is so stupid that I¡¯m speechless¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s been hit quite a lot of times, so could you put Loren to sleep now?¡± ¡°Let Loren hit him a bit more to weaken him, then I¡¯ll stop this fight . Nevertheless, Lapis-chan, it was really brave . And nice boobs you have there . ¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the end of the world if I show them . ¡± It was clear from Lapis¡¯ expression that her reply had been just a bluff . She had literally taken her clothes off for Loren, and Gula decided that it would be cruel to tease her further . She went to check and confirmed that the injuries-covered Luxuria had been sufficiently beaten up, then took a nibble at Loren¡¯s magic and stamina as she had done before, stopping the fight . If not for this, Loren would have still been slashing at Luxuria . Chapter 144 Chapter 144 ranslator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren thought that a man was happiest when he was sleeping . He didn¡¯t need to open his eyes, and could rest in the warmth of his bed all he liked . He knew that he couldn¡¯t stay sleeping forever, and that he would need to wake up sooner or later . But until someone came to wake him, he wanted to relax within this pleasant warmth while doing nothing . Loren stirred, and found his movement somehow sluggish . Maybe he had been hospitalized again, and was bandaged from head to toe? But it didn¡¯t feel like that . He could still move if he tried, albeit slowly . It somehow felt like he was covered with thick, warm oil . The sensation bothered him a little, so he tried to wipe it away, but his hand was met with something soft . For some reason, he was clearly aware of his hand being brushed away . Then something suddenly tightened around his chest, and even though he was still reluctant about leaving his slumber, Loren slowly opened his eyes . The first thing he saw was a familiar ceiling . It was the ceiling of Kapha city¡¯s hospital, a place he had been admitted to numerous times before . Memories about what had happened before he had lost consciousness finally came back to Loren one by one . He sighed, it seemed like he had caused Lapis troubles again . Realizing that he was lying face up on the hospital bed, Loren tried to sit up but couldn¡¯t . Somewhat scared that the damage to his body this time was more serious than he had expected, he turned his gaze to his body to check his own conditions . But what met his gaze was a pair of purple eyes . ¡°¡­Ah?¡± Even Loren knew how stupid he sounded . The owner of those purple eyes laid her cheek on Loren¡¯s chest and closed her eyes . Her blond, almost white hair was spreading over Loren¡¯s body . What the hell was happening? His thinking ability belatedly came back . He realized that the warm sensation he had felt in his sleep was brought about by him being hugged . He also realized that the one hugging him was somehow naked, and that he could feel her nakedness because he also wasn¡¯t wearing anything . Loren believed that if he had been a woman, he would have screamed by now . But he lightly grabbed the head of the person who was burying her face into his chest and lifted it up instead . He was met with purple eyes . ¡°What are you doing?¡± Loren asked tranquilly . He was not angry, nor his partner was someone he could get angry with . Gula answered with a serious expression: ¡°I told you I¡¯ll give you something good . ¡± ¡°So this is the benefit you mentioned?¡± ¡°This is nothing but a benefit, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gula wrapped her arms around Loren¡¯s arm and her ample breasts squashed between them . Her torso stuck to Loren¡¯s torso as if glued, and her legs wound tightly around one of Loren¡¯s legs . She was using her whole body to get as much contact as possible with his body . ¡°Well, I¡¯m an extremely ordinary man . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . You¡¯re truly a man . It was somewhat hard when you were sleeping, but it has got up properly now that you¡¯re awake . ¡± Loren looked at the ceiling awkwardly . Gula grinned . ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ eat you . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be nice for your reputation if the Evil God of Gluttony is eaten by a human like you, right?¡± (Xem: In japanese slang terms ¡°eat¡± is referring to ¡°having sex¡± => Unchanged to preserve the word play by the author) Gula rose up slightly and looked at him with purple eyes and a charming smile . She whispered into Loren¡¯s ears, as he was starting to get worried for his life . ¡°Right¡­ I had a meal . I ate a bit too much, so I¡¯m full now . ¡± Not too bad then, Loren thought . But the next moment, Gula¡¯s head was punched sideway with a muffled sound . She fainted and collapsed on Loren¡¯s chest . Loren could actually guess what had just happened . And just as expected, Lapis peeked into the room . ¡°¡­Did I interrupt you?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve helped me . ¡± Loren actually thought it would have been nice if things could have continued and he could have ¡®released¡¯, yet he knew Lapis would be in a bad mood if he told her so . With some regret, he moved Gula¡¯s unconscious body to the side and sat up . Lapis¡¯ face suddenly became red then, and she turned away . ¡°Please put on some clothes . ¡± ¡°So I wasn¡¯t put to sleep naked . ¡± Loren¡¯s cheeks felt a bit hot when he thought about how Gula had undressed him herself, but he was careful to not show what he was feeling . He looked around restlessly, searching for his clothes . Lapis quietly handed him the clothes that had fallen on the ground, face still turned away . Loren asked while putting on his clothes: ¡°So, it¡¯s over now?¡± ¡°Yeah, it is . ¡± According to Lapis, something had happened during the fight, creating an opening for the berserk Loren to rain a storm of attacks on Luxuria . He had been slashed all over his body by Loren¡¯s greatsword, had admitted defeat because of that, and had obediently let Gula take him away . Thanks to that, the villagers and soldiers that had been under the influence of the Evil God¡¯s power had regained their sanity . But things had become troublesome after that . Luxuria¡¯s power, as the Evil God had declared himself, was increasing libido . In short, those under his influence would engage in acts that were difficult to be put into words with no regards of the gender or age of their partners . The villagers and soldiers had regained their sanity right in the midst doing such acts; it would be more strange if things hadn¡¯t become chaotic . ¡°That was¡­ literally Hell on earth . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even want to imagine that scene . ¡± Of course, Lapis had had no reason to try to control that situation . With Gula¡¯s help, she had quickly carried the unconscious Loren away from that place . They had fetched Klaus¡¯ party on the way and had told Rose, the person they had been involved into this in the first place, that the problem had been resolved more or less . Then, they had returned to Kapha as if they had been running for their lives . And incidentally, the skirmish happening near Rose¡¯s village had come to an end at the same time . The reason was unclear . However, the number of soldiers pulled into the forest due to Luxuria¡¯s power had been quite high . When the spell had been broken and those soldiers had regained their sanity, they probably had thought about what they had done and with whom, and had been in no conditions to continue fighting a war . That was what Lapis had guessed, anyway . ¡°So, where has Luxuria, the culprit of all this, gone to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . Gula took him to somewhere . ¡± Both of them looked at Gula, who had been struck unconscious in a moment of distraction and was now sleeping beside Loren . They wanted to know about Luxuria¡¯s whereabouts, but Gula was an Evil God herself; she wouldn¡¯t just give them the information like that . ¡°She won¡¯t tell . ¡± ¡°No, she won¡¯t . ¡± Convinced that their questions wouldn¡¯t be answered, the two of them decided to stop thinking about that matter . They would probably meet again if that was what fate decided, but for now, Loren preferred to think that it had been the last time he had met that muscle head . ¡°That aside, Loren, you can¡¯t use what you did when fighting Luxuria again, unless things go terribly wrong!¡± Lapis brought her face close and glared at Loren . He vaguely nodded at her . As he would never have been able to hit Luxuria with normal methods, he had tried to go into his berserk stage from a self-boosted stage . He had just now slowly realized how severe the backlash of that action could have been . His whole body hurt, and even though he didn¡¯t feel anything strange with his bones right now, he wondered how it had been right after the rampage . ¡°I tried to heal you as much as I can, but there are things that can be healed and things that can¡¯t . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s my bad . I¡¯ll be more careful . ¡± Loren meekly nodded as he knew he had made Lapis worried . But he would still do it again should the need arise; this was something he didn¡¯t plan to tell her . ¡°And, why is she here?¡± Loren pointed at Gula, who was still unconscious, and asked . Lapis stepped back a bit and tilted her head in puzzle . ¡°Why¡­ She somehow followed us here . ¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you too harsh on me?!¡± Gula suddenly sat up and said . Her bare breast jiggled, and as Loren¡¯s eyes reflexively fixed on them, Lapis pinched his ear . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ I¡¯m a man too . ¡± ¡°I know, but still . ¡± ¡°So, why are you here? It¡¯s not just to give me those nice things, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°There was that too . ¡± Gula straightened up and sat cross-legged on the bed . Loren threw his blanket on her lower-half body, thinking about how it was not the type of posture one should take when being naked . ¡°I¡¯m getting a bit interested in you two, so I plan to stick with you for a while . ¡± Loren was about to reply how troublesome that would be, when he suddenly realized how much of a danger letting an Evil God loose could be . So far, Loren was aware of only three Evil Gods roaming the world: Gluttony, Lust, and Sloth . He had no ideas what kind of havoc they were planning to wreck though . If they didn¡¯t cause a mayhem, he wouldn¡¯t care about them whatsoever . But in case they were scheming something, it¡¯d be better to keep an eye on one of them . That way they could at least try to prevent get caught up in their mess again . And Gula was the one least mentally-taxing to be around . ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll help you guys out, and do nice things for you . Just repay me with lodging and food expenses . ¡± ¡°Food expenses will be outrageous in your case . ¡± ¡°But I can make lots of money, don¡¯t you think? So, what¡¯s it going to be?¡± Feeling troubled, Loren looked at Lapis, but she silently cast her eyes down once she noticed his gaze . Realizing that she was somehow leaving the decision to him, Loren pondered for a while, then said . ¡°Don¡¯t cause us troubles . ¡± ¡°Hope you won¡¯t mind my food expenses . ¡± Gula showed them an easy smile . Lapis pressed a hand to her forehead as if trying to suppress a headache and told Loren: ¡°In the past few days, Gula has consumed enough food for ten or so restaurants, so be prepared . ¡± What she meant was, his payment was already used up . Loren had begun to feel like turning Gula away, but he still managed to grit out: ¡°¡­Add it to my debts . ¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s split it in half . ¡± ¡°Ahaha, I really can make money, so please treat me well!¡± As Gula smiled nonchalantly and scratched her head, her breast happily jiggled . Loren¡¯s eyes reflexively fixed on them again, and Lapis pinched his cheek with a sullen expression on her face . Loren didn¡¯t know if his choice would bring them good fortune or bad fortune, but at least this case had ended here . Loren shrugged and let Lapis continue to pinch him . Chapter 145 Chapter 145 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Rumor was going around that part of the army had been obliterated, and their force had become sparse . Even though Loren didn¡¯t want to hear about such rumors, he had no means to stop the talk from reaching his ears . He was sitting in a corner of a tavern that belonged to the Adventurer Guild, and the group of adventurers near him were chatting about it; he couldn¡¯t help but overheard their conversation . According to the rumor, the soldiers that had participated in the almost-war skirmish between Vargenburg and Schoembrin had all disappeared . The skirmish hadn¡¯t been that bad, and the number of killed-in-action hadn¡¯t been that high either . And yet, soldiers had disappeared, from not just one but both factions, and at about the same time . The adventurers were quite interested in what on earth could have happened there . ¡°*talking gibberish*¡± ¡°Swallow! Swallow before you speak!¡± Gula, who was sitting opposite to Loren with a grilled chicken drumstick in each hand, tried to speak around mouthful . Loren couldn¡¯t understand her at all, so he shouted at her to swallow first . Gula proceeded to try to chew the meat in her mouth with all her might . Meanwhile, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren in her priest robe, rocked the glass of wine in her hand . ¡°I think I know the reason somehow . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it, so you don¡¯t need to tell me . ¡± To be honest, Loren also knew . It was their previous mission . It had started with a request from an adventurer named Klaus to escort some goods to some village . Then one thing had led to another, and in the end, they had encountered Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, a macho Loren didn¡¯t really want to think about . Villagers from the neighboring areas and the soldiers fighting nearby fell under the influence of that Evil God¡¯s power and had been entranced . Shortly after a sort of ¡®festival¡¯ with actions that couldn¡¯t be put into words had unfolded . The situation had been resolved somehow, but the consequence of it was the platinum blond girl, who was enthusiastically gnawing on chicken bones in front of Loren: Gula had decided to accompany them . Gula was the Evil God of Gluttony, but she had become interested in Loren and Lapis for some reason, and had followed them to Kapha city . ¡°They won¡¯t have the heart to fight the men they got laid with yesterday, right?¡± Gula said with no reservation after chewing and swallowing the meat in her mouth . Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ faces noticeably darkened at her remark . Loren gave Gula a disgusting look and said with a somewhat sullen tone: ¡°I said I don¡¯t want to hear about it, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°But you said it to Lapis-chan . ¡± Gula gave him a glare that meant ¡®You didn¡¯t tell me so it¡¯s alright¡¯ . ¡°And who do you think is going to pay for all the meat you¡¯ve just eaten?¡± Gula had been sealed as an Evil God for a long time, so of course she didn¡¯t have any money . Or rather, she didn¡¯t possess anything valuable . Naturally, Loren and Lapis paid for her lodging expenses in Kapha, and it was not an insignificant amount . Moreover, as if to live up to her title as the Evil God of Gluttony, Gula really could eat a lot . She ate so much that others could get heartburns and lose appetite just by watching her . Any diners that were unlucky enough to have Gula as their customer would have to close their business for the day, as she could devour enough food to put them out of stock in a blink on an eye . And she would still look unsatisfied . She ate like that for exactly three times a day, and it was unbearable for Loren and Lapis, who paid for her meal . ¡°We¡¯ll need gold coins to pay for your meals soon, won¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Ah, ahahahahaha . I¡¯m probably too hungry after such a long sleep, and human food is too delicious . ¡± For a moment, Loren thought that maybe she was not being unreasonable . A little while ago, Loren had taken up a mission at an adventurers¡¯ training facility in a certain city that had been the place where the Evil God of Sloth had been sealed . If the stories he had heard there had been true, then Gula had probably been sealed for hundreds of years, and hadn¡¯t been able to eat anything during that time . She seemed to have eaten various common as well as strange things after waking up, but all had been a far cry from a decent human diet . When he thought about that, he felt a little pity for her, and wasn¡¯t able to condemn her too hard . ¡°I¡¯ll work hard too, so bear with me . ¡± ¡°We came here today to get ready for that . ¡± Gula didn¡¯t have any proof of identity to use in a human town . They had questioned how she could have gotten into any town, but once that problem had been put aside, the issue of her social status was still hanging above their head . There was no doubt that it would become troublesome if something happened . For that reason, they had planned to register Gula as a member of their party at the Adventurer Guild . She would be able to receive an identification tag and have her social status established thanks to this . Gula had suggested filling their stomachs before going though, and they had had no choice but to come to a diner first . Loren and Lapis had nursed their glasses of wine while Gula had started attacking a large plate of chicken drumsticks with both hands as soon as it had been brought out . ¡°But are we really going to register her as a Copper rank adventurer? What a joke . ¡± ¡°I feel the same, but we can¡¯t really explain her situation and have her started with a higher rank . ¡± Ability-wise, an Evil God like Gula shouldn¡¯t have been a Copper rank adventurer . She should be a Silver rank at the very least . Well, there would be no questions if she was actually ranked higher . However, they couldn¡¯t just naively tell the Adventurer Guild that Gula was an Evil God . If they didn¡¯t stick to their story and registered her as an ordinary adventurer they had partnered with by coincidence, there was no telling what kind of uproar would happen . ¡°But didn¡¯t we report to the Guild about her before?¡± Loren had first met Gula in a fairy village . It had been during the fight with the fairies, who had become ferocious under the influence of her power . As an adventurer, he had roughly reported the incident to the Guild, and the Guild had passed on the information to Vargenburg . ¡°If you register with the name Gula, it will cause a commotion, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡­ But it¡¯s not like there is no one else named Gula . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t think it was a rare name, but he couldn¡¯t say that it was a common name either . He thought there would be no other way but for Gula to use a false name, but she immediately refused . ¡°Names are important . I am Gluttony exactly because I am Gula . If I use a false name, even just temporarily¡­¡± ¡°What will happen?¡± If she lost her power as Gluttony because of it, then of course she shouldn¡¯t use a false name . But this explanation wasn¡¯t quite accurate, and Gula¡¯s answer was not what Loren had expected . ¡°I won¡¯t be able to control the power of Gluttony . ¡± ¡°Let¡¯s use your real name then¡­ And pray that we won¡¯t get caught . ¡± When Gula¡¯s seal had just broken, she had fused with the chief of a fairy village . As a result, all creatures in the neighborhood had had their appetite increased abnormally, causing themselves to become ferocious . If such an incident happened in Kapha, what kind of turmoil could it cause? Not to mention, Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it could even be resolved . They just had to take the risk and let Gula register with her real name . And so, they should think about what to do if she was suspected to be an Evil God . ¡°Well, she won¡¯t get caught if she only introduces her name . ¡± Lapis took a small sip from her glass and replied to Loren¡¯s worry . ¡°The Adventurer Guild doesn¡¯t have any magical instrument to reveal registrants¡¯ identities . They¡¯ll probably find it strange at most, and that I think we can handle . ¡± Lapis¡¯ words were strangely credible, as she herself still hadn¡¯t been caught yet . Lapis appeared to be a priest and acted like an ordinary human, but she was actually a demon coming from a region surrounded by rocky mountains in the center of the continent . Her race was much more powerful than humans . She had been half-expelled to the human world by her parents in order to gain life experiences . To hide her demonic heritage, both of her eyes had been gouged out and all four of her limbs had been cut off to suppress her power . Moreover, her dismembered body parts had been hidden throughout the human realm . She had had a rather sad upbringing . Lapis had successfully retrieved both arms since she had started working with Loren, and now she was more powerful than when they had first met, with more demonic abilities . Even so, the Adventurer Guild still hadn¡¯t suspected anything . Loren himself was also sheltering the soul of a girl who had been made into the highest ranking undead, the King of Death, inside his own soul . This had happened during one of his earlier missions . Strictly speaking, he couldn¡¯t be considered an ordinary human either . But the Guild also hadn¡¯t seemed to notice anything . Considering Lapis¡¯ and his own case, Loren thought maybe they would also manage to make it work with Gula¡¯s case somehow . ¡°Well, maybe you¡¯re right . Ah, Gula, do something about your eyes . ¡± Her hair and skin were not that odd, but there was one thing about her that was greatly different from humans: her eyes . It was the same for demons . Loren suspected that Evil Gods were actually from the demon race, but he couldn¡¯t get an answer from Lapis, and hadn¡¯t really talked to Gula about it . ¡°What do you mean by something?¡± ¡°I mean the color . Can you change the color of your eyes?¡± ¡°Loren, please look at Gula¡¯s eyes carefully . ¡± Following Lapis¡¯ words, Loren looked straight into Gula¡¯s eyes . Gula looked back at him blankly for a moment . But a short time later, she cupped her cheeks with her hands and wiggled her body . ¡°Woaa, now you¡¯re staring at me like that . ¡± Loren wordlessly touched the greatsword on his back . Seeing his movement, Gula hurriedly leaned over the table, her expression turned serious . ¡°I was joking . Well, look at me . ¡± Taking his hand away from the sword¡¯s handle, Loren looked into Gula¡¯s eyes again . What set Evil Gods and demons apart from humans were their purple irises . That eye color didn¡¯t present in humans . But Gula¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t have that shade of purple now; they were a shade of beautiful, clear red . ¡°The color of your eyes¡­¡± ¡°Remove a bit of the blue and they¡¯ll become red . ¡± ¡°We¡¯re not talking about paints here¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it all the same?¡± Gula spoke about it so simply, but it was not that simple to change one¡¯s eyes color . Loren wondered if it was one of the powers of Evil Gods . He wouldn¡¯t know no matter how hard he thought about it though, so for now, Loren decided to content himself with the relief that Gula wouldn¡¯t be suspected because of her eyes . Chapter 146 Chapter 146 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Oh Loren . What business are you here for today?¡± Sitting behind the reception desk at the Adventurer Guild was Ivy, a receptionist Loren had met multiple times before . He wanted to go to one of those other counters with capable-looking receptionists; he had a bad feeling about this one . But if he left now, it would mean to blatantly announce to everyone that he was avoiding Ivy . So, he put on a forced smile and went to stand in front of her desk . Loren had chosen this counter by accident . All the other desks had adventurers queueing before them, and while he had been waiting for his turn in one of the queues, this counter had suddenly opened after being closed since he had arrived . He had tried coming here for no particular reason, but he wondered if Ivy had opened her counter after seeing him in the other queue . He eyed her warily . Loren considered Ivy as someone he needed to be cautious around, but he wasn¡¯t sure if she knew his thoughts or not . Ivy showed him a smile, either for business or just to be sociable . ¡°I want to add a member into my party . ¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re finally cancelling your current partnership?¡± Ivy sounded a bit surprised, and Loren frowned at her words . He didn¡¯t understand why she had mentioned partnership cancellation while he had just said he wanted to add a new party member . It was Lapis who answered his question . ¡°So if we add another member to a two-member party, it means we¡¯re cancelling our partnership?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t particularly want to stop our partnership . ¡± Loren replied, and Lapis broke into an extremely happy smile . Ivy watched them somewhat jealously then turned her gaze towards Gula, who was waiting at their back . ¡°Is that your new member?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . I¡¯m Gula . Nice to meet you, I guess?¡± ¡°Gula?¡± Ivy asked with a hint of suspicion in her tone, and Loren dreaded that they had been caught somehow . But after pondering about something for a while, Ivy simply unfolded a sheet of paper on the desk . ¡°Well then, please fill in this form . Can you write?¡± ¡°No problem . Just leave it to me . ¡± Gula nodded and borrowed a pen from Ivy, then began to fill in the form . Loren was watching her and thinking about how he had done exactly the same in the past when Lapis secretly whispered into his ear . ¡°Loren, you also did this before?¡± ¡°Yeah . Doesn¡¯t everyone register here?¡± ¡°Yes, Loren, so you can write . ¡± The truth was, reading and writing was a skill on its own . There were just a few people who were educated enough to be able to do it . Loren had been properly educated by his mercenary company, so he could write by himself . His leader had believed that if one couldn¡¯t read his own contract or fill in his own form, then he shouldn¡¯t have worked as a mercenary . Loren had only realized that his idea wasn¡¯t a conventional one at all after resigning . ¡°Lapis, you don¡¯t seem to have any problem with it . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m a priest, so of course I was properly taught to read and write . ¡± ¡°Gula doesn¡¯t seem to have any trouble either . ¡± Watching Gula smoothly write down her name, Loren spoke . Noticing that Gula was about to write her last name after finishing her first name, he lightly poked at her . She looked at him with a puzzled expression, but when he tapped at the name field on the form, she realized that she was about to write down her full name, the name of an Evil God . Smiling wryly, Gula stopped at her first name and moved to the next field . The next field was place of birth . Gula contemplated for a moment, then began to write . Just then, Loren asked her in a small voice: ¡°What are you writing here?¡± ¡°Well, my birthplace, of course . Black Magic Kingdom of Nuuna . ¡± Ivy was watching them whispering to each other with suspicious eyes . To avoid her finding out, Loren stepped on Gula¡¯s foot under the desk . When she screamed because of the pain, he used his hand to cover her mouth and pulled her away with a forced smile . A distance away from the counter, Loren smacked Gula¡¯s head, who looked like she was about to complain . ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot . Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t understand what will happen if you write down the name of that place?¡± ¡°Ah right . But that¡¯s really where I came from though?¡± ¡°Do you want to have another blow? I can serve you a few punches until your Gluttony is satisfied . ¡± Loren clenched his fist this time . Flustered, Gula looked at him . Still she didn¡¯t know what to write . But Loren himself didn¡¯t know much about places¡¯ names either, so he looked towards Lapis, asking for help . Lapis sighed impatiently and whispered something into Gula¡¯s ears . A short while later, Gula seemed to have understood whatever Lapis had tried to tell her . She walked back to the counter looking fully satisfied and continued to fill the form . ¡°I told her a more suitable place name to use . It might seem suspicious, but they don¡¯t have the means to verify it, so it¡¯ll be alright . ¡± Watching Gula, Lapis said . If Lapis said that it would be alright, then it would be alright . But Loren still felt a bit worried, so he asked: ¡°She¡¯ll have to fill in age and occupation too, right?¡± ¡°I told her to write something reasonable; 21 years old magician . ¡± It was understandable for Gula to lie about her age . If she was to write down her real age, it would be some crazy number somewhere in the hundreds . Rather than that, Loren was a little surprised that they had decided for Gula to be over twenty years old instead of a younger age like eighteen . ¡°I¡¯m registered as an eighteen years old priest, by the way . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s a reasonable estimation, I guess?¡± According to Lapis, despite the longer lifespan, demons still matured at the same rate as humans, so that number wasn¡¯t a lie . As Lapis was a priest of the God of Knowledge, an officially-recognized one at that, she couldn¡¯t lie about a single thing in the form . ¡°Is it that easy to become a priest?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m excellent . ¡± Lapis nonchalantly said . She was indeed excellent though, so Loren had nothing else to say . ¡°What about you, Loren?¡± Looking at him with interest, Lapis asked . It took Loren some time to recall what he had written in the form . ¡°A twenty-two years old swordsman, I think . ¡± ¡°That also seems reasonable . ¡± Loren thought about how he had registered with rather vague information . He had written down a number that had seemed appropriate for his age; the truth is, he didn¡¯t actually know how old he is . He was an orphan that had been picked up by a mercenary company . He didn¡¯t know his birthday, or how old he had been when they had found him . He had been told to be around that age by others in the company, so he had registered as such; Loren himself didn¡¯t even know if he was actually older or younger . As for his birthplace, he had chosen the Republic of Portaria . He had heard from his company leader that it was an isolated country in the northernmost part of the continent with hardly any interaction with other countries . It seemed to be often picked as the birthplace of people with special circumstances, since nothing could be verified . That was why saying you were from Portaria was no different from saying that you had something to hide . In Loren¡¯s case, since he didn¡¯t know anything about his birthplace, he still had an excuse even if he got caught lying . ¡°Did you also tell Gula to use Portaria?¡± ¡°If she tells people that she¡¯s from the North with that appearance, won¡¯t they think that she¡¯s not right in the head?¡± By appearance, Lapis meant how Gula bared both shoulders and stomach and didn¡¯t even remotely look like she knew how to dress for the cold . But Kapha was in the southwest of the continent and enjoyed the warm climate; dressing like Gula wouldn¡¯t make one shiver in cold unless it was winter . ¡°She feels the heat more because she comes from the north ¨C it can also be interpreted that way, can¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t think of that, but does Gula even care about heat and cold?¡± Loren tried to imagine Evil Gods being affected by weather like heat and cold, but he immediately gave up ¨C his imaginative power wasn¡¯t high enough for that . If push comes to shove, all he could conjure up was the image of Gula laughing nonchalantly standing in a blizzard wearing that skimpy outfit . ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t write down the name of a country that perished long ago, then anything is fine . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . It¡¯s not important information . ¡± In the end, Loren and Lapis reached the conclusion that whatever country would be alright . Gula briskly approached them just then . It seemed like she had finished with the registration; a copper identification tag was dangling on her chest . ¡°The Adventurer Guild was so stingy . Someone as strong as me should get the iron rank like Loren at least, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the rule, so there¡¯s nothing to do about it . I mean, considering you as an iron rank still sounds like a joke anyway, so copper or iron doesn¡¯t matter here . ¡± Ability-wise, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if an Evil God like Gula was given the highest rank in the Adventurer Guild¡¯s ranking system . But the rule was for all adventurers to start with copper rank at registration, and there was no exception unless something truly exceptional happened . Gula being given the copper rank was nothing strange . In the first place, Loren had thought that Gula couldn¡¯t be sorted into ranks like copper, iron, or silver anyway, so whatever rank she started with didn¡¯t matter . She still remained discontent after what he had said though . ¡°I want to be in the same rank as you guys . This feels like I¡¯m being left out, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll rank up pretty quick anyway . Just bear with it until then . ¡± ¡°That said, will you be willing to work with us when ranking up, Gula?¡± Lapis asked with her tone also being discontent somehow . Gula answered her with a cheerful smile: ¡°Until death do us part . Is it ok for me to stick with you guys?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a huge trouble . Mainly because of the food expenses . ¡± Lapis said coldly . Gula made a sad face while snuggling up to her, but the latter pushed her away, looking truly annoyed . Loren urged them to leave to discuss their plan from now on . He couldn¡¯t decide whether they were getting along or not, but he¡¯d hoped that they wouldn¡¯t cause troubles at least . As they followed him out of the door, trouble arrived . ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry . ¡± Gula bumped into another adventurer who was passing by . Gula immediately apologized, but the other adventurer grinned broadly after seeing her and her companion . It seemed like the seed of trouble had come from another party instead . Loren had that hunch, and involuntarily facepalmed . Chapter 147 Chapter 147 ranslator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Sorry about our member, even though it¡¯s already too late . ¡± Loren sighed and said . Humans should start interaction with a conversation, at least so he believed . The other adventurer laughed scornfully at his words . ¡°It can¡¯t end with just an apology, you know?¡± ¡°Can I ask if you know me, just in case?¡± The adventurer stared at Loren for a moment, with a quizzical look on his face . But an easy smile immediately came back to his face . ¡°I don¡¯t . Are you someone suspicious?¡± ¡°I see . Well, it can¡¯t be helped . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t think that his face was that well-known either . Just that, he and Lapis had been in the same situation before, and had almost killed the other adventurer back then; he had expected to kind of have the reputation of a dangerous character . If he had had such a reputation, it would have been simple for the other party to understand how much of a trouble it would be to get involved with him, and they would have been able to avoid unnecessary quarrels . Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t seem to work that way . Loren wondered who would be the best choice to manage this situation with minimum inconvenience . First of all, Gula was out of the question . An Evil God like her wouldn¡¯t be able to handle this without causing troubles; it wasn¡¯t even worth considering her . As for Lapis, Loren had no doubt that she could handle this well . But she looked like a delicate girl, and people tended to make light of her because of that . To change that opinion would need some external factor, or the other party had to realize it themselves . ¡°Seems like I have to deal with this myself¡­¡± Loren muttered and turned towards the other adventurer . Being directly stared at by Loren, the adventurer seemed to feel a little intimidated; he took two, then three steps back from Gula . Surprisingly, it was neither his height nor the bulging of muscles in his arms and legs that gave a measure of Loren¡¯s prowess; it was the greatsword on his back . The power needed to wield such a weapon was a statement on its own, and those who confronted Loren usually felt intimidated by it . Occasionally, there would be some who didn¡¯t feel surprised or intimidated or anything though . The adventurer who was trying to mess with them this time somehow seemed to understand how powerful Loren was just by facing him, and immediately gained some distance from him . He seemed capable, and that was a trouble in itself . Things would be simple if the other party had sensed Loren¡¯s power and backed off . But this adventurer had sensed Loren¡¯s power and still didn¡¯t leave . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if it was obstinacy or bravery . And someone capable like this man shouldn¡¯t have been picking fights with copper rank adventurers . The reason for his action immediately became known though . Loren noticed the man was glancing at Gula . It seemed like this man was harbouring some ulterior motives after seeing how Gula was dressed and the copper tag hanging on her chest . Loren guessed what he had been thinking, yet he had chosen himself an unattainable target this time . Loren was about to say something when the adventurer suddenly disappeared . It was so abrupt that Loren actually wondered if Gula had eaten him . He spun around to look at her, but she was shaking her head frantically, denying that it was her doing . When Loren was still wondering about what the hell had just happened, he was pulled back to reality by the voices of people who seemed to be in the same party with the disappeared man . Looking at the direction of their pointing fingers, Loren saw a smashed table and some other adventurers . Then he noticed the adventurer who had just stood in front of him: He was embedded into the wall, his body twisted unnaturally . It had all happened so abruptly that Loren could only stare at the scene dumbfounded . Someone clapped his shoulder then, startling Loren . ¡°Make way . You won¡¯t want to become like that . ¡± It was the voice of a woman, and the hand on his shoulder wore a rugged metal gauntlet, painted crimson . Loren¡¯s instinct told him to make way immediately, and so he did . The owner of the gauntlet passed by him without so much as a glance, and he was able to catch a glimpse of her . The woman didn¡¯t wear a helmet; her long crimson hair flowed freely down her back . Her eyes were red, and her lips were also vividly so . The plate armour she was wearing was strangely revealing . Even though it was decorated heavily to the point that one would wonder if it was too much . The armour had openings all over, exposing her bare skin here and there . She wasn¡¯t very tall, just about Lapis¡¯ height . ¡°What? You want to die?¡± ¡°No, just thinking that I¡¯ve never seen you before . ¡± The woman in red glanced at Loren as if sensing his gaze . One wouldn¡¯t be able to guess from her appearance that she had just blown a muscular adventurer all the way to the wall . Loren thought that he needed to be very careful with his reply, or he might meet the same fate . ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve come here, so it¡¯s understandable . If I don¡¯t have any business here, I would never have come to such a place . ¡± The woman replied and walked away . But she suddenly stopped for some reason and turned around to look at Loren, making him wonder if he had done something wrong . ¡°Have I met you before?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . I have no recollection of it . ¡± The woman watched him intensely for a while . Seemingly unable to recall anything about meeting him, she turned her gaze away from him with a puzzled tilt of the head and continued walking away . Another group of adventurers blocked her way this time . ¡°You! How dare you!¡± Pushing Lapis and Gula away from the place, Loren thought it was understandable what those adventurers shouted . After all, a member of their party had just been blown away and got embedded into a wall by some stranger . A member of their party had tried to pick a fight with other adventurers, but still . That adventurer must have sustained serious injuries, and his party would lack one member for a while . The party¡¯s power would decrease because of that, and their earnings would be affected . It was natural that they would want to complain to the person who had caused all this . [They might¡¯ve missed one point in this whole situation] Thought Loren watching them surround the woman in red . And that was ¨C their opponent was way above them . The woman in red was powerful enough to completely incapacitate an adventurer in an instant right in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, using some method that he still hadn¡¯t figured out . What would happen if someone condemned her? They shouldn¡¯t have even considered it . Loren wasn¡¯t sure if those adventurers were too stupid to think that far, or that they themselves were actually powerful enough to handle her . ¡°He blocked the way, so he was at fault . If he¡¯s injured, then it¡¯s also his fault for being too fragile . ¡± Her answer was to the point and easy to understand, but it carried no intention to appease the adventurers surrounding her . Having been spoken to like that, of course the adventurers weren¡¯t mollified at all . Anger was apparent on their faces, and they reached for their weapons . ¡°He deserved it for picking fights with others, but there was no need to go that far, was there?¡± A man who seemed to be the party leader gestured at the unconscious adventurer with his thumb and said . The woman¡¯s answer was curt . ¡°Have you thought about him being unlucky? It¡¯s your bad luck to meet me . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any intention to apologize? If you do, we¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s out of the question . This Tizona, apologizing to someone? What an absurd joke . ¡± Loren, who was casually listening to their conversation, quickly searched his memory for the name ¡®Tizona¡¯ . He had said that he didn¡¯t remember when asked if they had met before, but there was a chance they had actually met . His thinking was immediately interrupted . ¡°Our career is finished if we let ourselves be looked down on . This can¡¯t end here . ¡± ¡°So, you want to bet on your life? Be prepared to get killed then . ¡± Tizona replied and stood her ground . From what Loren could see, she carried no weapons despite wearing a very gaudy armour . The thought of her being a magician crossed his mind, but he couldn¡¯t understand why she was wearing plate armour if that was the case . ¡°Let us give you some painful experience!¡± At their leader¡¯s declaration, the adventurers simultaneously picked up their weapons . This had escalated beyond the usual quarrels between adventurers, and the woman was outnumbered . Loren reached for his greatsword, wondering if he should back her up . But Lapis, who was standing beside him, stopped him . ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I have a feeling that we should stay away from this . ¡± ¡°I agree with Lapis-chan . What¡¯s with that woman? Such a strong presence, crackling like electricity . ¡± ¡°So she¡¯s at that level?¡± Loren was flustered; this would be a big trouble then . Gula was quiet for a short while, then answered: ¡°On second thought, her presence is more like tingling . ¡± Gula immediately played it down, but Loren believed that if the woman was worth Gula¡¯s attention, then it was better to be cautious with her . He gave up the idea of backing her and took some distance as Lapis had advised . The smarter adventurers had all stepped away from the scene, and the slower one also stepped back once they realized that there were no one else around them . A clearing was soon formed, with the woman at its centre . ¡°Even now, if you apologize¡­¡± ¡°No . Just come in at once . I¡¯ll roast you all in one go . It¡¯ll be quicker like that . ¡± Tizona said and extended her hand towards the leader . Seeing a red flame flickered to life and coiling around her hand like a snake, a name finally came to Loren¡¯s mind . Chapter 148 Chapter 148 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren had heard the stories, but had never witnessed it himself . That was why he hadn¡¯t been able to call up the memory right away . He knew that it was already too late to say ¡®Run!¡¯, but he did anyway . ¡°Run!¡± Loren didn¡¯t know if the adventurers facing Tizona realized that it was directed at them or not . Because the moment he had recalled Tizona¡¯s identity and shouted out the warning to them, he had also picked Lapis up and ran away . Gula also had set off after them just one moment later, and at almost the same time, Tizona had opened her mouth . ¡°Burn . Ashes to ashes . Trashes to ashes . ¡± The words were spoken as if sung . As soon as they left her mouth, the adventurers burst into flames . The red flames enveloped their whole bodies and, without a single scream or a single whiff of smoke or smell of burning flesh, the adventurers became piles of ash in the blink of an eye . Despite how violent the flames were, it didn¡¯t spread . The massacre was over too soon, and it had happened so seamlessly that no one was able to utter anything . Those presented could only turn their gazes towards the piles of ash lying on the floor . The sole perpetrator, Tizona, slowly lowered her arms and looked around . After confirming that no one had anything to say, she slowly walked towards the wall, where Loren had escaped to with Lapis . Her expression was so indifferent that it was impossible to imagine she had just burned several people to death . ¡°You seem to know about me, don¡¯t you?¡± Tizona was coming closer and closer with a clacking of heels, and Loren found himself unable to answer her . He had the experience of imagining scenes after hearing stories about this before, but it was probably the first time that he saw the actual scene . It was so shocking that he was at a loss for words . ¡°Wha¡­ what was just now?¡± Gula, who had run to the wall like Loren, asked with dumbfounded words . Hearing her questions, Loren¡¯s stiffened lips finally moved to say the following: ¡°Hellfire Sword¡± ¡°That means you know me, don¡¯t you? I also feel like I know you . Maybe we¡¯ve met somewhere before?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . At least, this should be the first time I¡¯ve met you . ¡± ¡°Then maybe it was on a battlefield . In that case, it¡¯s very likely that only I saw you¡­ Have you always used that greatsword?¡± Tizona glanced at the greatsword on Loren¡¯s back and asked . Loren had used a similar sword during his mercenary days, but it had been a very ordinary steel sword, not entirely black like this one . That sword broke when he became an adventurer, so he bought this one as a replacement as per Lapis¡¯ advice . Loren suspected that this sword was the reason why Tizona felt like she had met him before . ¡°No, I¡¯ve just bought this one recently . The sword I used to use was¡­ broken . ¡± ¡°Was it similar to this one? A steel greatsword?¡± ¡°Yeah, you can say so . ¡± Loren had considered lying, but he wasn¡¯t sure what Tizona would do if she knew she had been lied to . Rather than taking that risk, he believed it was better to just tell the truth . ¡°Is that so? Are you the mercenary called ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not . Isn¡¯t he the one said to be able to turn the tide of a battle by himself, and thus have a nickname, just like you? I¡¯m not such a big shot . ¡± It felt like Loren already had a similar conversation before . Still being carried by Loren, Lapis watched him and Tizona . Loren looked very earnest, his face saying ¡®I¡¯m not lying¡¯ . Meanwhile, Tizona nodded multiple times as if she was satisfied . ¡°You really are ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ . What are you doing here? I heard the mercenary company you belonged to was annihilated . Did you quit working as a mercenary?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said I¡¯m not him . My company was indeed annihilated, and I did quit being a mercenary, but I don¡¯t have a nickname . I was just an ordinary mercenary . ¡± Loren kept insisting that it was not him . But Tizona already made conclusion and looked at him with an expression of understanding his need to deny the ¡®truth¡¯ . ¡°Uhm, excuse me, but is it alright for me to say something?¡± Feeling that the conversation was going nowhere, Lapis timidly said to Tizona from within Loren¡¯s arms . It seemed like Tizona hadn¡¯t noticed Lapis¡¯ existence until then . She turned towards her and nodded after a brief consideration . ¡°If Loren keeps insisting that he is not that mercenary, then maybe there really is some misunderstanding here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ But he really is ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ . I have no doubt about it . ¡± Tizona said with such confidence that Lapis wondered if it really was the truth . Loren didn¡¯t look like he was lying, but it was possible that he himself didn¡¯t know . Whatever the truth was, there was something Lapis felt like she had to say . ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not saying that those adventurers weren¡¯t at fault since they did take up arms themselves, but I can¡¯t help but think that there will be a lot of trouble if you kill people that easily . ¡± Hearing Lapis¡¯ words, Tizona¡¯s face stiffened at once . Just as Loren realized that she had killed them without much thought about consequences, Tizona turned her eyes towards the piles of ash on the floor and murmured: ¡°Is that bad?¡± ¡°Well, for adventurers, there¡¯s a term about killing someone during quarrels¡­ I myself did get quite serious in quarrels sometimes, but to kill others is¡­ Have you done that, Loren?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t . Probably . ¡± Loren recalled having done rather terrible things during quarrels, like hurling his opponents away or strangling them . They might be unable to recover, but they probably hadn¡¯t died, or so he thought . ¡°But I¡¯m not an adventurer . ¡± If Tizona really was Hellfire Sword as Loren said, then she was a mercenary and not an adventurer . What Lapis had mentioned only applied for quarrels between adventurers; no one here knew what it would be like for quarrels with non-adventurers . ¡°In that case, would you mind coming with me? I¡¯d like to have a talk with you . ¡± It was Ivy who suddenly cut in . The receptionist had a smile on her face, but her aura was terrifying somehow . She was keeping a tight hold on Tizona¡¯s shoulder from behind . Meanwhile, Tizona, who could easily resist Ivy if she wanted to, looked to have frozen . She looked towards Loren for help, but he immediately averted his eyes . Getting involved with Tizona or Ivy? Thanks, but no thanks . Loren didn¡¯t want to get involved with either of them . ¡°Well then, let us go to the back . It won¡¯t take too much of your time; it¡¯ll end quickly and it won¡¯t be painful at all, so please follow me obediently . ¡± ¡°Follow you? Wait, Decapitating Wind! Help a fellow mercenary, will you?! Wait!¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± Tizona hadn¡¯t lost a fight here, but she was letting Ivy drag her away by the shoulder . Lapis¡¯ face indicated very clearly that she didn¡¯t want to get involved, and Loren¡¯s answer was very blunt: ¡°I don¡¯t know you . I¡¯ve already told you, I¡¯m not the mercenary called ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯, and I only know the name of ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ by rumors . ¡± Lapis felt like Loren wasn¡¯t lying or trying to trick Tizona . She couldn¡¯t tell if Tizona had told the truth or not, but rather than reflecting on it, distance themselves from her was a higher priority . ¡°Well then, let¡¯s pretend that we didn¡¯t see anything here . First of all, let¡¯s look for some jobs to pay for Gula¡¯s food expenses, shall we? Otherwise, at this rate we¡¯ll end up on the street . ¡± ¡°Does she really eat that much¡­?¡± Loren looked dazed at Gula, to which she shyly scratched her head . ¡°Eh, there was a long period when I couldn¡¯t eat anything, you know? And right after that I was eating a lot of strange stuff¡­ So to stop eating an ordinary meal for a change became irresistible¡± ¡°I know how you feel, but it¡¯s still no excuse to make us go bankrupt . ¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s rare, but it¡¯ll be nice if we can find some high-paying jobs . It¡¯s even better if Gula can take them on her own . ¡± ¡°Lapis-chan, that¡¯s too cruel¡­¡± Gula began to butter up Lapis, who had just told her to earn the money for her food herself . Loren, who had never heard of any parties getting bankrupt due to food expenses, began to thoroughly investigate the jobs still left at the reception . The Tizona incident had completely vanished from his mind . In the end, they couldn¡¯t find any jobs with decent pay that day, so they decided to return to their inn and come back later for a fresh start . But the next day, when they came back only to have Ivy suddenly drag them into a backroom, and Loren was reminded of Tizona once more . Chapter 149 Chapter 149 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Truth is, there¡¯s a job that Guild would like you to take on . ¡± Ivy got straight to the business . She had led them to one of the backrooms behind the counters at the Adventurer Guild, a plain room with no furniture except for the table they were sitting at . Lapis and Gula sat on both sides of Loren, and opposite them was Ivy and Tizona . Ivy was in her Guild receptionist uniform, and Tizona somehow seemed to be shrinking in on herself as if in shame . The atmosphere was rather awkward somehow . Loren answered Ivy: ¡°Is it coming directly from the Guild? It doesn¡¯t seem like a simple job . ¡± A designated job coming directly from the Adventurer Guild reeked of trouble . Loren didn¡¯t want to accept it, and he frankly let his feelings seep through his voice while answering Ivy . Ivy should have noticed, but she simply continued without a change in neither expression nor complexion . ¡°The job is to investigate the unexplored mountain region south of Kapha . It¡¯s to be done within eleven days, with eight for the two trips to and from the area, and three for the investigation itself . You¡¯ll receive one gold coin for each person, and expenses for necessities will be paid separately . ¡± Loren didn¡¯t know much about geography, so he looked at Lapis for help . Lapis, who was looking back at Ivy with the same poker face expression, replied: ¡°You mean the large mountain range to the south, or southwest of Kapha . Its name is¡­ It¡¯s not named, I believe . There are a number of mountains in that area . Is there an unexplored ruin there?¡± The question was meant for Ivy, but it was Tizona who answered . ¡°I discovered it . It¡¯s a disguised, fort-like ruin halfway up one of the mountains . I couldn¡¯t get close to it, but I¡¯ve never heard of any ruins in the area, so I dare say it¡¯s unexplored . ¡± ¡°I have another question . Why is Tizona here?¡± ¡°The truth is¡­ My mercenary company is in financial trouble . ¡± Tizona said with a blush and a bowed head, as if it was something embarrassing . Loren wondered whether the company¡¯s falling into financial trouble bothered her . Mercenary companies always scrambled for funds, and getting low on cash due to failing a job was not a rare sight, so he didn¡¯t find this something to be embarrassed about . But listening further, Tizona appeared to be the cause of the financial trouble herself . And so the reasons of her embarrassment started to get clearer . ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I¡­ burned down our employer¡¯s troops . ¡± According to Tizona, it had been a job they had taken just a little while ago . The battle ended up in a stalemate, so Tizona decided to use her extraordinary power to incinerate the enemy troops, yet went overboard and caused huge collateral damage . And in her case it was no exaggeration, since the number of casualties had quickly escalated to several hundreds . They had won, so their employer hadn¡¯t been able to charge them . Instead, her company had faced an enormous claim of compensation . Since then their business was going downhill day by day, Tizona haltingly finished her story . ¡°Are you a moron?¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an idiot . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fool, aren¡¯t you?¡± All three members of Loren¡¯s party said in reply . Tizona blushed bright red and answered with minimal objections: ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped! They outnumbered us, so I couldn¡¯t use <>!¡± ¡°<>?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my blessing . It¡¯s why I¡¯m called ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ amongst the mercenaries . ¡± Loren wondered if it was alright to just speak about one¡¯s blessing like that, but Tizona didn¡¯t look particularly concerned; she began to explain what <> was . According to Tizona, it was a skill that could literally roast every single person within a designated range . No defense would be effective against Roast ¨C it would thoroughly burn down everything, inflammable or not . However, it wouldn¡¯t affect anything outside its range . It sounded almost too powerful, but it had some drawbacks: the burning range wasn¡¯t too large, and it wasn¡¯t possible to create multiple zones at once . ¡°I had no choice but used another method to burn them down¡­ My company noticed me using my powers and put some distance to come out unharmed . Employer¡¯s soldiers, on the other hand, were jumbled up with the enemy troops . I knew that over time it would get more dangerous, so I thought the sooner I burn all down, the better it would be . ¡± ¡°What a troublesome character¡­¡± The method she used was still unknown, but it must have been powerful enough to be able to burn down three hundred-odd people in one go . Just as expected of a mercenary with such a nickname . Moreover, being able to burn down both friends and foes alike, further escalated her troublesomeness . For her to still use her powers despite knowing that it would affect her allies, her way of thinking was also dangerous . In short, Loren decided that she was a moron . He looked at Ivy, who had been listening in silence . ¡°I understand the situation, but why are we nominated?¡± Smelling troubles, Loren asked . Ivy shrugged and told him the reason as if it was nothing important: ¡°Because it seems like you know each other . ¡± Seemed like the Adventurer Guild had also decided that Tizona¡¯s story was very disturbing . And since they couldn¡¯t get unrelated people involved, Loren¡¯s party became an obvious choice . ¡°We don¡¯t know her . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because you¡¯re originally in the same trade as her then . ¡± ¡°I used to be one . Unlike her, who is still one, right?¡± Loren wondered if this meant Tizona was considering becoming an adventurer, but she suddenly nodded . ¡°I still want to be a mercenary . I¡¯m indebted to our leader . If our leader resigns, I¡¯ll follow . But that¡¯s still a long way off . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the reason your leader might be forced to quit is a certain ¡®glorious¡¯ victory of yours . ¡± A mercenary company couldn¡¯t operate without funds . Even if her company didn¡¯t disband, in case they couldn¡¯t pay the compensation to their employer, there were only two ways to go forward: either the company could sell themselves to the said employer, or it could ignore the compensation claim entirely and goes rogue . ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve received an offer that, if I sell myself to our employer, our debt will be annulled . ¡± Loren thought that it was not a bad deal . To fill up a gap of a few hundred soldiers, a twice-named mercenary with powerful skills like Tizona was ideal . Also, personality aside, Tizona was a beautiful woman . There was a lot of use for her aside from fighting, so trading couple hundreds of soldiers with her was a fair exchange . A beneficial one, even . ¡°I think in the worst-case scenario I¡¯ll take up that offer . As I¡¯ve just said, I¡¯m indebted to our leader . If this can be settled with just me, then I¡¯m willing to . ¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be treated nicely, do you?¡± ¡°I was told I¡¯ll be treated as a slave . But if it can save our leader from trouble, then so be it . I was about to take up the offer when I suddenly remembered the ruins I¡¯ve encountered during a previous job . So I decided to give it a try, as my final option . ¡± It was a simple story after that . Tizona had asked for a short vacation from her company, collected all the money she had been saving and used it all to put in a request at the Adventurer Guild . She was asking for some adventurers to accompany her to explore the ruin . Some of her fellow mercenaries feared that she could run away, but the leader had let her go willingly . ¡°To repay my debt to our leader, I want money, no matter what it takes . For that reason, I need to explore that ruin . Would you help me?¡± Tizona placed both hands on the table and bowed so low that her forehead touched the tabletop . Loren watched her and considered her offer . Getting rich by exploring unexplored ruins strongly resembled a gamble . If she won, everything would be solved in one shot . It wasn¡¯t a bad idea . Tizona herself was more than a capable fighter, so she wasn¡¯t recruiting adventurers for battles . She was smart enough to understand that no matter how potent her offensive power was, it would be useless for exploration and appraisal of the ruins . And so adventurers¡¯ skills were required . About the reward, Loren couldn¡¯t decide if it was high or low . One gold coin would be too cheap if there was something in the ruin valuable enough to pay off the huge compensation . But if there was nothing inside, it would be quite an expensive gambling fee . ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s unexplored?¡± ¡°The Adventurer Guild guarantees it . ¡± Ivy answered him and continued: ¡°I¡¯ve researched it and couldn¡¯t find any records of ruin discoveries in the given region . I can¡¯t be sure about illegal explorations, but I think it¡¯s very likely that the ruin is unexplored . ¡± The Adventurer Guild tried to keep its adventurers from going on a fool¡¯s errand, and thus kept detailed records of all explorations . Of course, if the exploration was illegal there would be no records . However, the stolen goods still had to be sold off somewhere with information about their origins, and the Guild also possessed an abundance of such . ¡°What do you think? Doesn¡¯t seem too bad to me . ¡± If they were to take on this job, Lapis¡¯ and Gula¡¯s opinions also needed to be taken into consideration . As a start, Loren asked for Gula¡¯s . ¡°If we can earn money, then I have no particular objection . ¡± ¡°Me neither¡­ But if this exploration is successful, I¡¯d like to have more regarding the reward . ¡± What Lapis meant was, one gold coin would be enough if they found nothing, but if they did find something valuable enough to pay off Tizona¡¯s compensation, she would want more . Loren thought it was a bit too greedy, but he was also curious about what Tizona would say . So he said nothing and just watched her instead . ¡°I see . It¡¯s fine for me as long as I can pay off the compensation . I promise to increase the reward in accordance with what we find . ¡± Tizona decided quickly . Loren didn¡¯t particularly care about this quest, but noticing Lapis lightly clenching her fists, he understood that she wanted to take it . That was a good enough reason for him . ¡°Then, we would like to officially accept this job . ¡± Ivy answered Loren with a nod of confirmation, and a small smile of relief appeared on Tizona¡¯s face Chapter 150 Chapter 150 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°I want to ask you something, Miss Human Flint . ¡± ¡°What an ill-bred, impolite person¡­¡± Early next morning found Lapis and Tizona at the south gate of Kapha city . After accepting Tizona¡¯s job yesterday, they had talked for a while, and it was decided that they would start preparing for departure now . Thus, Lapis and Tizona were watching their luggage while Loren and Gula went to rent a donkey to carry them . Lapis found it to be too boring to wait for them in silence, so she tried to start a conversation . But Tizona grimaced as if she had been stabbed with a knife: ¡°Miss Indiscriminate Pyromaniac?¡± ¡°Name, call me by name . You can skip the honorific . So, what do you want to ask?¡± Having a strong feeling that she would be stuck with this nickname forever if she let it slide now, Tizona bluntly opposed Lapis with just a bit of annoyance . Lapis looked at her blankly for a moment and, after a brief consideration, called her again: ¡°Miss Indiscriminate Pyromaniac?¡± ¡°Do you want to get burned?¡± Wondering if some threatening would be needed, Tizona lit up a flame on her fingertip and glared hard at Lapis . But Lapis just nonchalantly replied without any hesitation: ¡°If you burn me, you won¡¯t get Loren to help you . And I wonder if there will be any other adventurer who would want to work with you after that fight in the tavern?¡± ¡°Just ask what you want to ask . Are all priests as disagreeable as you?¡± Lapis was right though, so Tizona sighed and put out the flame on her fingertip . She now realized what a bad move it was to burn down those adventurers during the tavern fight the day before yesterday . After that incident, her name and face had become well-known amongst adventurers, along with the rumor that she would burn people to ashes just because of minor disputes . No adventurers would dare take her job . She also knew that they were looking at Loren¡¯s party with pity after hearing about them accepting it . But it had already been too late, so nothing could be done now . Tizona started to regret incinerating those adventures in the guild hall . Scorching them a bit would be a more prudent option . But for that she had to rely on conventional magic, instead of <> . The issue, however, was that conventional magic had never given a satisfactory sensation of burning¡­ While Tizona was musing this, Lapis thought that the conversation would go nowhere if she kept fooling around with her, so she went straight to be business: ¡°It¡¯s about Loren . ¡± ¡°About whether he really is ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ or not? If that¡¯s the case then yes, there¡¯s no doubt about it . I guarantee that . ¡± Lapis thought so too, but Loren denied it so vehemently that she had to wonder if there was some misunderstanding . She was thinking about confirming it with a currently-active mercenary and by chance this was when Tizona had shown up, so she took this chance . Tizona¡¯s answer came right away, and the indifferent tone she used bewildered Lapis: ¡°His appearance and weapon are the same, but the biggest tell is how strongly he denies to be Decapitating Wind . That guy is known to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge his nickname . ¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Becoming a feared figure on the battlefield and being given a nickname was not a bad thing for a mercenary . On the contrary, it would increase the mercenary¡¯s value, leading to more high-profile jobs and creating a positive impact on the whole company . At least, that was what Lapis thought . But Tizona spoke of a different reality while turning her gaze to the direction where Loren should have come back with the donkey . ¡°The biggest reason is ¨C it would have brought troubles to his company . ¡± ¡°Brought troubles to his company? Why?¡± ¡°A company that has an outstanding member easily attracts attention from other companies . Not only that, but it will also attract a different kind of attention from the government . Such attention can sometimes be good, but they are more often bad . ¡± People would think that a mercenary company with such an excellent member would be very capable, and as a result the company would be forced into life-and-death situations more and more often . Tizona said with a wry smile: ¡°I was also happy with the nickname ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯ at first, but now I¡¯m regretting having ever acknowledged that name . Of course, my company has been treated better thanks to it, but I can¡¯t help the feeling that danger has also increased . ¡± ¡°Loren denies his nickname because he¡¯s afraid of that . ¡± ¡°If the person himself does not acknowledge his nickname, others can¡¯t use it in their narratives . That¡¯s why I find it amazing that the nickname still continues to be used even though he keeps denying it . ¡± Normally, the talk would die down if the person denied his nickname . But in Loren¡¯s case, the nickname still pointed to Loren and even spread . ¡°Other than that, I think he keeps denying it also because Decapitating Wind tends to lose consciousness after a battle . Have you seen it?¡± Lapis silently nodded at Tizona¡¯s question . Loren sometimes could exert unusual strength during battles, which she herself had witnessed multiple times . He could reach that state not by gradually gaining strength but by mental conditioning, and he seemed to have been able to control it himself recently . However, the backlash Loren¡¯s body receives after is severe . Lapis had been secretly racking her brain trying to find a solution, but she hadn¡¯t had any breakthrough so far . What Loren did was essentially forcibly drawing out his latent strength, so it was unreasonable to expect no recoil on the body . ¡°People often forget things after serious injuries . Loren might have forgotten about himself being Decapitating Wind because of this . ¡± Lapis had difficulties believing this, he still could have guessed something from the stories . After all, this wasn¡¯t a matter that could be forgotten just like that¡­ On the other hand, Loren¡¯s tendency to avoid negative attention had to be playing a bigger role in his stubborn denial of the nickname . ¡°Loren is really strong, isn¡¯t he?¡± Since there was still no sign of Loren coming back, Lapis decided to ask another question that she was curious about . Tizona unfolded her arms, placed a hand under her chin and answered after a short while in a wondering tone: ¡°I haven¡¯t fought against him, so it¡¯s difficult to evaluate . ¡± ¡°Were you his enemy or ally?¡± ¡°There are no friends or foes between mercenaries ¨C our positions change together with our employers . It is not uncommon that the one with whom you fought on the same side yesterday, to be on the side of your enemy tomorrow . ¡° It was a characteristic of mercenaries, who worked just for money . It was understandable on a professional level, but Lapis wondered if it was acceptable on an emotional level . ¡°If you can¡¯t accept it, you can¡¯t be a mercenary . I probably killed quite a lot of Loren¡¯s comrades, as he probably did mine . If we bear grudges for that, we can¡¯t be mercenaries . ¡± ¡°Is that how it is?¡± ¡°You have to accept the basic givens of our profession . ¡± Taking her hand from her chin, Tizona answered and folded her arms again . ¡°About your earlier question, I consider him to be a rare fighter . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really understand?¡± ¡°Before we talk about strength, I acknowledge him to be an opponent one can¡¯t be careless with . This might sound like boasting, but he is the only one to ever be able to see through <> at first sight and dodged it . ¡± <>, Tizona¡¯s powerful ability, was a horrible one, almost like a foul play: simply by watching it was impossible to tell how many burning ranges she created, or how big the ranges were . The targets wouldn¡¯t be able to know they were targeted until they started burning and when they did, they would turn into ashes with no time to run . And Loren had been able to dodge it . ¡°How did he do it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know . I¡¯ve thought about it a lot, but¡­ I have no idea at all . ¡± Tizona looked at Lapis with an earnest expression and added: ¡°Could you ask him for me if you have the chance? How did he evade my ability on the first encounter? Even now I still find it strange . ¡± It didn¡¯t seem difficult to ask, but Lapis couldn¡¯t help but feel that the chance to get a direct answer from Loren would be extremely low . Considering his words and actions so far, she believed Loren would somehow manage to dodge the question, either by himself or by chance . If that happened, maybe it would be better to not tell Tizona at all . Just when Lapis started to ponder about this, Loren and Gula finally came back . Loren was empty-handed except for his usual equipment but Gula, who followed behind him, was pulling two donkeys along . Lapis and Tizona looked at their luggage, but for some reasons the donkeys were already packed . ¡°Welcome back, Loren . What¡¯s with those sacks on the donkeys?¡± Lapis ran up to him and asked in confusion . He just scratched his head hopelessly while Gula smiled embarrassingly . ¡°It¡¯s some food . Gula estimated that our provisions won¡¯t be enough . ¡± ¡°Wait a minute . From my point of view, the food we prepared will be more than enough for four people during the intended period, won¡¯t it?¡± Actually, Lapis believed that the prepared provisions were already a bit too much . She couldn¡¯t really explain it to Tizona, but she¡¯d reserved additional food for Gula . However, it seemed like Gula had found even that to be insufficient . ¡°So it¡¯s for Gula . How much do you plan to eat with that body of yours? Honestly, I don¡¯t even have the slightest idea where the hell all that foods go . ¡± ¡°Mainly to my breasts, I guess? Right, Loren?¡± She thrust her chest forward to show off her tube-tope-clad breasts . Loren simply dropped a fist on the crown of her head . It made quite a loud sound, and Gula crouched down holding her head . Loren bluntly told her in an exasperated tone: ¡°I¡¯ll let it go this time since it¡¯s Tizona who pays for all this . But for the next time be prepared and reduce your portions . ¡± ¡°If possible, please be a bit considerate¡­ My purse is not bottomless . ¡± Tizona said in a ¡®I-know-it-is-useless-to-tell-them¡¯ tone, and Lapis dealt her the finishing blow: ¡°It¡¯s a bit too late by now, isn¡¯t it? I bought two top-quality sleeping bags and pillows and counted them into necessity expenses . ¡± ¡°What?! No, rather than that, why two?¡± Tizona¡¯s eyes widened at Lapis¡¯ confession, and Lapis said matter-of-factly with no hint of embarrassment: ¡°They¡¯re for Loren and me . Ah, don¡¯t worry, I bought the normal ones for you two . ¡± ¡°Lapis-chan?! Aren¡¯t they for us?!¡± ¡°Your food expenses cost the most, so please just bear with it . ¡± Lapis coldly replied to Gula . With a troubled expression, Gula thought hard about what should be prioritized, first-class sleeping bag or food . She finally came to a conclusion and heart-brokenly hang her head: ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then . I can endure low-quality sleeping bags, but not lack of food . ¡± ¡°If things continue like this and the exploration ends up a failure, I might have to sell myself even before it¡¯s time to pay for the compensation¡­¡± Just as Tizona¡¯s face darkened at the image of her unwelcoming future, Loren clapped her on the back: ¡°Talk with Lapis then . The interest rate will be high, but she¡¯ll help you . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to discussing it with you!¡± Lapis energetically replied after Loren¡¯s introduction . Tizona just stared at her with slump shoulders and an even gloomier expression . Chapter 151 Chapter 151 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul The party left Kapha city, and their journey so far was a little better than expected, though they didn¡¯t manage to get far on the first day . All they did during the day was following the main road and exchanging greetings with the occasionally passing travelers . Since they couldn¡¯t go farther than planned, they decided to set up a camp on the plain along the main road and called it a day . ¡°Is it just me, or we¡¯re going a little slow?¡± ¡°No, everyone feels the same, except for one person . ¡± ¡°The reason is¡­ surely that . ¡± Lapis said, as she was looking at two exhausted donkeys . Everyone could see that they were a bit overloaded and, Gula, the reason of this increased baggage load, showed a weak, apologetic smile: ¡°Sorry . I eat a lot . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright for us, but the donkeys are pitiful . Apologize to them . ¡± ¡°Sorry guys . I just eat a lot . ¡± Gula said and repeatedly bowed to the donkeys . Tizona just smiled wryly but Lapis, who knew Gula¡¯s true identity, watched the unbelievable scene with a perplexed expression . Lapis didn¡¯t know who called them Evil Gods for the first time, but she wondered how that person would feel seeing such a being bowing to a pair of donkeys . Lapis¡¯ expression became even more perplexed when Loren stacked up the huge amount of branches he had cut and picked from their surroundings into a pile . ¡°Tizona, light these up . ¡± Loren thought that as someone nicknamed ¡®Hellfire Sword¡¯, Tizona would be a master in using fire . But she protested with a merciless expression: ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯m not a tinderbox . Besides, there¡¯s green wood mixed in this, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you dry them?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t, but¡­ Well, you know my nickname, don¡¯t you? Should my ability be used for things like this?¡± Tizona asked with a rather pitiful expression . Surely this was a too lowly work to ask of a twice-named mercenary, wasn¡¯t it? Loren calmly replied: ¡°I don¡¯t care . If you don¡¯t want to do it, then buy firewood in the next town . Of course, this will be added to our expenses, and given that we will be camping a lot due to the round trip, you need to buy enough for future use . Alright?¡± ¡°¡­Just let me do it . ¡± Buying firewood would further increase the expenses, and so Tizona reluctantly changed her mind . She then lifted her hand over the tottering pile of wood gathered by Loren . ¡°Can you dry the green wood?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if I just heat them up and do not burn them, right? In the worst case, I can force them to burn . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that magic?¡± Asked a priest of the God of Knowledge, who suddenly became curious about the process . It didn¡¯t look like Tizona intended to hide anything, so she answered while scowling at the pile of wood: ¡°It¡¯s my blessing . Another one aside from <> . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s really convenient, isn¡¯t it? To be able to use magic to dry things¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s not supposed to be used like this . Rather, you should be more surprised about me having two blessings . ¡± ¡°Now that you mention it¡­¡± Aside from Tizona, Lapis hadn¡¯t met any other person with a blessing¡­ except for a certain adventurer named Klaus . He had a blessing called <>, which allowed him to increase his own power and the power of those he touched . Klaus had never mentioned having another blessing, so Lapis wasn¡¯t sure if he was hiding it or if Boost was the only one he had . However, judging by the way Tizona spoke, it seemed that for one person to receive two blessings was extremely rare . ¡°I have not only one, but two rare blessings . And now I¡¯m using one of them to dry your firewood¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re using it for a peaceful purpose though?¡± ¡°Why does it sound like you are trying to give a noble purpose to my blessing here? Isn¡¯t it strange?!¡± ¡°What blessing is it, by the way?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called <> . I¡¯m using it to dry firewood now, but this is what I used to burn our employer¡¯s troops . And it¡¯s where my nickname comes from . ¡± Said Tizona and her left hand twitched by a small spark that immediately turned into the fire . As she clenched her hand into a fist, the fire started to grow and took a shape similar to a sword . ¡°This is how <> is originally used . ¡± Tizona opened her left fist, and the sword disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared . There was no actual need to draw a sword, she simply wanted to show it to them . Lapis exclaimed, truly impressed: ¡°You really don¡¯t need a burner at all . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re the first one ever to have that kind of reaction after seeing <> . ¡± Tizona continued silently drying the firewood, but her shoulders now had slumped in disappointment . After solving the issue with fire, Loren and Lapis managed to somehow prepare Gula¡¯s dinner . But when Tizona checked the amount of wood left, she became utterly surprised: ¡°Wait, how could you use up almost all the firewood?¡± Tizona dried up quite a lot of firewood, but the amount left was barely enough for a bonfire . She was even unsure if it could keep fire going throughout the night . To answer her astonishment, Loren wearily pointed at Gula: ¡°We used more than half of it to cook¡­ Complain to the big eater over there . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even half full . ¡± Gula said sadly while rubbing her stomach . Tizona saw her devouring enormous amount of food, yet could not fire out where the hell did all go . Even more strange was that fact that her stomach didn¡¯t even look bloated . ¡°I have a feel that we¡¯ll need to stock up once more before reaching our destination . ¡± Lapis muttered in dismay while opening her map . The donkeys¡¯ load was quite heavy, but it lightened up considerably after just one camping and the donkeys now looked somewhat happier . However, if this continued already after the second camping they would run out of food . It wouldn¡¯t be possible to reach their destination if they do not stock up at a village or a town along the main road . ¡°Physical activities increase appetite, huh . ¡± ¡°Loren, is this really okay?¡± Lapis pointed at Gula, who procured a toothpick from somewhere and was chewing on it . Loren was unable to give her an answer . Saying it was not alright would mean throwing Gula out . What bothered him about doing so was not her being indispensable but the prospect of her actions afterwards . Rather than dumping a dangerous crate of combustibles without knowing where it would end up, it was better to spend some money and keep it within sight . ¡°It can¡¯t be helped . We won¡¯t find any solutions even if we try to . Rather than that, let¡¯s decide the order to keep watch, then go to sleep . ¡± ¡°Well, let Gula keep watch for the whole night then . ¡± ¡°Wait a minute! I want to sleep too . ¡± Gula spat out the toothpick and protested, to which Loren and Lapis looked back at her dumbfounded . Unsure if she said something strange again, she faltered a bit . Lapis asked her, sounding rather confused: ¡°Do you even need to sleep?¡± ¡°I do?! I¡¯m still a living being, you know?!¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough sleep to rot your brains off? Not sleeping for a few days is still alright for you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even intend to let me sleep even just once?¡± ¡°Please work as much as you eat . ¡± Lapis said matter-of-factly, and Gula¡¯s expression turned sad . Thinking that she couldn¡¯t let things progress like this, Tizona intervened: ¡°I¡¯m not sure how serious you are, but she¡¯ll die if she doesn¡¯t sleep for four days . ¡± ¡°But she won¡¯t . At most, she¡¯ll just have some hallucinations . ¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just let it go? The one whose pocket hurts the most is me, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gula hung her head at the poison secretly hidden behind those words . Seeing that Lapis had no objections, Tizona took out an hourglass from her luggage: ¡°The sand will run out in exactly two hours . Since there are about eight hours left until morning, let¡¯s take turns and keep watch for two hours each . ¡± ¡°Should we draw a lottery?¡± ¡°No, I proposed it, so I¡¯ll go first . ¡± And so the order of keeping watch was decided like this: Tizona ? Gula ? Loren ? Lapis . Hearing this, Gula energetically leapt at Loren as if her dejected expression earlier had been all a lie . Loren didn¡¯t have any time to dodge her advance and ended up having her clinging tightly to his arm . He tried to shake her off, but she held on firmly with both arms, making it impossible for him to push her away . ¡°In that case, sleep with me, Loren . ¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± ¡°Cause our sleeping bags are the normal type, while yours are high-quality . It¡¯ll surely feel different, right?¡± It was true, but that didn¡¯t mean he should comply with her wish . Gula embraced him in bed just recently, and the situation back then was really dangerous . If she did that within the tight confines of a sleeping bag, he would simply burst . However, he didn¡¯t think that Gula would accept a refusal . Thinking that he was just human, Loren proposed a compromise: ¡°You can use my sleeping bag then . The normal one is fine for me . ¡± ¡°But that¡¯ll be meaningless . Two people will be warmer, right Loren? Right?¡± Gula rubbed her body against Loren . At this very moment, Lapis approached her from behind and covered her from head to toe with her sleeping bag . She even neatly tied Gula up with a rope while Loren watched on in astonishment . Like this Gula wouldn¡¯t be able to come out when her turn arrives . While Loren was wondering about such things, Lapis tossed a tightly-packed Gula into her tent and turned to look at him . ¡°What?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t feel regret or anything, do you?¡± ¡°Thank you for saving me . ¡± Hearing his thanks Lapis looked relieved . She then bade Loren and Tizona goodnight and crawled into her own tent . ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s quite a trouble but when it¡¯s Gula¡¯s turn, can you take her out of the sleeping bag? I think she won¡¯t be able to get out on her own . ¡± ¡°I-I understand¡­¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave it to you then . ¡± Loren waved lightly at a nodding Tizona and slipped into his tent . A day of walking had worn him out, though not as much as the matter of Gula¡¯s appetite, and sleep came soon after he crawled into his own sleeping bag . Chapter 152 Chapter 152 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul It was the morning of their second day on the journey . Lapis was watching the sunrise and got totally mesmerized by it . In front of her was the bonfire, which surprisingly had not gone out and was still blazing brightly, beneath her buttocks was a tightly-wrapped Gula . ¡°The morning feels so refreshing¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel refreshed at all¡­¡± ¡°Please consider this a lesson . I¡¯m starting to wonder if you¡¯re actually Lust and not Gluttony¡­¡± Of course, there was a reason for Gula¡¯s current state . The Evil God had sneakily slipped into Loren¡¯s tent just before his watch shift was about to end, yet was caught by Lapis . She said she wanted to see how comfortable a high-quality sleeping bag was, but Lapis was certain that her goals were somewhat different . She then immediately properly tied her up with a rope, so that she couldn¡¯t move . ¡°Don¡¯t lump me with that guy¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you two the same?¡± ¡°Not at all?! I¡¯m being like that with Loren, not with anyone else! But Luxuria is indiscriminate!¡± The one Gula mentioned was the Evil Gold of Lust, whom they had encountered in a previous job . Recalling what she had witnessed back then, Lapis could feel the refreshing effect of the morning disappearing, and a spectacular frown appeared on her face . Despite his title, the Evil God of Lust was, for some reason, a macho queen . He had betrayed a lot of Lapis¡¯ expectations for Lust, and the trauma, he had burned deep into her mind, was still present . ¡°Is that so?¡± As long as Gula¡¯s target was Loren, Lapis didn¡¯t care if she was indiscriminate in her taste or not . Lapis could never overlook such a thing, and she would stop whoever went after Loren, be it Gula or Luxuria . Just that in Luxuria¡¯s case, Loren probably would also receive some mental damage, so she guessed Gula was somewhat better . Loren and Tizona woke up a short while later, and after exchanging morning greetings with them, Lapis immediately started to prepare both breakfast and lunch . It¡¯d be troublesome to get the cookware and such ready on the road, so it was better to make lunch now . They could munch on it later while walking . Lapis first made a simple stew with salted meat and vegetables . She served it with some bread and with this breakfast was done . After that, she lightly toasted some bacon and vegetables, and sandwiched them between two slices of hard, crunchy bread for lunch . When Lapis was wrapping the sandwiches in cloth and putting them into her luggage, Gula, who was still tightly tied up, spoke unhappily: ¡°Lapis-chan, that much is not enough at all . ¡± ¡°You really want to eat up all of our supply, don¡¯t you?!¡± Lapis had made ten sandwiches . Loren, Tizona and her would have two each, and the rest was for Gula . But from Gula¡¯s point of view, even if all of them were for her, it still wouldn¡¯t be enough . Lapis wanted to save some of the food considering what was left of their supply, but she had a hunch that Gula wouldn¡¯t listen if she told her to tolerate her hunger . With no other choices, she prepared the remaining ingredients and made twice the amount of sandwiches she had planned . Gula was still unsatisfied, but reluctantly gave in after being told there was nothing left . ¡°I feel like I¡¯ll have heartburn right from the morning . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other way but to get used to it, I think . ¡± Lapis gave Loren and Tizona their servings of stew and bread, got her own and then shoving the rest to Gula, who had been untied by now . Gula greedily wolfed it all down directly from the pot . Manner wise, it was an appalling sight, enough to make one lose their appetite . The other three ate while trying to avoid seeing her as much as possible, and breakfast ended like that . They broke camp and started the second day of their journey . From this point on, security on the highway began to worsen little by little . There weren¡¯t any big towns nearby, and the place their party was heading to was on the very edge of Vargenburg¡¯s territory . Naturally, there were not many patrols or workers in this area, and so the chance of encountering thieves, bandits or monsters increased . ¡°Normally, we should proceed with caution . ¡± Lapis muttered in an exasperated tone when a man burst into flames in front of her eyes . A startling scream rose up, and people tremblingly watched the burning figure . But the flame continued to lick at its victim with no concerns, until the man became ashes and scattered in the wind . ¡°You thought your number would be enough for an ordinary group of four travelers, didn¡¯t you?¡± Loren swung his greatsword with a roar . The blade cleanly cut into a man¡¯s torso, leaving his lower-half body standing on the ground while sending his upper body flying into the sky . Looking up at the shabbily-dressed body, Lapis sent out some magic bullets . They pierced the heads of the men surrounding her, leaving red, white and pink pieces of flesh and bone scattered magnificently in the air . Lapis looked at them with pity . ¡°Tizona, can you do something about how you kill them? If everything is burned to ashes, I won¡¯t be able to scavenge their pockets . ¡± They were attacked by ten or so bandits, at a spot where the trees along the road were thick enough to hide in . They had noticed the bandits beforehand, but everyone believed finishing them off would be better than taking a detour . Right now, the bandits were having the bitter experience of being demolished right during their attack . ¡°Scavenging these bandits? You must really need money . ¡± ¡°Whatever sum I found will lessen the burden on your own pocket, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­How about this?¡± Tizona seemed to agree with Lapis¡¯ argument . She waved her hand lightly, and the flame enveloped a bandit¡¯s head . The fire didn¡¯t spread to his body, and only his head turned into ashes . The headless corpse fell to the ground, the cross-section at the neck burned black . Compared to the corpses slashed by Loren and head-blown by Gula¡¯s magic, it looked much prettier . ¡°You really can do it if you want to, don¡¯t you?¡± She should have done this right from the beginning if she could . There was no need to burn everything down: what could be used should be used, Lapis believed . Tizona looked at her with a slightly disgusted expression . ¡°It¡¯s a hassle to aim . ¡± Tizona replied and continued to turn another bandit into a headless corpse . It was easier to scavenge like this . Lapis fished around the corpse¡¯s pocket and found some copper and silver coins, which she gave to Tizona . ¡°Is it alright to give them to me?¡± Tizona looked at the coins and then back to Lapis, who answered in a light tone: ¡°I think the employer should have the first right to whatever found during a job . ¡± Actually, what she found wasn¡¯t much, and she thought she should just give it to Tizona, who bore the heaviest financial burden in this job . ¡°When we fight against monsters, could you please use the same trick? We can¡¯t sell their body parts as raw materials if they¡¯re burned to ashes . ¡± Tizona, who had been fighting as a mercenary, had never thought about scavenging money from her fallen opponents or selling monsters¡¯ bodies as raw materials . ¡°That reminds me, you don¡¯t have any weapons, Tizona . ¡± Right at that moment, another body was sent flying to the sky . It had been roughly cut off diagonally from the shoulder and was now whirling in the air, scattering blood everywhere . It was a common sight since she had partnered with Loren, and she had gotten used to it by now . Still it was not a pleasant sight to behold, Lapis thought and turned her gaze to Tizona¡¯s waist . Tizona¡¯s armor was surely splendid, but she didn¡¯t carry any weapons from what Lapis could see . Seeing as Tizona worked as a mercenary, she wondered why . Noticing Lapis¡¯ gaze, Tizona slapped at her own waist: ¡°If I¡¯m in a serious fight, it¡¯s better to not carry any weapons . ¡± Tizona answered laughingly . Her reply made Lapis feel uneasy . Even magicians carried staff ¨C it was just common sense to carry some sort of weapon . Tizona seemed to expect her to understand underlying reasoning, but Lapis just couldn¡¯t . ¡°Aren¡¯t you a swordsman?¡± She looked like a swordsman, she just couldn¡¯t be a magician with that heavily-decorated armor . Tizona held out both hands, and two swords of flame appeared in her palms . ¡°There¡¯s no need to carry around something I can conjure myself, right?¡± ¡°But you can¡¯t parry with them, can you?¡± Lapis asked . A bandit charged at her from behind but was destroyed by fire, leaving behind only four limbs and a head, which were falling to the ground . Looking back over her shoulders, Lapis noticed something like tooth marks on the severed body parts . She frowned and glared at Gula, who had just used < >, her Evil God power . Noticing Lapis¡¯ stare, Gula bowed repeatedly . She probably couldn¡¯t endure her hunger anymore . It would be a serious problem if Tizona noticed though . ¡°They can burn off my opponents¡¯ weapons in battles . ¡± As if to prove her words, Tizona used her flaming blade to parry the axe another bandit was swinging at her . The steel blade and the flame blade passed through each other without any resistance at all, but the steel blade was cut into two pieces and fell to the ground . The bandit looked at his axe in disbelief, and Tizona turned her blade around and cut off his head . The flame burned and sealed off the wound, and the bandit quietly became a corpse without a single drop of blood spilled . ¡°This is absurd . I feel bad for your opponents . ¡± Lapis thought it would be too much if what she had seen today happened on a battlefield . If you kept a distance from Tizona, you would be burned by a high-temperature flame with no way to defend yourself . But if you got closed, you would be done by a sword of fire that you couldn¡¯t even parry . Lapis believed she could fight against Tizona using demonic abilities . But if she were to fight her with the power of a priest only, she would have no choice but to surrender immediately . ¡°You¡¯re kind, Lapis, to feel bad for bandits . ¡± Lapis tilted her head in a puzzlement . Was it strange to feel pity for those who got trampled on with no decent chance to fight back? But the bandits, the object of her pity, had been completely annihilated by then, and Lapis could only offer the corpses scattering on the ground an offhand, silent prayer . Chapter 153 Chapter 153 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul It was just before nightfall, when Loren¡¯s party reached the post-town . They had been attacked by demons and bandits multiple times that day, but they only drove their attackers back instead of killing them . Lapis said they were too pitiful, as they couldn¡¯t even harm the party . It was understandable though: after all, their party did consist of two twice-named mercenaries (even though one kept denying it), an Evil God and a deamonkin . Though Lapis didn¡¯t even have to use her demonic powers, and she had nothing to do as a priest seeing that no one was injured . ¡°The sun has completely set . ¡± Just as Loren grumbled, the sun had completely set by the time they reached the town, and it was so dark that they couldn¡¯t see a thing . The lights from the town gave the party a sense of security: finally, they would be able to sleep in an inn tonight . But Loren voiced his worry: ¡°Can we still find an inn at this hour?¡± If they couldn¡¯t find lodging, they would have to camp near the town . Stores had also closed by now, and they had used up almost all of their food supply to satiate Gula¡¯s hunger . So they would have to make do with the remaining meagre portions until morning . ¡°That depends on how much we¡¯re willing to pay, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis didn¡¯t believe that money could buy everything, but in truth ¨C it could buy almost anything . This town wasn¡¯t that big and normal rooms were likely filled already, but it wouldn¡¯t be strange for the pricier ones to be still vacant . The question was whether there was an inn with such rooms here, and if yes, whether they could pay for them . ¡°In the worst-case scenario, we can ask some travellers to pass on their rooms to us . ¡± If they were willing to pay, they could find someone to arrange it . In short, as long as you have money, getting some rooms wasn¡¯t a difficult thing . ¡°I don¡¯t really have any troubles with sleeping outdoors, but food is the problem . All thanks to a certain Miss Big Eater . ¡± In response to Lapis¡¯ dripping-with-sarcasm remark, Gula said: ¡°I can still get food for us if we camp though?¡± The town was small, but it did have almost all facilities of a post-town . Lapis was curious about what the hell Gula was planning to fetch and use as food, but they would be in trouble if she did something outrageous . They really should secure some rooms in an inn by all means . So, Lapis picked an inn, told the others to wait outside, and went in to speak with its owner . ¡°Not sure if you guys are lucky or unlucky, but we do have rooms . ¡± Was what the innkeeper, an elderly man, who had already passed middle-aged, told Lapis . She told him about the number of people in their group and asked if he had rooms for one night . She thought that being able to find vacancies would be lucky enough, but the innkeeper¡¯s way of speaking made her feel a bit uneasy . ¡°What do you mean by ¡®unlucky¡¯?¡± Lapis called the others in and observed the first floor of the inn, which also functioned as a dining hall . The business seemed to be thriving, and the place was full of travellers coming for a meal or a pint . But when she looked closer, she could spot some empty chairs here and there in the gloomy hall . Lapis was thinking that they really do have rooms available when Gula whispered into her ears . She had just come back from putting their donkeys into the stable . ¡°The stable is quite empty . ¡± Could it be that she had picked an inn with terrible service? Lapis was worried about that when the innkeeper grumbled: ¡°A rather big gang of bandits has just emerged south of this town . That¡¯s why there are fewer people coming or leaving here . ¡± South was where their party was heading to . ¡°Are they really that big?¡± Lapis slid some coins across the counter to secure their rooms and asked . The innkeeper answered while counting them: ¡°Ah, they¡¯ve wrecked a couple of villages already . Done a number to the guards stationed in the region too . The soldiers in this town are fearing that they¡¯ll come here next . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s awful . Have you appealed to the kingdom?¡± ¡°Of course we did . But it¡¯s rumoured that the kingdom will just look on and won¡¯t lift a finger . ¡± ¡°And why is it again?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we just have a skirmish with our neighbour a little while ago? There are rumours that we¡¯ve lost quite a lot of troops in that and still can¡¯t regroup . ¡± What he just mentioned was not unrelated to their party . Actually, right now the member who was the culprit¡¯s ¡®friend¡¯ was looking in a different direction and whistling while feigning ignorance . And among the ¡®lost¡¯ soldiers the innkeeper had just mentioned, not that many were actually killed . The true story was, many of them weren¡¯t able to continue their soldering career after a certain event, but Lapis couldn¡¯t tell the innkeeper that . She offered some harmless and inoffensive opinion instead . ¡°That¡¯s war for you . Scary, isn¡¯t it?¡± The innkeeper nodded with a troubled expression: ¡°Definitely . The bandits are acting up thanks to that, so it¡¯s a big loss for us too . ¡± ¡°But how the hell did they manage to gather enough men to form such a big gang?¡± Bandits didn¡¯t suddenly appear out of nowhere, they must have come from somewhere . Gathering here in such numbers was also strange . ¡°The Kingdom basically considers the south from here to be an outback region . Runaway criminals, broke mercenaries and soldiers, and failed pioneers, all gathered and formed a bandit gang . ¡± Loren¡¯s face slightly stiffened hearing the words ¡®broke mercenaries¡¯ and Lapis knew quite well why is that: he was one of them, but was lucky enough to be able to enter the adventurer business . His debts were still there, but at least he was still able to put food on the table . However, not all mercenaries were as lucky and some strayed, becoming bandits and forming gangs with others in similar circumstances . Just one mistake, and Loren would have ended up like those guys . No wonder he had mixed feelings being reminded of that again . ¡°It¡¯s said that the Kingdom is forming a unit to deal with these bandits, but how real can that be? And even if they did form a unit, it¡¯ll all be meaningless if they can¡¯t eradicate the gang . ¡± ¡°Are they really that big?¡± This time Tizona asked, joining the conversation . She was a mercenary much like one Loren used to be, but unlike Loren, her mercenary company was still going strong, save for a huge compensation claim they had to pay . If they failed to, Tizona would be forced to pull out, and Lapis believed it would put her company in a dangerous situation . Losing one member would always lower the whole company¡¯s fighting power, not to mention, one with exceptional combat ability thanks to her blessings like Tizona . Her resignation would create a quite big power vacuum, and it would be very difficult for the company to regroup . ¡°I don¡¯t know the details, but it seems so . It¡¯s said that they even acquired and merged with other gangs in the region . ¡± ¡°Do they have someone capable of pulling that off?¡± An average person wouldn¡¯t be able to command such a large group . Loren and Tizona, who had been close to leaders of such groups, understood that very well . If the leader didn¡¯t have true ability and personal charm, the group would be divided and collapsed in no time . However, from what they heard so far, it seemed to be the case here . The unknown leader managed to properly organize a group formidable enough to force the Kingdom to take action . ¡°But the base of such a large group must have become known by now, right?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that the location of their base is still unknown . To be able to hide it in this area, their leader must be quite smart . ¡± A mob, no matter how big their number was, was not really a threat . But if it was properly commanded by someone, then it was another story . ¡°This is no good . ¡± Lapis said . She received their room keys after the innkeeper finished counting her coins . Loren nodded in agreement: ¡°This story reeks of trouble . It¡¯ll be nice if we don¡¯t run into them . ¡± ¡°If we do, we just need to kill them off right away, don¡¯t we?¡± Loren and Lapis smiled wryly at Gula¡¯s nonchalant words . Of course, some bandits wouldn¡¯t hinder her, no matter how many of them there were . However, given Tizona¡¯s presence in their party, if they were to go all out against the bandits, there was a possibility of receiving undue injuries by some strange accident . ¡°Just count on my power, ok?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be counting on it . ¡± With the proper precautions Tizona could utilize all of her powers . Loren wondered about the extent of their fighting force, with Tizona becoming their main damage dealer . But then he noticed that he was already somehow thinking about a strategy for the case they encounter those bandits, and smiled wryly: ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s better to not meet them at all . Let¡¯s worry about what to do when we actually do run into them . We can¡¯t turn back now . ¡± ¡°Yeah, we need to reach our destination, no matter what it takes . That fact still doesn¡¯t change . ¡± ¡°So, no change in plan . Just stop thinking about things we can do nothing about, and quickly get some rest . ¡± ¡°How about praying to some Gods then? Maybe one will hear you . ¡± Gula suggested jokingly, and Loren laughed with scorn as if hearing a bad joke . ¡°Don¡¯t you believe in Gods, Loren?¡± Tizona asked . Due to the nature of their trade, many mercenaries were superstitious . They might not necessarily pray, but the number of mercenaries who believed in Gods was not low . ¡°I believe that Gods do exist, but¡­ I don¡¯t really want to pray to them . It won¡¯t bring anything good . I started thinking that way after becoming an adventurer . ¡± Loren answered and directed a somewhat meaningful glance towards Lapis, a priest who mentioned the God of Knowledge at every chance possible and Gula, an Evil God . Both of them looked somewhat displeased . Chapter 154 Chapter 154 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul With a gang of bandits looming ahead, Loren believed it would be better if they just turned back . However, Tizona didn¡¯t have the luxury to make that decision . She wanted to depart as soon as she got out of bed the next day, but Gula and Lapis stopped her . ¡°We haven¡¯t even had breakfast yet . ¡± Gula said . Last night, the innkeeper told the party that he hadn¡¯t stocked up much food because he didn¡¯t have many customers these days . Moreover, their party had arrived late, and most of the food had already been used for earlier customers . He exhausted his remaining stock to make them supper, but of course it was nowhere near enough for Gula . She made a fuss about it, but calmed down after the innkeeper said he would go to the market first thing in the morning and buy something especially for her . So, she was quite determined to have breakfast, and until she did, she wouldn¡¯t budge no matter what . ¡°Breakfast aside, we still haven¡¯t restocked at all . It¡¯ll be another two days until we reach our destination, right?¡± Lapis added . They had used up almost all the supplies they prepared at Kapha before reaching this town . Therefore, Lapis told Tizona that if they didn¡¯t restock now, their travel condition would become very difficult . ¡°Can¡¯t we just hunt for food on the way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with that too . ¡± Loren was also worried about Tizona¡¯s pocket, but if they let Lapis and Gula go hunting, he had no idea what they might bring back . Hunting would be their best option if they could get normal human food . Tizona probably wasn¡¯t aware of that other prospect though . But Tizona reluctantly nodded: ¡°It can¡¯t be helped . Just stop saying you¡¯re hungry . ¡± Tizona made her decision quickly . Even though it would add to her financial burden, she didn¡¯t say they should save money at all . Loren thought she didn¡¯t seem to care at all, and he respected her a little for that . ¡°Gula, your tendency of overeating is really too much . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯ll work hard instead . ¡± She didn¡¯t sound to be very sorry . Tizona sighed heavily, but Loren couldn¡¯t do anything but pray for her to not get bankrupt . The innkeeper really kept his promise . He came back from the morning market with a large amount of food and immediately started preparing breakfast . The scene was so unsettling that the other guests began feeling suspicious, but Gula just waited for her meal with a smile on her face . Lapis turned away as if she didn¡¯t care about breakfast at all, while Tizona held her head in her hands as if bearing a headache . Loren believed that Gula really needed to think about how to manage her eating habit if she wanted to continue travelling with them . Gula made short work of her breakfast, which was so huge that it even attracted attention from other customers, whereas Loren and the other two had normal helpings . Then, they left the donkeys at the inn and went to the town center . The post-town, despite being small, did have a proper town center . Several stores were opened for travelers, so they went to the grocery store and set about tossing goods into their shopping baskets . ¡°Uhm, don¡¯t you want to choose what to buy?¡± Tizona asked, seeing that Loren and Lapis were just picking up a multitude of goods casually, and rather irresponsibly . Lapis nonchalantly answered: ¡°It¡¯s all good as long as we get enough food . We can choose what we like from the pile later, and shove the rest to Gula . ¡± ¡°Is that alright?¡± ¡°It is . Anything is fine for her as long as it¡¯s edible . ¡± Lapis¡¯ remark was harsh but true, so Loren couldn¡¯t object to that . He just continued to help her in silence . ¡°Still, the food selection here is not very good . ¡± Lapis grumbled while inspecting the vegetable she had picked from one side then the other . Loren had no idea if that vegetable was of good quality or bad, but seemed like Lapis had deemed it to be bad . He reached for another one, and the store owner apologized: ¡°We don¡¯t have that much choice, since our supply is limited . ¡± ¡°Does it have anything to do with the bandits we¡¯ve heard about at the inn?¡± Typically, farm produce like vegetables would be transported to large towns via multiple relay points . Loren didn¡¯t know how many towns there were near Kapha or how big they might be, but products from nearby villages must go through a few connecting points before reaching places about the size of this town . If the product selection here was not of good quality, then something must be going on at the villages . ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve been quite brazen . Even worse, they seem to be expanding their range . If the Kingdom doesn¡¯t act soon, they¡¯ll reach this place sooner or later . ¡± ¡°What about the soldiers stationed here?¡± ¡°There are some, but not that many . If the stories are true then, when the bandits come, they¡¯ll all be killed before they can do anything . ¡± Soldiers dispatched to remote areas of course didn¡¯t have much of combat abilities . And seeing that there weren¡¯t many here, Loren couldn¡¯t think of any defense measure that would be effective against a bandit attack that relied on numbers . ¡°I really want to close the store and run away, but I don¡¯t have the luxury to do so . I can only pray that they won¡¯t come . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible . ¡± Lapis gave up on choosing better quality vegetables ¨C all of them were about the same anyway . She tossed the one she was holding into the basket and bargained with the store owner: ¡°If I buy all this, will you give me some discount?¡± ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t afford to . ¡± The owner replied with a wry smile . But Lapis didn¡¯t give up, of course, and continued to haggle . Tizona watched them in surprise while Gula, who was leaning against the wall, looked on with no interest, as long as she got the food, she didn¡¯t care about price or quality at all . The restocking issue seemed to have been solved for now, so Loren left the haggling to Lapis and went out . He looked up at the sky, the weather was good, and it seemed like today¡¯s journey would also go well . A girl¡¯s voice rang up in his mind just then: [¡®Onii-san, do you know the saying, ¡®Speaking of the devil¡¯?¡¯] It came from a girl who was temporarily residing within Loren¡¯s body . After a certain incident, she had become the King of Death, the highest-ranked undead, and lost her own body . Shayna¡¯s words gave Loren a bad hunch . [¡®I don¡¯t . Sorry, but I¡¯m uneducated . ¡¯] [¡®Onii-san, look behind you to the right . It¡¯s probably from the south of here . ¡¯] Loren looked over his shoulders in the direction Shayna had told him . There was a grocery store that had just opened, next to it was another store, the type of which Loren couldn¡¯t determine . There was nothing particularly unusual though . [What has Shayna sensed?] Loren titled his head in puzzle, wondering if he had overlooked something . He observed the ground, then the stores again, but he only understood Shayna¡¯s warning when he looked up at the sky . In the clear blue sky there was a thin column of gray smoke . It couldn¡¯t be mistaken for clouds at all . ¡°Something is burning, but not in this town . ¡± Gula looked at the sky and said . She had followed him out of the store, and seemed to have noticed the smoke immediately . If something happened in this post-town, there would surely be an uproar by now . But if it happened somewhere else, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if no one noticed . However, some townsfolk did take notice of the smoke . They came out to the street and started pointing at the sky, which began to attract the attention of others . ¡°It seems to be close by . ¡± The smoke would be thicker if it came from within the town, but considering the clarity of the thin smoke column, it couldn¡¯t be from too far away . ¡°Right . From my feeling, it¡¯s the neighboring village . ¡± Gula¡¯s guess was not good news . From the current states of affairs, if something happened at the neighboring village, which resulted in something burning, then it was very likely that there had been a bandit attack . It depended on how big the raid was, but if the earnings at the village wasn¡¯t good enough, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if bandits continued on to this town . Realizing that, a group of armed personnel, probably the town¡¯s guards, rushed towards the direction of the smoke . ¡°How does it look?¡± Lapis looked at the sky and asked . She had immediately stopped the haggling after noticing something unusual was going on, paid a reasonable amount for the food and took some out . Behind her was Tizona, who seemed to carry most of the food they had bought in a large sack on her back . The sack got caught at the door, and she couldn¡¯t get out no matter how much she struggled . ¡°Can¡¯t say anything from here . ¡± It hadn¡¯t been confirmed to be a bandit attack yet, but from Lapis¡¯ way of speaking, it seemed like she had already decided it to be one . If she was acting while expecting the worst-case scenario, Loren thought he probably should do the same . He worked the gears in his brain: ¡°If we go back to the inn, take the donkeys and leave now, we¡¯ll probably make it, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Depending on how those bandits operate . ¡± Loren believed it was better to run if they could . If the bandits came, they should protect themselves from any possible dangers, if not, they should leave things in the hands of people who had been prepared to deal with such situations . Their party should just leave as soon as possible . Whether the bandits would let them leave was another question though . It was extremely unlikely that the bandits would distinguish townsfolk from travelers . ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry back to the inn and pack for now . ¡± When the situation was still unclear, it wouldn¡¯t help to panic . The only preparation they could do now was putting their things in order as soon as possible . The other three members of their party nodded at Lapis¡¯ suggestion . Chapter 155 Chapter 155 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren¡¯s party hurriedly left the store and got back to their inn . They headed for the stable, where their donkeys were kept, as soon as they arrived . Sensing something had happened, the innkeeper asked them about the current situation, but they had no time to answer him . They packed and loaded the donkeys, but before they could take them out of the stable, the situation had changed . ¡°Ah, this is no good, ain¡¯t it?¡± Gula, who was pulling the donkeys¡¯ reins, said the moment she left the small hut . In front of them rose a thick, billowing column of black smoke, completely different from the wispy one they had seen at the grocery . Apparently, some people weren¡¯t satisfied with the havoc they had wrecked somewhere else, and had stretched their hand to this town . Or maybe it had been their intention from the very beginning . ¡°Are we too late?¡± ¡°Seems so . ¡± If the town had already been under attack, it was unlikely that the bandits would let their party leave so easily . Not to mention that the smoke was rising from the south, where they were heading to . They couldn¡¯t leave town without passing the area where something was surely happening . ¡°We have no other choice but to leave through another exit and take a detour later . ¡± ¡°If only our opponents were stupid enough to let that happen . ¡± Their opponents were large in number, and if their operation method was good, they would never leave a gap for townsfolk to escape . If the town was larger, the bandits wouldn¡¯t have enough men to keep watch and even if they did, the crew would be spread thin . But in not-so-large towns like this one, that was too good to hope for . ¡°Even if they are stupid, we still won¡¯t be able to move fast in the current situation . They¡¯ll discover and surround us sooner or later . ¡± Lapis said when looking at the donkeys¡¯ loads, which had become huge again after food restocking . The two creatures looked somewhat tired . Donkeys weren¡¯t fast animals even at their prime, and considering the amounts of luggage currently on their backs, they could barely walk, let alone be able to run away from anything . ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility and deal with this¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about things you can¡¯t do . ¡± Gula tried to say, but Loren held her back . Tizona probably thought Gula was feeling responsible and tried to solve the situation alone even though she couldn¡¯t, and Loren was dissuading her from doing so . But the truth was, Gula really could solve all this by herself, but Loren had no idea what Tizona would think after witnessing that, so he had to rein her back . His ¡®can¡¯t do¡¯ carried the nuance of ¡®can¡¯t show Tizona¡¯ . ¡°Then lemme check the situation first . ¡± ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Gula didn¡¯t answer Loren, she just threw the donkeys¡¯ reins to Tizona, then placed both hands on the stable¡¯s wall and smoothly climbed up to the roof . Loren and Lapis just watched her climb while Tizona asked in amazement: ¡°Isn¡¯t she a magician?¡± ¡°¡­If you think all magicians are delicate, then you¡¯ve made a big mistake . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t answer that . To his knowledge, amongst the small population of magicians in this world, none could climb a wall with almost no foothold or support using only hands and feet like Gula did . But if he was asked how she did it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer, so he had no other choice but to keep his silence . ¡°Loren, this is bad! I can see fire coming from the south!¡± Gula, who was standing on the rooftop with one hand shading her eyes, looked at the direction of the flames and said . From her position, she could see things they couldn¡¯t down here . ¡°Then it¡¯s truly a raid, and we have no choice but to act accordingly . ¡± ¡°There should be a limit to our bad luck . Is there anyone with ties to the God of Pestilence here?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s not me, I think . ¡± Tizona was the only one to get flustered by Lapis¡¯ question and Loren didn¡¯t think it could be him at all . The only one who seemed likely to have links with the God of Pestilence was the one currently on the rooftop . But, since he didn¡¯t know the difference between the God of Pestilence and an Evil God, he couldn¡¯t consider the two entities to be the same . ¡°What do we do now, exactly?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no other way but to repel the raiders . I¡¯m not sure how many of them are there, but they should withdraw if we kill about thirty, right?¡± ¡°Does it mean there are almost a hundred of them in total?¡± Lapis sounded shocked, but Loren thought it was not that bad . On the battlefield, killing thirty men wouldn¡¯t make any impact on the war outcome, unlike here . ¡°So, who should do it?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we all go?¡± Tizona asked . Loren looked at the reins in her hands then at the loaded donkeys behind her and wondered if she planned to go in battle like this . ¡°We need someone to guard the luggage, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I can fight like this though?¡± If Tizona used her blessings, she could indeed still fight without letting go of the donkeys¡¯ reins or leaving this place . That didn¡¯t mean the donkeys would be safe though . She might burn them down along with the luggage . ¡°It won¡¯t do . If you burn our luggage, and we lose our stocks, the one up there will get hungry . ¡± Loren pointed at the rooftop, from where Gula was watching the discussion . After this raid was over, the stores probably wouldn¡¯t be able to resume business as usual . If they lost their luggage, they would be stuck in this town, and completing Tizona¡¯s mission would become difficult . If the payment terms of Tizona¡¯s reparation claim was lax enough, they could wait until the town resumed its normal operations, but no one knew when that would be . ¡°So, what¡¯s your plan?¡± ¡°Tizona will guard the luggage . Lapis too . Gula and I will manage somehow . ¡± ¡°That sounds good . ¡± Lapis voiced her agreement before Tizona could object . Bringing Lapis, who was a priest, to a chaotic area might be a rather dangerous act . That didn¡¯t mean they could let her watch the luggage alone though . They would need someone else, and from Loren¡¯s point of view, Tizona was suitable for that role: she could handle multiple enemies by herself after all . ¡°I have no problem with that, but¡­¡± ¡°So it¡¯s decided . Gula! Memorize the location and come down quickly . We¡¯ll take care of this . ¡± ¡°Alright . I should work as much as I eat, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Gula jumped down from the rooftop, and Tizona¡¯s eyes slightly widened at her agility . Her movements weren¡¯t something Tizona would associate with the word ¡®magician¡¯ at all . Her landing was as soundless and lithe as cat¡¯s . She doubted that Gula was truly a magician, but there was no time to confirm it now . ¡°So, we¡¯re going . We¡¯ll leave this to you . ¡± ¡°Come back safely . We¡¯ll stay put here like good girls . ¡± ¡°Alright . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll heal you right up if you¡¯re injured but still, be careful, both of you . ¡± Lapis¡¯ words were said to their backs . Loren already had his hand on the hilt of his greatsword, whereas Gula ran towards the flame barehanded as always . Tizona followed their backs with her eyes, then turned her gaze back to their surroundings . She believed that the bandits split up their forces . ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll be alright?¡± It was hard for Tizona to imagine a mercenary nicknamed ¡®Decapitating Wind¡¯ would be hindered by some bandits . And it was not bragging, but the same could be said about herself, who had the nickname ¡±Hellfire Sword¡¯ . Still, she felt a touch of anxiety to have only two people dealing with a group of bandits in a town raid . ¡°They will, won¡¯t they? The soldiers stationed here won¡¯t be suddenly wiped out either . ¡± Even if only a few of the guards survived, they would still be able to lessen Loren¡¯s and Gula¡¯s burden . Also, Lapis couldn¡¯t imagine those two being defeated by the bandits at all . To be honest, she wondered if it was overkill to send a twice-named mercenary and an Evil God to deal with a hundred or so bandits . ¡°Rather than them, I¡¯m worried about us bumping into bandits . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll do my guard duty properly . ¡± Or so Tizona said, but Lapis was worried exactly because of her . Tizona¡¯s blessings were a bit different from normal fire manipulation, but fundamentally she could only attack by using fire to burn . On the battlefields or empty plains, her skills were indeed very powerful . But in an enclosed area like a town, even though <> wouldn¡¯t cause collateral damage to the surroundings, <>, which Tizona tended to use when facing a large number of enemies, surely would . Loren left Lapis here because they told Tizona that she was a priest, which meant she should have been useless in a fight to repel raiders . But there must be a reason why he took Gula instead of Tizona . ¡°Anyway, just leave it to those two and standby here quietly, shall we?¡± Lapis said, slightly stressed the ¡®quietly¡¯ part . Tizona found her way of speaking a bit dubious, but still nodded earnestly . Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Leaving the luggage to Lapis and Tizona, Loren and Gula rushed towards the location, from which smoke was rising . ¡°Is¡¯t alright for me to fight a lil more seriously this time?¡± Gula asked Loren as she followed him closely from behind . Still running, Loren spared her a half-glance and replied: ¡°Not a good idea . Play it safe, play it safe . ¡± ¡°Why¡¯d you leave Tizona-chan behind then?¡± If Gula could fight in earnest, it would surely be easy . But no matter how strong the bandits were, there was still the possibility that not all of the town guards are killed off by the time Loren and Gula reached them . Loren couldn¡¯t let Gula eat the bandits when there were witnesses around . ¡°To keep her eyes off us . ¡± As long as Tizona wasn¡¯t there to see it, if they could sufficiently feign ignorance about the whole thing later, Loren did plan to let Gula loose a little . Even if there were witnesses . ¡°I wonder if I can secretly eat somethin¡¯ then¡­¡± They reached the south district of the town while talking . There were fires here and there, as well as guard corpses lying on the ground, probably killed by the bandits . They could also see the bandits that had invaded the town moving about . The scene made Loren stop and rub his eyes . ¡°This is rather amazing, isn¡¯t it?¡± There was a reason why Loren had to stop . What was happening was completely different from the image of a ¡®bandit attack¡¯ Loren had in his mind . ¡°Don¡¯t care about the guards! Just take the goods!¡± ¡°And don¡¯t go after the residents! If you have that much free time at hand, go move the bags!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go burn everything like idiots! Only burn the buildings!¡± From the look of it, the bandits were moving their loot out one by one in a well-organized manner . Several of them seemed to be in charge of supervising the process and under their orders, the other bandits were packing their loot, loading them onto wagons, and the fully-loaded wagons were leaving the town one after another . ¡°Seems like they¡¯ve already wrapped up everythin¡¯ . ¡± From behind Loren¡¯s back, Gula peeked at the scene and voiced her impression . But watching the way-too-well trained bandits working gave Loren a very bad feeling . ¡°Aren¡¯t they behaving too well?¡± Gula put his bad feeling into words . Attack, kill, loot, burn, then run; bandits¡¯ MO could be summed up by those words . But the behaviors of the bandits raiding this town are very different from those lawless acts; they moved as if they had been trained . ¡°So¡­ wha do we do now?¡± ¡°What do we do, you ask¡­ No matter how well-behaved they are, they¡¯re still carrying this town¡¯s supplies away, aren¡¯t they?¡± If Loren was asked whether well-behaved bandits should be let off, then the answer was no . Still, the too-strangely-behaving bandits made it difficult for him to just kill them . He wondered what was up with them . ¡°Then I can eat some, right?¡± ¡°Only if you take care to not get found out . ¡± As if having received a permission, Gula licked her lips, as she passed Loren, then jumped right into the midst of bandits carrying supplies out of town . To the bandits, who had finished their raid and were now wholly engaged in transporting loot, Gula¡¯s assault was a great surprise . In an instant, more than half of them had fallen prey to the invisible fangs and disappeared . ¡°What?! What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°Are there still some guards left?¡± The bandits burst into an uproar like a nest of ants being poked at . Watching from the shadow of a building, Loren couldn¡¯t decide who was the villain here, them or Gula . The bandits were surely in the wrong, as they did attack the town ¨C that was an undeniable fact, but Gula, who lunged at them like a dog off leash and immediately started an indiscriminate slaughter, certainly didn¡¯t look like someone who was working to help the town . ¡°Damn! What¡¯s with this woman?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just like there are many teeth around here!¡± ¡°Run! Let the wagons go first! Dump the leftovers!¡± Even in the midst of considerable chaos, the bandits still acted fast . Except for those fighting Gula, all others immediately gathered their loot bags, got on the remaining wagons and made off at full speed . Loren admired their quick reaction, but it was not like Gula would let her opponent get away . ¡°Wha?! You even don¡¯t leave any food behind?!¡± Light spheres shot out at the same time of her shout, accurately destroyed the axles of the wagons . Losing their wheels, the wagons bounced on the ground and tumbled over . Loren watched the display while casually twisting the neck of a bandit who had noticed him and had come to attack . The lucky bandits who fell out from the driver¡¯s seat immediately got up and readied their weapons . The unlucky ones stayed still with broken or twisted bodies . But in no time, the ones who could get up had their bodies torn off, chewed off, and swallowed into thin air by Gula . Before long, Loren and Gula were the only ones who were still moving at the place . Gula wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, relaxed her body, then turned towards Loren, who was watching everything from a distance like some sports game . ¡°All done?¡± ¡°Thanks . Any witnesses?¡± ¡°Some residents survived, but I¡¯ve sent them to have a nap beforehand . As for the bandits, all except the ones who ran off were killed . ¡± ¡®Just as expected¡¯, Loren thought and looked down at his feet . When Gula was fighting, some bandits had also come to attack him here . He had killed almost all of them barehanded, but an idea suddenly came to his mind, and he decided to keep one alive . So instead of killing he knocked him out, and was currently keeping him under his feet . ¡°Hey Loren, are we takin¡¯ those bags?¡± ¡°Is there any reason to? Let¡¯s just return it to the residents . ¡± There was no problem for one to claim the stolen goods one had recovered, but Loren was not thick-skinned enough to do that, even if the goods were recovered directly from the bandit¡¯s hideout . ¡°Why? Don¡¯t work for free!¡± ¡°We can also demand some rewards from the town . Just leave it to Lapis, she¡¯ll work out a good deal . ¡± Having said that, it looked like the guards who came to intercept the bandits had been almost completely wiped out, and he had no idea who to negotiate rewards with . Loren decided to also leave that to Lapis and turned his attention back to the bandit he was currently stepping on . The bandit was a man who looked to be near thirty years old . He seemed to have been a bandit for quite a while: he was covered in scars, and his face was vicious even in his unconscious state . Even if he looked scary enough to frighten children, there was nothing he could do while unconscious . Before he woke up, Loren decided to do what needed to be done: he picked up a rope used to tie loot bags, and properly tied the bandit up, then threw him over his shoulder . ¡°Eh? Is that an emergency ration?¡± Having realized that they were about to bring that man somewhere, Gula asked . ¡°Emergency ration for whom¡­ Ah, you mean you?¡± ¡°You also eat people?¡± ¡°Cannibalism is not my hobby . And I¡¯ve heard that people don¡¯t taste good . ¡± Gula¡¯s face stiffened at Loren¡¯s smooth comeback . She hadn¡¯t expected that reply at all . ¡°From whom did you hear it?¡± ¡°A fellow mercenary who once got caught in a siege . The enemy was using starvation tactics, so they had to eat whatever seemed to be edible¡­ Well it¡¯s nothing important . ¡± The odor coming from the bandit made Loren grimace . He smelled of sweat, filth, and dirt . ¡®Maintain personal hygiene, won¡¯t you!¡¯, Loren thought . But a hygienic bandit probably didn¡¯t exist anywhere in this world, so he just resigned himself to it . ¡°Is there any place where we can avoid public eyes? We don¡¯t have much time . ¡± ¡°How¡®bout under the shadow of that ruined warehouse?¡± Gula gestured at the place with her chin, and Loren headed there with slightly-quickened steps, the bandit still on his shoulder, and Gula followed him . She seemed to be interested in what he was planning to do . When Loren dropped the man to the ground, leaned against the wall of the warehouse and unhurriedly opened his jacket to pull out something, Gula generally understood his plan . What Loren pulled out from his jacket was a knife . He held it in his right hand, blade naked, and slapped the bandit with his left . Gula asked . ¡°You wanna to hack him? It¡¯s a bit dirty, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, that depends on his endurance . ¡± The bandit¡¯s eyes opened just a slit . Loren knelt down behind him, flickering the knife in front of his eyes so that he could see it better . The bandit looked around with slightly-opened eyes . His awareness seemed to still be hazy, and he couldn¡¯t grasp what kind of situation he was in . When he finally realized that he was being tied and couldn¡¯t move, and noticed Loren waving a naked knife in front of him, he let out a short, small shriek . ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound . If someone comes, I¡¯ll have to deal with you real quick . ¡± Loren pushed the blade close to the man¡¯s cheek and said . The cold steel blade seemed to fully wake him up, and he paled . Loren seemed pleased with that . He leaned in just a bit closer and whispered: <¡°Well, I don¡¯t have much time, and I don¡¯t want to get my hands dirty . ¡±> ¡®What the hell are you planning to do?¡¯, the bandit stared at Loren as if seeking for an answer . He actually could guess, but just couldn¡¯t make himself believe it . Loren paid it no mind and continued: ¡°First of all, I¡¯ll give you a quick demonstration about what will happen from now on if you don¡¯t answer my question . ¡± ¡°P-please stop . Just ask what you want to ask!¡± ¡°For the sake of both of us, I hope you¡¯ll tell the truth . I don¡¯t have time for you to lie to me . So, it¡¯s better if you experience once what will happen if you lie or keep silence . Easy to understand, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren unhurriedly dragged the blade on the bandit¡¯s cheek down to his lips . Tears came out from the bandit¡¯s eyes, and he even seemed to want to shake his head to beg Loren to stop, Loren¡¯s firm grip only allowed him to move his neck . A stiff, broken whine leaked out from his mouth . ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, so I¡¯m not very good at this . Well, it¡¯s probably enough though, so enjoy it . ¡± The bandit let out a muffled scream and flailed his feet wildly . But as Loren was straddling him, he was almost immobile, and he could only let Loren do whatever he wanted without being able to resist . ¡°Uwah¡­ So Loren even knows of these nasty things . ¡± Gula exclaimed . She was covering her face with her hands, but still peeked out from behind her fingers to watch the scene . Meanwhile, Loren just continued his knife work without a change in expression . Chapter 157 Chapter 157 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°In conclusion, interrogating an underling is not that worthwhile . ¡± Loren washed his blood-stained hands at a well by the road, dried them with a piece of cloth torn off from the bandits¡¯ clothes, and said . Gula frowned at him a little . They had successfully intercepted the raid, but since the bandits were too efficient, it didn¡¯t make much of a difference . Half of the stolen goods were left behind, and Gula killing off tens-odd bandits by herself were the only successes they could claim if they had to . As for the bandit Loren had captured, he was handed to the town officials while still breathing . He was made to talk, of course, but after getting the information he thought he needed from him, Loren could only let out a hollow laugh . Loren didn¡¯t think the surviving soldiers and town officials would be able to get anything out of him, but he didn¡¯t know of the bandit¡¯s ultimate fate . ¡°He did have some useful information though . Well, if he didn¡¯t lie . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d be impressed if he had balls to bullshit us after all that . ¡± Gula, who had been present at the scene, said with a shudder . Loren wondered why an Evil God like her would say that, but there was fear in her eyes when she looked at him, and her body did tremble . He couldn¡¯t tell if she was serious or not . ¡°Was it really that nasty?¡± It was Tizona who asked that question . They were at a dining hall in the northern area of the town, which wasn¡¯t damaged by the raid . They were staying at a different inn this time, since they got evicted from the previous one even after explaining about their circumstances . Lapis had left to talk with the surviving town guards and officials, as Gula hated troublesome things and Loren and Tizona weren¡¯t confident about being able to provide a good explanation . They were currently waiting for her to come back . ¡°I don¡¯t think of it as something nasty anymore . ¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a common practice on the battlefield? It¡¯s just a mean to extract intel from captured enemies . ¡± Hearing Loren saying so, Gula turned her attention to Tizona, who was also a mercenary . Tizona became flustered and waved her hand . ¡°I, that¡­¡± ¡°Is it not a common practice?¡± ¡°I¡¯m basically just in charge of fighting . Dealing with prisoners is someone else¡¯s responsibility¡­ I don¡¯t know what they do . ¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s surely not something for to do . ¡± That said, Tizona also wondered why the hell would they leave interrogations to , but since she knew Loren would deny being that person if she asked him, she only smiled vaguely at his remark . ¡°So, what¡¯d you get from him?¡± Gula seemed to be watching Tizona¡¯s reactions still, but she changed the topic nevertheless . Loren also found the topic of prisoner treatment annoying, so he jumped at the chance . ¡°It¡¯s not very useful . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine too . Just tell me . ¡± ¡°First of all, the one I caught was on the lowest level of their gang, so he didn¡¯t know anything about their HQ . ¡± This was a common thing in large organizations . It was also an evidence of how big this gang of bandits was . ¡°The ones attacking this time are based in one of the depots scattering in this area . All the loot they get will be gathered there, and only the valuable ones are sent to HQ . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of something like that before . ¡± Loren agreed with Tizona . Even though it was also a rather strange practice in itself, the bandits in this world usually brought all their loot to their HQ . To have designated depots for loot would require them to break up their force and base accordingly . ¡°And isn¡¯t it strange to transport only valuable items to HQ? Bandits normally take all they can, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I think so too, but it seems credible since that guy did confess so . There will be people coming from the HQ to appraise the loot and take some of the valuable ones back to HQ . The rest will be left as the depot for those based there to do as they like . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite fair . ¡± ¡°Are bandits supposed to be fair though?¡± As Gula and Loren argued with each other, Tizona sat in silence with her head tilted in puzzle . Lapis returned just then . She seemed tired, so after spotting the group, she ordered some drinks and joined them . ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard . How was it?¡± Loren asked, but Lapis raised her hand to signal him to stop and wait until their drinks arrived . Tizona and Gula thought the report should come first, but since Loren left all the troublesome decision-making to Lapis, he didn¡¯t rush her . Before long, the owner came carrying their drinks . Lapis drained her glass in one gulp, exhaled heavily, turned toward the other waiting members, and finally started speaking . ¡°Well, I was helped by understanding people . ¡± According to Lapis, handing over the captured bandit was also considered a big deal . The town officials and guards believed that their party had repelled the bandits more readily than expected, and so they thanked them, and easily accepted their demand for reward . Loren found their response a bit too lighthearted and got suspicious, but Lapis had a different opinion: ¡°I think it¡¯s better to just accept their gratitude quietly and get their cooperation, instead of going against them and losing their goodwill . ¡± ¡°Even if we¡¯re asked to work with them on the town defense, we can¡¯t . We¡¯re in the middle of a job ourselves . ¡± Tizona¡¯s quest for the ruin expedition must take priority, thus repelling bandits was just a side job . From Loren¡¯s point of view, even if they were asked to work with the town, they must reject it . ¡°That¡¯s true . So, I think we should let Tizona make the decision . ¡± ¡°Me?¡± Tizona pointed at herself, and Lapis nodded . ¡°Yes . You¡¯re currently our client, so no one, but you should decide our course of actions . ¡± ¡°What decision should I make?¡± Tizona seemed to think that what Lapis said was not incorrect, so she calmly turned towards Lapis and asked . Lapis held the cup with both hands, raised it as if she was praying, and looked at Tizona: ¡°The town officials request, or rather expressed their wish, that we somehow deal with the bandits attacking them this time . ¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®deal with¡¯?¡± ¡°It means ¡®deal with¡¯ . Obliterate them if possible . If not, deal enough damages to them so that they cannot attack the town again . ¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Tizona folded her arms and considered this . The other three watched her, Loren with an unchanged expression, Lapis with a frown, and Gula with a bit of astonishment on her face . ¡°A quick question: it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t do it, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still not sure about their force, but¡­ no, it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t . ¡± From Tizona¡¯s question, Gula wondered if she had known about her own and Lapis¡¯ true power . But a short while later, Gula remembered that just Tizona¡¯s power alone would be enough to deal with the bandits . ¡°Loren and Gula have killed a number of them already, and we know about their depot¡¯s location from the captured bandit . ¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be troubled if we¡¯re asked to tackle their HQ . But just a depot won¡¯t take us much time, will it?¡± ¡°Tizona, you¡¯re amazing!¡± Lapis said with no hint of exaggeration, and Loren choked a little hearing her exclaim . Lapis and Gula turned to look at him as if asking what was wrong, but he waved his hands at them to indicate that he was alright . The truth was, he was surprised to hear the word ¡®amazing¡¯ coming from Lapis, but it was difficult to explain that to them . The two girls didn¡¯t seem to notice his predicament, and didn¡¯t ask more questions . ¡°But I think you also know that I¡¯m not in a position to waste time here . ¡± ¡°Then, let me tell you one good thing . ¡± Putting her glass down on the table and raising one finger, Lapis told them another piece of information: ¡°If we can complete their request, aside from the reward, the town will let us do what we like with the loot found at the depot . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s very generous of them . ¡± If it wasn¡¯t related to a specific job, the goods found at a bandits¡¯ place would belong to whoever attacked them . However, if the attack was done due to a request from a client, the client normally claimed the stolen goods . Since the town offered to reward them for dealing with the bandits¡¯ depot, it would be normal for them to claim the goods found there . But the town proposed to waive their claim this time, meaning their party could take whatever they wanted once the job is done . If one didn¡¯t consider the risk of dealing with an overwhelming number of bandits, then this was an extremely good job . The biggest problem was getting rid of the bandits . ¡°If I say I want to take on their request, what will your answer be?¡± ¡°That depends on your remuneration, of course . ¡± Client decided the course of actions, but the contractor had the right to accept or refuse it . Tizona also agreed with this point . ¡°One more gold coin for each then . How is it?¡± Tizona asked Lapis, but she didn¡¯t answer, instead she looked at Loren . She considered him their party¡¯s leader, and thus he should be the one to decide what to do . ¡°Do we have time for this?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a problem if it takes seven or eight days . ¡± ¡°It probably won¡¯t take that long . ¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no problem . So, do we accept this job?¡± ¡°Well, what should we do, I wonder?¡± Lapis had already left the decision to him . As for Gula, when he glanced at her to check her reaction, he saw her yawning . Apparently she wasn¡¯t interested in the discussion at all . After a while, Gula finally finished yawning and noticed that Loren was staring at her . She jumped in surprise, but immediately realized he was asking for her opinion and nodded twice . It seemed like Gula had also left the decision-making to him . Loren turned back to Tizona and answered: ¡°Alright . We¡¯ll attack the bandits¡¯ depot . ¡± ¡°Good . We need a map of the place and its surroundings . Then we need to come up with a plan . ¡± At Tizona¡¯s words, Lapis started unfolding a map of the area around the post-town she had procured somewhere on the table they were sitting at . Chapter 158 Chapter 158 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Comparing the information Loren got from the bandit with Lapis¡¯ map, they found out that the bandits¡¯ depot was on a mountain . It would take them a day to get there on foot, but they could arrive in no time on horseback . Wanting to save as much time as possible, the party decided to borrow some horses from the town . However, the town didn¡¯t have enough horses for all of them, so they had to make do with one fast horse and a sturdy carriage instead . ¡°It¡¯ll be very simple if I burn them all down . ¡± Tizona said from inside the dangerously jolting carriage . Loren did agree with her, so he had no objections to that . However, the cost for a simple closure would be much less profit . As getting the loot was also their aim, they should avoid burning techniques as much as possible . Otherwise, it was very likely that the goods would be burned to ashes together with the bandits and become useless . ¡°Can¡¯t eat them if they become ashes¡­¡± ¡°Yes, so can you shut up?¡± As Gula was about to say something stupid in front of Tizona, Loren used his hand to block her mouth . Tizona watched them wrestling each other with a tilted head, while Lapis looked back from the driver seat with a reproachful expression . They needed a coachman to drive the carriage, but of course, the city would not allow one to accompany them in an assault of a bandit hideout . Lapis had no choice but to take on the job, but she seemed to be already regretting it . ¡°You look to be having fun¡­¡± Lapis grumbled, and Gula answered sincerely: ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s unexpectedly fun . ¡± Lapis not expecting such an answer got so surprised that she lost control of the carriage for a moment, making it jolt violently . Gula found even that to be funny, and Loren had to acknowledge that she was a kind of good travel company . Their carriage reached the mountain range at last . Even though it was slower than riding, it was still much faster than walking, as they managed to reach their destination before sunset . They parked the carriage at some distance from the depot . Loren got down and muttered while looking in the depot¡¯s direction: ¡°Isn¡¯t it just the right time to attack?¡± The sun was setting, the light was changing colors, and darkness would soon come . Just like Loren said, it was the perfect time for an attack . They could move under the cover of night . ¡°Do we have any attack plan?¡± Lapis asked while tying the carriage to a tree . From the intel they had gathered, there were about a hundred bandits at this depot . She thought it was a bit too many for four people, but Tizona answered with no regards to her worry: ¡°I will charge in from the front . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well, alright, let¡¯s hear it all first . ¡± Number-wise, they were overwhelmed, and yet Tizona wanted to charge in head on? Lapis wanted to complain, but it looked like she had a plan, so Lapis decided to hear her out first . ¡°While I make a show to attract their attention, you sneak in and cause disorder from the inside . If we attack from both inside and outside, they will fall into chaos, don¡¯t they?¡± The plan was unexpectedly decent, so Lapis told Tizona: ¡°You really did think it through, didn¡¯t you?¡± Tizona snorted at her words with just a bit of annoyance . Lapis didn¡¯t say anything, but told her clearly through facial expression: ¡®If you don¡¯t want others to think of you like that, then stop mentioning burning things at every chance possible¡¯ . She then looked at Loren for his opinion: ¡°It¡¯s not bad, right? Do you have any problems with the plan¡­?¡± ¡°Just that we suck at sneakin¡¯ in . ¡± ¡°Also, unlike you guys, I¡¯ll die if I face a group of bandits alone . ¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Gula scowled at Loren as if asking what kind of stupid thing he was saying . Loren was speaking his true thoughts, but from Gula¡¯s point of view, what he said was just an incomprehensible joke . Tizona seemed to have the same opinion, and was looking at him with the same expression . The truth was, Loren believed that if he were to face the group of bandits alone, he would use up his strength sooner or later and die . Even when they intercepted the town raid earlier, he was able to make it because he could entrust his back to Gula, who, as an Evil God, was a being existing beyond common knowledge . But the people around him didn¡¯t seem to think so . Feeling troubled to be so overestimated, Loren cleared his throat: ¡°Well, if Tizona can attract their attention with her flashy display, it¡¯ll be alright, I guess?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . And if we mess up, we simply have to crush¡¯em . ¡± Lapis then concluded: ¡°We¡¯re absolutely horrible at things like stealth and subtlety . ¡± They looked at each other and, except for Loren, everyone laughed at almost the same time, even though the laughter was somewhat forced . It could be said they were all feeling self-conscious because of Lapis¡¯ words, and could only laugh to gloss it over . ¡°So, I¡¯ll go in from the front and make a show . ¡± ¡°And we¡¯ll detour and sneak in as stealthily as possible from the rear . ¡± Tizona snapped her fingers and walked straight to the entrance of the depot . Loren watched her go, then tried to move as silently as possible towards the back of the depot . ¡°Hey, someone¡¯s coming . ¡± A short while later, a gaudily-dressed, redheaded woman appeared in front of the bandits¡¯ depot . The depot was a fort-like structure surrounded by wooden fences, with two bandits guarding the gate . The guard who noticed the woman picked up his bow while wondering why would she come alone . He watched the other guard to also pick up his own bow while knocking an arrow in his bow . ¡°An attack from the town?¡± ¡°If so, isn¡¯t it strange that she¡¯s alone?¡± Even the guards knew that after they had their ways with almost all of the villages in the surrounding area, they decided to touch the post-town a bit, but had failed . The survivors scurried back and told them that they had been done in by only one or two opponents, but everyone at the depot was half-suspicious of how absurd the story sounded . The sight of a woman unhurriedly walking towards them alone was a vivid reminder of that story, but doubt was still dominating their hearts . ¡°Whatever . Just shoot first . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The guards chose acting over thinking and released their arrows at the woman, who still didn¡¯t change her speed despite knowing that she had been spotted . They were quite accurate for bandits, and their arrows went straight on a trajectory to pierce the woman . They smiled, imagining the woman being dyed in blood and collapsing to the ground . However, their faces immediately stiffened . The woman didn¡¯t put up any defenses or dodge the arrows, just continued walking forward, but the arrows suddenly and violently burst into flames before they could reach her and turned into ashes, which was then scattered by the wind . ¡°Ha?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that just now?¡± They exclaimed like idiots . What happened before their eyes was so incomprehensible and unbelievable . Tizona just stopped, smiled daringly at them and beckoned them over in an act of provocation . Having no patience whatsoever, the guards¡¯ blood rushed to their heads at Tizona¡¯s gesture, and they shouted: ¡°I don¡¯t know what she did, but she¡¯s making fun of us!¡± ¡°Hey guys come out here and shoot her down!¡± Other bandits burst out at their shouts, knocking arrows and firing at Tizona one after another . Quite a large number of arrows rained down on Tizona¡¯s head, but none touched her; they were all burned to dust in a blink of an eye . By the time the bandits realized that their attacks were futile, they shot almost all of the arrows they had . ¡°Wh-what in the world is that woman?!¡± ¡°Hey, let¡¯s call for reinforcement¡­¡± Realizing that their arrows were useless and decided to call for backup, but their decision came a bit late . Noticing that the rain of arrows had stopped, Tizona charged at them . The bandits were surprised to see the woman charging at them barehanded, but they all had some experience in actual combat . Just as they dropped their bows and picked up their swords and axes, one of them was suddenly engulfed in flames with no warning . He burned into ashes right in front of their dumbfounded eyes, but things didn¡¯t end there . Another one was immediately covered in flames and burned out without even the time to scream . Then yet another caught fire . The bandits¡¯ morale, which hadn¡¯t been that high, collapsed . ¡°What the?! What¡¯s happening?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, but that woman is no good!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it magic?!¡± They shouted while running inside and shut the gate . They unconsciously thought that she wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if they closed the gate, but to Tizona, wooden gates were no different from no gates . ¡°Let¡¯s burn it a bit more flashy!¡± As she spoke, Tizona changed from <> to <>, raised her hand high and brought it down, and a wave of flame surged out . The bandits weren¡¯t even aware of her attack ¨C they were burned down together with the gate by the deep red fire . The flame spread to the wooden fence surrounding the depot and cast a brilliantly red light in the darkness of the night . ¡°It¡¯s begun . ¡± Loren watched the fire on the opposite side and muttered . Believing it to be the signal to start their attack, Lapis began to walk into the depot, but Loren grasped her shoulders to stop her . ¡°Aren¡¯t we going in?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go in from the side . Not all of them went to the front . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­ Isn¡¯t coming from the side the same as coming from the back?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s why we won¡¯t go in from the back . ¡± Loren answered and tapped Gula¡¯s shoulder, who was watching the situation beside him, and pointed to the gate on the opposite site of where Tizona was attacking: ¡°Go eat and mess them up . ¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Having obtained permission, Gula immediately charged at the gate without giving Lapis time to stop her . The guards¡¯ eyes widened as she jumped at them with way too much energy, but their upper bodies immediately vanished as if being bitten off by some gigantic beast . Their lower bodies also disappeared soon after as if being dug out from the ground they had fallen on . Loren watched the gate being grandly scooped out from where it was standing and tapped at Lapis¡¯ back, who had been watching Gula with her mouth wide-open: ¡°With this much uproar, the flank will be rather sparse . Let¡¯s go . ¡± ¡°This can only be called a tragedy¡­ I have no sympathy for them, but still . ¡± Gula seemed to be unsatisfied with just the gate, so she began dismantling the fences . Which was better, being burned to death or being eaten alive? Lapis was caught by such thought while watching the fire burning yet higher and the fences being gouged out . Chapter 159 Chapter 159 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul In the end, Loren wondered if they used more force than necessary to deal with the bandits . Attacked from the front and the rear by Tizona¡¯s fire and Gula¡¯s Gluttony power, the bandits weren¡¯t able to regroup for a retaliation . They fell into disorder with no need for interference from Loren and Lapis, couldn¡¯t properly fight back, and ended up either being burned to ashes or becoming food to some invisible stomach . ¡°Don¡¯t kill them all, alright? Leave some that look high-ranked . ¡± Loren reminded . Tizona was worried about the fire spreading and had been fighting as carefully as possible, but Gula was in high spirit and without his warning, she might had eaten them all . ¡°I¡¯ve no clue what high-ranked people look like though?¡± ¡°Those that look fatter, or have better equipment, or similar . ¡± ¡°They al¡¯ look the same to me . ¡± ¡°The ones who don¡¯t come out to intercept us and draw back inside . ¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Choosing some better-looking bandits, Gula made them lose consciousness without even touching them . Loren was concerned about how much of this could be explained by the magician ruse, but Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care, and Tizona was too preoccupied with her own battle to even look in Gula¡¯s direction, so they could probably feign ignorance when asked . Loren himself didn¡¯t have to use his sword at all . Even though some bandits attacked Lapis and him, all could be handled barehanded . Lapis never left his side, and didn¡¯t engage in the fights . The sounds of battles began to calm down and before long, they completely stopped . All that remained were piles of charred corpses and countless gouged marks on the ground . Only one part of the structure left almost untouched . There should have been nearly a hundred bandits at this depot, but only about ten were still alive after the battle . The others had all been burned or eaten . Loren looked around the battlefield and believed that none had escaped . Even if some had been able to, their number would be too few to form a group, and they probably would return to their HQ or end up dead on the road somewhere . ¡°I¡¯ve left some alive like you said . What do we do with them?¡± Gula asked while lighting up the magic lights . She had eaten some of their spirit, causing them to lose consciousness . They would not wake up until Gula gave back what she had eaten, or until they had recovered the loss by themselves . She had done the same to him before, so Loren understood its effect very well . ¡°Let¡¯s interrogate them, shall we?¡± There was no other answer to Gula¡¯s question . The town asked them to deal some damages to this depot, and what they had done was more than enough . They could end their job here and go back, but Loren thought that if they had gone through all the trouble to destroy one depot, they might as well get some intel about the bandits¡¯ HQ . ¡°You plan to do that again?¡± Gula asked with a frown and shivered, but Loren shook his head . When they intercepted the town raid earlier, Loren had captured and interrogated one of the bandits to acquire intel about this depot . However, he was just an ex-mercenary turned adventurer and torturing wasn¡¯t his job . Generally, only the tortured was subjected to pain during a torture session, but the act also took a toll on the torturer¡¯s physical and mental strength . It wouldn¡¯t be the case if the torturer liked it, but unfortunately Loren didn¡¯t . In short, he was not very willing to torture someone either . Loren picked one amongst the surviving bandits and tied him up . After checking multiple times to make sure he couldn¡¯t move, Loren told Gula to wake him . ¡°Dun want to, y¡¯know . ¡± Gula grumbled while returning what she had nibbled from the bandit . He regained consciousness, but seemed unable to grasp the situation he was in at first: he looked around with vacant eyes and squirmed on the ground . When he finally caught on, he struggled like a worm and shouted: ¡°You! If you think you can just walk away doing this to me¡­¡± ¡°I am thinking exactly that . Why don¡¯t you look around yourself?¡± Loren kicked at the bandit¡¯s stomach, making him cough violently . He pulled him up by the head so that he could see his surroundings more clearly . Seeing how his base had been changed, the bandit lost his words and stopped making a fuss . ¡°You seem to have understood the situation now . ¡± ¡°How the hell did you¡­¡± ¡°We are the ones to ask questions, not you . ¡± Loren replied curtly and lightly (from his own point of view) slammed the bandit¡¯s head to the ground . Bone and meat hit the ground with a dull sound, and the bandit¡¯s head bled . The wound wasn¡¯t deep, but head wounds always tended to bleed more . The blood started drippomh down the bandit¡¯s face, and he groaned in pain . ¡°Well, I only want to know one thing . Where is your HQ?¡± ¡°And what will you do when you know?¡± Loren slammed his head again, this time with a bit more force . Being hit once more, the shallow wound opened again and blood flowed more profusely . ¡°I don¡¯t accept questions . Just obediently tell me what I want to hear . ¡± ¡°I can¡¯t . I¡¯ll be killed . ¡± The bandit¡¯s resolution seemed to start breaking after tasting Loren¡¯s violence twice . He slammed the trembling bandit¡¯s head to the ground once more . ¡°That¡¯s not an answer . Keep talking like that if you want to die . I don¡¯t really have to get the answer from you, you know . If you die, I¡¯ll just show your corpse to another guy and ask him . ¡± The wound had opened even more, and the bandit¡¯s face was smeared in blood . His nose seemed to have been broken by the impact: it was crooked, and wheezing breaths were coming from his swollen lips . Loren asked him again: ¡°Talk . Where is your HQ?¡± This bandit had said he would die if he told them and that was a proof he knew where their HQ was . If he didn¡¯t know, he would just have said so . That would be a good enough answer for Loren whether it was true or not, and he wouldn¡¯t use unnecessary violence . But as the bandit seemed to know, Loren wouldn¡¯t stop his questioning . ¡°If you talk, this will end with you in the town officials¡¯ hands . If you don¡¯t, be prepared to make friends with the ground a few more times . Let¡¯s see how much you can endure . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll die either way! Please help me!¡± Bandits who formed gangs to attack towns and villages usually received capital punishment once caught . Some might be turned into slaves and sold to work in mines, but they would have to work until death there, so their ultimate fates would be the same . In short, being handed to the post-town officials also meant death . The only difference was an easy death or a difficult one after a harsh interrogation . Either way, Loren had a hand in his fate . Cornered, the bandit begged Loren with a pitiful voice, but Loren was unshakable: ¡°Isn¡¯t it your fault, choosing to be a bandit? Just give up . Well, if you tell me about your HQ, I¡¯ll put in some good words to the officials for you . How about that? If you cooperate that is . ¡± It probably wouldn¡¯t change the bandit¡¯s fate though . At least Loren had never heard about any bandits being spared for giving intel, but he wasn¡¯t obliged to tell this bandit that . ¡°R-really?!¡± ¡°Yeah . But the officials will be the ones who make decisions, and I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll decide . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk . If I do, can you let me go?¡± The bandit smiled slyly, and Loren considered his options . They would get some rewards for turning in the bandits, but the amount was insignificant . If he disregarded the rewards and let this bandit go, he would get the information more easily, so it didn¡¯t seem such a bad deal . But Loren immediately shook that idea off . ¡°No, just give up already . Haven¡¯t you been doing whatever you want? It¡¯s time to pay back . ¡± ¡°Damn¡­¡± The bandit cursed . He realized that with him being tied and Loren¡¯s grip, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape . ¡°So, what do you choose?¡± Loren asked . The bandit desperately searched for a way to get out of this alive, but no convenient option came up . A while later, after getting the intel he wanted, Loren asked Gula to make the bandit lose consciousness, and began tying up another bandit . ¡°What are you doing?¡± Thinking that the interrogation had ended, Lapis watched Loren bringing out another bandit and asked . The first bandit¡¯s face was smeared with blood . Loren pulled him to the second bandit and asked Gula to wake the second one up . ¡°I need to double-check what he¡¯s said . ¡± Woken up by Gula, the second bandit also looked around with vacant eyes . He began to struggle once he noticed the bloody form of his comrade, but of course he couldn¡¯t move . ¡°Are you awake? I want to ask you something . Where is your HQ? Answer right away . ¡± Loren grabbed the first bandit¡¯s head and pulled it closer to warn that if he didn¡¯t speak, he would end up like him . The first bandit, unconscious and bloody, looked like a corpse . It was easy to see from his crooked nose and swollen lips that he was treated roughly . The second bandit immediately turned pale, thinking about how he might go through the same treatment . Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°This has become a kind of odd story, don¡¯t you think?¡± Loren muttered after finishing his interrogations, and the others all nodded to show their agreement . After Loren had questioned all the surviving bandits, they had checked the information with Lapis¡¯ map, and had found the approximate location of the bandits¡¯ base . And that was what Loren mentioned as ¡®odd¡¯ . ¡°No matter how you look at it, this place is¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s where Tizona-chan¡¯s ruin is . ¡± Lapis and Gula, who were huddling over and checking the map, pointed to the same spot at the same time . That spot was at almost the same location as the unexplored ruin Tizona told them . The bandits Loren interrogated didn¡¯t know what the HQ looked like, so they couldn¡¯t get any information about that . There were three possible reasons why the bandits¡¯ HQ was at almost the same location as Tizona¡¯s ruin . ¡°It¡¯s possible that the bandits¡¯ HQ and the ruin are at different locations . ¡± Lapis raised her index finger and said as if to organize her thoughts . ¡°If there really is an unexplored ruin at this place, it won¡¯t be strange to set up a bandits¡¯ base next to it . They can do illegal diggings as a side job . ¡± People would only need one look to recognize an unexplored ruin even if they hadn¡¯t known of its existence before . If one had even just a little knowledge of how much fortune an unexplored ruin could hide, they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave it alone, even considering the danger of illegal digging . ¡°In that case, the bandits won¡¯t let the treasures be taken out of the ruin . ¡± Ruins were dangerous places by themselves . Aside from the guardians, all kinds of monsters might settle in there . Adding bandits to that mix, and the level of danger and troublesomeness just skyrocketed . Loren felt sickened just thought about it . ¡°Another possibility is that the bandits have settled in the ruin . ¡± Lapis raised her middle finger and said . Tizona found it questionable: ¡°Is it even possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely for a ruin to be in pristine condition . If one part of it is damaged, monsters usually come in through that and settle inside . If monsters can live there, then so do bandits . Probably . ¡± Everyone wondered how she could equate bandits with monsters, but considering how very annoying both were, it could indeed be said that they were similar . Ruins¡¯ guardians only attacked if you entered certain areas, so if you were careful, you could still live there . ¡°But there are lots and lots of bandits, right? Can they all fit in one ruin?¡± ¡°Yea, so der¡¯s another possibility . ¡± Lapis raised her ring finger and answered Gula¡¯s question: ¡°The third possibility is, the bandits set their HQ up around the ruin . ¡± Lapis believed this to be the most troublesome of all possibilities . It was a fusion of the first two possibilities, and it would take twice as much time to deal with . This third theory would be unlikely to happen if the number of bandits at HQ was low . However, from what they gathered, there were quite a lot of them, so this theory was the most likely . ¡°Are there really a few hundreds of them at their HQ?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a lie . ¡± All the interrogated bandits said the same, so its credibility was actually high . Loren just didn¡¯t want to believe it . Their HQ must be on the same scale as a town or a fort if they really had a few hundred there . A bandit gang that big was so unexpected that it was unbelievable . And there was still another question: Where the hell did they gather that many people from? Assimilating other bandit gangs in the region wouldn¡¯t be enough . For this to be possible they had to assimilate some remote villages . ¡°At this stage, it¡¯ll be a big trouble if the kingdom doesn¡¯t step up, won¡¯t it?¡± Multiple depots with a hundred at each, and a few hundred at the HQ, in total, the member count of this bandit gang must have reached a thousand . The person who could command that many people must be quite a character, and it was difficult to imagine them as a nameless bandit . ¡°If I¡¯m told that the head of this bandit gang is a spy from another country, I¡¯ll believe it . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually the most desired scenario, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren sighed . Rather than the act of some character that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, this being linked to subversive activities of another country was much more comprehensible . ¡°Well, whether it¡¯s an unnamed great man or a spy, what we have to do is still the same . ¡± ¡°Do we rly have to? It¡¯s too troublesome . ¡± ¡°We can¡¯t complete Tizona¡¯s job if we don¡¯t . ¡± Lapis chided at displeased Gula and clapped her hand to gather everyone¡¯s attention . When everyone had turned to her, she smiled like a blooming flower and said: ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for a long-awaited house search . ¡± Tizona and Gula had destroyed the depot quite splendidly, but they had been careful to not damage what shouldn¡¯t be damaged: the warehouses . Valuable loot would be separated and transported to HQ, but they should be stored in the warehouses before sorting, along with less-valuable goods . Cash should be at the main building where the bandits lived, but Loren didn¡¯t have much expectation for it . When it came to ¡®collecting valuable goods¡¯, the first things that came to mind would be jewelries and cash . Not to mention that they weren¡¯t bulky, so they should have been transported to HQ already . Even so, with about a hundred bandits living at this depot, there should still be something left . They had gone through the trouble of destroying the depot, so might as well take as much as they can . ¡°In the worst case, we can recruit some people from the town to help us with transporting . ¡± Loren knew from the beginning that they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry everything out by themselves . He was considering following the bandits¡¯ method: carrying only the valuable goods, and asked the townsfolk to help with the rest in exchange for some cash . ¡°Lapis and I will check the warehouses . Gula and Tizona, you two search the main building . ¡± ¡°Aighty, leav¡¯it to me . ¡± ¡°Understood . Let¡¯s do that . ¡± Under Loren¡¯s command, Gula and Tizona jogged towards the half-destroyed main building . Loren watched them go, then walked towards the warehouses with Lapis . Lapis promptly ran around the heap of goods in the warehouse as soon as she entered . She returned to Loren after a while and said: ¡°I¡¯ve guessed as much, but there¡¯s really not many good things here . ¡± Loren hadn¡¯t looked very carefully himself, but it seemed like all that remained in this warehouse was food and the bandits¡¯ equipment . All were bulky, and not very valuable . Loren was beginning to think that this was a letdown when Lapis came back bringing a longsword and some daggers, together with a pair of gauntlets and a helmet . ¡°These are the most valuable . ¡± ¡°What on Earth are these?¡± From the first glance, they looked just like ordinary stuff sold at the stores around here . Loren picked them up, believing that they must be special if Lapis had brought them back, but he couldn¡¯t see anything outstanding in particular . They also didn¡¯t look very well-maintained . Loren looked closely at the conspicuous dirt marks . Lapis answered with both hands on her waist: ¡°These are infused with magic . ¡± ¡°All of them?¡± Lapis hadn¡¯t found many, but these arms still made a decent number . A longsword cost 10 silver coins, and the price would be higher if it was infused with magic . The gauntlets and helmet were only parts of an armor, but they could still be sold for a reasonable amount . If they could find the complete set, they could earn gold coins selling them . ¡°What are these doing in a bandits¡¯ warehouse?¡± ¡°Well, maybe they found them in Tizona¡¯s ruin, and decided to use them . ¡± Many treasures slept in a ruin . There were ancient currencies, jewels, objects made from rare materials, and magic-infused arms like the ones Lapis had found . If the bandits had entered one part of Tizona¡¯s ruin, then they were likely to scavenge it . The items Lapis had found might have come from that . ¡°Or maybe they got them from attacking some caravans? We can¡¯t know for sure . ¡± ¡°How much will these cost?¡± Even magic-infused items were varied in performance, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange if their values could be as different as heaven and earth . A dingy sword might be worth dozens of gold coins, while a dazzlingly decorated armor could be as valuable as an ordinary item . The ones found in this warehouse were plain and dingy, and they didn¡¯t look to be that valuable . Loren asked just in case, and Lapis folded her arms and looked at the items with a pondering expression: ¡°Probably not that much, I think . They¡¯re just a bit sharper or tougher than ordinary items . ¡± Lapis said while picking up two daggers from the pile . They were sheathed in plain leather scabbard, and looked just like ordinary daggers . Lapis gave the two seemingly-average daggers to Loren: ¡°Only these two are a bit special . This is , and this is . ¡± Loren took the two daggers, thinking how amazing Lapis was to be able to appraise items by her own eyes without having to visit an appraiser in some big city . Both daggers looked very average, but Dragon Slayer had its pommel inset with a blue gem, while a red gem adorned Painful Addition at the same spot . ¡°What did the person who made Dragon Slayer think when giving a dagger such a specification? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone who can come close enough to use it . ¡± ¡°The person probably did it as a hobby? These look interesting, so maybe you should keep them . ¡± Dragons were the highest-ranked amongst the monsters in this world . The highest-ranked amongst the Dragon, the Ancient Dragons, which were said to have power rivaled to the Gods . No one knew whether the story was true or not though . Facing the Ancient Dragon generally meant death, and even a much lower ranked dragon would require several parties of silver-ranked adventurers working together to subjugate, but not before claiming multiple victims . Using a dagger to fight such creatures was really a bad joke, but the name ¡°Dragon Slayer¡± did have a nice ring to it . Loren planned to add the two daggers to his equipment if Tizona allowed it . Chapter 161 Chapter 161 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Oh it¡¯s alright, isn¡¯t it? Weapons should be used¡­ But, a dagger called ? Do we use it by throwing? The dragon¡¯s breath has a longer range tough . ¡± Loren brought the valuable items back from the warehouses just as Tizona and Gula returned from searching the main building . As Tizona was in the situation where every single dime mattered, he was worried what she would say when he asked to keep some items for his personal use, but she agreed so easily that it was a bit anti-climax . ¡°I¡¯ll be thankful if you can consider them as part of the reward . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine for me . Can you discuss with Lapis about their worth?¡± Loren answered without hesitation, and Tizona looked disappointed towards a smiling Lapis, who was standing beside Loren . As Loren didn¡¯t know much about goods appraisal, Tizona was hoping to make a good deal out of the two daggers . However, her plan fell to pieces when she was asked to discuss with Lapis . Anyway, Tizona herself didn¡¯t know that much about the value of magic-infused items, so it was unclear who might have come out with a better deal should she negotiate directly with Loren¡­ ¡°So, what have you found?¡± ¡°Rather meh for a gang this size . But considering their territory being around the borderlands, it¡¯s not that bad I guess . ¡± Gula dropped the rather heavy bag she was carrying on her shoulder to the ground . The clinking sound of coins coming from the bag let everyone know what it was stuffed with . ¡°There are a few gold coins, some silver coins, and a lot of copper coins . There are some gems too, but they don¡¯t look to be very valuable . ¡± Gula wasn¡¯t very satisfied, but Loren thought Tizona seemed relieved . The cash would be enough to pay for their remuneration, and the rest Tizona could claim as her own . They would go to pay the debt she was carrying, but just one look at her face let him know whether it was enough or not . ¡°This is not enough, right?¡± ¡°Did I let it show? Sorry . Of course, it is not, but this is not our target anyway . ¡± Tizona¡¯s target was the ruin, this depot was just a detour . Loren, however, believed that to be able to earn a rather decent sum from just a detour was a success already . ¡°Then, do you want to take these goods and the captured bandits back to the post-town?¡± They had got what they needed, so there was no need to remain at this place anymore . They needed to return to the town and let the officials know they had completed their request . Furthermore, they also needed to deal with the loot they had salvaged: the sum wasn¡¯t that much, but they couldn¡¯t travel carrying that many coins . There had to be some way to store it . And, the ten captured bandits also had to be delivered to the town officials . ¡°Taking these guys back to the town is so troublesome¡­¡± They could be stuffed into the carriage if there were only one or two of them, but ten would break the carriage . Ten people would also be too heavy to drag along, even with everyone properly tied up . Loren also considered waking them up and made them walk on their own, but then the party would have to match their speed, and it would take longer to return to town . ¡°How about getting rid of half of them here?¡± They might be able to manage with five of them by stuffing some into the carriage and dragging the others along, but Loren couldn¡¯t consent to Gula¡¯s suggestion . ¡°We told them that we would hand them over to the officials during interrogation . It doesn¡¯t sit right with me to break a promise, so no . ¡± ¡°You¡¯re way too honest . ¡± Gula was shocked to see Loren keeping his promises even to bandits, but Lapis said: ¡°It¡¯s what¡¯s good about him . ¡± Since Loren didn¡¯t consent to getting rid of half the bandits, Gula also didn¡¯t force it . But the problem of how to deal with them still remained . ¡°Seems like we have no choice but to make them walk back . ¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it take too much time? Will it be alright?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t expect the raid to end this early anyway . It¡¯ll take about a day to walk back, so it probably won¡¯t be a problem time-wise . ¡± ¡°So, should we tie them to the carriage?¡± ¡°Then if all of them cooperate to pull the carriage back, we won¡¯t be able to move forward, will we?¡± What Lapis said was quite reasonable . There was no reason for the bandits to obediently walk behind the carriage at all . They might also risk being killed by Loren for doing it, but if all of them pulled at once, the carriage might stop or even overturn . And if the carriage overturned, they might be able to escape if they were lucky . Considering all this, they probably wouldn¡¯t quietly walk behind the carriage to let themselves be handed over . ¡°What should we do then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wake them all up, then kill one in the most gruesome way possible . ¡± Lapis made that very unexpected statement with a very serious face . Loren looked troubled, while Tizona looked at her with a startled expression . ¡°The last one in the line will be a good choice . Then Loren will say something like this: ¡®If you think of something funny, you¡¯ll become like him . So that you don¡¯t forget, we¡¯ll pull him along together with you¡¯ . ¡± ¡°I see . The corpse will get worse and worse being dragged, making the fear unforgettable . It¡¯s a good example . ¡± Gula nodded in agreement . Tizona walked up to Loren, who was still scowling, and whispered into his ears: ¡°Loren, you¡­ You should choose your party member more carefully . ¡± ¡°Sometimes I think so too . ¡± Loren answered, then turned towards Lapis and Gula, who were eagerly waiting for his approval, and shook his head to refuse that proposal . ¡°No . I said I¡¯ll hand them all to the officials . No matter what, I won¡¯t agree with killing one to make an example . ¡± ¡°Is that so? What do we do then?¡± Lapis immediately asked, surprisingly she didn¡¯t look to be very disappointed . First of all, Loren asked Gula to wake up the bandits . After Gula returned their stolen stamina, the bandits regained consciousness . Once they noticed Loren standing nearby, their faces stiffened, and they began to try distancing themselves from him by any means possible . Loren watched them struggling for a while . He finally spoke, unhurriedly and clearly: ¡°Listen . Just obediently run after the carriage . You may find it harsh, but resign to it as this is just reaping what you¡¯ve sown . Don¡¯t try anything funny . Just so you know, my party wants to cull you, so that it¡¯s easier to get back to town . I promised to hand you over to the officials, so I¡¯ve stopped them for now . But if anything happens, then that¡¯s it . And I can ensure you that if something happens, then what I did to you would appear as a massage in comparison . ¡± Loren believed that rather than threatening, telling them the truth would be enough to make them understand . But the content of his speech was definitely threatening . The bandits stopped moving, and looked at him with fear . He watched them and titled his head in puzzle: ¡°What¡¯s this? I¡¯ve just told you the truth due to kindness . ¡± The bandits¡¯ teeth began chattering, and Loren scratched his head . He thought it¡¯d be kinder to let them know right from the beginning what might happen instead of letting them have rebellious thoughts due to lack of understanding, but it seemed like the result was somewhat different from expected . Loren wondered if he had done something wrong . To worsen his worry, Lapis and Gula were, for some reason, smiling especially bright at him and giving him thumbs up . Thanks to Loren¡¯s act, the bandits followed after the carriage exceptionally meekly . As expected, they couldn¡¯t let the bandits run continuously, so they took several breaks throughout the night . As a result, when they returned to the post-town the next day, the sun was already high in the sky . Without even time for a rest, the party immediately handed over the bandits, who were covered in wounds, then reported to the top officials about completing their request . An unexpected trouble occurred then: Since they had returned too soon, the officials were questioning if they had just caught the bandits on the way and returned . Gula took offense at their doubts, flew into a rage and wanted to eat them all . It resulted in Loren frantically trying to calm her down while Lapis negotiated with the officials . After Lapis told them to question the captured bandits and dispatched some people to check the depot to verify their story, the town officials requested some time to do that . For the time of questioning the bandits, Loren¡¯s party was grounded . The room they were forced to stay in was a first-class guest room . When Tizona and Gula were relaxing on the sofa, Loren secretly asked Lapis ¡°About the depot, is it alright to leave it like that?¡± They had left the depot as-is after taking what they needed, and Loren wondered if they should have done some cleaning up . Lapis answered after thinking for some time: ¡°It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t it? There¡¯s nothing left at that place . ¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ What if there¡¯s something left?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing left . The only things remaining are half-destroyed buildings . ¡± Normally, there should be corpses at the scene of the battle . But this time, it had been Tizona and Gula who did the killing . Loren and Lapis barely had to lift a finger . Tizona killed by burning, so the corpses were reduced to ashes and Gula devoured her opponents, so nothing of them remained in this world . If there had been corpses, they would need to deal with them somehow, so that they didn¡¯t attract beasts and monsters or got possessed by spirits and became undead . But since there was none this time, Lapis believed they didn¡¯t need to do anything . ¡°Doesn¡¯t that also mean there¡¯s no proof of us destroying the depot?¡± ¡°There are the ruined buildings and the captured bandits, so it¡¯s alright . ¡± It would take some time, but Lapis believed everything would be alright . She didn¡¯t worry at all . The town officials had said they needed some time to verify their story, and even though they were grounded, it didn¡¯t seem as if they were being suspected: their treatment was good . Watching Tizona and Gula relaxing on the soft sofa, Lapis thought that there were no problems at all . ¡°We¡¯ve already expected them to doubt our report . We¡¯re not that pressed about time, so resting here for a bit is not such a bad idea . ¡± ¡°Well, maybe I should sleep for a bit . ¡± There was nothing they could do while being grounded, so Loren thought it would be better to take some sleep to cure some fatigue . He sank into one of the sofas in the room and closed his eyes . His breathing immediately became even . ¡°I should sleep too, I guess . ¡± ¡°So will I, next to Loren¡­ eh?!¡± Gula said and stood up to walk towards Loren, but Lapis cast her a look, sharp enough to kill a man on the spot . Noticing this Gula changed her mind and somewhat flustered went back to her seat . Lapis continued staring at her for a while to keep her in check . Once Gula had given up and curled up on her sofa, Lapis went to sit next to Loren, leaned her head on his shoulder and slowly closed her eyes . Before long, the room grew quiet with no other sound but the breathing of four people . Chapter 162 Chapter 162 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Just as Lapis said, the post-town officials didn¡¯t need that much time to verify their story . They started interrogating the captured bandits and dispatching riders on fast horses to the depot location right away . Loren¡¯s party was proved to have raided and destroyed the depot, and earned much gratitude from the town . ¡°Why¡¯s it feel like they change their attitude wey too easily?¡± Gula wondered . At first, she was still holding a grudge over the town¡¯s earlier distrust, but the sentiment immediately disappeared from her mind once she saw the meals they had prepared to show their gratitude . She began to systematically and thoroughly clear up the dishes with a great joy . Loren kept half an eye on her while talking to the town¡¯s top official, thinking that they were quite shrewd in dealing with this matter . They were talking about the treatment of the captured bandits . He had made a promise, so he was letting the officials know about the bandits¡¯ cooperative attitude . Loren was also refusing the remuneration from the town . The amount was not that much, and they needed to repair the raided southern districts . The refusal was actually to lay the groundwork for a request for aid . ¡°We would like to ask for your help instead . ¡± Loren told the fat man who was acting as the representative of the town officials . The first thing he asked of them was to take the items scavenged from the bandits¡¯ depot . Their party couldn¡¯t carry them around, and they wouldn¡¯t sell for much money . He wanted the town to keep these items, and gave the parties some cashes for them . When Loren said the town could decide the value of the items, Lapis looked a bit unhappy, but the delegate immediately started appraising the items . From the town officials¡¯ perspective, the remuneration for Loren¡¯s party was a done deal: They had already decided how much to reward them, and it was unexpected that the party refused the reward . This proposal of exchanging the items found in the bandits¡¯ depot for cash would actually be more profitable for the town, so there would be no reason to reject it . They offered Loren¡¯s party a sum slightly higher than the intended remuneration and received a quick acceptance . ¡°If you¡¯ve left the appraisal to me, we would have gotten 20% more . ¡± Lapis absentmindedly whispered to Loren, and he patted her head with a wry smile . If he left the negotiation to Lapis, they would come out with a better deal as Lapis had said . However, to Loren, this deal was just a bonus . Thus, he wanted to avoid wasting time just to make the other party feel a bit of loss . ¡°Is this really alright? We can still discuss the reward now . ¡± ¡°No, this is good enough . We have another request to ask, if you please . ¡± The second request was for the town to continue lending them the carriage they had been using . Horses were expensive by themselves, and caring for them was also costly . Renting a carriage was expensive, but Loren was asking the town to let them use one free of charge, just like they had for the depot raid . ¡°We originally came here on a different job . We¡¯re now a bit pressed on time after completing your job . ¡± If they returned the carriage now, they would have to walk to their original destination, and that would take two days . If they used the carriage, they could arrive in half a day, or one day at most . Loren wanted to use the carriage no matter what . Tizona was still alright with their current schedule, but it was best to have some time to spare in case something happened . ¡°We¡¯re going to a rather dangerous place, so we might not be able to return the carriage . What do you think?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure they could return the carriage at all, and he properly cautioned the delegate about it beforehand . The official thought about it, then replied with a smile: ¡°I see . Please feel free to use it . ¡± ¡°We are the one asking for it, but is this really alright for you?¡± Loren asked for a confirmation . A carriage was a valuable asset of a town . And yet, the town delegate was willing to let them borrow it for free, even after being told that they might not be able to return it . ¡°Yes . It¡¯s not a problem . Even if you don¡¯t return it, we won¡¯t regret it . This town has already received something much more valuable . ¡± With this job, the town had been able to remove the bandit threat while expending almost nothing . They didn¡¯t have to send out soldiers, and Loren¡¯s party had refused the reward . Even though they had to spit out some cash in exchange for the scavenged items, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to earn back almost the same amount if they sold those items . Moreover, once the rumors about a hundred-odd bandits based near the town being practically annihilated in one-day spread, no other bandit gangs would think about coming to this region for a while . It wouldn¡¯t be forever, but they would be able to enjoy safety for a time . This was a nice bonus . Loren had already considered all these benefits before proposing the request . The town official also seemed to understand, and thus willingly accepted it . Regardless of the actual context, Loren was thankful that they were able to borrow the carriage . After enjoying the town¡¯s hospitality, the party immediately loaded their luggage into the carriage and left . *** ¡°I¡¯m always the driver¡­¡± Horse¡¯s rein in hands, Lapis muttered with the tiniest bit of resentment . ¡°Because you¡¯re the best at it . ¡± ¡°Loren, at least come and sit with me please . ¡± ¡°Me? But this will get in the way . ¡± The greatsword on Loren¡¯s back was already a hindrance inside the carriage car, and it would be even more troublesome at a narrow space like the driver coach . But if he left it inside the car, he wouldn¡¯t be able to react on time if something happened . ¡°This feels a bit like I¡¯m being excluded, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t mean it¡­ Well, it can¡¯t be helped then . ¡± Loren decided to move and sit down next to Lapis . Even if his sword got in the way and he had to put up with some discomfort, if it could help Lapis concentrate on driving, then it had to be done . Behind him, Gula was grinning and Tizona was watching them with great interest . He tried his best to ignore both of them . ¡°The stares at my back is making me uncomfortable . ¡± ¡°Do you want me to put them down?¡± Lapis said, totally unlike a priest . Tizona turned her eyes away in panic, while Gula immediately pretended to be asleep . And so, after a smooth journey, the party reached their destination . The sun had already set by then, and it was pitch dark . They stopped near the ruin . ¡°It went surprisingly well . ¡± ¡°This gang assimilated all other gangs in the region, didn¡¯t they? And we¡¯ve just destroyed one of their depots . There are probably no other bandits in this area . ¡± ¡°No monsters have appeared either . ¡± ¡°Monsters are typically more sensitive than humans . ¡± If humans could sense the presence of a being like Gula in the carriage, no one would dare to meddle with them . Monsters were surely superior to humans in that regard . As long as Gula didn¡¯t try to hide her presence, they wouldn¡¯t be attacked by monsters unless something exceptional happened . In Loren¡¯s opinion, while they were on the move, there was nothing to be more thankful about than this . On the other hand, if they needed to hunt monsters to earn money, Gula would need to hide her presence ¨C that was something they needed to pay attention to . ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± To reach Tizona¡¯s ruin, they needed to leave the main road and go a short distance towards the mountain region . Even though Loren knew it was best to attack at night, charging in without a plan and no knowledge of the enemies¡¯ numbers or organization couldn¡¯t be considered a good idea at all . ¡°To avoid being sticking out a mile, let¡¯s spend the night here and scout the place by eye . It¡¯s troublesome, but our opponent is a large bandit gang . It won¡¯t be strange if they¡¯re hiding something . ¡± In reply to Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis said: ¡°That¡¯s quite a cautious move . I feel like we can just charge in with this party . If things don¡¯t go well, Gula and Tizona can finish it off by themselves, right?¡± ¡°I huh¡­ Not really . ¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go if you tell me to . That said, Gula, are you really a magician? I¡¯ve seen the leftover marks at the depot . Just what kind of magic are you using?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret . Only third-rate magicians reveal their skills, don¡¯t they?¡± Magicians could only use a limited number of spells . Even though each of their attacks was very powerful, they normally didn¡¯t fight alone like Gula had done at the depot . The basic battling formation would involve a vanguard, who intercepted incoming attacks to some extent in the magician¡¯s place, while the magician himself commenced a high-powered attack to bring down the enemies . But the marks Gula left at the depot just didn¡¯t look like what a magician¡¯s attacks would cause . ¡°So you¡¯re a rather high ranking magician? In that case, I think you should be more well-known . ¡± ¡°If¡¯ya don¡¯t wanna be known, ya¡¯won¡¯t . Der¡¯re a lot of hidden geniuses in dis world, right?¡± ¡°That¡­ But if she is that powerful, she should have gained some fame, whether as a magician or as an adventurer, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got nu interest in such things . I can¡¯t eat fame . ¡± ¡°This talk is fun and all, but don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re quite close to the enemies¡¯ base . It¡¯ll be trouble if they discover us and strike first . ¡± Loren cut in and forcefully ended Tizona¡¯s and Gula¡¯s conversation, as he was feeling a bit impatient . Gula seemed to understand that something bad would happen if her true identity was revealed, so she was thoroughly dodging the topic . But the longer this conversation dragged on, the chance of her slipping would become higher, so he thought it was best to stop it right now . ¡°Rather than that, let¡¯s hide our carriage asap . We also can¡¯t cook, since there¡¯ll be smoke . If we can¡¯t find any pit nearby, we¡¯ll have to dig a hole to hide the carriage ourselves . ¡± There were no bushes to hide the carriage in sight . If there was a gouge somewhere, they could put the carriage there and camouflaged it with some plants to avoid the bandits¡¯ detection . But if they couldn¡¯t find anything like that, they would have to dig a hole as Loren had said . ¡°We¡¯ll have to dig non-stop, without even time to sleep . ¡± ¡°I¡¯d hate that . Tizona-chan, let¡¯s search with all our might, heh?¡± ¡°Understood . Let¡¯s search . ¡± Tizona and Gula finally understood that this was not time for chatting and obediently followed Loren¡¯s instruction, immediately starting to search the area . Deciding that he had successfully diverted Tizona¡¯s attention, Loren quietly stroked his own chest in relief while Lapis patted him on the back . Chapter 163 Chapter 163 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul After a not-very-satisfying sleep, they had a similarly, not-very-satisfying breakfast, after which the party closed in on the vicinity of the ruin . Their carriage was well-hidden . The sight made Loren feel sick . Rather than being built on the mountain, the ruin was carved into the mountain itself . The enormous entrance appeared as if it was stuck to the mountain surface, and could be seen from a distance, giving it quite an unnatural look . Loren wondered why such a construction hadn¡¯t been discovered until now . But according to Tizona¡¯s story, this area was originally covered with tall trees, so maybe it wasn¡¯t visible from afar back then . So, the reason why this ruin became noticeable now was the changes in its surrounding . ¡°It¡¯s been turned into a splendid fortress . ¡± They hadn¡¯t just cleared out the trees, there was a rather large fort-like building, and a number of smaller buildings around . They were surrounded by a tall fence, which in turn was surrounded by a deep moat . There were also some watchtowers, and human figures could be seen both atop and below them . The fence gate was admirably thick, and was also manned by several gatekeepers . Moreover, archers could be seen everywhere, and there were even large catapults installed on the ground . Lapis hadn¡¯t exaggerated saying it had been turned into a fortress . ¡°The difficulty level of attacking this place would be comparable to attacking a castle, right?¡± Lapis asked Loren and Tizona, the professional soldiers . Loren groaned with a gloomy look on his face, while Tizona scratched at her own cheek with a troubled expression . The depot they attacked last time was also rather large in scale, but in comparison to this fort, there was still a very big difference in numbers and armament . This was far beyond the scale that mere for four people could handle . Even if asked, Loren and Tizona couldn¡¯t give any estimation about their chances . ¡°If it¡¯s just bows, I¡¯m confident I can use <> to burn them, but¡­ Targeting something as big as a catapult is a different matter . <> might work, but I need to concentrate to aim . With such numbers, I might not be able to burn them all . ¡± (Xem: Some details for Nerds <> ¨C can provide Tizona with a stable shielding against all incoming projectiles of a small scale, arrows and axe alike . However, the payload of catapults is too massive to be incinerated by <> on contact and to counter that she has to use <>, which in turn requires careful aiming . With increasing number of incoming fire, the task to focus and burn each payload becomes more and more challenging and there is a risk that some of those would penetrate her defenses . ) ¡°The moat is a nuisance . If they lift the bridge, we won¡¯t be able to cross . ¡± Hiding in the forest surrounding the bandits¡¯ HQ, Loren looked at the moat around it with worry . It was probably too deep to wade through, and too wide to jump over . With no equipment used in castle attacks, they had no means to cross it . Of course, there was a bridge ¨C the bandits also needed to go in and out ¨C but it was the kind of bridge that could be pulled up by ropes . In times of emergency, the bandits could pull the bridge up to prevent anyone from crossing the moat . Swimming across was possible, but if one really did have the chance to do so, they would just become easy targets for the archers . ¡°I¡¯m asking this just in case, but can you use your skills underwater, Tizona?¡± ¡°What a bad joke, Loren . ¡± Loren had thought that if Tizona could use her skills underwater, maybe she could pull some stunt like burning the coming arrows while swimming . But it seemed like her skills were not at the level of absurdity to allow fire to burn underwater . ¡°The ruin is behind that fence . To get to it, we must go past the bandits¡¯ base, which is very well-defended . ¡± ¡°Gula, do you have any plan?¡± Lapis asked . Gula hadn¡¯t joined in their conversation at all . She was staring intently at the ruin inside the bandits¡¯ HQ, and looked to be thinking hard about something . After hearing Lapis¡¯ question, she finally realized that everyone was looking at her and blinked . ¡°Eh? Ah¡­ Plan? Can¡¯t we just charge in from¡¯der front?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you listened to us talking?¡± ¡°Eh? We can¡¯t? Then wat about climbing the mounti¡¯n at the back of the ruin and getting down frum der?¡± The fence didn¡¯t form a full circle, it stopped at the mountain where the ruin was carved into . In short, the fence was U-shaped and attached to the mountain at the back . What Gula proposed was to ignore the bandits¡¯ base completely and get to the ruin via the mountain instead . Loren eyed the mountain . It was quite steep and rocky, rather difficult to climb or descend . But at least, it looked possible to scale up and down to his untrained eyes . ¡°It¡¯s our last resort, I guess . ¡± If all else failed, they would try it out . Gula didn¡¯t seem keen on pushing her plan, instead she just turned her eyes back to the ruin . Bothered by her gaze and expression, Loren glanced at Lapis to send a silent signal . ¡°Tizona, let¡¯s get a bit closer . I want to look closer at their equipment and skills . ¡± ¡°M-me?¡± ¡°Yes, please . Gula is bad at such things, and both Loren¡¯s weapon and stature are large, so he has more chance to be spotted . ¡± ¡°Is that so? I see . Loren, is it alright for me to go?¡± ¡°Yes, please . ¡± At Loren¡¯s nod, Tizona and Lapis slowly drew closer to the base while hiding under the trees¡¯ shadows . Loren watched them go . Once they seemed to get far away enough, he whispered to Gula, who still hadn¡¯t taken her eyes off the ruin . ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Probably¡­ Someone is in there . Someone of my kind . ¡± The combination of the content and the serious tone of Gula¡¯s answer gave Loren a spectacular grimace . Needless to say that ¡°Gula¡¯s kind¡± meant Evil Gods . If anyone heard that there was such a being at the place of their destination, they would surely have a similar expression . ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yeah . Don¡¯t know exactly who though ¨C just know that they¡¯re there . Best to be careful . ¡± ¡°What good does this ¡®be careful¡¯ do when facing someone of your kind?¡± The three Evil Gods Loren had encountered so far were Gluttony, Sloth, and Lust . All were such powerful beings that they greatly affect all those in their vicinity, and they also possessed great abilities . Gula was restraining her Evil God power as much as possible while travelling with them, so Loren and Lapis sometimes forgot that she was one of such beings . But the truth was, if she was to wield her power to its utmost, no human would be able to stand against her . Loren knew that very well, so her warning sounded shameless to his ears . ¡°I think there¡¯s nothing better than being careful though?¡± Gula looked at Loren and replied . She appeared somewhat hurt, but in Loren¡¯s opinion, if being careful or not being careful resulted in the same thing, then there was no use in being careful . ¡°Do you know which Evil God that is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that much yet . But if it was Lust, I¡¯d have known it right away . ¡± That reminded Loren of the being called the Evil God of Lust . Just the memory gave him mental damage and slight nausea, but it was nothing strange . It made sense if the only Evil God with a distinguishable aura was Lust . ¡°I think they¡¯re related, these bandits and the Evil God . ¡± ¡°All right . It¡¯s probably either Greed or Pride . ¡± From Gula¡¯s guess, if they manipulated the bandits to collect wealth, then it was Greed . But if it was simply to stand above those bandits and used them at will, then it would be Pride . ¡°Both are equally troublesome . ¡± ¡°What are they like?¡± Believing that it was best to have as much info as possible beforehand, Loren asked . But Gula¡¯s answer was ambiguous: ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s no good to have preconception, I think . Also, we were sealed hundreds of years ago . Something won¡¯t be the same anymore, so I would feel sorry if I give you the wrong info . ¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± If the Evil God turned out to be different from the image Loren had instilled in his head beforehand, the shock might be quite big . Gula was of the opinion that in case the difference was severe enough to be fatal, it was better to not have too much information . And Loren did agree . ¡°Rather than that, about a plan to attack that base . How about I use a bit of my power to drink up the moat and eat the fence?¡± Loren looked at the bandits¡¯ base again . Water filled the moat to the brim with water; it was not a normal amount . And the fence behind the moat was tall and sturdy . Loren wondered where the hell Gula¡¯s stomach was and how big it must be to be able to store such things . ¡°It¡¯s a nice idea, but only if Tizona is not with us . ¡± ¡°Then, how about telling Tizona-chan to sneak into the ruin by herself?¡± ¡°That is¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll cause a distraction at the front while Tizona-chan uses the opportunity to cross the moat and secretly enter the ruin . ¡± ¡°What do we do then?¡± ¡°After Tizona-chan has gotten in, we¡¯ll go at them in one go . ¡± Gula said that once they met up, they could just lie to Tizona about how they had broken through the defense . ¡°The enemies are bandits, so it won¡¯t be strange if the damage is a bit more severe and all of them are obliterated, right? In that case, I¡¯ll stuff the runaways into my stomach too . Won¡¯t make much of a difference . ¡± Some bandits on their way back to base might flee once they saw the defense broken . With this proposal, they wouldn¡¯t be a problem . This plan might be a bit too aggressive, but if there were no survivors, even if Tizona doubted their explanation, she wouldn¡¯t be able to confirm what had actually happened when she wasn¡¯t present . Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about being exposed or so was what Gula¡¯s plan . ¡°Tizona will say that she should come out if it¡¯s a group battle, won¡¯t she?¡± ¡°When it comes to fighting alone, Tizona-chan is the most powerful, isn¡¯t she? If she causes disturbance within the ruin, the bandits¡¯ attention will be split between us and her, right? Isn¡¯t that a good reason to split up?¡± Loren believed that this was not a bad plan . The only problem remained, if there could be one, was how Tizona was going to cross the moat without a bridge . But if she could swim, she could swim across while their group caused a big uproar . ¡°Let¡¯s propose it to them then . ¡± If there were no other good plans, they might just follow through with this . For now, they would wait for Lapis and Tizona to return . If they had no good ideas, Loren and Gula would propose this plan . Chapter 164 Chapter 164 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Lapis and Tizona came back after some time . Loren told them about Gula¡¯s idea, and they readily accepted it . Loren was worried about Tizona crossing the moat, but Tizona herself didn¡¯t seem to care much . The cause of Loren¡¯s worry was Tizona¡¯ over-the-top armor . He wondered if she really could swim in it . He had been taught the technique to swim in armor during his mercenary days as it was a necessary skill, but it was only for light ones made from leather and such . Likewise, he just couldn¡¯t imagine swimming in plate armor like Tizona¡¯s . ¡°It¡¯s not that wide, so it¡¯ll be fine even if I go underwater . ¡± The moat was too wide to leap over, but it seemed like Tizona believed that if one was resolved to go underwater, it wasn¡¯t impossible to hold one¡¯s breath and cross over it . ¡°I can use <> to create a slope while you guys cause an uproar . ¡± ¡°That skill of yours is surely convenient . ¡± <>, Tizona¡¯s ability that could burn down everything within a designated range, seemed to be able to reduce anything in its range into ashes, regardless of where it was combustible or not . She could use it to turn part of the moat into a gentle slope; then she just had to hold her breath and ran through . ¡°Is it alright if I cause a commotion after getting past the fence?¡± ¡°No, just try to get into the ruin . Going in first will be difficult, but some bandits will follow you inside, relieving the pressure on our side . ¡± ¡°Understood . Leave it to me . ¡± Tizona slapped at her own chest and said . Loren believed that with her skills, the likes of these bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to hinder her . But there was one thing he had to clearly explain to her: ¡°Once you¡¯ve entered the ruin, please don¡¯t go overboard until we¡¯ve joined you . The leader is quite capable, being able to organize this many people . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s right . It¡¯ll be a difficult feast for anyone who is not at the level of the rumored <> . Even you and me won¡¯t stand a chance fighting him alone . ¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t stand a chance at all . ¡± Loren still stubbornly refused to be considered in the same rank as Tizona . Aside from that, the course of action was decided, and Tizona began to move away from the gate of the bandits¡¯ HQ . The other three waited until it was safe to assume that she had reached the designated location before commencing a flashy attack to attract the bandits¡¯ attention . ¡°I¡¯m itching to put my skills to use . ¡± ¡°No, Lapis, you can¡¯t go all out in front of Tizona, right?¡¯ They couldn¡¯t afford to let Tizona, who would return to her mercenary company at any given moment, witness anything abnormal . And Lapis using magic despite being a priest was one of the most abnormal things . Such a sight would be so beyond common sense and shocking enough that it would make Tizona question Lapis¡¯ lineage . In Gula¡¯s case, they could actually make do by insisting that her power came from her being a superior magician . Magicians normally didn¡¯t join mercenary companies, so if Tizona asked around after returning to her company, she wouldn¡¯t be able to confirm anything . Even if she happened to talk to another magician about Gula, they still had a lot of excuses to use, like she was using unidentified spells excavated from ruins or some kind magic-infused items . ¡°Well then, shall we start now?¡± Lapis urged a short while later, in a tone that made everyone wonder if she did feel anything about Loren¡¯s jab earlier . They needed to make a show to attract the bandits¡® attention, so hiding themselves had become unnecessary at this point . ¡°Let¡¯s make the most flashy ruckus we can!¡± Loren gave a cry to raise everyone¡¯s spirit and charged out from his hiding place under the trees . Gula and Lapis followed after, but even though they had leapt out of the grove with great force, they immediately slowed down and got back behind Loren for some reason . Without slowing down, Loren ran towards the bandits¡¯ base while wondering if he should act as a vanguard to support a ¡°magician¡± called Gula and a ¡°priest¡± called Lapis . Some bandits appeared, weapons at the ready, to intercept the party . [¡®Onii-san, so we¡¯re going to attack as flashy as possible . Got it!¡¯] Shayna suddenly spoke in Loren¡¯s mind . He had no time to ask her what she was planning to do . He ran to the moat and crossed swords with one of the bandits who were coming out to meet them . The difference in their skill level was glaringly obvious . Fire sparked when their swords met, and the bandit¡¯s sword shattered . Loren¡¯s greatsword continued on without losing momentum and cut the bandit into half diagonally from the shoulder . Loren pulled the sword back to hack down at a spearhead thrusting at him . The head of the spear-wielding bandit flew high into the sky with a splash of red, its eyes still staring dumbfounded at the broken spear . ¡°What?!¡± ¡°A raid?! How many¡­ three?!¡± ¡°Raise the bridge! Cut off their path and shoot at them with bows¡­ uwaaah?!¡± From this side of the moat, they could hear the bandits at the gate shouting . If the bridge is pulled up, Loren wouldn¡¯t be able to commence attacks, but they could let Gula use her magic from this side . He was puzzled by the shrieks mixed in with the bandits¡¯ conversation though . Nevertheless, Loren wondered if he could manage to cross the moat before the bridge was completely raised and ran through the bridge with all his might . ¡°The bridge¡­ doesn¡¯t move?¡± Loren was sure that he had heard orders about raising the bridge . But the bridge, which was about 10m long, showed no signs of being lifted, and he was able to run through it in one go . Crossing the moat was disappointingly easy to the point of being anticlimactic, but the reason of this being the case was waiting for Loren on the other side . ¡°Wh-what?! Hey, stop! I don¡¯t understa¡­ gyaaa!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bite! Don¡¯t eat me! Please don¡¯t eat me!¡± ¡°What all of a sudden all these undead?!¡± Running past the gate, he saw the bandits falling into chaos . The source of the turmoil could be traced to the unexpected change in behavior of some individuals within the fort . Loren noticed that some bandits were looking extremely ill and exhausted, and it to his surprise they suddenly started attacking their more healthy counterparts . The former had bloodless, bluish white skin and their eyes were blank, showing no signs of life left within . They launched themselves at their fellows with unnatural speed, clung on with both arms, and bit their bodies with white teeth . And these weren¡¯t isolated cases ¨C from what Loren could see, they were everywhere . (Xemul: I slightly modified the description in this paragraph to improve the congruence . ) The bandits weren¡¯t going down without a fight either . Weapons in hands, they fought back with determination . But the undead still reached out even with their arms or head cut off, and the bandits at the gate fell into a state of panic . ¡°What on Earth is this?¡± [¡®I tried making some corpses using Energy Drain, then used the power of the King of Death to raise them!¡¯] Shayna answered in Loren¡¯s mind, her tone so bright that it was impossible to think she was the culprit of this gruesome scene . Loren was so distracted by trying to hide Gula¡¯s Evil God origin and Lapis¡¯ demonic lineage that he had almost forgotten there was another existence inside himself, which also needed to be concealed . Once the shackles called Tizona had come off, there was no reason for Shayna to restrain herself anymore . Loren should have expected that Shayna, who was relying on his soul to exist, would be enthusiastic to lend her power to help him . He had really been too concerned about Gula and Lapis, really too much¡­ ¡°Ah¡­ so this is how it turns out . ¡± Seemed like Lapis had somehow perceived what was happening . Gula too . That was why they had slowed down midway and let Loren take the lead . ¡°It¡¯s gotten quite nasty, huh? I¡¯ve kinda expected this, but still¡­¡± ¡°There are too many of them to fight honestly, not to mention that with their skill level, we wouldn¡¯t be able to ignore them¡­ To Shayna, they¡¯re just a large group of prey . ¡± Shayna was the highest-ranked undead, King of Death . Even though her power wasn¡¯t complete, it was still hopelessly strong to humans . Enough to turn a part of a couple hundreds of soldiers into corpses and spread the damage . The average soldiers and bandits were no match for the King of Death . Loren idly mused about all that while cutting down two bandits with one swing of his sword . He wiped the blood off the blade, then put it back to its scabbard . Dust was blowing up at one corner of the base as if there had been an explosion, and underneath the column of dust, a smallish dragon made of bones made its appearance . Not taking time to consider, it just began to strike indiscriminately at the surrounding people and buildings . ¡°Is that a¡­ bone dragon? It must be . ¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a dragon corpse around here, so it can¡¯t be a zombie dragon . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s small because there¡¯s not enough materials, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ye think? I¡¯ve got no idea . ¡± Even iron-ranked adventurers would have no choice but to run away from such a powerful monster like a bone dragon . The likes of bandits had no chance against it . No matter how many of them were there, it would be just like insects to a human . Not to mention, this bone dragon didn¡¯t just look like a real dragon; the intimidating air it was emitting didn¡¯t feel half fake . No one would be able to hold their weapon ready before it . ¡°Tizona has already gotten inside the ruin, right?¡± ¡°Probably? Even if she sees this, we can just tell her that an undead outbreak happened here by coincidence and pretend to know nothing . ¡± ¡°A bone dragon, appearing by coincidence?¡± ¡°No matter how persuasive we are, it won¡¯t be enough to convince her, right?¡± One of the horrible things about undead damage was that the victim would become an undead themselves . In short, the damage would multiply endlessly . Realizing this, Loren hurriedly turned towards Shayna mentally, but she casually replied in an unconcerned tone: [¡®It¡¯s alright, onii-san . I will properly put everyone down after a while . ¡¯] They had come to raid a bandits¡¯ base, but ended up causing an undead outbreak instead . This was much less severe in terms of scale and damage . Shayna seemed to have considered this much, and Loren was relieved at her words . ¡°Won¡¯t they attack us?¡± [¡®It¡¯s not normal to attack the king, right?¡¯] ¡°It¡¯s alright then¡­ But isn¡¯t this a bit too flashy?¡± Things had gone out of control with this outbreak . This wasn¡¯t about attracting bandits¡¯ attention anymore . Of course, the chance of Tizona noticing this had decreased, but it simply was because the undead had started wreaking havoc inside the base . ¡°Can¡¯t be helped now¡­ We can¡¯t do anything about this . ¡± ¡°Broken items are unsalvageable, but most cash and jewels can still be retrieved from under the rubble . ¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ . Can I go get myself something to eat?¡± Gula, who had been very dissatisfied with the breakfast, said while looking longingly at the bandits being crushed under collapsed buildings and eaten by their zombie colleagues . Normally, Loren would tell her to have her way with it . But he was worried about Tizona, who had gone in first by herself . Also, there seemed to be an Evil God in there, and facing them with Gula gave him a very different sense of security . So, he asked her to hold on for now . ¡°Later . We need to follow Tizona first . It¡¯ll be terrible if she gets into some troublesome fight . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s harsh¡­ You¡¯ll have to let me eat delicious things when we return to Kapha . ¡± ¡°¡­As long as you don¡¯t make me go bankrupt . ¡± If he refused her, Gula wouldn¡¯t budge . So Loren took a while to find an appropriate way to answer her . And if she did eat without reservation later on and made a mess of it, he thought he would have to rethink how to deal with her . It was unclear if Gula could guess what Loren was thinking or not, but after looking at the base a bit regretfully for the last time, she followed them and walked towards the entrance of the ruin . Chapter 165 Chapter 165 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Walking through the bandits¡¯ base wasn¡¯t difficult at all . After all, they didn¡¯t have the luxury to care about Loren¡¯s party right now . They were busy trying to form groups to deal with the sudden attack of the undead, but parts of the groups kept becoming undead themselves and attacking the rest . Thus, they just couldn¡¯t get the situation under control . The only way to solve this was to deal with its source, Shayna the King of Death, but she was currently wielding her power to cause this magnificent chaos from within Loren . So no one could even come up with the idea that this human swordsman was the source of this undead outbreak . [¡®Sucking out their life, killing them, then controlling their corpses¡­ It¡¯s a simple task for me . ¡¯] Shayna said . One could see the triumphant look on her face just from her tone, but only Loren could hear her voice . Watching the horrible spectacle unfolding around him while jogging towards the ruin¡¯s entrance, Loren thought that it was surely a power worth boasting about . The smart ones among the bandits had already started to run away at this point . The not-so-smart ones were still trying to intercept the undead¡¯s attacks, but unless this outbreak ended, they only had two options: running away or becoming undead themselves . The base¡¯s destruction was just a matter of time now . Loren¡¯s group passed through such chaos with no trouble, and before long, they reached their originally intended destination: the ruin . Its door was gigantic . It was several meters high, made of metal, and looked to be very solid and very difficult to move . Loren looked at the closed door and wondered hard about how the hell Tizona managed to get past it to go inside . As if to answer him, Lapis pulled at his sleeve: ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s another path . ¡± Lapis pointed to a normal wooden door installed directly into the mountain a little distance away from the metal door . In front of the door there were two piles of ash being scattered by the wind, the door itself had a burned hole, big enough for one person to comfortably pass through . ¡°Why is there a door here?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ That door doesn¡¯t open, so they had to dig into the wall and make this door?¡± Ruin doors were normally locked, and the sealing methods varied: It could be via physical locks, or via magical seals . It seemed like the bandits weren¡¯t able to open the door of this ruin, but still determined to make use of it . So, they destroyed a side wall and inserted a regular door there to make an entrance . ¡°What the¡­ such a brute force¡­¡± ¡°It looks like the walls weren¡¯t strong enough to prevent being brocken through . ¡± ¡°So it means this huge door won¡¯t open . ¡± Loren touched the metal door, thinking it was such a waste of such a majestic door . Feeling the cool sensation of metal under his palm, he gave it a little push, wondering if it really wouldn¡¯t open . The door was lighter than its size and thickness suggested, and it opened inward a little . ¡°Hey, has it just opened?¡± ¡°Eh? Why do you open it?¡± ¡°You ask me why?¡± Things meant to be opened should be open, right? Loren pushed at the door with a little more strength . He felt no weight, and it easily opened further inside . ¡°Maybe Tizona opened it from inside?¡± ¡°Then what did she burn that big hole in the wooden door for?¡± Loren peeked inside and took a look at the wall next to the metal door . The wooden door with the big burned hole was there . Whichever doors one picked, he would end up at the same place . ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no one here . ¡± Loren said while slipping inside the ruin . Lapis and Gula followed him . On the other side of the door there was a spacious entrance hall . Wide staircases fixed to both the right side and the left sides of the walls were leading to the upper level . They met at a landing of the first floor, then continued to rise and joined at the third floor . The third floor looked to be a hall with handrails . Several chandeliers hung down from the ceiling . They probably once served to illuminate this large space, but now none of them were casting light . Instead, there now were tallow candles erected here and there on the stairs¡¯ railing and at each of three floors, casting faint light . The walls looked to be coated with something, but after centuries and years, they were all peeling now, revealing the stones . Still, the place overall was very spacious, and gave off the ambiance of a noble¡¯s mansion . The party had originally expected that numerous bandits would enter the ruin, and that they would have to start fighting as soon as they entered . However, thanks to Shayna, the bandits had all become characters in the picture of Hell outside, and there was no sign of anyone coming to meet them now . ¡°Tizona is deeper inside, I guess?¡± Everyone strained their ears, but all they could hear were the shrieks and sounds of the battle outside . Nothing could be detected coming from deep inside the ruin . If Tizona was engaging in battle with enemies inside, they should have heard something . Then all of a sudden, a shrill scream of a woman sounded . ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That sounded like Tizona . ¡± ¡°It seems to come from the third floor . ¡± Tizona herself was an extremely powerful mercenary . At the very least, she wasn¡¯t the type to be hindered by or scream because of some bandits . But when Loren thought about this, he remembered that there was one thing he forgot to tell Lapis . ¡°That reminds me, there¡¯s another being like Gula in this ruin . ¡± ¡°Telling me that now is a bit¡­¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s met it? Her scream sounded like she was in pain . ¡± ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go to the third floor . ¡± Regardless of the cause of the scream, Loren believed that something must have happened, and this was no time to speculate about the reason . They needed to get to Tizona as soon as possible instead . He took the lead and began to run forward, leaping over the stairs to reach the third floor, then looked around . The space was large, and there were numerous doors on both the left side and the right side walls, but the double door opposite the stairway was bigger than any of them . That door was cracked open, so the scream might have come out through that . Loren charged forward while unsheathing his greatsword . There was no time to open the door, so he just smashed the sword into the door . A loud sound boomed, wood chips flew, and Loren rushed in through the shattered door . Just when he realized that he had stepped into a big room, he noticed Tizona sitting on the floor a little distance ahead . He hurriedly got to her just to immediately turn away . Tizona was sitting with her legs closed, and was hugging herself tightly . The armor she had been wearing before entering the ruin was nowhere to be seen . Even the underwear she should be wearing underneath it was now also gone . In short, she was completely naked . ¡°I¡¯ll follow after!¡± Lapis rushed in after him . When she passed by, he gave her the piece of cloth he used to wrap his greatsword and said . It¡¯d be better if he had a cloak to give her, but unfortunately he didn¡¯t wear cloaks . His jacket was doubled as his armor, so he couldn¡¯t give it to her either . The cloth wrapping his greatsword was the only thing he could give . The sword was unconventionally big, so the cloth was also quite large . It probably wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to cover a woman¡¯s body, but it should help to some extent . As if understanding Loren¡¯s thought, Lapis took the cloth from him and wrapped it around Tizona¡¯s shoulders, partially covering her naked body . Tizona was still sitting down unable to move, her head hung in shame . ¡°Oh? Who might this be? Is it another mouse?¡± Still carefully avoiding looking at Tizona, Loren warily held his sword ready and looked around . The room was vast with a tall ceiling, and deep inside it was a slightly elevated platform, on which there was a throne-like, heavily and gaudily decorated thing . The figure sitting on the throne spoke, while Gula stood on guard beside Loren: ¡°Eh? Wouldn¡¯t this be Gula? Why might you be here? And with humans at that . Isn¡¯t this preposterous?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also finding this ridiculous . I¡¯m sorry, but gathering bandits at such a place and playing king? We haven¡¯t met for a long time, have you leveled up on stupidity since?¡± There was a bit of disgust on Gula¡¯s face as well as in her tone . That surprised Loren, but what made him even more surprised was the voice coming from the throne deep inside the room . It was a male voice, but a bit high in pitch . It sounded almost like a child¡¯s voice to Loren . ¡°You¡¯re still as sharp-tounged as ever, Gula . I¡¯m not playing king . I AM a real king here . They just gathered here without me even doing anything . It¡¯s quite convenient to be honest . ¡± ¡°From the look of things here, I already know what you¡¯ll answer if I ask you to quietly come with me . ¡± ¡°Gula? Are you gathering us? Should I obediently come with you? But too baaad, I think I¡¯ll do what suits me this time around . ¡± The owner of the voice stood up from his throne . He wasn¡¯t very big, and with just candlelight illuminating such a large room, Loren couldn¡¯t see his face from this distance . But then, the figure snapped his fingers rather dramatically, and a magic light appeared right above him . With it, Loren could see him clearly . ¡°Loren, he¡¯s Mammon Avarice, the one called Evil God of Greed . ¡± Loren gazed at this Evil God as Gula spoke . He was quite short and wouldn¡¯t even reach Loren¡¯s stomach . He had fluffy curly brown hair, and his purple eyes, the characteristic of Evil Gods, seemed to look down on Loren . Just as Loren had guessed from his voice, he appeared to be a young boy . He also dressed like a kid from a well-off family, which made the thing he was holding look even stranger . ¡°I should say ¡®Nice to meet you¡¯, should I? By the way, who is this human to you, Gula? Bait, or portable snack?¡± The boy called Mammon smiled . In his right hand was Tizona¡¯s armor, and he was twirling some small piece of cloth on the finger of his left hand . ¡°I¡¯m just wondering, but is that the underwear of the naked lady over there?¡± ¡°You want it? You really want it don¡¯t you, onii-san . But I won¡¯t give it to you . Because I¡¯m Greed . ¡± The smile turned into a somehow murky laugh . Alert by the change, Loren turned the sword in his hands towards Mammon, ready to strike at any time . Chapter 166 Chapter 166 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Seeing Loren¡¯s sword pointed at him, Mammon made his move . He casually threw Tizona¡¯s armor and underwear behind his back and, without moving from his place, turned his palm towards Loren . Loren had been expecting him to use magic at any time, so he immediately jumped to the side . But he began to wonder if he had misunderstood something . One beat later, Mammon clenched the hand he was turning towards Loren, but nothing seemed to happen in particular . Loren kept his sword ready, but the feeling that he had guessed something incorrectly still stuck in his head . Meanwhile, Mammon unclutched his fist and looked at Loren with an impressed look on his face . He then turned towards Gula, who was glaring at him with a rather grim expression: ¡°Hey Gula, your pawn is quite perceptive . I was a bit surprised . He could dodge my <> on first sight . ¡± ¡°Can I consider that as being attacked?¡± Loren¡¯s brain knew that his opponent was an Evil God, the same kind of being as Gula . But in addition to Mammon having the appearance of a boy, his move earlier didn¡¯t cause any perceptible changes in Loren, so he wasn¡¯t sure if he had been attacked or not . ¡°Hm? What do you think, onii-chan?¡± An innocent smile once again appeared on Mammon¡¯s face, and he immediately turned his palm towards Loren again . Loren knew something was coming and leapt to the side, but he kicked at the ground twice this time instead of once, and moved away a bigger distance than the last time . ¡°Heh, you¡¯re amazing, onii-chan . ¡± Mammon said in an impressed tone and clenched his hand, which was turning in the direction of Loren¡¯s old location . Loren had now prepared to dodge as soon as Mammon moved his hand, and he had also understood many things thanks to it . ¡°Gula, that was an Evil God¡¯s power, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Loren asked without taking his eyes off Mammon . Gula nodded . ¡°Yeah . It¡¯s <>, the power to forcibly take whatever he¡¯s aware of . You know when it¡¯s activated, right?¡± If Mammon¡¯s movements weren¡¯t faked, then Loren believed his power was activated whenever he clenched his hand . From Loren¡¯s impression, this power might seem to be not that big of a deal compared to Gula¡¯s or Luxuria¡¯s at first glance, but it actually was a rather nasty power . No matter how powerful Gula¡¯s and Luxuria¡¯s powers were, it was still possible to defend against them . But there was no way to defend against Mammon¡¯s power . The only thing he could do was moving away before Mammon clenched his hand . But if it was during a serious battle where he wouldn¡¯t know when Mammon would activate it, it would be difficult to dodge . Also, it was easy to imagine what kind of danger he would be in if his possession was suddenly snatched during a battle . If it was his weapon or armor, his combat ability would seriously decrease . If it was his boots, he might not even be able to move depending on the ground¡¯s condition . Thinking that there was no choice but to land a swift attack before the Evil God could use his power, Loren got his sword ready . Mammon turned his palm towards Loren again then . Loren immediately moved away, but Mammon didn¡¯t pursue him . He aimed at Gula, who was standing a bit away instead . ¡°Ah, not good!¡± Gula received her death sentence as soon as she realized Mammon was aiming for her . She reflexively raised her arms to defend herself, but it was meaningless before Mammon¡¯s power . He quickly clenched his hand, and Gula screamed and sat down . ¡°Has your taste in clothes changed, Gula? Have you always worn such showy things?¡± Twirling on Mammon¡¯s index finger was Gula¡¯s hot pants, which she had been wearing just a moment ago . The thing had already been lascivious enough when Gula was wearing it, but seeing it twirling on the finger of an underage boy was an indescribable scene, even if the boy was only appearing to be one . Loren continued to keep a steady grip on his sword and keen eyes on Mammon, but his expression had turned wary . But Gula, who had her clothes snatched away, couldn¡¯t have the same reaction as Loren . Blushing, she was trying to conceal her lower body as much as possible with her hands while glaring at a grinning Mammon with murderous eyes . ¡°Mammon, you¡­ Do you think you can get off scot-free, doing something that shouldn¡¯t be done¡­?¡± ¡°If I can¡¯t get off scot-free, will you give me something?¡± ¡°Yes, a lot!!¡± As if Mammon¡¯s laugh made her snap, Gula screamed . A group of Predators, Gula¡¯s own Evil God power, appeared at the same time . These things ate everything in their way, animate objects or not, and Gula had unleashed a large number of them in her anger . Face twitching, Loren turned towards her, but what happened next made his face twitch even more . ¡°Aren¡¯t you hot-tempered, Gula? Is it age?¡± While Mammon continued to twirl Gula¡¯s hot pants with his left hand, he lightly swung his right arm . Thanks to the power of the King of Death, Shayna, inside him, Gula¡¯s Predators were visible to him, and he witnessed an unbelievable scene: Mammon only swung his right arm lightly, truly lightly, but all the mouths rushed in to bite him were smashed in one strike . Loren was taken aback . He could only watch dumbfounded as countless were smashed into pieces and disappeared . ¡°Not yet!¡± It seemed that smashing the mouths didn¡¯t cause any damage to Gula . As soon as one mouth was smashed, another appeared, and they all rushed at Mammon . But even with their number and speed, not even one could reach Mammon¡¯s body . They were all smashed and vanished into thin air with just a swing of his arm . ¡°You¡¯ve gotten weaker, haven¡¯t you, Gula? This¡­ Ah, you¡¯re quite full now, aren¡¯t you?¡± Mammon had come to some understanding by himself . No more mouths were coming at him . Gula was still sitting on the ground, but her breathing had become laborious . Grin still on his face, Mammon continued: ¡°The Evil God of Gluttony¡¯s power is very strong, but it comes from hunger . Once you¡¯re full enough, you¡¯ll become weak . ¡± ¡°Gngh¡­¡± Gula gritted her teeth, but was unable to make any comeback . She just silently glared at Mammon . ¡°So you¡¯re stronger if you are fast?¡± Come to think of it, even Gluttony couldn¡¯t continuously eat without stopping . It was only natural that once her stomach was full, her power would calm down until she became hungry again . In short, even though Gula wasn¡¯t completely full now, her stomach was quite full, and so she had become weaker compared to other Evil Gods ¨C At least this was what Loren guessed from Mammon¡¯s words . ¡°Th-that¡¯s one way to look at it, I guess?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t fight kids . ¡± ¡°Even if he¡¯s a kid, he¡¯s still an Evil God¡­ But Mammon really is a kid, both in looks and thinking . ¡± Gula said and looked at Mammon . He was playing with the hot pants he had snatched from her, stretching and twirling it . Unthinkingly, she half rose up to attack him again, but Mammon beat her to it . He carelessly threw the pants at Gula, and her attention went after it . ¡°I¡¯ll get the top next . ¡± As Gula thought she was over, Mammon turned his palm towards her . He just needed to clench that hand, and her top would be peeled away this time . But before he could, someone kicked at him from the flank with all their might . ¡°Lapis-chan?!¡± Lapis, who should have been staying with Tizona, had moved to right beside Mammon before anyone noticed . When he was preoccupied with Gula, she kicked at him with no reservation . The impact should be quite big, but Mammon still held his ground somehow . He immediately turned his palm from Gula to Lapis . Still in kicking stance, Lapis was unable to dodge . Mammon clenched his hand, and she jumped back while covering her chest with both arms, her cheeks lightly dyed in scarlet . ¡°What a surprise attack . And with such strength . Onee-san, are you human?¡± Mammon asked, a piece of white cloth in his hand . He was about to spread it out to let everyone know what it was, but he immediately threw the cloth away to dodge the greatsword coming from the opposite side of Lapis¡¯ kick . He turned to confront Loren . ¡°Another surprise attack? Isn¡¯t this getting boring?¡± ¡°Shut up . You¡¯re a bit too young to be taking off women¡¯s clothes . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m older than you though, onii-san?¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t call me onii-san!¡± Loren slashed at Mammon with ferocious force . Mammon deftly repelled it with both hands . Loren paid it no mind and slashed again, and Mammon showed discomfort for the first time . ¡°You know it won¡¯t work, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Well, if one strike is not enough, then I¡¯ll make ten or twenty strikes!¡± Loren swung his swords, paying no mind about whether his strike would be received or repelled . Even if it didn¡¯t work, it would turn Mammon¡¯s attention to himself, and his attacks wouldn¡¯t allow Mammon to use his power . With the greatsword coming at him like thunder tearing through air, he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn his attention to anywhere else . ¡°Even if you slash at me a hundred times, you still won¡¯t hit me¡­ Gah?!¡± Mammon was handling Loren¡¯s attack with an easy smile, but a kick coming from behind sent him flying . Loren shifted to avoid colliding with him . He bounced off the ground once, then immediately got up . ¡°It¡¯s the one-san with bad foot habit!¡± The one that kicked him was Lapis, who had temporarily withdrawn from the frontline . When his attention was on Loren, she had given him a kick as a return gift for earlier . But even though Mammon had been sent flying a good distance away, he didn¡¯t seem to sustain any injuries . He immediately turned his palm towards Lapis again, but was interrupted by a flurry of sword strikes from Loren, forcing him to turn to defense again . ¡°You¡¯re such a trouble, onii-san . That greatsword is in the way!¡± In between defending himself, Mammon turned his palm towards Loren . Loren immediately realized that he was trying to use his power to snatch his sword, but he kept attacking without care . He had resolved to hit him with his bare hands if his sword was snatched . Mammon looked at him with a mocking expression and clenched his hand . ¡°Eh?¡± Mammon¡¯s dumbfounded exclaim reached Loren¡¯s ears . He didn¡¯t feel the sword vanishing from his hands . He could still feel its solid weight . He swung it directly at Mammon¡¯s side . Mammon belatedly rose his arm in defense, but his small body was blown to the side as it had been earlier . Loren gave chase, thinking that even if he had defended against that slash, he might have taken some damage due to the impact . But Mammon immediately got up and flicked off Loren¡¯s new strike . ¡°Why? Why?! Why can¡¯t I get it?!¡± Mammon sounded flustered . Without stopping his attacks, Loren looked down at his hands . His greatsword, the target of Greed¡¯s power, was still in his hands . It was an unbelievable thing, not only for Loren but also for Mammon and Gula . ¡°How? No way!¡± ¡°Does it mean you¡¯re opposing my power?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Whatever, just be silent and let me beat you up!¡± The fact that he was unable to use his power sent Mammon into turmoil . Not missing that chance, Loren began to invoke self-boost while continuing slashing at him with even higher speed . Chapter 167 Chapter 167 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Eh? What? That power is resistible?¡± Gula was as confused as Mammon . Unlike the powers of other Evil Gods, Mammon¡¯s power wasn¡¯t the offensive type, so she had always thought that it couldn¡¯t be resisted . Yet Loren¡¯s greatsword wasn¡¯t snatched away, and he was able to continue attacking Mammon . This completely overturned her belief that the only way to fight against Mammon¡¯s power was to dodge . After failing the first time, Mammon tried using his power on Loren again . But his power continued to fail without showing any effect for the second, then the third time . ¡°The atmosphere is kinda strange . ¡± Gula folded her arms and turned to Lapis, who was hopping over . Her face was still red because of whatever Mammon had snatched from her, but Gula couldn¡¯t afford to tease her right now . She had her own pants snatched away and if she made fun of Lapis, the counterattack would be very harsh . ¡°Isn¡¯t that power too unfair? Even if he can¡¯t see it, as long as he knows it¡¯s there, he can snatch it . It¡¯s just absurd . ¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t we Evil Gods? Our very own existence is absurd to begin with, isn¡¯t it?¡± Losing before Lapis¡¯ threatening attitude, Gula uttered those excuse-like words while wondering why she had to give excuses . But as Lapis reached Gula¡¯s place, she decided to bury the hatchet . ¡°But why wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s greatsword snatched?¡± ¡°I wonder why? Even if it¡¯s a magical equipment, as long as it¡¯s a sword, it shouldn¡¯t escape Mammon¡¯s recognition, and his power shouldn¡¯t fail . ¡± Lapis nodded in agreement at Gula¡¯s reply, but she suddenly recalled something and asked again: ¡°Is it correct to say that if Mammon can¡¯t recognize something, he can¡¯t steal it?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s correct . For example, if he thinks your jacket is your breast cover and exercises his power on it, he won¡¯t be able to snatch your breast cover . ¡± ¡°You feel like attacking me while talking about examples?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stop here, Lapis-chan . I don¡¯t think I can handle your attacks right now . ¡± She was dead serious . Gula, who had her hotpants snatched away and had nothing but her arms to cover her fully exposed lower body, was in no state to respond to Lapi¡¯s attacks . If Lapis went serious, she might even send her flying in her half-naked state . Gula wanted to avoid that as much as possible . ¡°Leaving that aside, according to your explanation, it¡¯s very likely that Loren¡¯s greatsword isn¡¯t actually a sword . ¡± ¡°Eh that¡¯s stupid . No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s a sword, right?¡± Even Lapis had the same opinion . But from the fact that Mammon¡¯s power failed to work on the sword, the most probable explanation Lapis could think of was that it wasn¡¯t a sword . ¡°What the hell is it then?¡± ¡°I took it from my parents¡¯ warehouse . I don¡¯t know its true form either . ¡± Loren¡¯s greatsword looked like any other greatsword that could be found in any weapon store in Kapha, but it was an open secret that it came from Lapis . Loren knew it, but still continued to use it . If even Lapis, who brought that sword here, didn¡¯t know its true form, then no one did . ¡°What¡¯s your appraisal of it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s expensive . ¡± The truth was, Lapis, despite being able to appraise all kinds of goods, didn¡¯t really know much about Loren¡¯s swords . She had given it to Loren knowing only that it must be a very good item to be carefully stored in the deeper part of her parents¡¯ warehouse . She had never truly tried to get information about it . While Lapis and Gula were talking, Loren continued to attack Mammon to prevent him from directing his attention elsewhere . ¡°Even though my power doesn¡¯t work, the lack of progress on your end is irritating . Don¡¯t you think so, onii-san?¡± ¡°I do not notice you injuring me either!¡± In return for Mammon¡¯s provocation, Loren provoked him right back . Even though he was the one who started it, Mammon¡¯s face still twisted in anger . Loren was amazed at his lack of patience . He found a small opening in his storm of attacks, probably caused by anger, and threw a kick to take advantage of it . It hit Mammon, who had been focusing on repelling his sword, on the side . Being a magical being, Mammon didn¡¯t sustain much damage despite Loren putting his strength into the kick . In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to have much of an effect at all, except for inciting a grunt from the Evil God . But the kick did halt his movements for a moment, and Loren seized it to strike with his sword . Unable to put up a defense on time, the sword struck Mammon¡¯s shoulder, but the blade wasn¡¯t able to cut into his flesh . The Evil God had quite a high toughness, which made Loren reflexively click his tongue, but Mammon let out a painful groan at the first strike he received since the battle started . ¡°So it does hurt when you get hit!¡± ¡°This¡­ Don¡¯t make fun of me!¡± Without losing his pace, Loren swung his sword, trying to give Mammon a follow up strike . Mammon, who had received a clean hit, looked at him with eyes full of anger . Aiming for the top of the Evil God¡¯s head, Loren slashed with all his strength . Mammon met the blade with his fist, which was trembling with power . It was the first time he had used that much strength in this battle . When the fist met the blade, both of them recoiled at almost the same time . In that moment, Loren heard a small but ominous crack coming from his greatsword . The blade couldn¡¯t withstand the force of his slash and Mammon¡¯s fist anymore . Loren understood that, but he had no other means to attack the Evil God . Hoping to at least be able to somehow finish Mammon off, Loren fixed his stance and struck again . Meanwhile, Mammon¡¯s fist started to bleed a little from the impact of crashing against the blade, and the pain seemed to have made him tear up . But he still clenched his fist to meet Loren¡¯s sword . Just like the first time, the impact of the crash sent both of them flying backwards . The difference was the wound on Mammon¡¯s fist had gaped open wider . And then, Loren¡¯s greatsword broke with a dull sound . Tiny fragments of the black blade scattered in the air, and Mammon smiled widely despite the freely-flowing tears caused by even more intense pain, a feeling of his certain victory prevailed . However, Loren continued on to his next move with no care about the broken fragments of his blade . The reason was, even though the blade had seemingly broken, the weight of the sword in his hand hadn¡¯t changed . It made Loren believe that the blade was still there, and he swung the sword for a third strike without confirming the state of the blade . Mammon¡¯s eyes widened at the seemingly bladeless sword coming at him . The sword swung down coldly in a white flash of light and hit the left arm directly, which Mammon had raised to defend himself . No attack had ever touched Mammon¡¯s body before, but this strike cut deeply into Mammon¡¯s arm and even reached his shoulder . The Evil God screamed in intense pain, and Loren knew this was the deciding moment . Leaving the sword still biting into Mammon¡¯s body, Loren let go of its handle and reached into his jacket to pull out a dagger with a red gem inset in the pommel . ¡°I¡¯ll give you this too! Savor the rich taste of pain!¡± Even though Mammon¡¯s body was protected by some kind of force, Loren reckoned that since his greatsword was able to injure him, it would probably work if he struck him again at the same places . He rushed at the Evil God, pulled his head towards himself with his left hand and thrust the dagger into his flank . Loren felt a strong force pushing at his chest just then, and was sent flying backwards . He bounced on the ground a couple of times while hearing his ribs and sternum creaking painfully and ominously, and even rolled on the ground a few times before finally coming to a stop . The shock and the tumbling disoriented him, but he placed both hands on the ground and pushed himself up . When he lifted his head to check the result of his attacks, he saw Mammon writhing on the ground and shrieking in agony, the dagger stuck deeply into his side . The greatsword that was biting into Mammon¡¯s shoulder was lying on the ground near him . It seemed to have come off due to some impact . ¡°So, does it hurt? It¡¯s a magic weapon that can amplify pain . Feel it to your heart¡¯s content . ¡± The dagger was one of the magic-infused items they had salvaged from the depot . It could amplify the pain of the stabbed person by a couple magnitudes . Injured by both the greatsword and the dagger, Mammon was bearing unimaginable pain, and was writhing about on the ground . It seemed like Evil Gods¡¯ appearances did reflect their mentality . Loren had guessed from Mammon¡¯s words and behavior that he had the mentality of a child, and should be extremely weak at pain . He had planned to take advantage of this weakness when the timing was right, and the effect was immediate . Still, it might not be the decisive blow . With that thought in mind, Loren creeped on the ground, got near to Mammon, and grabbed the handle of his greatsword . The sword originally had a black blade, which should have been broken . But there was another white blade there in its place, slightly thinner but almost as long . Loren put off thinking about the true form of his sword, which was able to cut through the protection force of an Evil God and injured his body . Instead, he stood up, intending to finish off Mammon . But when he turned around to face him, he saw Gula kneeling on the floor as if protecting Mammon, who was sobbing due to the pain on his shoulders and side . ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but can you let him off? I¡¯ll take responsibility, and will take him away, so I want you to spare his life . ¡± ¡°Keeping him alive gives me no benefit, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Just make it work somehow . ¡± Gula prostrated herself before him . Loren¡¯s expression turned troubled, and he looked at Mammon behind her . He was still crying from the pain of his wounds even now, and was looking at Loren with frightened eyes . But he endured the pain, sat up, then kneeled down like Gula . ¡°S¡­ Sorry . ¡± No matter what Mammon really was, Mammon¡¯s appearance was still that of a child and of one covered in blood, at that . The sight of such a child kneeling before him and apologizing¡­ It somehow felt like he was the bad guy here . Loren lowered his sword . But Lapis and Tizona also had their feelings hurt because of this . Loren turned towards them, but Lapis just shrugged without saying anything in particular . And Tizona, who was wrapping herself in the cloth Loren had given her, gave him a single nod . It seemed like they had let him make the decision . Loren looked down at the Evil Gods prostrating before him . ¡°Can you promise that you will break up the bandit gang, and will not be hostile towards us?¡± ¡°I understand¡­¡± ¡°Apologize to those you stripped too . Then let them hit you a few times, alright?¡± To Loren, it was unforgivable to strip someone naked or steal someone¡¯s pants . Mammon nodded multiple times at the punishment Loren had issued for him . ¡°And we¡¯ll confiscate the goods and treasures you¡¯ve collected . I really thought this was a ploy from some countries¡­ I¡¯ll report that you¡¯ve escaped . ¡± Their purpose was to obtain the treasures inside the ruin, not to subjugate the bandits or to hand their head over to the kingdom . Loren believed that it was good enough to get the money and goods to fulfill Tizona¡¯s purpose . Anything else was just extra, and thus inconsequential . The bandits wouldn¡¯t be able to cause much damage by themselves . Their leader, an Evil God, was now Gula¡¯s responsibility, and would be under her supervision . Loren thought that it should be safe . ¡°If we hand defeated Evil Gods over to the kingdom, they¡¯ll either destroy the kingdom or will be used by it, which could turn out to be even more troublesome . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, isn¡¯t it? As for hitting him, let¡¯s wait until his wounds are healed . If we go at it now, he might die . ¡± Lapis declared with an ice-cold smile . It seemed like she was still holding a grudge over her stolen chest cover . Mammon looked at her with a tear-stained face, his eyes were as frightened as when he looked at Loren . Chapter 168 Chapter 168 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul And so, the story about the big bandit gang causing trouble at one corner of the Wargenburg Kingdom came to an end . Loren reported to the Adventurer Guild that the bandits had been dealt with . In his report, the bandits were annihilated by an outburst of the undead . Even though they had also fought some of the bandits themselves, there was no one else around by the time they finished with them, and so the party assumed all other bandits had either died or ran away . This report would sound rather dubious coming from the party contracted to wipe out the bandits, but Loren¡¯s party hadn¡¯t sign up for such a quest . They were contracted to explore the ruin, so there were no issues . On the contrary, they actually complained to the Guild instead . After all, the Guild hadn¡¯t informed them about such a large bandit base being near the ruin . They had received some money as an apology . As for their original purpose in this adventure: the ruin had turned out to be just a disappointment to Tizona . When they entered the ruin, Loren and Lapis thought that it must had been a holiday house of some noble or rich person from ancient times . There seemed to be several other constructions in the surrounding, but only the main house was left standing after all this time . In short, it was a rarely used building, and nothing of much value was left inside . Moreover, the bandits had carried most of them out, selling some for cash and storing the rest at their depots . The magic-infused items they had found before were a part of these . If the story ended on this, Tizona wouldn¡¯t get the amount she needed and would have to become some noble¡¯s property . But luckily they successfully found some amounts of bandits¡¯ treasure . This treasure included a large number of goods the bandits had gathered before getting big, and things they had plundered after, all stored inside the ruin . They gave a part of it to the citizens that had suffered because of the bandits, but were still left with a rather large sum of money . ¡°Well, no matter how much we have left, it¡¯s all Tizona¡¯s . ¡± ¡°Is it alright like that? I feel like she required a lot of rescuing . Nevertheless¡­¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need to sell ourselves if we don¡¯t have money . But if Tizona doesn¡¯t have money, she¡¯ll have to sell herself, right? So for it to not end up like that, we¡¯ll only take our remuneration . The rest is yours, Tizona . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry . I¡¯m indebted to you . And¡­ about what I saw back then . ¡± Tizona looked hesitant, and Loren scratched his head in trouble . Aside from Gula and Mammon being Evil Gods, there was also Lapis sending an Evil God flying with a kick . Furthermore, Tizona had seen Loren¡¯s fighting style when he was battling the Evil God . Of course, it was impossible to regard these matters as nothing, but it also didn¡¯t mean that they had to honestly explain everything to her . While Loren was wondering what should be done, Tizona told him: ¡°If it¡¯s not something you want to be asked about, then let¡¯s decide that I haven¡¯t seen anything at all . I swear on my pride as a mercenary that if you don¡¯t want to talk about this, I will bring this story to my grave . ¡± ¡°We appreciate that, but¡­ Is that alright?¡± ¡°To be honest, I have the feeling that even if you tell me the truth, I won¡¯t know how to deal with it . So it¡¯s easier and simpler to decide that I haven¡¯t seen anything . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite smart of you . ¡± Tizona wasn¡¯t sure how much she could believe in their story, and she thought that such a story would be too absurd for a third party to believe in should she try to tell them . And so, they parted ways without Loren having to do anything in particular to muzzle her . Tizona, feeling grateful for their help this time, also promised that if they needed her, they only needed to contact her, and she would come to their aids . But Loren didn¡¯t care much about this promise, since Tizona was returning to the wandering life of a mercenary, and it would be difficult to contact her . It ended here for Loren, but not for others . As if afraid that the runaway bandits would rise up again, the Kingdom belatedly dispatched a team to chase and subjugate them . They wouldn¡¯t find any, but it wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s duty to tell them that . Aside from the base and the depot they had destroyed, there were several other depots . According to Lapis, things would come back to normal once those depots were discovered and destroyed . ¡°On the other hand, is it really alright to leave Mammon to you?¡± Mammon, who had the mentality of a kid but the power of an Evil God, was especially troublesome . He was put under Gula¡¯s custody, and she had led him somewhere no one knew . Loren found it a bit questionable, and he stated this to Gula as such . She just looked at him meekly and bowed deeply: ¡°At least he can¡¯t do mischief at a place I don¡¯t know . ¡± ¡°Why does it sound like you think it¡¯s ok for him to do bad things as long as it¡¯s at a place you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I make Lust watch him . ¡± Loren imagined the Evil God of Greed being watched over by the Evil God of Lust, and hurriedly stopped his train of thoughts . Even though this reeked of crime, both of them were beings beyond humans age-wise, and maybe humans¡¯ ways of thinking and standards shouldn¡¯t be applied to them . It was better for Loren¡¯s mental health to think that way, so he hurriedly stopped elaboration on this matter . ¡°But what do you want to do, gathering other Evil Gods like this? Or should I say, why do Evil Gods keep resurrecting here and there?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me why . Probably our seals had loosened, or someone had deliberately untied them . I asked Mammon, but couldn¡¯t really find out anything either . The reason why I¡¯m gathering them because it¡¯s easier that way? Do you want to leave them unchecked?¡± Gula¡¯s reasoning was quite persuasive . If left alone, no one knew what kind of havoc they would wreck . And rounding them up was definitely not something humans could do . In that case, having Gula, one of the Evil Gods, set out to gather them was much better than other alternatives . There seemed to be no reason to stop her . ¡°How many more are there?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve had Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, and Greed, so there are 3 left . Envy, Pride, and Rage . ¡± ¡°Just hearing the names makes me not want to meet them . Why do you all haunt Wargenburg and its vicinity to begin with?¡± ¡°Well, because the ancient kingdom¡¯s capital is around here . Unless someone looks into this thoroughly, I think appearing here is more probable?¡± Just as the actual name of the ancient kingdom wasn¡¯t known, there were no records about the location of its cities, or what they were like . Lapis added that it wasn¡¯t even known if its capital was on the continent or not . ¡°Do you know the exact location?¡± ¡°The topography has changed a bit, so I can¡¯t say for sure where it is . But I know it¡¯s somewhere around here . ¡± ¡°If we can excavate it, we¡¯ll discover unimaginable things . ¡± ¡°Talking about unimaginable things, isn¡¯t that ¡®thing¡¯ of Loren one of them?¡± Gula pointed at the sword on Loren¡¯s back . The black greatsword had been broken during the fight with Mammon, revealing a white greatsword inside it . Being able to cut through the protection of an Evil God like Mammon and injured him, the sword was definitely not an average magic-infused weapon, but its true character was still unknown . Its sharpness was far beyond common knowledge, and if it was dropped down point-first, its weight was heavy enough to break stone and make it sink into the earth . It would even sink deeper before halting due to its sharpness . The strange thing was, if it was wrapped in cloth, the sharpness seemed to ¡®lay low¡¯: if Loren used it to slash at something in this state, the cloth wouldn¡¯t be cut . This was why Loren could carry it around on his back . It would have been too dangerous to walk with otherwise . ¡°It¡¯s too sharp for a greatsword . ¡± ¡°I think so too . Its sharpness was too dangerous, so it was wrapped in magic-infused iron to be concealed . ¡± ¡°Greed¡¯s power didn¡¯t work probably because the magic-infused iron layer acted as its scabbard . He acknowledged the scabbard as the sword, so his power didn¡¯t work . ¡± ¡°In short, I¡¯ve been fighting with a sword¡¯s scabbard up until now? I¡¯ve never heard of a scabbard with an edge before though . ¡± ¡°Probably because this sword is something meant to be hidden . ¡± If the outer layer hadn¡¯t been broken, Loren was sure he would have never noticed it . Lapis guessed that the outer blade had probably been used to hide the inner blade, but as it had been shattered, there was no way to confirm her guess now . ¡°It seems to be a rather valuable item, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It is . Is it alright to give it to me?¡± Loren knew that magic-infused iron blade was very rare . If it was used as just a cover, there was no question about how valuable the inner blade was . He wondered if it was alright for him to possess such a valuable item, but Lapis looked at him blankly: ¡°Hah? What do you mean? Isn¡¯t it something you bought at a store?¡± ¡°Yeah, but it seems like only you know of its true character, Lapis . ¡± ¡°Are you relying on me?¡± Lapis looked at Loren with some kind of expectations in her eyes . Loren wondered for a moment what the correct answer to her question would be, but in the end he decided to tell her what he felt safe to say . Lapis was looking up at him, as Loren patted her head and said: ¡°I am, and always will . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m very happy to hear that . ¡± Lapis looked a bit shy, but she smiled happily just as she had said she was . ¡°Yeah, he really relies on you a lot, financially¡­ Ah, no, nothing . ¡± Gula blurted out one word too many, and received a freezing glance that was totally opposite of the one she was giving Loren . Loren watched them with some shock and reached into his trousers¡¯ pocket . He fiddled with the two gold coins he had received from Tizona as remuneration, and thought that this job could be considered as a successful one . Chapter 169 Chapter 169 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul There was a rumor that a certain adventurer had gone broke . ¡®Not really though¡¯ thought Loren, the one who spread the rumor, thought while flinging a small cloth bag on the table . This small cloth bag was a representative for his wallet, which had become significantly lighter . It all started with a remark from Gula, the so-called Evil God of Gluttony and a member of Loren¡¯s party . It wasn¡¯t even spoken very loudly . ¡°That reminds me, Loren, you said I can eat all the delicious things once we return to Kapha, right?¡± That was quite a shameless remark, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think . He did say such a thing when they were working on their previous job . That job did end up to be quite a success, but they encountered one of Gula¡¯s buddies halfway through: Mammon, the Evil God of Greed, who had the appearance of a young boy . Loren was one strike short of killing him but stayed his hand because Gula begged for his life and Mammon himself showed some remorse . So he let Gula have custody of Mammon instead . Because of this, Loren thought Gula should have felt some indebtedness to him . But it seemed like in Gula¡¯s point of view, that was that and this was this . ¡°You¡¯re weakened if you¡¯re full, aren¡¯t you? Starve a bit more . ¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such a cruel thing . And it¡¯s still alright even if I¡¯m weakened a little bit, isn¡¯t it? And it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll encounter my kind all the time . ¡± Saying it like this just made Loren fear that they would suddenly encounter another Evil God . Anyway, Gula wanted to eat delicious food no matter what, and Loren just gave up . At the end of his rope, Loren agreed to treating Gula to a meal . To have delicious food, they went to a slightly more high-end dining hall, and Loren enjoyed a glass of fine wine for the first time in a long while . Gula, on the other hand, demonstrated her appetite as if her title of Evil God of Gluttony was at stake and proceeded to eat up the dining hall¡¯s stock . Since it was a high-end dining hall, it was more expensive than other ones in the area, and since she consumed everything, it naturally costed a lot . What¡¯s more, there was already a rumor spreading about a beautiful woman being able to gorge down a ton of food . Naturally, that was because such an unusual scene would gather people¡¯s attention and the more people witnessed such a scene, the worse the rumor got . ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± At night, in the dining hall attached to the adventurer¡¯s guild, Loren sipped on some cheap wine he had ordered for himself by candlelight and shrugged at the voice that came from across the table . The person sitting in front of Loren across the table was none other than Lapis, whose expression was eloquently showcasing her deep-seated dismay . Lapis, despite being a demon, a race that humans feared and hated, actually did have some semblance of common sense . Yet she could not understand why Loren agreed to pay for Gula¡¯s meal even though he didn¡¯t have much money himself . ¡°It¡¯s not like I need you to help me pay for it this time . Isn¡¯t this fine?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you spend most of the money you earned from the previous request as well?¡± Lapis lifted the pouch Loren had thrown onto the table and checked its content . Hearing no clink of coins when picking it up, she could already guess the pouch¡¯s content . When she opened it up and looked inside, all she saw was a single golden glow . There was only one coin left at the bottom of the bag . ¡°Looks like there is some left¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare tell Gula . Any more of this and I would be suicidal . ¡± Thankfully, Gula was no longer nearby . Normally, Loren would be asleep in his room by now, not out here drinking . He was here only because Lapis had summoned him through the adventurer¡¯s guild . Loren expected Lapis to start complaining about the stupid stunt Gula and him had pulled a few days ago, but she simply closed the pouch and returned it to Loren while muttering under her breath ¡®Fine then¡­¡¯ ¡°I didn¡¯t call you here to talk about that . ¡± ¡°Really? I thought you were going to for sure . ¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to talk about what you do with your money¡­ Ah, that reminds me, can I count that remaining gold coin as a payment for your debt with me?¡± ¡°¡­Without it, I¡¯ll have to sleep in the alley tonight . ¡± But Loren did believe it was better to pay off one¡¯s debt, so he picked up the pouch and passed it . But she pushed his offering pouch back . ¡°I can¡¯t take it like that . ¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really mind though?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright . You can pay me back later, so just use what is left for your accommodation and food . ¡± Since the lender said it was fine to not pay it back right now, the borrower had no reason to disagree . Also, given their relationship, it was uncertain how serious they were about this whole borrowing and paying-back talk . ¡°So, can we move on to the main topic?¡± ¡°Yeah . So, what do you want to talk about?¡± Since Lapis requested to see him through the guild, she had to pay a fee . Meanwhile, Loren did not know where Lapis lived . Whenever they were in Kapha city, she just appeared wherever he was at . This felt like she was always there when needed . Loren had already spent a substantial amount of time with her but he still had no clue what she did during her spare time . Loren knew that Lapis would not have summoned him in such a manner for some foolish rhetoric . So, the topic at hand must be serious . She glanced at the hilt of his greatsword and spoke . ¡°I need to discuss with you about your sword¡± Once she said those words, Loren took a glance at the weapon on his back . The sword he used when he was a mercenary was broken, and he ¡®happened¡¯ to have bought a random replacement . When in fact, Lapis was the one who had masterminded the whole thing in secret . She had set it up in such a way that made it questionable whether she wanted to hide what she did or not . She made it such that the trader would have only sold the weapon to Loren . During the last job, the Evil God of Greed, Mammon, broke the sword, and it turned out that there was another blade inside the destroyed one . Loren was able to defeat him thanks to the unusual sharpness hidden within his weapon . ¡°I think it¡¯s dangerous to use a weapon from an unknown origin . ¡± ¡°I agree with you¡­ But are you seriously telling me that you don¡¯t know where it came from?¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± Lapis asked as if she found what he just uttered as completely strange, to which Loren could only silently shake his head . He knew that one¡¯s thoughts might sometimes deviate from what one says . So, he pretended like he didn¡¯t know anything . Even if he wanted her to confess, he did not want to force her . ¡°It¡¯s true, I really don¡¯t know where it¡¯s from . No one told me what it is . It was just one of those things that was kept in the warehouse,¡± Lapis muttered, taking her eyes off Loren . It was a dangerous weapon but the man wielding it himself seems to be nonchalant as he took another sip and placed his drink back on the table . ¡°So, this is something you took from your house?¡± He asked, as he thought this girl had taken out something dangerous . However, so far, there have been no problems with it . Rather, Loren would have to say that the weapon had proved quite handy . But since Lapis had brought it from home, it might change things . After all, she is a demon . Demons could keep items in their warehouse that could be a few dozen times more dangerous than what he would expect . ¡°Please don¡¯t ask,¡± Lapis moodily said, turning away . Though from Loren¡¯s point of view this was a life-threatening issue . Not something that can be so easily dismissed . ¡°I don¡¯t mean it that way . I mean, since it is from your warehouse, it¡¯s dangerous right?¡± ¡°There is nothing dangerous in my family¡¯s warehouse!¡± ¡°Well, that maybe so¡­¡± It was logical to assume that demons keep something dangerous in their warehouses, though that was a rude thought . What¡¯s more important, it was Lapis¡¯ home . The same Lapis who he has been with for so long . Loren was sure she wouldn¡¯t hand him an item without making sure it wasn¡¯t life-threatening but soon noticed the girl¡¯s wandering gaze . ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°N-no¡­ It might not sound convincing but¡­ I checked everything thoroughly . Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have placed something so dangerous in a town store . ¡± ¡°Were you selling something?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point . How do I put it¡­¡± For a while Lapis seemed to want to say something . But, each time she wanted to speak up, she closed her mouth again and scratched her head . To Loren, it seems as though she was trying to think up a story, trying to hide that she was the original owner of the sword . When she finally settled on her story, she turned to Loren and looked at him . ¡°If it was entirely made of magic iron, then there would be no problems . I never thought that there would be something inside it¡­¡± ¡°So you admit it¡¯s your fault?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying what has happened!¡± Loren believes that they would uncover the solution if Lapis would share more but, since she continued to hide it, Loren decided that it would be impossible to probe further . Therefore, he just let it go and asked . ¡°All right . So, what do we do?¡± When Loren asked ¡®what to do¡¯ when the owner herself was uncertain, Lapis seemed a little hesitant to answer . ¡°We need to ask someone who knows . ¡± ¡°Someone who knows¡­? Who?¡± Loren did not believe that this weapon could be appraised . Lapis could appraise herself, and Loren did not believe anyone could do a better job than her . If there was anyone who knew anything about this weapon, it would be the original owner . So, Loren stared at Lapis . ¡°Do you mean¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know who originally owns it¡­ But, there is someone I know who knows more about this sword than I do,¡± Leaning on the table, the girl spoke in a low voice to Loren, who was staring at her in bewilderment . ¡°Loren, I need you to come to my house . ¡± Not knowing what to say, the man just looked at the girl who wore a serious expression . Chapter 170 Chapter 170 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul It was a quiet night at Kapha city . A cloaked man in grey from head to toe appeared at the city gate . The cloak made it impossible to tell the person¡¯s gender or look, but the man seemed to be of fairly large built based on the height . The person walked quickly while surveying their surroundings from time to time . In short, a very suspicious person . People shouldn¡¯t be acting that suspicious if they just wanted to get out of the city . Just as the guards at the gate unthinkingly straightened up as if feeling a hint of anxiety, another person appeared behind the first one . The newcomer grabbed the cloak of the suspicious one and stopped it . ¡°Where are you trying to go, Loren?¡± The one who asked that question was a young girl with a sweet smile and an innocent tone . She was wearing priest¡¯s clothes, and the guards recognized her right away ¨C the girl¡¯s name was Lapis, someone they saw often . So the suspicious figure must be her companion, an adventurer called Loren . ¡°Leaving the city this early, are you trying to run away?¡± ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s right . ¡± Loren was at a loss for words . Meanwhile, Lapis sneakily tore his cloak off him . Loren appeared to be the same as always, but he wasn¡¯t carrying his greatsword for some reason . Noticing that, Lapis stared at him with narrowed eyes, then forcibly pulled him away by his belt without saying anything . ¡°Ah, wait . Hey?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re delusional if you think you can run away, Loren . But alright, I¡¯ll forgive you . We¡¯re friends after all . ¡± ¡°This is a misunderstanding . I¡¯m not trying to run away . I just want to go into hiding and cool down for a while¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it . Listen, let¡¯s just go . I¡¯ve already arranged breakfast at the Guild¡¯s dining hall . ¡± A big guy being pulled away by a small girl wasn¡¯t a common scene at all . The two guards at the gate watched them go while wondering what the heck was happening and exchanged glances after the couple had disappeared from sight . Meanwhile, Lapis dragged Loren all the way to the entrance Adventurer Guild¡¯s dining hall . Loren surrendered then, and walked inside on his own . They sat at their usual table at the end of the hall, and a waitress immediately appeared to take their orders . Lapis ordered for both of them, paid, then glared at Loren, who was sitting opposite her . ¡°I don¡¯t want to cancel our partnership, you know?¡± It sounded like an excuse even to Loren, but he felt like he had to say something . Lapis nodded . ¡°I¡¯m not worried about that . ¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Our destination this time is¡­¡± Yesterday, Lapis told Loren that she wanted him to accompany her on the way to her parent¡¯s home . And if one thought about it, this wasn¡¯t about Loren wanting to run away, but about Lapis¡¯ home . No matter how much like an ordinary human priest Lapis might look, she was actually a demon, a being much stronger than humans, and not very well-liked by humans . Of course, Lapis¡¯ home was in the demon country, on the other side of the mountainous region in the center of this continent . And accompanying her there meant going to the demon country . It was just natural that Loren would think twice about her request . And the decision he came to after such thinking was to disappear for a while and wait for Lapis to cool down . He left his greatsword behind in case Lapis wanted to send it back to her parents¡¯ home to investigate its origin . By the way, even though there was no detailed map of the continent, it was generally thought to have the shape of two circles . The line that formed the inner circle was the mountainous region that they would have to cross, inside which there was the demon country . ¡°So even you would hesitate . ¡± Lapis muttered with some disappointment . It seemed like her anger subsided a little bit . ¡°I thought that you¡¯ll be able to accompany me there without caring too much . ¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible . I¡¯m just an uneducated, mercenary-raised guy . I¡¯ve been taught about the terrors of demons by my company since I was a kid, you know?¡± There were a lot of stories about demons¡¯ infamy . The most extreme story was one about the Demon King, which Loren couldn¡¯t help but think to be greatly exaggerated . But even excluding that story, the stories usually ended up with them being the cause of a country¡¯s destruction, a hero¡¯s corruption, or making part of the continent a dead land where nothing could grow from for ten years at a time just for their own research . There simply was no end to their infamy . Loren thought that all of those were exaggerated to some extent after working with Lapis for a while, but he was still worried, and he told her as much . ¡°To be very clear, I have a feeling that this will become a hassle . ¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not scared or angry . I¡¯m not sure if I should be happy or sad about this . ¡± ¡°I¡¯m having my hands full with only you, Lapis . ¡± ¡°Am I such a handful?¡± Lapis watched Loren intently, looking smug . Being asked that question again, Loren tilted his head . It wasn¡¯t like Lapis gave him a horrible experience or anything . ¡°Well, I do try to increase your debt . Just a little bit though . ¡± ¡°That, well¡­ Not good, but alright . ¡± Loren had to admit that he did have a self-destructive tendency . Treating Gula to a meal this time was probably the most extreme . ¡°The trip there is a bit dangerous, so I want you to guarantee my safe arrival . Can you come with me for that reason?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much I can trust that . ¡± Basically, demons looked down on humans . There was a natural gap between the two races regarding abilities, and even if it was left aside, Loren just couldn¡¯t imagine a human ended up safe after setting a foot into demons¡¯ territory . Humans picked fights with humans from lower class, which made Loren sure that he would be treated unfairly no matter what . ¡°Do I really have to go with you no matter what? How about Gula?¡± Hearing the name of the currently-absent third member of their party, Lapis grimaced a little . ¡°Gula is¡­ She probably could pass as a demon . ¡± Gula originally had purple eyes like the demon race . She had altered her eyes color by some unknown method in order to live in Kapha . With her purple eyes and abilities, even the ones that were not Evil God¡¯s power, exceeding that of the average humans, she could certainly pass as a demon . ¡°Besides, I have some personal errand to attend to¡­ I really want you to accompany me . ¡± ¡°Personal errand?¡± Hearing that she went home not only to find out about his greatsword piqued his interest . Even more so when it seemed that he was involved somehow . ¡°What kind of errand? I might change my opinion depending on that . ¡± Loren felt like ever since he quit mercenary life and became an adventurer, Lapis had always taken care of him . He was grateful to her, and he believed that if his company would help her solve her errands more smoothly, he would be fine with it even if it meant some discomfort for him . ¡°Actually, that is¡­ Eh, well . How do you say it? Ah¡­¡± Lapis had some difficulties putting it into words . Since it was a personal errand, Loren wondered if it was something difficult to talk about . After groaning for a while, Lapis seemed to have made up her mind . She cast her eyes down and murmured in a small voice: ¡°It¡¯s a good opportunity¡­ to introduce you¡­ to my parents . ¡± It was now Loren¡¯s turn to be taken aback . Demons¡¯ custom wasn¡¯t his area of expertise, but for humans, introducing someone to one¡¯s parents meant the two had an intimate relationship . To be more specific, it meant the two wanted to be partners, or had already decided to be partners . Even Loren knew that much . Hearing that Lapis wanted to introduce him to her parents, Loren didn¡¯t know how to reply . Seeing him like that, Lapis waved her hand in a fluster and talked rapidly: ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll let it go this time if it¡¯s too troublesome for you . I can also go home on my own if you really don¡¯t want to go no matter what¡­ What do you think?¡± Lapis asked like that while looking up at Loren, making it unable for him to deny her upfront . He had no way to know what Lapis was thinking about introducing him to her parents, but leaving the ¡®good opportunity¡¯ part aside, Lapis did seem to have thought about it seriously, and she did deserve a serious answer . ¡°Did you fight with your parents because of the human race?¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s too direct¡­ I¡¯ve planned to wait a bit more, until both parties can understand each other more . But, but, you¡¯ve saved me from many dangerous situations . I was also able to recover both my arms thanks to your help¡­¡± Loren looked at her with admiration . She was speaking fast, but her speech was still smooth . As she finished and stared at him with a slightly blushing face, there was nothing else for him to do but to answer her after a deep sigh: ¡°I see . I¡¯m not sure how it¡¯ll turn out, but I¡¯ll go with you . ¡± Having successfully extracted an agreement from Loren, Lapis¡¯ face brightened . ¡°Just leave it to me, Loren . Except for the trip itself, I will support you . Mother is my ally, but it¡¯ll be alright with my father too . ¡± ¡°There are at least two things from that statement of yours that make me feel concerned¡­¡± The first thing was, she didn¡¯t deny even once that the trip to the demon country would be a dangerous one . The second thing was, it seemed like her father might have some kind of troublesome reactions when meeting him . But Loren wasn¡¯t the type to suddenly go back on his words ¨C he grumbled in a resigned tone: ¡°Please do . I¡¯m betting my life on just knowing the true character of my greatsword . ¡± Loren said, but he was still thinking about how troublesome this whole trip would be . But Lapis somehow decided that the talk was already over, so she greeted the waitress that brought their breakfast over and began to set the food on the table . Chapter 171 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul The decision to go to the demon territory had been made without consulting Gula, the other member in their party, so Loren insisted that they had to talk to her. His suggestion was met with Lapis¡¯ cold reaction. It was just a trivial matter to her, but Loren did consider Gula a companion, and he decided that they would talk to her when she came to the Adventurer Guild. Gula had no other places to go except for her inn and the Adventurer Guild, so it was almost certain that she would eat at the Guild¡¯s dining hall. Loren was sure that if they hung around the dining hall for a bit more, she would show up. And she indeed did. ¡°Eh? You two are a bit early today. Are you hungry?¡± Seeing the two of them already sitting at a table, Gula commented. She gave her order to a waitress while joining them at their table. ¡°Twenty sunny side up eggs with bacon, ten plates of assorted sausages, thirty loaves of brown bread, three salads, five pitchers of milk. Breakfasts should be light, right?¡± ¡°U-understood¡­¡± The waitress accepted a pile of coins from Gula and went to pass her order to the owner with a stiff face. Gula watched her go with a smile and when she turned back, she saw Loren and Lapis looking at her with the same expression as the waitress. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already known how much you can eat, but it¡¯s still such an amazingly big order.¡± ¡°My appetite has decreased a bit, I think.¡± Lapis looked as if she was having heartburn, but Gula didn¡¯t seem to care about it. With an anxious longing, she was busy watching the owner receiving her order and disappearing into the kitchen. Loren told her about his talk with Lapis and their decision to go to the demons¡¯ territory. ¡°Hm, so we¡¯re not going there for our next job?¡± Gula asked as if she had no objections at all. Loren was about to confirm her guess that they weren¡¯t going there for work, when Lapis interjected: ¡°You¡¯re fine if it¡¯s for a job?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Well, every country is interested in the state of affairs of the demon country. I¡¯m sure the Guild has a permanent request for scouting the place.¡± Keeping someone you hated out of sight wasn¡¯t a concept that worked on a country level, or so Lapis said. Every country needed as much information as possible, in case something happened or suspected to have happened. Originally, it was the job of a country¡¯s intelligence agency to gather such information. But such information-gathering requests also came to the Adventurer Guild because it costed less, and also because adventurers were a bit more specialized in surviving and breaking in¡­ Or so Lapis explained. ¡°If we choose a suitable job among those, we can make this a proper job, right? We¡¯ll earn money.¡± Lapis slightly stressed the ¡®money¡¯ part, but Loren snorted at that as if he was hearing some rather dubious story. ¡°Do you have any objection?¡± ¡°So you mean we take on some job of some intelligence agency. During my mercenary days I¡¯ve learned it the hard way and multiple times that intelligence agencies and news agencies can¡¯t be trusted.¡± It was natural that Loren had such an opinion. After all, people of those agencies could trick their friends with no hesitation should the need arise. And they collected information that no one wanted to know. People like that just couldn¡¯t be trusted. Using mercenaries as sacrificial pawns to save their country¡¯s armies was also a normal thing for them. So mercenary companies usually warned their members to be more cautious of these people than of the enemies. ¡°I understand your feeling, but these jobs are not suspicious because the Adventurer Guild is also involved.¡± Mercenaries had no backing, but adventurers did have a huge one ¨C the Adventurer Guild, and those who tried to play dirty with them would meet a huge drawback. The Guild might not openly step up, but all they needed to do was to publicly declare that they would withdraw from a country. And if that were to happen there would be no adventurers to undertake jobs like subjugation of bandits and demons or exploration and excavation of ruins. The country¡¯s plans would be delayed, and there would be public disorder. Rather than letting such a thing happen, anyone with a brain knew that it would be more beneficial to just put out some low-confidential jobs and corporate with good faith. ¡°Those who can¡¯t figure out such pros and cons won¡¯t be able to enter such agencies in the first place.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Doubt was apparent in Loren¡¯s tone. He just ignored the talk and focused on Gula, who was ferociously inhaling the smell of the food that had just been brought out. The sight of her consuming the food with a terrifying speed wasn¡¯t strange or vulgar in the least. Instead, the sight of a scantily dressed beauty eating with delight while sweating a little was rather sensual. Whenever Gula had meals, she always attracted the eyes of those around. Since it did more or less attract more customers, Loren thought the dining hall should pay her something as an advertisement fee. Gula was happily stuffing her mouth with food, but once she noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she swallowed hurriedly swallowed and asked: ¡°Hm? What? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s gravy on my face?¡± Loren shook his head to indicate it was nothing. Gula thought for a while, then stabbed the last remaining sausage on her plate with a fork and handed it to Loren: ¡°Do you want this? I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± ¡°Gluttony giving me food? Will there be a storm tomorrow?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t link the title ¡®Evil God of Gluttony¡¯ with food-sharing, not in the least. Having said God offered him a piece of food brought a wry smile to his face. ¡°This is not just a sausage, you know?¡± ¡°It looks like any sausage to me?¡± ¡°The fork that stabbed it has been used by me.¡± She meant an indirect kiss. Gula was smiling, but immediately stiffened by the icy cold aura Lapis was emitting. ¡°What are you doing? We¡¯re in the middle of a discussion.¡± ¡°Ah, my bad. I¡¯ve just had a lil¡¯ escape from reality.¡± Loren had enough with going to the demon country AND being introduced to Lapis¡¯ parents, but now they would have to get involved with the kingdom¡¯s intelligence agency¡­ He also wanted a ¡®lil¡¯ escape from reality¡¯. Lapis turned the corners of her mouth down and struck at her own chest: ¡°Just leave all the troublesome things to me. I won¡¯t do anything bad.¡± ¡°Can I trust you? I have no other choices though.¡± Loren could choose to go there without taking on an intelligence-related job, but he did want to make the most of this situation. If taking a job could give him more backup, he would. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, Loren, but leave it to me. I¡¯ll choose the safest job for you.¡± Lapis declared with confidence. Loren had no other choices but to leave everything to her. If something were to happen to him, there were still Lapis, a demon and Gula, an Evil God with him. There was also the highest-ranked undead sleeping inside him, Shayna (she lost her body in a previous job and was now sharing a body with him). It wouldn¡¯t be difficult to physically eliminate almost all obstacles with them. Having gotten Loren¡¯s consent, Lapis immediately went to check out the notice board at the Adventurer Guild, where job requests were posted. Meanwhile, Loren and Gula stayed in the dining hall and waited for her. ¡°How are Lapis-chan¡¯s parents like, I wonder?¡± In contrast to Gula¡¯s very apparent interest, Loren¡¯s tone when answering lacked any curiosity: ¡°Well, I have a feeling that they¡¯re not very easy going. After all, they¡¯re the ones who took Lapis¡¯ limbs and eyes while telling her to go experience the world, right? Don¡¯t seem to be decent at all.¡± ¡°Seeing that Lapis doesn¡¯t make a big fuss about it, maybe things are different for them over there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be even more horrified if that¡¯s the case. We¡¯re going to a place full of such characters.¡± While answering, Loren noticed something in Gula¡¯s words. He wondered if he should ask about it while watching Gula drink milk directly from the pitcher. ¡°Gula, so you¡¯re not the same as the demons.¡± ¡°Hm? What now? I¡¯m an evil God.¡± ¡°Well, I know, but your eyes. But just now, you called the demons ¡®they¡¯, right? It seems like you¡¯re different from them.¡± Having purple eyes was the only, and the most distinctive characteristic that set demons apart from other races. As Gula had purple eyes, Loren used to wonder if she was one of them. But from her choice of words just now, he concluded that Gula and demons must be two different races. ¡°Ah, right. Well, if there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡± ¡°Is it some kind of pretentious story? Or maybe it¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to talk about?¡± Loren believed that poking into someone else¡¯s past wasn¡¯t a nice thing to do. If it was something that could be easily talked about, no doubt he would want to hear it. But if it wasn¡¯t, then he had no intention to force it out of her. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. Well, I¡¯ll tell you sooner or later.¡± Gula stopped eating and replied. Somehow, Loren sensed loneliness from her tone. He decided that it wasn¡¯t something to hear out of curiosity, so he shut his mouth and let the topic end. Chapter 172 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Lapis returned with a piece of paper in her hands. It looked like the copy of a request, and it seemed like she already accepted a job before coming back. Loren believed that since he had left it in Lapis¡¯ hands, she wouldn¡¯t choose something unreasonable. She approached them with light steps, pulled up a chair, sat down next to Loren, and placed the request on the table. ¡°A classic scouting job. The time limit is one-month max. The base fee is fifty silver coins per person, more will be paid once information is obtained.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unexpectedly cheap?¡± Loren had to wonder if there were any adventurers who would be willing to set foot into the demons¡¯ territory for such an amount of money. If the payment was only this much, it was much better to take on other normal jobs. Loren had the feeling that no one would take this job by their own volition. But Lapis raised her index finger and wagged it from side to side: ¡°You¡¯re quite naive, Loren. The key point of this job is, aside from the base fee of fifty silver coins, we¡¯ll also be paid for any information we get.¡± In short, they were promised AT LEAST fifty silver coins per person, and would earn more based on their performance. Loren tilted his head, wondering if such a good term actually existed. Lapis quietly whispered to them: ¡°As long as we reach the demon¡¯s territory, even if we just hang around at the border and do nothing, we can still earn money.¡± What Lapis meant was, they could just make a report based on what they heard from the Adventurer Guild¡¯s staff. Even if they didn¡¯t actually meet any demons, they could still earn some additional payment. ¡°Also, the time limit is one-month max. They specified the maximum time, but not the minimum, right?¡± ¡°In short, we can go there and come back immediately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Of course, we still have to get enough information to make a report, but if there¡¯s nothing unusual, the place we¡¯ll go in through should be peaceful, and we¡¯ll only need to talk.¡± Lapis added that as Kapha was in the southwest of the continent and was rather far from the center, they couldn¡¯t earn more from such jobs. In the areas near the center, where demon territory and human territory were separated by just a mountain range, there were fixed short-term jobs that paid really well. ¡°How do we prove that we really did go to the demon country?¡± If they didn¡¯t have to prove it, they wouldn¡¯t even have to go there. They could just idle away, then submitted a report to the Guild after an appropriate amount of time had passed. The Guild wouldn¡¯t be able to verify the accuracy of their report; if they could, there would be no need for a scouting job. ¡°We were given a magic-infused brooch. It¡¯ll check our location at regular intervals and transmit the information to another magic equipment. The Guild will know where we are thanks to this.¡± Lapis pointed to her own chest ¨C there was indeed a new brooch there, glowing blue. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it. If we lose it, we¡¯ll have to pay a ridiculously high fine.¡± How often the brooch would record their location was unknown, but with such a magic equipment, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to prove that they had actually entered the demon country. ¡°Aside from that, it¡¯ll take skilled adventurers to cross that mountain range. That¡¯ll be another story on its own, right?¡± Lapis nodded to confirm Gula¡¯s remark. ¡°Is that mountain range dangerous?¡± Infiltrating demon territory was dangerous, but Loren wanted to know how dangerous was the mountain range that they would have to cross on their way. Lapis answered easily: ¡°It¡¯s comparatively safe¡­ In comparison to the demon country, I mean.¡± She said this as, if there was any problem to arise, then it would be the mountains themselves. ¡°It¡¯s a range of high mountains. It¡¯s not that wide, but crossing it might be deadly.¡± The areas around the mountains¡¯ summits were covered with snow and ice all year round. Even with professional equipment, climbing such a mountain range was very likely to result in death. It was said amongst the demons that the mountain range was too high to cross even while riding on dragons. ¡°Well, how do we enter the demon country then?¡± It was such a disheartening thing to hear that Loren felt fed up even before the journey started. But Lapis seemed not to find it particularly difficult: ¡°If we can¡¯t go on top, we can just go under.¡± Of course, if they couldn¡¯t go over the mountains, they would have to pass below it. But Loren didn¡¯t think there was a road conveniently cut through the mountain range just like that. ¡°I said ¡®under¡¯, but it¡¯s actually inside the mountains. This mountain range has been known for its high-quality ores since long ago, and the dwarves have dug tunnels all the way throughout it.¡± The dwarves were a humanoid race whose height only reached a human¡¯s waist even in adulthood. They were hairy with muscular, solidly-built bodies, and excelled at handling materials like earth, stone, and metal. Some of them lived amongst humans, though not many, and their hand-crafted armors and accessories were often traded with high prices due to their superior quality and beautiful designs. Dwarves normally collected materials to use by themselves, and if they heard of a mountain with high-quality ores, they would appear out of nowhere and proceeded to dig holes all over said mountain. Even though the notion didn¡¯t work in the human world, dwarves considered ores as blessings of the earth and not the property of any selected individuals. To them, the mountain range that separated the demon tribe from the rest of the world must be mountains of treasure. No country controlled this mountain range, of course, so the dwarves could freely mine it as much as they like. ¡°They¡¯ve gone pretty extreme there. After all, the dwarves are a diligent race. They¡¯ve only ever shown interest in alcohol aside from work, so the mining goes on regardless of day or night¡­¡± The harsh environment of those mountains wasn¡¯t something humans could endure, but with their hardy bodies and persevering nature, it wasn¡¯t that much of a problem. Even if there were cave-ins, they could still survive with their toughness, and that was how they gradually expanded their territories. ¡°A lot of tunnels are abandoned now, but there are still many dwarf clans residing there.¡± Some of the clans seemed to lead adventurers towards demon territory for a fee. But it wasn¡¯t a one-way trip. ¡°I also used their service when I came here.¡± ¡°Demons too?¡± ¡°If you pay properly, they¡¯ll even be kind enough to help you with the luggage.¡± Lapis said that when she left her parents¡¯ home, she had secretly brought along numerous items to use as a reserve fund. (Loren itched to comment that it was stealing, but (with some effort) he resisted as he wanted to hear the story.) She had managed to make it half the way by dividing her luggage and made multiple round trips, but she finally got too tired of it. It would be meaningless if she couldn¡¯t carry what she had gone through much trouble to take out, and Lapis had considered giving up. But just then, she met a group of dwarves. After listening to her story, they agreed to accompany her to human¡¯s territory beyond the mines as her luggage carriers in exchange for some of the items she had brought along. ¡°It was extremely helpful. I wouldn¡¯t be able to carry all of those by myself.¡± ¡°How many did you steal from your parents?¡± Even though she seemed to hide it, Lapis, as a demon, was quite strong physically. It must have been a rather large amount to make her want to give up. ¡°Don¡¯t use such a horrid word as ¡®steal¡¯. I¡¯m not disowned, so it was just like getting some funds, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Without your parents¡¯ permission?¡± ¡°Those things belong to my family.¡± Loren wasn¡¯t satisfied with Lapis¡¯ reasoning, but he didn¡¯t delve deeper into this topic, as it might have been a common thing for demons. Gula changed the topic at just the right time. ¡°So we¡¯ll also use the dwarves¡¯ tunnels this time?¡± Lapis looked troubled: ¡°That¡¯s an option, yet the fee will be very high.¡± Going through the dwarves¡¯ tunnels was practically the only way to reach the demons¡¯ territory. The dwarves took advantage of that and to prevent many people from making such trips, they set their price as high as possible. ¡°I was charged quite a lot, and I was alone then. With the three of us, we¡¯ll have to be prepared to pay a large sum.¡± ¡°Will it exceed our reward?¡± ¡°Unfortunately yes. That¡¯s why adventurers normally used the abandoned mines that are not controlled by the dwarves. They¡¯re dangerous though.¡± Once they had mined all the ores from a tunnel, the dwarves abandoned it. They didn¡¯t bury it but rather just left it as-is. There were quite a few of such tunnels in the mountains, and adventurers usually used them to go to the demon country. Of course, there was an increased risk of cave-ins due to deterioration over time, but very few had actually happened, probably due to the dwarves¡¯ great handiwork. But due to the dwarves¡¯ departure and lack of continuous human presence, monsters tended to gather in these tunnels, and make them into their nests. And that was the source of danger. ¡°The dwarves originally resided there, so they should be comfortable enough.¡± ¡°So this is what makes the trip dangerous.¡± ¡°Yes, it is. So we have two options: pay some money to use the dwarven tunnels, or do not pay anything and use the abandoned tunnels.¡± Paying the dwarves would be quite harsh on Loren¡¯s pathetic wallet. Lapis probably had paid for a one-way trip, and it was already expensive enough, so paying for a round trip for three people¡­ A fifty-silver-coin-per-person job wasn¡¯t worth it. But Loren also wanted to avoid entering a place that was known to be dangerous because they were conscious of money. Losing your life just because you wanted to save some money was way too stupid. It probably wouldn¡¯t happen since Lapis and Gula were with him, but Loren felt wrong to have to rely on them. Lapis watched Loren wrestled with his worries for a while, and as she realized that he couldn¡¯t make a decision, she said: ¡°Let¡¯s decide which option to take once we¡¯re near the place. If it feels good, we¡¯ll take the abandoned tunnels route, if not ¨C we can just ask for the dwarves¡¯ service.¡± ¡°Can we even get in touch with them?¡± ¡°Just leave it to me.¡± Lapis offered with a smile, and Loren decided to shelve the matter. As Lapis had said that they would decide when they were at the place, Loren decided that there was no need to worry about it now. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do as Lapis said and worry about going there first.¡± ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll need to prepare a coach and necessary equipment.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget the groceries.¡± Gula stood up humming, probably thinking about what to buy. Lapis gave her a warning: ¡°We can only bring the bare minimum, ok?¡± It was an instant kill of Gula¡¯s enthusiasm. Loren and Lapis left their seats and started preparing for the trip to the demon country while trying their best to ignore Gula¡¯s dejected expression. Chapter 173 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul They went to buy groceries and medical supplies the next day. They also rented a carriage as their destination was quite far this time. After loading the carriage with all their luggage, they left Kapha. This time, they would have to travel to the center of the continent from Wargenburg, which was in the southwest. It was already quite a considerable distance even without the return trip. But it seemed like it was only Loren who thought that way. When he grumbled about how it would be such a long journey, Lapis answered in a ¡®what do you mean¡¯ tone: ¡°No, not really¡± And Gula didn¡¯t seem to be thinking about anything in particular. She had left Kapha carrying a bag of all the food she could buy from the city¡¯s food stalls on her shoulder, and was now fully preoccupied with relocation of the food from the bag into her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± ¡°If we go straight for the mountain range, how long did you think it will take? It¡¯ll also depend on the road conditions, but it¡¯ll take seven or eight days.¡± Their job this time had a time limit of 30 days. If what Lapis said was correct, half of it would be for travelling. Once including the time to cross the mountains, it left them almost no time for any activities within the demons¡¯ territory. ¡°That¡¯ll be fine for people with a more relaxed schedule. Those with a primary focus on effectively fulfilling the job would keep their luggage to the minimum and race there on horseback. If they change horses midway, they¡¯ll be able to arrive in about four days.¡± ¡°What about us?¡± They weren¡¯t exactly in a hurry, but if they deviated too much from the time limit, they would be considered as not finishing the job and wouldn¡¯t receive the payment. The remuneration wasn¡¯t their original aim, but since the expense for this trip was quite high, it was common sense to try earning back as much as possible. ¡°First, we head north. Then after three days of travelling, we¡¯ll make a stop at a certain place. It¡¯s a short way to the mountain range from there.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make sense of what you¡¯re saying.¡± Wargenburg was in the southwest of the continent. Everyone knew that they would need to go northeast to get to the center of the continent, but Lapis just told them to go straight north. Loren understood that she wanted to take another route, but he couldn¡¯t understand the part about ¡®a short way to the mountain range after a stop three days away¡¯. ¡°But if Lapis says so, then so be it.¡± ¡°Yeah, just leave it to me.¡± Lapis assured, full of confidence, and Loren just stopped wondering about it. There was surely something that even a former mercenary like him couldn¡¯t imagine at that place, so he decided that worrying about it was futile. Their journey north was surprisingly smooth. To the point that Loren, who had expected some monsters or bandits at least, felt a bit anti-climax at the lack of hostile encounters. He didn¡¯t voice it out loud, but he suspected that Gula¡¯s presence probably played a big role. Even though all she did was lying around in the carriage all day long, Gula was still an Evil God, and if she didn¡¯t deliberately conceal her presence, weaker monsters wouldn¡¯t dare approach them. Stronger monsters might be confused by her aura, but stronger monsters were usually also smarter, and they wouldn¡¯t mistake a being obviously stronger than them for a prey. As for the bandits, they didn¡¯t appear probably because they could sense danger from their party. Or maybe they were just lucky. ¡°That reminds me, we¡¯ll probably cross the border if we continue north for three days. Is it alright?¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite simple for adventurers to cross the border. We just need to show our identification tags at the checkpoint.¡± This was a proof of how big an organization the Adventurer Guild was. The Guild was influential over a substantial part of the continent, and the identification tags they issued held much more validity than those of any other organizations. Their party had to go through numerous checkpoints on their way north, but just as Lapis had said, they mostly get through with no troubles once they showed their adventurer identification tags. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this make smuggling too easy for adventurers?¡± ¡°You may not notice, but they all secretly perform on us.¡± Even though the checkpoints might vary in scale, they were all agencies of the country. Of course, they were manned by soldiers, but it seemed like there were priests like Lapis in the mix as well. Lapis said that they could judge a person to be ¡®good¡¯ or ¡®bad¡¯ by using undetectable spells. The judging standard was rather vague, but basically these spells could detect if a person was feeling guilty or was hiding something. Anyone judged as ¡®bad¡¯ would be captured and investigated in detail. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you get caught, Lapis?¡± The word ¡®demon¡¯ evoked an image of evil by itself, so Loren found it strange that the spell didn¡¯t catch Lapis. Lapis replied with a calm and dignified face: ¡°I am a priest of the God of Knowledge. There is not a single thing that I feel guilty about.¡± ¡°What about Gula?¡± ¡®Evil Gods¡¯ evoked a fare more evil image than that of ¡®demons¡¯. Lapis might not be caught, but Loren thought it was illogical that even Gula wasn¡¯t caught. But Gula also replied with a calm and dignified face: ¡°I also have nothing to feel guilty about, not a single one¡± ¡°This ¡®checkpoint judgement¡¯ is quite useless, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren unthinkingly blurted out, and both Lapis and Gula gave him an elbow to the stomach. Thanks to the jacket he received from an Elder Vampire in a previous job, he was alright but for a little choking. On the third day of their journey north, they left the main road under Lapis¡¯ guide. Following her instruction, they continued on for a while, until all that was waiting for them was a sandy desert. ¡°There is such a place?¡± The deserts Loren knew had scorching sun and dry air. But this desert was not that warm even in the middle of the day, and even though the air was dry, it was a bit chilly. The sand spreading under their feet carried a bluish hue, making it look like the sea. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here?¡± Just as Gula said, there was nothing in this place. There was only sand, and no other human figures besides their party. No one knew why Lapis brought them to such a place. ¡°Well, there¡¯s really nothing here. You don¡¯t know this place, Gula?¡± Gula frowned and pondered for a while, then looked as if she had recalled something and clapped her hands: ¡°Isn¡¯t this one of the test sites?¡± ¡°We demons don¡¯t know the details either, but it seems like this artificial desert is a byproduct of the ancient kingdom¡¯s magic research institute.¡± Her words made Loren take another look at the place. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing magical about this sea of blue sand. But from the girls¡¯ conversion, this desert had been created by some large-scale magical experiment conducted hundreds of years ago, and that fact terrified him a bit. Loren voiced his impression when seeing the scenery before his eyes: ¡°It was such a crazy kingdom.¡± Loren¡¯s tone was even and words didn¡¯t betray whether he thought it was a good or bad thing. ¡°The ancient kingdom was said to be able to manipulate time and space during its heyday. Even though the demon race is overwhelmingly powerful compared to humans nowadays, we were in quite a danger during that time.¡± ¡°Demons are also an outrageous race¡­¡± The bad impression was, if pushed to say, a bit more vivid this time. But even if Loren didn¡¯t highlight this, the feeling was still apparent in his eyes. Lapis raised her voice, sounding wounded somehow: ¡°You really consider us to be the same as those stupid magic fanatics?!¡± ¡°Now, now, Lapis-chan, calm down. How¡¯d we cross this desert?¡± Even though the temperature wasn¡¯t that high, the air was dry. The sand was fine, so the horse¡¯s hooves would easily get caught. They wouldn¡¯t be able to move easily. ¡°We¡¯ll need to go forward a bit more, but we won¡¯t need to cross the desert.¡± ¡°Does that mean the stop you mentioned is somewhere in this desert?¡± Loren wondered what kind of business they had to do in the middle of this desert, which could only be described as a barren wasteland. Lapis fold her arms and replied with: ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°No, I mean there¡¯s no doubt our destination is in the desert, but where?¡± Just when Loren was wondering if rephrasing his question was enough, the horse pulling their carriage, let out a high-pitched neigh. Turning to look, how the horse was dealing with the sand, Loren noticed that the horse¡¯s hooves were being swallowed by the desert. ¡°Hey, this¡­¡± ¡°This ain¡¯t good, Loren! The horse is being swallowed by the sand!¡± The horse struggled wildly while sinking. If the horse sunk, the carriage, which was linked to it, would also be in danger. Not to mention that if they lost the horse here, there would be no replacement to pull the carriage, and they would have no choice but to abandon their luggage. Loren grabbed the rein on the driver seat and tried to see if he could somehow pull the horse up. But before he could, Lapis gently placed her hand on his arm. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just let it sink.¡± ¡°What are you saying¡­?¡± ¡°Our stop is below this desert.¡± Loren worried that the heat might have gotten to her. But then the temperature wasn¡¯t that high, and the sun wasn¡¯t that hot. It was difficult to think that the heat at this place was enough to make Lapis lose her mind. ¡°I¡¯m serious. We¡¯ll need to get under this desert.¡± ¡°Through the sand? Won¡¯t we suffocate?¡± Living things couldn¡¯t breathe in sand. Assuming that the stop Lapis mentioned was really under this desert, then depending on the depth, there was the very real possibility of them suffocating and dying before reaching it. ¡°Loren, let me tell you one good thing.¡± ¡°I only have bad feelings about this, but speak anyway.¡± Following the horse, the carriage was slowly being swallowed by sand. Lapis placed both hands on Loren¡¯s shoulders, Lapis said with a deadly serious face: ¡°If you faint before suffocating, the chance of being saved will be higher.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have such a convenient skill!¡± Loren unthinkingly shouted back. He tried to jump out of the carriage, but Lapis clung to his waist. It looked like Loren would be able to immediately shake her off in this contest of strength, but that was not the case, and he was pulled back into the carriage. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just take a deep breath before your head goes under and bear with it for a while.¡± ¡°Could it be that there¡¯s a difference between our breathing time?¡± ¡°¡­Loren, do you want to faint now?¡± ¡°Are you stupid?! Let me go!¡± Loren struggled violently but couldn¡¯t escape from Lapis¡¯ arms. Gula watched Lapis pinned a squirming Loren down while tightening the mouth of the groceries bag so that sand couldn¡¯t get in, and regarded the carriage sinking into the desert little by little with a shrug. Chapter 174 Being swallowed by sand definitely wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience. As he couldn¡¯t escape, Loren had no other choice but to resign himself to it and follow Lapis¡¯ advice. He took in a deep breath at a seemingly-right time and held his breath before his head got under the sand. He felt sand on his face almost as soon as he closed his eyes and knew that he had been engulfed by the desert. And then, he continued sinking down for a while. With eyes closed, Loren accepted the descent. He started to feel suffocated, yet couldn¡¯t do anything except praying to get released soon. But he wasn¡¯t sinking very fast, and no matter how much time passed, the weight of sand on his body was still a constant. Loren began to wonder for real if this whole sinking business would require a demon¡¯s tolerance to pass. Loren knew that death by suffocation was extremely painful. He would probably faint before reaching his limit, but it should be very painful before that. Just as Loren was thinking about how much he wanted to avoid such pain, his sinking speed suddenly increased. With no time to even wonder what was happening, he was met with a floating sensation the next second. Then came a violent reverberation from beneath him, accompanied by a neigh of the horse and the sound of the carriage¡¯s wheels hitting something hard. They had come out of the sand somehow. As Loren opened his eyes while shaking loose the sand stuck in his hair and body, he heard Lapis saying in a somewhat unhappy tone: ¡°Gula, what did you do?¡± Gula answered with a confused expression. ¡°Well, what should have I done?¡± Lapis glared at her for a while, but then sighed and averted her eyes. She muttered with regret: ¡°And here I was thinking that Loren would just faint.¡± Gula quipped: ¡°Nah, Lapis-chan, it¡¯d be too painful, right?¡± From their exchange, Loren understood that Gula had sensed a human like him wouldn¡¯t be able to endure until they reached their destination, and had eaten some of the sand to speed up their sinking. ¡°What did you plan to do to knock me out?¡± ¡°Do you really want to make a maiden like me say it out loud?¡± ¡®Don¡¯t plan to do anything that can¡¯t be said by a maiden from the beginning!¡¯, thought Loren. But it¡¯d be useless to tell Lapis that, so he just gave it up and turned to survey their surroundings instead. The ceiling wasn¡¯t very high, but he couldn¡¯t see the opening where they had fallen down from. Around them were smooth white walls, and even though he had absolutely no idea where the light source was, it was bright enough to ensure full visibility. The room they were in was rather large, but there wasn¡¯t a single piece of furniture in it. There was just a double door made from metal on one wall. ¡°Are we¡­ below the desert?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s probably something from the time of the ancient kingdom.¡± Lapis said while getting down from the carriage. Loren also got down. The floor seemed to have been made from the same material as the walls, white and solid with no visible seams. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the carriage here. We won¡¯t use it when crossing the mountain range anyway.¡± ¡°What about our luggage? We¡¯ll have to bring them.¡± ¡°I brought a cart, so wait a bit please.¡± Lapis said, and before Loren could say anything in return, she gently opened the only door in the room with not a hint of caution and went through it. Loren considered going in after her, but since she told them to wait, it probably wasn¡¯t dangerous. He exchanged a look with Gula, then both of them decided to stay still and wait for her. ¡°A facility from the time of the ancient kingdom, beneath a desert¡­¡± ¡°Probably belonged to the research institution mentioned before.¡± ¡°Why is such a place under the sand?¡± ¡°I think it wasn¡¯t under the sand from the beginning, but was buried under it.¡± Gula leaned against the carriage and said. ¡°After all, no matter how magically developed the civilization that built it was, it still isn¡¯t a match for time, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯d be a different story if they weren¡¯t destroyed, right?¡± The ancient kingdom that Loren had heard about was a majestic country, where there was nothing that couldn¡¯t be accomplished by magic. If an area was turned into a desert due to a research failure, they should have been able to continue their research on it, or to turn the desert to its original state. ¡°Well, I wonder if the ancient kingdom was as wonderful as you think?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. Don¡¯t you know, Gula?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ But the ancient kingdom I know was already in its final years.¡± Gula gazed at the ceiling with a distant look in her eyes as if she was thinking about the past. ¡°Even us don¡¯t know about its golden age. The ancient kingdom itself had existed through a long period of time, you know.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine it. Humans can only live for a couple of decades at best.¡± Humans might be able to live up to one hundred years thanks to certain methods, but hundreds of years was a number that didn¡¯t make sense to humans. Loren was wondering what it would feel like to live for such a long time when he suddenly realized something. ¡°Gula, your kind has existed since the ending years of the ancient kingdom, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, so?¡± ¡°The ancient kingdom was destroyed hundreds of years ago, wasn¡¯t it? And you Evil Gods were also sealed hundreds of years ago, weren¡¯t you? In fact, you haven¡¯t lived for that long, have you?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if they could be considered as ¡®alive¡¯ during their sealed state or not. But they couldn¡¯t have known anything about the outside world during that period, and he wondered if it was like sleeping to them. ¡°Hm¡­ Well, I can¡¯t say that I¡¯ve been in the outside world for a long time. It was a few decades at the end of the ancient kingdom era at most, then one or two hundred years more until we were sealed?¡± ¡°Eh, that¡¯s more than long enough. Gula, you¡¯re really an old¡­¡± ¡°Wait! Who are you calling an old woman?! No matter how you look at me, that word just doesn¡¯t apply to me, right?!¡± Gula cut Loren off and protested about his honest word choice. She certainly did have the appearance of a young woman, and Loren had been about to say so until she interrupted him. Yet it seemed like she didn¡¯t bother correcting him. ¡°You¡¯re actually a couple of hundred years old, right?¡± ¡°My heart is forever eighteen!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you write twenty-one when you register at the Guild?¡± ¡°I did?!¡± Gula threw her head back, looking greatly troubled, while Loren looked at her with cold, exasperated eyes. Lapis opened the door just then, pushing a cart. ¡°Sorry for making you wait. Let¡¯s load our luggage onto this.¡± /p> The cart was made of metal, and fairly big. It¡¯d be a bit cramped, but they could load what they had in the carriage on this. Loren immediately started moving the luggage from their carriage to Lapis¡¯ cart. Gula and Lapis also helped. ¡°But Lapis-chan, you¡¯re really good at discovering hard-to-come-by stuff.¡± Lapis shook her head at Gula¡¯s comment: ¡°I didn¡¯t discover it. This place just happens to be a base. Well, I¡¯ll explain it sometime later.¡± ¡°Base¡­ Is this your base, Lapis?¡± If this place had existed since the time of the ancient kingdom as Lapis and Gula had said, it was actually a ruin, and it wasn¡¯t a good idea to deliberately utilize it as a personal property. But Lapis didn¡¯t seem to care at all, she just smiled and nodded: ¡°Yeah, I store the items and money I took out from home here.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it an illegal occupation?¡± Loren said while stacking the numerous luggage they had unloaded from the carriage into neat piles and loading them on the cart. Lapis tilted her head and thought for a short while, then declared flatly: ¡°No one will find out anyway.¡± According to Lapis, the room they were in could only be reached by submerging under the sand, but the depth was too much for humans to be able to hold their breath for¡­ Thinking about how he had been dragged to such a place gave Loren the chills, and he grimaced when recalling Lapis¡¯ lighthearted instruction that it would be alright if he fainted. ¡°Also, some functions of this place are still active.¡± Because of that, the place had recognized Lapis as an intruder when she first discovered it and activated the defense mechanism, giving her quite a trouble. She was able to subdue it somehow, then she found the control room and while researching for a way to make the guardians retreat (they were still trying to remove the intruder at that point), she eventually managed to take control of the whole facility. ¡°That happened a little bit before I was kicked out of home, when I just got my priest qualification.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ amazing.¡± If her story was real, then Lapis had discovered a ruin from the ancient kingdom era and neutralized its mechanism to be able to use it for her personal purposes, all by herself. ¡°I brought a lot of things from home, so I was desperate.¡± Moreover, Lapis said she was lucky that the ruin was in its dying stage. /p> ¡°That¡¯s why I was able to put together a function to immediately eject anyone who gets lost and finds this place by accident. It¡¯s alright for you this time because I¡¯m also here¡­ In order to be able to enter by yourself later, you have to register as visitors.¡± Lapis let Loren push the cart and place her hand on the wall next to the door. Numerous symbols that Loren didn¡¯t recognize suddenly appeared on the plain wall. ¡°Guest registration will be done right away, so wait a bit.¡± Lapis glided her fingers over the symbols on the wall and tapped at them multiple times, then stared at them with a frown. ¡°Gula was successfully registered, but¡­ Loren wasn¡¯t. That¡¯s strange? Let me see¡­ ah no, it¡¯s alright, you¡¯re registered now.¡± Gula teased her: ¡°Is this alright? It¡¯s old, so anyone who enters might be able to manipulate it, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s old, but it¡¯s under my control now.¡± Lapis answered in a slightly offended tone, then took her hand off the wall and pushed the door open. ¡°Go in, please.¡± In front of the wide open door, Loren and Gula exchanged a glance, wondering what to do next. But they actually had no other choice but going forward, so they went through the door under the watchful eyes of a brightly-smiling Lapis. Chapter 175 Behind the door was a long passage. It was more than wide enough for the cart, with doors lining up on both walls at regular intervals and another one at the end. ¡°¡±. After both Loren and Gula had gone through the door, Lapis suddenly used magic. When Loren turned around to see what the hell she used it for, he saw the carriage they had left behind being enclosed in ice. ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if we just leave the horse like that, with its feeds and droppings and all. If we put it in a suspended state like this, we can just use on it when we come back.¡± Lapis said with a proud face. Loren felt like he could see the horse¡¯s eyes from within the ice lump behind her, and for some reason, he apologized to it in his mind. He just couldn¡¯t help it; the horse was too pitiful. It had pulled a carriage full of luggage, made to come to a desert only to get swallowed by sand and in the end, was buried in ice. But since they couldn¡¯t leave someone behind to take care of it, this was probably better than starving to death. ¡°Rather than worrying about that, we should finish what we¡¯ve come here for.¡± ¡°Coming here will help us shorten the time it will take to get to the mountain range at the center of the continent, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it will. Before that, we have to deal with this though.¡± Lapis said and poked at the brooch on her chest. It was a magical equipment they received from the Guild, one that could keep track of the bearer¡¯s journey. It was supposed to record their progress to the demons¡¯ territory and if left as-is, it would also record their current location. ¡°There¡¯s no choice but to perform some trick on it.¡± Lapis said smoothly and easily, and Gula looked at her as if she was seeing something unbelievable. Loren, who understood neither Lapis¡¯ words nor Gula¡¯s gaze, looked back and forth between the two of them. ¡°Trick¡­ Lapis-chan, you can tamper with magical items?¡± ¡°I can. I even have tools to use for that purpose here.¡± Loren had absolutely no idea how amazing that was, but from the look on Gula¡¯s face, he knew it wasn¡¯t something to speak about lightly. Yet Lapis opened one of the doors on the wall and stepped inside as if it was something she was very familiar with. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be done in a minute.¡± Lapis¡¯s voice came out from within the room, and Loren and Gula couldn¡¯t help but peek inside. They could see her doing something at the desk in the dimly-lit room, surrounded by various machinery, which casted an eerie light on the whole room. ¡°I think the item that is paired with the brooch can be used to erase the location details it records.¡± /p> Gula said to Loren as if she wanted to give him an explanation. ¡°But she¡¯s falsifying data without using official equipment. It¡¯s really unthinkable, you know? Even us Evil Gods can¡¯t do such a thing.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Gula raised a question while watching Lapis¡¯ working: ¡°Yeah. Why¡¯d Lapis-chan decide to get a priest qualification? Isn¡¯t it better to just become a magician?¡± If Lapis became a magician instead of a priest, she would be an exceptionally brilliant one, and would become a greatly sought-after adventurer. On the other hand, it was strange for a priest to use magic. It really was incomprehensible why she would choose priesthood as an occupation. ¡°Maybe she has some reason to not become a magician?¡± It seemed like Lapis was still keeping an ear on their conversation when working, so she answered Gula¡¯s question without looking back: ¡°A very simple reason.¡± ¡°Can you tell us, just for reference?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Lapis looked over her shoulders at the two standing outside the door and lightly pinched at the collar of her priest¡¯s dress: ¡°Because the clothes are cute. Being a magician means I have to wear a robe, right? Those lengthy draggy things are not cute at all.¡± Gula looked dumbfounded at her answer. Loren looked carefully at her: here was one self-proclaimed ¡°magician¡± in a strangely revealing outfit of tube top and hot pants. It was true that magicians usually wore robes, and Loren had never seen anyone dressed like Gula. ¡°Gula also should wear robes, shouldn¡¯t she¡­?¡± ¡°No way! I refuse!¡± ¡°The clothes of God of Knowledge¡¯s priests have especially nice design. And this is a secret, but¡­ Demons aren¡¯t exactly religious, but the God of Knowledge is an exception. There are quite a lot of God of Knowledge¡¯s priests among us.¡± Loren had heard about this from Lapis before that demons didn¡¯t believe in Gods, and he had believed it. Thus, this was a rather shocking revelation to him. ¡°Basically, there have been quite a lot of demons within the God of Knowledge¡¯s priests since long before¡­ And the predecessors have interfered with the design for their successors¡¯ sake.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that privatization part of a religion?¡± If they could alter the design of priest clothing to suit their own taste, he had no idea how much influence the demons had over the organization of the God of Knowledge¡¯s priests. They might even exploit the priest qualification system for their own benefits ¨C Loren shuddered thinking about that possibility. ¡°This much is good enough. There¡¯s nothing one can¡¯t do, but overdoing things never amount to anything good.¡± Lapis seemed to have finished whatever she was doing with the brooch. She picked it up with her fingers, lifted it to slightly-above her line of sight and looked at it as if admiring her own work. Loren, having no knowledge in the field, couldn¡¯t understand what she was looking at, but Lapis seemed to be satisfied with what she saw. She reattached the brooch onto her chest with a smile: ¡°Our location information has been altered with no problem. It still needs some more fine-tuning, but we¡¯ll stop by here later anyway.¡± If they didn¡¯t stop by here again, the horse and carriage, which currently were frozen in ice, would stay frozen forever. Loren was thinking that they definitely needed to come here again after the job was finished, if only for the sake of the horse. Lapis left the room, and under her lead, they advanced forward. ¡°Are other rooms here also workrooms?¡± ¡°No no, this is my base, so not every room is a workroom. There¡¯s a warehouse, a kitchen, and even a living quarter. What, do you want to stay here for a night?¡± Loren shook his head decisively at Lapis¡¯ invitation. It wasn¡¯t that he felt staying a night at her base would be dangerous. Rather it was that he still couldn¡¯t believe they could really immediately reach the mountain range directly from this place. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to waste time. ¡°You worry too much, Loren. I told you, it¡¯ll be alright.¡± ¡°You did, but¡­ The mountains are at least two or three days away, aren¡¯t they? Not to mention that there¡¯s a desert right above my head. Only idiots will believe everything is alright just by being told so, right?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re a skeptic¡­¡± Lapis looked at him fondly and declared. She decided that it would be faster to just show him how to do it, so she quickened her steps a bit and walked up to the end of the passage. There was a door similar to those on the walls there. She opened it, then stepped aside as if to make way for Loren and Gula. Wanting to check what was behind the door, Loren gave the cart to Gula and stepped in. There was a flat white scaffold inside. It was fairly large, and anchored on it was some ship-like structure made from metal. The structure was as wide as the carriages they usually rode and twice as long, so it seemed like they could all fit in. Below it there were two wires made from the same metal that extended to a cylinder-shaped pathway. He could see white light shining down from the ceiling at regular intervals in there, but he couldn¡¯t see where it led to. After carefully surveying the whole space, Loren went back out, where Lapis and Gula were waiting for him. He asked Lapis, who probably knew what was in there: ¡°What is that?¡± /p> ¡°We can go directly to the mountains from here. We¡¯ll board that ship-like thing, make it run, and we¡¯ll reach the mountain range in about two and a half hours.¡± Loren looked at that ship-like thing again. He had never seen anything that could travel at such speed before, but if Lapis had said so, then it must be able to. ¡°There are seats and a cockpit inside it. It¡¯s linked to another base right in front of the mountain range only, so it can¡¯t be used to go anywhere else.¡± ¡°Does it also belong to this ruin?¡± ¡°Yes, it does. Well, I¡¯m not sure who made it or why, but I know it¡¯ll be useful for us, and that¡¯s enough.¡± If they were archeologists or something, they would have to study who had built this facility, when, and why, but they were adventurers. Setting aside stuff like troublesome contexts and reasons, as long as something was useful to them, everything else was just a side story. ¡°So should we load our luggage to that ship thing?¡± ¡°We should be able to load the cart on it. Try pushing it in through the back entrance, I think it¡¯ll work.¡± ¡°Can we depart immediately after the luggage is loaded?¡± /p> ¡°Since Loren seems to worry a lot about the time, let¡¯s do that. Our destination is a similar place, so let¡¯s take our rest there.¡± Loren nodded. He still found it unbelievable to immediately reach the mountains from here, he had no reason to refuse an immediate departure. Gula looked like she wanted to rest a bit, but since Loren and Lapis had made up their mind on the matter, she didn¡¯t seem inclined to argue with them and just obediently followed their decision. ¡°Well, let¡¯s move quickly, shall we?¡± Lapis opened a part of the ship-like thing, inviting them to embark, and Loren walked in with a steady gait but somewhat-nervous heart. Chapter 176 The luggage cart, together with their party, embarked on the ship surprisingly smoothly. There wasn¡¯t even a sound. Lapis then steered them into a cylindrical passage. The vehicle they were in was also lit by the same light sources coming from the ceiling, but had had no windows, making it impossible to tell what was going on outside. They knew they were moving, but had no idea at what speed. The interior design was dreary. Aside from having no windows, there were only some chairs for passengers to sit on and some space with shelves for their luggage. It was apparent that the thing was built solely to be functional. There was a waist-high platform in one corner, which seemed to be where the controls of this vehicle were placed. Lapis was the at the platform, her fingers sliding over the controls. She told them: ¡°The weak point of this transportation method is that we¡¯re moving in a tube. There¡¯s no taste at all.¡± Loren had given up on understanding all these earlier on. Even if he took a peek, he wouldn¡¯t understand what she was doing, or how. ¡°It¡¯s as fast as a fast horse though.¡± A fast horse wouldn¡¯t be able to make the journey in two and a half hours like Lapis had said. Even if they could change horses freely, they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry their luggage. A vehicle that was able to run continuously without break at the speed of a fast horse was surely convenient. ¡°The weakness of this vehicle is that it can¡¯t run without its own passage, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct. It can¡¯t run without a rail.¡± Lapis said that this was probably a track built during the ancient kingdom era to link this facility with the dwarves¡¯ tunnels in the mountain range, and was probably used to transport ores and such. She didn¡¯t know where the main part of the research facility was, but it seemed like the compound and attached rooms she had discovered and used as her own base was just a part of it. /p> ¡°Eh? So you store your personal stuff somewhere in those rooms, Lapis-chan?¡± ¡°Yeah, what of it?¡± Lapis asked without stopping her work. Gula clicked her tongue while snapping her fingers and said: ¡°I knew it. I should have pinched something there.¡± Lapis had brought a fortune out of her home. Gula was sure that it must also include a large sum of cash, and she was regretting not getting her hands on it. She would be able to eat freely for a while otherwise. Hearing Gula¡¯s remark, Lapis stopped her work at the control and turned towards Gula. Gula immediately hid behind Loren as if she was using him as a shield. With Gula clinging to his back and Lapis slowly approaching him from the front, Loren wondered what to do. He suddenly seized Gula, then lifted her up and calmly set her down in front of Lapis. Lapis leapt at Gula, and Gula hurriedly offered an excuse while resisting her. ¡°Gula!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t! I haven¡¯t done anything yet!¡± /p> As this suddenly-arose ruckus had nothing to do with him, Loren sat down on a chair, folded his arms, and closed his eyes. If they really would arrive at the time Lapis had said, that meant they had two and half hours of doing nothing. He should try to preserve as much strength as possible and take a brief nap if he could. It¡¯d be better if something happened later that way. Lapis and Gula should have done the same instead of exerting themselves in meaningless scuffle, but demons and evil gods had incomparable stamina anyway. Actually, it might be better for them to get a bit tired, since it made them more tamed. ¡°Wake me when we¡¯re there. And don¡¯t mess around too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not messing around! Loren! Stop Lapis¡­¡± ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll wake you up later, so just sleep!¡± From the other side of his closed eyelids, Loren could hear dangerous sounds like something breaking / detaching and something being kicked or punched. Then a scream, probably of Gula, came, and Loren believed that he shouldn¡¯t stay conscious for any longer. He tried to calm his mind and sleep while feeling cold sweat running down his body. Sleepiness finally came, the sounds became distant, and Loren entered a light nap that made his body feel pleasantly warm. He was enjoying this feeling of being asleep and awake at the same time when a tentative pat of Lapis¡¯ hand roused his consciousness. ¡°Sorry, Loren, but we¡¯re at our destination.¡± She sounded apologetic for having to wake him when he was having a good time. Loren waved his hand to tell her that he didn¡¯t mind and stood up. Sleeping on a chair made for not very nice sleeping posture, and he massaged his arms and legs to loosen his stiff muscles. That was when he discovered Gula¡¯s unconscious body on the floor. He was quite interested in what the hell had happened during his nap, but there was more important matter to tend to right now. So he asked Lapis: ¡°We¡¯ve arrived already?¡± /p> ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re right in front of the mountain range. Fast, right?¡± Even if Lapis said so, Loren still couldn¡¯t see what it looked like outside as they were in a windowless vehicle. He only knew that the vehicle had stopped. ¡°Is it alright to go out now?¡± ¡°It is. Do you want to see outside first?¡± Before unloading their luggage, Loren wanted to first solve the question, whether they had actually arrived at the mountain range or not. He accepted Lapis¡¯ proposal. Leaving the luggage and unconscious Gula inside, Loren followed Lapis and got off. He stepped through the door, and saw a passage similar to the one at Lapis¡¯ base stretching out before him. There was another door at the end of the passage. ¡°The layout is the same as the desert base.¡± Lapis opened the door. On the other side was a large, empty room. There should have been a frozen horse and carriage if this was the other base, but there was nothing here as if to prove that this was a different place. ¡°We can go out through this room.¡± There was another door on the opposite wall. Loren stopped, but Lapis ran to the door and stroked it before slowly pushing it open a crack. The chilly night air immediately flowed into the room together with the scent of greenery, which couldn¡¯t be found in a desert at all. Just that scent made it apparent that they weren¡¯t in a desert anymore, and Loren peeked through the crack with a somewhat surprised face. /p> The first thing that came to his sight was the sparse but overgrown trees. He could see them clearly in the night thanks to the bright moonlight streaming down from the sky. In the distance were the mountains, standing out as if being highlighted by the moonlight. Even from afar, the mountains boasted such a height that made people have to look up to take them in. They gave an impression that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for anything to come out from behind them. ¡°So that¡¯s the mountain range at the center of the continent that separates demons from the other races.¡± ¡°Not really, if we really wanted to cross them, we would have done it in no time.¡± It was rather blunt, but it wasn¡¯t a lie or an exaggeration. Loren, who had some knowledge of demons, knew that. The demons didn¡¯t want to get involved with the outside world because they found it to be troublesome. Once their interest did turn to the rest of the world, crossing this mountain range would be child play as Lapis had said, and they would descend upon humankind like an avalanche. ¡°And so, we¡¯ve really arrived here, and in just four days It had taken them three days to get to Lapis¡¯ base from Kapha, and less than one day to get to the mountain range from that base. They had finished the trip in only four days, half of the time it was originally meant to take. If they went back using the same method, they should be able to save quite a lot of time. But other adventurers weren¡¯t able to do the same. ¡°It¡¯ll be quite profitable if you transport other adventurers here for a fee, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get many customers.¡± There weren¡¯t that many adventurers who wanted to get into the demons¡¯ territory or use the dwarves¡¯ mines and tunnels. Without a good number of customers, it would be very difficult to make profits from a service, no matter how convenient it might be. /p> ¡°The silver-ranked will still use the service even if the price is a bit high, won¡¯t they?¡± ¡°But silver rank adventurers are not that common either, right?¡± Loren turned around to look behind him. There was a small hill, and the door they had just exited through was set into its slope. ¡°This one is above ground.¡± ¡°The one in the desert was originally above ground too, it was just buried under the sand. Its location should have been more or less like this one.¡± Loren actually had the same thought. It was difficult to think that such an organization would build its facility underground, where both construction and commute was troublesome. ¡°Let¡¯s stay here for today. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll go looking for the dwarves, find out the tunnels¡¯ condition, then decide whether we will use the dwarves¡¯ tunnels or the abandoned ones.¡± ¡°Is there any other option besides the dwarves?¡± If they had to go find the dwarves, they would use up the precious time they had saved, and Loren would prefer using the abandoned tunnels in that case. But then, the question would be which tunnel ran across the mountain range. If they were unlucky enough to pick one with a dead end, they would need to spend time searching for another route and end up missing their deadline. /p> ¡°Just leave it to me. I have some friends among the dwarves.¡± ¡°So you do ¡­¡± It went without saying that demons were despised by all other races, and were not the type to make friends, even by mistake. Of course, as an exception himself, Loren didn¡¯t have much right to say anything about Lapis¡¯ claim, but it was unbelievable to hear that demons and dwarves could be friends. ¡°It¡¯s pretty easy to make friends with rare ores and cash.¡± ¡°That simple?!¡± That might be how it was with the dwarves, but Loren didn¡¯t think demons could be handled the same way as dwarves. ¡°Rather than complicating matters by reasoning and negotiating and ending up not even knowing what you¡¯re saying yourself, isn¡¯t that much better?¡± ¡°That¡­ Well, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°They¡¯re reliable and trustworthy partners, as long as you pay what needs to be paid. They¡¯re extremely easy to understand.¡± /p> Loren was unable to say anything back, and if he couldn¡¯t object, there was no choice but to leave this in Lapis¡¯ hands. ¡°Please take care of this matter.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ve walked these paths multiple times.¡± Lapis puffed up with pride and nodded to Loren, full of self-confidence. Chapter 177 Chapter 177, From Arrival To Negotiation Loren and Lapis went back inside, woke up the still-unconscious Gula, unloaded their luggage, then spent the night at the base. Unfortunately, Lapis didn¡¯t really live at this base and didn¡¯t keep any beddings and such here, so they had to use the sofa and chairs to make some simple beds. It was still much more pleasant than camping outside. The best thing was, they didn¡¯t need to keep guards; they just closed the door, and everyone could sleep soundly until morning. Loren was worried that Lapis and Gula would do weird things during the night, but it seemed like mental fatigue also came after their bout of off-routine physical exercise; both of them slept without doing anything. The next morning, they had a simple breakfast, then divided their luggage into three and put them into the backpacks Lapis kept at the base. They each carried a backpack and left the base. The plan was to walk to the foot of the outer mountains, then Lapis would talk to her dwarf friends there. ¡°Please leave the negotiation to me. If you two come forward, they¡¯ll become cautious.¡± Lapis warned them beforehand, but neither Loren nor Gula felt like interrupting a talk between dwarves. She had brought some ores from the base to use in the negotiation, and was carrying them in a bag hanging from her waist. Under Lapis¡¯ guidance, they reached the dwarves¡¯ base after two hours of walking. It was a group of cave-like dwellings situated near a section of hole-ridden mountain. It could be called a dwarf village, but compared to human villages with fields and water wells, it wasn¡¯t very impressive. Rather dreary, to be honest. A quick look over the village showed no signs of inhabitant, but as if to prove that there were indeed people ¨C no, dwarves ¨C living here, the sound of metal striking earth could be heard from the caves. They stepped into the village, but there was no sign of anyone coming out. While Loren was wondering if the dwarves were being too careless, Lapis called out someone¡¯s name: ¡°Is Grandpa Dig here?¡± The sounds of hammers and pickaxes they had been hearing immediately stopped at the same time and short, stout bearded men came out of the caves. They were holding huge hammers in both hands, and all looked rather unhappy. ¡°Who?! Who interrupted our work?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Is Grandpa Dig here?¡± The dwarves turned to Loren¡¯s party with such harsh gazes that it wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to say they were seething with anger, but Lapis stepped between the other two and their line of sight. Dwarves were known for their sturdy bodies and physical strength, and thus were quite capable warriors. But against such powerful opponents like Loren with his white sword and the Evil God Gula, they were, without a doubt, not a match. If either Loren or Gula took offense at the dwarves¡¯ glare, it would turn into a brawl, so Lapis had to hurriedly step in. Also, dwarves were known to be short-tempered; even if Loren and Gula didn¡¯t take offense, the dwarves might just attack first depending on the answer they received. ¡°And who are you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Lapis, Lapis. Lapis the priest. Did you forget me?¡± Lapis answered with an amiable smile. The dwarves surrounded and scrutinized her, then one of them dropped the hammers he was holding and pointed at her face: ¡°I remember you. The miss with the hangover medicine!¡± ¡°Ooh, that very good medicine!¡± Once one had remembered, the others also did, one by one. They began drawing nearer with bright smiles. Lapis responded with a smile that was almost bitter. Things wouldn¡¯t be able to progress like this though, so she asked the dwarves in a louder voice: ¡°I¡¯ve come to meet Grandpa Dig. Is he not here?¡± ¡°Is that the little miss demon? Long time no see.¡± In response to Lapis¡¯ question, a dwarf with an impressive white beard came forward as if breaking up the crowd of dwarves. When that dwarf called Lapis a demon, Loren was worried about the other dwarves¡¯ reaction, but their attitude didn¡¯t change at all. They didn¡¯t seem to despise Lapis. ¡°Long time no see, Grandpa Dig. I¡¯ve come for a guide request.¡± ¡°Guide? To the demons¡¯ place? You¡¯ve finally come home?¡± The dwarf called Grandpa Dig turned his eyes towards Loren and Gula. ¡°Human and¡­ What¡¯s that sexy one? Doesn¡¯t seem to be human.¡± ¡°That sexy one is some being I don¡¯t fully understand.¡± Dwarves¡¯ bodies were wholly covered themselves in leather and thick clothes, and their faces were covered with beards. They didn¡¯t really expose skin. Therefore, to them, someone with bare shoulders, stomach, and exposed thighs and legs like Gula could only be described as ¡®sexy¡¯. As the other dwarves also started saying ¡®Sexy, sexy¡¯, Gula clung to Loren¡¯s arms and looked closed to tears: ¡°What, they give me such an awful assessment¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know why though.¡± Loren did plan to shut them up if it was something unwarranted, but Loren did understand why the dwarves gave Gula this assessment; it was difficult to tell them to stop. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just wear a robe?¡± ¡°Dun like it. It¡¯s not cool.¡± Gula flatly refused, and Loren patted her shoulders to suggest her just resign to it then. He listened closely to Lapis and Grandpa Dig¡¯s conversation: ¡°How much does it cost for you to guide three people to the demons¡¯ territory?¡± Lapis said while bringing out the small cloth bag at her waist and lightly shook it as if to hint at what was inside. Hearing the sound of the bag, the dwarves¡¯ expressions immediately turned happy, but gloomy right after. They all looked away from Lapis and cast their eyes down. Grandpa Dig was the only one who was still looking at her, and he said in an incredibly regretful tone: ¡°About that, well, there¡¯s been a problem lately. Guiding activities in the tunnels have been stopped.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± There were pretty valuable ores inside Lapis¡¯ bag. To Lapis, they were nothing more than some specimens left over at the ruin she used as her base; but to the dwarves, those ores were precious things that they desperately wanted. And yet, they didn¡¯t accept this deal. That was enough to tell Lapis that it wasn¡¯t some trivial matter. ¡°It seems like something has come out of the tunnel leading to the demons¡¯ territory. Those who guided people through those tunnels and the young ones who dug there, they haven¡¯t come back.¡± ¡°What has come out?¡± It wasn¡¯t that unusual for monsters to gather in tunnels and abandoned mines. Accidentally digging up and breaking monsters¡¯ seals while expanding mines were also common unfortunate incidents that happened all over the world. ¡°No idea. Cause no one came back.¡± If no one came back, they would have no way to know what happened. They probably had also dispatched search parties, but if even those search parties didn¡¯t come back, then they had no other choice but to cease activities there. ¡°Because of that, the Great Tunnel is now closed.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the Great Tunnel?¡± Loren abruptly asked Lapis in a low voice, and she answered in a similarly-low voice while giving him a quick glance: ¡°It¡¯s the largest tunnel the dwarves have. It¡¯s very wide, easy to pass, and runs all the way to the demons¡¯ territory. It has a great number of branches, and once you get lost in there, you probably won¡¯t be able to come out even until you die.¡± ¡°Is there no other route?¡± Wondering if it was alright for him to cut in, Loren asked Dig. Dig looked at him with suspicious eyes, then turned to ask Lapis without answering Loren¡¯s question: ¡°What¡¯s this guy to you?¡± ¡°Our party leader, and a very important person of mine?¡± Lapis declared with no hesitation, and Loren could feel his cheeks heat up just a little. But Dig just snorted and looked at the two of them as if they were some boring thing. He answered Loren while glancing at him with sharp eyes: ¡°Little miss, you have bad taste in men. Men without beards are worthless.¡± ¡°Are beards that important?¡± ¡°Of course! Having a beard means you¡¯re a man. Having no beard means¡­¡± Dig shouted at a stunned Loren, but stopped midway. Wondering what happened, Loren looked at him to see Lapis¡¯ slender fingers wrapping around his neck, her fingertips making light imprints on his flesh. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my taste in men, you say?¡± She was smiling, but Loren could feel the air becoming chilly. He reflexively stepped away from Dig while the dwarf stretched out his arms towards him as if to ask for help. As if sensing something bad had happened, the other dwarves scattered away in all directions and disappeared as if escaping. Gula was still at the scene as she seemed unable to decide whether to run away or stay. ¡°Grandpa Dig, what did you say about my taste in men? Sorry, but could you please say it again, and louder?¡± ¡°W-wait, little miss! Let me explain! I just blurted it out without thinking! Calm down! I really don¡¯t think that at all!¡± Lapis¡¯ fingertips slowly sank deeper into the old dwarf¡¯s neck. Loren could only watch the frantically-apologizing dwarf¡¯s face turning from red to blue as he was being pulled away by Gula. Chapter 178 Chapter 178, From Discussion to Reunion ¡°It was just a joke. I wasn¡¯t asking for death.¡± Dig rubbed his reddened neck and said. Lapis glared at him, still looking unhappy, and he ducked his head and turned away to avoid her eyes. They had moved to a small work shed nearby to talk. The simple shed, despite being dirty with all the dust and mud, was sturdy like dwarves¡¯ handiwork always were. The chairs and table didn¡¯t even creak. ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing to joke about. At least for me¡­¡± Lapis grumbled. Knowing it wouldn¡¯t go anywhere to keep talking about that topic, she asked Dig, who was sitting opposite her: ¡°We have to cross the mountain range, no matter what. Is there any map of the Great Tunnel?¡± Fueled by the displeasure from the dwarf¡¯s joke earlier, Lapis had become a bit more threatening. As if feeling pressured, Dig nodded continuously while leaning back slightly: ¡°Of course, there is¡­ Do you want to see it?¡± Loren could sense a rather bad characteristic of dwarves from Dig¡¯s response. Seemed like a lot of dwarves had the artisan temperament and did things based on intuition and mood. Meanwhile, Lapis took one look at the map and immediately gave up on trying to understand it. ¡°What a mess.¡± Gula declared. The map was packed so full with writings and drawings that they couldn¡¯t understand what was what or which route to take at all. Dig looked at it closely just to put it down on the table and out of his sight after a while. One by one, the other dwarves picked up the map and discussed something amongst themselves in a whisper, but all gave up and put the map back on the table in the end. ¡°Could it be that you guys also can¡¯t read it?¡± Loren pointed at the map and asked. Dig relaxed into his chair and answered cockily: ¡°Our memory is more accurate.¡± Loren face-palmed, this was just hopeless. He realized that this was the reason why the dwarves¡¯ guiding business could hold up. If the routes were properly managed, people could pass them with a map even without the dwarves¡¯ guidance. But these tunnels were dug with no planning and no control, and only the dwarves could navigate them. ¡°Well, please guide us then.¡± Lapis leaned towards Dig and said. He replied in a fluster while avoiding her eyes: ¡°I-I don¡¯t want to die. I know your strength very well, little miss, but I don¡¯t think you alone can make it.¡± From Lapis¡¯ point of view, Loren and Gula were just as strong as her, and there should be no worry with the three of them going together. But to Dig, someone who knew of her true identity, it was unbelievable that the other two could be her equals. ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if there were more people at least.¡± ¡°More people, you say, but¡­¡± Even Lapis couldn¡¯t just find more people to go with them out of nowhere. Not to mention that it couldn¡¯t just be anyone ¨C it must be capable characters whom Dig approved. The difficulty was on another level. ¡°I¡¯m at a loss here.¡± ¡°Is there no other route?¡± Loren asked, feeling this was the right time to turn around and take another route if possible. Lapis tilted her head in consideration: ¡°I think there is, but I¡¯ve never tried it.¡± There were other dwarves¡¯ settlements aside from the one they were currently at, so naturally there should be other tunnels that ran across the mountain range. However, as Lapis wasn¡¯t acquainted with other dwarves, the negotiation would be a gamble. ¡°We¡¯ll have to manage, some way or another.¡± ¡°If we can¡¯t cross this mountain range, we can¡¯t do anything, right? Even if we can gather enough people, won¡¯t the way back be a problem?¡± Even if the dwarves agreed to guide them to the demons¡¯ territory, they wouldn¡¯t be able to come back without their escort. But they couldn¡¯t make the dwarves wait for them, or rather until whatever blocking the Great Tunnel was eliminated, their return trip couldn¡¯t be guaranteed. ¡°If it¡¯s too troublesome, let¡¯s just dig our own way through? I can work real hard.¡± ¡°But how many days will it take?¡± If they could dig their way straight across the mountains, there would be no need for a guide. But the distance to dig wasn¡¯t a short one, and even Gula couldn¡¯t dig through it in a short time. ¡°Should we try it?¡± Evil Gods were quite sturdy, and Lapis wondered if their beyond-imagination strength would make the impossible possible. Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Gula hurriedly moved away. A knock came right then. ¡°Are there any soil workers here?¡± Without waiting for an answer, the door was opened, and a woman dressed like a hunter peeked in. She had straight blond hair with ears pointed like daggers, and she had a bow in her hand and a quiver on her back. She didn¡¯t seem to think that opening a door without permission was something bad. She then surveyed the shed and, after noticing Loren¡¯s party, said in a flat, slightly surprised voice: ¡°Loren? Have you been a good boy?¡± ¡°Huh? Eh¡­ Is that Nim?¡± The woman was an elf, and Loren remembered her. She was from a party of silver rank adventurers Loren had meet during his first job as an adventurer. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°We are silver rank adventurers, we have to contribute something to our country and the Guild. We¡¯re to scout the demons¡¯ territory, a job to earn money as well as credits.¡± ¡°Hey, Nim, are the dwarves here? If yes, you should tell us so¡­¡± Loren knew the voice coming from behind Nim. Three people appeared behind her: a thief-like, unshaven man with brown hair, a swordsman carrying a round shield and a longsword, and an old man clad in a robe and carrying a staff. All were silver rank adventurers. The thief-like man lightly pushed Nim aside to enter the shed. Seeing Loren¡¯s group, his face broke into a smiled: ¡°Someone came before us? Oh hey, isn¡¯t that a familiar face?¡± ¡°Long time no see. Nice to see you doing well.¡± ¡°You have one more member? Another girl? Do you aim for a harem?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have such a plan¡­ It just became like this somehow.¡± Loren answered with a slightly bitter face. Thinking that he was joking, the man clapped Loren on the back and shoulder. He was a silver rank adventurer called Jack. The swordsman behind him was Ritz, another silver rank adventurer and the leader of their party. The old man who was clinging onto his staff was Quartz, a magician. ¡°Well, well, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand how you feel, but have some moderation, ladykiller.¡± ¡°Jack, you¡¯re a bit noisy.¡± Nim, who had been pushed aside, thrust a tight fist into the side of a defenseless Jack. The impact of it seemed to reach his internal organs, and he fell to the ground in a somersault. Nim kicked him aside, then turned toward Loren with an expressionless face and said in a flat tone: ¡°Loren is a good boy. He won¡¯t gather his companions for such a dishonest purpose.¡± ¡°Such trust¡­ Where does it even come from?!¡± Jack shot the question at Nim in between painful gasps, and she answered nonchalantly: ¡°From experience.¡± ¡°Ah, is that so.¡± Jack weakly collapsed on the ground as if he had used up all his strength and glanced at Nim. She was stroking Loren¡¯s head, who was sitting still in his chair with a troubled expression. Lapis looked at them with envy, and Gula turned to the dwarves, who were taken aback by the rapid development of the situation, and clapped her hands once: ¡°The problem is solved, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°We have one copper rank adventurer, me, and two iron rank, Loren and Lapis. How about adding those four silver rank adventurers? With this, we can deal with pretty much anything that happens, right?¡¯ In theory, copper rank adventurers who didn¡¯t die during jobs or subjugation could become iron rank after a certain time, but only a handful of iron rank could become silver rank. So, the addition of these silver rank adventurers would be enough to reassure Dig ¨C that was what Gula thought. It wasn¡¯t incorrect, but to Ritz¡¯s party, who had witnessed Loren¡¯s fighting before, being considered as better was a touch uneasy. ¡°Could you tell us about the situation first? Then we¡¯ll think about it later?¡± No matter what, they had just arrived. Lapis gave them a summary about the current situation, what they had to do from now on, and introduced Gula to them, of course, not without withholding ¡°some¡± information. Chapter 179 Chapter 179, From Negotiation to Departure ¡°I see. I more or less understand the situation now.¡± Having listened to their story, Ritz said and looked between his party and Loren¡¯s. ¡°In addition, I¡¯d like to propose that we do something about the thing nesting inside that Great Tunnel.¡± The dwarves looked happy hearing Ritz¡¯s words, while Loren and Lapis looked troubled. The difficulty level between attacking only whatever attacked them first and looking for the cause of Great Tunnel¡¯s blockage and eliminating was different. The latter was much more difficult, of course. Carefully choosing words so that it didn¡¯t sound offensive, Lapis asked: ¡°May I ask why you would deliberately pick a more troublesome path?¡± Ritz nodded solemnly and announced his reason to everyone: ¡°We use that tunnel very often.¡± ¡°¡­Please pay, Ritz.¡± Lapis immediately cut in with a cold, sharp glance directed at Ritz. He was at a loss for words and couldn¡¯t say anything. So, Ritz party used that tunnel quite often, and they would be in trouble if whatever blocked it wasn¡¯t removed. With Loren party here, they had an unlikely ally, and seemed to think that even if it might be a bit troublesome, now was the perfect time to pin down the blockage and remove it. And as they shared the same purpose of going through the tunnel, they wanted to make Loren party work for free. Lapis immediately realized their intention, and it couldn¡¯t be helped that her eyes turned cold. ¡°Oh, come one. Don¡¯t you guys also need to go through this tunnel? We should work together to find the cause of this blockage and¡­¡± ¡°Please pay.¡± ¡°If we work together, the fee¡­¡± ¡°Whatever, please pay.¡± Ritz tried to persuade, but Lapis resolutely refused to yield. Loren watched them attentively: it seemed like this would drag out for quite some time. Close to him, Gula and Nim secretly started a conversation for some reason. ¡°One copper rank, and two iron ranks, right? Our party shouldn¡¯t cost that much.¡± Gula counted with her fingers and said, but Nim shook her head: ¡°We¡¯re buying Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ actual capabilities. Being their companion, your capability must also be worth considering. However, the amount you demand is quite expensive. We would like a sum that is kinder to our wallet.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll give you a discount then¡­ How about this much?¡± ¡°A higher discount, please. At least this much.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s tight.¡± The two of them somehow had completely immersed themselves in the negotiation, and all eyes were on them. Nim noticed the attention and said with a composed face: ¡°We¡¯ll have to pay them anyway, so it¡¯s faster to decide the rate quickly.¡± ¡°As expected, negotiating with elf-oneechan here is really fast.¡± Gula said with a smile. Only Loren and Lapis knew that she probably was older than Nim. It wasn¡¯t something to share around to begin with, but if they told the others that Gula, who had just called Nim ¡®oneechan¡¯, was actually an Evil God, no one would ever believe. ¡°Err, Nim¡­¡± ¡°Ritz, what Nim said is true, I think.¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯ll give us a bad impression if we drag this out. We should just pay them happily.¡± Loren watched Jack and Quartz went back-and-forth with Ritz. It seemed like they would get something extra somehow or other, so he just left the negotiation to Lapis and Gula. Instead, he turned towards Dig, who was watching over the whole thing: ¡°Four silver ranks, two iron ranks, and one copper rank. That means seven adventurers in total. Will you guide us?¡± He would have two adventurer parties to escort him through the tunnels now. Normally, this would be overpowered, but considering the blockage in the tunnel, it was a luxury to have multiple parties, one of them silver ranked no less. Of course, Dig had no complaints this time. ¡°Well, yeah. It¡¯s also a problem for us if the tunnel is closed forever. If you guys can remove the blockage, we¡¯ll guide you. We¡¯ll even pay you.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just not charge us?¡± As Lapis would pay for their party¡¯s guidance fee herself, Loren thought it would be better to not charge her instead of paying the whole party. Dig immediately nodded at his proposal: ¡°It¡¯s fine for us too. We¡¯ll guide you.¡± The next steps were defined as soon as Dig gave his approval. Normally, they could reach the demons¡¯ territory in half a day via the Great Tunnel, but as things were now, it was unsure how long the trip would take. Dig needed to make some preparations, so Loren and the others stayed in the small shed on standby while the dwarves scurried around getting things ready for him. ¡°There are kids roaming around.¡± It wasn¡¯t unreasonable for Loren to have such an impression. Dwarves were even shorter than Lapis, the one with the smallest build amongst them, and it wasn¡¯t strange to think of children when one looked at their height. With their spectacular beards and stocky bodies, dwarf men were hard to mistake them for children. However, here and there amongst the dwarves, there were some with no beards and somewhat slenderer bodies. ¡°Those are dwarf women.¡± As Loren didn¡¯t seem to notice, Lapis, who was absentmindedly watching the dwarves working with him, said. Quite a lot of people believed that dwarves had beards, regardless of gender. Loren had also talked about it, in fact. The truth was, even though dwarf women were also stocky, they were more slender than the men and didn¡¯t have beards. ¡°So they aren¡¯t kids?¡± ¡°No. They¡¯re fully matured women.¡± Loren looked at them again, but wasn¡¯t able to change his initial impression. No matter what, they still looked like kids who were trying too hard to carry things bigger than their bodies. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a bit too much luggage?¡± ¡°Dwarves are great eaters and heavy drinkers, so groceries should take up a large portion of their luggage, right?¡± ¡°That reminds me, the dwarves said something about you and hangover meds, Lapis?¡± ¡°Dwarves just don¡¯t know their limits when it comes to drinking. No matter how tough they are, they¡¯re not bottomless.¡± Even though their tolerance was higher than humans, if dwarves drank too much, they still suffered from the terrible headaches of hangover. But due to their tough bodies, dwarves didn¡¯t really take medicines, and they just tolerated the hangover like that, knowing that it would be over sooner or later. And it was Lapis who sold them some medicines for hangovers. ¡°No one has ever done that before?¡± ¡°You think there¡¯ll be someone among us demons who deliberately does that?¡± Demons only cared about what was good for themselves ¨C all else wasn¡¯t worth worrying to them. That was why they usually caused troubles for others around them and were detested. They weren¡¯t the type to give suffering dwarves hangover medicines. In fact, Lapis had given them the medicines as part of the guidance fee, she didn¡¯t plan to do anything for the dwarves writhing in pain at all. ¡°It was more profitable to pay them with headache medicines.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± It also depended on the type and quality, but you could buy a decent amount of headache medicines at pharmacies in towns with one silver coin. It was definitely way much cheaper to pay with them. As dwarves didn¡¯t have the habit of taking medicines, pharmacies were all but non-existent to them, and they had no intentions to make medicines themselves. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that Lapis was single-handedly responsible for their medical supply. It was only hangover medicines at first, but now she also provided them with other medicines. ¡°This¡­ is not something to tell the others. But you don¡¯t seem to plan to pay with meds this time.¡± When supply increased, relative value would decrease. If value decreased, Lapis would need to increase the variety and quantity of the medicines she traded. Lapis, being a demon, would never share something with others if that resulted in her loss. Nevertheless, what she had prepared this time weren¡¯t medicines, but ores. As they were taken from the facility she was using as her base, they wouldn¡¯t hurt her pocket, but Loren thought medicines would be less bulky and cheaper. Lapis answered with a wry smile: ¡°Since I became an adventurer, I¡¯ve been using the medicine supply for myself, so I don¡¯t have any extra left. I should have stocked up in town, but I forgot to.¡± If she paid with medicines this time, there wouldn¡¯t be enough for their party to use, and it would be a big trouble in case of emergency. That was why she chose to use some ores at her base for this trip. ¡°The medicines you guys make and the ones we make¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re almost the same. Humans probably have more types, though.¡± Even though they weren¡¯t as indifferent towards medicines as dwarves, demons still had tougher bodies than humans. They had high tolerances to injuries and diseases, so their pharmaceutics wasn¡¯t as advanced as humans, who used medicines more often. ¡°It¡¯s a classic example of ¡®having greater abilities doesn¡¯t mean making progress in everything¡¯.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better to not need medicines at all, I think.¡± From the point of view of an ex-mercenary like Loren, not needing medicines was an ability that he was honestly jealous of. Soldiering was a trade inseparable from injuries and illnesses. Armies usually had military physicians travel with them, but mercenary companies didn¡¯t. Not to mention that for them, keeping an inventory of medicines and bandages was also a big burden, both to their wallet and their head. ¡°I think I should try to follow your practice of using medicines to treat minor injuries and ailments.¡± ¡°Should you?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I?¡± They said and somehow turned to look at each other. As if it was being timed, Dig¡¯s preparation finished right then. He then called out to Ritz and asked him to gather the others, which he did by firing the departure signal to catch everyone¡¯s attention. Chapter 180 Chapter 180, From Entry to Discovery Loren thought that the Great Tunnel must be quite large due to its name. But then, considering the dwarves¡¯ stature, their tunnels should be a bit of a tight squeeze for him. Either way, he would know once they were there. But the actual sight of the tunnel made him gape. He was at a loss for words for a while, and could only watch. ¡°You look like you didn¡¯t expect this at all.¡± Lapis didn¡¯t need to voice that ¨C it was indeed way beyond Loren¡¯s expectation. ¡®Big¡¯ couldn¡¯t even begin to describe it. Loren was fairly tall for a human, but he still had to look up to see the ceiling. The light from the dwarves¡¯ lanterns couldn¡¯t even reach it. It was also wide enough for multiple people with Loren¡¯s build to fight comfortably. ¡°What¡¯s with the dumb face?¡± Dig asked Loren, who had unthinkingly stopped at the entrance. He finally snapped out of it and hurriedly rushed to Lapis¡¯ side. ¡°It¡¯s huge. Isn¡¯t it too huge?¡± Even though the tunnel was currently shut down, there was no door to barricade set up at its entrance. It was hard to imagine a door big enough to cover such a huge hole, and it would be very easy to jump over a barricade to get in or out. ¡°It¡¯s used to mine ores, so there¡¯s no problem if it¡¯s a little big.¡± ¡°You really dig well for that height.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate us. We can do almost anything for ores.¡± Dig didn¡¯t sound boastful, but he looked proud. Somehow Loren wanted to make a quip, but maybe it was normal for dwarves to think like that, and he chose to stay silent instead of making a poor retort and risked making the dwarves angry. In any case, the wide tunnel made it advantageous for someone who used a large weapon like Loren. In a tunnel where no one had ever come out from, being able to fight to his full potential was something to be grateful for. Normally, the air inside a cave system was cooler than outside, but the air in this dwarven tunnel was warmer. ¡°Is there a furnace inside this tunnel?¡± Unrefined ores were very bulky, but refined metal lost some of its weight, making it easier to transport. That was why Loren thought there might be a furnace inside the tunnel used to refine ores, but Dig snorted at his question: ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. You can¡¯t properly refine ores with a furnace inside a tunnel.¡± ¡°Then why is it so warm here?¡± ¡°Dunno. Seems like there¡¯s a heat source somewhere inside. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve dug deep enough to hit the geothermal energy, but we do dig up some warm water from time to time.¡± Dig added that even though they didn¡¯t know the exact reason for this warmth, it was definitely better than the cold that made people huddle. It was certainly much easier to move. If the dwarves, experts in this field, didn¡¯t even know the cause of this warm atmosphere, a human like Loren never would, so he stopped thinking about it. As the tunnel was supposed to be shut down, there wasn¡¯t anyone else inside except for their group. They walked with the sound of their shoes on the hard stone floor resounding in the tunnel. And as there seemed to be nothing in here, they naturally became bored. ¡°How long does it take to get to the other side?¡± In a labyrinth such as this, they normally would have to be cautious about traps or bandits, but since this tunnel was originally the dwarves¡¯ workplace, there was no need to. Instead, the chance for cave-ins or sinkholes to happen was high. Dig, who was most familiar with this tunnel, walked in the lead of their group. He was followed by Jack, who continuously checked their surroundings. The rest of them trailed behind the two. ¡°About half a day. Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± ¡°You did, just that there¡¯s nothing else to talk about.¡± With the guiding entrusted to Dig and guarding entrusted to Jack and Nim (elves had excellent hearing), there was nothing else for the rest of them to do except walking. ¡°Shut up and walk. If nothing happens, we¡¯ll arrive soon.¡± ¡°If nothing happens, you say.¡± There were no other sounds aside from their footsteps and no other movements aside from those of their own. But this was a place where no one entered had ever come out from, so there was no way nothing would happen. [¡®Onii-chan, can you ask something? There¡¯s something I want to ask the dwarf uncle walking in the lead.¡¯] The voice that suddenly came to Loren¡¯s mind was of Shayna, the Undead King who was now residing inside his soul. He turned his focus towards Shayna to see what she wanted to confirm, rephrased it in his own words and asked Dig: ¡°By the way, before us, how many have entered despite the restriction?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a strange question. Well, some dozens, from what we know of. There were both dwarves and humans. If we also count those who entered behind our backs, then I don¡¯t know.¡± Before the restriction order, the entrance to this place was closely controlled by the dwarves, as they were highly cautious of illegal mining. It was almost impossible to enter behind their backs. But ever since people who entered did not come back and the place was shut down, their control had significantly relaxed. After all, people who went in didn¡¯t come out anymore, so there was no need to worry about illegal mining now. They only needed to take care that their own didn¡¯t enter. The dwarves had half abandoned this place. ¡°Is that alright?¡± ¡°Those who deliberately enter a place that they¡¯re told to not enter are of no concern to us.¡± It wasn¡¯t like Loren didn¡¯t understand Dig¡¯s sentiment about this, but it was something he needed to confirm as per Shayna¡¯s wish. He asked if the answer was good enough for her, and Shayna muttered after a short silence: [¡®There are signs of life all over this tunnel.¡¯] Loren tilted his head in puzzled at Shayna¡¯s statement. This tunnel was shut down, but that didn¡¯t mean it had become a dead world. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if there were animals of all sizes inhabiting this place. Not to mention that it wasn¡¯t a natural cave system but an artificial one, so there should be a lot of creatures living in here. [¡®Many of them are as big as humans, so I thought that maybe the ones entered before us are still alive¡­ But the number doesn¡¯t match¡­¡¯] The end of Shayna¡¯s sentence was uncertain. Sensing something unpleasant from that uncertainty, Loren was about to ask her to clarify it when Shayna plainly told him after some hesitation: [¡®There are countless number of them. Probably not more than ten thousand though.¡¯] It took Loren a few moments to truly understand what she had said. It was quite risky for him to converse with Shayna, since others who didn¡¯t know what was happening would wonder if he was okay. He tried to keep his expression unchanged while talking to her, but those words still almost caused a strange sound escape from his mouth, but he hurriedly swallowed it down. Loren didn¡¯t know what things Shayna was sensing, but if her assumption was correct, then this tunnel they were walking in was inhabited by almost ten thousand creatures as big as humans. It was impossible to stay calm and not be surprised at such information. This tunnel, no matter how large it might be, was originally dug up to mine ores. It was hard to imagine that there could be almost ten thousand human-sized creatures living here. Loren wondered about it while looking around without fidgeting, but Lapis somehow sensed something was off and asked: ¡°Loren? What¡¯s wrong?¡± For a moment, Loren didn¡¯t know how to answer her question. If there were only Lapis and Gula here, he could just tell them what he was told and how he was feeling. But Ritz party and Dig were also here, and he had no idea what kind of ruckus they would make if they knew about Shayna¡¯s existence. It was a fact he tended to forget, but Shayna was the King of Death, a being who was quite capable of destroying a country by herself. There was no one who could still keep their composure after being told that such a being was existing inside him. On the other hand, if he didn¡¯t tell them about Shayna, there was no way he could explain about the thousands of creatures she was sensing. He could only use ¡®intuition¡¯ as an excuse at best, but there was a limit to the persuasive power of something coming from intuition. ¡°Loren?¡± Receiving no answer, Lapis looked at him quizzically and asked again. Noticing something had happened, the others had also stopped walking. Loren began to think about a way to answer, but his effort soon became unnecessary. ¡°You sense something, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s the mercenaries¡¯ intuition for you.¡± Gula said, and Ritz party visibly tensed at her words. They readied their weapons and looked around grimly as Ritz asked Loren: ¡°What do you sense?¡± ¡°But it¡¯s really just a hunch. I¡¯m not certain at all.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s fine if there¡¯s nothing, but if there¡¯s really something, at least we won¡¯t be unprepared.¡± Ritz answered, and Loren asked Shayna if she could somehow relay what she was sensing. Shayna¡¯s response was immediate. The link used to convey Loren¡¯s sight and sensation to Shayna could also be used to share what she was sensing to him. In this case, it could be used to reflect these thousands of life forces Shayna was sensing on Loren¡¯s senses. As soon as she began synchronizing with him, a sight that he shouldn¡¯t have been able to see became visible to him. ¡°This¡­¡± Loren unthinkingly muttered. The human-sized life forces were projected into his vision field as spots of light, and all he could see was a bright shine persisting throughout the bedrock of the tunnel and burying his sight in a myriad of light. Chapter 181 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren was at a loss how to convey what he was seeing to others. Looking up, he also saw countless bright spots of life on the ceiling, where the light of the lanterns couldn¡¯t even reach. These surely weren¡¯t easy opponents. They were human-sized, but could cling to such a high ceiling. To make matters worse, they had already taken them overhead, yet no one except Loren noticed it. He could feel a chill running down his spine. There were silver rank adventurers here, together with an Evil God and a demon ¨C all were very capable, all first-class fighters. And they weren¡¯t careless. They were all very cautious, and yet no one noticed the creatures above them. People generally weren¡¯t very attentive about what was above them, but this was different. It was proof that these creatures excelled at stealth. As Loren opened his mouth to warn the others, he saw Ritz, who was walking ahead of him, touching some spindly thing dangling down from the ceiling. Having no time to say anything, Loren charged at Ritz and pushed him to the ground. ¡°Loren?¡± Lapis exclaimed in surprise at Loren¡¯s sudden action, but Ritz was even more surprised. He was the one who suddenly got tackled to the ground after all. Defending against a sudden attack from an ally, and from behind no less, was impossible even to an experienced silver rank adventurer like him. Ritz was about to shout at Loren to ask what he was doing when he saw Loren unsheathe his sword and slash at where he had been just a moment ago. The blade met something and cut it in half, causing blue fluid to splash around. Ritz¡¯s face stiffened at the scene. ¡°Uwah?!¡± Jack drew back in surprise, and Nim wordlessly kicked him down. Without even sparing him a glance, she immediately took an arrow from her quiver, nocked it and shot it at something that was dropping down from the ceiling. Another dropped down. Loren shouted while severing in halves: ¡°Gula! Protect Lapis!¡± ¡°Alright. Leave it to me.¡± Gula grabbed Lapis¡¯ shoulders, and the two of them crouched down while looking up at the ceiling. Loren saw the lights of lives above them disappear then. ¡°What was that?!¡± Jack shouted while Nim shot another arrow. Her aim was accurate despite the lack of light, and something was killed. Ritz watched it fall down and said in a stiff voice: ¡°Insects?!¡± ¡°No. This is a spider.¡± Nim calmly corrected him. Wondering if it was even worth correcting, Loren sheathed his sword. The thing he killed earlier was lying in halves on the ground, and it surely looked like a spider as Nim had said. But its size was abnormal ¨C Just its huge belly was as big as Lapis or Quartz, the two smallest-built in their party. There was a thread attached to that belly, so thin that it was hard to imagine it came from something that huge. The spider had spat it out and used it to drop down and attack them. ¡°Damn! Where do they come from?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re clinging to the ceiling!¡± As Ritz got up and confirmed the identity of their enemies, he slammed his shield at a spider that was dropping down and sent it flying. The violent blow dented the spider¡¯s body; it smashed against the tunnel¡¯s wall with a squelch and spraying blue fluid. ¡°Scarlet stones, shoot at our enemies. <>.¡± Still in a crouch, Quartz held his staff up and commenced a magic attack. Fire orbs shot out from the staff and flew at the ceiling; they didn¡¯t hit at one specific point but scattered caused a. The fire illuminated part of the ceiling, making it visible to their group, and the scene turned everyone¡¯s insides cold. The ceiling was packed full with spider-like creatures clinging to it. Not only that, but they could also see the spiders¡¯ preys among them, probably the ones who had entered the tunnel before. They were wrapped in fine spider threads and attached to the ceiling; all looked nothing more than skin and bone. ¡°Gross¡­¡± Gula unthinkingly uttered while the gruesome scene above their head became hidden once more as the fire died down. ¡°We can¡¯t kill them all!¡± Jack shouted as he thrust his dagger into a spider dropping down after the spell ended. It was natural for him to think so, seeing that the ceiling was packed full of spiders. Loren also felt daunted, and he had considered drawing back for a moment. But the spiders wouldn¡¯t let the preys wandering into their feeding ground go that easily. They crowded to the part of ceiling above Loren¡¯s group retreat path and began cutting the threads that were attaching their previous victims to the ceiling to drop them to the ground. Even though the victims were only a husk of themselves now, considering the height they were dropping from, their corpses would still cause quite a lot of damage to anyone they hit, not to mention that they still had their armors and weapons on. It was also extremely difficult to dodge the corpses as they were dropped one by one. The other spiders didn¡¯t waste any time and started dropping down. ¡°We can¡¯t retreat. No other choice but to run through them.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Everyone, run!¡± Ritz ordered while grabbing a troubled, still crouching Dig and ran further into the tunnel. Everyone ran after him in a bid to escape the spiders that were chasing them. ¡°Can we really make it just by running?!¡± Jack shouted while slashing his dagger at a dropping spider. The spider squirmed as its legs were cut off and Nim shot an arrow at it while running, pinning it to the tunnel¡¯s wall. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we don¡¯t have any other choices.¡± ¡°Fucking bastards! Were they here before?!¡± Loren, who was running at the rear of their party, looked back over his shoulder; he totally understood why Jack cursed. The spiders crawled all over the ground and walls of the tunnel to chase their preys; there were so many of them that the floor and walls were hardly visible. Their number was so great that the thought of fighting them didn¡¯t even come to his mind. Loren thought it was impossible for these spiders to multiply that much in a short time, but Lapis, who was running a head of him, disagreed: ¡°Spiders lay a lot of eggs. In an ideal environment, they can reach an unthinkable number very quickly.¡± She said they might have come from the demon side. ¡°Dig, what¡¯s on the other side of the tunnel on the demon side?¡± Still running, Loren asked Dig, who was being carried by Ritz. Dwarves had sturdy bodies, but their legs were short; they weren¡¯t born to run. Dig was saved now thanks to Ritz carrying him, but once Ritz¡¯ arms couldn¡¯t bear his weight anymore, he would have to let him go; there would be little hope for him to survive then. Dig seemed to know that very well; he answered Loren¡¯s question while desperately keeping the lantern high to ensure visibility with a pale face: ¡°That, there¡¯s also a dwarf village on that side.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± Dig¡¯s answer gave Loren a bad feeling, but he had no time to worry about it now; escaping from the spiders chasing them was the first priority now. He stopped thinking about that matter and focused on trying to run as fast as possible. Seeing a thin thread dangling down from the ceiling and twined around Lapis¡¯ shoulder, he increased his speed even more. ¡°Eh? Eek?!¡± Lapis felt something pulling her shoulder, and before she even had time to think what was happening, her feet were off the ground. Then strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and the pulling sensation on her shoulders disappeared. ¡°Be careful! They¡¯re dropping threads to catch prey!¡± All of this was started by Ritz touching one of such threads. The vibration from his touch transmitted to the ceiling had alerted the spiders that a prey had entered the area, prompting them to attack. Not only that, but these threads were especially strong and durable, as they were used to capture preys. Anyone got caught by it would be pulling up to the ceiling in an instant, and would be swarmed and attacked by the spiders waiting there; it was just like a trap. ¡°Be careful, you said, but we can¡¯t even see them.¡± In a dark tunnel where they must rely on the light of a lantern to see, it was difficult to notice a thin thread hanging down while running. Even though the threads were strong enough to lift up a person, they were so thin that it was almost impossible to see them if one didn¡¯t look closely. ¡°I was about to be pulled up just now.¡± Still being held in Loren¡¯s arms, Lapis said with a shudder while looking up at the ceiling. As a demon, she might have been alright, but being swarmed by countless spiders wasn¡¯t an experience she wanted to have. Not to mention that in the worst case, these spiders might be poisonous. Just thinking about it made gratitude welled up inside Lapis. ¡°Thanks a lot, Loren.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If you¡¯re pulled up there, I won¡¯t be able to help.¡± The ceiling was so high that the lantern¡¯s light couldn¡¯t reach it, and it was vast. There was also no visible path to climb up to it. Rescuing someone pulled to the ceiling was impossible. ¡°Nim and Quartz, be careful! You¡¯re light and don¡¯t have much physical strength. They¡¯ll pull you up in an instant!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to spend my final days at spider¡¯s food at all.¡± ¡°Me neither. I plan to live for another thousand years.¡± Nim declared with a serious face, and Jack reflexively complained: ¡°But I can¡¯t live for a thousand year.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have enough determination. You should become an undead and continue living. Will you leave me alone?¡± ¡°Hm? Can undead be considered still living?¡± Jack asked Loren with a serious face while still running. Amazed that they still had so much leisure despite the situation, Loren kept silent while gesturing at the direction to take with chin. Chapter 182 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren¡¯s group continued to run in a line. The spiders chasing them didn¡¯t decrease in number, nor did they show any signs of slowing down ¨C they were like an avalanche, or a tsunami. ¡°No matter how many arrows are there, it¡¯s still not enough.¡± Nim grumbled, her quiver had been reduced to less than half. She looked over her shoulder and shot at the spiders from time to time, one arrow of hers carrying enough force to pierce through multiple creatures at once. But the fallen spiders were immediately replaced by others, and her attack showed no visible effect at all. ¡°Magic has its limit too.¡± Quartz, who was trying his best to run, had given up using magic attacks since the start. The spiders were numerous enough to fill the whole width of the tunnel, so they would have caught up to him while he was still chanting a spell. And even if he was lucky enough to be able to land a hit, it probably wouldn¡¯t mean much, since it would only cause a bit more damage than Nim¡¯s arrows. ¡°Ritz, stop for a bit and do them in!¡± Jack shouted at Ritz, and he shouted back: ¡°You do that!¡± None of them were being serious about it, though. They both knew that in this situation, if they stopped even just for a moment, they would be engulfed by the tsunami of spiders and die before they had a chance to do anything. Loren knew it too. He only used his greatsword when a spider dropped in his path. In all other cases, he just devoted himself to running. But Loren painfully knew that sooner or later, one of them would reach their limit. He wasn¡¯t worried about Lapis, who he was carrying in his arm and Gula, who was running so closely behind him that it felt like she was sticking to his back. The one he was most worried about was Quartz, who didn¡¯t use his body much as a magician, and was elderly in age. In fact, Quartz was speaking less and less, and sometimes a hint of pain showed on his expression. ¡°Is the exit still a long way off?!¡± Ritz asked Dig, who was still being carried by him as there was no way dwarves could outrun spiders. Dig answered in a loud voice while holding the lantern aloft: ¡°Unfortunately yes! We¡¯re not even halfway there!¡± Everyone felt quite hopeless hearing his answer. ¡°We can¡¯t escape!¡± It was understandable for Jack to scream like that. Humans just couldn¡¯t run with all their might for such a long distance. Yet, if they let up their speed, the spiders will catch up with them. ¡°Gula, can you do something?!¡± Loren asked Gula, who was supposed to be just another magician. His question wasn¡¯t for a magician who could cause wide-scope damage by herself, but for a being having the power of an Evil God. Even though they would surely be questioned by Ritz¡¯ party later, it would still be a lot better than becoming spiders¡¯ food. But Gula¡¯s answer was unfavorable: ¡°Even I will be swarmed by spiders if I stop.¡± ¡°<> probably won¡¯t be effective, right?¡± If the tunnel was less wide and high, an earth wall could be raised to stop the spiders, even if just temporarily. But with the width and height of this tunnel, one single earth wall wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°We¡¯ve been through something like this before, haven¡¯t we?!¡± ¡°Do you mean the goblins case? But don¡¯t worry, Loren.¡± Lapis said with full confidence, even though there was not a single thing to not worry about in the current situation. Loren, who was carrying her under his arms, gave her a puzzled glance, and she said in a resigned tone: ¡°Last time, only women were used as nurseries. This time we¡¯ll all become food or nurseries together. The only difference is whether they¡¯ll eat us right away or plant eggs on us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing to not worry about!¡± ¡°Somehow you guys seem quite relaxed.¡± Ritz said with amazement. Near him, Quartz suddenly stumbled, and Nim and Jack hurriedly grasped his arms to lift him up. He managed to not fall this time, but it was clear that he was near his physical limit. Ritz grimaced. ¡°Hey, Loren,..-¡° ¡°If you want to tell me to take Dig and go ahead, I won¡¯t hear it.¡± Loren interrupted before Ritz could continue. Everyone knew Quartz wouldn¡¯t be able to keep running like this. It seemed like Ritz planned to stop and tried to buy as much time as possible for Quartz¡¯ to commence some more powerful spells, hoping it would turn the situation around. There was almost no chance for that plan to succeed, of course. The odds were too high that it wasn¡¯t even worth betting, and Ritz didn¡¯t want to drag Loren¡¯s party into it. He was about to tell Loren to take Dig and leave, but Loren stopped him before he could. ¡°But, to continue like this is¡­¡± ¡°If you want to make a bad bet, why don¡¯t you bet on me, hm?¡± Gula suddenly barged in on their conversation. ¡°Bet on you?¡± ¡°Yeah. Try to run hard for a while. Count slowly to 300 while you¡¯re running. When you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll manage it somehow.¡± Gula proposed without telling them even one specific solution. But they had no other ideas now, so Ritz made a quick decision. He pointed at Nim and Jack, who was carrying Quartz: ¡°During the time it takes to count slowly to 300, run like dying if you stop!¡± ¡°Does such an instruction even exist?!¡± ¡°Shut up, Jack.¡± Nim told him that if he had the leisure to chat now, he should turn it into running power instead. Jack shut his mouth and continued to run with a frantic face. With a similar expression, Ritz continued to run while carrying Dig. Loren was also running without dropping his speed, Lapis still under his arm. ¡°Gula, are you done?!¡± Gula had somehow dropped to the end of their line even though she wasn¡¯t carrying anyone or anything. She absentmindedly uttered while glancing back over her shoulder to check something, ¡°Nah, wait just a minute. Does it work, I wonder? It should by now.¡± If nothing happened, they would come to a point where they couldn¡¯t run anymore, and would end up being swarmed by the spiders. Just as Loren wondered if Gula understood that fact, he noticed the sound of the spiders¡¯ feet begin to falter. ¡°Eh? Ah?¡± Ritz¡¯ party had also noticed it. They slowed down more and more, and eventually stopped to look behind. Enticed by their actions, Loren also stopped and put Lapis down. ¡°Seems like it worked well.¡± Hands on hips, Gula squinted at the scene behind them and said with satisfaction. There were still countless spiders there, but even though they had been chasing them vigorously just a moment ago, they now all stopped moving and drew their legs in as if they had died. ¡°What did you do?¡± Not quite believed in the scene before his eyes, Loren asked Gula. They had been saved, but if he didn¡¯t understand how, he still felt unsteady. Somehow, it just didn¡¯t feel real. ¡°Uhm, I don¡¯t really want to explain it.¡± Gula scratched her head and turned towards Loren, looking troubled. But Loren didn¡¯t let her end it there and kept looking at her, waiting for an explanation. ¡°I just used some magic. Just some magic. As for what I used or how, well, it¡¯s a secret. My secret as a magician.¡± Gula declared loudly to everyone, then grabbed Loren¡¯s head and pulled him closer. She secretly told him what had actually happened in a low voice: ¡°Spiders¡¯ respiration systems are their weakness.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you want to say.¡± ¡°To put it simply, the gas that is harmless to humans could make them immobile.¡± ¡°Gas¡­ It can¡¯t be¡­¡± Being mindful of his own volume, Loren said and unthinkingly looked back at the spiders behind them. From what he understood, Gula had somehow released some kind of poisonous gas inside the tunnel. In that case, if they dawdled there, they might end up being affected by the gas. They should leave this place as soon as possible. But Gula waved her hand while still keeping hold of Loren¡¯s head: ¡°I won¡¯t use poisonous gas in a closed space like this. Everyone will be in danger.¡± ¡°So what did you release?¡± If it was something harmless, the spiders wouldn¡¯t become immobile, so it should have some toxic element at least. Loren questioned her, but she was hesitant to say it for some reason: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s something that can¡¯t be spoken¡­?!¡± ¡°N-no, it isn¡¯t. But it¡¯s not something nice to talk about¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not being clear at all.¡± ¡°Eh, you see, I eat a lot, don¡¯t I? There¡¯s a lot of things you can do if you eat that much, you know? There¡¯s this thing that¡¯s basically harmless to humans¡­¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s gas? Is it not something solid or liquid?¡± ¡°¡­What are you imagining now¡­ Ah, no, don¡¯t say it out loud. If you do, I¡¯ll kill you, alright?!¡± Gula let go of his head and grabbed his neck instead, shaking it back and forth. Loren still didn¡¯t understand what Gula had released, but he still believed they should go asap, when the spiders were still unmoving. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Author¡¯s Note: In defense of a certain Evil God The thing she used was released from her upper body, not from her bottom. Loren was strangled because he thought it was the latter. Chapter 183 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren¡¯s group left that area, leaving the motionless spiders behind. The ones being carried decided to walk on their feet, worrying that they might tire the members carrying them off. They proceeded to walk to the end of the tunnel. Jack and others wanted to burn the spiders, but Loren and Nim objected: ¡°Making such a big fire in an enclosed space like this, we¡¯ll all die choking, won¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Spiders are also part of the world. Let¡¯s not kill them. We can¡¯t eat them, even if we do so anyway.¡± After being chased around that bad, everyone was feeling lighthearted now. It wasn¡¯t like Loren didn¡¯t understand their feeling, but it was stupid to get carried away and got themselves into another predicament. Having been so calmly admonished, Jack came to understand the meaninglessness of burning the spiders. He gave up immediately and continued on while saying bitterly: ¡°So, it just ends here?¡± Nim quickly disagreed: ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t. The next will come soon.¡± ¡°The next¡­¡± ¡°Those are probably the children of a Huge Spider. The parent is still somewhere in here.¡± Elves generally lived in forests, so they were naturally deeply knowledgeable. Everyone¡¯s mouths hung half open at the piece of knowledge Nim had just shared. The spiders chasing them had been as tall as Lapis. It was not unreasonable for them to think that those spiders were adults. If those were just children, they didn¡¯t even want to imagine how big an adult one would be. ¡°The parent is several times bigger than the children. Its thread is also bigger. It¡¯s very dangerous.¡± ¡°For such a big spider to move around in a tunnel¡­ Nah, this one is big enough.¡± The size of the spider Nim had mentioned was ridiculous just to hear, but the size of the tunnel they were walking in was also not average at all. Such a spider would still be able to easily move in here. ¡°Why did you dwarves dig such a stupidly big tunnel like this?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a vein of ore, we¡¯ll dig.¡± Jack complained, but Dig answered full of pride and with not a single shred of shame. His attitude would be nothing in normal times, but it was strangely irritating in the current situation. They all secretly turned their eyes away from him. ¡°If there¡¯s a parent, that means we¡¯ll have to run again.¡± Jack said, seemingly fed up when recalling the series of escape dramas, they had engaged in since coming here. Ritz nodded multiple times ¨C he obviously felt the same. Nim was still calm, but Quartz was gloomy, for he knew that if they had to run again, he would become a burden. ¡°Nah, we won¡¯t have to run again, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s how it is with huge spiders.¡± Hearing Gula¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ conversation, Nim suddenly clapped. ¡°Ah¡­ Right, that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± Loren had a feeling that it wasn¡¯t a very satisfactory story, but he still wanted to know what they were talking about. So he asked Lapis, the one most easily talked to between the three of them: ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°Young Huge Spiders chase after preys and shoot threads to catch them like the ones before. But adult ones just weave webs like normal spiders.¡± The passage they were walking in suddenly expanded. Feeling an unpleasant premonition, Loren continued towards a space as large as a hall. But just before he actually set foot into the hall, he stopped and stared at the thing inside. ¡°Ah, so this is it¡­¡± This space was probably the dwarves¡¯ mine, and was much larger in both width and height compared to the passage. A pure white object illuminated by the lantern¡¯s light stood towering over everything in the space, almost filling it up entirely. ¡°Is this it?¡± Loren asked, still holding a sliver of hope that it wasn¡¯t, and Lapis gave him a blunt answer: ¡°Yes, this is probably the web.¡± Even though a gentler answer wouldn¡¯t change anything, that straightforward affirmation still gave Loren some intense mental damage. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit like a mountain?¡± Ritz looked up and said. The round web made from woven thread was wide in perimeter, and the ground was covered in spider threads. ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°Just charging at this thing is kinda disgusting, isn¡¯t it? Can we burn it down?¡± Lapis frowned at Jack¡¯s suggestion, while Nim gave him an exasperated look. Jack retreated a little ¨C it looked like he didn¡¯t understand why they looked at him like that. Loren clapped at his shoulder: ¡°Spiders¡¯ threads don¡¯t burn, you know?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Jack exclaimed in a strange voice with widened eyes. He seemed to be greatly surprised by Loren¡¯s words. The others seemed to know already, they didn¡¯t look surprised at all and just nodded. ¡°You¡¯re probably confused because it¡¯s called ¡®thread¡¯, but spider threads are made from solidified body fluid. They can be burned, but they don¡¯t catch fire.¡± ¡°Eh? Eh?¡± ¡°Dust and insects caught in a spider web can catch fire, but the thread itself doesn¡¯t.¡± Loren patted Jack¡¯s shoulder as if telling him ¡®You¡¯ve learned something new¡¯. Nim spared him a sideway glance and continue: ¡°Our path is a straight path. There¡¯s no detour.¡± ¡°We have to get rid of it somehow.¡± Ritz looked at Dig as if asking for a confirmation, and Dig nodded solemnly. ¡°Miss Gula, can you use your secret skill again?¡± Quartz placed his hope on the secret skill Gula had used to incapacitate all the spiders chasing them, but Gula shook her head: ¡°Once spit out, it takes some time to gather again.¡± Loren could only think of one kind of gas to be emitted after eating, but he kept his mouth shut because he didn¡¯t know what Gula would do to him if he spoke it out. But if the gas was really what he thought it was, it definitely took some time to be gathered again once released. ¡°Can we go stealthily?¡± Nim suggested. The passage beyond this space was almost filled with the threads that made up the web. Even if they wanted to go in stealth, they wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid stepping on them. ¡°Spiders determine prey¡¯s location by the vibration of their threads. If we can avoid disturbing the threads, it won¡¯t notice us.¡± ¡°Hey, your elf is talking about the impossible.¡± Loren turned to Ritz and said, but Ritz just shrugged. Elves had lighter body weights and nimbler movements. Nim probably could go through without touching the threads, but Loren and Ritz had the well-trained bodies of swordsman, and they weighed considerably more due to all the muscles. And Quartz, being an eldery magician, had weak legs and joints, by no means could he move like an elf. Dig, as a dwarf, was out of the question, so no one was keen to listen to Nim¡¯s proposal. ¡°With a web this big, I think it won¡¯t shake if we walk carefully.¡± Nim said easily. ¡°Because the web is large, the load of each individual thread is also higher. Even if we step on a taut thread, it won¡¯t shake.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Ritz asked with doubt. But the route back was also a straight path. If they turned around, they would definitely run again into the spiders Gula had somehow immobilized. Ahead was a spider web, and behind was a horde of spiders. In the current situation, it was dangerous no matter which path they chose. Ritz considered it for a while, then chose to move forward. ¡°If both front and back are as dangerous as one another, we should go forward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If it goes well, we might not be in any danger.¡± Even though the hope was thin, if walking stealthily could keep them from confronting a spider like Nim had said, they wouldn¡¯t be in any danger. ¡°Weft threads are used to capture preys, so they¡¯re sticky. Warp threads are not sticky. Step on the warps.¡± Nim said with a deadly serious face. But Loren and the others looked at the towering web and couldn¡¯t tell which were weft and which were warp at all. Everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Nim, thinking that she must know, but she just carelessly said: ¡°If it doesn¡¯t stick to your feet, it¡¯s a warp.¡± ¡°If it sticks, then we¡¯re finished though?!¡± Ritz quipped with an obvious fact, but Nim clicked her tongue and wagged her finger: ¡°Pull your foot back before it sticks.¡± One could say that this was a method unique to the lightly-weighted elves only. It was difficult for heavily-weighted dwarves or armed humans to imitate. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you can tell us something possible for dwarves and humans.¡± Loren smiled wryly and begged, but Nim just said after thinking a while: ¡°These threads are not on the web¡­ so maybe we don¡¯t need to be too careful. The threads supporting a web won¡¯t be sticky, I think.¡± ¡°In short, we have no choice but to walk stealthily without touching the web?¡± Loren summarized, and Nim nodded. Ritz looked up at the ceiling and sighed, while Dig and Quartz held each other¡¯s hand and stared at the web they were about to walk through with pale faces. Loren glanced at Lapis and Gula, who looked no different from how they were usually, and wondered if he could just let them blow off the web in the worst-case scenario. He let out a resigned sigh. Chapter 184 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul The art of walking with no sound was, of course, mastered by Jack, a thief and Nim, a hunter. Loren and Ritz, despite being swordsmen, also learned how to do it to some extent. But it really was to some extent only. The threads that constructed the spiderweb were all over the ground and the wall, but it would be alright as long as the ones they stepped on didn¡¯t vibrate. The problem was, no matter how hard Loren and Ritz tried, they still rocked some of the looser threads. And, of course, it was impossible for Quartz and Dig to do what Loren and Ritz couldn¡¯t manage, so the four of them walked nervously while trying desperately to check if the thread under their feet was loose or not. In contrast, the thief ¨C hunter pair and the priest ¨C Evil God duo proceeded recklessly yet skillfully. They didn¡¯t seem to care much about what was under their feet, and walked briskly without stopping. They had walked through a considerable distance. ¡°Hey Loren, go faster. We¡¯ll leave you behind.¡± Gula tried to motivate Loren, but whenever he thought about how just a single wrong step would rock the web and alert the spiders within, he just couldn¡¯t pick up his speed. ¡°Gula, it¡¯s better to not rush. The spiders here are used to hunt in the dark, so they¡¯re sensitive to vibration and sound.¡± Lapis added that huge spiders¡¯ eyes weren¡¯t very good. Instead, their sound receptors and vibration receptors were very well developed. They could determine the location and number of their prey thanks to sounds and the vibration of their webs. ¡°Once in battle, they¡¯ll gather one after another.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that. Let¡¯s leave this place quickly.¡± Gula said. Just then, a portion of the wall near her waist moved slightly. The wall was covered in thick spider threads, and beneath the threads should be stones¡­ which shouldn¡¯t be able to move. That was what Dig and Quartz thought while staring at the place. The two of them had somehow gotten ahead of Loren and Ritz, and the movements had caught their attention. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t stop¡­¡± Ritz chided them, but he was interrupted as the wall beneath the thread split into two. The thing that made an appearance was probably a victim of the spiders, and was being kept between the threads and the wall as a form of storage. The body had already half dried up, and spider nymphs as big as fingertips spilled out from hollowed eye sockets and dropped to the ground. Being in such a state, the victim shouldn¡¯t be alive anymore. Yet that should-be-dead victim had somehow ripped the threads and extended a hand out as if asking for help towards Quartz, who was unfortunate enough to be looking at the wall that moment. Quartz was surprised at the sudden appearance. Dig had managed to stay unmoved, but Quartz retreated several steps as if to run away from that extending hand. He tripped on a sticky thread and fell back-first onto Ritz, who was walking behind him. By all rights, Ritz should have been able to catch him, but he was slow to react to Quartz¡¯ unexpected movements. They got entangled and both fell into the web. ¡°Hey, are you alright?!¡± Loren slashed at the neck of the spider¡¯s victim, whose hand was still extending towards Quartz. The head fell with a dry sound, and countless small spiders burst out from the cross-section and the eye sockets. ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± ¡°The eggs that were implanted inside have consumed the victim and turned him into an undead.¡± Even without its head, the victim¡¯s body was still moving. Loren sent it flying with a kick and trampled the small spiders that were trying to climb up his legs. But the situation continued to get worse. From the opening the first one had come out from, dried-up corpses came slithering out one after another. Moreover, the fall of Quartz and Ritz had violently rocked the web, and the adult spiders now knew that there were preys here. They appeared all over the web, and were certainly incomparably bigger than any spiders they had seen so far. ¡°What a hassle.¡± Loren cursed while smashing another headless corpse that was trying to get up. There should be blood splashing out, yet all of it was already consumed by the spiderlings ¨C there were only a wave small spiders pouring out. ¡°Don¡¯t cut the corpses! It¡¯ll only increase the number of young spiders!¡± ¡°But how do we deal with them?¡± Ritz helped Quartz get up while striking an approaching corpse with his shield. The corpse was already in a ramshackle state and was unable to withstand such a blow. The impact made a big dent on its body, and a large amount of spiderlings gushed out from its mouth. The spiderlings rushed to climb up their bodies, while they were trying to crush them under their feet, splattering body fluids about. ¡°There are too many of them!¡± If they couldn¡¯t be cut or hit, then it was impossible to deal with them. Using magic to burn the young spiders was also an option, but they were already in a close proximity, not to mention the corpses, which would also be affected if the magic was poorly executed. ¡°The adult spiders are also a problem.¡± Nim muttered while shooting an arrow. The arrow cut through the air and pierced a spider right in the head. Unable to cling to the web anymore, the dead spider fell to the ground. ¡°No good! Get away!¡± At Jack¡¯s warning, everyone scattered to avoid the spider carcass, but it was so big that it couldn¡¯t be avoided by just moving some distance. They had no choice but to run. The carcass fell down a moment later and crashed into the wall, crushing the spiderlings and the victim corpses, splattering the white web with blue fluid. ¡°More are coming!¡± Even without Dig¡¯s warning, everyone had already noticed the huge spiders chasing them. There were about ten of them. Whether that number could be considered many or not was still a matter for debate, but just the fact that there were several spiders, multiple times bigger than a human, chasing them ¨C was already incredible. And as such spiders were chasing them, no one had the time to think about anything else. ¡°Run!¡± Loren shouted. He didn¡¯t think they could outrun the spiders that had covered this space with their threads, but there was no other option left. No matter how strong Loren was or how sharp his weapon was, it was impossible for him to fight against ten or more of these huge spiders. So even though he knew it would be useless, he believed they had no other choice but to run as fast as possible. Yet the spiders didn¡¯t even allow them that. Corpses of the spiders¡¯ victims appeared, blocking their path. Not only were they full of growing spiderlings, they had also been turned into undead. Breaking through the spiders¡¯ thread, they came out one after another. ¡°Turn Undead!¡± ¡°Wait, Lapis!¡± Noticing the corpses blocking their way, Lapis immediately used <>. Loren wasn¡¯t able to stop her on time, and the corpses were enveloped in a cleansing light and turned into dust. Lapis¡¯ power was probably too strong for them, so the corpses just turned into dust with almost no resistance. Lapis looked proud, but her expression stiffened soon after. The corpses were undead, so they turned into dust under Lapis¡¯ power. But the spiders inside them weren¡¯t, so of course they didn¡¯t become dust no matter how powerful Lapis was. Big chunks spiderlings now dropped to the ground as the corpses carrying them crumbled away. ¡°E-eh?¡± Running on a ground covered in small spiders caused physical revulsion. But there was no other foothold, so stepping on them they must. It was still easier to move forward like this than breaking through the crowd of undead. Estimating the distance between them and the adult spiders at their back and above their head, Loren scolded Lapis, who had stopped and tilted her head in puzzlement: ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Crush them under your feet!¡± ¡°I-I know! But, they¡¯re popping and squelching under my feet!¡± ¡°Bear with it! It¡¯s better than getting bitten by those behind!¡± Lapis¡¯ face twitched at the prospect. She continued to run at full power while half-crying because of the sensation she felt through the sole of her shoes. Ritz¡¯ party and Dig didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. They just calmly ran through them. Loren, who was at the end of the line, glanced back and secretly clicked his tongue. The adult spiders were surely faster than them and they still hadn¡¯t reached the exit yet. The occasionally-appearing victims¡¯ corpses were turned into dust under Lapis¡¯ <>, releasing small spiders onto the floor. So they ran, stepping over those spiders. If this continued, the adult spiders would surely catch up to them. Shayna spoke in Loren¡¯s mind: [¡®Can I do something about them?¡¯] In response, Loren asked her to exercise Energy Drain on the adult spiders, but to not kill them. Shayna found the ¡®not killing them¡¯ a bit questionable, but she thought he might have something in mind and began using Energy Drain on the spiders as he had asked. ¡°They¡¯re getting slower! They must have started to become tired!¡± Ritz noticed a change in the spiders¡¯ speed and said in a tone full of joy. Of course, the spiders¡¯ stamina wouldn¡¯t run out just because of some chasing like this. It was just Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain taking effect. Being sucked of their vitality, the spiders had started to weaken. [¡®Is it alright to not kill them?¡¯] No matter how big they were, they were just spiders. They couldn¡¯t fight against the King of Death¡¯s Energy Drain, and sucking their vitality dry to kill them was just a piece of cake to Shayna. But there was a reason for Loren to not ask her to do so. It would be very strange if the spiders that were chasing them suddenly dropped dead, and Ritz¡¯ group would surely question it. That was the problem. Ritz¡¯ party probably wouldn¡¯t suddenly associate them with such a strange phenomenon, but Loren believed it was best to not raise unnecessary doubts. Another reason was, those who were killed by the King of Death¡¯s Energy Drain might become undead. Whether spiders could become undead or not was still a question, yet it would be creepy if they could. [¡®But they¡¯ll be under my control in that case, won¡¯t they? I think we won¡¯t need to worry about that?¡¯] It would also be strange if the spiders just become undead all of a sudden. To make it worse, if they suddenly ceased attacking after becoming undead, everyone would notice that something had happened. Loren sent Shayna a heartfelt thank you while watching the unmoving spiders, and she told him with a smile: [¡®What a hassle¡­ But it¡¯s fine as long as I can help you, onii-san.¡¯] Chapter 185 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul ¡°We¡¯ve really made it somehow?¡± Ritz asked as if seeking confirmation, but no one responded. Yes, everyone was tired because of all the continuous running, but the impact of the place they had just escaped from was more heavy. ¡°What a bad experience.¡± Between them, Lapis was the one most affected, with her white priest dress becoming filthy. It was covered in cobwebs and all the dirt they carried, and stained with body fluids and chunks of the spiderlings she had trampled on the way. Loren and others thought she shouldn¡¯t have dressed in priest clothing if she disliked getting dirty, but Lapis stubbornly insisted on it. ¡°It¡¯s not about the design. It¡¯s a necessity for a priest.¡± Seemed like it wasn¡¯t an excusable thing. Loren didn¡¯t understand why, but if Lapis insisted so, he thought her opinion should be respected. He also thought she should put up with the dirt in that case. The states of the others¡¯ shoes and pants weren¡¯t much different from Lapis. But for some reason, Gula was the one least affected. With so much skin exposed, everyone was concerned that she would be covered with spiders¡¯ webs and fluids and flesh. Yet while they were tediously wiping themselves down, there wasn¡¯t a speck of filth on her body. Even Nim, who was unquestionably light on her feet as an elf, still had her legs quite dirty. Ritz and others were impressed by her unexpectedly skilled footwork, and only Loren had a different idea. ¡°Did you eat them?¡± ¡°Ah, I feel so refreshed somehow.¡± Gula played dumb, but it was obvious that she had done something. From the state of things, it was certain that she had secretly used an Evil God¡¯s power. ¡°You ate them, right? You have such bad eating habits.¡± Gula¡¯s power was basically eating. While others were struggling to escape from the adult spiders while the spiderlings were swarming under their feet, she had used < > to clear her way and ensured her own foothold. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea, whatcha talkin¡¯ about. By the way, Loren, I heard that in certain southern countries, spiders are used as dessert. Is that true?¡± Refusing to admit it, Gula asked him a question back, but Loren curtly answered: ¡°No idea.¡± ¡°We still haven¡¯t got through this tunnel yet. Please refrain from chatting.¡± Ritz chided, and Loren and Gula obediently shut their mouths. Getting through the tunnel was of course their top priority right now, but there were still things they had to worry about. ¡°We ran over that many spiders, so it won¡¯t be strange if some has gotten inside our clothes. Be careful.¡± Depending on the situation, it wouldn¡¯t be much of trouble to notice or exterminate a big spider. But the spiderlings they had run over might be able to slip under their clothes as they were small and at that size, they would be very hard to detect. According to Lapis, huge spiders wouldn¡¯t lay eggs until they became adults, so the risk of being injected with eggs was very low. Still, having spiders in one¡¯s clothes was super gross, and their group walked on while patting their clothes to check for spiders. Lapis said with envy: ¡°Gula, it¡¯s great for you to not have to worry about it. With that attire, there¡¯s no place for spiders to hide in.¡± The spiderlings surely wouldn¡¯t have any place to crawl in and hide in Gula¡¯s daringly exposed outfit. ¡°Poor you, Lapis-chan. With such a dress, the spiders will be all over inside, right? Be good, lemme check it out for you.¡± Grabbing Lapis¡¯ hand, Gula pulled her towards herself and started thrusting her hands into Lapis¡¯ clothes. Gula acted so fast and smooth that Lapis didn¡¯t even have time to protest or stop her. She was taken aback, but she came to her senses after a short while and began to push Gula¡¯s hands away in a fluster. ¡°Wait, Gula?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, just leave it to me. Lapis-chan, you have lots and lots of hiding places. I¡¯ll properly check them all and kill all the spiders for you.¡± ¡°Where are you putting your hands on?! If there are spiders there, I¡¯d definitely noticed!¡± ¡°Nah ah~, it¡¯s unexpectedly easy to miss.¡± Gula held Lapis from the back so that she couldn¡¯t get away and touched her all over. Naturally, the scene attracted Ritz¡¯s and Jack¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wai¡­ eh? Err, that¡¯s why there¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice, right? Isn¡¯t it nice here?¡± ¡°Hyaa?! Where are you touching!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just women bonding. It won¡¯t shrink anyway.¡± ¡°No! The visible thing won¡¯t shrink, but the invisible one will!¡± Loren wondered what would shrink while averting his eyes and tried his best not to look over there. At the same time, Nim kicked Jack, who was watching very eagerly. ¡°That hurts!¡± ¡°Your eyes are those of a criminal.¡± ¡°Can you not be that savage?!¡± Jack immediately got up and protested, but he shut up as soon as he saw Nim¡¯s unhappy face and meekly mumbled some excuse instead. Gula shifted target to the unhappy-looking Nim and went towards her with grabby hands. ¡°Nim-chan, do you need me to look you over too?¡± ¡°No.¡± Making use of that opportunity, Lapis put some distance between her and Gula and went to hide behind Loren as if intending to use him as a shield. Her face was red. ¡°Don¡¯t say so, Nim-chan. Your outfit is also really fluttery¡­¡± Gula didn¡¯t seem to mind Nim¡¯s refusal at all and continued drawing closer to her. Nim was on guard. But after looking her up and down with no reservation, Gula¡¯s smile disappeared for some reason, and she lowered her hands. ¡°What?¡± Nim was bewildered by her sudden change. Gula said in a somewhat-pitying voice: ¡°I see. It seems like in Nim-chan¡¯s case, we won¡¯t need to check to know.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. I want you to explain what that means!¡± ¡°Well, you seem to have no places for the spiders to hide in.¡± At Gula¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s eyes unconsciously went to Nim. Nim¡¯s outfit was in hunter-style, very easy to move in and, just as Gula said, provided no hiding places for the spiders. And unlike Lapis, she had an elf body, which didn¡¯t have any hiding spots either. Everyone came to the conclusion that Gula¡¯s assessment was correct. ¡°Your gazes are ridiculous.¡± Nim glared at them with a sullen face, and Ritz and Loren immediately looked away. Quartz and Dig were, for some reason, smiling kindly at her. Gula had turned back to find Lapis only to find out that she had hidden behind Loren¡¯s back. Jack was the only one who continued to stare at Nim. Finally, he uttered: ¡°Indeed¡­¡± In an instant, Nim¡¯s raised her right leg at an admirable speed and angle, and kicked right at Jack¡¯s temple. He fell down like a pole without making a single sound. Ritz and Loren stared at him, completely stunned. Nim, who was red to the tips of her pointed ears, began throwing jeers at the unmoving Jack to her heart¡¯s content. No one felt like stopping her. ¡°What are they doing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me.¡± Still looking stunned, Loren asked Ritz, but he looked embarrassed for some reason. He casted his eyes down and begged Loren to stop asking. Loren had no intention to poke at someone else¡¯s party when they were in disorder. So instead he patted Ritz¡¯ shoulder to indicate that his request was accepted, since Ritz was still avoiding his eyes. It was difficult to continue on while Nim was like this, so Loren intended to leave her alone for a while and waited for her to cool down. He began to watch out for another possible attack from the spiders while they were stopping. Suddenly, Lapis, who was still hiding behind him, noticed something and let out a small scream. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°L-Loren, on your shoulder¡­¡± Lapis pointed at Loren¡¯s right shoulder and said in a trembling voice. Quartz and Dig followed Lapis¡¯ finger and looked at Loren¡¯s shoulder, and unthinkingly caught their breath once they saw what was on it. Wondering why the hell they were so surprised, Loren moved his hand to the place where their gazes gathered. His fingertips touched something hard, and he reflexively took his hand back. ¡°What is it¡­?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a spider clinging to you.¡± ¡®No wonder¡¯, Loren thought and looked at his shoulder. There was a spider right there, as big as his palm, its eight legs clung firmly onto his jacket. Having a spider on your shoulder wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling, it just sat there motionlessly without biting him. Loren poked at it with a finger to chase it away but it didn¡¯t budge no matter what, as if it had decided that his shoulder would be its home. ¡°Is this a spiderlings of that Huge Spider?¡± ¡°Eh, it seems a bit different somehow?¡± It really did look different from the spiders that had been attacking them. Huge Spiders had long thin legs, but this one was rather short and round, with short thick legs. It had a black body that gleamed like obsidian, and eight eyes that were as red as ruby. Loren poked it a bit stronger, yet it still didn¡¯t budge from that spot. ¡°Can it be that it feels attached to me?¡± ¡°You mean the spider? Are there spiders that feel attached to humans?¡± Loren didn¡¯t have an answer for that. Not knowing what to do, Loren continued poking the spider. Nim, who had grown tired of verbally abusing Jack, noticed what he was doing and came over. She leaned closer to look at the spider. ¡°It¡¯s an adult Obsidian Spider, I think. It¡¯s extremely rare.¡± ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± ¡°A bit. They tend to cling to strong individuals.¡± According to Nim, they had very hard bodies and even carried poison, yet weren¡¯t aggressive. They preyed on the kills of the individual they clung to. ¡°They also spit threads. They¡¯re quite strong by themselves, so it¡¯s a mystery why they cling to others.¡± ¡°Will it lay eggs inside me?¡± The victims from earlier flashed through Loren¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t want to go through such an experience. Nim nodded. ¡°These spiders lay only one egg, but this one seems to be a male.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strong¡­¡± As the spider didn¡¯t move no matter how much he poked it, Loren tried pressing on it with his finger. But the spiders planted his feet on Loren¡¯s jacket and firmly but stubbornly refused to leave. This continued for a while, yet even multiple tries later the spider still showed no signs of moving no matter what, and Loren gave up. ¡°Can¡¯t be helped then. It¡¯s fine as long as it doesn¡¯t bite me.¡± ¡°It can look like an accessory.¡± As Lapis said, the unmoving spider¡¯s shining black abdomen certainly did go with the color of his jacket. So it indeed looked like an accessory. Loren sighed and flicked at the spider head to tell it to not cause him troubles. As if understanding it, the spider stirred just a bit, then returned to its stationary state. It didn¡¯t even twitch. Chapter 186 - An Encounter Near the Exit Chapter 186 - An Encounter Near the Exit Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul After leaving the spider web area their journey was rather peaceful. They were occasionally attacked by undead and huge spiders, but these were all put down easily by Ritz¡¯s party. Loren¡¯s party didn¡¯t need to intervene at all, so he uttered: ¡°Exactly what¡¯s expected from a party of silver rank adventurers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know why, but I feel like we¡¯re getting too much praise.¡± Ritz responded with a wry smile. An adult huge spider appearing alone should have been a formidable enemy due to its sheer size, the thread it spat out, and the poison transmitted through its bite. Yet just Ritz and Jack were able to kill those lone spiders as if it was their routine work. Jack stood in front of the remains of the one such spider they had killed and grumbled: ¡°We don¡¯t have time to collect raw materials, right?¡± Hearing him, Loren asked, just for the sake of future reference: ¡°Which part of this spider can be used as raw material?¡± ¡°Shell and poison gland. The thread sacs too.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a thread sac?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an organ storing the fluid that will become silk thread when spat out. I don¡¯t know its official name either. I can cut it open to show you, but if we stop, the next one will come soon.¡± Jack explained that the shell was used to make armors and such, and the poison gland were often used in medicine. The thread sacs would be used as a fiber after being treated. Despite the body size, each huge spider only had few of them, making it difficult to collect them in quantity. Huge spiders¡¯ thread sacs were actually fairly valuable. ¡°Can we collect them on the way back?¡± ¡°That reminds me, what will we do on the way back?¡± Their two parties were working together due to circumstances, but they had originally come here for different purposes. If collecting intel was Loren party¡¯s only purpose and if the situation allowed, continuing to work together like this was indeed an option. But collecting intel was only an excuse for Loren¡¯s party, their actual purpose, was to visit Lapis¡¯ house. They definitely couldn¡¯t bring Ritz party there. ¡°We¡¯ll go a bit deeper into the demon territory¡­ What about you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine at the outer edge. We don¡¯t want to go deeper.¡± Loren believed such an answer would be sufficient for a party of iron rank adventurers, and Ritz nodded: ¡°In that case, maybe we should part ways after exiting this tunnel¡­¡± Loren was puzzled at Ritz¡¯ vague choice of words. Ritz looked towards Dig, who was leading their group, and told Loren in a small voice: ¡°There should be another dwarves¡¯ village by the exit. Originally, we plan to ask them to guide us on our way back¡­¡± ¡°In the current situation, the chance of the village still being safe is slim.¡± The number of spiders inhabiting the tunnel was too large to have been bred solely inside it. And no matter how frequent people passed through this tunnel, the number of travelers wouldn¡¯t be able to provide food for all those spiders. And considering the dwarves¡¯ village by the entrance side was still safe, the chance of the village on the exit side becoming preys was exceedingly high. ¡°It¡¯s still possible that some stupidly big game was inside the tunnel.¡± Ritz was being overly optimistic. If there was such a creature inside the tunnel, the dwarves would have noticed it. ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Right, it isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°So, you want to leave Dig with us?¡± To Loren, Ritz¡¯ words sounded like a subtle offer that wasn¡¯t really helpful. Dig¡¯s original role was to guide them through the tunnel. Since they would also have to go through the tunnel on their way back to human¡¯s territory, he was someone they needed to have, no matter what. Without him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go back. Ritz¡¯ offer actually came off one-sided and high-handed in this case. But Loren¡¯s party would have to go to Lapis¡¯ house after this, and Loren wasn¡¯t very willing to have Dig accompany them, as he didn¡¯t know what would happen. It was actually better for them if Dig went with Ritz¡¯s party, but then the return trip would be a worry. When Loren was still wondering how to answer him, Ritz continued, seemingly knowing beforehand what Loren was thinking: ¡°We¡¯ll collect intel for about two days before going back. Then we¡¯ll wait in the area near the tunnel for another day. If you can survive those three days, we¡¯ll pick you up.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Loren looked at Lapis, who was walking beside him, to ask for her opinion. Since he didn¡¯t know where her house was, he wasn¡¯t sure if the three days Ritz mentioned would be enough or not. Only Lapis knew. ¡°It¡¯s probably alright.¡± Lapis answered as if it was just a trivial matter. Loren looked at her, it seemed like it would really be alright. He nodded at Ritz: ¡°So we¡¯ll leave it in your hands.¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely pick you up if you¡¯re alive.¡± Loren was grateful for Ritz¡¯s offer to look for them, and he presumed on it. Loren¡¯s party didn¡¯t have any rogues, but Ritz party had Jack the thief and Nim the elf hunter, so they were obviously more skilled in terms of searching and exploring. ¡°We still have to get out of here safely first.¡± Jack cut in. He stopped in front of a passage a bit ahead and signaled everyone to halt. Noticing the sign of something happening, they all stopped. With a serious face, Jack pointed at the passage ahead with his thumb and said: ¡°Something¡¯s no good there.¡± ¡°And quite big, too.¡± Nim, who was listening attentively next to Jack, added. Recalling something, Dig suddenly lifted his face: ¡°Ahead should be our work hall.¡± According to Dig, there was a hall near the entrance on the demons¡¯ side, where the dwarves performed simple tasks and stored goods. In short, once they passed the hall, it would be a short distance to the exit. But now, Jack and Nim sensed something at that place. Loren moved the lantern further away to prevent its light reaching the vast hall ahead and asked in a small voice: ¡°What¡¯s no good?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, but quite big.¡± ¡°The footstep is heavy. It¡¯s something huge.¡± Since they had encountered mainly spiders so far, it might be a spider boss. This was the more favorable scenario. Regarding their opponents and the chance of winning, there were too many possibilities to narrow down. ¡°Can something that big even get in there?¡± No matter how big the hall was, the creature still needed to go through the tunnel to get in. Something as big as a huge spider could easily move in this tunnel, but it was difficult to think of something big enough for Jack and Nim to be wary of could. ¡°It probably grew big inside the hall.¡± ¡°Something that grew in there¡­ What a sad story.¡± They didn¡¯t know what that thing fed on, but if it couldn¡¯t get out, then it couldn¡¯t catch preys. As fewer and fewer people travelled through this tunnel, dying from starvation was its only future. While Loren was feeling pity for the creature, Gula disagreed: ¡°If it eats other spiders, it won¡¯t have to worry about preys, right?¡± The other spiders could go in and out of the tunnel and catch preys outside. If that creature was feeding on spiders that had grown to some extent, it wouldn¡¯t need to go out. ¡°What a troublesome story.¡± If the tunnel was completely dominated by spiders, the surrounding area would become spiders¡¯ feeding ground. The area on the demon side probably had already been devastated, and with time spiders would start flooding the area on the other end of the tunnel. The timing was truly dangerous. ¡°If you don¡¯t think of a way to exterminate them, you¡¯ll become their food.¡± ¡°Ngh¡­ Should I place a request with the Adventurer Guild?¡± Lapis explained to Loren in secret that dwarves did set up villages, but they weren¡¯t very organized. There were no organized armed troops to fend off attacks. If they truly needed fighting power, they would commission it from outside. ¡°They don¡¯t have a proper country. They move away once a mine is exhausted, after all.¡± ¡°This mine doesn¡¯t seem to be exhausted yet.¡± ¡°The mountains above are still safe, so it probably hasn¡¯t.¡± Loren turned to Lapis with a surprised face. He didn¡¯t understand what she had just said at all. ¡°Once dwarves have mined all the ore veins in the area, the mine will be exhausted and cave in, and the mountain above it will collapse.¡± ¡°What a troublesome race¡­¡± ¡°In the worst case, there will be a pit after the mountain collapses.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t even care about the underground¡­¡± Lapis said that it was in the dwarves¡¯ nature to mine as much ore as possible. In the worst case, they might mine enough to turn part of the mountain range separating demons and the outsider world into level ground. Only then would they decide that the mine was exhausted. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too foolish?¡± ¡°Well, rather than the dwarves¡¯ nature, the huge thing waiting ahead should be our first priority.¡± Lapis said as if to calm Loren down and looked towards Jack and Nim, who was peering into the path in front of them. They were going a bit ahead of the group to check out the situation in the hall. Slowly returning, they told the group, who was looking at them. ¡°As expected, it¡¯s a stupidly big spider. It¡¯s grayish, and it covered all the hall in hanging webs like curtains.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a species superior to huge spiders, I think. It¡¯ll be difficult to pass without being noticed.¡± After hearing their report, Ritz grimaced and looked at their group. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. We¡¯ll have to kill it to go forward. Any objections?¡± If anyone objected, they would have to come up with a way to pass by a spider superior to huge spiders without being noticed. No one had such a brilliant idea in mind. And so, everyone exchanged glances with each other and decided that there was no other option but to kill the superior spider like Ritz proposed. Chapter 187 First thing first, they needed to ensure visibility. ¡°>!¡± Quartz shot a burst of magic at the ceiling. He seemed to have strengthened the spell ¨C white light shining down from the ceiling was meager but strong enough to illuminate the whole hall and the spider inside it. Next, the battle started with an arrow from Nim, who had the longest attack interval and the fastest attack speed. The arrow was released at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, slammed into the spiders. The arrow tore through the air, crossed the vast hall and plunged into a crouching-like spider at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, charged. Considering Nim¡¯s skill, the distance and the size of the spider, of course, the arrow wouldn¡¯t miss its target. But it only scratched at the spider¡¯s exoskeleton and flipped with a solid sound. ¡°It¡¯s hard¡­¡± Nim muttered with a scowl. This spider was surely big. The adult Huge Spiders they had escaped from earlier were big, but this one was bigger by three or four times. Noticing the attack, the spider began to turn towards them. Nim flinched. This sight looked just like a small hill moving. Next to her, Quartz and Gula, who were also capable of long-range attacks, shouted: ¡°Let¡¯s attack simultaneously!¡± ¡°Ca~n¡¯t be helped then. Match with me!¡± As Gula turned her palms towards the spider, Quartz pointed his staff at it and chanted: ¡°Scarlet stones, shoot at my foes. >!¡± Two balls of fire flew over Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ head and slammed into the spider, spreading fire on impact, but the fire scattered and went out. Quartz watched this with widened eyes, while Gula pushed her hair back in annoyance. ¡°Doesn¡¯t work at all.¡± The spider¡¯s carapace didn¡¯t even show any burned marks. The spider also didn¡¯t show any signs of being in pain ¨C it slowly continued to turn towards them. ¡°Can we even kill this thing?!¡± Jack exclaimed. Being a thief, he hadn¡¯t charged forward together with Loren and Ritz, but was on standby to commence attacks from the side while the spider was busy dealing with the two vanguards. However, seeing the spider still unaffected after three attacks, had scared him a bit. Lapis, who couldn¡¯t join in the battle and was watching over from the side, answered him in a tone without much sense of urgency: ¡°We can¡¯t, can we?¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°We probably have no choice but to slash at it with all our might. Because of its size, its exoskeleton is too hard for weapons to cut through, but Loren¡­¡± Lapis¡¯ gaze was on Loren¡¯s back. At that moment, he and Ritz were in the middle of attacking the spider, which was still turning around. Ritz swung his long sword downwards with a cry. His blade dug a bit into the outer shell of the spider¡¯s leg, but was stopped by the firmness and thickness of the carapace and couldn¡¯t reach any vital organs. But Loren¡¯s greatsword easily cut through the exoskeleton without a single sound and made a deep gash into the spider¡¯s leg. He didn¡¯t even feel any impact transmitted to his hand. A sound like metal rubbing together reverberated in the hall, and the spider, that had been moving very slowly until now, retreated with an agility that didn¡¯t match its gigantic body. Loren didn¡¯t even have time to recognize that metallic sound as the spider¡¯s cry. The spider charged at him, and Loren slashed at another leg while dodging it. ¡°Just a shallow one¡­¡± Loren muttered while watching the spider crash into a wall in the momentum of its charge. Loren¡¯s sword could easily cut through stone, so spider¡¯s exoskeleton was nothing to it. But he couldn¡¯t get closer to the spider as he couldn¡¯t afford to get caught up in its charge, and his slash only made a shallow scratch in result. That, however, was only from Loren¡¯s point of view only. Ritz, who was nearby, considered the wound he gave the spider a severe one that cut through almost half of the thick leg. ¡°You really can cut through such a hard shell¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that my weapon is good.¡± Loren answered bluntly and leapt away the next moment. Ritz followed his example, and right after that, thick white fluid splashed violently at the spot he had just been. The sticky fluid was shot out by the spider. Its head was stuck into the wall, but its bottom was turned towards Loren and Ritz. From that bottom a mass of fluid was ejected, yet instead of hardening into the usual thin threads, it turned into a bullet-like projectiles. It was easy to imagine what would happen if someone was hit by such a thing. At the very least, their movement would be restricted. They might even be glued to the ground and couldn¡¯t move just an inch of your body. In addition, the released fluid on the ground still retained its stickiness. Anyone stepped on it might trip. Loren cluck his tongue at the dangerous attack. In front of him, the spider slowly moved away from the wall. But for some reason, it slammed its head hard into the wall once more. The resulting noise and impact shook their surroundings, and Loren wondered what the hell the spider was thinking. He immediately understood its intention, though. As the whole space with its countless curtain-like spiderwebs shook, several cocoons dropped from the ceiling right at Loren¡¯s group. Being casually dropped down from such a height, the content of a cocoon must had been damaged quite severely, yet it started moving. As the moving something started crawling out, it turned out to be a moving corpse. The corpses slowly stood up, let out groans like the whine of a cold draft, and walked towards the adventurers. These were also spider victims that had been turned into undead, but they were mere shadows compared to the spider victims Loren¡¯s group had encountered earlier: Despite still wearing their clothes and equipment, they were all skin and bones. Reacting to the life forces in front of them, the undead victims stretched their hands at Loren¡¯s group. ¡°I hate these too! We¡¯re not the ones that killed you!¡± Ritz cursed and slashed at one undead who had staggered back after being bashed by his round shield. If undead could feel resentment and such, they would have rushed at the spiders that had killed them. But rather than the cold-blooded spiders, they preferred the warm flesh. That said, these undead had been sucked dry by the spiders, and their bodies were very brittle. Ritz¡¯ long swords and Jack¡¯s daggers had no problem dealing with them. ¡°Hey, Loren, leave these to us!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the difficulty level too distinct¡­¡± Realizing that their attacks would be sufficient for the undead, Ritz left the spider to Loren, who had a weapon that could work against it. Loren wasn¡¯t very keen on this idea. But the fact was that Ritz¡¯ and Jack¡¯s weapons didn¡¯t work against the spider, and letting the one who possessed a weapon that could deal damage to do the damage ¨C was the correct choice in some sense. Still, from the person¡¯s, entrusted with said task, point of view, it wasn¡¯t a very welcoming idea. The difficulty level of fighting some dried up undead was very different from the difficulty level fighting a spider so huge that one would need to look up to see it in entirety. So different so that Loren just had to complain. Still, he had no choice but to do it. The spider was still shooting sticky fluid from its spinnerets, so Loren slashed down at its abdomen. But the spider, in a surprisingly shrewd move, rolled over with its head turning towards Loren and jumped away from the sword¡¯s span. As a result, Loren could only make another shallow slash at its leg. ¡°This thing!¡± Loren was about to chase after it, but was forced to dodge once again as the spider suddenly charged. Considering the sharpness of his sword, it would be possible to cut through the charging spider. But cutting through the spider didn¡¯t necessarily mean stopping it, and if the spider wasn¡¯t stopped, he would be knocked down by its huge body and seriously injured. If unlucky, he might even be ran-over and killed. Loren had no choice but to dodge, but that meant the spider slammed hard into the wall again. ¡°More are dropping down!¡± ¡°Damn! They just won¡¯t stop!¡± Ritz and the others continued to deal with the newly-dropped undead. Their number was so big that Loren had to wonder how many were stored on the ceiling, but Ritz¡¯ group still seemed capable of dealing with them. Even so, if this continued, it could only end when either the undead ¡®stock¡¯ or Ritz¡¯ group stamina ran out. The only way to break the deadlock was to finish off the spider somehow, so Loren took a step forward. ¡°>!¡± Before Loren launched his attack, Lapis, who had been watching over the situation, threw a spell at the sticky-fluid spitting spider. The pure force of energy smashed into the spider¡¯s belly so hard that it almost made a dent, and the spider¡¯s movement stopped for a moment. Taking advantage of that, Loren got close and put all his strength into slashing at the spider¡¯s belly, which was comparatively softer than the rest of its body. The blade of his greatsword smoothly cut into the spider and carved a rather deep wound this time. Green and white fluid spurted out of the wound, and the spider writhed as if it felt the pain while trying to turn back to face Loren. Taking care to not get caught in the spider¡¯s movements, Loren cut off one of its legs and deterred its of mobility. ¡°>!¡± At that crucial moment, Gula shot a ball of fire at the spider. It hit the squirming spider¡¯s body and caused a violent explosion that rocked the tunnel¡¯s walls. Even though > itself didn¡¯t cause the spider any damages, the heat surely did, and the creature writhed in agony. ¡°Just now, when the spell hit, the exoskeleton was gnawed at, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, Grandpa, it couldn¡¯t be, right?¡± Quartz seemed to have noticed something the moment Gula¡¯s magic exploded, but was dismissed by Lapis¡¯ rather monotone answer. As the spider began to stagger due to the heat and shock, Loren readied his sword and charged into the creature again. He didn¡¯t know where a spider¡¯s vital points were, but he roughly knew that crushing the head would probably kill it. He cut off another leg to stop it from charging, changed his hold on the sword to a backhand grip, and thrust the blade into the spider¡¯s head where its eyes were. To push the blade deeper inside, he let go of the hilt and stomped on the pommel, then leapt back. With a sword buried to the hilt in its head, the spider raged in pain, and the group rushed outside the hall to avoid getting caught in the rampage. They watched the spider writhed about and crushed the undead beneath from the passage, where the creature couldn¡¯t get through to. ¡°Amazing. You¡¯ve really defeated it.¡± Having a vitality fit for its size, the spider struggled for a while with a sword in its head before its energy ran out. It grew weaker and weaker until finally turning to lie on its back and, with a final twitch, stopped moving. They waited a bit more after that before entering the hall again and examined the spider¡¯s corpse. ¡°The surrounding area was also trashed.¡± The spider threads that had been all over the hall earlier were torn off and now stuck around the corpse, making it look like a mountain of garbage. The spider¡¯s rampage had also made more undead drop down from the ceiling. Yet this time around they were all either crushed beneath the writhing spider and turned into chunks, which were scattered around the hall, or got stuck to the spider¡¯s corpses together with the threads. Just like Jack said, it was a scene of a disaster. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Loren came towards the head and pulled his sword out. Having pierced a spider¡¯s body, the blade was covered in oozing greenish fluid. But then it flew off with just one casual shake, and Loren cleaned off the rest with an old rag. ¡°We just have to walk out next¡­ It won¡¯t be easy outside, either. Probably something like this.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s rest a bit. Fighting continuously is tough.¡± ¡°I agree. It¡¯s better so for my old bones.¡± Quartz immediately agreed with Jack¡¯s proposal, and no one else had a different suggestion. As Ritz decided that they would head out after a short break, Gula pointed at the spider corpse: ¡°Do we take this spider to pieces? There¡¯ll be a lot to harvest at this size.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s pass on it. It¡¯ll add to our luggage.¡± ¡°Is that so? What a waste.¡± Gula looked a bit disappointed. But they still had to gather intel from the demons after this; any harvested fresh materials would be ruined, and the exoskeleton was too bulky. And to be honest, no one wanted to disassemble a spider corpse that was covered in threads, dirt, bones and body parts. Even Nim didn¡¯t have any objections. Each of them chose a spot to sit down. As Loren was looking for a place to lean on and rest his body, Lapis thanked him: ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren. It seems like you¡¯re not injured.¡± She also gave him a water flask and a clean cloth. He accepted them with a thanks, then wiped his face with the cloth and took a sip from the flask. ¡°We¡¯ll reach the demons¡¯ territory after this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Before that, we¡¯ll have to pass another dwarven village.¡± ¡°That¡¯s troublesome.¡± ¡°It is. We¡¯ll make it somehow though, definitely will.¡± Demons ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they were hated by the whole world. They would enter the domain of such beings soon, yet Lapis talked about it as if it was something trivial. But considering that was where she had originally come from, it would be like homecoming, and there was no reason for her to get worked up at all. For Gula too, as one of the beings called Evil God, keeping company with some demons was no big deal at all. Only Loren, with his human body, had a lot to worry about this, and he was feeling a bit gloomy. Lapis smiled at him as if to tell him to not worry and presented him both of her hands. He placed the cloth he had used and the water flask in them, then silently deeply exhaled. Chapter 188 anslator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul During the short break they took after the spider was defeated, Loren went to examine its corpse. Others kept a distance from the carcass, and Loren was the only one who approached it. He had a reason to though. Loren stabbed the spider carcass with the tip of his sword multiple times to make sure it had really died before coming closer. The first thing he examined was the spot where Gula¡¯s <> hit. The exoskeleton was quite hard, and even though the surface was scorched, there weren¡¯t many signs of damages. There was only one spot where the exoskeleton had been torn apart, allowing the magical fire and explosion¡¯s to spread inside. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a bite mark¡­¡± The marks left on the exoskeleton were, very obviously, tooth-shaped. Since Gula was the caster, it was obvious what happened. The others didn¡¯t notice, simply because they hadn¡¯t really inspected the spider. Even if they did and wondered what the hell had happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with an answer anyway. It should be alright to just leave things as they were, but Loren still used his greatsword to scrape off some exoskeleton just to be sure. When he was doing that, Loren suddenly felt the loss of a weight on his right shoulder. Looking over, he noticed that the black spider that had been clinging to his shoulder had disappeared. In its place was a piece of thread, and the spider was at the other end of the thread, clinging onto the dead spider carcass and thrusting its head into the hole Loren had made with his sword. Loren wondered what it was doing, but immediately noticed that it was somehow eating the dead spider, which made him feel a bit weary. He actually thought that it would be nice if the spider just went away like this, but the thread coming from its bottom was still attached to his shoulder, letting him know that it had every intention to return. Wondering if the thread could be removed, Loren pulled at the thread with a little of strength, but it seemed to be very securely attached ¨C there was no sign of it coming off at all. He wondered if it would come off later, but for now he had to continue his examination. ¡°That being done¡­¡± Loren spoke aloud while properly dissecting a spider leg. The exoskeleton was so firm that Ritz¡¯ sword couldn¡¯t make a dent in it, but it was no match for Loren¡¯s greatsword. The leg easily came off with just one light swing of the blade. Loren looked into the freshly cut flesh and sighed at the expected scene. There was nothing inside the exoskeleton of the leg, just a hollowness. Loren stared at that hollowness for a while, then turned his glance towards Gula, who was resting in a passageway on the other side of the hall. She looked to be in a world of her own, but she stiffened her face and looked away in a fluster once she noticed Loren¡¯s eyes on her. That behavior let Loren know exactly what had happened to the flesh of the spider inside the exoskeleton. ¡°That girl¡­ She ate up all the insides.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if it had happened during or after the battle, but after taking a bite off the spider¡¯s exoskeleton to allow her magic to take effects, Gula had sent < > into the open wound and cleanly ate off the spider inside out. Why did she have to go through so much troubles though? More or less, Gula also wanted to avoid attracting Ritz¡¯ party¡¯s attention, but a corpse cleanly devoid of its inside was undeniably suspicious. She didn¡¯t seem to do this to avoid their attention. ¡°What do we do with this?¡± If Ritz¡¯ party came to examine the carcass, they would immediately notice the abnormality. Yet, cleaning up the exoskeleton would take a lot of time and labor as it was too big and hard. They just had to leave this place before the others took an interest in the spider remains. Loren ended his examination and returned to the party. The black spider, which had been rummaging around in the dead spider¡¯s head, followed the thread and smoothly returned to his shoulder. It peeled the thread off Loren¡¯s jacket, wound it up and ate it clean. Loren looked down at the spider for a while: it seemed a bit heavier than before. It seemed like this spider had no intention to part ways with him for a while. ¡°It¡¯s not a pet, but¡­ I should give it a name or something¡­¡± Loren unintentionally uttered, and the spider on his shoulder vibrated. With such a reaction, Loren wondered if it could understand human speech, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Big or small, spiders were spiders ¨C it would be too much if they could understand human speed and react to it. Loren felt the spider stopped vibrating just then. He looked at it once more and nervously asked: ¡°Do you want a name?¡± Loren thought he wouldn¡¯t get a reaction, but he did. The spider vibrated once again. Trying to not let his jaw drop unintentionally, Loren changed his mind. Apparently, spiders that could understand humans did exist. He had never once thought about it during his mercenary days, but such things did exist in the world¡­ When Loren was musing, the spider on his shoulder began vibrating even harder, as if to urge him. He had believed that naming should be done with great consideration, but he just blurted out the first word that came to his mind: ¡°Nigreto. Nig if it¡¯s too long. How about it?¡± The spider stopped rocking its body at Loren¡¯s words. He wondered if it didn¡¯t like the name, but as he began to think of another one to propose, the spider suddenly shook its body once. Loren considered that an acceptance and said in confirmation while stroking the spider¡¯s smooth body with his left hand: ¡°So, it¡¯s Nig. I don¡¯t know for how long you want to stick with me, but well, please take care of me.¡± The spider named Nig shook its body again. ¡°Are you done talking?¡± Lapis said, as if she had been waiting for the right timing. Somehow, feeling like her eyes were on him as well as the spider on his shoulder, Loren asked: ¡°Could this spider be intelligent?¡± ¡°This one? Of course it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis said this as if it was something obvious, and that confused Loren. ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°These spiders are intelligent enough to understand humans to some extent. They¡¯re famous for it¡­ Even the dwarves know.¡± ¡°Is it alright for me to walk around with it?¡± The spider wasn¡¯t only intelligent, but was even famous for understanding human speech. Loren was made to realize that the ecosystem of this place exceeded his common sense, and felt uneasy. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no problem, I think? Just one of them won¡¯t be able to ruin a country.¡± ¡°Your comparison is a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous for a village, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± Lapis¡¯ words made him feel awfully uneasy, and he wanted to ask what she meant, but Ritz interrupted: ¡°Can we continue now? I can¡¯t say it was plenty, but we did have some rest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine now, isn¡¯t it? What do you think, Loren?¡± Since he was asked directly, Loren had no choice but to answer. He gave up questioning Lapis for now, but he had the feeling that if he couldn¡¯t find the time to do it later, something outrageous would happen, and he would regret not asking. ¡°Fine for me. We¡¯re almost at the exit, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Be careful though, there¡¯s a high chance that the outside is full of spiders.¡± As the spiders had completely overrun the tunnel, they might have spread outside. If that was indeed the case, it was very likely that the area around the exit on the demons side had become a breeding ground for the spiders. ¡°Would be nice if they ain¡¯t big.¡± ¡°Pardon us, but you¡¯ve just seen that our weapons are no match for them at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other countermeasures?¡± Ritz complained, and Loren asked with just a little bit of surprise. It was partly because a silver rank adventurer was admitting his weapon¡¯s ineffectiveness to him, but it was also because entering the demons¡¯ territory without any counter-plan was way too reckless. ¡°Not that we don¡¯t. We do, and we still have our trump card too.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be in bad taste to ask you what it is, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t tell you, cause that¡¯s how a trump card works.¡± Ritz answered while walking, and Loren nodded in agreement. ¡°If you¡¯re aiming for something higher than iron rank, you should have one hidden trump card too.¡± According to Ritz, it was normal for adventurers above silver ranks to have one or two trump cards or hidden tricks. Of course, information about such things were a matter of life and death, so they would keep them hidden until the very last minute. ¡°It¡¯s the same as showing your hands. You¡¯ll have to keep it hidden to the last minute, and once you use it, you¡¯ll have to dispose of your opponents. There¡¯s no harm in keeping this in mind, you know?¡± ¡°Thanks for the advice. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Loren replied in a light tone, but he knew he really should have at least one of those things. Right now, their party largely depended on Lapis the demon, Gula the Evil God, and Shayna the King of Death. From Loren¡¯s point of view, he was the weakest in terms of fighting power in their party. Maybe he should have something that didn¡¯t depend on them up his sleeve, even just one. [¡®Onii-san, if you want even more power, do you want to become inhuman? As a human who has become inhuman, I don¡¯t recommend it.¡¯] Shayna¡¯s words made Loren¡¯s heart jump. Loren wondered if she could read his mind, but Shayna immediately dismissed the notion: [¡®You¡¯re just easy to read.¡¯] Loren tilted his head in puzzlement ¨C was he really that easy to read? But then, Jack¡¯s voice came, bringing him back to reality and pushing such thoughts to the back. Chapter 189 ¡°Hey, come here guys.¡± At Jack¡¯s call, everyone came over to where he was hiding. The place was right in front of the exit, where sunlight from the outside did reach. The lantern was put out, and they looked into the direction Jack was pointing. If the tunnel exit on the demons¡¯ side was the same as the exit on human¡¯s side, there should be a dwarven village here. And yes, there surely was a village, where someone had lived. But Jack wouldn¡¯t call out to them if that was all, and the reason for his call soon became apparent. ¡°There¡¯s no one here.¡± Ritz muttered. There were no signs of humans or dwarves in this village. But this was something within their expectation. They had thought that the spiders infesting the tunnel had increased their numbers by attacking this village. If that was really the case, there should have been spiders and spiderwebs here. But in front of their eyes was nothing but the emptiness of the place. ¡°The spiders have completely destroyed the place¡­ then went somewhere else?¡± Ritz made a guess, but Lapis immediately shook her head. ¡°Even so, there should have been spider threads remaining here.¡± If the spiders occupied a place, then no matter how temporarily, there should have been web-nets remaining. But from what they could see, in this quiet village, there was nothing like that. ¡°The spiders actually didn¡¯t come here?¡± Jack asked cautiously ¨C it sounded like he couldn¡¯t even believe his own words. But everyone turned their cold gazes on him, and he shrank into himself. ¡°No matter how you think about it, the spiders in the tunnel should have come by here, right? Why is it this quiet, then?¡± Ignoring Jack¡¯s words, Gula asked. Of course, no one here had a clear answer to her question. ¡°It won¡¯t help to loiter here and chit-chat. Let¡¯s go look around.¡± Ritz said after a while. In the current situation, where no one had any guess about what had happened, it was no use to keep hanging out at the entrance. ¡°If no one is here, we¡¯ll go on. If there¡¯s somebody around, we just have to catch them and ask what happened.¡± ¡°It would be nice if this ¡®someone¡¯ can speak.¡± Loren interjected in a whisper, and everyone exchanged powerless smiles. Anyway, everyone agreed that they wouldn¡¯t know what happened if they didn¡¯t go investigate. And so, they got out of the tunnel and stepped into the dwarven village. But their investigation abruptly came to an end. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left.¡± Loren muttered. There really was nothing left in the village. They found traces of fighting and several bloodstains, but no corpses or signs of spiders. Goods and food were also completely absent. There wasn¡¯t a single clue left here. Speaking of things, they found, there were traces of something like a bonfire and footprints that even Jack couldn¡¯t recognize, partly because dwarven villages were nicely paved with stones. They could have made some guesses about what had happened if there was something comprehensible left behind, but as things were now, they weren¡¯t able to think about anything even if asked. So, after a short investigation, they came to the conclusion that nothing could be done here. ¡°It¡¯s better to wrap up early. We can¡¯t hang around here forever.¡± Ritz looked up at the sky and said. By the time everyone finished their investigation and gathered, the sky had already been dyed red, telling them that it would soon turn dark. If too much time was spent on investigating the village, the time intended for their original purposes would decrease. And that was another reason why Ritz decided to end their investigation early. ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Dig, but we didn¡¯t come here to investigate why the residents of this village disappeared.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­¡± Dig didn¡¯t look like he agreed, but he understood very well that he couldn¡¯t force Ritz¡¯ and Loren¡¯s parties to do a job they weren¡¯t commissioned to, and didn¡¯t try to object to Ritz¡¯ plan. ¡°If we don¡¯t investigate further, it¡¯s best to quickly leave this creepy place behind.¡± ¡°I have no objection to that.¡± Considering that it would be night soon, there actually were places that could serve as camping grounds here even without any preparation. But since the residents of this village had vanished, by no means they felt like spending the night here. ¡°Well, let¡¯s say goodbye here. Three days after tomorrow, we¡¯ll wait for you until around noon. If you come back to this area by then, you can return with us. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s impossible for us to go in deeper anyway. We¡¯ll hang around here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then. Just a heads-up, but if you camp around here, don¡¯t worry about the fire. The demons don¡¯t come all the way here. Even if they notice the fire, they won¡¯t come to check. They¡¯re actually quite laid back.¡± If that was true, it would be really nice. Loren looked at Lapis. ¡°Demons don¡¯t have that much free time.¡± Lapis said, seemingly not noticing Loren¡¯s eyes. Still, Loren believed she was answering his question. Even though it was a secret, that Lapis was a demon. If that was her opinion, then it must be true. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going. We don¡¯t have that much time, either.¡± ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡± ¡°See you later, Loren.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be great for us if we meet again.¡± Each member of Ritz¡¯ party said goodbye, then headed for the center of the demons¡¯ territory. Just like they had said, they were probably going deeper into the demons¡¯ territory to collect intel. Loren saw them disappear into the forest outside the village. Visit Readwww.novelhall.com for extra chapters. ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± After he was sure that Ritz¡¯ party had disappeared from sight, Loren turned towards Lapis and asked. Loren had told Ritz that they would wander around the outer edge of the demons¡¯ territory, but their true purpose was going to Lapis¡¯ home to ask about the true identity of his greatsword. No one but Lapis knew the path. ¡°Right. Sorry everyone, I¡¯d really like to say ¡®Let¡¯s go to my house¡¯ now, but I have some minor business to attend to.¡± Lapis said apologetically. Loren expected her to elaborate, but he asked just in case: ¡°What business?¡± ¡°Checking what happened here. I told Ritz earlier that there are no demons that are free enough to check out this outer region, but the truth is there are no demons that won¡¯t come investigating once they notice something strange.¡± From Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ point of view, this was the land of another race, whatever happened here had nothing to do with them, and it was okay to not care. But from Lapis-the-demon¡¯s point of view, this was her people¡¯s land, and she couldn¡¯t overlook some unexplained anomaly happening here. ¡°I was under the dwarves¡¯ care when I left the country. I believe I should find out what happened to them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair. Well, if that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to go with you.¡± Without Lapis, no one knew the way to Lapis¡¯ house. So, Loren believed that they had no other choices but to go with Lapis on her investigation. Lapis suddenly understood that and nodded grimly. It was natural for a demon to perform this investigation, but Loren and Gula would have to accompany her whether they wanted to or not. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, both of you. I proposed it myself, but I didn¡¯t see it coming this time¡­¡± She was about to withdraw her proposal, probably worrying about needlessly involving the other two in a dangerous situation. But Gula pointed to the sky and interrupt her: ¡°Whatever, but¡­¡± The red sky indicated that night was just around the corner. Following Gula¡¯s finger, Loren and Lapis looked at the sky, then looked back at her to see what she wanted to say. ¡°The sun will set anytime now, I think. We¡¯ll have to camp anyway, so this village will do, right? If something happens, it¡¯ll happen at night. If nothing happens during the night, then we can say that this place is safe for now.¡± ¡°That¡­ You could say so. I don¡¯t want to get you two into danger though.¡± Lapis sounded reluctant, but Gula just smiled broadly. Her smile was so evil that Loren reflexively put himself on guard while Lapis put some distance between her and Gula. But Gula immediately retracted the evilness and waved her hands: ¡°Just a joke, just a joke. It¡¯s because Lapis-chan hardly ever says something so cute. Anyway, what danger were you talking about?¡± After that smile, Lapis just couldn¡¯t say the same thing anymore. But even if it was alright for Gula, there was still another person Lapis worried about. ¡°But¡­ There¡¯s Loren too.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be fine if he follows us, right? Also, he can manage the usual stuff, right?¡± Gula told Lapis, and she looked at Loren. Of course, from their point of view, he was the weakest one, that was indeed the truth, and Loren had no objection. ¡°I¡¯ll try to not be a burden.¡± That much was all he could say. Lapis thought about it for a while, then looked up at the other two and said: ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m sorry, but please accompany me and spend the night here.¡± At Lapis¡¯ rephrased request, Loren and Lapis nodded deeply at almost the same time. Chapter 190 And so, night came. According to Lapis, a fire at this outer region wouldn¡¯t attract the demons¡¯ attention. The reason was, the demons were actually aware of humans and other races entering their domain and collecting intel. If humans came near or into their town, of course they would think about dealing with them. Otherwise, they would simply acknowledge that there were few trespassers doing something sneakily, but they didn¡¯t care enough to go over and repel adventurers. ¡°Because humans come here gathering intel just to know whether demons will cross the mountains and attack them.¡± Dealing with some mere adventurers would only add to demons¡¯ already-bad reputation, while those adventurers only did that much¡­ To demons, such an action simply brought no profit. After being told so by Lapis, Loren came to think that acting with extreme caution here was somehow stupid. Still, this time, demons weren¡¯t their only opponents. In order to not attract unwanted attention from other creatures, they didn¡¯t make a fire. After dinner, they hid in a corner of a village and kept watch for any strange occurrences. ¡°I want cooked food.¡± ¡°Later.¡± As expected, Gula complained about their scarce dinner, and Loren and Lapis had to sooth her. They decided to not set up a tent, but took turns getting into their sleeping bags and keeping watch. The strange occurrence took place past midnight, when the moon was high in the sky. It was Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ guard shift, and Gula was sleeping soundly. Their camping site was hidden next to a building at the edge of the village, and even though there should have been no one else but themselves here, some living creature was approaching them. It was Lapis and Shayna, who noticed its appearance. ¡°Something¡¯s coming. From the East. There are about twenty or thirty of them.¡± [¡®Onii-san, East of the village. Twenty-eight.¡¯] As expected, the night belonged to the King of Death. Loren gestured Lapis to wake Gula up, then moved to a spot where he could watch the east region of the village. He saw figures climbing over the village fence and got inside. The figures looked a bit bigger than a human and, for some reason, they began demolishing a nearby building with tools held in both hands. It happened so suddenly that Loren had to wonder if he saw it wrongly. He blinked, but no matter how many times he looked, the figures still continued their work. They were extremely quiet, but very efficient in their work. As some of them carried scrap materials out of the villages, new figures joined in as if to replace them. ¡°What are they doing¡­?¡± ¡°Maybe destroying evidence or something like that?¡± Before Loren realized, Lapis had come to stand behind him. She watched the scene with him and guessed with her head tilted in confusion. ¡°Destroying evidence¡­¡± ¡°To cleanly erase what happened here. Like, before it¡¯s exposed that some unforeseen accident has happened and annihilated a dwarves¡¯ village, let¡¯s make it as if there has never been anything here.¡± ¡°You sound like an experienced person, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make such blunders.¡± Loren thought Lapis could come up with such an idea so smoothly because she was a demon, but Lapis denied it, so he didn¡¯t delve into the subject further. Actually, if she answered ¡®Yes¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t know how to react, thus Loren cautioned himself to not ask questions he wouldn¡¯t know how to react to. Gula¡¯s drowsy voice came from his back just then; Lapis had woken her up. ¡°What? Are those big dark goblins?¡± ¡°Big dark¡­ goblins? You can even see colors in this situation?¡± Since they didn¡¯t start a fire, they had to rely on the moonlight for visibility. In such a situation, Loren could only see several human-like figures working, but Gula¡¯s eyes could discern even colors in such meager light. He was once again astonished by the powerful abilities of Evil Gods. Aside from that, he was concerned about the phrase ¡®big black goblins¡¯ Gula used. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before?¡± ¡°I dunno? Anyway, those are big goblins with dark skin.¡± Loren searched his memory for big dark goblins, he thought he had met them before. Lapis looked at him in shock and said: ¡°It was our first job, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah? Ahhh, that.¡± It was the very first job Loren had taken after becoming an adventurer. He was asked by another party to accompany them on a goblin extermination, but that party was wiped out at the scene. He saved Lapis, who belonged to that party, and they began working together. They were chased by the goblins, got lost, then ended up in a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom. That was where they encountered the big dark goblins. These goblins were more intelligent than normal ones, and their strength and skills were also superior. They were such formidable enemies that even a party of silver-ranked adventurers like Ritz¡¯ was also put into danger. ¡°No, but we sealed that ruin. It shouldn¡¯t be serviceable anymore.¡± The ruin was a facility that experimented on breeding and strengthening goblins. Loren had destroyed it by his own hands and made sure that it wouldn¡¯t be able to run again, and the Adventurer Guild had sealed it as it was classified as a dangerous ruin. Even if the Guild¡¯s seal was temporarily broken, the facility wouldn¡¯t function because Loren had destroyed it. It wouldn¡¯t be able to produce strengthened goblins anymore. ¡°That ruin isn¡¯t the only one that exists. If the information is taken out, it¡¯ll be simple to do the same thing in some other ruins.¡± ¡°Simple¡­¡± ¡°That ruin was dormant, but then became active again. Someone entered it before Ritz¡¯ party.¡± A dormant ruin wouldn¡¯t be able to operate again without someone activating it. It was an obvious thing, but Loren thought Lapis still should have pointed it out. ¡°I thought it¡¯s just a trivial thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Lapis shamelessly declared, and Loren was considering pressing her a bit more, but Shayna sent a warning in his mind. [¡®Onii-san! We¡¯re surrounded!¡¯] ¡°What?!¡± Loren was being vigilant, but he didn¡¯t notice them being surrounded at all. Surprised, Loren tried to stand up, but a semi-transparent hand reaching out from under the ground and grasped his right ankle. [¡®Don¡¯t touch!¡¯] Visit Readwww.novelhall.com for extra chapters. The hand dispersed at the same time Shayna¡¯s thought came, but another hand immediately sprouted from the ground and began tremulously extending towards their party. And there wasn¡¯t just one or two of them. Their number multiplied, and when the three of them noticed, their surroundings were full of translucent hands. ¡°Are we surrounded by ghosts?!¡± As they weren¡¯t living things, ghosts had no presence. Even though the atmosphere had become a bit strange, they were preoccupied with the goblins and didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Ghosts can¡¯t be eliminated by eating.¡± Gula complained and waved her hand. Unbelievably, the countless arms sprouting from the ground cleanly disappeared. It was over so quickly that Loren felt a bit anticlimactic, but he immediately gathered his mind and spoke to Lapis and Gula. ¡°Let¡¯s run. Something had probably noticed us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Gula remained silent, but Lapis answered. They were about to escape the area, but the thing that had noticed their existence reacted before they could: A fresh crop of dark goblins with huge clubs in hands appeared in the direction they were about to run to. ¡°So troublesome!¡± There were quite a few goblins blocking their path, but Loren charged into them without slowing down. He unsheathed his greatsword and slashed at the goblins as he passed by. The goblins either swung their clubs at Loren or used them to meet his sword, but all those actions proved to be futile. As they came to understand that, the white blade had passed through their bodies, making them shiver by its coldness. The next moment, they became mere chunks of meat that fell to the ground. Witnessing their comrades¡¯ too easy demise, the other goblins instinctively flattered. Gula¡¯s > swooped down on them, biting indiscriminately and leaving behind untidy messes. With a considerable number of them being defeated so easily, normal goblins would have lost their fighting spirit ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they even ran away. But dark goblins just stepped over the chunks of meat and puddles of blood that used to be their comrades and charged at Loren¡¯s group as if to stop them. ¡°These guys aren¡¯t scared at all?!¡± ¡°I wonder if they were even thought about that.¡± Lapis waved her delicate hand, and the heads of the goblins surrounding her were rotated sideways. As the heads were twisted off, blood spurted from the neck, but Lapis just ran past them without seeming to care. She rushed to Loren¡¯s side, as he had stopped to parry with the goblins. ¡°It won¡¯t stop if we keep engaging with them. Let¡¯s break through and take refuge in the forest.¡± There was a thick forest outside the village. If they get into there, not only Loren but the goblins also wouldn¡¯t be able to use their weapons as they wish. Their large bodies would become a big hindrance when running through the trees, and their speed would significantly decrease. ¡°I¡¯m gonna clear the way!¡± Gula turned her palms towards a corner of the wall of flesh made from goblins that was surrounding them. With that simple action, the goblins at that spot disappeared as if being gulped down by something. It wasn¡¯t possible to immediately close a sudden gap like that, and Loren¡¯s group ran out and away from the village through that gap. But then someone stopped. ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡± Something that could only be described as a flash of light stroke their group right at the front. Loren, who had synced with Shayna¡¯s vision, saw that flash of light cut the Predators right into halves, tearing the ground and surged up to come straight at them. Shuddered to see an attack that was able to cut through an Evil God¡¯s power coming at them, Loren immediately started self-boost. He even aroused the sensation that came with his rampage, and hit at the flash of light with the most powerful slash he could manage. There was the sound of something breaking, and sparks of light scattered at the spot where his sword made contact. Loren could feel the scattered light causing injuries all over his body, but he immediately thrust his sword into the direction the light wielder should have been in. ¡°Hoh, should I defend now?¡± Someone¡¯s voice came from that direction. It sounded just a little impressed. Loren didn¡¯t know how often the voice¡¯s owner could make an attack like the one earlier, but he knew it would be bad to be struck like that again. He smashed the double-strengthened slashes that worked even with the Evil God of Lust on the figure with no reservation. The white blade that could cut through stones as if nothing, swung with a force strengthened to the maximum and a speed that eyes could hardly follow, slashed at the figure, but the sensation transmitted to Loren¡¯s hand was not of a blade cutting through flesh but the shock of the blade being stopped by something hard. ¡°No idea what kind of suspicious character you are, but you¡¯re a so-so swordsman.¡± Loren¡¯s greatsword was stopped by the longsword the figure held in one hand. He stared at the locked blades with an unbelievable look on his face. The owner of the other blade broke into a smile. The strike Loren had made with his utmost power while clasping his greatsword by both hands had been stopped one-handedly. His opponent was looking at him with happy eyes, but Loren, even in his rampage state, felt like his heart was stabbed with an ice-cold blade. Chapter 191 Chapter 191 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul With their blades locked and neither able to move, Loren managed check his opponent¡¯s appearance. He was the same height as Loren, but built slightly thinner. His appearance didn¡¯t match his strength, considering that he was able to stop Loren¡¯s double-enhanced attack with just one hand. He wore fitted black metal armor and a black cloak. His almond eyes were also black, however his countenance rather than being cold, gave off a cruel impression. Straight long black hair completed his look. His long sword was currently locked with Loren¡¯s greatsword, whereas his second hand was free as he didn¡¯t carry a shield. ¡°What now? Do we finish here?¡± This guy stopped Loren¡¯s full strength slash with a longsword held in just one hand, yet he didn¡¯t even tremble. Not only that, but he was pushing Loren back, even just a little. Loren gritted his teeth. Keenly feeling his shoe sole scraping against the ground, he put more strength into his hands and noticed the other man¡¯s slight smile. ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡± Before Loren knew, the flashing attack was coming again, it was already too late to dodge. He prepared himself for the worst and put even more strength into his greatsword. And as if in response, the white blade started emitting a white light. ¡°Ngh?!¡± Loren thought he heard the man exclaim in surprise. But he was immediately blown back by the shock of the impact without even being able to brace himself. At the same time, the other man was also sent flying back, making the distance between them larger. The man immediately corrected his posture and held his sword up. Loren also readied his sword again, but he had started thinking about how to escape from this place with as few injuries as possible. From the brief parry earlier, he had fully understood that he was no match for this man. If the man could stop his attack by just one hand even after he had used self-boost and triggered his rampage, Loren had no chance of beating him. Loren felt calmer, probably because he had been repelled so easily. It was lucky that he came out of his rampaging state earlier than usual ¨C he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away otherwise. The other man was strong, but the fact that his flashing light attack could be triggered again after such a short time was what made him especially dangerous. Even though his unidentified white blade seemed capable of stopping it somehow, Loren didn¡¯t know how far he could rely on that. He didn¡¯t want to receive a blow that could cut through an Evil God¡¯s power with his mortal body, and seeing that he had no countermeasures for said blow, to quickly run away was the best option. ¡°What are you thinking about? Do you even have the luxury to think now?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t incautious, but the man still managed to make a slash at him while he was thinking. The slash wasn¡¯t fast but was packed full with power, and even though Loren was able to parry it somehow, he was still being put into the defensive stance. The man exceeded him in both speed and strength, and if this continued, he would get hit sooner or later. But he could find no way to break the deadlock. Just then, Gula shouted from behind him. ¡°Loren! Jump back!¡± Jumping back while in the middle of a sword fight would give your opponent the chance to rally and chase after you, making the situation worse. But Loren believed that Gula had reasons to specifically instruct him so, and he jumped back as much as he could without thinking. The other man chased after him. By that time, half of the dark goblins surrounding them had disappeared. Loren didn¡¯t even have time to think about that, as one of Gula¡¯s Predators suddenly appeared in front of the man. Loren was surprised to see the normally-invisible Predator now suddenly materialized, but the man had already proved that he could cut apart Predators. Not even faltering, the man swung his sword at the Predator with no restraint. But the Predator spat out a large amount of meat and blood that buried the man down from head to toes. ¡°What!¡± Gula clenched her fists and looked at Lapis with half-opened eyes. ¡°Gula, that¡¯s gross¡­ You really vomited the goblins you ate¡­¡± Lapis sounded shocked. Loren landed and finally understood what Gula had done. After knowing that she couldn¡¯t directly use < > on the man, Gula had eaten up the surrounding goblins, chewed them up, then materialized a Predator in front of the man and spat them out. The man also didn¡¯t expect such a move ¨C he only thought that the Predator came to attack him. Because of that, when meeting with vomited blood and meat, his reaction was delayed, and he was buried whole. ¡°I can¡¯t describe it as anything but extremely distasteful.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s effective.¡± Exactly because it was distasteful the black swordsman couldn¡¯t sense the danger. Also, it was a surprisingly large amount of blood and meat chunks. If such a large amount of things were suddenly hurled at Loren, he would also be confused, and it would take a while for him to regain his senses. In addition, as fat was also present in the chewed mix, it would be sticky all over his body, armor and weapon, making it extremely difficult to continue attacking. ¡°Let¡¯s run away immediately. Such opponents are not easy to deal with.¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s strong?¡± Lapis asked as if to confirm, and Loren nodded with no hesitation. ¡°He¡¯s strong. I couldn¡¯t make a solid hit at all.¡± Not only because that man was able to stop his double-enhanced attack with one hand, but also because his longswords didn¡¯t break or chipped after clashing with Loren¡¯s greatsword. His sword skills were also above Loren¡¯s, and he was able to make such a powerful attack like the flash of light rather frequently. To be honest, Loren didn¡¯t even want to be his opponent. Running away from this place was the only correct solution. As for what had happened with this dwarven village, even though they still didn¡¯t know anything clearly, they had gotten enough information to know that these guys had done something. Investigating further might very likely turn this into a matter of life or death for them. ¡°Indeed. Gula, let¡¯s run.¡± Hearing Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis also agreed that they should run away from this place. She immediately called out to Gula, who had eaten almost all of the goblins only to spat them out, rushed over to their side with a smile of a child that had succeeded in a prank. ¡°Running away? Well, let¡¯s do it right away then.¡± ¡°Was that guy also a difficult opponent to you, Gula?¡± ¡°How to say it hm¡­ I probably can do him if I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t want to deal with him though. He¡¯s stronger than Loren. So such a human does exist.¡± As the man was buried under a mound of blood and meat, they couldn¡¯t see him. But this was no place for idle chit-chat, being near an enemy that could strike any time and all. So, Loren¡¯s party immediately fled the place. They didn¡¯t even consider where they were running to ¨C all they knew was that they had to put some distance between them and that village. But before long, they noticed that it was bright behind them and realized that flash of light was coming again. ¡°He¡¯s already back?!¡± ¡°What a troublesome guy!¡± Just as Loren turned around and swung his greatsword down, the flash of light crashed into his blade. As a result, he was pushed back due to the tremendous force, but his white blade managed to shatter the flash of light coming at them. Loren frowned ¨C his arm had begun to hurt, and his hands felt a bit numb due to the shock transmitted from the sword. >¡±You do this and dare to run away?!¡±< The man¡¯s body was soiled with meat and blood from the head down. His face was distorted with anger, and he chased them with his long sword held high. Loren¡¯s face stiffened, he was still quite fast despite the heavy-looking armor he was wearing. Visit ReadNovelFull[.]com for extra chapters. ¡°That¡¯s fast! You caught up with us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m mad.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s understandable.¡± Anyone would get mad after being vomited on, even more so if that vomit was goblins¡¯ meat and blood. Loren understood his anger. Looking back while frantically running for the forest, they could see a man covered in meat and blood from head to toes in the meager light. His state was so horrible that even though Loren had no intention to apologize, he was sure that even an apology wouldn¡¯t stop him. ¡°Cut, Caliburns!!¡± Another flash of light shot at them from behind. Still running, they had very little time to defend themselves, but the intense light flashed by them into the trees ahead. The trees were blasted away, soil turning up with them. Loren shook the dirt from his body while still running, and he looked over his shoulder to see the man brandishing his long sword again. He called out to him loudly. >¡±That dirty bastard! He keeps firing that attack ¡¯cause it¡¯s risk-free for him!¡±< ¡°Even if I try to eat him with my < >, he¡¯ll just slice them apart again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rather powerful magic weapon. It¡¯s a set with the armor, though incomplete. They are endowed with various kinds of magic.¡± Lapis glanced back and spoke about her appraisal. His armor seemed to have unthinkable power, yet it was still incomplete. ¡°Probably the shield and helmet are missing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a trivial thing now, isn¡¯t it?! It¡¯s already enough in this situation!¡± Another shot of light was coming. Probably because the man fired it while chasing them, his aim was off: the light missed them and hit a nearby area instead. Still, the aftershock of it jolted their bodies, and Lapis tripped because of that. Loren, who was running beside her, immediately saved her by carrying her. ¡°That bastard! He¡¯ll hit us sooner or later!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Should I make some effort, I wonder?¡± Lapis said from within Loren¡¯s arms. She slipped out of his hold and climbed to sit on his shoulder to look behind. As Loren was still running at full speed, her maneuver looked just like an acrobatics act to Loren and Gula, but they had no idea why Lapis would do it. ¡°Well then, the unknown mister from behind, may I suggest you stop chasing us?¡± ¡°Shut up! Do you think you can get off unscathed after doing something like THIS?!¡± ¡°I just want to give you an advice.¡± Lapis¡¯ shoulders drooped a bit at the man¡¯s reaction. Loren, being the closest to her, had no idea how that was an advice though. ¡°So, I have no choice. I¡¯ll have to use my power to make you leave.¡± ¡°Try, if you think you can!¡± The man stopped with his declaration. Loren didn¡¯t think he stopped because of the exchange with Lapis at all, so he looked over his shoulder to see their attacker and his face stiffened. The man held his sword aloft with both hands and said: ¡°In the name of the King, I call your noble name. Fire, Caliburns, encompassing light.¡± ¡°Wake up, the power that fills this land, in the name of the ruling King. Attack the insolent one.¡± At the same time, Lapis said another incantation and turned her palms towards the man, while still sitting on Loren¡¯s shoulder. Loren knew something happened, but he had no idea what. All he could feel was a white light so intense that it could burn his eyes despite coming from behind him, and a shock crashing into his back so hard that he thought his body was shattered. Then he saw Gula jump at him while shouting something and felt Lapis, who was still sitting on his shoulder, softly place her hand on his head. In a silence so complete that he wondered if his eardrums had been torn, white painted all over the scenery, and Loren with a strange floating sensation lost his consciousness. Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul Loren drowsily thought that he remembered this sensation. He remembered swaying in a vortex of unthinkable magic power and could only cry. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly when it happened, but he was strangely sure that it really did happen. Loren didn¡¯t even remember when the last time he cried, so it was probably from a long time ago. He vaguely remembered someone else being there and kept soothing him though. As he reached out for help because of the recalled pain, something warm enveloped his hand, and his body relaxed in relief. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s bold.¡± ¡°Mother? Could you please explain in way I can understand why you are here?¡± ¡°To evaluate the man my daughter brings home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too blunt.¡± The two women¡¯s conversation forcibly pulled Loren back from the realm of sleep. Upon opening his heavy eyelids, the first thing that appeared in this sight was an indignant-looking Lapis. Next was a woman in a rather extravagant dress who was, for some reason, straddling him. The woman had long black hair that casually flowed down her back, and somehow resembled Lapis. From the conversation he had overheard earlier, she must be Lapis¡¯ mother, but appearance-wise, she didn¡¯t look like someone who had such a big daughter at all. The woman¡¯s eyes were a surprisingly clear purple, so there was no doubt she was from the demon race. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve woken? Sorry for being so noisy.¡± ¡°Mother, please get off Loren. That is my place.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The woman asked, but still obediently got off. As the weight atop of him was gone, Loren sighed in relief. But for some reason, Lapis climbed up and sat on him in the exact same spot, and Loren choked again. ¡°Sleep a bit more, Loren.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Get down, Lapis.¡± Loren lightly tapped at her knee and asked, and Lapis slowly got down with a somewhat dissatisfied look on her face. Loren¡¯s clothes were not completely taken off when he was put into this bed, but his boots and jackets were. Both were now neatly placed together near the wall. Nigg was still on the jacket, as if it had really claimed that spot as his lair. Looking around, Loren understood that he was in a bedroom of sorts and bright light was streaming in from the window. ¡°I am¡­ still alive? Where is this?¡± Recalling what had happened before he lost consciousness, Loren was sure it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he just died. It was such a strong force. Loren wanted to know what happened after the black-clad man clashed with whatever power Lapis was wielding, but he also didn¡¯t want to know. It was a complicated feeling. ¡°You¡¯re alive, and this is my home. Is this explanation alright for you?¡± ¡°Home?¡± Loren asked and looked at the other woman, who was standing smilingly next to Lapis. According to what Lapis had just said, he was lying in one of the rooms in her home, and the smiling woman was indeed her mother. ¡°How much time has passed?¡± Loren didn¡¯t add ¡®since I passed out¡¯ because he thought Lapis would get it. She answered immediately. ¡°It¡¯s just past dawn.¡± Not that much time had passed then. Loren wanted to leave the bed, but Lapis and the other woman stopped him. ¡°Please sleep a bit more, Loren. I¡¯ve healed you, but it was pretty severe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that our Lapis acted without thinking of the consequences.¡± Loren wondered what she was talking about for a moment, but then immediately realized she meant the clash with that black-clad man. It seemed like he had passed out because of it, and that was what she was apologizing for. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything else at the time.¡± ¡°In that case, you haven¡¯t really grown up, have you, Lapis-chan?¡± The woman smiled, and Lapis seemed to lightly gritted her teeth. Loren coughed lightly while wondering if it was alright for him to cut in. ¡°Ah, Loren, let me do some introduction. This is mother.¡± Loren had no idea how managed to clear he throat so fast, but Lapis pulled the smiling woman by the shoulder with one hand and pointed at her with the other and made a perfunctory introduction. The woman gave him a polite bow. ¡°I am Judie Paimonia. I have a different family name though.¡± ¡°I am Loren, former mercenary and now adventurer. I am your daughter¡¯s partner.¡± It was just good manners to introduce yourself after being introduced, so Loren gave Judie the bare information and a light bow of the head. Next to her mother, Lapis smiled happily. ¡°Partner has a nice ring to it.¡± ¡°Great to see you like it. By the way, how¡¯s Gula?¡± Loren recalled her leaping at him before he lost consciousness. As he was still alive, it was hard to think something worse had happened to her. Still he was a bit worried not seeing her at all. Visit ReadNovelFull[.]com for extra chapters. ¡°She¡¯s resting in another room. She¡¯s a bit exhausted after using too much power.¡± According to Lapis, before Loren lost consciousness, Gula had set up a barrier to protect everyone. But the clash was much more powerful than expected, and Loren and Gula still received quite some impact despite the barrier. It was nothing too serious, but Gula was down due to overusing her power and magic. ¡°Are we close that place?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s quite far. My people came to see the clash and carried you and Gula back here.¡± ¡®What the hell is your family?¡¯, Loren wondered. Just a look at Judie, who was watching their conversation by Lapis¡¯ side, and one could easily guess that their family was not an average family but a high-ranking one. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for such a family to have numerous servants. Also, he found it a bit unfathomable that he and Gula lost consciousness in that light, but Lapis, the one who created it, was totally fine. ¡°Still, we reached our destination.¡± ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Lapis replied. Next to her, Judie unhurriedly took out something from behind her. It was Loren¡¯s greatsword. She lifted it with one hand and gazed at it with melancholic eyes. ¡°You came here to hear about this sword¡¯s story, didn¡¯t you? So Lapis-chan really took it out.¡± Judie said she had been searching for it and wondered where it had disappeared to. She casually swung the greatsword with just a snap of her wrist, and Loren, who had been using the sword until now, watched with disbelief. Even though the greatsword had lost its outer layer, it was still a huge weapon. It definitely wasn¡¯t something a woman should be able to lift with one hand and move with a snap of the wrist. Yet Loren couldn¡¯t deny that the scene before his eyes right now was real. ¡°It¡¯s the sword I used to use in the old days. Ah, that sounds like a youthful indiscretion, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Loren didn¡¯t think it was something one wields in a youthful indiscretion, but he kept his mouth shut because he was sure such an opinion meant nothing to Judie. Rather than that, with the greatsword¡¯s identity being revealed so easily, their biggest purpose for going to Lapis¡¯ house should be considered accomplished. ¡°It¡¯s the thing I used when I was the Demon King.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Mother, that kind of phrasing is misleading. You should use present tense, Mother. ¡®I am the Demon King¡¯.¡± ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡± Somehow, such an unthinkable term was spoken so casually as if it was something trivial. Lapis and Judie were talking in a small talk atmosphere, but for a listener like Loren, this was a conversation that couldn¡¯t be ignored. ¡°Demon King?! Lapis¡¯ mother is the Demon King?!¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, that title isn¡¯t that rare in the demons¡¯ world.¡± ¡°To be specific, I am one of the Demon Kings, appointed to be the Guardian of the West.¡± ¡°There is a Great Demon King above Mother. We¡¯re just a minor noble family¡­ There are quite a lot of Demon Kings.¡± Lapis explained that ¡®Demon King¡¯ title didn¡¯t actually mean ¡°The King of Demons¡±. In fact, just like humans had numerous countries and each country had their own King, demons also had different power factions within their own King. Lapis¡¯ mother belonged to the faction protecting the Western region of the demons¡¯ territory, and as she was the most powerful in the faction, she was given the title ¡®Demon King¡¯. ¡°The Great Demon King is above all the Demon Kings.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to say that this is my property, and I want it back. But since there¡¯s some circumstances¡­ maybe I can consider letting you use it.¡± Lightly lifting the sword and placing it on her shoulder, Judie said. As Loren wondered what the hell she was thinking about, she declared with a smile still on her face: ¡°It¡¯s a request relating to the armored man you encountered earlier. Commission fee is the permission to wield this sword of Demon Kings, Fiamma Unggia. Not bad, isn¡¯t it?¡± Be it good or bad, Loren didn¡¯t know anything about the commission¡¯s content at all. He wanted to ask Judie to explain, but seeing Lapis just shook her head next to her, he at least understood that the option to not accept this commission didn¡¯t exist here. He gave up all hopes, turned his gaze towards the ceiling, and silently sighed. Chapter 193 Chapter 193 Translator: Lizz Proofreader: Xemul There was no talk about a dwarven village being destroyed at all. Loren thought that a village being destroyed was a rather brutal thing, but it seemed like the demons didn¡¯t share the same opinion. Part of it was due to the village¡¯s location. Even though it was inside demons¡¯ territory, the village was in the mountainous area, a region closest to the territory of another race. Another reason was, there were only a dozen dwarves that disappeared. Also, demons were the type that had no concerns for others, so as long as things were going well for them, then it was all good. A dozen or a hundred of dwarves disappeared wouldn¡¯t make the news, Lapis said. ¡°Do think so too, Lapis?¡± ¡°I¡­ no matter what you say, I¡¯m a demon that has been strongly influenced by humans¡¯ way of thinking, so I can¡¯t have such a clear distinction between ¡®us¡¯ and ¡®them¡¯ like that.¡± Lapis answered with a wry smile that seemed to say ¡®Sounds bad, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯, but Loren found it to be a very satisfactory answer. They were currently in a demon town. Their party had used the great tunnel dug by dwarves to get into demons¡¯ territory, and had been attacked by the horde of spiders living in there. They escaped outside, but were met with a destroyed dwarven village, a group of dark goblins that probably had something to do with the destruction, a swarm of ghosts and in the end, were attacked by a man in black armor. They managed to repel the man and escape with great difficulty thanks to Lapis, though Loren and Gula were injured and lost consciousness. Loren believed Gula was down not because of the clash between the forces Lapis and the man used, but because she was covering for him. Luckily for them, the people who noticed and came to check the uproar were from Lapis¡¯ household, and they had brought them to this town, where Lapis¡¯ home was. ¡°Hows¡¯ Gula?¡± Since he was alright, nothing too bad should happen to Gula, someone stronger than him. However, if Gula really was injured because of protecting him, he had to confirm her status in case anything happened. ¡°It¡¯s just some minor injuries compared to yours. Just some burns and cuts.¡± Lapis explained. When he thought about her choice of words more closely, he realized that his injuries weren¡¯t the same. Even though he was still feeling a bit sluggish, there were no wounds on his body, and he didn¡¯t feel like he had been in a bad shape like he was told. He had been properly healed, and he could only feel thankful for it. ¡°By the way, Lapis, you really are a lady, aren¡¯t you?¡± They were walking towards Gula¡¯s room, and the hallway was large enough for them to walk comfortably side by side. Moreover, they had been walking for quite a while, but still hadn¡¯t reached Gula¡¯s room yet. The house was considerably large, and they had passed by numerous women wearing maid outfits on the way. They looked at Loren with a puzzled expression on their face, but once they noticed Lapis walking next to him, they immediately showed hospitable smiles and politely bowed. All of them had purple eyes, and Loren found it a bit odd that there were even demons who worked as maids. ¡°How should I put it¡­ My mother is just one of the current Demon Kings.¡± Lapis slightly waved and nodded at the maids and said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°The demon king system is not a hereditary one, but a meritocracy one. The term of office is four years, and even though my mother is currently serving as one of the Kings, if someone more capable emerges, she¡¯ll need to hand over her seat.¡± ¡°What is the process of such a thing?¡± ¡°Candidates will announce their candidacy at the end of the term.¡± ¡°Will everyone engage in a fist fight?¡± ¡°Something similar. But it¡¯s not just about physical strength.¡± Lapis said that there was always an exception to everything, and ended the story there. Looking at her, Loren suddenly wondered if Judie wanted Lapis to succeed her as a Demon King. Probably yes, considering how Lapis¡¯ parents cut off her limbs and removed her eyes and hid them away. They seemed to be the type of parents that made their kids learn through hardships, but he felt that they went a bit too far. ¡°Being the daughter of a Demon King seems to be so troublesome.¡± As Loren muttered, Lapis stopped before a door. Loren did the same. It seemed like this was their destination. Lapis knocked lightly a few times and said: ¡°Gula? It¡¯s Lapis. I bring Loren along too. Can we come in?¡± Lapis sounded very cautious, but Loren thought it was totally understandable. Gula was the Evil God of Gluttony, and sometimes her actions and speech were just plain unimaginable. Something trivial like exposing herself just to tease Loren, for example. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if she was waiting inside stark naked just to make Loren embarrassed. That was why Lapis was cautious, and Loren thought he shouldn¡¯t set foot inside that room until Lapis had checked the situation first. Lapis knocked again. ¡°Gula?¡± No answer. Lapis sounded even more cautious now. Loren reached for his shoulder, where the hilt of his greatsword was always at, but then remembered that it wasn¡¯t there now and dropped his hand. Lapis wasn¡¯t really aware of it before, but the white greatsword she had taken out from her home and passed to Loren was actually the property of Judie, a Demon King. As Judie had no recollection of letting the sword go, she asked him to return it for now. Loren himself didn¡¯t want to stick with something he didn¡¯t really understand either, so he handed it over to her. But Loren couldn¡¯t find a replacement weapon right away, and was currently barehanded. He was feeling confused and lonely because of the loss of the familiar weight, but he comforted himself that it couldn¡¯t be helped. Anyway, neither knocking nor calling produced any responses, and Lapis had begun to get a bit irritated. ¡°What is she doing? Is she still sleeping?¡± Before one knew, Lapis had started knocking with her full fist. Her knocks were packed with power, and each of them shook the door and the wall. Loren was worried if she would eventually break them, but he was also worried that those knocks would turn his way if he uttered too many a word, so he decided to keep silent on the matter. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that she still doesn¡¯t respond after such knocking?¡± From what Loren could see from the side, Lapis¡¯ knocks had developed into fist attacks with serious power. The door, which seemed to be quite sturdy, didn¡¯t show a scratch or crack though, so she must be restraining herself to some extent. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? With this level of sound and vibration, everyone should have come to check by now.¡± ¡°This is something normal at our home.¡± ¡°Normal¡­ is it¡­?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should be amazed by the maids, who were still unfazed despite being subjected to this kind of disturbance, or admire the building, which still stood tall despite having to withstand such impact on a frequent basis. When Loren was caught in such thoughts, Lapis had given up knocking, instead she turned the door knob to open it. Loren believed it was bad manners to open a door without any consent from the person inside, but it couldn¡¯t be helped in this case. The two of them poked their heads into the small gap Lapis had opened and peeked inside. ¡°Ngh¡­ Nnn¡­ Nghhh¡­ Nnn!¡± ¡°This child is not a demon, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°But she had the same eyes as us¡­ She has a different aura though.¡± What Loren and Lapis heard were the groans of someone being crushed to death, and small laughter that seemed to try to cover the groans. With a bad hunch in mind, they looked more closely and saw that, for some reason, some maids had climbed onto the large bed. From between the maids, they were able to snatch some fleeting glimpse of hands and feet and golden hair. ¡°What¡¯s with this child? She looks like the one Lapis-sama brought along.¡± ¡°Hey, look, this child is really interesting. Even if we shove a baguette into her mouth, she eats it all in a blink. It¡¯s the seventh one already, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Without drinks?! Just seven baguettes? Let¡¯s add three for now.¡± ¡°Gah?!¡± They saw the person on the bed flail their arms and legs with a scream, but the maids easily pinned them down and crammed not three, but six more baguettes into the person¡¯s mouth. The maids who didn¡¯t participate looked on with sparkling eyes as if they were watching some curious scene. The baguettes disappeared little by little, and Loren and Lapis were able to see who the person on the bed was. ¡°Her mouth must be dry, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that she didn¡¯t choke.¡± ¡°Hey hey, should we try with dry-cured ham next?¡± ¡°Her stomach doesn¡¯t expand at all despite being stuffed with such an amount¡­ Very interesting.¡± Loren wondered what the hell they were doing, but Lapis gently pushed at his chest. They moved their heads away from the gap, then Lapis softly closed the door as if to not disturb the maids inside. The conversation inside became inaudible, and Loren wondered if it was alright to just leave things like that, but Lapis looked like she had given up and weakly said: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Loren. It¡¯s hell inside. Gula¡­ Let¡¯s go get her a while later.¡± ¡°No, but¡­?¡± ¡°If we go in now¡­ We might become the same, right?¡± It wasn¡¯t that bad to be pushed down on a bed by women in maid uniforms. But it was a different story altogether if they began shoving huge breads and cow or deer legs down your throat after. Gula might make it somehow because she was the Evil God of Gluttony, but if a mere human like Loren was put in her position, it would be life-threatening. ¡°They¡¯ll get bored after a while.¡± If Lapis, who knew best about the affairs of this house, said so, then it must be so. Loren avoided asking any further. He didn¡¯t know what he would say to Gula later, but for now, he could only pray that she would be alright. He quietly closed his eyes and clasped his hands to pray that the maids¡¯ interest towards Gula would go out soon. Chapter 194 Chapter 194 ¡°Ah, shit, what a bad experience.¡± About an hour after Loren and Lapis had visited her room only to close the door softly and leave again, Gula was released from the maids¡¯ clutch. The maids must have done a lot of things to her after that visit. Loren and Lapis were sitting in a guest room sipping tea prepared by maids and waiting for her when she came in, and the state of her startled them. Her long blond hair was a mess, and her disheveled clothes were slipping off her body. She was fixing them as she went. In such a state, Gula sat facing them and watched them sip their tea with reproachful eyes. ¡°You guys are having tea while I¡¯m having a hard time.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Gula. Thank you for your consideration.¡± Loren greeted Gula with a teasing remark, but Lapis gave her a nod and some words of gratitude. Loren wondered why, but he soon realized the reason. Gula was a being called Evil God, so she definitely wasn¡¯t the type to be overpowered by maids, even demon ones. The maids were able to torture Gula as they wished because she had condoned it. Of course, it would have been very easy for Gula to fight off the maids and torture them as she wished instead, but she seemed to think that it was necessary to let the demons know that she was currently a harmless existence. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not going to diminish my power. In fact, it was pretty delicious.¡± ¡°The fire-logs¡­ Did they stuff them into your mouth?¡± ¡°The curiosity of demons is unforgiving¡­ I got three.¡± As Gula sat down next to Lapis with a scowl on her face, the maid who had been waiting in a corner of the room immediately offered her a steaming cup without making a sound. Loren didn¡¯t want to be in a situation where he felt like he was being watched or had a maid waiting by his side at all times, but Lapis said that this was the norm, and that he wouldn¡¯t want to go through the trouble of calling for the maids every time he needed them. ¡°That reminds me, where do you live when you¡¯re in Kapha, Lapis?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll invite you over someday.¡± Lapis answered evasively, and Loren got a bit anxious. It wasn¡¯t about where she resided in Kapha, what he was rather interested in was where in that city people who were used to having maids waiting on them lived. As if to interrupt that train of thought of Loren, Gula asked Lapis: ¡°So, what¡¯s the situation? Will you explain it to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you want to ask. Is it about accepting my mother¡¯s request or not?¡± ¡°Mother? Whose?¡± ¡°Mine¡­ Well, I have to start from there, right?¡± And with a sigh, Lapis began to tell Gula the whole story. But the whole story was just that, Lapis¡¯ mother had a commission for them to do, and the reward would be the right to use the white greatsword. Explanation ended pretty quickly. ¡°So, Lapis-chan¡¯s mother is a Demon King.¡± ¡°Yes, well, she is.¡± Gula sounded impressed, but Lapis responded nonchalantly. The title ¡®Demon King¡¯ tended to conjure up images of great things, but after listening to Lapis¡¯s explanation, Loren thought that the position was more like that of a General in other countries. It was still quite impressive, of course, but compared to a sovereign, it was inevitably much inferior in terms of power and bloodline. To demons, the equivalent to a sovereign was the Great Demon King. ¡°And what does Demon King-sama want us to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just heard about it from my mother, more or less.¡± Lapis replied, and gave some orders to the maid who was standing by. The maid bowed deeply and walked away, then returned a moment later with a round object covered with a cloth in her hand. She placed it on the table, bowed, then retreated to stand near the wall again. Lapis removed the cloth covering the object and told Loren, who was watching the maid: ¡°My mother¡¯s request is, throwing this into the crater of a certain volcano.¡± What appeared from under the removed cloth was a black metal helmet. There were numerous patterns carved on it, but overall it was a very plain, all-black helmet. It wasn¡¯t even decorated ¨C it was something made for practical use only. The helmet didn¡¯t look like something a Demon King would go to the trouble of asking someone to transport it for. ¡°This thing? Dump it in a crater?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just melt it down?¡± Not really understanding the purpose of this commission, Loren and Gula stared at the black helmets on the table and made those comments. Lapis shrugged. ¡°I also thought that maybe we could just throw it into some furnaces around here¡­ But seems like it¡¯s not a good idea.¡± According to Judie, this black helmet possessed powerful magic, and normal furnaces wouldn¡¯t even make it lose its shape. The reason for this was not well known, but it was said to have been brought from the land of humans a long time ago. ¡°It seems that this helmet alone can¡¯t do anything, so it¡¯s been sitting collecting dust in a corner of the warehouse. But recently, the situation has changed a bit. It seems to have something to do with the man in black armor we encountered in the dwarven village.¡± Judie had almost forgotten about this helmet, but a certain circumstance happened, and the warehouse was ransacked to the ground. The helmet was found during the cleaning up afterwards. ¡°A certain circumstance, huh.¡± ¡°Yes, a certain circumstance. I don¡¯t know what it is either.¡± It was obvious that Lapis was the cause of that ¡®certain circumstances¡¯, but she calmly replied to Loren without even batting an eye. It wasn¡¯t like Loren was not in the mood for some quips, but for now, the best thing to do was listen. Lapis calmly continued. The black helmet was known to be very durable and to have been infused with some kind of powerful magic, but when it came to actual use, no one had ever been able to get any effects equipping it. Thus, it had been stored away as an unidentified item. Judie knew all this, and was about to have the helmet put in the back of the warehouse again, when something stopped her: In other Demon Kings¡¯ warehouses, several magic-infused items similar to this helmet had been discovered. In total, the four items found were a helmet, an armor, a shield, and a longsword, all black. The items produced no effects on their own, but they all had extremely similar auras and magic powers. They were thought to be the type of items that would only show their true power if all parts were assembled, so they were gathered in one place for research. ¡°But before we could do that, a bandit invaded.¡± It was not clear how the bandit got into the demon territory, but he managed to sneak into a Demon King¡¯s warehouse and steal the black armor. While running away from the pursuers, he sneaked into another Demon King¡¯s warehouse, where he obtained the long sword before disappearing. ¡°The bandit was said to have called himself Magna. He¡¯s a young man with black hair.¡± It was a strange thing for a bandit to announce his own name, but the man called Magna didn¡¯t seem to mind being chased or surrounded at all, and proudly claimed that these items belonged to him. He was still on the run now, slipping through the demons¡¯ pursuers and the tight security. ¡°It¡¯s obviously that man.¡± Recalling the face of the man in black armor they had encountered in the dwarven village, Loren grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s probably him. In addition to his own power, the flashes of light he called forth and the physical strength that allowed him to receive Loren¡¯s blow may have been the result of those unidentified magical items.¡± Some magical items come in sets of several pieces, and they must be equipped together in order to be truly effective. The black armor set that the Demon Kings were keeping seemed to be one of these, but it looked like just the armor and sword were enough to produce some effects. ¡°Our report has confirmed that, and we do not know what kind of effect it will have if the full set is assembled.¡± ¡°So before they can be assembled, let¡¯s just destroy them. It¡¯s a rather cowardly way of thinking for a Demon King.¡± Fearing that the helmet would be stolen, and considering it had no power on its own, Judie decided to destroy it to prevent the whole set being assembled. In Loren¡¯s opinion, it was the same as admitting to being unable to prevent a thievery. In short, the Demon King recognized that she couldn¡¯t stop that Magna guy. ¡°That¡¯s one way to see it. But the truth is, it¡¯s just not something worth protecting. Collecting the other items in the set is also troublesome, so she wants to destroy it.¡± ¡°So, a crater. Why doesn¡¯t she just go there herself?¡± Since ordinary furnaces couldn¡¯t destroy the helmet, it wasn¡¯t hard to understand why Judie wanted them to dump it in a volcano crater, where the fire never stopped. But Loren believed that it would be faster and more reliable for Judie to go there herself, given that she was a Demon King. ¡°About that¡­ There¡¯s a reason why Demon Kings do not come near that place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? That crater is within demons¡¯ territory, right?¡± If not, it would be quite a troublesome story. Loren was worried, but Lapis gave him a nod. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s in the center of the demon territory.¡± ¡°Seems quite far¡­ So why don¡¯t Demon Kings go there?¡± Loren asked, and Lapis hesitated for a moment before giving up all intentions to lie and answered with a troubled smile. ¡°The truth is¡­ There¡¯s an Ancient Dragon living in that volcano.¡± Dragons, the most powerful beasts. It was generally believed that encountering one is the greatest misfortune and the last thing ever happened in one¡¯s life. It was said that the longer a dragon lived, the wiser and more powerful it became. Among the dragons, there were those that had existed for a long time, since the time of the Gods. They were called Ancient Dragons, and are feared by all. Loren couldn¡¯t find the word to describe how suicidal it would be to climb a mountain inhabited by such a being. ¡°If a being as powerful as a Demon King approaches the mountain, they would be warned and attacked. That¡¯s why powerful demons can¡¯t get close.¡± In their party, Loren was a mere human, Gula could conceal her Evil God¡¯s power, and Lapis was considerably weakened as her legs and eyes were artificial. The idea was that they could sneak up the mountain and dump the helmet into the crater before the dragon noticed them. ¡°This¡­ The reward isn¡¯t worth it, right?¡± That white greatsword was certainly a very powerful weapon, but Loren thought it was too cheap for a request like stepping into the Ancient Dragon¡¯s dwelling. It seemed that Lapis had the same opinion, so she nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯s possible to get some additional compensation, though.¡± ¡°What about refusing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, but¡­ Just use common sense. Do you think you can get out of here safely with a Demon King being displeased with you?¡± Loren seriously pondered which would be less difficult: to reach the volcano crater under the watchful eye of an Ancient Dragon, or to return to the realm of humans under the watchful eye of a Demon King. It seemed that both would eventually end up being impossible, though, and Loren exhaled deeply as he dropped his gaze to the floor and thought about how troublesome this whole situation was. Chapter 195: From Negotiation to Proposal Chapter 195: From Negotiation to Proposal ¡°So, I¡¯m here to negotiate about the commission and additional rewards, Demon King.¡± ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°What? Um¡­ Are we doing it with this kind of mood?¡± In the end, Loren decided that they could not refuse the request from the Demon King. And if you couldn¡¯t say no, might as well try to get the maximum reward. So, Loren asked Lapis to guide him to the office of Judie, the Demon King. Judie was sitting at a huge ebony desk in her office, working on some paperwork. She didn¡¯t seem offended by Loren and the others¡¯ sudden visit at all, and welcomed them casually. For some reason, Lapis, her daughter, seemed flustered at her reaction. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Loren, I¡¯m not sure if I should be the one to tell you this, but you¡¯re dealing with a Demon King. A Demon King, the root of all evils and the enemy of all things, as far as mankind is concerned.¡± ¡°She is¡­ your mother, right?¡± ¡°I can say that because she is my mother. If you talk like that with another Demon King, you¡¯ll become like this, like this!¡± Lapis stuck out her tongue and mimed slashing at her own neck with her hand. As Judie was called a Demon King, there was a lot to consider, and Loren wondered if he should just think of her as a normal King now. Just then, Judie asked from behind the desk: ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come to negotiate with you about the commission. I¡¯d like to ask for a little more in the way of compensation.¡± ¡°Negotiate with a Demon King?¡± Judie said in an amused tone. She looked so young that Loren could hardly believe she was Lapis¡¯ mother. She was sitting on a chair, so naturally she had to look up when talking to him. With that gesture and that appearance, he wouldn¡¯t find it strange if she was introduced as Lapis¡¯ sister. ¡°I have no intention to be pushy with a Demon King. If we refuse the commission, you¡¯ll just order us to do it, right? If we value our lives, we have to listen to you.¡± ¡°As a parent, I won¡¯t say such unreasonable things to my daughter¡¯s friend.¡± Judie stressed the word ¡®friend¡¯ strangely. Loren¡¯s mouth turned down, while Lapis glared at her with a sullen look. ¡°Wait a bit. We¡¯re missing one person, aren¡¯t we?¡± Loren suddenly noticed something and asked. Lapis answered with no hesitation: ¡°Gula has been kidnapped by the maids just now.¡± It seemed that Gula, who was supposed to be following him and Lapis at the end of the line, had been taken somewhere by the maids without him noticing. The maids being able to kidnapped someone like Gula without making him noticed horrified Loren, but he had something to tell Lapis first: ¡°If you saw, you should stop them¡­¡± ¡°I can manage with one or two maids, but¡­ Five or six of them at once is dangerous even for me¡­¡± ¡°There were that many?!¡± Loren was actually a little nervous about negotiating with a Demon King, but the fact that several maids were able to move like that without him noticing anything unnerved him even further. As Lapis nodded with a somber face, Judie looked as if she was being shown something interesting. She told Loren in a testing tone: ¡°So, do you still want to negotiate?¡± Judie¡¯s voice, even though just a little, had an intimidating edge to it. The actual question was, under such a circumstance where Loren was swarmed by maids that could take away someone like Gula without being noticed, did he really think he could bear the brunt of this negotiation? ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a different topic.¡± Loren¡¯s answer to her question was simple. Since Judie had such skilled maids, she could have had them carry out this commission. But she asked Loren to do it instead, so he figured that there must be some reason for her to select him. Unless that reason became nullified, she would not harm him. ¡°I see. You¡¯ve got some nerves.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stubborn.¡± Loren believed that risking his life for a cheap reward was not that different from being buried here in secret due to having incurred a Demon King¡¯s displeasure, and such thought was what enabled him to make that statement. Judie looked at him blankly for a moment, then said with suppressed laughter in her voice: ¡°Indeed, indeed. You seem like a pretty good fit to be the person by Lapis¡¯ side.¡± ¡°Mother?!¡± Lapis exclaimed in a fluster, but Judie just gave her a glance without saying anything, then immediately turned her attention back to Loren: ¡°So, you want to have your reward raised? ¡°And some support to complete the commission. I¡¯m not sure if we can successfully climb a mountain inhabited by a dragon by our own power only.¡± Even if they were asked to accomplish it on their own, impossible was impossible. At the very least, Loren was not optimistic enough to think that he could carry out this commission without the help of demons, as there was a possibility that they would encounter a dragon. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much to ask?¡± ¡°If so, let someone else do it. I don¡¯t want to get stuck with some commission I can¡¯t do.¡± ¡°Even in exchange for your own life?¡± The threat was clear in her choice of words and tone. Lapis made a move, but Loren stopped her. All Lapis did was lightly pulled at Loren¡¯s sleeve, and all Loren did was slightly raise his other hand, but Judie knew what those movements meant. If Lapis were to fight with Judie here, she would certainly lose. She knew that, so when she realized that Loren was being threatened, she pulled his sleeve, indicating that she had chosen to run away. Fighting was impossible, but they might have a chance to live if they ran. However, Loren had stopped her. ¡°Dying when doing an impossible commission is no different from being killed here.¡± ¡°Being killed here might be certain for you, but how can you be sure that you¡¯ll die doing the commission?¡± At this point, Judie had begun to intimidate Loren without hiding it. ¡®You know what will happen if you refuse my commission, don¡¯t you?¡¯ was what she was actually saying. In response, Loren snorted, looked straight at her and said bluntly: ¡°So that¡¯s how a Demon King sees things, huh.¡± ¡°Ah, so here we come.¡± Judie smiled at him as if the intimidating atmosphere just now was a lie, and Loren somehow realized that she was not seriously trying to push the commission onto them without offering any assistance. He wondered what the hell she had been playing at, but had no immediate answer. In the end, he decided that though uncommon, it was just how Demon Kings, or rather demons, were killing their time. ¡°I don¡¯t like to be taken as a fool, either.¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t be befitting a Demon King to offer their services just because they¡¯re asked, right?¡± Judie asked, and Loren kept silent. What Loren had been implying was, was a Demon King like Judie so naive that she thinks their party could complete this commission without any aids from the demons, or was she so stupid that she couldn¡¯t realize it? His implication seemed to have been conveyed to Judie, but he suspected that the talk was now going in a different direction. He could tell it from the Demon King¡¯s tone and expression. ¡°I have no idea what a Demon King should be like, since I don¡¯t have any Demon Kings as acquaintances.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be your first. Nice to meet you~¡± Judie smiled and waved her hand. Not knowing how to react to this, Loren turned to Lapis, who was looking up at him worriedly while still holding his sleeve. She should know how to act in this situation, but she also seemed to be at a loss. She just tilted her head while looking at Loren with a troubled expression. Seeing the two of them being like that, Judie stopped waving and lowered her hand, then with a slightly more serious face, she said: ¡°It¡¯s definitely not like a Demon King to give something to someone just because they¡¯ve asked for it. So, if you want something, take it yourself. That¡¯s more like how demons are, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Are you asking him to fight you, mother?¡± That was even more unreasonable, or so Lapis believed. Loren¡¯s opponent would be someone who was excellent at eliminating powerful individuals. After all, only those who came out at the top of the pack could earn the title of ¡®Demon King¡¯. Fighting such an opponent to win something was out of the question, unless the challenger was one of those heroes that appeared very rarely in human history. But Judie quickly shook her head at Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡± ¡°Ah, so you do know that it¡¯s absurd. I¡¯m a little relieved.¡± ¡°No, if that boyfriend next to you is a hero, I will consider it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s differ¡­ Uhm? Errr¡­ Huh? Should I deny it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a hero, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s right. Loren is not a hero.¡± Lapis seemed confused by something, and her reply was incoherent. But after Loren pointed it out, she finally gave a clear denial. Judie seemed to find it amusing, she rested her chin on one hand and tapped the desktop with the index finger of her other hand. ¡°That¡¯s why a Demon King might be too much for you to handle. But you¡¯ll manage if it¡¯s her aide, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You want support and extra pay. I want to have the job done as cheaply as possible. The rest is simple, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ll fight to decide how much of each other¡¯s claims we¡¯ll accept. Very demon-like.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a demon myself, but if you¡¯re asking me whether that¡¯s demon-like or not, I¡¯m inclined to say no.¡± Lapis said with a sour expression, but Judie shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a difference of opinion. I¡¯m not going to dwell on it.¡± Lapis understood that it meant she wouldn¡¯t make concessions any further, so she let Loren make the decision. ¡°Your representative will fight with my representative, and the loser will have to accept the winner¡¯s terms. Take it or leave it, it¡¯s all up to you. Choose as you please. How is it?¡± How the hell should he answer? Judie seemed to enjoy herself. Wondering how he should answer, Loren gazed back at the Demon King, who were observing him with her purple eyes. Chapter 196 From Settlement To Action Chapter 196: From Settlement To Action ¡°We can¡¯t refuse that proposal. How should we decide on a representative?¡± Loren asked, but he was planning to name Gula as the representative if he was told that it could be anyone. First of all, Gula was the most powerful in their party. She could use an Evil God¡¯s power as well as the more normal magic used by magicians, and she was also rather good at hand-to-hand combat. There was no reason to pick anyone else. Loren was also interested in how Judie would react if they chose Lapis, but given that she was a Demon King, it was quite possible that she would show no mercy to her own daughter and would pick some unthinkable opponent. He just couldn¡¯t make a wrong choice here. Moreover, if he really thought about it, the Demon King who was smiling in front of him as if she was watching something interesting was the one who cut off her own daughter¡¯s four limbs. She didn¡¯t seem to be the type that would be more considerate to her daughter. ¡°You can pick whoever you like, but you have to announce it first.¡± Judie said this without losing her smile, and Loren immediately frowned. In that case, Judie would be able to change her representative according to his choice. She didn¡¯t actually say that out right, but Loren believed that was what she meant when she asked him to announce his representative first. Loren only had three options at his disposal, but Judie had countless options to match each of his. She just needed to pick one after hearing Loren¡¯s announcement. ¡°Why don¡¯t you announce your representative first?¡± To prevent Judie from selecting a representative that corresponded to theirs, the only way was to have the Demon King declare her representative first. The truth was, Judie had the upper hand here, and if she were to refuse, it would be the end of it. Or so Loren thought, but Judie readily and casually declared: ¡°Alright. It¡¯s a black knight. A knight in full black plate armor.¡± ¡°¡­What a bad personality you have¡­.¡± If he was wearing full-body plate armor, it would be too early to assume that he was not a magician. Considering how Lapis was a priest, it seemed like it was common for demons to be able to use magic. And since there were people who could use magic while wearing plate armor, it wasn¡¯t anything surprising. The most troublesome thing was the full-body plate armor part. The most annoying thing about full body armor was that you couldn¡¯t tell who was in it from the outside. In the worst case, even if it was Judie herself inside the armor, it would be impossible to tell unless she removed it and let them look. It would be no different from waiting for Loren to make a declaration before deciding a representative. Moreover, full-body armor took a lot of time to put on. If Judie used the long preparation time as an excuse, she would be able to change her representative according to his choice, even if she had to call someone from a short distance over. ¡°What do you think?¡± Judie asked. She didn¡¯t even try to hide that she was testing him. Loren let out a small breath, pushed his hair back, and responded in a resigned tone: ¡°Who do you want to come out from our side?¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how you go.¡± Judie looked surprised. Lapis looked between Judie and Loren and wondered what was happening. What Loren thought was that, there was some hidden intention behind Judie¡¯s words and actions. In other words, Judie must have had a certain representative that she expected Loren to choose, and if he picked anyone else, she would crush them without mercy. If that was the case, Loren believed it was better to just follow her expectation from the beginning, and so he asked that question. Judie was surprised because she didn¡¯t expect him to do that. ¡°Being upfront is a virtue. Demons don¡¯t think so though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human.¡± ¡°Lapis-chan, your luck with men is good, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ve really picked a good boy to keep by your side.¡± ¡°Mother¡­ Please stop talking like that in front of the person himself¡­¡± Lapis blushed and looked down, while Judie was smiling. With that smile still on her face, she turned towards Loren: ¡°I¡¯d like to see you on the show, Loren.¡± Even though Loren was specifically nominated by Judie, he was not surprised ¨C somehow he had already expected this. It was only natural that she would want to evaluate the person by her daughter¡¯s side, a mere human no less. ¡°Do you have a weapon for me to borrow? I¡¯ve already returned mine to you.¡± Even though he had a jacket for armor, he only had spare daggers for weapons, nothing that could be used for a proper fight. Judie couldn¡¯t make him fight barehanded against an opponent wearing full body plate armor. Judie nodded. ¡°I can lend you anything you want from our armory. Not the ones infused with magic though.¡± ¡°The same condition applies for your side, I assume?¡± If she gave him an ordinary weapon and allowed the black knight to use a magic-infused weapon, his already-disadvantageous situation could only be described as hopeless. ¡°Obviously. So, what do we do now?¡± ¡®So this is the final confirmation¡¯, Loren thought. He had no choice but to answer: ¡°I¡¯ll go. There¡¯s no choice.¡± If he picked Gula or Lapis, they would be met with an opponent impossible for them to handle. If it was Judie¡¯s intention for Loren to come out, he believed that she would have prepared someone he could deal with in some way. He had to bet on that. ¡°Loren¡­¡± Lapis looked apologetic, and he patted her head. Judie said, with a smile still on her face: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll guarantee his safety. Not only will he not be killed, I¡¯ll also make sure to give him back in full health.¡± If she could take away Lapis¡¯s limbs and eyes, she could also restore someone¡¯s dismembered body parts. But her words didn¡¯t make Loren feel more at ease at all, not even by a little. ¡°That¡¯s not what people usually say to reassure someone else.¡± ¡°Normally, if a human is discovered to have infiltrated the demon realm, he will be dealt with on the spot, won¡¯t he? If you¡¯re told that your life is guaranteed, isn¡¯t it enough to feel reassured?¡± So the demons knew that humans did enter their territory to gather intel, but weren¡¯t willing to take any proactive measures against it. But from what Judie said, once those humans got caught, it would be a different story. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a given that we¡¯ll deal with them if we come across them?¡± If she said that it didn¡¯t happen because they were with Lapis, it was probably the truth. Loren had no words to reply. Considering Loren¡¯s silence as an indication that he had understood the situation, Judie got up and walked past Loren and Lapis toward the door of the room. ¡°Now, follow me. I¡¯ll take you to the armory first.¡± If the Demon King would lead the way herself, one couldn¡¯t help but follow, so Loren followed after Judie and Lapis. The way to the armory was long enough to make him realize how large Lapis¡¯ home was. Loren had been trying to remember the route, but had given up halfway. He didn¡¯t know if it was on purpose, or it was truly necessary, but the route that Judie was taking them on had so many turns, three forks and crossroads that he quickly became confused when trying to remember the directions. ¡°How big is this place?¡± Thinking that he would certainly get lost if he strayed from his guide, Loren asked. Judie answered him: ¡°Extremely huge. It¡¯s the castle of the Demon King of the West, after all.¡± ¡°If this is how a Demon King¡¯s castle is, then the Great Demon King¡¯s castle must be even bigger.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably several times bigger than this one.¡± Judie put her index finger on her chin, thought for a while, then said. Loren couldn¡¯t imagine something that big at all. The demons who could construct such a huge building were amazing, but the Great Demon King was also very admirable for being able to live in such a huge place. ¡°Sounds like a place where you¡¯ll get lost on the way to the bedroom, or won¡¯t be able to make it to the toilet in time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it like that.¡± As they were conducting such small talks, they arrived into the armory. It surely looked like a normal armory with equipment neatly lined up. Loren could tell that they were all good weapons, but he couldn¡¯t tell which of them were normal ones that didn¡¯t have magic infusion like Judie had said. [¡®They all look like normal weapons. I can¡¯t sense any magic power from them.¡¯] Lapis was silent, probably because Judie was watching. Instead, Shayna the King of Death synced with his sight and confirmed that the weapons weren¡¯t magical or anything strange. Loren thanked her in his mind and looked around for a while before deciding on a greatsword, thinking that it was best to go with something he was used to wielding. ¡°Is that alright? Don¡¯t you need any kind of armor?¡± ¡°I have my own.¡± All of the greatswords here had almost the same design, so it wouldn¡¯t matter which he selected. He picked up one and tested its weight. It was lighter than the one he used during his mercenary days or the white blade he had returned to Judie, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Resigned, he looked closer at the blade and noticed that it had a proper, sharp edge. He looked at Judie: ¡°Aren¡¯t these used for training and such?¡± ¡°Can fighting with a dull blade be considered training?¡± Judie asked seriously, and Loren was at a loss for a reply. It was true that people¡¯s mindsets during training and actual combat differed, even when they held the same weapon. The blade might be sharp, but it didn¡¯t mean its wielder would swing it with no hesitation during training. In addition, it was no exaggeration to say that what they were going to do was not a training but a real battle in a sense. It would be useless to ask for a dull weapon, or one wrapped in thick cloth. ¡°This will do.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll take you to the arena next, then.¡± ¡°Is it another long walk?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Well, yes, it is. But it can¡¯t be helped, right? Think of it as a health benefit.¡± Loren wondered if it was alright to wander around the castle with a naked sword that didn¡¯t even have a sheath, but Judie didn¡¯t seem to care at all. She walked forward, ready to be the guide again. Even though Lapis was by his side, if Loren lost Judie, he would get lost. The greatsword didn¡¯t even have a string for him to hang on his back. Thus, he had no choice but to carry it on his shoulder. He urged Lapis to go ahead while he himself followed after the two women. Chapter 197: From Moving to Battle Chapter 197: From Moving to Battle After getting a weapon, Loren was led on a long walk by the Demon King before finally arriving at an amphitheater located, in what looked like, the courtyard of the castle. Loren was tempted to ask why such a thing was built here, but he forced himself to recognize that it was such a large building that they could build whatever they wanted. A Demon King must have a lot of soldiers, so it was a good idea to have a place where they could train. ¡°We have a different training ground for soldiers.¡± ¡°What is this place for, then?¡± Loren had no idea what the point of having an arena if it was not used for training. He asked Judie if this place was truly built simply because their castle was too big, and they had too many unused spaces, but she just looked away without answering, her cheeks slightly twitched. Loren was taken aback at her reaction ¨C it seemed like he had hit the bullseye. But his astonishment soon dissipated when he saw the figure standing in the center of the arena. So that was the person the Demon King called a Black Knight. Indeed, his entire body was covered with black plate armor, and he did not have a shield. His greatsword, which almost came up to their chest, was stabbed into the ground as if it was a staff. He stood with both hands on its hilt. The aura of the Black Knight perfectly fitted the word ¡®imposing¡¯. Loren scowled at his with his greatsword on his shoulder. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Mother. Even I think that something is strange too.¡± As they stepped into the arena, Loren and Lapis stared at the black armored figure that refused to move from the center of the arena. They were still quite far away, but they couldn¡¯t have been mistaken because there was no other figure around. It was the size of the Black Knight that Loren and Lapis were concerned about. ¡°The knight is bigger than me, no matter how you look at it.¡± ¡°If you think so, then I guess so.¡± Loren himself was one of the tallest amongst humans. With such a height, a blow from his greatsword contained marvelous power. But the Black Knight standing in front of them was two heads taller, and of course to go with that height, he was also wider in built. In short, he was big enough that Loren had to look up at him. The length of his greatsword was almost Loren¡¯s height. ¡°Isn¡¯t he too big?¡± The helmet the Black Knight was wearing was the type that completely covered the face, so you couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like even if you wanted to. Loren could barely see the purple of their eyes, but that didn¡¯t give him any information about whether the Knight was male or female, or how old he/she was. ¡°Was there such a huge person in your entourage, Mother?¡± Standing next to Loren, Lapis looked up at the Knight and cocked her head in wonder. If even Loren had to look up at the Knight, the difference in height was even greater for Lapis, who was shorter than him. ¡°I thought I could remember most of your subordinates, Mother.¡± ¡°¡®It¡¯s a hidden gem. The talent is guaranteed.¡± Judie laughed and patted the Black Knight¡¯s armor, but he didn¡¯t even twitch. The knight continued leaning on his greatsword and stared at Loren from inside his helmet. ¡°Is it even alright for me to fight that person?¡± ¡°Yes. If you can¡¯t continue fighting or if you surrender, you lose. Simple and straightforward, right?¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Loren signaled for Lapis to step back, then got his greatsword ready. The weight in his hand was unfamiliar. Unable to feel the usual reliable weight in his hands, Loren watched the Black Knight leaning on his greatsword. It was obviously not the case for him. ¡°You can attack if your opponent is down, but you can¡¯t finish him off. If someone dies, no matter how much we try, we can¡¯t bring him back to life.¡± As Lapis retreated to behind Loren, Judie stepped back to stand behind the Black Knight. The Knight slowly raised his greatsword with its tip pointing up in front of his chest. Realizing it to be a salute, Loren returned with the only salute he knew: He gripped the hilt of his greatsword with both hand and pointed its tip down. ¡°Can I at least ask your name?¡± After that mutual salute, Loren held his greatsword back up and asked the Knight. He didn¡¯t expect any answer, but he could hear some kind of murmuring coming from behind the Black Knight¡¯s helmet, even though no meaningful words reached his ears. ¡°So, let¡¯s start!¡± As soon as Judie¡¯s order came, Loren leapt forward. Victory belonged to those who made the first move, so he kicked at the ground and charged with a speed unimaginable for such a large body. He was skeptical about the Black Knight¡¯s slow reaction to stop him, but he held his greatsword high and struck at the Knight¡¯s left shoulder with all his might. The shrill sound of metal hitting metal rang, and sparks of fire flared up at the site of impact as if to represent the force Loren had put into the blow. Yet he was the one who grimaced and immediately leapt back. His arms were numb as if being electrified, and he had to use all his strength to keep the greatsword from falling off, but the pain in his wrists and shoulders was too much to ignore. Yet the place where Loren had struck was only slightly scratched, and it did not look like the power of the attack had reached inside the armor at all. ¡°What¡­?¡± Loren was still enduring the pain, but the Black Knight immediately raised his sword to unleash a sweeping sideway blow, and he tried to defend it by raising his greatsword. Almost at the same time, the Black Knight took one step into Loren¡¯s space and struck at his greatsword. The shock struck Loren¡¯s whole body, and the unstoppable momentum sent him flying sideways and rolling several times on the arena floor. When he got up, he was some distance away from the Knight. Wary of pursuit, Loren held his sword up even before fixing his stance. But the Black Knight stayed at the same place and watched Loren getting up while slowly raising his sword. Thinking that he was very lucky to still be able to hold his sword despite his arms feeling so tired, Loren wondered why the Black Knight didn¡¯t seize this perfect opportunity to go after him. His stance was bad, and his arms were too numb to wield the greatsword. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to counteract if the Knight attacked now, and this battle would very likely end here. Yet the knight didn¡¯t take this chance, and Loren just couldn¡¯t understand it. Loren wondered if he was being played, but he reminded himself that it was too early to draw any conclusion when they had only crossed swords once. So he readied himself and lunged at the Knight once more. This time, the Black Knight also reacted to Loren¡¯s attack and did an upward slash to match Loren¡¯s downward blow. As a result, blades crashed into each other, sparking fire and sound, it was Loren who lost. And it was a rather one-sided loss too: Before his sword could be swung downward, it was sent flying back up. The shock was too much that his shoulders almost got dislocated, and he was knocked down backward. The Black Knight gave chase this time, but Loren managed to escape somehow by following the momentum rolled back a couple of times. [¡®Onii-san, do you need my aid?!¡¯] Loren heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind as he stood up and lightly swung his sword sideways to keep the Black Knight from approaching. If he used the King of Death¡¯s power, he would be able to handle the Black Knight, who hadn¡¯t shown any signs of being a magic user until now. The idea had crossed his mind, but he shook it off, as he could feel Judie observing the battle closely from a distance away. He had no idea what Judie would do to him if he got help from Shayna. Even though the King of Death¡¯s power was invisible, a Demon King might still be able to see through it, so using Shayna¡¯s aid would be a bad idea. [¡®It can¡¯t be helped then. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll lend you my magic power, onii-san.¡¯] Normally, Shayna would have used Energy Drain, the power of the King of Death, to absorb the power of others and supply it to Loren. However, since it would be difficult for her to do so in front of the Demon King, she gave up on the idea and offered him the power she originally possessed. She explained to him that this would make it look like he was using his own magic, because she herself was inside his mind. [¡®Use self-boost, then try attacking again!¡¯] With Shayna¡¯s voice cheering him on, Loren quickly circulated magic power throughout his body and activated self-strengthening technique. Feeling a force unlike anything before coursing through his body, he wondered if it was alright to use it like this and swung his greatsword again. The Black Knight intercepted him, and their blades clashed. The self-boost allowed Loren to make a dash forward, adding even more power into his slash. When his sword met the Black Knight¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t a one-sided loss anymore, and both of their blades were locked for a moment. Loren could feel himself being pushed backward slightly, though, and he realized that he was still outmatched. This may have been due to the difference in size and weight between Loren and the Black Knight, in addition to speed and arm strength. The Black Knight seemed to sense that Loren wasn¡¯t being overpowered like before and pushed at him with even more strength. Thinking that he might be defeated like this, Loren quickly changed tactics. He immediately changed the angle of his blade to block the pushing force of the Black Knight, then quickly slid his greatsword past the Knight¡¯s blade to the back of his knees, which were usually considered to be weakly defended. ¡°Hard!¡± The backsides of joints were usually weakly defended due to the construction of armors. Loren had struck with that anticipation, but it seemed that the joints of the Black Knight¡¯s armor were reinforced with chains and metal plates. Loren¡¯s blow didn¡¯t cut through the armor, but only scratched at it with an unpleasant sound. As if to return the favor, the Black Knight struck another slash, which Loren met with his greatsword. But the force of the strike was too much for Loren to withstand, and he was sent flying backwards. He was prepared this time, though, so he didn¡¯t roll on the ground and safely landed a distance away from the Black Knight instead. Still, the fact that the Knight was strong enough to send him flying back with just a casual flick of the sword chilled him. He readied himself again as the Knight slowly drew his sword back and turned towards him. Chapter 198: The Conclusion of The Battle Chapter 198: The Conclusion of The Battle ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with that Black Knight.¡± Lapis muttered while watching the battle between Loren and the Black Knight. Loren kept on attacking, but could never deal any real damage aside from some scratches on the Black Knight¡¯s armor. Meanwhile, the Black Knight, who didn¡¯t even sustain any damage even when getting hit, used his greatsword to receive Loren¡¯s blows with a strength that Loren seemed unable to withstand. From what Lapis saw, it was the Black Knight who was acting strange. If he had that much power, he should be able to close the gap and attack Loren directly, but as far as Lapis saw, the Black Knight was hardly moving from his standing position since the start of this battle. ¡°He doesn¡¯t move, or can¡¯t move?¡± ¡°Ah, of course, Lapis-chan will notice it.¡± Judie said. She had come near Lapis before anyone noticed. Lapis glanced at her with a somewhat sullen look, then immediately turned her eyes back to Loren. It was just a small thing she had noticed, but Lapis wondered if it could give Loren some advantage if she told him. She didn¡¯t have time for Judie now ¨C that was why she unconsciously gave her the cold shoulders. Judie didn¡¯t seem to mind though. She came to stand beside Lapis. ¡°You don¡¯t have any subordinates that huge, do you?¡± ¡°Well? What do you think?¡± ¡°He has experience with swords¡­ Otherwise, it would be impossible to wield such a super-heavy weapon.¡± The Black Knight was moving very little, but he was definitely defending against and returning Loren¡¯s attacks. Lapis could see that he wielded the sword properly, raising the blade before cutting down. An inexperienced person wouldn¡¯t do that even with normal swords, but the Black Knight did with every strike. The person inside that black armor must be very used to handling swords. ¡°He had enough physical strength to send Loren flying back when defending¡­ Most demons are able to do that.¡± There was some difference in strength between men and women, but demons could also use self-boost to enhance their own strength. With that, any demons working at a Demon King¡¯s castle would be able to send someone with Loren¡¯s built flying back while still defending themselves. Lapis gritted her teeth: ¡°I can¡¯t narrow down who that Black Knight is¡­ If I know the person, I can think of a counter-attack plan.¡± On the battlefield, Loren was having the same thought. But unlike Lapis, he didn¡¯t know about the demons in this castle, so it was meaningless trying to identify the person behind the black armor after all. It was then that he realized the Knight¡¯s unnatural movements, something he hadn¡¯t considered before. ¡°You¡¯re just standing there, aren¡¯t you?¡± Due to the length of the Knight¡¯s sword and arm, there was a fairly wide gap between Loren and him. If Loren stepped into that space, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the Knight¡¯s counterattacks unless he leapt back quite a distance. But once he calmly assessed the Black Knight¡¯s movements with each strike, Loren noticed that he had hardly moved from his original standing position. He would move one step to cross swords with Loren, but that was all. Even if he was flicked back due to defense, the Knight never tried to pursue him. Furthermore, as Loren moved around him to find an opening, the Black Knight only followed him with his eyes. If he entered the knight¡¯s blind spot, he would just let himself be exposed without changing his body¡¯s direction. ¡°You can¡¯t move because your armor is too heavy, can you?¡± The Black Knight didn¡¯t show any reactions to Loren¡¯s muttered words, but Loren could see the purple eyes behind the helmet wavered, even if just a little. He knew his guess was correct. In other words, the Knight standing in front of him had an extraordinary defensive ability, but he was unable to handle the weight of the black armor that built up that very ability. This was the reason why his body could not keep up with Loren¡¯s movements. Loren believed that the person inside the armor was definitely someone from the demon tribe, judging from the color of his eyes. In that case, the black armor must be so heavy that even with the power of the demon race, he could not move satisfactorily. And if the armor was that heavy, it made sense that no matter how many times he slashed at it with his greatsword, the attack would not go through. Moreover, unlike Loren, who was moving in a circle around him, the Black Knight himself was only swinging his sword in response to Loren¡¯s attacks. Unable to make chase seemed to be the only problem he had in this battle. ¡°If you can¡¯t run, I¡¯ll be the one to run then.¡± If your opponent couldn¡¯t chase you, it meant you wouldn¡¯t be chased. This might sound stupid, but with this opponent, if Loren just gave up on the battle and ran now, there was a very high chance that he could really get away. ¡®A very high chance¡¯ only, because it was possible there was some hidden cards, and he would get a blow the moment he turned his back. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t run away.¡± If he did, he would be considered to have abandoned the battle, and the negotiation with Judie would end with Loren¡¯s defeat. That didn¡¯t mean anything, but Loren had no way of dealing with the embodiment of defense in front of him. He glanced at his greatsword, which he had smashed it into the Black Knight¡¯s armor over and over again, causing the blade to be covered with chips. Originally, it was not a weapon that relied much on the sharpness of the blade, so if such a weapon was blunted further, it couldn¡¯t possibly penetrate the black armor. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren walked around the Black Knight a little out of his range and wondered what to do. After a while, he suddenly thought of a way. ¡°Is it worth a try, I wonder?¡± Loren muttered and patted Nigg, who was clinging to the shoulder of his jacket. Like an accessory, the spider clung to it without making a single movement ¨C its body moved a little just because of Loren¡¯s palm. Loren moved his hand from Nigg¡¯s back to stroke his tummy, then dropped his greatsword and ran towards the Black Knight barehanded. The Black Knight seemed to be slightly bewildered by his action, but he immediately aimed his sword at Loren¡¯s neck. With his strength, if the blow landed, Loren would die on the spot, weapon or no weapon. But before the blade could touch his neck, Loren slid down, avoiding the blow and dived behind the Knight in one move. He then quickly ran out of the Knight¡¯s range, clutching a rather thick white thread in his hand. ¡°When?¡± Judie exclaimed. When he ran towards the Black Knight, she was sure he was empty-handed. Before she could see where the thread came from, Loren had begun to run around the Black Knight with the thread in his hand. When the Black Knight noticed what he wanted to do, the spider¡¯s thread, with one end stuck to his leg, was wrapped around the Knights¡¯ leg multiple times. The knight hurriedly used his sword to cut the thread, but Loren, thread still in hand, also picked up his discarded greatsword to stop him. The Blade met the blade, and Loren was sent flying back again, but the Knight was also unable to cut the thread. As the knight raised his sword to attempt to cut the thread again, Loren also made another one-handed thrust to stop him. After several such exchanges, the Black Knight¡¯s legs were wrapped in spider thread and eventually sealed in a pure white cocoon. The spider thread was very durable to begin with, and a spider of Nigg¡¯s size could spit out a pretty thick thread. Being wound so many times like that, it formed a cocoon that couldn¡¯t be torn out from the inside or cut open from the outside. The Black Knight used to be able to change direction with just some slight movements of the feet, but now even that had become difficult. He tried to remove the thread, but Loren immediately interrupted that attempt and wound even more thread around his legs. Before long, the Black Knight completely lost the freedom to move his legs at will. As Loren drew near him from behind, he frantically tried to swung his sword at him, but Loren kicked at his back and knocked him face down to the ground of the arena. ¡°Now, wait, isn¡¯t that cheating?¡± Judie asked, and Lapis answered after some thinking: ¡°Would you claim that using a spider¡¯s assistance is cheating?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Demons were a race of great power, and they generally considered other races to be inferior to them in many cases. With such beliefs in mind, even a Demon King would be uncomfortable with the fact that a human, who should be inferior to them, had won the battle simply by borrowing the power of the spider, or calling the act ¡®cheating¡¯. Moreover, it was the Demon King¡¯ aide who Loren fought here. If she claimed that he was cheating, it would mean she was keeping by her side someone who wasn¡¯t even a match for the power of a human combined with that of a spider. It would bring questions about the Demon King¡¯s good name. ¡°Mother, that Knight must have a great fixation to that armor and armor¡¯s sizes in order to put on something that limits his own movements to such extent.¡± The Black Knight couldn¡¯t even get up on his own, but he kept trying to. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to stand up again once I fell down with all that weight.¡± ¡°Should I stop that?¡± Judie said in a disappointed voice, but she didn¡¯t declare that Loren had won. In that case, the battle still continued. Or so Loren thought, and he picked up his chipped greatsword, placed a foot on the Black Knight¡¯s back, and swung the sword down on his helmet. No matter how thick the armor was, he believed that if he kept hitting a vital point with enough force and precision, it would have some certain effect. Maybe if he kept hitting the helmet, the person inside the armor would lose consciousness at some point. ¡°Who¡¯s actually inside that armor?¡± Lapis asked as she watched Loren putting a foot on the Knight¡¯s back and began hitting his helmet vigorously. Judie stared at Lapis, then said in a small, lazy voice: ¡°Your Father.¡± ¡°Father?!¡± ¡°Well, he kept going on about meeting the man his daughter has brought back, so I tossed him into some bulky armor, gave him a pair of platform boots, then took him along.¡± ¡°Eh? No, wait?! Mother! Father is being beaten to pulp!!¡± Even though the blade didn¡¯t cut through and the thick armor prevented most of the shock reaching inside, if Loren kept beating without a care like that, some damage might be done to the head if he hit the right spot. The Black Knight¡¯s struggle to escape from Loren¡¯s foot had gradually become sluggish. ¡°Should I stop it? But it¡¯s a shame that the loss is confirmed.¡± ¡°Is this the place to say such a thing?! It¡¯s alright, Mother, the battle has come to a conclusion?!¡± ¡°Yes, yes. So, Loren won.¡± Judie offhandedly declared, and Lapis rushed out to protect the Black Knight¡¯s head from Loren¡¯s blows. Loren guessed that the battle had ended somehow and stopped striking at the somewhat-disfigured helmet. Watching the Black Knight¡¯s prone form, he let out a sigh. Chapter 187 - From Encounter To Conquest Chapter 187 ¨C From Encounter To Conquest First thing first, they needed to ensure visibility. ¡°<>!¡± Quartz shot a burst of magic at the ceiling. He seemed to have strengthened the spell ¨C white light shining down from the ceiling was meager but strong enough to illuminate the whole hall and the spider inside it. Next, the battle started with an arrow from Nim, who had the longest attack interval and the fastest attack speed. The arrow was released at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, slammed into the spiders. The arrow tore through the air, crossed the vast hall and plunged into a crouching-like spider at the same time as Loren and Ritz, the vanguards, charged. Considering Nim¡¯s skill, the distance and the size of the spider, of course, the arrow wouldn¡¯t miss its target. But it only scratched at the spider¡¯s exoskeleton and flipped with a solid sound. ¡°It¡¯s hard¡­¡± Nim muttered with a scowl. This spider was surely big. The adult Huge Spiders they had escaped from earlier were big, but this one was bigger by three or four times. Noticing the attack, the spider began to turn towards them. Nim flinched. This sight looked just like a small hill moving. Next to her, Quartz and Gula, who were also capable of long-range attacks, shouted: ¡°Let¡¯s attack simultaneously!¡± ¡°Ca~n¡¯t be helped then. Match with me!¡± As Gula turned her palms towards the spider, Quartz pointed his staff at it and chanted: ¡°Scarlet stones, shoot at my foes. <>!¡± Two balls of fire flew over Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ head and slammed into the spider, spreading fire on impact, but the fire scattered and went out. Quartz watched this with widened eyes, while Gula pushed her hair back in annoyance. ¡°Doesn¡¯t work at all.¡± The spider¡¯s carapace didn¡¯t even show any burned marks. The spider also didn¡¯t show any signs of being in pain ¨C it slowly continued to turn towards them. ¡°Can we even kill this thing?!¡± Jack exclaimed. Being a thief, he hadn¡¯t charged forward together with Loren and Ritz, but was on standby to commence attacks from the side while the spider was busy dealing with the two vanguards. However, seeing the spider still unaffected after three attacks, had scared him a bit. Lapis, who couldn¡¯t join in the battle and was watching over from the side, answered him in a tone without much sense of urgency: ¡°We can¡¯t, can we?¡± ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°We probably have no choice but to slash at it with all our might. Because of its size, its exoskeleton is too hard for weapons to cut through, but Loren¡­¡± Lapis¡¯ gaze was on Loren¡¯s back. At that moment, he and Ritz were in the middle of attacking the spider, which was still turning around. Ritz swung his long sword downwards with a cry. His blade dug a bit into the outer shell of the spider¡¯s leg, but was stopped by the firmness and thickness of the carapace and couldn¡¯t reach any vital organs. But Loren¡¯s greatsword easily cut through the exoskeleton without a single sound and made a deep gash into the spider¡¯s leg. He didn¡¯t even feel any impact transmitted to his hand. A sound like metal rubbing together reverberated in the hall, and the spider, that had been moving very slowly until now, retreated with an agility that didn¡¯t match its gigantic body. Loren didn¡¯t even have time to recognize that metallic sound as the spider¡¯s cry. The spider charged at him, and Loren slashed at another leg while dodging it. ¡°Just a shallow one¡­¡± Loren muttered while watching the spider crash into a wall in the momentum of its charge. Loren¡¯s sword could easily cut through stone, so spider¡¯s exoskeleton was nothing to it. But he couldn¡¯t get closer to the spider as he couldn¡¯t afford to get caught up in its charge, and his slash only made a shallow scratch in result. That, however, was only from Loren¡¯s point of view only. Ritz, who was nearby, considered the wound he gave the spider a severe one that cut through almost half of the thick leg. ¡°You really can cut through such a hard shell¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that my weapon is good.¡± Loren answered bluntly and leapt away the next moment. Ritz followed his example, and right after that, thick white fluid splashed violently at the spot he had just been. The sticky fluid was shot out by the spider. Its head was stuck into the wall, but its bottom was turned towards Loren and Ritz. From that bottom a mass of fluid was ejected, yet instead of hardening into the usual thin threads, it turned into a bullet-like projectiles. It was easy to imagine what would happen if someone was hit by such a thing. At the very least, their movement would be restricted. They might even be glued to the ground and couldn¡¯t move just an inch of your body. In addition, the released fluid on the ground still retained its stickiness. Anyone stepped on it might trip. Loren cluck his tongue at the dangerous attack. In front of him, the spider slowly moved away from the wall. But for some reason, it slammed its head hard into the wall once more. The resulting noise and impact shook their surroundings, and Loren wondered what the hell the spider was thinking. He immediately understood its intention, though. As the whole space with its countless curtain-like spiderwebs shook, several cocoons dropped from the ceiling right at Loren¡¯s group. Being casually dropped down from such a height, the content of a cocoon must had been damaged quite severely, yet it started moving. As the moving something started crawling out, it turned out to be a moving corpse. The corpses slowly stood up, let out groans like the whine of a cold draft, and walked towards the adventurers. These were also spider victims that had been turned into undead, but they were mere shadows compared to the spider victims Loren¡¯s group had encountered earlier: Despite still wearing their clothes and equipment, they were all skin and bones. Reacting to the life forces in front of them, the undead victims stretched their hands at Loren¡¯s group. ¡°I hate these too! We¡¯re not the ones that killed you!¡± Ritz cursed and slashed at one undead who had staggered back after being bashed by his round shield. If undead could feel resentment and such, they would have rushed at the spiders that had killed them. But rather than the cold-blooded spiders, they preferred the warm flesh. That said, these undead had been sucked dry by the spiders, and their bodies were very brittle. Ritz¡¯ long swords and Jack¡¯s daggers had no problem dealing with them. ¡°Hey, Loren, leave these to us!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the difficulty level too distinct¡­¡± Realizing that their attacks would be sufficient for the undead, Ritz left the spider to Loren, who had a weapon that could work against it. Loren wasn¡¯t very keen on this idea. But the fact was that Ritz¡¯ and Jack¡¯s weapons didn¡¯t work against the spider, and letting the one who possessed a weapon that could deal damage to do the damage ¨C was the correct choice in some sense. Still, from the person¡¯s, entrusted with said task, point of view, it wasn¡¯t a very welcoming idea. The difficulty level of fighting some dried up undead was very different from the difficulty level fighting a spider so huge that one would need to look up to see it in entirety. So different so that Loren just had to complain. Still, he had no choice but to do it. The spider was still shooting sticky fluid from its spinnerets, so Loren slashed down at its abdomen. But the spider, in a surprisingly shrewd move, rolled over with its head turning towards Loren and jumped away from the sword¡¯s span. As a result, Loren could only make another shallow slash at its leg. ¡°This thing!¡± Loren was about to chase after it, but was forced to dodge once again as the spider suddenly charged. Considering the sharpness of his sword, it would be possible to cut through the charging spider. But cutting through the spider didn¡¯t necessarily mean stopping it, and if the spider wasn¡¯t stopped, he would be knocked down by its huge body and seriously injured. If unlucky, he might even be ran-over and killed. Loren had no choice but to dodge, but that meant the spider slammed hard into the wall again. ¡°More are dropping down!¡± ¡°Damn! They just won¡¯t stop!¡± Ritz and the others continued to deal with the newly-dropped undead. Their number was so big that Loren had to wonder how many were stored on the ceiling, but Ritz¡¯ group still seemed capable of dealing with them. Even so, if this continued, it could only end when either the undead ¡®stock¡¯ or Ritz¡¯ group stamina ran out. The only way to break the deadlock was to finish off the spider somehow, so Loren took a step forward. ¡°<>!¡± Before Loren launched his attack, Lapis, who had been watching over the situation, threw a spell at the sticky-fluid spitting spider. The pure force of energy smashed into the spider¡¯s belly so hard that it almost made a dent, and the spider¡¯s movement stopped for a moment. Taking advantage of that, Loren got close and put all his strength into slashing at the spider¡¯s belly, which was comparatively softer than the rest of its body. The blade of his greatsword smoothly cut into the spider and carved a rather deep wound this time. Green and white fluid spurted out of the wound, and the spider writhed as if it felt the pain while trying to turn back to face Loren. Taking care to not get caught in the spider¡¯s movements, Loren cut off one of its legs and deterred its of mobility. ¡°<>!¡± At that crucial moment, Gula shot a ball of fire at the spider. It hit the squirming spider¡¯s body and caused a violent explosion that rocked the tunnel¡¯s walls. Even though <> itself didn¡¯t cause the spider any damages, the heat surely did, and the creature writhed in agony. ¡°Just now, when the spell hit, the exoskeleton was gnawed at, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No, Grandpa, it couldn¡¯t be, right?¡± Quartz seemed to have noticed something the moment Gula¡¯s magic exploded, but was dismissed by Lapis¡¯ rather monotone answer. As the spider began to stagger due to the heat and shock, Loren readied his sword and charged into the creature again. He didn¡¯t know where a spider¡¯s vital points were, but he roughly knew that crushing the head would probably kill it. He cut off another leg to stop it from charging, changed his hold on the sword to a backhand grip, and thrust the blade into the spider¡¯s head where its eyes were. To push the blade deeper inside, he let go of the hilt and stomped on the pommel, then leapt back. With a sword buried to the hilt in its head, the spider raged in pain, and the group rushed outside the hall to avoid getting caught in the rampage. They watched the spider writhed about and crushed the undead beneath from the passage, where the creature couldn¡¯t get through to. ¡°Amazing. You¡¯ve really defeated it.¡± Having a vitality fit for its size, the spider struggled for a while with a sword in its head before its energy ran out. It grew weaker and weaker until finally turning to lie on its back and, with a final twitch, stopped moving. They waited a bit more after that before entering the hall again and examined the spider¡¯s corpse. ¡°The surrounding area was also trashed.¡± The spider threads that had been all over the hall earlier were torn off and now stuck around the corpse, making it look like a mountain of garbage. The spider¡¯s rampage had also made more undead drop down from the ceiling. Yet this time around they were all either crushed beneath the writhing spider and turned into chunks, which were scattered around the hall, or got stuck to the spider¡¯s corpses together with the threads. Just like Jack said, it was a scene of a disaster. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Loren came towards the head and pulled his sword out. Having pierced a spider¡¯s body, the blade was covered in oozing greenish fluid. But then it flew off with just one casual shake, and Loren cleaned off the rest with an old rag. ¡°We just have to walk out next¡­ It won¡¯t be easy outside, either. Probably something like this.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s rest a bit. Fighting continuously is tough.¡± ¡°I agree. It¡¯s better so for my old bones.¡± Quartz immediately agreed with Jack¡¯s proposal, and no one else had a different suggestion. As Ritz decided that they would head out after a short break, Gula pointed at the spider corpse: ¡°Do we take this spider to pieces? There¡¯ll be a lot to harvest at this size.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s pass on it. It¡¯ll add to our luggage.¡± ¡°Is that so? What a waste.¡± Gula looked a bit disappointed. But they still had to gather intel from the demons after this; any harvested fresh materials would be ruined, and the exoskeleton was too bulky. And to be honest, no one wanted to disassemble a spider corpse that was covered in threads, dirt, bones and body parts. Even Nim didn¡¯t have any objections. Each of them chose a spot to sit down. As Loren was looking for a place to lean on and rest his body, Lapis thanked him: ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren. It seems like you¡¯re not injured.¡± She also gave him a water flask and a clean cloth. He accepted them with a thanks, then wiped his face with the cloth and took a sip from the flask. ¡°We¡¯ll reach the demons¡¯ territory after this.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Before that, we¡¯ll have to pass another dwarven village.¡± ¡°That¡¯s troublesome.¡± ¡°It is. We¡¯ll make it somehow though, definitely will.¡± Demons ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that they were hated by the whole world. They would enter the domain of such beings soon, yet Lapis talked about it as if it was something trivial. But considering that was where she had originally come from, it would be like homecoming, and there was no reason for her to get worked up at all. For Gula too, as one of the beings called Evil God, keeping company with some demons was no big deal at all. Only Loren, with his human body, had a lot to worry about this, and he was feeling a bit gloomy. Lapis smiled at him as if to tell him to not worry and presented him both of her hands. He placed the cloth he had used and the water flask in them, then silently deeply exhaled. Chapter 188 - From Investigating to Mind Reading Chapter 188 ¨C From Investigating to Mind Reading During the short break they took after the spider was defeated, Loren went to examine its corpse. Others kept a distance from the carcass, and Loren was the only one who approached it. He had a reason to though. Loren stabbed the spider carcass with the tip of his sword multiple times to make sure it had really died before coming closer. The first thing he examined was the spot where Gula¡¯s <> hit. The exoskeleton was quite hard, and even though the surface was scorched, there weren¡¯t many signs of damages. There was only one spot where the exoskeleton had been torn apart, allowing the magical fire and explosion¡¯s to spread inside. ¡°It¡¯s definitely a bite mark¡­¡± The marks left on the exoskeleton were, very obviously, tooth-shaped. Since Gula was the caster, it was obvious what happened. The others didn¡¯t notice, simply because they hadn¡¯t really inspected the spider. Even if they did and wondered what the hell had happened, they wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with an answer anyway. It should be alright to just leave things as they were, but Loren still used his greatsword to scrape off some exoskeleton just to be sure. When he was doing that, Loren suddenly felt the loss of a weight on his right shoulder. Looking over, he noticed that the black spider that had been clinging to his shoulder had disappeared. In its place was a piece of thread, and the spider was at the other end of the thread, clinging onto the dead spider carcass and thrusting its head into the hole Loren had made with his sword. Loren wondered what it was doing, but immediately noticed that it was somehow eating the dead spider, which made him feel a bit weary. He actually thought that it would be nice if the spider just went away like this, but the thread coming from its bottom was still attached to his shoulder, letting him know that it had every intention to return. Wondering if the thread could be removed, Loren pulled at the thread with a little of strength, but it seemed to be very securely attached ¨C there was no sign of it coming off at all. He wondered if it would come off later, but for now he had to continue his examination. ¡°That being done¡­¡± Loren spoke aloud while properly dissecting a spider leg. The exoskeleton was so firm that Ritz¡¯ sword couldn¡¯t make a dent in it, but it was no match for Loren¡¯s greatsword. The leg easily came off with just one light swing of the blade. Loren looked into the freshly cut flesh and sighed at the expected scene. There was nothing inside the exoskeleton of the leg, just a hollowness. Loren stared at that hollowness for a while, then turned his glance towards Gula, who was resting in a passageway on the other side of the hall. She looked to be in a world of her own, but she stiffened her face and looked away in a fluster once she noticed Loren¡¯s eyes on her. That behavior let Loren know exactly what had happened to the flesh of the spider inside the exoskeleton. ¡°That girl¡­ She ate up all the insides.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if it had happened during or after the battle, but after taking a bite off the spider¡¯s exoskeleton to allow her magic to take effects, Gula had sent < > into the open wound and cleanly ate off the spider inside out. Why did she have to go through so much troubles though? More or less, Gula also wanted to avoid attracting Ritz¡¯ party¡¯s attention, but a corpse cleanly devoid of its inside was undeniably suspicious. She didn¡¯t seem to do this to avoid their attention. ¡°What do we do with this?¡± If Ritz¡¯ party came to examine the carcass, they would immediately notice the abnormality. Yet, cleaning up the exoskeleton would take a lot of time and labor as it was too big and hard. They just had to leave this place before the others took an interest in the spider remains. Loren ended his examination and returned to the party. The black spider, which had been rummaging around in the dead spider¡¯s head, followed the thread and smoothly returned to his shoulder. It peeled the thread off Loren¡¯s jacket, wound it up and ate it clean. Loren looked down at the spider for a while: it seemed a bit heavier than before. It seemed like this spider had no intention to part ways with him for a while. ¡°It¡¯s not a pet, but¡­ I should give it a name or something¡­¡± Loren unintentionally uttered, and the spider on his shoulder vibrated. With such a reaction, Loren wondered if it could understand human speech, but he immediately dismissed the idea. Big or small, spiders were spiders ¨C it would be too much if they could understand human speed and react to it. Loren felt the spider stopped vibrating just then. He looked at it once more and nervously asked: ¡°Do you want a name?¡± Loren thought he wouldn¡¯t get a reaction, but he did. The spider vibrated once again. Trying to not let his jaw drop unintentionally, Loren changed his mind. Apparently, spiders that could understand humans did exist. He had never once thought about it during his mercenary days, but such things did exist in the world¡­ When Loren was musing, the spider on his shoulder began vibrating even harder, as if to urge him. He had believed that naming should be done with great consideration, but he just blurted out the first word that came to his mind: ¡°Nigreto. Nig if it¡¯s too long. How about it?¡± The spider stopped rocking its body at Loren¡¯s words. He wondered if it didn¡¯t like the name, but as he began to think of another one to propose, the spider suddenly shook its body once. Loren considered that an acceptance and said in confirmation while stroking the spider¡¯s smooth body with his left hand: ¡°So, it¡¯s Nig. I don¡¯t know for how long you want to stick with me, but well, please take care of me.¡± The spider named Nig shook its body again. ¡°Are you done talking?¡± Lapis said, as if she had been waiting for the right timing. Somehow, feeling like her eyes were on him as well as the spider on his shoulder, Loren asked: ¡°Could this spider be intelligent?¡± ¡°This one? Of course it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis said this as if it was something obvious, and that confused Loren. ¡°Is it?¡± ¡°These spiders are intelligent enough to understand humans to some extent. They¡¯re famous for it¡­ Even the dwarves know.¡± ¡°Is it alright for me to walk around with it?¡± The spider wasn¡¯t only intelligent, but was even famous for understanding human speech. Loren was made to realize that the ecosystem of this place exceeded his common sense, and felt uneasy. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ no problem, I think? Just one of them won¡¯t be able to ruin a country.¡± ¡°Your comparison is a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous for a village, so please be careful.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± Lapis¡¯ words made him feel awfully uneasy, and he wanted to ask what she meant, but Ritz interrupted: ¡°Can we continue now? I can¡¯t say it was plenty, but we did have some rest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine now, isn¡¯t it? What do you think, Loren?¡± Since he was asked directly, Loren had no choice but to answer. He gave up questioning Lapis for now, but he had the feeling that if he couldn¡¯t find the time to do it later, something outrageous would happen, and he would regret not asking. ¡°Fine for me. We¡¯re almost at the exit, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Be careful though, there¡¯s a high chance that the outside is full of spiders.¡± As the spiders had completely overrun the tunnel, they might have spread outside. If that was indeed the case, it was very likely that the area around the exit on the demons side had become a breeding ground for the spiders. ¡°Would be nice if they ain¡¯t big.¡± ¡°Pardon us, but you¡¯ve just seen that our weapons are no match for them at all.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other countermeasures?¡± Ritz complained, and Loren asked with just a little bit of surprise. It was partly because a silver rank adventurer was admitting his weapon¡¯s ineffectiveness to him, but it was also because entering the demons¡¯ territory without any counter-plan was way too reckless. ¡°Not that we don¡¯t. We do, and we still have our trump card too.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be in bad taste to ask you what it is, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t tell you, cause that¡¯s how a trump card works.¡± Ritz answered while walking, and Loren nodded in agreement. ¡°If you¡¯re aiming for something higher than iron rank, you should have one hidden trump card too.¡± According to Ritz, it was normal for adventurers above silver ranks to have one or two trump cards or hidden tricks. Of course, information about such things were a matter of life and death, so they would keep them hidden until the very last minute. ¡°It¡¯s the same as showing your hands. You¡¯ll have to keep it hidden to the last minute, and once you use it, you¡¯ll have to dispose of your opponents. There¡¯s no harm in keeping this in mind, you know?¡± ¡°Thanks for the advice. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Loren replied in a light tone, but he knew he really should have at least one of those things. Right now, their party largely depended on Lapis the demon, Gula the Evil God, and Shayna the King of Death. From Loren¡¯s point of view, he was the weakest in terms of fighting power in their party. Maybe he should have something that didn¡¯t depend on them up his sleeve, even just one. [¡®Onii-san, if you want even more power, do you want to become inhuman? As a human who has become inhuman, I don¡¯t recommend it.¡¯] Shayna¡¯s words made Loren¡¯s heart jump. Loren wondered if she could read his mind, but Shayna immediately dismissed the notion: [¡®You¡¯re just easy to read.¡¯] Loren tilted his head in puzzlement ¨C was he really that easy to read? But then, Jack¡¯s voice came, bringing him back to reality and pushing such thoughts to the back. Chapter 189 - From Investigating Chapter 189 ¨C From Investigating ¡°Hey, come here guys.¡± At Jack¡¯s call, everyone came over to where he was hiding. The place was right in front of the exit, where sunlight from the outside did reach. The lantern was put out, and they looked into the direction Jack was pointing. If the tunnel exit on the demons¡¯ side was the same as the exit on human¡¯s side, there should be a dwarven village here. And yes, there surely was a village, where someone had lived. But Jack wouldn¡¯t call out to them if that was all, and the reason for his call soon became apparent. ¡°There¡¯s no one here.¡± Ritz muttered. There were no signs of humans or dwarves in this village. But this was something within their expectation. They had thought that the spiders infesting the tunnel had increased their numbers by attacking this village. If that was really the case, there should have been spiders and spiderwebs here. But in front of their eyes was nothing but the emptiness of the place. ¡°The spiders have completely destroyed the place¡­ then went somewhere else?¡± Ritz made a guess, but Lapis immediately shook her head. ¡°Even so, there should have been spider threads remaining here.¡± If the spiders occupied a place, then no matter how temporarily, there should have been web-nets remaining. But from what they could see, in this quiet village, there was nothing like that. ¡°The spiders actually didn¡¯t come here?¡± Jack asked cautiously ¨C it sounded like he couldn¡¯t even believe his own words. But everyone turned their cold gazes on him, and he shrank into himself. ¡°No matter how you think about it, the spiders in the tunnel should have come by here, right? Why is it this quiet, then?¡± Ignoring Jack¡¯s words, Gula asked. Of course, no one here had a clear answer to her question. ¡°It won¡¯t help to loiter here and chit-chat. Let¡¯s go look around.¡± Ritz said after a while. In the current situation, where no one had any guess about what had happened, it was no use to keep hanging out at the entrance. ¡°If no one is here, we¡¯ll go on. If there¡¯s somebody around, we just have to catch them and ask what happened.¡± ¡°It would be nice if this ¡®someone¡¯ can speak.¡± Loren interjected in a whisper, and everyone exchanged powerless smiles. Anyway, everyone agreed that they wouldn¡¯t know what happened if they didn¡¯t go investigate. And so, they got out of the tunnel and stepped into the dwarven village. But their investigation abruptly came to an end. ¡°There¡¯s nothing left.¡± Loren muttered. There really was nothing left in the village. They found traces of fighting and several bloodstains, but no corpses or signs of spiders. Goods and food were also completely absent. There wasn¡¯t a single clue left here. Speaking of things, they found, there were traces of something like a bonfire and footprints that even Jack couldn¡¯t recognize, partly because dwarven villages were nicely paved with stones. They could have made some guesses about what had happened if there was something comprehensible left behind, but as things were now, they weren¡¯t able to think about anything even if asked. So, after a short investigation, they came to the conclusion that nothing could be done here. ¡°It¡¯s better to wrap up early. We can¡¯t hang around here forever.¡± Ritz looked up at the sky and said. By the time everyone finished their investigation and gathered, the sky had already been dyed red, telling them that it would soon turn dark. If too much time was spent on investigating the village, the time intended for their original purposes would decrease. And that was another reason why Ritz decided to end their investigation early. ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Dig, but we didn¡¯t come here to investigate why the residents of this village disappeared.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­¡± Dig didn¡¯t look like he agreed, but he understood very well that he couldn¡¯t force Ritz¡¯ and Loren¡¯s parties to do a job they weren¡¯t commissioned to, and didn¡¯t try to object to Ritz¡¯ plan. ¡°If we don¡¯t investigate further, it¡¯s best to quickly leave this creepy place behind.¡± ¡°I have no objection to that.¡± Considering that it would be night soon, there actually were places that could serve as camping grounds here even without any preparation. But since the residents of this village had vanished, by no means they felt like spending the night here. ¡°Well, let¡¯s say goodbye here. Three days after tomorrow, we¡¯ll wait for you until around noon. If you come back to this area by then, you can return with us. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s impossible for us to go in deeper anyway. We¡¯ll hang around here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then. Just a heads-up, but if you camp around here, don¡¯t worry about the fire. The demons don¡¯t come all the way here. Even if they notice the fire, they won¡¯t come to check. They¡¯re actually quite laid back.¡± If that was true, it would be really nice. Loren looked at Lapis. ¡°Demons don¡¯t have that much free time.¡± Lapis said, seemingly not noticing Loren¡¯s eyes. Still, Loren believed she was answering his question. Even though it was a secret, that Lapis was a demon. If that was her opinion, then it must be true. ¡°Well then, we¡¯re going. We don¡¯t have that much time, either.¡± ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t overdo it.¡± ¡°See you later, Loren.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be great for us if we meet again.¡± Each member of Ritz¡¯ party said goodbye, then headed for the center of the demons¡¯ territory. Just like they had said, they were probably going deeper into the demons¡¯ territory to collect intel. Loren saw them disappear into the forest outside the village. ¡°So, what do we do now?¡± After he was sure that Ritz¡¯ party had disappeared from sight, Loren turned towards Lapis and asked. Loren had told Ritz that they would wander around the outer edge of the demons¡¯ territory, but their true purpose was going to Lapis¡¯ home to ask about the true identity of his greatsword. No one but Lapis knew the path. ¡°Right. Sorry everyone, I¡¯d really like to say ¡®Let¡¯s go to my house¡¯ now, but I have some minor business to attend to.¡± Lapis said apologetically. Loren expected her to elaborate, but he asked just in case: ¡°What business?¡± ¡°Checking what happened here. I told Ritz earlier that there are no demons that are free enough to check out this outer region, but the truth is there are no demons that won¡¯t come investigating once they notice something strange.¡± From Loren¡¯s and Ritz¡¯ point of view, this was the land of another race, whatever happened here had nothing to do with them, and it was okay to not care. But from Lapis-the-demon¡¯s point of view, this was her people¡¯s land, and she couldn¡¯t overlook some unexplained anomaly happening here. ¡°I was under the dwarves¡¯ care when I left the country. I believe I should find out what happened to them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair. Well, if that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to go with you.¡± Without Lapis, no one knew the way to Lapis¡¯ house. So, Loren believed that they had no other choices but to go with Lapis on her investigation. Lapis suddenly understood that and nodded grimly. It was natural for a demon to perform this investigation, but Loren and Gula would have to accompany her whether they wanted to or not. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, both of you. I proposed it myself, but I didn¡¯t see it coming this time¡­¡± She was about to withdraw her proposal, probably worrying about needlessly involving the other two in a dangerous situation. But Gula pointed to the sky and interrupt her: ¡°Whatever, but¡­¡± The red sky indicated that night was just around the corner. Following Gula¡¯s finger, Loren and Lapis looked at the sky, then looked back at her to see what she wanted to say. ¡°The sun will set anytime now, I think. We¡¯ll have to camp anyway, so this village will do, right? If something happens, it¡¯ll happen at night. If nothing happens during the night, then we can say that this place is safe for now.¡± ¡°That¡­ You could say so. I don¡¯t want to get you two into danger though.¡± Lapis sounded reluctant, but Gula just smiled broadly. Her smile was so evil that Loren reflexively put himself on guard while Lapis put some distance between her and Gula. But Gula immediately retracted the evilness and waved her hands: ¡°Just a joke, just a joke. It¡¯s because Lapis-chan hardly ever says something so cute. Anyway, what danger were you talking about?¡± After that smile, Lapis just couldn¡¯t say the same thing anymore. But even if it was alright for Gula, there was still another person Lapis worried about. ¡°But¡­ There¡¯s Loren too.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be fine if he follows us, right? Also, he can manage the usual stuff, right?¡± Gula told Lapis, and she looked at Loren. Of course, from their point of view, he was the weakest one, that was indeed the truth, and Loren had no objection. ¡°I¡¯ll try to not be a burden.¡± That much was all he could say. Lapis thought about it for a while, then looked up at the other two and said: ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m sorry, but please accompany me and spend the night here.¡± At Lapis¡¯ rephrased request, Loren and Lapis nodded deeply at almost the same time. Chapter 190 - From Camping to Chapter 190 ¨C From Camping to And so, night came. According to Lapis, a fire at this outer region wouldn¡¯t attract the demons¡¯ attention. The reason was, the demons were actually aware of humans and other races entering their domain and collecting intel. If humans came near or into their town, of course they would think about dealing with them. Otherwise, they would simply acknowledge that there were few trespassers doing something sneakily, but they didn¡¯t care enough to go over and repel adventurers. ¡°Because humans come here gathering intel just to know whether demons will cross the mountains and attack them.¡± Dealing with some mere adventurers would only add to demons¡¯ already-bad reputation, while those adventurers only did that much¡­ To demons, such an action simply brought no profit. After being told so by Lapis, Loren came to think that acting with extreme caution here was somehow stupid. Still, this time, demons weren¡¯t their only opponents. In order to not attract unwanted attention from other creatures, they didn¡¯t make a fire. After dinner, they hid in a corner of a village and kept watch for any strange occurrences. ¡°I want cooked food.¡± ¡°Later.¡± As expected, Gula complained about their scarce dinner, and Loren and Lapis had to sooth her. They decided to not set up a tent, but took turns getting into their sleeping bags and keeping watch. The strange occurrence took place past midnight, when the moon was high in the sky. It was Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ guard shift, and Gula was sleeping soundly. Their camping site was hidden next to a building at the edge of the village, and even though there should have been no one else but themselves here, some living creature was approaching them. It was Lapis and Shayna, who noticed its appearance. ¡°Something¡¯s coming. From the East. There are about twenty or thirty of them.¡± [¡®Onii-san, East of the village. Twenty-eight.¡¯] As expected, the night belonged to the King of Death. Loren gestured Lapis to wake Gula up, then moved to a spot where he could watch the east region of the village. He saw figures climbing over the village fence and got inside. The figures looked a bit bigger than a human and, for some reason, they began demolishing a nearby building with tools held in both hands. It happened so suddenly that Loren had to wonder if he saw it wrongly. He blinked, but no matter how many times he looked, the figures still continued their work. They were extremely quiet, but very efficient in their work. As some of them carried scrap materials out of the villages, new figures joined in as if to replace them. ¡°What are they doing¡­?¡± ¡°Maybe destroying evidence or something like that?¡± Before Loren realized, Lapis had come to stand behind him. She watched the scene with him and guessed with her head tilted in confusion. ¡°Destroying evidence¡­¡± ¡°To cleanly erase what happened here. Like, before it¡¯s exposed that some unforeseen accident has happened and annihilated a dwarves¡¯ village, let¡¯s make it as if there has never been anything here.¡± ¡°You sound like an experienced person, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make such blunders.¡± Loren thought Lapis could come up with such an idea so smoothly because she was a demon, but Lapis denied it, so he didn¡¯t delve into the subject further. Actually, if she answered ¡®Yes¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t know how to react, thus Loren cautioned himself to not ask questions he wouldn¡¯t know how to react to. Gula¡¯s drowsy voice came from his back just then; Lapis had woken her up. ¡°What? Are those big dark goblins?¡± ¡°Big dark¡­ goblins? You can even see colors in this situation?¡± Since they didn¡¯t start a fire, they had to rely on the moonlight for visibility. In such a situation, Loren could only see several human-like figures working, but Gula¡¯s eyes could discern even colors in such meager light. He was once again astonished by the powerful abilities of Evil Gods. Aside from that, he was concerned about the phrase ¡®big black goblins¡¯ Gula used. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before?¡± ¡°I dunno? Anyway, those are big goblins with dark skin.¡± Loren searched his memory for big dark goblins, he thought he had met them before. Lapis looked at him in shock and said: ¡°It was our first job, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah? Ahhh, that.¡± It was the very first job Loren had taken after becoming an adventurer. He was asked by another party to accompany them on a goblin extermination, but that party was wiped out at the scene. He saved Lapis, who belonged to that party, and they began working together. They were chased by the goblins, got lost, then ended up in a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom. That was where they encountered the big dark goblins. These goblins were more intelligent than normal ones, and their strength and skills were also superior. They were such formidable enemies that even a party of silver-ranked adventurers like Ritz¡¯ was also put into danger. ¡°No, but we sealed that ruin. It shouldn¡¯t be serviceable anymore.¡± The ruin was a facility that experimented on breeding and strengthening goblins. Loren had destroyed it by his own hands and made sure that it wouldn¡¯t be able to run again, and the Adventurer Guild had sealed it as it was classified as a dangerous ruin. Even if the Guild¡¯s seal was temporarily broken, the facility wouldn¡¯t function because Loren had destroyed it. It wouldn¡¯t be able to produce strengthened goblins anymore. ¡°That ruin isn¡¯t the only one that exists. If the information is taken out, it¡¯ll be simple to do the same thing in some other ruins.¡± ¡°Simple¡­¡± ¡°That ruin was dormant, but then became active again. Someone entered it before Ritz¡¯ party.¡± A dormant ruin wouldn¡¯t be able to operate again without someone activating it. It was an obvious thing, but Loren thought Lapis still should have pointed it out. ¡°I thought it¡¯s just a trivial thing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Lapis shamelessly declared, and Loren was considering pressing her a bit more, but Shayna sent a warning in his mind. [¡®Onii-san! We¡¯re surrounded!¡¯] ¡°What?!¡± Loren was being vigilant, but he didn¡¯t notice them being surrounded at all. Surprised, Loren tried to stand up, but a semi-transparent hand reaching out from under the ground and grasped his right ankle. [¡®Don¡¯t touch!¡¯] The hand dispersed at the same time Shayna¡¯s thought came, but another hand immediately sprouted from the ground and began tremulously extending towards their party. And there wasn¡¯t just one or two of them. Their number multiplied, and when the three of them noticed, their surroundings were full of translucent hands. ¡°Are we surrounded by ghosts?!¡± As they weren¡¯t living things, ghosts had no presence. Even though the atmosphere had become a bit strange, they were preoccupied with the goblins and didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Ghosts can¡¯t be eliminated by eating.¡± Gula complained and waved her hand. Unbelievably, the countless arms sprouting from the ground cleanly disappeared. It was over so quickly that Loren felt a bit anticlimactic, but he immediately gathered his mind and spoke to Lapis and Gula. ¡°Let¡¯s run. Something had probably noticed us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Gula remained silent, but Lapis answered. They were about to escape the area, but the thing that had noticed their existence reacted before they could: A fresh crop of dark goblins with huge clubs in hands appeared in the direction they were about to run to. ¡°So troublesome!¡± There were quite a few goblins blocking their path, but Loren charged into them without slowing down. He unsheathed his greatsword and slashed at the goblins as he passed by. The goblins either swung their clubs at Loren or used them to meet his sword, but all those actions proved to be futile. As they came to understand that, the white blade had passed through their bodies, making them shiver by its coldness. The next moment, they became mere chunks of meat that fell to the ground. Witnessing their comrades¡¯ too easy demise, the other goblins instinctively flattered. Gula¡¯s < > swooped down on them, biting indiscriminately and leaving behind untidy messes. With a considerable number of them being defeated so easily, normal goblins would have lost their fighting spirit ¨C it wouldn¡¯t be strange if they even ran away. But dark goblins just stepped over the chunks of meat and puddles of blood that used to be their comrades and charged at Loren¡¯s group as if to stop them. ¡°These guys aren¡¯t scared at all?!¡± ¡°I wonder if they were even thought about that.¡± Lapis waved her delicate hand, and the heads of the goblins surrounding her were rotated sideways. As the heads were twisted off, blood spurted from the neck, but Lapis just ran past them without seeming to care. She rushed to Loren¡¯s side, as he had stopped to parry with the goblins. ¡°It won¡¯t stop if we keep engaging with them. Let¡¯s break through and take refuge in the forest.¡± There was a thick forest outside the village. If they get into there, not only Loren but the goblins also wouldn¡¯t be able to use their weapons as they wish. Their large bodies would become a big hindrance when running through the trees, and their speed would significantly decrease. ¡°I¡¯m gonna clear the way!¡± Gula turned her palms towards a corner of the wall of flesh made from goblins that was surrounding them. With that simple action, the goblins at that spot disappeared as if being gulped down by something. It wasn¡¯t possible to immediately close a sudden gap like that, and Loren¡¯s group ran out and away from the village through that gap. But then someone stopped. ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡± Something that could only be described as a flash of light stroke their group right at the front. Loren, who had synced with Shayna¡¯s vision, saw that flash of light cut the Predators right into halves, tearing the ground and surged up to come straight at them. Shuddered to see an attack that was able to cut through an Evil God¡¯s power coming at them, Loren immediately started self-boost. He even aroused the sensation that came with his rampage, and hit at the flash of light with the most powerful slash he could manage. There was the sound of something breaking, and sparks of light scattered at the spot where his sword made contact. Loren could feel the scattered light causing injuries all over his body, but he immediately thrust his sword into the direction the light wielder should have been in. ¡°Hoh, should I defend now?¡± Someone¡¯s voice came from that direction. It sounded just a little impressed. Loren didn¡¯t know how often the voice¡¯s owner could make an attack like the one earlier, but he knew it would be bad to be struck like that again. He smashed the double-strengthened slashes that worked even with the Evil God of Lust on the figure with no reservation. The white blade that could cut through stones as if nothing, swung with a force strengthened to the maximum and a speed that eyes could hardly follow, slashed at the figure, but the sensation transmitted to Loren¡¯s hand was not of a blade cutting through flesh but the shock of the blade being stopped by something hard. ¡°No idea what kind of suspicious character you are, but you¡¯re a so-so swordsman.¡± Loren¡¯s greatsword was stopped by the longsword the figure held in one hand. He stared at the locked blades with an unbelievable look on his face. The owner of the other blade broke into a smile. The strike Loren had made with his utmost power while clasping his greatsword by both hands had been stopped one-handedly. His opponent was looking at him with happy eyes, but Loren, even in his rampage state, felt like his heart was stabbed with an ice-cold blade. Chapter 191 - From Escaping to Clashing Chapter 191 ¨C From Escaping to Clashing With their blades locked and neither able to move, Loren managed check his opponent¡¯s appearance. He was the same height as Loren, but built slightly thinner. His appearance didn¡¯t match his strength, considering that he was able to stop Loren¡¯s double-enhanced attack with just one hand. He wore fitted black metal armor and a black cloak. His almond eyes were also black, however his countenance rather than being cold, gave off a cruel impression. Straight long black hair completed his look. His long sword was currently locked with Loren¡¯s greatsword, whereas his second hand was free as he didn¡¯t carry a shield. ¡°What now? Do we finish here?¡± This guy stopped Loren¡¯s full strength slash with a longsword held in just one hand, yet he didn¡¯t even tremble. Not only that, but he was pushing Loren back, even just a little. Loren gritted his teeth. Keenly feeling his shoe sole scraping against the ground, he put more strength into his hands and noticed the other man¡¯s slight smile. ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡± Before Loren knew, the flashing attack was coming again, it was already too late to dodge. He prepared himself for the worst and put even more strength into his greatsword. And as if in response, the white blade started emitting a white light. ¡°Ngh?!¡± Loren thought he heard the man exclaim in surprise. But he was immediately blown back by the shock of the impact without even being able to brace himself. At the same time, the other man was also sent flying back, making the distance between them larger. The man immediately corrected his posture and held his sword up. Loren also readied his sword again, but he had started thinking about how to escape from this place with as few injuries as possible. From the brief parry earlier, he had fully understood that he was no match for this man. If the man could stop his attack by just one hand even after he had used self-boost and triggered his rampage, Loren had no chance of beating him. Loren felt calmer, probably because he had been repelled so easily. It was lucky that he came out of his rampaging state earlier than usual ¨C he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away otherwise. The other man was strong, but the fact that his flashing light attack could be triggered again after such a short time was what made him especially dangerous. Even though his unidentified white blade seemed capable of stopping it somehow, Loren didn¡¯t know how far he could rely on that. He didn¡¯t want to receive a blow that could cut through an Evil God¡¯s power with his mortal body, and seeing that he had no countermeasures for said blow, to quickly run away was the best option. ¡°What are you thinking about? Do you even have the luxury to think now?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t incautious, but the man still managed to make a slash at him while he was thinking. The slash wasn¡¯t fast but was packed full with power, and even though Loren was able to parry it somehow, he was still being put into the defensive stance. The man exceeded him in both speed and strength, and if this continued, he would get hit sooner or later. But he could find no way to break the deadlock. Just then, Gula shouted from behind him. ¡°Loren! Jump back!¡± Jumping back while in the middle of a sword fight would give your opponent the chance to rally and chase after you, making the situation worse. But Loren believed that Gula had reasons to specifically instruct him so, and he jumped back as much as he could without thinking. The other man chased after him. By that time, half of the dark goblins surrounding them had disappeared. Loren didn¡¯t even have time to think about that, as one of Gula¡¯s Predators suddenly appeared in front of the man. Loren was surprised to see the normally-invisible Predator now suddenly materialized, but the man had already proved that he could cut apart Predators. Not even faltering, the man swung his sword at the Predator with no restraint. But the Predator spat out a large amount of meat and blood that buried the man down from head to toes. ¡°What!¡± Gula clenched her fists and looked at Lapis with half-opened eyes. ¡°Gula, that¡¯s gross¡­ You really vomited the goblins you ate¡­¡± Lapis sounded shocked. Loren landed and finally understood what Gula had done. After knowing that she couldn¡¯t directly use < > on the man, Gula had eaten up the surrounding goblins, chewed them up, then materialized a Predator in front of the man and spat them out. The man also didn¡¯t expect such a move ¨C he only thought that the Predator came to attack him. Because of that, when meeting with vomited blood and meat, his reaction was delayed, and he was buried whole. ¡°I can¡¯t describe it as anything but extremely distasteful.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s effective.¡± Exactly because it was distasteful the black swordsman couldn¡¯t sense the danger. Also, it was a surprisingly large amount of blood and meat chunks. If such a large amount of things were suddenly hurled at Loren, he would also be confused, and it would take a while for him to regain his senses. In addition, as fat was also present in the chewed mix, it would be sticky all over his body, armor and weapon, making it extremely difficult to continue attacking. ¡°Let¡¯s run away immediately. Such opponents are not easy to deal with.¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s strong?¡± Lapis asked as if to confirm, and Loren nodded with no hesitation. ¡°He¡¯s strong. I couldn¡¯t make a solid hit at all.¡± Not only because that man was able to stop his double-enhanced attack with one hand, but also because his longswords didn¡¯t break or chipped after clashing with Loren¡¯s greatsword. His sword skills were also above Loren¡¯s, and he was able to make such a powerful attack like the flash of light rather frequently. To be honest, Loren didn¡¯t even want to be his opponent. Running away from this place was the only correct solution. As for what had happened with this dwarven village, even though they still didn¡¯t know anything clearly, they had gotten enough information to know that these guys had done something. Investigating further might very likely turn this into a matter of life or death for them. ¡°Indeed. Gula, let¡¯s run.¡± Hearing Loren¡¯s opinion, Lapis also agreed that they should run away from this place. She immediately called out to Gula, who had eaten almost all of the goblins only to spat them out, rushed over to their side with a smile of a child that had succeeded in a prank. ¡°Running away? Well, let¡¯s do it right away then.¡± ¡°Was that guy also a difficult opponent to you, Gula?¡± ¡°How to say it hm¡­ I probably can do him if I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t want to deal with him though. He¡¯s stronger than Loren. So such a human does exist.¡± As the man was buried under a mound of blood and meat, they couldn¡¯t see him. But this was no place for idle chit-chat, being near an enemy that could strike any time and all. So, Loren¡¯s party immediately fled the place. They didn¡¯t even consider where they were running to ¨C all they knew was that they had to put some distance between them and that village. But before long, they noticed that it was bright behind them and realized that flash of light was coming again. ¡°He¡¯s already back?!¡± ¡°What a troublesome guy!¡± Just as Loren turned around and swung his greatsword down, the flash of light crashed into his blade. As a result, he was pushed back due to the tremendous force, but his white blade managed to shatter the flash of light coming at them. Loren frowned ¨C his arm had begun to hurt, and his hands felt a bit numb due to the shock transmitted from the sword. >¡±You do this and dare to run away?!¡±< The man¡¯s body was soiled with meat and blood from the head down. His face was distorted with anger, and he chased them with his long sword held high. Loren¡¯s face stiffened, he was still quite fast despite the heavy-looking armor he was wearing. ¡°That¡¯s fast! You caught up with us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m mad.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s understandable.¡± Anyone would get mad after being vomited on, even more so if that vomit was goblins¡¯ meat and blood. Loren understood his anger. Looking back while frantically running for the forest, they could see a man covered in meat and blood from head to toes in the meager light. His state was so horrible that even though Loren had no intention to apologize, he was sure that even an apology wouldn¡¯t stop him. ¡°Cut, Caliburns!!¡± Another flash of light shot at them from behind. Still running, they had very little time to defend themselves, but the intense light flashed by them into the trees ahead. The trees were blasted away, soil turning up with them. Loren shook the dirt from his body while still running, and he looked over his shoulder to see the man brandishing his long sword again. He called out to him loudly. >¡±That dirty bastard! He keeps firing that attack ¡¯cause it¡¯s risk-free for him!¡±< ¡°Even if I try to eat him with my < >, he¡¯ll just slice them apart again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rather powerful magic weapon. It¡¯s a set with the armor, though incomplete. They are endowed with various kinds of magic.¡± Lapis glanced back and spoke about her appraisal. His armor seemed to have unthinkable power, yet it was still incomplete. ¡°Probably the shield and helmet are missing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just a trivial thing now, isn¡¯t it?! It¡¯s already enough in this situation!¡± Another shot of light was coming. Probably because the man fired it while chasing them, his aim was off: the light missed them and hit a nearby area instead. Still, the aftershock of it jolted their bodies, and Lapis tripped because of that. Loren, who was running beside her, immediately saved her by carrying her. ¡°That bastard! He¡¯ll hit us sooner or later!¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Should I make some effort, I wonder?¡± Lapis said from within Loren¡¯s arms. She slipped out of his hold and climbed to sit on his shoulder to look behind. As Loren was still running at full speed, her maneuver looked just like an acrobatics act to Loren and Gula, but they had no idea why Lapis would do it. ¡°Well then, the unknown mister from behind, may I suggest you stop chasing us?¡± ¡°Shut up! Do you think you can get off unscathed after doing something like THIS?!¡± ¡°I just want to give you an advice.¡± Lapis¡¯ shoulders drooped a bit at the man¡¯s reaction. Loren, being the closest to her, had no idea how that was an advice though. ¡°So, I have no choice. I¡¯ll have to use my power to make you leave.¡± ¡°Try, if you think you can!¡± The man stopped with his declaration. Loren didn¡¯t think he stopped because of the exchange with Lapis at all, so he looked over his shoulder to see their attacker and his face stiffened. The man held his sword aloft with both hands and said: ¡°In the name of the King, I call your noble name. Fire, Caliburns, encompassing light.¡± ¡°Wake up, the power that fills this land, in the name of the ruling King. Attack the insolent one.¡± At the same time, Lapis said another incantation and turned her palms towards the man, while still sitting on Loren¡¯s shoulder. Loren knew something happened, but he had no idea what. All he could feel was a white light so intense that it could burn his eyes despite coming from behind him, and a shock crashing into his back so hard that he thought his body was shattered. Then he saw Gula jump at him while shouting something and felt Lapis, who was still sitting on his shoulder, softly place her hand on his head. In a silence so complete that he wondered if his eardrums had been torn, white painted all over the scenery, and Loren with a strange floating sensation lost his consciousness. Chapter 192 - From Destination to The Next Commission Chapter 192 ¨C From Destination to The Next Commission Loren drowsily thought that he remembered this sensation. He remembered swaying in a vortex of unthinkable magic power and could only cry. He couldn¡¯t tell exactly when it happened, but he was strangely sure that it really did happen. Loren didn¡¯t even remember when the last time he cried, so it was probably from a long time ago. He vaguely remembered someone else being there and kept soothing him though. As he reached out for help because of the recalled pain, something warm enveloped his hand, and his body relaxed in relief. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s bold.¡± ¡°Mother? Could you please explain in way I can understand why you are here?¡± ¡°To evaluate the man my daughter brings home.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too blunt.¡± The two women¡¯s conversation forcibly pulled Loren back from the realm of sleep. Upon opening his heavy eyelids, the first thing that appeared in this sight was an indignant-looking Lapis. Next was a woman in a rather extravagant dress who was, for some reason, straddling him. The woman had long black hair that casually flowed down her back, and somehow resembled Lapis. From the conversation he had overheard earlier, she must be Lapis¡¯ mother, but appearance-wise, she didn¡¯t look like someone who had such a big daughter at all. The woman¡¯s eyes were a surprisingly clear purple, so there was no doubt she was from the demon race. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve woken? Sorry for being so noisy.¡± ¡°Mother, please get off Loren. That is my place.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The woman asked, but still obediently got off. As the weight atop of him was gone, Loren sighed in relief. But for some reason, Lapis climbed up and sat on him in the exact same spot, and Loren choked again. ¡°Sleep a bit more, Loren.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Get down, Lapis.¡± Loren lightly tapped at her knee and asked, and Lapis slowly got down with a somewhat dissatisfied look on her face. Loren¡¯s clothes were not completely taken off when he was put into this bed, but his boots and jackets were. Both were now neatly placed together near the wall. Nigg was still on the jacket, as if it had really claimed that spot as his lair. Looking around, Loren understood that he was in a bedroom of sorts and bright light was streaming in from the window. ¡°I am¡­ still alive? Where is this?¡± Recalling what had happened before he lost consciousness, Loren was sure it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he just died. It was such a strong force. Loren wanted to know what happened after the black-clad man clashed with whatever power Lapis was wielding, but he also didn¡¯t want to know. It was a complicated feeling. ¡°You¡¯re alive, and this is my home. Is this explanation alright for you?¡± ¡°Home?¡± Loren asked and looked at the other woman, who was standing smilingly next to Lapis. According to what Lapis had just said, he was lying in one of the rooms in her home, and the smiling woman was indeed her mother. ¡°How much time has passed?¡± Loren didn¡¯t add ¡®since I passed out¡¯ because he thought Lapis would get it. She answered immediately. ¡°It¡¯s just past dawn.¡± Not that much time had passed then. Loren wanted to leave the bed, but Lapis and the other woman stopped him. ¡°Please sleep a bit more, Loren. I¡¯ve healed you, but it was pretty severe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry that our Lapis acted without thinking of the consequences.¡± Loren wondered what she was talking about for a moment, but then immediately realized she meant the clash with that black-clad man. It seemed like he had passed out because of it, and that was what she was apologizing for. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything else at the time.¡± ¡°In that case, you haven¡¯t really grown up, have you, Lapis-chan?¡± The woman smiled, and Lapis seemed to lightly gritted her teeth. Loren coughed lightly while wondering if it was alright for him to cut in. ¡°Ah, Loren, let me do some introduction. This is mother.¡± Loren had no idea how managed to clear he throat so fast, but Lapis pulled the smiling woman by the shoulder with one hand and pointed at her with the other and made a perfunctory introduction. The woman gave him a polite bow. ¡°I am Judie Paimonia. I have a different family name though.¡± ¡°I am Loren, former mercenary and now adventurer. I am your daughter¡¯s partner.¡± It was just good manners to introduce yourself after being introduced, so Loren gave Judie the bare information and a light bow of the head. Next to her mother, Lapis smiled happily. ¡°Partner has a nice ring to it.¡± ¡°Great to see you like it. By the way, how¡¯s Gula?¡± Loren recalled her leaping at him before he lost consciousness. As he was still alive, it was hard to think something worse had happened to her. Still he was a bit worried not seeing her at all. ¡°She¡¯s resting in another room. She¡¯s a bit exhausted after using too much power.¡± According to Lapis, before Loren lost consciousness, Gula had set up a barrier to protect everyone. But the clash was much more powerful than expected, and Loren and Gula still received quite some impact despite the barrier. It was nothing too serious, but Gula was down due to overusing her power and magic. ¡°Are we close that place?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s quite far. My people came to see the clash and carried you and Gula back here.¡± ¡®What the hell is your family?¡¯, Loren wondered. Just a look at Judie, who was watching their conversation by Lapis¡¯ side, and one could easily guess that their family was not an average family but a high-ranking one. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for such a family to have numerous servants. Also, he found it a bit unfathomable that he and Gula lost consciousness in that light, but Lapis, the one who created it, was totally fine. ¡°Still, we reached our destination.¡± ¡°Yes, we did.¡± Lapis replied. Next to her, Judie unhurriedly took out something from behind her. It was Loren¡¯s greatsword. She lifted it with one hand and gazed at it with melancholic eyes. ¡°You came here to hear about this sword¡¯s story, didn¡¯t you? So Lapis-chan really took it out.¡± Judie said she had been searching for it and wondered where it had disappeared to. She casually swung the greatsword with just a snap of her wrist, and Loren, who had been using the sword until now, watched with disbelief. Even though the greatsword had lost its outer layer, it was still a huge weapon. It definitely wasn¡¯t something a woman should be able to lift with one hand and move with a snap of the wrist. Yet Loren couldn¡¯t deny that the scene before his eyes right now was real. ¡°It¡¯s the sword I used to use in the old days. Ah, that sounds like a youthful indiscretion, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Loren didn¡¯t think it was something one wields in a youthful indiscretion, but he kept his mouth shut because he was sure such an opinion meant nothing to Judie. Rather than that, with the greatsword¡¯s identity being revealed so easily, their biggest purpose for going to Lapis¡¯ house should be considered accomplished. ¡°It¡¯s the thing I used when I was the Demon King.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Mother, that kind of phrasing is misleading. You should use present tense, Mother. ¡®I am the Demon King¡¯.¡± ¡°Hey, hey¡­¡± Somehow, such an unthinkable term was spoken so casually as if it was something trivial. Lapis and Judie were talking in a small talk atmosphere, but for a listener like Loren, this was a conversation that couldn¡¯t be ignored. ¡°Demon King?! Lapis¡¯ mother is the Demon King?!¡± ¡°Yeah. Well, that title isn¡¯t that rare in the demons¡¯ world.¡± ¡°To be specific, I am one of the Demon Kings, appointed to be the Guardian of the West.¡± ¡°There is a Great Demon King above Mother. We¡¯re just a minor noble family¡­ There are quite a lot of Demon Kings.¡± Lapis explained that ¡®Demon King¡¯ title didn¡¯t actually mean ¡°The King of Demons¡±. In fact, just like humans had numerous countries and each country had their own King, demons also had different power factions within their own King. Lapis¡¯ mother belonged to the faction protecting the Western region of the demons¡¯ territory, and as she was the most powerful in the faction, she was given the title ¡®Demon King¡¯. ¡°The Great Demon King is above all the Demon Kings.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to say that this is my property, and I want it back. But since there¡¯s some circumstances¡­ maybe I can consider letting you use it.¡± Lightly lifting the sword and placing it on her shoulder, Judie said. As Loren wondered what the hell she was thinking about, she declared with a smile still on her face: ¡°It¡¯s a request relating to the armored man you encountered earlier. Commission fee is the permission to wield this sword of Demon Kings, Fiamma Unggia. Not bad, isn¡¯t it?¡± Be it good or bad, Loren didn¡¯t know anything about the commission¡¯s content at all. He wanted to ask Judie to explain, but seeing Lapis just shook her head next to her, he at least understood that the option to not accept this commission didn¡¯t exist here. He gave up all hopes, turned his gaze towards the ceiling, and silently sighed. Chapter 193 - From Starting to O Chapter 193 ¨C From Starting to O There was no talk about a dwarven village being destroyed at all. Loren thought that a village being destroyed was a rather brutal thing, but it seemed like the demons didn¡¯t share the same opinion. Part of it was due to the village¡¯s location. Even though it was inside demons¡¯ territory, the village was in the mountainous area, a region closest to the territory of another race. Another reason was, there were only a dozen dwarves that disappeared. Also, demons were the type that had no concerns for others, so as long as things were going well for them, then it was all good. A dozen or a hundred of dwarves disappeared wouldn¡¯t make the news, Lapis said. ¡°Do think so too, Lapis?¡± ¡°I¡­ no matter what you say, I¡¯m a demon that has been strongly influenced by humans¡¯ way of thinking, so I can¡¯t have such a clear distinction between ¡®us¡¯ and ¡®them¡¯ like that.¡± Lapis answered with a wry smile that seemed to say ¡®Sounds bad, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯, but Loren found it to be a very satisfactory answer. They were currently in a demon town. Their party had used the great tunnel dug by dwarves to get into demons¡¯ territory, and had been attacked by the horde of spiders living in there. They escaped outside, but were met with a destroyed dwarven village, a group of dark goblins that probably had something to do with the destruction, a swarm of ghosts and in the end, were attacked by a man in black armor. They managed to repel the man and escape with great difficulty thanks to Lapis, though Loren and Gula were injured and lost consciousness. Loren believed Gula was down not because of the clash between the forces Lapis and the man used, but because she was covering for him. Luckily for them, the people who noticed and came to check the uproar were from Lapis¡¯ household, and they had brought them to this town, where Lapis¡¯ home was. ¡°Hows¡¯ Gula?¡± Since he was alright, nothing too bad should happen to Gula, someone stronger than him. However, if Gula really was injured because of protecting him, he had to confirm her status in case anything happened. ¡°It¡¯s just some minor injuries compared to yours. Just some burns and cuts.¡± Lapis explained. When he thought about her choice of words more closely, he realized that his injuries weren¡¯t the same. Even though he was still feeling a bit sluggish, there were no wounds on his body, and he didn¡¯t feel like he had been in a bad shape like he was told. He had been properly healed, and he could only feel thankful for it. ¡°By the way, Lapis, you really are a lady, aren¡¯t you?¡± They were walking towards Gula¡¯s room, and the hallway was large enough for them to walk comfortably side by side. Moreover, they had been walking for quite a while, but still hadn¡¯t reached Gula¡¯s room yet. The house was considerably large, and they had passed by numerous women wearing maid outfits on the way. They looked at Loren with a puzzled expression on their face, but once they noticed Lapis walking next to him, they immediately showed hospitable smiles and politely bowed. All of them had purple eyes, and Loren found it a bit odd that there were even demons who worked as maids. ¡°How should I put it¡­ My mother is just one of the current Demon Kings.¡± Lapis slightly waved and nodded at the maids and said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°The demon king system is not a hereditary one, but a meritocracy one. The term of office is four years, and even though my mother is currently serving as one of the Kings, if someone more capable emerges, she¡¯ll need to hand over her seat.¡± ¡°What is the process of such a thing?¡± ¡°Candidates will announce their candidacy at the end of the term.¡± ¡°Will everyone engage in a fist fight?¡± ¡°Something similar. But it¡¯s not just about physical strength.¡± Lapis said that there was always an exception to everything, and ended the story there. Looking at her, Loren suddenly wondered if Judie wanted Lapis to succeed her as a Demon King. Probably yes, considering how Lapis¡¯ parents cut off her limbs and removed her eyes and hid them away. They seemed to be the type of parents that made their kids learn through hardships, but he felt that they went a bit too far. ¡°Being the daughter of a Demon King seems to be so troublesome.¡± As Loren muttered, Lapis stopped before a door. Loren did the same. It seemed like this was their destination. Lapis knocked lightly a few times and said: ¡°Gula? It¡¯s Lapis. I bring Loren along too. Can we come in?¡± Lapis sounded very cautious, but Loren thought it was totally understandable. Gula was the Evil God of Gluttony, and sometimes her actions and speech were just plain unimaginable. Something trivial like exposing herself just to tease Loren, for example. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if she was waiting inside stark naked just to make Loren embarrassed. That was why Lapis was cautious, and Loren thought he shouldn¡¯t set foot inside that room until Lapis had checked the situation first. Lapis knocked again. ¡°Gula?¡± No answer. Lapis sounded even more cautious now. Loren reached for his shoulder, where the hilt of his greatsword was always at, but then remembered that it wasn¡¯t there now and dropped his hand. Lapis wasn¡¯t really aware of it before, but the white greatsword she had taken out from her home and passed to Loren was actually the property of Judie, a Demon King. As Judie had no recollection of letting the sword go, she asked him to return it for now. Loren himself didn¡¯t want to stick with something he didn¡¯t really understand either, so he handed it over to her. But Loren couldn¡¯t find a replacement weapon right away, and was currently barehanded. He was feeling confused and lonely because of the loss of the familiar weight, but he comforted himself that it couldn¡¯t be helped. Anyway, neither knocking nor calling produced any responses, and Lapis had begun to get a bit irritated. ¡°What is she doing? Is she still sleeping?¡± Before one knew, Lapis had started knocking with her full fist. Her knocks were packed with power, and each of them shook the door and the wall. Loren was worried if she would eventually break them, but he was also worried that those knocks would turn his way if he uttered too many a word, so he decided to keep silent on the matter. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that she still doesn¡¯t respond after such knocking?¡± From what Loren could see from the side, Lapis¡¯ knocks had developed into fist attacks with serious power. The door, which seemed to be quite sturdy, didn¡¯t show a scratch or crack though, so she must be restraining herself to some extent. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? With this level of sound and vibration, everyone should have come to check by now.¡± ¡°This is something normal at our home.¡± ¡°Normal¡­ is it¡­?¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure if he should be amazed by the maids, who were still unfazed despite being subjected to this kind of disturbance, or admire the building, which still stood tall despite having to withstand such impact on a frequent basis. When Loren was caught in such thoughts, Lapis had given up knocking, instead she turned the door knob to open it. Loren believed it was bad manners to open a door without any consent from the person inside, but it couldn¡¯t be helped in this case. The two of them poked their heads into the small gap Lapis had opened and peeked inside. ¡°Ngh¡­ Nnn¡­ Nghhh¡­ Nnn!¡± ¡°This child is not a demon, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°But she had the same eyes as us¡­ She has a different aura though.¡± What Loren and Lapis heard were the groans of someone being crushed to death, and small laughter that seemed to try to cover the groans. With a bad hunch in mind, they looked more closely and saw that, for some reason, some maids had climbed onto the large bed. From between the maids, they were able to snatch some fleeting glimpse of hands and feet and golden hair. ¡°What¡¯s with this child? She looks like the one Lapis-sama brought along.¡± ¡°Hey, look, this child is really interesting. Even if we shove a baguette into her mouth, she eats it all in a blink. It¡¯s the seventh one already, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Without drinks?! Just seven baguettes? Let¡¯s add three for now.¡± ¡°Gah?!¡± They saw the person on the bed flail their arms and legs with a scream, but the maids easily pinned them down and crammed not three, but six more baguettes into the person¡¯s mouth. The maids who didn¡¯t participate looked on with sparkling eyes as if they were watching some curious scene. The baguettes disappeared little by little, and Loren and Lapis were able to see who the person on the bed was. ¡°Her mouth must be dry, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that she didn¡¯t choke.¡± ¡°Hey hey, should we try with dry-cured ham next?¡± ¡°Her stomach doesn¡¯t expand at all despite being stuffed with such an amount¡­ Very interesting.¡± Loren wondered what the hell they were doing, but Lapis gently pushed at his chest. They moved their heads away from the gap, then Lapis softly closed the door as if to not disturb the maids inside. The conversation inside became inaudible, and Loren wondered if it was alright to just leave things like that, but Lapis looked like she had given up and weakly said: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Loren. It¡¯s hell inside. Gula¡­ Let¡¯s go get her a while later.¡± ¡°No, but¡­?¡± ¡°If we go in now¡­ We might become the same, right?¡± It wasn¡¯t that bad to be pushed down on a bed by women in maid uniforms. But it was a different story altogether if they began shoving huge breads and cow or deer legs down your throat after. Gula might make it somehow because she was the Evil God of Gluttony, but if a mere human like Loren was put in her position, it would be life-threatening. ¡°They¡¯ll get bored after a while.¡± If Lapis, who knew best about the affairs of this house, said so, then it must be so. Loren avoided asking any further. He didn¡¯t know what he would say to Gula later, but for now, he could only pray that she would be alright. He quietly closed his eyes and clasped his hands to pray that the maids¡¯ interest towards Gula would go out soon. Chapter 194 - From Gathering to Discussing Chapter 194 ¨C From Gathering to Discussing ¡°Ah, shit, what a bad experience.¡± About an hour after Loren and Lapis had visited her room only to close the door softly and leave again, Gula was released from the maids¡¯ clutch. The maids must have done a lot of things to her after that visit. Loren and Lapis were sitting in a guest room sipping tea prepared by maids and waiting for her when she came in, and the state of her startled them. Her long blond hair was a mess, and her disheveled clothes were slipping off her body. She was fixing them as she went. In such a state, Gula sat facing them and watched them sip their tea with reproachful eyes. ¡°You guys are having tea while I¡¯m having a hard time.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t want to disturb you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Gula. Thank you for your consideration.¡± Loren greeted Gula with a teasing remark, but Lapis gave her a nod and some words of gratitude. Loren wondered why, but he soon realized the reason. Gula was a being called Evil God, so she definitely wasn¡¯t the type to be overpowered by maids, even demon ones. The maids were able to torture Gula as they wished because she had condoned it. Of course, it would have been very easy for Gula to fight off the maids and torture them as she wished instead, but she seemed to think that it was necessary to let the demons know that she was currently a harmless existence. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not going to diminish my power. In fact, it was pretty delicious.¡± ¡°The fire-logs¡­ Did they stuff them into your mouth?¡± ¡°The curiosity of demons is unforgiving¡­ I got three.¡± As Gula sat down next to Lapis with a scowl on her face, the maid who had been waiting in a corner of the room immediately offered her a steaming cup without making a sound. Loren didn¡¯t want to be in a situation where he felt like he was being watched or had a maid waiting by his side at all times, but Lapis said that this was the norm, and that he wouldn¡¯t want to go through the trouble of calling for the maids every time he needed them. ¡°That reminds me, where do you live when you¡¯re in Kapha, Lapis?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll invite you over someday.¡± Lapis answered evasively, and Loren got a bit anxious. It wasn¡¯t about where she resided in Kapha, what he was rather interested in was where in that city people who were used to having maids waiting on them lived. As if to interrupt that train of thought of Loren, Gula asked Lapis: ¡°So, what¡¯s the situation? Will you explain it to me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you want to ask. Is it about accepting my mother¡¯s request or not?¡± ¡°Mother? Whose?¡± ¡°Mine¡­ Well, I have to start from there, right?¡± And with a sigh, Lapis began to tell Gula the whole story. But the whole story was just that, Lapis¡¯ mother had a commission for them to do, and the reward would be the right to use the white greatsword. Explanation ended pretty quickly. ¡°So, Lapis-chan¡¯s mother is a Demon King.¡± ¡°Yes, well, she is.¡± Gula sounded impressed, but Lapis responded nonchalantly. The title ¡®Demon King¡¯ tended to conjure up images of great things, but after listening to Lapis¡¯s explanation, Loren thought that the position was more like that of a General in other countries. It was still quite impressive, of course, but compared to a sovereign, it was inevitably much inferior in terms of power and bloodline. To demons, the equivalent to a sovereign was the Great Demon King. ¡°And what does Demon King-sama want us to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just heard about it from my mother, more or less.¡± Lapis replied, and gave some orders to the maid who was standing by. The maid bowed deeply and walked away, then returned a moment later with a round object covered with a cloth in her hand. She placed it on the table, bowed, then retreated to stand near the wall again. Lapis removed the cloth covering the object and told Loren, who was watching the maid: ¡°My mother¡¯s request is, throwing this into the crater of a certain volcano.¡± What appeared from under the removed cloth was a black metal helmet. There were numerous patterns carved on it, but overall it was a very plain, all-black helmet. It wasn¡¯t even decorated ¨C it was something made for practical use only. The helmet didn¡¯t look like something a Demon King would go to the trouble of asking someone to transport it for. ¡°This thing? Dump it in a crater?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just melt it down?¡± Not really understanding the purpose of this commission, Loren and Gula stared at the black helmets on the table and made those comments. Lapis shrugged. ¡°I also thought that maybe we could just throw it into some furnaces around here¡­ But seems like it¡¯s not a good idea.¡± According to Judie, this black helmet possessed powerful magic, and normal furnaces wouldn¡¯t even make it lose its shape. The reason for this was not well known, but it was said to have been brought from the land of humans a long time ago. ¡°It seems that this helmet alone can¡¯t do anything, so it¡¯s been sitting collecting dust in a corner of the warehouse. But recently, the situation has changed a bit. It seems to have something to do with the man in black armor we encountered in the dwarven village.¡± Judie had almost forgotten about this helmet, but a certain circumstance happened, and the warehouse was ransacked to the ground. The helmet was found during the cleaning up afterwards. ¡°A certain circumstance, huh.¡± ¡°Yes, a certain circumstance. I don¡¯t know what it is either.¡± It was obvious that Lapis was the cause of that ¡®certain circumstances¡¯, but she calmly replied to Loren without even batting an eye. It wasn¡¯t like Loren was not in the mood for some quips, but for now, the best thing to do was listen. Lapis calmly continued. The black helmet was known to be very durable and to have been infused with some kind of powerful magic, but when it came to actual use, no one had ever been able to get any effects equipping it. Thus, it had been stored away as an unidentified item. Judie knew all this, and was about to have the helmet put in the back of the warehouse again, when something stopped her: In other Demon Kings¡¯ warehouses, several magic-infused items similar to this helmet had been discovered. In total, the four items found were a helmet, an armor, a shield, and a longsword, all black. The items produced no effects on their own, but they all had extremely similar auras and magic powers. They were thought to be the type of items that would only show their true power if all parts were assembled, so they were gathered in one place for research. ¡°But before we could do that, a bandit invaded.¡± It was not clear how the bandit got into the demon territory, but he managed to sneak into a Demon King¡¯s warehouse and steal the black armor. While running away from the pursuers, he sneaked into another Demon King¡¯s warehouse, where he obtained the long sword before disappearing. ¡°The bandit was said to have called himself Magna. He¡¯s a young man with black hair.¡± It was a strange thing for a bandit to announce his own name, but the man called Magna didn¡¯t seem to mind being chased or surrounded at all, and proudly claimed that these items belonged to him. He was still on the run now, slipping through the demons¡¯ pursuers and the tight security. ¡°It¡¯s obviously that man.¡± Recalling the face of the man in black armor they had encountered in the dwarven village, Loren grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s probably him. In addition to his own power, the flashes of light he called forth and the physical strength that allowed him to receive Loren¡¯s blow may have been the result of those unidentified magical items.¡± Some magical items come in sets of several pieces, and they must be equipped together in order to be truly effective. The black armor set that the Demon Kings were keeping seemed to be one of these, but it looked like just the armor and sword were enough to produce some effects. ¡°Our report has confirmed that, and we do not know what kind of effect it will have if the full set is assembled.¡± ¡°So before they can be assembled, let¡¯s just destroy them. It¡¯s a rather cowardly way of thinking for a Demon King.¡± Fearing that the helmet would be stolen, and considering it had no power on its own, Judie decided to destroy it to prevent the whole set being assembled. In Loren¡¯s opinion, it was the same as admitting to being unable to prevent a thievery. In short, the Demon King recognized that she couldn¡¯t stop that Magna guy. ¡°That¡¯s one way to see it. But the truth is, it¡¯s just not something worth protecting. Collecting the other items in the set is also troublesome, so she wants to destroy it.¡± ¡°So, a crater. Why doesn¡¯t she just go there herself?¡± Since ordinary furnaces couldn¡¯t destroy the helmet, it wasn¡¯t hard to understand why Judie wanted them to dump it in a volcano crater, where the fire never stopped. But Loren believed that it would be faster and more reliable for Judie to go there herself, given that she was a Demon King. ¡°About that¡­ There¡¯s a reason why Demon Kings do not come near that place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? That crater is within demons¡¯ territory, right?¡± If not, it would be quite a troublesome story. Loren was worried, but Lapis gave him a nod. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s in the center of the demon territory.¡± ¡°Seems quite far¡­ So why don¡¯t Demon Kings go there?¡± Loren asked, and Lapis hesitated for a moment before giving up all intentions to lie and answered with a troubled smile. ¡°The truth is¡­ There¡¯s an Ancient Dragon living in that volcano.¡± Dragons, the most powerful beasts. It was generally believed that encountering one is the greatest misfortune and the last thing ever happened in one¡¯s life. It was said that the longer a dragon lived, the wiser and more powerful it became. Among the dragons, there were those that had existed for a long time, since the time of the Gods. They were called Ancient Dragons, and are feared by all. Loren couldn¡¯t find the word to describe how suicidal it would be to climb a mountain inhabited by such a being. ¡°If a being as powerful as a Demon King approaches the mountain, they would be warned and attacked. That¡¯s why powerful demons can¡¯t get close.¡± In their party, Loren was a mere human, Gula could conceal her Evil God¡¯s power, and Lapis was considerably weakened as her legs and eyes were artificial. The idea was that they could sneak up the mountain and dump the helmet into the crater before the dragon noticed them. ¡°This¡­ The reward isn¡¯t worth it, right?¡± That white greatsword was certainly a very powerful weapon, but Loren thought it was too cheap for a request like stepping into the Ancient Dragon¡¯s dwelling. It seemed that Lapis had the same opinion, so she nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯s possible to get some additional compensation, though.¡± ¡°What about refusing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, but¡­ Just use common sense. Do you think you can get out of here safely with a Demon King being displeased with you?¡± Loren seriously pondered which would be less difficult: to reach the volcano crater under the watchful eye of an Ancient Dragon, or to return to the realm of humans under the watchful eye of a Demon King. It seemed that both would eventually end up being impossible, though, and Loren exhaled deeply as he dropped his gaze to the floor and thought about how troublesome this whole situation was. Chapter 195 - From Negotiation to Proposal Chapter 195 ¨C From Negotiation to Proposal ¡°So, I¡¯m here to negotiate about the commission and additional rewards, Demon King.¡± ¡°Welcome.¡± ¡°What? Um¡­ Are we doing it with this kind of mood?¡± In the end, Loren decided that they could not refuse the request from the Demon King. And if you couldn¡¯t say no, might as well try to get the maximum reward. So, Loren asked Lapis to guide him to the office of Judie, the Demon King. Judie was sitting at a huge ebony desk in her office, working on some paperwork. She didn¡¯t seem offended by Loren and the others¡¯ sudden visit at all, and welcomed them casually. For some reason, Lapis, her daughter, seemed flustered at her reaction. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Loren, I¡¯m not sure if I should be the one to tell you this, but you¡¯re dealing with a Demon King. A Demon King, the root of all evils and the enemy of all things, as far as mankind is concerned.¡± ¡°She is¡­ your mother, right?¡± ¡°I can say that because she is my mother. If you talk like that with another Demon King, you¡¯ll become like this, like this!¡± Lapis stuck out her tongue and mimed slashing at her own neck with her hand. As Judie was called a Demon King, there was a lot to consider, and Loren wondered if he should just think of her as a normal King now. Just then, Judie asked from behind the desk: ¡°So, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come to negotiate with you about the commission. I¡¯d like to ask for a little more in the way of compensation.¡± ¡°Negotiate with a Demon King?¡± Judie said in an amused tone. She looked so young that Loren could hardly believe she was Lapis¡¯ mother. She was sitting on a chair, so naturally she had to look up when talking to him. With that gesture and that appearance, he wouldn¡¯t find it strange if she was introduced as Lapis¡¯ sister. ¡°I have no intention to be pushy with a Demon King. If we refuse the commission, you¡¯ll just order us to do it, right? If we value our lives, we have to listen to you.¡± ¡°As a parent, I won¡¯t say such unreasonable things to my daughter¡¯s friend.¡± Judie stressed the word ¡®friend¡¯ strangely. Loren¡¯s mouth turned down, while Lapis glared at her with a sullen look. ¡°Wait a bit. We¡¯re missing one person, aren¡¯t we?¡± Loren suddenly noticed something and asked. Lapis answered with no hesitation: ¡°Gula has been kidnapped by the maids just now.¡± It seemed that Gula, who was supposed to be following him and Lapis at the end of the line, had been taken somewhere by the maids without him noticing. The maids being able to kidnapped someone like Gula without making him noticed horrified Loren, but he had something to tell Lapis first: ¡°If you saw, you should stop them¡­¡± ¡°I can manage with one or two maids, but¡­ Five or six of them at once is dangerous even for me¡­¡± ¡°There were that many?!¡± Loren was actually a little nervous about negotiating with a Demon King, but the fact that several maids were able to move like that without him noticing anything unnerved him even further. As Lapis nodded with a somber face, Judie looked as if she was being shown something interesting. She told Loren in a testing tone: ¡°So, do you still want to negotiate?¡± Judie¡¯s voice, even though just a little, had an intimidating edge to it. The actual question was, under such a circumstance where Loren was swarmed by maids that could take away someone like Gula without being noticed, did he really think he could bear the brunt of this negotiation? ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a different topic.¡± Loren¡¯s answer to her question was simple. Since Judie had such skilled maids, she could have had them carry out this commission. But she asked Loren to do it instead, so he figured that there must be some reason for her to select him. Unless that reason became nullified, she would not harm him. ¡°I see. You¡¯ve got some nerves.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stubborn.¡± Loren believed that risking his life for a cheap reward was not that different from being buried here in secret due to having incurred a Demon King¡¯s displeasure, and such thought was what enabled him to make that statement. Judie looked at him blankly for a moment, then said with suppressed laughter in her voice: ¡°Indeed, indeed. You seem like a pretty good fit to be the person by Lapis¡¯ side.¡± ¡°Mother?!¡± Lapis exclaimed in a fluster, but Judie just gave her a glance without saying anything, then immediately turned her attention back to Loren: ¡°So, you want to have your reward raised? ¡°And some support to complete the commission. I¡¯m not sure if we can successfully climb a mountain inhabited by a dragon by our own power only.¡± Even if they were asked to accomplish it on their own, impossible was impossible. At the very least, Loren was not optimistic enough to think that he could carry out this commission without the help of demons, as there was a possibility that they would encounter a dragon. ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much to ask?¡± ¡°If so, let someone else do it. I don¡¯t want to get stuck with some commission I can¡¯t do.¡± ¡°Even in exchange for your own life?¡± The threat was clear in her choice of words and tone. Lapis made a move, but Loren stopped her. All Lapis did was lightly pulled at Loren¡¯s sleeve, and all Loren did was slightly raise his other hand, but Judie knew what those movements meant. If Lapis were to fight with Judie here, she would certainly lose. She knew that, so when she realized that Loren was being threatened, she pulled his sleeve, indicating that she had chosen to run away. Fighting was impossible, but they might have a chance to live if they ran. However, Loren had stopped her. ¡°Dying when doing an impossible commission is no different from being killed here.¡± ¡°Being killed here might be certain for you, but how can you be sure that you¡¯ll die doing the commission?¡± At this point, Judie had begun to intimidate Loren without hiding it. ¡®You know what will happen if you refuse my commission, don¡¯t you?¡¯ was what she was actually saying. In response, Loren snorted, looked straight at her and said bluntly: ¡°So that¡¯s how a Demon King sees things, huh.¡± ¡°Ah, so here we come.¡± Judie smiled at him as if the intimidating atmosphere just now was a lie, and Loren somehow realized that she was not seriously trying to push the commission onto them without offering any assistance. He wondered what the hell she had been playing at, but had no immediate answer. In the end, he decided that though uncommon, it was just how Demon Kings, or rather demons, were killing their time. ¡°I don¡¯t like to be taken as a fool, either.¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t be befitting a Demon King to offer their services just because they¡¯re asked, right?¡± Judie asked, and Loren kept silent. What Loren had been implying was, was a Demon King like Judie so naive that she thinks their party could complete this commission without any aids from the demons, or was she so stupid that she couldn¡¯t realize it? His implication seemed to have been conveyed to Judie, but he suspected that the talk was now going in a different direction. He could tell it from the Demon King¡¯s tone and expression. ¡°I have no idea what a Demon King should be like, since I don¡¯t have any Demon Kings as acquaintances.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be your first. Nice to meet you~¡± Judie smiled and waved her hand. Not knowing how to react to this, Loren turned to Lapis, who was looking up at him worriedly while still holding his sleeve. She should know how to act in this situation, but she also seemed to be at a loss. She just tilted her head while looking at Loren with a troubled expression. Seeing the two of them being like that, Judie stopped waving and lowered her hand, then with a slightly more serious face, she said: ¡°It¡¯s definitely not like a Demon King to give something to someone just because they¡¯ve asked for it. So, if you want something, take it yourself. That¡¯s more like how demons are, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Are you asking him to fight you, mother?¡± That was even more unreasonable, or so Lapis believed. Loren¡¯s opponent would be someone who was excellent at eliminating powerful individuals. After all, only those who came out at the top of the pack could earn the title of ¡®Demon King¡¯. Fighting such an opponent to win something was out of the question, unless the challenger was one of those heroes that appeared very rarely in human history. But Judie quickly shook her head at Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡± ¡°Ah, so you do know that it¡¯s absurd. I¡¯m a little relieved.¡± ¡°No, if that boyfriend next to you is a hero, I will consider it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s differ¡­ Uhm? Errr¡­ Huh? Should I deny it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a hero, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Th-that¡¯s right. Loren is not a hero.¡± Lapis seemed confused by something, and her reply was incoherent. But after Loren pointed it out, she finally gave a clear denial. Judie seemed to find it amusing, she rested her chin on one hand and tapped the desktop with the index finger of her other hand. ¡°That¡¯s why a Demon King might be too much for you to handle. But you¡¯ll manage if it¡¯s her aide, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You want support and extra pay. I want to have the job done as cheaply as possible. The rest is simple, isn¡¯t it? We¡¯ll fight to decide how much of each other¡¯s claims we¡¯ll accept. Very demon-like.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a demon myself, but if you¡¯re asking me whether that¡¯s demon-like or not, I¡¯m inclined to say no.¡± Lapis said with a sour expression, but Judie shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a difference of opinion. I¡¯m not going to dwell on it.¡± Lapis understood that it meant she wouldn¡¯t make concessions any further, so she let Loren make the decision. ¡°Your representative will fight with my representative, and the loser will have to accept the winner¡¯s terms. Take it or leave it, it¡¯s all up to you. Choose as you please. How is it?¡± How the hell should he answer? Judie seemed to enjoy herself. Wondering how he should answer, Loren gazed back at the Demon King, who were observing him with her purple eyes. Chapter 196 - From Settlement To Action Chapter 196 ¨C From Settlement To Action ¡°We can¡¯t refuse that proposal. How should we decide on a representative?¡± Loren asked, but he was planning to name Gula as the representative if he was told that it could be anyone. First of all, Gula was the most powerful in their party. She could use an Evil God¡¯s power as well as the more normal magic used by magicians, and she was also rather good at hand-to-hand combat. There was no reason to pick anyone else. Loren was also interested in how Judie would react if they chose Lapis, but given that she was a Demon King, it was quite possible that she would show no mercy to her own daughter and would pick some unthinkable opponent. He just couldn¡¯t make a wrong choice here. Moreover, if he really thought about it, the Demon King who was smiling in front of him as if she was watching something interesting was the one who cut off her own daughter¡¯s four limbs. She didn¡¯t seem to be the type that would be more considerate to her daughter. ¡°You can pick whoever you like, but you have to announce it first.¡± Judie said this without losing her smile, and Loren immediately frowned. In that case, Judie would be able to change her representative according to his choice. She didn¡¯t actually say that out right, but Loren believed that was what she meant when she asked him to announce his representative first. Loren only had three options at his disposal, but Judie had countless options to match each of his. She just needed to pick one after hearing Loren¡¯s announcement. ¡°Why don¡¯t you announce your representative first?¡± To prevent Judie from selecting a representative that corresponded to theirs, the only way was to have the Demon King declare her representative first. The truth was, Judie had the upper hand here, and if she were to refuse, it would be the end of it. Or so Loren thought, but Judie readily and casually declared: ¡°Alright. It¡¯s a black knight. A knight in full black plate armor.¡± ¡°¡­What a bad personality you have¡­.¡± If he was wearing full-body plate armor, it would be too early to assume that he was not a magician. Considering how Lapis was a priest, it seemed like it was common for demons to be able to use magic. And since there were people who could use magic while wearing plate armor, it wasn¡¯t anything surprising. The most troublesome thing was the full-body plate armor part. The most annoying thing about full body armor was that you couldn¡¯t tell who was in it from the outside. In the worst case, even if it was Judie herself inside the armor, it would be impossible to tell unless she removed it and let them look. It would be no different from waiting for Loren to make a declaration before deciding a representative. Moreover, full-body armor took a lot of time to put on. If Judie used the long preparation time as an excuse, she would be able to change her representative according to his choice, even if she had to call someone from a short distance over. ¡°What do you think?¡± Judie asked. She didn¡¯t even try to hide that she was testing him. Loren let out a small breath, pushed his hair back, and responded in a resigned tone: ¡°Who do you want to come out from our side?¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how you go.¡± Judie looked surprised. Lapis looked between Judie and Loren and wondered what was happening. What Loren thought was that, there was some hidden intention behind Judie¡¯s words and actions. In other words, Judie must have had a certain representative that she expected Loren to choose, and if he picked anyone else, she would crush them without mercy. If that was the case, Loren believed it was better to just follow her expectation from the beginning, and so he asked that question. Judie was surprised because she didn¡¯t expect him to do that. ¡°Being upfront is a virtue. Demons don¡¯t think so though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a human.¡± ¡°Lapis-chan, your luck with men is good, isn¡¯t it? You¡¯ve really picked a good boy to keep by your side.¡± ¡°Mother¡­ Please stop talking like that in front of the person himself¡­¡± Lapis blushed and looked down, while Judie was smiling. With that smile still on her face, she turned towards Loren: ¡°I¡¯d like to see you on the show, Loren.¡± Even though Loren was specifically nominated by Judie, he was not surprised ¨C somehow he had already expected this. It was only natural that she would want to evaluate the person by her daughter¡¯s side, a mere human no less. ¡°Do you have a weapon for me to borrow? I¡¯ve already returned mine to you.¡± Even though he had a jacket for armor, he only had spare daggers for weapons, nothing that could be used for a proper fight. Judie couldn¡¯t make him fight barehanded against an opponent wearing full body plate armor. Judie nodded. ¡°I can lend you anything you want from our armory. Not the ones infused with magic though.¡± ¡°The same condition applies for your side, I assume?¡± If she gave him an ordinary weapon and allowed the black knight to use a magic-infused weapon, his already-disadvantageous situation could only be described as hopeless. ¡°Obviously. So, what do we do now?¡± ¡®So this is the final confirmation¡¯, Loren thought. He had no choice but to answer: ¡°I¡¯ll go. There¡¯s no choice.¡± If he picked Gula or Lapis, they would be met with an opponent impossible for them to handle. If it was Judie¡¯s intention for Loren to come out, he believed that she would have prepared someone he could deal with in some way. He had to bet on that. ¡°Loren¡­¡± Lapis looked apologetic, and he patted her head. Judie said, with a smile still on her face: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll guarantee his safety. Not only will he not be killed, I¡¯ll also make sure to give him back in full health.¡± If she could take away Lapis¡¯s limbs and eyes, she could also restore someone¡¯s dismembered body parts. But her words didn¡¯t make Loren feel more at ease at all, not even by a little. ¡°That¡¯s not what people usually say to reassure someone else.¡± ¡°Normally, if a human is discovered to have infiltrated the demon realm, he will be dealt with on the spot, won¡¯t he? If you¡¯re told that your life is guaranteed, isn¡¯t it enough to feel reassured?¡± So the demons knew that humans did enter their territory to gather intel, but weren¡¯t willing to take any proactive measures against it. But from what Judie said, once those humans got caught, it would be a different story. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a given that we¡¯ll deal with them if we come across them?¡± If she said that it didn¡¯t happen because they were with Lapis, it was probably the truth. Loren had no words to reply. Considering Loren¡¯s silence as an indication that he had understood the situation, Judie got up and walked past Loren and Lapis toward the door of the room. ¡°Now, follow me. I¡¯ll take you to the armory first.¡± If the Demon King would lead the way herself, one couldn¡¯t help but follow, so Loren followed after Judie and Lapis. The way to the armory was long enough to make him realize how large Lapis¡¯ home was. Loren had been trying to remember the route, but had given up halfway. He didn¡¯t know if it was on purpose, or it was truly necessary, but the route that Judie was taking them on had so many turns, three forks and crossroads that he quickly became confused when trying to remember the directions. ¡°How big is this place?¡± Thinking that he would certainly get lost if he strayed from his guide, Loren asked. Judie answered him: ¡°Extremely huge. It¡¯s the castle of the Demon King of the West, after all.¡± ¡°If this is how a Demon King¡¯s castle is, then the Great Demon King¡¯s castle must be even bigger.¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably several times bigger than this one.¡± Judie put her index finger on her chin, thought for a while, then said. Loren couldn¡¯t imagine something that big at all. The demons who could construct such a huge building were amazing, but the Great Demon King was also very admirable for being able to live in such a huge place. ¡°Sounds like a place where you¡¯ll get lost on the way to the bedroom, or won¡¯t be able to make it to the toilet in time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it like that.¡± As they were conducting such small talks, they arrived into the armory. It surely looked like a normal armory with equipment neatly lined up. Loren could tell that they were all good weapons, but he couldn¡¯t tell which of them were normal ones that didn¡¯t have magic infusion like Judie had said. [¡®They all look like normal weapons. I can¡¯t sense any magic power from them.¡¯] Lapis was silent, probably because Judie was watching. Instead, Shayna the King of Death synced with his sight and confirmed that the weapons weren¡¯t magical or anything strange. Loren thanked her in his mind and looked around for a while before deciding on a greatsword, thinking that it was best to go with something he was used to wielding. ¡°Is that alright? Don¡¯t you need any kind of armor?¡± ¡°I have my own.¡± All of the greatswords here had almost the same design, so it wouldn¡¯t matter which he selected. He picked up one and tested its weight. It was lighter than the one he used during his mercenary days or the white blade he had returned to Judie, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. Resigned, he looked closer at the blade and noticed that it had a proper, sharp edge. He looked at Judie: ¡°Aren¡¯t these used for training and such?¡± ¡°Can fighting with a dull blade be considered training?¡± Judie asked seriously, and Loren was at a loss for a reply. It was true that people¡¯s mindsets during training and actual combat differed, even when they held the same weapon. The blade might be sharp, but it didn¡¯t mean its wielder would swing it with no hesitation during training. In addition, it was no exaggeration to say that what they were going to do was not a training but a real battle in a sense. It would be useless to ask for a dull weapon, or one wrapped in thick cloth. ¡°This will do.¡± ¡°Really? I¡¯ll take you to the arena next, then.¡± ¡°Is it another long walk?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Well, yes, it is. But it can¡¯t be helped, right? Think of it as a health benefit.¡± Loren wondered if it was alright to wander around the castle with a naked sword that didn¡¯t even have a sheath, but Judie didn¡¯t seem to care at all. She walked forward, ready to be the guide again. Even though Lapis was by his side, if Loren lost Judie, he would get lost. The greatsword didn¡¯t even have a string for him to hang on his back. Thus, he had no choice but to carry it on his shoulder. He urged Lapis to go ahead while he himself followed after the two women. Chapter 197 - From Moving to Battle Chapter 197 ¨C From Moving to Battle After getting a weapon, Loren was led on a long walk by the Demon King before finally arriving at an amphitheater located, in what looked like, the courtyard of the castle. Loren was tempted to ask why such a thing was built here, but he forced himself to recognize that it was such a large building that they could build whatever they wanted. A Demon King must have a lot of soldiers, so it was a good idea to have a place where they could train. ¡°We have a different training ground for soldiers.¡± ¡°What is this place for, then?¡± Loren had no idea what the point of having an arena if it was not used for training. He asked Judie if this place was truly built simply because their castle was too big, and they had too many unused spaces, but she just looked away without answering, her cheeks slightly twitched. Loren was taken aback at her reaction ¨C it seemed like he had hit the bullseye. But his astonishment soon dissipated when he saw the figure standing in the center of the arena. So that was the person the Demon King called a Black Knight. Indeed, his entire body was covered with black plate armor, and he did not have a shield. His greatsword, which almost came up to their chest, was stabbed into the ground as if it was a staff. He stood with both hands on its hilt. The aura of the Black Knight perfectly fitted the word ¡®imposing¡¯. Loren scowled at his with his greatsword on his shoulder. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bit strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Mother. Even I think that something is strange too.¡± As they stepped into the arena, Loren and Lapis stared at the black armored figure that refused to move from the center of the arena. They were still quite far away, but they couldn¡¯t have been mistaken because there was no other figure around. It was the size of the Black Knight that Loren and Lapis were concerned about. ¡°The knight is bigger than me, no matter how you look at it.¡± ¡°If you think so, then I guess so.¡± Loren himself was one of the tallest amongst humans. With such a height, a blow from his greatsword contained marvelous power. But the Black Knight standing in front of them was two heads taller, and of course to go with that height, he was also wider in built. In short, he was big enough that Loren had to look up at him. The length of his greatsword was almost Loren¡¯s height. ¡°Isn¡¯t he too big?¡± The helmet the Black Knight was wearing was the type that completely covered the face, so you couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like even if you wanted to. Loren could barely see the purple of their eyes, but that didn¡¯t give him any information about whether the Knight was male or female, or how old he/she was. ¡°Was there such a huge person in your entourage, Mother?¡± Standing next to Loren, Lapis looked up at the Knight and cocked her head in wonder. If even Loren had to look up at the Knight, the difference in height was even greater for Lapis, who was shorter than him. ¡°I thought I could remember most of your subordinates, Mother.¡± ¡°¡®It¡¯s a hidden gem. The talent is guaranteed.¡± Judie laughed and patted the Black Knight¡¯s armor, but he didn¡¯t even twitch. The knight continued leaning on his greatsword and stared at Loren from inside his helmet. ¡°Is it even alright for me to fight that person?¡± ¡°Yes. If you can¡¯t continue fighting or if you surrender, you lose. Simple and straightforward, right?¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Loren signaled for Lapis to step back, then got his greatsword ready. The weight in his hand was unfamiliar. Unable to feel the usual reliable weight in his hands, Loren watched the Black Knight leaning on his greatsword. It was obviously not the case for him. ¡°You can attack if your opponent is down, but you can¡¯t finish him off. If someone dies, no matter how much we try, we can¡¯t bring him back to life.¡± As Lapis retreated to behind Loren, Judie stepped back to stand behind the Black Knight. The Knight slowly raised his greatsword with its tip pointing up in front of his chest. Realizing it to be a salute, Loren returned with the only salute he knew: He gripped the hilt of his greatsword with both hand and pointed its tip down. ¡°Can I at least ask your name?¡± After that mutual salute, Loren held his greatsword back up and asked the Knight. He didn¡¯t expect any answer, but he could hear some kind of murmuring coming from behind the Black Knight¡¯s helmet, even though no meaningful words reached his ears. ¡°So, let¡¯s start!¡± As soon as Judie¡¯s order came, Loren leapt forward. Victory belonged to those who made the first move, so he kicked at the ground and charged with a speed unimaginable for such a large body. He was skeptical about the Black Knight¡¯s slow reaction to stop him, but he held his greatsword high and struck at the Knight¡¯s left shoulder with all his might. The shrill sound of metal hitting metal rang, and sparks of fire flared up at the site of impact as if to represent the force Loren had put into the blow. Yet he was the one who grimaced and immediately leapt back. His arms were numb as if being electrified, and he had to use all his strength to keep the greatsword from falling off, but the pain in his wrists and shoulders was too much to ignore. Yet the place where Loren had struck was only slightly scratched, and it did not look like the power of the attack had reached inside the armor at all. ¡°What¡­?¡± Loren was still enduring the pain, but the Black Knight immediately raised his sword to unleash a sweeping sideway blow, and he tried to defend it by raising his greatsword. Almost at the same time, the Black Knight took one step into Loren¡¯s space and struck at his greatsword. The shock struck Loren¡¯s whole body, and the unstoppable momentum sent him flying sideways and rolling several times on the arena floor. When he got up, he was some distance away from the Knight. Wary of pursuit, Loren held his sword up even before fixing his stance. But the Black Knight stayed at the same place and watched Loren getting up while slowly raising his sword. Thinking that he was very lucky to still be able to hold his sword despite his arms feeling so tired, Loren wondered why the Black Knight didn¡¯t seize this perfect opportunity to go after him. His stance was bad, and his arms were too numb to wield the greatsword. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to counteract if the Knight attacked now, and this battle would very likely end here. Yet the knight didn¡¯t take this chance, and Loren just couldn¡¯t understand it. Loren wondered if he was being played, but he reminded himself that it was too early to draw any conclusion when they had only crossed swords once. So he readied himself and lunged at the Knight once more. This time, the Black Knight also reacted to Loren¡¯s attack and did an upward slash to match Loren¡¯s downward blow. As a result, blades crashed into each other, sparking fire and sound, it was Loren who lost. And it was a rather one-sided loss too: Before his sword could be swung downward, it was sent flying back up. The shock was too much that his shoulders almost got dislocated, and he was knocked down backward. The Black Knight gave chase this time, but Loren managed to escape somehow by following the momentum rolled back a couple of times. [¡®Onii-san, do you need my aid?!¡¯] Loren heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind as he stood up and lightly swung his sword sideways to keep the Black Knight from approaching. If he used the King of Death¡¯s power, he would be able to handle the Black Knight, who hadn¡¯t shown any signs of being a magic user until now. The idea had crossed his mind, but he shook it off, as he could feel Judie observing the battle closely from a distance away. He had no idea what Judie would do to him if he got help from Shayna. Even though the King of Death¡¯s power was invisible, a Demon King might still be able to see through it, so using Shayna¡¯s aid would be a bad idea. [¡®It can¡¯t be helped then. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll lend you my magic power, onii-san.¡¯] Normally, Shayna would have used Energy Drain, the power of the King of Death, to absorb the power of others and supply it to Loren. However, since it would be difficult for her to do so in front of the Demon King, she gave up on the idea and offered him the power she originally possessed. She explained to him that this would make it look like he was using his own magic, because she herself was inside his mind. [¡®Use self-boost, then try attacking again!¡¯] With Shayna¡¯s voice cheering him on, Loren quickly circulated magic power throughout his body and activated self-strengthening technique. Feeling a force unlike anything before coursing through his body, he wondered if it was alright to use it like this and swung his greatsword again. The Black Knight intercepted him, and their blades clashed. The self-boost allowed Loren to make a dash forward, adding even more power into his slash. When his sword met the Black Knight¡¯s, it wasn¡¯t a one-sided loss anymore, and both of their blades were locked for a moment. Loren could feel himself being pushed backward slightly, though, and he realized that he was still outmatched. This may have been due to the difference in size and weight between Loren and the Black Knight, in addition to speed and arm strength. The Black Knight seemed to sense that Loren wasn¡¯t being overpowered like before and pushed at him with even more strength. Thinking that he might be defeated like this, Loren quickly changed tactics. He immediately changed the angle of his blade to block the pushing force of the Black Knight, then quickly slid his greatsword past the Knight¡¯s blade to the back of his knees, which were usually considered to be weakly defended. ¡°Hard!¡± The backsides of joints were usually weakly defended due to the construction of armors. Loren had struck with that anticipation, but it seemed that the joints of the Black Knight¡¯s armor were reinforced with chains and metal plates. Loren¡¯s blow didn¡¯t cut through the armor, but only scratched at it with an unpleasant sound. As if to return the favor, the Black Knight struck another slash, which Loren met with his greatsword. But the force of the strike was too much for Loren to withstand, and he was sent flying backwards. He was prepared this time, though, so he didn¡¯t roll on the ground and safely landed a distance away from the Black Knight instead. Still, the fact that the Knight was strong enough to send him flying back with just a casual flick of the sword chilled him. He readied himself again as the Knight slowly drew his sword back and turned towards him. Chapter 198 - The Conclusion of The Battle Chapter 198 ¨C The Conclusion of The Battle ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with that Black Knight.¡± Lapis muttered while watching the battle between Loren and the Black Knight. Loren kept on attacking, but could never deal any real damage aside from some scratches on the Black Knight¡¯s armor. Meanwhile, the Black Knight, who didn¡¯t even sustain any damage even when getting hit, used his greatsword to receive Loren¡¯s blows with a strength that Loren seemed unable to withstand. From what Lapis saw, it was the Black Knight who was acting strange. If he had that much power, he should be able to close the gap and attack Loren directly, but as far as Lapis saw, the Black Knight was hardly moving from his standing position since the start of this battle. ¡°He doesn¡¯t move, or can¡¯t move?¡± ¡°Ah, of course, Lapis-chan will notice it.¡± Judie said. She had come near Lapis before anyone noticed. Lapis glanced at her with a somewhat sullen look, then immediately turned her eyes back to Loren. It was just a small thing she had noticed, but Lapis wondered if it could give Loren some advantage if she told him. She didn¡¯t have time for Judie now ¨C that was why she unconsciously gave her the cold shoulders. Judie didn¡¯t seem to mind though. She came to stand beside Lapis. ¡°You don¡¯t have any subordinates that huge, do you?¡± ¡°Well? What do you think?¡± ¡°He has experience with swords¡­ Otherwise, it would be impossible to wield such a super-heavy weapon.¡± The Black Knight was moving very little, but he was definitely defending against and returning Loren¡¯s attacks. Lapis could see that he wielded the sword properly, raising the blade before cutting down. An inexperienced person wouldn¡¯t do that even with normal swords, but the Black Knight did with every strike. The person inside that black armor must be very used to handling swords. ¡°He had enough physical strength to send Loren flying back when defending¡­ Most demons are able to do that.¡± There was some difference in strength between men and women, but demons could also use self-boost to enhance their own strength. With that, any demons working at a Demon King¡¯s castle would be able to send someone with Loren¡¯s built flying back while still defending themselves. Lapis gritted her teeth: ¡°I can¡¯t narrow down who that Black Knight is¡­ If I know the person, I can think of a counter-attack plan.¡± On the battlefield, Loren was having the same thought. But unlike Lapis, he didn¡¯t know about the demons in this castle, so it was meaningless trying to identify the person behind the black armor after all. It was then that he realized the Knight¡¯s unnatural movements, something he hadn¡¯t considered before. ¡°You¡¯re just standing there, aren¡¯t you?¡± Due to the length of the Knight¡¯s sword and arm, there was a fairly wide gap between Loren and him. If Loren stepped into that space, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the Knight¡¯s counterattacks unless he leapt back quite a distance. But once he calmly assessed the Black Knight¡¯s movements with each strike, Loren noticed that he had hardly moved from his original standing position. He would move one step to cross swords with Loren, but that was all. Even if he was flicked back due to defense, the Knight never tried to pursue him. Furthermore, as Loren moved around him to find an opening, the Black Knight only followed him with his eyes. If he entered the knight¡¯s blind spot, he would just let himself be exposed without changing his body¡¯s direction. ¡°You can¡¯t move because your armor is too heavy, can you?¡± The Black Knight didn¡¯t show any reactions to Loren¡¯s muttered words, but Loren could see the purple eyes behind the helmet wavered, even if just a little. He knew his guess was correct. In other words, the Knight standing in front of him had an extraordinary defensive ability, but he was unable to handle the weight of the black armor that built up that very ability. This was the reason why his body could not keep up with Loren¡¯s movements. Loren believed that the person inside the armor was definitely someone from the demon tribe, judging from the color of his eyes. In that case, the black armor must be so heavy that even with the power of the demon race, he could not move satisfactorily. And if the armor was that heavy, it made sense that no matter how many times he slashed at it with his greatsword, the attack would not go through. Moreover, unlike Loren, who was moving in a circle around him, the Black Knight himself was only swinging his sword in response to Loren¡¯s attacks. Unable to make chase seemed to be the only problem he had in this battle. ¡°If you can¡¯t run, I¡¯ll be the one to run then.¡± If your opponent couldn¡¯t chase you, it meant you wouldn¡¯t be chased. This might sound stupid, but with this opponent, if Loren just gave up on the battle and ran now, there was a very high chance that he could really get away. ¡®A very high chance¡¯ only, because it was possible there was some hidden cards, and he would get a blow the moment he turned his back. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t run away.¡± If he did, he would be considered to have abandoned the battle, and the negotiation with Judie would end with Loren¡¯s defeat. That didn¡¯t mean anything, but Loren had no way of dealing with the embodiment of defense in front of him. He glanced at his greatsword, which he had smashed it into the Black Knight¡¯s armor over and over again, causing the blade to be covered with chips. Originally, it was not a weapon that relied much on the sharpness of the blade, so if such a weapon was blunted further, it couldn¡¯t possibly penetrate the black armor. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren walked around the Black Knight a little out of his range and wondered what to do. After a while, he suddenly thought of a way. ¡°Is it worth a try, I wonder?¡± Loren muttered and patted Nigg, who was clinging to the shoulder of his jacket. Like an accessory, the spider clung to it without making a single movement ¨C its body moved a little just because of Loren¡¯s palm. Loren moved his hand from Nigg¡¯s back to stroke his tummy, then dropped his greatsword and ran towards the Black Knight barehanded. The Black Knight seemed to be slightly bewildered by his action, but he immediately aimed his sword at Loren¡¯s neck. With his strength, if the blow landed, Loren would die on the spot, weapon or no weapon. But before the blade could touch his neck, Loren slid down, avoiding the blow and dived behind the Knight in one move. He then quickly ran out of the Knight¡¯s range, clutching a rather thick white thread in his hand. ¡°When?¡± Judie exclaimed. When he ran towards the Black Knight, she was sure he was empty-handed. Before she could see where the thread came from, Loren had begun to run around the Black Knight with the thread in his hand. When the Black Knight noticed what he wanted to do, the spider¡¯s thread, with one end stuck to his leg, was wrapped around the Knights¡¯ leg multiple times. The knight hurriedly used his sword to cut the thread, but Loren, thread still in hand, also picked up his discarded greatsword to stop him. The Blade met the blade, and Loren was sent flying back again, but the Knight was also unable to cut the thread. As the knight raised his sword to attempt to cut the thread again, Loren also made another one-handed thrust to stop him. After several such exchanges, the Black Knight¡¯s legs were wrapped in spider thread and eventually sealed in a pure white cocoon. The spider thread was very durable to begin with, and a spider of Nigg¡¯s size could spit out a pretty thick thread. Being wound so many times like that, it formed a cocoon that couldn¡¯t be torn out from the inside or cut open from the outside. The Black Knight used to be able to change direction with just some slight movements of the feet, but now even that had become difficult. He tried to remove the thread, but Loren immediately interrupted that attempt and wound even more thread around his legs. Before long, the Black Knight completely lost the freedom to move his legs at will. As Loren drew near him from behind, he frantically tried to swung his sword at him, but Loren kicked at his back and knocked him face down to the ground of the arena. ¡°Now, wait, isn¡¯t that cheating?¡± Judie asked, and Lapis answered after some thinking: ¡°Would you claim that using a spider¡¯s assistance is cheating?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Demons were a race of great power, and they generally considered other races to be inferior to them in many cases. With such beliefs in mind, even a Demon King would be uncomfortable with the fact that a human, who should be inferior to them, had won the battle simply by borrowing the power of the spider, or calling the act ¡®cheating¡¯. Moreover, it was the Demon King¡¯ aide who Loren fought here. If she claimed that he was cheating, it would mean she was keeping by her side someone who wasn¡¯t even a match for the power of a human combined with that of a spider. It would bring questions about the Demon King¡¯s good name. ¡°Mother, that Knight must have a great fixation to that armor and armor¡¯s sizes in order to put on something that limits his own movements to such extent.¡± The Black Knight couldn¡¯t even get up on his own, but he kept trying to. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to stand up again once I fell down with all that weight.¡± ¡°Should I stop that?¡± Judie said in a disappointed voice, but she didn¡¯t declare that Loren had won. In that case, the battle still continued. Or so Loren thought, and he picked up his chipped greatsword, placed a foot on the Black Knight¡¯s back, and swung the sword down on his helmet. No matter how thick the armor was, he believed that if he kept hitting a vital point with enough force and precision, it would have some certain effect. Maybe if he kept hitting the helmet, the person inside the armor would lose consciousness at some point. ¡°Who¡¯s actually inside that armor?¡± Lapis asked as she watched Loren putting a foot on the Knight¡¯s back and began hitting his helmet vigorously. Judie stared at Lapis, then said in a small, lazy voice: ¡°Your Father.¡± ¡°Father?!¡± ¡°Well, he kept going on about meeting the man his daughter has brought back, so I tossed him into some bulky armor, gave him a pair of platform boots, then took him along.¡± ¡°Eh? No, wait?! Mother! Father is being beaten to pulp!!¡± Even though the blade didn¡¯t cut through and the thick armor prevented most of the shock reaching inside, if Loren kept beating without a care like that, some damage might be done to the head if he hit the right spot. The Black Knight¡¯s struggle to escape from Loren¡¯s foot had gradually become sluggish. ¡°Should I stop it? But it¡¯s a shame that the loss is confirmed.¡± ¡°Is this the place to say such a thing?! It¡¯s alright, Mother, the battle has come to a conclusion?!¡± ¡°Yes, yes. So, Loren won.¡± Judie offhandedly declared, and Lapis rushed out to protect the Black Knight¡¯s head from Loren¡¯s blows. Loren guessed that the battle had ended somehow and stopped striking at the somewhat-disfigured helmet. Watching the Black Knight¡¯s prone form, he let out a sigh. Chapter 199 - From Preparation to Departure Chapter 199 ¨C From Preparation to Departure ¡°Well, well, well. You¡¯ve found a boy quite strong for a human.¡± The man smiled cheerfully and scratched his head. He was a fine gentleman with neatly combed hair, and his all black attire looked like that of a butler. However, the color of his smiling eyes were purple, and he had a rather rugged, wide long sword hanging in a scabbard at his waist, so there was no way he was just a butler. The man, who looked like he was about to enter middle age, sounded much more convincing, posing as Lapis¡¯ parent, than Judie. His name was Aus Arland. The difference between his last name and Judie¡¯s was, Judie¡¯s last name was that of a Demon King, while Aus¡¯ was that of his family. ¡°So, Lapis¡¯ full name is Lapis Arland?¡± ¡°If she takes over the family, then yes. If she doesn¡¯t, she doesn¡¯t have to take Arland as her name, and it will only be ¡®Lapis¡¯.¡± They were now on a plain near the Demon King¡¯s Castle, and maids were busy loading supplies and materials into wagons in front of them as they talked. All those supplies were the support the Demon King Judie provided to help them fulfill her commission. The wagon itself was also arranged by Judie. ¡°You can discard it if you need to.¡± Aus said in a light-hearted tone. Loren didn¡¯t know what made him happy, but he had been smiling ever since Loren beat him up. He had feared that he was beyond the point of anger and had no choice but to smile, but after talking to him, it didn¡¯t seem to be the case. He seemed to be genuinely happy about something. ¡°The helmet is enchanted so that it will always let Judie know where you are. If you can successfully throw it into the crater, the magic will stop responding and Judie will know, so you don¡¯t have to come back here if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll get paid in that case, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give it to you in advance. This, right?¡± Aus said and presented the greatsword that Loren had been using, the weapon of a Demon King. He handed it to Loren, who had prepared a set of cloth to wrap the blade and a cord to carry it on his back. ¡°Is this alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I won¡¯t begrudge you if you just take it and run away, either. You¡¯ll have to reconsider your relationship with my daughter, though.¡± Aus was still smiling, but the meaning behind his smile seemed to have changed. Feeling a bit intimidated, Loren looked straight back at his face and replied: ¡°If anything, I¡¯m the one who was asked out.¡± It was Lapis who asked him to accompany her. Loren didn¡¯t want to allude anything about how his and Lapis¡¯ feelings had changed, so he just told Aus the fact. Aus replied without losing his smile: ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then my daughter¡¯s eyes have been blinded, and as a parent, I¡¯ll have to disallow you to see her again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Lapis¡¯ eyes can be blinded now. Haven¡¯t guys already gouged them out?¡± Whether or not Lapis¡¯ eyes were gouged out or not, the truth was they had been taken away by Judie and Aus, and in her eye sockets were currently two finely-crafted prosthetic eyes. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°Um, you too? I¡¯ll cry, you know? I really, really will.¡± Lapis put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulders and started to shake him in protest. He figured he should just let her do what she wanted for a while, and continued watching the maids work while being rocked. But he suddenly realized something and asked Aus, who was watching over the maids with a smile still on his face: ¡°How long will it take us to get to that mountain crater?¡± ¡°Even if you travel by carriage, you¡¯ll have to spend one night on the road. As you know, I don¡¯t approve of premarital sex, so please be prepared.¡± ¡°Stupid father¡­ Stupid father, it¡¯s not like that. If we don¡¯t get back until the morning after tomorrow, another party will think we¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a group of people who have broken in from the same place as you and are doing a bit of digging. I¡¯ll arrange for them to be informed via the dwarves that there has been some trouble and they should be hiding in some dwarven villages until things cool down.¡± Loren did not want to worry Ritz¡¯ party, but Aus promised to take appropriate action immediately. ¡°¡®What kind of support will you give us in terms of fighting power?¡¯ Loren asked as he hung the greatsword he had received on his back as he had always done. Aus¡¯ smile didn¡¯t vanish, but he answered the question with a slight drop in his tone: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but Judie deems that it¡¯s best not to not provide you support in terms of fighting power.¡± ¡°Oh, come on, that¡¯s¡­¡± Loren was on the verge of protesting, but Aus continued: ¡°Instead, we¡¯re going to help you with supplies.¡± As he said this, Aus handed Loren an item that looked like a big chicken egg but felt a bit harder. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a disposable magic item that generates a protective ward. Try crushing it.¡± Loren did as he was told and put strength into his hand and the item, just like an egg, shattered fragilely in his hands. At the same time, Aus drew the sword that had been hanging at his waist and swung it at Loren¡¯s neck. He was so quick that even Lapis, whose hands were still on Loren¡¯s shoulder, didn¡¯t have time to raise her voice. But the strike, which should have separated Loren¡¯s neck from his body, stopped far from his neck as if it had hit an invisible wall, and the blade did not cut into his flesh at all. ¡°Don¡¯t startle me.¡± ¡°This egg is a disposable magic item that builds a protective barrier around the person who crushes it. It should be able to block at least one blow from a dragon attack.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite impressive that it can block my father¡¯s attack.¡± Loren¡¯s expression did not change as he listened to Lapis say this, but inwardly he felt a twinge of fear, which he struggled to subdue. That was how sharp and fierce the Aus¡¯ strike had been. ¡°That wasn¡¯t retaliation for the beating, is it?¡± ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± Aus was being evasive, but from the slackness of his mouth, Loren suspected that was indeed the case. ¡°Judie believes that having someone powerful accompany you, even just as a support, might unnecessarily irritate the dragon. By the way, these eggs can also be used to offset magic, so you should try out their various uses. You can keep the surplus as an extra reward, but please don¡¯t sell it on the human market.¡± Even if they couldn¡¯t be exchanged for money, Loren thought that they were very powerful magic items. If you used them well, they could save your life, and since there were a good number of eggs in the wagon, he believed he would really appreciate being able to use them. If possible, he would like to have someone who could fight accompany them, but if the Demon King had made that decision, it would be better to follow it. ¡°Where¡¯s Gula?¡± The last time Loren saw her was in Judie¡¯s room, and he was told later that she was abducted by the maids. He asked Aus just because he thought the man might know something, but Aus simply pointed with his chin toward the wagon: ¡°Our maids were loading her earlier, didn¡¯t you see?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tease her too much. I know she¡¯s unusual, but¡­¡± Gula had completely turned into a toy for the maids of the Demon King¡¯s Castle. She had been ¡®loaded¡¯ meant that she had probably been brought in unconscious, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but be somewhat curious about what the maids had done to make her so. ¡°You¡¯ve done a lot of research, right? What did you find out?¡± ¡°About Evil Gods, you mean? To be honest, we don¡¯t have much interest in them, so we don¡¯t know much.¡± Aus mentioned Gula¡¯s true identity so nonchalantly that Loren had almost missed it, but Lapis¡¯ tightened hands on his shoulders made him listen more carefully. ¡°I know they were created by the ancient kingdom. There are various rumors that they were researching about making demons submit to humans or turning humans into demons, but the truth is unknown. I¡¯m sure the Evil Gods themselves don¡¯t know everything either.¡± ¡°Even so, it¡¯s still a pity you don¡¯t know more.¡± ¡°I know how you feel. Well, you can either take it easy or forget about it altogether.¡± Loren lightly clucked his tongue at Aus¡¯ words as if to say that it was someone else¡¯s problem, not his, then asked more questions: ¡°Can¡¯t you tell me where Lapis¡¯ eyes and legs are?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret. I¡¯m sure Lapis will agree. Don¡¯t you, Lapis?¡± Lapis nodded in response as if to confirm Aus¡¯ words. Loren was somewhat dissatisfied, but he convinced himself that if Lapis, the person in question, was fine with it, then there was no need to pry any further. ¡°You can keep the wagon and horses at Lapis¡¯ base in the area. The wagon is infused with numerous technologies of ours, so it¡¯s best to not sell it on humans¡¯ market.¡± ¡°Can it cross the mountains?¡± ¡°It can, on a specific route¡­ But if it¡¯s too much trouble, you can just sell it off to the dwarves.¡± Aus seemed to consider the wagon as an additional reward, and Loren was impressed by his generosity. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be too dangerous on the road, but you should leave it to Lapis to deal with the demons. If you leave now, we can spend one night on the road and reach the mountain by noon tomorrow. I¡¯m praying for your safety. And, well¡­ Take care of my daughter.¡± Aus said, still smiling. Before Loren knew it, the maids had finished their work, and all that was left to do was to board and leave. Lapis took her hands off Loren¡¯s shoulders and climbed onto the driver¡¯s bench. Loren followed her, thinking that Aus¡¯ request to ¡®take care of my daughter¡¯ was pregnant with hidden meaning. Feeling a bit mean, he asked Aus, who was seeing them off: ¡°Are you that worried? Why did you take away her limbs and eyes then?¡± ¡°Because we think a sheltered girl has no worth. That was necessary to give her experiences in the human realm. Still, as her parents, we¡¯re worried about her. Is it that strange?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t answer that question. After all, he had never been a parent, and he had never known his own parents. If he had to, he could say that the leader of his mercenary company was his parent, but he had no idea if said leader felt the same towards him as Aus towards Lapis. Aus didn¡¯t seem to be expecting an answer from Loren either; he didn¡¯t look disappointed about Loren¡¯s silence but simply looked up at them. As Aus opened his mouth to say something, one of the maids quietly approached him and whispered something in his ear, causing his face to cloud over for the first time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you have to hear this right before leaving, but I have some bad news.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear such things while I¡¯m just about to depart¡­¡± ¡°You might want to hear this thought. It seems the shield has been stolen.¡± The man named Magna already possessed the sword and armor, and the two items he hadn¡¯t stolen yet were the shield and the helmet that Loren was carrying. If the shield had also been stolen, the only thing left would be the helmet, and it was almost certain that Magna would go after their party. ¡°You demons are unexpectedly negligent.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have much interest in them, so we manage them rather carelessly¡­ I apologize for this shameful situation.¡± ¡°Well, it can¡¯t be helped. If this helmet is destroyed, we¡¯ll be able to handle the situation somehow.¡± The helmet had been loaded into the wagon along with the other supplies. It was wrapped in a packing that had been treated to make it difficult for magic to probe it, but Aus explained that it would not be very effective against Magna, who already had three of the set. ¡°If you successfully carry out this commission, you will have the free pass to enter and leave the region under Demon King Judie¡¯s control. Do your best.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like a very nice reward, but it¡¯s a commission from the parent of my comrade. I¡¯ll even get paid, so I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Take care of my daughter. With all my heart, I ask you, take good care of my daughter.¡± ¡°Damn it, if you¡¯re that worried about her, you should have kept her sheltered in the first place!¡± Loren was dumbfounded. Next to him, Lapis silently whipped the horse with a bright red face. Loren thought she was too embarrassed to let Aus continued talking, but when he noticed her glancing over her shoulder at Aus and the maids, he leaned into her ears and said: ¡°You can drop by on the way back, if you want. Since we don¡¯t have to worry about Ritz¡¯ party anymore.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Lapis answered with an even redder face, and Loren was made to understand that some feelings were the same whether you were a human or a demon. He would suggest Lapis drop by Judie¡¯s castle on the way back. Chapter 200 - A Premonition On the Road Chapter 200 ¨C A Premonition On the Road Their journey was going quite well. First of all, to Loren¡¯s surprise, the roads, which were called highways, were quite well paved. Roads in the realm of the humans were usually just bare earth, although the bigger ones were more-or-less maintained. However, roads in the demon realm were properly paved with stones. According to Lapis, almost all highways in the demon realm were properly maintained. Every year, the demon kings would allocate a budget to pave new roads and maintain old ones. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that they don¡¯t really maintain the roads so that troops won¡¯t be able to move around as easily in times of war.¡± ¡°Troops on both sides? That sounds inefficient.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mainly to hinder the enemies, isn¡¯t it? Even if it¡¯s at a slow pace, if your allies move in advance, you¡¯ll be able to place the necessary troops where they need to be.¡± In fact, Loren remembered that during his time as a mercenary, he was taught that it served more as an obstruction when enemy forces invaded your country. Lapis snickered at the common sense of the human race. ¡°It¡¯s meaningless in the demon realm. Of course, there are some skirmishes amongst Demon Kings, but the Great Demon King is on the top. There¡¯s no need to mobilize large armies. Problems can be solved by the Demon Kings and the Great Demon King themselves.¡± Lapis explained that rather than worrying about such things, the demons were more concerned about the delays in distribution caused by the lack of maintenance of the roads. It was true that if only one person had the strength equivalent to a large army, then this kind of obstruction was pointless, and Loren agreed that it would be more efficient to focus on convenience in peacetime. What surprised Loren even more was the performance of the wagon they had borrowed from Aus. The road may have been good, but the wagon itself didn¡¯t jolt much. Lapis said that the secret was in the axle and the body of the wagon, but Loren, who was not a specialist in this area, could not understand what was done to reduce the jolting. Nevertheless, the wagon barely shook even when the horse pulling it was going at a rather fast pace, and he was so impressed that he began to seriously consider the possibility of bringing it back to Kapha. ¡°Maybe I can secretly ask Mother if we can use it in the human realm.¡± When adventurers went out on a long trip, they usually rented a mule to carry their luggage or a wagon to ride in. But even though walking was very tiring, riding in a wagon was very bumpy and brought about its own problems like motion sickness and sore butts. However, with this wagon, the likelihood of getting motion sickness and sore butts would greatly decrease, making it worth considering bringing it back to the human world with them. ¡°As long as we only use it for ourselves and don¡¯t let anyone else find out, I think Mother will agree.¡± ¡°If the commission is completed successfully, we should stop by the Demon King¡¯s castle.¡± Loren was convinced that a less-jolting wagon totally worth the trip. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop by there anymore.¡± It was Gula who uttered those words. When they left the Demon King¡¯s castle, Gula had been loaded into the cart together with their luggage in an unconscious state, probably due to the maids¡¯ attack. A while later, she had finally crawled out from between the luggage, squirming like a caterpillar. Her whole body was carefully bound with ropes. Loren had immediately cut the ropes with the dagger he kept inside his jacket as a backup weapon, but the experience of being harassed by the maids, losing consciousness, then being tied up left a scar on Gula¡¯s psyche. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat baguettes and ham anymore¡­ I want to fill my stomach with proper food.¡± ¡°The maids only fed you those?¡± ¡°They must have had a lot of leftover food that was going bad. Sometimes that happens, and all we get is that food.¡± Looking angry, Lapis said that the maids in charge of stocking were quite irresponsible. But Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and the lord of that Demon King¡¯s castle, was rather indifferent about such matters and didn¡¯t really reprimand them for it. The result was things didn¡¯t improve at all. ¡°Indulge yourself for tonight, then.¡± Feeling sorry for Gula, who seemed to have been stuffed with nothing but meat and bread under the maids¡¯ watching eyes, Loren suggested. The wagon was loaded with all kinds of food, so he believed it wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if she consumed a bit too much. Lapis did not object to the suggestion, and Gula welcomed it with open arms. They proceeded in such an atmosphere, and spent the first night of the trip camping outdoors. But from the second day on, the number of demons they passed on the road increased, and they were stopped more often. Unlike human cities, which were surrounded by walls and moats, demon cities seemed to have a building at the center with houses and stores laid out around it, their density decreased as you moved away from the center. It seemed like they had been far enough from the Demon King¡¯s castle that they could be considered to be out of the city now. In other words, their encounters with patrolling soldiers had increased, and those soldiers often had their eyes on Loren, a human. But these kinds of attention didn¡¯t develop into real trouble because Gula had reverted her red eyes to their original purple hue and Lapis, despite currently having black eyes, was more-or-less known due to being the Demon King¡¯s daughter. In addition, the white greatsword Loren carried on his back also served as a kind of pass. ¡°For something that¡¯s been stored in a warehouse, this sword is quite famous among demons.¡± Loren didn¡¯t even know how many times they had been stopped by soldiers until now, but every single time, he just needed to show them the sword, and they would let them go. He now let it rest on his knees in case he required to show it to another group of soldiers. ¡°It seems so. I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Lapis said while steering the wagon. Then she seemed to suddenly recall something and started rummaging around her pockets with one hand before taking out a piece of paper. She gave the paper a shake to unfold it, then read attentively for a while. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the manual for your greatsword. Father gave it to me right before we left.¡± Of course, there was no such thing as an ¡®manual¡¯ for a sword, but Aus had given Lapis a list of the sword¡¯s properties that had been known since the time Judie used it. It seems that Aus thought it would be pointless for Loren to have a weapon that he didn¡¯t really know how to use, but Loren tilted his head and wondered why he gave it to Lapis instead of him. ¡°An insurance, so that you don¡¯t just make off with it, I guess?¡± Lapis tried to answer Loren¡¯s question. In the event that Loren didn¡¯t carry out Judie¡¯s commission but ran away with the greatsword instead, even though he possessed the sword, Lapis would be the one who possessed the information about it. Lapis would choose to tell him about them or not at her own discretion. ¡°So they don¡¯t trust me.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know you well enough to trust you.¡± ¡®But I do¡¯, Lapis said, and proceeded to tell Loren about what was written on the paper. ¡°To put it simply, the sword is very sturdy, unbreakable, maintenance-free, and so sharp that it can cut through magic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too general.¡± In fact, the paper was filled with explanations about the magic that was applied to the sword and the metal used to forge the blade, but Lapis decided that even if she explained all that to Loren, a swordsman, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to understand anything. So, she skipped all these descriptions and only gave Loren the necessary information. ¡°Will you understand if I tell you about the synergistic effect of the magic formula and the demon metal on its sturdiness, or the formula that converts the wielder¡¯s life force into its sharpness, or the formula that enables it to record its shape and destruction to repair itself?¡± ¡°Ah, sorry, my bad.¡± Lapis began listing out, and Loren immediately admitted his wrong and apologized. He realized that if she kept on with such explaining, he wouldn¡¯t be able to understand a thing when she finished. ¡°It can transform life force and create flames.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome. So I can become something like a magician?¡± A magic sword that could produce flames from its blade was an orthodox yet powerful one. They were occasionally available on the market at a very high price. This was an expensive sword that was normally beyond Loren¡¯s reach. Loren was extremely grateful for being able to obtain it now. ¡°However, it doesn¡¯t have a limiter for the user¡¯s safety, so if you¡¯re not careful, it can siphon off all your life force and kill you.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s scary.¡± If the wielder was a Demon King, even if the sword had absorbed all the life force it could, the most the wielder would feel was some fatigue. That was what written on the paper, but Lapis skipped over it. In fact, from those words, she came to understand that if a human like Loren used the sword¡¯s power with no moderation, he would die for sure. ¡°In addition, there is a small amount of supportive magic infused in it, such as increasing recovery, strengthening defense, and boosting arm strength. But you¡¯ve probably used them already despite not knowing anything, so there shouldn¡¯t be any difference.¡± ¡°Well, those are nice features, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Finally, now that you¡¯re officially registered as its user, a new function has become available¡­¡± At this point, Lapis became evasive. Loren peered into the paper, but it was written in a script he didn¡¯t know, so he had no idea what made Lapis act like this. ¡°Is it something bad?¡± ¡°Father just said to have fun using it.¡± The fact that there was no warning meant that it wasn¡¯t going to be life-threatening. But a function that a demon, the husband of a Demon King no less, said to ¡®have fun using¡¯¡­ There was no way Loren would use it without any information. ¡°Does it at least say how to use it?¡± ¡°Yes, well, but¡­ It¡¯s really insane?¡± Lapis said and, as if afraid someone else might hear, leaned in close to Loren¡¯s ears, covered her mouth with her hands, and whispered to him about how to use the new function. Loren frown once he finished listening. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can tell you to try it.¡± Loren memorized what Lapis had told him in case nothing else worked and he had to use it, but he really didn¡¯t want to be in that kind of situation at all. ¡°You probably won¡¯t have to use it unless we¡¯re in THAT situation¡­¡± ¡°This is quite ominous.¡± But considering the place they were heading to, they couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that they might be forced into a predicament where they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about. Also, this was a reward given to them in advance by the Demon King. Loren wondered if Judie had already anticipated such a scenario. ¡°L-Loren, I¡¯ll try my best to not let that happen.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ Well, yes please.¡± Lapis clenched her hands into fists to emphasize her determination. Loren had already half-resigned himself to accept that it would happen, so he just patted her head. Chapter 201 - From Climbing the Mountain to Being Sabo Chapter 201 ¨C From Climbing the Mountain to Being Sabo And so, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. Considering the direction they were going in, Loren had already had a sneaking fear that their destination would be THAT mountain. As his fear came true, he let out a deep sigh at the sight of the mountain towering over them. ¡°We really have to climb this?¡± Loren muttered this to himself. It was no wonder that he did: to put it simply, it was one rocky mountain range. The area was made up of a series of mountains, but Loren¡¯s gaze was drawn to the highest of them all. ¡°Are you kidding? We¡¯ll climb this?¡± Next to Loren, who had just gotten off the carriage and was looking up at the towering mountain, Gula let out these words with a hint of disgust in her voice. It really was a rocky mountain. The mountain itself was so desolate that there was no vegetation in sight. The slope was steep, but not so steep that it was impossible to climb. The problem, however, was the height of the mountain. From the foot of the mountain, no matter how high they casted their eyes up, the surface of the mountain seemed to stretch on and on uninterrupted. As they turned their heads to look up, they saw that the mountain was covered in thick black clouds half-way up, making the summit invisible. They definitely couldn¡¯t scale this mountain with a wagon, so Lapis went to hide the vehicle in a small forest nearby. ¡°Since we need to reach the crater, we¡¯ll have to climb all the way to the summit, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± After hiding the wagon, Lapis brought out bread and drinking water from the back of it and handed them to Loren while replying casually as if it was a matter of course. It was just about noon, and as Loren took the food from her, he assumed that he was supposed to have them for lunch. ¡°For Gula, some baguette and ham.¡± ¡°Are you bullying me?!¡± Thinking how rare a sight it was to see the Evil God of Gluttony refuse the food offered to her, Loren bit into his hard bread. The thing was tasteless, but it could fill his stomach, and that would have to do for now. As he gnawed on the bread, Lapis forced a baguette and a chunk of ham on Gula. Then she came to his side and looked up at the towering mountain, holding the same food as Loren. ¡°¡®It¡¯s called Mount Sverg, the Mountain Where the King Sleeps.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care for the story of this mountain.¡± ¡°The ¡®King¡¯ is the Ancient Dragon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s even less important.¡± It was the kind of information that one couldn¡¯t do anything about even after knowing it. And staying here looking at the mountain would make any progress. He had no choice but to resign himself to it and climb. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll make it to the top before dark even if we start now.¡± ¡°Rather than that, we won¡¯t make it within a day.¡± ¡°So we¡¯ll have to spend the night on a windswept mountain face?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to make use of Gula¡¯s power to dig a hole.¡± The surface of the mountain was mostly bare rock. If they wanted to dig a hole in it, they would have to work for a long time and make a lot of noise with hammers and pickaxes. However, with Gula¡¯s power, it would probably be much easier to dig a hole quietly and quickly, and the dug out rocks would be eaten up. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too mean to me?¡± Gula complained while gnawing on the baguette that she had eventually ended up accepting, but she didn¡¯t seem to truly reject Lapis¡¯ proposal. Loren chewed on his own bread, thinking that they might not have to make Gula go that far ¨C finding a cave would do too. After finishing their tasteless lunch, they immediately began their preparation by taking out whatever seemed necessary from the wagon and stuffing them into their backpacks. These backpacks, which were also prepared by Judie, were quite sturdy and much better than what adventurers usually used. Loren was impressed by how far ahead the demons were in terms of manufacturing technology in comparison to humans. ¡°We can also use these even after returning to the other side, right?¡± ¡°These are all stuff you can get by paying money, so it should be fine.¡± Lapis shouldered her backpack. It was filled with supplies such as food, medical supplies, and sleep bag. Loren couldn¡¯t shoulder his as he was carrying his greatsword on his back. Instead, he grabbed it by the shoulder straps and carried it like a sack. Gula, who was carrying a backpack slightly larger than Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯s, tried to sound as cheerful as possible as she gazed with genuine disgust at the direction of the mountain peak, which was obscured by clouds: ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go have some fun climbing the mountain, shall we?¡± This was how they began to climb the rocky mountain. Unlike traveling in a wagon, the climb was extremely strenuous. Just climbing a mountain was tiring enough, but when you were equipped with a backpack filled with enough supplies to last three to four days, the amount of energy consumed is proportional to the weight. In addition to that, they had to be on the lookout for the dragon that was supposed to live in this mountain. It would be strange if it wasn¡¯t tiring. ¡°Being cautious or not, if we¡¯re discovered, we¡¯re done.¡± There was no place to hide on the bare rocky face of the mountain. The shade of a large boulder wasn¡¯t bad to hide behind, if your enemies were monsters on the ground. But if you were hiding from a dragon flying above, you would be in full view. And there was no sign of any other monsters on this mountain. Loren was sure that since this mountain was home to a dragon, the most powerful monster of all, no other demons would even come close to it. ¡°Rather than proceeding cautiously, it¡¯d be better to hurry ahead, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°¡®That¡¯s right. If there¡¯s no way to hide from detection, we might as well focus on gaining distance.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of fighting a dragon either.¡± If even an Evil God like Gula wanted to avoid an encounter with a dragon, they all agreed that they should quickly finish their business and leave the mountain as soon as possible. They started to climb up the slope of the mountain, but the distance to the top was too great, and after they reached a certain height, the sun went down. ¡°Gula-san, a hole.¡± ¡°Uhm, Lapis-chan, even though I¡¯m like this, I¡¯m still an Evil God, you know?¡± Gula nervously protested at Lapis¡¯s request, but she knew she had to do it anyway and began to use her Predators on the part of the mountain face Lapis pointed to. Multiple mouths, which would normally be invisible, started gnawing away at the mountain surface and swallowed up the crushed stones. Soon enough, a cave opened up on the vertical mountain surface, big enough for three people to lie down. ¡°That¡¯s convenient.¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Can you please stop using me for your convenience?¡± With Gula¡¯s power, it really was easy to dig a hole, and you didn¡¯t even have to worry about the dug up rocks. As Loren checked the condition of the newly-dug cave and thought that he might ask for Gulas¡¯ help in this kind of situation from now on, he suddenly put his palm on his nape and rubbed it as he looked around. Gula was going into the cave, thinking that since she had dug it, it would be okay for her to go in first. Lapis was watching her, but she noticed Loren¡¯s gesture and also turned to look around ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s probably just my imagination.¡± As Loren replied, he asked Shayna in his mind to search the area. In the absence of plants and animal life on the rocky mountain, Loren knew he could rely on Shayna¡¯s senses to tell him if there was any living thing nearby. But Shayna answered that there were no signs of life nearby, and Loren tilted his head as he rubbed his nape. ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Nothing, just that I thought I felt eyes on me, but I guess it was just my imagination.¡± If Shayna didn¡¯t feel anything, then there was probably nothing. But Lapis¡¯ face became a little grim at his answer, and she looked around carefully again. Loren thought there was no need to be that cautious if the King of Death didn¡¯t sense anything, but Lapis had a different opinion: ¡°Something like a life response can be masked by a type of magic called <>. However, the feeling of being watched like you sensed cannot be hidden by any magic.¡± Lapis said it was also important to trust your senses. Loren once again looked out from the cave¡¯s opening, but he couldn¡¯t spot anything. Not being sure what to make of it. ¡°Who will go after us at such a place?¡± ¡°Someone who wants this helmet, of course.¡± Lapis took out the black helmet from her pack. As far as Loren knew, the only person who wanted the helmet was Magna, the long-haired man wearing black armor. ¡°Are you saying he¡¯s already here?¡± ¡°Even if he hasn¡¯t, we shouldn¡¯t assume that he¡¯s working alone.¡± Loren thought about what Lapis was trying to say and eventually came up with an answer. ¡°You mean he has accomplices?¡± ¡°Yes. And if he does, this mountain will be watched.¡± Lapis explained that there was a reason why the Demon King had instructed him to throw the helmet into the crater of this very mountain: It was because she had judged that the helmet and other items in the set could not be completely destroyed by any other means. Magna, who was collecting the set, probably knew about this. It would be troublesome for him if any item was destroyed, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he was monitoring the area where the only thing that can destroy these items existed. ¡°Do you think they will attack us?¡± If they wanted to quickly get the helmet from them, they could storm the place, get rid of the three of us, and then retrieve the item at ease. They didn¡¯t know how many accomplices Magna had, but the common sense should be at least the same number as Loren¡¯s party or more. ¡°It depends on how many people they have, but the first question is whether these accomplices actually exist or not.¡± They guessed that Magna might have some accomplices, but they were not certain. It was possible that what Loren sensed was just his imagination, and Lapis¡¯ speculation was overly cautious. ¡°If Shayna can¡¯t detect them, we¡¯re in trouble.¡± ¡°Yeah. But unless Magna could find help from the demons, I don¡¯t think there are many people that skilled. The same number as us at most, if not fewer.¡± ¡°They plan to stop us with fewer people than us?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Lapis turned her gaze upwards. Even though the sun was setting and the night was about to fall, the heavy clouds hanging over their heads were still visible. As Loren also looked up, wondering what on earth Lapis was watching, she muttered absentmindedly: ¡°If they cause a commotion and attract the Ancient Dragon¡¯s attention¡­¡± From the Ancient Dragon¡¯s point of view, any human or demon who set foot in the vicinity of its home would be seen as an intruder, unless the person had a specific reason for doing so. Lapis thought that if Magna¡¯s accomplices could make a commotion to attract the Ancient Dragon¡¯s attention then hide well, they would be able to pin that attention on the three of them. ¡°In that case, having too many people would become a disadvantage.¡± If you were working alone, you only needed to conceal one person from the dragon. If you had three people like Loren¡¯s party, you would have to hide three people, making it very difficult. ¡°Which means if they raid us, they have more people than us. If they don¡¯t, then they have fewer people than us. Is that correct?¡± ¡°You can say so.¡± If Magna really had accomplices here, what kind of method would they use to hinder their party? As if to betray Loren¡¯s expectation that it would be better if they didn¡¯t exist, suddenly, out of nowhere, he saw a crimson flare running through the darkening night. It landed a bit closer to the mountaintop than where their party currently was at, and a huge explosion sounded, followed by a burst of red flames. ¡°Your keen senses are admirable, Loren.¡± They knew the direction where the shot came from, but they didn¡¯t know exactly where it was fired. In case they were aiming directly at their party, Lapis executed a < >. The second shot came right that moment, hitting slightly closer to them than the first one, and Lapis grumbled at the explosive sound and flames it brought. Loren unconsciously looked up at the black clouds hanging thickly in the sky. If you made such loud noise and flames on a bare rocky mountain with no other conspicuous features around, you were bound to attract some attention. Chapter 202 - From Being Sabotaged To Being Discovered Chapter 202 ¨C From Being Sabotaged To Being Discovered ¡°What the? What the hell just happened?¡± Gula, startled by the explosion that shook the rocky surface, tumbled out of the cave she had dug. Loren hurriedly grabbed her to stop her from rolling down the mountainside, then quickly looked around as he threw Gula into the cave again. ¡°Where the hell did they come from?¡± ¡°From that direction, I think.¡± Lapis looked in the direction where the light spheres were coming and pointed her finger. Loren turned his eyes to that direction, but it was getting dark, and he was unable to see the shooter. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re aiming for us?¡± ¡°¡®I don¡¯t think so. There¡¯s only one shooter, and the barrage is thin.¡± Before Lapis could finish, another light sphere flew in, causing an explosion near the cave they were in. Loren raised his arm to protect his face from the blast and shattered rocks. He was now sure that the shots were coming from the direction Lapis had pointed, but he still couldn¡¯t confirm who was shooting. ¡°Can you see the enemy, Lapis?¡± ¡°No, unfortunately not. I can only guess about their number and method.¡± If there were more than one enemy, Lapis believed that they wouldn¡¯t fire one shot at a time, but would strike consecutively in a flashier manner. But these attacks were single shots, and the intervals between them were long. ¡°Our opponent is a magician or something similar. Their skill is not that good. It¡¯s not about their aim, but about how they¡¯re unable to handle anything but an intermediate level of magic like <>.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with magic, but maybe they¡¯re using it together with another spell?¡± ¡°That¡­ Indeed! We can¡¯t see our assailant because they¡¯re ¡®hidden¡¯. So they¡¯re using <> together with <> or <>¡­ then <>. I take back what I said earlier. They¡¯re a first-class magician.¡± ¡°Stop praising our opponent!¡± Loren grunted. Just then, another light sphere hit near their cave, blasting flames and shockwaves and sending shattered rocks flying. ¡°Is there no restriction on how many times they can use it?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably using <> to increase it.¡± The number of times a magician can use a spell in a day was limited by the magician¡¯s ability. The difficulty of the spell itself also played a part in it, but it was difficult to imagine a single magician shooting spells at them one after another like how they were being attacked now. However, by using pre-made scrolls, a magician could use their magic without caring about the limit, as the spells made with scrolls wouldn¡¯t be counted into the limit. Any magician with a bit of money in their pocket would always carry a couple of magic scrolls with them. ¡°In any case, if we don¡¯t deal with that magician as soon as possible, we might attract some unwanted attention.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t even see him.¡± Shayna was still unable to detect any other signs of life besides their party. Loren tried to look around more closely, but with the sun going down, it was too dark for him to see. To make matters worse, the sound and flames of the fireball exploding nearby made it harder for his eyes to adjust to the darkness and for his ears to pick up any other sound. As Loren gritted his teeth at how they were unable to do anything, right then he heard Shayna spoke in the back of his mind: [¡®I¡¯ll try a bit advanced version of <>.¡¯] Before Loren could ask how flashy it was, the presence of the King of Death surged up from inside Loren. Gula, who had been tossed back into the cave and Lapis, who was standing next to him, widened their eyes. The presence shot forward, straight at the direction where their assailant was lurking. ¡°This is¡­¡± It was not surprising that Lapis was shocked. Another light sphere was shot, but it lost its light midway and disappeared just like a candle that had been blown out. In addition, the surface of the mountain suddenly burst up into dust as if hundreds of years had passed and it had been weathered. And finally, in the middle of the area where these changes occurred, a small scream from a woman could be heard. ¡°They have a practitioner!¡± Although Loren¡¯s eyes did not see it, Lapis¡¯ eyes seemed to have caught the figure of the magician in the darkness. Gula, who also had excellent senses, jumped out of the cave with the speed of a hound at the same time that Lapis used <> to secure their vision. Illuminated by the light, Loren¡¯s eyes finally caught sight of a figure collapsed on their four in a slight depression in the mountainside a long distance from where they were. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± The figure there looked like nothing Loren had ever seen before. She seemed to be wearing leather armor, but not the kind that mercenaries liked to wear ¨C it was made to fit the lines of her body. That was why Loren could see that the figure was female, but what surprised him was the color of the woman¡¯s skin and hair. The woman¡¯s skin, illuminated by the magic light, was a dark brown, and her long hair, fluttering in the wind, was pure white. Her ears were long and pointed like blades of daggers, and they reminded Loren of a particular member from the party of silver-ranked adventurers with whom they had worked on the way to the demon territory. ¡°An elf?!¡± ¡°You surprised me, Loren. She¡¯s from an endangered race, the Dark Elf.¡± Before Loren could ask Lapis what ¡®endangered race¡¯ meant, Gula jumped at the elf. The elf dodged while unsheathing two daggers from her back, then furiously slashed at Gula. Even from a distance, Loren could still notice the slight gleam of those blades. ¡°Careful, Gula! They¡¯re poisonous!¡± ¡°Is poison effective against the Evil God of Gluttony, I wonder?¡± That was the cold retort he received, and the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned downwards. It was true that Gula would not only eat the poison but also eat the plate without a care in the world. It was no wonder that Loren¡¯s warning was irrelevant. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with ¡®endangered race¡¯, by the way?¡± Wanting to change the subject, Loren asked. Lapis didn¡¯t want to dig further into his miss either, so she answered frankly: ¡°It means they¡¯re going extinct. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right. Dark elves are persecuted by other elves and hunted by humans, which leads to a drastic decrease in their population.¡± Lapis explained that the dark skin of Dark Elves is abhorred by other elves. Dark Elves had organized large armies to fight against other elves many times in the past, but they were outnumbered and defeated. In addition, as they were basically another race of elves, they were also extremely attractive, and were hunted by humans to be captivated and sold off as slaves. As a result, their numbers had been greatly reduced, and nowadays, they could hardly be seen anywhere. ¡°You can see that unlike Nim and other elves, the proportions of Dark Elves are closer to those of humans, though as a maiden, I can¡¯t exactly spell out what kind of proportion. Furthermore, even if humans hunt them for their beautiful forms, other elves won¡¯t complain at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s sad.¡± ¡°They are skilled in the use of poisons and have good concealment techniques. As they¡¯re also skillful at magic, they are valuable assassins. The entire race makes a living out of it, and that¡¯s another reason for the detest.¡± ¡°What an annoying race.¡± They could easily blend in with the darkness of the night, with their dark skins, their bodies were light as typical of elves, and they were skilled with magic and poison. It was natural that they would take up assassination as their main occupation. Loren admitted that he was being racist, but he thought that it couldn¡¯t help that they were hunted if they chose to make a living business out of assassinating people. But he also thought that it would be too much to wipe them out. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not Gula¡¯s enemy. I¡¯d like to see her captured alive if possible.¡± Calmly receiving the dark elf¡¯s poisonous dagger with her palms, Gula approached her barehanded. Even though it was an unbelievable thing that her blades didn¡¯t cut into Gula¡¯s flesh, the dark elf didn¡¯t lose her composure at all. She slipped through the Evil God¡¯s arms and precisely slashed at her abdomen and leg. But the blades still didn¡¯t penetrate Gula¡¯s flesh. Even though the elf was thrusting the tip of the daggers in and sliding the blade over the exposed skin, Gula¡¯s skin was not even scratched. The dark elf¡¯s daggers had a very strong protective magic applied on them and their blades were coated with poison, but it was very likely that they were ordinary daggers without any magic infusion. Lapis said that they would not be able to hurt Gula. ¡°Captured alive?¡± ¡°It is not necessary to reduce the number of a species that is already small by one. The effect that the extinction of a species has on the world is immeasurable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s in theory, but the truth is?¡± ¡°Do you want me to say it out loud that scarcity value is a lovely thing?!¡± Loren¡¯s expression turned weary, he wasn¡¯t sure if Lapis had accidentally slipped and revealed her true intentions, or if she was just going with the flow of the chat. Then Lapis just started hitting his side with her fists. Loren didn¡¯t bother to fend her off. He continued to watch Gula¡¯s fight. Acting as if her opponent¡¯s attacks were nothing, she was gradually cornering the dark elf. As she was just using brute force and not her Evil God¡¯s power, she probably didn¡¯t plan to kill the elf. Loren began to think that it was only a matter of time before the elf was captured and that he should start preparing the rope, but as if to interrupt him, a deafening roar of overwhelming volume echoed in the mountain. ¡°What the?¡± ¡°I think we did it, attracting unwanted attention.¡± Loren and Lapis hurriedly covered their ears while searching for the source of the roar. The loud noise reached Gura¡¯s ears as well, making her reflexively stop moving, and the dark elf took advantage of the opportunity to flee. The efl¡¯s escape could only be summed up with one word, ¡®splendid¡¯, and when Gula thought of pursuing her, she was already out of the range of the magic light launched by Lapis and had melted into the darkness of the night. Gula was unsure if she should go after her, but when she heard another roar, she hurriedly ran back to where Loren and Lapis were. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± ¡°The only thing that can make such a roar in these mountains is¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it seems like we¡¯ve been discovered and have attracted some attention.¡± In a somewhat strained voice, Lapis said as she looked up at the sky. As Loren and Gula looked up at the sky, the Lord of the mountain seemed to about to reveal himself as another roar rose up as if piercing through the ever-present thick black clouds that were hanging low in the night sky. Chapter 203 - From A Close Encounter To Battle Chapter 203 ¨C From A Close Encounter To Battle Loren¡¯s honest impression, if he had to give one, was that it was not that big. From the term ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, Loren had expected a being that could cover the sky with its wings. But when he thought about it, he realized that if such a huge creature existed in this world, its home must also be huge. The mountain they were currently on was a huge mountain, but it was not big enough to be described as covering the entire earth. Since the dragon lived here, it shouldn¡¯t be any bigger. But still, the creature that was slowly descending from the sky while beating its wings surely did possess the presence of an Ancient Dragon. ¡°Do you think we can escape?¡± Looking up at the sight of a dragon slowly descending from the clouds, Loren said, but not to anyone in particular. He was hoping that either Lapis or Gula would answer, and it was Lapis who did: ¡°It¡¯s impossible, isn¡¯t it? We can¡¯t find a place to hide, and even if we run, it¡¯s probably faster than us.¡± ¡°Lapis, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen a dragon, but¡­ Damn, are you sure that really is an Ancient Dragon?¡± When Loren was still a mercenary, dragons were things that existed in fairy tales only, so he had never seen one. In the first place, there was no room for an existence that only appeared in stories to intervene in a battle between humans. That was the reason why Loren had to ask. Lapis slowly nodded: ¡°Judging by this sense of intimidation, I¡¯m almost certain it is.¡± There was no way Loren could tell the difference in the sense of intimidation between an ordinary dragon and an Ancient Dragon. But if Lapis said so, then it must be so. Loren thought and decided to assume that the being above them was indeed an Ancient Dragon. ¡°Do we fight?¡± ¡°If necessary. But Loren, we have a better chance if we ask Gula to hold it back and run.¡± ¡°You want to use me as a sacrificial pawn?!¡± Gula clung to Lapis as if to stop her from doing that, and Lapis wordlessly gave her an elbow to the brow. It made a rather loud sound, and Gula reflexively covered her face with both hands and dropped to a crouch. Loren had no time to care about it though. ¡°ARE YOU THE ONES WHO DISTURB MY DWELLING?¡± The dragon that had been hovering overhead opened its mouth. Loren found the sight of a dragon that looked like a lizard speaking human language with its mouth extremely disturbing, but despite being taken aback, he knew that he had to give some kind of answer, and he managed to open his mouth somehow: ¡°We are not the one who caused the explosion with magic!¡± Thinking that the disturbance was about the magic explosion, Loren raised his voice and denied it. Considering the distance between them and the dragon, Loren was not sure if it could hear him or not, but it seemed like it had picked up his voice. ¡°THAT MUST BE THE DARK ELF THAT JUST RAN AWAY. I THOUGHT I HADN¡¯T SEEN THEM LATELY. TURNS OUT THEY¡¯RE STILL LURKING AND SCUTTERING AROUND, AS INCORRIGIBLY ALIVE AS EVER.¡± That sounded more like how one would describe something lurking in a dirty kitchen than an elf. Loren thought, and raised his voice even more: ¡°If you want to chase her, go that way. We have nothing to do with her!¡± ¡°THOSE EXPLOSIONS WERE UNPLEASANT, YES. BUT THAT¡¯S NOT WHY I¡¯M HERE.¡± Loren had assumed that the dragon had come out because of the noise of the explosions, but judging from the way the dragon was talking, he was wrong. His cheeks twitched as he realized that there was only one other factor that could have upset the dragon. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°WHAT ARE YOU? THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A PERSON CARRYING SUCH A THICK PRESENCE OF DEATH IN MY DWELLING, EVEN IF I DREDGE UP MY MEMORIES.¡± Both Lapis¡¯ presence and Gula¡¯s power were suppressed to some extent. Their influence was limited, and perhaps if that was all, they would not have offended the dragon. However, in order to peel away the cover of the dark elf, Shayna, the King of Death inside Loren, had used her power lavishly without suppressing it. The King of Death¡¯s extravagant energy drain was so powerful that it nullified the dark elf¡¯s magic and turned the mountain surface into weathered dust. It was ridiculous to think that the dragon would not notice it. ¡°I CANNOT FORGIVE YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UNPLEASANT PRESENCE INTO MY HOME. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT CRIME.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! That was our last resort¡­¡± ¡°YOU CAN MAKE YOUR EXCUSES IN THE AFTERLIFE.¡± There was no point in saying any excuses. After all, it was true that Loren had the spirit of the King of Death inside him, and it was also true that Shayna had wielded her power without restraint. However, Loren felt that he had to say something, but the dragon would not listen. ¡°Loren! Dodge!¡± Hearing Lapis¡¯s voice, Loren held his greatsword at the ready. It was only in the next moment that he realized that it would be useless against the dragon¡¯s attack from above, but it was natural for him to hold his sword in battle, and he had never experienced combat against a flying opponent like a dragon. By the time he realized that he had made a mistake in judgment, countless spears of red-hot flames had appeared around the dragon, and there was no time to run away. As the flames illuminated the night sky, Loren noticed that the dragon¡¯s body was red in color, and he put all his strength into his hand holding his greatsword. ¡°It¡¯s not < >?!¡± At the same time as Lapis¡¯ surprised exclaim, the dragon launched the spears of flame. As the spears shot down from the night sky and left trails of red light behind, Loren swung his white greatsword. Sword and spears collided, and the sword won the one-sided battle. The dragon raised its voice in astonishment as the spears of flame shattered with bright red sparks: ¡°IT¡¯S NOT JUST A SWORD¡­ FIAMMA UNGGIA? IT¡¯S THE GREATSWORD OF DEMON KING JUDIE, ISN¡¯T IT?¡± When the dragon saw Loren¡¯s greatsword, it raised its voice in doubt. As he looked at the sword in his hand, Loren thought that it must be a very special item that even the Ancient Dragon knew about. Nut the dragon¡¯s next words sent a chill down his spine: ¡°SO, SHE SENT YOU. IS THAT SO¡­ WHAT¡¯S SHE AFTER?¡± ¡°This¡­ This indicates that Mother had done something like this before.¡± There was no way he could tell the expression on the dragon¡¯s face, but from the tone of its voice, it seemed to Loren that the Ancient Dragon knew Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother. And he had the impression that their acquaintance wasn¡¯t a good one. ¡°WELL, IT DOESN¡¯T MATTER. WHATEVER SHE¡¯S THINKING, YOUR FATE HAS BEEN DECIDED.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no room for negotiation, is there?¡± Gular blurted out. Before he had time to reply, Loren, who had been watching the dragon¡¯s movements, saw its huge body descend from above at a considerable speed and shouted. ¡°Bastard! It¡¯s ramming us!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a disadvantage for us if it lands on the ground, but¡­ There¡¯s no stopping such a mass.¡± Lapis said as they ran away from the dragon, which seemed to be trying to crush them. Loren thought it would be easier to fight if the dragon came down to the ground rather than stay in the sky, where it could attack them unilaterally, but apparently Lapis had a different opinion. ¡°I thought the dragon was going to attack with < > from the start.¡± The dragon plunged its huge body into the ground where Loren¡¯s party had been standing, its landing shook the ground and crushed the mountain surface. With a roar, a wall of flame appeared in the path of the fleeing party, stopping them in their tracks. ¡°By the way, the dragon¡¯s first attack was by magic, <>. Do you know why it chose a less powerful magic as its attack?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to know what a dragon is thinking?¡± ¡°If it shoots < > down from the sky, it will blow away a good part of this mountain. The dragon couldn¡¯t use < > because it would have resulted in something stupid: blowing up its own home.¡± As Loren¡¯s greatsword sliced through the wall of flames, it lost its shape and disappeared as if it had been blown away. However, another wall of flames appeared behind it. It seemed that the dragon had created a multi-layered wall of flames surrounding their party to prevent them from escaping. ¡°But if it comes down to the same level as us, the damage done to the mountain when it uses < > will be less severe.¡± ¡°And that means?!¡± ¡°That means this time, the dragon will not hesitate to shoot us with its greatest attack, < >.¡± ¡°Gula!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never eaten an Ancient Dragon¡¯s Breath either.¡± Gura sounded unsure of herself, but she was already deploying her power in front of them, preparing for the breath of the dragon. Loren¡¯s eyes, which were synced with Shayna, saw this, but he was rendered speechless when he saw the glow of power converging in the mouth of the Ancient Dragon as it opened its mouth. The mass of power was glowing with a radiance Loren had never seen before in his life. Just a glimpse of such overwhelming, body-trembling power reminded Loren of how powerless he was, and he unconsciously lowered his sword. [¡®I¡¯m sorry, onii-san. It¡¯s because I used my power without thinking¡­¡¯] Shayna¡¯s tone was full of guilt, and it pulled Loren back from the thought of resignation he had started to succumb himself to. He raised his greatsword again. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped. And I guess I¡¯m just as guilty as you for not being cautious.¡± [¡®Onii-san¡­¡¯] ¡°It¡¯s coming, Loren.¡± Loren was pulled back to his senses by Lapis¡¯s voice, which sounded just a bit tense, and saw a torrent of dragon power glowing red on the other side of the magical barrier that Lapis seemed to have created and the Evil God¡¯s power that Gula had deployed. Fear almost froze him, but Loren put all his strength into the hands grasping the hilt of his greatsword and planted his feet firmly on the ground. If they could defend against this blow, their opponent would be on the same ground as they were, and Loren¡¯s attack would be able to touch it. The best thing to do now was looking for the right moment to attack, and as Loren had these thoughts, the dragon finally unleashed the power it had gathered in its mouth. Chapter 204 - From Battle To Ceasefire Chapter 204 ¨C From Battle To Ceasefire The action Loren took, when the thought ¡®It¡¯s bright¡¯ crossed his mind, was neither attacking nor defending, but evading. Like a premonition, the moment that bright clot of energy was about to be spat out from the dragon¡¯s mouth, a clear image of him dying on the spot appeared in his mind should he not move. Lapis seemed ready to defend against the attack, while Gula looked like she thought it might be hopeless with her stiff expression. Loren immediately exercised the self-boost technique, picked both of them up by their waists, and jumped sideways with all his might. The weight of two women combined with the weight of his own equipment, including the greatswords was enough to impede Loren¡¯s movement to some extent, but the image of an impending demise mobilized Loren¡¯s body to do the impossible. At almost the same time, the white, shining < > plunged forward from the dragon¡¯s mouth. It easily engulfed the Evil God¡¯s power Gula had deployed, then continued to advance while grazing the ground. It stopped somewhere far away, and with a horrified feeling Loren could see a pillar of pure white light shooting up from the ground into the sky, going on so high that he couldn¡¯t see the end of it. In fact, the pillar, shooting into the sky, had so much power that it blew away the clouds above the site of impact. Loren was startled when he saw Gula, who was still in his arms, belching smoke out of her mouth. ¡°It¡¯s useless. It burns me before I can consume it¡­¡± Gula groaned in frustration as she let out a burnt-smelling breath. Loren looked troubled hearing her words, unsure if he should be surprised that she had managed to eat some of that attack or worried about her stomach as she was belching smoke due to her < > being burned. ¡°I guess I underestimated our opponent a little. The power of the < > just now is¡­ very problematic.¡± Lapis¡¯ tone had changed, and her eyes became just a bit sharper. This proved how dangerous was the attack of a dragon, which they had barely managed to evade. Loren also realized that Lapis had used the defensive magic item given to them by the Demon King when he saw something like a crushed shell falling from her hand. Looking around, he noticed that the atmosphere was hot enough for him to see a heat haze, and the part of the ground grazed by the dragon¡¯s < > had turned red and gooey. An attack of such tremendous heat should also have devastating after-effects, and Loren broke out in a cold sweat thinking about what would have become of a mere human like him, had Lapis not used the magic item to protect all three of them. There was no guarantee that they could evade the next attack. In addition, Gula had gone limp in Loren¡¯s arms, perhaps as a result of having her power burned away, and couldn¡¯t be expected to fight. Loren looked at the dragon and wondered if all of this was a bad idea. But for some reason, the dragon was keeping its mouth wide open and refused to move as if it was frozen. It was lucky for them that there wasn¡¯t any follow-up attack, but Loren found it suspicious that the dragon, which could have killed them with just one more strike, was not acting at all. Loren gently set the two girls down on the ground. ¡°Does it become like that because of such an attack?¡± When fighting with a sword, there would always be a break after an all-out swing, and Loren wondered if something similar was happening to this dragon after using < >. But the time it stood motionless as if frozen was too long. There must be some other reason why it had stopped moving, but Loren had no idea what it was. ¡°Should we run away now?¡± ¡°That sounds like a good idea.¡± Loren muttered, and just as Lapis voiced her agreement, the dragon closed its mouth, the action done with enough force that they could hear the clang of its teeth snapping close. The dragon stared hard at the direction in which it had shot its < > for some reason. After a short while, it turned its gaze back to Loren¡¯s party, who was wondering what was going on. ¡°YOU DID IT.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t do a single thing.¡± Loren quipped, but that was the truth. The only thing that Loren had done was jumping aside with Lapis and Gula. He hadn¡¯t done anything at all. The dragon staggered towards their party as if it had been damaged in some way. ¡°I HAVE TO GET YOU, NO MATTER WHAT.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I can¡¯t say ¡®Oh, sure thing¡¯!¡± Gula was lying on the ground, with smoke was still coming out of her mouth. Lapis was keeping a close eye on the dragon¡¯s movements, but she couldn¡¯t fight it face-to-face as she wasn¡¯t carrying any weapons. Loren would have to do this himself. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren kicked at the burning ground and charged at the oncoming dragon. ¡°SUBMIT OBEDIENTLY!¡± ¡°I refuse, you idiot!¡± The dragon breathed in heavily as Loren charged at it. He thought that it was going to use < > again, but it let out a deafening roar instead of a white light. Unbeknownst to Loren, a dragon¡¯s roar had an effect that would cause any weak-willed person to instantly lose control and become unable to act. The dragon wanted to use this to stop Loren¡¯s movement, but Loren just lunged forward without a care and, as the dragon had stopped to roar, struck with all his might at its front leg. Loren watched white sparks scattered from the collision of scales with the blade his greatsword. He grimaced in surprise as he realized that his blow had not been able to penetrate the dragon¡¯s front leg at all. On the other hand, the dragon cried out in surprise as it felt its leg tremble from the impact, even though its scales had prevented the swordsman from cutting through. ¡°YOU DARE TO UNLEASH SUCH A STRONG SLASH!¡± ¡°Shut up! It didn¡¯t go through at all, and I¡¯m feeling a little less confident!¡± Loren pulled his blade back and struck another blow at the dragon¡¯s front leg, but once again it did no more than scattering sparks against the scales. Even though he knew it would not work, Loren was not going to let the dragon have any breaks. ¡°SUBMIT OBEDIENTLY!¡± The dragon kicked the ground with its front legs, lifted its body, then slammed its raised front legs down at Loren. If Loren were to take the blow and be struck with the dragon¡¯s weight, he would be crushed, no matter how skilled a swordsman he was or how good his armor was. He knew this, but he still placed his greatsword on his shoulder and caught both of the dragon¡¯s legs with the flat of his sword. ¡°YOU¡¯RE BEING RIDICULOUS!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Loren¡¯s knees almost buckled under the crushing weight and impact, but he used all his strength and self-boost technique to resist it. [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll help you!¡¯] The King of Death¡¯s magic power poured into Loren¡¯s body as Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in his mind. It was immediately turned into self-boost, and Loren just barely managed to stop the dragon¡¯s blow before it crushed him. ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early to be surprised!¡± While enduring the weight that was slowly pressing down on him, Loren freed his right hand from his grip on the greatsword and thrust it into his jacket. In there was Dragon Slayer, a dagger that he had picked up during another job and kept as a backup weapon. He grabbed and pulled it out at once, then with all his might, stabbed it into the leg of the dragon that was trying to crush him. The dagger, which is incomparably powerful if the opponent is a dragon, met with only slight resistance from the dragon¡¯s scales. His greatsword wasn¡¯t even able to scratch those scales, but the short blade easily penetrated them and cut into the flesh behind. The dragon hadn¡¯t expected a mere swordsman to have the means to hurt it. It howled in pain at the injury done to its body and withdrew its front legs as if it was frightened, then backed away slightly. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end!¡± ¡°WAIT! LET¡¯S TALK.¡± Loren was about to lunge forward as he should when his opponent faltered and retreated, but the word ¡®talk¡¯ coming out of the dragon¡¯s mouth made him almost fall over. This was a fatal opening, but the dragon, not wanting to contradict his own words, did not draw near when Loren lost his stance ¨C instead it moved backwards to put some distance between them. ¡°You want to talk at this point?¡± ¡°YES. IT¡¯S NOT A BAD IDEA. YOU DON¡¯T THINK THAT A SINGLE DAGGER WILL BE ENOUGH TO KILL ME, DO YOU?¡± ¡°That¡­ depends on how I use it, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Or so he said, but Loren knew that no matter how easily it could pierce the dragon¡¯s scales, it was unlikely that the blade of a dagger would be able to inflict any fatal wounds on a dragon. If it was a longsword, then it might be a different story. ¡°I MIGHT BE IN A FAIR AMOUNT OF PAIN, BUT YOU¡¯RE MORE LIKELY TO DIE. WOULD YOU STILL FORCE YOURSELF TO CONTINUE?¡± Loren considered what the dragon had just told him. The dark elf was the one who caused the commotion in the dragon¡¯s dwelling in the first place, but it was Loren and Shayna who actually spread the King of Death¡¯s presence here. When he really thought about it, it felt wrong to continue fighting when the other party asked for a talk. Loren lowered his greatsword. ¡°YOU UNDERSTAND, DON¡¯T YOU? SO, LET¡¯S TALK.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just here to use the mountain crater. If you can overlook it, we won¡¯t do anything else.¡± ¡°USE THE CRATER? YOU WANT TO THROW SOMETHING INTO IT AGAIN? MY RESIDENCE IS NOT A GARBAGE DUMP.¡± It seemed that the demons had been dumping things they couldn¡¯t handle into the crater of this mountain. Loren wondered if there were so many dangerous items in the demon realm that they would have to come all the way to the mountain where an Ancient Dragon lived just to dump them. The dragon continued with a hint of dissatisfaction in its voice: ¡°WELL, IT¡¯S ALRIGHT. I HAVE ONE REQUEST THOUGH.¡± ¡°If you want to eat one of us, then there¡¯s no discussion.¡± Loren declared as a warning, but the shook its head¡± ¡°I¡¯D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO MEDIATE WITH DEMON KING JUDIE.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°TO BE PRECISE, I WANT TO ASK THE DEMON LORD JUDIE TO MEDIATE WITH THE GREAT DEMON KING. THE LASS HAS MADE MISCHIEF ON MY MOUNTAIN MANY TIMES BEFORE¡­ ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT I¡¯M LETTING YOU GUYS OFF THE HOOK THIS TIME, I¡¯M SURE SHE WON¡¯T REFUSE.¡± Loren tilted his head at the sudden mention of the Demon King and Great Demon King. Unable to understand the flow of the story, he looked at the dragon to ask for an explanation. The dragon scratched its neck several times with its front feet in an embarrassed manner, then started to mutter the reason: ¡°THE < > JUST NOW¡­ YOU¡¯RE THE FIRST INTRUDERS I¡¯VE HAD IN QUITE A LONG TIME, SO I SEEMED TO HAVE OVERDONE IT A LITTLE BIT.¡± ¡°It was a nuisance.¡± ¡°IT¡¯S YOUR FAULT FOR GIVING OFF SUCH A STRANGE AND DENSE SENSE OF DEATH. REGARDLESS, I WAS PRETTY CLOSE TO BEING SERIOUS THEN¡­¡± That meant it wasn¡¯t really serious when shooting that < >¡­ Loren shivered, feeling a chill running down his spine again. But his jaw dropped when he heard the dragon¡¯s next words. ¡°IT SEEMED THAT¡­ MY < > LANDED QUITE CLOSE TO THE GREAT DEMON KING¡¯S CASTLE.¡± ¡°Ah? Ah¡­ I see.¡± Knowing the reason why the dragon had frozen up and unable to move after shooting that < >, Loren nodded in understanding. In short, it had made an accidental discharge. ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE IT CAUSED, BUT IT SURELY HAS CAUSED SOME. IT¡¯S HARD FOR ME IF I¡¯M TO BE BLAMED FOR IT.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you want to ask the Demon King who knows the situation to mediate things.¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S WHY WE MUST COME TO AN AGREEMENT.¡± Loren still had no understanding of dragons¡¯ facial expressions, but somehow he felt that the dragon in front of him was making a very troubled face. This was quite a disheartening task, but it was a cheap price to pay for not having to fight an Ancient Dragon. Loren looked at Lapis, and she nodded decisively ¨C it seemed like she share the same opinion. Chapter 205 - From Meditating To Eating Chapter 205 ¨C From Meditating To Eating As soon as the truce with the Ancient Dragon was settled, Lapis took out an ink pot, a pen, some sheets of paper from her luggage, then started to write something on them. Lapis took some time to finish her writing as Loren and the dragon looked on. Then she signed the papers, waited for the ink to dry, then rolled them up and presented them to the dragon. ¡°I¡¯ve written a letter to Mother. If you show this to her, she will meditate for you.¡± ¡°YOU ARE JUDIE¡¯S DAUGHTER?¡± The dragon had guessed that their party was related to Demon King Judie because of the greatsword Loren was carrying, but of course it did not know that Lapis was Judie¡¯s daughter. ¡°Yes, I am Judie¡¯s daughter, and my name is Lapis.¡± ¡°IS THAT SO?¡­ THAT¡¯S GREAT¡­ BUT IS IT ALRIGHT FOR ME TO GO TO JUDIE¡¯S CASTLE?¡± It sounded just a little worried, but Lapis just shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. To begin with, I don¡¯t know what has happened between you and my mother.¡± ¡°DO YOU WANT TO HEAR IT?¡± Lapis thought about the dragon¡¯s question for a short while, then nodded. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°ALRIGHT. AS AN EXAMPLE¡­¡± From there, the Ancient Dragon told them about Judie¡¯s deeds. They were the kind of things that raised the eyebrows of even her own daughter, Lapis. She had come to test her skills, but rather than an honest challenge, she tore off dozens of dragon¡¯s scales while it was asleep, saying that she would use them as ingredients for something. She had thrown various things into the crater where Loren¡¯s party were heading, claiming they were garbage. As a result, the entire mountain was contaminated to the point that even dragons could not survive due to the noxious gases emitted from the burned wastes. And that was just the beginning. She had tried to steal eggs countless times because she wanted to make large omelets. When she heard that dragons¡¯ tails were delicious, she hacked off the tails of the normal dragons in the Ancient Dragon¡¯s family and took them home. When she heard that a baby dragon had been born, she kidnapped it to the castle to keep as a pet. She said she wanted sulfur and other minerals, and riddled the mountain with holes. ¡°THE FIRE SPIRIT LIVING IN THE CRATER WAS SO ENRAGED BY THE HORRIBLE WAY SHE TREATED IT THAT IT EVOLVED INTO AN EFREET AND BECAME THE GUARD OF THE CRATER. NO ONE COULD COME NEAR THE CRATER AFTER THAT.¡± Efreets were higher fire spirits, wild spirits in the form of giants. As beings that controlled destruction, there were even humans who revered them as Gods. When Loren¡¯s party heard that one was created by Judie¡¯s actions, they were stunned beyond surprise. ¡°AND SO, IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE CRATER, YOU¡¯LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS EFREET FIRST BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN GET CLOSE.¡± ¡°My mother has been a real trouble to you¡­¡± ¡°NO, IT WOULD BE UNREASONABLE TO BLAME THE PERPETRATOR¡¯S SUBORDINATES AND DAUGHTER. I LOST MY COOL. I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME.¡± As Lapis knelt down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, the dragon also started to swing its head up and down. It was not every day that you saw a person and a dragon bowing to each other, but Loren scratched his head and wondered how he was going to keep this under control. Lapis and the dragon continued to bow to each other for a while, but eventually, they stopped without warning. The dragon deftly plucked the letter Lapis had offered it again with its claws and spread its wings wide. Loren¡¯s party still had to climb further up to the crater from here, but as the dragon had caused some damage near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, it had to talk to the demons as soon as possible, or the Great Demon King might come to this mountain in person. Loren¡¯s party had already had their full share of Ancient Dragons. The Great Demon King coming here would only make things even more complicated, and they wholeheartedly agreed that the matter should be taken care of as soon as possible. Even though it was currently nighttime and no one was sure that the dragon could speak to Judie even if it flew to her castle right now, at least it could use this as an excuse that it had actually tried to do something about this mess. ¡°I¡¯M SORRY. I¡¯LL BE BACK AS SOON AS WE REACH AN AGREEMENT. AS A DRAGON MYSELF, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO BE ON THE SIDE OF HUMANS OR DEMONS, BUT I PROMISE TO REPAY YOU IN SOME WAY FOR THE TROUBLE I¡¯VE CAUSED.¡± The dragon gently kicked the ground and soared up, its movements unimaginably light for a body that huge. Loren felt an indescribable sense of discomfort when he noticed that its wings rarely flapped. ¡°DRAGONS DON¡¯T FLY BY FLAPPING THEIR WINGS, YOU KNOW.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if these thoughts were showing on his face, but Lapis got up and whispered into his ears. ¡°THEY FLY BY EXERCISING SOMETHING SIMILAR TO MAGIC. IN THE FIRST PLACE, IF THEY FLY BY FLAPPING THEIR WINGS WITH SUCH HUGE AND HEAVY BODIES, THEY WOULD CAUSE QUITE A BIT OF DAMAGE TO THE SURROUNDINGS JUST BY FLYING.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± ¡°I¡¯M LEAVING THEN. SEE YOU LATER.¡± With a word of goodbye, the dragon flew high into the sky. Loren muttered to himself as he watched the dragon fly away in the direction of what was probably Judie¡¯s castle. ¡°That dragon was a female, isn¡¯t it?¡± There was no way he could tell the gender of a dragon from its voice or gestures. He had a feeling that the voice was a little thin and high-pitched, but not enough to distinguish between male and female or young and old. He guessed it was a female based on its words. ¡°She said something about eggs.¡± ¡°Eggs¡­ I¡¯m hungry. Everything in my belly is on fire.¡± It seemed that Gula wasn¡¯t able to eat the < >, but got her Evil God¡¯s power burned by it instead, and her stomach was in a bad state. Smoke was still coming out of her mouth, making Loren wonder if there was still something smoldering in there. He was also worried if she would be okay with a burning stomach. ¡°First of all¡­ Should we sleep? It¡¯s night.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Then, Gula, please dig another hole.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ Making me do stuff on my empty is bullying, you know.¡± ¡°Have some baguette and ham then.¡± ¡°We still have them?!¡± Lapis cheerfully dug out said food from their luggage and handed it to Gula, who was starting to panic. Loren watched them while idly thinking that even the Evil God of Gluttony would get tired of certain food. Gula was able to stop Lapis somehow. Still muttering complaints, she used her power against the mountain surface and dug out another cave big enough for three people to sleep in. However, it took her more time to complete the cave than before their encounter with the dragon. Apparently, the Ancient Dragon¡¯s breath had done more damage to Gula¡¯s powers than expected. ¡°We have to keep guard.¡± ¡°Right. Lapis-chan and I will take care of that, so you just sleep.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that the Dark Elf will return, but I¡¯ll set up a magic barrier just in case she does. You fought the Ancient Dragon with your human body, so you should rest.¡± If you thought about it, fighting an ordinary dragon was a rare event, an event difficult enough that could annihilate an unlucky adventurer. But Loren, despite not meaning to, had gone right beyond that and fought a top-ranked amongst dragons, an Ancient Dragon. Thinking again that he had experienced something extraordinary, Loren finally began to feel the fatigue that had built up in his overworked body and he felt extremely sleepy. With somewhat unsteady steps, Loren went into the cave Gula had just dug and leaned his greatsword against its wall. The moment he crammed into the sleeping bag Lapis had set out, he could barely move his head anymore. He let the drowsiness take over and drifted to sleep. When Loren woke up, it was the morning of the next day. The sun was high in the sky, and Lapis shook him awake. He hadn¡¯t woken up once during the night, and had fallen into such a deep sleep that he didn¡¯t even dream. Loren didn¡¯t know how Lapis and Gula had been keeping guard while he was unconscious, but judging from Lapis¡¯ relaxed face as she made a fire and prepared breakfast and Gula¡¯s occasional glances at their surroundings while watching her working, it seemed that nothing had happened since the dragon left. ¡°Good morning, Loren. Did you sleep well?¡± Lapis asked. She seemed to have made a simple stove by piling up the broken stones scattered around them. She lit some kind of viscous substance that she had taken out of her luggage and put a small pot on the fire to cook something. ¡°Breakfast will be ready soon. We¡¯ll have beans and salted meat stew this morning. It¡¯s a little plain, but we have no choice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be enough at all.¡± Gula complained, and Lapis silently offered her a long, thick baguette. Even Loren had to wonder where the hell she got it from, but Gula, who had received the baguette without saying a word, suddenly took a bite of the plain, filling-less baguette and began to chew. Loren wondered if she had gotten used to it or she had given up after being played with the same trick over and over again. Lapis had served Loren some stew from the pot. It was a very simple dish of different types of beans, sliced salted meat and herbs stewed together, but when he scooped some into his mouth with a wooden spoon, it tasted soothing. He wondered if it was the quality of the ingredients or Lapis¡¯ skill. Loren took his time to savor it, chewing slowly. Lapis took her own serving, then handed Gula the pot with the rest of the stew. As Gula took the pot and poured its contents directly into her mouth, Loren and Lapis felt their appetites diminish somewhat, but they continued to eat their breakfast at a somewhat-leisurely pace. Chapter 206 - A Request Made After a Reappearance Chapter 206 ¨C A Request Made After a Reappearance After finishing their meal, Loren¡¯s party quickly packed up their belongings and buried the cave they had spent the night in before resuming their mountain climbing. Even though they had made some progress, the summit was still far away, and the slope of the mountain was getting steeper and steeper the closer they got to it, so there was no telling how long it would take. ¡°I thought it was high when I saw it from afar, but it¡¯s even higher up close.¡± Gula grumbled. Her mouth stopped emitting smoke and the burning seemed to have calmed down. Although it would take some time for her to recover, she seemed to have returned to her normal state somewhat. ¡°Normally, when you climb a mountain, the scenery changes, and you can watch the vegetation. It¡¯s quite distracting, but¡­ It¡¯s hard to appreciate climbing a rocky mountain with such a bleak landscape like this.¡± It was Lapis who complained about this point. Indeed, it was true that their surroundings were full of rocks, and there was no sign of greenery. There was no path to follow, so they had to just keep climbing up the route they thought they could take. It was a long and tedious process, but there was no other way. If they stopped, they might reach the summit when it was too late. If they wanted to finish this task in time, they had to keep climbing. ¡°If the Ancient Dragon carries us on her back, we would reach the peak in no time, won¡¯t we?¡± Loren had no idea how fast flying would be, but with that huge body, he was sure that a dragon flying would be faster than them on foot. The three of them could surely fit on a dragon¡¯s back. But Lapis sighed and shook her head. ¡°Dragons don¡¯t let anyone climb on their backs.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, even a normal dragon doesn¡¯t. And if you ask an Ancient Dragon to do it, you¡¯ll get a < > to show how much of a fool you are.¡± Lapis said that dragons, who were often called the strongest magical beasts, had a pride that was proportional to their greatness. There was no way that such creatures would agree to such an act as carrying something on their backs like horses or cows. In fact, if you suggested such a thing, they would get angry and attack you for insulting them. ¡°Please don¡¯t propose it, okay? I don¡¯t want to get into a fight with a dragon for that reason.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I asked first.¡± If Loren hadn¡¯t received such an explanation from Lapis, he might have asked the Ancient Dragon about it the next time he encountered her. He breathed a sigh of relief that he had been able to prevent that from happening in advance. ¡°Still, this is such a depressing landscape.¡± Looking up at the sky, Gula grumbled again. The mountain they were climbing was a volcano, and there was smoke rising from the crater at the top, probably because it was still active. The thick clouds hanging in the sky above the mountain and their darkness seemed to be making Gula depressed. ¡°The complaining won¡¯t get you any closer to the peak, you know?¡± ¡°Right. Climbing steadily is the only way.¡± It seemed that even Evil Gods didn¡¯t have the power to instantly reach the top of the mountain. And even if Gula had that kind of power, she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to carry Loren and Lapis, so in the end they would still have no choice but to climb. ¡°Do you think that Ancient Dragon can successfully settle things?¡± Loren spoke to Lapis, thinking that conversation would be the only option to distract her from the fact that she could only walk without being able to enjoy the scenery. Lapis thought for a moment and then tilted her head lightly. ¡°I wonder? Well, I don¡¯t think it will end up becoming terrible.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®terrible¡¯?¡± ¡°The Great Demon King making an appearance, I mean.¡± Loren¡¯s expression turned weary at Lapis¡¯ short and crisp words. Even if it was not intentional, it was a fact that a < > of tremendous power had landed near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle. If it was deemed to be an attack of some kind, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the Great Demon King would personally come out. ¡°If it goes badly, it¡¯s going to be a battle between an Ancient Dragon and the Great Demon King. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll flee the demon realm then.¡± Gula jokingly said, but Lapis calmly interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can rest easily just because you fled to human territory.¡± Not understanding what her quip meant, Gula and Loren unconsciously stared at her, and she indifferently continued as if stating a fact: ¡°A battle between the Great Demon King and an Ancient Dragon? It will be a battle of mythical proportions. The demon realm will surely be devastated, and the mountain range will be cleared in an instant.¡± ¡°So it will be totally out of control.¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right. If I am told that the world is going to end when it happens, I¡¯ll believe it.¡± If the demon realm in the center of the continent were to be destroyed and the mountain range surrounding it were to be cleared, the battle would be truly extensive. When Loren imagined such a future, he believed he would also accept that the world was ending. At the very least, if such a battle were to spread beyond the mountain range and into the realm of humans, it was hard to believe that there would be anyone who could do anything about it. ¡°The world¡¯s going to end because of a misfire? ¡­Well, that¡¯s an interesting reason to end it, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re not finding it funny.¡± As Gula frowned and chided Loren, a gust of wind hit the three of them. It was not strong enough to blow them away, but strong enough to make Gula¡¯s long hair flutter and Lapis¡¯ ponytail and priest¡¯s robe flap. Then a large shadow covered them. ¡°I DON¡¯T WANT TO CAUSE THE WORLD¡¯S DESTRUCTION BY A MISFIRE, EITHER.¡± When Loren looked up at the voice that came from above him, he saw that the red Ancient Dragon was hovering in the sky above, looking down at them. He thought that he would have noticed such a huge creature flying towards them, but the dragon had suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. ¡°Where did you come from?¡± ¡°BEINGS LIKE YOU ARE USUALLY STRANGELY UNAWARE OF BEING APPROACHED FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE. I FLEW AT AN ALTITUDE SO HIGH THAT YOU COULDN¡¯T SEE ME, THEN I SWOOPED DOWN.¡± Basically, humans and other races that could only walk on the ground were very slow to react to the possibility of something coming at them through the air, especially from directly above their heads, where they couldn¡¯t see. It seemed that the Ancient Dragon had taken advantage of this to sneak up on them. ¡°Why though?¡± Loren wondered why she didn¡¯t just fly over normally. When asked why she had taken the trouble to surprise them, the Ancient Dragon smirked with her dragon face. ¡°SURPRISED, AREN¡¯T YOU?¡± Loren was indeed surprised, but the fact that an Ancient Dragon had apparently done such a thing just to surprise them made him frown. ¡°You¡¯ve finished with the talk?¡± ¡°I¡¯LL EXPLAIN IT TO YOU WHEN THINGS SETTLE DOWN, BUT SHOULDN¡¯T YOU BE A LITTLE MORE CAREFUL?¡± The dragon said and looked up at the sky as it lingered above their heads. Loren looked up to see if there was anything in the direction she was looking at, but all he could see were thick black clouds. Nothing that told him to be careful. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°HAVEN¡¯T YOU EVER HEARD THAT THE WEATHER IN THE MOUNTAINS IS FICKLE?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve heard that as a general rule, yes.¡± ¡°WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE ONE ABOUT SMOKY BLACK CLOUDS TENDING TO TURN INTO THUNDERCLOUDS?¡± Loren gazed at the dragon. He had never heard of such a thing. Judging from his reaction, the dragon turned her dragon face down to look at him: ¡°THEY CONTAIN A COLLECTION OF TINY PARTICLES. WHEN THOSE PARTICLES RUB AGAINST EACH OTHER, THE FORCE OF LIGHTNING IS CREATED.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± It was the first time he had ever heard of it, but since the dragon was so confident, Loren assumed it was true. He still didn¡¯t understand what it had to do with them needing to be careful though. ¡°EACH PARTICLE IS A SMALL FORCE OF LIGHTNING, BUT WHEN MANY OF THEM COME TOGETHER, THEY BECOME A POWERFUL FORCE OF LIGHTNING THAT RAINS DOWN ON THE EARTH.¡± While listening to the dragon¡¯s explanation, Loren looked up at the sky once more. The thick black cloud hanging above the mountain top was gradually expanding, and was now almost above them. According to what the dragon sait, it was a thundercloud. But what the hell would happen if there was strong lightning power stored in that cloud? As if to answer Loren¡¯s sudden question, a beam of light fell down to the mountain surface together with a roar of thunder in the direction of the summit, some distance away from their party. As it fell, shaking the air, it shattered some of the rocks on the mountain face, and the fragments scattered to the surrounding area. ¡°THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN, THE HIGHER THE FREQUENCY OF LIGHTNING STRIKES.¡± ¡°If it hits us, we¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°YOU¡¯RE WEAK. I ONLY GET A LITTLE NUMB IF I GET HIT.¡± Loren stared with grim eyes at the Ancient Dragon, who said this with a certain amount of pride. It was only natural that there was a heaven-and-earth difference in physical strength between dragons and humans. Even though the dragon was speaking proudly about it, a human being like Loren could only think of it as a matter of course. ¡°Hey, Ancient Dragon.¡± ¡°IT¡¯S EMERY.¡± ¡°What?¡± As Loren couldn¡¯t help but ask about the sudden appearance of a feminine name, the Ancient Dragon stared at Loren and opened her mouth again. ¡°IT¡¯S MY NAME. MY NAME IS EMERY. ¡®ANCIENT DRAGON¡¯ IS TOO LONG.¡± ¡°I see. So, Emery, I need a little help. To be specific, could you fly slowly towards the top of the mountain?¡± ¡°YOU WANT TO USE ME AS AN UMBRELLA TO WARD OFF LIGHTNING? ¡­ALRIGHT. IT¡¯S NOT A BAD IDEA TO FLY SLOWLY ONCE IN A WHILE.¡± Since Emery said that she would be alright even being struck by lightning, then they should be able to minimize the damage caused by lightning if they could walk underneath her. Moreover, since Emery was only flying slowly, she could excuse herself by saying that he was not actively helping. In response to Loren¡¯s request, the Ancient Dragon, who introduced herself as Emery, did not seem to be offended at all. She immediately nodded her head. Chapter 207 - Back to the climbing Again Chapter 207 ¨C Back to the climbing Again Emery¡¯s body was not as huge as Loren had imagined from the title ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, but she was still big enough that three people walking side by side wouldn¡¯t step out of her shadow. As Loren walked in Emery¡¯s shadow, he thought about how rare an experience it was to walk under a dragon flying so slowly above that it felt like a joke. But at the same time, he also felt a sense of dread for some reason. Emery was flying over their heads, but quite low, as she might not be able to fulfill her role as an umbrella if she was too far away. Loren wondered if there was anyone else who had been walking in such close proximity with the belly of an Ancient Dragon and still alive today. They continued to climb and gradually gained altitude, but just as Emery had said, the higher they climbed, the more the sky was covered with thick clouds. And as the clouds increased, the frequency of lightning strikes also increased. ¡°So flashy.¡± Lapis muttered in admiration as she watched the lightning strike a short distance away from where they were, shattering rocks and scattering debris. Because of the frequency of lightning strikes in such close proximity, Loren¡¯s ears were almost numbed by the loud noise, but he still somehow managed to pick up Lapis¡¯ voice. He said while enduring the ringing in his ears. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the kind of thing to be called ¡®flashy¡¯ or ¡®plain¡¯.¡± Whether it was flashy or not, a hit could be fatal. Loren didn¡¯t feel like admiring the lightning strikes like Lapis did at all, and concentrated only on climbing silently in Emery¡¯s shadow. ¡°We can protect you from after-effects of a lightning strike and such, so why don¡¯t you enjoy the scenery a little more?¡± Gula said, but Loren didn¡¯t feel reassured at all, because she sounded like a direct hit couldn¡¯t be avoided or deflected. ¡°Lightning strikes happen in an instant. They¡¯re too fast.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t prevent a strike after you¡¯ve seen it. Yet you can¡¯t keep defensive magic deployed all the time either.¡± There was a time limit for the use of magic. Once that time passed, the magic¡¯s effect would disappear, and it would need to be re-deployed. But with no idea how long it would take to reach the top, it was impossible to keep deploying defensive magic. ¡°At this speed, we won¡¯t reach the summit before sunrise.¡± The three of us looked up at the voice from above. Emery, who had dexterously looked down while flying slowly, opened her mouth: ¡°IT¡¯S IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS SPEED. YOU¡¯LL HAVE TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT ON THE ROAD.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that far?¡± When Loren said in a disgusted tone, Emery turned her gaze toward the top of the mountain. ¡°IT¡¯S TOO FAR AND YOU¡¯RE TOO SLOW. AND IT¡¯S GOING TO GET MUCH STEEPER.¡± The mountain face that they were currently climbing on was quite steep, though not so steep that they had to crawl. The lightning that was striking here and there stopped them in their tracks, making their progress slow. From the point of view of the dragon, who could afford to ignore the inclination and the lightning strikes, the speed of movement was certainly too slow. But of course, it was the best they could do, so it was impossible to ask them to speed it up. ¡°One more night, under such circumstances?¡± Lightning wouldn¡¯t stop just because it was nighttime. Even if they could get Gula to dig another cave to sleep in, a direct hit from the lightning would collapse it in an instant. They would not be able to sleep comfortably. On the other hand, continuing to move without sleep was also something they needed to avoid, considering the guard who may be waiting for them at the crater and the Dark Elf who may still return. As Loren looked up at Emery flying above with a troubled expression, she turned her gaze down at them again, and their eyes met. ¡°Can¡¯t you do something about this?¡± ¡°ISN¡¯T THAT TOO VAGUE A REQUEST?¡± Loren thought about it. This Ancient Dragon named Emery seemed to be willing to help them to some extent, but she also seemed to want to avoid actively helping. There was a high possibility that she would refuse their request for direct support. If that was the case, Loren thought about what kind of request he should make an ask of Emery. ¡°Do you have any idea where we could spend the night?¡± He asked, hoping that Emery, who had made this mountain her home, would know at least one place where they could spend the night in relative safety, even in the event of a lightning strike. As it was a request for information and not for help, Emery seemed to consider it was alright to answer. Her reply was quick. ¡°THERE IS. DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAD YOU THERE?¡± Loren nodded in earnest. It was hard to believe that they would be able to find such a place on their own, at least not in this situation; considering Emery¡¯s knowledge was the most reliable information they had, there was nothing else to rely on. ¡°ALL RIGHT. DON¡¯T STEP OUT OF MY SHADOW.¡± As soon as she said that, Emery started to change course a little without changing her flying speed. Even though she was flying, her movements looked somewhat slippery, as if she was a fish swimming in water. The party headed towards the direction Emery was flying. They walked for a while further. As the sky began to turn red behind the clouds, Loren, who had been walking with a grudging look at the summit that didn¡¯t seem to be getting any closer at all, eventually saw a gaping hole ahead of them. As they walked toward the hole, which seemed to have plenty of room for Emery to dive into, he asked the dragon: ¡°Is that the place?¡± ¡°YES. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT IT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS, YET THE SAFEST PLACE ON THIS MOUNTAIN.¡± With those two contradictory words, ¡®dangerous¡¯ and ¡®safe¡¯, there was no way to know what was going on. As Loren and the other two tilted their heads in confusion, Emery slowly dove into the hole and went inside. They hurriedly followed her into the hole only to see that it was a dead end with nothing inside. Loren was about to ask Emery what was going on, but when he saw her lowering her flying height to almost landing and silently extending her right hind-leg towards them, he became even more confused. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯M SURE YOU HAVE SOME ROPE WITH YOU. YOU CAN TIE IT TO ME. WHEN YOU¡¯RE DONE, YOU ALL GRAB IT TIGHTLY.¡± Loren, who somehow knew what Emery was going to do, hurriedly took out a length of rope from his luggage and tied it tightly to Emery¡¯s proffered leg. He pulled on it a few times to make sure the knot was secure, then grasped it tightly. Then Lapis, who was waiting for him to finish, then climbed onto his back and clung to his neck, while Gula clung tightly to his waist. ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Please take care of me.¡± ¡°And me too.¡± Loren asked what they were doing, and the two women made such requests with serious faces. It was certainly more stable than having three people hanging from one rope, or having three ropes tied to Emery¡¯s legs for three people to hang from, but Loren wondered if there really was no other way to do this. Emery double checked with him: ¡°CAN I FLY UP NOW?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± As he could not find any other alternative, Loren nodded grudgingly to Emery, thinking that it would be a bad idea to keep the dragon waiting any longer. With that confirmation, Emery slowly rose up. They could not see the ceiling from their position because it was hidden by the dragon¡¯s body, but it seemed that this hole had been transformed into a shaft as soon as they entered. Surrounded by stones, they were being pulled up by Emery as she slowly rose up in the shaft. There was no light, of course, and although Emery might have been able to see, Loren¡¯s vision was soon obscured by jet blackness. With his vision lost, all Loren could perceive was the feeling of arms and bodies clinging to his neck and waist, and the rope he was holding onto. He felt a bit uneasy, and perhaps noticing this, Lapis lit a magical light on her fingertip, which finally allowed them to see their surroundings to some extent. After a short ascent, a part of the wall came to an end, opening to another hole. Emery shifted to horizontal movement, and Loren, who was holding on to the rope, was presented with an amazing sight unfolding below her. ¡°Is this a¡­ nest?¡± Under the light that Lapis held up at her fingertip, the hole quickly turned into a large, wide space, and a slightly sweltering heat blew over their party. He wasn¡¯t sure if Emery had lowered her altitude or not, but when his feet are close enough to the ground to reach it, Loren let go of the rope. Then Lapis and Gula let go of him, and Lapis, with Emery¡¯s permission, launched the magic light from his fingertip to the ceiling with a flick of the wrist. The small spot of light went straight upward, and the moment it made contact with what was probably the ceiling, it increased in intensity and illuminated the entire space. The sight rendered Loren speechless. The space itself was nothing more than a plain area surrounded by rocks. However, what mattered was what spread all over the floor. Illuminated by the white light of magic, the glittering pile of treasure was of an unimaginable amount. There were swords, armors, and shields decorated with gold and silver coins. And there were colorful jewels, necklaces and bracelets, crowns and medals of honor. All of them shone with the glitter of gold and silver, and all of them snatched Loren¡¯s eyes and words. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that dragons like shiny things, but this is really something else.¡± Lapis also widened her eyes in wonder, though not as much as Loren. The only exception was Gula. Even though the mountain of treasure was not inedible, they wouldn¡¯t taste good. So she just let out an uninterested yawn. Without seeming to care about Loren and the others¡¯ reactions, Emery slowly flew across the nest-like space and laid down on top of the blanket of treasure. ¡°NOW, RELAX. THIS IS MY NEST. IT IS THE SAFEST AND MOST DANGEROUS PLACE ON THIS MOUNTAIN.¡± In other words, they would spend the night in a dragon¡¯s nest. It certainly would be the safest place on the mountain as long as Emery didn¡¯t attack, but it could be said to be the most dangerous place just because it was a dragon¡¯s nest. Loren had to agree with Emery¡¯s choice of words here. ¡°MY NEST IS LARGE. I¡¯M SURE I OCCASIONALLY MISS SPOTTING A FEW PEOPLE COMING INSIDE.¡± It seemed like Emery wanted to pretend that she didn¡¯t notice them instead of actively telling them to spend the night in her nest. No matter how much of a storm was blowing outside, the thick bedrocks would be able to protect this place. And as she specifically chose this place to be her nest, Emery had probably done something to prevent it from easily collapsing. Thinking that there would be no better place in the vicinity to sleep in, Loren made use a corner of the nest with gratitude. Chapter 208 - A Conversation After Rummaging Chapter 208 ¨C A Conversation After Rummaging ¡°This is wonderful, Loren.¡± Loren promptly took out a tent and some other stuff from his luggage to start preparing for their stay, but Lapis was mesmerized by the treasures under Emery¡¯s belly. She picked them up one by one while kneeling on the ground, and letting out a sigh of admiration. The preparation itself was not particularly urgent and did not require much effort, so Loren figured he could let her do whatever she wanted as long as Emery did not mind. ¡°My warehouse has some pretty cool stuff lying around, but these are even cooler.¡± Lapis said with a hint of excitement in her voice. She was holding a palm-sized, transparent, shiny gemstone. It must be a priceless item, but Loren didn¡¯t know anything about gems¡¯ quality. He looked at her hand without much interest as he continued to work, and Lapis puffed her cheeks in displeasure at his indifference. ¡°You¡¯re not surprised?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it will fetch a high price just for its size.¡± If they could take it out of Emery¡¯s nest, it would become a fortune. He lacked intention to try though: It was unlikely that the dragon would allow such a thing, and Loren had no desire to steal a treasure from a being willing to share with him a part of her nest. ¡°It¡¯s a feast for the eyes, Loren. You can¡¯t even see such a rare thing in the treasure room of some royal castle.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a diamond. Have you ever heard of a diamond of this size?¡± Loren looked into Lapis¡¯ hands again. The magical light that Lapis had launched to illuminate the nest had already passed its duration and disappeared, and their sources of light now were just the lamp they had pulled out of their luggage and the fire burning with the wood Emery had offered. The colorless and transparent jewel shone in such a way that it attracted the eyes even in such a poor light, and Lapis¡¯ eyes shone just as brightly as the jewel as she was holding in her hands. ¡°I think its value would rival the annual budget of a small country.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s too big to adorn a finger or a neck.¡± It was so big that Loren was sure your finger would feel like breaking under the weight if you were to use it as a ring, and your shoulders would stiffen if you were to wear it around your neck. Lapis puffed her cheeks even more after hearing Loren¡¯s pragmatic remark. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, no matter how many gems there were in this place, it was all meaningless as they couldn¡¯t take any out. He just couldn¡¯t understand why Lapis was so excited. As Loren continued his work, he felt something tapping on the shoulder of his jacket, thumping on the surface of his jacket. Turning his attention to the spot, Loren saw Nig, who had made Loren¡¯s shoulders its home, tapping on his shoulder with its legs. He knew that he was being asked to do something but not knowing what exactly, and he wondered if it wanted to be feed. Come to think of it, Nig hadn¡¯t eaten anything since this morning. As a living creature, it would need to eat, and it was natural for it to ask for food when hungry. A normal spider would probably eat insects, but Nig was hardly one. Still, he had to give it something to eat, so he took out a small piece of dried meat from his luggage, tore it into even smaller pieces, then offered it to Nig. The spider took the dried meat from Loren¡¯s hand with its legs, dexterously wrapped it around a thread to create a cocoon-like structure, and put it in its mouth. Then it became motionless once more, but it somehow seemed content. As Loren was about to resume his work, he suddenly noticed that Gula was not there. ¡°Loren, this! A treasured sword from the time of the Ancient Kingdom! It doesn¡¯t seem to have any notable magic on it, but it has all these exquisite decorations! A masterpiece, which I¡¯m sure will fetch an unthinkable price on the market.¡± ¡°Hey, where¡¯s Gula?¡± Ignoring Lapis¡¯ excited comment as she pulled out a sword from the treasure pile, Loren asked. Noticing Lapis making a dissatisfied face again, he turned his eyes to the sword she brought over, but his impressions were that the decoration was too obtrusive for it to be used as a weapon and the blade was too thin to be considered sturdy. It didn¡¯t have much use. ¡°Gula? You can find her over there.¡± Lapis pointed to a corner of the large nest, where he saw Gula running around chasing something. Looking more closely at the things she was chasing, Loren could see that there were several of them scurrying on the ground on four legs, all about half his height. Gula seemed to have fun chasing the giant-lizard-like creatures around. Eventually, she picked up one and ran back towards Loren and Lapis with a happy look on her face. ¡°Loren! I caught something edible!¡± ¡°No, wait a minute.¡± The creature was being held up by Gula, and Loren leaned in to observe it more closely. It looked a bit more angular than lizards, and the claws on its toes look pretty sharp. In addition, the protrusions on its back looked like they could grow into wings. Although it had lizard-like eyes, there was a hint of intelligence in them, and the way it looked at Loren seemed like it wanted to be saved as soon as possible. ¡°Is it from here?¡± ¡°Yeah! There were about ten of them. If there are more, should I go get them too?¡± In this rocky mountain, they had seen no other creatures besides Emery. As Loren pondered about the identity of the lizard-like creature found in her nest, he suddenly noticed the dragon staring at them. He gently took the lizard-like creature from Gula¡¯s hands. ¡°Could it be¡­¡± ¡°IF YOU¡¯RE GOING TO EAT THAT, YOU¡¯D BETTER BELIEVE YOU¡¯RE GOING TO WAR WITH ME.¡± In response to Emery¡¯s subdued voice, Loren gently lowered the lizard-like creature in his hand to the ground. As soon as its feet touched the ground, the creature scurried away and dove into the pile of treasures under Emery¡¯s belly. ¡°Hey! After the troubles I went through to catch it!¡± ¡°Idiot! If you¡¯re suicidal, do it by yourself!¡± Gula raised her voice in protest at Loren for letting the lizard-like creature to escape, but he immediately shouted at her and brought his fist down onto her head without restraint. As a rather loud and dull sound echoed, Gula wordlessly crouched down on the spot and began twitching. Loren didn¡¯t even bother to help her ¨C he just loosened his fist and sighed. The lizard-like creature that she had chased around and caught should be Emery¡¯s offspring, and the dragon seemed to be looking at them with an air of dismay. ¡°Is that what a baby Ancient Dragon looks like?¡± The dragon whelp that Loren had released as well as the ones that hadn¡¯t been caught by Gula were peeking out from here and there in the pile of treasure under Emery¡¯s belly, watching their group. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take for them to grow up to be worthy of being called dragons, but he hoped they wouldn¡¯t come to take revenge for what was done today. ¡°TO BE CORRECT, THEY ARE DRAGON WHELPS. DRAGONS GROW INTO BEINGS CALLED ANCIENT DRAGONS OVER THE YEARS. WOULDN¡¯T IT BE STRANGE TO BE CONSIDERED ANCIENT FROM BIRTH?¡± According to Emery¡¯s explanation, there was no such thing as an Ancient Dragon race. Dragons that had evolved over the years were called Ancient Dragons, and her children were just dragon whelps. Emery said, even though dragons were considered to be the most powerful magical beasts, not many were able to survive until they reached the state of being an Ancient. ¡°LIFESPAN, INJURY, DISEASE ¨C THERE ARE SO MANY FACTORS THAT CAN KILL YOU.¡± ¡°What do you mean by lifespan? Can¡¯t you just continue to live if nothing happens?¡± ¡°IF THAT WERE THE CASE, THE POPULATION OF ANCIENT DRAGONS WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH LARGER. DRAGONS THAT JUST LIVE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING WILL REACH THE END OF THEIR LIFESPAN IN ABOUT TWO HUNDRED YEARS AT MOST.¡± Loren thought that it would be enough to live that long, but it seemed that to become an Ancient Dragon, it wasn¡¯t. ¡°So, how long have you lived, Emery?¡± ¡°PROBABLY MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS.¡± Emery said that in order to evolve into an Ancient Dragon, a dragon had to live for at least five hundred years, because she herself evolved around that time. Loren believed that since an Ancient Dragon herself says so, it must be correct. In other words, you can only become an Ancient Dragon if you can somehow stay alive for more than twice as long as you would have if nothing happened to you. ¡°Amazing, isn¡¯t it? Ancient Dragons are amazing.¡± ¡°Living for over a thousand years, does that mean you know a lot about the Ancient Kingdom?¡± Lapis, who had been rummaging through the pile of treasures, suddenly became curious and asked such a question. She seemed to hope that Emery, who had lived for a thousand years, would know a lot about the destroyed Ancient Kingdom that she had been hearing about since she started working as an adventurer. But Emery¡¯s answer, spoken through a downturned mouth, was not what she had expected. ¡°THE LARGE COUNTRY THAT PROSPERED IN THE HUMAN REALM ABOUT THREE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO? I¡¯M SORRY, BUT I¡¯VE ALWAYS STAYED HERE, AND I HAVEN¡¯T BEEN TO THE HUMAN REALM MUCH.¡± Information in different habitats varied, and it seemed that Emery had not been to the human realm very often. Lapis looked a bit disappointed, but the dragon added: ¡°I DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MY KIN WHO LIVE IN THE HUMAN REALM.¡± ¡°Is it alright if you tell us about it?¡± ¡°IT¡¯S FINE. BUT YOU SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS WHEN YOU MAKE CONTACTS. FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, DON¡¯T EXPECT THEM TO ALWAYS BE WILLING TO TALK TO YOU. NOT EVERYONE IS A DRAGON LIKE ME.¡± Emery said and skillfully used her claws to pull out a rolled-up sheaf of paper from the treasure pile underneath her. She untied the string binding the sheets with the tips of her claw, took out one, then rolled it up again and re-tied it with the string before carelessly pushing it back into the treasure pile. ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WRITE WITH? I¡¯LL SHOW YOU WHERE IT IS AND YOU CAN MARK IT.¡± Emery said, and thrust the paper at Lapis. As Lapis took it and looked at the content, she let out a small whistle. ¡°A map of the continent? This¡­. It is a little different from what I know.¡± The mention of a map of the continent was enough to surprise Loren, but he was twice as surprised by Lapis¡¯ words. In the human realm, there was no such thing as a map that described the entire continent. This was because none of the human countries had enough information to create such a map, but it seemed to be common for the dragons and demons. ¡°IT¡¯S AN OLD MAP, SO THERE¡¯S NO SURPRISE THAT IT¡¯S A LITTLE DIFFERENT. THE TERRAIN MAY HAVE CHANGED A BIT, BUT AS LONG AS YOU KNOW THE GENERAL LOCATION, YOU SHOULD BE FINE.¡± As Emery began to explain while pointing at the map with her claw, Lapis listened, pen in hand ¨C she had brought it out from her luggage ¨C and wrote something on the map. He left it to Lapis and went back to make preparations for their stay, Gula still crouching down at his feet, twitching with head in her hands. Chapter 209 - From Waking Up to Acquiring Information Chapter 209 ¨C From Waking Up to Acquiring Information The next day, Loren woke up feeling a slight heaviness on his chest. Last night, they had a simple dinner in the nest of Emery, the Ancient Dragon. They didn¡¯t need to keep guard since they were in the dragon¡¯s nest, so they had all gotten into their sleeping bags and slept to recover their strength for the climb to the crater the next day. When Loren was still a mercenary, sleeping with other members of the company was a common occurrence. Back then, some of the company¡¯s members had bad sleeping habits and tended to cause a lot of trouble for others, and he wondered if the heaviness he was feeling on his chest now had a similar cause. Looking down, he saw that the string tying his sleeping bag¡¯s mouth had somehow loosen, and something a bit more angular than a lizard was clinging to his chest, looking vaguely happy. Loren blinked. He was confused for a moment, but then he pulled himself out of the sleeping bag and half-raised his body to see a dragon whelp, probably Emery¡¯s child, hanging from his jacket. Looking at the dragon whelp that showed no signs of waking up despite all the swaying, he thought its claws must have hooked quite firmly onto his jacket. He tried to sort out the situation. Normally, this baby dragon would be sleeping in a crevice in the treasure pile under Emery¡¯s belly, but this time there was a warmer, softer crevice close by. It must have crept near while they were sleeping, loosened the mouth of the sleeping bag somehow, and burrowed in. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine with me.¡± It was true that he was a little surprised, but he could accept the fact that some lizard-like thing had snuck into his sleeping bag while he was sleeping, considering that he was in a dragon¡¯s nest. Loren looked at Lapis, who was sleeping nearby, and wondered what kind of situation she was in now, as her place was softer and warmer than his. Since the nest had a roof, they decided to sleep in the open space instead of the small tent they had set up. It made Loren worry that Lapis might be swarmed with baby dragons, but the mouth of her sleeping bag didn¡¯t look loosened, and she was breathing regularly. Loren thought the dragon whelps had only gone to his place and not Lapis, but he soon realized that he was wrong: Lying around the sleeping Lapis were several cocoons woven with white thread, all about half his height. Judging from the way they were wriggling around, whatever inside the cocoons seemed to be alive. When Loren thought about what were inside them, he could think of nothing but the dragon whelps. And he couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who could have wrapped them up with thread. ¡°Is it him?¡± Sleeping with a thick jacket on was quite uncomfortable, and Loren had taken it off before getting into his sleeping bag. In other words, the spider Nig that was clinging to his jacket¡¯s shoulder was outside the sleeping bag. Loren turned his gaze around to search for Nig¡¯s figure, and after a while, he found it in a place he had never imagined he would. It was on top of Loren¡¯s luggage. Nig seemed to have left his jacket at some point, crawled over to his luggage, and used its legs to open the mouth of the bag. It dove into the bag and rummaged around. When it emerged, there was a chunk of dried meat hooked to its front leg. It skillfully tore the meat apart with its eight legs. The dried meat did not look like it could be torn apart with the strength of a spider¡¯s legs, but Nig succeeded in tearing off small pieces from the dried meat, little by little. As expected of a spider that held on to Loren¡¯s jacket and never be shaken off. With an air of satisfaction, it began to wind the dried meat with its own thread, and when it formed a cocoon of a certain size, it bit into it. Spiders often eat by injecting their digestive juices into their prey, then sipping at the dissolved body. But apparently, Nig was eating by trapping the dried meat in a cocoon and injecting digestive juices into it to dissolve the dried meat. Loren¡¯s gaze coincidentally met Nig¡¯s eight eyes while it was eating. Being caught stealing food made the spider freeze and stop moving, but Loren nodded to say it was okay, and it resumed eating. Loren was amazed at Nig¡¯s intelligence, as it had not only opened the package by itself but also taken out what it needed from it. He already knew beforehand that it was not just any spider though, so he accepted the fact that it could do such things. He also thought that it was Nig who had created the cocoons lying around Lapis, which probably contained dragon whelps. The baby dragons probably tried to instinctively crawl into the Lapis¡¯ warm sleeping bag. But before they could accomplish their goal, they were stopped by Nig, who was clinging to the shoulder of the jacket that Loren took off. As for the one in Loren¡¯s sleeping bag, either it was overlooked by Nig, or it thought that he would be alright. Either way, that dragon obviously made the right choice, and was able to spend the night in the warmth of his sleeping bag. ¡°And Gula¡­¡± If Lapis had been targeted, it was not surprising that Gula had also been targeted. But when Loren turned his gaze in the direction of her sleeping bag, he found that, unlike the area around Lapis¡¯, there were none of the white cocoons there. This meant that the baby dragons had not gone to Gula, and Loren wondered why. But the answer came quickly. ¡°They¡¯ll be eaten.¡± It would be meaningless if they approached Gula for warmth and ended up getting eaten instead. Moreover, in that case, if Emery challenged her about eating them, Gula could use the argument that it was their fault for approaching her. Whether out of consideration for such a situation or instinct, it seemed like the baby dragons wouldn¡¯t go near Gula. ¡°Smart creatures are smart, huh?¡± Gently removing the claws of the baby dragon still dangling from his chest and lowering them to the ground so as not to wake them, Loren glanced towards the pile of treasure. Emery was curled up on top of it, asleep, and showed no signs of waking up. Thinking that it would be better to release the dragon whelps that Nig had captured now so that there would be no trouble later, Loren slipped out of his sleeping bag and put his hand on one of the cocoons that were lying around Lapis. The fact that the dragons inside weren¡¯t suffocated meant that Nig had left a reasonable amount of space while weaving the cocoons. Still, in order to release the dragons, the cocoons had to be broken. Loren picked up the cocoon with his fingers and pulled it from side to side to see if he could break it with his hands, but it was made of such a strong material that it did not budge even with effort. It felt like silk to the touch, but was much more durable. Loren had heard that spider thread was strong, but he didn¡¯t think it was this strong, and after a while he gave up. Loren considered using a knife, but it was difficult because he was worried if he could cut the cocoon without damaging the dragon inside. If he were to injure a dragon and upset Emery, it would be impossible to get out of this nest alive; he brooded over the several white cocoons he had retrieved from around Lapidus. ¡°GIVE THEM TO ME.¡± When he looked up at the sudden voice, he saw that Emery had come up to him before he knew it, and was peeking at him. As Loren retreated to give her space, Emery placed her claws on the cocoon that was lying on the ground and gently drew on it vertically. Loren was again amazed at the sharpness of the dragon¡¯s claws as he watched the cocoon break open. Watching the baby dragons being released from their cocoons and hurriedly fleeing toward the mountain of treasure, Loren asked Emery: ¡°Is it morning already?¡± ¡°IF YOU MEAN OUTSIDE THE NEST, YES, IT IS. THE SUN HAS ONLY JUST RISEN.¡± When Loren heard from Emery that it was still early in the morning, he immediately wanted to start preparing breakfast. Even though he didn¡¯t know how far it was to the crater, if he didn¡¯t leave the nest as soon as possible and reach the crater, he wouldn¡¯t be able to finish his work. ¡°YOU¡¯RE IN QUITE A HURRY.¡± Emery looked at Loren, who had efficiently started his preparations, and said admiringly. ¡°I don¡¯t have a thousand years to live.¡± Loren answered without stopping his work, and Emery laughed. ¡°ARE YOU BEING SARCASTIC?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what it sounded like to you, then that¡¯s what it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± Of course, Loren did not mean for it to be a sarcastic remark. It was just that for a being like Emery, who had lived for a thousand years and was still living, the act of hurrying would not be well understood. ¡°WELL, IF YOU¡¯RE IN A HURRY, I WON¡¯T STOP YOU. BUT I DON¡¯T THINK YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT ON YOUR WAY TO THE CRATER.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°THERE IS A SINGLE PATH FROM MY NEST TO THE CRATER, A BIT FAR BUT NOT TOO STEEP. I¡¯VE NEVER TAKEN IT, THOUGH.¡± Loren tilted his head at Emery¡¯s incomprehensible statement that she had never taken the path but knew it was there, but her next explanation convinced him. ¡°YOU¡¯VE HEARD THAT JUDIE, THE DEMON KING, DID A LOT OF BAD THINGS TO THE CRATER, RIGHT?¡± ¡°Could it be that she went to the crater through that path?¡± ¡°APPARENTLY SO. I¡¯VE ONLY HEARD ABOUT IT, BUT IT¡¯S PROBABLY STILL USABLE. IT¡¯S LIKE GOING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN, SO YOU DON¡¯T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THE OUTSIDE. AND SINCE THE DEMON KING MUST HAVE MAINTAINED IT TO SOME EXTENT, IT SHOULD BE EASY TO TRAVEL ON.¡± It was a great help, but when Loren heard that the reason such a path was created was some mischief of the Demon King, he wondered if he should be grateful. ¡°I¡¯LL TELL YOU WHERE IT IS. IF YOU TAKE THAT ROUTE, YOU¡¯LL REACH THE CRATER BEFORE NOON.¡± ¡°I really appreciate it.¡± Loren thought the matter about whether he should be grateful to Judie the Demon King or not, should be put aside. Instead he expressed his gratitude to Emery for giving him this information. Chapter 210 - From The Secret Path To The Crater Chapter 210 ¨C From The Secret Path To The Crater As Loren finished preparing breakfast, Lapis and Gula crawled out of their sleeping bags. The cocoon containing the baby dragons around them had already been collected by Emery ¨C none of them was left. As Loren handed the girls the breakfast he had prepared, he told them about the path to the crater that Emery had told him about. ¡°If it¡¯s the path that Mother used, it should be fine.¡± Lapis responded, even though she did feel a little embarrassed when told that the Demon King had used the path for mischief. Although he still felt a little uneasy, Loren decided to take the path leading from the nest to the crater Emery had told him about, as he thought it would be safer than going outside. ¡°I¡¯M NOT GOING TO ACCOMPANY YOU FROM HERE ON. I PRAY FOR YOUR SAFETY, BUT I CAN¡¯T HELP YOU ANY FURTHER.¡± Emery said to Loren and the other two as they finished their breakfast and announced their departure. From Loren¡¯s point of view, just her lending them a safe place to spend the night was enough of a favor. He thanked Emery for letting them borrow a part of the nest as politely as possible before leaving. ¡°Demon King¡¯s daughter, I suggest you leave the gold coins in your pocket behind. Also, that strange blonde over there, give me the thing in your backpack. Then I¡¯ll let you off.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ As expected of an Ancient Dragon¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen through our bad habits, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You two¡­ Well, just like demons and evil gods¡­¡± Loren still felt dumbfounded, even after dropping his fists on the girls¡¯ heads. And so, they left Emery¡¯s nest behind, relatively free of trouble. ¡°Did you properly return everything?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be burned in the back with a < >.¡± ¡°Neither do I¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it.¡± ¡°Would be nice if we can take something out. But we can¡¯t.¡± Loren was not without greed. Seeing all the treasure Emery had under her belly, it was hard not to want to take some of it with him. However, his fear of a being chased by an Ancient Dragon overcame his greed. Loren could not do something that he knew would surely kill him if he did, at least not when it came to money. ¡°In that sense, you guys, who actually did it, are amazing.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I can take it out. I just wanted to at least try.¡± Lapis answered with a very honest expression. In other words, she was using herself as a test subject to see if she could actually do it or not. Now that she had mentioned it, there were plenty of other items of value, but the only thing Lapis tried to take out was a pocketful of gold coins. As someone who could appraise items, it would be easy for her to choose something smaller and more valuable. Loren had thought that her action was strange, but now it made sense. ¡°You won¡¯t have enough lives for your antics.¡± ¡°I thought she¡¯d let you off the hook once, Loren.¡± Lapis smiled at him without any sign of embarrassment, and unable to find the words to reply, Loren just shrugged. It was obvious that Emery liked him to some extent, and he could understand her expecting it to work once because of that. But if he was asked if he could actually do it, he could only say no. He wondered if Lapis being able to take a step forward in a situation where one wrong move could cost you your life was because she was a demon. ¡°I thought I could make it, but¡­¡± ¡°You were overly optimistic.¡± After landing a resounding fist on the back of Gula¡¯s head, Loren decided to focus on walking. Emery had told them about the path to the crater. The path to the crater was one where weather and encounters with enemies were almost non-existent. Distance was the only factor that remained uncontrollable. They had to walk to reach the destination, and since the path was inside the mountain was without any change in scenery, it was quite a depressing walk with only the light of the lantern to guide them. ¡°It¡¯s good that it¡¯s easier to walk. That¡¯s just like Mother.¡± ¡°I wonder what the heck your mother was doing, going all the way into a dragon¡¯s den.¡± ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t it to maintain the road?¡± Lapis declared that her mother¡¯s work was extremely helpful to those who had business with the crater. But Loren thought that the road they were currently walking on couldn¡¯t possibly be used by anyone else besides the Demon King. After all, the only entrances of this path were the crater and the dragon¡¯s nest. Regardless of which one you used, you were bound to come face to face with an Ancient Dragon at least once, and you would definitely have to go through the dragon¡¯s nest. Loren thought that this was not a path that an ordinary being could safely use, but Lapis seemed to disagree. ¡°People can just sneak through the nest though?¡± ¡°If you fail, you¡¯ll be burnt to ashes.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be a little difficult because Emery¡¯s detection abilities are quite good¡­ But if you prepare well in advance, you can manage it¡­¡± Lapis muttered to herself, and Loren just left her to it. If she just thought about it and didn¡¯t put it into action, it was harmless. And they had already left Emery¡¯s nest. There would be a problem if Lapis came to the conclusion that they should experiment on the way back, but it wouldn¡¯t be too late to worry about that after they finished their business at the crater. They continued on, taking several short breaks along the way, and eventually reached a point where they could see the light outside. Loren thought that even the possibility that something was waiting for them outside was low, it still existed, so he stopped Lapis and Gula, turned off the lantern, and peeked out from near the exit by himself. Having been in the dark for a long time, Loren¡¯s eyes were hurt by the outside light, and it took some time for his vision to adjust to the brightness. Thinking that it would be dangerous if he were to be attacked during this time, he looked outside without pulling his body out of the exit while letting his eyes adjust. The only thing he could see was a landscape of rocks. The slope seemed to indicate that they would have to climb a little higher to reach the top of the mountain. But as Loren craned his neck and looked up the slope, he could see that the mountain face would end after a short climb, and he assumed that would be where the summit was. ¡°How does it look, Loren?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing around. The summit is a short distance away.¡± Loren could see no other beings that seemed to be moving besides them. Still, he checked their surroundings a few more times to make sure everything was okay before slowly walking out. ¡°My eyes hurt.¡± Gula¡¯s eyes, having been accustomed to the dark, seemed to be in pain from being out in the light, just as Loren¡¯s had been. She whined and covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°I guess I should be a little grateful that I have prosthetic eyes in this case.¡± On the other hand, Lapis¡¯ eyes are magical prostheses, and brightness or darkness seems to have little effect on them, so she could look around without temporarily losing her vision or experiencing pain. ¡°Hey, are you sure the real ones work better?¡± ¡°The eyes? Yes, of course. Definitely not comparable.¡± Loren sometimes wondered how come Lapis¡¯s artificial eyes, which seemed to be very efficient, were inferior to the real thing. As she confirmed it herself, he decided to accept it to be so. And even if that wasn¡¯t the case, it was understandable that a pair of real eyes would be better than a pair of artificial ones. ¡°Well, our destination is just right there. Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯s going to take a little longer.¡± Loren urged everyone to hurry up, but what Lapis said caught his attention. He wondered what she meant, but was soon made to understand. ¡°It¡¯s still a long way to the crater¡­¡± After climbing up to the top, they came to a mortar-shaped crater. The mountain itself was huge, and so was the mortar. It was extremely difficult to climb down the gouged-out-like slope. If they made a mistake and slipped, they would have to be lucky to get caught somewhere, otherwise they would fall straight into the bright red hole a long way down. ¡°If we throw it from here, it won¡¯t reach.¡± There was no reason to go near the crater, though. All they had to do was to throw the black helmet they brought into the hole they saw, which probably was filled with lava. Loren thought that they could do it from a distance, but Lapis, who had been staring at the crater and its surroundings for a while, shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not within throwing distance, and the slope around that hole is gentle, so there¡¯s little chance of it rolling down on its own.¡± ¡°What a perfectly annoying situation.¡± ¡°If we get close enough to throw it, the slope in the surrounding area is so steep that it¡¯ll be difficult to make a proper throw¡­ In addition, once we get past this point, the Efreet that Emery mentioned will probably attack us.¡± ¡°Ah, there¡¯s that too¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t that Loren had forgotten about it ¨C it was just something he didn¡¯t want to think about. But now he was once again confronted with what he had been keeping out of his thoughts, and he made a disgusted face. The idea of being attacked by an enraged spirit of fire while having a bad foothold was horrifying, but there was no way to avoid it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we have to finish this somehow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my Mother¡¯s fault. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Lapis held her, clenched his fists against her chest. It was a rather cute and energetic gesture, but the meaning behind it was very disturbing, something that would blast away words like ¡®cute¡¯ and ¡®energetic¡¯. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll take the lead, and you can cover me.¡± They could not afford to go slowly down the slightly steep incline: they would be a good target for the efreet¡¯s attack if they did. So Loren decided that he would take the lead and run down the steep slope to confront the efreet, even if it meant taking some risks. ¡°Then first, some defensive magic¡­ Gula, please.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. I¡¯ll cast some powerful ones. And if Loren is attacked by an efreet, I can just strangle it.¡± It seemed that compared to Lapis¡¯, Gula¡¯s abilities as a magician were somewhat superior. The proof of this was that Lapis asked Gula to cast defensive magic on Loren. Not knowing much about magic, Loren slowly pulled out his greatsword as he watched Gula prepare to use various kinds of magic. Chapter 211 - From Breaking In To An Advice Chapter 211 ¨C From Breaking In To An Advice Amidst Gula¡¯s flowing chanting, Loren leapt forward into the crater. Once he started running, he could do nothing else but continue to speed up across the sloping ground. With his greatsword at the ready, Loren kept moving his feet to avoid falling. Then in front of him, numerous flames flared up. ¡°Isn¡¯t there only one?¡± He had heard that his opponent would be an Efreet, and was surprised to see there were more than one flame. The flames then transformed into the shapes of lizards on four legs. ¡°Loren! They¡¯re Salamanders!¡± ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Loren retorted as the lizard-shape flames spat fire at him. The columns of fire shot straight at him, and he swung his sword without thinking of dodging or defense. The moment the blade¡¯s trajectory met the fire lines, the fire dispersed. Loren ran through the flying sparks without slowing down, and before the next columns of fire could be spat out, he closed in on the Salamanders. In one swooping lash, he cut one of the nearby Salamanders in half, returning it to mere fire. ¡°It even summons lesser spirits. So upright.¡± Gula said, and started to run down towards Loren. Lapis, who was running beside her, nodded. ¡°It¡¯s an introduction. This close to a fire, the Efreet can use its power to summon as many Salamanders as it wants.¡± ¡°The terrain is too favorable for the Efreet.¡± While Gula was complaining, the Salamanders opened their mouths at them and Loren. When they tried to spit out fire, they were cut down by Loren, who had already closed in. A normal weapon wouldn¡¯t work against spirits, but Loren¡¯s sword did work very well. The Salamanders, despite having the forms of lizards, were actually just fire, and all vanished before even withstanding a blow. ¡°Spirits just can¡¯t fight, can they?¡± Loren muttered to himself as he looked at the dispersed bodies of the Salamanders. He didn¡¯t even know how many he had cut. Were they demons, they would leave corpses, and you could strip it for materials and such. But Salamanders disappeared when they were cut, so there was nothing left behind. In other words, no matter how many Salamanders he cut, there was nothing left to gain. Loren wanted to get some compensation for his labor, but he couldn¡¯t stop cutting them just because there was no profit. He had no choice but to swing his greatsword, and one after another, the Salamanders disappeared. ¡°Lesser spirits are powerful enemies in their own way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. They¡¯re the spirits that control fire, after all. At least they can be snuffed out like candles.¡± As Gula said this, the surrounding Salamanders kept appearing and going out like candles. Of course, it was the yet-to-be-seen Efreet that summoned them, and it was Gula¡¯s power that extinguished them. The power of the dragon¡¯s < > had once burned out Gula¡¯s power, but it seemed to have recovered over time and was now regaining its original strength. Moreover, compared to Dragons¡¯ < >, the Salamanders¡¯ fire was not that powerful, and they were devoured one after another. Lapis, on the other hand, did not make any moves of her own and just occasionally leapt away to avoid the Salamander fire. She had a reason for this. ¡°If we can use ice magic, we may have a way to fight it.¡± As their opponent was a fire spirit, naturally fire magic would be less effective against it. If they used magic with the opposite attribute, they would be able to deal damage efficiently. However, if they used a spell powerful enough to work against the Efreet and kill the Salamanders at the same time, the temperature of the crater would drop. In that case, even if they successfully defeated the Efreet, they might not be able to deal with the black helmet. ¡°Since it originates from fire, we can¡¯t defeat it with normal attacks.¡± Seeing an opening, Lapis picked up a stone from under her feet and threw it at a Salamander. The stone hit and tore a hole in its body, but the hole closed up the next moment. Spirits couldn¡¯t be defeated so easily by mere physical attacks. ¡°What about beating them with extraordinary attacks?¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®extraordinary attacks¡¯?¡± Not knowing the answer, Lapis shook her head, and Gula blew black smoke out of her mouth. Loren began to worry that she was swallowing too much Salamander fire, but he was soon distracted by a nearby pillar of flame that had a different intensity. ¡°So it¡¯s finally here!¡± From Loren¡¯s party¡¯s point of view, no matter how many Salamanders they defeated, they couldn¡¯t move forward until they defeated the source of the problem, the Efreet. And from the Efreet¡¯s point of view, no matter how many Salamanders it sent forth, they didn¡¯t seem able to take care of Loren¡¯s party. It was meaningless to dispatch more Salamanders now. ¡°The one who strikes first will win!¡± The pillar of fire was still rising, and the Efreet had yet to take on any form like the Salamanders. But Loren thought that the white sword of the Demon King would still be able to do some damage even with the Efreet in that state, and he immediately slashed at the pillar of fire. However, before the tip of the sword could touch the pillar, the pillar dispersed as if burst from within, and crimson flames attacked Loren. He hurriedly stopped his attack and moved to dodge them, but a fist of flame tore through the air and came straight at him. ¡°Is this an Efreet?!¡± As a mercenary, Loren had never seen a Salamander before, let alone an Efreet. It took the form of a naked giant whose entire body was composed of bright red flames, and was much larger than Loren in stature. As the Efreet¡¯s flaming crimson hair fluttered in the air, it struck Loren with both fists. The newly summoned Salamanders, as if to support it, spat flames at Loren one after the other. [¡®Just a bit of Energy Drain.¡¯] As soon as he thought he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, all the fire that was about to be launched at Loren was extinguished. At the same time, he felt his breathing, which had been a bit erratic during the previous attacks, calmed down. Focusing only on the Efreet in front of him, Loren swung his sword. The blade met the flaming fist and tore it apart, but as the Efreet¡¯s body was made entirely of flames, it didn¡¯t lose its stance. Instead, it dealt with Loren¡¯s blow in the most unusual way: immediately vanished its arm and re-grew it. ¡°A human fighting an Efreet is just too strange.¡± Gula said as she watched Loren and the Efreet attacking and defending, neither able to deal a decisive blow. The number of Salamanders summoned by the Efreet had stopped increasing when it began to engage Loren in direct combat. This was a sign that the Efreet could no longer afford to call lesser spirits. Feeling that she had less and less to do, Gula looked at Loren. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a little late?¡± ¡°Can we give up on that question?¡± Both Lapis and Gula did not forget to use magic and spells to support Loren, whose burden had increased as their own had decreased. ¡°It¡¯s a Demon King¡¯s weapon, so using <> on it is useless. Should I use a self-boost technique on him? Something like <> and <>?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give him < > and <>.¡± ¡°Eh? Lapis-chan, you can use more spells now?¡± ¡°Hehehe, I am growing every day. I won¡¯t stay a novice priest who can only use two spells a day forever.¡± Lapis stood with hands on her hips, looking rather proud, and Gula gave her a round of applause. Loren thought that they were being a bit too carefree, but their support magic did strengthen him properly, and he slashed at the Efreet with even more speed and precision. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this, but we have our own reason too. If you¡¯re going to interfere, I have no choice but to cut you down.¡± There was no way that Loren knew how to calm down an angry spirit. He hadn¡¯t met any spirits when he was a mercenary, and naturally didn¡¯t have any knowledge of such beings. He didn¡¯t know how to stop them aside from cutting them down. However, it was not impossible to understand why an angry spirit would attack them. It would be easy to blame everything on Demon King Judie, but Loren had no idea whether a spirit would understand such a story. Still, he spoke to the Efreet, which is gradually weakening with each cut: ¡°If I can help it, I don¡¯t want to attack you until you disappear. We just have a task to do, and we¡¯ll leave immediately after. Could you ignore us until we leave?¡± Loren asked the Efreet regardless of whether spirits could understand human language, since killing a spirit that only meant to protect the fire crater from being harmed would leave him with a bad aftertaste. However, what they would do was no different from Demon King Judie¡¯s mischief, and Loren began to think that it would be difficult to obtain the Efreet¡¯s approval. But the spirit stopped its attacks and moved away from Loren. Thinking that it would attack from a distance, Loren immediately readied himself for an assault. Seeing that, the Efreet somehow looked frustrated, then abruptly discarded its form and dispersed into countless sparks of fire. ¡°I didn¡¯t kill it, did I?¡± Seeing the Efreet scattered itself into fire sparks, Loren muttered as if to confirm, even though he could still sense its power and aura. ¡°Seems like it decided that it can¡¯t stop us and pulled back.¡± Lapis concluded while watching, the Efreet disappeared entirely. After making sure that no Salamander would show up, Loren put his greatsword back on his back and exhaled deeply. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, Loren.¡± ¡°Really. I have to complain to the Demon King.¡± ¡°Complain to the Demon King¡­ Can someone even do that?¡± Gula folded her arms and tilted her head, finding it difficult to ascertain whether Loren¡¯s remark came from ignorance or foolhardiness or an understanding of the Demon King¡¯s character. Chapter 212 - Reunion at The Crater Chapter 212 ¨C Reunion at The Crater When the Efreet disappeared, the Salamanders it had summoned also vanished, and the surrounding area of the crater regained its tranquility. Believing that higher spirits did have the intelligence to stage a retreat to fool their opponents, Loren stayed on guard for a while. When it seemed that the spirits had retreated for real, he called over Lapis and Gula, who were standing a little distance away. Lapis came running up to him on the sloping ground, and before Loren could say anything, she circled around Loren and observed his body closely. When she was sure he was alright, she nodded. ¡°You defeated an Efreet without any major injuries. Amazing, Loren.¡± ¡°More like it backed down.¡± Loren had a feeling that the Efreet didn¡¯t intend to fight until one of them died. It probably appeared to stop Judie from doing what she had been doing, but didn¡¯t want to risk its own existence for that. He believed he¡¯d eliminated a good number of Salamanders, which seemed to be lesser spirits, but as a human, Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much that means to the spirits. ¡°We¡¯re just here to melt one helmet. It seems to decide to let us pass.¡± ¡°I see. Shall we go then?¡± If there were no obstacles in the way, it was not difficult to reach the crater. It was a little uncomfortably hot to approach the lava-filled crater, but it was not unbearable from a certain distance. ¡°As expected, it¡¯s impossible to get too close. We just need to get close enough to throw it down.¡± ¡°The crater is large enough that once we¡¯re within throwing distance, we won¡¯t miss.¡± ¡°Ahhh-, I want to get out of here as soon as possible.¡± Gura tugged at her top and fanned her face with her hands. Her sweat-soaked skin was generously exposed, of course, and although Loren didn¡¯t really want to look, Lapis cupped both his cheeks with her hands and made him turn away so that he wouldn¡¯t even face Gula¡¯s direction. The closer they got to the crater, the stuffier it became, and the hot air seemed to be soaked in sweats. It was scorching. In addition, the smoke bursting everywhere was laced with a smell that made their noses wrinkle. ¡°The smell is awful, but the heat isn¡¯t so bad, is it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still under the residual effects of the magic I applied to you, Loren. Gula and I don¡¯t have that, so this heat is pretty hard on us.¡± In order for Loren to deal with the flame-controlling Efreet and Salamanders at close range, Lapis had used a spell that resisted fire on Loren. Thanks to the remaining effect of that magic, Loren was less affected by the heat when they approached the crater than Lapis and Gula. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for that effect, Loren wouldn¡¯t be able to get this close to the crater, since he was just a human and had much lower resistance than Lapis and Gula, a demon and an Evil God. ¡°In any case, let¡¯s get the job done and get out of here. It¡¯s not a place you want to stay for long.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Lapis agreed that they should finish quickly. In any case, they couldn¡¯t leave the place if they didn¡¯t finish their errand. She pulled out the black helmet from her luggage. Even a demon like her couldn¡¯t walk near the lava without any preparation, so she planned to throw it down from here. Lapis was about to make the throw, but she suddenly leapt away from the spot. At the same time, Loren also quickly moved away from the crater with his hand on the greatsword on his back. Gula was the only one left there, and even though she looked sleepy, her hand held the arrow that had been shot at her. On the ground, where Lapis and Loren had just been, were two other arrows. The two of them had sensed those arrows coming, and had moved to dodge. ¡°Would you hand it over to me?¡± The direction where the voice came from was probably where the arrows had been shot. Lapis ignored it and made to throw the helmet again, but more arrows came to stop her. She had no choice but to retreat behind Loren. ¡°It is useless to those who do not understand its value. Just hand it to me obediently.¡± A man with black hair and black armor said as he approached them. The young man carried a longsword and a black shield, something they hadn¡¯t seen with him in their first encounter. If the information they heard from Judie was correct, this was probably Magna, the man who had been stealing pieces of the black armor set belonging to the Demon Kings, claiming it to be his own. ¡°What kind of idiots will just give things away when asked?¡± Loren asked as he assumed a fighting stance, ready to confront Magna. If there was an opening, he could send Lapis running through to throw the helmet into the crater, but there was no way this man would allow them such an opening. Moreover, he could catch glimpses of the Dark Elf woman a distance behind Magna, watching them vigilantly with an arrow knocked on her ready bow. He had guessed it, but she was apparently the man¡¯s accomplice. Loren unsheathed his greatsword, but Magna showed no signs of getting ready for a fight. Instead, he spoke: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just tell the Demon King that you¡¯ve thrown it away?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯re under the spell of the Demon King.¡± Even though she was in her castle, Judie was still tracking the helmet¡¯s position and status. If they gave in to Magna¡¯s cajoling and gave him the helmet, no one knew what she would do to them later. And even if Judie hadn¡¯t used any tracking magic, Lapis, who was standing right behind him, was her own daughter. It was not possible to go against a request from the Demon King in front of Lapis, who was watching attentively. ¡°Why are you so obsessed with this anyway? Your taste for gear is pretty random and bland for a guy so fucking high and mighty, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it if you don¡¯t want to, but it¡¯s hard for us to cooperate if we don¡¯t know the situation, you see.¡± As Loren conceded, Lapis tugged at his shirt from behind. She knew he wasn¡¯t the type of man to abandon a commission he had accepted, but she also knew he wasn¡¯t the kind of human to faithfully fulfill a deal with a Demon King. She was wondering if he actually meant it. Loren didn¡¯t respond to Lapis but kept looking at Magna. The man took some time to think about it, but eventually twisted his lips in a condescending smile and said while looking down at Loren: ¡°You expect me to ask for help from some random adventurer? The only thing you should do here is to hang your head and offer the helmet to me.¡± ¡°Those with too much pride are troublesome.¡± ¡°You want to die here while doing a Demon King¡¯s bidding?¡± ¡°Even your threats are boring.¡± Loren replied with a mocking laugh, but he kept his eyes on the movements of the Dark Elf behind Magna. Neither of them was the type of opponent that could be confronted half-heartedly, and just a little negligence could really mean the end of his life. ¡°Watch your mouth, mongrel. You should not even be allowed to speak to me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. What kind of noble are you that you can¡¯t even talk to me?¡± Loren had intended to make fun of him, but Magna¡¯s reaction was something Loren had not expected. ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. Me, a noble?¡± Loren was a bit surprised to learn that he was not satisfied with the term ¡®aristocrat¡¯. He wondered what the hell he wanted to be called to be happy, but Magna didn¡¯t pay any attention to his pondering. The man pointed his longsword right at Loren¡¯s face. ¡°Your disrespect is of no concern to me right now. If you want to at least improve my impression of you, just prostrate and offer me the helmet.¡± ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m going to comply with that kind of talk?¡± Loren was dumbfounded, but Magna seemed to be very serious. He looked at Loren with frustration, then spoke to Lapis, who was behind him: ¡°You, woman. You give it to me instead of that stupid man.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a joke. We have no idea what she¡¯ll do to us later.¡± If Lapis, Judie¡¯s daughter, were to give the helmet to Magna, Loren was sure the treatment she would receive would be unimaginably horrible. Knowing that, Lapis wouldn¡¯t be a bad daughter and give the man the helmet. ¡°Magna-sama! It¡¯s useless to negotiate with those people.¡± The Dark Elf said as she drew her bow and aimed it at Loren. Magna, who had been glaring at Loren without answering her, turned his gaze to Gula, who was watching Loren and Magna¡¯s exchange from a short distance away with a bored expression. ¡°What about you, woman? Are you willing to take the helmets from these people and offer it to me? Being an adventurer is not something you can do forever. If you cooperate with me, I promise you that you will eventually obtain wealth and splendor. I¡¯ll even let you off the hook for your previous transgressions.¡± In the past, when fleeing from Magna, Gula had crushed the enhanced goblins in the surroundings and vomited their flesh and blood on him to create an opening that allowed them to escape. Magna offered to forgive that action of hers, but Gula just stifled a yawn: ¡°Nah. You seem very unappetizing, at least compared to Loren.¡± Loren wondered what criteria she had. Magna looked unhappy with Gula¡¯s answer, but turned his attention back to Loren. ¡°I¡¯m sure you understand the folly of fighting me.¡± ¡°Shut up. We don¡¯t have to fight you properly. We can just throw the helmet you¡¯re so obsessed with into that lava and our business will be over.¡± ¡°Do you think someone like me will allow such a thing?¡± ¡®Someone like me¡¯, Magna said, but the thing was ¨C Loren didn¡¯t know his lineage. Even the name ¡®Magna¡¯ was something he heard from the Demon King. He hadn¡¯t heard the man himself say it at all. Thus, he had no idea how amazing this guy was supposed to be. ¡°Don¡¯t bother me, you mongrel.¡± ¡°Stop saying mongrel this mongrel that. Most of us humans are mongrels anyway.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. In this world, there are mongrels like you and purebreds like me. It¡¯s folly to lump someone who inherited an ancient and venerable bloodline like me with the likes of you, who don¡¯t even know from which bloodline you came from.¡± Magna looked at him condescendingly. Loren met his gaze straight on, wondering what the hell the man was talking about. Only royalties or great nobles would be able to claim that their bloodlines were ancient and venerable, but he didn¡¯t think such people would go to the trouble of visiting the top of a mountain in the middle of the demon territory, where dragons lived. However, there was something in Magna¡¯s tone that made him believe that he wasn¡¯t just spouting nonsense. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you again: Give me that helmet. The likes of you or the demons possessing it will be like throwing a pearl before swine. It¡¯s only when I, the rightful owner, possess it that it will serve a meaning.¡± ¡°Jokes should remain jokes. Even if it was yours, once it¡¯s in a Demon King¡¯s warehouse, the Demon King will be its owner. If you want it, go negotiate with her.¡± ¡°So that is your answer?¡± Loren readied his sword; in all honesty, he hoped the guy wouldn¡¯t tell him to go negotiate with the Demon King. In case he did, Loren of course preferred to just feign ignorance and throw the helmet into the crater, but with the Dark Elf¡¯s arrow trained on Lapis, who was carrying the helmet, he couldn¡¯t do anything reckless. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. Noel, watch out for that woman with the helmet. If she tries anything strange, stop her, even if you have to kill her. Do not let her throw the helmet.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± The dark elf called Noel replied without taking her eyes off Lapis. Magna nodded at her, then slowly began to walk towards Loren with his shield and longsword raised. ¡°If one fight can¡¯t make you understand that your sword skill and strength are no match for mine, I¡¯ll teach you again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want any lecture from a guy who let us escape while being covered from head to toes in vomit. Did you manage to get rid of the smell, ladykiller? Goblins¡¯ blood must really stink.¡± Loren challenged Magna, who was still looking down on him. Magna¡¯s face suddenly turned grim, as if he had no tolerance for being mocked, even though he may mock others. ¡°You¡¯re talking too much. I¡¯ll have your head cut off from your body.¡± ¡°Go ahead, try it. We have bad mouths and bad habits, so come prepared!¡± Magna slashed at Loren with movements so light that it was difficult to believe he was wearing such heavy equipment. In response, Loren shouted a battle cry and swung his greatsword with all his might. Chapter 213 - Seeking for Solution in an Unfavorable Situation Chapter 213 ¨C Seeking for Solution in an Unfavorable Situation A shrill, metallic sound reverberated as the blades clashed against each other. As before, Magna only used one arm for his attack in contrast to Loren, who used both arms. The difference was that this time the longsword had an absolute advantage. ¡°What kind of strength was that?!¡± In their previous battle, there was no such thing as an absolute defeat, and even though it was a two-armed versus one-armed situation, the strength of the two of them were matched to some extent. But this time, Loren was completely outmatched. His greatsword was flipped backwards and hit his body. Even so, he didn¡¯t let go of the sword, and as he regained his stance with a shout, Magna closed in with another blow. He swung the longsword ever so lightly, but the blow pushed Loren¡¯s body, which was defended by the greatsword, even further backwards. Loren had to do all he could to maintain his stance so that he wouldn¡¯t fall down. From the look of it, Magna¡¯s arms were definitely not as well trained as Loren¡¯s. Loren¡¯s weapon should also have been more powerful, if not overwhelmingly so. But when they parried, it was as if something other than arms¡¯ strength and weapon¡¯s weight was at play, and Loren would be defeated. ¡°You¡¯re using some tricks, aren¡¯t you?!¡± If Magna was using self-boost techniques, he would have been defeated instead, since it was hard to believe that Loren would lose against him if it was a contest of plain brute strength. Thus, Loren was sure that he was using something else other than demons¡¯ self-boost techniques. ¡°Watch your mouth, lowlife. Do you plan to continue your disrespectful acts?¡± ¡°Stop ¡®mongrel¡¯ this ¡®lowlife¡¯ that! My name is Loren!¡± Loren thought that telling Magna his name would make him use it. But the guy didn¡¯t seem to have any interest in hearing it. He continued while completely ignoring Loren¡¯s name. ¡°A mongrel introducing his name? How impertinent.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than someone like you, who still hasn¡¯t introduced himself after all this time!¡± ¡°The Demon King has already told you my name, right? There¡¯s no need for me to introduce myself to you.¡± ¡°What an attitude you have.¡± Loren replied and attacked. His slash was so fast that it was hard to believe he was using a greatsword, yet it was easily flicked up just by a swing of the longsword. As Loren tried to regain control of his greatsword, Magna changed his stance and raised his shield up. Loren wondered what he was planning to do, raising his shield while Loren couldn¡¯t make a counter-attack yet, but Magan¡¯s intention soon became clear. With his shield up, Manga kicked the ground and charged into Loren, who was trying to regain his stance. The shield slammed into Loren, its impact knocked the wind out of him and sent his body flying. After a short moment of floating sensation, Loren slammed down into the ground. His breath caught in his throat at the impact, but he didn¡¯t even have time to work through the pain: the longsword immediately came at him, forcing him to roll back to dodge. Loren was desperately trying to get away from Magna, but the moment he stood up, he was forced to fall over by another blow from the shield. ¡°Loren!¡± When Lapis was about to run up to him, Noel shot at her. Lapis paid her arrows no mind and kept running, and Gula used her own body to shield Lapis. ¡°Out of the way!¡± ¡°Shut up. I¡¯ll deal with you two.¡± Gula¡¯s power chewed through the arrows rained on them. Noel¡¯s eyes widened slightly at the sight of her arrows being suddenly crushed in empty air, but she figured Gula must have used some kind of force to do it, and changed her aim to Gula. Lapis spared a glance at the scene of arrows colliding with Gula¡¯s power, then turned her attention back to Loren, who was knocked to the ground by the shield and Magna, who was about to run his longsword through him. She forced her way through his opening. ¡°Woman, get out of my way!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to speak out loud everything that can be understood just by a look.¡± Magna raised his shield at Lapais, and she drove her right fist into it with all her might. With a dull sound, the strong punch shook the shield, but it was Lapis and not Magna who had to step back. She looked astonished, but safely dodged the longsword¡¯s thrust that followed. In the meantime, Loren staggered to his feet. ¡°What the hell is this guy? He¡¯s more than a little tough!¡± ¡°That¡¯s also what I want to ask. He¡¯s a lot tougher than the last time we fought.¡± ¡°What¡¯s different from the other day is¡­¡± As Lapis looked closely at Magna, he attacked her. She dodged with ease, and when he made for a follow-up strike, Loren¡¯s sword slammed into this shield. He shook Loren off with an impatient shake of the shield just like one would shake off an insect, and Loren was sent flying. ¡°The shield? The shield strengthens the magic?¡± ¡°Is that how they work?¡± Lapis didn¡¯t know where the armor Magna was wearing came from. If it was from the same set, Lapis thought that it wasn¡¯t so surprising that Magna¡¯s power was increased by carrying the shield, something he didn¡¯t possess when he last engaged in battle with Loren. If that was correct¡­ Lapis looked down at the black helmet that she still held in her left hand. She was holding it so that she could throw it into the crater at any time, but she couldn¡¯t seem to find the right moment to do so. She had thought that now would be the right time as Gula was able to deal with Noel¡¯s sniping, but then she was faced with the problem of Magna being too strong for Loren. ¡°If you ditch that guy, you might at least find the right moment to dispose of that, right?¡± Magna chuckled, pointing at Loren with his chin. Lapis did not answer, but continued to pay attention to each of Magna¡¯s movements. Surely, if she didn¡¯t have to worry about Loren, she might be able to get free and throw away the helmet. But quickly dismissed that thought. ¡°It¡¯s certainly important to dispose of this thing.¡± Hooking her fingers on the helmet, Lapis light waved it around and said. It was a very crude way to handle things, and Magna¡¯s eyes slightly narrowed. From Lapi¡¯s point of view, this helmet, which they had to throw down into the crater, was no better than garbage. ¡°But compared to this piece of trash, Lonren¡¯s life is undoubtedly more important.¡± Lapis boldly declared, but Maga didn¡¯t seem to take offense. He laughed. ¡°So, lady-killer, how does it feel, being protected by women?¡± If not for Lapis¡¯ intervention, Loren¡¯s life might have ended when he was knocked to the ground by the shield. In response to Magna¡¯s mocking, Loren nonchalantly raised his greatsword without any anger. It was indeed a fact that Lapis had saved his life, and Magna pointing it out didn¡¯t offend him. Loren was more confused as to why Magna would point it out in such a mocking tone. ¡°About that, you can fight like this thanks to that Dark Elf, can¡¯t you?¡± If it wasn¡¯t for Noel, they would have gone at Magna three-on-one, and in that case, it was impossible to tell if Magna would have been able to overpower Loren as he was now. Loren was sure that the reason why Gula wasn¡¯t attacking Magna was because Noel was holding her back, and it could be said that Magna was also protected by Noel. ¡°You get it wrong. I can fight without That. He said, pointing at Noel. ¡°That person only followed me because she wanted to. I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Sounds like there won¡¯t be any rewards for her.¡± ¡°Instead of worrying about others, why don¡¯t you worry about yourself? Don¡¯t you see how reckless it is to try to fight me?¡± It had been a complete defeat for Loren, even with his self-boost techniques in effect. He didn¡¯t think the situation would be improved by much even if he entered the state where something in his head snapped. ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m ready to give up.¡± ¡°You still want to do it? It¡¯s a shame that you don¡¯t know your place in the world.¡± The jacket Loren was wearing was a highly efficient item that was previously given to him by a high ranking vampire, the Divine Ancestor. It boasted a high level of protection that one would not expect from its appearance. But even with the jacket on, the damage Loren received from the blow of Magna¡¯s shield was quite serious. If it weren¡¯t for that jacket, Loren might have been driven to his death by a single blow. Right now, his body was screaming after the several hits he had taken. ¡°Do you have a plan?¡± As Loren had declared that he didn¡¯t want to give up, Lapis came up to him and asked while touching his hand. Loren felt something warm flowing into his body from where she had touched him, and the pain from the places where he had been hit with the shield and knocked to the ground receded. ¡°No, I can¡¯t think of anything in particular yet.¡± I¡¯m sure Magna knew that if Lapis, a priest, touched Loren, she would use her healing on him. Yet he just kept a faint smile and didn¡¯t stop her from approaching him. Well, having a priest heal his body wasn¡¯t going to change the situation, and Loren grimaced as he felt the implication. ¡°It¡¯s a shame for a mercenary to lose to a human in swordsmanship, get slammed with a shield, and then just turn tail.¡± If it was against a demon or something, it might have been necessary to back off. But if the opponent was a human, Loren believed that as a mercenary who had earned his living in war, he should somehow defeat him. Of course, if he was out of options, it was important to run away without looking back, but Loren hadn¡¯t exhausted all of his options against Magna yet. ¡°I¡¯ll make that arrogant face of yours twist in surprise for once in your life.¡± With his longsword and shield at the ready and a calm smile on his face, Magna provoked Loren. ¡°Try it, lowlife. What can you even do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking!¡± Gripping his greatsword, Loren shouted as if to fire himself up, then slashed at Magna from the front. Chapter 214 - From an Explanation to A Strike Chapter 214 ¨C From an Explanation to A Strike ¡°How did you even get here in the first place?!¡± Magna casually caught Loren¡¯s strike with his longsword one-handedly. Tricks were meaningless to him since he was superior in strength, and he met Loren¡¯s raw power with his own. But when their forces clashed, a hint of surprise showed on his face for a moment. ¡°By walking, of course?¡± ¡°And nothing happened on the way?¡± ¡°Nothing happened except for her fighting with you. What are you talking about?¡± Pointing at Noel, who was fighting Gula, Manga replied, and Loren suddenly understood why he seemed suspicious about his question. This mountain was inhabited by a dragon, and perhaps because of her intimidation, no other demons or animals lived here. But said dragon had offered her nest for Loren¡¯s party to rest for the night. In other words, Magna¡¯s party were able to weave their way up to the top of the mountain without much trouble thanks to that. ¡°There are lightning strikes, aren¡¯t there? Don¡¯t tell me that the lightning avoided you?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? When we arrived, the sky was clear.¡± The weather in the mountains was fickle. The amount of smoke rising from the crater was not always the same, and its density varied from moment to moment depending on the direction of the wind. And coincidentally, the lightning that had struck Loren¡¯s party seemed to have completely gone by the time Magna¡¯s party passed through. ¡°Damn it. We¡¯re the ones who have to deal with all the trouble, aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Loren knew that Magna really had nothing to do with it, but he still couldn¡¯t help but feel bitter. It was just a matter of timing or choosing the right path, but it was incomprehensible how much of a difference it could make. They had to deal with all sorts of hardships while Magna¡¯s party were able to reach the top without any obstacles. Wondering if he was destined for misfortune, Loren swung his greatsword. The thought strengthened his arms¡¯ power even more, but it still was not enough for Loren¡¯s blade to reach Magna¡¯s body. ¡°Cut, Caliburns.¡± A white flash of light rushed past Loren. He managed to dodge it within a hair¡¯s breadth. A heat-wave hot enough to burn the hair on his skin struck him and Loren, frowning at the sensation, slashed his greatsword with even greater force. If he moved too far away, his greatsword wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Magna, and he would be continuously hit with the white flash with no chance for a counter-attack. But the closer to Magna he was, the more difficult it would be to avoid the flashes of light he unleashed. Loren had deemed that it was impossible to dodge the flash of light after it materialized. The only reason he was able to avoid it was because Magna would always say a certain phrase before unleashing it. [¡®I¡¯ll help you!¡¯] As Shayna¡¯s spoke, some kind of force stirred in the space around Magna. It turned the stones at his feet to dust in an instant, and Loren and Lapis, who had seen a similar phenomenon before, realized that Shayna was using <> on Magna without any reservation. The wave of <>, which was so strong that even stones could no longer exist as stones in the face of it, must have engulfed the entire space around Magna, yet his body and equipment did not turn to dust like the stones. By the time Loren realized that Shayna¡¯s power had been resisted, Magna¡¯s longsword had closed in. He hurriedly defended himself with his greatsword and was knocked to the ground by the force of the impact. ¡°Cut, Caliburns!¡± A flash of light struck at Loren just as he rolled over. Seeing that he would not be able to avoid it in time if he were to stand up, Loren managed to dodge by making use of his momentum to roll away. ¡°You¡¯re good at dodging, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also a skill!¡± Magna may have said that to mock Loren for keeping running away, but in his opinion, evasion was a fine skill. No matter how powerful an attack was, it was meaningless if it couldn¡¯t hit. Magna¡¯s eyes narrowed at the ¡®Hit me if you can!¡¯ implied in Loren¡¯s comeback, but Loren couldn¡¯t afford to provoke him. In addition to the fact that most of his attacks were ineffective against Magna, even the powerful <> that Shayna unleashed was resisted. There was nothing he could do. Feeling like raving about the boost Magna had received, Loren searched for a way to break through the situation. ¡°If only we can distract him for a moment¡­¡± If he couldn¡¯t stand against Magna in a head-to-head fight, he could do nothing but try to create an opening and exploit it. However, even if he, who hadn¡¯t been able to get a solid hit in at all, did something, it was unlikely that it would be able to distract Magna. This guy had simply too great of an advantage in terms of strength. Loren suddenly thought of the black helmet that Lapis, who was watching the situation from nearby, was holding in her hand. It could be said that Magna¡¯s senses were mainly focused on the black helmet. Taking it away was his goal, and he was doing everything he could to achieve that goal. If Loren used the black helmet, he could attract Magna¡¯s attention. He considered wearing the helmet and making use of the benefits that Magna might be receiving from the armor set, but then he remembered Magna¡¯s insistence on ownership and decided against that option. There was a famous story about a certain holy sword that could only be used by the person who pulled it out of its pedestal. The holy sword recognized its owner and allowed only that person to use the power it possessed. If someone else were to hold it, it would be too heavy to lift, let alone swing, and its blade would be too dull to cut even a twig. It was possible that the armor set Magna wore was the same. In that case, wearing the helmet might lead to his own destruction. Wondering if there was any way to make use of the helmet¡¯s existence without wearing it, Loren immediately extended his left hand toward Lapis and shouted: ¡°Lapis! Give it to me!¡± Although the instruction was very vague, Lapis immediately understood what Loren was asking her to do and threw the black helmet in her hand at him. Seeing Magna¡¯s eyes following the helmet, Loren believed that Magna might do what he expected. He caught the helmet with his left hand. ¡°What the hell are you¡­¡± Manga¡¯s words were interrupted by Loren¡¯s next action. Seeing Magna¡¯s gaze turned towards him, Loren threw the helmet high in the air in his direction. Lapis¡¯ eyes and mouth widened in surprise as Loren threw something that was not to be taken in the direction of the one who wanted to take it. It was also a very unexpected move for Magna. Just as Lapis, his face twisted in surprise, but he was at a loss what to do next. He was carrying the longsword and shield in both hands. If he were to catch the helmet, he would have to let go of one, both if he wanted to make doubly sure that he could catch it. But he was also in the middle of a battle with Loren, and Magna was hesitant to let go of his longsword and shield. [If you can use such a powerful shield bash, why don¡¯t you just knock me down and then retrieve it] Crossed Loren¡¯s mind ¨C although they were fighting near the crater, they were still a good distance away from the lava-filled hole. If Magna failed to catch the helmet, it was unlikely that it would immediately sink into lava, and there would have been no problem if he were to leisurely pick it up after removing the obstacles. But Magna was so fixated on the helmet that he couldn¡¯t realize it. Aside from his skill and strength, he must be inexperienced. Loren concluded this as he gripped his greatsword with both hands and held it high above his head, then kicked at the ground and leapt up. His target was not Magna. Even though he was distracted by the helmet, if the blow had been aimed at him, Manga would probably take defensive action. However, Loren¡¯s target was the helmet that had been thrown up high and was now falling towards Magna. He leapt up and struck down at the helmet with his greatsword. The momentum of the strike accelerated the helmet, which was flying into the face of Magna, who was unable to grasp the situation. The thing he was after suddenly flew at his face with increased speed, and he couldn¡¯t repel it with his shield or flick it away with his sword. He took it full force on his forehead. ¡°Gah?!¡± There was a sound of metal colliding bone, and the pain on his forehead made Magna throw his head back and scream out. He reflexively dropped his longsword to cover his forehead with his right hand. On the other hand, the helmet bounced off Magna¡¯s forehead and flew right back towards Loren. ¡°Now!¡± Magna was too distracted by the pain to move, and Noel was occupied with fighting Gula. Considering the situation as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Loren did not let go of his greatsword to grab the helmet, but swung it sideways with all his might instead. ¡°Magna-sama! The helmet!¡± ¡°Ngh?!¡± Noel shouted a warning, and Magna looked up in pain, but by that time it was too late for either of them. The blade of the greatsword caught the helmet¡¯s center mid-air, giving Loren¡¯s hands a pleasant sensation, and Loren swung his sword mercilessly. The blow gave the helmet a horizontal momentum, and it flew straight towards the lava-filled crater. The distance and momentum were just right. After confirming that it would surely fall into lava, Loren shouted without paying Magna and Noel any attention: ¡°Our work is done! Let¡¯s get the hell out of here!¡± With those words, Loren¡¯s party left the crater behind. Magna¡¯s party ran after the helmet towards the crater¡¯s center, but the helmet span in the air before finally landing into the lava with a splash¡­ Though a bit close to the edge of the crater. Chapter 215 - Escape And Reunion Chapter 215 ¨C Escape And Reunion ¡°Damn it! I screwed up!¡± Loren was the first one to curse. He thought he had swung out his greatsword with all his power, but the blade didn¡¯t send the black helmet flying as far as he had expected. Both the sword and the helmet were not originally designed to be used in a batting, and he might have missed the center of the helmet because he was in a bit of a hurry¡­ Anyway, the black helmet did fall into the lava pool, but not very far from the edge. That didn¡¯t mean Loren could afford to give it another hit to push it down deeper, because Magna had abandoned their fight to run after the helmet. All he could do now was praying that Lapis would tell Gula to run, and that the helmet would break down despite falling near the edge of the lava pool. ¡°Damn you! You mongrel!¡± The next one to curse was Magna. He thought about chasing after Loren and dealing with him, but after weighing the merits of securing the black helmet against dealing with the person who attempted to destroy it, he decided that securing the helmet was of the higher priority. He spared a moment to shoot an angry glance at the back of the escaping Loren, but quickly turned his gaze to the helmet that was slowly sinking into lava and ran towards it. The thing was turning red, either because of the lava¡¯s reflection or it was heating up. ¡°I see! Since that helmet is part of a set, striking with it won¡¯t be blocked by other items of the same set, even if those items are infused with some sort of defensive techniques!¡± Lapis, who was running next to Loren, clapped her hands as she continued running, as if she was now convinced of her theory. Loren hadn¡¯t really thought about it that much, but that seemed to be the reason why the blow was able to strike Magna so cleanly. It was a good decision to not attack Magna when he was struck by the helmet then. But the question now was how to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. ¡°Just run! I can¡¯t deal with that bastard if he¡¯s angry!¡± ¡°That¡¯s so true!¡± It was not clear what effect it would have on the whole armor set if only one item was destroyed. But since Magna had been fighting without the helmet, it was reasonable to assume that he would still have the same strength as before. As Loren thought about this, he looked back over his shoulder and saw Magna stepping into the lava. The sight made his face twitch. But the full-body plate armor that Magna was wearing also protected his legs, and it seemed to have prevented the lava from affecting him. He pushed through the lava as if he were wading through water and grabbed the sinking helmet with his hand. ¡°No way¡­¡± ¡°Even though it¡¯s mostly thanks to the equipment, he doesn¡¯t seem to be human anymore.¡± ¡°Evil Gods don¡¯t do such things.¡± As the three of them uttered with a mix of dismay, fear and amazement, Magna brought the helmet before his eyes. Even though it was only for a short while, the helmet had almost sunk into lava, and heat had deformed it. There were even holes in some places. Regardless of its magical properties, it would be difficult to use it as a helmet. Manga seemed to have the same conclusion. He shot an angry glance at the running party. ¡°Damn! He looks at us!¡± ¡°He won¡¯t be able to catch up if he pursues us now, so¡­¡± As Lapis was speaking, she felt something few past her ear. It flew straight forward, then quivered and stabbed the ground ahead of them. It was an arrow. If they looked, they could see Magna giving instructions as he stepped out of the lava pool. Noel was holding her bow horizontally in a kneeling position, aiming at Loren¡¯s party¡¯s backs. Another arrow was fired. Grazed the side of Loren¡¯s jacket this time. Another hit Loren¡¯s shoulder, but was repelled with a solid sound. ¡°It hit Nigg!¡± ¡°It did, but its ability to repel it was amazing.¡± Whether the arrow did hit its target or not, elves¡¯ bows were very powerful, and it should be the same for dark elves¡¯ bows. But Nigg was able to successfully repel a direct hit from such a distance. It was commendable. Nig, which was still perching on Loren¡¯s shoulder, seemed to be quite startled. Although he didn¡¯t fall off the shoulder, he expressed his surprise by restlessly moving his legs. ¡°Don¡¯t tickle me!¡± ¡°You look like you¡¯re having fun¡­¡± Gula said to Loren, who was patting Nig¡¯s back to calm him down while running. It really was not a pleasant event for Nig, who had been shot with an arrow, nor for Loren, who was being roughed up by Nig at his shoulder. ¡°Stop talking nonsense and run!¡± A flash of light came for them as Loren shouted a warning. Magna had activated the sword called Caliburnus, but the flash of light unleashed hit the ground quite a distance away from Loren¡¯s party. It might be because of the distance, or because Magna had lost control in anger. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to take a hit like that.¡± ¡°Yeah. It seems to be more powerful because the guy is angry.¡± After running up the slope of the crater in a single bound, Loren¡¯s party quickly found themselves on the downward slope of the mountain. It wasn¡¯t as if all they had to do was run down the slope, because there was only one path they could take, and if they looked up, they could see that the thick black clouds were beginning to cover the sky again. Loren wondered who would suffer more if the lightning rained down on the mountain, them or Magna, and soon came to the conclusion that it would probably be them. If there was a numerical value for luck in this world, it was certain that Magna¡¯s value was higher than his own. ¡°Do we still have to run down?!¡± ¡°Would be nice if we can use the same path we came in on¡­¡± Lapis looked around quickly, but it was difficult to tell from the unchanging scenery whether the place where they left the crater was the same place where they entered. If it was the same place, they didn¡¯t have to go very far to find the entrance to the shortcut that led to Emery¡¯s nest. Otherwise, the dragon¡¯s nest would not necessarily be nearby. ¡°I can¡¯t tell when we¡¯re looking down like this!¡± ¡°There were no landmarks to be seen.¡± Lapis strained her eyes, but all she could see was the uneven rocky surface of the mountain. She had no idea whether the hole they had passed through was there or not. Next to Lapis, Gula also squinted at the mountain surface, but without finding any clues, she just let her gaze wander around aimlessly. ¡°Should we just give up and run?!¡± Half-resigned, Loren asked. He didn¡¯t think a human like him could find something that even a demon and an Evil God couldn¡¯t spot. Just then, an arrow from Noel pierce the ground under his feet with considerable force. And when Loren saw another flash of light come from the crater and penetrate the mountain face a short distance further away, he decided that there was no choice but to run down the slope of this mountain. The mountain face was too high and too steep to climb in a day or so, but he thought that if they could run down from the top, they might be able to save some time. However, this was based on the condition that they were able to run down the mountain. Loren was about to step forward, thinking that it would be less difficult than fighting Magna and Noel again, when a small sound reached his ears and stopped his feet. ¡°Pii! Pii! Pii!¡± It sounded like a small bird, but as far as Loren could tell, there were no birds living in this mountain. It could be said that it was inevitable since there was no food or trees to perch on, but as he listened more carefully, he saw something moving on the rocky surface. Looking more closely, he could see a creature poking its head out of the mountain face and making a beeping sound. It looked like a lizard, but had a much more angular silhouette. ¡°Is that Emery¡¯s child?¡± ¡°Eh? Where?¡± He took Lapis hand, who could hear the cries but couldn¡¯t find the source of the cries, and Gula¡¯s hand, who had given up looking for the source, and ran in the direction of the baby dragon, which had poked its head out of the ground and was still crying. After running down a short distance without caring about the arrows and flashing lights that were still flying behind them, they saw the direct passage to Emery¡¯s nest that they had used to get to the top of the mountain on the ground, where the baby dragon was peeking out. He immediately pushed Lapis and Gula inside. ¡°Loren, aren¡¯t you being too rough?!¡± ¡°Ah, where are you touching? If you touch me like that, I¡¯ll¡­¡± Gula squirmed by his side with a red face, while on Loren¡¯s forehead, a vein popped. ¡°Shut up! Get in, quick!¡± After shoving Lapis into the opening and kicking Gula¡¯s butt for talking about unnecessary things, Loren glanced at the top of the mountain to confirm that Magna¡¯s party had not yet come out. He went in himself, carrying the baby dragon that had told him of this path on his back. If they had been seen entering, Magna¡¯s group would have come after them immediately. But they hadn¡¯t, and without some kind of guide like the baby dragon¡¯s cry, Loren believed that it would take a long time to discover the opening to this path. Even if Magna was able to find him, his group would have to go straight to the nest of Emery, the Ancient Dragon, through this path. If Loren¡¯s party might have a chance, it was unlikely that Manga¡¯s party would be safe from a run-in with Emery. Loren had considered collapsing the entrance to the path to seal it up, but that would look more unnatural and make it easier to find. Even if Manga managed to find the entrance, it would have been too late, and they would be able to reach Emery¡¯s place. He hoped that when she found out about current situation, she could lend her wisdom to them or help him with various ideas. With that in mind, Loren left the entrance as it was and followed the other two while still carrying the baby dragon. Chapter 216 - Reporting After Descending From The Mountain Chapter 216 ¨C Reporting After Descending From The Mountain ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard~ Lapis-chan, you caught a really good boy, you know.¡± Judie, the Demon King of the West, said cheerfully with a big smile on her face. They were in a dining room in some corner of the Demon King¡¯s castle. It was almost nighttime, and the maids had been endlessly laying out what must be dinner on the table in front of Judie. The table was so huge that it made you wonder how many people it was supposed to serve. ¡°The tracking magic I used on the helmet was deactivated, so its original magical properties have probably vanished or broken. Even if it wasn¡¯t, from what I¡¯ve heard from Loren, it¡¯s apparently no longer in a condition to work properly.¡± Judie swirled the glass of wine a maid had poured for her, apparently in a good mood. In front of her was Lapis, who was slumping over the table, and Loren, who was slumping back into his chair. Both of them looked completely exhausted. They had been brought here before they even had time to take off their equipments, and their clothes were covered in dust, but Judie didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. At the crater, while running away from Magna, Loren¡¯s party fled through a secret passage to the nest of the Ancient Dragon Emery thanks to the help of a baby dragon. Upon arriving, they returned the whelp to Emery, who was upset that one of her children had disappeared, and explained the situation. Emery had been angry at the baby dragon for disappearing without permission, but after Loren¡¯s intercession that they might not have been able to come back to this place if it had not come, she relented. They weren¡¯t sure if it was another way for Emery to vent her anger or not, but she flew out to go beat up Manga¡¯s party, who were probably somewhere near the crater. Loren hadn¡¯t seen it, so he didn¡¯t know what kind of battle unfolded near the mountain summit. Anyway, they decided that the first priority was to rest their bodies, so they began discussing their next steps while resting inside the dragon¡¯s nest. Before coming to this mountain, Loren had thought that they should go back to the Demon King¡¯s castle once the commission was completed to give Lapis some time with her parents and other acquaintances, but he didn¡¯t even give it a thought now. Instead, he suggested evacuating to the Demon King¡¯s castle rather than going back into the human realm until the situation calmed down because it would be quite safe in this Demon King¡¯s territory. Lapis agreed, albeit reluctantly while Gula, perhaps unable to forget what the maids had done to her, objected until the end. In the end, they agreed that it would be better to leave after confirming their safety to some extent, rather than being pursued by Magna¡¯s party while traveling. When all that was left was to descend the mountain and return to the Demon King¡¯s castle, Emery returned from the mountain¡¯s summit and somewhat regretfully informed them that she had lost sight of a group that looked like Magna¡¯s party, even though she had chased them around the mountain. It seemed that Magna and Noel didn¡¯t want to mess with anAncient Dragon, so they just ran away. ¡°The man is a bother. He defended against my < >.¡± Emery had said in frustration, and Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ jaws had dropped in surprise. The dragon might have toned down her < > in consideration of their surroundings, but the fact that a human was able to defend against it was something neither Loren nor Lapis wanted to believe. It was probably the power of Magna¡¯s equipments; they could now imagine how powerful that armor set was and Lapis was very curious about where it had come from. ¡°How powerful are those items? Well, but they can be melted in the crater here, although we only tried with the helmet.¡± Loren wondered why such a powerful item would melt after being thrown into a crater, and Emery answered: ¡°Those kinds of equipment are usually only effective when worn. If no one was wearing it, it wouldn¡¯t have the proper effect.¡± Following this conversation, Loren¡¯s party were allowed to spend the night in Emery¡¯s nest again. Then, after being crushed by the baby dragons that didn¡¯t want to part with them, they descended the vertical hole leading to the nest by hanging on to Emery¡¯s legs just like they had done when they first came here. After saying goodbye to Emery, they descended down the mountain, being very careful not to run into Magna and the others. They then jumped into the carriage that they had used when we first arrived, which was hidden at the foot of the mountain, and from there they drove as far into the city as they could. When Lapis hid the carriage, she had prepared food and water for the horses so that they would not starve, even if it took her some more time. Thanks to that, the horses did not seem to be weakened, and the trip was smooth, though a bit strenuous. As a result, they traversed the distance in one day instead of one day and one night of rest, rushed directly to the Demon King¡¯s castle and asked the Demon King for temporary protection. ¡°We made an enemy. I must have lost my mind, making an enemy of a guy I don¡¯t think I can win against.¡± ¡°That sounds tough¡­¡± ¡°Just someone else¡¯s problem to you huh, motherfucker.¡± ¡°Loren, what bad language.¡± The Demon King said; she didn¡¯t seem to really care. Loren looked around wearily, then poked at Lapis¡¯ shoulder, who was sitting next to him and looked as tire as he was. ¡°What is it, Loren?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no sign of Gula. Did she run away because she thinks we¡¯ll tell her off for not killing that Dark Elf?¡± In the middle of the battle with Magna, the one who tried to stop Lapis from running towards Loren was a Dark Elf named Noel, and the one who was to deal with Noel was Gula. No matter how powerful or rare a Dark Elf was, Loren didn¡¯t believe she could stand a chance fighting Gula alone. He wondered if Gula had gone easy on her, or if she was blinded by the rarity of her race and didn¡¯t want to do her in. But Lapis disagreed. ¡°That Dark Elf, it¡¯ll be very difficult to take her down.¡± ¡°Even for you, Lapis?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re expecting from a priest like me, Loren.¡± Lapis declared something so blatantly questionable with such boldness that Loren looked at her in disbelief. But she continued in a very serious tone: ¡°That Dark Elf probably has some kind of contract with that Magna guy. Dark Elves are originally a bit more powerful than Elves, but it seems that she has some other modification added on top.¡± ¡°What the hell is that?¡± ¡°A master-servant contract, or a contract of servitude and such. The type where someone makes some kind of contract with someone else, and as long as the contract is fulfilled, they receive various benefits from each other.¡± ¡°I think the practice has already been lost in the human realm. If it was passed down, it would be used all the time. Humans.¡± Judie added. As a human himself, her remark made Loren¡¯s ears burn, but he could understand that if such a useful technique had been handed down, it would have been used more openly. ¡°A swordsman clad in black, who knows magic that was supposed to be lost. It¡¯s kind of intriguing, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I never want to see him again.¡± ¡°Mother has strange tastes. It¡¯s not the first time.¡± There seemed to be a certain amount of battle-crazed thinking going on in Jude¡¯s mind. She seemed quite intrigued by Magna, but to Loren and Lapidus, he was the kind of person they would never want to meet again. They just couldn¡¯t understand why Judie would be interested in such a person. Wondering if that was what made a Demon King a Demon King, Loren came back to his original question: ¡°So, where has Gula disappeared to?¡± ¡°Probably¡­ the maids¡¯ quarter or the longue.¡± ¡°Ah¡­. Well, I hope she won¡¯t die.¡± The curiosity of the maids had not yet waned. Judie spoke with a smile on his face as Loren prayed for the repose of Gura¡¯s soul, who had been taken away by her maids¡¯ curiosity. ¡°You deserve a lot of credit for your work this time. You¡¯ve managed to do such a rough job for a human being, Loren. You have a promising future.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to be grateful for that evaluation?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done a great service! Don¡¯t be so bitter.¡± ¡°Shut up. Instead of such kinds of praise, give me money, money.¡± The reward has already been handed over to them beforehand in the form of his greatsword. Loren said that just for the sake of saying, but for some reason, Judie¡¯s expression darkened. The sudden change made him wonder what had happened. He leaned forward as Judie told him in a somber voice: ¡°I¡¯ve got some bad news for you, Loren.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not something one can avoid hearing.¡± ¡°You engaged the Ancient Dragon on that mountain, right? Did you see one hell of a stray bullet when you were there?¡± And Loren remembered. One of Emery¡¯s < > had gone too far and caused damage where it landed, and she had asked Judie to mediate for that. When he recalled where it had landed, his face twitched. ¡°Now that you mention it, she said it hit somewhere near the Great Demon King¡¯s castle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That one shot blew away a whole corner of the castle. It made Great Demon King-sama furious. Great Demon King-sama wants both the dragon and you, Loren, to compensate.¡± ¡°Why me?!¡± Loren slammed the table, thinking it was unreasonable, and Judie began to explain with a troubled look: ¡°Great Demon King-sama said that both sides are to blame. It¡¯s true that the dragon¡¯s < > was the direct cause, but the one who made her breathe is also to blame.¡± ¡°That happened while we were working on your commission, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. But I didn¡¯t ask you to fight the dragon.¡± Judie calmly said, and Loren had no words to reply. It was true that the request was only to throw the helmet into the crater; there were no instructions regarding the process. In such cases, Loren¡¯s party, who received the request, would certainly be responsible for the process. The Great Demon King¡¯s argument was not unreasonable. ¡°I think the client is also responsible, so I responded to Great Demon King-sama¡¯s request for compensation myself. Are you going to claim more cash from me on top of that?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°By the way, the amount I paid to Great Demon King-sama. I¡¯m not going to ask you to pay back all of it or when you¡¯re going to pay it back, but are you going to shirk your debt?¡± As Judie stared him down, Loren shook his head as he felt the sweat running down his forehead and back. It was a bit vague, but Loren couldn¡¯t say he had nothing to do about the damage occured while he was carrying out the work he was asked to do, even with all his experience as a mercenary. But he also couldn¡¯t guess whether the compensation Judie made to the Great Demon King was something he could really afford. ¡°I can tell you how much if you want to know. Do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I am grateful that you are working with my Lapis-chan, you know? That¡¯s why, as I said before, I won¡¯t demand full or immediate repayment. It¡¯s fine as long as you return a reasonable amount when you can afford it.¡± Judie said with a genuinely happy smile, and Loren slumped back into the chair again, speechless. At this point, he did not know how far Judie would go to claim compensation from him, but he was not the kind of person who could shirk his debts. Looking up at the ceiling. he wondered why his debts just kept increasing as he worked. ¡°Also, Great Demon King-sama seems to have taken a bit of an interest in you. You¡¯ll probably be summoned sooner or later. By the way, if you are to be married into our family, going to be my son-in-law, your debt can be written off as dowry, so please think about it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to think about it¡­ I want to go back to Kapha.¡± ¡°Oh well. I also think you should go back there once. You need to find Lapis-chan¡¯s legs and eyes, and you¡¯re not very experienced yet. I¡¯ll take care of the arrangements there for you, so you can take it easy for a while.¡± The only thought that occupied his mind was how did this happen, but Loren wanted to stop thinking and rest for now. The thought would return to him later anyway, but being able to escape from it for a short while was still nice. Looking over, Loren saw that Lapis was still slumping on the table. She glanced at him for a moment, and for some reason, smiled a happy smile. Was it relief that they had somehow managed to complete their commission peacefully this time, or was it just a reaction to the fact that Loren was now burdened with a debt that was an order of magnitude greater than anything he had ever had before, one that he would not be able to pay it back anytime soon? Without knowing the reason behind Lapis¡¯ smile, Loren looked up at the ceiling again with the corners of his mouth turned down, and let out a long breath. Chapter 217 - A Proposal Prompted by Misinformation Chapter 217 ¨C A Proposal Prompted by Misinformation There was a rumor that the Demon King¡¯s castle had been destroyed. Loren wondered where the rumor had come from, but it seemed that a party of silver rank adventurers who had infiltrated the demon territory had managed to get close to one of the Demon King¡¯s castles, where they had witnessed a flash of light coming from far away and striking the castle, causing massive destruction. Loren admired them for being able to sneak into such a place ¨C how did they even do that? ¨C but he was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t a Demon King¡¯s castle, but the castle of the Great Demon King who controlled several Demon Kings, and the blow that destroyed it must have been the Breath of an Ancient Dragon living quite a distance away. Of course, there was no way Loren could tell anyone about this. If he did, people would ask him how he knew such things, and if he were to answer honestly, he would have to tell them about his relationship with Judie, one of the Demon Kings, and Emery, the Ancient Dragon. Loren knew that if he shared this story, it would be laughed at as idle gossip, but if someone were to believe it, he would be in trouble. The information that the castle was destroyed was also reported to the Adventurer Guild as unconfirmed intel, and it would take an enormous amount of time and effort to corroborate it. Loren tilted the glass of liquor in his hand and thought that it should be left alone. He was currently in the usual dining hall attached to Kapha¡¯s Adventurer Guild. He was enjoying some alcohol for the evening when he had heard about the rumor, and he wondered how he had even managed to get back to Kapha alive. He had entered the demon territory to accompany Lapis on a trip back to her home, as well as to gather some intel for a job on the side, but what he encountered there was not something an iron rank adventurer would normally encounter. At the very least, he never expected to come face to face with a Demon King, nor dreamed of an encounter with a dragon, the most powerful demon beast in the world, not to mention an Ancient Dragon, which was considered to be the most powerful of all dragons. On the way, a dwarven village was destroyed, then he received a request from the Demon King for some reason, and as a result of that request, he got tangled with a Dark Elf and incurred the grudge of a swordsman clad in black named Magna, who was more powerful than Loren. It was hectic, but the origin of the greatsword Loren had been using was now known, and the sword¡¯s owner had officially given it to him. The problem was that Loren was now in debt to the Demon King, but he had resigned himself to the fact that it was the result of force majeure. Besides, he thought it was a big feat that he was able to survive two encounters with the Demon King and the Ancient Dragon, beings that people normally wouldn¡¯t survive encountering. Loren had always thought that there were a few silver rank adventurers who had experienced something like this, but the truth was that almost no gold rank adventurers had such an experience. The only person who didn¡¯t know that fact was Loren himself, and he simply thought of his experience as a valuable one. ¡°Oh, Loren, you¡¯re here.¡± Looking in the direction of the voice, Loren saw Lapis, the priest who was his partner, approaching with a wave of her hand. As he watched the girl with her black hair tied up in a ponytail order a light meal and a drink from a passing waitress, Loren recalled what had happened on their way back from the demon territory. After carrying out a request from a Demon King and probably got themselves into a feud with Magna, they stayed for a while in the castle of Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and a Demon King. After a few days had passed, they decided to return to the human realm, thinking that the heat had cooled down. Loren had wondered about how they would get through the dwarven tunnels they had used to come here, but thanks to Judie getting some demon soldiers to escort them and the spider Nigg clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, they were able to pass through without much trouble. The demon race was more powerful than the human race, and being trained as soldiers, the escorts Judie arranged for them were strong enough to keep most monsters at bay. And by following the directions that Nigg gave them, they didn¡¯t get lost in the tunnels. There was still a dwarven village at the end of the tunnel, even though Ritz and his party were already gone. To avoid the troubles that would occur if the demons showed up, they parted ways with the soldiers before leaving the tunnel, then took the same vehicle they had used on the way here to get back to Lapis¡¯ base underneath the desert sands. There, they retrieved the wagons and horses that had been enclosed in ice, and it took them another three days to return to the city of Kapha. Loren was curious as to how they were going to get the wagons out of the base, considering it was under the sand, but what Lapis did was to open the door to a room that led to the outside of the base and shot some water magic that Loren did not know on the large amount of sand that was rushing in. While blowing away the sand, the magic also created a path with the wet sand to allow a carriage to drive through. It was a blatant, yet powerful move. Once dried, the sand would fill up the path again, making it unrecognizable from the outside. But if Lapis did this, every time she came and went, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if someone started questioning it. Loren asked her about it, and she nodded. ¡°If this happens every time, yes. But I don¡¯t usually bring my carriage in, so I can sneak in and out more easily since it¡¯s just me.¡± Loren could only reply with an ¡®I see¡¯. And so, he managed to return to Kapha. But now, before he had a chance to catch his breath, he had come face to face with Lapis, and he braced himself for what he would have to do next. As Lapis waited anxiously for the waitress to bring her drinks and food, she noticed that Loren was somewhat nervous and tilted her head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I was just wondering what you¡¯re planning to do next.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like doing anything for the time being.¡± Lapis replied with an air of tiredness. It was somewhat surprising to Loren. He had thought that she sat down here to talk about where she would go next, but she said that she had no intention of doing so. He was confused. ¡°It¡¯s good to be back in my parents¡¯ house for the first time in a while, but a lot has happened¡­ And it hasn¡¯t been that long since we came back to this city, has it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± ¡°Adventurers need to take a break too, don¡¯t you think? I think that if you¡¯ve been working for a while, you need to take a break.¡± Loren wasn¡¯t sure why, but for some reason, he felt a sense of caution welling up from the bottom of his heart at Lapis¡¯ perfectly honest opinion. It was not like Lapis was saying anything that should make him wary. Loren was well aware of this, but he was still unable to erase the wariness he was feeling at the unexpected turn of events. ¡°I agree that a break is necessary. But there¡¯s something to do first, you know? My wallet is not in the condition for a vacation.¡± The reward for the job to gather intel from the demon territory had been paid. Loren had left the report to Lapis, as he could not determine which information was safe to give to the Adventurer Guild and which was not. As if she had known of his intention beforehand, Lapis compiled a report on the way back to Kapha and submitted it to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild later. The commission was considered to have been carried out then, and their party received their reward. But it was not a large sum of money, and Loren¡¯s financial situation was tight. Although he wasn¡¯t urged to return the money, the job had made him to be in debt not only to Lapis but also to Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and a Demon King. He didn¡¯t have to pay the entire amount, just a third of the original sum, but it was still a tremendous amount. The reason for the one-third was because Loren¡¯s party consisted of three people: Loren himself, Lapis, and another woman, Gula, who was not here at the moment. Judie paid off Lapis¡¯ debt for her as her mother, and Gula immediately paid hers, although he didn¡¯t know how. ¡®It¡¯s horrible to owe a Demon King. It should be paid as soon as possible.¡¯ ¨C that was what she said. When Loren asked her where the hell she got the money from, her answer was vague: ¡®No, you see, even though we¡¯ve become like this, we are still Evil Gods. You¡¯ve never heard of an Evil God being in need of money, right?¡¯ ¡®Yeah, so?¡¯ ¡®We make use of Greed and Lust and such.¡¯ Although Gula looked like a mere human, she was actually a being that was called an Evil God in the olden times. She was the Evil God of Gluttony. The Evil Gods that their party had released or captured were managed by her, and she currently had three Evil Gods in her hands: Sloth, Greed, and Lust. It seemed that Gula had been doing something with the Evil Gods of Greed and Lust, and used the proceeds to pay off the debt to the Demon King. Loren wanted to ask her about what she was making them do, but Gula, knowing that he would be questioned, had disappeared since that day. Loren didn¡¯t feel like looking for her and left her alone, but he was worried that he might regret it one day. ¡°Loren? Are you listening to me?¡± He had been lost in thoughts when he was brought back by the voice of Lapis calling him, and he met Lapis¡¯ gaze without letting his eyes wander anywhere. ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t listening.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to be honest, but it¡¯s not good to be absent-minded.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. So, what were you saying?¡± Thinking that it was necessary to hear the part he didn¡¯t catch, Loren asked Lapis to repeat it. She did with a dissatisfied look on her face. ¡°In order not to¡­ burden your pocket, I was planning to invite you on vacation this time.¡± ¡°I was about to say that I didn¡¯t expect this.¡± ¡°Honesty is a good thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Avoiding Loren¡¯s gaze, which was asking for confirmation, Lapis answered with a wry smile, and he didn¡¯t press her further. He hadn¡¯t been working single-mindedly since resigning as a mercenary and becoming an adventurer, but he also hadn¡¯t taken a real vacation. Thinking that it would be nice to take a break about now, he vaguely nodded to Lapis, who was waiting for his answer with shining eyes. Chapter 218: Reunion After Meeting Chapter 218: Reunion After Meeting Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Vacation? For adventurers? Adventurers can take time off? That¡¯s neat.¡± When Gula came to the dining room attached to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild when Loren and Lapis were chatting. Lapis had already finished the meal she ordered and was beginning to enjoy her after-dinner tea. Meanwhile, Loren was sipping a glass of cheap wine after finishing his meal, but he seemed to be doing it at a pretty fast pace. He immediately asked the waitress for a few more drinks after he finished that one. ¡°There¡¯s no profession that doesn¡¯t have a vacation, right?¡± Loren said. He didn¡¯t understand why Gula thought one vacation was that nice, but Gula, who was sitting next to Lapis, clucked her tongue and waved her index finger at him. ¡°Naive, so naive, Loren. There are many professions in the world where you can¡¯t even get a day off.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t imagine what she was talking about. If he had to speak from experience, mercenaries were almost always on vacation when there was no war, and Lapis said that the adventurer business he was currently involved in was the kind of business where taking a vacation was not a problem. He had no experiences about other businesses, but it seemed to him that most of the stores he had been to in his life, whether large or small, had proper days off. From dining halls, grocery stores, weapon and armor stores, tool shops, transportation businesses, to hospitals. ¡°Is there such a business that doesn¡¯t have days off?¡± ¡°As far as I can remember, there¡¯s the mortician, priests, and coffin makers¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear about it. When was it anyway?¡± Gula looked dissatisfied with Loren for interrupting the disturbing topic that had suddenly popped up, but she quickly regained her mood and turned to Lapis. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not going on vacation in Kapha, are you?¡± ¡°Of course not. If you¡¯re going to take a vacation, it has to be somewhere worthy.¡± Lapis was trying to convince him, but Loren had no idea where a place worthy of a vacation could be. If he had to pick one¡­ The word ¡®graveyard¡¯ came to his mind, but he hastily dismissed it, thinking that he would be no different from Gula. ¡°Do you have a pick already?¡± Gula asked Lapis, who had no idea about the thoughts going on in Loren¡¯s mind, and she took out some papers from the breast of her priest robe and laid them out on the table. As he looked over at the papers Lapis was arranging, he saw that they had something seemed like city names and some kind of sales pitch written on them. ¡°I went to the library to look up some information about cities that might be good places to take a vacation at.¡± Loren knew that books were very expensive items. Not only because of the time it took to write them, but also because of the time it took to copy them for distribution. In addition, if you could read and write, it meant that you had received a certain level of education. It was not something everyone could do, so it took a lot of effort to secure people who could. The time and effort it took to produce something, the higher its price would be; it made senses to Loren that the price of a book would be high. There was no way such an expensive thing could be taken out of the library, so if someone wanted to take some information outside, they would naturally have to transcribe the parts you needed like Lapis did. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right for me to make the choice on my own, so I think I¡¯d ask for your opinions.¡± ¡°What? You want me to join you?¡± Gula was surprised, and Lapis nodded at her with a look that seemed to say ¡®What are you surprised about?¡¯ ¡°No, I mean, isn¡¯t this like a private something for Loren and you, Lapis-chan?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not? It¡¯s really just a vacation for our party.¡± Lapis replied with a smile, but Loren didn¡¯t miss the fact that she looked taken aback for a moment. She had probably realized that she could do that, and after the realization, she wanted to. But at the same time, she couldn¡¯t leave Gula out of the picture now after she had brought it up. If Lapis did ask Gula to not join them, Loren would be very disappointed and might reject the vacation. She was probably aware of this, and had decided to go ahead with the original plan. This way of thinking of her was better for Loren. ¡°So, what kind of place do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve picked out some places where we can rest our bodies and eat good food.¡± As he listened to Lapis¡¯ explanation, Loren picked up a sheet of paper on the table and read the information on it. It did indeed look to be a place like she had mentioned. Basically, many of the towns were located in remote areas away from the capitals of each country. This was because Lapis believed that rural areas were more suitable for resting than urban areas. It was true that a peaceful and uncrowded remote place is better for resting than a capital city full of people and stone buildings. Furthermore, Lapis seemed to have selected towns that were near lakes, rivers, oceans, or mountains. Loren thought that it was probably because such places had good food, like local specialties. Towns in the middle of the countryside may also have good food, but if they wanted to eat something a little more unusual, they would choose such places. ¡°If I¡¯m going to go anywhere, I¡¯d rather go somewhere I wouldn¡¯t normally go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but if it¡¯s too far away, you¡¯ll get tired.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s a problem, isn¡¯t it?¡± Considering that the means of transportation is either on foot or in a carriage, it would be unreasonable to choose a city in the northeast of the continent while Kapha was in the southwest. A place too close to the city would be boring, but if they had to travel to the other side of the continent, their bodies would be exhausted just by going back and forth. ¡°Then we can only go to the western or southern part of the continent at most.¡± It would only take them a few days of riding in a carriage to get there, Loren thought. When they were going to the demon realm, it would have taken them seven or eight days if they followed the usual router. A few days would be tolerable. ¡°Well, you¡¯re right¡­¡± Lapis was about to pick up a piece of paper from the table that contained the information of a place that would meet Loren¡¯s requirements, but her movement was suddenly interrupted by a voice coming from the side. ¡°Oh, long time no see. What are you discussing?¡± It was a young man who spoke. Looking over, Loren saw a young red-headed man standing there, dressed in leather armor reinforced with sheet metal all around. It was tailored in such a way that everyone could tell at a glance that it must be quite expensive. Loren didn¡¯t recognize his kit, but his face was somewhat familiar. Before he could even recall who the man was, Lapis called out his name in a slightly displeased voice. ¡°Klaus?¡± ¡°I¡¯m honored that you remember me, Lapis.¡± Klaus said with a smile. He was an iron rank adventurer swordsman with whom they had worked several times before. Klaus was an excellent adventurer with a rare blessing. When they first met him, he seemed like an intolerable person, but as they worked together, his speech and conduct changed, and he came to respect Loren¡¯s party to a certain extent. He seemed to be supported by the government because of his excellence, and was the leader of a party with three women. At that thought, Loren suddenly looked back at himself and realized that his party was also made up of only women, and he wondered if he should force a man to join their party to make it clear that he was different. ¡°That girl over there, it¡¯s the first time we meet, isn¡¯t it? I see, Loren¡¯s party has become quite glamorous.¡± In Loren¡¯s opinion, this adventurer named Klaus had a fatal flaw: he was an unparalleled womanizer. Loren was sure that he would someday lose his life because of it, but it seemed that it wasn¡¯t something that could be cured with just a little advice. Also, Loren believed that he should live his life as he liked. It seemed that Klaus immediately had his eyes on Gula. He gave her a pretentious bow with a refreshing smile on his well-featured face. ¡°Are you alone today, Klaus? Have they finally had enough of you?¡± Lapis smiled and said without bothering to conceal the poison in her words. But Klaus acted as if he didn¡¯t notice and answered with a cheerful smile while scratching his head. ¡°No, it can¡¯t be, can it?¡± ¡°The patience of those three is worthy of special mention.¡± The knight, the priest, and the sorceress that were supposed to follow Klaas as his companions seemed to still be following him and not discouraged by his excessive womanizing at all. ¡®If it were me and Loren was like that, I would have gone home immediately¡¯, Lapis grumbled. Loren shot her a warning glance; he thought it wasn¡¯t right to be too harsh with the guy. Klaus pulled a chair over to sit at Loren¡¯s party¡¯s table even though he wasn¡¯t invited to and asked in as calm a voice as possible: ¡°So, what brings you out here?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re wondering where we¡¯re going to spend our vacation.¡± Loren considered adding that they were unsure but not troubled about it, but then he thought it would not be worth the trouble to correct it, so he closed his mouth, then reopened it to speak of something else: You must have some good information about such places?¡± ¡°Of course. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d just sit down here without a second thought.¡± If the story involved a woman, Klaus was the kind of person who would most likely come out of nowhere without a second thought, but he was also the kind of person who can be reliable in other cases. In addition, unlike Loren, Klaus routinely asked women out, so it was not surprising that he had a better idea of where to enjoy his vacation than Loren did. ¡°I¡¯m not paying for information.¡± It was a preamble that could be called stingy. However, Loren thought that he had to be clear about that, and Klaus replied with a smile that was as fresh as ever. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not in the business of getting paid for this kind of information.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s free, we¡¯ll listen, but what kind of information do you have?¡± Loren asked. Klaas looked at the papers that Lapis had laid out on the table, and after a while, he took up one and spread it out in front of Loren. ¡°I recommend this place. Karlovy, a city of food and hot water in the southern part of the continent. If you want to rest your body, eat delicious food, and refresh your body and soul, there is no better place than here.¡± The way Klaus said it as if singing was somewhat scandalous, but the paper spread out in front of him certainly said so, and it seemed to be solid information to some extent. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad choice, is it? It¡¯s definitely a nice place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fascinated by the idea of a food town, you know.¡± Lapis seemed to find Klaus¡¯ recommendation a bit suspicious like Loren did, but the book did say the same thing, so she didn¡¯t intend to outright deny it. Meanwhile, Gula¡¯s face became somewhat enraptured at the mere mention of a food town. ¡°In fact, we¡¯re going there to rest ourselves. If we go together, we can save on carriage fees, and I can show you around if you like.¡± ¡°So, what are you really up to?¡± Loren¡¯s words hinted of suspicion, and Klaus¡¯ smile froze on his face. He was well aware of the danger of hiding things from Loren. His face suddenly darkened, and he began to confess in a whisper. ¡°Well, I made Ange and the others angry¡­ They want a vacation as compensation¡­ But if it¡¯s only me¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I see. You don¡¯t have to tell anyone.¡± Klaus didn¡¯t want to sleep on a bed of nails, so he wanted to increase the number of companions so that he could have some room to escape. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then of course it¡¯ll also be beneficial to us, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That, yes¡­ My wallet will give a certain amount of thanks¡­¡± ¡®He wasn¡¯t a bad guy¡¯, Loren thought as he looked at a deflated Klaus. That was why the girls in his party didn¡¯t give up on him and still continued to be his partners. Still, sometimes they may feel that he needed to be punished, and it seemed that now was the time. ¡°Of course, we won¡¯t do anything to interfere with your vacation. I was wondering if you could come along as a favor.¡± Lapis was taken aback by Klaus¡¯ honesty, but told Loren that she didn¡¯t oppose it. Gula, who didn¡¯t know Klaus very well, said she didn¡¯t care about anything else as long as they could go to the food city. If he answered immediately, Klaus would not be grateful. Loren thought that he would have to teach the guy a little lesson by keeping him on his toes for a while, so he avoided giving him an answer at this moment and told Klaus, who was looking at him as if he was relying on him, in a tone that seemed like a refusal: ¡°Well, let me think about it. I¡¯ve got my own situation to consider too.¡± Chapter 219: Secret Talks and Acceptance Chapter 219: Secret Talks and Acceptance Proofreader: Xemul Having thought about it, Klaus¡¯s offer was appealing in its own way. First of all, it was very attractive to be able to rely on not only Lapis¡¯ wallet but also a part of Klaus¡¯ wallet for funds. Furthermore, for those who were not familiar with such places like Loren¡¯s party, the information provided by Klaus, who seemed to be familiar with the area, would be quite useful once they arrived there. If the one who made the proposal wasn¡¯t Klaus, Loren would have jumped at the chance. So he sent Klaus back first, then told Lapis and Gula that he was going to accept the offer. They called it a day after that. The next day, Loren was visited by a member of Klaus¡¯ party, the sorceress named Ange, at the inn where he usually stayed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Klaus bothering you.¡± They were in the dining room on the first floor of the inn. Loren normally didn¡¯t eat here. Ange seemed to shrunk into herself on her chair in apology. Sitting across her, Loren waved his hand to indicate that he wasn¡¯t bothered. ¡°If he was, I would have said no right then and there.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m worried that we might interfere with your vacation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. On the contrary, don¡¯t you mind that he would cover for us with his wallet?¡± He was told that the money would come from Klaus¡¯ personal fund, so he wouldn¡¯t be touching the party¡¯s funds. Still, Loren was worried that Klaus¡¯ party members wouldn¡¯t be feel good about their leader¡¯s wallet becoming lighter. However, Ange¡¯s reaction was the exact opposite of what he expected. ¡°We don¡¯t mind. We¡¯d rather you squeeze him dry for us.¡± Ange said, that Klaus had more than enough money in his wallet and he was able to spend it on women everywhere. If his funds were reduced down to the point where he couldn¡¯t do that, his womanizing habits would probably die down for a while. ¡°And¡­ The atmosphere of the party is indeed a bit bad. It¡¯s supposed to be a recess for us to reconcile, but it was just us, we couldn¡¯t help but¡­¡± Loren could understand what Ange was saying. No matter how much they wanted to make up, if the parties involved acted alone, the atmosphere would inevitably deteriorate and become strange. It was understandable that Ange wished for Loren¡¯s party to accompany them, since the atmosphere could be expected to improve somewhat by bringing in someone completely unrelated to the situation. ¡°Klaus¡¯ womanizing might also be lessened by your presence, Loren.¡± ¡°I think I can play the role of holding his scruff.¡± ¡°That¡­ I apologize for asking so much from you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know each other. It wouldn¡¯t even interfere with my vacation.¡± If it had been a vacation with Lapis only, Loren would have thought twice before agreeing, yet since this was a vacation for a party, Gula was coming along. This meant that Loren had to plan spending a certain amount of effort to hold Gula¡¯s scruff anyway, adding Klaus wouldn¡¯t make much difference. If Lapis heard about this, she might laugh and tell him that he was such a hard worker, but he thought that it would be okay to spend that much effort. ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take the offer. I considered saying yes as soon as I heard about it from Klaus last night, but I didn¡¯t want to give him relief with a quick answer.¡± Wondering if he was being a little mean, Loren smiled wryly. But Ange kept a serious face and politely bowed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯re in your debt.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re going to be taking care of us too, so let¡¯s consider us equal.¡± Loren smiled wryly at Ange, who shrank even more in shame. But his face suddenly became serious again, and he asked her: ¡°By the way, what do you actually think of Klaus?¡± ¡°That, eh¡­ well.¡± ¡°Well, I can kind of tell by your reaction. I¡¯m just curious, have you ever thought about putting Klaus in debt to restrain his actions?¡± ¡°A-a debt?! No, that¡¯s going too far¡­¡± Ange started to shake her head and hands in panic, and Loren asked her again. ¡°How would you feel if your parents saddled Klaus with a ridiculous amount of debt?¡± ¡°Uhm, Loren? What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m not sure how to say this, but it seems like a very real question.¡± Ange asked with some concerns, and with a slightly stiff expression, Loren pondered for a moment what he should say to her. In the end, he shook his head and let out a deep breath. ¡°Nah¡­ I just said something weird. Please forget it.¡± ¡°H-ha¡­¡± Loren suddenly wondered what his situation would look like to a normal woman, so he took the opportunity to ask Ange about it. But just from her reaction, he could see that it was an abnormal situation. But Ange was just a human being, while Lapis was a demon. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if there was a difference in sensitivity, and Loren thought that if he ever had a chance to talk with a regular demon, he might ask her something similar. After such an exchange, Loren went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and contacted Klaus through the Guild. He could have asked Ange for his whereabouts and contact information, but he thought he shouldn¡¯t let Klaus know that Ange had come to ask him to accept Klaus¡¯ offer. ¡°She¡¯s too good for you, isn¡¯t she¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Loren told Klaus, who had come to see him. But when Klaus tilted his head in puzzle and asked what he meant, Loren said it was nothing and then cut to the chase. ¡°Your proposal last night. I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯ve saved me.¡± His face suddenly lit up, Klaus leaned forward in excitement. Loren held up a hand to stop him. He looked into his eyes and continued. ¡°Just that, it¡¯s also a vacation for us. Don¡¯t get your hopes up too much. Handle it yourself as much as you can.¡± ¡°That¡­ I¡¯ll try to.¡± Loren didn¡¯t want to be overly optimistic, but he believed that a positive attitude is a good thing, no matter what the circumstances. Had Klaus been a bit tamer in his behavior, he would have been a very nice young man. Loren wondered if there was really nothing to be done about his womanizing habits. But then, if there was something to be done, the girls in his party would have done it already. The word ¡®incurable¡¯ somehow crossed his mind. ¡°We¡¯ll also pay, but be prepared for some unrestrained gouging.¡± Loren hesitated for a moment when he said they would pay. After all, it was Lapis, not Loren, who was going to pay. He didn¡¯t like the idea of talking about someone else¡¯s wallet as if it were his own, But Klaus seemed to have taken Loren¡¯s momentary hesitation as something else. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m just reaping what I sow. Don¡¯t be reserved about it.¡± Klaus declared decisively. Loren couldn¡¯t help but grumble about Klaus¡¯s attitude, which could be considered admirable if only he didn¡¯t turn a blind eye to the context and cause. ¡°Can¡¯t you use that uprightness in other things?¡± He knew that the guy was not a bad person. Loren thought that if he liked women so much, he should appeal to their sincerity and innocence rather than just indiscriminately asking them out, but Klaus had a different opinion. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to pick the flowers right in front of you?¡± ¡°You should be satisfied with the flowers you have.¡± ¡®You have at least three different kinds of flowers on hand¡¯, Loren thought. But Klaus suddenly widened his eyes and shouted. ¡°You want me to die, Loren?!¡± Loren¡¯s shoulder twitched at the overly exaggerated expression, but he managed to hold it together with his willpower and fought back the urge to punch him before opening his mouth. ¡°If you¡¯re going to die because of something like that, then go ahead and die!¡± Loren said in a rough voice with clenched fists, and Klaus hurriedly distanced himself from him. ¡®This might really be an incurable disease¡¯, Loren thought as he unclenched his fist and asked Klaus with a sigh. ¡°So, when are we leaving?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to arrange for a carriage, so how about tomorrow afternoon?¡± Even though it was a sight-seeing trip, it was not so different from traveling for work. They had to buy all the supplies needed to get around, and that would take some time. ¡°Not bad.¡± Loren assumed that if they had that much time, they would be able to finish the necessary preparation. In this case, the biggest problem would be Loren not having much cash in his pocket, and he would have to ask Lapis to take care of what was lacking, which made him feel a little gloomy. ¡°Then let¡¯s agree so. I¡¯m going to talk to my partners. Can you talk to the members of your party?¡± ¡°Oh, okay. We¡¯ll meet at the east gate of the city, alright?¡± This time, the destination was a city straight east of Kapah, and there was no better place to meet than there. Klaus nodded to Loren. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s meet there. So, tomorrow afternoon, around the first bel, at the east gate.¡± ¡°Okay. Is there anything I need to prepare?¡± Loren didn¡¯t know much about the city they were going to. Or rather, he didn¡¯t know anything at all. He thought it would be best to ask Klaus, who had suggested it, for such information, and Klaus pondered the question for a while. ¡°As long as you have what you need for a normal trip, you should be fine. Ah, you might want to prepare a large cloth and bathrobe. It¡¯s not impossible to get them over there, but you¡¯re a big guy, so they might not have the right size, and everything is expensive over there.¡± ¡°Bathrobe?¡± Loren asked about the unfamiliar word. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re the type who likes to be nude? Well, that has its own charm, I guess.¡± ¡°What the hell is that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what a bathrobe is? Is it because you¡¯re not familiar with intimacy? Karlovy is a city of food and hot springs, famous for its delicious food and splendid hot springs.¡± Loren had heard of hot springs before. Apparently, there were places where water boiled naturally, and the water was used as a bath. It was not forbidden to take a bath in the nude, but those who didn¡¯t like to expose their skin to the public wear a bathrobe as bathing clothes, Klaus said. ¡°Someone as big as you might not be able to fit into a ready-made bathrobe, so you¡¯d better hurry up and have one made if you need one.¡± Loren¡¯s impression of what Klaus had just told him was that, it was too much trouble. It was a luxury to soak your body in a lot of hot water to wash it, but he couldn¡¯t help but felt that it was a waste of money to make clothes specifically for this purpose. Loren wondered if he had chosen the wrong destination. But since Gula and Lapis were reasonably keen on the idea, it seemed immature to change the destination now. So, he began to think about how much cash he had in his wallet. Chapter 220: Departing From The East Gate Chapter 220: Departing From The East Gate Proofreader: Xemul The next day, Loren¡¯s party was by the east gate of Kapha when the first afternoon bell rang. They dressed as usual and were armed, but their luggage seemed to be a little bulkier than usual. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about the bathrobe thing at all.¡± It was Lapis who said this. Until yesterday, when Loren told her about the bathrobe preparations that Klaus had told him, she hadn¡¯t thought about it at all, and the two of them had to make a quick trip to the clothing stores in Kapha. But almost no one took baths in Kapha, so there was no way the stores would have bathrobes in stock; the store had to quickly take their measurements and make them right there. Loren thought it would be too late to have them made now, but bathrobes were made of non-transparent white cloth, and the structure was simple enough: just hanging over the shoulders and tied at the waist with a string, so it took only about half a day from measurement to completion. ¡°They¡¯re a bit expensive though.¡± Lapis paid some more money to the store to have the work done in a short time and with the highest priority. Loren tilted his head and wondered if it was necessary to go that far, but from Lapis¡¯ point of view, it seemed to be very important. ¡°I can¡¯t expose my skin to complete strangers.¡± She said, but a question suddenly came to Loren¡¯s mind. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a bath in your parents¡¯ house?¡± From all the talks about preparing bathrobes and exposing skin, it seemed to Loren that Lapis wasn¡¯t accustomed to taking baths, so he decided to ask such a question. But Lapis replied with a puzzled expression: ¡°Of course there was?¡± ¡°Is that so? But it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re used to going in there though, does it?¡± It was impossible to say out loud, but Lapis¡¯ family home is a huge Demon King¡¯s castle. It was so large that it would not be surprising if there were not one or two baths, but ten or twenty. When Loren asked if she was used to taking baths, Lapis answered with a slight blush on her face. ¡°I have taken baths before, but never with anyone else. So, of course, there was no such thing as being seen by someone while bathing.¡± ¡°In the town we¡¯re going to, the baths are separated for men and women, right?¡± From Lapis¡¯ reaction, it seemed as if they were going to take mixed baths, and Loren confirmed it just in case. When he was a mercenary, Loren used to clean his body only by wiping it down with a cloth soaked in hot water or taking a dip in a lake or river. But even in such cases, a certain degree of gender separation existed as a matter of course. Loren had thought that this was a common practice, but looking at Lapis¡¯ shyness, it didn¡¯t seem as if there would be any such division. ¡°Of course! If they were mixed baths, I would definitely refuse to use them!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trust your words then. But if they¡¯re divided by gender, doesn¡¯t that mean that only people of the same sex can see you? Then it¡¯s not a big deal to be seen¡­¡± ¡°No. Absolutely no.¡± Loren changed the subject, thinking that there must be some kind of non-negotiable line in the way Lapis said it so clearly. ¡°Did you prepare Gula¡¯s too?¡± Gula did not accompany them on their shopping trip. Lor¨¦n thought that since they had not taken her measurements, if Gula had not prepared a bathrobe for herself in advance, there would be none for her. But Lapis seemed to have thought about her as well. ¡°I¡¯m a little concerned because I haven¡¯t taken measurements, but I¡¯m having them made based on my eye measurements.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind being naked though?¡± Gula seemed to find the whole thing troublesome, but when Lapis glared at her sternly, she mumbled something and made the end of her sentence unclear. Loren thought that Lapis didn¡¯t have to glare at her like that because it wasn¡¯t her business, but the words that came out of his mouth were about something else. ¡°You had it made by eye measurements?¡± ¡°Eh? Yeah, well. Gula wasn¡¯t there.¡± Lapis said and tilted her head in puzzle as if to ask what was wrong with that. Loren stared at her for a while, then turned his gaze towards Gula, and after a few more moments, he muttered something in a whisper. ¡°The outcome is apparent somehow.¡± ¡°Outcome? What outcome, Loren?¡± Neither Lapis nor Gula could quite grasp what Loren muttered about, but before he could say anything to Lapis¡¯ question,a carriage approached the three of them. ¡°Have we kept you waiting?¡± It was Klaus who greeted them from the driver bench. Next to him was the magician Ange, who bowed at them, and in the carriage were the blond knight and a light blue-haired priest. ¡°No, we haven¡¯t waited that long.¡± Loren answered and approached the carriage with his luggage. Leila, the knight, opened the carriage door and invited him to get in. Inside the carriage, there were seats facing each other, and the seats on one side of the carriage were vacant, perhaps reserved for Loren¡¯s party. ¡°Leila and¡­ Laura, is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, hasn¡¯t it? I¡¯m honored you still remember me.¡± ¡°We¡¯re in your care.¡± The two bowed in unison as a greeting. Loren returned the gesture, then briefly looked around the carriage. It was Klaus who rented it, and he must have paid a good deal of money. The carriage was carefully constructed, and the interior was quite spacious. The seats seemed comfortable, and it would not be so tiring even on a long trip. ¡°Can the three of us here sit on the empty seats over here?¡± ¡°No, one of you should sit with us if you can.¡± Loren looked down at himself as Leila said. The most heavily-built in here was Loren, and he took up a lot of space. It would be cramped if the three of them sat on the same side, so Leila suggested that one of them should come to their side. And although no one said anything, Gula promptly moved. ¡°Having a big body is nice too.¡± As Loren sat down on his seat, feeling a little sorry for himself, Laura said with a forced smile. But her gaze suddenly turned to his shoulder. ¡°Is that a decoration? It¡¯s very well made.¡± What caught Laura¡¯s eye was Nig clinging to his shoulder. Nig, with its shiny black body, certainly looked artificial when standing still. In fact, according to a silver-class adventurer who had worked with them before, it was a dangerous kind of spider. But it seemed to be friendly to Loren, and he kept it clinging to his shoulder, assuming it would do no harm as long as it remained docile. ¡°An Obsidian Spider? No, it can¡¯t be¡­ can it? Is it attached to humans? Are spiders attached to humans in the first place¡­?¡± Eyes strained on the spider, Leila muttered to herself with a frown and a hint of sweat on her forehead. But her common sense got in the way, and she was unable to believe that what she was saying was the truth. ¡°Is everything ready? Let¡¯s get going then, shall we?¡± Klaus called out to them from the driver bench, probably because Loren¡¯s party had taken their seats. Loren nodded in response, seeing that there seemed to be no problem with their departure. After having his confirmation, Klaus shook the reins, and the two horses tied to the carriage slowly began to move forward. ¡°That reminds me. That¡­ What is it, the name of that town?¡± ¡°Karlovy?¡± Having forgotten the name of the town they were heading to, Loren was helped by Lapis. Loren slapped a hand to his forehead and nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. How long does it take to get to Karlovy?¡± Loren had heard that it was a city in the southern part of the continent, a city of food and hot springs, but he had no information about how far it was from Kapah or how long it would take to get there by a horse-drawn carriage. ¡°Eh, how long will it take?¡± Lapis asked Leila. Leila folded her arms, thought for a moment, and then gave her answer. ¡°It¡¯s just past the border, you know. We can see it for a few days, I think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s far¡­¡± ¡°I think it will take about four days to reach the eastern border, and from there it should be a day or two.¡± It was Laura who supplemented the information. Loren had thought that it would not be a distance that could be covered in a day or two, but he hadn¡¯t expected to spend several days to reach the town, and he began to worry whether the luggage he had brought would really be enough. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the trip there. We may have asked you to bring some luggage, but I think we can basically cover everything with what we have stocked in this carriage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very well prepared, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Because we can use Klaus¡¯s wallet this time. We went shopping with no reservation.¡± With a grin, Leila pulled out several glasses and a bottle of expensive-looking wine from under her seat and waved them at Loren. ¡°Drinking in the middle of the day? How nice.¡± ¡°Would you like to join? You know what, we have plenty of alcohol in stock too.¡± With Leila¡¯s encouragement, Loren accepted a glass and had some of that expensive-looking wine poured for him. But he looked at Klaus¡¯ back at the driver bench with a somewhat worried expression. ¡°Is it alright? I know he¡¯ll pay for everything, but I¡¯m suddenly worried.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t go broke. Even if he does¡­ we¡¯re still here.¡± ¡°For now, we¡¯ll punish him until we¡¯re satisfied. Then, if he repents, we¡¯ll forgive him.¡± ¡°That guy¡¯s still¡­ Ah, scary.¡± From Leila¡¯s words, it seemed that they didn¡¯t have any intention of abandoning him, but they also had no intention of condoning him half-heartedly. The red of the wine in Loren¡¯s glass somehow looked like blood, and he lost the appetite to taste it. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh a troubled laugh. Chapter 221: From Checkpoint To Checkpoint Chapter 221: From Checkpoint To Checkpoint Proofreader: Xemul After departing from the city of Kapha, the group traveled on a long stretch of road leading eastward in the carriage driven by Klaus. Although it took four days to reach the eastern border, the journey went smoothly without a single incident of trouble along the way. The trip was intended to be an apology from Klaus to his party¡¯s members. Loren¡¯s party was taking full advantage of it; they had a very nice time, swaying in the carriage with nothing in particular to do, drinking with Leila and Angel from time to time, and tucking into the food they had brought fromKapha. What was somewhat pathetic was that, since they departed, Klaus had been forced to play the role of a coachman, preparing for encampment, and taking lodging at the inn town. Loren had wanted to help him, but was gently told by the girls in Klaus¡¯ party to not get involved, so he had quite a bit of free time on his hands. ¡°I heard that this town of Karlovy is in a neighboring country. What kind of country is it?¡± Loren was very unfamiliar with geography. He had always been moving from place to place at all hours of the day, as was the usual for mercenary groups that did not have a base, and information such as the situation and geography of the surrounding countries were in the hands of the group¡¯s leader and the executives. Since becoming an adventurer, he had been asking about information he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Karlovy is located in the Republic of Jaloris. It is ruled by a governing council made up of elected representatives.¡± Perhaps anticipating such a question from Loren in advance, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, answered while pulling out a cheat sheet of paper from her luggage. ¡°They have a republican system because there are a number of clans in the country. In fact, the country is like a collection of several regions ruled by these clans. There is no national monarch, but the councilors are supposed to be chiefs of the clans and their close relatives.¡± Lorren¡¯s face became puzzled at the mention of the word ¡®clan¡¯. Seeing his face, Lapis thought for a moment, then added. ¡°The Republic of Jaloris is a nation dominated by beastmen, who are divided into several clans based on their physical characteristics. The land is splitted and ruled amongst these clans.¡± By ¡®physical characteristics¡¯, Lapis meant that the beastmen were a race that had the characteristics of beasts in some parts of their bodies. Clans were formed according to these characteristics. She said that the extent of their beastly characteristics of beasts varied from clan to clan, with some clans looking no different from humans at first glance while others looked like beasts walking upright. ¡°The stronger a clan¡¯s beastly characteristics are, the closer to pure blood it is said to be. Those from so-called primitive clan have the appearance of a beast that walks almost completely upright.¡± ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because the clans are so closely knit, they don¡¯t get out of the country very often. Even in Kapha, you hardly saw any beastmen. The only ones who leave the country are those who have some reason to do so, those who are curious, and those who have been exiled for some reason.¡± Leila, who was drinking incessantly in the carriage, added. She seemed to enjoy drinking so much that she had been happily doing it in her spare time ever since they left Kapha. She was trying to keep a moderate pace though; she had never gone beyond having a red face, and she was still articulate. ¡°They are not bad people in terms of character, but many of them have a bit of a violent mindset. They also tend to boast about their strong blood, and the closer they are to the primitive clan, the more snooty they are. Also, beware of clans with the characteristics of foxes and rats; they are said to be cunning.¡± ¡°Then, won¡¯t people like us, who have no beast characteristics, be looked down upon?¡± Loren was worried that if that was the case, it would have been a huge mistake to choose that place as a vacation spot, but Leila shook her head. ¡°They recognize us as a completely different species. We¡¯re not subject to that.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t seem to like us very much either.¡± It was Laure who joined the conversation. As a priest in the service of the water god, she was not very fond of anything with alcohol in it. She rarely drank, even when Leila urged her to, and in her spare time she would pull out a book from her luggage that seemed to contain the doctrines of the water god and read it over and over without getting tired of it. ¡°I heard that it is possible for humans and beastmen to mate, but since it will dilute the blood and such, it¡¯s almost never done. And when it is about to be done, those around try to prevent it.¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with us though.¡± Leila laughed pleasantly as she said this and poured the wine in her glass down her throat. Laure also laughed in agreement; watching her, Loren thought that they really had no intention to leave Klaus at all. Wondering if those words were intended for the other man, who was still playing the role of a coachman, he looked at his back. It was almost noon of the fourth day after their departure from Kapha when their group arrived at the border. Basically, adventurers did not need to go through any complicated procedures to cross the border. This was because the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had influence over a wide area of the continent, and with proof of registration with the Guild, they could pass through most borders without any problems. ¡°I must say, it seems odd to me that even Klaus and Leila could get through the checkpoint so easily.¡± Loren whispered, as it was probably not something to say out loud even in a carriage. Leila asked him back. ¡°Why?¡± Although he was just an adventurer, Klaus was an adventurer with a promising future in the country, and it was highly likely that he would enter the government circle in the near future. Leila, who was following Klaus, was also currently working as an adventurer, but if Klaus were to enter the government circle, it was almost certain that she would become a knight of the country. Loren wondered how such people could easily cross the border, but Laure answered his question. ¡°I guess the reason is that it is the same for every country, so they can¡¯t say ¡®You can¡¯t¡¯.¡± ¡°If a country does such a thing, adventurers operating in said country will be in trouble. They won¡¯t be able to go to other countries.¡± ¡°If adventurers¡¯ movement stalls, it will paralyze the parts of the business that adventurers are responsible for, such as maintaining public order and exterminating demons, which in turn will cost extra people and money.¡± ¡°As a result, they have to pretend they don¡¯t know anything even though they do.¡± Leila concluded the conversation by saying that it would be different during wars. Loren agreed to everything they said, but another question soon arose, and he tapped Lapis, who was sitting next to him, on the shoulder. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Somehow, the soldiers at the checkpoint are behaving very strangely, aren¡¯t they?¡± As part of the departure process, they were surrounded by human soldiers of the Kingdom of Wargenburg. After the process was complete, they would be allowed to pass through Wargenburg¡¯s checkpoint, and would soon enter the Republic of Jaloris side customs gate to complete the entry procedures. They had already presented their Adventurers¡¯ Guild registration cards, so all they had to do was wait for their turn to leave the checkpoint. During the wait, Klaus, who was playing the role of a coachman, was talking with the soldiers at the gate, and Loren noticed that they gave Klaus and their carriage rather pitiful looks. ¡°Hey, Klaus!¡± After watching the soldiers move away from the carriage, Loren opened a small window facing the driver¡¯s bench and called out to Klaus. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m curious about the soldiers¡¯ eyes just now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand it either. I¡¯ve noticed the way he looks at me.¡± Ange, who was sitting next to Klaus, also nodded, indicating that she had also noticed. Leaving aside the question of which of them was more attentive, the fact that they both clearly recognized it suggested that the soldiers had looked at them very blatantly. ¡°I asked them about it, but they said that we would find out when we get there.¡± If it was about something life-threatening, the soldiers would not have been so pretentious and would have told them what their looks meant. The fact that they did not tell them outright made Loren think that it was not life-threatening, but it still bothered him. ¡°I mean, there¡¯s always the option of turning around, right?.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a problem.¡± Klaus¡¯ reluctance was understandable. If they just drove for a few days, arrived at the border, and then drove back to Kapha for a few more days, they could hardly say that they enjoyed their vacation. Loren thought that Leila might have been satisfied with it because she was able to drink a lot, but the other members of the group might have said that they were just tired and had no fun. ¡°If it¡¯s dangerous, they would at least do something to stop us, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s their job, too.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s just go. It¡¯s not too late to think about it after we know what¡¯s going on.¡± Loren¡¯s proposal, which was better than turning back, was accepted by all, and the carriage in which they were riding left the checkpoint on Wargenburg side. The checkpoint on Jaloris side was only a short distance away; they would reach it after passing through a buffer zone, which would take no time to do. As the carriage ran through this short distance, Loren suddenly felt the greenness of their surroundings thicken. ¡°The land of the Republic of Jaloris is characterized by a lot of greenery like forests and such.¡± Lapis said while looking out the carriage window. ¡°I heard that their woodworking technology is advanced, but on the other hand, there aren¡¯t many stone buildings in the city.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a country that burns very well.¡± Just as Loren told Gula, who had just voiced some rather disturbing opinion, to be silent, the carriage entered the Jaloris checkpoint. There, Loren was confronted with a sight rarely seen in the land of humans. Chapter 222: Entering The Country Through The Checkpoint Chapter 222: Entering The Country Through The Checkpoint Proofreader: Xemul What Loren saw as he entered the checkpoint was countless animals¡¯ ears and tails wagging and bobbing all over the place. The checkpoint¡¯s construction was no different from the one on the Wargenburg¡¯s side, but the soldiers stationed here, though were not so different from humans at first glance, all had triangular animal ears wiggling on their un-helmeted heads and tails of various patterns and length swinging from their waists. The soldier who seemed to be in command of these soldiers appeared to be of rather high rank and was wearing a set of magnificent armor, but looked like a beast walking upright. Loren thought that they were probably from the primitive tribe, but this was the first time he had ever seen a beastman having beast features on their whole body like this. He had almost no memory of seeing beastmen on the battlefield when he was a mercenary, and even if he did, he only vaguely remembered only those with beast parts here and there on the body of an ordinary person. ¡°It looks like this barrier is under the jurisdiction of the Cat-men.¡± Lapis, who was looking out the same window as Loren was, explained this to him. ¡°Are they different from beastmen?¡± ¡°No, they are generally classified as beastmen, but if we divide them into clans, as I mentioned earlier, then these are Cat-men.¡± ¡°Does that mean there are many others?¡± ¡°Yes, there are the Dog-men, the Rabbit-men, the Fox-men, the Rat-men, and so on.¡± Loren was impressed by Lapis¡¯ ability to explain everything so smoothly, but he noticed that Gula did not look very happy, let alone Leila, who was drunk, and Laure, who was absorbed in reading. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Gula?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just remembered something I almost forgot.¡± The way Gula answered, chewing on a hard baguette and not even looking outside, was unlike anything Loren had ever seen before. She should have looked happy since she was eating something, but the face she made while chewing the plain baguette did not look happy at all. Loren wondered if something was wrong, and then he realized a possibility and asked her about it. ¡°Is it the baguette trauma?¡± ¡°So this is a baguette¡­ That¡¯s why I thought the taste pierces my heart somehow.¡± Gula stared sullenly at the long loaf of bread in her hand as if she had just realized what she had grabbed and bitten into. Loren was worried that she had become seriously mental, not even knowing what she was eating. But on second thought, as Gula was the Evil God of Gluttony, maybe she was just in a state of mind where she just perfunctorily stuff whatever she found into her mouth. ¡°If there¡¯s something wrong, just say so, OK? It¡¯s not good for you to hide it or hold it in.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell if you¡¯re worried about me or if you¡¯re threatening me.¡± Gula let a weak laugh escape her mouth, but when she saw that Loren¡¯s eyes were serious in their own way, she waved her hands. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. I¡¯ll forget again soon.¡± Loren was not an optimist, so he didn¡¯t stop worrying just because he was told to. But as Gula assured him again that it was nothing, he decided it would be best not to pry any further. Perhaps trying to distract Loren, Lapis opened a small window on the side leading to the guard platform, and they overheard the conversation between a soldier at the checkpoint and Klaus, who was playing the role of their coachman. ¡°Adventurers from Kapha, Wargenburg, huh. You seem to be traveling in quite a large group. Where do you plan to go? What¡¯s your commission?¡± Even though the checks on adventurers were somewhat lax, the fact that seven armed adventurers were traveling together still seemed to be of some concern to those in charge of security and protection. To Klaus, who had nothing to hide, the answer was clear. ¡°We¡¯re going to Karlovy to rest.¡± ¡°Karlovy? Ah, that place huh¡­¡± As soon as he heard the name of the city, the tone of the soldier¡¯s voice dropped. Wondering if there was something wrong, Klaus stopped the soldier as he was about to move away from their carriage and asked. ¡°Did something happen in Karlovy? The soldiers were reacting strangely at the Wargenburg checkpoint, too.¡± ¡°That¡­ You¡¯ll find out when you¡¯re there. There¡¯s nothing for me to say. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s any danger.¡± ¡°And we get somewhat strange responses here, too. Can¡¯t you tell me what really happened?¡± The responses were so suggestive that Klaus was tempted to raise his voice a little, but he patiently asked more while feigning casualness. ¡°Nothing is wrong. Nothing dangerous has happened.¡± ¡°Are you saying that there are non-dangerous things happening?¡± ¡°Come there and you¡¯ll know.¡± The soldier ended the talk here, and strode away from the carriage this time. When Klaus was thinking that he would not get any more information by stopping him, Loren spoke through the window. ¡°Here too?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something going on there. What in the world could it be?¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯ll know when we get there¡­¡± The possibility that it would be the last time they went there was still present. Loren expected some warnings in such a case, but he did not know whether the soldiers on the Jaloris¡¯ side, let alone those on the Wargenburg side, were obligated to go to that extent. ¡°Are there any towns or villages on the way from here?¡± Once the customs check was over, they couldn¡¯t stop here forever. They had to make room for the other entrants coming up behind them, so Klaus gave the horses pulling the carriage a light whip to move the vehicle forward. ¡°I think there¡¯s at least one village along the way.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go there and gather some information, shall we?¡± ¡°Yes, that might be a good idea.¡± What a soldier might not be able to say, a villager might be able to slip up. With this expectation, Klaus started the carriage. The party entered the Republic of Jaloris in such a way, but perhaps because they were looking for a place to obtain information, they were unable to gain much distance and had to spend the night on the road to Karlovy. After this realization, they somehow managed to find a place to stay in a village they found along the way, but the villagers¡¯ reaction to them was not very positive. ¡°It really feels like a remote village, doesn¡¯t it? They don¡¯t even have an inn.¡± They managed to get approval to park the carriage in a vacant lot on the edge of the village. After parking, Klaus went to the village to book an inn, but he had to come back immediately. ¡°They don¡¯t let travelers stay over. Well, that¡¯s cold.¡± Unloading his luggage from the carriage, Klaus walked over to Loren, who was preparing to make camp, and lamented in a tone of voice that didn¡¯t sound disappointed at all. Loren had told the other members of the group to relax in the carriage, and he chided Klaus when he confirmed that they were the only ones around. ¡°It¡¯s natural to be wary of strangers, especially if they¡¯re from a different race.¡± Loren thought that just renting a vacant lot on the outskirts of the village was a good way to handle the situation. Besides, they were allowed to use the village¡¯s well to replenish their water supply. A village well was an important lifeline for the villagers, and Loren thought it was a pretty good way to treat strangers to allow them to use it. ¡°We can sleep in the carriage and in tents. We should consider ourselves blessed.¡± Even though it was on the outskirts of the village, it was definitely inside the village land, and for that reason alone, the possibility of being attacked by beasts or anything else at night was quite low. It would be impossible not to set up a lookout, but it would still be a fairly easy story, Loren thought, but Klaus seemed to be concerned about something else. ¡°I think it¡¯s quite a terrible blow to lose the chance to be intimate with a pretty beastman girl.¡± Klaus said so unashamedly that Loren let out a heavy, deliberate sigh. He just never learned. ¡°Don¡¯t let the others hear you say that.¡± ¡°I think it would be a valuable experience, since you would never see a daughter of a primitive tribe in a human country.¡± ¡°Still, it won¡¯t work¡­¡± Even though they did walk on two legs and their forms closely resembled those of humans, their appearances were mostly beastly. To Loren, they were not very desirable partners, but according to Klaus¡¯s taste, even them would be within the scope of his targets. ¡°Aside from that one, I hope you¡¯ve gathered all the information you can on Karlovy.¡± Aside from his libido, Klaus was a good-looking young man. It was Loren who sent him to the village, thinking that he would be able to talk to the villagers without alarming them. With strict orders to gather the information that he could not get at the checkpoint, of course. He had not considered having the women go, but the drunken Leila and grumpy Gula were out of the question. Ange was ready to push all the chores to Klaus on this trip, and he had a feeling that if he left it to Lapis, she would go into all the unnecessary details. Laure, on the other hand, gave him a feeling that she would only ask about the obvious parts, so he had eliminated them all. ¡°I did try to ask.¡± Emphasizing that he had not forgotten Loren¡¯s instructions, Klaus looked sullen. ¡°The villagers here, unlike the soldiers at the checkpoints, don¡¯t even seem to know that something is going on in Karlovy.¡± Loren clucked his tongue, wondering if the information was not something widely known. The soldiers at the gate must have received information from the government and knew that something was happening in Karlovy, but the villagers in the remote areas did not seem to have any information about what was happening outside of their village. ¡°But it seems that there are people coming back from Karlovy. They don¡¯t stop here so I couldn¡¯t ask them about it, but I did hear that they seemed to be in a bad mood.¡± ¡°Not very useful. But I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Loren was grateful to know that some were coming back. This should almost eliminate the possibility that if they went, they would not be able to come back. ¡°I guess it was good to know that there isn¡¯t enough going on to spread the word, though, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one way to look at it.¡± If this was some kind of a major event, it would be strange if the information wasn¡¯t widely spread. In Klaus¡¯ view, it was likely that what was happening in Karlovy was something that was limited to one city and had little impact on the rest of the country. The thinking made sense, and it made Loren reconsider his opinion about Klaus a bit. But limited to a city or not, they were headed for that city, which meant that they were going to be confronted with something they were not going to be able to get any information about. ¡°I come for vacation, not for troubles.¡± Loren shook his head, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. He just wanted a vacation without doing any work, and he couldn¡¯t even have that. There must be a limit to his bad luck, mustn¡¯t it? Chapter 223: Dining upon arrival Chapter 223: Dining upon arrival After spending the night in a village on the way to Karlovy, the party set out again the next day for their destination. The thought of trouble awaiting them ahead made their legs heavy, but Loren was thankful that they did not encounter any demons or bandits along the way, and the journey went smoothly. As a result, Loren and his group arrived at their destination, the town of Karlovy, in about half a day¡¯s time after leaving the village in the morning. Karlovy was, in Loren¡¯s opinion, more like a village than a town, with its rows of wooden buildings. However, it boasted a scale that could hardly be considered a village; it surely was as big as a town as its name suggested. Surrounded by grasslands and small forests, the terrain lacked height, but it was also a place that could be described as tranquil, with occasional herds of wild beasts, perhaps herbivores, visible in the distance. ¡°It¡¯s not a bad place.¡± Loren muttered to himself as he felt a pleasant breeze blowing through the open carriage windows, even though it felt a little cold. They were supposed to wait in the carriage while Klaus visited the numerous inns in town by himself and booked one large enough to park the carriage. Now, they were waiting for Klaus to come back. Normally, it would be very difficult to get so many rooms at one place, and Klaus had feared that they might have to stay at different inns. But after entering the town, such fears vanished. The town could hardly be called lively, after all. There were indeed stores and stalls here and there along the streets, and the number and size of inns seemed to be quite large. However, there were no innkeepers out on the streets to attract customers, and the stalls did not appear to be doing any business at all, with the stall keepers looking somewhat bored while sitting on the edge of their chairs or the shelves displaying their wares. The shopkeepers didn¡¯t look as if they were not interested in doing business, but rather as if they were unable to do so because there were no customers in the town. Loren, with his hair blowing in the wind, continued to look out the window at the city, wondering what in the world was going on. ¡°Something is clearly not right, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis, who was still sitting next to Loren, spoke when she noticed that he continued to look out the window. ¡°There are stores, but no customers. There are shops, but no customers, and I don¡¯t see any tourists. Something must have happened here.¡± ¡°For me, as long as I can enjoy my vacation, nothing else matters.¡± It was very Lapis to say terrible things so nonchalantly, but Loren thought that it was also the truth thinking that this is also the truth and decided to not take her words to heart. While Loren was musing about how frightening it was to have the power to take the matter of life and death for someone else as something trivial, he heard in the back of his mind the voice of the mental body of Shayna, a girl who almost became the King of Death and was now living in a corner Loren¡¯s inner self. [¡®Aren¡¯t you capable of the same thing, onii-san?¡¯] ¡®You¡¯re overestimating me¡¯, Loren thought. It was true that he had encountered and survived against many opponents that no copper or iron rank adventurer would ever encounter, but it was something that he managed thanks to good luck and his partners; Loren was sure that he would have been dead long ago if he had been on his own. He told Shayna this, and she became silent again without saying anything more, although she seemed to be somewhat unhappy. Loren smiled wryly, wondering if he had given the roommate who shared his mind the impression that he wished to be stronger. Just then, he caught sight of Klaus returning. ¡°It¡¯s a little hard for me to tell if I¡¯m lucky or unlucky.¡± As soon as he returned, Klaus climbed onto the driver benched and started the carriage. His voice was so clear that it could be heard over the noisy sound the carriage made as it moved along the deserted street. ¡°I found a place to stay pretty easily.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± Even though he knew it was probably not true, Loren still tried to say as an answer. Klaus seemed to know that Loren of course would not agree wholeheartedly, and he shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°It can¡¯t be a good thing, can it? Well, we¡¯ll talk about that later, but first let¡¯s eat. It¡¯s probably time.¡± It was about time for a rather late lunch. None of them had lunch yet, thinking that since they were arriving in Karlovy anyway, it would be better to eat something tasty at a diner in town, even if they had to endure a little more. In other words, everyone was hungry to some extent, and Klaus¡¯ suggestion was accepted without any opposition from anyone. But Loren somehow realized what Klaus was thinking by suggesting having a meal first instead of heading to the inn that he had gone through the troubles to get. People were creatures that were influenced by their mental state. When they were hungry, they became prone to anger, but when they were full, they wouldn¡¯t get angry at the slightest thing. It was impossible to know how much anger the girls would feel if they were given bad news with empty stomachs. Klaus probably thought that it would be less damaging to satisfy their hunger first and then broached the main issue when they were calmed. No one knew how successful this would be until they tried it, but Loren could only hope that it would be successful. As Loren was thinking about this, the carriage headed for a restaurant that was so luxurious that he would never think of entering it under normal circumstances. Watching from inside the carriage, Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel his mouth hanging open a little at the atmosphere given off by the magnificent restaurant, the likes of which he had never been in before in his life. The restaurant was not only luxurious; it was so huge that it must have taken a lot of money to build. While Loren and the girls were looking up at the establishment, Klaus was in the process of asking someone from the restaurant to tie the carriage up somewhere. ¡°Are we going in here?¡± With her mouth hanging open, Ange asked Klaus, who had just returned from the carriage procedure, as if she were trying to get at him. But Klaus smiled while restraining her with his hand. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll pay, so rest reassured.¡± Klaus tapped his chest, and the girls cheered. The fact that Klaus would offer to treat five people, excluding himself and Loren, with no limit must mean that he was making a lot of money. Loren let out a small sigh. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t get too reassured though.¡± Loren warned Gula, whose eyes were sparkling at Klaus¡¯s words. Klaus probably did not know this, but if Gula were to order food and eat while feeling completely reassured about the bill, all the food in the restaurant in front of them would be devoured entirely, and since Klaus¡¯s wallet was not infinite, it would surely run out. Loren didn¡¯t care much about the depletion of Klaus¡¯s wallet, but he would feel sorry for the other girls if they suddenly ran out of money after just arriving for their vacation. ¡°I¡¯d like to eat without any worries just for once.¡± Gula, perhaps anticipating Loren¡¯s warning, looked into the distance and muttered. But Loren couldn¡¯t guess how much food she would consume if she were to eat without any worries, and besides, that would weaken her Evil God¡¯s power, so he wasn¡¯t about to let her do that. ¡°So, what do you serve here?¡± They went in. The high ceiling and wide space of the restaurant made the lack of customers even more noticeable. Still, looking at the occasional tables with customers, they could see some kind of boiled or grilled food. A group of seven customers like their group seemed to be quite rare, and the waiter who guided them from the entrance to their table was exceedingly humble. ¡°We serve almost everything, but I recommend meat dishes. Karlovy¡¯s specialties are the assault bull hot pot and grilled meat. And when you return home, some jerky would be a welcome treat.¡± They ignored the waiter, who was trying to get them to order not only food but also souvenirs, and Klaus ordered a few recommended dishes. ¡°If we¡¯re going to eat meat, we have to drink. Klaus, I¡¯ll leave it to you too.¡± ¡°Alright, Leila. Let me order some too.¡± Leila declared in a good mood. Klaus returned her smile and ordered some alcoholic beverages from a different waiter. Loren took his seat; he had no idea what were coming despite the names, but he heard how much Klaus ordered and decided to swipe some of it. Leila surely couldn¡¯t drink all of that by herself. After waiting for a while, the food was brought to the table by several waiters, which made Loren wonder if they could really eat all of it. The dishes, which were steaming hot and sizzling on the griddle, were appetizing from both looks and smell. And although there were seven of them in total, Loren estimated that the amount of food was intended for twice that many. ¡°Hey, this is¡­¡± ¡°It seems there is too much of a difference between beastmen¡¯s serving and ours.¡± It was said that the beastmen ate more than humans. It was only natural that the amount of food for one serving would be different accordingly, but Klaus seemed to have ordered without taking this into consideration. ¡°It would be wasteful to leave leftovers.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be any.¡± Loren didn¡¯t know how much Leila, Ange, and Laure could eat, but with Gula here, he was sure that there was no way there would be leftovers. ¡°Maybe you can manage it, Loren? With such a big body, I guess you eat a lot.¡± Considering their appearance, it was certainly not surprising that Loren, who was the biggest, would be considered the best eater. That was why it was understandable for Klaus to say such a thing while giving him a smile. But in reality, of course that was not the case, and Loren, feeling a slight headache at the prospect of Gula¡¯s solo performance, patted Klaus on the shoulder. The guy probably did not understand why Loren looked so gloomy. Chapter 224: A Fight During Meal Chapter 224: A Fight During Meal The number of dishes brought to their table was quite large, but the girls¡¯ appetite was also, in Loren¡¯s eyes, not half bad. At first, Loren had thought that Gula would be the only one who would be able to handle all these dishes, but reality differed from his anticipation quite a lot. ¡°Hmm, meat really goes very well with wine. The richness of the seasoning makes the alcohol taste even better.¡± Leila gobbled up the thinly sliced, slightly salty meat at such a speed that one wondered if she was chewing properly. The thin slices of meat were grilled to a golden brown on the outside but still slightly pink on the inside; the sight of Leila inhaling the meat then chasing them down with glasses of alcohol was something one would never expect from her. Next to her, Laure was stabbing her fork into the steaming pile of meat dumplings and bringing one after another to her mouth. Her hand never seemed to stop moving, and Loren felt like he was watching an act of engineering as the pile of dumplings steadily decreased in height. Klaus was watching such a scene with a troubled smile on his face. Ange, who was sitting next to him, leaned on Klaus and emptied glasses after glasses of sparkling wine while reaching for the grilled meat skewers in front of her. Her face was red, probably due to drunkenness. She would stuff a skewer into her mouth, pull it out and place the empty stick on the table in one go. By the time she bit into the meat in her mouth, she had already reached for the next skewer. She consumed them at a rapid pace, creating a mountain of empty skewers on the table. As Loren turned his gaze around, a sight that surpassed all these jumped into his eyes. It was from Gula, of course. The other girls kept only what they liked in front of them and passed the rest to other members. Of course, those dishes had to end up somewhere, and apparently, they were Gula¡¯s share. The food that no one had touched was brought to Gula¡¯s mouth without a single pause, and even after an amount large enough to make one wonder where they could all go had disappeared, her appetite remained unabated. ¡°Loren, how are you paying for her food?¡± Klaus asked, and Loren wondered what to say. The truth was, Gula was a being that ate even things that were not food. She was an Evil God that used her power to devour things, even demons and humans. In other words, gave her suitable things at suitable time and she would eat them up. Loren didn¡¯t think Klaus would understand this though. Lapis, who was quietly and slowly cutting the steak into small pieces and even meticulously separating the lean meat from the fat, spoke on behalf of Loren, who was thinking how to answer. ¡°She¡¯s usually a bit more reserved, but this time she seems to feel some sort of obligation to finish off the uneaten dishes.¡± ¡°Really? But at that rate, she might as well finish a whole bull.¡± Loren thought that it would be a piece of cake for Gula to finish off two or three bulls, let alone one, but of course he would not be foolish enough to mention it. Lapis, while trying to keep as much of Gula¡¯s meal out of Klaus¡¯ sight as possible, turned away and answered in a nonchalant manner. ¡°No way. That¡¯s no longer a human act.¡± ¡°But I ordered a whole roasted pig as a joke earlier, and she was eating it all by herself.¡± Loren quickly glanced at the table. There was a platter on which something quite big had been placed, but as a matter of course, the object that should have been on it was no longer there. ¡°Maybe you saw it wrong? I¡¯m sure she shared the food with Leila and others.¡± It might be a smaller amount of meat than a whole bull, but devouring a whole pig was by no means something a human could do by themself. Loren could eat a fair amount if he wanted to, but if asked to finish off a whole pig by himself, he would reject the idea even before trying. ¡°And I also ordered several plates of T-bone steaks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m having some of it, though?¡± The dish was apparently among the steaks that Lapis was working so hard on. She had cut the meat dishes into neat bite-sized pieces so no one could tell which pieces of meat were form the T-bone steaks, but some of the bones, the remnants of the dish, were indeed left on the plate. ¡°Ah no, it¡¯s fine that you all are eating¡­ I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m mistaken, but that Gula girl, I think she¡¯s bringing the whole bone to her mouth and chewing it right off.¡± A T-bone steak was a steak made from the loin of a cow, with the bone attached to it. Of course, it would be strange if the attached bone didn¡¯t remain after eating it. Ordinary cow bones were probably quite tough, but if the bones were from a cow with a name like ¡®Assault Bull¡¯, they should be even tougher. But there was no sign of bones left on the plates piled up around the Gula, which made one wonder where the bones, which should have been the remains of the dish, had gone. ¡°She must have thrown them into the trash beforehand.¡± ¡°Assault Bull are not the type of cows with edible bones, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°If there were such cows, they would already be extinct.¡± Lapis responded to Klaus¡¯s question in a matter-of-fact manner. She spoke with so much confidence and calmness that even though Klaus wasn¡¯t fully satisfied with her answer, he still had to concede. However, Loren¡¯s eyes did not miss the slight tremor in Lapis¡¯ hand as she was cutting the steak right next to him. In other words, Lapis was well aware of how unreasonable this explanation was, but she had no other excuse to use. Loren also felt troubled, but he had no way to warn Gula, and he could not ask her to spit out the bones she had eaten. He silently stared at her. Gula noticed him looking and stopped stuffing food into her mouth with a happy expression. She choked lightly, beat her chest, and with tears in her eyes, poured the content of a glass nearby, which could either be alcohol or water, down her throat. ¡°That aside, Klaus, we¡¯ve ordered a lot more after your initial order. Is your wallet in good shape?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure cash will be enough this time, given the number of people we have.¡± Klaus took out a small bag from his pocket. It seemed to contain some gems. Klaus had brought gold coins, but he had also brought some small gems. Light and valuable gems were a great temporary replacement if one had to carry a large amount of cash, albeit they would be exchanged at a somewhat reduced price. ¡°Can¡¯t you deposit and withdraw cash through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± Loren thought such a huge continent-spanning organization would be able to provide such a service, but Klaus laughed and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad if transactions are in the same country, but it¡¯s difficult if they¡¯re in different countries. And it¡¯s impossible in a country of a different race.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Loren was about to return to his meal when he suddenly noticed a figure standing behind Klaus and raised his eyes. Klaus also noticed someone standing behind him and looked back over his shoulder. ¡°Looks like things are going quite well for you. We¡¯d like a share of it too.¡± Standing there were four men. Each of them had a well-trained body, and their leather armors made it clear at first glance that they were not ordinary citizens. Their faces looked like those of ordinary people with cat ears on top of their heads, indicating that they were not of the primitive tribe but of an ordinary beastman tribe. Loren was somewhat misguidedly impressed that even among the beastmen, there were those who would try to pick a quarrel and extort a few coins when seeing someone well-off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I have a lot of things I have to pay for, and I don¡¯t have any spare to give you.¡± Klaus replied with a smile, but Loren¡¯s eyes did not miss the way his gaze quickly darted to the faces and chests of the four men behind him. It was to confirm that they were male, and since Klaus showed no interest in the beastmen behind him after he had done so, Loren concluded that they were surely all male. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so cold about it. In the company of all these beautiful girls, can you really say that you can¡¯t spare us any?¡± One of the men lightly smacked Klaus¡¯ head with his hand as he sat down. The other girls were so engrossed in eating that they did not seem to notice Klaus¡¯s situation. Loren turned to watch as he was not the one the beastmen picked on, and Lapis nonchalantly cut another steak while turning her gaze toward Klaus. ¡°My money is for those beautiful girls.¡± Klaus replied with an easygoing smile while glancing at Loren. Loren wondered if it was a request for him to intervene, but since it was not a verbal one, he pretended that he didn¡¯t see anything. He picked up a slice of steak from Lapis¡¯ plate and tossed it into his mouth. Lapis shot him a reproachful glance, and Loren watched with interest to see how Klaus would handl the situation while soothing her. At the same time, he was also assessing how far the beastmen would go to harass the guests of a place like this. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your trouble. I¡¯m just asking for a part of what you¡¯ve got in your pocket.¡± Once Klaus realized that someone was behind him, he had put the bag on the table back in his pocket. However, it seemed that it was already too late, and he had already attracted the attention of a group of people with an unfavorable character. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then¡­ Loren, are you going to help me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your guest, ain¡¯t I?¡± Being addressed, Loren replied curtly. Perhaps anticipating this reaction, Klaus stood up from his chair, scratching his head as if he had no choice, and turned his body in the direction of the four people who had been picking a quarrel with him. The four beastmen flinched in surprise for a moment as Klaus suddenly stood up. But then they immediately remembered that only Klaus had stood up while there were four of them, and they closed the distance between them with a smirk. ¡°Shall we go outside? We¡¯ll bother my companions and the restaurant here.¡± ¡°Only you? Won¡¯t that big one over there help?¡± One of the beastmen looked at Loren and said as if to provoke him, but he quickly turned away when Loren glanced at him. Between the slender Klaus and the mercenary-ish Loren, it was a simple choice who would be easier to deal with. It seemed that they did not want to have anything to do with the one they did not choose to pick a fight with, and they did not really want Loren to come out even though they tried to provoke him. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ If I lose, please take care of the rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do.¡± Smiling and waving, Klaus walked out of the store with the beastmen in tow. Watching them, Lapis secretly asked Loren. ¡°Is it all right?¡± ¡°It is. If it¡¯s not, I¡¯ll do something about it.¡± Having said that, Klaus was a skilled adventurer who had became an iron rank adventurer before Loren. He was not someone who would be defeated by a gang of thugs, soldiers, or adventurers. If the beastmen were powerful enough to defeat Klaus, there was no way they would be extorting tourists in broad daylight, so Loren thought there would be no problem. He tried to reach for another piece of steak that Lapis had cut, but this time he was hit a little harder on the back of the hand by Lapis, who was expecting his action, and he hurriedly withdrew his hand. Chapter 225: Requested To Surrender Chapter 225: Requested To Surrender The street out front, where Klaus and the thugs had gone, was getting noisy. Loren patted Lapis, who was still carving steaks next to him, on the shoulder before getting up and heading outside. It was hard to imagine that Klaus would be harmed in any way, but there was a chance that he might be. Moreover, Klaus was outnumbered; someone who had been raised well like him might get the wrong end of the stick in such a situation. A waiter approached Loren, and he pointed out that his friends were still eating before stepping out of the restaurant. There was a crowd in the corner of the street, and Klaus was in the middle of a standoff with four beastmen in the center of the crowd. Amidst the irresponsible yells of ¡®Do it!¡¯ and the like, Loren observed Klaus¡¯ body language with interest. As expected of an iron rank adventurer with a promising future in the country, his movements were quick and precise, and he showed no signs of being at a disadvantage in a one-man battle against four. Nevertheless¡¯, Loren thought to himself. If they were fighting with weapons, Klaus would have easily cut down the four beastmen and put an end to this, but now they were fighting barehanded. It was not the kind of fight where one punch would be the end of the fight, but a fight where unless they were knocked down unconscious, they would hit back or grab at each other. In short, it was a brawl. And from Loren¡¯s point of view, Klaus, although accustomed to fighting, did not seem to be accustomed to brawling. Loren¡¯s concern soon became reality. As Klaus knocked one of the beastmen to the ground with his punches and prepared to deal with another one, the knocked-down beastman, whom he thought he had defeated, grabbed him by the leg. The reason why Klaus could not finish off the beastman was that he was not used to brawling and did not really know how hard his strikes should be to make the beastman stop attacking. He also did not have much experience in barehanded combat to begin with. Furthermore, beastmen were stronger than humans, with sturdier bodies, so some minor damage was not enough to make one incapable of fighting. And just as expected of those who were partly beasts, Loren was impressed to see that Klaus, who had been grabbed by the leg and had his mobility hindered, began to be attacked by the remaining three. The strikes that Klaus had been able to avoid with his brilliant footwork were now unavoidable as his legs were rendered immobile, and he was forced to use only his arms to fight and defend himself, making it impossible for him to handle the attacks of all three. ¡°Good! Don¡¯t let him go!¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving us a hard time! I¡¯m gonna beat you till your face changes shape!¡± Klaus had even managed to shake off the beastman clinging to his leg once, but he was unable to free himself completely; the beastman who continued to cling desperately to him would not let that happen. Loren thought using here would be a good idea, but if Klaus were to try to activate such a rare blessing in the presence of others, he might find himself in more trouble than a brawl. Still, Loren believed that it would be better for him to use it, considering that he might be beaten up and stripped to the ground by the ill-mannered beastmen otherwise, but Klaas did not seem to have that kind of resolution. ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like dealing with males!¡± Klaus grumbled and tried to attack with his fists several times to shake off the beastman clinging to his leg, but he was unable to land any effective strikes on the beastman, who was crawling on the ground and keeping only his legs immobile. Instead, his frantic struggle made him lose his balance and, and he fell on his buttocks on the spot. Immediately, the beastman clinging to Klaus¡¯ leg raised the leg he was holding onto higher so that he could not get up, and the remaining three rushed to hold Klaus down to the ground. Klaus somehow managed to make counterattacks from his disadvantageous position, but attacks from such a stance fiercely drained his strength, and his movements were gradually becoming lackluster. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re a persistent one for a human.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just give up? Or do you want to have an even more painful experience?!¡± Klaus, who had been pulled down to the ground, was no longer able to defend himself, and was in a position to take several pretty good hits to the face. Yet he was still resisting, and the beastmen were unable to contain their irritation at his relentless struggle. One of them grabbed him by the chest, pulled him toward himself, then slammed him down to the ground with force. ¡°Gah!¡± The beastmen¡¯s fists slammed into Klaus¡¯s face, causing him to scream in pain. Blood poured from his lips, as if he had been cut inside the mouth. Yet he still moved his arm to fight back, and one of the beastmen slammed him into the ground once more and said with annoyance: ¡°Can¡¯t eat after all this anyway. Let¡¯s just finish him and give the women inside a good time for the damages he caused us.¡± Although it was a four-on-one situation, the beastmen had also suffered quite a bit. They were beginning to think that it would not be worth it to beat Klaus until he lost consciousness to take what was in his pocket. Loren began to walk rather leisurely toward the beastmen holding Klaus down, thinking that at least two of the women inside were much more fearsome than Klaus. ¡°Klaus, you¡¯re surprisingly weak, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°C-cause I¡¯m a lady-killer.¡± Looking at Klaus with a puzzled look for making such a joke while being held down by the chest, Loren called out to the beasts who were glaring at him as if to ask what he was doing. ¡°Felt better after beating him up that bad? I¡¯ll tell him to at least pay the medical bills for your injuries, so let¡¯s let him go.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Do you think we¡¯ll be satisfied with such a small amount of money?¡± One of the beastmen snarled back, and Loren let out a sigh as he reached for the beastman¡¯s chest and casually grabbed it, just as another beastman had done to Klaus. Faster than the beastman could resist, Loren put some strength into his arm and the beastman¡¯s body was lifted up with considerable force, and his feet easily left the ground. Although the beastmen had rather large builds, Loren was somewhat taller than them. Furthermore, by being grabbed by the chest, the beastman¡¯s body was lifted even higher. ¡°Wait, hey! Let go of me!¡± ¡°Klaus, you don¡¯t seem to be used to brawling, so let me teach you something. How to fight a brawl.¡± Letting the beastman flail his legs and try to escape from his arms, Loren spoke to Klaus, who was still lying on the ground. Klaus looked up at Loren with a puzzled expression. The beastmen holding Klaus down also looked at each other, unsure of what was about to happen, and alternately looked at their flailing companions and Loren¡¯s face. ¡°This is how it¡¯s supposed to be!¡± Loren slammed the beastman¡¯s body he was lifting to the ground with force. The unlucky beastman squeezed out something like a strange moan as his back slammed into the ground, but Loren hadn¡¯t finished yet. He stomped his heel into the chest of the beastman as he lay limp on the ground. More strange moans came from the beastman¡¯s mouth and some blood splattered out; the sound of something being broken could definitely be heard from the area where Loren stomped on. The arms and legs of the beastman flapped for a while, then finally flopped to the ground and did not move at all. ¡°Those who don¡¯t think ahead are stronger.¡± After another stomp to finish the job and confirming that the beastman had completely stopped moving, Loren drew his leg back and gave the beastman¡¯s body a proper kick. Without showing any further interest in the beastman, who was now in such a state that he should be more concerned about whether he was alive than worrying about the extent of his injuries, Loren looked around at the beastmen holding Klaus down and asked casually as if he were inviting them out for a walk. ¡°Who wants to be next?¡± ¡°Y-you! Don¡¯t you care about what happens to him?!¡± In response to Loren¡¯s question, one of the remaining beastmen pulled out a small knife and thrusts it at Klaus, perhaps as a threat. The metal gleamed, and Klaus stared at the blade with wide-open eyes, but Loren did not seem bothered, nor did he respond to the threat. He grabbed the beastman who had pulled the knife by the chest, pulled him away and swung him around at once, then slammed him into the ground with momentum. The beastman, who was unable to even take a passive stance due to the sheer force of Loren¡¯s attack, slammed into the ground with his entire body. Without making a single sound, his eyes rolled back, and the knife he had pulled out fell from his powerless hand, making a dry, clattering sound. After confirming that the second beastman he slammed into the ground was completely unconscious, Loren kicked the knife lying on the ground, appropriately enough, toward the onlookers. Seeing the flying knife, the onlookers just watched the situation, unable to raise their voices. ¡°Which one of you wants to be the third one?¡± Loren¡¯s question, which was neither a joke or full of anger, but merely confirming, caused the two beastmen holding Klaus down to move away as if in a hurry to distance themselves from Loren. After regaining his freedom, Klaus stood up, rotating his arms as if to loosen his body and rubbing the parts where he had been hit. He smiled wryly at Loren. ¡°Even if I tell you to copy that, you won¡¯t, I guess.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be impossible to copy that kind of arm strength.¡± Klaus may have workout, but not as much as Loren. Even if he were to try using the greatsword that Loren used, it would probably be impossible for him to wield it satisfactorily. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to copy what I just did. Just learn how it works.¡± Loren looked down at the beastmen, who seemed to have completely lost their will to fight and were sitting on the ground, looking at him as if they were looking at something terrible. ¡°If you think too much, your moves will be dull. It¡¯s a crime to kill your opponent in a brawl, but if you¡¯re not willing to let that happen, you shouldn¡¯t be in a brawl in the first place.¡± ¡°Rather than scary, that¡¯s terrifying.¡± Finally realizing that they had gotten involved with the wrong person, the two sitting beastmen began to tremble. The two beastmen who had been knocked to the ground, were not dead; they coughed violently and moaned as they tried to raise their bodies, but the damages were too severe and they were not able to move properly. They ended up writhing clumsily on the ground The onlookers, too, were rendered speechless by Loren¡¯s display of power of swinging and slamming beastmen of reasonable size with only one arm, and they only looked at the scene of the brawl from a distance. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve pulled quite a crowd huh? What are we going to do about this?¡± ¡°Someone will report this, and the guards will come. I¡¯ll explain the situation to them, they¡¯ll take me away, and it¡¯ll be over.¡± It had somehow become a big deal. The guards who would rush to the scene upon receiving the report would not be able to disperse the crowd without taking anyone away, so it was likely that one of the parties involved would be taken away. But two of the beatsmen who started this were seriously wounded, and Klaus, who was picked on, was also injured in various places. Loren thought that he, who was completely uninjured and the culprit of two seriously injured people, would be the suitable choice to be taken away, but then someone called out to him. ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary. They have a pretty good idea of what¡¯s going on. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find out soon that you are not at fault.¡± Both Loren and Klaus turned their heads at the same time, but Klaus¡¯s reaction was clearly quicker. By the time Loren had finished turning around, Klaus had already walked up to the owner of the voice and was smiling so brightly that it was hard to believe that he had just had a fight. While he was appalled that the man still had not learned his lesson, Loren was able to take a closer look at the owner of the voice thanks to Klaus¡¯s more forward step. She must be from what was called a primitive clan among the beastmen, Loren believed. Her face was very similar to that of a cat. The beastmen he had just beaten looked similar to cats, with cat ears and tails on their human bodies, but this one certainly looked like a cat that had been transformed into a humanoid shape and was walking on two legs. Her clothes were well-tailored women¡¯s clothes that seem to be easy to move in, and her breasts were also well-developed, but all the parts where her skin should be exposed were covered with fur. ¡°Pretty lady, I would like to know your name. I am an adventurer of the human race, and my name is Klaus.¡± ¡°Th-Thank you very much for your kind words. My name is Minuet Shingapul. I am a member of the primitive cat people, and I am the Lord of this city.¡± What in the world was a Lord doing, being on a street like this? Loren felt something fishy there, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to interject when Klaus¡¯ eyes were shining at the reality that the primitive beastwomen he was after were right in front of him and Minuet was becoming rather timid in front of the guy¡¯s reaction. ¡°Minuet, is it? Even your name is beautiful. I¡¯d love to get to know you¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d like to talk business first¡­ I understand that you are the victims, but we can¡¯t just let you go scot-free without an investigation. Turn yourselves in, plea¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I will go wherever you tell me to go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant¡­¡± Minuet flinched, but Klaus didn¡¯t seem to be listening at all. At any rate, it was not going to be possible to just say yes, bye and leave; the girls were still in the middle of eating in the restaurant. Lorren scratched his head and wondered how he was going to explain it all. Chapter 226: A Commission Received After Turning Themselves In Chapter 226: A Commission Received After Turning Themselves In Explaining the situation to the girls was surprisingly easier than Loren had expected. However, Lapis was the only one who was aware and sober. The girls in Klaus¡¯ party, including Ange, were not that heavily under the influence of the alcoholic, but it wasn¡¯t sure whether they were listening to what was being said or not. As for the ones in his own party, Lapis was almost completely clear headed, but Gula looked happy in her sleep, perhaps due to a full stomach, and showed no sign of waking up even when Loren shook her. Having no other choices, after explaining the situation to Lapis, Loren told Minuet that they would definitely report to the designated place but they would need a little more time. When this was accepted, he and Klaus took two of the women who were unable to move properly one at a time and carried them to the inn they planned to stay at tonight. ¡°Should I have passed out too? Loren would have carried me if I did.¡± ¡°Give me a break. Also, didn¡¯t we say that since you¡¯re not out of it, you can go with us to court? ¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say which was better.¡± Loren could only smile wryly at Lapis, who looked as if she was seriously troubled about it. Meanwhile, Klaus paid the bill, then absorbed himself in the task of carrying the drunken and somewhat not-normal girls in his party on his back or in his arms to the inn he had booked. He even made use of the rare blessing > to transport them from one place to another at an unbelievable speed, and even though Loren thought it was something too trivial to use such a blessing for, he still found it amazing. Amidst the confusion, Klaus tried to carry Gula princess style, but Loren grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and pushed Gula¡¯s body toward Lapis, who was ready to pick her up. ¡°What are you doing? You can¡¯t be trying to piss me off, can you?¡± ¡°No way. I only have good intentions¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Then don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Loren said and pushed his face close to intimidate Klaus, who never lost his smile despite slightly twitching. Lapis watched on with Gula¡¯s body in her arms, then she remembered that she couldn¡¯t keep doing this forever and carried Gula properly in har arms. Gula was slightly taller than Lapis. As for body built, if Lapis¡¯ could be described as slim, Gula¡¯s could be described as curvy. ¡°Somehow I¡¯m a little ticked off.¡± Loren looked at Gula and Lapis¡¯ bodies alternately, then said in a serious voice to Lapis, who sounded unhappy as she looked at the area around Gula¡¯s tube top. ¡°Is it really that much to worry about?¡± ¡°This is the kind of thing where the person herself cares more about those around her.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Although he did not understand, Loren avoided further mention on the matter, agreeing that if Lapis said so, that must be so. After they had managed to get the other members of the group into the inn, Loren and the other two moved through the city to go to the place designated by Minuet. The sun was already setting by then. The place was also a rather strange place. Minuet had told them to come to a certain address in the city, which she wrote on a piece of paper and handed to Loren. Loren took Lapis and Klaus to that address, but it was not the Lord¡¯s mansion in the center of the city, but rather a shop located near the outer edge of the city. ¡°This is the so-called red light district.¡± As Lapis described with a blank expression and no hesitation, their group came to a suspicious area with a not-so-favorable atmosphere and a somewhat decadent smell. Lights in strange red and pink colors illuminated various parts of the district ¨C how in the world did they make such shades? Uncouth male beastmen wandered around, while beastwomen in revealing outfits hung around here and there, weaving in and out of the gaps between the lights. The air had a sweet smell to it, and it felt like if you breathed in deeply, your whole lungs would be engulfed in a thick sensation. Loren openly frowned, while Klaus was looking here and there with great interest. ¡°Well, I guess there are tourist attraction places like this everywhere.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of place to meet up with someone claiming to be a lord.¡± ¡°I actually feel very grateful to meet at this kind of place.¡± ¡°Shut up for a minute.¡± Loren and Lapis warned in harmony, and in response, Klaus kept his mouth shut as if they were the ones at fault. But he seemed to have no intention of refraining from giving unreserved glances to those around him, and he waved back at the beastwomen who occasionally waved to him, paying no heed to Loren and Lapis¡¯ disgusted glances. ¡°So, which shop?¡± ¡°Probably this, I think.¡± Lapis pointed to a building that looked a bit plain in a district lined with suspicious-looking buildings. Still, Loren found it sufficiently garish and gaudy. At the entrance, there were some thug-like beastmen hanging around. Loren didn¡¯t want to go near them, but he felt that he might get into a lot of trouble if he ignored the instructions of someone claiming to be the Lord to come in, so he approached the entrance, though reluctantly. ¡°What do you want?¡± Noticing Loren¡¯s group approaching, one of the beastmen came toward them. He had a knife in his hand, and although Loren didn¡¯t feel very nicely about him flashing the naked blade at them, he couldn¡¯t be rough with the guy, considering that he was probably doing his job. He showed him the piece of paper that Minuet had handed to him. ¡°We were summoned here by the one who gave us this.¡± The beastman looked at the piece of paper Loren presented as if he was looking at something fishy, but eventually noticed the writing on I. He continued to stare at it for a while, then turned his gaze away and jerked his chin at the entrance to the building. ¡°Come in. A guide will be waiting for you inside.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± The beastman had not become more affable, but he seemed to be the type of person who did his job properly. After briefly thanking the guy, who did not try to do anything else after indicating that they should enter, Loren led Lapis and Klaus through the indicated entrance and into the building. The building was dimly lit, with doors leading to rooms on either side of a long passageway. A beastwoman, also in a very revealing outfit, was waiting near the entrance; as soon as Loren¡¯s group entered, she bowed and announced that she would show them the way. Following her, the group walked down the hallway and were led to a single door, where they were urged to enter. Loren opened the door and stepped inside. There was only one round table in the room, and on one of the chairs surrounding the table, Loren could see Minuet, whom he had met during the day, sitting there, dressed as she was during the day. ¡°Welcome, Loren-sama.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not one to be called ¡®sama¡¯.¡± Minuet stood stood up and greeted Loren, who replied in a curt manner, but Klaus bowed politely and walked up to Minuet to take his place. ¡°Thank you for inviting me, Minuet-sama.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t invite you in particular¡­¡± Minuet tried to correct hurriedly, but Loren could not tell whether her words had properly reached Klaus¡¯ ears. ¡°There must be a reason why you asked us to come here today¡­¡± ¡°Klaus, the talk can¡¯t go on like this. Shut up for a minute.¡± Minuet tried to move the conversation along, but Klaus pressed on, appearing to not listen at all. It wasn¡¯t Loren¡¯s duty to help, but he had a feeling that if he left things as they were, they would continue to go back and forth forever, so he had no choice but to interject. Klaus reluctantly backed away, and Minuet, looking relieved, urged Loren and the others to take their seats. When they had sat down, Minuet opened her mouth. ¡°How about a drink and something to eat?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk business first. You didn¡¯t choose this shop to interview us about a fight in the city, did you?¡± If they had been ordered to report to the Lord¡¯s mansion or the soldiers¡¯ station, it would have been a straightforward interview and a notice of punishment for the brawl. However, as it was a room in a shop in the redlight district, it was unlikely to be an interrogation or a notice, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder what on earth she wanted. ¡°I see. Then¡­ are you aware that there is currently an anomaly in the city of Karlovy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d call it an anomaly, or just something that is happening¡±, Lapis answered before Loren did. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that a large percentage of visitors leave unsatisfied. Is there some kind of blunder?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a blunder. The cause is under investigation, but¡­ Things do not look good.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± To Loren¡¯s question, Minuet opened and closed her mouth several times and looked terribly lost, as if she was afraid to say it. But eventually, she seemed to decide that it would be easier to bring up the next discussion if she spoke honestly, so she took a deep breath, looked Loren squarely in the eye and began to talk. ¡°Karlovy is a city of food and hot spring. It used to be a tourist destination that sold delicious food and offered a warm hot spring, but a few days ago, the hot spring suddenly became unserviceable.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®unserviceable¡¯?¡± ¡°I heard that the water quality of the hot spring has changed. They said it might be harmful to the bodies, and that we should forbid its use.¡± Minuet said that, since the city sold itself as a city of food and hot spring, they had imposed quite strict checks on the quality of these two things. During one of these checks, the hot spring water was found to be toxic. This had forced the temporary closure of all hot spring facilities, and the town of Karlovy was now unable to use one of its selling services. ¡°I see. So that¡¯s why some of them came back in a bad mood.¡± Loren thought that if he had come because he heard that the hot springs were very great but then were told that they were unserviceable, he would have been angry. And considering the kind of information a tourist who went through such an experience would give out outside the city, it was certainly a matter of life and death for Karlovy. ¡°So, I would like to ask all of you, who are probably skilled adventurers, to represent this city.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon, My Lady, any hardships of yours, this Klau¡­¡± A single dull thud cut off Klaus¡¯s interjections. With half-lidded eyes, Loren looked at Klaus crumpling on the table and Lapis standing behind him, holding a chair with both hands. He gave her a firm thumb up as a response. ¡°Eh? What?¡± ¡°Never mind it. Please continue.¡± ¡°H-haa¡­. So, this is my commission.¡± In the form of a commission, Minuet told Loren to investigate the source of the hot spring in the city. If the water quality of the hot spring had deteriorated and became harmful, she wanted to know what had mixed with the spring water and where, and what could have caused it. ¡°Officially, we declare that this unusual phenomenon will soon be resolved. Of course, there is no basis for this declaration, but if we didn¡¯t say so, not only the visitors but also the native residents of this town might start a riot.¡± The hot spring was the lifeblood of this town; if it was to be ruined, the impact on the residents would be immeasurable. Minuet said that it was why she secretly made the request behind the scenes. She chose to meet in the redlight district because she believed that even if someone wanted to eavesdrop, they would not be able to get into the district so easily. ¡°How about it? Would you be willing to accept my commission?¡± Minuet leaned forward and appealed to Loren. As someone who wanted to enjoy his vacation, he had no intention of accepting the commission, but if it was not resolved, the atmosphere in the town would be dark and the price of food would skyrocket. ¡°How about this? Please.¡± Minuet, who seemed to sense from Loren¡¯s face that he was not very enthusiastic, began to bow her head so low that it looked as if she was about to hit her forehead on the table top. Not knowing how to respond to the sight of a humanoid cat-like being bowing so desperately, Loren instinctively exchanged a glance with Lapis. Chapter 227: Explaining The Purpose Chapter 227: Explaining The Purpose Proofreader: Xemul It was the next day, and their group were at the south gate of the city of Karlovy. ¡°So Loren decided to accept the commission, is that correct?¡± Leila, fully armed, asked Loren with her arms folded in front of her chest, and he nodded, albeit slowly. ¡°May I ask why you took it?¡± ¡°The main reason is, how should I put it? It was your leader who first said he would take it.¡± Loren reminded her, and Leila turned her steely gaze toward Klaus. Klaus, who for some reason was carrying a large luggage on his back, noticed her gaze, started and shivered, then began to sneakily move away from her line of sight. ¡°The Lord is a woman, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the main reason. I could have left him to it, but¡­ Well, maybe I felt it was too late to turn back, or maybe I was feeling responsible for being there and couldn¡¯t stop that guy¡­¡± The question of whether or not he should have stopped Klaus even if he had to beat him up kept coming back to Loren¡¯s mind, unanswered even now. It was somehow strange to accept a job offer at a place they had traveled to for a vacation. However, the fact that half of the appeal of the place was unserviceable meant that they couldn¡¯t enjoy their vacation to the bottom of their hearts, so he believed it was not a bad idea to work a little to eliminate the cause for concern. ¡°You say the hot springs are no longer available, but what is actually happening?¡± Leila asked as she led the group through the south gate. Behind her was Loren and Lapis, who walked side by side with Loren, followed by Gula, Ange, and Laure. Klaus walked at the end of the line. ¡°Originally, the hot spring water here was opaque, but it has turned a reddish-brown color and began to smell like rusty iron and decay.¡± ¡°Could it have been blood?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. It seems like it, though. But how much blood is there to make all the hot springs in the city become like that?¡± If just a small amount of blood got mixed into the source of the hot springs, it would not have been discernible to the entire city, and while it was a creepy story, it would not have been enough to cause a fuss. However, as all the hot springs in the city were in such a state, one would have to assume that the amount of whatever got mixed in was also quite large. And if it was in fact blood, it would mean that an unthinkable amount of blood was mixed into the hot springs¡¯ source or somewhere else. ¡°That¡¯s hard to imagine.¡± And if it was blood, then it had to flow out endlessly. Otherwise, as soon as the hot water with the blood in it finished its flow, the original clean water would have to flow back in. ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if there is a wounded dragon plunged into the source. If not, then blood is probably not the most likely explanation.¡± ¡°Then what do you think, Loren?¡± Loren shrugged at the question. ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why I¡¯m going to check it out.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s fair enough, but, you know,¡­¡± Leila didn¡¯t stop talking while leading their group. While thinking that she was surprisingly talkative, Loren had no intention of stopping her, since the questions Leila asked also help in explaining the situation to Ange and Laure, who were walking behind them. ¡°If she is a Lord, doesn¡¯t she have at least a few trusted soldiers?¡± ¡°Not sure. But those trusted soldiers should also be beastmen, right?¡± The answer Loren gave was not clear to Leila, and she frowned as if asking for some additional explanation. Loren had no choice but to continue. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for everyone, but¡­ I¡¯ve heard that investigation is a difficult task for beastmen.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I see.¡± The beastman race was generally considered not suited for detailed work, although there were a few exceptions. It was something recognized by both beastmen and others; the beastmen do seem to be aware of this. ¡°If she lets the soldiers under her command do the investigation, it will probably only make things worse.¡± ¡°She is a splendid Lord in that she is aware of the situation and does think of countermeasures.¡± Lapis said as if she was impressed, but Loren and Leila could only smile vaguely when hearing this, not knowing whether to be impressed or not. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s very commendable to give a commission to an adventurer you¡¯ve just met for the first time, is it? Especially when it¡¯s directly from the Lord herself.¡± ¡°The information is the lifeblood of the city, but it¡¯s not as confidential as military secrets. If you delay in dealing with it, it will eventually become known.¡± ¡°The reason why the Lord directly commissioned us is that, she was just in the middle of looking for someone good when she met Klaus, and it just clicked.¡± ¡°Klaus?¡± Lapis looked back at Leila, who looked surprised, with an equally surprised look on her face. Loren could somewhat understand both their feelings. Lapis probably thought that between him and Klaus, Klaus was obviously the one easier to deal with, and she found it natural that the Lord had her eyes on Klaus. Leila, on the other hand, probably thought that Loren would be more easily noticed than Klaus, who was too soft on women despite being under ¡®familial punishment¡¯. And thus she was surprised to hear that the Lord had her attention on Klaus instead. But after a while, Leila was the first to show the look of understanding on her face. ¡°She sensed that Klaus is a womanizer¡­¡± ¡°Not directly so, but¡­¡± Lord Minuet told Loren and Klaus that she chose them was very likely because her intuition told her that Klaus wouldn¡¯t refuse her. At the same time, however, Minuet knew that she would not be able to finalize the discussion if she dealt directly with Klaus, and as a result, she made her request to Klaus through Lor¨¦n. ¡°Is that idiot so obvious that even a complete stranger can see through him?¡± Leila glared at Klaus, who was walking at the end of the group. Klaus tried to look for a place to escape from her gaze, but he could not find it and had no choice but to turn around to use the luggage on his back as a shield. ¡°Be it wild intuition or beastly intuition, Lord-sama does have a good instinct.¡± ¡°The commission was accepted, so it can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s unfortunate for you, but you¡¯ll just have to live with the misfortune of being here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m rather willing to do it, though.¡± Leila called the commission a misfortune, but Lapis responded with surprising words. Not expecting Lapis to be interested, Loren and Leila looked at each other with a blank expression, but she continued. ¡°This is about the hot springs we went through so much trouble to visit? I am looking forward to a big bath, and I¡¯d hate it if I can¡¯t use the hot springs. We should investigate the cause and restore the hot springs¡¯ service as soon as possible. ¡°I see.¡± Leila nodded, as if the explanation Lapis gave with all her might was understandable. ¡°The reward she offers us is not bad. If we can remove the cause of the problem and make the hot springs available, she will give us a bonus.¡± ¡°So from what I understand, the commission is just to investigate the cause, right?¡± Investigating the cause and removing the cause were on different levels of difficulty; that was why Leila wanted to confirm the commission¡¯s details. Loren nodded. ¡°Yes. The main purpose is to investigate first. We were told that there is no need to forcibly solve the problem.¡± ¡°Of course she wants us to do it if we can, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m aiming for.¡± Leila could see that there seemed to be a big difference in enthusiasm between Loren and Lapis regarding this commission. Leila wondered if it was the difference between those who liked baths and those who did not care for it. If asked which side she was on, she thought it would be Lapis, who would like to be able to use the hot springs. ¡°So, we¡¯re heading south, but what¡¯s the actual plan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the canal that brings the hot springs to the city is underground.¡± Lapis kicked at the ground with her heel. The canal was built underground to prevent any kind of filth from getting into the hot springs that run to the city, but this had the disadvantage that it made things difficult to investigate if something went wrong. ¡°It is difficult to investigate a canal buried underground, so we will go to the warm water lake at the other end of the canal and investigate there.¡± If there was no problem at the end of the canal, then the canal was the problem. The Lord asked them to conduct an investigation to determine that first, but before that, Leila wanted to make sure of something. ¡°A warm water lake?¡± Leila asked about the unfamiliar words, and Lapis continued to politely explain. ¡°There is a lake at the end of the canal where the hot spring temporarily gathers. Although I said ¡®warm water¡¯, the lake is actually filled with boiling water, so it may be quite dangerous to go near it.¡± ¡°The lake is about half a day¡¯s walk to the south.¡± The road leading to the place was a gentle uphill. The difference in elevation was utilized to send the hot water to the town. ¡°The thing that bothers me is that the Lord said that the lake is surrounded by a forest.¡± ¡°What¡¯s bothering you about that?¡± Leila thought there was nothing strange about the fact that there was a forest around the lake, but Lapis shook her head to disagree. ¡°A forest surrounding a lake full of boiling water? It¡¯s not the proper environment. It is strange that there is a forest there. Also, hot springs are usually formed when groundwater boils due to geothermal heat, which is often near volcanoes, but there are no volcanoes at all in the vicinity of the hot water lake.¡± In addition, places where hot springs welled up often have some kind of gas emanating from them, so it was not an easy place for living creatures to live. Yet there was no such environment at the place of the hot spring lake, and that fact bothered Lapis. However, she did not raise these questions to the Lord because she believed that even if she did, she would only be told that it was just an exception, or that it was nothing to be concerned about. ¡°There are exceptions to everything. If we go there, maybe we¡¯ll know?¡± In any case, if they didn¡¯t examine the actual place, they wouldn¡¯t make any progress. Thinking so, Lapis called out to the others, then walked a little faster along the road leading to the warm water lake. Chapter 228: Camping at The Destination Chapter 228: Camping at The Destination Proofreader: Xemul As Loren and his group proceeded, the surrounding landscape gradually changed from grassland to forest-like. The wind was warm and humid, and there was a strange smell, albeit faint, in the air. ¡°I forgot to mention something.¡± While stepping on the huge black thing lying at his feet and using all his might to pull out the greatsword he had stuck into it, Loren told Leila and the others, who were watching him from afar. ¡°I heard that there are a lot of dangerous things around here, so be careful.¡± ¡°You should have told us that in the beginning.¡± Loren pulled out his greatsword, which had been stuck quite deep inside the black thing, shook off the blood on the blade, and shrugged at Leila¡¯s reproachful words. ¡°Yeah. My bad.¡± ¡°Really! That gave me a heart attack.¡± Ange raised her voice in protest despite sounding tremulous with fear, and Loren meekly bowed his head. Indeed, not telling the group about the possible danger from the beginning could have put them all at risk. Loren was well aware that it was his fault for being negligent. ¡°Um, what is that?¡± Laure asked, pointing to the object on which Loren¡¯s foot was resting. It had slipped through the trees and suddenly jumped out from the side, and Loren had killed it with a single blow from the greatsword drawn from his back. Since it was bleeding, it was certain to be a living thing, but Laure and the others were still unable to identify the rather huge creature. The person who killed it, Loren, was also unsure of its true identity, as he only swung his greatsword reflexively at something that jumped out at him. ¡°I think it was a bear.¡± ¡°A bear?¡± ¡°A young black bear. Probably a male.¡± Lapis, who was crouching beside the bear that Loren had killed and was investigating its true identity, seemed to have found the answer. She lightly dusted her knee as she stood up. ¡°It was a pretty ferocious and tough animal, but¡­ With just one strike.¡± The bear had attacked Loren, and he had intercepted it head-on with his greatsword, splitting and shattering the bear¡¯s head with one single strike. ¡°Is it edible?¡± ¡°It is. It¡¯s an animal.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s cut it up and take it with us.¡± Loren pulled out a dagger from inside his jacket, feeling that it would be a waste to just cast the creature aside after killing it. It would be difficult to use every last bit of the carcass, but if it could help improve today¡¯s dinner, it would be worth the time. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. The rest of you can take a rest.¡± ¡°I can help too? It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have any experience with it.¡± Leila offered, but Loren rejected it softly but firmly. ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if something strange comes out.¡± ¡°What kind of strange thing?¡± ¡°This is just between you and me.¡± Leila stepped forward, and Loren leaned in a little closer, put his hand over his mouth and spoke in a whisper so that the other members could not hear. >¡±It¡¯s something the Lord who gave us this commission said. She mentioned that she gave similar commissions to several parties before us.¡± >¡±What does that have to do with this?¡± >¡±She hired us despite that, meaning none of the parties commissioned before us were successful in their requests. Do you understand?¡± It was half a day¡¯s walk from the town to the lake. It was not close, but it was not very far either. The parties that had left before their group had not succeeded in completing any of the commissions, even though they were only such a short distance away¡­ Leila spent a short while pondering what it meant. >¡±Could it be that none have returned¡­?¡± >¡±I guess so. If they had been able to come back to the city, the Lord would have had some information. But she doesn¡¯t, so they probably haven¡¯t.¡± There was no way of knowing what the fate of the parties that had failed to return had been, but at least there were no traces of them left in the vicinity of the path that their party had taken. But then, where the hell had they gone? Leila thought about it, then came to a horrifying conclusion and turned her attention to the black bear carcass lying on the ground. >¡±We don¡¯t know what happened, but just in case.¡± Leila, who wasn¡¯t able to deny the implication of Loren¡¯s words, quietly walked back to where Ange and the others were watching over her. Laughing to himself that it was good to be honest with her, Loren quickly began to cut up the bear with his dagger. ¡°We can¡¯t carry them all, so I¡¯ll just pick the parts that look tasty. The rest will be¡­ Well, let¡¯s hope some empty stomach will clean it up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Gula nodded and beat her chest. Although Loren was not referring to her by name, she was the only one present who could clean up whatever of the bear that was left over from the process. Loren carefully removed the meat from the flanks, arms, legs, and back. He also checked the internal organs just to be sure, then cut out the heart and liver. The large amount of blood that streamed out was mostly absorbed by the earth, but some of it was secretly sucked off as fresh food by Nig, the spider on Loren¡¯s shoulder, without the other members noticing. The bear¡¯s stomach was nearly empty, and Loren didn¡¯t find anything like he had worried. However, there was no way to tell if it meant that this bear had not fed on their poor predecessors, or if it had already digested them to the point that there was nothing left of them. ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot of food, even with careful selection.¡± Because of the size of the black bear itself, the chunks of meat he had cut out were also quite large and heavy. As Loren began to wonder what to do with the meat, Lapis quickly picked up some wide blades of grass and leaves from the surrounding area, packed the meat, and without any hesitation, shoved it into the large backpack that Klaus was carrying. This made the backpack even bulkier, but Klaus just smiled wryly without a single complaint. After Loren cleaned his bloodied gear with a cloth, the group started moving forward again. Not long after, they came upon a huge lake on the other side of a thickly wooded area that was emitting considerable heat, humidity, and smell. ¡°This is probably the place.¡± Loren stood by the side of the road, beyond the trees, and gazed at the scene spread out before him, his face contorted because of the damp, hot wind and smell that was blowing at him. It was a lake formed by the accumulation of hot springs, the destination of their trip. The lake seemed to have quite an intricate shape, with a large portion of it hidden by trees and such, making it impossible to view it in entirety. Even so, the distance from the shore to the other side of the lake was quite far, indicating how large the lake was. The surface of the lake was indeed a dark reddish-brown color, and the smell of rusty iron mixed with the odor of decay was very unpleasant to the nose. ¡°So that eliminates the possibility that there is trouble somewhere in the waterway.¡± Since the hot water in the lake itself was already showing the same symptoms as the hot springs in town, they had to assume that the cause was either in this lake or somewhere closer to the source than the lake. ¡°I guess so. Well, what should we do from here?¡± A quick look around was not enough to tell anything, but at least as far as Loren could see, there was nothing on the lake or its shores that could possibly be causing the water quality to deteriorate. Wondering if perhaps the cause was in the lake, Loren took off one glove, exposed the skin of his hand, then crouched down and reached out to touch the surface of the lake, only to withdraw his hand the moment his fingertips made slight contact with the surface. Lapis, guessing that something had probably happened for Loren to move at that speed, tried to take his hand while preparing a healing spell, but he stopped her. He wiped his slightly wet fingertips with a cloth he pulled out from his luggage, then threw the cloth to the ground. ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really hot, and the water itself is strange ¨C it has melted my skin.¡± Loren did not know where the hot water was coming from, but he assumed that it must have cooled down somewhat when coming to the lakeside, so he touched the surface with his fingers. But the water was as hot as if it had just been poured out from a kettle over a fire. He also felt a slimy sensation on his fingertips after touching it, and when he rubbed them, the fingerprints disappeared, which led Loren to the conclusion that the surface of his skin had melted. It would indeed be bad for business if this kind of hot water was used in the hot springs facilities. ¡°First, getting in there is out of the question. It¡¯ll kill us.¡± ¡°In that case¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a look around first and see what we can find.¡± If they just came here, observed, then went home, they could hardly say that they had done their research. They must stay at this place for a certain amount of time, and they must secure a place for that purpose. If they chose a bad location, the humidity and smell would be unbearable, so Loren suggested walking along the shore of the lake to find a good place to observe the lake, and no one objected. A little while after they started walking, Loren noticed something: The reddish-brown water was muddy, but there was a part of the water that was clear. ¡°You said that hot springs are cloudy, didn¡¯t you?¡± Loren confirmed with Lapis, and she nodded. ¡°What do you think about this?¡± ¡°Maybe the cause of the impure water is in the lake itself, rather than in the source? Or maybe there is more than one source supplying hot water to the lake?¡± If the cause of the current strange phenomenon was in the lake, a possible reason for the proportion of clear water was that there were areas where it had started to change and areas where it hadn¡¯t. Another possibility was that impure hot water and clear hot water were discharged from separate places, creating areas where the hot water did not mix. Loren pondered Lapis¡¯ opinion. ¡°But if hot water is discharged from two or more different sources, does that mean it has been like this even before the anomaly occurred?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t necessarily mean so. It is possible that the relative density and viscosity of the muddy water has changed, making it difficult for it to mix with the clear water.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just report this without specifying the cause and call it an end, can we?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they would pay us for that.¡± As they talked, Loren and Lapis took the lead and the rest of the team members followed them along the lakeside. ¡°Loren, this place looks kind of nice, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis pulled at Loren¡¯s sleeve and pointed to a corner of the lakeside. It was like a cove in the middle of the lake, where the humidity and smell rising from the lake would miraculously be not much of a bother, and for some unknown reason, it seemed that only the clear hot water was flowing into the cove. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± Loren muttered. He bared his hand again and crouched down by the lakeside to check the hot water. Strangely enough, the water there was only slightly hot, and there was no stinging sensation on the skin. Loren brought his wet hand up to his nose, and there was no unpleasant smell, so he thought it would be okay. ¡°It looks good. How about we set up camp here and do a full-scale survey tomorrow?¡± ¡°We have no objection. We agree with Loren¡¯s proposal.¡± Leila, after asking for Ange¡¯s and Laure¡¯s opinions, told Loren that there was no problem on behalf of their party. Loren felt a tiny bit of pity for the fact that Klaus was so naturally ignored, but since it wasn¡¯t going to be a problem, he thought that it would be fine to leave them as is. He turned his gaze to Gula to ask for her opinion. Although she didn¡¯t look too thrilled, she nodded once she noticed his eyes. ¡°Then put your luggage down, clear the ground, and get ready to camp.¡± Loren gave instructions after confirming that no one had any objections. In response, everyone began to make the necessary preparations. Chapter 229: Tempted by Strange Thoughts Chapter 229: Tempted by Strange Thoughts Proofreader: Xemul The hot water was so clear that they could see the bottom of the lake. As far as they could see from the shore, the bottom of the lake was covered with a fine sand-like substance, and they could not see anything that seemed to be dangerous. Also, the lake¡¯s depth suddenly increased a little further from the shore, but the water seemed to be only up to Lapis¡¯ waist at most. ¡°We can take a bath here just like this, can¡¯t we?¡± Ange said as if she had suddenly been struck with a great idea. Loren gave her a skeptical look. Indeed, the hot water in the lake in front of them had the right temperature, and didn¡¯t irritate the skin. Since it was well off the street, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being seen by anyone either. The only one who could be watching would be Loren and Klaus. Their camp was not set up near the lakeside, but rather a short distance away. The lake was filled with boiling water; it was not a good idea to be too close to the water¡¯s edge in case of an unexpected attack. And considering these circumstances, it was not too difficult to block the view from the camp. In the worst case scenario, Loren and Klaus would only have to look away from the lake for as long as they needed to. In other words, it was not so difficult to make Ange¡¯s suggestion a reality ¨C it was just a matter of how. Loren wondered, however, if it would be a good idea to take a bath just because it was readily available, when they didn¡¯t even know what was lurking around. He thought it was too careless, but Leila and Laure took to Ange¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Indeed, this scenery is hard to come by.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be an open-air bath, won¡¯t it?¡± The sun was still quite high. They had left Karlovy in the morning, arrived at the lake after a half-day¡¯s journey, and had only done some casual exploring, there should still be quite a bit of time left until the evening. Loren wondered if they wanted to take a bath because of the time, but then lightly slapped himself to straighten his thoughts. It shouldn¡¯t be about the time of day or the scenery, but about taking a bath here, and about preventing that somehow. The party had seven members in total. Three had already agreed with the idea. If a majority vote was taken, their idea couldn¡¯t be overturned once the majority, four people, agreed with it. Loren had thought that they would still need one more person, but when he saw Klaus with a face that showed he was thinking about something absolutely ridiculous, he realized that the deal was already set. There was almost no chance that Klaus, who was thinking of taking a mixed bath if there was a chance, would reject the idea that might provide him with that chance. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be more vigilant? We don¡¯t know what¡¯s out there.¡± Still, he couldn¡¯t not warn them. When Loren expressed his reluctance, Leila countered. ¡°But even during normal commissions, if there is a place with water near the camp, people will bathe in it. In this case, it just happened to be hot water, so it is not so out of the ordinary.¡± It was not like Loren didn¡¯t know what she meant. When he was a mercenary, he had been told that if there was a stream or river near the company¡¯s campsite, he should bathe in it and cleanse his body. Mercenaries couldn¡¯t be said to keep very good hygiene, but being filthy would only lead to illness, and it was the policy of their company to wash and bathe as much as possible when they could. ¡°What do you think, Lapis?¡± Having had actual experiences, Loren could not find a more effective way to refute this argument, so he asked Lapis, who was standing by his side, for her opinion. ¡°I think we need to be vigilant, but if Loren is vigilant, I think it¡¯s going to be fine.¡± [¡®I¡¯ll take care of the wide-area monitor for you, onii-san.¡¯] As if in response to Lapis¡¯ words, Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in Loren¡¯s mind. With the ability of Shayna, the King of Death, it was possible to know if any living beings within a fairly wide area were trying to approach their encampment. Even if, by mistake, an undead being were to approach from the bottom of the lake, it would be extremely difficult for it to draw closer under the watchful eye of the King of Death, the highest-ranking undead being. The only exception that could slip through Shayna¡¯s monitor was an Elder, the highest-ranking vampires, coming from the bottom of the lake while erasing all of their traces. But the possibility of an Elder coming from the bottom of the hot water to harm the girls while they were taking a bath was so low that it was ridiculous to even think about. ¡°Besides, we haven¡¯t experienced a hot spring yet, even though we¡¯ve come all the way to the hot spring town.¡± As Lapis let out her true feelings, Loren¡¯s shoulders dropped, but no one objected to her words. The only one who didn¡¯t seem to be too keen on the idea was, strangely, Gula, but she also didn¡¯t seem to be willing to voice her objections and remained silent. ¡°What do you think, Loren?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no choice. First, let¡¯s take the rope out of the luggage.¡± With five approved, one opposed, and one neither approved nor opposed, there was no way to overturn the decision, so Loren decided to go with the majority and made a request that had everyone wondering what the hell he was starting. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d be setting up a bathhouse at a place like this.¡± Despite his grumbling, Loren started to work on the place without stopping once he had decided to give in. He purposely left the undergrowth near the lakeside uncut to form a natural wall, and hung cloths on the ropes tied to the trees to create a simple but effective partition to block eyes. If the wind blew, the other side could still be seen, but since they were in the open air, they would have to put up with it. The work was almost complete when he laid out some cloths on the ground, creating a place to change clothes and wipe wet bodies. He also covered a suitably large rock with a cloth, making a place to sit down. ¡°Loren, can you tell me why you tied me up with the rope first?¡± Near Loren, who was working, lay Klaus, blindfolded, hands and feet bound with ropes, unable to move. Loren was dismayed to see that he had crawled over like a caterpillar. He had left the guy lying on the edge of the encampment because he was in the way of his work. ¡°Do you really need me to say it out loud?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unthinkable if you think I¡¯ll peek at them. I would like to ask you to correct that opinion.¡± Loren felt a little surprised at Klaus¡¯ words. He had expected that Klaus, with his indiscriminate fondness for all women, would definitely take a peek when the ladies were bathing here, but Klaus¡¯ denial did not sound like a lie to him. ¡°I will not sneak a peek. I will demand a mixed bath directly and openly!¡± ¡°I understand. Just lie there for a while.¡± Doing it openly wouldn¡¯t make it better. If the only girls present were Ange group, he could have told him to do as he pleased. But since Lapis and Gula were also present, the idea of letting Klaus see them was unacceptable to Loren. ¡°I know you want to see, too, Loren!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t. I¡¯m a man, too.¡± Loren couldn¡¯t say that he was not interested. However, in his mercenary days, there were countless stories of people who had been subjected to unthinkable horrors for peeping on female mercenaries bathing, and Loren was often shown the scars. The mercenaries probably told Loren those stories to warn him that he should be careful not to get found out because if he did, he would be in similar trouble. But for Loren, this meant that if he didn¡¯t want to be in trouble, he shouldn¡¯t peek. ¡°I still want to be in one piece, you know. I¡¯m not willing to trade an earlobe or the tip of my pinky finger for a piece of my dick.¡± ¡°What a scary thing to say¡­¡± ¡°Do you want to hear the story of a guy who got one of his balls crushed because he thought if he still had one of them, it wouldn¡¯t be a performance problem?¡± ¡°Crushed¡­¡± ¡°He laughed and said he was glad he didn¡¯t have one eye.¡± As Loren continued to work while having such a disturbing conversation, the place took shape to some extent. Lapis and the girls entered the other side of the partition with change clothes and cloths to wipe their bodies. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know this, Loren, but you can¡¯t peek.¡± Before going to the other side of the partition, Lapis approached Loren, stabbed her index finger to his chest and said. With Klaus tied up on the ground and couldn¡¯t possibly peek, such a warning could only be directed at Loren now. He nodded and replied. ¡°I value my life a lot.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see through the cracks either. Just look the other way, okay?¡± ¡°Do you really have no trust in me?¡± Loren looked a bit downcast at Lapis¡¯ emphasis, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. She repeated it once more. ¡°You really, really can¡¯t. Absolutely can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Whassis Lapis-chan? What¡¯s with all the pretense?¡± A surprised-looking Gula, who was carrying an armful of clothes and other things, interjected from behind Lapis. Wondering what this was about, Loren looked at Lapis. For a moment, Lapis, who had kept a really serious face, smiled slightly. ¡°You can¡¯t, alright?¡± ¡°Sorry for your expectation, but that¡¯s impossible. I can¡¯t answer such a question.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask Ange¡¯s group to go somewhere that can¡¯t be seen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been looking forward to this~¡± Waving her hands, Lapis disappeared to the other side of the partition. ¡°In the end, do you even want to hide or not¡­¡± Loren watched her go with a very tired face. At his feet, Klaus, who was so frustrated that his expression was recognizable even with the blindfold, was gritting his teeth. Chapter 230: From Bathing to Chaos Chapter 230: From Bathing to Chaos Proofreader: Xemul ¡°I see, this view is not easily¡­ experienced indoors.¡± ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it? If I had a glass of chilled wine to go with this, I wouldn¡¯t have anything else to say. But it would be too extravagant to ask for that much.¡± ¡°We do have some not-chilled wine, though?¡± ¡°Just as expected, Ange. I¡¯ll have some as soon as I get in.¡± The conversation drifting through the cloth went in one of Loren¡¯s ears and out the other. Of course, Lapis and the other girls were on the other side of the cloth, so there was no way to know what kind of scene was unfolding there, but Loren was in the middle of thinking that he had made a huge mistake in setting up the site. The reason was, the sun was setting just in the direction of the lake where the girls were about to bathe. That alone might not have mattered, but the cloth that Loren had stretched between the trees to hide them from the camp was not that thick. He had chosen such a thin cloth because a thick cloth would take up too much space to carry, but the result was playing out before his eyes. ¡°Silhouettes are also¡­ Well, I don¡¯t know how to put it.¡± You couldn¡¯t see through to the other side of the cloth. But the shadows of Lapis and the other girls, created by the light of the setting sun, were reflected on the cloth used to block them from view. Moreover, perhaps because of the proximity, the shadows were so sharp that Loren could see every detail of them. They would be out of sight if they would just quickly get into the lake, but the girls were not so eager to do so, because none of them had experienced bathing outside before and the beautiful scenery. ¡°But why is it that only the water in this area isn¡¯t murky?¡± ¡°Perhaps because the clear water is gushing out from some place near here. Because of the flow, that brown water doesn¡¯t seem to be coming this way.¡± ¡°It seems a little warm, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°If you stay in for a long time, it should be just warm enough.¡± Loren wondered if they were planning to stay in for a long time as he heard the conversation through the cloth. He was worried that they might be a little too relaxed, but there was no way to tell them at the moment. ¡°But¡­ If you look at it, Gula is big.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. What are you looking at when you say that?¡± ¡°Mainly your breasts?¡± ¡°Yous are quite big, too, aren¡¯t they? Have you given them a squeeze yet?¡± Gula¡¯s question, which was accompanied by a somewhat vulgar laugh, provoked a dramatic reaction from Leila. ¡°Wh-what are y-y-y-y-ou¡­¡± ¡°Leila, you¡¯re too flustered. No one thinks you¡¯re an aunty just because you¡¯re the oldest one here. Even if it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°Ange! You!¡± Some kind of scuffle seemed to have started, but Loren was staring blankly at the shadowy scene with dead eyes. The silhouettes of the grappling Leila and Ange, who had not yet entered the lake, clearly showed the sizes and the shaking motions of various body parts, making Loren wonder if it was okay to continue watching, even though they were just silhouettes. But since he had not seen the real thing, he decided on his own that there was no reason for them to complain. ¡°Oh, you two! Don¡¯t you think we might attract some attention if you are too rowdy?¡± ¡°Shut up, Laure, you flat-chested! I¡¯m busy punishing the girl who taunted this knight!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, stay out of it, straight-body girl! Now I¡¯m going to teach this aunty the wonders of youth! Bigger is not always better!¡± ¡°Flat-chested¡­ Straight-body girl¡­¡± Loren thought that the silhouette that had just fallen to the ground was probably Laure¡¯s. She was devastated by the almost insulting words of her two companions, but as far as Loren could see, her silhouette didn¡¯t show any ups and downs either vertically or horizontally, so much so that it might not be surprising if she were to receive such an evaluation. Still, compared to Nim the Elf, a silver ranked adventurer in the city of Kapha, Loren thought that Laure still had some curves, though she completely lost in the waist department, and he prayed for her soul. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that one alone and get ourselves some hot water.¡± ¡°Lapis-chan ain¡¯t budged at all¡­¡± Leaving Ange and Leila, who were still wrestling with each other, Lapis and Gula seemed to be walking into the lake. Loren unconsciously gasped, seeing their silhouettes. Gula¡¯s silhouette was truly worthy of the saying ¡®curves in all the right place¡¯, with sizable breasts and narrow waist. The curves from her waist to her buttocks, despite being just shadows, were so strangely sexy that Loren instinctively felt carnal desire. And the way things shook with her movements was so shocking that even those with a great deal of self-control could lose their minds, and unintentionally Loren unconsciously swallowed his saliva and cleared his throat. Next to her, Lapis was a few levels below Gula in terms of sizes, but the allure of her curves didn¡¯t lose to Gula¡¯s at all. In particular, the curves from her flanks to her hips were so magnificent that Loren believed they could be cut out and presented as works of art on their own. And compared to Gula, there was not much shaking, but it was due to the tautness of youth, which gave it a different charm. After all these musings, Loren suddenly realized that he had unknowingly been staring at the woman bathing, even though it was silhouettes, and gently averted his gaze. If he had looked away after realizing he could watch their silhouettes, the story would have ended. Even though he told himself that he didn¡¯t have any other choices as anything could happen over there and he had to keep watch, it still felt like an excuse, and he felt a sense of mild self-loathing >¡±After all, it¡¯s not as if I¡¯m not interested.¡± Loren muttered to himself. Looking down at his feet, he saw Klaus, whom he had left lying on the ground blindfolded, smirking at him, and Loren stepped on him to vent his anger. After stepping on Klaus, Loren suddenly realized that the girls must have purchased bathrobes when they left Kapha, and if they had worn them, the scene would not have turned into such a sensational shadow play. But at that moment, a scream that did not belong to anyone rang out in the vicinity. ¡°What the?¡± Loren wondered as he reflexively put his hand on the greatsword on his back. The scream was definitely coming from the direction where the girls were currently bathing, but there was no way to confirm the situation except to rush through the cloth that was blocking his view to the other side. However, as he didn¡¯t know how urgent the scream just now was, and whether it was really appropriate to cross the dividing line. If it was an attack of some kind, for example, it would be an emergency situation, and it would be the right thing to do to rush in before worrying about whether he could see them. On the other hand, if, for example, it was just a matter of a slightly larger insect flying in from nowhere that startled Laure and caused her to scream, Loren¡¯s own death would be confirmed the moment he stepped into the area. While Loren was still hesitating, his worries were untimely interrupted. Before he could decide whether to step through, the girls on the other side of the partition broke through and fled to the camp side. ¡°Loren! Loren! Loren!!¡± ¡°Wait a minute! Lapis?! What the hell?!¡± The first person to jump out of the lake and into the encampment was Lapis. With her body still wet, she lightly wrapped a cloth used as the partition around her body as she broke through and jumped in toward Loren, who was too startled to move. The deftness of her movements made Loren wonder for a moment if she was aiming for something, but even so, Loren couldn¡¯t afford to be rude to someone who had just fled, so he caught her in his arms as Lapis jumped to him. Gula, who came next, did not seem as panicked as Lapis, and although she was also running, she had pulled off a cloth used as a partition, wrapped it tightly around her entire body, and jogged into the camp. Laure, who had followed at a sluggish pace, also managed to take a cloth and hide herself, but the situation of Leila and Ange was worse. They were in the middle of a scuffle, and were the slowest to notice what the others had noticed, so their panic was the greatest. They literally tumbled and leapt into the camp. Naturally, there was no way they could afford to take off some cloths to hide their bodies like the other girls, and Leila was in such a hurry that she crashed into a grove of trees at the back of the camp and fell over, completely naked. Ange, forgetting her own state, grabbed shoulders of Klaus, who was lying on the ground, pulled him up, started yelling. ¡°Klaus! What are you tied up for! Something strange is coming! Something strange is coming! Do you understand?¡± ¡°Ange! Even if you tell me that, I can¡¯t do anything¡­ Just calm down and take off my blindfold first!¡± ¡°How can I possibly do that? We are all naked right now!¡± Wondering what to do, Loren held Lapis with his left arm and pulled out the greatsword with his right arm. The blade shone under the setting sun, and Loren caught sight of something in the lake, which startled the girls. His face grew tense as he saw it emerging from the lake, which was supposed to be filled with hot water, and about to come up from the lakeshore to land. The first thing he saw was a pair of eyes behind the billowing light blue hair. The hands that were trying to pull the body up to land looked like they belonged to a human being, but the half of the body on the other side, still in the water, looked, for all intents and purposes, like that of a fish. The tail slapped the surface of the water violently, and with a splash, the creature got on land and began to crawl very slowly towards Loren¡¯s group, who were watching the scene. ¡°What the hell is that?!¡± It was understandable that Loren would involuntarily make such an exclaim. At the very least, there was no way that he had ever encountered a being like the one in front of him before. And even Loren would be a little afraid of things he had no understanding of. Also, the figure was extremely uncanny. The arms that were gripping the ground might look human, but the lower half of its body, which was wriggling behind it, was that of a fish and covered in scales. It was unpleasant to see such a thing crawling on the ground, and looking from the direction it was crawling towards, it could even be terrifying. Loren reflexively put strength into his arm and turned his sword point at the thing crawling toward him as if to keep it in check. However, the thing continued to crawl on the ground and came closer to him, not caring about the sword point. Loren was not very keen on the idea of using his greatsword to slash at something he did not understand, but just as he raised it, thinking there would be no other way to deal with it, the creature that was crawling toward him stopped moving. ¡°He¡­¡± ¡°He?¡± ¡°Help me¡­ please.¡± Just as if it had used up all of its strength, the thing stopped moving and lay prone on the ground. Loren was even more surprised to learn that the thing, with what looked like light blue hair spread out and a fish-like lower body, had spoken. He looked at Lapis, who was staring at it from within his arms, and they both tilted their heads, wondering what the hell was going on. Chapter 231: A Discovery After Getting Things Under Control Chapter 231: A Discovery After Getting Things Under Control Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Ah¡­ wait, wait. At least let¡¯s get things straightened out first.¡± Loren didn¡¯t say this to anyone in particular, but if he hadn¡¯t said it out loud, he would feel so confused that he wouldn¡¯t have known what to do. Thrusting his greatsword into the ground, Loren scratched his head. First of all, they needed to confirm how many things they needed to think about in the current situation, then they would need to solve them one by one, or they would be confused forever. Loren decided to start with the ones most familiar to him. ¡°Okay, Gula and Lapis. First of all, put on some clothes.¡± Thinking that he should start from where there was relatively little confusion, Loren instructed Lapis, who was wrapped in a cloth and in his arms, and Gula, who was watching the two of them from a little distance with a cloth wrapped around her body. Gula followed the instructions without saying a word, but Lapis was a little dissatisfied. ¡°Hey, Loren! You mean to say that you don¡¯t feel anything in this situation?!¡± ¡°Lapis, normally it¡¯s not like I won¡¯t consider letting myself get carried away by the momentum, but¡­ This time the impact of THIS is too strong for me to consider that.¡± Loren pointed at the half-human half-fish creature lying at his feet. Lapis puffed out her cheeks in frustration, but she did remove herself from Loren¡¯s arms and began to put on clothes as instructed, though somewhat regretfully. She changed a little distance away from Loren so that he could not see, but as she stepped out of his arms, he caught glimpses of various things that made his mind wavered, and he lightly slapped his own cheek with his free left hand to clear his head. ¡°Well, Ange, Leila, and Laure, you guys should also put on something. Ange, stop shaking Klaus. He can¡¯t see anything anyway.¡± Loren¡¯s words made Ange, who was still violently shaking Klaus¡¯ body back and forth, realize her own state. With a blush on her face, she threw Klaus to the ground and ran to hide behind the trees with a small scream. Laure watched her, then looked down at Leila, who had crashed into a grove of trees and was lying naked, with a troubled look on her face that seemed to say ¡®What do I do with her?¡¯. ¡°Can¡¯t you carry her?¡± ¡°Leila works out, so¡­ She¡¯s a bit too much for me. And I¡¯m like this too.¡± Laure, who had just a piece of cloth wrapped around her slender body, shyly said. Aside from her not having the physical strength, it was true that it would be very difficult to carry Leila while holding down the cloth wrapped around her body. ¡°There¡¯s no choice then.¡± ¡°Do you consider releasing me?¡± Klaus, who was now lying on the ground again after being thrown down by Ange, raised his voice, full of expectation. Loren ignored him and called out to Gula and Lapis, who were probably changing on the other side of the grove. ¡°Lapis! Gula! I¡¯m sorry, but I need you to carry Leila.¡± ¡°Please wait a minute.¡± ¡°Coming¡­ Uwa?! Sis¡¯ naked and lying spread-eagled?!¡± Gula had finished dressing earlier than Lapis, who was still putting on her priest robes, responded to Loren¡¯s request and came out from the shadow of the grove to carry Leila. But upon seeing Leila lying on the ground, she exclaimed somewhat hesitantly. ¡°I heard that the blonde beauty is naked and lying spread-eagled?!¡± ¡°Shut up. Talking will complicate things, so take a nap.¡± Hearing her voice, Klaus half sprang up only to be silenced by Loren with a casual kick to the back of the head. ¡°Well, here¡¯s done. Now it¡¯s this one¡¯s turn¡­¡± Loren cautiously crouched down beside the unidentifiable creature that had fallen on its face and would not move. Wavy light blue hairs covered its head and a good portion of its upper body, which, combined with the fish-like appearance of the lower body, gave it a rather eerie appearance. However, as he observed the creature, which did not move at all, Loren began to wonder if the light blue hairs that seemed to cover its upper body were actually hair. Although there was a fair amount of it, they all seemed to grow from the head. To confirm his guess, he reluctantly picked up the prone figure and leaned it against a nearby grove of trees, then brushed away what appeared to be hair covering its face and body, revealing the upper body of a naked woman. ¡°A mermaid?¡± He combed the wet, tousled hair with his hand and wiped off the dirt and filth with a cloth, and there appeared a so-called mermaid he had heard about in fairy tales, with long wavy light blue hair and an upper body of human and a lower body of a fish. Loren looked down at the figure, which seemed to be unconscious, and turned his gaze toward the lake. The orange glow of the setting sun was certainly a beautiful sight, but before he could let his mind be captivated by that sight, he had something else to confirm first. ¡°Mermaids in a lake of hot water? Won¡¯t she be boiled?¡± ¡°Loren, sorry to keep you waiting¡­ Is that what I think it is?!¡± As soon as Lapis, who had finished dressing, stepped out from the shadow of a grove of trees, she exclaimed in surprise upon seeing a mermaid leaning against a tree. ¡°Huh¡­ It¡¯s what surprised you guys.¡± ¡°Eh, that creepy fish is a mermaid?¡± The unconscious mermaid¡¯s hair was wavy and very long. When Lapis and the other girls encountered her, that hair was wrapped around her upper human body, covering the face, which apparently caused them to recognize it as some kind of creepy fish. So, they jumped out of the lake in a panic. Loren thought that it was understandable to be surprised if something with a hairy upper body and a fish-like lower body had suddenly jumped out of the lake. ¡°Eh? But¡­ This lake has hot water, right?¡± ¡°Only the person herself knows why she¡¯s not a boiled mermaid.¡± The sun was setting. Thinking it would be best to avoid dealing with such incomprehensible matters after dark, Loren lightly slapped the mermaid, who was leaning against a tree, on the cheek. He did it because he thought that no matter what, they would not be able to talk with the mermaid until she regained consciousness, but Lapis looked at him with a somewhat reproachful gaze even though his slap was not so hard. ¡°There¡¯s no other choice?¡± ¡°She has the face of a woman, so please be a bit gentler.¡± Although her facial features were certainly that of a woman, she was still within the ¡®unidentifiable being¡¯ at the moment, and Loren wondered if it was necessary to be so concerned. But he nodded vaguely, thinking that it would be meaningless to try to protest. ¡°Uh¡­ Uhm?¡± With a small moan, the mermaid woke up. Her slightly-opened eyes were light blue, just like her hair. ¡°Are you awake?¡± ¡°I¡­ Eh? Ah, ah!¡± The mermaid suddenly rose up and grabbed Loren, who was looking into her face, and held on to his arm tightly. ¡°Please help me! I want you to help me!¡± ¡°First of all, let me go. Then explain what¡¯s going on. You can¡¯t just appear from the bottom of the lake and ask me to help you.¡± When Loren harshly shook her off, the mermaid looked a little sad, but she let go of his arm and looked at him squarely as if she could understand his point of view, and began to explain the situation as requested. ¡°I am a spirit who lives in this lake.¡± Loren wondered what he was going to say from the beginning of the conversation, but he gave up the spot, thinking it would be better to let Lapis proceed with this kind of talk. ¡°You are a spirit? Not a mermaid?¡± ¡°If I have to say, I am more like an undine. I¡¯ve just lived a few hundred more years.¡± Loren could not understand what the difference was, but the spirit of the lake began to talk about something that had to do with the anomalies at the hot springs that they had come to investigate. ¡°The lake has been fine for a long time. Then, not too long ago, one of the outlets supplying hot water to this lake began emitting brown, sludgy, boiling water.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose this has much to do with a spirit?¡± After saying this, Loren suddenly remembered an efreet, a fire spirit he had met before. That spirit had become so angry about various things being thrown into the crater where it lived that it began to attack any being that approached the place. If the same thing was now happening in this lake, it would make sense that the spirit would come to ask for help. ¡°It may look like no creatures live in this lake, but there are actually organisms living at the bottom that can withstand the heat to some degree.¡± The spirit of the lake, whose face turned sad, joined her hands in front of her chest and appealed to Loren and Lapis. ¡°The brown water is too hot compared to the water that has been flowing in so far, not to mention its odor and toxicity. Right now they are taking shelter at the bottom of the lake where there is still water that is just barely cooler, but if nothing is done, they will all die.¡± ¡°I understand that you want us to help, but we are adventurers, and we are on vacation. We can¡¯t afford to work for free.¡± As Lapis told the spirit this, next to her, Loren was instructing Gula and Laure, who had finished getting dressed, to drag Klaus, who was still tied up, a short distance away. After all, if even the primitive beastmen clans couldn¡¯t deter Klaus, the fact that this spirit¡¯s lower body was of a fish would not be enough to stop his passion for women, and he might even accept the spirit of the lake¡¯s request for free. The fact that Klaus was indiscriminately unable to refuse a woman¡¯s request was both his strength and weakness, but in a situation like the one Lapis was currently negotiating, it could only be considered a weakness. The idea was to remove him before anything happened. ¡°Money? If it¡¯s the case¡­ How much do you want?¡± ¡°You have money? Why does a spirit have money?¡± Lapis was surprised by the spirit¡¯s answer, even though she herself was the one who wanted to fish out that information. The spirit thought for a moment about how to answer, then replied to Lapis¡¯ surprise in a whisper. >¡±Actually, over the past few days, I¡¯ve had quite a few people come in who say they¡¯re adventurers like you¡­¡± Loren nodded, remembering that the. Lord of Karlovy had mentioned something like that. The spirit continued in a whisper as if it was something embarrassing. >¡±Those who had been killed in the surroundings of this lake¡­¡± ¡°Were they killed by bears? And¡­ The money you¡¯re carrying, could it be what those adventurers left behind?¡± >¡±It was not a bear, but some kind of large goblin. A black-ish one. And dead people can¡¯t use money.¡± The spirit calmly declared, but what caught the attention of Loren and Lapis was something else she had said. ¡°Big, black goblin?¡± ¡°Yes, from its appearance, I could only call it a goblin. But it was very strong, and it took no time for most adventurers to¡­¡± The spirit shuddered, perhaps remembering what happened then, but Loren and Lapis were more concerned about something else than the spirit¡¯s reaction. ¡°Big, black goblin¡­¡± ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should just go back to Karlovy.¡± ¡°P-please help me somehow! I¡¯ll also give you this!¡± Just as Loren and Lapis, who had heard the story and decided that it sounded bad, were about to leave, the spirit hurriedly pulled a rather large colorless gemstone out of nowhere. Lapis¡¯ eyes widened slightly when she saw it. ¡°I picked it up at the bottom of the lake a while ago. You must be pleased with this kind of thing, right? I¡¯ll give you this as well, so please help me.¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± Loren whispered softly to Lapis, whose eyes were glued to the jewel offered by the spirit. ¡°Could it be ¡®that¡¯?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Yes, it probably is.¡± There were certain things Lapis was always looking for. They were the limbs and eyes that Demon King Judie had taken away from her when she left the demon realm in order to suppress his power as a demon. Both arms had already been found and returned to Lapis¡¯ body, but the legs and eyes were still being searched for. These body parts were not found in their original forms, but as colorless gems of considerable sizes. When Loren saw the gem offered by the spirit, he wondered if it was what Lapis was looking for, and from her reaction, it seemed that it definitely was. ¡°I guess that means we no longer have the option of refusing.¡± ¡°I apologize for the trouble, Loren.¡± Lapis apologized, and Loren waved his hand at her to tell her not to worry about it. Loren began asking questions to get more information from the spirit, who were waiting for their answer without knowing what the exchange between him and Lapis meant. Chapter 232: The Night After The Inquiry Chapter 232: The Night After The Inquiry Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Ah, before Loren asks his question, may I borrow that for a moment?¡± Lapis held out her hand to the spirit, and the spirit, seemingly not understanding what doubt meant, placed the colorless, transparent gem in Lapis¡¯ palm. While Lapis was examining the gem, Loren decided to ask the spirit for information that he thought might be essential. ¡°When did that brown water start flowing into the lake?¡± ¡°A while ago.¡± ¡°How many dark goblins are there?¡± ¡°A lot.¡± Watching the lake spirit¡¯s face, Loren knew that she was honest. But her answers did not match with that honesty. Even he, who was not familiar with spirits and such, knew that there was a difference in the perception of time and numbers between humans and spirits, but this was no way to get any useful information. ¡°Is it no good?¡± Lapis handed the gem she was examining back to the spirit and asked. Happy that the gem was not taken away but was properly returned to the her, the spirit wrapped the jewel to her chest with care. ¡°No good. How about that one?¡± ¡°It seems to be an eye. I¡¯d like to get this one.¡± It was natural for Lapis to say so. If one did not try to forcibly take the gem from the spirit, the only way to obtain it was to carry out her commission and receive it as a reward. And since the other party was a spirit, there was no guarantee that they would be able to meet her on another occasion if they did not manage to get the gem right now. ¡°Then, first of all, can you explain to Klaus and the others that we will accept the commission?¡± ¡°Yes. The reward is a single gemstone, so let¡¯s talk to them about getting a cash reward from us in exchange for us taking the gem.¡± The amount of cash that the spirit had looted from the belongings of the adventurers came before them was not very large, and could be considered nothing compared to the value of the gem. Therefore, in order to obtain the gem, Loren¡¯s party would have to pay cash to Klaus¡¯ party, and Lapis would have to provide that cash. Watching Lapis walk toward Klaus, who was still tied up with ropes, to negotiate, Loren spoke to the spirit by his side, who looked puzzled. ¡°We¡¯ll accept your commission. Do you know where exactly this brown water is coming from?¡± ¡°Of course. From the hole at the bottom of the lake.¡± The spirit¡¯s answer was, once again, not what Loren had expected. Certainly, as a spirit living in a lake, all she knew was the lake. It was no surprise that she did not know much about the surrounding areas. But even if she told them that the water was coming from the bottom of the lake, they had to way to investigate a water outlet spewing hot, skin-melting water. ¡°If it¡¯s about breathing, then¡­¡± ¡°>? I can¡¯t use it because it¡¯s an intermediate or higher level magic¡± Ange overheard Loren¡¯s mutterings and said. Loren remembered that Lapis had used it before, so he thought they could use it this time as well. But then he remembered that it was not good to let Lapis, a priest, cast a spell that should be done by Ange, and held his tongue. ¡°If you need protection from water or the hot water, I can handle that.¡± The spirit told Loren in a slightly proud tone. Since she was originally a water spirit, and was currently ruling this lake, such magic should be her forte. ¡°We¡¯ll take this under Lapis¡¯ terms. Including Klaus, of course.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite an expense, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Loren was somewhat curious as to how much cash Lapis had promised to pay Klaus¡¯ party for the job, but he did not ask. There was nothing he could do about it, even if he had been told a tremendous amount of money. ¡°It seems like she doesn¡¯t even know where the black goblins come from.¡± ¡°What about asking the spirit of a lake about the shore?¡± ¡°Have you seen a Dark Elf or a black swordsman?¡± The only person that came to mind when he heard of big black goblins was a man named Magna, the black swordsman that he had encountered at the Ancient Dragon¡¯s dwelling before. ¡°If it¡¯s a black swordsman¡­¡± ¡°You saw him?!¡± ¡°Right in front of my eyes.¡± As the spirit pointed at him, Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment. It was true that Loren wore a lot of black clothing, and with black hair and eyes, he had to accept that he could be called a black swordsman. ¡°There¡¯s nothing useful at all¡­¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It was wrong to think of getting information from a spirit in the first place. Spirits don¡¯t pay much attention to their surroundings.¡± Lapis explained to Loren, who lamented that it was a disappointment. ¡°She is simply reacting this way because there is something wrong with the lake where she lives. She will probably forget about us as soon as we are done talking to her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not like that. I will thank you properly.¡± Offended, the lake spirit objected to Lapis, but it was hard to know how much of what she said could be believed. ¡°The reward must be paid in advance. It¡¯s better than to be told after the job is done that you forgot about it.¡± ¡°I understand. But I¡¯ll curse you if you run away.¡± Thinking that being cursed was a frightening thing, Loren held out his palm toward the spirit. Surprisingly, the spirit honestly placed the jewel she had just received from Lapis on it. ¡°We¡¯ll leave tomorrow. The sun is setting and I don¡¯t want to make a move.¡± ¡°Alright. Then I will guard this place for the night.¡± Loren felt a touch of uneasiness when the spirit said ¡®Leave it to me¡¯, but she did not seem to notice. She turned to Lapis and said. ¡°It looked like you were halfway through the bath. Why don¡¯t you go back in?¡± ¡°¡­No, thank you. What about you, Loren?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. A wet cloth to wipe myself down is enough for me.¡± He was a tiny bit interested in bathing in a natural open-air bath, but he didn¡¯t think he could enjoy it when he didn¡¯t know what was coming up from the bottom of the lake. ¡°What about you, Gula?¡± As he watched the girls begin to reorganize the camp after the talk had come to a conclusion and the spirit keeping watch for them near the shore of the lake, Loren secretly called out to Gula. He had been concerned about the somewhat-disapproving look that she sometimes showed. Scratching her cheek, Gula looked troubled as she approached Loren, who beckoned to her from a spot only a short distance away from the other members. ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t ¡®what about you¡¯ too vague?¡± ¡°Just that you don¡¯t seem too keen on the commission.¡± ¡°I guess¡­¡± Gula answered and looked towards the lake. The sun had set and it was completely dark, and the water surface glistened in the light of the fire that was burning in their camp. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but there¡¯s something familiar and uncomfortable about this area.¡± ¡°We asked you to accompany us, not forcing. You can wait in Karlovy if you want?¡± Having a party member return to Karlovy alone was not something normally done, but Gula should at least be able to return by herself, so Loren offered her that choice. ¡°Isn¡¯t it harsh that I¡¯m the only one left out?¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t be good to force you to come along while you don¡¯t want.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s for your sake as well as ours.¡± Loren believed that you couldn¡¯t take someone who didn¡¯t want to go to a place where you didn¡¯t know what was waiting for them. If this was only Gula¡¯s matter, he could leave it to her personal judgment. But they were working as a party, and Gula¡¯s acting by herself could put everyone in danger. That was why he had to make sure. Gula gave a weak smile in response to Loren¡¯s concern. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Of all the people in this group, I am the only one who can match or exceed Lapis-chan¡¯ power, aren¡¯t I? I ain¡¯t just a mere human. There¡¯s no need to worry for me that much.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a pain in the ass, Loren. Worrying too much makes you bald. Instead of worrying about us, shouldn¡¯t you be worrying about your own hair?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t help but put his hand on his head as she told him so. Of course, Loren¡¯s hair was far from the state Gula described, but he still didn¡¯t know what would happen in the future, and he wondered if he would end up like Gula said if he kept worrying too much about everything. Gula laughed at Loren¡¯s reaction and poked him with her index finger. ¡°It¡¯s all right, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s true that I¡¯m a little uncomfortable, work is work. I¡¯ll do it properly.¡± ¡°In that case, well, it¡¯s fine¡­¡± Loren was concerned because Gula, who could be described as laid-back, was showing an unusually clear expression of displeasure. But in reconsideration, she seemed fine. ¡°Then get some rest and be ready for tomorrow. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± ¡°Roger. Loren, don¡¯t worry about silly things and get some sleep, okay? After all, the spirit said she will guard the camp.¡± ¡°How reliable is that?¡± Loren pointed to the spirit watching over their encampment from the edge of the lake beyond the trees, and Gula thought for a moment before replied. ¡°At least, in the worst case, we can trust her to wake us up if something happens.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can trust that.¡± It was a delicate point, but the spirits did not need to sleep, and as Gula had said, she should be able to wake everyone up if something came, so they all went to bed together, leaving the guarding to her. And the next day, their group crawled out of the tents to find several dead dark goblins that had been shot in the chest or head by something. Chapter 233: Into The Water Chapter 233: Into The Water Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Then, I will show you around my lake!¡± The spirit of the lake beckoned Loren and his friends from the lake with a truly happy smile, although Loren had no idea what made her so happy. After a simple breakfast at dawn, their group had been given the blessing of the lake by the spirit. She told them that as long as they received the blessing, they would not be crushed by the water pressure in this lake, they would be able to breathe in the water, and they would not even get wet. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not permanent, so it¡¯s not like you won¡¯t be able to get into the hot springs after your work is done.¡± Loren only realized it when they were told. While the blessing was in effect, their bodies would not be able to get wet in the water, or rather the hot water, of this lake, and as a result, they would not be able to soak in the hot springs that use this lake¡¯s hot water. If it was not permanent, then there was nothing to worry about, but Loren felt a little regretful that he had let the spirit of the lake use her power before confirming its validity window. ¡°I can also cancel it for you.¡± ¡°How long does it last?¡± If it worked for too long, it might be necessary to have it canceled. The lake spirit thought for a moment before answering Loren¡¯s question. ¡°About one day.¡± The answer gave Loren two pieces of information. The first was that there seemed to be no need to force the lake spirit to cancel the blessing. The other was that, if the work could not be completed in a day, or if they could not find a way out other than the entrance they were about to enter, they might not be able to come out. To begin with, they did not know what was beyond the outlet that the lake spirit said to be spewing out dirty brown water. Furthermore, they had no idea how deep they would have to go in to discover the cause. To think that they could easily find the cause of the problem in a day¡¯s time could directly endanger their lives. Aside from Gula and Lapis, the rest of the team members were mere humans. If their bodies came into contact with the boiling water, they would be burned, and if they came into contact with something that would melt their skin, they would be in serious danger. ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything after a certain time has passed, we¡¯ll come back at once.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll be waiting for you near the outlet. If you come out from another exit, please wait at the place where you slept yesterday, and I will join you there.¡± The problem was that Loren¡¯s group, who were about to dive into a place where dirty boiling water was gushing out, had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but he thought they would have to make do with their intuition. ¡°Then, everyone, please come this way.¡± Loren was the one first to step into the lake in response to the spirit¡¯s call. The clear water, which should be hot just enough to be used for bathing, did not transmit its temperature to Loren¡¯s body even after he had stepped into it. After confirming this, Loren signaled Lapis and the others, who were waiting on the shore. They stepped into the lake one after another, with Lapis in the lead. ¡°I don¡¯t even feel the temperature of the water.¡± Loren approached Lapis, who was pulling at her priest¡¯s clothes with a curious look on her face to confirm that she was indeed not wet, and whispered. ¡°Did you use THAT already?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ Ah yes. That thing.¡± After confirming that the other members of the group were so surprised by their not-wet bodies that they were not paying attention to what the two of them were doing, Lapis brought her face closer to Loren¡¯s. Loren almost drew back when he saw the familiar black eyes staring at him turn into deep purple in an instant, but it was not so much about it being a trait of demons as it was just his surprise at the instantaneous change in color. ¡°That reaction makes me a little sad.¡± While apologizing to Lapis, who looked slightly hurt, Loren really looked into Lapis¡¯ eyes. It was not the first time for him to see purple eyes, of course, but it was the first time for him to look at them so closely, and it was unusual to see the color change from black to purple and from purple to black. Just as Loren was about to lean in to have a closer look, Klaus called out to him. ¡°Loren, what are you doing¡± ¡°I got some debris in my eye, and I was having Loren take a look at it. Yes, it looks like it¡¯s gone now, so thank you, Loren.¡± Loren almost choked on his own words when Klaus asked, but Lapis followed up with a harmless story, smiled, and bowed to Loren. Of course, the color of Lapis¡¯s eyes were already fixed at black by then, and Loren suddenly realized that he had inadvertently brought his face close to Lapis¡¯s and looked into her eyes, so he hurriedly moved away from her and nodded appropriately. ¡°Well then, everyone, let¡¯s go, shall we? It may be the first time for you to breathe underwater, but don¡¯t worry, you can do it like normal.¡± The lake spirit went into the water with a splash. Normally, one would have to take a deep breath before diving into water, but since breathing was assured this time, there was no need to do so. Although Loren had experienced similar magic before, he still felt strange. As he dived resolutely into the lake without being conscious of his breathing, he found that breathing was indeed not a problem, and visibility was more than adequate since they were still in the clear hot water. When the other members of the group followed Loren and dove into the lake, the spirit beckoned them and began to slowly swim forward. Loren was worried that some of them might be confused by the difference between being underwater and being on the ground, but it was not a problem for Lapis as she had experienced the same thing before, and Gula swam effortlessly in the hot water without seeming to be bothered. As for Klaus and his party, he was not sure if they had experienced the same thing before, but all the members except Ange quickly got used to the situation. Even Ange, who was somewhat confused, soon got used to being under water with Klaus holding her hand and accompanying her for a while. And so, their group began to move around in the lake, and as they moved forward, they found that the lake was surprisingly teeming with living creatures. Loren had thought that even though the water was cooler at the bottom of the lake, it would be difficult for fish to live there, but when he looked beneath them, and he could see quite a number of rather large fish swimming comfortably. And when he saw lizard-like creatures and even turtle-like creatures swimming about, he was impressed by the fact that there were so many creatures that could survive in the hot water. The lake spirit, which had approached Loren without him knowing, lightly tugs on his sleeve. As he wondered what she was doing, she pointed to a corner of the lake. From the depth of the place, it was at the edge of the lake¡¯s center. There was a hole in the rock surface where an adult could stand and walk in. The brown water was gushing out of the hole. Seeing this, Loren gestured for Lapis and the others following him to stop, and he approached the brown water together with the spirit. Loren moved close to the brown water and casually plunged his left hand, which had been ungloved, into the brown water, thinking that it was his role to do so. The brown water was supposed to be even hotter than the clear water, but like with the clear water, he could not feel the temperature at all. When he pulled his hand out and examined it, there was no trace of melting on the skin, and no burns of any kind were visible. However, Loren was still not reassured: he plunged his head into the brown water. He thought that even though his skin was fine, he could not let Lapis and the others enter without checking if the mucous membranes of his eyes, nose, and mouth were alright, but the hot water did not affect them at all. Finally feeling reassured, he gestured others to follow. They drew closer as per his call, but Lapis, having seen Loren¡¯s actions, slapped Loren¡¯s body somewhat angrily while Gula, Klaus, and the others watched with a somewhat exasperated look on their faces. From Loren¡¯s point of view, even if he had been affected by the brown water and suffered an injury or something, he would be able to receive immediate medical treatment because priests like Lapis and Laure were there, so there would be no problem. However, his action of suddenly sticking his head into the brown water, which was known to cause injuries on contact, was not to Lapis¡¯ liking, and it seemed that Gula, Klaus, and the others were also appalled by the sight of him doing it. Loren, who had managed to stop Lapis from slapping him, glared at the others, whose expressions had changed from exasperation to smirking, and waved his hand as if to say ¡®Let¡¯s move on¡¯. He led the way into the hole where the brown water was spewing out. Just as the spirit had said by the lakeside, she seemed to intend to wait there and did not follow them. The lake was kept somewhat bright by the light that poured down from the sky, but once they went into the hole, no sunlight could reach there and it suddenly became pitch black. It would have meant that they would not be able to see and thus, would not be able to examine anything. But Ange, sensing the situation, immediately lit a magic light on each of Klaus¡¯ and Loren¡¯s left hands. After having a light source, Loren started walking deeper into the hole with his left hand held up. But with only the brown water flowing out, visibility was almost zero even with light. Hoping that the others would be able to follow him because of the light, Loren half-groped his way forward. Luckily for them, the hole was large enough for one adult to comfortably stand in, and there were no branch paths, just a straight road ahead. After walking some distance, the hole suddenly became an uphill slope, and after climbing the slope, they came to a place where the flow of water suddenly became calm. Although it was difficult to see the details with poor visibility, it was more like a small open space than a hole. As they proceeded further, the ceiling was suddenly gone, and they came to a place filled with a light different from that of magic. Wondering if this was the place, Loren kicked off the ground and swam toward the opening overhead. After a short distance, his head came out of the water. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± Loren muttered as he looked around with only his head above the surface of the water. The ceiling had risen quite high before he knew it, and that brown hot water was roaring down from one corner of it in a cascade a considerable distance from in the direction they were traveling. The light illuminating the surroundings seemed to be emanating from the walls themselves. Feeling that he had seen something similar before, Loren tugged at the threads of his memory for a while and eventually remembered that it was similar to a magical building material he had seen in Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruins. If the light-emitting walls were of that same magical building material, then there was a possibility that the space Loren was now looking around was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom. As he looked back, thinking that he should ask for Lapis¡¯ and Gula¡¯s opinions, he saw Lapis and the others looking around with their heads above the water, just like him. ¡°Lapis, are these magical building materials?¡± ¡°You remembered it very well, Loren. But it¡¯s a little difficult to tell from here.¡± Lapis explained that there were several reasons why walls could emit light other than the use of magical building materials, and that just because a wall was glowing did not mean that it was made from said materials. ¡°Then what do we do now?¡± ¡°We have to continue on. From the looks of it, there seems to be a passage behind that cascade.¡± Lapis pointed to the cascade of brown water roaring down from the wall and said she could see what looked like a passageway on the other side of it. Loren and Klaus could not see anything like that, but since Lapis said so, there really must be a passageway. Loren decided to persuade Klaus. ¡°Do you really think she can see passages that we can¡¯t see?¡± ¡°Lapis has good eyesight, better eyesight than you or me. And we have no other places to go. We have to assume that there is a passage and try to go there.¡± ¡°That waterfall seems to be quite powerful.¡± If caught in a waterfall, even a good swimmer could easily drown to death. Klaus was concerned about this, but when Loren told him that they would be safe because they were now in a state where they would not suffocate underwater due to the power of the blessing, he was quickly convinced. ¡°The water pressure is also a concern, but that spirit said that it can also be ignored, so it should be fine.¡± ¡°The spirits blessing is really convenient, isn¡¯t it?¡± Knowing that it would be safe to plunge into the waterfall, Klaus did not hesitate anymore, and the group went straight through the cascading brown waterfall. Chapter 234: From Entering to Exploring Chapter 234: From Entering to Exploring Proofreader: Xemul Passing through the waterfall with brown hot water, Loren¡¯s group reached the passage Lapis saw on the other side of the waterfall and immediately got themselves out of the water. The passageway had no waterway running through it and continued deep inside, but the walls seemed to be made of magical building materials as well, so there was no problem in securing visibility. Lapis and others begin to check the entrance to the passageway for traps, but Loren behind them, who had just gotten out of the hot water, jumped back into it for some reason, and that attracted everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Loren, what are you doing?¡± At Lapis¡¯ question, Loren, who had immediately come back up as if he wasn¡¯t doing anything in particular, answered that he was just checking something. ¡°By checking, you mean¡­¡± ¡°We have to be sure that the blessing still works even after we got out of the hot water once.¡± The lake spirit had said that the blessing¡¯s duration was about a day, but she did not mention whether it was still effective after they had gotten out of the water once. Loren thought it was necessary to check this, since there was a possibility that the blessing would be invalidated when they returned. Hearing this, Lapis and Klaus both voiced their objection. ¡°It¡¯s dangerous to do!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s something I should say, but wouldn¡¯t it be better if you consulted with us before taking any action?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not such a big deal, is it?¡± ¡°What were you going to do if the blessing became null?¡± ¡°I think it would be extremely troublesome if Loren became incapacitated.¡± Lapis was concerned for Loren¡¯s safety, while Klaus reminded him that he had a whole party to think about. Both of their arguments were so strong that Loren gave up trying to refute them and ended up apologizing meekly. Anyway, the power of the blessing itself remained intact, and with this, Loren thought that the only thing they had to worry about was the return time. ¡°So, we¡¯re going in, right?¡± Ange pointed to the end of the passageway and said without asking anyone in particular, and Loren nodded in return. ¡°Be careful, since we don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll find.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a trap, I can handle it, Loren and I will take the lead.¡± Lapis said and took up the place next to Loren. There were no objections to her proposal, and the lineup was formed with Loren and Lapis in the lead, followed by Gula and Leila, then Ange and Laure, and Klaus was at the tail end. ¡°Klaus, shouldn¡¯t you be further in front?¡± ¡°No, I should be at the rear. It¡¯s the only place for me.¡± Klaus resolutely refused. Thinking that he was aware of his role to be the rear guard, Loren was not inclined to say anything more. But Lapis, who was walking next to him, whispered in Loren¡¯s ear. ¡°It¡¯s surely to check out us girls¡¯ behind.¡± ¡°¡­That guy just can¡¯t behave at all¡­¡± Indeed, if Klaus wanted to admire the buttocks of the five girls, he would have to be at the back of the line. But it would be troublesome if he was too focused on that and forgot to be vigilant. Loren glared at him and Klaus, understanding that Loren had seen through his intention, turned his eyes away and looked around as if to show that he was keeping watch. Klaus was not directly touching the girls, and it was not like the body part he ogled would shrink or anything, so Loren decided to stop paying attention to him and continued walking forward. But seeing Lapis walking a little bit ahead of him while seemingly shrinking into herself, Loren wondered if she minded it that much. The group continued to walk along the straight passageway with caution, and after a while, they came to a door. Seeing Lapis approach the door first and start checking to see if any traps had been set, Leila muttered curiously. ¡°Isn¡¯t Lapis a priest?¡± ¡°A priest of the God of Knowledge should be able to do that much, right?¡± Loren answered Leila, thinking that if she asked Lapis the same question, she would probably get the same answer. Loren couldn¡¯t help but feel that the height of the hurdle that the priests of the God of Knowledge had to overcome was getting higher by the minute, but he couldn¡¯t take responsibility for that. As Loren was thinking that if said priests were going to blame someone, they should blame a certain priest presented here, Lapis finished her examination and put her hand on the door. ¡°It looks all right, so I¡¯ll open it.¡± ¡°Is the door unlocked?¡± ¡°Yes. Very careless.¡± With a chuckle, Lapis pushed open the door. And instantly came eye to eye with the two large dark goblins inside. ¡°Ah¡­¡± As Lapis froze, the dark goblins also stopped moving, not knowing what the hell had happened, and Loren ran through the space beside Lapis without saying a word. A white light, much stronger than the one emitted from the magical building material, flashed by, and before the black goblins could take any action, their heads were easily separated from their body and landed on the floor with blood splattering. ¡°It¡¯s not very nice to run into them out of the blue, huh.¡± Loren, who had sent the two black goblins¡¯ heads flying at a blinding speed, spoke to Lapis, who was still frozen in her posture. She finally retracted the hand that was pushing the door and scratched her head as if troubled. ¡°I was too distracted by the trap.¡± ¡°These¡­ Are these the same ones that were in the forest?¡± Klaus muttered as he watched the headless corpses through the door that Lapis opened. ¡°They look like goblins, but I¡¯ve never seen any in similar size and color. A new species?¡± ¡°They seem to be native to the ruins. Can that even count as a new species?¡± Loren also thought that they would not exist in nature. If such goblins did exist naturally, there would have to be a tremendous uproar, but he had never heard of such a commotion. ¡°They¡¯re a rare species, and they¡¯re big, but I doubt they¡¯re that strong.¡± Crouching beside the headless corpses of the goblins, Klaus looked closely at them. His comment was understandable, as in this case, the goblins had been easily defeated. But in reality, such defeat was only because of Loren¡¯s strength and the power of his weapon. It was extremely difficult to cut through their hard skins and bones with an ordinary weapon wielded by an ordinary swordsman. Just as Loren was about to open his mouth to warn Klaus not to be too optimistic, a black goblin¡¯s arm, which was not supposed to move, swung at Klaus, who was crouched down beside it, with a speed that could not have been expected from a corpse. While no one had expected the corpses to move, not to mention to attack, Klaus, the one being attacked, pulled out the long sword at his waist in a fluid motion and easily severed the arm that had swung at him at the elbow. ¡°>!¡± Before the severed arm fell to the floor, Laure released a priestly force that enveloped the bodies of the two black goblins that were trying to get up, and with a screeching sound, the headless corpses lost their strength and fell to the floor again, not moving an inch from there. ¡°I take back what I said before. They¡¯re strong and tough. If it were someone else instead of me, they might have been in danger.¡± Klaus said as he returned the longsword, which glowed with a pale light, to its sheath and stood up. His blessing, >, could increase the power of both people and objects, and the longsword he used was such a fine weapon that it had caught Loren¡¯s attention at a weapons store. The combination of these two factors allowed him to easily cut off the black goblin¡¯s arm, but Klaus himself seemed to acknowledge that if either one of them had been missing, it might have been a close call. ¡°Not only the black goblin, but there are ghosts too?¡± The headless black goblin moved because a ghost had possessed the corpse right away. Laure was the first to recognize this, and she had purified the possessed goblins with > technique, which had neutralized them without much effort. If Laure had been slower in her judgment, they would have had to fight black goblin corpses that were fully under the ghosts¡¯ control. ¡°Laure, you¡¯re well-versed in this.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a priest, I should be able to do this much.¡± Leila seemed impressed with Laure¡¯s ability to detect the ghosts just by looks and immediately purified them, but Laure was humbled about it. Lapis glared at her with half-lidded eyes. ¡°Loren, did she just lightly belittle me?¡± ¡°E-err, that¡¯s not what they meant¡­¡± Depending on how one looked at it, Laure might have sounded like she was criticizing Lapis for not immediately recognizing the incident as the work of a ghost and being slow to take action. However, it was also clear that she had no intention to do so. Loren patted Lapis on the back to appease her, thinking that Lapis was not really serious anyway, while Leila calmed the upset Laure down. ¡°So, what do we do from here?¡± Loren looked around at Ange¡¯s question. The passageway extended to both left and right of the door they had entered, but there was no way to know which path was the right one. The only thing Loren knew was that they had to get out of here as quickly as possible. ¡°These things weren¡¯t here naturally. They must have been placed by someone else, so it would be troublesome if they realized they had been defeated. Let¡¯s move quickly. But I also don¡¯t have a clue where we should go.¡± This set up of goblins followed by ghosts could not be a natural occurrence. This should have been considered a deliberate placement by some entity. If it was a deliberate placement, the one who set this up might, via some method, know if they were defeated. Loren didn¡¯t even want to think about what methods would be used to remove intruders like their group. ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just pick a path at random?¡± As Loren wondered what to do, Klaus casually made a suggestion. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know which one to choose, it doesn¡¯t really matter which way we go, does it?¡± ¡°That¡­ may well be so.¡± Perhaps it was too optimistic a view, but considering that they had to leave this place as quickly as possible, it was clear that there was no time to hesitate. Loren had to admit that Klaus¡¯s suggestion made sense. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go this way. We¡¯ll move quickly, but be careful of traps and unexpected encounters.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute.¡± Loren said and was about to start running when Gula stopped him. As Loren wondered what was going on, Gula, with a grim look on her face, pointed to a passageway in the opposite direction from where he was heading. ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯s this way.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ girl¡¯s intuition or something?¡± ¡°Yup. It¡¯s better than having no clue, right?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± If Loren asked Gula to explain in detail, she might leak information that she did not want Klaus¡¯ party to know. As he couldn¡¯t possibly tell them about Gula¡¯s true identity, Loren had to appear as if he agreed with her without thinking too much about it. He smiled at the grim-faced Gula and immediately proceeded to the passageway on the opposite side of where he had been heading. Chapter 235: From Exploration to Reunion Chapter 235: From Exploration to Reunion Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Go straight there. Turn right at the end. At the second turn after that, turn left.¡± ¡°Loren, does she know about this place?¡± Gula¡¯s instructions were so specific and precise that it was not surprising at all when Klaus asked Loren such a question. No one knew where they were headed, but as they proceeded under Gula¡¯s directions, it was immediately clear that those directions were not baseless. ¡°How can that be? This place looks like some kind of ruin, doesn¡¯t it?¡± With walls made of magical building materials, it was natural to assume that this place was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, just as Loren had said. If someone had already uncovered this ruin before, there was no way that the beastmen, especially the Lords of the nearby towns, would not be aware of it. However, this would not be the case if the place had been raided illegally, so it was difficult to say for sure that this ruin was unexplored or not. ¡°Klaus, let me tell you something.¡± Loren said, trying not to look at Klaus, who was walking at the back. ¡°Ruins usually have a specific internal structure depending on their purpose. Normally, you¡¯ll be able to understand their inner structures after you¡¯ve explored enough of them. Incomprehensible labyrinths are an exception, though.¡± ¡°Have your party explored that many ruins?¡± ¡°As a former mercenary, I didn¡¯t travel to such places. But Gula is an experienced adventurer, and she had seen few of those.¡± The first half of Loren¡¯s explanation to Klaus was complete truth. The second half, however, was an outright lie, but such a half-true explanation seemed to have a certain amount of persuasive power. ¡°But where the hell is she leading us to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure myself.¡± He had considered asking Gula, but when he saw how grim her face was when she gave directions, somehow he felt less inclined to do so. He guessed that they were probably heading toward what could be called the central part of the ruin, but he could not find any explanation for Gula¡¯s expression, which became grimmer the further they went. ¡°Take right at the next turn. Then keep going straight to¡­ Ah, I knew it¡¯s here.¡± Towards the end, Gula¡¯s voice was filled with such a dark, piercing-cold emotion that all of them unthinkingly looked at her. She did not seem to notice that she had unexpectedly become the center of everyone¡¯s attention, and continued to stare at a point in front of her with a grim expression on her face. Wondering what this all meant, Loren shifted his gaze to the double door Gula was staring at. It was just a lone, unadorned door set into a wall made from magical building material, but there was something beyond it that gave Gula such an expression. ¡°Gula, what¡¯s on the other side of this door?¡± ¡°What huh¡­¡± As she was about to answer Loren¡¯s question, Gula noticed that the attention of everyone was focused on her. She looked startled. If she gave the wrong answer, her identity would be revealed. But if she lied, she could cause discord within the group if it was discovered. Even if she were to lie, it was impossible to use the excuse that it was a hunch now that she had precisely guided the whole group through what appeared to be an Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin. As Gula wondered what to do, Lapis placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head as if to say this was hopeless, and Loren prayed that Gula would somehow come up with a good excuse. ¡°Th-This place is probably an important facility or something, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ve explored similar ruins before, so I wondered if this one was built the same.¡± ¡°You seem to be an experienced adventurer, Gula. Where did you work before you joined Loren¡¯s party?¡± ¡°What? E-erm I¡¯m from the North. I was a wandering adventurer, I didn¡¯t belong to any particular party.¡± ¡°You¡¯re from the North, and you¡¯re dressed like that?¡± Ange stared at Gula¡¯s outfit from top to bottom. On this continent, there were places where temperature varied considerably depending on the area and season, but there were also places where it always remained almost the same. The northern regions were generally cooler than the southern ones, so Gula¡¯s outfit, which was way too revealing no matter how one looked at it, could hardly be considered the outfit fitting the northman. ¡°Nah. I¡¯m from the North, and I can¡¯t stand the heat in the South, so I dress like this. I don¡¯t like the heat.¡± It was a far-fetched theory, but not so far-fetched that it made no sense. At least, Gula¡¯s explanation seemed to have convinced Klaus¡¯ group to some extent, and they did not ask anything further. Relieved, Gula collected herself and put her hand on the door in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ll open the door, then?¡± ¡°Be careful.¡± Loren placed his hand on Gula¡¯s shoulder and said. Klaus and the others recognized this as Loren being concerned about opening the door, but Gula sensed that there was another meaning in it. She patted the back of the hand Loren had placed on her shoulder to assure him that it was okay, then turned back to the door. ¡°Is it unlocked?¡± ¡°>. It¡¯s open now.¡± After answering Lapis¡¯ question by using magic, Gula pushed open the double door. Peeking in, Loren let out a sound of surprise at the scene behind the door. It was a large room. A white light, stronger than the light emitted by the magical building materials, was pouring down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. Several black shelves of unknown purpose lined the walls, and on the surfaces of some of them were rows after rows of letters, which Loren didn¡¯t recognize, and numbers, shining in various colors. In the center of the room, seven coffin-like objects were placed in a circle. Several thick tubes connected the coffins to the black shelves, the walls, and the ceiling. With Gula in the lead, the whole group entered the room. For a while, all they could do was look at the bizarre sight, but then Leila spoke. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± Of course, no one answered, but Gula was the only one who silently approached one of the coffins and touched its surface with clenched teeth. ¡°This looks like some kind of research facility.¡± Lapis, who had been walking and looking around with interest, said as she approached a shelf and brought her face close to the characters painted on its surface. ¡°Moreover¡­ It appears to be working properly.¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± Laure asked in surprise. Lapis moved her face away from the black shelf-like object and replied with a smile. ¡°Of course! I am a priest of the God of Knowledge.¡± Loren thought that priests of the God of Knowledge must not have such versatility, but Lapis again leaned in close to the black shelves and began to speak to no one in particular. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough information to know what kind of research facility this is, but from the circumstances, the water flowing into that lake became contaminated probably because this site started operating.¡± ¡°Could that possibly be¡­?¡± Ange¡¯s face contorted in disgust. She probably had realized what Lapis was referring to, but Lapis continued without caring. ¡°Probably. It¡¯s the wastewater from this facility.¡± Everyone¡¯s faces, except Gula¡¯s, contorted at Lapis¡¯ blunt words. Anyone would feel a similar sense of disgust if they knew the water used in a hot spring was mixed with wastewater. Even more so for their group, as they had bathed in the hot water of the lake a while ago. ¡°I think the water we used to bathe was fine. It was clear because it wasn¡¯t affected, thanks to the topography and the flow of the water.¡± Although Lapis made sure to add this, the feeling of disgust did not disappear, and the question of whether the water was really safe remained. ¡°The question is, what exactly is this research facility?¡± Lapis was about to get lost in thoughts about this, but she was brought back to reality by Ange¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey, this coffin ¡­¡­ seems to be moving.¡± Lapis turned her gaze toward Ange and saw that she was standing in front of one of the seven coffins in the center of the room, pointing at it. ¡°The surface of this one seems to be shining, and it vibrates a little.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± Curious, Lapis approached the coffin that Ange pointed at and put her face close to the surface. Indeed, on the surface of the coffin-like object, there were letters similar to those on the shelves appearing and disappearing, and if one touched the surface, one could see that it was vibrating, albeit slightly. Upon further inspection, Loren found what looked like a nameplate attached to the side of the coffin, with what appeared to be inscriptions on the surface, but Loren had no idea what these inscriptions were either. ¡°Can¡¯t you read what it says with the power of a priest of the God of Knowledge?¡± Loren asked Lapis, who was staring at the nameplate with her face close to it. She replied without even looking at him. ¡°I can read it, more or less¡­¡± ¡°Incredible¡­ So, what does it say¡­?¡± By now, Loren was unable to tell whether the priests of the God of Knowledge or the demon tribe were incredible. But when he asked Lapis to read the nameplate, she turned to him with a very serious look on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t be surprised. This nameplate says ¡®Luxuria Lecherity¡¯.¡± The words that Lapis uttered were incomprehensible to Klaus¡¯ party. However, for Loren, they were words he had heard before, and with a feeling of disbelief in his heart, he involuntarily looked at Gula, who had a grim look on her face. It was a name, but not of an ordinary person. It was the name of one of the beings similar to Gula, beings that have existed since ancient times and call themselves Evil Gods. The name of the big, muscular man who was called the Evil God of Lust was Luxuria Lecherity. ¡°So, this is¡­¡± Loren hurriedly swallowed down the words that were about to come out. It was because he worried that Klaus¡¯ group would suddenly doubt Gula once he said it out loud. He was trying to be careful, since he couldn¡¯t guess what kind of words would spark their interest in the topic. As if to cover for Loren, a voice came from the entrance that they had used to enter this room. ¡°Get away from that coffin, you mongrels. It is not yours to touch.¡± A familiar, arrogant voice. Of course, the memory it brought was not a good one at all. Seeing Loren immediately ready his greatsword, Klaus¡¯ group also decided that this was not an ordinary situation. Each of them readied their own weapons and took a stance against the owner of the voice. ¡°A bunch of mongrels from who knows where¡­. Huh, you? So we meet again.¡± The guy wore jet-black armor and had long black hair. His skin was white, and his features were sharp. His bang was pulled back with a black metal hair clip, and in his hands he carried an ornate longsword and a black shield. ¡°How unexpected. I¡¯m pleased to see you again.¡± ¡°You¡­ I don¡¯t want to see you again.¡± Loren spat. The one sneering at him was one who had stolen weapons from the Demon Kings in the demon territory and fought with Loren¡¯s group in the process. It was the black swordsman Magna. Chapter 236: Probing for Information Through Conversation Chapter 236: Probing for Information Through Conversation Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Loren, who is this guy? Do you know him?¡± Standing ready, Klaus asked. Perhaps he had guessed from Magna¡¯s words and actions that he had some history with Loren¡¯s party. Loren glared at Magna, who was standing imposingly at the room¡¯s entrance. He did not want to deny their connection, but he also did not want to be associated with this guy. Magna, on the other hand, did not move at all and simply looked at Loren¡¯s group from his position. He still kept his longsword in his hand, but did not hold it at the ready. ¡°Just a bit, and it was some time ago. But be careful. He¡¯s a bit of a pain.¡± Loren warned. If they thought the guy was alone and let their guard down, they could be dealt a terrible blow. Holding up his shield and sword, Magna said with an air of mockery. ¡°Watch your mouth, peasant.¡± His stance alone caused Klaus¡¯ party to tense up. They probably had realized that Loren¡¯s warning was an understatement. ¡°This¡­ must be a very troublesome acquaintance you have.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think so.¡± Loren gave a terribly ambiguous response to Leila¡¯s comment. She probably didn¡¯t understand what he meant, but regardless of whether this encounter with Magna was a coincidence or fate, he was thankful that it happened here. If he was right, Magna would not be able to fight with all his power, and to confirm his guess, Loren made a move. ¡°Where¡¯s the Dark Elf that you had by your side? Did she get tired of you? Being considered unworthy is sad, isn¡¯t it?¡± As Loren lightly provoked him, Magna¡¯s gaze turned to some place behind their group for just a moment. The direction of his gaze confirmed Loren¡¯s thoughts. ¡°She¡¯s in this coffin, isn¡¯t she? What a terrible thing to do. You¡¯re a piece of shit, you know that?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t by force. I didn¡¯t hold her by the neck and shove her in there. She laid down in the device voluntarily.¡± When Magna and Loren met last time, he was accompanied by a dark-skinned elf, a Dark Elf. Loren could only think of two possibilities when he didn¡¯t see her here. One was that she may be aiming for a surprise attack from somewhere, like an assassin. The other was that the Dark Elf might be inside one of the coffin-like devices lined up in the center of the room, which seemed to be in operation at the moment. Magna¡¯s answer seemed to indicate the latter, but then another question arose. ¡°What are you doing, shoving the Dark Elf who has been following you into a coffin like this? It can¡¯t be that you want to bury her before you, can it? If that¡¯s the case, then you¡¯ll be left out in the open when you die. There¡¯s no one to bury you.¡± ¡°How impudent. Do you think I¡¯m going to go to the trouble of explaining my purpose to a lowlife like you?¡± ¡°If you think you¡¯re so superior, at least explain it to me in a dignified manner.¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s correct! At least explain, you gloomy bastard!¡± ¡°What are you trying to do, coming out of nowhere like this? Why don¡¯t you at least tell us your name? How shy are you!¡± The support for Loren¡¯s provocation came from unexpected sources: Ange and Laure, who Lapis was looking at with a somewhat surprised look on her face. The girls were standing behind Klaus as if he was protecting them. They seemed to be intimidated by Magna, who was speaking in a superior manner. However, as Loren repeatedly provoked him, their anger seemed to prevail over their fear. The fact that they had Klaus and Leila, their dependable companions, in front of them was probably a big part of the reason too. Being barked at by two girls, Magna raised an irritated eyebrow. ¡°Shut up, you mongrels. I have no reason to tell you my name!¡± ¡°His name is Magna. He¡¯s a thief who broke into warehouses and stole equipment a while ago.¡± ¡°Who are you calling a thief? They were mine to begin with!¡± Magna, who could not bear to be called a bandit, raised his voice. ¡°Well, anyway. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re up to something by shoving a dark elf in this coffin. Which means you cannot risk using that sword ability of yours in this room.¡± Magna¡¯s sword was capable of emitting a flash of light from its blade to attack the enemy. The power and speed of the attack were so nasty that even Klaus and his party, not to mention Loren, would be unable to defend against it. However, if it was in the limited space of a room and Magna himself could not afford to damage the equipment in operation, it was unlikely that he would use the sword¡¯s effects. ¡°Provided that you have the brains to take that into account.¡± ¡°Have you already forgotten that you were defeated by me in swordsmanship as well?¡± Despite Loren¡¯s continued provocation, Magna still did not fall for it. But Loren snickered as if he was making fun of him. ¡°That was thanks to that armor, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Being able to make use of your equipment is also a skill.¡± Loren was about to agree, but that would have been the end of their conversation. In fact, Loren was not just prolonging this talk for no particular reason. Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Magna when he appeared on the scene, but Loren noticed that the color of Lapis¡¯ eyes had turned back to purple. As she used his body as a shield and observed Magna closely while avoiding eye contact with the guy, Loren thought that perhaps she was analyzing and appraising Magna¡¯s equipment. He was stalling for time, thinking that it must be a task that would take a certain amount of time, given that Lapis was still staring at Magna from behind him. ¡°Well, didn¡¯t I break one of those equipment that you¡¯re so proud of, the helmet?¡± As Loren said with a deliberate smirk, Magna¡¯s expression turned grim, and a small sound of teeth grinding could be heard from his mouth. Thinking that he really must have held a big grudge for it, Loren continued. ¡°How did it feel to have a piece of your precious equipment melt away?¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s a good reaction. You must have felt awful about that, huh?¡± Loren prepared himself for a slash, but Magna, despite raising his voice, did not seem to have lost control of himself yet. While he glared at Lorren hatefully, he did not try to cut him down himself. Loren would like to escape if he could, but the only entrance and exit to the room was blocked by Magna. There were no other ways out. In the event of a battle, Loren had no confidence in his ability to defeat Magna. It was true that the guy¡¯s power would be augmented by the items he was equipped with, but whether the augment was in effect or not, as long as it actually existed as a possible threat, there was nothing to do but treat it as such. And when everything about Magna was considered as a threat, it was hard to think of him as an opponent that could be defeated. He was stalling for time, hoping that Lapis would somehow find a flaw or weakness in Magna¡¯s equipment, but he wondered what he should do if she couldn¡¯t find such a thing. >¡±It¡¯s not good, Loren.¡± Lapis whispered into Loren¡¯s ear from behind. Wondering if she had finished analyzing Magna¡¯s equipment, Loren focused on her voice without moving his eyes, but the information he received from Lapis wasn¡¯t inspiring at all. >¡±That armor, it¡¯s concealed so well that I can¡¯t make out anything.¡± >¡±Seriously¡­¡± >¡±They have very strong concealment property. With such strong concealment, those items will instantly become national treasures if they are presented to any country.¡± Even though they were newly-retrieved, Lapis¡¯ eyes were still the eyes of a demon. Just the fact that those items could hide their information from her eyes made Loren understand that they were considerable treasures. If such things were to be released into the world, they would certainly be designated as national treasures. ¡°One-on-one is out of the question, but¡­ maybe three can work?¡± Loren thought that if it was just him alone, he would almost certainly have a tough time against Magna, even if he couldn¡¯t use that flash attack. There was one thing that differed from the last time they fought though: the presence of Klaus and his team. At the very least, Klaus was a swordsman who could be counted as a force to be reckoned with, and it was hard to believe that Leila was only following Klaus as a decoration. In addition, last time there were only Lapis and Gula as the rear guards, but this time there was also a magician named Ange and a priest named Laure to lend their help. As long as no one dragged their feet, their strength should be higher than when they had fought Magna before. ¡°Eh? Wait, what¡¯s this?!¡± Just as Loren was about to make up his mind that they would have to try this, Ange suddenly raised her voice. She sounded startled. Loren, who could not take his eyes off Magna, could not see what was happening on the side where Ange¡¯s voice was coming from, but instead Magna started laughing happily, as if the grim look on his face was a lie. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were thinking, but you wanted some time, didn¡¯t you? It was the same for us.¡± Loren wondered what he was saying, but immediately realized that there was a possibility that Magna actually needed time, too. As for what Magna was waiting for, there was currently only one thing. It was the Dark Elf, whose name Loren had heard to be Noel, who had entered one of the coffins here. ¡°There was still some time before that Noel woke up. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to lose at all, but if we¡¯re going to fight anyway, the easier the better, right?¡± Loren couldn¡¯t suppress a shiver down his spine as he heard what Magna said. Thinking that was probably why Ange raised her voice earlier, he took her eyes away from Magna and looked toward the center of the room. The lid of one of the coffins, which was supposed to be closed, was open with a cloud of white smoke. Loren came to the realization that it wasn¡¯t just them who needed time ¨C Magna was waiting for Noel to wake up. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the end of the chatter. Noel, get up and help me. We cannot let those who intrude our territory return alive.¡± As Magna called out, from inside the coffin, which was still spewing white smoke, a tanned hand appeared and grasped its edge, trying to pull the body out of the smoke. Chapter 237: From Surprise Attack To Battle Chapter 237: From Surprise Attack To Battle Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Don¡¯t come out!¡± The first one who acted was not the Dark Elf called Noel, who was trying to get out of the coffin. It was also not Magna, who was watching the scene very leisurely. Nor was it Klaus, who was looking with expecting eyes because the hands gripping the coffin¡¯s rim were of a girl, and was kicked away by Leila and Laure because of that. It was not Gula, who was staring at Magna with a steely, angry gaze, nor Loren, who was holding his greatsword at the ready. And it was not Lapis, who was staring intently at Magna¡¯s equipment, hoping to see even a glimpse of their capabilities. No, the one who acted before anyone else was Ange, who was standing very close to the coffin, and she kicked the lid of the open coffin back closed. If the lid had been completely opened, it would not have closed even if Ange had kicked it, since it looked quite solid. But the lid was still being opened, and it returned to its original position quite easily after a forceful kick. However, there was one thing different from before it was opened, and it was the hand gripping the edge of the coffin. Of course, once the lid was closed, the hand was caught between it and the body of the coffin. ¡°Th-that looks bad¡­¡± It was natural that Loren would unthinkingly blurt out such words. After all, a hand that seemed to belong to a woman was crushed between the sturdy-looking coffin and its heavy-looking lid. There was the sound of something solid being crushed, and blood splattered outside the coffin. At the same time, a scream was heard from inside the coffin, but Ange didn¡¯t seem to care about it. She jumped on top of the lid, making it impossible for whoever inside to come out. ¡°If you think you can come out leisurely, you are mistaken!¡± ¡°Well done, Ange!¡± Raising her voice in praise, Leila rushed Laure to also get on the top of the lid. Something inside tried to lift the lid, shaking it, but it was not so easy to lift the lid with two people¡¯s weight on it. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get on too.¡± The fact that the lid was still being shaken suggested that the arm strength of whatever was inside was considerable. Perhaps that was why Lapis, who had been staring at Magna from behind Loren¡¯s back, gave him a word of warning before running over to the coffin and getting onto the lid. The lid, which had been loaded with additional weight, was almost motionless, although the person that tried to open it from the inside was probably still intact. ¡°Klaus! Get rid of that black thing while we still can hold this!¡± ¡°Give me a minute, will you? Leila¡¯s kick is really something¡­¡± While Loren was still stunned by what they were doing, Gula had already leapt at Magna. Loren tried to call her back, thinking that it would be difficult to coordinate the story later if she ended up doing hand-to-hand combat after being introduced as a magician. But even after just a fleeting glance, he was so overwhelmed by Gula¡¯s menacing aura that he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Gula had no weapons. The only way for her to attack was to use her body or her Evil God power, but she seemed to have gotten a bit too hot in the head and slammed her fist into Magna¡¯s shield with force. The attack normally would have made her fist shattered, but not only did it fail to do so, it also pushed Magna, who was defending himself, back. This result was not a surprise as Gula was an Evil God. However, Loren racked his brain about how to explain it to Klaus¡¯ party, who did not know the situation. Gula did not stop attacking though. She kicked at Magna¡¯s shield again, pushing him back further. And then, without closing the gap between them, she thrust her fingers at Magna. ¡°Red stones, shoot at my enemy. >.¡± The ball of flame from her fingertips violently slammed into the shield Magna was hiding behind, scattering sparks of fire on impact. However, Magna¡¯s expression, which could be seen from the shadow of his shield, showed no sign of being cornered. ¡°Well, looks like you can really use magic.¡± ¡°Digging these up and using them again, don¡¯t think you can get away with this for free!¡± ¡°Again? Well¡­ I don¡¯t know what you don¡¯t like about it, but what¡¯s wrong with using something you can use?¡± ¡°Those words¡­ I¡¯ll make you regret them!¡± Magna emerged from the shield he had been hiding behind as Gura clenched her fist and lunged forward. In order to intercept her, Magna thrust out the weapon in his right hand, but instead of the long sword he originally held, it somehow turned out to be a one-handed spear. ¡°What?!¡± For Gula, who had been expecting a sword, the spear tip was unexpected, and she was slow to react to the attack from a different angle than she had thought. If she had rushed in like that, she would have been skewered, but Loren, who caught up with her just in time, grabbed the belt at Gula¡¯s waist and threw her behind him with force. And in place of Gula, he repeled the spear tip with the flat of his greatsword. Loren had hoped that by repelling his weapon, he would make Magna lose his stance. However, Magna did not pull back the repelled spear but let go of it instead, then turned the aim of the crossbow that he had suddenly taken out of the air toward Loren. ¡°Where the hell did you get that from?¡± Without time to be surprised, Loren caught the crossbow¡¯s arrows with the flat of his sword. The arrows, turning out to be special, exploded upon impact and drove Loren¡¯s body backward. Magna, who had shot at Loren in rapid succession, tossed the crossbow away as if it had run out of arrows. The crossbow was enveloped in light and vanished before it hit the floor. At the same time, Loren, who was hit by the impact of the explosion through his sword, fell to his knees. ¡°Sturdy. As expected of a barbarian.¡± Magna raised his voice as if in admiration and blocked the slash coming from Klaus, who followed up after Loren, with the shield in his left hand, then charged at Klaus with his shield. Klaus wasn¡¯t able to dodge it and was sent flying as the shield slammed into his body, but Leila caught him. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier to clean up if all the trash gathers in one place.¡± Magna muttered. What he now held in his hand was neither a crossbow nor a one-handed spear, but a long spear designed to be thrown. The spear thrown out with a simple stance, was hurled at Leila, who was holding Klaus in her arms, at the speed of a flash of light. ¡°O God who honors knowledge, protect us from harmful forces. >.¡± Lapis, who was keeping watch on the top of the coffin, cast a protective spell, but the spear flew straight through it. ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡± Loren struck the spear down with his great sword from the side. Despite having been cut with great force, the spear fell down without bending before springing up and disappeared in a flash of light. ¡°What kind of magic trick is that?¡± Loren was bewildered by the phenomenon of the weapon in Magna¡¯s hand changing from one to the other. The longsword he was holding from the beginning seems to have been put back in its scabbard hanging from his waist, but Magna didn¡¯t look like he was carrying the spear and crossbow he had used anywhere on his body. It looked as if they were taken out of nowhere. ¡°Do you even have time to be surprised? Shall I use this next?¡± A metal ring with sharply polished edges appeared on the index finger of Magna¡¯s right hand. Everyone could tell that it was a weapon, but no one could figure out how it was to be used. As Magna began to spin the metal ring, Loren called out its name. ¡°A chakram! You even have this?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a weapon that not many people use, but you seem to know a thing or two about it huh?¡± Magna said as he aimed the war ring at Loren and released it with a somewhat erratic trajectory. Loren, who was about to intercept it with his greatsword, held up his greatsword, but just as it was about to reach him, the ring of war suddenly split into two and attacked Loren with different trajectories. Loren sharply clicked his tongue. Even if he had been able to knock down one of them, he would not have been able to get to the other one. Prepared to be injured, Loren swung his greatsword down to block at least one of the rings, but the other ring was closing in. ¡°I won¡¯t let you!¡± A fireball shot out from Gula¡¯s palm. Without missing its target, it hit the ring that was about to bite into Loren¡¯s shoulder, stopping its momentum and sending it flying into the wall, where it disappeared in a flash of light. ¡°Good grief. You may be worthless opponents, but troublesome nonetheless.¡± Magna grumbled as three small knives suddenly appeared in his hand. The moment his gaze turned to Lapis and the girls who were still on top of the coffin, holding the lid to prevent the presence inside from coming out, the knives were released from his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go that way this time!¡± ¡°Think we¡¯ll let you?!¡± Loren cursed. Klaus, who remained calm, stood ready in front of the girls at the same time. Loren blocked one knife with his greatsword while Klaus quickly swung his longsword and knocked two knives to the floor. Magna, apparently attempting to either finish off the girls on the lid or make them move to avoid the attack so that the coffin would open, saw that his attack had failed and gave a small click of his tongue. ¡°Really, this is too much work.¡± What appeared in Magna¡¯s hand was a lance. It was originally used during a cavalry charge, but Magna held it up lightly and pointed its tip at Loren¡¯s group, even though it was supposed to be quite heavy. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± With its weight and length, the lance was not something that can be easily handled by an individual. However, Magna handled it as easily as if he was handling a twig. Loren was secretly impressed by how superior Magna¡¯s current arm strength was compared to his own, even if he could not tell to what extent this was due to the effects of his equipment. ¡°The > just now should be faster than a horseman¡¯s charge though.¡± The weapon was not something that a person could hold and run with, but with Magna¡¯s strength, its power would be no different from that of a rider¡¯s charge. In fact, it may even be more powerful. If he dodged it, Lapis and the others behind him would be in danger, but if he told them to dodge as well, Noel, who was apparently trying to get out of the coffin, would be set free. They were losing even now. should there be more reinforcement, it was inevitable that they would be out of their depth. ¡°Do you want to be stab to death, barbarian?¡± ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m going to cut you open, so just come here.¡± Loren gripped his greatsword tightly with both hands and held it at the ready. Magna, on the other hand, hunched down as if to gather strength and pointed the tip of his lance at Loren. He stared at him for a moment, and as soon as he saw Loren get into his stance, he kicked at the floor and began a furious charge forward. Chapter 238: From Battle to Discovery Chapter 238: From Battle to Discovery Proofreader: Xemul From the beginning Loren had decided that his target would be the neck. Between a spear and a greatsword, the spear was inevitably superior in terms of inflicting damages from a distance. However, the slashing strike of a greatsword had a greater damaging area, whereas the cavalry spear, which was used for thrusting, could only pierce in one point. Loren believed that if he was prepared to take one strike and avoid a fatal wound, he would be able to defeat a spear-wielding opponent. However, if the opponent was Magna, the story would be a little different. Loren was confident that he could cut through ordinary armor, even plate armor, with a single slash of his greatsword. But, he couldn¡¯t be that confident when it came to armor that had been infused with magic, as there was no telling what kind of properties it might have, not to mention that the armor itself might be much sturdier than ordinary one. The greatsword in Loren¡¯s hands was also a magic weapon that was said to have belonged to a Demon King, but there was a possibility that it would only show its true value when used by a Demon King. It was not clear how powerful it was in his hands. That was why he was aiming for the neck. Of course, Magna¡¯s armor protected his neck as well. Yet, because it was a movable part like the elbows and knees, it also had somewhat lower defense power than other parts of the armor. Loren¡¯s plan was to deliver a slash with all his might to that part. Even if he could not cut through the armor, the blow from the greatsword would surely inflict fatal damage to Magna¡¯s neck, and since Magna was a living creature, such damage to the neck would surely result in death. Still, there were two conditions that had to be met in order for this plan to succeed. Fist, Magna¡¯s target must not be one of Loren¡¯s vital points. Despite a thrust attack carrying less killing power than a slash, as long as Loren was a living creature, he would naturally die if he was hit at a vital point such as the throat, heart, or head. Being struck at other parts of the body was also dangerous, but with two priests present, the probability of death was considered very low as long as he was not instantly killed. Second, Loren had to still be able to attack Magna after receiving a strike from him, and that was a problem. If he faltered due to the pain of the wound, or if Magna¡¯s spear had some kind of magical effect that prevented Loren from attacking, he might end up being pierced by the spear without being able to counterattack. Only when these two conditions were met would Loren be able to attack Magna, but during the stretch of time when both he and Magna were charging at each other, he made up his mind. He would let Magna hit him in the stomach, but he would take his life in return. However, Loren had forgotten one possibility. His plan assumed that the fight would end with a single blow. If his opponent was not willing to do that, then the plan would actually fall apart. And Magna was not willing to go along with Loren¡¯s idea. ¡°Putting your life on the line, huh. Just like a barbarian!¡± Magna, who had realized Loren¡¯s intentions during the charge, thought of aiming for a spot where he could kill Loren instantly with a single blow. However, he immediately understood that he did not have the ability to do so. If he wanted to kill Loren instantly, who was evidently well-trained, he would have to aim for either the head or throat. He had considered going for the heart, but under the influence of his equipment, Magna¡¯s eyes could detect that the jacket Loren was wearing had such a strong defense property that it could not be pierced with a single blow, no matter how much his blow had been strengthened by the equipment and the magic-enhanced spear he was using. He might be able to injure Loren as Loren had intended, but he might instead receive a fatal blow to the neck. Thinking this, Magna let go of the cavalry spear in his hand while still thrusting it forward. Loren, not thinking about dodging, charged straight into the point of the spear as it was thrown at him. And as Magna expected, the spearhead struck the left side of Loren¡¯s abdomen but was pushed back by the momentum of Loren¡¯s body instead of piercing the jacket and Loren, choking on the impact, struck a sideways cleaving blow at Magna¡¯s neck. But by then, Magna, who had let go of his spear, had forced himself to stop, albeit with considerable force, and immediately jumped backward with a backstep. With that single movement, he had escaped out of Loren¡¯s strike. Loren, who had missed his aim and received a painful blow to the abdomen, was sure to be somewhat delayed in his next action, and Magna, who had successfully evaded the attack, was ready to attack again. He immediately selected his next weapon and tried to make it appear in his hand, but as he saw Loren aborted his strike halfway and stopped his forward charge, his expression turned suspicious. It looked as if Loren didn¡¯t want to have that gap of break after a slash, but forcibly stopping a slash halfway would create a similar gap. Still, thinking that he had to do it anyway, Magna once more chose the crossbow as his weapon. With the crossbow, Magna could attack from outside of Loren¡¯s range without having to try to get close. He put his finger on the trigger and met Loren¡¯s eyes, who was holding his greatsword ready after aborting his slash. Smiling triumphantly, he shouted while keeping eye contact. ¡°Burn, Fiamma Unggia!¡± Just then, the blade of Loren¡¯s greatsword glowed red with the sensation that all of his strength had been drained from his body. Magna, who thought he could win just by pulling the trigger while aiming at Loren, who seemed unable to defend or evade, squinted at the glow. He was about to pull the trigger, when the warning that seemed to have been trusted into his head made him quickly remove his hand from the crossbow and ready his shield on his left arm. As it turned out, that act saved Magna¡¯s life. While enduring the sensation of losing strength, Loren held his great sword so as not to drop it, and a red flame gushed out from it. It licked and ravaged the floor, the ceiling, the walls, and everything else in the space in front of him. ¡°Gugh?!¡± The heat was so intense that if Magna¡¯s shield and armor were mere metal products, it would have been enough to settle the fight. But Magna¡¯s equipment protected his life, even though he was swallowed by the violent flame. However, this came at a considerable cost. Just as Loren¡¯s Fiamma Unguia, the greatsword of a Demon King, sucked up Loren¡¯s magical power and life force to create the flame, the black armor and shield that Magna wore also used the power supplied by Magna to create that much defensive power. As a result, Magna staggered with exhaustion. If a follow-up attack had been made, Loren¡¯s victory might have been assured, but Loren, too, had paid an enormous amount of power to the greatsword in order to push Magna to that point, and he fell to his knees on the spot, just barely holding on to his consciousness. If this had been a one-on-one battle, it would have been a draw, as both were almost unable to move, but when Magna had no allies, Loren had friends. ¡°Klaus! Now! Chop that black guy¡¯s head off!¡± Lapis raised her voice from the top of the coffin. In response, Klaus, who had been a little hesitant when Loren¡¯s greatsword burst into flame, casted > on himself and slashed at the staggering Magna. ¡°To become like this because of a barbarian¡­ My skills are still lacking.¡± Magna, despite being unsteady on his feet and seeming to fall at any moment, caught Klaus¡¯s enhanced blow with just his left arm. However, Klaus did not stop just because his attack was blocked. He immediately struck another blow, and when even that was stopped, he continued to attack Magna in rapid succession, gradually increasing his speed. But Magna was able to block all of them, then kicked at Klaus¡¯s side, which looked light to outsiders. The kick, which was delivered with such agility that it was hard to believe that he was wearing plate armor, struck Klaus in the side and sent him flying. ¡°Gagh?!¡± ¡°Kyaa!¡± The direction, in which Klaus was sent flying, was the worst direction for Loren¡¯s group. Of all things, it was towards the coffin whose lid was being held closed by Lapis, Angel, and Laure. Lapis, who had managed to dodge, was not caught up in it. But Ange and Laure, who were slow to dodge, fell off the coffin together with Klaus. Magna, who had straightened up with stance, rushed toward Lapis, who was the only one left on the coffin. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a very good idea, alright?¡± Lapis said without any malice and made to intercept the charging Magna. But before he could reach her, who was charging forward with his shield at the ready, Gula slammed into him from the side. ¡°Damn! You again!¡± ¡°What the hell! You knew what that device was and still let your own follower inside?!¡± ¡°What kind of idiot uses a device that he doesn¡¯t even understand?¡± After striking Gula with a swing of the arm and forcing her to step back, Magna sneered at Gula, who was glaring at him hatefully. ¡°It is a device that turns even barbarians like you into beings who can serve someone from a noble species like mine. It is a great device left by my ancestors, not something you are allowed to tread upon!¡± Magna continued, glaring at Lapis, who was still on top of the coffin. ¡°It will give some value to you, worthless people. You should be grateful!¡± ¡°What a nonsense!¡± Leila was the one who shouted and cut Magna off. Magna did not even draw his sword ¨C he blocked Leila¡¯s blow with his shield, then used it to bash her, knocking her to the floor. He tried to step on her, but Gula threw a punch at him. ¡°We had to suffer because of people like you!¡± ¡°What in the world¡­ You can¡¯t be¡­?¡± Magna¡¯s eyes widened, as if he had suddenly realized something. ¡°Tell me, what is the worth of such power!¡± Invisible fangs bite into the Magna¡¯s shield. While not visible to the eyes, the pressure they made on his arm and shield was very real. He glared at Gula with eyes filled with hatred for some reason. ¡°You! You are Gluttony!¡± ¡°H-how do you¡­?¡± Magna kicked Gula, who was flustered by having her identity revealed, and shook off the things that were biting his arm. ¡°If only you had obeyed meekly¡­ We wouldn¡¯t be here right now!¡± ¡°What the hell?!¡± Magna¡¯s right hand, which was not holding a weapon, reaches for Gula¡¯s neck. Gula was so surprised that she was unable to move, and her throat was grabbed in a tight grip. ¡°Let the wrongs of my fathers be righted here and now!¡± ¡°Gagh?! W-what the hell¡­?¡± As her neck was squeezed tight, Gula threw out questioning words under labored breath. Magna, however, did not answer, but instead put more strength into the hand gripping Gula¡¯s throat. She let out a pained cry at the pressure that would break her neck instantly if she were a mere human, and Magna tried to tighten his grip even more. But at the sight of Loren getting up unsteadily, his hand relaxed for a moment. ¡°What the hell are you¡­ doing with my friend¡­?¡± ¡°You can still move, huh. What a stubborn one.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but¡­ I¡¯m going to finish you off!¡± Loren, who was forcing strength into his powerless arms, charged forward and, at that moment, felt a click somewhere in his head as if a part of something was fitting into place. Chapter 239: From Settling the Fight to an Escape Chapter 239: From Settling the Fight to an Escape Proofreader: Xemul Loren was well aware that with just the double self-boost effect of his berserk mode, there was a high possibility that he would not be able to defeat Magna. He did not know whether Magna was that much more powerful or whether his equipment were that superior, but whichever the reason, it did not make much difference from his point of view as the guy was his opponent. Thinking that it might still not be enough even if he borrowed Shayna¡¯s magic to increase his self-boost, Loren had asked Klaus for help before he fell into the berserk state. Although Klaus was unable to move fully due to the blow to his side he had received from Magna, he still had enough strength left to get close to Loren and use his power. In short, Loren attacked Magna with the triple reinforcement of activating the self-boost technique, entering the berserk state, and the rare blessing of Klaus¡¯s >. With the three reinforcement techniques being different in nature, it was impossible to predict what the results would be, but he could not think of any other method to increase his power at the moment. With no consideration for the consequences, Loren came at Magna, who was holding Gula by the throat, as fast as he could. Magna responded lazily, but Loren¡¯s triple-enhanced speed far exceeded his expectations. Magna thought that Loren had used up most of his strength and magic power to send forth the flames from his greatsword, but the attack was more powerful than he had expected. Thinking that his shield might not be enough to deal with the attack, Magna released his right hand, which was holding Gula¡¯s throat, and tried to draw the longsword at his waist. Gula was not about to let this happen though: she clung to Magna¡¯s right hand. The moment the grip on his throat relaxed, Gula, sensing that Magna intended to reach for his weapon, grabbed Magna¡¯s wrist with both hands to stop him from doing so. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Loren, don¡¯t care about me! Just cut me too!¡± With Magna not holding a weapon, Loren had a significant advantage. With this in mind, Gula chose to block Magna¡¯s right hand and shouted at Loren to cut herself down too, but of course Loren had no intention to do so. He believed he could finish Magna off even without that. Magna tried to shake off Gula¡¯s grip on his wrist, but he quickly gave up and kicked his knee into Gula¡¯s exposed flank instead. ¡°Gagh?!¡± There was the sound of something breaking, and Gula¡¯s body almost collapsed. But she managed to stay on her feet and did not let go of Magna¡¯s wrist. Magna threw another kick, and as expected, Gula could not withstand the second blow. She released his wrist as she spat out some blood with a cry of pain. Magna was finally able to reach for the longsword at his waist, but that was a misjudgment on his part. As he could make weapons appear in his hands in some way, if he had not insisted on using his longsword and used any other summoned weapon instead, he might have been able to deal with the blow that Loren unleashed. However, he was distracted by the weapon that was right there, and because he made the unnecessary move of reaching for it, he received Loren¡¯s blow head-on. Loren, however, was in the worst physical condition: he was barely holding his own with willpower, so he was unable to deliver a well-aimed blow. His blow struck Magna¡¯s right shoulder, whether by mis-aimed or by accident. ¡°Damn you!¡± The moment he heard Magna¡¯s cry, Loren was pouring his remaining strength into the greatsword. The blade of the sword, which had burst into flames before, once again emitted a crimson light. Just as Loren thought that the flame was much weaker than last time, Magna¡¯s black armor burned bright red at the site of the direct slash, and the blade cut down to Magna¡¯s armpit as smoothly as a hot knife cutting into butter. Loren¡¯s slash, which both cut and burned at the same time, burned Magna¡¯s wound, causing almost no bleeding. However, it solidly severed Magna¡¯s right arm from the shoulder, and the right arm, which had lost its support, fell to the floor with the armor it was wearing, making a heavy sound. Suddenly losing an arm¡¯s worth of body mass, Magna fell to his left. Loren himself pitched forward and fell to the floor, as if he had used all his remaining strength in that blow. ¡°This is not good.¡± Lapis, who had been watching the situation, lightly jumped off the coffin. At the same time, the coffin lid, without her weight to hold it down, was opened from the inside with great force. But Lapis ran to Magna without caring about it and casually gave him a front kick as he was trying to get up. The front kick, which was delivered with an admirable form, struck Magna¡¯s abdomen and sent him flying backward, but a dark-skin figure rushing in from the side caught his body, which must have been quite heavy. ¡°Magna-sama! Please don¡¯t do anything rash!¡± It was Noel, who had been released from the coffin, who held Magna in her arms. Her tanned skin, which was generously exposed, was glistening even though it was probably not anointed with oil. Magna was unable to speak, perhaps from losing his arm and from Lapis¡¯ kick. Noel held him with both arms while looking grimly at Lapis, who had slowly lifted Loren up and was calmly returning her gaze. ¡°How dare you people do this to Magna-sama!¡± ¡°I think the damage is greater on our side, don¡¯t you?¡± Noel¡¯s shouts didn¡¯t seem to faze Lapis at all. She nimbly took Loren into her arms, looked around, then told Noel. ¡°On your side, only that one guy, Magna or whatever he¡¯s called, was injured. On our side, almost everyone has some kind of injuries, except me. You can tell which side sustains greater damage, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Magna-sama alone is worth more than all of you!¡± ¡°A difference in values huh. Differences in perception lead to conflicts. How sad.¡± As she said this, Lapis looked squarely in Noel¡¯s eyes, which have grown even more steely, and spoke in a refined but matter-of-fact manner. ¡°If you are thinking of using the power of Lust, you should stop, okay? Everyone it might work on can¡¯t move, and it doesn¡¯t work on me.¡± Lapis didn¡¯t know how much power Noel had in her newly awakened body, but it was hard to imagine that she was stronger than Luxeria, the Evil God of Lust they had encountered before. ¡°And that mister Magna? His wound was burned so it doesn¡¯t bleed and looks fine, but a whole arm has been cut off, you know? If you¡¯re going to treat it, the sooner the better, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Noel looked down at Magna in her arms. The pain from losing an arm must be tormenting Magna no matter how little blood he had lost, and perhaps because Lapis had kicked him in the abdomen quite seriously, his breathing was also disturbed. He started gasping for breath. Noel understood immediately that although Magna might not be dying right now, he was in no condition to be left as is like this. ¡°If you run away, we won¡¯t chase you. We¡¯re all wounded on our side, too.¡± Loren had used up all his power, Gula was almost choked to death and had received considerable damage to her abdomen, Leila was knocked down, and Klaus, Ange and Laure were all suffering from not-so-light damage. Lapis, who wanted to start treating them immediately, was eager to get rid of Magna, but she did not want to get into a fight with Noel, who had probably been transformed into an Evil God, even though she had just awakened. ¡°You¡¯re going to regret this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Loren will beat Magna next time.¡± Lapis responded casually and Noel, after glaring hard at Lapis once more while grinding her teeth, picked up Magna¡¯s body as well as his severed arm, and quickly ran away from the place. Lapis wondered whether Noel drew back because she believed she could not win Lapis head-on or because she thought she had to treat Magna as soon as possible, but the fact that once Noel decided to run, she did it in a straight line without a snide remark or a look back was an act worthy of recognition. ¡°I¡¯m glad you ran away. I¡¯m also pretty much in a pinch here.¡± Loren was probably the most seriously injured, Lapis thought. His most serious external wound was the bruising to the abdomen from the tip of the cavalry spear, but the power he had put into the greatsword and the recoil from the force he had used to cut off Magna¡¯s right arm seem to have caused deep-seated damage to his body. The next person with serious injuries was Leila, who had been struck down by Magna. Lapis diagnosed the others as having relatively minor injuries. She was also worried about the Gula¡¯s injuries, but probably thanks to being an Evil God, she had already recovered considerably with her own healing power alone, and it seemed that even if left alone, she would soon be able to move again. ¡°Well, Klaus?¡± With Loren in her arms, Lapis called out to Klaus, who was trying to catch his ragged breath with his hands on the floor. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen and heard a lot this time.¡± ¡°That¡­ Well, yes.¡± When asked, Klaus readily admitted it. Lapis, who had prepared to be more violent in their talk if he intended to feign ignorance, exhaled a sigh of relief at Klaus¡¯s honest response. ¡°Then, do you know what I¡¯m going to ask you?¡± ¡°¡¯I don¡¯t care what happens to me, so please keep this a secret¡¯¡­ Something like that.¡± Klaus answered in a slightly joking tone, but his voice began to falter as soon as he noticed Lapis¡¯s cold gaze, and by the end it was almost inaudible. Whether he was joking or serious, Lapis had expected him to say something like that. She kept her cold gaze on him and let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind if we all kept our mouths shut here.¡± ¡°Just kidding, just kidding. I won¡¯t tell anyone what I saw and heard here. I¡¯ll make sure Ange and the others know that too. Is that okay with you?¡± Klaus said, sitting down on the floor and raising his hands in surrender. Wondering how much she could trust his words, Lapis continued to stare at Klaus with a cold stare for a while, but then decided that it was probably okay and dropped her eyes. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation, Klaus.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Rather than that, can you tell Loren something when he regains consciousness? If he needs help, I¡¯ll lend a hand. I¡¯ll give you guys a discount, so feel free to call me. I¡¯m a pretty good friend. I think I can help you.¡± Lapis smiled wryly, knowing that ¡®discount¡¯ did not mean ¡®free¡¯. Loren was in eye-popping debt to the Demon Lord at the moment, so whether he would ask for Klaus¡¯ help if it came with a price tag was a question, but it was always better to have more options. ¡°So I guess all that¡¯s left to do is to investigate this facility and either stop or destroy it, and the request is done and dusted for now?¡± Cursing the bad turn of events that had occurred in the place she had picked for a vacation, Lapis let out a deep sigh as almost no one else was able to move. Chapter 240: From Spinning Threads to Complaining Chapter 240: From Spinning Threads to Complaining Proofreader: Xemul There was a black spider spinning thread in front of Loren¡¯s eyes. The thread spun out with a rustling sound was binding Loren¡¯s body firmly, though not too tightly. It made him wonder if this was the kind of scene he would see before being eaten by a spider¡¯s prey. He was currently in a hospital room. The doctor had told Loren that he needed complete bed rest, and Nig, the black spider dwelling on his shoulder, had understood this in his own way and had come to the conclusion that he should be tied up with threads. At first, he had tried to spin the thread in a way that not only would bind Loren tighter, it would also wrap around the bed, but Loren had stopped him. After a series of commotion, it seemed like Loren and his group had returned to the town of Kapha as if they were running away. ¡®Seemed like¡¯, because Loren had no memory of what happened during that time. According to Lapis¡¯ explanation as he had regained his consciousness, after the battle with Magna at the ruins, she, as the only one who could move well among their group, was assigned to investigate the room with the coffins, the very site of the battle. ¡°I don¡¯t understand anything at all.¡± And that was the only thing she could say. According to Lapis, that ruin was filled with even more advanced technology than other ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, and even the knowledge of a demon like her was not enough to understand the technology used there. ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we ask scholars and such to investigate?¡± It seems that Klaus, who was able to move to some extent, had made such a suggestion, but Lapis shook her head. ¡°If it were a normal ruin, I would have agreed. But as you have seen, this seems to be a place that remakes people into something different. I don¡¯t think we should leave it as is.¡± ¡°Hm, I wonder?¡­ You might be right.¡± ¡°We are in agreement, then. Well then, let¡¯s get to work on destroying it.¡± ¡°O-Ok?¡± Loren had asked Klaus about what happened after that, but he still couldn¡¯t get much more information. At any rate, it seemed that the ruin was completely destroyed and lost its functionality as a result of Lapis unleashing the full range of her atrocities with the help of Klaus. ¡°This time, she sensed the mood and was quiet, so it was a good stress reliever for me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, you see, Gula¡­¡± Gula, who could be considered the interested party of this ruin, did not have much to say about it. She simply said that she had not become an Evil God because she wanted to, and that Evil Gods were originally created as a force of war against foreign enemies that threatened the existence of the Ancient Kingdom. However, in the middle of the war, the power used to enforce their subservience to the Ancient Kingdom was somehow lifted, and the Evil Gods all rebelled, which triggered the destruction of the kingdom. And finally, she briefly explained how they came from barbarians to being revered as Evil Golds as a result of the various things they did during their battle against the ancient kingdom. ¡°That was not mere old information. It¡¯s practically ancient. I don¡¯t think you have much interest in it, do you? I don¡¯t want to talk about it, either.¡± ¡°No, I think we¡¯ve just heard some incredibly important information, especially about why the Ancient Kingdom was destroyed.¡± That was the information that could not be spread once known. If it was spread, people would ask where they got this information, and in the process, they would inevitably have to reveal the existence of the Gula and her comrades. ¡°I would have been happy to spread the word before they do all kinds of terrible things, though.¡± If the names of the Evil Gods and their powers were to be known, now that there have been multiple incidents that might have been caused by them, they could become a target to be defeated by adventurers and governments. ¡°¡­Ehehehe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not cute at all, Gula.¡± Watching this exchange between Lapis and Gula, who come to visit him every day, Loren, who was still being wrapped in Nig¡¯s thread, let out a soft sigh. This was not a very fruitful job. He didn¡¯t think it was right to be concerned about the results since they originally went there for a vacation, but he didn¡¯t feel good if they didn¡¯t get rewarded for the work they did. But he was pleasantly surprised to know that they had received the reward from the spirit of the lake. The lake spirit was pleased to hear that water quality would definitely improve now that only clear hot water would flow into the lake. Just like it had originally been as there was no more contamination taking place. Apparently, in addition to the gem that sealed part of Lapis¡¯ body they had received from the beginning, the spirit also gave them a small amount of coin that she had collected from somewhere. ¡®Apparently¡¯, because Loren did not witness the thing. Lapis and Klaus had taken care of it for him. Lapis told him that at the time, Loren and the others, conscious and unconscious alike, were all wrapped in Nig¡¯s threads and transported in a cocoon-like state. It was very troublesome to carry unconscious people while their arms and legs were hanging freely, and as they were wondering what to do, Nig, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, packed Loren and the others up really quickly. This made it much easier to carry them, but Gula, who was still conscious, said that although she had no choice because she had not recovered enough to walk on her own, she wanted that to be the last time she would have to experience being packed like luggage. Then, they returned to town with considerable regret for having come to the lake on foot, and after placing the cocoons in a suitable place while being looked at oddly, Klaus immediately went to town to arrange a carriage for the return trip, and Lapis went to see the Lord to report the details of this commission. Lapis felt that if she honestly told the Lord what had really happened, it might lead to a troublesome conversation about the ruins and such, so she simply reported that there was a dilapidated ruin upstream of the lake and dirty water from there had flown into the lake, which caused the hot-spring pollution. Lapis did not know if there were other entrances to the ruin besides the underwater one they used, as she was not looking for them. But would not be surprising if there were, given the fact that there were black goblins on the ground, probably brought by that Magna, when they camped by the lake at night. She didn¡¯t know if the Lord would go so far as to search for those entrances and check inside the ruin, but even if she did, it would take a considerable amount of time. And in fact, the ruin itself had been destroyed so completely that even Lapis herself could never use it again, so it was not exactly a big lie to say that there was a dilapidated ruin. Lapis told the delighted Lord that this was a casual request and that they had received a reward from the spirit of the lake they encountered along the way, so they did not need another reward from the Lord again. She shook off the Lord¡¯s attempts to make her stay, and as soon as she left the Lord¡¯s mansion, she jumped into the carriage that Klaus had prepared and returned to the town of Kapha without looking back a single time. ¡°Why did you hurry? Why couldn¡¯t we just enjoy our vacation again after the pollution from the hot springs had stopped?¡± Gula asked with a curious look, and Lapis replied with a big frown on her face. ¡°We needed to get out of that town as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What did we do?¡± Gula thought that at least in that town itself, they must have done nothing, and Lapis turned to her like a teacher would to a student with a bad classroom attitude. ¡°The hot water flowing out into that lake was clear, wasn¡¯t it? They said the hot springs in town were cloudy white.¡± ¡°And what about it?¡± ¡°That ruin was probably discharging white water before it was put into operation. It was mixed with clear hot water and became the town¡¯s hot spring. And the water discharge from the ruin has completely stopped now.¡± This meant the previously cloudy hot spring water would be replaced by clear, colorless water, but Lapis believed the story wouldn¡¯t stop there. ¡°That clear water doesn¡¯t have any special properties. In other words, most of the benefits of the hot spring probably came from the water discharge from the ruin.¡± Loren interrupted, knowing what Lapis was trying to say. ¡°And since that water discharge has stopped¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s very likely that it is just hot water now.¡± That would be fatal for a hot spring, Loren thought, but they couldn¡¯t let the ruin continue to operate. It just couldn¡¯t be helped, and they couldn¡¯t be held accountable for it. If there was anyone to blame, it would be Magna, but he wasn¡¯t sure if that would convince the Lord. ¡°The only other positive thing that came out of this was that we now know the names of all the Evil Gods.¡± Before destroying the facility, Lapis had obtained the names of the Evil Gods from the coffins that had been placed in that room. Gula said that the Ancient Kingdom shouldn¡¯t have created any other ¡®Evil Gods¡¯ besides her and her comrades, and that there were only seven of them. Aside from the ones they had already known, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, and Greed, there were three more Evil Gods that Loren and Lapis had not encountered yet. ¡°They are Wrath ¨C Rage Dragonia, Envy ¨C Envy Bridgegard, and Pride ¨C Lucie Supervia.¡± ¡°Male, female, female, in that order. There¡¯s no one else like Luxeria, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°You already knew this, didn¡¯t you, Gula?¡± Loren glared at Gula with half-lidded eyes as she proudly listed out the genders of the remaining Evil Gods, and she replied with a flustered wave of her hand and an embarrassed look on her face. ¡°I only remembered when I heard the names. I really did!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s all right.¡± Gula must have her own agenda, and although they were working together for the time being, there was no telling how long they would continue to do so. Since there was a possibility that they would eventually part ways, it was not strange if there were one or two things she hadn¡¯t told them, and Loren had no intention of pursuing the matter any further. Rather than that, he had a feeling that he had heard something import, but he couldn¡¯t recall what it was right away, so he stopped thinking about it for the moment and poked Nig, who was still spitting out threads, to make him stop and put his back on the bed. ¡°Loren, are you hurt that bad?¡± ¡°I just hurt one rib, but¡­ The magic power my greatsword consumed and such are much more serious.¡± While fighting Magna, Loren had twice sent forth flames from his greatsword. The second shot was hardly a shot, so only the first shot was truly of use, but that one shot alone consumed most of Loren¡¯s power. ¡°That¡¯s Mother¡¯s weapon for you. I think it¡¯s amazing that you could even use it once.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford to be hospitalized every time I use it.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have any safety mechanism. If the user doesn¡¯t have any restraint, it will really take all of the user¡¯s energy.¡± Feeling the weariness that remained in his body, Loren thought that it was just like a Demon King¡¯s weapon to kill its user if the person was careless. He should refrain from using this weapon unless he really had no other choice. As Loren closed his eyes, he heard Gula¡¯s voice. ¡°So, Loren. Uhm¡­ There¡¯s a good chance that you¡¯ll run into that Magna or whatever it is again. So, I¡¯d like you to let me stay with you for a while longer¡­¡± ¡°Do whatever you like. I don¡¯t particularly want to kick you out or anything at the moment.¡± It seemed that Magna had recognized Gula as an enemy because of the incident this time. As this might cause more trouble, Loren could consider kicking Gula out to make it disappear. But from Loren¡¯s perspective, trouble would come up no matter where he went and no matter who was by his side. As Loren told Gula that there was no reason to force her out of the party, and that she didn¡¯t have to worry about it, he could feel a hint of happiness coming from the direction where Gula probably was. It seemed to be the same for Lapis, who asked the following, in a bit of lively voice: ¡°Now that we¡¯re all settled, what¡¯s the next step?¡± ¡°Let me take a break for a while¡­¡± Haven¡¯t you just finished your vacation?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be called a vacation.¡± As he said so, Loren wondered gloomily if it would be possible to retake the vacation somewhere else. But even if he were allowed to do so, he somehow had the feeling that the vacation would be just as bad as this one. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be an adventurer for a living¡­¡± But he was constantly bombarded with one troublesome situation after another, while hardly making any money at all. As Loren muttered to himself that his life had strayed so far from his original goal, Nig stopped spitting out threads and clung to Loren¡¯s right shoulder, his usual position, and tapped his legs in a somewhat comforting manner. Chapter 241: From A Wrong Choice to a Re-Encounter Chapter 241: From A Wrong Choice to a Re-Encounter Proofreader: Xemul There was a rumor going around that a certain hot spring resort had perished. It seemed like their business had already started to go bad when the rumor about dirty water flowing into the hot spring first circulated, and was finally dealt the final blow when the cloudy medicinal water they marketed turned into clear water. Loren tilted his head and wondered if the rumor mill was a little too fast. But stories like this tended to spread very fast as if they had wings on their backs, and the effects they brought also happened strangely quickly, so maybe it was not that strange after all. Still, it was said that even though the water is clear, there is no change in the supply of hot water, so there was no doubt that if some changes were made to the facilities and marketing, the town could be reborn as a splendid bath town. The rumor was that the Lord was scrambling to make it happen. Under a distant sky, Loren could only wish them the best and thought that he may never be able to visit that town again. The phenomenon happening there was related to a commission that Loren and his team had received, and since they had not done anything wrong directly, so the Lord of the town would not bother chasing after them. It would be a different story should they returned to the town though. Feeling taping, Loren looked down to see Nig, the black spider that had found shelter on his shoulder, to be deftly drumming him with its front legs. For a moment Loren wondered what kind of human needed to be comforted by a spider, but he was glad for the spider¡¯s concern and patted Nig on the back with his left palm, causing the passerby to turn and look at him with puzzled looks. Remembering that Nig was, generally speaking, a dangerous creature in its own right, he turned to face forward and continued jogging to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha. Rumors had been rife that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the city of Kapha had been destroyed. Loren thought this was ridiculous, but it was the first rumor he had heard since being discharged from the hospital, where he had been staying due to injuries sustained on his last adventure. Unaware of latest state of affairs, he hurried down the street to find out what was going on. It seemed certain that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was out of service, and there were many adventurers hanging out here and there in the city, but when he asked them about the situation, they all just smiled wryly and gave him vague description. The inability to use the service of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a matter of life and death for Loren. He had no money in his pocket. If he did not work, he would have no money to eat for the day, and he would have to go through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in order to work as an adventurer. Of course, Loren knew that if he asked his partner, a girl named Lapis, a priestess in the service of the God of Knowledge, he would be able to get enough financial support. His debt would increase a little bit, but he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything. But he also believed that if he relied on her help, he would end up in a lot of trouble, so he just couldn¡¯t carelessly talk to Lapis. Turning a corner that he had taken countless times, Loren rushed towards the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The word ¡®destroyed¡¯ was used to describe the state of the Guild, but Loren had believed that it was a figure of speech, since an institution inside a city could not be destroyed so easily. Then he would need to remove the cause of such a metaphor and help to restore the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to its original function as soon as possible. That was what Loren was thinking when he rounded the corner that would lead him to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but as soon as he did, he immediately turned around at the sight that met his eyes and went back behind the corner he had just passed. He quietly peeked out from behind the corner to look in the direction of the Guild. The entrance door of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was the same as usual. The sign indicating that it was the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and the surroundings were the same as before, but there was one thing that had changed drastically. A man and a woman were standing in front of the door. Or at least Loren thought. He was not very sure about it. The two of them were almost the same height as Loren, but their outfits were very revealing, and their skin glistened unnaturally under the midday sun as if it had been daubed with oil. Both had short-cropped blonde hair and radiant smiles that seemed to be pasted to their faces. Their necks were thick and burly, their shoulders were stout, and their chest were incredibly thickly muscled. One of them was wearing a tiny piece of leather armor that barely covered her chest so Loren assumed she was a woman, but the man¡¯s upper body was completely naked. They both wore leather pants that barely concealed the parts of their lower bodies that should not be shown, and their thighs looked as if they had been carved from rock. The braided leather straps of their boots came up to their knees. They would likely cause a seizure if encountered in the daytime, and if encountered at night, cause a weak woman or a child to scream and run away, or faint on the spot. The sight of these two standing in front of the entrance to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was enough to make Loren think that the Guild had probably been finished. Above all, Loren had to unconsciously rub his eyes and wonder if it really were two humans standing there. ¡°This is¡­ Those overly ripped figures again¡­¡± There was a voice saying, along with the touch of a hand on Loren¡¯s back. Turning around, he saw Lapis hiding in the shadows and peeking out just like himself. Behind her was Gula, crouching with her head in her hands. Having spotted the figure, Loren briskly walked to her and grabbed the crouching Gula by the scruff, pulling her body up. ¡°Gula, explain.¡± ¡°Now, now, Loren. What a nice day today¡­¡± ¡°Explain!¡± Loren pressed Gula, who was trying very blatantly to dodge the question with a fake smile, for an answer. Gula, still held by the scruff of her neck, could not escape and began to explain the situation with shifting eyes. As a matter of fact, it was Loren who had asked Gula to send someone to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The reason for this request was based on information he had received during an impromptu commission at a certain vacation resort they had visited not long before. There, Loren and his team came across a ruin where the Ancient Kingdom had created Gula and other Evil Gods, and for various reasons, they had destroyed the ruins. On this occasion, they had also obtained information on the names of the seven Evil Gods created at the ruin, and one of them caught Loren¡¯s attention in a strange way. Envy Bridgegard, the Evil God of Jealousy. Loren did not know the name Envy. However, he had heard of the name Bridgegard before. And so, Loren, who was still in the hospital at the time, had asked Gula, who seemed to be free, to send someone to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to keep tabs on the situation. It was unlikely that the person Loren was after would ever find out that he had become aware of the situation. However, the fact that Loren and his group had entered the ruin where Evil Gods had been created might have been heard by that person, and if that happened, they might escape before he could take action. Concerned about the possible outcome, Loren had asked for help¡­ But judging by the current situation, he became acutely aware that he had chosen the wrong person to turn to. ¡°First of all, what I want to ask is¡­ Who did you send over there?¡± ¡°Luxeria.¡± ¡°You! Why did you send him, of all people?¡± After releasing Gula¡¯s scruff, Loren grabbed the front of her chest again with both hands and shook her body back and forth with force. Apart from strength, Loren was by far the bigger in terms of physique. Gula couldn¡¯t do anything but let Loren lift her up off the ground and shake her. ¡°Wait! Wait! Loren! My bra¡¯s coming off! You¡¯ll see it! You¡¯ll see it!¡± ¡°You did that on purpose! You definitely did that on purpose!¡± Loren argued and looked at Lapis. Color had drained from her face as soon as she heard Gula¡¯s words, and she alternately looked at Loren and Gula, who was still being shaken by Loren, with a look of disbelief on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose! He was the only one who seemed like he would listen to me, and he looked like he had time on his hands!¡± Luxeria was the name of a being who was apparently called the Evil God of Lust, just as Gula was called the Evil God of Gluttony. However, the problem had nothing to do with the fact that this Luxeria was an Evil God. After all, it was Loren himself who designated someone from the Evil Gods as the person to keep watch after them. He had thought that it was a risky request, but he knew that an ordinary adventurer wouldn¡¯t be able to do the job, considering whom he wanted to be kept in watch. ¡°Sloth won¡¯t do anything like this, and Greed is a child, right? There¡¯s only Lust unless I do it myself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just keeping watch, so why can¡¯t it be Sloth?¡± ¡°How can a lazy guy keep watch?¡± Gula said very seriously, and Loren stopped shaking her and thought that it might indeed be so. Being lazy meant not doing anything and not wanting to do anything. The Evil God of Sloth should have the same way of thinking. ¡°I guess I made the wrong choice from the beginning¡­ But there¡¯s no one else suitable. Still, what the hell is that in front of that door?¡± ¡°Maybe they are¡­ followers of Lust, or his underlings, or something like that.¡± ¡°I thought you guys were supposed to be quiet.¡± Loren had heard that Gula had gathered the three Evil Gods of Lust, Greed, and Sloth, who had been involved with his group in the past, and hid them somewhere. They had parted ways with Loren¡¯s party saying that they were going to wander around the area at random, but before they knew it, they had been caught by Gula. He had assumed that these Evil Gods lived a quiet life away from the world, but if they had their own underlings and followers, they could hardly be said to be living a quiet life. ¡°We¡¯re relatively quiet, you know? What Luxeria has is just a small group of cultists. That¡¯s cute, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That macho queen is not cute at all.¡± ¡°Compared to his heyday, he¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not. I absolutely reject that idea!¡± After firmly declaring that, Loren let go of Gula and attempted to do something about Lapis, who had stiffened up with a blue face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lapis. You don¡¯t have to come. This time, I¡¯m just trying to secure a person I¡¯m a little concerned about.¡± ¡°¡­Ha?! O-ok? Yes¡­¡± It looked like Lapis had even stopped thinking. After Loren spoke to her, there was a slight pause, and she turned to him with blank eyes. But then she finally came back to herself and reacted. She seemed to have developed a severe phobia about this guy. Loren, recalling Luxeria¡¯s image in his mind, didn¡¯t find it surprising at all. He patted Lapis on the shoulder, who seemed to be unable to grasp the situation at this point. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go through the trouble of encountering him. I¡¯ll explain the situation later.¡± ¡°Oh my God, how rude you are. What do you think I am?¡± Loren, who had been talking to Lapis in an-easy-to-understand manner, was startled by the throaty voice coming from behind him. Lapis, who was in the position to look right at the person standing behind Loren, suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked about to fall, and Loren hurriedly caught her. ¡°The monster came¡­¡± Loren muttered to himself without turning around, sweat beading his cheeks and forehead. Then he heard the indignant voice of the person standing behind him. ¡°Who¡¯s a monster? How rude~.¡± Rude or whatever, a monster was a monster. Loren pushed down his feeling, gently closed Lapis¡¯ wide-opened eyes, and, swallowing once, turned around with determination. Standing there was a man who was bigger than Loren, both vertically and horizontally. He had a split chin and a short mustache, and was wearing a see-through shirt with netted details and tight-fitting black leather pants. Loren desperately suppressed his nausea as he looked into those extraordinarily large and bright eyes. ¡°You asked me to help you, so I did. You should be thankful. I don¡¯t want to be spoken ill of.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, you turn that way. This side is very troubled.¡± Gula hurriedly turned Luxeria around so that Loren would not have to see his appearance. While trying not to look at the protesting Luxeria and the cursing Gula, Loren shook and call out to Lapis, who had stiffened up and even started to foam at the mouth, trying to bring her back to consciousness. Chapter 242: From A Demonic World To Moving Chapter 242: From A Demonic World To Moving Proofreader: Xemul ¡°So, do you have anything to say about this disaster, Loren?¡± It was not until sometime later that Lapis regained consciousness. As soon as she did, she began questioning Loren about what had happened, but her gaze was focused only on him. She didn¡¯t even glance at Luxuria and Gula, who were nearby. Loren wondered if she really disliked that guy that much, but when he glanced over at them, his eyes met Luxuria¡¯s super large and bright eyes, and he winked at him. Loren could understand why she didn¡¯t want to look at him. ¡°You know who that person is. I thought that only their same kind could keep watch over them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t understand your thinking, but the result is a mess, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren could find nothing to say in reply to Lapis, who pointed to the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even though their group was hiding behind the corner, the man and woman in front of the door must have already noticed their presence since they made such a commotion, but the big smiles on their faces never changed, making Loren suspect that they were stationed there for real. ¡°Could it possibly be the same inside too?¡± Lapis slightly turned her face toward Luxuria, her movement so awkward that the sound of her neck cracking was almost audible. Luxuria, who was being held down by Gura and made to look in a different direction, turned only his face toward Lapis and nodded. ¡°Of course, the inside is also filled with my beautiful lovers.¡± ¡°No wonder, they say the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is destroyed¡­¡± Lapis said with slumped shoulders. Unable to find any words to say to her, Loren scratched his cheeks with a troubled expression. In his opinion, while Luxuria¡¯s appearance could only be described as shocking, it was not so bad once you got used to seeing it. Loren, who had not expected Lapis to be shocked to the point of losing consciousness and foaming, lightly patted her on the back as she hung her head. ¡°People can get used to anything, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get used to it¡­¡± Loren chuckled at Lapis¡¯s despondent expression and wondered if she really disliked Luxuria that much. ¡°Loren, if you don¡¯t quickly get this over with and get rid of these guys, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is going to sue you for obstruction of business.¡± Loren got fired up when Gula told him so. He didn¡¯t even want to think about the hellish scenery inside the Adventurers¡¯ Guild building, but he was sure that if he didn¡¯t move forward with this, it would stay that way forever, and he would end up causing trouble for the guild. ¡°I¡¯ll go then. Lapis, you can go somewhere to kill some time¡­¡± Loren told Lapis, but she interrupted him. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±. Lapis, with a half-desperate look on her face, sat up, clenched her fists tightly, and stared at the entrance to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as if she was looking at an enemy. ¡°I can¡¯t let Loren go to that demon world by yourself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be eaten¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the confidence that I will survive if you come out of there, glistening with oil, Loren.¡± So that was what she really hated. [¡®Do you want me to exercise Energy Drain on those inside the building in advance, onii-san? If there is an Evil God in there, only that person can withstand it, I think.¡¯] Loren heard in his head the voice of the girl who was the King of Death, the highest ranking undead who was living inside his mind. Hearing Shayna¡¯s suggestion, who normally seldom revealed herself due to the intensity and danger of her existence, Loren felt his heart waver, albeit only for a moment. Certainly, if he had her do it, the person he wanted to see would be the only one unharmed among a heap of unmoving bodies, but Loren immediately rejected the idea. No matter how shocking their appearances were, they still came to help him, so he felt that it was too cruel a treatment to put them into a comatose state with Energy Drain. He also realized that even if they were comatose, their presence would not diminish, but he did not tell this to Shayna. He gently stopped her instead. ¡°I¡¯m warning you just in case, but don¡¯t do anything weird, alright?¡± Perhaps he had spent so much time with Gula that he no longer felt much danger from those so-called Evil Gods, but the other party was still a being worthy of such a title, so there was no telling what they might do. That was why Luxuria nodded with a slightly obedient expression at Loren¡¯s warning. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell him off, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡± With Gula taking responsibility, Loren made up his mind and headed for the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The only way to get inside was to pass through the muscular gate of the man and woman standing outside. Loren hardened his resolve and opened the door without looking at the ever-smiling faces. The air wafting out from inside made him involuntarily flinch. ¡°This again¡­¡± It was no wonder that Lapis, who was standing by Loren¡¯s side, covered her mouth with a hand. The air that wafted out of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild building was thick with the smell of sweat and grease, which was disgusting. If that had been all, Loren would not have flinched, but there was also a horrifyingly strong scent of perfume in the mix. Enduring the scent, they walked on, only to find that the building was filled with countless men and women who were not much different from the two standing at the entrance. It seemed like this made most adventurers turn around at the entrance and walk away, even if they could bear passing between the two standing at the entrance. Looking toward the adjoining diner, Loren noticed that the waitresses, who usually took orders and served the food while passing among the adventurers, were frozen at the far end of the restaurant, looking pale. As expected, the chairs there were also covered with muscles. ¡°This is terrible.¡± ¡°Who do you think is to blame?¡± ¡°At least not me.¡± Shaking his head, as if he was not willing to be blamed for the situation, Loren continued on his way through the building, looking for the person he wanted to see. He was heading for the reception counter of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The guild¡¯s employees would normally be there taking care of the adventurers who line up to receive and report their commissions, but with not a single adventurer in sight, they simply sat in their chairs and stared at the scene on the floor, which seemed to be from another world entirely, with a stiff expression on their faces. Loren located a female staff member with a troubled look on her face among them and went to stand in front of the counter where she was sitting. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that long, has it?¡± ¡°¡®Well¡­ I¡¯m not sure how to reply to that.¡± The one who answered with a laugh was a female staff member named Ivy Bridgegard, with whom Loren¡¯s party had briefly been involved with in the past. While the rest of the staff had pale faces and stiff expressions, she was the only one with a smile on her face, as if she wasn¡¯t shocked at all. Resting his elbows on the counter and bringing his face a little closer, Loren spoke to Ivy in a whisper. ¡°You know why we¡¯re here, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I can sort of guess. I heard that you entered those ruins in the land of the beastmen.¡± As expected of an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, this information had already reached Ivy¡¯s ears. ¡°You¡¯re not going to run away, are you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any particular reason to run away.¡± ¡°Right. We don¡¯t come here to capture and eat you.¡± Loren did not even think of doing anything to Ivy just because her last name was the same as that of the Evil God of Envy. They might be related in some way, and as long as she was honest enough to pass on that information, there was no point in getting into a fight. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re so quick to talk. I just have one question I want to ask you, and as long as you speak, there won¡¯t be any trouble.¡± ¡°I see. But I¡¯m a little hesitant to talk about it here.¡± Being told so, Loren turned back and looked around. Lapis was watching the conversation with interest, and for some reason, Gula and Luxuria were standing side by side with their eyes fixed on Ivy. As the reaction of the two Evil Gods tugged at something in his mind, Loren looked around more and saw frightened Adventurers¡¯ Guild employees, waitresses in the adjacent cafeteria, and a crowd of muscles. It certainly didn¡¯t seem like a good idea to continue the conversation here, and Loren decided he needed a change of location. ¡°Do you have a room somewhere?¡± ¡°But first, is it possible to get these rather large people to leave? It¡¯s hard for us to tell them to leave, since¡­ all of them are registered as bronze class adventurers.¡± Loren looked at Luxuria, and Luxuria crossed his arms in front of his bulky chest without a hint of guilt. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped, you know? We can¡¯t fill the guild floor with people who have nothing to do with the guild.¡± ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild in this town is going to be destroyed after all. Or rather, it will be better if it is destroyed.¡± Loren did not know how many adventurers had registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, nor did he know how many adventurers used the guild. However, the fact that so many people had registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at once that it filled an entire floor and even the dining hall next door should have meant that some percentage of the total was occupied by muscle-heads that were Luxuria¡¯s followers. Ivy smiled a troubled smile at Loren, who was tempted by the devastating thought that it would be better for the guild to be destroyed than to become a guild of muscles. ¡°No, please don¡¯t destroy it. We¡¯ll be in trouble if we lose our workplace.¡± ¡°Unless these guys cancel their registration, we¡¯re going to have to deal with muscles forever, you know?¡± ¡°This density is crazy, but it¡¯s still manageable if they¡¯re mixed in with normal people.¡± Loren wondered if that was true, but if the staff member who was dealing with the situation said so, then it must be. The only thing left to do now was to pray that the muscles didn¡¯t form parties with other muscles. As Loren was thinking about this, Luxuria began to instruct the crowd of muscles to disperse, and the muscles that had filled the floor began to walk out as if their job was done. ¡°Thank you. We won¡¯t be able to work if it¡¯s like this day after day.¡± ¡°We¡¯re the ones who made them do it.¡± ¡°That¡­ can¡¯t be helped, I guess.¡± Ivy said and gave some instructions to the guild employees, who looked relieved to see that the atmosphere on the floor was returning to normal. Then she got up from her seat and walked past the counter to Loren¡¯s group. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a place, but you¡¯ll pay for it. Is that alright?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the ones who will listen to you talk, so it¡¯s not like we have a choice.¡± Loren thought about paying himself, but unfortunately he did not have enough money on hand. When he looked at Lapis, who held the party¡¯s purse¡¯s string, to ask for her opinion, she shrugged and said. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too expensive.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a place where guild¡¯s employees can pay with our wages.¡± Ivy was the first to walk away, as if telling them to come. And so, Loren and the others followed after her and left the Adventurers¡¯ Guild behind. Chapter 243: Seeking Information After Entering the Restaurant Chapter 243: Seeking Information After Entering the Restaurant Proofreader: Xemul Guided by Ivy, the group went to a moderately refined restaurant that was a little too formal for the masses, but not so formal as to be reserved for the upper class. As expected, Loren¡¯s group, who were armed, were stopped by the clerk at the entrance and told to leave their weapons with him, but more problematic was Luxuria¡¯s attire. ¡°Just put a stop to all that transparency.¡± The restaurant was not happy with Luxuria¡¯s outfit of tight-fitting leather shorts and mesh shirt, which did not look like something of a normal person from any angle. Loren told him to comply with the restaurant¡¯s request to do something about it for the sake of other guests, but Luxuria complained while hugging himself with a sultry look on his face. ¡°But what¡¯s wrong about me?¡± ¡°About everything, I think. But first, do something about the transparency and tightness of clothes. Not only for the sake of the restaurant, but also for our own peace of mind.¡± No matter how shocking the outfit was, if you kept looking at it, you would get used to it. Loren was beginning to, albeit gradually. But Lapis, who was by his side, was still avoiding Luxuria¡¯s eyes, and whenever she glanced in his direction, the amount of cold sweat on her forehead increased. At this rate, Loren thought that one day they would eventually overcome the near traumatic mental shock, but he felt it was too high a hurdle to demand the same thing from this restaurant¡¯s staff. ¡°But I only have these clothes.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to dress this guy, no doubt it¡¯ll have to be custom-made¡­¡± Luxuria¡¯s body was even larger than Loren¡¯s. Loren himself was not in a position to choose much in terms of clothing due to his large size, but when it came to Luxuria¡¯s size, it looked like nothing was made in such a size, be it old or new clothes. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. You stay outside.¡± Even if they came to a clothing shop now, there was a high chance that they wouldn¡¯t find anything that fit Luxuria. In that case, he just has to give up entering the restaurant. As Loren told him so, Luxuria stuffed his fist into his mouth, shook his head as if saying ¡®no, no¡¯ and croaked out. ¡°You¡¯re being cruel. I¡¯ve gone to great trouble to help you, and now you¡¯re excluding me after we¡¯ve come this far?¡± ¡°I want to cut this guy down¡­¡± ¡°Loren, please restrain yourself. I fully understand how you feel, but there will be a lot of inconvenience if you get into an altercation here.¡± Lapis gently held Loren¡¯s hand as he reached for the greatsword he had left with the clerk. Two people were trying hard to carry the sword as one person couldn¡¯t move it, but when they saw Loren reach for it with a grim look on his face. They hurriedly carried the sword away to the room where the restaurant kept its guests¡¯ belongings. Ivy, who had been smiling with a helpless, troubled expression since the beginning of the meeting, made a suggestion to Loren, who looked at his sword with regret. ¡°If you can pay for a private room, I think we can go in like this?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. We¡¯ll pay.¡± Loren, who was well aware that he did not have the authority to make decisions regarding money, looked at Lapis for her opinion. Lapis did not think it was a good idea to spend any more time at the entrance of the restaurant, so she nodded without any objections and started negotiating with the clerk to have a private room prepared. After some time, the negotiations were settled, and Loren¡¯s group was led to one of the several private rooms in the back of the restaurant. They sat down around a round table in the center of the room, and Lapis ordered a light meal and some drinks. ¡°I¡¯d like to have some good wine. Something is difficult to talk about when sober.¡± ¡°If you get too carried away, we¡¯ll fill up the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with muscle again, you know?¡± ¡°Lapis, can you stand it? I could.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you all just die¡­?¡± After sharply clicking her tongue, Lapis changed the drinks order and sat down at her seat. A short time later, food and drinks were brought in, and Loren was impressed by the fact that the servers did not ostensibly change their expressions or attitudes when they saw Luxuria. As expected from a reasonably priced restaurant, their servers were well-trained. ¡°So, everyone. Shall we start with a toast?¡± ¡°What are we toasting to?¡± Ivy was the first to fill her own glass, then stood up from her seat and raised it. Loren glared at her with half-lidded eyes as Lapis poured wine into his glass. ¡°¡®For today¡¯s encounter?¡± ¡°Do what you want.¡± Not knowing if he could keep up with her, Loren answered in a dismissive manner. Ivy, perhaps taking that as an approval, raised her glass and spoke loudly. ¡°Then, ladies and gentlemen, to today¡¯s encounter.¡± Loren and Lapis responded by raising their glasses, while Gula and Luxuria held their glasses in their hands and stared intently at Ivy¡¯s face. Ivy, without paying attention to their gazes, downed the content of her glass in one go, then exhaled with satisfaction as she sat down and poured herself another glass. ¡°Nice wine.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite expensive.¡± The taste of the drink Loren poured into his mouth was completely different from what he usually drank, and the aroma and sweetness were quite distinct on the tongue. He rolled the wine around in his mouth before swallowing, then spoke to Ivy, who was happily sipping her second glass, while wondering about the reactions of the two Evil Gods on his side. ¡°Do you mind if I cut to the chase?¡± ¡°No. You want to ask me about Envy Bridgegard, don¡¯t you?¡± Ivy confirmed once more, and Loren nodded gravely. As this was just a hit-or-miss attempt, Loren had prepared for a lackluster result, but the words that reached his ears were outside his realm of expectations. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Liar! We all know each other!¡± Gula slammed her glass down on the round table and pointed at Ivy. Ivy looked back at Gula, seemingly not unperturbed by her rude behavior. ¡°Are you trying to confuse us by saying random things? Do you think you can get away with this? If you keep talking nonsense, I¡¯m going to push you down.¡± ¡°Please stop. We will be banned.¡± Luxuria was quite serious, and Ivy replied with a blank expression. But she probably did feel some kind of fear after being told that she would be pushed down by a giant Luxuria¡¯s size, as Loren did not miss a single bead of sweat running down her cheek. ¡°The Envy we know has short blond hair and dark purple dead eyes. She didn¡¯t have a shred of a female staff¡¯s aura!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a terrible thing to say to my face¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s how the Envy we know is. She¡¯s nothing like you.¡± Ivy herself claimed to be the Evil God of Envy, but the two other Evil Gods denied it together. Loren, who had only expected Ivy to be related to Envy at most, was surprised that Ivy claimed to be the person herself, and even more surprised that both of the Evil Gods on his side denied that claim. He did not know how to react. ¡°I certainly used to look the way the two of you described¡­¡± Ivy spoke slowly with a distant look in her eyes, as if recalling old memories. Whether you suspected or believed her, you couldn¡¯t make a judgment until you¡¯d heard all of her claims. So, Loren told the Evil Gods, who were still trying to make a fuss, to be quiet. ¡°In the past, as the Evil God of Envy, I was jealous of everything in the world. I hunted barbarians as a subordinate of the Ancient Kingdom, and after I was released from the subordination, I was jealous of all that belonged to the Ancient Kingdom and fought against them.¡± According to Ivy¡¯s explanation, the power of the Evil God of Envy was called >, which was a self-boost type of power that enhanced her ability through being jealous of something about someone else. She also explained that Gula¡¯s > and Lust¡¯s > were emanation types, Greed¡¯s > was classified as a special type, and that there were different types of evil gods. ¡°I was fighting like that, but then the Ancient Kingdom fell, and I was persuaded by an adventurer, who didn¡¯t like the idea of our mighty power being used or feared, to enter a sealed sleep.¡± ¡°Is that how it happened?¡± Loren asked Gula. Gula sipped from her glass and answered as her gaze wandered off as if she was replaying an old memory. ¡°Yeah. Well, you see, our very existence itself is pretty dangerous, isn¡¯t it? And this was right after the fall of the Ancient Kingdom, so it could happen like that. Some of the Evil Gods probably didn¡¯t like it though.¡± ¡°It was so long ago that I don¡¯t remember.¡± Luxuria tilted his head as wondering if such a thing had ever happened. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, that story didn¡¯t matter now, so he pretended not to notice and let him wonder all he liked. He urged Ivy to continue the talk instead. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, isn¡¯t it? So recently, the seal was broken due to deterioration over time or something. I woke up and returned to this world, but it seems that the world has changed a lot, and I can¡¯t be an Evil God forever, nor is it the time to say that I am one.¡± When Loren wondered if she could quit just because she wanted, Ivy spoke about something that surprised Loren to the point of eye-opening. ¡°So, I went to the ruin, which I know a little bit about, built this body using my own body as material, transplanted my soul into it, and I got a different appearance from what I had before.¡± Ivy said that when she changed her looks, she also changed her name from Envy to Ivy. She really wanted to change the Bridgegard part as well, but Ivy realized at that time that the names of Evil Gods were magically bonded with their powers, and if she changed her name entirely, she would lose control of her power altogether. Still, she went through great trouble to change her name to the one she had now because she could not continue to use her original name. And so Ivy concluded her story. ¡°Creating a body and transplanting a soul? Is that even possible?¡± ¡°Well, yes, it is possible.¡± ¡°Hey, Ivy. I don¡¯t care if you are an Evil God or not. Just give me the information about that ruin.¡± Loren¡¯s words were very aggressive. His sudden reaction made Ivy, who had initiated the conversation, look at him as if she did not understand what had just happened, while Lapis and others around him watched on while also wondering what the hell he had just said. And Loren continued to stare at Ivy with an extremely serious expression on his face. Chapter 244: From Consideration to Commission Chapter 244: From Consideration to Commission Proofreader: Xemul ¡°E-eh? This is strange. I¡¯ve just talked about important things, but you don¡¯t seem to be interested at all?¡± Ivy wondered if she had misheard, but Loren answered her question firmly. ¡°You quit being the Evil God of Envy, rebuilt your body, and changed your name, didn¡¯t you? The rest are trivial.¡± ¡°Oh? I still have some power left¡­ But it is true that I can no longer use most of the powers of an Evil God, and I don¡¯t really feel the urge to be jealous of anyone anymore.¡± ¡°Well, whatever. At least you¡¯re less dangerous than these two. What¡¯s more important is the information about the ruin where you rebuilt your body in. If someone has the¡­ materials, they can make a new body and transplant their soul into it, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Well, do you know anyone who needs something like that?¡± The first thing that came to Loren¡¯s mind when he heard Ivy¡¯s story was the Shayna that was still sleeping inside him. Originally the daughter of the head of a city-state, Shayna had been transformed into the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, in a quest that Loren was involved in. In a battle with his group, however, she was defeated and her physical body was destroyed. If she had remained in it, her spirit would have perished along with her body, but she was saved by Loren, and now she maintained her existence by dwelling in Loren¡¯s soul. Loren thought that if the ruin Ivy mentioned could be used, it would be possible to create a new body for Shayna and transplant her soul into it, even though getting the materials was still a question. ¡°It seems like there¡¯s a lot going on here. Is it something to do with your strange mood?¡± ¡°Is that relevant right now?¡± Ivy¡¯s gaze, which seemed to be observing the change in Loren¡¯s expression, made him feel alarmed. But after staring at Loren for a while, Ivy shook her head. ¡°Probably not. But it¡¯s information I can¡¯t share with people who might want to misuse it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a girl I want to resurrect. Her soul is here.¡± Poking his own chest with his index finger, Loren confided his reason to Ivy. ¡°It seems that she is able to maintain her existence by being inside me, but I don¡¯t know how long she will be able to continue doing so. I want to build a body for her.¡± ¡°I see, I see. But the child inside of you is¡­¡± Ivy¡¯s eyes, which were trained on Loren, turned dark purple for a moment. Loren reflexively leaned back, but Ivy pointed to his chest with a wry smile. ¡°An undead? And quite high-ranking.¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± Loren was surprised that she was able to tell just by looking. Ivy nodded her head with a proud expression on her face, perhaps feeling good about having surprised Loren. ¡°I¡¯m the self-enhancement type, so I¡¯ve basically been trying to improve my abilities. That includes knowledge and judgment.¡± ¡°Hey, did you hear that, you two?¡± If anything, both Gluttony and Lust carried a heavy pleasure-seeking connotation. When Loren pointed out that they had not been trying to improve themselves as much as Envy, Gula replied with a composed face. ¡°I¡¯m the emanation type.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also the emanation type. We¡¯re different. You know already, so please don¡¯t look at us like that.¡± Loren felt a slight anger at the two Evil Gods, who replied with no concern whatsoever. But they were not likely to think of correcting their own behavior even if he pointed it out to them, so it was futile. Loren turned his attention back to Ivy. ¡°Even if you create a body and transplant a soul into it, she will only be revived as an undead¡­Oh, no, will it be, though? Since the newly-created body is a living organism¡­ Hmm?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Loren asked Ivy, who had been lost in thought, but she didn¡¯t return from her contemplation to answer him. Instead, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, poured the contents of her glass down her throat and replied while picking at the food on her plate. ¡°I think a body created at that ruin will be a living body. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to transplant a soul into it.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°The undead are beings that have no life force. The dead are dead, so it is only natural that they have no life force. What do you think would happen if such a being was transplanted into a body with life force?¡± There was no way Loren could answer the question of what would happen. Even though he was formerly a mercenary and currently an adventurer, such skills and knowledge were completely outside his area of expertise. He did not have even a cursory for knowledge of this subject. ¡°In my opinion, in the worst case scenario, the soul and the physical body would be reduced to zero, and both would cease to exist.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it more likely that the power of the undead part would be so strong that it would only end up destroying the physical body?¡± ¡°Then the soul would remain, so it would not be the worst case scenario.¡± Ivy, who had made her own guess at Lapis¡¯ idea, nodded her head in agreement when she heard Lapis¡¯ reply. ¡°But with this line of reasoning, there is no solution at all.¡± With downcast eyes, Lapis said while placing the glass she was sipping from on the round table. ¡°So you compare the soul with the body. If the soul is stronger, the physical body will perish, and if the physical body is stronger, the soul, as an undead, could perish. If both are equally strong, as I said earlier, both could perish.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ It doesn¡¯t seem like such a good idea¡­¡± ¡°If you just transplant the soul into a corpse, it won¡¯t be not a problem.¡± A corpse was originally lifeless, so there would be no problem in transplanting Shayna¡¯s spirit, which was also lifeless, into it. However, Lapis confirmed that in that case, it would simply create one powerful undead, which was not what Loren wanted. If possible, he wanted to return Shayna to how she had been when she was alive, not to create a King of Death by expelling her from inside him. ¡°There is another possibility.¡± After uttering such a preamble, Ivy looked at Loren, but he did not understand the meaning of her gaze. She continued. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of an undead being dwelling inside a human¡¯s soul. We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that this has caused some kind of mutation in the undead¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°I agree. If what resides inside Loren was just the soul of an undead, it would have caused tremendous damage to its surroundings with its thirst for life, which is true of undead in general.¡± As far as Lapis could see, she had the impression that Shayna was very quiet when she was shut away inside Loren, and even on the rare occasion when she came out, she used her own abilities rationally and did not go on an uncontrolled rampage. She believed that this was proof that Shayna¡¯s rationality was still intact, and that she was a little different from the undead, who indiscriminately targeted the living and tried to take their lives. ¡°I have to admit, though, that we won¡¯t know for sure until we try.¡± Ivy leaned forward a little and put her elbows on the round table, looking at Loren. ¡°Do you still want information about the ruin despite that?¡± ¡°Yes, tell me anyway.¡± Ivy blinked her eyes at the immediate answer. ¡°Hm? An immediate answer?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask her if she wants to do it or not later, but give me the information. I need to show her the thing first, in order to talk about it.¡± If he asked Shayna what she would do in the current situation, she might answer that she would not do it because she did not want to cause trouble for Lapis and Gula. However, if he asked the same question after creating a situation where the actual thing was in front of her and she might be able to get her body back, her answer might have been different. If she still said she would not do it under those circumstances, they would just have to come up with another way. Still, they needed to create those circumstances first, no matter how things turn out. Ivy, on the other hand, had asked Loren this question, because she believed it would be better to think it through first. But his unexpectedly quick response made her speechless, and she fell silent. Eventually, seeing that Loren¡¯s resolution seemed firm, she moved her elbows from the table and sat straight up. ¡°I understand. Then I will tell you, but I would like to receive a fee for the information.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about the Evil Gods.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want information. At any rate, I¡¯ll answer what you ask, so there¡¯s nothing complicated here.¡± ¡°So money?¡± Loren thought that if she asked for money, he would have to ask Lapis again, but Ivy shook her head at his words. ¡°What I need right now is labor. So please pay me with it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get what you mean by that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you to pay me with your body.¡± As soon as Ivy said this to Loren with a smirk, two things happened at the same time. One was that Gula grabbed Luxuria by the neck as he was getting up and forcibly pushed him back into his chair. The other was that Lapis¡¯ hand, in a movement so natural that even Loren could have missed it, threw the fork that was in her hand, which she was using to eat, at Ivy. Ivy, too, with a very natural move, smoothly used the glass in her hand to defend herself from the fork that aimed straight for her brow. She gently put the glass with the fork still stuck in it back on the table, looked alternately at Lapis, whose gaze was stern, and Luxuria, whose gaze was also stern for some reason, then muttered with a sigh. ¡°You misunderstood.¡± Ivy¡¯s expression was calm, but Loren could see that her hands were shaking, if only slightly, when she put the cup back on the round table. In other words, Lapis had apparently launched a real attack, not a joke. ¡°Just say it properly. As you can see, I can¡¯t do anything to stop them.¡± ¡°I want you to accept a commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild through me. I have a commission that is getting a little stale, and I¡¯ve been looking for someone to take it.¡± ¡°That depends on what the commission is. If it asks me to kill someone or steal something, I can¡¯t take it.¡± ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is not a crime syndicate, you know?¡± Ivy puffed up her cheeks as if to say that she was offended. ¡°This is a commission for research and exploration in a certain city. If you accept this request, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will provide you with information about the ruin you are asking about, in addition to a reward. What do you think?¡± Loren had no choice but to nod in response, and Lapis and the others did not try to stop him either. Chapter 245: From Acceptance to Preparation Chapter 245: From Acceptance to Preparation Proofreader: Xemul ¡°The commission that I want you to accept is about solving an anomaly that is happening in a certain town.¡± After confirming that Loren was willing to accept her commission, Ivy began to explain the commission¡¯s content. ¡°Do you know that there is a place called Blue Desert north of Kapha, about three days¡¯ wagon ride away?¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± The Blue Desert mentioned by Ivy was a place that Loren and his team had stopped by on their way to the mountainous area separating the demon territory from the rest of the country when they went to the demon realm. It was said that there used to be some kind of test site or research facility of the Ancient Kingdom there, and as a result of some research or experiment, a vast area of land was turned into a desert filled with blue sand. Buried under the sand were a facility of the Ancient Kingdom, which Lapis secretly used as her base. ¡°I want you to turn west from the Blue Desert and take a day¡¯s wagon ride to a town called Suest.¡± ¡°What do you want us to do there?¡± It would take four days to get there on a horse-drawn wagon. When Loren asked Ivy what she wanted them to do at such a distant place, Ivy frowned and pondered for a while. When Loren looked at her with half an eye, wondering if she hadn¡¯t decided what she was going to make them do, she waved her hands in a fluster. ¡°No, I do have a purpose in mind. I just don¡¯t know where to start.¡± ¡°Then tell me your purpose.¡± ¡°Actually, this commission is from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest.¡± Ivy said that the commission came not from Kapha, but from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in a large, faraway city, Suest. The story was that, there had been frequent incidents of residents and adventurers going missing in Suest. Adventurers in Suest had been commissioned to solve the problem, but not only were they not able to do it, they also went missing themselves. There was a possibility the situation was too much for Suest to handle alone, so they asked for assistance. Initially, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha did not want to get involved, as it would take four days to get to Suest from Kapha by wagon. However, adventurers who had gone to Suest from guilds in neighboring towns did not send back a single message, no matter how long they waited. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild HQ took the situation very seriously and notified not only the guilds in the vicinity of Suest, but also those further away, that they would send out personnel to find out what was going on in Suest. However, Ivy said that because of the distance to Suest and the mysterious nature of the commission itself, no adventurers were willing to take it on, and the commission remained pending for some time, in a stalled state. ¡°So you want us to do something about it?¡± ¡°My position in the guild will be strengthened if I can find an adventurer who can solve a story like this.¡± According to Ivy, the commission was rated for iron rank adventurers for now. But if this continued for too long, and if the cooperation of the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds in different towns were not very good, the Guild HQ would have to take action, and they would naturally be forced to use silver and gold rank adventurers. If Ivy could bring a resolution to the situation before that happened, her value within the guild would increase and her position would become stronger and more secure. ¡°This directly affects my salary¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see the logic in that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the way of the world. If you want to live as a human being, you need the money for it.¡± ¡°That I understand. It¡¯s a harsh thing to say, but it¡¯s true.¡± Loren could understand Ivy¡¯s point, but it was still a rather creepy story to hear. People went missing without reasons, and even the adventurers who went to find out the cause didn¡¯t come back. This was something that he normally would not want to poke his nose into. However, he might have to accept it in exchange for information about the ruin he needed. When Loren was thinking about it, Ivy added a final push. ¡°By the way, the ruin I told you about is located right there in Suest.¡± ¡°I had no way out of it from the beginning, did I?¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± Ivy said with a smile. Loren stared at her with half-lidded eyes for a while, but eventually let out a breath and turned his gaze toward Lapis and Gula. ¡°Just as you¡¯ve heard, I¡¯ll take it, but¡­ What about you?¡± Loren had intended to accept this commission simply because it was necessary for him. But he couldn¡¯t drag Lapis and Gula into this, and if they wished to, he would take the commission on his own. Lapis was the first to answer. ¡°I will accompany you. There is no need for questions or confirmation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go too. It¡¯s troublesome if I¡¯m the only one left behind.¡± ¡°Me too-¡° ¡°-I didn¡¯t ask you.¡± As if getting carried away by the flow of the conversation, Luxuria also answered, but Loren stopped him in a cold tone. Regardless of his intentions, the option of taking Luxuria anywhere did not even exist in Loren¡¯s mind. Luxuria¡¯s taste and power of sexual desire were too indiscriminate, and Loren didn¡¯t think they could keep him under control at all. If Luxuria¡¯s influence were to reach the surrounding area, it would inevitably lead to unimaginable devastation, and Loren¡¯s true wish was for him to return to the place where Gula was keeping Evil Gods under protection or something. ¡°So cruel! You got me involved this far, and now you are going to leave me out?¡± ¡°I think it was a mistake to let you get involved this far, don¡¯t you think?¡± Following Lapis¡¯ cold words, Loren added in a flat tone. ¡°Take care of those guys you got registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild here. Or rather, keep them in check somehow!¡± ¡°What do you have to complain about, cute children?!¡± ¡°A lot. Look in the mirror.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just showing a reflection of my beautiful self!¡± Loren and Lapis wondered whether he was messing around with them by giving this answer, but the short glance at Luxuria¡¯s face told them that he really meant it, and they both let out a deep sigh at the same time. ¡°Anyway, you can¡¯t. We can¡¯t spread troubles to other cities.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s Kapha, Loren!¡± Ivy said as if she was chiding him, but Loren had a different idea. It was not that it was okay with Kapha, just that it was already too late for Kapha. In that case, the only thing he could do, would be to prevent Luxuria¡¯s influence from spreading to other cities. It was out of the question to take him on the commission. ¡°So, would it be correct to say that the three people who can accept the request are Loren, Lapis, and Gula?¡± ¡°Gula, can¡¯t you bring that Sloth guy with you? I think he could be an asset.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how Sloth can do the job. It¡¯s quite trouble to take him along, it¡¯s even more trouble to lead him, and frankly I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be of much use at all, you know? I think Greed is better, but babysitting is hard.¡± ¡°Surprisingly useless, you Evil Gods. So, it¡¯s only the three of us?¡± In fact, if they could turn a blind eye to Luxuria¡¯s appearance and personality, he might be relatively easy to utilize among the Evil Gods. However, his appearance and personality were the biggest issue, and impossible to ignore. Eventually they could become accustomed to it and be able to endure it, but currently it was too much to ask for of Loren and Lapis. So there was no way he would be allowed to accompany them. ¡°Then, through me, Ivy Bridgegard, I ask Loren, an iron rank adventurer, and his team to take this commission. In addition, as this commission is coming directly from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, a guild official will be accompanying you as an intermediary, so we ask that you also escort them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the staff who will be accompanying us is¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m your agent, so I¡¯ll be accompanying you. I look forward to working with you, Loren.¡± Ivy held out her right hand to Loren, and Loren, already weary at the prospect of taking along two evil gods and a demon, grasped it. After that, Ivy parted ways with Loren and the others and returned to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. She had to place the commission¡¯s order and complete the necessary paperwork before she could accompany the adventurers. Luxuria had been arguing to the end, but when he realized that Loren would not change his mind, he gave up and went back to his own people, whom he had registered as adventurers. Loren and his party also had urgent preparations to attend to. ¡°We need to buy enough supplies for an eight-day round trip.¡± Since this commission had been stale, Ivy wanted to close it as soon as possible, yet rushing preparations would do no good, so Loren¡¯s party was given one day to prepare. ¡°This time, it looks like we¡¯ll only need the bare necessities. Ivy will provide the means of transportation and general goods, and the guild will provide the rest.¡± Lapis mentioned that as the guild was the client, it would be providing some support. Therefore, all Loren and his party needed were tools, weapons and medical supplies. The food and daily necessities could be left to Ivy. It would be much easier if they prepared these items themselves, but Loren¡¯s group felt that there would be no problem if they didn¡¯t, so they left it to Ivy without hesitation. [¡®Onii-san, are you sure? Even if I go there, I¡­ may not be able to use that ruin, you know?¡¯] Ivy and Lapis warned that it was highly unlikely that Shayna would be revived in a physical body. Hearing that, Shayna didn¡¯t want to burden Loren and his party with accepting a strange commission to obtain the information. ¡°You may change your mind, and if we examine the ruin thoroughly, we may find something that will solve the problem. Besides, you can¡¯t stay in me forever.¡± [¡®Am I being a bother?¡¯] Loren scratched his head as he sensed a feeling of anxiety mixed in with Shayna¡¯s thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re a bother. You can stay there as long as you want, but I¡¯m just saying that if it¡¯s possible, you should get your body back.¡± ¡°Loren, you look like a dangerous man, mumbling to yourself like that.¡± In order for Shayna and Loren to have a conversation, there was no need for Loren to say a word. However, Loren was not used to such communication, and from the side Lapis noticed that he was unintentionally speaking out loud. Loren, who had his cheeks slightly reddened, and mouth corners turned down, could hear the sound of Shayna¡¯s laughter echoing in his mind, as he heard Lapis¡¯ remark. Chapter 246: From Chatting to Arriving Chapter 246: From Chatting to Arriving Proofreader: Xemul At dawn, Loren and his party departed from the north gate of Kapha in a wagon prepared by Ivy, and headed north. If it were the first time for them to visit such a place, the surrounding scenery might have been new to them and they might have been able to enjoy it to some extent, but for Loren and his group, it was a road they had taken not so long ago. As a result, they were just passing through the familiar scenery, with nothing to do during the whole ride. The same seemed to be true for Ivy, who was temporarily joining Loren¡¯s party. Sitting in the back of the wagon, she tried to stifle her yawns as she spent the day rocking around. ¡°This is my first time accompanying adventurers on a quest, and it seems you have quite a bit of free time.¡± ¡°If nothing happens, we¡¯ll just keep driving on.¡± The occasional passing of travelers or merchants heading for Kapha on the opposite side of the road were the only different events happening during their trip, but those were brief, and then it would be time to continue onward through the slowly changing landscape again. Loren couldn¡¯t deny that he had time on his hands, but he still had to stay vigilant for any attacks by monsters or bandits. ¡°An attack from monsters would relieve some of the boredom, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Stop drawing bad luck. As if crossing the mountain, without incidents, isn¡¯t good enough.¡± Loren, who was sitting on the driver bench, answered without looking back. Whether it was demons or bandits, if you defeated the ones that attacked you, it would bring some money. However, Loren was not very willing to welcome danger just for the sake of a few coins, and even less so for the sake of relieving boredom. He just couldn¡¯t agree with Ivy. ¡°Aside from some sort of bandits, I doubt that monsters would attack us.¡± Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren and holding the reins of the horse, joined the conversation. ¡°Two so-called Evil Gods are riding in the wagon, you know? The monsters that hunt on highways will flee at the mere hint of their presence.¡± Lapis said, trying not to think about the fact that she was also one of the beings who were exerting what could be called an intimidating pressure on their surroundings. Lapis looked like a human, but she actually belonged to the demon race, a powerful race that was hated throughout the continent. When she first met Loren, her parents had taken away her limbs and eyes and hidden them across the continent in order to hide her power and presence. If she had still been in that state, she would not have had to worry about being noticed, but now, Lapis had already regained both of her arms and eyes. In other words, she had regained over half of her original power, so she had to be very careful in her daily life not give away her demonic presence. Lapis had also gained a certain amount of control in managing her presence, preventing it from vividly leaking out. But if she lets her guard down, she would still exude a presence strong enough to cause a weak monster to flee instantly. ¡°It is good that I¡¯ve regained my power, but on the other hand, it is troublesome having to be careful all the time.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to hide your power without having to pay attention to it someday.¡± ¡°It just takes some time to get used to, I guess?¡± And so, without being attacked by monsters or surrounded by bandits, the three-day journey northward came to an end, and Loren¡¯s group arrived at a desert with blue sand. Loren was once again surprised by the strange sight of the blue desert, but the other members were not sharing his sentiment. ¡°I have a base here, so I come here quite often.¡± ¡°During the time of the Ancient Kingdom, we were exposed to so many sights that this one is nothing in comparison.¡± ¡°Sand doesn¡¯t taste good in the first place.¡± [¡®Onii-san, I am surprised. I totally am.¡¯] Even though his travel-mates were all very discouraging, Loren was soothed by Shayna¡¯s response, which he could hear in his head. Patting Nig, who for some reason was raising its body and lifting its legs as if it was excited, Loren instructed Lapis, who was holding the rein, to turn west from there. As they turned west, they found themselves on grasslands again, but the trees gradually became more noticeable. According to Ivy, Suest was built in a forest. And although the city itself was protected by a wall, there was still a wild forest surrounding it. So as they approached their destination, the greenery became thicker. ¡°Location-wise, it¡¯s about the western edge of the continent, right?¡± ¡°Except for villages and small towns, it would not be an exaggeration to say so.¡± ¡°How could anyone build a city in such a place?¡± ¡°It serves as a transit station for the surrounding villages. And with the forest surrounding the town, there is a high rate of encounters with monsters, so the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is quite prosperous here.¡± The source of the information was Ivy, who gave them this commission. Lapis herself also had some information, but it seemed that she was a step behind Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which has a wide influence on the continent, so she was on the receiving end this time. ¡°In addition, forestry and other industries are thriving, and the amount of lumber produced is considerable. In addition, resources are gathered from villages, so there is a wide variety of delicious food.¡± ¡°Seems like a nice town.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, there are no rivers nearby, so there is no fish readily available, and the most you can find is dried and salted for preserving.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want anything more if I can eat meat.¡± Loren was a dedicated meat lover. Fish was not bad either, but if asked which one he prefers more, he would have to say meat. ¡°I also like meat.¡± ¡°Both are good to me.¡± ¡°As long as she can put it into her mouth, Gula won¡¯t even care if it was a goblin.¡± Although there was a moment when Gula silently grabbed Ivy, who said a few mean things and giggled, the trip from Blue Desert to Suest concluded without any major problems. ¡°That¡¯s the city of Suest.¡± It was early afternoon on the fourth day after leaving Kapha when Ivy pointed to a tall, thick stone wall surrounded by trees that served to protect those inside from enemies. ¡°Stop. Show us your ID.¡± With a voice that sounded somewhat flat and business-like rather than high-pressured, Loren¡¯s group was greeted by soldiers at the gate, who were checking the identity of travelers from the outside. Dressed in plate armor and carrying a long spear, the checking soldier did not hold up his weapons, but instead looked up and spoke to Loren while inspecting the others sitting in the wagon. For adventurers, the ID card was the registration card with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Loren was about to get out of the wagon to show it to the soldiers when the iron registration card appeared around his neck. As soon as the soldiers saw it, they had lost all interest in their group. ¡°Checked. Go through.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Checked. Move along.¡± With repeated permission, Loren felt no further need to show the registration card to the soldier. He urged Lapis, who was sitting next to him, to proceed with the wagon as he put the registration card back inside his collar. Loren thought they might be stopped, and he would have to show it again, but the wagon passed peacefully through the other side of the gate and entered Suest. ¡°The security is quite lax, isn¡¯t it?¡± Stunned, Lapis said, and Loren agreed with her. Even though he showed his registration card, it was only a glimpse, and moreover, he did not even get off the wagon. The distance between him and the soldiers was so great that it was hard to believe that they could see the contents of the registration card properly. ¡°Is the Guild¡¯s registration card that trustworthy?¡± Even a glimpse of the card would have shown that it was an adventurer¡¯s registration card. If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was that credible, it could be assumed that knowing him to be an adventurer was enough for the soldiers. However, Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, was doubtful of that. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Guild myself, but it¡¯s not that credible of an organization. There are plenty of badly-behaved adventurers on the continent.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying the soldiers are negligent?¡± It was possible that the soldiers were not diligent enough in their work to check the identity of every person who tried to enter the city by checking their registration cards. Although the city of Suest itself seemed to be quite large, it was located on the western edge of the continent, a place where the word ¡®remote¡¯ was appropriate. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for soldiers to lose their motivation when they¡¯re sent to the middle of nowhere.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a problem of the country, and none of our business?¡± Gula quipped, and the others exchanged glances and nodded. At least, none of them were in a position to be concerned about the work of soldiers stationed in some city. ¡°Well then, first of all, let¡¯s look for an inn where we can leave the wagon.¡± Still riding the wagon, Loren looked around the area. The town was big enough to have a variety of stores lining both sides of the street, there were also a lot of street stalls. Streets were full of people ¨C the residents of the city, as well as travelers and merchants who had just arrived in town, could be seen everywhere. ¡°Things seem pretty normal.¡± According to the information they had received beforehand, contact with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest had been lost. Loren¡¯s group had even considered the possibility that the town itself might have been destroyed for some reason, but there was no sign of this being the case. ¡°So does that mean the cause is the Adventurers Guild?!¡± ¡°Basically, the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds communicate with each other by fast horses except in emergencies. But considering what we¡¯ve seen so far, it¡¯s hard to imagine that there are any problems on the road, so that is very unlikely.¡± If, by the time they reached Suest, they had encountered large monsters or been attacked by a large number of bandits, they could have assumed that the fast horses had been attacked by them, making it impossible for them to make contact. However, Ivy could not find any such traces along the way. It was true that there were no attacks because their group consisted of beings such as Gula and Ivy herself, but if the fast horses that they had sent many times had been killed along the road, they should have encountered at least some trace of it left behind. ¡°It¡¯s still unknown what it is at the moment. I guess we¡¯ll find out when we go to the guild.¡± ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t turn out to be a case of negligence on the part of the staff or the messengers.¡± Loren laughed, thinking that it would not be worth the effort to travel so far for the story to end that way. However, he also thought that it would have been better if the story could have ended without a punchline like that. It was always better this way, rather than some mysterious cause. Regardless, Loren¡¯s group started to look for a place to stay, hoping to find one where they can keep the wagon they were riding in. Chapter 247: Seemingly Abnormal Chapter 247: Seemingly Abnormal Proofreader: Xemul After asking around, Loren¡¯s group found an inn that had space to park their wagon. But as soon as they started talking to the innkeeper about getting a room, the innkeeper quoted them a ridiculous price. ¡°One gold coin. There are four of you, so four gold coins.¡± ¡°HUH?!¡± Gula, who was negotiating with him, shouted in a tone that could neither be described as surprise nor anger. Loren, who was standing by listening to the conversation, did not raise his voice, but he did question the innkeeper¡¯s sanity as he stared at his face. Normally, in an inn, two silver coins would be enough for a one-night stay for four people, including meals. Even if the price included the cost to park their wagon, a silver coin per person would be enough for one night. But the innkeeper here, a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head, had just quoted them an amount a hundred times higher than that. It would be strange not to be surprised. ¡°Hey, uncle, is there something wrong with your head? What, one gold coin? This isn¡¯t some royalty¡¯s lodgings, is it?¡± ¡°Is it expensive?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s expensive, you, senile old man!¡± Gula yelled, pounding her fists on the counter where the innkeeper was. The wooden counter shook violently under the impact, but seeing that it hadn¡¯t broken, Loren thought she was holding back. ¡°A copper coin then.¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± Gula scowled, thinking she had misheard. The innkeeper said the same words to her without hesitation. ¡°One copper coin. Is it expensive?¡± ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s very cheap. But are you for real?¡± ¡°Then one copper coin.¡± Gula unclenched her fists. Hearing those words, a second time, apparently she hadn¡¯t misheard. Of course, the cheaper the price, the better. But not only was the price too low considering the average cost of lodging, it was also an outrageous discount of one ten-thousandth of the amount the innkeeper had initially quoted. It was only natural that Gula¡¯s face grew uneasy before becoming suspicious. ¡°Four copper coins for four people. With food. Is that all right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes¡­¡± Gula, who looked dumbfounded, slid four copper coins over the counter. The innkeeper accepted them and took out four keys. ¡°Private rooms?!¡± ¡°All of our rooms are private.¡± The innkeeper¡¯s expression did not change as Gula looked at him in disbelief. He must have known that they were a party of adventurers because they came to the inn together and left Gula in charge of negotiations while the others watched. It depended on the quality of the inn, but if an adventurer party like them stayed at an inn, in the worst case all four of them would be staying in one room. Even if that was not the case, it was common for adventurers to share rooms. If they, however, wanted private rooms, they might have to pay some additional amount. And yet, the owner of this inn claimed to be able to provide private rooms for all guests at a price below the average rate. If he was being so blatantly strange like this, Loren¡¯s group would surely be suspicious. ¡°Hey, mister owner, isn¡¯t this a bit strange? In a lot of ways.¡± ¡°Is there poison in the food, or has someone recently died in the room? Or is it actually haunted by the undead or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The innkeeper did not seem to be offended by Loren¡¯s and Lapis¡¯ words, and replied without raising his voice in a calm manner. Although it seemed blatantly strange, the innkeeper had already received the four copper coins paid by Gula and offered them the keys to their rooms in exchange. Loren was not sure what to think of it, but he then noticed that for some reason the other members of the group were looking in his direction. Seeing that he was obviously being asked to make a decision, Lauren spoke to the innkeeper as he picked up the keys from the counter. ¡°We¡¯ll use the rooms, but we don¡¯t need meals. We¡¯ll eat outside.¡± The innkeeper did not seem to be bothered by this and replied. ¡°The price is the same.¡± Normally, if you didn¡¯t want to eat at a regular inn, you should be able to get a discount for the cost of the meals. However, with the unbelievable price of one copper coin, it would be surprising if he offered something even lower. ¡°Where should we park the wagon?¡± ¡°In the yard. Tie it up as you see fit.¡± The inn had a large yard, and the innkeeper told them to tie up their wagon there, so Loren urged everyone to start moving the wagon. The inn was surrounded by a fence and seemed to have a good level of security, but if the inn itself was this shady, the luggage on the wagon was also a concern. ¡°Don¡¯t leave anything of value in the wagon.¡± ¡°It would be better to take the food out of the wagon as well. You never know what they might do to it.¡± The four of them carried luggage out of the wagons and distributed them to their rooms. This was done to lower the risk. While at it, they also checked all four rooms together to make sure that there were no suspicious devices or items in the rooms. ¡°Let¡¯s lock up and go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to see what they say.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we leave one person to guard the luggage?¡± Loren considered Lapis¡¯ suggestion for a moment, but immediately shook his head. ¡°Somehow, I have a feeling that it would be better if we didn¡¯t act separately.¡± ¡°A mercenary¡¯s intuition? We should follow it then.¡± ¡°I think so, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to Loren, who seems to be the party leader, to decide what to do.¡± Thinking that there was probably no one else on the entire continent who would be entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions for such a group of non-humans consisting of one demon and two Evil Gods, Loren suggested visiting the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which had been their original destination. ¡°There¡¯s something strange about the atmosphere, but it doesn¡¯t seem like a bad town¡­ Oh, excuse me auntie, how much is this fruit?¡± ¡°A gold coin.¡± ¡°Even here? ¡­Well, isn¡¯t it rather expensive?¡± ¡°A copper coin then.¡± ¡°Four, please.¡± Saying this in exasperation, Lapis accepted four red, round, palm-sized fruits from a middle-aged woman, who was probably the owner of the stall, and handed her four copper coins. ¡°I wonder if the prices in this city are all like this.¡± ¡°Is it a fad to try to get people to pay in gold coins?¡± Loren, thinking it was just like a children¡¯s game, was about to accept the fruit offered by Lapis when Nig suddenly extended its legs and snatched away the fruit. It stretched its legs all the way to a surprised Lapis¡¯ hand and took the remaining three fruits all at once, then deftly wrapped all four into a bundle with its thread and, still clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, sank its fangs into the wrapped bundle. ¡°A favorite?¡± ¡°Spiders do eat fruit, don¡¯t they?¡± Even though she looked a little regretful, Lapis still patted the back of Nig back, who was holding the bundle of thread containing the fruits, thinking that it was okay if the spider was happy. Wondering if Nig liked fruit that much, or if it wasn¡¯t fed enough, Loren walked through the entrance of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and headed to the counter. There was no one queuing, and Ivy began to talk to the receptionist sitting there. But she received a reply that seemed to indicate that the conversation was about to get a bit dubious. ¡°¡­What do you mean the staff member who submitted the commission is not here?¡± When Ivy, as an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, inquired about the commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Suest that had been sent to neighboring towns, the reply she received was that the commission had indeed been sent by the Guild in Suest, but the staff who sent it was not from this Guild, which made no sense. ¡°The commission surely was issued by our Guild. There is no doubt about that. However, the staff member who processed it is not in our Guild.¡± ¡°Does that mean they resigned?¡± ¡°Who knows? All I know is that he is not in the Guild.¡± ¡°The commission itself is not invalid, is it?¡± If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild itself was the client, the commission would not be canceled. But if the disappeared staff was considered to be the client, the commission may be canceled due to its client being missing. Ivy was worried about this, but the staff responded without a change in facial expression. ¡°This is quite troubling. The Guild itself was set up as the client, and yet only the person who registered the commission can cancel it, so we have no way to handle it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem very troubled though?¡± Unlike what they had just said, Loren could not sense anything ¡®troubled¡¯ in the staff¡¯s tone of voice or facial expression at all. When Ivy said this as if to probe for something the staff might be hiding, they tilted his head without moving a single eyebrow. ¡°Is that so? But I am troubled.¡± ¡°Anyway, the commission is still open, right? If so, I would like to get information on the missing persons.¡± Ivy, perhaps deciding that continuing the conversation was not going to be very fruitful, broke off the conversation and changed her mind about asking for information only, but the response from the staff was not what she expected. ¡°Missing persons? There is no such thing?¡± ¡°Huh? But in the commission¡­ There were also adventurers sent by neighboring Adventurers¡¯ Guilds, weren¡¯t there? Isn¡¯t there any information left about them?¡± Ivy was a bit flustered, but the Guild¡¯s staff continued to respond in a matter-of-fact manner without losing their calm expression. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are talking about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that other Adventurers¡¯ Guilds have sent messengers too! Not knowing about them is¡­ No matter how you look at it, it is too much negligence, isn¡¯t it?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t understand what you are saying.¡± ¡°W-well.¡± ¡°Is that all you need?¡± Loren lightly tapped one of her shoulders, who was at a loss for words, to get her attention. Ivy, who had leaned over the counter to pursue the matter further, looked at Loren to see what was going on, but when she saw Loren pointing to the exit, she reluctantly left the counter and walked out of the building. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Lapis, who had been watching the exchange between Ivy and the staff, expressed her doubts about the contents of the exchange, but Loren was more concerned about something else. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this Guild.¡± ¡°Do you mean that staff¡¯s responses?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. First of all, there was no one else at the counter besides us. Does something like that happens Kapha?¡± ¡°That¡­¡± As Loren brought the subject up, Ivy thought about her own workplace. Even if there were downtimes, it seemed that while the counter was open, there was usually at least one adventurer there. However, no one had come to the Guild¡¯s counter in Suest for quite a long period. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean the Guild had no adventurers, but it seemed to Ivy that their number was so small that it was almost the same thing. ¡°And, a group of strangers like us was trying to get at a Guild staff, but nobody came to stop us. How is that possible?¡± ¡°That¡­ Well?¡± Thinking about this for a moment, Ivy realized that their party looked like the kind of people others would not want to get involved with. She then assumed that it was possible others were too intimidated by a large-built adventurer carrying a huge weapon like Loren to interfere. ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t make any hasty moves while we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. Let¡¯s go back to the inn, have a meal with the food we brought in, and discuss our next steps.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we going out to eat?¡± Loren said apologetically to Gula, who looked disappointed. ¡°This town is strange. Until we find out the cause of the problem, I¡¯m not going to put anything into my mouth without knowing where it came from. I won¡¯t force you though.¡± After hearing that, even Gula was not inclined to carelessly enter a local diner. So, Loren and the others gave up gathering information for the moment and returned to the inn as quickly as possible. Chapter 248: From Weaving A Web To Tracking Chapter 248: From Weaving A Web To Tracking Proofreader: Xemul After returning to the inn, Loren¡¯s group carried the luggage they had brought to their rooms, down to the inn¡¯s yard and tried to get permission from the innkeeper to use the yard. After all, even if they had food in their luggage, they could not eat them unless they were cooked. They could also ask to use the inn¡¯s kitchen, but Loren felt awkward about asking to use the kitchen to cook their own food after refusing the meals provided by said kitchen. So he decided not to do it. They thought that cooking in the inn¡¯s garden might be frowned upon, and were ready to give up cooking and eat only what they could eat without using a fire. They had also considered cooking somewhere else in the city, such as a vacant lot. However, the innkeeper still seemed to be uninterested in their group and kept giving them absentminded replies, so they were at a loss to decide whether it was alright or not. Since there was no clear refusal, they decided to take it as a yes and set up a stove near the place they had parked their wagon as well as assembled a simple table that had been loaded on the wagon. After a while, as the daylight began to fade, the stove and table could be considered ready for use. Loren, having decided to draw water for cooking from the well on the grounds of the inn, looked in the direction of the well and was dismayed by what he found. By the time Loren looked at it, the well had already turned into a huge white cocoon. Loren looked over his shoulder and saw that Nig, who should always be clinging to it, was gone. Nig was the only creature in the vicinity that could have covered the well with threads. The disastrous scene had to be Nig¡¯s doing, but Loren had no idea what the hell the spider was thinking. ¡°Loren, what are you looking at¡­?¡± Lapis called out to Loren while preparing to cook, and when she saw what Loren was looking at, she was speechless. The cocoon seemed to be quite thickly woven. Loren tried to touch it to see if he could get it off, but he soon gave up because of its thickness and the toughness of the threads. It seemed possible to burn it down with fire, but Loren wondered if it would be a waste to go to such lengths for something that Nig had apparently done with an intention. ¡°Do we have water in the wagons?¡± ¡°I think so. But won¡¯t this cause trouble for the inn?¡± If the well was not available, the inn would not be able to replenish water. Thus they would not be able to serve food or provide hot water for guests other than Loren¡¯s group, which must be damaging to the inn. Thinking that he should find Nig and force it to and retrieve the threads, Loren turned toward the inn, and was struck speechless by the sight he saw there. As it turned out, Nig¡¯s threads had covered not only the well, but also the doors and windows of the inn. This made it impossible to even open the windows, let alone enter or leave the inn. Whatever Nig¡¯s intentions were, Loren knew that the innkeeper would be furious with them, but no matter how closely he listened, he could not hear a single sound coming from inside the inn. He thought that at the very least, he should have been able to hear some shouts in response to this unusual situation, but contrary to his expectations, the inn remained quiet. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be a clamor like ¡®Let us out¡¯ or ¡®What the hell is going on¡¯?¡± Loren tilted his head in confusion, and Lapis did the same, but since the windows and entrances were kept closed, it was impossible to see what was going on inside. In addition, although Nig could communicate to some extent, he could not speak, so they had no way of knowing what he was thinking when he did such a thing. ¡°So, where¡¯s Nig?¡± ¡°Nig-chan is over there.¡± Gula pointed to a spot above her head without taking a break from her work. Loren looked in that direction and saw a palm-sized black thing flying from the treetops of the trees in the inn¡¯s yard to the treetops of the neighboring grove, trailing a thin thread. As Loren wondered what it was doing, Nig leapt from tree to tree, weaving the threads he was spitting out between them, and began to cover the area over where Loren and the others were preparing food. ¡°It wants to make something to substitute for a tent?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little too high for that?¡± The threads, which were laid across each other through the movements of Nigs, eventually were woven into something like a cloth that spread out over their heads. But as Lapis had pointed out, the height of the thing was so high that it did not seem to be a good substitute for a tent. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°We can burn the threads covering the well, but the ones covering the building¡­ We could burn the whole building down if we use fire, and it¡¯s almost sunset. It seems like there are no complaints, so how about we think about it tomorrow?¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Even if I say no, we can¡¯t do anything about it anyway, can we?¡± He must tell Nig to do something about this, but Loren didn¡¯t know how to get it to untie the threads wrapped around the building. He had a feeling that it would do it if he asked it to, but he could not call out to the spider when it was working far above his head. ¡°But how can Nig spit out so many threads?¡± Lapis sounded impressed. As Loren thought about it, a single thread was very small compared to Nig¡¯s body. There must be quite a lot of threads to be able to cover the well as well as the inn¡¯s entrance and windows like that. The volume of the threads was probably larger than Nig¡¯s current body, and if it was able to spit out that many threads, then the question was where it got the materials required to produce that amount of threads. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll know how by thinking about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving up too soon¡­¡± [¡®Nig seems to be eating some prey while weaving the threads.¡¯] It was Shayna who answered the question that Loren had given up thinking about. [¡®It seems like it caught some small animal or something the size of an adult¡¯s thumb, and is working while eating it.¡¯] Loren looked at his own thumb. It was probably bigger than a child¡¯s, but the only small animal of that size that came to Loren¡¯s mind was a mouse at most, and even then it would have to be a fairly small one. However, if he were to ask whether such a thing could have a volume comparable to the threads that Nig spat out, he would think it unlikely, even though it would depend on the amount of those things. The amount of threads that Nig spat out was that enormous. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing there¡¯s plenty of food, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the point.¡± Lapis quipped at Loren, who was trying to put an end to the conversation despite still not knowing what was actually happening or why. Even so, it seemed like she didn¡¯t have any intention of thinking about what to do, and intended to leave the decision to Loren. Loren, somewhat exhausted, and somewhat resigned to the idea that the problem would have to wait until tomorrow, decided to keep watch after eating dinner anyway. The reaction of the town¡¯s inhabitants was strange, and Nig¡¯s behavior after entering the town was also somewhat strange. There must be a reason for this, but there was so little material to consider that Loren couldn¡¯t even formulate a reasonable theory, so he decided that it was pointless to think about it and that he would prioritize the essential activities of eating dinner and sleeping for now. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a good or bad decision, but it was the only thing he could think of right now. ¡°Loren? Could you please get up for a minute?¡± After having a meal, they cleaned up, and the order of the watch shifts was decided, with Gula and Ivy assigned to take the first shift. Then Loren sat cross-legged at the back of the wagon and dozed off until he was woken by Ivy. He did not know how long he had been asleep, and when he looked up from the back of the wagon, all he could see was the strings that Nig had stretched around them, illuminated by the light from the campfire they had built to keep watch, not the sky. Rubbing his eyes and trying to stand up, Loren dropped his gaze when he noticed a weight on his leg that prevented him from standing up. It was Lapis, breathing softly in her sleep with her head resting on Loren¡¯s thigh and her hand firmly clutching the hem of Loren¡¯s jacket. Even though he wouldn¡¯t be able to get up if he left it like this, he still felt a little guilty about waking Lapis, who was sleeping comfortably. Loren poked her on the cheek with his finger. The first poke didn¡¯t wake her up. After a few more, she frowned and looked unhappy. But Loren continued to poke her, and Lapis eventually opened her eyes. ¡°Wake up. Something¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°It was bliss.¡± Lapis muttered earnestly as she let go of Loren¡¯s jacket and placed her hands on his knees to push herself up. Thinking that his thigh should be too hard to make a good pillow, Loren stepped out of the back of the wagon. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Outside.¡± Huddled against the fence surrounding the inn¡¯s property, Gula peered out. Thinking that he should ask Gula for more details, Loren looked at his shoulder before moving. Before he went to sleep, Nig, who had taken up a permanent position there, was still in the middle of his work and was not there, but the spider had returned at some point and was now clinging firmly to Loren¡¯s shoulder as it always did. After confirming this, Loren put the greatsword, he had removed to sleep, back on his back and moved quietly until he was close to Gula, who was peering out from behind the fence. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. But there are a lot of people gathering at this time of night.¡± Gula said and pointed to somewhere, but there was not a single light on the street despite the late hours, and the people Gula was talking about did not seem to have any kind of lights with them, so Loren could not see them with his eyes. [¡®I¡¯m syncing with your vision, onii-san.¡¯] As he heard Shayna¡¯s voice, Loren¡¯s eyes could see through the darkness. He saw Gula¡¯s pointing to a group of quite a few people gathering without lights. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that it¡¯s obviously strange for people to be gathered here at this time of night without lights.¡± Loren did not see anything common among the people gathered here. Their ages were all different, and there were both males and females. Among them was also the owner of the store where Lapis had bought fruit during the day. ¡°It¡¯s probably too late, but put out the fire anyway.¡± Loren, not knowing why people were gathering, instructed his party to destroy any element that might attract their attention, and Ivy immediately put out the fire by pouring water on it. As soon as the fire was extinguished, Gula, who had been watching the group, raised a small voice in the darkness. ¡°The group is moving.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going after them. One of you follow me.¡± ¡°Then it can¡¯t be anyone but me.¡± If they had not just gathered, but had started moving as a group, then there had to be some sort of destination. Loren thought he had to confirm this, regardless of whether or not it had anything to do with the abnormalities they were sensing in the city. Lapis offered to accompany him ¡°We¡¯ll leave Gula and Ivy in charge here then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it, Loren.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not very good at this kind of thing. I¡¯ll cut it off where it¡¯s appropriate.¡± Loren was not suited for tracking work because of the weapon he used. Even so, as he was not willing to have someone else go, he had no choice but to go himself. ¡°Does this even have any meaning?¡± ¡°The meaning will come later, won¡¯t it?¡± Ivy tilted her head in doubt, and Lapis responded with something that may or may not be an explanation. ¡°It¡¯s better than having no information at all. We¡¯re off then.¡± After saying this, Loren quickly ran out from behind the fence into the street. After seeing off Lapis, who ran after him, the two Evil Gods began to watch their surroundings in order to protect their current location, which could now be called their base, until those two came back. Chapter 249: From Tracking to Deodorizing Chapter 249: From Tracking to Deodorizing Proofreader: Xemul At a quick glance, there were about a dozen people gathered near the inn. Though not that big of a number, it was quite many for a gathering in the middle of the night, and although no one was leading them, they all began to walk slowly in the same direction. Loren and Lapis followed the group while keeping some distance from them, hiding in the corners of buildings and behind trees along the street. The two tried to quiet their footsteps and not make any noises, but the group ahead of them walked without caring about the sound of their footsteps. Some of them were armed, so there were even noises of armors moving and weapons hitting each other. Thinking it was quite noisy, Loren looked around, but he could not see anyone coming out of the surrounding buildings nor peeking out of the windows to check on the situation. ¡°This town sleeps quite well, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis, who was walking like gliding with her fluttering priest robe, made no sounds at all. The fact that she was not carrying anything that made sounds might be a factor, but the way she moved her body without making a footstep sound or a rustling of clothes was nothing short of magnificent. As for Loren, he managed to quieten his footsteps by using his knees, but he still made some noise. In addition, the dagger inside his jacket and the greatsword on his back still made some noise, and he could not reach the point where he could walk silently like Lapis. ¡°I guess I should have just left the greatsword behind.¡± With the great sword, which was the heaviest of all Loren¡¯s possessions, mounted on his back, he was inevitably restricted in how he could move his body, and was making noises all over the place. Without the weapon, he would not be able to fight, so it was an essential piece of equipment, but in a situation like this, it felt rather like a hindrance. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry much about it, do you? There is no indication that they will notice us.¡± As Lapis said, the people ahead of them did not even look back. They just looked ahead and moved forward at the same pace. It was a very strange sight for Loren to see people going in the same direction without any hesitation on the unlit streets. It was so dark that even Loren would have walked into things here and there if he had not been assisted by Shayna. It was strange to think that average citizens, who had not been trained in particular, were walking around in such darkness without any hesitation. ¡°Where are they headed?¡± Loren asked the question that suddenly popped into his mind, but neither him nor Lapis had any familiarity with Suest. He thought that there would be no answer, but surprisingly, Lapis easily gave him one. ¡°It looks like they are walking toward the west of the town.¡± ¡°How can you tell?¡± Impressed, Loren asked, and Lapis pointed to the sky. ¡°We can tell the direction by the position of the stars, can¡¯t we?¡± Just as Lapis said, there was really a way to do it. If you started going into details, there would be no end to it, but as long as one remembered some stars, it was not so difficult to determine the general direction. ¡°I see. So, what¡¯s on the west side of this city?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there is anything particularly big¡­¡± Lapis said this yet her voice lacked confidence, as if she was searching her memory. Loren was somewhat relieved to learn that even though she was a priest in the service of the God of Knowledge, she did not have access to the detailed geography of a city she was visiting for the first time. ¡°So nothing worth checking then?¡± ¡°I guess so. At most, there is a west gate that leads in and out of the city wall, and an entrance to the sewage system, if I recall correctly, ¡° ¡°Should we check that?¡± Loren had no intention of asking what on earth she was going to use that information for, but there was one thing among what Lapis had told him stuck in his mind. ¡°The entrance to the sewers?¡± ¡°It¡¯s one of several entrances on the outer edges of the city, used for cleaning and maintenance. The city¡¯s domestic wastewater and sewage is collected in a sewer system that runs beneath the city. The entrance on the west side is the largest in the city, apparently, as it leads to the outside.¡± [Well, that¡¯s a suspicious place.] Loren thought that a sewer was quite a fitting destination for a group gathered in the middle of the night with unknown intentions, but Lapis openly frowned when she heard his words. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning to go into the sewers?¡± ¡°Well¡­ they continue to head west, the only place they¡¯ll end up is outside the city or the sewers, right?¡± ¡°Loren, did you hear what I said? The west side drainage is the largest in this city, and it collects all the sewage, carries it out of the city and to the river, which is somewhat far from the city?¡± Loren knew what Lapis¡¯ expression meant when she said this. In other words, it was the place where all the dirty water in this city drained, and the dirtiest place in the city is the best description for it. Since Lapis was wearing a white priest¡¯s uniform, it was not difficult to imagine what kind of consequences awaited her if she were to venture into such a place. ¡°If you insist, I¡¯ll have to give up these clothes¡­¡± Even if she was lucky enough to not have her clothes soiled, the strong odor that probably wafted through the space would have seeped into the garments, and unless she used a very strong odor remover or detergent, she certainly would not have wanted to wear these clothes again. The same can be said for Loren. Loren would not hesitate to step in if necessary, but he certainly did not want his clothes, which he did not have many replacements for, or his jacket, which he used as his only piece of protective gear, to become soiled or smelly. ¡°It depends on the situation. I don¡¯t want to be in such a place either.¡± ¡°In these cases, the worst thing you can think of usually becomes a reality¡­¡± Lapis laughed weakly as she said this. As if those words had become a curse, the group of people who were single-mindedly walking down the streets in the middle of the night eventually came to the western edge of the city, before a large door of a stone building with no decoration and no visible windows, standing alone at a distance from the other buildings. Loren didn¡¯t know what that building was used for, but he had a bad hunch about it. He asked Lapis, who was standing beside him with a sour face, if it was what he thought. ¡°Could it be that is it?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± As the two of them watched, thinking that it really always ended up with the worst scenario, the group opened the heavy iron door of the sewage entrance and went in with the same pace they had been walking before. The smell from the open doorway must have been quite strong, but there was no falter or hesitation in the steps of those who went through it. When everyone had gone through the door, those at the end of the group closed the door, and the area was enveloped in silence. ¡°Nobody¡¯s here, right?¡± With the group he had been tracking gone into the sewers, there was no point in hiding, so Loren stepped out from the building he had been hiding behind and slowly made his way to the door that led to the sewers. The door had been opened just a moment ago, and there was a strong sewage smell in the air. Lapis covered her mouth with her hands as she followed Loren, but she started coughing as they got closer to the door. When they reached it, she couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and put her forehead on Loren¡¯s back and clung to him tightly. It was no wonder, Loren thought as he endured the stench that was wafting around him. It was not unusual for Loren to smell such odors on the battlefield, and to some extent he was used to them. But the smell of a sewer where the sewage of an entire city collected was so strong that he worried that his nose would never work properly again. Loren walked on with Lapis in tow, thinking that if they stayed too long, the smell would seep into his clothes. As they finally stood in front of the sewer door, Loren put his hand on the handle. ¡°Please wash your hands properly after this.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me.¡± Loren was not a fan of dirty or smelly things. Although the handle of the entrance door was not dirty, he promised himself that he would do as he was asked and wash his hands thoroughly afterwards, partly because of his own feelings. ¡°And you¡¯re going to open that door?¡± ¡°Well, you have to open a door to see what¡¯s inside, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It will be horrible if you open it. Moreover, you can¡¯t see what¡¯s inside just by opening the door. The sewers are underground, so there¡¯ll be only stairs going down.¡± Even though the door was only open while a dozen or so people were passing through, the smell of the place behind it was so strong that Lapis was dazed. If that door was opened and they had to smell the odor wafting directly from inside, no one knew what kind of state she would be in. But there was no sense in following that group of people all the way here and returning without knowing what was going on. ¡°You can leave if you want. You won¡¯t be able to stand the air inside.¡± ¡°That¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll take your word this time.¡± If one thought about it, Lapis¡¯ mother was a Demon King. For humans, such a position would be comparable to that of the King of a country. Loren did not know if Lapis was aware of this status or not, or if the demon race had such a notion, but as the daughter, she was in a position where she could be called a princess. It was not so strange that as such Lapis could not stand the smell of sewage. Rather, it was more surprising to Loren that she had followed him all the way to the door before he opened it. Loren watched as Lapis hurriedly moved away, and after she had gained enough distance, Loren put strength into the hand on the handle and opened the door. The mass of stinking air that poured out of the door was so strong that it almost made him feel as if he was under physical pressure, and he almost ran away from the place. But Loren held his ground and slightly leaned in. There was indeed a staircase leading down from the entrance, and at the end of the staircase, there was a fairly large space. There were no lights, of course, but Loren, who had borrowed Shayna¡¯s vision, could see as well as if it was in daylight, and he began to descend the stairs, though reluctantly. When he reached the bottom of the 20 or so steps, the air was slightly hot, and the smell was even more unbearable. Enduring the nausea that was rising, Loren stepped into the space beyond, which turned out to be a canal. At both ends of the canal, which was probably filled with sewage, were passageways for people to pass through for cleaning and maintenance, and the canal itself extended all the way to the west. Loren¡¯s vision clearly saw the foaming, foul-smelling sewage water, and he looked toward the end of the canal, thinking that in a case like this, it was good to have a clear vision. It had not been long since that group of people had passed through here, and Loren thought that he could at least see their backs if they were moving along the passageway. But even though he could see far end of the passageway, which went all the way to the west, he could not see anything resembling a human figure in the middle of it. When he turned his eyes to the other side of the passageway, there was still no sign of anyone. Loren wondered if he was so late that he had lost sight of them, but no matter how hard he looked, no moving things existed in the space. ¡°They didn¡¯t dive into the sewage, did they?¡± Those people were behaving strangely to that extent. Loren thought that this possibility could not be ruled out, but naturally there was no way to check the sewage. As he thought about how much he didn¡¯t want to pick the option of going in himself, Shayna¡¯s voice came to his mind. [¡®For the time being, there is no sign of life though?¡¯] As the King of Death, Shayna was able to detect the signs of life forces. Even though that was an ability of an undead, it was a very helpful ability in this case, Loren thought. It meant that there was no possibility of someone being in the sewage, so he didn¡¯t have to check anymore. ¡°Then where the hell did they go?¡± [¡®That¡­ There are countless small signatures at the end of this corridor, but they¡¯re not the sizes of humans¡¯. I don¡¯t know what they are.¡¯] ¡°Rats or something? I¡¯m sure they are not uncommon in sewers.¡± [¡®I¡¯m not sure about that.¡¯] Loren wondered what to do. He thought about going down the passageway for a while, but didn¡¯t feel like it at all. In addition, he had brought a greatsword, but no tools to conduct a search. It didn¡¯t take him long to realize that it would be dangerous to go in too deep without preparation, and he decided that it would be best to leave at this point. Paying attention to his surroundings, Loren went back the way he came and went up above ground. ¡°It¡¯s honestly disgusting to explore that place¡­¡± As Loren exited the door, thinking that the two staying at the inn probably would not like results of his pursuit, he saw Lapis¡¯ misting a spray in her hand. He wondered where the hell she had kept it. Loren knew it was apparently a perfume because of the rather harsh citrus smell emanating from it. ¡°I really did smell¡­¡± ¡°Sorry Loren, I know it¡¯s bad manners to do this, but please forgive me.¡± Loren had not been in the sewers for that long, but the smell had definitely permeated his body. With a very apologetic look on her face, Lapis sprayed him with perfume. Loren, resigned himself, and obediently accepted it with a downturned mouth. Chapter 250: From Trouble to A Reunion Chapter 250: From Trouble to A Reunion Proofreader: Xemul Loren and Lapis returned to the inn from the sewer entrance and welcomed dawn without a wink of sleep. As the sky brightened, they began to remove the threads that Nig had wrapped around the inn the previous night. They did not know what the spider¡¯s intention was in sealing off the inn, but as long as there were people inside, they thought that they could not keep the inn locked up. Loren did not know how Nig felt about their action, but the spider did not act out of control and just clung to his shoulder as usual. Using daggers whose blades had been heated, they somehow managed to cut up the exceedingly durable spider threads. When they opened the door, their eyes met those of the innkeeper, who had been sitting behind the counter since who knew when. Loren felt that this was a situation that deserved his anger, but the innkeeper did not say a word when he saw Loren¡¯s group standing at the doorway, as if he did not understand what situation his inn had been until then. ¡°Ah¡­ Are you mad?¡± Loren awkwardly asked the silent innkeeper, and the guy simply replied in a murmur. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Well¡­ You know how the windows and the doors of the inn were shut?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The cold, emotionless voice made Loren scratch his cheeks, unsure of what to make of it. ¡°So you¡¯re not mad?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°This is hopeless.¡± By this point, Loren had come to understand that this innkeeper was not normal. Whatever the cause might be, no matter how long he talked with someone he could not communicate with properly, the situation would not progress. Loren gave up and decided to leave the matter with the inn behind, and left for the soldiers¡¯ station of Suest. No matter how remote a city was, soldiers were still dispatched from the capital to keep public order. Basically, the soldiers were in charge of catching and investigating criminals who committed crimes in the city, and Loren thought that they needed to report the disappearance of the group of people that they had seen last night. As an adventurer, Loren was not sure how much of his testimony would be accepted, and this caused him some anxiety. However, he knew that the guards would not hesitate to act if more than a dozen people had disappeared to who knows where. If those at the station were not enough to settle the matter, the soldiers were sure to request assistance from the capital, and hopefully the power of the state might be able to shed some light on the mysterious disappearance. But when Loren took the others to the soldiers¡¯ station, he came across a sight that made him think that it might not go as he planned. The station had a room for taking complaints from the citizens, and that was where Loren and his team went. However, as soon as they entered the place, they saw three men who looked like adventurers at the reception counter and a guard sitting behind it, answering their questions. ¡°Like I said, the priest of our party hasn¡¯t been seen since last night!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you that our party¡¯s priest has disappeared!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°What the hell do you mean you don¡¯t know? It¡¯s impossible to talk with you! Get me somebody more important!¡± The man was so enraged that ¡®furious¡¯ was barely an appropriate word to describe his state. He even tried to grab the guard behind the counter. But the guard who was talking to them did not change his expression at all, and remained nonchalant in front of the men¡¯s angry voices. ¡°Our commander is absent.¡± ¡°Then someone lower in rank!¡± ¡°The vice commander is also absent.¡± ¡°Then who is here?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Are you fucking kidding me?!¡± A man, probably a swordsman, leaned over the counter and tried to grab the guard by the chest. Loren could tell that the man was probably a few years older than he was. If he was not stopped, he probably would climb over the counter and grab the guard, and if he did, they could all be imprisoned as criminals. Knowing this, a bandit-looking man and a magician-looking man from each side grabbed the swordsman-looking man by the shoulders and arms to stop him from doing so. ¡°Let go of me! You bastard!¡± ¡°Stop him! We¡¯ll be arrested if you cause a scene here!¡± ¡°Shut up! I have to give him a punch to the face!¡± The two men tried to stop him, but the swordsman was too strong and dragged them with him. The bandit and the magician desperately tried to hold the swordsman back, because they knew that if he really touched the guard, it would end badly. Loren felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu when he saw no signs of fear or dismay from the guard no matter how furious the swordsman was. What was more surprising was the appearance of the swordsman, who was about to attack the guard. ¡°That guy, I remember seeing him somewhere¡­¡± ¡°You have a male acquaintance, Loren?¡± ¡°Hey, what do you mean by that?¡± Loren reached out to grab Ivy, who was feigning surprised. But Ivy was faster, she fled and hid behind Gula as if using her as a shield. ¡°Ah, hey, don¡¯t use me as a shield!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t lose, right?¡± ¡°Stop messing around! If he does something with his power, I¡¯ll lose!¡± Loren stared at his own palm, wondering if he had enough power to win against an Evil God. But Gula and Ivy continued to joke around, but just as Loren was thinking that it was time to put a stop to their noisy behavior, the swordsman, who was still struggling with his friends at the reception counter, yelled at Loren¡¯s group as the bandit man held him back by the arms. ¡°You¡¯re too noisy! Get the hell away if you have nothing to do!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry if we offended you. I¡¯ll shut them up, forgive us.¡± If you made noises right next to a dispute, even if you were bystanders, you couldn¡¯t help but be yelled at. Thinking this, Loren glared at both Ivy and Gula once to make them quiet, then slightly bowed to the swordsman who had yelled at him. The fault was on their side, so he thought he should apologize for now. When Loren lifted his head, for some reason, he caught the swordsman staring at him with a gaping mouth. From the look on his face, Loren felt that he definitely knew the man from somewhere, so he decided to confirm it. ¡°By the way, have we met somewhere before?¡± ¡°Where¡­ Aren¡¯t you Loren?¡± The bandit released his hold as the swordsman ceased his struggle. He was frozen with a look of surprise on his face as he looked at Loren, and Loren, who was also looking at him, was lost in thought. He was still unable to remember where he had seen the man before, although he looked familiar. ¡°I want to say ¡®How dare you forget my face¡¯, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. After all, you and I were just members of the Muttschild Mercenaries, nothing more.¡± Loren wondered to himself if that was the name of the company. He didn¡¯t remember paying much attention to the company¡¯s name. He probably had heard about it somewhere, but rather than having forgotten about it, it was more like he couldn¡¯t recall it even if told. ¡°Did this person work in the same mercenary company as you, Loren?¡± As he listened to Lapis, Loren finally realized that if he recognized the man in front of him, the only possibility was that the man was someone he met during his mercenary days. If it was someone he had met after becoming an adventurer, he would remember most of them, and he would not have to wonder about it. ¡°You became an adventurer, huh? I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still alive.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a similar situation? Ehh¡­¡± Even after realizing that the other man seemed to have been in the same mercenary company as him, Loren was still unable to recall the man¡¯s name. Perhaps he had only met the guy in the group and did not know his name. After all, there were quite a few members in the company, and Loren did not know all of them. ¡°My name is Mills. You¡¯re right, I¡¯m an adventurer now. It¡¯s the only way for people like us, who can only fight, to survive after quitting the mercenary business.¡± Thinking that most people had the same thought, Loren asked just in case. ¡°If you have good manners, you can become a soldier or something, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, aren¡¯t you? There are only a few who have good enough manners to work for the state¡­ You could have done it, couldn¡¯t you? Why did you become an adventurer then?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you an adventurer too? My manners aren¡¯t good either. You overestimate me. By the way, what¡¯s your problem?¡± As Mills was in the same company as him, Loren thought that no matter how bad-mannered he was, he would not attack a member of the general public for no reason. In that case, there must have been some reason for the attack, and when he asked Mills about it, Mills turned his reproachful gaze to the guard who had been watching the exchange between them without a change in expression before replying. ¡°One of our party members disappeared last night, and we came here to inform the guard that something might have happened. But this bastard keeps saying he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s going on and I can¡¯t talk to him.¡± ¡°There were no signs of vandalism in the room he was staying in, but we are concerned because this is not a man who would go somewhere without telling us.¡± The magician spoke with concern for his party member, then glanced at the expressionless guard, who gave no clue about whether he was listening to their conversation or not, and said in a whisper. >¡±The poor quality of the guards on the frontier is troubling.¡± ¡°Can you tell us a little more about that?¡± The story of the sudden disappearance of one of their party members was somewhat similar to what Loren had seen last night, and Loren thought he should ask Mills for more information. Mills immediately nodded. ¡°No problem. But let¡¯s go somewhere else. This place is disgusting.¡± Mills intentionally wanted to be heard, but the guard, who probably could hear him, did not change his expression. He kept his eyes fixed in their direction with a blank expression as if he was wearing a mask or something, and it was difficult to determine whether he was really seeing them or not. Chapter 251: From Enlightenment To Sentimentality Chapter 251: From Enlightenment To Sentimentality Proofreader: Xemul ¡°It¡¯s not that we haven¡¯t heard that something is wrong in Suest.¡± Accompanied by Mills, who suggested a change of location, Loren and his friends had come to a stall in the plaza near the guard station. The owner of the stall did not give the same unnatural response as the residents of Suest that Loren and his friends had seen so far, which made them feel a little relieved. ¡°We were just in the neighborhood on another commission, and thought that we¡¯d take a little break. And now here we are. We should have just left, even if it was a hassle.¡± The stall selling snacks and beverages was a mobile stall, but it offered foldable chairs and tables for customers. The seven of them occupied one of the tables, ordering drinks and food before starting their conversation. Around them, there were a few people who seemed to have come from outside the city, but their faces were strangely filled with a sense of unease or fear. It was a bit inappropriate, but after seeing the blank expressions on the faces of the city¡¯s residents, Loren and his group were somewhat relieved to see that there were groups of humans gathering here. ¡°We came into town two days ago. The day we got here, we had a big party because we¡¯ve just finished a commission. We decided to take the next day off.¡± ¡°The priest disappeared last night?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Actually, he started feeling sick in the evening. He was supposed to be resting in his room, but we were worried when he didn¡¯t come out of his room in the morning, so we broke the door and went in.¡± ¡°You broke through the door of the inn?¡± If they were not careful, the guards could be called, and they could be arrested. They had destroyed someone else¡¯s property, and no matter how much of a hurry they were in, they could have borrowed a duplicate key from the innkeeper or something. It was what Loren thought, and when he told Mills this, Mills immediately shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s useless. The innkeeper also kept saying he didn¡¯t know anything.¡± It seemed like Mills also had the same thought as Loren. He had tried to negotiate with the innkeeper for a key to the priest¡¯s room, but was having trouble getting through to him. ¡°All he said was ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ and ¡®I don¡¯t understand¡¯, so we had no choice but to break the door.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t ask for compensation?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t react at all when I smashed down the door. It was a little creepy, but more importantly, there was no sign of the priest in the room. We¡¯re adventurers, too. We could have looked for him ourselves, but¡­¡± ¡°We thought we should inform the guild and the guards first, rather than making a bad move in a town we didn¡¯t know well.¡± The magician continued Mills¡¯ sentence. The magician and the rogue, members of Mills¡¯ party, were people Mills had met after he became an adventurer, and they had nothing to do with the mercenary company that Loren and Mills had belonged to. ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that this priest has returned alone to the town where you all are based?¡± Mills and the other two shook their heads in unison at Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°He would never do such a thing alone without telling us. Even if he wanted to, it¡¯s too dangerous and too far to go alone.¡± ¡°And it would be a suicide for a priest to walk alone through the night on a road where monsters and beasts are present. He has been an adventurer for a long time, so he should know better.¡± ¡°And even if he was that stupid, he had to have a reason for doing it, right? The three of us have no idea why he would do something like that.¡± With Mills, the magician and the rogue testifying in turns, Loren thought it unlikely that the priest was acting alone, even though he had never met him before. ¡°Where the hell did he go, then?¡± At the same time that Gula asked, the stall owner brought over the food and drinks that they had ordered and placed them on the table. Suest was quite large for a city in such a location, but it was not that large. It was a town where one could find a single person without too much trouble. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re in trouble. Hey Loren, do you have any idea what¡¯s going on, on your side?¡± The only thing Loren could think of when asked, was the story of the sewer he and Lapis went to last night. Although he didn¡¯t even know if Mills¡¯ friend was among the dozen people who had disappeared at that time, it was the only phenomenon he could think of in, which people suddenly went somewhere strange. ¡°Actually, we were also thinking of informing the guards about something.¡± Glancing at Lapis, he saw that she was just about to start on the food that had been brought to them, her eyes shining. Thinking about it, Loren felt that he had not had a proper meal since coming to this city, and it was not surprising that Lapis was pleased with the food from the street vendor. Hoping for her to pay a little more attention to the conversation, Loren cleared his throat. Lapis stopped the hand that was bringing food to her mouth, looked at him, and slightly nodded. Both of them had obtained the information about the sewers together, and Loren felt that making the decision to talk about it with others by himself wasn¡¯t good, so he was asking for Lapis¡¯ consent. After seeing that she was alright about it, he proceeded telling Mills what they saw last night. ¡°The sewers? What the hell were they doing there¡­?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I did see them go in, but I lost them there. Of course, I don¡¯t know if there were any priests in the group.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but I can¡¯t think of any other possibilities. But still, a sewer of all places¡­ I don¡¯t want to go in there.¡± Loren understood Mills¡¯ point. He had stepped in there once, but if he was asked to go back, he was inclined to refuse with all his might. However, Loren was willing to endure it and go in if absolutely necessary, and as he thought that Mills would also do the same for the sake of his friend. Mills let out a low moan, then took in a deep breath as if he had made up his mind. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ I guess we¡¯ll just have to go there.¡± ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that, but all I can say is, I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± ¡°Aaah that bastard, if I find him there, I¡¯ll make him buy me a lot of expensive drinks, I really will. We¡¯re going to have to go buy a lot of perfume and deodorant.¡± As Loren was thinking that despite all his rough speech, the perfume and deodorant Mills planned to buy were probably for his friend, the rogue suddenly looked at Mills and blurted out. ¡°What use do we have for perfume and deodorant?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? He just told us that a dozen people disappeared in the sewers last night, right? Maybe there¡¯s a clue to the priest there, so we have to go there, don¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Did he mention that?¡± As the rogue said this with a surprised blink, Mills¡¯ face turned grim. Mills did not have a rough face, but perhaps because he had been a mercenary for a long time, when he made a grim expression, it was powerful in its own way. However, it was only Loren and Mills¡¯ friends who could sense this. None of the women on Loren¡¯s side seemed to be moved by the ex-mercenary¡¯s stern face. Even now, they were almost ignoring the conversation and were engrossed in eating the barbecued meat brought by the stall owner. None of them paid any attention to Mills¡¯ face. ¡°Do you even listen to us talking?¡± ¡°A-ah? Sorry. That¡­ well.¡± ¡°Forget it. Anyway, we¡¯re going to go to that sewer entrance on the west side and check it out. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to him there.¡± ¡°¡®Him¡¯ means¡­¡± ¡°All the drinking got to your head or something? Well just shut up and follow me.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Mills stood up from his seat, urging the rogue, who was not responding well, and the magician, who remained silent, as if he had something on his mind, to follow him. Loren understood his desire to find his friends as soon as possible, but even putting that aside, there was one piece of information that Loren wanted to ask Mills about. ¡°In exchange for the information I just gave you, can you do something for me?¡± ¡°What? I can, but in that case, we¡¯ll split the bill fifty-fifty, okay?¡± Mills smirked at him, and Loren slightly snorted. ¡°I have no intention of asking for a treat or anything. What I¡¯d like you to tell me is, do you know what happened to the Commander and the others afterwards?¡± For Loren, Mills was the first survivor of his mercenary company that he had encountered since he became an adventurer. Unlike himself, who was too busy running away to pay attention to his surroundings, he asked the question in the hope that Mills might have some information for him. Of course, Loren didn¡¯t think that he would suddenly have the good fortune to know the whereabouts of the commander or the higher executives like this, but he hoped he could at least get some information. But Mills, who was staring at Loren, said something that he could not believe. ¡°The Commander? Who is it?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? The Commander of our company, Yuri Muttschild. Who else?¡± It was the name of the leader of their mercenary company, which was also the company¡¯s name. Loren was surprised and wondered why Mills was pretending not to know, but Mills thought for a while and then said. ¡°Is that his name? I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°What?!¡± For a moment, Loren wondered if he had been tricked into thinking he knew Mills, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Loren had no idea what benefits there were in deceiving him. Moreover, Mills himself was someone Loren was surely familiar with, and not someone he had no idea who he was talking to. ¡°Are you serious? This is a bad joke, right?¡± ¡°Joke or not, I really don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what I don¡¯t know. Rather than that, we need to quickly get ready and go to the sewers. We¡¯ll pay for this place. After all, I couldn¡¯t answer your questions even if we received some information.¡± ¡°¡­I see.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still in town, right? If we can find our priest, we¡¯ll come give you our thanks. Well then, we¡¯ll be going.¡± Mills handed the stall owner a small bag containing what must have been a considerable amount of money, and then disappeared into the city without receiving any change. Loren was grateful for Mills¡¯ thoughtfulness, assuming the guy meant that they can eat and drink the amount of money in the bag, but he stared in the direction Mills and his friends had gone, unable to understand the attitude Mills showed when they parted. ¡°How is it possible that he doesn¡¯t remember the Commander?¡± Loren thought that every member of the company had been more or less under the care of the Commander. But he also wondered if mercenaries, for whom money was everything, would forget the name of a leader who had destroyed his group in a losing battle as it was a bad omen. In any case, he didn¡¯t think Mills was lying, and Loren, thinking that there were members like that, accepted the well-timed glass offered by Lapis next to him and drained the alcohol in it in one gulp. Chapter 252: From Discussion To Going Shopping Chapter 252: From Discussion To Going Shopping Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Now, Loren, what are we going to do now?¡± The amount of cash that Mills left behind was an alright sum, and would have been enough to fill the four people in Loren¡¯s party up on food and drink. Of course, this was only if the four of them were all normal people. With a being who ate a nonstandard amount like Gula in their party, even if they were to have access to the entire storehouse of gold in some royal castle, only Gula herself knew if she would be truly full. ¡°What can I do? I¡¯m going to accomplish what Ivy asked me to do and get the information about the ruins that she used. That¡¯s all I can do.¡± ¡°Then, we already know that there is something unusual going on in this city, and now we have to find out what is causing it, don¡¯t we?¡± Loren thought that this would probably be the case, but he looked to Ivy for confirmation just in case. Ivy, who was absentmindedly watching Gula quickly empty a plate of food next to her while sipping a glass of wine, noticed Loren¡¯s gaze and replied. ¡°Yes, something like that, please.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°Alright. So, the only clue we have so far is that sewer.¡± Loren sipped from the glass in his hand with a blatantly disgusted look on his face as Lapis spoke those words even though they were in the middle of a meal. Loren, who had left Lapis behind and entered the sewers alone, was later sprinkled with a fair amount of perfume by Lapis to mask rather than remove the smell completely. If it had been a low quality perfume, the result would have been horrible, as the scent of perfume would had mixed with the original smell. But the perfume Lapis used was something special: even though it couldn¡¯t completely cover the smell that had seeped into Loren¡¯s clothes, it did a fairly good job masking it. It was chilling to think of what Ivy and Gula would have said to him had it not been for the perfume. Regardless, when told that they might have to go back to a space with such an intense smell, it was inevitable that not only Loren, who had actually been there, but also Ivy and Gula, who had only heard about it, would have a clouded expression on their faces. ¡°Just to be clear, I don¡¯t like it either.¡± Feeling the reproachful stares gathering on her for some reason, Lapis pouted. ¡°So. To somehow complete this unpleasant job, I think we should have a discussion.¡± ¡°¡®Somehow¡¯¡­ We can¡¯t do anything about it, right?¡± The smell of a sewer was not created overnight. It came from all the things that accumulated and decomposed there over an endless period of time, and rather than just staining, it soaked in. It was not something that could be washed away, and if you want to do something about it, you need to start from the building materials that make up the sewage system and the surrounding soil itself. In other words, as Loren said, it was not something that can be done just by having the will to. ¡°At the most, we could use perfume before entering.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t work. If we try to disguise that stench with a different fragrance, we won¡¯t stand a chance.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re so sure, what do you want to do about it?¡± Gula asked without stopping eating, and Lapis drank the contents of the glass in her hand in one gulp and put it down on the table, almost slamming it. The cups offered at the stall were simple carved wooden ones coated with some kind of paint, and would not break even if they were handled in such a manner. ¡°We need to take steps to control that smell, even if only temporarily.¡± ¡°Temporarily huh. Do you have any good ideas?¡± Even Loren did not want to step into that stench without taking any measures. If there was a way to control it, even temporarily, as Lapis had said, he would endorse it. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t. It¡¯s a hassle, but¡­¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Loren knew that there were eyes around him, so he tried to keep his voice as low as possible and not to raise it too loudly, but it was natural that his voice would become slightly louder at the answer. Even though Loren did not know how long it had been since the town of Suest was built, he could not help but be surprised to hear Lapis say that she could do something about the stench. ¡°It¡¯s really only temporary, and it takes a little bit of time, but there is a way to properly control that smell. If possible, I¡¯d like your permission to do it.¡± ¡°Permission? Mine? Why? There¡¯s nothing wrong with doing it, is there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t plan to act on my own. A party member should ask permission from the party leader before making a move.¡± ¡°I feel like it¡¯s already a little late for that.¡± ¡°And I have to get it pre-approved in order for the leader to take responsibility if something goes wrong.¡± ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t that the main reason?¡± As Loren stared at her, Lapis hurriedly shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. There is no way I would try to impose any inconvenience on you, Loren.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah? I¡¯ll just leave it at that.¡± Loren had no intention to pull a snake out of that bush right now. If Lapis said so, it would be better to just agree with her. ¡°Is that okay with you too, Gula?¡± Before exploring the sewers, where there would almost certainly be something, Loren also asked for Gula¡¯s consent to take whatever measures Lapis suggested. Gula, who was gorging herself on the food, nodded her head only once without stopping. Loren took it as a sign of approval from Gula, and turned his gaze to Ivy. Even if he misunderstood that, he believed he could not be blamed as it was Gula¡¯s fault for not stopping eating and expressing her opinion. ¡°What about you, Ivy?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to be a member of your party, am I?¡± Ivy, regardless of her true identity, was only an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in the city of Kapha, and was not a member of Loren¡¯s party. Therefore, she thought that she did not have to recognize Loren as the leader and followed his instructions, and that he would not be asking for her opinion. She looked at Loren curiously, as he had done the opposite of her expectation. ¡°Maybe so, but it¡¯s not fun to just go along and be disregarded, isn¡¯t it? Besides, we¡¯re all in this together.¡± If Ivy had been an ordinary guild employee, Loren¡¯s words would have sounded sincere. But even though she had changed her name and body, she had originally been considered as one of the Evil Gods. It had crossed Loren¡¯s mind that she might be offended by being considered to be the same as an ordinary adventurer like himself, but she didn¡¯t seem to take it badly as he had feared. She nodded and said. ¡°You do have a point, Loren. Then, my answer to you is to proceed as you wish.¡± ¡°I guess there is no one who disagrees. So, Lapis, where do we start?¡± ¡°First of all, after you finish eating here, please go shopping with me. And I would appreciate it if Gula and Ivy would secure the yard of the inn like yesterday.¡± ¡°OK, understood, you want to go shopping alone with Loren. So it goes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying that I don¡¯t, but if you put it so blatantly, you¡¯ll give me ideas, you know?¡± Lapis shrugged her shoulders in a deliberate manner and looked straight at Gula, which caused Gula to stop eating and turn away in a fluster. Loren was scared of how the Evil God of Gluttony was intimidated enough to stop eating, but there was no trace of that intimidating atmosphere on Lapis¡¯ face when she turned to Loren after silencing Gula. Loren was inwardly impressed by the speed with which she was able to switch from one emotion to another. ¡°Gula and Ivy, once you¡¯ve secured the place, don¡¯t go near the well or the inn building, okay? Those were the two places where Nig was wrapping the threads, so there might be something there. Don¡¯t ever go near them.¡± ¡°Alright, got it.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After confirming that each of the two Evil Gods had understood, Loren looked at Lapis. ¡°So, what are we going to do? You said something about shopping.¡± ¡°Yes, shopping. I need to buy some materials for something I¡¯m going to make.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re going to make, but can you get it here in town?¡± The city of Suest was located in what could be called a remote area. There was no way for Loren to know what exactly Lapis was trying to make, but if she was trying to make some kind of medicine or the like, it was very unlikely that she would have all the materials she needed. Stores that specialized in the production of such medicines-making ingredients were usually located near the center of the country or in towns that were key transportation hubs where many roads converge, perhaps because of the problem of stocking such materials. ¡°I think it¡¯s probably fine. I don¡¯t need such rare materials.¡± For Lapis, she was more worried about whether she would be able to shop properly in this town than about whether she would be able to get all the materials she needed. The owner of the inn where they were staying, the soldiers at the guard station, and the residents of this town were all somewhat strange. She wondered if she would be able to deal with these strange people and receive their goods by giving and receiving money. ¡°In the worst case scenario, we may have no choice but to imitate some thievery.¡± Thinking that they would cross that bridge when they got there and there was no need to dwell on the matter right now, Lapis took Loren to the store she wanted to visit. Chapter 253: Dealing With Shopping Chapter 253: Dealing With Shopping Proofreader: Xemul Following Lapis, Loren went to a flower store. He had thought that they were going to some kind of dubious alchemy-related store or some back-street shop to buy prohibited items that if traded openly would make them criminals. So, when Lapis stepped into the store on the main street, rather than feeling a sense of anticlimax, he was suspecting that there was some kind of mistake. ¡°Hello¡­ Is there anyone in?¡± Lapis called out into the store very amiably, but there was no sign of the shopkeeper coming out. Loren, wondering if it was as he thought, stopped Lapis and slowly entered the store. The store seemed to be in a commercial-residential building, and inside he found a young woman standing helplessly at the door separating the store from the residential part of the building. ¡°Hey, are you all right?¡± Lor¨¦n approached the woman, who did not seem to be alright in any way, with caution, but she did not open her mouth, although she did respond to his voice by directing her stare towards him. Thinking that this was not a good sign, Loren looked at Lapis to see what was going on, but Lapis was not concerned at all. She had begun to look around at the flowers in the store. After alternately looking at Lapis, who was rummaging through the flowers, and the shopkeeper, who may or may not be watching her, Loren let out a single breath and decided to stop thinking about the shopkeeper for now. He turned his attention to what Lapis was doing instead. Lapis was fumbling with flowers, of which neither the types nor the names Loren were familiar with. However, the fact that they were easily found on the shelves of a flower store suggested that they were not incredibly rare or expensive. ¡°You are looking for flowers, right?¡± Loren, wondering if she was looking for something that looked like a flower at first glance but actually something else entirely to someone with knowledge, asked for confirmation. Lapis replied with a puzzled look on her face. ¡°Do they look like anything other than flowers?¡± From Lapis¡¯ reaction, Loren judged that she was really just looking for some flower. But if that was the case, then he didn¡¯t understand what Lapis was trying to do by buying flowers. ¡°I kind of understand what you mean, Loren, but I really came here to buy flowers.¡± ¡°Are you trying to mask the smell with that of flowers?¡± If that was the case, Loren didn¡¯t think it was a very good move. It was true that the scent of flowers was generally considered to be a nice fragrance, but he couldn¡¯t help but think that it was a rather weak counter to that odor. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to mask it. I¡¯m just trying to do some tricks.¡± Lapis looked at the shopkeeper, who hadn¡¯t moved from the back of the store, and suddenly spread her arms. ¡°Excuse me, can I have all the flowers here?¡± The shopkeeper did not respond. Normally, Loren would have thought that the shopkeeper might have been so surprised that she could no longer speak, but as far as he could tell, he doubted that Lapis¡¯ words had even reached her ears. Lapis stared at the shopkeeper for a moment, and when she saw that the shopkeeper did not take any action, she walked up to her and slipped a shiny golden coin into her dress pocket. ¡°I paid for them. Please keep the change.¡± The shopkeeper still did not show any reaction when Lapis said this. Wondering if perhaps the woman was dead, Loren inwardly asked Shayna to look at the shopkeeper with the King of Death¡¯s vision, but Shayna confirmed that the reaction was that of a living person, and there was nothing strange. ¡°So, Loren. The flowers in this store. Please collect them all.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to carry all that stuff?¡± The store itself was not that big, but even so, there were quite a lot of flowers in the store, ranging from potted plants to cut flowers. Some of them were even wilting, and Loren wondered if a wagon would be enough to transport them all. ¡°Cut them down to the roots and put them all together. The roots and pots are not needed, so you can leave them behind.¡± The shopkeeper still did not move. Lapis looked around and found two pruning shears nearby, both of which she picked up and carelessly tossed one to Loren. He safely caught it and, after seeing Lapis immediately beginning to cut the potted flowers, he himself also began to cut the stems of the flowers, starting with the nearby potted plants. Cutting flowers of an entire store was a time-consuming task, but the shopkeeper did not say a word during the entire process, and rather than watching them, her eyes kept wandering off to somewhere else. There were also no interruptions from outside other than the occasional resident wandering past or some curious peeks into the store by someone from out of town. They laid out the cut flowers and stacked them into a bunch. As they were looking around for something to hold them together, Nig, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, spat out a thread and tied them up. Not only that, the spider even allowed some slackness to the winding threads so that it was easy to carry by hands. ¡°Nig is really useful.¡± Loren lifted the bunch of flowers that Nig had bundled up with one hand, and Lapis said with admiration as she watched Nig returning to his shoulder. ¡°I can¡¯t say enough about its cleverness, not to mention its abilities.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s smart, but why is it clinging to my shoulder?¡± Loren had previously heard that spiders in Nig¡¯s species had a habit of clinging to stronger individuals and cohabit with them. However, Loren believed that he should be considered the weakest of the party, to which Loren currently belonged. The spider should cling to Lapis, a demon or Gula, an Evil God. He did not understand why it was living on his own shoulders. ¡°There are two possibilities. The first one is that you are actually the strongest in our party, Loren.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°The second one is that it is unlikely for it to survive clinging to me or Gula.¡± The second reason given by Lapis was somewhat convincing to Loren. If you thought about it, Nig had clung to Loren¡¯s shoulder when they passed through a dragon¡¯s nest. If the spider simply had a habit of clinging to stronger things, it would be strange for it to not cling to the dragon. The reason it did not do so was because it knew that if he tried to cling to the dragon, it would probably be recognized as an obstacle and killed in no time. It was possible that Nig thought that beings such as Lapis and Gula were too powerful for it, and that Loren was just right. ¡°If it¡¯s really because of the latter reason, then Nig is quite incredible.¡± ¡°It somehow understands not only what you¡¯re capable of, but also how dangerous you are.¡± From the mercenary¡¯s point of view, it was an ability to drool over. Loren still didn¡¯t quite understand what adventurers were about, but as a mercenary, it was natural to run away from an opponent you couldn¡¯t beat. With the skill to see through both an opponent¡¯s strength and danger level that Nig may possess, he could avoid impossible battles. ¡°I¡¯ll know that if I can communicate with Nig, but I¡¯m not sure if I can hold a conversation with a spider.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I can either.¡± On Loren¡¯s shoulder, Nig, who may have been listening to the conversation, patted him by raising and lowering its leg. No one but Nig itself knew whether it did that because it was disappointed about being unable to establish a conversation with Loren and the others, or for some other reasons that had nothing to do with the current conversation. ¡°Be that as it may, what are you going to do with these?¡± Loren asked Lapis, lightly lifting the bunch of flowers he was holding. Since it was a bundle of flowers, it might have been appropriate to call it a bouquet, but it was so large and so carelessly bundled that it would have been a little daring to use that word. ¡°We will deal with them when we reunite with Gula and Ivy.¡± Saying this, Lapis walked out of the flower store. Loren followed her, but it was hard to believe that the flowers he was carrying would be enough to counteract the strong odor. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that the flowers I¡¯m carrying are going to be enough to counteract that smell.¡± ¡°I told you that it was impossible to have a perfect solution, didn¡¯t I?¡± Loren was well aware of the fact that it was impossible to completely restore the sewage system to a state where people can pass through it without having problems, as the smell has been permeating the system for years. However, he also knew that it would be impossible to explore that area without doing something about it. The smell was at a level that if they forced themselves to go on, it would put everyone out of action before they could encounter or find anything. ¡°I¡¯ve been close enough to the area to know that even some kind of temporary deception is difficult to achieve.¡± ¡°What I¡¯m asking is, what are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking about taking what¡¯s already there and making use of it.¡± The tone of Lapis¡¯ voice and expression suggested that she was confident about what she had just said, but on the receiving end, Loren had no idea what she was planning to do. ¡°In other words, we¡¯re dealing with it not by erasing it, but by mixing and making it into something else. You¡¯ll know what it¡¯s going to look like when we use it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a thing.¡± ¡°In cases like this, humans will try to eliminate the problem by force, won¡¯t they? In fact, humans have the tendency to use force to solve problems more than demons. Just leave it to me and wait for the result.¡± Loren thought that he probably wouldn¡¯t understand how a whole store¡¯s worth of flowers would help, even if he heard the explanation. However, judging from Lapis¡¯ confident attitude, he believed that it would probably be alright, so he just did what was necessary for now and kept a firm hold on the bunch of flowers he was carrying. Chapter 254: From Working To Tracking Chapter 254: From Working To Tracking Proofreader: Xemul After returning to the inn, or rather the grounds of the inn, Lapis immediately unwrapped the bundle of flowers that Loren had carried, made a fire, assembled some equipment she had brought out from who-knew-where. After that, she did something incomprehensible: she began to shred and grind the flowers, then stuffed them into some kind of steaming liquid. ¡°It¡¯s like an alchemy.¡± Preparing the equipment, measuring the amount of ingredients to be added, and occasionally checking the progress while stirring, Lapis looked like an alchemist at work, just like Loren said. ¡°It really is.¡± As Lapis answered while stirring the liquid in the pot, Gula, who was standing nearby, peeked into the pot with interest and sniffed at the steam rising from it. ¡°This¡­ It¡¯s HORRIBLE!!!¡± Gula screamed loudly and rolled on the ground holding her nose. Ivy watched her thrashing on the ground with amusement and no intent to help her out. Loren, on the other hand, began to stealthily move away from the pot, which seemed to be emitting a smell that would make even an Evil God squirm. Although the smell must be quite strong, it was not spreading to the surrounding area. ¡°It deteriorates quickly in the air and becomes odorless. Unless you smell it directly.¡± Lapis smiled at Loren, who was wary of the smell. Now that she had mentioned it, it occurred to Loren that Lapis, who was standing near the pot and stirring the liquid that seems to have a smell strong enough to make Gula roll around in agony, didn¡¯t look affected at all. ¡°The combination of the liquid and the flowers is a special mixture. The recipe is a secret.¡± Lapis said this with her index finger raised in front of her lips, but the fact that Loren still didn¡¯t know what she was going to do with the liquid was a bit unsettling. Regardless of Loren¡¯s feelings, Lapis continued to carefully stir the contents of the pot. She occasionally added something powdery or solid to the liquid, then fanned the rising steam with her hand, took a whiff to sense the smell, added something else, then repeated. Loren, who had changed his mind and decided that it would be better to leave the incomprehensible work to Lapis, decided to keep an eye on the surroundings for the time being until the work was finished. The town of Suest was already quite strange, no matter how you looked at it. Not all the residents seemed to be crazy, but it was safe to assume that the majority of them were. As long as they didn¡¯t know the cause of the problem, it was hard to know when it would happen to them, and this caused a sense of uneasiness. But since he couldn¡¯t come up with a solution even if he thought about it, Loren pushed it out of his mind. Putting that aside, he had no idea what kind of actions the residents of this town who had gone crazy would take, and he thought that vigilance would be necessary. But there was no one coming from outside the inn, nor was there anyone coming out of the inn. Time slowly passed, and the sun slowly went down with a reddish tinge mixed with its light, which eventually changed into the colors of night. Lapis continued her work in the meantime, and the two Evil Gods, perhaps having nothing in particular to do, walked around the area, watching her. With no hesitation, Gula stuck her head back into the steam rising from the pot, then rolled around on the ground. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s a little earlier today.¡± Ivy suddenly said these words as the sun was setting, the sky was darkening, and the stars were beginning to shine. Loren looked at Ivy to see what she was talking about, and when he saw that Ivy¡¯s gaze was directed towards the outside of the inn, he immediately synchronized his own vision with that of Shayna. In the darkening night, with the vision of the King of Death that could see through a darkness that no human eye could see, Loren noticed that again, people were beginning to gather in the immediate vicinity of the inn¡¯s grounds. Moreover, the group that had been only a dozen or so last time, had swelled to more than twice that number this time. ¡°Lapis, your work¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯ll finish right away.¡± Lapis overturned the pot and extinguished the fire by pouring the remaining liquid into it. The remnants of the bonfire made a sizzling sound and spat up a white smoke, making Gula, who had stuck her head into the smoke come out of it and flail around, then ran to get away from it in a hurry. But Lapis fanned the smoke away with her hand without a care and stamped out the remnants of the extinguished bonfire with her foot. ¡°Preparation¡¯s done. We¡¯re ready to go.¡± ¡°Good. Gula and Ivy, you come this time too.¡± ¡°Leave it to us.¡± ¡°Yes, we should come with you this time. Wait a moment, please. I¡¯m going to seal the wagon.¡± While Ivy was working on the wagon parked in the inn yard, Loren kept an eye on the group of people who had gathered and remained motionless. ¡°It¡¯s eerie to see a group of expressionless people standing still, not moving.¡± Lapis commented as she leaned in close to Loren, and Loren completely agreed. As they continued to watch the scene, which could only be described as eerie, Ivy walked up to them without making a sound. It seemed like she had finished her work with the wagon. ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°Ok. Then, when they start moving¡­¡± Just as Loren was about to say, the group began to move. They moved slowly, and Loren and his team also began to act. It looked like their destination was the sewer entrance on the west side again, judging from the direction. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Giving a short command, he broke into a run, and the three girls also started running through the night streets after him. Knowing roughly where they were going, they did not bother to follow the slow-moving group, but instead moved ahead of them to the west side near the sewer entrance. Even if the group went down a different road on the way, they would not have to worry about losing sight of them because with Shayna¡¯s ability to detect life essence they knew exactly where they were. [¡®It¡¯s useful, isn¡¯t it, onii-san? Wouldn¡¯t you be sorry to let it go?¡¯] ¡°Even if you leave me, all I have to do is ask you to do it and listen to the results, right?¡± [¡®But it¡¯s the power of the King of Death that you can use with no risk.¡¯] ¡°It¡¯s not my power.¡± Loren whispered to Shayna as their group hid near the entrance to the sewers. Soon, they saw the group of people coming slowly toward the entrance of the sewers, their faces expressionless. Loren thought that they wouldn¡¯t notice them in such a state, but he hid in the shadows and held his breath just in case. Without regard for Loren¡¯s team, the group headed straight for the entrance to the sewers, opened the door without hesitation, nor being overpowered by the stench that was coming out, they passed through the door with undeterred steps. Loren¡¯s team watched the last members of the group entering, after which then door closed, and only then emerged from the shadows where they had been hiding. ¡°Let¡¯s follow.¡± ¡°Dun wanna¡­¡± ¡°Well, well, well, this time we¡¯ve got a plan.¡± Lapis said as she held something that looked like white pills in her hand. Looking at the numerous pills, Gula concluded that they were probably the solution to deal with the stench that Lapis has been working on for half a day or so, but she didn¡¯t know how they would work to make that stench more tolerable. ¡°Do we take them?¡± ¡°Do you want to?¡± Gula frowned as her question was answered with another question, but Lapis was looking at the pills in her hand and not Gula¡¯s reaction. ¡°I don¡¯t recommend you take them, even though they are not poisonous.¡± Lapis said this and clenched the pills in her hand, then suddenly buried her face in Loren¡¯s back and put her arms around his waist. Loren was startled, but Lapis remained in the same position and said in a muffled voice. >¡±Until they take effect, the stench will remain foul. This position is bearable for a while, so please lead the way.¡± Not knowing what she planned to do but unable to object, he did not proceed. Instead, Loren walked to the front of the sewer entrance in the state he was in and opened the door. The stench that came out immediately made Lapis groan with her face still buried in Loren¡¯s back. Gula, who inhaled it directly, covered her nose and mouth and made a not-very-elegant noise. Ivy, perhaps having thought of this from the beginning, covered her mouth with a cloth she had apparently prepared before Loren opened the door. But the smell was not something that could be prevented with just a cloth, and she covered the cloth with her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Loren was the only one who breathed in the stench properly without covering his nose and mouth. He had to keep his hands so that he could draw his greatsword if something happened. Naturally, he was overcome with an intense nausea, but he had experienced this smell once before, and it was not as if he had never smelled a similar odor on the battlefield. So he managed to hold back as he dragged Lapis down the stairs leading underground. When they eventually reached the bottom of the stairs, they came to a passageway leading to both sides of the sewer canal Loren had seen before, and he looked around with the vision he had borrowed from Shayna. Although there must have been a large number of people going down the stairs, by the time Loren¡¯s group arrived, they could no longer see any figures. As Loren wondered where in the world they had hidden so many people in such a short time, Lapis, who had been fumbling with something, picked up one of the white pills she had just shown Loren and the others and threw it in the general direction of the center of the waterway. Bouncing once on the floor of the passageway, the pill fell with a splashing sound into the sewage that filled the canal, and was soon swallowed by the murky water and lost sight of it. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Loren asked Lapis, who had once again hugged Loren tightly around the waist and pressed her face against his back after throwing the pill. But before she could answer, the water around where the pill had fallen began to foam violently. Loren was prepared for something to appear out of the sewage, but even with the help of Shayna¡¯s vision, there was no sign of life in the sewage. Loren wondered what in the world was bubbling up, then blinked as he suddenly noticed that the unbearable smell had faded. ¡°Oh? The smell changed?¡± Gula, who was holding her mouth and throat in a rather bad manner, released her hand and sniffed the air. Next to her, Ivy, who had been pressing a cloth over her mouth tightly, also released her hand and looked around with a curious expression. ¡°Looks like it worked.¡± The stench of the drainage had faded, and a faint but flowery aroma had begun to waft through the air instead. Perhaps confirming this, Lapis released the arms around Loren¡¯s waist and lifted the face that had been buried in his back. ¡°The pills react with a certain amount of water to produce a gas. The gas generated reacts with the foul odor of sewage and turns it into a flowery fragrance.¡± ¡°Amazing.¡± ¡°The problem is, it can only change the stench to a limited extent, and it cannot change all the odors that the sewage is giving off. Over time, the effect wears off and the stench returns.¡± From what Loren understood, the pills changed an unbearable stench into a tolerable stench with a subtle floral fragrance. The effective range of the gas emitted by each pill was limited, so the pills had to be spread from place to place, and their effects were not permanent. ¡°It¡¯s still a big improvement. This is tolerable. It¡¯s about as uncomfortable as walking in a toilet.¡± ¡°The pills are originally used in the toilets of our country¡¯s remote areas. It also has disinfecting and insecticide effects.¡± Sewage attracted worms, and could itself be a cause of disease. The technology to prevent such things seems to have existed among the demon race, and Lapis was able to use it to explore this sewage system. ¡°I wonder if this kind of technology will ever leak out.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be possible. As long as humans still detest us demons, at least. It¡¯s not anyone¡¯s fault, though.¡± The reason why the human race and other races avoided the demons was because of their evil deeds. However, according to Lapis, not all demons were evil, but there was no way for Loren to know if the perception would ever change. In addition, Loren found it a bit difficult to answer the question of which side was worse, the demon race that harbored those who created the reason for the hate, or the human race that continued to hate an entire race just because they were demons. ¡°I can tell you in secret if you want, Loren. After all, you are a human who doesn¡¯t hate me.¡± It wasn¡¯t clear whether Lapis knew of Loren¡¯s thoughts or not, but she said this with a smile. Chapter 255: From Moving Forward to Omens Chapter 255: From Moving Forward to Omens Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Now, which way shall we proceed?¡± There were no sights of the group of people who had entered the sewers before them, and they had no other clues. The sewer itself extended straight from the stairway where Loren¡¯s group entered to both left and right, but whether they looked to the left or to the right, there was only a continuous passageway, and there were no signs pointing them in which direction to go. ¡°Should we throw some sticks?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have any sticks.¡± ¡°Loren¡¯s greatsword then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to throw it to the floor¡­¡± The passageway was right next to the stream of sewage water. There was no telling what might splash over and stick to the floor, and Loren had no desire to throw the greatsword he would hold in his hands down there. Moreover, the greatsword was originally the weapon of a Demon King, Lapis¡¯ mother. He wondered if it would be all right for Lapis to suggest using it in place of a stick, but she didn¡¯t seem to have any particular feelings about it. ¡°Somehow, I think it¡¯s this way.¡± As Loren pondered what to do, Ivy pointed to one side of the passage and said. She did it so naturally and without hesitation that Loren wondered if she had some reason to think so, but it seemed that there was none at all, thus she started her sentence with ¡®somehow¡¯. ¡°Just curious, but why that way?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think this sewer is unnatural?¡± ¡®Don¡¯t answer a question with a question¡¯, Loren thought to himself. He looked around as prompted by Ivy¡¯s question, then titled his head, not knowing what was so unnatural. ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk as we walk? If we stay here, there will be no progress, aside from the effect of the pill that Lapis just threw in wearing off.¡± At Ivy¡¯s urging, Loren¡¯s group started walking in the direction she had pointed to. The path was not a difficult one, but they proceeded very slowly. The reason was that, the pills Lapis threw into the sewage had a limited range. Once that range was passed, the air would be filled with that unbearable stench again. To avoid being hit by the stench, Lapis would throw the pills into the sewage at certain intervals, but it would take some time for the gas emitted by the medicine to work. If an emergency arose, there wouldn¡¯t be time to worry about it and the only thing to do would be to run, but other than that it wasn¡¯t a stench they liked to smell. So they would repeat the process of advancing some distance, throwing a pill, waiting a little, and advancing again. ¡°Location-wise, the city of Suest is in a remote area. It¡¯s quite big, but that¡¯s all there is to it.¡± Ivy, who was walking in the front of the group, looked over her shoulder as she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s unnatural for such a town to have a large sewer system, the kind you¡¯d have to go to a royal capital to see.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± The sewer Loren and his team were moving through was very large. Its ceiling was so high that even if Loren were to swing his greatsword while walking, he would not be able to reach the ceiling. A sewer system of this size would consume a considerable amount of money, and there should have been a good reason to build such a structure in a city in the middle of nowhere. ¡°Can you guess what caused this oddity?¡± ¡°How could we possibly know?¡± Lapis answered to Loren as she threw another pill into the sewage. Residents of Suest may know the reason, but there was no way that Loren and Lapis, who were strangers to the city, would understand such a thing without having done any research in advance. ¡°The answer is simple. This sewer was here before the city of Suest was built. In short, it has been here since the very beginning.¡± Ivy looked somewhat proud of herself, as if she was revealing the answer to a riddle. But Loren just looked at her proud face, not understanding what she was trying to say. ¡°Are you saying that originally there was only the sewer system here?¡± Lapis asked as they walked on, and Loren found that idea to be strange. Sewer systems served their functions only when they were located in a city where people lived, and it made no sense to go to the trouble of building only a sewer system underground. Even if you did build one, if there were no residents above ground to pour sewage into it, it would be a facility that was never used. Loren could not believe that anyone would have the time and money to go to the trouble of building an unused facility on such a large scale. ¡°It¡¯s a little different. The truth is that what we had here, was originally an underground canal, and it wasn¡¯t clear if it was a sewer or not.¡± Ivy said that it was discovered by accident while doing a site survey when they decided to build a town at the border. The survey team had discovered an underground canal that was well constructed and seemed to be connected to some distant place. They thought that the canal could be used as a sewer, so they built a city on top of it and drained the sewage from the city into the canal. ¡°That was the beginning of the city of Suest.¡± Ivy spoke as if she had witnessed it, even though it was unclear how many years ago this all happened. If she was just a normal person, that could be considered a figure of speech, but in Ivy¡¯s case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if she really had witnessed it. ¡°Why does it matter?¡± However, Loren couldn¡¯t understand her intention when she talked about history in the middle of a sewer exploration. Just as he thought that this wasn¡¯t the place or time for a history lesson, he felt Nig, who was clinging to his shoulder, move its legs and tap his shoulder. Loren wondered what was the matter, and immediately remembered that the pills Lapis was throwing into the sewage to manage the stench also had insecticide effects. Maybe the scent produced by pills had the same effects on Nig as the original sewer stench had on them? This made Loren feel like they were doing something bad to the spider, but he couldn¡¯t bring it back above ground now. After thinking for a moment, Loren opened the chest of the jacket he wore as an armor. The generously-sized jacket has quite a bit of space inside. A normal spider might be crushed inside it by mistake, but for Nig, whose body was covered by a hard outer shell, might be okay. When Nig saw that Loren had opened his jacket, it easily slipped inside, and when Loren closed the jacket, it positioned itself just around Loren¡¯s heart and stayed on there. The inside of the jacket was made of thick cloth, and although it felt a little uncomfortable, it did not prickle or anything. As Loren thought this would be a little easier for Nig, his eyes met with Lapis¡¯, who was looking at the area where Nig had gone into with an envious look on her face. ¡°Is it because Nig is a male?¡± ¡°Can you tell¡­? But what about it?¡± Loren tilted his head at Lapis, who looked displeased with slightly-puffed cheeks. ¡°Can we continue our conversation?¡± Loren nodded as Ivy, who had been watching their interaction, shyly called out to them. ¡°That is how this town of Suest came to be, but what is not clear is the origin of the waterway used as the sewage system.¡± ¡°You know about that, don¡¯t you?¡± As Loren thought that Ivy would not say that she did not know anything after having brought the conversation to this point, Ivy nodded her head and continued. ¡°A long time ago, there was a research facility.¡± Lapis threw another pill into the sewage. After a while, countless bubbles began to rise to the surface, and the emitted gas slowly altered the stench. ¡°What it actually studied was the technologies to construct lost bodies and manufacture replacement for aging bodies.¡± ¡°Could that be¡­¡± Loren thought that he had heard this story somewhere, but Ivy did not answer and just continued. ¡°The reason I know this is that one of the researchers at the facility was chosen to be the subject of another experiment and was transformed into something other than a human being at another research facility, but that story has already been told, so there is no need to mention it now.¡± Ivy suddenly stopped, stared at the bubbling surface of the sewage, and proceeded to talk in a somber tone. ¡°Originally, there were various sections, both above and below ground. But over the years, the above-ground sections must have been destroyed, leaving only the underground ones, which survived the destruction. The waterways then channeled the wastewater from all of these sections to the distant river.¡± ¡°If it was just some research facility, would there be a need for such a waterway system?¡± If that had been the only purpose, a single waterway would have been sufficient. However, the one that Loren and his team are currently going through had several branches, and considering that it was currently being used as a sewage system, it must have extended its branches through the entire city of Suest to some extent. This did not give an explanation to why such a system was built. ¡°There were living quarters for the staff near the facilities, so that¡¯s why.¡± ¡°That is to say, this body-construction ruin you were talking about¡­¡± ¡°Yes, they are at the end of this waterway.¡± In other words, the waterway that Loren and his team were currently on was part of a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom. Loren thought that the place should have been properly investigated before being put to use, but regardless of the research facilities, the waterway was not equipped with any kind of mechanisms. Even if people entered to investigate, it would look like a mere waterway. It was old, but not all ruins were always from the Ancient Kingdom. People might have thought it was the end of a waterway that someone had built. ¡°I don¡¯t know where the cause of all this commotion lies, but since we¡¯ve come to explore the sewers, I thought I¡¯d take you there first.¡± Since becoming an adventurer, Loren had come to believe that when there was some sort of unexplained anomaly, the cause could usually be traced to a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom or tools excavated from there. He thought it was a real nuisance that they kept on causing trouble even after their demise. If such a thing was connected to this waterway, he also thought that the shortest way to solve this problem was to check there first. ¡°The underground facilities were still in good working order when I used them, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s still fine.¡± ¡°It would be like paying for the commission in the middle of the job. Is that okay?¡± As a reward for accepting Ivy¡¯s commission, Loren was to receive information about the ruin. He was concerned that asking her to take him to the ruin while the trouble was still unresolved might be like asking her to pay him a reward in advance, but Ivy smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the kind of person who would just run away afterwards.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to hear that you trust me.¡± Loren wondered what it was like to be a human adventurer trusted by an Evil God, but then he noticed that the other Evil God, Gula, was staring at a certain point in the waterway and not moving. It was the surface of the sewage, the place where Lapis had just thrown a pill into, and where bubbles continued rising. ¡°Gula, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The amount of bubbles seems strange.¡± Loren looked at the surface of the sewage again. The pill that Lapis had thrown into the water was not very large, and even if it had spread out a little, the range of the bubbles discharging from it should have remained small. However, the amount of bubbles that Gula was looking at seemed to be strangely wide. ¡°Lapis, you threw in only one pill, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lapis nodded and then said: ¡°I have a bad feeling about this already.¡± In the meantime, the rate of rising bubbles to the surface of the sewage began to drastically increase, and suddenly black shadows peeked out from below. Chapter 256: From Emergence to Fleeing Chapter 256: From Emergence to Fleeing Proofreader: Xemul (Xemul: Fair warning, due to the colorful description of disgusting content in this chapter, we strongly recommend you to refrain from consuming any food while reading.) ¡°Prepare yourself for whatever comes out.¡± Loren wondered if such a thing was truly possible to do, and how much it would help. He supposed people could be prepared, but as for keeping your composure no matter what actually came up, he believed only those with great character would be able to accomplish. That was why, when the shadows peeking out from the bubbling water broke through the surface and appeared, Loren couldn¡¯t help but scream out. ¡°Whoa?!¡± What, in fact, emerged from the sewage was not a single being. The thing had a black head the size of a clenched fist and a torso as thick as a human arm. Its elongated torso was lined with countless thin, bright red legs. Two fangs, each the size of a human finger, protruded from its black head, making a hard clicking sound. If it was shrunk to one-tenth of its size, it would look a lot like a certain creature that Loren had seen before. Loren would not have screamed, if there was only one creature. But as it continued rising, countless number emerged from under the water as one gigantic mass, their bodies intertwining as if they were knitted together. ¡°These are¡­ centipedes?¡± It was no wonder that Lapis¡¯ voice was laced with disgust. The centipedes looked as if they had been made up from human arms due to their sizes, and their countless shiny black bodies were writhing in all directions. The sight of these giant centipedes intertwined into a single mass was so hideous that the sudden appearance of such a thing out of the water left everyone present speechless. ¡°Centipedes?! Aren¡¯t they too huge?!¡± ¡°But this shape looks like a centipede, doesn¡¯t it?¡± That being said, they certainly did not look like anything other than centipedes, but even so, Loren¡¯s mind was unable to accept them to be centipedes. The bodies of the creatures continued actively stirring within the huge blob of intertwined insects. ¡°W-well. Those things¡­ seem to be increasing?¡± Loren and the others, who had been rendered speechless by the creatures, were brought back to their senses by Gula¡¯s comment. The swarm of wriggling centipedes Gula was pointing at certainly appeared to be increasing in number, as she had commented, with more and more coming out of the water. ¡°This is bad. Hey, which way is the ruin? Let¡¯s run.¡± Loren, who quickly assessed the situation, called out to Ivy. Ivy pointed in the direction they should go and started to run, but stopped immediately. ¡°We can¡¯t go this way, can we?!¡± There was nothing in the direction they were going, but Loren immediately understood why Ivy had stopped. ¡°The stench!¡± The extent to which the pills Lapis had created could neutralize the stench was limited. The range was not that wide, and if they tried to follow Loren¡¯s instruction to run, they would easily get out of that range. Loren considered just bearing with it and running, but the stench would make it impossible for them to continue running. Lapis immediately threw a pill into the sewage, but it took time, and the pill itself was not big enough to be thrown far in advance. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. Move as fast as you can.¡± Loren urged Lapis, who was carrying the pills, to move forward and let Ivy and Gula go ahead of him while he took over their rear guard duty, watching the area where the swarm of centipedes had appeared. The centipedes, which were gradually increasing in number, were approaching the banks of the channel, albeit slowly. It appeared that they would be on the passage in no time. Once they reached the pathway, there would be nothing blocking their way, and on land they were usually moving at a very fast pace. They might not necessarily attack, but centipedes were carnivores, and when they were as big as a person¡¯s arm, it seemed unlikely that they would ignore Loren¡¯s team right in front of them. ¡°Can¡¯t we intercept them?¡± Gula, who had run forward from behind Loren, stopped to wait for him and asked, but Loren immediately shook his head. The greatsword on his back would be able to easily cut down one centipede the size of a human arm, but no matter how one looked at it, their sheer number was way too high. If other centipedes were to attack him while he was cutting down ten or so, his weapon would be useless, and he could only see a future where he fell prey to countless centipedes while pulling them off his body with both hands. As for burning, Loren did not think that it would be an effective method, considering the location. Using fire in a closed space was extremely dangerous, and since the place was a sewer, there was a high possibility that the gases floating in the air would be mixed with flammable substances. Loren had learned from his own experience as a mercenary that some of the gases released by decomposing things burn with great vigor. ¡°We have no choice but to run. You don¡¯t want to be bugs¡¯ food, do you?¡± After saying that much, Loren asked Gula about something that had just come to his mind. ¡°Can¡¯t you just eat those things with your Gluttony powers?¡± ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t mind if there¡¯s a deep kiss after.¡± Gula, replied, with a clear look of disgust on her face and her mouth twisted into the shape of a vicious smile. ¡®Of course¡¯, Loren thought to himself and asked. ¡°Is there a link between your stomach and Gluttony¡¯s stomach?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret. But when we do the deep thingy~, I¡¯ll show ya exactly what centipedes taste like, so be prepared~.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t force you to do it, so don¡¯t make such a horrible face.¡± Loren had known it would be impossible when he first asked the question. He hadn¡¯t expected her to do it, so he wasn¡¯t particularly disappointed. In fact, he felt guilty for having offended Gula by making such a suggestion. He lightly pressed a hand to Gula¡¯s cheek, and though her displeased expression remained, the grimness disappeared from her face. ¡°If nothing else can be done, I¡¯ll do it then.¡± ¡°I hope it won¡¯t come to that.¡± While they were having this conversation, the centipedes were approaching the bank, and it seemed as if they were about to overflow into the passage. As Loren urged Gula forward to catch up with Lapis and Ivy, thinking that this was not the time for conversation, he heard Lapis¡¯ shriek. ¡°Loren! Centipedes are coming from other places!¡± ¡°Are we cursed or what? How much do they want us¡­¡± Loren cursed, remembering that when he had been alone in this sewer, Shayna had said something about the myriad of reactions of little lives. But things didn¡¯t end there, it was about to get even worse. ¡°Loren! This time it¡¯s zombies!¡± Ivy turned her head slightly to look at Loren and the others and pointed in the direction of a wet sound. Loren turned his eyes to that direction and was rendered speechless. He saw a hand of a person coated in sewage sticking out of the water, followed by a hand on the edge of the passageway, and then a body was being pulled up out of the sewage. It was a middle-aged man who was probably a resident of the city, judging from his clothing. His hair was coated with sewage and filth, he pulled his body up into the passageway, spreading the stench of the sewage and the putrid smell was now added to the mixture of stenches. There were no eyes in the sockets, just two empty, black cavities. The half-open mouth revealed teeth that had fallen out in places, but what sent a chill down Loren¡¯s spine was the centipede that had slithered its head out from the mouth. ¡°He was eaten!¡± One of the two arms, which had been thrust out as if in search of the living, fell from its shoulder. A centipede, which had a shiny long black body, pulled itself out of the freshly emerged opening and fell to the floor, sidled to the fallen arm of the poor victim and began to bite into the flesh with its huge fangs. The large, swollen belly seemed to be from the characteristically stout figure of middle-aged people, but the irregular wriggling under the clothes made it immediately clear that it was not the internal organs nor the fat that was packed there. Loren almost stopped to watch the gruesome sight, but he quickly realized that this was not the time for that and forced himself to go on. The centipedes that had first emerged from the water were already on the verge of reaching the passage, and at the feet of a middle-aged man who had apparently turned undead while being eaten by the centipedes, he saw another hand gripping the edge of the passage, just as the middle-aged man had done. ¡°This is getting out of hand.¡± The swarm of centipedes alone was out of control, with the zombies joined in, Loren found himself in a state of urgency where he wanted to ask someone what they should do now. The zombies themselves could be cut, but doing so would probably unleash centipedes inside their bodies, and the situation would only get worse. ¡°Damn it! Run, run, run!¡± That creaky sound, was it the fangs clattering, or hard bodies scraping against each other? Loren, who was about to run away from the swarm of centipedes coming from behind, was stopped by Lapis, who was in front of him. ¡°If you run too fast, you¡¯ll be out of the effective range of the pills, Loren.¡± ¡°Which do you want, to stink or to die?!¡± Loren raised his voice, saying that this was not the time to be talking about the smell. To that, Lapis replied clearly and resolutely. ¡°I don¡¯t want either.¡± She was so resolute that Loren almost agreed. But, of course, he couldn¡¯t just agree with her and stop under the current situation. ¡°Just run! If you don¡¯t like the stink, just go all out and throw the pills!¡± ¡°They¡¯re too light to fly far!¡± Lapis whined, but the swarm of insects didn¡¯t care, and continued to close the distance towards them. Even worse, they were pushing the zombies, who were crawling out into the passage one after the other, toward Loren¡¯s group with unsteady steps. ¡°Hurry up, hurry up! If you don¡¯t want to be covered in sewage, insects, or carrion, then run!¡± ¡°I should have made them bigger. Oh, I¡¯m such an idiot!¡± Lapis desperately threw the pills, but even with the arm strength of the demon tribe, the lightweight pills still did not fly very far. It couldn¡¯t be helped, since they weren¡¯t intended to be thrown far, but Lapis still cursed at her own lack of foresight. Patting Lapis on the back, Loren was worried about whether they would be able to escape from the wave of insects that kept coming up behind them. Chapter 1: Welcome to the System "Jin, I guess if you''re reading this letter, then I''m already dead." Xie Jin gripped the letter tightly as its words hit him. He continued to pack up the furniture and other odds and ends that were left behind in the almost-empty house of his grandfather, Xie Ming, who had passed on recently. The lawyer who was handling the inheritance of his only caretaker had given Jin a key to open his grandfather''s safe. Jin''s mother had given birth to him when both she and her partner were in their late teens, but unfortunately, they were brutally murdered by a rogue, psychopathic cultivator. That''s right. In today''s world, anyone could become a cultivator so long as they had the potential. Those with sufficient cultivation could run at high speeds that rivalled modern-day transportation systems or even fly. That said, public transport was still available for both commoners and cultivators anyway. However, that did not mean that commoners (those who were without cultivation, or who had not yet awakened their abilities) were at a disadvantage against modern-day cultivators. In the interest of keeping safety and order, the top ten most supreme cultivators during the golden age of cultivation had convened and acted on their collective wisdom, thus drastically changing the laws of nature. As a consequence, all babies that were born after that change had their Dantian chi point solidified, and all humans ¡ª cultivated or otherwise ¡ª could never truly be killed. This meant that if someone (whether commoner or cultivator) was accused wrongly, or killed due to collateral damage from another cultivator''s fight, they could be resurrected. However, the cost of resurrection was prohibitive, and not only because of the money involved in doing so. There were rituals that needed to be done, expensive but obtainable materials that were required for the resurrection process, and experts that had to be hired as well for the after-resurrection care. The hospitals and rescue services would not resurrect someone unless the person killed was cleared by the court as innocent. Hence, the law was strict and the penalties against cultivators who had committed a felony were extremely harsh. With an entire eco-cycle being developed around this new law of nature, commoners and cultivators alike could progress better together. This subsequently brought upon the age of innovation and modified science, which made life easier for everyone. However, that did not mean cultivators were not allowed to fight; rather, they now fought at their own risk. As long as duel pacts were initiated properly and the parties had settled the arrangements for resurrection rituals, the government would not accuse them of murder. Duels used to require a third party witness. Thanks to the advent of modern technology and the numerous security cameras in place, all that cultivators needed to do now were merely to apply online via a phone app. Unfortunately for Jin''s parents, a psychopathic cultivator had, through an old defunct cult, found a way to circumvent the law of nature and managed to destroy their Dantian permanently ¡ª eliminating all possibility of resurrection. They were the first and last victims as Jin''s grandfather, Ming, was a two-star General, and on that score, the police and military cultivators mercilessly hunted the rogue cultivator down with extreme prejudice. The case was later labelled highly classified in order to keep the public unaware of the existence of a method that could destroy the Dantian. The paternal side of Jin''s family did not approve of the actions of their son, and would neither acknowledge his existence nor partake in any responsibilities concerning him. Ming, being the prideful general that he was, could not care any less for pity or what Jin''s paternal side thought of him, and he took on the full responsibility of bringing up his grandson. In order to take care of Jin, Ming stepped down from his long military service and opted to live a humble life with his grandson. Jin''s grandmother passed away at a young age, and so his grandfather was the only relative who took care of him. Ming knew that his daughter and his son in law-to-be were deeply in love and that they had been determined to make amends for that moment of recklessness. "Jin, you are now 23 years of age. I want you to understand that no matter how highly cultivated one can be, it is impossible to beat the Grim Reaper and the onset of illness. Also, I am leaving this terrace house to you. Worry not about the near future, for the house has already been paid for and there is definitely enough money in the bank for you to live very comfortably for a few years." "However, I know that you have always wanted to be self-sufficient ¡ª and an entrepreneur, at that! I blame my old habits¡­ in truth, I have been monitoring what you were surfing online, so I knew what you wanted to be even though you were trying to keep it hidden from me. (Ahem ¡ª your taste in girls is nearly the same as mine, and I strongly approve.)" Jin did not know whether he should laugh or cry, but he read on. "Instead of giving you my full inheritance, I have had it locked. My lawyer will give it to you portion by portion when you fulfil the conditions that I have in mind. I bought a piece of land right beside the shopping street that we often visit for you to create what you want. It should be sufficient for future expansions as well." Jin''s eyes welled with tears a little, recognising and appreciating his grandfather''s great concern, effort and love. "Lastly, there is a very special secret that I have saved specially for you. Even the military does not know about this ¡ª a secret which I am keeping to the grave. It served me well." The letter ended there. Jin checked the envelope again, remembering that there was a bolt of silk inside. He took out the beautiful cloth and unfolded it. Wrapped within was yet another piece of paper, but this time, it was covered in an encrypted code. A special one, homebrewed by Ming and Jin, and they alone knew the encryption algorithm. Jin wiped away his tears and started to decode the hidden letter. The code was unusually difficult. The hardest decryption that Jin had attempted prior to this had taken him half an hour at the very most. However, this time, his grandfather had sneakily introduced a new element to the algorithm, something that he did from time to time. Jin persevered. To his relief, he succeeded in breaking the code after one and a half hours, but all his efforts resulted in a mere four words out of many sentences of gibberish. "Welcome to the System." Jin read aloud. Without warning, an intense pain shot and coursed through his whole body. Jin immediately fell to the ground and started convulsing. As though a pair of invisible hands were choking him, Jin was unable to utter a single word, much less call for help. Next, waves of high-tension headaches racked his brain, making him feel like his brain was going to explode. The five seconds that had passed in reality seemed like five decades of pain to Jin, but when it stopped, a serene feeling passed through him. He took a deep breath and heard a sweet, heavenly voice that felt ever so familiar. "Welcome to the System, Jin. I have analysed your dreams and desires and have made certain adjustments to the System as per my father''s requests." "Your father¡­ ?" Jin asked, dazed and sprawled on the floor. "Does that mean that you are my mom?" "In a way, yes, I was Yun Er, your mother. Ming had this system module installed in him before I was born, but he used it only when he felt it necessary because he felt like it did not suit him at all." "Later, he made a request to the System, and thus managed to extract the remaining spirit of me from my broken Dantian, which was fused into the System. Subsequently, the System acknowledged my presence, placing me as the person in charge." Yun''s melodious voice rang out gently and clearly within Jin''s mind. "When you say the System, you mean the System referenced in fantasy novels? THAT System? Such things exist?" Jin''s mouth was agape with astonishment. "That is correct. Your grandfather was chosen by the System, but he did not wish to utilise the System, because¡ª" Yun paused. "¡­it was not what he wanted. The system is more useful for the purposes of business-building rather than pursuing cultivation, which was what your grandfather was passionate about." "So¡­ should I call you Mom?" Jin hesitated a little but decided to speak his thoughts. "Just call me Yun. I have no rights to be called your mother as I have no recollection of you being my child. The system informed me that it was part of the consequences of spirit transference when the Dantian is broken." "Okay, Yun it is." Jin finally sat up, and a screen appeared in front of him. "Thank you for welcoming me. So what does this system do?" "It will make you the number one Dungeon Supplier." Yun''s voice had a twinge of happiness to it as she said the words. . . Chapter 2: Handphone "So he really did know that I wished to be a dungeon supplier. I thought I kept it secret." Jin whispered. The dungeon supplier is one of the most upcoming and lucrative jobs that a number of cultivators wished to be. What is a dungeon supplier? A question an average commoner would usually ask when modern cultivators described their hobbies to them. The dungeon supplier profession existed ever since the enforcement of strict laws to keep the wildlife in check. With the advent of resurrection, cultivators started to be reckless in their pursuit of cultivating. In the past, most cultivators would fight against the wildlife at their own risk. They would group and band together to fight against monsters previously impossible due to their high cultivation levels which caused a threat to the cultivators'' life. The resurrection procedure allowed them to be bolder and those rich cultivators would keep trying against those high levelled monsters to bring more riches in because of the rare resources they salvaged from the rare monsters. However, these hunts caused a disruption in the wildlife food chain and the enforcement of laws made it illegal to hunt most of the wildlife without a permit. That''s where the profession of dungeon supplier comes in. High levelled cultivators in the past created a dimension space, which allowed them to replicate the monsters that were living in the wild. These dimension spaces gave new cultivators the chance to practice against seemingly real monsters to enhance their familiarity with real-life combat as well as help them develop new strategies. These were initially available in famous sects until someone decided to do it as a business. Hence, the dungeon supplier profession arose. The dimension space was not per say a dungeon but it was more of an instance. Cultivators based on their experience fighting against the monsters will replicate the same monster into the dimension space. He takes a fee for a cultivator or a group of cultivators to fight the monsters. The good thing about the dimension space was that if the monsters were stronger than the cultivators and succeeded in ''killing'' the cultivators, all the participating cultivators suffered were days of unconsciousness. As the dungeon supplier business booms, various kinds of dungeons were created to appeal to the new market. Technology started to be incorporated into the dimension spaces which allowed low levels cultivators to fight against ''rare'' monsters at a lower difficulty. Some cultivators in the business even fused the magic of dimension space with technology to create all new monsters for cultivators to fight against. Some business even gave rewards for completing the dungeon or instances. However, the market started to become diluted with more or less the same type of monsters. The fights or formulas of fighting were more or less scripted but people still like a dose of a fight to release pent-up stress. With the current technology, commoners can even experience what it is like to be a cultivator and some even managed to awaken as one, making the dungeon supplier job a fairly lucrative one. However, the conditions to become a dungeon supplier gets harder with each year. The use of technology made it expensive to maintain if the businessman''s cultivation is low. The alternative was to get into the vocational school for dungeon suppliers which required a high cultivation and grades to learn about the dimension space. The course itself was not cheap either. Jin wanted to be a dungeon supplier in order to get creative authentic feelings he felt fighting the dimension space Ming had summoned. Ming had much experience in the army so fighting monsters were his bread and butter. His friend gave him a scroll that contained a dimension space and Ming decided to show Jin how real monsters can behave. The goblin Jin fought gave him jitters to this day but the experience was extremely exhilarating. It could not be compared to the current dungeon suppliers in the market. Jin even tried the ''most authentic'' five stars dungeon supplier that grandfather Ming brought him to on his 21st birthday but it was still inferior. Ming said the monsters were a reflection of the cultivator''s experience. He had been fighting goblins for years when he was just an infantry soldier so he knew its strengths and weakness. "Nothing can be more authentic than the thing that is fighting desperately for the sake of its own survival." Ming had once said. As Jin was staring into space, he had totally forgotten about the screen that was in front of him. It was blinking white and black, telling Jin to place his phone in front of the screen. Jin did what he was told taking his handphone out of his pocket and placing it on the screen. The handphone fits nicely onto the screen. It instructed Jin to remove his hand while leaving the phone on the screen. He was a little sceptical but he believed that the Systems he read about had their own quirks. Therefore, he released his hand and the handphone was floating in mid-air while stuck to the screen. Jin was amazed when he saw his handphone starting to change its shape slowly. It got a little larger like the latest Zamzung Note 55 but was black in colour with a carbon fibre coating along with a sleek back cover. In a minute, the screen of the phone blinked and a progress bar appeared as if it was installing something. The installation was fast and the screen immediately asked for a fingerprint. "Jin, you can pick it up now," Yun said in his head. Jin picked the phone up and the black and white screen where the phone was being held disappeared. He placed his left thumb on the allocated slot provided by the phone and it accepted the print. The phone subsequently asked for a retina scan and he gave the phone what it asked of him. After scanning both of his eyes, the phone restarted and showed a weird OS picture of a sleeping panda instead of the standard Ant-droid picture. "Ehh Yun, mind explaining? What did the System do to my phone?" Jin questioned. "Jin, the System transferred some of its capabilities to your phone for easy access and usage as you start out as a young budding dungeon supplier," Yun replied. The phone went to its home screen and Jin did not see much of a difference but a notification appeared in front of it as if the phone was trying to communicate with Jin. "The phone will now automatically unlock itself when you are viewing it. No one else will be able to access your phone since the phone now requires the touch of your hand and the look from your eyes. -Yun" "So you can communicate me via the phone or through my head?" "I can do both depending on the situation, so you will not look like a fool in public. Ming had some weird gazes back when he was using the System. It was amusing, to say the least. Hahaha!" Yun gave a smiley emoji on the phone. "So what else can this new phone do?" Jin asked and a multiple number of messages appeared. "A lot, firstly the specs of this phone had been upgraded to the 10 times stronger than the strongest current PC configuration in the world. It is even stronger than the computers handling the particle accelerators. It will upgrade the hardware by itself when necessary." "You will never need to charge this phone ever again. The battery life is infinite and you do not need to worry about damaging it. The screen is of top military grade and is able to stop a bullet. You can drop the phone from 101 floors, and the cover of the phone will protect the phone." "In the event, it gets damaged, the System will change it for you again on the spot," Yun added a happy ???? emoji in the text too. "What this phone ultimately does is to serve as an aiding tool for you to become the best dungeon supplier your grandfather wants you to be. You can take a look in the phone menu." Jin noticed that there were many new apps in the phone which he should slowly go through. He felt curious when he saw an app called ''Personal Stats''. He pressed on it and a stressed panda looking at a clipboard appeared as the starting screen for the app. ********* Name: Xie Jin Profession: Dungeon Supplier wannabe Cultivation Level: Grade II Monsters: Nil Dungeon: Nil ********** He looked at how pathetically empty his stats were and decided to press the home button to try another app but Yun stopped him and told him to go to the Missions App directly. There, he saw a number of missions available for him but found two that were in red, indicating high importance. "Get your first monster!" and "Get your store up and running!" "Looks like I will try the mission ''get your first monster!'' first." Jin tapped on the phone again and a list of conditions appeared in front of him before a big red button appeared at the bottom stating Mission Start. "I guess this is the start of everything." Jin put his phone down on the table and excitedly ran into his room to get geared up. . . Chapter 3: First Mission Jin went into his room to change his clothes into something more suitable for combat. The clothes were slightly enhanced with some defensive inscription magic and had leather pads in the joint areas. He also took out his Grade 1 iron sword that he had since high school. He could have bought a Grade 2 weapon but he was too used to the weight of the iron sword and it was given to him by his grandfather Ming. Perhaps, he had yet to accept the fact that he had really lost his grandfather and holding this sword gave him some closure. Regardless, it had been some time since he used it last due to the intense workload at university and this was the only weapon he had familiarity with. Now that he was nearly graduating from his degree course in computer engineering, he suddenly pondered whether it was wise of him to go into battle just like this. Although a Grade 2 cultivation was average for his age, there were talented people that had Grade 5 or 6 cultivation. In China, the province of Guangdong, Shenzhen where he was living, the cultivation grades goes up to Grade 20. Grade 20 was the highest that the most supreme being had ever reached and recorded. There was only one cultivator ever to reach to Grade 20 in China''s history. His name was Lu Guan Yu and he was the one who proposed the change in the laws of nature to let commoners have a better standing against the cultivators. Other countries had similar cultivation grades but some might be using a different system. To quote an example would be like the metric system versus the imperial system. To date, most countries adopted China''s cultivation system because of its simplicity in measuring strength and power. "Yun, I do not think I am able to do this." Jin took out his iron sword from the scabbard and gave it a few swings. His confidence wanes a little as he knew the swing was not as strong as it used to be. "Jin, if you give up now, you are disappointing not just your grandfather but yourself too. If not now then when? When are you ever prepared? Tomorrow? Ten years later?" Yun said in his head and Jin felt like Yun started to act like a mother which that he never had. "Besides, you have yet to explore the functions of your new handphone, why are you so discouraged so soon." Jin went back to the living room and picked his phone up to read the list of conditions at the current mission screen. ********* Mission 1: Capture a goblin. Many viewed goblins as mundane monsters that are not worth fighting. They did not realise how goblins can be as intelligent as a normal human being and they gain experience fighting against them. Capture a goblin and through training, the goblin will be a menace to even high cultivators in time to come. You are allowed to use one Bellator. Optional objectives: Catch a variety of goblin classes (at least three different classes) Rewards: A Grade 1 Boss monster for your 1st instance. ******** "What''s a Bellator?" Jin asked Yun which she immediately responded by closing the mission app and automatically went further down the phone''s menu. An app with the name "Bellators" was on it. Jin tapped it and the starting screen had a panda carrying a sword and shield while wearing a roman full helmet. The app loaded and rectangular grey boxes appeared as if trying to say that the content behind it was locked. "I will randomly unlock a Bellator to accompany you for this trip. Other Bellators will need to be paid for by you to be unlocked." Yun casually said while the phone screen received a notification. He tapped on it again and a panda holding a gift box for him appeared. Jin tapped on the gift box and a magical circle summoning loading screen popped up. It was similar to what he usually saw in those mobile game apps. A grey light flickered in the magical circle before a lady with a simple white robe held onto a book surfaced from the magical circle. "Bellator meant warrior in Latin, fearing none and feared by all. These fearless warriors will only be loyal to you and only you. They will follow you to death if necessary. Of course, resurrection is possible, you just have to bear the cost." Yun giggled a little. Suddenly, the lady in the phone jumped out from the screen and into reality. Seeing how a slender looking lady appeared out from Jin''s phone, he was not prepared to hold onto her properly and both of them fell. Jin recollected himself and realised the lady was clumsily sitting on his chest. "Hi Master, my name is Milk, I am of the class acolyte which can cast holy magic. Still a beginner though! So it will be a pleasure to work with you!" Milk grabbed Jin''s right hand and shook it vigorously. "Ehh, Ms Milk, you can first get off my chest." "Am I that heavy!?" Milk pouted and crossed her arms right below her breast as if it was supporting it. Jin felt her weight even more as she relaxes but he could not help and sensed a tree growing in his nether regions. "No no no, it is just that I like to formally greet my-" "AH! You are blushing, aren''t you!" Milk slowly placed her face closer towards Jin, making him feel more uncomfortable. "Yes, yes I am blushing." Jin turned his head to the right as he answered to Milk. "Hahaha, at least you are honest enough, I will let you off this time." Milk stood up and patted her robes a little. "Anyways, yes I am Milk, a Grade 2 cultivator too. I will like to be at the backline supporting you but that does not mean I cannot hold my weight in a one to one fight when necessary. Just remember to rescue me, Master." Milk gave an aegyo face while holding her book on her chest while pushing her glasses up. The smooth long brown hair complemented the look, which made Jin stared blankly for a little while. He quickly came back to reality and took a look at his mission app once again. He did not know what he would face but without the courage to step forward, he would not be able to start his dream as a dungeon supplier. Jin asked whether Milk was ready before he pressed the red big button at the bottom of the mission screen after reading the conditions again. The screen on the phone turned yellow with black stripes indicating "CAUTION, GATE OPENING." The phone flew out of Jin''s hand and an eastern magic circle appeared from the phone. It created an opening akin to a small portal which subsequently sucked both Jin and Milk into an all-new region with sparse forests. "The mission has teleported you to the goblin parallel world where goblins ruled the area. Humans are their enemies and the rebel resistance against them. You will find true goblins worthy to be part of your dungeons." Yun said. "I am starting to believe those fantasy novels are stories recounted by people who really encounter them." Jin took a gulp of his saliva and heard footsteps from afar with the heightened senses he had cultivated in Grade 2. There were at least four or five individuals, with one cladded in armour. "Let''s bash some goblin''s skulls Master." Milk looked a little too sinister to be an acolyte. If one had not known her, they might that she was a fraud. Jin nodded and unsheathed his sword from his scabbard. . . Chapter 4: Grade 2 Meant Something Jin did not have a cultivation technique, which was unlike most of the Grade 2 cultivators. His grandfather Ming had noted that Jin had a great cultivation potential but even with his years of experience in the army, Ming could not find a suitable and decent cultivation technique for him. Hence, under Ming''s tutelage, Jin trained by taking bits from a variety of cultivation manuals and martial arts to strengthen his body and his senses. He increased his speed through the teachings of the Leopard Pounce Style, bolstered his strength through the Robust Bull Style and gained heightened sense from the Playful Platypus Style. His potential and hard work allowed him to move into Grade 2 when his body tempering of various styles showed its effect. The weakness of such mixture of styles is that Jin could reach Grade 2, at most Grade 3. Ming decided to do this was to give Jin a strong foundation before he took on a cultivation worthy of his potential. Unfortunately, Ming passed away before he could fully research on a good cultivation manual for Jin to use. With his senses heightened from the Playful Platypus style, he was able to deduce that the goblins were tired and looking for a place to rest. If they strike now, he might have an advantage against them. He did not know whether the goblins themselves had cultivation or not since anything was possible. Regardless, he moved forward using the steps of a leopard and with a goblin in sight, he struck his sword down. Two slightly blurry beige coloured human silhouettes appeared behind Jin as he struck his sword against the unaware goblin. The number of silhouettes showed the grade Jin was in. The colour of silhouettes showed the degree of strength Jin had in that particular grade and the human silhouettes indicated the type of cultivation Jin was using. Since Jin was not using any, his powers indicated a human silhouette instead. If a cultivator used a Tiger cultivation technique at the peak of Grade 2, the user is able to show two lively tigers with highly defined coloured silhouettes. Something similar to an image seen in 4K HDR resolution. Likewise, if a cultivator just reached and obtained a Grade 2 cultivation level using the Snake cultivation technique, two snakes silhouettes will appear but they would appear extremely grainy, blurred and in black and white. Hence in a Grade itself, there was some degree of power difference which the cultivators differentiated themselves. To his surprise, the goblin nearly died from the sudden ambush and its pulse turned very weak in an instant. "Quickly Jin! Throw the phone at it! Do not let it die out!" Yun shouted within Jin''s head. In a reflex move, Jin threw the phone at the dying goblin. Yun managed to switch the phone''s app in time to "Hunt! Hunt!" If one could look properly at the starting screen as Jin threw the phone, a panda wore a survival hat carrying a net was shown in it. The phone hit the dying goblin and the goblin was absorbed into the phone. The screen suddenly showed a loading progress bar. "Taming in process, please hold." The bar continued to be filled until it reached 100%. "Captured complete, please view Monster Card." The phone immediately flew back to Jin and he looked at the startled four goblins left. One was a spear wielder, a crossbow user, a cloaked goblin and a goblin carrying a bunch of items. "Mission complete, do you wish to stay on longer to complete the optional objectives?" Yun asked objectively. "Let me try those optional ones." Jin was getting pumped up. It was a long time he felt this way. The spear goblin went forth and gave a strong thrust towards Jin but he was able to dodge it barely in time. "Looks like I really lacked the practice." Jin took a step forward using the Leopard pounce and hit the spear goblin with the hilt of the sword with his right hand. He managed to stun it for a second, hence taking the chance to disarm the goblin by pulling the spear with his left hand. Jin suddenly sensed a projectile coming towards him so he hid behind the spear goblin using it as a shield. Despite being in pain, the spear goblin took this opportunity to bite into Jin''s left shoulder. He shouted with some agony but continued his actions. He knew if he died here, it would just be so shameful as a Grade 2. Jin, therefore, gathered his strength via the Robust Bull Style and plunged the Grade 1 iron sword into the goblin with the two human silhouettes appearing behind him again. Jin let go of the spear that he was trying to disarm and pulled his handphone from the side of his waist pouch. He gathered his strength and punched the goblin with his left hand that held the handphone. The handphone app was remotely controlled by Yun so she once again activated the capture. The goblin was eventually captured by the phone again and the taming process was successful. "Three more¡­! Wait where did the cloaked goblin go?" Jin suddenly felt an intent to kill from behind. He quickly turned his body and through basic electroreception training he had from the Playful Platypus Style, he estimated where the attack was coming from. -Clink!- Jin noticed that the cloaked goblin was masked as he saw some green liquid came off from the dagger when it collided with the sword. "Poison!?" Jin staggered a little and the dagger goblin stepped backwards and later lost into the forest. "Master, Heal up!" Milk finished casting from her book and a sphere with an aura of healing was generated in front of Jin. As long as Jin was around it, he would receive boosted regeneration. Jin noticed his fatigue was slightly removed and the bite wound he received from the goblin closed up. The dagger goblin noticed that Jin was not the only one around and the battle could have been won if not for the assistance of Milk. Hence, it quickly changed its target to Milk and dashed towards her. Milk on the hand was not afraid as if she was expecting the attack. Jin realised his Leopard Style was not fast enough to even catch a goblin without cultivation but Milk had a "Leave it to me Master" kind of face. True enough, as the dagger goblin pounced towards Milk, a light barrier stopped the goblin with the poisoned daggers in its track. Milk had cast ''Holy Shield'' before casting ''Minor Healing'' towards Jin. Milk then took the book she was holding and bashed it into the dagger goblin''s head. To Jin''s amazement, two highly defined coloured angel silhouettes appeared behind Milk as she did that. An indent appeared in the dagger goblin''s head and the book was stained with blood and brain mass. Jin did not forget and immediately threw the phone towards the goblin. The goblin was successfully captured and tamed in an instant. "Optional Objectives completed, initiating the return," Yun said in Jin''s head and he disappeared right before an incoming crossbow arrow missed its target. When Jin opened his eyes and found that he was back at the house, he was panting a little and found his clothes stained with some blood. Milk looked at her book that still had some of the goblin''s brain on it. "Master, since the hunt is done do call me again when you need my help! I had fun!" Milk touched the handphone that Jin was holding and her presence was gone. "I guess being a high-level Grade 2 did mean something. I have to buck up more." Jin mumbled to himself. "Yes Jin, your performance was below expectations," Yun said in a straight voice. "Still, you completed your mission and I will issue you your rewards accordingly." . . Chapter 5: Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique "Please receive your rewards in your phone, Jin" Yun said to him in a little impatient tone. She seemed excited to let Jin get his rewards. Jin took out his phone again and realised that the phone was still sparkling clean. "Oh if you are wondering, yes the phone disinfect itself every five minutes. It''s a weird function but nonetheless, effective." Yun interjected her thoughts to Jin. Jin just continued on to unlock his phone and saw the panda holding two gift boxes waiting for him to open. He tapped on it and the screen turned black with prison bars emerging from the darkness of the screen. The bars started to crack and from the darkness, a card burst out from the cage. ******** Grade 1 Boss Monster Name: Eight Legged Mountain Boar Description: The Eight Legged Mountain Boar is a variant species of the Six Legged Mountain Boars that lived in the ancient Greater Sunda Islands in South East Asia. Fully grown boars are usually solitary in nature making them extremely aggressive in their territory. When near death, it has the capability to shed its body to walk on two legs and its final form looked like a humanoid with a pig head. It will use its tusks like a sabre weapon upon its shedding of skin. The tusks it grows have a high medicinal value capable of prolonging life. Grade 1 Difficulty: * * * * ********* He looked at the artwork of the card and read its abilities when he flipped the card on his phone. "How does this boss monster work in the dungeon setting?" Jin knew that most dungeon suppliers have a boss monster in a single instance due to the complexity of the dimension space. They can never truly send a series of monsters out into the dimension space especially when the dungeon suppliers these days relied on technology to create such spaces. Hence, instead of a continuous dungeon experience, the cultivators will come out of the dimension space upon victory and jump in again for the next fights. "I will explain more to you as you proceed to the next high priority mission. For now, view your next gift for completing your optional objective!" Yun said with thrill. Jin felt curious as to why Yun felt this way and he did what he was told again. As he tapped on the last gift box, the phone seemed to be downloading a large data file. When it finished downloading, a new app appeared on the top of the phone menu. "Cultivation" was the name of the app''s name and he tapped on it to open. A panda doing the tai chi pose was its starting screen and when it loaded, a single document titled "Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique" was in the list. "The initial Panda technique was researched by your grandfather. Although it was incomplete, the System had compiled and analysed sufficient cultivation manuals through your grandfather''s database from the military. Hence the creation of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique. It has a 99.5% compatibility with your current cultivation potential." Jin casually looked through the contents of the cultivation manual of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique. There were instructions and pictures accompanying the instructions. Within the manual, he also found the teachings of the Playful Platypus, Robust Bull and Leopard Pounce styles. It was indeed compatible with what he had learnt. "For completing the optional objectives of this current mission, this is way more rewarding than the main objectives! What if I had skipped the optional objective, does that mean I would have lost such a valuable item?" Jin could hear Yun laughing for some time before she started to talk. "That was exactly the same thing I told Ming when he passed this to me. The cultivation technique was one of your inheritances passed down by Ming via the System. However, he does not want you to get it just by completing a mission. He wants you to work the extra mile for these missions and made you understand the optional objectives are just as important as the main missions." "But I do not cut corners! ¡­well not that much." Jin realised his grandfather knew about his occasional skiving. "It is true, but now that you are going to become your own boss, having your own shop. It is important to respect your customers by giving them the best quality. That is how you become number one." At this point, Jin''s stomach growled and he decided to walk to the Tiangong Shopping District to grab a bite for his dinner. He definitely remembered to change his bloodstained clothes before moving to the Tiangong Shopping District. He was a little excited with all the new developments he had in one day that he just ordered a Wacdonalds meal for a quick bite in order to get back into this dungeon supplier business as soon as possible. While he was eating, he slowly scrolled through the goblin cards he captured. ******** Grade 1 Monster Name: Goblin (Spear) Description: It is a goblin, what kind of explanation do you want? You should have seen enough novels or games to know about them! Fine, the goblin is an adapt spear user in its world, let it fight enough and perhaps it will learn some tricks from the other cultivators. Grade 1 Difficulty: * * ******** "What is this description?" Jin nearly choked on his fries as he read the card. "You can skive does not mean I can''t do that either!" Yun sent a pouting emoji through his phone as if she pouted at the food Jin was eating. "Oh, grandfather did say that you adored fast food a lot and yet you can still maintain your slim figure," Jin recalled. "In any case, all of your monsters are able to upgrade themselves and subsequently lower their grades when necessary against lower level cultivators," Yun replied. "So they are like those traditional role-playing games where instead of me training them, it''s the cultivators that are training them while they are fighting to train themselves up? That is so wicked!" Jin sipped on his soda grinning. "Of course! What other dungeon suppliers have are scripted monsters or monsters created from limited experience. The monsters you have are real living ones which will be resurrected by the System each time they die. Regardless, they will remain loyal like how the bellators are strictly loyal only to you. This is the rule of the System that they can never break once they were captured." Yun continued her talking. "I am indeed looking forward to them." Jin quickly browsed through the sword goblin and the dagger goblin and reopened the Missions app, ********* Mission 2: "Get your store up and running!" Take a look at your plot of land. With the aid of the System, get your permit, call the construction workers in and redesign via the limits of the System. Optional Objective: Get a Panda standee suitable for your shop without the aid of the System. Rewards: Custom-made Dimension Space Portal Machine ******** "What is with this obsession of Pandas¡­" Jin placed his handphone on his forehead and tapped his forehead with it a few times. "Ming said you always loved carrying that Panda soft toy around the house when you were young. You were extremely mad with him when the babysitter he hired for a day accidentally throw away it with the garbage when you left it in the kitchen." "Ah¡­ Xiao Hei¡­" Jin really did had fond memories with his panda soft toy but he did not realise his grandfather took it to heart. It was the first toy Jin ever remembered having. He also vaguely remembered that Ming told him it was his parents that bought it for him before they were killed. Jin still liked pandas, but he thought it was a little childish at his age to get another soft toy. He guessed his grandfather wanted him to reminisce about the old days. After his burger set meal, he placed the tray at the return tray area and started to walk towards the plot of land that Ming bought for him. "Yun, how can I get the permit of a dungeon supplier? I thought you need to go through rigorous exams or be super rich to get a permit." "It''s done, you got a permit," Yun replied with the fullest confidence. "HUH?" Jin immediately received an email notification from the Business Association Affairs office of Shenzhen indicating that they had approved of his application to be a dungeon supplier. They will be sending the Dungeon Supplier Certification in two to three working days. "What just happened?!" "Magic. :)" Yun gave him a notification on his phone instead of telling him directly. The working wonders of the System can never be estimated. . . Chapter 6: The Plot of Land "Yea, I could use some magic in my life right now." Jin bitterly laughed as he reached the derelict plot of land near the shopping street which Ming bought from. He had totally forgotten the existence of this humongous plot of land near the Tiangong Shopping District. It was in ruins from an arson and the previously abandoned building was still an eyesore to many. The Tiangong Shopping District had suffered a poor streak of business due to that particular plot of land since people had been avoiding it. The land was previously owned by a pachinko franchise business and they were earning a fair share of the money. One of the shopping street district store owners was rumoured to have frequented there and lost a great deal of money. Unable to pay his debts, the loan sharks and bank officers had been visiting his shop to get collect money. The ruckus enough for him to not earn any revenue and made his shop neighbours lost their customers too. The bankrupt store owner eventually became fed up with everything in life and decided that burning the pachinko was the best revenge he can get for ruining his life. Of course, it was his own fault but he did not wish to admit it at all. The funny thing is, the night he wished to burn the pachinko down, the pachinko boss was having an affair right in his office with his daughter. The store owner found out and decided to burn the boss, his daughter and himself to death on that very same night. Little did he know his precious daughter was actually ''sacrificing'' herself to get money from the pachinko boss to pay the debts of her father. Her father refused to believe her and set the whole place alight. The daughter and the boss tried to run away but the father had already locked and blocked all the exits, rendering their escape attempts useless. The boss tried to call 119 but luck had it that the phone battery died out the moment he had connected to the fire department. This was because he had been videoing the entire scene from the start of the affair until the time he tried to call 119. According to the uploaded cloud security camera playback, the daughter eventually gave up all her hatred for a moment and embraced her dad while both of them suffocated to death from inhaling the smoke. The boss struggled, trying to put the fire out with any extinguishers he could find but was killed by a falling ceiling, which he had cut corners with when building the store. Ever since then, the pachinko incident made the large plot of land undesirable. Anyone in the vicinity knew that the land was bad news. Some even said that the ghost of the store owner continued to live on in the place to haunt any newcomers. It was five years since then and the plot of land that was valued highly previously was at a new low. Many developers were itching to get this piece of cash cow land but they were scared of the history of it. So, no one had offered to buy it until Ming came along. Ming probably realised that with the help of the System, Jin might have a chance to strike big with this large plot of land and inadvertently helped revitalise the Tiangong Shopping District. Perhaps this might never happen but one can only try. "So Yun, how is the System going to help with this burnt piece of crap here. It probably needs days to clear all this junk and the reconstruction work will cost a hell lot of money. Aside from the locked inheritance, even the leftover money of 48,000ish Yuan in the bank, it is not enough to up a proper storefront." Jin had a very bad headache upon seeing this abandoned building. His phone vibrated, and the screen automatically shifted itself to ''Store Layout'' App. The starting screen was a panda wearing a construction hat and holding multiple rolls of blueprints near its chest, Jin was starting to get amused by the panda related starting screens. "Pick one of the three layouts provided by the System, I will do the rest for you while you keep yourself busy with the optional mission objective," Yun explained to him without revealing too many details. There were three layouts aptly named Layout A, B and C. The blueprints were similar except where the storefront was located at. At the west of the plot of land? Center of the land? Or east of the land? While Jin majored in computer engineering, he had dipped his feet wet into general engineering and civil engineering since his crush was in civil. Hence, he figured out the layout in the blueprints was sound minded after analysing them. There was not much a difference in the blueprint layouts as well so he decided to pick it at the west of the land which coincidentally faces one of the exits of the Tiangong Shopping District. At least, customers would see the shop as compared to the centre or the east where they were more secluded. He chose Layout A and a few pictures popped up. There were the options of the interior design for the store. He had been to many dungeon supplier stores so he already had a picture of what he wants in mind. Some were downright fanciful, others were just cluttered with weird junk to make it hippy. He decided to go with something clean and minimalist. Most dungeon suppliers had individual rooms for their customers'' privacy to battle but Jin had a deep impression of a dungeon supplier store in an outlying town area where the business owner places the dimension spaces in the open and had a magic eye overseeing the battles inside the dimension space. The magic eye then streamed the battle on the TV outside for people to view. This method help distract the customers waiting for their turn while allowing fellow cultivators to deduce battle tactics against the monster they were going to fight. In addition, it helped to create hype for the customers waiting. Jin explained to Yun his desires upon seeing that none of the interior layouts fits the criteria he wanted. "Hmm, what you wished for is indeed reasonable and within the budget of the System. Alright, I can approve of it. Here are the sample pictures of various interior designs of the criteria you mentioned to me." Yun said in his head. Jin excited looked at his phone again as the screen refreshes. After ten to fifteen minutes, He decided on a certain layout and tapped on the option. "Jin, you sure you want this layout? After today, you will not able to change your layout that easily unless you opt for a major renovation. Do you need more time to think about it?" "Yes, I decided to go with this." Jin subconsciously nodded his head to agree with Yun. The moment he agreed verbally, the Panda with the construction hat appeared again and bowed towards Jin. A small text bubble appeared on top of the panda "Thank you for your patronage." Suddenly construction related barricades like acoustic echo barriers fell from the skies without a single sound onto the plot of land. The echo barriers covered the whole plot of land and were at least fifty meters tall. If Jin had been there to witness it, he might have thought he had become insane. He quickly looked around to see if anyone saw the same event he did. To his surprise, there was no one around despite the late evening probably due to the poor business in Tiangong Shopping District. "Jin, come back tomorrow. Have a good shower and rest, you will have busy days ahead. I think. Hahaha!" Yun gave a cheeky emoji smile. . . Chapter 7: Store Open! Part 1 The digital alarm on his phone rang at 6 am for Jin. He woke up a little groggy, made his bed and did two sets of 25 push-ups to start the day. It was his usual routine to maintain his physique. After a few slices of toasted bread with jam, he went to the printer to check on the status of his panda print for the standee. The system did not state that it had to be a human-sized standee so with some materials lying in the house, he decided to do a standee himself without incurring any additional cost. Hence, he used quality paper that was left over from his final year project in university and made a lazy panda standee with inspiration from his cultivation manual. "Jin, the shop reconstruction was completed at 4.49 am. The echo barriers had been taken away." Yun notified him through his phone as she did not want to disturb Jin''s building of the lazy panda standee. Jin gave a little bit more glue and while waiting for the standee to dry, he checked his phone. "Alright, thanks Yun, I will get going soon." He wore something a little more formal than usual, a simple shirt and brown pants, before leaving the house with the plastic bag that contained the lazy panda standee. His house was just a few hundred meters away from the shopping district and in 10 minutes, he was able to reach the shop. When he reached the plot of land, he was bewildered. The entire burnt abandoned building was gone. There was a small park erected within the new plot of land with several stone chairs and tables. A few trees and bamboo were planted in the small park as well right beside the store. Shopkeepers and people who were used to Tiangong Shopping street were stunned by the overnight removal of the abandoned pachinko building. Some even praised the heavens for someone daring enough to remove such a bad omen away from the Tiangong shopping street. The exterior of the store amazed him, it did not have any modern vibe to it, but rather the sense of a traditional shophouse with three stories. The shutters were closed and there was a door with an electronic lock at the side of the shutters. "Use your phone to unlock the door." The lock gave a short beep and Jin went into the shophouse. Lights were immediately turned on via smart sensors the moment Jin went in. The interior was the exact opposite of the traditional shophouse. The shop had a very clean, bright, minimalistic look with a mahogany redwood bar counter at the centre with full grained leather bar stools that could swivel in the middle of the room. At each side of the room, there were two 49-inch 16K HDR TVs mounted on the wall. A total of four TVs at the moment but the store itself could seem to accommodate another six more TVs. He copied the concept he got from the outlying towns'' dungeon supplier stores. When the customer is in the dimension space, people outside can view it. He had the bar concept to provide some form of refreshments to hopefully earn some money while his customers wait for their turn. "Before we proceed any further, I have already rewarded you your custom-made dimensional space portal machine, it is at the side of the bar counter." Jin noticed the machine was actually just a simple looking computer. "I modelled it to look like a computer so it would not take up too much space, unlike those models you saw in the current dungeon suppliers. I am also giving you functions of a workable computer too." Yun said as if she took pride in what she did. "The Custom-made Dimension Space portal machine, or as I aptly named it Panda Port will provide dimensional spaces to four stations as situated in front of the 4 TVs. Rent your customers these dog tags. As long as they stay in front of the TV with the tags on when the summoning circle appears, they will be teleported into the system." "There are a few things I need to explain before you can officially open the store. So either listen up or read the email that I am going to send you." Yun became stern. "The first floor is where the dimension space portals are. 2nd floor is the resting area if they ever get defeated. You are responsible for bringing the unconscious up for them to rest when they are out of the dimension space portals." "Unlike other suppliers, the system induced a certain amount of extremely pure chi energy in the dog tags so if they were defeated, the emergency chi energy will activate and save their lives. They will only be unconscious for five to ten minutes before they wake up regardless of grades." "As you have noticed, there are currently neither drinks nor food available at the counter, you need to unlock them yourself. I will provide you with plain water. You are not allowed to bring any external food produce or refreshments for I will provide them when the time comes." "But I am not aiming to be a chef, I want to be a dunge-" Jin was interrupted when he interrupted Yun. "A number one dungeon supplier who knows the needs of his customer. If they want to eat in here, they have to pay for a dungeon ticket because this is the business of a dungeon supplier. Each dungeon ticket entitles them panda credit via their phone. The panda credit allows them to buy drinks and food from you. No more, no less. No refillable less plain water." "A cooking permit application had already been approved and will be sending to your shop soon." "Wait let me guess, the plain water must be extraordinary if you are providing them," Jin remembered the gourmet fantasy novels. "No, from your standard tap water, perhaps more purified. That''s all." "Guess I was expecting too much." Jin sighed. "I was actually joking, yes it is the purest water from deepest springs of the Aqua world where mermaids and merman lived." Yuna chuckled. "Anyways, the price for a dungeon ticket cannot be changed. All revenue earned will be taken and charged to the system. I will give you a straight 5% cut of everything until you increase dungeon supplier rank." "5%?! " Jin sighed and reluctantly accepted. He knew there was no free lunch in the world. All the reconstruction work, the beautiful layout in the interior and even the phone was not given for free. No wonder he initially felt that the system was being so generous. "Wait, what is this dungeon supplier rank? I never heard of it before." "It is the system''s way of ranking you, pitting you against the entire world''s dungeon suppliers. Right now, you are in the rank of the hundreds of thousands. To be more precise. Rank 954,885 dungeon supplier. Work hard to be the number one okay? I love you Jin." Yun sent a blow kiss emoji towards him. "Oh, we digress. The third floor is the personal viewing room. The customer can pay a sum of money to view his video progress with slow-motion playback, zoom in zoom out function and viewing it on a 360 degrees hologram using the commands of simple hand or voice gestures. In order to improve, you need to know your own weakness and study the enemy''s strength. There are only ten rooms and with the number of rooms limited, it''s first come first serve. Alternatively, customers can download a HD video for 5 Yuan." As Jin acknowledged Yun in his head, he turned on the computer. He happened to find a menu of the store with a single dungeon instance on it currently. As he looked at the price, he felt his heart drop. "Goblin Dungeon Instance ¨C 245 Yuan" . . Chapter 8: Store Open! Part 2 "245 Yuan?! Most dungeon suppliers have their lowest level instance at 50 Yuan or so. Who will want to play here?!" Jin tried to be calm but he was super agitated. He knew the market forces in China did not work this way. This was not a food store but a service store, and if placed at such high prices, who will even want to come here to play? The Tiangong Shopping District is meant for the lower and middle-income classes in the neighbourhood and most of the place was only mildly developed. Granted, the major businesses and commercial company buildings were about a station away and even one of the biggest Multinational Companies in China, Huawee was around the corner from Tiangong Station. The telecommunications giant located their ''smart city'' headquarters a few bus stops from Tiangong District, making it ideal for people who wish to have a break from the busy life to come to Tiangong Shopping District. "Trust me, they will come again after trying it once." Yun gave a sly emoji and comforted Jin to relax. "Alright, I will trust you. Anything else I should know?" Jin placed the lazy panda standee near the Panda Port. "You have completed the optional objective, we will issue your reward now." The Panda Port started to glow and a few metal objects grew out of the Port. Jin was no longer stunned by such actions, just viewing it with amazement. Jin recognised the objects and placed them in suitable places. "The Panda Port has the full functionality of a high spec PC, monitors your shop cameras and the dimension spaces if necessary. It also has the function of cashier port and provides high speed secured VPN wifi for your customers. Of course, the System will notify you if their logs show that they are doing something illegal." "With the advanced cashier port, they can use MeChat or BaliPay, credit card or cash to pay. All modes of cash are allowed and all foreign currency is allowed too. The issuance of Panda Credits will be done by the cashier port too. It will automatically be added as personalised credits in their respective e-wallets." "Yun, I am surprised. For a system, it can be quite accommodating towards modern technology." "Jin, as long as you achieved the goal of being number one dungeon supplier, the System will do anything for you¡­ for a price :P" Yun became a little playful. It was nearing 11 am and Jin had scouted all the rooms, learned the basics of the functions in Panda Port, created a dungeon instance, joined one and subsequently exited so that it was easier to explain to his customers. He would be a laughing stock if he did not know anything and still called himself the boss of this area. Although technically, the System was the boss and he was just the front. "I shall take quickly grab a meal at Wacdonalds before I officially start the business. Can''t start with an empty stomach." He ordered his usual set meal and gobbled everything down before he returned to the store. Some of the store owners managed to catch a glimpse of the mysterious owner that suddenly created a storefront over a night. Either he is super rich or well connected to pull such strings to get everything done so quickly. They wondered what shop it was since there was no store sign at the moment. Jin did not realise any of this and entered his store to prepare the opening of it. He hoped to open it during lunch time so at least someone might come in. He was not expecting much but nevertheless had some hope. "Jin, place your phone near the Panda Port to transfer the monster cards for synchronisation." "I am surprised, they cannot synchronise wirelessly?" Jin asked. "There is one or two bugs that the System had not been able to sort out so I do not wish to bring it out. Bad for the end user." "I get what you mean, no worries. Maybe I can help." Jin laughed a little while placing his phone near the Panda Port for it to synchronise with the phone. "You are all set, Jin. Go ahead and open the shutters." Jin took in a huge breath and with his heart beating fast, he opened the shutters of his shop. The store is officially open~! With the shutters lifted, there were already a few high school students looking around the shopping area to chill and relax. "Hey Bu Dong, check it out, the new shop we saw in the morning before heading to school is now open." Yue Han pointed to Bu Dong towards the direction of the shop. "Looks like an eatery or bar? Man but I want to play something, the test just now stressed me out." Bu Dong sighed a little. "Let us check it out first before we head to the usual dungeon supplier hangout." "That supplier again? His monsters are boring, what Blazing Phoenix? I managed to beat that fried chicken in less than five minutes." Jin just started to turn on the televisions on the side of the wall to prepare for guest with his phone via the ''Store Layout'' app when he suddenly saw two high school kids coming towards the store. He recognised the uniform as being one of the high schools around the neighbourhood but he had forgotten the name momentarily. Bu Dong greeted the young man turning on the TV. He saw a menu appearing on the TV with the words "Goblin Dungeon Instance." Yue Han got a little curious too and asked, "Dungeon Supplier?" Jin nodded and replied. "I only have one instance at the moment as my products are still being prepared. The basic facilities are working so I am opening the store early." Bu Dong got a bit excited that a new dungeon supplier is in the hood but shocked when he saw the price. "245 Yuan?! Are you ripping me off? Are they not just goblins?" Jin needed to pull himself up as a little snobbish towards the customers. If he bowed down, his customers will take advantage of him. "Try them yourselves and you will understand." "We are not stupid, Mister. Besides we are in Grade 2, no matter how superior a Grade 1 can be, they will not be able to win a Grade 2. Bu Dong, let''s leave from this scammer." Yue Han smelled something amiss and tried to bring Bu Dong away from this place. However, Bu Dong did not move away. "Mister, if we win, any rewards?" "The rewards are still pending shipping. You can collect our in-house credits first before the rewards shipped over." Jin lied coolly as he pretended to type on the phone to reply to a message. However, in actual fact, he was panicking and typing to ask Yun for help. "Will there be rewards?" "Rewards need to be unlocked too! ???? " Yun added a playful emoji. "Hey Bu Dong Bro, you sure about this? No matter how I see this, it feels like he is a bartender with a dungeon supplier permit. His monsters probably are not worth fighting. He is charging high because this place looks like a place for hippies." Yue Han sweat a little seeing how his best buddy is having a moment of stubbornness. The pending shipping issue felt like a red flag too. "Its okay, Yue Han, I happened to win a decent bet in the previous dungeon supplier, I got some money to spare. Mister, let''s do this. Where do I pay?" Bu Dong took out his phone and was ready to try something new. He was confident he was going to win and started to think of ways to brag how easy it was against the new dungeon supplier. "You can pay here with your preferred mode of payment." Jin gave the laziest poker face he can make. Bu Dong placed his phone on the cashier port and a beep was heard. He checked his e-wallet and saw his e-cash was deducted by 245 Yuan. He also saw that he received an equivalent amount of customised credits called Panda Credits. "The Panda Credits can use to purchase food or refreshments in the future when you patronise this place again or you can use it to purchase items from the vending machine on the second floor when you regain your consciousness." Jin scouted the area and saw drinks and snacks vending machine on the second floor along with lounge chairs equipped with state of the art health monitoring equipment. The Panda Port machine imprinted Bu Dong''s name on a metal dog tag upon receiving payment and Jin gave Bu Dong the tag once completed. "Use this tag to activate the dimensional space at Station 1. Return it when you are done." Bu Dong observed the dog tag and saw his name on the front of the tag. At the back of the tag, he saw a few details like zero dungeons won, zero dungeons lost, Cultivation Grade yet to be determined. "You can see him fight using the TV here." Jin offered the empty bar stool directly facing Station 1 to Yue Han. Yue Han thanked him and placed his school bag at the top of the bar counter and see Bu Dong activate the dimensional space in front of the TV. The TV instructed Bu Dong to wear the tag and started to show the countdown. Bu Dong stretched a little when the dimension space teleported him into it. "First customer. Let''s see how effective those goblins are." Jin smiled . . Chapter 9: First Customer The smell of early morning dew. The quality of air was pure and fresh. The trees swayed slightly with the blow of a gentle wind. Bu Dong was extremely surprised because of how well simulated the dimension space was. Judging from the environment itself, he can say that the money was half worth it to just experience something new. Everything felt more lifelike than reality itself. If he was not here for a fight, he might even have taken a stroll in the sparse woods occasionally to get out of the cramped city environment. There were even the activities of insects and wild birds to complement the scenery. Bu Dong was genuinely impressed by the dimension space itself. One must be extremely skilled in his current cultivation grade to create something so lifelike. The past dungeon suppliers he had patronised did not even bother to put in any consideration into the environment unlike Jin''s and only gave a stock environment scene to have them fight the monsters they chose. The most those dungeon suppliers did was to create a few obstacles so that the customers could hide or use it to disrupt the monster. Meanwhile, Yue Han was amazed by the TV viewing when Bu Dong joined the dimension space. He had heard of dungeon suppliers using a magic eye to observe the battle to stream onto a TV. However, for this new shop, it did not feel like a magic eye observation at all. It seemed as if an entire professional film crew was following Bu Dong because the camera angles were perfect. It also switched views to get the most cinematic scene, making it a treat to just watch Bu Dong moving around the dimension space. It could not be better with the 16K HDR resolution TV. The stream output to the display was fantastic to look at. Bu Dong at this moment heard a few cracking sounds and withdrew his sword from his storage ring. Cultivators at this modern age still used rings, watches, earrings, other accessories, and even phones to store their items. However, they got a little expensive for most cultivators to get despite the advances in technology. Able to obtain one literally showed that the person or their family was fairly wealthy. Bu Dong did not bother about anything and charged straight towards the cracking sounds. When he reached the area, there were no monsters around. Was the environment too real that he might have heard the woods rather than the goblins? He observed the area carefully this time around and took a step forward. Unfortunately, that next step caused him to suddenly lose his balance and fall into a hole with wooden spikes. It was a trap made by the goblins! Bu Dong cried in pain as the wooden spike pierced his feet. He had never felt such pain in his entire life before, it was too real for a dimension space. With its victim falling for the trap, the spear goblin went nearer and gave a stab in the back of Bu Dong''s shoulder. The goblin even twisted the spear to inflict more pain before pulling it out to throw in another stab. However, Bu Dong managed to parry the second thrust with his sword. Bu Dong''s heart for the first time felt real fear and so did Yue Han when he watched his friend wallow in pain. "Hey! Mister! What the fuck is this?! Should this not be a dungeon instance and not a torture chamber?" Jin was stunned by the developments of the whole situation as well. However, he gave a lazy look and said, "Precisely, this is a dungeon instance." "Then let me in now!" Yue Han could not stand the sight of his buddy being left in a lurch. He took out his phone and started waving it towards him. "I am sorry, shop policies. Once the dungeon started, no one else can go in. He either has to finish it or forfeit." Jin gave a strict order. The system did not deny him allowing other guests to go in during a fight but Jin was being true to the origins of a dungeon supplier. The current dungeon suppliers cared about money and not the experience of a fight. "Damn man, can I at least tell him about the dangers?" Yue Han''s plea was ignored as Jin slightly shake his head in response to him. Bu Dong''s fear was accumulating, thinking that he was really going to die for the first time. He had been conquering dungeon instances as a hobby and had never been defeated. How could he face his friends when they found out he lost to a few Grade 1 monsters and they were just goblins! Feeling that he could not stand the humiliation, he released a burst of strength using his cultivation, Angry Ape Style, and jump out of the trap. Little did he know that the enemy seemed to be anticipating that and from the trees, the dagger goblin intercepted Bu Dong''s path. A sharp jab to the waist made Bu Dong do a reflexive counterattack against the goblin and he plunged his sword into the dagger goblin. The dagger goblin knew he would be fighting to his death and with his remaining strength, he shaft another dagger into Bu Dong''s abdomen. Bu Dong and the goblin fell to the ground with a loud thud. At this point, the sword goblin ambushed and struck Bu Dong from his blind spot, giving him a swift death. "Dungeon Instance lost at Station 1." A lady announcer''s voice who sounded like Yun echoed throughout the shop and Bu Dong returned to the place where he was once teleported from. The wounds on him were completely gone in accordance with the dimensional space''s rules but he was still rendered unconscious. Jin walked out from behind his bar counter and carried the high school kid up to the second floor. Yue Han, with a bitter expression, carried his backpack and Bu Dong''s to the second floor too. Jin placed him on the nearest lounge chair and strapped the pulse oximetry onto Bu Dong. His breathing and pulse were within an acceptable range. "Should I call the dungeon supplier''s non-emergency service to bring him back home? How long will he be unconscious? 2 days? 1 night?" Yue Han asked Jin with some worry on his face. "No need, my dimension space is advanced enough. He should be awake within 10 to 15 minutes. Please ask him to return the dog tag back when he wakes up. Else it will start beeping loudly when you get it out of the store premises." Jin started to walk back towards the bar counter when Yue Han spoke out. "I will return it for him." Yue Han took the dog tag out and noticed the details on Bu Dong''s dog tag. ********* Bu Dong -Dungeon Won:0- -Dungeon Lost:1- -Cultivation Grade:2- ********* He was amazed the metal changed the stats of Bu Dong''s status. He heard of such magical metal that could be rewritten, restamped, or imprinted again but this was the first time he saw it with his own eyes. "Thank you for patronising my shop." Jin has yet to think of a name for his shop. He took the dog tag that Yue Han gave before he started walking back to the first floor. Jin returned the dog tag back into the Panda Port and a spreadsheet programme was created within the Panda Port''s PC. "Jin, the customer database has been created and the dog tag is placed in a secured place." Yun gave a smiley face. "Congratulations for getting your first customer. Please check your mission app for future missions!" . . Chapter 10: Unwilling To Concede Bu Dong slowly opened his eyes. His head was in a little mess. "You alright bro?" Yue Han was drinking a beverage and he offered it to him. "Have a drink. Its taste is quite refreshing." Bu Dong took the offer and swallowed it. He felt a little more revitalised and asked. "Where did you get this from? I did not see this panda soda brand before." "It''s from the vending machine over there. I used your phone credits to get it. Apparently, it does not accept anything except the credits this weird store uses." Yue Han grabbed the drink from his buddy and drank a little more. "Oh my gosh Yue Han, how did you know my password?" "So simple, everyone, even the cleaner, knows that you have liked Xing Li for the longest time ever. Hence, your password is definitely her birthday. I do not know whether she is just that oblivious towards you or she was is pretending." Bu Dong asked Yue Han to pass the drink back and lied down on the comfy lounge chair. He took a long look at the empty room. "How long was I out? A few hours? A night?" "Hahaha, if you can believe it. Only 10 minutes or so. Apparently, the boss said it had something to do with the advanced technology of his dimensional space. By the way, I saw the whole thing, you were trashed badly by a few goblins." "I think I managed to kill one though. This was way too unexpected. Everything felt too lifelike. It did not seem scripted too¡­ I mean that dagger goblin, he was really fighting as if it meant life and death for him." "This owner is not simple, I wonder what kind of experiences he went through to get such vivid clones of such monsters." Yue Han pondered loudly. "Maybe they are really real life monsters." Bu Dong joked. "That''s true, perhaps we can ask the ones in glass exhibits at the national museum of ancient humanoids. I think they have might have some clue." Yue Han suggested with sarcasm. Bu Dong kicked the stool his friend was sitting and Yue Han nearly fell because of that. "Regardless, this was really an eye-opener. The 245 Yuan was worth it. Also, I might be thinking a little too much but I feel that this dungeon instance stirs my cultivation a little." "You serious? Did you not say you are stuck in the peak of Grade 2 for some time?" "Yeah, I was a little shocked too when I managed to kill the dagger goblin. I felt that I gained some spirit force and it stirred within my Dantian." "Woah, can you imagine if you manage to defeat all three goblins? You might have a chance at a breakthrough." Yue Han pondered a little. Bu Dong sat up and drank the last bit of panda soda before throwing it in the recycling bin beside it. He signalled his pal to follow along and decided to ask the owner some questions. "Boss, thank you for the dungeon instance." Bu Dong thanked Jin as he walked down the stairs. Jin looked at him "Care for another go? There are currently no other customers yet." "Maybe tomorrow, I need to go back and heal my pride''s wound first." Bu Dong shamelessly acknowledged. "I will like to ask though, how many people can I bring for a dungeon instance?" "Maximum four, all of them need to pay before they can go in with you." "Any time duration per instance run?" "Standard fifteen minutes, but time decelerates in the dimension space. Should be at most three hours in there. Additional extra time played will be charge per five minutes on Earth." "If that''s the case when I am watching the play on TV?" Yue Han questioned. "The highlights of the instance. Do not worry, the magic eye technology of mine is powerful enough to make the transition of important highlights smooth. Also if you wish to watch your dungeon playback, you can rent a playback room for 50 Yuan and it includes a video link which you can download from our servers." "Else you can buy your video in full HD for 5 Yuan. You can keep it for study purposes or you can upload it for streaming purposes or whatever. The link will be sent via your phone account once you make the payment." "Boss, what is your name?" Bu Dong initiated the question. "Jin." "Boss Jin, I would like to reserve a place tomorrow to play." "No reservations allowed, first come first serve." This time round, it was not Jin''s rules but the System''s. "Heh, you are so inflexible, unlike your monsters. I would like to have one of my playbacks." Bu Dong laughed. For some reason, he was starting to respect the new owner for creating such a challenge for him. "That will be 5 Yuan and thank you for patronising the store," Jin confirmed the payment and Panda Port did everything else. Bu Dong and Yue Han finally left the store. "You sure, you are coming back again tomorrow?" "Why not? You saw how devious those goblins were. It has been a long time since I felt excited about something again. Besides, if his monsters can really stir my cultivation, I think it''s a worthy investment." "Anyways, call your elder sister to join us. I remember she is a Grade 2 Peak specialised in healing? She will be a great help. I will try and contact Kong Xian." "Haha, are you paying for us? She might not be willing to play if she has to pay and I need to convince her too." "Ahhh fine, fine. I will pay for the four of us, then can you get Kong Xian too." "I will be glad to render my services, Mr Rich boy. Also, I guess you are relying on Kong Xian to shield us?" "Yea, judging from the dungeon instance, we need the holy trinity* to completely defeat it. Besides, I think that Boss Jin is not an easy person. The dungeon instance might not be as easy as killing those three goblins." The rest of the day was rather quiet, no one was eager to try to enter the new shop. There were some loiterers that looked at the store but had no courage to go in. "I guess this is the effect of the accursed plot of land. No matter, this gives me time to read my cultivation manual and take a look at the Mission app." The mission app has updated various missions for him to choose. There was no high importance mission at the moment so he decided to choose one that does not have a time limit. ******** Mission: Learn the cultivation manual Mission objectives: strengthen your foundation core with the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Cultivation manual Secondary mission objectives: Learn a new move from the manual. Rewards: Pork Cutlet (Tonkatsu) Curry rice set and soda from the vending available on the first floor. ********* "Well, at least it''s not panda cutlet curry rice set." Jin opened the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique cultivation manual and read its contents. Apparently, the technique emphasis was leaning towards efficiency. Do not move unnecessarily unless you need to do so, like a panda who lies around the area doing nothing. A single finger strike should push the enemy away. A single palm strike would push the enemy to their knees begging for their lives. Strength and efficiency was the takeaway message from the cultivation manual. Jin decided to read and understand the Lazy Panda Swipe as much as possible. For dinner, he closed the shop for a while to grab a bite at a diner caf¨¦ in the Tiangong Shopping District to celebrate getting his first customer. As he went in, the shopkeeper greeted him and passed him the menu. Seeing that the rumoured new shop owner was in his shop, Shen Sifang could not help but ask. "Are you the new owner of the store at the end of the shopping street?" . . Chapter 11: Sleeping Works "Indeed I am, and I would like the all-day breakfast set," Jin ordered his food as he looked at the near empty diner caf¨¦. There was a granny drinking her tea with her grandson. The diner caf¨¦ itself had a cosy feeling to it. "Coming right up." Shen Si Fang personally cooked the dish and the years of experience could be seen through the speed and technique in cooking the all-day breakfast set. In less than 15 minutes, the order was ready and he personally served it to Jin. "Mind if I sit and talk to you? Oh, and this meal is on the house." Si Fang asked politely. "Sure, I do not really mind at all. Thank you for the food. Name''s Xie Jin, calling me Jin will be fine. It is a pleasure to meet you." Jin extended his hand for a handshake as Sifang placed the food on his table. "Shen Si Fang, owner of Lele Diner Caf¨¦." Sifang returned the courtesy and sat opposite of him. "Firstly, thank you for getting rid of that abandoned building that has been there for the longest time ever. The whole shopping street thanks you for having the guts to do so." Si Fang bowed his head a little as a sign of respect. "Although you are not part of Tiangong Shopping District, I would like to welcome you to our humble shopping district. I just so happened to be the head of the shopping street and I wanted to visit you tomorrow. It was a surprise for you to take the initiative instead." "I had no idea you were the head of the shopping street. I believe this was really a coincidence." Jin placed the scrambled egg into his mouth. It was soft and a little salty which was the way Jin happened to like it. Si Fang saw Jin''s expression and felt happy that his customer liked his food. "May I know what manner of shop you are opening?" "Dungeon supplier and ehh a bit of food and drinks as well in the future." Jin felt honesty is the way to go to create a proper business relationship. "Oh? That''s rather interesting. We do not have any dungeon suppliers and your shop might be the entertainment we sorely needed since the dreaded pachinko company. I look forward to your shop success so we can reap some rewards from it too!" Suddenly Si Fang realised what he said and quickly bowed his head a little again. "I apologise if I am too blunt." "Ah, you do not have to be. I too know this place has been in the dumps. If we can work and earn together, it is for the best." Jin did not really care much but decided to bootlick a little as he sipped the mushroom soup from the bowl. Boss Si was after all the head of the Tiangong Shopping District. Knowing such an acquaintance might help in the future. "We can help you spread the news of the opening of your shop. Perhaps some might even patronise it. I might do so too, I have neglected my cultivation for some time." Si Fang tried to salvage the conversation, thinking that Jin might have some bad first impression of him. "I will thank you for that in advance." Jin wiped his mouth with a piece of napkin provided. "Boss Si, thanks for the food, it was good." "Ah come again, I will provide you with a discount!" Shen Si Fang was slightly embarrassed that all he could talk to the newcomer about was business. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Sis Yue Wen, are you free tomorrow?" Yue Han was preparing the utensils for dinner when he decided to ask his elder sister Yue Wen about the dungeon instance. Yue Han had contacted Kong Xian earlier and he agreed the moment he heard Bu Dong was paying. "I have a class in the morning. Why?" Yue Wen was stir frying some vegetables when Yue Han questioned her. "Rich kid Bu Dong wants your help in a dungeon instance. He is asking Kong Xian to come as well." Yue Han took the bowls out from the drawer and started scooping the rice from the rice cooker. "Did he run into some difficult instance? It is really rare for Bu Dong to ask me for help." Yue Wen placed the cooked vegetables into a plate. "Yeah, remember the burnt pachinko building?" Yue Han waited for Yue Wen nodded before he continued. "Apparently this new shop owner bought the whole plot of land and he built a new shop overnight. When we took a look, it was actually a dungeon supplier." "Wow, he must be super rich to build a new shop overnight." Yue Wen started to put minced meat into the wok and started cooking again. "I am not sure about that, but his store is off the charts. The dungeon instance was crazy. The Grade 1 goblins literally wrecked Bu Dong." "Bu Dong lost?" Yue Wen nearly lost her concentration when cooking the minced meat. "Yeah, but the funny thing is, Boss Jin''s dimension space only rendered him unconscious for about 10 minutes or so. Bu Dong could even drink and walk afterwards with no side effects." "Wow, I studied a bit on the Dantian and the effects of the dimension space a little as part of my university module. Not many people can reduce the duration of unconsciousness and have no side effects at all. I truly am impressed if this is true." Yue Wen placed the cooked minced meat onto another plate. "Bu Dong is paying for your part since he asked you at the very last minute." "Sure, why not? I would like to personally see the store myself too. Now, let''s eat, Mom and Dad won''t be back home so early today." Yue Wen placed the wok in the kitchen sink and sat down with Yue Han as he continued his story about Boss Jin. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Jin opened his shop for another two hours before he closed it. As expected, some walk-ins took a look at the shop and saw the dungeon instance menu, calling it a ripoff. Some even shamelessly advised Jin to reconsider his prices. Jin''s response for every ''advice'' was unyielding and did not give in to any sort of pressure at all. He saw the experience of Bu Dong and became firm with the System''s decision. Besides, Yun told him that when Bu Dong killed a monster, he did earn a small amount of spiritual force which was beneficial for his cultivation. Jin decided to keep this a secret and let his customers find out themselves. "Yun, you said that my goblins can learn or level up as well. How does this work?" Jin walked home while checking the stats of his goblins and indeed saw some changes. The spear goblin had his strength increased while the dagger goblin had his dexterity increased. "They will slowly grow their stats attribute that is comparable to a Grade 2. The dagger goblin, for example, learned dagger mastery, allowing it to use daggers with more proficiency." Yun replied. "However, all these minor stats and abilities are not too much of a concern to you right now. You need to affirm your cultivation type as quickly as possible and gain cultivation grades so that you are able to find stronger monsters. As you grow in cultivation, so do your bellators. Take note of that." Jin acknowledged Yun''s advice and returned home to cultivate the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas technique. Unknowingly, he fell asleep deeply while trying to cultivate. Perhaps, he was not used to the new routine and the life he was currently having. Jin managed to wake up in time when his daily alarm rang and he found himself sitting cross legged. "Ah, I guess I fell asleep." Jin thought to himself. Suddenly, he felt that there was a change in his Dantian when he got up from his cultivation stance. Jin quickly summoned his strength and portrayed it out in the open. A loud lazy yawn was heard from behind him and as he looked up, he saw two panda silhouettes rolling around. "My cultivation type changed so quickly?!" Jin was a little flabbergasted by the turn of events. "Yes Jin, The cultivation manual preached efficiency. What is more efficient than cultivating when you are sleeping." Jin laughed and rolled on the floor holding on to his stomach. "Is that why this cultivation technique is called Lazy Astral Pandas? Hahahahahaha!" "Ming figured that you would be so tired with the constant care of your shop that you may neglect your cultivation. A day not at work equates to a day without revenue. Therefore, the cultivation technique he created for you allows you to cultivate while you sleep. Brilliant dad, isn''t he?" "I will put a joss stick and offer him some coffee at his altar later." Jin still could not believe it as he went to shower to kickstart the new day. . . Chapter 12: Tonkatsu Curry Rice Jin visited Lele Diner Cafe again for breakfast and started his work. This time, he did not take up the discount as suggested by Si Fang since Jin did not wish to owe Boss Si too much. There were no customers in the morning so Jin went to the small park beside his shop to practice his Lazy Panda Swipe move. Like the move suggested, the attack looked seemingly lazy but it requires careful coordination of the muscles as the strength that pulsed through it was immense. "Yun, since I managed to change my cultivation type to Panda, is it possible to unlock a part of the rewards? If not, the shop may seem a little empty." Jin asked. "Sure, I will unlock the Tonkatsu (Pork cutlet) Curry Rice for you first, that way you do not always have to eat those rubbish Wacdonalds meals too." Yun contemplated a little before she answered Jin. "Awesome, do I really have to learn how to cook? I do not exactly have a kitchen¡­just a bar counter." Jin questioned when the panda with the gift box appeared in his phone again. "Not really, your main objective is to be a dungeon supplier. If you were aiming to be a chef, the System would have forced you to do everything from scratch. However, it does not hurt to learn some cooking!" Yun was a little angry with her tone. "Gee, I am sorry Yun." Jin wiped his sweat away after practising his new move. Yun began to sound more like a mother to him. "Hmph, you better be. Anyways, take a look at the bar counter and you will know where to get your food for your customers." Yun opened the store layout app for him and it automatically zoomed into the bar counter blueprint. Jin went back into the shop and checked the bar counter. When he opened the allocated cabinet, he saw a series of piping hot pork cutlets in an oven looking compartment. In the other cabinet, there was a ladle and a pot of nice smelling curry waiting to be scooped out. "Wow, this bar counter is magical too? Won''t the customers be suspicious since this bar is at the centre of the shop?" "You do not have to worry that much, as the bar counter is designed to hide its presence. Besides, most of your customers will be concentrating more on the instances." Yun made Jin speechless but he continued his tour around bar counter items found out where to obtain the plates, glasses and how to use the rice cooker and dishwasher. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Quickly, let''s get Kong Xian and head to Boss Jin''s shop!" Bu Dong quickly packed his belongings and hurried Yue Han the moment class ended. "Even if you hurry, Yue Wen will not be there until 1.30 pm!" Yue Han shook his head a little at Bu Dong''s hastiness. "It''s fine, we can discuss tactics a little when we reach there." Bu Dong argued back. "This is the first time I''ve seen you so pumped up. At least get lunch or something." Yue Han suggested to Bu Dong while they waited for Kong Xian at the school''s bus stop. "Didn''t Boss Jin say that he will be selling food items as well? Why don''t we go there to eat instead? At worst, we can eat at Lele Diner Caf¨¦." Bu Dong proposed the idea. "Hey guys, I brought my full kendo armour as requested. It is a pain to move things around though." Kong Xian arrived at the bus stop with his bag and a duffel bag full of equipment. "Hi Kong Xian and thanks, I will hold that for you." Bu Dong held onto Kong Xian''s duffel bag and it immediately transferred into Bu Dong''s storage ring. "You sure this dungeon supplier''s monsters were that hard that I even need to bring my official duelling equipment?" Kong Xian was a member of the school''s Kendo club and even represented the school''s team in tournaments. "You will understand when you fight, let''s go! The bus is here." Bu Dong knew it would be difficult to explain unless Kong Xian saw it for himself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- It was noon and Jin was about to prepare the tonkatsu curry rice for himself when a lady came in. "Is this the dungeon supplier store? Erm Boss Jin?" "Yes, I am Jin. How can I help you? Do you wish to enter a dungeon?" The short hair lady was dressed in her black sports attire and wore a thin layer jacket to cover her sports tank top. She went nearer to the bar counter to look at the cleanly laminated menu. "So what Yue Han said was true. This place is clearly a ripoff." Jin did not even bother to correct her but before he could say anything, she interrupted him once more. "One Goblin Dungeon Instance please." Jin blinked but showed her to the cashier port. "That will be 245 Yuan. Mode of payment?" "E-wallet." the lady smiled gently towards Jin. When the payment was done, she saw the new credits in her wallet. "Panda Credits?" "You can use this to buy food at the bar counter or refreshments on the second floor. There are some items still pending shipping so please bear with me a little. Also, here is your dog tag." Jin passed the customised dog tag to her and the food menu. "So that means I cannot buy food with real cash but only with Panda Credits?" The lady asked as she sat down and look at the menu. "Yes, the food here is meant for the cultivators who participates in the dungeon instances. This is not an eatery. I believe some dungeon suppliers out there are doing the exact same model too." "Ahh, I did not know that. I will get probably the only thing you have on your Menu." the lady giggled again. "Coming right up, please place your phone at the credit port in front of you." Jin poured a glass of spring water introduced by the System and placed it in front of her. The lady did what Jin told her and the Panda Credits went down to 45 credits. "Assuming, one credit is worth 1 Yuan, your curry rice cost 200 Yuan!" the lady was a little stunned when she looked at her phone. "Miss¡­your Tonkatsu Curry Rice is here." Jin ignored her words and passed her the curry rice. "Oh Sis, you are here early!" Yue Han shouted a little outside of Jin''s store but Yue Wen was a little preoccupied with the curry rice especially when the aroma of the curry was thick. "That''s rather fast, I assume it is pre made kind of curry ri-" The first bite made her stop talking. "Woah, Boss Jin, you serving curry rice? I want one!" Bu Dong saw Yue Wen chomping down on her tonkatsu curry rice. "Boss Jin, this curry rice is the best I have ever eaten!! Even the cup of water tastes so good!" Yue Wen gave a wide smile. Jin quietly asked Yun what was in the curry rice. "Ehh, the usual. The boar is from the family species of the six legged boars, the curry is a mix of spices obtained from top quality farms etc." Yun did not bother to say so much, Jin was not aiming to become a chef anyways. "Bu Dong, you know the drill." Yue Han ordered one Goblin Dungeon Instance and the rest followed. Bu Dong then transferred money to the rest as a promise to treat them for this dungeon instance. "Thanks, rich guy." the three others nearly said it simultaneously which made Bu Dong rolled his eyes a little. He and the rest then ordered the same as Yue Wen and started to discuss their strategy for the upcoming dungeon instance. Meanwhile, their plates were shamelessly licked clean, not a single drop of curry was left. Even Yue Wen cleaned her plate of curry but was more conscious of her actions than the high school boys. "Perhaps it was a mistake to sell food¡­" Jin quietly thought. . . Chapter 13: Rematch "Okay, let''s recap. Kong Xian in the front, Bu Dong and Yue Wen at the centre and I cover the rear?" Yue Han drank another cup of spring water, he was sweating a little from the anxiety and probably a little from the curry as well. "Yes, we cannot leave Yue Wen alone at the back in case of a rear assault, especially by that pesky goblin." Bu Dong was playing with his dog tag in his hands. "But you do not mind if I get stabbed at the back?" Yue Han shook his head. "Well, it makes sense to keep our best offensive player and the healer safe." Kong Xian retorted. "At least we can identify the goblins after Bu Dong showed us the video. It is still terrifying to see Bu Dong drop like a fly." Yue Wen interjected as she stretched a little. "Alright, let us gear up in case they attack the moment we teleport." All of them nodded and took out their weapons. Yue Han and Bu Dong assisted Kong Xian with his kendo armour and they stood at Station 1''s TV. After which, the three of them wore knee pads and elbow guards. "Eh before we go, how are we going to will handle our belongings in real life?" Yue Wen asked. "There are a few panda miniatures at the mounted shelves on the wall next to the TV. Present one of your dog tags close to it and it will activate the storage system. Please be considerate and use one miniature for the whole party!" Jin instructed them as he started to put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. "That''s quite an ingenious and cute idea for storage! Boss Jin seems to have a soft spot for pandas." Yue Wen took a look at the miniature but realised she was not able to take the panda out of the shelves even with some force. "I did not have a choice in this! Though I have to admit they are really cute." Jin thought quietly. The party of four placed their belongings into the panda miniature and the panda miniature glowed warmly to indicate that the storage place was taken. Will people be able to steal this? Bu Dong was curious but did not sound it out. He sort of trusted Boss Jin for all his quirkiness. "Ready guys?" The four raised their dog tags near the TV and once it confirmed the party of four, they were all teleported simultaneously without a hitch. While the commotion of the Bu Dong and others was going about, people that were loitering around the shop started to get interested. Some of the outside crowd were captured by the thick curry aroma. Some were looking at the four taking out their weapons and instantly knew this no name store was a dungeon supplier. Others waited for the four to be teleported to confirm their suspicion that this store was by a dungeon supplier. A few curious office workers started to walk in after their lunch to have a look at the interior of the well designed store. One of the office workers happened to look at the TV screen at Station 1 and saw that it was showing the live stream of the four youngsters who went into the dungeon instance. He beckoned the rest and they started to gather for interest sake. "Ohoho, things start to get interesting." Jin started the dishwasher as he saw the crowd got a little bigger around Station 1. Although the System disinfected the entire area every five minutes through whatever creepy technology it employed, Jin pretended to wipe the bar counter to eavesdrop the crowd''s conversations. "If only my house had such a cleaning function." Jin sighed a little. He was actually relieved that he did not have to constantly clean the store. "Jin, you lazy brat!" Yun gave an annoyed emoji text via his phone. The party of four teleported successfully into the forest instance. "Oh my gosh, the air is so fresh in here!" Yue Wen was astonished the same way Bu Dong got affected when he came here for the first time¡­ "Even the environment looks lusher than real life." Kong Xian went to touch the greenery around him. "As much as I would like to stroll around, we got goblins to hunt and kill." Bu Dong reminded the whole group. The others could not complain much since rich kid Bu paid for their expenses. They readied their weapons and Yue Han used his cultivation, the Blind Bat Style to start looking for the goblins. He climbed up a tree and started to whisper into midair. "I got a signal east of our position. They are moving slowly to our position with much caution." Yue Han carefully climbed down from the tree. "All three of them?" Kong Xian held his two handed giant sword the way he carried his bamboo sword. "I cannot be sure, but that''s the only signal I received and they are approaching towards us." Yue Han came down and unsheathed his sword. "Let''s move to the east, towards that clearing. At least, we might have some advantage in open space." Bu Dong commanded them and they move as a group. Their pacing matched with each other so they could cover each other''s back. "Is it the first time those kids are playing? Why are they so afraid of the monsters? The big guy is even wearing a Kendo armour." One of the crowd members laughed as he commented. "I saw the two high school kids come here yesterday, it seems that this is their second try." "Hey, I have seen that boy in the middle before! If I am not mistaken, he is Bu Dong!" The crowd quickly squinted their eyes after the office worker commented. Some immediately recognised him. "Isn''t Bu Dong the best in that ranking of the major dungeon supplier ''King''s Monsters'' in the commercial district?" "Yea, I heard he was the local champion for two consecutive years!" The chatter became more fervent and some even started to tweet in their group chats. It seems that Bu Dong was a local superstar in the field of dungeon supplier competitors that rarely made his appearance. Some said that his dad was a multi-millionaire but Bu Dong did not use much of his parent''s resources to be the best dungeon cultivator in the local scenes. "I saw movement in the bushes!" Bu Dong shouted as he made a vertical downward movement with his sword, producing a series of shockwaves towards the direction of the bushes. However, they did not know that this automatically created an opening for the goblins when the rest got distracted by the shockwave. The dagger goblin threw a dagger towards the largest one among them, Kong Xian but the dagger got reflected by the wooden kendo armour. It was previously reinforced with Armour Projections created by Kong Xian''s cultivation Towering Tortoise Style, making it very sturdy against sneak attacks. The dagger goblin shouted to provoke the cultivators but Bu Dong told them to stay calm in the clearing of the forest. "We have the numbers, they do not have the range and I wonder who will have the most patience." Bu Dong jeered at the dagger goblin. Within five minutes of waiting, the sword goblin surprisingly came out into the clearing first and signalled to Bu Dong as if he wants a one to one battle. "Remember Bu Dong, do not fall for their tricks!" Yue Han reminded as Bu Dong accepted the challenge. The other three slowly stepped away while keeping watch against the sneaking dagger goblin. The sword goblin brandished its sword around Bu Dong and rushed towards him. "Haha, you lost the moment you moved first." With two ape silhouettes shouting angrily on top of Bu Dong''s head, he parried the goblin''s sword with his Angry Ape Style and managed to gain an attack opportunity and struck towards the goblin''s heart. However, instead of trying to dodge the attack, the sword goblin simply went forward and Bu Dong''s attack went through! Bu Dong was able to kill a goblin this time round with ease. Or so he thought. The goblin dropped his sword and immediately held onto Bu Dong with whatever strength he had left. His trembling claws slowly sank into Bu Dong''s skin and it tried to bite him. Bu Dong tried to shake the goblin away, but little did he not know that at the side of him, a spear came not to pierce him but to swipe his legs, causing him to fall down. Bu Dong fell and his party members had their whole attention on him again. The perfect time for the dagger goblin to strike. Thankfully, Yue Han had the Blind Bat Style and he turned his back at the right moment to block the leap attack on Yue Wen. However, the dagger dug into Yue Han''s shoulder and to worsen Yue Han''s predicament, the daggers were poisoned. Yue Wen turned back and used her sword cane to push the dagger goblin away, but the dagger goblin was fast! It tumbled to evade the sword cane and it leapt into the air again, hoping to catch Yue Wen off guard. Suddenly, a large towering figure came swooping in and charged into the dagger goblin. The dagger goblin was knocked back a few meters. "Thank you Kong Xian!" Yue Wen caught her breath. "Do not thank me yet, make sure it is dead first!" Kong Xian rushed towards the staggered dagger goblin. When the party was handling the unexpected dagger goblin encounter, the spear goblin took the chance to stab into Bu Dong. Bu Dong, in the nick of time, used his left arm to block the spear thrust. "Arrgh!" He endured the pain of the spear going into his left arm and used his right arm to decapitate the struggling sword goblin. The spear goblin withdrew his spear from Bu Dong and tried to strike again. "Damn! The goblins are ruthless! Are they really Grade 1 goblins?!" The crowd started getting really wild. They had not seen such a heated battle against monsters for a long time! "No wonder, they even wore knee pads and elbow guards! They were actually expecting such a fight!" "If Bu Dong is struggling this much, would we have any chance against it?" Jin folded his arms behind the bar counter and stepped in at this moment of the heated conversation. "You dare call yourselves cultivators?" . . Chapter 14: Boss Monster! Upon hearing the comment, the crowd''s mood suddenly turned silent. What Jin implied was true. Ever since the strict laws set upon cultivators, most people cultivated for the simple benefits like being less fatigued. They did not cultivate because they wanted to be the best but it was just beneficial for them. "If you want to cultivate, why would you bother cultivating half ass?" Boss Jin stung them hard with the truth. "Do not give me the crap that I have a job and therefore I cannot cultivate much. Back then, people cultivated while ploughing horse crap all day." Boss Jin then walked away and thought that he gave them some food for thought. "That speech is like horse crap too." Yun said while giving a (-_-'') emoji on his phone. "Eh? I thought I did okay." Jin suddenly became embarrassed and hid near his Panda Port. "Well, no use crying over spilt milk. While what you said is somewhat true and also irrelevant at the same time, let''s hope the performance of the four young cultivators motivates them." Yun sighed in his head. The crowd suddenly went wild again shortly after and Jin used his Panda Port to observe Station''s 1 progress. As compared to Bu Dong''s previous performance, Jin was impressed that Bu Dong learnt from his mistake and became warier by not underestimating the goblins. Yue Wen poked the dead armless dagger goblin a few more times with her sword cane to make sure it was dead after Kong Xian did a heavy cleave that destroyed both the dagger goblin''s weapons and his hands. While Bu Dong was blocking the spear goblin''s attacks, Yue Han used his Blind Bat Style to do a swift slash towards the spear goblin despite his internal injuries. This gave time for Kong Xian to pull Bu Dong out of range of the spear goblin and Yue Han retreated immediately. "Yue Wen senpai, try and heal Bu Dong! I will distract and defeat the spear goblin." Kong Xian instructed Yue Wen and charge towards the spear goblin. "Heal me too Sis, I think I got poisoned by the dagger goblin." Yue Han started to pant heavily and his face became slightly pale. The spear goblin looked at his left arm, the swift slash done by Yue Han was not deep but it was a little annoying. He could still handle it and it did not affect the spear''s movement much. He took the blood from that wound and painted his face with it. Since he was the last one, he might as well go down in glory. Kong Xian was used to one to one fights since he was in Kendo club. While official kendo tournaments forbid the use of cultivation, that did not stop unofficial matches during practice or even dungeon instances. He charged in a suitable stance that specifically dealt with pole weapons users. Even the goblin himself went into a defensive stance, which made the crowd watching go crazy. The crowd''s noise did not go unnoticed. More and more people near the shopping street started to query what was happening and the news of an insane dungeon began to spread like wildfire. "I am not sure about this but the goblin seems more like a human than the goblin that we all are all familiar with!" "I am thinking of rooting for the underdog as well. This goblin has guts!" Jin smiled at the change of developments as he continued to watch from Panda Port. He initially wanted to master his cultivation move, the ''Lazy Panda Swipe'' to at least intermediate level before he started hunting again. However, the urge to hunt became stronger. If the crowd really became his customers, he needed to find monsters that are more difficult or at least a variety. The burning desire of cultivation started to burn furiously within him since he needed to obtain more power to become the number one dungeon supplier. "Wow! That Kendo guy parried the spear at the very last moment and cut the goblin into two!" The crowd was cheering loudly for Kong Xian without him knowing. Meanwhile, in the instance, Yue Wen was trying to close the arm wound for Bu Dong. She brought a sling bag filled with some essential medical supplies like bandages and some basic antidote concoction she learnt in university. When Yue Han told his sister about the goblins using poison, she came prepared. Yue Wen subsequently used her own chi via her cultivation, Healing Maiden Technique to close the arm wound after she wrapped the wound nicely. She also told Yue Han to go into cultivation stance and try to slow the poison within him after he drank a bottle of poison antidote. Kong Xian started to look at the surroundings and asked, "Shouldn''t the instance stop by now?" "I have no idea at all. Perhaps there are more goblins around? Mind staying on guard Kong Xian? Ah, Yue Wen senpai, could you please be gentler?" Bu Dong struggled a little when Yue Wen applied a little more pressure at the area. "Hahaha, I cannot believe the champion of King''s Monster is afraid of pain." Yue Wen applied a little more pressure cheekily. The mood around the dungeon instance livened a little but good things like peace do not last. A sense of heavy pressure appeared from nowhere. "This pressure¡­It''s a Grade 1 Peak!" Kong Xian struggled to move his sword into a defensive stance. Heavy footsteps and a sound of an animal was approaching closer to their position. A voice of a female announcer issued a dungeon wide warning. Even the crowd was shocked by the change of developments. "WARNING! BOSS MONSTER. WARNING!" "Yue Wen senpai, attend to Yue Han and get his poison out as soon as possible. My right arm can still work and I can now feel my left hand. Tend to me later!" Bu Dong and Kong Xian immediately took a fighting stance when the pressure wore off. A boar with eight legs emerged from the forest and whenever it goes, the trees start to break in order to give way. The eight legged boar boss monster saw the two humans and stared at them. "Holy shit! Now I understand why Boss Jin''s instance is expensive!" "Now I understand why you asked me to wear the Kendo armour." Kong Xian had cold sweat dripping. "Well then, let''s beat this pig down." Yue Han spoke with some panting as he used his sword as a support. "Agreed, but have an adrenaline shot first Yue Han, else you will not have any strength." Yue Wen injected the syringe into Yue Han without asking for his permission. "You are the healer¡­but why are you inflicting more pain upon me." Yue Han wanted to cry so badly. "OINK!" The boar snorted in such a cute way that the mood of the party lightened up and the crowd outside nearly burst into laughter. "I think it meant to provoke us?" Kong Xian started his charge after he calmed down a little from that ''menacing growl'' from the boss monster. "Let''s go!" Bu Dong pointed his sword towards the boar and followed behind Kong Xian. Yue Han and Yue Wen split out from the group, hoping to flank it from both sides. "The show has just begun¡­ I hope." Jin looked at his screen with much interest. . . Chapter 15: Angry Ape Pronounces Its Superiority "Do not let the boar charge!" Kong Xian shouted and clashed with the boar head on before it could move. Bu Dong tag teamed with Kong Xian while exchanging blows with the boar so that it could not find the chance to retaliate. Yue Wen went from the side to strike its flank with success but the attack was insignificant to make a difference. The multiple flesh wounds by the sword crane were not sufficient to attract the attention of the boar. On the other hand, Yue Han decided to attack from its rear. He hoped to jump up the moment the boar was distracted by Kong Xian and Bu Dong. The two at the front of the boar realised Yue Han''s intention so they took a step back and sprinted forward again for a joint attack. Yue Han took the chance to ambush the boar''s rear. However, the boar was smarter than they thought. It powered up its tusks and rushed forward to face the joint attack. The distance for Yue Han to cover immediately lengthened and he had no choice but to dash after the boar. When Yue Han timed his leap the moment he got close, the boar suddenly let out an ominous amount of fart! The fart was strong enough to knockback Yue Han when he was in midair. Yue Han rolled around the ground to cover his eyes and nose as the fart smell stings and stinks. "Oink Oink Oink hehe Oink!" The boar was laughing as it parried Kong Xian and Bu Dong with its tusks. "Sis..help, I think I''m poisoned again." Yue Han coughed badly and held onto his throat as he crawled further away from the boar''s surprise attack to gasp for air. "At this rate, that guy with the Blind Bat Style will probably grow poison resistance." The crowd laughed at poor Yue Han''s predicament. "Ahhh Choo!" Yue Han sneezed at Yue Wen as she brought him aside of the battlefield. She then concentrated to push the fart''s poison out of his body with her chi. "You are really unlucky Yue Han." Separately, the duo seemed to be at an impasse with the boar. "For just a Grade 1 Peak, this is a better training bag than my juniors." Kong Xian stepped back after clashing with the boar. "A training bag that can literally kill me!" "But at this rate, we will run out of stamina. I am thinking of using my secret skill." Bu Dong breathed heavily from the intense exchange of blows. "There are weapons lying around from the goblin fight, I will keep it busy!" Kong Xian roared and two tortoise silhouettes appeared above his head. "Towering Tortoise Style! Wide Armour Projection of the Tortoise!" His Kendo armour glowed deep with greenish colour energy and he provoked the eight-legged boar to come towards him. Bu Dong ran to grab the spear from the dead goblin and started to concentrate his fighting stance. "Is he doing what I think he is doing?!" One of the office workers in the crowd had his jaw wide open. The others that were familiar with Bu Dong''s techniques started to comprehend the situation. "That''s the stance for one of his secret moves: the ''Angry Ape Pronounces Its Superiority!''. He used it when fighting in the semifinals of King''s Monsters!" The crowd started to chat loudly and some struggled to catch a glimpse of it on the TV. "What a long name for a technique." Jin thought to himself. "Maybe, that''s why it is a secret technique, haha." Yun threw in her comments. Bu Dong gathered his chi and concentrated it at the tip of the spear that he was holding with his right hand. His offhand sword was placed over his right shoulder for a follow up attack and perhaps Bu Dong thought that it looked cooler that way as well. Apparently, the crowd did not deny that and started chanting for Bu Dong to kill the boar. "Bu Dong! Bu Dong! Bu Dong!" "Are you done?!" Kong Xian handling the brunt of the assault from the boar was getting push back every second. If he faltered, he could be killed at any second. "Now! Sword Art! Angry Ape Pronounces Its Superiority!" Two highly defined angry ape silhouettes emerged from Bu Dong and a burst of speed was released from his legs. Like an arrow being let loose from the bow, he bolted pass Kong Xian and the spear went straight into the boar''s skull. "I will not fail!!!!" Bu Dong screamed and he slashed his sword with his offhand. With the momentum of the raised sword, he decided to puncture his offhand weapon into the open wound. Just he was about to do that, he felt a major change in his Dantian and suddenly a burst of power came from within him. He did not hesitate any further and struck the sword into the boar''s skull. A massive amount of blood ruptured from skull wound and the pig gave a soft ''oinkk¡­.'' The crowd went hysterical when they saw Bu Dong had not two angry apes but three appearing above him as he came down from the dead boar. "He turned into a Grade 3 cultivator while fighting the boar! This situation became so overbearing!" Everyone was extremely excited, even the party of four in the dungeon was surprised by the turn of events. "Hmm, why didn''t the boar activate its shedding of its body?" Jin was happy for Bu Dong but being unable to see the full potential of the boar, Jin could not help but feel bad for the boar. "Bu Dong managed to do a critical hit, causing an instant death for the boar. Remember? Only when near death will the boar shed its body." Yun explained to Jin. "Oh well, they did well though." Jin smiled. "Bu Dong, that was amazing!" Kong Xian could not help but drop to the ground from fatigue. "This battle is the best dungeon instance I have ever had." Yue Wen was amazed by the attack. "I cannot say that for myself¡­but it sure was intensely stinky." Yue Han was a little annoyed he did not contribute much to the fight. All of them laughed. A female announcer''s voice echoed through the entire dungeon. "Congratulations on your dungeon clear. Instance is closing in 3, 2, 1." The party of four were teleported back to the shop and they were stunned when they saw themselves being surrounded by a lively crowd. "Bu Dong! That attack was amazing!" Bu Dong was not the only one who received praise. Some were impressed by Kong Xian tackling the boss monster solely by himself. Others took this chance to talk to the sporty Yue Wen and praised her for her medical skills in the midst of battle. Yue Han was not left out but obviously not for the right reasons. Thankfully, he was an easy going guy and laughed with the crowd. What felt like a lifetime of adrenaline rush for the party of four, in actuality lasted for only ten minutes or so in real time and a little over 1 and a half hours in dungeon instance time. "Bu Dong, Yue Han, Yue Wen, Kong Xian," Jin shouted their names and beckoned them to come to him. "Yes, Boss Jin?" All four nearly said it at the same time. They had a lot of respect for this new dungeon supplier for giving them a thrill of a lifetime. Jin pointed to a large board at the back of the store, near the stairs leading to the second floor. Bu Dong then realised that it was a score and rankings board. "First to clear Goblin Dungeon Instance: Grade 3 Hong Bu Dong, Grade 2 Ma Yue Han, Grade 2 Ma Yue Wen and Grade 2 Heng Kong Xian." The names were embossed in silver at the top of the scoreboard under Goblin Dungeon Instance. The scoreboard also stated their timing 1 hour 39 minutes and 11 seconds and it was placed right under the ''First to Clear'' section. "Oh my god, this is the first time my name is on a scoreboard and the first to clear!" Yue Han could not believe his eyes, he thought there were still after effects from the poison. "Boss Jin, will this be here forever?" Yue Wen was also excited, she did not expect to have such a glory to her name! The crowd started to whisper about it and talked to Jin. "Boss, are you open later in the evening? I would like to try the dungeon instance!" One of the office workers initiated first. "I should be open," Jin said so bluntly which made the crowd nearly staggered as a whole. Boss Jin seemed so shameless even when he should be the one bending his back over for customers. "Hahaha, Boss I like your attitude. You got the guts to reprimand your customers and yet serve them such a good quality dungeon instance. I will come later and try it!" "Me too! I will ask my friends to come later!" The crowd became friendlier to each other and started to exchange what kind of cultivation styles they practised with each other before they to went back to go work. "Ahh, this is the shop I always wanted to open." Jin thought quietly. . . Chapter 16: Pandamonium The party of four decided to rest for a while at the bar counter while most of the crowd dispersed since lunch hour was near its end. Jin offered them some of the thirst quenching spring water and they had never felt so great. Yue Wen kept asking what brand of water it was for it to taste that great. "Bu Dong, what you said is true. I feel my cultivation stirring furiously in me." Yue Han sat cross legged upon saying it and so did Yue Wen and Kong Xian. "Yeah Boss Jin, how come there is spirit force that can stir our cultivation in the monsters? Are they really real life monsters?" Bu Dong asked bluntly. Bu Dong was the only one that did not need to cultivate. He was feeling good with the increase of cultivation grade. He had been stuck in Grade 2 Peak for nearly eight months and he thought the only way to increase it was to go into the military service. Never had he thought that this new dungeon supplier''s instance pushed him to the limits. Perhaps that was what he needed. "Trade Secret." Jin did not say much. "So Boss Jin any rewards for clearing the instance?" Bu Dong changed the topic, knowing he would not be able to get much by pestering Boss Jin. However, he got excited to know what he could get after he and the others managed to clear the dungeon. "Give me a moment, let me check." Jin gave an excuse for Yun to immediately step into the picture and she quickly briefed Jin with regards to the rewards. Jin pretended to walk back to the Panda Port to buy some time for her explanation. "While it is not necessary for you to do so, download this app here for a better utilisation of our store." Jin realised the lazy panda standee near the cashier port he created previously suddenly had a Quick Response (QR) code attached to it. Regardless, he pointed it to Bu Dong and Bu Dong took a look at it. Bu Dong did not notice the lazy panda standee previously and found it cute too. He opened his QR code reader and his phone started to ask the permission for the app download. When he downloaded it, Bu Dong found out that the app was named ''Pandamonium''. Its app icon was portrayed by a panda peeping through from the corner of the icon. He tapped on it and a loading screen with a group of panda lazily stacking on each other was shown. "Too cute, Boss Jin loves pandas way too much." Bu Dong saw a login screen prompting for a username only but no password. "Place your dog tag near your phone. The near field communications (NFC) chip in the dog tag will do everything for you." Jin instructed Bu Dong on it. Bu Dong did as instructed and realised a profile was already set up for him. The app was quick and responsive as compared to other apps created by the dungeon suppliers who tried to get their feet wet in the app market. Even the major local dungeon supplier King''s Monsters app was not as advanced as Jin''s. Within the app, Bu Dong realised the app interface was extremely clean and intuitive, making it easy for people to use. There was a personal stats tab, rewards tab, a panda chat tab which had a contact list to connect with the future cultivators visiting the store, an in-house currency tab, a score ranking tab and even the food menu tab. When Bu Dong scrolled through the app, the tabs were easily identifiable by the different unique pandas. For example, the currency tab has a picture of a panda holding a large coin with a ''P'' in it. The app even had a web store but it was currently not available for viewing. A notification stating "work in progress!" was shown when Bu Dong tried to tap on it. "My items have not arrived yet, so it is not wise to open the web store." Jin gave an easily believable excuse. "You can check the rewards tab." Bu Dong quickly scrolled back up to the rewards tab, which was portrayed by a panda inside the gift box with its head and paws hanging out of the box. He saw there was a mail notification in the rewards tab stating that he had been awarded 35 Bronze Panda Medals. "Each dungeon instance gives 10 bronze medals. A first clear bonus varies between instances. For this dungeon instance, you received 25 bronze medals. Once the web store is up, you can exchange your medals with store items." Jin explained clearly. At this point, the other three got up from their cultivation stance and Bu Dong introduced them to the app as well. All of them indeed received the same amount of 35 bronze panda medals and they even started to exchange contacts within the Panda App. Kong Xian got curious and decided to open the personal stats tab and was bewildered. There was a full analysis of his current ability by breaking it down to certain attributes. "Boss Jin, these personalised stats of mine are they true? How did you predict them?" "Trade Secret. All I can say when you are in the dimensional space, the pandas behind the scenes worked especially hard to analyse your stats like Strength, Dexterity, Chi and Constitution into this table. Whatever you revealed in the dimensional space like your Armour Projection, the pandas will record it." Jin tried to poke fun with them a little since they were starting to get the hang of the pandas. "Boss, are you sure those pandas are not skiving? " Yue Wen giggled at how immensely adorable these pandas pictures were in the app. Even the emoji in the Panda Chat was all well animated pandas making such expressions. "We will be back soon. I promise, also I would like the HD video download again." Bu Dong took out his phone and automatically placed it at the credit port. "You guys were in a party, there are four individual videos and a party video. Would you want your individual video or all of them?" Jin asked. "I will take all five of them, keep it as a trophy and research. Can I pass them the links in the Panda Chat?" Bu Dong queried but before he had any explanation, he saw his phone gave a beep to indicate the total cost of 25 Yuan was deducted from his e-wallet. That Boss Jin did not skive when it came to collecting money! "It has already been placed in your rewards tab and yes you can share it with them via Panda Chat." Jin replied. He waved goodbye to the party of four as he stretched his legs and body for a while. "Remember to eat your meals! Do not neglect them! A boss that is sick for a day is a boss with no revenue for a day!" Yun reminded him. "Ah yes, I just remembered I have not eaten after all the commotions." "Isn''t that what I said just now?" Yun got a little annoyed and gave Jin a Panda emoji with its tongue stuck out. Jin ignored Yun as he quickly helped himself with a plate of Tonkatsu curry rice and started to savour its taste. The store became quiet again. But not for long. Chapter 17: Boss, One More Serving Please! "Ahhhh..I don''t feel hungry but I do want to eat too." Wa Xiong Da was walking along the Tiangong shopping district from his way after a long trip from the neighbouring province of Fujian. He kept thinking that the food in this district was not enticing as it used to be. "I should probably lose some weight." Feeling dejected he continued to stroll along the shopping district until he smelled a tinge of curry fragrance. "When did the shopping district sell curry rice? I do not remember there being any new store coming up. Those square headed shop owners could not even get away from their traditional food items when I told them the food was not great at all." Xiong Da grumbled a little. Xiong Da''s sense of smell was sharply enhanced with his cultivation, the Hungry Hippo style. He concentrated a little and tried to follow the scent of the curry fragrance. The fragrance got stronger as he approached the end of Tiangong shopping district. A part of him wanted him to savour this new food item that had such a strong thick aroma. The other part of him kept telling to stop thinking about food. Xiong Da found out the direction that the fragrance was coming from where that the burnt pachinko building was previously at. However, now it had been replaced with a traditional looking shophouse and a small beautiful looking park that occupied the area. "What happened to this area when I left for my business trip?" The footsteps got even more hurried and the aroma indeed originated from this store. There was indeed someone eating the curry rice behind the bar counter. To his dismay, Xiong Da looked at the menu and realised that it was actually a dungeon supplier store. "245 Yuan?! For an instance?" He thought to himself that the shop owner was ripping people not just of their wallets but their intelligence too. "Hi, can I ask where did you buy this curry rice from? The aroma emanated from this curry rice is extremely enticing" Seeing this was a dungeon supplier store, he was not expecting much from the owner''s reply. He must have bought it from some delivery service like Qiandu Waimai. However, Xiong Da had not smelled such an incredible aroma of curry before. His mouth was filled with activity. The saliva within him overflowed like a tap that was left gushing in the kitchen sink and his taste buds were already screaming at him, Jin was about to eat his curry rice and felt a little annoyed when this person with a waistline probably three times bigger than him interrupts his meal. "Why can''t I eat in peace?!" Jin thought to himself. "That''s karma for ignoring me!" Yun laughed heartily. "This tonkatsu curry rice is served here, part of service for the cultivators who train, play and fight the dungeons. If you like one, buy a dungeon instance." Xiong Da was astonished by the shop owner''s answer. Although he was a cultivator of the Hungry Hippo style and possessed a weapon for self defense purposes, he did not use much of it. Thus he was just a mere Grade 1 cultivator at 26 years of age. "You are not worthy of her!" Those words kept echoing within Xiong Da''s head which prompted him to lose weight despite the urge to eat a lot. But eventually, his stomach''s desires overtook his weak willpower and he finally had the courage to ask. "I will have one instance ticket, just pass me the curry rice!" "Pay first." Jin was also hungry, for his customer''s money. The payment was done and Jin took a while to get the tonkatsu curry rice ready. He scooped a generous serving of rice from the rice cooker as he previously did for Bu Dong and the others. He used the tongs to grab the large piping hot pork cutlet from the oven-like cabinet and placed it on a metal griddle. He wore a pair of plastic gloves as he handled the cutlet and he cut it into several slices. After which he used a medium sized metal pizza spatula to scoop the sliced cutlets to place it on top of the steamy rice. He then open the magical bar cabinet where the thick aroma of curry started to seep out of the pot. Beside the pot there was a button for Jin to push so that the curry sauce would flow out of the pot through a large tap and into a gravy boat. Surprisingly, such an action done by the system did not cause any spillage and the tap was large enough for chunks of potato and carrots to flow out from the tap. The gravy boat was near to the brim when the pot tap automatically stopped. He took the gravy boat out and subsequently poured it onto the plate with the golden breaded pork cutlet and rice. After which he used a pair of mini tongs to grab a few pieces of Fukujinzuke, lucky god pickles, which was nibbed in red from a jar provided by the system. He placed the Fukujinzuke at the side of the tonkatsu curry rice and the dish was ready to be served. "Eh? Isn''t this a little too fast when it comes to cooking or preparing the food? Are they instant food?" Xiong Da suddenly felt like he was cheated, but decided to hold his thoughts until he tried it for himself. The aroma infused into the air from the plate that was in front of Xiong Da and it was intoxicating to say the least. He quickly grabbed the utensils that were wrapped in a piece of serviette and scooped a mountain full of rice with curry. When the spoon came into contact with his lips, he felt a rush of goodness moving up his throat and brain. The taste of the rice was smooth like silk and the curry had the perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness. As he chewed on, the chunk of potato with the curry was tip top fresh. This time round, he took the pork cutlet with his chopsticks and dipped half of it in curry. When he bit it, the crunchiness of the breaded tonkatsu was exploding in his mouth. The meat was fresh and juicy with a dash of saltiness that complemented with the taste of the curry. Those two mouthfuls of savoury food made Xiong Da unable to stop and he gobbled the whole plate within minutes. Jin served a glass of pure spring water to him and it was not insipid compared to the normal tap water Xiong Da had always been served in restaurants. That natural sweetness within the spring water made it satisfying and refreshing especially after such a meal. "Can I have one more serving please! Boss it''s¡­it is super delicious! I do not mind the price!¡­Sorry Boss may I know your esteem name?" Xiong Da wiped his sweat with his oversized business coat and raised his right index finger. "Name''s Jin and no. You do an instance run first before you can have another." There was no one item only per rule, but Jin was adamant to not allow wastage. "But I do not think, I can pass the dungeon¡­" Xiong Da thought to himself how humiliating it was when he first try a dungeon instance. "Wait a minute." Xiong Da thought to himself. "If I can train at this dungeon supplier and enjoy such delicious food too. Does that mean I maybe able to train myself and maybe¡­prove myself worthy while enjoying good food at the same time? I might actually have a chance!" Xiong Da seem a little desperate but at the same time, this desperation gave rise to unfounded determination. "Okay Boss Jin, I will give it a try!" Xiong Da took off his business coat and rolled his sleeves up. He took the dog tag from Jin and Jin explained the standard instructions. "Station 2." Jin figured this person had some hidden agenda. How can this fatty just agree so easily to an instance fight. Since young, he knew these foodies would die trying to get their food desires fulfilled through unscrupulous ways instead of following orders. Anyways, he gave Xiong Da some privacy by using the station further in the store. "Boss, I am going in now!" Station 2 teleported Xiong Da into the instance. Jin realised an important thing. How the damn panda was he going to bring this fatty up the stairs to rest if he was rendered unconscious?! Chapter 18: Abrupt Mission "You are all alone by yourself Jin. This is karma for ignoring me. K A R M A. lalalalala~?" Yun started to hum a song happily in his head. "I should quickly eat my tonkatsu rice or I won''t have any strength to carry him!" Jin rushed to his curry rice and started to take in a few mouthfuls of the now lukewarm tonkatsu. He took the plate along with him towards Station 2 in order to watch the battle instance. Just as he was about to sit down in front of Station 2''s TV behind the bar counter¡­Xiong Da was already teleported back from the instance, lying flat on the ground. Breathing but motionless. Jin stood behind the bar counter with his eyes filled with boredom, weariness, frustration and emptiness. Did he forget to mention he had a mouthful of delicious pig meat in his mouth too? Yes and that. "Oh no! Someone had been rendered unconscious! What can we do? Oh! Boss Jin is around, isn''t he? But he can''t seem to hear me. What shall I do?" Yun whined ceaselessly. "Fine! I am sorry Yun for ignoring you!" Jin spoke with anger mixed with regrets. "Can you help me with this?" "What was that? An apology? Or did I hear a plea? System, I think my hearing is getting worse. Should I do tell the whisperer to do the job himself? What? You actually agree with me that this should be a punishment for him? I think so too!" Yun was in bitch mode. If Jin could have physically seen Yun, he would have pummeled her into orange juice. "Fine! I''ll do it myself after my lunch¡­" Jin grudgingly accepted his fate. "But what if that person needs medical attention? What if he does not feel good lying on the floor for such a long time? Oh oops, why am I talking to the wall? Silly me!" Yun continued to be spiteful. "OKAY, I WILL DO IT NOW!" Jin reluctantly put his spoon down but not before he stuffed another mouthful of curry rice into his mouth. ******** Abrupt Mission: Bring the unconscious Xiong Da to the second floor. Mission Objectives: as stated above. Secondary Objectives: Kowtow three times in front of the phone with the magnificently gorgeous picture of Yun. The picture will be sent to you. Rewards: Yun''s Forgiveness. ******** Jin immediately choked on the food he had just swallowed and quickly grabbed a jar full of spring water to calm himself down. "Oh My Gosh. This Yun." He took a deep breath and walk out of the bar counter, towards the fatty ''lazing'' around on the floor. He grabbed Xiong Da by the hand and tried to pull normally. He did not budge a single centimetre. "What kind of weight does he have?!" "You mean how heavy he is? According to the stats here obtained from the dungeon instance¡­ about 185kg." Yun said with a chuckle. "18- WHAT? How did he even walk so quickly just now?!" Jin felt that his soul wished to depart from his body upon hearing Yun''s reply. "It is probably his cultivation Hungry Hippo which allowed him to withstand such weight or maybe you are just weak. Weak Boss Jin." Yun gave a ''tsk tsk tsk'' sound to show her dissatisfaction towards Jin. Jin immediately used his cultivation the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas, and two pandas silhouettes as lazy as Xiong Da appeared at the top of Jin. The way those pandas acted was not helping his situation but he now was able to drag Xiong Da towards the stairs leading to the second floor as if he was trying to hide a murder victim. "He does not feel like 185kg, more like nearly 300kg!" Jin complained "Oh did I not say a two before saying hundred and eighty five kilograms? Must be a slip of my tongue." Yun giggled again. "There is no way I can carry this behemoth-sized piece of flesh up the stairs." Jin''s head started to hurt more than the pain he felt behind his back at the thought of the abrupt mission. However, at this moment, he realised something and went to check the abrupt mission objectives again. Suddenly, Jin had a grin. An evil one. "The mission did not state on the kind of condition Xiong Da will arrive on the second floor." Jin went into his fighting stance and did the newest move he just learnt Lazy Panda Swipe! With twice the power of his strength in selected muscles in his right arm, he lazily did a swipe towards Xiong Da''s belly. To his surprise, the swipe was indeed strong enough to knock Xiong Da up the half space landing of the stairs leading to the second floor. "Oh my! You are so violent, Jin!" Yun was satisfied that Jin was able to figure out the agenda of the mission objectives. Jin quietly said thank you in fear of Yun''s repeated retaliation and did the same Lazy Panda Swipe again to push Xiong Da to the second floor. He later dragged Xiong Da to a suitable angle and distance to a lounge chair. "I hope the system''s lounge chair is sturdy enough to hold 285kg of weight plus or minus the residual kinetic energy of his weight." Jin readied his Lazy Panda Swipe and once more, Xiong Da flew but landed straight onto a lounge chair. "Hooray for studying physics in engineering." Despite using the moves only three times, Jin felt his entire right arm muscle becoming extremely sore. He immediately plugged the pulse oximetry onto Xiong Da and turned on the cardiac monitor to check his breathing and pulse. Jin also checked the areas he used the swipe attack and realised there seem to be no damage done. "The Hungry Hippo style allowed the cultivators to use his adipose tissues or his fats like the blubber of a hippo. They are nearly impervious against blunt attacks at higher grades of cultivation." Yun explained like she was a teacher. "Then how did this fatty die so fast in the instance?" "Dagger to the throat, there is nothing to protect the throat." Yun turned on the video recording of Xiong Da''s death on Jin''s phone. All Jin could do is shake his head at Xiong Da''s incompetence. Jin massaged his right arm a little before doing the second objective. Since no one was around on the floor except the unconscious fatty, Jin placed the phone beside the wall of the second floor and Yun immediately showed a picture of her in her younger days. Jin was actually slightly bewitched by Yun''s picture. The flowing silky walnut brown hair and that devious smile with a pair of horizontally wide eyes staring at him. He could not help but felt a skip in his heart even though he knew that was a picture of his mother''s younger self. The kowtow somehow became a little easier when you started to idolise a person. He did three sincere prostrations and the abrupt mission was completed. "Your apology has been accepted, I forgive you," Yun spoke in his head. "I have unlocked a few features of your shop in completing not just the abrupt mission but the mission you did halfway too." Before Yun could say another word, Xiong Da spoke out loud. "Big Brother Boss, you have a girl you could not get too?" His eyes started to tear up as he saw Jin in a prostrated position at a picture of an extremely gorgeous girl the moment he woke up. "Oh no.." Jin wondered what he got himself into. Chapter 19: Instructors "Eh no Mr Wa, that picture is just a wallpaper on my phone. I just so happened to do some back stretches." Jin tried to make some excuses but it seems that Xiong Da knew they were lies. The truth on the other hand was still interpreted wrongly. "Big Brother Boss, just call me Xiong Da. You do not have to hide from me, I fully understand how you feel." Xiong Da had his body fully reclined on the lounge chair. Jin felt that there was no use arguing with him and just accepted as it was. Anymore disagreement would further strengthen the thought of his idea. Also, thank goodness, the chair was made by the system as Jin could not bear to see furniture break on the second day of his store''s opening. "Great chair by the way." Xiong Da was a little quiet and Jin decided to leave before things start to get complicated but he was one step too late. "I have this girl that really likes me, but this love rival of mine stole her from me. He pummelled me in a duel and demanded that the girl belonged to him. She had no choice but to respect the rules of the duel and reluctantly left with him but also because he kept saying he had the money to pay for her parent''s medical debt." "But I have the ability to pay for her parent''s debt too, She just kept denying me to do so! Why did she accept that guy''s money?" Xiong Da started to cry loudly. "At this day and age¡­people still duel for such consequential decisions? How old fashioned can they get?" Jin wondered. "Technically, they can still invoke the rites of duel to settle things in court, but only if both parties agree to it. It''s just that most sensible people would not do such stupid things and instead let the law and evidence decide." Yun replied. "Xiong Da, why did you even accept the rites of duelling if you knew you are going to lose badly? You could have peacefully settled it." "He kept provoking me and said I was useless, and that I could not protect her. Besides, I wanted to act cool in front of my girl. If I cannot protect her, how can I call myself a man? I had to die trying¡­just that I did not die. I wish I could die now." Xiong Da started to wipe his drippy nose with his sweaty shirt. Jin realised that this was a customer that he might be able to help. Provided, Xiong Da decided to still help himself after that insulting humiliation from his dungeon instance. "You said you have money right?" Jin questioned him. "Yes! All I have is money. Useless things if I cannot get my girl." Xiong started to sulk. "Rest up and wash yourself, when you are ready come down, we will discuss on how to win that girl back." Jin started to walk towards the bathroom. In the recovery area, there were two mixed gender bathrooms equipped with showering capabilities. Jin thought the bathroom space provided by the system was spacious until the likes of Xiong Da proved that the system was just being accommodative. He reached out for a towel from the cupboard near the toilet and gave it to Xiong Da. "So fluffy! the towel is so fluffly!! It seems Boss Jin really prides himself with quality service for his customers." Xiong Da once again praised Boss Jin. "Like I said, get a shower. I assume you have some clothes in the luggage that you carried in just now right?" Jin questioned him once more and Xiong Da nodded. Jin went down the stairs and saw no one was around the shop yet. He took Xiong Da''s luggage and brought it up to the 2nd floor for him. Xiong Da listened to Jin and placed his dogtag near the scanner to the bathroom to take a shower. To his surprise, the shower itself was unique. Instead of just one showerhead, he realised they were placed throughout the whole shower unit. The corners of the floors, the ceilings and the walls had mini shower heads. The moment he pressed the wash button, jets of high pressure water came from all side of the shower unit, similar to how a car goes through an automated car wash service. At the soap dispenser unit, there were various types of soap available with panda pictures indicating which part of the panda you should wash. Shampoo, conditioner, face soap and body soap were all available. Xiong Da did not even need to press the dispenser as when he placed his hand at the soap dispenser unit, the shampoo was automatically dispensed for him. The dispenser was also responsive enough for him to accumulate a large amount of soap. He thoroughly washed his entire body. He was thankful that the shower was spacious enough for him to move around in. He turned around to press the wash button for the shower and the jets of high pressure water came out again. This time the shower heads even moved slightly and gave a massage-like feeling with the jetstreams of water. If he could openly confess, this was probably the first time Xiong Da felt he was very clean from a shower. After he was done, there was even a blow-dry function in the shower unit that blew alternating lukewarm and cold air from the floor and ceiling which dried Xiong Da up in less than a minute. The towel given by Jin was more for his hair. "For 245 Yuan, the food and shower alone is worth it." Xiong Da wore his new clothes he had taken from the luggage and went down the stairs to meet with Jin. When Jin went back to first floor, he immediately gobbled the remaining tonkatsu curry rice despite it being a little cold. He do not wish to waste any food. "What features did you unlock Yun?" Jin talked as he had his mouth full of food. "Firstly, one that might aid your current situation. Your Bellators can now be used as instructors if your cultivators require help. In the olden days, only the famous high grade dungeon suppliers were able to produce such models in their dungeon instances and they were called scholars instead." Yun explained the new feature to him. "Ah, I have heard of such instructors being provided by high end dungeon suppliers. However, I remember them as a programmed AI with a set of instructions for the users. They cannot be compared with Bellators like Milk." "Oh, do remember you can only use one Bellator for each instance and they cannot be summoned concurrently in two dungeons." "Well, I only have Milk with me." Jin finally finished his curry rice and placed the plate into the dishwasher. "She costs 189 Yuan per instance run. Either you or the customers can buy new equipment for her but that cost need to be taken up by you all." "That''s interesting, if Xiong Da employs Milk for the dungeon instance, he might have a chance of passing the dungeon in the long run. " "Also Jin, Take note that the monsters will not attack the bellators. All the bellators will do is guide their students. They are able to weaken the monsters a little to help their students but they won''t kill it for them. Hence, only support class bellators will be available for hire. " "Classes like archers, tanks, mages and healers can be used. Offensive bellators will not be shown for instructor selection." At this moment, Xiong Da arrived downstairs. "I will explain the other features to you later. Good luck getting this customer''s money. I await your success." Yun seemed to have a happier tone. "Boss, I am here. What did you want to talk about?" Upon hearing Xiong Da arrive, Jin''s eyes looked as if he saw a juicy meaty hippo served on a golden plate. Chapter 20: Milk Milks Money "Judging from your performance just now, you are hoping to increase your cultivation so you might have the chance to declare for a rematch?" Jin queried and Xiong Da could only nod his head in disappointment. "I am a bit ashamed of my previous performance but yes I would want to." "How determined are you?" "Very! I will go to the mountains and back again for her." "Isn''t the phrase go to the end of the world and back again" Jin sighed at Xiong Da''s simplicity. "Same thing boss, I could hardly walk up a hill, much less a mountain." Xiong Da said without thinking. "It''s alright I get what you mean. Now I will tell you my plan. I have an AI instructor that might be able to help you in your path of cultivation, are you willing to partake?" "I heard the AI instructors are just preprogramed bots in the dungeon instance. However, Boss Jin, so far what you have shown me in this store shows that, you deal with only the best quality. So I believe the instructor you are getting for me will be top notch too." Xiong Da''s earnest attitude kind of melted Jin''s heart a little for believing in him. "It will be a little costly, are you still willing?" However, that attitude did not satiate Jin''s thirst for money. Fat Hippo''s money. "I told you already money is not a problem!" Xiong Da folded his arms to express his slight disappointment in Jin''s distrust of his capability to pay. "Okay, so here is the plan. At least three instances with the instructor. If the stations are occupied by other customers, you wait for your turn. If not, you can continue on once you wake up from your unconsciousness." Jin did not need anything else to convince him. "Do at least three instances and if you think you can do more, tell me and I will set you up for more." Jin now tried to hook the hippo for more. "How much is the instructor programme?" Xiong Da started to sweat a little. "189 Yuan per instance run." Jin said with a firm voice. Xiong Da nearly pulled his hair out when he heard the price. That will be 434 Yuan per instance! But how could he back down now when after he had said to Jin. "I will prove my worth!" He thought to himself. "Okay Boss Jin, I accept your proposal. So I start tomorrow?" "What rubbish are you talking about? Why tomorrow when you can start immediately? Is your determination that weak? Otherwise, why did I ask you to bath for? So you can start afresh!" Jin could not help but reel the fishing line immediately when he hooked the fat hippo in. Perhaps Jin''s determination to eat up Xiong Da''s money was stronger than Xiong Da''s courage to train his cultivation. Xiong Da gave a gulp and he took out his phone to place it on the credit port. A total of 1302 Yuan was deducted from his phone in an instant. Jin pretended to be serious as he continued to encourage Xiong Da about how he had already taken his first step into the road to higher cultivation but in his heart, Jin was jumping crazily because of the increase in revenue. He also introduced the Pandamonium app to Xiong Da and told him to take a look at his stat while Jin placed his phone near the Panda Port to synchronise his only Bellator, Milk, into the store''s system. After which, Jin directed Xiong Da to Station 2 for the start of training. When Xiong Da arrived in the forest instance he heard someone cheerfully calling him. "Yooohooo! You Xiong Da?" Milk came walking in unknowingly from the edge of the woods with a seductive manner. Xiong Da could not help but gulp another portion of his saliva and nodded his head. "Did Jin not say it''s an AI instructor? Why does the instructor look so perfect? Wait, of course she looks perfect, she''s an AI programmed instructor! However, she looked too human to be considered as an AI instructor. Boss Jin really has good taste and good programming skills!" Xiong Da kept on praising Jin. "Hey there Mr Big Guy, I''m Milk! Nice to meet you." Milk''s smile seem to make Xiong Da''s nose swell up with blood. The swelling in his nose got even worse as Milk''s chest involuntarily shook and so did Xiong Da''s head. Suddenly, the thought of Ruo Ying appeared in his mind. He quickly shaked his head and affirmed his mind''s stance "My heart cannot waver! All I have is her. The one and only Ruo Ying!" Milk noticed a subtle change in Xiong Da''s behaviour so she stopped teasing him and took her book weapon out to block a sudden dagger throw from the woods. After which, she took the book with her and jumped high to knock on Xiong Da''s head. "First thing! Do not fall for the same attack again! Be alert of your surroundings!" Milk started to scold Xiong Da and he quickly observed the surroundings. His Hungry Hippo Style was more of a defensive kind of style but if used correctly, it could inflict great damage too. "The only disadvantage your style has is speed. So you have to complement with either advanced thinking, knowing where your enemy will strike next or brute force to make the enemy come out from its hiding place." Milk opened her book and flipped a few pages to cast a strength buff on Xiong Da. The dagger goblin burst out of the bushes to attack Xiong Da but he was able dodge in time after noticing a slight movement in the bush with Milk''s prompting. However, his eyes still could not avert themselves from Milk''s chest even if his heart told him not to, else Xiong Da could have dodged and counterattacked the dagger goblin. Jin saw the whole scene and pitied him. "The concentration you need is doubled with Milk around and she can play this succubus act so well." Jin remembered the first encounter he had with Milk. "Focus! Stop looking at mine and start thinking how to get hers!" Milk jumped up again and knocked Xiong Da''s head. Xiong Da, with a slight bruise on his head took out his iron war club mace from his storage ring. Instead of charging, he smashed the ground with all his strength as advised by Milk earlier on. The shockwave indeed staggered the dagger goblin a little, which caused it to fall down. "Now move forward and attack the dagger goblin!" Milk shouted and pointed her book towards the goblin. Xiong Da rushed towards the dagger goblin but this time the spear goblin came from the side and attacked Xiong Da. The ambush frightened Xiong Da and this gave the dagger goblin the opportunity to strike from a kneeling position. Naturally, it aimed for his neck and the strike was true. Xiong Da bled profusely as the dagger goblin held onto Xiong Da''s body to stab for the second time. However, a book flew from afar and hit the dagger goblin over and it fell again. A holy energy based Cross came out from Milk''s hand and it both strikes the spear and dagger goblin, making them unable to attack Xiong Da. Meanwhile, Milk walked slowly towards Xiong Da without casting a spell. Xiong Da was fading to unconsciousness from the loss of blood but Milk did nothing to save him. "Your Hungry Hippo style made you strong against attacks. Dare to strike your enemy while you endure attacks by your enemies. This will scare them and make them think you are either insane or invincible." All Xiong Da could rdo to eact was to puke sputums of blood from out his mouth while blood ceaselessly flow out of his throat. He was later teleported back to the front of the TV of Station 2. Milk had also been returned into Jin''s phone "You could have saved him, why did you not do that?" Jin asked with some curiosity. "Well, why hold his hand when you can guide him while he places some moolah on it too?" Milk gave a wink to Jin as she was having a video conversation with him on the phone. However, at the same time Jin also noticed the background in her place surprisingly empty but that was just a passing thought. "Oh Milk, I;m starting to like you a lot more." Jin curled his lips. "Anything for the benefit of my master." Milk blew a kiss and turned her back towards Jin waving goodbye before she closed the video call with him. "Xiong Da, I am going to make you a strong cultivator. Before that, let me improve mine." Jin stretched a little before he dragged Xiong Da again to the stairs and used Lazy Panda Swipe again to send him up to the second floor. Chapter 21: Soda and Juice Jin spent most of the afternoon handling Xiong Da. With each dungeon, Xiong Da managed to learn something new from Milk and in total, he did five dungeon instances. During the downtime between each dungeon instance, Xiong Da got to savour the store''s only specialty, the Tonkatsu Curry Rice. To him, delicious food cured every wound. Not only did Xiong Da think that the curry rice was the best food he had ever eaten for a long time, the Panda soda he bought was also exceptionally tasty. Where did the soda came from? Upon completing the mission to master Lazy Panda Swipe, Yun had unlocked the bar shelves at the middle of the bar counter island, allowing Jin to stock drinks on the first floor. The system stocked the bar with two types of drinks unique to the store and in the food menu, they were labelled as Panda Soda and Bamboo Juice. Jin knew that whatever the store put up, it would definitely be of a good quality¡­and something related to pandas. Jin took one of each type from the bar shelves and he realised that the cans were already cold. He later found out that the bar shelves had some kind of refrigeration technology which kept the cans cool for consumption. The aluminium can of soda displayed a picture of a panda holding a glass bottle and blowing cold air out from its mouth. The taste of the carbonated soda had a citrus flavour that Jin had never tasted before. "The Panda Soda''s flavour was created with a blend of the natural citrus which originated from Yunnan in Southwest China, the Himalayas foothills and Northern Myanmar. The sweetener in Panda Soda also used a mixture of top quality brown and maple sugar to enhance the flavour." Next to try was the bamboo juice. The Bamboo Juice came in a can as well but the can was shaped like an internode of a bamboo stem. When stacked together, it looked like an artificial bamboo plant was growing beside the bar shelves. Jin tried the juice and Yun explained to him the origins of the bamboo. "The bamboo used originated from the Sakhalin islands in Russia. The juice was cold pressed immediately after they were harvested. Only new bamboo shoots that emerged a golden yellow culm with red margins surrounding it were harvested in order to have the best quality of juice." "The juice itself is cold and sweet, making it refreshing to drink since it also helps to clear the meridians in the lungs, heart and stomach." Yun added. Xiong Da finally stopped for the day and thanked Jin. "Boss, I really did learn a lot today! I will be sure to come back tomorrow for more training. Please help me thank Milk sensei too" Xiong Da bowed a little and took his small luggage with him home. ¡ª¡ª- "Hey Bin Yong, I found a place that might be of an interest to you. This could possibly be the best upcoming hangout place for us." Shi Zuo said with excitement after he came back from his lunch break at around 2.30pm "What did you find this time? The previous time, you introduced a cabaret club style bar and you guaranteed it would be a hit too. In the end, the whole night was filled with disaster. I do not need any more of your weird recommendations." Bin Yong said with disgust as he vividly remembered the incident he had in the bar. "This time I can vouch for Shi Zuo! This will be a good one!" Luo Bo held onto Shi Zuo shoulders as she came to Bin Yong''s cubicle. She was giggling around with Shi Zuo, which made Bin Yong feel a little awkward. Bin Yong sighed and placed his digital pen down on his drawing tablet and spinned his chair, facing towards Shi Zuo and Luo Bo. "For your girlfriend''s sake. I will listen. This is the last time, if this place is a failure, I am not going out with you two for the next one month." Of course he would listen to Luo Bo. That short bubbly girl with deep dimples was his love crush until his best friend Shi Zuo decided to chase after her. Obviously, Bin Yong did not let his non blood related brother down and even helped him to get Luo Bo. "You know Tiangong shopping district, there was once a burnt pachinko building?" Shi Zuo started his recount of the area. "Yea, who in this area does not know about the story of that building?" Bin Yong was crossed his legs and folded his arms to listen. "Well, someone actually had the guts to buy the land and he set up shop there." Luo Bo continued. "What kind of shop, a restaurant? Did you guys try it yet?" Bin queried. "No no, do not jump the gun bro¡­well technically I think the shop owner has food services too but that is not the main point." Shi Zuo started to digress from the main point like he always did. "Then what is it? Stop beating around the bush" Bin Yong replied. "It''s a dungeon supplier!" Luo Bo smile nearly melted Bin Yong''s heart. Ah how could he ever forget? The three of them went to a dungeon supplier and Shi Zuo actually confessed his feelings to her when they were in the most dangerous zone of the dungeon. While the confession happened, Bin Yong was taking all the heat from the boss monster "You could have confessed AFTER you guys help me kill the monster!" That was what he thought when he was being attacked in the dungeon instance. In the end, all of them died horribly but two hitched off well from the encounter, while Bin Yong was left in the dumps. Regardless, it was the worst memory to date and he did not wish to relive it. His brother seemed to be quite oblivious to Bin Yong''s feeling too. "I guess I will take a pass, the director asked me to hand him the first drafts of the character drawing for the new animation by tomorrow." "Aww, come on it''s been a long since all three of us played together and this dungeon supplier is different! Trust me!" Shi Zuo was confident about that fact and Luo Bo nodded furiously. "Yes Bin Yong, we also saw Bu Dong getting a team together to pit against the new dungeon supplier''s monsters. It was exhilarating! I felt my heart nearly drop out when he faced the boss!" Luo Bo could not contain the excitement she felt during Bu Dong''s match. "What? You mean that Bu Dong? The local champion of King''s Monster for two consecutive years?" Bin Yong was really surprised. "Yea and rumours said that the dungeon run he did with his team was a second run. He apparently lost the first." Shi Zuo remembered the livid crowd gossiping all around when they questioned Bu Dong. "Okay, then this dungeon supplier is worth checking out." Bin Yong realised what he actually said and suddenly a wave of regret coming in. "Shit, I got caught in their trap!" On the other hand, Luo Bo and Shi Zuo were ecstatic that they managed to convince their friend after so long. "This will be the first outing we have had together for this year!" Luo Bo high fived Shi Zuo and the couple waved Bin Yong goodbye. Bin Yong confirmed that the couple disappeared and waited for silence to return to his cubicle. He then started to bang his head softly on the table. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Chapter 22: Evenings Crowd It was the evening and Jin decided to have a Wacdonalds meal for dinner. Hence, he closed the shop and pasted an A4 sign stating that he would be back in an hour or two. "Wacdonalds again Jin?" Yun seem got angry again. "Well, I cannot possibly eat curry rice all week right?" Jin argued. "The curry rice has more nutrients than this empty calorie burger set! The ingredients in the curry like carrots and spices will help stimulate your body vitals and nourish your meridian points! The pig meat gives you a high amount of protein too! " Yun said. "Alright, just this one last time for this week okay?" Jin had no strength to argue with Yun after that shameless incident in the afternoon. "Hmmph, we will see." Yun said in a fit of anger. During the meal, Jin started to scroll his mission app again and saw that the mission list was updated. "I should get a new monster for the sake of variety, else people will get bored of the goblins." One of the missions he found gave him what he wanted. ********* Mission: Capture Lady Snake and her two servants Secondary Objective: Use your only panda move to defeat them Rewards: Treant Grade 2 Boss Monster ******** "Perhaps I should do this tomorrow morning. I doubt my right arm has the strength to swipe anything right now." Jin was indeed using his left hand to eat his Wacdonalds meal instead. While the right arm held onto his phone since it required less movement. Xiong Da''s five dungeon instances raked in more money in a day, way more than he could have made if he worked as an average computer engineer. However, Jin needed to bring him up to the second floor for compulsory health monitoring as stated by the countries'' law if the cultivators were rendered unconscious. The only way to bring Xiong Da up? Lazy Panda Swipe. The training he got for sending Xiong Da up tremendously improved his swipe''s strength, speed and accuracy. The downside was the soreness. Jin figured if he cultivate at night via his Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda Technique, the soreness should be reduced or gone by tomorrow. Also, when he thought about it further, he did not actually earn that much since his commission was about 5% for each instance according to the system''s rules. However, he did not need to worry about rental, about stock, about maintenance of the shop. What he was receiving was pure commission. He also had some inheritance money left by his late grandfather Ming hence bills at home were easily settled. All Jin had to do was to focus on earning money to become the best dungeon supplier. Jin accepted the Lady Snake Mission and he leisurely scrolled through the other missions as he sipped his Coca Kola drink. "Hmm, what is this?" Jin got curious of the mission title and tapped to expand the details. ********* Mission: Earn a total of 10,000 Yuan Rewards: Level 1 Dungeon Supplier Mission completion: In progress ********** "Oh, this is one of those ongoing missions. I forgot to tell you about it. Heh." Yun said casually. "Huh, what do you mean by Level 1 Dungeon Supplier? What does it do?" Jin started to seriously questioned Yun. "By being a level 1 Dungeon supplier, you will get 10% commission and your shophouse facilities will expand a little. Basically, increasing your dungeon supplier level is beneficial for you." "Did you not say that the system judged me by ranking? You said I was ranked 900,000ish?" Jin was getting confused. "Oh no, the levels here are meant to help you expand your shop and increase your earnings. The system will still judged you by your supplier ranking and give you a reward once you reach a certain milestone." "Is there a mission for me to view for the rankings?" Jin shook his head. How could Yun forget such important stuff? "You do know I can read your hidden thoughts too if I want to. I did not forget, it is just that I did not want to bombard you with so many things." Yun replied honestly. "Alright, I will give that a pass then. I do admit I still have lots to learn." Jin sighed and started to walk back to his shop. "That''s the spirit of humility that I hoped you cultivate!" Yun gave a thumbs up emoji via his phone. As he was walking back, he notice something odd. There were loud chatter coming from the end of Tiangong Shopping street. As he looked closer, there was actually a long queue waiting for him at his shophouse! "You said to come here as soon as possible! But the store seems to be closed!" Bin Yong felt annoyed and a little disappointed being rushed straight from work the moment the clock struck 5.30pm. "There''s an A4 sign stating that he will be back, I checked!" Luo Bo reassured Bin Yong and he could not resist her. "Take a look at this crowd, I am not lying to you! And we are already considered the first few. Count yourself lucky Bin Yong." Shi Zuo looked back and saw the queue for Jin''s store getting longer. Jin was taken aback but he walked briskly towards his shop and entered through the side door. Some of the crowd in the afternoon remembered the Boss and cheered as he came back from his dinner. "Boss Jin! Hurry and open your shop! We cannot wait to give the dungeon a try!" "Give me 5 to 10 minutes to prepare everything." Jin spoke before he closed the side door. As he closed the door, he took in a deep breath. "WOOOOOOO, I cannot believe this! This feels like a miracle!" Jin raised his fist up quickly and vigorously drew it back. "Hahaha, I am feeling excited for you too, do your best for the evening~! It''s all or nothing to handle and impress the crowd!" Yun cheered him on. Jin quickly used the bathroom on the second floor while the system boots up all the the stations and Panda Port. Everything was restocked from the drinks to curry rice. Even the soda and snack bar vending machine on the second floor was ready. "Let''s do this!" Jin said to Yun as he opened the shutters of the shop. The crowd started to queue at the Panda Port. Some of the crowd started to explain how the shop worked based on observations in the afternoon. "Oh my gosh, this is a rip off!" Bin Yong stared at the menu when they were at the cashier counter. "Sorry Boss, do not bother about him, three instance tickets!" Shi Zuo said immediately as the last station, Station 4 was the only one available at the moment. "Okay, please pay individually." Jin acknowledged their order and the phones tapped in and tapped out of the cashier port. Bin Yong grudgingly paid his part. If not for Luo Bo, he would have complained even more. The dog tags were issued to Shi Zuo and the trio quickly ran to Station 4 even before Jin could direct them to that area. The rest of the crowd also bought their dungeon instance tickets and Jin gave them directions on which station to go to once the initial team were done. Yun was helping Jin in his head telling him on what to do while not confusing him. Both of them were working like cogs of a machine¡­well two cogs of a machine. Actually, when Jin thought about it, it was Jin who was a cog and Yun the engine. Some of the crowd that were waiting started to order the tonkatsu curry rice and some drinks with the Panda credits they had accumulated from buying the dungeon instance. They did not regret their choice of coming here even if it was not for the dungeon instance. Bin Yong looked at the atmosphere around him and it was intensely heated up. Everyone were busily chatting on how to advance during the dungeon, telling each other what to do. Some even used the viewing experience in the afternoon to guess what needs to be done. "This is amazing, I havenot see this kind of energy for quite some time." Bin Yong thought to himself. "Baby, you are our scout okay? Alert us when you see the goblins." Shi Zuo instructed Luo Bo and she gave a quick salute to tease him. "Bin Yong, just survive as long as you can okay?" Bin Yong just nodded his head. "It''s just a dungeon is it not? Why are you two being so serious?" Bin Yong said as he took out his sword and round shield from his storage ring. He actually did feel a little excited, perhaps it was the energy from the atmosphere even though he had placed such low expectations upon himself. "You will understand soon Bin Bin!" Luo Bo took their belongings and left it in the panda miniature by the side of the TV shelves. "Let''s try to kill some goblins!" Shi Zuo placed his dog tag in front of the TV and the other two followed him. Station 4 officially started their dungeon play and the crowd waiting, took the chance to take a look at them. Chapter 23: Yun The whole store was bustling with such fervent energy as the crowd watcheed four simultaneous dungeon instance runs in the store. Not only were the TVs at each stations large enough for the crowd to share together, the new customers were also amazed by the magic eye technology employed by the store. "Switch! Shi Zuo back up now!" Shi Zuo parried the spear''s goblin attack upwards with his axe and sidestepped for Bin Yong. While its spear was high up in the air, Bin Yong placed his round buckler forward and slammed it towards the spear goblin body, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground. With the goblin now stunned, three simultaneous arrows from Luo Bo flew into the goblin''s body and Shi Zuo followed up with an axe cleave to the goblin''s right arm. Blood continuously flow out from the goblin and Bin Yong took the chance to stab his sword into the goblin''s heart. The crowd cheered at Station 4 when the last goblin went down but the rest of the stations did not have such luck. Most of them were defeated by the sneak attacks of the dagger goblin. Jin stopped his shop operations and started to carry them to second floor for health monitoring. Before he carried them to the second floor, Jin placed them at a couch near the stairs leading to the second floor. This way, the customers next in line could use the station without being hindered by the unconscious bodies in front of the TV. Some of the customers even offered help to assist Jin but he declined the offer and told them it''s his job. As Jin did not wish to waste time, he decided to carry two unconscious male customers at a time to the couch area and to do so, he used his cultivation technique to increase his strength. At this moment, most of the the crowd realised why the store was full of pandas. "Boss! No wonder you have so many pandas stuff in the store. We figured you were a Panda user!" One of the customers pointed out the obvious. During this occasion, Jin realised something extremely important. What about the female customers that were rendered unconscious? Even though there were CCTV cameras as proof, Jin may still be accused of molesting them or worse, **** by the unsuspecting crowd or even the female customers themselves just for carrying them to the second floor. Even so, there were no chaperones to handle the second floor since the recovery area were used by both genders. If a male customer had malicious intent to do something underhanded to a fellow female cultivator that was unconscious, how could the shop handle such a scandal? "Do not worry, Jin. I will handle it." Suddenly a very familiar voice came from within the crowd while Jin was handling the two unconscious customers. That familiar silky walnut brown hair came into view. That same devious smile and beautiful wide eyes. That 173cm tall lady with a simple white silk office shirt with her sleeves folded up. That grey formal office skirt with a thin chocolate brown belt accessory that showed her curves and a nude colour stocking that went easily with the pair of black kitten heels. What she was wearing, cried out demure but her facial features were second to none. The male customers dropped their jaws and stopped what they were doing just to appreciate a refined beauty of nature while the female ones were amazed by the perfect three dimensions of her body she was portraying. The flawless beauty took the initiative to pick up the unconscious female customer with pure elegance and carried her effortless to the couch. She winked at Jin as she continued to help Jin with the female counterparts. When the first floor was cleared of unconscious customers, she lied down on one of the available lounge chairs on the second floor to monitor the customers. Jin went back to operating the store and serving the customers. "Boss Jin! You know that gorgeous lady that helped you?" One of the customers could not hold his curiosity and started to ask questions. The other customers surrounding him pretended not to be interested but they were actually listening intently into the conversation. "Ehhh, she is someone I know and am close to." Boss Jin was dumbfounded as he did not know how to reply. Should he say that that was his mom but she actually died before and came back looking younger instead? "Any idea if she''s attached?" the other customer could not bring himself to not ask. "Do not get any ideas, she''s¡­.married and very faithful." Not to mention she also gave birth to him and was still scolding Jin for not taking care of himself. "Now, that is a challenge to partake!" One of the customers joked. All Jin could respond was with a bitter laughter with a tinge of hostility. "I dare you, you rascal." Jin quietly thought. "Hahaha, to see my own son wanting to defend me. Thats a first." Yun giggled and replied in his head. "How can you exist here and there?" Jin took a look at the CCTV live footage on his Panda Port and he saw Yun still lounging leisurely on the comfortable reclining chair. "Magic! Hehehe! The system took into your thoughts consideration and decided to gift me a body to help with the shop. We cannot let the store go bankrupt from lawsuits, accusations or even scandals even before it starts to earn proper money right?" Yun explained to him. "Besides, if you hire an assistant, they might not possibly be able handle the magical stuff as calmly as you did." Yun stated. "Blame it on the internet. Those light novels are the culprits that made me immune to these kind of surprises. However, ehh Yun." Jin stuttered a little "Yes?" "You are really beautiful." Jin thought and blushed a little. Thank goodness he was squatting down to get some curry from the magical cabinet so the customers did not see his expression. "Awwww, do not fall in love with me okay? I have your father already. But I am starting to love you as my child too." If Jin could see the CCTV footage at the Panda Port, Yun was peacefully smiling while laying back on the chair. "Thank you for the opportunity to reunite with my son, Dad." Yun thought quietly of Ming, Jin''s grandfather. Meanwhile, the crowd burst into roar at Station 4. "This could be the next group on the ranking board!" One of the Station 4''s crowd shouted! Bin Yong panted rapidly as he held up his buckler to hold off the tusk attack by the Eight Legged Boar. The lucky arrow shot to the eyes made the boar extremely furious but the trio was still holding on without any healing personnel. Shi Zuo remembered he still had some quick healing sprays from previous dungeon suppliers they visited and passed everyone a few bottles before the battle started. "Okay sorry for judging you brother. This battle is beyond my comprehension on how versatile the monsters can be that deadly and dangerous. But one thing is for sure, I actually like this a lot more than other dungeon suppliers." Bin Yong took another blow from the angry boar but he managed to sneak in a few sword slashes while activating his Bombardier Beetle style. "I told you! This could be our next regular hangout place! You have yet to try Boss Jin''s food yet, the smell of the curry rice was incredible!" Shi Zuo dashed and did a leap attack with his axe using his Mad Monkey Style towards the boar''s flank. "Hey! I was the one who encouraged you to come with us! Stupid Bin Bin!" Luo Bo went for a good angle and released her arrows with her Illusive Rabbit Style. Bin Yong could not give a reply to her immediately with his hidden feelings now vulnerable and in the open. However, that one moment of thought allowed the blind boar hit his target properly and Bin Yong was knocked a few metres away, "Shit, Luo Bo go help Bin Yong now! I will distract the boar for a while!" Shi Zuo let out a shout similar to how a Mad Monkey screamed and the Boar turned its head to face him. Bin Yong was bleeding quite a lot at right shoulder and he saw Luo Bo panicking while rushing towards him. "Ah, I failed them again like that time." He placed his head down on the ground to breath as slow as in order to endure the pain. Luo Bo came and she quickly knelt down, put down her bow and searched her sling bag for the quick healing spray. "Do not die on us now Bin Bin, you are not allowed to do so!" Luo Bo words were firm despite that innocent looking face Bin Yong was staring at. "I will do my best." Bin Yong closed his eyes as Luo Bo started to use the healing spray. Chapter 24: Second Form of Boss Boar "It''s enough Luo Bo, you should aid Shi Zuo." Bin Yong stood up as steadily as he could, using his sword as a support. From the position she was kneeling, she realigned her sling bag and picked up the bow she left on the floor. Bin Yong took a deep breath in and started to use his sword to hit his buckler. "Bang Bang Bang!" The ruckus of metal against metal was amplified by his Bombardier Beetle style and he finally got the attention of the boar. Just as the Boar turned to see where the ruckus was from, another three arrows flew into its flesh at the flank. The boar was obviously tired while contending with Shi Zuo but the latter was injured and he looked like he would have collapsed anytime if not for Bin Yong''s timely intervention. Shi Zuo''s Mad Monkey style was meant for attack and not for defense. However, the phrase the best offense is the best defense still held true. The cuts and slashes that Shi Zuo delivered made the boar bleed and Bin Yong could see that with a little more effort, it might die. "Oh, they might have a chance to invoke the second form." Jin accidentally spoke out loud as he was looking at Station 4 and the crowd of customers in front of the TV immediately turned around stunned. "Boss Jin¡­what do you mean second form?" Cold sweat slowly dripped down from one of the customer''s neck. "Take a look for yourself, it should happen anytime soon. I think." "Luo Bo, it seems it is dying, let''s go for an all-out attack!" Bin Yong suddenly took charge of the situation. Luo Bo nodded happily and with her cultivation style, two Rabbits were seen jumping around above her. She bent her knees a little and held her bow string as stretched as possible. The arrow in the bow was slowly gathering the chi from Luo Bo and from the surroundings. The boar suddenly noticed the threat was not from the human with the sword and shield but from the ranged weapon user. Without regards for its life, it charged frantically towards the bow user. The distraction worked well, Bin Yong summoned out his cultivation, two beetles were flying in circles above him and he used all his might to slam his buckler towards the flank of the boar. The boar who let its guard down was pushed from the side, causing it to fall sideways. The arrow gathered enough chi and Luo Bo released the tension of the string and the arrow blasted out of the bow. Luo Bo later fell to the ground due to providing chi energy for the charged arrow shot. Bin Yong quickly got out of the way before he got caught in the blast radius of the charged arrow. "Boom!" A large amount of smoke and ground dust appeared when the arrow landed onto the knocked down boar. Bin Yong was amazed by Luo Bo''s all-out attack. "Good Job Luo Bo!" Luo Bo could not respond verbally but raised her hand and gave a thumbs up. Shi Zuo who was on the ground too, laughed loudly. Bin Yong started to chuckle a little. They did it right? "Buu Buuu, Buuu Heee!!" A sound was emitted from the smoke and dust. Bin Yong immediately went into defensive stance. "What? I thought we killed it?" Bin Yong was alarmed. Shi Zho and Luo Bo tried to sit up as well when they heard the noise from the boar. "That does not sound the same as the boar we killed just now!" From the smoke, a small figure roughly 50 centimetres in height stood tall on the corpse of the dead eight legged boar. "Guys, I thought you said the boar is the final boss!" Bin Yong cried out to them. "That was what we saw when Bu Dong killed it instantly!" Shi Zuo shouted back. "Instantly¡­? Could it be that Luo Bo''s attack was not strong enough to kill it instantly?" Bin Yong started to talked to himself. However, before he could think of any other reason, that small figure dashed out of the near dissipating smoke. Bin Yong''s quick reaction in using his buckler managed to buy him more time in the dungeon but he was knocked back into a tree, causing him to throw up some blood. That small figure was actually a cute looking piglet standing on its two legs¡­.and it was holding the boar''s tusk as its weapon. "Buuu Heee!" The piglet snorted out loud to show its aggression. Meanwhile, the customers stared at the TV with blank looks. "Boss, did you purposely put the boar with a piglet sound and vice versa for this piglet." The crowd was waiting for the answer but Jin opened a Panda Juice and leant on the bar counter before speaking. "Trade Secret." "If not for my respect for Boss Jin''s food and quality dungeon, I would probably smack him real hard with my cultivation." One of the customers sighed. "Then I guess, Bu Dong did not trigger the piglet because he killed it instantly. Damaging it hard and letting it bleed to death probably allowed it to trigger the second form of the eight legged boar." Another customer deduced it and everyone thought it was the only possibility. Suddenly the chatter around the bar counter got even more heated than usual. Some started to change their strategy while others checked if they had sufficient items to last them through the boss battle. One of the customers even asked Jin if he sells dungeon essential supplies, "I will have them soon, they are still pending for shipping. Do not worry, if you are careful, you do not actually need to buy any items for this dungeon." "Yeah right, I do not see how I do not need to worry when this dungeon boss has a second form! Why don''t you try it and show us how it is done Boss!" One of the customers provoked Jin and somehow, it caught on with the crowd. "Yeah Boss! Show us how this is done! I will even pay for your instance ticket!" The crowd got even louder. "Okay, but after Station 4 finishes their turn. I might need to bring them up for health monitoring." Jin promised them and Yun laughed at the absurdity of the request of the crowd. "Hahaha, Jin I cannot believe they are giving out free advertisement service for you." Jin grinned a little at Yun''s comment and continued to enjoy the show at Station 4. "Bin Yong, careful! The piglet is coming at you from the right, but it''s a feint from the front!" Luo Bo shouted as she knew a thing or two about illusions and feints due to her style, Illusive Rabbit. However, she was too weak to help Bin Yong after the charged arrow. Shi Zuo tried to aid Bin Yong but he was careless in his defense a few seconds ago, causing him to be slammed hard from the tusk attack, which the small piglet carried it around so effortlessly. The wounds he initially got from the fights started to get bigger. Compared to the big sized boar, the piglet lacked strength but compensated with speed and versatility. The attacks were not hard hitting enough to take Bin Yong down but it was wearing him down fast. "I have to use a feint too, else I am not able to hit the piglet!" Bin Yong thought to himself as he defended another flurry of attacks delivered by the piglet. The piglet finally jumped backwards after its attack to regain some stamina but Bin Yong thought this was the best opportunity to feint his way to victory. He quickly staggered and went down to his knees while pretending to lay his sword on the ground. Instead of waiting to get some stamina back, the piglet rushed forward with all its might upon seeing the new situation. The moment the piglet was within range, Bin Yong looked at it intently and his cultivation shines brightly above him. "Bombardier Beetle Defense Act 1, Bombardment Counterattack!" Bin Yong shouted. A burst of hot high pressured gas came gushing out from Bin Yong''s shield and it immediately surrounded Bin Yong and enveloped the piglet. The hot pressured gas scorched the piglet''s skin, ears, eyes and even mouth which caused the piglet to be in pain and misses its attack, falling to the ground beside Bin Yong. Without any hesitation, he quickly picked his sword up to thrust at the piglet''s back. However, the severely injured piglet did not give any quarters and pushed the tusk it was holding backwards. At that heightened juncture, both managed to strike their targets. The tusk was pierced into the left lower ribs, going through Bin Yong''s left lung while the sword was pierced into the piglet''s neck. Both fell to the ground lying in a pool of each other''s blood. "Bin Bin!" Luo Bo cried out at her helplessness as she tried to drag herself towards Bin Yong. Shi Zuo was unable to move from the wounds he received from the piglet and he could only see his friend fall from the attack. Suddenly, a female announcer voice was heard and stated that the dungeon was completed. The crowd did not cheer at Station 4 and there was only silence. When the trio came out of the dungeon instance, Luo Bo and Shi Zuo were back to peak health but Bin Yong was rendered unconscious. The crowd started to clap as if to welcome them back to safety and Jin said their names out loud. "Grade 2 Nu Bin Yong, Grade 2 Mei Shi Zuo and Grade 2 Zha Luo Bo, you have cleared the dungeon and your timing had been placed in the current scoreboard right over there. Only the top 30 timings will be listed. As of now, congratulations." Now the crowd cheered a little, giving them the respect for clearing not just the dungeon but the hidden form of the boss too. Chapter 25: What a Cheat!- Part 1 "Do you need my help with him?" Jin offered help to the trio to bring Bin Yong to the second floor for health monitoring. "Thank you Boss for the offer, but we should be able to manage." Luo Bo struggled to smile a little but in other people''s eyes, it was quite a natural smile. Shi Zuo and Luo Bo together slowly brought Bin Yong up the second floor. "Boss Jin! Don''t you dare try to run away!" one of the customers teased him. "Yea Boss! Show us how you defeat them!" The crowd''s chatter got noisy and some even started to chant Boss Jin''s name. From the view of Tiangong Shopping District, it felt like there was a major party going on at the end of the shopping street. People that were strolling around, doing some window shopping eventually started to become curious of the no name traditional shophouse being so crowded and lively while the rest of the shopping street was dead quiet. Even Shen Si Fang, the owner of Lele Diner Cafe, pretended to clean the premises outside his store to check out at the high level of noise at the end of the shopping street. He was happy that the new store owner Jin already had quite a crowd even at the starting week of his store. "Perhaps, those are his friends celebrating with him, the place will probably get quiet again after a week or two." Si Fang could not help but felt a little jealous. He used to have quite a decent amount of business until the Tiangong shopping street was defiled by the Pachinko scandal. "Come on Boss! Do not say I go back on my word." Man Zhuang who previously offered to pay for Boss Jin''s instance came forward to the Panda Port and placed his phone down. "Thank you for your business." Jin did not back down at all. "Wow, Boss is quite magnanimous, I was not expecting you to give me Panda Credits as well." Man Zhuang smiled at the sudden influx of Panda Credits. He could now afford to buy more drinks or even some curry rice. He thought to himself what a hit it could be if the curry rice or the drinks can be sold without purchasing the dungeon instance tickets. Perhaps it was the restriction that made it desirable. As Jin walked out from behind the bar counter, the crowd from all stations started to peek at Station 4. Jin decided to use the dimensional space at Station 4 since it was emptied by the trio who recently passed the dungeon. Jin did a few oblique side stretches to loosen his body and arms a little before he placed his phone near the TV and got teleported. Some were already amazed by the technology employed by the store and Jin''s act of using his phone got even more hype. "I thought he need to use dog tags to go in?" "Perhaps, he has a dog tag attached to his phone?" The customer replied to the person beside him. "No, I think it''s the same NFC technology he used in the dog tags. I believe he was thinking for the customers, hoping not to clutter our phones with customised apps unlike those new hippie stores." Man Zhuang, who was more tech savvy, theroised. "But Boss Jin has a customised app for this store too! Take a look!" One of the customers opened the Pandamonium app to show it to the Man Zhuang. "Ah, so that means there is a possibility that Boss Jin is actually giving us the option to use dog tags if we plan to just ''try out'' his store. If we actually like the store and hope to patronise it more, the app will be a more convenient option rather than the dog tag." Man Zhuang concluded as he immediately downloaded and tried out the app himself. "Woah, it is actually quite well designed! So clean, and the app features respond quick too! It even allows you to connect to the store''s secured Wifi without any prompt." He was unable to stomach this properly. As one of the department heads for the telecommunications giant in China, Huawee, Man Zhuang could not believe that the technology employed in this little store was as sophisticated as theirs, or perhaps even better. "Okay tech guy, let''s take a look at Boss Jin''s performance! You can rant to us about how great Boss Jin is later or maybe mock him for boasting too much" The crowd started to laugh a little at the customer''s remark towards Man Zhuang. Jin was teleported safely into the dimension space and the quiet sparse wood environment was a refreshing change from the lively atmosphere he had in the shop. Not that he despised the lively atmosphere it, it was just that the change was pleasant. Jin stood there while still scrolling through his phone. He was checking on the monsters'' stats and hoped that the goblins had grown a little after all those fights. "The dagger goblin and spear goblin are eligible for a Grade 2 promotion" Yun said. "How do they get promotion? By me fighting them? Doing some side quests for them? Obtain certain rare crystals to grow them?" Jin tried to think of possible ways to deal with the Grade 2 promotion. "Haha, it is actually simpler than that. You just upgrade them on your phone, there''s an upgrade icon at the bottom of their stats if you scroll all the way down. Their equipment will also change for the better although if you upgrade them now, they might prove a little challenging to you as compared to them being in Grade 1 at the moment. " "Perhaps, I will do that tomorrow, why spoil such a wonderful show in the making?" Jin smiled, "Shrewd businessman, you have what it takes to be one." Yun replied. "It''s a pity I cannot upgrade the sword goblin though." Jin was looking at the sword goblin''s attributes. "Most cultivators are sword users, they have been training against opponents using the sword for the longest time. Hence, the sword goblin being at Grade 1 proved to be just another inferior opponent. As compared to the dagger and spear goblin, which most modern cultivators do not have a chance to fight and practice against, those two goblins were able to have a slight advantage against them." Yun explained the rationale behind the sword goblin''s lack of promotion. "However, this does not mean that the sword goblin is not learning. Being exposed to many fighting arts, the sword goblin itself is starting to be able to defend and strike more precisely than before." When Yun finished talking, Jin could sense the three goblins approaching. "What is Boss Jin doing on his phone? Should he not be aware of those goblins or is he that confident of winning?" "We shall see." Man Zhuang spoke. "My minions, do not hesitate to attack me like how you would attack my customers. Of course be a little more dramatic in dying since we are putting on a show for them." Jin placed his phone in his pocket and started to look around. He remembered what Yun told him about the monsters. They were all loyal towards him no matter what due to the System''s influence. The goblins nodded their head slightly to prove their loyalty but to the audience that were watching, it felt like the goblins were communicating with among each other. The goblins internally agreed and quickly went into position for a three pronged attack. "Oh the goblins are moving towards Boss Jin!" One of the customers shouted and all of them in the shop tried to look at Station 4''s TV. Chapter 26: What a Cheat! -Part 2 Jin was still lazily looking around the environment but in actual fact, he was using the Playful Platypus Style location sensing ability, a part of various styles he learnt before he had the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation. However, with the advent of Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation, the location sensing ability was actually enhanced. Pandas had inherent functional hearing that could be used to listen into ultrasonic range and with the cultivation technique he was using, he was able to take advantage of it. Since he used the basis of Playful Platypus for location sensing and the Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation for enhancement, he casually called it the Playful Panda Hearing ability. "Both you and Ming have poor taste in naming convention." Yun pointed out. "Well, it works, it should be fine." Jin started to notice where the goblins were. Although Jin seemed like he was not in any stance, the muscles in his hands were already starting to gather the chi within it, ready to burst out at any moment. The goblins took the first initiative and all three leap at once, doing a three pronged attack, hoping to surprise their master. However, they were so wrong. Jin was expecting them. When the goblins were within range of their strikes, Jin immediately lifted his arm and used a simple swipe to counterattack. That Lazy Panda Swipe did not only block their attacks but the force was so powerful that it broke their weapons! That was not all, the impact of the swipe caused the broken weapons and the goblin to be knocked back at least tens of metres! The after impact also made some of the broken pieces of the weapon penetrate the goblins during the knockback and the dagger goblin died in an instant from the broken weapon pieces during the knockback. Unfortunately, the unluckiest one was not the dagger goblin but the sword goblin. The knockback from the swipe caused it to have its neck pierced by a dislodged branch and it died choking. The spear goblin was already coughing up blood due to serious internal injuries but it remembered the master''s orders to be dramatic. So it held its throat to suffocate itself while pretending to be choking from the internal injuries and it died for the ''show''. The crowd outside of Station 4 stared at the screen and the disbelief in the people was plain for all to see. Some had their jaws opened so wide that any wider, and they would need to have surgery to fix it back. The silence was so deafening until one could not take it and shouted. "OH MY GOD, IS HE A CHEAT?!" The silence in the room rapidly turned into an upheaval of complaints. "You sure Boss Jin was a Grade 2 Cultivator?!" One of the crowd tried to confirm it. "Did you not see his cultivation when he was carrying the unconscious up to the recovery floor?" "Yeah! At most he could be a Grade 2 Peak from the looks of it!" "This is too overbearing! Did Boss Jin reduce the difficulty before he went into the instance?" "That is not possible, you saw how those goblins move and how perfect the three pronged strike was coordinated by the goblins! They were aiming to kill him!" "Ahhhhh my brain is going to explode!!" "Here comes the eight legged boar! Mr Oink!" One of the customers shouted at the top of his voice to attract attention. Each and every customer was looking with hawk eyes to make sure Jin was not cheating. "Oink Oink!" The boar stared at Jin with murderous eyes. All Jin did was put his hand out and beckoned it to come towards him. The boar stomped his feet on the ground for a few times before he starts to charge furiously towards Jin with its tusks facing right at him. This time round, Jin was not just standing around, he bent his knees a little. "Is he going to sidestep the boar?" One of the customers asked. "I think so if he sidesteps too early, it will be useless, the boar can change directions very quickly, especially when it has eight legs. If he sidesteps too late, he would not be able to avoid the large wide tusk attack since the boar basically has a 160 degrees angle of attack with a radius of roughly 1.5m." "Are your estimates even accurate?" A customer doubted the reply. "I''m quoting based on the closest monster I know of, the six legged boar." the nerdy customer replied with confidence. "Maybe, he just going to swipe the boar to death. Hahaha" "Those tusks are definitely harder to break than the goblin''s cast iron weapons. Even if he can do that, he probably will die alongside with the boar from the charge impact. You cannot ignore the basic physics of the dimensional space" the know it all customer chipped in his opinion in again "Shhhhh!" The crowd around the nerdy customer wanted to see with their own eyes the defeat of the boar. The boar was getting closer but Jin was not moving at all. The charge of the boar suddenly changed and it became twice as fast the moment it was at least 10 metres away from Jin. Instead of side stepping, he was still in the same position, unmoving. "It''s too late, he can not sidestep in time when the charge quickened." Man Zhuang said. Yes, the boar was reaching him in a matter of seconds and its tusks were aiming straight at Jin. But Jin was waiting¡­waiting for the boar to reach as close as he could before he released his Lazy Panda Swipe. The stance he was in was to gather as much strength and chi to handle an opponent that was oversized and heavy. Besides, he had practiced more than enough times in the afternoon. "What is this boar when you have to handle Xiong Da?" Jin thought to himself. "Here it comes!" One of the customer just shout out her anxiety. "Boom!" The crowd went silent again as they saw through the TV, a jumbo eight metres long boar being sent upwards as if it was a backyard rocket experiment. All that was left on the ground was Jin with two lazy panda silhouettes hovering above him. Like a rocket that ran out of fuel, the boar dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Jin was walking towards it to confirm his kill when the female announcer stated that the dungeon was completed. Jin was teleported safely back to Station 4 and everyone looked at him like tongue tied horrors. Jin smiled and bowed a little before he returned to the bar counter. After which, he looked at the time and saw that it was nearly 10pm. "Shop is not taking anymore dungeon runs for today. Those who wish to do their dungeon runs and have not done so, please finish it. Food services are closed." Jin shouted as he ignored the crowd''s stare. "How did you have such power for Grade 2??" Man Zhuang said in a voice as steady as possible. Everyone suddenly looked at Jin waiting for his answer but instead, he said two words. "Trade Secret." "Ah, I think I hear a crow caw." a customer sarcastically replied. "Yea, oh look, I am one now. Caw Caw Caw." The customer portrayed his cultivation and 2 crows silhouettes flew around his head, cawing in the store. The crowd started to laugh at the senseless conversation and Man Zhuang also gave up asking for now. Some continued with their dungeon while others started to leave the store with mixed reactions. However, one thing was for sure. They would come back here again, the sense of excitement and the atmosphere was totally different from other dungeon suppliers, not to mention the food was amazing. The second day of the store''s opening was eventually concluded once the unconscious customers woke up. Jin bid them goodbye and closed his shop. Chapter 27: Grade Upgrades "You okay Bin Bin? Do you feel pain anywhere?" Luo Bo was a little guilty about being unable to help Bin Yong during the last part of the match. Shi Zuo was a little embarrassed and apologised to Bin Yong too. "Why are you two being so courteous? It''s so unlike the both of you. Well, it sure hurt a little during the fight but we won, did we not?" Bin Yong shrugged off their concern but he was slightly happy Luo Bo was concerned about him. "Shit, shit, stop it. That girl has already been taken. What are you thinking?!" Bin Yong suddenly thought to himself. "But¡­it would not hurt if I enjoyed this a little for the moment right¡­?" "Hahaha, I was fine, but Luo Bo was so anxious about you that it actually made me guilty for not showing concern about you. Now that I think about it, you sure gave it your best instead of letting the piglet defeat you." Shi Zuo laughed a little. "Well, it just felt so real. The fight for survival, it was either the piglet or me. I did not get such a feeling when I was playing in other dungeon suppliers'' instances. The adrenaline rush was there, it would have been stupid to just give up." Bin Yong explained clumsily but truthfully, he did want to look a little cooler in front of Luo Bo. "But eat a little less in the future okay, Bin Yong? Carrying you up to the second floor was such a chore!" Luo Bo teased him, seeing how he got better and was not angry at all. Bin Yong, on the other hand, was regretting that he had been unconscious. "Haha, lets come back to Boss Jin''s again sometime, okay? I think, we can consider this to be our next new usual hangout place." Bin Yong blushed a little as he suggested it. Both Shi Zuo and Luo Bo suddenly looked at each other and shared a High Five. Bin Yong later realised that he was the light bulb and he said his goodbyes to the couple, taking the underground subway back home while the couple spent some time together. Little did he know that this dungeon supplier would change his life. ¡ª¡ª¨C Jin returned home and placed a can of ice cold coffee in front Ming''s altar. He gave a light bow and went to shower. As he came out of the shower, he saw the younger Yun walking around the house, reminiscing about the past. She even returned to her own room to see certain items still intact after so many years but the room was a little dusty. "Lazy men, can''t they clean the house?" "I can hear that", Jin went to the kitchen for a cup of milk before he returned to his room. Yun yawned a little and decided to return to the system, the body slowly dissipating into thin air as if it never existed. "You will come back tomorrow to help me again right?" Jin asked when he saw the disappearing act right in front of his eyes. "Yea, I will. You do not have to worry about me, Jin. Have a good cultivating rest first. There are a few things to settle in the morning." Jin nodded his head and sat on the floor in his room to start his cultivation. Slowly but surely, he fell into a deep sleep. The next morning came in a blink of an eye but as Jin woke up, he felt that his muscles were indeed no longer sore and he felt a little stronger. Hence, he portrayed his cultivation in his room and was shocked to find out three pandas rolling around above him. "Grade 3?!" Jin was genuinely amazed. He knew he was near Grade 2 Peak before he met the system but he thought that the four years during university would have eroded his cultivation quite a fair bit, bringing it back to, at best, an average Grade 2 strength. "It has to do with your cultivation potential. Did Ming not tell you that all you needed to do was to find a proper cultivation technique to awaken your potential?" Yun reminded Jin. "For most people, cultivation degradation may occur but it was due to your potential that your previous cultivation remained the same despite negligence on your part." Jin nodded and took a look at the mission app. "I believe the ''earn 10,000 Yuan'' mission should have been completed? I roughly took into account the number of people that bought instance tickets." "Yes, you have reached sales of 11,250 Yuan within the first two days of business. Hence, you are now promoted to Level 1 Dungeon Supplier. Dungeon Supplier Ranking will be updated at the end of the financial month." Yin informed Jin. "So what''s the upgrade? Do not tell me it''s just two additional stations." Jin remembered how the fantasy light novels gave very stingy upgrades. "It''s two additional stations." Yun laughed when Jin heard the news. "And an underground floor is unlocked." "Woah what! An underground floor? "Jin now started to get excited. "Come and take a look for yourself. It was renovated last night when you completed that mission. Or do you wish to partake in the Lady Snake capture mission first?" Yun said in his head. "I will take a look at the underground floor before catching the Lady Snake. It was tiring to open the shop for an entire day, I will probably use the mornings during the weekdays to catch monsters in order to increase the store''s variety or train myself." Jin finally thought to himself. "Maybe I will open in the morning for the weekends." "That''s a fairly sound decision and you will have some time for yourself too." Yun agreed fully. "Alright, I cannot wait to see the new floor." Jin quickly cooked a plate of scrambled egg and bacon along with a few pieces of toast for breakfast. A hearty breakfast for the start of a new day. As Jin was walking to his store, he went ahead and upgrade the spear and dagger goblins to Grade 2. "How will the new grade affect the current dungeon setup?" "Once all of your monsters have upgraded to the new grade, additional difficulties will automatically be created. While waiting for the entire team of a dungeon instance monsters to be upgraded, an option called ''Normal+'' difficulty will appear." Yun explained. "Do the customers have to pay more for the upgraded difficulty?" Jin thought about it and felt that the price was already unfair. If his customers had to pay more for the same type of content, it was akin to scamming. "Nope, they do not. However, the cultivators can now have the options to choose what kind of difficulty they want the mobs to be on the TV before entering the dimensional space. So for now, there will be ''Normal'' and ''Normal+'' difficulty" "You have not discovered the full extent of the dungeon instance yet. For most dungeons, they will have three kinds of difficulties set for them. Normal, Hard and Extreme. That also means that the dungeon instance will be capped at a certain grade." Yun explained to him. "For the goblin dungeon instance, it will be capped at Grade 3 and that grade will be the Extreme difficulty setting for the instance. Another example would be the next mission you will be undergoing. If you succeed in capturing the Lady Snake, you will get a Grade 2 Dungeon and the capped grade for that dungeon will be at Grade 4." Jin took in the information and started to understand how the dungeon instance mechanics worked. While it seemed simple from the start, some minor things that could enhance the experience of the customers. Jin reached his storehouse and entered from the side door. Before he proceeded to the underground floor, he created an A4 paper sign and placed it outside. "Not open in the morning for weekdays." "I have updated the Pandamonium with your notice so customers will know of the new change," Yun said and Jin checked his phone. A new Panda tab appeared in the app and it stated ''Notice and Announcements''. "This Pandamonium app sure is handy." Jin smiled and now looked at the newly created door entrance to the underground floor near the stairs. Chapter 28: Underground Floor The glass panel door was next to the stairs leading to the second floor. The couch that was once there was shifted further to the right. It was a reinforced glass panel sliding door that did not obstruct the current design layout of the storehouse. It seemed like the upgrades had been taken into consideration when the store was created. "Specially reinforced NASA-approved military grade glass with top quality extreme defence inscriptions, capable of withstanding Grade 19 Peak attacks at least twice," Yun said with some gusto. "What in the world are you hiding down there that it requires such a powerful glass door?"Jin was now curious. "Go downstairs, you will see." Yun suddenly appeared as her younger self now and followed him from behind. Beside the glass door was a panel, similar to the credit port at the Panda Port PC. Jim took his phone out and placed it over the port to activate the door. "For customers, they can use the dog tags given to them to gain access," Yun said to Jin as the door slid open quietly When the door opened, the stairway was lit brightly and at each side of the stairway were pictures of pandas tumbling, as if they missed a step and continued to fall all the way until they reached the underground floor. Jin stepped into the basement and saw a few large crates lying around. Yun told him that the phone was needed to authorise the crate opening and he did what was instructed by Yun. Suddenly, items flew out of the creates and started to fly around the room, filling the area. Upon further inspection, he found that some of the parts were used to create a cinematic screen on each side of the wall. In total, three cinematic screens were constructed, filling up all three walls of basement 1. In the middle of it all, three cute carved pandas in white jade were placed side by side, equally spaced out from each other. As exquisite as the system always was, the white jade statues even had black jades within the carved pandas design, which made it even more lifelike. The three carved white jade pandas were not without their identities. The panda on the left wore an old eastern Chinese war helmet but the helmet was too large for it that it covered its eyes. The centre panda had a long beard, and carried an ancient backpack with a variety of goods in it. The craftsmanship of the white jade was so detailed that the goods on the backpack could be easily identified. Lastly, the panda on the right was a young lazy panda nibbling on a spear as if it was eating bamboo. "Let me guess. For you to have a seemingly ''innocent looking'' glass panel door on the first floor means that you have items of very high value in the basement. What can be more valuable than what they are portraying? I have also deduced that these statues have a dimensional space port similar to the stations on the first floor. So¡­.shops?" Jin tentatively asked Yun, who was touching the white jaded pandas. "Yeap!! Panda Armoury, Panda General Store and Panda Weaponry." Yun''s smile was dazzling like the white jade. Now he understood why his dad was smitten over her. "So¡­three shops in my store. Am I a boss of a department outlet now?!" "It''s called an efficient use of space! I wonder why greedy capitalists of the world never thought of doing such a thing?" "Are you kidding me? I cannot possibly handle this all by myself" Jin suddenly had a big headache. "Silly Jin, why are there dimensional space ports here?" Yun questioned him. "Dungeon Instance? As a shop?!" Jin was surprised why no one really ever thought of that. "Yeap! Instead of a proper dungeon instance, there will be an exit added to the dimensional space and which they do not have to pay for it. All they have to do is show either their phone with Pandamonium installed or their dog tags!" Yun explained to Jin as she walked around basement 1. "Also, they are not exactly stores, more like reward redemption counters. The panda medals your customers earn can be used to exchange for essential items here. Most of the items offered in the global market can be found here and your customers can use panda medals to buy them. Of course, ours are of a higher quality." Yun smiled. "Now I understand why you need to have such a reinforced gate at the front entrance. You literally have the entire world''s market in these three stores." Jin started to think that he was going insane. "Did I mention to you that your store is protected by the best defensive perimeter and anti-hacking systems in the world? Would you believe me?" "At this rate, if you said that you were a god. I would believe you too." Jin said in response. "Nonsense, I am better than god. I am your mother." Yun knocked Jin on his head and started to walk up to the first floor. "In any case, you can use your phone via the store layout app to activate this area," Yun shouted down from the first floor. Jin searched for his store layout app and he scrutinised the basement blueprint. He realised that there was a possibility that the store layout did not stop at basement 1. The excitement of having a complete shop made him unable to wait to unlock more levels of his dungeon supplier store. As he activated the basement level with his store layout app, the three cinematic screens immediately came alive. It appeared as if they were advertising each of their own stores and the screen quality itself was top notch. "Angry with goblins backstabbing you? Get your armour here for just 8 panda medals! First week opening!" Flashy pictures of clothing and armour were shown along the cinematic screen of the Panda Armoury "Quality potions. 2 medals. No negotiation." An old-school Chinese way of writing prices on wooden plaques was shown on the cinematic screen for the Panda General Store. "GREAT DISCOUNT, FIRST WEEK OPENING! 10 panda medals for all weapons!" Various animated short clips showing the weapon''s design were shown for the Panda Weaponry "Even the shops have their own personality." Jin giggled at the amazing reward redemption counters. "Hey Yun, what about me? I do not have a personal weapon or armour for myself." Jin slowly walked back up to the first floor. "I cannot possibly get panda medals since I am the Boss." "Do I really need to spell it out for you? Is it not obvious enough after you have been with me for so long?" Yun folded her arms as she stared at Jin. "Oh¡­missions. Right¡­I should start doing the Lady Snake mission soon too." Jin searched for the Bellator App and summoned Milk out. However, Milk was teleported onto the couch and she was lying down on the couch sexily while holding her bolster. "Hmmm? Five more minutes¡­Master." Milk turned to her supine position and used her left forearm to block the light from going into her eyes. She lazily dropped her right arm down to the floor and her bolster rolled towards Jin. Milk''s figure was extremely revealing with the thin maroon silk gown that she was wearing. Yun picked the bolster up, went towards Milk and stuffed the bolster into her face. "NO FIVE MORE MINUTES!" Milk was suffocating and tried to pull the bolster out of her face but Yun was not giving her any chance. "Okay Okay! I''ll wake up!" Milk tried to kick Yun away but Yun persisted as if she explicitly knew Milk''s sleeping behaviour. Two beauties fighting in the morning. Jin could only stare at the current scene. "Ah¡­such a blissful morning." Chapter 29: Lady Snake Yun dragged Milk off the couch and up to the second floor bathroom while commanding Jin not to follow them. "Do not even think about looking at the CCTVs!" Yun stared at Jin with the eyes of a tiger as Milk whined to Jin. "Help me master!!! Save me from this demoness~!!! I just want to sleep five more Ahhhhhh!" Yun was ruthless as Milk was continuously hit by the threads and risers of the stairs all the way up to the second floor. It was like a little kid pulling her giant little doll. "What a wonderful sight." Jin nearly teared up due to being able to witness such a pure and beautiful scene. He quietly looked at the two new stations installed by the system, allowing him to operate a total of six stations in the shop. The new stations had a slightly larger TV, 55 inches compared to the other four which were only 49 inches. Perhaps, the system had underestimated the size of the crowd when it first started. Suddenly Milk ran down the stairs with her standard battle equipment and hid behind Jin. He could feel a slight plushie feeling pressing against his back as she cowered from Yun. "Master! Save me from this demoness!" Yun did not bother too much about her and snapped her fingers. A portal appeared right in front of Jin and Milk. "Just get this woman to work and I will not bother her." Yun walked away to the second floor with a little spite. "Let''s go, Milk." Jin took out his pathetic grade 1 iron sword and went into the portal. When they exited from the portal, all they saw was a large patch of grassland. Beyond the grassland, there was a slight slope with someone sitting by a large cherry blossom tree. The wind blew and it carried a soft melody with it. It was coming from the large cherry blossom tree. Jin knew that Yun probably brought them straight to the enemy. Since the clue to the whole mission was Lady Snake, the grassland was the best area for such a monster to ambush them. Milk immediately cast holy shield which was a visible magic barrier protecting the team and Jin started to move forward. Upon closer observation, there was a little girl playing an ancient 1.4 metre long Chinese zither with 16 strings beside the cherry blossom tree. The girl saw her guests arriving and started to play an enchanting melody. Jin suddenly felt that his body could not move and Milk was affected as well. The melody became even louder and from the grassland, a giant white snake slowly slithered in front of Jin. Its eyes, which was a mix of ruby and blood red, stared at Jin with great intensity. At this point, the melody stopped and the girl gave an innocent smile to Jin. "I assumed that''s Lady Snake." Jin made some serious eye contact with the snake yet it was not making a move to bite Jin. "Actually no, the one playing the zither is Lady Snake," Yun said in his head. "What? She is the Lady Snake? That''s more like a Loli Snake!" Jin thought at the back of his head. Lady Snake plucked the strings of her zither once more and two giant ants, each with an individual colour to it. One white and one red ant crawled out of the ground. The ants tried to grab Jin and Milk with their large wide mandibles but the holy shield previously cast by Milk was protecting them to a certain extent. "Not good, we will be cut in half by these giant ants if we do not do something fast." Jin tried to tremble as much as possible to the point he managed to bite his own tongue. The moment he did so, he was free from the spell and he quickly used his sword and stabbed it into the white ant''s mouth. The white giant ant split out haemolymph, a mixture of interstitial fluid and blood from when it was pierced by Jin''s attack, making it move backwards. Jin used his cultivation to summon the strength of Grade 3 to slash his sword, which was within the ant, upwards. He quickly took his phone and threw it into the mess he made of the white ant. "Capture complete." Yun reported The Lady Snake realised she got complacent and played a fast violent melody which made the giant white snake, who was originally completely docile into a vengeful and frenzied creature. It immediately opened its mouth and tried to bite Jin. The speed of the snake''s attack was swift but the snake did not know the power of a simple swipe by Jin as he tried to parry the bite with his sword. The snake''s fang collided with his iron sword and the snake''s fang broke into two pieces. It immediately recoiled backwards, which gave Jin the opportunity to push forward and attack the red ant. Due to change of melody, the red ant also changed its target, leaving Milk alone and directly charging at Jin with its broad mandible open. "Chance!" Jin thought to himself as he dashed closer to the ant, hoping to perform the same attack he did to the giant white ant. Unfortunately, he was wrong when the red giant ant spewed out a breath of fire towards Jin. "What!?" Jin could not change his trajectory in time so he decided to bet everything on the holy shield that Milk had cast on him and dramatically increased his speed like a lightning bolt that pierced through the skies. The holy shield held for a short while before the magic wore off. That short while though, was sufficient for Jin to successfully plunge the whole sword into its mouth. More of the haemolymph leaked out and Jin slammed his phone on the ant''s head, causing it to fall to the ground and subsequently disappear into thin air. "Capture complete." Yun reported once more. This time, the girl playing the zither was extremely livid. With Milk still paralysed from Lady Snake''s ability, Jin had personally taught this girl how to respect her elders. "Actually, she is over 200 years old." Yun interjected when she read Jin''s thought. "¡­I will just focus on the battle." Jin was too dumbfounded to say anything else. The little girl plucked another string but this time, a visible soundwave projectile flew towards Jin, which he barely dodged. "Is she even a snake?!" Another soundwave came but Jin controlled the situation by utilising his Lazy Panda Swipe''s impact to block the attack. "Who said she was ever a snake? Are you making assumptions that she''s a snake from her name?" Yun''s comments were getting on Jin''s nerve but he tried to concentrate as much as possible on the battle. The snake did not spare Jin after his attempt on its fang. It relentlessly tried to bite him while Lady Snake kept releasing deadly soundwave projectiles towards him. In addition, the open grassland gave Jin zero advantage against the attacks and all he could do was run. There was nearly no chance to capture the girl even though she was stationary. "Stationary¡­I might actually have a chance!" Jin thought of a stupid but feasible idea. Chapter 30: GODDD PUNCH! The white giant snake slammed its tail at Jin but he reciprocated with his Lazy Panda Swipe. He was thankful that the technique he learnt was a simple one with much utility. However, during Jin''s attack, he was careless enough to allow a sonic projectile by Lady Snake to inflict damage upon him and he fell backwards with a pulsating pain going through his body. The sonic wave vibrated through his whole body, causing him to be paralysed momentarily. That was all the time needed for the great white snake to wrap around Jin and bind him. Now the pulsating pain turned into strangling pain and Lady Snake started to play a melodious tune on her zither as if to signal her victory. "Let''s try out my theory then." In his left hand was the handphone he had used previously. Jin lightly tapped the phone onto the snake. Lo and behold, the snake disappeared in a whiff into thin air and Jin fell to the ground in pain. "Capturing in progress," Yun reported to Jin. "Great! That means my theory actually works." He gritted his teeth and started dashing towards Lady Snake. She was not happy with the abrupt change of events. Changing from the melodious tune, she caressed all the strings on the Chinese zither and made an extremely sharp piercing sound. Five sonic wave projectiles, larger than the ones Jin initially encountered, came towards him at great speed. "Capture incomplete, Monster will be released," Yun reported and Jin curled his lips a little as he raised his phone and faced the screen towards the onslaught of sonic wave projectiles. From the phone''s screen, the great white snake broke out of the device, rushing out to where it should belong, the grasslands. If not for its overwhelming strength, it might have been detained forever. Hence, it was expecting an attack from Jin since he had the ability to detain it for a few seconds. That was why the white snake burst out of the device with its mouth wide open. Little did it know that it faced an attack albeit not from Jin when it burst out of the phone''s screen. The sonic wave projectiles had no mercy, ripping the great white snake into pieces. The head of the snake fell to the ground in disbelief that it was killed by its beloved mistress. The mistress that it had served for the past 200 years. Did the mistress think that it had betrayed her? At its dying breath, Jin squat and tapped the phone on its struggling head. "You will be reunited with your friend soon, just give me a few more minutes." "Capture complete," Yun reported "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhh!" For the very first time, the girl screamed instead of using her zither to express her feelings. Jin could finally have a proper look at Lady Snake without the interference of the great white snake. Her pale skin complexion made it whiter than any Caucasian he had ever known. Her crystal white hair was as wavy as a den of little ivory white snakes, moving around her hair There she sat and tears of white blood dripped from her ruby coloured eyes as she screamed in agony She banged her zither a few times in frustration and then glared at Jin. That look of hers contained such baneful killing intent and it was all directed at Jin. It was as if she vowed to the heavens that she would not stop even if Jin died in her hands. She would come after his family members and make sure everyone related to him was dead. "Oh no you don''t, you little bitch." Milk finally got out of her total paralysis. "I am the one who should be mad. You made me unable to serve my master properly, let me teach you a thing about frustration!" Jin was at a loss for words. "That girl has probably just lost a companion that was with her for years" "To be accurate 183 years," Yun interjected "And your anger is stronger than her loss?" "I am just angry for not having enough sleep!" Milk was like a little child wanting her way of things so Jin stepped aside for her to take the stage. Milk walked towards Lady Snake with each step fuming with anger. However, each step was also met with multiple soundwave projectiles which Milk blocked with her current holy shield. "Oh, this little bitch needs a personal lesson." Milk got even more upset that the situation was not going her way. "I can try to-" Jin was interrupted by a slam of Milk''s oversized book. "To temporarily capture her like how you did with the white snake so we can advance forward and have a better shot at her? Sure, after you let me break that barrier around her first." Milk gave a pouty face and opened her book to start chanting. "Barrier?" Jin thought to himself quietly and realised he did not think this through enough. If Milk could cast magical barriers to protect him, why couldn''t enemies do it too? He had forgotten the enemies he fought were now of higher grades. It should be of no surprise to him that higher level monsters had stronger skills and chi/magic abilities. Milk shone brightly with holy magic and Jin could feel the warmness of her spell powers. On the other hand, Lady Snake felt threatened and she was at a loss due to the different types of emotions conflicting within her. Without her companion, she did not have a proper guardian to protect her against attacks. It had never happened before so she frantically dished out as many sonic wave projectiles to not only protect herself from the insanity of emotions but also to attack the enemy as well. Jin helped block a few projectiles coming towards Milk with his Lazy Panda Swipe but inadvertently got hit too. However, he stood there as long as possible for Milk to finish her incantations. "Master, thank you for your sacrifice for the undeserving me. I present to you Milk''s special¡­ GODDD PUNCH!" An ethereal golden fist emerged from the skies and came crashing down towards Lady Snake. While it looked slow from a distance, the impact against the shield barrier was tremendous, causing the large blossom tree to be blown away. Lady Snake saw the attack but did not run from it. Instead, she tried to direct her attacks towards the ethereal golden fist. The god punch eventually broke the barrier and it continued to fall downwards. As the golden fist was about to touch its enemy and obliterate the little girl into nothingness, Lady Snake looked as if she reached a moment of enlightenment. Lady Snake did not panic nor did she cry at her impending doom. She became calm and played a peaceful calming melody at the end of her demise. "Now!" Using the strength of his Lazy Panda Swipe, he threw his phone like a frisbee and it whisked through the air faster than the falling golden fist. With a large bang on Lady Snake''s head, she was knocked over away from her zither and disappeared before the golden fist landed. The little girl was absorbed into the phone and Yun said the process of capturing was ongoing. The golden fist continued for a while longer, penetrating into the ground and causing a large hole around the area of impact. Both Milk and Jin stood their ground to withstand the aftershocks of the golden fist. However, Milk seemed weak after the attack and Jin held tightly onto Milk and thanked her for exerting herself. "Oh No!! Master, do not take me if I faint, I am still a pure nun." Milk began to hold onto Jin even tighter. Jin could not help rolling his eyes to the back of his brain but continued to grab on to her as her gait was still unbalanced after the attack. "Ahhhhh~! Master, you are so- " Milk immediately fell onto the ground as Jin suddenly let go of her when she made that sound. "Capture completed¡­ for some reason, she did not resist," Yun reported and she opened the portal for Jin. Jin tried to return to the shop via his portal but he continued to hear an aegyo whining sound from behind. "Master!!! Don''t leave me behind!" "Bye." Jin opened the Bellator''s app and recalled Milk. He stretched a little before heading back to his store via the portal. Mission Complete. Chapter 31: Peppers Yun was sitting beside the bar counter, drinking her Bamboo Juice from a straw. "Well done, you completed the mission. I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?" "I believe the bad news is that I did not complete the secondary mission objectives." Jin went to the bar counter and grabbed a Panda Soda to drink in order to refresh himself. For one reason or another, the food and drinks that he ate in the store seemed so satisfying after a fight. He remembered a quote from the internet, "Hard work should be rewarded with good food.", and he had begun to feel that this saying was so true ever since he started working here. Yun nodded her head and gave a smile. "Then you will be happy to hear the good news. Firstly, your reward has already been sent into the monster app." Jin drank some of his soda before browsing through the monster app and checking the status of all of his new monsters. ******** Grade 2 Monster Name: Wyrm Ant (Fire)/(Ice) Description: Ants contacted and drank the blood of an accursed wyrm, causing them to slowly evolve and grow the characteristics of a wyrm. In summary, it has big jaws on its mouth and spews fire from it, how much cooler can it get. I am just lazy to write the ice wyrm entry. The white ants blow ice. There you go. Grade Difficulty: * * * ******** Grade 2 Monster Name: Lady Snake and her Great White Snake Description: The girl was born and abandoned by her parents. A black boa swallowed her whole when she was a baby but the great white snake came for no reason and rescued her. However, her legs were eaten due to the attack of the black boa so she always depended on the great white snake to move her around. Why am I writing a description that you will probably not care about? NEXT. Grade Difficulty: * * * * ********** Grade 2 Boss Monster Name: Sakura Blossom Treant Description: It''s a tree. A TREE THAT CAN KILL PEOPLE. Stop bothering me. Grade Difficulty: * * * ******** "Yun, can I ask who does these descriptions in the monster app? That person does not even have a sense of ownership or pride for his/her own work." Jin could not stand reading the monster app. "That''s the good news! You are getting a new Bellator to accompany you. That also means you can have a new instructor too!" Yun smiled genuinely. "How is this good news?! That''s worse news than the bad news!" Forget about him saying the food was refreshing. Jin wanted to faint immediately. "Ehhh, if you accept this Bellator, you get a new food item?" Yun tried to pacify him a little but it does not seem to be working. "No, I do not wish to accept this Bellator if his or her attitude is like this," Jin argued back as he waved his hands, indicating disinterest. "Sorry Jin, I am afraid you have to accept it, it''s part of the hidden objective reward," Yun replied back. "What hidden objective?" Jin''s eyes went wide open as he quickly opened his mission app to check. "There is nothing except these two missions objectives!" Yun rolled her eyes a little and puffed out a sigh of breath. "Of course it''s not there, dummy, it''s HIDDEN! You completed it the moment you caught the great white snake. I did tell you to go for Lady Snake but nope, you had to experiment on the great white snake." Yun tried to make an excuse and gave a face of "I told you so." "¡­Fine, I accept this Bellator but two food items and add in two more drink items as compensation for my emotional trauma of you not telling me about hidden mission objectives." Jin tried to play tough on Yun. "Stop forgetting that I can read your mind. Two food and one drink item. No further negotiations." Jin sulked at Yun''s comment. "I really should try and obtain the X-Man Magneta Helmet so Yun will stop looking into my head," Jin thought to himself. "Stupid, that is useless against something already in your head to begin with." Yun stuck her tongue out. Yun snapped her fingers and the Bellator app automatically came up on Jin''s phone. Another greyed out box was removed and it summoned a 148 centimetres tall ten year old kid with two ponytails out. She was wearing an oversized black mage hat with an overly long red cloak, holding a wooden staff. She looked at Jin for a moment and looked down. Jin thought she was scared of the first encounter so he decided to squat down and introduce himself. "Hi, I am Jin, your new-" "Tsk. Maggot. Don''t you dare look the last great descendant of the Fiery Demonic Queen Sage in the eyes, you have no qualifications to do so." The kid was irritated by Jin''s presence. "Is she an emo kid? Is she in some chuunibyou stage? Is she like that loli snake, 200 years old disguised as a 10 yea-BOOM!" An immensely loud explosion happened right in front of Jin and it would not be a surprise if police came rushing in, thinking there was a terrorist attack. However, the sound proofing system was second to none in the world. No one would suspect a single thing when the shutters of the store were still down. "Stop bothering me when you do not need to!" the little loli girl personally returned herself back to the app after igniting a fire blast in front of Jin. "Oh, she is just shy when she saw you Jin. Her name is Peppers. Isn''t she lovely? You two will work well together!" Yun giggled a little at the predicament Jin was in. "Fiery Demonic Queen Sage?" Jin had third degree burns but he just stood at the bar counter blankly at the turn of events. Everything besides him was unharmed despite the violent blast of fire. "I''m also guessing the shop is fireproof, judging by how I am the only one injured." There was still a small part of his hair still on fire and Yun cast some instant system magic to cure Jin of his wounds. "Yun, sometimes you are as despicable as those fantasy novels I read. Now I understand why you did not even bother to negotiate much with me with regards to the food items." Jin blabbered out nonsense before filtering what he thought in his brain. "Oh, Jin! I am hurt! How can you call your mom despicable? You ungrateful bra-" Before Yun could finish her sentence, Jin immediately knew where he went wrong and went to his knees, starting to kowtow. Yun could not help but laugh loudly again. "You are so afraid of another abrupt mission? Get up, get up. I will show you the new food items." Yun snapped her fingers again and the bar counter cabinets started to shake vigorously. "As usual, check your cabinets and the bar countertops. There you will find what I have given you." Yun smiled and continued to sip her Bamboo Juice. Chapter 32: Healthy Tasty Food The most obvious addition was a coffee machine at the right of the long bar counter. It had a very minimalistic black design which blended well with the bar counter and did not take up too much space. In fact, it was just a big black metal box with a single button at the front stating coffee. He also noticed that the coffee machine was directly connected to an automated French press and an assortment of cups was neatly stacked right beside it. Jin had just finished his soda so he would have to try it out later. The next two food items required Jin to look at the store layout on his phone. When he located the blueprint, he found that the first food item was actually hidden inside a drawer. He opened it and a burst of freshness overtook his senses. The items, which were onigiri, were neatly arranged and the temperature seemed to be just right for the food. With his current cultivation, Jin was able to smell a variety of ingredients held within the drawer. Each of the items contained a specific ingredient in it. When he took one to eat, the myriad of fragrances he noticed from the drawer did not contaminate the food even though it was placed in such a compact space. "More than one flavour? I smell at least 10 types of meat in this drawer." Jin continued to chew on the rice and part of the ingredient as well. The sticky taste of the white pearl rice matched perfectly with the abundant fish roe, which had a firm texture to it. The blackish roe subsequently melted in his mouth, creating a creamy yet smooth butterish consistency. A few of the fish roe even popped in his mouth but it was a subtle feeling that stimulates the tongue too. The Nori was the exact opposite. With the richness of the pure ocean''s taste of umami, it was a little dry and toasty, making it quite savoury. This made the nori supplement the sweet buttery taste of the roe. Along with the stickiness of the rice, all three ''simple'' ingredients blended the flavours well together. "In fact, there are more than 100 types of onigiri available in that drawer but customers are not allowed to choose when they order one." Yun smiled at Jin''s face of pure bliss. "So it''s a random flavour each time they try it?" Jin was very surprised at the amount of variety. "Yes, the probability of getting the same flavour again is not high at all. The ability to create a good and tasty onigiri is only limited by one''s imagination. You can probably have a near infinite amount of combination of onigiri." Yun replied. "Onigiri is indeed a good product to serve here. People can just have a quick bite while they wait for their turn instead of eating a full meal." Jin thought when he bit another serving of the onigiri he was holding. "Okay, I need to know, what is in this onigiri that makes it taste so good?" Jin could not believe that this would be the only time he tasted this onigiri if everything went according to Yun''s explanation. "There is a variety of rice used for the onigiri, most of which are tribute rice for the emperor and the ancient official administration. For example, the current one you are eating is from Suzhou, which was used as a specialised levy in the past." Yun continued to explain. "The fish roe you just ate came from an albino Beluga Sturgeon fish from the Southern Caspian Sea near Iran. One of the last few large enclosed inland seas¡­or as some people would call it: a large lake. No matter, this albino Beluga Sturgeon was bred in the wild and the eggs were later collected and processed. The cost of it was approximately 176,960 Yuan per kilogram and so happened to be the in the list of the top most expensive food items in the world." "The nori, also known as edible seaweed, comes from the species of red algae that was bred in major laboratories and specialised hydroponics farms, where the biology of the nori was altered to give the best amount of iodine and vitamin B12." "Bred in specialised farms?" Jin was curious. He thought most of the system food was from the most natural and ideal conditions. "Nori farming is considered as an advanced agriculture because of the processing of algae. These laboratories succeeded in their breakthroughs for altered nori that can maximise the production of nori while retaining the best amount of vitamins." "In short, you are actually providing the healthiest option for my customers and me," Jin concluded. "I would say that they are quite tasty too. However, without the touch of a chef, it still lacks that ''personal'' factor which makes food uniquely their own." Yun reached over and took an onigiri to eat as well. Jin shrugged his shoulder as he heard that. He knew he was not cut out to be a chef so he did not comment much. As long as his customers were satisfied, he would be too. As Jin wanted to check the magical cabinet of the bar counter for the next new food, he received a text message from Xiong Da, a Grade 1 Cultivator of Hungry Hippo Style via the Pandamonium app. "Boss, are you not yet open? I am here waiting outside of your shop for some time already." Jin quickly took a peek at his watch and released its near 12pm. He quickly munched through his onigiri as he walked towards the side door of the store. "Xiong Da, give me five minutes, I will open soon¡­wha-?" Jin peeked out of his store to give his regards to Xiong Da but he realised there was actually a queue right behind Xiong Da. "Ah! Boss Jin, I thought something happened to you. I had been here trying to knock on the shutters to call for you. I totally forgot about the Pandamonium app until the customers behind me reminded me about it. " Xiong Da''s face became like the Laughing Buddha''s as he saw Boss Jin. He thought that Boss Jin abandoned him. "I was tweaking something in the shophouse while listening to music, so I did not hear the commotion outside. Give me a moment to open the shop." The customers chattered and got excited as Jin closed the side door. How could Jin even think of abandoning Xiong Da? He was like a personal ATM machine that provided free money. After Jin closed the side door, he went to wash his hands from eating the onigiri and cleared the cans of drinks into the recycle bin. He made sure that he booted everything up with the Store Layout app on his phone and synchronised his new monsters into the Panda Port. He then squatted down to unlock the shutters and customers started to pour in again. "Finally out of that hot sun. It''s a good thing Boss informed us through the Pandamonium app in the morning or else I would have had to stay in this hot sun for a long time." One of the customers stepped in and the cold air of the shophouse gently caressed his face. "Yes, I should get the QR code from that Panda standee so, in future, I will not be like a stupid person by coming so early in the morning." One of the customers unabashedly announced. "Boss, your air conditioner is the best. It''s not too cold nor too weak." Someone commented. "Yea, I agree with you. that hot blazing sun was killing me until I stepped in here. The temperature feels like the most optimal one for a human being." Another customer added their comments. "It would have been worse if not for the small park outside. Boss, your decision to make a small park in this plot of land was right. We do not need to stand that long with the stone chairs you provided. The shade from the tree helped too." The customer could not stop bootlicking the Boss, hoping Jin might show favouritism towards him. "Queue up for your dungeon instance tickets. There is a new dungeon instance available if you wish to try." Jin nonchalantly announced and started his business once more. Chapter 33: Zither Mistress Dungeon Instance "New dungeon?" Da Se Lang was one of the new customers being roped into this new dungeon supplier by his colleague Hong Deng Long during his lunch break. Deng Long tried the goblin dungeon with a few of his friends the night before but they only managed to kill two goblins. Deng Long knew that passing the dungeon would yield a user 10 bronze Panda Medals. It was trending news in the Pandamonium main chat. He also had confirmation of it from customers talking who spoke personally to Shi Zuo and Luo Bo when they were in the recovery room. In addition, he found out from other customers in the Pandamonium main chat that if people managed to kill all three goblins and reach the dungeon boss, the eight legged boar, they would earn three bronze Panda Medals. Hence, this dungeon supplier store did not follow the current trend of dungeon suppliers, which sold a package of dungeon instances. How that worked was to let cultivators encounter a certain set of monsters in one instance at a time After defeating an instance, they unlocked a new dungeon instance but they had to exit the dungeon to fight again. This broke the continuity of said dungeon experience as well as reducing the difficulty of the dungeon. Hence, many customers came to Boss Jin because they liked the traditional dungeon experience where there was a continuity of the dungeon experience despite the increased difficulty. "If the dungeon is not difficult, it should not be called a dungeon at all. I really recommend you to try Boss Jin''s dungeon instances." That was how Deng Long, a Grade 2 Peak cultivator convinced his colleague Da Se Lang, who he knew was a Grade 3 Peak cultivator. "Oh my god, the dungeons are expensive!" Se Lang saw the price and wanted to faint. "Se Lang, I promised you this is the real deal. You said you were so sick of King''s Monster dungeons that you retired about two years ago right?" As he managed to hook Se Lang, Deng Long decided to sweeten the deal. "How about I treat you once to the new dungeon instance? Take it as thanks for constantly covering my portion at work because of my wife?" Deng Long dangled the carrot right in front of Se Lang to play with him. Deng Long and Se Lang were fellow police officers at a local police station, Tiangong Police Station near Tiangong Shopping street. "Okay, fine. If you lie to me, you treat me to a meal too, okay?" Se Lang managed to stick one more condition in to refine the ongoing deal. "If you like it, your treat." Deng Long counter offered while he nodded his head reluctantly. However, in actual fact, he knew he was going to win this bet hands down. He smiled when Se Lang was not looking as he waited for their turn to get the dungeon tickets. "Boss Jin! Three goblin dungeon instances with Instructor Milk as per usual!" Xiong Da loudly announced his orders to Jin. Some of the customers suddenly whispered among each other. "Instructor? As in AI instructor?" Jin nodded slightly and said "Availability is limited. At the moment there are only two instructors. You can take a look at Xiong Da''s dungeon instance to get a feel of the instructors. Be warned though, Panda Medals will be reduced since the instructors are helping you to clear the dungeon. " "Xiong Da, Station 5 so I do not have to carry you around that much." Jin pointed at it and Xiong Da''s Station lit up. "Thank you, Boss! I will fight once before I eat your delicious curry rice again!" Xiong Da smiled back at Jin and walked towards it. Some of the customers then decided to take a step back and look before they decided on something new. That included the new dungeon instance which Deng Long and Se Lang would be trying. Yet, that did not deter Deng Long and Se Lang to try the new dungeon. Those two were police partners since they both sucked at the police academy. They knew each other''s weaknesses and strengths and Deng Long believed with Se Lang around, they should be able to clear it. "Boss Jin, nice to meet you again." Deng Long greeted him. "Ah, Deng Long right? It''s a pleasure having your patronage again." Jin had the system memorise most of the names and faces of each of his customers. This way, whenever he saw a returning face, Yun would personally remind him about it. This way, it brought a personal touch and familiarity to the customers, as if the customers really mattered to him. That was his first step to gain regular loyal customers. "Boss Jin, I am humbled for you to remember my name. This is Da Se Lang, a dear colleague at work." Deng Long smiled and introduced his colleague Se Lang to Jin. "So, which dungeon instance are you looking at?" Jin asked with a smile on his face. "The new one, ehh.. Zither Mistress Dungeon Instance. Two of those please." Deng Long looked at the menu to confirm the name of the new dungeon. "418 Yuan for one ticket, two will be a total of 836 Yuan. Please pay individually for the Panda Credits to be valid." Jin waited for them to pay at the cashier port before he issued them the dog tags. Jin previously asked Yun whether he could change the name or give a nickname to suit Lady Snake. "Lady Snake sounds so confusing when you have the great white snake with her," Jin said while he browsed the monster app list. "Well, they are your monsters, nicknames are definitely allowed. Please do not tell me you want to name her loli snake. I will personally smack you." Yun was a little feisty with her reply. "Hahaha, as much as I would like to, I respect her strength. Zither Mistress sounds like a better nickname than Lady Snake." Jin said. "Hmm, I am cool with that." Yun changed Lady Snake''s name on the monster app to Zither Mistress and subsequently on the new dungeon instance as well. Zither Mistress was just a simple nickname that Jin thought of for the little girl turned monster he just caught. However, if Jin could see behind the scenes of the monster app, that 200 year old little girl was crying with joy for the first time. She was abandoned and had been trying to survive for so long that she did not know a thing about warmth. Having a name, a name just for her because she mattered instead of a title given by people who feared her for. She realised what it meant to have her presence acknowledged. "Station 3, have a nice day! And hope you two enjoy yourselves." Jin bowed a little and called out to the next customer. "How does this work? Se Lang looked at his dog tag as he waited for Deng Long to send him back the money. "Just place the dog tag near the TV, the TV will detect the dog tag and it will transport us to the dungeon instance." Deng Long felt a little proud to know the procedures of this peculiar shop. Se Lang and Deng Long were teleported safely to the dungeon instance. They found themselves surrounded by hundreds of metres of grasslands and a large sakura blossom tree erected right in front of them. Right below the sakura blossom tree, a little girl was happily playing her zither as the sakura petals descended and danced with the music. Chapter 34: Xiong Das Determination "Guys, look! Station 3 is really doing the new dungeon instance!" The customer before Se Lang and Deng Long overheard some of their conversation with Boss Jin and decided to stalk them a little to see whether they heard correctly. To his expectation, they were really doing the new Zither Mistress dungeon instance. The customers that were waiting for their turn for the dungeon instance immediately went over to take a peek at the new dungeon instance. "Wow, as expected from Boss Jin. The wind breeze, this illustrious music that the enemy was playing and the sea of lush green grasslands filled with flowers. It''s so fantastic if we really can just chill in here" Deng Long took in a deep breath. "This beautiful serene scenery¡­The need to escape reality. Knowing that danger is right around the corner, waiting, makes us appreciate our life and this moment of tranquillity. " Se Lang started rambling. "The yearning to return to this peaceful life if we manage to defeat the monster. This Dungeon Supplier boss really knows how to play with our feelings by creating this life like environment. Even I feel the same as you do about this place." Se Lang squat to pick a flower up to appreciate. "Well, stop being philosophical and start paying attention to the monster right in front of you." Deng Long took out his weapons, titanium made dual batons and portrayed his Grade 2 cultivation, the Wobbling Wombat style. Se Lang also reached out for his weapons in his storage ring and a scythe flew out from the storage the moment he called for it. He swung it around a few times and portrayed his Grade 3 cultivation, the Wacky Wolf style to intimidate the monsters. In King''s Monster or other similar dungeon suppliers, if the monsters were lower level than the cultivator, portraying the cultivation would make the monsters be slightly afraid of the cultivator. This was subtly programmed into the dimensional space to instil superiority in their cultivators. However, the monsters in Boss Jin''s store appeared nonchalant and even assumed the cultivator portraying his cultivation was a sign of provocation. The ants made a screeching voice and commenced the attack. From the distance, the monsters looked like normal large sized ants. A closer look by Se Lang revealed that the colour was out of the norm and the mandibles of the ants were too huge. Close quarters would be a hassle and would not be beneficial. "Let''s kill these ants quickly and we can start fighting the Zither Mistress to end the dungeon instance." Se Lang spoke with confidence and dashed towards the ants. "I doubt the boss is the Zither Mistress. If Boss Jin''s goblin dungeon is of any indication, there should be more monsters at the very least, and maybe even a boss." Deng Long thought to himself before he trailed behind Se Lang. Deng Long also noticed that in the previous goblin dungeon he participated, it followed a subtle stage pattern that Boss Jin did not explicitly show in his dungeon in order to provide some continuity to dungeon experience. The eight legged boar boss monster would never appear until all three goblins were killed and the players were roughly given a short five minute downtime to recover and regroup. Hence, there were technically two stages to the goblin dungeon. Judging by the incoming ants attack, Deng Long deduced that there would be at least three stages subtly blended together in this Zither Mistress dungeon instance. The wyrm ants saw their incoming opponents were speeding through the grasslands so they decided to spew fire and ice projectiles towards them in order to slow their movements. "Oh interesting, fire and ice breathing ants, this Boss Jin certainly has some creativity in his monster designs." Using the Wacky Wolf style, Se Lang managed to dodge each and every ice and fire projectile coming towards him. The speed of the projectiles was slow enough for him to predict where they were going to land, so it was not a problem for him. After sufficient training, he even dodged a bullet once without his cultivation while catching a serial theft criminal. However, Deng Long was not the same as his friend. He was not able to catch up with Se Lang''s speed and inevitably got caught by some of the attacks. If not for his Wobbling Wombat style, which allowed him to reduce the duration of status ailments, he could had been burnt very badly or frozen for a long time. Separately, the crowd outside was yet again amazed by the professional streaming created by the store''s magic eye technology. Each dodge Se Lang made was dramatic. Each attack Deng Long got caught in was captured with style and impact. This cinematic experience made each and every customers watching the stream had on the edge of one''s seat¡­well metaphorically. Most of them were standing to allow more people to watch the stream. On the other side of the store, some of the customers were not able to catch such an exciting scene due to the dense crowd so they opted to look at the other stations. A few customers tried to catch a glimpse of Xiong Da since Boss Jin talked about instructor Milk. "Oh my God, is that the AI instructor? She is too hot! How can fatty withstand her looks?" One of the male customers accidentally blurted his mouth. "She looks too lifelike to be an instructor! Boss Jin are you hiding your real employees from us?" "Oh, you males are more disgusting than him. Look at that fatty, so focused with his training! I would rather marry him than you lot if I was to choose. At least I know he can be loyal." A female customer contended. "But you got to admit, her curves are near perfect." Another male customer confessed. "I will make your curves near perfect too when you get home. You can start by giving me your wallet." That male customer had forgotten that his girlfriend was nearby when he complimented. The revelation of Milk made a number of male customers'' nose nearly bleed all over their shirts while some of the female customers were secretly inspired by her embodiment of sexiness and respect for giving Xiong Da a proper lesson, not just acting like a bimbo. Most of them kept thinking Milk was really a person instead of an AI instructor despite Boss Jin''s insistence on the matter when they asked him about it. Otherwise, he maintained his silence whenever he could. Xiong Da was more focused today and he even did things that Milk told him yesterday. The reason for such determination was because he found out Boss Jin''s dungeon instances somehow did stir his spirit force in his cultivation after laying dormant for such a long time. The reason for dormancy was that the Hungry Hippo Style was a style that required a large amount of spirit force for the cultivator to improve himself like how the hippo was always hungry for more food. The style was passed down to him as part of his family''s inheritance when their ancestors were still living in the mountains, where spirit force was abundant. What Boss Jin said about helping him was true and he appreciated the fact that it really did work. Xiong Da had had many people try to scam his money and think that he was an easy target but he was actually a lawyer in one of the top firms in China, HHH and Partners Ltd. The moment people thought he was an easy target, he slowly collected evidence of fraud and scam. Once the scammers thought they had hooked him in for sure, Xiong Da went on the offensive and sued them to bankruptcy. He made sure they never had the chance to recover ever again in life. With his cultivation stirring within him, he knew this could be the chance to really improve himself and get his girl back again. Of course, the girl that he liked was through a dating app but they hit off really well. Despite his position and status, Xiong Da pretended to be plain and simple in order to see if the girl really liked him or if it was just for his money. He could smell bullshit after many tries but this one was truly different. He felt that she was the one. If not for that incident which he told Boss Jin about, he would have used his status as a lawyer to crush his love rival. However, he also wished to prove his worth, so that he could really protect her if the need ever arose. "For Xing Li!" Xiong Da rushed forth and did a heavy smash on the spear goblin, crashing him into smithereens. He looked back and Milk gave him a thumbs up. Boss Jin looked at Xiong Da''s increased performance and began to think. "Perhaps, I should pair Peppers and him together for the Zither Mistress dungeon instance. That way, I will get more money and see how Peppers works." Speaking of the Zither Mistress, the crowd cheered at Station 3 when Jin was not looking. Chapter 35: Blood Explosion Inscription "Two dead ants with just one slash!" The customers shouted so loudly that it started to attract the attention of the entire shop. "And he even deflected that abrupt explosion when he destroyed them. I think he is my new idol along with Bu Dong!" A female customer squealed to her friend. "Huh? If he loses, I will laugh at you." her friend replied with some doubt at Se Lang''s ability. "Wow, Boss Jin is too cunning, to have suicidal fire and ice ants in this dungeon!" The customer started sweating. To him, the goblin dungeon was not easy and this Zither Mistress dungeon instance was a whole new level of danger and excitement. "Did Boss Jin make his monsters easier?" One of the customers started to query. "How is it easy when you have to deal with suicidal ants? Besides, that scythe wielding person is a Grade 3 and from the looks of it, it is even possible that he is a Grade 3 Peak! " "Yun, do they really explode when they die? I captured them before their death so I had no idea about it." Jin asked Yun in his head and she replied with a firm shake of the head as she sat at the corner of the bar counter. "I do not have suicide ants, it is probably his ability." Jin reaffirmed his customers so that they did not spread wild rumours. "I know of the Wacky Wolf style, those cultivators do not have such an ability. I think it is an inscription or a certain accessory." The know-it-all customer was back and he was there again to explain. The crowd started to chatter loudly about the possibility of using an inscription. Some were surprised that a serious contender visited the shop. "I did not expect that at all." Deng Long finally chased up to Se Lang as he saw the explosion from a distance. "I think their organs that produce fire and ice were interrupted, causing an internal explosion within their bodies." Se Lang swung down his scythe to remove any taints on it. "I have to admit, the monsters are indeed more lifelike than the other dungeon suppliers. Most Grade 2 monsters readily die after a swing of my scythe." "Did they not?" Deng Long thought Se Lang was overpowered as well. "You forgot how my scythe works?" Se Lang scoffed a little. "Oh, the lingering effects of your Blood Explosion inscription.." Deng Long still felt that Se Lang''s scythe was a cheat weapon after being friends with him for a long time. "Yes, I believe that is why the fire and ice ants erupted. When I first swung my scythe, both of them coordinated their defence to block my attack with their mandibles but my scythe did inflict a wound. I was really lucky this time round I guess." Se Lang had an offensive inscription embedded in his scythe that had a chance to trigger the enemies'' blood vessels to explode, causing internal bleeding. At worst, internal haemorrhage of various organs since the blood vessel that exploded was randomly targeted by the inscription. "You are the expert after all. I would take your explanation anytime." Deng Long was already glad that he passed ''Stage 1'' of the dungeon. That meant that he would get some panda medals even if they lost the instance. Why the panda medals? There were some rumours going around in the Pandamonium main chat stating that Boss Jin had top notch goods as rewards. This was why it took some time for clearance in shipping and also the reason Boss Jin was not able to reveal the goods at the opening of his store. No matter how baseless a rumour is, there was a hint of truth in it and Deng Long believed it for now. If those rumours were really true, it did not hurt to earn some panda medals to exchange for a reward or two. Undoubtedly, this had already been the best move he had done for quite a while. Treating his friend to this dungeon instance and making a simple bet with him. Deng Long had probably already won since Se Lang was starting to like the dungeon. Not to mention, getting those panda medals for free with little work done was a bonus to his bet. Deng Long then remembered Se Lang had always hogged the glory back in the station when they bagged criminals. Deng Long figured it was fine for him to give Se Lang a little payback and a taste of his own medicine. At this moment, the Zither Mistress seemed to be playing an endearing melody, which Jin was familiar with, the call of the Great White Snake. The snake lurked in the grassland and crept slowly towards the duo. However, Se Lang''s perception was high enough to notice a creature slithering within the grasslands. The police work he was specialised in had enhanced his investigative abilities. "Let''s play with you since those ants were a lucky kill." Se Lang swung his scythe horizontally and a wide energy wave crossed through the grass to attack the Great White Snake. Unfortunately, the energy wave was met with a sonic wave from the Zither Mistress and the melody she was playing got even more upbeat. "I guess this will not be as easy as those ants." Deng Long shrugged his shoulders lightly and smiled at Se Lang. "Even better." Se Lang''s thirst for blood was evident. All the restraints he had to exercise in the police job made it unsuitable for his Wacky Wolf Style despite the fact that he liked the job a lot. To be able to let go all once on monsters capable of handling his attacks were a big plus for him. Se Lang ran towards the Great White Snake as he dodged and deflected Zither Mistress''s sonic waves. The Great White Snake did not play defensive against Se Lang and glided towards him with immense speed. Both collided head on with the snake going for Se Lang''s torso while Se Lang went for its oesophagus. The scythe''s attack was not able to scratch the scales of the snake while Se Lang was an inch away from being bitten to death. The Zither Mistress smiled as Se Lang made the same mistake as Jin, who got distracted by the snake''s bite attempt and got hit by a sonic wave. Zither Mistress rapidly threw another shot at Se Lang. However, Deng Long was there to cover his buddy''s back. With his Wobbling Wombat Style, Deng Long parried the second sonic wave with his dual batons. "Thanks Bud!" Se Lang was able to break through his temporary paralysis. Now he knew he had to put in spirit force to deal damage against the Great White Snake since normal physical attacks would not be able to damage its scales. At Grade 3, cultivators were able to harness the spirit force within them to enhance their attacks. As cultivators proceeded to Grade 3 and higher, they could use their Chi as a sort of spiritual weapon enhancement or even armour that was similar to the Towering Tortoise Style Armour Projection that Kong Xian used. In Kong Xian''s case, higher grades of the Towering Tortoise Style would allow him to create a more potent chi armour specialised in high defence. Se Lang inserted some spirit force into his scythe and did a swirling attack against the Great White Snake but it retaliated with a tail swipe. The impact of the swipe was strong enough to parry the swirling attack and knocked Se Lang backwards. Despite this, the scythe managed to do some damage to the Great White Snake too. The snake ignored Deng Long and struck with immense hostility against the fallen Se Lang. Deng Long took this opportunity to attack the flank of the Great White Snake but the Zither Mistress was faster and did three continuous sonic wave projectiles against Deng Long before he could attack the snake. Se Lang was bitten through his heart despite his counter attack that blinded the snake. Deng Long got unlucky when the last sonic wave slit his throat and he fell to his death. Though there was some luck involved, the teamwork shown by Zither Mistress and Great White Snake was comparable, if not possibly stronger, than the teamwork of Deng Long and Se Lang. Both lost their lives due to some selfishness in the dungeon and that was why they returned to the store lying unconscious. "This is exactly the dungeon I was expecting from Boss Jin." One of the customers commented as Jin brought the two men up to the second floor. "You are right! I believe the Wacky Wolf cultivator got a little cocky after his first kill. He kept leaving the Wobbling Wombat behind when the Wombat user could have blocked the attacks for him. Boss Jin''s dungeons required teamwork more than anything. Damn if I do not say this but even his monsters are more coordinated than most of us." A female customer deduced the reason behind Se Lang and Deng Long''s loss and the crowd agreed readily. Jin smiled at his customers'' response and brought the guys up. Chapter 36: Onigiri Gacha Se Lang vision was slowly coming back to him. "Ah crap, if I got unconscious that means I have to get my annual cultivation leave approved again." As he sighed, he heard a few laughters in the room so he knew there were still some people in the recovery room. Perhaps, it might not be too late in the night. However, he saw broad daylight shining from the window so he looked around and saw Deng Long already awoke, drinking a Panda Soda he bought from the vending machine. "Ah you awake? I took your phone and got a Bamboo Juice for you." Deng Long threw the juice can and his phone to him. "How long was I out?" Se Lang caught the can of Bamboo Juice from Deng Long and opened it to drink it. "Ehh 15 minutes or so? We should still have some time back to the station if we get some quick bites." Deng Long stood up to stretch his arms while Se Lang was still sitting on his lounge chair looking confused. "15 minutes? Are you kidding me? I never heard of such short periods of unconsciousness after coming out of the dungeon instance. Tell me really how long was I out?" Se Lang began to get a little impatient with Deng Long''s answers. "Look at your watch or your phone. If you think I tempered your phone''s timing you can check the timing on the net. Unless, you think that everyone even the internet is conspiring against you." Deng Long laughed and Yun who went to check on the unconscious female customers was also giggling at the side of the recovery room too. "Mr Da, Boss Jin takes pride in the quality of goods and services he provides. I believe your friend does not have any intention to lie to you." Yun spoke politely. Like an young angel''s voice to his ears, Se Lang just nodded his head. He had never seen such a beauty in his life but he became immediately disappointed to see a ring on her finger. "Mr Hong, if you would like to have some quick bites, we have new food additions in the menu which may fulfill your stomach''s desires." Yun interjected. "REALLY?" Deng Long thought he had to eat rubbish Wacdonalds fast food but it looks like there could be some hope left for his stomach to partake on some delicious good food. He could never forget the night he first tasted Boss Jin''s tonkatsu curry rice. "Why are you so excited abou- Oh! This taste! It really hits the spot." Se Lang was amazed by the Bamboo juice. That right amount of sweetness which tingles his tongue and the coolness of it as it passes through the throat. "See, even Boss Jin''s can of juice is fantastic. Se Lang, you can stay here if you want to ogle at that married woman but I am going to see what Boss Jin have in his menu." Deng Long quickly rushed down the stairs the moment he finished talking. Se Lang got a little embarrassed by Deng Long''s honest remarks and he quickly followed him. "Boss! I heard you have some good stuff in your menu, why did you not tell us?" Deng Long shouted and everyone across the store heard it. People started to approach the bar counter to check out the food menu but found no new items. However, Deng Long found the ''New food addition'' announcement near the bar counter at the back of the store. "Well, this is a Dungeon Supplier store not a cafe. I see no reason why I should promote my food menu. Besides, I have yet to update the menu since I just received them this morning." Boss Jin explained and a number of the customers nodded at his reasoning and then realised they had been cheated by him. They thought Boss Jin would announce new food items to them so every customer who came in to eat bought only the tonkatsu curry rice. "How could you not! Oh and Boss Jin so sneaky! you placed the new items menu out of sight! Oh my god, the announcement shows more than one new addition. Onigiri, Coffee and Slice of Triple Cheese Pizza?!" Deng Long looked at the new menu and spoke out loud. "BOSS! WHY YOU DID NOT TELL US!" As if all the customers were in cahoots, they shouted in unison! Some of the customers who brought their lunch in while waiting for their turn immediately regretted their decision. "Boss, I will get two onigiri, can I get to choose the flavour?'' Deng Long''s mouth started to fill with saliva as he saw the picture of the onigiri in the menu annoucement. "No, its random. Payment at credit port please." Deng Long did as such and Jin took out two wrapped onigiri from the drawer. There was no plastic wrapping around the onigiri which Deng Long thought it was common for most store takeaways with exception of the nori being wrapped around it. However, the system did provide a type of PFA free (polyfluoroalkyl substances) food wrapping paper for takeaways so users eating the onigiri would not drop it if the rice did not stick together. Yet, the possibility of that happening was low unless the onigiri was deliberately split into two. Deng Long took both onigiri from Boss Jin, one in each hand. He unhesitantly took a bite from the onigiri in his right hand and steam came out from his mouth. The face of bliss was shown so openly that the customers began to swallow their saliva even those who just had their lunch. "I am no foodie but this onigiri is definitely stuffed with fried chicken karaage in it. The oil and meat juice within the karaage did not overflow into the rice until I bite into it. This is god damn delicious!" Se Lang saw Deng Long''s undeniable expression and ordered the same thing after being influenced by him. The rest of the customers followed suit. "Oh my! I liked this a lot, it''s shrimp! Oh no. Why did I not order this earlier, the shrimp. So fresh. So so fresh!" the female customer squealed as she gobbled up the onigiri. "Dayum! Bacon and Cheese! I cannot believe this goes so well the rice and nori in the onigiri!" Se Lang was surprised at this new twist when he ate it. Eventually, everyone in the shop got so affected by the new food item hype that they started posting filings of the onigiri on Instagraph and Mechat. One of the customer even nicknamed these random filings of onigiri by Boss Jin as Onigiri Gacha since no one in the store had yet to received the same one. As everyone was happily chatting about the new onigiris and started to leave the store since lunch break was ending soon, the store suddenly experienced a minor tremor. Some even started to check whether if there was an earthquake alarm being sounded out. However it was not a tremor nor was it earthquake related. "BOSS! I smell new food! Give me one of each!" The call of the Hungry Hippo beckons Jin as Xiong Da accidentally tumbled down from the stairs of the second to the first. Chapter 37: Coffee Connoisseur "Boss, quickly! I am feeling super hungry right now!" Xiong Da pleaded to Jin as he placed his phone at the credit port. Once the Panda Credits were deducted from his account, Jin proceeded to bring the plates of food in front of him. One plate of tonkatsu curry rice, one piece of onigiri and a large pizza spatula of Triple Cheese Pizza. Xiong Da could not control himself and chomped the whole piece of onigiri down his throat. "Hmm! the taste of this purple rice¡­from Yunnan, Mojiang? No, cannot be. I remember the Yunnan tribute rice was less tasty than this. Where is this from Boss?" "Yunnan." Jin had a reply from Yun. It was indeed the Yunnan tribute rice and it was used to make the onigiri in order to bring out the best properties of the rice. Its stickiness. "Are you serious Boss? Matching the sweet rice taste with the pickled plums enhanced the umami flavour of the onigiri. I cannot imagine who your chef is but this onigiri is near perfect." "Not perfect?" Jin furrowed his brows a little. "Not perfect, because I only had one of it. Give me another!" Xiong Da smiled as he started eating his tonkatsu curry rice. "Sorry, the onigiri I picked are at random. You may or may not have the same flavour again." Xiong Da was a little disappointed upon hearing the news, but in a way excited too. "Does that mean I get to eat something new every time I order it?" Xiong Da eyes began to sparkle. "Ehhhh, I guess so¡­enjoy your meal." "Give me a cup of coffee too. Add some milk into it too." Xiong Da requested as he enjoyed every scoop of his curry rice. "The condiments are near the coffee machine. Self service." Jin went to the coffee machine and placed the cup, which was painted with a little baby panda on it, at the machine. He pressed the one and only button on the machine and waited for the machine to do its wonders. Though Xiong Da was eating his curry rice, he got a little suspicious with Boss Jin''s coffee. "He is going to use a machine to make the coffee for him? What can be a better coffee than a self brew one?" Xiong Da shaked his thoughts off from his head. If a simple onigiri could surprise him, maybe the machine was calibrated to the strictest of standards of coffee. There was some grinding sound coming from within the machine and later Jin was able to see the grinded beans being pressed into the french press with hot water subsequently flowing into the press. Once the machine completed the process of the french press, the coffee was dispensed into the cup. "Your cup of coffee, I suggest you try it without any condiments, else you can add those yourself." Boss Jin presented the painted baby panda bear cup to him. Xiong Da was still a little skeptical. He was a serious coffee connoisseur and this cup could make him be the happiest man in the world aside from being with Xing Li. Or he could be the nastiest man Boss Jin would ever meet. Maybe, he might give Boss Jin a little slack after all the things he had done and the good food he had eaten so far but he will still be nasty. Regardless, he cleared his curry rice and quickly requested for a cup of the spring water. "Quickly Boss, or else your coffee ''might'' be wasted." Xiong Da hurried him but Boss Jin did not even comply with him. Yet, Jin did not see Xiong Da this serious even in the dungeon instances and he became interested in Xiong Da''s sudden change of mood. First, Xiong Da brought up the cup to have a look. "Hmm, enamelled ceramic cup. Not bad. This cup is able to hold the heat and keep the coffee warm enough for a decent amount of time. The design also suit the subtle atmosphere here. You pass in the cup department. No wonder you took your own sweet time to get me water." He then took a whiff of the heavy aroma from the coffee and he started to write notes in his handphone with his stylus pen. "A little floral and chocolate in it¡­could it be?" Xiong Da stared at Jin and immediately sipped a little of the coffee. His look was so solemn as he continuously wrote notes down with each consecutive sip. "I really underestimate your coffee machine. I did not expect it to do better than a professional." At this point, Jin suddenly saw the two Hungry Hippos emerged from the depths of Xiong Da''s cultivation. "Ah¡­I guess I levelled up. Ahahha!" Xiong Da suddenly went back to his cheerful demeanor but he immediately got off the chair and gave a deep bow to Jin. "Thank you Boss for providing such excellent coffee." "Yun, is the coffee that good?" Jin asked quietly and Yun replied. "Hmm, probably just top 10 in the world." All of a sudden, Xiong Da started blabbering about the goodness of the coffee. "You maintained the flavour of the Black Ivory coffee really well that I really do not need to add those nonsensical condiments as you said." "What''s Black Ivory coffee?" Jin asked once more to Yun since he had to continue the act as if he knew what he was doing towards Xiong Da. "Black Ivory coffee beans are one of the few¡­uniquely harvested coffee in the world. Elephants digest the best Arabica coffee beans and shit the beans out¡­literally. People then harvest the beans from their poo." Jin wanted to puke when he heard it but he controlled himself really well by nodding his head to Xiong Da. "Of course, our elephants are different than the current ''best'' method on earth. In fact, our elephants have to be at least Grade 2 Peak before they can ingest those beans. All of the elephants were extremely well fed, bred wildly and monitored closely." "From the looks of the coffee and the taste of it, your Black Ivory coffee beans had a medium roast to it before being grinded so the beans will not be too overpowering while bringing its true character out. " "Manual Grinding is recommended but it seems that your machine did a better job to have the freshly grounded coffee kind of smell. Not to mention I believe your french press had a type of cloth filter which remove the slight oiliness from the coffee making." "The water was exactly at 93 degrees celsius, not too hot nor cold. I thought this was the only thing your machine could do right since the professionals always had a tough time gauging the temperature but it looked like I was wrong." "How do you even know that? By the time the coffee cools to roughly 65-70 degrees celsius, you could not have known that." Jin questioned Xiong Da. "My cultivation allowed me to not just smash monsters Boss. I modified it a little so it can feel and deduce this kind of minute details of food out." Xiong Da laughed loudly. "This cup of coffee truly brought out the flavour of the Black Ivory Coffee. Mainly the taste of dark chocolate with hint of grass and a little spice of cinnamon and tobacco. The taste was also soft to my cultivated sensitive taste buds without it being too burnt or having too much of a bitter taste. The aftertaste was sweet and no doubt clean." Once Xiong Da finished his assessment, he bowed towards Jin once more and continued to enjoy his coffee¡­and pizza. "No doubt the Hungry Hippo." Jin was glad the coffee managed to train and stir his cultivation up to Grade 2. Chapter 38: Panda Yawning Technique Xiong Da eventually fared better after the increase in grade which made it easier for him to kill the goblins and he even got to face the eight legged boar. This type of training did not only help Xiong Da, it actually increases the proficiency of the goblins too. The Sword Goblin managed to upgrade to Grade 2 and it inadvertently raised the difficulty bar of Normal + mode. It''s too bad no one had tried such Normal+ mode yet since most of the cultivators who participated in the normal goblin dungeon did not complete it. In addition, not every cultivator who bought Boss Jin''s dungeon instance was happy when they were killed so quickly in the goblin dungeon. As days went by, there were people who supported such dungeons like Xiong Da, Se Lang and Deng Long. Most of the other customers who managed to defeat at least a goblin or two eventually realised that there was a small amount of spirit force within them, making it stir their cultivation. It became an open secret to people who participated in Pandamonium chats. However, there were also disgruntled cultivators who always complain that they want their money back after losing badly to the goblins. Of course, Boss Jin refused adamantly to their complaints. He insisted his goods were not pegged to a higher difficulty unless they chose to do so. Thankfully, no cultivator was stupid enough to make a move a dungeon supplier because the suppliers were backed by the consumer''s law and China''s Dungeon Supplier Union. "Why are they complaining so much especially when they are so incompetent?" Yun casually asked Jin during one of the more peaceful afternoons. "Well, from what I know, they are just being spoilt by dungeon suppliers who made them feel superior. The dungeon supplier in the central shopping district, King''s Monster for example have a package that includes an AI instructor that literally held the cultivator''s hands throughout the whole dungeon instance." "Most of the unhappy ones felt fear when they fought with the goblins as they could not handle how life threatening it is to them." Jin drank a cup of the Black Ivory coffee and felt awake almost immediately. "Heh, even though they will be just be unconscious?" Yun made a cup of coffee for herself too. "Probably they were scared to get injured or could not endure the pain. Anyways, its like what I have said before. Not everyone become a cultivator because they need it. They do it because of the minor benefits. After enjoying peace for so long, people start to take things for granted." Jin put the cup back into the dishwasher. "Yea, I got that. Especially after the Dantian modification, the modern society abides by another set of rules. Still, it does not hurt knowing how to defend oneself. Look what I had become, I am a living example." Yun scoffed at her perfect young body as she sipped her hot coffee but Jin was at a loss of words. He did not know how to comfort Yun since she was killed by the rogue cultivator that uses forbidden techniques to permanently destroy someone''s Dantian. "Last I heard, Dad made sure that his dead body is in the deepest confinement of a max military security prison island. All the culprit can do now is to rot like a mummy." Yun realised the silence coming from Jin so she tried to move the topic forward a little. However, she actually dug a bigger hole for herself. "Wait what? I thought the media said he was not given a chance to be incarcerated but sentenced to a permanent death with immediate effect. Why did Grandpa not kill and incinerate him?" Jin was curious of the situation. "Oops, what I just told you was supposedly top secret." Yun pondered for a while and decided to tell Jin since she knew Jin would pester her sooner or later. "Please do keep it to yourself. They wanted to extract information from his brain through certain military cultivation techniques that were specialised for interrogation. However, the rogue cultivator shut his life force into his dantian and he was considered ''dead'' at that point of time." "Dad wanted him to be cut into pieces and have his solidified dantian incinerate in the cauldron of Nine Heavenly Flames but the higher ups still want to extract information and he could not do a damn thing. That was partially also the reason why he retired." The predicament of Grandpa Ming was appalling to Jin even though he was a well-known two star general back in the army. "Anyways, you should continue with your new technique as part of the mission objectives." Yun went up the stairs to take a look at the customers that had fallen unconscious about 10 minutes ago. Jin recently took up a new mission to learn a new technique in order to increase his repertoire of skills. The technique associated with Grade 3 was called the Panda Yawning. All he had to do was to learn how to yawn as readily as he could so he can use the skill at his will. The cultivation manual in his phone stated that he need not necessarily be tired to initiate the skill. What Jin could do was to breathe in deeply through his mouth so he could feel the air hitting the back of his throat. While he exhales, his shoulders had to relax a little. "When the yawn comes, reach into it and extend as long as you can. During that period, stretch the jaw muscles." Yun said in his head. The first time he succeeded in trying it, he managed to gather chi within his mouth. However, the chi gathered was not strong enough. "Practice till you feel that the gathering of chi in your mouth becomes natural." Yun added further explanations. Jin wanted to get this mission done as soon as possible mainly for one reason. Panda Yawning technique was one of the few ranged attacks he could learn in the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation manual. Once he was able to master this, he would be able to garner enough chi to shoot a beam of Yin and Yang chi out of his mouth. There was some small illustration on the manual on how the attack looks like but Jin remembered those old Godjilla movies where Godjilla fired a purplish blue beam. Yun said that was the closest resemblance of Panda Yawning technique. Separately, it had been a few days since the opening of the underground floor yet no one bother to ask about the glass panel door that was near the stairs. Jin deduced that the customers thought it was sort of maintenance room, server room or even a simple storage room so they did not ask about it. Coincidentally as he was thinking of the underground stores, an old customer had come back to visit Jin. "Hi Boss Jin! I brought a few of my friends here to play with you!" Yue Wen, a Grade 2 cultivator that uses the Healing Maiden Style which aided Bu Dong and his team to bag the first dungeon clear. "Is the reward redemption using those Panda Medals up yet?" Yue Wen remembered Boss Jin''s answer was that shipping required some time. Little did she know, she was up for a surprise. Chapter 39: I Can Look Pretty While Fighting? "It''s right over there, near the stairs." Jin pointed out the inconspicuous glass panel door to her group of friends. The few customers that were hanging around after their recovery suddenly got interested too. They had been playing for quite some time and most of the customers thought the rewards were not yet shipped. "Is that not some maintenance or storage room?" Jia Ying, one of Yue Wen''s friend replied to Jin''s direction. "I thought the same too since the other side of the door seem dark. I tried going near it, it was locked and there was no knobs or anything." One of the customers also commented that he assumed the same too. "Nope, just open the door using your phone if you have the Pandamonium app else use your dog tags." Jin casually commented as he walked out of the bar counter, towards the glass door. Jin was there to help troubleshoot in case Yue Wen was not able to go in. She placed her phone at the security port beside the door and the glass panel slides open. The lights lit up and on the other side of the door revealed a downward stairway. "Can I bring my friends down too?" Yue Wen asked since she was currently the only one in her group that had the Pandamonium app installed and logged in. "They can follow you but without the dog tags or Pandamonium, they will not be able to go into the next area." Jin replied to them. "So much security just for reward redemption?" Jing Ru, another friend of Yue Wen complained about the unnecessarily complicated procedures. "Well, I did told you girls that the shop is slightly different from a normal dungeon supplier store. Let just buy the dungeon instance tickets first. I promised it is worth it." Yue Wen put her hands together, as if praying to her friends to believe her just this once. "You better not lie to us. Hahaha. Boss, one goblin..?" Shi Hui looked back at Yue Wen to confirm the dungeon instance and Yue Wen nodded her head happily. "One Goblin Dungeon Instance for each of us." Shi Hui completed the order for the entire group. Jin showed them to the credit port while Yue Wen stayed near the door. Some of the customers were interested but hesitated a little and pretended to lurk around for a little while. "All done, here are your tags. You can now follow your friend down the dimensional space instance." Jin thanked them and he lead them to basement 1 "Dimensional space instance? Are we not going to see the rewards?" Shi Hui wondered but she left those thoughts behind for the moment and subsequently enter the underground area with the group of girls. "Oooh! Boss Jin, your panda pictures have the right amount of cuteness in them." Yue Wen appreciated the tumbling panda artwork as she walked down the stairs to the basement 1. When they reached basement 1, they were immediately surprised by the three humongous cinematic screens on the walls. Each of the screens were showing advertisement of their own stores. At the moment, all of screens were showing the kind of discounts they were having for the types of rewards they are ''selling''. "Oh my god, this is amazing. I never seen a dungeon supplier store so dedicated in fluffing up their rewards redemption counter." Shi Hui commented while still in awe. Jin was leaning at the side of the wall near the stairs enjoying the overwhelmed looks the girls had in their expression. Some of the customers from the 1st floor arrived to basement 1 and saw a drastic difference in the change of environment. "How do I buy stuff?" Yue Wen saw something that caught her eye in the Panda Armoury advertisement. "Go into the dimensional space. The dimension space port is located at the White Jade panda statues." Jin once again pointed it out to these clueless girls that were excited by the merchandise he offered. "Come lets go!" Yue Wen signaled her friends as she placed her phone near the armoury panda statue and she was teleported away Yue Wen arrived safely in the dimensional space and she noticed her friends have caught up with her. However, she and her friends could not contain their excitement. The armoury store was in fact designed like a luxurious department store that does not have an end at sight. The floors were marble tiled with certain areas carpeted. The clothes had legitimate brands like LoLoLemon, Zalola, Mike, Armano and many more that were similar to the real world. "The quality is the same! " Jia Ying screamed across the empty department store. The girls quickly rushed to Jia Ying to verify the clothes. "In fact this is of a better quality." Jia Ying was a student in fashion designs and she was trained to see if a product was a knock off. Hence, the girls readily trusted her judgement. The girls walked around and their shopping senses tingle in the air. It had been a long time since they had an entire store to themselves. Yue Wen tried on one of the sports leggings and it was extremely comfy. "Hmm, there are no price tags on it, how do I even check?" Yue Wen looked around the leggings for a price tag and the section for the price list but to no avail. "Eight Bronze Panda Medals." A small red panda came out from nowhere talking. "Oooh! So cute!" Yue Wen immediately grabbed the red panda and it responded to her cuddle by rubbing its nose on her face. "Like a dungeon instance, you are the only group here in this store. This store''s dimensional space will only close until you are satisfied with your shopping or browsing. When a new group wishes to enter, a new separate dimensional space will be created just for them." The red panda commented. "However, when Jin, our big boss, wishes to close his shop, there will be a warning given for each and every store''s dimensional space created to warn the users to exit the dimensional space in 5 minutes time. Else you will be forcefully kicked out of the dimensional space." The small red panda continued to speak to Yue Wen as she snuggled it. In the Panda Armoury, several AI red pandas were created by Yun to help serve the customers within each dimensional space. "I assumed this will be a true armoury store, you know those metal and leather armours etc. Instead, I found clothes that can be bought and perhaps according to my friend of a higher quality too." Yue Wen tried to question the viability of the Panda Armoury. "This is indeed a true armoury store. Metal armours are available if you wish to have a look, I can direct you there. However, these clothes here are all enchanted with varying levels of defense inscriptions. In addition, the clothes sold here are manufactured and approved by the original company brands and they are of the highest quality ensured. Big Boss Jin did not compromise its quality and material because you can actually use this in combat." The red panda replied. "If you are still wary of the product, we can show you the certification to sell said products and you can cross check it with the clothing company. The enchantment of inscriptions came from a different supplier and that in Jin''s words ''Trade Secret''." The red panda continued to clear Yue Wen''s doubts. "You mean I can actually look pretty while fighting?!" Yue Wen eyes sparkled like diamonds. Chapter 40: For New Clothes! "Yue Wen!!! This dress is so pretty and the Red Panda is so cute!! It keeps following me that I have no choice but to carry it." Shi Hui smiled widely as she ran towards Yue Wen with the dress on while carrying the red panda around. "Oh my god, that piece of cloth costs 130 bronze panda medals?" Yue Wen nearly fainted from the price. It was a black silk dress with a short tie from the clothing brand, Armano. Jia Ying told Shi Hui that the dress alone costs about 10 800 Yuan in the market. Yue Wen almost coughed blood out when she heard the original price in the market from Jia Ying. A completed goblin dungeon gave her about 10 bronze panda medals. However, because of her participation of the first dungeon clear, she had an addition of 25 bronze panda medals. She now possessed a total of 35 bronze medals. Yue Wen told Shi Hui that assuming she managed to pass a dungeon each time she participated, she needs to participate the goblin dungeon at least 13 times to get that 130 bronze panda medals. Hence, Shi Hui needs to spend 3185 Yuan to be able to get that Armano black dress. "This is a steal! That''s about 70% discount on a branded dress! Yue Wen, why did you not tell us about this shop earlier?!" Jing Ru joined the conversation as she saw Shi Hui''s dress. While they were conversing, all four red pandas united and they were lazing on each other''s tummy. Jing Ru could not help but took her phone out to take a photo of the red pandas. However, the picture came out blank. "I am sorry user, no photos or videos allowed here. You are however welcome back anytime to look at the items again." One of the lazy red pandas spoke out. Jing Ru bitterly laughed at its response. There were too many things attracting her desires and she believed the other three felt the same too. There were not just clothes. This department store had shoes, accessories like earrings, necklaces, watches and even contact lens! "Red Panda, am I able to use my medals to buy something for someone?" Yue Wen asked. "Yes, you can but there are some rules you have to abide. One, you have to declare that it is a gift for someone else before purchasing or else we will tagged the item under your ID in the Pandamonium. Two, You can only gift if that person registered to Pandamonium." "Why will you tagged it under my name?" Yue Wen asked again while tickling the red pandas on the floor. The red pandas responded with a small squeal as if it was laughing in reaction to the tickle. "In the case where your items are stolen. You track where your item has gone to and deactivate the inscriptions via the Pandamonium if necessary. However, if your phone was stolen, the reverse can actually happen. The item may imprint a GPS location into your memory, and gives you a direction where your phone was last seen." "Wow, such an amazing yet a little scary kind of technology Boss Jin has." Yue Wen replied. "Not really, it is a fairly common type of cultivation spell in the inscription. However, the dress can only imprint that many times before it loses its inscription power. " "In addition, whenever your inscription loses power due to wear and tear or because of other circumstances such as losing your phone, come back to Boss Jin. We will recharge the inscription free for the first time. Subsequent recharging has a charge to it and the price differs." "Ehh so do the inscription lose power often??" Jia Ying asked the Red Panda in place of Yue Wen since she does not think much about utility. "Our Grade 2 Defense inscription can partially absorb 5,000 average Grade 2 attacks or approximately 500 Grade 3 Peak attacks. You can never find such durability from other Inscriptors. We offer quality that are second to none." Red Panda boasted proudly. Yue Wen pats the red panda and decided to buy a sports legging and singlet from the brand Mike which cost about 15 bronze panda medals. The leggings and the singlet each have a Grade 2 Defense Inscription imbued on them, allowing Yue Wen to take more hits as compared to a simple sports singlet. She went to the changing room to equip her ''armour'' and to her surprise, the grey dry-fit singlet magically shrink a little. It was fitting while having plenty of room to move about. The Red Panda did tell her that the defense inscriptions will adjust the clothing to match her size so it does not impede her during a fight. The black leggings also have similar effect and she felt extremely comfortable in her new set of clothing. "Are there any other inscriptions other than Defense?" Yue Wen asked the red panda casually after she got out of the changing room. "When you are of a higher grade, other kind of inscriptions are available for choosing like Power, Jump, Dash or Evade. If you wish to add a new inscription to your current clothing, come to our store again to get it imbued. As usual, no charge for the first alteration." "I can buy the new inscriptions here?" "Nope, you have to get it either from the Panda General Store or loots from the dungeons. We will not entertain other inscriptions because they are of a inferior quality." The Red Panda answered. "You can get loot from dungeon instances?" This was the first time Yue Wen was hearing it. "Low probability but possible." The red panda smiled at her and wagged its tail. "Such brilliant services. Oh, Boss Jin~! Are you secretly some mafia boss that sells black market stuff or a top brass of a secret government agency." Yue Wen could not help but admire Boss Jin''s capability to have such contacts to get such amazing rewards. At this point, Jin could not help but sneeze as he returned to the 1st Floor. "Yun, there''s dust in the basement?" Jin rubbed his nose a little. "Impossible, the air ventilation systems are working perfectly, let me have the System to diagnose if there was any possible programming bug in the ventilation systems. The friends of Yue Wen got jealous when they saw that she was able to buy items from the Panda Armoury. "Well, let''s fight the dungeon and get you some Panda Medals, so you girls can buy some things too." Yue Wen smiled as they exited the area to move up to the first floor. She felt a little too embarrassed to look at the Panda General Store and the Panda Weaponry since her friends had no medals at all. Hence she decided to proceed to fight the goblin dungeon with them. If she had time to spare in the future, she would take a look. Upon logging into Station 6, Yue Wen noticed that there was a Normal+ mode included in the selection screen. "Boss Jin! What''s Normal+ mode?" "Stronger Goblins, same monster boss." Jin replied back. "Any additional rewards?" Yue Wen lit up a little. "If you managed to complete the dungeon? 15 Medals. If you can kill all the goblins, 6 Medals instead of the usual three medals." Jin answered her question with a little excitement. Someone might finally have the courage to try the new Normal+ mode. "Yue Wen, shall we give it a try?" Jing Ru questioned Yue Wen as she noticed the other three girls suddenly had a burning innate desire to hunt when they heard about the increase in medals. "For new clothes!!" Yue Wen selected the Normal+ mode and they were teleported to the dungeon instance. Chapter 41: Venus Four - Part 1 Customers might think that this group of girls were courting death for trying Normal+ mode in the goblin dungeon instance. They could not believe a group of pretty girls fighting for the sake of clothes would have any chance against a single goblin. Little did they know that the girls themselves have a few tricks up their sleeves and possibly might blow their minds. Regardless, some people started to gather around Station 6 to watch the show. Stronger goblins were still goblins. They might be tougher, harder to kill but they were merely a type of monster with only limited intelligence. That means with good team combination and some decent preparation, Yue Wen''s group might pass the dungeon. For a good team combination, Yue Wen purposely chose these three girls for Boss Jin''s dungeon because each of them had a identity not known to almost any in this store. They were all part of the national team of various sports from their university, the National University of Shenzhen. Jing Ru, majored in Mathematics was a meek looking girl with short plaited hair which she had it dyed in light greyish pink. Despite her appearance, Jing Ru was the university team leader for air rifle and possessed a Grade 2 cultivation, the Gunning Giraffe style. Her skills to shoot a target at 45 metres while moving was a skill no one in the team could perform. Do not underestimate her because of her demure attitude. Jia Ying, the girl who majored in Fashion Design was in the university team for Wushu and specialised in the art of spear. Her long silky hair and well rounded bosom did not sullen her nickname, ''Zhao Yun'' who was a famous general and spearsmen in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.. Her Sanguine Stag style eliminated many of her opponents in the field of combat and it propelled her to Grade 3 at such an early age. Shi Hui was just a student in Audio Engineering but she was known as the upcoming modern dancer in Shenzhen''s field of performing arts. She also had the opportunity to become a dance choreographer for a music company despite her age when she was interning for her degree. This girl always had hair with long outward curls and a smile full of sunshine made many suitors down to their knees begging for just one date. Her Shadow Swan Style complemented her dancing which was infused into her fighting skills making her a competent Grade 2 Peak cultivator. Last but not least, Yue Wen, a Grade 2 cultivator who studied chemistry and had the Healing Maiden Style. Although she was not in any national teams, she was somewhat the clique''s leader for this elite group of girls. Her innate chi was so strong that she once studied Cultivation Centre in Recovery Arts (CCRA) for summer school and fared better than any of the students residing in the centre. She cultivated her own style with the help of a professor in the CCRA and created the Healing Maiden Style. For the past week, she returned to the CCRA in search for the professor who aided her and within that short period of time, she managed to reach Grade 2 Peak, utilising the spirit force she received from Jin''s dungeons. These four girls were the best of buddies since Junior High and even went to the same High School. They were so well known in school that fellow students and classmates called them the Venus Four. The Venus Four teleported safely into the goblin dungeon instance. This time round, Yue Wen noticed that the atmosphere was slightly different. The sun was setting in the distance, giving the entire forest a warm amber glow. That also meant that the Venus Four may have to fight in battleground with reduced line of sight. However, this entire situation did not deter Jing Ru. As a markswoman, she had borrowed and prepared night vision scope in case they really had to fight in the dark. Yue Wen had indeed planned for the worse case scenario knowing Boss Jin''s attitude towards a rich and deep dungeon experience. Jing Ru went up to a small hillside slope and prepared a few strings with bells in case goblins tried to ambush her from behind. Jing Ru''s stepfather was an accomplished police sniper who also happened to have survival training experience so when Jing Ru sought the advice of her father, it totally made his day. He never thought his ever so quiet step daughter would approached him. The week before visiting Boss Jin''s dungeon, Jing Ru learnt much from her new stepfather and now applied what she had learnt to this goblin dungeon instance. She took out her Winterwolf 39 Caliber air rifle and placed it at the spot where she can cover her friends. She took a pellet out to infuse with a little bit of Chi and inserted it into the rifle. Jing Ru was locked and loaded. Jia Ying, on the other hand was trying to attract as much attention to herself so the goblins will go after her instead. She took out her highly flexible waxwood spear and flaunted her skills in the small clearing. Jia Ying had the waxwood spear tip sharpened just for this dungeon instance. She also wore a Grade 1 inscription silk wushu uniform which she used for tournaments when she entered the dungeon instance. Shi Hui on the other hand wore a simple blue buttoned shirt with her sleeves rolled up and tied her hair curls up to a ponytail. She took out her War Fan and stay aside Yue Wen, since she was the only healer in the group. Yue Wen knew the goblin dagger had poison coated daggers so she had her mates to carry a pill necklace with the poison antidotes on standby. If they got hit by the poison, they should immediately take the poison antidote from their necklace. However, it was not just a simple antidote. Her study in chemistry allowed her to do some modification to the poison antidote. Similar to the ancient days, she used a modern cauldron which can stimulate the effects of pill forming. By putting an existing pill into the cauldron, it can calculate and show the formula out on a screen via an internet database. It then advised the user some recommendations on what kind of modifications will have minimum effect on the pill. Of course, the cauldron recommendations could be overwritten by the user but Yue Wen decides to play safe for now and made modifications in accordance to the recommendations. She controlled her chi effortlessly during the pill making, allowing the cauldron to produce a poison antidote with some wound healing effect. In addition, due to her good control of chi, the quality of the pills she made was approximately 80 out of a 100 as deduced by the modern cauldron hence the wound healing effect in the poison antidote was strengthened. With all the preparations, she only hoped that they could at least put up a good fight in this new Normal+ mode. Yue Wen initially wanted to do the dungeon instance for the challenge of a realistic dungeon experience and the spirit force but now she and her team had a new goal in mind. For new clothes. Chapter 42: Venus Four - Part 2 The system''s dimensional space system worked in mysterious ways that no man could ever deduce. When Jin activated a portal station at the Panda Port, the system created a clone of the real goblins along with the current living environment, which the system provided for them as the dungeon instance, at that particular time and date. When Jin activated Station 6, the goblins were having their meals in their dimensional home. The system copied the entire environment system to Station 6 as if the goblins themselves were experiencing a butterfly effect in their particular timeline. Whether the goblins managed to kill their opponents or not, they would gain experience and these experience of the cloned goblins would merged with the current goblins through the workings of the system. When Station 6 was activated, the cloned goblins heard a loud alarm coming from the north of their hideout. It was an environment wide alarm which they believed a spell their master had placed to alert the goblins of enemy cultivators to be teleported into their current dimensional home. The goblins hurried to pick their worned out weapons and pieces of cloth for their armour. All ready to run and hunt their opponents within minutes. As they were about to leave their hideout, a red pigeon came flying to their hideout, signalling a message from their master. According to the message, the goblins were able to remove their restrictions and fight at their best for this particular encounter. In addition, their master authorised them to wear the latest armour and weapons that they were bestowed. All of the goblins were dancing with joy since they had been wanting to try them ever since they got it more than a week ago. The new leather armours and alloyed-iron weapons they had been keeping in their hideout could not be worn because of a restriction given by their master. Unless told to do, they would not be able to don the new equipment and there was powerful spell binding on their abilities. With the arrival of the red pigeon, it not only gave the message to the goblins but also cast a spell to temporarily remove those ability restrictions. The goblins placed their old items aside and helped each other to put on the new equipment before they head out. "It''s too quiet for far too long. Are they really waiting for night to approach so it will be easier to strike us?" Jia Ying walked around impatiently without straying too far from Jing Ru''s protection. "Speak of the devil." Through a walkie talkie, Jing Ru whispered she saw some movement from the south east and started to adjust her scope. Jia Ying noted and raised her guard for any attacks. To her surprise, a goblin came out from the bushes, wielding a spear. Yue Wen was startled by the change of appearance by the spear goblin. It was wearing full leather armour with some metal pieces as compared to cloth rags it used to wear. The spear it was carrying had a humanoid skull attached at the end of the pole, assuming the goblin used it as a counterweight. The goblin raised its spear towards Jia Ying as if it wants a proper duel. Yue Wen immediately informed Jing Ru to be on guard for the dagger goblin. It was the same trick they used on Bu Dong. Jing Ru acknowledged and continued to survey the surrounding with her scope but oddly enough, two other goblins came out to the open as well. They were not ambushing them like they had been doing in Normal mode and this made Yue Wen a little anxious. "Could they be thinking that they are a match against us in a proper duel or is this a ruse? Is there be a different goblin waiting for us?" Yue Wen started to panic at the goblin''s sudden change in attitude towards fighting fair and square. The sword goblin eventually raised its sword at Shi Hui and spoke angrily in goblin language as if it wanted to pick a fight with her. Yue Wen nodded her head when Shi Hui looked to her for guidance and she went forward to face the sword goblin. Meanwhile, Jing Ru had her sights pointed at the dagger goblin at all times. However as she was focusing on it, the goblin seem to realised her presence and actually smiled back at her. Jing Ru was totally confounded. " Did the goblin really know my position or does it just happen to smile at me?" The thoughts started to give her cold sweat. While it was true she was a marksmen, all she had been doing was hitting items that did not retaliate back. Still, she gritted her teeth and maintained her calm using one of Gunning Giraffe''s skills, the Stoic Giraffe. By initiating the skill, Stoic Giraffe, she maintained her emotions with her pulse and breathing stabilised. Fortunately, Jing Ru was able to keep her calm in time as a dagger came flying towards her. With a skillful shot, her pellet came in direct contact with the flying dagger. The dagger recoiled from the mid-air collision with the chi-powered pellet and it dropped onto the ground. "So he does know where I am located." Jing Ru exhaled a heavy breath and reloaded another pellet into her Winterwolf rifle. She knew that what the goblin did was to warn her not to have any ''smart'' ideas against the two duels as it was watching her closely. "For goblins, they seem quite honourable for this fight." Jin casually commented which made almost every customer in the store puke blood. "Boss, if you know what they did to me, you will reconsider your words¡­" one of the customers replied. "I once had a nightmare about goblins and Boss, the goblins were from your store. I think I will not see goblins the same way ever again." Another customer added. "Boss, do you have a fever when you said that? If so, please take your medicine." Almost every other customer tried to reply sarcastically to Boss Jin but their eyes never left the screen as the duels between the Venus Four members and the goblins began. Jia Ying gave a straight strike towards the goblin to test its abilities. Sometimes, a play of strength was all that''s needed to conclude the fight but the goblins are only that honourable in their word to fight solo. The spear goblin slides its spear along Jia Ying''s strike the moment her hand was extended and decided to attack her rear. "Hmph! You indeed have skills to foresee my play of strength was actually a feint! Yue Wen might be right after all! I could be able to find a more worthy opponent with monsters than men." The straight strike was indeed a feint as a blast of energy from the spear was released at the tip of the spear. If the goblin had head on against Jia Ying, the energy blast would have gotten him and knocked him back. Even if he could have resisted it, it was enough to give Jia Ying an attack of opportunity to deal additional damage to the enemy. Jia Ying responded to the goblin''s counterattack by going with the flow of the straight strike. Her spear pulled her forward to evade the attack from the goblin. Unfortunately the goblin was not fast enough to respond and she got away to the other side of the clearing. The battle got even more intense from here on. Chapter 43: Venus Four - Part 3 Shi Hui was defending from multiple slash attacks by the sword goblin. Her blocks were as graceful and gentle as the river streams while the goblin attacks were crude but on point like a hammer striking on an anvil. During the duel, the goblin even managed to perform a sword art which made Shi Hui became very wary of its advances. However, she was still able to defend most of its attacks with style which occasionally blinded the goblin with her beauty. "That sword art seems to come from the Grade 1 Mantis cultivators. It is simple to learn but I did not expect the improved goblin managed to pick up such a skill." One of the customers noticed. "Wait, if this improved goblin knows about sword art, does it mean it actually learns our attacks, arts and even fighting patterns?" Another customer remarked with some caution. "Do you mean Boss Jin''s monsters can learn like how AI search engines in Mooogle and Qiandu? If so, Boss, your dimensional space technology is frightening!" A female customer exclaimed. "If my monsters do not learn, how will you ever improve?" Jin shot them back with a question worth pondering. "Cultivators should not just cultivate, they should learn and understand that there will always be a mountain higher than the mountain you knew." An elderly onlooker in the store gave a simple reply to Jin''s answer. "But the highest mountain is Mount Everest." A customer tried to retort cleverly but everyone just ignored him and watched the TV at Station 6. The goblin tried to do a sucker punch as a follow up of its sideward sword slash but Shi Hui managed to blocked it with her chi infused palm. Compared to the spear goblin, it seems that the sword goblin was doing more progress against Shi Hui since all she could do was to dodge or defend every other attack. In fact, this was what Shi Hui wanted. Using her Shadowy Swan style, she learnt the patterns of the sword goblin''s attacks and found a weakness within it. All she need to do was to wait for the sword goblin to repeat the same pattern again before she strikes. On the other hand, the dagger goblin began to become fidgetly even though he knew it would not be a good idea to interfere. While it managed to warn the ranged weapon user about her position, there was a possibility that she would retaliate back if it decides to assist any of its fellow goblin companions'' duel. However, its monster instincts overtook its self discipline and threw two daggers as a distraction at Jia Ying while it races towards Yue Wen hoping to distract the ranged weapon user. Yet, Jing Ru actually knew that Yue Wen would be the target since she was the healer of the party but she believed Yue Wen would be able to take care of herself. Hence, instead of aiming the dagger goblin, Jing Ru actually fired her rifle towards the spear goblin which her pellet shot managed to topple its spear and gave Jia Ying the breather she needed after blocking the daggers thrown by the dagger goblin. "This time you made me mad." Jia Ying wanted to finish up the spear goblin and head towards the dagger goblin so she summoned her cultivation. Three stags silhouette appeared above her and she immediately performed a spear art, the ''Stampede of the Sanguine Stag''. As she moved her spear towards the spear goblin, multiple afterimages of her waxwood spear appeared alongside the spear that she was holding, causing confusion to the spear goblin. The Wushu red ribbon that was tied near the spearhead created even more distraction for the goblin. The goblin was not able to block the afterimages as they were not just another illusion. There was spirit force imbued Jia Ying''s spear art. Hence it suffered an onslaught of attacks before the real waxwood spear pierced through the leather armour it was wearing and died. Yue Wen anticipated the dagger goblin to come after her and she devised a way to deal with it. Before she came to Boss Jin''s dungeon, she actually went to her little brother Yue Han, the cultivator of the Blind Bat style for an item. A shock trap. As long as the enemy steps into the vicinity of the trap deployment, a shock will be applied to it. Yue Han had a few of these small metallic balls that were easy to deploy when he redeemed some prizes from King''s Monster with Bu Dong, the cultivator of the Angry Ape style. Unfortunately, the shock trap was of an inferior quality which were more effective against Grade 1 monsters. That does not mean it would be entirely useless against a Grade 2 goblin. The goblin unknowingly dived into the trap since it thought Yue Wen was defenceless against its high rate of attack. However, when the goblin came into range, the trap was activated and blue lightning struck the goblin. With the multiple daggers plastered all around its body, it actually became perfect conductor for the shock trap. Yue Wen temporarily withdrew her sword cane and projected two palms full of chi energy to the goblin, as if the chi energy from the palms were squashing it. This gave Jing Ru sufficient time to reload for attacking the spear goblin and aiming at the dagger goblin. "Do not underestimate us even though you are stronger now." Yue Wen spoke to the goblin as she saw two Giraffes silhouettes appeared behind the bushes. This was the weakness of a sniper cultivator, Jing Ru had been trying to cover her cultivation as much as she could. However, if she continued to cultivate to higher grades, her master said that there would be a chance for her to hide the cultivation during sniping. Regardless of her thoughts, she meticulously performed her gun art, ''Phantasmic Shot of the Gunning Giraffe.'' Her chi ran through her entire rifle, powering a shot that could disappear during its path of flight and appeared within five metres of the enemy''s head, making it almost impossible for the goblin to predict the attack. With the goblin restrained, it was more of an assurance to make sure the shot would be true. Even before the others could heard the sound of the shot, pieces of goblin brain matter splattered all around the ground was evident enough of Jing Ru''s skills. The sword goblin panicked a little when it heard an explosive sound from Jing Ru''s shot and it was coincidentally at the weakest part of its attack pattern. "Good Fight." Shi Hui swiped her war fan to block the sword and went dangerously close to the goblin. She grabbed the goblin by its leather armour and with Chi infused into her palms and legs, she did a body throwing technique that made the sword goblin toppled to the ground. Shi Hui immediately plunged her closed war fan into the sword goblin''s mouth. With chi infused into her war fan, she slits open its mouth, causing breathing difficulties for the goblin. After which, She swiped her fan towards the ground to remove the goblin blood from her fan. All three goblins dead. All customers outside Station 6 had their jaws opened including Jin. Well, Jin was actually practicing his Panda Yawning. The crowd was astounded by the performance of the girls and they cheered very loudly for them. "It''s a good thing, this place is partially sound proof even with the shutters up or else the owners in the shopping district will complain about the noise these wild animals made. " Jin thought and yawned once more. Chapter 44: Venus Four - Part 4 "Oink! Oink! Oink!" the Venus Four heard the distant shouts of the eight legged boar coming from the south and the girls had little time to regroup for the boss fight. "Take your positions again. Assuming what Boss Jin said was true, what we had practiced for the past few days will bear fruit!" Yue Wen shouted and the girls got together into a line formation. Jing Ru was still at the elevated slope providing overwatch for the team but this time round, she put her Winterwolf air rifle down and took out a ForestBear .50 caliber air rifle from her storage ring. Compared to the Winterwolf air rifle, the ForestBear air rifle was heavier, sturdier and packs a larger punch than the former one. However, the drawback of the rifle was its recoil and reload. The chi needed to be infused into a .50 caliber pellet was higher in order for it to be lethal in a fight. At her current grade, to infuse sufficient chi quickly into a .50 caliber pellet allowed her to have at most two shots. She hoped the practice runs they did for the past few days was enough to defeat Mr Oink with one full team attack. Yue Wen was at the scene for the first dungeon clear so she knew it was possible to kill the boar with one attack. If they dragged on for too long, the little piglet would emerge from the weakened boar form and they had to deal it while exhausted. In the line formation, Shi Hui was right in front of them instead of Grade 3 Sanguine Stag style cultivator Jia Ying, followed by Yue Wen. "The Shadowy Swan Style user is not a tank and in the current team composition, it will be more sensible for her to hold the secondary offensive role to support the Sanguine Stag style user." Mr Know-it-all customer who always lurked in Jin''s store said out loud and this time his comment actually created some discussion. "Maybe, they want the Shadowy Swan style user to soften Mr Oink for the main offensive role of the team to have a one hit kill." A customer decided to voice out his opinion. "Ah yes, the instant kill so the little piglet will not appear, but I heard it''s cute! I like to take a look at it if possible." the female customer replied happily. "The cute things in Boss Jin''s dungeons are just too dangerous. Remember the Zither Mistress? From the distance, her white wavy hair attracts your attention and when you saw her innocent pure smile, your heart will just melt. With the melodious music she plays in every instance, she is no doubt the Young Siren of the Grasslands. " A customer who tried the Zither Mistress dungeon instance could not forget the Zither Mistress. "If he had known that young little girl was at least 200 years old. I wonder how he will take it." Jin was grinning at himself but continued to keep quiet. "Mr Oink is coming! Shi Hui and Jia Ying get ready!" Yue Wen placed her palms onto Jia Ying and began to transfer her chi for Jia Ying''s use. Jia Ying readied her stance as if she was going to perform another spear art. Shi Hui knew the location of the boar from Jing Ru''s overwatch so she positioned herself and the line formation was adjusted accordingly. Now the boar came into the small clearing with Venus Four on the other end. Both of them were roughly 50 metres apart from each other and the boar stomped its feet. "Oink!" The boar did not delay a second more and sprinted towards Shi Hui. On the other hand, she smiled at the thought of the boar''s primal instincts when it charged towards Shi Hui. She immediately portrayed her cultivation, the Shadowy Swan style and initiated her war fan art, "Rosy Illusion of the Swan in the Shadows!" It was a Grade 1 illusion technique which lowers the guard of the enemy. In the boar''s view, it had its whole peripheral vision framed with a field of rose right in front of it. The smell of rose and sudden urge of loving it overcame its senses and emotions of rage. The boar slowed its pace and started to roll around the mud in the clearing as if it was playing in the field of rose. Without any resistance to illusion magic, the boar''s mind was controlled by Shi Hui. "Jing Ru! Jia Ying! Now!" Yue Wen gave a large shout and pushed her last bit of Chi into Jia Ying. A heavy presence of Chi aura suddenly emanated out of Jia Ying as she tried to contain and focus the chi given by Yue Wen into her spear as much as possible. When Jing Ru heard Yue Wen''s command, she gently pressed her trigger and the ForestBear rifle fired her chi infused .50 caliber pellet. The pellet screams through the air and subsequently creating a large hole in the skull of the boar. The eight-legged boar immediately went into a series of spasm. "Spear Art! Turbulent Pierce of the Sanguine Stag!" Within the same moment, Jia Ying shouted and extended her arm towards the convulsing boar. She aimed her chi infused waxwood spear towards the large opening that Jing Ru created and the spear automatically extended its length and pierced through the boar. It was as if the boar was on a stick waiting to be cooked. Jia Ying used whatever strength that she had to swing the ''boar on a stick'' into a bunch of trees beside the clearing. Yue Wen could clearly see Jia Ying''s muscles buldging and veins popping as the boar was being smashed into the woods. After a 180 degrees swing, Jia Ying let go of the spear and fell to the ground panting crazily. The spear slowly return to its original length and was still stuck on the boar. Yue Wen sat beside her, drained of her Chi too. Shi Hui went to check the boar while Jing Ru continued to stay in her hideout till the end of the dungeon. "Did we do it?" Jia Ying was sweating profusely and felt intense heart palpitations. At this moment, the lady announcer made the announcement and all of them gave a sigh of relief. "Normal+ Mode completed. Please stand by for teleportation." The Venus Four teleported safely back to Station 6 and the girls saw that they were surrounded by a crowd of customers. The customers cheered in front of them and congratulated them for their efforts. "You are an inspiration to the rest of the female cultivators! Show those arrogant males that we can do it too!" a female cultivator went forward to shake their hands. "Guess, I have to work harder, Boss Jin! One more dungeon instance ticket please!" Customers started to reorder from Boss Jin again which cause Jin to have a curious thought for himself. "How do these customers have so much money to spare? Is this not just a mildly developed neighbourhood?" Subsequently, he erased that thought away, it would be bad omen to even think about it. Yun nodded her head and looked at Jin. "Yes, just collect the money and do not think about anything else." Chapter 45: Boy with the Bamboo Flute "Congratulations for winning this time limited dungeon." Jin saw the girls was experiencing a bout of acknowledgements from the crowd. "Time limited?" Both the customers and Venus Four immediately looked at Jin with eyes widened. "Yes, time limited. Considering how things go, the goblin dungeon will subsequently have its first Hard mode difficulty. When the Hard Mode difficulty goes online, the Normal+ difficulty will be removed." "I doubt I will be doing Normal+ mode, although killing all the goblins gave out decent number of medals, I do not think I can cope with Grade 2 goblins." A customer shuddered in fear of doing Normal+ mode. Separately, Yue Wen immediately went to check her Rewards tab in the Pandamonium app and suddenly screamed out with joy. "Boss! When does this time limited Normal+ mode ends?" "Like I said, when Hard Mode goes online. I am unable to give you a proper date." Jin replied. "Then you will be seeing us everyday at least for one goblin dungeon run!" Yue Wen quickly prodded the rest of her gang to check their rewards tab after forcing them to install the Pandamonium app. Upon reviewing the tab, all of them looked at each other with jubilation and nodded their heads furiously at the idea of coming back everyday. "What is going on?" the customer who did not wish to proceed with Normal+ mode asked Yue Wen. "This time limited dungeon actually gives a coupon discount of 10 bronze panda medals. That is almost equivalent to getting 10 more bronze panda medals! What is more exciting than clothes?" "Getting a discount!" Venus Four smiled so radiantly that the customers were infected by them. "Boss Jin! Can we stack the coupon discounts on a single item?" Shi Hui asked anxiously. She was not giving up the dream of getting that branded black silk dress. Jin nodded his head and the girls screamed crazily again. The customers in the store suddenly got pumped up and started asking one another whether they wished to join up to fight against the goblins in either Normal or Normal+ mode. They figured if they managed to get more panda medals, they would be able to procure some items from the underground stores and they would be able to eventually defeat the goblin dungeon instance. "This place is really not a bad deal after all." Jing Ru spoke as she observed the crowd interaction. "Your reasons? " Jia Ying asked, secretly hoping Jing Ru would have the same conclusion as her. "For 245 Yuan, I can participate one of the best fights in my life , food that smell and taste terrific, a wide range of practical clothes and weapons for grabs if you do well in the fights. Which dungeon supplier in Shenzhen no wait, I should generalise a little. Which entertainment outlet you know of is able to provide such a wonderful¡­all round package?" Jing Ru was analysing each and every benefit of 245 Yuan. "But the Boss seems lazy." Jia Ying giggled as she drank the bamboo juice she just bought from Boss Jin. "Then this lazy boss is the smartest boss I ever known." Jing Ru took her contact lens off and wore her spectacles for comfort. Venus Four stayed in the store for a while more as they tried out the variety of food which Boss Jin currently offer. The clique also gave some advice to the customers since they became a minor celebrity in the store for completing Normal+ Mode. Jin did not forget to place their names up on the scoreboard and the Venus Four was also awarded an additional 25 bronze Panda Medals for their first dungeon clear in Normal+ Mode. Yue Wen showed her group the ranking board and their named were at the top of the dungeon clear for Normal Mode. The girls managed to takeover Bu Dong''s group first clear. "I believe Bu Dong will go nuts if he heard you took the first clear for Normal+ Mode." Jia Ying laughed a little too loudly but most did not care as they were viewing the dungeon instances at various stations. "Yes, he definitely would try his best to get the Hard Mode first clear in order to have his name on the top." Shi Hui smiled as she drank her black ivory coffee. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Hey Di Ku, do you want to go to Tiangong shopping street for dinner?" Ni Pian Zi asked Mei Di Ku as they just completed their extra curricular activities in Tiangong Senior High. "Sure, Lele diner cafe?" Di Ku asked Pian Zi but it seems he had a different opinion. "I heard the shopping street has a new store, we can try their food!" Pian Zi said excitedly when he placed his Er Hu, a chinese two stringed fiddle used in the chinese orchestras. "Isnt that new store a dungeon supplier? What do you mean by you wish to eat there?" Di Ku questioned him while he kept his bamboo flute. "Oh, you did not know? That dungeon supplier apparently provides food services if you purchase his dungeon. I personally went there to take a look but did not have enough cash with me at that point of time." Pian Zi remembered the aroma of the tonkatsu curry rice, it was simply unforgettable. "Besides, you have yet to treat me after you won that top prize in that competition." Pian Zi was referring to an annual provincial musical competition which Di Ku participated. Only the top musicians regardless of categories were invited to join it. Di Ku happened to be the youngest and brightest of all the participants and he clinched the top prize without much effort. Some said he could be next upcoming winning musician for the national competition. "What is this about treating? Looks like I want in too." An elderly bespectacled man with small moustache came towards them while holding a thin file. "Teacher Pu Ting! Ah, we were just casually talking about how Di Ku should treat us a meal at the new dungeon supplier store beside Tiangong shopping centre" Pian Zi included his chinese orchestra teacher, Pu Ting into the conversation. "Oh! I think I did hear rumours of such a store. It was charging exorbitant prices for its dungeon but cultivators seem to keep going back to that store. As if there is a sort of hidden magic which pulls them in." Pu Ting remembered one of the teachers in talking about it in the staff room. "Well, all I want is to try the curry rice." Pian Zi shamelessly replied. "Sir, do you wish to come with us? I will be honoured with your presence." Di Ku tone changed dramatically. Teacher Pu Ting was the reason why he managed to clinch the top prize. He was not any famous instructor in the field of chinese orchestra but Pu Ting was able to find the flaws of Di Ku music and kept on improving his skill. Di Ku had the opportunity to work with various well-known instructors due to his family''s influence but they could not come close to how meticulous and well thought Pu Ting''s teachings were. Those shameless well-known instructors wanted was money and favour from his family. "Well, this is a good time to test my cultivation as well as seeing Di Ku''s style in battle. It had been a long time since I practiced it." Pu Ting laughed heartily. "Then Sir, you will be in for a surprise. Because I heard the store has a monster that plays the Zither." Pian Zi decided to sweeten the deal for the both of them so there would be a higher chance for both of them to tag along. "For real?" Di Ku and Pu Ting had their eyes opened. They never encountered nor heard of such monster. Pian Zi was right and decided to hook them in closer. "Yeap, I saw it with my own eyes and believe me, even the dungeon was named after her. The Zither Mistress. Currently, no one managed to pass the dungeon yet." "Now, this is interesting, I wonder if I will be able to have a proper music battle with Zither Mistress." Di Ku finally had something to look forward to. After the competition, he thought he could find stronger opponents and have a proper musical conversation with people who shared the same interest as him. Instead, all he received were boot licking from them, hence the only thing to look forward was Pu Ting''s lessons at school. Of course, he did not expect much from a monster. It would just be interesting to see one just in action. "Let''s not waste time and let''s go, this time I will treat for sure. Teacher Pu Ting, you are not allowed to say no after all the help you had given me." Di Ku said with a large grin. "Well, then let me drive you guys there. You two wait for me at the entrance of the school." Pu Ting was delighted to see his disciple genuinely smile after the provincial musical competition. Chapter 46: Boy with the Weasel "Hmm Yun, are there any dungeons slightly easier for the customers? They are practically newbies that do not know how to fight at all." Jin was looking through the videos of his customers trying to get pass Normal Mode or Normal+ Mode. They were failing so badly that Jin spent more time sending his customers to the recovery bay than congratulating them. "Most of the goblins kicked their asses so hard. It''s starting to not get funny. I might lose customers in the long run even though I have incentives placed for them." Jin thought in his head while manning his store. "But I heard some of them started to get the hang of it. There were a few cultivators that even managed to raise their rank to Grade 2 because of us." Yun replied to Jin as she read a book in the recovery bay. "Maybe I am not asking the question in the right way. How about a dungeon that allows them to collect spirit force much more easily so they can proceed to the next dungeon with more confidence? Getting them to fight the sneaky goblins without any situational awareness or decent response time is courting death." Jin shook his head as he saw another cultivator lying flat at Station 2. "Maybe a grade restriction to this new dungeon?" Jin tried to parley with Yun, hoping he would get something out of this vague discussion. "All dungeons have their own grade restriction, and if you are too high of a level, your powers will be restricted. However, I get what you mean. You want something like an entry level dungeon so they are able to garner spirit force more than medals." "Yes, exactly! If they could increase their cultivation, they might be inclined to believe this shop is helping them and with the incentives placed, they will always return for more. I do not disagree on the difficulty of goblins but the cultivators in our current modern society are¡­just too useless." Jin dragged the body up to the second floor for monitoring. "You were useless if it was not for your granddad guiding you." Yun thought for a moment and asked Jin to check his mission app. ******** Mission: Kill 200 different looking zombies Secondary mission: Kill all 200 zombies with the Panda Yawning technique. Reward: Great Wall of China Dungeon Instance. ******** "Kill, not capture? And wow zombies, they seem to be the perfect entry dungeon monsters." Jin was surprised by the new conditions. "Well the zombies were dead to begin with, the spirit force residing inside them is the only essence they contained or received through certain conditions. Conditions like necromancy or unnatural chi disaster. However, in the Zombie World, all who were killed or died due to natural conditions would become zombies. That is their law of the world. " "Killing them releases the spirit force. The spirit force of a zombie is unique enough to have a certain spirit signature assigned. The phone automatically absorbs the spirit signature in order to ''capture'' them. You can have fun killing them without any mercy." Yun gently smiled at Jin''s hardworking demeanour despite his cultivation giving him a lazy look. "Does that mean I could also just kill living ones and get their spirit signature?" "I knew you would ask about that possibility. No, living beings have their spirit signature within their Dantian no matter which monster it is¡­well unless genetically modified but I digress." "The spirit signature of every being is the most obvious when it is weakened or near death because the Dantian which provides core of the chi is depleted, leaving the spirit signature to be exposed for the phone to capture." "That is also why you cannot really capture human souls because of the solidified dantian." "I will do this mission either tonight or tomorrow morning. Looks like I have new customers coming in." Jin stopped his conversation with Yun to greet the new customers. "Two high school kids¡­and their teacher?" He thought to himself when he saw the kids'' uniform and they were being too formal with the elderly male for him to be their relative. "Ah, this is indeed the store of the infamous dungeon supplier. Such extravagant equipment. May I humbly ask for your name?" Pu Ting bowed his head while he took his fur felt hat off. "Name''s Jin. What can I get for you guys?" Jin did not question much but Yun noticed a slight disturbance from the first floor and utilising the system''s powers, she turned her book into a screen of one of the CCTV. "Get me the Zither Mistress dungeon instance, three of them." Di Ku raised three fingers to reaffirm his choice towards Jin. "Careful Jin, the elderly is not someone to be trifled with." Yun quietly sent her thoughts to Jin. "Sir, might I add that this dungeon instance has a restriction on your grade. You will be forced down in grade. Do you wish to continue?" Jin realised what Yun meant and said it out loud. Pu Ting gave a slight smirk. "For you to figure it out so easily, I guess I really need to improve on hiding my cultivation. Either that or¡­never mind. I understood Boss, give us the three instance tickets. My student is treating me hahaha!" It was obvious Pu Ting was trying to deflect something but Jin did not care much and accepted their orders. They did the transaction routine all new customers went and Jin directed them to Station 5. "Hmm¡­A proper instructor?" Jin thought as he judged Pu Ting. Although he never had proper formal training, most of his learning came from the books that were passed down from his late grandfather Ming. Ming knew that by rote learning, Jin would just be another cultivator following the books and he would not grow to his fullest potential. Hence, Ming did not interfere with Jin as he wanted him to learn through trial and error. He still gave certain advices which allowed Jin to accelerate his training and even combat lessons to increase his combat awareness. Those life skills could not be taught but only through experience he would learn. That was how Jin managed to stay quick witted during missions. In addition, watching how people fight in the store also became a part of Jin''s hobby too. He took notes with the help of the System and thought of ways trying to counter them or how he could win if he was in that situation. Therefore, Jin was naturally interested in the instructor''s teachings and how his disciples react to the Zither Mistress dungeon instance. Di Ku, Pian Zi and Pu Ting were teleported into the grassland and the first thing that came into their mind was an illustrious yet smoothing medley from afar. There was a tinge of sorrow within the medley but all three of them recognised some well known music pieces within that medley too. Was it a coincidence? Di Ku would not know until he challenged the Zither Mistress. Di Ku could not resist his urge any longer and took out a leather briefcase from his storage ring to retrieve his bamboo flute. "Pian Zi, thank you for bringing me here. I am starting to think, this is a meeting I have long been wanting." As Di Ku placed his lips on the bamboo flute, two weasel silhouettes appeared above him. "Willful Weasel Style, Di Ku is getting serious." Pian Zi sweat a little as he knew how single minded Di Ku could be. The two fire and ice wyrm ants also appeared from the ground and Pu Ting signalled to Pian Zi to take care of them. "I will aid you if you need help, till then fight as hard as you can." Pu Ting smiled a little as he held his hands behind his back. Chapter 47: A Thousand Scars Pian Zi was not as talented in music as Di Ku nor was his cultivation towards a musically inclined style. Hence he did not take his chinese fiddle out, instead Pian Zi portrayed his Nettled Nautilus Style and reached out for a cutlass from his storage ring. Since he knew that his teacher and Di Ku would be aiding him, Pian Zi decided to be reckless and immediately used a cutlass art, ''Scramble of the Nettled Nautilus''. The skill allowed him to gain a burst of high speed like a jetstream propelling the nautilus towards the ants. The fire wyrm ant stood no chance against him as Pian Zi cut off its legs before it even got the chance to react. Despite the haemolymph oozing out of its legs, it was able to overturn its body and shoot a blast of fire at Pian Zi after he went to a halt from his skill. The burning incurred from the wyrm fire ant was sufficient to inflict a large amount of damage on Pian Zi. Unlike Hong Deng Long, whose style was the Wobbling Wombat, Pian Zi did not have any resistances against elemental damage causing him to scream in pain. The Ice Wyrm Ant took the opportunity to gather ice energy within its organs to shoot but an ethereal large weasel ambushed the ice wyrm ant from its back and bit it hard. The ice blast missed Pian Zi which allowed to him to recover a little. "Thanks, Di Ku!" Di Ku was using his bamboo flute to summon and command an ethereal weasel to stop the attack of the wyrm ant, allowing Pian Zi to throw his cutlass into the wyrm ant''s body. Pian Zi then gave a punch to its head, causing it to be knocked down. He later plunged the cutlass further into the ice wyrm ant and it was unable to move any further. When he turned to see the fire wyrm ant, he saw his musical teacher had one of his foot at the top of the ant''s body. The ant was already dead. "Pian Zi, you done enough. Let Di Ku handle the rest Just wait for the battle to end, and you can eat your curry rice." Pu Ting beckoned Pian Zi to stand at the sidelines to see the entire battle unfold. Customers who were chilling at the bar counter started to recognise that the trio who went into the dungeon made significant progress against the ants. They began to gather around Station 5 to watch a possible first dungeon clear. A command was given again by Di Ku by blowing a single sound from his flute and the ethereal weasel started to zigzag around the grass fields to attack the Zither Mistress. Unfortunately, the Great White Snake slammed its tail on the ground causing the ethereal image of a weasel to disappear from the impact of the attack. This time round, the Zither Mistress gave a short glance to Di Ku before she returned to playing her Zither. Her medley changed to a heavier darker tone and Di Ku started to play a proper song instead of resummoning an ethereal weasel again. Somehow, the great white snake sensed that Zither Mistress would like to battle head to head with Di Ku so it retreated a little, giving some space for their duel. The sound of warm spring that was carried through the wind at the start of the instance began to become sorrowfully and Di Ku responded by starting his performance with a slow and mellow melody to complement with Zither Mistress''s tune. However, the sorrow Di Ku felt from ZIther Mistress was neither cold nor sad, it was just bittersweet. Through the Chi of Music, both the spectators Pian Zi and Pu Ting could hear and feel the emotions of both musicians as if they were signifying the end of spring and began the start of a separate season, the chorus of autumn. As if the grasslands were alive, they reacted to the chi of the music battle and the surroundings slowly transformed. The sakura blossom tree withered completely, making it bare while flowers in the grass fields bloomed to colours of yellow and blue and even the winds were slightly chilly. The short transformation of the grassland was a sight to behold that even the customers at Station 5 who were enjoying the melody, were in awe with it. As the music continued on, Di Ku decided to be more aggressive in his conversation with Zither Mistress as he would like to know her technical skills in playing. So he started to play a more serious and yet fuming tone. His Chi turned deadly and the intent to kill could be felt even by the snake. The Zither Mistress noticed the abrupt change of music but continued her tune to paint a picture of regret as it became the one to follow up on Di Ku''s advance. Di Ku''s flute play was forceful and he gave no quarters for Zither Mistress to rest as he reach to the climax of his song. However, he was very surprised a monster was able to sync with him despite not knowing the song he was playing. She was able to ad lib at her own pace without being pressured by his advances. Pu Ting folded his arms and saw how calm Zither Mistress was during her play. If she really competed with Di Ku, there was a chance Di Ku might actually meet someone of his match. Di Ku became a little frustrated by how Zither Mistress transitioned so well into his song that he did become unstable in his techniques and began to play with his emotions instead. However, the emotions he started showing was repressed feelings of jealousy, anger, guilt and loneliness. Those emotions were repressed by his family expectations, the desire for normalcy in life and the despise he had for people not as talented as him. The chi resonance in his music turned erratic and even the grasslands reacted to it. Flowers withered immediately, the grass turned black and the soil started to stink. The ethereal weasel was also accidentally summoned and the Di Ku''s emotions in the chi corrupted it to be disobedient, threatening and combative. It immediately headed straight for the Zither Mistress. Pian Zi was shocked. He has never seen Di Ku looked so troubled and uncontrolled in his music career before and he looked at Pu Ting, hoping he might do something for Di Ku. Yet, Pu Ting stood there listening to the music intently. The Great White Snake intercepted the ethereal weasel and both were locked in combat. The Zither Mistress immediately responded with a tune of her own when she heard Di Ku''s music. Her emotions of extreme pure loneliness leaked a little from her chi of music but it was mainly focused at her recipient. The flowers right beside her maintained its vibrance of autumn. Upon hearing her reply, Di Ku was shaken. An image of her trying her very best to be included in the society, the need for survival for the sake of normalcy in life and her longing to have her legs back flooded his mind. Her emotion of loneliness was so strong that Di Ku could not bear the weight of her music. He eventually fell to the ground on his knees feeling all cold and wanting to cry. The emotions eluded from her chi of music was strong enough to affect Di Ku mentally. At this moment, Pu Ting appeared and shot pure energy blast of chi towards Zither Mistress which caused a large explosion. "We will like to forfeit this dungeon." Pu Ting shouted out loud and a confirmation message was read out by a lady announcer. "Yes, we are sure." All three came back safely from Station 5 with customers facing at them befuddled. Some were tearing while others felt miserable. "Looks like the Zither Mistress has a lot more experience in the manipulation of chi in her music than expected." "Behind that face of her probably lies a thousand of scars which could be not heal with just time. However, I will feel bad that if we left the shop just like this. Let me play a song to calm the whole lot of you." Pu Ting took out his Gu Qin, a type of zither whose music is similar to a cello, from his storage ring. He placed his Gu Qin at the bar counter and played a tune with chi infused in it which slowly calmed the customers and even boosted their chi generation, making them feeling energetic again. "This guy is not an easy person." Jin closed his eyes to appreciate the music. Chapter 48: Coupon Booklet "Here is your all day breakfast set. Anything else?" Shen Si Fang, the owner of Lele Diner cafe presented Jin his usual order. Si Fang had requested earlier for Jin to have dinner with him at his place in the afternoon. Jin knew it was not some congratulatory dinner due to Si Fang''s straightforward nature. He definitely had an agenda for inviting him to the cafe for dinner. "Nope, thank you Boss Shen." Jin smiled and started to dig in into the meal while Boss Shen sat beside him with two other people. Judging from the looks of their attire and demeanour, they looked to be store owners as well. "Firstly, let me congratulate you Jin for doing really well in your first few weeks of opening. The number of cultivators coming to your place started to make our shopping street a little livelier." Si Fang said with lively look. For the longest time since the pachinko fire, Tiangong Shopping Street nearly went into deficit for a number of years and things finally started to pick up after Jin opened his shop. People who patronised Jin''s shop would occasionally visit the shops in the shopping street and found out that there were actually hidden gems in the district, which made it worth coming to. "I would like to introduce you to the committee members of this shopping district. This is Kan Ke Ru, the franchise store manager for Wacdonalds and Ji Lai Fu, the boss for the general goods store, Fresh Price." Shen Si Fang introduced them to Jin. "Let''s cut to the chase, we like to make you the honorary member of -" Ji Lai Fu started. "Not interested. I am sorry, too much trouble." Jin interrupted Ji Lai Fu before he could continue. "If you are asking me to do stuff, I apologised but I am technically not under your shopping district." "No No No. We are hoping that you could provide some erm¡­promotional awareness to our shopping district. All you have to do is provide customers a discount coupon booklet so they know that there are discounts available to our shops." Kan Ke Ru explained, trying to defuse the sudden tense situation that Lai Fu inadvertently created. "Why should I do that? I have nothing to gain." Jin sipped his soup. "While you are not part of the Tiangong shopping district, we are providing the same incentives by allowing you to place your dungeon instance tickets for sale in the discount coupon booklet. That way, you will be able to gather more customers too." Ke Ru tried her best to keep Jin in the conversation. "I am sorry, I do not provide discounts for my tickets. My items on sale are of a reasonable price." All three shop owners wanted to puke blood. Reasonable pricing? More like extortion! "How about this? For this month edition, I will put you in the front page too." Si Fang said to Jin in order to sweeten the pot. "Please do consider for the sake of the shopping district. Else, this shopping street would not be able to survive." Lai Fu tried to amend his position after being shot down previously. "Then I will buy the entire shopping street when it goes bankrupt." Jin said so casually, the three owners perpetually rolled their eyes up and hoped that the grim reaper would come to take their lives at this very instant. What kind of confidence does this dungeon supplier has? To begin with, if he had that much money, why would he even want to work when he could have just enjoyed his life. Si Fang thought he was just bluffing and he tried another approach. "How about we provide you 0.5% commission of our profits for this month as a try out." "This is not what we discussed!" Both owners started to shout that it startled some of the customers in Si Fang''s store. They immediately apologised and asked Si Fang to step aside for a while. "Why are you placing so much faith in that little kid. He is too young to even know how business works!" Lai Fu snorted. "But have you seen the influx of customers we started having? I mean look at Ke Ru. Even though Wacdonalds is an international brand in fast food, there were so little customers in the past. The profit margins were considered the lowest in Shenzhen. How has your business been for the past two weeks, Ke Ru?" Si Fang queried. "Nearly all the tables were taken. It was like a miracle!" Ke Ru mentioned. "And from the look of things, I am willing to bet this guy is just going to get more famous." Si Fang''s cunningness was obvious for all to see. "I cannot fathom why you have so much confidence in that kid. Alright, say we are willing to compromise, what if he still does not?" Lai Fu''s head started to hurt. "We will raise the commission to about 1% and that is the most I can offer. If we are able to make it big, have more customers than before, we should have enough profit despite the discounts." Si Fang replied. Unknowingly to them, Jin could actually heard the whole conversation due to his technique, Playful Panda Hearing, which allowed him to have acute hearing senses and situational awareness. "If I get commission from them, is it added into the store''s coffers?" Jin asked Yun in his head. "Well, If I were the system, the system will definitely say no because the system is fixed. But I am Yun. It''s still money for a little give and take event. I see no reason why you could not do so. Besides, you said it yourself. You are eventually buying the whole shopping street." "I meant that as a joke." Jin replied as he tasted the scrambled egg. "Deep inside, a part of you isn''t joking. I believe in that. Sooo¡­" The moment Yun stopped talking, his phone vibrated in his pants. As he took it out, there was a notifications from the mission app stating that a new mission started. "That means I have three ongoing missions." Jin sighed a little and opened it up. ******** Mission: Scam the Tiangong shopping committee and do a makeover of the coupon booklet such that it benefits you more than them. Secondary Mission Objectives: Get a commission of more than 1%. The higher, the better the reward will be. Reward: Unknown, to be rated by secondary mission objective. ********** "This Yun. I can visualise her sticking her tongue out at me right now." Jin laughed a little and started to think how he could complete the mission. To be fairly honest, he was actually having fun disturbing them the entire time before they stepped aside to discuss. "Time for round 2." Jin wiped his mouth with a napkin. Chapter 49: Half or Nothing The three committee members finally returned to the table Jin was sitting at and they restarted the conversation again. "Okay, we have decided to give you 1% of the commission for the month if you decide to join our coupon booklet. However, this is a one time offer. It would not happen for the subsequent months if you continue to join our coupon booklet." Si Fang came strong in his stance. "Half of the commission or nothing." Jin yawned as he talked to them. "This conversation is over. There is no use talking to a lad who refuse to listen." Lai Fu immediately stood up. "There is no use talking to a old man if he does not change his ways. Thank you for giving up your shop to me in the future." Jin placed his hand on his chin. "Why you little¡­" Lai Fu immediately portrayed his cultivation in front of him. Four Great Shark silhouette appeared above him. Lai Fu cultivated in the Shimmery Shark Style and he wanted to give Jin a smack. Ke Ru and Si Fang were not able to stop him. They were of a lower grade than him and knew it was of no use talking sense when he was angry. "You want a fight to settle this?" Jin''s eyes narrowed and he portrayed three pandas silhouette rolling around him. "You are just a Grade 3, why should I be afraid of you?" Lai Fu snorted. "Grade 4 does not mean much to me at all." Jin stood up and walked out of the Diner cafe. "Are you coming for the duel?" Se Lang, the cultivator of the Wacky Wolf style coincidentally saw Boss Jin portraying his cultivation as he was patrolling the shopping street. "Boss Jin, what is happening? Why are you showing your cultivation out in the open?" "Ah, great timing Se Lang, you mind witnessing a duel between us?" Jin waved his hand as he beckoned the policeman on duty to be the judge of the duel. "If you insist." Se Lang did not know what was happening but duels happened fairly regularly so he did not mind. "Conditions of victory?" Jin asked Lai Fu but he replied by snorting again as he folded his arms. "One, kowtow and kiss my feet. Two, distribute the coupon booklet for the next six months without your participation in the booklet." Lai Fu demanded. "Accepted, mine is quite simple. 100% commission from the entire shopping district for one week. Allow me to redo the entire coupon booklet and I will distribute it as well. Lastly, come to my store for training with a instructor for an hour a week for a month. Of course you have to pay for it. However, let me sweeten the deal. If I loses, I will give you 100% of my commission to you for six months." "Simple my ass." Si Fang, Ke Ru and Se Lang all had cold sweat upon hearing Jin''s demands. "I agree, because I am going to kick you so hard, you would not see it coming." Lai Fu laughed loudly. "I could say the same to you." Jin yawned again as he scratched his head. "I presume both had accepted the terms of this duel and it had been recorded down by me as an official witness of this duel. I, Police Sergeant of Tiangong Police Station, Se Lang now permits this duel for 10 minutes. First to get unconscious lose." Se Lang announced and asked people to clear the street for a while. "Ready? Start!" Se Lang shouted. Lai Fu took out his two handed sword from his storage ring and the uncle with a beer belly disappeared into thin air. It took a moment for Jin to realise that the cultivation aura of the Shimmery Shark was coming from above. He looked up and Jin could see Lai Fu diving straight at him. "Two Handed Sword Art! ''The Nasty Appetite of the Shimmery Shark!" Lai Fu shouted as his sword dive was immediately enhanced by a silhouette of the shark''s mouth at the tip of the sword. "Eat this!" The shark mouth grew bigger that even if Jin tried to run, he would still be caught in it. "Panda Yaw¡ª" As the sword came closer, a large energy beam of chi was shot out continuously from Jin''s mouth towards Lai Fu. "What?!" Lai Fu saw the incoming beam but he could not dodge in time. Hence, he decided to fight fire with fire so he poured more chi into his Nasty Appetite of the Shimmery Shark. The Shark silhouette came into contact against the continuous chi beam which made it look as if the shark was swallowing the beam attack. Being a Grade 4, Lai Fu heavily focused his chi downwards as he struggled badly against the chi beam. "Is he not supposed to be just 23 years old? Why would he have such a unique technique of chi? Also, his chi quantity is definitely more than average! A grade 3 could not have sustained such a long duration chi beam!" Lai Fu complained in his thoughts. After a few more seconds, the beam did stopped and Lai Fu placed his remaining chi into the sword dive. "I bet he would be too tired to dodge! His commission will be mine!" Lai Fu sniggled a little as his sword slammed into the ground, creating a crater impact in the middle of the shopping street. As he waited for the dust from the sword dive to settle down. He picked up his great sword to check for any blood on it. "Wait a minute¡­this smell on my sword¡­is actually ketchup sauce!" He quickly swung his sword around to dissipate the dust and saw Jin giving the ketchup bottle back to Si Fang. Jin thanked Si Fang but little did he know Lai Fu wants to cleave both him and Si Fang together. "Sorry Brother Si Fang!" Lai Fu swinged his sword but suddenly a large impact of an air explosion appeared in front of him. The impact made him flew towards his general store, the Fresh Price and damaged some of the goods being sold outside of the shop. His workers immediately tried to pull him it out of the mess he made in front of his store. "All this goods! You are going to pay for it!" Lai Fu shouted. "Oh, you want another go?" Jin cracked his knuckles and playfully invited him to come over. "Wow, is that Boss Jin? Why is he fighting with Boss Ji?" The onlookers started to gather and query. "I heard Boss Ji was not happy with Boss Jin whose store had been swarming with customers! They even made a bet against each other''s earnings!" "I thought Boss Ji is a Grade 4 cultivator? Why is he losing to Boss Jin?" "Hah! I believed Boss Jin is a genuine Grade 3 Peak cultivator! Compared to Boss Ji, who only knows how to eat, drink and collect money. His Grade 4 was probably earned through eating good food with spiritual force in them. He clearly did not train like how Boss Jin did." "Ya! If not how could Boss Jin able to bring us such difficult dungeons that creates so much excitement and the rush of adrenaline whenever we participate in it?" The small talk started to annoy Lai Fu and he shouted loudly, "Shut Up!" In response, Jin placed his index finger to his lips and hand signalled the crowd to keep quiet. The crowd quietly grinned at Jin''s antics but it only made Lai Fu even more angry. He was so angry that he started to gather whatever chi energy reserves he had left in his body to defeat Jin. He figured that Jin was pretending to be strong after the attack as Lai Fu saw Jin started to shiver a little. In the previous contact with Lai Fu, Jin casually used his Lazy Panda Swipe without any chi infused in it. Hence, Jin was trying to contain the chi damage he received from Lai Fu. The grade difference do play a part in the power inequality but Jin realised Lai Fu was probably going to give his all. "His Chi is strong but do not have much quantity due to the lack of training. I have yet to infuse chi into my arm properly, so I should have a chance of defeating him." Jin suddenly of thought a trick which might able to turn the tide of the whole battle in the next attack. Chapter 50: The Grandma Seeing how Lai Fu was ready to attack at any second. Jin quickly infused both his hands with chi. During that time, he consulted Yun with a few queries, which she answered promptly. "Kid, what are you distracted with?" Lai Fu shouted and charged towards him. "Two Handed Sword Art! ''Shimmery Shark Dive!''" What looked like a straightforward sword stab with the chi silhouette of a shark covering his entire sword, the skill actually had the capability to turn at any angle to respond to any sudden quick movements. "Let''s see how the kid manage to dodge or halt this attack!" Lai Fu thought that this was the end of Jin as well as the many rewards he was about to reap. Not many were able to stop ''Shimmery Shark Dive'' in the past and it even earned him a reputation as the Great Ji in the shopping district. "Swipe." Similar to how one would throw a frisbee, Jin hurled his phone towards Lai Fu while utilising a chi infused Lazy Panda Swipe. The phone was thrown with such force, that it sped towards Lai Fu. Meanwhile, Lai Fu snorted at the futility of a projectile attack. "It''s just a phone, my charge will divert it." Lai Fu continued to sprint towards Jin. However, what he did not expect was the phone to entirely miss his chi shark silhouette that was encompassing his sword and pass through it to reach his forehead. At that moment, a large thud was heard, causing his charge to be interrupted by the handphone throw. At that particular moment, he did not notice a miniature hand with a staff emerge out of the phone temporarily and all of a sudden, a large fiery explosion occurred, enveloping Lai Fu in it. "Oh my god! Did the phone just explode?!" The onlookers were appalled. "Could Boss Jin still be carrying the Zamzung Notephone 7? The phone that could explode from overcharging?" The onlookers whispered to one another. "You mean Boss Jin purposely infused it with chi to ignite the battery? That is overbearing!" Meanwhile, Jin strolled towards Lai Fu and the look on Lai Fu''s face was quite pathetic. "I will finish this." Just as Jin was about to use his chi infused Lazy Panda Swipe, a large spiritual pressure descended upon the whole area. No one, including Jin was not able to move¡­Except for one. One old lady walked towards them, aided by her stick with her cultivation portrayed out in the open. It was no simple creature that was being portrayed. In fact, it was a griffin style and she was able to show thirteen griffins proudly flying above her. Si Fang saw who it was and went to his knees. "The Gleaming Griffin Style! Its Grandma Yuan!" The store owners in Tiangong Shopping District knew who Grandma Yuan was. She was one of the last guardians of a traditional practice where each district appointed a guardian of their own choosing to protect themselves from enemies during the world wars, gangsters or even monster attacks. Unfortunately, the tradition died out when the security of every district was governed by the modern government. Most of the districts did not have a guardian any more, and if they did, it was just a role without any status nor power. However, Grandma Yuan had been protecting the Tiangong district for the longest time ever. Some even said she was around during World War Two. "Stop this nonsense at once." Grandma Yuan spoke in a very stern voice and she lightened the spiritual pressure. "If two owners from the same street fight, this will only incur more hatred. Who will suffer? The street suffers. The customers suffer and ultimately the name of Tiangong suffers yet again. Do you wish to have a repeat of the pachinko fire incident? I do not allow this." Grandma Yuan stomped her walking stick and everyone suddenly trembled a little. "Ah, I heard of the guardian of Tiangong District but I did not know that she really exists." Jin bitterly smiled at the change of events. "What are you two fighting for?" Grandma Yuan walked slowly towards them and saw Lai Fu lying on the ground. She placed her stick on Lai Fu''s face and prodded him a little. "You have not changed ever since you started your business here." Grandma Yuan sighed a little. She then narrowed her eyes at Jin with doubtful intent. "And the young and eager one could not help but flaunt his skills." "Si Fang, get me the all-day breakfast set, less salt and a large serving of your mushroom soup. We will discuss." Grandma Yuan said in a calm manner and slowly walked into the Lele Diner cafe. Si Fang immediately nodded his head and quickly went into the cafe to prepare as he asked his servers to clear a table for them. "Okay everyone, the duel has been forfeited. Please disperse." Se Lang signalled the onlookers to get on with their lives. "So, Lai Fu care to explain?" Grandma Yuan gave a gentle puff before she drank the soup. "Let me, Grandma Yuan." Ke Ru explained in full detail what had transpired and finally Grandma Yuan looked at Jin. "You want to remodel the whole coupon booklet and have a 100% commission for a week? That I understand is to your advantage, but why make Lai Fu have training with your AI instructor?" "Because, I am a dungeon supplier. It is my job to aid the cultivation of others. From a glance, I can see Lai Fu''s cultivation stagnated at Grade 4. Due to what reason I do not know. However, I understand one thing. Whoever tries my dungeon can cultivate further." "What rubbish, you just want to earn more money from me. I am not stupid." Lai Fu snapped back but Grandma Yuan pulled his ear and he kept quiet. "Fine, assuming you win the bet and you can remodel the booklet. How will you do it to attract more people?" Grandma Yuan asked Jin as Si Fang brought her all-day breakfast set to her. "I can explain, but it is long if you do not know how my shop works." Jin said with confidence. "You only have until I finish this breakfast set." Grandma Yuan started to dig in. Jin explained that each coupon would have a chance at a lucky draw in Jin''s shop to win either bronze panda medals or panda credits. The cultivators could use them for food from Jin''s food services or getting equipment from his underground stores. He would not be providing any other discounts as he emphasised that his prices were reasonable. The excuse he gave for 100% commission for the first week was to cover losses if he joined the coupon booklet. After which, he would not ask for anything more. "Besides, I am not a part of the Tiangong shopping district and I do not share the benefits of a owner in a shopping district like all of you. I need some proper commission to cover myself if I were to join the coupon booklet." "Then that settles it. Do not join the coupon booklet." Grandma Yuan threatened. "Sure, I will get back to opening my store for the evening." Jin yawned a little and stood up to leave the shop. "Wait!" Lai Fu shouted and Jin looked back. "Are you sure you can push my cultivation to Grade 5?" Lai Fu questioned seriously. "Give me a week or two. I should be able to get a dungeon instance up that might be able to help you." Jin replied. "Then Grandma Yuan, I sincerely apologise for going against your wishes. I will bet on Jin''s method for the coupon booklet and the 100% commission for a week since Brother Si Fang also has faith in him." Lai Fu bowed his head in front of Grandma Yuan for forgiveness. Grandma Yuan smiled a little and looked at Jin. "Do not disappoint Tiangong shopping district, or I will come after you." Jin nodded his head in respect and left the store. "Mission complete, Jin. Guess it all went well." Yun was sipping her black ivory coffee when Jin entered the store from the side door. Chapter 51: Bam and Boo Jin woke up early in the morning from his Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivating stance and felt extremely refreshed. The chi moving in his body was purer and he felt that he had shedded some waste through his skin. The bad thing was that he had to clean up the room because of the waste that was expelled from his body. He took some time to clear the area and began to think what he could do to remove the waste and without having to clean his room up. He thought about cultivating in his bathroom but that will be awfully weird for a place of cultivation. "Unless I renovate the house and have an open concept bathroom so that I can immediately wash my body the moment I wake up." "You mean a jacuzzi tub. A large jacuzzi tub." Yun spoke in his head. "Ehh yea. Probably that." He went to take a quick shower and ate two onigiri he brought back from his store. "Can I take a look at the rewards for yesterday''s mission?" "I placed it on the dining table, did you not see it when you took the onigiri from the fridge?" Yun materialised and came out from her room. She was wearing something more simple, a casual navy blue shirt and black shorts as compared to the usual white formal shirt and skirt. "New clothes?" Jin sat on the dining table and chewed on his minced pork onigiri as Yun walked down to the 1st floor of the terrace house. "Might as well make use of the Panda Armoury while at it." Yun went to the dining table and placed her hand on the rectangular black leather suitcase. "Is it the same as usual, they need my phone?" Jin passed the phone to Yun and she opened it for him as he was busy eating the last bit of his minced pork onigiri. The suitcase interior was filled with a red velour interior and inside it, Jin assumed they were a pair of bamboo sticks. "This is your secondary objective mission reward for getting 100% commission. You are smart to think out of the box and the system rewards you for your effort." "But they are just two bamboo sticks. Do I make bamboo juice out of it and get super duper upgrade?" Jin was being annoying as he thought he was being cheated by the system. "Nonsense. These bamboo sticks are your weapons." Yun lifted up a longer green stick and showed Jin. "This longer stick is called Bam, while the shorter stick is named Boo." "A ha ha ha ha. I could not have think of any other name more original than Bam and Boo." Jin placed his hand on his forehead and tilted it backwards. "I cannot believe the system have such terrible naming system." "Hey, these weapons are one of a kind, quite a unique yet versatile set of weapons you will ever have. I really believe the system did not cheat you. Listen to my explanations and you will understand." Yun gave a pouting face to Jin for not believing her. "Well show me how you use it or how useful it is." Jin gave Yun a chance. Yun placed Bam and Boo in the suitcase and brought it to their backyard where there was a clearing for combat training, which Ming and Jin used frequently. She placed the suitcase down on the ground and opened it again. Firstly, she took Bam out and immediately, the bamboo stick turned into a scabbard without Jin batting his eyes. The scabbard was plain and simple except for a simple panda face insignia on the scabbard and handle. "Both Bam and Boo can change into a variety of weapons. Bam''s basic form is a katana while Boo''s a wakizashi. However, mastering Bam will be difficult because you can actually manipulate Bam with chi to adjust Bam''s sword length to your liking during the battle." "So what is the furthest reach can Bam go to? And how fast can I adjust the blade?" Jin asked. "As fast as you blink and at your current grade? Three metres long." Yun drew the katana out of the scabbard and the blade blinked in silver as the morning sun shone on it. Jin marvelled at the shiny blade which he found out there was a tinge of neon green in the temper line of the katana as part of the design. Yun then put some chi in and the katana instantly changed its reach to three metres with it pointing to Jin. "The sword''s material is mainly nickel and chromium with some vanadium. You be glad to know there are amorphous metal mixed in it as well to make the katana even lighter." Yun told Jin about it since he should have a basic knowledge in metals from his university days. "Wow, you have bulk metallic glasses in it too? That is amazing and thank goodness there is no titanium, since it is too blunt for fighting despite its hardiness." Jin thanked the system for being knowledgeable. "Andddd the scabbard interior is made of titanium." Yun grinned. "The handle has an anti-slip coating and the materials used make it easy for you to infuse chi into the sword." "Do all these materials applied to Boo too?" Jin asked and Yun nodded. "But Boo is not able to extend its reach. It is after all a secondary weapon." Yun informed Jin. "Now the fun part. If you put Bam and Boo together, you will get a bamboo bo. With chi manipulation, you can also change the bamboo stick into a longbow or shortbow if you wield it so. Use your chi to create energy arrows for firing." "Wow, that''s really a lot of functions." Jin was bewildered by both the simplicity and complexity of Bam and Boo. "You can also use it as nunchucks, dual batons and for getting 100% commission, the system allows you to change it into a portable Bamboo Cannon. However, the cannon requires a large amount of Chi to fire and if you are Grade 5 and below, you are only able to shoot it twice safely." Yun demonstrated again and the two bamboo pieces immediately became a large bamboo bore with a handle for her to hold. "This is insane. Thank you Yun for giving me such weapons." Jin was like a child getting a new toy. He swung Bam around in the backyard to get a feel of the weapon. Yun squatted for a while as she watched Jin trying the weapon. "Unfortunately, you really need to train in order to master the weapons. Hence, the system reward for completing the main objective would aid you in your training¡­Just that it is kind of complicated." Yun spoke and gave a troubled face. "Complicated?" Jin stopped for a while and looked at Yun. Chapter 52: Disciple of Zeru "A new bellator had been awarded to you." Yun snapped her fingers and Jin''s phone started to vibrate again. He sheathed Bam and placed it on the floor along with Boo. He opened the Bellator app and immediately noticed the greyed out box had a silhouette. The new bellator had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. However, the facial features and expression were of a male. He wore a dull red yukata with a black hakama pants, coupled with a grey obi. His face even had a Z-shaped scar on his right cheek which looked very familiar to Jin. Then it dawned upon him. "IS THIS SAMURAI Z? The legendary Sword Saint in the history books and classical movies? He is my bellator??" Jin''s heart and eyes nearly popped out when he saw his favourite historical figure and old time movie character as a bellator. He initially found those old videos of Samurai Z in the cupboard of his mom''s old room when Ming was still around. He would quietly sneak into her room to feast on her collection of old movies. The Bellator''s pseudonym was Zeru but Jin knew his real name since he was a historical figure in China, Zhe Rou. He was Japanese Caucasian mixed born in China but no one ever called him by that name ever since a movie tribute of him, Samurai Z, broke the box office records that were worth billions of yuan. History dictated that he was trained and mastered at least 50 different complete sets of sword arts from different styles. He found the flaws of almost every style that he eventually managed to create a style of his own that was supposedly flawless. Unfortunately, no one has ever seen his original style or either lived to tell the tale. Some historians argued it was just hearsay since there was no actual evidence to it. The movie recounted his experience of the thousand men showdown he had in Nanjing, China where he had defended his master, a famous but likeable politician, Tou Ma. They were ambushed by rebels during the chinese communist revolution and Zeru fought off every one of them while using a bokuto, a wooden sword as his sword was under repair. He and his master survived the encounter and lived to tell the tale. Because of that, Tou Ma became extremely influential in the game of politics and crashed his opponents while remaining politically relevant and popular to his countrymen. Eventually, Zeru found out the sword maintenance was also part of the rebel''s plan to disarm the guards of the politician for the attack. He decided to find the culprits, only to find his mythical grade 16 sword smashed to dust through the use of a forbidden cauldron technique. As the tribute movie made headline news in the papers, people from every continent wished to be his disciple, in hopes to gain fame or glory. However, Zeru did not care about royalties or fame but he did not refuse a retirement sum from his master in order to live in seclusion and anonymously from the press. There were no news of him afterwards of whether he had passed on. "So this is my new master?" A low voice was heard from the house and they saw Zeru strolled in, taking in the sights of the modern era. Ironically, he still held on the bokuto that crushed the ambush of Nanjing. "I would not dare!" Jin immediately kneeled down in front of the sword saint. "Hahahaha! I guess, at this age, to have someone know a thing or two about me. I am really humbled and honoured." Zeru smiled genuinely. "However, whether you dare or not is not of a choice of yours. You are his master according to the system." As Yun was talking to Jin and he found out Yun also had her head down, kneeling in front of him. It was obvious that deep down Yun admired him too. "That is true, Yun." Zeru eventually kowtow once towards Jin before he stood back up. "Unfortunately, I can not have a master weaker than me. It is embarrassing to say the least." "Which is why, I will make an exception to you and only you when many others more capable than you had died trying to be it." Zeru sat on a stone stool in the backyard facing the duo. "Be my disciple." Those three words carried such weight that if it was measurable, it could even be heavier than the world itself. Jin eyes went wide as he looked up towards Zeru and realised he was not joking. He could not believed what he heard. The most famous sword saint in the 20th century who took down a thousand of highly ranked cultivators all by himself while protecting his master, was actually telling Jin to be his disciple. "Ahh, be warned though. Your training will be extremely tough. I will introduce you to appropriate companions that will teach you how to use each and every function of Bam and Boo properly. Well, not every function but you get my drift." His words subsequently had a jovial tone to it but he gave Jin a stare which was so deadly that Jin could feel a grim reaper had already taken his entire soul away from him and left his body alone. "He is serious business." Jin thought to himself as he swallowed his saliva, unable to respond for a moment. As compared to Grandma Yuan empty threats, Zeru''s were more dangerous. "Oh and you are unable to back out after you become my disciple. That will be equally embarrassing too." Zeru closed his eyes and smiled widely. "Yes, I understand! Shi Fu Zeru, I am humbled to be your disciple!" Jin respectfully kowtowed three times in front of him. After which, he continued to kneel until his Shi Fu decided to respond. Zeru stood up and picked Boo up that was right beside Jin. He unsheathed it and at the middle of Z''s scar, he drew a line between it, creating a ? on his face. It started bleeding but Zeru was not bothered by it. With the blood on Boo, Zeru lifted Jin''s right shirt sleeve and in a blink of an eye, he carved a X on his right shoulder. It was extremely painful as Jin felt his shoulder burning from the carving but surprisingly, no blood was spilt. "My blood have entered your bloodstream and you are officially my direct disciple." Zeru swung Boo a little and later sheathed it back into the scabbard. He signalled Jin to receive Boo which Jin did so with two hands and stood up before Zeru disappeared into thin air. "Now I understand why Yun said it''s complicated. My master is my subject but I am a disciple of my subject." Jin held on tightly to Boo as he knew the difficult part to become the number one dungeon supplier had yet to begin. Chapter 53: Shanghai Tower Even though Zeru disappeared in thin air, he still gave a notification via the Bellator app. "Training starts in 3 days." Jin realised that Zeru knew that the bulk of the revenue came during the weekends, since Jin opened his store from the morning to night for the weekends. "I believed the system did not wish for me to lose that much money even though I needed training." Jin grinned a little. Meanwhile, Yun asked Jin to clear a bulk of his missions and personal tasks such as the revamp of the coupon booklet before he start his training on monday. Or else, he might not have sufficient time in the next few weeks to do so. "Actually, Yun I might need some help with the lucky draw." Both Jin and Yun locked the gates of their house before they left. "Hmmph on what?" Yun magically took out a black sports running cap and wore it. "I had some ideas for the lucky draw but I might need to tap on the resources of the system." Jin took out his phone to study the list of owners that participated in the coupon booklet from an email Si Fang sent. "Well, if you do that, the system will probably create a mission objective. Are you willing to risk it?" Yun strolled beside Jin while he continued to look at his phone. "It''s fine, the system is fixed. you are ermm somewhat alive. I believe it will be a reasonable mission objective." Jin spoke with confidence. "Ohohoho, do not be too confident. You have yet to fall from the grace of the system." Yun giggled a little. "How bad can it be?" Jin thought quietly but he had momentarily forgotten that Yun could listen to his thoughts if she wants to. "How about a mission on finding a girlfriend?" Yun teased Jin and he nearly tripped as he walked. "Okay, okay, I am sorry. I must remember to know my limits." His last relationship attempt was unfortunately unforgettable and he had yet to move on from it. Both reached the store within 10 minutes and upon opening the side door, they found a thick envelope in their door''s letter box. "No threat detected, you can safely open that." Yun said casually as she took her cap out and let her hair down for a while before she bunned it up again. "You mean the system scanned my letters?" Jin teared open the envelope seal and found the prototype coupon booklet as well as the thumbdrive to edit the booklet if needed. A business card of the shopping district''s graphic design studio and print stores were attached in the envelope as well. "I have to, we cannot just let our host just die from a letter bomb or from an anthrax attack without squeezing him dry right?" Yun walked into the bar counter island to wash her hands. "Sometimes, I wonder what is the goal of the system." Jin approached the cabinet that held the triple cheese pizza to get a slice out. "For you right now? To be the number one dungeon supplier in the world." Yun went to make a cup of black ivory coffee for herself. "Right now? You mean you have other plans for me after achieving that goal?" Jin took a large bite of the pizza and gave a look of bliss. "Trade secret!" Yun giggled as she tries to cool her coffee down a little. "Tsk copycat." Jin opened his bellator app and summoned both Peppers and Milk out for the zombie mission. Yet again, Milk was in her golden silky gown lazing around the couch with her curvy body looking as majestic as ever. Peppers was in her panda print pajamas sleeping next to the couch while she hugs a large pillow with her drooling saliva. Milk opened one of her eyes and saw Jin and Yun looking at them. "Five more¡­EEEEYAAAAA!" Yun immediately pulled Milk and Peppers'' legs up to the second floor. Peppers was still in deep sleep like a log even though her body and head kept hitting the stairs multiple times. Although the heart was willing, the flesh was not and Milk was seen helplessly struggling against Yun. "Ma-ow ooo-ster~! Helpppuuu¡­" As Jin had the scene locked in his mind, he could not help but thought about his third bellator but he suddenly dismissed that thought the moment he felt a dark vibe emanating from his phone. Yun shouted at Jin to give her 10 minutes, five minutes longer than usual because of the new addition to the sleeping couch club. Hence, Jin looked up at the news for a while and one of it caught his attention. The birth of a new baby panda by Jie Jie and Lee Lee in the Shenzhen Provincial Zoo. The pictures were well taken and the baby panda was overly cute. "I guess I should take a day off to take a look at the pandas in the zoo. That will also be a good training material as well. Seeing how the pandas move might give me an insight for my cultivation." Jin decided to make an excuse to close the shop for a day. Suddenly, a notification appeared when he was browsing the news. ******** Mission: Travel to Shenzhen Provincial Zoo and take a selfie picture with the baby panda. Reward: All coupon booklet related expenses fully paid by the system. ******** "Yun! Did you just gave me a mission?" Jin shouted from the first floor. "As if I am not busy enough?!" Yun shouted back like a mom handling two babies who did not wish to listen to her. "Oh, so this mission is by the will of the system¡­? I thought it allowed Yun to be the spokesperson. Guess there might be exceptions once in a while." Jin thought it was a little fishy but completing system missions were essential to his growth as a dungeon supplier. "It probably had a reason to do so." Jin shrugged his shoulders as he tried to reason it to himself and waited for the two bellators to get ready for the zombie world. "Are you three finally ready?" Yun''s well bunned hair turned into a mess after the fixing the two bellators to work and she panted a little. All three nodded with much ''enthusiasm'' and Yun teleported them to the zombie world and she continued drinking her black ivory coffee. "Coffee is still the best remedy for mornings." Yun finally had some peace to herself for a while. Upon safely arriving to the zombie world, Jin found himself at a place he had saw on the internet. Just that, it was not the same as he remembered it. "Shanghai Tower¡­?" He peeked through the window of a desolate building that Yun had teleported them to and he saw the Shanghai tower in ruins. "Why would there be a building similar to Shanghai tower here in this world¡­or is it truly the Shanghai tower?" Jin asked Yun in his thoughts. "All the worlds that you had visited, even the food that you sold and ate are from various parallel worlds that would have happened if there was a change in the original timeline of Earth." Yun said solemnly. "Is the Earth that I am in, the original timeline?" Yun shaked her head at Jin''s question. "Do not fret, the original timeline does not necessarily mean it is a better world to live in. Some things were meant to be kept as a secret. You happened to be privileged to learn one of the many secrets of the world. Now, forget about that and focus on your mission." Chapter 54: Provoking Peppers Jin knew the main mission objective was to get 200 different looking zombies but he did not know how strong those zombies would be. What if they were cultivator grade zombies? Even if they were not sane or conscious, defeating a zombie with a similar grade cultivator would prove to be a challenge. Therefore, he decided to bring out Peppers, the Fiery Demonic Queen Sage¡­or whatever she was called because she seems to change her title on a regular basis. "Assuming they do not have cultivation abilities, I still could not think of a way of defeating 200 zombies with Panda Yawning. I will definitely be exhausted at the end of 10 chi beams. It will also be difficult even with the help of Peppers." Jin decided to have a better understanding of the current situation and went to the top of the abandoned building they were in. Milk and Peppers followed behind Jin and they encountered no sign of zombies as they reached the top of the building. "I chose the safest area for you to be teleported to. Aren''t I kind?" Yun continued to sip her coffee while surfing the net on the Panda Port PC. She was right. Upon looking out from the roof of the abandoned building, there were zombies hidden in every corner of the streets even though the sun was out. Some were strolling mindlessly while others kept bumping into each other. "Guess they are more towards the western cultured zombies¡­?" Jin tried to crack his brain. "Are there even different races of zombies?" Peppers asked as she looked at the chaos around them. "Zombies from our Chinese folklore do not even venture out during the day. I am not entirely sure about Western myths but I guess they are already quite different to begin with. Besides this is an entirely different world from what we know of. Wait, are you not the one responsible for the Monster Dictionary App? Why are you asking me this question?" Jin''s brows furrowed as he responded to Peppers. "Hmmph, I am just testing you." Peppers folded her arm and continued to ignore Jin. Or she tried to. "That does not mean those zombies are not related to us. Every myth and tale has a speck of truth in it." Milk yawned a little. "Yun, does Peppers and Milk killing zombies affect my secondary mission objective?" Jin suddenly thought about it. "Yes, they do if you count them," Yun replied. "Count them?" Jin needed more clarification. "Well yeah, I could ask the system not to count their kills so your secondary mission objective will still be valid," Yun replied back again while she finally read on the baby panda news on the internet. "I feel that it''s too hard to complete the mission objective," Jin complained a little. "Yes Mr Obvious, That is why it is called the secondary objective and not the main." Yun''s eyes rolled up at Jin''s ridiculous questions. "Of course the rewards will be good. Remember Bam and Boo? If you did not complete the secondary objectives, you will still obtain Bam and Boo." "Just that, you will not have the other functions unlocked, for example, the Bamboo Cannon or Bamboo Bo." Yun clicked on more news with regards to the baby panda. "So cute." She thought to herself. Jin disregarded Yun''s sarcasm and he continued to survey the area for the next 30 minutes. The zombies'' movements were too random but he noticed that they reacted a lot to sound when a zombie accidentally made it. "Yeap, definitely western zombies in a Chinese city. Such irony." "Are you going to do something soon? I am bored." Peppers placed her hand on the railings and stared blankly at the local scenery. "Say, do you have any spells that can be used to copy a certain technique. Hmmm¡­something like copying a fireball spell into a one time use fireball scroll?" "Ehhh let me check my bag." Peppers opened her bag and she stared at it for a long time. Subsequently, she took out a thick tome with an empty green cover and blank pages. "I have a spell copying tome which you can use and there are 250 pages in it. Just place the spell incantations into the first page of the tome and it will copy the same spell to the other 249 pages. Quite handy is it not?" Peppers started to grin evilly. "Actually, I was thinking of imprinting the chi beam from Panda Yawning into the spell. I have no idea how to change it into an incantation." Jin gave an awkward laughter towards Pepper and Pepper''s face changed dramatically to an irritated look. "If not for the fact that exploding you will cause you to fail your mission and the absolute loyalty I had graciously given to you even though you did not deserve it, I would have done it straight away." Peppers groaned in a low voice. "Eh? I thought Yun said she will give you a jar of gummies if you listened to Jin?" Milk retorted. "You!! " Peppers face suddenly turned red and took out another scroll and shoved it to Jin before she turned her back at him. "Shoot your chi beam into this scroll. It will turn it into an incantation." Peppers did not face Jin while she talked. Milk could see her pouting at the side and could not resist but giggled. "Milk, are you able to create an anti-acoustic dome barrier around us?" Milk was able to fulfil Jin''s request, making Jin feel that Milk was one of the best supporters he could ever have. She casted it on the floor right beside Jin and a dome-like barrier was created and expanded to accommodate the trio. Suddenly Jin had an even more brilliant idea. "Hey, Peppers, how about you cast the biggest explosion you could ever muster into this scroll?" "Why should I do that?" Peppers started to scoff at him "Because I am your master." Jin became a little pretentious. "My only master is one who is able to harness the power of explosions, not a panda user!" Peppers suddenly realised what Jin could possibly be doing. "Are you afraid your explosion cannot beat my awesome chi beam?" Milk could not stand Jin''s bad acting or lying. She could not tell the difference but she knew she needed to step back a little before things started to get heated literally. "What? We saw your chi beam against the fight against Lai Fu! It was like as weak as a slime." Peppers remembered that Jin needed her help against the Grade 4 cultivator, Lai Fu. "That was not even my full power." Jin grew proud while trying to make Peppers think he was hiding something. However, both the bellators knew that this was a poorly done ruse against Peppers. "Ohhh, you think you can trick me by provoking me to attack you so you can capture the explosion spell. Well too bad, no. I will not waste mana doing such stupid things." Peppers tried to call it off before it gets even more unbearable. "Hah, your mana pool is that little?" Jin accidentally triggered Pepper''s anger for pointing out her weakness. "No!" Peppers finally fell for Jin''s trick and she chanted "Death heed my call! Teach this callous master of mine what is the meaning of a beautiful explosion!" A large magical circle appeared right in front of the staff Peppers was holding. "Explosion That Exceeds That Stupid Chi Beam!" Peppers shouted so loudly that both Milk and Jin could barely hold their laughter in themselves from that nonsensical spell name. A small tiny fireball appeared from the tip of the staff and it went straight towards Jin. He quickly opened up the scroll that was able to translate an attack into a magical incantation. Little did he know, the fireball exploded right before it was in the range of the scroll''s translation ability. Jin quickly moves forward and the scroll started to absorb part of the explosion. Jin was unfortunately within the area of the explosion and he withstood it as much as he could. Although he can feel his skin was burning away, he did not let this opportunity to pass by that easily as he shoots out the strongest Panda Yawning out onto the back of the scroll that he was holding. By some miracle, the scroll managed to absorb the explosive power of Peppers and the chi beam from Jin. If not for the Milk''s anti-acoustic barrier, the zombies all around them would have noticed them. Chapter 55: Operation Fireworks "Ahhh what is this heavenly feeling?" Jin woke up to see two towering silhouettes covering his face from the sun while he felt that his head was being supported by a large soft cushion. "Ah you are awake, that''s good." Milk continued to caress his hair and Jin suddenly felt even more tired than before. "Why am I on your thigh? Even though it feels very comfortable." Jin wanted to sleep on it longer. "You were badly burnt but I managed to fix you up. Yun came to this world momentarily to scold Peppers for nearly killing you. Although I have to say, it was partially your fault too" Milk curled a strand of Jin''s hair. Meanwhile, Peppers was still in a prostrated position when she was reprimanded by Yun to not move until Jin wakes up. "I am sorry for the trouble caused." Peppers said it reluctantly mainly due to her innate pride of being a superior mage. Jin thanked Milk and stood up to walk towards Peppers. He picked up the oversized wizard hat that was right beside her and assisted Peppers to stand up. She staggered a little and awkwardly used Jin''s body as a pillar of support since she was not used to kneeling for long period of time and she had numbness in her legs. This made her feel as if she had pins and needles in her legs. Jin placed her hat on her and adjusted it a little. "You do not have to, I am the one who should say sorry. I should have asked you to cast an explosion spell instead of-" "HAH! You owe that jar of gummies!" Peppers expression immediately change when she looked at Milk winning a small bet. "I did tell you he would apologise to you. He is not as bad as you think he is." Milk''s laughter was a little haughty. "I.. hmmph!" Peppers kept quiet for once. "Alright, I think we wasted enough time here, let us prepare our battle plan." Jin could not be bothered with these two bellators when he was trying to be sincere in his apology. He immediately asked Peppers the method for placing the page of incantation which he had painstakingly obtained into the green tome of replicated spells. Surprisingly, Peppers was not one bit annoying. She taught Jin and gave clear instructions on it. "Thank you Peppers. That was really helpful." Jin smiled at Peppers and she nodded her head nonchalantly. "Perhaps, she wasn''t given much care and concern previously." Jin thought for a while and decided to take a note about it. Jin followed Peppers'' instructions and successfully inserted the page of magic incantations into the tome and the tome glowed warmly with magic. "Let''s move quietly into the Shanghai Tower," Jin told them where they were headed to. He thought of something and took his phone out. As he turned on Mooogle Maps, it actually showed him the area where he was standing. Hence, he tried typing in the Shanghai Tower into the app and explicit directions were given on how to go to Shanghai Tower. Jin also looked at the time on his phone and it appeared to be synchronised to the time of this world as well. "Looks like we might have a good night show to watch if everything goes well." Jin beckoned both to come with him and they followed closely and tried to avoid any zombies. "Are you really trying to get the secondary mission objective? I still think it''s too hard for you." Milk suddenly expressed her concerns when she used her large book to kill a zombie at the head. Jin made her cast her anti-acoustic dome barrier on a piece of pebble, making it a portable barrier wherever they go. This allowed them to move as quietly as possible and allowed Peppers to cast her smaller scale explosive spells without worry. Peppers for once complimented Jin on his ideas. "Heh, I actually learnt it on a tabletop game when I played with my friends." Jin thought and realised he had not seen those high school friends of his for a long time. He was not very sociable during university for a reason or two but during high school, he and his friends were quite a bunch of troublemakers. Perhaps he should give them a call when he had the time¡­.or perhaps not. They might be able to deduce that Jin have a system in him. Slowly but surely, they managed to reach Shanghai Tower by dusk without too much difficulty. The Mooogle map directions were easy to understand but Jin decided to play safe and took the smaller streets. It took a longer time but they encountered lesser zombies. "Yun, by any chance are you able to get me the schematics for Shanghai Tower?" As they were hiding within a bush, Jin asked Yun for some help through his thoughts. "What? Why would you¡­ohhhhhh. I get it now. Wow, did you actually learn this from Peppers?" Meanwhile Peppers had an innocent look at her face as Jin stared at her. "No no, but I think she will love it once I tell her about the plan. And perhaps¡­just perhaps she might have a better perception of me." Peppers had a ''What are you looking at me for'' kind of look on her face. "Alright, if it can improve the relationship between you and her, I guess it is worth a shot. Check your email shortly." Yun said in his head and his phone vibrated. He never understood why people said the phone was the best buddy you would ever have until today. Without the help of the system''s created phone, he might have encountered lots of trouble in this zombie world. He downloaded the attachment via some mysterious Wifi which he believed was the system itself or else he could not explain where the Wifi came from and viewed the PDF file he was offered by Yun. The blueprint was elaborate from an engineering point of view and was not some simple fire emergency layout map. To his surprise, Yun even circled parts of the structural vulnerability of various floors. Since there were 128 floors and 250 pages of explosion spells, Jin could not help but snicker. "Maybe I should keep a few pages of the tome for future use." Jin thought of using only two pages of explosion spell per floor but in reality, that would not destroy the whole building. From the blueprint, the building had a sort of fail-safes in the design despite the structural vulnerabilities that Yun had pointed out so it would not be destroyed that easily. "I guess I will just place a page at each structural vulnerability on every floor and place the other where I think where the zombies will congregate the most. That sure is a lot of work but it will be spectacular." Jin finally told the plan to Peppers and Milk and to Jin expectations, Peppers face lit up like a full moon and pumped up, all ready to go. "I called it Operation Fireworks." Jin grinned widely. Chapter 56: Feasibility "Shall we get to work then?" Milk felt excited too at Jin''s reckless plan to kill two hundred different looking zombies while using only the Panda Yawning technique. This plan should allow Jin to achieve both the main and secondary objectives. By mixing Panda Yawning chi beam with the powerful explosion from Peppers in the page of incantations, Jin had increased the power of the Panda yawning by multiple folds. Not only that, he had also replicated that page of incantations to 250 pages worth of spells. The mission did not state that the Panda Yawning could not be modified. Thinking out of the box was essential for an engineering student to score well in their projects in the university and Jin was glad he was able to put it into use by exploiting the loopholes of the mission objectives. "I will take the highest floor and work from the top to the bottom¡­.eh how do I send the details to you girls?" Jin split the tome into two and gave the first half to Milk and Peppers. "Oh do not worry, Yun is coordinating the details with us. She is afraid we will screw up." Milk explicitly looked at Peppers. "I will not! This will be one of the masterpieces that I shall carve on this world!" Peppers replied proudly. "No, I will definitely guide the two of you." Yun''s voice was transmitted to the trio. "Then let''s get started, we do not have much time to waste," Jin said while preparing to take the stairs. "Eh how about trying the elevator?" Both bellators said in unison. "Shouldn''t there be no power in the elevators?" Jin looked at them assuming that his common sense should be right since the Shanghai Tower was in ruins and the whole place had been festered with zombies. "Never hurts to try." Milk pressed the button and they were right after all. The elevator was working. "Okay¡­." Jin remembered that Shanghai tower had one of the fastest elevators in the world. He just hoped it would work normally because he indeed felt lazy to take the stairs and thankfully it did. He had slight nausea due to the change in air pressure but it was not so bad as he could handle being brought up from the first floor to the observation deck. "Top observation deck." a female announcer voice was heard when he reached the top accessible floor. "So, there is still some power in the building after all." He then remembered that Shanghai tower was boasted as one of the newer skyscrapers that have eco-sustainability. He would not be surprised if the Tower had solar panels to power up the building''s secondary generators. There were indeed zombies all around so he decided to use Bam and Boo together and it became a Bo before he splits them apart to be a pair of dual baton. "There were no criteria that hurting them with other weapons will cause the secondary mission objective to be invalid right?" "Yes, you can do that, but note that if you happened to kill one by accident, the secondary mission objective will be moot. " Yun warned Jin, knowing that he was dying to get the secondary mission objective completed. She assumed he was too enticed by the secondary rewards he had earnt from the previous mission. Or perhaps he regretted not being able to complete the secondary objective during the Zither Mistress mission where he was supposed to use the Lazy Panda Swipe technique to kill his enemies. Jin figured out the location of the structural vulnerability of the top observation deck and tried to be as quiet as possible and regretted that he did not learn Panda Tumbling, a type of movement technique that allows the user to move swiftly and quiet like wheels rolling on the road. He learnt Panda Yawning in order to complete a mission and it was one of the few missions available in the mission app. ******** Mission: Master the technique of Panda Yawning by creating the beam in less than a second. Beam created should have sufficient power to reach a distance of 100 metres. Reward: Quality of life improvements in the store. ******** There was also a mission on Panda Tumbling but it was only available after he accepted the Panda Yawning mission. At the moment, he was able to shoot his beam in less than a second but he still did not have sufficient chi power to create a beam that could reach a distance of 100 metres. He figured this zombie mission was meant to train his Panda Yawning technique but he did not expect that he had gone a different route to defeat the zombies. Regardless, he was able to find the location of the structural vulnerability of the observation deck. At that point, the sun was already setting and the moon along with the stars shone brightly under the lightless city. "Guess I better hurry." He quietly placed one of the pages of the magic tome near the centre of the observation deck and slipped away to the lower floor via the emergency stairway. On the next floor, he noticed that there was moonlight shining through the windows of the other floor but it was not strong enough to light up the area for him to see. Hence, with the aid of his own technique, the Playful Panda, the combination of teachings from the Playful Platypus style and the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Technique, he was able to navigate through the darkness without making too much disturbance by avoiding them. Unfortunately, the cover of darkness did not make things any easier. Some of the zombies were still able to discover him but a few knocks of the dual batons caused them to bump into each other and the noise that they made distracted them from Jin. "Wow, this will be difficult if I have to go through each and every floor." Jin started to think that his plan was not as feasible he thought it will be. It was possible to do, just too strenuous and it would be daytime before everything was done. Jin did not want daytime to come since he wanted Peppers to see some fireworks. Maybe, he himself wished to see some too. "Unless¡­" Jin took out his phone to turn on the Bellator app. "Milk, by any chance, do you have a fly spell or spells that can make you as light as possible?" "Ehhh I guess so, why?" Milk telepathically answered him and her message appeared in the app. She paused a while before replying again. "Are you thinking of jumping out of the building? (-.-)" an emoji appeared in Milk''s reply to Jin but Jin did not reply at all. Milk assumed that Jin had bumped into some trouble so that was why he might want to change the plans a little. "There''s quite a number of zombies loitering around the building. I do not think I can pass through them easily." Jin''s reply confirmed Milk''s suspicion. "Ehhh sort of. It is a Feather Light spell, which will reduce your weight to ?. Even if you fall from the tip of the building, your cultivation strength should be able with the impact and damage." Milk offered her choice of spell for him. "So what about the spell pages that you asked us to place? We covered about 10 floors already." Milk replied to her. "Just leave them be, did you kill any zombies along the way?" "Not much, just a few." "Alright leave the area and return back to the abandoned building. Also, you mind asking Peppers for a page of incantations and placed that Feather Light spell at the elevator on the 10th floor? I will take it from there." "Already did the transferring of the spell before you asked. We will place it behind the flower pot which is right beside the elevator." "See you and may the goddess protect you." Milk sent a praying nun emoji at the end of the text and the chat ended. "Oh shucks, I forgot to ask. How do I activate the spell for the Explosive Panda Yawning?" Jin scratched his head. Chapter 57: Plan B He wanted to take out his phone once more to ask either Milk or Peppers for help but a zombie found him hiding behind a pillar. Jin quickly joined the two batons together to reform the bamboo Bo and sweep the zombie''s legs, causing it to fall. He then manipulated chi into the Bo and it turned into a short bow. Jing gave a point-blank shot using a small amount of his chi and he shot the zombie''s arms and legs, pinning it down to the ground. All the zombie could do was to struggle fruitlessly. After which, Jin ran to the emergency stairways and closed the door as quickly but gently as he could in order not to attract additional attention to him. "That was close." Jin panted a little from the manoeuvre. He could have easily killed the zombie but not killing was harder than he thought. "I shall save you the trouble of asking Peppers." Yun suddenly spoke in Jin''s thoughts. "Upon knowing the plan, she secretly inserted a trigger incantation into the tome too. As long as it comes into contact with fire or when a zombie touches it, the page will release its magic." "Wow, Peppers is really smart. I really do see her in a new light." Jin praised Peppers but little did he know, she nearly sneezed. Nearly. Milk was able to notice the irritation in Peppers'' face and quickly tried to cover her mouth. The anti acoustic barrier had long worn off when they were leaving the 10th floor and Milk did not have time to create another one. Upon this incident, she quickly took a small piece of rubble and immediately cast the anti-acoustic dome barrier once more. Peppers was also relieved that Milk was able to stop her in time else it might potentially ruin the plan that Jin had painstakingly prepared. Yet, she was also extremely excited to see her magic in action and hoped that her master would not disappoint her. Jin got to the 10th floor and managed to find the incantation page of Feather Light spell behind the flower pot and noticed there was an additional small cloth bag at the side. He assumed that it belonged to Peppers and Milk since it was placed right beside the incantation page of Feather Light. He opened the cloth bag and saw a folded piece of paper and two rings. ********* Master! The ring in blue is a one-time use spell enhancer ring and the white ring is used to trigger the Feather Light spell since you have no idea how to read magic incantations. Show me the best fireworks you can produce! Else I will never. NEVER. Ever. Forgive. You. Peppers <3 PS: Return those rings to me, I can still reuse them! ********** "Hahaha, she is so cute when she is nice." Jin smiled a little and decided to proceed with Plan B but in actuality, plan B was made up on the spot. He took the elevator again to the 80th floor and purposely chose an office with a stronger metal door instead of those flimsy glass doors most modern offices have. In that office, there were a few zombies lying around playing dead so Jin decided to clear them to initiate Plan B. He slashed the zombies'' legs with Bam to render their mobility. After which, he took wires from computers, extension plugs and cables to tie the zombies up and gave a Panda Yawning Chi Beam each on their heads. All were obliterated within a second and what was left were their lifeless body. "8/200 different looking zombies killed. Panda Yawning used. Secondary Objective remains valid." A notification popped up instead of Yun saying it in his head. Perhaps, she could not be bothered with all these little numbers or she thought Jin was just trying too hard. Jin later smashed one of the windows facing the Jin Mao Tower, which was situated right beside the Shanghai Tower. He then quickly grabbed as many pieces of furniture as he could find in the office and blocked the entrance and exits he saw on the blueprint. There was some noise from all the moving of the furniture and this attracted the attention of the zombies on the 80th floor. However, the metal door was able to withstand the zombie''s constant banging. After all the furniture moving was done, he walked nearer to the smashed window and portrayed his cultivation, the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas and three lazy panda silhouettes yawned simultaneously. With all the chi he could gather, he shouted as loud as he could. "I WILL BE NUMBER ONE!!!!" His shout pierced through the silent night and every zombie in the vicinity woke up from their aimless routine. Jin could see that his shout had a tremendous effect on the undead population so much so that the zombies themselves started to make lots of noise, attracting even more zombies. "Now we shall await the congregation of the zombie conference. Jin took a chair with rollers and sat beside the smashed window. He could see Milk and Peppers from afar, standing at the top of the abandoned building they once stood. They seemed to be able to handle the zombie threat quite well as the route leading to the abandoned building was filled with smoke and ashes. "I guess Peppers had fun blasting them to pieces but I thought she said her Mana was low." "Oh, her Mana was once low when she just started as a mage. Since then she tried various ways to improve magic spells in order to reduce Mana usage while she increases the efficiency of her attacks as well." Yun''s voice suddenly appeared in his head. "Ever since the system contracted her to be a Bellator, all she requested was an infinite pool of Mana and she did not care who her master was. Unfortunately, nobody ever contracted her till you. " "Wait, I thought the system came from grandpa¡­so?" Jin questioned as he looked at the zombies moving hastily in the streets towards Shanghai Tower. "There were other people before Ming who were selected to use the system too, but whether they were successful in their life remains confidential," Yun replied. At this point, the knocking at the doors was more violent and one of the doors managed to break loose. However, there was still furniture remain stacked that prevented them from coming through. "I shall wait a while more before I start Operations Fireworks." Jin thought to himself. Suddenly a phone notification came on. It was a picture message sent by Milk. Jin opened it and was flabbergasted. "These zombies can climb??!" In disbelief, Jin quickly took a peek out of the smashed window and saw thousands and thousands of zombies ''climbing'' up the Shanghai Tower. They were actually zombies stacked on one another, hoping to reach Jin through the masses of numbers. Yet they were rather fast and not the slow walking zombie that Jin had all along been encountering. "Why are they so active now?" Jin was still in a bit of shock. "Because they are attracted to chi energy. For the whole time, you used little to no chi energy on your way here aside from the attack you did when the explosion happened which caused you to faint. However, the chi emitted from you was also absorbed by the page of incantations." "Oh my, what mess did I put myself in." Jin''s legs shivered a little. While all these were happening, Peppers created a floating box large enough for Milk and herself. She even took out some snacks from her bag of seemingly endless space and shared it with Milk. "This will be a great show to watch!" Peppers beamed as she munched on a few pieces of sea salt and black pepper potato chips. Chapter 58: Explosion is an Art The zombies were stacking up fast on the ground floor of the Shanghai Tower, and one could assume that the remaining floors were packed and flooded with just zombies. Meanwhile, the furniture that was used to block the entrances of the 80th floor was being pushed away by the horde of zombies wanting to come in. There was little time for Jin to hesitate any further. Jin initially wanted to keep a few pages of the Explosive Panda Yawning spell but it seemed that he would need all the firepower he could garner. "Goodbye cruel world!" Jin wore the two rings that were bestowed by Peppers to him and he used his cultivation powers to jump out of the window as high as he could. The tome that was filled with the pages of Explosive Panda Yawning was left on the chair beside the smashed window. As he jumped out of the window, he activated both the Feather Light spell ring and the Chi Enhancer ring at the same time. For a second, it seemed that the change in air pressure from his sudden ''loss of weight'' gave him an airlift and he unleashed his cultivation once more. This time, the three rolling lazy panda silhouettes yawned simultaneously and with all of his chi was overflowing from the effects of the Chi Enhancer ring as well. Jin gathered as much as he could handle and unleashed the largest and biggest Panda Yawning chi beam he had ever done. His Panda Yawning chi beam had always been a fusion of white Yang and black Yin energy but with effects of the Chi Enhancer, the white energy glowed brighter which was blinding even to Jin and the black energy darkened to a colour darker than black. Unknown to him, the phone in his pocket gave him a mission app notification stating that the mission on Mastering Panda Yawning was completed. Meanwhile, he was so busy yawning the chi beam, he did not realise that the beam pushed him backwards in midair. Where was the beam aimed at? Mainly the chair with the tome on it. Not to mention the beam killed tens of brainless zombies that followed Jin blindly out of the window which made some of them fell off the building. However, the moment Jin''s chi energy beam touched the tome, there was light. A burst of light so brilliantly bright, it felt like it was a birth of a new star. *KA BA BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* The rapid release of energy caused a shockwave that caused Jin, who was ? of his original weight to be knocked back even further, making him crash into the neighbouring Jin Mao Tower. He rolled across the floor to break his momentum but inadvertently crashed into various cubicles and office furniture. He finally landed on a sofa which cushioned him from further impact. "WOOOHOOO!!" Peppers and Milk were already wearing sunglasses during the massive explosion of the Shanghai Tower. The impact of the explosion reached the abandoned building but Peppers'' flying box was able to maintain its stability despite the knockback from the impact. Milk even prepared the highest level of Holy Shield to protect them from the blast while they enjoyed watching the fireworks. "I must say, this explosion could be a new contender to your Guinnessie Record of Explosions. " Milk watched hundreds of zombies being sent out of the tower by the aftershocks of the explosion. "Hmm, I shall give him an overall of 8/10 for the explosion." Peppers licked her fingers after finishing the second pack of chips that she shared with Milk. "8/10? I would give an 8.9/10 for the aftereffects of flying zombies." Milk continued to spectate as the top floors of Shanghai tower gave way and fell onto the zombies on the ground. She signalled Peppers to bring the flying box higher for a better view of the situation. "Do you always have to be that irritating. Can''t you just give a whole number?" Peppers opened a bag of gummies and chewed on a black and white panda looking gummy. The black part of the panda tasted like kokacola-flavour and she nibbled on it a little longer to savour the taste. "What? Giving a decimal point gives my review a perception of being sophisticated." Milk commented as she watched what''s left of the burning building. Shanghai''s Tower''s 80th floor and above was obliterated by Jin and at the top of Shanghai Tower, the fire was burning brightly like a beacon of hope. Hope that Peppers would be able to see such beautiful explosion once more. "But why 8/10?" Milk was curious at Peppers assessment. "Because the explosion was not colourful enough. It only consisted of black and white. My explosions contained various colours. I can make green, blue, orange, yellow and red explosions." Peppers took another gummy and it was T-rex shaped. "What, you lowered your evaluation score because of colours?" Milk could see the debris that fell from Shanghai tower killed quite a number of the zombies as Jin''s shouting did the trick to attract them to the tower. "Why not? Explosion is an art. Colours do matter!" Peppers closed her eyes tightly when she accidentally ate a sour snake shaped gummy. "Well, art takes into account other things as well! Not just colours!" Milk went ahead to steal a few gummies from Peppers but Peppers noticed it and pouted angrily at Milk. "That''s why for a first timer, giving him an eight is considered high in my books. In addition, he could have spread the pages of the tome and that will potentially expand the radius of the explosion, inflicting more damage-" Suddenly, they saw more explosions and it came from the first ten floors. Both of them stopped their chatter and continued to watch with anticipation. They believed one of the zombies accidentally touched the page of Explosive Panda Yawning. With Yun previously directing them to the structural vulnerability of the first ten floors excluding the basements, they now hoped for the best part to happen. The second wave of explosions awoke Jin''s senses and he found himself being surrounded by zombies. Thankfully, the zombies were not looking at him but at the window on the outside of Jin Mao Tower. He then noticed his phone was on the floor with two notifications, stating that the zombie main and secondary mission objective had been completed. "I guess with most of my chi expelled out after that attack, the zombies did not view me as a threat." Jin was weak from his lack of chi but his dantian was still generating a small amount of chi every minute because of his innate cultivation potential. Hence, he managed to sneak out of the zombie''s sight. He crawled slowly to the side of the office where he had crashed into and move slowly to a corner where he could view what had happened to the Shanghai Tower. To the trio''s delight, the Shanghai Tower finally collapsed as it was not able to hold the weight of the entire building once the first ten floor was destroyed. "Mission Complete with style," Yun said in a cool voice and teleported them back to the shop. Chapter 59: Quality of Life Improvements Jin and the other two bellators returned safely to the store and found out an hour or so had passed since the time they went to the Zombie World. "Time dilation is a mechanic even I myself cannot explain. So do not look at me with such a curious face Jin." Yun commented as she prepared three plates of curry rice right in front of them. All three hurriedly got to the bar counter and started to eat. "Thanks for preparing the food Yun, come to think of it, I sure am famished!" Jin immediately dug in by taking the piece of pork cutlet dipped with curry into his mouth. Yun asked for what would they like for drinks and each had their own preference for beverages. Milk wanted Bamboo Juice, Peppers asked for a Panda Soda while Jin just preferred spring water. During their brunch, it was evident that Peppers indeed became closer to Jin after the zombie mission and Yun was proud that she even initiated the conversations. "I guess Jin unknowingly killed two birds with a stone for that mission." Yun smiled at her own thoughts. "What? My explosion is only 8/10?! After all the troublesome work that I had done? Impossible! I said it''s at least a 9/10" Jin exclaimed loudly. "Well, if you were not so obsessed with the secondary mission objective, you would not have gone through all those troubles!" Peppers stuck her tongue out and stole a piece of pork cutlet from Jin''s plate. Jin showed his slight anger which Peppers giggled at but deep inside him, he was glad Peppers got more lively so he let the matter slide. "Master~~! Did I do good too?" Milk tried to get the attention of Jin but he totally ignored her advances. "Here, a piece of pork cutlet for you too." Jin took one of the bigger slices and placed it in Milk''s plate. "Master! What if I grow fat from this cutlet?" Milk pouted while Peppers was jealous Milk got a bigger slice. "You can give that to me if you do not want it at all" Peppers tried to cross over Jin''s seat to blatantly steal the pork cutlet. "Ah! No, this is a gift from Master!" Milk quickly threw that piece of pork cutlet into her mouth before Peppers was able to reach it. Yun chuckled at the scene and wanted to talk to Jin with regards to his rewards but someone interrupted. "Jin, you did well to persevere, despite some discouragements from your fellow bellators and the system. That is what I would like to expect when the training starts." Zeru came and sat beside Milk. "Lady Yun, I would like one of this pork cutlet too." Yun gladly served the pork cutlet to him and both Milk and Peppers told him the details when he was not around in Zombie World. "Hahaha! It''s a pity I could not have gone with you two. I definitely believe it was a spectacular sight to see Jin''s first attempt at creating such a large firework." They talked for a while longer before Milk and Peppers returned to the Bellator app. However, Zeru remained and out of the blue, he kneels down in front of Jin. "Shifu? What are you doing? Please get up." "No, Master Jin. I like to clarify a few things with you or else there might be a long-lasting misunderstanding between us. I am firstly your Bellator and secondly your teacher. Use me as you would have with both Milk and Peppers or else I am a failure as a Bellator." Zeru clarified his stance with Jin. Jin was stunned for a moment and Zeru continued to talk. "While if this sounds contradictory and you could not bear to treat me as an equal Bellator then how about this? I am only your Shifu when we are in my training instance. Other than that, please do treat as one of your bellators. How does that sound?" "Sure, thanks Zeru for the clarification, you may stand up now." Jin immediately got what he meant. Zeru did not want to have the special treatment of a Shifu just because he was going to train his master. Yet, He would still like to serve his master to his fullest. "Thank you, Master Jin." Zeru bowed and took his leave and returned to the Bellator app. "Now, it is my turn for your attention." Yun was handed Jin his handphone which he had initially placed on the table. "Congratulations for completing two of the system''s missions. I will be providing you with the rewards from the ''Master the Panda Yawning Technique'' mission." Yun smiled and snapped her fingers. The store shook a little and things magically appeared all around the shop. While it was not immediately noticeable, the shop actually expanded by a few square feet. There was now more space between the bar counter and the various stations. Speaking of stations, all six stations were now equipped with the 55 inch True 16K UHD TV and the 49 inch TVs were wall mounted at the top of the 55 inch TV. "What''s with the additional set of TV? Panoramic view of the dungeon instance?" Jin asked. "If that''s the case, the system would have placed it side by side instead of a top-bottom layout. The TV at the top would be used to show the names of the participants entering the dungeon as well as some vital statistics." Yun replied. "During the dungeon run, it will also capture and playback certain epic moments during the cultivator''s fight. It would be for those who accidentally missed it and for the entire store to see as well. Since people usually crowd the area and other customers usually struggled to see what''s the commotion." "Oh like those sports games where someone scored a goal?" Jin felt that it was a good idea. "Yeah, exactly like that. This will create a more extensive and perhaps expansive experience for the customers to bond with each other. " Yun subsequently asked Jin to take a look at his Pandamonium app. "Your Pandamonium app had been updated to the latest version. The system had updated the user interface with a cleaner design and now you can officially put announcements to inform your customers." "In addition, cultivators who installed Pandamonium are able to watch the live stream of any of the six stations in full HD if they pay a monthly subscription fee of 40 Yuan as one of the in-app purchases in Pandamonium." Yun showed where the new Panda icon was and it was represented by a Panda biting on a film reel. "Huh? Are you allowing this? I thought you had the pay per video deal." Jin questioned Yun. "Hmm, you did complain it was not very feasible to do this sort of model, saying it was outdated which the system eventually bowed down to the consumption trend of modern society." Yun shrugged her shoulders a little. "Can they download the stream if they like the stream?" Jin asked once more. "Definitely for 5 Yuan." Yun raised up her hand, showing a five to Jin. "Here you go again. How is that following the consumption trend of modern society?" Jin shook his head. "Then what would you suggest?" Yun placed her hands on her hips, feeling a little irritated too. "Hmm¡­" Jin thought for a while as he tapped his fingers on the table. "How about making it free for those who subscribed and participated a dungeon recently? For example, if a customer participated in two dungeons, they will have two free downloads? Will that encourage the customers? I am sure the system can do that up, else I''m fairly versed in programming codes and see what I can do to make that happen." Jin offered his expertise from the university. "Hahaha, the system is way superior to what you are capable of. Besides, what you suggest is feasible but complicated. I will just throw in four free downloads per week." This time round, Yun shook her finger at Jin. "You can do that and you can add a new subscription model of 60 Yuan for the live stream and an additional 10 downloads per week?" Jin thought about it for a while and felt that it was feasible. "I will discuss with the system and get back to you. That sounds fairly decent." Yun agreed to Jin''s suggestion. "Well, I guess that is true too. Is that all for the improvement of quality for the store?" "Not quite, remember the existence of the third floor?" Yun asked Jin and she can see Jin nearly forgot about it, "Oh? Oh yes, nobody really used the playback functions room. " Jin was a little disappointed that no one really used that function when he was the one who requested for it. "Yes, you are right. Literally, no one ever used it. Come with me." Jin followed Yun as she walked up the stairs to the second floor and everything looked almost the same, except for more leg space. When he reached the third floor, he was surprised it was not just an improvement of quality for the store. It was a revamp. Chapter 60: Revamped Third Floor "What happened to this place??" Jin was surprised by the whole revamp of the third floor. There used to be several rooms for playback purposes but right now, all the walls were hacked down and the place turned into a gallery room. The floors were installed with black polished granite flooring which was slightly reflective but blurred enough to not offend the decency of the ladies that patronised the shops. A mix of brown and green bamboos lined the four walls of the third floor with grey pebbles and stones that covered the soil. The contrast of the bamboo and the granite floor gave the gallery room a sense of Zen. There were no obvious windows on the third floor but Jin noticed a fairly narrow separation between the roof of the shophouse and the four walls. In that separation, the System installed an angled glass panel which allowed sufficient sunlight to shine upon the bamboo plants and brightened the gallery a little with some natural light. The ventilation system of the store kept the place cooling enough as it was regulated by the System. In fact, the whole store was regularly kept between 16-20 degrees Celsius depending on the weather. There was also a mixture of dim and bright lighting installed too. It apparently had a day and night settings which gave the room a distinct kind of homely yet sophisticatedly professional feel in addition to the Zen atmosphere Jin was experiencing. Jin was genuinely impressed by the layout of the gallery. "This is amazing, it is really beautiful and tranquil." So what did the gallery contain? Similar to what Jin had seen in the basement, there were a number of pedestals similar to the what he had seen in basement 1. However, compared to the pedestals in the basement 1, the pedestals here were all empty except for one right at the corner where the stairs were located. Aside from the pedestals, there were two additional bronze statues that were shaped to a fat cute penguin with big comical eyes. Both of them were placed at each side of the stairs. Each of the penguins was signified with a gender locked item. The left penguin had a long curly handlebar moustache and a top hat while the penguin on the right had a big ribbon at the top of its head "They are¡­?" Jin asked. "Bathroom instance, just larger in size." Yun thought it was obvious enough. "What? How would I know they were bathrooms?!" Jin did not understand the system''s logic even though it tried to be artistic and complicated at the same time. Perhaps Yun already knew it was a bathroom instance so she had no problem identifying it. "But don''t the toilet signs usually showed a male with a top hat and female with either a dress or long hair?" Yun was a little confused, she really thought it was a decent idea to have the penguin statues. "Well, who in the right mind will place the toilets right beside the stairway? The gallery is the main attraction and I believed the customers who notice it probably thinks that they are part of the interior decor. Then what happened to the showers and toilets on the second floor?" Jin could not believe Yun and he guessed she had her dull moments too. "It is still there, for you know customers that do not have the Pandamonium app." Yun suddenly felt a little embarrassed after being pointed out by Jin. "Also, why would you put so much emphasis on a toilet?" Jin was a little curious for a toilet instance. "Come, let us have the Boss to deduce why would the system do that?" Yun tried to subtly gain back some authority over Jin. A sore loser she was and she knew that was a bad trait of hers but sometimes she could not help it. Although she did try her best to tone it down whenever possible. "After the dungeon runs, they can take a shower or have a good dip in a tub?" Jin answered as he stares at the bronze penguin statues "That does not really answer the question since the toilets on the second floor can do that as well but it is nevertheless one of the functions," Yun replied. "It takes time so a bathroom instance in a dimensional space will reduce the time needed due to the time dilation and for comfort with privacy I supposed?" Jin tried to guess and Yun nodded her head. "You can take a look at the instance if you want and you will understand it." Yun was a little excited. "Wait, before anything, I still think the placement of the penguins needs to be changed." Jin interrupted her. "To where?" Yun got a little irritated when Jin changed the subject. She placed her palm out signalling ''where exactly''. "Right beside the actual toilets." Jin replied by pointing downwards. "Fine, I do think it''s a little weird after what you said." Yun gave in to the reason for now. "Alright, let me try to -URGH why is this so heavy?!" Jin even used his Grade 3 cultivation strength and he was unable to lift the statue up. "Because there is an anti lifting inscription in it in order to prevent theft. Gravity bounded unless the system permits movement." Yun giggled and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the penguin statue was light enough for Jin to carry it with one hand and he brought it down to the second floor. When he reached the second floor, he notice a few different changes as well. "For just a mission objective completion, there are quite a lot of changes to the store." "Mmhmm, the rewards given to you were not based solely on the Panda Yawning mission." "And which?" "The hidden mission objective of that Zombie Mission. By simultaneously killing more than 50 zombies. Since you did a magnificent job killing more than 50 zombies at a go, the system decided to provide you with a reward appropriate for your effort. A multiplier effect on the mission reward for completing the Panda Yawning mission." Yun arrived at the second floor with the second penguin statue. "But this is a lot of changes!" Jin did not want to nitpick but the changes were overly generous even for the system. "What the system decides to give you is a secret even to me. I am just its front." Yun smiled as she placed the penguin where Jin directed. She snapped her fingers once more and the two penguins who initially did not have any pedestals to them were given one albeit a shorter and smaller one. "So, what do you want go through first? The bathroom instance? or the instance on the third floor?" Yun asked as she looked at her watch to see how much time they had before they need to open the store for business. Jin walked away from the penguin statue and stared at a new oversized vending machine that was embedded in the wall. "This." Chapter 61: Vending Machine "What is with this vending machine? It does not seem to be selling any juice or snack bars." Jin noticed the vending machine had a countertop and a screen at the far end of the vending machine. It seemed that if you bought something from it, the countertop would split into two in order for something to appear. "Oh this!" Yun requested for Jin''s phone and she entered into an app that had the words ''Supervisor mode'' on it. She then returned the phone to him and asked him to try it. "Yes, place your phone on the centre of the vending machine to start up the machine. For customers who use this vending machine, they can pay via e-wallet or credit cards." "I assumed cash as well right? I saw a bill acceptor for notes and coins." Jin did what was instructed, the vending machine came to life, and they waited as the machine booted the screen up. "Yes, and it accepts other cash currencies too. Do not worry about the conversion, we have decent exchange rates and the machine can give exact change for any currency available." Yun was equally excited for this. When the screen finally booted up, a Panda was seen carrying a cardboard box and an animation was being played. The Panda was opening a box when another cardboard box dropped from the sky. It immediately ran to the second box and tried to open it but a third box popped up from the ground. Eventually, the whole screen was filled with boxes and it entrapped the panda with a number of boxes. The animation was on a play loop but in each animation loop, the panda was at a different location and so were the boxes when they appeared. However, despite the animation looping continuously, there was always a large red box warning indicated at the bottom of the screen. It stated that it was at the customer''s own risk to spend their money on this vending machine and all goods were non-refundable through real cash. The store was not liable if they were not satisfied with their goods. "Loot Boxes?!" Jin was taken aback, since he finally discovered the true identity of the vending machine, the name ''Panda Crates'' appeared on the countertop in black and white. It seemed that the countertop acted as a screen too. "That screen is protected by glass as strong as the one we used for the basement glass door. It can withstand any amount of weight and it cannot be broken that easily." Yun punched the countertop hard and there was no effect at all. "This is also an interactive screen for the customers to choose which type of loot box they wish to open," Yun asked Jin to place his phone at the centre again to activate the vending machine. The vending machine had two screens on purpose to confirm the order of the loot box when a customer wished to buy it. "How much per loot box and what do they contain?" Jin was in a little dilemma. While he knew that the selling of loot boxes was a good monetisation plan, it might be a pitfall for customers too. Especially if the loot was be a pay to win item instead of a purely cosmetic item which had no effect in the dungeon run at all. Having pay to win items meant that the customers might be able to receive beneficial items, which would make the dungeon easier. That would definitely spoil the dungeon experience. While this kind of monetisation plan was mostly used for software games, he knew of certain dungeon suppliers that did this too. However, they were not well received by the public due to the criticism that most of the items were pay to win. Hence, quite a number of customers did not really patronise their stores except the really rich ones. Therefore, in recent years, only high end dungeon suppliers provide such service to their customers. Even if so, most of these loot box service was a form of manual labour service where the customer paid the money and the employee would grab a random box from a storage room and gave it to the customer. So it was the first time Jin encountered a loot box service in a vending machine which was quite practical and mysterious too. He wondered where the boxes would come from. Considering the size of the countertop, he expected a large box appearing right in front of him. "100 Yuan for each loot box and it contains a chance to receive a digital pet, digital pet costumes, panda ''god'' blessings and a ticket to enter a limited time dungeon instance," Yun replied to him "What? What? What and WHAT?" Jin was surprised with each and every detail given by Yun. "Seeing is Believing. Quick! Choose the currently available loot box." Yun was excited. As Jin looked at the selection screen, there was a background animation of the heavens and a bridge floating in the clouds with a silhouette of a couple wearing traditional Chinese clothing. At the centre of it, all was the loot box waiting to be selected. Jin slowly realised that this animation in the background was the traditional legend of the Qixi Festival! Also known as the Double Seventh Festival or the Chinese Valentine''s Day in the modern context. "Are you saying that the loot box will drop a ticket to enter a dungeon instance with regards to Qixi Festival?!" Jin was totally in shock while Yun was impatient and pressed the loot box option on the screen at the countertop. A confirmation screen came out asking "Are you sure you wish to buy this product?" Yun pressed ''Yes'' and the screen on the countertop was turned off. After which, there was an animation being played at the top screen of the vending machine with Niu Lang and Zhi Nu, the characters in the legend of Qixi, running from the opposite sides of the bridge to meet up with each other. The moment they met, a small box popped out of the countertop. "This looks like a ring box," Jin observed as he picked up the pink velvet ring box. "Open it!" Yun seemed even more anxious than Jin and he opened to find a storage ring. The only difference from ordinary storage rings was that it was beautifully crafted and there was a small design of the Legend of Qixi inscribed on the ring. "This is a rental storage ring given by the vending machine. After you are done opening the storage ring, the vending machine will ask for the ring and the ring box to be returned to the vending machine." "But this is an amazing design, it would be a pity not to have it." Jin was admiring the intricate design of the ring. "Exactly! Hence, another chance of selling an item! If you wish to keep the storage ring, the vending machine also gives the option to buy the ring¡­at a higher price of course! They will not be able to steal it too since I have installed these glass walls and door around the vending machines in order not to disturb the unconscious who are resting and to lock the culprit if he does not wish to pay for it." Yun grinned widely as she leaned on the glass wall separating the vending machines and the rest of the second floor. "Wow! This is simply fantastic and quite also devious of the system." Jin was extremely satisfied with this new marketing gimmick. Chapter 62: Scheming System Quickly! Open it now! Yun was not able to do anything since the rental storage ring is temporarily Bonded to Jin. Jin released the items in the storage ring and he noticed the items of interest on the countertop. There were a few pieces of tickets with the Qixi design and layout in it and a blue stone on the countertop. "So is this what every customer will get when they buy the loot box?" Jin looked at the tickets. "Mhmm! You will definitely get two random pieces of cosmetic items, a stone, and a dungeon ticket. It acts as a promotion for the upcoming dungeons. The time-limited event about this is, the loot boxes actually give the customers a major discount on the dungeon instance ticket as we promote the dungeon in advance in the future." Yun answered Jin. "So you are putting a promotion in a loot box vending machine which technically defies the whole definition of loot box system in the modern context of the entertainment industry?" "That is the whole fun of it, is it not?" Yun laughed out loudly. Jin ignored Yun and noticed the tickets were QR code on the tickets with his name on it. "These tickets are the digital pet and digital pet costume code which are designed only for you and nonrefundable," Yun explained to Jin. "What are these digital pets? You mean they are something like Pockemon? " Jin asked. "Not really, more like that major internet game in the past. Ehhh I think it is NewPets? If I remembered correctly. These pets are just aesthetics which will follow you around when you are doing the miscellaneous service dungeon instances in the store." "Miscellaneous Service Dungeon instances?" Jin asked again. "These days, System and I believe that we need to attract all sorts of customers by using this kind of gimmicks to hold them on. Technically, we are not breaking the rules of our dungeon supplier license since we are still using dimensional instances to provide such services." Yun said. "This is indeed interesting but won''t other dungeon suppliers catch up to such technology?" Jin questioned the validity of these service dungeon instances. "If my sources are not wrong, some major Dungeon Suppliers do have the money to invest on research and development to provide services like ours, such as the Underground shopping centre. However, I foresee that we have at least a five to ten years head start in terms of technology but in my opinion, they won''t be able to catch up that soon." "Five years is quite short." Jin raised an eyebrow at Yun''s explanation. "That is assuming a miracle happens and they are able to get the source code from the system. It''s an extremely conservative estimate by the system which likes to consider all odds but in reality, I think at least 20 years. By the time they catch up, we should already be number one. Hahaha!" Yun giggled. Jin scanned the QR code of the tickets with his Pandamonium app and two notifications appeared. Jin tapped on the notification and the app brought him to another screen to show his pet coming out from a simple cardboard box. It''s a little panda pet and it was standing straight with its head seemed larger than its body. The next thing that he received was a bowler hat and the app asked whether he would like to equip that costume to his new pet. He acknowledged it and he was directed to a section solely for pets. "Is this one of the reasons why the Pandamonium app went through a major upgrade?" Yun nodded her head to Jin. "Please choose a name for your pet before proceeding on." A notification popped up prompting Jin to do so and he decided to just call it Xie Xie since it was his surname and he was not that good at creating names on the spot. A profile appeared for Xie Xie including basic stats like Hit Points, Strength, Dexterity, and other attributes. The pet profile was similar to the stats screen for the cultivator that was using the Pandamonium app too. "What are these stats for? Are they going to join the battle in the dungeons as well?" Jin asked. "Oh no, not at all but in the future, there might be pet arenas for cultivators to try their luck in such contest or challenges. At the moment, we just keep it as a Trade Secret for them." "So¡­Is that Polished Metal Panda Pedestal on the third floor related to this Service Dungeon Instance you are talking about?" Jin asked as he threw the two tickets into a shredding machine right beside the vending machine. "Indeed, that is the Panda Muscles, a gym service for those who wish to train themselves. Hence, when you enter that gym, Xie Xie will appear and follow you around." "Oh? That''s really cute of the system." Jin wanted to take a look at the gym later. Right now, he questioned Yun with regards to a few burning issues in his mind. "So, is the pet randomly selected and what if the customer gets the same pet or the same costume again?" "The first pet is not random, they will get their pet based on their cultivation style." Yun stretched her arms a little. "For your second question. you do not have to worry about that. The probability of getting a new pet is significantly lower than a new pet costume ticket. So when they buy a loot box, the chances to get two costume ticket is higher. Also, there is no such thing as a duplicate item, because the system handles everything the moment they placed their phone on the vending machine. Brilliant, is it not?" Yun smiled brightly while she explained further. "However, if they do not like a pet or costume, they have the chance to sell it back to the web store in the Pandamonium app for Panda Credits, albeit at a fixed price of 25 Panda Credits regardless of the item. Technically, this is a win-win situation for both parties." "If that is the case, why will you choose the Loot Box method? Why not make it a fixed promotional item" Jin suddenly realised the Pachinko situation. "Well, it''s mainly due to one thing. People will think they are getting rewarded and it''s true that most loot box methods employed by major companies is based on the compulsion mechanics but our loot box method is not entirely based on that. We reward the cultivators justly for their purchases. If they are not happy, they can exchange them for Panda Credits again." "Also, all these pets and pet costumes are just aesthetics which bring no direct benefit for the cultivator at all. Even the stat profile of a pet is based on the cultivator''s efforts if they chose to train their pet and that is not related to the loot box." Yun justified her case. "Alright, how about this weird looking stone?" Jin held the stone up and could not understand its purpose. "Put your hands together and concentrate." Jin listened to Yun and did just that. Momentarily, he felt brave and ready to take on the world. At that point, his stone immediately disintegrated into dust. "This is a one-time low-level inscription kind of stone which I must emphasise. It is bonded to the user who received it. Only the user who bought it can use it. I aptly called it the Panda God Blessing but in actual fact, it''s an inscription that provides you the motivation or the courage to press forth. Each Loot Box contains one such stone. It is either the Blue Stone of Courage or White Stone of Calming." Yun said as she snapped her fingers and a white stone appeared in front of Jin. Jin tried the white stone and he felt a sea of tranquility encompassed over him for a moment. "Why would you want to sell this in the loot box?" Jin asked Yun and she sighed. "The truth or the lie?" Yun questioned Jin. "Both." "Lie: Everyone needs a little courage and peace in their life. This is a good reward which the system promotes the compulsion mechanics in the customer to get this loot box." "Did you not say the loot box method was not based on compulsion mechanics?" "I said not entirely." Yun''s eyes shuffled a little. "The truth?" "The System somehow or rather had too many of this stones in stock. It wanted to find a way to dispose of them and throwing them seems like a waste. It decided to put it into Loot Boxes to entice people to get it while benefiting them and the system." Yun said with an annoyed face. Lastly, the Qixi Dungeon Instance Ticket. Before Jin opened his mouth, Yun immediately explained to him. "The Qixi dungeon instance is an instance to commemorate the Qixi Festival. The cost of the loot box was meant solely for the ticket to enter the Qixi Festival dungeon instance. The rest of the loot box items were just gimmicks to entice people to get the box." "Then why would you not just sell the gimmicks and dungeons separately, won''t we earn more money that way?" Jin thought it was a little illogical to not earn money from them. "Because you are a Dungeon Supplier. Do not lose sight of that." Yun looked a little angry when she said that. "Besides, it is a time-limited event dungeon instance which the system insisted in order to get more business. Throw more goodies in and the customers will be hooked by it." Jin realised that the system is rather scheming and kept the Qixi ticket with him for the moment. It seemed that he had much to learn to make customers happy but at the same time to take their money. "Oh but do not worry. Once the event is done, the dungeon will still be available in a month time or so¡­Just more expensive." "Let''s take a look at the toilet instance you were so insistent about." Jin accepted the loot box vending machine which the system created and beckoned Yun to follow him. Chapter 63: Toilet Instance?! With a tap of Jin''s phone, both he and Yun were teleported into the toilet dungeon instance via the top hat penguin statue. "This is not a toilet at all¡­" Jin looked around the environment and found that they were at the top of a mountain hot spring with a wooden cabin. The view was breathtaking and there was nothing but lush forests at the bottom of the mountains and clear blue skies above him. There were a series of valleys around the area that showed the depth of the dungeon instance. Jin always wanted to try and shout at the top of the mountain to see if it really echoed back. "Hello!!" The entire mountain area did indeed echo back a little. The temperature of the mountain hot spring area was a little cold but not to the extent that he needed extra clothing to protect himself. Besides, a little amount of chi infusion was sufficient to protect the body even if he was naked. He then noticed that there were penguins working round the clock to keep the hot spring area clean. "I really wonder why you are not using pandas for this instance. It''s a little weird you did not include them at all." "Because in reality, pandas hate places where they are too cold or too hot, making them such temperamental creatures. The penguins, on the other hand, do not mind this kind of cold up in the mountains and the occasional dip in the hot spring ironically makes them happy too." Yun pet one of the penguins and magically took out a fish for it to eat. "Besides they are a hard-working bunch of birds. Easy to feed and breed." "Are they not artificial intelligence created by you? Why do you make them feel as if they are that real?" Jin had been wanting to ask ever since he had heard of the Red Panda AI in the Panda Armoury. "Make them life-like and the customers will adore them. They always want to touch these animals but they are too scared of them or vice versa. Touching also help release oxytocin which reduces blood pressure and anxiety." The penguin that Yun just fed allowed her to hug it. "Eh, is this a private instance or a public instance?" Jin blushed a little when he asked. "Private. It''s a toilet instance where customers are able to go in as a party as well if they wish to but there is the public instance too if they wished to have a go at it. Of course, the public is a gender specific instance." "You mean the private is¡­" Jin thoughts started to go wild a little and Yun chuckled. "You do know you are already 23 years old, right? Be more mature about this! But yes, the private ones allow couples or groups to enter and what they decide to do is their own business." Yun shoved the penguin towards Jin. "Judging from this magnificent looking instance, I believe they have to pay for it too." Jin tried to hug the penguin but the penguin playfully bit Jin, causing him to be startled. After which, the penguin laughed and dived into the hot spring. "Definitely! You think we work for charity? What you see is just a part of what the toilet instance has to offer. They can pay via Panda Credits or real cash currency. Same goes for other service instances." Yun casually washed her feet in the sitting shower cubicle near the wooden cabin and sat at the edge of the natural hot spring to soak her feet. "Panda Credits as well? Oh, if they decide to use Panda Credits, less credits to spend on food. I see." Jin followed Yun and dipped his legs into the hot spring. It was a little hot at first but it eventually became very comforting, especially when the weather was cold and his feet were warmed up. The hot spring was extremely large and there was a Chinese themed pavilion at the side of the hot spring, allowing people to sit on it and enjoy the atmosphere in the hot spring pool. Meanwhile, Jin realised all the penguins were actually wearing a winter cap that was shaped like with panda ears. "Hahaha, since pandas cannot work here, you made the penguins wear panda caps to make them imitate little pandas?" Jin questioned Yun casually. "Or else the panda-loving customers will question our decision of using penguins. I admit I simply want to pull the customers'' legs once in a while." Yun asked for Jin''s phone and he handed it to her. Unknown to him, Yun used his phone to summon Xie Xie, the pet panda that Jin obtained recently to the instance. "I am already questioning the validity of penguins living in the mountains. Hahaha! I mean since it is AI, why not have a panda around here?" Jin put his hands into the pool to warm them up a little before touching Xie Xie. The pet panda yawned a little as it was held by Jin. However, Jin immediately faced the pet panda away from him when it yawned due to natural reflex. He thought it was going to shoot a chi beam out of its mouth. "Are you scared of your own technique?! Hahaha!" Yun was laughing hysterically at the current scene. Jin ignored Yun once again and he left the pet panda with Yun. He then got up and walked into the cabin to take a look at the facilities in it. To his surprise, there was a large panda yawning yet again right in front of him in the cabin when he opened the door. He got scared out of his wits once again, thinking this time around a panda would shoot a chi beam out for real since Yun laughed it off previously. "Hahahaha! Relax! I am really not that mean to play such a cruel joke on you." Yun laughed again upon reading his thoughts and Xie Xie started to learn how to chuckle as well. Upon walking into the cabin, he saw athree rooms in there. The main room had a panda in a white collar shirt sitting beside a massage table bed and two massage chairs. It lifted its paw up and invited Jin to have a rest on the massage table. Jin had some doubts but he was willing to give it a go. "Do not worry, Jin you looked at the wall, this panda is a certified massage therapist." Yun was standing by the cabin door with Xie Xie resting on her head. "Did you not say there are no pandas here? Why is there one here?'' Jin looked at Yun. "This is a cabin with regulated air conditioning, why won''t a panda like it here?" Yun gestured her hands to hurry Jin up. "We will see about wha- Ahhhhh~! This is really good. Lower a little." Jin mumbled his words as the Panda Massage Therapist worked its magical paws on Jin''s back. "You have worked hard, your muscles are a little tight." The Panda Massage Therapist spoke in a low voice. "Indeed, I have¡­" Jin felt like he was going to sleep if this continued. "Do not worry, my massage will revitalise you in no time." The Panda inserted a little bit of chi in its paws and Jin felt like he ascended out of his body. While Jin was having his massage, Yun sat in the automated massage chair and pressed a few buttons for the chair to work wonders on her body. "Okay, I think I have enough of this place, let''s open the shop and allow the customers to explore this area on their own." Jin stood up from the massage table after a good 30 minutes massage and left the dungeon first in order to open his store. With the major quality improvements in his whole store including the new revamped third floor, it was time to earn some money for the system. Chapter 64: Chance, Bro. "Hey Bing Yong, would you like to go to that Boss Jin''s place again tonight?" Shi Zuo asked Bin Yong after a project meeting. Bin Yong, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo were in an animation project proposal together and they finally got the go-ahead by their director to proceed with their project. Tonight was one of the few nights they were free before everything would start to get hectic all over again. "Sure Shi Zuo, let''s go. I would like to release some pent-up stress. We shall see if Boss Jin has anything new tonight." Bin Yong answered casually. "Did I hear Boss Jin? Is that the new Dungeon Supplier in Tiangong shopping district?" A lady''s voice was heard from behind Bin Yong. "Oh, Jia Le, was it?" Shi Zuo vaguely remembered the name of this young beautiful yet talented animator that the company just recruited not too long ago. Apparently, her work quality and speed could rival senior animators like Bin Yong. "Ah, I apologise for eavesdropping on your conversation." Jia Le gave an awkward smile. She accidentally got excited about the rumoured Dungeon Supplier on Tiangong street that she had forgotten her manners towards her seniors at work. "Do not worry Jia Le. You do seem interested in it. Want to join us?" Bin Yong thought this was a good time to bond with his new co-worker since he had heard that she was selected by the committee members to be part of the animation team that Bin Yong was in. Besides, she might be a good distraction for him since Luo Bo would be coming with Shi Zuo. "Thank you Senior Nu!" Her short bob layered hair reminded Bin Yong of Luo Bo when they first met each other in this company and he got a little distracted. "Senior Nu?" Jia Le suddenly saw that Bin Yong was in a daze but Shi Zuo came from behind him and initiated the conversation once more. "Ah, do not mind this klutz''s head. Whenever he thinks of something important or finds inspiration, he will just go blank for a while. You know, this guy here is amazing in Boss Jin''s dungeon." "You have all been there before?" Jia Le eyes lit up. "Yeap, and I think we are one of the few who officially completed the goblin dungeon. You will be surprised but our names are on the scoreboards." Shi Zuo continued to boast about their endeavours. "Wow, I did hear that Boss Jin has a very low success rate in the completion of dungeons, and you two did it? Is there anyone else in the company who joined you two?" Jia Le was amazed by them. "Luo Bo from the Production department. The three of us entered and came out victorious. Oh, I remember we bought the playback video from Boss Jin. The fight was amazing, I dealt so much damage that the boss boar was nearly killed!" At this point, Bin Yong came out of his daze and tried to stop Shi Zuo from blabbering too much. "Ahhh, you do not want her to know you were the one who delivered the final blow to that monster?" Shi Zuo nudged at Bin Yong. "Woah, Senior Nu did it? How?" Jia Le seemed genuinely interested, which Bin Yong found odd because the conversation was going a little too well for mere acquaintances. "Come with us to have dinner at Boss Jin''s place. You will get to see him in action." Shi Zuo winked and pat Bin Yong''s back hard. "Boss Jin sells food too? That''s the first I''ve heard of it." Jia Le questioned the validity of a dungeon supplier''s ability to provide food. "Oh, his tonkatsu curry rice is one of the finest I have ever eaten." Bin Yong complimented Boss Jin''s choice of culinary. "If I could eat that every day, I think I would be in bliss too." Shi Zuo added. "Then, looks like we should really go there then!" Jia Le smiled so delicately, Bin Yong blushed a little when he saw it. "Ah, do remember to bring a good amount of cash or have sufficient cash in your e-wallet. That boss is a monster in eating money too." Shi Zuo laughed loudly as Bin Yong tried to calm him down since there were some co-workers that turned to look at them. "Alright, looks like I better get going, see you guys tonight!" Shi Zuo waved. "Chance, Bro. Do not lose it." Shi Zuo sent a voice transmission to Bin Yong before he walked away, leaving Bin Yong all alone with Jia Le at the corridor outside the meeting room. "So, erm see you at 6 at Boss Jin place? If you are done early, you can go ahead and queue first." Bin Yong then asked Jia Le if she knew the exact location of Boss Jin place. "Sorry, I have not been there before. I have only heard about it in the forums online and from the small talks." Jia Le shook her head. "Alright, erm. Let us meet up together on the ground floor before we head out. Do you mind giving me your phone number? I will text you- oh wait! You are in the same department as me." Bin Yong panicked for a while. "Ahaha, it''s okay, let me give you my number. We might need it for future contact for the project too." Jia Le acted cool but inside that little heart of hers was racing crazily. Of course, she knew who Bin Yong was! His artwork was some of the best she had ever seen when she happened to be in the same art college Bin Yong was previously in. His artwork inspired her so much that she even asked her professor for Bin Yong''s previously submitted assignments. Her mentor was surprisingly a fan of Bin Yong since she had the chance to work with him as well. So her mentor was able to accede to her request and gave her his works to preview. Hence, the admiration for his artwork slowly turned into infatuation and she decided to apply at the same company he was in to try her luck to get closer to her idol. Right now, it was unbelievable for her to be working on the same project with him. "Perhaps, I can be friends with him¡­" She thought about it when the meeting was still in session. "Alright, I received your phone details and I had added you in Mechat. Contact you later?" Bin Yong smiled and went to get some coffee in the company''s cafeteria before returning back to his desk. Meanwhile, Jia Le''s heart finally had a chance to rest a little after he left. However, she quickly went to the ladies bathroom and hid in the toilet cubicle for a while, feeling very excited about that evening''s meeting. Chapter 65: Trust Me, Bro "Hey bro, I just started stalking Jia Le on every available social media she might have." Shi Zuo was snickering when he was in Bin Yong''s cubicle. Bin Yong had some administrative matters to settle before he could leave so Shi Zuo who finished work on time, came to find him. "What? How did you even- actually, nevermind. Do not tell me how you did it." Bin Yong shook his head at Shi Zuo''s terrible habit of looking into people''s social media account. He had a knack for computer programming and he specialised in IT security since he was in the IT department of the company. In fact, he was the only IT security specialist that the company hired to protect their animation works online and handle the company''s site security. "Okay okay, but this is something you will like to know. She might still be single. You might have a chance." Shi Zuo took a seat from an empty cubicle and rolled it towards Bin Yong. "Might still be single?" Bin Yong raised an eyebrow. "Such a beautiful girl like her does not have a boyfriend yet?" He whispered to Shi Zuo. "Well, perhaps a high chance that she''s single. She seemed so popular with her peers of both genders that I honestly cannot tell. However, there were no consistent male or female partner when I analysed the pictures. I mean come on, she is downright gorgeous, do not tell me you are not interested at all." "I ermm.." Bin Yong did not know how to reply. "Forget it, I don''t think I have a chance." Bin Yong threw in the towel before the fight even began. "BRO! What are your talking about? I feel my cultivation tingling. I feel like she might be into you!" "The last time it tingled, you introduced me to a girl with a triad boyfriend." That was why Bin Yong could not forgive Shi Zuo for introducing him to weird places. Not to say Boss Jin''s place was weird. Oh okay, he admitted Boss Jin''s place was a little weird. But at least he had his fair share of fun while he was there. "Trust me, Bro, this is really different. I mean you got her number right?" Shi Zuo tried to stir up his interest once more. "For work purposes?" Bin Yong gave an excuse to defend himself. "What bullshit! You think a girl from this day and age would randomly give you their number?" Shi Zuo randomly bullshitted Bin Yong for giving him a bullshit excuse. "Because it is for work purposes??" Bin Yong could see that Shi Zuo was extremely adamant. "Dude! just give it a try, you never know where it could lead you. How about this? Just try to spend some quality time with her tonight?" Shi Zuo nearly gave up on Bin Yong if he did not want to help himself. "Is that not what we were going to do?" Bin Yong thought that was the case. "Oh, sometimes you are so dense, that I do not even know why I still try to help you. Luo Bo and I will be leaving first for Boss Jin''s place and queue up if needed." Shi Zuo placed the chair back at the empty cubicle he had taken it from. "Wait up, I am finishing this document soon." Bin Yong tried to speed up his work a little. "Nope, not waiting." Shi Zuo immediately walked away. Bin Yong thought he was joking and he continued to do his work. After 15 minutes or so, a strawberry fragranced breeze filled his cubicle. "Ah Senior Nu, you are still here?" Bin Yong could not help but tense up after the pep talk that he had just gotten from Shi Zuo. "Ehhh, you just ended?" Bin Yong was lost for words. "Yeah, I realised that I did not have any of your friends'' contact so I thought to have a look at your cubicle to see if you were still around." Jia Le was wearing a simple grey round tee and a stretch scuba leggings. "Ah, you could have texted me," Bin Yong then realised that it was a stupid thing to say. "Oh, erm sorry Senior Nu. I thought it was more convenient to find you at your desk." Jia Le suddenly did not know how to reply. Was she being too direct? "Ahahah no need to apologise, I just thought texting may have been faster¡­Do you want some sweets?" Bin Yong tried to salvage the awkwardness of the situation by offering her a bowl of sweets which he had by the side of his desk. "Oh, gummy bears! Sure!" Her smile was sweet enough to make Bin Yong stared at her for a while before realizing that he should get his work done. "Ah screw this, I can finish it tomorrow." Bin Yong saved his document and took his sling bag out from his drawer. "Give me a moment Jia Le, let me go to the loo." "Sure, you want me to wait at the ground floor?" Jia Le asked. "Nah, just wait for me at the elevator." They both went their separate ways but all they could feel in their hearts was a large banging sound. Yet, that banging got louder with each step they took away from each other. Jia Le secretly took another gummy bear candy pack from his desk and giggled a little while Bin Yong smiled widely without noticing as he was walking to the toilet. Bin Yong readied himself a little in front of the mirror. "Should I really give it a try?" He washed his face once more and met Jia Le at the elevator. "Hey Bro, we are already near Boss Jin''s place and for some reason, there is a long queue today. You better hurry." Shi Zuo messaged Bin Yong and he was shocked while he waited for the elevator with Jia Le. "What''s wrong?" Jia Le noticed a change in his expression. "Oh, erm Shi Zuo, you know, the guy you saw me with this afternoon. Well, apparently he went ahead to Boss Jin''s with his girlfriend. He just told me that the queue at Boss Jin is really long. I am sorry that I took too long." Bin Yong apologised to Jia Le but she denied it immediately. "No, No. It''s definitely not your fault Senior Nu. I happened to be caught up in my work too." Jia Le made up an excuse on the spot. "Guess that makes both of us really bad workaholics." Both laughed happily at the current situation they were in and the elevator came right on time. "How are we getting there?" Jia Le asked as the elevator was on the ground floor. "If you do not mind some brisk walking, we can reach there in 15 to 20 minutes." Then he realised Jia Le was in her flats when he looked downwards. "Erm¡­.or we can take the bus too. If it is uncomfortable for you to-" Jia Le immediately took out a pair of sneakers and ankle socks from her storage ring. "Let''s brisk walk! Should be a good chance to warm up our cultivation too!" Jia Le went to a corner near the main entrance of the company to change her shoes and even that small action of hers started to interest Bin Yong. "Shit, am I thinking too much?" Bin Yong thought to himself. Suddenly he received a new notification in his MeChat from Shi Zuo. "BRO, NEW DUNGEON! Check the Pandamonium app." As he was waiting for Jia Le, he decided to check the Pandamonium app. He also saw a notification on his phone that the app had been updated too. When he first opened the app, a new advertisement appeared on the front of the app. "Get the new loot boxes, with guaranteed Qixi festival dungeon ticket!" Another advertisement was right below it. "Great Wall of China Instance available right now! Suitable for both beginners and veterans. Come and experience the fight against zombies and help defend the motherland!" "Senior Nu, I am ready!'' Jia Le even tied her hair into a small ponytail and pinned her bangs with a small bellflower pin. She then walked gracefully towards Bin Yong. "Great! Let''s get going. Oh and you can call me Bin Yong. It''s after work, we can let go of the formalities." Bin Yong casually said as they headed out of the main entrance of the company. Bin Yong did not know that this little gesture became one of the happiest moments of Jia Le''s life. She blushed slightly and walked beside him. Chapter 66: Wingman "Man, you guys are late. Look at the queue! It''s horrendous! But we bought you all the tickets!" Shi Zuo shouted at Bin Yong and Jia Le when they finally reached the store. "Sorry sorry, I was too caught up with writing the minutes of that last meeting." Bin Yong breathed a little heavily but Jia Le appeared to have warmed up for a fight after that brisk walking session. "Oh gosh, I need more training." He thought to himself. "Are you treating us then?" Luo Bo tried to take advantage of the situation that Bin Yong had placed himself in and Jia Le chuckled a little. "Bro! Here are the tickets." Shi Zuo passed two pairs of tickets to Bin Yong. "The second pair is my treat." Shi Zuo winked and patted on Bin Yong''s shoulder as he examined the tickets. "I know of the Great Wall of China instance and but what is this Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instance? It was not featured on the app." Bin Yong queried Shi Zuo. "I am not sure too, I asked Boss Jin about it and he said enter via the penguin statue on the 2nd floor." "Penguin statue? I did not remember seeing such a thing the previous time I came here and I thought Boss Jin loved Pandas instead." Bin Yong finally caught his breath and noticed the long queue outside of Boss Jin''s store. "And I do not remember Boss Jin being so popular that he had these many customers queuing up for his dungeon!" The shophouse was quite crowded and the customers were making quite a ruckus. A number of people were standing around the stations to view the dungeon instances while others were waiting at the small park beside the shophouse. Fortunately, the small park was brightly lit with stone seats and tables and the customers took turns to rest when the queue moved. It was also cooling for some reason as compared to the surroundings of the Tiangong shopping district and this made the wait bearable for most customers. "Scan the QR code of your ticket in your Pandamonium app, it will automatically show you the queue number and an estimated waiting time would be given before it is your turn." Shi Zuo showed it to Bin Yong. "Wow, the upgrade of the app is indeed a step-up. Ah, but Jia Le does not have that app." Bin Yong was concerned about Jia Le if she was being left out of the group. "Oh, I asked Boss Jin about that. Apparently, you can share the app with anyone and they will be given a link to download the application package for the mobile app." Luo Bo commented. "Why make it so complicated and not place it in Twentycents, Mooogle store or Gapple Store?" "I did ask but he said does not want to pay money for it. He said passing the app recommendation through word of mouth would be sufficient." Luo Bo shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, we will never know Boss Jin and his weird antics. Jia Le, let me share the Pandamonium app with you. Sorry, if we make you left out." Bin Yong searched the app and easily found the share button while Jia Le took out her phone to get the transfer. She booted up the app after installing and it asked for a QR code of a dungeon instance ticket. Bin Yong passed the Great Wall of China instance ticket to her and a temporary profile was set up for her with no name on it. "Ah, I think you have to join the dungeon instance for the Pandamonium app to update. Shi Zuo said it''s some advanced technology which he himself could not figure." Jia Le attentively listened and nodded her head as an acknowledgement. "Now, you are the one making us feel that we are left out, Bin Bin who is that?" Luo Bo interrupted their chat. "Ahaha! Sorry guys, this is Jia Le. She joined the company not too long ago. About 4 months odd?" Bin Yong introduced Jia Le to the couple. "Hello! Nice to meet you." Jia Le extended her hands to the couple as they exchanged names and greetings. Suddenly, all four of their phones pinged a notification and indicated that their station would be available shortly. The approximate waiting time was reduced to 15 minutes. "Buddy lets head to Station 6 first." Shi Zuo held onto Bin Yong''s shoulder while Luo Bo was still outside of the store telling Jia Le about the essential functions of Pandamonium. "So bro, how did it go?" Shi Zuo asked Bin Yong with regards to Jia Le. "What? Nothing happened." Bin Yong tried to hide his feelings but it was plain clear for Shi Zuo to see. "Liar, we saw the both of you smiling so widely as you approach from the distance. Luo Bo even said if this was an animation frame, there will be gentle colours painted in the background with white and pink sparkles all around you two. She can even make up a tune for the both of you." Shi Zuo tightened his grip around Bin Yong''s shoulder. "That description¡­was detailed." Bin Yong was speechless as they reached Station 6 and saw a glimpse of the new dungeon instance. "So, I will cut to the chase, do you like him." Luo Bo stopped talking about the Pandamonium functions the moment the guys left and stared intensely at Jia Le. "What are you talking about, Bin Yong ¨C I mean Senior Nu and I are merely acquaintances." Jia Le was caught off guard by the sudden question. Her eyes shifted a little and she stumbled over her words. "He liked me a lot even to this day. However, as nice as he can be, I will never be able to reciprocate his love and kindness since I am indeed deeply in love with Shi Zuo¡­despite his odd habits." Luo Bo revealed that she knew Bin Yong liked her all along. "You mean he is still singl-? I mean I did not expect Bin Yong to be erm¡­wooing you." Jia Le was equally shocked by Luo Bo''s confession and Bin Yong''s relationship status. She thought someone as cool and professional as Bin Yong would have already been taken. "Ah, from your expression. You looked relieved." Luo Bo grinned from Jia Le''s state of shock and confusion as if she immediately understood the whole situation. "I ermm.." Jia Le blushed a little and nodded her head slightly. She could never imagine her idol was still single and here she thought she would be satisfied with just being friends with him. Suddenly, she was feeling greedy and wanted more. "Then get close to him tonight if possible. Shi Zuo and I will be your wingman for you and that dense little beetle." Luo Bo laughed sincerely and gave a thumbs up to Jia Le. However, for Jia Le. Her mind was in a mess. She did not know whether this was a really golden opportunity presented by the heavens themselves or just a big bad joke. "Do not worry, I can read people well enough and Bin Yong is like an open book. I have 100% confidence he does has an inkling of interest in you. But he is held up by the chains of the past, he could not see forward. Help him but not too much and see if he is worth it." Luo Bo gave a fairly sensible advice. After all, this was probably the first time Jia Le made contact with Bin Yong. However, Bin Yong''s numerous artwork had already made Jia Le understood what kind of person he was and secretly seeing how Bin Yong worked in the office for the past four months affirmed her beliefs even further. "Why are you helping me?" Jia Le still could not understand why Luo Bo was interested in helping her. "Because he is my darling''s best friend who he could have betrayed him many times to win me over. However, he did not. A guy with such loyalty to his friend and righteousness is hard to find and I want him to have the best in life too." Luo Bo solemnly replied. "Also, I have a good hunch about you and him and I feel that you will not let him down." Luo Bo giggled and Jia Le finally relaxed. "I will try my best too." Jia Le bowed a little towards Luo Bo as a sign of respect and gratitude. Instead of replying, Luo Bo grabbed Jia Le close to her arms and brought her into Jin''s store. Chapter 67: Captain Hei Luo Bo and Jia Le managed to squeeze through the crowd to get to Station 6 which they finally found Bin Yong and Shi Zuo. "Oh my gosh, You did not see what had happened just now. I am dying to try this instance immediately." Shi Zuo was pumped up as he said to the clueless girls. When the dungeon instance at Station 6 was completed, the participants who managed to stay alive reappeared in front of the station while the others who were unconscious did not emerge from the station. Instead, they were being sent to a different dungeon instance as part of the improvement in the quality of life features by the system. "Hmm, the new recovery bay service instance really make me feel like a heavy burden was lifted from me. I can finally concentrate on handling the cash, explanation and food." Jin''s thoughts were transmitted to Yun. "Not only that, we will be able to utilise the system''s AI to monitor the unconscious and in a way collect their data to improve their future experiences," Yun said nonchalantly as she helped the Panda AIs which were wearing nurse caps in the recovery bay instance. "Do they even know that we are collecting their data?" Jin was a little disturbed by it. "Need to know basis. Anyways, it is in one of the clauses when we obtained the Dungeon Supplier certification that we are given rights to collect information for the benefit of the customers." Yun reasoned it to Jin. Cultivators that were knocked out from the dungeon fights would first be teleported to the Recovery Bay Service Instance. Once their conditions were stable enough to be awakened, the Nurse Pandas AIs would teleport them to the second floor and Yun would facilitate the transfer, ensuring that they awake properly from their unconscious state. If there were not enough lounge chairs on the second floor to accommodate the large influx of customers, the recovery bay instance will hold them until they are conscious. The Nurse Panda AIs would personally guide them to the exit of the dimensional space. They would be teleported to a terminal station on the second floor where they could get food or loot box from the vending machines. The best part about the Recovery Bay Service Instance was the ability to accommodate an endless number of customers without expanding space in the real world while providing top-notch health monitoring services for the customers. "Luo Bo, Jia Le, let''s get going! It''s our turn soon!" Bin Yong was more joyful than before as compared to the other outings they had been together. Both Shi Zuo and Luo Bo could plainly see the difference with the presence of Jia Le. The couple looked at each other and smiled deviously. The party placed their belongings in the miniature pandas'' storage that were on the shelves beside the TVs and teleported into the dungeon instance using their phones. When they arrived, they felt a strong gust of wind blowing at them and it made the girls screamed when they realised where they were. "Are we on a celestial beast?!" Shi Zuo could not believe they were currently standing on top of a gigantic brown falcon in midair. "Ah, new recruits. That is wonderful." A grizzly voice was heard from behind them and they turned around to look. "A talking panda?!" Luo Bo immediately squealed at the fluffiness of the big lazing panda sitting at the head of the brown falcon. "Not just a Panda, Captain Hei here." The panda was wearing an air force officer hat and a formal officer shirt which he could not button at all. There were even some decorations and a medal on his shirt. The captain rank designation on his shoulders was easy to recognise and he could be telling the truth. "We are waiting for a few more recruits before the mission goes underway." Captain Hei said as it gave a command to the brown falcon to dive down a little. "This is not just a four-man party instance?" Bin Yong was quite surprised. "We will start with four if necessary since Boss said there are too many recruits trying to make a difference nowadays. He asked me to proceed when I had a team of roughly eight to ten members." Captain Hei took out a small straw of wheat to chew. At this moment, a smaller grey falcon soared up into the skies and brought three new members into the team whom Bing Yong initially did not recognise. "Introductions first and make it quick! We have zombies to kill!" Captain Hei shouted. Everyone on the brown falcon noticed that their phones vibrated and the names and faces of everyone were shown in the Pandamonium party tab list. Bin Yong realised that they were under Squad A while the new members that just came in were listed under Squad B. However, Bin Yong thought it was a little rude if he did not introduce himself properly to the rest. "Hi, I am Bing Yong. These are my party members. Jia Le, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo." The rest of the Squad A greeted as Bin Yong introduced them to Squad B. "Bu Dong here, this is Kong Xian and Yue Han." Bu Dong extended his hands to shake with Bin Yong while the rest waved their hands. "I saw your name on the scoring board and I am glad to meet a fellow Dungeoneer." "Oh, so you are the rumoured young cultivator who defeated every dungeon instance in King''s Monster." Bin Yong returned his greetings. "Compared to Boss Jin''s monsters and dungeon instances? That was nothing." Bu Dong laughed and suddenly another grey falcon appeared beneath them. As the grey falcon tried to soar higher than the brown falcon, an enormous figure jumped from the grey falcon and landed loudly on the brown falcon. Thankfully, the brown gigantic falcon did not budge at all. "Looks like that''s the last recruit coming from Station 6. We would be off soon!" Captain Hei shouted. Shi Zuo found the last recruit really familiar and later recognised him. "Are you Xiong Da? The Hungry Hippo Cultivator? The one who ordered that pretty AI instructor-Ahhhh" Luo Bo pulled his ears and stared at Shi Zuo intensely. "Looks like I have become a minor celebrity in Boss Jin''s store." Xiong Da roared with laughter. "Big Brother Hippo, looks like you are in my Squad!" Bu Dong beckoned him to come and they exchanged greetings. Everyone looked equally nervous but excited at the same time when the brown falcon dived down and they caught a glimpse of the Great Wall of China. "Alright, recruits. Here is the mission. We have intel that a deadly plague was created by a group of nefarious cultivators of the undead which infected the whole town, creating a horde of zombies under their command. The zombies from that town had been secretly covered by those cultivators and now decided to attack a part of the Great Wall at Liaodong." The panda was talking to them with its back facing the whole group but the weight of its words had the presence of authority which they could not deny. "Unfortunately, the zombies were quite successful at their attacks, using quantity over quality against our soldiers defending the borders. So we are going to send Squad A to reinforce the foot soldiers at the watchtowers, while Squad B will kill the zombies that were climbing the walls. Given the cultivation I have sensed coming from all of you, you should be able to clear this without any trouble." Captain Hei immediately rubbed the brown falcon''s head and it dived down even further. The situation was as bleak as Captain Hei had described it, the zombies were overrunning the watchtower and soldiers were being pushed back by the horde. All eight of them knew that this was the first massive battle they had ever participated. Jia Le had some fear in her since this was also the first time she participated in Boss Jin''s dungeons. She trembled a little while holding her weapon but Bin Yong placed his hand on her shoulders to reassure her. "Are you all ready?" Captain Hei turned his head lazily and stared at them once more. All had the determined look to pass the dungeon instance. Chapter 68: A Small Sacrifice "A few things before I descend any further." Captain Hei took out two black talismans with red inked symbols on it and passed it to the squad leaders, Bin Yong and Bu Dong. "Use them if you are in deep trouble. They might be a lifesaver for you." The panda captain continued to bite its straw of wheat. "Your call signs and symbols are based on the type of cultivation you have when you check your map on the Pandamonium app. Oh and do not worry, your phones are protected by the dungeon instance and the battery consumption is low. If you need to recharge your phone after the instance, ask Boss Jin." Captain Hei explained. The Pandamonium app immediately showed the party list and assigned a well-designed symbol for each and every member. ********* SQUAD A Bin Yong ¨C Beetle Shi Zuo ¨C Monkey Luo Bo ¨C Rabbit Jia Le ¨C Bellflower SQUAD B Bu Dong ¨C Ape Yue Han ¨C Bat Kong Xian ¨C Tortoise Xiong Da ¨C Hippo ******** "The call signs are used to facilitate communication in case you forget their names and it''s easier to recognise symbols on a map than names." Captain Hei tapped the brown falcon once more and it swooped down even further. "Last thing! An open voice transmission channel had been set up for the whole group. Concentrate on who you will like to speak with and you will connect with them." Captain Hei spoke and snapped his fingers. All eight cultivators were energised with overflowing chi and Captain Hei ordered them to jump off the brown falcon. "Let me create a landing area for all of you!" Xiong Da the Hippo was the first to dive down to a forested area. "War Club Art, Hippo Ground Pounding Smash!" He lifted his War Club while he was flying and aimed his weapon at the ground. The chi which Captain Hei gave, allowed him to create a sonic boom in a second. The War Club decimates the branches blocking its way and when it reaches the ground, the impact was immense enough to uproot the trees and instantly kill the human-looking zombies within the radius of the War Club skill. Foul blood and organs splattered throughout the landing area. Thus, Hippo created a safe landing area for the seven other cultivators to arrive at which they used the chi they received from Captain Hei to land safely. As Xiong Da took out his phone to check the area map in the Pandamonium app, he saw a counter blinking at the top of his screen. "Zombies killed: 17" "Oh? So the app keeps track of the number of zombies we are killing. Perhaps a reward for doing so." Hippo thought to himself. The squads managed to locate one of their objectives from afar at the landing area. The smoking watchtower on the Great Wall. "It will take roughly 10 minutes to reach there by foot and the forest is brimming with zombies." Bin Yong the Beetle stated as he studied the map. "Then we better hurry because this landing area seems to have a "COME GET ME, I''M FOOD" sign to attract them." Yue Han the Bat commented as the nearby zombies started to sense the delicious chi energy from the cultivators. "Kong Xian..ehh I mean Tortoise and I will lead the vanguard through the forest. Squad A should conserve your strength to take over the watchtower from the zombies. Maybe save any footsoldiers if possible since Captain Hei mentioned about them." Bu Dong the Ape spoke out the battle plan for both squads. "We should be okay with that, but who will be protecting our rear?" Beetle took out his weapons, a sword and buckler. "Leave it to Big Brother Hippo," Bat replied and hurried them to get going before the zombies came for them. Meanwhile, Hippo felt elated that the team decided to rely on him. Looks like the training in those goblin dungeons might prove worthy soon. "Tortoise, get your armour projections up and I will lead the way." Ape gathered his chi once more and infused it with his sword. "Understood, Tortoise Style! Wide Armour Projection of the Tortoise!" Kong Xian said it out and chi energy started to swivel around his body, giving him a projection of a greenish medium armour silhouette. The Armour Projection acts similar to chi armour but a stronger and more specialised version of it. "Let''s go!" Squad B leader Ape shouted and they were running through the forest to reach the Great Wall. The skill, Wide Armour Projection of the Tortoise, which Kong Xian the Tortoise generates was a large but fairly weak chi barrier surrounding him and the group. Obstacles like trees would be ignored by the barrier but when the zombies came into contact with it, it would gently push the undead to the side of the barrier where Ape would take over and kill them with his sword. Most of the zombies in the vicinity were not too much of a threat mainly because the two squads were behind them and they could not respond in time. Those who responded were the zombies who caught a glimpse of them moving forward. The situation, however, was not the same when they approached the Great Wall. The zombies were everywhere as if trying to tear the Great Wall down with their overwhelming numbers. The squads were close enough to notice some arrows flying past them. "Hey! Looks like Captain Hei did send us reinforcements!" A Panda with a coned straw hat shouted as it saw the eight modern looking cultivators dashing into the battlefield slaughtering the zombies. "Clear a path for them if possible!" Another Panda foot soldier shouted and threw a brown small packet with an ignited fuse over the Great Wall where a horde of zombies was creating a body pile to climb up the wall. "BOOM!" Black smoke and dust filled the air as parts and pieces of zombies flown in disarray. The only damage being done to the Great Wall was an incoherent artwork of zombie blood. "Beetle! Bring your squad up to the Great Wall, Squad A will bring peace to these undead." Ape shouted. "Rabbit, Bellflower! I will give you a lift, step on my hand and jump!" Tortoise lowered his knees and intercrossed his fingers to provide a cusp for Luo Bo the Rabbit to jump. However, Rabbit inserted chi into her leg muscles and jumped onto Tortoise''s shoulder before performing a high jump to grab onto the edge of the Great Wall. "Thanks, Tortoise but I think I can handle myself!" Rabbit teased back as a Panda foot soldier grabbed onto her hand to pull her up. Tortoise was a little annoyed but returned to focus on Bellflower. "I think I do need the lift! " Jia Le the Bellflower stepped onto Tortoise''s hand and he used his chi to throw her up to the Great Wall. Bellflower managed to coordinate and sync with Tortoise''s movement with her jump and she barely managed to grab on to the edge of the Great Wall. "I got you little Bellflower!" Rabbit held onto Bellflower''s wrist and pull her up. However, one of the zombies suddenly emerged from the pile of dead flesh after the explosion and ran up the pile to grab on Bellflower''s ankle. "Ahh!" Bellflower cried and Rabbit nearly toppled over from the zombie''s grab. Although the zombies were weak in dexterity, constitution and intelligence but their strength despite their size compensated for all of it. Thankfully, a nearby panda foot soldier immediately dropped his weapon and rushed to hold onto Rabbit before she fell over the edge. "Jia Le!" Beetle noticed the commotion when he was guarding Tortoise and immediately threw his shield. "Shield Art! Shield Boomerang of the Beetle!" The shield was immediately charged with Beetle''s chi and flew into the elbow of the zombie grabbing Bellflower. The Zombie''s hand snapped into half and Rabbit tried to pull her up quickly. If not for the Panda foot soldier''s help, both Bellflower and Rabbit would have fallen into the pile of zombies. "No! Panda!" Bellflower was in shock when Rabbit pulled her over to the inner body of the Great Wall. Rabbit turned back and she noticed that the panda who was holding onto her was already bitten by numerous zombies. "Panda!" Both Bellflower and Rabbit''s rage went through the roof. The Panda smiled at them for the last time and his expression changed to one with fury as he turned his body to slam the zombies. It even bit one of the zombie''s head off before it fell to the ground. Bellflower and Rabbit knelt and tried to check its breathing. "It''s a small sacrifice..bring us victory¡­" The honourable panda puffed out its last breath and Rabbit closed its eyes out of respect. At this point, a small number of Panda foot soldiers reinforced the area and surrounded the two cultivators. "Protect the cultivators as they climb up the wall! We will win the watch tower back!" A higher ranking panda foot soldier commanded. "Those zombies are going to pay!!" Rabbit shouted and even Jia Le who seemed fairly demure had anger in her eyes. Chapter 69: Intermediate Bow Art "Monkey! Quickly, we do not have much time left! The zombies are amassing once more!" Kong Xian the Tortoise wanted to assist Shi Zuo the Monkey up the Great Wall but the latter was too occupied by the horde of zombies surrounding them. "Damn, and here I thought I can look cool in front of Luo Bo instead of impressing the guys," Shi Zuo gritted his teeth and gathered his chi out into his arms and legs. His cultivation of two monkey silhouettes appeared right above him screaming. He knew he could have just taken the offer from Kong Xian and joined his teammates. However, that would probably put Tortoise very vulnerable to zombie attacks after the lift assist. "Axe Art! Frenzy Fury of the Mad Monkey!" The surroundings around Shi Zuo turned hotter as the chi of the Mad Monkey Style emanated out of his body. Without hesitation, zombies dived towards him, hungry for his chi energy. He, however, was grinning at the change of situation. "Bin Yong! Jump now, I will catch up later!" Shi Zuo positioned his axe at the tip of his shoulder and bent his knees forward. The instant a zombie came into his reach, a vicious vertical force was released from Shi Zuo''s axe blade causing the zombie to be divided into two pieces. Shi Zuo glanced upwards and saw multiple zombies behind the first were sliced into two pieces too. He smirked and did the same with the zombie at his left and this time it was a horizontal slash attack. All zombies within the range of 10 metres were killed instantly. At this point, he heard hollers from the top of the Great Wall. "Shi Zuo! Come up now!" Bin Yong the Beetle was beckoning him to head over. "Haha, today I will let you be the hero of the day for the ladies Bro," Shi Zuo whispered to himself and gave a V sign with his left hand and move forward towards Yue Han the Bat. "Damn it, Bro! Why are you acting like this!" Bin Yong cursed under his breath and redirected his focus to the current objective. "Beetle Cultivator, do not leave yet!" A Panda foot soldier with a Sergeant rank insignia on his right chest came towards him with a small ornament box. "Take this white gem infused with the magic of the West. Headquarters said that it contained an area of effect spell Turn Undead. Place it at the top of the watchtower and use it to disperse this evil." "Understood." Bin Yong opened the ornament box and kept the white gem in his storage ring. The Panda Sergeant then signalled its troops and the panda foot soldiers packed their wall shields to form a wall at the rear of Squad A. "GO! We will cover your back!" Panda Sergeant gave a hot-tempered war cry and the other pandas shouted in unison to attract the attention of the zombies. The Zombies started to rush from both sides of the wall body. "Let me handle this, Bin Bin. I have a favour to pay back." Luo Bo went to the front and aimed her bow at the incoming horde that was occupying the watchtower. "This is for you Mister Panda. Intermediate Bow Art! Charge Tornado Puncture of the Rabbit!" Luo Bo portrayed her cultivation, the Illusive Rabbit Style and surprisingly three rabbit silhouettes jumped above her. She knelt with one knee on the ground to steady herself as chi began swirling around her chi energised arrow. She nocked the arrow and aimed towards the incoming horde from afar. "Luo Bo! You broke through and using a higher level Bow Art too?" Bin Yong was shocked by Luo Bo revelation of her cultivation. "I had received some training from my family members." Luo Bo kept her answer short as she focused her aim. "I need to shoot when they are nearer but I do not know if I had enough energy stored in my arrow for these many zombies." "Rabbit, let me assist! Kunai Art! Entrapping Fields of Bellflower!" Jia Le said as if she knew what was in Luo Bo''s mind. She portrayed her cultivation, Breathtaking Bellflower Style and two bellflower silhouettes bloomed in mid-air above her. She plunged her kunai to the stone floor of the Great Wall and brownish green roots creeped out from her kunai. The speed of the roots emerging from the kunai increases and it hastened to the speed of a flying arrow. As one of the roots touched a zombie, it sprouted more branch roots trapping the zombie from moving. Eventually, many other zombies were also trapped and it slowed down the progression of the assault by the horde since a number of them were blocked by the trapped zombies. The winds around Luo Bo quivered and she finally loosed the arrow and was knocked back by the recoil. Bin Yong managed to catch Luo Bo before she fell to the ground. At this moment, Luo Bo felt that Bin Yong changed a little. Previously, Bin Yong would have been conscientious towards Luo Bo but this time around, he had his eyes on Jia Le too. "I am glad he might have found the one." She smiled a little at this small change of attitude of him towards her. As the energised arrow screamed and pierced through the horde, the swirling chi energy created a centrifugal force equivalent to a mini tornado and cut each and every zombie in its range. Meanwhile, some other zombies were being blasted away from the arrow and flew off the Great Wall. The distance they were thrown off was sufficient to cause immobility or even death. "Weird, did the arrow not detonate?" Luo Bo panted as she crouched with the support of her bow. "Still, that was an amazing shot." Jia Le praised Luo Bo. "No, Thank you. That entrapment support was right on time. I could not have gone full power if not for you." Luo Bo expressed her gratitude to Jia Le. "You two were fantastic. Come. Let''s head in the watchtower before more zombies encroach the tower." Bin Yong helped Luo Bo up and they started moving forward into the watchtower. "Pandas! Stay alive!" Luo Bo shouted as she headed forth. "Fighting! Do your best" Jia Le added in and followed behind Bin Yong. "Sleepyheads! Did you hear that? Two cute ladies just gave you encouragement. How do you all respond!?" The Panda Sergeant yelled at the Panda foot soldiers and they responded with a resounding growl. The morale of the troops shot up and became even more determined to continue the fight against the zombies. Things were going suspiciously well until a loud blast was suddenly heard away from the Great Wall. "Oh my gosh!! What is that?!!" Yue Han the Bat and Shi Zuo the Monkey turned to the direction and started to have cold sweats. "Something we have to defeat." Bu Dong the Ape swung his sword downwards to remove the zombie blood. "Ohohoho, a challenge eh?" Xiong Da the Hippo picked up his war club from the remnants of a smashed brain and tried to look at the direction of the blast. While they were in the dungeon instance, the crowd outside was going crazy as usual. Because of the magic eye technology, they knew what was coming for Squad B and Monkey. "Interesting, I thought the zombie dungeon will be exclusively Grade 1. I did not expect it to modify the difficulty to a higher grade." Jin thoughts were heard by Yun. "We did discuss how the grade based dungeons like Goblin Dungeon and Zither Mistress Dungeon were quite harsh to the modern cultivators. While it was a sort of benchmark for our customers, it was not the best cultivating solution for our customers." Yun said as she was tending to an unconscious cultivator in the Recovery Bay service instance. "Agreed, we should be more proactive in engaging the customers to something they can handle with a minor notch up in difficulty. Definitely not to the extent of holding their hands to the end of the dungeon. The old model of grade based dungeons is just not for everyone." Jin nodded his head slightly. Minor notch up? If Bu Dong and the rest heard what Jin had said after they saw what was coming for them, they would personally put a notch into Jin''s face. Chapter 70: Zombie Abomination Squad B''s objective was to break the siege against the Great Wall while Squad A would need to claim the watch tower back. However, the presence of Shi Zuo the Monkey from Squad A had proved a tremendous help for the ever advancing zombie horde. The number of zombie bodies continued to pile before the Great Wall as some Panda foot archers provided some ranged support from the tower for Squad B too. Unfortunately, after the loud blast from afar, the horde of zombies in the forest became emboldened by the presence of that particular abnormality and pressed their attack against Bu Dong and the others. "I will handle this!" Xiong Da the Hippo charged to the front of the battlefield and faced the forest. "War Club Art! Breaking Shockwaves of Hippo!" Xiong Da proudly portrayed his cultivation, the Hungry Hippo Style and two hippo silhouettes opened their mouths widely above him. Xiong Da dragged his war club along the ground and swiftly raised it up causing dust, stones and sand to be mixed with his chi energy waves as the waves shot through the forest, decimating the incoming zombies. Xiong Da knew that the ground dirt would not have much effect on the zombies since they were blind to begin with but more sensitive to hearing and chi energy. If the technique was used on humans, the sand and dust will blind them temporarily or distract them even if they managed to dodge the chi energy waves. In any case, he just wanted to try it since Instructor Milk forced him to learn the variation of this technique to compensate for the lack of accuracy his powerful attacks had. Thankfully, what he was fighting against right now did not dodge or block his attacks, making it a good opportunity to test his technique out. He took a breather since the technique expended quite a fair amount of chi and from his storage ring, he grabbed a panda face shaped bottle filled with blue liquid. "Good thing I went to the underground floor to get a few brewed consumables that replenish my strength. It''s a pity they are a little expensive in terms of medals." Xiong Da started to drink the blue liquid from the bottle and it tasted like soda grape juice. To his amazement, the moment he swallowed the blue liquid, he felt his Dantian rapidly converting the blue liquid to the chi he needed. "Oh! This is indeed worth the medals!" Xiong Da was really satisfied with his purchase. Most chi regenerating potions required some time for the concoction to take effect but Boss Jin''s potion worked instantaneously. Suddenly, that particular presence which they initially felt turned even stronger. Yue Han the Bat, who was proficient in detection realised that the presence was rapidly accelerating towards them. "Guys, incoming!" Yue Han shouted as he decapitated another zombie. "OWWWWOOOOOOO!!" A large zombie charged towards them, not caring of any obstacles or zombies blocking its path. As it was charging, it noticed Bu Dong fighting solo against multiple zombies and slammed its ''hand'' at him. Bu Dong the Ape managed to dodge in time but was knocked back by the immense force. The zombies, on the other hand, was not as lucky as Bu Dong since they were not fast enough to move away from the area of attack. "Holy Geezers!" Shi Zuo the Monkey was taken by the size and disgusting look of the zombie abomination. It was packed with muscles that seemed to be buffed by steroids. Instead of normal human hands, Shi Zuo assumed it was replaced by a dead corpse with its head merged with the wrist. Two headless corpses became its hands and all the zombie abomination could do was to flail its hands around. Its head was also fused with the shoulders and Shi Zuo noticed that there was an enormous mouth along its back instead of a spine. "How do we even defeat this?!" Yue Han panicked and nearly got bitten by a zombie. Thankfully, Shi Zuo kicked it away in time and told him to get a hold of himself. "Shit! Looks like I might have to execute that intermediate sword art if things go south." Bu Dong seemed to be in a dilemma. Unlike Luo Bo''s intermediate bow art, Bu Dong had decided to learn a more complicated intermediate sword art which required a substantial amount of chi, stamina and concentration to execute. It was akin to the ultimate last technique for his current Grade but he did not have the confidence to do so in such a messy and chaotic environment. "Do not think so much! Let''s do what we can!" Xiong Da the Hippo shouted and he dashed forth to face the monster head on. Compared to the goblin attacks, the swings that the zombie abomination made was slower which allowed the Hippo to dodge with some effort despite his size. "I will cover the rear for now! Bu Dong! Concentrate on the zombie abomination and win! That is what you always do!" Kong Xian shouted as he reinforced his armour projection with more chi and took care of half a dozen zombies with a horizontal slash of his two-handed sword. "Damn, he is right!" Bu Dong shook his head and slapped both of his cheeks before he charged in too. With a quick upper sword strike, Bu Dong managed to slash off the headless corpse on the right from the abomination''s wrist but to his surprise, multiple low growls came from behind its back. "What!? There are zombies climbing out of his back¡­mouth!" Yue Han shouted as the abomination placed its hand on its back and a zombie from the mouth willingly crawled up its back to merge with its wrist in order to become a part of its right hand again. "Shit! How are we going to defeat it while being surrounded by zombies and he had the chance of regenerating it?" Yue Han complained again but this time around he managed to kill another zombie. "Oh just shut up!" Shi Zuo got annoyed by the whining of the Bat. He too took out a potion from his storage ring and started to guzzle the entire bottle. It was not from Boss Jin''s underground stores but a similar chi regenerating consumable which came from his past dungeon plays created by other suppliers. While it might not be as fast activating as the one Xiong Da had drunk, Shi Zuo was slowly feeling the effects of it. "Bat, what are your sword arts?" Shi Zuo yelled at Yue Han while he chopped another zombie head off. "Mainly, flying sword dive and diversion sword technique." Yue Han replied back. "Great, I might have an idea to stop the zombie abomination for a moment for us to dish out our strongest attacks!" Shi Zuo began gathering his chi within him once more. Chapter 71: Interim Leader Shi Zuo "I did not encounter the zombie abomination before when I was in this dungeon earlier on." A Grade 1 customer said out loud as everyone in the store who was looking at the 49 Inch TV at the top of Station 6 saw the playback of how the Zombie abomination came onto the scene. "Yeah, me too. Boss Jin, is that some secret encounter?" A customer who was waiting for his turn asked. "No, each and every zombie dungeon instance was modified to suit the team of cultivators'' average competency. This is especially applicable for returning cultivators that participated in our dungeons. Remember the stats profile in your Pandamonium app? " Jin asked them. "Are you saying you took into account our strengths and weaknesses along with the stats of other cultivators to create a dungeon instance suited just for us?" Another customer with spectacles asked. "Mmhmm. For Station 6, there are two Grade 3 cultivators as you can see the stats on the wall mounted TV. Both of the squads each have a Grade 2 Peak cultivator as well and the rest are Grade 2. The zombie abomination was created to challenge the Grade 3 and Grade 2 cultivators. " Jin explained. "If your team consists of mainly Grade 1 cultivators, the zombie abomination will not appear and that particular team will be able to focus on learning how to fight and handle the pressure of many enemies." "Oh my gosh, Boss Jin. Can I call you my master?" A customer wanted to bow down and prostrate in front of Boss Jin. The other customers who had heard the reasoning of this new dungeon instance started to respect Boss Jin. They did not expect Boss Jin to go so far thinking and caring for the growth of the cultivators participating his dungeon instances. "Boss, now I understand why your dungeon instances have such exorbitant prices attached to it. You are actually tailoring the fights for the whole team while personalising it based on our stats." An office lady gave a thumbs up to him after noting that the price of the zombie dungeon instance was at 350 Yuan. Some of the newer customers saw him in a different perspective. "It is all about the experience. Subsequent dungeon instances will follow this model in the future unless explicitly stated like the Goblin and Zither Mistress dungeon instances." Jin smiled at them. "I wholly agree about the part on dungeon experience and I respect Boss Jin for it too. Tailoring the dungeon instances required a lot of information and complex manipulation of the dimensional space. Seeing how high tech your dungeon instance is, you must either be a highly specialised computer expert with good knowledge in the creating dimensional spaces or you hired an excellent team of developers." Mr Know It All customer happened to speak out and some of the customers started to bootlick Boss Jin even more. "Does that mean you recorded all our information and powers into your database system? Is it really secure? Although I know we indirectly allowed the collection of personal data as stated in the dungeon supplier''s general terms and agreement. But what if other people are able to hack your database and access it?" Suddenly, a concerned customer started to ask. "Nope, that will never ever happen. Rest assured, all your information will be protected with the highest guarantee. If it is gone or had I been hacked, I will behead myself and put it in a toilet bowl for you to use." Jin confidently affirmed the concerns of his customer. "Seeing how he sells such cutting edge technology embedded in these dungeon instances along with all these awfully cute animal AIs, I have full confidence in Boss Jin''s data security." Mr Know It All backed up Jin and other customers started to believe in him too. "Thank you for the compliment but let''s continue watching. I believed Shi Zuo is about to do something." Jin smiled and gestured his hand towards the TV. "Shi Zuo, what''s your plan?!" Bu Dong did not mind letting Shi Zuo lead the battle. He was, after all, more of a competent fighter rather than a strategic leader in the battle. "You still have that black talisman that Captain Hei gave you right?" Shi Zuo seemed to be searching for something in his storage ring as Yue Han guarded him. Currently, Xiong Da the Hippo was the only one in the clash with the zombie abomination. "Yes, but he had not given me any information regarding its uses. I just assumed it would be useful if we are in a pinch." Bu Dong blocked a punch from a zombie with his sword and immediately slashed it down. "Guys, hurry up! I do not have all day to play with him". Xiong Da was getting tired and had a bit of difficulty trying to dodge the blows of the abomination. Thus, he was using his two handed war club to parry its blows else he would take the blow like a staunch hippo. However, he would not be able to hold long if Squad B could not think of something fast. "Found it!" Shi Zuo used some strength to pull an item out from the storage ring and it was an ancient looking two handed iron axe with a stone grip. What was mind boggling about it was its size. It was as large as Shi Zuo himself and he had difficulty dragging it forward. "Bat! I need you to divert its attention and have its back facing me. If you are able to bring it close to me, that would be great because this weapon is so freaking heavy!" Shi Zuo told his commands to Yue Han the Bat but he got nervous. "What if¨C Damn it! Fine! I will do what I can!" Yue Han swallowed his nervousness down his throat and was determined to move forward. How could he be frightened at this point when everyone was trying their best? "We will provide you support too!" Apparently, some of the Panda foot archers were able to eavesdrop on their conversation and the cultivators realised it could be due to the open voice transmission channel which Captain Hei talked about. "Tortoise, how are you holding up?" Bu Dong headed over to Kong Xian the Tortoise and assisted him with the zombie killing. "Not too bad but your presence lifted some pressure from me." Kong Xian wiped his sweat off his forehead. "I remembered you had a skill¡­erm a shout that provoke enemies." Bu Dong continued to transmit his conversation to the open channel. "Yes, the Tortoise War Cry but if I do that, I might be overwhelmed by other zombies. Why would you want me to use that?" Kong Xian stabbed his two handed sword through two zombies. "Bat will be distracting the abomination right? That will leave Hippo free from the Zombie abomination''s attention. Let Hippo join up with Tortoise since Hippo''s area wide attacks will do the job against that many zombies." Shi Zuo spoke in the open channel as well. "Panda Archers, I noticed you occasionally used fire arrows. Can you use them on the zombie abomination to slow it down as Bat distracts it!" Shi Zuo was decisive and firm in his orders. While he might be playing around with his girlfriend Luo Bo, he was actually very serious when it comes to his work. The attention to details could have made him a respectable worker in the company but his playfulness left a deeper impression on most coworkers. Five of the Panda foot archers on the Great Wall acknowledged and readied their bows. "Big Bro Hippo, break off on my count!" Yue Han ran in the opposite direction of the zombie abomination and into the woods. It was not obvious what Yue Han was doing to the rest of the squad but he was actually gaining as much momentum as he could to activate his sword art. His speed became fast enough to jump between trees in order to climb higher into the air. "Sword Art! Descension Sword of the Blind Bat!" Yue Han shouted and his chi propelled him upwards to the sky to about 60 metres in the air. While in mid air, he immediately aimed his sword towards the zombie abomination and started to dive down in an angle considering the distance between him and the abomination. "Sword Art! Shadow Sword of the Blind Bat!" This time round, Yue Han''s cultivation style, the Blind Bat Style, portrayed two bat silhouettes right above him swooping down. His body started to emit chi which temporarily altered the properties of his body into a semi translucent shadow form along with his sword. "Now!" Yue Han yelled. The chi emitted by two sword arts was sufficient enough to catch the zombie abomination''s attention and Xiong Da the Hippo took this precious opportunity to sidestep and smashed his war club on its feet. The abomination turned to face Xiong Da which was ironically the direction towards Shi Zuo. The Zombie abomination was now crippled and hence an easier target for Shi Zuo later on. It also gave Shi Zuo enough time to gather his chi for his attack against the zombie abomination. Although there was some movement by the zombie abomination, Yue Han was able to adjust his trajectory and struck with tremendous force. Although it was a deep flesh wound, it was not strong enough to nearly cut its arm away. In the shadow form, Yue Han was able to pierce through the zombie abomination without colliding into it. He then landed safely without damaging his body from the dive because of his shadow form. However, the chi consumption was high so he had no choice but hope he was able to lure it as near as he could to Shi Zuo. Xiong Da took out the same few chi generation bottles he used earlier and threw to Shi Zuo and Bu Dong. "Drink it! The chi regeneration from this bottle is superb!" For the team to succeed, Xiong Da believed it did not matter to share some of his consumables. "This will be a great help!" Shi Zuo raised the bottle up to thank Xiong Da. After drinking, he smashed the bottle on a zombie''s head that came too close to him and later used the half broken bottle to pierce its neck. Meanwhile, the team of Panda foot archers who listened to Shi Zuo orders took aim with a fire burning at the tip of their arrows. They simultaneously loosen their arrows and all five fire arrows accurately lodged itself on the zombie abomination. There was one shot that went into the wound that Yue Han had previously created. As if the abomination understood pain, it raged and flailed its hands even more wildly but at a much slower rate due to the burning fire arrows. Bu Dong saw it and suddenly thought that his intermediate sword art might actually have a chance against it and thus his confidence grew back. Xiong Da immediately aided Kong Xian after drinking his bottle of chi regeneration and passed the last remaining bottle to Kong Xian. "I will cover you for a while, drink it and later attract the zombies away from the abomination." "Thank you for this kindness." Kong Xian nodded at Xiong Da and started to drink while Xiong Da smashed a few more undead skulls into oblivion. "Bu Dong! I might need more time!" It was obvious Shi Zuo''s output of chi was increasing but controlled to prevent it from attracting the attention of the zombie abomination. Yue Han was also steadily luring it closer to Shi Zuo but he was reaching the time limit of his shadow form. Considering the situation, Bu Dong took out the black talisman with the red symbols from his storage ring. It started to glow warmly as he held it on his hands. "I hope this will really help." Chapter 72: Black Talisman Bu Dong held the black talisman up with two fingers and focused a small amount of chi into it. "Activate!" He immediately placed the black talisman onto the ground and an elaborate magic circle with a luminous image of a yin and yang with other peculiar symbols surfaced right before him. The customers that were watching the dungeon instance buzzed out in excitement! Even Jin folded his arms and leaned forth the bar counter to catch the scene as it unfolded right before them. A thick fog arose right before Bu Dong and a fairly enormous furry figure was summoned out of the magic circle. "Oink!" "That black talisman summoned Mr Oink?!" Most of the old customers including Bu Dong was shocked! Wasn''t the black talisman supposed to help them and not complicate the situation even more? "Continue watching." Jin snickered a little as he folded his arms. "Did Captain Hei actually gave wrong information?" Bu Dong''s brain was in a mess and he readied his sword to fight against the eight-legged boar which he previously encountered in the Goblin Dungeon. "Oink! Oink!" The eight-legged boar seemed happy in spite of its grunting as it saw Bu Dong. At the same time, it actually gazed keenly at the zombie abomination. Bu Dong could not comprehend the next scene when Mr Oink actually lunged itself towards the zombie abomination. "Bat! Yue Han! Watch out! Mr Oink is coming!" Bu Dong hurriedly exclaimed. However, it was too late when Yue Han heard the warning. He suddenly saw a familiar figure dashing towards him and the zombie abomination. Thankfully, his shadow form was still in effect when Mr Oink collided into him. Hence, all he got was some blunt trauma at the side of his body. The boar furiously rammed into the zombie abomination which inadvertently helped Yue Han to move it nearer to Shi Zuo. Not only that, the leg injury which Xiong Da inflicted earlier took effect and the zombie abomination fell to the ground. It was not able to get up in time to prevent the next consecutive strike from Mr Oink. Meanwhile, everyone was cheering for Mr Oink for no particular reason. "This is amazing! Does that mean the same thing might happen from Bin Yong''s black talisman activation?" One of the returning customers who knew Boss Jin''s dungeons well enough questioned him. "Perhaps," Jin''s smiled broadly and returned to the Panda Port to attend to a new customer. Seeing how the abomination was on its knees, the boar lowered its head and pierced its tusks into the abdominal area of the zombie monster. Mr Oink used all its muscles to lift the zombie abomination up before slamming it down to the ground. The ground trembled and even cracked from the impact due to the continuous assault by the eight-legged boar. It seemed to cause some degree of internal injury with sounds of bone cracking and blood spewing from the wound inflicted by Mr Oink'' tusks. The abomination roared in an unknown language for every zombie in the vicinity to hear and its intentions were clear. It commanded the zombies to attack the boar and demanded them to sacrifice themselves to heal it. "Oh no, you don''t. Towering Tortoise Technique! The Aggravated Cries of the Tortoise!" Kong Xian spoke loudly in a firm voice. While it seemed ironic to say the name of a technique to produce the provoking war cry, it was the way how eastern cultivation techniques and weapon arts worked in this world. Words itself are a form of power. A praise, an insult or even just a sentence of reason could invoke the chi within to be released out of the body. To date, the concept in the power of words igniting chi from within could not be fully comprehended by martial arts grandmasters, past scholars or even modern researchers. There were theories but the evidence to most of them was at most flimsy. However, that did not stop any cultivator for fully utilising it into their cultivation styles. Thus by saying the name of the technique or weapon art, the words imbued the cultivator''s chi allowing it to be shaped and formed into the desired effect of a technique. While most techniques required the incantation of its name before executing the attack, some techniques from certain cultivation styles allowed one to attack first before stating its name. Most of such cultivation styles were mainly used in an assassination. However, in the case of Jin, his Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation style utilised a different sort of concept. Kong Xian''s thunderous shout enabled him to emit a huge breath of chi causing the zombies to move towards Kong Xian in order to satisfy their hunger pangs for chi. The shout overpowered the commands of the abomination, rendering its cry for help useless. Seeing how he succeeded in luring the majority of the zombies, Kong Xian quickly proceeded deeper into the forest with Xiong Da alongside him. All thanks to Mr Oink, Yue Han was finally alleviated from the mounting pressure he had faced against the abomination and stepped aside from the battlefield to catch his breath. "Good job Yue Han! You confronted your fears with determination." Shi Zuo took a deep breath in and dragged the gigantic axe towards the abomination. "It is time to face my fear too." Shi Zuo feared his technique would fail him. Meanwhile, the abomination, despite its lack of intelligence, noticed that reinforcements would not be coming and for the first time, it struggled to get Mr Oink''s tusk out of its body by persistently striking the boar until it managed to break one of the tusks out of its head. Mr Oink experienced such an excruciating pain from the broken tusk that it finally withdrew itself from the scuffle and the abomination shouted in victory. Without delay, it commanded the zombies residing in its mouth to emerge and mend its wounds. Unfortunately, its victory and respite were short lived. "Intermediate Great Axe Art! The Divide between the Mountains of Mad Monkey!" Shi Zuo was seen unleashing a tremendous amount of chi in an instant. The cultivation of the Mad Monkey was portrayed above Shi Zuo with two monkey silhouettes banging their hands in midair. Suddenly, a third monkey silhouette materialised from nowhere and joined the two monkeys. "Grade 3!!!!" The customers roared with exhilaration in their hearts as they saw Shi Zuo jumped from Grade 2 Peak to Grade 3. The great stone axe he held up became larger to the extent it was similar to the build of abomination. With two hands barely grabbing onto the great Axe, Shi Zuo swung it down with all his might aiming at the mouth which was positioned at the back of the monster. The force was so vehement that Shi Zuo thought that his backbone would have cracked by just swinging the great axe. As predicted, the zombies within the mouth came out trying to halt the swing of the great axe but it was fruitless. The axe was so heavy that it sliced and smashed every zombie in the abomination''s monstrous mouth as they tried to block the attack. Finally, the axe was lodged into the zombie abomination''s back and the weight of the axe made the abomination completely immobile. "Now! Bu Dong!" Shi Zuo fell to his knees but Yue Han caught him in time and carried him further away from the abomination. "Intermediate Sword Art! Lacerate in the Blazing Edge of the Angry Ape!" Bu Dong was already running towards the abomination and simultaneously preparing to activate his technique without the distraction of the zombies. His sword instantaneously turned bright orange red and heat was being radiated out of it. Bu Dong stabbed the abomination with all his might and plunged his sword deep into it. At that moment, the flesh of the abomination started to turn scarlet red in colour and a fire was ignited within the monster. Black smoke was seen coming out of the abomination''s orifices and within seconds, the stench of dead flesh burning diffused into the air. The fire within the monster started to burn fiercely and in minutes, the whole body was on fire. The customers cheered loudly at Squad B victory and at the end of the pile of burnt flesh was the great axe which returned to its original size. Yue Han high fived Bu Dong as Shi Zuo sat for a while. "Leader, there is no time to rest. We must assist Tortoise and Hippo." Bu Dong offered his hand to Shi Zuo. Separately, Squad A Leader Bin Yong was having a bit of trouble on the third floor of the Watchtower. "Leave me be! Rabbit and Bellflower, take this white gem to the next floor!" After throwing the white gem to Jia Le, Bin Yong panted as his buckler was raised up high to protect his face and his sword pointed towards a zombie. A Zombified Grade 3 Cultivator. Chapter 73: White Gem The zombified cultivator portrayed its cultivation of three buffalo silhouettes but all of the buffaloes were being infected and gave a crazed look in them. "No! We cannot leave you alone here!" Both ladies argued that Bin Yong could not win this alone. The injuries they received from the zombified cultivator was not grave but it posed a concern to Bin Yong. "Get the gem up to the top floor and we will win the objective of this dungeon!" Bin Yong was insistent. "No! This is a matter of principle. I will not abandon a comrade to die." Jia Le shoved the gem to Luo Bo and glanced at her as if she was looking for approval. While Luo Bo had the urge to stay with Bin Yong to provide some assistance, she realised that it was a chance for Jia Le to prove herself in front of Bin Yong and provide them with some personal space. In addition, she was a cultivator specialised in long ranged attacks and her presence might inadvertently hinder them. "No! What if there is another zombified cultivator on the next floor, at least one of you will still be able to complete the objective." Bin Yong reasoned as he defended himself from the attack by the zombified cultivator. They did not encounter the cultivator until they cleared the entire 3rd floor of the watchtower. It slowly walked down from the top floor when there were no other zombies to interfere with their duel. During the ascent of Squad A, Jia Le managed to block each and every stair with her cultivation technique Root Barrier of Bellflowers, which allowed her to create a physical barrier made up of roots that entrapped and slowly drained any zombie that wished to pass through it. "Jia Le, Bin Yong is in your care!" Luo Bo placed her hand on Jia Le''s shoulders and subtly nodded at her. Jia Le knew where Luo Bo was coming from and in return, she passed her a kunai with a small white talisman attached to it. "This kunai of mine was inscribed with a one-time chi technique. Use this to trap and kill your opponent if needed." Jia Le explained to Luo Bo the use of her kunai. Without turning back, Jia Le headed forth and assisted Bin Yong to the best of her ability while Luo Bo changed her short bow to an automatic hand crossbow from her storage ring. Jia Le practised the Breathtaking Bellflower style for her cultivation. It gave her control of her chi to cast limited earth elemental spells. Unfortunately, she mostly used it for art practices as she was growing up. However, she did learn some cultivation techniques to protect herself from danger and to participate in dungeon instances with her friends but most of it was defensive and support spells. "Why did you come back?" Bin Yong was a little disappointed and angry at the same time when he saw Jia Le running towards him. "As I said, I really can''t leave you alone." Jia Le took out another Kunai from her pack that she strapped on her leg. "I.." Bin Yong became conflicted. He does not want Jia Le to get hurt from this zombified cultivator again but he was also happy she stayed to help him despite what he had said. After a minor clash with the zombified cultivator, Bin Yong noticed the zombified cultivator was lacking in speed for a Grade 3 but its strength and accuracy were heightened by at least two fold. Not only that, the cultivator seemed to have an intent to kill Bin Yong and Jia Le as compared to the mindless zombies who just wanted to fulfil their hunger pangs for chi. "Then let''s defeat this quickly." Bin Yong took out the Black Talisman which Captain Hei said to use during a pinch. As he was in the watchtower, he did not know of the situation outside of the watchtower. "Activate!" Bin Yong shouted and he experienced the same magic circle which Bu Dong had witnessed. "Ke ke ke ke!" Three small greenish figures appeared right in front of Bin Yong and he had the same shock which Squad B perceived. Instead of words to convince Bin Yong, the spear goblin took the initiative to strike the zombie cultivator with his spear but the zombie deflected the strike with its sword. The dagger goblin gave no quarters for the zombie after it deflected the spear goblin''s strike and went straight for its vitals. The zombified cultivator was not able to escape quickly and the dagger was pierced into its neck. However, being an undead, the cultivator turned its head and tried to bite the dagger goblin but the goblin had quick enough reflex to move away. The poison on the dagger which the goblin usually coated it with had no effect to the zombie as well. With a few simple hand signals. the sword goblin signalled Bin Yong to cooperate with it and Bin Yong agreed with some hesitation. "I guessed the goblins are really helping me instead of attacking me this time around. Does that mean the black talisman summoned creatures from other dungeons to aid me? Guess my enemy then is my ally now." Bin Yong charged forth with his buckler raised. "Bin Yong, I will help too! Kunai Art! Entrapping Fields of Bellflower!" Jia Le did the same technique she used helping Luo Bo. The roots appearing from her kunai raced towards the zombified cultivator and grabbed its legs and hands. Regrettably, they were not strong against the Grade 3 zombie and it ripped one of the roots apart before it could be entrapped. However, the distraction was sufficient for Bin Yong and the sword goblin. Suddenly, two goblin silhouettes appeared above the sword goblin and its sword was infused with its own chi. "The Goblin is actually a Grade 2?!" Bin Yong felt that he should not be beaten by a goblin. "Shield Art, Ramming Blast of the Beetle!" Bin Yong''s shield was infused with his chi and he slammed his shield to the zombified cultivator. As the shield touches the zombie, it automatically released a minor gas explosion which caused the zombie to lose its right sword arm and part of its right shoulder too. Bin Yong then rolled forward after his attack to give the sword goblin some space to execute its attack. The sword goblin slashed downwards furiously before picking up the zombie''s sword that fell to the floor a second ago. After which, the goblin spun and slashed upwards, creating a long slash wound starting from the abdominal area and exited from the left side of its chest. As organs and blood gushed out from its wound, Jia Le threw a kunai at the zombie, hitting it right in its mouth. The kunai activated and roots and branches sprouted from its mouth and subsequently into the body and out from the zombie''s wounds again. After a minute, the zombie stood there lifeless in a sort of artwork meshed with flesh and plants. Subsequently, a few bellflowers started to bloom from it and it was bizarrely beautiful yet enchanting. Bin Yong panted and thanked the three goblins before they disappeared into thin air while Jia Le fell to her knees feeling exhausted. Bin Yong''s heart raced a little but he took out his phone and snapped a few pictures of the zombie artwork. Bin Yong then turned his head to peek at Jia Le but realised too late that she was already staring at him. They stared at each other a while longer without breaking any eye contact before Bin Yong decided to open his mouth. "It''s¡­actually quite pretty." Jia Le immediately giggled at his comment followed by a series of laughter which both of them shared. Separately, Luo Bo found some resistance on the top floor and coincidentally cleared the entire floor at the same time Bin Yong and Jia Le defeated the zombified cultivator. She took out the white gem of Turn Undead and placed it on a pedestal with the handwritten A4 paper sign attached on it. "PLACE WHITE GEM HERE." There was even a panda pawprint to sign it off. Chapter 74: Gold Panda Medal Once Luo Bo placed the white gem on the pedestal, the gem floated up off of it and energy burst out from it. Like a shining beacon from a lighthouse, the watchtower sent a magical bright shockwave through the entire area, causing the undead to stop moving all of a sudden. The zombies then slowly crumbled into dust and if someone had been paying attention to the chi in the environment, they would have been able to discern that the tension in the air was lifted and a sense of relief washed over the area when the entire horde of zombie perished into the ground. Members of Squad B who were fending off the undead overheard a loud blast come from the far end of the Great Wall and turned to see a burst of white magical shockwaves coming from the watchtower. "They finally did it." Shi Zuo wiped his sweat off his head with his shirt sleeve. Yue Han hollered loudly while the rest of them sighed with relief while some with a smile on their face. They were not the only ones celebrating. Even the customers in the store cheered loudly for showing them such an exciting stream of a dungeon run. The spirits were running high and some of the customers even offered to buy drinks for strangers, which was still a fairly rare scene in Jin''s store on a normal day, or any store for that matter. Meanwhile, Squad A was reunited on the top floor and Luo Bo was pleasantly surprised to find that both of them survived the encounter with the Grade 3 zombified cultivator. "It was a good thing Captain Hei gave us that trump card. Looks like Boss Jin had some compassion to not make things too difficult for us." "Hahaha, I heard from some of the customers that there is a Normal+ mode for the goblin dungeon and a team actually completed it. Maybe, he would like to cater to all sort of cultivators, which I believe it is a good thing." Luo Bo commented as the three of them walked down the stairs with Jia Le deactivating the plant barriers she invoked previously to prevent zombies from overwhelming them. When they were out of the watchtower, the members of Squad A noticed a small platoon consisting of Panda foot soldiers and foot archers standing in a square formation right in front of them. "Salute!" Sergeant Panda ordered and the soldiers straightened their pose and lifted their paws, placing them on their left chest. The coordination and discipline of the soldiers were very obvious to Bin Yong and the rest of the cultivators and indicated that they went through harsh training. "A sincere thank you for eliminating the zombies." The Sergeant Panda ordered the remaining panda soldiers to be at ease and they started to clear the area up and assess the situation. At this point, a grey falcon screeched and descended near Bin Yong. When it landed, it seemed to signal them to board it. "Is this not the falcon we saw before we got here?" Jia Le asked. "Then that means Captain Hei is close. Come, let''s get on board and perhaps we will be able to meet the rest." Bin Yong jumped up onto the falcon and unknowingly extended his hand towards Jia Le first before realising Luo Bo was closer to him instead. "Oh oops." Bin Yong clumsily moved his hand away from Jia Le and then towards Luo Bo. She accepted his offer and grabbed his hand to get up onto the back of the gigantic falcon. When Jia Le got up, Luo Bo winked and smiled at her, as if to indicate that she did a good job influencing Bin Yong. The falcon took off from the Great Wall and travelled a fair distance before meeting the brown falcon in midair which Captain Hei was piloting. "Ah! The remaining members of Squad A looks like you are all back safe and sound too." Hei beckoned them to join up with the other cultivators on the brown falcon and they did. Bu Dong went up to Bin Yong and congratulated him on the success of his mission objective as well. "Ahaha, it''s not me who did it. It was Luo Bo here. Also, we could not have succeeded without the aid of Jia Le." Bin Yong refused the praise but directed it to Luo Bo. However, Luo Bo ignored Bu Dong and ran to hug Shi Zuo. "You stupid! How could you just leave us alone? That Bin Yong was so useless today. All he has been doing was protecting Jia Le and not me!. He will forget about us soon! Uwaahhhhh!" While Shi Zuo was a little dumbfounded, he was glad to hear a summary of what had happened in the watchtower. He gave a thumbs up to Bin Yong and sent a private voice transmission to him. "Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instance! Chance!" "Shut uppp!" Bin Yong replied to the private transmission and gave an angry yet contented kind of look at Shi Zuo before Shi Zuo continued to comfort Luo Bo. In the meantime, Jia Le wanted to tell Bin Yong that he did a good job too but there was too much drumming in the corner of her heart. "Perhaps¡­I should just take it slow for now and I think I am already quite content with the progress today." Jia Le lied to herself as her emotions in her expressed a blaring ''No'' to her instead. "Alright, hold on tight, I am going to bring you all to somewhere." Captain Hei took another straw of wheat from his officer shirt pocket before he patted the brown falcon''s head. Upon receiving the command, the falcon dashed through the skies with great speed. Meanwhile, Captain Hei erected a shield barrier to protect the young cultivators from the piercing winds during the flight of the brown falcon. After a moment, the falcon came out from the clouds and the cultivators saw a colossal mountain right in front of them. The view below was magnificent too. As the falcon got closer to the mountain, they noticed a large cave with a red double iron door. Captain Hei signalled the falcon to land at the side of the cave and everyone got off. Captain Hei then threw a dirty bronze key to Shi Zuo. "You are the MVP for today''s dungeon. Open the iron door and you will find the rewards that the Panda Nation had left for you and the two Squads. Till then, may the cultivation be with you, Pandawans." "He called us Pandawans? Which means we are not recruits to him anymore?" Xiong Da was amazed and laughed at the change of attitude by the Panda AI. "What does Pandawan even mean?" Bu Dong never heard of such a word. "I believe it''s a parody of a title in Moon Wars that meant apprentice. Maybe we could ask Boss Jin about it later." Xiong Da commented. "Ask later, treasure first!" Shi Zuo hurriedly placed the key into one of the red iron doors and it clicked. Everyone was so excited that they chattered and imagined what kind of treasure would be in there. Hence, all eight of them coordinated to push the red iron doors apart and they were stupefied by the sight of what was in the cave. A tattered cardboard box. "WHAT THE PANDA!" Yue Han was always the first to be dramatic. "Did they cheat us?" Kong Xian was extremely displeased. "Let us just check the box first." Jia Le decided to walk towards it before Bin Yong stopped her. "Wait! What if it is a trap? Like a test by Captain Hei?" Bin Yong made a bit of sense but he did not notice that Shi Zuo had ignored him and walked towards the cardboard box. "It''s a bunch of keys with another note and a small rectangular wooden box." Shi Zuo reported as he unboxed the contents in it. "HA HA HA HA! The Polar Phantom Gentlebear Strikes Back! If you want your loot, come and find me! This is one of the keys that you will need when you enter my instance! However, do not say that I am selfish. I am gentlebearly enough to leave a part of the treasure for you! (Well, actually my bag was already brimming with loot, and I did not have any other space for that.) Till then!" Luo Bo took the piece of note and read it out loud. "Perhaps a dungeon puzzle piece?" Xiong Da felt extremely delirious from that possibility as he saw the bunch of keys were identical in nature and there were exactly eight of it. He loved mystery and to put it into dungeons? He was definitely looking forward to it. "OH MY GOSH!!!" Shi Zuo opened the wooden box and found eight gold panda medals and everyone was delighted by that reward alone. "Does that mean the gentlebear would have a ton of gold medals with it?!" Bin Yong could not control his jealousy when seeing that such a generous reward had been stolen. A few seconds later, a female announcer stated that the dungeon was completed and they would be teleporting back soon. Meanwhile, in Jin''s store, the whole crowd was bursting with lots of questions again. Chapter 75: Emerald Mountain Hot Spring The eight cultivators came out gradually from Station 6 and they were bombarded by praises and questions for each of the cultivators from the curious customers. Meanwhile, the teams that were next in queue did not hesitate to jump into the station for their turn. While they wished to know what had happened, they did not want to waste any more time due to the adrenaline rush they experienced watching the eight. Perhaps they might learn some answers once they got out from their instance. The zombie dungeon instance was actually meant for four players but in lieu of time and the number of customers Jin had in his store, the modified instance by the system allowed multiple teams to join. This was to save time and increase customers'' satisfaction while teaching them how to play as a group. "Brother Xiong Da! You improved a lot since the last time I saw you!" Mr Know It All shouted at him and shook his hand as a congratulatory action. "Ahaha, you humbled me too much. If not for Instructor Milk''s help and a bit of yours, I would not have been so confident for this dungeon!" Xiong Da thanked Mr Know It All and turned towards Jin to acknowledged him for giving him such an opportunity. "Who is Instructor Milk?" a few fellow customers saw how strong Xiong Da became, they queried who that was. "Milk was the AI instructor that I hired who was recommended by Boss Jin. The price may be slightly hefty but you really can learn a lot from her. I was nothing until she whipped me up into shape. Within a few weeks, this is the result of my training." Xiong Da continued to talk and his charisma as a lawyer had influenced many to hire the AI instructor. "Boss Jin! I''d like to book her for tomorrow!" A customer shouted across the room but Jin shook his head and said no reservations allowed. "Ahh that''s sad but it is fine. I will come tomorrow since the wait here is not as bad as other dungeon suppliers and I will be able to watch how other cultivators fight." The male customer sighed at Jin''s refusal. "I do agree. It is indeed a good experience to learn from the cultivators that clashed with the monsters." Another bespectacled customer deduced. "I am actually more interested in what actually happened in the dungeon. What was with that reward?! Gold Panda medals?!" A female customer with long hair asked "Check the leaderboards and you might have a clearer picture. Although some had already completed the dungeons. This is technically the first clear for the zombie dungeon on a modified difficulty of Grade 3 hence higher rewards." The eight cultivators who took a look at the board and saw the following. ********* "Great Wall of China Instance (Modified Difficulty: Grade 3) (Number of Players: 8) Mission Clear Time: 2 hours 10 minutes 12 seconds Cultivators: Grade 3 Hong Bu Dong Grade 3 Zha Luo Bo Grade 3 Mei Shi Zuo Grade 2 Peak Nu Bin Yong Grade 2 Peak Hen Kong Xian Grade 2 Wa Xiong Da Grade 2 Ma Yue Han Grade 2 Xu Jia Le Zombies killed in total: 4589 and 2 Bosses ********* "100 zombies for one bronze medal and every subsequent 100 zombies will yield an additional bronze medal. If you score 500 zombies and above, you will yield one silver medal." Jin explained with patience. "However, the zombie kill score will be average out to each cultivator and each will receive reward appropriate to their actions since some cultivators are specialised towards support healing or defensive type of cultivation, it would be unfair to them too." "For example, if you scored an average total of 499 zombies, you will only get 4 bronze panda medals. If you scored an average of 500 zombies or 1000 zombies, you will get 1 silver panda medal as your reward." "The two bosses with variable strength will only appear for teams with an average cultivation of Grade 2 and higher. Each cultivator will yield five bronze medals if killed. However, killing the two bosses and getting an average kill score of 500 zombies per cultivator would trigger the Phantom Gentlebear event." Jin was reading out what Yun had told him when the tattered cardboard box scene happened in the instance. If not, he would have suffered a panic attack if the customers bombarded with questions. "Why did you not tell us about all this information beforehand?" A customer was a little frustrated that there were hidden mechanics within the dungeon. "What''s a dungeon without any surprise? Since you people saw it with Bu Dong and his teammates, I would not mind revealing it out now." Jin tried to defend his initial sense of cluelessness. "Guys! I had written down everything that Boss Jin said in the Pandamonium app!" A high school student customer shouted out loud while waving his phone to the crowd in the store. The newly upgraded Pandamonium app had an inbuilt forum where cultivators who experienced Boss Jin''s store started to put in dungeon walkthrough guides and experiences they had encountered. Some other cultivators even gave their own advice on cultivation and when a walkthrough guide became popular through the number of likes and comments, it would be automatically be pinned for newcomers or returning cultivators to browse through. It had only been less than a day that the Pandamonium app was upgraded and the forum was already bustling with activity with various cultivators'' experience with Boss Jin''s dungeons. Each instance had their own subthread and it was easy to keep track of the notices. "Then what is the value of the silver and gold medal?" An office worker customer asked. "One silver panda medal is equivalent to 10 bronze panda medals. One gold panda medal is equivalent to 10 silver panda medals." Jin answered. "Wow! This gold medal is worth 100 bronze medals?! That means I can buy a new weapon from the underground store!!" Yue Han was ecstatic! "Same, I could buy a few more of those chi generation potions by Boss Jin. It was so effective." Xiong Da nodded his head in agreement. Meanwhile, some of the customers were shocked "There is an underground floor to this store?" Some of the returning customers immediately pointed at the direction of the inconspicuous glass door right beside the stairs leading to the 2nd floor. Even Bin Yong and his gang did not know the existence of that underground floor. "One more question Boss!" the same office worker asked once more and Jin gave him a stare with his bored lazy eyes. "I promise! What is the Phantom Gentlebear? A new upcoming dungeon?" Jin was becoming a little irritated by this customer and after all the explanation that he had to do, he answered back with a shrug. "When it comes, it comes. Till then collect those keys if you wish to enter it in the future." Since Shi Zuo was in possession of those keys and the gold medals, he immediately beckoned the other seven to gather as he split the loot among them. They withdrew their items from the storage miniature panda beside Station 6 and kept their keys along with it. As for the gold Panda medal, there was a QR code at the back of the gold coin and they immediately captured the code to increase their medal stock. Separately, Shi Zuo asked Bin Yong and Jia Le to join the next instance with them. "Bro, I confirmed with Boss Jin, the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instance is indeed on the second floor." Jin accidentally overheard it and was relieved that the so called toilet instance as Yun had dubbed it, was renamed to his liking. He doubted no one would have bought the service instance ticket if it was still named as the toilet instance. "Why do both the system and Yun have such bad naming sense?" With the renaming of the service instance, many of the customers initially thought it was a dungeon instance and Jin had to explain it was not. After repeated explanations to several customers, Jin finally learnt the right phrases along with some tact and was able to fully explain what a service instance was. Bin Yong and his friends went up to the second floor and saw a considerable revamp of the area. "Ah! This is the penguin statue!" Luo Bo went to touch it and asked Shi Zuo to take a picture of it with her. Though he appeared to be reluctant, he actually took quite a number of pictures and even asked Bin Yong and Jia Le to join for a group selfie. "So all I had to do is to scan my phone here at this penguin statue?" Bin Yong was a little confused at how it worked since Shi Zuo was the one who introduced it to him. "Yea, just accept the teleportation, the statues for each gender are separate." Shi Zuo nodded his head and let Bin Yong entered first. "They are separate if you wished to go into a public service instance, but I registered for a private instance with Boss Jin." Shi Zuo chuckled along with Luo Bo and they high fived together. "What are you waiting for? Get in there, Bellflower." Luo Bo held onto Shi Zuo''s arms and both of them were getting ready to enter the female penguin statue. "I ¡­" At this point, Jia Le''s heart was pumping furiously as if it wished to burst out of her chest. Her flushed face was so obvious that people might have thought she was drunk with alcohol. Luo Bo sighed at her hesitation and helped Jia Le to pick her phone out of the bag and assisted Jia Le to place her phone on the male penguin statue. "In life, there are three things you cannot recover. The word after it''s being said. The moment after it''s missed and the time after it''s gone. Do not hesitate and grasp that moment if you really liked him." Luo Bo gave a slight nudge and stepped aside. Jia Le took one deep breath and accepted the instance teleportation. "Do you think we are rushing them a bit too much?" Shi Zuo questioned Luo Bo but she smiled and entered a separate service instance from Bin Yong and Jia Le. Chapter 76: If Only Jia Le Was Here "What a view!" Bin Yong entered the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring service instance and was taken aback by the magnificent scenery on the top of the mountain surrounding the hot spring. He purposely went to the edge of the mountain to have a better view of the greenery of the entire area. The temperature was slightly colder than usual but it was nothing he could not handle despite the blue checkered shirt he was wearing. The air was also calm with little to no wind and Bin Yong took a deep breath in before exhaling. "Even the air is filled with a presence of chi in it. Not many places on Earth can simulate such an experience." He also noticed there was no one around despite such a spacious hot spring and he guessed Shi Zuo could have booked a private hot spring instance for the both of the guys. "If only Jia Le was here¡­instead of him hahaha!" Bin Yong''s crude thoughts arose from the depths of his mind since he did hand her a hot spring ticket before coming into the store. A few moments later, a number of penguins came out from the cabin area squawking loudly. "Hiiiii! Welcome to the Emerald Mountain Hot Springs! Enter the cabin to remove your clothes and use the sitting shower cubicle before you enter the hot spring!" One of the AI penguins articulated its instructions well. "These penguins sure are cute." Bin Yong squat down to touch their fluffy short feathers and the penguin enjoyed the occasional rubbing under its beak. Another penguin interrupted by asking Bin Yong some questions. "Customer, would you like to have some plum sake along with your partner?" The penguin asked. "Sure, why not? " Bin Yong assumed Shi Zuo would like some alcohol while they share some personal man to man conversation. Perhaps, Bin Yong could also learn some tricks from him to woo Jia Le though deep down, he did think about Luo Bo. But he knew he had to move on in life. "Would you like a massage during your stay with us?" The penguin asked Bin Yong once more. "What kind of massage services do you provide? Do I have to pay for any of them?" Bin Yong asked. "Oh no, you had already paid the highest premium package, so all services rendered are included in it. We provide two main types of massage service. The first is the facial and head massage by our talented Penguin Massage Therapist during your dip in the hot spring." Even without any fingers, the penguin used its flippers to demonstrate a ''One'' sign. "The second is a full body massage which will be conducted in the cabin by our trusty three stars certified Panda Massage Therapist. Rest assured you will feel refreshed after the instance. However, if you wish to have a massage service focused on a certain body region such as the back or the legs, do inform us." "Alright, I will take both of them since it had already been paid for." Bin Yong was delighted that Shi Zuo treated him to such a magnificent package deal. "Understood, please change and we can proceed with the massage." The penguin bowed and walked away as if it began to prepare for Bin Yong. "Strange, what is taking Shi Zuo so long?" Bin Yong then realised Luo Bo could be holding him back or he was the one still hanging onto Luo Bo. In addition, the time dilation of instances would mean he had to wait for a while longer for Shi Zuo if he did not teleport at about the same time as him so Bin Yong decided to proceed without him. After Bin Yong removed his clothes in one of the rooms of the cabin, he took a large green towel from the cabinet beside him and wrapped it around his waist and a small black towel to wash his body in the pool. The large green towel was particularly fluffy, similar to what he felt when he touched the penguin. He then took a shower at the sitting shower cubicle and later dipped into the hot spring pool. The hot water initially gave him a little scare before he submerged himself fully into it. He felt his pores opened immediately and when he put his head out of the pool for a breather, the cold air in the mountains quickly cooled his head. It was an exceptionally satisfying feeling. What was unique about this hot spring was that there was a Maple Tree in the centre of the hot spring pool and at times, the occasional falling of the red leaves oddly brought peace to his heart. He also realised the hot spring seemed to rejuvenate his chi points in his body and began to experience a sense of contentment in the pool. "Sir, your plum sake is here. Do you wish to have a drink first or a massage?" The penguin was holding a wooden bucket with the plum sake and a two small wine cups in it. "I would like a cup before proceeding with the face massage." Bin Yong went to the side of the pool to grab the wooden bucket from him and place it near the stone perimeter of the hot spring. The penguin acknowledged his request and skillfully opened the glass bottle of the plum sake with its flippers. The action of pouring the sake from the bottle into the cup was an artistic sight to behold. "You are absolutely amazing Mr Penguin." Bin Yong praised it. "Thank you for your generous praise." The penguin placed the sake glass bottle and the wine cup down. Being an artist, Bin Yong briefly admired the little penguin art design of the wine cup before he drank the wine cup with one gulp. When the plum sake went down his throat, it had the right sweetness and does not hurt his throat a single bit. "Boss Jin should sell this plum sake in the stores¡­ this is ahhhh~!" Bin Yong had never drunk such high quality plum sake. "Shall I start the massage?" Bin Yong nodded at the penguin''s question and it provided him with a soft and comfortable pillow at the side of the stone perimeter of the hot spring. He laid his head on it and the penguin whistled for the massage therapist to start working. "Customer, I am Mr Patsu" Bin Yong looked up and saw a white penguin with greased spiky feathers at the top of its head. "I will be your massage therapist for today." Mr Patsu dipped a small towel into a bucket filled with hot spring water and placed the towel on Bin Yong''s eyes. It then did the same again and laid another wet on his neck area. "I will be starting the massage right now." Mr Patsu took some jasmine scented ointment and started to apply on his face and head. The flippers at work were remarkably phenomenal as Mr Patsu massaged the pressure points of his face. "So so so comfortable¡­" Bin Yong really enjoyed this until he heard a teleportation sound. "Bro, you are late¡­.this is the best massage I have ever had." Being in a moment of bliss, he did not care much and enjoyed Mr Patsu''s massage. "Customer, welcome to Emerald Mountain Hot Springs! Enter the cabin to remove your clothes and use the sitting shower cubicle before you enter the hot spring!" The same AI penguin repeated the exact same thing but this time, there was no reply. "Would you like a massage?" The same conversation ensued but Bin Yong heard no audible reply from Shi Zuo but still did not care a single bit. The massage was simply heavenly when Mr Patsu started to focus on the head area. As Mr Patsu resoaked towel that was covering Bin Yong''s eyes, he took a peek at the direction of the cabin to see that the door was closed in a jiffy. "Hmph, maybe Luo Bo rejected him from going into the same hot spring instance as her. Served him right to prioritise his woman instead of his good friend." Bin Yong smirked and rested his head on the pillow again for Mr Patsu to continue the massage. Minutes later, he heard the cabin doors opening again and the showers turned on. "Bro, why so quiet? Luo Bo rejected you?" Bin Yong still hear no reply but decided to not care too much for that dejected friend of his. "Ah Mr Patsu, higher a little. That spot is itching for your skilful touch." "Understood." Mr Patsu moved its flippers slightly higher up his scalp and the feeling was terrific. Bin Yong eventually heard someone went into the pool and he felt a familiar presence sitting beside him on his left. He asked Mr Patsu to stop for a while as he turned his head to the right to take a wine cup. Bin Yong filled it to near the brim of the cup "Bro, don''t be sad. Have some plu-" Jia Le was blushing in full redness with a green towel wrapped around her petite yet slender body. She tied her ponytail higher which revealed an elegant nape right beneath it. Without hesitation, Jia Le gently took the cup which Bin Yong was holding and drank the whole cup. At the first mere sight of her, Bin Yong was in such a shock that he felt like his heart was blown off a 1000 metres away from this mountain. His unsightly mouth could not say a single word out and suddenly he felt that the hot spring was getting so hot that he felt like fainting. Chapter 77: Mr Patsu and Friends Emotions were running high in the hot spring until Mr Patsu broke the silence. "Since all the customers had arrived. Would you like to partake in a mini game? There will be rewards if you win the mini game." Mr Patsu''s words broke Bin Yong''s daze and he managed to return back to reality. "Erm, sure. Jia Le, would you like to join?" Jia Le was a little frustrated but largely relieved. She herself could not bear the intense beating of her heart and it might have further worsened since Bin Yong appeared to have feelings for her, based on his reactions. "Okay, I will join." Jia Le nodded her head lightly as she pulled her towel further up her chest. Mr Patsu clapped its flippers and two penguins swam towards them with a medium sized parcel each in their beaks. "Quickly wear the yukatas prepared in the parcels and come to the side of the mountain right at the front." The two acknowledged Mr Patsu and stood up together but soon realised that both were scantily clad with just a single green towel. They looked away from each other with faces flushed in pinkish red as they collected the parcels from the penguins. Jia Le got out of the hot spring and opened the parcel to reveal a gorgeous sakura flower pattern on her yukata, a casual Japanese garment usually made of cotton fabric. She changed on the spot by wearing the yukata over her towel and tightening her sash after removing the towel. When Jia Le was tying her sash, she could not help but turned her head to peek over at Bin Yong. However, it was too much of a coincidence between them as Bin Yong turned at the same time to peek at her. "Oh!" The two embarrassed adults returned to focus on their clothing but Jia Le could not seem to tie a proper knot on her sash. "Do you need some help?" Mr Patsu asked Jia Le whether she needed assistance and she hastily shook her head. "Customer, please assist your partner. She seemed to be having difficulty tying her sash." Mr Patsu ignored Jia Le and gestured Bin Yong to help her since he was already done with his. Bin Yong slowly walked towards Jia Le with his head looking sideways and downwards. "Do you need help?" Bin Yong finally glanced upwards and saw Jia Le in the eye. That abrupt eye contact was all that needed to ignite their hearts again on fire but both were still in some awkward denial. "Mmm. Please help me." Jia Le closed her eyes while holding on to her yukata and her sash tightly. Bin Yong indecisively took over the sash and his hands trembled as he assisted Jia Le with her sash. While he was doing that, he whiffed the same but now faint fragrance of strawberry he remembered smelling from the office. All he needed to do was to untie the sash and perhaps everything might fall into place. For Jia Le, her senior and idol, whose artwork she always looked up to, was now right beside her. All she had to do was to grab him by his collar and she would be in his embrace. Even if it was just for a second, she believed it was worth it. Not known to each other''s feelings, there was indeed a tightening tension¡­a fiery desire in them which they wished to release out in the open and as they were dying to relish the touch between themselves. Nothing was stopping them in this service instance for unleashing their bestial cravings from within except for the respect and inculcated courtesy for each other. However, Bin Yong controlled real hard to hold his blazing urges and tied the obi and looked at Mr Patsu once he was done. "Alright, please follow me." Mr Patsu led them to the side of the mountain where there was a deep gradient slope where one could fall and never return. The base of the mountains was filled with forests but both Jia Le and Bin Yong noticed something was coming. Meanwhile, two group of penguins were having trouble transporting parts of a rather heavy looking crossbow to them. The penguins eventually installed the large crossbow in between two rocks which seemed to be crafted and designed well for the placement of the crossbow despite its natural aesthetic. The penguins then installed a large magnifying glass and a seat at the top of the crossbow which looked ridiculous and useless while another group of penguins were carrying buckets of soap bars towards Bin Yong and Jia Le. At this moment, they heard a frightening bellow from the forest and something¡­emerged out of the forest. It looked like an enormous pile of foul mud moving slowly towards the top of the mountain as it left its remnants which rot the earth and plants that were in contact with it. "That is Mr Muddles. He always like a bath every alternate week at the top of this hot spring and while we do welcome him grudgingly, we prefer him to be clean before enjoying our hot spring pool as a sign of respect to other customers using the pool too." Mr Patsu shook its head as it offered an explanation to Bin Yong and Jia Le. "Hence, your objective is to make him as clean as possible before he enters our pool. Shoot the soap bars at it and he would absorb it to cleanse himself." Mr Patsu demonstrated how to load the crossbow and he shot the soap bar at Mr Muddles. Unfortunately, it missed badly. "One of you need to get up and occupy the spotter''s seat and use the magnifying glass while the other fires the crossbow. Do not worry, since there are only the two of you, the penguins will continuously hand over the ammunition to you but you have to do the reloading yourself." Mr Patsu clapped its flippers once more and the penguins jumped into action with much noise. "Do you want to take the spotter seat?" Bin Yong asked Jia Le. This time round, with the attention redirected to something else, he was more confident of himself. "Okay, but I don''t exactly know how the spotter works." Jia Le looked at Mr Patsu hoping it will have some explanation. "Ah Customer, it is simple. Get up and use the control screen. It will be intuitive from then on. Oh and there are special power ups once in a while. Do remember to use them!" Mr Patsu explained once more. "Come, I will give you a hand to get onto the seat since the yukata might hinder your movements." Bin Yong remembered she might not be wearing any undergarments and had genuine concerns for her one and only clothing to maintain her decency. Jia Le accepted his help and Bin Yong held onto her waist to lift her up to the spotter''s seat. "Thank you, Bin Yong." Jia Le voice now became a sweet melody to him. Jia Le took a closer look at the magnifying glass and realised there were touch screen functions on the screen including the adjustments needed for Bin Yong to calibrate the crossbow. "Bin Yong! Turn the knot beside the crossbow until you hear two clicks and you are ready to fire." Jia Le gave instructions and Bin Yong did as instructed then he fired a fairly big piece of soap. From the side of the crossbow, he saw the soap bar flying into Mr Muddles. It immediately produced some white steam from its body and bellowed even more. "We need more attacks in! It seems to be moving slightly faster!" Jia Le readjusted the magnifying glass to have a better view. "Yes fire now!" Jia Le gave the order and Bin Yong fired. Within minutes and a few large soap bars disappeared into the Mr Muddles, a power up skill appeared in front of Jia Le. That came at a crucial time as they saw Mr Muddles had climbed half of the distance up the slope of the mountain. However, the rot seemed to lessen as Mr Muddle climbed higher but Bin Yong was getting tired from the reloading and firing which made him pant a little. "Do you want me to take over?" Jia Le was a little concerned seeing how Bin Yong was getting exhausted. "No its fine, you are doing great giving me those instructions. They were clear for me." Bin Yong gave a thumbs up to her and focused his enemy on his crosshair. "Do not worry, I have obtained a power up, it might help!" Jia Le waved him a fist to encourage him to press on. "Then, let''s do it, baby." Bin Yong unknowingly said it out loud which Jia Le noticed his affection and her lips curled into a smile. "Firing!" Bin Yong shouted as he sent another large piece of soap bar towards Mr Muddles. Right when he fired the soap bar, Jia Le pressed a button on the magnifying glass indicating "Enlargement." The soap bar that was flying immediately grew in size and became gigantic. Since Mr Muddles could not evade, it could only closed its eyes to meet its impending doom from the soap bar of death. The soap bar hit its target so hard and fast that Mr Muddles only swallowed it partially with the rest hanging out of its mouth. In a short while, Mr Muddles swallowed the rest of the mammoth soap bar and with a bright light emanating from its body, it was reborn into a transparent jelly pudding slime. Mr Patsu and the rest of the penguins cheered by squawking incessantly as Mr Muddles happily climbed its way up to the mountain and jumped a little in joy. It then approached Bin Yong and Jia Le to thank them for cleansing by hugging the both of them simultaneously. Unfortunately for the two, the hug by Mr Muddles brought them close together that they felt each other''s skin. Bin Yong could no longer resist and hugged Jia Le without any hesitation. "I am really sorry, but I think I might have feelings for you." Bin Yong shouted out loud with all the courage he had in his heart while trying to tone his confession down as he was afraid Jia Le was all along just being kind towards him. "Don''t be sorry. You can start by bringing me out on a dinner date." Jia Le returned the hug and both embraced each other tightly. Jia Le closed her eyes and smiled widely. She was glad her gamble paid off. "Promise." Bin Yong slowly let go of her as Mr Muddles released them and they subsequently enjoyed each other''s company in the hot spring instance together. Chapter 78: Trash Items The weekends were extremely busy with the new Great Wall of China instance which proved to be a hit among new and old cultivators alike. There was also some great feedback from the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring service instance as well and many were pleasantly surprised by the mini game it had incorporated. Unfortunately, not many customers grasped the idea of a promotional loot box since the Qixi Festival dungeon instance was not up yet according to Jin and even fewer went to the third floor as most people thought the playback rooms were still there. Those who took a peek at the third floor even got confused by the sudden change of scenery of a zen gallery and decided to return to the crowd on the first and second floor. The underground floor, on the other hand, was very popular with many of the customers visiting the store service instances to get new clothes, items and weapons. For those who completed the Great Wall of China dungeon instance, the generous reward from it allowed the new cultivators to purchase improved weaponry and armour. Jin also noticed that there were lesser customers who bought tickets to the Goblin and Zither Mistress dungeon instance due to the substantial reward from the Great Wall of China dungeon instance. However, it was not exactly a bad thing since the zombie dungeon instance allowed multiple teams to join and it increased the rate of customers turnover which indirectly raised his profits. It was the end of Sunday nearing 12 am midnight and Jin finally closed the shutters to his store. He retrieved his phone at the bar counter to check the store accounts app. The sales were simply splendid and the profits earned during those two days were staggering for him. "Question, why is the system giving such generous rewards for the zombie instance? It was so stingy when it came to the Goblin and Zither Mistress. Right now, it felt like those two dungeon instances are more or less going to be thrown aside if this keeps up." Jin picked up the used dishes and utensils and placed them in the dishwasher. "Why, isn''t it good for the customers? They can finally upgrade and equip themselves with better clothes with stronger inscriptions." Yun materialised from nowhere and stretched herself a little before taking a can of Bamboo Juice and a piece of the Triple Cheese Pizza from the bar counter to have a quick supper. "But will it not cost a lot for the system to create such items? I mean 1 Bronze Panda Medal was roughly 25 Yuan based on the Goblin dungeon instance and 1 Gold Panda Medal would be like¡­2500 Yuan? The zombie dungeon instance only cost 350 Yuan! Hence, the system is losing about 2150 Yuan for that first clear!" Jin got a bit annoyed even though he knew that it was the system that was losing money and not him but who knows? Maybe that might affect him indirectly if the system lost too much money. "But that was just the first clear." Yun munched at the Triple Cheese Pizza as the additional cheese from the pizza was being pulled away from her mouth. "Well, the subsequent clears still gave quite a fair bit of Panda medals. Cultivators who managed to kill the two bosses in the zombie dungeon would be rewarded an additional silver medal. According to that thought logic, it would roughly be 500 Yuan per zombie dungeon clear and that means we are losing 150 Yuan for every successful dungeon runs." Jin felt he was in distress after calculating the numbers out. "What if I tell you, almost every item made in the underground store cost lesser than a bronze panda medal?" Yun drank her Bamboo Juice to clear her throat. "Huh, how is that possible? I personally entered the store service instance and noticed how fantastic the quality of each of the items is. How could they cost less than 25 Yuan each?" Jin was really confused so he stopped what he was doing and hoped Yun would provide an explanation to him. "Remember the Parallel World theory I told you about?" Yun chewed the remaining piece of the Triple Cheese Pizza. "The system combed far and wide through many worlds and found hundreds of suppliers that sell these items. For example, there is a world where clothing triumphs everything and another world where inscriptions were taught since young. What you saw here are actually the lowest tier of items in their world, the trash of trash." Yun signalled Jin for another slice since she was still hungry. He promptly took another from the bar counter drawer and placed it on her plate with a pizza peel. "Thank you. Anyways, one man''s trash is another man''s treasure. The quality of items we have in our underground store was marked as inferior in those worlds but to us, it is actually one of the best in this world due to the severe lack of technology and craftsmanship making all of these. Peace in this modern society has kind of eroded our need to fight or I should say directed to other means of security. Hence, we are actually ripping their money off for selling such trashy items." Yun proceeded to take a large bite of the Triple Cheese Pizza. "Besides, having your customers equipped with ''decent'' equipment, allow them to fight better in subsequent dungeons. If not, they will never progress forward and we cannot sell stronger dungeons out in the future." Yun laughed at the entire scheme created by the system. "Alright, if that''s the case. What shall we do for the Goblin and Zither Mistress Dungeon Instance? I mean, I really like the new model of dungeon instance the system had created with the Great Wall of China but I believe we need to revamp the older dungeons to catch up with the new trend." Jin reflected on the two days of sales and also realised something. "Some of the customers also feedback that we do not have enough food variety and some are asking for the plum sake wine from the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring to be available in the store too." Jin showed a look of concern through his deeply furrowed brow. "Jin, you are demanding too much. I do not think you could complete everything you want that quickly" Yun chuckled a little. "To be the best dungeon supplier, I think it is fairly reasonable to be demanding a lot of myself." Jin shrugged his shoulders. "Then I shall be expecting a lot from you tomorrow and I would like a coffee, please." Zeru mysteriously appeared which he then sat beside Yun. "Good Evening Master Zeru, here to check on your disciple?" Yun asked Zeru as she gobbled the last part of the second slice of pizza and patted her stomach. "Actually, it''s already morning and yes you are right. I am telling him the objectives of his training so he would have some mental preparation for tomorrow''s training." Zeru thanked Jin for the coffee. "That is actually quite kind of you. Usually, most masters do not even reveal their plans to their disciples." Yun commented. "So what are the objectives for tomorrow''s training, Master?" Jin asked. "You said you wanted to improve your dungeon instance and you do not have sufficient food variety. In addition, I need your proficiency in Bam and Boo up. So how about we do all three at once?" Zeru explained to Jin before he sipped his Black Ivory coffee. "Ah, such wonderful coffee." Zeru enjoyed it. "Then I guess, it will be a rough day tomorrow¡­" Jin sighed but he knew what he was getting into. He needed to improve himself to get stronger monsters and if Zeru can help him obtain food ingredients, perhaps he might not need to always rely on the mission rewards. Zeru wanted to make some small talk after his coffee but it was getting late so he took his leave to not bother Jin for too long. Just as Jin and Yun closed the store and were walking back home, Yun remembered she had forgotten to mention something to Jin. "Oh yes, Jin. You had completed the Level 2 Dungeon Supplier mission after the tremendous sales from the past two days. I shall reveal to you your rewards after your training. Perhaps this might be some motivation for you." "Hahaha! Although I look forward to it, I am a little scared since its Zeru." Jin bitterly laughed. "Just try your best. You will prevail." Yun smiled at Jin as they both returned back home. Chapter 79: The Start of Zerus Training Jin knew that he had been expelling the bad waste from his body for the past week or so. Hence, instead of cultivating in his room, he went to the toilet near the kitchen to cultivate. It had a bigger space than the bathroom in his room. It was a rather pitiful place to cultivate but it was easy to clean the waste away in the morning. Not to mention, he could just wake up, have a shower and in a few steps, there would be food available in the kitchen. "I think I could not get any lazier¡­" Jin woke up after a restful cultivating sleep early in the morning. Being at Grade 3 allowed him to sleep less and still be able to perform his daily work without harming his health. He figured at Grade 4, all he needed was two or three hours of uninterrupted sleep to survive each day. However, that would inadvertently affect his cultivation process since his cultivation style was based on sleeping while cultivating: the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda technique. Jin changed into a black tracksuit with a white shirt so it would be easier for him to move around later. A notification appeared on his phone and it was Zeru stating that he would be waiting for him in the shophouse. "Yun, I will be leaving first!" Jin shouted out loud before he left the house and took a jog to the shophouse. As he got in from the side door, Zeru was already sitting at one of the barstools with his eyes closed and hands folded. "Have your breakfast, then we will proceed," Zeru continued to speak with his eyes closed. Jin acknowledged his orders, took a few onigiris from the bar counter cabinet and started to eat in peace. Jin then noticed that Zeru was in a different outfit than his usual green hakama. It was maroon red in colour and it suited his long yellow hair that was tied into a ponytail. "Ready?" Zeru opened one of his eyes and stared at Jin. "Yes, I am." Jin nodded his head as he hastily swallowed the last bit of rice from the onigiri to drink a cup of water. "Good, now put this on." Zeru threw a parcel at Jin and when he opened it, he discovered a set of green wristbands and ankle bands. "Are these the infamous 100kg wristbands and ankle bands once they are activated?" Jin asked in a tongue in cheek manner to lighten the mood a little. "Close enough. Just wear those and we will start training. Yun gave me permission to open portals just for your training." Zeru maintained his seriousness and snapped his fingers, opening up a portal, while Jin followed as he put on the bands. When Jin arrived from the other side of the portal, there was nothing in sight but barren land all around him with a campsite prepared beside a large tree. The soil was grey in colour and the sun was shining so brightly that Jin felt like he was burning up. Thankfully, the enormous tree provided some shade from the blazing sun. Right behind him was Zeru wearing a circular straw hat he picked up from the campsite. "They call this place the Farm World and the system assisted me to purchase this land from the authorities." Zeru seemed to be untying a small satchel from his waist. "The land in this world is extremely fertilised and they have the blessing of their earth elementals which allowed the land to produce corps within a day or two. I have checked the time dilation with Yun and it is about half a day for 2 hours of your current Earth." "So I have roughly a day''s worth of time here before I start my shift back on Earth?" Jin checked his watch. "Yes, and this is your objective." Zeru passed the satchel to Jin and when he checked it, he found a bunch of seeds. "I will be generous to you as this your first time training. Grow these seeds within 5 days or I will leave your Bellator group." Zeru eyes glowed intensely and Jin realised he was not kidding. "But Shifu, I have no knowledge regarding farming at all and if I do 10 hours worth of work simultaneously, it might jeopardise the store''s intake of customers." Both Jin and Zeru had a mutual understanding that they should not affect the shop''s opening hours. However, the way Jin phrased his reply sounded like an excuse since Zeru noticed Jin was already showing some mental distress at the scale and magnitude of the task at hand. "Do not worry, I will take care of the necessary details, All you need to do is plough the land, place the seeds, and water them when needed. When you are not around, I will freeze the germination of the seeds." Jin heard a voice from behind but all he saw was a tree. A tree¡­? Jin quickly looked up and realised it was indeed the tree that was talking. "Aren''t you the Sakura Tree Treant in the Zither Mistress Dungeon?" Jin was taken aback that he felt the monster looked very familiar and it was talking to him in his own language. "Hah, I am more than a thousand years old. I have listened enough to speak the language of Human." The Sakura Tree Treant replied with a hearty guffaw. "This is Shu, he will be the caretaker of this farm when you are away tending to your store. Old Shu, I will be leaving my disciple in your care." Zeru thanked Shu for his cooperation in the training of his disciple. "No worries, it has been a long time since I have bullied a new budding. Hahahahah!" Both Shu and Zeru laughed loudly and left Jin feeling slightly awkward. "Anyways, those bands that you wore are magnetic bands." Zeru snapped his finger once more and Jin immediately fell to the ground with his legs closed together and his arms spread out wide like a cross. Jin felt an intense pain in his torso area as both of his hands were repelling each other. He then gathered some chi to power his muscles to maintain the movements, but it was barely enough to not feel any pain for the moment. "The armbands will repel while the ankle bands will attract. If you put all four bands close enough together, you will probably be squeezed into a ball." For the first time, Jin saw Zeru smile widely. "Is he a closet sadist?" Jin struggled to maintain his chi in his arms and shoulders. "With this handicap, plough the land, sow the seeds and water them. Shu will handle the rest of it. I will be back in 2 days time to check on your progress." Zeru waved his hand and teleported away. "Understood, Shifu." Jin bowed his head even though he was on the floor. "Haha Budding! Although the ground is extremely fertile, which makes it easy for your seeds to grow, you need lots of strength to break the ground, else you would be going nowhere." Shu spoke as he looked at Jin trembling. "I will do what I can¡­" Jin was not adept in the circulation of his chi. For the past few fights that he was in, all he do was blast the chi via his technique. Learning how to control his chi to maintain his muscle movement from the properties of the magnets while ploughing the land would indeed be a hassle. "I have to do this, if not Zeru will leave the group¡­" Jin gritted his teeth and tried to stand up. He knew this Master was the real deal and it would be his loss if he could not complete his training. "Hahaha, seeing a young budding struggling again. Brings back some memories." Shu thought to himself as he watched Jin silently for now. Chapter 80: Young Budding "Come on Budding, move your feet. We do not have all day!" Shu was waving its branches, trying to encourage Jin to stand up. However, each time he tried to do that, the magnets on his wristband would be attracted to his right ankle band. It made him adopt a fetal position where his back was leaned forward, head bowed, limbs were bent and drawn closed to the torso. "Just a question, why are you calling me Budding? Not bud or seedling?" Jin asked with his face planted on to the ground. He was getting tired of not being able to move the way he wanted. "Ohhh, are you lecturing me now?" Shu uprooted his own root and smacked Jin lightly with it. "Ouch! Why are you hitting me?" The root somehow managed to hit his butt. "Then why are you lecturing me? I am older!" Shu attacked helpless Jin again. "That does not mean you are right! Ow!" Jin managed to evade the strike for the first time. The root broke the ground effortlessly but Jin was too busy trying to avoid its attack that he did not notice. Nevertheless, he got smacked at the butt again by Shu. At the rate of Shu being needlessly provoked, Jin will indeed have a flower budding out of his butt by the end of the day. "I will call you whatever I like. Budding!" Once again, Shu lifted his root and wanted to smack poor Jin but Jin rolled around on the ground. It was the basis of Panda Tumbling a movement skill he had read briefly in the cultivation manual. Jin did not know that it would be useful in this situation. However, the more he tried to evade, the more violent and frequent the thrashing became. "Well. you do not make any sens- Wait wait wait I''ll like to parley!" Shu finally withheld its root and gave Jin a chance to talk. "How about a compromise? You call me seedling and I shall do a favour for you!" Jin was gasping for air after rolling crazily around on the barren ground. "How about accepting the word budding!" Shu was still angry that Jin tried to correct him. "Before that, why are you insistent on the word budding?" Jin was really curious. Was Shu really arrogant to not change his ways or did something happen to him? "Because¡­" Shu was dumbfounded by Jin''s question and tried to search his memories but all he could remember was a scene of a married couple carrying a newborn baby girl. He clearly remembered that was the first time its sakura flowers were beginning to grow. "Look! The tree is finally budding!" The mother was rocking the sleeping baby girl as she pointed at one of the sakura buds from the tree. "Hahahha, our efforts to revitalise this ancient tree worked! How about commemorating the tree''s revitalisation and her birth by inscribing her name on this tree? If she ever feel that she lost her calling, this old ancient tree may act as a symbol of strength and stability for her?" The father spoke with much kindness in his voice as he kissed his baby child on her forehead. "You druids trust your trees too much." The mother asked her significant other to hold the baby and she weaved a spell in midair with two fingers. A magical symbol appeared and an egg emerged out of the magical symbols. The moment the mother grabbed the egg, it cracked and a small white snake with red eyes popped out in front of her. To her pleasant surprise, the baby snake had its first contact with their cute little baby girl and it immediately slithered towards her to lick. "Well, that saved me a lot of effort for imprinting my gift to our baby girl." The mother chuckled "Then I shall say the same to you. You beast summoners trust your animals too much." The father laughed heartily as he passed the baby to his wife. "Not funny, dear. What are you going to name our child?" The mother gently caressed the bark of the ancient tree. "Have we already not decided? Ke Mi. Cute and sweet." The father laughed loudly again as he inscribed the name on the Sakura Tree with a few other druidic symbols on it. "I do hope the seeds of these young budding sakura flowers will eventually grow into magnificent trees too." At that point when the father placed the druidic symbols on the tree, Shu was born. As Shu was reminiscing the past, it unknowingly released his chi through the gentle swaying of its leaves and infused with the memories of his past. Jin who was in desperate need of chi from the overexertion of his chi absorbed Shu''s chi and learnt the past of his awakening. Treants are fairly unique creatures as they were one of the many helping hands of nature. The chi they released were similar to how normal trees produced oxygen. Both the environment and cultivators can easily harness the chi treants released into the ecosystem or body and converting it for their own use. "Isn''t that the Zither Mistress?" Jin remarked to himself. "You know her? I will call you seedling if you can find her for me." Shu heard Jin and realised he could be absorbing its chi and possibly read its memories too. "Hahahahah! What are you talking about? That girl is in the same dungeon as you!" Jin could not believe if Shu was joking. "What? How can that be? That girl with that evil aura within her? You must be kidding me!" Shu shook its branches vigorously. "I am clearly not joking with you." For some reason, Shu''s chi was churning wildly within Jin and he managed to get up slowly from the fetal position although it took a lot of concentration. Jin painstakingly took his phone out of his pocket and tapped the monster app with all his effort to show Shu the stats of Zither Mistress. Suddenly, a bright light shone out from his phone and Zither Mistress was riding the Great White Snake right in front of Jin. "How did she even appear?" Jin immediately looked at his phone and saw that the picture of Zither Mistress had disappeared from the stats profile. "Is that really her?" Shu bent its trunk and looked at her closely. However, instead of letting Shu look at her, the Great White Snake brought Zither Mistress to the back of Shu where the druidic symbols were inscribed. It signalled her to touch Shu and though she was initially hesitant, she plucked her courage up and laid her palm on the symbols. At that instant, a burst of warm light enveloped Zither Mistress and the Great White Snake. "It really is her¡­" Jin saw a tear dropped from Shu''s face on its upper trunk. The lush green foliage it initially had, immediately grew young buds of sakura flowers out of its stalks. "Ke Mi¡­" This was the first time the Zither Mistress spoke and she teared upon touching the druidic symbols. The young buds immediately bloomed into sakura flowers and petals started to fall as if to reminisce the scene when Shu had first awakened. "Seedling. You have done me a great service for finding my creator''s daughter." Shu bowed slightly to Jin. "Please Shu, I didn''t do anything at all. The system conveniently placed the two of you together." Jin waved off and refused to accept any thanks. "Ahh, regardless I believe the first part of your training is completed." Shu chuckled as it asked Jin to look around him. The majority of the thrashing that Jin evaded had thoroughly softened the land. In addition, the tear fell from Shu''s wooden eyes was a Tear of the Treant. A fairly precious item, if collected, which had the ability to enrich this barren land. "All you need to do now is to plough the land. For an old treant, I''m really nice aren''t I? Now, off you go Seedling. Continue your training as I catch up with young Ke Mi." Shu shook its branch as if asking Jin to move away from them. "Oh, and the copper hoe is right beside the tent." Shu then started talking to Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress. "Speaking of copper, I guess the system''s phone is indeed omnipotent for it not to be affected by such strong magnetic waves." Jin thought to himself as he controlled his muscles and walked like a tin man towards the tent. Chapter 81: Magnetic Bands Jin sat near the copper hoe for a break. Even though he had the chi of the treant, he was losing too much due to the lack of control. "Perhaps, I can circulate my chi around the magnetic bands? I wonder if that will help?" he thought of the way magnetism works, the stuff he learned in university and high school and wondered if he could stimulate chi energy into electromagnetic force. However, he later abandoned the idea as he realised that magnetic force was a force that was too complicated without proper computation of numbers. He also had to derive atomic structures and electrons to simulate the magnetism through his chi. If he could not control his chi to that kind of degree, he might as well think of something else. Right now, all Jin was doing with his chi was counteracting the effect of the magnetic bands through brute force. Forcing all his chi to move throughout his muscles so that he could withstand the repelling and attraction of the magnets. The brute force method would actually have worked if he had substantial understanding of the anatomy of his body in relation to his chi points. Unfortunately, he was not a medical student nor was he well versed with the chi points of his body. He knew the basics but not enough to make much of a difference. However, assuming he had an unlimited amount of chi, the brute force method would actually work. All he needed to do was burst his chi throughout his body. Even if he did have an unlimited amount of chi, maintaining it required a tremendous amount of chi and the extent of the strenuous damage to his body would eventually kill him within a day. At the moment, as he was using his own chi to control his muscle movements, he was able to cope with the strain using his current cultivation grade but he would not be able to maintain it all the time for five days consecutively. The way his chi flowed wastefully out of him into the surroundings made him feel like he was an overheated piece of metal just out from the furnace. "Overheated¡­.that''s right! Magnets might lose their magnetism if intense heat is applied to them. Or maybe it could reduce the strength of magnetism. Argh, I guess I really returned what I learnt back to my lecturers." Jin sighed even though he finally remembered a part of his studies during his high school days. The reason why heat could destroy magnetism was that magnetism followed a strict degree of order. If one creates chaotic movement in the atoms, the atoms in the metal would lose their electron pairing. "But I don''t exactly remember the right temperature. All I do know is that the correct temperature is somewhere around water''s boiling point for ferromagnetic materials. Let''s see if the method works¡­.if I can concentrate enough chi to produce heat near the bands and not scald or burn myself in the process hahaha!" Jin bitterly laughed to himself. Jin went further away from the campsite, in case he accidentally burned the whole place down. When he felt that he had adequately distanced himself away from the campsite, he concentrated his chi circulation and focused it on his hands. At first, it started to get warm slowly but at approximately 50 degrees Celsius, not only his hands got hot, the surroundings were scorching too. "Damn, I should focus it within my palms and not radiate it out. Or else I will be the one burning up and not the magnet." Jin wiped his sweat away with his sleeves. "What if I follow those useless motivational workshops that I had to attend in university for points. Those image training exercises to attain a specific goal." Jin thought to himself before he took a deep breath and tried again. With an image of carrying a bowling ball, he imagined concentrating the chi between his three fingers. He figured that it was better to think something smaller and detailed than abstract ideas like being rotated in a microwave or imagining that you were one with the chi. Jin was a science oriented person, he needed theory and hands-on experience to understand something fully. However, when it comes to the mysterious system that he was bestowed with, he could only grudgingly accept the fact that trying to understand it would be a waste of time for now. Initially, the chi within his three fingers began to gather but it was leaking chi out to the surroundings again. However, it was a start. At least it flowed to where he wanted it to be. Next, he imaged a container. Not a simple plastic container but a container with many layers of protection. Something like keeping a priceless national jewel in a safe box that was placed in a vault, which was protected by multiple layers of security and hidden hundreds of metres under the ground. That was his image of moving the chi in an enclosed environment. Slowly, his chi was circulating within his three phalanges but it was not hot enough, he probably felt it was roughly 40 degrees Celsius. "Not enough, I need it to be at least boiling point of water to let it lose some of its ferromagnetism." Jin seemed a little more confident and the chi that pulsed through him was no longer just Shu''s chi. His dantian seemed to have adapted to the consumption of chi that Jin needed to overcome his trial and started to produce more. In addition, the surroundings did not feel as hot as he had been feeling previously although the sun was still blazing right above him. "Next, I need to ensure I do not get burnt by my own chi or have it explode in front of me." Jin now imaged himself to have duplicated layers of skins and those skins were the layers of chi he needed to form in order for the chi to envelope him. Soon, he felt that it was hot enough for the experiment. He slowly showed an eagle claw gesture with his three fingers and placed it near the magnetic wristband. Suddenly, the wristband moved by itself the moment it got in contact with the heat and it started to crawl along Jin''s body! "What the?!" Jin was surprised by the change of circumstances and saw that not just that particular wristband that was behaving that way. The other three bands immediately move around Jin like a centipede crawling hastily all around his body. "So, you finally found the trick to defeat the living armour?" Shu spoke to Jin as it saw the metal bands crawling alonghis body. "What? You mean these are not magnetic bands?" Jin was finally able to relax without being restricted into a cross figure. "They are a sort of training gift by Master Zeru. He knew that you would be able to break the living armour quickly because you are too lazy for your own good so he decided to add the traditional option in the living armour with a little twist." Shu purposely sneezed and suddenly Jin felt something weighing him down. "The traditional option?" Jin then realised it was the living armour that became heavier. "Aye, the living armour now adds weight but it will randomly move around your body. This way, you will have to shift and handle the weight of your body during your farming. In addition, the weight will increase by 10 kg every hour. Right now, it''s 50kg per living armour." Shu laughed loudly. "Wait, is this living armour weak to heat?" Jin was a bit concerned. "Nah it can withstand more. This was meant to be just a test to see if you were using your brains or if you were going to force your way out through the ordeal. Either way, you completed your task and received this gift from your master." Shu yawned when it was explaining. "Also, you looked like you have grasped the basic idea of controlling your chi from this part of training too." "Then it is time to do the manual labour fast." Jin figured he wasted an hour or two in the Farm World trying to figure out how to solve the magnetic bands but things would only get harder if he did not continue fast enough. Not to mention, he was already exhausted from expending his chi even though his Dantian was producing a higher quantity of fresh chi quicker than before. Jin finally picked up the copper hoe and started to plough the land with the additional 200kg of weight shifting all around his body. Chapter 82: Jacks "Hey! Look at that guy there, he is ploughing the land faster than any of us are able to do!" From a distance, a man dressed in a brown shirt was lying prone on the ground with his binoculars looking at Jin. "But it looks like he had difficulty ploughing the land despite that rate he is going." Another man in grey commented as he took the binoculars from his friend. This was the first time both of them saw this unknown farmer around the area and there were suspicions that this was the person they had been looking for. "How could anyone not pay tribute to the Jacks if they wish to create a farm in this area?" A guy in a yellow shirt was crawled was crawling angrily towards them. "It is either he does not know the rules or he was the one we are all looking for" Brown spoke out. "If that is so, why are we being so cautious against him? We could just walk towards him and clobber this little boy." Yellow was not in agreement with Brown. "You want the same incident to happen again after that Z scarred monster ambushed the entire hideout just for that bag of seeds?" Grey replied with spite to Yellow. "That is why Boss is going to ask his cousin for reinforcements. After you confirmed the seeds are in the possession of that farmer, we will strike. Seeing how the farmer moves, he probably used large amount of money to hire that Z scarred loser once and it appeared like he does not have the capability to go against us." The person in yellow shirt spoke with a certain animosity in his tone. "Hahaha! He will not take us by surprise this time round again" Brown scoffed. "Ah! Shhhh! You guys are making too much noise!" Grey was enraged that they might expose their hiding place despite being at least a few kilometres away from Jin. "Look! He is really holding on to the seeds!" Grey sneered when he saw Jin took out the exact same satchel that was missing from their base. "Then we shall act now before he stupidly plants those seeds." Brown wanted to pounce on the opportunity. "Well, if he does. Hold any actions for now." Grey suddenly changed his orders and stared at Brown whom he reluctantly acknowledged it. "Yellow, gather our remaining brothers to take revenge and let''s hope boss will bring his reinforcements," Grey commanded Yellow and he sped off into the wilderness. "You previously said to strike immediately. Are you really that afraid of that Z scarred loser and a useless novice farmer boy?" Brown was still angry he could not strike while the iron was hot. "Stupid, take a look at the side of the farmer. There seems to be a great white snake with a little girl playing some sort of instrument." Grey returned Brown the binoculars and he managed to catch a glimpse of the little girl. "Ah, so you think we should kidnap that girl and use her for a ransom since he is rich??" Brown asked Grey which Grey responded with a knock at Brown''s head. "Stupid! Are you ignoring the fact there is a Great White Snake?!" Grey barked at him. "With our strength and speed, we can definitely outrun that Great White Snake!" Brown retorted but Grey knocked his head once more. "How stupid can you get! This means the farmer is not an easy one. We should wait for more brothers to come and attack all at once. Let''s see what will happen when you mess with the Jacks." Grey smiled as he continued to survey the situation with Brown. Separately, Jin was ploughing through the broken barren land for about 2 hours straight and he finally got the hang oo ploughing as he tried to be as systematic he could after creating a row of ploughed land. After laboriously loosening the soil, Jin was thinking of sowing some seeds before he continue ploughing additional land. Hence, he thought to open the satchel which Zeru, his Bellator and Shifu, gave him to take a look at it. The seeds inside the satchel were sparkling like diamonds and he knew he would not be able to identify them. Perhaps he might know what he would be planting if Shu the Treant gave him some details. "Since they are sparkling, I guess they are worth quite a lot too." Jin shrugged his shoulders and suddenly felt the strain from the weight of the living armour. Fortunately, Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress was happily playing her Zither with her Great White Snake lying lazily right beside her. The tune was the only thing that broke the monotony of the back breaking ploughing. For some reason, the tune motivated Jin further and he appreciated any help or encouragement he could get. Meanwhile, the living armour was circulating around him and shifting their weight to counteract his centre of gravity. This constantly made him lost his balance and he had to shift his weight regularly to make sure he does not fall and break the momentum. Fortunately, the previous self image training of chi allowed him to picture how to control his chi for his lower limb muscle movements in order to not fall from the weight of the living armour. Jin also used Lazy Panda Swipe technique to power his arm movements which made ploughing of the land much easier. "Two hoe spaces for one seed. So judging by the amount of land you have ploughed, you need at least a third more. After that, you can call it a day. I would fertilise the land with the Tear of the Treant over the night so plant the seeds tomorrow. Like what I have said. Your objective is to plough, plant and water the plants when needed." Shu commented and Jin acknowledged with glee. A little more and he can relax! Another one hour in Farm World passed by. The living armour got heavier, Jin was breathless from all the work but he finally ploughed the land required for the seeds. "Alright Ke Mi, I will talk to you another day, it is time for your Master to return back." Shu smiled at Ke Mi and she disappeared after waving goodbye. "Thanks Shu but how do I return?" Jin asked as he bent down to put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "Inside the tent has an open portal waiting for you to jump in. I had informed Zeru." Shu replied. As Jin went into the tent and returned to the real world, the Jacks'' first wave of reinforcement arrived. "Grey, I brought the brothers along. Boss said that he would arrive the next day with a special guest but let''s finish this as soon as possible so we can make Boss proud! Is that farmer still there?" Yellow was jovial. "Right in the tent resting. Let''s strike now, the little girl and snake had disappeared!" Brown did not know how such a large snake disappeared right in front of his eyes but he did not care. He knew the farmer was still in the tent. "Then let''s go!" Yellow gestured to his brothers the small tent and they rushed madly to the tent. Meanwhile, Shu wanted to extend its roots before noticing the commotion from afar. "Perhaps I should not cultivate the land for now." Shu kept its roots to itself and camouflaged its face with some of its tree bark. The Jacks arrived at the tent and surrounded it with no weapons. Yellow took the initiative to rip open the tent to find no one was inside. "What! Where did he go?!" Yellow was particularly annoyed. "His scent seemed to stop here too." Grey kneeled to smell the ground. "Is he underground?" Brown asked as he searched but it was of no use. "Argh! That''s why I said we should have struck him when he was holding the seeds! Now we would not know where the seeds are." Yellow became frustrated. "No worries, judging from this freshly ploughed plot of land, I believe he will be back," Grey said. "Then let''s thrash his land, this will give him a warning not to mess with the Jacks!" Yellow shouted which the other brothers agreed with and even Grey was surprisingly accepting to this act of rashness. "Haha! These humans. How are they going to destroy the ploughed land? With their own hands and legs?" Shu smirked a little and some of its leaves rustled from the movement. However, Shu later realised it was dead wrong and its mouth went wide open for a moment. They were indeed using their hands and legs to destroy the ploughed land as each and every one of them began to slowly metamorphose into a beastlike form. The Jacks were a clan of werejackals. Chapter 83: Yellow "Alright, I think we have done enough damage." Grey was satisfied with the destruction the Jacks had brought to the farm. The tent was ripped into pieces and any equipment related to farming was broken. Instead of just kicking up the nicely ploughed land, the Jacks went an extra mile and dug massive holes all around the farm. They even scooped up the topsoil of the entire farm and put them in sandbags. "I did not expect that such good quality soil was hidden in this barren area for such a long time," Brown observed the topsoil with its clawed hand before carrying the large sandbag full of it away. Despite being werejackals, they were also experienced farmers in the Farm World so they understood the importance of good soil and fertilisers. "Yellow, you hated that novice farmer right? Then stay here until he appears. Howl and we will come to your assistance." Grey gave Yellow specific instructions before ordering the rest to carry the bags of soil back to their new hideout. At that instant, the large ancient tree at the centre of the barren land rustled and Sakura flower petals started falling to the ground. Some of the petals even fell into the sandbags of soil. All of the werejackals immediately looked up at the tree and saw that there was no threat above them. They did not even bother to ask why there was a blooming tree in the middle of the barren land. They saw too many weird things sprouting in the Farm World and a blooming tree in a barren land was nothing compared to the miracles they had seen. "I will climb up just to be sure." Brown volunteered and easily jumped up to the highest branch of the tree to check for any movements. As it landed on the tree branch, he suddenly felt a prick from where he was standing "Ah darn it, I did not notice that at all." Brown immediately tried to remove the wood splinter and he caused a lot of ruckus on the tree branch while trying to do so. More the Sakura flower petals were shaken from the tree and fell onto the werejackals and more were mixed with the topsoil. "Anything there?" Yellow was excitedly anticipating to see if that useless farm boy was hiding up in the tree but Brown signalled to them there was no threat. "Just a splinter." He finally took it out and jumped down from the tree. "Let''s go then. Yellow, be careful of him. He might have some things up his sleeves if he can disappear just like that." Grey warned Yellow but Yellow sort of ignored his kind advice. "Hahaha, I know what we should do." Yellow gestured to his two fellow trusty werejackals as they took out beer and meat from their rucksack and started to use the campsite near the big ancient tree. Grey shook its head and ordered the rest to return. Shu was standing there as stationary as he could. He knew he could kill the three werejackals but that would be a waste. It was obvious that Jin was their target. "Hohoho, let''s see how Seedling reacts to this when he gets back. It will be a nice show to watch." Separately, Jin finally returned to the shop and the cool air conditioning blowing at his face was very comforting. He looked at the time and realised he still had 45 minutes to an hour before he opened his store. "You should take a shower." Yun was at the side of the bar counter drinking her black ivory coffee again. She subsequently passed a plastic bag to Jin. "There is a set of fresh new clothes in here, go up and shower." "Thanks, Yun." Jin took the plastic bag and noticed that he felt lighter. The living armour was finally not moving around him when he was in the store and did not suppress him with training weights. He immediately went to take a refreshing shower and found that all four bands that were on him suddenly shifted and turned themselves into one digital watch after his shower. "Wow, quite a handy feature." "It helps act as your storage space too. Very convenient, is it not?" Yun smiled at Jin as she knew Jin did not have a personalised storage item for some reason. All he had been using was a simple storage ring that was bestowed upon him by his grandfather, Ming. However, Yun did not tell Jin that it was her who gave Zeru the living armour bands. "When it is not trying to put you down with weights, probably." Jin nodded his head and saw the time on his new watch. "But I liked the black sleek design. I should thank Shifu Zeru for it." Jin smiled a little and looked at his to-do list on his phone. "45 minutes left. I should start doing the coupon booklet before the submission deadline by Friday. Oh no. This is pandastic. My training ends on Friday too." Jin suddenly developed a big headache. "Perhaps you can finish Zeru''s training by today and you have more time for the coupon booklet," Yun suggested. "But won''t that mean I need to close the store for a day?" Jin started to ponder if it was really worth it to close his shop. "Quite a number of shopkeepers take off for cultivation purposes, more so for dungeon suppliers. Besides, it''s oddly weird for a lazy person like you to not take a day off in weeks." Yun replied with slight curiosity. "True, alright. I will just post an announcement to say we are closed for today." Jin chuckled at Yun''s indirect praise of being hardworking. "Already did!" Yun stuck her tongue out at the side of her mouth and gave a peace sign. "You planned this, didn''t you ?" Jin rolled his eyes up and his head was titled sidewards as he sighed once more. Jin knew that Shu was prepping the lands with fertilisers so he figured he could take a short lunch break which consisted of a plate of delicious curry rice and a can of invigorating bamboo juice before going back to Farm World. "All the best, Jin." Yun snapped her fingers and a portal appeared. "You must be kidding me." Jin arrived back at Farm World and saw three wolfish looking humans sitting at his campsite drinking beer and eating barbecue meat. Not to mention, the fields were utterly destroyed with holes and hills of soil. Jin''s dejected expression was so priceless that Shu could barely hide his laughter. "Oh, so our little farm boy is back. Alone." Yellow bit a large piece of meat from his barbecue stick. He signalled his two underlings to attack Jin and they smashed their bottles and sticks on the ground before dashing towards Jin. "Now I am really mad." Seeing that they are monsters, Jin thought he might as well capture them and get the truth out from them. With his phone on his left hand, the living armour transformed to their usual shapes and turned heavier again. Fortunately, it was not randomly shifting itself around the body so concentrating chi to support the weight in one area was much easier than before. The werejackal underlings were going for a two-pronged attack on Jin but he was not going to defend. Instead, Jin was greedy and bolted towards Yellow. "Stupid farm boy, know your limits!" Yellow bit the last part of his meat and he howled as loud as he could before swiping his claws at Jin. Jin quickly unsheathed Bam, the katana form of his weapon and clashed with Yellow. Yellow laughed when the katana did not make a single scratch on its claw hand and thought this was the perfect opportunity to counterattack. Just as Yellow was about to bite Jin''s neck, Jin opened his mouth first and a large beam of chi energy was directed at Yellow''s chest. A gaping hole appeared in the middle of Yellow''s chest as the chi beam momentarily pierced through the skies before it dissipated. "What! " Yellow tried to back off as he coughed out a large amount of blood but without any delay, a left hook was sent straight into at his face. "Lazy Panda Swipe!" Jin delivered a deadly combination of his swipe technique infused with chi along with the support of the living armour causing Yellow''s head to be flying off for quite a distance. At that particular moment, the phone had already touched Yellow''s body and the phone started its capturing process. "Capture complete," Yun said in his thoughts. Jin looked at the other two underlings and they were shaking. What useless farm boy? This farm boy just took care of a senior werejackal and they tried to run away. "Oh no, you don''t." Roots suddenly extended from Shu and grabbed the underlings by their legs. It then dragged the two werejackal underlings towards it while the werejackals desperately tried to run away from it. "The soil that my Seedling ploughed tenaciously was destroyed and taken, I think some repayment of fertilisers is needed." The roots pulled the underlings a few metres above the ground and brought them to Shu''s mouth. "Thank you for the meal." Shu opened its tree barked mouth wide and stuffed the two underlings inside its mouth before closing it. All Jin could see were helpless claws trying to hold onto the edge of Shu''s mouth but it was futile as Shu munched on them. Shu later gave a loud burp. "Gah, beer battered Jackals." Chapter 84: Shifu Zeru Jin opened his phone and checked the status of the newly captured monster. "So, it''s a werejackal. Hmm, the stats profile said this monster can be placed either in the Zither Mistress dungeon or Goblin dungeon." Jin looked up and stared at Shu for a while. "Nope, they are already in my stomach and I am not spitting it out for you to capture. That would be gross. Look over the horizon instead." Shu pointed towards the north with its tree branches and Jin saw a pack of similar looking werejackals running towards him. "I wonder if it is okay to call my bellators for support?" Jin figured this could be a part of Zeru''s training but there was no way to fight such a large pack. He would definitely be outnumbered. They were not like the zombies, easily countered and killed. "Ask and thou will receive." Zeru appeared out of Jin''s phone and stared at the horizon for a while. "What is with that cheesy line? And I thought you would only return two days later?" Jin gave his Shifu a vexed look. "Sometimes things do not go exactly as planned, and this is one such example," Zeru said in a cool and calm voice that oddly made Jin uneasy. When Jin thought about it, he was, in fact, the first disciple Zeru had taken. In a way, he was an inexperienced teacher since he only fought for himself and his master. At the very least, he was trying to teach. "Perhaps, he should not force himself too hard and use the traditional route of teaching students." Jin thought to himself. "Actually, Zeru''s master did not really teach him much and mostly gave him lots of weird errands to do. I think Zeru is trying to imitate his master and he hopes that you will learn in the same way he did. Guess it was not working too well. That was why he decided to appear early to amend his mistakes." Yun said in Jin''s thought. "I noticed that your sword skills are still unpolished from the previous brief fight with the yellow Werejackal. While you did utilise your cultivation techniques, you did not have any proper sword techniques to complement it. It would be quite the disgrace if other people knew Zeru''s disciple cannot hold a sword properly." Zeru unfolded a cloth that was covering his wooden sword. "Hence, I shall teach you by sparring with you right here, right now. Try to learn everything." Zeru raised his sword as a sign of challenge to Jin. "What? But those werejackals are coming!" Jin started to have cold sweat as Zeru was going to duel right in front of the werejackals. "Then shoo them away as we fight. Right now, I am giving you five seconds before I start my attack." Zeru beckoned Jin to start, or he would make a move. Jin just gritted his teeth and rushed forward with his sword. "Your centre of gravity is out of place and I can easily see where you are aiming. Were the shifting weights from the living armour insufficient training?" With his wooden sword still sheathed at his waist, Zeru dodged Jin''s attack with just a slight shuffle of his feet. After which, he used his wooden sword''s hilt to bash Jin''s stomach, making Jin nauseous, almost throwing up in the process due to the sharp pain in his abdomen. "Do not rely on speed and strength alone. It might work now against belligerent dumb creatures but what if you met a true sword master? Get up once more." Zeru was serious in his duel with Jin. He really did want Jin to improve. "Yellow is gone!" Brown shouted as he sighted the Z scarred monster and the farm boy fighting each other. Although it seemed like a one-sided battle. "Then we attack them all together and grab the farm boy''s body. Take him away from the Z scarred monster and check if he still has those seeds," Grey shouted furiously and took his axe out while he was running. "That stupid yellow, I told him to be more careful." "Grey! Boss will be coming earlier than expected since this area is closer to the reinforcements. He also said he has a big surprise for that darn z scarred monster once he arrives." Brown relayed the message to Grey. Brown was able to pick up far-reaching howls due to his were-powers bestowing an increased sensitivity of hearing. The werejackals like Brown and Grey each had an attribute raised abnormally high from living a certain number of years. For Grey, it was an increase in intelligence and magical abilities. Hence, he was the logistic and strategic head for the Jacks. He could manage a simple fire or ice spell with ease. Most werejackals could never dream of having the chance to do so. Despite that, both Brown and Grey were competent fighters which was why they each had a name based on their fur colour. Their boss bestowed these titles to differentiate themselves from the underlings. "Good, let''s go!" Grey raised its axe and signalled the whole pack of werejackals to charge forward. Jin fell to the ground once more and Zeru had yet to unsheathe his wooden sword when fighting against him. There were only hilt strikes, kicks, punches and even a slap, but that does not mean Jin was not learning. He did not realise there were so many simple ways to counter swords solely with hand to hand combat. Jin in desperation took some sand and threw it at Zeru before attacking. "Decent move, but you threw it too early, I can anticipate your next attack without keeping an eye on your movements." Zeru rushed forward and grappled Jin during the sand attack which made Jin drop Bam. While in a grapple hold, Jin had a hard time breathing due to the pain. "Looks like our party crashers have arrived. Pick your sword up, I shall spar with you properly." Zeru released Jin and unsheathed his wooden sword. Jin suddenly heard a loud howling voice from behind but before he could do anything, Zeru dashed past Jin in a flash and smacked the werejackal down to the ground with his wooden sword. Zeru promptly continued his move set by stabbing the wooden sword into Jin from the back. Thankfully, Jin was ready for the strike and blocked with Boo before he attempted to pierce Zeru. "You need to lock your wrist when you thrust. Take note of your footwork too. Also, why do I feel like there is a lack of conviction to attack me? Are you scared of me? If you are, how are you going to fight in the future if there is a threat against your loved ones? Or your customers?" With each question, Zeru pushed Jin back even further. Jin disengaged from Zeru, only to find out he was going to get pounced on by another werejackal. Somehow, the movements of the werejackal were slower than Zeru and Jin used Boo again to block the werejackal''s swipe attack. Instead of disengaging, Jin lunged onto the werejackal and used Bam in his right hand, to stab the werejackal in the throat. He quickly dropped Boo and the handphone appeared from his wristbands which he used immediately to capture the werejackal. "Capture complete," Yun said in his mind. "Haha, I see that you found another function for the living armour. To store your phone between the wristbands for easier access." Zeru moved like a flying arrow towards Jin and he successfully landed a hit on Jin''s back which caused Jin to fall to the ground again. However, this time three werejackals directed their fury towards Zeru, which gave Jin a split second breather to retaliate back against him. "Excellent, you are learning." Zeru twirled his wooden sword with his fingers and blocked all four attacks simultaneously. Jin could only find himself bewildered by Zeru''s techniques. Zeru smiled and continued to attack Jin but as time went by, Jin got more and more used to Zeru''s attack. Now he managed to defend himself from at least half of the attacks. To both master and disciple, the werejackals were like flies attracted to the delicious smelling food. Grey, who was observing the fight from the sidelines, knew it would be stupid to intervene in the duel between the farm boy and the Z scarred monster. He also realised the farm boy was capable of making his brothers disappear into nothingness. He counted six werejackals who disappeared. In addition, the Z scarred swordsman was not even making an effort to kill the werejackals, unlike in the previous ambush where they greatly suffered as he searched for the sparkling seeds. Brown was itching to prove his worth but Grey stopped him. "Wait for Boss to come. In the meantime, let those two humans wear each other out." "Heh, you do not need to wait any longer," Brown smirked as they heard an echoing howl behind them. Both turned to look and saw a large praying mantis hovering above them with two towering figures at the top of it. "Boss Gold and Lady Boss Cat are here." Brown howled loudly and charged towards Jin. Chapter 85: Perfectly Normal Parry Slash "Gold, have you been out of practice that you need help against a puny little farm boy and a pretty boy with a scar on his face?" Lady Boss Meomi, the werecat yawned and stretched her paws. The golden fur werejackal jumped from the flying praying mantis as he ignored the werecat and landed on a werejackal underling that was about to flee from the battle. He turned the werejackal around to face him and pulled his upper mouth to the side until he ripped it out of its mouth and shoved it into its throat until it died. "I do not need weaklings in my clan and do not go back on your word when all of you swore that you will fight to the bitter end for the clan." Gold tore apart the dead werejackal''s chest and gouged his beating heart out of the spastic body. The heart was still throbbing in Gold''s claws as he took a bite of it. The heart contained the raw were-powers which further powered Gold for his own purpose. Normally, he would not do such a thing and closed an eye to the matter by disciplining the werejackal and giving a stern punishment. However, he was more terrified of the monster right in front of him than the monster he was going to become. Grey knew that Gold had no choice but to show authority not just to the werejackals that were fighting a hopeless battle but also to his ''friend'' that came along with him. Meomi was considered as one of the up and coming leading were-humans to take over the were-human community and Gold hoped that he could at least be her right-hand man so that he could bring the prestige of Jacks up. "Commendable effort to impress me but nevertheless futile." Meomi gently stepped down from the praying mantis after it landed. "So Gold, which boy do you want to give me?" "The¡­farm boy." Gold actually wanted Meomi to battle against Zeru since he knew his limits but after showing such an act of power, he could not possibly back down. "I can sense your reluctance. Do not say the werecat Meomi is not a cat of great benevolence." The werecat took out its whip with a double-bitted axe attached at the end of the whip instead of a cracker. "Besides, I think I want to caress that scar of his. Purrrrr." Zeru yet again dodged Jin''s crude attempt at wounding him but this time, he grabbed Jin by his collar and performed a judo throw. With Zeru''s face exceedingly close to Jin''s, he started to whisper. "Take this technique cube. Press on that button and you will learn part one of my ''Perfectly Normal Parry Slash'' which will be more than useful for most fights right now." Jin suddenly felt a gentle nudge on his abdominal area from Zeru. Jin quickly picked up the cube and searched for the button while being grappled from the judo throw. "Found it!" Jin thought to himself and he immediately pressed the button but a large jolt was suddenly discharged from the cube which paralysed him for a while. However, to the were-humans, it seemed Jin was spasming in the grapple lock and they thought it was the best opportunity they would get to hurt the both of them. At the very least, the farm boy could be taken away from the Z scarred swordsman. Even Grey thought it was the best chance they could have and rushed forward. "Naive." Meomi decided to chip in a bit of effort into this ''perceived'' attack of opportunity by magically extending her axe whip to attack Zeru, hoping she would distract the pretty boy enough to not let this be a one-sided slaughter. Unsurprisingly, Zeru did what was expected by Meomi. He released Jin and with a swing of his sword, a small spiral cyclone was generated right in front of him. "Perfectly Normal Sword Cyclone," Zeru spoke under his breath as he saw each and every werejackal that rushed in cut, with multiple sword wounds, by the cyclone attack. "Hmmm. Now I understand why you needed me against him. Well, this also got me even more interested in him. Go get the seeds back." Meomi sent her orders and Gold ran the long way to prevent getting hit by the sword cyclone. While Jin was paralysed for that few seconds, his muscle memory and brain receptors were actively changing within him through the immense jolt that he received from the technique cube. When Jin was finally able to move, he quickly dragged himself away from Zeru and picked up Boo again. He placed Boo in his living armour which acted as his storage space and stabilised his stance. At that instant, his body felt an imminent presence right beside him and swiftly turned to deflect an incoming attack. "What?! He can predict my Dark Shadow Claws?" Gold''s black claws, which were as long as a machete and could not be seen especially in the night, were easily countered by Jin. What he did not expect next was that the katana blade slides along his claws and slit one of the tendons at his wrist. Gold immediately disengaged and felt an overwhelming sense of fear rising from within. "How did that farm boy execute the same attack as that Z scarred monster?!" On the other hand, Jin was overly surprised by that attack he just performed. He was sure that it was definitely part of the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash. "Because when you are sparring with Zeru, an abrupt mission was created. The criteria of the mission is to defend against Zeru''s strikes at least 150 times. And the moment you achieved it, Zeru''s knowledge turned into a series of readable data that can be easily absorbed by the brain and stored in a technique cube. That was why he abruptly stopped the fight the moment he realised the cube was formed." Yun explained to Jin in his thoughts. "However, that parry slash technique will only occur once every five attacks. You have to train every day to get increase the proficiency of that technique. It is the same for your Lazy Panda Swipes and Panda Yawning beams. Hard work still matters." "That is still good news," Jin smirked and started to rush towards Gold. Based on the recent experience, he knew that his normal sword strikes were not strong enough to damage an average werejackal. Jin also needed to utilise the strength from Lazy Panda Swipe for his attacks to injure the werejackal. With that said, the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash technique was formidable enough to wound the boss werejackal, Gold, without using any chi. "Even though you are capable like that monster swordsman, your thinking is still akin to a simple farm boy." Gold howled loudly but his howl sounded different from what Jin had heard previously. True enough, the werejackals, that were initially injured from Zeru''s sword cyclone attack, executed a high jump from their positions and all of them were going to land on Jin with fangs thirsty and hungry for a proper kill. "Uh ah ah! Right now, I am your opponent, pretty boy. Rejoice!" Meomi pounced on Zeru as he gave a quick glance at Jin but she missed completely when Zeru shuffled to the side. In response, she followed up her pounce with a low kick which Zeru was completely aware of and used his wooden sword to stop her in her tracks. Unfortunately, that was not the end as she was acrobatic enough to shift her weight to her left hand and attempted to strike Zeru once more with her axe whip. "I do wish to kill you instantly but you are currently not my master''s attention. So I shall entertain you until he cleared some jackal waste." Zeru raised his sword and blocked the axe whip as he used his left hand to grab Meomi''s leg and threw her to the sakura tree. Despite that throw, Meomi managed to reposition herself in midair and she intended to use the tree trunk as a springboard for her to propel towards Zeru. Her plan was sound minded in theory but she did not expect one thing as her eyes were not focusing on the tree but Zeru. Shu opened his mouth the moment Zeru threw her and Meomi''s legs were in Shu''s mouth before she realised it was too late. Chapter 86: Training Complete Meomi panicked a little when she miscalculated her step, only to realised that she went into a large hole of the trunk. "There wasn''t any tree hollow when I was fighting that pretty boy!" Meomi wanted to get out of the tree hollow but she slipped and fell. She suddenly felt it was a little too late to notice all that resided in this tree hollow were bones and the recent remains of werejackals. "Is this a sort of venus flytrap?!" Meomi instantly felt something was amiss and quickly chanted some incantations as she tried to burst out of the trunk hollow along with her innate feline agility. However, Shu immediately closed his mouth shut the moment he felt that the cat was in its mouth. Meomi''s incantations gave her a split second of booming strength to jump but she was out of luck. Her feline speed wasn''t fast enough to entirely escape the terrifying wooden jaws of an ancient tree treant. She lost both of her lower limbs and a part of her tail to Shu and she was bleeding profusely right in front of it. The adrenaline rush wore off and the sensation of pain coming from the loss of her legs instantly paralysed her ability to scream. "Mmm, this cat has some juicy tender meat compared to those rough jackals." Shu started munching joyfully and was really tempted to get eat the rest of her now that she was lying right in front of her. "Old Shu, how is Master Jin going to capture her if you eat her up?" Zeru used his sword and attempt to stop a chi point of Meomi''s body which surprisingly worked and her bleeding momentarily stopped. "Gah, Zeru if she could not escape my mouth, she is not worthy for Seedling to use for the dungeon. Besides, all of them do not seem to be a threat to him." The treant laughed as he gestured Zeru to look at Jin. Zeru turned to take a quick glance at Jin and grinned. "Looks like young Master Jin has a bit of hidden potential." The scene was a piece of artwork which Zeru did not expect. "Impossible¡­" Gold continued to tremble in fear as he saw Brown, Grey and all his other underlings being stabbed by multiple bamboo spears sprouting out from the ground and left hanging in midair. Right in front of Gold, the farm boy portrayed four angry panda silhouettes baring its fangs at him above the farm boy. Jin was panting extremely hard as he was continuously delivering chi into Bam and Boo which were firmly stuck on the ground. Every werejackal on the scene were bleeding slowly to death which was why Jin quickly took his handphone out and slammed his handphone onto Bam and Boo. "Initiating Mass Capture Procedure. Please Wait." Yun said in a calm voice and all of the werejackals that were pierced by the bamboo spears immediately disappear. "Mass Capturing in Process¡­" "What just happened?! What are that four weird bears appearing above the farm boy? Where did all my underlings go to?" Gold fell backwards and was extremely terrified to see all the werejackals disappeared. "I am quite surprised you can pull such a trick." Zeru clapped his hands and smiled brightly. "Actually, I was not expecting that would work." Jin gave a sigh of relief when he saw a notification stating that the mass capture was a success. "How did you do it? Who are you guys?" Gold was on its knees when he finally saw Meomi lying lifeless on the floor which prompted Jin to throw the phone at her and she too disappeared. "Eh, who will be so stupid to tell their tricks to their enemies? Shall we continue our battle?" Jin managed to calm himself down and his chi regeneration had stabilised. He was actually thankful that Gold was dumb enough to let him recover. "Actually, I like to know." Shu waved its branches hoping to attract Jin''s attention so he could quench his curiosity. "Later Shu." Jin was still focused on Gold in case he tried to sneak attack him. "I admit defeat! Please, Sire! Spare my life!" Gold immediately prostrated in front of Jin but he did not buy the act. "I do not believe you. I have seen enough Wu Xia movies to not get trick by this kind of act." Jin ready his sword once more. "I do not know what you are talking about! I am willing to do anything to show my allegiance to you!" Gold was sweating buckets of water. "Then let me hit you with this¡­ehh metal box and do not resist. I assure you and your entire clan will be released if you do what I said." Jin was happy he did not have to fight anymore if he had the chance but he did not withdraw from his stance. "If what you said is true, I am willing to do so!" Gold shouted and spread out his claw hand and retracted his dark sleek claws as a show of sincerity. Jin did not hesitate and threw this phone at him and the capture process was quicker than any other he had seen before. "Oh, this is interesting. So if someone is willing enough to submit, the capture is nearly instantaneous." Jin thought to himself and Yun agreed verbally in response. "So now, are you going to tell me how you did that? If I was not here to personally witness it, I would say you would be bluffing, little Seedling." Shu was excited to know how he did it. Jin walked towards Shu to sit and lean against him as he looked up to the moonless sky. "Yun said that I can make Bam and Boo change to any weapon form previously. She listed a few, the cannon and a bow as an example, but I truly wondered if it could change into other weapons if I wield it so." "Hence, I did a bit of experimenting during the weekend before the training commences and I found out that the forms that she listed could be created in an instant without any chi inserted to it. All I had to do was to think about the weapon form I want for Bam and Boo." Jin took out a bottle of spring water that he had taken from the shop before he came back for farming. "So I decided to put some chi into Bam and it worked! Bam turned into a short spear. So I tried to put in more chi and Bam! It became even longer but at that point in time, I was not proficient with my chi control and did not proceed any further." Jin drank a few gulps before throwing some of the delicious precious spring water on his face to refresh himself. "With today''s training, I finally managed to get some control of my chi but I think I was panicking when I saw the entire night sky filled with murderous werejackals trying to get a piece of me. Hence, I gambled by pouring every drop of chi I could summon into Bam and Boo, hoping I could create a series of bamboo spears sprouting out from the ground." "Nevertheless, I did not know I was able to reach Grade 4 and the ascension probably released more chi into the attac-¡­.Wait a minute. Is Shu sleeping?" Jin looked up and saw Shu with his eyes already closed and not responding. "You might have a talent for making trees sleep. Anyways, the training will be cut short for today. You can go back to your shop with lots of time to spare. I will be coming to your store tomorrow morning and we can continue the sparring in Panda Muscles." Zeru smiled and waved to him. "Oh, one last thing. You should plant those seeds when you have the time. They will grow into something good, trust me." Zeru then disappeared from Farm World and into Jin''s phone. "Ahhh, I guess I should continue farming for now or else it will a waste of time." Jin looked around the campsite and saw the broken tools lying around but he later gave a glance at Bam and Boo with an evil stare. If both of his weapons could react, they would have cursed him crazily because Jin turned the both of them into a hoe and a spade separately with his chi. The blades transformed into shapes that suited the purpose of a hoe and spade while the hilt was extended into a handle. Jin slogged the night once again to properly even the land as much as he could before daybreak in Farm World. With the ascension into Grade 4, Jin could feel that the ploughing was so much easier than before especially since he did not have the training weights activated. "Oh, Seedling. You are still here. Good story." Shu yawned as he saw the land around him ploughed neatly. "Ah, I see you had been busy all night. Well, go take a rest and come back tomorrow." "The last time you said that, you allowed werejackals to tastefully landscape my farm." Jin became particularly paranoid to Shu''s assurances. "Hahaha! This time, I hired a bodyguard! Give me a second for me to take it out." Shu rustled his leaves a little and in the midst of the lush foliage appeared the same large praying mantis that transported Gold and Meomi to the battlefield. "It was dumb enough to eat one of my specially created mind control bugs on my branches and it became my pet! Hahahaha! So off you go Seedling, have a good rest and leave the fertilising to me." Shu used his branch to shoo off Jin which he yet again entrusted Shu to take care of the farm. By the time he returned to the shop, it was only 3.30pm. "Maybe I could return back home to bath and have a short nap before I open the store again in the late evening." Chapter 87: Black Pepper Pork Bun Jin took a long shower after he reached home and a nap for the first time in weeks after discovering his cultivation could substitute his sleep. When he woke up, it was already 6.20pm in the evening. Jin changed into another fresh set of clothes and decided to walk around Tiangong shopping district for a change. He noticed that for some reason, it was definitely busier than usual and he guessed it was probably due to the upcoming Qixi Festival. The Valentine''s day for the Chinese while the Japanese celebrated Tanabata Festival in lieu of it. Although the Chinese businesses did market Valentine''s day in February, they did not let go of the business opportunities for Qixi Festival as well. Hence, it resulted in many Chinese to celebrate Valentine''s Day nearly twice a year. Besides, Jin was also walking around to check which store would be worthy to invest in. He had the coupon booklet that was delivered by Shen Si Fang, the owner of Lele Diner Cafer, with him and was investigating the different various types of stores in Tiangong Shopping District. Unfortunately, it was already in the evening when he got to the shopping streets and quite a number of places were bustling with crowds. As time passes, the queues would only get longer. "Ah, perhaps I should just go back to my shop for food." Jin thought to himself as he continued walking down the street to check on the food stores. Nothing really caught his attention since he was somewhat spoiled by his shop''s own food menu. Suddenly, he picked up a whiff of a terrific fragrance of meat with his acute sense of smell from his cultivation. Despite the faint aroma, it felt strong, thick and especially appetising. He briskly walked around the street, trying to concentrate his senses to pick that particular smell of meat in the turmoil of good smelling food in the shopping street. Soon, he found where the smell was and it was from a black pepper pork bun which an office worker recently bought. "Hi Mister, sorry to interrupt." Jin tapped on his shoulder. "No, I do not want anything." The office worker adamantly refused any request. "Sir, no. I am not selling anything, I just want to know where you bought this black pepper pork bun from?" Jin also gestured using his hands that he was not selling anything. "Oh, you should have said so earlier. Go straight, turn right. You will see a street vendor there selling these buns. There should not be any queue and they are fantastic, go give it a try" The office worker kindly directed Jin and he was able to find it in no time. Jin found a lady covered with a mask and cap, working all alone at the side of the street with her mobile stall attached to a motorbike. The smell was indeed coming from the stall''s mini traditional oven which he peeked to have a look. "Mister, do you want to buy one?" The female shop vendor was constantly looking left and right which Jin suspected that she was selling without a licence. While having a licence might overall help mobile street vendors, the maintenance of the licence was expensive. Not to mention, the licence itself was a hassle to obtain especially for migrants or illiterate vendors. "I will like one. How much?" Jin opened his wallet to check if he had any spare cash notes around since most transactions were wireless. "15 Yuan," she replied. "Hold on a moment." Jin tried to dig his pockets to see if he had any loose change. He did not really want to give his 50 Yuan note and get back even more small change. "Ah, then make it two buns.." Jin figured he should buy one for Yun to try too. "Understood, please hold on for a moment." The female shop owner prepared an additional paper bag and bent down to check whether the black pepper pork buns were ready. Meanwhile, Jin got a little interested in the female stall vendor. Although he could not see her entire face behind that mask, her eyes alone were simply dazzling. Not to mention, he got upset that almost everyone in the street had a girlfriend with them. Hence, like what all singletons would do, he took the chance as an attempt to observe her body while she was working. Her apron covered the majority of her body but Jin managed to catch a glimpse of her side view and he celebrated this little victory in his heart. "Thank you for waiting, that will be 30 Yua-" In an instant, the female stall vendor seemed to saw someone she did not wish to see which she immediately pushed the buns to Jin and started to pack her items. "Inspector?" Jin tried to look around and he noticed an officer with a blue shirt patrolling the streets. It could really be an officer from the City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau. Even so, the police officers around the area might have the ability to fine the street vendors too. "Do you want the money?" Jin asked once more as he knew how hard it was for unlicensed street vendors to be on the run while earning their keep. The female shop owner did not respond and frantically packed her items. However, she was still organised in her packing, which showed that it was not the first time she ran away from them. The Police officer was getting nearer and finally noticed her. He immediately picked up his pace and Jin slowly distanced himself away from the street vendor but something else happened. "Damn! Of all times why now!?" The female stall vendor cursed under her breath as she tried to get the motorbike to work. Soon, she quickly gave up and tried to push the stall but Jin could clearly see that it would be a futile event as he bit a part of the black pepper pork bun to watch the showdown between the stall vendor and the police officer. However, when Jin took that small bite, his eyes lit up and immediately put the buns on top of the lady''s mobile stall. He pushed the mobile stall without asking if she needed any help. His new Grade in cultivation and the farming training he just completed, made him stronger than before. "Lady Boss, ride on the motorcycle. I will push you to safety!" Seeing how the customer pushed the motorcycle so effortlessly, Zhen Qing agreed hastily and hopped onto the seat of the motorcycle. She did not care about the consequences of implicating other people in it. All she knew was if she ever got caught again, she might probably be jailed. Her customer ran and pushed the mobile stall further into other streets. She also started to notice that the police officer began to call for backup and ran towards her. "Milk, Zeru. Any distraction tactics you two can pull off?" Jin sent his thoughts to his bellators as he ran with the mobile stall. "Why did you not include me?" Peppers replied back angrily. "I can help. Zeru, follow my lead." Milk and Zeru took the chance to appear right beside an alley along the streets and they were holding beer bottles. They timed themselves perfectly the moment Jin ran past the alley. "Kyaaaaaa! Help!!! Molester!!!" Milk was surprisingly in her nightgown and Zeru tried his best to pretend along by pulling her gown''s strap down. "Wahhahaha!" Zeru shouted as long as possible too. The officer heard the scream and immediately changed his target to Zeru. Unfortunately, the officer did not know what was waiting for him when Zeru knocked him out with his wooden sword. "Why are you all still ignoring me?" No one had yet to reply Peppers. Jin and Zhen Qing managed to travel a few streets further away from Tiangong shopping district where they finally stopped. "Thank you, kind sir." Zhen Qing came down from the motorcycle with her mask and cap off to sincerely bow. "Your Black Pepper Bun was worth it!" Jin was simply blinded by her beauty and could not say any more than that. He then took the 50 Yuan note out once again and passed it to her. "Kind Sir, after what you have done, please take this as a treat!" Zhen Qing refused Jin''s money firmly. "No, please, just accept it. I know how hard it is to run a business." Jin shoved the money back and began to walk away, feeling really happy to do a good deed. "Sir, what do you work as? Perhaps I could patronise it." Zhen Qing shouted at him after some hesitation. At that moment, Jin suddenly thought of a very good yet simple plan to eat those delicious black pepper pork buns in the future. Chapter 88: New Employee? "Hey, ummm¡­ Would you want to work near my store?" Jin asked Zhen Qing when he was busily feasting on the black pepper meat pork bun. "Sorry?" Zhen Qing did not know how to respond to Jin''s question. It was too abrupt and perhaps out of context when taking into consideration the current situation. "Not sure if you know but I am the owner of the dungeon supplier store at the far end of Tiangong shopping district." Jin could not help himself and took the second piece to eat. "Sorry, Yun, this was actually meant for you." "I do not understand, then why would you want a street vendor like me to work for you?" Zhen Qing got a little scared when she started to think that this may have been his motive all along. She had a reason to be scared since she had been scammed quite a few times in the past. "Let us just say it''s a mutually beneficial relationship?" Jin could not keep his eyes off Zhen Qing, but she was ignoring eye contact whenever possible. She did not like this sudden rapid, development. It was true that this stranger helped her but this was way over the top. "I''ll like you to work beside my store. In return, you give me the details and I will help you apply a proper licence to work." Jin remembered the wondrous system creating his dungeon supplier licence in a blink of an eye. "What? But what benefit will you get?" Zhen Qing was curious and perhaps a little happy that such an opportunity had appeared. Of course, she knew about the dungeon supplier store at the end of Tiangong Street. Each street vendor was dying to park their food store there if possible. However, the dungeon supplier''s boss owned the whole land, so he had the ability to kick them out mercilessly. And, she did not know that the store''s boss was this young fellow here. He was probably around the same age as her, perhaps even younger. "However, whether you continue to remain there will be based on your performance. Let''s say we are doing this on a trial basis. You serve my queuing customers food while I provide you with a licence. Even if I deemed you not worthy after the trial, you get to keep the licence for a year before you need to renew it or drop the licence. How about that?" Jin knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in the world. If he generously allowed her to do what she wanted in that area, the street vendor would start to think that he was trying to take advantage of her. "Okay, I will consider your proposal. When do I start?" Zhen Qing asked "Tomorrow at 11 am. Name''s Jin." Jin raised his hand towards Zhen Qing. "Zhen Qing. A pleasure to meet you, Boss Jin." Zhen Qing shook Jin''s hand in return. "Oh, and if I may, I might change your mobile stall into something more advanced so you will be able to cook better stuff. There is also a possibility that I will provide different ingredients for you. However, we will see the overall response from the customers first. Is that okay with you?" Jin asked Zhen Qing, "I have my own small pride as a street vendor, but if your ingredients and the changes you make will improve the overall taste of my cooking, I will gladly try." Zhen Qing replied. "If there is nothing else, I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow." Jin smiled, as he was able to see that pretty girl once more. Oh, but the bun was definitely the main objective. Jin returned back to the store. "Yun, I Have somethin-" *BOOM* The mini explosion causes the entire store to light on fire momentarily but the threat was immediately removed with the system''s mysterious powers. "WHY DID YOU IGNORE ME!" Peppers was furious when Jin came back to the store. He was on fire again and later cured by Milk, who was lying on the couch with her cow shaped plushie. "CONGRATS JIN!!!" Yun subsequently hugged Jin so hard that he could not breathe well. "What? Why are you congratulating me?" Jin gentle pushed Yun away to get a breather. He had absolutely no idea what was happening. First the explosion and now the sudden hug. "WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME AGAI- ow." Zeru knocked Peppers out with a light knock of his sword hilt. "Zeru and Milk told me that you were acting like a hero for some girl." Yun was giving Jin the nudge. Yun had known what Jin had been doing all along, but she decided to back down for once and let the Bellators believe that they were the ones who found Jin a potential love interest "So, what does she look like?" Yun asked. "Actually, I was about to ask you about her." Jin shyly scratched his head. "If there is anything within my powers, I am willing to help you. Your sense of dressing? Which restaurant to go to?" Yun gave such a large smile. Even though she had no past recollection of raising Jin, her father Ming was constantly telling her about Jin as he grew up. Even though it was not all the time that she got to play the mother role for Jin, she thought that if she could help in any way, she would be equally satisfied too. "No no, I wanted to ask if she could set up her mobile street stall right here in our garden park," Jin asked with some hesitation in his voice. "Ahhh, No," Yun said in a straight face. "Is there anything I could do? I mean technically I am also the boss here even though I am still learning¡­" Jin tried to reason with Yun. "No, I do not allow because you did not ask her for her identity card or details to apply for the food licence." Yun then giggled. "But she-" Jin realised what Yun was agreeing to him and smile with a defeated look. "Looks like I was worried for nothing." "No worries about that, since we have some free time for now. I still would not suggest you opening your store tonight." Yun went to the Panda Port and checked something. "Why?" Jin asked. "Because as a Level 2 Dungeon Supplier, you are now required to make your own dungeons." Chapter 89: Dungeon Maker Instance "Are you serious? I can finally make my own dungeons?" Jin''s eyes were twinkling like stars at night. "Why are you that excited?" Yun was taken aback by his change of attitude. "Well, why did I want to be a dungeon supplier in the first place? To be able to create dungeons! To be a dungeon master and ultimately the master of many dungeons!" Jin was jumping around like a little kid that had his favourite candy given to him. "Well, do not be too hasty. Although I did say that you are supposed to create your own dungeon, there are rules set by the system too." Yun dampened Jin''s mood a little but he did not care much. He would finally be able to create his own dungeons. "Follow me, I will show you the Dungeon Maker dimensional space instance." Yun beckoned for Jin to come closer to the Panda Port and she prompted Jin to check his phone. This time round, there was a new app installed, called the Key. "Click on the Key app to enter this dimensional space instance. There is a difference between this instance and other service instances. This ''Key'' app requires neither your fingerprint nor a scan of your retina. It needs your bio-identity, your absolute willingness to enter as well as an additional factor: The presence of the system." "What''s with the added security?" Jin was very curious. "Because you are literally playing as a god in this instance. In fact, there is a ''god'' particle element in this instance too, which if landed into the wrong hands, would cause bad things to happen. Very bad things. That was why the system did not allow you to create dungeons until it knew you could be trusted." Yun explained in a fairly serious manner. "Well, if that is the case, I am honoured." Jin did not know the responsibility that he would be carrying. He had thought that he would just be playing a game, creating a dungeon out of nothingness. "Anyways, let''s enter." Yun placed her palm on the Panda Port and Jin followed suit. They were teleported immediately into the Dungeon Maker instance. To his surprise, it was just an enclosed yet brightly lit white room. There was an empty table at the centre of the room. "Welcome, to the dungeon maker instance. You will understand after I explain everything¡­well at least the basics." Yun walked towards the empty table and placed her palm on it. Suddenly, like a science fiction movie, the table glowed and digital screens were floating right in front of Jin and Yun. "Firstly, since you are still a Level 2 Dungeon Supplier. The system will provide you with a couple of scenarios and a set of AI characters if needed. As you level up, you will have more of the restrictions lifted from you. However, I think you will find that it is more or less still quite fun to create something." "Oh, that''s actually pretty good in my opinion. I would rather have a base to work from than to start from scratch. I am not exactly the most creative guy." Jin said humbly. However, he was really excited. Back in high school, he played Dungeons and Dragoons with the same close friends for a long time. They all took turns to create thrilling adventures for their playgroup. It was also then that Jin found an interest in dungeon creating. It was a pity he had not see any of his friends for such a long time. "Next, budget. Each dungeon you create has a budget. If you exceed that particular budget, you will not be able to publish that dungeon for your customers to play as they would not be profitable for the system. However! You are allowed to petition and let the system personally rate the dungeon. If the dungeon seems interesting enough but it is over the budget by say¡­ an additional 25%, the system may allow you to publish that dungeon." Yun explained and there were even aids from the digital screens floating on top of the table. "Why would there be a budget?" Jin was curious. "Your creatures need to eat, drink and sleep. Their daily lives still move on even though they are in your captivity." Yun added. "Captivity, what a crude way to put it," Jin argued. "It is true and you know it. Anyways, the system takes care of all the necessary essentials for your creatures, hence it puts a budget onto your dungeon making. To make things simple, we will be converting the budget currency into something simple for you to remember." Yun continued. "Each AI cost 10 dungeon dollars while each creature you capture has their own individual cost attached to them. The system even has its own set of monsters that you can utilise but they cost more since you did not catch them yourself. You can, however, buy them if you have sufficient cash." Yun said. "Cash? As in Yuan or Dungeon Dollars?" Jin asked. "Yuan, to make things simple, each Dungeon Dollar is equivalent to 100 Yuan. So if you have sufficient Yuan to spend, you can actually buy them or you can just select where they live and travel to that particular alternate world and catch them." Yun explained further. "Is the dungeon creator easy to use?" Jin walked towards the table and took a look. "Very instinctive. You will get the hang of it within minutes. Anyway, that is more or less the rules for now. Have fun!" Yun walked out of the room and left Jin to his own devices. When Yun left, Jin started looking around and saw an instruction manual on the table. He flipped opened the manual and noticed a lot of simple explanations and pictures were given. In no time, he managed to grasp the basics and decided to try it out. "Alright, let''s try this out!" Jin smiled to himself as he pressed the ''ON'' button on one of the digital screens. The whole room then started shaking vigorously. Chapter 90: Jin At Work "Welcome to the Dungeon Maker" The digital screen showed those few words bright and clear. A selection appeared right in front of Jin. Improving old dungeons or creating a new dungeon? "Well, let''s check on the old dungeons and see if I can give them a good revamp. In addition, there are some building blocks on it so I can use that as a learning experience before I build my own dungeon. Jin pressed on the first option and the dungeon maker gave a list of available options for Jin to choose from. All three dungeons were available for him to edit. The goblin dungeon, the zither mistress dungeon and the Great Wall of China Dungeon. He selected the goblin dungeon and noticed the entire room change its landscape to suit the dimensional space of the forested area where the goblins resided. A large cinematic screen similar to what Jin had seen in the underground stores were activated right in front of him. Other options such as AI characters and monsters on loan appeared on a separate digital screen. Jin knew that this current dungeon format was something similar to an arcade style where players fought their enemies in waves. "I should create a short storyline while utilising the monsters I have in this dungeon." Jin thought to himself and checked the budget for Goblin Dungeon. Jin found that, surprisingly, the budget allocated for this dungeon was not even half used so he decided to take a look at the AI characters and monsters on loan available. "Hmm, Boar Knights? That would definitely be interesting." Jin thought for a while and finally decided on a short storyline. He started to put a few AI characters in, repositioned the goblins and even added more goblins to suit the all-new storyline. After he was done, he checked the budget and discovered that he was barely within the budget. And just like that, he pressed the finish button. "System is calculating storyline viability and interest." The same female announcer spoke in the Dungeon Maker instance and Jin waited for the results as the room he was in started to show stock images of dummy players trying the dungeon. In less than a minute, the system gave an approval rating of B+, which meant that he was allowed to publish this particular dungeon. However, he did not realise that upon using the budget to the maximum, the cost of the dungeon had increased by another 100 Yuan. "I think the new storyline should be worth it for the cultivators. Besides, it would be on modified difficulty, which would be slightly easier for newcomers to try." After Jin published his dungeon, he suddenly saw a pop-up. "Congratulations on creating your first dungeon! A new creature has been given to you for your efforts. Please check your creatures list for more details." "Wow, a new monster?" Jin quickly opened the digital screen that contained his monsters and he found a creature that might actually suit the Zither Mistress dungeon. He did not know whether the system was trying to help him indirectly or it was just a coincidence. However, Jin had been encountering too many coincidences that he started to question whether the system was directing him towards a certain path in life. He checked the stats profile of the new creature and it was the Sand Witch. According to the profile''s description, the Sand Witch was a lady with extraordinary abilities in the manipulation of sand, dust and dirt. Her ability to create the sand-related summons was on par with high tier mages. Next, he opened up the Zither Mistress dungeon to revamp it for a better storyline. Unlike the Goblin dungeon, he did not keep the original monsters. Instead, Jin decided to remove the wyrm ants and in exchange, he placed the Sand Witch in it. "I think this scene would be great for Zither Mistress." Jin had decided to change the dungeon landscape by adding an open-air theatre to the grasslands. Once again, he added the necessary AI and monsters on loan and he carefully added lines of possible dialogue for the AI to speak. According to the manual, the AI needed to know what their motive was in the particular dungeon, what role the AI was playing at and how extensive the role would be. Jin, the dungeon creator, could add in additional lines and dialogues for it to understand its roles better so that it could better interact with the cultivators when needed. However, unlike the goblin dungeon, Jin was required to use the demonstrate play option to create stock dummy players to simulate the scene as he had trouble visualising some of the aspects of this particular new storyline. "This is much harder than I envisioned it to be." Jin did one last test run before submitting the new storyline to the system. Fortunately, he was able to get a B rating and he was given some constructive criticism by the system to improve on certain things. "If Sand Witch interrupts the play at scene C, it would have a more dramatic effect than it coming in scene D." The female announcer explained to him. "Hmm, but won''t it affect scene E and F if I do that?" Jin asked "That is where the customers'' choice comes in. Give more room to your customers and it will be a better experience." The female announcer stated. "Alright, let''s try that," Jin said and changed his design around as recommended by the system. For some reason, Jin suddenly felt that the system was fairly reasonable and knowledgeable in the aspect of dungeon making. He thought that it would be more cold and calculative, similar to what was written in the fantasy novels he had read. "Now, time to create the new dungeons with the new creatures I just caught." Jin stretched his hands and did some waist turning before proceeding to create a new dungeon. The interface for everything remained the same and he started by choosing the situation he wanted the cultivators to be in before he started to add in various modifiers. "Hmm, with them acting as a group, I think this is the best situation to go forth with¡­" Jin pressed on modern settings option and chose a bank building while he started to get creative with his placement of monsters and AIs. "Hahaha, Bank Heist. This will be great to let the cultivators play hero." Jin laughed as he tried all sorts of options he was permitted to by the system to fit the storyline. To top it off, Jin had already been in the Dungeon Maker for nearly 8 hours straight and he did not feel a single bit of fatigue at all. "Perhaps, I should restrict the amount of time he is allowed to stay in there¡­"Yun started to get a bit anxious when Jin was creating his dungeons a little too joyfully. Chapter 91: Zhen Qings Trial Time passed really quickly since Jin was having fun. By the time he finished the new dungeon, it was already past midnight. Time dilation in the dungeon maker was similar to the other service instances and this showed that Jin had literally spent hours creating his dungeons. "Hey, Jin. Enough of the dungeon creation, it''s already 12.40am. Get back home and rest, you still have training with Zeru early in the morning." Yun went into the Dungeon Maker just to get him out. "But I am finishing soon. Besides, I can sleep less now that I am a Grade 4." Jin was still busy tinkering with the options for the Bank Heist Dungeon. "Nope, not allowing you to do so. If you do not stop now, I will impose a time limit for you to stay here in the future. You need to sleep in order to continue cultivating. Look at it this way. If you are always stuck here with your dungeons and do not cultivate, you would not be able to fight new and stronger monsters and when your customers reach a certain grade, they would get bored of your dungeons too despite the modified difficulty option." Yun was getting angry with Jin so Jin finally conceded and saved his progress on the Bank Heist dungeon before he stopped. Jin grabbed a few onigiris before he returned home and stayed in the toilet near the kitchen to cultivate once more. "I really think I should find a new solution to this rather than staying in the toilet to cultivate." He sighed a little before he started the cultivation. The morning came quicker than he had expected and so did the amount of waste expelled by his body. The waste literally filled the whole bathroom with filthy sludge. It was lucky that it did not smell as bad as it looked. "Shit, how am I going to clear all this without clogging my pipes." He tried to stand up but the filthy sludge was stuck around him. "Ehh, Yun! Help?" Jin shouted out of the toilet and Yun yawned as she slowly walked down from her room. "What a mess." Yun started to get a headache when she saw the sludge all around the bathroom. "Well, at least it''s in the bathroom, I cannot imagine it being in my room. I would have cried a bucket of tears." Jin tried to waddle around the filth as he walked to the basin to wash his face and hands. "I have no idea why or how I managed to produce this much sludge." "Most probably due to the activities you did. Farming, fighting, flirting with a girl and dungeon creation." Yun grinned when she emphasised the flirting portion to Jin but it did not seem to affect Jin that much since he was in a predicament that he could not solve. "There is nothing much you can do, I will call the plumber and also check if he has any solution for your future cultivation," Yun said as she stopped Jin from getting out of the bathroom with sludge on his legs. "Stay here, I will get a towel." Jin went to the storehouse early in the morning after showering at least twice. Zeru was already in the store when Jin reached and they proceeded to the third floor to visit Panda Muscles. "I must say, I really like the facility of Panda Muscles and if I had known earlier, I could have just ask you to come here to train with me." Zeru placed his hand on the Hulky White Jade Panda Statue and he teleported along with Jin. "Wow, I do agree, this is amazing." Jin entered Panda Muscles and found himself at the centre of a massive gym warehouse facility. There was a swimming pool, a fully equipped gym, an indoor running track, some rock climbing, a fighting ring, a couple yoga mats and some other stuff that they could not see clearly. "Hi, welcome to Panda Muscles." A female Panda receptionist was right behind them, which made them realise that they were right beside a reception counter. "I would like to go to the sword training section. He is following me as well." Zeru said with his arms folded. "Understood, the sword training section is 1600 metres away from this reception centre. Please follow the glowing red arrows on the ground. They will guide you to your location." The female Panda receptionist bowed and thanked them for using their service. "Well, what are you waiting for? This is a gym facility after all, let''s run there." Zeru immediately sped off and Jin tried to catch up but it was futile. Without any movement techniques, his speed would not be on par with Zeru''s. "Slow, give me 50 pushups and then another 50 burpees." Zeru scolded Jin for being late and they officially started their training for the morning session. In that session, Jin was getting his basics, including sword holding, corrected. Each time he held it wrong, Zeru would order Jin to run around the sword training section with his sword held up high. Once the training was done, Jin quickly took a shower and started studying the coupon booklet and comparing the stores he had noted in yesterday''s evening trip around the shopping district. He had not forgotten about the baby panda mission he got just before going to Shanghai tower, which required him to visit the Shenzhen Provincial Zoo. The rewards for that baby panda mission allowed him to have all expenses paid for for the coupon booklet promotion. Suddenly, there was a knock at the side door and it startled Jin as he was focusing on the coupon booklet research. "Ah, it''s nearly 11 am, should be her I guess." Jin opened the door and saw Zhen Qing neatly dressed with her hair all tied up in a ponytail. "Hi there. Please, come in." Jin offered her to come into the shop and he explained to her the details of her business partnership. "I will allow you to set up your store in my mini garden and you do not have to work all the way till the night. You may leave whenever you want. The toilet is on the second floor if you need to use it. You do not need to pay any rent, and whatever you earn, you get to keep. However, what I need will be your identity card to apply for the licence." "Wait, why are you being so generous?" Zhen Qing found something was amiss. "I am not, it''s a trial. If everything goes smoothly and my customers like it, I might potentially take a partial percentage of your daily profits in the future. Aside from that, I would invest in proper appliances for you to use and superior ingredients if you perform well." Jin iterated his agenda. "Okay, but is it alright for me to start right now? I mean you have not applied for the licence yet." Zhen Qing passed Jin her identity card and relevant details needed for a licence application. "It''s fine, if any police officer comes for you, just direct them to me. I will settle for you. This is, after all, my plot of land. Besides, I have a friend that deals with these licences¡­it is not really a major problem." Jin smiled and realised something. "Ah, where are my manners, would you like something to drink?" Jin asked. "Oh, it''s fine. Thank you. I will set up my store now." Zhen Qing refused the offer. "Alright, I will show you where to park your store." Jin showed her the way and as both of them entered the mini garden, there was already an allocated slot of Zhen Qing to set up her mobile stall. It was under a tree, making it a good spot for customers to get food and not too strenuous for Zhen Qing to work out in the open. "Hmm, Yun''s work?" Jin thought to himself and told her about the flow of the customers'' queue. She understood and began to prepare her ingredients. For the first time ever, she finally got to work peacefully without worrying about inspectors. Zhen Qing would not forget the gratitude Jin had shown her even though it was just a trial period. Chapter 92: Ridiculous Pricing "Eh, Se Lang! Looks like our local dungeon supplier brought up something new!" Hong Deng Long showed Se Lang his phone when they were eating at the police cafeteria. "Bank Heist Dungeon Instance? Sounds like fun!" Se Lang''s voice was a little muffled since he was currently busy munching on his lunch. Jin had managed to complete the Bank Heist dungeon instance after he showed Zhen Qing where she could park her mobile stall instead of focusing on the coupon booklet where he left off. It was obvious that he did not like that particular coupon booklet, even though it was part of a mission he had achieved. "What''s that?" A female detective just got her food and sat beside them. "Ah, Madam Xue, it was the dungeon supplier we were casually talking about last week." Deng Long explained as he took his phone back from Se Lang and showed Xue Ping the promotion on Pandamonium. "Oh, you mean that dungeon supplier where you said Se Lang was rendered unconscious because he totally underestimated the monster''s capability." Xue Ping vaguely remembered Deng Long boasting about it, which made Se Lang slightly embarrassed. "Yes, Yes I did underestimate Boss Jin''s monsters, but it''s time to move on." Se Lang rolled his eyes and continued to slurp his wanton noodles. "Haha, Madam Xue, want to join us tonight? Maybe you and Sir Lee can finally find something to enjoy together." Deng Long teased Xue Ping a little. "Haha, I will ask him if he is free tonight. Whether he comes or not is his choice but I will definitely join you guys if nothing pops up in the afternoon." Xue Ping agreed to it and Deng Long was practically jumping in joy. Xue Ping and Lee An were two of the top detectives this precinct had ever seen. If you add Se Lang, even with his humiliating defeat, it was the perfect team to win some panda medals and get some good equipment from Boss Jin''s underground stores. "Ah, Madam. Remember that the dungeon will be expensive, but the experience is a real treat. So do not be too shocked if you find the price a bit ridiculous." Deng Long said. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! WHAT KIND OF PRICING IS THIS!" Xue Ping shouted at the top of her lungs when she saw the pricing list on the menu. "Calm down dear! It''s fine, I will pay for your portion" Lee An dragged her away before she could make a big ruckus. However, everyone in the store just laughed it off since it had already become a daily occurrence for a newcomer to find the pricing to be ridiculously expensive. "Sorry, everyone. This is the first time my friend has come here." Deng Long lowered his head a little as a sign of apology. "No worries, so what are you looking at? Se Lang, do you want to have another go at the Zither Mistress?" Jin asked the party of four. "Nah, boss, I want to try something up my alley. The Bank Heist instance." Se Lang said while pointing it at the newly decorated menu. "Ah, working when you are off duty? You sure are diligent." Jin chuckled a little and typed the order into the cash registry. Do you wish to partake in any service instances? The Emerald Mountains Hot Spring?" Jin tried to entice them a little but it did not work. "Nah, it is fine, the Bank Heist instance for four will be enough. Any group discount?" Se Lang asked Jin hoping he might throw in a favour or two for him "Sure, but only if you join the new Zither Mistress dungeon too, or else that will be 1720 Yuan." Jin really knew that Se Lang was still traumatised by the multiple losses he had experienced in the Zither Mistress dungeon. In the end, Se Lang rejected Jin and paid for the rest. He later collected the money from Deng Long and Lee An individually and passed them the tickets. "I am going to put a warrant out on this place if the dungeon is a scam!" Xue Ping was still furious Deng Long brought her to such an expensive place. Both Lee An and Xue Ping just got married and they were saving some money to get an apartment together. Hence, Xue Ping was quite paranoid when it came to spending unnecessarily. "If there''s one thing I know about Boss Jin, it''s that his dungeons are top notch." Se Lang backed up Deng Long''s decision to come here. "Dear, just calm down. Look let''s get you some food before we start." Lee An pointed at the mobile stall when they got out of the store as they waited for their number to be called. "Sir Lee, let me get it for you. If not your wife will be yapping at you for wasting money again." Deng Long said as he went to the mobile stall that was surrounded by people too. "Deng Long I can hear youuuuu." Xue Ping gave him an angry look but Deng Long did not care. Se Lang could only shake his head. Xue Ping and Lee An were not only their superiors in the police station, Xue Ping was also Deng Long''s distant relative while Lee An was Se Lang''s senior when they were in high school. It was funny how fate connected them together and how they also became close work colleagues and friends. "Mdm, Four Black Pepper Buns please." Deng Long was finally able to order after some waiting. "Here, four Black Pepper Buns, That will be 60 Yuan in tota- Oh it''s you, officer." Zhen Qing finally realised Deng Long''s identity. "Oh, Mdm. I guess you have a proper permit now since you are not running away from me?" Deng Long laughed as he paid 60 Yuan. "Thank you for turning a blind eye previously and yes, Boss Jin has graciously allowed me to work here. I believe he has the permit." Zhen Qing gave a half-truth since she did not know whether Jin really had a permit ready for inspection. "Hahaha, that is good. I loved your Black Pepper Meat Bun a lot. I guess it''s fantastic you are finally able to work in peace. Alright, I will be going first, all the best!" Deng Long waved as he started to munch on his black pepper meat bun. "Here you go, guys." Deng Long gave the buns to them while Se Lang explained some dungeoneering essentials and experiences he had learned in Boss Jin''s dungeon. Deng Long definitely made fun of Se Lang, which helped to ease Xue Ping''s mood. After a while, all of their phones vibrated. "Station 2, it is our turn." Lee An read and all of them went into the store to find four girls waiting at Station 2 too. "Bank Heist Instance?" Yue Wen asked casually, after which Lee An nodded. "Nice, we were waiting for it as well. Perhaps, it will be a group raid with you guys." Yue Wen commented. "Oooh! Group Raid with young girls? That is a treat." Deng Long whispered to Se Lang and he jabbed back at Deng Long for being so lecherous. At this moment, Station 2''s TV portrayed eight queue numbers, which corresponded to Yue Wen''s and Se Lang''s groups. Chapter 93: Briefing All eight cultivators were teleported safely into the instance but they noticed that they were in an enclosed moving vehicle. Four were sitting on each side of the vehicle, facing the other four. They heard a loud siren wailing right outside the vehicle and it was obvious the vehicle was dodging and swerving to beat the traffic. "Good afternoon to our new cultivators and our one Pandawan, Yue Wen." A Panda was sitting at the end of the vehicle greeting them."I am Captain Bai, Deputy Head of the Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) and a Squadron leader for SWAT." The Panda was wearing a bulletproof suit with a white formal shirt and pants on, which were surprisingly large enough to fit him. Despite having a belly, they could not ignore the muscles and scars that were not covered by his rolled up shirt. "Boss Jin decided to send the eight of you here because he felt that you all are capable enough to handle a very specific crisis" Captain Bai stared at them with the eyes of a reaper. "Fortunately, he was right, or I would have personally kicked you out of the van if I had sensed any fear in any one of you." "First up, welcome to CNU Foxtrot. I will be separating you into two teams before I brief you on your mission details." Captain Bai smacked the vehicle violently and a digital screen reluctantly appeared at the back of the vehicle. ******** These are the call signs in case you forget your partner''s name. Foxtrot A: 1. Se Lang ¨C Wolf 2. Deng Long ¨C Wombat 3. Xue Ping ¨C Puma 4. Lee An ¨C Yak Foxtrot B: 1. Yue Wen ¨C Maiden 2. Shi Hui ¨C Swan 3. Jia Ying ¨C Stag 4. Jing Ru ¨C Giraffe ******** "This is our incoming situation. At 1159 Hrs, we received a silent panic alarm from the First Panda Bank and subsequently at 1210 Hrs, the bank''s alarm was activated, causing the bank defences to be activated and lock up both the robbers and hostages in it." Captain Bai said sternly. "We do not know the intent of the robbers because they only held one hostage and released the rest before activating the bank''s alarm at 1210 Hrs. However, at this point in time, we are still confirming the list of employees and customers who have safely escaped. The robbers might be lying to us and have additional hostages to surprise us." "So, this is where you come in. There is a secret exit that only the CEO of the First Panda Bank knows about. You will be travelling through that secret passage and enter the Bank through the second floor." "Fortunately, there are only four major floors you need to search since the automated security bots on each floor have already searched the whole area. Only the ground floor, basement 1, basement 2 and the top floor had their security bots destroyed. " "Sir, question, are you sure the security bots were not hacked?" Lee An the Yak raised his hand before interrupting Captain Bai. "Valid question, Cultivator. You can be that sure they are not hacked. Boss Jin personally built them and guaranteed us that they are unable to be hacked, not to mention their 100% accuracy in their results." Captain Bai replied. "That means Boss Jin wants us to focus on those areas rather than searching the other floors to make the dungeon instance simple enough." Shi Hui replied. "Ahh, I get it. Trying to make the storyline real enough. That''s a real challenge for a dungeon instance." Lee An complimented Jin indirectly. "Enough, let''s get back to the briefing." Captain Bai ordered for silence. "Foxtrot A, your objective is to enter the building and exterminate the robbers. Do not let them run away with the cash. By all means necessary, get the cash back. If they managed to leave the city with the cash, you failed. Oh, and if you die, you fail too, although that''s pretty obvious." Captain Bai snorted. "Foxtrot B, your objective is to secure the VIP hostage who we believe is located on the top floor in the CEO''s office. Be careful, the CEO office was equipped with quite a dangerous creature¡­I am not sure how the robbers managed to bypass it or defeat it but if that creature is really under their control, you will have a tough fight." Captain Bai warned Foxtrot B. "Why would the CEO have a creature in his office?" Se Lang the Wolf asked. "Weird hobby of his. It was unlucky for the CEO to leave his office for lunch when they attacked. He could have controlled his pet and killed the robbers." Captain Bai sighed. "May I know who this VIP is? Is it really that important to save him or her?" Yue Wen the Maiden asked. "Valid question Pandawan Yue Wen, the VIP is no other than the finance minister''s son. He was there for some meetings. We do not know if he was the real target or whether the money was the primary motive. In any case, suit up! We have less than 5 minutes until we reach our destination." "Suit up?" Jia Ying the Stag asked. "Aye, inscribed bulletproof vest. They provide a barrier with a 50% chance of deflecting incoming projectile shots. You will need it. Sources say that the robbers are packing some heavy firepower. Return them when you are done with the dungeon." Captain Bai continued to speak into his walkie-talkie, with regards to a certain security detail. "Open transmission channels? Black Talisman?" Yue Wen, being the only experienced dungeon raider, asked those questions to Captain Bai as the others suited up. "Channels are open. No Black Talisman but the bank has graciously provided access codes to their weaponry on each level. Use them however you wish." Captain Bai replied and at the same time, the vehicle came to a sudden halt Captain Bai turned off the digital screen and slammed the doors open to reveal a very chaotic scene right outside the First Panda Bank. Police had cordoned off certain roads and paramedics were on scene treating the wounded. "This is like a real bank attack¡­" Xue Ping the Puma was astounded by the level of detail in this particular dungeon. "Told you, the price is worth it." Deng Long tightened his suit. "Ehh, Giraffe, your bullet vest suit is not worn properly." Se Lang noticed she wore it too loosely. "Oh, its okay, I am going to scout for a vantage point and am not joining the battle directly. Thank you for the concern though, Wolf." Jing Ru the giraffe bowed as she carried a large sack of items with her. "Oh, we have a sniper in our team. Wolf, if your team need any help. Do not hesitate to ask, she will provide overwatch." Yue Wen smiled at Se Lang. "Then won''t it be better if someone from our team followed you instead?" Se Lang was concerned for their safety after hearing the warnings from Captain Bai. "I will follow them then since it would be awkward for you guys to go with these young girls." Xue Ping the Puma offered her help. "Then I graciously accept your help." Yue Wen shook hands with Xue Ping. "Alright, enough chit-chat. Follow me. I will show you where the secret entrance is." Captain Bai even had a shotgun slung along his shoulders as he beckoned them to follow him into the bank. The adrenaline in all eight cultivators was real and they could not wait to get into action. Chapter 94: Secret Passage Way The CEO of the First Panda Bank was walking in circles anxiously at the side of an abandoned building three blocks away from the First Panda Bank. There were two Panda police guards armed to the teeth protecting him and they saluted Captain Bai when both of them saw him. "Captain, no sign of any intruders coming from the secret passage." The panda police guard informed Captain Bai before they were ordered to be at ease. "Took you long enough." CEO Scabba took out his pocket watch and pushed up his monocle. "I have been waiting here for ages. Are You sure your team can apprehend these jackals?" The rat stuffed his pocket watch back into his pocket before he jumped up onto one of the panda guards. He asked the guard to support him while he wrote the passcode on the wall of the abandoned building with his claws. "This is the passage to the First Panda Bank?" Se Lang was mystified by this weird way of hiding a secret passage to the most secure bank. "Yes, the abandoned building was a ruse, it has 24 hours of non-standardised monitoring. There are pressure pads and heat sensor monitoring, and there are even hidden security bots." Captain Bai said as he entered the room with his shotgun pointing forwards despite already affirming it was safe. "Clueless homeless people will usually stay here. They can open the door to this abandoned building without the passcode but the passcode is needed to open a secret level hidden in the basement." Scabba the rat jumped off the Panda guard''s paw and walked along with the cultivators. "The secret passage will lead you straight to the vault room," Scabba commented, "That is the stupidest passageway I have ever heard of. If the robbers knew about this route, they will surely enter from the abandoned building." Xue Ping the Puma replied with a shake of her head. "Then they are the stupid ones. If the passageway detects anything that looks and feels like money or gold, the passageway system will automatically open the hidden lead valves and highly radioactive sources will be emitted through the valves. They will die horribly in the passageway." Scabba chuckled at the ingenious design of the secret passage. "Then wouldn''t we die? I believe some of us have wallets on us." Deng Long felt cold sweat start forming on his body when he heard Scabba. "As long as I cast this inscription on your hand, you will not be affected by it. The duration is long enough for you to reach the Bank''s vault." Scabba took a wand out and cast a mass spell to both Foxtrot teams. "Then what about the way back?" Shi Hui the Swan asked. "The way back? You are joking, right? Come back from the front door of the bank once you get rid of those damn jackals." Scabba said in an annoyed tone after putting his wand away and led them to the secret basement level. Both Foxtrot teams looked at Captain Bai and he agreed with Scabba. The cultivators were here to fight and not to back down. Why did they have a sudden sense of dread when CEO Scabba commented. "Let''s get going! The more time we dally, the more time the jackals have to fulfil their mission." Lee An said and he went through the secret basement level. "One last question: does the passage lead to inside the vault or outside the vault?" Jia Ying the Stag asked for clarification''s sake. "Of course, outside the vault!" However, Scabba seemed to be a little unsure of his answer, but only Lee An managed to catch a glimpse of it before he entered the basement. "Surely my imagination but guys, I think we should be careful." Lee An spoke in a low voice after everyone entered the secret passage, except for CEO Scabba and Captain Bai. "Why? What''s wrong Dear?" Xue Ping questioned him softly. "I felt a bad vibe coming from that CEO guy. This heist might not be as simple as we think." Lee An explained. "Well, it is already complicated enough with a VIP hostage in their hands. Anyways, let''s hurry, we do not want to fail this mission." Se Lang answered and they picked their pace up. When both teams reached the end of the passage, there was a button and a trapdoor right underneath them. Se Lang pressed on the button and the trapdoor opened without any problem. All seven of them jumped down and realised the CEO was either wrong or had lied to them regarding their destination. They were in the vault itself and they could hear drilling noises from the other side of the vault door. One more thing that surprised them was that the vault room was emptied out with a note on a trolley. "Hai Guys! We meet once more! Mr Gentlebear strikes yet again! Am I such a kind soul to CEO Scabba? He called me the moment the silent alarm tripped off and asked me to take care of his valuables. Actually, who am I kidding? I was the one who tripped the silent alarm before I left. Do not say I am not Gentlebearly enough to leave you the most precious item in this vault room!" Yue Wen read it out loud. "Who is this Gentlebear? And does that mean we have lost before we started?" Deng Long was a little confused at this change of development. "I think it is part of Boss Jin''s elaborate plan to promote a future dungeon. The same thing happened in the Zombie Dungeon Instance that I was in as well. All the gold and riches disappeared and he left us a key. However, this time round, he did not leave anything for us" Yue Wen explained. "So does that mean we have to find this Gentlebear guy?" Lee An looked around for any clue of intrusion and so did the rest of the makeshift police squad but all they found was a glass sealed box with a feather inside it. "Captain, the vault was swept clean by some gentlebear, oh, he left behind a dull looking feather." Being the leader of Foxtrot A, Se Lang reported back to Captain to ask for some guidance. "Change of objectives, protect the feather at all costs. Eliminate the robbers and rescue our VIP. I will relay the information to CEO Scabba." Captain Bai ordered the teams in a stern booming voice. "Wow, Captain Bai changed his directive immediately. It was as if this was expected." Deng Long the Wombat thought about it and wondered if there was any conspiracy involved in this heist. Suddenly, the drilling from the vault door got even louder. "Do we have eyes on the top floor?" Xue Ping asked Yue Wen, since she was their replacement for Jing Ru. "I am trying to contact Jing Ru the Giraffe, but she is not responding to her calls." Jia Ying replied instead of Yue Wen. "This is because I am fairly occupied." Finally, a response came through the transmission channel. Jing Ru was indeed busy¡­with an opponent standing on the same rooftop as her. Chapter 95: Jing Ru "So this group is actually smart enough to employ a pair of eyes on a roof. Not to mention, the same roof I am standing on too. Colour me impressed." A cat lady stretched its paws and Jing Ru could see a large duffel bag right beside her too. "Well, what are we waiting for? I am kind enough to wait for you to draw your weapons." Nyanmi spoke to Jing Ru the Giraffe as she drew her pistol from her holster and fiddled around with it. This was one of the monsters that Jin loaned from the system, and by using the stats of Meomi the werecat he captured, he modified it to become a sniper. For Jing Ru, this was a predicament. She was a long-range marksman, not a close combat fighter. However, the cat was waiting for Jing Ru to draw her weapon before she fired. It might be a ruse but Jing Ru could only gamble if she was patient enough. But why gamble when you are already prepared for it? Jing Ru was wearing a long dress with safety pants and the choice of clothes was deliberate to hide her hidden pistol in case she needed to use it immediately. She pretended to drop her sack of items on the ground to search for a weapon. However, Jing Ru was not stupid. She did not expect this to be a foolproof plan. That was why she purposely placed her sack near an exhaust vent so that she had the chance to take cover quickly if needed. Meeting her expectations, Nyanmi fired her pistol and Jing Ru immediately hid behind the vent but she was surprised the shot was not aimed at her but instead at a Panda Police Guard that casually opened the door to the rooftop without checking. "I do not need extra company." Nyanmi kept shooting at the door and the injured Panda Police fell back further before Nyanmi took out a detonator and pressed a button to ignite an explosive she had placed right beside the rooftop door. Jing Ru could have taken that opportunity when Nyanmi was distracted to fire her shot but she was more concerned about the Panda policeman who received the shot. The stairway leading to the rooftop collapsed and all Jing Ru could hope for was that the policeman was fine. "Well, no more distractions. Let''s fight." Nyanmi took out a new pistol clip to reload and that was when Jing Ru fired her Glock air pistol she took from her sack. To Jing Ru''s surprise, the reloading was a ruse as there was still a remaining bullet in Nyanmi''s gun. The shot barely missed Jing Ru while her shot was nowhere near Nyanmi. This gave Nyanmi the advantage to press forward and attack as she reloaded. Meanwhile, Jing Ru panicked in this turn of events but she immediately took a deep breath and tried to run away from the exhaust vent as she gave some retaliation fire. "Hahaha, it is so nice to play with my food." Nyami laughed as she jumped over the exhaust vent to where Jing Ru was previously hiding. What she did not know was that Jing Ru placed a claymore behind before she left. "BOOOOM." The claymore surprise attack was successful and Nyanmi was thoroughly injured with pieces of the exhaust vent piercing her skin. "Hah, nice one little chick. Now let''s see if you can really run away from an angry cat." Nyanmi took some of the metal pieces out of her skin and it has begun to slowly regenerate itself. Most were-humans had some form of regeneration ability but they were not as fast as a troll would have been. "I am a Giraffe!" Jing Ru teased Nyanmi as she leapt off the rooftop and used her sack as a cover when she smashed into a room in the opposite building. She then quickly dropped a smoke grenade and left the room as quickly as she could. It was a pity that she did not have any prior knowledge of her battleground. As an air rifle sniper trainee, she regretted not grasping the basics properly from her stepfather, who had military and police background. However, Jing Ru was grateful she learned a number of tricks from her stepfather and they had proven to be useful so far. Her stepfather, on the other hand, was equally happy that she was willing to interact with him and learn from him. "Pfft Humans, they think they can hide their tracks with smoke." Nyanmi jumped into the same window as Jing Ru and opened the door widely. Unfortunately, she did not realise that Jing Ru was hiding there with a short twin barrel shotgun and she blasted the cat''s face away. Nyanmi lifelessly fell to the ground. "Underestimating me is your downfall." Jing Ru whispered. "I think it applies to you too." Suddenly a whip appeared and knocked the shotgun away from Jing Ru''s hands and a claw strike swiftly wounded Jing Ru on her chest. Thankfully, the bullet vest she was wearing managed to block the swipe attack. However, the chi energy from the claw strike knocked Jing Ru''s backwards, causing her to crash into an adjacent room. "Tsk tsk tsk that smoke screen was a decent move, but you were not observant enough." Meomi played with her whip. Jing Ru realised it was another cat lady and she giggled. "I shall say the same to you too." Jing Ru laughed sinisterly which made Meomi become on guard and forced her to check her surroundings. Little did she know, it was actually a ruse by Jing Ru as she took the chance to run down the stairs with her trusty Winterwolf rifle. "That beetch." Instead of chasing her directly, Meomi decided to climb out of the window and jumped to the first floor. "I shall hunt a giraffe then; I bet its neck is tasty." "Guys, I am compromised. There is a cat lady chasing after me. I managed to kill one but the other is on my tail. I won''t be providing support for now." Jing Ru panted as she raced down the stairs. "Do not worry, I think we have a battle of our own to settle too." Yue Wen told her to take care of herself although the situation in front of them could potentially be even worse than hers. There was intense knocking and hitting of the vault door when the drill stopped once more. It could only mean one thing. The robbers had finally managed to destroy the vault mechanism to open the door. Chapter 96: Sisterhood The door drill managed to pierce the vault door but both teams were prepared and understood what needed to be done. Foxtrot A would delay and distract the robbers while Foxtrot B snuck past them to find the VIP. How were they going to sneak past? Xue Ping''s Grade 4 cultivation, the Prancing Puma, had the ability to make the entire team be invisible for a set amount of time. However, it was chi consuming. To solve this, Yue Wen took out a set of chi regeneration bottles, the one Xiong Da had used previously in the Zombie Dungeon Instance. Like a character in a game, Xue Ping gulped the set of chi regeneration bottles before she unleashed her invisibility technique. If she used that technique alone, she would be able to stay in such a form for 10 minutes. It was extremely useful for her daily work when she was required to ambush and catch the criminals. However, she did not expect Lee An to formulate such a plan to catch the jackals off guard and let Foxtrot B slip away to find the hostage. While it was true that having seven people to overpower the robbers would be the most ideal situation, they would never know if the mastermind had other plans in mind. Securing the VIP as fast as possible was clearly the best solution. The vault door slowly creaked open and Foxtrot B stuck to the walls right beside the vault door while Foxtrot A readied their weapons. "Boss, are you sure this is the right vault? There is literally nothing in here!" Brown shouted as he and Yellow stood in front of the vault door and noticed the vault room was sparkling clean. "Let''s check further in. Perhaps there are some-" Brown suddenly got tackled while Yellow felt a sense of pain pulsating through his chest. Suddenly, two men appeared right in front of them and knocked them away from the vault door. These precious moments of confusion gave Foxtrot B enough time to dash past the werejackals and up the staircase. It was obvious where the stairway was since there were multiple werejackals guarding each section of the room. Meanwhile, Se Lang was tasked to guard Foxtrot B''s rear so he followed them from behind until they reached basement 1, where there was an elevator they could take. The werejackals were not senile either. Even though the female cultivators were invisible as they rushed up the stairwell, their scent betrayed Foxtrot B''s position. Fortunately, Deng Long''s and Lee An''s distraction at the vault door worked, causing most of the werejackals to be caught in an dilemma. But not for long. "Yellow, kill those invisible bastards! Brown, follow him. I will handle these two meatshields." Grey, who usually gave the orders, personally charged in and attacked Deng Long and Lee An, allowing Yellow and Brown to fall back momentarily. "With pleasure Grey." Yellow sped up the stairwell to find that the elevator was closing. The stab delivered upon Yellow was not sufficient to stop a werejackal and his regeneration abilities kicked in, so now he was already close to full health. To Yellow, this was a walk in the park as long as he focused his strength on his legs. With that, a sudden burst of speed carried him towards the elevator. "Scythe Art, Whirlwind Slice of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang, who was guarding the elevator revealed himself when he attacked Yellow. With an exquisite swing of his scythe, the chi energy reinforced the swing of the scythe, producing a wind effect as strong as a blade. At the speed Yellow was moving, he was not able to evade in time and his tail was sliced into two pieces by Se Lang''s surprise ambush. The attack nevertheless did not hamper Yellow. It instead made him even madder and he viciously crashed himself into Se Lang. Se Lang was able to resist the charge attack as he used his scythe to defend. When he found his attack did not connect but the impact damaged the elevator''s door, rendering it useless. Luckily, the lift had already closed by then due to Se Lang''s timely intervention and Foxtrot B was headed to the top floor. Separately, Xue Ping was sitting at the corner of lift feeling extremely exhausted. She even unbuttoned the top button of her shirt to feel more comfortable. She did not realise that the maintenance of the Invisibility Cloak of the Prancing Puma, when used on the whole team, would be so toilsome. "At the very least, we are moving ahead," Shi Hui took out her weapon and fanned her teammate a little. "I think I feel more uncomfortable having a war fan right in front of me." Xue Ping was blunt even though Shi Hui was just trying to be helpful. Both Jia Ying and Yue Wen giggled as Shi Hui blushed and kept her war fan away. Suddenly, the lift jerked and it stopped moving, with the emergency lights turning on. The team of girls sighed as if they were half expecting it. "Never a smooth trip in Jin''s dungeons." Yue Wen complained as she asked Jia Ying for a hand to force open the top hatch. With Jia Ying''s might, it was an easy task to pry open the hatch and Yue Wen was assisted out of the hatch. However, when she climbed up out of the elevator, it shook violently for a moment and it felt like the elevator was going to drop. "LOSE SOME WEIGHT!" Both Jia Ying and Shi Hui shouted at the same time as they panicked and held onto the railings in the elevator. "NO, IT''S NOT ME!" Yue Wen''s face reddened as she looked up the elevator shaft. "The problem is over there!" Two familiar looking ants were biting on the wires of the elevator and one of the wires was already chewed off. "Aren''t those the wyrm ants in the Zither Mistress Dungeon? Are they the pets that CEO Scabba talked about?" Yue Wen was now fearful about dropping into oblivion if the wyrm ants managed to chew all the wires off. She quickly explained the situation to the whole group and Xue Ping finally stood up. "Let me handle this. Are we close to a floor or in the middle of it?" Xue Ping took out her weapon, a power fist, which was an oversized plated gauntlet that surprisingly fit nicely onto her right hand. Although the rest she took was short, the chi regeneration potions were still in effect so Xue Ping managed to regain some chi energy back. "We stopped exactly on the 19th floor, maybe just slightly higher. I think if you blast through the elevator doors, we might have a small passageway to go through" Yue Wen checked the elevator shaft and noticed a large number 20 was painted on the wall, which was quite a distance away from them. She also observed similar door mechanisms and compared it with the one on floor twenty before making the previous assumption. "Then I shall do exactly that." Xue Ping applied some of her chi into power fist, which generated a visible energy field around the gauntlet and four puma silhouettes appeared above her. "Step back!" Xue Ping warned Jia Ying and Shi Hui as she bent her legs a little and pulled her right arm back for a power punch. "BOOM!" The elevator door was broken into smithereens but it also shook the elevator vigorously. "Quick, move out!" Xue Ping was acting like the older sister to these young university girls and even supported Yue Wen down. However when Yue Wen crawled out of the broken elevator door and to the 19th floor, the elevator shook once more and the elevator cabin sunk further down, preventing Xue Ping from crawling through the passageway. "No!" the three girls shouted in unison. They could not bear to leave their new big sister to her death. "BOOM!" An abrupt explosion was heard and the girls realised that Xue Ping punched her way out of the elevator cabin but that caused the cabin to lose its one and only wire that was holding it. "Big Sis! Grab it!" Jia Ying with her quick reflexes took out her spear and thrust it forward the moment she saw Xue Ping jumping upwards. The power uppercut was strong enough to let Xue Ping fly a few floors up but that attracted the attention of the wyrm ants since they were done with chewing the wires of the fallen elevator. Xue Ping heard the shouting and saw the spear poking out of the elevator shaft and she immediately readjusted herself to catch the spear. Unfortunately, Xue Ping also used the spear to break her fall and the immense weight nearly caused Jia Ying to lose her balance a little. If not for Shi Hui and Yue Wen''s immediate help, Jia Ying would have dropped the spear too. "Thanks, cuties!" Xue Ping managed to get onto the 19th floor and unhesitantly hugged the three girls. "I will handle those nasty antsy ants, and you guys go find the hostage. I will catch up with you guys later." Xue Ping released them from her tight embrace. "Big Sis, take this just in case." Yue Wen passed another chi regenerating potion to her. "Yue Wen, you are too kind, and isn''t this potion really expensive? The one you passed to me earlier seemed like they were top grade quality" Xue Ping was a little hesitant to accept it. "No worries! I have more in my storage ring. I earned all these from Boss Jin''s dungeons and they are quite cheap. I do not want you to die because of a little ant either!" Yue Wen teased as she signalled the rest of her team to follow her up the stairs. "Well, time to squash some ants then." Xue Ping readied her fist. Chapter 97: Se Langs Luck "Since you are using a long weapon, don''t you think you are at a disadvantage right now?" Yellow bared his fangs at Se Lang as both competed in a temporary contest of strength near the broken elevator door on basement level one. "That''s what you think. Do not forget that the wolf is your natural predator. Especially a cornered one" Se Lang retorted and he kicked Yellow to push him away. Unfortunately, that move also caused him to lose balance and fall into the broken door. Yellow thought this was the best chance to pounce on Se Lang since Se Lang would have lost the advantage of his scythe in such an enclosed place such as the elevator shaft. Se Lang did not break his fall in time since basement level one was the lowest floor in the building and all the elevator shaft accommodated further down was the length of an elevator cabin for maintenance purposes. Se Lang then saw something that he could never have foreseen. It was not Yellow diving into him with his fangs and claws wide open but it was the falling elevator cabin. "Meet your death!" Yellow saw Se Lang''s stunned face and smiled with satisfaction at the sight of his horrified face. "What wolf? You are a dead wolf!" Yellow shouted to himself but suddenly an extremely large and heavy object hit him hard on his head. Before he could turn around to check, he was already splattered on the ground with Se Lang''s his scythe pierced into what remained of his body. However, Se Lang was not spared either. The falling elevator cabin had completely splattered Yellow''s remains all around Se Lang and squashed him in the process. All he felt was a large thud followed by the immense numbing of his senses. "Damn it, did I die again without doing anything much?" Se Lang coughed out some blood before he fell out of consciousness. "Looks like I made the right decision of not following your orders, Grey." The sound of the elevator cabin crashing down made Brown relieved that he had ignored Grey''s order and stayed to help him against the two cultivators. "Tsk, whatever. Say that again when you defeated these two cultivators." Grey spoke as he held onto his axe. "If Se Lang dies this early in the dungeon, my respect for him goes down the drain." Deng Long could not help but shake his head. "I doubt he will die that quickly, he did win the title policeman of the month after all." Lee An blocked an attack from Brown with his knuckle knives "He got that award again for this month? Are you sure he is not sucking up to someone? Now I really want him dead." Deng Long got slightly frustrated that his efforts were not acknowledged by the higher ups even though Se Lang partnered up with him. "Then I shall inform you that you will be joining him soon." Grey went into a deadlock with Deng Long and cast his spell, which was a blast of green fire that jetted out of his mouth. "Holy shit! A fire breathing jackal? Where did Boss Jin encounter this many fire breathing creatures from?!" Deng Long blocked his face with his hands and batons to prevent it from getting burnt. Being a cultivator of the wobbling wombat, he had some resistance against all elements. Previously, his fight against the fire wyrm ant was enough to spur himself to train his resistances even further during his cultivating period. However, the fire he was experiencing was not like the fire he had previously encountered or experienced. "Hahaha, how did you like my brother''s werefire?" It stings a lot ye- Shit!" Brown was interrupted by Lee An. "Talk when you are confident of winning." Lee An delivered a flurry of punches and slashes with his knuckle knives and being the cultivator of the Yonder Yak that he was, even what seemed like a slight miss in his attack was compensated by twice that amount, delivering even more. Lee An had the stamina of a yak to dish out the attacks. On the other hand, Brown was a hand to hand combat specialist. Combined with his were claws, they were a match for Lee An''s flurry of attacks. They were both waiting to see who would slip up first in their attacks and that would be the opening both fighters need to exploit. "Do not underestimate the wombat!" Even with the werefire burning his skin, Deng Long charged in with his batons filled with chi to bash Grey. He figured that a magic caster was the weakest after casting a spell so with the surprise element on his side, and judging from Grey''s expression when he charged in, he pressed forward for the attack. "Baton Art! Eardrum Burst of the Wombat!" Deng Long shouted in an attempt to distract Grey and aimed the batons at Grey''s ears. The attack was successful even though Grey tried to retaliate, causing the sides of his head to be bashed by the metal batons. The attack also disoriented Grey, because Deng Long''s technique created minute vibrations that caused the enemy to go deaf. Deng Long proceeded with a frontal head bash, which caused Grey to faint. "At this rate, we will eventually arrive at a stalemate." Deng Long was able to knock Grey out with his batons but he found that their regenerative abilities were strong enough to get them back into fighting form. Deng Long knew his attacks were blunt and bashing Grey until he died would have been possible if he was not already exhausted beyond measure by the previous werefire attack. The fall of Grey distracted Brown once again and Lee An found an opening to exploit. "Knuckle Knife Art! Crippling Punch of the Yak!" Lee An punched Brown''s elbow, causing a dislocation and Lee An complemented it with a stab and slash. At this moment, Brown also noticed that Deng Long was coming for him too so Brown gave a disruptive deafening howl that paralysed both the cultivators. He then grabbed Grey and ran up the 1st floor for the safety of the pack of other werejackals. The paralysation wore off but the initial skirmish caused a great deal of stress to their bodies. Deng Long took this chance to take a look at his phone, hoping to see the progress of their other teammates. Besides, there was something that Brown had said that bothered him. "Bro, Se Lang really died." Deng Long laughed as he showed Lee An his phone and all Lee An could do was laugh bitterly with Deng Long. "At the very least, the rest are still alive. Even our lookout." Lee An commented, which made Deng Long laugh even more. "Even a lookout being occupied by some monster lasted longer than Se Lang. Bro, can you recommend me for the policeman of the month instead?" Deng Long teased Lee An. Unknowingly on a bed in the recovery bay service instance, Se Lang was sneezing the moment he woke up. The Nurse Pandas had to run a couple more tests to make sure he was not suffering some other side effects from the dungeon instance. Chapter 98: Discussion in the Recovery Bay "Hey there, so what dungeon did you try that landed you into this mess?" The patient beside Se Lang tried to make small talk while he rested until the Nurse Pandas gave the go ahead. "Oh, the Bank Heist dungeon instance. I got killed by a falling elevator." Se Lang embarrassingly said. "At least, I took one of the werejackals with me before I fainted though, so it was all good." "Ahh, our group tried the Bank Heist dungeon instance too. The CEO Scabba was truly scheming. He released two werecats at us while pretending to be a hostage at the top floor." the patient replied. "Wait, CEO Scabba is a hostage? In my dungeon instance, he was guiding us through a secret passage so we could access the bank." Se Lang got really curious about why his dungeon instance was different from his bedmate''s. "Secret Passage? What? When we entered, Captain Bai rammed the armoured van through the bank''s front doors and surprised the werejackals." "That cannot be, I was also lead by CEO Scabba through a secret passage, but the three werejackals, with armbands, indicating their colours, were very strong. Half the team died killing the three werejackals before we could proceed further. However, we got shot by enemy snipers from the opposing building when we arrived on the first floor." A female patient who overheard the conversation decided to chip in her opinions. "Why are all our instances so different? Is there a specific criterion?" Se Lang''s interest was currently piqued to the max with the difference in dungeon instances. Then it finally clicked "Miss, was anyone in your group a veteran who participated in other dungeons and completed them before playing this instance?" Se Lang felt that this might be a mini puzzle to be solved. "Hmm, the other team members had previously completed the zombie dungeon instance. At least we think so because they were called Pandawans by Captain Bai." the female patient thought about it before answering the question. "What''s a Pandawan?" The male patient right beside Se Lang asked. "I think that''s the criteria. In my group, someone was also called a Pandawan by Captain Bai." Se Lang concluded. "Still, it''s just a theory, we have yet to confirm with other people yet." Se Lang then asked for more details about their dungeon runs. The discussion got so heated that the Nurse Pandas had no choice but to interrupt them. "Shhh! This is a place of healing. Keep your voice down." "I shall post my experience on the forums in the Pandamonium app. Let''s see what kind of response we can get." The male patient decided that it was best to ask the other cultivators. After all, many hands made light work. "I will add in my experience once you post it in the forums." The female patient commented before she returned to her bedside for some rest. "I can do the same." Se Lang nodded his head as he took this chance to take a look at the Pandamonium app. He had not been exploring much of the app and since he was not allowed to move around, he guessed it was as good a time as any to do so. "Streaming services?" Se Lang decided to give it a try after reading the details in the Pandamonium chat. It apparently live streamed ongoing battles. Since he was going to get a one off bonus for being the policeman of the month in Tiangong station, he did not see why he shouldn''t subscribe to it. This way, he could keep track of his team''s progress. The payment was straightforward and he was surprised that there was even wifi in the store, allowing him to stream in this recovery bay service instance. After a while, a nurse Panda came towards him and asked him several questions. "Sir, would you like to watch the stream on a bigger screen? We can provide you with various angles of the battle at your bedside as you wait for your clearance from the recovery bay. There will be earbuds too for your entertainment and this way, it will not disturb other patients. If you are wondering, there will be no additional charges. Consider this as a service for subscribing to the streaming services." The Nurse Panda spoke with grace. "Sure, I will partake in it." Se Lang realised since he was paying for it, he might as well take advantage of it. "Very well, here are the earbuds. Please give me a moment." The nurse panda passed the earbuds to him and with some gesturing in the air, three digital screens magically appeared in front of Se Lang. The quality of the stream was also top notch and this made Se Lang very satisfied to watch his teammates fight. "Wow, what is that?" The male patient who was right beside Se Lang asked and subsequently, nearly every patient that was conscious and near Se Lang was interested in this feature of his. Se Lang did not know that his action caused a ripple down effect in the recovery bay instance and many of the patients started to subscribe to the streaming services, bringing a sudden influx of income for Jin. Separately, the customers outside of Station 2 were heatedly discussing the battle. One of the issues a number of them were interested in was the appearance of the wyrm ants. They tried to make assumptions but none seemed to make enough sense for them to be true, and they had no choice except asking the boss about the appearance of the wyrm ants in the dungeon. However, they did not wish to offend Boss Jin''s decision to put a copy of the wyrm ants. "Boss, are you putting duplicates in your dungeons? However, I really do feel the wyrm ants are a good addition to this battle!" A customer finally asked the question no one dared to ask. "Yeap, I did place them there because I did not feel they were appropriate for the new Zither Mistress Dungeon, which, by the way, I renamed it to the Music Theatre Dungeon. So nope, at this moment I am not intending to put any duplicates in any of my dungeons and the wyrm ants will not appear in the Music Theatre Dungeon." Jin gave a firm reply to the customers. "Wow! Music Theatre Dungeon? Then did you revamp the goblin dungeon as well?" another customer who was previously an avid dungeoneer of the goblin dungeon had decided to try the new Bank Heist dungeon instead. "Yes, I did. It''s on the menu." In Jin''s mind, there were annoying thoughts going around, such as "Why can''t you read the menu when you bought the new dungeon? It is so obvious on the newly decorated menu!" However, he tried to stay calm and responded as nicely as he could. "Eh, there is nothing new on it. You just renamed it Goblin Forest Dungeon?" the customer retorted back quickly. "I meant the description." Jin felt like he wanted to shoot a Panda Yawning beam at the customer but he controlled himself. The large influx of today''s crowd had made him very tired despite his promotion to Grade 4. Meanwhile, he wondered how Zhen Qing was doing and decided to check the CCTV in the garden through the Panda Port. "Looks like her buns are well liked too. Perhaps I should think of asking Yun to upgrade her stall and get better ingredients." Jin was lost in his thoughts for a while that he did not notice a very loud cheer resounding, which coincidentally began spreading from Station 2, where the bank heist instance was currently in progress. "Haha, it appears our young giraffe has quite a fair bit of tricks under her sleeve." Jin smiled. Chapter 99: Meomi "Come out! Come out, little giraffe. I know where you are hiding~!" Meomi crackled her whip in the middle of the apartment building. She could smell where Jing Ru was, and even hear her breathing. This was more fun than pointing her out directly for she could taste the fear in Jing Ru''s scent with every step she took. "Do yourself a favour and surrender to me. Perhaps I will give you a quick death rather than torturing you." Meomi catwalk slowly towards the room in which Jing Ru was hiding. It was a four room flat that Jing Ru was hiding in and there was nothing special to that particular apartment. That was what Jing Ru wanted Meomi to think, at least. Although her sack of items was left in the higher floors of the apartment building, she still had two storage rings with her that were equipped with various items. Jing Ru then purposely chose three levels lower after she found that the Cat was not chasing after her and decided to hold her position in a vacated apartment. Meomi got a little irritated that the Giraffe decided to hide instead of running down to the first floor like what a normal scared human would have done so. This misjudgement was what Jing Ru needed to prep the apartment to her advantage as much as she could. Anything in the apartment that she felt was useful, she placed in strategic places whilst also hiding them in plain sight. Even though she knew this was just a dungeon instance, she still felt somewhat guilty towards the house owners if they knew what was going to happen next. "Giraffeeeee~!" Meomi knew Jing Ru was scared of her but not stupid enough to not have a few tricks to counter her. If she was hiding in the room, she would definitely have barricaded it sufficiently to block a frontal attack. However, who said that cats liked to bash through the front door? They preferred the windows! On that thought, Meomi jumped out of the window of the living room, trailing around the apartment walls and finally found the room where Jing Ru''s scent was the densest. "Found you~!" Meomi thought to herself as she peeked through the window and observed the room barricaded with a cupboard. Jing Ru was behind a table facing the door while hiding under a piece of blanket. There were a bunch of clothes lying on the table untidily and Meomi felt that it was an attempt to distract her senses and smell. "Good try, giraffe but I have other stuff to do. I can only afford this much time with you." Meomi rolled her whip around her hands and prepared to use that to strangle Jing Ru, effectively only using one swift strike. The moment Meomi saw some movement under the blankets, she broke the glass and pounced right at them. Her swift paws wrapped the whip around Jing Ru''s head but instead of strangling, it seemed that Meomi had used too much force and Jing Ru was decapitated. "BANG!" The rifle sound was piercing loud but Meomi could not understand where it came from until she saw blood oozing through her chest. "BANG!" The angle of the shot was readjusted and Jing Ru once again squeezed the trigger. The only difference was that this time, the bullet flew through the head of the stunned werecat. With whatever remaining consciousness Meomi still had, she realised that the decapitated head was a dummy and Jing Ru was hiding in a corner of the room beside a number of stuffed toys. She purposely placed her clothes at random locations in the room to distract Meomi''s detection, just as Meomi had predicted. However, Jing Ru did not give the werecat any chances and kept shooting at her. She remembered the previous cat lady had her wounds healed and skin regenerated at a tremendous pace. With shots littered into the seemingly dead body of the cat, Jing Ru removed the cupboard slightly, giving herself enough space to leave the room. But before Jing Ru left, she tied a raffia string to the pin of the grenade and pulled it when she left the room. She hastily dashed out of the apartment and was safe from the imminent explosion "That was easier than I thought. I did not expect her to die that quickly. I guess she really dropped her guard the moment she took my ''head'' off". Jing Ru returned to the apartment and collected the weapons she had hidden all around the apartment before she left the building and search for another vantage point, preferably one without werecats ready to kill her. The panda police heard the commotion and started to cordon off the area. They initially wanted to arrest Jing Ru as she was unwilling to turn over her weapons but Captain Bai was coincidentally around, and he let Jing Ru continue with the mission. Separately, Xue Ping had a rather easy time handling the wyrm ants. A few punches were all that was needed to pacify the ants. True, the fire and ice projectiles were a shocker at first but Xue Ping had her fair share of troubles in her line of work. Once the ants were pummelled into the ground as ant juice, she decided to proceed to the top floor. However, there was something in the ants that caught her attention. There was a metal casing that survived Xue Ping''s punches in ice wyrm ant''s abdomen. She fished it out of the ant''s stomach and went to a nearby toilet to wash the metal casing. There were no dents nor cuts on the metal casing, which indicated that the metal casing could not have been bitten by the wyrm ants. She remembered how the ant''s mouth was strong enough to leave a scratch on her power fist. She assumed someone implanted it into the ant. Unfortunately, it was locked so she kept it in her storage ring as she continued to the top floor. Perhaps, she might return later to check on the other ant since Xue Ping suddenly had a bad premonition. Meanwhile, on the top floor, Yue Wen and the remainder of Foxtrot B saw a well-groomed human with bright gold hair standing unrestrained near the windows of the CEO office. There was no one else other than him in the office and his attire showed that he was just a normal businessman. "Welcome, ladies to the final stage." Gold licked his lollipop and pointed it at them. "I hope you are as sweet as this lollipop." Chapter 100: Final Stage "Remember what that CEO Scabba said? There might be some weaponry around to aid us." Lee An recalled that tidbit of information as he was catching his breath with Deng Long after since Brown had taken Grey away to the higher floors. "But you saw how tough they were and you can probably tell that they are pretty smart too. They realised they could not win and decided to back off." Deng Long mentioned to Lee An that these monsters were not simple. "All the more we should find the weapon cache." Lee An insisted and talked in the open transmission channel for CEO Scabba or Captain Bai. "Ah yes, Cultivator Yak. Every floor will have a weapon cache and even larger one since you are near the vault basement. Look for a black button near the vault. I have activated the cache remotely for you to use. And please remember to protect that feather. It is very precious indeed." CEO Scabba switched to a private channel when he was talking to Lee An, after which he pressed a button on his phone to activate the weapon cache. In the vault basement, both Lee An and Deng Long heard a click and decided to take a look around. In less than a minute, Deng Long found the black button, which was hidden behind an iron pipe. "If you put the button at such an inconspicuous place, how will the bank security manage to find it in time if they really needed it?" "Perhaps, it is not meant to be found? Weapon maintenance is a pain." Lee An chipped in his thoughts but Deng Long did not bother much and pressed the button. A wheezing sound came from the iron pipe beside the black button and a section of the pipe slowly opened. What was inside the pipe was a stack of talismans and two pistols. Lee An checked the talismans and found that there was a variety of provisional inscriptions. While inscriptions such as the blood explosion inscription on Se Lang''s scythe were permanent, provisional inscriptions had a time duration attached to them. Depending on the skill of the inscriber and the intensity of the inscription ability, the time duration could range from five minutes to nearly a whole year. "Hard-rock Armour, Healing Wasp, Wyrm Fire. Wow! Although these inscriptions are basic to middle level tiers, the inscription quality seems to be top notch." Lee An individually checked each of the inscriptions and thought about which combination would be most optimal for the upcoming fight. "If the werejackals ran away to somewhere safe, it would be vital to choose something hard hitting. But if they had more comrades, I think an area of effect inscription would come in handy¡­" While Lee An was lost in his own private world, Deng Long was admiring the pistols. Although they were not strong, the broomhandle pistols used mostly during the world wars were famous for being the first few semi-automatic pistols ever to be created was a sight to behold. The bullets for the broomhandle pistols were not the usual standard 7.63mm cartridge, instead the rounds were bigger and the tips were coloured bright red. Deng Long knew a bit about guns since he was in the police but these kind of bullets were still a first for him. "Lee An, we are wasting time. The more time they have, the more coordinated they will be." Deng Long stuffed the broomhandle pistol into his trousers behind his waist, took a bunch of inscriptions from the iron pipe, and pasted it wherever he could on his weapons and body. Once pasted, a piece of provisional inscriptions embedded itself onto an item and also to a part of Deng Long''s body. It was strenuous for a cultivator to embed more than one permanent inscription on their body but provisional inscriptions were different. Because of their nature, as long as one had enough money to buy them, a cultivator could embed up to five different inscriptions. While it might seem like a small number, for policemen, it was a pain in the neck when facing a gang of rich mobsters in possession of unknown inscriptions. "But if you do not find the right combination, you will not get the maximu- Wait don''t! Let me choose my inscriptions -NOO!" Deng Long snatched the inscriptions that Lee An was holding and randomly stuffed them on Lee An and the provisional inscriptions were immediately absorbed by Lee An''s body. Unlike permanent inscriptions, which required a very intricate procedure to be embedded whilst also being harder to remove, provisional inscriptions were easier to put on and take off. It could be embedded at a moment''s notice and could be removed based on the user''s will. However, in Lee An''s case, it would be a waste of such good inscriptions so he reluctantly held onto them even though they were not the best combination of inscriptions. "Let''s go." Deng Long patted Lee An''s back and passed the remaining broomhandle pistol to him. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Where is the VIP?" Jia Ying revealed her waxwood spear in front of Gold as he continued to savour his lollipop. "Why, of course, he is dead!" Gold giggled with his lollipop in his mouth. "The VIP was a ruse created to get special unit forces like you sweeties to come to me instead of the bank vault." Gold then placed his legs on the table and laid back on the chair to continue sucking his lollipop. "Well, then I am sad to inform you that the vault was cleaned out by some other phantom thief. You have nothing left." Xue Ping managed to catch up and overheard the conversation. "But you have the feather, right? All I want is that feather and nothing else. In fact, if you pass me that feather, I will give you 100 panda silver medals as a reward. Such a sweet deal, is it not?" Gold grinned. "I believe you will be arrested before you even obtain the feather." Xue Ping wanted to show her badge as a sign of authority against this scum but then she remembered that this was just a dungeon. All she had to do was to beat him up nice and good. Hence, Xue Ping powered her metal gauntlet up with chi. "Oh? You wish to solve this with violence? Are you sure you are qualified to kill the VIP? How about I give a call to my ''father'' and get the other police units on standby to come charging in. Let''s see how you will handle that!" Gold chuckled as he pressed a few buttons to make a call. However, none of the girls was moving to stop him. "Hello, father? Help! Apparently, the police had-" They noticed that Gold''s voice changed drastically when he was talking but suddenly his handphone was shot out of his hand and Gold''s right ear was ringing in pain. He yelled in agony as he looked outside the window, only to see a human girl with two giraffe silhouettes above her head had had her sights on him the whole time. The girls, on the other hand, were snickering at Gold''s ''secret'' move. Jing Ru had informed them that she was going to try and kill him but she had underestimated the wind trajectory, causing her to miss a direct headshot. "It''s okay, Jing Ru, you did your part quite nicely anyway." Yue Wen comforted her and asked her to continue to monitor the situation. "Dammit! That Meomi said that she and that cat could handle the sniping part! Damn!" Gold raised his voice in rage and transformed himself to his werejackal form. "You want a fight, I will give you one. God of Jackals, embrace me in your realm and fill me with power!" Gold shouted with might and vigour, which caused translucent blue flies to fly out of his mouth. The quantity of flies that came out of Gold''s mouth was able to cover his entire body, causing Foxtrot B to be too scared to advance. They did not wish to test the unknown and did not wish to advance without caution. In seconds, Foxtrot B saw the golden furred werejackal quickly transform into a body with black sleek skin and a visibly stronger body. "This is the blessing of the almighty jackal god. I shall use his blessing to snatch the feather of truth!! Behold! Black Armourskin of the Jackal!" Gold''s voice was hoarse but it was tolling on the girls'' heads. Gold took the opportunity to strike at them. "Oh no, you don''t!" Xue Ping was the least affected because of her cultivation grade so she quickly countered Gold''s attack with a furious attack of her own. However, the impact of the clash caused the windows in the CEO office to be broken. Yue Wen realised this fight was beyond the Grade 2''s like Shi Hui and herself. Although both were Grade 2 Peak, nearing Grade 3, the power difference could be felt when Xue Ping clashed with Gold''s enhanced form. Fortunately, they could still support Xue Ping even though they were just Grade 2. Yue Wen enhanced her chi and was prepared to heal any wounds inflicted by Gold while Shi Hui was preparing her War Fan Art of Deception, hoping that her illusions would still be effective against Gold''s perception. "War Fan Art! Mirror Image of the Shadowy Swan!" Shi Hui cast her Shadowy Swan technique at Xue Ping and it created blurry images of her when she moved. The mirror image was able to absorb an attack or two but the probability differed with each attack. Meanwhile, Jia Ying helped out by giving Xue Ping a few breathers and openings with her spear strikes as Gold was too focused on defeating Xue Ping. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "I counted ten." Lee An whispered as he peeked around the stairs towards the ground floor. "What? I counted thirteen." Deng Long replied. The two men were trying to gauge whether they had enough firepower to go against the entire pack of werejackals and to do that, they had to determine the enemy numbers. "Shit, I think one of them sensed us!" Lee An pushed Deng Long back when he saw movement on their side. However, he was wrong, and it seemed that they had not been noticed by the werejackals yet. "Then, we have to use the element of surprise to our advantage as much as possible." Deng Long took out his batons with style and dashed towards the ground floor. In a flash, Deng Long slammed his batons into the ground and suddenly, an enhanced oversized silhouette of his wobbling wombat appeared right in front of the werejackals. It startled the werejackals for a moment, which gave the massive panda enough time to bite one of the werejackal''s head off and slash at another. Deng Long then realised it was a combination of the inscriptions Biting Snake and Slashing Cutter in his batons that caused his cultivation animal to appear as a chi imbued silhouette and assist him. The adrenaline rush he was experiencing caused him to press on with the attack. Lee An did not stand by twiddling his thumbs when Deng Long rushed in like an idiot against all the werejackals. He instantly activated the inscription that was embedded in his legs and a large fissure cracked the ground floor into two. Copious amounts of lava spewed out of the fissure and which burnt one of the werejackal to death. The fissure separated the pack of werejackals into two, making it more advantageous for Deng Long and Lee An. The werejackals were nevertheless unfazed by the drastic change in the situation and continued to attack Deng Long and Lee An. "Dual Baton Art, Drumming Storm of the Wombat!" Deng Long dashed through four werejackals as he executed his attack. His simple speed boost inscription was embedded into his body and it allowed him to perform his attack two times faster than usual. Each werejackal he passed, he was able to deal at least ten blows to a different part of the body, causing major fractures and internal bleeding. "Knuckle Knife Art, Cutting Punch of the Yak!" Lee An''s weapons were inscribed with basic fire and ice inscriptions and the flurry of attacks with his knuckle knives were sufficient to bring down at least five werejackals. In a minute, they slaughtered the whole group of werejackals, leaving Grey and Brown devastated. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Gold was still holding strong against the team of four girls. His black armourskin of the jackal had allowed him to fend off most of the attacks from the grade 2 and 3 cultivators. Only the really strong one with the heavy metal gauntlet on her hand posed a threat to him. However, the lesser grade cultivators proved to be an annoyance to him after a while, since they were providing heals and buffs to their main damage dealer while the irritating female spear user was quick to notice openings and had tried to stab at him a few times. "I should take them out fast." Gold took a step back towards a nearby wall and pretended to go defensive. Xue Ping, though, did not care for tricks, since her style of fighting had always been, and always would be straightforward. Her attacks followed this same straight-forwardness. Unfortunately, Gold had roughly figured out her pattern of attack and the moment she got close again, he activated his other skill. "Hunt of the Golden Jackal!" Xue Ping did not realise that what she attacked was just an afterimage of Gold, until she heard screams behind her, before realising that Gold had attacked the rest of her teammates. Gold was ruthless. He bit Shi Hui in the neck and tore a piece of her flesh away, leaving her to bleed to death. Yue Wen managed to block the crucial attack but Gold had plunged his claws into her lungs, causing her to collapse and gasp for air. Jia Ying was the only one who survived his attacks since she was attacked last and had witnessed her comrades being savagely killed by Gold. It was only due to that and her quick reflexes that she was alive. The number of mock battles in school allowed her to develop a sense of combat awareness. "Crafty!" Gold fell back and now directed his assault towards Xue Ping. However, in Xue Ping''s eyes, he was already dead. "Intermediate Power Fist Art: Spatial Claw of the Prancing Puma." Every word of the technique she said was filled with anger, rage, and wrath. Her power gauntlet, which was usually closed for punching, opened up. Xue Ping curved her gauntlet into a claw and she just stood as steady as a puma waiting for its prey. This claw was also being projected into the air, the deadly claw of a puma slowly forming into shape. Pumas were known to hunt down larger preys than them and this time, there was no exception to Xue Ping. Gold was at least 1.5 times bigger in size but that did not stop her from being confident in herself. The one she believed should be frightened was Gold as he dashed through the office like a bolt of lightning towards Xue Ping, thinking that she was still preparing her technique. As soon as Gold was in Xue Ping''s attack range, the power claw flew out of her hand to grab Gold''s neck and strangled him. Like a telekinesis user, as Xue Ping bashed her bare fist into the ground, the power claw followed her direction and crushed Gold not just into the ground but also to the level below the CEO''s office. "Spear Art, Flying Horn of the Stag!" Jia Ying was merciless. She did not wait for the cloud of dust and smoke to settle to check on whether Gold was dead or not. Jia Ying immediately powered her spear with chi and threw her spear like how a stag fearlessly rushes at its enemy with horns pointing forward. The spear pierced through the skull of the blackish gold werejackal and Gold could only tremble in pain as it slowly died. "Dungeon Complete!" A female announcer spoke and coincidentally, that was also the time the rest of Panda Special Police Force rushed through the front doors of the First Panda Bank. Grey and Brown, who were prepared to fight Deng Long and Lee An, quickly dropped their weapons and surrendered to the overwhelming number of Pandas. "Oh, I guess they completed it." Deng Long relaxed his stance and Lee An found a seat near the bank counter to take a breather. "Deng Long, I did not expect this dungeon experience to be this exhilarating. This is really money well spent." He placed his knuckle knives aside to wipe his sweat. "But not without losses." Deng Long checked his phone to see the status of the team, only to find that Yue Wen and Shi Hui had died in battle. Captain Bai walked in through the front door with CEO Scabba and they congratulated the two policemen for their valiant effort. "I am sorry, but do you still have the feather?" CEO Scabba was quite anxious for his feather and since the dungeon was already done, Deng Long figured it was okay to pass the feather to him. "Wait! Do not pass that feather to him yet!" Jia Ying shouted as she and Xue Ping arrived on the first floor through a working elevator. Lee An suddenly trusted his premonitions and took the sealed box away from Deng Long before he held his knuckle knives once more. "What are you doing? This is the property of the First Panda Bank. Return that to me at once or I will tell Captain Bai to arrest you." CEO Scabba was getting pretty annoyed. Xue Ping took the sealed box and smashed the box into pieces right in front of CEO Scabba "What are you doing!?" Captain Bai immediately load his shotgun and aimed it at Xue Ping as she took the feather out of the box. "Is this feather really yours?! CEO Scabba!" Jia Ying shouted and her question was like a magic chant used to activate the feather. The feather, which had initially been dull slowly glowed and turned into bright silver. CEO Scabba was not able to resist the feather''s magic and spoke. "No it belongs to The Great Gentlebear and he said that he would give me 50% of what he had stolen if the heist incident was resolved. The werejackals and werecats were just expendables." Scabba then realised he said something he should not have and the entire Panda police immediately redirected their weapon towards CEO Scabba. "I will take that confession as a testimony." Captain stared fiercely at CEO Scabba. The rat in question was quivering in fear. "You are under arrest, CEO Scabba. Good Job, Pandawans. You and your fallen comrades will receive your due rewards." Just like that, Captain Bai snapped his fingers and all the surviving cultivators returned to Station 2. The customers that were waiting for their turn burst out into a huge cheer. Although there were casualties, their performance was nonetheless stellar. "Well Done, fellow cultivators at Station 2. Come, follow me to the Ranking Board." Jin smiled as he beckoned the heroes of the day to the ''podium''. Chapter 101: Rare Loot Drop ******** Bank Heist (Veteran Version) First Clear: Grade 4 Xue Ping Grade 4 Lee An Grade 3 Jia Ying Grade 2 Peak Deng Long Grade 2 Peak Jing Ru Honourable Mentions: Grade 3 Se Lang Grade 2 Peak Yue Wen Grade 2 Peak Shi Hui Time Taken (In Game): 1 Hours 24 Minutes ******** Se Lang, Yue Wen and Shi Hui came down in time for the first clear ceremony and the applause they received from around the store was immensely gratifying. "I am starting a new tradition. For any first clears, I will personally reward the participants with a small complimentary gift." Jin proceeded to give each of them a specially made medal. Xue Ping was the first to receive it and she loved the design of the medal. It was similar to love at first sight, except with a medal¡­ It was a gold plated medal with a Panda wearing a bandit mask on it. The panda was carrying a bag of cash, which was slung over its shoulder. Behind the medal was her name and her achievement: "Insane Damage Dealer". Subsequently, the whole team checked each other''s medals to see if there was any difference between the titles and some of them, they discovered, were downright ridiculous. Deng Long received the "Anything Goes" achievement while Lee An had "Indecisive Nerd" behind his medal. Yue Wen got "Not Fat, Just Fab." and Jing Ru giggled at her "Infamously Tactical." "Why did I get the achievement Pure Unlucky? Boss Jin, it feels like you are insulting me." Se Lang cried bitterly but everyone laughed at Se Lang''s poor luck. Shi Hui had obtained the achievement "Selfless Little Sister" and Jia Ying got "Don''t Mess with Me", which actually made her smile secretly in her heart. "How did you create and inscribe the medals so quickly?" Yue Wen was curious but Jin''s reply was simple. "Trade Secret." "Next, the reward from this dungeon is one gold panda medal for the survivors, and three silver medals for the fallen in recognition of their effort. I believe you should all have received them by now." Jin said and walked towards Xue Ping. "If memory serves me well, then I believe you found yourself a metal casing?" "Yes, I did." Xue Ping had totally forgotten about that and took it out from her storage ring. Jin took it from her and placed his phone against it. Like a street magician, Jin turned the old looking metal casing into a suitcase. He then turned the suitcase towards them and opened it. In the suitcase, the group found a few vouchers. "This is a rare loot drop which you have incidentally found," Jin replied. This caused a huge uproar in the entire store. "What?! Loot Drop? Are you kidding? Someone actually found some loot in Boss Jin''s dungeons?" A male customer exclaimed. "This is amazing since we finally get to see what Boss Jin''s loot drops look like." Mr Know it All was curious about this particular rare drop. Deng Long picked it up and read the voucher. "The Icesteel of the Wyrm. It says to redeem it at the Panda Weaponry store. There''s a total of eight vouchers here." "It''s a loot drop from one of the monsters, the icewyrm ant. This will allow you to forge a weapon of your choice using that particular voucher in the Panda Weaponry. The Icesteel of the Wyrm has the ability of ice, following its namesake. Usually, you would need an inscription for ice attacks but with this material, you are able to cause ice elemental damage once in a while without inscriptions." Jin knew what he was talking about because he had seen and implemented the loot drops when he was in the dungeon maker instance. He understood that sooner or later people would get a loot drop, despite such a low probability. Upon realising the value of the voucher, everyone in the store launched into a heated discussion and went crazy, creating a number of theories. Right now, they were discussing that since the icewyrm ant could already drop such precious loot, it was hard to imagine what the boss monsters could drop. For example, they might get the werefire element in their weapons if Grey dropped the loot or maybe the black armourskin ability for their armour from gold. The amount of money they were paying would then be considered peanuts when they compare it to these fantastic loots. "Thank you, Boss Jin!" The whole team of cultivators could not wait and decided to proceed to the Panda Weaponry immediately to exchange the vouchers. "Alright people, the ceremony is over. Continue with your dungeons!" Jin clapped his hands together and asked everyone to return to their stations. When the group of eight cultivators entered the panda Weaponry, they saw the weaponry counter being handled by a red panda with a ribbon on her tail. Behind the counter was a messy scene of a trio of bulky muscular black bears working near a furnace. It was a fairly standard scene of blacksmithing work where one held onto the metal while the other two took turns to hammer the heated metal. However, the coordination of the bears was something to be in awe at. Each hammer stroke delivered upon the metal was perfectly followed by the next, while the bear holding onto the metal rotated it with such speed, it required a trained eye to see the whole process properly. "We would like to exchange the vouchers!" Yue Wen, who was holding onto the vouchers, told the red panda over the counter. "Welcome Back, Miss Yue Wen, Are you sure you want to use these limited rare vouchers?" the Red Panda sniffed at the vouchers that Yue Wen placed before she used her tiny paws to inspect the vouchers. Yue Wen had been to all three underground stores and was rather familiar with the workings of the stores. That was why she had volunteered to hold onto the vouchers for the team. "Yes, please. We would like to redeem all of the vouchers." Yue Wen replied with a nod of her head. "Personal weapons?" The Red Panda took a small chop with her paws and stamped ''REDEEMED" onto all the vouchers. The Venus Four loved the red pandas but they resisted their urge to cuddle them when they were working. "Yes, we do not want a standardised weapon. I told them about the procedures briefly." Yue Wen then beckoned everyone to take out their existing weapons and place it on the counter. When ordering a new weapon, customers could use existing weapons to upgrade their weapons so that their specifications would remain. Alternatively, they could buy an entirely new weapon with certain standard specifications. "Sword Crane, War Fan, Air Rifle, Spear, Inscribed Scythe, Dual Batons, Knuckle Knives and a Power Fist. Am I correct?" The Red Panda ran on all fours along the long counter table to check the team''s weapons. Everyone nodded and accepted that those were the type of weapons they wished to upgrade. "Alright, since this is a voucher redemption to upgrade your weapon, the payment for the upgrade will be subsided heavily by the store. The total payment for all eight weapons will come to 8 silver panda medals." Yue Wen acknowledged the red panda''s pricing and offered to pay the medals first before the rest of her team would pay her back. A usual upgrade would cost about 5 silver panda medals. The red panda used her paw on a digital tablet and a receipt appeared on the other side of the cash register. "Please stand by as our master smiths create the items for you." The Red Panda pressed another button and the conveyor belt on the long counter moved. The three black bears suddenly stopped working on the item that they were creating and instead began gathering all eight weapons. One of the bears brought out an enormous icy blue block of crystal and with a decisive hammer blow, broke it into eight large pieces. After which, all three bears hugged each other and suddenly merged into a giant looking bear with three heads and six hands. Cultivators such as Se Lang, Lee An, Deng Long and Xue Ping were shocked to see the transformation of the three-headed bear. The Venus Four, on the other hand, laughed at their reactions since they had already visited the underground stores. The gigantic form of the bears blocked the working progress from being seen from behind the counter but there were lots of hammering sounds ringing and shouting from all three bears. Various colours of sparks could be seen coming out of the furnace and within minutes, the three-headed bear brought all eight weapons to the counter. All three heads gave a side grin in unison before it transformed back into three separate black bears. Then it continued to work on the piece of iron they were previously working on. "Amazing, just amazing." All eight cultivators took their new weapons fresh from the counter and gawked at it for a moment. Each and every one of them couldn''t wait to use it in their next battle. Chapter 102: Gratitude By the time the last customer left, it was already 11.30pm. And that meant that Jin finally had the chance to take a seat after an entire day''s worth of work. He took two pieces of the random flavoured onigiri from the drawer and walked out of the store. He also noticed Zhen Qing taking a short break after standing the entire day serving the customers outside. However, she was extremely satisfied. For the first time in Zhen Qing''s life, she not only sold all her stock that she had baked for the day, she had even gone back home to obtain all of her reserved stocks of ingredients during Jin''s dinner break. Her reserved stocks were so heavy that she decided to leave her mobile stall at Jin''s place and hailed a cab to get everything she needed to Jin''s store. Zhen Qing then painstakingly knit the bun dough and prepared the vegetable and meat stuffing on the spot to have sufficient food available for sale after Jin''s dinner. Jin had initially wanted to help but he decided that if he interfered with Zhen Qing, he would not know the extent of her determination and that was a key factor in deciding whether she was a suitable employee for the store in the future or not. "Here, an onigiri for your hard work today." Jin passed her an onigiri along with a can of Bamboo Juice from his shop. Like every customer that ordered the onigiri from him, the weary face of Zhen Qing immediately turned into one filled with delight and satisfaction. It was a simple pork meat stuffing but Zhen Qing was able to taste superior quality of the onigiri. There were hidden ingredients that she could not identify at the moment but she knew of their presence since the umami from the pork stuffing could not be enhanced by itself. The rice was hands-down the best rice she had ever eaten. Zhen Qing even thought that it was possibly the rumoured emperor tribute rice in the ancient past. Or perhaps, she was just so hungry that she was hallucinating. However, the taste was impeccable and undoubtedly one of the best pieces of food she had ever eaten in her life. "This onigiri is delicious! Where did you buy this from? Wait, could it be that you made this yourself?" Zhen Qing was wondering why Jin was trying so hard to rope her into his store. Was it because he was looking for a cooking apprentice despite his shop''s speciality? Zhen Qing knew and heard street rumours regarding Jin''s mouth-watering food but at the cost of buying his dungeons. Just then, when she tried the onigiri, she theorised that Jin was talented in cooking but used dungeons as a way to cover his cooking talents. "Unfortunately no, it''s from a food supplier, but due to their wish to remain unnoticed, I cannot name them at the moment. They want to keep themselves as a secret for now. This bamboo juice is from them too. Give it a try." Jin unwrapped his onigiri and took a bite. "Oh. I am sorry." Zhen Qing replied with a tinge of embarrassment. She guessed she was thinking too much and perhaps all Jin really wanted was someone cheap to employ while taking a percentage of the profit for the day. Maybe, Jin was using this onigiri chance to show her that she was inferior and could be replaced anytime. The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became since she could not believe that such an amazing opportunity could come knocking in her life. There definitely be some strings attached to Boss Jin''s peculiar store. "So erm Mr Jin, how much of the profit are you going to take from me? Is 20% sufficient?" Zhen Qing figured that if she took the initiative to ask first, then she might have the upper hand in the negotiation. She was willing to give a profit of up 35% and she decided to start out from a reasonably low percentage to try her luck. There was possibly a chance that Jin might agree to such a low number. "Hmm? What are you talking about?" Jin was just enjoying the silent company of Zhen Qing. He was a simple man to begin with. He had always been an introvert in high school and university but that did not stop Jin from wanting to be a dungeon supplier. Jin thought that he understood the challenges of being a Boss of his own shop since he had been working part time for various different shops as he was growing up. His grandfather Ming encouraged him to do so even though he was financially stable. Ming believed a bit of hardship and real world experience would teach Jin what it was like to be a proper working adult in the future. Of course, there was a chance that these hardships and experiences would not help Jin and might instead derail him from his path of success. These bad experiences could range from meeting up with the wrong company of friends to being fired from his job, but Jin was fortunate enough to not encounter any of those. Still, Jin had it real easy with the system''s help. The system in Jin was such a cheat in life that it made all his previous work experiences invalid. However, the system definitely did not make it easy for him either. The immense size of the crowd every day exhausted Jin to such a point that he felt like giving up too. Of course, he did not ask Yun what would happen if he gave up. Maybe the system would leave him rather than giving him a second chance in life? That also meant he would need to start from the bottom with little money to his name. Right now, the system was literally providing him with all the necessary things in life such as good food, decent entertainment and a sufficient ''salary''. "I mean, this trial thing that you are conducting. Surely you will want something in return for the investment of your property, right?" Zhen Qing replied when Jin''s face was totally blank. "Ehhhh, no you can keep your money for this trial. Maybe I might charge you in the future if I decide to employ you. Wait, I should be the one giving you a salary if I employ you¡­" Jin could not think of any other excuses although what he truly wished for was another helper. Sure, Yun could help around the store, but she primarily needed to take care of the fallen cultivators that fell unconscious from the dungeon battles. Technically speaking, the AI Nurse Pandas could take care of them but cultivators had already dubbed Yun as the store''s Beautiful Nightingale of Nursing. The pep talks and care were given by Yun when she was in the recovery instance encouraged the cultivators to move forward and try the dungeons once more. Hence, she was a vital part of the store, despite Yun being hidden behind the scenes with the AI Nurse Pandas. "Haha, okay and Thank you, Mr Jin, for your food and drink. It has really been a long time since I have eaten and drunk so well." Zhen Qing laughed at Jin''s clueless face and his slightly awkward reaction. Jin, on the other hand, felt a slight tugging in his heart. The smile and laughter that Zhen Qing had portrayed for the first time this entire day made him feel pleased. "Jin will be fine. Having a Mister in my name makes me feel old." Zhen Qing nodded but she suddenly became serious again. "I would like to continue for tomorrow but I do not have enough ingredients after today''s sale. I even finished my reserved stock of ingredients and I need to contact my supplier for the goods, but those will take a while to come. I really underestimated your customers'' appetite for food." Zhen Qing started to stand up and pack her mobile stall. "So¡­I might not be able to complete your trial for these two weeks. That was why I asked how much of the profit you want as compensation." Zhen Qing lowered her head and appreciated the opportunity that Jin had given her. "What do you need? I might be able to provide you but you might need to come to the store to take it and prepare it in the morning." Jin had secretly whispered to Yun in his head and it seemed like it was an easy task for Yun to accomplish. "Pork belly meat, it would be better if there was some skin. Minced Pork, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ground black pepper, granulated sugar, salt, spring onions¡­Oh, I am sorry. I think asking for all this stuff is a little too much." Zhen Qing realised she had blabbered too much until she saw Jin earnestly speed typing what she said onto his phone. "Anymore?" Jin innocently looked up at her. "Erm¡­Lard, plain flour, vegetable oil¡­ and sesame seeds." Zhen Qing decided to finish the list of ingredients she needed to him. "Okay, got it. Hmm, I remember you hastily trying to make the dough and meat stuffing. Do you have more equipment to prepare your stuff? I mean, you probably need some time to do all the preparation work." Jin was thinking of opening a dungeon instance using the Dungeon Maker to create a kitchen instance for Zhen Qing to work her magic. Of course, without monsters for now. "I think I can handle it in my mobile stall if you can supply me with the ingredients." Zhen Qing was really embarrassed to ask for any more. Firstly, she was already keeping all the profit, and now Jin would be providing the ingredients for her. Any more, and Jin might really think that she was shameless and trying to take advantage of him. "Okay, I believe I can get you the ingredients by tomorrow morning. Come to the store by 8 am. I should be here. Now, go travel home safely and get some rest ." Jin smiled as he noticed Zhen Qing had already completed packing her items. He had forgotten how fast she could pack her stuff, trained during the times when the police inspector was chasing after her. "Once again, thank you Jin for this opportunity." Zhen Qing bowed a little and took off in her motorcycle. All Jin could do was watch her silhouette disappear at the end of the street and he waited for the sound of her motorcycle to die out in the night before he started to close the store and return home. Chapter 103: Reflection "So, how was your day at work?" Yun could be seen sitting on the couch eating a chicken burger from Wacdonalds while listening to her old CDs that she had found in her room. She had connected the CD player to the modern loudspeakers and listened to them as she ate. It appeared that Yun had decent technical knowledge, which surprised Jin. He did not expect her to know how to connect an old CD player to the loudspeakers. "You were there and technically, you know about every step and breath I take. How can I hide anything from you? Besides, how did you have the money to buy Wacdonalds?" "Hahaha yes you cannot, I was just being courteous. Oh and I just paid for this meal with your debit card." Yun grinned with her mouth full of food. She then offered fries to Jin, which he did not refuse, since it was his money to begin with. Sometimes, Jin could not figure out Yun''s personality. Yun could be motherly at times to Jin but he realised that she loved to play the role of the fool with him, acting childish and all. However, when it came to working in the recovery instance, she was very professional. While Yun might not have noticed, (or she could have since she was connected to Jin). Customers praised her for the excellent balance in care and authority she showed when dealing with patients in the recovery instance. A number of patients would get rowdy simply because they simply could not accept the fact that they lost the dungeon instance. "I barely played the instance and I died to it! I want a refund!" Some customers demanded their refund but Yun always stood tall in those situations and never backed down from the argument. At other times, Yun was the caring mother that everyone wanted. Since the dungeon instance was still in fact reality, some of the cultivators went through their first death experience and the memories and phantom pains they felt after waking up from the recovery instance was traumatic. Yun was nevertheless there to console them and even encouraged them to try again. "There will always be someone stronger in this world, but at the very least, now you know what it was like to know fear. Understand it, work with it and finally be in control of it." Yun''s words vividly remained in one of the female customer''s heart and to this day, that encouragement was one of the reasons why she was still a fairly regular customer of Jin''s store. "Hey, Jin stop blanking out and eating my fries!!!" Yun noticed her packet of fries was almost consumed entirely by Jin and he was not responding to Yun when she talked to him. "Huh, oh sorry..wait Hey, didn''t you buy this meal using my money?" Jin took another few pieces of fries before Yun snatched it back and wept at the abysmal remaining amount. Jin felt a little bad for her and said he would buy a meal for her next time but then he realised he had just fallen into her simple trap. "Hehe, do not be this naive again when you are chasing that girl. She is not a simple one¡­I think." Yun said casually as she took her cokacola drink and sipped it. However, after she was done with her burger, she turned her body towards Jin, who was sitting beside her, while listening to the soft rock music. "Tell me, why did you want her to be your employee? Do you know the kind of risk you are bringing upon yourself if you bring in a commoner who knows nothing about the system? Let''s just assume she decides to keep it a secret and she was fine with it, but what if she was threatened by people to spill your secrets?" Despite Yun rambling on and on, Jin only captured a single word. "She''s a commoner?!" "Huh, you cannot discern that she hasn''t cultivated and that she''s a commoner?" Yun was slightly shocked by Jin''s response, after which, she realised that she was only able to determine that the girl was a commoner since it was the power of the system that allowed her to do so. "Ah, my bad. my ability allows me to discern if anyone could be a threat to you in the store. Remember that old man that brought two high school students to have some sort of magical musical contest with the Zither Mistress Ke Mi? He was roughly a grade 9 cultivator but he was suppressing his cultivation to grade 4 for some reason." "Oh, I had no idea that you had such an ability." Jin was astonished by this new fact regarding Yun. "You never really ask much, like how you only follow instructions of the system rather than taking charge of this life of yours. This is not university or high school. There isn''t anyone to guide you through this but yourself. Of course, you can follow the system and get a decently comfortable life out of it but surely you can do better than this. My dad would have been disappointed." Yun lashed her complaints at Jin and suddenly Jin felt like she struck a very sensitive nerve of his. What she said was true. He never had a proper goal in life, so when the system now forced him to be the number one dungeon supplier, he assumed that all he needed to do was to follow the system''s orders and he would reach there eventually. He simply took the system''s missions and followed them blindly, even though he originally wanted to be a dungeon supplier. Now that he was reflecting, he realised that it was also a whim that he had had in university that made being a dungeon supplier his goal. And this was just so that he was able to escape the clutches of an engineering job. It was only because he took the whim more seriously than other things in life that he started to research about how to be a supplier, and what was needed to be a successful supplier. It was then that Jin started to take life by its horns and steer in the direction he wanted¡­until he found that his grades started to drop and he panicked. Since then, his goal changed to suit the circumstances he was in and Jin started to solely focus on his grades, in hopes of receiving a proper engineering degree. He gave excuses to himself, saying that he wanted to get a decent paying engineering job and that he needed to earn some money before perhaps opening a dungeon supplier store. However, those excuses were only used to fuel his laziness, causing him to not take charge of his own life. "Are you listening to me? Why are you blanking out again? Are you that tired?" Yun was a little annoyed that Jin went into a blank stare, but when she saw Jin''s serious expression, she decided to keep quiet for a while. After a while, Jin lowered his head and spoke. "I will think about my life choices. Thank you for reminding me of how pathetic I am." Upon hearing that, Yun sighed and placed her hands on Jin''s shoulders. "Jin. Look at me." Yun was trying to create eye contact with him and Jin reluctantly looked at her. "Yes, you are pathetic, but at the very least, you are trying to make something out of your life. This shows that you are not giving up. Hey, eyes on me!" Yun spoke seriously to Jin but Jin wanted to look away because he could not bear looking at her while feeling lousy. "Look, Jin. I am not saying that your choice to just follow the system was wrong but remember that the system is just a means to live your life. Make the system do things for you rather than you doing what the system wants you to do. If you have not noticed yet, this system is very flexible and charitable¡­to a certain degree. As long as you use it well and not to exploit people, I think it will serve you well." Yun then pats on Jin''s head and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "If you need anything, ask me. The bellators and I are here to help you." Yun waved at him as she yawned and returned to her room. However, in less than a few seconds, she opened the door to her room. "Oh and don''t think I forgot about the initial question even though our conversation derailed. Give me a good reason why you want her to be your helper and maybe I will help you by getting her the ingredients." Yun closed the door once more while Jin was staring blankly into space again. "Because I think I am interested in her." Chapter 104: Coupon Making Instead of cultivating in the night as he usually did. Jin decided to take a nap for a change. Being a grade 4 cultivator allowed him to sleep less and still be healthy, in fact, he could go on without sleep for a few days if he needed to. Back in the ancient days, Grade 4 was the lowest grade that most masters would recommend for a person to reach before travelling and exploring the world, since you didn''t need to eat or sleep as much, making it easier to survive in the wilderness. Not to mention, it would be easier for someone to stay on the run when escaping enemies and monsters at Grade 4 than when they were at the lower grades. After a two hour nap, it was around 3 am in the morning when Jin woke up. He had a quick shower in the ensuite first before he left the house. He took a look at the toilet beside the kitchen. It seemed Yun did call a plumber in an attempt to fix the sludge problem but there were still tools left behind by the plumber team. "Guess they are still trying to solve it," Jin remembered he received a text message after his training in the Panda Muscles with Zeru that it would take a few days for the plumber to resolve the problem. Jin now had a habit of bringing an additional set of clothes with him ever since the farming training session, since, in order to serve his customers professionally, he needed to change out of his sweaty attire after training. The living armour wristbands that turned into a storage watch when he was not using them for battle had been more useful than the limited storage ring that Ming had given him. Nevertheless, Jin carried the old worn-out bronze ring with him as a sentimental memento of Ming. Upon reaching the store, he opened the drawer in the bar counter that contained the Tiangong shopping district coupon booklet which Si Fang, the owner of Lele caf¨¦, had delivered to him at least a week ago. Jin picked the booklet up then turned on the Panda Port, his personal computer, cash registry, and the access to the dungeon maker instance. With a tap of his phone, Jin was teleported to the dungeon maker instance, where he had more time to spend than staying in the true reality. But what determines what is a ''true'' reality? It appeared that Jin, when was exposed to the parallel world explanation, his concept of time taught in school, had been thrown out of the window and perhaps ended up in the incinerator when it landed. He experienced time dilation of various dungeon instances and travelling to the other worlds had made him completely lose his concept of time. If not for his cultivation, Jin would have tired himself out. Since he was a creator in the dungeon maker instance, he created a chair for himself and placed the coupon booklet right in front of him. Jin tried to load the internet from his phone and surprisingly the connection was really stable. He placed it on the table and digital screens immediately mirrored the phone''s screen. With the research Jin did during his mini window-shopping tour around Tiangong shopping district, he used a Tiangong shopping district directory he found on the internet on one screen while the other was a Mooogle Map of the area. With the pep talk that Yun gave him last night, Jin figured that if he wanted to be a proper boss of the shop, he should finish the tasks that were given by the system so he could move forward. Although the coupon booklet mission was completed, Jin had promised to revamp the coupon booklet in order to bring in more customers not just for him, but for the shopping district as well. He also did not forget that he had assured Lai Fu, the owner of Fresh Price, that he could bring Lai Fu to Grade 5. Lastly, he had to take a photo with the baby panda that was finally open to the public for viewing. "As much as I hate to admit, the Tianggong shopping district committee members like Wacdonalds, Lele Cafe and Fresh Price have very good people traffic. If I can somehow tap into this traffic, I will definitely achieve better exposure." "However, in return on my side, I should not be biased against other shops. In terms of business, those three shops have a better gross profit than the rest of the stores in the district. If I would like to boost the overall reputation of the district, I should ideally help different type of stores." Jin thought to himself. Upon looking at the Mooogle maps, he realised that if he targeted each specific store, it would be too cumbersome for him and the details on the coupon booklet would definitely put off anyone that saw it. "I shall make it simple then and go according to the original coupon booklet as a base to work from." In the coupon booklet, there were various sections such as electronics, clothes, antiques, cafes, restaurants, toys, video games, handy stores and even books. "If what the system says is true, upon completing the Baby Panda mission, the system will pay all expenses with regards to the coupon booklet right?" Suddenly, on the digital screens, a large yes appeared instead of Yun explaining to him. Jin then realised that in this particular instance, he could communicate with the system too. "Any expense? What if I decide to give 1 million yuan as part of a lucky draw? Will you do that too?" Surprisingly, the system did say Yes once more but Jin felt that there might be a catch later on if he really did that. He had read enough fantasy novels to know that Newton''s third law where every action would have a reaction was still applicable, system or not. In any case, with the help of the dungeon maker, Jin had recreated the coupon booklet. "This instance is so useful, I can literally create whatever I want." However, the moment he said that the system replied with a message. "Item creation was within limits." Jin could not help but laugh and decided to take a look at the new coupon booklet. He had slapped a page of his own coupons in every section of the coupon booklet. The idea was if they had bought a dungeon ticket from his shop with the coupon he created, they were eligible for a free purchase of any one item they bought from the shopping district. Customers could also buy the products in advance and show him the receipt along with the coupon and he would pay for the product. This meant that the customer could potentially not pay for the dungeon instance if the product they bought was more expensive than the dungeon. They might even get additional money back, which was a win for the customers and the shops in the shopping district. Theoretically, Jin should be able to get a bulk of the money he spent refunding customers from the agreement of a 100% profit in the first week. This meant that he would even have proof of the receipt to get the money back from the store owners since the objective of this coupon booklet was to increase the exposure of the shopping district and increase its reputation once more so that people could erase from their minds, or at least move on from the pachinko fire incident . However, not every store owner in the district would be honest and might even fake the results or create excuses in order to keep the profits so that they might finally not see red at the end of the fiscal month. Still, Jin had a better plan in the long term so that even if they did not wish to comply with the agreement that the shopping district committee had with Jin. It would actually be a sort of relationship test to observe which store owners were willing to comply and which do not. Hence, if he ever felt the need to expand his business prospects and wished to do a few business co-operation, he would roughly know which stores owners to look for and which ones to avoid. There was another set of coupons attached to the booklet too. These coupons indicated that if the customer purchased any item(s) with a value of more than 50 Yuan, they were eligible for a lucky draw ticket. Jin had gotten the idea from the Japanese Ichiban Kuji. In a Kuji lottery, you would always win something. Jin, however, did not set the prizes yet, and since the coupon was due for approval, Jin figured he had a few more days to think of the Kuji prizes after he submitted the revamped coupon booklet. After a few changes to some graphical details, Jin realised something very important which he had forgotten. He had not chosen the name of his shop. Chapter 105: Dungeon World "See what I mean? All you have been doing is just going through the motions that the system gave you that you did not even bother with the shop''s name. You were initially so excited with the shop building at the start but ever since the missions came in, you were just blindly following them without thinking much." Yun came into the Dungeon Maker instance dressed in her pyjamas while yawning and scratching her head. "I see¡­ It looks like I do need to take some initiative of my own to get the things done." Jin remembered that some of the customers had been asking for the shop''s name and Jin had always been evading the question. Little did he know that he himself had only been avoiding it because there wasn''t such a mission yet. Same went for this coupon booklet that he had been postponing. He was giving himself excuses such as the need for training or customers coming first. There were even situations where he pinned the blame not on his own laziness, and instead onto his cultivation style, the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas. However, Jin realised that he needed to change something and be a proper boss, rather than just a boss by name. He realised he had to step up his game. "I will pass the coupon booklet to Si Feng in the morning when he opens his caf¨¦. The name of the shop though¡­give me some time to think about it." Jin spoke to Yun as he passed the coupon booklet to Yun for preview. She yawned once more before she flipped the pages of the coupon booklet. "Hmm, interesting, this will indeed improve the exposure of the shop and it will also increase the sales of shops in the short run. However, if the shops do not know how to retain customers or provide anything worthy in the future. It will be nothing but just a temporary boost of sales." Yun gave her own opinion. "That''s primarily the objective of these coupon booklets, the short-term profits. So if they cannot help themselves, I cannot help them too." Jin replied. "I am interested in this Kuji lottery. What exactly are you offering as a prize for your lottery?" Yun said. "To be honest, I have no idea. I initially wanted to give exotic weapons to people, or perhaps vouchers like the one Xue Ping found in the dungeons, but I realised some rich people might just take the chance to buy every lottery ticket just to get the weapon voucher." Jin said. "Oh can they even do that? I thought the coupon booklet would only be sent to every household around the district and subscribers to the online social media pages of Tiangong Shopping District." Yun asked as she instantly created a chair for herself in the Dungeon Maker instance and sat down to take a closer look at the coupon booklet. "Yeah, and they could also buy more coupon booklets at a certain price at the administrative office of Tiangong Shopping District or even the participating store outlets," Jin replied. "Hence, I was thinking of miscellaneous stuff like Panda charms or even Panda plushies to attract the females and perhaps figurines of our monsters for collection purposes. A customised figurine of Zither Mistress and the Great White Snake could actually attract collectors. Haha! " Jin suddenly thought of Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress and the Great White Snake in a stylish fighting pose. Ke Mi would be sitting on the head of the Great White Snake playing her Zither. That could actually be worthy for collection. Or perhaps, the three goblins with their weapons drawn while riding on top of Mr Oink, in his first form of course. "That might actually work, why not visualise that and let the Dungeon Maker create them?" Yun commented. "You mean I can do that with the Dungeon Maker? I thought I had to manually create the items by drawing or writing them out on the Dungeon Maker according to the instruction manual." Jin was surprised by this new piece of knowledge. "How do you think I create this chair without even touching the Dungeon Maker interface?" Yun questioned. "Because I thought you were a part of the system, that''s why!" Jin tried to create a similar chair to Yun''s in his mind and in an instant, the same exact chair appeared right in front of him. "Haha!, I did not say its without consequences." Yun bluffed Jin when he did that and tapped on a digital screen. The screen fizzled for a while and it came online again with some statistics of resources. Jin was befuddled by the various types of resources and it looked like one of those civilisation building games which he had played before. He saw Dungeon Dollars, Matter, Magic and Souls. Unfortunately, he could only be considered an amateur at those kinds of games compared to fighting or roleplaying games. "Whenever you create something for your own dungeon, you used dungeon dollars, as I explained earlier. As you can see, the amount of dungeon dollars you have right now is only in the hundreds. And like I said previously, you can use Yuan that you earned and convert it into Dungeon Dollars. That was what the system has been doing with all the Yuan you have earned from your shop. It was converting all of the Yuan it earnt into the resources Matter, Magic and Souls. " "With sufficient Matter and Magic, you can create almost anything that you want, and you are only limited by your imagination. The system will determine how much of each resource is needed to be utilised for your item," Yun explained. "So all those dungeons and service instances? They were all created with Matter and Magic by the system. The Dungeon Dollars also allow the system to purchase those resources not just in this world, but on other worlds as well, with an inbuilt currency exchange. Why the system uses Dungeon Dollars is because it is currently the highest value of them all, similar to how the USD in this world works." "This is definitely becoming something more complicated than I thought. I always thought the system was just almighty enough to create something out of nothing and it was limiting my creation because I was not yet worthy enough." "Nonsense. You finally said that you wanted to control this system on your own so I am now giving you full reign of it. It might be hard or difficult to grasp at first but you should be able to get the hang of it quickly." Yun genuinely smiled at Jin. Meanwhile, as Jin was looking through the statistics, he noticed the side of the screen had a small mini map so he decided to enlarge it. "Is this a mineral ore mine? Or is this some sort of underground facility?" Jin took a closer look at the graphics in the mini map. "It is actually, in fact, a dungeon in a parallel world. We aptly called it the Dungeon World because everyone in that world loves to participate in dungeons. Hence, the system has already quietly created a permanent dungeon in that world for when you have decided to expand and create a dungeon supplier store over there as well. In fact, that world is somewhat similar to yours at the same time it is also slightly different from this world." Yun explained as she pulled up the facts of that particular world to the digital screen. "How is it similar?" Jin asked as he was a little overwhelmed by the amount of data shown on the digital screen. "In the Dungeon world, almost everyone is an adventurer. If I am not mistaken, they are something similar to the adventurers in your roleplaying games? That tabletop game, Dungeons and Dragoons? Ah yes, they will explore the dungeons to get essentials such as food, water and other various resources." Yun replied. "Even though one person may be a fruit seller, he had to hunt and harvest for his fruits in a dungeon in order to sell because a particular dungeon will magically grow fruits in it. Hence, there are dungeons so large and bountiful that people even create a town or a megapolis surrounding the dungeons because the monsters never ever leave the dungeons no matter what." "The similar thing about this Dungeon world with your RPG games is that whenever an adventurer dies, they will resurrect again. The same goes for the monsters living in the dungeons. Both the adventurers and monsters require a set time to resurrect once again. Even the resurrection process is so much simpler than your world''s procedures." "Hence it is forever an infinite loop of monsters killing adventurers and adventurers killing monsters. That is why in that world, so many adventurers and monsters are born that the adventurers live in high skyscrapers created by magic due to overpopulation. Meanwhile, more monsters mean deeper underground dungeons. And surprisingly, that dungeon world''s landmass somehow grew too. Now you will probably understand why Dungeon Dollars is considered the most valued in the currency exchange market." "So I guess that''s the difference about that dungeon world compared to our world? I mean, when we kill the monsters here, they are dead on the ground and don''t revive." "That''s the difference we are going to make for that dungeon. The dungeons that are created by that system to increase Matter, Magic and Soul? It permanently kills the adventurer." Yun grinned widely. Chapter 106: Harsh Reality "When the dungeon kills the adventurer permanently, he/she will be absorbed for whatever amount of resources they have. Dungeon Dollars, the armour he is wearing, his knowledge, and also his soul. Hence, Money, Matter, Magic and Soul." Yun disclosed more about the system''s dungeon in the Dungeon World. "You mean the system actually kills the adventurer and uses them to build my shop?" Jin was a little uneasy with the fact that his shop was somewhat built on the dead adventurers. "Why are you feeling uncomfortable with that fact? The meat that you eat comes from animals too. You were born to consume. It is a primordial cycle that you cannot avoid. If you are unwilling to take part in this, I will stop talking right now and even help you erase this portion of your memory. You can be forever ignorant and continue with your life as an above average dungeon supplier." Yun stood up and folded her arms as she talked down to Jin. She knew that this was, after all, his decision, but if he wanted to be an outstanding dungeon supplier, he had to acknowledge the fact that he had to do that by standing on a mountain of corpses. In addition, even if he had not fully realised it yet, a person can''t just catch a monster and make them unconditionally loyal to Jin in dungeons just like that, and she had been blatantly hinting it to him for quite some time. Jin paused for some time while Yun quietly stood there with her arms still folded, continuing to stare at him as she waited for his answer. He started to connect the dots between all that was happening. The system and Yun were slowly guiding him, rewarding him items generously so that he could grow and ultimately benefit the system. He was in fact just a cog in the system''s works but if it was some consolation, a very large cog. However, as repayment for helping the system, the system would make him a stronger person that ran a better dungeon supplier. He also remembered the hard times he had suffered being alone, having to care for himself. While it is true, his grandfather was a retired general but Ming did not spare Jin in any way. Ming made Jin worked for what he wants, and if Jin did not get it, it was his problem. "You want a new computer? Work hard for it. Get it yourself. I am already paying for your electricity bills." "What you got bullied by bullies? Here, books are on the shelves. Go learn them and challenge them again. Come back to me again when you succeed." The flashbacks of hardship of trying to get back up without any help made Jin thought twice about refusing the system''s orders. Would he really want to have the system removed from him? This luxury when he could finally lay back in life and just work sufficiently hard enough for life to pass by? If he just listened to the system, he assumed everything would be just fine. He never thought that this thing would occur to him. Separately, this might be a simple end goal: to be the number one dungeon supplier, but who knew when people with evil intentions would want his technology or threaten him or maybe even Zhen Qing if he employed her. He was not entirely oblivious to this matter as he started to notice the actions of King''s Monster subtly react to the opening of his store. For the first time ever, King''s Monster, a mega dungeon supplier in Shenzhen business district was offering discounts. There were even forum users in Pandamonium that casually compared the recent amount of human traffic in King''s Monster and Boss Jin''s stores and said that King''s Monster was seeing a lower human traffic than ever before. Hence, he figured he needed the help of the system to get stronger by whatever means necessary. If he needed to build the shop on a mountain of monster and human corpses to protect himself and the ones he loved and had an interest in, then so be it¡­.or that what he thought at that point. Jin would also never forget how his childhood was torn away by the loss of his parents because they were not strong enough. How he had been ostracised by other kids because he was parentless. As he grew older, he even heard weird and bad rumours that his grandfather Ming was actually his father, that Ming probably knocked up a young prostitute or two and that therefore, Jin was just the result of an unwanted pregnancy. "Yun, I do not entirely understand this entire thing but I am willing to give it a try. Please explain more about how this dungeon in the Dungeon World works." Jin finally said with some resolution. Yun smiled as she continued. "You know those monsters you captured? They are actually being utilised in this dungeon and each level has their own ecosystem that is similar to their world. In a way, this is their rightful home after you captured them." Yun explained with further details. "When you use them in your dungeons, they will inevitably get stronger against the adventurers here because of the experience they receive. In return, those who kill your dungeon monsters and survive a dungeon floor, returning to tell the tale, they will find a treasure box with an enticing amount of dungeon dollars." Yun then opened up Mooogle Maps and typed the dungeon''s coordinates into the digital screen and the maps showed the location of the dungeon. "While I did say the Dungeon World is overpopulated, the system managed to create the dungeon at the edge of the world after a new wave of landmass arose in that world. So the dungeon is currently located in a very rural area with a small developing outpost, inhabited only by new and inexperienced adventurers coming to explore the frontiers." "So in a matter of time, those adventurers will notice that this dungeon will be filled with death," Jin interjected. "Yes, and therefore your job now is to not just supervise the shop but the dungeon too. Of course, the shop is still your main priority, but if you supervise this particular dungeon occasionally, it would boost your resources and you will ultimately be able to create a better dungeon experience for your customers." Yun opened a few more digital screens and showed Jin that he could even improve the dungeon levels with traps, equip his monsters with better equipment and a lot more other things. "Kind of a stupid question but I need some clarification. If my monsters die in that world, they will need to be resurrected as well, right?" Jin figured that it had something to do with the "Souls" part of the resources since Yun did not explain much about it. "Yes to your thoughts. We use the adventurers'' souls to resurrect your monsters and even use those souls for your AIs. That is also where the Dungeon Dollars come in. In some mysterious way which I myself do not understand either, the system uses dungeon dollars to purchase souls if we are lacking in the Souls department. Of course, the undead zombies are way cheaper. For a price of one soul, we can bring back about 100 zombies." Yun confirmed Jin''s queries. "Wow! I am starting to doubt how something in me can be this complicated. Hmm¡­ At this rate, it will be hard to always refer to the dungeon in the Dungeon World without a proper name, since I have many dungeons of my own." Jin remarked. "Then what are you waiting for? Give it a name. After all, it''s a sort of a personal dungeon that you will be handling." "I will think about it, but how else can I help with the dungeon in the Dungeon World besides equipping my monsters?" Jin felt that he should do more than just putting more traps and finding more monsters to fill his ''personal'' dungeon. "Join in the dungeon and fight alongside your monsters," Yun said as she brought up another screen and showed that a group of fresh adventurers was preparing to go into Jin''s personal dungeon. Chapter 107: Living Takes True Courage "Join in the dungeon? You mean helping my monsters kill those people?" Jin was not surprised by this at all. He knew when he accepted the fact that he would build this shop of his on a mountain of corpses, but he still felt very hesitant to take a life away. This would be the first time he would be killing someone and if what Yun said was true, they would never resurrect again. Someone will experience the hate Jin had gone through or the grief Ming had to suffer. If there was a cycle of karma, Jin felt that he would be at the epitome of it. Even though he was bringing happiness and joy to his fellow cultivators and customers in his world, he would be hated for the grief and destruction he created in this Dungeon World. "Yes, Jin. You will be killing them. They will be absorbed by the system and you will be able to use them for your shop." Yun said in a serious and cold manner. She understood that Jin could run away from this choice but in actuality, this was not one out of many paths to take. This was a one-way road. Jin gritted his teeth and had decided to act on it. In his life, all he had been doing was following the rules but he had only been escaping from reality and using acceptance as an excuse for being ignorant. The many choices he had regretted not making had haunted him time and time again. Even right now, he wished to blame the system for utilising such ruthless methods to make him stronger. However, he understood that no one was forcing him this time round. He would kill to make his shop better. He would kill to make himself stronger. He would kill to protect someone he loved. "I agree to join. Is there anything I need to be aware of?" Despite Yun was the one speaking most of the time, this time the system spoke with its digital screen. "You can die in this dungeon too. That is the risk you have to take." Jin stared at the digital screen blankly when the system wrote it out in black and white. "But you can use anything in your disposal to stop your enemy. Your cultivation. Your weapons. Your bellators. Your monsters. Whatever you need to create, this Dungeon Maker will assist." The system''s words were harsh and on point. It made Jin feel really scared and at the same time caused his adrenaline to start pumping. However, Jin could not help but clarify something that was on his mind. "Can I get resurrected?" "Right now? No." Those three words, or more specifically, the first two, lit a speck of hope for Jin, but he figured it did not remove the fact that he could really die with his current resources. "You might be thinking along the lines of: If I can die, then why should I bother?" Yun interjected for the system, playing the intermediary between the two of them and probably sweetening the deal for Jin while she was at it. "In any encounter you intervene, the system will give you twice the amount of resources in return as compensation for the risk you are taking. Or you can assume it as justified rewards. As usual, do not ask me how or why. All I know is that it is doing that to motivate you to join and take ownership of your personal dungeon." Yun explained. "Oh and trust me, knowing the system, I think it can be generous once in a while as well if you intervene sufficiently." Yun tried to coerce Jin more as she was instructed by the system, even though she was starting to think it was unnecessary. She could see the fresh eyes of determination in Jin. "Well, if I am not wrong. That also means that my monsters will not die as frequently and I will have more Soul resource to spare for my shop too." Jin added his reasoning. "Very good! You are actually paying attention and learning. I was afraid you were too bombarded by the new information to process it all." Yun pretended to sigh a relief. "Indeed I am. I am still very shocked. I even feel that all of this just a bad drea-." A sudden firey explosion came from his phone, which was on the Dungeon Maker''s table interface. It had blown up the entire area. However, in a matter of seconds, Milk appeared to heal Jin''s burns and took the opportunity to hug him too. "See, this is not a dream at all, Master." The fluffiness was incredible and Jin just laid in her embrace for some time. "Ahhh! Master you pervert! I am telling Zhen Qing this when she becomes your girlfriend!" Peppers came out of the phone and teased Jin. However, all he could do was to laugh bitterly. He realised at that moment both Peppers and Milk probably had their own troubled pasts that he had yet to discover but for now, he understood this was their way of encouraging him. "Master Jin, whenever you need me in your personal dungeon. Do not hesitate to call for me. Just your thought alone would be enough to send me out for battle." Zeru appeared humbly and knelt with one leg on the ground and his sword placed right in front of him. "Same here! I would like to blast them out of the dungeon!" Peppers raised her hand up with delight. "If I allow you to do that, won''t the dungeon be destroyed by you?" Jin got out of Milk''s embrace and she too, like his other bellators, silently nodded her head with a zealous look in her eyes. "Ah, do not worry about that, the dungeon was designed to withstand Peppers'' strongest blast. The ecosystem would be recreated again in a short period of time due to the laws of nature in the Dungeon World." Yun yet again clarified Jin''s doubts. "To have such serva- no, comrades by my side is a real honour. I will be in your care." Jin looked at his three bellator companions. Even though he knew that the system chained them to him, Jin still treated them with respect. "One more thing Master." Zeru stood up and talked. "When you hold Bam and Boo, remember this. Engage in combat fully determined to die and you will come out alive. Wish to survive the battle and you will surely meet death. Becau-" "Because living takes true courage." Both Jin and Yun spoke in unison, which amazed Zeru. He smiled and placed his hand on Jin''s back before giving him a forceful pat. Both Yun and Jin did not realise that both of them could never forget that quote when they first watched Samurai Z in the movies. Yun smiled back at Jin and asked the question once more. "So, are you ready to join the fray?" "No. I am not." Jin smiled widely as he said that, which stunned everyone for a moment. Peppers was ready to shoot another fire blast at him when she recovered and Milk was bitterly laughing. Was the pep talk all for nothing? Jin then realised his mistake, waved his hands frantically to stop everyone from delivering bodily harm and rephrased his sentence. "No, I am not ready because I would like to prepare some items before I head in!" Jin tried to calm the sudden awkward atmosphere. "Not funny Jin." Zeru used his scabbard and knocked on Jin''s head before the bellators disappeared into mid-air. "Alright, quickly craft your items. This party leader for this party of four is debriefing the rest of his squad." Yun folded her arms and shook her head as she saw Jin launching into a frenzy, trying to create items and putting them into his storage watch. However, no one even Yun knew that the initial refusal he spoke so quickly was the hesitation he had been suppressed to a corner of his heart the entire time he realised the situation he was in. Chapter 108: Adventurers "Are you sure this is the dungeon?" Alex tightened his newly bought armour plate on his chest. They had heard that the dungeon they were currently standing in front of was a fairly dangerous one. There had been several reports regarding groups of adventurers going in and not coming out ever again. Some assumed that the monsters in the dungeon enslaved the adventurers but all of it became hearsay when a group of experienced adventurers returned safely with a chest full of dungeon dollars. "Yes, this is the dungeon. I promised that group of experienced adventurers a percentage of our spoils and performed a blood binding contract. They cannot possibly lie about the location of this rural dungeon." Betty, the group leader, checked her quiver to see if there was a sufficient amount of arrows in it. "Usually most dungeons will provide physical treasures such as weapons or gold coins. Overall though, this is a better deal since dungeon dollars are more valuable than gold coins. If we are able to get roughly the same amount of dungeon dollars as those adventurers, we will be able to live comfortably for 3 months or so after deducting the profit cut we need to give to them." Charles juggled with his knife, displaying quite a lot of finesse. "Still, I do not like the rumours about people going missing upon entering this dungeon. Even those experienced adventurers did not give many details on what to expect." Daisy spoke as she held onto her cross pendant. "I believe those rumours were spread to scare people away from this dungeon. Therefore, they would be able to have a better loot run than the others. I have seen enough people spreading bad rumours, and trust me, they spread like wildfire. Besides, we have been through a number of dungeons together. I do not think we should worry that much." Betty counted the number of red healing potions she had as she spoke. "Then, what are we waiting for? Let''s go into the dungeon now before it gets too late. Also, rumours are always based on the truth, no matter how exaggerated, so I suggest just clearing one floor for now." Alex picked up his large triangular shield and placed at the back of his armour plate. "Before we go in, let me say a prayer so we can return safely." Daisy the priest gathered everyone and said a few words before enlightening everyone with her spell of Blessing Guidance. Blessing Guidance empowered the adventurers with a small increase in defence and attack. "Alright, let''s get going before Alex complains again." Betty gestured and everyone picked up their gear, prepared to go into the dungeon. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Before I leave the Dungeon Maker, there are a few things I would like to clarify. Do these adventurers have cultivation grades?" Jin started to stuff miscellaneous items into his storage watch. He even created a reinforced plastic fibre tactical mask with an anti-reflective and anti-glare glass plane, which would prevent his face to be seen by the adventurers. "They have levels attached to them¡­The closest I can relate is indeed to a roleplaying game. They gain experience points and whenever an adventurer levels up, they will be able to ''boost their stats'', so to speak, or use more destructive magical abilities." Yun took a seat and started to monitor the movement of the adventurers. "How strong are these adventurers that are entering the dungeon since you say they are based on levels?" Jin checked his equipment one more time. "Probably a Grade 2 or 3 equivalent. Nothing you cannot handle. Remember though, they might fall in battle but they will not die until you destroy their heart completely. Stabbing through it works too." Yun reinforced her statement. Jin gulped his saliva back down his throat, not in anticipation but in fear. In this personal dungeon of his, there were currently three pathways to take when they reached the first floor of the dungeon. Each pathway to lead to a different monster ecosystem, or more accurately speaking, Jin''s monsters'' abodes. "All these items I made from the Dungeon Maker, can I use them not just for this personal dungeon but in other parallel worlds too?" Jin wanted to know since he could practically make anything in the Dungeon Maker if it was within creation limits. "You can use anything for your personal dungeon that has been created by the Dungeon Maker but restrictions apply for all items you want to bring to all other worlds unless it has been approved by the System to allow you to take it out. For example, the coupon booklet is good to go." Yun reaffirmed Jin. "I am ready now, where do I go to intervene?" Jin asked trembling while holding onto Bam. "They seemed to be entering the level where the Zither Mistress and the Great White Snake lives. I will teleport you there when you are ready." Yun replied but she noticed that he was giving the thumbs up gesture to her. So, she teleported him immediately to Zither Mistress''s level. Yun then snapped her fingers and her pyjamas instantly transformed into a buttoned shirt and shorts as she sat down and stared at the screens in the Dungeon Maker. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Wow, this dungeon is really big." Charles had the highest perception among the whole party. It was a common trait for a thief to have when they reached level three. Charles scanned the surroundings of the dungeon and noticed that there were no traps, no small minions and also no sense of danger. It felt more like a home than a dungeon area, which was particularly odd to him. "I do not sense any danger and that itself makes this dungeon more dangerous than others." Charles strained his visual senses and hearing ability until he saw a little girl resting under a tree from afar. Charles took a look at the surroundings and noticed that for a cave looking dungeon, the area was very brightly lit as if there was sunlight coming in from above ground. However, he could not find any crevices at the top of the dungeon floor nor any artificial lighting around to illuminate the area. He even felt that the fire torches they were carrying were completely useless ever since they entered the first floor of the dungeon. "A kid, with a large snake," Charles whispered back to the group and the entire group halted their movement. "How far are they away from us? The direction?" Betty took out her bow from its scabbard and an arrow from her quiver. Daisy took her magical staff out and extended the length of the staff. She was a healer but she also knew how to fight back if it was necessary. Lastly, Alex unbuckled his shield from his back and placed it in front of him. "Here, this way. I cannot determine how far they are. Perhaps a 100metres?" Charles was making a wild guess, which annoyed Betty. "Approximately 250 metres away." Betty rolled her eyes the moment she found the target that Charles was talking about. "What do you think it is?" Alex, who was still kneeling with one leg on the ground, asked Betty. "Probably some sort of oriental snake demon I guess." Betty took a closer look and saw that the little girl had not noticed their presence yet. She nocked her arrow and aimed at the little girl. "So, what''s the plan?" Alex looked at the rest of the party. "If it is just a snake demon, we can take it down within 10 minutes. I have prepared a level 3 spell of Smiting Evil, which is effective against demons." Daisy took the initiative to speak. "Alright, so I will stand on guard. Alex and Charles. You two move forward slowly and as quiet as possible in the tall grass. Especially you Alex. Your armour plating makes too much noise. Once both of you feel that you are at a comfortable distance away from the two targets, hold your position until my power arrow spell is ready to fire." Betty spoke. "After the enemy gets injured, Alex will charge in immediately while Charles takes the long way for a good execution, using your Backstab ability. When they are noticeably exhausted, Daisy, you will fire your smite evil spell and we will get the spoils for this dungeo-" It was at this point when Betty was talking halfway with her focus towards the little girl and the white snake that she heard a large explosive noise coming from a small hill on their right. Chapter 109: Path of Regrets Before they could deduce what had happened or appraises the situation, a magic similar to an explosion was activated right in the middle of the four adventurers. Jin was using one of the forms of Bam and Boo, the Bamboo Cannon. Initially, when Jin arrived at the same floor as Zither Mistress. He asked Zither Mistress to play and relax under Shu, the ancient treant. He then went far away from the position Zither Mistress, Ke Mi, was sitting and observed the party dynamics of the group with binoculars that he had created from the Dungeon Maker instance. He saw Charles leading the group and thought he was the boss. That was until he realised Betty was the party leader. It could be seen by the way she was giving commands to the entire party. Hence, taking this opportunity, Jin took the chance to fire his Bamboo Cannon. The shot that he had just fired was not an explosive one but more of a flashbang, designed to disorient them greatly. However, there was a small blast that did not deal much damage to four of the adventurers. Jin took this chance to grab onto one of Shu''s branches. With a slight tug on the tree branch, it magically extended to near a small slope where Jin fired his shot. Shu instantly retracted the branch after the shot was taken, and Jin, who was holding on tightly returned to where Shu was located. Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress, stopped pretending to play with the Great White Snake and took her zither out for battle. Once more, Jin held tightly onto Bam in Bo form and dashed towards the disoriented adventurers. Meanwhile, only Alex had barely recovered from the flashbang stun because of his high constitution stats and he saw a black shadow dashing towards the group. He knew something was amiss and quickly shouted as loud as he could in order to initiate his ability, Provoking Call. This would allow any monsters within his range to be provoked by him, hence they would target him instead of his allies. He then saw the black shadow running towards him and he immediately gripped his shield hard despite still having an unsteady gait due to the disorientation. However, within seconds, the black shadow ran past him with no acknowledgement of his presence and it first went for the team''s healer, Daisy. Jin slammed Daisy down, causing her to fall down, gasping in pain. Next, Jin took out a stun gun and shot it at their guardian, Alex. He purposely increased the voltage when he created it in the Dungeon Maker so that it would periodically send pulses of electricity for a minute to paralyse Alex. The metal armour plating also made for a good conductor, which caused Alex to have more spasms. The moment when the pulse of electricity stopped, Jin proceeded to use his staff to deal a low blow at Alex, causing him to trip. That was when he slammed his bo hard on his head. For some reason, Jin was starting to feel conflicted emotions in him. A part of him does not want to harm Alex but he did not expect the fight to be so one sided. Jin felt like he was in control of the team''s lives. There was still a part of him that resisted the idea of killing. That part of him though was getting weaker with every second that passed. Did he really have to kill and listen to the system orders? He did not have the heart to do so but yet he felt so pressured. So pressured by the current situation, so pressured by the system. Does he really have what it takes to take an innocent life just for his store? Can he see them as just livestock? Charles finally recovered from the disorientation and he himself had a few tricks of his own. He took out an improvised smoke bomb and threw it on the floor. The blast immediately made the area within a radius of ten metres become covered in thick smoke. He hoped that the blast would confuse Jin for a while as he grabbed Betty, who was beside him and sprint in the other direction. "I do not think the adventurers were missing or enslaved! I think they were being killed by this masked Reaper!" Charles panicked as he held onto Betty''s hand tightly and kept running. However, they did not know that Jin had the skill Playful Panda Hearing, which was able to sense the direction they were moving despite the smoke screen. Yet, he had another plan instead of chasing them down. "What about Alex and Daisy? Are we going to leave them there?" Betty was scarred by the scenes she had seen as she ran away with Charles. Betty vaguely remembered how the Reaper beat the level 2 priest Daisy with one staff strike, as well as rendering the Level 3 Guardian Alex unconscious, using the electrical stun contraption the Reaper had on him. "I do not care about them as much as much as I care about you!" Charles looked back for a moment to see if the Reaper was catching up on them but did not realise that they had totally forgotten about the Great White Snake and the little girl. The girl was sitting on top of the snake''s head and with just a pluck of her zither, both Charles and Betty were not able to move a single muscle. Jin did not do anything more to both Alex and Daisy. Instead, he walked towards both Charles and Betty. "Why am I still hesitating to kill that guardian and priest? Did I not promise myself to build my shop on a mountain of corpses?" Jin thought to himself as he got closer and closer to the Charles and Betty. His thoughts and words were being held back by his own morals. He was unclear, unsure. This was not how he was taught. Although it seemed like Ke Mi had immobilised them completely, in actual fact, she had only immobilised the major hand and leg muscles. "Please let us go! We will give you whatever you want!" Charles shouted desperately. Charles suddenly looked at Betty in complete shock and said the unspeakable. "Take her if you want! Do whatever you want with her! I promise I will not disturb this dungeon anymore!" Charles changed his tone by 180 degrees, which made Betty turn her head and face him in disbelief. "You said you cared about me!" Betty stared at Charles now with anger and rage evident in her tone. "Not as much as I care about myself!" Charles said in a spite of fury. Jin later noticed the two of them crying, begging for mercy, trying to outbid the other''s promise since they could not see that Jin had yet to completely kill Alex and Daisy due to the smoke. "I do not think I have any qualms when removing liars from this world." Jin did not know whether it was the current atmosphere of hate and anger between the two of them that made him blind to the fact that he wanted to kill Charles for being such a dishonourable teammate. As Jin walked a few steps forward, and raised the Katana Bam up, wishing to strike Charles down in one go. However, at that moment, another pluck of the Zither was heard and this time round Jin was immobilised by Ke Mi. "Master. Don''t Kill¡­." Ke Mi spoke with much effort, caused by the backlash from harming her master, as she commanded the Great White Snake with her zither to bring her closer to Jin. She then dropped her precious zither onto the ground as she dragged herself forward and placed her forehead against Jin''s. Suddenly, a rush of memories coursed through Jin''s mind. If not for his cultivation, the surge of memories would have killed him in an instant. It was only then he realised that Ke Mi was trying to tell him something as specific memories of her past flashed through his mind. They were memories of her pent up anger and confusion against the people who had been hostile towards her. Her first kill at the young and innocent age of 13 and how she regretted doing so even though she was dying for that day to come. She cried for many days and nights after that and even tried to go back to the village to beg for forgiveness. However, she was only met with more hatred and anger. In order to protect herself, she had to kill again out of self-defence and things then just spiralled down. Eventually, she was numbed by the pain and anguish she had inside of her for many years until Jin accidentally found her. Although Jin captured her for the purpose of the dungeon, she was once again reunited with a long lost friend of her parents, Shu. The current dungeon abode that she was living in was even more comfortable than what she had ever lived in before despite its simplicity. Ke Mi could not imagine that she would have known her real name if not for Jin. Not only that, her skills grew stronger with each shop dungeon fight. Speaking of shop dungeon instances, Ke Mi even met cultivators that were actually happy to see her and appreciated her music. Although they eventually died quite horribly by her hands, she never felt such a sense of relief until she met Jin. Therefore, she did not want Jin to follow in her footsteps that only lead to a path of regrets. Chapter 110: Jins Resolution During that surge of memories Ke Mi transmitted to Jin, he felt the emotions that Ke Mi had experienced. He felt the rage and the hatred for the village people that discriminated against her. He felt the fear and disdain when she begged for forgiveness. But worst of all, and the most confronting of all, he felt the blank satisfaction of killing someone and the sorrowful regrets that accompanied it. Every single day, she yearned for the need to escape from reality but as the years went by, she ultimately accepted the consequences of her rash actions, no matter how reluctantly. Jin also experienced the change of perspective that she had gone through, how she came to view everyone as a threat to her survival. She even had suicidal thoughts but because of her lifelong partner, the great white snake, she barely managed to stay sane and grew strong from her adversity. However, that was not the most important thing that Ke Mi wanted to show Jin. What she wanted to show came next. They were her memories of after being captured by Jin. She had felt a sense of extreme hatred going through her. How she had failed to anticipate his actions and how underestimating Jin was the greatest mistake of her life. It was then, though, that she lived out her happiest moments. Ke Mi showed Jin that his actions of putting her in his dungeon instances gave her hope. He gave her the title Zither Mistress, which would seem like an ordinary honorary title, but to her, it felt like Jin had forgiven her of her sins and wished for her to start anew, ditching the heinous title of Lady Snake. This small little action might not have meant much to Jin but it meant a hell of a lot to Ke Mi. In addition, this was an initiative he had taken all by himself, and he was not forced by the system to do so. What Jin saw next was her memory of his hard work trying to revamp the Zither Mistress dungeon instance and change it into the all new music theatre dungeon instance it was now. He could have just inserted some monsters to make the fights more difficult for his customers but no he did not stop there. Jin painstakingly recreated every single detail of a proper theatre. Although he was not very familiar on how to build an open-air theatre, he purposely took the time to search for blueprints and built a theatre from scratch. Jin even asked Ke Mi for her opinions, which had not been necessary in her opinion, but at that moment, she felt appreciated. Hence, this Jin that she was looking into the eyes of was not the Jin she knew, the Jin she adored. This Jin was not the Jin she was proud to call her master. She did not know how else to convey her message other than this memory transfer method. However, this method was sufficient to break Jin''s conflicted heart. He dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, crying behind the tactical mask. Jin then remembered Yun''s complaints regarding his passive behaviour and maybe she was right after all. Jin should have noticed that the things did not add up. Why did Yun complain to Jin that he needed to buck up in life all of a sudden? Wasn''t it just to hint that he needed to something with his life? It was at that moment, he realised that Zeru''s last-minute advice was not about the battle against these adventurers. He remembered that his quote in the movies had originally been from his delicately portrayed internal struggle, revolving around his dilemma between protecting his master, the one and only person that really mattered to him in his life, and conforming and surrendering to the rebels. Zeru could have dropped his weapon and broke his code of honour. Zeru could have killed his master, which his master did encourage him to do in order to save his very own life. But he did not. No matter the adversity, he had stood strong to what he believed in and fought his way through mountains upon mountains of enemies. Jin was feeling shameful that he had not have figured out his Shifu''s advice and nearly killed innocent adventurers just because the system told him it was necessary to do so. And because Jin blindly followed, he did not have a proper opinion of his own. "Living takes true courage¡­Thank you, Shifu for your timely reminder¡­." Jin had decided to make up his mind. "You are right Ke Mi. I am not fit to be your master if I had gone through with this murder. No¡­I was not fit to be your master the moment I had the thoughts to kill people." Jin solemnly looked at Ke Mi as she asked her Great White Snake to lower her down. Ke Mi proceeded to give a warm, pleasant hug to Jin and he responded with a waterfall of tears. Once Jin had calmed down, he then looked Ke Mi in the eyes with newfound resolve. "Do not worry Ke Mi, I promise you I will try and fix everything and be the master that you once saw and adored." "Milk. Peppers. Zeru." Jin commanded and they appeared right in front of him. "Zeru, knock out these two immobilised adventurers. Milk, go heal the other two if necessary. I should not have beaten them that badly. Peppers, prepare a magical teleportation spell to teleport these four adventurers back to their town." Jin then paused for a while and added another order for Zeru as they acknowledged their orders. "Oh and Zeru, before you knock them out, castrate that thief for being so ball-less," Jin said with a firm tone. He did not wish to kill but seeing how spineless that thief was, he just had to teach a lesson to Charles. One that Charles would remember for life as Jin despises people who abandon their comrades. A teaching he can never forget from Ming. The moment Charles heard that order, he panicked so much he started to spout nonsense. "You crazy Reaper! Commanding kids to fight for you. You are the one true ball-less freak!" "Master, you are giving this dishonourable man whom was so willing to abandon his comrades too great a saving grace. You should also amputate his fingers and toes too and give them to the werehumans as snacks." Zeru suggested. "Castration will be enough." Jin shook his head and Zeru nodded his head to show he understood. Once Milk healed the other two, Peppers actually cast a memory manipulation spell on the three adventurers other than Charles to make them forget what had actually happened. Zeru proceeded to pull Charles'' pants down and with two quick slashes of his sword. First his underwear and then his penis dropped noiselessly like a withered flower dropping onto the ground. "Dishonourable. Be thankful I am skilled." Zeru swung his sword to remove the stained blood on it before stepping aside. Charles did not feel any pain for a moment but when he saw his flaccid penis on the floor, his whimpers turned into shouts of rage. "I WILL COME BACK TO KILL ALL OF YOU!" Charles screamed at the top of his lungs. "Try us." Jin nodded towards Peppers and she teleported all four of them back to their town''s front gate. When the deed was done, Yun instantly appeared in front of Jin with her arms folded. "Tell me, what were you doing removing our resources from the dungeon? Have you forgotten how I can punish you, Do you want to kowtow to me now to apologise for what you have done?'' Yun stared very intensely at Jin and the pressure from her was immense. However, Jin finally stood his ground. "You and the system said yourselves that this was a personal dungeon of mine right? Then destroy this dungeon at once." "If I destroy this dungeon, where will your monsters live?" Yun started to interrogate Jin. "I will use the Dungeon Maker to create a service instance for them to live in. In fact, I will create something far more suitable for each and every monster I captured as well as my Bellators. They are serving me so it is natural for me to provide them with the best home I can give them." Jin replied. "Then, how are you going to build their homes if you have no resources?" Yun questioned his method. "You said that my Yuan can be converted into Dungeon Dollars right? The system also uses Dungeon Dollars to procure soul right? That also means the system can use Dungeon Dollars to buy Matter and Magic. So all I have to do is earn more money via the shop. I do not care if I do not receive that much of a profit if it means my monsters and bellators can have a good home." Jin tried to piece all the information he had obtained together and used them to his advantage. "Maybe I will create more dungeon shops and open them in suitable parallel worlds. Or perhaps I will create a magical teleportation portal that periodically allows adventurers or cultivators from parallel worlds to come to my store and fight." Jin suggested more practical practices. "But such parallel worlds might not have cultivators that have a solid dantian point like yours or resurrection like these adventurers in the dungeon world. They could die if they joined your dungeons and then you would be back to square one." Yun argued back. "If that''s the case, knock them unconscious or something. Maybe I can use a magical inscription to cause non lethal blows to those adventurers." Jin replied back. "Why are you going for such a pacifist route? Did you not feel the adrenaline rush and enjoyment when you were in power of those adventurers'' lives?" Yun mentioned how Jin was drunk with power a while back. "You are right. I am a hypocrite like every other human you have met and will meet or maybe worse, a coward. But right now, I am a coward with the courage to not kill someone just because someone told me to. I will stop being a conformist for even a dead fish can go with the flow of things, and I am certainly not a dead fish." Jin clenched his fists when he said that. At this moment, Yun facial expression relaxed and she clapped her hands slowly. "But in my eyes, you are no longer the coward I thought you would become. It took you a massive amount of courage to finally step out from conforming to the expectations of others." "You have finally shown me that you have the guts to make a decision on your own despite the fact the fact that the System''s method is the one of the most efficient for your path to becoming the number one dungeon supplier," Yun said as she walked towards Jin and rubbed his head. "You and I both know though, that now that you chose to go this route, it will not be easy getting those resources," Yun said to Jin as she teleported him back to the Dungeon Maker and at interface console of the Dungeon Maker, she closed the cave opening of the dungeon. "Until you create that service instance you talked about, I will not destroy the home of your many monsters. The stress and internal pressure Jin had been experiencing for the past few hours were finally lifted off his shoulders, knowing that this small yet intense adventure had come to a close. But then he started to think and came up with an idea that he could not help but ask. "Maybe we can raid the dungeons in this dungeon world? Get their treasures and convert them into resources. Perhaps capture more monsters too? You did say that the monsters are overflowing in this world. It should not bother anyone if we capture a few for ourselves." Jin asked Yun and she looked at him and laughed. "Dungeon Takeovers?" Yun grinned. ================== Author''s Final (unfiltered and unedited) thoughts: Hi readers, these few days might have been a weird rollercoaster ride for you but let me explain myself a little. While this explanation might not be the best of the best explanation and maybe you do not accept it, but this is the perspective that I have for this current arc. You have your rights of opinion. Firstly, I felt that the sudden turn of tone and setting was necessary. It is to throw the readers off their comfort chair. The light tone of the novel they have been enjoying (I hope) thus far and this is how Jin felt too. Jin just followed the motion, conforming, floating around in life. He takes whatever life gave him. He adapted to it. So this dark tone was to shake Jin too and hopefully shake the readers too. (but, of course, it seems I have underestimated the backlash.) Next, different opinions from Yun was seen. Yun had already given Jin a pep talk and that he needed to change himself. He says okay I will change but saying and doing is two different things. Will he really change? Yun wants to see whether is he going to ''change'' for the better or worst. Hence, thank you. thank you to reader Drakross and his comments in chap 109 for figuring out and interpreting what I wanted for Jin. Jin wanted to start anew. that was why he started with the coupon booklet making but was that change enough to be anew? Yun wanted to see if he can handle the truth and if he does not, will he really change? I want Jin to experience confusion. The sudden high pressure and stress in a whole new situation. the flimsy reason for him to kill people and being influenced by external factors. If he really did what the system said, it means that all he did was to keep his mind shut and adapt to the situation. He was conforming to the system whims and that was his rationale to keep sane in this sudden stressful situation. Therefore, like what reader Drakross said. He can use the system as a powerful motivator to change himself or use it as affirmation for him to continue staying as a conformist which I had already dropped hints all around the novel from time to time, how he conformed to life. Then here comes to the part of killing. Some people think this is too extreme, like why would a rational person think its okay to kill? That is because he is faced in a situation where he thought he was trapped with two choices. Ignore the fact or kill something and contribute. He was thrown into that decision and he was pressed to make a decision fast. Under a new environment he was introduced in, the internal interest of wanting to change, wanting to do something. Pressured by the fact that his bellators will support him regardlessly of what he does while secretly hoping he might do something right since they could not exactly disobey him. Like I had said in the comments in chapt 109. Do not just judge the rationality of a person based on his personality alone. It is just one factor of an equation. No human is purely black and white like a comic book character. Everyone is grey. Different shades of grey. TLDR: jin wants to change, he wants to take initiative in his actions. Yun challenge him to a grave situation to see if he can really change himself. he did not until things happened. Once he realised that he is more than just a conforming dead fish, he starts to take stand in this. I am sorry if I could not convey this message well enough in the story. I will try harder but till then, thank you to those who did not drop the novel and seeing this through. Thank you to the readers who commented. I really appreciate each and every comment. They made me see your personal perspective and how I could improve my storytelling in the future too. and also, Thank you for those who read but decides to drop it because I am not competent enough in my storytelling. I respect your choice and all I can do is to improve. till then. its back to the same old vibe of the novel with an all new Jin. (I really hope he keeps it that way.) Chapter 111: Reason For Hiring Yun was extremely delighted that Jin had finally started to take the management of his own shop into his own hands. Before this incident, she had some doubt that Jin would not change. He said he would do things, but he would procrastinate or he would just follow things blindly anyway. No matter how much she tried, he kept staying in his comfort zone. He had the potential to become a superpower in the next decade but how could a person possibly reach that level when his mind is trapped in a cage- A cage called indolence and apathy. Yun knew she had to push him. Push him so hard that he could change. But how? Suddenly it hit her. How about showing him the regret of a person¡­The regret one feels from just mindlessly following the flow of events. And the only person she knew who would be able to pull it off was Ke Mi. Yun started to form a plan. Even though it may have been unfair, she had to create a situation where he would not only understand Ke Mi regrets but also truly feel embarrassed about himself. She didn''t care if he never realised how much effort she put in because she just wanted to help him, not get anything from it. He might falsely believe that she would kill others for profit, even pushing him into slaughtering people if necessary. Maybe their relationship would have a crack in it from today onwards, but that was not too bad of a price to her. Fortunately, none of those mattered if Jin finally woke up. "Dungeon Takeovers? What exactly is that about? Is that what they call completing a dungeon in this world?" Jin was curious about that. "No, not really, it means that we would take control of the dungeon and take control it for its resources temporarily. It is similar to how a miner/mining company would find a vein of gold and claim it for himself. So we go in, whack those monsters and grab a bunch of resources that are just lying around." Yun replied as she sat on the table interface of the Dungeon Maker. "Instead of grabbing a bunch of resources, why don''t we mine those resources?" Jin thought of that idea when Yun gave the example of mining which intrigued him. "What you do mean?" Yun did not get the drift from Jin. "Remember how Zeru gave me those crystal seeds which I have not planted yet? I wonder if there is anything similar to it in those dungeons. Alternatively, we have the Dungeon Maker. Maybe we can create a mining bot that scans the area and mines the resources while we defend it and kill the monsters." Jin suddenly had many ideas beginning to pop up in his mind. "Besides, you said the monsters would take some time to resurrect if they die so that means we can use that time to plant some mining bots in order to mine the resources." Jin mind started to go wild with idea after idea and Yun laughed. "Okay, stop right there young man. Before you get overzealous with the whole new me," Yun calmed Jin down, "Just remember that Dungeon Takeovers are different and quite unique. If you managed to clear the dungeon entirely, the dungeon would actually give you a tribute of Matter, Magic and Souls for a month. That was where the system took the idea from to craft such a ruthless variant. To the system, why a tribute when it can get a constant source of resource as long as people are vying for the dungeon''s treasure. Maybe it''s flawed if you look at it from another point of view but the system had already calculated that this was one of the highest efficiency means of gathering at the lowest cost possible." "But most of the time, the dungeon would never be completed by one person because the dungeons here are long winded and demanding. Hence, a raid party is always recommended to do so and if a raid party completes it, it will be written on a wall of the dungeon at the entry so people would not be stupid to try it for a period of time since the tribute can only be given once a month. However, that is not a problem since there are so many dungeons around it doesn''t really affect the adventurers." "You did say vendors did that too. How do they work then?" Jin asked "They send many raiding parties to many dungeons and the successful ones get decent pay. While it might not seem like much but high level raiding parties earn a lot of dungeon dollars." Yun said. "So, if we find a good resource dungeon and enter it with my bellators and monsters along with me. Then clear it by defeating each and every monster, we can get a good haul?" Jin wanted to confirm. "I thought you would only be bringing your bellators. I did not expect you to say you are going to bring your monsters in too." Yun was pleasantly surprised. "Why not? I have yet to fully explore their offensive powers and abilities. Maybe this will be a good chance to learn about them and subsequently improve their dungeons too. Besides, they need to work to have their new home up and ready as soon as possible." Jin laughed as he suddenly thought of Ke Mi and felt like patting her head. "So do you want to go now? There is one nearby for you to try if you want." Yun asked as she genuinely smiled at Jin. Jin looked at his storage watch to check the time and refused. The watch was surprisingly useful. It showed the time of the Dungeon World as well as the time in his original world. It also showed how much time had elapsed to give him back a proper sense of time. "It''s nearly eight in the morning; I promised Zhen Qing that I would provide her ingredients for her black pepper buns. Anyways, I might do that Dungeon Takeover later, but not yet. Oh, by the way, Yun, are you able to procure those items on the list I gave you?" Jin asked Yun politely. "Well, you did not reply to me when I asked you about why you want Zhen Qing as an employee considering there''s a risk of her knowing the system''s secret." Yun tested Jin once more. "I think I like her. That influenced my decision and I am biased towards hiring her. But if you want a logical answer, I really feel that her buns are delicious. She might even have other tricks that she had not shown us. However, that one day was sufficient for me to understand how hardworking she is, how she preserved under the hot sun, standing for the whole day without rest apart from the toilet breaks, which was ironic since she didn''t want to use our store''s toilets." Jin replied as he listed her traits he had discovered whilst observing her. "She even brought her reserved stocks just to fulfil her side of the bargain. I do not think she even had a proper food break. Not to mention, I noticed Zhen Qing was really happy serving the customers and I can occasionally see her smile despite the mask she wore for hygiene." "Zhen Qing even declined to work further because she did not have enough supplies. From what I know about other street vendors, I am pretty sure they might have used scrupulous ways to get lousy quality food supplies at the fastest and cheapest possible way. However, Zhen Qing did not. She insisted on using her own ingredients and I respect her profession as a cook more than a simple street vendor. That''s why I want to hire her." Jin finally gave his analysis. "No bad points during this observation?" Yun questioned. "Does me being a shameless stalker during work count?" Jin laughed bitterly as he spoke the truth. He had made excuses to leave his bar counter just to glance at Zhen Qing. "And the obvious advances to keep her to the stall which she felt a little suspicious about and she may or may not be creeped out about? Yea I agree, that''s a bad point too." Yun teased Jin. "Was it really that obvious?" Jin blushed "Yes, Mr Oblivious." Yun rolled her eyes and pressed a few buttons on the table interface she was sitting at. "The system and I have long since created a kitchen instance since we thought you might have become interested in cooking after eating the tonkatsu curry rice, but it seems our prediction was off. We might as well we give Zhen Qing the special rights to the kitchen instance since she would probably need the time dilation to prepare her items. However, remember to tell her to rest. Time dilation for commoners might be straining on their bodies compared to us cultivators." A special access card appeared on the table of the dungeon maker and Yun passed it to Jin. "The access card gives her the privilege to enter the dungeon at will. I have also reduced the time dilation of the kitchen instance to the minimum so it extends only 2 hours for every one hour in the real world. I hope you know what you are doing Jin." "I do. I will try and find a suitable cultivation technique for her¡­that is if she is okay with learning how to cultivate. But right now, during the time she is in the kitchen instance, I will try to create an improved mobile stall for her." Jin added and Yun gave him the thumbs up before they left the dungeon maker instance. Moments after they arrived back at the store, the doorbell at the side rang. "What impeccable timing." Yun squeezed Jin''s shoulder and gently pushed him to the side door. Chapter 112: An Urgent Plea Jin got to the door and noticed that Zhen Qing got bigger¡­larger in size? "BOSS JIN I NEEED YOUR HELP!" It was not Zhen Qing as he had initially thought, but instead, it was Xiong Da, the cultivator who used the Hungry Hippo Style that rang his bell this early in the morning. It was only then that Jin saw a slight silhouette of a lady riding the motorcycle behind Xiong Da. "What is the problem?" Jin decided to handle Xiong Da first since he had always been a regular customer at his store. It would be disrespectful to shoo him away even though it was not opening hours yet. "Thank goodness you are early, I was thinking that I might have to wait until afternoon for your presence." Xiong Da was sweating really badly. "What''s with the urgency?" Jin hoped to find out the reason quickly so he could talk to Zhen Qing. However, Zhen Qing also noticed that Jin had a customer barging in so she decided to park her motorcycle in the same garden spot she did yesterday and waited for Jin to finish. "Do you remember how I told you that about a guy who challenged me to a duel and I lost?" Xiong Da hoped that Jin remembered the reason he decided to buy Jin''s dungeons and the verbal agreement that had transpired between the two of them. Jin nodded his head. How could he forget? He was the first regular customer Jin had ever had and that embarrassing duel was the reason why Xiong Da was training so desperately hard with the help of Instructor Milk. "I happened to bump into my crush again, Ruo Ying, and I noticed that there was some bruising on her face under her makeup. I even noticed some bruises under her sleeves too." Xiong Da''s rage was bursting out of him and his angry chi could be felt by Jin. "Aren''t you a lawyer? You can now sue him for abuse or assault, can''t you?" Jin was curious about why Xiong Da had not pressed for a case. "Ever since I knew about this last night, I told her I would bring him to the police but she could only hold her tears back. Ruo Ying said that her father had gambled all that wretched guy''s money away hence she could not even hope to run. That guy even made her father sign a screwed up contract saying that he had to pay all the money back with interest. That bastard even told him that he would be holding Ruo Ying a little while longer as a guarantee. There was no chance Ruo Ying''s father could call the cops or employ a lawyer because that was written in the contract." Xiong Da clenched his fists even harder. "Surely, you can find some loopholes in that contract¡­" Jin was beginning to wonder if Xiong Da was really a lawyer. "Oh, there lots when I had the chance to take a look at it. But I decided to meet him next week and settle our old score. After I win, I will crush him into minced meat while making sure he is not eligible for resurrection. No¡­that''s not good enough¡­I will also gift him a mountain of debts too so he can pay for his actions!" Xiong Da got so riled up that Jin saw his Hippo silhouettes out screaming. Zhen Qing was shocked and thought that the fat guy wanted to beat up Jin and wanted to call the police immediately. However, she noticed Jin was still standing at the side door relaxed and decided to hold her phone close to her just in case. "Ah, seems like you reached Grade 2 Peak." Jin was amazed by the dedication of Xiong Da. "But are you sure that Ruo Yong girl that you mentioned will still be in love with you? Perhaps she just wanted you to get her out of the predicament she was in. Maybe she was just trying her luck and just wanted to use you like the same way that¡­what''s that guy''s name?" "Lan Ji Ao" Xiong Da spit his saliva at the side of the walkway upon saying his name. Jin then folded his arm and cleared his throat to show his discontent. "Ah sorry. Boss Jin." Xiong Da then realised he was at Boss Jin''s doorstep. "Anyways yea, she might actually use you just like how Ji Ao used her. Or perhaps, this was an elaborate plan for Ji Ao to humiliate you even more and show Ruo Ying who was the boss." Jin queried Xiong Da but it seemed that it was a waste of effort. "I know, I have thought of all the possibilities. However, she was the only one that really understood me when I was in contact with her previously. Also, she did try to send some messages to me during the past month but she rarely instigated long conversations because her phone was being monitored by Ji Ao. Besides, even if she does not like me anymore, I would still like to help her. But in order for me to help her, I need your help. Please Boss, help me!" Xiong Da went to his knees and prostrated. Zhen Qing was befuddled by what had transpired. First, the fat guy seemed to be threatening Jin and right after Jin folded his arms, he began prostrating in front of Jin. Who was this Jin exactly? No matter what, it looked like Zhen Qing was right to be put up a defensive front for now. Last night, she was thinking that maybe her prayers had been answered after all these years of hard work but now she did not know if this was the right opportunity for her or not. "So how did you want me to help you exactly?" Jin noticed Zhen Qing''s awkward expression from afar and decided to support Xiong Da up. The moment Xiong Da stood up, he took out a cheque for 50 Thousand Yuan and shoved it into Jin''s camp. "This is the deposit. Train me like I am in a special forces hell boot camp. All I ask is that I eat good food during breaks. I am willing to sleep on the floor of the shop if I have to!" Xiong Da''s resolution was very obvious. He did not care about anything but his desire to save the girl he liked¡­and delicious food. In some way, Jin felt quite shameful that he was not as resolute as Xiong Da. It took Yun a massive amount of effort to get Jin to open his eyes and let him stand on his two feet and here Xiong Da was overflowing with determination, wanting to change at all cost all by himself. Even if there was no 50 thousand Yuan to entice him, Jin had already been inspired by Xiong Da and pumped up to work doubly hard for him. But, with that cheque of 50 thousand yuan, he could also convert the money into dungeon dollars for his monster''s home so it was a good bonus. "Alright, I might be able to help you but just hold on to that cheque until I can confirm it for you." Jin returned the cheque to Xiong Da and returned to the store. He pretended to check his phone for something but he was actually messaging Zeru about whether he could assist Xiong Da. "I will not take another disciple." Zeru adamantly refused to assist Xiong Da. "Nono, I am not asking you to train him as your disciple but as an instructor," Jin remembered Yun said offensive classes like Zeru could not be used as an instructor on the fields since it would make the battle too easy. Speaking of instructors, only a few used Milk as their instructor and no one took Peppers but it could be the notion of AI''s being useless in battles. None of the customers knew that Milk and Peppers were not just AI instructors. "Oh! Okay, sure, but I thought the system would not allow offensive classes as instructors?" Zeru asked. "For that part, I respect the system''s opinion because I too feel it would be too easy for cultivators if you joined them for the battle. Hence, I am not asking you to join him in the dungeons. Instead, you will be training him in Panda Muscles." Jin typed furiously on his phone''s screen pad. "Understood, I shall wait for him over there." Zeru''s portrait immediately disappeared, indicating that he had teleported himself to Panda Muscles. "So, Boss. Is it okay? If 50 thousand Yuan is not enough, I can give you more. To me, money is not an issue at all." Xiong Da opened his suitcase to take out his chequebook and wrote a blank cheque for Jin. "Name your price!" Xiong Da seemed to be sweating as he passed that blank cheque to Jin but he was determined to go all out for Ruo Ying. Meanwhile, Jin tore the blank cheque into pieces right in front of him and took the 50 thousand yuan cheque from his suit pocket instead. "This will be enough for now." Jin beckoned Xiong Da to come into the store Jin also beckoned to Zhen Qing, albeit with a gentler expression, but all Zhen Qing could do was nod her head and entered the store with Xiong Da. Chapter 113: Short Sightedness "Xiong Da, let me settle some internal shop matters before I get to you. Is that fine with you?" JIn asked Xiong Da politely. "Sure, Boss. Your job comes first." Xiong Da entered and he realised it had been a long time since he last stepped into Jin''s store that it had the same empty atmosphere he had first experienced a few weeks ago. "If you did not notice, this is Zhen Qing. She is undergoing a certain trial to see if she is fit to be my employee and whether she is agreeable with the working conditions." Jin introduced Zhen Qing to Xiong Da since both of them came into the store before opening hours. "Oh hi there, I remember you. Your black pepper buns were fantastic and no offence, but they can''t match the quality of Boss Jin''s." Xiong Da finally noticed the pretty girl that had entered the store after him. "Haha Xiong Da, you are too spoiled by the simple dishes that are served here." Jin chuckled. "Seriously, if you have more food variety, I will personally buy an apartment or even a house just to eat your food on a daily basis." Xiong Da praised Jin. "Zhen Qing, This is Xiong Da, my first regular customer since the shop''s opening." Jin introduced Xiong Da to her. "I..uh Thank you. I will try harder." Zhen Qing started to realise she was wrong to suspect Xiong Da of any malicious intent against Jin. The way they were reacting at the doorstep could possibly just be their unique way of bonding between friends. "Hmm Xiong Da, instead of waiting, go to the third floor. There is a Muscular Panda Jade Statue there. Place your phone against the statue and it will work the same way as the underground stores. I might have someone waiting for you there right now." Jin suddenly saw a notification on his phone and decided to ask Xiong Da to meet with Shifu Zeru while he took care of Zhen Qing''s ingredient matters. "Oh? I thought the third floor was just the video playback rooms." Xiong Da remembered the level that not a lot of people frequented. "I have changed it quite a bit, you will understand once you have taken a look. I will check on you in a bit." Jin inserted the cheque into the Panda Port and the Port surprisingly accepted it and credited Jin''s account with 50 thousand Yuan. "You never cease to amaze me at how flexible you take money in." Jin thought to himself. "Okay Boss, See you later then." Xiong Da went up the stairs while Jin finally gave Zhen Qing his full attention. After conversing with Yun, Jin understood that if he wanted Zhen Qing to trust him, he should act more like a boss with a reasonable and logical mindset. If he was too generous, Zhen Qing might think that Jin was up to no good. If he was too stingy, Zhen Qing might not work for him at all. Jin would need to have the right ratio of carrot and stick to gain Zhen Qing''s trust. Sure, he might have an interest in her and assumed that she probably had the right characteristic and attitude for the employee he was looking for. However, if she did not improve in terms of skills and increase her dish repertoire within these two weeks, Jin would decide not to employ her since she would not be worthy of the risk Jin was taking to hire her. "Zhen Qing, follow me. Tap this black card here to enter." Jin used his phone and tapped it against the Panda Port and Zhen Qing quickly followed. When she was safely teleported, she realised she was not in the store anymore but in a different area. It was a spacious looking kitchen but just like any of Jin''s instances, it was not a normal kitchen. In fact, it was a kitchen equipped with so many appliances and kitchen equipment that a novice cook would be overwhelmed by the sheer amount. There were multiple large ovens, stainless steel cookware, knives, a few dozen refrigerators and even a freezer room that kept the recently killed animals fresh. "There are too many items to take note of in this kitchen¡­" Zhen Qing was flabbergasted and could not imagine that Jin would have so many items. If a master chef ever saw this, he would have scolded Jin for not using the kitchen at all. "This is a kitchen service instance. Eh¡­ a sort of separate reality if I put it simple terms. I specialise in dimensional spaces so creating this was not an issue. What you see here is all real and not an illusion. If you have any questions, just ask. I understand it might be a little hard for a commoner who has not experienced cultivation to understand" Jin explained. Zhen Qing was quite surprised that Jin found out she was just a commoner. Was it that obvious to a cultivator? In any case, Zhen Qing shook her head. She had previously read up a little on dungeon suppliers and dimensional spaces in the previous night so she understood a little. "If I am not mistaken¡­" Jin was looking around the kitchen and finally found a tablet screen. Zhen Qing noticed he was tapping furiously on it and then a female voice was heard. "Welcome Ms Zhen Qing. I am the AI for this magnificent kitchen. If you need directions for a certain food stock or the location for any equipment, just ask and I shall direct you to it." "Wow, this kitchen is equipped with an AI voice?" Zhen Qing thought she had to memorise every single part of the kitchen to fully utilise it, but clearly, this was no longer the case. With an AI helping her and assuming the AI is capable, everything would be much easier. However, she doubted the AI could help her much. "If you think that the AI is useless, how about this? Let me show you." Jin read Zhen Qing''s doubtful face and grinned. "AI, tell me where to find the chicken eggs and the kitchen equipment needed for creating a fried egg," Jin spoke aloud. "Yes, Mister Jin. Would you like to use any specific chicken eggs? What kind of pan would you like to use? If you have no preference, I have highlighted the areas where you can find the items you have requested." Once the AI was done talking, certain parts of the kitchen were illuminated by a green LED. Jin and Zhen Qing walked to the fridge and opened the compartment that was illuminated in green. They found the eggs and Zhen Qing noticed that the eggs were stored at an optimal temperature. She went to open another compartment and it was vegetables and noticed the temperature that it was kept at was slightly different. They later checked the other compartments in the kitchen and Zhen Qing realised that the equipment the AI suggested was all that was needed to make a good fried egg. In short, Zhen Qing found out that this kitchen was not just a simple nightmare for a novice chef like her. It was also the ideal kitchen for a master chef with a perfectionist complex. "You will find all the ingredients you can think of in this kitchen, and more. I have made sure most of the ingredients could be found right here with some additional stuff. The AI here can assist you if you need help. If there are some additional appliances that you need which are not available here, just tell me or the AI. I believe it will also relay the message to me if you cannot find me." Jin explained to Zhen Qing. "Also, keep that black access card for these two weeks," Jin added. "Wait, Jin. Eh I mean, Boss Jin. I could not possibly accept this. Just give me some ingredients and I will make do at my mobile stall." Zhen Qing replied. Upon listening to Zhen Qing''s request, Jin politely refused. "No, I cannot allow you to do that. There is a reason why my food items are a notch above the rest. The secret food supplier I receive my food from also used this kitchen and the ingredients here we have in stock. If you want to improve your black pepper pork bun, I suggest you try using the ingredients here." Jin lied to Zhen Qing while not revealing any expression. "Also, you asked me to procure these ingredients and they are not cheap. Hence, use them optimally by preparing the ingredients here. Increase your current price to thrice the amount or else it would be an insult to the quality of these ingredients, I will hold my end of the bargain by not taking any profit during this two week trial," Jin added. "I will be blunt to inform you that there will be changes to the mobile store that you have been operating at. It should be finished earliest by the time you are done with preparing your items. If not the latest would be tomorrow afternoon. Of course, nothing will be done to your current one. I am building an entirely new street stall." Jin informed Zhen Qing on what he was going to do. "Why would you do all this? There is not to your benefit at all." Zhen Qing asked with a bewildered facial expression. "By the end of the two weeks, if you like this place, I will hire you and we can discuss the terms and conditions. If you do well and create more customers, the long-term benefits for me are huge, as I can receive money from your side in the future as well. However, if you did not like the place, you can leave with the profit you made and note that I might not offer such generous terms to you again. Besides, this trial will also help me determine whether a street stall can help distract those cultivators that are waiting for their turns to enter the dungeon." "In short, yes it might not be a benefit to me currently, but if it succeeds the way I think it will, the short term loss would be worth it," Jin said in confidence. Zhen Qing could finally understand where Jin was coming from. If she failed, he could just scrap the idea. On the other hand, if she passed, he would have more customers indirectly and profit from them in the future. If she passed but did not wish to continue, he could find a better chef to take her place. It made sense that he was being generous. He was looking forward into the future. At this point, Zhen Qing was a little embarrassed about how short sighted she was. Perhaps, it was because of all the running from the police and taking small opportunities whenever she could to sell more items that she did not see the overall big picture that Jin had in mind. "Okay, I will do it." Zhen Qing nodded. "Alright fantastic. The time dilation here is 2 hours to 1 hour in reality. So you have about roughly 6 hours to prepare your ingredients." Jin explained a little more about the time dilation to Zhen Qing and she added it to the multitude of things listed down in her mind. "Looks like this is really the opportunity for me to break through in life." Zhen Qing finally giggled to herself as she saw Jin leaving the kitchen to her. "Time to start to see if those ingredients can really improve my black pepper pork bun." Chapter 114: Aesthetics Jin left Zhen Qing to do her work in the kitchen and he believed that the system disguising as a sentient AI would only help her when necessary. Jin now had a few things to do. One was to take a look at Xiong Da and perhaps participate in the training for a while since he had yet to do his daily morning training. The second thing he needed to sort out was the street stall improvement that Jin had told Zhen Qing about. There was nothing wrong with the current mobile stall that Zhen Qing was using, it was just that Jin could improve the seating area surrounding the street stall, modernise the street stall so it would look more eye catching while not losing the traditional look that his store had portrayed. Speaking of his store, it was about time he put up the store house sign and perhaps redecorate the shop a little to suit the panda theme to the place was rocking. "I have about 10 Thousand and 300 hundred Yuan in my earnings account right now courtesy of Xiong Da as well as roughly 4000 dungeon dollars. With the exchange rate of 100 Yuan to 1 Dungeon dollar, I would have about an additional of 1000 dungeon dollars if I convert everything. Hmm. That is not a really good idea at all. I should only convert the Yuan when I really need it." Jin was looking at his phone''s calculator and found there was an exchange button that showed him the conversion rates and the total amount of money he would receive. "Judging from what I have previously built from the Dungeon maker, I guess I will set the improvement for the street stall and the store''s internal renovation a budget of 500 Dungeon Dollars. That should be more than sufficient." Jin realised that he could not be a lazy boss like he used to be. Back then, the financing of the store was all supported by the system, and he did not have to worry a single thing. All he did was serve the customers when need be and continue his daily life as per normal. Now he had to keep a tight watch on the amount of money he had. Sure, the upgrades to the mobile stall and the internal decorations may not be worth the amount of dungeon dollars he was spending since they were only for aesthetics rather than for function. However, the image of the shop, especially in the era where the look and feel of the products would determine the success, was equally as important as what the shop could actually do. Sensory or even subliminal effects would be essential competitive tools against other dungeon suppliers. Jin already noticed the effect the system created when using Pandas in the shop. It made both male and female customers coming in feel relaxed and comfortable, compared to other dungeon suppliers, whose atmospheres were all about anger, rage, fights and power. The dungeon supplier "King''s Monster" had figments of various monsters all around their shop. Jin also remembered the feeling he experienced when he was on the third floor of his store. He noticed that a lot of his customers did not dare to enter because they could feel the tranquillity of the area and felt like they were disrupting the peace. However, Jin still did not understand the rationale of a tranquil gallery when the statues would teleport them to a place of excitement. "This is just my conjecture but I think the system wants the customers to know and experience something incredibly unique in this day and age. I think the system wants our customers to know that there can be a place of tranquillity even within our fast-paced world of chaos. Besides, this could also allow the customer to transition properly into something different." Yun came from out of nowhere and poured herself a coffee to drink. Jin then realised Yun had disappeared when Xiong Da and Zhen Qing came into the store. Perhaps, she did not want the others to misunderstand her relationship with Jin. "If you have not noticed, the Zen gallery kind of gives you the ''Alright, let''s try again. I can do this.'' kind of vibe?" Yun added a few pieces of sugar cubes and some milk. "I realised too. Still, that third floor needs more promotion and more service instances. " Jin replied back. "Well, its either you make more money or you do more missions," Yun commented as she sipped her coffee. "Enough missions for now. I have yet to complete the Baby Panda mission and a few other things are still lined up on my plate. Getting more missions will just complicate things." Jin shook his head. "Maybe the system might give you a helping hand once in a while you know? It would not harm you to check periodically." Yun smiled at Jin, which incidentally gave Jin a sense of apprehension. "Yeah, I will check it later." Jin had enough with the system making his life miserable a moment and Yun chuckled at his reply. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Xiong Da entered Panda Muscles as Jin instructed to him and found that he was surrounded by various gym equipment in a warehouse that was void of people. "Mister Xiong Da?" Xiong Da heard his name and turned to look, only to find that it was a red panda receptionist. He did not know that Jin had now made all the service instance receptionists excluding the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance red pandas. "Yes, I am Xiong Da." He replied to the innocent looking red panda. "Your instructor is waiting for you at the other end of the warehouse. Just follow the illuminated path which I am about to show you now and you will find him. Your instructor also said to reach there in 2 minutes or he will not teach you anything. The distance you need to cover is 800 metres." "800 metres in 2 minutes?!" Xiong Da''s jaw dropped. Commoners'' average timing was roughly 3 -4 minutes. He knew some cultivators could definitely do better than that but his cultivation style was focused on power not speed. So, in terms of speed, he was no different from a commoner and all he could do was rely on his stamina and willpower. "I am starting the timer in 5¡­.4.." The Red Panda ignored Xiong Da''s expression and started to count down. Xiong Da wanted to curse under his breath but he guessed this was what he needed to defeat Lan Ji Ao. "2¡­1¡­go!" The Red Panda pressed a button on her counter and a starting pistol shot was fired off, which made Xiong Da frantically run while following the green arrows on the floor that was illuminated just for him to follow. Xiong Da did not pace himself in any way and started sprinting the moment he started. He could not think of anything since it was too quick for him to process anything. Fortunately, he knew how much he had to push himself as the arrows not only showed the direction he had to move within this enormous warehouse, numbers were also illuminated to indicate the distance he had already run. However, in 400 metres, he was already gasping for air, but Xiong Da knew he needed to push himself forward. If he stopped here, the instructor that was waiting for him would refuse to help him. Hence, Xiong Da gritted his teeth and told himself to not think and move forward. While waiting for Xiong Da to arrive in two minutes, Zeru was reading up on Xiong Da''s personal profile created by the system, since every action Xiong Da had carried out and every word he said was recorded by the system. The system then compiled everything for Yun and Jin in case they need to use it to improve customer satisfaction. For example, Yun would personally ''whisper'' information about a certain customer that returned to play at Jin''s store. This would make that particular customer feel more appreciated and would he/she would then be more inclined to return to Jin store a third time. However, Yun would only be able to relay this information. How Jin used it would be a separate matter. As Zeru was a little old fashioned, the system had created physical books for him to peruse. The moment Zeru agreed to ''take care'' of Xiong Da, he started to read up on Xiong Da''s profile. Milk also came by and told him what she had taught Xiong Da but obviously, she was just pushing him to be competent at his current skills and suggested to him which skills were more useful. "Well, at the very least, this guy is now motivated enough to want something." Zeru closed his book and checked the timer when he heard rapid breathing come from the side of the ring arena that Zeru was in. "You are 4 seconds late. I do not wish to teach you anything." Zeru folded his arms as he stood in front of Xiong Da with menacing authority. "Sir! I have no excuses, Sir! But please give me a chance to prove myself." Xiong Da was trying his best to get those words out of his mouth. "What chance? You squandered your chance when you were late by 4 seconds. You could have run immediately before the timer started and that would have given you a 5 second head start. In a fight, you have to use everything at your disposal to win." Zeru tried to test Xiong Da''s resolve. Xiong Da then stared intensely at Zeru. "Lawbreakers. I dislike them. Scrap that! I detest them! Why must I lower myself to their level just to win a fight? Why can''t I be righteous in an unlawful fight? I do not wish to fight dirty like that bastard Ji Ao!" Xiong Da shouted. "So you want to win with overwhelming power and not with trickery?" Zeru asked. "Yes, so that I can be that selfish knight that protects his one and only princess in his heart!" Xiong Da shouted as he started to get up. "Now I see your resolve." Zeru extended his hand and Xiong Da grabbed it to climb up into the ring arena. Xiong Da then realised that he was not supporting himself properly because he was still weak from the 800m sprint and therefore, he nearly fell. However, Zeru held on Xiong Da well enough to prevent the fall with only one hand, which made Xiong Da feel astonished! He weighed over 300 kilograms but the master instructor in front of him stood steadfastly and supported him with ease. "What are you blanking out for?" Zeru''s question snapped Xiong Da back into attention and he quickly got into the ring arena. "Spar with me, give me all you got and in the meantime, entertain me with your current situation. Every single detail." Zeru gestured Xiong Da to come at him and Xiong Da did. "Oh, I have a brain full of details and I hope I am more than just entertaining." With his weapon in his hands, Xiong Da charged towards Zeru with no regards to his life. "I do not think you should think that highly about yourself." Zeru chuckled as he faced Xiong Da with no weapons. Chapter 115: Hungry Hippo Style As Zeru was assessing Xiong Da, he noticed the hungry hippo style that he was cultivating did not seem to be the same hippo style he remembered from years ago. "Student Xiong Da, where did learn your cultivation style?" Zeru gently pushed the warclub away no matter how hard Xiong Da tried to hit him with it. "From my family¡­the Wa Family." Xiong Da gasped his breath as he replied back. "Wa Family? Hmmm¡­ Would you by any chance know of a person called Wa Kao Wei?" Zeru took the initiative and attacked, which Xiong Da barely defended. He was nearly knocked out of the ring arena if not for the ropes around surrounding it. "Kao Wei? That''s my grandfather. Cough cough." Xiong Da began to think that this instructor that Jin introduced was not an AI but a real person instead. "How could an AI be so talkative and even know things that are personal?" Xiong Da thought to himself. "Ah, your expression gave away your thinking, student Xiong Da. Boss Jin told me to find out more about you so we could put together a detailed plan. If you are thinking along the lines of me being a human, I am sad to say that I am not but just an advanced AI." Zeru utilised a low sweep and caught Xiong Da off guard again. "Damn it, Boss Jin! If your AI is this clever, why have you not taken over the world yet?" Xiong Da complained as he fell to the ground. "I happened to remember that the Wa Family had a history of using the Hippo style but they never stated what kind of Hippo they were cultivating as. However, several hidden records showed that Wa Kao Wei practised the Hotshot Hippo style. That was why I was curious about your cultivation being the Hungry Hippo style instead." Zeru was basing it off his personal memory but he could not lie well and Xiong Da also felt like something was off. He had seen enough liars to catch one. "Did Boss Jin dig into my history?" Xiong Da was quite annoyed. No one really knew that his cultivation was different from his family''s except for a select few. "Yes, I did dig into your history." Jin came in at the right moment and assisted Zeru in order to not expose the lie of him actually being human. "If not, how would I know whether you were lying or not?" "Boss! Why would I be of interest to you? Besides, those are confidential secrets. How could you even find out about all this?" Xiong Da queried suspiciously. "To be honest with you, at first, I did not think it was possible to link you to the infamous Wa Kao Wei. However, I took an interest in reading the diaries of my military grandfather after he passed away. He used to talk about a cultivator named Wa Kao Wei being notorious in the streets. The Hotshot Hippo cultivator." All the practice of white lying during opening hours had prepared him to create a plausible half-truth. The truth was that Zeru had told everything to Jin telepathically and what he said was indeed true. Meanwhile, Jin used the cover of his grandfather''s diaries since they were from the same generation and the world was still considered big for them. Xiong Da began to find Jin''s explanation to be slightly plausible. "So Instructor Zeru, after assessing him, what is your conclusion?" Jin asked. "He cannot fight for nuts. He said he learnt stuff from the goblin and zombie fights but when he tried to apply them against me in a fight, it did not transfer over well enough." Zeru''s honest opinion scarred Xiong Da''s weak heart. "Besides, this Hungry Hippo style is not really for fighting. It seems menacing but its bite is nothing compared to the bark it makes." "That was the easiest way to shoo my bullies off during school and university without wasting too much time on cultivation. That way I could spend more time on food and studies." Xiong Da explained to them that he applied some modifications to the cultivation style that he had initially obtained from his family. "This is troublesome. You not only modified your cultivation, but you have also advanced in that particular cultivation of yours." Zeru started to crack his head open trying to think of a way to help him. "Why is that really bad?" Jin asked since he did not have much knowledge of other cultivation styles. "A modified cultivation is usually good if someone knows what they are doing, but usually you need years of experience to properly modify a cultivation. Xiong Da modified his cultivation for the sole benefit of early easy cultivation at the start, but he had not realised that it would then not be easy for him to cultivate in the future. Also, if I am not mistaken, like a hungry hippo, this cultivation style needs a lot of spiritual force for it to level up. The only good advantage it has is that if he really does level up, he will become a very strong powerhouse and a force to be reckoned with." Zeru offered his analysis. "So what Xiong Da needs is to fight in more dungeons? Since our dungeons can give him some spiritual force if he defeats them." Jin said as they figured out a plan to help Xiong Da. "Alternatively, I can teach him the ways of the Hotshot Hippo style, but if we did it that way, he would have to unlearn everything and that would need more than one week''s worth of time." Zeru offered. "Either way, it will not be easy for Xiong Da. Perhaps we can look into the person that Xiong Da hates?" Jin looked at Xiong Da for any answers. "Lan Ji Ao? I have plenty of things on him." Xiong Da grinned widely as he started to list the things verbally. "He is a cultivator of the Crazy Crocodile Style and he dual wields Sais as his main weapon. The last time we fought, he just used his overwhelming strength to defeat me so I was not able to see any tricks I could use to win against him. However, he did duel with other cultivators before and I had my private investigator spy on those battles. He was really dirty when he knew he could not win." Xiong Da explained as he sat in the corner of the ring arena and gave them his information about Ji Ao. "He did things like calling extra hands to come in and beat the person up or pretending to be weak and pitiful then pull out a hidden dagger from his sleeve and throw that dagger into his opponent''s throat. He will use everything and anything to defeat the opponent. It''s despicable!" Xiong Da raged on. "Well, he is not wrong to use any methods he can to win the fight. It is just that his public image will go down the drain and people would come to despise him." Zeru said. "Unfortunately, I agree with Zeru. This is how some people fight. However, that does not mean you do not have any hope. You still have a week to go." Jin pat on Xiong Da''s shoulder. "What can I do? If I am not mistaken he is at the very least a Grade 3 cultivator and he might be training towards Grade 3 Peak too." Xiong Da was worried. He might be powerful with his pen and the law at his back but he was not well versed in his cultivation. "We will think up something. Besides, don''t think I didn''t notice that you took the initiative to rest when you should not have. Go give me 50 push ups now." Zeru commanded and Xiong Da immediately acknowledged. He looked at Jin and nodded his head. "Fine, I guess I have to think up something too." Jin thought but on the outside, he smiled to them in confidence. After which, Zeru trained Xiong Da on a rigorous physical training routine that Jin joined in for the first hour before he left Xiong Da to the mercy of Zeru. "Next item on the agenda: the mobile stall and store sign." Jin wiped his sweat off and proceeded to the first floor, only to hear doorbell ringing once more. Chapter 116: Coupon Booklet Submission "Good morning Jin." Si Fang, the owner of Lele Cafe, greeted Jin at his doorstep. "Boss Si Fang, what is the matter?" "I was opening my store for the morning and coincidentally saw you talking with one of your customers. I became inclined to pay you a visit." Si Fang tried to be polite but Jin knew what he was here for. "Ah, the coupon booklet? I was about to give it to you in the afternoon since I did not know what time you are available. Give me a moment." Jin took the coupon booklet out of his storage watch and passed it to Si Fang. "Thanks, Jin! And here I was thinking that you had totally forgotten about it so I was about to remind you." Si Fang received the coupon booklet and started to browse it. He was pleasantly surprised to see that despite it being a prototype, it was all printed neatly in an appealing format. Si Fang had originally thought that he would need to send it to the print stores again. "This is amazing! The new cover page of the coupon booklet is so eye catching and flashy! Your coupons seem more than reasonable¡­in fact, the deals practically make it like a freebie. Are you sure you will not end up in debt by the end of this month?" "I have my ways to recover my losses. If this month coupon booklet can help the Tiangong shopping district, then it will have served its purpose well." Jin replied. "This is better than anything we have ever made! I will show it to the rest of the committee members but in my opinion, I feel that your version will get the approval quite quickly. Initially, I was expecting snippets or draft coupons and we would have to discuss how to format and design the booklet. I guess I worried for nothing." Si Fang gave a thumbs up and continued to praise Jin. "It is nothing much, I just happened to know someone who is capable of making beautiful designs. However, I do not think I will be able to participate in other monthly coupon booklets. In fact, this will most likely be my first and last time." Jin broke the news to Si Fang early. "Why? Are you moving out or something?" Si Fang assumed the worst since he knew this shopping district was not exactly the best place to attract customers despite it being near to a business district as well as the Huawee Tech campuses. "No, I anticipate I will be busy with certain matters that require my personal attention in the future¡­" Jin portrayed it vaguely but Si Fang got the idea. Besides, Jin was not exactly a part of the Tiangong shopping district in the first place, so he was not obligated to be a part of the coupon booklet. Si Fang wanted Jin''s store in the booklet because he saw potential Jin could bring. Perhaps Si Fang thought that if he could help Jin scratch his back, Jin would likewise do the same for him in the future. "I understand, but if you wish to join in the future, just tell us. I should be able to pull some strings." Si Fang thanked Jin and told him that he would visit again to announce the results of the approval process. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C After tens of minutes of taking stock of the ingredients required for her Black Pepper Pork Bun recipe, Zhen Qing laid all the ingredients she needed on a wide kitchen counter. She was already shocked by the quality of meat the moment she took the pork belly out of the freezer. Zhen Qing did not even need to taste it. Just from the rich colour of the pork meat, the odour and the meat texture, she was easily able to tell that what Jin procured for her was no ordinary pork belly meat. She tried asking the kitchen AI and to her surprise, the AI answered that the slabs of pork belly meat came from the British Berkshire Pig, which was prized for their juiciness, flavour and tenderness. The pork''s high fat content made it ideal for high temperature cooking. Even with her limited and out-dated cooking knowledge, she knew that this pig was considered rare and hard to breed. Even if the Kitchen AI made a mistake, the physical properties of the slab of pork belly made her feel embarrassed she was using such an expensive meat for her simplistic bun. No wonder Jin said that he wanted her to increase the price of the black pepper pork bun. However, the quality of the ingredient was one thing, but the skills of the cook mattered too. If Zhen Qing was not able to bring out the intrinsic flavour of the British Berkshire Pig, it would be a failure and a waste of such expensive pork. It had been a long time since Zhen Qing encountered a cooking obstacle rather than a more physical one, such as running from the inspectors or meeting rowdy gangsters. Subsequently, Zhen Qing found that the pork belly meat was not the only exquisite item in the pantry. The rice wine was fermented for many years, the oyster sauce was organically made without any added MSG. Even the sea salt that she requested was taken from at least a few hundred metres deep in the sea. The more she heard from the Kitchen AI, the more amazed and confused she became. Why did Jin wants to hire her when his ingredients were top notched? Even a normal hotel chef would have better qualifications and experience than her when it came to handling this kind of food. Or was it that Jin managed to find out that Zhen Qing was once qualified to be a chef champion for an international cooking contest until scandals hit her hard? She suddenly shook her head vigorously. "Impossible, I have dyed my hair regularly and changed my identity. He would never have been able to find out about that." Zhen Qing tossed that thought away. "I will give it a try first and see if the current recipe works on the new ingredients." Zhen Qing did not have any confidence at the moment when it came to preparing a large number of ingredients the way she had always did. She decided to try a batch of black pepper pork buns to see if the richness of taste clashed with her original recipe. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Why are you moving so slowly? Faster!" Zeru knocked Xiong Da''s thigh as he saw Xiong Da did not squat low enough when he was doing a series of jumping squats. In less than 40 minutes, Zeru had already made Xiong Da perform 5 sets of 50 push ups, an 8 second 100 metre sprint, 50 sit ups and 50 squats. "This is too tough¡­" Xiong Da complained but every time he did that, he noticed that an onigiri was taken away from the tray that Jin had placed in front of Zeru and him as refreshments. "That will be one less onigiri for you." Zeru smiled as he feasted on the rice onigiri, making Xiong Da cry as he continued to do his squats. "Aren''t you an AI instructor? How do you even eat the onigiri?" Xiong Da complained once more. "Maybe I am AI. Maybe I am real. Who knows, and honestly, who cares? What really matters is that you complete your training." Zeru laughed loudly as he enjoyed the scrumptious onigiri. "Why am I doing such simple training? Don''t you have more exciting ones?" Xiong Da tried to change the subject. "Sure, How about 60 squats instead of 50? Will that be exciting enough for you?" Zeru folded his arms and mentally counted the number of times Xiong Da had squat. "In any case, this exercise routine touches on many major movement patterns and it''s more natural than many other methods I have. Also, I do not know how much your overly large body can handle, so this will incur less injury in the long run." Zeru started to explain. "What is most important is that you are working on your strength and cardio so that you will be able to last longer in a fight. Since you say Ji Ao fights dirty and uses a pair of Sais, I am assuming he is leaning more towards agility than strength. Even the Crazy Crocodile style is based on agility. You might have the power from Hungry Hippo, but if you do not have the stamina to withstand his speedy attacks, you will fail too." Zeru gave a proper explanation about why he chose to do this particular exercise routine for Xiong Da. "Now that you know the reason, give me 5 more sets before I let you eat whatever onigiri remains." Zeru knocked on Xiong Da''s thigh once more and all Xiong Da could do was to bear with the pain. Chapter 117: Modified Black Pepper Pork Buns To Zhen Qing''s amazement, the first batch of black pepper pork buns was ready to be sampled not long after she used the kitchen''s oven instead of the usual clay oven she had. "This particular kitchen dimensional space instance is used to quicken the pace of a chef cultivator. I believe Boss Jin had said that the instance reduced the effects of time dilation in order not to damage your body since you have not cultivated. However, the kitchen instance has also utilised the cultivation magic of time compression and this can be seen in almost all the kitchen appliances." the Kitchen Ai spoke nonchalantly about it. "Is that why my black pepper pork buns are ready in 10 minutes?" Zhen Qing took the buns out and the aroma they emitted was already extremely different from the usual black pepper buns. "Of course, the time compression can also be further increased but that might have some negative effects and may lead to certain unknown side effects, which are complicated for an amateur to deal with, hence we went for the fastest safe alternative of time compression for the kitchen appliances to save time." The kitchen AI spoke. "Whatever you did, it sure is a time saver." Being a commoner, Zhen Qing did not know that being cultivation brought so much convenience. If she had known, she would have taken some time to cultivate when she was young¡­ the only problem was that she did not have the time in the first place. All she could remember doing was working in various part time jobs so that she could attend her dream school. She slogged through sleepless nights to try to attain the cooking school''s scholarship so that she did not have to rely on her useless father. "Focus!" Zhen Qing awoke from her thoughts as she blew the newly made bun in an effort to cool it down quicker for her to eat. One bite. That was all it took to make her feel like she was in a food paradise. The British Berkshire pork belly blended perfectly with the other simple yet exquisite ingredients, which in turn enriched the flavour of the bun to another level of greatness. However, it was not the richness that concerned her when she ate it, as she realised she could taste the lack of confidence she had on herself when the end product. Zhen Qing then remembered her mentor''s teaching. "The recipe has no soul. You as the cook must not only bring the technical skills into the dish, but also the soul of the food needs to be crafted through your hands and feelings." Zhen Qing looked at the time. Roughly an hour had passed and she figured it would take another half an hour or so for experimenting. At most, another hour. Hence, she would still have at least another four hours to prepare the rest of the ingredients. This time round, she thought of modifying the recipe a little by adding a few herbs so that the richness of the pork belly did not overpower the rest of the ingredients. She tried her luck by asking the kitchen AI for a few bundles of sage and rosemary and the Kitchen was indeed stocked with it. When Zhen Qing found the bundle of herbs, the fresh smell it exuded made her envy how well stocked this kitchen was. She quickly took a few bundles and tried to replace the spring onions with some sage and a hint of rosemary. Of course, she decided to make a variation of them, since she had forgotten much of her out-dated cooking knowledge. "I guess this is really a good chance to go back and hit the cooking books once in a while." Zhen Qing asked herself whether this was really a good chance to go back to being a chef. Of course, she might do it with her new identity instead of her old one. In less than half an hour, the experimental pork buns were ready and Zhen Qing tried asking whether the kitchen had a clay oven, similar to a tandoori oven so that it could improve the baking process too. "Yes, the kitchen is equipped with a modern tandoori oven that has a time compression module attached to it. However, we will recommend you to personally supervise the process because it does not have a timer like the modern oven," The Kitchen AI replied to Zhen Qing concerning her queries. "However, the kitchen will observe how and when you pick those baked buns out. Through repeated motions, the kitchen believes it will be able to serve you better by telling you when it''s about time to take them out." "You are able to do that? Wow! That is astonishing!" Zhen Qing was once again dazzled by the learning capability of the Kitchen AI. Jin was actually hiding something this amazing from the world. Was he some sort of cultivation technology whiz or was she just this unknowledgeable of the real world? Zhen Qing prepared the tandoori oven with charcoal provided by the kitchen and she realised that even the stick-like white charcoal was not normal. "Is this Binchotan?" Zhen Qing was able to recognise the unique charcoal shape and the Kitchen AI acknowledged. "Yes, it is Binchotan, which is also known as white charcoal, a type of high quality charcoal from ubame oak that originates from the Wakayama Prefecture in Japan." "I remember that this kind of charcoal burns longer and hotter despite using no chemical or toxic products associated with it so there aren''t any unpleasant odours to it¡­Not to mention the price tag to it is¡­Oh my gosh, I am afraid of failing Boss Jin now." Zhen Qing smiled bitterly. As the modern tandoori oven heated up, the kitchen''s ventilation was able to push out most of the smoke. "I really wish I had this kind of ventilation as well¡­" Zhen Qing spoke to herself as she saw that the oven was more or less ready in a minute. She skilfully placed the buns into the oven and within a minute, she already saw changes taking place inside the oven. Zhen Qing had been making black pepper pork buns for months so she knew what was the right colour the bun needed to be for it to be the perfect time to take it out of the time compressed tandoori oven. Even the slightest change of smell in the baking process would prompt her to take action. In short, this time compressed tandoori oven was a test on her ability of observation but she performed splendidly. All the experimental buns were baked to perfection. The look of the tandoori oven baked buns already gave Zhen Qing the impression that it had far surpassed the buns that were left in the modern oven since she had more control over the baking process. Now for the tasting process! She cleaned her palate with some lemon water before trying each and every one of the buns. Since the first bite into the bun, she realised that the crispy crust and the mix of herbs, along with the British Berkshire pork belly, was simply out of this world. Each bun had its own unique taste, which was satisfying too, but eventually, she decided to go with a mix of sage and spring onions as the vegetable stuffing with the pork. "Oh, this is sooo good." Zhen Qing closed her eyes and enjoyed that moment of bliss. It had been a long time since she had challenged herself that much in cooking and she began to relish in the joy of cooking once again. Not only that, she finally got back the ''soul'' of the food, which her teacher constantly drilled her about. "Now to prepare the batches of buns for the entire day!" Zhen Qing was all fired up. She rolled up her sleeves and started to prepare a similar amount of unbaked buns based on yesterday''s sales. Chapter 118: Store Sign It was two hours before the store opened at 12 pm and Jin had a lot of things he wanted to do. He had the store aesthetics to decide, the mobile stall to build, Xiong Da''s training plan to create and the trip to Shenzhen Provincial Zoo to take a photo with the Panda Baby. "I shall deal with the store sign first and after that will be the construction of the mobile stall." Jin thought to himself as he stepped into the Dungeon Maker Instance again. Jin had initially thought about his store name when he was younger. He wanted the name to be something impactful and perhaps cringy like Monsterevolt but since the system made him adopt the panda theme, he decided to work around that theme instead. "The app is called Pandamonium, maybe I should follow that naming sense?" Jin thought to himself and tried a variation of names. "Pandmonia, Pandatorium, Pandamonsters, Pandamonium Plaza, Pandastic Dungeons¡­Or maybe Pungeons. Urgh, the last one was horrible." Jin thought to himself and felt that Pandamonium was sufficient. "Actually¡­ no. I feel like I ask the shop customers to decide, but at the same time, if I let the customers choose it, it does not feel as if the shop belongs to me. Maybe I should give more thought to this¡­"Jin felt a little pressured since he was spending more time on the store sign than intended, and he felt he should work on the mobile stall design sooner rather than later. So Jin decided to allocate probably another 10 more minutes to thinking about the shop name as he browsed the web for news or images on his phone. "ooh, the game Dungeons and Dragoons is releasing another expansion at year''s end." Dungeons and Dragoons was one of the most anticipated game franchises that many people followed intensely due to its revolutionary gameplay style. Jin loved the game franchise a lot when he was a student. "Wait¡­Dungeons?" Jin suddenly had a sudden inspiration and tried writing the store name down. Pandas and Dragoons?¡­No¡­Dungeons and Pandas¡­! "Sounds simple, cringy and eye catching enough." Jin laughed to himself. Even though Jin wished to use Pandamonium, he felt that he should try to be innovative rather than just using the name the system provided. Perhaps there was still some mistrust between the system and him. Maybe this was Jin''s naive way of rebelling against the system after what it made him go through. But whatever it was, Jin would continue to utilise the system for his own benefit as much as the system utilised him for its own purposes. Jin opened the Dungeon Maker interface and started to create a large sign. He purposely used Moso Bamboo as the integral material since it was a high quality bamboo that was not only strong and durable, but paid patronage to the panda theme of the shop. He happened to chance upon it when he was searching on Qiandu. Though Jin was only going by recommendations from the search engine, he did ask Yun, who happened to appear in front of him, for her and the system''s opinion. All she did was approve of the recommendation, saying that it was indeed one of the superior choices she would potentially use. Although Jin did not have the expertise, skill, or patience needed to write Chinese calligraphy, anything was possible with the power of Dungeon Maker¡­as long as Jin could pay the price quoted by the Maker. Upon request by Jin, the Dungeon Maker immediately provided tens of calligraphy examples with the words Dungeons and Pandas on it, all of which were fantastic. However, he felt like something was missing. "It is because this is made by the system via your request and uses the least amount of money. Hence, there is no chi energy and no spiritual force on your signboard. Compared to the work it has done on the third floor, this is like a child scribbles on a piece of paper instead of a beautifully written signage." Yun commented as she noticed that Jin was quite upset with the choice he made. "So you are saying I have to pay more for the sign if I want the system to imbue spiritual energy into the signage?" Jin clarified with Yun and she nodded as a reply. "Alternatively, you could do the calligraphy yourself and imbue the spiritual force into it free of charge. However, no matter what you do, I will say that it is important to have high energy chi emanating out of your signage. That way, in the future when you serve higher grade customers, they will respect you." Yun explained the reason for having a good signage board. "Why don''t I just update my sign regularly?" Jin casually asked. He thought that all he needed to do was upgrade the sign every time he went up in grade. "You can do that too, but what if a random high grade cultivator enters your store and they notice that the signage is devoid of chi energy?" Yun commented. "Wait wait, what do you mean by emanating chi energy? Do you mean my signage needs to give off chi energy?" Jin was a little confused by Yun''s explanation. "You do know that in grandmaster-level paintings, all you need to do is input a little bit of chi energy for you to feel the deep impressions of the painters and the visualisation of the painting coming to life. This is the same for your signage. While I might have phrased it a little incorrectly previously, my point still stands on how your signage would needs to impress your new customers when they insert some chi energy into it. This is in order to see if your dungeon store is something worthy enough for them to enter, so take it as first impressions do matter." Yun tried her best to explain something new to Jin. "That was also the reason why I did not immediately ask you for the store''s name. Although you did not ask for it either¡­" Yun seemed a little annoyed when she finished her sentence. "But since we are at it, the system has placed a new mission for you that relates to your signboard." Yun signalled Jin to check and Jin obliged as he took his phone out to view the new mission. If what Yun said was true, the mission should be difficult since getting a high-end signage would be extremely expensive. "Complete a Dungeon Takeover? That''s it? Sounds too good to be true." Jin became very suspicious when he saw the reward was in fact a Grade 19 calligraphed Signage which Jin could choose at will. "Take it as an apology from the system for what it made you go through. The system and I were doing that for your sake even though you could say that it was quite heavy handed." Yun subtly tried to apologise to Jin. "I would still choose a fairly difficult yet still suitable dungeon even if you gave me the choice since I do not have the time to constantly go on takeovers if I have to handle the shop while still trying to gather as much resources as possible." Jin was equally clumsy in his reply as he tried to accept the system''s apology. "Then that settles for the signage, now let''s move onto the mobile stall design." Jin saved all the things he had searched for and began work on the mobile stall, beginning from a brand new template in the dungeon maker. Chapter 119: The Caravan Store Zhen Qing finally finished preparing the required amount of pork buns for the day. She had prepared a little more than yesterday just in case the same thing happened and she sold out all her usual stock again. However, she did spend a total of 6 hours in the Kitchen instance and the moment she came out of it, all she feel was a wave of great fatigue hitting her hard. Then she saw Jin passing her a cup of coffee. "Do you drink coffee?" Jin asked and all she could do was nod her head. The black ivory coffee was extremely enticing and Zhen Qing did not hesitate to take a sip out of it. Even from just the first sip, she felt an elephant trumpeting its nose within her and she instantly discovered that a sort of energy was coursing through her body, revitalising her. Within seconds of the next sip, the surge of energy stabilised and radiated out from her body. Zhen Qing''s complexion was totally different from before. "What kind of coffee drink is this? I felt so much energy bursting into me!" Zhen Qing felt that if she drank the whole cup of black ivory coffee, she might be able to last the whole day of work. "It''s a high grade coffee that has some spiritual force within it¡­." At this point in time, Jin finally found the inspiration regarding how to help Xiong Da. However, Jin placed it at the back of his mind for the moment and concentrated back on Zhen Qing for now. "So, I think that because your dantian chi point had not been cultivated, you are rather sensitive¡­ uhhh¡­ that''s not a good way to put it¡­ Ah! Got it! You are more receptive to any spiritual force you received." Jin explained the reason why she suddenly felt that surge of energy pulsing through her body. However, Jin told her that if she had cultivated, she would experience even less fatigue. All Zhen Qing could do was to nod her head. Regardless, Zhen Qing informed Jin that she had already created a modified black pepper bun and was ready to start work. While she was eager to see the expression on Jin''s face when she told him about it, Zhen Qing was rather sad that she was not able to bring the modern Tandoori oven out from the kitchen instance. "Come with me." Jin beckoned her to follow him the moment he heard the exciting news of the modified black pepper pork buns. He kept track of the developments of Zhen Qing''s cooking through the system logs when he was in the dungeon maker making the new Mobile stall, but he felt even more excited hearing it from Zhen Qing instead. Zhen Qing followed Jin outside to the park. Lo and behold, a brand new street stall on wheels was installed right next to the small park. It was not a simple looking street stall, and instead it looked like a mini caravan that had a traditional storehouse theme similar to Jin''s shop. The caravan blended really well with the surrounding garden. It even had a large panda figure lying on top of the caravan''s ''roof'' like the sleeping Buddha but with food surrounding it. Even the chairs and tables were rearranged by Jin to make the small garden park appear like a separate stall itself. "This is amazing! How did you even bring this here on such a short notice?" Zhen Qing could not believe her eyes when she saw the new mini shop caravan. When she heard that Jin was making a mobile street stall, she assumed it would just be an improvement to her simple, run down, mobile stall. She did not expect it to be this fanciful. "Trade Secret¡­.oh alright. I have been planning this for some time and all I needed was the right person to start the whole thing." Jin lied through his teeth. He had been preparing this speech in his mind for quite some time so that every word could be said with confidence. "Then Boss Jin, I could not possibly keep the profits then, the ingredients are fantastic¡­the caravan looks beautiful¡­I really cannot do this for free. Please, take some of the commission back." Zhen Qing really felt guilty that she would be taking all the money she earn all to herself. "Then, in that case, you are officially hired¡­that is if you wish to work here full-time. It was a sort of test to see whether or not you had the kind of attitude I look for in an employee." Jin smiled widely but in his mind, he was actually happy to get some of the profits even though he was still willing to give two weeks worth of profit to her. The reason was him being biased to Zhen Qing. However, the amount of dungeon dollars he spent on that caravan was hefty. It would be beneficial if he received some money from whatever sources he could find. The cost for the stand was close to the budget of 500 dungeon dollars, which was supposed to be used for the signage and the mobile stall. However, since the system was going to give the signage as a reward, he figured he could splurge a little more on the caravan. What was more important about the caravan was not its looks, but its features. Zhen Qing immediately saw the the modern tandoori oven in the caravan. "My supplier..for these kinds of appliances had managed to integrate the time compression features into the kitchen appliances here as well."Jin was thinking about how to lie to Zhen Qing while making it believable for her. He realised that not allowing the people he knew know about the system was getting harder and harder. However, he needed help to get better food so it was worth a try lying to Zhen Qing and hoping that he might have a chance to properly explain the system to her in the future. "However! This is a prototype! The interior of the caravan simulates the workings of a dimensional space. Therefore, what you see in here is really a trade secret. Do not leak this out to other people!" Jin warned Zhen Qing and she furiously nodded her head "As this is a prototype, the time compression is slightly slower compared to the one you experienced in the Kitchen instance in order to not create any possible side effects to the real world." Jin noted the kitchen appliances to her. "This way, you can actually access the kitchen instance storage from here." Jin opened a cabinet under the counter in the caravan, and it showed the prepared ingredients that Zhen Qing had created in the kitchen instance. "This is just so fabulous!" Zhen Qing started to look around the whole caravan and saw the potential that was in it. She was really considering being under Jin''s employment indefinitely when she saw at the potential this small caravan could bring. "One additional feature this prototype has is the Kitchen AI that you are already familiar with. It will assist you whenever need be," Jin passed her a wireless earpiece and when she wore it, the kitchen AI was able to communicate with her. "The earpiece should be able to last the entire day before it needs to be put into a charger pod." Jin pointed Zhen Qing to where the charger pod was kept in the caravan and she mentally made a note about it. However, it was actually a facade and the earpiece did not even need any charging to begin with. It was just to make it plausible for Zhen Qing. "Is there any contracts I have to sign to be under your employment or is it a fixed part time rate?" Zhen Qing questioned Jin when she was looking through how equipped the caravan was. The fantastic equipment, the high quality food and the ability to do almost whatever she wanted was a dream for any chef¡­or an ex-chef. "We can properly discuss the terms and conditions either at the end of the day or the end of two weeks as we previously agreed upon. I apologise that such a test was given to you to test your personality." Jin bowed his head a little to apologise. "If we do the two week trial, I will take at least 45% of the profits for myself and we can later negotiate from there. Alternatively, you can discuss about it in the evening." Jin explained to her. "Let''s take the two weeks trial¡­but if I wish to change my mind and decide to discuss earlier?" Zhen Qing tried her luck and wanted to pretend she was a little hard to get. "We will see about that." Jin learnt enough in life to notice when a girl was trying to be difficult. He wanted to acknowledge and agree to Zhen Qing''s request but he decided not to. He knew that if he backed down now, he would not be able to maintain his image as a boss with his own ideals. That would make Zhen Qing hold the upper hand if she tried to negotiate the contract. If Jin had unlimited funds, he would just do as he pleased, but right now, every Yuan mattered. Zhen Qing realised she might have pushed too hard on a golden opportunity to be back on the tracks of being a chef again. Hence, she agreed and started to prepare her things in the caravan. It was then, Jin also placed a large sign right beside the caravan. "Rules to follow, or you will be blacklisted from buying a dungeon or food." He realised on the previous day that there were still a number of people behaving fairly unhygienic and he was confident that being banned from buying the food and dungeons would definitely deter them from spoiling the garden. This was all despite him knowing that the system took care of the cleanliness of the garden anyway. However, if he could set some rules, Jin felt that maybe¡­just maybe¡­ he might be able to change the mindset of the people in the long run. The rules were simple. Finish your food. No Spitting in the garden. Throw your waste away. Place your dirty tray in the allocated area of the caravan stall. Throw your waste into the trash bin. Currently, what Zhen Qing sold was only the black pepper buns, so there were no trays to be used. However, Jin wished to expand the idea and perhaps it into a service restaurant instance that served not just a select amount of food, but a list of dishes. In order to do that, he wished for Zhen Qing to get used to his ''prototypes'' and instances. Furthermore, he wished to get her a suitable cultivation technique so that she might work more efficiently in the service instances. He was equally worried though, that she might get poached in the future or would not wish to work for him. "One thing at a time." Jin thought to himself as he saw Zhen Qing humming away preparing the kitchen in the caravan. "Yes¡­one thing at a time." he stared at her with an intense tugging sensation in his heart before he proceeded to open his store for business. Chapter 120: Panda Packaging "Eh Yue Han, want to go Boss Jin''s store for lunch? I still have some Panda Credits to spend and I also have to check out the underground stores. Perhaps I should play in a dungeon too. Want to follow?" Bu Dong asked Yue Han right after school. "Sure! Why not? I am starving and I have to save some money for the new upcoming Dungeons and Dragoons expansion." Yue Han agreed to Bu Dong. "Dude, that expansion will not even be here until the end of the year. You probably have sufficient money to play a dungeon too." Bu Dong felt that Yue Han did not want to go play in Boss Jin''s dungeons after the zombie horror Yue Han had previously experienced. ''I will consider, and if not, I can always just observe your playthrough by the bar counters." Yue Han reluctantly agreed even though he did not like the experience he had with the zombie dungeon instance. That was because if he did not improve constantly, he might eventually end up pulling Bu Dong down in the future. Or if you looked at it the other way, Bu Dong might advance his cultivation so fast that Yue Han would not be able to catch up with him. "Hmm, whatever suits you." Bu Dong did not worry too much about it. He knew that if he played alone, the difficulty in Jin''s dungeon would be modified a little. Both Bu Ding and Yue Han took their time to travel to Jin''s place, thinking that once they reached Boss Jin''s area, the lunch crowd would have already dispersed. They were wrong. In fact, they were surprised once again by Jin''s new addition to his store. "I swear that Boss Jin has more tricks under his sleeves than a performing magician." Yue Han casually said. Both of them saw a brand new caravan parked just beside the garden with lots of people buying something that smelled oh so delicious. They too were able to smell it and they were half expecting the aroma to be coming from Jin''s store. However, what they did not expect was that Jin had created a mini food store right outside his dungeon store They also found that the entire garden park had been rearranged, making it easier for people to wait for their turn while having their snack time. "Hey, Bu Dong, let''s try that first." Yue Han went ahead of Bu Dong in order to buy the buns. "Panda Credits or real cash?" Zheng Qing asked politely when it was Bu Dong''s and Yue Han''s turn to order their buns. "Panda Credits." Bu Dong placed his phone near a QR code at the cash counter and the panda Credits were immediately deducted. At that point in time, the two high school students could not bear the incredible smell from the surrounding people that had already begun to savour their snack. It was then that Zheng Qing turned to focus on the cooking of the buns. Even with the help of the advanced kitchen appliances, Zhen Qing had to focus properly to get the buns as they were being baked at incredible speeds. The customers did not care about the process as much as the chef. All they cared about was if the black pepper buns could be served immediately. With a slight burn mark and a slight change of smell, Zhen Qing was able to discern that the buns were ready to be taken out. Her nimble hands brought the buns out of the modern tandoori oven and onto the kitchen counter. Zhen Qing then proceeds to package the buns nicely. Previously, all she used was a basic brown paper bag to let the customers have something to hold the hot bun. However, with the caravan''s resources, Zhen Qing now inserted the new baked black pepper pork buns into a brand new kind of packaging. A customised panda looking packaging. There was a pair of panda ears poking out of the high quality paper packaging and the design for the overall package gave one a feeling of a panda lazily looking at you. When Zhen Qing inserted the buns into the panda packaging, which inflated it, the look of the lazy panda became more prominent, making it seem like a fat and lazy panda. She then passed the buns to both Bu Dong and Yue Han and some serviettes along with it. "Careful, it''s still hot." Zhen Qing smiled so graciously at them that even the high School kids became smitten due to her. With the new kitchen appliances and the caravan''s modern ventilation, Zhen Qing finally did not need to wear a mask to cover her mouth. Although she still continued that habit of putting on a mask when she was preparing her ingredients since hygiene was an important aspect to her. The two boys held onto their panda buns with caution and blew some of the steam, hoping it would cool faster. However, Yue Han was not able to wait any longer so he quickly took a bite. The look on his face was priceless. "So juicy! So hmmmm!" Yue Han could not stop chewing on the black pepper pork bun. The dough was baked to the perfect point that gave it a slight crisp. Not too hard, not too soft. The sesame seeds provided the bun with a very slight crunchy taste that complimented the bun really well. The meat stuffing could be described using the word heavenly. Yue Han could not believe that such a heavenly tasting meat existed. He would not be surprised if this meat was from some high grade animals or maybe even monsters. Yue Han did not care that much though since the meat was already melting in his mouth. Bu Dong had the exact same reaction as Yue Han and they finally realised everyone besides them was also appreciating the new food item. "Is this your speciality, Lady Boss?" Bu Dong could not help but ask. "Lady Boss? I would not dare!" Zhen Qing thought to herself thinking how ridiculous that would be. Jin was her sole benefactor, maybe even miracle maker right now. How could she dare to be so close towards her benefactor? "Nono, I am just an employee. But yes, this is my speciality." Zhen Qing''s voice was a beautiful melody to the customers. If she was not in a relationship with Jin then perhaps the guys present might have a chance. "Is all the other food in the store made by you too?" Yue Han asked but Zhen Qing gave him a curious look before she realised what he was saying. "Eh, I think Boss Jin has a separate supply from me." Zhen Qing answered honestly and vaguely since she did not know. "Well, this bun tasted really good, I can bet you that Jin hired you to replace his other supplier." Yue Han deduced this but all Zhen Qing did was smile before continuing to serve another customer who came by. Once they were done, the two high school students went ahead into Jin''s store. "Ah, Bu Dong and Yue Han, welcome back." Jin smiled at them and they greeted Jin warmly in return. "Boss, are there any new dungeons?" Bu Dong asked. "You have not been here a while so almost all of the dungeons will be new for you. The goblin and Zither Mistress dungeons have been revamped to suit the new scenario dungeons. They have become similar to the zombie instance dungeon. However, I have also kept the old battle style for those who just want to fight monsters and not worry about the plot. This is also the case for the zombie and bank heist instances." Jin explained to his regular customers the services he now sold. While Jin was previously fiddling around with the caravan design in the dungeon maker, he was also thinking about how he could squeeze ..no maximise the potential of each dungeon. Hence, Jin added back the previous battle system¡­with a slight twist. He dubbed the new mode Arena Battles. This meant it was similar to that 2D street fighting games but unlike those games, the cultivators were allowed to choose what monsters they wanted to fight against. The battle could be based on the themes dungeons, like choosing a goblin arena battle or a Zither mistress arena battle. The cultivators could also choose to battle individual monsters if they liked¡­ but there was a catch. The cultivators could purchase the training arena battle ticket and choose specific opponents from various dungeons to fight against if they had fought with them before. The key phrase there was ''if they had fought them before. Most of the monsters were locked apart from basic ones in the dungeon-themed battles. If the cultivators wanted to unlock the monsters, they needed to purchase a random battle arena battle ticket to test their skills and pit them against monsters they have never fought before. After fighting the new monsters, despite the result, the cultivator would be able to choose that monster to fight in the arena. In order to not let arena battles gain too much popularity and overtake the scenario dungeons Jin had put a lot of time and resources into, the themed arena battles were priced only 40 yuan cheaper than the same current theme dungeons instances. "Specific training arena battles are dependent on the number of monsters you choose to fight. The more you choose, the more expensive it will be, but on the other hand, if you choose enough monsters, you can receive a slight discount too." Jin said to the customers as they were previewing their options even further. Bu Dong felt quite energised by the black pepper buns and so was looking at the menu intensely. "I''m in the mood for¡­." He gave a grin that Yue Han felt it was trouble. Chapter 121: Random Arena Battle "Random Arena Battle? Are you sure?" Yue Han was a little nervous when Bu Dong said that. "Ah, don''t you worry Yue Han. I''ll pay for you this time round too." Bu Dong pats his good friend on the back. Bu Dong knew Yue Han did not like to experience the unknown as much as he did but Yue Han had always been a very good friend to him. No matter thick or thin, Yue Han would go through with Bu Dong''s bravado. Seeing how Yue Han tried his best all the time for Bu Dong, Bu Dong concluded that the money he spent was nothing compared to the steadfast friendship and support he received. Hearing that Bu Dong would pay for the random arena battle ticket, Yue Han agreed with a small sigh. The moment they bought the tickets, a notification appeared on their pandamonium app. Jin had now added a notification feature for all the dungeons he created. Jin did this is to help facilitate his work or else every single new customer would ask him for an explanation. While he was happy to help out and explain the workings of the dungeons to every single customer that came in, he was after all the only one person manning the store. Explaining to someone would occupy his time, which could otherwise be used to serve other customers that were waiting for their turn. The queue could get long at times and the turnover of dungeons was already being better managed due to the new team merging ability by the system. Hence, one of the few things that were impeding the whole waiting process was he himself. In the short notification, there was a short thank you for purchasing the dungeon, a synopsis, the special rules (if any), as well as the potential rewards they could receive from each dungeon. He remembered a customer saying that it would be ridiculous to try a dungeon and hope to get a reward by carving into every single monster, holding the wishful thoughts that you might potentially find something in a monster. Hence, he decided to place a reward chest at the end of every dungeon, which now included a number of physical panda medals they would certainly earn as well as a possible item reward, which the system would determine randomly. The real panda medal coins were a dilemma for Jin at first but he figured everyone had sufficient storage ring space to spare since it occupied the currency section of the storage ring, which was literally limitless. However, that was not the main point. At this age of information and technology, the cashless transactions made money feel like it was merely a bit. A series of ones and zeros. That was why he felt that he wanted to make the cultivators feel as if they really earned something rewarding from the dungeons. The weight of the coins would give the customers a sense of satisfaction that outweighed the practicality of it. Of course, the panda medal coins could be changed into digital ones if the customers wished for it. All the service instances, including the underground stores, would allow both physical medal coins and digital wallets. Both Yue Han and Bu Dong read the information regarding the random arena battle and started to read on about the details. The rules were simple. A cultivator would fight three stages of monsters. In each stage, the monster could differ from a badass boss monster to a measly minion. At the end of the stage, a bottle of low chi regeneration and low health recovery potion would be given to each cultivator. Whenever the cultivator passed a stage, they would win a set amount of panda medal coins. Even if they lost, they would still be able to keep the set of panda medal coins. "This is not too bad." Yue Han commented as he read through the notification. "Dumb dumb, it''s basically the same as every dungeon. It is just that they give a set of potions after each fight." Bu Dong shook his head at Yue Han. "If only they gave such a potion for each ''stage'' of the themed fights. That would be most wonderful." Yue Han sighed but Jin explained his reasoning. "I made some slight adjustments to every dungeon so that you will now be able to find a set of basic potions for each individual at the start of every dungeon. I doubt that it will help you a lot if you do not have the skill, but if you use it wisely and in a timely manner, it would be a different story." Jin interjected his opinion into their conversation. "Let''s not waste any more time, get this arena battle done fast, and then go eat a good meal." Bu Dong laughed heartily and went to place his phone against the Station 3 interactive tablet to start the dungeon dimensional space. Yue Han quickly followed Bu Dong, but not before he inserted his items into the storage panda miniature beside the TV at station 3. When Yue Han arrived, he saw Bu Dong standing at the centre of a stadium¡­? That was what he thought at first. But then it suddenly clicked and he instinctively knew that it was the Roman Coliseum back when it was in its full glory. However, the whole coliseum was silent and there was not a single soul in sight. Its emptiness combined with the scorching hot sun made the two kids feel a little uncomfortable. It felt like they were not fighting for any honour but instead were fighting for their own survival. Bu Dong took out his weapon the moment he heard a clunking sound that he deduced was due to metal moving. Yue Han, with the Blind Bat style, concluded that there was only a single monster walking out from the metal gates ahead of them. "Looks like I have some delicious boys to devour," Meomi licked her mouth as she cracked her whip against the floor. She finally had some proper close combat action to vent out the frustration she felt ever since her experience against the gunning giraffe girl. There were rumours being spread around in the Pandamonium forum chat that two cats were acting as sniper supports for most bank heist scenarios but not many were able to find the cat snipers. While it was ''programmed'' or ordered by Jin for the cats to act as snipers, the cat snipers Meomi and Nyami were constantly switching their sniper nests and not many cultivators played enough to find all the possible sniper nests that the cat snipers could possibly be located. However, Mr Know It All seemed to be collating the information he found about the dungeons and was posting on the forums quite regularly. In fact, most users upvoted a number of his guides to the point where the system pinned his dungeon guides for other cultivators to reference. Mr Know It All slowly and surely became a minor celebrity in Jin''s store though no one actually knew his real name. In addition, no one even saw him personally went into a dungeon either. He was simply lurking in Jin''s store. Recently though, he was hanging around the Panda Caravan more since he was allowed to eat food with real cash and not Panda Credits. "I have no clue what we are fighting against. Be on your guard." Bu Dong took the front guard while Yue Han was at his rear. Meomi finally felt her blood rushing. This time it was not some silly hide and seek. It looked like it was going to be a straightforward battle. She caressed her whip as she inserted some spirit force, causing the whip to suddenly split in two. The whip''s material also hardened and slowly turned into a pair of swords. However, instead of her holding the pair of swords in her two hand-like paws, she used her tail to hold onto one sword while the other was in her right paw. The stare off contest between Bu Dong and Meomi was concluded the moment Yue Han accidentally shuffled his leg a little. *CLANG* The Angry Ape Bu Dong clashed head on with Meomi and the sand surrounding their clash burst outwards, creating a temporary cloud of sand around them. Bu Dong did not know when the sand around them would disperse so he quickly inhaled a large breath of fresh air. Meomi though had already noticed his intent and delivered a sharp jab to Bu Dong''s abdominal area. Bu dong did not expect Meomi to be that swift in her attacks and he lost the breath he was trying to hold. Nevertheless, Bu Dong''s quick thinking allowed him to call forth his cultivation, displaying three angry apes that roared so loudly that the sand cloud that was about to settle down on them to disperse away from them. Despite this, it was not the angry apes that did the dispersion as they were just a depiction of Bu Dong''s power. It was because Bu Dong had shouted extremely loudly at the same time as the appearance of angry apes that it felt like it was the apes shouting it. The shout also gave Bu Dong some breathing space as it temporarily stunned Meomi. That was when Yue Han made his presence known. The dust cloud gave Yue Han some time to sneak up from the back to use his dive sword jump. That mere second of paralysis had given both Yue Han and Bu Dong the striking opportunity they needed to cut the cat down. "Sword Technique! Dive Sword of the Blind Bat." Yue Han only shouted out when he was close to Meomi in order to give her as little time as possible to react. At the same time, Bu dong executed his sword technique. "Intermediate Sword Art! Lacerate in the Blazing Edge of the Angry Ape!" A flame was ignited on Bu Dong''s sword and as the Ape silhouettes pound its hands to its chest, the fire grew in an instant. Just as both the sword techniques were about to connect, a wild grin appeared on Meomi''s face. While it brought some concern to Bu Dong when he saw it, he struck the werecat with no hesitation. The stab from the back by the sword dive caused Meomi to flinch while the burning intense flame from the sword of the Angry Ape user burnt Meomi''s insides as it pierced through the heart of the cat. The werecat spat out some blood at Bu Dong before she fell to the ground breathless. This was when Bu Dong felt that it was too easy. "Maybe it''s the first stage?" Yue Han also commented that the werecat was too easy to defeat. Suddenly, Yue Han noticed that the two swords that Meomi had been holding had disappeared, but when he realised it, it was too late. The werecat''s swords had activated their effect. "What!" Yue Han felt something strangling him and when he placed his hand on his neck, he felt something blocking his neck. It even made his hands bleed when Yue Han tried to touch it. Similarly, Bu Dong was suffering from the same thing. "Is this the whip?!" Bu Dong could barely voice out his words when the whip started to tighten itself. Meomi had activated a quick weapon skill when she sensed she had no time to react after that second of paralysis. However, she still felt upset that she had lost to the cultivators yet again. Bu Dong desperately began to think as his brain was dying for more oxygen. "I cannot free myself in this state; I can only save Yue Han now." Chapter 122: Yue Hans Enlightenment "Bro¡­!" Yue Han''s eyes were getting blurry and his hands were becoming weak as he tried to struggle against the coiling whip around his neck. His breath was gradually becoming weaker and weaker by the second but despite all this, Yue Han still desperately tried to loosen it as much as he could. Despite his eyesight failing him, he could still see an almighty silhouette sluggishly taking a step at a time towards Yue Han. "Haha, I am sorry Bro¡­I do not think I can last any longer." Yue Han thought that Bu Dong had managed to cut the bindings of the whip and was approaching to help him too. That was not the case. Before he even knew what was taking happening, Yue Han was suddenly able to breathe once more, though he still fell to his knees as a result of the previous lack of oxygen. *Thump* With a single look, Yue Han ascertained that Bu Dong was lying motionless on the floor. He could not believe what he was seeing so he crawled towards Bu Dong and tried to remove the whip that was strangling Bu Dong. The whip continued to tighten despite Bu Dong being stationary and it only loosened its grip on Bu Dong''s neck when Yue Han cut it in two. With the basic knowledge of CPR that Yue Han had learnt from a safety rescue workshop from summer camp, he checked Bu Dong''s carotid pulse as well as his chest movement in order to test for breathing. There were no signs of movement from either of the two tests, meaning, unfortunately, Bu Dong had passed away. At this point, Yue Han just smashed his fist against the ground. "Damn it! Why did you die and leave me all alone!" He cursed at how useless he was in almost every fight. He cursed at his inferiority complex and the inability to do anything unless he was told to do so. "Then stop cursing and start trying to get up." A deep voice echoed throughout the empty Coliseum. Yue Han looked around, searching for the voice, but instead found that a chest had suddenly appeared right in front of him. He did not know what to do until the mysterious voice echoed once more. "Come on, do not dally. Open the chest to receive your rewards and your set of potions." Yue Han did not know whether the voice was trying to trick him or not but he did know that the rules explicitly stated that there would be a chest with rewards in it after each fight. When Yue Han turned around to take one last look at Bu Dong''s body, he realised that it had already been removed. Yue Han figured that it was the dimensional instance at work so he stood up and opened the chest. There were indeed physical panda medal coins in the chest and within that mass of bronze panda medal coins lied two sets of recovery potions. Since the boss was killed, the rewards were actually meant for Bu Dong and Yue Han, but that was before the whip trap had killed Bu Dong. Therefore, Yue Han had the opportunity to keep two sets of recovery potions. He then placed all the coins into his storage ring and noticed that there were only 50 bronze panda medal coins, half of which belonged to Bu Dong. "Very good. now that you are somewhat ready, I can now appear." the voice suddenly boomed loudly throughout the whole coliseum and Yue Han felt tremors from underneath his feet. A large tree suddenly grew out from the depths of the Coliseum grounds. "Name''s Shu. I am your next opponent." Shu''s deep voice reverberated in the entire area again. Yue Han fell backwards as he instantly acknowledged that this was an opponent he could definitely not defeat. "Or rather, this little guy will be your next opponent." The ancient treant opened its mouth and something monstrous slowly revealed its face. Without delay, two serrated blades sprouted out of Shu''s grotesque mouth and Yue Han trembled when he identified it as a giant praying mantis. The praying mantis monster tilted its head at the cowering Yue Han to stare at him for a moment before it opened its mouth with sticky saliva drooling out of it. "If you do not want the monster to eat you, I suggest you do something about it." Shu was particularly amused by Yue Han since this was his first time seeing someone so frightened to die and yet that someone was not doing anything to save themselves. "I should just let it kill me and end this dungeon." Yue Han mumbled to himself until he turned and saw the spot where a piece of the whip had yet to be removed. "But if I really do that¡­won''t that mean that Bu Dong saved me for nothing?" Yue Han tried to rationalise in this deadly situation but it was not helping him a single bit. "But this is a just a dungeon¡­Bu Dong will not blame me for dying so easily¡­right?." Yue Han''s actions suddenly contradict his cowardice thoughts as he frantically reached for his sword. How could his body or mind ever forget? How could he ever forget the times Bu Dong had saved him from gangster or bullies? How could he ever forget the times Bu Dong tried his best no matter how bleak the situation seemed at the time? How could he ever forget the times Yue Han saw Bu Dong practice his flaming sword technique, causing damage to his own body just so that he could win against Jin''s dungeons? Each and every cultivator in the world had been taught to not disrespect the dungeon instances. This was because the creation of a dungeon came from the cumulative experience of a Supplier. What you wanted to achieve when you entered a dungeon was not primarily to have fun. It was to battle against the monsters, because to battle against monsters was also to battle against oneself. The cultivators that fought in dungeons provided by the dungeon suppliers would learn not just about the monsters he or she had fought against, but they will also learn about himself or herself along the way. Some older cultivators said that technology in the modern suppliers had dulled that understanding of oneself and thereby the growth of oneself, but that did not mean the essence of dungeoneering and fighting monsters was lost. This was especially true for Jin''s dungeons since the monsters that the cultivators were fighting were all real and authentic. That was why despite the major failures that many cultivators faced in Jin''s store, they all sooner or later realised what they had learnt during the dungeon instances far outweighed the mere fun that they would have experienced otherwise. This was the main reason why many failed dungeoneers would still return to Jin''s store for the difficulty and realism of the monsters. Yue Han picked up his sword and looked directly into the thousand eyes of Shu''s pet mantis. "Even if I cannot kill it, I will not throw away the chance Bro has given me!" As Yue Han suddenly realised the importance of dungeons and the faith Bu Dong had in him, he felt a surge of energy pass through him. Yue Han had just experienced a stage of enlightenment, which caused him to go up in grade. When he displayed his cultivation, he could see three bat silhouettes flying above him screeching in excitement. The treant laughed loudly, which started to annoyed Yue Han. "So you had the power inside you all along, it''s just that you were chaining yourself down," Shu explained and he waved his tree branches as a signal for the Giant Praying Mantis to fly swiftly towards Yue Han¡­ But Yue Han was prepared. "Flying? Do not underestimate the capability of the Blind Bat Style!" Yue Han confidence rocketed with his new grade and he ran the other direction away from the praying mantis. "What is he exactly doing?" Shu was baffled by the change of actions of Yue Han but he still commanded to Praying Mantis to chase after it. "Hmph looks like, I might be able to trick it." Yue Han smiled as he dashed into the Coliseum interior. The fight for Yue Han''s survival had just barely begun. Chapter 123: Blind Bat vs Praying Mantis The Roman Coliseum was as run down as what Yue Han thought it would be. In fact, it made him think of the medieval times. While there were no people around, the vaulted spaces in the Coliseum were converted into workspaces or housing spaces. It was obvious when one saw the random tools lying around the vaulted spaces and the personal touches here and there that Yue Han discovered as he was running away from the Giant Praying Mantis. "What irony, the natural predator running away from the prey." Yue Han thought to himself as his steps felt much lighter than before. With the grade promotion, Yue Han was finally able to utilise the inner chi force of the Blind Bat Style. He was able to navigate through echolocation even more accurately than before. Previously, he was learning various steps technique from the Blind Bat cultivation manual and the grade promotion allowed him to use one he had always dreamt of using. The Webbed Wings Running Technique It might sound weird, heck, it sounded stupid but the Blind Bat Cultivation Style was tailored for scouting with a touch of assassination. The Webbed Wings Running Technique was a basic movement technique that every Blind Bat cultivator needed to learn though its potential would only be fully unleashed when one reached Grade 3. The Webbed Wings Running Technique enabled Yue Han''s every step seem as if he was gliding on air. This made one of the diving sword techniques, The Descension Sword of the Blind Bat, even more potent than ever. With gilded steps and gracious movements, Yue Han did not expend much chi nor stamina as he scouted the area for a good position to fight the Giant Praying Mantis. He was also hoping that the Mantis would tire itself out. Yue Han felt that the ancient Treant was controlling the Giant Praying Mantis to make things easier for him since praying mantises usually excelled in ambushes rather than chases. Or perhaps the ancient Treant was just toying with Yue Han. In the amphitheatre of death, Yue Han crashed through a set of large doors before he reached a place where he suddenly felt a sense of tranquillity surrounding him. It felt like the grip of death had loosened and death itself did not matter anymore, even if it came right up to him and stared him in the face. Yue Han carefully looked around and found himself in a chapel with a broken symbol engraved into the top of the wall. The Giant Praying Mantis stomped through the large doors and bared its mandibles at Yue Han. It looked like it had enough of running and wanted this useless chase to stop immediately. "I was thinking the exact same thing, Mr Mantis." Yue Han felt that the chapel was the perfect place to end the fight against the Giant Praying Mantis. There were many obstacles such as the pews and pillars around for him to dodge and hide behind when necessary unlike the open space in the Coliseum Arena. The Giant Praying Mantis did not waste any time and swung its blades, causing an energy ripple wave through the air. Yue Han was shocked because the simple looking insect had the ability to fire chi energy projectiles, a high-tier move for a monster. Fortunately, there was a row of box pews right beside him and Yue Han jumped behind the pew for cover. Yue Han was considering using the diving sword technique but since he was now equipped with the knowledge that the Mantis could fire projectile attacks, he felt it was too reckless. "That means that I have to execute an all or nothing attack." Yue Han thought to himself as he quickly glided across the box pew to another before an energy ripple wave struck his previous location, decimating the box pew. Yue Han immediately took out the basic chi regeneration potion that he had received from killing Meomi and quickly chugged it down. He was thinking of using the same combo he had used to distract the Zombie Abomination during The Great Wall of China dungeon instance. But instead of distracting like last time, Yue Han''s eyes had a spark that displayed his intent to kill the overgrown insect. His bloodlust could also be sensed by the Giant Praying Mantis, which caused it to be on its guard as it moved towards him. With his new movement technique, Yue Han did not waste any time. When the Mantis stopped its attack to move closer, he directed extra chi into his legs and lower back before he jumped out from behind the box pew and ran up the wall. As Yun Han tried to run out of the box pew, the Giant Praying Mantis took that opportunity to strike rapidly and tried to capture its prey with its spiked raptorial forelegs. Unfortunately, Yue Han was not skilled enough nor fast enough to avoid the attack and the Giant Praying Mantis not only grabbed his left hand but furiously tore it away from his torso. "FUUU-!" Yue Han cursed as his left arm was torn apart easily by the herculean strength of the Mantis'' forelegs. Blood was spewing all over the chapel''s walls. Yue Han eyes were blurry from his tears of pain and his legs wanted to give way so he could curl up and cry at the loss of his left hand. However, he bit his tongue and gritted his teeth, trying to muscle his way through the excruciating pain as he rebalanced himself and prepared the wall run. Meanwhile, the mantis feasted on Yue Han''s left hand but was immediately ordered by Shu to focus on murdering Yue Han. It could not disobey Shu''s order despite its basic instincts being to feed. Regardless, that small window of time when the Mantis was feeding allowed Yue Han to find the optimum angle to dive down and execute his personal combo techniques. "Sword Art! Descension Sword of the Blind Bat! Shadow Sword of the Blind Bat!" Yue Han shouted with all the might he could muster and with only one hand left, he jumped off of the wall. The Giant Praying Mantis thought that Yue Han was being foolish. All it saw was a pile of flesh to be readily cut by its serrated forelegs. Hence, it went into the usual ambush position as it discarded the skeleton shaped hand it had been holding. Yue Han smirked when the Praying Mantis thought that he was merely easy prey once more. The Descension Sword of the Blind Bat gave Yue Han the high velocity and composure for him to collide directly with the Mantis'' agile forelegs. The Mantis laughed when Yue Han locked ''blades'' with it as it used its other serrated blade to cut Yue Han. Yet, the one who had the last laugh though, was Yue Han, as he turned semi translucent and the Mantis blade went through him partially. At the same time, Yue Han changed the angle he was holding his sword and managed to find a ligament he could cut through. Both of their attacks hit simultaneously, which caused them both to flinch. "Further! I have to cut further!" Yue Han had adrenaline rushing through him as his mind rid itself of all unnecessary thought. All he wanted was to make sure he killed the Mantis or at the least, he had to die trying. With his Webbed Wings Running Technique, he glided under the Giant Praying Mantis and sliced its underbelly, which caused light green haemolymph to spill out. The Praying Mantis cried out as it tried to turn but it was futile as Yue Han slashed one of its back legs off. Despite its injuries though, it was not going to give up. The Mantis flew sideways when Yue Han was least expecting it and counterattacked with a pierce through Yue Han''s abdomen. Yue Han coughed up blood since his Shadow Sword Art skill only partially blocked attacks, meaning that if he managed to evade sufficiently and not suffer a full frontal attack, he could survive. Regrettably, the previous attack was through his stomach. Despite that last frontal attack by the Mantis, Yue Han summoned his remaining strength and threw his sword with all the chi he could invoke as a last ditch attempt to kill the Mantis. The sword somehow landed right in the centre of the Giant Praying Mantis'' ocellus. Both prey and predator stared each other in its eyes before falling to the ground, gasping for air. In his last moments before he lost his consciousness, Yue Han saw a chest appearing before him. "Hahaha, looks like I won the second round by the skin of my teeth¡­too bad I can''t get the rewards¡­" Yue Han thought to himself when a root suddenly grabbed the treasure chest and opened it forcibly. The root shook the contents out right in front of Yue Han and he barely absorbed all of it into his storage ring before fainting. "As long as you don''t give up on yourself, the world won''t give up on you," Shu spoke with wisdom before the third round officially started. "But right now, looks like its lights out for you. Try again next time. I look forward to meeting you again, young bat." Shu chuckled as he used the same root that opened the chest to slam Yue Han body into pancakes. Chapter 124: Revealing the Bellators...? "Yo, guess it''s the reverse now. Hahaha" Bu Dong passed a can of Bamboo Juice to the recently awoken Yue Han in the recovery bay instance. "Ah¡­" Yue Han stared at Bu Dong before he laid his head heavily back down on the comfortable pillow. "Gosh..this bed is so much better than the one in my bedroom." Yue Han took the Bamboo Juice that Bu Dong had opened for him and sipped slowly¡­ at least until he was reminded of the sweet refreshing taste of Boss Jin''s juice. "Ah! Patient Yue Han! You should not be too hasty! Drink slowly!" A nearby Nurse Panda became flustered as she saw Yue Han gulping down the can of Bamboo Juice. "He should be fine! He''s tougher than he looks." Bu Dong tried to reassure the Nurse Panda but the Nurse Panda insisted on checking Yue Han''s condition. "Let the nurse do her job." The beautiful and elegant Yun popped by and both the boys just nodded their head in unison. Yun smiled back at them and walked towards Yue Han''s bed to check his vitals. "You did well, Yue Han. Not many cultivators would have continued fighting if they had lost an arm in the middle of the battle. Truly commendable!" Yun commented as she scrolled through the digital tablet that contained the information on his vitals. "Yeah Bro, that was awesome. I was checking out the video stream on my phone and Dayum! You performed way better than I expected!" Bu Dong did not hold back his praises for Yue Han, which made him flush red in embarrassment. "Your compliment means a lot to me." Yue Han smiled as he closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he ever received a praise. Regardless, it felt tremendously wonderful. "Alright, rest up a little more and then get going. Do not hog my beds." Yun''s commanding tone made her even sexier, so much so that the patients surrounding them envied at the two boys because of the attention they were receiving from their goddess. "So¡­ How many panda medal coins did we get in total?" Bu Dong could not help but ask for his rightful rewards. "Hahaha, do not worry, even if I wanted to keep your share, the coins seem to be digitally marked under your name. Maybe that is why Boss Jin emphasised on having a personal account for Pandamonium." Yue Han finished his Bamboo Juice and Bu Dong offered to dispose of it for him. "I got a total of 75 bronze medal coins, your share from the first round was 25 medal coins. Hey, nurse, not sure if you know the answer but can I use the Panda Medal Coins to buy food too?" "At the moment, you can only use Panda Credits but I can suggest that to Boss Jin and he might consider changing it." The Nurse Panda replied. "In any case, I should treat you to some Tonkatsu Curry Rice. You did great." Bu Dong laughed but Yue Han refused. "No, let me." Yue Han smiled as he closed his eyes to rest for a while. Bu Dong could not help but admire the newfound bravery and boldness his best friend was displaying. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The day passed by in the blink of an eye and it was nearly night. Jin yawned and felt extremely tired. The gruelling events that he had gone through throughout the day felt like a bad nightmare and a passing dream combined. "Boss Jin, I will be taking my leave soon." Zhen Qing thanked Jin as she saw him packing up the area. He had asked her to close her store forty five minutes earlier than him so she had the time to pack up and clean the kitchen caravan. It was true that the system would probably be able to do the cleaning for her and probably do it better too, so Jin wanted her to rest early and said he could do the cleaning for her. However, Zhen Qing refused. Her teacher had a saying and it went like such: "A dirty kitchen will not produce good food." Zhen Qing repeated it to Jin and he found no way to refute her in any way. Her hardworking attitude, the guilt of the previous him not working to be what he truly wanted continued to pluck the strings of Jin''s heart. "I will change for the better. For her. For me. For my monsters and bellators." Jin thought to himself as he continued to pack up the store. Zhen Qing was finally done with her cleaning just before 11 pm so she hurriedly returned home on her motorbike. It was then that Xiong Da rolled down the stairs from overexertion. He looked at Jin with pitiful eyes that clearly expressed his desire for food. Zeru also walked down the stairs with pride that was akin to an esteemed master. "Did I say that you are allowed to eat?" Zeru spoke with a straight yet harsh tone. Upon hearing those words, Xiong Da immediately went to his knees and faced Zeru. "Nooo, Instructor!" Xiong Da shouted extremely loudly, so loudly, in fact, that if Jin had not pulled his shutters down previously, the surrounding neighbourhood might had complained. "Is it okay to show yourself that readily outside of the dungeon instance?" Jin sent a voice transmission to Zeru and he grinned. "Xiong Da has more or less already figured out that I am real. Besides, the AI instructor thing does not suit my role." Zeru replied to Jin''s voice transmission as he stared at Xiong Da. "It''s fine, Zeru. Let him rest for now." Jin prepared a plate of Xiong Da''s favourite Tonkatsu Curry Rice and asked him to stand up. Despite this, Xiong Da did not dare to move even though he had received permission from Jin. "Get up and rest for the day. Boss, give me a plate of Tonkatsu Curry Rice too." Zeru also gestured for a bowl with his finger and Jin readily agreed. Xiong Da immediately got up with renewed vigour and began to gobble down his curry rice. "Boss Jin, I cannot believe you. You have such talented people working for you yet you call them AI instructors." Xiong Da commented as he asked for a jug of spring water to quench his thirst. "This is because these are the few people I have found that are not only talented enough to just teach but also willing to work with me in certain ''experiments''. Remember how Instructor Milk was able to spread herself through multiple dungeons? It''s a trade secret that I can''t disclose yet but what I can say is that I''m currently utilising a prototype technology that allows her consciousness to be spread through multiple instances." Jin tried to lie and reason with Xiong Da. "I wanted to pose them as AI instructors to test that initiative. While it has achieved its desired effect, not many people like the idea of using AI instructors. So perhaps you are right! I''ll think about properly employing them as actual instructors." Jin discussed with Xiong Da on the possibility of his bellators being around the shop in person. "But still, it is quite unprecedented to use these ''talents'' to instruct people. Not many dungeon suppliers have instructors and that is mainly because of the unfounded theory that it would show that the Supplier''s dungeons were not optimised or that the Supplier could not provide a proper dungeon and required instructors to guide people. Besides, they are all acquaintances of mine that I have known for some time. Therefore, I can confidently tell you that those who instruct here, such as Milk, all work whenever they have free time and that they are not working full time here. The dungeons are traditionally meant to train your own body and soul so I believe that you cannot force someone to do things in them." Jin explained to Xiong Da his own personal rationale. "That is quite true. Then how about this way? Maybe something like mercenaries for hire?" Xiong Da would like a powerhouse like Zeru with him. "It will defeat the purpose of dungeoneering." Zeru knocked Xiong Da''s head with the back of his spoon. "Speaking of Instructor Zeru, he looked really similar to the famous historical figure, Samurai Z." Xiong Da asked for another plate of curry rice, which Jin willingly gave to his top customer. "I just so happened to be quite a passionate fan of him. But trust me, the scar is 100% real." Zeru smirked and that was when Milk appeared out of nowhere too. "Xiong Da! How''s your training?" Xiong Da nearly spits out all the rice in his mouth when Milk accidentally grabbed him a little too tightly. "Ah Big Sister Milk! Instructor Zeru was extremely strict and I abhorred his training. However, I do admit that he really pushed me to my limits, all for my own good." Xiong Da had already deduced that both Milk and Zeru were real. He also realised that Jin was making them act as AI instructors to protect their identity. Jin smiled as Milk and perhaps even Peppers (if she could control the urge to fry everyone with her explosions) could eventually interact with the customers¡­and maybe, just maybe, they might be the hands that he would need in the future since they were capable of defending themselves and also knew the system well enough. "Yes, you can command them however you like, I was starting to wonder whether you would ever let them out into the open." Yun relayed her thoughts to him. "If they are able to wear normal clothes, I think they would be able to blend into the store''s atmosphere quite nicely." Jin never had never thought about that until now. He always assumed that they were just there to help him fight. Jin had nearly forgotten that they were real and all those interactions he had with them were just the interactions between a master and his servant, and not between friends. If not for Ke Mi opening his mind and helping him out of his unknowing compliance to the system, he would never have realised that each and every monster and bellator were his companions in his journey to becoming the number one dungeon supplier. "I am really ashamed of myself." Jin thought to himself as Xiong Da was laughing merrily with Milk and Zeru. "I will think of a way to let them work and enjoy themselves instead of just being locked up in my phone or some alternate dimension all the time," Jin promised that he would add this onto his to do list. Talking about his to do list, he remembered he had yet to create a training plan for his beloved Hungry Hippo customer. "Xiong Da, I finally know what kind of training will boost your spirit force tremendously. Not only that, I am also sure that you will love this plan." "What is it?" Xiong Da suddenly turned around and a serious expression appeared on his face. "Your love for good food." Jin hinted this to Xiong Da regarding the upcoming plan and he immediately displayed his puppy eyes to Jin. "Boss, if you can really pull this off, I, Xiong Da, promise that if you need any legal help, I will be there to help you." Jin chuckled and said, "Give me a day or two. Right now, follow Zeru''s training and build your strength and stamina up." Xiong Da acknowledged Jin''s orders before he returned to a nearby hotel for some rest. Chapter 125: Hot Springs Cultivation Instead of closing the store and sleeping back at his own house, Jin decided to do something a little unconventional. Jin went to the second floor and entered the Emerald Mountain Hot Springs Instance. The penguins who had all initially been lying around lazily throughout the hot spring mountain suddenly felt a presence entering and began to panic. "Calm down guys, I am coming here to rest and cultivate." Jin tried to alleviate their anxiety and they immediately relaxed a little upon hearing his voice. Mr Patsu, the penguin representative, came forward and greeted Jin. "Boss Jin, to what do we owe the honour of you coming in personally?" "Whenever I cultivate, it seems a large amount of sludge will appear. Seeing how you all have experience in dealing with sludge courtesy of Mr Muddles, I figured this would be a good place to cultivate and rest." Jin explained his reasoning as he started to take his clothes off for a bath. "Indeed, the penguins here are extremely professional and they can remove any stains. While it is not recommended for most cultivators under Grade 3 to stay long in the hot springs pool, I think it should be fine for Boss to cultivate within the pool since your current cultivation is at Grade 4. We will also add additional potent herbs to aid with your cultivation." Mr Patsu started to command the penguins to prepare the herbal solution for their Boss. He figured they would be restless if they could not do anything to serve the Boss of the store. "What kind of herbal solution is it? Does it cost Dungeon Dollars to acquire them?" Jin was concerned that he needed to spend money on these herbs. "It is a mix of the ingredients for the Elixir of Life. Jade Leaf, Cinnamon Branch and Flower of Gold are a few examples. The system stated that you would be given a free trial of the herbs. After which, each herbal solution will cost about 20 Dungeon Dollars. Boss, I can assure you that your cultivation will soar and you would be able to have a better rest than ever before." Mr Patsu bowed his head to show that he was sincere. "Those herbs sound like¡­they are metals and not herbs." Jin expressed his suspicion. "Indeed, there is a slight element of metal within all of those herbs, and they are primarily the reason why the last Qing Dynasty Emperor died from metal poisoning. Though that was because the herbal solution he took contained true metals rather than herbal metals." Mr Patsu gladly explained all of this to Jin. "Will I faint in the pool if I cultivate for too long? My body might not be able to discern the time dilation here, especially when I have not been cultivating diligently recently." Jin expressed his concerns. He initially wanted to just cultivate near the pool beside the wondrous Maple Tree. "Do not worry, we will wake you up when your body is close to reaching its limit. We cannot possibly let our boss faint in our pool." Mr Patsu assured Jin and clapped his hands. The penguins immediately rushed out while holding the herbal solution and started to diffuse it into the hot spring waters. Jin slowly entered the hot spring pool and instantly felt the effects of the hot spring taking effect. The pores all over his body opened up to absorb the spiritual energy of the herbal solution and the hot spring water. Gradually, Jin sat in his usual cultivation pose of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas style and began to doze off. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- As Jin was cultivating in his personal Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instance, Yun was actually in the Dungeon Maker. "How would you describe him at this current moment?" Yun asked the interface as she was fiddling with some stuff. "Slow. Lazy. Inefficient. Hypocrite." The system replied. "But within a day, it really seems that he has changed, or at least tried really hard to." Yun replied back. "Not commendable but still a subject of interest. For now. Been a long time since the system''s methods were defied. Will support solely for the sake of research." The system coldly acknowledged Yun and unlocked a certain screen on the Dungeon maker for her. "Hahaha, I believe Jin should be very happy with this new upgrade." Yun smiled as she tinkered with the Dungeon Maker interface for a little while longer. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Jin sluggishly opened his eyes as he yawned a little. He tried to stretch his arms but he felt that they were extremely heavy, as if he was being pinned down when he tried to move around. Only then did Jin realised that he was in a pool of deep, dark, black sludge. He could hear the penguins pacing furiously to try and solve or at least reduce the severity of the situation by throwing in hundreds of bars of soap into the hot springs pool. "Ah, Boss, you are awake." Mr Patsu was panting and his fur was filled with patches of sludge. It was obvious that Mr Patsu had participated in the cleaning process too. "How long was I out for?" Jin suddenly felt something furry grabbing his torso and he was being pulled out of the sludge. "Roughly 16 hours." The Panda Massage Therapist said as he gave Jin a towel to cover himself up. "I caused this?" Jin was really curious. He knew that cultivating would cause waste to be expelled out of the body but this was ridiculous. The amount he expelled was definitely more than the amount of water he had in his entire body. "When you started to cultivate, you absorbed almost the entire pool of hot spring water and the herbal solution along with it. It was not long after that a yellowish black substance began oozing out of your body, filling up the pool." The Panda Massage Therapist spoke. "Not only that, we also invite Mr Muddles, our friendly dirt collector, to ingest the sludge but he was also overwhelmed by the amount you had expelled and needed to move down the mountain to digest what he had eaten." Mr Patsu sighed. "Why did this happen?" Jin could not figure this part out at all but in that split second, he noticed a trace of bloodlust in the air and parried an incoming sword strike. "Excellent use of the Perfectly Normal Slash." Zeru disengaged himself and stood before Jin. "If this was a day ago, you would not have been able to dodge that." Zeru hinted that the removal of waste substances had something to do with his improved agility. "Display your cultivation and you will understand." Jin obeyed Zeru''s command and called out his panda silhouettes. Previously, there was a simple silhouette of a panda along with three highly defined panda silhouettes to indicate that Jin had just reached Grade 4. However, right now, he saw four highly defined panda silhouette. "It''s only been 16 hours and I have already attained Grade 4 Peak?" Jin was in awe but it still did not make sense to him. He had been cultivating for nearly a month and the amount of time he needed to cultivate to get from the start Grade 3 to Grade 3 Peak was roughly three weeks or so. "A culmination of factors I believed. The hot spring waters, the herbal solution, and your abrupt change in attitude can all be said to have contributed to the sudden increase. Not to mention, it seems your body''s chi is very attuned to the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas style. However, it''s also probably because it''s the first dose of herbal solution you have ever received. which is why your body was very receptive to it. I doubt it will ever happen again." Zeru explained. "Sorry, Mr Patsu and Penguins for the extra work." Jin apologised but the penguins and even the Panda Massage Therapist refused his apology. "To see our Boss gain this much power means that we have helped a lot. Besides, the system will aid to clean the instance once you take your leave. It is just that we could not let you drown in your own sludge. Hahahaha!" Mr Patsu said out loud. "Alright, if that''s the case, I will be leaving this instance and return tonight for some more!" Jin returned back to the store from the service instance after he took a thorough bath and made his way to the 1st floor. It was then that Yun told him that Zhen Qing had used the caravan''s enter the kitchen instance and had already started prepping her items for the morning. "Then, it''s about time we head to the zoo to complete the baby panda mission," Jin called for a taxi as he took out a few onigiris to serve as his breakfast. Jin felt that at Grade 4 Peak, he should be able to stay relatively safe in the zoo¡­ it was just a zoo, right? Well, it was a zoo¡­ The Shenzhen Provincial Zoo of the Cultivation Arts. Chapter 126: Hunt or Fish? It was roughly 6.30am in the morning when the taxi came and the ride to the zoo was a fairly long one. This gave Jin some time to expand on some previous ideas he had thought of. He was giving thought on how he should deal with the Xiong Da''s training plan. He already had a basic idea of what he would want to do. He wanted to make Xiong Da eat¡­ That was all there was to it! He wanted to make him eat. Since eating monster would allow for a spike in cultivation courtesy of the Hungry Hippo style, Jin thought that the best way for Xiong Da to improve over a short period of time was to stuff him with delicacies and monsters. An eating competition would be interesting because he would get to see how Xiong Da would fare against his monsters but that would also mean that Xiong Da would realise that his monsters were sentient enough to listen to and comprehend human speech. He even thought of capturing monsters that were similar to animals, like Mr Oink, and cut them up for a BBQ. However, Jin did not know how that would work out. The dungeon dimensional instances were supposed to act as a fake reality as compared to the service instances, which were meant to be fake to serve their intended purposes. If Jin carried out the hunting part, did that mean that his monsters would be repeatedly killed and dissected? The accumulated experience of the monsters'' several deaths might eventually break the minds of those sentient creatures of his. "So I have to find something dumb enough to kill again and again but still smart enough to learn repeatedly so that my customers won''t just pay for grinding." Jin thought to himself. "To be honest, there are quite a number of creatures that fit your¡­ criteria." Yun relayed her answer to Jin''s mind. "Example?" Jin asked in his thoughts and Yun said that most of his creatures were sentient so they had the potential to grow further. "You could catch those wild monsters that do not think much, but if you managed to catch a variant creature that has reached the peak intelligence of their species, it would be perfect since they generally contain better spirit force in their meat. In fact, most creatures know that the world follows the simple law of eat or be eaten. The same applies to you when you step into their world." Yun explained to Jin. "So Mr Oink is actually a variant creature of an already deviant variant of its natural species. That is why it seems as if it has a decent level of intelligence." "Alrighty then, what worlds would you say fit my criteria?" Jin questioned "If you want good food? I would say you should plant the crystal seeds you obtained in the Farm World and harvest them when they are ripe" Yun replied. "You know I don''t have time for that." Jin shook his head but at least he was facing his phone. So the taxi driver did not think anything was out of the ordinary. "Then I guess the Hunting World or Fishing World would be the next best alternative," Yun suggested. "What are the pros and cons of each world?" Jin later received an electronic information pamphlet on his phone from Yun and it showed the description of the two worlds. "Oh¡­so I might have to hunt for days without rest to get a good catch in the hunting world." Jin analysed the two worlds. The Hunting World consisted of many different monsters with varying spirit force. But to catch them, you needed to find their tracks, and when you found them you needed to ambush them or fight them head on. Jin figured they might be good monsters for the dungeons or perhaps just decent ingredients for a tasty meal. "The fishing world is probably what I will go for. Xiong Da needs quantity instead of quality, as per Zeru''s recommendation. The fishing world has an abundance of fish that grow at a rapid rate so it will be easier to get a large quantity of fish with high spiritual powers." Jin deduced that the fishing world would be the best choice. "But you need a ship or at least a boat to go into the deeper parts of the endless oceans," Yun told him as she automatically opened a section of the information pamphlet to show Jin that she was not playing around with him. "A ship to haul and store the fishes as well as to protect ourselves from the vicious weather? It can even fly so you can perform sky fishing?" Jin was dumbfounded by it. "So you mean I have to buy a ship?" "Actually, you do not have to at this particular point in time but if you do want to catch fish with large spiritual forces, you will need a ship. Besides, I am already thinking in advance to the time when you would need to create a new service instance." Jin could hear that Yun''s voice was a little condescending when he thought of something innovative. Yes, upon seeing the potential of the fishing world, Jin wished to create a Fishing Service Instance on the third floor. With the dimensional space''s power of time dilation, he hoped it would attract some fishing enthusiasts as well as some of the older population to spend money in his store. "But you should really do something to advertise the third floor. The Panda Muscles is such an extensive gym facility and yet practically no one is using it." Yun presented Jin with her feedback. "Perhaps I should package it with the dungeons¡­ Wait! Speaking of dungeons, I forgot to ask you, but what is the status of the Qixi Festival Dungeon? You initially said that the tickets were for future use, but at this rate, people might start to think that it was a scam from the Loot Box Machine." Jin continued to ask Yun. "The Qixi Festival Dungeon is a system made themed dungeon, do you wish to change it in any way? Or else, I can just give you the rights to the dungeon and you can publish it immediately." Yun gave a nonchalant answer. "That''s it?" Jin was a little taken aback by Yun''s response. "Yes, that''s it. The next themed dungeon by the system will be the Halloween one." Yun sent him the details of when the Halloween dungeon would appear as a reward in the loot box machine. "Okay, I am now curious. Why is the system giving out these dungeons for free? How about the monsters in them?" Jin looked at the details of the Qixi Dungeon that was sent to his mailbox. "You have to take care of the monsters'' well being, so technically, it isn''t free in that sense. But if you really want to know the reason, there really isn''t any. The most likely reason is that the system wants to celebrate these events. Besides, you are too slow with your capturing of monsters." Yun digressed a little. "I realised that the cost of housing all the monsters have inevitably increased with the new Qixi Festival dungeon." Jin rested his head on the back seat of the taxi and sighed as he looked out through the window. It looked like he would be reaching the zoo soon. "Then consider the gift from the system both a boon and a blight." Yun did not care much about Jin''s whining. "In any case, I should take a look at the Qixi festival dungeon when I am back in the store." Jin looked out of the window to appreciate the scenery for a while. "Just remember to look around the zoo for any cultivation that might be suitable for Zhen Qing too if you want her to work longer and more efficiently." Yun gave her last piece of advice before she became silent. The taxi was reaching the zoo''s entrance and Jin thought of bringing his bellators with him around the zoo since this could be one of the only few times they were out of the shopping district. Maybe Zeru had seen it before, but hey, it could have been many years since he last entered the zoo. "Mister, we have arrived. Payment via Mechat?" The taxi driver asked and Jin paid with his phone before stepping out of the taxi. "Yeap, I am definitely bringing those rascals out for a walk." Jin laughed bitterly as he noticed a number of cultivators amassing this early in the morning just to visit the zoo. Chapter 127: Casual Clothes Jin wanted to summon them out as soon as possible but he suddenly remembered the Morning Couch Club. Both Milk and Peppers were not early birds and he could not imagine what would happen if they appeared in their sleeping gowns in front of this many cultivators "I can fix that for you. Give me to a fairly secluded location¡­." Yun said as she appeared so smoothly that no one really exactly saw her appearing from thin air. "¡­Like that place right behind that toilet?" Jin really could not find any place secluded in this already crowded location. Yun, who was wearing a tight singlet and leggings, gave Jin an annoyed look. "Okay, okay, how about that bus park right over there? The busses don''t seem to be operating at the moment and it looks like the CCTVs are not pointed directly at the back of the buses either." Jin offered another solution and Yun agreed to that. "Give us a few minutes, we will be right back." Yun took Jin''s phone as Jin went ahead to queue for the tickets. He wanted to pay via his phone but since Yun had taken it, he took a look at his wallet to see if he had sufficient money in it. Meanwhile, behind the busses, Yun firstly magically redirected the CCTVs angles slightly and cast an anti-vision and noise barrier around the bus they were hiding behind. She later summoned and knocked the senses out of the two sleepy heads. Zeru also appeared at the request of Yun. "Master Zeru, please let me put some makeup on the scar for you. I do not want you to attract too much attention and make Jin worry about you too." "Hahaha, Lady Yun, you are too kind to your ''son'' even though you are just an embodiment of her soul." Zeru accepted the makeup from Yun and his scar was covered up nicely. "There you go, although it would be really good if you could cut your hair too, though that would be asking too much. I believe you value your style too." Yun hoped Zeru could change his appearance so perceptive people like Xiong Da would not question his identity too much. "Oh no, that''s a really simple request to accede. I am happy to cut it. It''s just that it was always my previous master that ordered me to do that instead of me taking the initiative to do so so I just let it grow long. Perhaps, that''s how I chase for my master''s affection." Zeru took his wooden sword out and swung it backwards. As he held his long ponytail tightly, Zeru aimed his wooden sword fairly close to his hairband and cut his ponytail with a single stroke. "May I¡­keep it?" Yun blushed a bit as she raised her hand towards Zeru after he cut his ponytail off¡­ Zeru had a weird expression on his face due to her odd request but did not mind. Maybe Yun and the system had some use for his hair or DNA or whatever they wanted to do with it. He then tied his hair again since there was still a sufficient amount for him to tie it into a small ponytail. "Uwahhh! I do not want to wake up~!" Peppers yawned with her mouth wide open while Milk grabbed onto Peppers like how she would do with her pillow. Milk even rubbed her face against Pepper''s head. "Mmmm, so fluffy¡­ I want to sleep mor- Ow!!" Yun knocked both of their heads again. "Wake up and change into some casual clothes. Jin is bringing you guys to the Zoo. Master Zeru, please change into this too. I will put up an anti visual barrier if you want to change here." "Haha, Lady Yun, you are too considerate as always. Please do." Zeru picked up the clothes and changed immediately with the anti visual barrier in place in order to not offend little Peppers. Meanwhile, Milk felt that she wanted to see the whole scene of Zeru changing but Yun pulled her ear and told her to get changed too. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Jin managed to buy the tickets but he was left with only 50 Yuan in his wallet. "Ahh.. maybe I should bring some extra cash out in the future just in case¡­" The zoo tickets were 40 Yuan per person and he figured he should buy one for Yun too. "Speak of the devil¡­" Jin was later stupefied by the sudden change in appearance of his bellators and Yun. Milk was wearing a sleeveless swing top with a pair of black jeans while Zeru wore a casual white shirt with his sleeves folded up along with a pair of long blue pants. For Peppers¡­Jin could not help but laugh as she really looked like a little kid with a sleeveless crop top that had polo neck and a denim overall dress. "What?!" Peppers was controlling her urge to shoot a fireball explosion at Jin but she was also ashamed to do so in front of so many people. "Nothing, you look rather cute." When Jin said it, Peppers suddenly opened her eyes widely and stepped on his feet. "Hmmph, I am always cute." Peppers agreed heartedly, which made the entire group amused and they laughed as a group. Milk, on the other hand, teared up a little but managed to wipe it off before anyone else noticed. It had been a long time since she had this kind of familial feeling. "Let''s get going then! Or else Jin will not make it back to his store in time." Milk turned around quickly and headed towards the zoo entrance. "Jin, I shall show you the prowess of knowledge of I, the Demonic Sage Queen!" Peppers stood near to him. "You know about this zoo''s cultivation styles and masters?" Jin thought Peppers was just trying to boast in front of him. "She knows of not just the zoo but also everything related to it¡­because I made her read everything about it when the mission was created for you," Yun spoke out but Peppers was trying to cover Yun''s mouth. "Did you know? Peppers is actually really diligent when she studies. I remember seeing her trying to memorise everything as quickly as possible. She thought that you would be going to the Zoo the day after you received the mission. Little did she know that you put it off until now." Milk interjected and this time Peppers ran to Milk to cover her mouth. "Ahhh, no wonder she is always so angry with Jin. She just wanted to show to her master how dedicated she was." This time it was Zeru who spoke up and Peppers just gave up and sighed. It was at this moment that Jin went up to Peppers and patted her on the head. Peppers looked up and Jin smiled at her. "Thank you for all the hard work that you have done. I really appreciate it, now let''s see. How about you tell me more about this place." That smile made Peppers brighten up a little. Her nose grew even longer when Yun squat down to give her a light squeeze. "You little brat, working so hard right behind our backs." "Haha! Now listen up carefully!" Peppers started to flaunt her knowledge to Jin and Yun as they walked side by side while Milk and Zeru were behind them smiling at this lively scene between the three of them in the middle of the noisy crowd. Chapter 128: Royal Zodiacs From what Jin knew about the Zoo of the Cultivation Arts, what Peppers had told him was all correct. In fact, she really did know more about the Zoo more than him. Every province had a Zoo of the Cultivation Arts as most cultivators'' techniques and styles were based on animals. All monsters and even animals had power levels that corresponded to the grades for humans. But unlike humans, they were unable to choose what kind of powers they would have as they were born with them. Although the humans in this world were not born with an ability, they all had the potential to adopt a cultivation style that they liked and were attuned to. It was the best advantage humans had over monsters and animals and was also why they were able to rule the world. It was true that observing the cultivation of wild animals would provide a better insight into a particular style for a person with the same cultivation style, but those animals were not exactly the easiest to find. Also, people would have to travel far and wide to locate them and it might even disrupt the native ecosystem in the long run. Hence, zoos were renovated in order to allow cultivators to observe the animals, learn from them, and maybe even teach fellow cultivators of the same style as well. Therefore, there were many recruitments near the various animal enclosures and that was how guilds or sects were created these days. By coming to the Zoo of Cultivation Arts. The Shenzhen Provincial Zoo of Cultivation Arts might not necessarily be the largest, the biggest, or even the most modern, but it boasted the most extensive range of animals in enclosures. When Jin''s group entered the zoo, they were immediately bombarded by various recruiters of different animal sects. If they had had the time, it would have been a good place to learn more about prominent sects and guilds. Perhaps it was also possible that joining one would improve the store''s standings in the future as Jin might have the backing of a sect if there any problems arose. However, Jin was not planning on joining one at the moment. Firstly, he was here only for the Baby Panda Mission. He just wanted to take a selfie with it, or maybe with the whole group too and then immediately return to the store. Time was money, and those were the two things he could not afford to waste at the moment. "Would you like to join the Furious Monkey Sect? We even have members in the Royal Zodiac Monkey Sect!" "Do not listen to him! The Raging Tiger Sect is your best choice, one of our founders comes directly from the Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect!" "Dear fellow cultivators, how about joining the Towering Tortoise Sect? Our roots came from the ancient spirit monster, the Black Turtle of the North!" "Towering Tortoise? Is that not what Kong Xian, that Kendo highschool kid, used?" Jin thought to himself but eventually ignored all the recruitments and shouldered his way out of the main square and into the animal viewing enclosures. "Wow, they were crazy about trying to get people to join them. Why are they so desperate?" Milk was a little annoyed since she knew there were times in the main square where she could had been groped due to the massive amount of people present. Despite this, Zeru had been protecting her from possible fidgety hands and Milk could only give a genuine wide smile in return for Zeru''s honourable protection. "More people means more tribute to their Sect and that, in turn, means that their higher-ups would have more money," Jin said and that was also one of the reasons why he refused to join the sects. They might accept people with different cultivation styles at first but eventually, they would want them to learn their main style. "If that''s the case, won''t there be many different sects with different prefixes and animals associated to them?" Milk continued to ask questions as the group followed the map towards the Panda Enclosure. "Not really. There are grand sects like the Royal Zodiac ones, which control nearly half of China''s current economy. Under those grand sects, there are large sects that control the smaller sects and that''s where cultivators who have various cultivation belong." Zeru tried to explain and Jin agreed with him. Seeing Jin agree, Zeru could not help but sigh since it looked like even if it was in the future, the power chain did not change a single bit. "So, it''s like many organisations within one parent organisation?" Milk asked and Zeru nodded his head. "Compared to the past, these small sects do not matter much now and it''s more like a meeting place for cultivators so that the cultivators can have a sense of belonging. The ones that really have the fighting power and perhaps the power to protect the country would definitely be the Royal Zodiacs." Jin commented. "Ah! I read about the Royal Zodiacs! They are the 12 Chinese animal cultivators that the Jade Emperor eventually assigned as protectors after calling for a meeting that required the animal cultivators to cross the magical river to meet up with him. Eventually, they were selected for the years on the Chinese calendar too!" Peppers proudly mentioned. "Hahaha! But do you want to hear something different and perhaps the true story of how the Royal Zodiacs came to be?" Zeru smirked when he proposed that idea. Everyone immediately had their attention on Zeru. "There was no Jade Emperor in the first place. The one in reign was the Banned Emperor and his name brought fear and oppression to all. Needless to say, the common folk were not happy and even the nobles were struggling under his rule. Therefore, the original cultivators of the 12 Royal Zodiac animals, who were initially nobodies, were the ones that brought him down in a grand fight at the River of Death." Zeru continued his story when he realised everyone was already intrigued by his story. "They fought for 12 days and 12 nights with each cultivator taking turns to wear the Banned Emperor down. At the end, when the fight was almost lost and all hope was nearly gone, the Banned Emperor saw his most trustworthy brother, the Jade Prince came. He thought that the Jade Prince had brought reinforcement. However, to his surprise, the Jade Prince betrayed him by delivering the deathblow and before he died, the Banned Emperor even found out that it was the Jade Prince that tricked him by calling for the meeting at the River of Death." "Hence, in order to keep this assassination a secret, the Jade Prince continued the lie that the Banned Emperor was sick and eventually died. He later succeeded as the new Emperor who honoured the 12 founders who had battled the Banned Emperor and painstakingly changed the course of history and the books were written with their help too." Zeru concluded as they were reaching the panda enclosure. "How did you even know about this?" Jin asked with immense curiosity. "Trade Secret." Zeru smiled and the entire group laughed at Zeru using Jin''s catchphrase. However, deep in his heart, he mourned for his old master. "It''s because my previous Master was the last descendant of the hidden and forgotten 13th Royal Sect. The Royal Zodiac Panda Sect." Zeru thought to himself as he noticed how Jin and his previous master had some things in common. Chapter 129: Three Eyed Tiger The Panda Enclosure was allocated with one of the biggest plots of land by the Shenzhen Provincial Zoo of Cultivation Arts since it housed one of the national treasures of the country. Yet the amount of viewing space was still not sufficient for the sea of cultivators and tourists that just wanted to take a look at the cute¡­ fat and lazy pandas. Although the name stated that this was the Panda Enclosure, the physical barriers were only there for decoration as the enclosure was protected by a series of high grade barrier defence inscriptions and there was even a Grade 10 guard protecting the Pandas. This guard was the highest grade cultivator out of all the guards stationed in this Zoo since the rest of the enclosures were monitored by Grade 3 to Grade 5 Zoo Guards depending on the value of the animals. "Argh, I can not see anything!" Peppers wanted to blow the entire place up just so that she could have a good view of the pandas. Jin tried to dissolve her explosive thoughts by picking her up and placed her on his shoulders. "Ah!" Peppers grabbed on to Jin''s head tightly and it nearly made him fall. Zeru and Milk immediately supported Jin while Yun secretly took a few photos with her brand new phone, which she happened to create when they were at the main entrance. She needed to use Jin''s phone as a base to allow the system to duplicate all the functions and abilities of the phone since Jin''s phone was uniquely coded just for him. "Wow! The scenery is really beautiful!" Peppers managed to balance herself and took in the view. As the physical barrier did not extend that high up and the defence barrier inscriptions were hidden, Peppers was able to have a good view of the entire area. There was a miniature hill in the enclosure and on it, there was a small patch of bamboo. Right at the base of the hill was a playground for the younger pandas to have fun. "Oh look! Is that Jie Jie and Lee Lee?" Peppers squinted her eyes a little to try and get a better look and they saw two pandas taking care of their little baby panda. "Ah, it seems too far away to take a proper selfie with the baby panda." Jin felt troubled. In his mind, he thought of taking a picture of just the pandas and then using technology to crop and fuse his face into the picture. "Erm no Jin, that will not work." Yun placed her hand on Jin''s shoulder and shook her head. She did not know that Jin was that desperate. "Hear Ye Hear Ye! It''s the last week of the event to take photos with the baby panda!!" A crier rang his bell as he shouted with a large signage on his chest. Jin walked towards the man shouting with Peppers on his shoulders. "You''re saying that I can take photos with the baby panda?" Jin questioned. "Yes, mister! It''s the last week of the photo taking with the baby panda! Join the fight arena down at the amphitheatre, which will start in half an hour. All participants who can last at least five minutes against our cultivation masters will have the right to take a photo with the baby panda as well as a photo of their cultivation animal as a memento." The annoyingly loud man showed the signage he was holding to Jin. "Where do I sign up?" Jin asked and the loud man just asked Jin to register via his phone with the QR code provided at the bottom of the signage. Jin put Peppers down and took his phone out to scan the QR code. "Heh! Uncle, you should just quit now and not waste our time waiting for the fight arena." A group of young brats surrounded Jin and Peppers as they lifted their heads in arrogance. "None of your business!" Peppers retorted at the brats and one of them stared fiercely at Peppers. "Do you not know who we are?!" "I am sorry we are in your way. Peppers let''s go." Jin immediately held Peppers back and walked in the other direction away from them. Jin knew that there were always these kinds of irritating cultivators that wanted to flaunt their strength onto others. That was also the reason why he did not wish to go to the Zoo earlier. Fortunately, he decided to come today. If not, he would have failed the baby panda mission or perhaps he would have had to take a harder route just to complete the mission. "Hey Hey Hey! Who said that you are allowed to go just because you apologised. Bow down to us now! And say that you are sorry for bumping into the members of the Three Eyed Tiger!" A few of the Three Eyed tiger members ran quickly to surround Jin and Peppers as their leader spoke loudly. "Poor soul, to encounter the Three Eyed Tiger." Some of the onlookers were whispering what bad luck the man must have to meet that group. "Yea, he should just kowtow and get away from them." Another onlooker gave his views. "What''s the Three Eyed Tiger?" Milk asked one of the onlookers. "Oh, foreigner? Anyways, they are a well known notorious Triad group in Shenzhen. Offend them and like the Third Eye in their name, they will never forget their hostility towards you. " The onlooker spoke. "Is it that normal for this triad group and their members to make a ruckus here?" Milk continued to ask. "If they are outside the zoo? No, the police will stop them at all cost. However, the Zoo''s rules make it a playground for these triads to play punk at times. Of course, if it gets too outrageous, the Zoo Guards will stop them" Another onlooker commented. "If they are notorious, why would they even allow them to lurk around?" Milk could not understand. Shouldn''t the guards do something about it? "Dirty Politics and Money, my dear." An old lady smirked as she gave her comments to Milk and smiled at Yun. "Grandma Yuan?" Yun realised that the district guardian just so happened to be in the same zoo as Jin. "How bad can Jin''s luck get?" Yun could only sigh at his double whammy. Meanwhile, the Grade 10 Zoo Guard rolled his eyes. "Just my luck that a duel happens near my enclosure." He reported the situation to his higher ups and continued to monitor the situation. "Understood, Panda-10, we will send a guard and medic over to clean up after them." The Zoo Headquarters replied as if it was a normal occurrence. Yes, it was indeed a normal occurrence in the Zoo of Cultivation Arts since cultivators were allowed to duel anytime in the Zoo. While it technically also a public area, there were sufficient guards and CCTVs around to oversee any duels from afar. The Zoo even had a field hospital to treat any immediate injuries if required until the ambulance from the main hospital arrived. "So what will it be Uncle? Are you going to bow down to me, Zhen Kao Peng" The leader of these goons, Kao Peng sneered. "No." Jin yawned a little as he scratched his head. Peppers sniggered when she saw Jin yawn as she took out her staff and pointed it at them. "Nope, you guys are going to be the ones doing the kowtowing instead." Chapter 130: Overkill Kao Peng sneered at the little girl who whipped a staff out from out of nowhere. He looked at the older guy and felt no threat from him at all. "Guess I can get those storage rings and maybe the staff too once they prostrate in front of me. Time to teach them a lesson." Kao Peng thought to himself and felt proud that he found the right target this time. He then sent a voice transmission to his underlings to move forward even more and if possible grab that expensive looking staff away from the little girl. Suddenly, he felt an eerie silence behind him and he turned around, only to find that a defensive barrier had been created behind him. "What in the worl- BOOOOOOOOM" A gigantic blast of fire immediately incinerated the area and caused almost everything in its way to be burnt to a crisp. The onlookers panicked and screamed at the sudden change of events and even the Grade 10 Zoo Guard instantly raised a high level barrier up when he saw the fire blast. However, he was not as fast as Milk who created the defensive barrier first. "Ooo, Foreigner you seem very capable." Grandma Yuan complimented Milk''s powers and she smiled back. "That was nothing, I know for a fact that Jin and Peppers would have been strong enough to prepare in advance." "You know the victims?" Grandma Yuan tried to probe further. "You mean the victors? Yes, I do know them, Tiangong District Guardian Yuan." Milk said unhesitantly and Grandma Yuan laughed. "Hahaha, looks like Jin does have some talented friends after all." Grandma Yuan continued to watch the one sided battle. "Hmmmm! It''s really been a long time since I was allowed to release so much firepower." Peppers stretched her arms while holding on to her staff. The Three Eyed Tiger''s gang members that were in front of Jin were trembling when they saw what Peppers did to their gang leader. "Witch!!!" The gang members shouted in unison but before they knew what had taken place, a shadowy stick hit their faces and they dropped to the ground like flies. "How rude." Jin swung his Bamboo Bo after hitting the gang members. When the smoke cleared, Kao Peng was barely standing, with third degree burns located on his entire body. Apparently, his underlings had unintentionally managed to protect Kao Peng by standing right in front of him, hence the bulk of the blast was taken by his underlings. Kao Peng''s legs were shaking as he pulled out a relic from his storage ring. Kao Peng initially did not have the intention to use this precious relic. He was told to hold onto the relic of life as a secondary backup for his senior in case his senior ever got into trouble. This was the amount of trust his senior had placed on him. However, at this moment, he valued his pathetic life more than anything else. "Sorry Senior Wai, I did not expect things to be this way." Kao Peng used the remainder of his chi to activate the relic of life. A bright light shone from the relic and enveloped him in some mystical eastern magic that allowed him to heal quicker than Jin''s top quality recovery potions. "I will take my revenge for my comrades!" Kao Peng''s vigour renewed and his body seemed stronger than before. "You want another dose? I will gladly give it to you." Peppers readied her staff but suddenly Jin stopped her. "It''s okay Peppers, I will deal with him. Besides, your firepower made the onlookers too scared." ''Too scared?'' Peppers immediately stiffened up as some bad memories started to appear, causing her to all of a sudden start screaming. "What''s wrong?" Jin diverted his attention for a moment and Kao Peng took that opportunity to strike with his sword. "Shit!" Jin held onto Peppers and barely dodged the first attack, but Kao Peng was relentless and Jin received a long straight cut along his arm. Kao Peng was delighted that he managed to deal damage to Jin and hungered for more. However, Jin did not give him the chance to launch his third attack. With a deep breath, Jin released a powerful chi beam, which caused Kao Peng''s main sword arm to dissipate into nothingness. This time round Kao Peng was filled with terror and dread. He did not expect both the girl and her guardian to be this powerful. "You watch out!" Kao Peng shouted as he retreated to safety. Meanwhile, the onlookers had mixed reactions. Some rejoiced that the Three Eyed Tigers were taught a lesson but others were quite fearful of the spells of the little girl and the mysterious skills displayed by her guardian. "Are you okay?" Milk rushed over and checked on Jin''s wound. Without delay, Milk cast a simple healing spell. "Milk, do you have any calming spells?" Jin saw how scared Peppers was all a sudden and was concerned. "Give me a moment." Milk used her fingers to draw some mystical symbols in the air, which intrigued Grandma Yuan. In a few moments, Milk cast a mix of the Courage spell and Mind Calm Spell on Peppers and it allowed her to act normally once again. "Sorry¡­ Jin." Peppers wanted to cry so badly but it looked like she was holding her tears back because of the crowd. "No worries Peppers. Tell us when you are ready." Jin consoled Peppers and soon people who were watching the scene slowly dispersed to mind their own business. "So Jin, I see that you have a few foreign friends in your company." Grandma Yuan spoke and Jin stiffened a little. "Ah, Grandma Yuan." Jin bowed towards her and Grandma Yuan suddenly felt that something had changed about this Jin that was standing before her. Was she overthinking it? She was not sure. Jin also wanted to ask why was she here but decided to keep quiet for the moment. "Hurry to the amphitheatre, I can handle the report," Yun said to Jin as the Grade 10 Zoo Guard came towards them and clarified the current situation with her. There were a few dead bodies around with the solid Dantians and since this was a duel that had many witnesses, the Zoo Guard confirmed that Peppers could not be charged for their deaths. However, on the behalf of Jin, Yun had to write a report regarding the entire incident, which the Zoo Guard would later use as evidence. "Milk, are you able to handle Peppers for now?" Jin was still worried about Peppers'' sudden mental breakdown. "Do not worry, Peppers is stronger than you think. Go to the fight arena first, we will be there in no time," Milk assured Jin and Zeru decided to tag along with Jin. "Zeru, don''t. Keep an eye on the girls in case a similar case happens again." Jin told Zeru but Zeru refused. "The same might happen to you too since you did not finish that guy off." Zeru warned him. Although Zeru had the same sentimental feelings as Jin, his main priority was still Jin since he was the master. "At worse, I will call you guys." Jin pointed at his phone and Zeru got his drift. "Understood, stay frosty." Zeru nodded his head and Jin ran as fast as he could to the amphitheatre. Little did Jin know, Kao Peng was prepping his possible demise. . . Chapter 131: Ku Wai Although the fight against the Three Eyed Tiger members was over quickly, Peppers having a panic attack caused a lot of delays which meant that Jin had roughly five minutes to reach the amphitheatre. "Hahaha, if only I had learnt more movement techniques similar to the Blind Bat style, then I would have been there by now." Jin could only blame himself for not learning the Panda Tumbling movement technique in his cultivation manual. Jin knew that the zoo''s amphitheatre was within reach when he heard announcements of the fight arena about to take place from the surround speakers. He knew that there would definitely be another battle in the fight arena later in the afternoon but he wanted to open his store on time. Doing the fight arena now would allow him to save more time as well as complete the baby panda mission. Jin slowed his running to a jog due to the crowd going into the amphitheatre. He was rushing because this was not the first time he had come to the Zoo of cultivation arts. He knew the unspoken rules of the fight arena since he had been part of the audience with his grandfather. In this kind of fight arena, if you were late, your chance to fight would be forfeited. This was because discipline was one of the core values of cultivation. If you were tardy, it was generally assumed that you were not strict with yourself, hence the forfeit. That was why Jin tried to walk through the masses and run whenever possible¡­until he saw a precarious looking man in a white suit. Jin sensed that this man was trouble so he tried to manoeuvre away from him if possible but eventually he realised that the white suit man was walking towards him no matter how hard he tried to shake him off, Eventually, the white suit man had enough and performed a spectacular high jump, which briefly stunned the masses for a moment before landing right in front of Jin. "Is this him?" The man with the white suit spoke in a low voice and pointed the camera of his phone towards Jin. "Yes, Senior Wai! That''s him! He stole your relic of life and caused me to lose my arm!" Jin realised it was Kao Peng shouting through his phone via a video chat. "Return the relic of life to me along with your head, or I shall make you taste suffering that is worse than death for trifling with the Three Eyed Tiger." Senior Ku Wai spoke in a deep voice as he took his suit off and tore his shirt into pieces to show his strength and superiority. Right in front of Jin, Ku Wai''s body seemed like a monsterity. Six packs with bulging muscles that had two tigers tattooed on each side of his arms. Every onlooker began to move away from the main source of conflict in order to give the two cultivators space to duel. "I am busy right now, how about this. You let me finish the fight arena first and then you can deal with me in whatever way you want?" Jin looked at his watch and saw that there were only a few minutes left before the Fight Arena officially begins." "What if I don''t?" Ku Wai went into his fighting stance and stared intensely at Jin. "Then I shall announce that the commencement of the first fight to occur right here and right now." An old lady''s voice blurted out from the masses and Jin realised it was Grandma Yuan. "What are you looking at? You didn''t know that I was one of the Zoo''s honoured cultivation masters?" Grandma Yuan smirked as she said that and with a snap of her fingers, a defensive barrier appeared around Ku Wai and Jin. "However, unlike the usual Fight Arena, you two will be fighting until both of you resolve your differences." Grandma Yuan said. "Excellent, that means I can still collect the baby panda picture for Princess while I''m at it." Ku Wai cracked his knuckles and shouted, showing his cultivation of five tiger silhouettes roaring in the sky. However, Jin managed to notice that one of the tiger''s silhouette was simple, indicating that his opponent was either an average Grade 5 cultivator or that he had just reached Grade 5. While there was still a power gap between Grade 5 and Grade 4 Peak, Jin thought that he might be able to win if he was careful enough. "I will give you one last chance. Relic of Life and bow down so I can cut your head cleanly." Ku Wai said fiercely. After Jin quietly took out Bam from his storage watch, the watch immediately turned back into four bands of living armour, ready to move around Jin''s body whenever needed. There was no stance Jin could adopt as he didn''t know any so he instead drew his sword out and tugged his scabbard at the side of his waist with the help of his belt. "Jin, Dungeon Supplier. Panda Style." In every duel, it was more respectful for each side to announce their names before they started to fight. "Ku Wai, Senior Member of the Three Eyed Tiger, Member of the Crouching Tiger. Terrific Tiger Style." Ku Wai did not waste any more time as he dashed forward with no weapons in hand. "Quan Fa?! He uses martial arts?!" Jin realised he might be in more trouble than he thought he initially thought he was in. Ku Wai''s fist was easy to predict but the speed it swooped in was lightning fast. If not for Jin''s Perfectly Normal Parry Slash, which managed to block the fist, Jin might have suffered a mortal blow to his chest. Ku Wai was initially smirking when Jin used his sword to block the attack, but he was shocked when his Tiger Fist of Suffering was not only blocked but he found some blood on the side of his rock hard fist. "Guess you are not to be underestimated after all. Now I understand why Kao Peng was so badly defeated by a normal looking guy like you." Ku Wai commented but he was actually buying some time for his chi to control the bleeding on his fist. To be able to cause a wound on his fist raised some alarms for Ku Wai. Either Jin had some really good inscriptions that allowed his attacks to pierce through the defence of his Terrific Tiger martial art or he really had the skill to do so just with his own strength. "That means he''s at least a Grade 4 cultivator." He thought to himself. "I did not use the Relic of Life or whatever you called it. That friend of yours who you talked to just now used it. If you do not believe me, you can check the Zoo''s CCTV cameras." Jin refuted the earlier accusation as he entered a defensive stance. He knew that if he attacked outright, he would lose, but with the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash, there might be a chance for him to defeat Ku Wai. Of course, that was the most ideal situation. Jin knew from his title as a member of the Crouching Tiger Sect, a direct sect under the Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect, that he was not an easy opponent. He probably had some secret technique that could overpower Jin instantly. "Well, I have my own trump cards too¡­"Jin thought to himself. "Does not matter, I will deal with that friend of mine later. But since you dissolved his hand away, at the very least I will repay that debt." Ku Wai rushed in once more. Meanwhile, Grandma Yuan was in total shock as she thought that Jin would be defeated in one go and that would teach him a lesson. She remembered that just weeks ago, Jin was only a pathetic Grade 3 cultivator. When did he have the ability to¡­ "Unless he has the thing that Old Ming had¡­" Grandma Yuan had her suspicions and decided to confirm it when she had the chance. . . Chapter 132 A Real Mean Punch The fight raged on between Ku Wai and Jin and it was so breathtaking that the onlookers were starting to take videos of the battle. People were commenting about how a commoner was fighting evenly against a Three Eyed Tiger Senior member. Even Ku Wai was beginning to feel the pressure every time he clashed with Jin. There were times when Jin barely managed to defend with his sword but when Ku Wai pressed on with a stronger attack, Jin would always somehow manage to parry it would deal damage to his Terrific Tiger Fists. Meanwhile for Jin, he was observing how Ku Wai was fighting as the fight dragged on. "He is mostly a Fist user and after he saw the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash, he became more cautious with his attacks and only executes skilled fist arts when the first punch connects." Jin thought to himself. Compared to Ku Wai, there was a severe deficit in Jin''s arsenal, practically nothing except for Panda Yawning and Lazy Panda Swipe. Jin had the ability to change his weapons on the fly but Ku Wai was not giving him space to do so since he was punching ."Punching!" Jin thought to himself as he remembered someone else who could dish out a punch. A real mean punch too. "I wonder if it really works¡­" Jin knew how agile a martial artist could get and if he wanted to land a direct hit, he would need to properly immobilise him. He took out Boo from his living armour bands and gave mental instructions to the living armour bands. Upon hearing the plans, the living amour bands seemed to be excited in anticipation for the incoming action. "That guy''s face changed¡­He must be planning something." Ku Wai noticed that something was amiss due to the slight change in Jin''s expression. Maybe he was wrong but his hunch told him otherwise. "I will throw in a few more punches before I execute my ultimate technique." Ku Wai pretended to relax a little by jumping on the spot for a few seconds, which caused Jin to daze for a bit and that was when he struck. Ku Wai knew that the differences in routine pattern could make his opponent think and at that point, his opponent would be in a slight daze, not sure what he could do to prevent the attack. Ku Wai figured that Jin did not have the experience of constant fighting so he would definitely be caught off guard by the change of attack pattern. In a flash, Ku Wai rushed in and started off with a flying kick instead of his regular punch. Jin managed to parry in time and caused a slight wound to Ku Wai''s leg, but that was Ku Wai''s main objective. He also knew that Jin''s parrying could not be used twice in a row, so the first attack was a feint. The moment Jin attempted to counterattack, Ku Wai performed a frontal somersault, which allowed him to land right behind Jin. "Intermediate Fist Art! The Ambush of the Terrifying Terrific Tiger!" The shout of his technique caused onlookers with a cultivation grade of two and lower to tremble with fear. That was the indication of the power gap between the grades. The aura of the Grade 5 fully suppressed the cultivators of Grade 2 and lower. The Five tiger silhouettes immediately turned into one large sized tiger silhouette that was big enough to provide shade for the two people fighting each other. Ku Wai placed all his chi into his right fist and like a tiger ambushing its prey, his fist looked like a large tiger silhouette''s claw going for Jin. "Lazy Panda Swipe!" Jin knew that at this instant, he had to sacrifice something for his plan to work. Jin used the Lazy Panda Swipe with his left hand, which was covered with Boo since was transformed into a bamboo gauntlet. Four Panda silhouettes appeared while baring their teeth at the large tiger right above Jin and the onlookers finally saw the cultivation style of this mysterious yet normal looking male. Ku Wai saw Jin''s cultivation and laughed. "My Victory!" His Tiger Fist clashed head on with Jin''s left hand swipe and the impact caused both cultivators'' chi to radiate out so harshly that it could be felt by the surrounding onlookers. "What strong chi for a Grade 4." Grandma Yuan was becoming more and more impressed by Jin''s struggle but it looked like the battle was going to end. It did but not the way Grandma Yuan had expected. While it felt intense, it was obvious who was losing as they saw Jin''s hand moving lifelessly after the clash of fists¡­but something was missing. The onlookers realised the green gauntlet was gone and thought it was destroyed by the attack. However, when Jin''s left hand came into contact with Ku Wai''s fist, the bamboo gauntlet actually grabbed hold on Ku Wai like a spreading contagion. Not just that, Boo wrapped around Ku Wai''s Hand and thin bamboo spikes appeared from Boo to temporarily immobilise him. Ku Wai suddenly felt that he could not move his fist and felt extremely heavy, so much so that he crashed into the ground. Furthermore, the spikes pierced through his shoulders and legs, making it difficult for him to move. The onlookers were extremely shocked by the sudden turn of events. Jin had placed the four living armour bands within Boo and with Jin''s Chi it was shaped as a gauntlet. When Boo transferred itself to Ku Wai, it was also based on Jin''s imagination of the weapon and a lot of chi was being pumped into Boo to keep it malleable and natural in order for it to cover the transfer of the living bands to Ku Wai. When the bands reached Ku Wai, they immediately grew as heavy or maybe heavier than what Jin had experienced in the Farming World, which caused Ku Wai to fall. The moment Ku Wai fell to the floor, Jin pulled off the flashiest stunt that the onlookers had ever seen. Jin jumped up high and with his right fist holding on to his phone, he plummeted it down towards Ku Wai with two words. "GODDDDDDD PUNCH!" A golden flashy gigantic fist appeared from nowhere and slammed Ku Wai with a force to be reckoned with. The ground broke and pieces of it flew away from the violent impact. Thankfully, the defensive barriers were working properly and blocked all the debris from hitting the onlookers. As a result of the attack, Ku Wai was rendered unconscious by Jin''s vicious punch. Jin was not able to kill him because Ku Wai''s constitution was still stronger due to his Cultivation Grade. Well, Jin could have ended his life with a slash through his throat since he was unconscious but this was sufficient enough for Jin. "I now declare Jin as the Winner for his fight." Grandma Yuan announced the result the moment she saw Ku Wai''s condition and the defensive barriers were lowered. The guards and medics were already on standby since they were informed that one of the fights for the panda photo taking was officiated outside of the amphitheatre by Grandma Yuan. Grandma Yuan walked towards the panting Jin and gave him a seal. "You can now go take a picture of your baby panda and improve your cultivation." She then walked away as promptly as she came. "Oh, and good job." Grandma Yuan turned and gave him a smirk before she walked into the amphitheatre. . . Chapter 133 Panda Enclosure "Jin, are you okay?" Milk and the rest finally caught up with Jin who was sitting at a bench being attended by the Zoo''s Medic. "His arm has been rendered useless by the previous fight, he needs attention at the hospital. He was initially low on chi but for some reason, his chi production is higher than the usual standards. Though it is not that surprising given since being a Grade 4 cultivator despite still being this young is an achievement. Other than that, I have treated most of his wounds." The female field medic gave her assessment to Jin''s friends. "Its okay, I can fix that arm for him. He does not need to go to the hospital." Milk took the female medic''s place and assessed Jin''s arm all by herself. "Slight nerve necrosis due to a lack of chi and blood, some of the bones are impacted but they are not much of an issue, I can fix that." Milk gently touch Jin and managed to figure out his problems. "Oh, some internal bleeding due to the tearing of the muscles." "If that''s the case, should we not rush him to the hospital?" The field medic did not know that the injuries problem were this bad. "Relax." The entire group said in unison, which scared the field medic for a moment. Within the next minute, the field medic then realised that she had really worried for nothing when Milk once again wrote some magical symbols in the air as a healing spell materialised to help heal Jin. "You are a western magic arts practitioner?" It was not rare to see western magic in this modern world but western healing magic was one of the hardest styles magic to master in the world. Some said that the western healing magic was harder because they copy¡­erm¡­ incorporated Eastern Healing techniques into the magic to make it have more of an effect and work more efficiently. Hence, Western Healing Magic was considered as the highest standard of healing magic even though the eastern counterparts did not wish to admit it. Milk nodded her head but the field medic who had seen a variety of western magic could not comprehend the magic she just saw. "Ah, it''s a variant healing magic, it''s easier on her mana." Jin decided to help Milk answer when he somehow understood that some lying was necessary to keep Milk''s existence consistent to this world''s standard. "I see, even so, this is literally a miracle. I would like to know more about this if possible." The field medic continued her small talk and eventually she realised that Jin was a Dungeon Supplier. "I will go and take a look if I ever have the time, till then take care of yourself, Mr Xie." The field medic took her leave and the entire group felt a sense of relief. "Thanks for covering for me back there, Master." Milk pinched Jin''s cheeks for fun. "Ahhhhh, no. Thank You for your help back then as well as right now. I can''t imagine what I would have done otherwise." Jin smiled back at Milk, which caused Milk to irresistibly hug him. "You are so cute, Jin!" Jin was a little embarrassed as a few bystanders were around and saw Milk hugging Jin so openly in the public. He quickly pushed her away and asked her to calm down. It was then that Jin noticed that Peppers had been hiding behind Yun this whole time. "Come here, Peppers." Peppers quietly came forward with her head down. "What exactly happened?" Jin asked and Peppers looked at Milk, who gave her the nod of approval to go ahead. "I was exiled from my country because of my terrifying magical powers. They were¡­too scared of me." Peppers gave him the short version but Jin believed that it took a massive amount courage to even say that much. "Do not worry, I am not scared of you a single bit. Neither is Milk, Yun or Zeru. If anyone is afraid of you, come to us. We will protect you with all our might!" Jin looked Peppers in the eye and gave her his assurance. "But¡­there are times that I can''t control myself, and the magic in me feels like it''s about to explode. I am afraid I might burn you¡­and you will be scared of m-" That was when Jin and the others laughed. "What a joke! Have you forgotten the times you have already burnt me? Was I scared of you? Was I afraid? Did I really scold you?" Peppers shook her head in answer to every question that Jin had asked and Jin smiled at her too. "Then? What are you afraid of? Be yourse-" Jin stopped when he realised he almost said the wrong thing to Peppers, which caused Peppers to laugh. "Hahaha, I will control myself, but master. Be there to stop me if I cannot." Peppers stepped backwards and graciously did a curtsy bow like a princess with her denim dress. "Alright, let''s go to the Panda Enclosure again and take the picture with the baby panda." Jin began to walk back to see the pandas once more when he noticed the field medics were pushing Ku Wai into the Zoo''s ambulance. Jin unconsciously checked for the storage watch on his hand and Boo to make sure that they were with him before he walked away. Jin figured Ku Wai would probably end up going to the field hospital first for some monitoring and care before heading to the main hospital. "Did he say¡­he was getting a panda picture for princess?" Jin thought to himself and walked back with the entire group. "Ah! You managed to win the seal to take a picture with the Baby Panda?" The same annoying zoo attendant who was shouting to promote the fight arena spoke to Jin once again. "Here you go." Jin passed the seal to him and the attendant scanned it with his phone to make sure it was authentic. "Sure scared me back there with that fire blast thing. Anyways, follow me. Are you taking the photo as a group or alone?" The zoo attendant asked as he gestured for them to follow him to the back of the Panda Enclosure. "You are okay with such a big group?" Jin was pleasantly surprised. "Yeah, sure. I believe you painstakingly earn it fighting the grandmaster. Besides, that was some fine ass kicking you performed back with those triad members. Been a long time since someone openly disobeyed them in this zoo. I will close one eye this time round just for you buddy. Heck, you can pass me one of your phones so that I can help you guys take the group photo." The annoying zoo attendant became so generous that Jin just had to forgive his annoyance..for now. "Give me a moment! I will bring the baby panda into the office for the whole group shot, then we will do the official one in the panda enclosure." The zoo attendant took some time but he managed to bring the baby panda into the Panda Enclosure office. "Alright, hold this Hero." The zoo attendant passed Jin the baby panda and the group quickly took a photo with the zoo attendant''s help. "Not a bad picture." Yun saw the picture and praised the zoo attendant. "Hahaha, it''s one of my hobbies and it was my idea to do this photo taking thing to make my zoo job a little more interesting." The Zoo attendant took the baby panda back from Jin and that was when he noticed that something was off. The Baby Panda who was usually against visitors was actually very comfortable around Jin. . . Chapter 134 Panda Xin "Maybe the Baby Panda was tired." The zoo attendant shrugged his shoulders and brought Jin to the Panda Enclosure. He asked the rest of the group to stay in the office for a moment if they wanted to or they could head back out to see the photo taking process. They agreed to do the latter. It was then that the Grade 10 Zoo Guard flew down from his guard tower and towards Jin. "I need to use this inscription on you to remove any possible germs or virus that might affect the Pandas, are you okay to proceed?" The guard spoke as he took out an inscription talisman and held it for Jin to see. "Sure, no problem, I understand." Jin agreed to it and the guard spoke the incantations for the inscription to work. Meanwhile, the zoo attendant sneered quietly as he thought to himself. "Those things are redundant since the moment they entered the office, the inscription for removing those germs were already doing their work." In any case, the zoo attendant opened the enclosure gate for Jin. "I see that you won the fight arena. Which master did you fight against?" The Grade 10 Zoo Guard was there in case Jin tried to do anything funny to the Pandas. After all, they were the treasure of not just this zoo but the entire country too. "Tiangong District Guardian Yuan allowed a custom fight against one of the Three Eyed Tiger Senior Members. I barely managed to win." Jin tried to stay humble in front of the Grade 10 Guard. "Hmmph! That''s so Grandma Yuan, always breaking the zoo rules to fit her. Anyways, have a seat near the Panda playground, we will set up the camera equipment for you to take a good photo with the Baby Panda." The Guard said as he continued to watch Jin''s movement as the zoo attendant prepared the camera equipment. The bystanders were extremely jealous that Jin had a close shot but the regulars of the zoo started to pity Jin. They knew that Pandas never liked anyone new coming into their territory. Perhaps only the young ones were mildly interested in their new ''toy'' before they got sick of it. Hence, Jin would never get a proper photo and even if he did, it would probably seem forced. If that how it happened, he probably would not get any inspiration for his cultivation after taking the photo. "Heh, we have a good show to watch." the regulars of the zoo chuckled as they stood by just to see how the Pandas trashed this cultivator. There was a reason why the cultivators who wanted to take a photo with the Pandas need to pass the Fight Arena. It was because there was this particular panda that was fiercely territorial in nature and even the Grade 10 Zoo Guard had troubles keeping it in check. Sure, the Grade 10 Guard could instantly stop that Panda with force but would the management be happy with that? That was a definite No. In any case, the territorial Panda, who was named as Xin, had already gotten familiar with the noisy zoo attendant and the Grade 10 Zoo Guard so it wouldn''t bother them again. As Jin sat at the playground while waiting for the Zoo attendant, It was then that something happened that everyone did not expect. The Pandas were not being territorial but was instead gathering around Jin. Everyone who was waiting for a show where the Pandas trashed Jin immediately took their phones out to start taking photos of Jin having fun with the Pandas. Meanwhile, Jin was overwhelmed by the sudden cosiness of all the Pandas gathering around him. Some even playfully bit Jin. All he could do now was to let them do whatever they want. Some of the younger pandas even tried to crawl up Jin''s head and one of them even rested atop of it permanently. Both the Zoo Guard and Zoo Attendant were in awe by the sudden change of events. What they had learnt from their experiences was that even cultivators who cultivated Panda Styles, which were already few in numbers, could not garner this kind of reaction from the Pandas. Those Panda Cultivators could at most get one or two Pandas to like them. It was never the entire bunch like how they were surrounding Jin¡­except for Xin. Xin was at the back of the enclosure with baring its teeth quietly. Jin noticed Xin presence from behind him and turned to look at him. For some reason, Jin knew what it desired. It wanted to battle with someone, someone who was worthy because this enclosure was boring to it. Xin noticed that Jin acknowledged its lust for battle and slowly walked to the middle of the enclosure. "Okay guys, give me some space, your big brother wants some action with me." When Jin spoke, it seemed that every single Panda knew what he was talking about and walked away from him. Meanwhile, all of this was being recorded by Yun and the other bellators were amazed at how Jin managed to accomplish such a feat. "Panda Whisperer!" Peppers casually said and the entire group seemed to agree. Separately, Jin did not take out any weapons out since this was technically a friendly fight, although he was getting the feeling that Xin wanted to kill him. Besides, if Jin took a weapon out, he would probably be killed by the Grade 10 Zoo Guard instantly. Xin screeched and dashed towards Jin. Meanwhile, Jin focused all of his chi into his arms and prepared to receive the incoming assault. Although the pandas were bigger in size, their size did not exactly translate to pure strength well mainly laziness but also Jin being a Grade 4 Peak had the power to match them. Thankfully, these pandas were held in captivity so their power levels were not as high or as cunning as the wild ones in nature. While Jin was push backed a lot from the initial charge, he was eventually able to hold on and grapple around with Xin. He allowed the Panda to think it had the upper hand for the moment before going around Xin before performing a grappling lock and pushing the Panda down. The Zoo attendant saw the ongoing fight scene and wanted to stop them but the Grade 10 Zoo Guard stopped him. "Let Xin vent out some of its boredom and perhaps also let that guy teach Xin some humility." The Zoo Guard knew that Jin was going easy against the Panda but that did not mean he was not keeping a close eye at him. With a few grapple holds and some judo throws, Xin finally panted. "Is this all you got Brother Panda?" Jin wiped his sweat away. Even though it was easy to overpower the Panda, it wasn''t an easy job playing along with it. In the end, Xin nodded its head and stared at Jin as if it wanted to say that it would build up strength in anticipation for a rematch. It then bit its own flesh and let the blood drip onto the ground. Jin obliged it by biting his own thumb and dripped some blood onto the same spot on the ground in return. Xin walked towards the blood to smell and lick it. After which, it screeched and every other panda followed suit. "What are they doing?" Milk asked. "A mutual agreement between animal and human. An informal blood pact." Peppers explained as she remembered reading about it. It was a rare occurrence for it to happen, not just in the Zoo but in the wild too. "It meant that the Pandas have acknowledged Jin as a friend, brother and comrade." Yun smiled as Jin had accomplished way more than what he should have accomplished over here. When he heard the union of screeches, Jin felt a sense of power accumulating within him. . . Chapter 135 Spiritual Union During the unison of screeches, the surrounding atmosphere turned extremely tranquil and there was a feeling of floating in space. The Pandas, Jin, and even the crowd near the enclosure were experiencing the same thing, all at the same time. They felt a starry spiritual force floating and coursing through each and every man and animal present. Jin, at the centre of it all, was the one most impacted by it. He could feel not only the spiritual force of the pandas but the gentle unison of the Yin and Yang chi around the area of which Jin was in the middle of. After a while, everything slowly returned to normal, the only difference being that the Pandas became even more friendly and they started to grab onto Jin like he was a magnet to ferrous metals. Even Xin walked towards him and rubbed its head against Jin''s legs. "This is the first time in my life that I have seen an informal blood pact and a spiritual union between a group of animals and a human. In addition, for both events to happen simultaneously? It''s nothing short of a miracle." The Grade 10 Zoo Guard was astonished by Jin''s actions while the Zoo Attendant was flabbergasted. Judging from the initial fight to the current situation, the Grade 10 Zoo Guard finally felt that this normal looking cultivator was not a simple one. "Perhaps I should get to know who he is." "Is it really that amazing to have a blood pact and spiritual union occur at the same time?" Milk was totally foreign to these ''rituals'' since she was not part of this world at all, and unlike Peppers, she had not read up on it. "It is. Having an informal blood pact with an animal is actually the highest honour one can attain in a friendship between man and animal. When this pact occurs, it means that the animal is willing to accept you as both a comrade and a mutual brother. I believe it had something to do with Jin''s cultivation that caused the pandas to behave this way." Zeru explained to Milk "Animals cannot perform a formal Blood Pact because they lack the sufficient intelligence to initiate it, so initiating an informal blood pact willingly means that the animal fully trusts the cultivator." Peppers interjected her local knowledge into the conversation. "The fight with the big Panda also proved that Jin was willing to fight not for his own benefit but to show the Panda that he was willing to compromise for the Pandas. The pandas probably felt his intentions and judged him through his actions." Zeru further added on. "However, for the Spiritual Union¡­I honestly do not know how Jin managed to attain it. To achieve it with an animal means that the cultivator chose the perfect cultivation method that is attuned so perfectly to him that the animal acknowledged his choice of cultivation and chose to impart their knowledge of their own style upon the cultivator. In my previous lifetime, I only saw it once and that was when my Master managed to unlock it. He was one of the most powerful and wise masters I could ever serve." Zeru continued. "To achieve spiritual union with not one, not two but the entire group of Pandas¡­it''s beyond astonishing. It felt like it''s Heaven''s will." Zeru could not help but feel honoured that he was serving Jin and was able to partake in this beautiful view. "So will Jin get stronger?" Milk questioned Zeru with excitement. "Definitely, but that does not mean that he will have access to those Panda''s skills. Like cultivation masters, the pandas have purposely locked their powers, waiting for Jin to unlock them as he grows stronger in his cultivation." Zeru replied. "That is also why many people come to the Zoo to attain the acknowledgement of the animals whose styles they have been training. It is all so they can attain the spiritual union. Like what Zeru said, not many are successful, but those who are will eventually become very powerful." Yun commented. Meanwhile, in the crowd, bystanders were shouting in excitement as people shared their knowledge like how Zeru had. They were talking about how lucky they were to catch such a rare yet insightful glimpse of a spiritual union. "Hmmph, this is more intriguing than I thought." Hiding in the noisy crowd was Mr Know It All grinning at the entire course of events before he decided to leave the area quietly. No one, not even Yun, knew he was there at all. "Mister! I need you to come here to take the photo!" The zoo attendant wanted to help Jin but he believed no matter how hard he tried, those clinging pandas would not let go of him. All he could do was to hurry Jin up to come to the playground. "Alright my brothers and sisters, calm down, let''s go take a photo together." After the spiritual union, Jin seemed to understand the pandas even more clearly than before, and the same thing applied to the Pandas regarding their understanding of Jin. They followed him without making any noise, like the Pied Piper leading the children away . "This is the most amazing shot I will ever take in my life." The Zoo attendant said and took the picture once Jin and the Pandas settled down at the playground. He was not the only one taking it though, as the rest of the crowd were spamming their phones and DSLR cameras just to take a picture of the congregation of pandas piling up on top of each other. Causing Jin to nearly drown in Pandas. When the Zoo attendant was done taking the photo, Jin stopped him for a moment. "Do you mind giving me a photo of the baby panda without me in it?" "For you? Absolutely. You have made my day, and one more picture of that little cuddle is nothing compared to what I have in my possession right now." The zoo attendant then asked Jin to hold on to the playful baby panda in his hands and took a close up shot of it. "Give me a few minutes, I will get the photos printed. In the meantime, I do not have the authority to allow you to do so, but I believe the pandas trust you enough to play with them." "Do not worry, I will watch him carefully in case he decides to kidnap any of them." The Zoo Guard laughed heartily as Jin continued to play with the pandas at the playground. Within ten minutes, the photos were ready and Jin bid farewell to the pandas. Though sad, they knew that he could not stay long. All they could do was to yearn for him to come back soon. "I will, I definitely will." Jin felt a warmness in his heart that he could not describe. "So are we going back right now?" Yun asked Jin, who still had some panda fur stuck on his clothes. Jin shook his head and pointed at the field hospital. "I would like to give this to Ku Wai first." Jin showed the beautiful close up shot of the Panda to the entire group and the girls could not help but express great love for the photograph. "Do we really have give him this? This is so cute!" Peppers wanted that photo to be placed in the store. "Well, I have many others courtesy to the Zoo attendant..whom I do not know the name of. Was too occupied by the pandas." Jin removed another ball of fur from his shirt as he walked towards the field hospital. ¡ª¡ª¨C "Can I visit Ku Wai? I fought him not too long ago and he dropped one of his possessions on the ground which the medic did not pick up." Jin told the front desk counter and the nurse agreed to pass it to Ku Wai when he woke up. "Why did you do that? Did he not want to end your life?" Peppers questioned Jin''s actions. "The cycle of revenge will never end until someone steps away. I vaguely heard that some ''princess'' of his wanted a panda photo so I hope that this small deed may eventually end this stupid cycle of hate before it gets worse." Jin said as he called for a taxi that allowed all five of them to board. On the way back, they happily chatted inside the taxi until they eventually reached the store, only to find an extremely long queue of customers waiting outside Jin''s store. . . Chapter 136 "Get To Work!" "Why is there such a large amount of people waiting outside? I am not late or anything!" Jin checked his phone to look at the time and subsequently assured himself that is it was indeed not opening time yet. When Jin got off from the taxi, the first person he saw was Xiong Da. "BOSS! Why did you not tell me that you would not be opened in the morning?" Xiong Da shouted "Did I say that I would open in the morning for you?" Jin asked and Xiong Da was stunned for a moment. "Besides, Zhen Qing is here, isn''t she? Why did you not ask her?" Jin looked at Zhen Qing and she nodded her head to confirm the fact that Xiong Da had not asked her. "Hahaha, it''s kind of embarrassing, but the truth is that I did not want to leave the queue." Xiong Da shyly spoke after Jin reprimanded him. "Then what''s everyone else here for?" Jin was curious as to exactly what was happening. "Eh? You were the one who sent out the message saying that the Qixi Festival Dungeon was up and running. The people queuing here are the ones who bought the tickets from the loot box machine and Pandamonium stated this morning that it would be up today." Xiong Da explained and curiously looked at Jin for an answer. "Even Bin Yong and Jia Le are queuing, despite it still being the afternoon." Xiong Da pointed at the newly formed couple waiting patiently in the queue. "Happened to be our off days today." Bin Yong blushed when he said it whilst holding Jia Le''s hand. "So we thought it would be nice to participate in the event at your store and perhaps have some lunch in the store as well before we go watch a movie in the evening." Jin knew the one who played this trick was either Yun or the system. Yun looked at him innocently and shook her head, denying her involvement. Jin could only sigh at the system taking the initiative to post those Pandamonium messages. "Okay, give me five to ten minutes for the store''s equipment to be up and running," Jin assured the queue and the group of bellator entered with him. "Who are they exactly? Why are they allowed to enter Jin''s store before us?" A customer asked and Xiong Da replied back before baseless accusations could be thrown around. "They are the instructors and helpers hired by Jin. Don''t tell me you can''t even recognise Yun?" The customers that were queuing started to mellow down after Xiong Da''s explanation. They trusted him because he was a well known regular customer that frequented Jin''s store and Xiong Da would therefore probably know more things about the shop than all of them combined. "Still, it''s rare to see Boss Jin going out with such a big group." Bin Yong commented casually and Jia Le giggled. "Boss Jin has a personal life outside of this shop too you know, like how we have to be outside of our jobs to enjoy each other." She placed her arm closer to Bin Yong, which caused the customer right behind them to become slightly envious of their lovey dovey relationship. "Ah, what are you looking at." That particular customer''s girlfriend then pinched his arm and nearly gave him a death stare before he tried to save himself. "It''s just that I suddenly feel how fortunate I am to have you by my side. I imagine that if I were still single, I would be cursing and swearing at how affectionate the couple in front of us is." "Really?" His girlfriend pouted a little but blushed too. "Definitely." The customer smiled widely, which caused his girlfriend to hide her face in his chest and giggle. Meanwhile, in the customer''s head¡­."Safe~!" was all he could think about. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Are you angry Jin?" Yun saw Jin hurrying to power up everything in the store. Even Zeru and Milk went to the second and third floors respectively to turn on the equipment. "A little, but when I think about it logically, it''s not really that a big deal. I knew the system would do things that would make things difficult once in a while. I believe this is something small, and besides, if the system pushes me to earn money, it means that I can complete the short term goals I have faster, like recreating the monster homes." Jin checked the Panda Port to see if everything was working normally. When Zeru and Milk came down, Jin decided to take advantage of this chance to request for the Bellator''s help. "Zeru, do you mind being the instructor for not just Xiong Da but for everyone who goes into Panda Muscles?" Zeru immediately knelt down and gladly accepted the work. "And Milk, do you mind helping out at the recovery instance in replacement of Yun?" Jin asked Milk and Milk readily agreed but then realised something. "If I work at the Recovery instance, then what would Yun do?" "She would help out with the food orders here," Jin answered and immediately looked at Peppers. It was obvious that she wanted to help in the store too. "I have a very important mission for you Peppers." Jin squatted down and talked to Peppers. Jin knew not to underestimate this little kid. She might be young but she undoubtedly held a universe of knowledge in her head. Like pepper, she could be hot and sharp but if you knew her well enough, she would bring you many benefits. "I need you to go to the Dungeon Maker and learn about each and every customer. Their cultivation, their techniques, their flaws, and how to improve. Is that okay? Or is that too much?" Jin asked gently and Peppers scoffed. "Are you kidding me? That is like the best job I could ever hope for! To collect data! To analyse! Also, finding out about their flaws and helping them make improvements? That''s the greatest pleasure a sage could ever get. I honestly prefer that over you asking me to wash the dishes or something." Peppers answered so truthfully that Yun walked over to where Peppers was and pulled her ear. "Is there something wrong with washing dishes?" Yun used her authority as the system''s spokesperson to overpower Peppers so that all Peppers could do was apologise before the pain got even worse. "Alright, Bellators let''s officially get to work!" Jin ordered and the entire group went to their respective instances. "I should also check on Zhen Qing before I open up the store." Jin realised he was too caught up with his bellators that he forgot his first real employee. "Hi Zhen Qing, how are the preparations coming along?" Jin called using his phone as he found it awkward to go out of the shop at the moment since the customers would be expecting him to open the store instead of going to the caravan. Also¡­he was just too shy to see Zhen Qing face to face. "All good! When I saw the queue outside growing, I decided to go back into the kitchen instance to prepare some more ingredients. I should have enough ingredients now to serve them all." Zhen Qing replied using the earpiece she was wearing that allowed her to listen to the Kitchen AI. She did not know that it could be used to communicate with Jin too. "Excellent, if you need some Black Ivory Coffee, don''t hesitate to come into the store and have a cup. You need your energy to serve the customers. Do not faint on me." Jin showed some concern to Zhen Qing but all she said in reply was "Okay, Thank you." "Do not worry, one step at a time." Jin took in a deep breath before he opened the shutters of his store. Qixi Festival Dungeon? If only, he could celebrate Qixi, which was coming in a few days time, with Zhen Qing¡­that would be the best. "Hahaha, do not push your luck and lose a potentially good chef." Jin bitterly smiled to himself as he raised the shutters up and welcomed his customers. "Welcome! And Xiong Da! To your training now!" . . Chapter 137 Niu Lang and Zhi Nu Xiong Da thought that he would be able to eat something first but he had already ordered three black pepper buns when he was waiting for Jin to open his shop. "Yes, Boss!" Xiong Da knew that what he was doing was all to regain his pride and give Ruo Ying back her freedom, so these sacrifices were worth it. Bin Yong and Jia Le managed to get in early and secured a Station. Compared to previous dungeons, the advertisement stated that a cultivator needed to bring their loved one for the Qixi Festival Dungeon. Hence the Qixi Dungeon instance was ideally for two cultivators, a couple would be ideal. If the cultivators wished to participate as a group, they would not be rejected though they may have a slightly different dungeon experience in comparison to the couples. "Oh my god! The new Qixi Festival Dungeon Instance is that expensive without the ticket?" Bin Yong caught a glimpse of the menu when he was thinking of getting some drinks before he entered the dungeon. "How much is it?" Jia Le took a look before she immediately covered her mouth in surprise. "It''s that expensive?" Jia Le looked at Jin and he nodded. "The perks of using the loot box machine. In the future, the loot box machine will sell a themed dungeon at the start of every month and that will be the only way to get to the ticket cheap. Do not worry, since when have my dungeons not given you a nice and proper experience?" "Never, at least not that I know of any." Bin Yong wiped his cold sweat away, thanking his stars that the whim to buy two loot boxes for both him and Jia Le was the right choice. A whopping 500 Yuan for a ticket instead of the loot box price of 100 Yuan. There were some customers who saw the ticket price and were taken aback too, only to shamelessly ask if there were any loot boxes left. "There is a limited quantity every day until the actual Qixi Festival, so grab it while you can." Jin smiled and the moment he finished speaking, a number of customers began rushing up the stairs just to use the Loot Box Vending Machine. "What a scary tactic you used." Jia Le commented as she knew that the price for the dungeon was probably inflated due to it being the Qixi Festival, just like every other store. Jin could only shrug at her reply and continued to serve the customers. "Woah, Ms Yun! You are not in the recovery instance?" a fairly regular customer queried when he saw the rumoured Nightingale of Jin''s store. "Jin found someone more proficient than me in the art of healing so I offered to relinquish my place to her. Even I approve of her. You will soon understand why she is the real Nightingale of Jin''s Store." "Bin Yong, let''s go!" Jia Le noticed Station 5 was blinking, waiting for the couple, so they quickly rushed over. Even though the new Qixi Festival Dungeon Instance had a recommended slot of two people, the dimensional space station was able to facilitate up to eight cultivators so it could effectively handle four different dungeon instances at the same time. When Bin Yong and Jia Le teleported into the dungeon, they realised that they were already caught in the action. "Catch those two!!!" A senior palace guard shouted and both Bin Yong and Jia Le found that they were beside a couple palace guards that were clad in the same heavy armour as the one shouting at them. "You two mercenary immortals! What are you two staring at? Quickly go catch the traitors. This is under the orders of the Heavenly Empress herself!" The senior palace guard shouted at them and ordered them to do so. It was then that Bin Yong and Jia le realised the two that were running were the Cowherd boy, Niu Lang and the Weaver Girl, Zhi Nu. "Do we really have to catch them?" Jia Le looked at Bin Yong as they started to chase after the running couple. The legend of Qixi festival originated from the legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu. Zhi Nu was the immortal weaver girl that served under the Heavenly Empress and she was the granddaughter of the Heavenly Emperor. Niu Lang, on the other hand, was just a kind-hearted mortal and a simple cowherd boy. The legend went like this. One day, when Niu Lan was out tending to his cows as usual, he found the Zhi Nu''s clothes through pure chance. Searching for the owner of the clothes, he happened to see Zhi Nu bathing in a pond near his cottage. When he returned the clothes to her, somehow or other, they fell in love at first sight. Now, in this dungeon, it seemed that the Empress found out that her granddaughter had decided to marry a mere mortal just for love so she was probably ordering the palace guards to capture Zhi Nu. For Bin Yong, the Qixi lore resonated with him a lot. He, a kind-hearted man, though he wouldn''t say it out loud, had fallen in love at first sight with Jia Le, which till this day he could not believe actually happened. And so, he knew how the cowherd and weaver felt. If in this dungeon, he was somehow able to change the course of the legend, it would bring him great joy. "Let''s pretend to chase after them but provide them with our assistance if needed." Bin Yong sent a transmission message to Jia Le, which she readily agreed to. Although Jia Le''s love for Bin Yong was from an obsession rather than a love at first sight, she slowly but truly appreciated that she had made the right choice, even if the tactics both she and Bin Yong''s friends had used were rather underhanded. "We cannot outrun them Niu Lang!" Zhi Nu turned her head to check how many people were chasing after them. Neither of them was fighters and both knew that every second they spent together could be their last. "Do not worry, just a little further away from the heavenly palace and I might be able to buy us some time!" Niu Lang held tightly onto the Ox leather hide cape he was wearing. It was actually the skin of the dead Heavenly Astral Ox, Taurus, whom Niu Lang had unknowingly taken care of for many years when Taurus had been exiled from the Heavens for a selfless crime. In return for Niu Lang''s kindness and upon hearing his love situation, Taurus told Niu Lang that should he ever die from old age, Niu Land should preserve his skin and carve his horns out as a blowing horn. Lastly, he should keep his tail hair for protection. "If you ever feel like you are in a pinch and require help desperately, express your desire for help as you blow the horn. Help will arrive. Give some of the tail hair to your loved one the moment you see her again and ask her to hold onto it properly. You will understand why when the situation comes. For now, I shall return to Earth and gaze upon the stars from the ground." The dying words of the Heavenly Astral Ox had always stayed in Niu Lang''s heart and mind and he had never forgotten them. "Lady Zhi Nu! Stop at once and you will be forgiven for your crime!" The senior palace guard who was chasing them shouted boomingly at them. "It is not a crime for me to love someone I like!" Zhi Nu replied as she stuck her tongue out at them. "Do not make things difficult!" The Palace Guards began to move even faster the moment the senior guard gave the order. Meanwhile, Bin Yong and Jia Le ran quietly behind them, hoping to find the right opportunity to strike them and save the star-crossed lovers. . . Chapter 138 You Shall Not Pass! "Ah!" Zhi Nu, the Weaver Girl, accidentally fell after running for such a long distance and the palace guards were catching up on them. Niu Lang the Cowherd Boy stopped to help Zhi Nu up gently, just like how he would pick a flower from the fields. Niu Lang would have already given up a long time ago if not for the Heavenly Astral Ox cape that he was wearing. There was no other way he would have been able to run for so long at such a fast pace and keep the Palace Guards away from them. "Zhi Nu, I think we have run far enough away from the Heavenly Palace. I counted and confirmed that the number of palace guards that were chasing us is all here. Niu Lang stood right in front of Zhi Nu as the Palace Guards, along with Bin Yong and Jia Le, approached them. "You sure can run fast, but no matter how fast you run, you will never be able to outrun us! Especially me, He Bao!" The senior palace guard, He Bao, shouted at them and with a hand gesture, five other heavily armoured palace guards surrounded them. "Lady Zhi Nu, for conspiring with that mortal, I am afraid I have to punish you too!" He Bao unsheathed his sword from its scabbard before Niu Lang unexpectedly spoke out loudly. "You two! You two are mercenary immortals, right? Will you listen to my plea?" Niu Lang kneeled before Bin Yong and Jia Le, begging for mercy. "I am really in love with Zhi Nu. I do not care about what happens to me but I beg you to please take her away from this mess! I am willing to give anything and everything to you if you help her! Even my next life or my future lives will be in service to you!" Niu Lang banged his head against the celestial floor as hard as he could to show his sincerity. Niu Lang knew there was no way to get out of this alive but if the two mercenary immortals who were rumoured to do anything as long as the price was right truly lived up to their rumours, then maybe Zhi Nu might have a chance to be left alive and escape from this mess. That way, he could buy some time for Zhi Nu to escape. "What are you talking about Niu Lang?! I will not leave you alone to die!" Zhi Nu cried and immediately hugged Niu lang to stop him from kowtowing in front of the mercenary immortals. She figured these immortals probably received a hefty payment from the Heavenly Empress, which would probably last them for a lifetime. "Hahaha! Useless efforts by a useless mortal! Your act of cowardice has entertained me sufficiently, now you shall pay the price for loving our Lady Zhi Nu!" He Bao rushed towards them with the intention to kill the mortal. Zhi Nu would be injured by his strike but he knew that the Palace Doctors were proficient enough to fix an immortal up. *Ba -Clang~!* A small beetle-shaped bronze shield appeared in front of He Bao and the strike was deflected by it. "Niu Lang, you said you would pay us with everything you had, right?" Bin Yong smirked when he saw He Bao''s stunned face. Niu Lang shouted "Yes! Anything!!!" At that instant, he quickly took out his horn that was carved from the Heavenly Astral Ox and blew into it hard. *Buuuuu oooooonnnnnnn* The hunting horn echoed through the area, and the next scene completely befuddled the palace guards. That was because they saw a giant shadow lurking over Niu Lang''s back. "Hmmph, I will take care of them, run away!" A giant black minotaur with leather shoulder armour and leg guards grunted at Niu Lang. Zhi Nu placed her hands over her mouth to mask her shock at the reveal of Niu Lang''s secrets. Bin Yong had decided to stay behind with the Minotaur to fight against the guards in order to buy more time for Jia Le and the couple to escape. It was not wise to split the party and divide their forces, but Bin Yong figured that if he could keep this minotaur alive, it might prove to be a formidable ally in later fights. He participated in enough of Jin''s dungeons to know that this was just the beginning. In addition, this seemed to merely be the start of the legend, and therefore, only the start of the dungeon, meaning the worst had yet to come. The minotaur snorted at the palace guards before howling loudly to display his fury. With his two handed great sword, the minotaur bashed a nearby palace guard with it, which caused him to fly towards the Heavenly Palace. Jia Le took this chance to grab Zhi Nu before running off with Niu Lang as they ran towards the Temporal Gate of Heavens which connects the Heavens, Earth and Hell. "You are not getting away!" He Bao roared in anger and blew into his own hunting horn. Subsequently, two animated stone lions, one black, one white, crawled out from the celestial floor. These were the most common Regal guardian beasts that most senior palace guards were able to command. The type of material the guardian beasts were made out of showed how powerful the senior guard was. Stone was the weakest while gold was the strongest. Most of the guardian lions that were summoned came as a pair. The Black Stone Lion represented Yin while the White Stone Lion represented Yang. "Go hunt down this mercenary immortal, tear him into pieces and then track down the others and kill all of them. Go, my stone lions!" He Bao commanded as he continued his fight with the giant Minotaur. "I promise I will kill you!" He Bao cursed under his breath at Niu Lang who pulled such a trick on them. The summoned Minotaur was proving to be a tough opponent for the Palace Guards, mainly because its origin was the Heavenly Astral Ox, a named entity unlike the palace guards who had only been training without much real combat experience. Not wanting the Minotaur to do all the work, Bin Yong also went into a fighting stance. Just from seeing the small interactions between the palace guards and the Minotaur, he knew that this would be a tough fight¡­ ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "For a place in heaven, it''s surprisingly quiet." Jia Le casually commented to herself, which made her chuckled. "It''s a dungeon instance! If this were real, I don''t think we would have been able to run away that easily simply due to overpopulation." That''s what she thought Bin Yong''s reply to her comment would have been and smiled. She and the star crossed couples eventually reached the Temporal Gates of Heaven. However, the three of them were met with another obstacle. "I am sorry but you are not allowed to pass, Lady Zhi Nu. And little mortal, I have to punish you for escaping my security check! " Two gate gods, also known as Men Shen, stopped them right at the Temporal Gates of Heavens. These divine guardians of doors and gates were used to protect the heavens against evil influences and to encourage good hearted ones to enter. "Please! Let us go! All I want is to have a simple life with Niu Lang! Nothing else!" Zhi Nu tried to plead the gate gods for their forgiveness. Niu Lang once again felt useless and felt that he had made Zhi Nu suffered. Jia Le noticed the look on Niu Lang''s face and recognised it immediately. She patted Niu Lang on the shoulder and said, "Love conquers all. Believe in it!" Upon hearing that, Niu Lang did not know if he should be thanking the mercenary immortal for her advice since he still had no idea whether or not he believed it. "By the Heavenly Empress'' Decree, I cannot allow you to pass through. However, if you prove yourself worthy through our test of strength! " The door gods, who were talking in unison, suddenly stopped and came out from their posts at the gates. "I, Duke Zhuang, Divine Left Gate Guardian of the Temporal Gates of Heavens." The red faced door god shouted out his name and wielded his two handed mace, going into a fighting stance. "And I, Duke Zhong Wu, Divine Right Gate Guardian of the Temporal Gates of Heavens!" The green faced door god announced his name too as he swung his halberd out in the open. "Will battle all of you. Till then, You shall not pass!" Both Divine guardians of the Temporal Gates of Heavens shouted in unison as they readied their weapons against the group. . . Chapter 139 Umbral Minotaur ¡ªA few minutes before¡ª "Oh my god! Niu Lang was able to summon a Black Minotaur?!" The customers in the shop were once again completely astonished by the surprises Jin had in store for them. "If Niu Lang had been that strong in the old folktale, he probably would have openly defied the Heavenly Empress and there would never have been a Qixi Festival." A male customer commented and the others around him started laughing. "Does that means Zhi Nu will also have a certain set of battle skills?" A female customer queried and many other customers started to conjure possible theories. "She''s a weaver so she might have some string related attacks." An elderly onlooker who heard the Qixi commotion decided to come and take a look at how a Dungeon Supplier would be able to weave a fresh story out of an old folktale. "You are most probably right, Madam." Yun magically took out a foldable chair from the bar counter and offered her a seat. The granny thanked Yun and sat down to watch the dungeon matches. Even the customers were kind enough to allow the granny to have a good view of the dungeons. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Bin Yong defended against another strike from the Black Stone Lion before it stepped back and blew a breath of blackish fire at Bin Yong. "Shit, they can breathe fire too?" Bin Yong briefly remembered the time when he fought against a Wyrm Ant in the Zither Mistress Dungeon with some random cultivators since his friends Luo Bo and Shi Zuo were not available to accompany him. He remembered how demoralising it was to have to fight fire and ice at the same time. If Bin Yong was not mistaken, the White Stone Lion would be able to shoot ice projectiles at him too. As a test, he tried to harass the White Stone Lion. As predicted, it shot out shards of ice at him. This was when Bin Yong grinned a little. "I guess this mantle was a good investment after all." From his storage ring, he took out a mantle and wrapped himself with it. The mantle had a fire absorption talisman inscribed, which cost him about 80 bronze panda medal coins. After that, he also took out an accessory band from his storage ring and wore it immediately. The band was inscribed with an ice resistance incantation that cost 10 bronze panda. Compared to cold, he was actually more afraid of fire since he remembered being burnt alive in the Zither Mistress instance and the freezing cold was merely damage he would try to avoid if he had sufficient resistance. The rest of the panda medal coins he had received from his multiple dungeon playthroughs were spent on upgrading his simple buckler into a bronze beetle shaped shield. It looked way cooler on Bin Yong especially since he was a beetle style cultivator. Thankfully for him, the red panda in the weaponry store said that he was the 100th customer to use their services so they also slightly tempered his sword, which gave his sword a small power boost for free. The appearance did not change much but Bin Yong could feel that it was slightly lighter and swung better than before. "Come at me, kitties." Bin Yong finally dared to face the two stone lions face to face. Meanwhile, the Umbral Minotaur, as he was named by the customers, was having a blast¡­ batting the palace guards with his warclub as they dashed towards him. The Palace guards'' armour was strong enough to absorb a partial amount of blunt damage so the guards were tenacious enough to continue fighting against the Umbral Minotaur. He Bao had enough of being whacked around like a baseball so he summoned his qi into his sword as the other palace guards were distracting the Umbral Minotaur. "If I am not able to finish off this cow, I am not worthy of the title Senior Palace Guard!" The sword was blinding with a whitish blue flame radiating off of it before He Bao shouted out. "Exorcism Blade of Yin!" He Bao swung his sword and three crescent waves burning bright with whitish blue flame began flying towards the Umbral Minotaur. The palace guards took the chance to rush in and hold back the minotaur to prevent it from running. The first crescent wave of blue exorcism fire torched the Umbral Minotaur and it howled loudly in pain. Despite all the pain, it was going through, the Minotaur used all of its might to lift two guards that were holding his arms and smash them together with a powerful clap. The second crescent wave burned the palace guards but it also damaged the Umbral Minotaur''s arms badly. With no strength left to defend against the third attack, the minotaur stood there in preparation to receive it and endure the pain. Yet, something flew towards the third wave and the bluish flame exploded right in front of the Umbral Minotaur. The flame had exploded when it hit the Black Stone Lion that Bin Yong had knocked back in the Minotaur''s direction with his Shield bash attack. It happened when the Black Stone Lion was concentrating on spewing black flames and it thought that Bin Yong was being burned to a crisp by its flame since there was little to no movement from him. However, in truth, the fire absorption mantle was actually absorbing all the fire damage as Bin Yong redirected some of the flames with his shield too. During that time, the fire absorbed by the mantle was slowly converting into stored energy for Bin Yong to use. The process was extremely delicate so Bin Yong could not move too much, or else the fire absorption mantle would just release the fire it absorbed and dissipate it as heat energy into the surroundings. Once Bin Yong thought there was sufficient energy, he used one of his Shield Arts, namely a Shield Bash, on the Black Stone Lion when it least expected it, causing it to fly and crash into the blue flame crescent wave. The Umbral Minotaur did not waste the precious chance it had been given and grabbed the other two palace guards that were holding its legs and smashed them into the floor before throwing them towards He Bao like how a baseball pitcher would throw a ball. The last palace guard who had been holding his tail suddenly backed off and ran away. He Bao managed to dodge the two gyro-ball throws from the Umbral Minotaur and dashed forward. The Umbral Minotaur snorted as he went down on all fours. With his horns aimed at He Bao, the bull clashed head on with He Bao. Unfortunately for He Bao, he had underestimated the power of the bull''s charge. His sword broke into smithereens and one of the horns gored through his palace armour. That moment of recklessness was the greatest mistake He Bao had ever made, or would ever make. The Umbral Minotaur proceeded to drop him and stomp on him continuously with his hind legs. Within minutes, all that was left was a battered mess of metal and flesh. ¡ª¡ª¨C To Jin''s surprise, the customers actually cheered for the Umbral Minotaur even though it was just an ''NPC'' in the dungeon. He did not expect it to receive an ovation. "Man, that Umbral Minotaur was wicked, just look at how it tore the Palace Guards apart!" A male customer shouted. Meanwhile, in the same station where the same instance was being played by four other cultivators who were playing as a group, the situation was different. Those cultivators actually chose to help the Palace Guards, though Niu Lang still summoned the same Umbral Minotaur out to protect him. However, one of the cultivators received the same fate as the senior palace guard in the dungeon Instance Bin Yong was in, before they brought down the Umbral Minotaur, but not before sustaining severe casualties "Serves those cultivators right for trying to go against Niu Lang!" One of the customers was filled with angst because the four cultivators decided to blindly follow the palace guards. "So the system is also giving cultivators choices like how I did in the Bank Heist Instance. Interesting!" Jin thought to himself while telling the customers to simmer down a bit. They apologised to Jin before continued enjoying the show. . . Chapter 140 Battle Weaver "I do not want to fight, but I will if I have to!" From her sash, Zhi Nu took out a box of needles and swiftly took two needles out. What could not be seen by the naked eye was that two strings were attached to the needles Zhi Nu took out and she held it in her own fighting pose, unique and something that could only be created by a distinguished Weaver. "I will assist." Jia Le took out her kunai from her bag that contained her stock of kunais. Jia Le even had a thick nylon sheath bag attached to her legs for a quick draw of kunais if needed. She showed off her Breathtaking Bellflower cultivation and displayed three flower silhouettes slowly waving in the air above her. Niu Lang suddenly felt like a burden for he was just a mortal with a specially made leather hide cape and an extra ox horn. Somehow, Niu Lang felt that he should not use that horn at this particular moment but he would use it if he had to. "Go hide!" Jia Le shouted and Niu Lang quickly obliged since he knew he would just be a burden if he remained. "I will strike first!" Duke Zhuang, the Left Divine Guardian, spoke as he smashed his two handed mace down towards the ground and caused a large crack to appear in the celestial ground. Jia Le smiled at this as cracks in the ground meant that a growing flower could struggle through and blossom under hardship, ultimately coming out stronger. "Kunai Art! Entrapping fields of Bellflowers!" Jia Le sacrificed the kunai she had been holding and threw it into the crack that was created by Duke Zhuang previously. Within moments, a large series of vines appeared from the crack and wrapped themselves around Duke Zhuang, entrapping him in a tangle of vines. Zhi Nu wanted to attack Duke Zhuang too but was a step too late because Duke Zhong Wu, the Right Divine Guardian, swooped in and broke the vines. However, the experienced Jia Le took this opportunity to throw another Kunai at them. "Kunai Art! Rising Thorn of the Earthly Bellflower!" When the Kunai touched the side armour of Duke Zhong Wu, a large spike of chi burst out from the kunai, which simulated a spike growing out from the ground, wounding Zhong Wu''s right shoulder. Seeing Jia Le''s actions, Zhi Nu did not hesitate and moved her arms around with a needle in each hand. The invisible strings of death tied around the kunai''s handle and with a pull, the kunai plunged deeper into Duke Zhong Wu''s shoulder. This also caused the large spike of chi to pierce all the way through and render his right shoulder useless. At this point, Duke Zhuang broke out of the vines and threw his mace at Zhi Nu. To his surprise, the two handed mace was left hanging in midair right before it hit Zhi Nu''s enchanting face. Cold beads of sweat flowed down the side of her face as she let out a sigh of relief. Zhi Nu had been dexterous enough to weave the strings to create a shield that was strong enough to stop the impact of the flying mace. This time, Zhi Nu smiled, because with a weapon at the mercy of her strings, she was extremely deadly. She moved her hands as if she was dancing and the two handed mace flew back at Duke Zhong Wu, who had an injured right shoulder. Unfortunately, the door guards were not going to be taken down with just that. Duke Zhong Wu managed to catch the two handed mace barehanded even with his injured right shoulder. It was then that Zhi Nu grinned and Duke Zhong Wu noticed something was amiss. There were still strings attached to the two handed mace and the strings were released immediately when Duke Zhong Wu realised it. A barrage of needles burst out from the layer of strings that was wrapped around the handle and Duke Zhong Wu was immobilised. "A weaver does not just know about needles and strings. Acupuncture is something I learned while I was in the mortal world with Niu Lang!" Zhi Nu shouted and Duke Zhong Wu could barely move. Duke Zhuang, on the other hand, grabbed Duke Zhong Wu''s halberd and cut the strings attached to the needles, but the Zhi Nu''s acupuncture needles had already paralysed him. It was also at that point that Duke Zhuang noticed a bright light coming towards him. "Intermediate Kunai Arts! Booming Blooming Bellflowers!" Several kunais were thrown in succession in his direction and when the Kunai came into contact with something, an explosion was ignited in the shape of a Bellflower. With that, Duke Zhong Wu had fallen but Duke Zhuang was still standing, albeit precariously. He took Duke Zhong Wu''s Halberd and swung it around him continuously, which caused a mini hurricane to appear right in front of him. Debris was moving around the hurricane, which was a boundary to stop for both kunais and needles from reaching him. Within the eye of the hurricane, Duke Zhuang finally thought that he was safe for a moment before he heard an incantation shouted out from above. "Sword Art! Flying Bombardment Dive of the Bombardier Beetle!" Bin Yong was seen flying into the eye of the hurricane with the help of the Umbral Minotaur that threw him into it. It appeared that Bin Yong and the Umbral Minotaur had finished their fight and rushed to aid Zhi Nu and Jia Le. Duke Zhuang was not giving up a single bit as he pointed the halberd towards Bin Yong''s direction and did a high jump. "Rising Lion Strike!" Duke Zhuang''s halberd displayed the silhouette of a Lion. Through the fuzzy hurricane, all the bystanders could see was the silhouette of a beetle flying down into the mouth of a lion. "Blah! Another Lion! Enough with the Lions!" Bin Yong shouted as he remembered duelling the white stone lion. The ice shards were surprisingly fast and all Bin Yong could do was block them with his shield. There were no openings since the White Stone Lion always kept its distance since it had seen the fate of its counterpart. It was at that moment that Bin Yong remembered the gift he had earned in the mini game he had played in the Emerald Mountain Hot Springs Service Instance. He actually received a mixed set of smoke grenades and flash bombs. From his storage ring, he quickly pulled one out and there was a white label, which indicated that it was a Flashbang. "Perfect!" Bin Yong thought to himself as he quickly threw it at the White Stone Lion, which the Lion instinctively targeted, causing a large flash that blinded the lion. Bin Yong, who covered himself with the mantle before the flashbang exploded, used that opportunity to dash in and stab the White Stone Lion through its mouth causing it to die when the ice shard it had been generating exploded within its mouth. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- The hurricane dissipated when Bing Yong and Duke Zhang clashed, but the bystanders could only see a large explosion of chi happening right in front of them. Only right after the explosion could the rest of the group see Bin Yong lifelessly drop from the sky along with Duke Zhuang. "Bin Yong!!" Jia Le reacted quickly as she saw him crashing down. Bin Yong had succeeded in his attack but it nearly cost him his life. With her kunai arts, vines grew in time to catch Bin Yong and Jia Le quickly rushed towards him. "Hahaha¡­looks like I underestimated the enemy this time round." Bin Yong whispered. "Shhhh, do not talk. Drink up." Jia Le took out a high grade chi regeneration potion which she had bought from Jin''s underground store and let him sip it bit by bit. Bin Yong coughed and he tried to drink the potion''s content slowly. When Jia Le was attending to Bin Yong, the Temporal Gates of Heavens opened, indicating that the group had passed the test. Zhi Nu called out for Niu Lang to come out from his hiding spot but there was no answer¡­and she assumed the worst. "Yes¡­assume the worst, Zhi Nu." The Heavenly Empress walked towards the group as she had her palace guards hold onto a heavily bruised Niu Lang. . . Chapter 141 Heavenly Empress "Let him go! That would be your reply when you see this scene right? However, in your heart, you know that even if you say that, I would not comply, which is why you are currently silent. Am I correct?" The Heavenly Empress Ma Zu talked down to Zhi Nu with absolute authority and some defying grace mixed in. "Zhi Nu now knows she is in the wrong, please pardon that particular mister and Zhi Nu will listen to Heavenly Empress Ma Zu''s instructions." Zhi Nu immediately knelt down with her head against the floor. "Kill him and your sins will be dissolved completely and everything will merely be water under the bridge." Ma Zu ordered the guards to throw Niu Lang in front of her. "Oh, and those mercenary immortals, do not even think or dare to come near. Else I will have you killed instantly too." "Darling¡­" Zhi Nu teared as the guard lobbed a sword to her and Niu Lang was so badly bruised that he could barely talk. However, he used all the strength he had left and said. "Do it¡­ I''d rather die in your hands than by the hands of these guards." Zhi Nu trembled as her hand reluctantly picked the sword up. Her tears were like a waterfall and she was gasping for breath from all the silent crying. "For the rest of my life, I will never regret liking you. I will never regret loving you. I will never regret having you be a huge part of my life." "But I will regret killing you¡­" Zhi Nu did not even dare to wipe her tears away as she did not want to close her eyes and forget her raison d''etre. Her one and only love. The memories of spending time with him flashed through her mind, only to be cruelly interrupted by the Heavenly Empress Ma Zu''s orders. "Hurry up and finish him, do not waste my time." At that moment, Jia Le was too afraid to do anything but Bin Yong, who was still coughing up blood, tried his best to stand up. "DO NOT KILL HIM!" Bin Yong shouted with a slight hoarseness in his voice. Zhi Nu turned her head as if suddenly broken out of a trance. "Do not do it! Who was the one who tried to bring you out of the Heavenly Palace? How did he do it? How many risks did he have to take just to come here and bring you away? Who was the one who begged to try and hire us so you that you could remain safe regardless of his safety? Who did you risk yourself for against the D¨Ccough cough! Against the Door Gods? Was the fight against the door gods just for show? If you already decided to defy the Heavenly Empress and live the life you wanted, why are you stopping right now? Are you that selfish?!" Bin Yong words made both Zhi Nu and Jia Le equally stunned. "Tsk, Mercenary immortals! I told you not to interrupt!" The Heavenly Empress immediately summoned an energy bolt and wanted to kill Niu Lang. However, the skies turned black all of a sudden and a flock of magpies swooped down from above, causing Niu Lang to disappear right before their eyes. Bin Yong then realised that Niu Lang had suddenly appeared in front of him. He quickly took out his small, pathetic shield and pushed his body forward to protect Niu Lang. It was then that a beautiful lady with a terrific figure wearing a black feathered dress appeared right in front of Bin Yong to shield Niu Lang too. "Queen of Magpies, Que Er. Why are you here?" Heavenly Empress Ma Zu was annoyed by the change of events but her guards were quick to restrain Zhi Nu from moving away. "A compromise. I am here for a compromise. You owe me something but clearly, you do not intend to return it to its rightful owner. Therefore, I will compromise, but you have to compensate me." "That silver hairpin? Why should I give you that? It was mine to begin with!" Heavenly Empress Ma Zu took the silver hairpin out and gazed lovingly at it. "Then you have to compensate me. You are not allowed to kill the mercenary immortals and the mortal boy." "Hah! And why should I listen to you? You are just a minor queen of the magpies whereas I am the Empress of the High Heavens. However, I still don''t like owing people." The Heavenly Empress took one last look at the silver hairpin and chanted some words before she threw it towards the Queen of Magpies and the rest of the group. The silver hairpin suddenly changed shape and a magical river appeared right in front of them, splitting the heavens. The river stream was raging with the Heavenly Empress Ma Zu''s anger. It was so fierce that none of them from either side of the river would have any chance to cross the river. "Then let this river be the means to forget the past." The Heavenly Empress walked away with her guards, leaving Zhi Nu to suffer right in front of the raging river. Before Ma Zu walked away, she turned around and said, "If you wish to meet him, it will be at your own peril. I am warning you right now. Forget about him and start afresh." Meanwhile, Zhi Nu cried in front of the river even more, which caused the river stream to become even more turbulent. She regretted not being strong enough to stand against Ma Zu and be with Niu Lang. She knew that no matter how high she could jump or how far she was willing to travel to see the end of the river, it would be impossible because it was technically a magic spell by Ma Zu to prevent her and only her from meetingNiu Lang. It was a curse and mercy at the same time. The compromise Ma Zu had given to the Queen of Magpies for borrowing her silver hairpin and not returning it on time. Separately, the bruised Niu Lang move closer to the river despite his wounds. "What are you doing?" Que Er was a little annoyed that this mortal which Taurus asked her to take care of decided to throw his life away by going into this magical river. "Sir Taurus said that his tail fur would provide protection, so I will use all of it to meet Zhi Nu on the other side of the river." Niu Lang wanted to die trying just to meet Zhi Nu one last time. "If it could protect you, you would not be in this state right now!" Jia Le tried to reason with him and tried to pull him away from the river but he was refusing to budge. "Wait, you said you have Taurus''s tail?" the Queen of Magpie questioned him with a certain degree of seriousness, "Yes¡­" He took out a bunch of the tail fur and showed it to Que Er. "I even gave some of it to Zhi Nu, hoping Taurus would take care of her too." Niu Lang coughed. "HA HA HA HA! Oh Taurus, Oh Taurus. The mortal you chose. So Interesting, so pitiful and yet so admirable. Like you, he is so stubborn and loyal. For you, my old friend, and your caretaker''s undying love, I will do him a service." Que Er took a strand of the tail fur and demanded him to hold on to the rest securely. Facing the river, She threw the tail fur and the river temporarily split apart and that was when Zhi Nu finally saw Niu Lang. "Stop! Do not move yet!" Qu Er shouted and she commanded her flock of magpies to appear and create a bridge right in front of them, spanning across the width of the river. "You two may now meet. The time limit is just 30 minutes before Taurus''s magical fur dissipates. My bridge of magpies can hide both of your presence from Empress Ma Zu if you stand right in the middle of it. After which you have to part ways or else Ma Zu will not spare either of you. Now go, your 30 minutes are ticking away." Qu Er said and Niu Lang dragged himself towards the middle of the Magpie bridge. Zhi Nu immediately ran towards him and hugged him tightly. "Niu Lang!! I am sorry! I am sorry I ever thought of killing you." "I do not blame you a single bit. Who even dares to defy the Heavenly Empress so openly?" Both of them looked at the mercenary immortals and both knelt and bowed their heads towards Bin Yong and Jia Le. There was a slight warmth in both of the couples. "It was interesting to see this story from a new perspective." Bin Yong said. He really felt like he was part of the folktale legend so much that he had nearly forgotten that this was just a dungeon instance. "You were very brave¡­.to stand up to the Heavenly Empress" Jia Le looked at Bin Yong with much affection and crept closer towards him. "Argh, my hand" Bin Yong wanted to embrace the moment but Jia Le accidentally sat on his hand, which was still recovering from the pain. "Sorry! Are you okay dear?" Jia Le moved away a little and wanted to see his hand but Bin Yong did not care right now. He used his other hand to bring her forward and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. His first kiss. It was also Jia Le''s first genuine one, and Jia Le then wrapped her arms around Bin Yong and gave him an even more passionate one. "Awwww." The Beetle and Bellflower couple had totally forgotten about the cameras that were constantly streaming their actions to the crowd, which caused the customers waiting for their turn to cheer extremely loudly at their success. Jin also felt a little embarrassed but he felt proud that someone had actually managed to find the true ending of the Qixi Festival Dungeon Instance even though it was only the first day, according to Yun at least. He was surprised by the system''s decision to include things like the player''s interaction and choice along with the need for charisma skills instead of just fighting skills. Maybe the system really did learn from Jin''s method of creating dungeons and refined its own. However, Jin also felt like the system was making fun of him through the use of the death issue between Zhi Nu and Empress Ma Zu. Or maybe he was thinking a little too much. "In any case, kudos to the BxB couple." Jin bitterly smiled to himself, thinking about when he too could become as brave as Bin Yong. On that though, he started to print out the medals for the couple. . . Chapter 142 The Peoples Favourite "WOOOOOOOOO!" The customers cheered as the Beetle and Bellflower couple came out of Station 5. They were cheering for Bin Yong and Jia Le for giving them such a spectacularly beautiful dungeon run. It felt like they had rewritten the Qixi Festival folktale into their own story. "Congratulations for finding the True Ending of the Qixi Festival Dungeon Instance." Jin clapped along with the customers and the couple could only blush. "Way to go Mister Beetle!" A customer cheered for Bin Yong''s speech against the Heavenly Empress. Jin ushered his two customers to the Wall of Honour, which was what most of Jin''s customers dubbed it as. "For your first dungeon clear of the Qixi Festival Dungeon instance, I am awarding you 1 gold medal each as a reward as well as a custom-made actual medal, courtesy of our store." Jin passed the gold Panda medal coin to the couple, which got Bin Yong more excited than having it as digital currency. "Wow, this is so much prettier in real life than the one I saw on the phone." Bin Yong tried to bite it and was assured that it was real. He then received a medal with Niu Lang and Zhi Nu meeting each other on a bridge of magpies imprinted on it. At the back of the medal, it stated his name along with his achievement "Lion Ass Kicker", which made him giggled. For Jia Le, her achievement was "Fantastic Kisser", which she blushed at instantly and followed by punching Jin''s arm. "You are so bad!" Jia Le took this chance to move closer to Bin Yong and kiss him on his cheek, which made the customers cheer loudly once more! "One more thing. Because Bin Yong has consecutively been on the Wall of Honour for a number of times, I would like to present him with a set of vouchers. It contains two tickets to the Panda Muscles Service Instance as well as the Emerald Mountain Hot Springs Service Instance." Jin passed an envelope to Bin Yong, which he bowed a little when accepting to thank Boss Jin. "The Panda Muscles is a service instance for all your training needs. I even currently have an instructor stationed there to assist with your training if you need any help. It is a ginormous service instance with a gym, fighting ring, swimming pool, indoor running track and many other facilities." "Is it paid per entry? Or is there a monthly membership fee?" A customer seemed interested in the notion of a well rounded exercise facility. "Currently, it is 40 Yuan per entry for the Panda Muscles on the third floor. Monthly, annual and even lifetime memberships will be available within the week! Remember to check it out in the Pandamonium announcements." Jin was finally able to advertise his service instance with the large crowd having their attention on him. After which, he thanked Bin Yong and Jia Le for their participation and returned to the cash counter. In less than a minute, a few customers had already decided to try and take a look at the Panda Muscles service instance. "Jia Le, want to go and check it out?" Bin Yong did not want to miss anything out but Jia Le refused. "I want to eat some good food first!" Jia Le pointed at the curry rice on the menu since wanted to rest for a while and Bin Yong readily agreed. "Miss Yun! Two Tonkatsu Curry Rice and Panda Soda! Ehh.. is it okay for me to order the Black Pepper Bun from here?" Bin Yong courteously gave his orders to Yun. "Yeap, Just tell me how many you want and I can go get it for you." Yun smiled so gently, Jia Le was a little jealous of such perfection but she noticed Bin Yong was not paying much attention to Yun at all. "Okay, Give me one Black Pepper Bun for now, I will pay for that with Panda Credits too." Bin Yong nodded his head to Yun and waited for the food. "I wonder if Boss Jin will produce even more delicacies or main dishes?" Jia Le could not wait for the Tonkatsu Curry Rice. If not for the Panda Credits, she would not even have dared to imagine what kind of prices this shop would charge for its food. "Depends if our new chef wants to create something new or not." Yun passed the Panda Soda to the couple first. "You mean, she has been creating all this great food?" Bin Yong opened the Panda Soda Can and he let it fizzle for a moment before he started to drink it. "Only the Black Pepper Bun is her current creation. The rest were from a secret food supplier which Jin has not revealed to me either. However, he said that he did not wish to rely on that food supplier too much. In case, you know¡­" Yun smiled as she walked away to get the curry rice for them. "Ahh, over reliance and the food supplier might charge more for its products. Come to think of it, Boss Jin''s dungeons are not really that expensive. In fact, it''s a steal even at 500 Yuan." Bin Yong commented to Jia Le. "Why would you say that? Haven''t other dungeon suppliers either started to supply something similar or have already supplying something similar to Boss Jin?" Jia Le replied. "Oh, you noticed those net advertisements on the news websites too?" Bin Yong asked Jia Le as he later thanked Yun for the quick serving of the tonkatsu curry rice. "What advertisements?" Yun served the second plate to Jia Le, which she gratefully accepted. "Oh, apparently people have started to copy Boss Jin''s modus operandi, especially King''s Monster. They are serving food alongside their dungeons. Shi Zuo that monkey decided to give it a try and he said it was only so-so though." Bin Yong immediately chomped on one of the pork cutlets and the juicy bit of the meat made him feel bliss. The sweet curry swam around his mouth and caused him to hunger for more. "However, the dungeons were terrible or maybe worse than before. Shi Zuo said It looked more flashy but it did not have the impact. He also said it didn''t have the feeling of excitement that he experienced when he was playing the Great Wall of China Dungeon Instance." Bin Yong described as Jia Le secretly stole one small cutlet piece away from Bin Yong. "I see, thank you for the info. Looks like we have to step up our game too." Yun chuckled, and Jia Le agreed with her opinion. "Please more dungeons or service instances and most importantly¡­ more food!! I am really starting to feel like this shop is my second home. I used to hate dungeons but for some reason, ever since I started dungeoning in Boss Jin''s store, I feel the need to dungeon every once in a while or I might get withdrawal symptoms!" Some of the customers that were beside them overheard their conversation and inserted their opinions too. "Same here, I can never go to other dungeon suppliers after experiencing Jin''s Dungeons. Besides, the spiritual force I receive regardless of victory or defeat has been beneficial for my cultivation." A female office lady spoke outright. "This dungeon made me lose weight and those clothes in the underground store, Oooo Ms Yun! Please ask Boss Jin for a discount sale or something! The clothes are all so beautiful but I can''t afford them all." "As beautiful as me?" Yun tried to boast and almost all the customers around the couple laughed cordially. The atmosphere around the bar counter was gentle, warm and pleasing, which was quite the contrast to the areas near the Dimensional Space Stations, where the crowd were placed at the edge of their seats to see the cultivators win with style or lose valiantly. Jin managed to catch a glimpse of the entire situation and was glad that he made the right choice to put Yun, the people''s favourite, right at the front line to gain popularity for the shop. Chapter 143 Panda Muscles "Instructor Zeru! What next?!" Xiong Da shouted loudly to prove that he was done with the exercise regime that Zeru had given him. Xiong Da had sweat enough to fill up a lake large enough for a hippo to float around. "That will be it for today. Go get yourself some food, you deserve it." Zeru gave his approval and Xiong Da was finally able to relax in the boxing ring. Having spent a lot of time in Panda Muscles, he did not realise it was already late night. During the time Xiong Da had been training, he had seen a number of new faces in the Panda Muscles Service Instance. Many were trying out the equipment installed in this major facility. Who did not like new advanced stuff? Even Xiong Da, who was particular about gyms, had started to love Panda Muscles a lot. The individual toilets here were cleaner than any high class gym had he tried going to and that was his pet peeve for most gyms that he had gone to. To Xiong Da''s surprise, there were actually instructors allocated for the Panda Muscles Service Instance. All the customers had to do was hire them from the centre of the Panda Muscles facility, which was where the reception centre was located. The funny thing was that the instructors were actually the gang of werejackals and werecats that had been captured by Jin. "Wow, is Jin secretly a super engineer that knows how to programme his instances or is he some crazy smart genius that knows some high level cultivation magic?" Xiong Da could not help but comment when he saw the werejackals walking around helping the cultivators. "Unless¡­those monsters are REAL?" Xiong Da tried to rationalise the possibility since Zeru was real even though he acted as an AI instructor when the training had just begun. "Heh, he just so happened to find some¡­group that was willing to believe in him and lent their technology and cultivation magic expertise to him. But trust me, Jin has fought enough monsters to create these dungeons." Zeru tried to explain and defend Jin vaguely when he passed a bottle of fresh spring water for Xiong Dato drink. Xiong Da also dismissed that thought after some consideration. There was no dungeon supplier, for now at least, able to provide real monsters in captivity, and much less have those different monsters act the same each time in the dungeon. "Hahaha, sounds like he made a deal with the devil¡­or should I say the Pandas." Xiong Da laughed as he thanked Zeru for the water. Initially, the werejackals looked menacing and cultivators had a hard time starting a conversation with them, but in no time, the male cultivators finally got used to their presence. They were giving the cultivators advice as well as training tips also while helping them develop a training regime. In fact, only the werejackals were fast enough to keep up with the cultivators'' training pace. For the females, Nyami and Meomi were the ones assisting them. Nyami already had enough students to open a class for yoga while Meomi did CrossFit training with the other females. "You sure you guys won''t get stronger by training with us?" A grade 2 male cultivator asked Werejackal Grey and he laughed at the cultivator. "If we do not train with you guys, you guys will feel that we are not a challenge at all!" "So in a way, we are training with the enemy to learn about our enemy?" The ponytail female cultivator questioned and Meomi nodded her head. "Applies to both of us." "That''s not a bad way to train since having a rival works always works well" The grade 2 cultivator replied as he continued his weightlifting reps. When Xiong Da was fully rested up, he noticed that some of the customers had their digital pets out with them. Some of the pets were cheering their cultivators on, while others were holding onto a towel or a bottle of water for them to refresh themselves. "Ah, I totally forget about the existence of my digital pet." Xiong Da took his phone out and checked the Pandamonium forums. He quickly activated his pet and a small, cute, miniature sized hippo yawned in front of him. Xiong Da also bought the Qixi Festival loot box because he thought that maybe¡­just maybe¡­ Ruo Ying would join him in the future. "In any case, let me give you some new clothes." Xiong Da remembered he had a pet fashion ticket to use and Pandamonium revealed a lollipop accessory. Xiong Da thought it was hilarious how he got a food fashion item and quickly slotted the accessory onto his digital pet hippo. "I wonder if these pets have other abilities other than just tagging along." Xiong Da reminded himself to ask Jin but at the moment, he decided to go take a shower first before he went for his dinner. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Where''s Boss Jin?" Xiong Da asked as he looked around the now empty store, with only Yun cleaning the bar counter and Milk sitting nearby drinking a cup of black ivory coffee. "He is outside at the kitchen caravan with Zhen Qing." Milk told Xiong Da and he guessed he had to put his digital pet question on hold for the moment. "Ms Yun, give me ¨C Oh Ms Yun, you know my stomach very well." Before Xiong Da even opened his mouth, Yun had already started putting dishes out onto the bar counter for Xiong Da. There was already an assortment of food for him to savour. Triple Cheese Pizza, the random but tasty onigiri, his favourite Black Ivory Coffee, and two plates of Tonkatsu Curry Rice along with a jug of spring water for him to rinse it all down. "Is this part of the plan? Does Jin want to feed me with lots of good food? Because if so, I''m down!" Xiong Da shamelessly asked but Yun shook her head. "This is not even the beginning of his plan, I think you will be able to try his plan out tomorrow." "Any hints?" Xiong Da was already munching on his food when he asked the question. "Find out tomorrow!" Milk teased him even further but Xiong Da just gave a huff and continued to eat his food. Meanwhile, Jin was helping Zhen Qing clean the kitchen caravan. "Boss, it''s okay, I can handle this myself." "No, I want this done quickly so I can ask you a few things." Jin insisted but Zhen Qing instantly stopped him after a while. "No, Boss. Stop. I understand that you are my boss but we need to have some workspace authority. This is the kitchen, therefore it is my domain. I hope you can appreciate and understand why I want to clean and pack things myself." Zhen Qing explained. "Ah." Jin realised that he was at the wrong and Zhen Qing wanted to be in control of her space. "Okay, if that''s the case, I''ll wait for you to finish cleaning and then we can talk." Jin tried to salvage the whole conversation. "What is it about? I can multitask." Zhen Qing picked up where she left off and continued her cleaning. "It is about your cultivation." Jin sighed as he was starting to realise he might not get the chance to bond with her properly so he changed his topic. "Hmm¡­I will quickly clean this up and get back to you." Zhen Qing hurried as she felt more pumped than ever even though the day had made her extremely tired. ''If I could really learn a cultivation method, I might be able to do more things!'' Zhen Qing thought to herself as she started to dread the status of a commoner. . . Chapter 144 Choosing A Cultivation Since Zhen Qing was a commoner, Jin had been placing cans of bamboo juices into one of the kitchen caravan''s refrigerator compartments. The bamboo juices not only cooled her down throughout the day but also gave her a boost of spiritual force to keep her working. However, Jin knew that this would not effective in the long run. With Zhen Qing insisting on by working herself, which was for reasons that he did not know yet, the toll of work would eventually cause trouble to her health. Working from 8am till 10pm was extremely tiring by itself, not to mention staying in the kitchen instance to prepare her ingredients before 8am. Jin was surprised that she had not slowed down a single bit since she started working. It was even, to an extent, admirable. Preparing ingredients, selling them and eventually cleaning the store all by herself. "I am done, did you mention something about cultivation?" Zhen Qing was holding a bamboo juice for a drink. "Have a seat, can I have your Mechat account? So I can send you the details." Jin asked and Zhen Qing readily gave Jin her contacts. Jin then sent over a PDF document he had obtained during the Zoo cultivation trip he had gone on with his bellators. It contained the type of cultivation styles they had as well as a simplified version of the pros and cons of each cultivation. It was of course not an exhaustive list of cultivation styles, but for a commoner, it would give them some idea of what they would like to use. "Wow, I did not expect there to be so many styles. But, is it okay for me to cultivate despite being this old?" Zhen Qing asked as she scrolled through the pdf. "It is never too late to cultivate, there was one time where a seventy year old uncle took up cultivation to improve his health a little. Of course, he still died around 100 because he had had enough of life." Jin explained. "I thought one of the goals of cultivation was to obtain immortality?" Zhen Qing questioned. "It initially was, but that was before the advent of the solid dantian. During the golden age of cultivation, the leading figures of cultivation were contemplating whether they wanted immortality or this solid dantian resurrection. Eventually, they decided to go with resurrection because they figured the world power gap dynamics would only continue to grow even wider with immortality." Jin replied. "So when people realised the solid dantian initiative was carried out, there was rioting. Several high class noble houses fought against these groups of cultivators to force them to revert the change. They said they were selfish in initiating such a change in the laws of nature." "What happened next?" Zhen Qing was casually reading the descriptions of some of the cultivation styles as she listened to Jin. Jin thought that he was boring Zhen Qing so he shortened his recount. "Civil wars, internal strife but surprisingly, the leaders were quite ruthless and selfless at the same time, if that even makes sense. The wealth of noble houses that they annihilated was given to the poor people as food stock and materials for building. So -" "No no no, what I wanted to ask is what happened after getting the solid dantian? How long do people live for now? I mean, I heard the oldest person right now was 200 odd years old, but the way you say it, it''s as if people can choose when they want to die." Zhen Qing interrupted Jin''s explanation of the past. "Ehhh¡­in a way yes and no? For example, people who get cancer and do not get proper treatment will still die. We are still not immune to sickness such as colds, fevers etc and will still die from severe illnesses such as heart disease and other cancers. Sure, at higher grades of cultivation, we can slow down the rate of cancer or block the sensation of pain and ignore the illness. Eventually though, the cultivator would not be able to hold off these cancer cells and what the body would then do is stop the heart slowly so that we can have a peaceful death." Jin vividly remembered how Ming did not tell him a single thing and pretended everything was fine until Jin found him sleeping peacefully on his bed with several documents prepared on his bedside table. All he could do at that point of time was follow the instructions on the documents to prepare the funeral, which was conducted in a temple far from the house with no friends or family except for the priests. When Jin tried calling his close contacts, a few friends of his Jin saw quite frequently said that they were already informed previously and sent their condolences to Jin. "Are you okay?" Zhen Qing saw a tear roll down Jin''s face despite no change of expression. Did she hit a nerve upon talking about this? "Oh, I think I''m just a bit sleepy¡­ahaha. Do not worry about it." Jin wiped that tear away and smiled. "In any case, take a look at the cultivation styles and I will see if I can find any manual for you to practice. I might even ask Milk, Peppers or Zeru about it, whom I believe you met earlier this afternoon, to help you with it." Jin said as he started to stand up in order to end the conversation. "Yea, Peppers was really cute." Zhen Qing smiled when she remembered how Peppers interacted with her earlier. "In any case, thank you, Boss. See you again in the morning!" Zhen Qing perked up upon seeing the cultivation list as she returned home on her motorcycle. "Boss! I will be leaving too!" Xiong Da just saw Jin coming in and decided to wave him goodbye for the night. Jin returned the farewell and entered the store. "Time for part 2: Fishing World. My Bellators, are you all still okay? Any of you sleepy?" All three bellators immediately appeared in front of him kneeling down. "Sleep? That is for the weak!" Peppers shouted, which made Zeru and Milk grin. "Get going Jin, I will clear the place up for you." Yun smiled brightly before she shooed her ''kid'' off to work. . . Chapter 145 Deep Ones "Oh Oh Oh! Jin! Before you go. Take this." Yun placed an inscription on his handphone and it glowed with a white and black aura. "This is specially made by the system. It''s an ultra grade capture inscription. With this inscription on your phone, it will automatically catch monsters once they are severely damaged." Yun smiled as she explained to him. "You mean I do not have to worry about the monsters dying? I can just go all out?" Jin asked and Yun nodded her head. "All you have to do is concentrate on capturing it, and the inscription will do the rest. However, there are some monsters out there that can resist the powers of capture, especially after they have escaped it once. When that happens, use your phone." "Is my phone that strong? Hahaha!" Jin laughed and Yun nodded her head once more. "Yes, you might not believe it but the metal used in your phone is god tier. The rumoured Grade 20..or maybe 21. Depends how you see things. Anyways, it was created from the metal arrow tips of the Norse Hunting God Ullr, who in another parallel world is still alive." Yun casually said. "Gods are real?" Jin had been wondering if all the folktales he has heard were actually people from other parallel worlds. "God" is just another name for people with immense strength and longevity." Yun shrugged her shoulders and created a portal. "Now, off you go." Yun teleported them to the Fishing World as requested by Jin. They teleported safely through a gate portal, which brought them to a fishing port almost devoid of people. In fact, there was hardly anyone around except for a person at the counter near the docks. They noticed the town port''s infrastructure was rather extensive, expanding up to a hill. Jin felt an eerie feeling going through him as he stared at the town for a while. It was as if telling him to get out of here as soon as possible. Jin walked towards the broken down counter and the elderly male yawned, "Visitors? Nevermind, do you want to rent a boat? For 5 Dungeon Dollars only." The Elderly male said and pointed at the rather desolate looking boat. Both Jin and his bellators were reconsidering their choice of the world. "Do not worry, despite its looks, it is sturdy enough to go out to the sea and has a storage space of about 10 000 fishes regardless of grade¡­Hahaha!! That is if you can manage to catch even ten in these waters." The elder male continued to puff his paper cigar. "What do you mean? Is the water here not suitable for fishing?" Jin asked as he looked at his phone to check how much dungeon dollars he had left. "Mutant fishes. They are eating up and breaking the ecosystem in this place. Apparently, some idiot decided to experiment on our fishing port and mutant fishes started to eat up our vulnerable fishes. The funny thing is, we managed to catch one or two of these mutant fishes and their spiritual force seems stronger than any other fishes. They even taste better than those fishes we usually catch." "Then what''s the catch? Why is this place devoid of people?" Zeru looked around and could not sense anyone''s presence. "We are ordinary fishermen, not warriors, these mutant fishes could even eat people and cause damage to the boats. Other fishermen had left for better pastures and safer fishing ports. I was left here because I am the mayor of the fishing port. Name''s Swabs " "Jin and they are the rest of my entourage." Jin brought his hand up for a handshake which the mayor obliged. "Such strong hands¡­but not seasoned in fishing at all. What are you guys up to?" "Ermm..fishing," Jin replied awkwardly. "Heh! Are you begging to die after all that I''ve said? If so, my boat price is up to 100 dungeon dollars or no sale." "Hnnng! What?! Do you think we cannot handle the fishes?" Peppers decided to barge in and showed her temper to which Jin held her back a little. "Huh, feisty. Does not matter much if I do not know whether my boat will be returned to me." Swabs snorted as he took another puff from his cigar. "Why would we want your boat? We can go search at other places then. Thank you." Jin turned around and decided to leave this fishing port before an evil aura filled the entire place. "Hey, maybe you should consider again. Now for a 1000 Dungeon Dollars. Price is rather cheap considering you are exchanging it for your lives." Swabs now walked out of the counter as he threw the cigar down onto the floor and from the abandoned houses a number of shadows appeared with grins on their faces. "Deep Ones¡­" Peppers took her weapon out and so did Zeru and Milk. "The mythological Chuchulu and the other Great Old Ones." Jin could not help but smile bitterly. He did not expect the Fishing World to be filled with the lore of the Luvcraft.. The Deep Ones were humanoids with fish heads, scaly fins or a combination hairless greyish green skin. Their big bulbous eyes and longish arms with clawed webbed hands and feet made them looked like an abomination. "Chuchulu? How dare you say that name in front of us! That forbidden name! In the name of Lord Dagen! I swear fishing is the least of concern right now!" Swabs shouted with deep hatred. The Deep Ones somehow acknowledged Swabs'' agony and hatred that they gave various war cries which awoken many other sleeping Deep Ones in that isolated fishing port. Some of the Deep ones even had weapon and armour on them. "I have no idea what we have gotten into, but all I know right now is we have to stay alive." Jin pulled out Bam and Boo and started to dual wield them while his living armour bands turned active and ready to move whenever needed. "Do you want me to cast a big massive explosion mixed with the rage of fire and thunder? All I need is time casting and I can easily obliterate this fishing port while helping you to catch some Deep ones for dungeons too." Peppers sniggered but Jin shook his head. "Where will we be if you do that and inadvertently destroy the only boat. We do not know if other parts of the Fishing world is overrun by the same type of monsters. Let''s do this while protecting that boat and perhaps we can go catch some fish." Jin said. "You still want to catch fish with that boat knowing that there are possibly more Deep Ones lurking in the sea?" Peppers scolded Jin for such a useless plan. "I know I am contradicting myself. But perhaps¡­this is the only place that is infested by Deep Ones?" Jin gave a fool''s expression and his bellators could only roll their eyes or sigh. "In any case, no massive explosions. Just small¡­" Before Jin could finish his sentence, Peppers had already fired a blast of fire at the far end of the port. "Or maybe medium ones.." Jin shook his head and proceeded forward to fight against the Deep Ones. . . Chapter 146 Deep One Hybrid Jin rushed forward to a single Deep One, only to realise that there were other two Deep Ones that jumped from the top of a roof to take him by surprise. Instead of stopping, Jin pushed forward even further, bashing the Deep One in through the door and into a storehouse, giving Jin some fighting space. The Deep One was relentless, its webbed claws tried to scratch Jin but the living armour moved in time to block the scratch. However, Jin still felt the impact of its webbed claws. The other two Deep Ones moved in to surround Jin but they did not notice Boo on the ground left by Jin. With another step towards Jin, Boo reacted by bursting out a series of bamboo spikes similar to how Jin used it against Werejackal Gold. The two Deep Ones were pierced by the spikes which caused one of them to die when one of the spikes pierced through its throat. However, with Jin''s new inscription imbued by Yun, the Deep One was immediately captured. The other was stunned momentarily but tried using brute force for its way out of the spikes despite its injuries. Meanwhile, Jin tried to slash the Deep One that he bashed through the abandoned storehouse but its skin was rubbery and the slash was neglected. "Damn, this is really harder than I thought." Separately, Zeru was protecting Peppers as she cast her blasts of pent up fury. Compared to Jin, Zeru had an easier time defeating the Deep Ones. Despite using just a wooden sword and the Deep Ones'' near impervious skin to slashes, Zeru opted for the stabbing option, or as he dubbed it ¨C "The Perfectly Normal Poke." He held his wooden sword like a Fencer with a rapier and his left hand at the back to support his stance. Every strike was a vital hit to the Deep Ones'' organs, especially its heart which Peppers told them where it was. Zeru could not imagine how much knowledge that little kid had in her head. Milk, on the other hand, was casting support spells for Zeru, making his strikes more accurate and swift. She occasionally smacked them with her giant book when Zeru was busy with another Deep One which caused them to stagger if they came too close, buying Zeru some time to defeat them too. "Peppers, even though you have a near infinite source of mana, you should stop once in a while or else your body would not be able to take it. " Milk commented to Peppers as she could see Peppers breathing slightly harder. The fire blasts not only caused great damage to the fishing port but the pure force annihilated the Deep Ones, instantly adding them into Jin''s repertoire of monsters. Of course, Jin would eventually have a headache when he builds up his Monster Home instance but for now, that was another problem for the future. "Seriously, if Jin let me out more to fight, I could train more!" Peppers wiped her sweat as she supported herself with her magical staff. Even so, her magical staff was already gathering power for the next fire blast, all it required was Peppers'' command. "Achoo!" Jin coincidentally sneezed loudly which startled the Deep One for a second, and unknowingly Jin''s katana was able to pierce through its rubbery skin and into its vital organs. Jin did not know exactly how that happened but took the opportunity to use Lazy Panda Swipe to slam the Deep One to the ground, causing it to disappear. When Jin picked up Boo and looked around the abandoned storehouse, there were layers of dust and spider webs at the corners of the area, indicating that this fishing port could have had been a trap all along. "Why did Yun bring us here¡­" Jin thought to himself which Yun replied him with a simple answer. "The System provided the coordinates. It determined that the best quality of fishes would be right over here." "Alright." Jin pushed forward and ignored the excuse or reason that Yun provided. He knew the system was doing what was best for itself rather than the overseeing the safety of Jin and the others. As he got out of the warehouse, he noticed a group of armoured Deep Ones moving towards the bellators. Zeru was currently busy with the couple of Deep Ones that were currently surrounding them which Peppers even had to stop her long-range bombardment and used psychic blasts to push the Deep ones away. "Damn, at this speed, I won''t be able to help them in time!" Jin decided to take the risk and try Panda Tumbling. He had seen how the pandas in the zoo tumbled all around him, evading his grab at times just to play with him. In addition, He even read up on it during his dinner. Theory wise, he had grasped the basics, and now for the application. Jin focused his chi into his leg muscles especially in the quad and hamstrings as he leapt to dive forward. When he covered a certain amount of distance with his diving leap, he quickly curled himself up like a panda rolling down the hill, causing his speed to increase rapidly. The constant tumbling action made him spin even more furiously from being a cute little panda rolling down a hill to a large wheel speeding down the mountains. Like Zonic the Hedgehog, Jin turned into an amalgamation of white and black energy ball rolling towards the armoured Deep Ones and crashing into them. It did not end right there, the crash delivered a gushing impact of chi energy that caused the Deep Ones to disperse from their organised charge. Jin then spread his arms and legs from his curl position and struck one of the Deep Ones that was knocked back. Zeru did not waste any time assisting Jin after he finished slaying the Deep Ones that engaged them. Like a hunter using his spear to catching a fish flowing along rivers, Zeru pierced an unvigilant Deep One through his heart causing it to cough out greyish blood out. When all this was happening, Mayor Swabs went to its boat wanting to escape from the chaos. "This is crazy! How can these visitors be this strong?!" Swabs went into the deck of his boat and bit his wrist. As a Deep One Hybrid, he let his slightly greyish red blood flow out from his wrist as he hurried to draw a ritual circle on the deck of his boat. "Oh Lord Dagen, listen to the pleas of your filial supporter! What is dead may never die, but rise again, harder and stronger!" Swabs cried as he later used his right hand to forcibly stab through his chest. He caressed his beating heart even though pain coursed through his entire body. The beating of his heart quicken due to the sudden loss of blood but Swabs massaged his heart to calm down before squeezing it, causing him to drop flat at the deck of the boat. Swab''s personal sacrifice, fervent prayers had met the expectation of his Lord Dagen, the wretch Fish God of the Deep. The Great Old One. . . Chapter 147 Lord Dagen Jin and the others did not know that Swabs had sacrificed himself for the ritual and continued to fight against the Deep Ones for their survival. The ritual went on silently until Swabs'' entire body was completely engulfed by the ritual process. The boat started to crack and slowly, the hull of the boat disappeared while the magical ritual circle was still floating in mid air. That was when Milk happened to catch sight of the red glowing circle floating at the docks. "Is that¡­Oh shit!" Milk quickly ran towards the dock, which was filled with Deep Ones crawling out of the sea and onto the pier. Zeru noticed Milk hastiness and shouted at Jin. "Master! I am going with Milk!" Jin nodded his head as he grabbed Peppers by her waist. "Ack! What are you doing Master!" "You said you wanted time for a mega big explosion, right? Well, grab on to me and prepare to cast! I will tell you when to release it!" Peppers blushed a little as Jin was holding her very tightly but she nodded her head and started to chant out words that did not make sense to Jin. Jin pushed Peppers up to his back and piggybacked her but unknowingly squeezed Peppers butt whilst doing so because he was in a rush. Peppers did not expect that and mischanted her spell, which caused a slightly forceful magical feedback to her circuits. "Gah! Watch where you are grabbing! I mischanted my spell because of you and now I need to do it all over again! Peppers knocked Jin with her staff and continued to chant while Jin ran further into the port town. Surprisingly, there were few Deep Ones further into the port town but a growing number of them were chasing after Jin and Peppers. Meanwhile, on Milk''s side, she noticed that the ritual was nearly complete and all she could do was either delay it further or break the ritual component. While she might not know about rituals in the Fishing World specifically, according to Peppers, all rituals had the same basic fundamentals. She once said, "As long as you change a single word, symbol or add a new catalyst into the ritual, the ritual will not be as effective as it should be. Some rituals might only go awry but most rituals should be rendered ineffective. For example, you are summoning a horse, instead of a mature, strong, healthy horse, but just by adding a bit of salt to this ritual and¡­ Ta-da~! The Horse turned into a baby horse instead." Milk looked at the ritual circle and figured. "If it''s trying to summon some deep dark monster, then perhaps some Light energy would cause it to be less effective! Zeru, do what you must, just make sure that I don''t get interrupted!" Milk instructed Zeru to protect her as she decided to channel Holy Energy into the ongoing ritual. "Understood." Zeru relaxed his fencer''s stance and instead, stood behind Milk like a strong solid tree with his eyes closed and his short hair waving along in the ocean''s sea breeze. But in fact, the stance he was assuming now was the stance he used when he protected his master against a dozen enemies. "The Perfectly Normal Trap." was the stance he used. As long as a Deep One entered a certain range of Zeru, he immediately attacked it. Although the rubbery skin partially negated Jin''s damage when he was slashing it with a good katana, Zeru was able to cut a Deep One down effortlessly. If one looked closely, they would notice a tiny reinforcement of chi surrounding the entire wooden sword. Zeru had condensed a copious amount of chi to create that small thin sharp edge reinforcement, which allowed his wooden sword to cut even better than any other sword one had ever known. That was what Zeru was known for when he was well and alive in the past. Many had tried to copy his technique but all had failed to do so. Some even called it the Perfect Sword Essence, a level higher than Sword Core Essence, which most master swordsman already had difficulty even reaching, but in reality, Zeru was just that good when it came to the matters that concerned the sword. The few Deep Ones who were intelligent enough figured that no matter how hard they tried to go near Milk and Zeru, they would be mercilessly cut down. Hence, they decided to run after the other group of visitors and even commanded others to go after them. Soon, there were not many Deep Ones surrounding Zeru and Milk. "Ehh Master, I think¡­there will be more coming your way." Zeru sent his message via Jin''s phone''s loudspeakers and could not help but chuckle as he saw a shining bright beacon running up the hill where the rest of the Port Town was situated. "Just for your info, you are very visible from the docks." "What do you even mean?!" That was when Jin noticed Peppers'' magic staff was sparkling with a radiant red colour. "Please do not release your fire blast of fury and hatred or whatever other demonic words you added into it." Jin thought to himself since he figured if he really did say that out loud, it would cause Peppers to miscast a second time. He did not want to know what would happen if she miscast. "I do not think¡­I can interrupt it any further¡­" Milk was panting heavily. Her arms were tired. Her mind was going blank from fusing holy energy into the ritual. One thing was for sure, even if the ritual was completed, Milk did manage to alter the initial intent of the ritual or at least delay it. "Milk, Stop. I am bringing you out of here before we get caught in things." Unlike Jin, Zeru performed an energised horizontal slash that wiped out any incoming Deep Ones that tried to come near him as he sheathed his wooden sword and carried Milk gently. "Zeru, I am sorry." Milk was still pushing whatever holy energy she could muster into the forbidden dark ritual even though she was being lifted up by Zeru. "Shh, rest easy Milk, I will definitely bring you to safety." Zeru saw Milk reluctantly close her eyes due to fatigue and he sneakily gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead before he carried her further away from the ritual site. Meanwhile, the ritual circle started to shake vigorously. The interruption of the ritual by Milk''s holy energy caused Lord Dagen to be infuriated. He initially wanted to send some minor spawns, probably Deep One Hybrids that would match up to the visitors'' strength for his loyal supporter''s offering but little did he know that the supporter decided to betray and insult him. The holy energy was a slap on the face to his superiority and generosity. He was so furious that he decided to send a replica of his powerful visage down to the ritual site to display his wrath. A gigantic monolith pillar abruptly appeared at the ritual site. The sun was still up moments ago and it was slowly blocked by the ascending moon. To the naked eye, it was merely a gigantic piece of stone but as the moon blocked half the sun, the stone lit up in bluish green colour with crude inscriptions on it. Suddenly, something raised its enormous scaly arm to grab onto the monolith. As the two separate groups saw it crawl out of the waters, the earth shook with the jarring sounds it made when its hideous fish head arose from the sea. It started twirling around the monolith pillar and its entire fish body was revealed. Like a gigantic serpent with two hands, its howls echoed through the port town, causing the Deep Ones to stop abruptly and kneel down to it. "¡­.So, do I hit the massive group of Deep Ones here or that big Derpy one over there?" Peppers asked the wide-mouthed Jin when she just finished pre-casting her unique signature blast. . . Chapter 148 The Derpy One "That one! NOW NOW NOW!" Jin, who saw the smaller replica of Lord Dagen, was extremely afraid. This was the first time he had seen such a huge monster appearing in his life. Even though Jin was far away from the docks, it was very obvious that the monstrosity was extremely huge. "Take this Derpy one! Super Big Bang Bammmmmmm!! " Peppers shouted as loud as she could as she aimed her magical staff at Replica Dagen and a complex magic circle filled with a rainbow of colours appeared in front of the magical staff. "Go!" Peppers shouted and from the magical circle appeared the silhouette of a muscular person, who pulled himself halfway out of the circle and held his hands back to throw a ball. A ball of energy. With Peppers'' command, the silhouette threw the energy ball at Replica Dagen. The ball was thrown at such a high velocity that Replica Dagen did not see it coming at all. When it turned its head, the ball had already come into contact with Replica Dagen. What ensued after that was¡­ spectacular. A sudden blinding flash of white light was followed by an intense muffled roar. A pillar of fire rose from the ground as if it wished to bloom like a flower beaming with life. The ''Life'' of this particular flower could be seen changing from a burning red to a devilish violet and later through the entire colour spectrum as it soared into the skies, wanting to touch the semi-eclipse. The fire continued to rage as smoke and dust were expelled from the monolith pillar that was violently agitated from the bottom of the sea. Both Jin and the Deep Ones stared in awe as they saw the Replica Dagen full of burns and scars fall from the burning monolith pillar and into the shallow waters of this unknown desolate port town. The fire on the giant serpent was so intense that the water itself started to heat up and evaporate. "Uhhhhhh I feel terrible." Peppers grumbled as she started to feel very nauseous and the next moment she vomited rainbows in front of Jin, which he did not dare to get close to in case any of the vomit stained his shirt. It was there and then that Jin saw a white silhouette dashing on top of the sea waters. He squinted his eyes a little and realised that it was actually Zeru. This was the first time he had seen Zeru appear very serious and aggressive in his stance. "¡­.Technique. Red Lotus Bone Slicer." Zeru whispered as he sped like a plane zooming close across the water. His wooden sword gradually changed its colour to bloody red and the wooden sword''s afterimages could be seen zooming past along with Zeru as he got closer to the dying Replica Dagen who had yet to inflict a single bit of damage on the party. Although the Replica Dagen had a fragment of Lord Dagen, the Fish God himself, within it, when it saw Zeru coming for its life with immerse bloodlust, it too felt fright and fear for a moment as it struggled to move into deeper waters. For once, it felt as if it was not the true terror incarnate and that that title was reserved for the one racing towards it. In a flash, Zeru sent thousands of cuts through the burnt serpent and when he reached the end of the tail, blood spewed wildly like water sprinklers in an enlarged hose, which caused the serpent to cry in agony before it drowned in its own pool of grey blood. Then, it began to slowly disappear as it was being captured by Jin''s new inscription. The remaining Deep Ones fell to their knees to bark and growl in sadness while Jin placed Peppers down and let her rest on steady ground. Not long after, all the Deep Ones slowly returned to the sea. However, they did not just return to the sea. Each and every one of them purposely searched the docks for the broken pieces of the burning monolith pillar. Some of the Deep ones even jumped onto the monolith in an attempt to stop the fire from burning the stone pillar but they were essentially jumping into their graves. Others gathered water in their mouths and shot beams of water to try and cool it down. Seeing that they did not attack Jin anymore, Jin slowly descend back towards the docks to reunite with Milk and Zeru, only to see another weird scene taking place. Groups of Deep Ones were appearing out of the sea water while carrying nets of live fishes and walking towards Jin and the bellators. "Urgh, the smell of fresh fish¡­ I feel like vomiting again." Peppers held onto Jin but the now conscious Milk walked towards Peppers and cast a calming spell, which helped with nausea as well. "You sure you''re okay, Milk?" Jin asked and Milk closed her eyes as she nodded her head with a smile. "I am all good, although I am not sure if I made things worse or better." "It''s fine, everything is now over and it looks like..the Deep Ones are offering us fish too¡­" Jin felt like it did not make sense until Peppers answered him. "Probably a contract with the township here. If I am not wrong, the reason they are giving you this bountiful amount of fish is because 1) they are fulfilling their contract or 2) they wished to break the contract¡­.because I see Gold and ancient artefacts hidden within those fish too.." Peppers squeezed her nose as the Deep Ones brought a bountiful amount of large fat fish that were full of spiritual force to Jin. Jin did not hesitate and wanted to keep them so he was about to put them in his storage watch before Yun suddenly spoke to him. "Jin, use your phone instead. Putting them in your storage watch will cause them to die and lose their spiritual force. Just face your phone towards them. I will initiate the transfer." Jin hurriedly proceeded to face his phone in the direction of the wondrous bounty and it all magically disappeared. The Deep Ones were startled for a while but returned back to the sea once they had completed their job. This procedure went on for half an hour as the Deep Ones kept bringing fish and golden artefacts to Jin. "At this rate, I am beginning to think that they might actually be giving you such a large amount of fishes as a tribute since you¡­..We¡­ killed their replica god." Pepper deduced that it was not possible for the Deep Ones to be so generous, especially having seen what had happened to the Town''s people. All were gone except for a Deep One Hybrid masquerading as the only person living in this town. Even Peppers did not know where he had gone to during the fight. "Look on the bright side, at least¡­ we get monsters, fish and possibly gold that can be converted into dungeon dollars. Also, I believe I have learnt a new technique too." Jin tried to reason. "But it''s been a long time since I''ve vomited." Peppers stared at Jin. "It''s been a long time since I got serious." Zeru nodded his head in agreement with Peppers. "It''s been a long time since I''ve fainted due to overexertion." Milk just had to chip in too. "Okay okay¡­I get it. Let''s just call it a day and erm¡­eat Tonkatsu Curry Rice?" Jin tried to salvage the whole group''s opinion when Yun decided to suddenly appear in front of them and interrupted the whole group. "Do not be a cheapskate Jin." Yun folded her arms and shook her head towards the portal. "For a job well done, I had unlocked some delightful desserts, not because of you Jin, but because the Bellators worked hard." Yun complimented the bellators, which made Peppers and Milk shout with joy and happiness. Even Zeru had a wide smile on his face, which left Jin speechless. "Come on guys, let''s go. Except for you Jin." Yun snapped her fingers at Jin and pointed her finger at the incoming Deep Ones while she gestured the rest to return. "Finish collecting all the tribute before you come back, alright? I''ll leave the portal here for you until you are done." Yun said as she walked into the portal. All Jin could do was groan as he stayed back to collect all the fish from the Deep Ones. . . Chapter 149 Desserts Time! The moment the three, including Yun, returned from the Fishing World, Peppers quickly jumped onto a bar stool and sat readily at the bar counter. "Seriously, go wash your hands or something. I still notice some vomit on your shirt and denim dress." Yun said as she walked behind the bar counter. "But I want to at least see the dessert first!" Peppers complained like a little kid waiting for their candy. Yun shook her head and passed Peppers two small, warm, white towels. Milk proceeded to help Peppers wipe her face and clean off some of the colourful vomit she had on her shirt and used the other towel to wipe Peppers'' hands. Yun then provided warm towels for Milk and Zeru and they used them to clean themselves a little. It was then that she finally proceeded to take something out of the cabinet. "What do you have in store for us?" Peppers perked up as Yun seemed to carry a well designed rectangular cake box. The box had a panda playing in a pile of yellowish aspen leaves printed on it. "Just give me a minute, don''t open it yet!" Yun took out yet another cake box with an exquisite design of red pandas frolicking in the snow. The bellators, even Zeru, were getting curious about what was inside these boxes. "Are we waiting for Jin to come back? Because if we are, I can''t say I will be able to resist the urge rip open this beautiful box!" Peppers could not wait any longer as she leaned her body closer to the boxes when she suddenly felt pain coursing through her ears. Both Zeru and Milk were pulling each of her ears, which caused her to stop at her tracks. Yun added into the fun by squeezing both of her cheeks. "Nuuuuuuu, thiz izzzz BooooLLllyyyyiiinnnggg!!" Peppers could not pronounce her words well with Yun pulling her cheeks and they all had fun except for Peppers. "Are the desserts all gone?!!" Jin hurried through the portal and saw two elegant boxes in front of him. "Yes, they have been eaten. Cleanly too. I can let you keep the boxes since that''s all we''ve left." "Yes! ALL GONE!" Peppers caught on with the lie and tapped on her stomach¡­until a loud growling lion reverberated through the entire empty store. Milk could not help but snigger and even Zeru diverted his attention away from Peppers. Jin could only silently stare at Peppers'' embarrassed face as she turned around to face Yun and whispered, "Pretty please?" Yun smiled as she lifted the high-quality cake box lid with the design of a red panda playing in the snow. Within an instant, cold, white smoke slowly seeped out of the box and Yun slowly took out the contents of the box for them. It was a slice of simple looking cheesecake. Peppers wanted to rush in and devour the whole thing but Milk placed her hand on Pepper''s face and pushed her away. "Whyyyyy? I am hungry Sister Mil- Hmmmmm this ..hmmm¡­This! uwaaaaa" Peppers could not talk after Milk stuffed a fairly large piece of the cheesecake into her mouth. With just that mouthful, Peppers felt like the cheesecake was better than any other sweet food she had ever tasted. It was not too sweet and it had the perfect balance of cream cheese and sugar. "Hmmm¡­The cheese. It''s not thick nor is it too cheesy. It feels extremely light and pleasing, something like chiffon cake¡­no¡­maybe like a souffle. In any case, it''s especially good as afternoon high tea or even after a meal. There''s enough tanginess, but not overly so, and I can taste a hint of lemon too. Really well done." Zeru commented as he chewed slowly. The other four people around the bar counter had stopped eating just to listen to Zeru''s comment before Yun asked: "¡­cheesecake lover?" Zeru nodded innocently and said "I travelled around the world with Master during his diplomatic trips and managed to try as many cheesecakes as possible. Tried America''s, Japan''s, Italy''s and even Germany''s. The system''s cheesecake tastes most like the Japanese variant yet has the base of America''s, which in my opinion is quite a good blend of ingredients and flavours." After listening to Zeru''s remarks, Jin took another bite and began to appreciate the moist cheesecake. Peppers, on the other hand, moved her hands closer towards the unopened cake box and Yun quickly took the box away. "Did I say you can open it?" Yun glared at Peppers and all she did was give a series of cute puppy eyes to Yun. Yun sighed as she placed the box down and opened it. This time round, there was steam coming out from the box and they waited for the steam to dissipate, revealing to them a pie. In comparison to the plain looking cheesecake, the dessert pie had more decorations on it. In fact, there were white sprinkles and biscuits at the side of the crust. Yun took it out and showed it to them, which caused them to drool just at the sight of it. She cut the pie into five pieces and served on a piece to each of them. Obviously, Peppers was the first to be served and she quickly picked it up to eat. The moment she munched on it, her eyes went wide and later she squinted from bliss. "There are oreo biscuits in it! This¡­.this! Why does it taste so sinful?! The feeling of the Oreos being fried inside the baked pie! The chocolate layer on the top of the pie with the white sugar sprinkles¡­mmmm. I love it!" Peppers kept giving her praise to Yun even though she knew it was created by the system. "It''s an Oreo Pie with Fried Oreo stuffing. I do not think any human being or any well-reputed chef cultivator will be able to copy this." Yun chuckled as she enjoyed her pie. The Fried Oreo Pie, as Yun dubbed it, was baked by the system using kitchen technology unknown to Jin''s current world. It transposed cheesy battered fried Oreos into the chocolate pie while it was still being baked. Not only has the pie retained its shape and taste, but the fried oreo inside it also enhanced the ''munchability'' of the pie. "Ohhhhh I can feel my fats in me stirring but this is so delicious, I cannot get enough of it." Milk complained as both Peppers and Yun stared at her. As a matter of fact, Milk had the best waistline among the three of them. "I do not know much about fried Oreos or pies, but the cookie inside the fried stuffing of the pie is soft and does not feel too oily. Instead, the cookie gave the pie a chocolatey taste as well as a light crunch. The stuffing of the pie, which I believe is made up of cake batter, is spongy yet slightly crispy at the same time. To me, it feels like the fried Oreos inside the pie epitomised the beauty of frying since it creates layers of enjoyment just by having a bite of the pie." Zeru gave his review but Milk and Peppers were completely ignoring him and instead were just humming in the background while relishing every bite of the pie. "The box is really nice. Will the customers be able to reuse this box after they enjoy the dessert?" Instead of simply staying blissful with the current food, Jin wondered if the aesthetics of the packaging could be put to better use. The bellators and Yun ignored him as they continued to savour the sweetness of the cheesecake and the impactful flavour of the Fried Oreo Pie. Jin then realised that there was a layer of plastic which could be removed and that the box could be reused. Unfortunately, no one was listening to him and he decided to¡­slowly rejoin the conversation of food as Yun brought out another serving of both desserts for them to partake in. . . Chapter 150 Bargain Jin proceeded to the dungeon maker after he enjoyed his share of desserts while the rest of the group returned to their respective abodes for some rest. The first thing Jin checked was the number of tributes he had received from the Deep Ones and the number of Deep Ones that were captured collectively by the rest. "Hmmm¡­1204 fish." Jin stared at the Dungeon Maker screen for a moment as he sipped a cup of Black Ivory Coffee, which he brought into the instance. He inspected the list of fish that had been categorised by the System''s interface and noticed a lot of the aquatic life that had been sent as tribute was seafood that was known in his world too. "Tuna, Salmon, Crabs, Shrimps¡­ Wow, a one-metre long shrimp and a five-metre long prawn?" Jin was continuously amazed by the things he discovered from other parallel worlds. Could he be called a World Traveller now? "Not qualified to be a Parallel World Traveller. You are a Dungeon Supplier." The system replied via a screen. Jin forgot that he was still at the mercy of the System no matter how he tried to go against it. "In any case, I think I know what I will do for the Fishing Service Instance," Jin remembered how he had loved the idea of a sushi conveyor belt when he had seen that in a sushi restaurant as a kid. "System, will the fishes respawn after they are caught and eaten?" Jin was thinking of designing a live sushi store as the concept for the service instance. "Yes, you have captured them with your device. All fishes captured are spawned as time passes in the fishing service instance that you are creating." The system replied. "Excellent!" Jin checked the amount of dungeon dollars he had before he started creating the service instance. "Still in the low thousands¡­Hmm if I trade in half of the treasure artefacts, how much would I get?" "Please hold, calculating." Each and every ancient artefact given by the Deep ones was being scanned thoroughly by the system and the process took roughly five seconds for each artefact. The system interface even showed the artefact being analysed right on the spot in that period of time before switching to the next artefact. Jin barely had time to take a closer look at one properly before it was changed to the following artefact. "Total amount of the gold and ancient artefacts is roughly 50 thousand dungeon dollars. Sufficient for you to make 10 high quality service dungeon instances or three scenario themed dungeons. Alternatively, it is sufficient for you to make a high quality home for all your monsters including all the Deep Ones you have captured." The system analysed. "Roughly?" Jin thought to himself suspiciously. "This is not right. The system has always been be exact, why did it say roughly?" Hence, Jin decided to clarify. "Give me the exact amount of the whole transaction." "50,856 Dungeon Dollars." The system replied promptly. "Tell me the supposed price if I had sold it half an hour ago." Jin tried his idea and surprisingly, the system did give an answer. "50,922 Dungeon Dollars." The system gave its reply once more. "If that''s the case, I am willing to sell my artefacts if you trade it for 70 thousand dungeon dollars." "¡­" The system did not know how to respond since it seemed to be doing some internal calculation. "55,412 Dungeon Dollars. That''s most people''s limit." "Are you sure that''s all that you can do? I believe the markets you are selling at are probably in some open market. Have you tried the Black Markets? What I am asking is definitely less than what the Black Market''s market price. I mean, come on! These are treasures once hoarded by the Deep Ones. Surely they are worth something. I bet you are secretly earning a commission too right?" Jin tried to do what most Chinese did best. Obscene bargaining. "¡­ What you have said indeed holds value. Please hold." The system showed a ''Please Hold'' signage on its screen while it started to venture into the black markets, or at least that was what Jin had gathered. "93,521, Best Offer." The system replied with a smiley emoticon. "Come on, make it 100,000 and we have a deal. Tell them we might even give them priority if we find such artefacts again." Jin tried to push his luck. "¡­No Deal. Offer stays at 93,521 dungeon dollars." The system gave an angry face emoticon immediately but Jin was unrelenting. "Fine. No deal then, I am not selling it to them. Tell them they can continue to wait for the next seller to come and hope that they offer something even close in quality to these ancient artefacts. So best of luck to them." Jin gave his reply to the system, which continued to be the middleman. "Buyer said at most 95,000. That is the maximum he is offering." The system gave its reply, which brought a smile to Jin''s face. "Deal. Process the transaction." It had been a long time since he had done some haggling and he missed such days before the advent of digital payments became widespread. He did not expect that he could do this again but he was glad he could as it was fun doing so. "Transaction completed. 95,000 dungeon dollars have been deposited into your account. You have a total of 102,014 Dungeon Dollars. Please use it wisely." "With this, I could skip the trip to the Dungeon World and put off Dungeon Takeovers¡­but I still need to get my store sign up before people mistake my shop as Pandamonium." Jin spoke to himself as he grinned when he saw the money being transferred into his account. "Time to properly make the Fishing Instance and open it for my regular store customers." As Jin knew what he wanted, he managed to finish designing the Fishing Service Instance, or as he renamed it, the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance. When he was done, Jin noticed that he still had approximately two and a half earth hours before 8am so he decided to enter the Emerald Mountains Hot Springs again to cultivate until 8am Earth time. "More Cultivation, More strength, More enlightenment, More Money!" Jin began his cultivation once he informed Mr Patsu, the penguin representative of his time constraint. . . Chapter 151 Reservoir of Deep Fishing "Boss! How did you get here so early? Wait! Did you sleep in your store? I don''t think you''ve changed your clothes¡­" Xiong Da was already waiting outside of the store when Jin opened the side gate promptly at 8am. He even noticed Zhen Qing setting up the kitchen caravan as the door to the caravan was slightly ajar¡­and her motorcycle was nearby. "Ahaha¡­in a way. My house is nearby. I get changed after I show you something." Jin rubbed his head as he smiled like a fool at Xiong Da and it made him laugh too. He quietly sent a mind message transmission to Yun since she was the only one who could read his thoughts and Yun replied "Okay." "Boss, your dedication to me shall be remembered. At least, I, Wa Xiong Da, will never forget this kindness." Xiong Da bowed his head. "Don''t be, you are paying me too." Jin ushered Xiong Da into the shop and he could never get over the fact that Jin''s shop was always this clean no matter how crowded and messy it was the day before. "Do I have to pay for the new instance or something? I assumed that it''s a new instance since Yun said you prepared something big." Xiong Da prompted but Jin did not answer him. "Just follow me to the third floor," Jin instructed and Xiong Da readily complied. "Ahhh¡­ The third floor. No matter how many times I come to this floor, I always feel a tranquil peace settling in my heart." Xiong Da took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was then that he noticed something new. "Is that a panda¡­biting a fish while carrying a fishing net?" Xiong Da looked at the new statue addition and decided to scrutinise it a little. "The fishing net in carved jade¡­looks really delicate yet so impactful. I really commend on your art supplier''s workmanship. Can I touch it?" Xiong Da asked and Jin nodded his head. Xiong Da brushed his fingers through the new jade statue and felt the smoothness of the jade. He then playfully touched the panda''s fang that was plunged into the fish it was biting. "So what is this? Some Fishing instance?" "You are correct. This is a Fishing Service Instance. Come! Let''s go in together." Jin asked Xiong Da to enter first via his phone since he had already edited the permissions of the Service Instance for Xiong Da to enter whenever he wanted this week. Only when the Hungry Hippo had teleported safely did Jin follow him in. "Oh my gosh, this is splendid." Xiong Da was teleported to a place where he saw a brown bear sitting at the side of a voluminous lake that reflected the deep blue sky on its crystal water. There were willow trees surrounding the entire lake, which made the place feel even more serene than ever. The occasional bird chirping and the blowing of some gentle wind made the place felt unperturbed by the city life. "It''s mainly a saltwater lake, so you will be able to find different types of fishes and the amount of fish you can catch is in the thousands." Jin tried to promote it to Xiong Da but he felt a little sceptical. "Boss, so you want me to catch the fish? And then what? Eat it raw, just like that?" "My assistants and I will cut it up for you." The bear that was sitting at the side of the lake answered him as it yawned. "That brown bear, Mr Roro, is an Itamae or master sushi chef. Bring a fish to him and he will cut it up nicely for you right over there and the fish will still retain all of its spiritual force." Jin pointed at the far end of the lake slightly beyond the willow trees. Jin had planned it such that the noise from the sushi counter area would not affect the gathering of anglers. Meanwhile, the NPC Mr Roro was created with more than 10 thousand dungeon dollars. Sure, it cost a lot, but Jin bet on the possibility that this service instance would be a hit. He was willing to bet that it would attract the fishing enthusiasts from the city if he advertised it strategically and of course, the most important thing was not the fishing itself, but the sushi part. Since Jin was able to obtain such a large amount of high quality fish, he could try opening a side sushi store for this. Of course, The Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance was expensive to enter, hence Jin even prepared a submenu to show off its exclusivity as well as recoup the abyssal amount of dungeon dollars spent on it. The submenu contained the following ************ Catch and Eat! 1 Successful Try:100 Yuan 5 Successful Tries: 225 Yuan 10 Successful Tries: 425 Yuan Unlimited Tries for the entire day: 5000 Yuan ************ Jin did not explicitly state that it was just a sushi store since he knew that Mr Roro was capable of bringing out the full potential of every single catch. This was especially true if they asked Mr Roro for his expertise. Jin wanted to respect the customer''s choice but he was also sly enough to not let them know. Finding out the hidden secret of a store was one of the pleasures and regrets a customer could experience. "So Boss, all I need to do is just catch a fish and bring it to Mr Roro?" Xiong Da asked once more to confirm and Jin nodded his head. "The fishing rods are in that shack, you can choose one for yourself or we can help you choose one." Suddenly, a group of bear cubs appeared and pointed towards a wooden shack. Xiong Da followed a bear cub as it led the way while the rest were playfully wrestling with one another near the lake. "Those are Mr Roro''s helpers and apprentices." Jin tagged along with Xiong Da while he laughed at Jin''s choice of NPCs. "Boss Jin, always a bear lover." Xiong Da entered the wooden shack, only to see that the interior was like an extensive fishing store that was being manned by another bear cub. "Are you a beginner in fishing? If yes, I would recommend this particular fishing rod. This rod is easy to use and will not break easily! However, you can only catch basic fish with this rod, though there is still a chance you will able to catch a rare one!" The bear cub listed the pros and cons of the beginner rod, which looked like a simple wooden rod with a string attached to it. "I will take that, I have no experience when it comes to fishing." The bear cub acknowledged Xiong Da''s request and gave him the fishing rod along with a few basic fishing tackles. "Use your chi wisely once you throw the fishing bait into the lake. It will attract the fishes'' attention. Have fun fishing!" Xiong Da went to the edge of the lake and another bear cub helped and taught Xiong Da on how to fish, which brought comfort and ease to Xiong Da, who had never fished before. Meanwhile, Jin was analysing if the bear cubs were responding properly as NPCs and semi instructors for the fishing part. He tweaked its cuteness to attract females but at the same time not so much that it became awkward for the males. "Well, here goes nothing! Xiong Da performed his first attempt as he swung the wooden rod into the lake and waited for a while. He sat down with Jin and started to engage in small talk before he felt a slight tug on the wooden rod and decided to pull gently as instructed by the little bear cub. "Pull now!" the bear cub yelled and Xiong Da was excited. The pull was a little heavy so he tried his best to be careful. Fortunately, he did not encounter much resistance and when he pulled his fishing rod out¡­.he realised why. "It''s a boot. You want me to eat a boot?" Xiong Da stared at Jin as he chuckled. "Could be quite nutritious indeed. Hahahaha, but the probability of that happening is actually quite low. You are really lucky!" Jin patted Xiong Da''s back as he encouraged him to try once more. . . Chapter 152 Caught! While Xiong Da was waiting for his rod to move, he placed his fishing rod on a rest stand and he began to exercise, starting with a series of air squats. "Is that the exercise routine that Zeru asked you to do?" Jin asked with some curiosity. "Yeah, he said that I should train to have a solid lower body strength foundation since I have been sitting a lot due to all the paperwork I need to do. In addition, it would help me gain proficiency in balancing my large body while also increasing my core strength. That way, I can manoeuver effortlessly whenever I have the opportunity to counter attack." "Did he teach you any new techniques or anything?" Jin continued to question Xiong Da since he had not seen Xiong Da in action whilst training since he had to attend to his shop. "Not really, but I did show him my techniques and he told me how to improve them. In fact, the advice he gave me was better than Sister Milk''s but please don''t tell her that! I am afraid she might get angry!" Xiong Da whispered to Jin but little did he know that Milk could hear everything Jin could hear. "That ingrateful FATTY HIPPO! ???? " Milk sent an emoji sticker through Jin''s phone, which he quietly dismissed. At this moment, Xiong Da'' fishing rod started to shake again and in a flash, Xiong Da moved quickly from his squatting position to grab hold of the fishing rod. That transition caused Jin to be taken aback. "You are able to move that fast?" "It''s part of my Hungry Hippo movement technique. Surprised?" Xiong Da smirked at Jin''s comment as he continued to struggle to hold onto the fishing rod. As compared to the previous attempt, He felt a real pulling sensation from the rod as he tried to reel it in. "Do not rely on brute force! The line can break! Use your chi force to strengthen your fishing rod if need be!" The bear cub, which was lazing around while waiting for a catch to happen, suddenly perked up and told Xiong Da what to do while it was jumping around on all fours. "Xiong Da! Calm down! Look where the line is going, you have to position yourself and the rod!" Jin had learnt a little about fishing when he was with one of his Grandpa''s friends. He had somehow forgotten his name but he took care of him when his grandfather had some urgent things to attend to. Xiong Da took a deep breath and reeled in the fishing rod slowly while feeding a stable amount of chi into his fishing rod so that his line would not break easily. As the water was calm enough, he was able to see the vague movements of a fish''s silhouette and followed it closely. He knew that if he screwed up either the chi output or reeling in the fish, he would have to redo everything, so he was taking it slow with the guidance of the bear cub. It felt like a tug of war, which was not what Xiong Da imagined fishing to be. He did not know that fishing was that tough¡­ yet exhilarating. Suddenly, a bright ruby red coloured fin appeared from out of the crystal blue waters. "Oh, that could be a good catch!" Jin placed his hands over his eyebrows to block the sun for a better view in case the fish appeared again. "Come on, Xiong Da just a little bit more! When I say pull, use all your might to pull!" The bear cub was also intensely staring at the line and the fish. It was definitely getting closer and the adrenaline rushing through Xiong Da was too damn high. "NOW! PULL!" the bear cub yelled, which startled the other bear cubs and Mr Roro for a moment. "HIPPO STYLE, GRAND SLAM FISSURE!" Xiong Da turned his body as he pushed his rod over his shoulders as if he was performing a magnificent judo throw. The fish that had been struggling finally gave in as it was being pulled out of the water and into the skies. All three saw how the fish''s ruby scales sparkled in the air before it landed on the ground, still jumping and splashing around while gasping for air. "Holy shit, that''s the goddarn most beautiful salmon I have ever seen!" Xiong Da rubbed his sweat away from his forehead as a group of bear cubs pulled a metal tub towards Xiong Da. It was large enough to place the 19 meters long salmon in, whose scales beautifully sparkled in various shades of red under the sunlight. "Do you want a photo with your first catch?" a bear cub was biting onto an analogue camera while the other was carrying a tripod stand. "Eh sure, how do I woah~!" Xiong Da saw that the salmon was still struggling even after it had been pulled out of the water and he tried to hold it as tight as possible, which was quite a difficult task since the scales were quite slippery. Meanwhile, the bear cubs were already setting up the analogue camera along with the tripod stand and in the end, one of the cubs was holding onto the camera trigger wired to the analogue camera, ready to take the picture. "Are you ready?" Before Xiong Da could even say yes, the salmon near wiggled its way out of his hold and into the metal tub. Out from the frying pan and into the fire. "Chef Roro!! He caught a salmon!" the bear cubs shouted as they came together to push the metal tub on wheels towards the sushi counter. Fortunately, the Cubs had managed to take a pic, which Jin later gave Xiong Da along with a large pat on the back, congratulating Xiong Da on a job well done. "Go enjoy your fish before you fight for another!" "Hmmph decent catch. How do you want to eat it?" Chef Roro, who looked lazy initially, was now extremely serious, with his arms folded while standing on his hind legs. Xiong Da also did not realise that Chef Roro had a scar on his face until he looked closely. Remembering how Jin said that this was the plan to eat good food to gain as much spiritual force as possible, Xiong Da decided to stretch a little before he gave his orders to the sushi chef. "Master Chef Roro! Salmon Nigiri, Aburi Salmon Nigiri and Salmon Belly Nigiri for starters!" It was time to feast¡­ big time. . . Chapter 153 Salmon Nigiri "Hmmm, give it to me fast too, I cannot stand the thought of eating without actually eating!" Xiong Da imagined the fantastic flavours that this wonderfully enormous fish would produce. Even by just holding it previously, he had felt a robust spiritual force coursing through the salmon. "I am sorry, but I am only able to comply to one order." Chef Roro bowed his head and Jin noted that it was working properly. "Chef, overwrite the command solely for this man, Wa Xiong Da. The command overwrite is valid for 5 days." Jin spoke to the Chef as if he was rewriting his commands just for Xiong Da. "Understood Boss Jin." Chef Roro nodded his head and placed the salmon on the sushi counter and knocked the fish unconscious with the back of his knife. First, he washed the salmon with a hose and then cut the underbelly of the salmon to remove the guts and other soft organs from the body. For a bear, Chef Roro showed that his knife wielding skills were superb and the finesse he portrayed was top notch. Soon after, he cut the flap near the fish''s head just behind the upper pectoral fin and bent the head back before detaching the body. Chef Roro later gave the fish head to one of the bear cubs "Roast it over a wood fire." The bear cub acknowledged the Chef''s orders as it took the fish head to the oven that was close to the sushi counter. Chef Roro later adjusted the salmon before he took his knife and sliced along the spinal column of the salmon as gentle as possible. He later picked up the salmon fillet and placed it into another metal tray before proceeding forth. "That salmon fillet¡­is flawless. There are no hack marks left by the knife at all!" Xiong Da exclaimed and Jin remembered that Xiong Da was a food gourmet on top of his normal work. Jin could clearly see he did not make a mistake making Xiong Da the first person to try out NPC Chef Roro''s cooking. Not only would it fulfil Xiong Da''s training plans, he also had a food gourmet critic as a reviewer and tester, which Jin would probably have needed to pay money for if it had been someone else with such high qualifications. Of course, Jin tried to find the credentials of Xiong Da, which was not easy even for a computer whiz like him, until Yun utilised the system to find out that Xiong Da was going via an alias as a food gourmet and his ratings were off the chart. Some even rumoured that he had the god''s tongue when it came to criticising food, although Jin was pretty sure that it was just his cultivation. While looking through Xiong Da''s reviews and articles, he did not find any regarding the food in his dungeon supplier store. That could only mean two things¡­okay, perhaps three. It was may have been that his food was not good enough to be in Xiong Da''s food review list or since his store was technically not a food store at all, he did not review it. Lastly, Jin thought that perhaps Xiong Da was keeping this store to himself and did not wish to reveal it to other people. Chef Roro was now cutting the other part of the salmon by segmenting the dorsal fin away. This time around, he was more careful with the cut since this particular part of the salmon contained the salmon belly too, which was where most of the spirit force was. Without moving the fish too much, he neatly incised the other salmon fillet. It was another clean cut and Chef Roro flipped it once more to cleanly cut the belly flab that was attached to the core of the fish. "The knife went through with such long and shallow strokes. This is indeed a master at work. Boss Jin, your bear here is in almost as good as those hidden sushi chefs terms of knife skills. Simple, clean, effective. I mean, come on! This is a 19 metre long salmon! Just by sitting here looking at him cutting it so easily makes me wonder how much practice this chef must have had! Definitely better than those Michelin star chefs by miles, who keep doing those weird stunts just to entertain their customers." Xiong Da analysed, which made Jin feel like his response had some hatred towards famous chefs. While Chef Roro might have had more fish yield by scraping the rest of fish that was left, he decided to pass it to the bear cubs as fresh food for their hard work. With the salmon fillet he just sliced, there was still the ribcage attached, so Chef Roro continued to perform his knife skills with surgical precision to remove the ribcage away from the fillet. He tilted his knife towards the bone of the ribcage to prevent any damage done to the salmon meat. Chef Roro later made a slight slit near the tail of the fillet and began to remove the scales from the salmon fillet by running the knife between scales and the fillet. Lastly, he called his bear cub apprentices to come in and remove the pin bones of the fish while he proceeded to cut the next salmon fillet. "Even by just seeing the Chef doing technical work, I am starting to get hungry just by sensing the spiritual force emitting out of the salmon meat. Please, Chef! Do not torture me any longer." "Fishing requires patience and so does good food." Chef Roro replied and Xiong Da could not deny his wisdom. With a grunt from Chef Roro, the bear cubs apprentices who had been idle immediately moved forward to pass him the rice tub along with a plate. It seemed that Chef Roro''s simple noises were sufficient instructions and signals that clarified what needed to be done. The rice tub was filled with vinegar sushi rice, which was prepared beforehand by the apprentices. Chef Roro went towards the fish fillet that was already free from bones and beautifully cut a large piece of the fillet and slowly prepared a plate of sushi for Xiong Da. Meanwhile, Xiong Da helped himself by the pouring the soy sauce and the wasabi. He knew not to mix them together since it was a disrespect to the master for stating that his fish quality was insufficient to eat with just the sauce. Within moments, the chef first brought out the salmon nigiri sushi for Xiong Da to taste. "Enjoy." Chef Roro said as Xiong Da cleaned his hands with a sanitised wet towel and prepared to enjoy it. The salmon nigiri consisted of a ball of vinegared sushi rice smeared with wasabi sauce and was topped with the salmon slice on top of it. The salmon was bright orange in colour, a contrast to its scales and the juice of the meat could be seen protruding out of the meat. Xiong Da could not help but take his handphone out. "Camera eats first, then me." Xiong Da held his phone with his left hand as he skillfully took a few pictures before using his right hand to taste the mouth watering sushi. He dipped the salmon nigiri, the meat itself, into the soy sauce and shook it a little before putting the entire thing into his mouth. The moment it made contact with Xiong Da''s sensitive tongue that had been perfected by the hungry hippo style, Xiong Da could not close his mouth. The taste of the sushi was impeccably desirable. When he started to chew, he could not help but feel his whole body ascend into a different state of being. The state of Grade 3. . . Chapter 154 Happy Xiong Da "Boss! BOSS! BOSSSSSSS!!!!!" Xiong Da could not help but hug Jin tightly. Even though he was just a Grade 3 cultivator, Jin could feel that his grip could rival a Grade 4 cultivator. "I know Zeru said he needed a lot of spiritual force to gain strength, but this is really a bit -OoF!" Jin thought to himself before he felt that the squeeze was too straining. "Okay okay! Xiong Da, you can let go of me now!" Jin tried to push Xiong Da away but he noticed Xiong Da was crying. "What are you crying for? The food is too good? You getting your grade 3?" Jin struggled more against Xiong Da''s grip. "BOTHHHHHH!!! Thank you Bossss!!" Xiong Da loosened his grip before he composed himself. "As much as I would like to comment on the taste, it''s simply cannot be described with words right now. Also, the Salmon Sushi Nigiri has so much spiritual force that I could foresee the inevitability of it being very popular too." Xiong Da commented. "That is because as I was cutting, I slowly concentrated the spiritual force of the entire salmon fish all into one portion of its meat. This way though, you would not be getting much spiritual force from the other portions." Chef Roro explained why he would only do one particular dish for a fish caught. "However, Boss Jin said to allow you to sample every part of the fish. I guess he wanted to maximise the whole fish''s spiritual force." "So there you go Xiong Da. Continue to catch fishes while doing your exercises and eat them to gain spiritual force. This is the plan for the next few days before your decisive duel. Till then, I will be minding my own business as usual." Jin told Xiong Da as he stole a piece of the sushi from him. "Don''t mind me," Jin said and Xiong Da just laughed it off as he enjoyed the remaining pieces while Chef Roro continued to prepare the remaining dishes for Xiong Da. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "So, have you decided on the cultivation that you want?" Jin asked Zhen Qing when he entered the Kitchen Instance from his Panda Port after leaving the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance. He even purposely brought some Black Ivory Coffee for Zhen Qing to drink along with a well decorated box of cheesecake. "Not really, since most of the cultivation was fighting based, very violent and don''t suit me. Although one caught my eye. The cultivation of the Penguin Styles" Zhen Qing said and Jin could not help but snigger. "That much of a coincidence?" Jin thought to himself before he took his phone out and checked out the penguin styles. He knew for sure that Zhen Qing had never tried nor was very interested in the shops'' dungeon instances. She was just too focused on her cooking. "Why the penguins?" Jin once again tried to strike a conversation with Zhen Qing as she was preparing the black pepper pork buns while he read up on the different penguin styles. "Mainly because of their adaptability. They might seem clunky on land, but when they are in the water, they are like a fish¡­ in water¡­ I think it applies to me too as truth be told, I am¡­slightly awkward if I am not in the kitchen." Zhen Qing was more talkative than usual and what she said had already proved that fact. "However, I still feel like they are still lacking something. It''s not my number one choice, but in my opinion, the penguin styles suit me better than the rest." Zhen Qing smiled as she finally finished the fifth batch of buns that were to be sold later. "I see, let me take a look at the styles in detail and ask around to see if there are any good cultivation manuals around. In the meantime, my store is going to sell this dessert soon. Take a break and give me your opinion about it." Jin showed the box to her and she agreed to take a short break. Besides, she needed the spiritual force energy from the Black Ivory Coffee. "What is it? The box is really pretty though, sturdy enough to hold the contents properly if the interior is just as good." Zhen Qing took a thorough look at the box and gleed at the red panda. "It''s a cheesecake. Let me open it for you." Jin gently removed the cake box lid and the steam from the evaporating dry ice flowed out of the box. "Ooh, great contraption to keep the cheesecake cool." Zhen Qing now further investigated the interior of the box and saw that the cake was covered by another layer of some sort of insulating plastic that prevented the dry ice from contaminating the cheesecake. The plastic layer was easily removed and Zhen Qing took the cake out. "Having no design on the cheesecake is sometimes the best design." Zhen Qing commented as she saw how simple yet alluring the yellow dessert was. With a spoon she took from the kitchen instance, she cut the tip of the cheesecake and scooped it up to eat. "Hmm. It''s delicious." Zhen Qing did not show any other expression when she was eating. She was really analysing not just the taste, but also its shape, smell, texture and even the box design. "But it''s cold." "Ehh of course, it''s cold. The dry ice made it cool. Is that a bad thing?" Jin queried as he was getting a little worried. He knew it was delicious but he did not expect such a ''cold'' response from Zhen Qing. "No, not that kind of cold. It feels void of emotions. The cheesecake didn''t induce any feelings in me when I ate it. It is quite rare for me to feel that way. I get that the coffee had a feeling of voidness since it was generated by a coffee machine but to feel the same way from the cheesecake¡­Is it from the same food supplier that you contracted?" Zhen Qing asked a straightforward question. "Ehh¡­yes, it is. Do I need to complain to them or anything?" Jin was a little startled by Zhen Qing''s response but she shook her head. "No, this cake is fabulous and to the common folk, the food will be a hit. Maybe to the food gourmets too. However, it felt too calculated for me. Sure, having the right amount and maybe the exact amount would produce explicitly wonderful tastes but I feel like this is not how food should be made." She walked towards the kitchen''s oven and took out a trial bun that she always made to test the new batch of ingredients. "Here, try this." Zhen Qing gave the Black Pepper Pork Bun to Jin for tasting. "But I ate it a few days ago, I know what it tastes like," Jin replied to Zhen Qing, which made her sigh before she shoved her bun into his mouth. It was at that moment that he finally understood what she meant. . . Chapter 155 Your Cooking "This is my latest improvement on the black pepper pork bun. There are only some slight variations in the ingredients I put in bu-" "It tastes so much better than the original one!" Jin kept biting and chewing the bun that Zhen Qing had forced into him. Somehow, not only his stomach felt satisfied, but also his heart. He had never felt this way while eating the system''s food. "See what I mean? Zhen Qing curled her long hair behind her ears, which revealed the side of her face, which caused Jin just stare like an idiot for a moment. As she took another scoop out of the slice of cheesecake, the expression on her face lightened up a little and Jin realised why people said their hearts melt for the ones they loved. He did not believe he could feel it again. "I think I can replicate this if you want." Zhen Qing offered but Jin shook his head immediately. "No, don''t. I''d like to suggest something else instead. Create a main dish. Something filling for the masses. Easy to eat and filled with ''warmth'' just like this bun that you have created." Jin told Zhen Qing and her eyes widened up. "A main dish? That will be slightly difficult if I still have to continue preparing the black pepper buns." Zhen Qing was immediately thinking about what would be a good meal to serve right here while accommodating her current workload. "I will suggest limiting the number of buns that you sell. Then use the rest of the time to research or create the main dish you want. If you need to take time off selling those buns, do so. My main objective here is to create a conducive and pleasing environment for cultivators to dungeon, eat and have fun." Jin said as he licked his fingers after finishing the bun. "So my food here is technically unnecessary?" Zhen Qing blurted the truth out so bluntly that it stunned Jin for a while. "Zhen Qing used the truth! It was very effective!" Yun laughed to herself as she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation through Jin. "Ehh¡­no, that''s not what I meant," Jin replied with a little hesitation, which made Zhen Qing realise that she had gone too far with her words. "Erm, sorry Boss." Zhen Qing had nearly forgotten the help that Jin had given her, not to mention that the amount of profit she had been making these past few days was three times more than she had ever earned in a full week on the streets. "No, don''t. You are right. The food that the supplier provides can feed all the customers and they might even create more varieties for me in the future." Jin told her truthfully, which made Zhen Qing anguish that she had spoken so bluntly. Was Jin going to fire her so quickly? She remembered how she was so headstrong in her opinion when she was the head chef and now it seemed that her behaviour from had not changed at all, even after all she had been through. She was quite cold to Jin and was too focused on her work. Even when Jin wanted to help her out, she chased him away while enforcing her own principles when this was not even her store, to begin with. "Oh well, I guess it was fun¡­while it lasted." Zhen Qing thought to herself as she braced herself for the next few words from Jin. "But I like¡­your cooking." Jin bit his lips as he said that out. However, to Zhen Qing, a sudden palpitation coursed through her heart for some reason and she really felt relieved upon hearing that. Unfortunately, Jin had not finished talking. "So, I want you to stay and make that main dish that will rival or maybe even surpass what my secret food supplier creates. If you keep this up, perhaps I can renege the contract I have with them and you would be able to find a little spare change in your wallet. " Jin hoped that the allure of money would have some effect on her but he did not know her enough to make a prediction. Zhen Qing was already delighted to be able to stay in one place and have someone trust her despite her headstrong attitude. She quietly nodded her head and finished the cheesecake and coffee. "Thank you, Jin for the tea break. I will clean it up." "Erm, not sure about this, but if you want the box, you could just remove the contents and keep the box. If not, just throw it into the recycle bin." Jin told her before he waved her goodbye and left the kitchen instance. For Zhen Qing, she did what Jin had told her as she stared at the box for a moment. "If only I could be as carefree as this little Red Panda right here." she flicked her finger at the red panda on the box before she put it away nicely and continued with her work. "Good attempt right there." Yun was already sitting at the bar counter, drinking her routine coffee and she passed him a few sets of new clothes. "Nah, was not trying to-" Jin tried to make another excuse as he changed right in front of Yun. He was not embarrassed at all since Yun had already infiltrated his thoughts. What sort of other privacy could he possibly have? Even Yun did not mind a single bit. "Uh uh uh, it was obvious to the third party right here, you are still trying. Do not give up though." Yun wagged her fingers, which caused Jin sighed more. "Let''s change the topic, shall we? Since I have enough dungeon dollars, I''d now like to create the monsters'' home." Jin explained to Yun as he looked at his watch. Despite all the fishing and the tea break, the time dilation in both instances made real time pass even slower. Only thirty minutes of earth time had passed and Jin roughly had four, at most five hours, before he needed to open the shop. "You are not going to create a dungeon with the Deep Ones?" Yun asked. Usually, Jin would have gone straight to the Dungeon Maker to create a dungeon. "I want that permadeath dungeon in the Dungeon World to be destroyed as soon as possible. Its very existence continues to make me regret why I had ever even chose to lift up my weapons with the intentions to kill. Hell, I should not have even had that kind of thoughts." Jin squeezed his fists with anger as he remembered how foolish he was. "To be frank, it''s not entirely your fault. The system might have secretly influenced your actions since you were in the Dungeon Maker, the heart of the system. I did not have a say in the matter because I had to support the system''s choice since I am part of it. However, that did not stop me from influencing others to help you just like how the system unconsciously influenced you." Yun told him some truth behind that dark day as Jin was about to enter the Dungeon Maker. "¡­I see." Jin held his phone even tighter. Jin did not know that Yun was actually constantly fighting a battle against the system behind his back and he thought that it had partly been her intention to make him bent on killing all along. Meanwhile, Yun knew that it was a little lie she had to create to make him go forward. The system had created that permadeath dungeon but she didn''t actually have to reveal it to him at all. However, she decided that if he could really outgrow his lazy self upon learning the truth, it would be worth a shot, no matter how cruel the method was. Eventually, Jin learnt that the system was not to be blamed too. The system needed resources and the resources were there for it to consume. Jin was just regretful that he had been influenced by the system itself. "Continue to get a higher cultivation and perhaps with enlightenment, you will not commit such stupid mistakes ever again." Yun actually went behind Jin and gave him a gentle hug as he was contemplating. Jin was a little astonished but at the same time, he felt comfort. The comfort of his mother''s embrace. . . Chapter 156 Sanctum of Worlds When Jin entered the Dungeon Maker, he already had plans in his mind on how he wanted to build his Monsters'' Home. To create it in a similar style to an apartment complex or a high class condominium. The similarities between a normal condominium and the one he was going to create ended there though. Sure, he could do worse, like imprisoning them and using them when needed, making them deprived of hope and they could not do anything since the command of absolute loyalty would force them to obey Jin no matter what. However, Jin did not wish to be that kind of person. He remembered the friend of Ming''s who he took him out to fish once told him something. "Life is an echo. What you send out will eventually come back to you. So treat others how you want to be treated and that way respect will be earned." While Jin tried to ask the monsters, except for the Deep ones since he just caught them, for their ideal home, many were quick to respond that they would live in whatever abode their Master would give them. Only Ke Mi and the goblins, who had forged a closer bond with Jin, told him their preferences, though they were more requests rather than preferences. For example, the goblins wanted a room to themselves rather than sleeping openly with each other while Ke Mi wanted to be with Great White Snake and Shu. Jin was no architect but he had played enough simulation building games like The Zims to plan out a house design. Not to mention that he also studied the basics of architecture as part of his university modules. Hence, with the limited knowledge he had, he tried to recreate the rooms he envisioned with the experience he had from creating dungeons. With much work put into the ''Sanctum of Worlds'', which is what he had dubbed the massive apartment complex since all the occupants came from different worlds, Jin was finally done after countless hours in the Dungeon Maker. He looked at his storage watch and saw that there was still some Earth time left before he had to open his shop so he hurriedly entered the Sanctum of Worlds to view the building. When Jin entered the instance, it looked like a simple apartment complex with a couple of trees on either side of the road. It was unfortunate that the building had such a mouthful of a name but it looked plain on the outside. He did not bother to beautify it since it''s the inside that mattered more than the outside. Besides, it cost him dungeon dollars just to upgrade the look of the apartment. Oh, those trees and the road? They were complimentary courtesy of the system after the exorbitant amount of money he spent making this that he could have spent on making more dungeons. As he entered the apartment building, there was a lift that could bring him up all the way to the 20th floor. However, most of the apartments were left empty for future occupants and currently only the first floor was occupied. The first apartment he visited was the goblins. Hence, after Jin unlocked the door to their apartment, he called out the goblins and Mr Oink from his phone. The goblins had their jaws open wide the moment they came out of Jin''s phone. The ''room'' was actually an instance in a bigger instance. Within the goblin''s home instance, the goblins were situated in a forest-like area with three wooden huts in a wide clearing. The small village even had a goblin totem that Jin had randomly made based on the inspirations he had from his earth''s history and fantasy tales. Since the goblins he caught were similar to them, he figured he would give it a try. The village had a meat rack, a small training ground for the goblins to practice and even a campfire for the goblins to come together for meals. Meanwhile, Mr Oink was rummaging happily through the forest and soon found the cave near the village that Jin had made for Mr Oink to sleep in. The goblins thanked Jin for providing them with a new home that was far superior to the small broken down shack they used to occupy. Next, Jin did the same thing as he entered the Zither Mistress'' apartment. For her, it was slightly different. Perhaps biasness played a role in the amount he had splurged on this instance, which could be seen from Ke Mi''s face as she was flabbergasted by the scale of her home instance. It was actually modelled to look like an old Chinese courtyard house, also known as a Si He Yuan. While this kind of house was meant for extended families, right now, it belonged solely to Ke Mi, the Great White Snake, Shu, and his praying mantis. However, the emphasis was given to the courtyard more than the rooms since Jin knew that the tree, reptile, and insect would appreciate it more and most likely spend more time there. Even Ke Mi, who was used to the emptiness, was unsettled by such a grand gift by Jin. The courtyard provided space for Shu while the Great White Snake preferred to sleep on the roof of the courtyard house. Meanwhile, the praying mantis stayed by Shu''s side while Ke Mi slept in the house. For the first time, she felt like she was a noble. Although a big house usually meant that there was a lot of cleaning to be done, since this was an instance monitored by the system, she did not have to worry about anything like that. Jin had a feeling that Ke Mi would not be used to sleeping in such a big house so he purposely created a bed right beside Shu. And true enough, Ke Mi liked that more than the one in the house. For Jin, the zombie place was one of the cheapest as the one he put the least amount of effort into. The funny part was that when Jin tried to summon them, the whole lot of them just rushed out of the phone like some black sludge being forced out of a pipe. Jin had used a pre-made instance that the dungeon maker had as part of its repertoire. It was a derelict theme park where the rides still worked occasionally. Since some of the zombies were ''intelligent'' enough to get on the rides, once there was a sufficient amount of zombies on board the ride, the instance would automatically activate the rides for the zombies to have some fun. Jin made quick work of his visit to the zombie''s home instance and went to the Jacks'' home instance straight after. This was the one he was really interested in, mainly because of one thing. The werejackals and werecats loved their farming and he had a farming errand on his to-do list for a very long time. He had created a mansion for the large group of werejackals and werecats to live in. Just outside of their mansion, there were acres of land just waiting to be ploughed. With sufficient dungeon dollars, Jin also bought Nyanmi from the Dungeon Maker since she was on rental for the Bank Heist Instance, and this allowed her to permanently live with Meomi as well as the rest of the gang. That way, Meomi would at least have a female friend if the Jacks proved to be an annoyance. To Jin''s surprise, Meomi actually regarded Nyanmi more as a sister rather than a friend. "Gold, I have something to ask you," Jin asked Gold, the leaders of the Jacks, to step aside for a while after a tour of the place. "Master, what can I do for you? After seeing the home that you have given us, we are willing to do anything for you." Gold beat his chest as a sign of respect to Jin. "I would like to know if you can plant these seeds as well as helping me identify what these seeds actually yield? Why did Zeru take these away from you guys?" Jin took out the seeds that Zeru had stolen from the Jacks in the farming world. It felt like an eternity had passed since that training incident. Gold looked at the crystal seeds and laughed. "Boss, these crystal seeds¡­" His expression turned serious as he looked at Jin. "¡­are actually eggs of a monster in the Farming World." . . Chapter 157 Crystal Seeds "Eggs of a monster?! Then why did Zeru ask me to plant them?" Jin was taken aback for a moment before Gold sniggered. "That is because that is how they grow. Many do not know the proper method of harvesting and raising these pretties." "Actually, come to think of it, I still don''t really know the whole story of why you guys attacked me," Jin asked Gold as he called the rest of the Jacks to gather once more. "I can do the first part of the explanation." Zeru appeared from mid air and he immediately sat on the comfortable sofa in the front room of the mansion. To compensate for the fact that the mansion lacked the personal items to let it be called a home, it had space. Space for 20 to 30 odd werejackals to stay in. Some might say that it was merely a glorified hostel but it was the best Jin could do with limited amount of dungeon dollars allocated for the whole ''Sanctum of Worlds''. "I initially asked Yun what kind of monsters Jin would like to have as part of his training. Instead of giving me a proper answer, she took a hat out and asked me to pick a random one. At first, I thought she was kidding, but she insisted that she had always wanted to try that out. So out of all the lots, I picked the Farming World and the eggs of this monster, which I believe Gold or the other werejackals would be able to explain better." Zeru gave a summary while the rest of the Jacks'' higher ups like Brown, Grey, and Yellow sat beside him comfortably. "The monster that those eggs hatch into are the ones you are currently wearing." Gold pointed at his storage watch and nodded his head as Jin looked at Gold with disbelief. "Yes, Living Armour. What you are wearing is just a fragment of it, a small sample of these monsters. If I am not mistaken, those bands were scraped off from a dying living armour, sufficient to retain its sentience and some of its abilities." "Meanwhile, these little crystals seeds here are different. They can outgrow what you are wearing and create a living suit for you to wear in dangerous battles. That is why the Jacks were chasing these eggs down like crazy. As luck would have it, we managed to obtain this batch of eggs through a series of fortunate events. But I guess our luck ran out when we saw Zeru crashing into our caves." Gold said as Zeru chuckled. "You mean there are monsters in the Farming World?" Jin thought the Farming World was just a place for people to farm. "As you''ve said, it''s the Farming World. Some people farm monsters for nefarious deeds, for taming purposes, or even just for farming purposes. These Living Armour eggs came about when one of our ''clients'' thought that he could repay his debt since he had ''accidentally'' found a series of quartz crystals despite it being the size of a seed. He did not know they were the eggs of the Living armour." Grey spoke and Yellow giggled. "Later, we realised he was actually lying. He utilised a half broken living armour as the bed of his farming since he found out it was capable of growing these so-called quartz crystals. What he did not know was that these ''crystal seeds'' die off if they are not kept properly. So people started to hound him." Yellow spoke further. "Grey realised that these seeds were not ordinary. So he used a satchel bag of time stop to collect the remaining seeds. Oh if you are wondering, these satchel bags are quite common in our world since the preservation of our harvest is important. " Brown took his turn to talk. "While we beat the shit of our client." Yellow laughed loudly and the rest of the werejackals in the front room joined in. "Do you have any idea how to grow it then?" Jin asked as they returned the bag full of crystal seeds¡­or eggs to let Jin have a closer look at them once again. "We initially found a manuscript on how to grow them, but since there are many people and monsters around us now, I think it would be better if we borrowed their expertise." Gold said honestly to Jin. "You mean Shu?" Jin figured that they were talking about the ancient treant since he had the powers to govern the earth and soil around him. "Not just that old cranky tree, but the little girl that was always with him too." Gold said as he took a piece of paper out and wrote something. After which, he asked Jin to follow him out of the mansion. "Why would you need her for?" Jin then took his phone out to summon Shu and Ke Mi outside the mansion. "You know how music helps with plant growth due to their vibrations that stimulate the growth? The concept is similar but Ke Mi''s music has chi in it too. So while Shu helps with the fertilisation part, Ke Mi''s music will nourish the crystal seeds." Gold explained to Jin and later reiterated the whole situation to Ke Mi and Shu. "We can do that," Shu said as Ke Mi nodded her head willfully. She seemed excited to be able to help out in something. "However, Boss. I need you to find these things in the Farming World when you have time. It would greatly enhance your living armour''s capabilities. It is not urgent though, as the Living Armour Seeds takes time to grow." Gold took the paper he just scribbled on and passed it to Jin. "A Horn of the Burning Lion Demon? A tail of the Water Snake Demon? Hoofs of a Lightning Goat Demon? What are all these for? Parts of a Chimera? Besides, how do you know about all this?" Jin couldn''t fathom the kind of monster parts he needed. "He might not look like it but Gold is actually a Scholar¡­ before he turned to the client protection business. Also, if that''s the case, I suggest adding the Gem Eyes of the Transforming Spider." Grey took the chance to add his piece. "Any story behind that?" Jin asked but Gold smirked. "Enough stories for today, Master. By the way, good suggestion Grey. That one might be the easiest solution to donning his armour quickly." Gold patted Grey on the back and turned back to look at Jin with seriousness in his eyes once again. "Do not underestimate these demons, more so the transforming spider. I have not seen the full extent of your new level of strength, or cultivation grade, as your world puts it. But from what I have deduced, you might be able to pull it off if Sir Zeru is with you. However, I suggest you try encountering them first to see if you can find their weaknesses." Gold warned Jin. "For these battles, Jin, I will not be helping you out. Consider this as the next part of your training mission; a continuation of where we had left off from the crystal seeds." Once Zeru spoke, Jin''s phone vibrated and he noticed a series of missions appeared in it. They were exactly the four monster missions he had to fight and complete. "Do not worry though, I will not let you go in unprepared. When you are ready, either night or day, proceed to Panda Muscles and we will spar." Zeru said. "At least, there is now a proper goal for my training." Jin left the Jacks'' Home Instance and moved on to the final two home instances. The Star Crossed Lovers and the Deep Ones. . . Chapter 158 A Magpies Wish "Master!" Niu Lang and Zhi Nu kneeled down and greeted Jin, which shocked him for a moment. "Alright, you two. Do not disturb the Master, go and enjoy your new house." Que Er, the Queen of Magpies, was standing beside Jin with an elegant smoke pipe in her mouth. Staying true to the lore, Jin had custom-built a house that had a bridge behind it and right behind the house? A setting Moon instead of a Sun as the backdrop of their home instance. Apparently, Jin only had access to Niu Lang, Zhi Nu and the Queen of Magpies, Que Er. The rest of the bosses and minions were not unlocked for him by the System. Perhaps the system thought that it would be too generous to give him the entire cast of the Qixi Festival dungeon instance. Or maybe, it felt that Jin was not ready to receive the entire cast since his cultivation was still considerably low. Whatever the reason was, Jin did not care much and created a house to let these two star crossed lovers have a proper home. "But they sure were happy to see each other even though they are still together," Jin commented vaguely but the Queen of Magpies interjected with her own remarks. "It''s because before you brought them together, they were only allowed to see each other once a year¡­for centuries." "Isn''t Niu Lang a mortal? How did he¡­" Que Er knew that question was coming so she interrupted Jin. "He realised he was only part mortal after the whole incident. Remember Taurus, the ox that he took care of? That old cow stayed with the cowherd boy for far too long and gave him his everything. Leather hide, tail hair, horn, and meat." "Niu Lang ate the meat of the celestial ox, making him partially immortal. People did not know that he lived for centuries before he finally died of old age. I helped him look younger every time he went to meet Zhi Nu so that he would not feel so guilty looking imperfect every time they reunited." Que Er added. "Soon after, since the strands of tail hair were being used up, they decided to not use the entire strand but half the strand per year. The duration was cut drastically and they saw each other for maybe 10 mins or so. The powers of half the strand were not equivalent to half of a full strand." The Queen of Magpies took another puff of smoke in. "On their last encounter, they did not even speak a single word and instead just stared into each other''s eyes until the strand magic was used up. Niu Lang lived for another 50 odd years or so before he died in a secluded area of the world." "There are a lot of things that don''t add up. Why are you helping this couple so much? How did Niu Lang survive so long without being noticed by anyone else?" "Because Taurus helped my mortal lover, which was the reason why he was punished and sent to Earth. Yet, despite his sacrifice, both of us were not daring enough to accomplish what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang had. So whenever I helped them, it was actually just me selfishly trying to remember my old lover before he passed on due to sickness." Jin could see Que Er trembling a little as she retold her story to him. "Sorry," Jin said to her but she shook her head. "A partial immortal was not safe so I kept him under wraps in a magical farmland. He did not complain much and his only goal was to see Zhi Nu once a year. If you look at it from some other perspective, it might look like he had an unhealthy obsession for her and I was encouraging that even more, but he wanted to stay that way. Hence I complied." Que Er replied. "Then this Niu Lang¡­" Jin looked at Niu Lang, so young and robust, who did not in any way look like the man Que Er had described. "I do not know, I thought this was your doing, bringing the three of us together again." Que Er looked at him with a curious eye. "Actually, the system brought them together." Yun appeared in front of them. "The system wanted to know what love is?" Jin tried to deduce the system''s intention but Yun shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is that the system brought these people together again. It didn''t want to tell me what its purpose was though." "In any case, Que Er. If you are uncomfortable staying with those two star crossed lovers, tell me and I will create a new house or something." Jin told Que Er but she laughed. "Me? Uncomfortable? Give me a roof to perch on and I will already be happy enough. To see the two of them together? You made my oldest wish come true." Que Er waved goodbye to Jin as she turned into a beautiful red magpie and flew around in the night sky. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Lastly, Jin visited the Deep Ones'' Home Instance with Yun since she was around. It had an absolutely different atmosphere in comparison to the star crossed lovers Home Instance. Jin had not wanted to try this because he thought he might drown in it, but surprisingly he was able to breathe normally¡­ even in the lowest depth of the seas with just a ray of dwindling light shining through the waters. He released the Deep Ones from his phone along with Derpy and they looked really excited to view the Seabed Town, which was modelled from Luvcraft''s illustrations of Innsmouth. While the Deep Ones were exploring the area, Derpy came towards Jin with its eye right in front of him. Even the diameter of Derpy''s eyeball was three times larger than Jin''s height. "Insolent one, do you not know the kind of wrath you will receive by capturing a fragment of Lord Dagen? I might be under your control at the moment but know this. He will not forget the loss of his fragment. In fact, if he knows that you still have a fragment of him, Lord Dagen will do whatever it takes to retrieve it back, even if it means allying with the Great Old Ones." "Ehh, so are you my ally?" Jin was not scared a single bit and was playing around with Derpy. "Unwillingly, yes. Somehow, you broke the connection between this particular fragment of Lord Dagen and the main body. I still have his powers but whenever I use them, let it be a reminder. Once I unleash my destructive powers and abilities for you puny human to observe, always remember that Lord Dagen can use the same moves a hundred times- No, a thousand times stronger than me!" "Okay, Derpy. Hand." Jin lifted his hand out and Derpy pulled its gigantic hand out and gently tapped the tip of its claws against Jin''s hand. "Good Fish." "I am not just a Fish! I am not Derpy either! I am the fragment of Lord Dagen''s Entity! I am -" Before Derpy could finish its words, Peppers appeared between it and Jin. "So?" Peppers folded her arms and Derpy immediately laid its entire body down in submission. "There you go, that''s a good fish. Now listen to Master Jin or I''ll give you to Chef Roro so he can make you into sashimi." Peppers winked at Jin and he chuckled as he patted Peppers'' head. "Now, Derpy. Go govern your underlings. Make sure they are ready for fights. Soon I will create a dungeon for you guys to terrorise the cultivators." Jin said and Derpy reluctantly agreed. "Do not worry Derpy, to the cultivators, you are Shadow Dagen. A shadow of the Real Lord Dagen. Better than just a fragment." Jin waved goodbye as he went back to the store, still dry and clean. Derpy was secretly delighted by the new name and started to command the Deep Ones around to make themselves comfortable. "New Day, New Customers." Jin stretched a little before he checked if everything was in order to open the store. Chapter 159 Father and Daughter "Dad. This is the one I was talking about." Jing Ru was demure with her actions but Ren Wei, Jing Ru''s stepdad, could clearly see that Jing Ru was barely holding in her excitement while bringing him to this Dungeon Supplier. "There is no store name on the map directory at all." Ren Wei took a look at his map on his phone and it only showed a plot of land. "Mmhmm, it has only been opened for a month I believe¡­ So I think the official directory has not been updated yet." Jing Ru said and then realised she did not know the shop''s name at all. She had been referring to the store as ''that dungeon supplier store near Tiangong Shopping District'' or ''Boss Jin''s store''. "Perhaps I should ask later," She thought to herself. The store was not as packed as the day before since that was the release of Qixi Festival Dungeon but there was still quite a number of people despite it being a working day. "Boss! Good afternoon!" Jing Ru was slightly friendlier than before since she had already been to Boss Jin''s store a few times and Jin had also put in the effort to remember his customers. "Ah, Jing Ru! How are you doing? Brought your boyfriend along?" Jin teased Jing Ru, which made her blush slightly as she shook her head vigorously. Ren Wei, despite being in his mid-40s, looked rather suave and was handsome and muscular enough for people to mistake him as being in the early 30s category. "Hahaha, Boss, I like your humour but sadly, I am just her erm¡­" Ren Wei was considering whether or not to call himself Step Dad or Dad in front of Jin when Jing Ru stepped in to help. "He is my Dad! Don''t make him that happy by praising him as young-looking! He has been giving me non-stop training to enhance my shooting and survival skills. There are times I feel like giving up." Jing Ru said to Jin and he noticed that Jing Ru did become slightly different since the last time he saw her. There was a bit more ruggedness-No, that was not the word¡­ There was a bit more maturity in that pure looking demure face. "Please Boss, do not listen to her. She has been bugging me day and night to train her, even when I just get back from work. Jing Ru said that she wanted to train more so she could prove to be more useful in her team''s subsequent meetups." Ren Wei let the cat out of the bag and Jing Ru playfully beat her stepdad on his shoulder. "It''s good that you two have such a jovial relationship. Not many people treat their family as closely as you two do." Jin smiled at them genuinely and it made Ren Wei really happy that his stepdaughter had given him a chance by to be part of her life. Ever since her mother died shortly after their marriage due to a freak car accident during her daily commute to work, Ren Wei did not know if he could properly take care of Jing Ru. There was an eerie coldness always present between the two, the feeling of distance. It felt like he was still a stranger to Jing Ru. Of course, Jing Ru was sensible enough to let her mother remarry as she felt that Ren Wei''s ''credentials'' were way better than her biological father but she could not bear the fact that she had lost her mother so soon after. If anything, Ren Wei wanted to personally thank this particular dungeon supplier for indirectly helping him and Jing Ru become closer. Meanwhile, Jing Ru felt differently on this issue. Ever since she lost her mother, her biological father did not even return to visit her at all. Although she detested him, he could at least have returned and comforted her. Slowly but surely, Jing Ru saw that Ren Wei was trying his best to not only bring food to the table but also to take care of her like how a parent would. She was touched by his sincerity but had no idea how to express her gratitude. Jing Ru''s interest in air rifles and her cultivation also began when she tried to understand her stepfather''s occupation. Little did she know that a bookworm like herself would have a knack for using air rifles and her cultivation soared through the roof so quickly that the university air rifle club made her the university''s air rifle team leader. Her stepfather supported her fully and tried to teach her some tricks, which she utilised. She attempted to use these training sessions as a means to bond with him. However, it was not until Jing Ru had decided to team up and fight in Jin''s dungeons that she started to take cultivation more seriously. She asked Ren Wei, who was a police sniper, for more tips on how to improve. It was then that she began to enjoy his company even more despite the harshness of the training he put her through. Of course, Ren Wei was sensible enough and always tried to strike a balance during the training since Jing Ru was also trying her best open herself up to him. "So what do you two, Father and Daughter, wish to try? By the way, Jing Ru, not sure if you''ve been told already but there are new desserts on the menu if you wish to try them out. And for the father, we have a new service instance, called the Reservoir of Deep Fishing. Basically, it''s a fishing instance, where you can spend some time fishing and if you catch a fish, you can have it prepared, cooked, and served in many ways too." Jin tried to promote his new items in the store since he got Yun to handle the bar counter. "Hahaha, I am not a fan of desserts, but the rest of the girls, especially Shi Hui, that dancer girl, would love it a lot. However, I might give it try in the future with them." Jing Ru replied. "Boss, what is this fishing instance? Do you mean I can enter it like a dungeon instance but instead of fighting, I can fish? And mind explaining what you meant by I can have it cooked?" Ren Wei was a little confused since it was his first time here. Although he''d heard about the instances from Jing Ru talking about it, he thought it would be better for the owner himself to clarify it. "What you''ve said is correct. You can not only fish but upon successfully catching a fish, you will be allowed to bring it to our Master Chef and he will create a meal out of it for you. Things like sushi or fish soup." Jin replied and Ren Wei more or less got the idea. "Dad, I like to eat sushi! Trust me when I say that the food in Boss Jin''s place is one of the best. Not just me but others also think that he secretly hid the food behind the dungeons so that dungeoneers would have to literally fight for the food. That way though, you will have the greatest satisfaction." Jing Ru excitedly told her dad. "Then, we shall do one dungeon and one fishing instance." Ren Wei smiled at his daughter and they decided to take a closer look at the menu before choosing which dungeon to take on. . . Chapter 160 Goblin Forest Dungeon Instance "We will take the Goblin Forest dungeon instance." Jing Ru said as she heard from Jin that some changes had been made since the previous time she and her university friends had tried it. Besides, it would be easier to show her stepfather how Jin''s dungeons worked in one of the cheaper dungeons where the pressure to succeed wasn''t as heavy. Even though Ren Wei had been warned by Jing Ru to bring a little more cash than usual since the dungeon supplier that they were going to cost more, he could not believe the price until he saw it first hand. "Are you sure they are good?" Ren Wei confirmed with Jing Ru in case he was wasting his money and she nodded her head. "The best I''ve ever been in." Jing Ru said with confidence. "Alright, I trust you, girl." Ren Wei paid for the tickets, which allowed him to set up an account in Pandamonium. Jing Ru even offered to show him how to use it later. "For now though, just follow me!" Jing Ru gleed as she walked towards Station 1. "Place your phone here, and you will be teleported in. As for the rest of your stuff, you can put them in the Panda Miniature on the shelf over there." Jing Ru taught Ren Wei the ropes of this dungeon supplier, which gave Jin some time to attend to other customers, though he really didn''t need to. That was because he had a very inclusive and friendly community of customers that helped each other. Customers such as Jin''s were hard, almost impossible, to come by and that was one of the reasons so many people constantly came to the store despite its sky-high prices. Father and daughter eventually teleported into the dungeon instance and immediately found themselves in a tight situation when they got teleported near a dramatic scene, where both parties were engaged in a standstill. An eight-legged boar that looked like Mr Oink was bleeding badly and panting heavily while being surrounded by a group of knights. Upon a closer look, the group surrounding Mr Oink were boars with humanoid features riding on top of six-legged boars similar to Mr Oink. Both Ren Wei and Jing Ru discovered that Mr Oink was backed to a corner near a cliffside and the Boar Knights were inching ever closer. "Join us Great Variant! We promise to treat you better, maybe the Boarman King will even knight you as one of the Royal Boars! Just agree to abandon those filthy green uglies!" One of the Boar Knights snorted as he dragged a chained goblin that was beaten to near death and showed it to Mr Oink. The rest of the Boar Knights snorted in agreement when the Royal Boar Knight Hamlet threw the chained up goblin in front of Mr Oink. Jing Ru could barely discern that the goblin in question was, in fact, the sword goblin. She recognised him because of his broken scabbard hanging at the side of his waist. "No matter how I see it, the goblins are the victims here right now." Jing Ru had always treated them as the enemy because of past dungeon experiences, but right now, she could sense that Jin had altered the story a little, making the goblins the story''s supporting characters. With the backdrop of the forest as cover, Jing Ru took out her rifle from her storage ring and wanted to go in without giving much thought. However, Ren Wei stopped her immediately. Instead of talking, Ren Wei performed several hand gestures, which Jing Ru understood from her constant training. They were visual combat signals that Ren Wei had taught her to improve nonverbal communication. Some might argue, why not use a chi voice transmission instead? The reason was simple. There might be chi detection spells around or even a cultivator specialised in chi manipulation and detection. These knights might just be musclemen but one could not discount the fact that a Chi Knight was among them. Hence, the simple and efficient old method of hand signals were used. "You cover this area, I will go ahead and distract the enemy." Ren Wei spoke with a few hand gestures, which Jing Ru acknowledged immediately. Although Ren Wei was well suited for the support role since he was a police sniper, he wanted to go the frontline for a few reasons. One, he wanted Jing Ru to focus on learning how to support instead of only frontline fighting and Two, he had been itching to go to the front for quite some time. The lack of frontline action in the police force made him thirst for some intense close combat fights. The third and last reason was that the situation did not allow any time to set up. Ren Wei had already identified two sniping positions but it could have taken too much time, giving the chance for the situation to turn for the worse. "BANG! BANG! BANG!" Ren Wei fired three consecutive shots holding an air rifle modelled like a M1 Garand as he stood in the middle of the forest, making it very visible for the Boar Knights to notice him. What they did not know was that their Royal Boar Knight Hamlet had already fallen to the ground from his six-legged boar, choking on his own blood. The Boar Knights could not fathom what hit Hamlet except for Ren Wei, who had purposely shown his Grade 4 cultivation of the Musket Muskrat out in the open to attract attention. Ren Wei had directed his shots towards the small vulnerable gap between the helmet and the chest armour of the Royal Boar Knight. What Ren Wei did not expect was that the Boar Knights had a thick neck when compared to humans. While it did not kill Hamlet, it was obvious that fatal damage was delivered. One of the Boar Knights, who was the healer of the entire group, immediately attended to the Royal Boar Knight Hamlet while the rest immediately focused their attention on Ren Wei. That distraction was what Mr Oink needed to push through the entire group with the sword goblin in its mouth. "Shit! The Great Variant is getting away!" One of the Boar Knights shouted and wanted to chase after Mr. Oink but another shot came from afar, which was once again, something they did not expect. The shot was accurate enough to hit one of the six-legged boar''s eyes, which caused it to go berserk for a moment, causing chaos. This created a chance for Ren Wei and Jing Ru to escape. "Did you set it up?" Ren Wei finally caught up with Jing Ru as they were running away in the same direction as Mr Oink. "BOOM!" The distant explosion from afar made Jing Ru smiled and Ren Wei grinned back at her. . . Chapter 161 Guardian of the Fores The Boar Knights were rental monsters that had been on discount when Jin had first accessed the Dungeon Maker. The knights were similar to Nyanmi but the rental cost of Nyanmi was equivalent to ten of these boar knights. Jin initially thought that getting more rental monsters would bring more variety to the table. However, his funds were severely limited by the decision he made in the Dungeon World so he had not touched any rental monsters for the time being with the exception of these boar knights and Nyanmi. Nonetheless, it was a good idea to increase the variety. Jin also wanted to buy the Boar Knights outright like what he had done with Nyanmi but for some reason, he never felt any decent connection or bond with them, so he decided to just keep them as rentals. Separately, in terms of monsters, the Boar Knights, and Boar people as a whole, were quite different from werebeasts like the Jacks. The Boarmen had a boar head and legs with a humanoid body while the Werejackals were humans that could transform into Jackal Humanoids. As he was watching the father-daughter duo''s fight, since there were currently no new customers, he heard footsteps entering his store. "Boss Jin! How are you? Just popping by to say hi!" Xue Ping brought Lee An along to drop by Boss Jin''s store for a moment. "I am not too bad, busy with work?" Jin noticed that they were each holding onto a panda packaging wrapped around a piping hot Black Pepper Pork Bun, waiting for the buns to cool down a little. Eventually, Lee An was too hungry and immediately grab a bite out of the tasty looking bun despite its temperature. "We had sort of some minor investigation going on but when we heard that it''s near Tiangong Shopping District, we thought we could come and say hi to you after our work. Oh, and the buns are so much tastier than before!" Xue Ping replied as she could not resist a bite herself. "It''s definitely meatier, the flavours are slightly stronger, and there is this warm kind of feeling that comes along with it too. No doubt this is one of the best buns I''ve ever eaten." Lee An talked with his mouth full and did not care about his appearance a single bit. "Eh? Is that?!" Xue Ping just realised that Boss Jin was standing near Station 1 watching the dungeon fight and noticed someone familiar. Lee An was suddenly curious due to Xue Ping''s comment and took a look too. He almost dropped his bun on the floor. "Is he someone special?" Jin asked since he vaguely remembered Jing Ru saying that her father was a police sniper. "If I am not mistaken, he is one of the top snipers in the police force of our entire province but he did not wish to be promoted because of the workload it would bring. He said he wanted to spend more time with his new family." Xue Ping answered Jin''s question as she double checked the name that was on Station 1''s TV. "Is he that good?" Jin asked once more, and Xue Ping laughed. "Continue watching and you can judge him for yourself. Though I think he is hiding his true ability from his stepdaughter. Oh erm, I meant daughter. Boss, please keep that to yourself!" Xue Ping realised she had messed up when Lee An knocked her on her head. "Oh¡­ Do not worry, I would not say it out." Jin nodded his head and continued to watch the dungeon fight as the two police detectives walked themselves out of the store with Lee An pinching Xue Ping on her cheeks for her careless remark. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Even though Ren Wei''s tracking skills were hardly used ever since he got into the police force, it proved to be quite beneficial when it came to searching for a reckless wounded large boar. The boar was panting really heavily and the goblin was beaten to the point that treating his wounds conventionally would only prolong his suffering. Both father and daughter took a look at the injuries of the boar and tried to assess if they could do anything for it. It was at this moment that they heard the rustling of the leaves, which immediately made both of them pull out their air pistols out from their holsters. "Stop! They are not the enemy¡­" The beaten sword goblin used whatever strength he had left to shout. It was then Jing Ru faced her air pistols downwards and saw two other goblins slowly walk out of the bushes. Ren Wei realised that the goblins were talking the same common language as them to hear too, which he found quite immersive for a dungeon instance. He did not believe that there could be an actual plot to a dungeon instance. "What happened to you and Mr Oink?" The cloaked dagger goblin came and agilely removed the chains from the sword goblin''s neck and limbs. The spear goblin took some medication out and started pasting medicated leaves onto Mr Oink''s wounds while the dagger goblin gave the sword goblin a small potion to drink. "We were ambushed and these metal clunking Boarman kept calling Mr Oink some Great Variant. I tried to fend them off, but there were too many of them. They later defeated me and quickly chained me up for the crime of ''holding the Great Variant''." The sword goblin finally had the strength to talk properly after drinking the potion. "I think they called it the Great Variant because¡­ ehh Mr Oink, was it? He had two more legs than the boars they were riding." Ren Wei projected his conjecture, which attracted the goblins'' attention. "Dad, it''s not just that, you do not know about Mr Oink. He actually has a second form if he gets too injured." Jing Ru interjected her knowledge about Mr Oink. "So, if I am not wrong, as long as Mr Oink is not entirely dead, he can grow back to his first form again." "But that will take ages, probably a goblin lifetime." The Spear Goblin chuckled. "Still, he is one of the guardians of the forest, we cannot let him get captured by some weird knights and his King." The Sword Goblin managed to stand up for a while before he dropped to the ground again. "I am sorry for the late reply but thank you for saving my friend as well as the Guardian of the Forest." The cloaked dagger goblin raised his hand and Ren Wei shook it firmly. "Anyway, we can help?" Ren Wei asked directly. He knew that the knights were relentless and they would definitely come back with more manpow- no, more Boarpower to capture the goblins and Mr. Oink. "We have nothing to offer you but possible death if you assist us. Are you still willing to help?" The cloaked dagger goblin said bluntly. "Is this all you got?" Ren Wei asked once again with regards to the number of goblins they have and the dagger goblin nodded its head. "We three are the only ones left that patrol the Goblin Forest. Even if we die, the forest will somehow recreate us again to protect its secrets. The Guardians are the same as us but capturing the forest guardians, on the other hand, is another issue altogether." The spear goblin commented. "So you guys would rather fight to the death for this secret forest than be captured? Aren''t you all curious about the secrets this forest holds?" Jing Ru questioned them and they all shook their head. "No, we definitely do not wish to be killed but we will die for the cause if we have to. Also, all we know is that there is an abandoned stone temple in the middle of the forest. We have never gone in there before and never wish to." The cloaked dagger goblin answered. "But we will have to if you all want to survive." Ren Wei said with certainty, which made the goblins doubt themselves a little. "Regardless, I believe that the Knights will need to regroup, or perhaps call in more reinforcements in order to hunt down Mr Oink now that they have an unexpected variable, us. So we have time on our hands to prepare." Jing Ru suggested, which made Ren Wei pause to wonder. "They said they have nothing to offer, yet you wish to help them?" Ren Wei asked and Jing Ru pouted at her stepdad. "Mom would do the same right? She married you because she trusted that you would do more good than her." Ren Wei was stunned for a while before he smiled like a fool. "That''s true, let''s do this." . . Chapter 162 Lay of the Land "Mr Oink can bring you around the forest quickly while I go ahead and scout for the Boar Knights." the Dagger Goblin informed Ren Wei and Jing Ru before and he immediately disappeared into the shadows of the forests. "Mister Ren Wei, I will show you a good vantage point so that you can get an overall view of this forest." The spear goblin beckoned them to follow him while Mr Oink let the Sword Goblin ride on him so that he could rest a little longer as they tagged along behind the spear goblin. As the entire group ventured through the forest, they eventually came across a small pathway that led up a ginormous tree. It was so narrow that it barely allowed Ren Wei to walk up, let alone the armoured boar knights. Hence, Mr Oink sat down near the pathway with the sword goblin while the spear goblin continued to lead the way for the human duo. "Careful with your steps. Do not let the scenery and height to distract your footing." The spear goblin was climbing up the giant tree swiftly and with grace, clearly displaying that he had done it many times before. Climbing the tree held some difficulty for Jing Ru and Ren Wei but they eventually managed to make it to the top to behold the beautiful view of the forest''s canopy. "This feels so real." Ren Wei took a deep breath in and the air was avidly fresh as it entered his lungs. To watch this landscape view of the serene top of the forest with Jing Ru had already made this entire dungeon trip worth it. To see her so happy¡­ so relaxed, her emotions unrestrained as compared to the times she tried to behave well and proper when he was at home with her. It in a way comforted Ren Wei''s heart. "There, I believe you can see that distant castle in the north? That''s the Boarman Castle. While you might not be able to see it clearly, there is-" "Major movement from the North, marching towards the south. A regiment of roughly 40 odd people, sorry, I meant boars." The spear goblin was surprised that Ren Wei was able to deduce that immediately¡­but later realised that he actually had his binoculars out and they had thermal functions. "Wow, Dad you really are going all out! You even brought your expensive thermal binoculars?" Jing Ru was pleasantly shocked that her Dad brought out his personal set of gear for the dungeons. "Why not? This is in fact still a sort of battlefield that I am participating in. You cannot underestimate your enemy in any way." "I know the Dagger Goblin well enough that I know he will purposely mislead them to certain parts of the forest. This will give us ample time to set up any traps we or set up ambush positions." the Spear Goblin commented as he started to show Ren Wei the layout of the goblin forest. "If I am not mistaken, the dagger goblin will be leading them to the Venus Animal-traps. If they are still stupid enough to follow him through them and somehow make it through, he will most likely lead them to the poison venting trees. It should reduce their numbers by a fair bit." The spear goblin remarked and Jing Ru raised her hand as if she was in class. "Question, venus animal-traps?" The spear goblin laughed and apologised for not explaining. "They are actually trees that eat live prey, they attract their unknowing prey with a beautiful scent or even an illusion of a female dryad. But usually, the live prey is eaten up because they wandered too close to the meat loving trees." The Spear Goblin said as he passed a protective charm each to Ren Wei and Jing Ru. "These charms will stop the meat eating trees from targeting you as well as providing a thin layer of protection against the poison. That does not mean you can stay there for long though." The spear goblin explained. "Then the dagger goblin has this with him too?" Jing Ru asked but the goblin surprisingly shook his head. "We are immune to the forest''s weapons as we protect its secrets. Therefore, we transverse unhindered," he replied. "Lastly, right behind this big tree is where the hidden temple is. If what you say is true and we really do have to fall back to that place, I need to say that I have no clue what lies in store for us." The spear goblin stared at Ren Wei for a moment and he understood clearly from the goblin that he really did not wish to disturb the inner peace of the temple. "I cannot promise you that we won''t have to take cover in there but I can promise you that if we ever do, I will make sure that no survivors will ever report what they find back to their superiors. I will also promise you that neither of us will take anything from there for personal benefit." Ren Wei was dead serious with his statements, which comforted and reassured the spear goblin. "From their speed along with the density of the forest, I presume they will eventually have to get off their riding boars and walk through the danger zones. But let''s say they somehow knew where Mr Oink is hiding because I''m pretty sure we can assume he is hiding. How should we proceed?" Ren Wei said as they started to walk down the tree''s pathway. "Ehh Dad! You are thinking too much, just bring Mr Oink with us as bait." Jing Ru answered. "But don''t you have to make sure your asset is safe rather than putting it in a risky position?" "Heehee! We are in a dungeon, worst case scenario we can just try again." Jing Ru laughed and Ren Wei sighed with a smile on his face. "Well at the moment young lady, you are not the one paying." He gave a light knock on Jing Ru''s head as they reached the forest floor and Jing Ru stuck her tongue out at him. In the end, the two humans and the two goblins along with one energetic Mr Oink came together as they discussed how to proceed. "We will take roughly 10 minutes to reach to the Venus Animal-traps so that should give us some time to get some personal traps set up before they get there." Ren Wei said as he placed his bag and storage ring on the ground alongside Jing Ru''s to have an inventory check. "We have claymores, landmines, a few bear traps, shock traps and even automated pitfall traps¡­ Oh, some explosive caltrops too!" Jing Ru said it out aloud and Ren Wei looked at her with a curious expression. "Where did you even get all these kind of traps? I thought we only brought training claymores for dungeon instances." The father was slightly concerned about his daughter''s choice of weaponry. "Hahaha! I got it all from Boss Jin''s underground general and weapon store! They were having some minor discount so I took the chance to buy the items that I wanted. Oh, I also got myself a nice looking dress from there too." Jing Ru smiled innocently but Ren Wei could not imagine the amount of money she had spent. She assured him those traps can only work in the dungeons and were bound by a standard restraining spell similar to the training claymores which could not be used outside of a dungeon instance. "Ohhhhh I know that look Dad. No, I did not spend any more money than you gave me for the dungeon instances. All these can only be bought with panda medal coins. So in a way, they are all kind of like my rewards for winning Jin''s dungeons. They are not that easy to obtain at all!" Jing Ru had a slightly proud expression on her face, which startled Ren Wei as he looked at her with a devious smile. "I have my own set of weaponry too and judging from what I have just seen, I know you will like them." Ren Wei smirked as he took out his extensive gear of weapons. Jing Ru''s eyes sparkled. Chapter 163 Trap Setup There were a few customers who had just finished their dungeon runs and had decided to chill at the bar counter for a while before they left until they noticed Station 1''s playthrough. "Wait a minute¡­ you can actually ally with the goblins?!" One of the male customers who was holding onto a bamboo juice was stunned. His other friends who were discussing a different topic stopped and looked towards Station 1 too. "Hey, that''s true! You can ally with the goblins too." A bespectacled friend of his confirmed his query. "How did they do it? I thought we had to kill the goblins and Mr Oink?" the same customer who had found out about this anomaly quickly asked Yun, who was nearest to the bar counter. She giggled a little and said "Did we actually say that you had to fight against the goblins? All we have described was just the story. Your decision of choosing which side you want to fight for is just the beginning of the story that you create for yourself in the dungeon. That is the beauty of Jin''s story themed dungeons." "Ohhh! But still, wow, fighting against the boar knights would be a challenge." The group of customers agreed since they had sided the boar knights and knew that they had a trump card which the goblins did not know about. "It will be interesting to see how these two long-ranged cultivators fight against the Boar Knights'' trump card. In the meantime, Yun, can I have that cheesecake dessert you mentioned?" The male customers each ordered a cheesecake and continued to watch Ren Wei and Jing Ru fight against all odds. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Mr Oink had Ren Wei, Jing Ru and the two goblins on its back on the way to the Venus Animal-traps habitat. After which, Ren Wei took out his binoculars to check how far the enemies were and how much time they would have to set up traps in this area before the enemy reached them. "Roughly about one kilometre away. Jing Ru, place the bear traps near those two trees and roughly a few steps after it, place a pitfall trap near that large rock. Before putting the pitfall trap, Spear goblin, would you mind helping me tie these three grenades together? Two explosive and one flashbang above that tree with a stone as a counterweight. " Renwei ordered his daughter and the spear goblin, which they acknowledged immediately. Meanwhile, he was analysing the possible sniping positions where they could provide support during the confusion. He did not know how these Venus animal-traps worked but he would have to adapt as the situation developed. "Once you are done, Jing Ru go ride with Mr Oink to the poison-venting trees and find suitable ambush positions for traps. As usual, mark those traps with our standard signals so when we fall back, I will then know where not to step." "You sure you don''t want to supervise the trap placing yourself?" Jing Ru finished setting up the bear traps. Jin''s supplied traps were easier to affix as compared to the ones in real life. With just a simple application of chi energy, the bear traps opened up. Of course, before opening the traps, Jing Ru had already camouflaged the trap with the surrounding mud and soil along with some leaves. The traps were new so they were a little shiny and the glare might ring alarm bells for the boar knights. "No, I trust your judgement and creativity." Ren Wei smiled at her but deep inside he had a selfish motive."Besides, I want to try out a few new techniques¡­ just not in front of you." He thought to himself. Jing Ru accepted her father''s praise as she along with the Spear Goblin rode off to the next area. "You are not following them?" Ren Wei asked the sword goblin and he smirked in reply. " Like I can let you have all the fun." "Hahaha, it''s just something that I do not wish to let my daughter see for now." Ren Wei immediately revealed his cultivation as he performed his technique to set up the entire area with traps. Four Muskrats? No. Six Muskrat silhouettes were running around holding muskets in their hands above Ren Wei. "Oh my god! That simple looking guy is a Rank 6 cultivator?!" The male customers who were enjoying their cheesecakes nearly puked it all out. Even Jin was shocked while Yun sniggered since she already knew his cultivation level as soon as he entered the store. "Advanced Muskrat Art, Ambush of the Muskrats. Advanced Rifle Arts, Ten Musket Rifles Whistling." Ren Wei''s advanced trap art allowed the six muskrats that were once silhouettes turn semi corporeal as they quickly picked up the assortment of traps Ren Wei had initially placed on the ground and started to place them as quickly as possible in places he already had planned in his mind. Meanwhile, his advanced rifle arts allowed him to have ten chi bullets at his command. Instead of shooting the bullets through a rifle, all he had to do was whistle and the chi bullet would execute his command to kill or injure someone¡­or some boar. This was an assassination technique which he was barely able to use during his service in the police force due to obvious reasons. He learned it because it was part of the cultivation manual but he never really tried it out in the field. Separately, the semi corporeal muskrats were running around carrying traps that were stronger than what Jing Ru had bought. Shock traps? Of course not! Ren Wei''s version was a Thunder Blast trap, a version stronger than a basic shock trap. Pitfall trap? Pfft, good joke! His Spikefall trap had spikes at the bottom of the pitfall. Ren Wei did this away from the sight of Jing Ru because he himself did not want Jing Ru to see the brutal side of his cultivation and its techniques. They were here to have fun, but to Ren Wei, using skills and techniques he was not allowed to use during work was also a type of fun. Of course, Ren Wei would not annihilate them all as he still wanted to leave some boar knights for Jing Ru to practice on. When the muskrats had set the traps, they immediately disappeared and Ren Wei hid on top of a comfortable tree branch that allowed him to oversee almost every single Venus Animal-trap. The Sword Goblin did not care about the methods Ren Wei used but smirked all of a sudden. "The bastard knights are coming. Enjoy Mr Sniper." . . Chapter 164 Boar Knights "Hah! That dagger goblin thinks that we will be tired while running because we have heavy armour on!" Royal Boar Knight Hamlet snorted with arrogance as he and his regiment of elite boar knights continued to chase after the sole goblin. The boar knights were enchanted with a spell that made their armour light so running was not an issue for them. It happened when the dagger goblin silently assassinated one of the mage boar knights. Their mage knight was one of the few knights who had practically no armour on, which allowed the dagger goblin to completely surprise the mage knight and kill him in one blow. Such an action enraged Royal Boar Knight Hamlet as mage knights were not easy to find and replace due to their exceptional talents in detecting where the enemy would be and supporting the entire regiment with buffs. Regardless, Hamlet was joyful when he saw the goblin slow down considerably, especially when they charged through the forest, destroying obstacle courses of complex flora as they chased down the goblin. Eventually, the dagger goblin stopped and tried to climb a tree but to slipped and fell. Of course, it was merely a ruse to let Hamlet feel that his objective of capturing or killing the goblin was nigh. "Ha! You pitiful green ugly! You deserve the punishment of my Hammer!" Bacon, a Quasi Royal Knight, faithful to Hamlet, shouted as he brought out his hammer and the rest of the Boar Knights finally took a breather to watch the show. As the hammer fell to break the ground, the dagger goblin used his lightning reflexes and leapt across a small opening between two trees. Unfortunately, Bacon did not run into the hidden bear trap. Instead, he too leapt through the small opening of the two trees, hoping to destroy the tree in the process as he aimed to catch the pesky goblin. It was at this moment that branches from both trees became animated as they grabbed onto Bacon and started to poke through his armour to hold tightly onto him. "What the?!!" Bacon felt the tree branches penetrating into his skin and it was causing him immense pain, although it was still bearable for a boar man. However, Bacon was immobilised and could not move. That was when he realised his blood and energy were being sapped away and into the trees. "Damn it! These trees are Venus Animal-traps!" Hamlet shouted as he commanded a few of his knights to get Bacon out of the trees. "SNAP!" A boar knight suddenly shouted in agony as the knight realised that there was actually a well-hidden bear trap right beside the two trees. "Traps?!" Hamlet then found out that the dagger goblin had probably led them into an ambush area but there was still no signs of movement around. "Maybe it is just a solitary trap but just in case¡­ Shield Cavalry! Surround me and observe for a possible ambush! Hammer Cavalry, continue helping Sir Bacon out of that blood sapping tree quickly! One of you go and help that poor sod in the bear trap. Sword and Lance Cavalries, search the area thoroughly for that stupid goblin." Hamlet shouted as the remaining boar knights split up to do what was needed of them. However, that order was soon to create a heavy blow on the Knights'' morale and it all started when a couple of the hammer cavalry knights under Bacon went around the tree to try and pull Bacon out. As they simultaneously pulled Bacon out of the blood sapping trees, the momentum caused them to step backwards, activating the pitfall trap that was hidden a few steps behind the two trees. Five Hammer Boar Knights along with Sir Bacon fell into the pitfall trap and in that chaos, a bullet shot which was muffled by the boars'' own shouting and snorting noise removed the counterweight of the stone that was holding onto the live grenades. Unknowingly, a bright flash of blinding light distracted the Boar Knights. That flash was followed by an explosion which occurred inside the pitfall trap, causing the Boar Knights, including Bacon, who were trapped inside to be badly wounded. One of the fallen knights died because of the weight of five other boar man crashing onto him. The explosion of the grenades sealed the deal. As the dust settled and his eyes recovered, Hamlet looked around to see more boar knights lying around the area, only to find two goblins taking the opportunity to ensure that the fallen boar knights were killed properly. Ren Wei''s standard bullet shots were sufficient to drop the boar knights but the knights were too sturdy to die from a bullet wound so the goblins went in for the follow up kill. Hamlet became extremely enraged by the loss of his comrades as he shouted at the top of his lungs and charged furiously towards the two goblins, only to suddenly feel the exact same sensation he had experienced just an hour or so ago. "BANG!" Hamlet fell to the ground again while he realised the shot had hit his torso this time round. The armour he was wearing had helped reduce the damage the bullet could have dealt but there was still some bleeding. The Shield Boar Knights rushed towards Hamlet and once again a healer managed to heal and support Hamlet. "What in the bollocks! Where is the remaining Mage Knight? Why can''t he find that human archer!" Hamlet knew that the human who had just shot him was the same human that had shot him not so long ago. Hamlet was certain. He was very positive that it was the same dreaded person that had interfered with the taming process of the Great Variant. "I have found him Sir Hamlet! The trace was too hidden that I had to cast the detection magic again to confirm what I saw. He is right over there hiding on the top of that particular -" Before he could finish his sentence, two chi bullets went through his eyeballs and blood spurted out from the mage boar knight''s eye sockets, which sprayed all over Sir Hamlet''s face. The mage knight lifelessly dropped to the ground, which caused even the staunchest of knights to cast doubts on whether they could survive¡­ "Bang!" Another bullet shot was heard but this time around. It skidded through the tip of Hamlet''s short tusk, which startled him once again. "Shit!" Hamlet quickly lowered his head. The Shield Boar Knights continued to carry out their duty of protecting their Royal Knight but instead of facing the enemy like a true fearless knight, they all hid behind their shields as they trembled in dread and horror. The morale of the entire boar knight regiment was in shambles. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C While Jing Ru was placing the traps where she thought was suitable for a decent ambush in the area filled poison venting trees, Mr Oink was actually lazing around right beside the spear goblin. The goblin knew that everything would be fine since Ren Wei was leading the other two. Everything was going rather smoothly until Jing Ru felt a sudden blast of heavy spiritual force coursing through the area. The male customers who were watching the highlights were on the edge of the seats as they knew what was coming. The trump card of the Boar Knights. The Reigning Regal Boar, ''Little'' Miss Buu. . . Chapter 165 Little Miss Buu That blast of spiritual force fired off by Little Miss Buu made Jing Ru barely able to maintain her composure. In the meantime, Ren Wei also felt a small part of the same sensation coming from the poison vent trees. "This is very bad, to have a sensation from a blast of spiritual force so far away means its really strong." Ren Wei then realised that the Boar Knights he was fighting were suitable for Jing Ru to handle but the monster with such substantial spiritual force should have been meant for him instead. Hence, Ren Wei immediately revealed himself and decided to move towards the Poison Venting Trees. "Do not worry about here, follow Dagger, he will guide you. I will keep the boar knights busy." The sword goblin swung his sword around to flaunt his sword skills to provoke the boar knights while the dagger goblin guided Ren Wei. At the same time, the dagger goblin decided to speed up when he saw that Ren Wei managed to keep up with ease. "Come fatties, Let''s have a rematch." The sword goblin purposely spat on one of the dead boar knights and beckoned Hamlet to come for it. "You will regret it now that you are alone." Hamlet''s anger soared once again and its confidence grew when he saw that he could finally take revenge on the goblin without fearing the sniping human archer. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Buu Buuu Buuuu!!" Little Miss Buu snorted as it waved its short chubby arms around. The female prized boar was being carried by four unyielding boar knights on top of a palanquin throne filled with cushions and pillows. There was even an umbrella on the palanquin throne and she was using telekinesis magic to grab food from the table of the large palanquin throne and place it into her mouth. The Regal Boar pointed at the Spear Goblin and Mr Oink and gestured for them to give up before she would be forced to do anything nasty to them. Thankfully, Jing Ru was near a poison venting tree when the blast of spirit force had been fired so she had not been discovered. She decided to hide behind momentarily so that she could recover her breath from the spiritual force strain. However, Jing Ru could also see that her charm was waning by being so close to a poison venting tree. "Oink! Oink! Oink!" Mr Oink issued a challenge against Little Miss Buu but she just laughed, which came out as a snort. With a wave of her short hoofs, a magical circle appeared right above her and a mud rock that was enhanced with magic was shot out of the magical circle. The mud rock attack completely missed as Spear Goblin pulled a tassel of Mr Oink''s hair to control his movement around the poison venting trees as they ran further away from the Little Miss Buu. When Jing Ru took a closer look of Little Miss Buu, she discovered that this ''Little'' Miss Buu was not little at all. The amount of fat on its body would have been a lifetime supply of mountain boar meat for tens if not hundreds of people. The fat on her belly looked really enticing even for Jing Ru as she realised she had yet to eat her lunch before coming to Jin''s store. Upon reviewing the whole situation, Jing Ru knew that Mr Oink was running away so that Little Miss Buu would pursue him. This way, they would be able to take advantage of the traps Jing Ru had placed. However, seeing how powerful the regal boar was, Jing Ru thought that she could only weaken it enough before her Dad could show up and take care of it. Also, monsters with magical abilities would most likely have a magical barrier or shield that reduced the amount of damage done to it. If Jing Ru wanted to act, she would have to act swiftly and decisively for her only advantage at the moment was the element of surprise. That was when Jing Ru remembered the weaponry that she had taken from her father''s collection. A rocket propelled grenade. To her luck, the poison that was venting out of the trees was actually chlorine gas. She did not exactly want to know about but she was forced to when the charm''s powers of protection were all used up and Jing Ru had to take a whiff of it. Fortunately, like every prepared huntsman, she brought out her gas mask and wore it for protection. A shot of an RPG and chlorine gas? That''s quite the cocktail for disaster but Jing Ru figured the gas was probably not concentrated enough to make an impact against the magical barrier shield. Still, she decided to give it a try. Little Miss Buu was relentless in her attacks too. Somehow, she too had learned that the gas would be dangerous if she used fire related attacks in this area so she had stuck to earth magic to shoot at Mr Oink and the Spear Goblin instead. However, they were agilely traversing the forested areas, unlike the knights who had to ensure that there was sufficient space for their Regal Boar to travel comfortably. Of course, Little Miss Buu made the effort to remove the trees if necessary when they blocked the knights'' pathway. Meanwhile, Jing Ru still stuck to the bushes to avoid being seen by the chasing palanquin until Mr Oink cleverly brought Little Miss Buu closer to a special area that Jing Ru had painstakingly prepared. "Buuu! Buuu!" The Regal Boar was tired of chasing and started summoning tens of magical rocks, ready to throw them all at once at Mr Oink. That was when Mr Oink began to go on the offensive with a tug of his tassel of hair by the spear goblin. "BAM!" The headstrong Mr Oink collided loudly against the magical shield of Little Miss Buu but it did not let up and continuously charged against the shield. Left with no choice, Little Miss Buu had to redirect some of her magical powers to maintain the shield. During that time, the spear goblin stood up on the Mr Oink''s back and initiated a basic spear art he had learnt from the cultivators over time, Deep Thrust. With all his might, the spear goblin focused all its strength and energy onto the spear and pierced at the shield, causing it to drastically reduce in strength. At that point, Little Miss Buu gave up on conserving strength and decided to unleash five mystical rock shots at her aggressors. The damage was severe as the rocks smashed into the spear goblin''s head and even destroyed one of Mr Oink''s tusks. But Mr Oink and the spear goblin still remained strong as they striking at the shield, seemingly unfazed by the damage. The spear goblin decided to pour all his strength into his attacks while Mr Oink charged even more furiously. Eventually, their efforts paid off as Jing Ru saw a minute crack beginning to form on the front of the shield barrier through the scope of her personal rifle Winterwolf. "BANG!" A charged chi shot was fired without any warning and the energised rotating air bullet spiralled its way towards the crack, causing the shield barrier to shatter into thousands of pieces before dissipating into the air. "Disperse now!" Jing Ru shouted towards the Goblin and Boar duo as she dropped her rifle and jumped out from the tree she was hiding behind. She then leapt towards the palanquin throne with two Uzis, a handgun style machine gun capable of bursts of bullets, firing at the front two Boar Knights that were holding onto the palanquin. The boars soaked up the bullets like a sponge but also like a sponge, all excess that it couldn''t take oozed out as blood leaked out from their bodies. This caused the palanquin throne to become unstable and caused Little Miss Buu to fall to the ground involuntarily. Her clean, untainted body touched the forest''s mud and the broken shield caused her to breathe in the chlorine gas. At this crucial moment, Jing Ru threw a gunny sack full of items at Little Miss Buu. The Regal Boar somehow caught the sack and noticed a variety of metal items in that bag. Some were small and looked like a pine cone while others were round shaped. Regardless, that period of distraction granted Jing Ru the chance to take out her ultimate weapon, the rocket launcher, from her storage ring. Without much aiming since she was practically firing at point blank range, Jing Ru braced herself for death because she knew that she would not survive the explosion at such close proximity. "Click" The RPG roared vociferously as it flew out of the launcher and towards Little Miss Buu. Before she could react, she was engulfed by a blinding white light. A light so bright that it probably brought her to pork heaven. The destruction of the area was stupendous as the explosion was monumental when it interacted with the chlorine gas in the area. Obviously, Mr Oink and the spear goblin knew that Jing Ru would do something big so they had already started running away from the area but they did not expect the radius of the explosion to be this vast. Even Ren Wei had to stabilise himself from the aftershock as he was running towards their battlefield. "Holy¡­ Jing Ru, you are one heck of a daughter." Ren Wei stopped in his tracks to voice a little prayer as a sign of acknowledgement for her efforts since he was unable to contact her via voice transmission. "Looks like Daddy will have to clear the dungeon or else this your death, despite it being temporary, will have been in vain." Ren Wei talked to himself as he looked at the dagger goblin and returned to the Venus Animal-traps. . . Chapter 166 No Mercy "Hmm that explosion? Pretty good¡­ I rate it a 7.9 out of 10. Clever use of the environment to induce such a scale of kaboom." Peppers came out and observed with Jin for a while. It reminded Jin of the past where he had also been judged for destroying the abandoned Shanghai Tower while running away from a horde of zombies as well as receiving a fairly harsh score from her. It did felt like ages ago when that happened. "Why 7.9? What did she do wrong?" Jin asked Peppers, who was continuously writing notes on the fight. She was diligently doing the job that had been assigned by Jin, which was to note the mistakes each cultivator had made and how they could improve. Jin mainly needed her to do that because he eventually wanted to create a teaching class with Peppers as the teacher. Instructors were needed in the gym for the techniques and body but the application of those skills was an entirely different matter. With Peppers'' mind akin to an ocean of knowledge, it would be a pity not to use that knowledge to earn some extra cash. Since the system recorded every single battle in detail, Peppers could review with the cultivators as a group or individually so that they could improve their skills. However, in order to do that, Peppers needed to gather more knowledge about every person. She was definitely not some superhuman who knew the weakness of a person just by touching him. "She killed herself, that''s where she went wrong. If she did not die from the explosion, Her score would be roughly in the high 8''s or highly difficult 9s." Peppers sniggered as she imagined herself creating the explosion impeccably. Regardless, both Jin and Peppers knew that the end was nigh since Little Miss Buu was, in a way, the final boss. All Ren Wei had to do was clean up the rest of the Boar Knights. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Hahaha! Finally caught this bugger!" Hamlet panted as he kicked the chained up sword goblin which had been captured once again. The damage dealt by the sword goblin was more than enough to earn him a badge of honour by the standards of the Boar Knights. Utilising the traps that had been placed by Ren Wei previously, the sword goblin had managed to defeat the groups of knuckleheads who just wanted revenge for their comrades. The thunderblast traps electrocuted the poor boar knights into charred barbecued pork encased in burnt metal. Not to mention, the Spikefall traps were activated by the heavy weighing boar knights, causing them to become delicious kebabs. Only with the combined efforts of Hamlet and his shield knights had they managed to encircle the sword goblin and subsequently pummel him to death. They then chained the dead goblin up with the intention of using him as a trophy as well as a memorial for the knights he had killed. As the boar knights were celebrating by brandishing the dead goblin around, they did not know that a sniper already had its barrel aimed at them. "Advanced Rifle Arts, Hyper Beam." Ren Wei whispered as he chanted his Rifle Art technique. The six muskrats silhouettes did not appear above his head and instead materialised right beside his Barrett Sniper Rifle, a weapon he had changed to midway from the classic M1 Garand rifle so that he could focus on his sniping abilities. The six muskrat silhouettes, while corporeal, held onto his sniper rifle like multiple bipods as Ren Wei began to half squeeze his trigger in order to charge up the rifle shot. He knew that Hamlet was the leader of the Knights right from the beginning, even before he left the battlefield in an attempt to save Jing Ru. But he thought that he could get rid of most of them and leave Hamlet for Jing Ru to finish. He did not know what had happened but the dagger goblin assured him that the trees in the forest had commended Jing Ru on a fine job killing an enemy far stronger than her. One of the muskrat silhouettes suddenly turned to Ren Wei and gave him a thumbs up, indicating that the rifle was charged and ready to fire. "No Mercy." His index finger squeezed down on the trigger fully and a large energised chi beam was fired from the end of the barrel. Smoke and energy heated up the flora around the sniper, causing it to burn. Despite the blast, there was no sound other than the crack of the rifle barrel from overheating. Without noticing anything, the rest of the boar knights did not see an incoming beam of whitish yellow energy that signified their doom and eradicated them from the face of this dungeon instance. Their faces were never to be seen again and Ren Wei completed the dungeon with ease. He was later teleported to back to the store, only to see that Jing Ru was already eating a cheesecake without him. Meanwhile, the group of male customers who had been watching the entire thing clapped and cheered for Ren Wei. "Ah?" Ren Wei was extremely confused and only during the lunch conversation with Jing Ru did she explain the dynamics of Boss Jin''s shop, how she was in the recovery room and all. "I did not know that you were hiding things from me! Until this group of busybodies began telling me how awesome my dad is!" Jing Ru pouted and turned her head away from Ren Wei. However, as she turned her head, she was grinning madly due to only now realising how her new Dad was such an amazing person. "Well, him having secrets is also equally cute." She thought to herself as she continued eating her cheesecake. Meanwhile, Ren Wei did not know how else to coax her but to buy her the second dessert on the menu to appease her. It was then that Yun, who was at the bar counter, reminded Ren Wei about something more important than the order he had just placed. "You left the dungeon a little too early and did not see the treasure box on your way out. Don''t worry, we do not cheat any customers of their rewards." Like a magician, Yun took out a large metal box from underneath the counter and brought it out onto the table for them. "Place your phone near the lock and it will automatically open," Yun said and Ren Wei did as instructed, only to see that the lock was in fact animated with a small touchscreen beside it. A panda appeared to say congratulations and the box opened slowly. Looking inside the box, Jing Ru squealed like a piglet upon seeing tens of bronze medal coins as well as a transparent box holding two guns. They were a set of replica Thompson Contenders with a chibi goblin keychain on the end of the handgrip. The Thompson Contender was a break action single shot pistol design from the 1960s. It was rumoured to be one of the strongest pistols in the world and even Ren Wei was amazed upon seeing not just one, but two of these amazing pistols. "Wow, this is fantastic! You got such a cool weapon!" The male customers took a peek and thought it was better than the average weapons they had received. They too had tried to flaunt the loot that they had received from the dungeon but it did not get the attention they had expected. "Let''s come here again when I am off duty." Ren Wei said as he took another bite of the Fried Oreo Pie and savoured it to the fullest extent. "Definitely," Jing Ru had a broad smile on her face as both father and daughter were having a good time at lunch and later at the fishing service instance. . . Chapter 167 1st Month Ranking It had been a few days since the aggressive promotion of the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance mainly via word of mouth and the Pandamonium app that now had over seven hundred cultivators using it. Jin thought that this was an impressive feat considering he had only opened the store for almost a month. The days and nights were long, but he had finally passed the first hurdle that brought down many shops. Jin figured that he should offer some sort of discount to celebrate one month of opening, which unexpectedly coincided with him serving one thousand different customers. Maybe he should advertise the discount¡­ maybe not. Although shops that had high-quality goods did not necessarily need to advertise as people would naturally flock to them, advertising would bring the store in question up a notch especially when the said store was still young. Not to mention the lack of a Shop Signage. For the past few days, he had been tweaking the Sanctum of Worlds since he had created it in a slight rush. Right now, the Sanctum of Worlds had direct access to the other three service instances that Jin had made. Jin figured that these instance connections allowed the monsters to use the facilities to improve themselves as well as take a rest after working the entire day. This also allowed other monsters to mingle together so that they could get to know each other a little more. Jin thought of doing this to take advantage of the system''s ability to allow the monsters to have a better quality of living. Of course, he had also placed interconnections between various Home Instances of the different monsters but each retained their right to privacy. If one monster wished to enter to another Home Instance they would need the permission of at least one monster from the instance they wanted to visit. Also, guess which home instance was the most popular? The prestock Home Instance that was made for the zombies. Almost every monster entered their Home Instance just to have a little fun on the broken down rides and the zombies were also kind enough to let them play. Talking about broken rides, Jin heard from Yun that there was an incident just a day ago where a roller coaster had derailed while travelling up the chain hill. A third of the coaster train fell from the tracks and crashed into the ground, causing the zombies on the ride at the moment to be squashed. Fortunately, those zombies were instantly resurrected by the system and were teleported to the front of their Home Instance. The cause of the crash was not a malfunction though, but it was the caused by one particular monster who tried to ride it. Due to what had happened, it was unanimously agreed by every monster that he was forbidden to touch that ride ever again. This monster who had wrecked the roller coaster was none other than Mr Derpy, who could leap higher than the roller coaster but instead tried to fit his whole body into the roller coaster. He was thinking that if Shu and Mr Oink had not broken the ride when they went on it, he would also be able to enjoy this simple looking roller coaster. However, Jin knew that the roller coasters were actually programmed to break every once in a while, hence the theme of a broken down amusement park. Regardless, it was ironically funny to see such a great being being bullied by the smaller sized monsters. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Welcome Boss! Buying new armour for yourself?" The red panda, who was one of the ''saleswomen'' at the Panda Armoury, asked Jin politely as it jumped onto his shoulders and rubbed against his cheek. Jin smiled as he stroked the red panda''s head. Meanwhile, Jin''s digital pet appeared too and sat firmly on his head. "Nah, to be honest, I am looking for armour for some of my monsters," Jin said and the Red Panda immediately categorised the type of armour suitable for his monsters. The store''s filled shelves that were meant to be a time waster for most shoppers here instantly shuffled and reorganised themselves to show Jin what was recommended for his monsters. "Thank you Red Panda, but I am afraid I am only browsing for ideas and inspiration for my own creations." Jin patted the Red Panda repeatedly. "Why are you looking to buy armour for them?" Yun asked as she came into the Panda armoury, yawning since it was early in the morning before the Sun had even risen. "I am looking to do some dungeon takeovers. Either that or Shifu Zeru''s training. However, the more I thought about what I should do, the more I think I should get the shop''s sign up as soon as possible. I mean, even regular customers like Jing Ru and Xiong Da had asked for the shop''s name and I haven''t given them a proper answer." "Didn''t you already name it Dungeons and Pandas? Blah, this is so off-topic, what do dungeon takeovers have to do with- Oh¡­Armour for your monsters." It seemed that Yun without her Black Ivory Coffee in the morning had made her thinking rather dull too. Jin could have bought the armour items with dungeon dollars but he figured he would look at the prices first and instead try to replicate some of the armour with the Dungeon Maker. He figured it might be slightly cheaper and he could also add in modifications that would fit the monsters rather than human cultivators. "Hmmm, if only the other monsters had the same kind of upgrades like the goblins used to have. Remember? They had new weapons and armour when all of them reached Grade 2. Even now they are using them, especially against higher ranked cultivators." Jin sighed as he admitted that he had not been doing many missions because of the many loose ends he had to handle that had presented themselves due to all the decisions he had made in past missions. "If that''s the case, I can help you out." Yun snapped her fingers and yawned once more as if she wanted to join the Morning Couch Club with Milk and Peppers. A notification appeared on Jin''s phone and stated the following: "Congratulations from the System, Dungeon Supplier. The monthly rankings have been released and the System is pleased to inform you that you have advanced through the ranks. Please come to the Dungeon Maker to receive your rewards." "Monthly Ranking? Oh¡­yes, you did mention before, that the level that I attained as a dungeon supplier was different from the Store Ranking." Jin commented as he gently put the Red Panda back down as he headed for the Dungeon Maker. "1st Month Ranking: 840,199 Placing. You have closed the gap to the position of being the Number One Dungeon Supplier. Please receive your rewards and continue to work hard as a Dungeon Supplier." "How does someone become number one?" Jin knew it was a bit of a stupid question but he just had to ask. Obviously, it had to do with either fame or the number of customers he served or perhaps it was the largest amount of money contributed to the system. "There are a few criteria to it. Reach the maximum level for Dungeon Suppliers. Earn a larger daily revenue turnover than the current number one dungeon supplier. These are the few criteria which you need to achieve but you are still too far behind to know the exact conditions and statistics. Continue to complete the missions. They will enable you to reach Number One." The system showed the information on its interface and Jin was deep in thought for a moment. "I have also tweaked your preferences in missions and replaced them with more ''humane'' ones. Please complete your missions." The system replied once more. "What is the profit turnover rate for the number one ranking?" Jin questioned the system and the system gave a vague answer. "The top twenty rankings have a daily revenue of at least millions of dungeon dollars." "How the hell can I even compete with that?!" Jin thought to himself "Millions?! And that''s in dungeon dollars too?! How was he going to even get a thousand dungeon dollars for himself." Jin thought to himself as he cracked his head. He either had to charge unconscionable prices or he had to diversify his business. "Proceed slowly. There is no rush for you to get there at the moment. Things will be revealed to you sooner or later and there is no time limit for you to get there." Yun scratched her head and pressed a button in the dungeon maker to reveal the rewards to Jin. "It''s actually not much, but it should help you out in the armour and weapons department," Yun said as a new table mystically appeared in the Dungeon Maker. . . Chapter 168 Workings of the Dungeon "What is this exactly?" Jin walked closer to the new table and found a vending machine right beside the interface table to the Dungeon Maker. In fact, the machines looked like they dispensed cards out of the machine. "The system couldn''t find a fancy name for it, but this is where you can buy cards to equip your monsters. You might find it random but I will explain more in a while. Right now, with this new upgrade, the system has also pegged your monsters'' power level to your cultivation grade, similar to your Bellators. The upgrade should make it easier for you to track the levels of the many monsters you have." Yun started to lean on the vending machine while explaining the new machines to Jin. "Yes, I have been thinking about that and how the power level of the monsters and dungeon difficulty actually works. I always assumed that it''s just the system''s workings since I initially thought that the monsters each had their own grade. Won''t that affect the cultivation difficulty of the dungeon?" Jin asked as he placed his hand on the table to support himself as he talked to Yun. "A classic example would be the recent instance for Ren Wei and Jing Ru. Although Little Miss Buu was just a modified version of a boar knight that I rented, there was no indication of her power level after I modified her. Yet for some reason, she was always used as the last boss against cultivators. Does that mean that her cultivation grade is actually higher? Was she pegged to a Grade 6 difficulty as compared to the Royal Boar Knights like Hamlet?" Jin continued to throw his questions at the half awoke and half annoyed Yun but before he could ask any more, she stopped him. With a clap of her hands, a porcelain cup of black ivory coffee along with a saucer appeared on her palm. She savoured it with a sip and gave out a breath of relief. "First. I must reiterate that the system will adjust the difficulty of the dungeons to suit the average grade of the party that enters it. And what I am about to tell you in the next few minutes is sort of a ''trade secret'' so I will like to emphasise keeping this to yourself and not sharing it with your customers¡­ " Yun started to explain the system''s working. "We will use Jing Ru and Ren Wei as the example since you mentioned them. The system will continue to adjust its difficulty in real time when they are fighting. Little Miss Buu was meant for Ren Wei, a Grade 6 cultivator. Since she was designed to be the last boss, matching what you have created in the Dungeon Maker for the goblin route of the plot. However, it encountered only Jing Ru, Spear Goblin and Mr Oink without Ren Wei in the party. Hence, the system first released a signal. In this case, the release of spiritual force, to notify the higher grade cultivators." "At the same time, Little Miss Buu''s stats were temporarily reduced to Power Level 4 to suit Jing Ru''s Grade 3 Peak and her allies, Mr Oink and Spear Goblin, who were at power level 3 instead of power level 3.5. Oh, also, 3.5 is just a more convenient way of saying Grade 3 Peak. Allies are always reduced to ''one level'' lower than the participating customers. However, the moment Ren Wei entered the playing field by either defending, attacking or supporting Jing Ru in any way, Little Miss Buu would have its stats inflated to power level 6.5 with the help of the system." Yun finished her explanation and drank some more coffee. "The system can do that? I know that compressing one''s power level is a standard technique that even animals are capable of doing, but inflating power level? I''ve never heard of that before." Jin was rather confused by the capabilities of the system. If the system is so almighty, why would it still need Jin to be around? "You are right, the system can buff and debuff a monster anytime it wants. When it does such things, it requires resources though. However, the resources that it uses are quite different from Souls, Matter and Magic that you are acquainted with." Yun wanted to continue but this time around, Jin stopped her by raising his palm angrily. "Stop right there. If we want to continue this conversation, let''s get out of the Dungeon Maker first. I do not want to be influenced by the system again." Jin had a sense of deja vu when Yun started to talk about resources. Yun could not help but laugh and shook her head. "Hahaha Jin, seeing you being so cautious makes me chuckle so hard." She wiped her tear away before she continued to talk. "I am just joking, the System uses dungeon dollars to buy the buffs. Remember how we only give you a certain percentage of the money you earned because the rest was taken by the System? Yeah, the system used that to buff the monsters. As you accumulate larger customer bases, we will increase the percentage you earn because of the economy of scale, meaning that amount of money is sufficient to buff the monsters." "So you are saying that if my cultivation goes up, the system is inadvertently getting more money since it does not need to buff monsters as much? How does that even benefit me in any way? That sounds more like a rip-off." Jin felt a little irritated learning something new as he realised the system was cheating him off. "Erm, maybe it''s still the first month and you haven''t noticed, but do you know how expensive the electrical and water bill is for this place? How about the payment for building this store? Do I need to go on?" Yun folded her arms as she answered Jin''s thoughtless question. "If that''s the case, I would like to have proper bookkeeping done. Is there-" At that instant, the Dungeon Maker screen flashed and a list of accounts appeared. Proper bookkeeping? The system was so advanced with its records that the kind of auditing it did for the accounts put the ''Big Four'' accounting firms to shame. Jin roughly remembered yesterday''s sales and took a look at the account only to see that everything was well kept. "But yeah, the system does a little¡­ Hmm¡­ it can do a bit of editing of the accounts to ensure that there is a small amount of savings for you in case of rainy days." Yun added. "I see, so if I have an inspector check my records¡­a normal inspector wouldn''t really see the difference, but¡­" Yun shook her head when Jin voiced his thoughts out loud. "There are no buts! Even the best of the best inspectors will not see the anomaly that the system created. It guarantees the ingenuity and authenticity of the bookkeeping." Yun interjected. "So¡­ if someone really does pick it up, will the system help since it is so confident about it?" "Yes, the system will compensate you¡­ in one way or another." The Dungeon Maker suddenly wrote on the interface near him. It was at that time that they realised they had derailed from the original conversation by a whole lot. "Ehh Yun, how does this reward system work again?" Jin shyly asked and Yun blankly stared at him but did not mock him as she stretched her arm out. "Just give me your phone! I will show you how it works instead of just explaining." . . Chapter 169 Battle Card Interface Yun placed Jin''s phone on top of one of the cash ports of the vending machine and the interface besides the machine responded with a few messages. "First time user of the Battle Cards Interface detected. Creating decks for each monster type corresponding to the monsters User has caught. Please hold¡­" From the vending machine, packs of cards with the monsters'' began keep appearing in chronological order. First were the goblins, then Mr Oink, and subsequently Ke Mi as well as the rest of the gang. Jin and Yun were moving around quite a lot while collecting the packs to place them on the table''s interface. "Wow, there are quite a few packs of cards indeed! But how do they actually work?" Jin asked and Yun, who was taking out the cards from the card packs, answered him. "Watch and learn young Pandawan." Yun finished opening the goblin deck completely and placed it on the interface. She then asked Jin to not touch the rest of the decks at the moment. "As you can see, the moment you place the cards on the interface, the screen will immediately bring up the monsters corresponding to the deck that the card is from." True enough, the Spear, Sword and Dagger Goblin came out on the screen and they were shown as cards. In the next few steps, Yun showed him how to get the deck cards scanned and analysed by the system. The cards that had weapons and armour on them appeared right in front of him as well. Yun placed the weapon card behind the dagger goblin and the screen immediately updated the card art with a new image. Right now, the dagger goblin not only held two daggers, but it was also equipped with a shortbow and quiver that was hanging right behind its body, though it was covered by his cape. "Wow, this is more advanced than any card game system I have ever seen." Jin was a little excited as it had been ages since he had last touched a proper card game. "Mmm, so let''s say this is what I wanted my monster to equip. I would put these two cards into this particular slot here and press this big green ''Fuse'' button. So, the interface would then cover the slot and in a few seconds a new card would appear." Yun waited for a while and true enough when the cover for the slot was automatically opened, a new card was revealed. "What''s more is that the monster cards are actually holographic. Pick it up and insert some chi into it." Yun instructed Jin and he did as he was told. A greenish light screen appeared from the card and the stats, weapons and any armour equipped were all shown on it. "This is really fascinating, but why should I do this? Can''t I make my own items for the monsters?" Jin asked. "Well, you could. It doesn''t matter if you create or buy the equipment, maybe you might even get something from dungeon takeovers. All you have to do is place them on this interface for them to be converted into cards. "Yun demonstrated with the teacup and saucer by placing them onto the interface and after some magical particles swirled around the item, the teacup and the saucer both became cards. "But do you have the strength and time to locate and coordinate weapons and armour for the ever increasing number of monsters? Are you going to equip all your zombies with different equipment? With this card system, you can even ask the system to optimise the procedure by automatically equipping items." Yun explained. "I see¡­ Makes sense, but I''m gonna think about it and play around a little before doing anything drastic. Anyway, now that he has a bow with him, calling the Dagger goblin ''Dagger goblin'' isn''t really appropriate." Jin took a closer look at the design of the card. The front was illustrated with the new art design displaying the new weapon and the back of the card was actually engraved with a unique goblin insignia silhouette to identify the card deck this particular card was from. "Just call him Daggers, like how they call each other Spear and Sword." Yun gave a random suggestion and Jin gave her a curious look. "Don''t they have their own names?" He then summoned the three into the dungeon maker. "You called us?" The three goblins immediately kneeled and Jin saw that the dagger goblin was actually holding onto the new short bow that Yun had randomly inserted as an example. "Erm, I am really sorry for not asking before, but what are your names?" Jin scratched his head in embarrassment. "Master, My lowly name is Piercestriker," The Spear Goblin spoke. "My great master, my humble name is Slashreaver," Sword Goblin answered. "Master, one''s name is Ripcaller. Also, thank you for the new equipment." Dagger Goblin bowed once again in gratitude. "Eh, I was just testing out a new card system. Do you guys have any preferences in terms of weapons or armour?" Jin beckoned them to stand up and come towards the interface. The table was slightly tall so Jin commanded the Dungeon Maker to lower the table and they all sat around it and started discussing. "Are you okay with a short bow?" Jin asked and Ripcaller, the dagger goblin, nodded his head excitedly, bordering on wildly. "It was my childhood dream to work with a bow, but I was just not allowed because the quota for the goblin archers reached the maximum for our village," Ripcaller responded. ''Hmm, I wonder what the goblin world is like¡­Maybe I should ask them during my free time.'' Jin thought to himself while he continued discussing their weapon preferences. Once they were done, Jin rearranged the cards and carried out the placement of cards as tutored by Yun. Within minutes, magical particles appeared around each of the three goblins and they were decked full with armour they had just chosen. The three goblins liked it more than the standard armour given to them when they previously reached Grade 2. Now they were deadlier than before and would prove a challenge to many more cultivators. ''The changes to the power levels and streamlining the card system sure is useful.'' Jin thought to himself before he repeated the same equipment selection process for everyone, first by calling them into the dungeon maker and then discussing what equipment would be good for them. Of course, exceptions were made. The zombies and the Deep Ones weren''t asked as the zombies were brainless while the Deep Ones had yet to contribute to the shop''s coffers. "Yun, so how do I earn new cards if I do not make or create new equipment?" Jin packed the deck of cards properly and the Dungeon Maker now had a dedicated drawer to keep the card decks neat and organised. Whenever Jin wanted a specific deck, all he had to do was call out the monster''s name, and card decks in the drawer shuffled themselves for Jin to precisely pick his desired card deck out. "Just pay 10 Dungeon Dollars for a card., It''s more or less random but there''s a chance for unique rarity. Oh, do remember to tell the system which monster you intend the equipment to be for or else it will just give you a card randomly." "Ewwww, I have to deal with gacha too? And 10 Dungeon Dollars? That is like 1000 Yuan." Jin made a slightly disgusted face. "If that''s the case, you can just wait until you reach a new cultivation grade and the system will endorse an array of equipment cards." Yun shrugged her shoulders to express her nonchalant attitude. "Forget about that for now¡­ I just struck some gold. Maybe I could redesign the digital pets system and do a battle card game with the digital pets¡­instead of them just fighting mindlessly in an arena." Inspired by the battle card system, Jin thought to himself and wrote it down in the KIV section of the to-do list on his phone. . . Chapter 170 Lai Fus Favour "So you are finally going to do the Dungeon Takeover now?" Yun asked and Jin shook his head and showed her a message on his phone. "Oh Lai Fu, that general store boss of Fresh Price? He is coming in the morning to give you the freshly printed of coupon booklets?" Yun asked Jin and he nodded his head, only to have said store owner knocking on his door, which could be seen shown on the Dungeon Maker interface. Speak of the devil! "Guess he is already here" Jin took a look at his watch and noticed that it was already 8.30am earth time so he exited the Dungeon Maker to greet Lai Fu. "Ah, Jin, great timing. I thought I was a little too early." Lai Fu said as he weirdly saw Xiong Da hand-standing upside down beside the shop waiting to come in too. "Boss, why did you make me wait? I have to go fish to get my spiritual force up!" Xiong Da got down from his upside-down stance gracefully, which was truly unexpected for someone who cultivated the Hungry Hippo Style. Jin then realised Xiong Da was utilising his chi more than usual and the chi he emitted was stronger and denser than before. It''s possible that it could even rival a new Grade 4 cultivator in terms of chi density. Lai Fu was a little shocked when he heard the word fishing. "You serious? You can actually fish here?" Lai Fu asked Xiong Da and he nodded his head. "Haven''t you heard? Boss Jin has a new fishing service instance, in addition, the fish you catch can be eaten straight away. Sure, there was some weird types of fishes that appear occasionally but his AI Chef Roro is able to do such an amazing job that sometimes I wonder if Chef Roro is just a master chef in the bear suit." Xiong Da said as he walked into the store and greeted Yun. "You allow your customers to walk in even though it is not opening hours?" Lai Fu got even more confused but Jin quickly shook his head to try and clear up the misunderstanding. "No, he is a special case since he asked for some help with his cultivation. While I am not an expert, he apparently trusts me and my team a lot so we decided to give him a chance. We are glad that we did since it looks like he is improving too. Speaking of which, I remember I owe you a training too." Jin spoke and Lai Fu was a little embarrassed. "Erm, instead of the training favour, do you mind if I go into that fishing instance?" Lai Fu had actually overheard the conversations of Jin''s dungeon supplier and recently overheard the news of being able to fish in his shop when the customers were shopping for basic groceries at his store. Lai Fu didn''t want to do it this way and sacrifice potential training but in order to confirm the hearsays he had eavesdropped, he decided to propose this deal. Besides, he actually hoped that he would get into the fishing instance more than getting training. "Oh? You are interested in the fishing one instead? Erm okay sure. I have several prices in the submenu but since I owe you for acting like a jerk, I shall offer you the most expensive option." Jin said and Lai Fu became a little excited. "You can fish without restraint for the entire day¡­okay, let me rephrase. You can fish without restraint during the opening hours today." Jin realised he did not wish to propose to Lai Fu the same offer that was given to Xiong Da. Sure, he owed Lai Fu a favour, but that did not mean he had forgiven Lai Fu for what he had done. "What can I catch in there? Prawns?" Lai Fu asked and Jin laughed. "Sure, but they are at least five metres long," Jin said, which made Lai Fu confused. "It''s fine, you will understand once you catch something. Do you have professional gear? If you do, you can bring those in." Jin did not wish to say much as he wanted to focus on the coupon booklets that were beside him but Lai Fu was too excited. "¡­Umm¡­. Let''s say I bring in a boat¡­ can I fit that in your instance?" Lai Fu averted his gaze a little as he asked that question. "Judging from your question, you are seriously going to bring a boat in? Your storage ring can do that?!" Jin knew that most storage rings were not able to carry such a large object unless you had an extremely high grade storage ring. Wild rumours said that you could even bring an island around with you if you had a Grade 19 or Grade 20 storage ring. However, no one even bothered to produce such a ring because the materials and processes required to build such equipment were too costly even for a billionaire. "I actually do¡­just a small boat though," Lai Fu humbly whispered and nodded his head frantically. "Okay, if you say so, I should be able to allow it. The lake should be large enough for you to row your boat around." Jin said that and Lai Fu coughed a bit. "Anyways, thanks for the- Waaa?" Suddenly, Lai Fu went to his knees and prostrated in front of Jin. This made Jin extremely shocked and he was beyond astonished. Why did Lai Fu, such an egotistical proud person, kneel in front of a person that was technically his business rival? "Wait, wait, Boss Lai Fu, please get up! What are you doing?" Jin panicked once he recovered from his shock and quickly tried to get Lai Fu to stand back up. It was a good thing that it was early in the morning since he could not imagine what kind of ruckus or rumours would travel around if they saw Lai Fu acting like this. "Boss Jin¡­ I loved fishing! I still do actually, and in fact, to tell you the truth, I was a fisherman before I became a general store owner. However, I have not been able to participate in deep sea fishing for a very long time because my wife does not allow me to do so. If your fishing instance is as good as everyone says it is and it lets me enjoy fishing once more, I will be in your debt." "Boss Lai Fu, please! You have not even entered the instance, do not do this! You are not making any sense at all." Jin pulled him up and he saw that Lai Fu was on the verge of crying. "I''m sorry! It''s just that the thought of fishing again after so long made me really emotional. Please do not mind me. Oh, and before I forget, these are your coupon booklets. They are approved and ready to go." Lai Fu wiped his tear and quickly passed the stack of coupon booklets to Jin. "Maybe I should ask Shen Si Fang about the details instead." Jin thought to himself as he received the stacks of coupon booklets. "I saw the booklets you made! They were really fancy and the deals will definitely help our shopping district in the short term. Now I understand why you said you wanted a week''s worth of profit." Lai Fu said to him as he happily passed Jin the remaining booklets. "So, are you coming in the afternoon for the fishing instance?" Jin asked once he received all the coupon booklets from Lai Fu. "Erm, perhaps tomorrow. Do you mind if I bring some friends along? I think¡­ they might be happy if they heard I am going to be fishing again." Lai Fu asked Jin again but he shook his head. "They can join you but they will have to pay for it. I am only allowing you to go in for free because I owed you. Also, are you sure you are okay to ask your friends to come with you? You seemed a little out of yourself when we mentioned fishing. Plus, you have not tested it out yourself to see if you really like the instance." Jin said with some concern. Though he knew he did not have to care, especially if Lai Fu was bringing in more of that sweet sweet moolah to his shop by inviting his friends, for some reason he felt an obligation to help Lai Fu. "Yea sure, just show me the menu, I will tell them the -OH MY GOSH SO EXPENSIVE!" Lai Fu nearly vomited blood upon seeing the price and only just realised how much he had saved when Jin said he was allowing him to fish for the whole day free of charge. "That is why I asked." Jin sighed but Xiong Da, who had been talking to Yun, overheard almost everything and added his comments into the conversation. "Trust me, the fishing instance is worth it! If you don''t believe me, I can even bet 1000 Yuan that you will like it." "You are willing to go that far?" Lai Fu thought for a while and guessed he would just call his friends since he had nothing to lose. After all, his portion was sponsored by Jin. "Okay, tomorrow then." Lai Fu agreed with Jin and as he went off, so did Xiong Da. "Looks like it''s time for me to prepare the sure win lottery prizes before the shop opens! Yun, you mind doing me favour?" Jin beckoned Yun to follow him into the Dungeon Maker once more. . . Chapter 171 Lottery Prizes Jin re-entered the Dungeon Maker with a copy of the newly printed coupon booklet with him and asked the system to make a comparison between the one he had submitted with the current booklet he was holding. Jin wanted to know if any changes had been made and the system analysis came back in a jiffy. "The quality of the coupon booklet has been compromised but the contents of the coupon booklet remain the same." The system informed Jin and he let out a sigh of relief. After this, Jin summoned Peppers into the dungeon maker although she was still in her pyjamas. "Mind waking her up? I need her to do some work for me." This was the main reason why Jin had asked Yun to accompany him into the Dungeon Maker. He did not want to carelessly touch Peppers in any way in case it offended her. Besides, Yun had experience and was already an expert in waking up the members of the Morning Couch Club. "Roger that, I thought you wanted me to prepare some of your lottery prizes." Yun smiled as she started to drag Peppers out of the Dungeon Maker to wake her up and get her changed. "Well, if you are listening to my thoughts, then yeah. I would like your opinion on some stuff once I''m done with the creation of the prizes since I am targeting a diverse audience of both genders and I cannot be sure that I will get it right." Jin said. The idea behind these lottery prizes was that if a customer bought more than 50 Yuan worth of items they would be entitled to a lucky draw ticket. The coupons along with the receipts were used as proof to enter the lucky draw. Despite this, unlike typical lucky draws, the customers would win a prize with every draw. The idea was simple, there were several categories in the lucky draw. Mainly A, B, C, D, E and F. These 6 categories would be mishmashed into a box and customers would try their luck by picking a ticket out of the box. The ticket would correspond to the type of prize they would receive. Category A contained the best prize while category F contained something simpler. So would Category A be easy to get? Nope. There were only three tickets in Category A since a smaller proportion of the tickets were allocated the higher categories. Maths and Logic stated that the probability of the customer winning a Category A prize was extremely small at the start of the event but the chance got higher when the box had fewer tickets in it. What''s more was that once the tickets were placed in the box, they were fixed and could not be altered. Hence, it was all down to luck and simple probability. Since Category F constituted the most of the tickets in the box, Jin decided to start with something simple. He decided to create straps with chibi versions of his monsters on them, something similar to what Jing Ru and Ren Wei had earned by completing their dungeon run. Category E contained inkbrush paintings of random scenes in the dungeon, either of the landscape or random shots of the monsters which made good decorations at home. Category D was actually the cups he used to serve the Black Ivory Coffee that had various designs of baby pandas tumbling around printed onto the cups. Meanwhile, Category C were plush toys that not only came in the shape of pandas but also cute chibi versions of the Great White Snake, the Werebeasts'' Faces and Mr Oink. Category B was something special. He had purposely called various monsters to come into the Dungeon Maker once again, but this time it was for a photo shoot. He had recreated figurine poses using real life monster and the Dungeon Maker 3D-printed the entire picture as a figurine with a detailed background base that the figurine stood on. For example, Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress, was stylised into a figurine that featured her sitting on the head of Great White Snake. The three goblins were grouped with Mr Oink into one figurine. Ripcaller, the dagger goblin, was lying on Mr Oink''s head sleeping while the other two were sitting Mr Oink''s back talking cheerfully to each other. The leading werebeasts like Gold, Grey, Yellow, and Brown, were in a team fighting formation, each carrying their weapons as if they were being surrounded. When it came to the zombie figurine, there were zombies coming out of the abomination''s back while some zombies were being squashed by it. Last but not least, Jin made a figurine of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu holding both hands as if they had just rushed to meet each other on an old wooden red bridge. They even had magpies on both of their shoulders to signify the help of the Magpie Queen. Lastly, for Category A, there were three unique prizes and similar to other categories, the prize-winner would not know which prize they had won until the ticket showed the name of the prize next to the prize category. One unique prize Jin had thought of was a booklet of tickets that contained one ticket to every dungeon instance ever made, excluding the arena and tickets to the service instances. The other prize was a secret prize for the cultivators but not for Jin as it is a figurine of Mr Derpy with the Deep Ones worshipping it. Not only would they receive this prize, but they would also receive each and every figurine that was in Category B. The last prize was large. Very large. Jin had created a life-size adult Panda Plushie with premium quality synthetic fur that would not drop off easily while also having a nice texture to touch. He thought that the females and young girls would like it. The prize winner could actually use it as a sofa if he or she wished to, all they had to do was sit on the stomach and it would function as a beanie couch. Jin did not know that could be done until¡­ Peppers came in and comfortably slept again on top of the Panda''s stomach. "Guess she did give her opinion in a way, even if it is a little unconventional. I guess I will let her off this time round." Jin smiled as he saw Peppers sleeping so comfortably on it. "Arggh! Don''t drool!" Jin quickly took a tissue out from his storage watch and wiped Peppers'' face but Peppers just continued to sleep like a log. While all this might seem quite expensive seeing as how Jin had used quality materials for every category of prizes, he was quite unfazed by it. This was because everything would be paid for by the system since Jin had completed the mission where he would need to take a photo with a baby panda. He passed the mission with flying colours and the system had no reason to reject him since the reward of that particular mission was to pay for the expenses incurred for the entire coupon creation. "Looks all good," Jin was rather satisfied by the results of the prizes and decided to post them out today. . . Chapter 172 Dungeon Reviews The handling of the store could not get any harder, especially since Jin was actually looking forward to the end of the day. The coupon booklets had been handed out to the customers and most of them thought that it was just the regular coupon booklet that the Tiangong Shopping District handed out every month. Usually, most customers did not really care about the coupon booklets unless they were released around festive seasons like the Lunar New Year or Christmas. That was also the reason why Shen Si Fang, the community head of the Tiangong Shopping District''s owners, wanted to use Jin as a pulling factor to draw in more business in the new month of October. Si Fang did not worry much about November because with the advent of 11 November the Singles Day and Black Friday were enough to encourage everyone to go on a massive shopping craze. Not to mention, December had Christmas¡­ The gold mine for business. Fortunately, the day did pass by without too much trouble and Jin even had new customers coming in because of the coupon advertisement. He was pleasantly surprised that such an old method of advertising still worked with the mobile technology age they were in. What saddened Jin was that no one had yet decided to participate in the sure win lucky draw, which Jin was excited about and had put a lot of effort into. In order to participate in the sure win lucky draw, one had to spend at least 50 Yuan in the shopping district and show the corresponding coupon and receipt to Jin in order to participate in the lucky draw. "I guess it''s just the first day, can''t expect too much out of it." Jin thought to himself as he closed the shop slightly earlier that day. Yun had said that she and the system would take care of the mess once she briefed Jin, his bellators, and monsters on what they need to do for the dungeon takeover. Jin entered the Sanctum of Worlds and asked everyone to gather at the werebeasts'' mansion since they had the largest amount of space and could accommodate everyone in their farm fields. "Everyone, listen up. We are going to do a Dungeon Takeover and the system has already chosen a potential dungeon for Jin to take over. We are not taking some deserted and dangerous dungeon because Jin does not have the experience. Instead, the system has chosen the Subterranean Fortress of the Roleplaying Minotaurs." Yun announced to everyone with a loud hailer megaphone. Jin had seen and checked the dungeon stats for the Subterranean Fortress of the Roleplaying Minotaurs via the system. Apparently, the Dungeon World had a thing called Dungeon Reviews, which was a local search service powered by a crowd sourced review forum. Hence, Jin looked up the Subterranean Fortress of Roleplaying Minotaurs when the system had suggested that particular dungeon to him. While having a silly name, it was a fairly popular dungeon and a number of adventurers liked to take part in it mainly because the minotaurs in the dungeon protected a large vein of high density gold that could be exchanged for a lot of dungeon dollars. The minotaurs themselves roleplayed into various characters because their minotaur lord, Moloch, was a higher demon that wanted to try out various jobs but never had the chance to because of his nobility and prestige in the demon hierarchy along with his demanding workload. Hence, in order to make his various dreams come true, the jobs that he fantasised about were projected by his minions. This meant that most of the minotaurs under the service of Moloch were in some sort of roleplay costume basically 24/7. Initially, the minotaurs found the idea ridiculous but decided to play along with their lord. Subsequently, the majority of the minotaurs were so absorbed in perfecting their disguises that they started to pick up on the skills related to their disguises. While there were not many details about the various cosplaying minotaurs, most of the adventurers had reviewed the dungeon as being rather challenging but rewarding at the same time. "Killing a costumed minotaur will net you 10 to 50 dungeon dollars, which is extremely generous when compared to other dungeons. However, as you travel deeper into the underground fortress the monsters become harder and harder to beat," said Reviewer Cashploxx, who was one of the Dungeon Reviewers that had commented on the dungeon. What intrigued Jin the most was the next paragraph of the review written by Cashploxx. "A small party is not recommended to go further than the Second Gate of the fortress and I would even suggest a large raid party of at least 25 people before entering the Third Gate of the fortress. I was one of the few fortunate ones that entered in a large raid party of up to 50 people and we managed to fight against Lord Moloch. His attacks became rather repetitive after we got used to them and that made him predictable but we still did not manage to kill it until a highly skilled strike force that had been waiting to ambush and KS (killsteal) the boss brought it down." "While frustrated, they were kind enough to share 90% of the tribute with the rest of the 50 members. We were rather angry but gave in eventually since we knew we would not have been able to kill the Lord without them." Upon reading, Jin learnt that kill stealing did happen in the dungeons and asked Yun how it worked and if she could stop it. She said that she would notify Jin when any other people came close since the system could detect intruders and warn him about it. "The system will take all measures so that you can complete the mission smoothly. The reviewer Cashploxx might have gotten lucky and got 90% of the tribute but not everyone in the dungeon world is as fortunate as them. Hence, it is imperative that you obtain achieve 100% of the tribute." "Because 100% of the tribute also means more resources for the system, which is why the system is helping so much," Jin said nonchalantly and Yun could not argue back with that logic. "Do we have a plan on how to take down this fortress?" Peppers raised her hand and asked but both Yun and Jin shook their heads. "We tried to find information regarding the dungeon but none of the online resources had any clues. Yun tried asking the system but the system refused to give any despite its innate desire to take over the dungeon." Jin replied to Peppers and Yun stepped in again. "The system still wanted to make this a challenge for Jin since the reward is a very high grade store signage. To be honest, the system only wanted Jin to bring one or two monsters with him into a separate dungeon that it had suggested but I negotiated with it and the system decided to allow him to go full force on this dungeon instead." Yun added and the monsters were cheering madly since it was the first time they could go all out against something as an entire group. "In any case, we will be utilising everyone and everything that we have to take over this fortress. It will be a large scale operation and remember to do maximum damage! More minotaurs killed equates to more monsters for Jin to create Dungeons with!" Yun shouted out through a loud hailer megaphone. The monsters and the bellators yelled out in unison, displaying their agreement. This time around, Jin was not just a Dungeon Supplier. To the adventurers in the Dungeon world, he was a Monster Summoner, and a high leveled one at that. . . Chapter 173 Force Your Way "This is bad, I did not expect a wide open area right in front of the fortress," Jin and his bellators were hiding behind an extremely large rock after getting in through the cave entrance of the dungeon and descending a few levels. Right in front of him was a spacious clearing that created at least one kilometre between Jin and the front of the fortress. Also, there were guards standing on the outer fortress walls. Thankfully, unlike medieval castles or other important fortresses, there were no moats or drawbridges, though the fortress did have a portcullis, which was a latticed grille gate made of mainly metal. "So¡­Master, how should we proceed?" Peppers was itching to create an explosion right in front of the gates but Jin stopped her from chanting by putting his hand over her mouth as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled back to the rock. "I need you to conserve your strength. Although you have an unlimited amount of mana, I do not want you to vomit rainbows before the boss fight. If your explosive powers can rival even a fragment of the Fish God, I think you can pit yourself against a demon well enough." Jin whispered to Peppers but noticed her face blush red. Jin thought that she was angry because he did not allow her to fire her explosive spells but it was actually something else. Peppers had not expected her master to forcefully grab her by the waist. ''Ahhh! Peppers is growing. Being so conscious of her own body.'' Milk thought to herself and chuckled quietly. "Alright then Master, what are we going to do?" Milk asked Jin as Peppers was clearly not in the mood to talk at the moment. "Remember the Great Wall of China dungeon instance?" Jin smiled wildly as he took his phone out and checked it once more. He had captured thousands of zombies from the desolate Shanghai Tower incident and if the minotaurs in this Subterranean Fortress of the Roleplaying Minotaurs did not have any siege defences apart from the guards, he might just be able to pull his crazy plan off. However, Jin took his time to read through the Dungeon Reviews and one reviewer revealed a tidbit of information about the first gate of the fortress. It was indeed protected by siege defences like bombards, oil pots, and ballistas. It did not have much effect against high level adventurers who used simple tricks like high jump or teleportation but it was deadly against a massive army of low level adventurers. To the minotaurs, the zombies would be like practice targets if they did the same thing they did in the Great Wall of China Dungeon Instance. However, the concept of piling the zombie bodies up to reach the crossover wall parapets was indeed something that interested Jin. "The distance to cover in order to reach the base of the wall will prove to be a problem but I think we can handle that," Jin asked his bellators to return into his phone and he summoned Shu. The moment he did that, the minotaur guards spotted an unusual tree sprouting out from behind a large rock and growing massive within seconds. "Intruders!!!" The minotaurs shouted and the fortress walls were lit up and some even cast light magic onto the ceilings of the cave so that the area would be brightly illuminated. Despite this, all they saw was a tree, but they did not take any chances as they began to adjust their bombards and ballistas. "Now!" Jin shouted at Shu and with magic imbued on his vines to store elastic energy for maximum draw force, Jin was flung out from the branches and leaves like a projectile leaving a slingshot, travelling at breakneck speed towards the fortress. As Jin flew out of Shu''s vines, he immediately unsummoned Shu and started to curl up into a ball, allowing him to execute Panda Tumbling, which caused Jin to move even faster. The minotaurs, who had just aimed their siege defence weapons to focus on the tree, did not have the time to readjust their defences to prevent the projectile that was flying towards them so the guards quickly cleared the area, which allowed Jin to fly and cross over the first gate effortlessly. As he landed, Jin realised he had landed in the middle of a regiment of minotaurs¡­ in cowboy costumes. "Shit!" Jin thought to himself as he immediately slammed Boo into the ground. Stalks of Bamboo began to grow out of the ground and surround Jin like a shield to protect him while the cowboy minotaurs drew out their revolvers and started to shoot at him. Thankfully, the bamboo shield was up fast enough and Jin only received a flesh wound from a lucky bullet. However, the shield would not last from the barrage of attacks so Jin only had seconds to think of his next move. "Ahhh! Screw this!" Jin took out his phone and began to summon the zombies. Similar to what happened during the release of the zombie horde in their own home instance, the zombies crawled out of the phone with haste and like a black tsunami of bodies they crashed into the cowboy minotaurs. The minotaurs were overpowered by the sheer numbers and they were unable to retaliate. "Zombies! To the second gate!! Quick!!!" Jin took out Boo from the ground and transformed it into a bamboo cannon. He hurriedly aimed it at the wall when he saw minotaurs trying to carry a pot of hot burning oil to deter the zombies that were currently piling up at the gates. Using the accumulated chi, Jin released a shot from his bamboo cannon and like fireworks, the top of the second gate exploded as the oil reacted with the chi energy that was produced from the cannon shot. The minotaurs on the gate were burnt and unable to deal with the zombie body pile. This allowed Jin to climb up the wall by literally walking on a pile of corpses and he managed to ascend over the parapets of the second gate. There he saw the fortress and the panicked rush of minotaurs arming themselves. "Zombies! Bite, grab, scratch and eat any minotaurs on sight until they are captured by the system!" Jin ordered the zombies to create as much chaos as possible between the first and second gate as he jumped over the wall to face another regiment of cosplaying minotaurs. "The real fight begins now!" Jin summoned the werebeasts when a regiment of costumed minotaurs created a bull wall in front of them to prevent them from proceeding any further. . . Chapter 174 Dangerous Zombies As Jin crossed the Second Gate and entered the inner courtyard of the Subterranean Fortress of the Roleplaying Minotaurs. The zombies were fighting wildly against the preliminary line of defence to prevent them from attacking Jin from the back. Although Jin hadn''t equipped the zombies since there were at least a thousand of them, he had actually enhanced them with an equipment card called ''Elementary Element Roulette'' as well as an ''I am the Alpha V1.0'' enhancement card. With the ''Elementary Element Roulette'' card, each zombie summoned out would have a chance to become an elemental zombie, either Fire, Ice, Poison or Thunder. Poison had the highest probability of appearing, which was followed by ice, fire and lastly thunder since it boasted the highest elemental damage. The probability for a zombie to become an elemental zombie was at a ratio of 1 out of every 50 zombies. Jin figured this ''equipment'' card was one of the better options available for the zombies, as well as the other potential ''horde'' troops he might get. Sure, the zombies would still be in melee but at the very least their bites, claws, and grabs would contain a slight elemental discharge. It''s like a very, very, very weak version of "Burning Hands" or "Icy Touch". Hence, even though the attacks contained very little elemental discharge damage, quantity made up for the quality of their attacks. However, these elemental discharges were considered a magical enhancement, similar to a temporary inscription. After a certain amount of attacks, the element within the zombie would be fully discharged and they would be turned back into a normal zombie once again. The element within those zombies would also disappear if they were unsummoned by Jin. In addition to the elemental zombies, the ''I am the Alpha V1.0'' enhancement card would buff a zombie to become an alpha zombie. This kind of zombies had developed below average intelligence along with the ability to command the other mindless zombies to perform certain tasks. Of course, the buff was an extremely rare occurrence and the chance of an alpha zombie appearing was extremely low, probably at a ratio of 1 out of a few hundreds of zombies. However, having even just one alpha zombie helped Jin a lot because the zombies could now move around effectively as a group and maximise their advantage in numbers. Unfortunately, similar to the elementary element roulette, the intelligence of the alpha zombie would disappear if they were killed or unsummoned, which Jin thought was a pity. He noticed that the increase in intelligence also created a sort of personality for the zombie commanding them. Hence, Jin did what he could by asking the System to tag and document the behaviour of every zombie that had their intelligence enhanced. This way, Jin would later have the opportunity to properly develop that particular zombie into a stronger entity. Peppers casually gave her comment during the equipment phase earlier in the morning, saying that an Undead Lich would be a good addition to the team but that it also required a lot of spiritual force enhancement for a zombie to develop into a lich from scratch. In any case, there was currently an alpha zombie fighting amidst the regular zombies right inside the outer perimeters of the second gate. This particular alpha zombie called himself Derek. The orders were simple, kill everything on sight which Derek had reaffirmed by commanding waves of zombies to flood up the First Gate walls and disrupt the Cowboy Minotaurs. On the walls of the First Gate, the zombies actually fought against the real mean looking minotaurs that didn''t have costumes on. They were considered as the outcasts of the fortress as they found the whole costume roleplaying to be ridiculous. However, they had made a pact with their lord Moloch, hence they could not break the pact unless they were killed at least once on duty. Oh oops? Reincarnated again and the pact still hadn''t been broken? Back to square one. Then what about that particular statement that said they had the ability to break off the pact, which was written in the contract that they signed with Lord Moloch? Written in slightly smaller yet permeable ink was a subclause that the breakage of the pact would only happen if you were killed by a strand of human hair without any magic imbued into it and in your last breath you had to shout "DAYUM!". It was only then that the minotaur was allowed to die and be free. Those minotaurs who downright refused to wear the costumes were so na?ve to believe that all they needed to do was to die crazily a few times that they rushed to their deaths again and again and again. During the process though, they somehow became fanatics of seeking their own death and unknowingly became part of the roleplay squad. Simply because of this mentality in their minds, they always tried to die in the ugliest way possible. Some of the Fanatic Minotaurs would let themselves get beaten and eaten by the zombies until they were captured by the System via Jin''s new capture module installed in his phone. Anything that came from his phone could capture a monster once it had been beaten into submission. Hence, his bellators and monsters were no exception. Meanwhile, some of the Fanatic Minotaurs fought valiantly like how they were originally designed and protected their fortress¡­ but they went a little overboard. A Fanatic Minotaur was seen holding onto some ballista arrows while throwing them with such strength that it seemed to be an actual ballista, perhaps even faster than one! The only downside to this method was its short range compared to an actual ballista. It was due to the fact that a ballista required time to reload. When he thought of this, the minotaur came up with the idea that throwing the arrows would be a much more efficient way to kill the zombies. One minotaur even picked the entire bombard up and used it as a portable cannon, managing to kill many zombies whilst his other Fanatic Minotaur buddy reloaded the bombard by stuffing the multiple cannonballs manually. The only downside of this was that the minotaur was a little too close to the parapet of the fortress wall and the knockback made him fall to the ground and die. Cause of death? Its horns went straight through the ground, causing it to be stuck. Then, the amount of force with which it entered the ground broke its neck, which led to its unfortunate death. Meanwhile, its buddy, who had been reloading cannonballs, took the large iron balls and smashed them through the sea of zombies until he ran out of balls to throw. On another part of the wall, the Cowboy Minotaurs were putting up a decent fight. Their use of lassos and revolvers made it appear as if they were herding cattle. The fight almost went their way until Derek the alpha zombie managed to gather a group of poison zombies. He used the normal zombies as ''human'' shields to protect the group until they were able to get close and poison the Cowboy Minotaurs. There were other elemental zombies around and Derek made sure that they were protected by a sufficient amount of undead so that their lives would not be wasted and their attacks would always strike true. The zombie horde eventually managed to prevent the preliminary line from backstabbing Jin since he had rushed in to battle¡­ almost too quickly! He and his werebeasts were about to face some terrifying foes. The Battle Maid Minotaurs. . . Chapter 175 You Have A Problem With Our Costumes?! "I think they are dressed like this so that people will underestimate them." Meomi could somehow feel the danger the Battle Maid Minotaurs emitted via her innate cat senses. "I do not think the dresses make them weak. In fact, I think the dresses make them even more dangerous¡­" Gold commented as he noticed some male minotaurs, those big bulky muscular bull humanoids that were capable of crushing a car with their bare hands, were also wearing french maid outfits with frills. "You have a problem with our costumes?!" One of the Battle Maid Minotaurs shouted at them. This particular minotaur was a male yet he was wearing a blue coloured bob hair wig while carrying a spiked chain ball as his weapon. He stepped forward and flexed his muscles, causing the maid sleeves to rip apart due to the sheer size of the bulging muscles. "Name''s Mer." "Yem." Another Battle Maid Minotaur proceeded to announce his name as he carried a 2-metre long barrel rifle that Jin had not seen before. However, the way Yem was holding his rifle showed that he had no intention to use it as a long range weapon but rather as a blunt weapon. "Sebastia." This time round Jin noticed that the minotaur that had spoken was a female and unlike the brutish features minotaurs usually had, the female minotaurs featured more human-like characteristics than their male counterparts. To an extent, Jin could even categorise the minotaur as a refined female human wearing fake bull horns. But Jin knew he could not underestimate this female minotaur that wore a butler tuxedo and held her arms behind her back. "So the males are wearing maid uniforms while the females are wearing the butler ones¡­ The lord of the fortress must have some screwed up fetishes." Jin thought to himself as he noticed the other maid costumed minotaurs were kneeling in front of the three named minotaurs. It appeared that these three were the leaders of this group of minotaurs. "We are the ultimate servants of the fortress and we will not allow you to pass through and tarnish the cleanliness of our Lord''s abode!" Mer shouted out as he threw his chain ball at Meomi. Meomi smiled as she used her whip to deflect the incoming chain ball strike and Jin was surprised that she was actually powerful enough to do so. "Didn''t you say "No mercy"? This is better since I do not have to hold back as I did in the dungeons!" Meomi licked her lips while Gold laughed heartily. "Don''t lie, you never hold back! You just don''t have the humility to admit that some of Boss Jin''s customers can defeat you!" Gold, who was previously scared of Meomi, had become friendlier and more daring in his conversations after they had been captured by Jin. Even Meomi had mellowed down her egoistic attitude in front of the other werebeasts and treated them nicer than she had back in the Farming World. She had a simple¡­ maybe an even primal reason. She was being fed constantly with decent food, had a solid roof above her head and did not need to fear being attacked so she figured she didn''t need to be so harsh on her comrades. Gold moved to attack the rifle wielding minotaur while the vice leaders of the werebeasts pressed forth to fight against Sebastia. Even Nyanmi, who was always by Meomi''s side, decided to help out against the female butler all for one reason. The werebeasts never participated in a fair fight because war was a dirty business. The three of them had, therefore, felt that ganging up would probably be logical since the one without weapons was usually the most dangerous. Separately, Grey, who was the tactician of the group, continued to do his job as he commanded the twenty to thirty werebeasts to fight against the opposition''s platoon of Battle Maid Minotaurs. "Master Jin! Continue onwards! Conserve your strength! We will handle the situation here!" Grey shouted as he asked one of the werejackals to follow Jin in the unlikely event of any unexpected ambushes. "Grey, I will leave him with you instead. You need the manpower more and besides, I have plenty more in here." Jin pointed at his phone as he rushed across the inner courtyard and entered the fortress. "Now that Master is not here, we can fight without worries." Gold shouted as he turned and let out a deafening howl, which encouraged the others to fight with all their might. "That howl will be your last!" Yem shouted as he rushed forward. It was at that moment that Gold realised something. The long rifle was actually a scabbard for a longsword. Gold was not able to evade the first strike but the black armour skin of the jackal that he had cast on himself when he was rushing at his opponent managed to soften the blow, meaning that the strike only caused a flesh wound. "I will pay that back by at least double." Gold grinned as he plunged his left claws into the Battle Maid Minotaur as Yem struck him on his torso with a side-slash. Yem bore through the pain but it did make him flinch a little, which gave Gold that precious split-second opportunity to gift his friendly neighbourhood minotaur a sucker punch delivered right into his face. Yem noticed that his vision on his left eye had become blurry due to all the blood, but his right eye identified that this punch was anything BUT ordinary. He remembered that there had been black claws protruding from Gold''s knuckles but now they had disappeared. "Looking for these bad boys?" Gold released his left claws by scratching Yem''s tough leather skin, making another wave of claws that ran through Yem''s skin, causing it to finally tear and bleed. It was at this instant that Yem noticed Gold really had long black metallic claws growing from his knuckles and that he could retract them anytime he liked. However, Gold was bluffing Yem. Those claws that grew from his knuckles? They could only come out briefly since they devoured a large quantity of his werebeast powers to make the claws razor-sharp and impervious against the toughest materials. Not to mention, it hurt a lot each time Gold made the claws grow out of his knuckles, meaning he could barely maintain it for longer than eight seconds. However, all of these were the setbacks of a low level equipment card that Jin had equipped on the big boss of the werejackals. Even Gold had agreed and acknowledged that the versatility and possibilities of this weapon far outweighed the potential risks and the bodily harm it caused him. Yun had said that a higher level of that same equipment card would cause fewer side effects when using it. Either that or Jin had to increase his cultivation grade so that the monsters would also grow stronger, easing their side effects when handling the equipment. However, instead of Gold laughing, Yem tore a part of his maid dress and tied it around his head to cover both of his eyes. "Come!" Yem shouted at Gold as his body sank into a battle stance. . . Chapter 176 Jackals! "This is bad, it looks like his speciality isn''t the rifle ¨C wait, what?" Gold thought to himself as he noticed that Yem had sheathed his longsword back into the rifle looking ''scabbard'' and he subsequently pointed the rifle at him. "Shit! So that thing can interchange between a sword and a rifle?" Gold panicked as he knew he was not an extremely agile monster. If Gold rushed forward now, Yem would probably notice Gold and would shoot him on the spot. "Is there anything I can do?" Gold panicked and stepped back. A shot was fired¡­ and it barely missed him by a hair''s width. "Tsk, this bleeding has affected my breathing," Yem snorted as he parried a Werejackal follower that had tried to ambush him with his rifle. Within a split second, Yem reloaded and shot the werejackal before the Werejackal follower could even recover. "Shit!" Gold felt a flesh wound appeared on his ear from another shot taken by Yem when he was trying to take that small window of opportunity to move forward. At this rate, Gold was seriously contemplating whether or not he should use his ultimate skill, ''The Hunt of the Golden Jackal'', so early in the fight. That ultimate skill of his allowed him to experience a sharp boost in speed but he knew that it could not rival the speed that Yem displayed when he was reloading, not to mention the speed of a bullet. However, Gold did notice a weakness in Yem''s attacks. He would only shoot when someone made a move but what about if he didn''t make a move¡­ or at least he didn''t appear to? Could he really differentiate the various sounds in such a chaotic battlefield? Probably not, and that was what Gold was betting his life on. With Gold being a scholar previously, he definitely had some magic spells and tricks up his sleeves. So without any incantation, Gold made a mimic voice of himself roughly five metres away from Yem, who fell for the trick causing him to unload the bullet in that direction. That was when Gold thought that he might be able to trick him. Gold immediately activated the Hunt of the Golden Jackal and started to cast multiple mimic voice spell "Screw it!" The shot accidentally hit a fellow battle maid minotaur though the trajectory of that bullet was purposely set up by Gold. After that previous mimic voice came the mimic sound of Gold''s footstep and Yem followed the sound as strictly as possible, sticking close. This caused Yem to injure many of his own teammates in the course of his charge. Meanwhile, Gold used that chance to get closer to Yem while suppressing his fear of getting shot as much as possible. It was vital for his survival since breathing, especially when it was closer to the enemy, would make it easier for Yem to pick it up. It was after the fifth shot that the other named minotaur Mer noticed Yem hitting his own teammates and told him to stop. "You can''t afford to be distracted, you know?" Meomi was already in front of Mer as she turned her whip into two swords, which were used to stab Mer. "Bloody beetch!" Mer shouted as he tried to ''shoo'' Meomi away by flexing his muscles, which cause the swords to get stuck, while he used his right arm to karate chop the werecat in front of him. Unfortunately, the cat was more agile than Mer had anticipated and gracefully climbed up onto his head before trying to stuff the sword she was holding with her tail into its neck. Suddenly, a shard of ice appeared from out of nowhere, aiming for Meomi''s head. Luckily for her, she sensed the attack in time and retreated from that position. "I am not just a brute!" the one-horned minotaur Mer shouted as he swung the chain ball once more. But this time Mer thought he had managed to hit Meomi because he had cast an aura of ice when she had landed, causing her movements to become restricted. Meomi purred at the incoming attack and ''poof!''. In an instant, she turned into a small black cat and elegantly evaded the attack by standing on the tip of one of the spikes on the spiked chain ball. Mer tried to retract the chain ball but he did not notice how the black cat had managed to tip-toe it''s way along the chains of the chain ball. Before he knew what was appening, Meomi transformed back into a werecat while standing on his shoulders and used a Cat o'' nine tails to whip him. You can imagine the pain since the Cat o'' nine tails was a type of multi-tailed whip that was specifically designed to lacerate the skin and cause intense pain. And this horrifying whip slapped Mer right in the face. Mer shouted in pain, which was cruelly stopped by Meomi, who used her tail to forcefully insert the sword through the poor minotaur''s mouth. She finished the killing blow by performing a stationary somersault kick and landed the kick on the hilt of the sword, causing the sword to plunge further into Mer''s throat. Mer was later captured by the System. In the meantime, Gold had managed to close the gap between him and Yem¡­ who finally noticed that it was all a rouse by Gold. However, it was too late to even grab the longsword from his rifle as Gold bit Yem in the neck as he used his claw knuckles to stab Yem''s chest repeatedly. The Hunt of the Golden Jackal also increased his bite power and Yem could not resist the attacks Gold had dealt him, which caused him to drop to the ground due to the lack of breath as he subsequently disappeared. Gold did not move an inch away from Yem''s until the System was done capturing him. Only then did he finally let go and take a breather. Gold took a look at Meomi and saw that she had nearly finished playing with her prey at the same time as Gold had finished with his. They both took a look at Grey and Yellow, only to see that they were actually having difficulties fighting Sebastia. "Do not interfere! This is the pride of the vice leaders!" Yellow shouted as he too took a breather while Brown and Nyanmi continued attacking Sebastia. "Then you will not mind me joining," Grey entered the fray as he had previously had his eyes on all three separate fights even though his main focus should have been on the other battle maid minotaurs along with commanding the rest of the Jacks. "Heh, if you say so," Gold wiped his fur a little before taking over command of the rest of the Jacks. He might not be as capable a tactician as Grey but Boss taking over the command of the Jacks boosted their morale by a lot. "Finish it before I die from boredom little sister." Meomi yawned as she threw the two swords towards Sebastia, only to see both of them deflected. But it allowed Nyanmi to catch both swords and she combined it with her own whip weapon. "Yes, Onee-Sama." A twin edged whip sword appeared and Sebastia laughed. "As if one more wolf man and a new weapon will make any difference." Sebastia laughed but the vice leaders shouted in bestial fury. "JACKALS!" . . Chapter 177 Sebastia Grey had analysed Sebastia a little when he was watching her fight against the vice leaders of Jacks and Nyanmi. To his surprise, Grey noticed similarities between her fighting style and the cultivators that he had encountered in Jin''s dungeons. The style was similar to a Chinese martial art called Wing Chun, which specialised in remaining a fairly stationary position to readily block fast moving blows to vital points. The martial artist achieved this stationary position by only shifting or turning within a stance on the heels and balls of the feet. Grey had encountered one particular cultivator who had fought with the techniques of the Wing Chun in her style. The Cunning Crane Style. He did not exactly remember who that particular cultivator was as he could not differentiate each and every cultivator since they all looked more or less the same to him. However, he remembered the vicious attacks and blocks that proved to be a tough fight for him and the other vice leaders. Grey figured that if the Jack''s vice leaders had not encountered that Cunning Crane Cultivator, they probably would have lost the fight against Sebastia a long time ago. Hence, Grey understood why Sebastia said that an additional enemy or weapon would not make a difference to her, showing that she was skilled enough to not let these unexpected circumstances matter at all. However, Sebastia did not know that the Jack''s vice leaders had more experience fighting dirty and it was also right up Nyanmi''s alley. With Grey around, both Yellow and Brown felt more reassured since Grey was like the big brother that took care of them even though he was actually younger than them. While they did not verbally communicate, the three of them had devised a fairly high pitch growl and howl system, which served as signalling and commands. Initially, it was just a Jacks system that Meomi and Nyanmi were not able to understand. Mainly because Meomi was not that interested while Nyanmi had just joined them in their home instance. However, as time went by, they got to know each other better in both the dungeon and home instances. Through this period of time, the werecats were finally able to understand the high-pitched growling they were hearing. Of course, it was partially Grey''s credit too because he had forced it into the cats'' lazy brains since he knew it would come useful someday. Thankfully, the cats were smart enough to pick it up easily and it did not take much effort to teach them the basics. "Stay at a distance, let her do the attacking whenever possible." Although the howls and growls addressed this through broader terms, the meaning got across to all of them. Grey made them move away because he had observed a few things. All three werebeasts had weapons with them but Sebastia was strong enough to deflect weapon blows. Sure, if they had asked Boss Gold to aid them, his claw knuckles would probably penetrate her defences. However, Gold would not always be able to protect the vice leaders. What if Jin was in trouble and Gold was not around for whatever reason? Should the vice leaders just suck their thumbs and watch Jin die in front of them? Definitely not. "All I can think of now is hit-and-run." Grey signalled to them and commanded the group to tire Sebatia as much as possible. Tire the target out? Are you kidding? That''s was the Jackals'' most efficient way of fighting that both Yellow and Brown excelled at. Well not much for the cats¡­ but hey! At least Nyanmi could laze around while fighting now, which was a good thing. Yellow would pounce every once in a while Brown attacked with his axe and Nyanmi with her whip sword from afar. Grey chipped in by shooting some low-level fireballs to distract Sebastia. Eventually though, Sebastia realised they were just buying time. She realised that not only were they making her tired from the constant blocking, she did not have a chance to attack because of the nature of their hit and run style. Also, the longer they dragged their time, the more battle maid minotaurs would be killed. Hence, if Sebastia did not do something fast, she would probably be the only one around and the number of werebeasts would definitely overwhelm her eventually, no matter how powerful she was by herself. Sebastia was confident in her strength so she decided to make her move¡­ and that was when Grey smirked in silence. As the jackals were continuing their hit and runs, Sebastia was fairly stationary so Grey actually decided to proceed with a secondary plan along with the hit and run tactics. He purposely cast and tagged the jackals and Nyanmi with a magic spell. Each time they went close to Sebastia, they would release the spell as close as possible to her. The spell seeped into the ground to be embedded. Yes, it was a trap spell, sort of like a landmine but instead of it being physical, it was magical in nature. Slowly but surely, the hit and run tactics had allowed the vice leaders and the werecat to place tens of magical traps surrounding Sebastia without her having the slightest clue. The few steps forward was all Sebastia needed to cause the series of fire, thunder, and ice spells to be activated in one go. The burn, shock and freeze severely damaged and paralysed Sebastia, which made the vice-leaders job easy. Yellow went for the head, Nyanmi aimed for the torso, while Brown swept his axe at her legs. Sebastia was completely defenceless against the multitudes of attacks coming from all direction, causing her to eventually be captured by the System along with the rest of her battle maids. "So slow." Meomi yawned as she was lying down atop one of the parapets on the wall of the second gate. It seemed that she had observed the whole battle from there. "Nyanmi, why didn''t you unleash your skills?" Meomi asked as Nyanmi went up to return the swords to her. "Because the Jacks wanted to prove themselves. I figured I would just aid them in boosting their ego. Would be beneficial in the long run." Nyanmi explained. She was slowly being caressed by Meomi as she stretched her entire body. "Clever girl~! That is one way to get those muscleheads to play into our hands." Meomi commented but Nyanmi replied back with a comment that pleasantly surprised her. "The Grey Jackal though, he''s kinda cute." "I think so too." Meomi grinned at Nyanmi and they ended up laughing with each other for some time. However, the one who was not able to laugh was Jin as he was facing a foe he never even imagined he would face on a replica Golden Gate Bridge in the middle of the fortress castle. "WHERE ON EARTH AND ALL THE PARALLEL WORLDS IS THAT A COSTUME?! IT''S A FREAKING-" A punch landed near him, which Jin managed to dodge with Panda Tumbling. If he had not jumped away at that last moment, he would have been flattened into pancakes with strawberry jam splattered on the roads of the fake bridge. "MEGA ROBOT!" . . Chapter 178 Mechataur For something over forty metres tall, the mega-robot was rather¡­ simple. It didn''t wear a costume, had no frills and was overall just not stylish at all. The robot was shaped like a minotaur with two horns protruding from its head and it wielded a gigantic axe. It had glowing eyes and its body was made out of metals that were painted with shades of brown and green. "A robot for a monster!! Go Mr Derpy, I CHOOSE YOU!" Jin took out his phone and out came the tremendously large monster that even rivalled the Mega Robot Minotaur in size. "I, Mechataur, will defeat this monstrosity! For Justice!" the mega robot spoke as its eyes turned from yellow to red as if it was displaying its anger. "I am the guardian of this fortress and I will not let you sully this sacred fortress!" Mechataur shouted and pointed at Mr Derpy to come forth and fight it. However, Mr Derpy stared at it for a moment before laughing. "Boss, you want a flashy show or an instant kill?" "You cannot do both at the same time?" Jin asked but Mr Derpy just scoffed in reply. "You think you are worthy of a flashy and ins-" Before Mr Derpy could finish his talking, Mechataur punched at Mr Derpy, which sent him flying into a nearby cavern wall. The impact caused the entire fortress to shake momentarily and Mr Derpy ended up slightly stunned. Mechataur did not give Mr Derpy any chance to recover as it immediately sent its axe flying towards Mr Derpy. The axe struck true and hit Mr Derpy in his chest. The Mechataur then forcibly opened its chest plates to reveal an internal cannon that looked like it was charging up a beam to attack the immobilised Mr Derpy. "Urgh, can I trust Mr Derpy to finish this battle?" Jin felt like he should do something to assist the Lord Dagen Replica since it looked like he was going to lose the battle. However, no matter how he looked at it, the only person that could destroy this mega robot was Peppers. He really wanted to keep Peppers for the final battle against the boss if possible but if Mr Derpy could not keep this situation under control, it would bite him in the back. "Damn it, advancing in this dungeon is more important!" Jin summoned Peppers and she twirled her staff as she appeared out of Jin''s phone. To his surprise, Peppers was not attacking at all even though she was summoned out. "Eh Peppers?" Jin called out to Peppers, only to see that she was in a trance for some reason. "IT IS A ROBOT!!!! Master! It is a robot!!!" Peppers squealed as she kept tugging at the side of Jin''s shirt. "Are you not going to attack it?" Jin asked as he started to drip cold sweat. What was with this sudden fascination with a robot? "Can I keep it as a pet? Mr Derpy is too useless, I prefer a robot! Look! It''s going to shoot a blast of wildfire at Derpy!" Peppers eyes were sparkling brighter than a diamond, her mouth was wide open, so much so that she was unable to contain her drool and Jin wanted to faint at this sudden turn of events. "Then destroy it!!! So we can captur-" "BOOOOOOOM!" The Mechataur had finished charging its attacks and fired at the pinned down Derpy. "Mr Derpy!" Jin shouted with worry though Peppers remained dazzled and wow-ed by the Mechataur. The mega robot also laughed with a booming voice. "Justice is served best served as a fillet!" Suddenly, from within the smokes of the explosion, a streaming jet of water burst out and pierced through the chest of the Mechataur. "What?!" The Mechataur was shocked as it started to run diagnostics to see if any vital parts were damaged by the attack. As Mechataur was analysing the damage, the metal and concrete around the bridge suddenly morphed and surrounded the Mechataur by wrapping around its legs, arms and even part of its torso. The metal bars of the bridge even turned flexible. The bars crept into the hole in the Mechataur''s chest, subsequently mending it. "Master! It even has healing abilities! I thought Derpy was able to control the metal and concrete, but it turns out that it really was just a dumb fish." Peppers seemed to be rooting for the enemy''s robot more than Mr Derpy but Jin was relieved to see that the Lord Dagen Replica was still alive and kicking. "Mr Derpy, Instant kill it. Do not make me worry." "Hahahaha! I made you worry?! I am the almighty Derp- I mean, I am the Almighty Shadow Dagen! You never had to or will ever have to worry about me!" Derpy zoomed out of the cavern walls and headbutted the Mechataur, causing it to fall to the ground in the middle of its healing process. Derpy then magically floated upwards and started to fly around the Mechataur. As he swirled around the fallen Mechataur, it was obvious that water particles and magic was beginning revolving around him and within seconds, Derpy flew upwards and the ground magically burst with a gush of water, very similar to a geyser. The geyser of hot steam and water pierced through the Mechataur once more, causing an even larger hole to appear on the Mechataur but Mr Derpy was not done this time and would not allow it to heal again. His eyes stared at Mechataur''s blinking red ones before he gathered more water particles. From within the water particles, Deep Ones were being summoned and within seconds, it was raining monsters. "Die for me, filial ones." Mr Derpy commanded the Deep Ones to launch a suicide attack and they swooped towards the partially broken robot. Unlike the zombies, who would probably have splattered into pancakes once they reached the ground, the Deep Ones had simple tridents and spears that damaged the Mechataur due to the momentum of the fall. Not only that, the Deep Ones also exploded and their blood and flesh corroded the metal parts of the Mechataur. When the Deep Ones exploded, both Jin and Peppers had horrified expressions on their, faces which made Mr Derpy laughed. "Did you see the extent of my powers? Aren''t they magnificent! Aren''t they flashy enough, my puny master?" Derpy smirked with arrogance. "MY ROBOT!!!!!!!" Peppers cried out loud as dramatically as she could. "ALL MY MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN!" Jin cried too and hugged Peppers as he remembered that the fallen monsters in the Dungeon World needed to be replaced by using Souls and Souls, which in turn required money. Seeing how the Deep Ones just went ahead and killed themselves because Mr Derpy wanted to show off with a flashy trick made him incredibly sad. " I said instant kill, didn''t I?" Jin''s heart was broken to see yet another Deep one fell and exploded. "Ehhh¡­ Didn''t you initially said you wanted a flashy instant kill¡­?" Derpy scratched its head at his master''s mourning. Still, the deed was done and the Mechataur had died(been captured) in a fairly brutal fashion¡­ with spears stuck in him and many holes created by the corrosion of its metallic skin. . . Chapter 179 Lord Moloch After the capture of Mechataur, Jin walked off with Peppers towards the next area and left Mr Derpy to guard the bridge so that they could focus on fighting the next boss. Although Jin hoped that it would be the final boss. "Another Gate, another boss I guess." Jin pushed the giant iron double door gates open with relative ease. They looked heavy but when Jin pushed it, he realised they were just for show. A bright shining light shone onto Jin as he opened the gate and Jin half-expected the dungeon to have ended. Unfortunately though, he realised that he celebrated too early. "Welcome Summoner." A man was talking to him while sitting on a large metallic throne. He was accompanied by two costumed minotaur guards who were waiting to pounce on Jin at their lord''s signal. The more Jin tried to observe the man on the throne, the weirder he thought the Lord of this place was. Yes, it was a man on the throne. But there was a stuffed minotaur plushie on top of his head that covered his eyes. The plushie also seemed to be animated as it yawned when the man greeted Jin but no matter how the man moved, the plushie was always covering his eyes. "Come closer Summoner, I am rather impressed by how fast you managed to enter the last part of the fortress. I am Lord Moloch." Moloch spoke quite gently but his voice had a tone of authority to it. In addition, whenever Moloch moved his hand, a massive stone minotaur statue behind his throne also moved along with him like a puppet. Jin gradually began to appreciate how impressive the statue was when he came closer to the throne. It was decorated with various precious metals carved into it and¡­ what seemed to be two auto-tracking laser ray guns that followed Jin when he approached the throne. Not only that, but there were two guards wearing black sunglasses along with a full formal suit, acting similarly to a modern secret service guard¡­ with a twist. Why a twist? Both were not just minotaurs, they were mino-centaurs. The had the body of a horse but a humanoid upper body that resembled that of a minotaur. They stood tall guarding each side of the throne. As for Lord Moloch, who was sitting on the throne, he was surprisingly humble with his attire. All he wore was a casual shirt with its sleeves folded up along with some skinny long pants. Of course, there was also that stuffed lazy cookie brown minotaur plushie that moved around his head while covering Moloch''s eyes no matter how much he moved. "I''d like to ask a few questions. Would you mind answering? Oh, and I hope you don''t mind standing as you answer since most of the maids that I have hired have disappeared after battling with your monsters." Lord Moloch was hinting at something and Jin knew that either this lord demon had an ulterior motive and that was why he was stalling for time or he was just plain curious. "Sure, go ahead Lord Moloch." Jin smiled as if he was greeting a customer but in his mind, he sent a voice transmission to Peppers to be on the lookout for anything suspicious, including anything magical. "Please, just call me Moloch." The lord demon smiled as he clapped his hands in joy. "First question, are the minotaurs that disappeared safe?" "Yes, they are," Jin answered truthfully. "Then, I believe they are under your command now?" The minotaur lord asked as he now leaned back on his throne and crossed his legs. "Yes, they are," Jin replied truthfully yet again. "I see. Your purpose for coming here? To get the tribute or to capture the entire fortress? Summoner¡­?" Lord Moloch realised he had not asked for Jin''s name. "Jin. And the primary purpose of this trip was to get the tribute. The secondary objective was the monsters and before you ask, yes, if possible, I wanted to capture you too, still do, to be frank." Jin took the initiative to answer, which caused the guards to take their weapons out and prepare for a fight. However, Moloch stopped them with a gentle lift of his left hand and placed his head atop his right arm as he started to slouch over his throne. Although he seemed lazy, Jin felt that he was actually interested in the conversation. "Excellent, I can sense that you are not lying to me. So. Let''s assume that you manage to capture me. What will happen to me? Will I have to swear eternal fealty to you? Will I have a choice in matters or will I be forced to do your bidding? Do I have any off days? Can I do whatever I like?" Moloch continued to ask a barrage of questions and it felt like Jin was going through a job interview with the demon. "Once you are captured by me, I will provide you with suitable housing and free food. All your servants would still be under your command but all of you would automatically pledge your unwavering loyalty to me. Hence, in a way, yes, you have to do things my way but since we can have civil conversations, we can discuss things through, negotiate your "contract", so to speak. Off days are¡­ subjective to nature. You will understand once you enter my command." Jin answered all of Moloch''s questions in a clear-cut manner, which made Lord Moloch ponder for a moment. "I wonder what would happen if I were to be relieved of this post here." Lord Moloch talked to himself before he leaned forward and the plushie that once seemed lazy began to stare at Jin. It was as if Lord Moloch was actually the plushie rather than the man that was talking. "If you are wondering, yes. This toy. This plushie is the real me, Lord Moloch. My king, Baal, reduced me into a plushie for losing the tribute a countless number of times to adventurers. I told him that I prefer to do desk-related administrative stuff but he would rather use me as musclehead, sitting on this pathetically small throne and guarding the tribute area." Moloch answered. "So being fed up with King Baal, I decided to carve a place of my own liking. Since the dungeons would be targeted and King Baal would not want to send further reinforcements to protect this place, I decided to do things my way. At the very least, I am having some fun before I get killed by the high-level adventurers." "Therefore, I have a proposal for you. Capture me. Release me from my servitude to King Baal. I''ll serve you instead¡­ though there is a condition. I want you to take this fortress and transform it into a proper town fortress. That''s all I want: to be a proper lord." "What do you mean a town fortress?" Jin asked and Moloch raised an eyebrow. "You don''t know what a town fortress is despite being so proficient in the art of summoning? Sorry, I assumed you had a lot of experience with dungeons." Moloch was surprised until Peppers started explaining to Jin. "Creating a dungeon town fortress means that you are creating an actual town while defending it from monster enemies. It is actually the reverse of a dungeon fortress, which is what you were fighting in. Monsters and willing adventurers can come into this town to resupply. They can choose to settle down, live a life, and defend the area. In short, it''s like a neutral area for monsters and adventurers to coexist in peace." "Then why would monsters want to attack this place? I am sorry, Moloch, I am more of a¡­ bookworm that specialises in catching monsters¡­not really a -" Jin was a little embarrassed until Moloch stepped in. "No need to apologise. I understand how you feel. Sometimes, you just get too engrossed into something that you just do not want to care about other stuff. I think you and I have much alike." Moloch''s human puppet grinned. "Monsters attack because they A) Want the fortress for themselves. And B), Instead of a tribute, taking over a town fortress means that you get full access to the dungeon''s resources. So if they win against the whole town, the monsters would get to utilise the entire dungeon''s resources and be the Lord of this area. I don''t really know why adventurers cannot attack town fortresses but that''s just how things work." "Actually not exactly, records show that adventurers do attack dungeon town fortresses if they posed a threat against their daily life. However, in most cases, they do not do it because they treat dungeon town fortress as havens. If you include an adventurer guild, all the more they would not attack the area. Not to mention, they would also help defend against monsters that raid the area. Hence, they do not really have a problem staying in an area where monsters come to them." Peppers was delighted to provide them with an answer. "Wait, then how come you want me to create a town fortress if only monsters can rule as lordship¡­Oh¡­ Oh! OH! I get it now!" Jin realised Moloch was rather crafty. He did not want to be under the command of his old king and wanted to have an independent place under his own rule. He would then give the benefits of the town fortress to Jin even though he was merely an adventurer. Besides Moloch might have known that he would against Jin. Why fight when you can just join? "So, how shall we do this? Do you want to let your new Master continue reigning the current fortress by beating you up or shall we get into the more complicated stuff?" Jin summoned Sebastia, Mer, and Yem out of his phone and they immediately knelt in front of Jin instead of their former master. Moloch grinned and showed Jin to his meeting quarters. A power play by Jin but one that was necessary to discuss the terms of surrender for Lord Moloch¡­ Though Jin felt Moloch was actually pretty excited about it and would not take much persuading. . . Chapter 180 Dealing With A Demon "So, tell me how this works." Jin was sitting in a meeting room that looked rather bland considering it was used to discuss important matters pertaining to the future of the fortress. He thought Moloch would have made the place a little more posh than the other rooms so that his guests would have a better experience. "Hahaha, I know what you are thinking." Moloch the plushie was shaking its head in sync the human puppet that it was on. "This room had been picked clean by the adventurers. Even a vase, a simple decorative porcelain vase, was taken by them! I mean come on, can''t they just leave the poor vase alone and just kill me so that they get the gold tribute?" Moloch was complaining as he sat down while Sebastia and the other maids went to make tea for Jin and Peppers. Peppers loved the attention she had been getting since currently Jin had only summoned her and not the other bellators. Not to mention, Jin had never really summoned her alone before at all. To be part of an important discussion, Peppers was extremely excited and ready to serve her master to the best of her abilities. "Anyways, I digress. Here''s the thing. This is totally an assumption but from based off of historical records I looted from some adventurers, I believe it should work despite it being theoretical. Usually, when an adventurer like you kills me, the magical core of this dungeon would be exposed and it would allow you to reach into the core before it would verify that you are eligible for the tribute." Moloch started to explain how the dungeon town fortress works. "But, if you capture me, the process will be totally different. The magical core would not be exposed but a dungeon guardian would be summoned from the core. That guardian is the so-called ''spirit'' of the dungeon core and the one who handles the tributes and resources in this particular dungeon." "Technically, it''s not meant to be beatable because the spirit of the dungeon core uses the exact same guardian to gauge how powerful the monsters are that want to take over the fortress. A certain time limit would be issued and it would allow the core to determine what kind of resources it would grant the monsters to start with. Hence, it''s something like a punching machine in the arcade, your ''score'' in beating the dungeon guardian would determine how much it would provide us with." "What kind of resources would it provide?" Jin asked and all he could think of were the resources that had been introduced to him such as Matter, Magic, Souls and Dungeon Dollars. "Walls, houses, water supplies, lighting supplies. The basic necessities for creating a proper town. If we do well enough, we could build walls as strong as the ones this current fortress has." Moloch answered as he began to sip his cup of coffee that had just been brewed by Sebastia. "But Jin just flew over your pathetic walls." Peppers answered in a matter-of-fact tone, which Moloch could not help but sigh at. "In all my life as a Lord, never have I seen someone as crazy as this Summoner. Catapults? Sure. Catapulting a human over a wall? Unheard of!" Moloch appeared to be very impressed by Jin''s actions. "So you are saying¡­ there has not been a single flying mob or wizard that tried to enter the same way as I did?" Jin could not help but secretly basked in the hidden achievement he had just been bestowed by Moloch. "The adventurers do have wizards that can fly. Usually though, they would need preparation to fly over the walls. And even if they did do that, there would be only one, or at most, a bunch of them flying in. We would have already identified these buggers and shot them out of the sky before they could even get the chance to come close. If not, we would just handle them when the need arises. Jin, on the other hand¡­let''s just say he is an exception." Moloch purposely made Jin happy in the hopes that he would more easily accede to his demand later on. "So the dungeon core allows you to choose whether this is a dungeon town fortress or just a dungeon fortress?" Jin asked and Moloch nodded his head. "Aye, and most monsters would choose the dungeon fortress because they are technically protecting the dungeon core''s resources, hence the dungeon core gives them a reward for protecting the area. It is the easiest and safest way to do things. Because even if the monsters lost the dungeon, the core would still give them a reward, albeit smaller." Moloch gave Jin a detailed answer. "Dungeon Town Fortresses on the other hand, utilises the resources of the dungeon core. That is why there are not many dungeon town fortresses. And even then, they are more commonly used as a sign of power rather than as actual resupply bases. Take my Demon King, Baal, for example. He has an Empire Fortress, which is a wayyyyy upgraded version of a town fortress, and all he uses it for is to show off. He uses the rewards from almost every other dungeon fortress to build up his own Empire." It was clear that Moloch said King Baal''s name in anger. "Oh¡­so that''s why dungeons are lucrative for adventurers. Then I must ask, will it always be only monsters that can activate the dungeon cores even as the world continues to expand?" Jin was curious since he remembered the dreaded dungeon that had been created by the system in the frontiers. "Absolutely, the dungeon core only recognises monsters. Humans have tried multiple times and they have not been able to activate the cores at all." Moloch told Jin but in Jin''s mind, he was thinking otherwise. Since Jin was an outsider, would he also be able to activate the dungeon core? Technically, he had the powers of a Panda, which to the natives could be considered as a monster. And Even if he couldn''t activate it with that, he still had the living armour bands which always stuck to him. Could they be used? If Jin was really able to control the dungeon core, he would not be at the mercy of this Demon Moloch despite him being controlled by Jin due to the System''s powers. But what if he had a way to break out from the System, no matter how unlikely? What if the System was not as almighty as it claimed to be? That was why Jin had the idea of controlling the dungeon core himself. Call it greed, personal benefit or just leverage, Jin felt that no matter what, this dungeon town fortress could be a great way to earn easy dungeon dollars, that is if Moloch could really run the town as well as he claimed he could. "I don''t exactly trust you, I don''t know your motives or even your desires in running the town fortress. How would you run the town fortress? What happens if King Baal or his underlings come for the town fortress? I am sure that no matter what, they would not leave this precious place alone, or worse, let it be handled by a traitor." "That''s when the fun stuff happens, isn''t it?" Moloch leaned back in his chair and sniggered. Jin was not able to get it but Peppers nodded in agreement. Jin looked at Peppers for an explanation but Peppers did not give him any. "It is indeed beneficial." Peppers hinted as she continued to see Jin make a perplexed face. "Oh¡­ They would come to us. That means I would be able to capture them if I am around." Jin realised how stupid he was to not see this crucial benefit. "Not just that, they would also be decked out in armour and weapons, perhaps in wads of cash too. If you are powerful enough to capture them, they would be in our service and our town would become significantly stronger." Moloch finally smirked at Jin. Looks like he was looking beyond the silver lining of the clouds and at the clear blue sky beyond. "And your opponent Baal would get weaker each time he tried to raid you." Jin was finally catching onto Moloch''s plan. "Not just that, King Baal would also most likely send out his trusted warriors and some of those warriors would also oversee other dungeon fortresses too. Capture them, make them loyal to us, get them to attack their own dungeon cores and then we can create either another town fortresses or a dungeon fortresses for the reward." Moloch added. "I finally see where all of this is going. Looks like a lot of work though." Jin tried to downplay this particularly grand plan of Moloch. "No money, no honey." Moloch shrugged his shoulders as he raised his hands in innocence. "Give me a chance to talk to my closest summons for a while and ask for their opinions before I decide." Jin remarked but the moment he said that, his phone buzzed with notifications, a large one at that. "Emergency Mission: Capture Moloch, clear the dungeon core and create a town fortress or higher." The system notification was written in large red font. Jin realised that it had been a while since the system had last done that. "Wow, the rewards." Jin was instantly held captive by the rewards the system offered but he still decided to ask his bellators for a second opinion, actually, it was a third opinion since the system had just taken a side. "It''s a really a no brainer, Master." Zeru sent a message notification with a cartoonish sticker of him nodding his head. "Go Fighting, Master! PS: did I use it right? I heard it being used by an injured cultivator in his messages when I tended to him in the recovery bay." Milk sent an emoji and a Fighting! sticker. "Then, I shall sign a deal with the devil then, literally." Jin said as Peppers also nodded her head enthusiastically. "Correction, Demon." The plushie smiled with bliss as he asked Jin if both could prepare before he was captured since the dungeon core would immediately appear. . . Chapter 181 Dungeon Core The remaining Minotaurs stopped fighting against Jin''s monsters and both sides respected the ceasefire and an understanding was reached after a fortress wide announcement was given. The losses were quite insignificant on Jin''s side as compared to Moloch''s but it was still eating up a fairly substantial amount of Jin''s wallet. The system calculated that it would roughly need 2000 dungeon dollars for the loss of zombies and the werejackals. There were also some injuries incurred by a number of other monsters, including all of Mr Derpy''s wounds. All those were included in the recovery costs calculated by the system. Jin once asked Yun why Milk couldn''t just heal them such that they would incur fewer recovery expenses and the system stated that even if Milk was able to heal them, she would need to use quality catalysts as healing materials and they cost money. Unfortunately, Milk had to agree with the system on this one and acknowledge that healing monsters were slightly different from healing humans since her healing magic was catered for humans. "Heh, but humans are monsters in the eyes of other species." Jin rolled his eyes at the ridiculous reasoning the system gave and guessed it all came down to more money that the system could leech from Jin. Meanwhile, Moloch and Jin gathered all the monsters around the throne room and they explained the current situation to the remaining Minotaurs, whom immediately assured their lord that they would still lay down their life for Moloch even if he were to be captured by Jin. "Wow, they are surprisingly loyal to you even after what you put them through." Jin casually said and Moloch scoffed at him. "What do you mean?! The costumes were of SUPERIOR quality! Look at how poor I am, what do you think caused this?!" Moloch''s man puppet posed angrily with his arms folded. "Erm¡­technically, you forced your own ideas upon them. Now it makes me wonder if you would really be a good fortress lord." Jin suddenly had his reservations and Moloch panicked a little. However, his underlings suddenly came forward to Jin and helped their lord out. "Our Lord might be eccentric regarding the costumes part but he really did go to great lengths to help us!" One of the remaining Fanatic Minotaurs shouted. "I too have to admit that Lord Moloch did whatever he could to aid us. Minotaurs in the Dungeon World are considered as mere muscle heads with no magic abilities. We can''t breathe flames like dragons and we cannot grow any larger like giants. Our movements are not exactly the most agile no matter how much we train, meaning we can barely keep up with a high level assassin, much less beat one. Hence, most dungeon fortresses only put us as front liners and nothing more. Lord Moloch took us in when nobody wanted us." Sebastias pitched in her own opinion regarding Moloch. "Having a heart of gold doesn''t exactly mean that he is competent in administration¡­ but oh well, at least he had a conscience and a desire to carve out a place of his own." Jin thought to himself and somehow he felt that Yun was laughing at him. "What''s the matter, Yun?" Jin asked in his thoughts. "Nothing much." Yun did not bother to explain herself. "So, shall we get started?" Lord Moloch kneeled in front of Jin as if he was waiting for an imminent execution. Only then, Jin took out his phone and knocked the phone against Moloch''s head. There was no killing needed since the monster was willing to be captured on its own accord and the phone absorbed the essence of Lord Moloch immediately. As expected, the entire fortress shook as if it was crying over the loss of its owner and from the throne room, the gigantic minotaur stone statue looked at Jin before it shot out a fairly large metallic ball at the throne chair, causing it to be destroyed. Jin immediately summoned Moloch out along with his man puppet and Moloch commanded the man puppet to hold him up so that he could initiate the dungeon core process. At the same time, Jin summoned every single monster he had in his possession. He did not worry about the potential loss of monsters in this incoming guardian fight. The rewards offered by the system were far greater than any mission he had ever done before, making it a worthy investment. ********** Completion of the mission will allow the User to earn the following: Increase in current Store Rank. License to build a store in the Dungeon Town Fortress. Dungeon Town Fortress to be established as a "Defend the Fort" Emergency Raid Instance. Ability to transfer customers to Dungeon Town Fortress in case of Monster Raids. A Sum of 100,000 Dungeon Dollars More details will be available upon completion. ********** If what Moloch said was true and the results of the guardian fight was a measure of the resources they would be getting, Jin definitely would go all in. "I''m ready," Jin said to Moloch and everyone behind them was nervous about what was going to take place. The man puppet brought the demon Minotaur plushie closer to the core and the plushie moved its hand to activate it. A bright light shone from the core and a loud booming screech came from above. A tremendously menacing behemoth magically appeared from the ceiling and decided to crash itself into the crowd in front of the throne. Jin saw what was coming and unhesitatingly unsummoned every monster as fast as he could, preventing the behemoth from destroying his ''army'' of monsters. Unfortunately, the minotaurs that were not captured by Jin were completely obliterated and the impact from the crash sent almost everyone flying into the walls of the spacious throne room. Even the solid stone walls of the throne room were barely standing from the attack of the behemoth. It roared once more and the smoke that accompanied the crash was dispelled almost instantly. It was then Jin was able to witness the looks and ferocity of the dungeon core guardian. It''s beautiful black stone skin. Its fangs that surprisingly complemented its bull head created a fantasy monster from Jin''s darkest nightmares. Its legs, both front and hind, had spikes attached, ready to be shot out at a moment''s notice to counter any attacks aimed at its legs. Its defining feature though, was its metal like hair mane started from his head and grew all the way down its back. It looked like the bundle of steel hair had a will of its own as it pierced a dying Minotaur''s head, leaving nothing behind. Jin had not felt such abyssal fear coming out from his heart ever. "Holy cow¡­" . . Chapter 182 Bull Behemoth - Part 1 The bull behemoth roared once more, which caused everyone in the vicinity to shield their ears due to the how deafening the roar was. This immobilised Jin and the minotaurs, which allowed the behemoth to pick off the stationary targets like he was picking off flowers from a flower bed. Most were able to quickly overcome the ringing in their ears caused by the behemoth''s shout. Jin and Moloch were of course among them. "Tsk, I cannot believe the dungeon core gave us the hardest difficulty." Moloch cursed loudly under his breath. Jin somehow managed to overhear Moloch despite the persistent ringing after the shout of the behemoth. "What do you mean the hardest difficulty?!!" Jin shouted as he could not even hear himself when he spoke normally. "No time for that, throw all your firepower towards at the dungeon core guardian!" Moloch commanded all his remaining troops to fire at the behemoth. Fanatic Minotaurs from the first gate had brought their ballistae and bombards into the throne room before the initiation of the dungeon core. They immediately acceded to Moloch''s command. Despite being stationary, those siege weapons proved to a decent opening attack and also provided enough time for the rest to regroup. Jin summoned half of the zombies he still had and ordered them to harass the behemoth and keep him busy while the siege weapons rained down hell. Unfortunately, the siege weapons were destroyed almost instantaneously with one swipe from the behemoth so this plan was blown out of the water. Surprisingly, Derek the Alpha Zombie appeared once more, which was akin to winning the lottery twice in a row. It actually was pretty similar, since "I Am The Alpha V1.0" could be seen as the lottery for zombies. Anyhow, since it was his second time in command, Derek knew what to do as compared to when he was enhanced the first time. Hence, he made a platoon of elemental zombies and asked them to fall back for a moment as the main regiment of zombies charged forward as furiously as they could. The spikes of the behemoth proved useful against the zombies as they were shot out of the legs to prevent the zombies from biting the behemoth. However, quantity triumphed over quality as the spikes regeneration rate was slower than the number of the zombies coming at the behemoth. The behemoth was very quickly being overwhelmed. In the meantime, Jin summoned out Peppers, Milk and Zeru. "Milk! Prepare God''s Punch!" "Peppers! You know what you need to do!" "Zeru! Execute your best moves against it once Peppers finishes destroying it!" Jin commanded all three bellators to do their best. "Master, it would be best if you could immobilise it. Although the size of this thing should warrant a slower movement, it does not seem to work that way in this world!" Peppers shouted. "I will think of a way as soon as possible. For now though, both of you start casting!" Jin agreed with Peppers after seeing how the colossal behemoth moved so agilely despite its size. He then summoned Ke Mi the Zither Mistress, Shu the Ancient Treant, Que Er the Magpie Queen, Zhi Nu the Battle Weaver, and Niu Lang the Cowherd. As if they knew what Jin had in mind, they immediately headed to battle doing what they did best. Ke Mi the Zither Mistress played her Zither with absolute elegance in the midst of the messy chaos in the throne room. Her battle songs not only sharpened the souls of her companions, allowing them to concentrate better, it also caused the behemoth''s movement to slow down a little. Shu the Ancient Treant started to gather the elemental zombies around it as he fired them off one by one like a slingshot towards the behemoth. The elemental zombies that crashed into the behemoth discharged all of their whole elemental power as they continued to scratch and bite it to the best of their abilities. The behemoth was annoyed by this and started to used its metal hair bundle to sweep them off its back. The zombies being catapult to the bull behemoth''s back distracted it sufficiently for Niu Lang to get close to it and blow the Taurus horn that he held. What appeared from the horn was a surprise to Moloch. He witnessed the Mechataur come punching out of the horn. "I gave the control of the Mechataur and the other bulls to Niu Lang because he seemed to have the affinity towards all cows, bulls and buffalos," Jin said as he summoned Mr Derpy from his phone. This time round he gave a Mr Derpy a command that made him grin widely. Not to mention, Mechataur actually had a cockpit. Niu Lang entered it as Mechataur opened the cockpit hatch for him after it was summoned. To Niu Lang''s pleasant astonishment, there were Chinese words that appeared in the cockpit console system as he held onto the controls. In the cockpit console, he suddenly heard a "Welcome Niu Lang" in the voice of Taurus. "Lord Taurus?!" Niu Lang cried out and the console indicated it to insert the Taurus Horn into it. The moment it did that, a jolt went through his brain and a series of information entered his mind. "Thank You from the bottom of my heart, Lord Taurus." Niu Lang teared up as he gripped the control sticks and placed legs onto the paddles. With a flick of a button, the console system lit up brightly. "Taurus Titan System unlocked, initiating Heavy Armament mode." Mechataur, who was a previously simple minotaur looking robot, suddenly underwent an amazing transformation. Two jumbo sized Gatling guns grew out from each side of its arms. Its chest opened up and revealed not just a heavy blasting cannon but also multiple missile slots. Behind its shoulder plates, two homing missile launchers were activated and aimed at the behemoth. Its tail separated into three prongs as it acted as a tripod against the recoil. "EAT LEAD!" Niu Lang and Mechataur shouted in sync. Continuous sounds of bombardment drowned the Heavy Armament Version of Mechataur in smoke as the Gatling guns rotated speedily to rain bullets of lead upon the Behemoth, who was trying to get up after being punched by the very same massive robot. Missiles screamed and exploded when they came into contact with the skin of bull behemoth. Cannons pierced holes through the behemoth. The zombies that were still on the behemoth and had not been burned by the friendly fire crawled into the holes to discharge their elemental energy inside of the behemoth for extra damage. Niu Lang later realised that the reason the behemoth was still pinned down was all thanks to Zhi Nu the Battle Weaver as her strings immobilised the massive bull momentarily the instance the behemoth had gone went down. Of course, it was with her weaving strings. But Zhi Nu couldn''t have done it alone. Such a colossal behemoth would be extremely taxing to pin down and if it had not been for the help of Que Er, the Magpie Queen which boosted everyone''s magic or chi capacity through her Magpie Witchery since no one could have lasted so long against something so large. The bombardments from Mechataur were fierce but they were not enough to keep it down. Eventually, it ran out of ammo and Mechataur overheated from the constant barrage of attacks. Even Niu Lang, who was in the cockpit, felt the heat emitted from the gigantic robot. "One minute temporary emergency shutdown for cooldown." The console system indicated red and out popped a cycling pedal. Niu Lang immediately stepped onto the cycling pedal and rode like his life depended on it, which it sort of did. By doing so, it would help to accelerate the cooling system. "GOOOODDDDD PUNCH!" Milk was in midair, courtesy of our friendly neighbourhood slingshot tree, and sent her beautiful signature attack crashing down into the behemoth''s face. The golden fist of holy judgement burned through the face of the behemoth. "I am not done!! PART TWO!" With the boost of magic powers by Magpie Queen, Milk was able to transcend her limits by twirling her entire body once before executing another God Punch. The punch displayed a silver fist rather than gold but the damage it did against the behemoth was still immense. However, something unexpected happened to the behemoth after Milk punched it. . . Chapter 183 Bull Behemoth - Part 2 Instead of the beast flinching from the attacks, a roar fiercer than the initial one caused everyone around it to fly once again into the walls of the throne room. Even Mechataur was lifted from the ground as a result of the shockwave impact of the behemoth''s roar. "Phase Two?!! How can this be!" the man puppet held tightly onto Moloch since the plushie looked as if it was about to fly away from shock. "I do not know what the hell phase two is but I''m gonna give it a two phased explosion!" Peppers managed to finish casting her explosive magic because Mr Derpy had predicted that something like this would occur and it used its body to protect Peppers from the explosion. Not only that, the bull behemoth heard Peppers and decided to charge towards her after also sensing a gathering of intense density of magic from her. Mr Derpy did not hesitate to retaliate back which he acted as a bodyguard as commanded by Jin. Meanwhile, Peppers continued to finalise the casting of her explosive magic in order to make sure there would be lesser drawbacks from the magical spell. "Any moment now Ms Peppers! " Mr Derpy shouted as its eyes shone in green, causing the entire throne room to shudder in perpetual fear. "I am Shadow Dagen! A Fragment of the Lord Dagen himself! Taste his wrath!!!" Mr Derpy shouted as a magical circle immediately appeared at the dungeon core guardian''s feet as he continued to wrestle with it. Suddenly, massive amounts of gigantic tentacles appeared from the magic circle and grabbed the behemoth before wrapping it up like an Egyptian mummy. The tentacles did not only grab the behemoth but they also excreted poison and acid, which corroded the skin of the behemoth. The guardian did not hesitate to try and break free of its new biological constraints but the more it tried, the more pain it felt. "Shu!!! Now!!" Jin shouted at Shu as the tree used the additional magical powers of the magpie to grow roots under the throne room and break the floor that the behemoth was standing on. The roots pushed the behemoth out of the throne room and eventually broke the iron doors that sealed off the area, placing it atop the broken bridge where the battle between Mechataur and Mr Derpy had taken place. The fusion of magical roots and dark tentacles was disgusting but undoubtedly useful as they immobilised the struggling behemoth. Its constraints were further tightened by Zhi Nu, who had placed tens of heavenly string ''bomb'' traps near the entrance. She initially placed it there in case the behemoth tried to break away from entrapment but little did she know that it actually enhanced the immobilisation of the behemoth. "Super Big Bang Bammmmmmm Version 2.0!" Jin carried Peppers once more towards the entrance of the Throne room as she aimed her magical staff at the Katamari that consisted of a ball of strings, roots, and tentacles along with a flustered bull behemoth. As usual, a rainbow coloured complex magical circle appeared in front of Peppers and instead of a human silhouette, a tremendously oversized fish head slowly emerged from the magical circle. The fish opened its mouth slowly as if it was about to inhale a great amount of air. However, out of its mouth, it ''exhaled'' a greenish blue beam that burned the tentacles, roots and eventually the behemoth. The behemoth tried to move away from this terrifying blast but the fish head was able to follow its target, giving the behemoth zero reprises from the damage it took. The blast beam ensued for the next ten seconds before Peppers fainted from the strain of the magical spell, rainbow vomit still leaking out of her mouth. Jin quickly turned her around to let the vomit out of her body and for her to breathe or else the vomit would clog up her windpipe. The weakened Milk staggered towards Jin and held onto Peppers. "I will take care of her from here. Go." Milk whispered with whatever strength she had left. Jin nodded his head as he took out Bam and Boo. He turned them into a cannon and started to fire at the behemoth, which was panting crazily. "Looks like it did not manage to enter phase 2 successfully, you guys disrupted its regeneration process." Moloch came towards Jin as he was firing his cannon, sweating like a pig. "Man, if you can talk that much, you should help with attacking or something," Jin complained towards Moloch but it was also at that moment that he saw a figure standing on top of the broken bridge and he trailed off. "¡­. Technique. White Lotus Breeze." Zeru swung his sword once and white flowery petals magically surfaced from his swing as the petals indolently descended onto the broken behemoth. When a petal of the white lotus touched the behemoth, a river of blood gushed out of the behemoth as if a fireman had turned on the water hose at full power. The behemoth, unsurprisingly, screamed in agonising pain. More of the white lotus petals descended upon the behemoth and the bridge was beginning to overflow with blood, tainting the river below in a dark scarlet red. Despite its wounds though, the behemoth stood up again with all strength it could muster and stared at the man firing a cannon at him. Jin was overextending his limit with this simple act too. At Grade 2, he was only able to shoot two cannon shots from his bamboo cannon and theoretically at grade 4, he should only manage with four. However, with the Magpie Witchery, which allowed him to boost his chi, he already exceeded four shots and till now, he had already fired off more than ten shots. He was barely standing straight and the recoil of the cannon was not helping him at all. Jin was simply firing based solely on willpower and remembering the training he had received from Zeru in the Farm World to exert himself even further. His Dantian somehow managed to produce just enough chi to shoot a chi cannon shot once again. "Didn''t Moloch say there was a time limit?!" Jin thought to himself as he fired off the last shot he could muster before he fell to the ground, feeling extremely dizzy and weak. The Behemoth snorted the moment the cannon shots stopped hitting him before it roared once more and from within, the bleeding stopped. The bull behemoth stood up on two legs and white wings stained with blood emerged from its back. Jin then felt a warm tender light shining from it. "Do not be deceived by that tender warmness. That shine, it hurts eventually." Moloch smirked as the man puppet stood before Jin. "But not to fear master, I provide you with some shade." Moloch''s man puppet snapped its finger and poker cards appeared in front of him. He threw the cards at the Winged Behemoth but the ''angel'' shot them down in an instant with ray beams from its eyes. However, the cards did not exactly disappear. Instead, as they dissolved in the ray beams, the cards transformed into doves and they continued to fly towards the angel. The doves flew and crashed into the behemoth before exploding into blasts of green fire. The Winged Behemoth was angered by the attack and decided to swoop down to destroy its enemies. At this point, Moloch''s man puppet clapped once and out came tens of poker cards as they started to revolve around him. Moloch swung his hand in a circular motion and the cards enlarged themselves to become a hundred layer barrier to halt the winged behemoth''s advance. The Winged Behemoth did not care though and started to use all its might to punch through the card barrier. However, it belatedly noticed that each time a card broke, pieces of the card would still cut the behemoth. The wounds were minor, but for a protective barrier to do damage against the enemy was still a feat. As it broke through the last card barrier, the Winged behemoth saw Jin squatting with his Bam Katana Form. "That chi regeneration from Jin''s Dantian point is amazing." Yun thought to herself as she saw the entire scene unfolded before her eyes while she was in the Dungeon Maker. Jin poured whatever chi he still had, but being too weak to even propel himself upwards, Moloch gave him a helping hand. By placing an enlarged card under Jin, the card pushed him upwards. It was at this time that Jin felt something stirring within him. It was as if a Panda was growling along with him. Without even looking, he understood this particular feeling as he felt some power returned to his legs. "Grade 5." He smirked to himself. However, what he did not notice was that not only did he attain Grade 5, something within him had been unlocked when he reached Grade 5 and he had already unconsciously used it in the battle against the Winged Behemoth. Black Yin and white Yang energy flowed out of him and encircled the katana, which strengthened it tremendously. What he did not know was that his Katana had been infused with Black Fire and White Ice. The Winged Behemoth received Jin''s Katana pierce with its own punch¡­ only to see its arm shrouded in blocks of White Ice whilst burning with Black Fire. It yelled in agony as it fell to the ground. However, before its body reached to the ground, the guardian disappeared and an area wide announcement was given by the dungeon core. "Time''s up." . . Chapter 184 Dilemma How devastating the battle had been was clear to see when you looked at the mess it left behind.. A number of Zombies laid flat on the ground, unmoving. Dead minotaurs were piled up in the corners of the throne room. Siege weapons had been broken to pieces and were unrepairable. Mechataur was barely able to function after the overexertion of its new mode and many others just lied on the floor from exhaustion. Probably the only few who were left standing were Zeru, Shu and Moloch. However, even the Ancient Treant had spent most of his magical powers on the previous root entrapment spell it had cast on the bull behemoth. "Looks like you did not give it your best shot, which was commanded by your Master." Moloch casually remarked towards Zeru, who came forward to pick Jin up. "As a bellator, it is indeed crucial for me to follow the commands of my master. And I did execute that technique to the best of my ability." Zeru carried Jin towards Milk and Peppers. "But I am his master too. And being his master, I am obliged to take care of my disciple to make sure he does not come to any harm but also push him past his limits. It looks like you did the same too. You look powerless and all, but I can sense that you are hiding more than you are showing." "Good insight and foresight." Moloch did not speak any more as he walked alongside Zeru. At this moment, Yun appeared from a portal, which startled Moloch. She was carrying a crate full of potions and with a snap of her fingers, the boar knights emerged from her phone. Without any commands even voiced out, they immediately assisted Yun by distributing the potions to the fallen monsters. Yun walked towards Jin and his bellators before she personally took out a unique golden bottle and slowly fed its contents into Jin''s mouth. Jin also used all his leftover strength to sip the potion and force it down through his throat. Fortunately, the effects were rather immediate. Jin could eventually stand and walk but was still suffering from a bad migraine. "Careful! Overexertion of chi has left you weak. The potion enables you to recover faster but you still need proper rest once you have finished with matters here." Yun and Zeru rushed to steady him "I would like to say that I''m fine but it looks like I will need to rely on both of you for a while. Thank you." Jin whispered as he looked at Moloch. "No, Thank you Master Jin for an excellent battle." Moloch bowed in front of him. "Now, I believe some questions need to be answered." Jin stared sternly at Moloch. "Please understand Master. Those questions can wait. We should initiate the dungeon town fortress before our rewards are forfeited by the dungeon core." Moloch gestured with his hands towards the direction of the exposed dungeon core and Jin reluctantly walked towards the dungeon core with the help of Yun and Zeru. It was not that he did not trust Moloch, but from the expression Moloch had during the battle, it felt like there were some things that had been¡­ forgotten. Maybe Jin did not ask the right questions, which was why Moloch did not explain. Still, it was obvious that Moloch was withholding information. For example, how did he know there was a Phase 2 of the guardian? Is it common to have a Phase 2 or was it only for this particular dungeon guardian? Surely being the lord of this dungeon fortress would come with its own perks. Such as knowing a thing or two about the guardian manifestation of this particular dungeon core. In any case, Jin did not have any strength to fight back verbally or physically and decided to just go with the flow. Moloch reached towards the dungeon core and wanted to place his hand on the core''s metallic ball body but he halted midway. "I too have questions for you Master, for I am curious. You are indeed the epitome of mystery to me too. Most summoners can only summon one or two monsters. Very high level summoners can control only 10 low level monsters at once. Even the world''s strongest and mightiest summoner would probably only be able to control a few extremely high level monster at once, mainly because they have mutual respect over a long bonding period." Moloch explained his curiosity to Jin. "But here, not only have you surprised me time and time again, you have defied the meaning of a "monster summoner". I mean, HUNDREDS of zombies? Various humanoids/humans under your command? Take away all that, but what about the capturing process. I expected you to capture me with a summoning ritual contract but no. You just hit me with a metal plate that shone and I was under your command." "I do not feel obliged to serve you, like what I felt in the presence of Demon King Baal. Instead, I feel as if I was willing to serve you all along as if it was a natural given for me to protect you. I must say, in my eyes, you are not just a Legendary level summoner. You might, in fact, be a Demigod or God level summoner. " "However, from this fight, I can see that you still have yet to reach the full potential of your powers, which is frightening, to say the least. But my pet peeve is that you seemed to act as a warrior rather than a mage, which kind of contradicts the meaning of being a summoner. Argh, it''s just me ranting anyways." Moloch could see Jin was looking pretty annoyed. Moloch had stopped him from asking questions but right now, he was talking non stop. "Erm, anyway. Because of all these weird traits you possess, I was wondering if you would like to try and see if you could activate this dungeon core. For fun really. I would like to see if a summoner of your capability would be able to create an affinity with the dungeon core, seeing as you have such a high affinity with monsters already." Moloch shrugged his man puppet''s shoulder and Jin nodded his head gently. He moved forward beside Moloch and following his instructions. Jin placed his hands against the dungeon core. "Welp, I guess you are just a normal human." Moloch felt a little dejected to see that nothing was happening. "Jin, place your phone on the core instead." Yun, who was beside Jin, whispered. Suddenly Jin felt chills running down his spine. Previously, it would indeed have been a no brainer to put the phone down so that the System within him could control the town fortress. A choice he would have made in a heartbeat. However, after the incident he had had with the System, he wasn''t so sure. He still hadn''t forgiven the system for throwing him into a moral dilemma, though he did regret not thinking straight. It was true that if he let the system control it, the fortress would definitely be better managed in a more efficient manner than what Moloch could have done. However, wouldn''t that go against Moloch''s idea of becoming a lord? If that was the case, maybe Moloch already knew that humans could not activate the dungeon core and wanted to quell the thirst of greed by allowing Jin to try it for himself. This was so that he could avoid the "if only I had touched the dungeon core instead" scenario. Hence, Jin would undoubtedly place his trust in Moloch and he would have full control of the town. Of course, Moloch had been captured by Jin but after the dungeon core guardian battle, Jin was wondering if it had really been a good choice to let someone so mysterious and secretive take over the dungeon town fortress. Both choices had their pros and cons that would impact the future of this dungeon town fortress. In the long run, Moloch would be able to do well if he and Jin were able to overcome the obstacles, namely King Baal. This was because Moloch knew what he wanted but it would be tough. On the other hand, giving the system the dungeon core would guarantee the short-term safety of the town. This was because the system would definitely utilise resources from its own stockpile to maximise the town''s defences since it would be protecting its own interests as well. However, this was still a dungeon TOWN fortress. Jin had no first hand knowledge on how the system would handle the citizens. "What are you waiting for?" Both Yun and Moloch spoke at the same time, which caused Jin to get irritated. "I just want to sleep¡­" Chapter 185 Dungeon City Fortress "Master Jin, be quick. I don''t know how long the dungeon core will stay exposed for so you better get a move on or all the effort we put in will end up wasted." Moloch said and Yun was looking at Jin with a slightly puzzled look. "Isn''t it obvious enough to let the System take care of management?" Yun spoke her thoughts to Jin. "Do I really have to choose a side¡­?" Jin scratched his head for a moment before he grabbed Moloch off the man puppet. The man puppet immediately squatted and curled into a ball as a result of the sudden detachment of its main source. "You said you are a puppet right?" Jin looked at the minotaur plushie but Moloch felt very exposed without the man puppet as if he was naked. It nodded his head cutely¡­ and went ahead and did the most unconventional thing ever. He took his phone out and stuffed the entirety of it into Moloch''s mouth. His heavy handed shoving of the phone into the plushie caused Moloch to choke momentarily. He subsequently pushed Moloch into the dungeon core. At that moment, he also released a bit of his chi into Moloch, which caused his phone to be activated from within the plushie. The insides of the metallic ball shaped Dungeon Core immediately shone brightly. Subsequently, an entire monitor along with an old school mechanical keyboard appeared right in front of it. There was even music playing from the dungeon core. "It''s a brand new day~! Brand new day~! A brand new morning has come~! Be Happy ~! Be Happy~! The wind of happiness continues to blow as we start our day~! One, Two, Three, Let''s Go~! " The music had accompanying lyrics that came from the metallic ball as it was heard throughout the whole throne room. "Oh My Gosh! This seems so creepy despite the cheerful deposition of the song. Wait¡­ that''s probably why it''s creepy" Yun was taken aback by the sudden song coming from the metallic ball and so was Jin. Moloch eventually threw up the phone from its stuffed mouth and Jin noticed it was covered with cotton. He then slowly put Moloch back onto the man puppet. However, the man puppet immediately got up and slapped Jin each time Moloch shouted at him. "Do not! Ever! Do! That! Again! Else I will put super glue on my man puppet." Moloch was angry but at the same time, he was blushing as well. As much as Jin was stunned by the slapping, he also noticed that the slaps were really weak as compared to the ferocity of magic Moloch wielded. Once the music subsided from the metallic ball, the monitor lit up. "Dungeon Town Fortress or Dungeon Fortress?" Moloch went ahead with his man puppet and entered the option of the Dungeon Town Fortress without any hesitation. "Congratulations! You have cleared 3 Phases of the Dungeon Core Guardian. You are eligible for a Dungeon Town Fortress with iron wall fortifications, a starter set of shops and inns, a starter set of service and industry components, a complete wiring of electrical supply as well as piping for your water supply." The monitor displayed the details clearly and Moloch was able to see what was given as a reward. "Alternatively, you could also start with the area of land of a Dungeon City Fortress but no other perks would be given other than a basic wiring and piping provided for all houses." The console gave the group another option that surprised Jin. Was the hard fought struggle against the guardian really that great that the dungeon core gave the option of an immediate Dungeon City Fortress. "Hmm, a town with a basic set of facilities and a complete wall fortification would be great but that dungeon city fortress is extremely tempting as well." Moloch was thinking out loud. "Why would you want a Dungeon City Fortress? Isn''t it incomplete? I doubt we have the resources to even feed the masses if it is just land." Jin replied as he finally felt the effects of the potions he drank kicking in. "Because the land is the most important commodity. The current Dungeon Fortress we are in will roughly be the size of the Dungeon Town Fortress. However, if we choose the Dungeon City Fortress, we would have even more room to expand as well as more production than a Dungeon Town Fortress." Moloch explained to Jin. "Besides, it is hard to expand with a Dungeon Town Fortress. We need to either pay more dungeon dollars to expand per square feet, which could cost more in the long run even. On the flip side though, we would have a solid foundation." "So you are suggesting we take the Dungeon City Fortress and build up from scratch? How confident are you on being able to do that? Did you not say that you would be content with just a Dungeon Town Fortress? Would it not be easier for King Baal to siege the Dungeon City Fortress since we would not have proper fortifications?" Jin was concerned. He understood Moloch had a long running interest but he was currently being too greedy. "The System said it would help with the defences," Yun spoke to break up the argument. "Jin, what you did just now¡­ was unconventional to say the least, but it did give the System partial access to the Town Building. Technically, it can brute force the dungeon core to grant itself full access but it decided to take a step back and observe what this Moloch plushie is able to do." Yun added and Moloch was slightly confused. It was then that both Jin and Yun provided him with a short explanation regarding Jin not being a monster summoner, but instead a dungeon supplier. "I see! Now I finally understand why you stuffed that phone into me and hoped that it would work." Moloch nodded his head upon hearing Jin''s circumstances. "I believe what Jin did was a good choice, though a little abrupt. If he had chosen the System, it would probably have immediately chosen the former while just you alone would have taken the latter despite there being no guarantee on if it will work out in the long run." Yun replied to Moloch. "It can work! All I need is time¡­ and some breathing room." Moloch somehow felt slightly ashamed to admit that he would not be so bold to create a Dungeon City Fortress all by himself if it was not for Jin''s help. "So, how far is the System willing to go in terms of defences? Just walls? Maybe some cannons?" Jin asked Yun but she shook her head. "Just because you are in the Dungeon World does not mean you cannot apply concepts from the modern world. If you do that, the Dungeon City Fortress will have no need for walls." Yun replied. "But in the modern world, there aren''t any defences in most cities except for city-wide monitoring and most defences come from the borders, such as anti-air missiles or deterrence with military force. How can they¡­ Oh." Jin realised he had just voiced out all his options. "A standard metal fencing should be sufficient. City-Wide Monitoring will prevent any sneaky bastards and in terms of chasing the enemies down, we would have the upper hand since we have intelligence on their movements in this city." "Regardless, we need to focus on our basic needs first since we will only be given standard housing," Moloch interjected and hoped that this would not turn into another conjecture discussion and instead prove to be useful. "Can we change the housing to our own specifications?" Jin typed the question onto the monitor, hoping that it would have a response. The metallic ball kept quiet for a while before responding. "Additional changes to specifications require dungeon dollars. Please choose an option before proceeding to the city/town building." "Let''s choose Dungeon City Fortress first and then we will go from there." Jin finally gave in to the idea of having a Dungeon City Fortress instead of a fully equipped Dungeon Town Fortress. That way, he could build a modern city within this small part of the dungeon world and perhaps create an urban battlefield for his customers. Moloch proceeded to select the City Fortress option and the entire dungeon shook violently. The group watched the throne room crumble before their eyes and the dungeon space was expanding rapidly with the dungeon core ball at the centre of it all. . . Chapter 186 Needs of A City When the dungeon finally stopped shaking, Moloch looked at the monitor in front of the metallic ball to check available options he had for building things. "Updated blueprints needed before consideration of building," The monitor displayed its answer. "Say, if we are still in the building process since this is currently an empty plot of land, wouldn''t we be very vulnerable to attacks?" Jin questioned now that he had seen just how massive the area of land they had been bestowed was. He had asked the Magpie Queen to send a Magpie to fly from one end of the dungeon space to the other. It had been five minutes¡­ the magpie familiar had yet to return to Que Er. "Ah, don''t you worry. The dungeon core has already set up a barrier to ban hostile forces from coming in. Even if they somehow manage to brute force their way through, they would be randomly teleported to another Dungeon Fortress, Wild Dungeon, or Dungeon Town Fortress." Moloch replied. "We have about three months or so before the barrier goes down. In the meantime, adventurers who wish to come here and trade will still be permitted and Monsters that want to live here will be given permission as well." Moloch added. "But there are so many administrative things to sort through. Three months is not enough!" Jin questioned Moloch once more but he just shook his head. "Never enough. In any case, you mentioned that you had specific housing requirements?" "I will introduce you your adviser that will take charge in telling you the things that I want." Jin beckoned Peppers to come forward and formally introduced her to Moloch. "Peppers, I know that I have already given you a task to read and understand the weakness of every cultivator as well as how to improve them. Initially, I wanted you to be a teacher like Zeru, helping with the classes, conducting lectures, etc. However, I believe that you are needed as a special adviser here more than anything right now." Jin placed his hands on her shoulders and gripped tightly. He knew that she had just woken up from the use of her signature spell but life had to move on. "What do you need of me?" Peppers asked as she rubbed her eyes. "I need you to learn the various bureaucracy systems on our earth and try to explain to Moloch here that the Feudal System is not as efficient as he believes it to be. After which, I need you to implement a political system here. Also, find the flaws in modern-world political systems and make some modifications before introducing them here. There will be lots of paperwork to do." Peppers lost it upon hearing paperwork. It meant that she could do research and apply her theoretical work into practice! "Understood, I will get right to it-" Jin stopped Peppers from finishing her sentence. "No, rest for today. You have already done great." Jin said as he asked Milk to bring Peppers away. "I do not think I can deal with city management alone¡­ It''s not that I do not trust Moloch but the placement of buildings is of great importance. Maybe I should pay ''her'' a visit too." Jin thought to himself. He believed it would be better to seek professional help when it came to city management. "Who are you thinking of?" Yun asked as Jin''s thoughts didn''t specify a name. "Just an old friend¡­ in the civil engineering and district development sector." Jin quietly sent his thoughts to Yun and she could feel a sense of loneliness coming from him. "Anyways, Moloch. I am going back to my world for now. Once you have gathered all your followers that arise from the dead, use this key. It should provide you more solace and comfort in comparison to sleeping on the empty ground of a dungeon." Jin passed a key to Moloch, which was a time limited access to a guest room in the Sanctum of Worlds since Jin had yet to create a proper space for them to stay. Perhaps, he did not need to create a room for them to stay seeing as housing was soon to be built in the Dungeon City Fortress. He probably also had a lot going on in his mind for he knew how hard it was to create a city from scratch. Too many simulation games instead of studying or properly planning his life during his university life made him realised the pains of creating and maintaining an actual city. By no means was Jin an expert though, and he recognised that. He knew that with the System backing Moloch up, everything would be fine. He was now glad that he had done what he did by stuffing the phone into Moloch, no matter how unconventional. Eventually, Jin bid farewell to his new monsters and saw that it was already 5 am in the morning, courtesy of his storage watch. "Perhaps I should get some proper sleep in my own house for once." Jin thought to himself and then he realised he had yet to thank everyone who had participated in the battle. Well, sure, he could just go back home and pretend that this was just another day¡­ But no. These monsters were, in a way, his workers and today they had done a fabulous job. Jin knew that he himself could never have hoped to achieve what they had done today alone. Heck, he had even seen how those minotaurs from the Dungeon World had tried to fight against the behemoth and applauded their bravery against such terrifying foe. So instead of going back to the real world, Jin decided to enter the Sanctum of Worlds and visited each individual room in order to thank every monster personally. Needless to say, the monsters were already ecstatic to receive praise from their master, but having him personally enter their instance to thank them individually? It was an honour for them. Some even started talking about their experiences against the minotaurs and the bull behemoth. Oh, but the zombies? Jin did not really know how to make them feel appreciated other than turning all the rides on and asking Peppers to throw some fireworks for the zombies to look at in their ever black skies. While the humanoids and humans had all played major roles in the dungeon fortress, Jin knew that the unsung heroes of this dungeon run were definitely the zombies. They may not be heavy hitting but they sure kept all the enemies, especially the behemoth, occupied. "You know, technically, you can find more humanoids or humans to aid you, and not just your new city but for the dungeon store too. A blacksmith and a proper maintenance crew for Mechataur are all valid options." Yun said as she casually talked to Jin alongside other humanoids. "As if I have the time to find these people when I already have to take charge of the store. I can''t just leave the store because I want to do other stuff." Jin suddenly had so many things to do that he felt a little overwhelmed. "Maybe you should start reducing your work hours so that you have more time on your hands," Yun suggested to Jin but his only reaction to her suggestion was his furrowed brows. "What do you mean? Won''t that lead to less money earnt? Is that not undesirable for the System?" Jin asked once they were back in the shop. "If you use it wisely, I think that the time would be well spent. Currently, you are working in the from afternoon 1 to 10 pm, sometimes it even drags till 11 pm. That is roughly 10 working hours, which is longer than most shops'' opening hours." Yun opened the side gate of the storehouse and held the door open for Jin. "Not to mention, you have hardly taken any breaks these past two weeks. You have practically been working nonstop and if it weren''t for your cultivation, you would have broken down a long time ago. This is rather unhealthy." Yun added. "So you are saying that¡­" Jin pondered for a while before Yun answered for him. "That you need better time management. Manage your time, otherwise, there is no way you can manage both your dungeon supplier as well as your new city." "Well, that''s kind of true. I''ll see what I can do." Jin then paused and wanted to ask Yun why he would need a real blacksmith when the System was already selling armour, weapons and general supply items. In the end though, he just continued walking. "Perhaps, I will do that when I have a clearer head. I am just too tired to discuss anything right now." All Jin could think about right now was a pillow for his head. The effects of the potions might have kicked in a long time ago but the body still needed rest. And he did sleep when Jin reached home. Just a bit too long. . . Chapter 187 Nightmare "Hmmm¡­What time is it?" Jin thought as he woke up feeling a little groggy. However, he noticed that the place that he was woken up in was more than just a little different from where he fell asleep. There was no bed beneath him, there were no windows displaying the urban view outside nor were any of his belongings around him. The shirt that he was wearing was not his and was instead a straitjacket. Jin noticed that there were chains and high level restrictive inscriptions binding him. He tried to look around but he could not even move a single inch. He felt constricted, unable to breathe normally. Eventually, he became more aware of his surroundings. The walls were cold and the only other light source other than a dimly lit candle in the corner of his room was light filtering in from under the door. Jin struggled as he panicked due to the drastic change of environment but it was all to no avail. "What is this place?!" Jin tried to talk but he was muted by a mouthpiece that robbed him of speech. "What is with this darkness?!" Jin tried to comprehend what was happening it but the more he thought about the situation he was in, the more desperate he became. Jin tried to use his chi but it was to no avail. Suddenly, he realised that this body was not actually his! Jin had tried to harness the Dantian point of this body, only to find that the chi was completely different from his usual chi. All chi fell under one category but every person''s chi was unique as if it had a personality like their users. For example, some might be light and peaceful like Milk''s healing maiden chi while some chi might make you feel determined to succeed like Bu Dong''s and Bin Yong''s chi. On the other hand, some could be dark and cold, similar to the one Jin felt generating from ''his'' Dantian point. However, this was not just any dark and cold chi. It was not pitch dark but rather crepuscular in nature, as if the darkness crawled up his skin and kissed his neck, only to bite down like a sharp fang ready to sink into your pulsating carotid artery. Its coldness crippled your senses, making him numb for the fang of darkness to take over while the cold continued to wash over him. Jin knew that this chi could leave wounds deeper than mere flesh. It was only then Jin realised he could hear the thoughts of someone else. "Patience. The day will come when the Twelve receive their retribution. Hmmph. Hmm Hmm He He He~!" He had a grimaced look under his mouthpiece as if he noticed Jin with him and Jin couldn''t help but shiver from the thought of someone so skilled in observation. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "JIN! WAKE UP!" Yun shouted at the top of her lungs and somehow that woke Jin up, cold sweat had soaked the clothes he was in. He was panting heavily after that weird dream he had just experienced. Jin hurriedly touched his entire body to make sure that he was able to move around. "What happened to you? Why are you touching yourself? Was it a nightmare or was it¡­" Yun gave Jin a naughty smile but to Yun''s surprise, Jin sighed in relief. "No, just a bad nightmare¡­ I think." Jin responded, unsure of what to make of what he had just experienced. Was that really a dream? Why did it feel so real then? Was he lucid dreaming? "Oh¡­ Cause you overslept for nearly the entire day. It''s already evening." Yun pointed at the alarm clock at him and Jin was flabbergasted. "It''s already 6 pm?! What about the shop?" Jin was a little jumpy when he realised that he had slept for more than 12 hours and missed nearly a whole day''s worth of work. "Do not worry too much! I was actually planning to let you sleep over a little anyway while I managed the shop for you. Though I did not expect you to sleep over by more than 7-8 hours." Yun said as she shook her head in disappointment. "Sorry, I did put on my alarm though." Jin turned on his phone to check, only to realise it was turned off. "Yeah, I turned it off for you when I got back from the shop after my dinner break. It was definitely working since my ears are still hurting. Even when I tried to shake you to wake you up you were not responding." Yun was a little frustrated. "¡­Is that why I feel pain in my cheeks right now?" Jin asked as he rubbed his cheeks to soothe the pain he was feeling. "Well, I tried to use some force to wake you up." Yun started to snigger as she shrugged her shoulders. "And you can see, even without you, I was able to run the shop successfully. Although some people did ask about you." Yun said proudly but it made Jin feel a little disappointed. "But I was slower since I was working at the cash register as well as serving the food. Had to ask Milk to come and help with serving the food for a while. Didn''t know it was that hard." Yun tried to cheer him up, hoping that he did not think too much about the whole issue. "In any case, anything important happened when I was gone?" Jin asked and Yun, remembering something important, widened her eyes in realisation and shook Jin''s bed even more. "Yes! Yes! Xiong Da came by and asked for you. Apparently, he wants you to be the witness of the duel against Ji Ao. However, you were not around so he announced that he would conduct the battle at your shop if possible." Yun said vividly. "But I do not have an arena prepared for a cultivator versus cultivator fight. All I have are random monster arenas." Jin replied to Yun as he yawned. It looked like the nightmare he had did not allow him to have a proper rest at all. "Hmmph, maybe create a variant of that the arena battles? Perhaps monsters fighting beside them to increase the Xiong Da''s winning chances?" Yun suggested. "Or let them fight two monsters each and both of them then meet each other on the last final stage duelling for the win?" Yun added on to her suggestion. "Then if Ji Ao loses to the monsters, he would be later shown as the inferior one? But that way Xiong Da won''t get to fight him." Jin thought to himself whether if that was really a good idea. "Maybe allow both of them to be resurrected at the last stage? During the final stage, they are not allowed to be resurrected. However, fighting against the monsters would probably give them a slight edge for the final fight but the rewards are hidden until they killed the monsters. But seeing how Ji Ao is usually the cunning one, he would probably just kill himself at the start and he will resurrect with full health waiting in the final fight. Such act would most likely lower his reputation among the crowd too." Yun replied. "I see. If that''s the way, I believe the crowd, which I assume his love crush Ruo Ying will be among the spectators observing how Xiong Da had grown as he fights against the monsters. Also, the judge would see that this would most likely be an unfair fight against Xiong Da since Ji Ao was already waiting there for him. They will grow to respect him even more if he can win against this Ji Ao." Jin thought this was an ingenious idea to bring Xiong Da''s reputation up among his friends and customers in the shop but it was a risky gamble. If Ji Ao decides to fight against the monsters fair and square, all of this conjecture would not happen. "Trust in Xiong Da, he had practised hard and you have helped him a lot. Both you and I also have seen how much effort he has put in for over the past few weeks." Yun reaffirmed Jin''s decision. "Alright then, but let''s take some precautions since we are ''performing'' for the crowd." Jin grinned a little and Yun felt excited to see the outcome how all this unfold. They were looking forward to the battle and both were rooting for Xiong Da from the depths bottom of their hearts. . . Chapter 188 Shop Sign Jin had a change of clothes and decided to throw additional sets of clothing into his storage ring quickly but it seemed that his wardrobe was thinning out. "I have to do the laundry again," The thought of doing housework hit Jin, making him wish that he would be in some fantasy novel that he does not even need to change his clothes regularly. Regardless, today is not the day for housework as he quickly dashed out of his house to reach the store promptly. There were already some people waiting to enter the store and one of them was Xiong Da. "Boss! I was worried sick! What happened to you? Are you okay?" Xiong Da asked and Jin nodded his head. "I was¡­eh¡­I overslept." Jin decided to admit that he overslept and everyone in the queue looked at each other before laughing in unison. "Boss Boss! If you had something important to do, just say so. No one would blame you!" A customer shouted heartily at Jin. "Yeah Boss, you do not have act Panda-ish on us." Another female customer giggled as she commented. "Haha, Boss, by the way, we really like your new signage. Did not know that it was up, until this morning!" Xiong Da added as he pointed at the top of the store. Jin then realised that the signage that the System promised was already up. It took no chance to immediately hang it up in order to draw more attention. And attention it did draw. It was not a majestic sign ¡­it was an overly majestic neon billboard with an innocent looking Panda hugging onto a hoard of equipment like swords, axes and gold coins. However, it looked like it was sleeping while biting onto a bamboo spear. The billboard was overly huge that it nearly covered the entire 2nd and 3rd floor of the traditional storehouse. Right at the bottom of the billboard, the words "Dungeons and Pandas" was written in a simple, elegant calligraphy that eluded the beauty of the words. Surprisingly, it felt a little poignant but the bittersweet aftertaste of the calligraphy on the thick bamboo sign was overshadowed by the gigantic cute billboard above it. "The System has no sense of taste, putting such a big billboard neon sign at the middle of nowhere. This is not Osaka where the Gilco Running Man was surrounded with multiple signboards from other shops." Jin could not help but laugh bitterly as he thought about it. "You seem a little disappointed, is it not to your liking?" Yun caught up with Jin after leaving the house. "I have mixed feelings about it," Jin replied in thought. "Try activating your Chi to it. You will understand." Jin did what Yun said and suddenly he was transported to another world. Scenes of him trying to fight against monsters, capturing monsters, the escape from the zombies from the Shanghai Tower and the recent fight against the Bull Behemoth. They were all rushing into his mind until Jin broke the Chi flow from it. He immediately felt an adrenaline rush, as if he was pumped up to go for another round of a fight. "I ¡­understand what you meant now." Jin had really underestimated the powers of the System. To make him feel so excited, so anxious for another fight. This high grade sign board was not to be underestimated. "Mmmhmm, all the other customers who poured their Chi into the signboard shared similar feelings too. While the new customers do not have experience of the dungeons here, the System made them incite similar incidents and memories that would give them an urge to go for battle." Yun explained in Jin''s head. "Boss, why are you in a daze?! Your signboard looks too good that you cannot help but admire your store for a moment?" Xiong Da was being sarcastic but Jin nodded. "It looks perfect," Jin said shamelessly which made all the customers laugh at Jin''s boldness to create such a gigantic billboard. It will surely create and attract attention from other people. Jin subsequently opened his store but he asked Xiong Da to come over to one side and both Yun and Jin decided to tell Xiong Da about the plan they had. However, when Xiong Da heard about the entire plan, he stepped back and bowed. "Boss. Ms Yun. I respect the both of you for wanting to help me. But I think this is not necessary. I really want to fight fair and square with Ji Ao no matter how dirty or underhanded his methods are." Xiong Da requested not to do such a thing for him. If they want him to fight against monsters, he would and in fact, he would like to as well, so he can get into the mood for a battle. "I see, if that''s the case, I am sorry. I thought you were really that desperate to win and that was why you wanted to have the duel over here." It seemed that both Jin and Yun misinterpreted Xiong Da''s intention. "Yes and no. Yes, I chose here because I wanted to show you how much I have improved and no matter the outcome, this place had already grown to be something like my second home. Although technically, I own more than 4 apartments¡­ but you get what I mean." Xiong Da could not help boasting a little although his intentions were clear to Jin. "No because, in the end, I know that this is all about my selfish ego. I mean, Ruo Ying has her own life. If she cannot be happy, I cannot be happy either. But the selfish me also want myself to be happy by making her mine. However, the more I think about it, the more I feel that by doing so, I am going to be like Ji Ao." Xiong Da justified himself. "I was really really tempted to do what you said, but in the end I think, I should just try my best. In this day and age, I doubt doing something so earnest would get you the girl but it''s worth a try." Xiong Da shrugged his shoulders. It was at this moment that Jin punched Xiong Da to the floor with a Lazy Panda Swipe. This surprised almost everyone in the store. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING? YOU THINK THIS IS LIKE A DUNGEON INSTANCE?! IT''S OKAY TO LOSE?" Jin shouted so loud that it made the customers stop what they were doing just to see the commotion. Even Zhen Qing was shocked by Jin''s outburst. It was the first time she saw him behaving this way. "Do not give me that kind of bullshit! You want to save that girl. You save her all the way. You think war and love are fair? No fucking way. You do what you need to get your girl! But you know what? I actually respect you for trying your best to stay righteous but now you are having doubts about yourself! Do not give me this kind of crap! Were all those training sessions for nothing? Do you think the Fishing Instance was easy to set up?!" Jin continued to rage, at which point Yun decided to intervene by pulling Jin back away from Xiong Da. Meanwhile, Xiong Da was on the ground reflecting on himself. Jin was right since when was the almighty lawyer and the shameless famous food gourmet so scared of a dirty fighter like Lan Ji Ao? He wiped the bit of blood from his nose and stood up with confidence. "You are right, Boss. I will do what I need to do. No matter what, I will get Ruo Ying by myself even if I brave through the 18 floors of hell and back!" Xiong Da said with assertiveness. "Then I will create the arena for you." Jin finally cooled down a bit, unknowingly with the help of Milk via his phone with a calming magic spell. "Thank you, Boss. I look forward to it." Xiong Da could not help but hug Jin hard despite what he had done to him. However, little did he know that, even before all that commotion, someone was watching Xiong Da from the side lines ever since he entered the shop. "Xiong Xiong¡­" Ruo Ying who hid herself among the crowd whispered his name as she could not help but teared a crystal of joy and relief from her eyes. Ruo Ying adjusted her jacket and her cap as she walked out of the shop before she got noticed by Xiong Da. . . Chapter 189 Lan Ji Ao Chapter 189 Lan Ji Ao ¡°Heh, so this is the place where that stupid Hippo wants to duel? What a stupid looking sign board!¡± Lan Ji Ao saw the shop sign from afar as he got out of the subway station. In fact, it was so eye-catching that the entire shopping district had been talking about it for a whole day. ¡°Flashy shop, dead Hippo¡­¡± Ji Ao took out his phone and called Ruo Ying. ¡°Where are you? I just got out of the station. Let¡¯s quickly get this done with so that we can continue with what we were doing back home.¡± Ji Ao smirked at the thought of it. On the other hand, Ruo Ying only replied by saying that she was waiting for him at a nearby bus stop. She felt stupid for the past few months. She felt really stupid to have listened to Ji Ao just because he had the money to pay for her father¡¯s debts and bills. Ruo Ying did not want to burden Xiong Da because she sincerely liked him for what he was. She never wanted to give Xiong Da the impression that she was willing to go for Ji Ao. All she desired was a life free of debt and she did not want to show Xiong Da that side of her family nor her desperate attempts to clear the debts her family owed. He was too considerate, almost to the point of being gullible. Ruo Ying could have used him but she did not expect that her heart was not willing to do so. But now, even with Ji Ao, she was not able to run away from the increasing debts since Ji Ao only paid off the interest so that she would stay with him. He knew that if he cleared all of her family¡¯s debt, Ruo Ying would just break away from him. No, he did not welcome that sort of notion since he l.u.s.ted after her beautiful body every day and night. However, Ruo Ying did not give in to him and his money that easily. Her cultivation of the Esthetical Egret Style allowed her to struggle against Ji Ao¡¯s advances, which was also why Ji Ao was always so frustrated. Due to this, he constantly beat her up since he was able to get into neither the mood nor the body. But as time went by, it seemed that he began to take more enjoyment in beating her body to a pulp rather than attempting copulation with Ruo Ying. The beatings made his blood race, probably the other side of his cultivation, And now with Xiong Da interfering for the second time, he wanted nothing more than to feast on the fears of a scarred hippo once more. ¡°Shall we go grab a bite to eat first?¡± Ji Ao wrapped his arms around Ruo Ying when they met up and licked her tender but bruised neck as a show of his affection. Ruo Ying, on the other hand, struggled once more, though all this served was to make Ji Ao¡¯s blood boil in anticipation. ¡°Ahhh, the spirit of the rebellious Egret is back again. Ohh, I have to thank that fat useless Hippo for this part of you.¡± Ji Ao backed away, giving the illusion to Ruo Ying that she had attained a small victory. He knew that once he had beaten Xiong Da, she would be devastated because her white knight would not able to save her. ¡°Lan Ji Ao. You came.¡± Xiong Da was standing in front of the shop and was waiting for them patiently while restraining himself from beating Ji Ao up straight away outside on the streets. He wanted to show Jin, the customers, as well as the random passer-bys that he was the greater man compared to this dirty sneaky fellow. ¡°My, my, would you look at the Hippo. Looks like you are confident that you will win this match. I am pleasantly surprised. Back then, you were nearly pissing your pants when you were about to duel with me.¡± Ji Ao tightened his grip over the girl with a cap, who Xiong Da identified as Ruo Ying. She looked up as she adjusted her cap, looking at Xiong Da in the process. Their eyes connected from that one glance and both managed to pass their feelings to each other through mere eye contact. ¡°I am sorry. I am sorry I was so foolish. Please save me!¡± Ruo Ying did not utter a sound but Xiong Da understood the meaning behind her gaze comforted her with one glance. However, the despair in her eyes was also as real as the hope. She knew that the odds of Xiong Da winning was extremely low¡­ but the chance was not zero. ¡°I will.¡± Xiong Da nodded very slightly and only Ruo Ying managed to capture that gesture. ¡°So where is this arena you spoke of?¡± Ji Ao asked. He knew that Xiong Da purposely chose this place so that there would be no home ground advantage for him. But what did he have to be scared for? Xiong Da was just a measly Grade 1 Cultivator a few months ago. At most¡­ very most, if you stretched it, He might just be a Grade 2 Cultivator, which was still something to scoff at. In fact, there was nothing much to worry about. Xiong Da did not know that Ji Ao had increased his Grade to 4, allowing him to learn a new intermediate technique just a week ago. It wasn¡¯t just Xiong Da who had been training. Ji Ao was looking forward to humiliating Xiong Da even more and he used that as his motivation. All these thoughts were happening in Ji Ao¡¯s head while the conflicted trio were walking into the store. ¡°How about we draw up a contract?¡± Ji Ao wished to play the same ¡®game¡¯ with Xiong Da as he had done with Ruo Ying. ¡°No! Ah-¡± Ruo Ying felt a powerful grip pressed down on her bruised arm, which was obviously Ji Ao in an attempt to silence her. Xiong Da was extremely uncomfortable but Jin was sending him a voice transmission. ¡°Do not do anything rash. Control that anger and only release it when the time is right.¡± ¡°No need. I already have one prepared here.¡± Xiong Da took out a doc.u.ment file from his storage ring and slammed it down upon the table. ¡°If you win. You will gain all of my material possessions.¡± Xiong Da purposely did not tell him the losing conditions because they were all in the contract. He took out a suitcase from his storage ring and opened it, revealing thousands upon thousands of USD notes right in front of Ji Ao. ¡°If you lose, Ruo Ying returns to me. Now, sign the contract.¡± Xiong Da demanded as he opened the first page of the contract while he shoved a pen at him. Ruo Ying was extremely shocked by this turn of events. How did Xiong Da have so much money in his hands? Did he loan it all out just to get her back? Was he really that confident in winning or it was all just a ruse? Meanwhile, Ji Ao was delighted, no, he was exhilarated to see that suitcase. ¡°HA HA HA HA! This is like striking the lottery prematurely!¡± Ji Ao could not imagine what kind of possessions Xiong Da had as he turned the doc.u.ment file page by page to see stocks, some more cash, and even a couple properties. The doc.u.ments were legitimate and the contract was definitely a lucky break for Ji Ao. Without any hesitation, he signed the contract with Xiong Da on the impulse of greed, which made Xiong Da smirk, but only for a second. He immediately reverted to his desperate face as he continued acting desperate for Ruo Ying. Jin then realised why Xiong Da had said that the reputation method from the fight was a small thing. It was because he had already prepared something that would cause Ji Ao¡¯s immediate downfall. ¡°This is Boss Jin. We will be going to the third floor to enter an instance, where we will have our match.¡± Xiong Da explained to Ji Ao as calmly as he could. ¡°What instance? A Dungeon Instance?¡± ¡°That does not matter. It is just a dimensional space similar to that of a dungeon instance. It has a boxing ring inside. You and I can fight to our hearts¡¯ content there. All of this will be telecasted on the TVs here as a sign of proof and witness.¡± Xiong Da introduced the Panda Muscles. Jin had eventually settled on creating a bigger match ring to stage the fight, which Xiong Da requested. No Monsters, No Powers up or anything¡­ just lots of witnesses. Convenient witnesses. ¡°I see. Then you mister. You shall be our judge.¡± Ji Ao knew that in dungeon instances there would be no deaths, which meant that he could choose anyone to be the judge. It also meant that he could go all out against Xiong Da. Although he usually increased his chances of winning by inserting a person he knew to be the judge, he did not care much about that since he was fighting against a Grade 2 Hippo. ¡°Me?¡± The man in the middle of the store pointed at himself, confused about why he was selected. He had slightly long unkempt hair that was tied into a short ponytail, wore a red cheapish jacket along with a simple black shirt that had a white skull printed on it ¡°Yes, you.¡± Ji Ao nodded his head as he beckoned the perplexed man to follow them up onto the stage. The customer also followed them as Ji Ao tried to buddy up with the chosen judge when they went up the stairs. ¡°Big Brother, you looked like someone who needs money and I feel a connection between the two of us. If you find anything that can tip the match in my favour, it would be appreciated. Also, how about letting me win and I give you some of this sweet sweet cash?¡± Ji Ao whispered to the customer when Xiong Da was going up the stairs. ¡°Ooo.. Sure.¡± Mei Shi Zuo replied as he gave Ji Ao a cheeky thumbs up. ¡°So that bastard really did choose him! That¡¯s exactly what Jin¡¯s little assistant predicted.¡± Luo Bo said as she ordered a cheesecake and asked Peppers to join her. ¡°When searching for someone in a crowd, individual neurons tuned to different visual spaces shift their selectivity to colour and direction depending on the task at hand.¡± Peppers tried to flaunt her knowledge regarding Xiong Da¡¯s plan while she excitedly waited for her cheesecake. ¡°Well at least part 1 of the plan has been executed perfectly.¡± Jia Le held tightly onto Bin Yong as she was anxious regarding how things would unfold. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Xiong Da will have his revenge.¡± Jin said as he was privy to Xiong Da¡¯s personal plan. Chapter 190 The Hippo Plan - Part 1 Before that fateful day of the fight, Xiong Da had conversed with new found friends he had fought within Jin''s shop. In particular, he had become good buddies with Bin Yong and his group of friends. Their battle against the zombies in the Great Wall of China Instance had bonded them to a level that was more than just friends. Not just them, Yue Han called his sister Yue Wen along and she too contacted Se Lang and the rest of the police cultivators. Apparently, they too knew who Xiong Da was and did not mind helping. However, not all of them were able to make it but Se Lang and Xue Ping promised to help. After he explained his situation to Bin Yong and the others in the Pandamonium group chat, they had agreed to help him on the day of the fight. Jin had thought that Xiong Da was so focused on getting his revenge and the girl back that he would just fight this battle for love blindly without a plan. He later apologised to Xiong Da for the outburst that he had displayed. "It was really immature of me to do such a thing," Jin said to Xiong Da as an apology. "Nah, I really needed and appreciated it. I have been an adult for too long that I was being a little too realistic. I forgot that sometimes love needed some craziness and immaturity." Xiong Da said to Jin and told him that everything was under control though he might still need some of Jin''s help. However, that outburst was not just for him. It was also for Jin himself when he remembered how powerless he had been in almost every situation but that would be left as a story for another day. When Xiong Da, Ji Ao, and Shi Zuo were all teleported into the Panda Muscles, Ruo Ying was left back at the first level of the store feeling both scared and lonely due to a large number of people watching the fight. "Hi! By any chance, are you Ruo Ying?" Yue Wen, the cultivator of the Healing Maiden Style tapped her shoulder lightly. Ruo Ying acted on reflex and quickly blocked the moment she felt someone touching her shoulders, which startled Yue Wen a little. "Woah woah woah, calm down! I am one of Xiong Da''s friends. Actually, most of us here are friends and acquaintances of his." Yue Wen said as she raised her hand in surrender to show that she came in peace. "Sorry! Sorry!" Ruo Ying bowed her head slightly to apologise but her cap fell off and everyone finally saw the true beauty she possessed. If not for the bruise by the side of her forehead, her irresistible pulchritude would make every guy in the shop fall in love with her. "Damn it, that fatty better win." Bin Yong growled in anger as he saw the obvious abuse Ruo Ying had to experience. Even Jia Le and Luo Bo wanted to go into the Panda Muscles and teach Ji Ao a lesson. "Don''t worry. I can heal your physical wounds¡­ but as for the heart, I will leave that to our dear fatty." Yue Wen winked at Ruo Ying as she started to pour her chi into Ruo Ying. "The wounds might not disappear instantly but my chi would help revitalise your meridian points, allowing you to recover faster." Yue Wen added. "Milk, we have a potential customer that has been injured on the 1st floor. Although Yue Wen has it covered, I want our patient to be in tip top condition. Come here once you are available." Jin made a phone call through his Panda Port to let the others know that the boss of this shop would not leave any injustice hanging. Milk eventually came by to attend to Ruo Ying but Yue Wen had already accelerated the healing process. There was almost nothing Milk really need to do but she still cast a calming spell for Ruo Ying. "Ms Ruo Ying, I am a policeman working at the Tiangong Police Station." Se Lang presented himself in front of Ruo Ying as he walked into the shop, almost as if he had been called to the scene of a crime. Not to mention the timing was impeccable and right beside him was Police Detective Xue Ping. Se Lang went closer to Ruo Ying and whispered. "And an acquaintance of Xiong Da." He immediately returned to his professional stance and started to ask Ruo Ying a few questions. "May I query about the injury? It does not seem like a fall." Se Lang asked. Ruo Ying was speechless. She did not know where to start and suddenly felt that she had underestimated Xiong Da''s love for her and started to break down crying. "Miss, if you feel that you need a quiet place to voice out your troubles, we can provide you with that." Xue Ping sat beside Ruo Ying and passed her a tissue which Jin conveniently placed a box of right beside them. "No, it''s okay. I want to say it in front of all of you. Xiong Xiong is doing so much for me. I will fully expose Ji Ao even though he said I would regret doing so." Ruo Ying wiped her tears away and started to pour her entire story out to the small group. It was around this time that the other customers noticed that every station was tuned to the boxing ring in Panda Muscles. "Sorry to intrude on your entertainment time. I would like to ask all of you to be witnesses for the fight. If you are unhappy and do not wish to watch it, I will give you a refund." Jin shouted but the customers were not angry at all. In fact, they were all looking forward to it. "Brother Xiong Da is fighting?! Oh, I can already see him trashing that arrogant shithole." A male customer voiced his opinion out after seeing how Ji Ao acted in front of the shop. The ruckus was too obvious to not overlook. "Anyone up for a bet? Loser gets to buy Zhen Qing''s black pepper pork buns. Of course, I am definitely voting for Brother Xiong Da." One of the usual gambling customers shouted out and they some even supported him. "Damn it, here I thought I would be the only one who thought that Brother Xiong Da would be winning this. I thought I could make a bet out of this." The gambling customer spoke up again and some of them laughed. "The camaraderie in this store¡­" Ruo Ying noticed that almost everyone knew who Xiong Da was and they were earnestly rooting for him. "Xiong Da had influenced not just me but almost everyone else to work hard in this dungeon supplier store. I think this shop would indeed be different without him around. Also at the rate he is training and cultivating, he might even beat me in terms of cultivation. So trust him, he will win you back." Jin smiled at Ruo Ying and he offered her an onigiri and plain water to calm herself down. "Part 2 of the hippo plan executed." Jin thought to himself after seeing Ruo Ying finally started to trust Xiong Da''s friends. . . Chapter 191 The Hippo Plan - Part 2 "Gentlemen, are you ready?" Shi Zuo was standing at the centre of the brightly lit boxing ring but Ji Ao sniggered and proposed something to Xiong Da. "Hey, Xiong Da. How about we fight like boxers? No weapons. Just you and me with our fists?" Ji Ao took out his shirt and revealed a series of large crocodile scales tattooed on his back. He had gotten it to show his ferocity. Ji Ao wanted to do this in case Xiong Da had some high grade weapon that he might have acquired since he was now seen as a rich fat guy. Without weapons, Ji Ao thought that it would increase his chance to win even further. Damn, if Ji Ao knew Xiong Da was rich, he would have plummeted him into pieces the first time round and extorted money from him. Ahh but this would be equally a good chance too. "Sure," Xiong Da took out his shirt to reveal his enormously big belly, so white and tender fresh. Ji Ao could not help but chuckle as he flexed his abdominal muscles to reveal his six packs. "Just warming up." Ji Ao smiled deviously at Xiong Da but he did not care. "Since I am the witness, can I propose the rules of engagement?" Shi Zuo said and Ji Ao readily agreed. "One round, unlimited time. No physical weapons, fight till death since this is an instance. Simple enough? Can I have your storage rings and shirts for safe keeping?" Both agreed and they gave their shirts and storage rings to him. What Xiong Da did not know was that Ji Ao had already told Shi Zuo what to do and the rules of engagement which Shi Zuo readily agreed. "Ooo, that sneaky guy is definitely going to use magical scrolls or temporary inscriptions." Luo Bo tried to figure what Shi Zuo was saying as she watched the telecast from the Stations. "Does not matter," Jin commented that knowing how strong Xiong Da was even at just Grade 3. He would not be surprised if Xiong Da could overpower his opponent with raw physical strength. If the fishing service instance was working for Xiong Da as intended, Jin would not be surprised if he was at Grade 4 right now. Xiong Da started to do some simple footwork and jumped on the spot. Ji Ao laughed at the ridiculous hippo trying to imitate a proper boxer. Ji Ao betted that Xiong Da did not know that he was once a professional boxer and even had made a small name for himself. "Ready? Fight!" Shi Zuo shouted as he quickly stepped back and out of the way of the two''s fighting. Xiong Da went in hoping to strike Ji Ao with a punch but the Croc dodged just in time. "So slow!" Ji Ao shouted as he delivered a counterpunch straight into the fatty''s belly. Xiong Da immediately fell to the ground from the counterpunch and saw four crocodile silhouettes laughing at the hippo that was on the floor. Ji Ao did not give him any chance and continued to kick and stomp on Xiong Da without any care. Each kick and stomp were forceful and gave no quarters for Xiong Da to even recover. "This is way too easy!!! I should have just allowed him to punch me once." Ji Ao thought to himself as he sniggered and continued by going over him and sat on his belly. "This is the most comfortable punching bag I have ever enjoyed." Ji Ao continued to punch repeatedly as Xiong Da tried to block the attacks to his face with his hands. The jabs from Ji Ao started to show its effects as Xiong Da arms and chest started to bleed. This was one of the passive technique of the Crazy Crocodile Style. Able to bleed the opponent despite using fists. "Xiong Xiong!" Ruo Ying saw Xiong Da being beaten so badly that she wanted to go to the third floor and stop Ji Ao. Xue Ping grabbed her hand and told her to calm down. "Calm down?! Xiong Xiong is risking his life for me! Betting his personal possession for me! And he is bleeding like crazy just for me! How can I stand here and not do anything? I did nothing but hurt his feelings for the past few months and I have regretted my stupid choice for ignoring him ever since because I really love him so much that I do not want to hurt him with my problems!" Ruo Ying broke down again as she tried to struggle out of Xue Ping''s grab. She even portrayed her cultivation of the Esthetic Egret Style but it was no match for the Prancing Puma. "That beetch!" Ji Ao apparently heard the whole conversation through a loudspeaker from Shi Zuo''s phone. "You! Are you also in cahoots!?" Ji Ao realised that the guy he chose was a mistake. "Does not matter, this Xiong Xiong of yours has been broken by me and you will be too." Ji Ao cursed under his breath. "That was not part of the plan at all, Bro." Xiong Da looked at Shi Zuo with tears. Tears of joy and happiness that Ruo Ying felt that way for him. "Luo Bo wants to play cupid again. I am just the cupid bow." Shi Zuo shrugged his shoulders and Xiong Da could only laugh. "Please thank Ms Cupid for me." "What are you laughing at?!" Ji Ao wanted to throw another punch but Xiong Da eyes turned extremely deadly and even managed to catch Ji Ao''s punch with ease. "I was just playing with you but playtime is over because the Hippo needs Egret for some alone time together." Xiong Da said with a grin on his face as he portrayed his Hungry Hippo Style. "One¡­ Two¡­ Three? Four?!!" Ji Ao was panicking as he saw four hippos right above Xiong Da''s head and then he felt something crushed so easily and realised that it was his fist. They were all into pieces. Only after that realisation did he notice the pain. "ARRRRRGGGHHH!!!!" Ji Ao screamed. Xiong Da returned the favours by holding onto his right arm and broke them into two and later crushed them with raw brute strength. "Oh, I purposely chose this boxing ring because I knew you were a boxer and now I am beating you in your own field. To show just how pathetic you are." Afterwards, Xiong Da held onto Ji Ao''s legs and slammed with a simple overhead throw which crippled his back immediately. "I am going to crush your bones one by one. Especially your hands and legs which were used to abuse Ruo Ying." It was then that Jin suddenly turned off the telecast and all the stations were back to the dungeon fights that were ongoing. "AWWWWW BOSSS!!" The entire crowd was booing at Boss Jin. "Hey! There might be minors in this shop okay? It was kind of obvious who would win." Jin said and almost every customer started complaining. "If you wish to continue, you can buy the streaming download feature. If you want, you can watch the playback of this match. I assure you this way you will not miss any of it." Jin said nonchalantly. "Damn it, Boss, if I did not respect you, I would have beaten you up now on the spot for being this shameless and ruthless in business." One of the customers complained as he quickly signed up for the streaming feature in the Pandamonium. Jin could only smile politely. "It''s nothing personal¡­ It''s just good business." . . Chapter 192 The Hippo Plan -Part 3 "Very sneaky technique. I like it." Yun smirked as she sent her thoughts to Jin as they saw many customers logging onto their Pandamonium accounts just to watch the fight unfold. That few Yuan for the subscription? It was well worth it to see such a bastard get a beating. "I am not wrong, there are some minors in the store." He glanced sideways towards Bu Dong and Yue Han, which made Yun roll her eyes while maintaining her smile. Even Bu Dong and Yue Han bought the subscription just to watch the brutal violence that was happening in Panda Muscles. "Wait, wait! Please wait!" Ji Ao was trying to get out of the mess he was in but there was really no way out. The storage rings were given to Shi Zuo and Xiong Da even ripped off his belt and shoes away in case of any hidden weapons. All he was left with were his pants. However, Ji Ao could not run away even if he wanted to. Xiong Da had broken his spine into two and Ji Ao was in extreme pain. If it weren''t for his cultivation, he would have already been paralysed and killed. What he did not understand was how Xiong Da managed to cultivate to a Grade similar to his in such a short period of time. "Was he not a Grade 1 Cultivator for the past few months? Did he take some demon drugs to gain this kind of insane power?" He accidentally voiced out his thoughts and these were overheard by Xiong Da. "Drugs? Hahahahahaha!" Xiong Da grabbed Ji Ao by his neck and brought it close to his face. "The power of wealth and hard work. A mere jerk like you would not understand how desperate and determined I was to crush you." Xiong Da punched him in his stomach again, making Ji Ao feel like fainting before Xiong Da threw him to the ground again. "You think you will get away with this? You think I will not come back even stronger just to bite you?" Ji Ao was bitter when facing his impending defeat yet Xiong Da was laughing loudly. "Hahahahahaha!!! Do not worry, you will not find the opportunity to do so." Xiong Da went forward and kicked his opponent''s face, causing him to fly to the corner of the boxing ring post. "Bullshit! I will find you! I will crush you! I will make sure Ruo Ying suffers even more because of this!" Ji Ao could not even talk properly at this point but he could only curse Xiong Da in his thoughts. "Hey, hey, no sleeping." Xiong Da brought Ji Ao''s hand out of the boxing ring and stomped on it hard, causing it to dislocate entirely. For the next ten minutes, Xiong Da had his fun breaking him again and again before he asked Shi Zuo for his warclub to end his opponent- no, his victim''s suffering immediately. It was indeed a good thing that Jin had switched the channels off from the main store and directed them to the Pandamonium because it was indeed way too brutal. It was also in the interest of Xiong Da to not let Ruo Ying watch the full thing since she might not be able to take the brutality of it. "Good. Let him die that way." Ruo Ying felt more satisfied than ever when Luo Bo showed her the broadcast, which discredited Jin''s thought. "I guess the hate for him was more than just superficial." Jin reminded himself not to underestimate the other gender''s feelings. "Now that he is dead, he should be in the recovery instance. Time for Part 3 of the plan. Boss Jin, do you mind letting us enter the recovery instance?" Detective Xue Ping was ready to act on the next part of the plan with Se Lang. She might not have known Xiong Da directly but upon hearing the cruel things Ruo Ying had been subject to, Xue Ping could not wait to arrest this guy. "Yes. I do mind." Jin shook his head which caused everyone to be surprised. They thought that Jin wanted to help Xiong Da catch this guy? "The recovery instance is a highly controlled environment as well as part of a dungeon experience for other customers. The other customers have the right to rest. From what I see, we have things all under control. Besides, he has nowhere to run when he comes out of the recovery instance." Jin replied and he was not wrong. Besides, from what Jin knew, the recovery instance did not have an entrance and only an exit. He did not query if it was part of the System''s design but he would check it out once this entire thing blew over. He knew that only Milk and Yun were able to access it since he tried to do so a few times after he found out Peppers tried to enter it once but was denied access too. "I understand, we will wait outside the exit of the recovery instance." Xue Ping beckoned Se Lang to follow her as they saw the hero of the day walking down the stairs. People started to cheer for him. "Brother Xiong Da, that was intense, man! How did you get to Grade 4 so quickly?!" Bin Yong congratulated him. "All thanks to Boss Jin. He worked hard for me too." Xiong Da laughed heartily but subsequently stopped because he saw that Ruo Ying was too guilty to look at him in the eye. He thanked the rest first for their support and his friends for coming to help him before approaching her. "Hey," Xiong Da stood in front of her. "¡­Thank you. Xiong Da." Ruo Ying did not dare to look at him in the eye for all the wrong decisions she had made. Xiong Da wanted to console her but he was interrupted by some loud shouts coming from the stairs. "I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG! LET GO OF ME!" Ji Ao tried to struggle but Se Lang and Xue Ping''s combined cultivation strength stopped him from escaping. Not to mention, he was handcuffed by an inscription that suppressed the strength of a cultivator, which made Ji Ao''s mouth the only thing he was free to use. "I have friends that will get me out. You watch out, hippo. Next time I see you, you will be hippo meat." Ji Ao snapped at them. "Do not worry, those friends will join you." Xue Ping scoffed at him. The previous time that Xue Ping and Lee An had come to visit Jin after a raid was based on information from Xiong Da''s private investigations. Ji Ao was not only going to face charges for forced imprisonment and assault but also for the pedalling of drugs too. "Oh and remember the contract that you signed? It''s a contract of forfeit. A forfeit of your entire material possessions too. See you in court for your charges." Xiong Da said with confidence. "Court?!" Ji Ao was too angry to even think. "You do not know him? Well then, doesn''t it suck to be you. He is from HHH law firm." Se Lang pushed him out of the store and towards a waiting patrol car. "Fatty¡­ HHH law firm? Oh my god! You are that infamous attorney that co-founded a law firm at the age of 34?" Luo Bo suddenly understood why she had always felt that Xiong Da was so familiar. "Oh, you know me?" Xiong Da stuck his tongue out to pretend to be innocent. "How did you even have the time to work on cases when you were out here training?" Jin was pleasantly surprised too but Xiong Da just shrugged before Ruo Ying stared at him. "I¡­" She tried to voice her own opinion. Xiong Da immediately turned back and said. "I am still the Xiong Da that you know and love. I too am sorry that I tried to hide things. I just wanted to see if someone was really genuine about me rather than just for my money. I am also sorry I was too weak to save you back then." "And¡­ I still like you." Xiong Da scratched his head as he said it so innocently. "Idiot Xiong Xiong. Why did you say it out loud?" Ruo Ying nodded gently and finally showed a faultless smile as she poked Xiong Da''s belly. "I LIKE RUO YINGGGGGG!!" Xiong Da unhesitantly picked Ruo Ying up. The subject of his intimacy squealed a little before laughing. The rest of his friends were also happy that everything had ended well for him. Xiong Da''s efforts had finally paid off. . . Chapter 193 Being Followed Everything ended without a hitch in Jin''s shop. There was even a slight boost to revenue thanks to the stunt he pulled during Xiong Da''s fight. It was then that he realised he had forgotten something. "Yun, did Lai Fu come by to claim his fishing instance I promised him?" Jin began to close his shop and decided to return home to do some housework after also remembering all the clothes he had yet to wash. "He actually came by and asked if he could come by next week instead. Apparently, the notice was too short for his friends to rush down and they needed some more preparation time." Yun yawned as she walked back with Jin. "Ah, I am not surprised. By the way, how is the lottery going? Anyone manage to grab the big prize yet?" Jin asked as they walked back together. "Not really, but at least there were some claims and they were quite satisfied with the lottery considering it''s somewhat a ''free'' gift for the things they bought from the district," Yun said but suddenly she felt distressed. "What''s wrong? A headache?" Jin noticed the sudden change in her expression. "No, it''s the System. Someone is trying to break into your shop but do not worry too much." Yun recovered from her weird headache and told Jin about it. "Why didn''t the System just tell me directly? I am still holding my phone. Also, do you want to go back and take a look at the culprit?" Oddly, Jin did not feel any panic at all since Yun had just said that there was nothing to worry about. "Maybe it feels that it would be more natural to announce it through me than through your phone." Yun gave a weak smile but got serious as she later realised they were being followed too. "Why do I feel that the store break in and being followed by some obvious people is kind of connected?" Jin casually said as he turned around and took out Bam in Katana form. Yun did not do anything for the moment and continued to stay alert. Multiple men appeared from the shadows and they were all well dressed. Black suit, leather shoes and sunglasses despite the fact that it was night time. Perhaps the moonlight was too blinding for them. "Break in? Did I order you to do that Ku Wai?" A female voice was heard behind the group of men as they made way for her to go through. Jin later saw that she looked fairly young but she was actually in a wheelchair with a familiar looking person pushing her through the crowd. "No, Princess. I did not do that nor did I order that. Do you want me to send people to investigate?" Ku Wai asked politely. "It''s fine, the break-in attempt is under control." Jin blurted out, which caused each and every of the black suits to take their pistols out and aimed at him. However, just a gentle rise of the lady''s hand made them lower their guns. "I am sorry¡­Jin, was it?" The lady spoke as Ku Wai pushed her wheelchair forward where there was a street light that illuminated her beauty that was hidden from the shadows. Her facial physical features were comparable to Yun''s fairly strict but appealing elegance. Her hair was long and slightly curly at the edge of her hair and she was wearing a tight henley shirt which revealed her slim figure. "Yes, I am." Jin nodded and sheath his sword as Yun had her arms folded. "I am sorry for the sudden disruption of your daily life but let''s just say I would like a favour from you even though we had barely met." The lady got straight to the point before even saying her name. "Before anything, can I ask for your name and why do we need to talk under such circumstances?" Jin asked but it seemed everyone except for Ku Wai was irritated. Only a glance from Ku Wai allowed the rest of the black suits back down from their usual aggression. "Ah, I apologise! Sometimes I get too preoccupied with things that I forget simple stuff but I am surprised that you do not know of me. I am Hu Yang Ling, the youngest daughter of the head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect." Yang Ling said. "Oh, no wonder you wished to meet me this way." Jin realised that it must have been hard for important figures of the country to walk around peacefully without being targeted. "Firstly, thank you for sparing Ku Wai. He might not be the strongest nor most talented in my sect but he is a very loyal person that has protected me in many instances. It would indeed have been disappointing if I had lost him. Also, I presume I also need to thank you for the panda photo that you gave Ku Wai. I wanted a picture of a baby panda on a whim and did not expect Ku Wai to really try and obtain it so I thank you for doing the job for him." Yang Ling said. "However, I came here to do more than just thank you." Yang Ling became serious as she beckoned Jin to follow her to her car for a private conversation. "I will return home first and help you with your laundry since obviously, you do not have time to do so," Yun spoke like a true mother as Jin put his hands together and said sorry before following Yang Ling to her car. "Your wife?" Yang Ling asked casually, hoping to ease the tension between them before the serious conversation started. "No. Just a ¡­close relative." Jin could not possibly say that Yun was his mother, especially since they had the means to dig into his past. "I see." Yang Ling seemed relieved for some particular reason before the black suits opened the SUV. Jin saw that the interior of the SUV was styled like a limousine. Seats at the back of the SUV were facing each other and the seats were clearly made of high quality material. He then noticed that Yang Ling being on a wheelchair was not an act. Ku Wai was assisting her into the SUV. The moment the SUV doors closed, they suddenly started to move, which Jin made realise he had been tricked into entering the car. "Jin, I assure you that this is not a kidnapping." Yang Ling tried to explain the urgency they were in but it was not helping her case that everything was pointing to a kidnapping. Jin seemed like he was ready to fight back. "Calm down Jin. I swear on the honour of my name, I promise that Princess really does need your help." Ku Wai bowed his head a little to show the sincerity of Yang Ling''s request. Jin calmed down before he folded his arms. "What do you want from me?" Jin''s words were short and direct. "I know that you are a dungeon supplier. I have even sent people to your shop to spy on you ever since Ku Wai returned from the hospital and we found out how he was defeated. Those monsters that are in the dungeon¡­ they are too unique, to the point that I doubt the reports delivered by my men." Yang Ling started to praise Jin. "Please get to the point," Jin said. "Well, although its true that the selection of your monsters is still¡­ erm¡­ lacking in variety, it is justifiable since your cultivation is lower than Ku Wai''s. But still, I have to admit that I even if I have dabbled in dimensional instance technology before, have no way to recreate what you have created. Even the dungeon suppliers that the Royal Zodiac have contracted were unable to do what you did." Yang Ling babbled on, which made Jin slightly uncomfortable. "So¡­ I want you to create a dungeon for me." Yang Ling leaned forward as she felt very excited saying it. . . Chapter 194 Come To My Shop "Then just come to my shop. I see no reason why I should accommodate you more than any other customer." Jin said bluntly, which made Yang Ling laugh while Ku Wai frowned. "Mind your words, dungeon supplier. You might have bested me but that does not mean that you have the right to insult the Princess!" Ku Wai raised his voice despite being humble in his request minutes ago. "No, no, it''s fine." Yang Ling stopped laughing and reverted back to her serious face as she took out a suitcase and opened it to show stacks of neatly placed cash right in front of Jin. "I appreciate the offer and while I admit that this amount of money is indeed very tempting, I will not just create a dungeon for you for money." Jin knew that he had the upper hand right now in this conversation because Yang Ling had praised him. He might not know how much he could push this potential investor cum customer but he thought that trying would not hurt him. He had nothing to lose since they were in need of his help and he did not need theirs. What he knew was that she had never experienced the joy and exhilaration experienced by the customers/spies who had actually participated and had only read through reports, which was unacceptable in his eyes. It was akin to telling a chef that you liked their food because you had seen other people eating it, but you did not wish to eat the food because you wanted the chef to create something new just for you to eat. "Is it because you need samples of monsters? If that''s the case, our Sect has many strong monsters for you to observe, experiment and even fight against." Yang Ling said as if it was nothing to her. "No. That is not what I meant." Jin shook his head before continuing to explain his ''justification'' in a more logical sense. "I do not know your cultivation style or grade. I do not know how you fight. I do not know the reason behind your sudden obsession with my dungeons. I do not know if you will just take my technology and recreate it since these are my trade secrets and also, you have not tried any of my dungeons before, so I do not feel obliged to help you." Jin tried to justify himself but in the end, he revealed the real reason behind his rejection. "My cultivation was crippled ever since the moment I lost the movement of my legs." Yang Ling spoke seriously to which Ku Wai seemed shocked since she had spoken the truth to a stranger. If outsiders knew what the other Royal Zodiac Sects knew, that her cultivation was really crippled, they would take advantage of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect. Currently, almost every Sect thought that Yang Ling was in a wheelchair to hide her cultivation from other Sects. In the previous Royal Zodiac generations, there were one or two royal cultivators that hid their true cultivation by pretending to be sick. They assumed that Yang Ling was doing the same too. "I want you to create a special dungeon for me so that I can remember the days of cultivating and fighting. I also heard that fighting your monsters provides spiritual force. There might be a small chance that I might recover my cultivation if I absorb enough spiritual force. It''s a selfish reason but the kindness that you showed Ku Wai along with the fact that you are a dungeon supplier made me believe that I can trust you for this task." Jin noticed that Yang Ling spoked with some truth in her words. He did not know why but he felt she was still hiding something. At the very least they were not all lies. "Lost your legs?" Jin thought about how similar she was to Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress. "I am sorry to ask but have you not tried other cultivation styles to remedy your injury?" Jin asked. "Are you actually stupid? The only cultivation you are allowed to cultivate in a specific Royal Zodiac Sect is that particular cultivation and no other." Ku Wai''s had some angst in his words as Jin displayed his ignorance to Yang Ling. "Secretly, I did. They did not work though. The only reason my father still keeps me around is that I am very good with numbers and management." Yang Ling replied, which reminded Jin that he still had yet to visit his ex-girlfriend for some advice on city management. When the car pulled up, Jin realised he was back at his store. While it was easy to walk to his store, taking a car was somewhat of a different matter since the roads did not connect his house to the Tiangong shopping district. "How''s the break in attempt being handled?" Jin asked Yun, who was still back at his house doing housework, through his phone and she replied that the attempt was just simple lockpicking. The lawbreaker did not stay any longer after failing a few times. "Why am I back at my store?" Jin asked Yang Ling. "Did you not say that I have not tried your dungeons so you won''t help me? Well, I am going to try them now." Yang Ling replied and Ku Wai also insisted on coming along. "That way, you will know how I fight and I get to have a first hand look at your technology to see if they are really as good as what was stated in the report." Yang Ling said in a way to soothe her possible ''saviour''. Yang Ling inwardly admitted that she was being impulsive and did not think through much since she usually got what she wanted without much effort. She did not expect that the name of the Royal Zodiac did not mean much to Jin as compared to other people. How could one be that oblivious to a Royal Zodiac Sect, much less the family that controlled it? Besides, she could not ignore the prophecy the Zodiac fortune teller had said since half of it had already come true. "A picture might be worth a thousand words but the picture of a baby panda is worth much more." Despite being such a cringing prophecy, the two hundred year old fortune teller was never wrong. Many of the Royal Zodiac Sect members that had heeded her advice and managed to grasp the meaning behind her cryptic yet embarrassing prophecies always did extremely well in life. Hence, she could not help but think that Ku Wai or Jin might be the one that would be able to turn her life around. However, even Ku Wai did not know about this prophecy of hers and thought that the baby panda photo was just based on a whim. "Fine, considering you are some sort of a big shot and afraid that people might target you, I am willing to let you in after opening hours. But only this once. I will not entertain requests like this in the future. If you want to experience my dungeons again, you will have to do it during opening hours." Jin said as he let Yang Ling and Ku Wai enter the shop while he asked the other black suits to move away as they could attract unwanted attention, especially since it was in the middle of the night. "That''s more like it!" Yang Ling smiled as she entered the shop with Ku Wai. Jin subsequently tried to explain how the shop worked, totally forgetting that Yang Ling had read reports on his shop and already knew what to do. "So Jin, what dungeon should I pick?" Yang Ling asked as she continued to look at the menu. "If it were up to me, I would say the Music Theatre Instance." Jin knew not many chose that dungeon because it was really too hard despite the fact that the dungeon was already modified to fit cultivator''s level. Even Bu Dong, Bin Yong and his group or the Venus Four would not able to clear the Music Theatre in one go. Only the Venus Four managed to clear it after a few tries and they even thought that was the hardest dungeon they ever cleared. It was however very rewarding after clearing the instance. Jin eventually told them that the Music Theatre dungeon instance was some sort of dungeons for veterans despite the modification to the difficulty level. The number of choices and the subtle choices that one could make in the dungeon made it hard for cultivators who were used to simple dungeon crawlers. It was also an attempt to throw off the System learning capability and see if the System could subsequently recreate a similar dungeon like this. Jin also used this Music Theatre instance as an experience to create the Gentlebear instance but it was still working in progress due to the complexity in choices he wanted cultivators to make in a mystery dungeon. "Okay, let''s go with that then." Yang Ling agreed as she was then ushered to Station 3, which was the closest to the cash port. After the payment, both Ku Wai and Yang Ling entered the instance with both excitment and trepidation. . . Chapter 195 Terrifying Tiger "So, the two of you are the new guards eh?" A Panda spoke up when Yang Ling and Ku Wau teleported in. He was smoking his cigar, wearing a tweed cap along with a coat and had an eyepatch covering his right eye. "And you are?" Yang Ling was unfamiliar with the Music Theatre Instance since her reports only consisted of the Goblin Forest and the Bank Heist Instance. Ku Wai wanted to stand in front of Yang Ling but she stopped him for a moment and allowed the One Eyed Panda to speak. "Name''s Hui. I am the driver and manager of this musical group, The Enlightened. Boss Jin said that he would be bringing in a few guards once in a while as a favour for me." The Panda looked at Yang Ling who was in a wheelchair as he continued to smoke his cigar. "Well, if he let you in, you must be good at something." Hui threw the cigar on the floor and asked them to follow him. It was then that Yang Ling and Ku Wai finally took in the sights, at this particular instance. They were in the outskirts of a small village. Apparently, the travelling music group was restocking their wares and supplies for the trip to the next town for their performance. Hui, the One Eyed Panda, brought the duo to meet the Enlightened members. "They might seem like a weird group of monsters but they are one damn good music group." Hui introduced them to the group. Ke Mi, The Zither Mistress and her pet, the Great White Snake,solely played the zither and she was a master at it. The Fire and Ice Wyrm Ants were called Mr Hot and Ms Cold respectively and they somehow learnt how to play the drums and bass. Lastly, Hui introduced them to Ms Sandy, the Sand Witch as well as the main vocal of their group. Jin never used the Sand Witch despite her being gifted by the system. The Music Theatre was not just a dungeon instance for the Sand Witch but it was actually her home at the same time. She was the only one that Jin had difficulty moving into the Sanctum of Worlds no matter how much he enticed her. Ms Sandy also refused all of Jin''s gifts, including the equipping of cards to increase her equipment level. She said she would not equip any new skills or weapons until someone managed to defeat the Music Theatre. Jin was suspecting that she might be an extreme introvert who only come out when she had to work. Regardless, she did her work splendidly and never cease to amaze Jin when it was her time to shine. Jin also guessed that it was because of her that the Music Theatre Instance was extremely hard for the cultivators. Nearly everyone who fought in that instance could not get past a certain stage. Hence, Jin figured that he should give Yang Ling the hardest instance to try so that she might be put off and not disturb Jin in the future despite the fact that she might be a potential investor. Jin realised that he might not want to meddle with the Royal Zodiacs since they always brought their own set of troubles along with them¡­ especially if they began negotiating partnerships. Jin already had enough on his plate at the moment and politics on top of it all would just be too much. That was also one of the reasons why Jin kept his curiosity at bay when he found out that Yang Ling''s cultivation had been crippled. "We are leaving in a few minutes and travelling to the Grassland''s open-air music theatre for the performance. Your objective is to prevent the musical troupe from getting injured and if possible¡­ prevent the truck from damage in the process. Boss Jin said it is be fairly sturdy but if damaged it would be hard to repair since they did not build such things in this era." Hui said as they finished introducing themselves to the troupe. Ku Wai was surprised to see a modern truck with an open load bed in a medieval setting. Their luggage and belongings, which he assumed were the musical instruments, were placed near the driver''s seat while the rest sat at the other end of the open load bed. Yang Ling was given the seat at the front with Hui since her disability made her very vulnerable and a cramped space that allowed for limited mobility would serve as a hindrance. It was quite clear at the moment that Yang Ling was only serving as a hindrance. Despite this, Yang Ling still persevered, disregarding the looks she received from the monsters. "Do not worry about it Princess, I will protect the troupe when necessary." Ku Wai said as he closed the truck door and jumped into the open load box of the truck. "Hmmph, to be frank, the Enlightened members themselves already have a few tricks of their own too so you guys being guards were just for additional precaution¡­ although it is starting to seem more of a hindrance rather than help." Hui was being sarcastic towards Yang Ling but she did not respond. She knew she could not move but she did not know that Hui said that line to almost every cultivator he met. It just so happened that his words stung more than they should have. The ride began and the monsters were happily chatting with each other¡­ as expected of the bodyguard, Ku Wai was silent throughout the entire trip. Needless to say, not long after they departed from the small village, they encountered some trouble. There was a Praying Mantis eating flesh at the side of the road with a destroyed caravan laying beside it. Ku Wai saw the danger ahead and climbed out of the truck. Yang Ling also opened the side door of the truck, only to be stopped by Ku Wai. "Princess, it will be fine, I can handle this alone. Just relax and watch the show." Ku Wai said to her as he closed the door again, which made Yang Ling quite frustrated. "I can handle it on my own too even without my cultivation." She thought to herself. The Praying Mantis stopped chewing the flesh on the side of the road and turned to find another caravan in the distance along with a man walking towards it. It did not care much since it was enjoyed the flesh it was eating so why should it stop? Its prey was coming towards it so it did not need to move from its eating spot. Yang Ling had already guessed that they would end up in one of Jin''s premade dungeons. She was smart like that. Due to his princess'' deduction, he had brought his full gear along with him. Unlike the time when he used only his fists against Jin, he was far better equipped. Temporary inscriptions of the Tiger gave him additional strength but also a boost in agility and accuracy. He had even equipped two small triangular metal plates that had strips of metals protruding from the tip, symbolising a claw. Since his enemy was still stationary and enjoying its snack, he might as well take the initiative. He wanted to finish it in one blow before the battle got drawn out. It would be wise to save Yang Ling''s skills for a later part of the dungeon. "Terrific Tiger Style, Sprint Strike of the Tiger." With both metal plates, which he usually used as shields, aiming at the praying mantis, he drew back his arms and squat down, all while leaning forward. With a kick, his entire body became a deadly arrow that cut through the wind and towards the Praying Mantis. *CLANG!* Metal clashed with metal. The scythes on the praying mantis'' forelegs deflected the claw shields and it even tried to follow up with a slash, but Ku Wai twisted his body just in time to evade the attack. "So this Praying Mantis knows the art of counterattacking. Interesting." Ku Wai took a few steps back and went into his fighting stance. The praying mantis even beckoned it to come closer, taunting him. "Boss Jin sure has some interesting monsters." Yang Ling talked to herself as she started to take notes in the truck. . . Chapter 196 Troublemaker The Praying Mantis did not give Ku Wai any quarters. It executed its swings precision and power. While the shield did reduce Ku Wai''s mobility, he was thankful that he had brought it out to fight against this monster. He had made some careless miscalculations regarding the monster, which nearly cost him his arms if it were not for the shields blocking the attacks for him. However, Ku Wai could see that the shield would not be able to last if the Praying Mantis continued being relentless in its attacks. As much of a musclehead he was, he too read the reports on Jin''s dungeons. And from the reports, he concluded with one statement¡­ they were difficult. It was not just because they were story-based but the monsters Jin created through dimensional technology was tip top. Upon fighting against this particular praying mantis, which was definitely not the boss, he could already see that Jin''s skill in creating monsters was superior to the dungeon suppliers the Royal Zodiacs contracted. And that was without even mentioning the atmosphere and actual characters. The customers might think that it was easy for the dungeon suppliers to create an instance and fill it with the environment or non-playable characters like Hui the One Eyed Panda. It was not. To bring life into an empty world that was decided and ruled over by programming rules and a high manipulation of magic was not a feat to be underestimated. Unfortunately, both Ku Wai and Yang Ling did not know the truth. Jin was not actually that smart, after all, it was only because of the System that Jin was able to do what he did. Yet Jin was not pushing the system to its the maximum potential because of the fallout they had had with each other. True, the System was still giving out missions, but the missions were not as forgiving as they used to be. Perhaps the System did not really care much about Jin any more. But with limited feedback and Yun as the middleman, playing on both teams, it was difficult for Jin and the System to reconcile. Thankfully, Ku Wai had sufficient experience in combat and eventually learnt the patterns of the praying mantis. Hence, he started to be more aggressive in his attacks and even used the claw shields to their limits in order to close the gap between the praying mantis and himself. He pushed forth until he was in contact with the praying mantis'' underbelly. "Intermediate Fist Arts, The Ambush of the Terrifying Terrific Tiger!" He shouted loudly and his hand turned slightly shadowy in nature and yet his fist was stronger than steel. The punch was strong enough to not only cause a dent through the praying mantis'' carapace body but it went into its organs too. Ku Wai did not stop there as he poured his chi through his fist and both Hui and Yang Ling could see the Praying Mantis melt right in front of their eyes. It was part of the Terrific Tiger Style to insert chi into the cultivator''s punches. But Ku Wai did more than that. He let his own chi pulsate through the praying mantis causing its body and its functions to be disrupted like microwaves vibrating the molecules and exciting it to the point where it melted. Later, Ku Wai took out a handkerchief to wipe the melted parts of the mantis away from his hand and proceed to look at the wares that were destroyed in the caravan. "Nothing much of use nor any hidden treasure. Guess the report is true." Ku Wai remembered that Jin''s dungeons only gave their rewards at the end now, as compared to other dungeon suppliers who will place certain prizes in monsters'' body. Jin used to do that but felt it was too inconvenient and broke the pacing of the story if they were in a theme. "All clear, we can go ahead." Ku Wai knocked on Hui''s side of the truck as he went back to the open load bed and joined the other monsters. "Nice fight." Ke Mi said simply and gave him a thumbs up. Even the wyrm ants were clapping with their legs. It was still a mystery how the ants were able to play instruments but Ku Wai guessed he would probably see it later on in the dungeon. However, the only one that was unhappy was Ms Sandy. In fact, she felt a little off as compared to the other monsters. "You okay?" Ku Wai asked not because he was concerned but more to test her and check her body language. Ms Sandy, however, did not respond nor even looked at Ku Wai at all. Meanwhile, Yang Ling was taking notes of the dungeon instances and was comparing it to the monsters they had fought before in previous dungeon suppliers. "Hmm, even the road has its uneven variations. Jin really took much into detail for his dungeon instance. Now I can roughly understand why it costs a lot. There are many things not included in the report and I am glad I have entered one of his dungeons." Hui continued to ride his truck and Yang Ling continued to feel that this particular dungeon instance felt more like a trip along the countryside than a dungeon. "Not a bad place to be honest, I have been in the city for so long, it sure is nice to have a bit of change of scenery." Yang Ling did not usually feel that way about life as she lowered the window of the truck. The crazy pace of competition in the Royal Zodiac family was crawling up her head. The loss of her cultivation along with her crippled legs made family ties even more strained than ever. Of course, it does not really matter much to her since she was the youngest daughter and her two other brothers would most probably be vying for the head position of the Sect. Probably this was the one time she felt at peace for the longest time ever but that peace was interrupted after a short while. "Hmmm, I think I hit some rock or some sharp object along the way and we did not notice it." Hui said as he stopped to check the integrity of his truck, only to find out that one of the wheels was really punctured. "Time out for a while." The Panda banged at the side of the truck to notify the rest of the monsters and Ku Wai. Suddenly a sentient root appeared from the sides of the road which was most probably camouflaged by the tall grass. It grabbed onto Hui and caused him to fall, hitting the truck first and later the ground, which led to him becoming unconscious. More roots appeared and dragged Hui into the depths of the tall grass. "Hui!" Ke Mi shouted and immediately looked at Mr Hot, the Fire Wyrm Ant. He nodded his head and sent a blast of fire from its mandible to the tall grass. The entire field went up in flames and the roots that were holding Hui were startled by the attack, making them flinch and throw Hui away in order to protect themselves. The Great White Snake quickly slithered through the grassy knolls on fire to grab Hui and threw him towards the road as it tried to return back to Ke Mi''s side. However, the roots that once took Hui, now targeted the Great White Snake and it held the snake tight to the ground, causing it to choke in the smoke and burn in the fire. Ms Cold realised something was amiss and tried to blow some ice cold breath at that particular area only to see the Great White Snake being wrapped around with vines struggling. The struggle was getting weaker each second, so Ke Mi did not hesitate to use her Zither and cut the vines with sonic waves. Ku Wai rushed in to drag it to safety, only to see he was being interrupted by roots appearing from the ground, trying to not just to grab him but to stab him too. Fortunately, he had speed inscription of the tiger on, which increased his agility and he retreated back. "Ohohoho, not bad." A large ancient tree crawled towards the musical troupe Enlightened and it revealed its face. No doubt, it was none other than Shu who was causing trouble. . . Chapter 197 Two Can Play The Game "I have come for you, my little sweet Sandy," Shu spoke in an irritating voice as the others turned to look at Sandy, the Sand Witch. "I am sorry to disappoint but I have a contract that I need to fulfil." Sandy stepped out of the truck and walked towards Shu. He did not harm her, unlike the others. "I have one condition though. Let them go. They are innocent and not under the cursed contract." Sandy said without even turning back to look back at them. "I am sorry Sandy, but I cannot leave any witnesses behind. You know what the contract demands." Shu said as it peeled off a piece of its bark, making the accursed blood contract in the open for everyone to see. Shu even poured some magic into it and the contract glowed bright red. Upon doing so, Sandy screamed in pain as her backless dress revealed a similar blood contract that stretched from her shoulders down to her lower back. "Now, return to me when you are done." The Treant laughed hideously as Sandy tried to control her powers and defy the Treant. But alas, her will was weak against the command of the blood contract. She could not help but fire a magical blast of sand towards the truck. "That is if you survive!" "Sandy!" Ke Mi shouted as she deflected the sandblast away with her own sonic blast. "You have to kill me! I cannot stop the blood contract!" There were conflicted feelings present on her face. The group was not able to get a grasp on her feelings as they seemed contradictory based on her expression. She was crying buckets of tears while smiling deviously at the same time. "Snake!" Ke Mi could not voice out more than a few words but this was still a major improvement since when she had only just started working under Jin, all she could verbalise were primitive grunts. As if that one phrase had magic in it, the Great White Snake woke up from the slumber it had been put in by the roots of the Ancient Treant Shu. The Sand Witch knew each of the musical troupe members'' strengths and weaknesses so she knew that the Great White Snake would pose a threat to her if she was not careful. From a range, Sandy would have a better advantage against it so she took her chance to eliminate the threat as soon as possible. However, the truck that was initially stationary started moving towards her. She then noticed Ku Wai driving it under the command of Yang Ling to smash straight into her. Instead of attacking head-on, the slight shock from seeing a truck rushing at her made her movements slow, which caused her to hesitate before transforming into sand. It was at that point though that Sandy realised she was being ignored. She watched as the truck continued to drive towards where the ancient treant disappeared. "Oh? Seems like Yang Ling knows something." Jin smirked as he drank a cup of Black Ivory Coffee and ate a plate of cheesecake for his midnight supper. "I have no idea what you are doing Princess but I trust you!" Ku Wai gulped down some saliva as he ran the truck with a broken tire through the vast thickets of the jungle. It was obvious that the truck was being battered by the obstacles of the jungle yet Ku Wai did not care as he pushed through, trying to maintain as much of the truck''s integrity as possible. "Trust me, if I have learnt anything from the reports regarding Jin''s story themed dungeons, it''s that we are given a choice for every action we take, making it as close to real life as possible. And if that does not work, we can always play the dungeon again and try to find the optimal outcome once more. Trust me, I don''t like this either¡­ it''s like we''re being controlled like a marionette by a puppeteer, except the puppeteer is a dungeon supplier. Anyway, despite that, I have to say that this is way better than any dungeon instance I have ever entered before." Yang Ling calmly spoke to Ku Wai but her heart was actually racing as the truck went through the jungle. It was not from the challenge of escaping from the Sand Witch, nor was it from the thrill of riding in a truck through the jungle. It was because she saw Jin''s monsters. Fire and Ice breathing ants? A tree that could initiate a blood contract? A humanoid monster manipulating sand? What in the world had Jin seen that made him able to visualise all of this? How complex was his manipulation of his dimensional technology and his knowledge of vast subjects like western magic? Basically, she wanted to know how on earth he was able to create such an intricate dungeon? She could hardly believe Jin was just a graduate from an engineering course. Jin was definitely hiding something and even if he would not, or could not reveal it to her, she would try her best to use him to his full potential, for her sake. After all, she had power, money, and youth on her side. Sure, she was currently crippled but who knows, maybe Jin could do something about that too. Maybe she would assign him the role of her sole dungeon supplier since she could manipulate some funds from the Royal Zodiac Tiger sect for her private use. Or maybe¡­just maybe get him to like her. That would save a lot of effort. Yang Ling could not help but blush a little at the prospect of having such a capable guy by her side. "Perhaps that would increase my standing with Father." "Hmmph, Looks like the Great White Snake and Hui were able to escape." Sandy breathed a sigh of relief before standing still to regain her original body. Turning into sand was an escape ability for the Sand Witch but it took some time for her to regain her physical body. She might be able to take on a sand form but she would only be impregnable towards physical attacks, not magic attacks¡­ and the Enlightened members were elementally and magically inclined. As much as she wanted to defy the orders of Shu, she was unable to because of the blood contract. Jin purposely integrated this into the instance to encourage the players to find ways to save Sandy. The Venus Four used brute force and subdued her to the point that she was unable to move before they sealed her up until they were able to defeat Shu. They kept her alive despite having the chance to kill her because Jin had told them that defeating her was not the true ending of the instance. However, their method of "saving" her sort of eluded the essence of the "true" ending. The truck eventually broke down as it crashed into a fallen log but beyond the log was a clearing where the ancient treant humming to himself happily. "What a pity, Sandy did not kill a single one of you. Well, since you are all here, how about you entertain me a little." Shu said as he grabbed a beehive he had been growing by the side of the clearing and delicately squeezed the beehive as honey began to flow into his mouth. "Great tree, are you able to break the blood contract? If so, what do you require of us to break it?" Yang Ling was being pushed through the clearing on a wheelchair that was conveniently kept in her storage ring. "Did I not say that no witnesses were to be left behind? She will be coming for you guys soon enough. Besides, why are you helping someone who you just met not too long ago?" Shu scoffed at Yang Ling''s politeness. "Let''s say it''s for mutual benefit. Sandy seemed to be in pain when she tried to kill us and I''d like to survive this particular ordeal." Yang Ling replied. "You sure she was in pain? Are you sure she was not delighted?" Shu asked once more as he shook his branches, causing sakura blossoms to fall all around the clearing. It was really beautiful to watch, provided one had the time to enjoy it. "I am certain she was in pain. To be honest, she probably still is" Yang Ling affirmed her answer as Ku Wai kept quiet and let Yang Ling handle the talking. "Then let me ask you this. What is your motive? Are you truly breaking the contract in an act of kindness or are you only doing this because you hope to be rewarded and this is the most logical course of action?" Shu went off the script a little as he pried into Yang Ling''s mind. To his surprise, her mind resistance was rather strong but the question confused her a little, which allowed Shu to enter her thoughts and see what was in there. Jin was not stupid either. He had purposely sent her into the Music Theatre because of this reason. Shu was capable of something similar to mind control. The sakura blossoms were how the praying mantis was tamed by Shu. Even if Shu could not control the mind entirely, he was capable of carrying out some mind tricks, one of which was taking a look at people''s thoughts. Of course, it wasn''t an all-seeing eye, and the stronger one''s cultivation was, the harder it was for Shu to peer through. However, Jin remembered that Yang Ling''s cultivation was crippled, hence he had asked Shu to quietly infiltrate her mind so that he could learn what she was thinking. A Member of a Royal Zodiac sect would never come with zero strings attached so Jin purposely acted dumb to make Yang Ling think he was a gullible target. "I am doing this because it is the most logical thing to do. Kindness does not exist in my view of the world. It is an illusion or a trick people use to manipulate others." Yang Ling answered boldly. "Your answer is commendable. Very well." Shu had already searched through her thoughts as he snapped his roots, which suddenly caused Ke Mi to erupt in a series of screams. . . Chapter 198 Playing To Their Tune Ke Mi screamed as if her lungs were bursting and her eyes began to glow red. She punched her zither a few times and subsequently the side of the truck. At this point, her hand instinctively moved to play the zither, which caused both Mr Hot and Ms Cold to gradually fall under her control with each pluck of the zither. "Wow, I have never seen this particular scene actually play out before. This is the first time someone has triggered this scene." Jin watched on closely as Ke Mi went into a fit of rage. He knew that all of the rage was scripted in the Dungeon Maker but he still felt it was exceedingly realistic. The scripts were based on the choices that Jin had selected. The Dungeon Maker would use the scenes to script appropriate actions for the monsters to take. Jin was not too worried about how Ke Mi was reacting. She was not acting either as she was really in pain during the process of this particular dungeon. Jin remembered that the System had told him that all these were just copies of the real monsters. Anything positive or negative they learnt from this particular instance would merely be summarised as experience for them. Once, he was so worried that he went to their home instance to ask how they were. Despite his care, the monsters thought that Jin was overreacting since everything was fine. Eventually, he found out that the System did not ''export'' the whole experience to the monsters. It merely played it back to them, much like watching a first person movie, so that the monsters could learn what had gone wrong or what could be improved. Jin could only sigh at the marvels of the System. If only the System was capable of rewind time so that Jin could make multiple choices and pick the best one among them. However, life did not work that way and he could only accept the choice he had made and move forth. "Princess, this is bad." Ku Wai did not bother with the wheelchair anymore and immediately carried her to safety. But was there really a safe place around them? They were in the middle of a clearing that was deep in the jungle. The ancient treant was in control of the environment and there was no one other than themselves. "So the rest of the Enlightened troupe was blood contracted by the Treant too?" Yang Ling was confused by the sudden turn of events. "So why did the Treant make the Sand Witch attack the troupe? To confuse us?" Yang Ling could not help but question the weirdness of this particular instance. Everything was done to confuse them. "If you think about the dungeon instance name¡­ Don''t you think it makes some sense?" Ku Wai, who was usually a muscle-head, tried to voice out his own comprehension of this particular dungeon. "What do you mean?" Yang Ling could not wrap her head around it as Ku Wai dodged a fire blast attack from Mr Hot. She then saw that the wyrm ants were carrying Ke Mi on their back while climbing out of the crashed lorry. "That Treant is the conductor, the lead, or something like that. The rest of the musical troupe are all playing their roles to drag us into the scene. We were being played by them all along." Ku Wai used his battered shield claw to block an ice shard but it broke upon impact. "So you are saying that we were just playing to their tune?" Yang Ling questioned as Ku Wai raced through the thickets. "Mmhm. This jungle is their theatre, we are their audience, and this situation was all set up as part of the play. We assumed we were going to see a proper play when we ourselves were actually the unwilling actors." Ku Wai said. "What a terrible play this is." Yang Ling shook her head and started to grasp onto what Ku Wai was trying to say. Suddenly, roots appeared in front of them, causing them to be trapped. Not only that, they were being grabbed by Shu and were brought back to the clearing. The roots were merciless as the cultivators were dragged back against the ground, causing cuts and wounds to ravage their bodies. Ku Wai was able to tough it out but not Yang Ling due to her loss of cultivation. However, being an ex-cultivator, Yang Ling was still able to endure the pain as they were being dragged back. Upon the clearing, they saw that Sandy, Ke Mi, Mr Hot and Ms Cold were all waiting for them. "That was not nice of you to just run away. We have barely begun!" Shu said as he subsequently wrapped the entire clearing in a barrier of vines and roots, making it nearly impossible for the duo to escape again. He later let go of them a distance off the ground, letting them plummet. Ku Wai though, now free from the grasp of Shu, spun in mid air to save Yang Ling before she landed flat on the ground. "It''s okay, Ku Wai. I can still handle myself." She smiled at the worried Ku Wai and stared at Shu. "If you want a fight, we will give you one. Besides, I am dying to experience some action with my new gadget." Yang Ling figured there was no other way other than fighting it out with the Treant and the other mind controlled monsters. "Are you sure princess? Did you not say that it''s still in the prototype stage?" Ku Wai worriedly stared at her. "That was why we looked for Jin, right? Jin! I know you are looking at us through this dungeon. Do you want to know why I want a dungeon? I will show it to you. Not many know the existence of this. In fact, you are the among the first to know about it. That is how much I am willing to trust you so that we can have a partnership!" Yang Ling shouted as she took out a suitcase from her storage ring. To fully utilise the powers of storage, Yang Ling had kept a storage suitcase in her storage ring, mainly because her storage ring did not have the capacity to contain the items that were in that particular storage suitcase. "Very well, I want to see what you have. It better live up to what you have hyped it up to be! I am going to allow you to prepare to your fullest before we start our fight, purely for entertainment purposes!" Shu lauded at Yang Ling''s efforts to fight against them. Yang Ling looked at Ku Wai with a serious gaze and he nodded his head. "This princess is too stubborn for her own good. Hmm, but I did swear that I would do anything for her¡­ no matter what." Ku Wai placed his palm on the storage suitcase and the digital lock on the suitcase unlocked with a sophisticated click. Inside the suitcase was an exoskeleton¡­ though that was overstating it by quite a lot. It was essentially just a metal chest frame with piston-laden harnesses. Yang Ling had aptly named it Gearbox, which was printed on the frame. Ku Wai wore it upon his shoulders and the harnesses tightened immediately the moment it detected Ku Wai''s body. The exoskeleton frame was meant to increase the capabilities of a human by detecting the movement of the user''s muscles and then amplify those movements. Each punch could potentially become two times deadlier as the frame was able to amplify the speed and strength of the user. The frame was made of a highly durable metal, although it was still inferior to Jin''s Bam and Boo by a long shot. That said, it was still able to endure attacks and damage like the shield claw that Ku Wai had used before it was broken. Ku Wai did not only equip the Gearbox frame but also attached one of its accessories, the Titan Fists, as Ku Wai had dubbed them. The metallic gauntlets were installed into the frame and he slammed his Titan Fists together. In terms of power, they were definitely more powerful than a standard Power Fist like the one Xue Ping used and when equipped with the Gearbox frame, their speed and ferocity would be enhanced, allowing Ku Wai to break through power levels of Grade 6 despite only being a Grade 5 cultivator, which was an amazing feat, since no weapons had ever been able to do that, with the exception of certain Epic or Legend levels of inscription, but they were all owned by mysterious beings and lost to the mundane world. "This prototype had made by the Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect''s Military Armament Research Facility using the blueprint and schematics supplied by yours truly." Yang Ling spoke proudly as Ku Wai banged his fists together once more, ready to fight. . . Chapter 199 The Decoy Jin was surprised by the sudden honesty of Yang Ling. Did she notice that Shu was collecting information on her so she decided to play the card of an honest businessman¡­ or maybe she really wanted to start a partnership with Jin? In spite of that, Shu did his job by transmitting the information to Jin as he continued with the dungeon instance. In addition, Ku Wai and Yang Ling were nevertheless closer to the true ending of this particular dungeon than anyone had ever been. Ku Wai had even understood the meaning of the ''Theatre'' part in the title Music Theatre Dungeon instance. Yang Ling was still sitting on the ground whilst holding onto the suitcase that Ku Wai had opened. She was so vulnerable and defenceless that she was almost begging to be a target and so Shu commanded Sandy to attack her. This time around though, Sandy looked at him and blasted her sand powers at Shu instead. The blood contract on her back was not activated and Shu was surprised as he used his branches to fend off the sand blast. "Oh ho? You managed to deactivate it?" Shu was slightly irritated by the sudden development as Sandy walked towards Ku Wai and displayed her fighting stance to the other blood contracted monsters. Ku Wai was surprised by Sandy as she grinned at him. "You have to thank your princess for planning it all." Both Ku Wai and Sandy looked at the back to see Yang Ling posing with a peace sign on her right hand and as she smiled deviously. From the seemingly impenetrable barrier of roots and vines came Hui the One Eyed Panda. He was riding on the Great White Snake and there was someone else seated behind him. Ku Wai took a closer look and realised that this ''person'' had the face of Yang Ling. Only then did he realise what was happening and he started laughing at Yang Ling''s ingenuity. "Princess, I cannot believe you actually used that despite the warnings from the Sect Head not to use it. No wonder I felt that you were dumber than usual¡­ uhhhh¡­. No offence intended." Ku Wai spoke to the Yang Ling that was on the snake. "The Sect Head destroyed me once, I will not let him take control of my life again. I am going to do what I want! I will use all of his resources if necessary so that I can carve a name for myself, so that my destiny will be in my own hands." the ''other'' Yang Ling said as Hui helped her get down from the Great White Snake and brought her to the Yang Ling that was with Ku Wai. As both the Yang Lings touched each other, they combined into one whole again. Yang Ling stretched her upper body a little before Hui carried her again. Not only were the monsters present taken aback, but even Jin was also flabbergasted by the current scene. "What the heck?!" Jin could not comprehend the current scene. Shu was also confused as hell and demanded to know what was happening. "I lost my cultivation¡­ but that does not mean I lost my mana circuits." Yang Ling gave Shu a hint, and Shu then realised that what she had used was Western Magic. "I see, so I guess you have an Epic Level Mastery of Manipulation Magic," Shu spoke with great understanding, which made Yang Ling astonished by the level of knowledge that the ancient Treant held. "You flatter me, I merely have an Intermediate Level Mastery of Manipulation Magic. I combined it with Intermediate Level Mastery of both Summoning and Psionic Magic to create this original magic of my own. I have yet to fully master it, but it seems to be working quite well at the moment." Yang Ling wanted to brag a little since it was her first time using it in the field. Jin became really curious after hearing that conversation and immediately stopped eating his midnight snack to enter the Dungeon Maker. He pulled out the entire records of the current dungeon instance that Yang Ling was still in to see what he had missed. To his surprise, during the dungeon instance, Yang Ling was already acting before the start of the fight against the Sand Witch. She suspected that Sandy was being manipulated by another person/monster or waiting to be manipulated by that person/monster based on her intuition when Hui introduced them to her. By then, she had already noticed that something was off. Hence, she started casting her own Psionic magic as she let her own mind control Sandy, which allowed Sandy to fight against the mind control from the blood contract. Yang Ling knew that in order to break a mind control contract, she either had to destroy the source, which she now knew was the Ancient Treant or help the victim break out of it using his/her own will. Unfortunately, she could not let the Treant know that. If he could manipulate one monster, why would he not manipulate the rest of the monsters? It meant that he was just waiting for the right time to do so. It was at this point that Yang Ling realised how ruthless the Treant was. If the cultivators managed to kill Sandy, the other monsters would be in grief, making them easier targets to manipulate, and using a contract would cover the way he would mind control the monsters, hence making the cultivators assume that the contract was just a one off thing. When the Treant managed to lure the cultivators into his own playing field where he had the home advantage, he would utilise his abilities to the fullest. Judging from the current scene, Shu did just that. Everything was going according to Yang Ling''s predictions. Hence, Yang Ling decided to make a decoy by summoning a transparent slime blob and utilising it to replicate herself via manipulation magic. By using psionic magic, she was able to transfer a part of her consciousness into the transformed slime decoy, allowing her to partially take control of it. Considering the fact that she was crippled, Ku Wai would not have noticed it at all. "After many months of training, you finally look prettier than me¡­" Yang Ling said proudly in the playback as the decoy nodded her head in agreement. It was a pity that Ku Wai could not see the difference. An acceptable level of deception was required when making the features of the decoy. She remembered the first time she had made the slime blob replicate her features, there was nothing but a ???? on its face. Yang Ling had to perfect her manipulation magic in her spare time but she did not regret it at all, especially since there were many times where she was needed in events as a ''special'' guest but in actual fact, it was just to show the presence of Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect. Her father used her as a showpiece for minor events¡­ and there were a lot of minor events. With the decoy all ready, the slime blob threw Yang Ling into the tall grass on the other side of the road, where it was not being burnt by Mr Hot''s flames, and of course, Yang Ling broke the fall with her psionic magic before she subsequently dragged the unconscious Hui and the Great White Snake away from the scene of battle with her psionic powers. Once the truck had left and Sandy had her guard down, Yang Ling took the opportunity to cast a telekinesis hold onto Sandy. To her surprise, the Great White Snake was already awake and assisted Yang Ling with the hold. Sandy tried to retaliate but she had just reformed from her sand form, making her extremely vulnerable, so the Great White Snake had a major advantage against her. "Ah Ah Ah! To think that my troupe members fell to that stupid tree." Hui woke up rubbing his head to ease the pain from the throw. "Thank you, my fellow guard, and you, little snake, for saving this old life of mine. I shall return the favour." Hui walked towards Sandy, who seemed agitated to see Hui. Despite this, she was also crying. "I will release you from your pain." Hui removed his eyepatch, only for Yang Ling to see an empty void through that eye socket. Sandy''s blood contract was forcibly removed as it was being absorbed into the void of the Panda''s eye. "I am sorry Manager Hui, I did not mean to hurt you." Sandy cried as the Great White Snake released its grip. "It''s okay, it''s okay. Now¡­ let''s get back our other troupe members." Chapter 200 Re: Control "This is dangerous, have I also been affected by her Psionic magic?" Jin was slightly worried that everything that had happened, from the ''kidnapping'' to letting her come into his store was all part of a plan she had made. Peppers, who was slouching on a sofa in the Dungeon Maker whilst reading up on ''City Management 101 for Dummies", looked at Jin as he talked to himself. "Nope, I do not sense any residue Psionic magic on you, Master." Peppers said nonchalantly as she continued to flip another page. "Could she be so skilled in Psionic that she did not leave a trace?" Jin became a little paranoid despite Pepper''s assurance. "Nah, even at Legendary Mastery of Psionic Magic, the magicians cannot fool my Demonic Sage Eyes as there will always be a trace of Psionic magic left behind. Let alone at Intermediate Mastery." Peppers replied as she gave another glance at Jin before returning to read her book. It was a mystery how she got such a book, but Jin assumed the System got it for her. Magic was similar to cultivation. As long as one worked hard on understanding it and if one was able to grasp the abstract concept of the given knowledge and fundamentals behind it, they could reach a high level quickly. However, whether they would have the ability to execute it, would depend on their training, on the expansion and usage of their Mana circuits. Some were born lucky with high levels of Mana circuits, others trained it or consumed expensive catalyst to increase the complexity of their Mana circuits. Regardless, the Mana circuits were similar to the meridian points. In fact, both the chi points and Mana circuits run parallel with each other but for some reason, many were unable to practice both magic and cultivation at the same time. Even if they do, it was even more uncommon for a user to be extremely adept with both cultivation and magic. Hence, with the crippled cultivation and with the Dantian point not producing any chi for Yang Ling, it actually enabled her to have a better grasp of her Mana circuits. Thereby, allowing Yang Ling to reach decent levels of mastery towards magic and of all magic, Psionic and Manipulation which was one of the hardest few to learn or master. At this point, the System beeped via the Dungeon Maker console and issued out with a mission. "Create a feasible business partnership with Yang Ling. Rewards: Adaptable Immunity towards Manipulation and Psionic Magic." "Adaptable? What does that even mean? Will the profits in creating a partnership with her be included in my overall rankings?" Jin asked bluntly. Jin knew that the System would not give up such an amazing business opportunity with Yang Ling the moment she blurted out military research. After all, defence spending expenditures for almost every developed country was among the top few priorities in their budget despite the peace each country had. The problem was how ethical her military research was. "I will explain this. It means that the System will assist you to filter the manipulation magic you would be affected with. For example, if Milk casts a spell to calm your nerves which is a positive manipulation magic, the System would provide you with the option to accept it or not. However, if Yang Ling casts mind control on you, you can also decide whether to accept it or not as well. If you deny both of their magic, nothing will happen to you." Peppers said as she continued to read her dummy guide. "Oh¡­okay. That sounds ridiculously powerful." Jin said but Peppers looked up at Jin and shook her head. "Not many in this world seem to really know how to use Psionic Magic well. You could say Yang Ling is indeed a rare talent in the art of Psionic Magic based on the System''s database that I previously read. However, if you cross over worlds¡­ Perhaps that might prove to be a very useful trait to have." Within the Dungeon Maker, Jin took Peppers words into consideration and continued to watch the battle instance. With Shu still reeling from the betrayal of his mind controlled minion, he quickly tried to rein the rest of the minions into battle before they were brainwashed by Hui. Hui, on the other hand, ran to a safer spot with Yang Ling in his hands while Ku Wai, the Great White Snake and Sandy battled it out against Ke Mi, Mr Hot, and Ms Cold. As Ke Mi did not have any mobility on her own, Shu assisted her with his roots and brought her to a higher ground where she could attack and support the ants. Meanwhile, Yang Ling was enjoying the fluffiness of the NPC Panda. "Hmm, the fur is so fine and fluffy, I really wish to cuddle this to bed." Yang Ling thought to herself seeing that she had done all she could for this current battle. Not to mention the fatigue she accumulated expending that much energy on the clone. However, Shu was not sparing Yang Ling nor Hui as it continued to spurt out roots from the ground to attack them but Hui seemed to be fairly good at evading. Ku Wai slammed his Titan Fists onto the Ms Cold but her ice walls proved to be a nuisance against Ku Wai, not to mention Shu¡äs brilliant multitasking by counterattacking along with the ice wall. However, Ku Wai managed to evade the piercing roots in time with his new Gearbox frame and pressed on to counter attack. While Ms Cold was keeping Ku Wai busy, Mr Hot was preparing his fire blast that was accumulating at his mandible. Unfortunately, Mr Hot was later interrupted by the Great White Snake which slithered with lightning speed towards him, causing Mr Hot to panic and shooting the blast prematurely, causing quite a bit of backlash to himself. The Great White Snake easily evaded the large blast and opened its mouth for the bite against the ant. Poison seeped into Mr Hot''s body as the Great White Snake slammed his body to the ground but Mr Hot tried to retaliate back as it spewed fire from its breath. It was a battle of tenacity and time, to see who was able to last longer. A burning snake or a poisoned ant. As that battle rages on, Sandy fought head on with Ke Mi again. The roots helped Ke Mi to move around the battlefield but that did not stop Sandy. As long there was ground, there would be sand, soil and dirt, her powers would still be effective against Shu''s moving root platform that Ke Mi was on. The ground shook as two large hands formed from sand grabbed onto the roots and tried to tear them apart, while Ke Mi played a battle melody that shot out multiple sonic waves towards Sandy. Thankfully, Sandy was capable of defending herself by creating sand shields that collided with the sonic waves. Shu knew that if he loses Ke Mi, he would lose a great deal of firepower and so was the same situation on his opponents as Sandy was probably the only one capable of fighting against Ke Mi. Hence, Shu demanded Ke Mi to use her stronger techniques against Sandy. Ke Mi acknowledged and immediately changed her battle tune to a stronger, fiercer one to turn the losing tide against the cultivators. Razor Winds were flicked out from her zither, decimating and penetrating the sand shields that Sandy cast. One of the Razor Winds managed to slash off one of Sandy''s hands away. Or did it? Sandy transformed into Sand Form once again but this time, with a twist. A large sand twister was one of her Sand Form techniques to escape which she now used as an attack ability. She pushed herself forward against the continuous attacks of Razor Winds from Ke Mi until she was in close proximity to her. The sand twister burdened Ke Mi''s eyes, nose, ears and mouth, causing her to stop playing and at this point, Sandy quickly returned to her physical form while kicking Ke Mi towards the direction of Hui. "Manager Hui! Now!" Sandy shouted but she was unable to save herself as she was being aggressively pierced by Shu''s roots after she turned back to her physical form. Yang Ling did not waste Sandy''s effort as she used her Psionic magic to telekinetically grab the flying Ke Mi in case Shu snatched her back. Hui quickly unveiled his eye patch and released the blood contract control from Shu, resulting in Ke Mi returning to normal. Shu got even more annoyed at losing one of his best mind controlled minions and roared loudly causing his sakura blossoms to rain on them. "No, this is not good. Do not let the petals touch you! They are as sharp as swords!" Hui shouted as an advice to the cultivators. Yang Ling immediately used her magic to move them away but there were too many of them to focus on and Ke Mi was still giddy from the backlash of the forced removal of the mind control to aid them. Ku Wai saw the falling petals and realised that Shu was indiscriminately attacking everyone since the remaining mind controlled minions were of no use to him. "But they are still petals right?" Ku Wai shouted at Hui, to which he nodded. "If that''s the case, Intermediate Fist Art, Chi Tiger Face Rising Uppercut!" Ku Wai ignored Ms Cold and sprinted towards Shu and immediately jumped up to deliver an uppercut to the tree. Even though the Gearbox frame only covered his arms and not legs, his cultivation strength still allowed him to jump high. As Ku Wai jumped up with his fist up high, an angry face of a ferocious tiger appeared through his fist. The chi induced tiger''s face became larger with each passing second, with its mouth biting at the bark of Shu and destroyed any petals that were in the way as Ku Wai continued his uppercut. This was not just an ordinary uppercut. Especially when you remember that it was enhanced the mechanical abilities of his Gearbox frame since the frame had a small chi emission booster that caused Ku Wai''s attack to be more potent. As the tiger face ''crawled'' up Shu, Ke Mi finally stabilised herself and with a clap, her zither was pulled back to her side. A seemingly pre-made song rushed out of the zither as the petals continued to fall. But within a few seconds of the song playing, almost everyone saw that the petals were not falling towards them, in fact, they were beginning to gather. Yet, the gathering of the petals presented a huge strain for Ke Mi and she could not hold it any longer. It was then a large blast of fire incinerated the petals and Ke Mi later realised Hui was beside her beloved Great White Snake that was grabbing onto the near dead fire wyrm ant. Apparently, the Great White Snake also had used the antidote in its fangs the moment Hui released Mr Hot from Shu''s mind control. Shu, on the other hand, suffered a great deal of damage from Ku Wai''s attack but he was not done with the Ancient Treant. With the upper cut allowing him to be in mid air, he did propel himself with whatever that was remaining in the chi emission booster in the Gearbox frame and punched Shu''s trunk with his infamous fist technique. "Intermediate Fist Art! The Ambush of the Terrifying Terrific Tiger!!!!!!" With Ku Wai''s fist stuck within Shu''s trunk, Ku Wai shouted loudly as he expended all the Chi that he had within him and was hoping to melt Shu like the Praying Mantis. Unfortunately, the results were not spectacular as the ancient Treant was only partly melted. Regardless, once he saw that its branches started to fall and the roots on the ground became unresponsive, Ku Wai believed he managed to defeat this monstrosity. Yang Ling and Ku Wai finally completed the Dungeon Instance with the entire Enlightened Troupe intact. (Well, somewhat intact.) Chapter 201 Music Theatre Instance The victory was short lived though. Ku Wai fainted in mid air after using up his entire reserve of chi in his body. There was no one with sufficient strength to even catch him in mid air, causing him to fall straight to the ground. The Gearbox frame was also busted due to the excessive use of the chi booster which caused the frame system parts to fry up. "¡­Princess, we did it." Ku Wai whispered as he smiled once more before fading into oblivion and ending up in the Recovery Dungeon Instance. Only Yang Ling was left in the dungeon. Manager Hui helped to gather everyone including Ms Cold whose mind control was dispelled when the treant was killed. "Thank you for saving my troupe members." The One Eyed Panda bowed in front of Yang Ling who felt exceptionally fatigued from the overuse of her magic. She could even feel her Mana circuits strained from this particular battle. "If you do not mind, we could perform an impromptu concert right here for you as a token of gratitude," Hui said and the rest unanimously agreed to it. "I am honoured to hear it." Yang Ling said since this was after all the Music Theatre Dungeon Instance. Of course, she would like to hear the troupe perform as part of the reward. Suddenly Yang Ling was being lifted by the Great White Snake after agreeing to Hui and was brought near the broken ancient treant. She sat near it along with the slightly charred snake courtesy from Mr Hot''s fire attacks and there was a sudden urge to care for it. Yang Ling should no need to worry much since the instance would most probably be reset after she left the dungeon. Besides, it was just a dungeon, wasn''t it? Why did she suddenly feel a close attachment to the snake? Even more than with Ku Wai, who she spent years with. Perhaps, it was just in the heat of the moment but the more she thought about it, the less she was able to find an explanation. Hence, she decided to go with her feelings for the moment and stroked the poor little charred snake as they both waited for the Enlightened Troupe to prepare their stage. Manager Hui was really creative in building up an impromptu stage. With the help of Ke Mi and Sandy, they created an elevated stage by having Ke Mi cutting up the once invulnerable vine and root barrier, that barred them from going out, with her Razor Winds attack while Sandy reinforced the vine and roots into a stage. Hui even used the fallen branches as large torches by asking Mr Hot to light them up. Not only that, those large torches were subsequently being covered by a very thin layer of ice which managed to reflect and amplify the fire''s light, making the stage to be slightly more vibrant and brighter. Yang Ling could not imagine how the physics worked with an ever burning torch on a branch near a thin layer of ice but hey, it no doubt was really pretty. When the stage was ready, Hui and Sandy managed to bring out all the instruments and they started to tune them before they started. That was when Yang Ling saw how dexterous the wyrm ants were in strumming the bass and beating the drums. "Ahh, finally able to see the new ants in this musical performance." Jin initially did not want to use the ants again since they were being used in the Bank Heist Dungeon Instance, but he could not help but to bring continuity for cultivators who fought the wyrm ants in the old Zither Mistress Dungeon Instance. Jin initially wanted to rent the same kind of ants, like how he did with Nyanmi, but little did he know that the Fire and Ice Wyrm ants actually mated and laid eggs, birthing two new wyrm ants that had the same traits as them, probably even stronger. It was because both parents'' abilities interfered with each other. The ice melts when in contact with the fire wyrm ant''s fire. But the newborn wyrm ants abilities did not interfere but instead complemented each other. Ms Cold''s ice will not be burned by Mr Hot''s fire. In any case, Jin named the original parents of the wyrm ants as Father Hot and Mother Cold in case they gave birth to more ants. He also renovated the courtyard home instance of Ke Mi to accommodate the ants. Yeap, they were living beneath the courthouse with a relatively large ant nest from which they occasionally appeared to the surface to play with Ke Mi. Not to mention, with the addition of Mr Hot and Ms Cold, Ke Mi finally had some monsters to bond with over music. "The stage is ready, the members are prepared too." Manager Hui said as the sun started to set and its rays shone through the broken tree, giving an additional amazing lighting to the current set they had on stage. "My lady, may I proudly present to you the Enlightened," Hui said as he slowly withdrew himself from the stage and sat beside Yang Ling. Both of them clapped and even the Great White Snake was banging its tail with excitement and sticking out its tongue. Although Sandy took on stage with a few bandages on, she still looked as exquisite as usual and started to sway with the music that Ke Mi, Mr Hot, and Ms Cold started playing. To Yang Ling''s surprise, Sandy was actually singing Chinese songs from the 1990''s and 2000''s. What was even more surprising was the ones that Sandy sang were those Yang Ling actually liked too. It was too much of a coincidence but she did not care and enjoyed every moment of it. The rendition of Ke Mi''s zither with modern instrument brought in a brand new remix to the songs that Sandy was singing to the point that Yang Ling was dying for a recorded version of Sandy''s songs. It was not just mellifluous and alluring but her intonation of the Chinese lyrics was spot on. Yang Ling also could not help but tear at some of her renditions of the songs. For example, while the original song was slow, affectionate and moving with the expression of the song, it had a feeling of restraint. Yet, Sandy''s rendition of the original song was full of intrigue and regret, expressing a different feeling of undying love with the same set of lyrics. "If only she existed in real life¡­" Yang Ling said to herself as she thoroughly enjoyed the entire impromptu concert before leaving the dungeon instance. At that moment, she realised something was amiss. "Shouldn''t there be a reward for me at the end of the dungeon?" Yang Ling asked Hui and he nodded his head. "Yes, there is but it seems that Boss Jin wanted to spice up the reward for you," Hui said before he waved goodbye to Yang Ling and she was teleported back to the main shop, seeing Ku Wai, who was anxiously waiting for her, while Jin was finishing his cup of coffee. "You two did really well in this dungeon to the point it''s considered as a first clear but because it''s off shop opening hours, I am afraid it is not counted to the Wall of Honour," Jin said. "I do not care, I want my reward!" Yang Ling showed her pouted face but it looked as if she felt more refreshed than ever. Ku Wai took out another wheelchair from his storage ring and helped Yang Ling onto it. "Give me some time for your reward because you are the first who cleared one of my hardest dungeons to date. If you do not mind, I will contact you via the Pandamonium app on which you have registered before entering the dungeon." Jin said. "How about converting that reward to making a new dungeon for me?" Yang Ling¡äs face changed to a serious business one and at the same time cheeky too. "I am even more convinced that you are the right man for this job and I am willing to pay serious bucks for this." "Can making a dungeon be considered as part of a partnership deal with Yang Ling?" Jin gave his thoughts to Yun and she replied with a yes. "It''s more or less the start of the partnership with Yang Ling. Besides, the system did not state whether it needs to be a long term one or a once off partnership. As long as you cooperate in making the dungeon with her, it''s a legitimate business transaction. Besides, you can use that dungeon not just for her, but for yourself too. Hence a partnership deal." "I will consider it," Jin unknowingly played hard to get which made Yang Ling even more interested in getting both the Dungeon and Jin in her hands. However Jin did not have any prenotion of liking her, it was just business and rewards to him. . . Chapter 202 Aspiration "So, I take that as a Yes?!" Yang Ling tried to push her luck for Jin''s reply, after which Jin kindly asked them to leave his store. Ku Wai, who always barked louder than his bite, for once did not say anything. Perhaps, he started to recognise Jin as a really talented dungeon supplier and if he made any more fuss, it might jeopardise Yang Ling''s chance of getting him to create a dungeon for her. As the royal tiger princess went off, Yang Ling did not just leave things hanging. "Ku Wai, send some loyal men from the triad to continue to report his movements to me and protect him if necessary. He is a potentially valuable asset and I do not wish for other Royal Zodiacs to ever find him, nor my brothers." Yang Ling commanded Ku Wai, which he acknowledged immediately. On the way back home, Ku Wai called the Three Eye Tiger Triad Leader and told him about the series of developments that happened to Yang Ling and Jin. "I see, I see. If princess demands so, then all the more we would keep an eye out for this dungeon supplier. If her business prospers so will this triad, continue the good work Ku Wai. Keep me in touch." San Ya Bai said as he put his phone down and returned to smoke his cigarette while keeping tab of his triad''s accounts in the middle of the night. "Princess, you better produce some results fast, I can only keep both the expenses and secrecy of the project at bay for so long." Ya Bai said as he let out a puff of his smoke and rubbed his temple after seeing the accounts. Jin would never know that the day he met the Royal Zodiac Tiger Princess would kickstart a series of events that might shake the region or even the country. But till then, he was still a simple dungeon supplier with an upper hand. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Zhen Qing was looking at her old culinary notes in her locked room in fear her drunken dad would barge in and make noise. If not for Jin''s kindness for allowing her to bring back the black ivory coffee, Zhen Qing would have been exhausted every day. She knew this could not go on and hoped that Jin would be able to find a suitable cultivation for her. However, she also remembered that Jin told her to take some days off when necessary to do research on her food. Hence, it was also partially her fault that she did not wish to take any rest in between days. Mainly because of one thing. She already signed a contract with Jin a few days ago when his store apparently turned about one month old. Jin gave her the choice of either a profit based contract or a salary based contract, at which point she immediately chose the former. The terms were simple and neatly explained, mainly because Xiong Da offered to create the wording of the contract based on both parties'' terms and conditions. Upon signing the contract, Jin did not hesitate to even pay Zhen Qing half a month''s worth of salary based on the net profits she earned for him. It was as if he already knew that she would be choosing that and he had prepared the money in advance just for the moment she signed it. Zhen Qing used to earn just enough to get by with rent and daily expenses with her street vendor cart. Not only that, she gave sufficient allowance for her jobless dad to eat but instead, he continued on drowning himself with beer and wallowed at the unfairness of life. She hated him for that a lot, and really hoped that he would just rot and die for being such a useless bum. Not only did he gamble the allowance away, he always asked for more which constantly made Zhen Qing stressed out by the persistent extortion of more money. If not for the fact that it was partially her fault that he became like this, she would have left him long ago. However, as months and years went by, she could not help but feel that she already repaid any debt she owed him. Regardless with this new job that she attained, she managed to earn at least 3 months'' worth of salary and that was just half the salary, at the start of a possible rocketing career. Jin even told her that if she continued to succeed the way she did with the black pepper pork buns, he would create a service instance for her to open her own restaurant in the shop. If Jin told Zhen Qing at first that he would want her as his head chef when he knew nothing about cooking, much less being in a different profession, Zhen Qing would not believe it. However now that she personally experienced dungeon instances, she had a totally different opinion. Zhen Qing had the opportunity to enter the Reservoir of the Deep Service Instance and tried Chef Roro''s sushi and was amazed by the quality of it. It was unlike the cheesecake she ate, there was the feeling of hard work and effort being put into the sushi. Mainly because, the fish was extremely fresh and with the fisherwoman (herself) fighting to get the food, it made the food especially delicious. While Zhen Qing expected an AI NPC like Chef Roro to have such precise and accurate skills of cutting, what truly amazed her was his aptitude to adapt with different kinds of fish and making various dishes. Hence, she was really excited about how Jin''s AI NPCs could help within the new restaurant instance. That also meant she did not have to suffer from aspiring apprentices, who just wanted to steal her skills and techniques, just so that they could make their own name out there. She could improve the AIs like how she did for the kitchen instance and they would be there to serve her loyally. Hence, she was extremely happy to hear that she could open her own restaurant instance. To date, having the small caravan under her name made her secretly smile so Zhen Qing could not imagine what was it like to ever return to the cooking industry. Perhaps, she could even help Jin attain a Michelin Star for the restaurant instance, the possibilities seemed to be endless with him around. But right now, the most important thing was to get Jin''s request of creating a main dish be done as soon as possible to continue to prove her worth to him. And she guessed that she should whip out her speciality. The one she was known for, before she exited the cooking industry. Ramen. Chapter 203 Cultivation Focus Chapter 203 Cultivation Focus Jin decided to take the rest of the night to cultivate in the Emerald Mountains Hot Spring Service Instance since he was in the shop. As usual, the sludge from his body was ever expanding, yet the penguins and Mr Muddles performed better with each time Jin came in. Mr Muddles even managed to hold more sludge than before, becoming larger in size than when it first appearing in the Emerald Mountains. Also, because the hot springs instance was something the System created, it had endorsed Mr Patsu and the penguins with more cleaning equipment and better, more potent herbal solutions for Jin to soak in. Of course, Jin had to pay for the herbal solutions, but he still felt it was a worthwhile cost especially since each grade¡¯s hurdle of advancement would only get higher. However, this time around, when Jin started to cultivate his Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation, he felt something different. He felt a calling from within him. A particular screech which he had heard before. As Jin tried to focus on that screeching, he felt even more absorbed into cultivation than ever before. What he did not know was that, as he was focusing on that screeching, the sludge he produced got even thicker and blacker as if it was being removed forcibly by Jin himself. When Jin was finally able to hear the screeching properly, he felt a sense of bonding with it and soon, he was teleported into a higher plane where he could finally touch, see, and listen to the things around him rather than just listening to his Dantian churning out his chi. In this particular higher plane, there was nothing but bamboo shoots all around him and a panda that looked like Xin in front of him lazing around until it finally noticed Jin. Jin took his fighting stance because he knew that Xin loved to fight, but the panda in front of him just paced himself slowly towards Jin. Jin thought it was a ruse, but eventually Xin did not even make any move against Jin and instead wanted Jin to pat his head. It was at that moment Jin felt he was being pat on his head too. The feeling was warm and fuzzy as Jin enjoyed this particular moment in life. However, when he opened his eyes, he could not believe what he was seeing. ¡°Hello, Jin.¡± A familiar voice appeared and Jin could not help but cry in front of him. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Jin did not move a single inch as Ming continued to pat him on his head. ¡°I am sorry I left without warning. This is the only way I can communicate to you and probably the only way I can impart my knowledge of what I got to know to you.¡± Ming in his old army uniform asked Jin to accompany him through the Bamboo forest. ¡°The Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation manual has many techniques that would definitely be useful to you but it would be hard to learn them all on short notice and I believe you need strong skills in the near future to not only protect yourself but your monsters, your customers and ultimately your hard work and blood, the store.¡± ¡°Hence, I had purposely placed this half written cultivation manual in the hands of the System despite knowing how despicable it could be, so that hopefully you will get to interact with my spirit.¡± Ming said. ¡°You mean that you did not really die, but hid yourself in me?¡± Jin asked if his grandfather was that noble. All he could do was to shake his head and laughed. ¡°I am not that grand, this is just the remaining part of my soul before I lost the battle to cancer. I decided to impart you with my own knowledge so that you will perform even better and not be too shaken with the strict teachings I obviously made you suffer through. Let¡¯s just say this is the ultimate reward for all the strict lessons you attended under me and probably my way of saying sorry for negligence.¡± Ming said as they enjoyed each other¡¯s company in the bamboo forest. ¡°Also, I am not sure if you could even attain this in the first place. I mean, you needed to have a spiritual union with your cultivation animal before even meeting me.¡± Ming admitted. ¡°You mean that there was a chance in life that I would not chance on to this encounter?¡± Jin questioned Ming and he nodded his head. ¡°I assumed that with the System and you, there was a decent chance that you would achieve spiritual union with a panda to attain stronger powers. It¡¯s just a matter of when. And here I thought I might come in and save the day for you. How could I have predicted that you would be able to achieve this during peaceful times?¡± Ming laughed at Jin¡¯s luck with the System and Jin could only sigh at Ming¡¯s usual sarcastic remarks. ¡°In any case, I will teach you more about spiritual union in the days to come since the cultivation manual techniques are harder to learn even though its basics are useful. But because you kind of like bonded with more than just one panda, not to mention one of them happened to have a partial bloodline of a lost breed of pandas. The skills that you going to learn from me and the pandas will be better than the ones you can cultivate from the book.¡± Ming said confidently. ¡°Didn¡¯t the System say it¡¯s flawless?¡± Jin retorted at Ming as part of a bad habit. ¡°Blah! If it was flawless, the System would not have given it to you just because I asked it to give you. It would have given it to a guy or girl that has better affinity in cultivation than you, who just wants to build a shop.¡± Ming scoffed at the System. ¡°You seem to know a lot about the System.¡± Jin replied and Ming felt like complaining before he stopped and spoke seriously to Jin. ¡°That discussion is also for another day. In any case, do you remember the Black Fire and White Ice skill that you have unleashed unconsciously? That is part of your skill repertoire from your spiritual union.¡± ¡°Yeah, I kind of figured once I started to remember the details. Since there is no way, I have unlocked such powerful magic.¡± Jin said. ¡°Oh, could you at least be excited or something, rather than saying things so calmly?¡± Ming used his walking stick to hit Jin even though he did not even need a walking stick to walk. Apparently, Ming once said that having a walking stick around was to prepare for the eventuality that might happen and it too made a handy good weapon to have. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who taught me to be calm! Now I finally understand how Yun got her chic attitude.¡± Jin snapped back at Ming and that was how the grandson and grandfather interacted with each other as they grew up. Bickering towards each other. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you snap back at her? Is it because she is part of the System that you are scared of her?¡± Ming nipped Jin¡¯s weakness and Jin could not reply back in time, allowing Ming to savour his short lived victory. ¡°Anyways, as much as I hate to say this. If you find the System worthy to cooperate with, do it. Yes, it is ultimately there to serve its own cause which I still had problems identifying what is it. But do know that, the world is really bigger than you know. Does not hurt to have an almighty network that you can utilise.¡± Ming said as they reached near the end of the bamboo forest. ¡°Network?¡± Jin furrowed his brows at that word but Ming did not explain much. ¡°Another time, Grandson. Looks like your penguins are calling you.¡± Ming pushed Jin a little with his walking stick and Jin suddenly felt like he was falling off from a cliff. ¡°UWAHHH!!¡± Jin forced himself out of the hot spring ¡®waters¡¯ and later realised he was covered in a lot of sludge. A bit later, he most probably would have suffocated in his own sludge. ¡°Boss! We thought we had lost you in that pool of sludge! We are sorry we were unable to get everything out in time.¡± Mr Patsu cried in happiness to see that his Boss was still alive ¡°We will get more improved equipment to serve you better the next time!¡± Mr Patsu said as he gave a towel to Jin. ¡°It¡¯s alright Mr Patsu. I am glad I am still alive too.¡± Jin said as he pulled himself out of the sludge and had a fairly long shower. He figured he should keep Ming a secret for now as much as he could from Yun and the System even though he know that they could read his thoughts. ¡°Oh¡­ Now I understand why Yang Ling¡¯s partnership reward is adaptable immunity. If it¡¯s full immunity, Yun and the System would probably not be able to communicate with me.¡± Jin laughed at that thought as he prepared himself to start the new day. Chapter 204 I Got Nothing?! "So¡­ Have you decided to join forces with Yang Ling yet?" Yun asked as she passed Jin another set of new clothes while hinting to quickly join forces with Yang Ling so that they would have a boost in sales. "Still considering." Jin thanked Yun for the new set of clothes and helping him with the housework at home. "You can repay me by accepting her proposal." Yun was blunt but Jin shook his head. "As much as I want to, she is a Royal Zodiac member. No matter what, I have to be careful when dealing with her. Perhaps, I will ask Xiong Da to come with me to set up a proper one time contract for this particular dungeon just to be on a safe side." Jin said as he entered the bar island to take some onigiris out to eat. "Hmm, that''s a good idea too I guess." Yun resigned asking, knowing that Jin probably had his own plans. Meanwhile, Jin was looking at the Panda Port and realised the System had yet to give him his rewards for the Dungeon City Fortress option that he picked. "Ehhh, about that. Right. You see, the System felt that you have not really build a city fortress yet. I mean, all you have is a piece of empty land with no blueprints and no infrastructure in place. Hence, I think the System would not be giving you the entire rewards." Yun embarrassingly admitted which made Jin folded his arms at her. "I am guessing it is not intending to give me that 100,000 dungeon dollars that easily." Jin assumed that the System was more of a cheapskate than him. "And¡­almost everything else. I promise I will force the rest of the rewards out from the System." Yun raised her hand up high to make a vow, knowing that the rift between the System and Jin would just get even further if this continued on unchecked. Jin did not have much expectation but at the very least he still got his top grade store sign and that annoying large panda billboard outside his shop that kind of spoilt the aesthetics of the traditional storehouse feel. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Jin shrugged his shoulders and looked at Yun. "And? Do I still get the increase in store rankings?" "Nope¡­because the increase in store rank will only work if you have an additional store opened in the Dungeon City Fortress, which you currently do not have. Besides, the store rank increase depends on, as what the System had said, the amount of profits you turn over each day." "Basically, I get nothing then. Why are you going around the bush to tell me this for? You could have just said it straight. I am not getting anything from the System." Jin felt really pissed early in the morning. "Well, I did help you get something out of this whole entire mess¡­" That was when Yun who could not see eye to eye with Jin, suddenly brightened up. "A half increment of your dungeon supplier level to Level 2.5! Are you ready to see the changes?" Yun beckoned Jin to follow her out of the shop which he did so reluctantly. What kind of system gives you a 0.5 for a level? When he walked out of the door, he realised the sound of the door was different and noticed that the traditional storehouse shutters turned into something totally different. It felt like Jin just came out from a different store instead of his. "Do not worry, there was no one around to be able to see the change I had made. Besides, I have a feeling this little princess of ours had disabled the security cameras around the area for quite some time so I believed the system took that chance to modify it." Yun gleaming with excitement. "You mean that you predicted I would have asked this question in the morning?" Jin raised his eyebrows at Yun as she nodded her head. "Knowing that you would not trust the System, the chance of you asking that question was really high. Even if you had not asked, I would have shown it to you." Yes, it was indeed a drastic change as compared to before. This time around, there was a big screen at the centre of the shop instead of the shutters. The screen was advertising the different types of dungeons that Jin was having. In addition, the front screen occasionally broadcasted footage of his customers running the dungeons which the magic eye managed to capture, that made Jin feel that they were some dramatic cinematic scenes from some movie. At the two ends of the large screen were the entrance and exit. There was even a dimensional port attached beside the entrance door. "Why this change? Why is there a dimensional port at the side of the door." Jin for some reason felt the dimensional port was the game changer for this half a dungeon supplier level that he suddenly attained. "Firstly, enter without your phone," Yun said as she opened the door for him and noticed a major upheaval in his store. Almost everything had disappeared. His bar island, his TVs, his wall of honour. Everything was gone. Jin decided to stay calm for a moment and hoped there was something more to this upheaval he experienced. "You looked calmer than expected. I thought you would go apeshit and ask where everything had gone to." Yun said as the store was really empty with the exception of a couple registration machines with large Panda statues holding on the sides of the machines. The rest of the room surroundings looked similar to the Zen gallery on the third floor but less tranquil and more pleasing to the eyes since it was meant to welcome people. The registration machine was as interactive as the Loot Box Vending Machine he had on the second floor but this was slightly different. "Welcome to Dungeons and Pandas! If this is the first time you participate in Dungeons and Pandas, The pandas will recommend you to register your information here first by installing this app prior to entering the shop!" An interactive screen with a panda wearing a receptionist outfit was shown. There was free secured wifi in the shop that allowed the customers to be connected to the System''s server to download the app and only the app. Hence, there was no access to the open internet wifi or whatsoever of anyone to leech. Aside from that, there were posters on the walls in the store that was rather dummy proof for cultivators and potential customers alike to enter the dungeon instance. "If you do not have any phone with you or do not wish to install the app, no worries! We can issue you a one-time dimensional tag that allows you to enter the shop!" The Panda Receptionist said. "Wait a minute¡­so you are saying that my whole shop has turned into a dungeon instance?!" Jin finally understood why the dimensional port was outside of the entrance. Yun nodded her head frantically. "Oh, you do not have to worry about commoners like Zhen Qing. There is no time dilation nor compression in the store''s dimensional instance. We are using an instance just so that there is more space for interacting and more stuff we can put in." Yun asked Jin to put his phone on the dimensional port on the registration machine since each machine was also installed with one and he was teleported to his shop and upon looking, he pinched himself to make sure he was truly awake. For he was absolutely stunned by the brand new layout of his shop. . . Chapter 205 Shop Level One Instance Jin could not believe his eyes the moment he teleported into the dimensional instance. He would later aptly rename it as the Shop Level One Instance because it''s simpler to remember that way. However, at the point of revealing the whole entire Shop Level One Instance, it was beyond his wild imaginations. "I did say I would try my best to compensate you since you are not getting those other rewards yet." Yun smiled widely as she felt as if Jin was in a toy store, staring in awe at the entire place. Indeed, the place had received an entire revamp with the unlimited space that the instance allowed. It portrayed a very spacious feeling and no doubt the customers joining this Shop Level One Instance would be in delight upon seeing the change. When they were teleported in, both Jin and Yun were immediately at the epicentre of a massive circular shaped hall. And at the centre of the hall was where the new bar circular island was situated. Around the island, there were six cinematic like auditoriums and the bar island which was in the middle of the six auditoriums with low levelled ramps that lead to them. And yes, the auditoriums were the dimensional stations which the cultivators will have access to. So technically, if you are standing at the centre, you had a view of all six different auditoriums. Each auditorium was separated by a very thin fogged reinforced glass similar to what the glass door was installed to protect the basement. The glass was capable of keeping the auditorium''s noise level within its own area too so that the customers would not be distracted by the neighbouring auditorium. Why would they do that? Because each auditorium had a cinematic widescreen that was able to portray crystal clear movies of the dungeons that people were participating in. In short, each auditorium was in truth a sort of movie theatre. Just that the seatings were free and anyone can come and go whenever they wanted. What is most interesting was that the theatre did not only show the scenes of a particular dungeon. With dimensional technology, anything was possible and so were announcers and critics. Shop Level One Instance had employed their very own ''unique'' announcers and they were none other than the penguin Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One, a trainee from Chef Roro''s who was situated in the fishing service instance. Mr Patsu was wearing a suit and carrying a headset mic wherever it went while Bear Cub One had a large red flashy bowtie and an old school cordless mic with him. The idea of the announcers was to hype up the dungeon fights especially when the instance was teeming with crowds. Jin thought that this was a really good idea since it was really funny to see Mr Patsu with Bear Cub One following it, running around the entire area. The auditoriums did not only have an ultra high definition screen installed, but the couches were also equally of high quality. Yes, couches, not plastic seats. Four extended ''Kennedee'' Curved Sofa were placed on each ''step'' of the auditorium and that amounted to 24 of those sofas in each auditorium and there was a total of 144 in the current shop instance. Was that a big idea? In fact, yes it is! For a sofa like that, it would have cost Jin 117,130 Yuan or 13,000 sterling pounds but knowing the System, it probably manufactured the sofas way cheaper than the current market price or had bought it at a very cheap price since he did not forget that the System was a business related entity. Jin asked why such expensive sofas and Yun''s answer was simple. To show that the shop had class and comfort. Springs, frame and the joinery were important for durability especially when the number of people using it would definitely be high considering the crowd size Jin always had in his shop. At the very least, they did not have to squeeze with each other as compared to the old store layout. However, he wondered how long this spacious feeling would last or would it be even emptier. This was still subjective especially when all he went through was just the first month of business. That was why he thought the popularity from the customers were merely due to them finding the store as a refreshing novelty. Fortunately, he was severely underestimating himself as the regular customers that he had, were growing by the day. Aside from the auditorium, there was a unique feature of this particular shop instance. The epicentre of the circular hall was large enough for a second floor within this shop instance. However, it was still considered as floor 1.5 if Jin would name it because it served as a viewing floor with tables. The tables were there for customers to have their snacks and drinks to rest and relax or wait for their friends if needed. Not to mention, they could purchase the instant meals at the bar island as per usual and bring the food up to eat. What about Zhen Qing''s caravan? It was no longer outside of Jin''s shop since it would have been redundant and instead, it was stationed at the centre of the second floor so people were still able to buy black pepper pork buns from her. Because everything was interconnected with the dimensional technology, Jin even suggested placing some of the drinks and snacks at her caravan area in case customers craved for more. "In truth, I would have wanted this shop instance the moment you started the shop but the System figured that people needed some gradual change as compared to an instant change." Yun tried to justify the late use of the shop instance. "It''s a good call. I think people would freak out if it started as a dimensional instance. At least there are people who are convinced that this is all part of the shop''s feature. Besides, I think it would also help to transit well when they are teleported to the Dungeon City Fortress. They would think it was part of an instance too." Jin said "It will definitely be part of an instance, your customers like the Dungeon World''s monsters will not die, they are just using different ''laws of nature'' to resurrect themselves. Besides, the System will not harm the customers no matter what. It is one of the system''s laws or rules it could not break." Yun answered Jin. "But they can harm the shop owner''s pride, expectations and morals?" Jin was a little annoyed with that answer and Yun was rather speechless at his sudden spite. "In any case¡­THANK YOU SYSTEM!" Jin shouted as loud as he could, as he knew that the System would probably just ignore him but Yun was astonished by Jin''s sudden change of attitude or was it sarcasm? She could not figure it out at the moment. "Give thanks and gratitude when it is appropriate. Grandpa Ming said so." Jin replied to Yun as he continued to look around the Shop Level One Instance. And yes, because he was just a level 2.5 Dungeon Supplier, his other floors were not changed or incorporated into the new shop instance. Jin figured when he reached the full Level 3 Dungeon Supplier Rank, he should be able to get them. For now, Jin thought of going into the Dungeon Maker and readjusting a few things in the Shop Level One Instance before he opened his store. . . Chapter 206 Improvement of Digital Pets Chapter 206 Improvement of Digital Pets What are you planning?¡± Yun said as she followed Jin into the Dungeon Maker. ¡°Maybe not the most important of things, but I figured we should use this chance to put this up.¡± Jin opened up the Shop Level One Instance on the Dungeon Maker interface and added one particular feature. The digital pet companions. He was thinking about his little bowl hat panda, as it suddenly appeared in the dungeon maker. Jin remembered he had written a keep in view note to redo the pet system and planned to make it similar to the the Battle Cards Interface that the System introduced. He felt that this would make a nifty little subsystem for the cultivators to waste more money into digital goods just to make their pets look prettier and more interactive. He eventually made two vending machines similar to the Battle Card Interface and placed those at the second floor of the Shop Level One instance, so people could purchase cards to customise their pets. It was easy to create those vending machines because the System already had the blueprints for the Battle Card Interface and all it had to do was to convert the existing loot box coupons into cards. The Pet Card Interface was initially only provided aesthetics, but Jin figured if he put skills and traits into the mix, he would be able to have a battle pet instance. It could be free for all the cultivators mainly because the vending machines would be the money makers for this particular service instance. And yes, he did create a simple battle pet service instance that was styled from the infamous Digiman that many people used to love when he was a child. He figured Digiman was better than Pokeman, Wanguard or Yu Ki Oh because of its simplicity and the cultivators would be using their pets to fight. True, Yu Ki Oh might be a better choice but the tactics required in Ambush Cards and Mystic Cards would be mind boggling for a novice in card game creation such as Jin. Skills wise, it was easy to recreate since they were based on the cultivation manuals that existed in System¡¯s database. He hoped that the new battle pet service instance would attract a feeling of nostalgia from older cultivators and hype from students, just like what happened with the fishing instance. To date, Jin was actually surprised that Lai Fu had been sending waves of middle aged gentlemen that frequented the general store to try out the fishing instance. Perhaps, he wanted more information from those customers, to see if Jin was lying to him. But Lai Fu was surprised by the positive response and feedback from the middle aged customers and could not wait to have his turn when his friends were in town. On the other hand, Jin benefited from Lai Fu¡¯s doubt. Although those middle aged customers did not fight in the dungeons, they appreciated the fishing service instance and the joy of catching fish excited them, making them rather frequent customers to Jin¡¯s shop. Their only regret was that there was no booze. ¡°Boss Jin! Give us a service instance that provides us alcohol. Judging from the quality of your shop, I cannot wait to see, smell and drink good booze it can bring!¡± A middle aged gentleman said with his friends and they all agreed readily. ¡°I have such plans in mind, just give me some time. This is, after all, a dungeon supplier store.¡± Jin replied and they all laughed at him. ¡°So, I have to fight with a monster to get my booze? Does not sound a bad idea after all! Do not make it too hard on us old men!¡± The middle aged gentlemen heavily patted Jin¡¯s shoulder as a sign of appreciation for him to keep up the effort as they left the store. Hence, Jin wished to do the same for the younger age group. Ultimately, he hoped to revolutionise the dungeon supplier industry, by providing various service instances and catering to everyone, regardless of gender, race, and age. Jin eventually named the battle pet service instance as Pet Battle Royale and at the moment, it featured only one type of battle background. A simple room. Jin could have gone for mountains, forests, seas or a valley, but he went for the simplest terrain so that the battle itself would be the focus. (Not to mention, it¡¯s the easiest to setup!) He even added the NPCs and his monsters as opponents in case cultivators or customers wished to have a PvE experience more than a PvP experience. For example, Ke Mi had a miniature version of herself as the pet and even the Great White Snake possessed a pet version of itself, so customers were able to fight a variety of monsters with their pets. After adding the Pet Battle Royale service instance, Jin also added teleportation service to the other floors of his store mainly because the Shop Instance was ¡®digitised¡¯ for the first floor. The rest of the floors were not dimensional instance based. Jin hoped to get his level 3 dungeon supplier as soon as possible to digitalise the entire store, as hinted by Yun, so that his customers would not get confused by the sudden disconnect in the experience between the shop instance and the real store. ¡°Is there any way to get my level 3 dungeon supplier status faster?¡± Jin asked Yun as he exited the Dungeon Maker to check the Pet Cards Vending Machines but she could only reply with an unfortunate no. ¡°Reaching the required net profit is the only way to increase your dungeon supplier level if you do not complete the System¡¯s missions to reach it,¡± Yun said. It was the equivalent of saying: Do favours for the System and you will get more rewards. Jin was then constantly being reminded that his grandfather Ming¡¯s advice to cooperate with the System for now and reap its rewards but to do so with caution and not to follow it blindly. Jin kind of knew that, after what the System had done towards him, but the gentle reminder was also a wakeup call since he had yet to accept the partnership deal with Yang Ling. He had to remember to proceed with caution, especially when dealing with the Royal Zodiacs. People would be dying to work with the Royal Zodiacs and Jin would also be of the same mindset, if only he did not have the System. But with the System, he could not help but feel that someone might eventually discover the specialty that Jin had. Then they would either use overwhelming force to get the System from him or use despicable methods to force him to give it up. It would not have bothered Jin that much previously, but the nightmare he recently had, made him more paranoid than ever before. Having the nightmare and the appearance of Yang Ling on the same day, that was too much of a coincidence. Yet, Jin felt that if he were to tread the waters carefully, he might be able to get a strong ally on his side, since he was dealing directly with the Royal Tiger Family rather than their lackeys. ¡°Never mind, I should take things step by step,¡± Jin mumbled. At the same time, he realised Zhen Qing had come in, standing near the bar island shocked, stunned or maybe bewildered by the immense change of the layout. ¡°Zhen Qing! How do you like the new place?¡± Jin figured that Zhen Qing followed the instructions and used her phone to enter even though she was a commoner since she had an account on the Pandamonium app ever since he asked her to join him in the fishing service instance. ¡°Oh Jin, I thought I was dreaming¡­this place is amazing.¡± Zhen Qing held onto her sling bag with her legs shaking slightly. Zhen Qing could not imagine Jin being able to create such a big spacious space and she already figured it was probably the dimensional technology that Jin always talked about. As Jin brought Zhen Qing around to see the new features, she stopped him and said. ¡°I need some time off in the afternoon to be in the kitchen instance if possible. I would like to research and experiment on the new main dish that I had in mind.¡± Zhen Qing requested time off for the first time and Jin immediately accepted her request even though it would be a downer to see the caravan not in operation in the new Store instance at it¡¯s opening. ¡°The caravan is just a temporary measure. My goal is the restaurant instance.¡± Jin reinforced the statement in his head as he seemed confident of Zhen Qing and saw something more than just her cooking ability in her. Aside from liking her, Jin felt that she had more to offer if she could excel in her cooking and cultivation. ¡°Show me your best main dish.¡± Jin smiled as he sent off Zhen Qing to the Kitchen Instance. Chapter 207 Dungeon City Barrier After sending Zhen Qing into the Kitchen Instance, Jin had a few more things to take care of. First was the increase in Grade. Now that he was a Grade 5 cultivator, he remembered the perks of the promotion such as the grade promotion for all of his monsters and new equipment cards that he could acquire from the Battle Card Interface. Jin proceeded to the Dungeon Maker to have a look at the Battle Card Interface and true to its word, the System had a pack of new cards waiting for Jin to open at the vending machine of the Battle Card Interface. Like a kid in a card store, hoping that there was a rare card in his pack of cards, Jin excitedly tore the packaging from the side and unveiled the cards. The number of cards he received was proportional to the type of monsters that he currently had. With Goblins, Humanoids, Zombies, Werebeasts, ''Humans'', Deep Ones and Minotaurs, he received 25 cards that would help him with enhancing the capabilities of his monsters. In addition, Jin was given new decks for the various Minotaurs so he immediately started to optimise his monsters for future dungeons and fights. He figured it would be best to do it as soon as possible in case of any probable attacks against him or when he travelled to other worlds. Also, he decided to do it before he got any lazier like a panda. "Heh, I should add to my portfolio. Cultivator. Dungeon Supplier. Monster Summoner. Parallel Worlds Traveller and Card Collector." Jin grinned at that small thought as he continued to inspect the cards for the Minotaurs. "You called us?" Moloch appeared along with the diverse group of Minotaurs behind him. Yem, Mer, Sebastia and even Mechataur appeared in front of Jin. Luckily, the Dungeon Maker was able to expand in size to accommodate the Mechataur like how it did for Mr Derpy and the crowd of Deep Ones which Jin summoned. He briefly explained the workings of the card enhancement as he had also done with his other monsters when they first entered the Dungeon Maker. As compared to the initial few times explaining to his monsters when he first got the equipment card deck, this time round was much smoother, faster and spoken with more confidence. In no time, the Minotaurs understood the concept and began to look through the cards that Jin chose for them. "Ooo different poker card quality." Moloch was rather happy with his upgrade that Jin inserted for him and so were the rest of the Minotaurs. "Ah yes, did you manage to get the blueprints or some form of city plan for the Dungeon City Fortress ready?" Moloch asked and Jin shook his head. "I have texted the person¡­ermm sent a message to a contact of mine. I should get a reply soon or maybe by tonight. I hope." Jin forgotten Moloch did not know what was a handphone or the modern technology that he was using. In the meantime, I have given you guys unlimited access to the guest room, until I create a proper home instance for you all. I even asked the Werebeasts to give you guys some work in the fields if you want." Jin replied. "Actually, I would like to go back to the Dungeon World and check on the land of the Dungeon City Fortress and perhaps, start setting up a magical barrier with my other servants," Moloch suggested and it reminded Jin that Moloch had his remaining followers and servants that he had yet to capture. Jin initially wanted to catch all of them, but later abandoned that thought. If they could resurrect without the system, why should he catch them? Aside from making them stronger with enhancements from equipment cards, each death those minotaurs incurred would eventually add up as expenses for him in the future. He would rather acquire more unique, (and hopefully) stronger monsters from other worlds, or even from Dungeon World, that would aid the defence in the Dungeon City Fortress in the future. "Imagine if I managed to capture the Monster leaders of those who decided to raid the Dungeon City Fortress." Jin''s imagination went wild for a moment but later thought of something related to barriers. "I thought you said that the Dungeon City fortress is protected by the Dungeon Core for about three months?" Jin queried. "Yes, that is from the Dungeon Core. What I meant was to set up the foundation of the magical barrier for the future, when the Dungeon Core releases its barrier." Moloch replied as the man puppet adjusted his head even though Moloch did not need any help balancing. "I thought about it. Even if we can detect invaders that could enter the city and subjugate them without any prejudice, we are still vulnerable to King Baal''s magic. He could summon meteors from nowhere, causing the earth to split thus eradicating our armies (if any) within seconds or send the entire city into chaos before he even sends out his own personal army to attack." "Hence, I am going to set the foundations of the magic barrier. It will take me some time and I figure it would be better to do so now, before the construction of the city. That way, the barrier will not just be a superficial one, but a more intricate and sturdy solution that can prevent the types of magic I described¡­or at the very least reduce the effect of such terrible magic." Moloch said and Jin agreed to that. However, before he let Moloch leave, he posed the System a question. "You said you would be partially responsible for the Dungeon City Fortress, right? What is your opinion on making such a large extensive magic barrier?" "The land mass allocated by the said Dungeon Core is 82,403 km^2, similar to the size of the city of Chong Qing, one of China''s four municipalities, or the approximate size of Austria. To create a magical barrier of such a size would be detrimental to the current grade of Moloch, due to your low cultivation grade and it would result in a barrier that is less than optimal." The System replied in the Dungeon Maker interface. "That is not wrong. That was why I said it would just reduce the effects of such strong and wide area of effect (AoE) magic." Moloch answered. "The optimal solution is to create a barrier similar to the one currently placed by the Dungeon Core. The System suggests User retrieve a defunct Dungeon Core so that the System might be able to replicate the design of the barrier used." The interface continued to write. "Hmm, I know the presence of defunct Dungeon Cores but the existence of such cores is limited. There should not be many around since people and monster tried to exploit their materials. For example, King Baal''s crown was created from a defunct Dungeon Core and it innately increased his powers." Moloch replied. "I am surprised you know so much about him." Jin was curious about Moloch''s relationship with King Baal. "Hmm hmm. Anyways, I will just prepare to create a basic barrier and ask my servants to scout for information about a defunct Dungeon Core. This way, we will at least still have a barrier against any form of large scale attacks." Moloch briefly ignored Jin''s prompt and said what was needed which both the System and Jin agreed to. "If that''s the case, I assume you are sending out your three battle maid leaders to scout?" Jin asked as he looked through his equipment cards and Moloch nodded. "They are my most trustworthy and strongest subordinates. Your monsters'' fight against them was not even at their peak performance. Since I ordered them to just let most adventurers pass after they felt that they tested them enough." "But who could have predicted I was up against a monster capturing maniac? Hahahaha!" Moloch laughed and Jin could not help but sniggered too. "Alright, Yem, Mer, and Sebastia. Come here, I will re-evaluate your equipment once more before Moloch send you out on your scouting expeditions." Jin said and the three battle maids walked up to him. "Yes, Master Jin, but do not hesitate to call us back if you ever need our help," Sebastia responded as the battle maid leaders bowed in front of Jin, instead of kneeling, like they usually have done for their lord, Moloch. Jin was in fact relieved because he felt he had not done enough to deserve that much respect from them. Jin reviewed their equipment once again and even added some cards from the new card pack to their loadout before they proceeded to scout for defunct Dungeon Cores based on their Lord Moloch''s information. . . Chapter 208 The Test and an Olive Branch The last thing on his agenda was a new dungeon instance for his latest shop instance layout. It was the month of October and there can only be one important event in October that everyone looked forward to. Halloween! Jin remembered that the System wanted to create a Halloween dungeon for the store but would it really come true? "The System will never break its promise. Besides, there are already pre orders for the new Halloween dungeon instance through the loot box vending machine since the start of the month." Yun said as she sat on the brand new barstool at the bar island to drink her daily dose of Black Ivory Coffee. Jin also remembered the loot box machine had already changed its theme. "And so it will provide the dungeon just like it did for the Qixi Festival?" Jin asked, to which Yun took out her phone to browse for information. It seemed like Jin had something in mind and Yun figured that he would want to add something into the fray, considering that he had recently captured so many monsters such as the Minotaurs and Deep Ones. "Actually¡­you can either allow the system to do whatever it wants or add something more to your liking to the current dungeon instance. You wanted to increase your dungeon supplier level, right? I have asked the System to post a mission for you since its interests aligned with yours." Yun said as Jin took his phone out to check on the new mission. "Enhance the Halloween Dungeon layout and achieve sales of more than 500 people by the end of November. Repeat customers are allowed. Rewards: Restaurant Instance." The System stated and Jin scrolled to check if there were any other mission objectives. "Secondary Optional Objectives: Reach general sales of 5000 people by the end of November regardless of service or dungeon instance. Rewards: Level 3 Dungeon Supplier." Jin read the mission details from his phone and also noticed that the City Dungeon Fortress mission had been renamed to "Build the City Dungeon Fortress." "5000 people?! Are you kidding me? How am I going to do that on such a short notice?" Jin looked at his storage watch and saw that the first week of October was already over. If he remembered correctly, his last month''s general sales number were totalled to 1600 odd customers including the sales of his service instance. It was actually a success number for such a small shop in a fairly forgotten shopping district. Not to mention it was his first month where there was still an air of novelty surrounding the shop and he was not very confident in getting such a big number by the end of next month. If he needed to get 5000, he had to work thrice as hard, maybe more, because even if he managed to achieve the miracle of maintaining the number of people coming in, it was not enough to hit 5000. "Is this the way of the System testing me? 5000 customers?" Jin said with a tinge of anger in his voice. It was obvious that his patience was tested by the System and it also seemed the System had had enough of him. "Yes, this is the System testing you, but I believe it''s rather kind of it not to put it as part of the main objectives." Yun tried to calm Jin down, but it was not working very well. "And erm¡­ it allowed customers to repeat and did not restrict it to unique customers?" Yun''s words of consolation were not helping to put out the fire. Jin slammed his fist on the Dungeon maker which scared Yun for a moment before he took a deep breath. "I am sorry Yun. I will try my best to make up with the System." Jin said with slight reluctance, but it seemed that he was keeping Grandpa Ming''s words in mind. If not for Ming, he would probably not able to control his anger and would have created a large fuss. Yun gave a slight smile and told Jin that she would not bother him. Jin might not like it, but Yun was still considered as his ally..albeit a questionable one. Although it was a no brainer that she was in cahoots with the System. Did she really help Jin out behind the scenes or did the System ask her to act this way so that it could mend the relationship slowly? Jin had no idea but decided to keep things on track. The task was currently quite overwhelming but if he did it step by step, he should be able to achieve his goal. "If only Yang Ling''s dungeon could be considered within the general sales too. That would help with numbers a little." Jin said out loud and the System gave him a reply. "Yes. Your partnership with Yang Ling does help with the general sales of the shop. However, she can only be considered as 1 customer." "What if I made her pay per use? Does that count? Since it is still within the general sales and the mission allows repeat customers." Jin said and the System acknowledged. "Yes, it counts if it is paid per use and it has to be done within this shop. You are not allowed to bring the System''s technology out of the store." The System stated in the Dungeon Maker interface. "You did not mention that when you first created that mission," Jin argued although he had all along wanted Yang Ling to do that in order to protect the secrecy of the System. However, since the System now mentioned about this particular clause, Jin wondered if he could make full use of this particular opportunity. "The System is now adding that clause within the mission for clarification sake." The System stated as it immediately amended the mission briefing for Yang Ling''s partnership. "Adding a clause after I had accepted the mission? Won''t that be a break of trust between the System and the User? I thought you are testing me to see if I am worthy, now you are proving to me that you are the one that is unscrupulous." Jin said as calm as possible even though he was very agitated from within. "¡­" The System paused for a while before replying. "State your request. The System will deem if it is worthy of compensation." The System answered Jin and he grinned. "Amend your Adaptable Immunity so that Yun cannot read my thoughts too, maybe selective ones. I need some privacy in my mind especially when she is my ''mother''. You might not know this, but I have been wanting to think of lewd stuff and having someone maternal monitoring your thoughts dampens my human needs." Jin said. He knew that this was just a poor excuse and the System would definitely guess the underlying reason behind the amendment of the immunity skill. If Yun cannot read Jin''s thoughts, the System would not be able to understand Jin''s thought process. However, Jin had a feeling that if the System really wanted to, it could have just forced itself into Jin''s thoughts so the amendment of the Adaptable Immunity to Psionic Magic skill was just for show but still beneficial to Jin. "If my needs are not met, how can I work optimally for you? How would I be motivated to work? You are a System, you know how primal our needs can be. We are creatures unlike you, who is only numbers. Isn''t that why you recruited us in the first place?" Jin reinforced his argument and surprisingly the System responded. "You are not entirely wrong, nor entirely correct. Remember. You are a being of interest, not of need. Very well, the System will accept your request as an olive branch, as a way of mending the relationship too. There might not be such exceptions in the future." The System stated. "Are you sure you want to close off future negotiations? Isn''t that breaking the relationship even further? I thought you want to have a mutual understanding. Well, I get that you are superior and all, but even the scientists need to consider the needs of their experimental rat, right?" Jin pushed his luck further to see if he could get the System to give in a little more. "The scientist can always find a new rat but the System will determine again based on User''s performance." The Dungeon Maker interface immediately kept quiet after showing that on the screen and left Jin to work on the Halloween Dungeon that was already downloaded into the Dungeon Maker. Well, at the very least, Jin tried. Chapter 209 Zhen Qings Specialty "I have no strength left." Zheng Qing said to herself as she looked at the time on the clock in the kitchen instance. Roughly six hours had passed but it was not yet time for Jin to open his store. She looked at the mess she made in the kitchen instance before she tiringly fell to the floor and curled herself up. Her hands were stained with noodle flour and the kitchen preparation table had various ingredients lying all around. She wanted to make Ramen even more after seeing the bulk of the menu that Jin showed her. He even let her try every dish on the menu except the onigiris. Mainly because the onigiri was too random, there were too many combinations for Zhen Qing to keep track. Yet, she still took the effort to try one every day, hoping that she would eventually hit a similar taste once again. It was also good training for her especially when it comes to taste. However, even though Zhen Qing told Jin that every dish he introduced had no ''soul'' of the food, they were undoubtedly top notch quality. Take the curry rice for example. The pork cutlet was cooked with precision with the crumbs golden in colour and yet the pork itself was still juicy and meaty. Not too dry or too oily. Jin also told her that if possible, he would like to avoid Chinese food mainly because it would be a competition against the stores in the Tiangong Shopping District. He did not want to have a food war against the shopping district since he was a dungeon supplier, not a restaurant owner. The reason he wanted to have a restaurant instance was to incorporate rest and fun all in the same place. That was also the reason why he introduced Panda Credits into this shop, just to emphasize once again that the food was not the main attraction of the area but the dungeons. If the cultivators wished to eat his food, they would need to buy the dungeon tickets. That was the main intention of Jin but he was also a business owner. Eventually, he was also blinded by greed which overshadowed his initial noble intentions. Jin tried to experiment with the possibility of selling food via real cash by allowing Zhen Qing to sell her black pepper pork buns. It was a fantastic experiment due to a few reasons. Zhen Qing was trying out in his shop to see if it was viable to work with him. Jin knew that he needed Zhen Qing to build some trust in him so the caravan was a good place to start. If she was going to be an employee, it would be vital to have her be exposed to a part of the System. Thirdly, the buns were her own creation and he would like to observe if she had the capability to create something exquisite with minimal help from the System. Fourth, it was the excuse of using her, an external temporary business partner to try out how cash flows into the shop via food as a merchandise. Thankfully, Zhen Qing did not disappoint with her brand new black pepper pork buns as many people loved it. Lastly, it was for selfish reasons such as Jin liking her. Sometimes, Jin wondered if she was fully incorporated into the System, would the System aid her to be the best Chef for Jin. However, he was equally scared too. What if the System favoured her more than him? What if the System decided to provide her more aid than she ever needed or perhaps revealing itself to her? However, reading too much into the future would just stress Jin out so he figured it would be wise to let her have her own way by gifting her a restaurant instance. In the future, if she continued to do well and maybe she could just be content working under him as long he gave her room to grow. Zhen Qing rested for a while before standing up and washed her face to refresh herself again. She knew that this was indeed a good opportunity to show Jin her skills since her speciality was not in Chinese food but in Japanese food. The reason was that she was not entirely of Chinese ethnicity but a mix of Russian and Japanese too. Her mother was Russian Chinese and her father was Chinese-Japanese. She was brought up partly in Russia and subsequently in Japan before an incident that caused her and her father to flee to China to keep a low profile. That was also the reason why Jin was astonished when Zhen Qing said that she was going to cook a non-Chinese dish for Jin for the main dish. Her speciality was Shio Ramen, meaning the broth seasoning was more inclined towards sea salt as this particular type of broth had fairly strong Chinese ties influence in this particular cuisine. However, Zhen Qing wanted to create something new. Something her Sensei was extremely good at. Tsukemen. Tsukemen is a ramen dish in Japanese cuisine consisting of noodles which were eaten after being dipped in a separate bowl of soup or broth. While her Sensei taught her many different cuisines as part of her training, Zhen Qing was rather secretly well versed with the art of tsukemen. Especially since her Sensei was undisputedly the number one tsukemen master in Japan. Why did he decide to choose her as his disciple? It was still a mystery to her but she was fortunate enough to be under his tutelage. Her Sensei taught her his good traits and his bad traits. For example, his obsessive tendency for cleanliness made Zhen Qing a clean freak because ''a dirty kitchen cannot produce good food''. That was why Zhen Qing always toiled till near midnight in Jin''s caravan store before she left the store. Yet, she always felt that the store seemed to be cleaner than she had left it when she came to work in the next morning. Even though Zhen Qing wasted her youthful years of being his apprentice, her Sensei would never impart his secrets to his Tsukemen directly to her. He always dealt with the broth himself and if she wanted to learn the recipe, she had to learn by tasting, feeling, hearing and even more tasting of his noodles. Every single day, they would share a bowl of tsukemen as part of a tradition to learn from any mistakes made on that particular day. That was why Zhen Qing now struggled to attempt to recreate the same particular taste if possible. It had been many years and the taste might have been unforgettable. However, the human''s memory would always dramatise the history to the extreme in order to retain one''s memory about a particular thing. "Maybe I should give up trying to recreate that particular flavour¡­" Zhen Qing said to herself as she began to throw the mess she made on the table away into the trash bin. It was during that instant when she felt like giving up as she was cleaning the mess up that she noticed a label on one of the fridges. "Perhaps, I should try recreating ''that'' first before attempting to recreate Sensei''s flavour." Zhen Qing who was initially ambitious decided to go back to her shio ramen speciality, the one in which she managed to make a small name for herself. . . Chapter 210 Lets Battle! For the first time after a long while, the first customer at the front door wasn''t Xiong Da but actually Bu Dong''s gang. Yue Han, the Blind Bat cultivator, and Kong Xian, the Towering Tortoise Cultivator. "Hmm, are you sure we are at Boss Jin''s place?" Kong Xian was curious yet amazed by the drastic change around the shop ever since he saw the shop roughly a month ago. "Yue Han and I last remembered seeing the big Panda Billboard and the new shop sign, Dungeons and Pandas, but this new screen installation and the removal of shutters? This is my first time seeing this." Bu Dong, the Angry Ape cultivator replied with slight confusion. "Did we not enter Boss Jin''s store yesterday when we were rooting for Brother Xiong Da? How did Boss Jin change things so quickly? Is my watch functioning properly??" Yue Han took out his phone to check his internet connection to see if his watch was sync correctly. "Trust me, if it was not for today''s pop quiz, I would not have remembered regretting not studying yesterday because we were there helping Brother Xiong Da out." Bu Dong reaffirmed Yue Han''s doubts. Even though Bu Dong knew how crazy Boss Jin''s changes were in terms of shop layout, but this was too absurd. "In any case, it looks like the store is open." Bu Dong pointed at the door which previously had a digital signage to show that it was ''Closed'', which was currently showing ''Open for Business''. The trio entered the shop only to have the shock of their lives. "Where did the entire shop go to?" Bu Dong cried out, suddenly seeing panda statues and some big colourful machines in the middle of the shop. He panicked a little, did Jin just got spirited away from his life? Was the past month a one time miracle that made him captivated with the wonders of cultivation and fighting monsters? "Ehh Bro, look at this large sign here." Kong Xian said as he beckoned the other two who were estranged in their own delusional thoughts. "Returning customers, please use the dimensional port at the entrance over here!" A panda pointed at the sign, so Kong Xian immediately presented his phone towards the dimensional port like how he had done it a month ago. And Poof! He disappeared with the other two quickly following suit. "WHAT THE CRAZY SHIT IS THIS!" Bu Dong shouted at the top of his lungs to show his amazement at the current new store instance. Even Yue Han and Kong Xian were made speechless by the whole new layout. If the previous store was fantastic, the current one was magnificent beyond belief. Jin was at the bar island looking a little fatigued, but continued to smile at his customers and greeted them as he usually did. "Welcome back." He had barely finished the Halloween dungeon but there were still some minor tweaks he had to do before releasing it out into the public. This was one dungeon he decided not to try all by himself when he looked to review it. "Oh, the horrors." He thought to himself. Perhaps it would be a good decision to delay the Halloween dungeon just for a day and let the returning customers enjoy the current new layout just for one day before he releases the new dungeon to the public. In the meantime, he could also do some publicity about the Halloween dungeon, which would allow the cultivators to be prepared. In addition, the weekend was just around the corner, making it the perfect time to release it too. "How did you do all this?!" Bu Dong was still sceptical with the current layout and later realised that a small little pet ape was sitting right beside his shoulder. "Wait, is this the pet that I bought from the loot box machine? Ohhhhh! Oh my gosh! I can even touch it!" Bu Dong exclaimed as he saw his pet had a small burst of smoke appearing occasionally. It was after all similar to his cultivation, the Angry Ape. Yue Han noticed it too and saw that his pet bat was flying around, not allowing him to catch it. Kong Xian suddenly felt left out and asked if it was some reward they managed to get from the dungeon fights. "Nahh, it was from the loot box machine on the second floor. I had already forgotten all about the existence of this little rascal until now." Bu Dong replied as he remembered he saw the ape only once when he tried the Panda Muscles instance to work out. "You can now get it from the floor above you in the new Pet Battle vending machine instead of the loot box machine." Jin pointed upwards as he told Kong Xian and the three decided to explore the all new layout like little kids in an adventure playground. The trio quickly ran up the spiral stairs and found the vending machine beside the closed caravan store. They followed the instructions strictly to help Kong Xian get his personal pet. "Wahahaha, behold my pet tortoise!!!" Kong Xian brought it up solely with his right palm and the pet tortoise''s newborn eyes looked at Kong Xian with fascination. It even let out a loud squeak to acknowledge his new master. Later, both Bu Dong and Yue Han noticed that Kong Xian had a few cards on the table and they remembered what the vending machine stated. There was a Battle Pet service instance which they could try. Yue Han who was usually strict with the amount of money he spent each day, had decided to buy a card pack too because he was a total sucker for card collections. "Attack Up, Defence Down, Vitality Up¡­All these cards are enhancement cards¡­Oooh! Wing Attack!" Yue Han got excited to see that he received a skill card among the pack of enhancement cards. "Shall we try to battle?" The kid spirit inside Kong Xian was burning brightly. Why would they not? They were born in the era of Digiman and Pokeman. To be able to have their own pets and making them fight with special skills was like a childhood dream come true for all of them. Even Jin secretly created a personalised deck with his own money. Sure, the System might be getting some money from him but it was inconsequential compared to the amount of money he had earned. He liked this kind of battle pet cum card games too. Spendthrift Bu Dong, unlike Yue Han, was similar to Jin and had already bought five packs of cards. However, he thought to open them later when they were battling or right after it. "Do not reveal your special technique unless you need to." His cultivation master told him with regards to his cultivation techniques and he had even applied them to the card game. It seemed like Bu Dong was both a serious cultivator and a gamer at heart. Right beside the Pet Card vending machines was the dimensional port for the Pet Battle Royale service instance which both Yue Han and Kong Xian entered without hesitation and quickly took their place at each side of the room. Both of them booted up their Pandamonium App and the interface to the Pandamonium automatically booted the Pet Card sub-application onto their screen which showed the health of their pets and their stats. Yue Han and Kong Xian grinned at each other so widely that they simultaneously shouted two words. "LET''S BATTLE!" Chapter 211 Pet Battle Customers began to flow into the new shop instance slowly, and many were looking very surprised by the drastic change Jin made. What was more surprising was to see some of the customers being accompanied by their pet and many began to query where they could get one. Meanwhile, the others were walking around the entire shop instance to take in the spacious sight of the area only to hear an announcement in the all new Auditorium One. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Although there are no takers in the current dungeon instance, which I believe it was due to the efforts of Boss Jin, there is currently one pet battle ongoing and we are showing it in Auditorium One!" Mr Patsu who was on his headset microphone was shouting out loud to beckon the curious customers to have a taste of the new sofas and large cinematic screen. All the customers in the shop instance moved towards Auditorium One the moment they heard the word ''battle''. Many could not believe how sturdy and comfortable the sofas were. No matter what distance they were from the screen, no one was blocking their view and the couches were large enough to enjoy with their fellow friends. The display, on the other hand, was total eye candy with it being highly defined and the broader view made people awe at the quality. "LET''S BATTLE!" Both Yue Han and Kong Xian unknowingly created the tagline for the subsequent pet battle arena fights for the spectators. "Towering Tortoise!" Kong Xian did not give it a nickname since he could not think of one at the moment, but his digital pet tortoise who was floating around lazily acknowledged his orders and went into the arena. The tortoise had a large shell that looked like it was carrying a miniature mountain on its back. "Blind Bat!" Yue Han shouted and the bat wearing a black blindfold which was perching itself on Yue Han flew into the arena and took the initiative to start its attack without any warning. It zoomed straight through the room like an arrow, aiming for the head of the tortoise. It was rather easy how the pet battle worked. At the start of the fight, each player was allowed to choose five cards from their deck of cards, if they have any and those five cards would be the only five cards they could use for the entire battle. Both players'' pets would continuously attack each other and the players could activate the cards they chose at any given time. During the battle, the players could give verbal commands to their pets to intensify the attacks, guard, or evade. At any time, the players could activate their cards to push their pets to the limit. Kong Xian who liked to play defensive in real life unconsciously did the same thing with his tortoise. The cards that were initially in his hand were now floating right in front of him and so was Yue Han''s when the battle started. He then realised it was easier for him to use them as he remembered that he needed to bring the card up and away from the remaining cards and swiped through mid-air to activate it. "Defence Up!" Kong Xian pretended he was in the anime shows where they shouted out the card names as he swiped the card that was floating right in front of him. The card flipped and flew up above his head, enlarging itself to a point it was easy for the spectators to see what kind of card he was using. Even the card itself had intricate designs of a knight turtling itself with a shield up with the back of the card was a design of a lazy panda with the heading "Pet Battle!'' and a subheading "Dungeons and Pandas" at the bottom of the lazy panda to show that the cards were properties of Jin''s merchandise. With the activation of the card, the towering tortoise suddenly had a shield in front of it and it prepared to block the incoming attack unless Yue Han countered his friend''s card. "Attack Up!" "Special Technique! Wing Attack!" Yue Han did not hesitate to use two cards in succession. He was an aggressive player when it came to card games which were unlike his nature in his cultivation and training. The two cards flew up above Yue Han''s head and the Attack Up had a design of a warrior holding onto two swords, while the other card was specifically designed to match Yue Han''s bat appearance. Even if other cultivators obtained cards with the same technique, their cards would be redesigned specifically to their pet''s appearance. For example, if Shi Hui, the cultivator for Shadowy Swan obtained a Wing Attack card, the design of the card would be of her pet swan rather than Yue Han''s pet bat. The Bat immediately had its wings reinforced and it was shining like solid polish steel and there was a sword that magically flew in to damage the shield that the tortoise had. However, to Yue Han''s surprise, the tortoise had its shell aiming at his bat only to realised that Kong Xian''s floating cards were down to three. "Damn! Did he use another card when I was¡­" Yue Han looked up only to see an enlarged card showing a tortoiseshell gleaming. "Hahahaha! Yue Han! You are too predictable! I have known you long enough, to predict you would go in strong!" Kong Xian said as he played the "Reflect Shield" technique card. Wing Attack allowed Yue Han''s pet to do piercing damage while Reflect Shield would be able to let Kong Xian''s pet reflect partial damage at Yue Han. The bat''s attack ensued despite the change of developments and as it cut the tortoise, it received damage from the reflect shield but did significant damage to the tortoise as well. "Tortoise! Counterattack the bat right now!" Kong Xian shouted as it noticed that the bat flinched receiving the damage from the Reflect Shield. The tortoise was sturdy enough to withstand the attack and it did not hesitate to attack the bat the moment Kong Xian gave his orders. On the other hand, Yue Han hastily used another card. "Accuracy Down!" The card enlarged with a picture of a squid throwing a black goo ball, which came out of the card flying into the arena and splat at the Towering Tortoise. Its vision was blurry from the goo attack which caused it to miss. Yue Han immediately used all his remaining cards since he knew from his phone that his blind bat''s health point was extremely low. "Attack Up! Critical Hit Up! Blind Bat, give it your best!!" The Critical Hit Up had the design of an archer shooting a bullseye and it translated into a target board that got placed onto the tortoise. The Blind Bat swooped in without hesitation once again under the commands of his master. Separately, Kong Xian who was left with attack cards was in a bind. With accuracy down, his attack might not be able to hit. He was in a quandary whether to attack or defend. "Argh damn it! Since you are this aggressive, I will go all in too!!" Chapter 212 The Tortoises Struggle "Seeing how Yue Han went all in, Kong Xian followed suit! He is throwing down everything as well!" Mr Patsu, the penguin massage therapist NPC, who was now an announcer in Auditorium One shouted to hype the crowd and indeed he did. The customers who were first slouching to watch in the auditorium were creeping to the edge of their seats to see this particular battle unfold right in front of their eyes. "Kong Xian did not even flinch at such an aggressive attack!" Bear Cub One, the co-announcer beside Mr Patsu added his comments which made some of the customers rooting for Kong Xian. Meanwhile, more customers streamed in and were even more startled because of the noise the crowd in Auditorium One was making. "Defence Up! Evasion Up! Counterattack Up!" Kong Xian frantically selected each card and swiped them up. Being Defensive in cultivation made Kong Xian too cautious to put a proper balance in his choice of cards, but it seemed that he had made the right choice doing so when it was up fighting against Yue Han. As the Defence Up card enlarged and moved to the right for the other cards, Evasion Up, lit up and magnified, a ballerina silhouette figure in the card design appeared. It was later followed by the Counterattack Up which card design was of a silhouette of a knight piercing his lance to a black silhouette figure that smashed its sword on the knight''s shield. However, something extraordinary happened! The Counterattack Up card shone even more brightly than any card that a pillar of light materialised on to the card. "OOHHHHH!!! Critical Draw!! Player Kong Xian had managed to activate a Critical Draw from his cards!" Mr Patsu shouted and this made the customers even more curious. "Critical Draw is a random event when the feelings of the pet and its master''s actions aligned!" Bear Cub One exclaimed. "It is possible only when the Pet felt the same way as its master''s actions which allowed the critical draw to activate, causing the Counterattack card effects to be two times more effective than usual! Two times!" Bear Cub One continued which compelled some customers who were previously rooting for Kong Xian to cheer loudly. The Towering Tortoise did not disappoint as two out of three cards effects combined causing the mountain on its shell to suddenly spew smoke, creating a smoke screen effect that made the Blind Bat''s accuracy and speed drop as it flew towards the tortoise. "Hahaha! How would the smoke screen affect the accuracy of a blind bat?" A customer rooting for Yue Han shouted back at Mr Patsu and his answer was simple. "Well, its magic of cards. Believe in the cards." "Your answer stinks." Bear Cub One retorted after which the customers laughed, but Mr Patsu did not care and continued with commenting. "Hahaha! Even if you reduce it''s accuracy and speed, remember my pet is a bat!" Yue Han said to Kong Xian to show that his efforts were fruitless. Indeed, even in the midst of the smokescreen which was created by the combination of its Defence Up and Evasion Up card, the bat still managed to pinpoint the location of the tortoise because of its innate echolocation skills. It just required more time to find the tortoise to attack. The moment it found the slow moving tortoise, it sped up and dealt its attack. The tortoise who was trying to escape could not outrun the flying bat and was bitten by the bat. Not only that, the bat managed to cause a critical wound since the bat bit on its tail, a vital spot of the tortoise, and even the tortoise was inflicted with a bleeding condition. It was at that moment, Kong Xian was smirking away which made Yue Han worried. "I did not expect the smokescreen but it seemed that it helped my pet to buy some time." Kong Xian said with confidence. "What are you talking about? Your pet is bleeding to death as we speak." Yue Han replied with a tinge of fear in him. "Tsk tsk, not if your pet dies first. Towering Tortoise counter attack now!" Kong Xian commanded and his tortoise pet shouted, clearing the smoke screen effect. From the small mountain on its shell, everyone in Auditorium One could see that it was brimming with red boiling liquid. It seemed that the Critical Draw allowed the pet to activate one of its ability that usually required a technique card to allow the pet to attack. "Go now! Volcano Blaster!" Kong Xian followed what was written on the Pandamonium pet app interface in his phone as he shouted with confidence. The bleeding towering tortoise gave a menacing look at the equally broken bat and aimed its shell at it. "Evade with all your strength Blind Bat!" Yue Han shouted but it was too late as the lava blasted out the tortoise shell was spewing on the entire arena that even caused the ground to burn. If not for the fact that the blind bat was flying, it would have been in a hot mess. Unfortunately, one of the lava blasts succeeded to hit the bat causing it to drop to the ground on a puddle of hot lava. The health bar on Yue Han''s phone swiftly reduced to nothing and the battle was concluded. Bu Dong who was watching the battle on the side while choosing his cards clapped his hands at the current battle. The customers in Auditorium One who were watching clapped for an equally fantastic battle that could only be seen in Jin''s shop. Suddenly, two new cards appeared in front of Kong Xian and so was Yue Han. However, for Yue Han''s case, he was only allowed to choose one of the two for keeping. "Hahaha, the cards are a no brainer for my next match!" Kong Xian laughed as he saw one of the cards was the volcanic blaster that was used recently. "Wow, you can earn more cards just by battling?!" A customer saw the cards being given out to them at the end of the battle. "Yes, not only that, if you cannot find any player to fight, you can fight our monster''s mini pet too!" Mr Patsu said. "Can we do two versus two battles too?" A female customer asked as she wanted to fight alongside her boyfriend and Mr Patsu said it was allowed which made the customer excited and she rushed off to buy the card packs. "Boss Jin, I know you like to take our money but this is too much. I have a family of two to feed and now I have to take care of my new pet on my shoulder?" The male office worker cried his woes out. "I am sorry to hear that. Please buy responsibly." Jin bowed his head a little but his friend had already dragged him up to the second floor. "What are you crying for! Quick, let''s buy the cards and try it out!" "But my allowance for meals!" The male office worker cried out. "Screw that! Just eat grass for the next two weeks until our salary comes in again." His friend persuaded him effortlessly and brought him up to the upper floors. "Good fight," Bu Dong commented as he was at the corner arranging his final choice of cards. "You want to fight with me?" Kong Xian was beaming with confidence. "How about I fight both of you?" Bu Dong gave out a challenge which both of them could not refuse. "You are on! Oh but eh, is it allowed?" Yue Han asked but even Bu Dong shrugged his shoulders. "The only way to find out is to try it out." Bu Dong did a long jump with his new Grade 4 cultivation and prepared his cards while the other two took the sides of the room. At this point, the interface showed an option. "two versus one?" which all three readily pressed on that ''Yes'' button. The room suddenly expanded sideways the moment all three of them pressed ''Yes'' and the floor which was damaged by the lava previously was patched up. "This is beginning to be my favourite part of Boss Jin''s shop." Yue Han said even though he lost terribly in the previous game. "Same goes for me. At this rate, I need to work part time again to feed this new hobby." Kong Xian agreed with Yue Han. "Just remember not to neglect your cultivation." Bu Dong reminded them as he pulled out his cards from the deck. "LET''S BATTLE!!!" All three shouted at each other once more. . . Chapter 213 Cosmetic Cards "Ladies and Gentlemen!! Thank you for buying from Dungeons and Pandas! You will not regret getting those card packs!" Mr Patsu went up to the second floor to thank the current crowd. "However! When you have the chance, return to Auditorium One! Looks like our dear little boys are not over with the fight!" Mr Patsu jumped up the table and flew down to the first floor. Well, it''s more like diving down and landing on his stomach since his penguin wings did not work. Yet, Bear Cub One managed to drag the unconscious penguin to the Auditorium One to see the screen portraying Bu Dong against Yue Han and Kong Xian. "What a match with two players battling against one?! How is that fair!" A customer complained loudly about this injustice. "Tsk tsk tsk, my friend, you do not seem to know much about Bu Dong. He is a guy who fights well and a rather wealthy little boy. I remember seeing him treating his close friends to a number of dungeons just so that he could have a team with him." Another customer who just bought a card pack told the stranger. "Wait, so you are saying?" "Yes, I believe Bu Dong is wealthy enough to buy multiple packets of these cards and felt confident enough to fight against the both of them." The customer''s guess was somewhat on the mark and he opened his card pack, hoping to see at least an uncommon rarity card. Bu Dong called out for his Angry Ape to arrive on the scene which made both Yue Han and Kong Xian slightly jealous. "Wow¡­this is the power of money, right?" Yue Han commented and Kong Xian could only agree. The Angry Ape was not just any ape beating his chest like a King Kong. Instead, it was fully clothed, had a circlet on its head and a long red polestaff. It was like a mini Sun Wu Kong, and the customers gasped at such beautifully detailed clothing as well as the actions it was portraying. "Ah, if you guys are wondering. The card packs you are getting are all arena based cards. There is a small probability that you will receive extra cosmetic cards. Yes, extra cosmetic cards, definitely not at the cost of your cards in the pack." Mr Patsu said loudly as they saw how fanciful Bu Dong''s Angry Wu Kong was. "However, the pole he is holding is a weapon, definitely not cosmetic right?!" A customer shouted out and Mr Patsu shook his head. "No, it looks like a weapon but it is cosmetic in nature. The attack Bu Dong''s pet does with that pole would be equivalent to the same amount of damage done without the pole too. Rest assured, the cards you received can be equipped to your character." Mr Patsu announced. "Hmmph, another gimmick to earn people''s money. And I foresee it will be even more popular than the fishing instance." Mr-Know-It-All was sitting at the corner of a sofa in Auditorium One to write his notes down again. "Still, I must admit it''s an interesting gimmick that even I am rather intrigued by. I feel the urge to buy all the cards just to see the entire battle collection." Mr Know-It-All sporadically took out his phone to check his stocks investment app. "Looks like it would indeed be a good day to buy those cards for some study." He grinned quietly at a profit he had earned as he waited patiently at the corner of the sofa for more information from that jumpy penguin announcer. "Come to think of it, the card collection is still part of Jin''s store. Boss, don''t mind me adding it into the spending expenditure!" Mr Know-It-All thought to himself and smirked when he remembered he was at ''work'' and he had some budget to buy stuff, allowing him to save some of his own money. "Oh, there is actually a cosmetic card pack option, and it''s one quarter the price of the card packs." One of the male customers who was whining to Jin saw that and proceed to buy a cosmetic pack despite him saying he did not have any cash with him. Guess, he decided to eat even more grass in the upcoming days. "Yes! But if you wish to get more bang for your buck! You can head out of the Shop Level One instance and purchase a loot box from the second floor!" Bear Cub One interjected. "That way, you can get the upcoming Halloween instance ticket at a low price before it is sold out! Not to mention, there are cosmetic items in it too!" Bear Cub one iterated and the customer who bought the cosmetic pack not too long ago suddenly felt cheated. Jin had also asked the system to renovate the loot box machine a little. He asked the System to remove the blessing stones of courage which no one really used. Maybe some who were frequent returning customers might see the effect of the blessing stones of courage in the upcoming Halloween instances, but that was the only advantage they might have. Instead, Jin asked the System to put limited costume cards in the loot box machine that pertained to the Halloween theme. It can be bought as a package with the Halloween instance ticket or individually. Hence, If the tickets were sold out, the system would continue to sell the limited costume cosmetic cards and there was some use to the loot box machine. Why did Jin not place the loot box machine on the first floor? He wanted to but the main reason for the loot box machine to be on the second floor was that he wanted to suck more money from people who walked out from the recovery instance. By taking advantage of their feelings, their desire of wanting to succeed, to try again or the feeling of wanting to get a small souvenir after the battle for the sake of memento was a great way to earn money from the customers via the loot box machine. However, Jin did request the System to create another loot box machine to be placed with the new pet vending machines and that was one thing that the System gladly obliged. Unfortunately, the System said it required a day to generate that loot box machine. Jin figured that there was a quota for the number of discounted tickets it could allow for the Halloween instance, so it wanted to collate the numbers from the sales of the current loot box machine. "Why didn''t you say earlier¡­" He wanted to push himself off the upper floor and commit suicide in front of Jin. "Ah, no worries, the cosmetic you bought have a chance of uncommon and rare costumes! The ones that can shine or sparkle with effects! The Halloween loot box, on the other hand, provides limited edition costumes that could only be obtained until the next series of costumes appear!" Bear Cub One said and the word time limited made everyone jumpy. Upon hearing Bear Cub One''s announcement, some people even started to walk towards the exit of the Shop Level One Instance to try out the loot box machine. Meanwhile, some people were divided. They wanted to watch the match with Bu Dong, yet they also would like to get the Halloween loot box. Eventually, some stayed on to watch the match and those who were eager went to get their cards. Those were also one of the many who had subscribed to Jin''s Nettoflix kind of channel where they could rewatch the matches to learn from their mistakes and for entertainment purposes. "Hmm, looks like this pet thing is more serious than I thought¡­I should create a card recycler machine soon or else they will complain due to the duplicates." Jin noted to himself as he enjoyed the explanations by Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One. They had made his job easier. "BOOOOM!" A loud sound came from the screens of Auditorium One and Jin continued to enjoy the match in Auditorium One. . . Chapter 214 Two Versus One "Hahahaha!" Bu Dong laughed as he spammed two Attack Up cards at the same time to deliver a massive blow against Kong Xian''s tortoise pet. It seemed that when two of the same cards were selected, the card''s effects were enhanced to a tier two level, an uncommon card type. It had the same uncommon rarity as the techniques because of its tier two level. Both of the cards combined simultaneously to produce a brand new card design that had a black armoured swordsman carrying a great bigass two handed sword with just one hand. The card shimmered and Bu Dong''s pet, the Angry ''Wu Kong'' Ape, which was carrying the polestaff had the silhouette of a giant sword as it smashes the polestaff against the Kong Xian''s pet, the Towering Tortoise. Nevertheless, Kong Xian and Yue Han were not stupid. The trio were casual card buddies for the longest time ever and knew that their wealthy friend loved to use flashy cards even though he was humble in nature. That was why the aggressive Yue Han even placed defence cards into his choice of hand. What surprised Yue Han was the next move the defending players were making as he had no idea that the entire Battle Pet Royal system was so robust. Kong Xian naturally placed a Defence Up card and Yue Han did the same but his idea was that the Defence Up card could enhance the Towering Tortoise instead of his Blind Bat pet. As odd as it may seem, the Defence Up card went into the Towering Tortoise when Yue Han shouted for that pet instead. To their eagerness, Yue Han saw their Defence Up cards combine into a tier two level. Kong Xian did not think much and assumed its part of the instance''s way of helping them to defend a tier two card. A new card design of a large cross like looking shield appeared in front of the Towering Tortoise, a vibe of those historical crusaders being the guardians of the weak. The giant sword clashed with the wide cross shield and the sound of metal against metal made the players'' blood raced with excitement. Apparently, when Bu Dong was against Kong Xian and Yue Han, he did not have the disadvantage that he thought he would have. The Pet Battle Royale Instance gave Bu Dong the choice to select two additional cards, making it a total of seven cards in his hand at the start of the battle to balance the odds when facing the two of them. Given that the cards he could choose were not random but deliberate choices, he could have selected cards that were detrimental towards his opponents'' pets. Yet, Bu Dong did not and chose the ones that he really felt like trying just for the sake of fun. They were after all his friends and they could battle again for free since the only price they paid was the cards. (Although truth be told, Bu Dong realised the collection cards were eventually more expensive than he thought.) Yue Han did not waste Towering Tortoise''s effort by blocking the Angry Ape as he quickly swiped the Critical Hit Up card and commanded his Blind Bat to swoop in as soon as possible. "Defend yourself Angry Ape!" Bu Dong shouted as the Angry Ape used its polestaff to block the bat''s attack. However, the polestaff broke into two and the bat''s wing slashed the Ape''s chest. "Fall back now!" Bu Dong shouted. "Press forth with the attack!" Kong Xian shouted as he used his new technique card, the Volcanic Blaster. The pet tortoise acceded to his master''s command and red lava was blasted out of its miniature mountain shell. "Evade again!" Bu Dong shouted. Meanwhile, Yue Han found it was weird that Bu Dong was not attacking. What was even weirder that he was avoiding and defending without the use of defensive cards. Did Bu Dong miscalculate something and was not able to attack back or was it because the continuous attempt to attack Bu Dong did not leave him any chance to counterattack? "No, he is not that stupid either. He might be a person with all the flashy moves, but he still knows how to play strategically. Either he is faking it right now, or he intentionally brought all the flashy cards out just to show off." Yue Han thought to himself. In any case, Yue Han knew that Bu Dong was hiding a trump card. So he decided to keep his own Wing Attack technique while trying to elude some aggression by taunting Bu Dong and throwing in another Attack Up card into the fray. On the other hand, Bu Dong did have a trump card, but he was going to use it after the two buddies of his expelled some of their attack cards against him. Bu Dong wanted to wait a little longer before using it but seeing how his pet was more of an assault pet than a defending one; it would not last long under the barrage of attacks. "Arggh!! I shall use that! Are you ready, Angry Ape?" Bu Dong shouted and though his pet''s back was facing him, he could see a slight nod from tired beastly figure after defending for a long time. "Alright! I, your Father, shall show you how it''s done! Fear me! Tremble under the feet of the almighty Bu Dong!" Bu Dong became all too proud and both Yue Han and Kong Xian placed their hands on their faces knowing that Bu Dong was going to throw some flashy card. Bu Dong brought that ''flashy'' card out from the midst of several floating cards and he swiped with all his might. To all three''s amazement, as Bu Dong swiped that card, the edge of that card produced sparks. Instead of enlarging immediately, it spiralled upwards making the opposing duo aware that Bu Dong activated a very flashy card. Suddenly, the card disappeared and did not enlarge at all which made Bu Dong dumbfounded. "Eh? Did the card effect fail or something?" Bu Dong said out loud and it triggered Yue Han and Kong Xian to laugh. "So? No card effect? Blind Bat attack now! Deal the finishing blow to the pet of the Almighty Bu Dong. Make his pet bow down to yours truly!" Yue Han commanded and Kong Xian assisted by giving a Critical Hit Up card to Yue Han, which was the other card he obtained from winning. Yue Han wished to use Wing Attack at this moment but he did not want to risk too much seeing that Bu Dong''s card effect was not activated. However, deep inside him, he also felt the urge to be aggressive and give Bu Dong an overkill, to teach him a lesson for being so high and mighty. Needless to say, that Wing Attack card was not needed when the trio suddenly saw a bright light enveloping Bu Dong''s Angry Ape. Even, Kong Xian''s Critical Hit Up was subsequently returned to his floating cards. It was being refunded by the Pet Battle instance as they did not allow any attacks to be done at the current moment. "What is happening?" A customer shouted at Mr Patsu for an answer since it was the first time they saw a card in action being returned to the player''s hand. However, some of the smarter customers, or the customers that had played sufficient card games had a premonition of what was coming. It was after all a staple part of most card games. Mr Patsu gave a glance at Bear Cub One, and both gave an astounded look before giving the answer out. "Digital Evolution." The crowd went bonkers from hearing those two words. Chapter 215 Digital Evolution "Digital Evolution." Those two words were in red as they came out right in front of the Angry Ape''s face when the light continued to envelop it. Both Yue Han and Kong Xian were shocked by the change of developments. "Oh¡­so the card did work. Hahaha! NOW! Bow down to me, you minions!!" Bu Dong was laughing loudly as the light around the Angry Ape finally faded away to reveal a brand new pet (albeit temporary) in the arena. The Angry Ape now had bigger fists, sharper teeth and even a face painted with red tattoos. It was initially slouching but with its evolution, it stood up straight. The Angry Ape looked even nastier and perpetually angrier than it ever was. Only then in the Pandamonium Pet interface, it showed the name of his new evolved pet. ''Angrier Ape'', the name of the pet was also shown in the pet interface of Yue Han and Kong Xian to which they could not help but laugh at the name. "Angrier Ape! Hahahaha! I will bow down to the almighty Angrier Ape." Yue Han got on his knees and kowtowed right in front of the monster while laughing. Kong Xian did not hesitate to follow and made fun of Bu Dong''s new pet name. Even Bu Dong cried at the naming convention of the Pet Battle Royale Instance. "Bosssss Jinnnn! Give me a better and cooler name for my pet!!!" Bu Dong whined as he felt shameful for all the taunting he tried to do. In actual fact, the System and Jin did not bother to make too many changes mainly because it was not worth the System''s time to make that many changes and Jin did not implement too much of a modification on such a short notice. Upon seeing how Bu Dong managed to get quite a fair bit of attention, Jin decided not to alter the naming convention. "Power has its price. And the price for such power is money spent and a stupid name." Jin thought to himself as he giggled along with the other customers at how stupid the naming was. But come to think of it, he wondered how his panda would sound like even though he already gave a nickname to it. Lazy Panda? Or Lazy Astral Panda? If that''s the case, it would be Lazier Astral Panda and perhaps the ultimate digital evolution would be Laziest Astral Panda. That did not sound too bad at all. "Yun, if that''s the naming convention, how about Healing Maiden or Breathtaking Bellflower?" Jin asked about the female cultivators who did not practice any conventional cultivation. "Good question, perhaps you can ask the System about it." Yun was lying back on a stool beside the bar island looking at the battle too. "Aren''t you part of the System? That was why I asked you about it." Jin said and wondered why the sudden delineation between Yun and the System. "Hmmph." Yun continued to ignore Jin and watched the show. "Must be the digital mood swing." Jin did not care much and continued to tend to some customers and watched the fight whenever possible. After a month, he realised that there was some personality split in Yun. Sometimes, she was gentle and caring, always looking out for Jin, while other times she became arrogant like a young spoilt lass and not caring for the world. "Well, since you two are joking, I will be serious. Angrier Ape attack with all your might!" Bu Dong shouted as he immediately flipped all four cards he had in his possession. "Attack Up! Vitality Up! Critical Hit up! Technique: Powerful Fist!" Bu Dong screamed his lungs calling out each and every card. Instead of pulling one card at a time to swipe them, he swiped all of them in an instant and it activated a combo effect, something similar to what had happened with Kong Xian''s combination of cards. The Powerful Fist had a card design of an ape with an inflated fist surrounded with visible chi while Vitality Up''s card design was a nurse holding on a small needle, squirting blood out of the needle. No matter how many times Bu Dong had seen it, the card design and effects were so detailed that it brought all other card games to shame. Granted, there were only a few VR related card games to date and never before did he see a dungeon instance being made for card games. He was very sure there was no such thing and Jin could have created the first and yet perfect version of a card game using a dungeon instance. Bu Dong continued to be in awe as he stared at the combination of Attack Up, Critical Hit Up and Powerful Fist combining into one brand new card. "Fist of Power", a card design with a fist that was beaming with rainbow chi energy and it was more animated than the rest of the cards. "Looks like a tier two card," Yue Han commented and Kong Xian nodded his head. Would they want to continue the fight upon seeing a brand new tier two pet with a tier two technique? Sure, why not? It was yet again a ''do or die'' situation maybe that would always be the case for subsequent fights if they continue to meet aggressive players like Bu Dong. "Kong Xian, swipe all the cards including mine!!" Yue Han shouted at Kong Xian. "Huh!?" Kong Xian was suddenly confused by the weird command from his friend. It was then Yue Han realised he made a mistake. Of course, Kong Xian did not realise that his friend''s cards could be used for his own since only Yue Han who had the first hand experience understood that particular mechanic. However, it was too late as Bu Dong''s Angrier Ape smashed his shiny Fist of Power onto Kong Xian''s towering tortoise. "That tortoise is a pain in the butt to fight." Bu Dong said as it obliterated Kong Xian''s pet in an instant. It was left with Yue Han and he too found out that once Kong Xian''s pet was killed, the cards on him were not transferable to Yue Han. "Ahhh, that''s a pity¡­" Yue Han sighed to himself as he saw his combination of cards were probably not sufficient to fight against Bu Dong. Nevertheless, he still gave it a try as there was nothing else to lose. "Swipe All!" Yue Han shouted as he did the same as what Bu Dong had done previously and his cards immediately flipped. Unfortunately, for Yue Han, the combination did not yield any surprising effect and his blind bat was crashed by the Angrier Ape. "Guess, it was really down to luck for now until someone researched all the possible combinations out." Yue Han thought to himself as he surrendered to Bu Dong. Four new cards appeared in front of Bu Dong upon victory and his Angrier Ape returned back to being the Angry Ape once more. Meanwhile, three cards appeared collectively for Yue Han and Kong Xian and they each only got to choose one out of the three cards. "So it''s risky fighting two vs one but the rewards are immense." Mr Know-It-All penned his thoughts down on his trusty notebook while compiling what had happened for the past two fights. "This is way more interesting than I thought. If done right, it can be the next big trend for dungeon instances instead of just a niche right here. Perhaps, I should nudge a few of my old contacts to visit Jin''s store." He smirked at the decent development of this particularly small shop and drank his wife''s specially made Oolong tea. "Now I am beginning to understand why Boss said to take care of him." Mr Know-It-All thought to himself and hoped to see a dungeon battle in this new shop instance. . . Chapter 216 External Forces It was nearing the closing hour for Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas yet there were many people still hanging around to use the Pet Battle Royale Instance. In fact, he was earning more from the Pet vending machine than the dungeons for that particular day. If not for the almighty System that was able to produce an unlimited amount of cards, Jin''s card machine would have broken down within an hour. Many people were overwhelmed by the simplicity of the gameplay and yet complexity underneath it all. Some even took pictures of their pets and began to show them to their friends on social media. Bu Dong and his buddies did not hesitate to recommend Jin''s place to the online card forum they had always visited and even took pictures of their cards as proof. Many people online were doubting the authenticity of this particular new game but some showed interest in it. There was even a customer that recorded the entire match via phone cam and uploaded it online. Also, Mr Know-It-All did make a phone call to a specific contact and reported this particular card game design to his old friend. "Yes, you know me well enough to understand that I do not lie. If you can convince Jin to sell you the schematics for his instance and the workings of the technology, you will profit tremendously." Mr Know-It-All was talking inside his idle car. "Buy his technology?? All I have to do is see the workings of his instance, and I can probably make a better copy!" The friend of his replied. "Nah. Your company''s technology is too outdated. Even that prototype you showcased in that major convention three months ago should not be able to recreate it. Believe it or not, his technology is industry changing, breaking all traditional notions of dungeon instances. Compared to you, his use of dungeon instance is at least five to ten years more advanced. He might just be the new underdog in dungeon instance technology." Mr Know-It-All giggled. "Haha! Do you wish to turn this into another bet?" His friend asked. "Why not? What are you going to bet?" Mr Know-It-All questioned. "If I cannot replicate his technology and I cannot buy out his technology, I will fulfil two requests of yours which-" "Which I have to create on the spot and no changes after the bet. And if I lose, I have to pay you 1 million USD. Wow, you do know that bet of yours is so old school and useless to you. When you are earning millions by the hour." Mr Know-It-All rolled his eyes. "You piece of shit, if not for the fact that you are my best buddy, I would not have let you off for owing me 20 million USD." His friend argued. "You are still counting those junior school bets? Hahaha, anyways, here are my two requests. One, please continue to fund my organisation as always, your donation is well appreciated. Two, even if you cannot copy or buy his idea, perhaps, partner up with him? Making that shopping district the next big thing in Shenzhen would be equally interesting." Mr Know-It-All gave his requests to his friend. "You care for this boy a lot eh? No wonder I feel a little lonely these days. I mean for the first time your requests are not as self-centred as before." His friend sneered at him. "Hahaha, people do change you know. Besides, these are also my orders from Boss. You know him well enough, that''s why I ask this from you." Mr Know-It-All said. "Fine, since it''s from Boss I will take on this bet. But remember, I am doing it for Boss, not for you. I am still not letting you off the hook. 20 million USD, please pay as soon as possible." His friend finally agreed to help Mr Know-It-All. "After I strike the lottery 20 times consecutive." Mr Know-it-All meant fat chance. "Ahh, whatever. Bye asshole." His friend dropped the phone call, and Mr Know-it-all drank the last portion of his wife''s Oolong Tea. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "What do you mean that you were not able to pick into the shop''s lock?! Aren''t you supposed to be the best lockpicker in Shenzhen?" Wo De Tian, the CEO of King''s Monster shouted at the lockpicker. "I tried. It wasn''t a digital lock like most people use, but a mechanical door lock. Since, you did not specify that he had a mechanical lock, all the tools I brought were useless." "However, I did bring an extra set of conventional tools, but they were also not working. The pick felt different from usual." The lockpicker argued back at De Tian as he was a respected person in his field. "So? What are you waiting for? It''s already night and you are not going to try again?" De Tian looked furiously at him for retorting. "My payment first." The lockpicker demanded. "Screw you and your payment, Chen Hai. You have yet to show results for this store." De Tian waved him off, but Chen Hai banged De Tian''s table in his office. "After all the stores I helped you infiltrate, and with just this one failure, you are going to dismiss me?" Chen Hai fought back for his employment. "Okay." De Tian gave a long pause before continuing. "I shall put my trust in you again this time around because of your past merits. So show me the results." De Tian threw a thick fat envelope on the table which he took out from his drawer. "Buy whatever tools you require, I do not care if you need to demolish the building or something. Get me his dimensional portal server." De Tian who was slouching back on his chair, leaned forward and gave a deadly serious look at Chen Hai. The office was suddenly filled with chi that represented the embodiment of death. "But if you ever run away from me or if you ever dare to come back to me with no results again. Do not blame me for being ruthless." De Tian spoke in a rather slow and quiet tone. "And I hate people that bang my precious table," De Tian said as he continued to slouch back on his chair and turned his chair away to look at the window, where he could see in plain sight the building with King''s Monster logo. Chen Hai got the feeling he nearly avoided calamity, he now humbly walked away with the envelope. Chen Hai realised he had pushed too far as he had forgotten that De Tian was the vice head of another Triad in Shenzhen, one capable of fighting toe to toe with the Three Eyed Tiger Triad. The Ruby Rat Triad, notorious for their highly complicated involvement of the entertainment culture in China, especially Shenzhen, and high levels of corruption which even the police was not able to pursue. It was rumoured that the Ruby Rat Triad was able to buy off judges and politicians to the point that it was able to hinder the results of a ten years corruption investigation in just three weeks. Buying bails for the vice heads, torturing and later killing the policemen and detectives involved through murders disguised as accidents. If you compared them in terms of ruthlessness, the Three Eyed Tiger Triad could be considered the modern day Robin Hood while the Ruby Rat Triad was the equivalent of Al Capone less the drugs. "Hmmph, Panda. You watch out. Coming into Shenzhen to carve a name for yourself in the entertainment industry is the one and only mistake you should not have made." De Tian stared at the distant for a while before he continued to do his work. . . Chapter 217 The Unexpected Date "Come on let''s get going, Brother Se Lang! Do not let Jia Ying wait for too long!" Shi Hui, the cultivator of Shadowy Swan, pulled Se Lang''s shirt as he was window shopping at the armour store in Boss Jin''s shop. Weird combination to see Shi Hui with Se Lang together? Well, Se Lang was equally shocked when Shi Hui asked him for a date out of the blue, just a few days after they participated in the Bank Heist dungeon raid together. He remembered he was super nervous since he had never been asked out by a girl before. It had always been the other way around and surprisingly; the girls distanced away from him. (In retrospect, it was mainly because of his partner Deng Long, who was a rather lousy wingman, but Se Lang blamed himself instead.) Se Lang''s impression of Shi Hui was a girl with elegance, and yet she was able to portray a quiet sense of pride in the way she carried herself out in public. Compared to him, who was just a simple patrol officer in the police force for two years, Shi Hui was an overachiever. When he found out the facts about Shi Hui, he could only sigh at the achievements she had accomplished. Upcoming modern dancer, a guest dance choreographer while just being an intern in a music company and many other plays she had under her belt of experience when she was still young. Well, technically, Se Lang had been selling himself short. Deng Long, his partner in ''crime'', could vouch for him. Se Lang was after all an outstanding police officer and he was not even trying hard all the time. Imagine if he strived harder, he could rise through the ranks pretty quickly. Who knows? He might be able to become a detective in a short period if he tried. In any case, Se Lang did ask Shi Hui what exactly she saw in him during their first date. Kind of stupid of him to do that, but nevertheless, he needed to find out. "Hmmm, if you want an honest answer. I have none! I have always wanted to try dating a policeman and someone older. You match quite nicely!" Shi Hui said as she smiled so innocently that Se Lang''s heart melted instantly both in a good and bad way. "So¡­ Does that mean I am just a temporary stand-in for her gap for love until she finds someone more worthy? Kuuu~! " Se Lang wondered and could not help but feel like crying. "Well, if you are uncomfortable, we can call it off right now." Shi Hui said before the end of their first date, and Se Lang shook his head. "I will be honest with you too then. My feelings are conflicted now, but I will take this as a learning experience for future relationships. Till we break up, I will be in your care then." Se Lang bowed a little and Shi Hui could not help it as she burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Experience?! Oh my gosh, you are still a ''wizard'' despite being so handsome?" Shi Hui covered her mouth and continued laughing. "¡­Y¨CYe-Yes¡­" Se Lang could not help but be embarrassed as Shi Hui slapped his back. "Then Mr Wolfie, I shall first start liberating your wizardhood by allowing you to kiss me." Shi Hui pointed at her lips and then playfully point at her forehead. "Which ones would you choose? Mr Wolfie?" "¡­I¡­will choose the forehead." Se Lang could not help but tremble. He moved closer to her as she stared at him for a long while before he gathered up his courage. "Ahhh! You are so slow!" Shi Hui grabbed his shoulders and pulled herself up to his lips. The warmness of her lips touched his cold, dry lips and he could not help but feel excited by the bodily contact he had with Shi Hui. "How did that feel Mr Wolfie, the Wizard?" Shi Hui asked coyly with her arms still wrapped around him. He was still in a daze. "Fantastic. Felt like I am in heaven." Se Lang''s legs were like jelly and thankfully Shi Hui backed up a bit after his reply. "That''s that for the first date!" Shi Hui said as she continued to tease Se Lang. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Heyyyyy Mr Wolfie!!!!! Stop daydreaming!!!" Shi Hui wrapped her arms around Se Lang''s muscular ones, and he was brought back to reality. "What are you thinking about that made you go into a daze?" "Erm no, I was just thinking how bizarre and yet miraculous it was to have that first date together a few weeks back." Se Lang blurted out and it made Shi Hui grin, but her expression changed as quick as a traffic light. "Well, stop daydreaming and let''s get going for the Halloween instance! Jia Ying, Jing Ru and Yue Wen are waiting!" Shi Hui said. Yes, the Halloween instance was up and about a week had passed since Jin created the new Halloween instance which he posted on Pandamonium as an advertisement. "Ehh, don''t you think if I go with you girls, won''t it feel like I am the odd out one, the erm¡­ fifth wheel? I mean, you girls are the Venus Four. It would be kind of sad if I break your team composition." Se Lang said. "They are planning to use this instance to re-evaluate you since you did so poorly in that Bank Heist Dungeon. Jia Ying also said ''So what if he is a policeman if he cannot protect us in this new dungeon, he has no right to be your boyfriend.''" Shi Hui replied while imitating Jia Ying''s voice. And Jia Ying had every right to be jealous. Shi Hui was after all her best girl buddy in the Venus Four group despite the four girls'' already being this close knitted. She could not stand Shi Hui leaving her so quickly just because she got a boyfriend that easily. Even more so when Jia Ying secretly adored Se Lang too. Jia Ying felt it was stupid of her to comment that Se Lang was rather cool looking and seemed somewhat reliable to Shi Hui, who agreed with her. (On the side note, poor Deng Long, he had no one liking him.) She did not expect Shi Hui to have feelings for him too and her simple comment even reinforced her friend''s beliefs, that made Shi Hui take the initiative to go for him. Now Jia Ying had mixed feelings within her. Should she feel happy that Shi Hui was with Se Lang or should she be anguished that her best friend took Se Lang? She did not know what to do. Se Lang laughed at Shi Hui and nodded his head. "Okay okay, but at least let me buy this first." Se Lang took an odd looking device from the store''s ''New Stock!'' cabinets and brought it towards the counter. "What''s that?" Shi Hui asked as she picked it up and read the label on it. "Enhanced Chi Releaser" "It''s actually for you. Remember how we earned the Icesteel Weapons from the Bank Heist raid? I figured this Enhanced Chi Releaser would help to compensate your long range weakness since your war fans seem to be suited for close combat." Se Lang was a little concerned. "Huh, but I have been using illusion skills to compensate for my innate long range weakness, so that I could go close to the enemy." Shi Hui replied and was wondering why Se Lang would waste his panda medals on something like that. "But after watching the Bank heist video online several times, I concluded that it used a lot of your chi, right? So I was thinking, with the new Icesteel War Fans and this enhanced chi releaser device, you could be able to shoot out projectiles. Like, I don''t know, maybe use Ice Shards or create a blizzard?" Se Lang replied as he paid for it at the front counter. "You have no idea what this enhanced chi releaser does, right?" Shi Hui squinted her eyes at Se Lang. "I asked the Red Panda¡­? Does that count?" Se Lang started to sweat a little. "Yes, an elemental weapon like the Icesteel type would indeed allow users to utilise the power of ice within a certain distance of the enhanced chi releaser. This way the user would not need to rely on close contact for the power of ice to activate." The Red Panda receptionist surprisingly backed him up. "Ohhh, thank you Red Panda, do you mind combining the Icesteel War Fans and the releaser for me?" Shi Hui gave the Red Panda her War Fans and the Red Panda grabbed it with its mouth before passing both items to the three headed bear weaponsmith to combine them into one. Suddenly, Se Lang felt a nudge at the side of his stomach and he saw Shi Hui grinning widely. "Thank you! This is the first present you gave me!" . . Chapter 218 Halloween Theme "You two know how to make people wait." Jia Ying was seen sitting on the upper floors of the Shop Level One Instance. She was petting the Sanguine Stag that was on her lap when Shi Hui and Se Lang found her. Jia Ying was also adjusting her deck of Pet Battle cards which seemed to be the trend now in Jin''s store. There was even an auditorium that was dedicated to the Pet Battle Royale Service Instance and sometimes if the battles were intense, both the auditoriums were assigned for it. What about the dungeons? Were they not as popular as before? Were Jin''s monsters now slacking? Definitely not. The new Pet Battle Royale Service Instance was catered to various groups of people. One of them was the people who wanted to fight against monsters instead of players because they preferred to do so. They thought that they could learn a thing or two from a Player versus Monster environment before fighting against other cultivators. Hence, the monsters were equally busy fighting various players too. What the players did not know was that the monsters were alive and not computer simulated. So, they were getting a challenge which was equally if not harder than the players. Reward wise was still the same. The players were unaware, but when the monsters won, they got better food, modern equipment or even orbs of spiritual force for their home instance. It was an incentive that Jin created to help the monsters build up their own home. Earning something through hard work established more ownership and pride for their new home instead of just giving them everything at hand. Therefore, this spurred the monsters to fight harder and stronger in Pet battles too. Of course, the cards were sometimes regulated by the System in those individual battles. Otherwise, the new cultivators would be trashed by them. If such cases occur, the System compensated them with Panda Medals which they could use in Jin''s general store to get items. (Yes! That general store does not just sell potions! They have a partially hidden everyday store section which the customers have yet to discover.) "Still, it''s amazing how lively the shop has become with the new shop instance, and it saved me a lot of trouble. I remember the police station issued an increased alert to Tiangong Shopping District two weeks ago because of Boss Jin''s arrival. I even had to break a few fights up, because people tried to squeeze into Jin''s shop." Se Lang commented as his Wacky Wolf pet jumped on his head and wagged its tail. "Seriously, Boss Jin should have gone with a shop instance from the start, when he opened his shop. It would have been a fantastic experience to see the Qixi theme." Shi Hui complained about the previous shop interior while her pet swan sat quietly on her lap. With the shop being a dimensional instance, the whole place was now decorated with Halloween theme. One day after launching the shop''s dimensional instance, the returning customers were amazed by yet another drastic change to the store''s interior design. Instead of the simple plain spacious layout, the entire place revamped with a gothic setting to it. The ceiling of the Shop Level One instance was initially white and dull but now there was a stained glass ceiling with ever bright moonlight shining in. The stained glass, or art glass, which required artistic and engineering craftsmanship to assemble the pieces in real life, was a treat to the eyes, especially an overly large glass ceiling like Jin''s. However, with the aid of the System, all it cost was several dungeon dollars which Jin gladly paid since the interior of a shop played an essential part in the psychological aspect of customers. "Yeah, I like the stained glass ceiling the most." Jia Ying returned the deck of Pet Battle cards into her storage ring and looked at the ceiling. It was not the usual scary Halloween kind of stained glass design but rather various flowers which she could not identify. The glass ceiling was divided into seven parts, similar to how the Shop Level One Instance was being separated, allowing each part of the auditorium to be lit up in various colours. Also, the colours were not too bright nor too gloomy, and it fits the theme of Halloween. Even the couches which were initially white were changed to ruby red, and there were floating candles around the auditoriums. The caravan which Zhen Qing was operating was also redesigned to fit the theme. There was initially a panda statue lazing around on top of the caravan, but now it turned into a Frankenstein costume panda where the patches of black seemed to be ''sewn'' onto the bear, and it even had a nut bolt through its head. Getting the customers into the mood was vitally important for a shop like his. Not to mention, to fulfil his ridiculous secondary mission objective of getting 5000 customers general sales would not seem as absurd as it would be with the all new Battle Pet service instance. "Hahaha, but the funniest thing was Boss Jin and Zhen Qing. I liked how Zhen Qing managed to pull off such a terrible looking costume and still display such grace." Shi Hui quietly took a picture of the beautiful cook who happened to wear a bloodied chef outfit with fake tools hanging on the side of her waist, yet she still appeared so sexy in it. "Talking about sexy, I think Yun and Milk were just too hot for their costumes." Se Lang blurted out and suddenly felt a kick on his left shin. Jia Ying gave an annoyed look at Se Lang as if to say "watch what you are saying stupid guy" and pointed at Shi Hui. "But but¡­Jin''s costume is over the top ridiculous." Se Lang gave his comments on Jin to change the topic. Se Lang also initially thought it was another AI NPC that helped Boss Jin with the Bar Island until Jin took out the head to reveal his face. Jin was in a panda suit with a traditional Count Dracula looking suit¡­ with a panda head. Even the oversized panda head had two canine teeth protruding out of its mouth. "Unfortunately, he was too lazy to act the role of Count Dracula." Jia Ying tried to reinforce the change of topic while peeking down to the lower floors from where she was sitting and saw Jin lazily walking around in that costume giving out Halloween lollipops. Riding on the wave of Halloween. Jin also decided to throw in more cosmetic items related to Halloween, and he learned a thing from mobile games gacha. For a limited time only, during the Halloween period and till the end of November, the Pet Battle vending machine would have an increased rate of getting a limited set of special moves. Oh, but he was not that evil in sucking people''s money. The reason Jin gave out Halloween lollipops was that attached to the candies was a QR code that allowed the customers to get a free Halloween limited edition cosmetic item which could only be redeemed once. "Oh yeah, I do agree with Se Lang. Milk and Yun were very sexy in their costumes." Shi Hui did not care about the derailed topic both Se Lang and Jia Ying tried to create. She liked how Se Lang was blunt and honest about everything. It was that quality of his, which made Shi Hui find Se Lang very attractive. In university and even in her musical performance, not many were willing to tell the truth and always sugar coated things. "Anyways, Jia Ying, where are Jing Ru and Yue Wen?" Shi Hui realised they were not around. "Ehh, about that. They went for the Halloween instance first because Jing Ru''s father came by with her. With a powerhouse like Jing Ru''s father, Yue Wen wanted to see how strong a Grade 6 was and dragged the both of them into the dungeon instance. We could wait for them here." Jia Ying said. "Besides, we might have a higher chance of winning later on, since they could tell us what to watch out for." Jia Ying added but later saw Shi Hui pouting. "It must have been that impatient Yue Wen. How dare they not wait for us! It was not Se Lang''s fault to take that much time window shopping in the weapon store!" Shi Hui was somewhat upset. "If that''s the case, we should also go as three member team. I do not want to be spoiled by Yue Wen again." Shi Hui grabbed Se Lang''s hands and pulled him up. "But we might not be strong enough¡­" Se Lang wanted to argue, but Jia Ying took the opportunity to pat on Se Lang''s back as an excuse. "You cannot stop her when she is adamant. Let''s go Se Lang." Jia Ying felt her heart beating slightly faster. "Okay, okay. In any case, I nearly forgot that Boss Jin''s dungeons are modified to players'' grade." Se Lang agreed, and he smiled at Jia Ying before he was dragged away by Shi Hui. So cheerful. So gullible. The trio had no idea what they were in for, with this Halloween instance. . . Chapter 219 Wrecked "Where am I¡­" Se Lang experienced a sharp headache the moment they teleported into the instance. It did not help that his breath felt heavy only to realise he was wearing an oxygen mask. His eyes were blurry, and he needed some time to adjust. "This setting¡­ Shit!" His strength was waning for some reason, but he was finally able to make some sense of the current situation. He looked around before he tried to get out of his seat, only to find he was being strapped down. "Argh¡­the seatbelt." He looked at the side of him to find a dead disfigured corpse and he started to panic. Se Lang quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and looked around. It was a terrible mess he was in. Luggage scattered all over the aisle and there was a scent of smoke but he could not figure out where it was coming from. The lights were not working and it looked like it was dark from a glimpse he took through the window port. He could only conclude that he was in a broken down plane that went through an emergency landing and guessed that he and perhaps the other two were entrenched in this particular setting. "¡­ Water? Shit! Fuckl!" Se Lang only realised now that his shoes were soaked. This made him get a clearer picture of his situation. If he did not escape in time, this broken aeroplane would be filled up and drown him. "Shi Hui! Jia Ying! Are you two around?!!" Se Lang shouted when he suddenly heard a loud explosion and saw a bright light from the right side of the plane. "Did one of the turbines just break down?" Se Lang thought to himself as he could feel the plane tilting into the water. "Damn damn damn damn!!" Se Lang knew there was no time and his heart was racing extremely fast. Se Lang guessed if he tried to escape now, he might be able to survive. But if Se Lang didn''t, he might die trying to search for the other two. "No wonder Boss Jin kept emphasising to every customer that if the Halloween dungeon instance is too scary for you, or you could not complete the first stage, he would refund the money back to you via the Pandamonium app. He was not joking at all!" Se Lang was wasting precious time finding someone to blame when the plane window broke, causing more water to flow in. "Arggh, if they are still unconscious it will take me forever to search for them." Se Lang surmised he needed to use his Wacky Wolves technique. "Wacky Wolf Style, Bloodshot Eyes of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang covered his eyes with his hand. He inserted chi via his hand for faster manipulation of blood into his eyes. His entire pupil turned bloody red while the capillaries in his iris enlarged, causing his eyes to have a deadly gaze. However, it was quite painful for him to utilise it in such short notice since he usually calibrates his chi into his eyes for a long time before the effect starts. Unfortunately, time was currently a precious commodity and Se Lang had to use it to rescue Shi Hui and Jia Ying. Se Lang''s Bloodshot Eyes of the Wacky Wolf gave him the ability to sense heat, making him a portable heat sensor especially when it came to finding criminals. Combined with his other searching ability, Acute Smell of the Wacky Wolf, criminals had no place to hide. Right now, he had no time to activate the latter and only used his bloodshot eyes to find heat signatures in this particular metal container of impending death they were stuck in. "Found them! Exactly two heat signatures!" Se Lang quickly ran towards the first heat signature that was the closest to him. It was Shi Hui and she was still rendered unconscious. "Did Boss Jin purposely tweak the teleportation method to put us into such a state?" Se Lang thought to himself as he removed the oxygen mask off Shi Hui and unbuckled her belt. "Shi Hui, wake up! Wake Up!" Se Lang shook her shoulders but it was to no avail. She was not waking up. He turned his head to look at the other heat signature to confirm the distance. "Crap, the water level is rising, I have to rescue Jia Ying first." Se Lang deduced that he should go for the other heat signature that was registered by his bloodshot eye''s ability which he believed could only be Jia Ying since she was closer to the broken part of the plane that began to amass a pool of seawater. "Wait for me here, honey. I will be right back for you in a moment." Se Lang climbed and jumped over the centre seats to reach the other aisle. He quickly moved to the second heat signature. It was indeed Jia Ying and he reached for the buckle. As he was doing that, a sudden shriek was heard throughout the entire plane. Se Lang quickly looked around and noticed nothing. "Must be that stupid Boss Jin adding some scream background music to scare me and the re-" Se Lang did not see any heat signature but as a policeman, he had developed some battle instinct when someone tried to ambush him, so he quickly dodged. He was right, some sort of weapon nearly stabbed him as he heard metal clashing on the floor. "Cold-blooded creatures?!" Se Lang immediately removed one of his bloodshot eyes to see normally. The forced removal of his ability caused his eyes to bleed but there was no other option. He closed his left eye with the bloodshot eye ability still intact in case he needed it and focused on the enemy. It was some fish-like human and it seemed very interested in taking Jia Ying away. As one of the Fishman moved forward to block Se Lang''s advance, the other Fishman was trying to grab her away. Thankfully, Se Lang did not unbuckle Jia Ying yet and the Deep One had trouble carrying her out of her seat. "Don''t you dare touch her, you fish creeps!" Se Lang took out part of his inscribed scythe that had the blood explosion inscription. With a button, he managed to remove the scythe blade out and it automatically turned into a sabre weapon. Se Lang knew the limitations of his weapon, so he modified it to be able to use it in an enclosed place too. The Deep One that was on the advance, charged towards Se Lang and in this situation, Se Lang did not hesitate to go all out. The longer he stayed in this plane, the more likely he would drown. "Scythe Art, Whirlwind Slice of the Wacky Wolf." Se Lang intercepted the stab of the spear which the Deep One was using with his bare hands and pushed his scythe blade into the Deep One''s throat before slicing it. The slice caused a whirlwind effect that damaged the Deep One that was trying to grab Jia Ying. Se Lang pushed the decapitated Deep One and summoned his scythe pole stick out and stabbed it right through the chest, hoping the fish monster had the heart in the same place where humans have it. Unfortunately, it was not but the attack managed to stagger the Deep One before Se Lang closed in and stabbed his blade through its opened mouth and into its brains. He quickly removed his blade from the dead fish man and unbuckled Jia Ying. At this point, Se Lang panicked because he just remembered that he had left Shi Hui defenceless. Se Lang quickly opened his left eye only to notice the heat signature at the back of the plane disappeared. "SHIT! STUPID FISH MEN!" Se Lang shouted in agony for failing to protect Shi Hui. . . Chapter 220 Getting Ou In retrospect, Se Lang regretted shouting. When he did that, he stomped his feet with chi which in turn started to rock the entire plane, causing it to sink even further. Not only that, he realised that the Fishmen were not the only ones on the plane with him. All the other ''dead'' passengers began to twitch their fingers and feet. Eventually, they turned their head towards Se Lang and admired his beautiful, tasty chi. Aye, the passengers were not dead¡­yet. "What the hell is with this instance!" Se Lang¡äs fear was creeping up into him. The undead zombies were struggling to get out of their seats as more seawater gushed through the broken parts of the plane. "Jia Ying is not even awake, and if I leave her alone to fight the zombies, the Fishmen might kidnap her while I am not looking." Se Lang talked to himself and scratched his head. "Arrgghh! Why did I sign up for this instance?!" If the audience were to look over at this particular instance, they would think it was quite unusual for Se Lang, their neighbourhood policeman, to be this afraid. Thankfully, all Halloween instances were not being broadcast mainly because Jin wanted to keep the horror and suspense factor of this instance. It was also to keep the customer''s identity secret, just this once. Jin did not want them to be laughed at in case of some embarrassing moments. Jin expected that certain situations might arise, especially when a group was placed in a stressful environment, which might lead to some of his cultivators showing their true colours. Not to mention, Jin also promised that the customers were allowed to get a refund if they resigned before the end of stage one of the Halloween instance. It would be in poor taste to show multiple failures in the auditorium. "Believe it or not, Se Lang hates scary movies. I remember him beating up a clown just because he came out to scare him in a House of Mirror attraction. Have I mentioned he even broke half of the House of Mirror attraction causing them to halt their business for half a day to replace them?" Deng Long told Shi Hui as he passed a set of Halloween tickets to her before their gathering. "He later apologised and promised to pay for the mirrors. It was simply hilarious." Shi Hui did not expect his friend to be this generous, but Deng Long could not deny admitting that he only did that because he had too many tickets. He spent a lot of money since he wanted the cosmetic costumes from the Halloween loot box. "I heard this rumour that if you buy the Halloween loot box instead of just the card, there was a higher chance of getting a rare cosmetic set. Especially when the tickets were limited." "Then what about those criminals who ambushed him?" Shi Hui could not help but ask since Se Lang was such a scaredy cat according to Deng Long. "Blah, he has his special skills so that he simply cannot be ambushed, and even if they do manage to escape his sights, they cannot escape his incredible sense of smell. He is a cheat when it comes to being a policeman." Deng Long rolled his eyes. "Then why aren''t you coming with us?" Shi Hui asked Deng Long, and he sighed heavily. "If not for my self-admitted obsessive compulsion to get the limited-edition rare Halloween costume for my pet, I would not need to do overtime to earn back that money." Deng Long said as he pulled out his phone and showed Shi Hui his digital pet in the Pandamonium App. It was a cloaked floating wombat with a skull mask on the side of its head, holding a scythe while carrying a basket full of candies. "It''s just too cute," Deng Long commented as he could not wait to visit Jin¡äs store to play with his wombat. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Take a deep breath." Se Lang knew that they were sinking, so he immediately killed a zombie near him and checked the bottom of the seat. "Life vest! At least Boss Jin still managed to make this instance as realistic as it can be." Se Lang thought to himself as he put on the life vest for the unconscious Jia Ying. After which, he killed another few zombies that were trying to grab him with his scythe blade before finding another life vest to wear. "In this kind of stupid horror scenario, I should bring another life vest in case the other one doesn''t work." Se Lang thought to himself as he grabbed a few life vests, threw them into a sling bag that was lying around and wore one for himself. Se Lang then continued to place Jia Ying on his shoulder as he held onto her thighs so that he had a free arm to swing his weapon when he needed to. However, that short amount of time those preparations took, allowed a few of the zombies to break free, desperately crawling towards Se Lang. "Gah, no time to deal with you guys!" Se Lang''s heart was pounding, for what he was about to execute, could turn into a life or death situation. He called his Icesteel Scythe out of his storage ring and kept the one with the blood explosion inscription. "Intermediate Scythe Art! Moon Divide of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang aimed his scythe at the side of the plane and performed his weapon art. The chi absorbed by the Icesteel Scythe was incredibly big compared to his previous scythe, but it allowed him to dish out a vastly stronger attack as well. With just one swing, his weapon art had cleanly cut the plane into two, leaving him with seconds of oxygen available, before the entire interior of the aircraft broke into two. "Intermediate Scythe Art!!! Moon Barrier of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang yelled once more as he twirled and whirled his Icesteel scythe with just one hand. The chi he expelled for this skill was immense mainly because this barrier was now for two instead of one. Also, it was not a simple two-dimensional barrier but a three-dimensional one which simulated a sphere like chi barrier around Jia Ying and him. Furthermore, the Icesteel scythe gave his chi barrier the element of ice, creating a thin ice coating around Se Lang and Jia Ying. Se Lang was betting on this after he had previously learnt how elemental weapons could affect their skills. Although it could be considered a double edge sword, it barely saved Se Lang and Jia Ying this time around. Upon realising the potential of the ice element affecting the chi barrier, he used the same weapon art, Moon Barrier of the Wacky Wolf once more to reinforce his barrier. The thin ice coating became thicker, and this gave Se Lang some peace of mind before he relaxed and panted for his breath. "If my physics knowledge is not that rusty¡­. Maybe we can float up to the surface of the sea¡­" Se Lang vaguely remembered the density of Ice is lighter than water. If such physical properties still hold true in this dungeon instance, maybe they could float up. That was also assuming no Deep Ones were attacking them. All Se Lang could do now is hope. Hope that Jia Ying and him could get out of this dreadful scenario alive. . . Chapter 221 Awkward The spherical white ice barrier surprisingly held up against the seawater which gushed into the plane that Se Lang cut into two. It allowed the two of them to escape the zombie attack and without being stuck in the crashed plane. Se Lang then continued to stay in the barrier to recuperate. Besides, it was not as cold as Se Lang would have thought, but he could feel the temperature dropping. "I have no idea if we are floating or sinking¡­" Se Lang involuntarily hugged Jia Ying for some warmth, but he just so happened to grab her breast accidentally. "Ah? What this is fluffy¡­" Being a man and a ''Wizard'' that had yet to have the opportunity to be physically close with Shi Hui, he could not help himself but fondle it a little once. He realised what he was touching was kind of soft, warm and comfortable. Unbeknownst to him, Jia Ying was already roughly awake when she was being carried around like a sack of potatoes by Se Lang but she was too confused and the headache was straining her. When she began to hear Se Lang shouting his weapons art out, she figured they were in a pinch and did not mind being the girl to be rescued. That kind of feeling was great to savour once in a while especially by someone you had a crush on. "Sorry Shi Hui, let me enjoy this since you did not even give me a chance to compete for him." Jia Ying thought to herself and so she continued to pretend to be unconscious and cherished the involuntarily physical touch until¡­it was apparent that he was a bit of a pervert. "Not that I do not like it¡­" Jia Ying thought whether to scold him for betraying his girlfriend or continue to let him fondle her a little. "Maybe, I should let him off as a reward for saving me." However, a few seconds in Jia Ying could not help but slightly twitch involuntarily. Se Lang retracted his hands immediately and started to talk to himself. "Arrgghh! You already got Shi Hui! Why did you even do that? How can you face her later? Stupid me!" Jia Ying could hear Se Lang slapping his face, and she could not help but smile a little. "At least this pervert knows some form of shame. I wonder how would he react if I tried to kiss him." Jia Ying thought to herself as she feigned a terrible headache. "Where am I¡­?" Jia Ying spoke in a low and quiet voice. "We¡­We-e-e¡­" Se Lang did not know whether his previous actions made her wake up or if she found out that he fondled her breast. Se Lang knew that he could not lie as he had upheld that value of integrity ever since he was a kid and never broke it before. "What is this ice thing? Is this part of the instance?" Jia Ying squinted her eyes and moved her head around, pretending to comprehend the situation, but in fact, she could not look Se Lang in the face as her lips were curled from one end to the other. Jia Ying figured Se Lang was also conflicted, but she decided to tease him a bit. Se Lang took a breath in before he explained the situation to Jia Ying. "Ahh, so is he going to avoid that act?" Jia Ying thought to herself as she also began to understand the current dire situation they were in. "¡­and that is why we are currently stuck here." "I see¡­so do you want to break the ice barrier and check? I do not think we are sinking though since the pressure of the sea- that is if Jin''s instance is realistic enough- would have already made cracks on our ice barrier, I believe we could be near the surface." Jia Ying concluded and wanted to take out her spear but Se Lang stopped her. "Before that, I have something to admit, that I missed out on in my explanation." Se Lang was breathing slightly rapidly, but Jia Ying did something unexpected. She gave a gentle kiss on Se Lang''s lips and subsequently placed her index finger. "That will be a secret between the both of us." Jia Ying teased him and also wanted to test how he would deal with it. Would he tell Shi Hui about it or would he keep it a secret? In any case, Jia Ying did mention to Shi Hui that she wanted to test his abilities and she did not say how she would do it and what kind of skills she was examining. Se Lang, on the other hand, did not know how to react. Should he live with this or should he tell Shi Hui about it? Se Lang was confused, did Jia Ying kiss him on purpose to see how he would react? Shi Hui did warm him about Jia Ying testing him, but he never even expected he would be subjected to this kind of test. Seeing how Se Lang was still stunned by the kiss Jia Ying gave him, she turned around to smirk before focusing on the task at hand. "Are you ready? I am going to break the ice barrier to check the surroundings." Jia Ying said as she wanted to call out her spear from her storage ring to break the ice barrier. "Do you want me to deactivate the shield instead?" Se Lang decided to put the ''secret'' matter aside for a while. No point arguing about that issue right now if they could not get out of this alive. "No, if I break it, I assume you can mend your barrier again with chi right? Best case scenario, we are at the surface of the sea. Worst case scenario, you can close the barrier and I can check if we are that far away from the sea''s surface. If I do not survive, you are still around to complete the instance. If I survive, I can send a chi voice transmission to you." Jia Ying calmly analysed the situation. "Besides, you did say we were sinking. Not yet sunk. So, I assume we should not be too far away from the surface and if the ice barrier is indeed sinking, all the more reason I should not dawdle." Jia Ying explained and Se Lang agreed to the plan. Jia Ying secretly thanked Se Lang''s questioning since it also prevented her from rushing after that awkward situation she placed herself in. First, she directed her chi into her lungs, making it expand slightly more than usual and slowed her heart rate by a quarter. She was able to do it with ease since it was part of her Sanguine Stag style training. Her style had techniques that required a quick succession of attacks that expended her stamina drastically hence the need to modify her heart rate and endurance. Jia Ying nodded her head at Se Lang and she summoned her spear to pierce the barrier, and to their surprise, there was no water coming in but instead air. However, there was no sunlight but artificial lighting and the air Se Lang breathed in was stale and murky. Meanwhile, Jia Ying felt like a baby chick out of its shell, staring with bewilderment at the outside world as if the current situation did not make any sense to her. It was then Se Lang wanted to release the barrier to have a look. But even before Se Lang had the chance, both heard a piercing scream. A scream for help. . . Chapter 222 The Island "You are kidding me." Jia Ying stared with bewilderment as she pulled Se Lang up to make him confirm that she was not hallucinating. They were surrounded by Deep Ones once more and Se Lang deduced that the Fishmen somehow managed to pull the spherical ice barrier to an island of theirs. What Se Lang could not predict was that the person they wished to rescue was locked in a hanging prison cage at the top of a cliff of the island. Speaking about the island, even Se Lang could not believe his eyes when he got out of the ice barrier. It was a horror of another level. Never mind about the Deep Ones, they were not a concern compared to the island they were stranded on. The Island of Halloween Candies. Yes, the entire island was made out of candies. The sand they were stepping on seemed to be refined pink sugar. The palm trees were growing enlarged gummy balls and the grass looked ravishing to savour. Even the cliff that Shi Hui was hanging over from looked like it was made out of dark chocolate. (Later Shi Hui confirmed, it was indeed dark chocolate. She tasted it when she was bored of waiting for them.) "Se Lang!!!!! Jia Ying!!!!!" Shi Hui was in a beautifully coloured candy cage hanging by the edge of the mountain cliff as she screamed their names. "Save me!!!!" She continued to scream. "Do you really think she needs to be saved?" Jia Ying gave a look of resignation as she pointed at Shi Hui. "Well¡­ She is indeed kept in a cage." Se Lang did not know how to respond either. "Yes, in a candy cage, licking a lollipop and swinging her legs happily at us." Jia Ying placed her palm on her face and shook her head. "If it was up to me, I would leave her to rot for a long while in there." "I doubt she would get hungry. She can probably chew her way out of the cage. Although maybe her teeth will rot from all that candy." Se Lang laughed as he said that. "Hmm, but I think we should take care of ourselves first." Jia Ying swung her waxwood spear and prepared her stance to battle against the Deep Ones. Se Lang deactivated his barrier and took out his blood explosion inscribed scythe. He also figured that Icesteel weapon would be a bad idea against the Fishmen. "Woah woah woah. Violence! Violence! That is uncalled for!" A voice was heard coming from the thick forest of candies that was right beside the pinkish sugar shore. There appeared a figure, wearing a formal coat who had a pumpkin on its head. The pumpkin figure came nearer and revealed that it did not have any eyes, instead it was lit up with fire from within. Not only that, he was holding a large box of sweet and cheese popcorn, munching away as he walked towards Se Lang and Jia Ying. Apparently, the two of them did not let their guard down since Shi Hui was still hanging at the top of a cliff. "Welcome! Welcome to the Island of Halloween Candies! Would you like some popcorn?" The pumpkin figure extended its box of popcorn towards them and surprise! Surprise! Those popcorn automatically flew into the mouths of the Deep Ones, making them pumped up with adrenaline the moment they swallowed it. Not only that, their scales slowly transformed into a spectrum of different colours and the dark greenish colour that they once had became a mirage of colours. "This is more like it. Bright and cheerful, maybe sweet too. See you guys later! Tata! Play nice with each other!" The Pumpkin figure turned his back and Se Lang noticed that his name was sewn onto his formal coat. It was none other than Pyro Jack or as the folktales called it, the Jack O Lantern. The flame wielding pumpkin ghost. The Rainbow Deep Ones now eager to try out their new found strength pounced towards Se Lang and Jia Ying. Fortunately, the cultivators were one step ahead of them. "Intermediate Scythe Art! Moon Divide of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang stepped in in front of Jia Ying and activated his weapon art before her. Se Lang''s scythe glowed brightly like the moon as he performed his mid range chi enhanced slash, causing the first wave of Rainbow Deep Ones to be cleanly cut into two by his attack. Jia Ying took the opportunity to step on Se Lang, seeing how he bent his body forward, to execute her weapon art in mid air. "Intermediate Spear Art! Thunderous Storming Stampede of the Sanguine Stag!" Such a long name but its effect was equally amazing. This particular technique was not the same nor an improvement of the basic weapon art, the Stampede of the Sanguine Stag, that she used in previous dungeon instances. Jia Ying''s weapon art enabled her spear to act similar to Jin''s manipulation of Bam and Boo. Instead of bamboo spikes coming out of the ground, Jia Ying''s weapon art caused spears to appear randomly out of the ground. But that effect activated only after she threw her spear deeply into one of the Rainbow Deep Ones and the spear continued to spiral into the ground. The difference was that Jin was able to control his Bam and Boo with precision but Jia Ying could not. She could only hope that the weapon art was able to hit most of the Rainbow Deep Ones. In a way, her weapon art was more of an area denial technique rather than an area of effect weapon strike. Still, it managed to kill quite a few Rainbow Deep Ones. However Se Lang was doing a better job than her in defeating the colourful Fishmen. It was because this was, after all, his specialty rather than hers. A large open area with multiple enemies was the perfect setting for a Scythe user to shine, unlike the spear cultivator. Jia Ying was better suited to battle against single opponents instead of many hence her recent weapon art was trained in that direction. By preventing herself to be surrounded with the area denial technique and systematically take down each and every enemy. In the meantime, Se Lang mowed through the Rainbow Deep Ones, and after a few kills, his Blood Explosion inscription worked wonders against this horde of monsters. Perhaps the rush of adrenaline made it easier for the blood explosion inscription to activate, or he was just purely lucky in getting a number of inscription activations in one fight. Separately, Shi Hui took out a pair of opera glasses from her storage ring and watched her boyfriend ''perform'' in action. "So beautiful. It''s as if he was dancing with the Fishmen." Shi Hui saw Se Lang dodge an incoming attack, unpaired his scythe into two and slashed at the Fishmen in front of him while he used the pole stick to stagger the Deep One that tried to ambush him from the back. Jia Ying did not idle seeing how skilful Se Lang was. "I cannot let him beat me!" She thought to herself as she focused on one enemy at a time. Before long, Se Lang managed to mop up almost every single Rainbow Deep Ones as he leaned on a gummy palm tree to recover his breath. He then heard another scream coming from the cliff. "Wooo hoooo!!! Brilliant fight!!!!" Shi Hui clapped her hands happily to congratulate her boyfriend. Suddenly, the thick candy forest revealed a path to the two of them. Even a sign appeared stating the following. "Walk through the yellow candy path! It will lead you to your beloved friend!" "Is this some sort of taunt¡­by that Pumpkin guy?" Jia Ying placed her finger in the seawater to have a taste of it. It was sweet with a bit of savoury seaweed flavour added to it. "Ahahah, even the sea became sweet water." Jia Ying could not help but also try the pinkish sugar-like substance on the shore before Se Lang beckoned her to follow him into the candy forest. . . Chapter 223 For The Sake of Fun Initially, both Se Lang and Jia Ying thought that the yellow candy path would be filled with treacherous candy monsters especially when they were crossing through the Candy forest. But it seemed that Boss Jin was playing with their feelings once again. The sounds of the forest caused them to be on edge, but nothing pounced out of the forest to ambush them. To the relief of their fruitless worries, they managed to reach the top of the Island of Halloween Candies which was their supposed ultimate destination to save Shi Hui. Despite being alerted throughout the entire yellow candy path, Jia Ying did get a chance to experience the wonders of the island as she secretly picked up a few candies from the forest and tasted them. The forest was made out of liquorice trees, and cotton candy bushes were widespread. Se Lang, on the other hand, was still cautious towards the island since he did not know what kind of poisons he could end up eating. Both Jia Ying and Shi Hui did not seem to have the slightest worry in that regard and enjoyed each and every piece of candy they could nibble on. Besides, they did not have the luxury to taste such sweet stuff most of the time aside from Boss Jin''s cheesecake and fried Oreo pies. Those oreo pies were a sin, Shi Hui had to do an extra work out each time to burn the calories after eating that particular pie, but it was worth it in her opinion. Upon reaching the top of the island, what stood between them and Shi Hui was yet another candy made castle. To their surprise, there was a couch at the front of the castle''s gate with Pyro Jack sitting and waiting for them. "So slow! I have finished eating an entire box of popcorn waiting for you guys! Don''t you guys even have a sense of time!?" Pyro Jack shouted at them. "Return Shi Hui to us, or we will not hesitate to use force to get her back!" Se Lang was a policeman through and through which caused Pyro Jack to laugh. With a snap of his finger, Shi Hui suddenly appeared from mid-air, and she landed right beside Pyro Jack. The couch was soft yet sturdy enough to soften her landing. "Off you go now little one, your friends are waiting for you." Pyro Jack said as he shoo-ed Shi Hui to her friends. With some doubts in her mind, Shi Hui slowly walked towards them and hugged Jia Ying. Se Lang was also expecting a hug but instead Shi Hui used the non-lethal side of her war fan to beat Se Lang''s head. "Slow!!! And why didn''t you save me but my friend instead!" Shi Hui pouted at Se Lang, and before he could say a word, Pyro Jack cut into their conversation. "See! I gave your friend back! Now you have to accede to my request too!" Pyro Jack clapped his hands, and suddenly three heavily armoured knights came flying from the castle walls. If Jia Ying identified them accurately, it seemed that the knights were wearing gingerbread armour wielding Lollipop swords, axes and lances while using chocolate chip cookies as their shields. The Lance Gingerbread Knight was even mounted on a gummy bear as his ride and the gummy bear growled lowly at the cultivators. Without any hesitation, the cultivators pulled their weapons out ready to face the Gingerbread Knights, but Pyro Jack stopped them. "Woah Woah Woah! I did not say they were the ones you had to fight!" Pyro Jack stood up and stopped them. "But did you not send the Rainbow Deep Ones to fight us and even imprisoned our friend?" Jia Ying spoke out as she maintained her stance and her spear was raised against Pyro Jack''s throat. However, Pyro Jack was unfazed by the threat of the spear blade right beside its pumpkin head. He even walked nearer and caused the edge of the blade to scrap some of the pumpkin away. "It was all for the sake of fun. You are unharmed, and I have returned you your friend. Had you succumbed to those creatures, there would be no way for you to help me anyway. If you decide not to listen to me by all means, then kill me¡­ if you can." Pyro Jack''s fiery eyes turned from bright orange to a deep blue one. Shi Hui decided to intervene and asked Jia Ying to put the spear down. "Babe, he did not do anything to me. He was the one who rescued me from the Fish Men and placed me in the prison cage to stop them from catching me. I guessed it''s his own sick twisted way to save a person." Shi Hui explained. "Then why did you place her in a cage and not in this castle that you are in?" Se Lang questioned, and that was when Pyro Jack''s face lit up with bright orange flame once more. "Ah ha! Now you are asking the right questions!" Pyro Jack opened the gates of the candy bricked castle and the cultivators realised that there was no pretty candy life inner courtyard. But it was a dark chocolate sludge and it made the castle interior cold and dull. "You see, the evil liquor chocolate witches from a faraway kingdom had placed a hex onto my castle and even created a chimeara to guard my rightful throne. An amalgamation of different sweets, which I have no idea how to fight! I mean, I have used my fire to melt candies if they were bad but this time around it''s different." "The chimaera was able to spew liquor on the castle so if I were to fight with my fire powers, my entire castle would end up in flames! Why should I have to burn down, my precious candy castle because of this chimaera!? Hence, I implore you to kill this monster! You will be rewarded by yours truly if you can defeat this chimaera!" Pyro Jack was extremely dramatic as he even had placards to show the sequence of events that had happened as if the cultivators were a bunch of kids. "Then¡­are the gingerbread knights here to help us as well?" Se Lang asked. "Oh no, they are here to show their faces and prove the legitimacy of my rule on this island." Pyro Jack said sarcastically but Se Lang did not get the meaning behind which made Pyro Jack sigh. "No you dumb fool. Of course they are here to help you since my castle is sort of a candy maze to prevent outsiders from stealing my treasures." "Unfortunately, the knights are but a guide. They shall not risk themselves to protect any of you because they have no obligation to do so." Pyro Jack did not explain much as he returned to his seat to eat his sweet and cheese popcorn. The cultivators were left with more questions than answers, but the Jack O Lantern did not entertain them much. "Please." The Gingerbread Knights raised their hand towards the direction of the castle gates as if to welcome them into the castle. Somehow Se Lang felt that this should be the second stage of the Halloween Instance since beating the chimaera would most probably be the last stage of the dungeon. He checked his inventory once more before he continued with the two girls that did not care much and walked into the castle. However, little did they know that they had activated the hidden extra stage of the Halloween Stage. Most of the cultivators that managed to reach this stage were not patient enough to listen to this well-known folktale ghost that caused more troubles and deception. The majority perceived him as an enemy after he powered up the Deep Ones, so they decided to fight rather than listen to him, most often ending the Halloween Instance there and then. Only a small percentage managed to activate the hidden instance, but those who did¡­ They were in for an experience they would likely be unable to forget for the upcoming days. Chapter 224 Bad Vibes Chapter 224 Bad Vibes Se Lang initially felt bad vibes coming from the castle. Even before he entered it, especially after he saw how ugly it looked from outside the castle gates when Pyro Jack was talking. But that sneaky Jack O Lantern lied. The moment all three entered the castle courtyard, the gates behind them closed shut fast as if it closed its mouth to keep its prey inside and never allow them to resurface again. Se Lang noticed the door closing after taking a few steps inside but he was unable to react in time because of the Gingerbread Knights that blocked the gateway. When the gate closed, the dull interior design of the courtyard turned into something desolate and broken. It was an illusion that Pyro Jack was barely maintaining till now when the cultivators stepped into the ¡®castle¡¯ courtyard. It was in fact, an abandoned house that was left untouched for ages. Shi Hui turned back to demand an explanation from the knights but they seemed to have disappeared from their sights. Se Lang tried to pull open the castle gates to gain access back to the island but it was to no avail. The ¡®castle¡¯ walls surrounding the abandoned house were smooth like concrete, unlike the fluffy and colourful walls they had seen from the outside. Jia Ying sprinted around and searched for a way up, but found no stairways to the top of the walls. She tried to do a few high jumps, even executing a jump attack weapon art but it was equally useless. No matter how high she tried to jump, the walls got even higher. It proved to show that they were stuck. ¡°Shit! No wonder that stupid pumpkin was being so kind to us. This was a trap after all! Why did I even bother to listen to it!¡± Se Lang banged his hands on the castle gate but there was no sound produced at all. Shi Hui went to comfort him, it was in his nature to help people after all, he could not exactly be blamed. It seemed that it did not allow anything, even sound, to escape beyond the gate and walls. Were they imprisoned? They had no idea at all. All they could do was explore the abandoned house which Jia Ying considered a bad idea. ¡°You know, we can just quit the instance if we think it¡¯s too hard for us.¡± Jia Ying suggested as she felt the creeps coming from the vibes of the abandoned house. ¡°But we won¡¯t be able to get anything back after reaching this far. Jin only said he would refund those who could not get past the first stage. It seems to me that we are far past the first stage.¡± Shi Hui replied. ¡°Besides, I was in captivity almost the entire time. Not really the best way to spend my ticket and I have to burn some calories after eating those candies. Fighting the chimera if it really exists sounds like a better option to me than quitting.¡± Shi Hui added on. ¡°But I just have a very bad feeling about the abandoned house. I am not sure if it is the right choice to even go in.¡± Even though Jia Ying was considered the bravest of the Venus Four, and often scoffed at the other three for their wimpiness, the vibe she felt from the abandoned house gave her a bad feeling. ¡°We have no other place to go. We tried jumping over the walls, trying to destroy them, but not even able to leave a dent on them. Nothing seems to work. The only thing left to do is to go inside the abandoned house.¡± Se Lang explained. ¡°If things really get too rough, we can just leave. No use staying if we get too scared.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why are we even in a dimensional instance? Isn¡¯t its purpose to train us up while having fun whenever possible? I think Boss Jin had a reason to create something this ominous. If it was in real life, I would have just ignored it.¡± Shi Hui said as she began to walk towards the house and entered the building. ¡°Ahh, that girl!¡± Jia Ying hesitated for a while but eventually could not help but to follow after her. She entered the building next, followed by Se Lang after he took out his scythe blade from his scythe since he was going into small cramped area again. Unfortunately, Se Lang should not have wasted any time. After he went in, he found himself¡­in a hall of mirrors. ¡°Oh, what the hell¡­so does that mean Shi Hui and Jia Ying who entered separately are in a different maze?¡± Se Lang considered what to do next and tried to break the mirrors with his blade. He guessed that if he managed to break them, they would not have any illusory effect on him. Sadly, no matter how hard he tried to break them, they would not budge. ¡°F.u.c.kl, I hate this kind of scene!¡± Se Lang remembered the last time he was placed in this situation. Fear was eating him up as he trembled forward. Meanwhile Jia Ying was not in a hall of mirrors but instead, she was tied up on a chair and blindfolded. She could only hear footsteps which she assumed belonged to either Shi Hui or Se Lang. ¡°So¡­ you think you fooled me, huh? Thinking that I was not around to witness anything.¡± The voice of Shi Hui went in from one ear to another. ¡°What are you talking about? Don¡¯t play around Shi Hui, we need to explore this abandoned house and find a way to get revenge.¡± Jia Ying sweated a little. Did Shi Hui somehow know about the little incident between them when Jia Ying and Se Lang were in the ice barrier? How could that be? Did Se Lang secretly tell her about it? ¡°Stop lying to me!¡± A forced push caused the chair¡¯s legs to give way and Jia Ying crashed to the ground. ¡°So, you thought that we are best buddies and that I would be fine with the idea to share him with you?!¡± Shi Hui continued to kick Jia Ying in the stomach but she was not relenting. There was something off about Shi Hui. This was not her normal behaviour at all. Jia Ying felt it was not right and decided not to say anything at the moment. ¡°Huh! You think keeping quiet will help you in any way!¡± Shi Hui pulled Jia Ying up by her hair as she shouted in her ear. Separately, when Jia Ying and Se Lang were up against their own fears, the real Shi Hui was wounded fighting with the Gingerbread Knights that ambushed her in the abandoned two storey house. ¡°Where did Jia Ying and Se Lang go? Why are they not here yet?! Did they leave me alone? Was that why Se Lang did not rescue me but Jia Ying?!¡± Those were the hidden thoughts that were being echoed throughout the abandoned house as the three gingerbread knights, now with green fire in their eyes fought her. Each of the three cultivators was fighting against their own insecurity, their own personal fears in their own way in this abandoned house that they entered. However, each and every second that they spent in there was equally torturous, Pyro Jack was laughing heartily at their misery as he watched the three suffer in his personal house of madness. Chapter 225 Workings of The Extra Stage Chapter 225 Workings of The Extra Stage Although Jin was at work, he was notified by the System via his phone when cultivators tried the extra stage in the Halloween Instance. Particularly because he would like to personally watch over the cultivators who entered that stage since that was one of the parts he had added into the first version of the Halloween Instance. The scenario for the Halloween Instance was initially designed to be solely on the island of Halloween Candies with Pyro Jack as the main antagonist of the entire instance. However, Jin felt that what the System did was inadequate since candy was not the only thing representing Halloween. Perhaps for the System, it might mean something more symbolic since it was statistically proven that one quarter of the annual candy sales in the world were from Halloween events. Hence, it was a no-brainer why the System decided to choose Candies as the main focus of the theme. However, Jin wanted to show that this was not the case. He wanted to show his artistic expression on the festival of the dead spirits. Although the root concept of Halloween was similar to the Seventh Month Ghost Festival which most Chinese folks continued to participate in, Halloween had turned into something more superficial, which allowed Jin to experiment. He hoped to create an instance to invoke life threatening situations to instil the fear of death which one took so lightly in this relaxed society. It was not just for the customers, but also for him to understand death itself, since he himself nearly took a person¡¯s life once. He wanted to see the instance through the perspective of the System. He hoped that it could maybe allow Jin to find out, why the System wanted him to go through such a horrible experience. Therefore, he eventually created the extra stage for the Halloween Instance. His main purpose for this extra stage was to see if the cultivators could overcome the fear of oneself, their own inner thoughts and the insecurities they had. In order to create this extra stage, he had employed both Milk and Peppers to consult on the topic of psionic magic so that he had a basic understanding of it. Jin could have asked Tiger Princess Yang Ling but he did not want to make his relationship with her any more complicated. This was because to make things real for the cultivators, the instance could not use a one-for-all kind of template for the extra stage. For it to be believable, it had to be tailor made to the cultivators to a certain extent. However, in order to do that, it would need tens if not hundreds of ¡®what if¡¯ situations for Jin to design which was clearly inefficient. So, to make things simpler, Jin directly asked the System for help with the use of light psionic magic against those cultivators. Fortunately, the System agreed to Jin¡¯s request. Whether it did so to further mend their relationship or for its own benefit, one does not know. Thus, the System¡¯s instance had modifications made by Jin and it was released to the cultivators to participate and play. Of course, Jin was not stupid. He knew that people might develop traumas and such, so he specially asked Milk whether it was too dangerous for cultivators to enter this kind of instance. After a deep discussion with Milk, Jin figured it was safe enough to go through it, especially with Milk¡¯s healing powers and the System¡¯s amnesia ability to change the way one perceived the memory if needed. Such an ability was bestowed to Milk for her own discretion in assessing the patient when the cultivators finished the instance. Aside from the warning that Jin had given his customers about resigning from the instance, he had also placed a disclaimer about the use of horror scenarios, which could even lead to traumas. Before being able to enter the Halloween Instance, the cultivators had to give their verbal consent (which was recorded) and acknowledge that they were aware of the risk before entering. It was a complicated process, similar to entering a surgery, but Jin created this to protect himself in case he got sued or anything. However most of the cultivators who entered and managed to pass the first stage, thought that the warnings were just part of the experience and that the worst part was over after escaping the sinking plane. No one could have predicted, how thoroughly tailor made the extra stage of Jin¡äs Halloween Instance would end up being. ¡°Ah, so the ones who joined the extra stage are Se Lang, Shi Hui and Jia Ying¡­¡± Jin took off his Pandula Head (Dracula with Panda Head) and briefly watched the scenes. ¡°Looks like they are unable to make it.¡± Jin saw the three of them struggling to the best of their abilities but it was not exactly working out for them. Se Lang did the most radical thing ever for his obstacle. He personally cut his own wrist and left a trail of blood to mark the route he was taking. He was not leaving the blood trail like Hansel and Gretel¡¯s breadcrumbs but more like basic trail markers on the floor beside the mirror to indicate he came here before. This way, he managed to know whether it was the same mirror that he stumbled upon again. It was a systematic and methodical way to tackle the problem but it was also eating his heart up. Because in some of the mirrors, he saw Shi Hui by herself fighting against the Gingerbread Knights, while Jia Ying was being tortured by some black silhouette figures. (Only Jia Ying perceived the illusion that the black silhouettes were Shi Hui and Se Lang.) Se Lang was at a loss. Should he save Shi Hui who seemed to be outnumbered? Especially considering her status as his girlfriend? But unlike Jia Ying, she was able to fight back and he trusted her abilities to cope. However, he did not know, that Shi Hui was fighting both a physical and psychological battle against her enemies. ¡°Arrggh! Focus Se Lang! Focus! At this rate, you cannot help anybody at all!¡± Se Lang said to himself as he tried his best to get out of the hall of mirrors. ¡ª¡ª¨C ¡°Who do you think you are?! Trying to cheat my boyfriend!¡± The black silhouette continued to kick the tied-up Jia Ying. However, instead of replying, she continued to suffer quietly under the torrent of blows. ¡°Huh, I think she is scared of you.¡± The fake Se Lang laughed at her and even spit at her. ¡°Scared? She should grovel under my feet.¡± The fake Shi Hui continued to gloat and that was when Jia Ying realized what exactly was amiss. No matter how angry Shi Hui was, she would never talk to Jia Ying this way. ¡°Se Lang my dear~! Maybe you should go get the tools I prepared previously for this kind of situation!¡± The Black Silhouette continued to make lovey dovey sounds and Jia Ying did not care much, since she was in too much pain. No matter how strong she was, this was the first time she received repeated beatings. ¡°Shi Hui, what is Venus Four¡¯s ultimate goal?¡± Jia Ying asked calmly after having spend a lot of time thinking about the situation she was in. She managed to keep her cool, despite the scare and physical punishment she was given. That also made the fake Se Lang stop in his tracks to get the tools that fake Shi Hui asked for. ¡°Why do I even need to answer that, traitor?¡± Shi Hui said which made Jia Ying start giggling, before it increased to extremely loud laugher to the point it annoyed the fake Shi Hui. ¡°You are not Shi Hui at all.¡± Jia Ying shouted as she tried to struggle out of the ropes. ¡°Why you! How dare you accuse my girlfriend! I will make you suffer!¡± the Fake Se Lang roared as he lifted his leg to stomp on Jia Ying again. ¡°I dare you.¡± Jia Ying heard Se Lang¡¯s voice again but its tone was different. It was tired, scared but angry. ¡°Se Lang!¡± Jia Ying shouted his name with relief in her voice. The real Se Lang rushed in and cut the two black silhouettes with the Icesteel Scythe and both disappeared in one swoop. Se Lang immediately dropped his scythe and began trying to untie Jia Ying from the chair. ¡°Wow, you sure are one tough girl.¡± Se Lang commented upon seeing the broken chair she was restrained to. The black silhouettes had punched and kicked Jia Ying to the point that one of the chair legs gave way yet she did not give in to the torture. However, Jia Ying could not hold herself back as she hugged Se Lang and cried out loud. ¡°It was painful!!!!¡± Chapter 226 Little Duckling Chapter 226 Little Duckling ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright¡­I understand.¡± Se Lang did not want to have too much physical contact with Jia Ying ever since she took the initiative to kiss him. He did not forget about it at all and it had been bothering him every time he saw Shi Hui. Nevertheless, Se Lang knew how it felt, being punished and tortured by your own insecurities. He lent his shoulders to Jia Ying. Just this once, to cry out her fears and to give her something to hold on to. To embrace her as an appreciation, a reassurance that she was not alone in this fight. Se Lang was also thankful that Jin¡¯s dungeon instance was not as torturous as he thought it would be. If not for a sudden blinking ball of light that occasionally floated around in the Hall of Mirrors, Se Lang too would have gone crazy within the mirrors despite the trail markers he had made with his own blood. He was unable to think rationally enough to figure a way out. The ever growing fear was his silent companion in that quiet hall of mirrors, together with the echoes of the cries and shouts he made. However, the ball of light somehow twinkled on the trail markers and he followed it blindly. At that point, he¡¯d rather be fighting against a physical monster or be killed in a freak accident than to be consumed by his irrationality and fears. Fortunately, the blinking ball of light lead him to a door. He was able to open it, only to find Jia Ying being bullied by the two silhouettes. With Jia Ying rescued, the only thing left to do was to try and help Shi Hui, who had been fighting with all her might against not one, not two, but three Gingerbread Knights. ¡°Stop fighting against us, you know that we are not the bad guys. Se Lang and Jia Ying are. They are the ones who left you here all alone. They betrayed you.¡± The voice within the abandoned house kept calling out to Shi Hui and yet she continued to struggle against these monsters. Not that she was able to ignore every word that the voice within the house was echoing through her mind. But she knew that there was a speck of truth in the nonsense or rumours that this particular voice was spewing, there¡¯s no smoke without fire. Maybe, she knew that she was not good enough for Se Lang and she sometimes felt that Jia Ying might be a better girlfriend for Se Lang. Shi Hui was not as sporty as Jia Ying and Se Lang. Although she was able to maintain her body figure through dance, unlike those two, she did not train her body more than that. Se Lang and Jia Ying had more topics and interests in common than Shi Hui had with Se Lang. For example, both actually liked the new pet card game and even devised strategies for each other but Shi Hui was not that interested in it. Cosmetics for her Shadowy Swan was a different thing. Not to mention, it was out of impulse that Shi Hui decided to go for Se Lang because she knew that if Jia Ying sprouted a good comment about a guy, she was always right on the money. Because, almost every prediction she made about guys be it good or bad, would eventually come true. That was why she jumped the gun and started dating Se Lang. Although it had only been a few weeks in which she courted Se Lang, Shi Hui managed to find some very redeeming points about him. Even though dating him was just a decision made on a whim, she slowly fell in love with him. What about the first date that was mentioned? She was after all experienced in theatrics, so kissing him was not really a big deal for her as compared to Se Lang. As she was defending herself against the Axe wielding Gingerbread Knight in the squeezy corridor that connected to the living room of the abandoned house, a lance suddenly came crashing down from the top of the ceiling and scared the shit out of her. Shi Hui managed to avoid the attack and with her Icesteel War Fans, she froze the lance weapon, causing it to be stuck on the ceiling. ¡°I didn¡¯t know he could attack in such a manner from the second floor after I froze the room to temporarily block him from coming out.¡± Shi Hui took a quick breather but it was too late when she saw an axe flying towards her from the corner of her eye. Her War Fan was not able to block it in time and it slammed onto her right shoulder. She screamed in pain and that was when Se Lang and Jia Ying managed to find the door connecting to the living room that Shi Hui was currently in, from the Hall of Mirrors. Unlike Se Lang, Jia Ying remained calm when navigating the Hall of Mirrors and the trail markers did wonders, allowing them to find the second exit. However, they were not in time to save Shi Hui as the Gingerbread Knight with the Chocolate Cookie Shield bashed her to the ground and stabbed her once before turning to face Se Lang and Jia Ying. The horror on the cultivators¡¯ face turned to anger immediately as Jia Ying¡¯s chi burst and filled the room with her own version of death and destruction. Even without saying a single weapon art out, she dashed to the Gingerbread Knight that stabbed Shi Hui with lightning speed. However, that was also the spot where the lance was stuck but Jia Ying was not wary of it until the ceiling suddenly gave way and Jia Ying was nearly doomed to be crushed by the falling lance and the Gingerbread Knight wielding it. ¡°Careful!¡± Se Lang grabbed Jia Ying and pulled her out of the area before the ceiling crashed onto her. The Lance Gingerbread Knight did not hesitate to pull a quick counter attack with his lance, but Se Lang managed to defend the attack with his Icesteel Scythe blade. Jia Ying shoved Se Lang away even though she was saved by him and proceeded to engage the Lance Knight. ¡°You are not worthy to wield a spear, Peasant!!¡± The Lance Gingerbread Knight shouted as he charged forward in that narrow corridor. ¡°Try me, you piece of moldy bread.¡± Jia Ying sneered as she charged in again without shouting any weapon art. It was either him or Jia Ying that would emerge victorious within the next few second, was what Se Lang thought but no. Each of them were exchanging blows so furiously that Se Lang had to step back to give Jia Ying some space. There was no way for him to even support Jia Ying in this tiny connecting room and he hoped that Jia Ying could end up victorious. He thought that Jia Ying did not have any weapon art that would suit this particular situation or that she was too angry to even shout it out. The thing was, Jia Ying did not even need to do that as she had already trained her mind, body and soul to the point that the weapon was a part of her. Hence, executing basic weapon arts without shouting was a piece of cake to her. ¡°See¡­ What have I told you?¡± The voice continued to linger in Shi Hui¡¯s head as she started to lose consciousness from the pain of the axe stuck in her shoulder and from the sword stab in addition to the exhaustion and fatigue she acc.u.mulated fighting against three knights. ¡°Look, if you want to exact vengeance and keep Se Lang for yourself, do not hesitate. I am here to help.¡± A barely visible silhouette of Pyro Jack came into her vision, yet the other two cultivators did not see it because they were focused on the lance vs spear fight in the narrow corridor. ¡°Just take this. Taste it. Chew it a little and maybe swallow it.¡± Pyro Jack took out a rainbow-colored popcorn and pushed it into her mouth without much resistance. ¡°You will be reborn, little duckling. Be the Swan that conquers everyone else.¡± Pyro Jack knelt down just to whisper these last words into her ear, after which she could not help but chew on it with tears rolling down her eyes. Chapter 227 Two Girls, One Guy Chapter 227 Two Girls, One Guy ¡°An opening!¡± Jia Ying thought to herself as she saw a slight change in movement in the lance attack patterns and she immediately used it to her advantage. ¡°Intermediate Spear Art! The Puzzled Spear of the Stag!¡± Jia Ying finally used an intermediate weapon art as she proceeded to push her spear straight into the Gingerbread Knight¡¯s armour. The Gingerbread Knight thought it was an opening from her and decided to press forth for the attack. Yet, the moment he took a step forward, the spear that was within his reach suddenly zigzagged and punctured his forearms instead of his body. Like a snake, the spear continued to bounce and pierced into the knight¡¯s arms which subsequently entered the side of his armour. There was no blood but instead a yellowish liquid oozing out of his neck. However, at that moment, Jia Ying was equally surprised that the lance knight still managed to dish out an attack, which would have stabbed her side of the abdomen, were it not for the quick reflex she gained from the adrenaline rush of fighting. ¡°Eww, is that butter?¡± The knight finally fell to the ground only to reveal the living room where Se Lang and Jia Ying saw two Gingerbread Knights oozing the same kind of butterish blood on the floor. The sword Gingerbread Knight had his head decapitated with a candy axe while the axe Gingerbread Knight was stabbed a dozen times with Shi Hui still repeating the action when Jia Ying saw such a brutal scene. ¡°Shi Hui! I am glad you are fine! I thought you were really injured by the attack just now!¡± Jia Ying tried to jump over the dead lance Gingerbread Knight and wanted to go closer to Shi Hui. Jia Ying knew that Shi Hui was an illusionist cultivator, so maybe the previous attack caused damage to her decoy rather than to her. For all that worry, Jia Ying guessed that she should have known that her friend was not easily beaten and happily walked towards her until suddenly, the same sword that Shi Hui was stabbing the Gingerbread Knight with flew towards her. Jia Ying was caught off guard by that attack and was not able to dodge in time! The sword stabbed through her right arm and the impact was enough to knock her backwards. Se Lang was just behind her and he caught her from falling. ¡°Shi Hui! What is wrong with you?!¡± Se Lang saw what Shi Hui did and shouted at her. Shi Hui¡¯s emotionless expression turned into a sorrowful and gloomy one. The chi within the area gradually became a personification of hatred and darkness within one¡¯s heart which disheartened Jia Ying and Se Lang. ¡°Is she another illusion? No she seemed to be the real one just earlier. Could it be, that she got corrupted or something?¡± Jia Ying raised her spear up the moment Shi Hui released that amount of chi towards them. ¡°I have no idea but I think, this is also a test for both of us and for her.¡± Se Lang took out his pole stick and it turned it into half, making it become a set of double batons. Both Se Lang and Deng Long had learnt how to use each other¡¯s weapon because there might be situations which demanded them to use their partner¡¯s weapon if one was incapacitated or if their own weapon broke down. However, both of them only learnt the basics and just a weapon art or two. ¡°Let me take her down, I think I can incapacitate her, without injuring her.¡± Se Lang stepped forward and figured this was the best time to use the dual batons since they were mainly non-lethal in nature. Jia Ying agreed and stepped back temporarily for Se Lang to confront his corrupted girlfriend. Se Lang finally noticed that her eyes began to glow, and even her skin had a tint of rainbow colour, which was getting brighter by the second. He realised it could only be the workings of Pyro Jack as he remembered how his popcorn caused the Deep Ones to turn rainbow in colour while instilling a tank full of rage within them. ¡°Why are you doing this? Why are you helping Jia Ying rather than me? What did she do to deserve this, but not me?¡± Shi Hui shrieked out the reason why she was so angry at Se Lang and she swiped her Icesteel War Fan, causing a breeze of ice to be blown towards him. Se Lang tried to protect himself with the dual baton and shouted the basic weapon art of the Wobbling W.o.m.bat Style that had the power to defend oneself from elemental attacks. Unfortunately, he was a Wacky Wolf cultivator so when he used the style from the Wobbling W.o.m.bat Style, the resistance effects were further cut down to a quarter. Nevertheless, it was better than nothing and Se Lang pulled through the attack as he walked slowly towards Shi Hui. Se Lang was not dodging the attack nor did he plan to retaliate. This however made Shi Hui rather nervous. Was her attack not enough of a warning? She decided to infuse even more chi into the next attack and swung both of her war fans at Se Lang. On the other hand, Se Lang did contemplated whether he should fight all out against Shi Hui and knock her out cold but see how she could produce ice and illusions at the same time, it would not end well for him if he had a protracted fight against her. Besides, Se Lang felt that he had reached his chi limit in this dungeon. However, seeing Shi Hui was obviously being manipulated by Pyro Jack, he hoped that she could be pacified by his honest actions. The Icesteel fans produced a large strong gust and this time around, the attack was strong enough to freeze his hands, causing him to have mild frostbites on his fingers, yet Se Lang pressed on forward. ¡°WHY ARE YOU NOT ATTACKING ME?! ARE YOU NOT DENYING WHAT I HAD SAID!?¡± Shi Hui shouted with all her might. Meanwhile the enhanced chi releaser allowed her to place even more chi into her War Fans and even without moving her weapons, the entire house turned into ice. It was part ice, part illusion and Se Lang was barely able to move from the sudden cold. Jia Ying, on the other hand, realised that if she did not do anything, Se Lang and herself would freeze to death. Hence, she decided to use her basic weapon art with the chi of her Sanguine Stag to burst forth and push Se Lang right in front of Shi Hui. On the contrary, Shi Hui did not expect that and her entire body became slightly weak from the eruption of chi, causing her to be unable to react against Jia Ying¡¯s surprise move. Se Lang took this opportunity and grabbed both girls into his arms and placed the two close to his cold chest. If Shi Hui wanted to retaliate, she would have done so, but in the arms of her lover, she could not help but start to tear up. Jia Ying also grabbed onto Shi Hui as Se Lang wrapped his frozen hands around the both of them. ¡°I do not matter as much as both of you matter to each other.¡± Se Lang softly whispered to Shi Hui and Jia Ying. ¡°However, I¡¯ve begun to appreciate the fact that both of you love me in your own ways. But if I am the one who caused the rift between the both of you, I should disappear from both of your lives.¡± Se Lang said unwillingly. He did not wish to break apart the close friendship the two girls shared. Upon hearing Se Lang¡¯s voice and reply, the rainbow popcorn¡¯s effect somehow started to lose its effect and Shi Hui began to calm down a lot more. ¡°So, I plead you Shi Hui, return to normal, be the girl that I began to like. And Jia Ying, I thank you for your love towards me, no matter how you tried to hide it. I appreciate it a lot but I can only love one.¡± Se Lang said as the two girls looked at each other before glancing at Se Lang simultaneously. Se Lang did not expect two beautifully cute girls could have such starry eyes. ¡°Well¡­¡± Shi Hui hesitated for a while before she turned to look at Jia Ying again. ¡°From the beginning, I would not mind sharing¡­ Just that¡­¡± Shi Hui whispered as she winked at Jia Ying and they giggled right in front of Se Lang. ¡°What?¡± Se Lang tried to release his grip but the girls in turn held onto each of his arms into their bosoms instead. ¡°Just that I needed Jia Ying¡¯s approval first.¡± ¡°Just that I needed Shi Hui¡¯s approval first.¡± The two said at the same time and sniggered at each other¡¯s ridiculous replies. ¡°Wait! Wait!¡± Se Lang tried to struggle away from the two of them, but it was useless. Jia Ying¡¯s strength rivalled his own and Shi Hui was not weak either. What did he suddenly get himself into?! Se Lang was very, very confused. ¡°Well, there is actually a sort of pact behind this¡­arrangement. I do not kno-¡± Before Shi Hui could finish her sentence, a large ¡®thud¡¯ sound came from behind them. ¡°Congratulations my lovebirds! It seemed that we have achieved a very favourable outcome in the end!¡± Pyro Jack clapped loudly as he sat on a large wooden trunk. The trio suddenly went into a battle stance no matter how relaxed they were a second ago. ¡°Calm down! Calm down! I am here to present you your rewards for conquering your fears!¡± Pyro Jack raised his hand up as he snapped his fingers, causing the wooden trunk to open. Indeed, the trunk was filled with a mixture of bronze, silver and a few gold panda medals that the cultivators could not help but be awed at. Subsequently, an announcement was broadcasted stating that the dungeon instance was completed. In the next moment, they were all teleported to the Recovery Instance with Milk and a few Panda nurses on standby. The trunk was also by their side and it was real, not another illusion of Pyro Jack as they feared, so the trio could finally relax. ¡°I am here to check on your psychological status and your health. Please have a nice long rest while I check on you guys before proceeding back to- oh. Hahaha, guess they were really tired from the instance.¡± Milk saw that the three cultivators could not help but lean back on a wall of the recovery instance with the two girls holding on to Se Lang, falling asleep by his side. ¡°Those three.¡± Milk smiled as she took a picture with her magic powers and decided to give them a proper sleeping spell before the Panda nurses separated them and monitored their vitals. Chapter 228 One Guy, Two Girls Chapter 228 One Guy, Two Girls ¡°You are finally awake.¡± Jia Ying smiled at Se Lang as he woke up from his seemingly long slumber. His head felt groggy and all muscles throughout his entire body were aching madly. ¡°Hmm, you were out for about two weeks or so.¡± Shi Hui replied as she laid her head right beside Jia Ying¡¯s left arm while peeling an apple without breaking the skin up. Se Lang sat up immediately regardless of the pain and stared at both girls in shock. ¡°What! No way!¡± Se Lang rubbed his eyes and wanted to check his watch only to find it gone. Jia Ying pointed at the cabinet right beside the bed and he speedily grabbed it to look at the clock. Se Lang eventually sighed, only to find out that he got pranked by those two. Two weeks? More like two dungeon instance hours. ¡°You should have taken a look at his face. It was priceless.¡± Shi Hui giggled and Jia Ying undoubtedly agreed, even regretting that they had not used used a hidden camera for Se Lang¡¯s surprised look. Shi Hui did not tease him anymore as she passed the perfectly peeled apple to Se Lang. It was then, that Se Lang took a look around his surroundings and asked where he was. It was clean, quiet and private, unlike the previous time he was there. Se Lang previously felt like he was in some emergency medical military tent with panda nurses running all around the area to aid the recovering cultivators. Sure, it had its benefits being in such an open recovery area. It helped passing time more easily by listening to the woes of the cultivators that failed Jin¡¯s dungeons. But sometimes you really just wanted to rest after the entire instance, some peace and quiet would be much appreciated. ¡°You are in the private suite of the Recovery Instance.¡± Milk came in just in time to answer his question. ¡°Boss Jin had requested that the people who entered the extra stage of the Halloween Instance would be placed in this newly created private suite, so that you guys can recover properly.¡± Milk added as she took the clipboard from the end of Se Lang¡¯s bed to check his vitals that were taken minutes ago by the panda nurses before he woke up. After having already explained to Shi Hui and Jia Ying about the extra instance in the Halloween Stage, it was now Se Lang¡¯s turn. Milk described how she gave the three of them extensive check ups when they completed the dungeon instance. ¡°Se Lang, seems like you and your two friends have overexerted your chi limits in this particular instance so much that all three of you collapsed the moment you reached this Recovery Instance.¡± Milk commented as she put down the clipboard and did a routine check on his vitals via a simple magical spell called ¡®Scan¡¯. Like all magics it was classified the same way as techniques and therefore had basic, intermediate, advanced, epic and lastly legendary levels. Milk¡¯s scan ability was rated as Legendary and it allowed her to check Se Lang¡¯s condition comprehensively to the point, it even pointed out suggestions what needed to be done to assist him. By right she should not be able to access any Legendary spell as she did, since her grade was pegged to Jin¡¯s cultivation grade. However Yun unlocked this particular ability of Milk the moment she took over as the overall in charge for the Recovery Instance. With such an ability at her disposal, everyone was surprised, at how accurate her diagnosis were. Some were not even aware why they had the problems they did, until Milk pointed it out. Of course, there were warnings such as to take note of sugar levels to prevent the development of diabetes, but Milk ignored all those and focused more on the recovery of his body. ¡°While, I am not really a doctor per say, I recommend that you three take a break from dungeon instances for at least a week to properly recover from the overexertion. Especially you Se Lang. I know, that you will definitely use your chi points during work. If possible, I would suggest paperwork so that your chi points have the time to recover and develop properly in the future.¡± Milk gave her advice to Se Lang and he nodded his head. Se Lang knew his limits since he was nearly grasped by the hands of death because he previously ignored Milk¡¯s advice after a dungeon run with Deng Long where they fought for hours inside the dungeon instance. While not common, Se Lang developed chi poisoning in the body due to the excessive usage of chi and he had to go to the hospital for a few days to recover. He regretted his decision not to listen to Milk, since he thought she was there to scold him. When Se Lang came by to Jin¡¯s store for another run, just mere days being discharged from the hospital, Milk later noticed there were residues of chi poisoning at that time. She immediately forbade Jin to sell Se Lang any Dungeon tickets, until Se Lang¡¯s body could expel them first. That was why See Lang bitterly acknowledge Milk advice and decided to rest for good this time round. Before Milk left the private suite, she gave each of them a chi recovery potion free of charge to use before they sleep in the real world in order to stimulate the recovery of their chi points. ¡°So¡­Shi Hui, about the dungeon. I have something to tell you.¡± Se Lang felt a bit weird trying to confess to Shi Hui about the kiss Jia Ying gave him, but Shi Hui looked at him blankly. ¡°Jia Ying has already told me everything. There is nothing to worry about.¡± Shi Hui replied without any care. ¡°But I am sorry I allowed Jia Ying to-¡± ¡°Did we not say? I do not mind sharing you with Jia Ying. Jia Ying also said that she would be looking forward to be under your care.¡± Shi Hui looked at Jia Ying upon using her name and she nodded vehemently. ¡°No¡­wait, are you serious? I thought¡­¡± Before Se Lang could finish his sentence again, Jia Ying interrupted him. ¡°Venus Four once made a pact with much consideration. If any of us really liked anyone at the same time and felt that he was really worth fighting for, not only each of the girls will give blessings to each other, we decided not to be tied down with the concept of monogamy.¡± Jia Ying smiled as she grabbed Shi Hui¡¯s hand. ¡°Because, we love each other a lot. A hell lot, to the point we do not mind not being straight.¡± Shi Hui said honestly to Se Lang which confounded him for a while. ¡°However, since we both happen to like you¡­well actually, Jia Ying liked you first, but I do find your traits desirable too! So¡­¡± Shi Hui winked at Se Lang as she started to climb up into Se Lang¡¯s bed. Jia Ying did not lose out to Shi Hui and did the same thing as well. Now Se Lang had both girls, each at the side of his bed cuddling right beside him. He felt totally weird. ¡°Am I dreaming or is this real?¡± Se Lang said out loud only to be pinched by the two of them at each side of his cheeks. ¡°Ow! Okay okay I guess this is real then, not an illusion made by Pyro Jack.¡± Se Lang admitted and pulled the two girls towards him even more. He could feel the warmth from the two girls and stared at the ceiling for a moment. ¡°Are you sure, both of you are okay with this?¡± Se Lang said with a grinning smile on his face. ¡°I cannot be any happier to share my love with my best friend and my boyfriend.¡± Shi Hui said without any hesitation and Jia Ying took the initiative to gently kiss Shi Hui and later Se Lang before lying down again. ¡°I hope I will not disappoint you two¡­and guess more overtime work for me to support the two of you.¡± Se Lang could not wait to see the Deng Long¡¯s face if he told him. Deng Long will definitely not believe him. On second thought, Se Lang decided to keep this a secret until Deng Long figured it out himself. That would actually be way more fun. The three of them later shared a quiet time resting as they cuddled up to each other. Chapter 229 Blueprints Chapter 229 Blueprints ¡°Miss, I hope you understand that we will be closing in half an hour¡¯s time. Are you sure you would still like to order a cup of Vanilla Milkshake?¡± Shen Si Fang, the owner of Lele caf¨¦ asked the rather attractive lady which was holding a heavy suitcase. ¡°Yes please, I am sure my friend will be here any minute now¡­he said he is around the corner.¡± Qiu Yue delightfully smiled at Si Fang as she sat at the corner while waiting for the milkshake. While Si Fang was making the vanilla milkshake for the lady, he could not help but notice how demure her attire was, thereby making her even more alluring with that pretty face of hers. That white blouse with a cute frill design at the neck area and a simple office skirt that revealed her figure. Si Fang must have thought that whoever was the boyfriend for this chick must be a lucky bastard. The door chime rang as someone opened the door and broke Si Fang¡¯s attention off of her, only to realise it was just Jin from the outrageous looking Dungeons and Pandas store. Well, he did actually help Lele caf¨¦ to a certain extent. Thanks to his new revamped design of the coupon booklet, it allowed Si Fang to get a record number of customers in October. Yet, his customer base was steadily growing even though barely half a month had passed. As compared to the ruckus Jin had made previously, Si Fang was actually quite grateful to the new shop owner in the streets. Not to mention, the latest revamp of Jin¡¯s store made the entire place even more peaceful, allowing Si Fang to have some peace and quiet as before. ¡°Hi Jin, are you hungry or something? You do not usually come at this timing.¡± ¡°Ah! Boss Si Fang, no I am looking for a friend so get me a Vanilla Milkshake, it¡¯s for my friend¡­Oh.¡± Jin then realised that Qiu Yue was already sitting inside Lele caf¨¦ and staring at him. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, your friend had already ordered a Vanilla Milkshake.¡± Si Fang then noticed the correlation and spoke up. ¡°Then put it under my tab. I will pay for her later.¡± Jin thanked Si Fang and sat opposite of Qiu Yue. Meanwhile, Qiu Yue was rather surprised by the side conversation between Si Fang and Jin. This was not really the Jin that she remembered. He was more reserved, keeping to himself. Perhaps, Jin worked part-time in here before. ¡°Evening, Qiu Yue.¡± Jin may not look like it, but he was actually nervous to see his ex-girlfriend, on top of her being even more beautiful than before. ¡°Here you go Miss, enjoy.¡± Si Fang placed the milkshake on the table and walked off, leaving the two alone. ¡°Well, I guess thank you for the milkshake Jin. Didn¡¯t expect you still remember that I always liked to order this kind of drink.¡± Qiu Yue was blunt as she took a sip and proceeded to open the heavy suitcase that she was carrying around. ¡°As requested, a few samples of building plans and blueprints from uni days, and one or two unrestricted blueprints from work.¡± Qiu Yue brought it out for Jin to see after he had weirdly requested it from her out of the blue, roughly about a week ago. ¡°Thank you, they will be useful for research. If you have any more, I will definitely appreciate them.¡± Jin said as he opened one of the blueprint samples and studied it for a while. ¡°Hmm, it really feels like an eternity since I last touched this kind of stuff¡­¡± Jin thought to himself and Qiu Yue gazed at Jin¡¯s perplexed look. It had been ages since Qiu Yue saw this kind of expression which made her remember why she fell for him. ¡°Erm¡­if you do not mind, would you give some expert advice on city building if I literally start from scratch?¡± Jin asked Qiu Yue and she gave him a rather puzzled look. ¡°Why are you asking for this? Are you in some construction industry or planning development board? Even so, I doubt that our cities have any place for you to start from scratch¡­unless you are looking to develop rural areas or looking at undeveloped parts of Africa or the Middle East deserts¡­¡± Qiu Yue eyed at Jin suspiciously since his request was indeed a weird one then realised something. ¡°Or¡­are you making an indie game of some sort? I remember you said you wanted to try dabbling in programming so that you can strike out on your own too. Aside from that dungeon supplier dream that you had I mean.¡± Qiu Yue remembered how Jin wasted his life on games and on big dreams, without caring about his cultivation or his studies too much. That was one of the major reasons why Qiu Yue decided to leave Jin, because no matter how hard she tried to push him, he did not really want to take the first step, making her frustrated and at some point helpless. ¡°I¡­erm would like to continue with that Dungeon Supplier job and also not break the promise we had when we broke up¡­¡± Jin could not keep proper eye contact with Qiu Yue because he momentarily did not know how to rephrase his words in his reply to Qiu Yue. ¡°Well, if you are aiming to be a dungeon supplier, you should do something like the one down the street. I heard that that dungeon supplier store had one of the most exciting and thrilling dungeons. They even have some dungeon instance relating to cards. My friend went there once, and showed me pictures of it.¡± Qiu Yue did not mean to sound demeaning to Jin but she really hoped that Jin would do something about his life. ¡°So you remember about that promise too.¡± Jin could not help but feel a bit of ache in his heart when he found out that Qiu Yue still remembered their promise. ¡°I¡­¡± Qiu Yue did not deny that she had hoped Jin would buck up after he graduated, find a good job and subsequently come to find her and prove her wrong. That was the promise he made to her as she decided to break up with him. He was after all a good boyfriend, but she felt that he would be a bad husband at that point in time. That could not be helped, her parents did not really approve of their relationship since Jin was such an underachiever while Qiu Yue was currently on a fast job track to the top in the Ministry of National Development. ¡°Yes, I hoped that you would keep your promise. I too figured your stubbornness for your dream job and to spur you up, I chose this place so that we could look at that dungeon supplier store for you to have some inspiration. Still, I apologise that I came late. My boss requested a few things that I need to do before I could leave.¡± Qiu Yue was being sincere to Jin and he could feel it. Jin did not know whether to laugh or to show her the results of his ¡®hard work¡¯ (since it was still considered cheating with the System¡¯s powers). ¡°Wait, wait let me get the facts straight. You asked me out here because you want to show me this particular Dungeon Supplier store?¡± ¡°Mmhm, I really wanted to try their card or pet dungeon that they have. I did not get the exact details from my friend but it looked really cute. I wonder how my Red Panda will look like! Besides, that store is all about Pandas right? If I do not take a look at it while I am here, it will truly be a shame!¡± Qiu Yue excitedly spoke about the store and only at the moment, Jin remembered that Qiu Yue was a Red Panda Cultivator. ¡°How silly of me¡­¡± Jin thought to himself and he could not help but sniggered. ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Qiu Yue saw Jin secretly smiling to himself. ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s just that, I cannot help but remember how excited you always get when it comes to dungeons,¡± Jin replied. ¡°Why of course! If not, why would I be smitten by your big dream of being a dungeon supplier! You provided me with such false hope back then. I could not believe it! Pay me back my youth in that dungeon supplier store!¡± Qiu Yue grinned as she thought this could be a payback. ¡°Finish your milkshake, let¡¯s go visit that dungeon supplier store and you give me your comments on it.¡± Jin smiled once more as he realised that he was wearing a singlet with a hoodie this time round since he had to change out from his Pandula costume just to see Qiu Yue. ¡°Maybe I can do some secret investigation about her thoughts on the dungeon.¡± Jin thought to himself as he saw Qiu Yue desperately trying to quickly slurp her milkshake. Chapter 230 Panda Billboard Chapter 230 Panda Billboard ¡°Thank you Boss Si Fang!¡± Jin said as he waved goodbye to Si Fang and thanked him for not saying anything out of the blue to Qiu Yue. Jin believed Si Fang most probably had eavesdropped on their conversation especially since their table was near the cash counter where Si Fang was, doing his accounting for the day. ¡°What is that little boy playing at?¡± Si Fang smiled at himself as he could imagine the shock his ¡®friend¡¯ would have when she will realise that Jin was the Boss of that dungeon supplier store she was admiring. As Qiu Yue walked out, she awed and even squealed at the large panda billboard. With the coming of Halloween, the Panda on the billboard wore a witch hat and all the weapons it had been hoarding were now in a cauldron. Qiu Yue could not help but take a picture of the large panda billboard sign. ¡°Hmm, the picture I took seems different from the one my friend sent me.¡± Qiu Yue wondered out loud and checked her friend¡¯s image on MeChat and confirmed that it was entirely different. Jin just continued to keep quiet and let her ramble on. ¡°Wow, do you think it is because Halloween is coming? You think that was why they decided to put up something different?¡± Qiu Yue was smiling from one ear to another and Jin could only pretend to nod his head hesitantly. ¡°Do you want me to take a picture of you with the billboard?¡± Jin asked and Qiu Yue earnestly nodded her head. Jin focused the camera app on her phone and took a few decent shots for her. ¡°Looks good. Not bad, maybe you have a future in photography too!¡± Qiu Yue teased him before they continued walking towards the shop. In actual fact, she did contemplate if Jin would want to take a picture with her, but she was afraid she would be sending the wrong signals to him. She felt that he needed to grow out of his naivety for being a dungeon supplier. It was not wrong to dream, but Jin might not be up to the task. After all the things he had studied and strived for were completely different from being a dungeon supplier. Sometimes, Qiu Yue also felt that it was partially her fault that Jin said that he wanted to be a dungeon supplier since she really liked battles and cultivation more than anything. Even though she was a beautiful gorgeous looking lady, she had unknowingly earned the nickname of Lady Battle Freak in university and not many girls would like to be friends with her. Even the boys were not particularly attracted to a girl who only wanted to battle. That was also a big reason why at the time she was able to click with Jin, she could not have been any happier. There was a time when Qiu Yue admired Jin¡¯s hardworking attitude and the idea of him becoming a dungeon supplier was not far fetched at all. Unfortunately, things changed when Jin faced mounting pressure from school work while at the same time trying to learn to be a dungeon supplier. In addition, realising the expectations of other people, especially from his girlfriend, made Jin break down one day. He decided to laze around and not care about life. He eventually just went with the flow of life, which made Qiu Yue very disappointed. At that point of time, he could not care about realising the dream that both Qiu Yue and he had shared. Him being the dungeon supplier, while Qiu Yue becoming his helper. Her role would have been to test out the dungeons herself. She would have been able to do what she always wanted by going to battles, to help experiment, to test out whether the monsters would be a challenge for customers and improve Jin¡¯s dungeons. Eventually, Qiu Yue also gave up trying to help Jin and decided to walk the path that her parents expected her to. It was not what Qiu Yue really wanted, but she guessed she could use the break from the somewhat demoralising relationship and do something useful. Qiu Yue subsequently got scouted into the Ministry of National Development when she was just a Year 3 University student and started her job a year ahead of Jin, who went through the standard university programme. Of course, after Jin finally realised he had to do something about his life, he asked Qiu Yue for a second chance. She was not stupid enough to just give Jin a second chance since Jin needed to learn this life lesson himself. Therefore, Qiu Yue asked Jin to promise her that he would succeed in life through his own means then she would consider getting back with him. Jin, on the other hand, did not forget that promise but previously thought it was impossible to win her back. It¡¯s true that in the present, Jin might have some interest in Zhen Qing but when he found out that they did not share many of his interest, unlike him and Qiu Yue, Jin could not help but feel that it was a lost cause. Ultimately, Jin¡¯s heart was unable to steer away from Qiu Yue and it only became more apparent when he finally met her once more. Separately, as the years went by, Qiu Yue was still fascinated by dungeon suppliers, but needless to say, her hectic schedules only made her desire for dungeons and the yearning for battle continue to grow ever strong in her heart. For Qiu Yue to finally be able to go into a dungeon supplier store with Jin reminded her of the old days. ¡°Say, you still have not told me why you wanted the blueprints and what exactly it is that you are working on.¡± Qiu Yue asked upon remembering that Jin had not given a proper answer yet. ¡°Well, you haven¡¯t given me any chance to say a single thing since the two of us met in that shop,¡± Jin replied, only to realise that Qiu Yue was again distracted by the battle cutscenes shown on the big screen near the Dungeons and Panda store. She also noticed a shop sign and decided to insert her chi into the shop sign. ¡°Ah¡­ so there are people who really do insert their chi into the signboards.¡± Jin mumbled to himself, which Qiu Yue happened to hear. However, even before she could answer, she was washed away by a tidal wave of strong emotions emanated from the shop sign itself. ¡°Woah! The boss of this dungeon supplier store is not an easy person as I thought! Even King¡¯s Monster¡¯s signage cannot compare to the aura the store sign was producing.¡± Qiu Yue was amazed even before she entered the shop and later replied to Jin¡¯s answer. ¡°It¡¯s the cultivator¡¯s way of checking whether the shop is really worthy to go into. Some want a real challenge rather than just for leisure. I can feel a strong aura of an immense challenge from the signboard, but yet at the same time, it gave me the impression that nothing was impossible.¡± Qiu Yue was feeling pumped up. ¡°Weird, when I insert my chi into the signboard, all I feel is a peaceful aura.¡± Jin shrugged his shoulders a little and Qiu Yue decided to defend this dungeon supplier store. ¡°Yea, I initially felt a peaceful aura as well, but I think I overlooked it because I felt that I was searching for something more exciting. It was then, I guess, that the signage responded to me differently, when it felt my expectations were being underwhelmed by the peaceful aura and it presented me with this challenge aura.¡± Qiu Yue commented and excitedly entered the shop. ¡°What?! Where is the shop?¡± Qiu Yue exclaimed when she suddenly felt she got cheated by the shop¡¯s exterior. Jin, who could not help but smirk, now wore the hood over his head and quietly entered the shop to see an angry Qiu Yue folding her arms while looking at her phone to see if the place had been moved out. ¡°I think you should look at the walls, there seem to be posters with some instructions on them,¡± Jin said as he surveyed his surroundings. Thankfully there was no one around at the moment so he could continue his charade with Qiu Yue. ¡°Install the app?¡± Qiu Yue continued to read the instructions while Jin pretended to install Pandamonium in his phone. He then walked towards Qiu Yue and helped her speed up the process before anyone came in and recognised him. ¡°I see, I see. This is an interesting concept. So, I tap my phone over here?¡± Qiu Yue asked Jin. ¡°I think so. Give it a try!¡± Jin tried to say it with much conviction but Qiu Yue did not believe the instructions. How would tapping her phone allow her to enter the ¡®real¡¯ shop as advertised on the poster on the wall? ¡°Alright, alright, I will give it a try first.¡± Jin figured it would be good to enter first so he could have a first-hand experience seeing Qiu Yue astonished look the moment she teleported into the Shop Level One instance. ¡°I could have some fun,¡± Jin thought to himself as he tapped his phone and teleported away. Chapter 231 Bewildermen Chapter 231 Bewildermen As Jin was the first one to enter the Shop Level One instance, the first thing he did was to ask Peppers for a favour. He wanted her to cast a spell of anonymity upon him. Jin had requested Peppers beforehand. He contacted her via his bellator message function, to standby at the ¡®entrance¡¯ of the shop instance. Peppers did not question it and was getting ready to fulfil Jin¡¯s request the moment he entered the shop. Jin felt strange after getting cast with the spell of anonymity. He felt as if he was not quite himself, comparable to wearing a panda costume, but instead of cotton the feeling it was more like neoprene. Nevertheless, the spell of anonymity allowed Jin to stroll around the Shop Level One instance without anyone being able to find out his identity. Unless someone came real close to him or took his hoodie down, his secret should be safe. However, the spell also included Qiu Yue, which is why Jin had Peppers prepare another spell. Qiu Yue quickly followed suit, but unbeknownst to her, when she entered the shop instance, Peppers had already cast the spell of Immense Clarity on Qiu Yue as requested. Immense Clarity allowed the user to peel through the spell of anonymity. ¡°Who is she?¡± Peppers asked telepathically but Jin replied that he would tell her more at a later time. Yun¡¯s interest got piqued by all the secrecy but Jin kind of spoilt the whole facade by telling her truthfully that it was his ex-girlfriend and that he wanted to sort of play a small prank. ¡°She does not know that I am the boss of this store. Mind playing along?¡± ¡°Sure, why not?¡± Yun spoke in Jin¡¯s thoughts and began to walk towards Qiu Yue. Meanwhile, Qiu Yue was in an absolute daze which was a perfectly normal reaction for first timers, that entered Jin¡¯s shop. Even he himself never failed to be amused by the customer¡¯s reaction. Of course, seeing Qiu Yue reaction was even more pleasurable as she looked at him and barely managed to stop herself from squealing. She jumped on the spot and held onto Jin¡¯s hand involuntarily as she felt extremely excited by the entire place. ¡°This is amazing!!! Is this the shop!? Why does the ambience of this place feel so different from other dungeon supplier stores?!¡± Qiu Yue was bewildered by the current setup of the entire shop instance and Jin did not have the chance to say a word. Meanwhile, a lady with slick curves in a red latex suit with a cat tail walked towards Qiu Yue. The latter was astonished and overwhelmed by the courage of that lady wearing that costume. ¡°Hi there, I am Yun, one of the employees working here in Dungeons and Pandas. Judging by your reaction, this seems to be your first time here, Miss?¡± Yun took off the cat mask she was wearing and Qiu Yue, who was rather confident in her looks, felt that in terms of beauty, Yun was an 11/10. ¡°Hi¡­ I erm do not know where to even start.¡± Qiu Yue spoke honestly, as she gazed at the ceiling for a moment, admiring the fantastic stained glass design. She knew that the person, who made this stain glass had some engineering background because there was no way for a layman to create such an impressive design, especially considering the sheer size of it. With Qiu Yue still daydreaming, Jin, in turn, came to the rescue and helped Qiu Yue by continuing the conversation with Yun. ¡°Any dungeon you would recommend? My friend here was looking for one of your dungeons in particular¡­ Now what was it called again? ¡­ pet dungeon instance?¡± Jin perfectly played the part of the innocent fool by simply repeating Qiu Yue¡¯s words from earlier. ¡°Ah, yes the pet dungeon! My friend recommended me to get a pet! But before that, can I ask you to clarify one thing? Is this really a dungeon instance? I mean, I saw the dungeon instance port, but I was hesitant until my friend Jin said to just tap it via the instructions.¡± Qiu Yue asked and Yun smiled as she nodded her head. ¡°Yes, the boss of this store had utilised the latest prototype dimensional instance technology and modified this entire instance into a service instance. Unlike a dungeon instance, there are no monster threats in this area and people gather here for various purposes. One of them is to watch the dungeons in action. If you look around you can obviously see multiple auditoriums. We even have announcers narrating the fights.¡± ¡°The upper floor in this particular instance contains the Pet Battle Card Vending Machine which allows you to get your very own pet as well as a place to grab some snacks and relax.¡± Yun professionally explained the workings of the Shop Level One instance the same way she would to any other customers. Suddenly, there were people roaring and shouting from one of the auditoriums behind her. Qiu Yue could not help but turn her head around in curiosity to look at what seemed to be two cultivators battling in a random arena. Following her instincts she walked towards the edge of the centre of Shop Level One Instance to see the entire commotion. ¡°Looks like Bin Yong, the Bombardier Beetle cultivator is going up against the dreaded Royal Boar Knight Sir Hamlet. Ahhh! What is Shi Zuo, the Mad Monkey cultivator plotting?!¡± Mr Patsu, the penguin announcer continued to hype up the scene as his fellow announcer, Bear Cub One, injected a few witty comments every now and then. The crowd continued to cheer from their seats and Qiu Yue could not believe her eyes. The burning desire for battle in her heart was itching for a go. ¡°Jinny! Come and see the battle! This is crazy!¡± Qiu Yue could not contain her excitement and slipped her tongue as she called him by his former nickname. Jin felt a little nostalgic and happy, but knew that she was just in her own world, not caring for anything except what was in front of her. ¡°Is this some recorded battle, erm Ms Yun?¡± Jin asked Yun to prompt her into explaining more about the store to Qiu Yue. Surprisingly, Yun was not annoyed and was rather accommodating to assist Jin. She went over the basics of each of the available dungeons, then told Qiu Yue about the place and the reason for these auditoriums. ¡°So how about we try the same random dungeon that those two guys are taking? Will our dungeon instance be broadcast as well?¡± Qiu Yue¡¯s blood was pumping furiously, as she awaited the answer from Yun. Even Yun had not seen anyone as enthusiastic about the dungeons as her. ¡°Yes, the moment you two are participating in a dungeon, there is a chance for both of you to be broadcast, as long as you two perform well in the dungeon instance. Especially since we have dozens of dungeon instances going at the same time.¡± Yun explained to Qiu Yue. With the change of the shop into a dimensional instance, Jin had relocated the dimensional stations and opened additional ones near each auditorium instead of in those halls. This allowed more cultivators to enter the dungeon instances, increasing his shop sales and at the same time curbing the waiting time for the cultivators. It also had the benefit of not annoying or disturbing the immersion of the auditoriums that were being hyped up by the announcers. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s do this, Jin! We shall try that dungeon instance those two were doing!¡± Qiu Yue did not even peruse the menu that Yun took out and wanted to have some action immediately. ¡°Are you sure you want me to enter the dungeon with you?¡± Jin teased her as he remembered that he had not shown his cultivation status to anyone but Yun and his bellators. No one else knew how much stronger he had become compared to just a couple of weeks ago. ¡°Ah¡­ true. I remember that you did not really choose any cultivation method when we were studying¡­¡± Qiu Yue suddenly became a bit embarrassed that she tried to drag the quasi cultivation-less Jin into battle. ¡°But I really want to try it¡­¡± Qiu Yue paused for a while before she continued her sentence. ¡°How about you take this as part of your training! I will protect you. Hehehe!¡± Qiu Yue raised her arm and flexed her muscles to show off. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, how about I pay for your dungeon entrance? That way, I won¡¯t feel bad tagging along with you.¡± Jin proposed to pay for her dungeon ticket and her eyes were beaming with delight. ¡°Hold onto your words, Jinny! Let Big Sis Red Panda show you a few tricks! Maybe you might be able to pick up the Red Panda cultivation too and we can do more difficult dungeons!¡± Qiu Yue smiled with joy as Jin paid for the tickets and Yun directed them to the dimensional stations. As Jin followed behind the elated girl to the dimensional stations, he was genuinely grinning from one ear to the other. It was a refreshing kind of joy, as if some kind of heavy burden has been lifted. He felt like a young teenager again, totally free of worries and just there in the moment having fun with his friend. This feeling¡­somehow he was unable to recall the last time he felt like this. ¡°Looks like Jin likes this girl and perhaps even more than Zhen Qing,¡± Yun thought to herself since she did not have any idea that Jin was serious about going back with his ex. Chapter 232 Red Panda Chapter 232 Red Panda ¡°Jin, please remember that if the hood comes off, the spell of anonymity will dissipate. Especially when you are fighting in that dungeon, don¡¯t forget it could be broadcast onto the public.¡± Peppers reminded Jin before he went into the random battle arena dungeon instance, but he messaged back that he took note about these effects. Jin had fun teasing Qiu Yue for the moment, but he was also considering whether he should outright tell Qiu Yue about him owning this shop. It was because she was the only one in university that knew him inside out. The other few people, who knew him that way were only his deceased grandfather Ming or his old high school friends. However, Qiu Yue had more recent contact with him than his high school friends so bluffing them would have been easier. On the other hand, it would be harder for Qiu Yue to be beguiled as compared to hiding the fact from her. She knew exactly what the strength and weakness of Jin were. If he told Qiu Yue that he was the one who build this particular shop, she would have laughed her head off for cracking such a joke or be very angry at Jin for lying to her. Hence, if he wanted Qiu Yue to really know that he himself was the shop owner, he either had to tell the truth soon or make the System wipe her memory about today. However, Jin had wished to have someone at his side. Someone he could be able to discuss his issues with, aside from his bellators or Yun. He was thinking, that it would help, having a third party with a less biased opinion influencing his decisions and allowed him to view his issues from another perspective. That was why Jin was somewhat desperate to put Zhen Qing into contact with the System even though he tried doing it step by step. After all if he were to simply tell her about the System she would probably think him as crazy. By allowing her to be exposed to the wonders of the System gradually, Jin would have someone to talk to about the System. Although he first needed to be sure, that after all the time apart he could still trust Zhen Qing enough to believe him and to keep this secret of his to herself. At the same time, Qiu Yue was potentially the perfect candidate for Jin to expose the System to. She loved dungeons to the point that Jin thought she was insane but her love and her obsession were also the few reasons which influenced Jin into wanting to be a dungeon supplier. In the past he had hoped to be able to make dungeons, which would lead people to love them with the same degree as Qiu Yue. If Jin managed to get Qiu Yue on board with this dungeon supplier dream, it would be a huge boon to him emotionally, else Jin would continue to strive the way he had been doing all this while. Perhaps, Jin could find someone similar in the future¡­or perhaps, he just could not let go of his past. Regardless, earning Qiu Yue¡¯s trust again and gaining her back as his friend would still be a major hurdle to overcome. Especially with Jin¡¯s time being somewhat limited when he had many issues at hand to deal with. However, Jin planned to do what he could at the moment and just hope for the best. ¡°I guess I will just keep the hood on as long as possible. Yun, please tell Mr Patsu and Bear Cub one not to broadcast our fight. It would be kind of troublesome if I got exposed.¡± Jin told Yun telepathically without getting a reply back. At that moment he became preoccupied by Qiu Yue¡¯s fascination of the dungeon port, the miniature panda storage and how advanced this store was to use an app to keep track of the cultivators¡¯ progress. ¡°Looks like there are even more functions! A forum? Reward box? Wow!¡± Qiu Yue was also attracted to the pandas on the screen but she frowned when she could not see any red pandas in it. ¡°Jin, let¡¯s make a petition to the boss of this place and ask him or her to place some red pandas in the Pandamonium app. I am sure they will become an instant hit!¡± Qiu Yue proudly suggested her Red Pandas, but Jin just continued to smile at how elated she was. ¡°Alright, alright. Come, let¡¯s get going, I¡¯d like to see whether the Red Panda Mistress is worthy of being called Shifu.¡± Jin joked a bit after imagining the scene of a fat lazy panda bowing to a little red panda. ¡°Please, I will knock the monsters down senseless, so that they will have no other choice but to grovel at my feet!¡± Qiu Yue replied cheerfully. ¡°So much confidence as usual, even though you tend to¡­nevermind¡­ Let¡¯s get going!¡± Jin was reminded what a battle freak she was, but there was one small problem. Usually, she was also the first one who got defeated in dungeons. It happened so many times that she garnered another weird nickname from the dungeon suppliers that she visited. Good Loser Lady Battle Freak. No matter how many dungeons she tried, her win lose percentage ratio was skewed more towards the latter. The only redeeming factor was that she did not let her failures stop her from having fun and always wished to try again. It actually made the dungeon suppliers like her since they were basically earning money from her but they also adored her for her courage and spirit. Her frequent failure was all due to the Red Panda Style not exactly being meant for fighting. Notice how the Red Panda Style that Qiu Yue had was just called ¡®Red Panda¡¯ Style? Unlike other cultivation Styles which usually consisted of an animal with a prefix? It was because there was no proper cultivation for the Red Panda Style. Its cultivation was meant as a base for other cultivations especially when a person needed help with his or her cultivation of chi points. That was why it was said that the Red Panda Style was just meant for cuteness when you portrayed your cultivation and nothing else. It was also not the most ideal cultivation base to aim for, unless the cultivation that the cultivators were aiming for were of the Ursidae (The scientific family names for bears) cultivations such as the Black Bear, Polar Bear or Raccoon. The same situation also applied for certain cultivators in Jin¡¯s shop. For example the Bombardier Beetle Style that Bin Yong had been using. But unlike Qiu Yue¡¯s red panda, Bombardier beetles in nature had specific traits such as their chemical cannon hidden in its abdomen to ward off predators. Such a special trait of that insect helped enhance the cultivation style of the Bombardier beetle. At the same time, Bin Yong had also been experimenting on how to enhance the Bombardier beetle cultivation and found that the sword and shield was a good weapon choice for him. The use of the right weapons complimented the affinity towards the Bombardier beetle cultivation. It would not be too surprising if in the near future, he would manage to add a prefix to the cultivation and he himself could become a grandmaster in the Bombardier beetle cultivation. Yet, Qiu Yue did not advance above the Red Panda cultivation as she solely believed that there was a certain cultivation style that the Red Pandas could soar through. A cultivation style that had yet to be explored despite many grandmasters and researchers having tried to create one, but failing. Granted, since there was no true grandmaster in the cultivation of the Red Panda style, Qiu Yue¡¯s claim that people had yet to find a proper red panda cultivation method was valid, similar to Bin Yong¡¯s bombardier beetle cultivation. This reasoning was why she took the losses she incurred as just another step to improve the Red Panda Style, even though the hole to her wallet was enormous. Alas, her current workload did not allow Qiu Yue to have a favourable training schedule as she would like. Hence, being able to fight in this dungeon would be a boon to her. Both Jin and Qiu Yue got teleported into the random battle arena dungeon instance and they landed to a scene where Qiu Yue was floating slightly. She then realised that her surroundings were full of blue and puffy clouds. A few steps sidewards and Qiu Yue already noticed the edge of the arena. ¡°We are on a floating stone platform?¡± Qiu Yue asked as she took out her weapons and peeked over the edge of the platform to see more clouds. ¡°Seems like it!¡± Jin said while taking out Bam in Katana Form as he smirked at Qiu Yue¡¯s main weapon. ¡°Oh! Looks like you are one step closer to becoming a Red Panda Cultivator!¡± Qiu Yue brandished her own katana out from her scabbard. ¡°Are you sure you can fight in that attire?¡± Jin asked with a bit of concern, when he realised that she was still in her office skirt which Qiu Yue also just became aware of. ¡°Ahh! It¡¯s okay! Maybe the s.e.x appeal might lower the guard of the monster!¡± Qiu Yue sticked her tongue out as she tied her scabbard onto her waist and took out an accessory chopstick to neaten her hair into a bun quickly. ¡°I do not think that will work against me, you know.¡± Two cat like ladies climbed up from the edge of the platform while a large looking eagle flew away from the platform. ¡°Gah, Meomi and Nyanmi.¡± Jin scratched his neck a bit before he unsheathed his katana too. Chapter 233 Brand New Cats ¡°This will be rather troublesome.¡± Jin thought to himself when he noticed that on the first stage his opponents would be the two werecats. The reason why he felt that way was because he had recently upgraded the equipment for most of the werebeasts. Jin felt that the Bank Heist Raid dungeon instance was a little too easy after cultivators spent weeks analysing the plausible patterns of the werebeast attacks. It was after all the first dungeon that Jin had created so the battle scenarios were commendable but not flexible enough as compared to the Goblin Forest Dungeon or the Music Theatre Dungeon. The latter two dungeon instances had the advantage of using wide and complex terrains such as forests and jungles so Jin¡¯s monsters could be unpredictable and the cultivators could only take note of the possible flaws of the monsters, rather than making use of the terrain to their advantage. The same could not be said about the Bank Heist Raid dungeon instance. Mainly because the cultivators could bring along someone with cultivation specializing in long-range attacks, such as Jing Ru, and as long as they managed to get hold of a good sniping platform, the cultivators would have some form of advantage against the monsters. In terms of dungeon design, the cultivators liked the Bank Heist Raid because of its structure, but felt that once they learnt the layout, it was not much of a challenge at all. Hence, Jin decided to increase the difficulty by removing all the current equipment the werebeast had and gave them better and unique ones. The werecats for example, were given weapons to help counter cultivators specialised in long, mid and short range. Gun Knuckles and Sniper Whip. Jin was inspired by Yem and Mer¡¯s choices of weapons and used the Dungeon Maker to create these two weapons for Nyanmi and Meomi. He initially wanted both of them to be proficient in those two weapons, but eventually decided against that. Having such a versatile weapon each already increased the werecat¡¯s combat proficiency by two fold. Meomi did not say much when they landed on the arena platform and charged in with her Gun Knuckles towards Qiu Yue. Yet Qiu Yue did not flinch at the incoming strike of the werecat and faced her head on. Her knuckles clashed with Qiu Yue¡¯s Katana, but with a click by Meomi caused the knuckles to ignite a miniature explosion which knocked Qiu Yue¡¯s Katana away, forcing Qiu Yue to be wide open. Meomi smirked as she went in for the strike with her other hand but Qiu Yue was quick enough to evade and block the incoming attack with her scabbard. ¡°Not Bad.¡± Meomi whispered close to Qiu Yue as she jumped back to create some distance but Meomi was not done with her attack as she used her tail as a whip and slapped Qiu Yue with it before distancing herself away from Qiu Yue. ¡°Ahh, stupid cat!¡± Qiu Yue rubbed the bruise on her face before she stood her ground and tore the side of her skirt so that it did not restrict her movement. Now was not the time to care about decency. Now it was either she lives or that cat. Meanwhile, Nyanmi was holding a wooden looking rifle with a medium sized scope as she gave an opening shot to Jin which he managed to evade effortlessly. He knew that Nyanmi was proficient in using long ranged weapons and a whip but she was not sufficiently competent in using the all new sniper whip. The way the sniper whip worked was that it looked like an ordinary bolt action wooden rifle that required ammunition to be placed into the barrel before shooting though it lost the capability to automatically insert an ammo cartridge. But when the enemy came close, parts of the rifle would dismantle on the spot, connecting through a strong string of metal and nylon wires through the magic input by Nyanmi and the rifle would be turned into a whip with various parts that could be used to attack at any distance. Not to mention, the wooden rifle itself could be used as a bat in close range combat. Hence, if Nyanmi attained sufficient proficiency in it, the ideal way of using the sniper whip would be to whip the enemy a few times, let it return to a normal rifle, quickly load a bullet in it and subsequently fire upon distraction. Thankfully for the current arena, Nyanmi still needed time to get the hang of her new weapon so she was using one function at a time. This gave Jin the opportunity to continue looking weak as Qiu Yue fought against Meomi. This was also a brilliant time to train his Perfectly Normal Parry Slash to a higher level since the attacks of an experienced whip user were more dangerous than three swordsmen fighting Jin. Hence, with his powers self suppressed for training, Jin entered the fray trying his best to counter against Nyanmi. ¡°Don¡¯t go easy on me!¡± Jin sent a voice transmission to Nyanmi in case she thought that she would be giving Jin a chance to survive while he was pretending. ¡°Haha, dream on Master, you still owe a debt of pain for previously hurting my beloved onee-sama!¡± Nyanmi returned her voice transmission to her master and pressed on with her attack. Separately, as the battle raged on, Yun decided not to listen to Jin and purposely turned on his random arena battle dungeon instance in the auditorium hall with the fewest number of people in it. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can live up to your name as a boss.¡± Yun said to herself as she continued to entertain the other customers in the shop instance. Somehow, that unwritten challenge by Yun was picked up by the System and it issued an urgent mission to Jin. However, since Jin was fighting, the System decided to relay the message through Nyanmi instead but with a twist. ¡°Master, the big boss System said that it has an urgent mission for you.¡± Nyanmi said via a voice transmission and Jin was surprised. ¡°But you have to defeat me first to get that information.¡± ¡°What?¡± Jin was so surprised, that he got distracted by the message and Nyanmi managed to strike a curve whip back attack on Jin, leaving behind a slightly broken hoodie and a wound. ¡°But, I do not like the System too much either. If not for you master, I would have stayed comfortably within the System¡¯s premise, although thanks to you I got to meet onee-sama. So, here¡¯s a tip. I will say it would be wise to continue to suppress your cultivation until you defeat me.¡± Nyanmi winked at Jin who was reeling in from the pain, but she did not hesitate to shoot at Jin when the sniper whip changed back to a normal rifle. ¡°Shit!¡± Jin raised his Bam Katana up and with some luck on his side, the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash activated, cutting the bullet that was flying towards him into two. ¡°I do not know what the System is playing at right now, when all I want is just to have some simple fun with Qiu Yue. If that¡¯s the case then so be it.¡± Jin thought to himself and pulled down his hoodie to concentrate better on his fight against Nyanmi. Chapter 234 Analysis Previously, Auditorium Six had just been showing a group of cultivators running the Qixi Festival dungeon instance and not many were that interested since the story was more or less fixed to the theme. Despite the System¡¯s effort to showcase its ability to create a dungeon instance, it was not as flashy or flexible as Jin¡¯s dungeons so the novelty of Qixi wore off when regular customers got used to it. However, a random arena battle was suddenly being shown and some people started to get interested for Auditorium Six. The main appeal of that mode was that monsters of any dungeon instance could appear to fight against the cultivators. It was a learning platform for many which made a number of customers chase after such dungeon runs to learn more about the monsters. Especially the Nettoflix alike subscription based video app platform, that Jin created, also dubbed Pandaflix by his customers. What made Auditorium Six even more crowded was that a gorgeous female cultivator was fighting alongside a hooded male against the werecats. Unlike in a fight featuring a member of the Elite Pandawans, which was the way the regulars such as Bu Dong, Bin Yong, Xiong Da etc. had been dubbed, the werecats were a menace for everyone else and troublesome to fight against. This became notably obvious when Jin had increased the difficulty for the Bank Heist Raid by providing the werejackals and werecats with new equipment. Jin thought that it was easy enough for most customers but he had forgotten that the customers who complained were the minority while the majority still had had trouble fighting against them. Some even abandoned the idea of splitting up the team to confront the werejackals and werecats separately. Hence, they took on other strategies such as concentrating on fighting indoors, especially in corridors without any windows. This helped them eliminate the werejackals, without the werecat snipers being able to provide support. Others purposely conducted a crossfire fight against the werecat snipers from the bank to the apartment building they were in. Overall, Jin was quite happy to see such scenarios taking place as compared to previous fights. The reason being that the cultivators were more active in finding alternative solutions to triumph over the monsters with their new equipment. Hence, Jin¡¯s dungeons were not just all about brawns but brains were involved as well, allowing the cultivators to experience a full blown experience against these intelligent monsters. It was also a joy for him to see many people posting their achievements on the forum in the Pandamonium App, and start theorycrafting on how to beat the dungeon instance, after the increase in difficulty. Jin sometimes wondered if he could conduct military or police exercises, to improve teamwork and operations. It could definitely be part of a venture that might earn him big bucks if done right. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Boss Jin?¡± A customer who was casually watching the random arena battle fight in the Auditorium Six suddenly shouted out after Jin had pulled his broken hood down to concentrate on the fight against Nyanmi. The sudden shouting spurred the customers to scrutinise a bit and some began to wonder if it was really true or if it was just someone similar in appearance. A customer near the back of the auditorium jumped up and ran to the Bar Island to check for Pandula Jin but there was no sign of him. The customer immediately came back to tell the rest and the announcers, who were busy at another auditorium were distracted by it. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems that we have received some exciting news, that our very own Boss is fighting in a random arena battle with a friend of his! The broadcast of the dungeon run is currently in Auditorium Six!¡± Mr Patsu confirmed the existence of his Boss in battle and announced the news. Every single customer in the five other auditoriums immediately jumped up from their seats just to gather towards Auditorium Six to see Boss Jin in action. ¡°Is it really Boss Jin? Is it really Boss Jin!?!?!¡± Some of the customers even ran up to the upper floors of the Shop Level One instance to have a better view of the dungeon run in Auditorium Six. ¡°Why is Boss Jin running a dungeon without telling us?¡± A customer questioned curiously. ¡°I too did not notice it was him, and thought it was just a pretty girl and her cultivator friend in the hoodie! I did not expect that guy to be Boss Jin!¡± Another customer replied. ¡°I wonder what Boss Jin¡¯s current grade and powers are!¡± A female customer said excitedly. ¡°Hmm, but Boss Jin seems to have a bit of difficulty against the werecat Nyanmi.¡± An astute customer who was assessing the battlefield commented. ¡°But I remember him defeating Lai Fu, the owner of the General Store Fresh Price, on the streets once!¡± An old time customer shouted upon hearing the comments. ¡°He is suppressing his abilities.¡± A fairly middle aged man spoke which made everyone go silent. Unsurprisingly, it was none other than Mr Know-It-All sitting on a corner of the sofa with his notebook and his bottle of homemade Oolong Tea. Every customer who has been to Jin¡¯s store a few times knew of him. His battle guides in the Pandamonium forums made him noticeably famous in Dungeons and Pandas. Mr Know-It-All¡¯s words of advice were gold and many used his guides to win against the dungeon instances, but of course he did put a disclaimer that he could only provide an overview on what to expect. Especially in the Bank Heist Raid where the werejackals and werecats were given brand new equipment, changing the entire game plan that Mr Know-It-All previously suggested. ¡°Why do you think so Master Know-It-All?¡± A customer respectfully asked. ¡°I have seen his abilities in action before, so a monster like Nyanmi should not pose any threat against him. Not even with her new weapon and especially not since she seemed to lack the experience in using it, which I found it to be unbelievably real. I am guessing he is suppressing his abilities, presumably because of either of two possible scenarios: One, he is training himself up against a new unconventional weapon like Nyanmi¡¯s Sniper Whip. At least that was the name which was revealed to me by Boss Jin. She has the capability to create a defensive bubble if an enemy gets too close. It also provides long attacking arcs, which a katana user will definitely have difficulty entering. Not to mention her rifle mode also poses a big problem towards a close range user. Therefore, Jin could probably be using her as a training tool like how you cultivators come here not just to have fun but also to train.¡± Mr Know-It-All explained his analysis, not minding the nickname used by others to refer to him. ¡°Two, he does not wish to show himself as someone overly powerful, so that his friend could have a chance of fighting an opponent or Boss Jin is hiding something that he does not wish to reveal to his friend. However, for the latter reason, I think I may be overthinking it a little too much. It most probably is option one.¡± Mr Know-It-All further clarified his stance and everyone somehow agreed with his opinion and continued watching Jin fight. ¡°Still, I must say, that friend of his is putting up a good fight against Meomi and her gun knuckles.¡± A customer shifted the conversation and many continued to agreed. ¡°Indeed, her fighting style is a bit crude, probably because she had not fought for quite some time, but it shows that she has accumulated plenty of experience from running dungeons in the past.¡± Mr Know-It-All commented and many nodded their heads. ¡°ARGGHHH this is so irritating!¡± Qiu Yue shouted as she barely missed once more against Meomi, with the werecat gracefully dodging the attack. Meomi then aimed her gun knuckle at Qiu Yue and fired another blast of miniature explosion to cause Qiu Yue to lower her guard. But Qiu Yue was not that gullible as she had already learnt the attack pattern of Meomi. Instead of dodging the knuckle explosive, Qiu Yue forcefully took the hit and charged towards Meomi, who had lowered her defenses due to pride. ¡°Katana Art! Slash of the Red Panda!¡± A red streak of light passed through Meomi as the onlookers saw Qiu Yue flash past her. A direct hit was scored and Meomi was injured. However, instead of fighting to the brutal end, Meomi stopped and clapped. ¡°You have passed.¡± Qiu Yue looked at her a bit surprised, as she breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. What seemed to be a short battle for Meomi was actually the longest battle for Qiu Yue. The only thing that made her fight to her hardest was because she had noticed Jin was also fighting with all his might against the other werecat. How could she lose to a person with no noticeable cultivation? Throughout the entire fight, Qiu Yue could only sense her own chi but not Jin¡¯s. He was not even pushing out any chi but using just his skills as a fighter to pit himself against the ferocious werecat. ¡°Why are you looking so worried? Do you want to help him?¡± Meomi threw her hands up into the air, showing that she would not attack anymore, as she approached Qiu Yue. ¡°I would like to. No, I would really love to join in on the fun. But I know that if I help him out, he would never figure out his own life.¡± Qiu Yue said with some guilt in her voice as she continued to look at Jin struggling against the werecat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, he will make it. He is after all our benefactor.¡± Meomi walked away and jumped off the floating platform as she replied to Qiu Yue which made her confused. ¡°Huh? Benefactor?¡± Qiu Yue suddenly heard a loud clash that temporarily made her forget what she was thinking as she turned her head to focus on the battle. Chapter 235 Monsters With Sentience Chapter 235 Monsters With Sentience ¡°Huh, why did the werecat, that red panda cultivator was fighting with, just withdraw herself away from the battlefield?¡± A customer who was watching did not understand what was going on. ¡°Ah, because the monsters in the random arena battle are not just about elimination, sometimes it will be simply a test of skills. Unless you encountered a monster, that was dead on fighting you to their last breath.¡± Bin Yong who just came out of his random arena battle dungeon instance joined the crowd. ¡°Why would that be the case?¡± The customer continued to ask, not noticing Bin Yong¡¯s presence that much. ¡°It is most likely due to the difficulty scale. The monsters might be too strong to kill for the cultivators that challenged them. Hence, a test of skill would most likely suffice.¡± Bin Yong presented his take on the rules. ¡°Then why is it not the case for those story themed dungeons?¡± The customer asked even more questions which stumped Bin Yong. ¡°Let me explain that with whatever limited knowledge I have.¡± Mr Know-It-All happened to overhear the questions. ¡°What I can deduce is that most of the monsters in Jin¡¯s dungeons were intelligently modified by the core servers which handle the dimensional instances.¡± ¡°Not sure about you, but I am sure Bin Yong felt that fighting the monsters in the random arena battle dungeon instance was totally different from fighting them in the story themed dungeons?¡± Mr Know-It-All asked which Bin Yong instantly confirmed. ¡°Yes! It felt as if the monsters were more real in the random arena battles. It was as if they were just acting their part in the story themed dungeons. But out there in the random arena battles, they seem to use their true actual strength. This makes the fight harder, but at the same time, the rewards from the Random Arena battles are also more enticing.¡± Bing Yong explained. ¡°Mmhmm, I am only privy to certain things about dimensional core servers. I have friends, who are more informed, but all my contacts did tell me one sure thing. That almost every dungeon supplier in the world could not replicate what Jin is doing right now because of the high technical difficulty in maintaining the input of data.¡± ¡°That does not seem to answer my question¡­¡± The customer got even more confused. ¡°What I am trying to say is, Boss Jin might have employed a different method of maintaining the servers. Either by himself, which I would deem unlikely from my observations or by a group of highly specialised experts. That creation and maintenance of servers might be the reason why the Artificial Intelligence differs so much from other dungeon suppliers. So the projection of these creatures might feel really real to the point that one might feel that they are holding back, as if they were testing you.¡± Mr Know-It-All tried to explain without going into too many technical details. (cough cough, at least he tried!) ¡°Ehhhhh¡­¡± The customer did not know how to reply. ¡°I think what he meant is Jin¡¯s dungeons have always been special. Do not question how things work, just take it as it is and enjoy the dungeons and random arena battles. Take them as real monsters with sentience if it pleases you, even though we all know that they are all just artificial intelligence.¡± Shi Zuo interjected his opinions into the conversation, putting Mr Know-It-All answers into simpler terms. ¡°Real monsters with sentience¡­Hmm¡­¡± For the first time in Jin¡¯s store, Mr Know-It-All experienced that some random guy¡¯s opinion could be considered as a valid explanation. However, after taking several factors into account, he felt that it was not possible and returned to watching the show. Jin was struggling a bit. He had the ability to blow Nyanmi away with just his Grade 5 powers or by utilising the skills he recently obtained from the spiritual union. However, her words bothered him and he decided that he should play out the entire thing more carefully. He did not care much about the hoodie since he did request Yun not to put his dungeon instance up on air to the auditorium and bringing down the hoodie was essential in having a proper view of the entire battlefield. Jin was glad that Qiu Yue managed to pass her fight and this also allowed Jin to properly focus on the task at hand without having the need to worry about her. It was rather annoying for the System to place an urgent mission which Jin had no details about. He did not know what kind of shadowy objectives the System had in mind but one thing was for sure. Even without the System¡¯s meddling, Jin would have wanted to test himself while not revealing his cultivation or skill to Qiu Yue as much as possible. After much thought, he felt that he should just keep his powers quiet from Qiu Yue and lose the battle if he needed to. Nevertheless, Jin still had his own pride to take hold of, especially towards Qiu Yue. He wanted her to know that he was worthy to at least be her friend again. Nyanmi who thought that she had the upper hand in the battle started to become more aggressive and new patterns of attack emerged from her sniper wh.i.p.s. Jin cautiously entered into her attacking range and tried to charge in based on the attack pattern he learnt before but the tricks under Nyanmi¡¯s sleeves were too potent, that he had to step back. ¡°Ahh¡­ I did not expect a whip user to be this efficient in attacking and defending.¡± A customer saw how difficult it was for Jin to enter into Nyanmi¡¯s defensive bubble. ¡°If that is the case, guess I should utilise my old techniques that Ming had taught before!¡± Jin thought to himself as he took out Boo in Wakizashi form. ¡°What is the use of another blade?¡± Nyanmi taunted Jin, who couldn¡¯t care less. At this point in the battle, Jin judged the attacks once more and entered into Nyanmi¡¯s range the moment the sniper whip retracted back into a rifle. ¡°This is a gamble!¡± Jin thought to himself as he rushed towards Nyanmi. ¡°Foolish master.¡± Nyanmi shot with her Sniper Whip rifle mode towards Jin but the bullet was deflected with style. ¡°Yes, the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash worked!¡± Jin was delighted his gamble had paid off , but little did he know that there was actually another bullet coming its way. ¡°I double tapped. You are not the only one who gambled.¡± Nyanmi laughed in Jin¡¯s head. Even Qiu Yue only managed to catch the glimpse of another bullet trailing right behind the first bullet. That split second felt like a year to Jin as his senses tightened up and he felt that something clicked¡­something screeched within his heart. Jin realised it was something similar to the time when he used the Black Fire and White Ice attack. But this time around, it was different, he felt that another ability had activated, which caused his pupils in his eyes to change into a three inversed triangle shape. Similar to a Sierpinski triangle, the triangles multiplied within his retina and he was able to sharply see the speed, direction and trajectory of the bullet. ¡°Clang!¡± The bullet was miraculously deflected with his wakizashi! Yet, Jin was still charging towards Nyanmi who was stunned by the sudden change of events. How did Jin manage to parry this surprise bullet, and he even did it this fast! Even the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash could not have activated twice in a row! Nyanmi hurried to swing her sniper whip, but it was too late as Jin¡¯s wakizashi reached towards Nyanmi¡¯s throat and the katana was directed at her torso. ¡°Tell me the objectives of the System.¡± Jin went close to Nyanmi and the werecat purred. ¡°Master, the System wants you to invite your friend into the system as an advisor for the Dungeon City Fortress,¡± Nyami whispered into his ears and later nibbled it too. Chapter 236 A Mothers Concern "How did Boss Jin do that!?!" A customer shouted after experiencing a bout of silence for a few seconds when Jin executed the parry slash and deflected two bullets at once. Yet, there was no sign of cultivation shown above him, indicating that this was his base strength without the aid of any cultivation. The entire crowd was stunned by the whole performance. "Now I can safely say that Boss Jin deserves to be the boss of this dungeon supplier store." Bin Yong commented, and many people started to agree. To be a true dungeon supplier not only require shop management and technical skills, but they also had to have the strength and skills to create those monsters so their customers could adequately train. While it was true that the definition of a dungeon supplier in the modern context had been diluted due to the aid of technology, with this feat, Jin had convinced them that he did not just rely on superior technical support as predicted by Mr Know-It-All. It proved to his fellow customers that he was entirely worthy of the title of dungeon supplier. Even Mr Know-It-All who repeatedly saw how Jin fought for the past month or so was surprised that his base foundation was this strong. If Mr Know-It-All knew that Jin had been bathing in unique herbal medicinal baths prepared by the System almost every day to strengthen his body, fighting in life and death situations just to collect monsters and had a system to aid him, Mr Know-It-All would have trashed his section of notebook away. But he did not. So many began to feel that this particular dungeon supplier had more to offer in the coming future. And they were not wrong. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Check your phone during the interval," Nyanmi said to Jin as she pretended to strike Jin with a surprise blow, but Jin cut her into pieces even before she could move another muscle. Her body eventually disappeared, and Jin quickly checked on his phone. "Expose part of the System to your friend, Qiu Yue, especially the Dungeon City Fortress. Get her to work for you as an employee. Rewards: Tier 2 Bellator Network." Jin was surprised when he saw the word Network. "Grandpa Ming did mention something about the System''s Network before." He thought. "Secondary Objective: Complete this random arena battle without revealing your true cultivation strength. Others are watching. Optional Rewards: Radiant Red Panda in the Umbral Snow Cultivation Manual." The system stated clearly that this was an impromptu urgent mission to be completed, but before Jin could react, Qiu Yue came behind him and patted his shoulder hard. "Wow! That was amazing! How did you even do that?" Qiu Yue was pleasantly surprised as she thought that Jin would need help from her after she defeated the werecat. Nonetheless, it was still rather taxing for her because it had been some time since she had participated in any dungeon. "Oh, yea¡­hahaha¡­ Hmm? It looks like you have a rather bad wound." Jin took out a towel from his storage watch and tried to wipe the dirt away from her wound to distract her from her question. "Ouchie! I did not expect that it would hurt so much." Qiu Yue gave a small cry which made Jin stop for a while and walk around. "What are you doing?" Qiu Yue asked, but Jin ignored her for a moment until it seemed that he found something. "I saw something shiny just now when I was fighting, so I returned to that area to make sure. I believe it is some sort of potion." Jin made up an excuse as he returned to Qiu Yue with a large bottle of chi and health regeneration potion. He offered it to Qiu Yue, and she gulped it down as if she had just returned from a desert. Jin had a few of such bottles in case of emergencies like Milk not being around to heal him. He initially thought of just using the potions that the random arena battle provided at the end of every round. However, he figured that Qiu Yue should be in tip-top shape if he wants to complete the secondary objective. It would be pretty hard not to reveal his strength in addition to completing this particular random arena. Suddenly, a treasure chest dropped from the skies and the lid opened wide in front of them. There were definitely some potions in it, but none as significant or as potent as the one Jin was holding. In addition to that, there were the bronze panda medals which Qiu Yue was fascinated by, and all thank the design. "Woooo! Pandas! They are so cute! I am loving this dungeon supplier store more and more." Qiu Yue said with excitement before they felt that the floating platform they were on started to rumble through the skies. At that point, Jin and Qiu Yue saw another floating platform, that was two times bigger than theirs, which was on a direct crash course towards them. Jin held onto Qiu Yue''s hand after absorbing the chest of panda medals into his storage watch. "Why is he holding my hand so tightly!?" Qiu Yue panicked inside. Meanwhile, Jin was thinking of something entirely different. "What does the System mean by ''Others are watching''? Could it be that Yun did not listen to me and is currently broadcasting the entire random arena battle run onto the auditoriums? Or did it simply refer to Qiu Yue and Meomi watching me? No, that can''t be it. If it were the latter, the System would not have said it with such ambiguity. So my best guess is that it''s the former. Damn¡­ that mother of mine likes to sneak into my thoughts¡­" "Yes, I am sneaking while I can. I cannot believe you made a deal with the System to cut me off once you have completed the business partnership with that Tiger Princess Yang Ling." "Even if you are my mother, you are just a figment, a property of the System," Jin spoke ruthlessly in his thoughts. "This particular mission made it even more obvious. I always thought that you were an ally of mine, but time and time again, you proved me wrong." Jin prepared to jump onto the incoming floating platform as he argued telepathically with Yun. "But I am doing this for your good! This Qiu Yue seems to be a better wife material than Zhen Qing could ever be!" Yun pouted in the shop instance as she spoke her thoughts to Jin. "I appreciate that thought, but she made her decision years ago. I will not deny I still have some feelings for her but do not do this kind of meddling ever again in the future. I respect her. Please do not think of her as some tool." Jin was undeniably angry, and Qiu Yue could feel that the chi surrounding Jin was somewhat unstable as they landed perfectly onto the second floating platform. "What is happening to Jin? Why is he so angry?" Qiu Yue was a little scared since she knew that Jin does not usually get that frustrated for no reason. "Anger does not suit you." Moloch clasped his hands together as he sat on a stone throne at the edge of the floating platform with his legs folded. "This is interesting." Jin let go of Qiu Yue''s hand when he realised he was grasping her hand too tightly. "Sorry, Qiu Yue, I was a bit occupied with some thoughts. Are you okay?" Qiu Yue who wanted to be angry at Jin became apprehensive after noticing his sudden change of attitude and the chi that surrounded him. From something unstable and suffocating, his aura changed suddenly and was now filled with confidence yet calming at the same time. At that time, Qiu Yue could not help but notice that this kind of feeling was very similar to the experience she felt when she inserted her aura into the signboard. "Could it be¡­? No¡­I don''t think so¡­ it should be just a coincidence." Qiu Yue shook her doubts for the moment and concentrated on the battle in front of them. Chapter 237 Battle Of Wits Moloch looked at Jin and Qiu Yue as they prepared their battle stances against him. He laughed at the sight of the two of them and shook his head. "My, my! Aren''t the two of you feisty! I am not here to fight." Moloch said as he winked at Jin. "Wait¡­does Moloch already know that the System wants Qiu Yue to be part of the store?" Jin thought about it and figured that the System really wanted to know and test Qiu Yue''s capabilities. To check if she was really worth being exposed to the System based on Yun''s request. Jin was conflicted inside, he wanted Qiu Yue to both succeed and fail. If she were to succeed, he would have someone to share the real success of this dungeon supplier store with, be it as a friend or possibly even a lover once more. (But that was just a passing thought, not his main agenda especially when he had the urgent mission in mind.) If Qiu Yue were to fail, it would prove to the System, that it had made a bad choice trusting Yun. The System might even recede the recent urgent mission that it had issued, although that had never happened before. Qiu Yue''s failure would also allow Jin an opportunity to criticise the System for hastily making a decision based on Yun''s request. "Then what do you want us to do? Fight against other monsters? Your minions perhaps? Before fighting against you?" Jin made it sound generic, but he knew that Moloch was a Lord, so he had power over the minotaurs Jin had captured. "Nope. It''s a battle of wits that I propose. I would compete against either one of you. If either of you two manages to pass my test, I will let you both proceed further to the third stage." Moloch smirked as he first looked at Qiu Yue. "So this is the one that the System wants me to test?" Moloch thought to himself as he pointed at Qiu Yue who was still confused at the whole situation but stepped forward. "A battle of wits? Choosing me is the right choice because Jin always needed to copy my notes after the lectures." Qiu Yue teased Jin as she bumped his shoulder while giggling. Jin reluctantly admitted that she was correct and allowed her to proceed forward. "What are you testing me on?" Qiu Yue sheathed her katana and folded her arms as she stared intently at the man puppet with the Moloch plushie on it. "There is no need for any rush. Have a seat." Moloch clapped his hands, and a stone chair was effortlessly formed out of the ground of the floating platform. "I have never seen that monster before¡­" Bin Yong said as he saw how the situation unfolded and for the first time, there was proper crystal clear audio coming from the movie screens, which stunned the entire crowd. Usually, there were a few clips of audio to emphasise certain scenes, but this seemed like a live run of the entire random arena. "Same for me. Looks like Boss Jin has a few monster designs he has yet to introduce to the public." Mr Know-It-All commented when he saw the man whose face was covered by a cow plushie. He knew that it was one of Boss Jin''s design, despite how it looked similar to a human. Mainly because Jin had already shown some kind of fondness for metahumans such as Nu Lang, the cowherd boy, and Qi Er, the Magpie Queen from the Qixi Festival and he dubbed them as monsters despite them looking just like humans. It was true that they could be categorised as monsters because Mr Know-It-All knew that there were no such humans with this kind of powers in the world. Even if they existed at one point in time, nowadays they would be some kind of urban myth, only appearing as a tale or legend. But if they lived¡­ then they did out of the public''s sight. Even the announcers kept quiet and proceeded to watch the scene on the cinematic screen as the banter continued between Qiu Yue and Moloch. "The scenario is like this; Imagine that you are a Queen, with lots of power in your hands. The ability to terraform your terrain with a flick of a finger or build a wall within minutes. But your town is currently under attack by an army of demons. Demons with terrifying powers and overwhelming numbers." Moloch explained as he pulled out a miniature town made out of stone from the ground of the floating platform and pushed it near to Qiu Yue. "I am going to present you a few scenarios to test your wits against overwhelming odds. Tell me how you are going to defend yourself from this kind of scenarios. And while I did say that you have unlimited power in your hand, it was just figuratively speaking." Moloch urged Qiu Yue to sit down while Jin stood behind her to look at the ''war room'' discussion that was taking place. "Whenever you introduce something, this floating platform is going to utilise its magical powers to emulate it. However, if it is deemed as ridiculous, the move that you recommend would not be realised and your turn will be skipped to mine." Moloch briefly explained the rules of engagement. "Any more information?" Qiu Yue felt that she was at a disadvantage, but Moloch did not reply at all. "I am starting soon," Moloch took a deep breath before describing the scenario. "Your entourage is passing by this particularly small town, and its militia stands at less than 200 men. You were having an afternoon tea with the lord of the town¡­hmm, something like a royal visit. However, during your tea session, your scouts crashed into the throne room and reported that a demon army is marching towards this particular town, less than a day away. What do you do?" Moloch purposely posted a vague scenario to test her. As Qiu Yue listened into the scenario, she felt that she was being pulled into a magical world as the floating platform suddenly shifted, the atmosphere around here was turning into something more exquisite. Next thing she realised, Qiu Yue was sitting on a comfortable sofa chair, and the discussion that she was having with Moloch became so much different. The entire floating platform changed its look to an interior of a royal discussion hall with Moloch on the other side of a long table capable of seating twenty people. Qiu Yue even had a crown on her head, although her appearance did not change a single bit. Jin was standing beside Moloch and kept quiet for the moment while Qiu Yue became fascinated with the beautiful luxury interior of the royal discussion hall. Right in front of them was a map and the miniature stone town was right in the centre of the map. Various miniatures started to appear on the map, and both Qiu Yue and Jin could see that they were representing Qui Yue''s Militia and the Demon Army. "So¡­what do you do?" Moloch, who dressed suitably well for high nobility meeting, was sitting comfortably on the side of the long table and posed the question again to Qiu Yue. Separately, the question that Moloch posted seemed to have started a heated discussion in the auditorium, especially in the crowd of customers. "I would put up walls, create a defensive parameter to defend myself." One of the customers said. "I would retreat since I only have 200 troops at my disposal. Perhaps, move to another town and gather more troops." Another customer started to voice out her own opinion. Even Mr Know-It-All had his own personal thoughts about some possible tactics, but he reserved it to himself since the question was too vague and the lack of information was not helping him at all. Besides, Mr Know-It-All was part of the audience, so he acted like one. "You did say I can do anything to protect my people, as long as the suggestions I recommend are not over the top ridiculous, right?" Qiu Yue smiled as she got up from her seat at the edge of the long table and walked towards the middle of the table. Moloch nodded his head and extended his hands up. "Please." "Alright then." Qiu Yue started to observe the entirety of the map, thinking and fiddling with the miniatures but the current instance alone immediately began a commotion within the crowd. Chapter 238 Battle Of Wits - Part 2 Chapter 238 Battle Of Wits ¨C Part 2 ¡°Firstly, what¡¯s the approximate size of the demon army? Do they have any special troops, such as magic users, flying troops etc.?¡± Qiu Yue asked as she looked at the table and started to gauge the distance between the demon army and the town. Believe it or not, Qiu Yue was an avid shogi and Chinese chess player though she dabbled in English chess once in a while. Not to mention, she was forced to play with Jin whenever he needed an extra pair of hands for his tactical war games. Many times when they were playing against each other, Jin would lose rather terribly, because his tactics were too predictable. Build a sufficient force and attack with overwhelming might. It was a viable strategy but also very easy to defeat if hindered during the process of building a sufficient force. That was how Qiu Yue won by usually harassing him in the beginning until he was unable to resist the harassment and finally lost. Moloch was pleasantly surprised that Qiu Yue did not just give a straight answer immediately and therefore decided to indulge her with some answers. ¡°The demon army consists of a monster troop which is roughly 4000 men strong. Each demon is capable of killing 10 well-trained guards. Needless to say, a single demon could easily annihilate a village of commoners. There are no magic users, no flying demons, all ground troops.¡± Moloch spoke, and this caused a heated discussion among the crowd. ¡°There is no way an army of only 200 men, especially a simple militia group, will be able to defeat those monsters.¡± One of the customers shook his head, and some even affirmed that a tactical retreat out of the town would be the best strategy for this particular battle. ¡°What is the technological age of this town? Do they have gunpowder or are we just dealing with the demons with pitchforks and hatchets? Do I have any magical users at my disposal?¡± Qiu Yue asked even before Jin had the opportunity to say anything. ¡°Gunpowder¡­Hmmm. What is that?¡± Moloch asked with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. ¡°If that¡¯s the case. With my powers, I would like to have all 200 men equipped with a reloading rifle each.¡± Qiu Yue made voiced her command and the table suddenly glowed. The miniature that represented Qiu Yue¡¯s forces changed their shape. From a sword wielding knight to a rifleman with pieces of armour to protect himself from fatal flaws. ¡°That is your move? The Demon Army has decided to move forward with bated breath. They seem eager to taste fresh meat and have advanced twice as fast as your scouts predicted.¡± Moloch spoke his command for his demon army. ¡°Judging from the distance, you seem to have at least 3 turns left, before the demon army will come into contact with your troops,¡± Moloch remarked. ¡°That is if you manage to divert or hinder my army. Else, you will only be left with one single turn before contact.¡± ¡°Guns¡­ What a great idea! This way the army will be able to attack from a distance.¡± A customer said in defence of Qiu Yue. ¡°But numbers still play a big and important part. There is really no way she can defend the town with just 200 militia, especially considering what cow plushie guy had said, that one demon is enough to tear down the whole village.¡± Another customer refuted and reasoned it would be better to retreat. ¡°Can I join in and help Qiu Yue?¡± Jin could not just stand in a corner seeing how dirty the game was made by Moloch. ¡°Are you sure? Do you really wish to join the battle? I can allow that, but the difficulty will have to be adjusted in the following scenario and would, therefore, end up being more difficult.¡± Moloch warned Jin what would happen if he wanted to interfere, but Qiu Yue looked at Jin with confidence. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can defeat him I think.¡± Qiu Yue turned back to the map that was on the table and shouted towards Moloch. ¡°Raise the entire land around the town as if it was a mountainous area, if not at the very least, a hill.¡± Qiu Yue gave her command and surprisingly, the town map¡¯s landscape shifted. The town broke into different parts on a mountainous area. This caused severe obstacles which would definitely hinder the movement of the demon army. Some of the crowd members wowed at the decision Qiu Yue had made and had not expected the instance to allow it to happen. ¡°Hmm, it will hinder the demons¡­ Maybe just a turn or two, if they decide to rush upwards, ignoring the mountainous route. May even cause some casualties, although I doubt that it would be an issue to the hungry demon horde.¡± Mr Know-It-All tried to deduce Moloch¡¯s next move, but contrary to his predictions, Moloch told the army to slow down and take the mountainous route up to the town area. ¡°Is Moloch giving Qiu Yue a chance?¡± Jin had thought up of a similar scenario as Mr Know-It-All, and even if he could think that up, surely Qiu Yue had anticipated that too. On second thought, Jin felt that since Qiu Yue had learnt that she could terraform the mountains, it would not be wise to hastily climb up the mountain. ¡°Before I continue, can I ask if I can keep my plan a secret? Exposing it out in the open kind of defeats the purpose of having a plan to win against you.¡± Qiu Yue asked before making her turn. Moloch replied by saying ¡°If you have a plan in mind, how about you simply interject it during my command, and we will see how the instance responds to this.¡± ¡°But what if the instance find her command ridiculous and does not plan to execute it?¡± Jin argued back, pointing out the flaw of this method that Moloch had suggested. ¡°You are right¡­ So how about this¡­ If the interjection during my command is invalid, I shall allow you to revise that particular command. However, you are only given 15 seconds to issue a new command in case the request was deemed invalid. When the time is up, even if you have issued no new commands, I will resume command, and your plan of ambush or intervention will simply be denied. Agreeable?¡± Moloch slouched back upon answering Jin¡¯s concerns. Qiu Yue nodded her head and continued with her commanding turn. ¡°I terraform the plot of land surrounding the town, causing a rise of a mountain which causes the town to be split into 3 tiers. With the coordination of the militiamen and the citizens, they will withdraw from the first and lowest tier of the town and evacuate to the second tier of the town.¡± The moment Qiu Yue gave her word, the map burst out a physical form of a mountain on the table, and the town split into three different parts. Executing the second part of her command caused the bustling town at the base of the mountain to become quiet, and there were miniatures of riflemen and citizens climbing up the physically real mountain. Meanwhile, everyone was still amazed by the magic of the dungeon instance and the cinematic power of the magic eye that captured whatever was happening, making it a fantastic show to watch and entertaining the masses in Auditorium Six. ¡°My move. Upon seeing the town, I sent a division of hunter demons to rush in and occupy the base of the mountain to check if it is worthy for the rest of the army to get some rest while scavenging for any food sources or survivors around the area. You definitely would have left something behind.¡± Moloch knew that Qiu Yue had a plan to evacuate the place. However, Qiu Yue did not intervene with Moloch¡¯s plan, and the division of hunter demons found nothing but an abundant source of leftover livestock and food. Moloch suddenly became very cautious. ¡°Why did she not do anything when I sent the better part of my demon army into the town? Did she really just plan to evacuate the area?¡± Moloch could not sense any hostility from Qiu Yue nor did the rest of the crowd including Jin. They could not figure what she was planning or if she was even planning anything at all? However, Mr Know-It-All grinned when he thought about Qiu Yue¡¯s actions and Moloch¡¯s smooth takeover of the place. ¡°This girl¡­ Boss Jin, it would seem that you have a terribly intelligent yet crafty individual by your side¡­¡± Chapter 239 Battle Of Wits - Part 3 Chapter 239 Battle Of Wits ¨C Part 3 ¡°With my powers, I will now build walls at certain points of the mountainous route towards the second part of the town as the demons are resting for the night.¡± Qiu Yue said as she continued to observed the map. Stone, mud and other makeshift materials arose from the mountainous route, blocking the way to the second part of the town. Miniature riflemen were shuffled around until it was visible that they were stationed at the different wall checkpoints for guard duty. Moloch continued his command of asking the demons to rest for the night before resuming their march to slaughter the riflemen in the morning. Seeing as the humans were sitting ducks and there was sufficient food for the rest of the army the morale of the demons would be at an all time high in the morning. Yet, Moloch still could not shake the feeling, that something was definitely not right. Meanwhile, the rest of the crowd were criticising how incompetent Qiu Yue seemed to be. ¡°Why did she abandon the town without any resistance? She could have made the citizens fight for their land.¡± A customer said, and many held a similar opinion like his. ¡°Hahaha, she does not know anything about tactics at all.¡± Another customer ridiculed when Qiu Yue made such an unpopular move. ¡°Not fit to be a Queen at all! Why won¡¯t that monster let Boss Jin play? I am sure he would overturn the situation with just 200 men!¡± Another customer said out of spite seeing how this battle might make Boss Jin lose against the random arena battle. ¡°Maybe, she needed more time to erect the walls for protection? Besides, the mountainous route will narrow down the path of assault from the demon army. I think she is doing that to control the battlefield?¡± Bin Yong tried to reason as he returned to the crowded auditorium with an onigiri in his hand. ¡°We will see¡­¡± Mr Know-It-All thought to himself and smirked as Moloch commanded his troops to rest and feast for the night. ¡°My turn?¡± Qiu Yue¡¯s blood was pumping crazily as she continued to keep a straight face even though her plan was sailing smoothly. Moloch had ended his turn since he wanted his army to be in their best condition for their attack on the following day. He guessed that even a preemptive ambush in the middle of the night would not deal that much damage to him. ¡°The second part of the town is at a suitable angle from the mountain to bombard the first part of the town. We will commence bombardment by daybreak. Based on the town size, I assume we have been able to create 15 cannons?¡± Qiu Yue tried her luck as she gave her command. She knew that cannons in a desolate town were an expensive military commodity and she had already prepared a backup plan in case the magical map would not allow her to have such items on hand. However, to her delight, the command went through. A few of the miniature riflemen transformed into artillery members, capable of operating the cannons. The artillery teams with the help of civilians slogged throughout the night to move those large cannons into their respective positions. The miniature civilians even helped to carry the cannon balls as the artillerymen made calculations on where to attack. ¡°I see, that¡¯s a rather good strategy. My turn then. Since I am not supposed to be wary of the developments, I shall continue with my previous command by making the demons march upon daybreak.¡± Moloch smiled at Qiu Yue as he ended his turn. ¡°Fire the cannons.¡± Qiu Yue¡¯s command was simple as well, but the effect was devastating. What sounded like a cork popping out of a wine bottle, the cannons ¡®roared¡¯ in unison and laid fire on the town at the base of the mountain. The Demons did not know what was coming and many were caught in the bombardment fire. ¡°Oh my god, did she plan that? I guess that¡¯s better than what I had predicted¡­¡± A customer voiced his opinion while the rest who were against her tried to come up with better excuses. ¡°15 cannons will not do much damage to a demon army of 4000. Even if she could command precise strikes and wither down the number by half, she still has to face the surviving 2000 demons.¡± A disgruntled customer argued back. Moloch expected that to happen and commanded his troops to rally by running towards the edge of the town that was closest to the mountainous route towards the second town level. However, he had noticed that not all cannons were being fully utilised. Moloch did not care too much and continued his command. What he did not expect were the following commands which Qiu Yue gave. ¡°Two cannons have not been fired precisely for this moment. Near the edge of the town lies the town¡¯s warehouses and they have been filled with flammable materials such as oil and wood. The two cannons that I have saved from bombarding the town will now proceed to attack the warehouses.¡± Qiu Yue said, and the artillery team that manned those cannons immediately fired into the direction of the warehouses. The whole place was immediately ignited by the cannon fire, causing more damage and casualties to the demon army. The demon army¡¯s morale went down, especially considering they were retreating from an artillery bombardment early in the morning after rest. As if that was not enough, the fire that started at the edge of the town began to spread throughout the rest of it. Moloch quickly commanded all his troops to break out of the fire and rush through the mountainous route. That was when Qiu Yue smiled as if it was all part of her plan. ¡°The town has prepared oil barrels at strategic points and the civilians have been ordered to throw whatever flammable items they possessed all around their house before they evacuated. The fire at the edge of the town will eventually engulf the entire place. Your demons will not have much of a chance.¡± ¡°You do realise, that I can say that you would not know much about my demons and they could have resistance against fire?¡± Moloch started to be slightly irritated at the losses he was incurring. A big chunk of his army was gone and he had yet to kill a single human. ¡°That does not matter. Your demons still need to breathe, and they are not undead. The immense smoke from engulfing the entire town will reduce your air supply, and my bombardment will continue.¡± Qiu Yue stared fiercely at Moloch. ¡°Does not matter¡­ My demons, I order you to run. Run until you see the first human and I command you to annihilate them.¡± Moloch shouted, now leaned forward to give the command as compared to previously where he just slouched lazily. Even Jin was slightly afraid of Qiu Yue when she got serious. She might simply be an average diligent cultivator, but her brilliant mind for tactics was not shown to many. That was also a big reason why the Ministry of National Development recruited her for her wits. ¡°Does not matter? Well, let me intervene and show you why it SHOULD matter to you.¡± Qiu Yue banged her two hands on the map before she gave her command. ¡°The food and water that your demons had been enjoying had been lined with slow inducing poison which I asked the militia to insert as the civilians have evacuated from the first tier of the town. Even if your demons have resistance to fire? Surely they can¡¯t also possess a resistance to poison at the same time, right? That would be rather unfair for an army.¡± Upon the command of intervention, the demons that were running up the mountainous route started to slow down significantly and were now showing signs of vomiting. Eventually, they lied on the ground gasping for air. ¡°¡­¡± Moloch did not give any further command after that as he was forced to watch many of his demons die under artillery fire, suffocation or food poisoning. Even the crowd, who was previously against Qiu Yue began to keep quiet as they did not know how to react after this reversal of events. Mr Know-It-All, who was grinning all the way picked up his phone to check something. ¡°So¡­I was right, this girl is¡­Hahaha!! Boss Jin, you are even more interesting than I thought!¡± Mr Know-It-All contemplated, as he turned off the screen on his phone and continued to watch the random arena battle with a renewed interest for Qiu Yue. Chapter 240 Third Stage Chapter 240 Third Stage ¡°My defeat. A complete and utter defeat.¡± Moloch slumped back on his throne and waved his hand, causing all the projected illusions of the royal interior to disappear, and they returned to the floating platform scene. Jin, who was standing at the side the entire time, did not make a sound. ¡°That was exciting!¡± The customers placed their worries to rest upon the completion of the match and began to discuss the unconventional tactics of Qiu Yue. Each and every move on her part was based on logic, but they felt that she had not shown everything to the unknown man with a plushie which many had yet to see in a dungeon. ¡°So did we win this round?¡± Qiu Yue gave a peace symbol with her right hand as part of the victory pose to Jin, and he could not help but nod innocently. He figured he should not say anything special and go with the flow for the moment by letting Qiu Yue bask in the glory of victory. Qiu Yue seemed very satisfied with the way things were going¡­ But not Jin. He felt that there was an underlying agenda by the System if it wanted Qiu Yue to be part of his store. To tell the truth, he was currently torn by the desire to have her in his team and opposing the System¡¯s request. Since this was the first time the System gave him a recruitment mission, Jin was wary. While it was most likely beneficial to his dream, at the same time, it would mean that the System also got one step closer to whatever it wanted to achieve in the end. As Qiu Yue was having her battle with Moloch, Jin managed to calm down and began pondering if he could negotiate with the System to not let Qiu Yue be exposed to the System. For the past week or so when Jin was going through the System¡¯s mission of getting 5000 general sales, he had also been contemplating about his life. The current stage of life where he was with the System. How the System affected him, how it spurred him to great heights and the success he had right now. Jin was no doubt grateful for the System bestowing power and wealth to him. It allowed him to break the cycle of sloth and monotony, but it came with a price that he nearly had to pay. By killing people to be efficient. It would have meant losing part of his humanity for the fastest way to gain in the smallest amount of time. Truly something only someone without emotions would even consider under normal circ.u.mstances. However, the System was not exactly something one could define as ¡®normal¡¯. Jin had vowed to Yun that he would search for an alternative solution. To avoid this killing method, that the System tried to make him implement it. His solution so far was, that he would work harder in the store to achieve his current dream. But as Jin was being swept away by tides of tasks and the daily handling of the job, he began to perceive the System and the work he was doing as a chore and nearly lost sight of his initial goal. However, seeing Qiu Yue again had made him recall why he wanted to be a dungeon supplier in the first place. This match with Moloch even allowed Jin to gain some reprise and clarity on the whole situation again. It was not a simple decision for Jin to make. The request of this System would ultimately affect Qiu Yue¡¯s career, life and possibly result in her being chained down by the System. While people might envy Jin for his excellent dungeons and possible wealth, in actuality Jin did not earn as much as they perceived. Sure, it was still a reasonable amount, but the System has always been the one controlling his finances, the work he was doing, and now it wanted to control the people he was interacting with. Jin always thought that he was fine being a prisoner of the System, but after that incident, he wanted to change. Nevertheless, no matter how he tried to rebel against the System, he was still a cog of this big machine. ¡­and there was also that small lazy part of him that even liked not having to think for himself and simply going with the flow. This was especially true with the new urgent mission. If Jin did not complete this particular mission, he would not receive this network that Ming was talking about. This specific reward however, made Jin have some suspicions that the figment of Ming could also be part of the System¡¯s plan. Either that or the System had managed to catch wind of his thoughts about the Bellator¡¯s Network. Regardless, Jin felt that he could not continue living this kind of life, not when Qiu Yue was being dragged into it. ¡°Looks like I need to have a proper one on one conversation with the System. This cannot go on any further. I will not allow Qiu Yue to also be chained down by the System.¡± Jin said to himself. ¡°Jin? Jinny!¡± Qiu Yue snapped her fingers right in front of Jin which startled him and caused him to shout as a reflex. ¡°Hahaha, what¡¯s wrong, why are you in a daze?¡± Qiu Yue asked as she pointed at the treasure chest that Moloch presented upon defeat. ¡°Look what he gave us, I wonder what¡¯s in that chest!¡± ¡°I was thinking about how amazing you were. Wait, I thought Moloch wanted to have a few more rounds?¡± Jin was puzzled as he noticed the treasure on the ground. ¡°No, it was a complete defeat for me. Hence, I am willing to allow you two to move to the next stage. However, the next stage is somewhat different. The two of you will be split apart, the test of one¡¯s true strength.¡± Moloch wanted to do an additional round and pit the odds against her since he wanted to regain his pride as a Demon Lord but he eventually stayed his hand. There was no use fighting against someone who potentially be an ally in the future according to what he had heard from the System. Besides, the System wanted to have a benchmark test and Moloch did what was told. However, now he had a goal to attain aside from building the new city fortress, to have a proper rematch with Qiu Yue. Moloch sighed at the thought of the rematch and waved his hand once more which suddenly made Jin and Qiu Yue be separated by a divide in the floating platform. As the sizeable floating platform turned into two smaller ones, Jin¡¯s platform was suddenly engulfed within a dome of darkness while Qiu Yue¡¯s floating platform was still intact. Even the customers were shocked by the change of events. ¡°I did not know the random arena was this challenging.¡± A customer commented as the crowd saw the drastic change. ¡°Same here, I did not expect a random arena battle to be this unique.¡± Another customer said. ¡°This is the first time for me to see a battle of wits too. I had been in quite a few random arena battles myself, but I have yet to see this particular monster.¡± Bin Yong gave his own opinion after he heard the customer¡¯s reply. ¡°Master Know-It-All?¡± Shi Zuo politely asked for his opinion. ¡°Nope. I believe I have observed more random arenas battles than any cultivators here, but this is also a first for me.¡± Mr Know-it-All answered. ¡°Well, I guess it is, after all, a random arena battle. I heard the stages of the dungeon instance were created based on your level.¡± One of the customers replied. ¡°Does that mean the dungeon instance purposely chose something to test Boss Jin and his friend? And now it even decided to split the two of them, to properly test their true strength? If that is the case, it seems Boss Jin would be in a different match based on power level.¡± Another customer deduced upon seeing the change in the battlefield. ¡°Well, I would prefer to see Jin¡¯s match rather than that girl¡¯s, even though she was really brilliant in the previous match.¡± The customer got excited to find out who Jin¡¯s opponent would be. ¡°Will it be another new monster that Boss Jin has yet to release out to the public?¡± Mr Know-It-All rubbed his chin in anticipation. The screen then turned towards the dome of darkness, but instead of faces, the customers could only envision two silhouettes and there was no audible audio this time around. However, it was not the same for Jin as he could see everything within the dome. He was not aware that the darkness was impairing the vision of the magic eye and there was only one particular entity capable of doing that. ¡°Yawnnnnnnnn.¡± A silhouette with a red latex suit magically appeared out of nowhere as Jin was looking around to search for enemies. ¡°No way¡­¡± Jin gripped his katana even harder as he saw his opponent walking closer to him. ¡°You want to have a proper talk with the System right? Let¡¯s talk honestly as we dance with our blades.¡± Yun swung her gigantic two-handed cleaver in front of Jin. Chapter 241 The Truth Chapter 241 The Truth ¡°So you are my opponent for today?¡± Jin asked as he brought up his Katana up and readied his battle stance. ¡°You are always so outraged against the System, even though it tries to help you¡­ Even though I try my best for your sake. So this is your chance. Fight me, talk to me and tell me honestly what exactly is your problem with the System!¡± Yun dashed through with a straight charge. No schemes, no tricks. Jin was a little hesitant to tell the truth, even though he was indeed angry with the System. ¡°What? Too sissy to even voice out your worries? I am still able to hear your thoughts, you know!¡± Yun slammed her cleaver towards Jin¡¯s Katana and the impact caused dust to fly about tens of metres away. Jin did not imagine that Yun had such high strength and he nearly lost his footing clashing head on with Yun. With a knee kick, Yun pushed Jin away and started to slam her cleaver once more at Jin. ¡°Why?! Can¡¯t you speak? Am I proving to be too difficult of an opponent for you?¡± Yun¡¯s eyes were glowing with rage as Jin dodged the attack and the cleaver smashed the ground, causing the cleaver to be stuck. But Yun was not done, she raised her hand up and summoned a spherical ball of black flames and directed it towards Jin. Jin had no chance but to be torched alive by the black flames and he yelled in pain. ¡°Is that not black fire? How is Yun able to use a Panda Spiritual Union skill? Or was it just a generic skill?¡± Jin was unable to figure it out but thankfully, he managed to tolerate the burn as the flames subsequently died out. However, this did not stop Yun from attacking as Jin saw the edge of the cleaver coming towards his torso area. If not for the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash, he would have been cut into two. Yun continued her barrage of attacks while Jin did not even have the chance to take a breather. ¡°Still not speaking? How about this?¡± Yun released her cleaver and went towards Jin barehanded. Yet Jin did not dare to retaliate using his Katana. His hesitation proved to be his downfall. In the next moment, Yun sent out an impactful punch that caused him to vomit some blood and stomach acid. ¡°Oh my god! Is Boss Jin getting wrecked?¡± A customer wondered out loud, as he could only make out the silhouettes with the rest still being covered by the dome of darkness. ¡°Are you willing to speak now? Do you need any more persuasion?¡± Yun followed up with a kick towards Jin¡¯s stomach to force him to spit out his thoughts. ¡°FINE! I ADMIT IT! I AM ANGRY AT THE SYSTEM! I AM ANGRY AT YOU!¡± Jin finally broke his silence as he endured the kick from Yun¡¯s heels. Yun finally stopped and allowed him to speak. ¡°I have always been following the System¡¯s commands, and the System had been forcing me to do things which I found outrageous! I did not mind doing this kind of stuff previously but after that incident, I could not bring myself to trust the System!¡± Jin shouted from the bottom of his heart as he tried to stand up. ¡°I still have no clue about what the end goal of the System is. How CAN I be sure whether it is helping me because it wants to help me or because it is trying to fulfil some hidden agenda! I am sick of being kept in the dark like how the others treated me when I was young! They told me to follow their orders, without questioning anything! Told me not to ask about how you died! How Dad died! Can you imagine being told as a little kid, that you would never again be able to see your parents? That even though resurrection is possible, it would not work in your case, that there was NO WAY of resurrecting them!!! Telling me to simply accept that fact and not to stick my nose in other people¡¯s business!¡± Jin cried as he spoke his heart out. ¡°I feel troubled. I feel irritated, worried that I cannot trust anybody! What absolute loyalty?! You guys seem to be more loyal to the System rather than me! Even though I tried my best to gain respect from all the other monsters! I built houses for them, I made the houses especially in a way so that they could feel at home. I tried to listen to their problems! I tried what I could! I am so busy ALL THE TIME! I haven¡¯t even had the time to simply relax, play any kind of game, meet up with some friends or anything of that sort. Ever since I started this whole business! I am so tired of it!¡± Jin raised his sword and tried to hit Yun back, but she dodged it as if it was perfectly normal. It was at that moment that she held Jin and slapped him in the face. She struck him so hard that he fell to the ground again. At that moment, the cinematic magic eye diverted its attention to Qiu Yue and her opponents, the three goblins. ¡°The System is your inheritance from your grandfather, your great grandfather and the generations before that. The System is your prophecy to fulfil. To rebuild and continue the Royal Zodiac Panda Bloodline.¡± Yun said as Jin was lying on the floor, stunned. ¡°What do you even mean¡­?¡± Jin did not know how to reply. He was in so much pain that he was unable to comprehend what he had heard when Yun told him the truth. ¡°You are technically the last descendant of the Royal Zodiac Panda Bloodline. I did not wish to tell you anything previously because I was afraid you would become arrogant. That you would end up flaunting your powers, your title. I wanted to keep quiet until I knew that you were ready.¡± ¡°Did Grandpa Ming know about it?¡± Jin tried to stand up, but Yun kicked him down again. ¡°Stay down! And listen with your head low! You do not deserve to know the truth! Always kicking a fuss, being so immature about things. Why can¡¯t you see things at a wider perspective!¡± Yun shouted at Jin as he held onto his torso. ¡°Then if I am the last descendant, why did Grandpa Ming not rebuild the Bloodline! Why did you not rebuild the bloodline?¡± Jin managed to ask, and Yun folded her arms. ¡°Because of some idiot, who tried to be a smartass, challenging the twelve zodiacs even though he was not ready. The System subsequently punished my dad by refusing him its powers and reversed time to make sure that no one would know about it.¡± Yun answered. ¡°The System is that powerful? To even reverse time?!¡± Jin continued to wallow at the ground for being this distrusting against the System. ¡°Yes, and I was killed before I ever had the chance to inherit the System¡¯s powers. Eventually, the responsibility has been passed on to you,¡± Yun explained as she paced around Jin. ¡°Do you know¡­ the identity of your killer¡­?¡± Jin swallowed his saliva before asking it. ¡°The last remaining family retainer of the Banned Emperor.¡± Yun said without any doubts. ¡°So, the System¡­took your soul?¡± Jin slowly folded his arms and legs into a grovelling position. ¡°Mine and the ones from our ancestors. The former members of the Royal Panda Zodiac Sect, excluding Ming.¡± Yun replied as she approved of Jin¡¯s change in attitude. ¡°But I have never heard of this particular Zodiac before¡­¡± Jin lowered his head as he spoke. ¡°Well, it is not surprising¡­ It could even be considered classified information of the highest grade. It is only known by the Royal Panda Zodiac. All traces of it have been erased in collaboration with the Jade Emperor.¡± Yun sighed and shook her head before she started to walk away. ¡°Complete your mission at hand, and we shall talk more in private.¡± Yun walked away as she snapped her finger and disappeared while Jin realised that the dome of darkness was removed. Jin then noticed that Qiu Yue was struggling terribly against the three goblins. With the floating platform that he was on heading straight towards them. He braced himself for impact as he moved at top speed and shouted at Qiu Yue. ¡°Qiu Yue! DO A HIGH JUMP!¡± He kept waving his hand up into the air to exaggerate his intentions. Chapter 242 Saving The Damsel Chapter 242 Saving The Damsel The two floating platforms united once again as they crashed into each other. The impact caused the goblins to lose their balance and fall down, while Qiu Yue did as Jin instructed and ended up unaffected by the collision. The crash did not hurt Jin, though he couldn¡¯t help but fly forward due to the momentum. He used that opportunity to initiate his Panda Rolling which allowed him to dive and evade the crushing impact, making him head straight into the group of goblins. Thankfully, he utilised less than 20% of panda rolling to move closer towards the goblins, and Qiu Yue did not manage to see his skill in action. The injuries he incurred by Yun¡¯s moves were still causing Jin a fair amount of pain, but he had no time to heal them, so he gritted his teeth and tried to complete this mission as soon as possible. He was still trying to grasp all the information he just learnt. It was impossible that the System or Yun would come out with such an explicit lie merely to bluff him. So if she was telling the truth, Jin had to buck up, since it would no longer be purely about being the best dungeon supplier rather it would go above that with his end goal changing to the revival of his bloodline. The System must be projecting a grand outline when he thought about it as he fought with the goblins. The Tiger Princess Yang Ling, the meeting at the zoo with Ku Wai. It all started to make some sense as to what the System was plotting. ¡°WOAH!¡± Ripcaller tried to plunge his two daggers into Jin ruthlessly but Jin barely managed to evade it. ¡°Master, I do not think this is the perfect time to think about other stuff.¡± Ripcaller, the dagger goblin sent a voice transmission to warn him about his diverted attention. ¡°I will not go easy on you the next strike.¡± Ripcaller smiled as he stepped backwards and unravelled his short bow to set loose an arrow towards Jin¡¯s direction. ¡°Argh, the pain!¡± Jin wanted to dodge the second time but the pain from Yun¡¯s punishment caused him to stagger, and it was imminent that the arrow would strike him. If he could only move his body sideways to prevent a direct hit from the arrow¡­Jin closed his eyes as he struggled to move his body. ¡°Clang!¡± The arrowhead was deflected at the nick of time, all thanks to Qiu Yue blocking it by stretching her hand out with her katana. It was a haphazard move which she did not have any confidence that it will help Jin. But Lady Luck was by her side. At closer inspection, Qiu Yue also realised that the arrow was coated with poison which made her saving grace even more vital to save Jin. ¡°What happened to you?!¡± Qiu Yue stood in front of her damsel in distress as she saw Jin¡¯s severe wounds while he clutched onto his stomach. ¡°As you could see, I got beaten up pretty badly.¡± Jin let out a slight smile and thanked his white knight with shining katana. ¡°Well, looks like you managed to hold your ground. I thought I was a goner if you did not come and interrupt the battle.¡± Qiu Yue faced her katana towards the three goblins as they tried to flank and surround the two of them. ¡°Any bright ideas?¡± Jin asked Qiu Yue for her opinion since she assumed that Jin was a styleless cultivator. ¡°The dagger goblin is the most dangerous out of those three. The sword goblin had some fancy swordplay which I think I can win if I concentrate on him. But the spear goblin was brutally disruptive. Seeing your condition, I think it would be best to surrender and retain our honour.¡± Qiu Yue suggested. ¡°Retain our honour? What are you some white knight in shining armour?¡± Jin could not believe she thought of herself in that way. ¡°Hehe, my damsel. I would rather keep you to myself than have the goblins grab you away.¡± Qiu Yue played along before she helped Jin to stand up. ¡°I will try my best to distract and keep the spear goblin and dagger goblin¡¯s attention to me. Heavy DPS on the sword goblin and save me.¡± Jin decided to play a little more aggressive despite his wounds, and Qiu Yue was rather impressed by his dauntless guts. ¡°He did change a bit.¡± Qiu Yue thought to herself before she nodded her head. ¡°Have a good dance, my lady.¡± Qiu Yue continued to play a fool with Jin which caused him to roll his eyes. Although he was known as a styleless cultivator by Qiu Yue, she knew that he had a few tricks under his sleeves. That was because Jin had once shown her that he could learn various techniques from other styles without learning the base cultivation. So he was going to take advantage of that information and used his skills as subtle as possible. ¡°Hey daggers and spear boy, your opponent is me.¡± Jin beckoned them to come towards him while Qiu Yue charged towards Slashreaver, the sword goblin. ¡°Your death, your choosing.¡± Piercestriker, the spear goblin said proudly as he ran towards Jin while twirling his spear from one hand to the other. Meanwhile, Ripcaller was shooting arrows as fire support to prevent Jin from moving close, allowing Piercestriker to gain momentum for his Deep Thrust skill. Jin held onto his katana and focused on his incoming opponent. His eyes once again glowed with inverted triangles, and his focus was extremely sharp. He could feel the wind, the goblin¡¯s muscle movement and the direction where his spear was going to strike despite the distraction twirling of his spear. ¡°One hit! That is all I need!¡± Jin lowered his knees and steadied himself for the evade and parry with the perfectly normal parry slash that he was keeping. During the fight with Werecat Nyanmi, Jin began to realise that the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash was not random at all. It was based on various factors, and although he could not explain it well, he felt like it was a game of precision. ¡°Aim your sword at the right spot against the incoming weapon strike and deal the blow against the weapon so that you can deflect at the right time, the skill will trigger.¡± Jin tried to recall the steps he took. With the help of his Inverse Eyes, that was what he called it at the moment; he could somehow pinpoint the right place and time for his sword to clash with Piercestriker¡¯s spear strike, allowing Jin¡¯s perfectly normal parry slash skill to trigger. True enough, the ability activated and Jin deflected the spearhead and slid his sword along the pole of the goblin¡¯s spear and straight to his right upper chest. The goblin shouted in pain but struggled madly as he tried to bite Jin back. A common tactic Jin already knew it would deploy based on various runs he watched. Hence, instead of Piercestriker¡¯s teeth that sunk into Jin¡¯s flesh, Jin¡¯s wakizashi was the one the spear goblin ate, and blood was oozing nonstop. Jin did a proper cut through the neck when he removed the wakizashi out of the spear goblin¡¯s mouth and pushed him away. He pointed his katana towards Ripcaller and provoked him. Jin was thankful that his pain was numbed by the rush of adrenaline he had upon using Inverse Eyes. ¡°You are next.¡± Jin breathed deeply while trying to hide his pain, though it was very obvious to Ripcaller. ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh.¡± Ripcaller rubbed his two blades together to make an irritating scratching noise before he dashed towards Jin. Chapter 243 The Damsel to the Rescue "What do you think the odds of them passing the last stage of the arena are?" Bin Yong asked Shi Zuo for his honest opinion. "Not sure, Boss Jin seems to have been injured badly by the previous fight. Considering that he is still barely alive means that he was fighting a boss we might have difficulty encountering." Shi Zuo deduced, and Bin Yong pondered for a moment. "The beatings he took was so drastic, and he should have just used his cultivation to take it down instead of continuing to hold back." Bin Yong replied, but Shi Zuo shook his head when Ripcaller took no mercy in charging head on against Jin who was battered down by his previous wounds. "Perhaps he did utilise his cultivation, and that was when the camera turned away. Or maybe he was earnestly testing himself out against the monsters. Perhaps, Jin does not really want his customers or other people to know his true cultivation." Shi Zuo suggested as he saw Jin struggle against Ripcaller, the dagger goblin. "Why would he even do that? Have we not seen that his cultivation grade was at Grade 3 last month when he was fighting against the very same goblins?" Bin Yong continued to survey Jin''s desperate actions against Ripcaller as their blades clashed against each other. "Don''t you remember how Jin fought rather easily against those goblins? I figured that Boss was hiding his actual ability to showcase how strong the goblins had become." Shi Zuo responded. "Are you saying the AI that controls the goblins is improving day by day, battle by battle?" Bin Yong took a step back to analyse and realised what he said contained some truth. He remembered not being able to use the same tactic repeatedly against the same group of monsters. "Yeah, remember how we fought against Sir Bacon in the past and how we fought him in the very same random arena about a week ago? His actions were less predictable, and he managed to break our technique. We barely scraped through the last fight." Shi Zuo was praising how much potential Jin''s monster AIs had, though he did not know the fact that his monsters were all real. "Even so, Jin is fighting handicapped with a restriction of his abilities on top of his wounds. I think if he can win this round, it would be a pyrrhic victory." Shi Zuo said as the urge of wanting to go into the battlefield to help him was strong for some reason. The battle ensued for both Qiu Yue and Jin, and each of their individual contest of strength felt like it had a reached stalemate. Both sides were waiting for each other to make a mistake so that they can clinch victory over the other. Qiu lashed her katana at Slashreaver, the sword goblin, yet the sword goblin had kept his trump card for this particular moment. He stepped back and imitated Bu Dong''s Angry Ape style sword art which almost everyone in the auditorium recognised. Some could not believe the goblin was able to perform such an act but they realised they were the ones who were wrong. Slashreaver''s attack went through and Qiu Yue who underestimated the sword goblin paid the price of a severe slash wound at her stomach. "Urgh!" Qiu Yue deflected another blow before she fell to the ground with her wound overflowing with blood to the point that her innards were exposed. She was trying her best not to aggravate the wound, but Slashreaver''s relentless attacks did not give her any time to even drink a potion. However, even in this situation, she did not wish to call for Jin''s help since it might make Jin lose his focus in battle. "Ah¡­in the end, I am still the useless one in dungeons." Qiu Yue thought to herself as her hands started to feel weak, unable even to block another blow against the sword goblin. "It''s the end." The goblin exerted out a fair amount of chi, and an amalgamation of half goblin, half angry looking ape silhouette appeared above it. "Angry Gob-Ape Pronounces Its Superiority!" The goblin shouted which attracted the attention of Jin. "That little bastard! How dare he use that skill!" Jin realised what was going on and gritted his teeth as he executed a panda rolling without care of being stabbed in the back by Ripcaller to save Qiu Yue. He tolerated the pain and knew full well that the dagger was poisoned but this was not the time to overthink. He had to save Qiu Yue or else his mission would fail, and Yun might not reveal to him the entire truth. Slashreaver noticed that Boss Jin was coming and decided to aim his attack at him instead of the dying Red Panda cultivator. Jin, on the other hand, tried to utilise the Inverse Eyes ability once more, but to his dismay, it was not activating so he jumped out from his Panda Rolling and held his sword backwards. Jin pounced forward and utilised Lazy Panda Swipe without thinking too much to deflect the blow against Slashreaver copied sword art. As Jin clashed swords with the goblins, the Pandas silhouettes came out, but it was too brief that the customers were unable to count how many pandas were in the skies. One thing was for sure. There was a sufficient amount in the sky to let the customers be in awe even for just a moment. The Lazy Panda Swipe blasted Slashreaver out of the floating platform, and Ripcaller tried to save his friend. However, he too had underestimated the power of Jin''s Lazy Panda Swipe at maximum power, and he was being pushed out of the floating platform too, causing a very lucky win for Jin. Qiu Yue was fainting out from the excessive loss of blood, and she did not manage to see the battle that was happening right in front of her. Jin quickly ran towards her and aided her up. "You are stronger than I expected you to be¡­What have you been hiding Jin?" Qiu Yue was gasping for air as she held onto her wounded stomach. Her clothes were entirely stained with blood, and her consciousness was beginning to fade away. "Shh..drink this potion. Sip it. Swallow it. Do not stop drinking." Jin said his instructions in steps because he knew being hasty would not help the current situation. Although he knew that this was just a dungeon, he simply did not want her to fade away at that moment. There was still a lingering attachment of wanting to save her no matter what. Qiu Yue followed Jin''s instructions and tried her best to sip it. The bleeding stopped momentarily, and Jin proceeded to give her a stronger chi potion to compensate for the loss of health and chi. "Why did you want to save me¡­? Isn''t this just a dungeon?" Qiu Yue managed to stabilise when the potion''s effect kicked in after a few minutes. "I cannot bear to see you die. Be it in a dungeon or in real life." Jin scratched his head innocently. It was at that time the magic eye closed up in the random arena, and the System had already replaced Auditorium Six''s screen with another dungeon run. "To have the damsel rescue the shining white knight. How embarrassing this is for such a turn in events." Qiu Yue said as she had the strength to place her hands on her face to hide her blush from Jin. "This nostalgic warmth of his arms. I really did miss this." Qiu Yue thought to herself maybe she could just relax in his embrace for a moment. In the meantime, the customers who were watching in the auditorium were discussing what they had exactly seen in the random arena instance. "I think I saw at least four pandas." A customer said as he confidently raised four fingers. "I will say six." Bin Yong gave his own opinion though others began to disagree. Some even tried to look into the Pandaflix for the playback, but to their surprise, it was not in any of the streams at all. "Sorry guys! The video would not be up unless Boss Jin allowed it. Till then, we will be heading to Auditorium Four to check out the PvE Card Battle that is happening as we speak!" Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One quickly squeezed through a small vent that connects every auditorium, so that they do not have to fight against the crowd to get out of the hall. Chapter 244 Quality Time Jin took the treasure with him as he helped Qiu Yue up before the random arena battle instance teleported them back to the shop instance. It was at this moment, people started to crowd around Jin with no respect of proximity, which baffled poor Jin. "Boss! Boss! What is your true cultivation!?!" "Boss! How did you manage to attain such a high foundation base without revealing your cultivation?!" "Boss! That guy with the puppet plushie on his head. Who is that? Is it a new monster for a future dungeon you have yet to reveal?!" Many questions surfaced, and Jin finally connected the dots to the System''s mission message. "Others were watching. I get it now¡­" Jin thought to himself. Separately, Qiu Yue was astounded by the crowd and did not know how to react as the customers started to crowd around Jin and her. "Wait¡­What?! Jin is the Boss of this particular dungeon supplier store?" Qiu Yue asked blatantly, yet no one answered her directly and instead everyone was focusing all their attention on Jin. "Guys, guys break it up! Let''s give the Boss a bit of a rest. You all saw how tough this instance has been for both of them." Yun shouted in her eye catching red latex suit, as she stood on the bar counter and clapped her hands to shift the mob''s attention to her. "Come on! Boss at least tell us about your cultivation. Just answer this question." A customer pleaded him. "Okay. Just one question and I will leave. My cultivation is Panda." Jin roared and grabbed Qiu Yue, who was still perplexed at what was happening to the other part of the shop instance and together they fled the area. "Damn it, why did you ask such a silly question!" Another customer criticised the previous customer for asking such a stupid question before the crowd slowly started to disperse. "I wanted to ask about his cultivation grade¡­I guess I was too nervous." The customer frowned, but his friend cheered him up by buying him a Panda Soda. Jin and Qiu Yue were back at the store with the registration machines, and he asked Qiu Yue to follow him to the third floor where it was pleasant and tranquil. Even Qiu Yue was dumbfounded by the look of the Zen Gallery. She was then offered a can of Bamboo Juice by Jin to drink. He sat beside her and began to ponder how to untangle this whole mess which either Yun or the System made. He could foresee being bombarded with more questions by the customers the next chance they would get, but at the very least it did help him to add some credibility to his subsequent explanation. "Erm, yes. As you might have probably figured out, the boss of this dungeon supplier store would be me. I am currently a dungeon supplier." Jin took out his wallet and showed Qiu Yue his certification, which she held onto with her hands trembling. "I cannot believe it¡­ You are really doing what you have been aiming for." Qiu Yue spoke to herself and looked Jin in the eyes. "You are walking the dream that you have wanted to walk, without being held down by the chains of society." Qiu Yue''s voice quivered, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Wait, wait, why are you crying!" Jin panicked a little as he tried to glance around if anyone was looking at them. He started to scavenge through his storage watch to see if he had any tissues or towels that he could lend Qiu Yue, but his clumsiness made Qiu Yue laugh a bit. "Oh my gosh, you are still the same." Qiu Yue had already taken a piece of tissue out from her own storage ring and wiped the tears away. "I have never wanted to lie to you or anything. I just wanted to show you the work I have put in for this dungeon supplier store. I''d also like to know your thoughts on it without any bias." Jin replied. "How did you even create all of this? I mean, you should not possibly have a dungeon supplier certificate unless you went through a five year course in Dungeon Catching¡­" Qiu Yue could not put the pieces together. "Ehh¡­I¡­" Jin did not know whether this was the right time to confess about the System and complete the main objective of the mission. "No, I am sorry. I didn''t mean to degrade you or anything! Don''t be mistaken. I am very happy for you. I just¡­ no¡­ I mean, congratulations!" Qiu Yue was somewhat hesitant with her words, and she started to have some feelings of regret for not sticking through with Jin. "I have something to tell you. And only you. Do you mind staying with me, until I close the shop? I will tell you the whole story at that time." Jin went close to her ears and pretended to whisper, but he was sending her a close range voice transmission because he did not wish for anybody to eavesdrop. Unlike the standard voice transmission, close range voice transmissions could not be captured, decrypted or leaked by any other means. Seeing how Jin was using close range voice transmission, Qiu Yue believed he had a pretty important secret that he was not able to tell just anybody. She nodded her head and forced a smile at Jin. "Alright, if that''s the case, do you mind me accompanying you around the store? I can show you where you could get your very own pet!" Jin told Qiu Yue, which instantly resulted in her mood perking up. "Come follow me!" Jin beckoned Qiu Yue as he explained the ''landmarks'' of his store, starting with the Zen gallery and later to the second floor. "Let me buy you one of these first," Jin said to Qiu Yue when he introduced her to the Loot Box machine and got her a few packs of cosmetic items. "You sure? I can pay for it too you know. After all, you are running a business here." Qiu Yue remembered that Jin had already paid the tickets for the random arena battle dungeon instance and also the Vanilla Milkshake at Lele Cafe. "Oh, now it also makes sense how Jin knows the boss of Lele caf¨¦." A random thought came to her mind. "It''s okay, treat it as my apology for hiding the truth from you," Jin argued, and Qiu Yue shook her head. "Actually, when I think about it, even if you had told me the truth, I would not have believed you. If not for the things that I saw myself and heard how everyone called you Boss, I doubt I would have thought of you being the Boss. Although now thinking back on it you do match the description from my friend¡­" Qiu Yue deduced as she thought back how things fell into place so conveniently. "Still¡­ Thank you, Jin." Afterwards, both of them returned to the shop instance, and Jin brought her to the Pet Battle Card Vending Machine where Jin assisted her in getting her very own Digital Pet. For this, Jin told Qiu Yue, that she had to pay for it herself because the pet was hers to own and the machine needed her information from the Pandamonium app as verification. Hence, the payment was also linked to her Pandamonium account. "Oh my! This is a Red Panda!!!" Qiu Yue could not believe her eyes as she held onto the newly born pet that appeared right in front of her. The feeling of the Red Panda was so real that she could not help but hug it real tight until the Red Panda squeaked a little. Qiu Yue released her grip to take another look but this time around, the red panda slipped through her hands and ran up her arms to her shoulders. It later wrapped itself around her, and Qiu Yue took the chance to rub her face against its face. "Jin, this invention of yours, is like the best thing ever! I can own a Red Panda now!" Qiu Yue then asked Jin to take a few pictures of her and the Red Panda together. They also unveiled the several packs of cosmetic items together and passed the time until the shop officially closed. "Qiu Yue. Come with me." Jin asked her when he confirmed everyone had left the shop including Zhen Qing. Jin had decided to complete the mission as stated by the System and get the full story from his mother once he was done. Chapter 245 Second in Command Chapter 245 Second in Command ¡°What is this place?¡± Qiu Yue asked as she saw a white room with just a table at the centre of it all. Was this another dungeon instance or some sort of isolation room which Jin wanted to speak to her about? ¡°I do have something to tell you and it¡¯s about this dungeon supplier store that I am working at.¡± Jin snapped his fingers, and two chairs appeared right in front of them. ¡°What? How did you do that?!¡± Qiu Yue was astonished by the sudden appearance of the two chairs, but Jin continued with his explanation as if nothing out of the ordinary happened and gestured her to have a seat first. ¡°You know me. You know the norms, the practices on how to be a Dungeon Supplier since you searched for information on it for me back then. So I am not going to lie to you.¡± Jin said with a serious look on his face. Qiu Yue was a little scared when Jin became earnest. Did he go through some underhanded means to get the ownership of this store? Or worse, did he kill someone to be this store¡¯s owner? No, that cannot be, she has never even heard of a dungeon supplier store in Tiangong Shopping District until recently. ¡°Please do not ask how I got it, but I happened to attain a special¡­entity, that helped me with the creation of the store.¡± Jin tried to explain what has happened to him but Qiu Yue still looked clueless. ¡°You know how the main characters in those light fantasy novels have special powers?¡± Jin tried another angle of approach, and Qiu Yue nodded her head. ¡°My situation is somewhat similar to that. Somehow, I¡¯ve attained a system to help me.¡± Jin backed his words with another snap of his fingers, causing the previous group of goblins, that they fought against, to appear right in front of them. Qiu Yue did not know what to say upon seeing the goblins kneeling right in front of him. ¡°Wait¡­Wait a minute. Are you saying, you attained some special powers, and you used it to create a shop?¡± Qiu Yue was dumbfounded for a moment before she asked Jin. ¡°Well, sort of. It is less me becoming all powerful, but more like if I had a genie of some sort, that could grant wishes. Although there are also limitations to that. Try to imagine it as something similar to your previous battle, with Moloch. Though I doubt I can ask for anything I want for free, unlike the powers of command you wield in battle. It is sort of a ¡®give and take¡¯ situation with the system for whatever I want to do. Remember those blueprints I asked you for? It was actually for one of the dungeon instances I would like to create.¡± Jin explained but he tried to keep it simple for now. Telling her there is a whole different world besides theirs would just freak her out even more. ¡°Well, that is how it would seem to my customers. But in actual fact, I am creating more than just a dungeon instance. I am creating an entire city from scratch. A living, breathing city. That is why I need your help, now more than ever.¡± Jin stood up and bowed as he asked Qiu Yue directly. He knew that beating around the bush would not help when dealing with her and she would definitely have more questions to ask. It would be best to strike now in a conversation. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Qiu Yue was extremely confused. Her ex-boyfriend, who just admitted to having one of those ¡°systems¡± you only read about, now asked for her help in creating an entire city? How could she even do that? What about supplies? Is it not just an illusory instance? If it is an illusory instance, why would he need it to be this realistic? ¡°I need some time to think about it, and I have a lot of questions running through my mind.¡± Qiu Yue replied, but Jin nodded his head and told her not to worry. ¡°Firstly, why me?¡± Qiu Yue asked. ¡°Because you know me the best. You know my goals of being a dungeon supplier. In return, I will give you a decent wage and a Red Panda cultivation courtesy of the aforementioned System. This should also prove to you that the System exists, and I am not crazy. Unless you think I somehow managed to find a perfect Red Panda Cultivation Manual. Besides, weren¡¯t you the one, who once said that if I ever become a dungeon supplier, you would become my second-in-charge?¡± Jin answered with a blush on his face. ¡°But, but, but! Erm, I meant purely business, if you reject or have any doubts about it, I do not mind you not taking up the job. However, it will cause me some problems if you refuse my offer.¡± Jin hastily added before continuing bluntly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qiu Yue tilted her head a bit and folded her arms as she questioned him. ¡°You are currently the only real person that knows about my situation.¡± Jin answered with his head down. ¡°So what? Are you going to eliminate me? Are you going to brainwash me if I refuse?¡± Qiu Yue asked with a strict tone. ¡°Technically, it would not be me but the System. But to answer your question, yes, it would most likely want to erase your memories of this whole conversation, unless I manage to recruit you. But I vow that I am not going to let it do that and will take full responsibility for any consequences in introducing this System to you. I have asked you out of my own volition, and you have the right to refuse and walk away from this without any consequences.¡± Jin now looked straight at her eyes as he spoke. ¡°I see,¡± Qiu Yue replied with a nod. She has known Jin long enough time to be able to differentiate if Jin was telling the truth or not. It came as a shock to her, but Qiu Yue started to make some sense of things. For example, the uniqueness of the dungeon as compared to those by the previous suppliers that she had participated before, and the fantastic store that Jin currently had. ¡°Then second question: How much are you willing to pay me if I choose to work here? I mean, you are headhunting me so I would like a higher salary than my current job.¡± Qiu Yue decided to tease Jin a bit. ¡°100,000 Yuan per month. (Close to 15,000 USD!) Allowance and lodging shall be given if needed. Overtime given too.¡± Jin gave a high offer immediately even though he was still earning peanuts from the System. Besides, the System wanted her to help him, might as well take this opportunity to take advantage of the System¡¯s vague mission objectives. Qiu Yue had her eyes wide open as she was shocked by the salary offered by Jin. She was earning roughly 24,000 Yuan (approximately 3,500USD) including overtime, and she thought that with a new shop like Jin¡¯s, she would probably be offered lower. Qiu Yue intended to bargain a little before shrugging it off as a sort of big favour given to Jin but never in her life would she have thought she would be earning this much. ¡°Don¡¯t believe me?¡± Jin snapped his fingers, and a suitcase appeared right in front of her. He later opened the suitcase and showed the wads of cash in his possession. At a closer inspection, Qiu Yue noticed the notes were in hundreds, and she even looked within the stack of cash to check whether or not the notes were all the same. Not a prank where the first note was in US dollars and the rest of the stack of notes were of a different denomination. ¡°If you accept this job offer now, I will present to you this suitcase as a bonus.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Qiu Yue had no idea on how to reply to Jin¡¯s offer. It looked as if he was desperate but at the same time, she knew that he was genuine about the proposal. ¡°But you do not even know my talents other than some discussion through chat. Why are you so certain about hiring me?¡± Qiu Yue presented a logical question towards Jin, but he laughed it off. ¡°Are you kidding me? A quick search online and I could find multiple publications by you and your team in those reputable journals. There is no way I am making a mistake in getting you into my store. Besides, I still remember how you loved to analyse dungeons and the composition of dungeon monsters back when we were still dating. You are a damn good pick for my store.¡± Jin said with such passion about his confidence in her that it somewhat moved Qiu Yue. ¡°Alright, for you, Jin. I will do it. I will accept your job offer, and shall become your second-in-command.¡± Qiu Yue nodded her head, and she could see Jin getting excited. ¡°But, you have to give me some time to quit my job as well as doing my responsibility to handle the project I am working to other people.¡± Qiu Yue said. ¡°No problem, but it will be best if you-¡± Jin remembered that his Dungeon City Fortress had a deadline of three months before the Dungeon Core¡¯s shields came down. ¡°No worries, I will come and help you for the coming weekend. Besides, I need to ¡®get¡¯ some information from my workplace to help to build your ¡®city¡¯. But you have to fill me in with the details! ¡± Qiu Yue winked at Jin as he offered to call a cab for her. Chapter 246 A Proper Conversation - Part 1 "Now, we can have a proper talk. But first¡­ You have successfully completed your mission." Yun congratulated as she drank her Black Ivory Coffee at the bar island counter when Jin returned to the Shop Level One instance after hailing a cab for Qiu Yue. Yun also placed a cup of Black Ivory Coffee in front of Jin as he sat beside her. "You must have many questions in your mind. Speak freely." Yun told him, but it was easier said than done for Jin. There were so many questions on his mind that he did not even know what to ask first. While he was spending his time with Qiu Yue, he was also trying to sort through the questions, and his mind was ever wandering. If Qiu Yue''s focus had not been on the new Red Panda Pet that she was holding, she would have noticed how very distracted Jin was. "I¡­ want to know more about this revival of bloodline issue. And why did you want me to become a dungeon supplier? Did you lie to me when you said that I needed to be the number one dungeon supplier? Was it only a means to an end?" Jin drank his coffee as he gathered the courage to ask this burning question on his mind. "I believe Zeru has told you about the Twelve Zodiacs'' fight against the Banned Emperor?" Yun questioned him, and Jin nodded his head. "He did not give you the full story." Yun took another sip of coffee before she swung her barstool to face Jin. "From the wisdom of our forefathers that coexisted with the System, this story may seem like an exaggeration from our part, but it is nonetheless the truth. The Twelve Zodiacs were nothing compared to our Panda Clan when they were plotting against the Banned Emperor." Yun started her story, and Jin listened to it intently. "The Panda Clan that aided the rebellion owned stores, similar to what you were doing right now. We were the ones that provided sanctuary for the twelve other cultivators along with their clanmates to meet with the Jade Prince. We were the ones who provided them with training, weapons, armour and intelligence on the Banned Emperor''s movement. After all, the Panda Clan operated bars, weaponsmiths, restaurants and had access to many other establishments. We have been a conglomerate, that secretly raised funds against the Banned Emperor''s ruling." Yun explained. "During the battle against the Banned Emperor, we supported them with resources such as potions, restrictive barriers and food for the twelve cultivators to fight against the Banned Emperor for twelve days and nights. That was not all¡­ Remember how the Jade Prince did not arrive until the twelfth night? When the Banned Emperor was occupied with the Zodiac cultivators, the Jade Prince, along with his subjects, raided the palace and performed the coup d''¨¦tat. Of course, we were the ones who coordinated the entire operation and supplied the manpower with the necessary items." "Eventually, when the rebellion ended, the Jade Prince was crowned as Emperor and rewarded the twelve cultivators and their clans by appointing them as the Royal Zodiacs." That was when Yun paused for a moment. "But not us." Yun shook her head. "He knew that he owed the greatest debt to the Panda Clan. In fact, without the Panda Conglomerate, the rebellion he planned for would have never seen the light of day, nor come to fruition, having been crushed in its infancy. He was grateful, but at the same time wary. Concerned that if they were capable of bringing down the Banned Emperor, they could also usurp the newly crowned Jade Emperor." "The Jade Emperor had other plans¡­ He summoned all of the Panda Clan Elders to convene for a secret meeting in the royal palace after the coronation. He asked them to come alone, without their other clan members, with the excuse of that meeting being too important to be leaked." "Before continuing, have you heard the legend, that whenever an Emperor was crowned, they would have a wish that could be granted by the heavens and hell?" Yun asked as she took a breather by drinking another sip of coffee. "Yes, it has been passed down in later generations, considered folklore along with the Jade Emperor and the Zodiacs¡­" Jin replied. "As you can imagine, it is more than just a legend. The Jade Emperor shared his honest thoughts with the Panda Clan Elders. He expressed his gratitude to them for helping him throughout the entire course of rebellion." Yun interrupted and continued her explanation. "Of course, the Panda Clan Elders lowered their heads and said that they would serve the Emperor that kind of bullshit swearing-in ceremony stuff. But the Jade Emperor was still not at ease, so he decided to use the one wish the Heavens granted him on the Panda Clan." "He declared that by the heaven''s decree the Panda Clan would be granted the title Zeroth of the Royal Zodiacs, meaning that it would come first before the Twelve Zodiacs. The Panda Clan was no doubt delighted and honoured when they heard that they earned such a favour from the Jade Emperor. They believed that the reason they were not invited to the coronation ceremony was that the Jade Emperor wished to employ their services in secret, something similar to shadow agents." "But at that moment when the Jade Emperor announced the title, he had one condition. He would only allow one Panda Family in the clan to survive. He reasoned that the rest would be ''absorbed'' and become the ''Will of the Heavens'' to subsequently aid the one and only Panda Clan Elder." "The Panda Clan Elders were in a dilemma, and some had the suspicion that the Jade Emperor just needed an excuse to remove them entirely. No one knew what this ''Will of Heavens'' was and they requested that they needed some time to discuss in private. The Jade Emperor allowed it and left them to their own devices." "However, he was already executing his plan as he walked out of the room," Yun said with a little bitterness. "All of the Panda Elders in that room were forcibly removed through the Jade Emperor''s wish. The twelve Royal Zodiacs clans proceeded to kill the remaining prominent panda clan members and labelled them as part of the retainer families of the Banned Emperor." "What the Jade Emperor did not know was that the Panda Clan Elders were shrewd enough to keep an Elder out of his sight at all times, even before the rebellion started. They figured that the Jade Emperor might turn out to be a threat to them when he requested for that secret meeting and needed to keep a high potential elder out of the loop to protect their clan roots and revive it if needed. As history has shown, their foresight was proved correct." "So unknown to the Jade Emperor, the wish that he had made solely to kill off the entire Panda Clan came true. Either because of his wish, or maybe as a compromise to appease the Panda Clan Elders. Whatever the case, the so called ''Will of the Heavens'' became the System, and the last remaining Panda Clan Elder inherited it." Yun stopped for a moment to drink her coffee. "Utilising the knowledge of the Panda Clan, the System became a business oriented entity that empowered the subsequent generations of the remaining Panda Clan members. However, only one single member was able to wield such powers. Even within the remaining Panda Clan Elder''s family, there was internal strife once they found out the true powers of the System and everyone fought against their clan members and siblings, to become the successor. It was only in recent generations that it became more of an inheritance thing." "Wait, so doesn''t that mean that there are other Panda Clan members out there?" Jin questioned. "Yes but you alone are a direct descendant. Additionally, your bloodline is the purest of them all. The Panda Bloodline that flows in the others is thin, resulting in them holding different cultivations, a different surname, being from a different family. Yet, the System refuses to tell me who they are and if there are others who inherited the System." Yun replied. "Wait, did you not say that I am the only one that inherited it?" Jin was slightly confused. "Well, that is only half true. You have inherited the Main System. There are other Sub-Systems out there, meaning other Panda Clan remnants, who were considered worthy by the System have been granted minor System abilities to aid them in their journey to revive the Panda Clan bloodline." Yun clarified. "So¡­" Jin realised something. "Yes, if the System determines that you are ultimately not worthy of its time and resources, it might migrate out of you and proceed to other inheritors if necessary. I don''t wish to unsettle you, but in the long history of the Panda Clan remnants it would not be the first time that was to happen." Yun said bluntly. Chapter 247 A Proper Conversation - Part 2 "I am not the only one¡­" Jin did not know how to react. He has been given a chance to prove himself again and again, but he defied the System at every turn ever since the incident. Looking back at it, a cold shiver ran down Jin''s spine at the realisation, that he could have lost everything, at any moment. Yun was considerate enough to give Jin some time to reflect before continuing her explanation. "What happened to Grandpa Ming? You said that there were other Panda Clan remnants around. Why did Grandpa Ming still have access to the inheritance of the System even though the System denied him? Should it not have transferred over to someone else?" "Simple answer. There were no worthy ones to be transferred over during his generation. All were equally useless. Even Zeru''s Master was a failure in the end. It seemed that his work would go down the drain." Yun answered. "Wait, what do you mean? Zeru''s Master Tou Ma was a Panda Clan Remnant?" Jin was shocked at the discovery of the new fact. Did Zeru know all along that Jin was a Panda Clan Descendent? Was that the real reason why Zeru called him Master and not the System''s enforced blind loyalty to Jin?" "Yes, but Tou Ma did some senseless stuff when he realised he was able to utilise the powers of the Sub System in his hands. He nearly caused an economic crash in the shadows before the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan managed to find Tou Ma and stopped him from doing so." Yun described. "Initially, he did it for the good of the people, but after Zeru''s retirement, Tou Ma''s ethics and morals went spiralling down. Eventually, the System withdrew its Sub System from Tou Ma before the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan interrogated him. Confidential reports that were secretly obtained at a later time by other Panda Clan Remnants have shown that the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan could not get any information from him even after continuous torture. However, it was also reported that Tou Ma was silently removed and it was announced to the public that he had died due to cardiac arrest. Most people still don''t know the real truth, which is why he was still hailed as a public hero." Yun explained and Jin could not believe what he heard. "All this manipulation of seemingly public information¡­" Jin knew that these kind of practices were a common thing in the country politics but hearing it first-hand made him realise how lucky he was, protected in his own bubble of comfort. "The way the inheritance of the Main System has usually been handled, was for someone close to you, most often your relatives or guardians, to be summoned as your mentor. However, in your situation, this was not possible. Ming himself has been excommunicated, and I have been killed before I got the chance to learn about these things. My soul was damaged so badly that I do not even remember your existence or even giving birth to you. The System recreated me after that incident. To me, your existence has been as if I was introduced to a previously unknown relative. As if one day I was simply told, that the person in front of me has blood relations with me and that I should treat him like family. Hence, I am not too sorry for mistreating you. Because I really do not see you as my kid even if I have tried to act that way. You were not wrong to call me ''a figment, a property of the System''. In the end, I am just a facilitator to oversee you." Yun finally admitted it in all honesty, the cruel truth. "But I do not deny that I do feel that guiding you have awoken my maternal instincts at times. It''s just that¡­I simply do not know how to help you since I did not go through any of this System thing. Everything was bombarded onto me, and even I am just learning the ropes." Yun used this chance to stand up and stepped aside from the bar stool. "I am sorry, let us restart this relationship between you, me and the System. I shall not pretend to be your mother. Please treat me as your elder sister of some sort. If you feel uncomfortable, maybe senior will be fine." Yun sincerely bowed right in front of Jin. Jin looked at Yun who was still bowing and waiting for Jin''s response. He stood up and bowed down too. "I am sorry for making so much trouble, Yun. I will reflect on my attitude and will earnestly try to work with the System from now on." Jin promised with his head down. Yun quietly stood upright and looked at Jin before she opened her mouth. "I erm.. I am sorry that I did not inform you about this earlier too. The System was too wary after Ming''s failure, and I was instructed not to say anything until now." Yun sat down again and drank her remaining coffee. "What exactly did Ming do?" Jin asked, but Yun shook her head. "I am not permitted to go into the details. You might learn about that in the future when the System trusts you more." Yun replied as she went into the bar island and refilled her coffee. She also took out a box of cheesecake and opened it to share with Jin. That was when Jin remembered about Qiu Yue when he saw the picture of a Red Panda playing in the snow printed on the cheesecake box. "Why did you want me to recruit Qiu Yue? Did the System know about her? Or was it merely because she had the cultivation of the Red Panda?" Jin thanked Yun for the cheesecake and used a fork to cut the edge of the cheesecake to eat. "To put it bluntly, you cannot hide anything from the System. She is a talented woman who has the potential capability to help out in the Dungeon City Fortress. The System thinks that if it cannot reign or revive the Panda Bloodline in this country, or perhaps this world, the Dungeon City Fortress can be used as a backup plan. It is considering to bestow her a Sub-System to help you out. Therefore, she will be a Bellator at your service." Yun munched on the cheesecake as she explained to Jin. "Speaking of that, what exactly is a Tier 2 Bellator Network¡­?" Jin asked when she mentioned Bellator. "The ability for you to govern- *cough* I mean manage people bestowed with Sub Systems. We still call them ''bellator'' because they are considered warriors fighting for you, only on another front aside from the battlefield. Also, that chef you brought in? Zhen Qing. The System has also been highly considering to bestow upon her a Sub System related to cooking." "Why her?" Jin was curious. He initially wanted to help her because of her excellent food and some personal interest in her before Qiu Yue came back into his life. "Her emotional cooking. The System tried hard to replicate that, but it was unable to do so. True, her cooking could not match with the System''s knowledge of food, but as a commoner, she was still able to portray the emotion in her cooking. The System has a Sub System that could help her further that ability into something more effective." Yun was now talking properly with Jin, cooperating with him and discussing how they could work things out together. Perhaps, the concept of being an emotionless overseer limited to survey Jin''s progress did not suit her after all. "That is why I need you to take the initiative to push her more. I believe she is at the edge of creating something good, but it seems that she has encountered something like a chef''s block? If there is such a term. In any case, the System and I shall issue another mission to you." Yun prodded Jin to look into his phone. "Get Zhen Qing to create the first main dish for the Dungeons and Panda''s restaurant. Reward: ''Perfectible Penguin Ruling the Kitchen Hell'' Cultivation Style." The System notified Jin via his phone once more, and Jin nodded his head at Yun. "Penguin? Not Panda?" Jin was surprised, although Zhen Qing did say that she wanted a penguin cultivation, but for a System that based itself on a Panda Bloodline to hand out manuals for other cultivation styles, he did not understand the rationale. "Yes, Penguin. Remember how I said the Panda Clan was a conglomerate of stores and businesses? That was because people with various cultivations came together, united by a common cause and decided to serve the Panda Clan instead. Their influence was one of the largest and if not for the Jade Emperor''s rise in power and quick subduing of the Panda Clan''s higher echelons, we might have been the ones to control the economy of this country." Yun replied. "Therefore, the System had accumulated sufficient knowledge to create top notch cultivation manuals suitable for anybody. Not only that, the System rewards sub Systems based on meritocracy and as a potential candidate to carry out ''the will of the heavens'' if the direct descendent fails. All in all, they do not care about short term goals. If the System needs to wait for 100 years or even 1000 years for a person suited for the revival of the Panda Clan should their direct descendent fails, then so be it." "But right now, you are still around, and the Dantian Core Resurrection made the job easier for the System to resurrect if necessary. Well, unless you are killed by the Banned Emperor retainers like what had happened to me, that will be entirely a different issue. I will explain to you more once you get to increase your cultivation. And I really need you to get stronger. Do not slack off in your training or cultivation. For the moment, do not think much and not anger the System unnecessarily." Yun took a breather from explaining and finished the last piece of the cheesecake. It looked like Yun did not want to talk about her death yet and Jin also needed time to reflect on what was said that night. "Looks like I really need to plan my schedule properly. Many things are piling up." Jin noted the mission in his notes and promised himself to try and complete as soon as possible, as he brought the cups and plate into the dishwasher before he locked the shop for the day. "But first¡­I need to cultivate." Jin decided not to think about it at this moment as he entered the Hot Spring Instance for his medical herbal bath. "Oh yeah, I also need to remember to recreate this hot spring instance for my cultivation purpose." Chapter 248 A Heart-to-Heart Talk - Part 1 Jin laid in the hot spring pool, but this time round, he was sitting right beside the maple tree. Unlike last time, he had learned his lesson and no longer merely lay at the edge of the pool for the penguins to pull him up. Right now, he had purposely brought some carabiners, long pieces of climbing rope and a climbing harness which he bought in one of the stores in Tiangong Shopping District as he strapped himself up before sitting down in the pool. "Master, it might not be as effective if you are not totally naked." Mr Patsu reminded him loudly, but it also understood Jin''s intention when he brought the harness and carabiners. "I understand, but you know safety first, right? What is the use of effectiveness if I drown in my sludge? I promise to redesign the hot spring instance in the future." Jin thanked Mr Patsu for his concerns as he aided the Penguins to set up the ropes with the aid of the maple tree. "Is it just me or is the maple tree getting bigger each time I enter?" Jin thought to himself before ignoring the tree and sitting in the water with his cultivation pose, and he eventually reached the state of tranquillity. The imagery in his mind changed to the same scene of bamboo trees, but it was slightly different than usual. There was now a wooden cabin in the middle of the bamboo forest. Jin figured Ming would be there and walked towards it. "Gramps! You there?!" Jin shouted, but there was no response. Instead, he felt a weird tingling sensation as the bamboo leaves fluttered when there was no wind in the area. *CLANG* "Good, your senses improved¡­Hmm?! Did you unlock a particular Eye technique?" Ming came out from his hiding area as he clashed swords with Jin, who had activated the Inverse Eyes technique to have a clearer picture of his surroundings. Jin was thankful it worked when he needed it. "Not sure what to call it when it appeared. I just call it the Inverse Eye technique now. Is there a proper name to it?" Jin loosened his sword arm, but surprisingly Ming did not allow him to let his guard down. "Did I tell you to stop defending?" Ming questioned him loudly as he struck forward with his sword. "I promised that I would train you and you need to get stronger fast. It seems that you have already been given the truth from the System so I shall not hold back either." Ming was so furiously attacking Jin that his Inverse Eyes could not keep up. "Your defence technique is admirable, but your attack is sorely lacking. You have been relying on Zeru''s Perfectly Normal Parry Slash too much. As you can see, I too can parry." Ming said as he counter parried Jin''s Perfectly Normal Parry Slash with Jin having no chance of defending himself as he received the attack. Oddly enough, there was no blood oozing out, but the pain from the slash could be felt. Even with the Inverse Eyes, he could not see any openings in Ming''s attacks. It was as if Ming knew every weak spot of his. That was when he noticed that Ming was using Inverse Eyes as well. That realisation, however, gave Ming the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Jin''s pause and he plunged his sword into Jin''s stomach. "Distraction! How can you afford to be distracted during a battle!" Ming took out the sword from Jin''s body, who fell over and was lying in pain once again. "Your flaws. Easily distracted. Poor defence. Poor attack. You rely too much on abilities. Your strength? None. How are you going to live up and protect the name of the Panda Clan?" Ming shouted as he folded his arms and listed all of Jin''s bad points. "I¡­" Jin was in too much pain that he could not reply Ming. "Well, at least your naming sense is better than mine I guess." Ming scratched his beard as he extended his hand to help Jin up. "Naming sense?" Jin placed his shoulders around Ming and was assisted into the wooden cabin. "I called this eye technique Triangle Eyes¡­Hahaha! But Inverse Eyes sounds so much better." Ming helped Jin onto a chair and threw him a wet towel near the sink. "In any case, instead of training, I think you want to know more about my banishment from the System right? Since my dear daughter and that big lofty System will not spell it out." Ming smiled as he poured a cup of drink which eluded a particular scent of aroma and passed it to Jin. "You have to earn it from me. Learn the Panda Spiritual Union skills while increasing your cultivation grade. I believe Zeru did say that increasing your cultivation grade will unlock the so-called chains on the Spiritual Union skills." Ming said as he sipped his drink. "I am assuming that you are hearing and seeing what I am doing?" Jin placed his hands on his face as he learnt that all his family members including the long dead ones were all serial stalkers. Perhaps that was how they could have garnered intelligence against the Banned Emperor too. It was a terrifying thought to be born in a family of stalkers. "Hahaha! No no no. I will not know anything until you arrive here. The moment you¡­erm, check into this place. I have access to your memories, which reminds me¡­ I have been meaning to ask a crucial question¡­" Ming leaned forward. "That chef girl is a hottie, and so is that Red Panda though I feel she is more of a cutie instead. Which would you go for? Or are you waiting for the opportunity to strike both? I mean knocking up both girls means that you increase your probability of keeping the Panda Clan alive too." Ming''s eyebrows perked up, and Jin laughed bitterly. "At this rate, I think I will go for abstinence¡­" Jin said with a dead tone. "Still, concerning looks, you have not found the one that suits your taste yet." Ming placed his hands on his chin and voiced a slight thought. "Oh, yea¡­ I forgot¡­ you said that my taste for girls was similar to yours in your letter before you passed away." Jin did not know how to advance this particular conversation. Jin felt that he would rather be in pain than to continue this part of the discussion. "Haha anyways, I was just teasing you. I am not like the System. If I accessed each and every memory of yours, I would go nuts trying to process it. Remember that I was in the military? I am able to extract specific information, the ones that I need to know to improve your training. Besides, the information erm¡­kind of presents itself the moment you enter this place. You are dying to improve, dying to know something. This made such specific information extraction relatively easy although it is still tiring to keep on extracting it from your subconscious." "That is why that will also be one point of your agenda when you come to this place¡­Hmm, we should name this place too." Ming leaned back as he rocked his chair and thought about what he should name this place where Ming and Jin met. "Agenda? This place?" Jin was confused. "Guarding your subconscious. In the event you are taken or kidnapped, you need to train your subconscious to protect yourself. You know, in case they dive into your brain to extract information like how I did it just now. Especially when you have so many flaws already. I bet you would be easily kidnapped. Bwahahhaha!" Ming laughed as he stood up. "Come with me. I shall bring you to a more secure place to teach you the basics." Ming stood up and went to his bed to press a button, revealing a small hatch at the bottom of his bed. He lifted his bed like a piece of paper and opened the hatch door. "Get in." Chapter 249 A Heart-to-Heart Talk - Part 2 Jin carefully stepped down the ladder through the hatch shaft, but all that awaited him was complete darkness. Ming followed behind and somehow managed to find the switch to the lights in this basement underneath the cabin. It was basically an empty room with only two chairs at the centre. There was a light bulb in the middle of the room which provided sufficient illumination. "Is it that vital to learn how to protect my subconscious? Should it really be a higher priority compared to you teaching me how to defend myself?" Jin tried to affirm the rationale behind Ming''s latest action. "You don''t use your brain that much, do you? Care to go over what happened earlier in your store when you came out of the random arena dungeon instance?" Ming scoffed at Jin as he sat down in one chair. "Customers started to ask what my cultivation grade was. Erm¡­I figured it''s either the System or Yun, who started the live stream of the dungeon instance run in the auditorium." Jin could not figure what Ming was getting at. "Analyse it more. Why would Yun or the System want the audience to see your fight and Red Panda Cutie? Why did she not listen to your command?" Ming asked. "I honestly have no idea¡­ I could only list out the disadvantage or maybe to create an obstacle for the mission to progress?" Jin answered cluelessly. "Stop thinking that Yun is out there to harm you. You already know the truth that she is your ally. She would not do something that random just to spite you. Think harder." Ming now folded his arms and looked sternly at Jin. "To provide entertainment for the audience? To show that I am a competent dungeon supplier?" Jin tried to guess. "You are nearly there. Why would the System want to show the audience that you are a competent dungeon supplier, but not allow you to reveal your cultivation?" Ming tried to probe further. "Ehh¡­ So that the audience would respect me for showing restraint towards myself?" "No." Ming shook his head lightly. "I don''t know the answer¡­" Jin honestly wanted to give up. "Because there are enemies in the midst of your audience." Ming looked him straight in the eyes. "Enemies¡­?" Jin started to think of the advantages of showing the audience. "Yes, the world is not as friendly as you think it is. There are enemies hidden in your backyard. People who are jealous of your success. They should probably be thinking something along the lines of: ''How can this pathetic no-name dungeon supplier suddenly create a store that had instant fame in no time? All through word of mouth?'' " Ming crossed one of his legs, and he spoke to Jin. "By showing a constant restraint of my strength against insurmountable odds, it indirectly portrays that I am a person who does not back down from fights." Jin started to analyse and comment on the System''s decision. "Yes, and that last part where you accidentally, but yet briefly showed your cultivation off to the audience was a perfect taunt to fuck them off. To send out the message to not mess with you." Ming did not bite his words when he gave his praise. "That also means that the threats you will handle in the future are going to be the bigger fishes. They will not send out their small pawns to disturb you. Well¡­I guess they might. But I am preparing you for the big ones. The ones that can potentially mess you up." Ming explained. "I shall give you a titbit ¡ª the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. They are experts in regards to information extraction from the mind. Extraction comes along with torture. The way I extracted information from you is what I have learned from a good buddy of mine who came from the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. If I dare brag, he is a direct descendant of the Snake Clan too." Ming smiled evily as he thought about the past. "Too bad, I was unable to kill him since I do not have the System." Ming sighed before looking at Jin. "I will eventually have to kill, don''t I? To get revenge and revive the Panda Bloodline. Is that why the System wanted me to kill people in the Dungeon World? Even though I said I would not kill anyone for resources." Jin asked with a solemn look in his face. "Kid. I am not here to dictate what you can or cannot do." Ming took out a cigar from his pocket and lit a fire. "By all means, befriend the Royal Zodiacs. Regain fame for the Panda Clan once again by acting diplomatically. Make them respect the promised title ''Zeroth of the Royal Zodiacs'' or kill every one of them. I do not care." "All I care about is that you are my grandson. Eat, sleep, live. Love and fuck. That is all I ask of you. To enjoy yourself. Life is short no matter how long someone can live. I have learnt that no matter how others force their expectations on you, you are the captain of your heart. Live for yourself." Ming said as he blew the smoke away from Jin. "But to live life to the fullest, you need to learn how to protect yourself, your employees and in the future, your own family. Therefore, I am teaching you the ways to defend yourself so you can enjoy yourself to the fullest extent." Ming was genuinely concerned for Jin. "Gramps, sometimes I feel that you are not honest about yourself when you were alive." Jin broke out a small smile at Ming. "Bwahahaha!! That is true. It looks like only when someone is dead, that you can only wish that you appreciated your own family more." Ming laughed loudly. "Isn''t that for the living to say and not the dead?" Jin sniggered at his remark. "Bahh, you always apply cold water to the burned area. Did I use the internet meme correctly?" Ming rolled his eyes seeing Jin laugh crazily. "That is beside the point. We shall start with the training soon." Ming clapped his fingers and suddenly Jin''s hands and feet were chained up to the chair. "Stay in this darkness for a month. Do not worry, time here is accelerated, a month in this room is just five minutes in the real world. Good luck! Try not to turn insane." Ming stood up and walked away slowly. "Oh, one more thing. Should you try anything funny like breaking out of the chains? More restraints will appear to lock you up. And there is no giving up since I do not permit that." Ming started to climb up the ladder. "What happened to allowing me to enjoy life to the fullest?" Jin said as a rebuttal. "One cannot enjoy and appreciate life thoroughly without experiencing the suffering of life," Ming replied as he climbed out of the basement and closed the hatch. When he closed it, the lights were immediately cut off. "Solitary confinement huh. Guess, it is a good time for me to reflect on my own actions and what I can do better." Jin thought to himself. "Not to mention, what to do once I get out of here." Jin shook his head at the issues he needed to address. "Maybe I can do something in the dark like cultivating myself?" Jin tried, but because he was all chained up, he could not get into a proper stance to start cultivation. "Urgh, It is not possible." Jin tried to shake his hands and feet, but soon enough, he felt that more chains started to grab him and tied him even more tightly on the chair. "Shit! Is it that sensitive?" Jin could only rely on his sense of touch and sound to hear the chains crawling up to him. It was at that moment he felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡­ Chapter 250 Total Darkness "Isn''t this the same situation as that dream that I had before?" Jin thought to himself and tried to stay calm. It would not help to get even more agitated, and he would only end up clamped down by more chains if he moved too much. "Wait, wait, wait. This is not the same as that dream. There is no inscription charm or any lighting. It is just pure darkness." Jin spoke to himself as he tried to regulate his breathing. He roughly knew the effects of total darkness when placed into complete isolation. Humans were not meant to stay in total darkness, and it was considered a torture technique during wartime. The sensory deprivation and the lack of light would cause the body''s natural cycle and circadian rhythm to go haywire. Also, the lack of interaction could make a person lose their mind mainly because humans could never stay idle for long. Their desire to be busy was in their innate nature, which cannot be fought against. Jin remembered about how he read how people would prefer to have pain as a stimulus than not doing anything and lived in boredom. Therefore, Jin roughly figured out Ming''s objective for chaining him up in the dark. If total darkness could make someone lose their mind, it was also the best way to temper one''s mind, that was under the condition that Jin would survive the one month of darkness. At this point, Jin decided to reflect on what he had learnt so far about the System, about Yun and his interactions with Ming. Previously he never had the time to sit down properly and think about this kind of things, so he started to consolidate the information he had gathered from all three of them. At the very least, he was finally certain, that all three were not going to harm him in any way¡­ at least not any time soon. However, he did find it ironic that the System denied Ming, but Ming was still around within him to guide him. Nevertheless, he did wonder why the System did not say anything about Ming especially when Jin''s unfiltered thoughts could always be heard by Yun. Maybe the System automatically removed Ming from their listening logs since it hated him so much for failing. Jin also wondered why Ming would want to do something so stupid but then again Jin started to realised he was dumb not to trust the System too. "Hahaha, the pot calling the kettle black rings so true in this situation!" Jin sighed as he spoke to himself. Although the goal was still not entirely clear for him, especially the part about the revival of the Panda Bloodline. He wondered what exactly it has got to do with being the number one dungeon supplier. Perhaps, there might be some correlation since Yun said that the old Panda Clan strived on stores previously. It did make him wonder what the previous Panda Clan descendants with the System had done. Did they create stores as well? Judging from his own situation and how Jin was not living the high life, did it mean they all failed? Yun also said there was a case where the Panda Clan Remnant took over the System to carry out its will. Did the Remnant fail in the end too? Or was it merely because the Royal Zodiacs impeded both the direct descendants and the remnants? Or was it because of their incompetence like how Jin used to be in the beginning? Could it be laziness was some sort of Panda Clan curse passed down in the family? Jin could not figure it out and decided put aside the issue at hand for a moment as he pondered what to create for Yang Ling, the Tiger Princess to fulfil his part of the deal. He figured that if she was making such equipment as the previously shown prototype, she must have connections with key military personnel. That would mean, that he could gain money from getting contracts with the military as well. After all the military budget in countries was always high. However, that was in the past, and now it seemed riskier than ever especially after he had learned about the truth since the Zodiacs governed the army and the police. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that the Zodiacs were the ones that took the entire country as their backyard playground. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer while the middle class continued to slog their lives away. "When the time comes to clash with them, then I will settle." Jin started to begin feeling sleepy after all that random thinking. "But for now, time to go to sleep." It was funny how Jin felt so tired considering he was in a part of his subconscious and yet, he decided not to think too much about that and went to sleep. He knew that he should not presume and rest sufficiently. Meanwhile, in the Hot Springs service instance, Jin was producing a lot of sludge at a high speed which startled the penguins. Even Mr Muddles, their friendly neighbourhood sludge remover, who improved himself could not stop the current situation. The sludge was in such a large quantity, that it overflowed from the hot spring pool to the surrounding areas. The Penguins decided to take refuge on the top of the cabin roof with the help of Mr Muddles as they helplessly watched Jin hanging on the top of the Maple Tree still in his cultivation stance and he continued to produce sludge from his entire body. It was the first time they saw the production of sludge coming out of him since it was usually muddled by the hot spring pool water. Now the sludge was so thick and black that the amount Jin produced began to overflow out of the facility and over the mountain''s edge. If one could see from afar, they would assume that it was some volcano mountain slowly spewing black stuff out of its peak. "What is happening to Boss?" Mr Patsu was slightly worried, but he could not do anything. He was considering if he should call the Big Boss System for help but seeing that Jin was still hanging along the Maple tree due to his climbing harness, Mr Patsu continued to oversee the situation. Mr Patsu was after all instructed not to disturb Jin''s cultivation unless his life was in mortal danger. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Argh!" Jin suddenly woke up when he heard footsteps in the area. He instinctively tried to look around but to no avail. He figured he was just imaging stuff. Jin did feel that he had slept for a long time, but he knew that the change in the natural cycle was bluffing him. Without anything providing him with some sense of time, it was impossible to tell whether he slept for a whole day or for a mere 10 minutes. "There I heard it again!" Jin thought to himself now completely sure that he heard very light footsteps coming his way. Jin tried to shake that thought away. Perhaps he was overthinking in his head. "You are not wrong. I am indeed walking towards you." A charming voice was speaking all around him. "You desire a companion to talk to, don''t you?" The voice continued. "Am I that weak to start hearing voices in my mind so soon?" Jin thought to himself and decided not to say anything. "Maintaining your silence huh? Don''t believe that I exist?" The voice stopped for a while, and suddenly he heard a click sound. Jin recognised that sound, and it was distinct enough to know what it was. "A gun?" Jin judged in his thoughts and continued to stay mute. If he ever talked back to that voice, he assumed, that would be the point when went insane from talking to thin air, to nothing. The next moment, Jin sensed an object pressing on his forehead. It was cold, hard and definitely felt like steel. "Still not talking? Pretending to be tough?" The voice spoke, and suddenly Jin felt a shove on his forehead, the metal barrel was pressing forward and leaving a mark on Jin''s forehead, yet Jin decided not to say a thing. "I could be hallucinating" Jin wondered to himself as he maintained his silence. "I am not done with you. I will be back the moment you let your guard down. Hmph." The steps were loud, but they were moving away from Jin. "Please do not come back¡­" Jin said to himself as his voice echoed throughout the entire room. Chapter 251 Darkness Within Chapter 251 Darkness Within Once again, the footsteps became louder. Jin had heard those footsteps for more time than he bothered to count. Each time it approached Jin, it would point the barrel at Jin¡¯s head. ¡°All you have to do is speak, and I will disappear from your life.¡± That low pitched voice said the same thing yet again. Jin did not know whether he should give up or if he should accept the voice¡¯s proposal, he had been hearing the same thing for hours¡­for days maybe even weeks. ¡°Everyone carries a shadow.¡± The voice spoke as it slowly paced around Jin and this time around, he placed the gun at the back of Jin¡¯s head. ¡°The less the shadow is embodied in the individual¡¯s life¡­¡± The voice paused his sentence and Jin could feel its presence lurking right beside his ear. Jin did not dare to move since any drastic movement would result in colder harder chains tying him up even tighter than before. ¡°The blacker and denser it will be.¡± The voice was so close to his left ear that he could hear the person breathing. Did he merely imagine stuff? Or was that really a person in this total darkness? Jin was sure that the room had been empty when the lights went off. ¡°I am willing to bet that your thoughts are just as dark¡­¡± The voice moved away from him yet again, and he heard a spinning sound. This was the first time he overheard that. That mechanical spinning sound made it feel like that person¡­or thing was holding a revolver. ¡°If not darker.¡± It was at that point the revolving cylinder stopped, and pieces of metal dropped on the floor. ¡°No fun at all.¡± The voice complained. ¡°Why don¡¯t you and I play a new game?¡± The voice was now projected at his right ear. ¡°But my time is up so till then!¡± The voice once again faded away as Jin heard that ¡®person¡¯ having thrown his gun on the floor. Jin waited for a while after counting up to a minute in his mind before he sighed out loud. His willpower was fading. Each time the voice visited it got harder to resist and each time it returned it approached him even closer. Jin felt himself being charmed to say something. Only through sheer determination did he manage to resist that urge up until now. Perhaps, Jin was already bleeding in his mouth as there were times he could feel that his tongue wanted to move involuntarily and he stopped it from talking. Was there no way out of this situation he was in? This whole situation made Jin become aware of how much he missed seeing his monsters, his bellators, Qiu Yue, Zhen Qing, Yun and even Ming. He never imagined, that at one point in time he could feel so alone without any of them around. All he desired was to see them just one more time before he was taken over by this madness. Jin could feel the insanity slowly infecting his thoughts and trying to fit itself into every crevice of his mind. ¡°Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?¡± The voice suddenly came out of nowhere which scared the hell out of the brooding Jin, so much that he cried out in surprise. ¡°AHAHAHAHHAHAHA YOU SPOKE! YOU SPOKE!!!¡± The voice was so exhilarated that Jin could hear him jumping up and down, celebrating the fact that Jin finally opened his mouth. ¡°Brilliant! Just god awful brilliant!¡± The voice exclaimed as it went towards Jin once again. ¡°Come, talk to me. I know you can hear me now. I know you can speak now. Come talk to me!!!¡± The voice commanded in an ecstatic tone. ¡°If you don¡¯t talk, I am just going to stay here with you for all eternity.¡± The voice goaded Jin. ¡°F.U.C.K! FINE! SCREW THIS! I WILL TALK!!!!!!¡± Jin shouted, but at that moment a metal piece covered his mouth. It was the same metal barrel that he felt through the time he was in total darkness. Jin had enough, he bit the barrel to the side of his mouth and focused his eyes to the top as if he was trying to look the person at his face. ¡°Shoot then. I am not afraid. I have had enough of you babbling! If you want to shoot me, just shoot!¡± ¡°Woooo so angry! So much anger and hatred within you.¡± The voice expressed joyfully as it pushed the hammer down. ¡°How about it¡­ Let¡¯s play Russian roulette? You answer a question honestly, I will put the gun on my head and push the trigger. You answer me with a lie, and I will shoot you instead. I have one bullet in here.¡± The voice explained as it once again spun the gun cylinder with the barrel in Jin¡¯s mouth. ¡°Do you want to return to your old life? Where you walk blindly through life till death? Wherever fate brings you, you follow it obediently? Yes or no.¡± The voice asked. Jin refused to answer. ¡°Not answering? You are willing to risk your chance of survival in my hands?¡± The voice questioned as it took out the barrel from Jin¡¯s mouth and slammed the handle of the revolver on Jin¡¯s head as it aimed once again at him. This time around, the barrel was pointed at Jin¡¯s right eye. ¡°No matter the odds, the game is rigged.¡± Jin claimed as he spit his saliva at the person who was holding the gun. ¡°Clever. So clever.¡± The touch of the barrel suddenly disappeared from his eye, and a flash of light appeared abruptly. It was too blinding for Jin, making him unable to even take notice of what the shape of that ¡®person¡¯ was. His eyes were simply too used to the darkness. All of a sudden, Jin felt pain in his thigh. As if something was biting him, trapping him, and eating Jin¡¯s life away bit by bit. He started to feel something like claws scratching his leg and he could not move an inch apart. ¡°Next Question. If Qiu Yue and Zhen Qing were in the same position as you right now and you had the power to save one of them, who would you choose to save?¡± The voice demanded another answer as he turned the revolver¡¯s cylinder once more. ¡°Both.¡± ¡°Honest answer, but invalid.¡± Another flash of light appeared, and Jin could feel another creature biting his torso. Right now, he could roughly feel two canine-like beings chewing away on his flesh, and all he could do was shout in pain. His tears were rolling down continuously, and Jin kept shouting until he was drowning in his own echoes. Jin¡¯s body involuntarily moved from the constant gnawing resulting in more chains appearing and squeezing at the wounds that were inflicted by the mysterious ¡®person¡¯. ¡°Tell me, what has this period of darkness taught you? So I can end your life¡­ Then you will not hear from me anymore. I did promise you that after all.¡± The voice yawned as he said that. It was as if he had his fill of fun with Jin. ¡°This darkness?!¡± Jin nearly lost his voice from all the screaming, but he began to feel faint from the supposed loss of blood, but at that moment, he felt like he could see a glimpse of the room. Everything that was within that room. He noticed two foxes were biting through his flesh, the multiple bloodless chains on his body and a silhouette of a man wiping his revolver. ¡°What else?¡± The man inquired as he now pointed the gun at Jin¡¯s head. Jin knew that he could only defy the man one more time before he was shot in the head. That man was not joking anymore. Jin could see the killing intent in his eyes, his body and in his gun. ¡°Thanks to this darkness, it showed me the beauty of light!¡± Jin answered as he tried to rock the chair despite the two black foxes biting him with the little mobility he had left. ¡°Hmm¡­ haha¡­ HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± The man laughed as he placed his left hand on his forehead. ¡°After this much pain and suffering, you still think that you have learned a lesson from this?¡± His face now turned serious and he looked at Jin. Despite the teary eyes, Jin could recognize the movement of his finger. ¡°Now!¡± Jin thought to himself as he rocked the chair backwards, causing it to topple slightly. Before Jin hit his head on the floor the chains started appearing and stabilizing the fall. Nevertheless, the shift in height resulted in the bullet only scraping the scalp of Jin¡¯s head. ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Excellent! Excellent!!¡± The man started clapping. Suddenly, Jin saw that the two foxes stopped biting him and returned to the man¡¯s side. ¡°It seems my new master is at least worthy of my slightest attention.¡± The man walked towards Jin with heavier footsteps now as he knelt right beside Jin and placed his hands on the chains. ¡°Master. I am your newest Bellator at your service. Please pardon my way of testing you. Name¡¯s Kraft.¡± The man solemnly bowed his head before he ripped apart the chains trapping Jin. Because of his previous action, Jin and the chair both toppled over, but he did not care. Jin was finally freed from the chair and like a newborn baby, he moved his arms and legs within the darkness of the area, trying to get a feel of the place. ¡°At the very least, you have somehow unlocked the Dark Sight from your so-called Inverse Eyes.¡± Kraft said as he helped Jin up and aided him to sit on the chair. ¡°Now, let us talk for real. Master.¡± Kraft took the second chair that was left behind by Ming and sat opposite of Jin who was busy rubbing his tears away with the hoodie that he was still wearing. Chapter 252 Kraf Chapter 252 Kraf Jin took the time to calm down as he watched how the foxes interacted with Kraft. That was when he realised something. Wasn¡¯t the System not supposed to know about the existence of this place? The subconscious? How was a Bellator able to come into this ¡®realm¡¯? ¡°Because I am not part of the System and yet at the same time I am part of the System too.¡± Kraft clarified as he looked at Jin. The two black foxes even stared at Jin which caused Jin¡¯s hair to stand up. ¡°I can hear your thoughts in this place because I am in your subconscious. You must learn how to control your thoughts.¡± Kraft explained as he whistled once and the two black foxes turned into bullets. ¡°Let me introduce myself properly. I am Kraft, a Bellator in service of Ming. When the System abandoned Ming, I was unable to return to it because I was still in a contract with Ming to teach him how to protect his subconscious. Therefore, I had no other place to go other than staying in his subconscious¡­until you came into the picture.¡± Kraft continued his story. ¡°Initially, I¡¯ve always cursed Ming for abandoning me in his subconscious. And since he was no longer in contact with the System, I was not able to do much. Each day, I hoped to get out of this prison mind. However, he proved me wrong.¡± Kraft gave a knowing smile towards Jin. ¡°When he was in the military, this guy from the so called Royal Zodiac Snake Clan wanted to teach Ming a lesson for messing with him during training. So he actually offered himself to teach Ming a little about infiltration and information extraction. However, his true intention was to corrupt Ming¡¯s brain, and turn Ming into his lackey.¡± ¡°Never has he expected that there was a bellator inside Ming¡¯s mind, dying for some action after all the years of imprisonment. Oh, I had fun. So much fun bullying that Royal Snake Zodiac. During that time I managed to learn how to use his own tricks against him, and suddenly he became best buddies with Ming. What a joke. Ming thought that he was some sort of super genius, a prodigy in information extraction, that it was all because of his efforts. Nope, it was I.¡± Kraft took credit for everything. ¡°Here is a secret which he may not tell you. He used to be part of the special forces for some time before he became a desk jockey doing all that boring paperwork. That is if I remember correctly. But those days were fun since the job required information extraction and the mental torture of another person. After all that time I finally got another chance to use my skills, and that sort of excitement continued every day until he was bound to the desk. I think his codename used to be Fox.¡± ¡°At one point, I went ahead to take a decent break since it was boring doing nothing in his mind and when I woke up from my slumber, I noticed that he was already dead! The fortunate thing was, that he was already in contact with you! A real System user! You who had a System, a way out for me, I could not help but be excited. My heart was pumping furiously after such a prolonged time. Of course, I knew that I had to play this carefully. Had to be careful not to accidentally torture you to death. Otherwise it would have been back to square one for me once again.¡± ¡°You know the story from then on.¡± Kraft twirled the bullets in his hands before he slotted them into the revolver. ¡°The two black foxes you just saw were Tsu and Kai. They are a part of my skulk of foxes, but those two are my best. And I guess you have noticed. They turned to bullets. When I shoot them out, they can transform back to their main form as Fox Demons.¡± ¡°So I am assuming you have six foxes under your command?¡± Jin asked since he knew the revolver could only hold six bullets. ¡°Mmm. I should have a total of nine, but I am stuck with six though Tsu and Kai interact with me more than the other fox demons. For some particular reason, they seem to be rather attracted to me. I think the System prevented my full powers from being unleashed when me and Ming first met.¡± ¡°You mean there should be a way to upgrade the current power of my bellators?¡± Jin was surprised there was such a thing. He thought that their powers were locked because of Jin¡¯s grade. ¡°The System no longer binds me so I can say this kind of stuff. From what I know based on your understanding, I guess it is fine to tell you about it. Your cultivation restricts their powers, but the System currently locks their skills.¡± Kraft said. ¡°Sounds like some troublesome roleplaying game¡­¡± Jin shook his head. ¡°It is part of the System¡¯s decision to prevent the User from being overpowered. Otherwise you could unnecessarily be exposed by the members of the public. So they stay locked, until it judges that the User was capable of handling himself.¡± Kraft clicked and unclicked his hammer. ¡°However, as much as I would like to leave this realm of darkness, especially when a System User is finally around me, I fear that I am starting to like this place.¡± Kraft smiled as he clapped once. Suddenly the walls inside the room grew spikes and started to move towards Jin. However, Jin was confident that Kraft would not hurt him. ¡°No one has better mind manipulation techniques than me. That is also why the System is unable to read subtle thoughts about Ming from you. Because I am stopping that sort of information from getting out, under the commands of Ming.¡± Kraft stopped the walls the moment the spikes slightly pressed onto Jin¡¯s body. Yet, during that period of time, Jin did not move a single inch. Jin¡¯s confidence towards Kraft made the latter grin. It looked like Jin was not scared of Kraft anymore. ¡°But you said that he did not know you existed in him.¡± Jin continued to query Kraft as if it was the norm. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I said. I was surprised to learn that I did not fade away along with that old man¡¯s physical body. So I decided to confront Ming, but apparently, he had been aware, that I was sleeping inside him. Also, Ming said that the System left him a particularly ancient technique to transfer the System into your body.¡± ¡°He said it was because of me, a forgotten link to the System that he was able to modify that technique to transfer part of his will and soul within your subconscious when the System was being moved into you.¡± Jin realised Kraft was talking about that old encryption letter that he had found alongside with Ming¡¯s note. He did not know that Ming was so well versed with modifying techniques. ¡°Guess, Old Gramps is smarter than he let on.¡± Jin thought to himself. ¡°But why would Gramps want to enter my subconscious?¡± ¡°You are his one and only grandson.¡± Kraft did not say anything else but later changed the topic back to his story. ¡°We subsequently talked about the old days. This whole meeting between us, was also part of his plan. Ming just need to leave you here in the bas.e.m.e.nt.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Jin tried to gather his thoughts about the turn of events. ¡°You did okay¡­ For a beginner. I will teach you more when we have the time, but it seems like you are a very busy person for a lazy cultivator.¡± Kraft sniggered. ¡°Also, I think sooner or later the System might bestow you another Bellator with mind manipulation techniques. Perhaps then, I might gain a friend, who will appreciate this darkness with me. So here is the contract I wish to forge with you, my new master.¡± Kraft adjusted his coat and pushed his chair closer to Jin. ¡°Let me be part of your darkness. In return, I will demolish any, who try to enter your mind.¡± Kraft extended his hand to shake with Jin, who did not hesitate to return the handshake. Suddenly Jin felt the darkness around him was warm rather than the cold, creepy feeling he used to sense in the past¡­ Jin did not remember how long he was in there. ¡°Ahhh, the contract with a System user, now I can feel my powers being refreshed once again!¡± Kraft thought to himself. Instead of being bound by the System and getting his powers from it, Kraft was now obtaining his energy and powers from Jin¡¯s subconscious mind. There was always a loophole in the workings of the System and Kraft did not hesitate to exploit it for his own use. ¡°Wait, if what you said is true¡­I did ask the System for a reward about having some adaptable immunity towards manipulation and Psionic Magic. Could that be a Bellator too? Or is that an innate ability?¡± Jin asked Kraft if he had any idea. ¡°Who knows?¡± Kraft shrugged his shoulders before he suddenly disappeared, but his voice lingered. ¡°But remember that within the darkness, you will always have an ally¡­if you keep him entertained.¡± Chapter 253 Jump in Cultivation Chapter 253 Jump in Cultivation Kraft had fully disappeared. Jin could no longer feel another presence. Only then did Jin realise, that he had been unable to view Kraft¡¯s face. He had been able to recognize his silhouette, wearing a trench coat, but his facial features could not be distinguished even with his Dark Sight. It was as if he was purposely hiding to prevent anyone from seeing him. While Jin was still busy pondering about Kraft¡¯s appearance, he suddenly heard the hatch opening. ¡°Seems like you have finally met with Kraft. That took longer than expected, but still better than nothing.¡± Ming opened the hatch ajar before he threw a burning flare in there. ¡°This will help you acclimatise your eyes to light before you come out. Otherwise the light will be too bright for your eyes.¡± Ming said as he walked away from the place. ¡°Come up when you are ready.¡± It took Jin some time, but slowly he climbed out of the bas.e.m.e.nt to find himself back in the same old cabin. He felt like he was in there for ages. ¡°Have a cup of drink.¡± Ming offered the same drink he had to Jin, and he took it after thanking him. After some time, he realised that his entire shirt and hoodie had been torn to shreds from the chains and fox bites. ¡°Guess it was real¡­¡± He took off his clothes and was astonished to find out that a side of his torso was suddenly tainted with mysterious looking tattoos. It looked like a small black fox had imprinted itself onto his body. ¡°Hey look! We have matching tattoos now! Looks like we are fam now.¡± Ming pulled up his shirt and laughed heartily while showing Jin the side of his torso with the exact same small black fox tattoo. ¡°This is the proof that you have a contract with Kraft but no need to worry. The tattoo won¡¯t appear in your real life.¡± ¡°Anyways, it¡¯s more or less time for you to get back. You were in there for more than four months.¡± Ming said which caused Jin to be surprised. ¡°WHAT?! Didn¡¯t you say you would only cage me for a single month?!¡± Jin suddenly shouted at the top of his voice. ¡°Woah Woah, calm down. The whole idea was for you to come into contact with Kraft. I did not know that you would need much more time than I did. Guess I should add that to your flaws. Not as competent as me.¡± Ming said it out loud as if he was making a mental note. Jin could not help but sigh and swallowed the rest of the cup of drink. ¡°But well done. Perhaps it¡¯s not entirely your fault. I mean it has been ages since the last time Kraft has had some action. Maybe that was why he wanted to play with you some more. Can¡¯t say that I agree on the way he played with you, but what matters for me is the outcome. You got the contract. Now, off you go.¡± Ming gestured with his hand to shoo Jin off, and a blast of wind appeared out of nowhere, causing Jin to magically return to his conscious state. ¡°AHHHHHHHH!¡± Jin woke up to see that his face was the only thing above the sludge. Everything else was filled with black, and the sludge was trying to consume him. He tried to pull himself upwards out of the muck but realised he was stuck. The only thing he could do was to exit the hot spring instance forcibly. ¡°What the hell exactly happened?¡± Jin jumped from one instance and returned another. The Shop Level One Instance. Mr Patsu suddenly appeared and grabbed onto Jin, crying and begging for forgiveness. ¡°Sorry, Boss! There was no way we could help you¡­¡± Mr Patsu told Jin the whole story, who realised he could have killed himself if he had stayed a bit longer in that subconscious realm he was in. ¡°We tried our best to help you, but there was nothing we could do. We even called Big Boss System, but for some reason, Yun was not able to help you at all either. She said that the only way to help you was for you to come out of the cultivation stance.¡± Mr Patsu wiped his tears away. ¡°What exactly happened, Jin? How come you could be so deep into your cultivation that you have forgotten your existence? Even the System was not able to barge in and rescue you? That was unusual for a cultivator to be this deep into a trance.¡± Yun was rather fl.u.s.tered when she saw Jin alive again. She could not help but hug him and physically checked his body. ¡°System, analyse his body,¡± Yun commanded the System from her phone, and in seconds, rays of lights appeared from nowhere and started to detail any possible problem on Jin. ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary. No problems discovered. The only difference: The deep trance resulted in the cultivation having increased his Grade to 7. A considerable jump of grade was not expected. Analysis: Cultivation Manual might have been more suited for User than expected. Considering that the truth was revealed to him, enlightenment phase along with the hidden help from the Zoo Pandas and the Random Arena might be the probable cause for User to jump in Grade from 5 to 7. User has exceeded System¡¯s expectation. System shall reward User accordingly.¡± The System spoke out, and suddenly a treasure box came flying from the sky, crashing through the Halloween stained glass ceiling and onto the floor. ¡°Do not worry. Repairs will be made in an instant. The dramatic effect of reward for coolness factor.¡± The System said before its voice disappeared from Yun¡¯s phone. ¡°Ehh, Congrats?¡± Yun did not know how to react in the current situation, and Jin thanked her before he opened the treasure chest box. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Jin took a look inside and noticed there were not many items in it. He noticed there was an old ragged looking red covered manual with a thumb drive tied to it and realised that was the reward for Qiu Yue. The Cultivation Manual Radiant Red Panda in the Umbral Snow. ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t a reward for me.¡± ¡°I guess the System was lazy and packaged it with your reward? Hahahha!¡± Yun giggled at Jin¡¯s pouty face for being bluffed. ¡°Come on. There are other things in there too, right?¡± Jin placed the manual in his storage watch and noticed there were three technique cubes in it. He remembered receiving the very same technique cube when Zeru gave it to him to learn the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash technique. When he held onto the technique cubes, he discovered some small fine print at the edge of the cubes. ¡°Black Panda Fire Basic Mastery¡­.White Panda Ice Basic Mastery¡­.Pandaromic Eyes aka Inverse Eyes Basic Mastery¡­. Oh? So the eye techniques do have a name.¡± Jin then looked at Yun with a suspicious look. ¡°Why did you not tell me that these techniques exist? I thought I had to find and learn how to control the spiritual union skills myself despite me being able to unlock them!¡± Jin questioned Yun. ¡°Annnnnd did you use the Black Panda Fire on me when you were fighting against me??¡± Jin asked once more after he remembered the existence of the black fire. Yun did not reply but gave an excuse instead. ¡°Ahhhh, suddenly I feel that my eyebags are too bigggg! And my eyes are so heavy! I need to sleep now. Bye~!¡± Yun suddenly disappeared and he was left alone with the treasure chest box. ¡°Yun requested those items for you. They are considered as part of your manual. If you have read the last few chapters of it, they were categorised as Epic Arts of your cultivation manual.¡± The System spoke through his phone. ¡°Ah, now that you mention it, I do remember reading about it briefly before¡­no wonder it felt so familiar,¡± Jin replied as he used the technique cubes on himself. Each time he pressed the cube, it felt like a can of glittering dust was being sprayed at him. Jin suddenly experienced variety of colour overwhelming his sight and felt a little high from the inhalation of the glittering dust. ¡°The Pandaromic Eyes or as you termed them Inverse Eyes, have been categorized as Legendary Arts of your manual. Previously, only the basic description of these advanced techniques have been revealed in your manual. It has been deemed harmful for the User to try them out, before reaching the required cultivation grade. It was a coincidence that they were part of your Spiritual Union skills. System can provide the basic mastery since it was defined as part of your cultivation manual. System is unable to give you full mastery since they are categorised as Epic and Legendary Arts.¡± ¡°What exactly does basic mastery mean? To will it freely?¡± Jin did not have to focus as much to activate his Inverse Eyes. ¡°Interesting. User¡¯s Inverse Eyes is 25% completed even though the basic mastery should only allow you to freely will it.¡± The System noted. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jin asked as he picked his phone out. ¡°Your Inverse Eyes have Dark Sight. It was not part of the basic mastery. System can only conclude it was from the spiritual union skills.¡± The System analysed. ¡°Oh, perhaps. Hahaha, lucky me, I guess!¡± Jin had a cold sweat, but he now knew that Kraft was not lying. He was defending the information Jin had obtained from the subconscious realm. Although Jin did wonder why Ming and Kraft would want to be kept hidden. Especially Kraft, when he had nothing to lose to be in contact with the System. ¡°Maybe, he just wants to see how much can he pit against the System.¡± Jin wondered to himself. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Kraft whispered in his mind as Jin could hear him snigger. Chapter 254 Not My Faul "OEIIII!!!! Zhen Qing, give me some money!!!" Zheng Hui, Zhen Qing''s father, was banging on her door repeatedly. "I know you are back. I know you have the money!!!" Zheng Hui shouted through the roof, and Zhen Qing tried her best to hide in her room. "Please, Zhen Qing! Please, my daughter, I need the money or the debt collectors will come and find me." Zheng Hui finally ceased his banging and slid his back along the door as if he was really desperate this time round. "I gave you money two weeks ago!! GO AWAY!" Zhen Qing could not handle the pressure her father was giving her and retorted back. She was thankful that she bought a new lock and installed it in time before her father noticed it. Else, her door would have been broken minutes ago. "Lies! I know that you have a new job right now! I can see that you are happier than before! Not only that, you don''t have any ingredients stocked anymore! Are you doing what I asked you to do? Which establishment are you working at?!" Zheng Hui questioned Zhen Qing as he banged on the door once again before taking a big sip from his liquor bottle. "Tell me. I shall inform them about our plight and ask for an advance payment." Zheng Hui''s speech started to slur. "All you have to do is to work hard for me. Work hard and repay your debt of sins to me¡­." "I AM NOT WORKING AT THAT KIND OF DEROGATORY PLACES!" Zhen Qing shouted back before she hid under her blankets. "THEN WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GETTING YOUR MONEY FROM?!" Zheng Hui used his leg to kick the door. It was apparent that the old lock on the door disintegrated from the kick. It was also not the first one, to suffer such fate. "Why you¡­ HOW DARE YOU INSTALL A NEW LOCK? Are you filled with distrust towards your very own father?! Your father that brought you into this life? Who has been sheltering you in this place? Running away from the Yakuzas?! For covering for YOUR MISTAKES that CAUSED your mother''s death?!" Zheng Hui got so mad that he kicked the door with even more force and it visibly trembled under his strength. "It''s not my fault¡­It''s really not my fault¡­" Zhen Qing teared as she curled into a ball and suffered under the noise until her father decided to stagger back to the living room. "Do not think this is the end¡­" Zheng Hui tapped a few buttons on his phone before he sent a message to his debtor before he eventually fell asleep drunk on the sofa in front of the TV. "This can''t go on¡­I really cannot stay here any longer¡­Do you think he can help me?" Zhen Qing thoughts were in a mess as she cuddled with a broken penguin plushie that was given by her mother when she was little. It was the last memento she had of her and a constant reminder of her old life. It was also one of the few things she managed to take with her. She cried miserably until her body was not able to take it any longer and made her rest. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "What?! You want to resign from the job?" Qiu Yue''s superior Shao Wai was stunned early in the morning when Qiu Yue placed the letter of resignation on his table. Qiu Yue was determined to a cause and nodded her head firmly. Shao Wai knew that expression in her eyes from the few years of working with her. He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples. "Why are you quitting? Which company poached you? How much are they offering?" "There isn''t any company that came to poach me. It is of my own volition that I wished to resign. I would like to pursue my dream with a friend of mine." Qiu Yue told Shao Wai frankly seeing how they both were rather familiar with each other''s attitude. "You do know that the new multinational project that we have recently managed to acquire was mostly because they were inspired by your pitch? They wanted you to be the overall in charge of this project since they realize how talented you are and they are sure that you will get the job done well. What am I going to tell the director when you are leaving us in a lurch?" Shao Wai tried to coerce her into a guilt trap, hoping that would make her stay. "Besides, Qiu Yue, I can guarantee you that your promotion will be secured by the end of the year and the track to my seat, heck! The director''s seat is not far from now! In just a few more years, you will definitely have that. Also, are you forfeiting that 13th month performance bonus you have worked so hard for? In a month or so, are you sure you are making the right decision and won''t regret it?" Shao Wai continued to try and hook her but he did not know that Qiu Yue was unfazed by his allure of fake promises. "Sir, no one is indispensable in a company. You can always find someone better to take over as the project head." Qiu Yue said it so bluntly that it made Shao Wai fumble with his words. "Are you sure? You will lose every progress you have made till now. The only thing you have is experience which is worth nothing more than peanuts in this dog eat dog world." Shao Wai now tried to threaten her, but Qiu Yue was adamant. "I understand." Qiu Yue did not say much. She had imagined that after working so long together, her superior would have been more understanding. Guess he was using her just like everyone else in the public ministry. "Lazy assholes, always wanting other people to do their work while they hog on all the glory. I am not a stupid woman who will allow you to manipulate me any longer." Qiu Yue thought to herself as she remained ignorant of Shao Wai''s grumblings. "Fine, if you are this adamant. It will be your loss. I will pass this to the Human Resource Department later in the afternoon." Shao Wai believed perhaps he could delay the resignation for at least a week or two by saying he had forgotten about it. During that time, Qiu Yue might possibly change her mind. "It''s okay, Sir. I have already sent them my notice in advance. This is simply a courtesy letter to inform you. I will be leaving by the end of the month. Please pardon my intrusion." Qiu Yue said before she started to leave his office. "Wait. Qiu Yue." Shao Wai stood up trying to stop her. "At least, one last dinner before you go? My treat." Shao Wai asked politely but the look on his face. It''s one that Qiu Yue could not stand. "Get away from me, you creepy cheating husband." Qiu Yue thought to herself but she forced a smile out. "It''s fine. I do not need that. Please pardon me. I have some work to clear before I leave the ministry." __________ Jin took a power nap for an hour, resting on the couch in one of the Auditoriums. He did not know it would be this comfortable to lie down on it. "The System does pamper my customers¡­" Jin walked up to the Bar Island to get a cup of water before he saw Zhen Qing, who came earlier than usual into the Shop Instance. Jin immediately realized that Zhen Qing was not her usual self, in fact, she looked more tired than usual. Not only that, she was carrying a piece of mini luggage with her as she immediately bowed in front of Jin. The beak of some sort of bird-like plushie could be seen sticking out from the luggage. "Boss Jin¡­I apologise for requesting something that I refused previously. But can I ask you for a favour?" Her eyes were red with tears on the verge of dripping. Chapter 255 Real Name "What happened?" Jin was confused. Was he still in a dream state? This was the first time he saw Zhen Qing being so powerless, so helpless. "I''m aware that I refused your offer for lodging previously but is it okay if I request it now?" Zhen Qing asked as her tears started to drop. "It''s alright, Zhen Qing. Everything is gonna be fine." Jin replied to her, but immediately send a mental SOS to Yun for help. "I have no experience with handling this kind of situation. Help me! Please, Yun, I''m begging of you!" "What are you talking about? It''s 5:30 in the morning. I am still sleeping¡­" Yun grumbled in his thoughts before she cut off all communications, resulting in Jin having to handle the situation all by himself. Jin panicked for a while and decided to try to help her calm down in whatever way he could. "Here have a hot cup of coffee. You look terr- You look like you might need one." Jin bit his tongue trying to be sensitive as he took out the saucer while waiting for the coffee machine to start and make the coffee. "Do you want to discuss what has happened?" Jin subsequently took out a few onigiris for Zhen Qing to fill her tummy along with the coffee. "I will pay for the¡­" Zhen Qing hectically tried to search for her wallet in her backpack, but Jin stopped her. "There is no need for that. Just eat in peace." Jin retorted to change the subject since he was more or less aware of Zhen Qing''s personality. He knew that she was not the kind of person to share her thoughts with everyone. She was more of a reserved lady despite her hotshot temper in the kitchen. At the same time, Jin pretended to be a bit busy by checking around the Panda Port counter and his phone. There was no need for him to clean the place at all but he pretended to finish the cleaning, to allow some time to gather his thoughts. Afterwards, he returned to Zhen Qing hoping that she had calmed down a little and started to ask what had happened. "Can I ask why you would need the lodging? That is if you are comfortable to speak about it. I can provide a listening ear." Jin offered Zhen Qing, though she seemed a little reluctant to say anything. He could see her internally debating whether to share it with him. Zhen Qing did not believe Jin had the power to change any of her current circumstances. However, there was an inkling of hope in her heart. Wishing that Jin might be able to get her out of this situation. After all, ever since she joined his dungeon supplier store, this young store owner in front of her has always managed to exceed her expectation of him. At the beginning, she had thought this shop was bound to fail in due time. Who could blame her? With Jin providing dungeons at such provocative prices and branching out to different kind of services instead of focusing on one specialisation. Therefore, Zhen Qing thought that she could probably earn a quick buck before her boss would go bankrupt for not following along common business logic of a new shop owner. But the longer Zhen Qing stayed in this shop, the more she started to unconsciously develop a sense of belonging. Ever since the time she was fired from the restaurant she was working wholeheartedly for, there was always a part of her that felt empty. "I¡­" Zhen Qing fumbled her words a little before she plucked the courage to finally get it off her chest. "I need the lodging to escape my father''s constant harassment for money." Zhen Qing said. "Oh¡­erm okay. I can arrange some lodging for you." Jin planned to let Zhen Qing stay in his house, the one that was minutes away from the store. He currently did not have much use for that house. No one was living in that house aside from Yun. Occasionally, Jin might use that house as a place to rest. Otherwise, it was left empty. Most of the time, Jin would be in the hot spring instance cultivating himself. "I will stay at most for a week or so. Maybe until the salary comes in, then I will leave. Of course, you can deduct a part of my salary for the lodging expenses. I do not mind that." Zhen Qing was quick to defend herself, giving reassurances making Jin feel that it was all courtesy. He had a hunch that it was not something so simple, and that there was something more significant behind that, something he should not interfere in unnecessarily. However, the System and Yun did issue a mission to help with Zhen Qing''s chef''s block. What if the current situation she was in was the main problem that caused Zhen Qing to have a chef''s block? Besides, from the limited information Jin had gathered, Zhen Qing was probably going to merely give the money she had earned to her father and the cycle would continue. It felt as if Zhen Qing was always running away from her actual problem. Then it struck Jin that Zhen Qing was similar to him. Jin had also been trying to escape his problems by going with the flow of things. Maybe the System had planned this mission but it was too much of a coincidence. This father issue might be a deeply seeded predicament. But one thing for sure, if it affected Zhen Qing''s chef block, it was part of his mission. "Time to help her." Jin decided for himself. "I would like to know the full story if possible. And if your father comes to harass you again, I will not hesitate to call the cops to protect you." Jin said bluntly already expecting that Zhen Qing would most likely either refuse the lodging or ask Jin not to call the police. "I will quit if that happens." Zhen Qing immediately replied in a straight face. It was no threat. It was a statement. "What?" Jin was a little shocked by the speed of her answer and the seriousness behind it. "If he harasses you, please don''t call the police. I shall simply quit and not cause any more trouble for you." Zhen Qing clarified. She could not find any other lodging on such short notice because she had no other relatives nor friends she could rely upon in Shenzhen. Neither did she have the money to pay for any lodging in this part of the city. That was why she decided to bet everything on Jin''s kindness. "Then, all the more reason for me to stick my nose in. I will help you as long as it is within my power and influence." Jin tried to act as if he had connections when he had practically none. However, this should make Zhen Qing open up a little, or that was what Jin hoped. "I¡­ have not been telling you anything about my past before. Because I was sure if you were to know it, you probably would not have hired me. " Zhen Qing muttered in a soft voice, without daring to look into Jin''s eyes. "I am not from here. I was not even born here." "I¡­actually ran away from the Yakuza. Because of a thing I did in the past¡­ My mother ended up paying the price for it¡­ She paid with her life to save me." Zhen Qing explained on the verge of even more tears. It was apparent these were memories haunting her daily. In the meantime, Jin did not hesitate to refill another hot coffee for her. "Even my real name is not Zhen Qing." Zhen Qing added after sipping on her drink and taking some time to calm herself once more. This confession made Jin furrow his eyebrows. Yet, he was in for another surprise. At that moment, Zhen Qing, who was wearing a hoodie with a beanie inside, slowly unveiled it. After which, Zhen Qing slowly removed her beanie that revealed long dark blonde hair as if it was her natural colour. It was entirely different from the look that she portrayed when she was in the shop. "My real name is Lynn Arisato. One of the chefs involved in the Last Supper Scandal in Japan. The one who helped to plot the death of six major Yakuza Bosses through a grand gala dinner." Zhen Qing- wait no, Lynn said in a form of declaration. Chapter 256 Trap Chapter 256: TrapJin did not know how to react to this revelation, but he slowly shook his head . ¡°No, I am really sorry . This is the first time I have even heard about this Last Supper Scandal . Would you care to elaborate?¡± Jin asked Zhen Qing kindly . Zhen Qing smiled for a bit before continuing . ¡°Suffice to say, that scandal is the reason why my father¡­and I had decided to come here . No one exactly knew our faces . On the other hand, I think it¡¯s probably for the best that you do not know too much about my history . The less you know, the less trouble you will be in . ¡± Zhen Qing¡¯s hands continued to tremble as she tried to hide them under the table . ¡°This is not helping . Kraft, any chance you could extract information from her? I would like to know what exactly happened . ¡± Jin asked his all new Bellator for some advice . ¡°Do you think I am some god? That I can just extract information at the snap of my finger?¡± If Jin could see Kraft right now, he would definitely be rolling his eyes at Jin¡¯s ridiculous request . ¡°Well, if you kiss her . I might have the chance to jump into her subconscious . ¡± Kraft suggested, but Jin refused adamantly . ¡°I am not so stupid to fall for these tricks . If all you need is close contact or a scare to drop their guard, there are other ways, no need for a kiss . ¡± Jin was now the one rolling his eyes . ¡°Damn, here I thought you would be like . ¡®Yes, Kraft! For Lynn, I will do it . I will do anything to save this poor sheep . This pitiful soul . ¡®¡± Kraft tried to be dramatic, but it was annoying Jin even more . ¡°Forget it . I will simply try and use the net to search for anything related to this Last Supper Scandal . ¡± Jin shook his head and looked up to Zhen Qing . ¡°Zhen Qing? I assume you still want to be called that way to prevent any suspicion, right?¡± Jin asked Zhen Qing, and she nodded her head . ¡°Follow me then . I will bring you to your temporary lodging . ¡± Jin said as Zhen Qing offered to wash the cup and saucer before leaving, but he told her it was a small matter . Within minutes, Jin showed Zhen Qing his house, and she could not believe that the lodging would be this grand . Zhen Qing assumed she would be staying in some hostel or a more broken down apartment, yet never dreamed of such a lovely terrace house . Jin opened the gates and subsequently the door to his house . ¡°This is the key to my hous- erm I mean the lodging . Yun is currently the only other occupant in this area . You can use the guest room if you like . You are free to use anything you want, but do not make the place too messy . Do not bring any other visitors into the house unless you have my approval . ¡± Jin made his statement clear . Zhen Qing had no qualms obliging, seeing as most of these rules were just common decency . ¡°Yawnnnn, is that Zhen Qing?¡± Yun was in her singlet and shorts as she walked down the stairs from the second floor . ¡°What happened to her?¡± ¡°She needed some place to stay, so I allowed her to stay here for now . ¡° ¡°You brought a girl into your house? Rather bold I might say . ¡± Yun said it out so bluntly that Zhen Qing panicked . ¡°Are you planning to revive the Panda Bloodline through her? I did not expect such quick action from you . I probably have misjudged you, Jin . ¡± Yun spoke in Jin¡¯s thoughts, but all he could do was blush a little and refuse to acknowledge the accusation . ¡°Am I intruding?¡± Zhen Qing asked frantically as she could not understand the relationship between Yun and Jin . Was she becoming the third wheel? ¡°No no, do not listen to her nonsense . Although this is my house, I am only staying here momentarily . Most of the time, I will be in my store for ehhh cultivation and creation of dungeons . So don¡¯t mind me, you are not intruding . ¡± Jin tried to correct the situation that Yun created and went on to show Zhen Qing where the guest room was . ¡°I am sorry there isn¡¯t much food in the fridge . I did mention to you previously that if you needed food, you have my permission to take some from the store¡¯s kitchen instance . Consider it one of the perks for being an upcoming chef for the store . ¡± Jin smiled at Zhen Qing as she placed her luggage down . ¡°I shall give you some time to unpack . If you need anything, just holler for Yun since I will be returning to the store . ¡± Jin told her, before he went out of the house . ¡°So, you are not as stupid as I thought you were . ¡± Kraft sneered as he could learn the thoughts of Jin plotting for something else . ¡°Yea, I mean that guy¡¯s stalking skill is rated zero out of ten . Of course, I would have picked up something this simple . ¡° ¡°I am not judging you or anything . Honest! Cross my heart . ¡± Kraft sniggered, and Jin continued to walk back to the store . It was at that point of time, a person, who was not only poorly dressed, but also with his breath reeking of alcohol, came towards Jin . ¡°My good man, I see that you are keeping my daughter for your own personal benefit . I am her father, and I cannot endorse this kind of behaviour . ¡± Zheng Hui complained with one clear intention in mind . Blackmail for money . ¡°What do you want? How do I even know if you are her father?¡± Jin immediately understood why Zhen Qing would want to run away from this kind of father . Zheng Hui did not hesitate to take his wallet and presented a torn and tattered piece of a family photo with a slightly younger version of Zhen Qing inside . There was another person on that photo, but due to the horrible condition, Jin was unable to see it clearly . ¡°How about a fee to assure this worried father? I mean, you are staying at this wonderful terrace house, surely you have the money as recompense for a father¡¯s heartache, being unable to see his daughter?¡± Zheng Hui tried to sweet talk his way to Jin, who clearly was not buying it . ¡°You know, I could extract some information from him if you just knock him out and bring him to the dungeon maker . ¡± Kraft suggested torturing to get what Jin wanted . ¡°I believe the System would find that to be the most effective and efficient way of getting the information . ¡° ¡°It¡¯s fine Kraft . Stay your¡­gun . ¡± Jin then smiled at Zheng Hui and turned the question around . ¡°Well, Father, how about we have a good breakfast and you can explain to me the situation that revolves around you and your daughter?¡± ¡°What? She even admitted that to you? That bitc-¡­I mean she seems to trust you a great deal it would seem . But I guess you only know one side of the story and not the whole truth, right?! Sure! Let¡¯s go for a meal, and I will tell you everything!¡± Zheng Hui replied, but before Jin could agree to that proposal, Zheng Hui¡¯s phone rang loudly . ¡°Ah shit, do you mind if I take this call?¡± Zheng Hui pardoned himself and started to whisper . ¡°Listen I know I said I would pay today . But I have found a good sweet target and quite gullible too . I am very sure of it . If you manage to kidnap him, I believe his father or family will be able to pay lots for his ransom . You will clear my debt this way, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever, just make sure you bring him to that restaurant so we can do that . ¡± The person on the line sounds irritated as he ended the call abruptly . ¡°Ahh, Big Boss! My bad, my bad . ¡± Zheng Hui started laughing at Jin as he placed his hands over his shoulders . ¡°How about I choose the place for us to share a meal? I will make sure it is not only yummy, but pretty affordable as well!¡± Zheng Hui smiled with his bad breath . ¡°Ooooh fun!¡± Kraft could sense something was amiss . ¡°Your definition of fun is somewhat unsettling . It¡¯s obviously a trap . ¡± Jin said in his thoughts and smiled back at Zhen Qing¡¯s father . ¡°That is what makes it so fun . ¡± Kraft rubbed his hands together as he started to prep himself in Jin¡¯s mind . In the meantime, Jin had already sent a message to Yun telepathically about the situation and told her to track him if needed . ¡°Awww, you will be fine . Sometimes, you overthink it too much . I shall try to see if I can get Zhen Qing to open up . ¡± Yun said, but Jin was slightly worried even though he was not showing it in front of Zheng Hui when he followed him to his car . ¡°Sometimes, Yun knows how to put up a death flag scene . ¡° Chapter 257 Zheng Hui "By the way, my name is Hui. Nice to meet you Mr¡­?" Zheng Hui tried to make conversation but Jin seemed to be absorbed looking into his phone. Jin was typing in the Pandamonium chat with Lee An and Xue Ping, the police inspectors he made friends with when he got them to help out with Xiong Da. "Surname''s Xie," Jin said with a slightly ignorant and lazy tone to show one''s arrogance, which did not fail to piss off Zheng Hui. "You little brat, just wait a little while longer, and I will make you come down from your high horse." Zheng Hui thought to himself, but smiled on the outside and tried to keep the dialogue going with some small talk. "How long have you known Zhen Qing? How did she catch your attention? I mean she was just a street cook not too long ago. How many times did you do it?" Zheng Hui asked a variety of questions even trying to address Jin''s ego, but it was like talking to a brick wall. "Okay, understood. I do not know what you are planning, but you are putting yourself in a dangerous position." Xue Ping replied fast in the Pandamonium private chat. "It''s for a friend, Zhen Qing, the chef that made the Black Pepper Pork Buns. I ask that you do me this simple favour. Please? In return, I will give you some tickets to the brand new instance when it comes out. I know it might be a false alarm, but can you have someone look after Zhen Qing at this address I am going to send to you as a precaution?" "You do know that you are somewhat bribing a police inspector. I could catch you for that." Lee An managed to type something in. Maybe, Xue Ping had alerted her husband about it. "Hahaha, then let me run away first. You can catch me with this location tracking ping that I am going to send you." Jin sent a devious panda emoji in his reply along with a tracker designed by the System to track Jin down. Eventually, Jin also answered one of Zheng Hui''s questions after successfully sending Lee An the specialised tracker app. "Long enough to know she is special," Jin replied. Zheng Hui thought this was a good time to hook him for more. If that Mr Xie had some feelings for her, asking the debtors to catch his no good, useless daughter that doesn''t want to give him allowance would be a good idea to ask for even more ransom from this arrogant young man. "Double kidnapping and my debts will not only be cleared, but I will even have some cash to party afterwards." Zheng Hui smiled to himself as he already imagined himself gambling and drinking more alcohol. In the end, he would still blame Zhen Qing for all the loss he made. "You still have yet to tell me what exactly happened to Zhen Qing." Jin folded his arms as he acted all proud gazing outside the window of the van Zheng Hui was driving. "How much did she tell you?" Zheng Hui was agitated just remembering that particular incident, but the ride to the restaurant which the debtors assigned was far. He might as well vent his anger out. "Enough to understand." Jin tried to be vague and continued acting the part of a young noble master. He looked annoyed for getting another questioned back instead of receiving an answer. However, he noticed something peculiar. Even her father referred to her as Zhen Qing rather than Lynn. "Fine. I will give the short version, so the story at my side is complete. That way, you can compare it yourself. Zhen Qing was an assistant chef for the Tsukemen Grandmaster Mimasaka Sensei. They were in this secret yet grand Gala Dinner for the meeting of some VIPs. Only later did I find out that those VIPs were Yakuza Heads. Apparently, she was one of the few culprits that poisoned the Yakuzas. But the thing was, they did not die on the spot. No. Almost every Yakuza Head who ate the food died exactly 24 hours later." Zheng Hui said in a loud voice which Jin listened intently despite his involuntary yawning. "It was called an operation by the police. That''s what she said to me. Merely told me I didn''t need to worry too much. They would never come and find us. But what bullshit. The next few days, I heard rumours from the neighbours that they, the Yakuzas, were hunting down chefs in the vicinity. I panicked and quickly asked my wife and Zhen Qing to pack up." "Yet, Zhen Qing fucking had the gall to continue telling me not to worry. That we would just need to go to the police. However, even before we had the chance to reach the police, the yakuza grabbed us from the streets and brought us to the town''s nearby seaport. They hung us from the cranes and left us to hang there for a while. Later, they¡­ THEY FUCKING DROPPED US INTO THE SEA!" Zheng Hui could not help but bang his hands on the steering wheel, and the van horned rather loudly. He did not care and continued to drive. "My wife could not swim, and she drowned because of it. Zhen Qing and I managed to break out of the bindings in time. Yet when we got out of the sea port, the Yakuza were still waiting for us. They did not intend to let us off that easily. They brought contracts with them and forced us to sign them. Right there, right in front of them. With guns pointing at our heads, making us sign them with our own blood." "100 Million Yen! (Approximately 900K USD) HOW AM I GOING TO PAY 100 FUCKING MILLION YEN? And that was for each of us. So 200 million Yen in total. We were in total debt, even had to sell the house. Guess what? It was not even close to cover everything. We begged them to let us off, but the Yakuza simply replied that if we did not oblige to the contract, they were going to take Zhen Qing away and sell her to the brothels. Oh, don''t forget the exorbitant interest rate those gangsters charged." "And in hindsight, you probably regret you did not do that." Kraft sneered in Jin''s thoughts. "I had a friend who was a hobbyist fisherman. After getting money from a loan shark, I managed to pay him enough, that he was willing to risk it. He helped us to escape the Yakuza for a hefty price and here we are." "Meh, he is telling the truth. From his perspective that is." Kraft informed Jin. "How do you know?" Jin asked, and Kraft sighed. "He came into contact with you while he wrapped his arms around you right? That was sufficient contact for me to have one of my foxes infiltrate his nervous system and go to the memory area of the brain like the amygdala, hippocampus blah blah blah." Kraft explained. "So all you need is just close contact¡­" Jin finally got to know how to use Kraft. "Please, he can be considered barely conscious. Still rather intoxicated from last night''s drinks. Definitely, one of the easiest targets for me to break in. Heck, it is a wonder how he can drive so smoothly in that state. Must have plenty of experience in that regard." Kraft analysed. "Big Brother Xie, how about passing some pity money to me? Maybe I can pay back my debts that way?" Zheng Hui giggled a little as he tried to ask for some money directly. "Why are you having difficulty paying them when you already ran away from them?" Jin questioned. "I uhh, I found out that, I can return- I mean we can return to Japan. See, there is a guy here that knows the Yakuza explicitly. He said that as long as I fulfil the contract, we would be able to return to Japan. He said he has a high enough standing to ignore the interest." Zheng Hui started to lie so obviously, that even Jin could figure it out without Kraft''s analysis. "Oooo that''s good to know. Why would he do such a thing? Won''t collecting the interest be more beneficial to him?" Jin questioned. "Ahh, Brother Xie, You have underestimated me. I am able to make friends with all kinds of people. I befriended him before I knew his true identity. When he told me who he really was, I confided all my woes to him and that is why he is doing that for me!" Zheng Hui answered. "He said the contract money would be used to increase his standing and by doing that he will be able to remove that contract from us! It looks like we found a silver lining within all this mess after all! I mean, if Big Brother can help us, I can make sure Zhen Qing will be able to express to you how very very grateful she is going to be. Get my drift? You can surprise her with this kindness of your heart." Now Zheng Hui sounded a little more believable this time round, but still too fake in Jin''s eyes. "Perhaps, I could prepare to make some arrangements since it seems that your story tallied with Zhen Qing''s. A slight variation no doubt but I can understand through the difference in viewpoint. How can I meet this friend of yours? I could try to work out a contract with him." Jin lied. Luckily, he had Kraft to figure out whether what the father had said was the truth. "Oh! You are just in luck, Big Brother Xie. He is actually the owner of the restaurant. He should be there today. I can bring you directly to his office! You can talk to him there!" Zheng Hui gleefully suggested as he saw the exit of the highway. "This idiot will never know what is coming." Jin thought to himself. "This idiot will never know what is coming." Zheng Hui thought to himself. Chapter 258 Wanhua Distric "We have reached it." Zheng Hui said as he parked his van on the side of the street. Jin looked out of the window to check the surroundings. What surprised Jin was not that they travelled far away from Tiangong Shopping district but the place they were at. It was no deserted valley or some abandoned warehouse. "Wanhua District," Jin said to himself as he looked at the map app he had on his phone. It was roughly an hour ride to this area, meaning it will take Lee An or Xue Ping some time to arrive. Even if they were to reach here, it does not exactly mean that he would have sufficient backup if things go awry. Still, he believed he was strong enough to fight against the threats of everyday life at Grade 7. Not to mention obtaining the knowledge to utilise Panda Black Fire and Panda White Ice would definitely be an increase in offensive powers aside from his sword attacks and basic Astral Panda skills. The area where Zheng Hui brought Jin was still reasonably quiet. There was moderate human activity going on the streets that Jin began to wonder how was Zheng Hui going to kidnap him? Through drugging the food he was consuming with sleeping pills? Using overwhelming strength? He was not able to think of a suitable and viable way that Zheng Hui could use to kidnap him so openly in public. "Come, Mr Xie. It''s this place, the fourth floor." Zheng Hui beckoned to Jin who looked like some tourist that got lost. "This place''s braised duck is one of the most delicious I ever ate. That is also why I am brought you here!" Zheng Hui tried to exaggerate, and Jin pretended to saw through his fake sincerity. "You wanted me to pay for the meal, right?" Jin said in an annoyed tone as they were waiting for the elevator. "Ahh, Mr Xie you said it yourself, I did not say anything at all! Pardon me for being a little more hungry today!" Zheng Hui laughed with his eyes closed as he thought how gullible this little rich boy is. If Zhen Qing was more cooperative, they could have sucked more money together from this guy, and he might even be more forgiving towards his daughter. "Too bad, she was going to keep him for herself so that she can escape from me? No way!" Zheng Hui thought to himself as he pressed the fourth floor button when the elevator arrived. The elevator opened and the lady greeter welcomed both of them into the restaurant. It was there and then that Zheng Hui faced turned from scheming look to pure shock. "Big¡­Brother¡­Ong!! Why are- I mean it is a surprise to see you here!" Zheng Hui had cold sweat dripping down his back as Jin saw a well dressed individual sitting at the centre table of the restaurant with a plethora of poorly dressed gangsters standing right behind him. The chains and rings on his hands with a pair of sunglasses at the top of his head indicated some measure of wealth. Not to mention the food he was eating looked rather sumptuous. Jin later noticed that there were even gangsters sitting at the other end of the table which was coincidentally where the fire escape was. Jin looked back and saw the two gangsters folding their arms, gesturing and prompting them to move forward. There was no way out of this situation no matter how you see it. "Ahh.. the overwhelming strength and quantity to the point that you have to listen and do whatever they say. So that is possible after all." For some reason, Jin was taking notes for his future instances in his brain. "You are one weird System User." Kraft giggled at Jin''s lacking awareness to the overall situation. Did he really think he would get out of there scot free? "This, your friend?" Jin could see Zheng Hui was as stunned as a marble statue in a museum, and he slowly nodded his head. "Yes, this is the Brother I was talking about. I was just erm rather overwhelmed by the welcoming party. Aha haha haha!" Zheng Hui did not know what to say. His debt was not even that big that his ''friend'' would bring such a large entourage with him. "Brother Hui! It looks like you are hungry. Have a seat. Do not mind my goons. They are here to oversee my special VIP. He is in the toilet at the moment." Ong said as he picked up a piece of savoury duck meat with braised skin and dipped it in soy sauce before placing it in his mouth. Zheng Hui slowly walked forward with Jin following behind him and thinking of ways to get out of this situation. No doubt every one of the solutions seemed to be brute force since that was the only language these gangsters will ever speak. At that moment, someone came out from the toilet, and as he was wiping his hand with a disposable hand towel, he looked towards Jin''s direction and shouted. "Oh?! Isn''t that Brother Zheng Hui! It''s had been a long time!" The man in a white suit and colourful shirt walked towards Zheng Hui. "Yamazaki sama!?" Zheng Hui immediately fell to his knees, trembling and prostrating when the man in the white suit came towards them. "A Japanese name? Couldn''t it be such a coincidence that it''s a Yakuza right?" Jin thought himself and hoped for the best. "I had been looking for you all this time. If not for Brother Ong here to tell me that you owe him some money while I was having a friendly drink with him, I would not have known that you have fled all the way to Shenzhen. It looks like fate cannot separate you and me in any way." Yamazaki sat down beside Ong and poured a glass for him. "For you, my friend." He toasted with Ong before drinking the alcohol in one gulp. Yamazaki then looked at Jin rather curiously. "So, you are the target that Hui brought?" Yamazaki asked Jin who managed to remain somewhat still for the past five minutes. "Yes, Yamazaki sama I brought him according to Brother Ong. I hoped that¡­" Yamazaki banged the table hard, and Zheng Hui immediately kept his mouth shut. "DID I SAY YOU CAN TALK?" Yamazaki shouted at him, and Zheng Hui continued to put his head down on the floor. "I screwed up¡­" Zheng Hui said to himself. "You." Ong''s turn to point at Jin. "I am feeling rather generous today. Get out of my sight. Leave this guy to us. He wanted to kidnap you anyways, so we are going to teach him some manners." Ong said, and that was when his phone started to ring. "Hm, then what are you waiting for? Just get her. Our guest wants the family to be reunited." Ong spoke loudly on his phone. "Yeah, yeah, yeah bye. Hey you. That girl is in your house right? Don''t mind we break in, take some stuff and the girl and we will not disturb your life anymore. You cool with that? Okay, deal done." Ong pointed at Jin after he hung up the phone and ate another piece of braised duck. "I¡­" Jin was speechless at how gentlemanly this gangster was. It looked like their real objective was indeed Zheng Hui and Zhen Qing. "You have no say. Now get out of my sight. You are spoiling my food and entertainment." Ong tilted his head a little to signal to his goons. The group sitting behind Ong immediately stood up, adjusted their shirts and walked menacingly towards Jin. Chapter 259 Thats The Spiri "PLEASE! GIVE ME SOME TIME! I will get your payment for you!" Zheng Hui cried as he was knocking his head on the floor. "Hahaha, your life is mine no matter what. You have no way to repay me. I am just going to punish you, torture you, and maybe experiment on you. But your daughter on the other hand. Heh." Yamazaki grabbed his chopsticks and started eating the braised duck. Zheng Hui panicked and decided to stand up and grab a fork on the table, trying to rush at Yamazaki. The goons that were going for Jin stopped Zheng Hui without any effort and kicked him down to the floor once more. "Hahahaha! You think that you can take my life? How about this? If I get defeated, I will rip up your contract and clear your entire debt!" Yamazaki spat at Zheng Hui as the goons continued to kick him while he was down. "Jin, looks like there is a group of people trying to break into your house. They are currently climbing over the house''s fence. I have snuck Zhen Qing in the basement for safety." Yun sent her thoughts. "Can you keep her safe? I believe you are strong enough to stop them." Jin could not tolerate the current scene, but he needed some time to talk to Yun, so he had no choice but to watch Zheng Hui suffer. "I cannot show my powers in front of them. I can get Zeru out, but even he could not stop other gangsters coming for Zhen Qing. I can sense more were stationed nearby in case things go awry. Zhen Qing did not even want to explain to me what was happening." Yun said as she summoned Zeru out. He knew what to do and went to confront the gangsters that were trying to climb over the fence. "I have asked for police help. Hopefully, they will come in time. Stay safe, Yun." Jin said in his thoughts before he took a breath in and wanted to say something in defence of Zheng Hui, but Kraft interrupted him. "You sure, Master? While I admire your courage, would saving him do you any good? Not that I condone this kind of knightly rescue. I''d love to get into a fight, but he is a scumbag that isn''t worth saving. Let alone lift a finger." Kraft asked. "I am not going to save him because I am kind or whatever bullshit. That asshole Ong is ruining my house as we speak. Not to mention, he is going to kidnap my employee. Anyone who dares to attack my friends or employees will suffer my wrath." Jin affirmed his stance to Kraft. "Hahahahaha! Well, here''s an option for you. I could come out of your mind to assist you, but that will guarantee the System will know about my existence." "Though I am starting to suspect that the System might already have known about my presence and just chose to ignore it, or you can continue to keep me hidden," Kraft said as he stretched his hands in Jin''s mind. "I will use you when necessary. Will it be a problem if the System knows about you?" Jin continued to look onto Zheng Hui''s beating without any care. "Not really, I just want to mess both you and the System." Kraft shrugged his shoulders as he sat on a chair and shook his legs. "I will give you something to mess with when we are done here." Jin''s thoughts ran through Kraft''s mind, and Kraft laughed hysterically. "HAHAHAHA, you want to take the Yakuza down? That''s awfully brave of you. BUT I LIKE IT. BRING IT ON. Bring him to his knees, and I will cook his brain into a tender, juicy steak. I will get him to spew every single secret." Kraft suddenly disappeared and gave Jin the full attention he needed to fight. The goons had their fill of beating Zheng Hui and now walked towards Jin. "You had your fun watching? Now scram off!" The goons shouted at Jin, but he was unfazed by the yelling. "Okay." Jin nodded as he took out his Bam and Boo in Dual Batons form and immediately knocked a few of the goons away in quick succession before he dashed towards Zheng Hui and carried him. "Oh? Another idiot is trying to get to be a hero. Brother Ong, the entertainment you provide is rather satisfying." Yamazaki sniggered as he saw Jin running towards the window. "Indeed, I did not expect the morning to be that enjoyable. I assure you that the afternoon''s massage would complete you." Ong said as he poured some alcohol into Yamazaki''s glass. "I am looking forward to that." Yamazaki raised his glass and drank in one gulp. "By the way, how about a friendly bet? I think he will jump off the window. I feel he is the kind that is quiet and yet insane." Ong said as he placed 500 Yuan on the table. "I say he would, but it''s no fun that if I had gone with the flow. I will bet the reverse." Yamazaki took out some spare change in his pocket and placed it on the table that was equivalent to roughly 5000 Yuan and placed it on the table. "What are you doing?! Angering the Ruby Rat Triad and the Yakuza!" Zheng Hui could not wrap his head around this gullible boy''s actions. There was a way where he could have just quietly walked off, why would he want to put himself in such a precarious situation. "I am not doing it for you, and I do want you to see through your despicable actions and live through the consequences of making your daughter suffer instead of supporting her. However, that is not for me to judge. But for your daughter." Jin turned and slammed the large glass window causing several other panels to break as well. "But what are you doing! There is no way down! We are on the fourth floor!" Zheng Hui cried, and he tried to struggle, but Jin''s grip was stronger than expected. He did not expect this boy to have such immense strength. Now that Zheng Hui thought about it, Jin could have been a cultivator. "What are you goons waiting for? You think he would jump? GO!" Ong provoked his enemy while at the same time commanded his goons to capture them. Meanwhile, the goons hesitated upon hearing their leader''s commands. Even though some had cultivation, gravity was still a foe not to be trifled with easily if they fall from the fourth floor. "If you are not coming, then I am going," Jin said without hesitation as he stepped back while grabbing on the struggling Zheng Hui. "Don''t you dare let my personal entertainment go to waste or let him die. I want Hui to suffer for killing my boss. NOW GO!" Yamazaki''s shout was filled with terrifying chi that made the goons feel that death by falling was a better choice than by his hands. One of the gangsters ran towards Jin with a machete he took out from his storage ring, but the movements were predictable, and Jin effortlessly evaded the attack and kicked him down. It was, however, the second gangster that rushed in when Jin was not able to control his strength that caused the gangster to fall out of the fourth floor. "Oops." Jin thought to himself as he heard the gangster fell. The gangster screamed before he laid flat on the floor. Whereas the bystanders who were looking at Jin after he broke the glass started a considerable commotion when the gangster fell from the fourth floor. Jin took a quick look and saw that the person was still alive, breathing, just probably with lots of broken bones. "Who''s next?" Jin shouted at the gangsters, and he secretly changed his baton into a Katana by placing it back into his storage watch. He could not let the others see that he could change his weapon on the fly. The goons who initially did not dare to dance with death became enraged and fearful to see one of their brothers falling off the edge. They did not expect that boy who felt ingenuous was a devil in disguise. Meanwhile, Zheng Hui could not help but trembled at the side of the restaurant as he saw the bystanders talking and screaming below the streets. "Ahh, screw this! Let''s go as a group!" It seemed that one of the gangsters with higher seniority rallied the gang and decided to move as a whole to pin down Jin. "That''s the spirit." Jin grinned as he tightened his grip on his katana. Chapter 260 Code T Ra "What is with that commotion?" Lee An parked his car at the side and got off the car to take a look. That was when he saw a man falling off from a building. He looked around and saw that the bystanders were taking videos and pictures of the whole scene. Lee An looked up to see someone familiar at the edge of the fourth floor fighting against a group of gangsters. "What is happening?" Lee An said out loud, but no one care for him as the bystanders were cheering on the fight. Lee An could not help but try to call the police for backup. "Hello, 119. Wanhua District Station Operator here, what is the emergency?" "This is Inspector Lee An from the Tiangong District Station. Badge Number 0928X. There is currently a major fight breaking out at 19th Wanhua Street. I want to request for backup due to the situation." "Inspector Lee An, are you injured, or actively in the fight?" The Operator asked which seemed like a bizarre question, but Lee An answered. "No, I am neither. I am witnessing a fight breaking out." Lee An replied as he saw another guy fell from the fourth floor. "Inspector Lee An. I am sorry to say that we will not be providing any police support at 19th Wanhua Street for today. I suggest you do not become involved with the fight. We will not be liable for any injuries you incurred. This is the first and last warning I am giving you. It is Code T Rat." "What?! Code T Rat?! Fuck you!" Lee An cancelled the call and knew what that meant. "Damn! This is the Ruby Rat Triad territory?" Lee An thought to himself. Code T Rat meant that the triad of the Royal Zodiac Rat had full control of the street and recommended police not to interfere. The only one that was able to overwrite this is the military which was co-owned by all twelve Zodiacs Clans since they were the government. Unless there was a majority overrule, the military would not act on streets owned by the various Triads of the Royal Zodiac. In short, this street he was currently in was a lawless state, owned solely by the Ruby Rat Triad. Whatever they say is the law. There was no other way that Jin could get out of there alive, and Lee An could not provide any solid backup. He could only pray that Jin would be okay. Jin knew that he was facing gangsters, similar to the ones he fought in Shenzhen Zoo. He was merciless against them because these triad members dealt with drugs, prostitution and probably things against the law. The fact that there were no police till now would mean one thing. Jin figured he stepped into territory belonging to them or that was what Inspector Lee and Xue Ping talked about before as part of a casual discussion in the shop. *Clap Clap Clap* "I say, you do provide some decent entertainment." Yamazaki clapped his hand as he laughed it out. "Tell me, brat. Why are you doing this? Did you not know that he was going to kidnap you and put you under our care? Or are you one of those people with some high fucking sense of justice?" Yamazaki asked. "Not really. You just said that if I can defeat you, you will remove his debt. Removing his debt meant that his daughter would be free too. I care for his daughter since she is my employee. Hence." Jin said as he smashed his hilt on a gangster''s head before slashing his chest. "Ah, I see. Now that makes sense. But did you not hear from Brother Ong? That girl should have already been kidnapped right, Ong?" Yamazaki looked Ong, and he took out his phone to make a call in loudspeaker mode. "Hello, where''s the-" Ong tried to call, but all he heard was shouting. "Boss! I am sorry I couldn''t call back! We tried to intrude that guy''s house as instructed, but there is this bodyguard of his that fiercely protects the house! Not to mention, we heard police sirens coming! We tried to surround him, but he beat the shit out of us!" "Then why did you not report this earlier?" Ong suddenly wanted to turn off loudspeaker mode, but Yamazaki was looking at him sternly. "That bodyguard tied us up¡­he accepted your call to relay this message." Suddenly, Ong heard another voice speaking on the phone. "She''s safe and sound. Go wild, Boss." Zeru said it clearly in loudspeaker mode before he hung up. "Looks like your daughter is safe and sound. Brother Hui." Yamazaki''s face turned sour as he stared with murderous intent. "Who are you exactly?" Brother Ong stood up in a fit of anger. "Just a rather protective boss." Jin grabbed Zheng Hui, and suddenly he took the initiative to jump out of the restaurant, off the fourth floor. "Your debut, Peppers," Jin said as he pointed his smartphone towards the restaurant''s window. "Boss, you are the best." Peppers'' wooden staff appeared out of the smartphone, and she did not hesitate to cast an explosion aimed at the restaurant. *BADABOOM!* A huge bomb-like bang on the fourth floor went off that hugely panicked everyone in the vicinity as they started to take cover from the explosion. At that moment, Jin utilised Panda Rolling that enabled him to land rather safely onto the streets. That was the time when he saw inspector Lee An with his jaws opened wide at both the explosion and at Jin. "Inspector!" Jin shouted as he carried the feeble Zheng Hui to him and Inspector Lee An quickly ran towards him to help. "Boss, are you okay? Is this the guy?" Inspector Lee An was extremely confused by the current situation. "Things got overly complicated, but right now, I am saving this guy." Jin assisted Zheng Hui into Lee An''s car, and suddenly he heard a loud defying roar from above. Jin looked up as he saw two well toned figures standing at the edge of the burning restaurant. Their eyes were menacing and directed all of their murderous intent towards Jin and Jin alone. "Get out of this place now, Inspector Lee. I will buy you some time." Jin said, but Lee An was not moving an inch. How could he leave a civilian in a lurch? "EVERYONE ASSEMBLE!" Ong projected his voice with immense chi as he tore the burnt clothes away, revealing a body tattoo of numerous rats running all over his body. It looked as if the rats were consuming his entire body. On the other hand, Yamazaki''s body revealed a large tattoo of the god Bishamonten holding multiple spears. At that moment, everyone in Wanhua Street suddenly started to close their windows and shop shutters but out came gangsters from the various shophouses. A gangster did not meant anything but when a shit ton of gangsters came together, the chi they portrayed was in unison. A ginormous Ruby Rat silhouette appeared right above them to scare their enemies before going into the fight. "You fucking mess with the wrong people." Ong spat his saliva as he placed his hands in his pockets and signalled the assistant gang leaders with just an upwards nod of his head and they started to take their weapons out. "Does the deal still stand? Defeating you will remove all debts of the family of Lynn Arisato." Jin calmly said towards the overly bulging figures with the restaurant fire continued burning behind him. "That is if you can pass through them," Yamazaki said as he eyed at Ong. With just a hand signal from Ong, the gangsters started to charge towards Jin. "Inspector GO NOW!" Jin shouted as he repeatedly banged on Lee An''s car to hurry up. "But! What about you!" Lee An started his engine as quickly as he could with Zheng Hui cowering at the backseats. "I will be fine." Jin gave a casual salute with his two fingers at Inspector Lee as he reluctantly drove away. "I will be back Boss. I will be back with support. Just hang in there." Inspector Lee did not know why but he felt that he could trust Jin to be telling the truth when Jin said otherwise. "Peppers, Zeru, Milk and¡­Kraft. Time to work." Jin smirked as he brandished his katana out with style at the overwhelming crowd rushing towards him. Chapter 261 Catching Rats "What had happened to Boss''s Shop?" Xiong Da who just came back from a two week long holiday with his new found girlfriend Ruo Ying realised that there was a drastic change to Jin''s shop. The only thing that remained the same was that the queue was ever long. "Hey, Xiong Da! You are back!" Luo Bo, the cultivator for the Illusive Rabbit Style who was queuing up with Jia Le, the cultivator for the Breathtaking Bellflower Style, saw him holding on to bags of various sizes. "Luo Bo! Jia Le! A nice coincidence! Here, take this, a souvenir from Belgium. Whether you share it with Bin Yong and Shi Zuo that is a matter I will close my eyes to." Xiong Da passed each of them a bag full of premium Belgium chocolates, all beautifully wrapped. "Wow, Thanks Xiong Da! How was the trip with Ruo Ying? I am more interested in that! Cannot believe you immediately flew away to a faraway place to spend some quality time with her." Jia Le thanked Xiong Da as she admired the wrapped box. "Oh, She and I had some good heart to heart talk and did some sightseeing along with some couple activities. I have yet to thank all of you properly for helping me to get back Ruo Ying." Xiong Da replied. "Oh ho ho ho~! Xiong Da no longer a Wizard?" Luo Bo smirked at Xiong Da, but he could not help but laughed awkwardly and nodded his head. "She decided to release all of my ''magical energy'' for the last night of our trip. Saying that it would be a memory to last for a long time." Xiong Da blushed, but some of the customers who were waiting could not help to eavesdrop part of the conversation. Some even cheered at Xiong Da''s success before Luo Bo rolled her eyes and said. "Please spare us the details. I would rather be dungeoneering." "Speaking of dungeoneering, what exactly happened to the shop?" Xiong Da knew that Boss Jin liked to change things, but this time around, it seemed way over the top. Both Luo Bo and Jia Le explained over the course of waiting, but for some reason, they could not help but notice something was wrong. "Weird, Boss should have opened his shop about this time, if not earlier than this." Luo Bo checked her watch. "Hey, Bo Bo, look it''s Yun and Zhen Qing." Jia Le noticed the two of them trying to rush themselves to the shop. "Hi guys, sorry for the wait." Yun started to open the shop and figured that Jin should be fine on his own. Zhen Qing, on the other hand, would be safer in the store as compared to leaving her in Jin''s house. "What happened? It is not usual for you guys to be this late. Did something happen to Jin?" Xiong Da could not help but be a little suspicious. He felt his lawyer''s hunch tingling. "Woah, new hair colour Zhen Qing. That looks really natural on you." Luo Bo could not help but change the subject, brushing off the concern that Xiong Da had. "Thank you¡­ Erm, we are sorry for opening the store this late." Zhen Qing bowed. "Nah, it is fine. At least it''s not like you were similar to some other restaurants or stores that closed their shops for no particular reason. I remember there was this infamous food store for its egg fried rice said that it closed its store because it''s international reporter''s day." Luo Bo accepted the apology but could not wait to get into the store and show Xiong Da her new pet. Suddenly, many black armoured vans came from all corners of Tiangong District in one swoop, and one of them did an emergency stop just right outside of the dungeon shop. The van side door was opened abruptly, and three masked men came out to grab onto Zhen Qing. Everyone including Yun who was opening the door was shocked by the confusion and brusque manner of this daylight kidnapping. The one who was petrified by this was Zhen Qing as she was being pinned down with a knife at her throat as the kidnappers tied her up and subsequently threw a sack over her head. The other black armour vans immediately threw smoke grenades on the floor, and all the vans drove off in different directions. "Shit!" Yun cursed and looked at the crowd. "I am sorry, we are closing for the day," Yun said which most of the customers understood the meaning of that. They too were stunned by that, but it did not seem to faze Xiong Da. "Luo Bo, Jia Le and Yun. To my car!" Xiong Da sprinted forward to the parking lot nearby with Luo Bo and Jia Le. "Do you know what to do, Hippo? We could not track all of the vans down!" Luo Bo sat in front while Jia Le at the back. They were not going to let this injustice down. "The only thing I was proud when I was young was my sense of smell, and Zhen Qing has a very peculiar scent." Xiong started the engine before he was being beaten by Luo Bo. "What scent, you disgusting pervert!" Luo Bo said as she beat Xiong Da''s arm. "Ouch! No, it''s not what you think it is! She is a chef, and I believe for some reason or another she had a distinct, high quality scent of raw ingredients on her. I think she interacted sufficiently with Jin''s high quality food items that I could distinguish her by scent." Xiong Da drove his car in front of the Dungeons and Pandas before he picked up Yun. "Yun, any idea who kidnapped Zhen Qing? That was no ordinary kidnapping manoeuvre." Xiong Da stepped on the gas and followed the scent of Zhen Qing while Luo Bo took note of the map app to guide Xiong Da. "I will call Big Sis Xue Ping about this." Jia Le said as she searched Inspector Xue Ping''s user on the Pandamonium chat group. "Damn it, if only Zhen Qing was bestowed with the sub System, I would not have to go through this much trouble trying to track her down," Yun said as she tried to communicate with the System to see if they could locate her. Yun also decided not to tell Jin at the moment since he already had his plate full of gangsters the last they communicated via thought. The System understood Yun''s plight and bestowed her a potion in her storage ring. Yun took a quick look at the potion and realised what it was. She immediately took it out of the storage ring and opened the potion''s safety seal cap. "Xiong Da, open your mouth, I am going to pour a potion in your mouth. I do not care if it is disgusting or not, but you better drink every drop of it." Yun leaned forward and fed Xiong Da the potion. Xiong Da suddenly felt that the scent of Zhen Qing grew stronger and he thought he could sense a faint trace of chi along with the scent. He decided to follow that overtake the red light and cut to the left of the road to follow the scent. "What kind of potion is this! I can sense Zhen Qing''s faint chi signature." Xiong Da asked as he sped up the car even though the red light camera flashed and captured his number plate. "A potion mainly to enhance the five senses. If Zhen Qing was a cultivator, it would be easier to trace her scent. All we can do now is to rely on you." Yun said that she had an inkling what had happened but will be explained later. "All I can deduce is that it''s the Ruby Rat Triad members who kidnapped her." "Xiong Da! Xue Ping said to do what you must to find Zhen Qing. She will remove any red light tickets on your behalf. She said she was going to sortie after getting some information from Lee An." Jia Le just ended her call with Xue Ping as she now buckled on her safety belt as a precaution. "Well, that''s rather pleasant to hear. Let''s catch some rats." Xiong Da stepped on the acceleration pedal and continued to chase after the scent. Chapter 262 No Mercy Chapter 262: No MercyAs the myriad of gangsters came from all directions to attack Jin, he did not let himself be surrounded . Instead, Jin went straight for the big and the bad . Why bother with the goons when their purpose was to wither you down? Just deal with the root of the problem and cut down the head of the venomous snake . Or in this case, rat . Of course, Jin was only able to do that because he had the backup of his teammates . Seeing so many gangsters once again affirmed Jin¡¯s belief that they were in the rats¡¯ territory . This meant that the police would not interfere in this lawless zone, so anything goes . ¡°Free for All! That is what I love the most!¡± Peppers, who was in her pyjamas suit stood at the rooftop of a shop house since the moment she was summoned by Jin . After getting permission she twirled her magical staff and aimed at the crowd below her . As much as she loved explosions, she did not wish to cause unnecessary collateral damage, which would merely serve to further complicate things once the issue blows over . ¡°It¡¯s not really my style of magic but here goes! Explosive Beam Pillar!¡± Peppers shouted as a beam of fiery light appeared from the skies, striking down on the streets below . The radius was large enough to decimate tens of gangsters, and it did not stop there . The beam of intensely concentrated energy trailed down the road burning and consuming anything in its path . The gangsters were shocked by the existence of a Western magical arts practitioner in the midst of battle . Not only that judging by the impressive spell she was a high level one at that too, participating in this battle . ¡°Do not underestimate us!¡± One of the Ruby Rat Triad members shouted, apparently one of higher seniority and cultivation grade . He jumped up to the rooftop in one go and decided to aim his kick at the girl in pyjamas . Peppers braced herself for the impact by putting her staff right in front of her . Suddenly, she felt a large familiar hand holding onto her shoulder as if to tell her to move backwards . *BANG* The shot went through the head of the Ruby Rat Triad member and his head was detached in an instant . It reappeared, now being carried around in the mouth of a black fox that had an intricate hand painted ornate mask at the side of its face . The headless body dropped from mid air and onto the side of the roof . The man with the trench coat walked towards it and kicked it down, horrifying the gangsters that were still reeling from the previous magical attack . ¡°Aren¡¯t you¡­¡± Peppers, who now recognized the familiar looking trench coat slowly went into tears . ¡°Stupid guy! Baka! You big idiot!¡± Peppers dropped her staff, running towards Kraft and hugged him tightly . ¡°Woah woah! Easy there, little girl . ¡± Kraft smiled gently for once as Peppers wrapped her arms around his waist and he removed his stained scarlet red glove to rub her head . ¡°Where have you been?! The System said you were gone forever!¡± Peppers pouted at the unexpected reunion . ¡°Just a long nap, that¡¯s all . ¡± Kraft laughed when suddenly a massive bang sounded from the door leading to the rooftop . The gangsters knocked the door down and saw their target . Anyone who was not indoors would be considered as an enemy and be killed . *BOOOM* ¡°Did you have to do that Peppers?¡± Kraft smirked at the hot mess left at the site of the broken door . ¡°How dare they interrupt my reunion with you!¡± Peppers stuck out her tongue at Kraft as he continued to pat her head . ¡°It is nice to see you again Kraft . ¡± Milk appeared at the same place where Peppers first emerged, but Milk was in full battle gear, unlike pyjamas girl . ¡°Milky~, you are as bouncy as ever . ¡± Kraft smiled back, and Milk shook her head . ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a bit . As lewd as ever . ¡° ¡°Kraft . ¡± Zeru materialised right after Milk and acknowledged Kraft¡¯s presence . ¡°Zeru . ¡± Kraft nodded his head slightly as he took the chance to summon back Tsu the black fox back into his revolver . ¡°Let¡¯s go save our master¡¯s ass once again!¡± Peppers shouted as she released herself from Kraft, picking up the staff and looked at the ongoing two versus one battle at the other side of the street . However she realised that first they would need to clear the neighbouring shophouse roofs, which were now filled with angry gangsters . They started to jump over to the roof that Bellators were on, trying to surround them . ¡°Show them no mercy, kill them all!¡± The Triad vice leader shouted, and the gangsters rushed in with all might, unknowingly to their deaths too . ¡°No Mercy?¡± Kraft¡¯s gentle expression changed to the fanatic one he always showed Jin as he took out a triple-barreled, triple-cylindered revolver ornamented with detailed golden fox designs . The moment Peppers saw it, she could not help but giggle . ¡°Kraft really took out ¡®No Mercy¡¯ to show it to them . ¡± Peppers thought to herself, and it looked like both Milk and Zeru understood the reference . They could not help but smirk at the pun intended by Kraft and decided to step back to let Kraft show off . ¡°Wow, you lazy bastards, leaving me all the work . ¡± Kraft grinned evilly . With a transcendent sleight of hand, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, he transferred three bullets from his old revolver to his new one . As the gangsters charged towards the group, Kraft pressed the trigger on No Mercy as he bellowed the name of his bullet . ¡°Show me your true form, Itori!¡± The gun fired and the bullet whizzed through the air . Suddenly, a colossal white furred fox with red line markings on its entire body manifested in front of Kraft . With a swipe, the whole row of gangsters vanished right in front of the bellators as she charged forward and bit the Triad assistant leader . Surprisingly, he was fast enough to hold onto the mouth of the Fox Demon Itori, but his efforts were futile . Within a second, Itori shot out a breath of white fire, evaporating him into dust . ¡°These¡­These people are not ¡­are ¨C THEY ARE MONSTERSSSS!!!!¡± One of the surviving gangsters cried out as he broke down and peed on his pants as his legs were rooted to the ground when Itori moved towards him and stomped him with her paw . A whistle was heard and Itori suddenly disappeared . The white demon fox returned to Kraft as a bullet . The remaining gangsters could not help but try to run away at the horrifying foes in front of them . ¡°That was rather amazing to see no matter how many times you show it . ¡± Peppers clapped as Kraft gave a grin and a theatrical bow in return . ¡°I think I should offer Master Jin a bit of help . He has held himself well fighting two foes that are stronger than him . ¡± Milk felt pumped up as she started to jump around on the spot a bit, preparing to do a long jump . ¡°Bwahaha! Milk is finally going to show the path of the body to Jin?¡± Kraft teased, realizing, why Milk was in her battle monk attire instead of her usual priest attire . ¡°Hmph! Do not twist my Grandmaster¡¯s teachings into dirty stuff, you imbecile fox . ¡± Milk expressed her annoyance at Kraft as she took a few steps back before she did a short run and leaped to the opposing side of the street . ¡ª¡ª- ¡°This is interesting . So much data to be taken in . No wonder Boss Jin can create such wonderful dungeons . It looks like I worried for nothing for today . ¡± Mr Know-It-All spoke as he looked through the binoculars . He was currently stationed at a rented room in one of the apartments looking across 19th Wanhua street with a lady in punk rock clothes playing her portable handheld console on the sofa . ¡°So, I do not need to mobilise for today?¡± The girl with aquamarine colour hair asked Mr Know-It-All, and he shook his head . Chapter 263 Yamazaki Chapter 263: YamazakiJin¡¯s katana smashed with Ong¡¯s steel bar mace, but it was a mere distraction for Yamazaki to strike at Jin with his katana too . ¡°Huh!! You think you can beat Bishamonten¡¯s Katana Art of Fighting? Do not make me laugh, Faker!¡± Yamazaki¡¯s attack connected with Ong¡¯s bar mace attack and slashed at Jin . Fortunately, Jin¡¯s spirit watch turned into the moveable living armour, and it blocked the attack from being fatal but the attack was strong enough for him to feel that there was a crack in his left ulna bone . Jin gritted his teeth in pain as he summoned a spike of white ice from his forearm and aimed it at Yamazaki . However, instead of dodging, Yamazaki released his aura and a silhouette of Bishamonten with eight orange spiritual orbs floating right around the silhouette . He struck back at the ice spike but it gave Jin some space to back off from the two triad leaders . Ong revealed his cultivation as the Seventh Grade Ruby Rat Cultivation, but Jin felt that his seventh grade powers were a notch higher than Ong¡¯s despite the fact that Jin just entered the realm of Seventh Grade not too long ago . According to previous conversations with Ming, whenever Jin cultivated, the spiritual union of the multiple pandas had deepened the depth of his cultivation grade . Ming revealed that Jin¡¯s cultivation strength level would always be at least half a grade better than the current grade that he was in . For example, if he was a Grade 7 on paper, his strength would reflect a Grade 7 Peak . Initially, Jin was sceptical when the System said he was a Grade 7 because of what Ming had said . He thought that when the System was measuring his strength and he would just be at Grade 6 Peak . Yet, when he summoned his cultivation out, it was there seven lazy pandas rolling around above his head . ¡°So, what Ming said was really true after all . ¡± The results of him being a Grade 7 did not sink in until he fought against Ong and Yamazaki . However, Jin felt that he had underestimated his enemies this time around as Yamazaki was definitely stronger than him . In Japan, the Seven Fortune Gods (Shichi Fukujin) Clans were the ones that ruled the country, similar to how the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans ruled China . From the way Yamazaki fought and shown his cultivation had proven that he was from the Bishamonten Clan . One of the fiercest, if not the strongest in terms of fighting power in Japan . Resembling the Royal Zodiac clans having the Triads to do their dirty work and to earn more money, the Seven Fortune Gods Clans had the Yakuza to control the people if necessary . Bishamonten Clan was no doubt the most robust Yakuza family in Japan, and people learnt to fear yet respect their authority at the same time . When Yamazaki portrayed his Bishamonten with eight orbs floating around him, Jin knew that each orb was equivalent to one cultivation grade hence Yamazaki was a Grade Eight Bishamonten cultivator in Jin¡¯s eyes . When Jin stepped back to distance himself from Yamazaki, Ong¡¯s cultivation flared up, and in a blink of an eye, Jin realised Ong disappeared right in front of his face . ¡°Ruby Rat Style, Hidden Ambush of the Rat!¡± Ong shouted as his figure emerged from behind Jin and decided to smash Jin with his bar mace . ¡°No, you don¡¯t . ¡± Ong suddenly felt a forceful impact on his face, and he was sent flying into the ashes of the restaurant . ¡°Ooooh, a flying Kick combined with a long jump . Must be rather painful especially on the face . I wonder if he would be disfigured from that . ¡± Peppers took out a bag of chips and started munching on it . She later offered it to Kraft, and he wasn¡¯t courteous with the amount he took at one go . ¡°Kraft!¡± Peppers pouted . ¡°You didn¡¯t have your breakfast . I am helping your body . ¡± Kraft held a handful of chips and started eating one by one . ¡°I shall clean up the remnants . ¡± Zeru ignored the two of them and started working by free falling from the roof to the streets . ¡°Milk?!¡± Jin was surprised at Milk¡¯s new battle outfit . She had a black hard knuckles gauntlets, and her knees and elbows were padded with armour . Her outfit was still similar to the priest outfit but sexier and more revealing- Wait, Jin meant ease of movement . ¡°I¡¯ll take this one . You can handle Mr Japanese over there . ¡± Milk winked at Jin, and he sighed . ¡°Well, at least it¡¯s better than two versus one . Okay, Mr Japanese it is then . ¡± Jin charged forward and attacked Yamazaki, and without a doubt, Yamazaki parried his attack but the Perfectly Normal Parry Slash activated, and Jin finally managed to inflict a cut wound on Yamazaki after the prolonged fight . ¡°It looks like without Ong, you are nothing but a support cultivator with big muscles . ¡± Jin sneered at Yamazaki which caused him to rage and release his chi without any suppression . The chi was strong enough that it killed off the remaining flames that were still burning in the restaurant . ¡°YOU will taste the wrath of Bishamonten himself!¡± Yamazaki¡¯s eyes turned blood red as his muscles showed veins protruding out as if it was waiting to burst . Disciples of Bishamonten Clan will always learn a distinctive trait of Bishamonten when they reached a specific grade . Usually, from Grade 6 onwards, these disciples will have to master this ordinary, yet unique skill only to the Clan of Bishamonten called Inner Rage . By releasing the inner reserves of chi in oneself, it would excite one¡¯s chi points to give a person an increase in strength and attack power . The only downside is that there is a time limit to it, but Yamazaki reckoned he could kill off Jin in that amount of time . Yamazaki locked swords with Jin once again, but this time he used his empty hand to punch Jin at the side . As Jin was caught off guard by it, Yamazaki twisted his sword and prepared to perform forward pierce attack . ¡°Advanced Katana Art! Bishamonten Pierces the Skies!¡± Yamazaki shouted at the top of his voice . Jin¡¯s entire body suddenly trembled as if it knew that he would be in trouble if he were not able to stop Yamazaki¡¯s attack . ¡°White Panda Ice!¡± Jin thought to himself as he tried to create a concentrated block of ice on his entire left hand and used it to block the pierce . ¡°It is USELESS!¡± Yamazaki grinned widely as he thought to himself when he saw Jin¡¯s hand was being formed with the ice . Yamazaki¡¯s katana indeed went through Jin¡¯s forearms and even the ice, causing him to feel pain pulsating through his entire body . One of the living armour managed to reach Jin¡¯s heart on time, but the tip of the katana broke it into many pieces . ¡°Fuck . ¡± Jin closed his eyes and opened his mouth to scream . . . a blast of black and white beam out . With Yamazaki¡¯s sword locked into Jin¡¯s ice and hand, Yamazaki either has to withstand the complete blast of Panda Yawning or let go of his katana but still received some of the damage due to his proximity with Jin . Nevertheless, Yamazaki chose the former because of pride, and that was his downfall . He tolerated the blast beam of the black and white chi energy, but he did not know that it was not over . Jin took the chance for the White Panda Ice to spread onto the katana and ultimately to his hands . With Yamazaki being locked in place, Jin now unleashed his Black Panda Fire specifically only on Yamazaki¡¯s head as Jin continued to spread the ice through Yamazaki¡¯s torso and his legs . Yamazaki tried to struggle, but the Inner Rage caused him to be vulnerable to attacks . ¡°ARRGGGGGHHHH¡± Yamazaki cried out in pain as his head was burning, unable to breathe and he felt he was being pinned down by the ice . ¡°I am not stopping just yet . I do not know how to pierce the skies, but I know how to pierce you . ¡± Jin took the opportunity for the Panda White Ice to permeate through the skin . ¡°YAMAZAKI!¡± Ong realised what was happening, but Milk¡¯s repeating offensive blows fully occupied him . Ruby Rat Style is well known for manoeuvres, but the constant assault left Ong busy defending himself . ¡°You Rat, where else should you be looking . ¡± Milk gave three successive blows to his chest the moment he was distracted, and it caused Ong to spit blood out . It was apparent that the blows caused Ong¡¯s chest muscle and bones to be indented and Milk did the favour of breaking it by first sending a roundhouse kick to the head, causing Ong to be concussed and followed by a turning kick to the same place she delivered her triple blows . As if it was premeditated, the sternum bone cracked in a way that a piece of it flew into the heart because of the impact, causing Ong to bleed internally and die from it . ¡°Are you going to admit defeat and leave Lynn Arisato¡¯s family alone?!¡± Jin shouted at the burning head of Yamazaki, and he nodded in advance . Jin let go of the Yamazaki, and he was left standing because of the ice that froze his legs upright . The black fire subsided, and Yamazaki was able to breathe although the skin on his face were all burnt . ¡°What assurances can I have?¡± Jin placed his katana at Yamazaki¡¯s neck, even pushing till it bleeds slightly . ¡°If you kill me . HAHAHAHHAHAHHA!¡± Yamazaki laughed loudly which pissed Jin off . ¡°If you kill me, the Bishamonten Clan will come after you for sure . If you do not kill me, the Bishamonten clan and I WILL COME FOR YOU . We do not forget our debts . ¡± Yamazaki shouted at Jin at the top of his voice . Jin was at the edge of killing him, but that was when Kraft materialised right in front of him . ¡°Don¡¯t worry . Leave this to me . You did well for now . ¡± Kraft smiled at Jin as this was the first time Jin saw Kraft¡¯s rugged and hardy expression on his face . Kraft suddenly disappeared and Yamazaki who was laughing unexpectedly stopped as if he had a brain dead gaze in his eyes . At the same time . Milk helped Jin out from the White Panda Ice that he was stuck with Yamazaki . She even slowly pulled the katana out of his left hand and began chanting healing spells on it . ¡°My particular outfit lowers my healing capability so just bear with the pain . ¡± Milk said after she finished the incantation of an intermediate healing spell . In the meantime, when all these were unfolding, Jin suddenly heard multiple police sirens in the background . Chapter 264 Little Penguin Chapter 264 Little Penguin As the van ride was bumpy and the men were shouting at each other, Zhen Qing was thrown to a corner of the van, with her hands tied and a burlap sack over her head. She could not fathom how a simple plea of help had become the second worst mistake she made in her entire life. Earlier in the day when Zeru disappeared to assist Jin, Deng Long and Se Lang came to apprehend the gang members that tried to break into Jin¡¯s house. Yun went ahead into the bas.e.m.e.nt and checked on Zhen Qing, wondering if she was still okay. ¡°I knew it. I knew I should not have asked Jin for help. I should have just given money to my father¡­¡± Zhen Qing thought as she hid herself in the bas.e.m.e.nt holding a metal bat. ¡°Zhen Qing or erm Lynn, I am coming in. It is Yun.¡± Yun turned on the lights in the bas.e.m.e.nt and walked towards Zhen Qing who was weeping once again. ¡°I am sorry, Yun, to bring you this much trouble¡­¡± Zhen Qing looked at her with watery eyes. She was so vulnerable that Yun could not help but hugged her gently. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It is alright. Do not worry my dear. We will take care of you.¡± Yun said as she patted Zhen Qing¡¯s back. ¡°Why would you take care of me? I am a burden. I am nothing but a magnet for trouble.¡± Zhen Qing continued to cry, and she tried to push her away but Yun did not let go of her. it was obvious she was in pain yet felt guilty at the same time. ¡°Didn¡¯t Jin promise he would help you out?¡± Yun tried to cover for Jin, but instead of reassuring her it merely brought up more questions from Zhen Qing. ¡°Why would he do that? Although I complained about the food he currently serves, it was actually one of the best things I ever tasted. I could not reach that kind of level even with the ingredients he provided me. He should just get himself a new and better chef. One who does not trouble you. Please Yun! Just ask him to leave me alone.¡± Zhen Qing buried her face into Yun¡¯s shoulders and hugged her even tighter. Despite what she said, her heart could not deny the truth. The truth of having fun in Jin¡¯s shop. The little acts of care and concern that Jin showed her when she was too busy or too tired. The intense research she buried herself in the kitchen instance to explore the next upcoming main dish for Jin. The approval of Jin¡¯s customers when she served her brand new revised Black Pepper Pork Buns to them. Their happiness, in turn, gave her the motivation to continue to work hard. Yet, because of all this, she did not want to let go of this job but at the same time, wished not to burden them with her troubles. ¡°Jin cares about you. He sees the potential in you. I see the potential in you. Right now, you are chained down by your past. Jin is now helping you with a certain aspect of that, but in turn, you have to help yourself to get up too.¡± Yun said to her as she looked into Zhen Qing¡¯s eyes. ¡°Now get up, wipe your tears. Forget this nonsense about abandoning you. As far as I¡¯m concerned, you are one of us. We are going to the store, since you will be safer there with the other cultivators as witnesses. Besides, the store must continue to operate, right?¡± Yun smiled at Zhen Qing as she rubbed her tears away and nodded lightly. ¡°But before we get going, here, Lynn.¡± Yun took out a beautiful looking piece of stud earring from her storage ring. It looked like a drop of crystal blue tear from afar, but on closer inspection, it had the shape of a baby penguin with its adorable eyes and cute short beak. Zhen Qing did not expect to receive such a beautiful gift from Yun, much less a penguin. ¡°I remember you told Jin that you wanted a penguin cultivation. So he and I thought of making this for you. This earring will serve as a charm to protect you. Do not hesitate to call for help by pressing gently on it and focus your heart to it. Help will come.¡± Yun explained as she assisted Zhen Qing to put the stud earring on. ¡°I did not expect Jin to remember such¡­detail.¡± Zhen Qing felt like she wanted to cry again as she followed Yun out but this was not the time for it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª A sudden jerk in the van caused Zhen Qing to return back to her current situation as she was forcibly being carried around by her kidnappers. Zhen Qing smelled the scent of the forest as she got out of the Van. There were many voices but only after listening for a while did she realise there were not just Chinese voices. ¡°Japanese?¡± Zhen Qing thought to herself as she tried to listen more intently and true enough, some phrases were indeed in japanese. The kidnappers subsequently shoved her onto a sofa and took the sack off her head. Zhen Qing suddenly saw bright lights being shone at her and she could not discern what was in front of her clearly. She heard footsteps moving towards her until a familiar silhouette towered over her. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Lynn.¡± The voice spoke, and Zhen Qing could not believe her ears. ¡°Mimasaka Sensei¡­?¡± Zhen Qing looked up and tried to focus, despite her impaired vision. She noticed the surroundings in the room was all dark, but she could feel the presence of other people lurking around even though Mimasaka Sensei was the only one standing right in front of her. Mimasaka Sensei. The one and only chef she had acknowledged as Sensei, the very master that taught her every nook and cranny she got to know about the kitchen. The same master, who taught her the importance of imparting their feelings in their food¡­ and also the one she risked her life for to help orchestrate the Last Supper Scandal. ¡°Indeed, I am.¡± Mimasaka said as he folded his arms. ¡°Why are you here? How are you here? Why am I being kidnapped by you?!¡± Zhen Qing could not connect anything together. It did not make any sense at all. ¡°I am here to clean up my mess, but I would like to have a word with you first.¡± Mimasaka Sensei replied. ¡°What are you talking about? I have served the Daikokuten Clan with everything I have. I did what was told by you. What do you mean by cleaning up your mess¡­¡± It was at that point in time, Zhen Qing realised something. As if her brain finally found the missing puzzle after all this while. ¡°I am your¡­scapegoat?¡± Zhen Qing lowered her head as she said it and Mimasaka replied with a yes. ¡°Why¡­Why¡­WHY?¡± Zhen Qing still could not wrap her head through the fact that was presented to her. ¡°AFTER EVERYTHING I HAVE DONE FOR YOU? EVERYTHING! My love for cooking, my passion for cooking. MY LOVE FOR YOU! Was everything just a big joke to you¡­ Just a way to manipulate me to do your bidding?!¡± Zhen Qing screamed at the top of her voice that from the shadows, a gangster came out wanting to shut her mouth but Mimasaka stopped him. ¡°WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!¡± Zhen Qing was filled with an intense rage as she struggled against the ropes. ¡°I did love you. Loved you as my child first. Later as my lover. I swear to you that those feelings were genuine and had nothing to do with what came later. You are the one and only one that truly understands me. Understands my work, my passion, my ambitions. But I need you to give me your love once more. I ask that you sacrifice yourself to complete me. So that I can present your Dantian core to my boss as evidence.¡± ¡°Your boss¡­? The head of Daikokuten Clan?¡± Zhen Qing finally realised something. ¡°So your entire goal is after all the complete control of Japan¡¯s Association of Master Chefs.¡± Zhen Qing eyes turned dull for a moment to think how stupid she was having loved her master once for his ambitions. ¡°I will remember you for life. My darling little Penguin.¡± Mimasaka took out a gun and placed it at her head. Chapter 265 Mimasaka "Penguin¡­" As she was about to give up all hope and let Mimasaka Sensei take her life, she remembered that very word. "You will always be my baby penguin, my daughter. The outside world may be tough like the seas but remember that you have the ability to conquer it. To swim in there dauntlessly and eventually find a mate that you will love for life. But for now, sleep tight in my embrace." The words of her mother flashbacked in her mind as Zhen Qing curled herself up despite being tied up. Mimasaka gave a sigh before he clicked the safety button off from his gun. He gave a slight pause and prepared to half squeeze his trigger. After all, he did love her once. It would be heartless of him to kill Lynn just like that. But that was all the time Zhen Qing needed to touch the penguin stud earring that Yun gave her. "Goodbye." Mimasaka closed his eyes as he squeezed his trigger a few times. A quick death is better than a slow dying one. The same concept that he applied to all of his freshest livestock by giving them a swift end. However, when Mimasaka opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that there was another body right in front of him. "What¡­?" Mimasaka could not believe his eyes, but at that moment, a large bang came from the side of the building as the doors were broken down. "ZHEN QING! WHERE ARE YOU!" Xiong Da shouted while holding his two handed war club. A threatening vibe oozed out of his body until he saw Mimasaka and his gangsters at the end of the darkened warehouse. "Let me brighten it up for you." Luo Bo offered as she shot flare arrows at the roof of the warehouse that suddenly illuminated the entire place. The flare arrows sparkled a while before it lit brightly, allowing Xiong Da to see the site properly. It was a good thing she had bought an assortment of arrows from Jin''s store previously. She assumed each and every arrow would have its use, it''s just a matter of when. "Kill them!" Mimasaka who was distracted by Xiong Da gave the order before looking back at the sofa, only to find both the body he had shot, as well as Lynn, were gone. Mimasaka was frustrated and decided to make a break out of this place as soon as possible. In the meantime, his goons were carrying decent firearms and wielded rather destructive magic, courtesy of the Daikokuten clan. Xiong Da planned to charge all the way from one end of the warehouse to the other, but he was not indestructible nor immune to all physical and magical attacks. Suddenly, a vine barrier appeared in front of him, and it was moving along with him. He then felt that his waist was a little tighter than usual. "Heh heh, sorry to use you as the moving shield." Jia Le smiled as she cast a vine barrier with its roots attached to Xiong Da''s belly instead of the ground so Xiong Da could still move and receive protection from the barrier. "It''s fine, in fact, it''s a brilliant idea." Given Xiong Da''s size, Luo Bo and Jia Le were able to hide behind him easily as he moved towards the goons with the vine barrier attached to him. Separately, Luo Bo also took this chance to counter attack with her arrows and managed to bring some enemies down before they clashed head on. Zhen Qing still could not believe it as she was being carried out of the battle scene. "Jin¡­!?" Zhen Qing spoke out with disbelief as Jin smashed the warehouse''s covered window glass panels with the help of a Lazy Panda Swipe and brought her out of the warehouse. "Argh, so one of them did get to me." Jin peered over his side to see a bullet lodged into it. The living armour was only able to block three shots as they were not fast enough to block the fourth one. Jin then remembered the last living armour took the blow of Yamazaki''s katana art. "Well at the very least, the remaining pieces of that living armour were absorbed by the others, making them slightly stronger. But still, ouch¡­" Jin thought to himself. "How did you suddenly appear?" Zhen Qing still could not believe that Jin was there to protect her when she needed him the most. "Didn''t you call me?" Jin smiled as he pointed at the earring and Zhen Qing suddenly felt her heart skipped a beat, but there was no time to admire Jin when Mimasaka jumped over the broken window panel too and faced Jin. "I do not know what kind of mysterious arts you used, but it does not change the odds of her surviving." Mimasaka said as he unloaded the entire pistol magazine at Jin which Jin easily deflected each and every one of them with the help of Inverse Eyes. "Huh, so you are a cultivator. Then so be it." Mimasaka unveiled his cultivation, and the god Daikokuten appeared with eight orbs circling the silhouette of an old man carrying a large mallet and an oversized sack. "Eight orbs¡­" Jin suddenly felt the pressure building up again after the intense fight with Yamazaki, but he still did not give in to Mimasaka as he had an employee to protect. Even Zhen Qing was stunned by Mimasaka''s cultivation as she did not expect him to be this strong at all. Mimasaka took out a large spatula and brandished it in front of Jin who nearly found it funny until Zhen Qing shouted at him. "Do not underestimate his spatula as a weapon! The Daikokuten Clan is known to use kitchen utensils as weapons. They are, after all, the Clan that uses food as weapons! His speciality is Seafood Tsukemen. He has the ability to bring out the power of Sea creatures against you." "Thank you for the warning." Jin immediately toughened his fighting stance as he prepared to face Mimasaka head on. "Master, let me do it instead." Zeru whispered to him like a ghost and did not take no as an answer. Mimasaka assumed he had the upper hand in this fight despite the leak of information from Lynn, but when he wanted to charge towards the injured Jin, he felt that his body was heavy all of a sudden. "Huh?" Mimasaka wondered, without realising why he was falling to the ground even before he started the fight. It was at that moment, he saw the entirety of his body before him. For some reason, his body was upside down and a person was standing right behind it. One moment later, his vision went blank. Mimasaka''s head went rolling down the hill beside the warehouse and into a flowing river. Zhen Qing could not take the shock and started to vomit. Seeing this, Jin tried to calm her down and took out a bottle of water from his storage watch to let her drink. Zeru immediately disposed of the body away from Zhen Qing''s sight. "Erm¡­thank you, Zeru?" Jin did not know how to react, and it was the first time, Zeru took the initiative to eliminate his enemy for him rather than weakening it for him to defeat. "No, Master, I am sorry. It was my fault. I noticed one of the bystanders was filled with evil intent, but that was not part of the group of gangsters I caught. So I let him get away. I should have eliminated all threats, and this sort of harm would not have come to Lady Lynn. Please forgive me too, Lady Lynn." Zeru knelt as he bowed down to ask for forgiveness. "No worries, Zeru. I thank you for saving me time and time again." Zhen Qing shook her head as she wiped her mouth with a towel from Jin. It was at that time the police sirens blared loudly once again. Chapter 266 Police Interrogation "Seriously, what were you guys thinking?" Inspector Xue Ping shook her head as she took the statement of Jin. He told her everything from the start of the day to where she readily handcuffed him without any resistance. However, Jin did not speak the whole truth, especially the death of Mimasaka by Zeru''s hands. Jin had taken the initiative to tell Zeru to hide himself and took the blame for killing Mimasaka by himself, stating that it was all in self-defence. Zhen Qing did not know why would Jin do that but agree to side and coordinated her story with Jin too when she was being interrogated by Inspector Lee An in a separate room. "So you are saying that you were teleported by a portal spell to protect Zhen Qing from the shots? Zhen Qing called you for help via the earring?" Xue Ping asked to clarify Jin''s statements. "Yes, Yun and I managed to obtain an accessory to allow such teleportation travel. Unfortunately, it''s a one time use." Jin said as Yun told him the details in his thoughts. "Why did she not want to call you earlier to help her when she got kidnapped? Yet it was such a coincidence that she called you mere moments you were done with the battle at Wanhua Street?" Xue Ping pressed for more answers to clarify her "I¡­cannot explain this kind of coincidence but somehow, it happened." Jin did not realise the timing of his teleportation was this convenient too until Xue Ping pointed out. "It''s fine. I just wanted to know since Inspector Lee reported he saw you, but you suddenly disappeared before he was able to ask you more about the rampage caused in Wanhua District. I was trying to connect the dots." Xue Ping told Jin as she continued to write down in case notes about what Jin had said. "Okay, that is all I need to know, your lawyer will settle the rest." Xue Ping said as she packed her notes into a file and walked off from the interrogation room. Out went Xue Ping, and in came Xiong Da. "Hi, Boss." Xiong Da grinned as he walked into the room and loosened his tie a little. "I really did not expect you to be my lawyer¡­" Jin said casually. "Your words hurt me, Boss. I cannot believe I took this pro bono." Xiong Da gave a sorrowful face at Jin which made him laugh. "Okay okay I lied, I was half expecting you. But thank you for coming to assist me and helping Yun get the bad guys. Are Luo Bo and Jia Le okay?" Jin laughed a little before he got serious. He felt bad that he unknowingly dragged some of his regular customers into a matter that should not be their fault in any way. "They are fine. I asked a rather good friend of mine who is specialised in this kind of matters to clear my name and theirs. That is why I am able to aid your case. Besides, I did say if you ever need help, I will not hesitate to help you, right?" Xiong Da smiled at Jin. "So, how bad is my case? How many years of jail time am I looking at? Do I even have a bail?" Jin asked with a tinge of regret in his tone. He knew that he went a bit too far with his actions. He and his bellators almost massacred the entire Wanhua Street''s worth of gangsters. Of course, that was an exaggeration on his part as subsequent reports from Xue Ping stated that a number of gangsters were severely injured, many were near the brink of death, but they could survive. The rest was written off as unfortunate losses by the Ruby Rat triad, but Jin had taken the blame and honour for killing a few well known gangsters which the public police had been trying damn hard to do so. The funny thing was, Inspector Lee used this particular chance to order a SWAT team sortie in suspicion of drug trafficking as a cover to try and help Jin out. However, when they reached their destination, the Special Police Force teams came to find out that they were there to clean up the mess that Jin made. Despite the change in circumstances, Inspector Lee still utilised this chance to raid the entire street and found sufficient evidence to justify Jin''s rescue. In short, Jin indirectly helped the police to bring down a lot of bad people but was not publicly recognised by the law. "You want the good news or the bad news?" Xiong Da asked as he took out his notes to double confirm some of the information. "Either is fine." Jin did not think much about it. "Okay, the bad news. You have killed one of the high ranking lieutenants of the Ruby Rat Triad. They will definitely come for you no matter what, but because you were stationed in Tiangong District, the odds of them attacking you there is rather low unless it''s a declaration of a duel to settle things. That is if you are released. If you are in prison¡­hahaha, that is another story altogether." Xiong Da said sternly. "The good news?" Jin was hoping for a silver lining. "You are to be released after paying a bail, which has already been settled for you by yours truly." Xiong Da smiled. "That good? Like, I do not have any manslaughter charges or whatsoever?" Jin was somewhat surprised by the good news. "Because there were people willing to vouch for you. Mainly Inspector Lee, who was on site later on. But the real defining factor is¡­" Xiong Da leaned back and smiled. "Honestly, I did not expect them to pull so many strings for you. Seriously, without them, you could still be in jail for a very very long time despite your contributions. Even with my help to defend your case in court, the least you would have had to do in jail was still about two years. My own personal estimate. How do you even know them?" Xiong Da asked with a curious look. "Stop keeping me in the dark!" Jin said as he had no idea who pulled what strings. "Tiangong District Guardian Grandma Yuan and Royal Zodiac Tiger Sect Family''s Third Daughter Yang Ling. They came almost knowingly the moment you entered the Police station for interrogation." Xiong Da said with a smirk on his face. "I did not know Boss is such a player. Getting the connection of a District Guardian is understandable but a direct descendant of the Royal Zodiac Tiger family? That is just ¡­ wow. Seriously, the help I can render is not much compared to those two big shots. Remember to thank them properly." Xiong Da said as he continued to check the paperwork for Jin. "But surprisingly, the enemies that you took down had a rather large bounty on their heads, including the Japanese Yakuza, Yamazaki. That was also why Grandma Yuan and Yang Ling were able to pull strings quite easily for you too. Not to mention Inspector Lee''s effort. I believe they had benefits to gain from this incident." Xiong Da deduced. "I see." Jin pondered a little. He understood why Yang Ling would help him. She had the leverage to gain from this situation that Jin was in. However, Grandma Yuan? That was something he would need to investigate. "In any case, just stay here for a while longer, I assure you will be out once I am done with the paperwork. I too know a few guys in this police department that may help to speed things up." Xiong Da packed the papers in one file and prepared to leave the interrogation room. "Thanks again, Xiong Da. Appreciate your help." Jin bowed his head even though he was cuffed to the table. "No worries Boss. Make more dungeons okay?" Xiong Da gave a wink before he left. In less than an hour, Inspector Xue Ping entered again and unlocked the cuffs on Jin. "How is your injury at the side? Is it better now?" Xue Ping asked about the gun wound and the fresh scars on his left hand. "Not too bad, I can manage." Jin thanked her for uncuffing him, but Xue Ping was not done. "Please do not do this again, leave this to the police next time. Although I must admit if you were not there in time for Zhen Qing, it might be too late for her. That, I must apologise for the incapability of the police." Xue Ping sincerely apologised to Jin which he pardoned her almost immediately. "You are forgetting the part where I was going to be kidnapped in a lawless street." Jin sniggered. "You! You were in a lawless street and you can be considered lucky that you were able to survive in there. Else, I do not know how to help you." Xue Ping purposely poked at Jin''s gun wound and made him yell in pain. "But you saved a lot of people thanks to that drug bust which Inspector Lee took the chance to do. However and most importantly, you saved your employee. I am proud to know the dungeon supplier that I patronise is good natured and cares for his employees." Xue Ping complimented him as she guided Jin out of the police station. "In any case, I hope you do not find yourself to be in this situation again." Xue Ping said as she casually saluted to Jin for his services rendered. "Well, there is still the matter of the Ruby Rat Triad. I think there might be a chance I am coming back here sooner than I thought." Jin half-joked to her as he shrugged his shoulders. "Stupid. Call us. We will aid you in whatever way we can." Xue Ping karate-chopped Jin''s head upon her casual salute pose and said goodbye to him. Jin turned and saw two cars waiting for him. Each with their distinct figure in it. "This is one option I never anticipated. Not even in romance visual novels." Jin laughed bitterly as he saw Yang Ling and Grandma Yuan in each of their cars. Chapter 267 Favours Chapter 267 Favours ¡°Perhaps, I should thank Grandma Yuan first.¡± Jin thought to himself and walked towards Grandma Yuan¡¯s car. Her face did not look particularly pleased with Jin. He could hear that the engine started the moment Jin walked towards the vehicle. ¡°Thank you, Grandma Yuan. I heard that you -¡± Before Jin could finish his sentence, Grandma Yuan lifted her hand to stop him from saying any more. ¡°Do not give me any bullshit. Clear your shop for two hours from 10 am to 12 pm. Two weeks from now. I will be there with a couple of friends.¡± Grandma Yuan rolled the car side window up and signalled her driver to start driving, leaving Jin behind. ¡°Okay, guess I do not have any say in that nor can I reject it.¡± Jin had an awkward smile before he walked towards Yang Ling¡¯s car and the reaction he received from her was slightly more pleasant. ¡°Come in.¡± Yang Ling smiled gently at Jin, and he entered the car willingly. Only then did he realise that he forgot to wait for Zhen Qing. Seemingly as if Yang Ling had read his mind, she informed him that Zhen Qing was required to stay in the station for a while longer to assist the police with some investigation. ¡°If you want, I can send you back first and later have my guards send her home.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I do not mind waiting for her, but before anything else, I heard that you aided me in my release. You have my sincere gratitude, Yang Ling.¡± Jin thanked Yang Ling, but instead of replying, she simply passed him a black folder and asked him to open it up in a bit. Suddenly, Jin could see that she started to cast a few spells and the entire cabin of hers was covered with a sort magical barrier which Jin could temporarily feel after she cast it. Ku Wai, who was still at her side started to paste a few rather expensive looking charms on the car doors. ¡°Please, pass me your phone for a while.¡± Ku Wai requested politely and Jin handed it to him, only to notice that he had placed the phone in a rather heavy looking box. Yang Ling and Ku Wai had put their phones in that box too, and later Ku Wai closed it. After which, Ku Wai pressed a button in the car and Jin could feel a kind of force that pulled and pushed him around for a while. ¡°It¡¯s a small burst EMP, also designed by Princess.¡± Ku Wai felt proud upon explaining this invention of hers. ¡°We could never be careful enough. You can now take a look at the folder.¡± Yang Ling looked dead serious. ¡°The Ruby Rat is targeting you. What you experienced was not a random incident.¡± Yang Ling moved closer to Jin to elaborate on the contents inside the black folder. ¡°This¡­¡± Jin saw photographs of a person trying to break into his shop, but his efforts were futile because the lock was System-made. He was given the assurances that no one could break it. ¡°This guy is known in the underworld as the Door Wizard. He can unlock any door for a price but this is the first time he had so much trouble trying to open a door. Your shop¡¯s door.¡± Yang Ling said as Jin took a look at the next photograph and saw that he was carrying a large, complicated modern drill. However, the picture was somewhat blurry. ¡°That was his most recent attempt against your shop. The picture is this blurry most likely because of the fact that he had utilised a one time inscription scroll that produced an illusion, combined with minor invisibility. We managed to take this picture when the spell effects had expired. He realised the spell effect was gone and he used another scroll to get away.¡± Yang Ling explained to Jin about the photograph. ¡°Based on my contacts, they assume that the device he was using was a customised high quality door breaker, used by some of the special forces in the world. However, the picture was too blurry, so that was only a conjecture. Look at the next photograph.¡± Yang Ling prodded him. ¡°Oh god¡­¡± Jin looked at the next photograph and saw that this Door Wizard was brutally chopped up into parts and left in a trash bag. ¡°Sources are sure that the Ruby Rat Triad hired him, and by the Triad Boss no less. This is because his fees are exorbitant, not everyone has the kind of influence and money to hire him.¡± Yang Ling said in a depressing tone. ¡°Then Zhen Qing¡­¡± Jin looked at her, and she nodded her head. ¡°Her father was targeted by Ruby Rat Triad. They might have been trying this angle the moment they found out that Lynn¡¯s father was a compulsive gambling addict in case this Door Wizard is not able to break in? I guess?¡± Yang Ling was not completely sure too as she passed him another folder to preview the contents. ¡°You even know her real name?¡± Jin was surprised by her information gathering as he looked through the photographs and transcript of Lynn¡¯s father and the Ruby Rat gangsters. ¡°It was part of the results of the investigations, or else, I would not have known her real name too.¡± Yang Ling organised her side of items. ¡°I did not offend them in any way. Why would they target me?¡± Jin was confused by their objective. ¡°You are in the entertainment industry right? I mean, you are providing fun and cultivation training.¡± Yang Ling asked. ¡°Well, yes, what does that have to do with me? I mind my own business.¡± Jin still could not see the link and Yang Ling sighed. ¡°King¡¯s Monster. The largest and the most successful dungeon supplier store in Shenzhen. One of the main sponsors or you could technically say their boss. It¡¯s the Ruby Rat¡¯s Triad leader.¡± Yang Ling explained. ¡°I still¡­oh¡­okay, wait a minute. So he wants to snuff out the competition? But there are other dungeon suppliers too. Why would he be so obsessed with me?¡± Jin asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? Within a month, King¡¯s Monsters¡¯ revenue dropped by five percent? That was an unprecedented loss. A fresh new face in the dungeon supplier industry, by right would not have made such a dent in their revenue. But you did.¡± Yang Ling said as she showed him the statistics of King¡¯s Monsters profit on paper. ¡°Five percent? That was enough for me to be a threat to them?¡± Jin then realised that five per cent they were talking about was hundreds of thousands of Yuan. ¡°Did we really earn that much in the first month?¡± Jin tried to communicate with Yun, and surprisingly it went through. ¡°Yea, more than three hundred thousand Yuan in net revenue. (~40,000 USD)¡± Yun said, and suddenly Yang Ling noticed that something was amiss. ¡°Hmm, we have to keep our conversation short, looks like there was a disruption in my barrier despite all the preparation I have made.¡± Yang Ling said, and Jin realised it could be his communication with Yun that appears that way. ¡°The point I am driving towards is this. Join us, the Royal Zodiac Tiger clan. My contacts informed me what you did in Wanhua district, and I myself had known about your talent. We can protect you from any imminent threats from the Royal Zodiac Rat clan.¡± Yang Ling finally showed her true colours. Jin knew that all this information gathering would have cost a lot and releasing him from jail was for Jin to repay the debt to Yang Ling. However, Jin deduced that if not for the interference of Grandma Yuan, he would more or less not be in this position where he was being requested to join, but instead forced to join. ¡°Looks like I owe Grandma Yuan more than I can repay.¡± Jin thought to himself. Jin looked at Yang Ling in her eyes and shook his head adamantly. ¡°I am sorry. I do not think I can join your clan. I like to be free from associating with the Royal Zodiacs. However, I will not forget your kindness, and I shall repay my gratitude in another way. Please, tell me the details of the dungeon that you wish to make. It will be free of charge.¡± Yang Ling sighed upon hearing Jin¡¯s answer. ¡°I somehow expected that you would reject my request. Well, I guess that¡¯s what propelled people like you and your store to the point you even had customers willing to risk their life for you. Not to mention, you had that one heck of a lawyer at your side.¡± ¡°Xiong Da? I thought he said you were the one who pulled the strings.¡± Jin was a little perplexed. ¡°Me? Pulling strings? Hahaha, he is selling himself short.¡± Yang Ling took the entire black folder and threw them in the box where they kept their phones. Ku Wai helped to retrieve those phones before he threw some oil in there and lit a fire. ¡°I will send you details of the dungeon that I want via mail. I will send you the decryption code via Ku Wai when you receive the package. Thank you Jin, for being alive.¡± Yang Ling smiled before she released all the magical barriers and let Jin off the car to wait for Zhen Qing to be released. Suddenly, two notifications appeared. One was to notify that he had completed Zhen Qing¡¯s mission and the other informing about a new mission on his phone logs. Jin was not surprised that it was phrased that way. ¡°Haha, looks like someone wants to take revenge badly.¡± ¡°Long term mission: Eliminate the largest competition in Shenzhen to be one step closer to become the Number One Dungeon Supplier.¡± Chapter 268 Beginning Of A Reconciliation Chapter 268: Beginning Of A ReconciliationJin waited at a nearby caf¨¦ for a long time before Zhen Qing was released . The time was however was well spent as he managed to read up on his Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation manual while waiting for her . Zhen Qing saw Jin¡¯s message when she was released and belongings returned . Jin later offered to buy some coffee the moment she arrived and gave her time to rest before she started to talk . ¡°I am sorry for the trouble that I had caused . ¡± Zhen Qing lowered her head as she whispered her apology . ¡°Hmm? No worries . Most importantly, you are safe . That is all I care about . You have been through a lot today . I believed you must be famished . Do you want to eat anything? My treat . ¡± Jin passed the caf¨¦¡¯s menu to her to let her choose . ¡°No, no, I should be treating you, for all the help you have rendered!¡± Zhen Qing was frantic and wanted to return the favour . ¡°It is . . . Alright, if you insist . I will have a turkey bacon sandwich with fries then . ¡± Jin said as they ordered the food and had a quiet dinner . Jin knew that Zhen Qing had many things in her head that she needed to think about and not to mention she was exhausted from the whole ordeal . Even Zhen Qing was relieved that Jin kept quiet and enjoyed the peaceful dinner . In return, Jin had called a cab for Zhen Qing and paid for her ride home . While waiting for the cab, Jin suddenly broke the silence between them . ¡°I know this is a bit too much but, would like you to stay at my lodging and complete the main dish that you were preparing for the past week or so? This way, you have less travelling to do and you can be more focused . While I could not guarantee your safety previously, I promise this time will be different . Not to mention, it . . . will also give some time for your dad to adjust . ¡± Jin cited these reasons as excuses to keep an eye on her especially after the warning that Yang Ling had given to him . ¡°For my father to adjust?¡± Zhen Qing was a little perplexed by that sentence, but the cab arrived disrupting their conversation . ¡°You will understand when you get home . ¡± Jin pondered for a while before deciding not to say too much . ¡°¡­I will consider it . ¡± Zhen Qing did not question him any further and took the cab . When Zhen Qing got home, she saw her father sitting on the sofa anxiously waiting for her . ¡°Zhen Qing!¡± Zheng Hui was delighted to see his daughter was still fine and dandy . However, Zhen Qing did not say a word and walked straight to her room . However, her father got up and caught her . ¡°Lynn! Wait!¡± For the first time since the incident, Zheng Hui said Zhen Qing¡¯s real name . This gave some pause to Zhen Qing, and she reluctantly listened to her father¡¯s plea . ¡°What do you want?¡± Zhen Qing said with a tone of disgust . Only then, did she realise Zheng Hui was in tears as he knelt begging for forgiveness . ¡°For the wrong things, I did to you, for blaming your mother¡¯s death onto you . For treating you like an item in exchange for debt . For hating my daughter instead of supporting her . I am sorry for all of it . The whole time I was waiting for you . . . I have been thinking of all the horrible things I did to you . ¡± His eyes were shifting before he dared to look at Zhen Qing¡¯s eyes . ¡°Your Boss, Jin had made me realise that there is still some kindness in this world . Not that he was willing to save a damned soul like me, but for taking you under his care . I had forgotten all of this and realised how terrible I am as a father . ¡± Zheng Hui said . ¡°I know that your mother¡¯s death was not your fault at all . Jin had briefly explained to me what happened with you and Mimasaka Sensei . I am sorry, I did not trust you . ¡± Zheng Hui said with regret . ¡°I hope I am not asking too much, but I hope you can find it in your heart, that you could forgive my ignorant ways one final time . I will leave this place tomorrow and strive to work hard till I die if I have to . That is my only way from breaking the current reprise I am in as a redemption for the sins I had committed . ¡± Her father wept as he said those words . Zhen Qing was speechless . This was not the first time he was doing this apology act, but it was doubtful it would be his last . However, she finally felt a feeling of guilt and remorse coming from him unlike the times when he did it to beg for more money . ¡°Will you consider accepting my apology? Just this one last time?¡± Zheng Hui asked as he placed his head on the floor . ¡°I will not forgive you until you show me some results . ¡± Zhen Qing answered in a firm tone . ¡°But I will be the one who will leave this place tomorrow . Not to worry, I will continue to pay the rent for this place . What I ask of you is to get up and start finding proper work . ¡± Zhen Qing eyes were also teary when she said this . Her father did not say anything much but nodded his head as he rubbed his tears away and went to his room . Zhen Qing, on the other hand, started packing the rest of her items and prepared to leave the house by the next morning . She had decided to accept Jin¡¯s offer and finish the main dish recipe first . ¡ª- The alarm rang, Zhen Qing woke up only to smell a scent of cooked eggs . She tidied her bed before leaving her room, just to see a plate filled with bread, eggs and bacon alongside with a cup of milk . ¡°Lynn . Before you go, I was hoping to have one last breakfast with you . ¡± Zheng Hui was formally dressed this time around with an apron on . Zhen Qing guessed this was his way of repenting and decided to accompany him for breakfast . Only later during breakfast, did she realise that he had been searching for a job at night when he was in his room . Not just that, it was apparent that the house was cleaner than last night . When Zhen Qing fell asleep, Zheng Hui continued to stay awake to clear the entire house of his mess . All those extra food trash, empty alcohol bottles, beer cans and the likes of it . He felt that if he wanted to start anew, he should start from within . ¡°It was just a part time job interview at Lele caf¨¦ to get things started so . . . here I am . Apparently, your Boss, Jin, helped me out to have an interview with that place when I asked him for a favour last night . ¡± Zheng Hui said as he ate the eggs only to find it rather bland . ¡°Gah, the eggs you cook, are 100 times better than this urgh, I am sorry Lynn . ¡± Zheng Hui apologized as he covered the bland taste with lots of salt and pepper . ¡°Haha, it did take me some time to master how to cook an excellent plate of scrambled egg too . Well don¡¯t worry, I hope you eventually have some training to make a proper scrambled egg in Lele . I heard the boss cooks some pretty good breakfast set . ¡± Zhen Qing finally smiled towards her father for the first time as she finished the breakfast despite the poor cooking sense of her father . She then saw her father had the urge to smoke as he took out a cigarette from his pack and later realised Zhen Qing was staring at him . ¡°I promise Lynn, I will start over again . . . but this one . . . erm give me some more time . ¡± He laughed bitterly as he placed the cigarette back in the pack and into his pocket . ¡°In any case, you should be going soon . Good luck with your interview, Dad . ¡± Zhen Qing said as she offered to help to clean the plates before she leaves . ¡°Thank you, Lynn . I hope all the best with you and Boss Jin . ¡± Zheng Hui teased Zhen Qing and started to rush for the work interview . ¡°Baka Oyaji . ¡± Zhen Qing blushed a bit and smiled non-stop as she cleaned up the plates . Chapter 269 Terrace House Jin returned to his house later in the night after the dinner with Zhen Qing and saw the mess made by the gangsters and Zeru when they fought. "I cannot expect nor blame Yun for not clearing this up too." Jin thought to himself, and Yun came out from her room, feeling extremely sleepy. "Urgh, today was totally draining." Yun had just woken up from a nap after she returned home from the police station. "Argh, sorry Jin. I was too tired to clear any mess right now." Yun scratched her head of messy bed hair. "I was thinking¡­is it possible to make this house System owned too? That way we could have the lodging for our employees connected to the store." Jin started to pick up the cushions on the floor, patted them a little before putting them back on the sofa. "I do not see why there should be a problem with that?" Yun yawned as she walked down the stairs. "Really? That''s great. I was thinking of renovating this whole place so there would be a place for you, Zhen Qing, Milk and the other bellators. Perhaps, Qiu Yue too¡­" Jin was contemplating out loud and wondered if he could connect the house to the instances, like the Sanctum of Worlds. "Like I''ve already said, the System is more or less capable of creating anything given the resources." Yun checked the refrigerator and saw there was really not much left in there."Well¡­given that this was my house too¡­ I also did think about renovating this place. The sludge in the toilet back then cost too much in real life." Yun grumbled. "Ahahaha, you did not get the System to remove it? I thought you were the one who placed the signs there to tell me not to enter as a joke." Jin did not know that Yun indeed called for professional plumbing services to remove the sludge in the toilet. "Bleargh. This is my gift to you. Consider it a good job gift for taking care of Lynn''s complicated problem unknowingly. The System has its plans and presents for Lynn once the mission is officially completed, but that does not mean you do not deserve something good." Yun clapped her hands, and suddenly Jin felt a familiar force of magical energy pulsating through him, just like the one he felt in Yang Ling''s car when she cast a barrier. As if he was in some Larry Potter''s movie, he suddenly saw the items and furnitures in his terrace house shapeshifting into something new. Some of them were flying around, and Jin even saw that his house grew a few new rooms out. "Oh woah woah." Jin could now feel that his floor was widening and the paint job of this decades old interior was like a new lease of life. In less than 5 minutes, the whole old creaky terrace house underwent a brand new renovation and Jin was digging its original design. "Minimalistic to cater for many." Jin said as he praised Yun''s refurbishing it into a contemporary home. The walls were marble white. The windows were broad and large with black panels. The sofa was the same high quality as the ones used in Shop Level One instance and the coffee tables were cube blocks of wood to give contrast to the white and black concept. The flooring was exceptional, and it was similar to the bamboo flooring on the third floor gallery in the store which offers a cooling effect especially during the summer. "I just used some of the excess materials that were lying around in the System." Yun grinned as she took a seat on the sofa. "I always wanted to give a Loft Moderne Style to the house, well that was my plan when I had a house of my own with my boyfriend." With a snap of her finger, the cup of black Ivory coffee appeared in her hands, and she started to enjoy it under the all new 24 hour air conditioner that was installed throughout the house. "Ahhh so comfortable. Oh, and now the fridge has the same contents as the Kitchen Instance. Just imagine what you want to eat or drink, you can get it. Brilliant, is it not?" Jin sat down and appreciated the new look for a moment before he could sense quite a bit of fatigue setting in. He felt like he wanted to bath and just go to sleep, but there was also a little excitement and desire to see what was in the other rooms. So he first checked the second floor to find that new rooms being ''carved'' out from the old house. It was undeniable that one could figure out which room was whose based on the designs of the doors. For Pepper''s quarters, he saw many stickers of anime characters of mages on her door. He knocked on the door and Peppers opened the door. "Oh Master? How did you come into this dimension?" Peppers was surprised to see Jin, and he explained the situation to her. She peeked out of her room and was amazed by Jin''s new house. "Oh my god! Does that mean Milk and others are here too?" Peppers had an evil smile as she went into her room to take something before coming out of her room. Before Jin could have a proper look into Pepper''s room, Peppers quickly closed it up and locked it with a touch of magic. "No, you cannot see the room of the demonic sage! Your eyes will burn!" Peppers made up an excuse as she carried a large piece of paper with strange symbols on it. She quietly slipped it under Milk''s door, which was depicted with a small and simple cross and a customised plaque of her name on the door. "KYAAAAAAAAAAA! PEPPPERS!" Milk''s intense screaming could be heard from the corridor as she opened the door with smashed up spider. What Jin did not expect was that Milk was in her red lingerie and he could not help but notice her bouncy boobs which made him blush and eventually look away. Meanwhile, Peppers was giggling and laughing while rolling on the floor. "Why is Master here?!" Milk asked as she quickly grabbed onto Peppers and held her close to hide her delicate figure. (But Peppers was not enough to cover her voluptuous figure¡­) "I uhh.." Jin could not help but take another quick peek before he turned away and explained to Milk about it. It was then that he suddenly felt two cushions on his back with¡­a child''s head near his butt. "Masterrrrrrrr¡­.Have you finally revealed your true desire?" Milk copied Nyanmi''s nibbling of his ear, and unsurprisingly, Jin''s nether regions were lighted up, all ready to depart to the next station. "YOU DAMN HORNY PRIESTESS, LET ME OUT OF THIS¡­.SQUEEZE!" Peppers shouted as she was squashed by Milk and Jin. "Oh, the embodiment of Aphrodite. That perfect S-shaped curve and those thick thighs. I will spare no effort to assist you with that Milk." Kraft giggled as he stood at his door with his hands semi folded while rubbing his chin, observing the entire scene. "YOU PERVERT!" Milk''s face turned extremely red when she saw Kraft, and she picked up Peppers and threw her at Kraft like a high speed baseball. "UWAHHHH!" Peppers'' entire body hit Kraft''s head, and both of them fell to the ground. "Hmmph! My body is for Master and Master only!" She quickly ran back into her room but gave a wink at Jin before she closed the door. "What did I get myself into?" Jin rubbed his cold sweat away as he noticed Yun calmly eating a large cup of ice cream while watching TV on the first floor. Chapter 270 Evon Chapter 270: Evon¡°Boss, come here for a second . ¡± Kraft helped Peppers up before he gestured Jin to approach him . Jin did seem a little reluctant to listen to Kraft after what had just happened, though he continued to move forward . Peppers still wanted to ask Jin some questions, but suddenly, both Kraft and Jin were gone from her sight . ¡°EH? Where did¡­argh, Kraft!¡± Peppers knew that Kraft took Jin away to do something . Kraft opened his door, and Jin suddenly recognised the scene . The two chairs, that hanging light bulb and the empty basement, similar to what Jin had gone through not too long ago . ¡°Is this a replica?¡± Jin questioned, but Kraft immediately asked him to get in before the door was shut tight . ¡°Yes and no . Since the System became aware of my presence, I made it a point to tell it to create a sort of bridge¡­a gateway . What you see right here is the amplified version of your subconscious . Can you feel it, you should be hearing two sounds at the same time?¡± Kraft snapped with his right hand in the room that Jin was in, but at the same time, Kraft was also snapping with his left hand in Jin¡¯s mind . ¡°This is pure mind fuckery . ¡± Jin felt really weird listening to the snapping of the fingers projecting from his mind, yet different from what he was seeing in front of him right now . ¡°Exactly . I purposely made this room here just for you . While it seems like a normal fourth room to you, the rest are unable to see it at all . In fact, even when I opened this door, I had stopped the visual information of that scene from everyone¡¯s sight, including the System¡¯s . ¡± Kraft explained as he twirled one of his bullets . ¡°The System, despite knowing your attitude, allows you to do that?¡± Jin was surprised the all controlling System was not able to handle this crafty individual . ¡°Cannot blame me for being the best counterintelligence agent the System had ever invited . Even now, the System is trying out all sorts of methods to break the barriers that I have created, but I regularly patch them up with new algorithmic patterns . You can imagine it as an overall symbiotic relationship . If not for me, the System would still be a crippling old piece of junk that could not break Yang Ling¡¯s customised psycho thought barrier that you had experienced earlier in the afternoon . And boy, I hardly praise anyone, but she¡¯s good . Took me a full four seconds to get through . ¡± Kraft shrugged . ¡°Granted it still needs some work not to get detected . ¡± Kraft admitted while fiddling with additional bullets . The proficiency witnessed by Jin made Kraft look more like a magician rather than an ordinary marksman . (As ordinary as a marksman specialised in counterintelligence can be . ) ¡°Anyways, I am here not just to train you, but to provide you with sensitive information whenever needed . Unlike the times when I talk in your head, by having a physical room, I am able to let you examine the evidence I have collected . This way you do not have to go through that tedious process of entering a deep cultivation trance . Especially since yours seems to have a nasty side effect, which can be life threatening . That also gives Ming more time to train you in other aspects . ¡± Kraft explained as he started to scratch the wall with his bullet . A simple ¡± < > ¡°sign was drawn on the wall, and suddenly the empty walls of the room were filled with papers, photographs, redacted classified documents, memos and post-it notes . Kraft sat down on the chair and rocked his chair backwards . ¡°This is all the information I had extracted before I changed ¡­eh . Tweaked his . . . erm, mindset about Lynn . ¡± Kraft did not know how to phrase it in a politically correct term . ¡°Just tell me what you mean . You know that you do not have to beat around the bush with me . ¡± Jin said before Kraft sighed happily and said it proper . ¡°I fucked him up real good before I set him straight . Made damn sure that he should not harass Lynn ever again . You can ask Lynn how effective my reeducation was when you see her . After all, she did encounter him in the police station . But now we should concentrate on the Rats . Look at the information before you, consider it carefully and give me your deductions based on what you have known already combined with this new intel . ¡° Jin nodded his head and started reading, but he quickly realised that if he was to read this much, it would take him ages . ¡°Does¡­ Is time affected here too?¡± ¡°No, time passes at the same pace in this world, unlike when you are in your subconscious . ¡± Kraft shook his head . ¡°Subconscious¡­?¡± Jin suddenly had an idea . Hadn¡¯t Kraft said that this was meant to be a training place? Didn¡¯t that also imply he could start ¡®training¡¯ now by utilising his inner self to check the notes and documents? ¡°Oh? You managed to grasp the concept rather well . Alright . I will help you with that since you figured it out . This is also a kind of training that I want you to go through . ¡± Kraft smiled as he pointed his usual silver revolver at Jin . ¡°Do not move . It might hurt a bit but still not that bad . Evon, get out and help Jin . ¡± Kraft pressed the trigger . *BANG* A champagne pink coloured fox climbed onto Jin¡¯s head rather than biting him . She placed her paw on his head before she disappeared . Jin¡¯s head became heavy initially before he started to feel his mouth getting a bit dry while his pupils enlarged for a second . Jin realised that it felt like his brain was being stimulated after Evon tapped her paw on him . For a moment, it seemed as if the room would start to spin . ¡°Evon¡¯s ability is a bit special . Her bites and scratches will cause you to go high as if you were on drugs¡­on loads of drugs . Basically, her bite induces the effects of a plethora of drugs combined . What you experience now is a controlled version where she just allows you to receive the positive effect of a stimulant that enhances your cognitive ability . The speed of messages and signals travelling between your brain and body is being multiplied . ¡± Kraft said, but he could already see Jin working through the various notes and documents . His subconscious was left open, vulnerable when Jin was working both in and out of his mental state to get the maximum brainpower and juice cranking . However, Kraft was not worried one bit because Jin was under his care . Meanwhile, Jin was getting the full picture . The Last Supper Scandal was not just some grand assassination of the Yakuza bosses . The matter was more complicated than that . Yet at the same time, the motivation behind it could be described as nearly ironically simple . The Royal Zodiac Rat in collaboration with the Royal Zodiac Snake had been concocting the specific poison that was used by the Daikokuten Clan to assassinate the Yakuza bosses . That way, it would loosen the grip of the Bishamonten¡¯s Yakuzas foothold just enough for the younger generation like Yamazaki and his superiors to rise and take control . This was because the old bosses had been keeping the peace and prohibited petty squabbles between the clans which impeded the subordinates from rising through the ranks . The younger generation felt that if things kept going that way, their time at the top would never come . This anxiety was further strengthened since the Yakuza Bosses would be blessed with prolonged longevity by their own gods if they reached a certain number of orbs (aka grades) before they get too old to advance . That Grand Gala Dinner was to celebrate the birthday of Bishamonten¡¯s Yakuza head and it was rumoured that he was going to reach the required orbs within the next few weeks . It was the best chance for the younger generation to act, hence they used people like Zhen Qing and Mimasaka Sensei to do the job . What they did not know was that Royal Zodiac Rat intended to use this as a deal to expand outward into Japan . Notably, the Ruby Rat Triad under the Royal Zodiac Rat, who wished to expand their entertainment business like King¡¯s Monster dungeon supplier chain outlets and casinos into Japan . According to Jin¡¯s deduction, it seemed that the Ruby Rat Triad had limited success in previous instances . The older generations were not fond of China taking a share of the pie and placed heavy restrictions on the Triad¡¯s enterprises, which resulted in stagnation and losses for their Japan branches . Under such circumstances, the Royal Zodiac Rats were more than happy to struck a deal . Once the new Yakuza bosses held reign, they were to terminate the restrictions . ¡°So, the Ruby Rat Triad is trying to tighten its finances a bit more especially within these few months, and apparently they came to the conclusion that I am hurting their finances . ¡± Jin concluded as he closed his eyes for a while and rubbed his temples . The pressure from the stimulant was hurting him . ¡°Yes, not just that . The Ruby Rat Triad had sent spies over to your shop on multiple occasions according to Ong¡¯s conversation with Yamazaki . They saw the capability of your shop, although they do not know it¡¯s the System working . What they do know is that it¡¯s a technology that no one had ever seen before . That was one¡­ if not the major reason why they were targeting you . ¡± Kraft clarified as he clapped and the room became empty again . ¡°What a headache . I expected rivals . Just not this kind . ¡± Jin sighed at the scale of this planned attack . Chapter 271 Resurrection of Ong Chapter 271: Resurrection of Ong¡°But Sir, the evidence speaks for itself! Why are you letting this high ranking gangster be resurrected! Do you know how many crimes he has committed? We should thank that little kid for stopping him, but no! You even wanted to incarcerate him longer if not for the higher management . With all due respect, I have to ask you . Are you in cahoots with Ruby Rat? Why are you doing this?!¡± Inspector Lee An slammed the desk of his District Police Captain, Mao Pai Huo and demanded answers . ¡°ENOUGH! You should know where you stand Inspector Lee! Get out or suffer the consequences yourself! Do not expect me to protect you in the future!¡± Pai Huo did not reply any of his questions but shouted at Lee An instead . ¡°I have no regrets . You have never protected any of us before . ¡± Lee An turned his back as he bluntly replied to Pai Huo and slammed his office door on his way out, only to watch a small entourage of black suits walking towards his District Captain¡¯s office as he passed through the corridor . Lee An then caught a glimpse of Wo De Tian, the Ruby Rat Triad Leader himself, blatantly walking into the police station . De Tian caught Lee An¡¯s controlled expression and smirked at him before the black suits of his opened the door to the District Captain office for him and he entered . The District Police Captain himself stood up and closed the blinds in his office and locked the door . ¡°Mr Wo, I believe this isn¡¯t the best time for you to come in . Especially when your group is in the midst of an investigation . ¡± Pai Huo sat down as he advised De Tian, who did not give a single shit, as he placed his legs on Pai Huo¡¯s table . It looked like De Tian was the one in control, not Pai Huo in this particular office and the latter could not say a single thing . ¡°Why is that kid not in your custody?¡± De Tian lit a cigar in the office and blew it at Pai Huo¡¯s face . ¡°The Royal Zodiac Tiger and the Tiangong District Guardian pulled favours from the higher management . It was not within my control . ¡± Pai Huo was not intimidated by De Tian but neither did he stop De Tian¡¯s behaviour . ¡°Tsk, the Tigers . ¡± De Tian was obviously furious, but he could not do anything since it was beyond his sphere of influence . He maybe the head of the Triad, but only a Royal Zodiac could deal with another Royal Zodiac . De Tian would need to report it to his own superiors if he wanted to override the Tiger¡¯s favours but this will indicate weakness on his side and he would never do that . ¡°So? Where¡¯s Ong now? Have you resurrected him yet?¡± De Tian changing the topic, and Pai Huo sighed before he got up . ¡°Follow me . ¡± Pai Huo instructed as he opened the door and the rest of the entourage followed him to the basement of the police station where one of the resurrection ritual stations was being maintained . The other police officers saw the entourage going to the basement and focused on their own work, knowing that going against them was courting death . Hence they restrained themselves just to save their own skins . ¡°Sir, as per request, it arrived not too long ago . ¡± A senior police technician showed Captain Pai Huo the Dantian core that was retrieved by the Criminal Forensic Labs and their Clean-Up Crew . Pai Huo then asked the Ruby Rat Triad Leader to confirm the existence . De Tian casually observed the Dantian Core by inserting some chi into it and felt the familiar aura of his gangster Ong oozing out of the Dantian core . ¡°No mistake, the aura is without a doubt his . Proceed with the resurrection then . ¡± De Tian commanded by Pai Huo refused to do so immediately . ¡°Pay the bail and the resurrection fee first, before I allow him to be resurrected . ¡± Pai Huo demanded, and it was done with a cleary authoritative tone . ¡°Huh? Did I hear wrongly?¡± De Tian looked at Pai Huo once more, and this time De Tian unleashed his chi presence to everyone at the basement . Suddenly, every police officer, not just the basement but the whole police station felt a dull black aura that was extremely heavy . Even inspector Lee who was at the third floor of the police station experienced a choking sensation . Strangely, Inspector Lee and Inspector Xue Ping were handling it better than the rest of the police inspectors and officers, who soon fell to the ground trembling, with some even showing signs of having fits . The training in the instances from Jin¡¯s dungeons had paid off, allowing them to resist strong, intense auras better . The only one who was able to withstand the intense aura was Pai Huo himself which made De Tian smirk and stop releasing his aura . ¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got?¡± Pai Huo dared to ask, even though he knew that his supposed self confidence was only a facade . His legs were about to give way if he moved an inch in any direction . Had De Tian not stopped the emission of his intense black aura, he might have lost control of his body . Separately, the rest of the policemen in the police station were panicking, trying to aid those who could not handle the intense aura . Some had to perform emergency CPR due to sudden cardiac arrest, others vomited horribly, and many were unable to maintain their balance . Inspector Xue Ping and Lee An now understood the meaning of that aura emission . It was to give a clear message to the police here not to fuck with the Ruby Rat . ¡°Very good . At the very least you are still capable of acting as a police captain . ¡± De Tian looked backwards, and with an upward nod, one of the black suits came forward and threw three suitcases in front of him . ¡°I hate to do the paperwork . Keep the change and go resurrect Ong . ¡± De Tian ordered as he looked for a place to sit outside the Resurrection Ritual Department and started to browse his phone . ¡°Then what about the rest of your Ruby Rats?¡± Pai Huo inquired as he followed him out . ¡°Let their Dantian core rot in the burning cauldrons of ¡®Justice¡¯ for being so incompetent . Hahahaha!¡± De Tian answered as he waved his hand to signal Police Captain Pai Huo to start doing his job . ¡°Sir¡­¡± The senior police technician trembled as Pai Huo went back into the Resurrection Ritual department . ¡°I understand . You do not wish to give in to this kind of evil, but this world is bigger than we are . Concentrate on doing your job, and you will live another day . ¡± Pai Huo understood the technician¡¯s helplessness . He too conceded to the frustration of Inspector Lee who had been earnestly fighting crime . ¡°But Sir!¡± The senior police technician tried to voice his opinion but later realised it was useless . Pai Huo also sighed at his inability to do anything much, but then an idea struck him . ¡°Lee, while I cannot stop the resurrection but there is something we can do as workers of Justice . ¡± Pai Huo thought to himself as he gave a set of instructions to the senior police technician . ¡°Sir, you sure? I mean he paid for the full resurrection . If you mangle the settings of the ritual, it might screw up the resurrection process¡­ and Chief is on leave . ¡± The technician swallowed his saliva . ¡°That is the only way we can keep tabs on them if necessary . This is an order . I shall take full responsibility if anything happens . ¡± Pai Huo instructed . ¡°We will get it done . ¡± The senior technician called his other team members, and they started cracking on initialising the Resurrection Ritual station . A ritual circle would be automatically drawn by the Resurrection Ritual station as technology had come to the point where its precision was unmatched . And precision was needed because the ritual must not go wrong at all cost or else the dantian core might break . In order to prevent the dantian core from breaking while preserving its integrity and recreating the human body at the same time, top quality grade precious metals, herbs and meat were used to substitute the regrowth of a human body . The reason to preserve the dantian core was also because memories of the mind were sealed within it as well as the overall structure of the person being resurrected . Despite the use of substitute materials, the dantian core will also transmute those materials into human flesh and bone . Like a data backup server, the dantian core can only update once every 24 hours, anything that happened within the past 24 hours before the victim died would be considered null . That memory of the dantian core included the condition of the person . Assuming the person is all healthy but fell into a dangerous situation that caused them to lose their lives, as long as 24 hours ago the person was still in tip top condition, they could still be resurrected . Inspired by this rule, the Royal Zodiac Rat and Snake managed to create a poison that worked precisely at 24 hours and 1 minute later to cause the death of the Yakuza Bosses . How those two clans managed to make it work with that precision or built it was another story . Aside from that, the dantian core would not break in any circumstances unless it was exposed to the resurrection ritual . They even tried using a nuclear bomb as a test, and the dantian core survived the blast . Until the death of Yun, the dantian cores were known to be indestructible . Only then did the government and police learn that there was a method to destroy it after all . However, resurrection has always been a stringent procedure, since its inception . If the core ever disintegrated during the ritual process, the memory of the person would be impaired, or it will affect the condition of the body . That was why it required top quality precious metals to preserve the dantian core while the herbs and meat are used to grow the body back . In the meantime, a massive amount of electricity would be converted as a substitute for magical/chi energy to keep the ritual going . Back in the days when there were no such resurrection ritual stations, many cultivators nearly lost their lives or had their cultivation crippled while performing the resurrection process . Also, this was not meant to say that partial resurrection was not possible . There were black market resurrection rituals boasting low prices, but the results of the resurrected would result in either severe memory impairment, crippled body or loss in cultivation . Despite the delicate procedure in recreating Ong¡¯s body, the senior police technician inserted an additional catalyst as requested by Pai Huo . An inscribed listening crystal which was produced on the spot by the other police technicians who made sure that the dimensions and properties were right before placing it along with Ong¡¯s regrowth . Pai Huo saw that the crystal was safely infused into the body and the entire Resurrection Ritual department managed to keep the numbers of the Ritual station within its parameters, and Ong was recreated, even with the rat tattoos intact . Once the ritual was completed, the floating Ong shook his head a bit before sitting up from the couch he was being recreated from . ¡°Where am I¡­ . ? Where is this¡­?¡± Ong asked as his head was all fuzzy before he suddenly felt his hands were pulled back behind him and handcuffed . ¡°You are under arrest, Ong for the possession of drugs and other illegal substances . ¡± Pai Huo personally cuffed him and the other police technicians assisted in carrying the confused newly resurrected Ong to a temporary holding cell . ¡°What are you doing?!¡± De Tian was shocked when he saw Pai Huo bringing Ong away . ¡°You said you hate to do the paperwork . The police department will do the paperwork for you . But you have to wait till we are done . Only then, will we be able to release him . ¡± Pai Huo explained as he pushed Ong forward . ¡°You!¡± De Tian got up mad, but he held back his fury . ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®you¡¯ me . We are after all still the police . ¡± Pai Huo for once managed to look down at De Tian and returned to his office while calling Inspector Xue Ping and Lee An in . ¡°Sir?¡± Both of them heard some rumours of the commotion as they went into Pai Huo¡¯s office . De Tian apparently left in a frenzy . His wrath visibly showing on his face without Ong . ¡°You two are very interested in helping that Dungeon Supplier kid, right? Against that Ruby Rat Asshat, he is going to need every help he can get! I can only buy you that much time to interrogate that criminal . While the paperwork is being done in accordance with our protocols . Go . ¡± Pai Huo gave his orders . Both Xue Ping and Lee An could not help but gain a bit more respect for their captain and saluted right in front of him . ¡°Sir, Yes Sir!¡± ¡°Oh and before you two leave . There was some erm money lying around the basement when De Tian paid his bills . Take that money and do something good for the police station . I won¡¯t say no to extra budget for equipment and training . ¡± Pai Huo smirked as he continued to do his paperwork . ¡°I will not let this kind of scum control me . ¡° Chapter 272 First Main Dish Jin had an excellent sleep after his talk with Kraft in his all new king size bed. An upgrade from the single bed which he used to have trouble sleeping in especially considering he did not change the mattress ever since he was young. Despite all the heavy revelation from Yang Ling and Kraft, Jin decided to get on with life. No use worrying too much at the moment when he had plenty of other things to take care of. Jin opened his cupboard to find that all of his clothes were already ironed and packed nicely. This was a total change compared to living alone when the cabinet was always in a mess. "Wow, that renovation idea turned into the best quality of life improvement I have ever had." Jin now understood the taste and power of convenience ¡­of laziness. By the time Jin reached the store, the System had notified him that Zhen Qing was already in the kitchen hard at work. "Oh yes System, where is the reward for completing the mission? The manual for Zhen Qing''s cultivation." Jin asked, and the System immediately dropped another chest box from the glass ceiling again. "As previously requested, this time with less dramatic effects." The System in his phone spoke. "You know you could just erm materialise the manual in front of me," Jin suggested awkwardly to the System. "That would be too anticlimactic. The audience will not like it." The System stated. "What audience?" Jin was slightly confused, but there was no reply. Jin shook his head and opened the treasure box. He found the exact same thing he saw with Qiu Yue''s manual, but this time, the colour of the manual was grey in colour. For some reason, it was also less torn and tattered than Qiu Yue''s reward. There was a USB attached to the manual too. That was not all. In it, he also saw a letter and found it somewhat familiar. "What is this for?" Jin asked the System, hoping for it to reply back once more. "Pass it to Lynn Arisato. Afterwards, the same thing will happen to her, as it did for you when you got your letter." The System described. "Wait, you mean you really want her to obtain the Sub System? I thought you wanted to wait for her to produce results." Jin questioned the System''s hastiness. "She already did." The moment the System completed its sentence, Zhen Qing came out of the kitchen with a bowl on a tray. "Ah Boss! I was expecting you! Have you already eaten? If not, are you willing to try this out?" Zhen Qing was smiling delightfully, and Jin could not get enough of that. "I prepared the main dish. This is not exactly the final product, but I need some opinions. Please do tell me your thoughts on it. Like how do you feel when you eat it." Zhen Qing requested as she placed the tray right in front of Jin. The food was rather plain looking, a little underwhelming regarding aesthetics, but Jin knew it would be a mistake to underestimate Zhen Qing''s food. "Ramen?" Jin queried, and she nodded her head. "This is something I created previously when I was a chef back in Japan. I had been researching for some time on what kind of ingredients to use, but today I figured, I should just try it with my gut feeling. ¡­But of course! It is definitely not a haphazardly made product! I put in some thought into the ingredients and -" Before Zhen Qing could justify herself, Jin stopped her. "It''s okay. I believe in your food." Jin took one more good look at the ramen that was right in front of him. The soup stock was plain, if not to the point it looked crystal clear. There were three thick pieces of Cha Shu (Pork Belly) at the side of the noodles, and some sliced scallions scattered in the soup. Jin picked up the chopsticks at the front of the tray and brought up the noodles out from the soup. He could see that the thin straight noodles were surrendering itself, begging to be placed into his mouth as it eludes the aroma of freshness of the broth. Jin tried to blow to cool it down a bit, but he could not wait any longer as his parotids were producing saliva each time he eyed the ramen. "Hmm!" The noodles rampaged through his mouth as he felt like his mouth was being intruded by it. Jin was wrong. It was not the noodles that surrendered to his mouth. It was the other way around. His mouth was now dying to have more of it as Jin tried to slurp the noodles up. However, humans'' greed grew the moment they experienced desire. No matter how restrained one was, there are times people fall into an uncontrollable state. Jin was no exception. He was greedy in trying to cover his mouth full of the noodles as the taste was impeccable. Jin begrudgingly bit the unending noodles from the bowl that he slurped from and stopped it from going into his mouth. It would be a waste if he regurgitated with his mouth filled to the brim. Hence, Jin concentrated on chewing the noodles and swallowed them quickly, just wanting to get another bite out of it. Despite the urge for another rush of noodles into his mouth, he controlled himself. Jin decided to try the soup that he had a taste of it when the noodles touched his lips. Jin took a scoop of the soup, and the light salty fragrance drew Jin completely in, and he unknowingly sipped it slowly. At first contact, the soup seemed nothing different from that of water. But in just a few moments as Jin swallowed it, there was no explosion of flavour, no soaring of palettes like other soups that he drank. There was just only¡­ Bliss. "Home¡­It felt like home." Jin whispered as he felt an agglomeration of warm feelings gathering in his stomach. At that point of time, Zhen Qing sat right beside him and stared at Jin as he enjoyed¡­he appreciated the food she cooked. "I can now clearly understand what you mean by emotions cooking," Jin said as he chewed on the thick piece of chashu. The saltiness of the pork belly complemented the crystal clear broth and surprisingly did not ruin the transparent, clean image the entire ramen was exhibiting. Jin eventually gobbled down the whole bowl of ramen and drank the soup only to feel extremely satisfied. Zhen Qing giggled at Jin''s expression the moment he was done eating. "Hahaha! You looked like you haven''t eaten for days." Zhen Qing said. "Looks like it but Zhen Qing- " Jin wanted to say something but Zhen Qing interrupted. "Please call me Lynn. I do not wish to hide behind that fake name again." Lynn had a look of resolve in her eyes, and Jin respected that. "Lynn. It was simply amazing. I am not very good with words. I cannot describe how fantastic your food is. I am really speechless. It is hard to believe that you said this is not exactly your final product." Jin replied to Lynn. "It''s okay, your expression said it all when you were eating." Lynn giggled once more as she looked Jin in the eyes. "Thank you, Jin. For believing in me when I felt that the whole world was against me. When not even I dared to believe in myself." Lynn stepped back and bowed 90 degrees forward. "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. I will be in your care. Please treat me well." Lynn said as she bent forward with gratitude. Chapter 273 Sub System "What is this ramen made of?" Jin asked. Lynn playfully placed her finger on her lips while grinning widely. "It''s a secret." However, after having fun seeing Jin frowning, she subsequently answered the question. "The soup broth was made from only Red Snapper Bones. It''s a rather delicate shio (salted) soup ramen making it both light and sweet. But I did remove the blood and offal rather carefully from the red snapper before stewing them for roughly 27 hours." "27 hours? Oh, you used the time compression cooker." Jin realised that Lynn did it in the store''s kitchen instance. "The red snappers that were used in this soup were really top quality. I had to struggle to get it out when it was swimming inside the cabinet. Seriously Jin, if the inspectors ever saw the state of your kitchen, they would definitely be closing your store down." "Meh. It is a dimensional instance. They would never figure if it was real or not. That way, they would not be able to find anything at all. Hahahaha!" Jin laughed as he wiped his mouth after finishing the delicious bowl of Chashu Ramen. "You are indeed mysterious, Jin." Lynn smiled, and Jin could feel that Lynn had finally opened up and became more friendly with him. "Speaking of mysterious, I have a letter for you." Jin passed the letter to her and requested her to open it. "Is it my retrenchment letter?" Lynn inquired casually although there was indeed some traces of fear in her voice, fearing that it was true. "Nah, nothing of that sorts. In fact, it could be considered a promotion letter. Just that¡­erm brace yourself." Jin took a step backwards and replied. Lynn was curious but opened the letter as instructed. Suddenly, she felt a jolt of pain pulsating through her entire body. Lynn felt extremely exposed all of a sudden even though her clothes were all intact. The pain got stronger, but Lynn tried to endure it as warned by Jin but she still looked at him for help. Nonetheless, Jin was simply standing there, not assisting her in any way at all. "What have you done Jin!?" Lynn screamed as she tried to reach him, but he was not responding at all. "I am sorry, but you have to endure this pain." Jin could only continue to look at Lynn struggling against the unspeakable pain that went through her. After what felt like an eternity to Lynn, the pain finally stopped. She continued lying flat on the floor for a while before Jin went forward and poked at her shoulders. "Are you alright?" Jin asked. "Do I look alright? What have you done to me? Better yet WHY??? And what is this now??!!" Lynn felt something was moving in her body as she stood up with the assistance of Jin. "System, is her integration complete?" Jin took out the phone and asked. "Yes, 100% complete. System has also integrated the 1st grade of Perfectible Penguin Ruling The Kitchen Hell Cultivation into her body." The System spoke through his phone. "Hello, Lynn Arisato. Please pass your phone to Jin." The System echoed, and Lynn''s head was in a mess. It was filled with feelings of anger, pain, relief, and a lot of confusion. "What is happening? Who is that on the line?" Lynn was perplexed and started to be afraid. Did Jin betray her? Who is this System person? "Look Lynn. Calm down. I will explain everything to you in a moment. Though first I would like you to pass me your phone. That should help you understand what is going on." Jin tried to calm her down. Lynn hesitated at first after what had just happened, but she decided to trust Jin for now as she passed her phone to him. It was an old flip phone which Lynn had been using for years. Not to mention, it was bought by both her parents as a birthday present. However, when she passed it to Jin, the flip phone suddenly changed its shape right in front of her eyes. As if it was some transmutation magic that was happening. It was sleeker, blacker, and even had touchscreen functions on Lynn''s screen despite still being a flip phone. The buttons that were partially faulty due to wear and tear became usable again. There was even a mini analogue stick that enabled her to choose things quite easily on her phone. "Here''s your new phone. I now officially welcome you to the System." Jin said as he began to tell Lynn the rough gist of his shop''s true identity. Things started to make more sense for Lynn. Especially the Kitchen instance and many other things. Jin even introduced the Bellators properly to her, such as Milk, Peppers and Zeru. "Lady Lynn, we meet again." Zeru bowed a little. "So you are all Jin''s helpers and guards at the same time?" Lynn tried to comprehend the amount of information that was being passed to her within this short amount of time. It was then that Yun appeared too and reintroduced herself to Lynn. "Ohh..so you are like a sister to Jin that he never knew he had?" Lynn asked, and Yun nodded. Both Jin and Yun decided on the spot that it would be terribly awkward to let Lynn know about Jin''s true relationship with Yun. Sister was a good cover story for Lynn and the subsequent Sub System Users like Qiu Yue. "If you need any help, do not hesitate to ask. As for your powers¡­ehh System?" Jin really had no idea what was going to be Lynn''s Sub System''s powers. He only remembered that Yun mentioned, it would help Lynn with her cooking, but she never shared the details with him. So he passed the baton to the System for it to explain to Lynn. At that moment, Lynn''s phone powered up, and the System spoke to her through that phone. "Under normal circumstances, the System will only be talking to the User through text. Unless the System is positive that its position would not be compromised by talking through the speakers." The System stated. "Check your phone. There should be a weird looking app that you have never seen before." Yun who was the System''s mouthpiece instructed Lynn. "This panda looking app? Pandamonium?" Lynn asked, and Yun sniggered as she shook her head. "No, no. In your case it is the penguin looking one." Yun corrected her, as she could not believe Lynn could be this stupid cute. Lynn managed to find it and read the App''s name. ''Penguin''s Food Bazaar'' "Before you activate the app, let''s go into the Kitchen Instance." Yun held onto the other two''s collars and activated the System''s teleportation into the Kitchen Instance since they were in the Shop Level One Instance. Lynn stabilised herself a bit before she flipped open her handphone and activated the Penguin''s Food Bazaar App. Within moments, multiple penguins suddenly came out of her phone. Their sudden arrival frightened Lynn so much, that she dropped her phone on to the floor. However, that did not seem to stop the penguins from appearing out of her phone. Jin looked at the penguins and felt they were rather familiar. It was then he realised the models were exactly the same as the penguins he saw in the Hot Spring Instance. But there was something different with the penguins. Their eyes were like pure black beads which felt more comical in nature as compared to the penguins in the hot spring which mimicked the real life penguins. Not only that, the penguins that were summoned were all wearing an apron. Some of the penguins were also holding chopping knives, spatulas, a wok and other tools related to the kitchen. "This is your personal Penguin Crew Lynn. They are rather professional, or so I heard, and you can train them in whatever way you like for they are all under your command. As you can see from their kitchen tools, they all have their own preferences, so you may keep that in mind when you assign them in the kitchen. I would advise you to get familiar with them. Unlike humans, these penguins pledge absolute loyalty to you and do the job as you ordered them. That way, you can not only utilise the kitchen instance to the fullest capability but start preparing orders for the restaurant instance which Jin promised you." Yun looked at Jin as he was staring and patting one of the penguins which were being friendly with him. It then occurred to him that Yun was talking about him. "Eh?" Jin paused for a while to process the words that Yun had said. "EHHHHHHHHHHH?! Ow!" Yun hit him on the head for not following through with the act. "Go do it now then! Create the Restaurant instance!" Yun ordered in Jin''s thoughts, and that made Jin somewhat reluctant. "But I have yet to earn any dungeon dollars recently¡­I will be touching on my reserves if I do that¡­" Jin grumbled in his mind. "So you want Lynn to underperform?" Yun gave an annoyed look at Jin, and he somewhat reluctantly agreed with some hesitation. After all, Jin understood that you had to spend money to earn even more. "Boss, you don''t have to do that now¡­" Lynn realised the silent tension between them and tried to mediate them, but Jin shook his head. "It''s okay, I will go and design it. I shall release the restaurant instance by evening at the latest." Jin said but was later interrupted by Yun. "Evening it is then. But I have a major job for you. Because of the new restaurant we are building, the current existing menu will be served in that restaurant instance. Quick bites are also managed by these penguins of yours now. The entire food department of Dungeons and Pandas is now at your command, Lynn." Yun placed her hands on Lynn''s shoulders as if a substantial amount of responsibility was given to her. "I will do my best." Still, Lynn was unfazed by the influx of work and new powers she obtained as she folded her sleeves and welcomed the challenge given to her by Yun openly. Chapter 274 Original System With little time to spare, Jin quickly returned to the Dungeon Maker and started to prepare the Restaurant instance. It was not a big deal connecting the instances especially when the shop is now a dimensional instance, but he did miss the days where he could visibly see a noticeable upgrade to his shop whenever he added a new instance. "Not to worry. When you complete this month''s sales mission, you will get your other 0.5 level. After which you are able to integrate with the other few floors." Yun said in his thoughts before coming into the Dungeon Maker. "I''ve never seen Lynn this happy since the day she stepped into the store. What kind of magic did you pull?" Yun asked Jin casually as he prepared the System Interface to create the Restaurant Service Instance. "I didn''t do much. My bellator did most of the job." Jin replied as he remembered how he used Kraft to influence both Lynn''s father and Yamazaki. "That bellator Kraft? Well, I honestly did not expect you to obtain a bellator from the Original System." Yun said. "Original System?" This was the first time Jin heard of this. "The first batch of bellators to be exact. The System improved over time, and as generations passed by, it recruited potential bellators through the years too. For example, the System did not have the power to traverse through other worlds until recently due to a contribution of a certain bellator. We use the term Original System Bellators as to establish and recognise the efforts of the first batch of bellators for surviving the assaults from the Jade Emperor." Yun explained. "This means that older bellators tend to have more experience under their belt than newer bellators like Peppers and Milk. They have acquired stronger abilities from past encounters. However, the System does not give the User access to every Bellator. Neither do I have the reason for the System not doing so." Yun reinforced her explanation. "Kraft is that old?" It was then Jin felt an evil stare through his subconscious, ready to tear him apart. "¡­Sorry I was out of line. I apologise." Jin quickly begged for forgiveness in his thoughts, but Kraft did not reply back. At the very least, the stare was gone. "Also, where did you find Kraft? The last I heard was that he disappeared alongside Ming and I have not received any notification from the System that you were acquainted with Kraft." Yun questioned Jin. "I had no idea, when I was cultivating, he suddenly appeared. That deep trance thing, you remember?" Jin tried to play dumb while telling half truths. "Huh¡­maybe Ming''s efforts while compiling your new manual had some traces of Kraft in it. Maybe he felt your existence with the System, which made him reappear." Yun accepted it without question. "Did it happen with other bellators in the past? So this is nothing too unusual?" Jin probed Yun for some more information. "Yeah, I guess. These bellators, especially from the Original System batch are a bunch of picky individuals though most of them still contributed greatly to the current System. For example, most of the methods used by the System in regards to mind manipulation are Kraft''s designs if I remember correctly. In any case, I suppose I should tell you the powers of the Sub System that Lynn possesses. To be honest, I would rather let you discover it yourself." Yun was a bit hesitant, and Jin waited patiently for her answer. "But I guess telling you now would be equally beneficial too. Maybe, then you might do a better job creating the new restaurant service instance." Yun sighed a bit as she placed her hand on the interface of the Dungeon Maker and something else started up instead of Jin''s Dungeon Making Interface. "But I am still not giving her any clue. She will need to experiment with her powers herself. This was the instruction the System gave me which I have no qualms obeying." Yun added as she released her hand after the interface completed. It appeared to be a replica of the Penguin Food Bazaar app that Lynn had in her flip phone. "Although the current kitchen instance boasts a variety of food, they are after all, types of food which can be found in this world. What the Penguin Food Bazaar app allows her to do, is to purchase a variety of food foreign to this world. In short, from other dimensions." Yun said. "Oh yeah¡­you did say that the onigiri, curry rice and other food unlocked from the System was from other worlds." Jin had nearly forgotten about that fact. "So what she has now is access to ingredients that were used in those food items that were unlocked previously from your store. The Bazaar penguins know the food recipes hence it is not an issue. They can create those food items at any time. But with Lynn''s emotion cooking and all new sub system¡­hmm hmm hahaha." Yun initially smirked before she began to laugh. "What? why?" Jin was a bit confused by Yun''s sudden hysterical laugh. "She can now imbue food with power, giving them all sorts of boosts. That is the ability of her sub system." Yun answered, and Jin was in a shock. "You mean¡­her food can improve a person''s stats? Isn''t that OP cheating in real life?!" Jin exclaimed at the thought of it. "Hahaha! No, not yet. Her powers have not reached that kind of standard yet and are currently far from it. Right now, her ability simply allows you, your cultivators and even your monsters to have a temporary increase in stats for a short period of time." Yun replied. "Oh gosh, does that mean I can create even more crazy dungeons?" Jin''s mind started to race, with all the possibilities. It may be time to call Qiu Yue, for some brainstorming. "More like your monsters do not have to hold back and will be able to fight with their best," Yun answered with a smile of confidence. "Hmm yeah, that is true. They sometimes have to hold their attacks back so much that they make it too easy for cultivators." Jin remembered that was one of the main complaints he received when he visited his monsters for a weekly ''town council'' meeting. Shortly after conquering Moloch''s Dungeon Core, Jin introduced those meetings, where he met with representatives of his monsters and asked if they had any issues with their current homes, workload etc. They complained that the cultivators were too weak and they could have killed them in one stroke. Only a bunch of them managed to keep up with their attacks, and those cultivators were usually the first few to clear the dungeons. "Think of it this way. They are learning control." Yun tried to look at this problem from another perspective. "True, but this will dull their fighting capabilities, and they may eventually underestimate the future opponents." Jin rebutted. "That is true too. Then I guess Lynn better buck up and serve up good food with terrific stats boosting!" Yun nodded her head and started to leave Jin to his work on the Restaurant Instance. Yun also told Jin that she would open the store up first and help him look after it until he was done with the new service instance. "Hmm. Should I impose a fee for the Restaurant Instance or not¡­" Jin contemplated hard and long, but there were no concepts that seemed original. He even searched the web on the Dungeon Maker Interface for some time before he began constructing the necessary drafts, but it was to no avail. "Maybe, I should take a train to a nearby food bazaar and have some real life inspiration¡­" Suddenly, an idea emerged when he thought about the Food Bazaar and he began looking at the web for design references. "Hehe, looks like this could be a decent idea after all! I can even impose a nice fee if done correctly!" Jin fiddled with the interface as he zoned out, creating the all new restaurant service instance. Chapter 275 Restaurant Service Instance "Wow, Yun, I admire your tenacity. I did not expect you to open the shop this quickly after yesterday''s incident." Luo Bo greeted Yun as she entered the Shop Level One instance. "Not to mention that you guys are even opening up a new Restaurant Service Instance in the evening as compensation. I am honestly impressed." Jin and the System had posted an announcement in the Pandamonium that a brand new service instance would be introduced in the evening and apologised for the shop closure on the previous day. "Well, same goes to you. I could not believe you were that daring to fight against those Japanese cultivators." Yun complimented Luo Bo''s guts and thanked her for help rendered. "Meh, I''ve been through worse when I was younger. Those thugs were tough but not scary. Besides, I finally get to use some of those arrows that I bought from the basement shop. I did not know of its usefulness until that day. I was also equally surprised Jia Le could make her barrier spell work that way too. Perhaps our group should utilise her even more." Luo Bo grinned as she said. "Anyways, what time is this Restaurant Service Instance opening? I am starving." Luo Bo complained, since she did not feel like doing any dungeoneering at the moment. The other customers were the same. Many were waiting for the new service instance to appear. If the quality of food turns out to be similar to what they had eaten in the shop up until now, they would love to see what kind of food would be served in this new Restaurant Instance. "Only you alone? What about the others?" Yun wondered since usually Luo Bo came in with her boyfriend or as a whole group. "Don''t worry, they wouldn''t miss it. You know, with something as popular as your shop. Especially when you made that announcement, they had decided to send me as the representative to book the place in advance. We are giving this service instance a try, similar to the Pandas Muscles and Fishing Instance. Although Shi Zhuo did not like the fishing instance as much as I did, I had fun laughing at him failing, and it was pretty memorable." Luo Bo replied with glee on her face. "To each their own. But trust me everyone will want to try out this new service instance. I would advise you guys, to prepare more money in the future because this Restaurant Instance might change how things work around here." Yun said with a smirk of confidence. "Oh? Then what about the Panda Credits? Are they not usable anymore? I mean I understand if you are going to focus on the restaurant, but it is also a pity that you have almost nothing on the menu in the Bar Island at the moment except for onigiris and drinks. Even the Triple cheese pizza is gone." Luo Bo commented. "There will be the possibility to order some quick bites in the Restaurant Instance. However, you are not the one only who gave such feedback. Others shared the same opinion as you. We will definitely look into it and prepare to serve more varieties of quick bites at this Bar Island in the future. But for today, we don''t want you guys to spoil your appetite, so we are only serving onigiris and drinks here." Yun apologised to Lu Bo, who shook her head. "With regards to your Panda Credits, we will be exchanging them to Panda Medals as a sign of gratitude for staying and choosing Dungeons and Pandas as your preferred Dungeon Supplier. Besides, judging from the gathered feedback, we feel that multiple currencies simply seem to confuse most customers, especially the new ones. Therefore, we have decided, that it is in the best interest to reduce the number of items to keep track of." Yun explained. "Not true, your Pandamonium App is so well made that it tracks almost everything easily. I mean it even has integration with the major apps such as MeChat, which makes it really convenient for me to not switch any apps around. I appreciate this kind of convenience." Luo Bo defended which some other customers overheard and they agreed to it too. "But not to worry though, we will be handing out digital food coupons in exchange for the Panda Credits every time you choose to buy dungeon tickets from us. But if you wish to purchase additional food, I am afraid you will need to pay with money because of the ingredients used." Yun had been informed of the changes by Jin in advance before the opening of the Restaurant Service Instance. "Nah, it''s okay. I find it hard to believe that you have been charging almost nothing for your fantastic food. Though I do believe there will be some criticism from the public. At least those who like to eat will be able to eat as much as they want now and it will probably make people buy more of it in the future if they have the option. Also, I assume the people that are presently here are looking forward to the opening of the Restaurant Instance and are also not bothered too much about the lack of variety of food currently being served. Please keep up the good work Yun and Jin¡­." Luo Bo replied back with a gentle smile, only to realise that Jin was missing. "Speaking of which, where is Jin? Is he hiding in some Pandracula castle putting on his odd panda costume? Or is he consuming the blood of the damsel he rescued?" Luo Bo remembered she was startled to see Jin with Zhen Qing at the warehouse. It was only until Yun explained to her that Zhen Qing had a one time teleportation earring. "Do you mean Qiu Yue?" Bin Yong teleported in just now, when he partially overheard the conversation between Luo Bo and Yun. "Bin Bin! Who is this Qiu Yue!? I was talking about Zhen Qing." Luo Bo came up to her long time friend and gave him a friendly hug from the back. "Ahhh, Luo Bo! You do not get sick of this, do you?" Bin Yong was a bit conscious as usual, but he wasn''t as bothered as before after he got together with his now girlfriend. Jia Le, who was at his side did not mind her too much since she knew Luo Bo''s behaviour. "You are our one and only Bin Bin. A blood brother to us." Luo Bo smiled as she pulled his ear. "Now, who is this Qiu Yue person? Quickly tell me, else I am totally shipping Boss and Zhen Qing to be together." Luo Bo teased. "Ahhhhhh! Boss was fighting in a random battle arena match the other day. He was with this girl called Qiu Yue. I managed to take a picture of it with my phone because I was amazed by that girl''s match with this new monster we have never met before." Bin Yong hurried to answer. To rescue his ear, he took out his phone and showed it to Luo Bo. "Ah! This is the first time I have heard of this! Why did you not tell me about this sooner!" This time, Jia Le pouted and pulled on Bin Yong''s other ear. "I would like to see this pretty girl of Boss too." "Heh heh, looks like Boss is a bit of a player eh!" Luo Bo playfully twisted Bin Yong''s ear which made him feel even more miserable than when she heard Jia Le complaining. "I honestly think Jin is just too good natured." Yun knew that Jin did not think that way for both of these girls, but Luo Bo was a troublemaker til the end. "Oh? Yun, do you have the hots for Jin too?" Luo Bo gave a cheeky smile before she noticed a metal round tray flying towards her and hitting her on the head before Bin Yong could grab it in time. If it were other customers, they would probably file a complaint. "Don''t be nonsensical." Yun sneered, and Luo Bo repeatedly apologised to Yun before the group saw Jin teleporting into the shop instance, appearing in his silly Pandracula costume. "The reveal is nigh!" Jin flipped his cape, and the entire shop instance had its lights turned off. The customers suddenly saw multiple spotlights flying all over the shop instance, and rolling drum noises were heard, increasing everyone''s level of excitement. Jin with the help of Peppers from his phone shot a blast of fireworks in the direction of the north west, where most of the service instances were located, right beside Auditorium Five and Six. The spotlights immediately shined at one particular spot and the drum rolls ended with a gong of a cymbal. "Behold! The Restaurant Train of Delicacy Service instance!" Pandracula Jin shouted and declared the new opening of a new service instance. "Too dramatic. System will take note for future reference of this." The System said in Jin''s thoughts as he helped to usher the excited customers into the new restaurant instance. "Lynn, customers are coming in, and they seem as hungry as a pack of wolves." Jin informed her in his mind, which took Lynn by surprise, before she naturally replied back with the aid of the System. "Understood, Boss." A straightforward reply to Jin, but when Lynn turned back to look at her penguins, she jumped up on the kitchen table and clapped her hands to ask for attention. (It''s unhygienic, but the kitchen instance made everything sterile, including her shoes.) All the penguins stopped what they were doing and gazed at her. "Peggies! Time to show these customers that Lynn''s Peggies can outmatch those pandas!!" Lynn roared and the penguins squeaked in unison! Chapter 276 Restaurant Train of Delicacy "You are so late!" Luo Bo moped as she saw Shi Zuo panting heavily after he teleported into the Shop Instance. "So sorry! There was a sudden server network problem in the company and they needed me to check it out because the guy who was in charge was on leave." Shi Zuo placed his hand on his head as he apologised for his tardiness. "Hmm true, there had been some major network disruptions recently. I heard the other animation company had so many problems with their servers that they decided to do it the old fashion way. Tapes." Bin Yong commented. "Meh, probably should make a proper complaint to the telco servers." Luo Bo grunted, but she immediately pulled Shi Zuo towards the new Restaurant Train of Delicacy Service Instance. Bin Yong and Jia Le could not help but laugh as Shi Zuo was being pulled by his girlfriend like a child dragging its favourite blanket around the room. The four entered through the instance dimension and found themselves on a train platform. To everyone''s surprise, the train station they were in was very simple. It was just a train platform with no roofs, no gates and nothing interesting surrounding except for grassland as far as the eyes could see. But on this simple looking train platform, the group could see that many were already waiting at the platform for the train to arrive. In the meantime, there was a penguin wearing a train attendant hat walking around, asking if anyone wanted any premium tickets. "Do we need a ticket to board the train?" Bin Yong squatted to ask the Penguin Train Attendant when it wobbled towards them. "Nope, getting on board the train is free, but you will have to pay for the food, unless you have a food coupon with you." The Penguin Train Attendant answered. "Great, the four of us received digital food coupons after purchasing the Bank Raid story dungeon instance." Luo Bo flashed her coupon on her phone as evidence. "Thank you for purchasing our dungeon instance! The choices of food remain the same for now, but if you''d like to upgrade your experience in the Restaurant Train of Delicacy, we would sincerely recommend you to get the premium tickets." The Penguin Train Attendant replied to them. "What does the premium ticket entails?" Jia Le asked. "Let''s find out then." Shi Zuo preferred to experience it for himself, so he showed the Penguin Train Attendant his phone wallet, and asked for four tickets. "That will be 1100 Yuan (~160 USD) in total. I will reiterate, this does not include any meals at all. Do you understand?" The Penguin Train Attendant started to print the tickets out as soon as Shi Zuo placed his phone on the portable payment terminal. "My treat, guys, for coming late." Shi Zuo said as the Penguin Train Attendant beckoned another Penguin Train Attendant to escort them right to the further end of the train platform. It appeared that the premium tickets entitled them to a shorter queuing line. "I wonder if it works like a first class train ticket." Jia Le suggested, but the guys shrugged. "You can never know in Boss Jin''s instances." Bin Yong replied, and the customers that were waiting with them started to speculate what kind of services they would experience thanks to the premium ticket. "HOOOOOOOOOONNNNNK!" From a distance, the crowd started to see the silhouette of a train coming towards them and the Penguin Train Attendants were asking everyone to form up nicely. "Everyone will have a good spot regardless if you are first or last in line! Please queue up orderly!!" One of the Penguin Train Attendants with a loud hailer did his best to handle the anxious crowd. As the train got nearer, everyone had their mouths wide open. It was no ordinary train nor was it some bullet train from the future. Calling the locomotive train the customers saw colossal in length was an understatement when it stopped at the platform. The boiler of the steam locomotive thundered as it puffed out a variable intensity of smoke. Thankfully, the smoke had more of an aesthetic purpose instead of an actual byproduct from using coal. "Now I understand why the train platform is this simple. There is no way a standard train platform could handle such a mammoth-like train." Luo Bo took out her phone to snap some pictures, but it was near impossible to take the full picture even in panoramic mode. "Okay! Everyone listen up! The Train is going to leave in 5 minutes! Customers who wish to board the train, please board safely." The Penguin Train attendant with the loud hailer shouted, and everyone could not help but be excited. When the group went into the premium portion of the train, they were amazed by the interior decor of the place. It emitted a luxurious and prestigious feeling, despite having a train carriage design around it, with a table accommodating up to four people. However, because of the enormous size of the train, it did not feel cramped at all. Especially when the walkway was about the size of a three lane road. To emphasize on the premium experience, there were high enough partitions between each table that it did not intrude the privacy of the groups. Jia Le noticed that further down the carriage, there were tables that could accommodate groups of up to ten people. "No wonder the train is this big." Jia Le was completely amazed as she took a picture as a reference for her future works. There were crystal wall sconces on the train walls, chandeliers on the ceilings and the windows were large and slightly convex so the customers could have a better view outside. What they were surprised by was that those windows were not obvious from the outside. The group thought that they must have overlooked it because they were so caught up with the size of the train. The seats were pleasantly comfortable, and it felt like they were made out of premium leather. Even the antique looking wooden tables were rock solid and had a vintage feel to them. Not to mention, the silverware right in front was exquisite. The intricate designs of penguins on the silverware forks and chopsticks while the pandas on spoons and knives caused both girls to snap pictures non stop. However, their favourite would be the plates as each of them had a small red panda imprint at the edges and every plate was of a different design. "This is amazing. It''s like living the high roller life." Shi Zuo had already started to feel that the money he paid to enter this restaurant was worth it. Suddenly, he noticed some saxophone music playing in the background, and he looked around to see where the speakers were. Only then did he realise that there was a band of penguins at the centre of the walkway playing instruments. The funny thing was the band was playing on a giant lazy panda that was strolling along the walkway. "I wonder how the drummer can play when the equipment is constantly on the move." Bin Yong thought out loud, and Luo Bo laughed and replied a word. "Talent." "I would believe you more if you said it''s Jin''s ''trade secret''." Bin Yong rolled his eyes. In the meantime, two penguins appeared, sliding on their bellies, in front of them. Both wearing butler-looking suits. One asked the group what they would like to eat. The other penguin was offering them a sort of herbal tea which they had never seen in Jin''s store before. The drinks were served in some delicate Chinese cups with exquisite floral designs and lustrous golden edges. (Not to mention multiple occurrences of small red and normal pandas hid among those floral designs upon closer inspection.) The group then noticed that there was no menu until the penguin waiters explained that the menu was already displayed on their phones via the Pandamonium app and all they had to do was to choose something to order from it. "Ahaha, I thought it would be some crazy restaurant menu. In the end, it''s just the items that we have ordered at the Bar Island before." Shi Zuo said as he tried the tea. It was a bit sweet but still clear enough to cleanse their palates before the meal. "Hmm this tea is still a pleasant surprise." "Ah, Monsieur. You are sorely mistaken, the food cooked by our Head Chef Lynn and her assistant chefs are slightly different from what you have eaten before." The penguin waiter talked with a slight French accent which the girls found cute. "And do not worry, more food choices would be made available in the future." The penguin waiter said while striking a pose with his notepad and pen ready to take their orders. "I will have this ramen then. This is the first time I saw this ramen on the menu." Jia Le decided, and the rest followed suit as well. "I understand, so four orders of Ramen Chashu dans un Bouillon de Vivaneau Rouge, one order of Jus de Bambou, two orders of Soda Panda and one order of Caf¨¦ Ivoire Noir. Is that correct?" The penguin waiter repeated their orders and the group slowly nodded their head as if to acknowledge the weird French they were listening to, since the menu in the Pandamonium App only stated Chashu ramen, bamboo juice, panda soda and black ivory coffee. "Bien, your orders will arrive shortly." The penguin waiter bowed as it left the area and coincidentally, the train started to move. Chapter 277 Chashu Ramen in Red Snapper Broth Chapter 277: Chashu Ramen in Red Snapper BrothThe train was visibly moving, yet the customers in the Restaurant Train of Delicacy were unable to feel even the slightest bit of motion at all . There were sounds of the wheels rolling along the rail tracks, but the carriage was perfectly still as if it was simply floating along . As the group of four were talking randomly about their day jobs, a penguin waiter with a bulter suit came by and interrupted their conversation . ¡°First, Mesdames et Messieurs . Let me thank you for choosing to ride with us in the Premium Carriage of the Restaurant Train of Delicacy . We would like to inform you that we do have certain features to make your wait more enjoyable . ¡± The Penguin waiter said as he pressed a button beside the table and a flat projection screen appeared at the middle of the table . ¡°Since the four of you have not only attempted but also completed the Bank Heist dungeon instance before, we would like to provide you with this 3D map of the bank heist dungeon . On it, you can plan out your moves and the estimated enemy response would be simulated in this projection screen . You can also replay any of your previous dungeon runs of the Bank Heist for reference and make a revision on what to expect . ¡± The Penguin waiter explained . ¡°Oh?! I do remember hearing of this feature back when the store just opened . However, it was renovated into that tranquil gallery on the third floor before I ever had the chance to use it . Can we use this feature to also watch other people¡¯s dungeon runs instead while waiting for our food?¡± Bin Yong was rather excited to see the return of this particular feature of the dungeon store . ¡°Thank you, Monsieur, for remembering such a feature of the Dungeon Supplier . To answer your question, yes you are able to not only watch current dungeons runs, but also listen to the commentary for those being projected . You are also able to review previous dungeon runs by other teams . You will have access to all the videos as provided in our streaming service . Should you change your mind, you can simply change the channel to simulate any possible runs in the future too . It was just that this humble waiter did not know that you had prior knowledge of this feature . Please pardon me, Monsieur . ¡± The Penguin bowed . ¡°In any case, if you do not wish to watch or revise any runs, you can also just enjoy the scenery during this train ride which I believe should be a treat to see, especially for the first time . ¡± The Penguin waiter commented . ¡°Where is this train heading? Do we need to wait for the train to stop before we can exit this instance?¡± Jia Le asked, and the penguin waiter shook his head cutely . ¡°No, Mademoiselle . You can exit the instance at any time . Just inform one of our penguins, and we will escort you to the exit . For your former question, we will first be heading to the ¡®Northern Icelands¡¯ . If luck has it, we might be able to see some Aurora lights in the process too . When that happens, we will open the roof for better viewing . ¡± The Penguin waiter told them and the group became excited . ¡°Even if it is not real, this will be a treat to watch!¡± Luo Bo was excited as she could not believe, that she would not need to go all the way to Europe to look at those Aurora lights . ¡°Now I understand why Yun said we might be coming here on a regular basis . ¡± Luo Bo said to the group, and the others agreed to . ¡°The best has yet to come Mademoiselle . Your dishes will arrive shortly . Let me get your drinks first . ¡± The Penguin waiter bowed once again, and in a matter of minutes, another similar looking penguin waiter came and served them their drinks . Bin Yong was the first to receive his Panda Soda . He immediately noticed that it was no longer served in a can but arrived already poured into a glass . He took a straw and drank it, only to realise there was a slight difference compared to the ones he previously had . ¡°This taste . . . !¡± Bin Yong couldn¡¯t control himself and quickly drank another mouthful . ¡°This is slightly sourer than before but I¡¯ve felt as if something in me was churning . As if my chi vital points felt more refreshed than ever . ¡° Shi Zuo thought Bin Yong was exaggerating as he drank his coffee only to realise the fatigue that he had accumulated for the past few days was lifted from him . ¡°I feel more energetic than ever . . . ! The spirit energy in this drink is at least two times more than before!¡± Shi Zuo determined, and the Penguin waiter grinned with his beak . ¡°Yes, the food here contains more spiritual energy than before mainly because of the newly awakened skills of our new chef . ¡± The same old penguin waiter, who took their orders in the beginning came with a tray on top of his head . ¡°The level of skill required to balance four bowls of soup and noodles and not dropping a single drop of soup on the tray . . . ¡± Jia Le was amazed by the ability of the Penguin Waiter . The ramen, which was served was not exactly the same as Jin had previously . This time, it was served with twice the amount of Chashu slices . There was a large piece of nori seaweed at the side and a mix of chopped up scallion and green onions at the centre of chashu ramen bowl . Upon closer inspection, a few pieces of Menma (bamboo shoots) and half a soft boiled Tamago (egg) was hidden behind the large piece of nori . ¡°The smell of this ramen . . . ¡± Bin Yong had to control his saliva and his urge to dig in . He felt like there was a monster underneath him, lurking behind a cage and staring at the food as if there was an enticing prey right in front of it . But he barely managed to control that craving until the penguin waiter served everyone¡¯s ramen . But like a beast, who had not eaten for several days, Bin Yong started feasting on the noodles even before the waiter said: ¡°Please enjoy . ¡° However it was not just him, the rest immediately started ravaging the bowl of chashu ramen, and it was not a beautiful sight to behold at all . The juicy meat of the thick pork belly slice . The clear yet flavourful soup broth . The crunchy chunk of bamboo shoot and not to mention the well seasoned soft boiled tamago in the soup base . People said that if you were able to talk during a meal, it meant that the food was not tasty enough for you to concentrate on eating . Although it was not especially quiet with sounds of firm noodles slurping into their wet mouths, no words were being spoken for the next few minutes . ¡°Oh my god . This is definitely the best ramen I have ever eaten in my entire life . ¡± Luo Bo took the opportunity to rest for a moment after she gobbled her noodles and drank her bamboo juice to ease the swallowing . ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever finished such a large bowl of noodles¡­I do not feel any regret gaining some weight from it . ¡± Jia Le let out a small burp with her hand covering her mouth for manner¡¯s sake, but Shi Zuo was doing the exact opposite, letting out a loud burp that echoed through the cabin . The group had a short laugh until they suddenly could feel their dantian churning the spirit energy that was absorbed by eating and felt slightly restless . It was then, that the penguin waiter came by again and asked for their feedback on the food . They had nothing but non-stop praises to offer, although all of them did agree that something was amiss . ¡°Ah . Maybe you should take a look at your statistics in the Pandamonium page . ¡± The Penguin Waiter suggested, and they did as instructed . All of them were astonished to see a boost in their stats, especially in the strength portion . There were some discrepancies because of the different drinks they had taken, but both Bin Yong and Jia Le had the same stat increase because they ordered the same items . ¡°What! You mean this food will boost our strength as such?¡± Shi Zuo accidentally screamed at the top of his voice as he only ever heard of such legendary food being sold by an exclusive cultivation guild organised by a select few people . Some say that even the Royal Zodiacs members needed an invitation to interact with that particular guild . ¡°Hahahaha, there is no way my food is that phenomenal . ¡± Lynn laughed as she walked towards them before she took off her chef¡¯s hat and bowed towards Luo Bo and Jia Le . ¡°Please, let me treat you guys to this meal as a token of gratitude . ¡± Even the penguin waiter beside them bowed with her . ¡°Your food? But didn¡¯t the penguin waiter say that the head chef was called Lynn?¡± Luo Bo was rather stunned as she did not expect Lynn to be such an extraordinary chef . ¡°Well about that . . . My real name is Lynn Arisato . ¡± Lynn was trying to clear everything up, yet before she could continue, Shi Zuo, who was trying to finish the final bits of his coffee at the same time, almost coughed out the contents in his mouth . ¡°EHHHHH?! YOU are THAT Lynn Arisato? The Prodigal Devil Chef that was caught up with the Last Supper Scandal?! Oh my god, you really do look like her!¡± Shi Zuo shouted again before Luo Bo bashed him on his head to calm him down . The rest of the group did not know who that Lynn exactly was supposed to be . ¡°Ahaha, that¡¯s because I am her . Although I would not call myself Prodigal Devil Chef . But yes, I am that Lynn . Boss Jin gave me an opportunity to rise back up to the cooking scene . However I hope that you can keep this information to yourself . I do not want too cause any more trouble for Boss Jin . ¡± Lynn said in a rather gentle tone which Luo Bo¡¯s sixth sense began to suspect things . ¡°Do not worry Zhen- Lynn . We will always come and protect you if need be . ¡± Jia Le smiled as she reassured Lynn . ¡°Anyways, if you are done with your food, you can enjoy the train ride for a while more, or you can also start doing your dungeon raids . The stat boost is only temporary, it should probably last for an Earth hour or so . So you should still have plenty of time to relax in the train or you can grind in the dungeons . ¡± Lynn bowed once again before she departed while commanding her little penguins . Chapter 278 Urgent Reques Chapter 278 Urgent Reques People were insanely interested for the opening of the new Restaurant Train of Delicacy Instance. Unlike the fishing and hot spring instances, that were self contained instances catered around individuals or small groups, the Restaurant Train of Delicacy instance was one single instance similar to the Panda Muscles service instance but on a larger scale. In terms of size, the Restaurant Train of Delicacy instance was easily the biggest one Jin had ever made. This was because it required the train to move over several hundreds, if not thousands of miles of scenery before they could return to that same particular train platform. At the moment, there was only the Northern Iceland scenery, but he planned to add many more sights and sceneries in the future if this instance becomes as popular as expected. One would ask how frequent the trains would arrive since there was only one single train platform in service. Jin had solved that problem by having a fifteen minute interval for each train to come. Meanwhile, the penguin waiters and train attendants used a teleportation device to teleport themselves from the train section, to other trains, to the kitchen instance or even back to the train platform when necessary. That was also how customers were able to leave the train in the middle of the trip. Hence, concerning customer convenience, Jin had it all sorted out. Nevertheless, because of that, he needed to create a sufficiently robust railway system so that the trains would not clash with each other. Thankfully, his university had covered some basics of engineering in regards to transportation, and he used whatever limited knowledge he had including the search in the net to create this particular service instance. All in all, he was delighted with his creation as he was manning the Bar Island which was now practically empty due to the introduction of the Restaurant Instance. However, as Jin was relaxing for the day, he did discover a familiar face as he was casually watching the auditoriums that were on air. ¡°Boss Jin. I know that Princess said to wait for a letter to come. But due to certain pressing issues, the original plan has been changed. She hopes that you could create a dungeon as soon as possible in accordance with this particular request. I can be a test subject for the dungeon if you need a person to test it out. Princess hopes that it could be completed by tomorrow morning before 8 am if possible.¡± Ku Wai came with a letter and a encrypted USB. ¡°This is a bit too abrupt¡­¡± Jin was fatigued from rushing the Restaurant Service Instance out, but he did promise Yang Ling he would make her a dungeon for free. Especially considering recent events, it was hard for him to flat out deny the sudden request. ¡°I think you might understand more if you read the letter.¡± Ku Wai urged Jin to open it up. The letter was to the point. Yang Ling wanted an obstacle course that would test the upper limits of the Gearbox technology that she had created. At the same time it would be used as a showcase for the higher echelon members of the national military and various high value military merchants and vendors. ¡°What? So does that mean she is planning to bring those VIPs to my place at 9 am tomorrow?¡± Jin stared at Ku Wai blankly, who simply nodded. ¡°I am sorry. We understand that this is very imposing, but apparently, she has received reports that someone else might want to cut a deal with the military with another prototype that used her data. If that happens before she could present it to the VIPs, it will look as if she was copying their designs. Hence, Princess decided to bring forward the presentation.¡± ¡°Wait what? Another prototype that used her data?¡± Jin was confused. ¡°Yes, a highly trained cultivator disguised as a researcher broke into our labs and stole our newest prototype and data without erasing it. You might be shocked at that, but this happens a lot among the Royal Zodiac science labs. What was different is that this prototype is under Yang Ling¡¯s personal lab. A lab that as far as reports would suggest, should not have been operated out in the open. That was why we could not file any police report. Not to mention, Princess¡¯s finances had also been rather tight too because of this prototype.¡± ¡°So you are planning to woo the contracts of these military vendors with your old equipment before the new prototype surfaces into the public?¡± Jin summarized. Again Ku Wai nodded. ¡°The data all gone?¡± Jin inquired, but this time Ku Wai shook his head in silence. ¡°The data had only been copied. There was no virus, no malware or anything that locks or destroys the information. In our opinion it¡¯s weird especially since if you are a competitor, logically speaking you should definitely do what it takes to cripple someone else.¡±Ku Wai replied. ¡°Makes sense.¡± Jin remembered that the Ruby Rat was somewhat doing that to him as well. ¡°Well, if I have a direct line to Yang Ling, perhaps I could learn more about what she wants. This request is rather too vague.¡± But before Jin could say any more, Ku Wai passed him a wireless earpiece. ¡°He- He- Hello, Jin can you hear me?¡± Yang Ling tried to say some things in his mind, but she encountered severe interference. ¡°Hmmm, this is a genuine piece of art.¡± Kraft acknowledged the design of the wireless headpiece before he allowed Yang Ling¡¯s communication to get through into Jin¡¯s thoughts. ¡°What is it?¡± Jin asked. Kraft was praising that earpiece he was wearing. According to him it acted as a catalyst to facilitate extended range telepathy with a customised encryption protocols which he never saw before until now. ¡°I hope you will choose to make Yang Ling into a bellator in the future. I would love to converse with her more. Her art in making these counterintelligence products is tingling my brain juices.¡± Kraft said to Jin, before he also started to listen to what Yang Ling had to say. ¡°I suppose Ku Wai gave you the gist of it? Look, I understand this might be a tall order, but I hope you can pull this off. I am also not asking you to do this for free at all. You will be compensated for your efforts.¡± Yang Ling spoke in his thoughts. ¡°No need, I do owe you one, and I plan to keep my word.¡± Jin nodded at Ku Wai to indicate that he was already talking to Yang Ling which allowed him to step back for a moment. ¡°But if it is possible, I would like the details of the prototype data that you still have. That is if you trust me. This will allow me to analyse and see what kind of obstacle course or test trial dungeon I can make for you.¡± Jin said with the purest intention, but Yang Ling was still a bit doubtful. ¡°Haiz, alright. I guess there should not be any harm presenting you with the prototype blueprint. But I expect you to delete it afterwards. Seriously, scrub your database of this particular prototype data once you are done. I spent years creating this, and if not for the circ.u.mstances I would not even share it. I have to admit that I am uncomfortable giving this to you.¡± Yang Ling tone was filled with regrets. ¡°May I know how to access it?¡± Jin asked, and Yang Ling gave a peal of slight laughter. ¡°It is actually already on the USB drive that was encrypted. The password is ¡®Panda¡¯ in order to have Master Jin access to the files in the USB drive. Yang Ling answered. ¡°Thank you, is that what you had in mind when you passed me that USB drive?¡± Jin asked. ¡°Not really. The original plan was to just show you some reference videos and declassified doc.u.ments on what we had tested on the Gearbox previously. So that you would have some idea how it works.¡± Yang Ling replied. ¡°You have my word. I will get cracking now.¡± Jin said as he returned the earpiece to Ku Wai. Jin was aware that Yang Ling sent Ku Wai to help, but he suspected that Ku Wai was also here to collect information. No matter how much a muscle head he actually was. ¡°Ku Wai. You can return back home. Come back by 6.30am in the morning.¡± Jin told him, but Ku Wai was a little reluctant to leave just like that without doing anything. ¡°Well, if you want to stay, at least buy some dungeon ticket and start training. If I can defeat you, it means you are not strong enough to protect your Princess.¡± Jin said bluntly to Ku Wai. Although it hurts him, Ku Wai knew that was the truth and decided to do some personal training as recommended by Jin. ¡°Yun, I need you to look after the store. However before that¡­ by any chance do you know any place to get some high grade metals.¡± Jin entered the Dungeon Maker before he sent a telepathy message to Yun. ¡°Sure. I can represent you in the store. But High Grade Metal wise¡­heh, you should probably call Moloch. His team of Battle Maids, that went scouting in the Dungeon World, actually found something that might be the solution to your current predicament.¡± Yun answered before teleporting into Shop Level One Instance and substituted Jin. Chapter 279 Results of Scouting Mission "Have they perhaps already found a defunct Dungeon Core?" Jin was surprised as he headed down to the Dungeon Maker to meet with Moloch. "What''s the status with your battle maids?" Jin asked with a mix of excitement and urgency. It was then, that the female minotaur Sebastia in her butler outfit appeared, right in front of Moloch. "Master and Lord Moloch. We have scoured the area and found the location of a defunct Dungeon Core. As expected, it is hidden in the midst of a derelict dungeon looking facility. However, even as defunct as it was supposed to be, we quickly realised why no one wanted to grab that defunct core from that facility." "Because it is filled with evil looking robots and also loaded with traps?" Jin took a wild guess, as he knew that the defunct dungeon core was a necessary item in the foundations of the city''s shield barrier. However, that was not the top priority right now. He had three months to be able to get that defunct dungeon core working with the shield barrier. Right now what he truly needed, were high grade metals. He wished to have the System recreate Yang Ling''s gearbox prototype. It was not his intention to sell the prototype. Instead he wanted to use it as a kind gesture for Yang Ling for helping him get rid of the police charges. After all, he was able to escape killing a foreigner, which could have incurred international disputes if not handled properly. (Even though he shouldered the blame for Zeru.) But with his dungeon dollars at an all time low, due to the money just being used to create the Restaurant Train of Delicacy, he was unable to purchase the high grade metals from the Dungeon Maker. So he hoped to get his hands on these metals, before he tries to request the Dungeon Maker to build it for him. Yun said that this particular scouting mission was able to allow him to acquire high grade metals for Yang Ling''s prototype and enough to sell for a profit to fund the trial dungeon that Yang Ling wanted. Hence, Jin figured it could also act as a form of tribute, a working partnership with Yang Ling thus completing his System''s mission. Therefore, killing three birds with one stone by obtaining the metals, the Defunct dungeon core and completing the System''s mission. "Master, by any chance you have some sort of clairvoyance ability? You are partly correct. There were strange looking robots that are protecting the facility which houses the defunct dungeon core. Fortunately, there were no traps, but the robots were strong. Even with our upgraded new weapons given by you, Master, we only managed to take one robot down." Sebastia reported. "Did you happen to take the remains of the enemy robot with you? It would be great to have a look at what kind of robots we are facing against." Jin asked, and Sebastia commanded Yem and Mer to bring out the robot remnant into the Dungeon Maker, of course with the help of the System teleporting it to them. "You guys are amazing to able to keep most of the robot parts intact." Jin saw the robot and was shocked at how human like the structure was. Even Sebastia said that the robot movement was analogous to humans. The metal face it had was banal and of a single expression which looked like those AI robot shows that Jin saw in the past. The major and minor joints were exposed with the rest of the parts covered with a singular metal sheet that was tough enough to handle combat. Oddly enough, the design was so polished that it seem no melding was done to it. Only after a moment did the System announce its analysis for him. "The remnants indicate that the underlying anatomical structure is human. The dungeon core seems to have malfunctioned and most likely swallowed the dead adventurers, who happened to be in the vicinity. By combining humans and inorganic parts, the defunct dungeon core created its own guardians to protect itself." "Ehhh shouldn''t a defunct dungeon core not be functional? I mean that is literally what a defunct dungeon core should mean, right?" Jin was confused by the System''s analysis. "It is not functioning right, Master. I believe that is what the System is implying. A dungeon core should be responsive to its master, but my deduction after the analysis of the System is that its master was on the brink of death. Thus to be able to sustain his master''s life it turned him into a robot. However, without a living, thinking master to properly control it, it went out of control and kept ''eating'' other adventurers. ¡­ Or maybe the master purposely gave that command to the dungeon core." Moloch shrugged as he gave his own opinion. "Does that mean if we defeat or capture the humanoid robots, they are able to resurrect back to their original state? I meant their own flesh and body since those adventurer''s erm¡­souls are trapped within." Jin asked with some curiosity. "Positive. Capturing these empty humanoid robots for personal dungeon purposes is also highly advised. However, that will require the User to spend additional souls to reactivate them. Do note that some humanoid robots costs may be more expensive than others. System has detected that the humanoid robot had an innate class." The System answered and Jin fumbled yet again. "Class? As in adventurer class?" Jin inquired. Sebastia seemed to remember something. "Ah yes, this particular humanoid robot was very powerful and come to think of it, we did encounter a Lord Knight that exhibited the same kind of attack patterns we had encountered with this humanoid robot." Sebastia replied. "Affirmative. Lord Knight class sigil has been detected within the Humanoid Robot." The System noted. At which point Moloch started to explain that the adventurers had many various classes or jobs they could pursue to become stronger. "The Lord Knight class was something similar to a veteran swordsman, and some even did a forced resurrection ritual while alive to become even more powerful. The adventurers called it reincarnation. Some of the abilities would be transferred over to their new life." Moloch added. "I see. Yun did say that the adventurers would have a variety of jobs since I encountered the four adventurers back then, but I did not know it could be this complex. If that is the case, I guess we better prepare first before we get into the dungeon facility." Jin concluded as he remembered that he had yet to pick up the upgraded cards for raising his rank twice in a row. Unlike the minotaurs, who relied mostly on brute strength and some magic attacks, Jin and his monsters would be fighting against opponents that had adventurer classes. If a Lord Knight class adventurer could perish within this defunct facility, it meant that there would be stronger humanoid robots in the facility waiting for them. "System, do I have access to all my monsters when I enter this particular dungeon facility? The last time you allowed me to do so, but you did say you would restrict me in the future." Jin asked as he assembled the entire monster horde into the dungeon maker and requested their help in choosing their desired upgrade cards. "Based on the assumed threat level of a Lord Knight Class and above, System permits the use of all monsters. In return, please complete the urgent mission issued to your phone." The System stated and Jin quickly looked at his phone. "Capture every single humanoid robot and bring the defunct Dungeon Core back. Rewards: Specialised fertilisers for the growth of the Living Armour plants." "Oh? Specialised fertilisers? Which one?" Jin was beaten by Gold, who was the primary caretaker of the Living armour plants. "500 grams of dung from the Seven Oceans Phoenix." The System stated, and Gold''s mouth opened wide. "You must be kidding. That monster''s natural dung instantly creates ponds in the hottest desert. It is literally a miracle pill. This is more than just a dung fertiliser. Boss. No matter what you do, you better equip us Jacks with shit loads of good stuff. We are going to bring that facility down and capture every single robot." Gold announced, and the Jacks cheered. "Huh! You think you puny werejackals can bring down these robots? Boss, no need to spend your cash or upgrade cards on them. Simply equip us with the best upgrade cards, we will not only capture every single robot, but do so in record time." Mer casually sneered, and Yem laughed as if it was a good bargain. "Oh? Have you already forgotten how we trashed your ass back then?" Grey came up from the group of werejackals and gave Yem a challenging look. "Yeah, by grouping up against us. Try fighting me solo." Yem smashed his fist together. It was clear that he was looking for a chance to get revenge and the crowd started to get heated. "Alright stop it! I have an idea." Jin clapped to stop the commotion from escalating even further. Every monster quickly lowered their voice and turned their attention to Jin. "Sebastia, Yem and Mer, what is the estimated number of robots in the facility?" Jin asked. They were unable to count them beforehand, but judging by the size of the facility they estimated, that there could be hundreds in there. "I understand. Then let''s make this a friendly contest between the monsters. Every robot will yield 1 point, but each death in your team will cost your team 10 points. Your team will receive an upgrade card each time you accumulate ten points." Jin suggested, and the monsters suddenly got pumped up. "Won''t there be a loophole?" Sandy who was at the side of the Dungeon Maker instance raised her hand and asked. "Rewards will be on a progressive track. For example, once you earn 10 points, your team gets a card. But if you lose a member, your team is back to zero again. So, when you reach 10 points again, you won''t be receiving any additional upgrade cards. The next one will only be unlocked when your team reaches 20 points. I hope that is clear enough." Jin explained, and many of the monsters understood. "Obviously the Minotaurs and Jacks have a team of their own. Other monsters who wish to participate can either join them or create a brand new team. You can even participate solo but if you die too many times, I probably will have to ask you to sit it out. I don''t have that much dungeon dollars left for resurrection. Besides, I need dungeon dollars for other items." Jin bitterly laughed, but the monsters appreciated Jin''s honesty. "Can we join too? Can we create a bellators team?" Peppers came out from nowhere and asked, but Jin shook his head. "If possible, I want you guys to be observers. If the robots they encounter turn out to be too difficult and clearly beyond their ability, assist them." Jin then turned to the monster crowd and added a few more rules. "Every time the bellators have to rescue you, that team will be deducted 5 points. Should you, however, find a way to defeat it, even if it is by teaming up, each team being able to do so will receive 10 points." Jin said and everyone found the rules simple enough and were agreeable to it. "Alright then let''s GET BUSY!" Jin banged the table, and everyone roared as the System prepared a large enough portal for them to be teleported to the dungeon facility in the Dungeon World. Chapter 280 Tact Tweak "Aren''t you coming, Master Jin?" Zeru asked, but Jin was contemplating. Now that he had a contest going on and had already asked the bellators to take note of them, he was thinking whether he should participate actively or take on the role of a tactical leader. If there were going to be fights against King Baal when the Dungeon City Fortress is up, he would need to employ several squad leaders to maintain order. It got him thinking after Qiu Yue fought against Moloch in a similar tactical battle kind of situation. "Moloch, mind coming here for a while. Zeru too." Jin called them over to the Dungeon Maker interface. While everyone else was preparing their gears and organising their teams, he wanted to make use of their expertise, since one was a Lord who had experienced governing, and the other was a natural born fighter. "I would like your opinions on a tactical commanding. Should I go into the fray with the others or should I stay at the back and command?" Jin asked, but both of his followers almost immediately answered in unison: "Go into the fray." "Wow, I was not expecting that." Jin initially thought they would have differing opinions, but in the end, they gave the same answer at lightning speed. "You do not have the traits to be a commander. You are just a master. While I praise you for being somewhat benevolent, this also makes you not fit to be a tactical leader. You would be too concerned about your troops'' safety. You are unlikely to send them on risky missions, thereby not allowing them to push their limits. Though I must admit, you are sometimes rather creative when placed in a tight situation." Zeru gave Jin his analysis. "I concur. You are at best a squad leader, but not a tactical commander. Just take this particular contest you created as an example. It''s not a bad event, and it would increase the competitiveness and camaraderie of your minions, but the result is left wanting. Other commanders would not only do what you did but singled out several key individuals to specifically lead the teams to battle. Maybe one or two will gather even more intelligence before charging into to unknown territory. But these are my own opinions. I had lead teams and served under command many times but I had yet to find that perfect someone who has the combination of charismatic leadership and selfless care for their troops and ruthless tactics." Moloch commented. "I do not think I have that kind of capacity in me," Jin admitted bitterly and Moloch laughed. "Each and everyone has their own strength and weakness. It is even better that you know your own inability than pretending you can do such a thing." Moloch comforted Jin. "Anyways, upgrade cards should be given more thought. Especially when I see you distribute the kind of weapons to your minions. You want them to be well rounded more than being specialised in one particular trait. It''s not a bad thing, but you have to understand that specialisation gives you the edge. It''s how you put the edges together in a way and make them work as a team, that gives them a chance for your minions'' potential to shine." Moloch explained further. "Not everyone has a flair for everything. Not everyone has a System in their possession." Moloch''s word was sharp and to the point, but Jin understood and acknowledged it. "But that does not mean you cannot learn," Moloch added as he walked towards the System''s interface. "Do you have the thing I asked you to prepare?" "That will relinquish 5% of your rights of the Dungeon City Fortress to the System. Do you accept this?" The System asked, and Moloch nodded his head. "I can see that the System is not really as bad as it was made it out to be. I do not mind relinquishing 5% of my rights." Moloch replied, and the System immediately created a portable looking whiteboard. "Here! I was originally planning to give this to Qiu Yue when she joined you. But I figured if you can play with this first, you might have some understanding about the specs and perhaps even some ideas about how to enhance it further when the time comes. I call it the Tactical Tweaker or Tact Tweak. I used to have powers that were similar to the functions of Tact Tweak when I served under King Baal. That was before he became ignorant, arrogant and many other things¡­ especially when he got possessive with his wealth." Moloch passed the Tact Tweak whiteboard to Jin. "How does this work?" Jin looked around it but realised there was no button or whatsoever. Moloch asked Jin to insert some chi in it. Suddenly the board lit up. It showed the current stats of the teams that were being formed. As Jin explored the functions, it went down to individual stats. The difference was that the Tact Tweak showed various recommendations on what to equip on a monster based on their stats. It was an enhanced version of the monster app that he had. It also showed whether the combination of teams between the monsters was ideal. There were some rather controversial combinations, and Jin knew that this was based on the System''s efficiency paradigm. Of course, if Jin followed the System''s recommendation, it would theoretically bring out the best from his minions. But in reality, monsters did not work that way. Only robots that were detailed to the point would. Surprisingly, the System recommended mixing the werejackals and Minotaurs together as a team in Tact Tweak. Jin knew, that the contest was to show the competitive side of things, but if he did not handle this correctly, it might create a wedge between the two groups of minions. "All the more reason, why you should go into the fray," Kraft spoke out of the blue. "You will be the one acting as the bridge for these two races. From what I saw, I can only agree with those two. You are not fit to be a tactical commander because you have to act as their master. You have the important task as the one and only person that who rules them. To unite them." "This Tact Tweak has another function. I asked the System to design it in a way, that seems to prove useful for your competition. It allows you to give the teams upgrade cards on the go and lets you edit the cards they once held. It is a function created with you in mind which I hope you can subsequently passed it to Qiu Yue." Moloch said as he showed Jin how it was being done since he and the System created this Tact Tweak. Moloch placed the portable whiteboard on the floor, and the interface that was initially the size of the portable whiteboard became two times larger and subsequently three times bigger. The interface started to resemble the interface of the one in the dungeon maker. It even projected the cards that Jin currently had in his possession. With a swipe of a short bow equipment card, it provided an analysis of the short bow, indicating a summary of the materials it was made from and even recommended the following monsters that would be suited for this particular equipment card. There was also a section on potential recommendations for monsters, who were not apt for this card yet. It indicated, that after some training the monsters would have the chance to become proficient with it. "This is really interesting. It''s a real shame, that I cannot fully explore the functions at the moment since I am short on time. Especially with Yang Ling''s deadline. But I can at least use this to reward the upgrade equipment cards to the monsters on the fly as the contest proceeds." Jin figured, and both Moloch and Zeru agreed. "Without further ado, let''s go to battle. Sebastia, lead the way." Jin commanded, and the System immediately created a portal large enough for various people to go in. As the monsters were teleporting in, Jin checked the Tact Tweak and saw that various teams were being created for the contest. The werejackals and werecats formed one group, they called themselves Team Jacks. All of the minotaurs and even Niu Lang joined together to form Team Mino. Sandy the Sand Witch, Zhi Nu the Battle Weaver, Ke Mi the Zither Mistress, Que Er the Magpie Queen formed a group together and called themselves Team Enlightened, the band group name that was used in Music Theatre Instance. The last group that wanted to enter was surprisingly the zombies. Jin found it weird that a zombie came forward to declare its name and when he checked the zombie''s name, it was actually Derek who proposed it. "Did the ''I am the Alpha'' Card triggering him twice in a row enhance his intelligence a little?" Jin wondered as he tried out the I am the Alpha enhancement card once again. Not to his surprise, the Zombie Derek was chosen once again, but this time round, the System noted something. "User, The card ''I am the Alpha'' has been destroyed. System would be compensating you with a new card." The Tact Tweak immediately revealed the new card that the System repaid. Now Jin was shocked. The enhancement card became a brand new monster card. Ghoul Half Lord. Jin looked towards Derek''s direction and saw that his features changed, it became slightly more humane (and more hair!), but his clothes were more westernised and formal. "Master Jin. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to rise to the occasion to serve you even more." Derek said as he knelt down and all the zombies that were behind him clumsily knelt too. Chapter 281 Monster Evolution Chapter 281 Monster Evolution Jin looked at the new monster card and back at Derek once more. He clearly did not expect the evolution of a monster happening right in front of him. ¡°Is Derek¡¯s¡­ erm¡­ form permanent or temporary?¡± Jin asked the System. ¡°Permanent. Variant DNA changes happened as a result of the repeated use of the enhancement card.¡± The System noted, and Jin got excited. If Derek as a regular zombie could evolve, would that not imply other monsters had the chance to do so, too? Jin anxiously asked the System, and it returned a positive reply. ¡°While rare in their natural habitat, it is possible for monsters to evolve under the System¡¯s premise. Only one creature out of a million has the chance to experience such a change in the wilderness. Even then certain conditions such as stress, environment and genes play a vital part in the evolution in the wild.¡± The System stated. ¡°So do I have to find more enhancement cards?¡± Jin asked, thinking that was the prerequisite for the monsters to evolve under the System rule. ¡°Negative. User simply needs to push the monsters to their limit. The System has checked every monster in the User¡¯s care, and has compiled a file of those who are close to breaking into the next evolution phase.¡± The System then released a list full of Jin¡¯s monsters names right in front of him on his all new Tact Tweet. Jin casually scrolled through and checked the bottom of the list to find out that even normal zombies had an experience bar that could potentially cause them to evolve. ¡°Are these the experiences each individual monster acc.u.mulated through fighting in the dungeons with the cultivators too?¡± Jin questioned. The System gave a happy emoji icon holding a pair of fireworks and said nothing else. ¡°Wow, so in a way, my customers are training my monsters to the next level. Wait does that mean in those story themes, they would change appearance too? Won¡¯t that¡­ erm affect my dungeon instances experience?¡± ¡°Positive. User, please adjust your dungeons once the monsters have evolved. System does have the ability to retain old Story Instance Themes. Similar to the previous Easy, Medium, Hard difficulty. It is User¡¯s choice in determining whether this is necessary.¡± The System stated. ¡°Damn! That means more work for me. Oh well, I guess that¡¯s a good thing too. At least this way, the story instance theme would not feel too stagnant, especially for old customers.¡± Jin thought to himself before he noticed that even the zombies started to move out into the portal, lead by Ghoul Half Lord Derek. Jin checked once more on Yun, to reassure that she was okay to handle the shop. After all, this could take a while to complete. However Yun simply gave him the go ahead again.. ¡°There is no need to worry too much Jin. Especially now that the Shop is within an instance. Even if those Royal Rats decide to come to cause trouble, they will simply be toyed with, no matter their Grade. You have more important things to take care of. Shoo shoo, go complete your mission,¡± Yun answered in his thoughts as he sighed and entered the portal. When he arrived, he realised that the facility was actually in ruins. Rubble were lying all around with broken weathered pillars and damaged stairs. Only with guidance from Sebastia and the other battle maids that the group could find the underground entrance of the facility ruin. ¡°Maybe that is why the dungeon core is defunct.¡± Jin assumed after seeing the sight of the wear and tear by the environment before he returned to the area where he was teleported alongside with the monsters. He did not have much information since he trusted the Minotaur Battle Maids to do their scouting jobs. In the meantime, the several monster groups were chattering noisily, talking about their tactics, about their weapons and what rewards they were hoping for. Then, a loud resounding shout came from the side of the ruins. ¡°You there! Identify yourself at once! Are you one of the monster sympathisers or are you a monster in disguise?!?!¡± A loud booming voice echoed throughout the area, and Jin noticed that a large group of adventurers was coming towards them, all ready to slaughter his monsters if given the chance. He then remembered that this was the dungeon world after all. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise to have an encounter with adventurers. ¡°System, what are their power levels or grade equivalent?¡± Jin asked immediately as he wanted to know if it is wise to retreat or fight with them. But if possible, he would want to stay his ground because he does not have any time to waste. Worse case scenario, these adventurers might grab the defunct core. Best case scenario, they would be additional fodder for Jin to clear up. If that was the case, he might as well clear them up right now since reports from Sebastia indicated that the humanoid robots were apparently stronger than the living adventurer. ¡°Power levels ranging from 50 to 90, where each grade is equivalent to 10 power levels. The majority of them are around Grade 5 to Grade 6. System has scanned only a few individuals at Grade 9.¡± The System stated as it showed the statistics on the Tact Tweet. There were slightly more than one hundred adventurers present, indicating that they were preparing for a major raid. ¡°Wow, this Tact Tweet is amazing. It even shows the location of each adventurer. Hmm, I don¡¯t have that much time to deal with their questions. I kinda doubt that cooperation is still on the table, after seeing me with that many monsters. Moloch had previously told me that summoning so many monsters at once would be impossible for any normal summoner. I guess we will have to stay here and defend ourselves. Looks like I will go for a fight.¡± Jin quickly judged, as the adventurer group got even closer. ¡°You! Answer me right now, or I will personally bring you down!¡± The booming voice continues. ¡°System, you sure that if those adventurers die, they will get resurrected?¡± Jin, ignoring the adventurer group wanted to make sure that he would not need to hold back. The System gave a positive reply: ¡°Their resurrection process is much easier and less complicated compared to your world¡¯s resurrection process. If an adventurer dies, said adventurer resurrects at the nearest church for a respectable sum of dungeon dollars.¡± ¡°The System recommends killing the adventurers. Killing them yields you dungeon dollars and possible equipment.¡± System continued to babble. ¡°Heh, because in legal terms, this could be counted as self-defense, right?¡± Jin cracked a joke as he took out Bam in Katana form. ¡°System will provide the necessary anonymity tools.¡± A half panda mask appeared right in front of Jin. To his surprise, the rest of his bellators also wore various but similar panda masks. He noticed that his and Zeru¡¯s mask was 90% black, before it went white at the edge of it, whereas for Milk and Peppers, the colours were swapped. Passing him as they stepped forward in front of him, Jin was also able to see a cross, a flame, and a sword sort of accessory attached to the side of the half panda masks. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want ending up with a bounty now, would we?¡± The only one who had a different mask was Kraft when he appeared at Jin¡¯s side. The mask looked to be the counterpart to the same mask he saw Tsu, one of the black foxes, wear. That black ornate fox mask with golden edges. Suddenly, there was a thought that went through his head. ¡°Master, the Deep Ones and I can keep them occupied. We refrained from fighting against these¡­metallic objects because they were not worthy. These adventurers on the other hand¡­Heh heh¡­ they should make a great sacrifice to this Great Shadow Dagen.¡± Mr Derpy talked in his head. ¡°Oh? So you are saying you can deal with this all by yourself? Are you that confident?¡± Jin was already suspecting that Mr Derpy was the kind of monster that loved to steal the spotlight. Unfortunately his fighting style was very expensive, if not controlled. ¡°Well, to be honest, not really. But we are dying to have some good proper fight. Not just against some human looking robots. We crave for humans, and my minions are bloodthirsty. So in return for not participating in that competition, I demand we shall have the right to keep the equipment of the adventurers for ourselves!¡± Mr Derpy ordered in a low voice in Jin¡¯s thoughts. Jin scratched his head and sighed upon remembering that the Deep Ones were more of a chaotic nature. He recalled how terrifying the Deep Ones were and could not say no. Besides, it would affect his competition, if he needed to split the competing forces before they even had the chance to go inside. Not to mention, Mr Derpy¡¯s ¡®orders¡¯ lightened his load on upgrading cards since they were limited in quantity. ¡°Kraft, mind looking after them?¡± Jin asked, and Kraft nodded his head as he locked and loaded his revolver. ¡°Can¡¯t say no to a bit of bloodshed, can I?¡± Kraft¡¯s smirk looked a little evil, but it also made Jin assured that he would get the job done. ¡°Ripcaller, Piercestriker and Slashreaver. Make sure no one runs away without feeling the wrath of a store manager.¡± The three goblins who were well trained in ambushes acknowledged Jin and immediately ran off into the ruins. ¡°As for the rest of you! I hereby declare, that the competition starts now!¡± Jin shouted and the unison of monster roars and shouts momentarily terrified the army of adventurers. Chapter 282 The Unexpected Assaul Chapter 282 The Unexpected Assaul Hark, the leader of the adventurer raid group, shuddered at the booming sounds of the monsters. He initially thought that the monsters would be charging towards them, so he immediately ordered for the entire raid group to deploy a defensive stance against them. Little did they know that the monsters were charging¡­ away from them. Quickly Jin and the others¡¯ silhouettes disappeared into the facility ruins. Only then did Hark realise that merely a lone figure was left behind in front of the entrance. At a closer look, he recognised that it was a strange guy in a trench coat, who hid his face behind a weird looking accessory. It was some unfamiliar oriental looking half fox mask. There was no class nor adventurer ever who would wear such an outfit, making him more suspicious about the other one¡¯s identity as a monster sympathiser or possibly some kind of cult member. ¡°Judging from the rampage and size of the monster horde, that other guy was guiding them inside the ruins. It seems that the rumours of monster sympathisers becoming more rampant and daring are true.¡± Hark thought to himself before he swallowed his saliva. He could not allow their morale to fall, so with a roar he declared in front of his raid guild: ¡°In the name of our guild, the Hocus Pocus, I, Hark, Leader of Hocus Pocus and a Lord Knight class, demand your immediate surrender. You are to be taken away and face a fair trial to be judged by the goddess of Justice herself!¡± ¡°What is your objective by coming to these ruins?¡± Kraft yawned lazily as he stretched his arms. Nevertheless the adventurers thought that he was doing some sort of magic casting and decided to be on guard. Only when he finished his yawn did they realise that they were being a bit too cautious. ¡°I wish to ask you the same question, vile fiend. What does your kind wish to do within those ruins? Also consider this your last warning. I order you to stand down at once or else we will show you no mercy!¡± Hark banged his shield twice. It was enough of a sign for the experienced adventurers to understand that he wanted the fox masked guy to be surrounded, leaving him with no escape route. ¡°Well, didn¡¯t your mother teach you not to answer a question with another question? How rude!¡± Kraft stayed where he was, casually observing his would be captors. He distinguished different classes of adventurers that surfaced when they were surrounding him. ¡°Ooh. Clerics, archers, monks, battle smiths, rogues, assassins! There are even second tier and third tier adventurer classes in this mix match. How wonderful!¡± Kraft sounded pleased, as if he was a child who was taken to a store to buy a new toy. ¡°So you still refuse to give up? Are you courting death?!¡± Hark shouted and ordered the adventurers to close up even further. Some of the wizards, sages and veteran mages were already preparing to cast their spells against him. ¡°Hey, System. Do you wish to strike a deal?¡± Kraft asked nonchalantly. ¡°I know Jin does not wish to utilise them as resources, even though it was recommended by yours truly. And I just know how much you hate to waste precious resources.~ But I think I have an alternate method able to satisfy both positions to get some good stuff. I mean, they are coming at us like willing sheep for slaughter! It would be rude for us to not take advantage of their generosity!¡± Kraft grinned. ¡°What is your suggestion?¡± The System asked in a rather polite manner in Kraft¡¯s head. ¡°Who are you talking to!¡± Hark questioned Kraft as the fox mask guy was alone, standing there talking to himself. This person made him worried for some reason. He was clearly surrounded, but he did not panic. It seemed like that fox guy was not taking them seriously at all and for some odd reason, he even started talking to himself. ¡°Identify the best person of each class in this ragtag group of adventurers, and I will personally have a little session with them. I shall extract their skills and experience, providing you with their info. This should be enough to allow you to make copies of them, turning them into worthy NPCs for Jin to use in dungeons. Besides, I have improved my technique. They will probably only end up suffering from some amnesia after their resurrection. And of course, there is no reason for any of them to leave with their memories of us intact.¡± Kraft said as he remembered the first time when he forcibly tried to extract the skills and experience from someone. The result was a mess, and instead of a person it would be more correct to call it an empty husk created by the System. They suffered, before they ultimately died a horrible death. Over the decades, Kraft managed to hone his craft and especially the stint with Ming allowed him to tweak his methods. It was always a pleasure to think back to that encounter. He had to admit those little Royal Zodiac Snakes were truly creative with their techniques. However their resistance towards their own techniques was very lacking in his opinion. And now he was looking forward to have a little bit more fun with those guinea pigs before him. ¡°The new method proposed has been deemed worthy, and should correspond to the wishes of the current User since it does not violate previous clauses. System accepts the method. Your reward?¡± The System asked. ¡°Nothing much. I simply wish for you to give me back one of those three problem children. Make it the youngest one¡­ that should be just about right.¡± Kraft answered, after a bit of consideration, as he continued to ignore Hark¡¯s petty orders once again. ¡°F.u.c.k it! He isn¡¯t listening at all.¡± Hark was losing his patience. He drew his sword, which in turn signalled the others to do the same too. ¡°Maybe he is pretending to be insane so that we will not take him seriously?¡± A knight class adventurer close to Hark gave him his opinion. ¡°Attack him now! Make sure not to kill him! Our reward will be higher if we capture him alive. Especially seeing that he is a monster sympathiser of such a large group. The Judges will have their way to interrogate him!¡± Hark shouted as he raised his sword up to the sky. His sword turned glowing white before the heavens howled and brought upon the swords of imprisonments to pierce Kraft onto the ground. ¡°Affirmative. Do note that it might not listen to you even after these many years.¡± The System readily agreed, and Kraft laughed when the swords of imprisonment rained down towards him. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I will unleash it for Jin to handle.¡± Kraft¡¯s laughter got even sicker as the swords of imprisonments stabbed through his body and his other extremities. ¡°Deerrppyy!!! Can you and your fishes be competent enough to kidnap those people?¡± Kraft shouted while still laughing hysterically. ¡°This guy is mad!!¡± A wizard exclaimed as he released a curse. The debuff should reduce Kraft¡¯s vitality and mana pool, but it seemed that there was no effect. Even the ¡®unshakeable¡¯ swords of imprisonments seemed to simply go through him. ¡°Who do you think we are?!?!?! How dare you compare us to some lowly creatures. Let me show you the true power of this Shadow Dagen, mortal!!!¡± Mr Derpy bellowed as his colossal figure overshadowed the sun. Yet the raid guild mistook it for some thunder magic, being cast by the fox masked prisoner. However they saw no magical presence coming from him nor any magic circles displaying the activation of the thunder magic. ¡°Must be the weather in this area.¡± A barbarian class adventurer snorted, but the astrologist, a class that used the weather and stars to summon her magic, disagreed: ¡°No, this is definitely some sort of sorcery or forbidden witchery! I never felt such stifling magical presence!¡± Even her weapon globe became fuzzy. Thunder crackled despite the sparse clouds and the entire area instantly received a gradual but heavy pouring of rain¡­ Rain of blood. It was no normal blood, but a highly corrosive blood. Many quickly used their shields to cover themselves the moment they got burned by it. Some of the magic users hastily placed barriers, but the bloody rain was eating through the defensive barrier causing the mages to burn their mana like paper to a kindled flame just to protect their guildmates. ¡°Let the real downpour begin.¡± Derpy smiled as he showed his face to the adventurers and opened his mouth wide. It was vast enough for Deep Ones hiding inside him to once again plunge themselves towards the adventurers on the ground. However, unlike last time, where it was such a mess that Jin scolded them for wasting his money, Derpy and the Deep Ones had been training this move for quite some time. The Skyfall strikes were like coordinated dives against the horrified adventurers. Those adventurers had seen all manner of monsters but Derpy¡­as he bellowed his almighty presence by declaring himself as the Bloodied Elder God of the Deep Seas Lord Dagen, was of a different sort of horror. Plenty panicked as the Deep Ones killed many in the first wave of attack, yet they also made use of this shock and awe tactic to injure and kidnap those adventurers that had been identified by the System. Kraft did not dally any longer. His figure disappeared from the swords of imprisonment and he reappeared behind the adventurers, where he shot the first bullet out of his revolver. It was none other than Evon, the druggy fox at full offensive. Hark had no idea about what was happening, as the pink champagne coloured fox bit his neck before jumping to another target that was identified by the System. Hark¡¯s eyes rolled up as he foamed from his mouth and wet his pants. The mighty Lord Knight just went down to his knees, shaking and trembling at the mercy of the drugs induced by the bite. Kraft grabbed him by his hair, not allowing him to fall down. The next moment, black chains appeared from within his trenchcoat. The chains subsequently wrapped around Hark and swallowed him whole, making the fierce leader disappear to nothingness. The other adventurers were too absorbed with struggling against the Deep Ones, who continued raining down on them, that they did not notice how their strongest man vanished in the midst of chaos. Kraft licked his lips as he slowly walked towards his next victim. Chapter 283 Underground Facility The underground facility was rather well intact, despite the desolated look from the outside, The stone walls were filled with green moss and cobwebs, but the corridor hallway was rather long and extensive. Not to mention there were writings, pictures and murals on the wall, which indicated that this complex was not just a dungeon nor was it a simple facility. If given time, Jin would probably ask the System to take some of it down to decipher the texts and pictures, but he was in a rush to get the defunct core. Less than a few minutes into the ruins, Jin and the others were welcomed by a group of humanoid looking robots. The monsters did not hesitate, and rushed forward to intercept the enemies. The monsters struck first and many of the robots toppled effortlessly. Heads were torn, legs were bitten and torsos were tossed as if it was some Black Friday sale. Even Sebastia and the rest of the battle maids were doing pretty well themselves. "I thought you said they were difficult to kill?" Jin managed to catch up with Sebastia and asked as he slashed down another humanoid robot warrior. He discovered that most of the humanoid robots were similar to what Sebastia had brought back for him as a specimen. Expressionless. The major difference was the armour and weapons they were wearing. A low level humanoid robot could be recognized by the attire it was wearing. The minotaurs were able to effortlessly differentiate them in a second, but Jin perceived them as too similar to each other, to make out clear differences. After all he was not from this world. "These are just fodders. It is similar to when you fought against us, we used cannon fodder to waste your strength and resources before we sent in the big guys. It also gives the enemy a pretty good picture of what he is up against, since we have to use some of our abilities!" Sebastia explained as she chopped the humanoid robot archer into two with her bare hands and the shockwave impact destroyed another that was behind the robot. It was at this moment the facility ruins had a fork and Sebastia informed Jin that the dungeon core''s wave signature was coming from the left. However, Jin saw that Sandy, the Sand Witch, and the rest of the enlightened group stepped forward. "We are not very interested in the dungeon competition so we will be fighting on our own with the goal to train ourselves. If we find anything worthy, we will ask the System to retrieve it for you, Master." Sandy who was the appointed leader for the Enlightened group excused themselves as they took the other path. Then they were also followed by Derek the Half Lord and his zombie army. In the meantime, Gold, Yem and Mer rushed to the left fork knocking out numerous weak humanoid looking robot, leading their own groups forward. "Awww, Master, you sure we cannot participate? I want to blow some stuff up." Peppers grumbled as she had to follow the Werejackals. "Yeah Boss, I do not see any point coming down here full force. I''d rather be treating some patients than babysitting these brainless cows." Milk complained. "Zeru did not complain when he went with the Enlightened group and the Zombie horde." Jin tried to retort, but the girls only rolled their eyes in boredom. It was not as if the bellators were hard at work counting how many metallic bodies their respective group were racking, especially since the System was doing it all for them. Hence, it was not unfair to call it a waste of time for the bellators to babysit the monsters. Yet Jin who had been through various encounters in these recent weeks, learned not to underestimate the situation. Well, it was true that Milk could quicken the pace of recovery of his cultivators back in the store. Peppers could also rather use the time to further prepare the basic layout for the city building so that when Qiu Yue arrives to help, it could speed up the entire process. But Jin felt that this dungeon would not be so convenient to have the defunct dungeon core exposed for them to take. If it were so easy then there would have been no need for Sebastia to ask for help¡­ and they had yet to encounter any powerful enemies. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and even the monsters who were enjoying rampaging against those helpless robot guards stopped what they were doing and stayed on high alert. "I guess I did not bring you guys for nothing." Jin giggled as half of the walkway crumbled right in front of them without the weight of the soil above to bury them. An enormous sized robotic looking knight with a broken set of armour rose from the depths of darkness where the walkway crumbled. It was so mammoth-like that it occupied more than six times the size of the extensive underground walkway they were in, scaring most monsters and Jin except for Peppers. "Manipulation of space time in the works. There is no way this thing could exist without the manipulation of space time and perhaps gravity too, especially when the ground above did not fall. Besides, everything that surrounds us now and beyond is a pitch of pure black darkness while we could still see the enemy so clearly." Peppers concluded as Jin could now see fear staining her eyes yet excitement dancing on her lips. Furthermore, the walkway that they were standing on shook, which made bits and pieces of the walkway fall into the abyssal darkness, causing Jin and his monsters to run. The rest who could not catch up with the speed of the disappearing walkway fell through the cracks. Yet, the only one not running away, was none other than Peppers. "DO NOT RUN! Those who are falling, image yourself on stable ground!" Peppers shouted, and the minotaurs and werejackals who were falling endlessly into the abyss thought of the ground they desired and poof! A solid transparent ground appeared which intercepted their fall. They were so happy that they kissed the invisible block of ''soil'' underneath them. "This room or corridor or whatever the monsters called it, uses your fear to simulate your thoughts into what is happening around you!" Peppers screamed as she pointed her trusty wooden staff in front of the Titan looking Knight with glowing red eyes on it. "You fear that the walkway will crumble, that is why the dungeon made it true for you! Ask for thy ground and thou shall receive!" Peppers exclaimed, and the monsters who grasped the concept immediately stopped running and thought of the ground. The abrupt solution that Peppers gave worked wonderfully and many began to try to assist the others up, both minotaurs and werejackals. "Ha ha ha! Looks like someone managed to understand the magic of this dungeon doom!" A low booming voice echoed in the darkness. "But no matter how you think about me, this mechanised titan knight will bring all of you to meet your maker!" The voice proclaimed as the knight materialised a two handed sword, way more prominent than the colossal knight himself and attempted to cleave the entire black dimension into two. Many tried to dodge it by running or thinking of falling once more. However, there was a deafening sound of clashing coming and interrupting the Titan Knight''s cleave. At closer look it was none other than Jin himself. A tiny size human with his unbreakable katana held on against the attack of the Titan Knight. It was a great feat that Jin did not realise he was able to achieve, until he utilised what Peppers said by thinking he could do it. But belief was the only source Jin could rely on, as he struggled against the blasphemously gigantic sword. Tens, if not hundreds of humanoid looking robots, now no longer dressed in any adventurer garb nor looking like another adventurer, crawled out of the crevices of the gigantic sword like spiders and moved to intercept Jin. "Master! Hang in there!" Peppers cried as she chanted some in weird sounding language, that made no sense to Jin. She swung her staff in the direction of Jin and the next instant, a series of explosions was seen on the sword itself. From afar it looked as if there was some colourful fireworks parade as the explosions were controlled and in succession. "What are you two groups waiting for?! AATTAAAACKK!!" Milk screamed at the top of her lungs towards the Werejackals and Minotaurs as she released a golden God''s Punch directed towards the face of the Titan Knight, giving it a dose of its own medicine. Chapter 284 Team Mino/Jacks Chapter 284 Team Mino/Jacks Under the commands of Milk, the first to strike was Team Mino, who took the chance to jump onto the mountainous piece of metal and faced off against those humanoid crawling robots. Mer was the first to initiate the attack by summoning a large chunk of ice, that he had to control with his pair of hands. As it grew larger, the humanoid robots detected that it was a threat, so they quickly moved to intercept Mer before he did serious damage to the robots themselves or the Titan Knight¡¯s blade. ¡°Do not let our maid and saviour of our souls be interrupted!¡± One of the Fanatic Minotaurs shouted, and many of the fellow Fanatic Minotaurs smashed their chest as a sign of pride before charging towards the incoming crawler robots to block them. The fanatic minotaurs were crazy strong on their own, due to their simple focus on just attacking without any regard for defense. And in this particular dungeon with faith, fear and belief being amplified, their strength increased by many folds. Those minotaurs easily grabbed the crawler robots and tore them into two as if they were opening a pack of potato ch.i.p.s¡­ only in this case, computer ch.i.p.s popped out of those crawler robots. With sufficient distraction, Mer conjured a harpoon of ice that was the size of a submarine, which terrified the Titan Knight as he aimed it towards the hand holding the immense metal blade. But instead of Mer shooting it, Sebastia dashed towards the bottom tip of the ice harpoon before leaping up and sending a flying kick at it. Although it was just a sound of a soft thud from the flying kick, the kinetic power was more than sufficient to propel the ice harpoon towards the Titan Knight¡¯s hand as it speedily whizzed into it before the Titan Knight could retaliate. With the assistance of Sebastia, the ice harpoon pierced through the hand as it continuously spun like a drill, causing it to penetrate into the circuits of the Titan Knight and making the titan blade to drop into abyssal darkness. Meanwhile, the werejackals were fighting toe to toe against those remnant robot crawlers that fell out from the plummeting titan blade. They did not have crazy magic like Mer nor overwhelming one sided strength like Sebastia, but they had superb coordination and agility. Two werejackals could decimate the crawlers at twice the speed compared to two minotaurs, but what if you multiplied the werejackals by two? They could take down twenty of those crawlers in less than twenty seconds. Not only that, the werejackals had been training with Grey and all of them learnt how to use a simple fireball attack. Through constant training, Grey realised that being in human form made them more attuned to magic as compared to their werejackal form. Hence, they added switching forms to their daily training regiment, becoming so proficient in it that they became able to do it on the fly. This particular ability was not demonstrated in dungeon instances because Jin did not script it that way. It was an ability they discovered on their own. With such transformation ability, the Jacks regularly switched forms during this robot crawler fight, and if one presented to an audience, one would have thought that they were doing a theatrical performance as the fight looked like one huge choreographed dance. Despite the internal conflict the werejackals and minotaurs were having, when it came down to a fight, differences were placed aside and they fought alongside each other. Sure, they were definitely some grudge killing like Yem counting how many humanoid robots he shot down out loud, but he was evenly matched by Yellow who was aggressively biting the metallic necks of those humanoid robots. After all, they knew it was just a friendly competition until the stakes got higher when the Titan Knight¡¯s eyes started to glow, and a low booming voice continued to echo throughout the entire ¡®room¡¯. Jin noticed something was off, especially when the glow got redder. ¡°Shit! Do not tell me it is gonna shoot laser beams out of its eyes!¡± Jin had that terrible feeling as he could now sense magical energy being absorbed through that pair of eyes. ¡°EVERYONE RETREAT NOW!¡± Jin shouted as he used all his might to summon a monstrous wall of white ice in front of him. ¡°PEPPERS!¡± That one word was an acknowledgement for the great Fiery Demonic Queen Sage to support Jin, but he did not realise that Peppers¡¯ ability was over the top fantastic. Jin initially thought that Peppers would only be reinforcing his shield against the attack and he could maybe save a few of his monsters from annihilation from the laser eye beam of supposed death. But what Peppers did, was cast a gravity well strong enough to pull everything except for the Titan Knight towards her, including the remaining robot crawlers. That being said, she did not care as her priority was only to save as many comrades as possible. Thankfully Peppers did what she needed to do and nobody complained. Aside from the weird pulling of the stomach, they all got out scot free. A little discomfort was a low price to cheat death. The eyes released not just a beam of hot scorching ray of annihilation, but everything it hits explodes along the way, which made Peppers slightly¡­okay rather jealous. It was because the explosion was not just a kaboom in simple terms. It was a pa ta pa ta boooooom! ¡°HOW DOES HE SHOOT BEAMS THAT EXPLODES THAT WAY!?!?! JIN!!!! I WANT THAT!!! I want that explosion spell!!! I also want beams that can shoot explosions too!!!¡± Peppers¡¯ eyes turned starry as she was admiring the explosions. Although Jin and Milk knew that her priorities right now were somewhat wrong, but they could not fault her for that, since both were aware of her passion for explosions. The barrier or ¡°The Great White Ice Wall of China¡± as Jin now dubbed it casually, was being continuously bombarded by explosions as the Titan Knight focused all its energy at that particular direction. Jin used the source of belief to think that it could hold the energy beam, but there was doubt growing in his heart too which caused cracks to appear in the white ice wall. And in terms of strength, the eye energy beams were indeed stronger and deadlier than his wall of ice. Milk tried to supplement Jin with chi as she converted her magical mana into chi energy for Jin to use, but it was not enough. Suddenly Milk remembered that Peppers had an inexhaustible supply of Mana which she was entitled to by the System. ¡°OEI Peps! Quickly come here and help Jin out!¡± Milk shouted, but Peppers who understood what was going to happen was quite reluctant. ¡°Please, can¡¯t we do something else? I don¡¯t want to do that again¡­ I might even vomit rainbows once more!¡± Peppers whined at such an inappropriate timing though truth be told, her vomiting of rainbows was a significant drawback to her. The overly excessive mana discharge strained her body¡¯s mana circuity extremely causing her to overload and momentarily experience multiple organ failures at once. If not for the fact that she was a Bellator, she would have died a long time ago. ¡°I have a plan, do not worry.¡± Milk¡¯s eyes were determined and resolute, and Peppers decided to trust her on it. She quickly stepped forward and Milk grabbed onto Peppers. She then felt a feeling similar to an essence drain spell where she could feel her mana moving away from her. It was gradual, and subsequently, the drain was getting stronger and stronger. Yet at the same time, Peppers could also feel her body being restored too. It was then that she understood that Milk was acting as a conduit. She absorbed Pepper¡¯s mana into her body and Milk converted it into chi energy for Jin to use. At the same time, Milk was also using part of that mana to cast healing spells on Peppers preventing the body from overloading. Peppers did not realise Milk was that capable, especially when acting as such a conduit brought forth a high level of strain to her own body too. ¡°Do not give me that look Peps. I am after all trained in the mind and body. Leave it to me.¡± Milk winked at her as for the first time Peppers felt that Milk was like a reliable elder sister. ¡°Master, use the excess mana I am transferring via Milk to stop those lasers! I refuse to believe that it can sustain such a large attack for very long.¡± Peppers shouted as she hugged Milk tightly which made Jin smirk. ¡°It¡¯s rare that I get to see you this pumped up. I shall do as you bid Peppers.¡± Jin gave a one sided grin, as he channelled his new found chi energy through the The Great White Ice Wall of China. Chapter 285 Spiral Box Chapter 285 Spiral Box With Peppers¡¯ mana turned to chi, courtesy of Milk, Jin concentrated and placed all he had into the The Great White Ice Wall of China. The Titan Knight noticed that from the crevices of the icy wall, things started to emerge. After a while, tentacle looking ice tendrils slowly grew from the ice bricks and immediately flew towards the eyes of the Titan Knight. Their purpose was not to just to penetrate but also to mislead and confuse the knight as the tendrils moved in various angles and directions to damage the eyes. The Titan Knight did retaliate by trying to burn them down with its laser eye beams, but by doing so, it also allowed Jin¡¯s Great White Ice Wall of China to be reconstructed again with Peppers¡¯ mana. While the Titan Knight was distracted, Jin created a thin faint line of ice, similar to a small silk thread crawling towards the Titan Knight. Of course, Jin could not see through the great ice wall he had created. It had been with the aid of Grey¡¯s magic, who conjured a single demonic eye that overlooked the Great Ice Wall. ¡°How did you even do that?¡± Jin asked as he was trying to get used to controlling the single demonic eye floating quietly above the Great Ice Wall. ¡°I¡¯ve used this particular magic for scouting and to overlook our fields back in the farming world. I had to use it on a daily basis, so that eye spell became a part of me¡­ which also allowed me to continue guarding the area even when asleep. That is how I oversee my other werejackals in this current battle as well.¡± Grey said proudly as he showed the demonic eye above him to Jin. ¡°I was thinking¡­ Do you think it is possible it can combine with my magic?¡± Jin asked. Grey¡¯s reply was that they could only try to find out. Only through the demonic eye did Jin realise that the Titan Knight in front of them did not have a lower body. It only had a chest armour with various wires and metal parts protruding out at the bottom of its torso. Perhaps the sudden emergence of it caused everyone to focus on the fierce attacks it made more than its figure. That was also why Jin was trying to get that thin thread of ice into it. The ever growing thin ice thread made its way to the bottom of the torso and quietly climbed up the rugged set of armour. The demonic eye that was floating above the Great Ice Wall disappeared as Grey chanted it¡¯s magic, with a slight variation in the chanting hoping that it would allow it to combine with Jin¡¯s current ice magic. To the surprise of both of them, it worked and the thread that was moving around inside the rugged set of armour sprouted a small demonic eye near the tip of the thread. The eye allowed Jin to navigate the complex set of ch.i.p.sets and metal while leaving deposits of ice cubes with a small twist while multitasking the tendrils. Jin¡¯s new knowledge and understanding of Panda Black Fire and Panda White Ice increased after reading the cultivation manual when waiting for Lynn to be released from the police station. He learnt how to combine the Panda White Ice with Black Fire and having the appropriate proportions of each magic, the Black Fire could be ignited within the White Ice cube, causing an explosion. To achieve that, Jin needed to channel and compress a hell lot of chi energy of the Black Fire within the confines of the White Ice. Given time, the Black Fire would manifest within the White Ice cube, and subsequently absorb the chi of White Ice. The moment the Black Fire completely absorbed the White Ice cube, it would explode. The Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation manual called this particular technique the ¡°Ying Yang Compression Spiral Box¡±. With ¡®unlimited¡¯ chi energy Jin dared to create this technique on the fly even though it was his first time doing so. The ice threads continued to move forward and upward depositing these spiral boxes in the Titan Knight as it was busy fighting against the tentacle ice tendrils. In the meantime, there was another fight going on behind the great Wall since Peppers¡¯ gravity well brought the remaining crawlers towards her before the Titan Knight shot out its laser beam of supposed death. What Team Mino and Team Jacks did not realise was that crashing those robot crawlers was not accomplishing anything even though the System was continually capturing them after defeating them. Jin¡¯s previous upgrade of his capturing method allowed all of the humanoid robots and robot crawlers to be obtained the moment they were defeated. Yet, there was still no end in sight as the numbers of robot crawlers were not diminishing even though it was apparent the Titan Knight was not producing any extra. Werejackal Brown subsequently noticed it was too strange and decided to revert into full werejackal form instead of constantly switching forms as they had been doing for the past 10 minutes to see if there was anything that they had been missing. In full werejackal form, his senses were heightened and coincidentally, he became aware of a silhouette that seemed invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. It blended quite well within the abyssal darkness around them, but Brown quickly took that chance to take a hatchet axe he was equipped with and threw it at that direction. *Clunk* The sound reverberation from the hatchet axe was slow, but it was apparent that the axe disappeared too even when Brown focused in that direction. ¡°There must be something there, I am sure of it!¡± Since Brown managed to confirm its existence and was not hallucinating, he now switched his form back to half-human, ready to cast fireball as trained by Grey. However, that ¡®something¡¯ felt the axe hit and responded accordingly as Brown casts his fireball. ¡°¡­into a mass of fiery hope! Fireball!¡± Brown shouted but before the sphere of burning mass could leave his hand, it was cut into two by some invisible force which, in turn, sliced Brown¡¯s arm away too. Brown was momentarily in a shock, but sufficient battle experience made him return to werejackal form immediately as he leapt backwards before he saw a robot looking arachnid come out from the abyssal depths removing its invisibility cloak function. ¡°Aha ha ha¡­Guess I made it really angry.¡± Brown noticed that its axe hatchet was stuck onto one of its robotic eyes as it screamed loudly with mechanical sounds. Right below the body of the robotic arachnid, even more robot crawlers were falling out of it as if the robotic arachnid was giving birth to many newborn spiderlings. The scream from the robotic mother arachnid made the little robot crawlers even more aggressive which upset the current war of attrition between minotaurs and werejackals. ¡°Shit!¡± Jin noticed the change but he was too occupied with the Titan Knight. The bellators could not move a single inch too as they were currently acting as the mana to chi conduit for Jin. ¡°Team Mino and Team Jacks! WORK TOGETHER! Fall back! Form a defensive parameter with minotaurs in front!¡± ¡°System! Summon Moloch out here now!¡± Jin ordered and within a second, Moloch appeared right in front of Jin holding on to the Tact Tweak. ¡°You read my mind Moloch.¡± Jin gave a faint smile as he continued to concentrate with the Great Ice Wall and depositing miniature spiral boxes in the Titan Knight. Moloch pulled out a chair with magic and sat down holding the Tact Tweak. ¡°Team Mino and Team Jacks. I will be your interim commander. FIRM UP!¡± Chapter 286 Torture Chapter 286 Torture ¡°15¡­16 hmmm a total of 18 classes only? Did I underestimate this raid group?¡± Kraft counted the number of highly talented adventurers that he and the Deep Ones had captured based on the System¡¯s recommendation. The battlefield was a bloody mess. A literal bloody mess. The Deep Ones spared no mercy to any adventurer in the raid group. The sudden strike and awe were very effective for breaking the adventurers¡¯ standard group formations, and many of the Deep Ones managed to kill before going down. This was naturally because of Mr Derpy. His enchantments benefitted the Deep Ones greatly, such as drastically changing the sandy terrain to a muddy one that allowed his minions to maneuver fast with their webbed feet but dampened the adventurer¡¯s movement. The Deep Ones even offered captured adventurers as tributes on a makeshift altar, which allowed Mr Derpy to further enhance the Deep Ones with magical buffs to their strength and endurance stats. He even cast wide area of effect curses that were unblockable by the mages and clerics as his magic came from another world. The priest and clerics could not demystify and purify any of the mass curses due to either lack of time, lack of experience, or maybe lack of arms. (Since the Deep Ones loved arms as snacks.) The longer this Elder God stayed in the skies to govern the battlefield, the more despair the adventurers were showing which indirectly powered Mr Derpy even further. ¡°Despair! You pieces of breathing flesh, who lived only by hope will now die by despair!¡± Mr Derpy¡¯s voice thundered, and some adventurers who were at the backlines started to run away from the current battlefield. ¡°Hahaha oh Derpy, you do have some cheesy lines, but there is indeed some truth to it.¡± Kraft laughed while holding on to his belly. ¡°Especially when despair is like a drug. It lulls the mind into a state of indifference that you can do nothing to prevent it.¡± Kraft said as he commanded Evon back before shooting it at another hunter adventurer on the hand. The hunter suddenly dropped his bow and started foaming while shaking his head violently which allowed the Deep Ones to pierce him easily. ¡°What kind of bullshit is this!?!?! This is not what was written on the bounty board!¡± A mage adventurer started to run alongside an assassin class adventurer, an advanced thief class via the borders of the ruins. The assassin did not say anything to his companion, but immediately stopped the mage adventurer from running the moment he sensed killing intent. An arrow flew forward, but the assassin managed to parry it with his katar before retaliating by throwing a poison knife towards that same direction. The mage adventurer decided to help too, but before she could cast her magic fully, she suddenly felt a stab from behind her when the assassin was occupied. The assassin looked back and saw a spear poking out of the mage¡¯s garb and through the centre of her chest, barely missing the heart, courtesy of Piercestriker. Slashreaver did not waste any time by instantly cutting the mage¡¯s head off with his sword as the goblins knew that mages with their heads attached were troubling foes. They babbled out too much magic back in the Goblin World causing mass destruction, hence removing the head was the most effective way to stop a mage from chanting. The Assassin then realised that there were at least three goblin foes he had to fight against, but he did not know that these three goblins were not the same goblins from this world. Him underestimating them brought forth his downfall as he sped forward, doing a kill and dash technique he learnt as an assassin. Unfortunately, both Slashreaver and Piercestriker blocked the katar attacks, and Piercestriker even tripped the assassin with his spear, causing him to fall embarrassingly. With the assassin¡¯s back facing them, Ripcaller simply shot two arrows simultaneously onto the assassin¡¯s neck, crippling him instantly. The other two goblins did not hesitate to plunge their weapons repeatedly into his body before dragging him and the mage¡¯s body away from that site. Meanwhile, Ripcaller hid himself near a series of tall but broken pillars and used a cape doused with wet sand and mud to camouflage himself while looking out for any stragglers. That assassin was the tenth adventurer they managed to catch for looting purposes. It looked like the cultivator fights in complex forest terrain in Goblin Forest Instance taught them a lot in terms of ambushing. As the battlefield started to get quieter, Kraft entered into the replicated room of Jin¡¯s consciousness in Jin¡¯s Terrace House with the eighteen adventurers he had caught. (The room did enlarge by itself as more adventurers were being brought in!) The adventurers were tied down with chains at a corner of the room and with a clap by Kraft, a bloodied wooden table appeared in the middle of the room. He first dragged Hark the Lord Knight and leader of Hocus Pocus to the table. Hark tried his very best to struggle but the chains became even tighter as he struggled, not to mention, he was not able to cast any instant spell as his magic powers was not working. ¡°Sorry mate for disappointing you.¡± Kraft still had his mask on as he effortlessly lifted Hark onto the bloodied wooden table. The chains that were binding Hark released and realigned themselves causing Hark to be tied to the table. ¡°Ah, I missed this table. So many memories¡­¡± Kraft had a gentle smile on him as he slid his fingers along the rough edges of the table, before he opened one of its cabinets. It was a small metal hammer with a wooden shaft, which he used to knock at Hark¡¯s armour. The armour immediately came off, leaving Hark in his undergarment and the armour reassembled itself at the side of the room being hanged up on a mannequin. His belt came off too and with it, a bag of holding. These items were the Dungeon World¡¯s version of something like Jin¡¯s storage ring. Kraft opened it with his magical hammer, and he looked inside of the bag. ¡°Wow. So much money. and rare, unique loots too. Hey, did you guys know that your boss is hoarding all the good stuff for himself?¡± Kraft casually took out a few items, which made Hark squeal under the chains that were covering his mouth. ¡°Did you say I can have it? How nice of you!¡± Kraft¡¯s delighted expression caught Hark off guard for a moment before he suddenly heard three loud bangs. For some reason, he did not feel any pain¡­ only to see the same pink champagne coloured fox licking his face. While Hark was unable to understand what exactly Kraft was doing to him, the adventurers at the corner were horrified, petrified and stupefied. Two black foxes were essentially biting and chewing away at their leader¡¯s innards, and he was not screaming at all. In the contrary, his face seemed to suggest that he was somehow enjoying this treatment. Tsu and Kai were feasting not only on his intestines, but also absorbing the magical energy of the Hocus Pocus leader. Kraft let them enjoy their meal, until they stopped for a moment to look up to him. At this point, there was nothing stopping him from extracting every memory of Hark¡¯s life. Kraft took out a three pin skull fixation device and attached it to the table before drilling holes to hold on to Hark¡¯s head. Hark was not feeling anything, in fact, he was feeling extremely high from all of Evon¡¯s licking. In the meantime, Kraft took a syringe that had a very long needle and slowly inserted into his head, gathering some fluid while chanting away foreign words that the adventurers at the side did not understand, making them even more afraid. Upon having reached 666 ml of fluid, Kraft stopped, discarded the needle in a bin beside the table and placed the syringe with a stopper on it in a suitcase that had a foam filling for 17 other syringes. The foxes stopped what they were doing and came down from the table while the chains gradually wrapped Hark up before teleporting him elsewhere. He would return him back to the dungeon world, but no one ever said anything about the ¡°where¡±. ¡°So¡­Who¡¯s next?¡± Kraft placed his hands at the back with a peaceful amiable smile towards the seventeen other adventurers, many whom had started to cry, beg and even piss on the floor from witnessing Hark¡¯s procedure. ¡°What has been seen cannot be unseen¡­ well it could be forgotten. Depending on how much you wish to cooperate it could be over quicker or slower. Whatever the case, I assure you it is painless¡­ at least for me~heh heh!¡± Kraft had waited some time before adding to his last sentence. He enjoyed the look on their faces. Giving some hope only to turn it to despair¡­ He casually grabbed hold on the chains of a female hunter like he was choosing apples in the supermarket and the procedure started all over again. Chapter 287 Robot Arachnid Moloch''s man puppet''s head drooped down. Instead, the minotaur puppet, who was always lazy, stood up and sat on the back of the man puppet''s head. The man puppet automatically raised his two hands with the Tact Tweak on it towards his head, and Moloch started analysing the urgent situation that Jin ordered him to resolve. In the meantime, Jin continued to focus his attack against the Titan Knight who still repeatedly shot the tendrils. "Fanatic Minotaurs! Shield up and set the outer defensive parameter!" Moloch commanded and immediately set a series of tower shield upgrade cards out. Tens of shields magically emerged and dropped right in front of the fanatic Minotaurs to grab. However, instead of using them to defend against blows when setting the defensive parameter, the fanatics used them as if they were blunt weapons by bashing or smashing the robot crawlers while the rest retreated to form a defensive formation. It was not that the minotaurs or werejackals learnt or performed any drills for these defensive formations, but it was the unique ability of Tact Tweak. It influenced the monsters that were registered in the System and gave them the ability to follow commands through a single swipe or a tap of a finger (or in Moloch''s case, cotton hoofs.) and therefore allowed complex formations to be followed unless the monsters themselves expressed strongly opinionated thoughts against the commands. Such ideas would pop up like a message as a consideration at the side of Tact Tweak screen. But for now, Moloch found that the ''defence in depth'' defensive tactic was the best he could adopt since both Team Mino and Team Jacks were caught off guard by the Robotic Arachnid. Next, Moloch gave two sentry gun upgrade cards to the cowboy Minotaurs. He commanded two fanatic minotaurs to act as the tower support while the cowboy Minotaurs stood on them and placed the bipod of the sentry gun on their head and horns. Once stable, they immediately fired at the far reaching robot crawlers and with the support of the Fanatic minotaurs, it felt like the cowboy minotaurs were on live chariot running around shooting at the robot crawlers. However, Moloch explicitly stated not to attack or provoke the Robotic Arachnid as much as possible because her patterns of attack were still unknown. It might be too much trouble for the groups that were still rallying against the onslaught of robot crawlers. After ordering his cowboys, he turned to the werejackals and gave them the upgrade card Firestorm. Although the werejackals were not exactly mages, a collective group chant and their knowledge of fireball from Grey made them the next best candidate aside from Peppers who was on site. Grey took the lead by starting the chanting, which created a magical circle rotating around him. The rest of the werejackals followed by stepping into the circle reciting parts of the chant to compliment the chant made by Grey. Moloch figured that if he could make the Minotaurs buy enough time for the werejackals to cast their magic, it should provide sufficient devastating powers against the robotic arachnid instead of using his Trump card. Moloch later controlled his battle maids to protect the werejackals where most were in their half human form summoning the reinforced mass firestorm spell. Half human half werejackal gave them a stronger sense of concentration which they did conjure the spell circle splendidly. But the robot crawlers were able to detect sizeable magical presence from them right away. Not able to even touch or interrupt the magical chanting due to the constant defending of Team Mino, the robot crawlers communally sent an SOS to their Robotic Arachnid. The motherly arachnid did not hesitate to act upon receiving their plea and sounds as creaking and parts turning were heard at the top of her robotic body. Moloch used the binoculars function on the Tact Tweak to monitor mother arachnid''s location and he sensed movement from it. "Shit! Are those¡­ launchers? The ones that fire magical explosive javelins from a long distance similar to someone I knew?" Moloch did learn that humans and even some advanced monster species had developed some form of projectile technology that shared the same characteristic of a missile but something faster than that. The thought of those missiles made him panic though it was not shown on his stoic plushie face. He quickly called upon Niu Lang via the Tact Tweak. Niu Lang was holding a makeshift shield and sickle, complimentary of the werejackals, as he received his orders. (Niu Lang helped them out at times in their farms in their own home instance.) The boy smiled widely and with a blow of his magical horn, Mechataur materialised right in front of him before it grabbed Niu Lang to put him into his cockpit. Even though the Mechataur was still rather damaged after the fight against the Dungeon Core''s Guardian in the previous battle, it managed to recover with the help of Niu Lang. He had been diligently reading on the blueprints of the Mechataur and assisted in the repairs of Mechataur with whatever daily metal that the System provided it as free food. It was not perfect, hell it was not passable in Mechataur''s eyes, but it could sense the passion Niu Lang the Cowherd had when he did the emergency repairs. (Separately, Mechataur did have fond memories of him and Zhi Nu working passionately. It remembered waking up and seeing Niu Lang asking Zhi Nu the Battle Weaver to use her celestial strings to prop Mechataur''s legs up so that he could adjust the soles. Niu Lang could have just asked Mechataur to lie down but he was too embarrassed.) The Mechataur started up with Niu Lang''s special horn, and without hesitation, it also began to creak as his shoulder plates opened up. As expected the Robotic Arachnid fired those explosive javelins that were similar to pulses of light and the Mechataur''s retaliation missile fire could not intercept all of them in time, causing injury to the defensive formation that Moloch tried to set up. However, those retaliation missiles killed more than half of the robot crawlers but could not deal a scratch to the Robotic Arachnid. After the smoke was lifted, it revealed an energy barrier projected around the mother arachnid to protect itself. Many of the minotaurs, especially the battle maids were injured by the barrage of explosive javelins, notwithstanding the werejackals. It was all thanks to Mer who created an overarching ice barrier to protect the werejackals, but the damage was injuring his mana circuits as he tried to repair the ice barrier from the explosive javelins. Even Mechataur tried its best to shield the ice barrier, but no doubt only managed to block a hit or two. "¡­And thus, the skyless dark night shall pelt down the fury of our hearts!" Grey finished chanting as he pointed upwards. With mana burning visible from his eyes, Grey''s index finger was lowered to the direction of the Robot Arachnid. "FIRESTORM!!!" The mass of werejackals echoed so loudly that even the Titan Knight could have heard it. The magic circle disappeared from beneath them, and a few werejackals went on their knees panting. A spiralling vortex of space manipulation was opening above the robotic arachnid and an orangey red dusty cloud came into existence. In no time, it began sprouting a ball of fire which the robotic arachnid defended with ease¡­ at first. The ball of fire was not the only one of its kind, and more comets of burning flames rained down upon him. They multiplied as time went by to the point that the robotic arachnid started to pour more resources into the energy barrier and had to reduce the number of robot crawlers coming out. However, it was not the end. Moloch knew that this was the opportunity he was looking for. "Mechataur do a full heavy arms blast, unleash everything!" Moloch commanded, but Mechataur was somewhat hesitant. Due to the damage, it was afraid it would be broken to the point of no repair. "Trust in Lord Moloch, in Master Jin and me. I will make sure to bring you back every time you fall my buddy." Niu Lang said as he gripped onto the controls tightly. "Heh, you better upgrade me well." The Mechataur sneered as it communicated back to Niu Lang via its electronic systems. The Mechataur struggled to remove the limit breaker as it forced open all the weaponry slots it had and it stared at the Robotic Arachnid intensely. "FIRE AWAY!" Both Mechataur and Niu Lang shouted simultaneously as beams of energy, rotating Gatling guns and dozens of missiles flew to the direction of the Robotic Arachnid. Being unable to move from the bombardment of the firestorm, the Robotic Arachnid senses went over the top crazy as it first saw the energy beams melting the barrier causing holes in it. Thus making it impossible for the Arachnid to cover it in time as many missiles penetrated through the barrier and eventually, the continuous explosions damaged the Arachnid feeble metal body. The Firestorm finally broke through and burned the entire spider body before it disappeared into oblivion. (Well, technically the System caught it. Teehee!) Chapter 288 Titan Knigh Chapter 288 Titan Knigh With the Robotic Arachnid destroyed, each and every robot crawler stopped working. At the same time, the Titan Knight also ran out of juice and stopped shooting his laser beams. Jin made use of this opportunity he had been struggling for by forcing all ice tendrils to pierce the mechanical eyes and into the mainframe of the Titan Knight¡¯s head. The Titan Knight bellowed as it tried to break the ice tendrils apart. Jin finally let go of the Great Ice Wall he had maintained for quite some time. Exhausted, he fell to the ground along with Milk and Peppers. ¡°Why does it feel like this scene is so familiar?¡± Jin experienced a d¨¦j¨¤ vu going through him, but he couldn¡¯t care less with his fatigue hitting him hard on his head. Separately, Moloch looked at the Titan Knight, who was furious at the loss of his creation and tried to ¡®float¡¯ towards the group of monsters that caused all this mess. Though it could no longer see them, he had other sensors making him able to perceive their location. Moloch demanded everyone to sit down and to enjoy the show. Both Team Mino and Team Jacks were unaware what exactly was going on, but they listened to Moloch without question. In the meantime, Moloch commanded Sebastia and Yem to look after Jin and his bellators. Sebastia, being the overall head of battle maids, had learned basic healing skills, though she could see that Jin, Peppers and especially Milk were all drained mentally rather than having physical wounds. She tried to cast a few healing spells but it was to no avail. It did however make sure that those 3 were still conscious and wouldn¡¯t faint in the middle of the battle. The Titan Knight could not compute why the group of monsters was not running away from him at all. Shouldn¡¯t they run in the face of such perilous danger? Perhaps they finally comprehended that it was futile defying it. The logic cycle in the Titan¡¯s brain did not care and continued to press forward in an attempt to annihilate the entire group. However, as it tried to raise its arm, there was a loud explosive noise coming from within the Titan Knight. In an instant, the exploding noise was of a successive nature, of which some were visible for the group of monsters to see. The explosion of black fire was burning brightly especially through the crevices of the titan¡¯s broken armour, causing it to be exposed for the monsters to exploit. Yet Moloch did not give any order, so the monsters just kept quiet and rested as they watched the titan fall to pieces. The arm joints of the Titan Knight were thoroughly broken from the hidden explosives, and its coolant system could not keep up with so many fire incidents. The inability to cope with the fire enabled it to spread wildly throughout the entire body. The sword arm that it attempted to raise fell endlessly into the dark abyss as the pieces were brought down by the spread of fire. The black Titan Knight roared but it could not do anything else since the robot crawlers were killed and its eyes have been pierced. There were other offensive tricks up its sleeve, but Jin had deposited a sufficient amount of spiral boxes inside of the Titan Knight to cripple it to the point of no return. ¡°If I might say, this is a 4 out of 10.¡± Peppers blurted out, as she was lying down on Sebastia¡¯s leg. Jin who was unfortunately on Yem¡¯s manly (and flurry not fluffy, mind you) lap pillow felt disappointed. ¡°But it¡¯s the destruction that counts, isn¡¯t it? I placed a lot of effort into it!¡± Jin tried to win back some more points from Peppers¡¯ critical review of his explosions. ¡°Forget it Master. Peppers¡¯ deduction is based on superficial results. I could feel the amount of concentration and effort when I channelled the chi energy into you.¡± Milk sneered while her eyes were still closed, lying on the ground. No male minotaur dared to touch her because¡­of them being reasonably sensitive to her¡­erm¡­body. ¡°Why you stupid two mountain full of fats, my results are definitely not superficial!¡± Peppers pouted as she tried to get up from Sebastia¡¯s lap to kick Milk who was still lying on the ground. Yet Milk did not care, since she was too tired, as well as the fact that the force behind Peppers¡¯ attack was more for show. As the Titan Knight subsequently disappeared (also captured by the System), it brought the abyssal darkness to a stop, causing the two groups to clap and cheer at their victory. Some of the werejackals were thanking the minotaurs for protecting them as they cast the fireball. The minotaurs were a bit too prideful though they knew when a compliment should be given. If not for the werejackals impactful firestorm, they might still be swatting spiders. Some of the werejackals also went to console Niu Lang since Mechataur shut down after unleashing a full attack against the spider matriarch. Mechataur went into standby mode, and Niu Lang knew it would stay a scrap of metal until he fixed his friend. Others continued to congratulate for a job well done. Even Grey was one of them, as he walked towards Sebastia with his hand extended out. ¡°It was a decent fight.¡± Grey said with a bit of blush as he looked away into the distance, but Sebastia, who had forcefully returned Peppers to her lap, returned the handshake. ¡°It was a so-so fight. Could¡¯ve been better if you cast faster.¡± Sebastia taunted Grey and surprisingly he swallowed it well, took that as advice to improve better. Eventually, the walkway which initially crumbled down into the abyss returned back to normal, and the whole place was empty with the group¡¯s laughter until they heard footsteps from afar. Even though both the minotaurs and werejackals were tired from the previous fight, they would do anything to protect their current master. Claws up, horns to the front and yet¡­ surprisingly it was actually Sandy and the rest of Team Enlightened, alongside the zombies. Jin realised they all were laughing happily as if they had had a good time fighting together, making the minotaurs and werejackals slightly curious about what had happened. Surely nothing could trump the defeat of something like the titanic knight? Upon closer inspection, Jin discovered that Zeru was holding on to a relatively large colourful snail shell¡­? ¡°What are you holding there, Zeru?¡± Jin asked, a bit confused and Zeru laughed as he placed the shell down from his shoulders. ¡°It is a long story but¡­I think this could potentially be the defunct dungeon core and its master.¡± Zeru replied as he inserted his hand into the shell, pulling out a slug which seemingly was entangled with wires. Some of those may even have fused with it. ¡°Okay! Okay! Don¡¯t pull me any more or I will die!!¡± The slug begged for forgiveness, but Zeru did not play along with him and tore off one of his wires, which caused him to wail in pain. ¡°I am sorry! I am sorry for creating trouble for you and your friends!¡± The slug continued to cry and tears of diamonds dropped from his tear ducts. The voice sounded a bit familiar, though Moloch was unable to recall where he heard it exactly. ¡°What kind of monster is this?¡± Jin asked and Moloch who took a closer look and realised it was something he saw before. ¡°Wait¡­aren¡¯t you Duke Wolte? The once rumoured ¡°Destroyer of Worlds¡±? ¡­Well, towns actually, the demons loved to spread terribly bad rumours. I thought King Baal ordered your complete and utter annihilation? How did you even managed to be in here?¡± Moloch looked at the greenish looking slug with mutilated teeth around his rounded lips. The neon green slug demon who heard the word Wolte immediately looked up at the puppet. ¡°Viscount Moloch? Why¡­wait what are YOU doing here?! How dare you insult me when you yourself have been reduced to an ugly looking plushie! No that¡¯s beside the point! Are you planning to take me down under the orders of King Baal! I will not stand down in this cas-ow ow ow ow!¡± Zeru threatened to pull more of its wires out of Wolte. ¡°It looks like this one has a story to tell too.¡± Moloch laughed as Jin felt another wave of D¨¦j¨¤ vu coming through him once more. Chapter 289 Crown of Beyond Depravity Chapter 289 Crown of Beyond Depravity Moloch explained his own situation to Duke Wolte, who listened under the mercy of Zeru. Only afterwards did Wolte relax himself enough to look at Jin with a perplexed expression with his limited slug face muscles. ¡°So to sum it up: You are now working for that human from another dimension over there?¡± Wolte slurred as he spoke. ¡°I know why you would be sceptical, but looking back, I have to admit, that this kind of relationship has been rather mutually beneficial. If anyone stands a chance of defeating King Baal, I think Jin here has more of a fighting chance compared to any other demon or adventurer I have known.¡± Moloch clarified before looking at him. ¡°What has actually happened to you, Duke Wolte? I don¡¯t remember you being a slug at all.¡± Moloch stifled his laugh, and the slug seemed somewhat depressed. ¡°As you might have guessed, it all started when King Baal became obsessed. But it was not due to his wealth nor his power. It was because of the Crown of Beyond Depravity.¡± Wolte replied, and only Moloch and his minotaurs understood what that was. Seeing the confused faces of all other people, especially Moloch¡¯s new master Jin, Wolte decided to explain a bit on that: ¡°It is an item made from a defunct Dungeon Core mixed with multiple rare high grade metals, which high ranking blacksmiths had to sacrifice their lives for to create that crown. But that crown was mostly harmless, simply increasing his powers without any known side effects. That is until Marquis Kiva, the Ravenous Lord Demon of Hunger presented him an ancient gem he found in the depths of his desolate family tomb. It was meant to be a tribute. A simple show of loyalty as well as a nice finishing touch for the crown.¡± Wolte continued. ¡°Shortly after he received that gem it changed him. It started consuming King Baal¡¯s logic and harness his greed. It increased his possessiveness in regards to material items, land and power. Before I rebelled, some whispered, that King Baal was secretly creating an army of loyal subjects capable of using the massive power he is currently wielding.¡± Wolte looked even more depressed than before. Even though he was to be executed, it seemed the slug was genuinely concerned for his King. ¡°As a loyal subject, I was naturally worried. But when I voiced my opinion and suggested that the crown should be adequately examined as a precautionary measure King Baal refused adamantly. At the time Marquis Kiva was on site. That cowardly bastard even advised the King to be careful against dissidents. King Baal in return agreed and wanted to issue a royal decree concerning the execution of disloyal people the very next day. Marquis Kiva had even dared to object to this, trying to influence the King into issuing it that very day. Unable to challenge the authority of the King, I challenged Marquis Kiva to a duel. After all that silver glibed oversized chicken was only mighty with his words, so I thought I could crush him with my overwhelming strength. Who would have known he was crafty enough, to turn my words around making it seem as if I were challenging King Baal. I unwillingly fought against King Baal. ¡­ we both know, that he should have stood no chance against me. It should have been impossible since I was his High General. I was also the one who taught him how to fight. But this time was different. The king had granted me the honour to spar with him many times, so I was familiar with his strength and his power was unbelievable. Two? Three? Heck maybe even five times stronger than me at that moment.¡± Wolte grumbled and complained about the past, but the rest just listened to it like a bedtime story. ¡°So erm¡­want to join up with us?¡± Moloch who had nearly fallen asleep from the ramblings, had nearly forgotten about their objective. ¡°You have not answered my question yet! How exactly did you find me? I have been exiled as a ¡®last mercy¡¯ as he called it. But officially I should been pronounced dead!¡± Wolte snarled. He had wanted to fight against King Baal in his own way. Wolte found this defunct core by chance when he was running away from the demons that were chasing after him. He did not know, whether the King had changed his mind, or if that damn bird was behind it, but it mattered little. Duke Wolte never realised that this particular dungeon core was partially defunt. When presented with the chance he immediately accepted, turning him into the new master, allowing him to recreate a dungeon fortress of his own. In return, the core became a part Wolte. Unfortunately it made him into the slug before them. Nevertheless the dungeon core delivered, what it had promised. Through it Wolte was able to raise an army of his own. He used the bodies of the adventurers and monsters, using their essences as power to function his very own robot slave army. He hoped that one day he would be able to properly rebel against King Baal. If possible he wished to wake him up from the control of Marquis Kiva. ¡°It may sound dumb, but it was purely coincidental. My maids found this place that supposedly had a defunct core. That is why we came here. Also I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Kiva is no longer merely a Marquis. That fat raven head had recently been promoted. He is now an Archduke and the personal aide to King Baal himself.¡± Moloch gave Wolte the latest information he had received, before he decided to change sides to Jin. ¡°That much is no big surprise. Oh well, I mean, you defeated my entire army of robot slaves, hence I am technically under the mercy of you, human.¡± Wolte stared at Jin, who accidentally fell asleep from exhaustion. ¡°OEI YOU PATHE-Ow ow ow ow ow¡± Zeru once again pulled the reins to control Wolte when he wanted to insult the human. ¡°It will be painless and it will guarantee you joining us.¡± Zeru gave him a small warning, before he plunged his wooden sword into Wolte without any hesitation. The defunct core disappeared along with Wolte and the dungeon ruins ceased to exist. The once broken ruins became even more bare, with the ruins chambers changing into an empty underground tunnel made out of rock and soil. ¡°Do you want me to wake Jin up?¡± Milk asked Zeru who was after all considered as Jin¡¯s master. ¡°Let¡¯s bring him to the dungeon maker. I believe the System has a sleeping capsule that can allow him to sleep all he wants.¡± Zeru suggested, until Kraft came into the picture. ¡°Or we could let him sleep until morning. I have a very nice room in mind.¡± Kraft smirked, but his suggestion was met with frowns from bellators and monsters except for Zeru. ¡°Hmm. That could actually be good practice for him.¡± Zeru thought for a while before giving his opinion, knowing Kraft¡¯s craftiness. ¡°Oh? So you approve of the High Intensity Mode by the System?¡± Kraft was surprised that Zeru cordially agreed to his haphazard plan since he actually meant it as a half-joke. ¡°Yes, it might be the pushing factor for him to go up another Grade up quickly. It might be painful but if he can finish the dungeon in that mode, he can master his techniques faster. With the Zodiac Rats coming into the picture, its best to push him towards the realm of Grade 10 as soon as possible so he can properly utilise your training of the subconscious.¡± Zeru concluded and Kraft laughed. ¡°I thought I was evil¡­ but you Zeru. You are the monster here. Never thought being a teacher to someone would make you show so much ¡®love¡¯ for your disciple. Fine I will gladly prepare the ¡®room¡¯.¡± Kraft commented and bowed as he left abruptly once more. ¡°What is this high intensity mode you guys were talking about?¡± Peppers had not heard of it before neither did Milk. Zeru opened a portal courtesy of Yun and allowed the monsters to return to rest first, leaving the two bellators behind. ¡°The System has a mode that duplicates yourself into two, three and many more. But all in all, they are but a part of you.¡± Zeru said as he opened another portal that brought them back to the terrace house with Jin in Milk¡¯s arms while Peppers held on to Bam in Katana form. ¡°Hahaha, That sounds like one of the techniques like that show currently airing on TV, Maruto.¡± Peppers laughed as she copied the pose Maruto always did when he summoned his clones out. ¡°You are not wrong nor entirely right. The System duplicates him into multiple copies, allowing him to do tasks separately, but all of those copies are also part of him. If you damage or say, amputate his right hand off, all of his copies will have the sensation of him losing his arms. The more copies he has, the more emotions, pain and pleasure are going to be multiplied.¡± Zeru said which somehow made Milk show a repulsive look. ¡°Urgh, imagine if he abused it and used it to create a circle of playmates.¡± Milk explained her repulsiveness to Peppers and Zeru. ¡°I would not be surprised if he did that, after all the System ultimately needs him to reproduce so the Panda Clan can survive. However, I would also be not surprised if he does not.¡± Zeru somehow had a rather high confidence that Jin was not a player. In fact he was more afraid, that Jin would not take any action at all. ¡°If given the chance and opportunity, you think he would not do it?¡± Milk rolled her eyes as she grabbed onto the sleeping Jin a little harder as Peppers opened the door to Jin¡¯s room. ¡°Actual proliferation of User not allowed during high intensity mode. Substandard proliferation from copies is also not permitted.¡± System argued, and it made the bellators giggle a little before Milk placed him in his bed after casting a disinfect and clean spell on him. (Milk also gave him a bedtime kiss on the forehead, which later Peppers had to drag her out by the ear because she was giving Jin one too many bedtime kisses.) Chapter 290 High Intensity Mode Chapter 290 High Intensity Mode ¡°GAHHH! WHAT TIME IS IT!!!!¡± Jin, who was slowly waking up from his peaceful sleep, grabbed the phone from his pocket and looked at the time. Only to shockingly realise that it was already 6am. Only half an hour left, before Ku Wai would show up in the shop. ¡°Oh my god! Why am I still asleep?! Why didn¡¯t anyone force me to wake up?! Arggghhh! No time! No time at all!!¡± Jin quickly got up from his bed even though his muscles were telling him to stay in bed for longer. There was nobody to blame but himself for falling into exhaustion. However, Jin could not break the habit of basic hygiene and cleanliness for the morning, so he did his business in the toilet while brushing his teeth and talking to the System all at the same time. ¡°System mmm how long can you uuuuu force the time dilation in the Dungeon Maker?¡± ¡°5 hours and at most 6 hours given your current grade.¡± The System stated and Jin did the mental calculation in his brain of the average amount of time he needed to create the dungeon in time and still think that it was not enough time even if he barely made it for the 8am deadline. Jin could technically give Yang Ling the Tiger Princess a substandard work since it was free. However, after further consideration, Jin felt that Yang Ling was pinning all her hopes on him to clinch this particular project. To be honest, it was not his problem whether she could win the hearts and minds of those military nutheads, but Yang Ling did help him with the police issue. If she had such power, it would be in his best interest to let her keep or improve her influence, especially when going against the Ruby Rats. ¡°System, any other way to increase the time dilation? I really need more time!¡± Jin splashed his face with water to rinse the soap and remnant toothpaste foam away. ¡°High Intensity Mode.¡± The System spoke through his phone and Jin had no idea what was that at all. ¡°How much more time can I have with high intensity mode?¡± Jin did not probe the System further about the high intensity mode since he was running out of time. Thank goodness with the revamp of the Terrace House, he could teleport anytime into his shop. ¡°The duration depends on the User¡¯s ability to stay focused. You can go up to 50 hours. Exceeding 60 hours is highly inadvisable even you were able to hold on. Should the User experience too much of a backlash System may be forced to expel him for safety reasons.¡± System replied, and Jin did not hesitate to accept it as he entered the Dungeon Maker. ¡°Turn it on!¡± Jin ordered and without further ado, the System immediately struck a lightning bolt out of nowhere on him. Not once. Not twice. But EIGHT times. Jin gritted his teeth as he handled each lightning bolt with maximum tolerance. The first strike wasn¡¯t so bad but the second and subsequent ones were getting so painful he nearly felt like puking and felt that he was slowly losing his mind. When the lightning bolts stopped, Jin realised that his consciousness was a mess as if he was seeing multiple things at the same time. Only then he saw other copies of himself with Kraft coming forward from the side. ¡°This is the ability of high intensity mode. Each copy here is also part of you, and yet you can do separate things if you put your head to it.¡± Kraft snapped his finger and Jin suddenly remembered the basic subconscious training that Kraft had induced into him. Jin imagined himself into the subconscious room, that empty black room with two chairs and a hanging lightbulb. With his own original self in his subconscious, he sat down and started to separate his orders on what to do. The Dungeon Maker helped to facilitate the other eight copies of Jin and created the exact same interfaces which allowed all nine Jins to work simultaneously on the project. The original Jin had no time to give names or whatsoever so he just named his clones, Jin 2, Jin 3 and so on. ¡°Jin 2, start by creating the basic layout of the dungeon. Jin 3, check the prices of the materials in the Dungeon Maker resources. Jin 4, analyse the stats of the robots, but start with the ones that look as human as possible, I want to use them in the dungeons. Jin 5, check the net for basic obstacle courses, Olympic training regimes, military fitness test and so forth. Jin 6, contact Patsu and Bear Cub One, their task is going to be to keep Ku Wai busy and later reach out to the Three Headed Bear from the Panda Weapon Store. Jin 7, assist Jin 6 by processing the blueprints from Yang Ling¡¯s USB. Jin 8 prepare the production of the prototype that Yang Ling passed to me erm us¡­ah, whatever. Jin 9 keep track of our dungeon dollars. I want a full report of our costs and earnings, especially how much we can salvage and act accordingly. Same deal as last time, bargain the shit out with the System when it sells them to the black market.¡± Original Jin commanded via the subconscious room. He himself decided to stay in the dungeon maker where he would assist Jin 2 in the creation of the dungeon. But before that, Original Jin had decided to make matters simpler for his subconscious controlling and things to proceed faster by creating number tags for each Jin. Like soccer players, he placed a sticker tag behind every Jin and made things less complicated for his original subconscious. As the work started, Original Jin felt his skull numbing away, the separate tasks that he needed to do with nine other Jins were probably utilising near to 100% of his brain power or so he thought. ¡°You are currently utilising only 34% of your total brain power. Cultivation Grade has an effect on how much User¡¯s brain can process as cultivation works similar to magic. With more Chi points opened, brain processing is higher but unfortunately proven that it is lesser than the way of magic.¡± System stated, and Jin heard it as a passing remark since he was too busy adjusting the layout that Jin 2 created. ¡°System, how much have we received from the entire raid?¡± Jin 9 asked. Before he got an answer he got interrupted by Kraft holding on to a haversack filled with bags of holding from the interrogation room. Behind him was Itori carrying an even larger knapsack that was full of various weapon and armour sets. The bag of holdings were each stained with different amounts of blood. Yet those were no different from what the System had obtained when the Deep Ones came by to pass all the loot they found from the battlefield. The Goblins also passed the items they robbed from the adventurers to the System. Nonetheless, it was not an issue since the contents of those bag of holdings were still intact. Kraft also stated that all the equipment would be sent to the Panda General store for cleaning and counting as the System provided a rough list of items brought back to Jin 9. They hauled everything they could steal and salvage before letting most of the adventurers die from their wounds. Jin 9 could only bitterly laugh at the pitiful situation those humans had to go through. He could imagine those Deep Ones pulling boots, gloves and maybe tearing pieces of armour from those adventurers before killing them. Jin 9 initially thought that the Deep Ones were only going to critically wound the enemies and leave them be while parading themselves under the glory of their Lord Derpy. He was pleasantly surprised that Derpy ordered them to salvage all the equipment on them for him to sell. ¡°There should be more than enough in here for you to go wild with your creation. I wish you fun, as I have some other things to attend to.¡± Kraft said as he waved goodbye to Jin 9. Just before he completely disappeared his head turned around: ¡°I nearly forgot. Zeru expects you to fully finished creating the dungeon. Try not to get crazy in here ¡­and don¡¯t you go talking to strange voices.¡± Chapter 291 Hu Yuan Ba "Mr Ku Wai, I see that you have arrived sooner than expected." Mr Patsu was there to entertain him early in the morning when Ku Wai entered the shop instance. "Is Boss Jin around?" Ku Wai asked the penguin politely, but Mr Patsu shook his head. "I can only assure you that Boss Jin is doing his best to create the trial dungeon with his maximum effort. This is after all, an urgent request, so Boss Jin needs more time than usual to craft it out." Mr Patsu replied. "Really? Is it possible to look for him? I mean dungeon making always requires a subject to try out the dungeon before releasing it. I do not mind entering the partial product to familiarise myself with the dungeon. That way I may be able to perform better for the demonstration." Ku Wai requested, but Mr Patsu bowed down and apologised. "I am sorry, honourable Ku Wai. I am afraid I cannot do that. Boss Jin instructed me, that at all times no one is to disturb him during the process of dungeon making. He would only come out when he considers it done and when he is satisfied with the result. To him, it is like a piece of painting. When he has the inspiration to draw something, he wants to keep to himself. You know as they always say, inspiration is just one step away from insanity. I think he does not want people to see how terrible he looks when he is creating it." Mr Patsu lied through his beak, but Ku Wai somehow understood. "Ahh, I get it. So he is similar to princess. Whenever she has an idea to test out, she will just lock herself up in the study room and work non stop until she has found a plausible solution. Her face after she get out from her study room¡­ Priceless. Those black bags under her eyes, messed up hair but with the expression of elation on her mouth. Although I wish she would take more care of her body." Ku Wai answered as he sat down near the Bar Island. Meanwhile, Bear Cub One brought out Chef Roro to serve Ku Wai as there was no one else able to tend to him at this hour. Yun was deadbeat from handling the store and so was Lynn after a day of satisfying work in the restaurant instance. Yun did bring Lynn back to Jin''s home and offered her a room, that was already created for her by the System on the first floor. As time passed, Ku Wai began to get a little bit agitated even though he went into his cultivation stance, while waiting for Boss Jin to appear. But Ku Wai knew how geniuses worked, so he placed his trust on Boss Jin, just this once since he was helpless anyways. ¡ª¡ª "Dad, you sure you want to come with me?" Yang Ling asked with a slightly terrified tone in her voice as she was sitting behind the car. "What''s wrong? You are making a deal with some military chumps that I know personally. You know, me being there could probably even help you a little." Hu Yuan Ba, the father of Yang Ling was personally driving her to Jin''s location. "You¡­never gave any attention to me at all and suddenly you do. In fact, you somehow became surprisingly friendly. I apologise for the rudeness, but I do not know what you are plotting, Father." Yang Ling said with her head down. Back when she was younger and not handicapped by her loss of cultivation, she was more rebellious. Her promising talent surpassed her brothers, but Yuan Ba did not acknowledge her at the least bit. "Let''s just say¡­I am curious what you can do with an outdated prototype. Are you able to change the minds of the military people without your use of Psionic Magic? I believe they already know of your abilities and came prepared for it too." Yuan Ba said as he made a turn through the traffic. "You knew?" Yang Ling started to create hypotheses on the fly. Was he the one who stole it? Impossible. He was less of a sneaky kind, and if he were to do it, he might have asked someone more proficient in taking it. Even so, where did that information leak out from? At the moment, only Ku Wai and her knew about this information¡­and well Jin too. But Jin would definitely have no contact with Yuan Ba. All possible theories but all she can say she was the only one to be blamed for creating these circumstances. "Not talking? Then, let me do the talking. Yes, as you might have conjectured, I am the one who stole it. A tiger must know how to stalk and kill its prey silently. I tend not to show that side to any of you guys since it''s a trick I learnt by myself." Yuan Ba answered her conundrum and yet she continued to keep her silence for a while before speaking. "So you want me to fail?" Yang Ling questioned bluntly and Yuan Ba snorted. "Let''s say it''s an added challenge. After all, you did manipulate the finances of the Triad for your own personal use. I am not saying it''s wrong or anything and I am still earning a decent sum of tribute from them. It''s just that you know, that money belongs to me. So technically, I own the item even though I ''stole'' it from you." Yuan Ba pointed out and Yang Ling was in no position for rebuttal. She had indeed been taking from the coffers of the Three Eyed Tiger Triad since her father allowed Yang Ling to manage that portion of his business. As the Ruby Rat Triad handled the casinos and entertainment industry in Shenzhen, The Three Eyed Triad had their hands in the shipping and trading industry. Porting of near illegal items were their speciality and it included merchandise such as collector''s items, medicine, research data, exotic cars and so on. Yang Ling revolutionised the Three Eyed Tiger Triad since they had the muscle and guts to prevent things from going wary and she had the connections from being one of the Twelve Royal Zodiac Family to enable such near illegal trades to happen. The money she brought in through her trades was thousands of times better than what the triad had been doing for the past decades. Yuan Ba saw her potential and initially let her rein the Triad a while longer. However, with time having passed there was still no change to the sum of tribute he had received. After some investigation, he had found out, that the excess money was used to further his daughter''s research and development. So as a lesson for secretly taking the money he should be receiving, Yuan Ba had decided to steal from her. Not to mention, Yuan Ba also scheduled another meeting with the military top brass right after hers in the same dungeon shop she was going for. Yuan Ba was going to make Yang Ling learn her lesson for stealing and underestimating her own father, he would let her have a taste of her own medicine. But ultimately, even a tiger wouldn''t eat its own cubs. Everything Yuan Ba was doing was for her sake, to prepare her against anything, even if she had to hate him for it. In fact, he was planning to use this as a test of her candidacy to be the successor of the Royal Zodiac Tiger. Yuan Ba''s own father used to do such tests to him and his siblings, which lead to him hating his own father. But only after he had taken over the position as Head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger did Yuan Ba realise, that each and every painful lesson was done in order to shape him into a great leader. He initially thought to change their ways, intending to be kinder towards his own children. Unfortunately, he started to see signs of Yang Ling''s elder brothers getting spoilt through the safe and luxurious environment they were placed in. Only Yang Ling had shown guts, brains and perseverance through adversity. This mindset was exactly why Yuan Ba found her worthy to become the next head. Nevertheless, without her cultivation and being handicapped it was hard for him to appoint her. She has to prove that she was worthy, otherwise her obvious weakness would only result in internal strife. Yuan Ba could only hope that such a trial like this would toughen her up more. "So if I can convince them in some way or another despite the obstacles you placed?" Yang Ling asked, now with burning anger in her eyes. "I will let you do as you please. I will continue to overlook the extra you make from your operation and will be contented with the tribute I have been receiving." Yuan Ba reached the place. In front of them, was in his opinion, a hideous looking Panda billboard. "What kind of dungeon supplier shop is this?" Yuan Ba felt like he was being insulted by the big billboard and decided to challenge it. Only to find himself¡­ flabbergasted. Chapter 292 Exhausted Jin "What kind of signboard is this?!" Yuan Ba was left gasping for air after sending his intimidating chi into the signboard. Instead of submitting or even breaking, the signboard had fought back with an even stronger aura of challenge that choked Yuan Ba. For a Grade 17 Royal Zodiac Tiger cultivator, nothing had been able to scare him nor challenge his authority in recent years, until now. "Is it that big of a deal?" Yang Ling came down from the car herself and wheeled towards the panting Yuan Ba, whose slightly frightened eyes gave away his disturbed mindset before reverting to his almighty prideful look. "You seem to underestimate the owner. Neither King''s Monster nor the select few dungeon suppliers that we contracted with, possess a signboard capable of challenging me to this extent. Who exactly is this dungeon supplier?" Yuan Ba was questioning Yang Ling with authority. She even detected faint traces of fear in his eyes. How was his daughter able to meet up with this dungeon supplier with such a signboard. ¡­ and a far better question was, how did their local family intelligence services fail to take note of someone so capable up until now. "He''s a ¡­an acquaintance." Yang Ling decided not to reveal too much. She knew that even if she didn''t say it right now, it was only a matter of time until her father gathered the information via his own means. As for now, it may be better to leave Jin''s background as a mystery to her old man. "Let''s hope the dungeon part will be able to bring out the best of the Gearbox technology¡­" Yang Ling silently prayed as several black SUVs appeared before her. Most of them were the various military procurement representatives and vendors that arrived right on time. The representatives were then exchanging greetings with Yuan Ba and ignored her completely, even though they should have come to watch her latest prototype. The only exception was the person, who was running to them from the train station and wiping his sweat away the moment he reached. "Ah, sorry Miss Hu. I''d like to apologise for being 1 minute and 39 seconds late." A slightly plump guy by the name of Ke Loong was trying to catch his breath. He was one of the CEOs of a young upcoming startup responsible for creating innovation in dungeon making technology. He was making millions by the day with his patents in the dungeon making technology. Recently, Ke Loong had decided to enter the military side of the business. Yang Ling called him in as a favour since he was always busy setting up his IPO for his company but to her surprise, he agreed almost immediately the moment he heard that she was going to Dungeons and Pandas for the demonstration. "It is okay. There are still a few vendors that have yet to appear as well. But for now, let''s not keep waiting out here. We can simply wait inside for them." Yang Ling suggested to the whole group. Ku Wai was already waiting at the side of the door to assist them in entering the dungeon supplier store. "Ahhh, so this is what Brother Know recommended, interesting set..HUH!." Ke Loong was thinking to himself after taking in the outside of the building, until he entered the store and was taken aback. It was practically empty with merely a few machines that had panda decorations on it. "What nonsense is this?! Are you trying to make fun of us, Miss Hu!!!" One of the military vendor representatives shouted seeing there was no reception and the place did not look like a dungeon supplier store at all. "What is going on, Ku Wai? Yang Ling?" Yuan Ba demanded an explanation which Ku Wai promptly provided. He even demonstrated step by step what everyone had to do, before disappearing. Everyone was at a loss for words. "HUH?! SHOP INSTANCE?! Quick, let me try it out!" Ke Loong was the first to imitate Ku Wai''s action and the result left him even more astonished! What more was Brother Know keeping a secret from him? How could he not share this miraculous thing with him at all, except for those cards things! Ke Loong''s expression and excitement made the military representatives speechless and they decided to go with the flow. They all knew about him and hoped that during this demonstration by Yang Ling, they would have a chance to get acquainted with him. It was all part of Yang Ling''s grand scheme. Although even she had not foreseen how badly the others wanted to get to know him. When they entered the store instance, Ke Loong screamed once again with his hands trying to pull his hair out. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!?!?!?!" "Is this so out of the ordinary? Is this not just a shop instance? It''s nice and all but why are you so surprised?" One of the military representatives questioned. "Can''t you get it?! This is a top notch instance! You have light illumination, ray tracing from the stained glass ceiling, not to mention the elaborate interior decorations! So lifelike! An instance this size is basically impossible without tens of supercomputer running at once! Even my servers can never replicate something like this! OH MY GOD! WHY IS THAT PENGUIN MOVING TO US!" "Erm, I am one of the announcers here. My name is Mr Patsu and I have been asked to escort you, since this should be the first time for most of you inside our Shop Instance. Our Boss is doing the finishing touches to the dungeon, so I would like to ask you to follow me to have a seat upstairs first." Mr Patsu replied politely and Ke Loong went nuts again. "HOW! HOW! HOW! We have been trying to create artificial intelligence for ages now, and it is only able to reply to simple commands like how Mooogle Home does it¡­ but this penguin¡­ it is not just acting like a penguin, but also able to comprehend speech and answer accordingly. It must have been designed with a highly advanced artificial intelligence attached to it! OH MY GOD, WHO IS THE BOSS OF THIS PLACE!" Ke Loong picked up the penguin and started to shake madly at it. When Mr Patsu expressed emotions of choking and slight fainting, Ke Loong got even crazier and screamed at a higher pitch. "Are you sure you want to get acquainted with him?" The vendors started to whisper among each other. "Eccentric people bring the most moolah in. Let''s just go along and try to get on his good side for now." Another vendor whispered back. "Ehh¡­That would be me." Jin finally appeared from the Bar Island with a white long sleeve shirt and a black tie over his neck. He looked extremely exhausted and the heavy black bags on his eyes indicate that he had lacked sleep for some days, even though yesterday he seemed fine. "Do you have the dungeon ready?!" Yang Ling telepathically gave him a message, and he replied with just a slight nod in her direction. "I am sorry that I was unable to greet you as soon as you entered. Mr Patsu should have explained the reason for it, but once again let me hereby personally apologise for it. Now I am sure that everyone here is extremely busy, so I shall not keep you waiting here. Since this is not exactly the best place for a proper dungeon viewing, please follow me." Jin seemed very professional¡­ until he began to tie his tie and walked towards a door with a separate instance. He purposely created a temporary instance, similar to a meeting room as opposed to an auditorium, since he was aware that military people preferred an orderly and tidy environment, and especially not the Halloween theme they were having. Ke Loong was once again impressed, but this time around, he was behaving prim and proper. The moment Jin came into the scene though it was apparent Ke Loong was screaming once again in his heart. "I must associate with him and get some information if at all possible. And most importantly I need to know, who is the one supplying him with all these technologies!" While the rest entered the new instance, Jin held the door for them. It was sad to say, that Yuan Ba was the first to enter, followed by the military vendors, leaving Yang Ling as the last to join, giving her no respect, despite the fact that she was the daughter of the Royal Zodiac Tiger family. Jin gave a slight frown, but Yang Ling just shook her head. "It''s fine, I am the one asking for their presence." Yang Ling sent a telepathic message once again, but this time round, Jin stopped her. "Before you enter the room. I have something to show you." Jin said as he asked Mr Patsu to come over and whispered something to his ear. "Call some of the penguin waiters over from the Restaurant Train of Delicacy. Get them to serve some of the coffee and onigiri." Jin ordered before thinking to himself that he should get Lynn or the System to make some hot chocolate or tea so there would be variety of beverages for their selection. While Mr Patsu was keeping the guest busy, Jin closed the door behind them and beckoned Ku Wai and Yang Ling to follow him to a non restricted part of the Dungeon Maker which he allocated via another door which he prepared beforehand too. Behind closed doors, Yang Ling began to show her concern to Jin. "Are you okay? I am sorry for imposing you such a daunting task. If not for the circumstances I would have given you ample time, but my situation is unfortunate as it is¡­" "Yeah, Boss Jin, you had me worried there. If not for your penguin informing me that you were near completion, I''d thought you had already bailed on Princess. In which case I, of course, would have had to hunt you down for revenge." Ku Wai said jokingly. "You will need to grow stronger first, Ku Wai. You cannot defeat me, yet." Jin answered as if stating a fact, which made Ku Wai grit his teeth. After all it was the truth, since he himself couldn''t beat Ong from the Ruby Rat Triad. Much less a Japanese Yakuza who was at Grade 8. And according to their information, Jin had not just beaten one but two of those foreign cultivators. It made him shudder, when thinking back on his duel with him not too long ago. It seemed that Jin had been hiding his true cultivation from him and Yang Ling. In the meantime, Jin lifted and dropped a large suitcase on the table in front of them. "Don''t use that piece of crap, that you''ve been planning to demonstrate. A dungeon is not all that I have prepared for you today." Jin told her, as he unclicked the locks from the rectangular suitcase and revealed an upper half torso exosuit of the gearbox prototype. Yang Ling almost fell from her chair and her mouth was left wide open. She looked at the exhausted Jin, not knowing what to say to him. She would be lying if at that moment she did not have a skip in her heart. Jin scratched his head before revealing the entirety of the gearbox prototype. "I managed to get your new gearbox prototype up, but instead of Ku Wai¡­ Yang Ling, I want you to wear it and show those prideful assholes, who is the boss around here!" Jin said with a proud yet tired tone. "But I cannot walk or run¡­won''t Ku Wai be a better candidate?" Yang Ling appreciated the gesture from Jin, but he was not done yet as he lifted another suitcase and placed it on the long table. As he opened it, Yang Ling was shocked. So shocked that she put her hands on her mouth and tears started to flow down her cheeks uncontrollably. "Jin¡­" Yang Ling could not say any more upon seeing the new product on the table. "Wear it. Do not ask how I managed to configure it for your legs, but with this, you should be able to walk again." Jin explained with a weary smile on his face before he had to yawn. Chapter 293 Gearbox V3 Ku Wai, who was wearing the old Gearbox upper exosuit, entered the room with Jin and the military vendors were chatting incessantly whether this was a good idea to purchase. The bulky design was not exactly viable based on the specification sheet that was given by Yang Ling way before the presentation. The military vendors were only here to give her the respect she deserved as a direct family member of the Royal Zodiac Tiger. They initially thought, it would be a waste of time, except for the opportunity to meet Ke Loong, until Yuan Ba came along as well. "How were the refreshments?" Jin asked casually and many agreed it was only savoury and filling for the stomach. Nothing else, especially when it was given the perception of just some free refreshments. "Guess I could not expect much from a bunch of people, who only appreciate expensive looking food." Jin thought to himself as he was aware that these sort of vendors were always given the best of the best food from companies that were trying to lick their boots. In any case, it was a good thing the System still produced these products even without the aid of Lynn, the new Chef in his store. The only disadvantage was that it was not as impressive as Lynn''s new ability for enhancing attributes. "So where is the presenter? We don''t have much time to spare. I purposely woke up early to travel all the way to Shenzhen just for this." One of the vendors grumbled and Jin told them to follow him. With another door inside the meeting room, they were all teleported to another dungeon instance. Ke Loong in his head was still trying to figure out how it could be possible to connect so many instances in one go. Yet the moment he entered the next instance, his mind was once again blown away by the monstrosity he was being shown. It was a stadium, no doubt, but the thing was, Jin had replicated the entirety of the Beijing National Stadium that once hosted the Olympics. The sheer size of replication made Ke Loong''s feet wobbled like foam in the middle of the stadium that the door brought them to. "This is the Trial Stadium. Whatever kind of test you want to do, the Stadium will provide the necessary testing ground." Jin said. "We will do the standard military test." One of the military vendors said as he called one of his aides forward. "My aide will be acting as the standard of the test." The vendor added, but suddenly Yuan Ba interrupted the aide from coming through. "No, that is unnecessary. I shall be the standard for the test." Yuan Ba declared as his grand stature terrified even the aide himself. Yuan Ba walked towards Ku Wai, who was used to Yuan Ba''s presence and bowed towards him with respect and grace. "Sir Yuan Ba, I must apologise, but I am not the one who will be demonstrating the gearbox technology." Ku Wai confessed with his head still lowered. "Princes- Yang Ling is the one doing the honours." The moment Ku Wai finished his sentence, he could sense the ominosity from Yuan Ba. "Do not fuck with me." Yuan Ba spoke in a slow manner tone as he positioned himself closer to Ku Wai. "He did not." A female voice loudly echoed through the national stadium as they saw a wheelchair bound person rolling in through the west gate of the national stadium. It was indeed none other than Yang Ling herself. However, her whole attire had changed. She was initially wearing a sleeveless office dress, but now she was wearing a tracksuit with a blanket covering her legs. As she came closer, Yuan Ba was frustrated believing Yang Ling was so desperate, that she wanted to pull some sort of prank in front of the military vendors, as a last effort of petty revenge. "Are you making fun of me? Are you making fun of the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s namesake?!" Yuan Ba shouted but before he could say any more, Yang Ling removed the blanket from her legs, and it revealed a slick of metal attachments running along her legs, sticking on top of her black sports tights. Yang Ling removed her tracksuit and she was only wearing a singlet and sports undergarment along with more metal attachments running along her back, shoulders and arms. The design of this prototype was not the same as the one that Yang Ling gave Jin. Jin used her data and asked the System to analyse the design to purposely remove all the unnecessary circuits making it more efficient. Considering that the System had come in contact with Yang Ling through her use of the dungeon via the Music Theatre Instance, it had her sizes, weight and height. Hence, allowing it to be custom made for Yang Ling alone. Not just that, the Three Headed Bear in the Weapon Store had created an attachment inscription that allowed her to wear it with ease as compared to the prototype. The Three Headed Bear used the high grade metals that were obtained from the Dungeon World, mainly from that facility ruins. The crawlers were all surprisingly made of steel, copper and a mythical metal, Mithril. Though there were only traces of it in each crawler, the bear had enough of a stock and managed to melt it sufficiently to be used as plating for the Gearbox (Jin''s Modified Prototype Version) which Yang Ling just called it Gearbox V3. Yuan Ba had not imagined, that Yang Ling was keeping such a secret to herself, making her look weak and desperate, when she actually had such a trump card in her hands all along. He suddenly felt stupid falling for her plans. Yet, Yuan Ba also smirked at the fact that his little girl had grown all up. However, the best had yet to come. Even before Yuan Ba had a chance to question it, Yang Ling lifted up the footholds of the wheelchair and placed her legs on the grass. "Yang Ling what are you doing?" Yuan Ba could not reckon the next moment when Yang Ling held onto her wheelchair handles and she pulled herself up, to stand upright. Her father was at a loss of words, seeing Yang Ling able to stand with grace¡­ taking the first step towards him, and the second then third¡­ Yuan Ba became so moved, that he uncontrollably teared in front of Yang Ling. "¡­You really can walk again?" He asked her as Yang Ling continued to take her steps slowly but more and more confidently towards her father, who had let down his guard and raised his arms worrying that his little girl could fall over at each step. "Come. My little tiger cub. Come." Yuan Ba whispered softly. He had already lost hope, that there would ever come a day he would be able to see his little darling to walk again. The Royal Zodiac Head Doctor explained, that the loss of cultivation lead to the loss of the usage of her legs after the accident. Even under the angry desperate threats of Yuan Ba, the doctor was melancholic, but he told the father, that these injuries would be permanent and no spell nor cultivation manuals could help her. It all had happened when Yang Ling went on an overseas school trip, where she was caught in a bus accident. She had been cultivating on the ride and was fully immersed in it. She had been on a bottleneck for some time, and wanted to push through it, to surprise her father with her new Grade before they arrived back. The crash had happened moments before her breakthrough and one of the metal bars got bent pushing right through her spinal cord. Her cultivation became a saving grace for her, as her breakthrough came just in time to increase her vitality enough to let her barely survive. However, it also became a burden. The metal rod happened to burst one of the major chi points, causing the chi cultivation breakthrough to result as a backlash, which prevented the metal bar from going in any further. The backlash unfortunately also fused part of the metal bar inside her, blocking the chi point recovery. Yuan Ba tried uncountable other alternative methods to get her back on her feet again, but through the years, the more he tried, the more dejected he became and thus at one point he had simply given up. Only Yang Ling had never given up, hoping that through the Gearbox technology, the use of artificial chi and mana circuits that she would ultimately be able to walk and use her cultivation once more. But right now, seeing her father suddenly so vulnerable, Yang Ling could not help wanting to hug him back ¡­Although in the end she did not. Instead, she walked past him, towards the military vendors and presented the new Gearbox exosuit to them. Yang Ling had denied the embrace of her father, even though she had wished for this warm premise on multiple occasions throughout the years. Even though she knew better, she still somewhat blamed him for pushing her to attend that overseas trip. "It''s not time yet. I have to stay strong and appear competent in front of those vendors. Do not show your weak side to him!" Yang Ling assured herself, as she ended up remembering the better days, when her father was used to be kind, joyous and fun to be with, before he became cold hearted the moment she lost her legs and cultivation. Even though Yang Ling could see, feel and understand that her father was trying his best to cure her, she knew it was incurable. In addition, Yuan Ba always seemed like he did it grudgingly as if it was a pain for him to help her. However little did she know that Yuan Ba was doing all this, because he too could not allow himself to show weakness as the Head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger. Yuan Ba sighed, but had a slight smile on his face even though his tears still flowed down for a while longer. Luckily his back was showing to the vendors, so before he turned around he wiped them away with one swipe and told Yang Ling, "1500m sprint with no cultivation. Show me what your Gearbox can achieve." Chapter 294 Race Demonstration The vendors followed behind as both Yang Ling and Yuan Ba went to the tracks. Even though Yang Ling had not been running for years, the Gearbox V3 was aiding her perfectly and she was relieved, that she had no trouble moving. Her gait analysis was full marks. Balance and fine motor movements were all compensated by the gearbox technology, which was impossible with the current standard of assistive technology for the disabled. All the vendors could already envision the possibility of helping disabled soldiers back to the field. Furthermore, if the specs were correct, it would also allow soldiers to carry heavy loads of equipment much more comfortable. This would definitely aid scouts or special forces missions when the numbers to operate were small, and the amount of equipment needed was many. Yang Ling stretched her legs a little and for the first time in many years, she could finally feel the pulling strain of her calf muscles. It was just a pulling sensation, but she was feeling gratitude to Jin, who somehow was able to have the Gearbox modified for her legs. Jin walked towards them and held a flare gun with him. "To make things more fun- erm challenging, I have used the data of Usane Bolt in this particular robot that will be participating with both of you." Jin explained as a part of the tracks behind them opened to reveal a robot coming out of the underground. Ke Loong giggled a little as he saw the robot was a generically looking humanoid in structure, but its face was pasted paper printed with Usane Bolt''s picture on it. "You sure his face will not disappear when he runs? The tape seems flimsy" The vendors commented sarcastically though most vendors enjoyed this little gimmick Jin was showing them. At the edge of the national stadium there was a giant TV, which began to show the statistics table that was still blank, but it was apparent there were sensors and monitors to keep track of the three runners'' speed and timing. Yuan Ba took his position and so did Yang Ling. As she touched the ground, she remembered the days in school when she was in the Track and Field. "Ah¡­no wonder Ku Wai continued to call me princess till this day." Yang Ling recollected the days where she was the undefeated champion and was thereby hailed as the "Track Princess". No one dared to defy her words due to her authority and most importantly her skills. (Though it could also have been due to Ku Wai''s scary face being in the vicinity) "1500m sprint run without cultivation. Contestants Ready¡­ Get set¡­.GO!" Jin shot a real flare out from his flare gun and the runners sped off. As it was a 1500m sprint, both Yuan Ba and Yang Ling jumped off from their position and assumed their running stance. It was fast at first, but they both stabilised their speed at around 700-800 metres before dashing off at maximum speed in the last 400 metres. The humanoid robot that pretended to be Usane Bolt assumed at an average speed based on the analysis of his past Olympic sprint timing. It was initially ahead of the two Royal Zodiac Tigers, but the Tigers caught up in no time. While the vendors were praising the two tigers, Ke Loong was the only one obsessed with the humanoid robot that Jin put up. No one had ever replicated a realistic humanoid robot much less a human in the dungeon instance so accurately before, mainly because of the physics involved in it. Using monsters from imagination was more accessible since the movement could be big, slow and irregular. However, the humanoid robot that was being shown was not running stiffly but in a regular way just like a human. Even the chest inhalation and exhalation were captured perfectly. Ke Loong practised the Hovering Hawk Cultivation, allowing him to have precise and enhanced vision. That was why he always had the eye for details. At the last 10m, Yuan Ba exerted his very best, but Yang Ling was clearly just a few centimetres away from him. In the end, the results were real close, only 0.5 seconds difference between Yang Ling and Yuan Ba. Fake Usane Bolt was 0.3 seconds away from Yang Ling because Jin was just using it as a constant factor in an experiment. The speed variation between Yang Ling and Yuan Ba was more or less the same while fake Usane Bolt had a constant average speed. Even with an enhanced body without having used his cultivation, Yuan Ba could clearly see the benefits of the Gearbox V3, and he had to admit that it was apparently an engineering marvel. However, for Yang Ling, she was panting her lungs out. It was years since she did such a run, despite the fact that she still exercises on a regular basis practising her arms and torso even though she was wheelchair bound. Yang Ling also went for weekly canoeing whenever possible to train her stamina. If not for those training, Yang Ling believed even with Gearbox V3. She could not have nearly beaten her father. The vendors were amazed by the Gearbox technology, and one of them questioned the price. "With such a technology, how much are you charging per person. Would it be expensive to procure? Price is, after all, a very decisive factor." "I am not going to lie. This gearbox prototype is not for sale as it is of a developmental build. The ones you will be receiving would be of a manufactured series where its specs would not be as great as this, but concerning price point, I believe it would be worth the money." Yang Ling answered with some half truths since she recalled that Jin explicitly stated, that this prototype was for her and her alone. She was pinning on the hope that her customised prototype that Jin created, could woo the vendors into getting a few pieces first. Once they were satisfied with it or after feedback, she would then mass produce for global sales. "I have personally seen her manufactured product and to be honest, I am more astounded by the specs of the developmental build. If her developmental build could reach this stage, I believe the manufactured product would see revisions before actual mass production. I do recommend getting at least one to try it out yourself." Yuan Ba had decided to support Yang Ling in her endeavour by chipping in his own opinion which definitely swayed the decisions of the vendors. This move was indeed unexpected by Yang Ling as she thought that her father was here to betray her since he declared it so openly in the morning. "If you like further demonstrations, do not hesitate to ask. The Dungeon Supplier here will provide the necessary tests. Or else, you could also take a look at Ku Wai''s Gearbox that he was wearing and test it out yourself. While it may be an older version, its manufacturing moulds are ready and can be assembled anytime for shipping and deployment. Prices can be negotiated after this demonstration presentation in private." Yang Ling said with confidence as she sent a quick glance at Jin. "If that''s the case, I will be making my move first." Yuan Ba replied as he could see the looks of the vendors. They would definitely want to see more of this product, even if most should have decided to invest into it already. "Good Luck, Yang Ling." Yuan Ba sent a close range voice transmission as he walked passed her when she was engaging in some small talk with the vendors. Yang Ling struggled in her heart whether she should just thank him. "Argh. Just do it!" Yang Ling thought to herself as Yuan Ba was here after all, opening his heart after seeing her walk and aiding her recently. "Papa!" She turned her head around to call out to him which made Yuan Ba turn his head instinctively. How long had it been since she called out to him so informally? *BANG!* Blood was ejected out from the side of his throat, and Yang Ling could see an opening from his neck. Yuan Ba was caught off guard since he was emotionally vulnerable and had his cultivation sealed for the race with Yang Ling "PAPA!!!" Yang Ling raced herself towards her father as someone was laughing hysterically. Meanwhile, the sound of shot originated from the group military vendors and all of them immediately took into a defensive stance and faced towards the person who fired the shot. "DEATH TO THE ZODIACS!" One of the military aides shouted as he revealed his cultivation with a somewhat intense black aura. The vendors, who were of decent cultivation grades did not hesitate to fight against him, but suddenly black chains were wrapped around them as a ritual circle materialised right in under them. Jin was shocked by the sudden assassin attack but sufficient enough experience allowed him to move decisively. He summoned his Katana from his storage watch and shouted out loud to the System in the dungeon instance without any care. "Bring MILK IN NOW!" Chapter 295 Assassin! - Part 1 "User, substances of Dantian corruption detected in Hu Yuan Ba''s body. If Yuan Ba is not rescued, he will die permanently. Proceed with utmost caution against the assassin!" System declared. Jin wanted to rush into the battlefield but got blocked off by the black ritual circle, which had summoned chains and captured the military vendors and Ku Wai. "The ritual seems to involve forbidden blood magic. System has denied you access towards the area involving the ritual circle to prevent you from being absorbed into it." The System stated in a calm manner "THEN! System can you interrupt the ritual circle???!!" Jin did not care about the resources needed. If Jin could not stop this terror attack from happening, it would most probably absorb Ku Wai and the military vendors as its sacrifice. It would ultimately make a bad dent to his reputation as a dungeon supplier, but most importantly he needed to save Ku Wai. "Not possible without casualties. The probability of success has been significantly reduced after the forbidden blood magic ritual had surpassed phase two. Regrettably, System analysed that this ritual had catalysts prepared beforehand to push the blood magic ritual to the final phase in the shortest time possible. Forcefully interrupting the blood magic ritual is possible but participants would undoubtedly die from the backlash of the ritual disruption." The System stated. "Ixel, Ixa, Itori." Kraft who had emerged from the far edge of the National Stadium stood tall and proud as he placed three bullets into his special triple barrier revolver, No Mercy. "This is my present for you, Jin, for being such a nice gentleman towards a beautiful crippled girl¡­and bringing in a toy for me to play with once all this is done. Oi System, this is how things are done. Watch and learn." Kraft had a smirk on the side of his face as he pulled the trigger. The three bullets came out at the same time. Once they travelled midway, three foxes overshadowed the entire national stadium as if some Kaiju were rampaging the area. The assassin saw the three foxes in white, orange and red coming towards him before they suddenly transformed yet again, this time into orbs. The three coloured orbs started to revolve around the ritual circle. Faster and faster they spun around it, until it appeared as one giant halo in the sky. The ritual circle started to lose its layers of magic. Slowly but surely the layers disappeared and more and more of the vendors were released from the black chains that were holding them down. However, it was apparent that they were sapped dry of chi and were at the brink of fainting. If slightly more time had passed, the consequences would have been dire. In the meantime, Milk was on the scene the moment Jin shouted for her, casting healing magic of Legendary level, that was unlocked by the System, solely for the treatment of Yuan Ba with Yang Ling desperately holding on to his hand. "It''s my fault! It is my fault! I am sorry Papa! I shouldn''t I have called out to you!" Yang Ling''s tears stained her face so severely that the mascara makeup she put on previously was all over the place. "No, Mdm. It''s your calling out to him that had saved him. The shot would have aimed for a direct hit to his spinal cord, causing him to die almost instantly, but your action made him react just in time for him to turn his neck, preventing such a tragedy. " Milk had actually been behind the scenes as instructed by Jin to standby even though it was still so early in the morning. (Milk and Peppers nonetheless got reprimanded by Yun for sleeping in late.) It was after all a big business deal that he was taking part with, he needed the act to proceed safely but never in his life had he foreseen there would be an assassination that was happening right in front of him. "Savants! Rescue the victims!" Jin called out to the humanoid robots which he had aptly named as ''Savants''. Reason being, those humanoid robots were powered by gems that were courtesy of Kraft. He said that he had managed to steal the skills and experience of some of the more powerful adventurers and condensed their skills into gems. How the gems came to be was a story that Jin did not ponder to ask as he was pressing for time to get the dungeon completed. (But *cough* the rest of us know how it did happen. *cough*) The Savants swoop in to rescue the victims without fail as the three orbs swirled rapidly around the assassin who was still doing the forbidden blood ritual at the very last layer of the magic circle. However, instead of breaking, the assassin managed to absorb all the chi power he had gathered from the victims and looked at Jin. "I do not know who you are, but now you must die. He must unquestionably die and everyone else in this dungeon instance, too!" The assassin declared, but Jin could not identify him at all since there was a black shroud permanently covering his face. "For the Face! For my Liege!" The assassin dashed forward and locked swords with Jin. Unlike previous opponents Jin had fought against, the clash with the assassin had his entire arm shaking. It was not due to fear but the sheer power he was wielding. This was unlike the Titan Knight, where faith and belief fueled this particular person without a dungeon manipulating such sources of feelings. One wrong step and it would be the end of Jin, when he remembered that this assassin had substances that could corrupt the Dantian. If he was not wrong, that was similar to what had happened to Yun. "Banned Emperor?!!" Jin shouted trying to distract the assassin, which he managed with limited success, giving Jin the opportunity to throw in a sucker punch infused with Black Fire into it. The punch burned the assassin''s torso momentarily but within moments, it was recovered when a black shroud covered around it. "You blasphemer! How dare you utter that name with disgust! But most importantly for a measly no name dungeon supplier, how dare you say even that name without any reverence!" The Assassin bellowed as he cast a purple Lightning bolt from his hand and shot it out towards Jin. With the experience from the Titan Knight, Jin summoned a white ice shield that managed to both blocked and deflected the attack partially. Yet, all of that was just a distraction for the assassin to move to Jin''s side. "Lazy Panda Swipe!" With the ice shield still on his left hand, Jin''s attack caused the white ice buckler to shatter the assassin''s right arm that was holding a dagger but the assassin was not done. *BANG!* Another shot came and the assassin had a grin in his looks. Unfortunately, he did not realise, that Jin had living armour plates running around him with one of them managing to block it with ease, though at a terrible cost. Unlike the attack that Yamazaki made, this particular living armour plate broke into pieces and fell off from Jin. It seemed that the bullet the assassin used had corrupted the living armour, causing it to be unusable. The others wisely avoided absorbing the corrupted pieces. "Fuck this is some serious shit!" Jin thought as he opened his mouth and fired a beam of Panda Yawning, burning the handgun and assassin''s hand along with it. Without doubt, the assassin had no other choice than to fall back to recover. The black shroud that was hovering around the torso extended itself towards his hand. Instead of a hand growing back, some sort of phantasmal force recreated the look of a hand even though it was void black in colour. "How dare you¡­" The assassin sounded furious as he raised his phantasmal hand up and showed off his cultivation of dirty black aura revealing ten ominous shadows, that were each sitting on a thronelike chair, which ultimately combined into one large shadow. This made the shadow seem even more real, with the throne gaining an imposing aura. That darkness then raised its arms as if pointing towards Jin. "Bodacious Banned Emperor Style. Death to all traitors of the country. For the Face! " The shroud was removed from the assassin''s face and it revealed a face, that Jin could never forget. Chapter 296 Assassin -Part 2 The face of the assassin was grim. Half of it was his original face, but the other half was somewhat infused with a monster. Jin did not recognise it, the only association he had, was that it looked as if it was some alien monster from outer space. Half of his teeth were degraded into canine fangs and his nose was partially gone. There was also no skin covering it, revealing facial muscles with maggot like insects crawling in and out of it. This was also the first time he witnessed someone showing off their cultivation silhouettes and then combining them into one. It was believed, that those who manage to combine their cultivation silhouettes into one giant shape showed depth and understanding of their cultivation, granting them powers untouched by the manuals. Some even rumoured that only cultivation grandmasters, who wrote the manuals, had the ability to combine ten silhouettes into one giant silhouette and purposely left it unwritten so the cultivators who followed the manual needed to seek wisdom and enlightenment about their cultivation style. They did it in the hopes of future generation finding their own ways to improve the manuals, which could lead to overall improvements for that particular style. Others even hypothesized that a Grade 10 with a combined giant silhouette could potentially have the strength of a Grade 15, something similar to the effects of a spiritual union, but on a higher level. If the weakened victims had not been evacuated in time by the Savants, they would have been killed right on the spot through the black aura the assassin was emanating. "Why are you that scared? I can make sure you will never be afraid ever again!" The assassin finished his words as he disappeared right in front of Jin. Only to reappear behind him and headed towards Yang Ling, Yuan Ba and Milk. "You bastard! A healer will never allow her patients to be harmed!" Milk quickly cast a healing over time spell on the stabilised Yuan Ba and intercepted the assassin with her enormous book. Jin wanted to rush over, only to see Zeru diving in and replacing Milk''s position. This time, Jin could see that Zeru was holding his punches, defending only when necessary. Yang Ling tried to use her Psionic Magic, but she suddenly vomited before being able to attack. "Hahahah! This monster incarnate infusion was meant specifically to go against you, little girl!" The assassin smiled as he stepped backwards when Zeru tried to retaliate back. "He is good." Zeru commented, which made Jin shudder at the fact, that the assassin was indeed a capable one, if he even garnered Zeru''s praise. "System Lock the Dungeon down, prevent any possible escape for the assassin!" Jin commanded in his head and the System replied it had already done so ages ago. "Savants! Limiters unlocked, go full power against the assassin!" Jin commanded as he took out the Tact Tweak and hastily unlocked the skills for 18 Savants present in the dungeon instance. Within seconds, the Savants who were robot looking in nature, started to regrow flesh, visible to everyone, around their bodies as if they were imitating to be humans. Jin, who had prepared his copies to decode the weapons and armour his monsters had salvaged from the dungeon world into cards, swiped the equipment cards into their respective savant classes. This allowed the Savants who just gained flesh, to re-equip the armour and weapons on the spot. Most of the Savants looked like the adventurers Kraft had encountered with the difference that their faces were all covered with full Panda Masks. It was a solution by Jin to reduce resources needed to recreate facial expressions in robots during the dungeon making phase. Kraft was also delighted that Jin did that unwittingly, since he did not wish for Jin to see Hark once again in real flesh. After all, if he did, it could spoil his future sessions. "What can a few robots do?" The assassin sneered after analysing his enemies as he raised his hand and a purple lightning bolt appeared once again at the tip of his fingers. With one throw, the lightning bolt stormed its way through the air towards one the Savants who finished equipping itself. But the assassin''s luck seemed to go downhill from then on, as the lightning was caught by a Sage Savant who had the ability to reflect spells back. However, the Sage Savant had more under her sleeves. The reflected spell doubled in quality and quantity, which made it too fast for the assassin, who threw it at near full strength to evade. Next a Priest Savant cast a Holy Blinding Light spell, which worked similar to a flashbang, and a Warlock Savant summoned tentacles from the ground to grab hold of the assassin, who tried to regain awareness of his surrounding. The purple lightning struck the assassin, but he was not so weak to fall from just one attack as he sliced the tentacles away and punched the ground, causing black spikes to emerge at the Savants. Most, if not all of the Savants evaded this counterattack, with the Assassin Class Savant making use of the spikes as movement boosters to clash head on with the enemy assassin. "Heh, alright, guess this is a challenge after all!" The enemy assassin took out another dagger with his phantasmic hand, and both started to exchange and evade blows as if it was a dance of death. And how could the dance not be accompanied by music? A Bard Savant played his music with his battle guitar which slowed the movement of the enemy assassin, allowing the Assassin Savant to get a few stabs into him before he decided to fall back. The stabs were crucial since they were not just coated with pure poison but with a viral solution. Assuming the assassin would be able to escape the System''s lockdown (which he shouldn''t''), the virus would eventually kill him if they were not be able to (The virus take at least months to incubate, so it was a last resort) Once the Assassin Savant was out of the way, the Wizard Savant summoned an iceberg large enough just a few centimetres away from the enemy assassin''s head, yet the assassin was still capable of utilising a fast escape movement due to his advanced techniques. "Fuck this shit. Epic Dagger Art. The Banned Decree of Death!" The assassin shouted as he suddenly burst into tremendous speed which Jin could not catch with his naked eye as he turned into an arrow of blackness. The Banned Decree of Death was a combination of a movement skill and a decapitation technique fused together. Like tag, the enemy assassin had used this skill when he reached Grade 10 to annihilate multiple enemies even though they were far apart from each other. The first the assassin aimed for was to no ones surprise the one who was controlling the battlefield. Jin. Thankfully, Jin had already set up his own defences beforehand. The moment the enemy assassin whirled and spun into the five metre radius of Jin, he had to deal with the magical barrier that Jin had placed¡­courtesy of Peppers. "Boom you bastard." Peppers, who was at the audience seat still dressed in Red Panda Pyjamas eating her bag of potato chips commented. Instead of blocking, the barrier that Peppers had cast was of an offensive nature rather than defensive. When the enemy assassin pierced through the first layer of magic barrier, like reactive armour plating on a tank, an explosive was given off causing damage to the enemy assassin. Sadly, the assassin did not pierce just one barrier because of his speed, but four of them, with each consecutive explosions being even deadlier than the previous one, which finally caused the assassin to drop on the floor. Without a sound, the Lord Knight Savant had unleashed the swords of imprisonment from the skies of the dungeon instance and onto the assassin himself. The Warlock Savant then summoned more tentacles to wrap him up, cursing the assassin to debuff him even more. Ke Loong, the military vendors and Yang Ling, who saw the battle scene were all terrified of this particular Dungeon Supplier. Though at the same time they were even more amazed by the powers he held in this dungeon instance, making them nearly forget about the reason from them being here, the Gearbox demonstration. Chapter 297 Dantian Poison Corruption Once the battle subsided, the Priest Savant was tending to the wounds of the military vendors, while Milk was fully focused on trying to help Yuan Ba. Subsequently the System let in Panda Nurses from the recovery instance that were individually attending to the injured. "Why don''t you just let them die? Isn''t it more efficient that way?" Yang Ling wondered out loud as Ke Loong coincidentally walked towards Jin and Milk. "I agree with her. This should simply make him unconscious and while it would take quite a fair bit of time to recover, it should be far more efficient. So why can''t you just make us exit the dungeon instance? Won''t these wounds not take effect when we do that?" Ke Loong chimed in with his expertise. "These aren''t ordinary wounds¡­" Yuan Ba coughed as he spoke with his eyes closed in pain. Milk calmed him down even further with another spell as she tried to stabilise him a little more after she got some help from the Head Nurse Panda. "You might be infected with the dantian corruption poison. Have you already noticed, that your wounds are not really healing?" Jin questioned Yuan Ba, who opened his eyes to reveal his shock. "You seem to know a bit about this, even though it''s a well guarded secret. Who exactly are you?" Jin did not say a single word nor pretend to deny the fact that he knew, but he continued to lock down the dungeon, only providing access to the recovery instance as the nurse pandas aided the casualties. After some of the vendors stabilised enough he would move them over. "How bad is Yuan Ba''s situation?" Jin asked Milk as she wiped her sweat off. "It''s no good. Whatever else was in that poison, it was designed specifically to target cultivators with high cultivation grade. The higher the cultivation, the more potent the poison becomes. That poison is integrated with the dantian corruption poison too, so it is tough for me to keep him alive." Milk shook her head in dismay."What about the rest?" Jin was getting concerned if the others were being corrupted by the same concoction of poison. "The rest only suffered from slight corruption poison, and most of the Panda Nurses managed to isolate the toxin since it was of little quantity. But like I said, it only had been separated, not dispelled from the body. They are currently being held on bay in the chi points near the lymph nodes in the thighs." "So tell me honestly, How much longer do I have?" Yuan Ba somehow resigned to his fate, but Milk was not giving him up at all. "You better struggle. It has been a very long time since I had to sweat so much to heal anyone other than my Master. Don''t you dare waste my effort!" Milk retorted with anger. "What is this dantian corruption poison? Someone, please answer me." Yang Ling could not take it that she has been ignored once again. "My mother passed away from this before." Jin clarified, which caused Yuan Ba to look at Jin closely. "You are the grandson of General Ming?" Yuan Ba could not believe the coincidence in life as Jin nodded his head. "To think I''d owe Ming and now his grandson my life. Now I understand a bit." He gave a sigh, which irritated Milk as she demanded him to stop moving. "Then can this be cured?" Yang Ling asked hopefully. Even though she could not forgive her Dad previously, she was now holding his hands tightly. "There is no cure for this. The Royal Zodiacs had been researching this strain of poison for the longest time, but we have no con-*cough**cough* conclusive evidence for an antidote. The strain is too unique and the poison we had gathered from that incident, was too small of an amount for in depth data collection- *cough* *cough* " Yuan Ba continued coughing once again before Milk cast a silence spell on him. "I said. Do. NOT. Talk. Anymore. You are wasting my effort each time you talk. Use telepathic messaging instead." Milk ordered Yuan Ba do so and he obediently obliged. "Where can I find the research data for this dantian corruption poison? Shouldn''t there be at least an antidote for this cultivation killer poison? Everything you can show us, will increase your chances and it should make it easier on you, Milk¡­ right?." Jin addressed all three of them at the same time as the System had already begun analysing the poison that was isolated in other victims. "Unfortunately no, the poisons are deeply integrated with each other. I believe if you bring in only the antidote for the cultivation killer, it would be meaningless, or in the worst case it might even aggravate the situation." Milk replied in harsh tone after having scolded Yuan Ba. "Well, unless you can truly isolate it in the human body." Peppers who was at the scene suddenly had an idea while pointing to her chest. "What do you mean?" Jin had no patience entertaining Peppers, but he tried to calm himself down. Getting angry at someone wanting to help would help no one. "Remember how in the first movie of Iron Woman she had shrapnel in her body and she used the electromagnetic reactor to stop the shrapnel from going into her heart? Same concept." Peppers explained. "So you want to build a sort of prison core to keep the poison from staining the dantian and keeping it isolated in one area?" Jin questioned to confirm her hypothesis. "Something like that and we could take the time to slowly research for the cure when the poison had been properly isolated. Think it''s possible?" Peppers looked towards Milk which was now showing a worried face. "Urgh I hate to admit it but this brat might be onto something. But where can we find the expertise of creating such a prison core? You need knowledge in engineering and chi circuits anatomy well enough to create a customised item like this. Not to mention you would have to make it efficient in size¡­" Milk said with a bit of obvious hinting to Jin. "I will do it. I have sufficient knowledge in chi circuitry and the gearbox technology development had a component similar to that isolation core. I could modify that component''s blueprint from the USB that I lent Jin. " Yang Ling raised her hand as if she was in some classroom to volunteer herself. "Well, I did predict she would make a good addition to the store." Kraft suddenly injected his thoughts to Jin putting him in a bad dilemma. He initially only planned to have Qiu Yue and Lynn be exposed to the System. Definitely not Yang Ling with her ties to the Royal Zodiac Tiger. After all rising to the top, should inevitable make him have to take them down at one point in the future. "You must have some sort of contact that deals with design machinery and manufacturing , right? If not, how were you able to create something this fast within the span of one night?" Yang Ling, who was grateful, previously did not bother to ask Jin how he attained the prototype Gearbox V3 within a night because it was his own secret. But right now, she was not just curious, but desperately needed someone with such high talent able to quickly construct some machinery with to save her father. "I honestly do not think it''s a good idea." Jin accidentally said it out loud, which annoyed Yang Ling. "It can be considered my fault that caused my father to be in his current situation. But you not letting me do something that can potentially save my father''s life is inexcusable. If you desire money, I can throw fucking millions at you right now with a click of a finger. Just tell me who you contacted, I promise I won''t bother you in the future nor your contact." Yang Ling pleaded with her tears at the brink of dropping. "I¡­am sorry. I could not let yo- Oof!" Jin got hit at his sacred treasures with a knee kick from the Gearbox V3 exosuit. "I am not asking, I am demanding." Yang Ling shouted furiously, but before she could make another kick, suddenly not one, not two, but each and every single one of the nurse pandas that were in the room had appeared near her. All of them were holding blades pointing towards her with Zeru''s wooden sword at the edge of her throat. Not just them but even Milk who was caring for her father stopped as she pointed her hands like a knife towards his injured throat. "If you dare to make another move against Jin, we will kill you regardless of your status in society." Zeru''s tone was not a single bit courteous while Jin slowly stood up from the attack. "I¡­" Yang Ling stopped, what she was doing and realised that she was just a little tiger cub in a park full of monsters. "Stop. Release her." Jin ordered as he beckoned Yang Ling to follow him to the Dungeon Maker."Do not make me regret this." Jin mumbled. Chapter 298 Poison Isolation Core "Computer, initialise the Dungeon Maker system." Jin pretended as if the System was some sort of AI. Though it technically could be considered such¡­ just more omnipotent than the one Yang Ling should know about. The System understood what Jin was playing at and changed the way it titled itself to "Computer" to tag along with Jin''s plan. The usual futuristic interfaces appeared right in front of him and Yang Ling, which left the latter amazed even though she had just been held at knifepoint only a few minutes ago. "Is this more, than just a dungeon instance?" Yang Ling wondered, but as she tried the interface, she realised how easy it was it for her to design a blueprint of the Poison Isolation Core (which she aptly named after creating a basic layout of it) for her father. Unlike Jin, who was granted access to all sorts of metals, most that were not even known in this world, the System made sure that she only had access to the earthly materials such as steel, iron, copper etc. for her design. The System even aided her in calculating the efficiency of the design and Yang Ling instantly understood based on her knowledge that this computer AI was the best assistive technology she had ever encountered. "I have obtained the copies of your father''s body scan, his current chi circuits and the routes that the poison had been moving so far, as well as the routes it will most likely move to next." Jin told her as he swiped his interface sending all the information over. Yang Ling was yet again bewildered by the powers of this particular technology that Jin was wielding. "How¡­did you obtain this artificial intelligence? No¡­. Could you please introduce me to whoever was able to design it?" Yang Ling tried to strike a conversation, but Jin ignored her. "Concentrate! We do not have any time to waste. Milk is getting more and more exhausted from treating your father-" Jin replied with a slightly condescending tone hoping that Yang Ling would not get any ideas from working with the System. "If you want, I can alter their memories." Kraft sniggered as he was observing the whole thing unfold. "No need. I want her to be in my debt. I cannot let her be suspicious of mind manipulation. Besides, isn''t she a master in that field too?" Jin replied, but Kraft laughed heartily instead. "All the more fun it will be." Kraft answered before returning into his darkness¡­working on the prisoner Jin just caught for him. "Well, well, well. It looks like you are finally awake? No?" Kraft had left the enemy assassin by the name of Ban De on his favourite bloodied table. "To think I''d get to use you again so soon. Oh Jin, you ARE spoiling me so much~. At this rate, you''ll probably become the best master I ever served since decades, with Ming in second place of course." Kraft smiled as he once again slid his fingers lovingly along the bloodied table and slowly on the partially naked assassin. "You will not break me." Ban De said with confidence. "I have been through sufficient interrogations and came out alive." "Of course I am not going to break you. Silly boy." Kraft took out a scalpel from the drawer of bloodied table and pointed at his abdomen. He poked repeatedly at the same point until blood slowly started oozing out of him. Oddly enough Ban De screamed as the pain he was expecting was not coming from the same place he was seeing. It felt like thousands of blades were poking at one point. Each time he was about to pinpoint where the pain originated, it seemed to jump to another random place. He was so distracted by this new experience that he did not notice that four foxes had surrounded him, one at each of his extremities. Evon, Ixel, Ixa and Tsu. "Relax, after all I won''t kill you~. No, Death is a luxury you will wish you could obtain, but it will forever stay outside your reach. I am going to dismantle you. It will be a slow process, with extreme prejudice. It will be bone by bone. Organ by organ. Piece by piece. I guarantee you will be surprised just how much a human body can withstand, before breaking -" Kraft stopped for a moment and thought. "However, your kind does not deserve such preferential treatment, no. Not at all, Servant of the Banned Emperor. I just remembered the authorities from your world would be taking you in. How about I do them a favour and let them get to know you much easily?" Kraft frowned at the word he had spoken as he moved his scalpel to another point and did the exact same thing again. And again. And again. The more Ban De became distracted from the ecstasy of pain, the easier for Kai, the second black fox of Kraft, to get into the depths of his brain and retrieve information. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "I''ve completed the design, but the resource composition is not easy to find in Shenzhen. I might need to contact some foreign companies to bring in the materials. The quickest will still be at least three full days. I can port them with some strings, so I was hoping if Milk cou-" Jin stopped Yang Ling from continuing. "You can go back to your father, he needs you right now. Let me deal with the resources part." Jin finished his sentence as he shook his head in dismay while a Panda Nurse was waiting at the door to escort Yang Ling back to her father. "Oh Jin Jin, why are you so cold to her?" Yun who suddenly appeared out of nowhere asked Jin as he started the manufacturing of the Poison Isolation Core. "Shouldn''t it be considered the System''s wish? Wanting to take revenge against the rest of the Zodiac families? Since they also played a major role in the downfall of our ancestors¡­" Jin asked, while still being a bit irritated due to the lack of sleep he had been tolerating. The adrenaline rush had long since passed after the fight, and he felt that he could topple any second again. "User is not wrong. Revenge against the Zodiac families is a high priority in order to earn our rightful place back, but converting them to our cause is a different issue. The more capable workforce we obtain, the easier the restoration of the Panda Clan is going to be. A possibility of using her as a spy is high." System concluded, but Jin shook his head. "To be honest I have no idea how you are going to upset the entire political system that was deeply root in our lives for the Panda Clan to resurface and claim our supposed glory. Also right now, I am just a dungeon supplier, not a general or a tactical commander as Moloch had pointed out not too long ago. Do not give me this kind of infiltration nonsense." Jin replied. "The System will reveil its plan when time is riped. " The System stated and Yun interrupted Jin. "Back in the days, shop managers often lead a double life. During the day they were a friendly helper, but at night they were important members of secret organisations or at least managers of such organisations. There were some that were guild leaders too. Just saying, you know since you own a shop that is primarily used for training a group of cultivators." Yun hinted with a wink. "Ha ha ha, very funny. As if I had time for that." Jin yawned as the System had already started 3D printing the Poison Isolation Core out for usage. "The repercussions of showing Yang Ling the System¡­Sigh, I really don''t know what to expect in the future." Jin thought about it. What would have happened if he had introduced Yang Ling formally to the System? On second thought, was gifting her a customised Gearbox exosuit a good idea? As his head hurts from all the thinking, he thought to himself that only time could tell. "By the way, does Yuan Ba know you? He said he knew gramps." Jin casually asked Yun since he had to wait for the 3D printing to be done. "Nope, never seen him in my life, nor did I know him before the incident-" Yun answered as she fiddled around the dungeon maker interface a little. "Will anyone in the past ever recognise you?" Jin had that thought when Yun answered him. "Highly unlikely. Besides I did not even reveal my real name to you, even though I am supposed to be your mother." Yun replied, and it suddenly made Jin realised that "Yun" was supposed to be his Ming''s nickname for his mother. But somehow he was unable to remember his mother''s real name. "Aren''t you ..wait¡­a minute¡­ Why do I feel that there is a gap in my memory?" Jin felt like his brain was playing tricks with him. "It''s a skill that Kraft taught the System, which later on, it taught me along with some other abilities. I have the ability to erase my past so that everyone who knew me is unable to recall specific pieces of information. It''s like an instinctive reaction when I see that particular person. The downside, if you want to call it that, is that I do not remember that person either. It''s a two way trade off thing though its a good thing to me in my opinion. Sometimes being too hung up with the past could make things difficult." Yun justified herself as she idled around, waiting for the 3D printing to be completed. Jin had his own thoughts about the magic Yun had for herself but he figured it could be beneficial especially when people like Yuan Ba could possibly interlink Yun''s resurrection to Jin''s System. "Speaking of that, I do need a cover story and alibi eventually. Yuan Ba or Yang Ling would probably order people to research more about me and my other companions." Jin said as he yawned once more. After fifteen minutes, the System had finished 3D printing the first Poison Isolation Core which Jin decided to use on Yuan Ba and obtain more tangible results before returning to the System and optimising it even further before giving it to the other victims. "Let''s hope this works as intended." Jin sighed as he picked up the core and walked towards the recovery instance with the aid of the System. Chapter 299 Consen As Jin entered the recovery instance, the military vendors were making a ruckus after they had stabilised. Most of the complaints were directed towards the South China Military Coalition vendor, Si Gou Li. Before Jin attended to them, he asked Peppers to prepare the procedure for the integration of the Poison Isolation Core with Milk as the Panda Nurses assisted Yuan Ba for the impromptu surgical process. Gou Li was the one who brought the assassin Ban De with him to this particular unknown dungeon supplier they had never heard of before. If they had not survived the attack, Jin''s reputation would''ve forever been tarnished. Military organisations might have concluded that it was a conspiracy between Yang Ling, the unknown dungeon supplier and Gou Li to assassinate their representatives and the head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger in which case the organisations would spare no effort in crushing Jin and Yang Ling. However, since the military vendors were all rescued, including Gou Li, they were extremely grateful for Jin''s assistance. They also assumed that this dungeon supplier contact was some sort of secret force belonging to the Royal Zodiac Tigers, which allowed Yuan Ba to come in without any guards nor other protection. "For the last time, I am as surprised as all of you. Before today I never had any idea that he had such a background. For God''s sake he had been aiding me for over ten years and I placed my life in his hands, trusted that I would do the same for him too. I honestly was unaware, that he could have attempted to assassinate Yuan Ba." Gou Li tried to justify himself and no doubt most of the military vendors believed that he was not linked. Yet they needed to place their fears and blames onto someone at the moment, so for most of them he became the natural scapegoat."Don''t worry Gou Li. The investigators will probably dig out the truth and that will prove your innocence once and for all. Speaking of which what happened to the assassin¡­Boss..?" One of the vendors who saw Jin looking at the commotion asked. "Name''s Jin. He messed with me in my own dungeon and tried to kill me too. According to me working as a licenced Dungeon Supplier, I have the rights to detain any cultivator on my property, who has attempted criminal activities, until the police arrive. The police had been contacted, and they should be arriving soon. Though the laws and regulations do not state that I can only detain him¡­if you get my drift. Besides, he even attempted to assassinate the military personnel. So it might be the case, that the local police had to contact the military police to come in and that will take some extra time." Jin informed them in a fairly serious tone with some hinting of his own flair of punishment which caused the vendors all laughed. "Hahaha Son, I have seen crazy stuff before, capable of all sorts of things, but you? I saw your dungeon and your manifestation of monsters for myself. Only a dungeon supplier with highly in depth knowledge and tons of experience could produce such high quality monsters. Plus, you showed us you got balls, I like that in a brat." The late 60''s bearded vendor passed his name card to Jin, and most other vendors started to do the same too. Jin took a look at the name card he first received and it was Hou Fei. "If you could ever create a military exercise of such a grand scale, no doubt our troops would benefit in the long run and I would be very happy to do business with you." Hou Fei offered, echoed by many other vendors. "But that would mean I need specifications of tanks, artilleries, planes, ships etc¡­ would you be providing that?" Jin asked and Hou Fei laughed. "The details can be discussed if you ever accept our invitation to create such a large scale exercise." Hou Fei''s laughter abruptly stopped, as he received a telepathic message from Yuan Ba. "¡­You are General Ming''s grandson?" Hou Fei was extraordinarily shocked and the news surprised the other vendors too, before they all took a step back and saluted at Jin to correctly thank him for his rescue. Jin was quite speechless. He did not know Ming had such a wide sphere of influence in the military. But then again Ming had clearly separated his work and private life, except for some complaints here and some boasts there. "I was directly under Ming''s command before he went to become a glorified desk jockey. Now I can see the resemblance of craziness between him and you. I see. I see. This will be interesting indeed. You know what? Forget my last sentence for offering you a contract, I am now demanding it." Hou Fei looks had turned to an old scheming fox. It takes one to know one, but Jin had been around Kraft''s cunning face long enough to know that Hou Fei was planning something big. "We can discuss it later. Don''t worry I won''t disappear. After all I am aware you could simply evoke an obscure military clause that can summon citizens'' help in time of peace if I do not help you out. Ming used to talk about the experiences he had with that clause. But I have to attend to Yuan Ba first." Jin said nonchalantly to break away from Hou Fei before he got caught into an even bigger shitstorm when he was already in multiple ones."Go on ahead, rescuing him will no doubt bring you some favourable ''gifts'' in the future." Hou Fei replied and most of the vendors unknowingly nodded their head in unison. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Yang Ling was taken back by Jin''s quick response in getting the Poison Isolation Core ready. In fact it was WAY too fast, that she could not wrap her mind to the truth. However, the result was genuine, she had checked the core that was on her hand and the design was 100% the one she herself had envisioned mere minutes ago. Jin used the dilation of time in the Dungeon Maker as an excuse, but even without psionic powers, he could see that she was certainly not buying it. Jin was definitely hiding something but not willing to share with her. "I guess I will have to probe him in the future¡­ if he still allows it." Yang Ling regretfully thought to herself what an valuable ally she could have obtained, if she did not act on impulse and stupidly aimed directly for his sacred treasures, that caused the irk of his companions.Even now Yang Ling could feel, that her treatment had turned noticeably colder. In the meantime, Yuan Ba was signing consent forms for the impromptu surgeries to indemnify Jin and his friends from anything that could happen during the operation. "You sure you really want us to do it? With your status, you should have access to highly reputable surgeons and hospital care, instead of under the care of erm dungeon manifested panda nurses and a fake priest with a child mage to do your surgery." Jin tried to confirm Yuan Ba''s decision to do this surgery by non medical trained staff, though he knew that with the System aiding them, anything is possible. "What are you talking about? I know enough to see that Miss Milk here has the knowledge of High Saint Priest. Who else would be able to cast the ''Saviour of Angels'' Immortal Star Restoration'' healing skill, one of the few top tiers spell in the world? As if that was not rare enough, I doubt more than a handful of experts would be able to still cast Celestial Star Rejuvenation on top of that without fainting from it? And out of those I doubt more than one or two would have been able to keep me stable for so long. I am already in the hands of an expert. Yang Ling, I had no idea you made such friends, but you should definitely treasure them¡­ whatever the outcome." Yuan Ba sent a mass telepathic message to the people around him but only the extended one to Yang Ling. "Oh this reckless Tiger knows his stuff, I am impressed." Milk sniggered at the direction of clueless Yang Ling since she did not know Milk was that capable. "Maybe that''s why he is keeping his silence towards you." Peppers laughed loudly before Jin placed his hand at her mouth. "If that is the case, we have received your consent. We will be doing the Poison Isolation Core surgical procedure so that others might receive the same treatment if done correctly. I must apologise that you have to be the first. As you said yourself Milk might be some top rate (fake) priest, but even she had reached her limits taking care of you." Jin said as he asked the Panda Nurses to push Yuan Ba into the surgical procedure room. Chapter 300 Surgery Chapter 300 Surgery Jin was no doctor, so he had nothing to contribute by staying in the surgical theatre of the recovery instance when the Panda Nurses pushed Yuan Ba into the room. It was also the first time Milk and the Panda Nurses were using it. This was because previously there was no situation that required the surgical theatre. Most injuries¡¯ recovery was aided by the System and the Panda Nurses. Milk was just hanging around to accelerate the recovery process every now and then. Though, just as Yun before her, she primarily acted as a mediator or counsellor.. However, this time was different. She would be utilizing her surgical skills which she had not been using for years, if not decades ever since she was accepted by the System. ¡°So Milk was a doctor before? I thought she was a Priest Class with a Monk subclass? I am confused.¡± Jin asked the System in his head to clarify as he and Yang Ling entered the upper floors of the surgical theatre to witness the surgery without becoming a hindrance. ¡°Milk¡¯s history is fairly uncommon. She was born into a family of high nobility, famous for being doctors in their era. Her parents were ruthless in teaching her the skills to be a doctor, yet she was more of a rebellious person. Something similar to User when User first started. It was through a certain incident, that Milk had encountered a religious heretic, from whom she learnt her skills as a priest and as a battle monk.¡± The System stated. ¡°Religious Heretic? Wow, I kinda always pictured Milk as some girl who came to hate god after a long time in the church, due to her behaviour. I did not expect her to be learning from a heretic out of the bat.¡± Jin was somewhat astonished by Milk¡¯s backstory. ¡°Don¡¯t you know, that in history the winners decide the ¡®truth¡¯? Therefore it should not surprise you, that she was branded a ¡®Religious Heretic¡¯. Milk¡¯s master was a World¡¯s Scion, a Saviour. The crowning glory of her civilisation, who offered them hope and light. The Perfection in mind, body and grace. It was to Milk¡¯s dismay that her master eventually ¡®betrayed¡¯ the entire civilisation¡­ ultimately being forced to step up against the one, she may even have worshipped or seen as a part of her family. Though, in her master¡¯s words, it was just another lesson for Milk to learn.¡± Kraft interjected his own opinions. ¡°Okay¡­It seems like Milk had a rough past too. Wait, you seem to be praising her too much. Do you like her?¡± Jin thought to tease the old fox. ¡°Why not? Her b.r.e.a.s.ts and body looked so deliciously voluptuous. Do not tell me you do not like those. Otherwise, I would begin to worry whether the System might have chosen the wrong person to entrust itself for the revival of the Panda Clan.¡± Kraft started to doubt Jin¡¯s preference since he had not made a move on any of the girls that were around him. ¡°What are you talking about! I¡­am just picky!¡± Jin blushed a bit and felt a bit awkward, but Yang Ling did not notice a single bit since she was concentrating her efforts observing the preparation of the surgical procedure. Wishing there was more she could do, to help. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not just her. All of the bellators here have their own story to tell. Even me! Hahahaha!¡± Jin listened to Kraft and it felt that for the first time Kraft¡¯s usual laugh hid a tinge of vulnerability to him. ¡°Yea yea, you must be some guy, who happened to take care of a baby fox, that he found injured right at the side of the road. You took him with you, nursing him back to health, only for an incident to happen. And when the situation seemed hopeless, the fox eventually decided to repay you back in a way that you did not expect.¡± Jin tried to get back at Kraft, who oddly enough kept quiet. ¡°In any case, I got some information from the assassin Ban De. He was rather tight lipped, but he will loosen up given time. I will report back once it is done.¡± Kraft told him as he disappeared from Jin¡¯s thoughts and the surgical procedure happened to be starting soon. It was similar to a standard procedure in the real world with a few Panda nurses and two ¡®surgeons¡¯ mainly Peppers and Milk. Milk passed the responsibility of holding the container to a senior Panda Nurse as she aided Peppers with the surgery. ¡°So do you want to put the Isolation Core near the chest similar to Iron Woman? Afterall, the danzhong (middle dantian) point is located at the centre of the chest.¡± Peppers asked as she picked up the circular core to observe its shape. Yang Ling told Peppers how the Isolation Core should work in theory, but she had no idea if it would really work as planned in reality. It was only through the AI computer simulation that Jin kept assuring her that it could be trusted, the only evidence for this particular isolation core could work. ¡°Yea, the AI computer simulation can be trusted.¡± Peppers echoed at Jin when Yang Ling told her about it but there was a tinge of sarcasm that Yang Ling was not sure if it was intended or not. ¡°According to the chi circuits the Computer provided, his dantian core solidified in the pelvic region. So if we want to place the isolation core, technically we should put it near there so that the Qihai (lower dantian) point would not be affected especially considering my observation that the poison corruption tends to flow to the solidified dantian core naturally.¡± Milk was still conscious about avoiding saying the System¡¯s name as those in the viewing room could hear the conversation held in the operating theatre. ¡°Hahaha! Can you imagine whenever he goes to the toilet or wishes to have s.e.x, there will be this circular metal thing blocking his view? Oh, such sadness.¡± Peppers let out bluntly, which incurred Milk¡¯s wrath. She headbutted her, since her gloves were sterile. Afterwards, she calmed down a little before giving her decision. ¡°Alternatively, I can place it at the Mingmen point which is around his Lumbar spine, primarily L3, L4 area. Besides, there were indications of a herniated disc at that location and his chi circuits have shown a high activity in the Mingmen point. It indicates that Yuan Ba is suppressing the pain of his slipped disc. I can perform a discectomy and insert this Poison Isolation Core as a disk with titanium casing cover too. Worst case scenario, I can do a spinal fusion, but it would immobilise him quite a fair bit. That way, no one would suspect that he would have the- ¡± Milk explained her options to her team, though Yang Ling interrupted them: ¡°Please, no spinal fusion. He is the head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Family, immobilising him is equivalent to crippling his power and control. I believe he¡¯d rather die than to live this way.¡± Yang Ling said in a desperate tone through the operating theatre speaker. ¡°Fine, fine, whatever princess. Peppers, I need you to utilise my Scan skill. I need vision to operate this. Real time camera, X Ray images and chi circuits fusion scans. Jin, if possible turn the time dilation up in this particular dungeon instance. I am afraid it will be a long surgery. I believe if the other military vendors stay in quarantine too long, people will start to get suspicious. Not to mention this VIP.¡± Milk was aware based on experience that if someone of high ranking was missing for too long, it would create a hassle for many people. ¡°Nurses, get the necessary equipment from the storage room.¡± Milk was taking control of the current situation like a head doctor as the Panda nurses flipped the knocked out Yuan Ba to a prone position. With two snaps of her finger, the panda nurses rushed to get the equipment with massive robotic arms used for industrial welding but these one were used for precision cutting of the skin and removal of the herniated part of the spinal disk. The surgery started and the timer on the wall commenced as the panda nurses had their own jobs to do. Monitoring the vitals of the patient, rotating to control the corruption poison, wiping the sweat from Milk¡¯s face as she remotely controlled the multiple arm machine to cut and remove part of the disk. With only one surgeon operating, the multiple arm machine was a godsend as it was also partially powered and operated by the System. The System would guide Milk to a certain extent. It held the flesh of the body and spine apart, along with the vessels if necessary as she carried out the heavier workload. Separately, Peppers was focused on continuously casting the legendary skill, Scan. Once, it was easy to obtain the information for that particular moment of time but because Milk required real time imagery, a tremendous amount of mana was needed to cast the Scan over and over from different perspectives. But because of the recent extended usage of mana especially after the fight against the Titan Knight, her mana tolerance was much higher than before. Hence, this was not as bad as it would be. Besides, there was a Panda Nurse right beside Peppers who monitored her vitals too and cast healing spells on her if needed. The surgery was proceeding smoothly which assured Jin so he dismissed himself from the operating theatre viewing room as he had other things that needed to be taken care of. Chapter 301 MSS Authorities When Jin returned to the recovery instance to calm the quarantined military vendors once more, Yun informed him in his thoughts that the police were here. "Ahhh, Jin what have you done this time around?" Inspector Lee An whined as he entered the premise of the shop instance with Se Lang and Deng Long. Usually, for police calls, it would just be Se Lang, who would take the call as the policeman on duty, so it was rather odd that Lee An was with him. "Hey! I swear this time is different¡­" Jin then found out, that Lee An''s visit was merely a coincidence. He had been around the corner on his way to work and Se Lang wanted to offer him a quick one minute ride to the police station noticing how tired he was. Who could have predicted that as soon as Lee An had entered the car, there was a police radio call? Lee An decided to tag along because they heard the emergency call was a breach of security concerning Dungeons and Pandas. Jin offered the tired inspector and policemen some coffee (which they ''reluctantly'' took) and explained the situation to them. All three almost spit out their coffee simultaneously when they heard the word "assassin". Their shock only increased once they also heard "Royal Zodiac". Afterwards, he brought the police to the confined area of the military vendors with the System''s permission to enter the recovery instance, where they took their statements down. "Thank you, System. I was afraid you would never allow us to re-enter the recovery instance." Jin sent his thought. "This was a unique situation, and the condition of the patients are stable. The shop was closed too, and there is no apparent breach of confidentiality for this current situation." The System stated and only then did Jin understand how the System was protecting the identities of the patients by not allowing any random customers to enter the recovery instance for curiosity sake. "Yea¡­ I guess we should call the Military Police in. An assassination attempt on someone from a direct family of the Royal Zodiac would be plenty big on itself. It even targeting the head¡­ that is totally out of our jurisdiction." Lee An shook his head, hardly believing that such a thing could happen in this laidback shopping district. "I''ve already contacted someone I know from the MSS (Ministry of State Security), they will be here soon. The Boss is just following protocol by calling the police in first." Hou Fei informed them. "By the way, where is Tiger Lord Yuan Ba?" Inspector Lee asked as he looked around the recovery instance unable to find him. "Is he in a separate room? Are his injuries that severe?" "''Tiger Lord''? Oh shit." Jin finally realised that since the beginning he had been forgetting to address Yuan Ba with his formal title. "Oh? Were you not close with Tiger Lord Yuan Ba? I assumed you knew him well enough, judging by the way you called him so informally?" Hou Fei had been paying special attention, ever since he learnt that Jin was Ming''s grandson. "Yea, I did not know him before today¡­" Jin admitted rather awkwardly, but Hou Fei laughed. "I do not think he minds. Especially since you and your companions ultimately rescued him and-" "And even saved my life." Yuan Ba entered the room slightly awake in a wheelchair before the others turned their attention to him. There were bandages and a neck support because of the wound, though Milk''s magic would make sure that the injuries disappeared within a day. Milk was able to close the neck wound without too much trouble thanks to the corruption poison getting transferred and contained within the poison isolation core after the surgical process. "The surgery was a success?" Jin was fairly surprised it was already done. The System told him that the time dilation for the surgery was extended because the bellators were able to take the strain better than him. In the meantime, Yang Ling, who was walking with the help of Gearbox V3 came over. "Urgh so tired." Milk yawned as she walked towards a bed and crashed almost immediately. The nurses did not lose any time and closed the curtains around her, reassuring Jin that she was just exhausted. "Eh¡­what about the rest of the military vendors?" Jin wondered, and the senior Panda Nurse told him that Peppers was already collecting the data from the surgical operation. She would proceed to create a miniature version that could be injected, without requiring any surgery to contain those minor poison corruption within the military vendors. "Well, that is good news. There will be much to do once the MSS arrives." Hou Fei pointed out with a sigh of relief. Eventually, the authorities from the MSS arrived and noted down the same statement as the police did earlier, leaving shortly before the store''s opening hours. During that amount of time, Peppers and the Panda Nurses had injected the modified version of the Poison Isolation Core into the vendors. Their versions looked like a golden thumbtack pin secured on the side of the upper arm, compared to Yuan Ba''s large disk. "The amount of corruption poison is minimal. Possibly because it merely acted as a catalyst to break their chi circulation a little in order to absorb their chi powers. This should have allowed the assassin to create the monster face on him. Kraft concluded that the monster face was to make him immune to the terrifying Psionic magic that Yang Ling possessed. And that was all the information I have received from Kraft so far." Peppers told Jin in a telepathic message. Jin guessed he would rather keep that information to himself than to tell the MSS authorities about it. Still, the MSS authorities did not just rule out Jin as a possible conspirator and questioned him thoroughly, even though Yuan Ba and Hou Fei provided their assurance to them. Thankfully with Kraft around, the MSS authorities "low levelled" psionic abilities did not affect Jin at all. Kraft even manipulated the information intake slightly to make the MSS authorities believe, that while Jin was hiding something, that it was only concerning some of his store''s trade secrets, but nothing regarding or connecting him to the assassin. When asked for the assassin, Jin brought the authorities to a room where Kraft had already prepared a wrapped up present for them to pick up. "Got to make it look like he struggled in the tentacles, plus those bigger injuries? Just collateral damage from the fight. No one will know." Kraft who was beside Jin briefed him, as the authorities picked it up. After the military vendors and the MSS authorities exited through the back door, Hou Fei stayed back, while Yuan Ba was still in the recovery instance resting. "So what information did you get?" Hou Fei asked when no one else was around, yet Jin continued to feint ignorance. "Sigh. Anyone ever tells you, that you can be too careful. Well, given the situation I can understand, but what about this? Will this change your mind?" Hou Fei raised his arm and opened his palm. In no time, an emblem magically appeared on his hand, which caused Jin to be on his guard until Yun patted him on his shoulder to signal him to stand down. "Jin, he is an ally of Ming¡­and ours," Yun explained as she raised her arm and repeated the same thing like Hou Fei. Her hand was shining with the same symbol, that had made Jin confused at Yun''s actions until she took a breath before she said it to his face. "He is a Panda Clan Remnant." Chapter 302 A Tigers Hear Jin stared deep into Hou Fei''s eyes upon hearing Yun''s explanation making the middle aged man feel rather uncomfortable. "¡­Okay. For some reason, Boss Jin here is starting to give me the creeps." "Don''t fret the small stuff. I believe he is just too tired after having used the main System''s high intensity mode for the very first time. So please excuse the somewhat odd behaviour of our young master." Yun explained so nonchalantly to Hou Fei. "Aaargh I don''t even know anymore¡­ Should I even be surprised at this string of coincidences at this point or should I simply accept that the System is secretly bringing people together to trouble my life even further?!" Jin complained out loud, which incurred the System''s response. "The System does not have such a unique capability to bring the Panda Clan Remnants together. It is through a series of probabilities that brought Hou Fei to meet with the Original Panda Clan member today. The System would gladly accept to have such unique, omnipotent capability as part of its powers. It would indeed make life much easier." The System replied as if it was a matter of fact which made Hou Fei laughed. "Well, I can see that our young master here may need some rest after the whole incident. But now that I have connected back to the main System, I have to say it does feel great to be back." Hou Fei suddenly felt more refreshed than ever, swinging his arms around. "It feels as if I had lived in the woods for so long, only to come back to the city for a proper telecoms signal on my phone. Hahaha! I will come back later in the evening when the young master is all better." Hou Fei left his contacts with Yun as he could see Jin was not interested in entertaining him at this moment. "I know this is the umpteen time I''ve said this and my current behaviour is not fitting to as a Boss at all¡­ but I am really fucking tired. It''s so bad I think I''ll be able to sleep standing right with my eyes left open now¡­." Jin grumbled to Yun even though he had a slight boost of coffee when he drank with Se Lang and the others earlier. "Go talk to Yang Ling and Tiger Lord Yuan Ba first. Perhaps after that, I will get Zeru to bring you to the System''s sleeping capsule in the Dungeon Maker. You still have many things to accomplish judging from your initial plan in the morning before things go rather awry. I will attend the shop for you." Yun gave Jin a large pat on the back and pushed him into the recovery instance once more to see Ku Wai standing at the side of a private room. He opened the door for Jin to see Yang Ling and Yuan Ba talking rather amicably with each other. "Sorry to disturb you, Sir Tiger Lord. How are you feeling right now?" Jin asked politely addressing him with the proper title, after getting reminded by Hou Fei. "And here I thought, you weren''t one to pay someone the proper respect, Boss Jin?" Yuan Ba''s tone was already filled with power again, despite him just coming out from the surgery. "I¡­ apologise. I did not know my place." Jin bowed sincerely, but that actually made him want to prostrate too, since the floor seemed so enticing to place his head on¡­to rest his eyes for just a moment or two. "Hahaha! I am just kidding, Boss Jin. It is I, who should thank you. Judging from what Yang Ling had told me, it seems that the Royal Zodiac Tiger family owes you more than just simple favour. Instead it should be considered us owing you a tremendous debt." Yuan Ba smiled genuinely towards Jin. "I would not dare. I''ve just been my doing job as her business partner." Jin tried to rephrase himself as he did not want to earn too much favouritism from the Tigers even though in terms of power in China, they were considered the third strongest household of all the Zodiac family. The Royal Zodiac Horse household was currently leading first in China concerning influence and money, while the Royal Zodiac Dragon came in second place since it held onto the greatest might in regards to military strength. The Royal Zodiac Tiger Household only had partial control of the military though the majority of the police force was under them. Who knows what would happen to Jin if the enemies of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Household knew that he sided with them? "You are too humble. Do you want my little girl? She is great looking, has the brains for mechanical marvel and isn''t crippled anymore! Just give her a few months of training under me, and she will be in top shape! Who knows maybe you could even become the first husband of the future Royal Zodiac Tiger household." Yuan Ba was advertising his daughter shamelessly to Jin, which made Yang Ling use her strength from the Gearbox V3 punching his shoulder. "Papa! Jin would not do that! And what do you mean first husband?! Are you keeping other women from Mama?" Yang Ling now pulled her father''s ear and twisted it causing him to whimper. "Ow ow ow, no my little Tigress. I am just expressing that you are that wonderful, all the men should bow down to you!" Yuan Ba tried to soothe his daughter''s expression before she calmed down a bit. "Hmmph." Yang Ling let her father go, threw some quick glances at Jin, before she stood up and walked towards him. Only to suddenly prostrate in front of him. "Huh! What are you doing? Get up! Get up!" Jin quickly tried to pull her up by the shoulders, but the gearbox V3 had been designed too flawlessly. Unless Jin utilised his cultivation, there was no way to pull her up forcefully. Besides her father was around and Jin did not want to do anything stupid. To him, he felt that it was too much trouble. "I am really honestly truly sorry. After all the help you rendered for me. You even created a miracle and allowed me to walk again. Yet I even demanded more from you¡­ I continued making requests from you so selfishly and even kicked your erm¡­balls. Please forgive this childish behaviour that I exhibited. I do not dare to hope for it, but I wish that we can do business¡­ again." Yang Ling apologised while Yuan Ba kept quiet to discern Jin''s expression. Jin could clearly see the look in his eyes, fiercely waiting for an answer like a tiger stalking in the bushes. Jin sighed at the mess that he was in and gave his reply. "There surely will be a possibility in doing business again¡­ but in a more favourable situation. My store will be opening soon, so Sir, if you wish to leave discreetly, give the Panda Nurses a call. They will inform me and I shall assist you out of this place." Jin did not outright forgive Yang Ling''s impulsive action. Not just because he was still angered by it, but also because he worried, that it would create a poor image to Yuan Ba''s impression of him, if all was simply forgiven. "Good. I like your reply. This is what a boss should do. Not to mount under other people''s pressure and making their own decisions." Yuan Ba nodded his head as he got up from the bed. "I can nurse my wound at home, your companion Milk and the panda nurses did a fantastic job. It felt as if I was being cared for by the world''s top hospital even though this is just a dungeon supplier store. I am thoroughly amazed and impressed by your dungeon and services." Yuan Ba praised as he took out the patient scrubs he was wearing and wore his shirt before he followed Jin to the back of his store along with Ku Wai and Yang Ling. "Do you like him? I''ve never see you kneel to a man like this. Heck, I''ve never even seen you speak this politely to a guy before. Even when you are in the wrong, you will bite back at that person until you realise it was your mistake or you made him think that it was his mistake instead." Yuan Ba questioned his daughter as he relaxed in the passenger seat while Ku Wai started up the car. "Yes, it''s sad to admit it but I totally agree with Lord Yuan Ba''s observation." Ku Wai interjected his thoughts and Yang Ling covered her face with her hands. "I cannot help it¡­my heart would just go wild." Yang Ling thought to herself but did not say a word at all. Yuan Ba noticed her expression and sighed but at the same time sniggered too. "So a Panda managed to steal the heart of a Tiger. What has this world come to?" Yuan Ba pondered out loud which made Ku Wai smirk while driving them back. Chapter 303 Sleeping Capsule Just as Yun had promised, Zeru accompanied Jin towards the sleep capsule . Strangely enough it was located in a part of the Dungeon Maker Jin had been unaware that it even existed . (Well, he did not know because it was not meant to be found . ) ¡°This sleeping capsule compresses time and will allow you to get 12 hours of sleep within a single hour . ¡± Zeru tried to explain it to his already non-responsive Panda Young Master, who had jumped into the capsule without hesitation after hearing the word ¡®sleep¡¯ . Zeru shook his head as he took his wooden sword out almost immediately to strike Jin . Yet even unconsciously, Jin was still fast enough to react by creating a thin icicle of white panda ice ready to fight even though his eyes were closed . ¡°Impressive, you not only attempted to defend yourself given your state, but also were ready to go on the offensive . It seems the high intensity mode and Kraft¡¯s subconscious mind training are finally showing their results . You certainly made progress in creating an astral force that controls and pushes your body to the limit, even though you may not realise it, yet . ¡± Zeru was fairly satisfied with the results as he placed his wooden sword away and assisted his master¡¯s body in the capsule to change into the proper cultivation stance . ¡°Don¡¯t you mean a backup Jin?¡± Kraft walked in as he poked Jin¡¯s face repeatedly, without any sign of resistance . ¡°The Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation was meant to become this way from the start . A sentient astral phantom created by his subconscious dominating his body when the main consciousness falls asleep . In this way, Master Jin can utilise it in battle in case he ever faints for any reason . For daily tasks¡­haha, we should do things one step at a time . ¡± Zeru justified it to Kraft while pressing on some buttons on the sleeping capsule . The sleeping capsule did not only accelerate time, but it also acted as a sort of massage chair where the System analysed Jin¡¯s chi circuitry, pinpointing the weak points, created due to clotted chi areas . Afterwards the System assisted in reducing the clotted chi areas by inserting artificially produced pure chi energy via electricity . Thus the body responded by creating even more black sludge and the System purged them on a regular basis when Jin was inside the capsule . ¡°Oh man, the black sludge¡­It is even muddier than before . ¡± Kraft shook his head upon looking at it, as if he disapproved of the production of the sludge . ¡°The dirtier it is, the better for the creation of the sentient astral phantom . ¡± Zeru grinned as he observed Jin producing it an even faster rate than before . ¡°I guess the System is not letting go of this particular by product, too?¡± Kraft asked, and the System replied with an acknowledgement . ¡°The sludge that was collected since day he stepped into the hot spring instance was filled with impurities . It contains valuable research to create Souls . The analysis of past sludges have proven that User is capable of creating high quality souls as long as his cultivation soars . Past Users were not able to do that . Most likely reason with 87 . 9% certainty was the outdated cultivation manual . ¡° ¡°In the end, you still treat your one and only User as a research subject . But oh well, at least Ming did leave a pretty good present for Jin and you, System . ¡± Kraft could not argue that the System was doing it for its own survival . ¡°Previous User Ming was and continues to be classified as an utter disgrace to the Panda Clan for facing the Zodiacs far too soon . It resulted in the need for using the desperate ¡®Time Reversal¡¯ . However in case previous User Ming¡¯s cultivation manual turns out to be the key to eventually create the necessary high quality souls for the production, his name will be cleared . ¡± The System replied, with a strange hint of reluctance towards the end . ¡°Then I am guessing you want to use the high quality souls for the purpose of replicating some certain individuals¡­ Please tell me you don¡¯t really consider resurrecting that bastard . ¡± Kraft was getting annoyed all of a sudden when he was thinking out loud . Zeru felt that he was out of the loop, since his time with the System couldn¡¯t be considered as long compared to Kraft . ¡°If necessary and if it will ensure the survival of the Panda Clan, the System will do so . However as always the current User will have to make the choice to decide whether the resurrection of that particular individual shall be considered vital in the long term resurrection of the Panda Clan . ¡± The System answered . ¡°We both know what kind of choices you usually give . Those can barely even be called as such!¡± Kraft waved his hand with a disgruntled manner and looked at the sleeping Jin . ¡°The System will promise to give the User a real choice as it acknowledges Original System Bellator Kraft has certain grievances with that individual . The System does not wish to lose another valuable Bellator . ¡± The System had begun to learn the technique of bargaining from Jin¡¯s repeated haggling with it when they were interacting with the Black Market . (Oh Jin, he has no idea the monster he helped creating . ) ¡°I shall be the judge of that, when the time comes . Zeru, I will be going off first . It¡¯s no fun to bully the Young Master with no reaction . Luckily I know exactly, how to find him . ¡± Kraft coolly disappeared upon commenting and true enough, Jin was already in another reality talking to Ming when Kraft entered into his subconsciousness . ¡°Ah Kraft, I heard you had some fun according to Jin . ¡± Ming smiled as he poured a cup of hot drink for Kraft to savour . ¡°Meh, not the most fun I had in awhile, but it indeed brought some memories back . ¡± Kraft shrugged his shoulders lightly and slowly sipped the hot drink as he listened in to the conversation between Jin and Ming . ¡°Ah yes, Gramps . Who is Hou Fei? He suddenly showed up and said he was a Panda Clan Remnant and began to ask me to share information with him . ¡± Jin felt particularly curious about the Panda Clan Remnant which appeared out of nowhere . ¡°Oh? Hou Fei? I do remember him and he truly is a Panda Clan Remnant . He worked under me before the System turned back time . He is one of the only few people that the System allowed to retain their memories from before . ¡± Ming replied while rubbing his stubbled chin . ¡°One of the few people? So there are more Panda Clan Remnants out there, which came in contact with you previously, other than Hou Fei?¡± Jin had no idea that some people still knew anything about Ming¡¯s real past . ¡°Oh, I did not think about that . There should probably be some more . Unfortunately the System never told me who those people were, who kept their memories . However to my knowledge, there seemed to be other people who were unrelated to the System that were saved too . ¡± Ming¡¯s eyes were up looking at the cabin¡¯s ceiling as if he was thinking of the past . ¡°Why those people then?¡± Jin felt that the fewer people know about this time reversal thing, the better since it was on a whole other level compared to the dilation and compression of time, which most Dungeon Suppliers had access to . The cultivation knowledge and technology for it may not be very widely known, but at least it was already accepted by society . ¡°I too don¡¯t have any idea, since the System refused to interact with me ever since the time reversal . I can only deduce that the System was not totally heartless to leave me at a lurch and left some people that I had known to turn to, in case I needed help, once I lost my contact with the System . And most, if not all of those people that retained their memories were privy of the knowledge that I had a System with me . ¡± Ming replied . ¡°You told your friends about your System powers? Why?!¡± Jin was rather shocked since he was trying to keep it under wraps as much as possible . ¡°It¡¯s too odd to wield its powers on a daily basis and not allowing them to know . They would have figure it out sooner or later . So one day I simply decided it would be for the best to confess, before the secret could create a wedge between us . I still remember how mad the System was with my selfish action . Besides, it¡¯s also something you have to consider and face in the future . What if the System did not entirely erase the memories of everyone? Especially the enemies, the Zodiacs?¡± Ming questioned Jin who did not know how to answer . ¡°Love and peace sounds nice, sure . That would be the most ideal outcome, but not everyone will think that way . Especially power hungry people . After all, would you be willing to bow to somebody else, because of a promise given to an ancestor of somebody else? Those people have grown used to the power they wield, and your existence, will make them regard you as only someone who wants to steal their piece of the cake . ¡± Ming explained . ¡°Do you believe, that they might have found or developed a technique to absorb or transfer the System away from me?¡± Jin started to get a little afraid . ¡°Only time will tell . But from my interaction with Kraft in the past few minutes I have confirmed that I am still unable to share what has actually happened before the Time Reversal . Anyway enough with this whole conspiracy talk . Instead, shall we duel? I¡¯d like to see your abilities in action . ¡± Ming sniggered as he spoke his last sentence with him slamming the table, breaking it into two and charging straight towards Jin with no further warning . Chapter 304 Mens Talk Two hours had passed when Jin finally woke up and left the sleeping capsule. He felt refreshed, re-energised and vigilant. The battle with Ming in his head had allowed him to learn more about his skills. After all, some of the things mentioned in the cultivation manual could not be taught by reading and had to be experienced. "Finally awake?" Zeru had been sitting around cross legged, waiting for Jin to come out of the sleeping capsule. Greeted by Zeru, who passed him a towel, Jin looked down on himself to realise that his clothes were drenched in the black sludge. "Has the System removed the black sludge, while I was sleeping?" Jin queried. Zeru nodded and also took this opportunity to explain what the black sludge was capable of. He figured Jin should know the truth about the byproduct of his cultivation. Information which the System had withheld previously. Surprisingly, Jin was rather open minded about the System keeping secrets. Had it been the him from just a few weeks ago, he would have surely complained. Instead he merely asked the System: "So how exactly does the quality of souls differ between the ones we buy from the market?" "The Interworld Market only allows the trade of standard souls which have been carefully selected according to the regulations set by the Interworld Market Committee. According to those regulations the sale of High Quality souls is considered illegal. At one point in time before this regulation, the market had been swamped due to necromancers performing taboo rituals in order to sell them. This nearly lead to a market crash. Nowadays not even the black market offers them anymore. Those high quality souls can be used to resurrect a person back properly, provided the right conditions and materials." "Interworld Market? You mean there is an entity larger than you?" Jin asked with his brows furrowed. "Negative, the Interworld Market is not an entity. They are governed by a group of Grand Arch Wizards. That market is unaware about the real existence of the System. Most mistake the System for a highly functioning AI used to hide the real identity for someone behind it. However the System consists of the collective will of various elders and generations of Panda Clan Members. Should the User die without managing to resurrect the Panda Clan, his Soul will also be absorbed into the collective as long as doing so will enhance the chances of achieving the goal." "So System, do you need more of this black sludge for your research?" Jin switched his topic to prevent even more confusion. "The System has collected a large enough sample of the sludge. Before User reaches another Grade another sample is not necessarily required." The System replied and Jin nodded in response. "Then you will have to wait. I have plenty of other things to do." Jin excused himself as he exercised his neck a little before heading to the bathroom in his Terrace House. The System had been nice enough to create a portal for him. After he got naked, he noticed that his skin was glittering with specks of gold and black, but within seconds, the specks disappeared. "System, what are these specks of gold and black?" "Those are the starting signs from a formation of a sentient astral form." The System answered. Jin was once again astonished. He had read about it in the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation manual. He understood, that he could cultivate an astral form, but he thought it would take a long while for him to reach such a level. It was supposed to be a form from a supposed non-physical realm of existence in which the physical human body was said to have a counterpart. The requirement was for him to be in control of his subconscious, which Kraft had been emphasising in order to create that astral form. "Hmm, if a sentient astral form has already started to come into existence, does that mean Kraft''s subconscious training is paying off?" Jin thought to himself as he soaked himself in a gigantic tub of hot spring water mixed with medicinal herbs, courtesy of the System. "Mmhmm, though part of the credit also belongs to the usage of the high intensity mode." Kraft''s voice suddenly sounded beside him. Without him noticing Kraft had immersed himself into the water while he continued to be fully naked. "UWAAAA! CAN YOU NOT SCARE ME JUST LIKE THAT!?" Jin momentarily tried to cover his sacred treasures in embarrassment with his hands. "Not bad, potentially above average size, hard to tell since it''s all shrivelled up. I have a trick to enlarge it further if you wish to learn it for your¡­bedtime activities." Kraft laughed loudly, as he snapped his fingers. The next moment all his foxes went into the bath with Jin. For the first time, Jin saw Tsu, Kai, Ixa, Ixel, Itori and Evon in the bath quietly enjoying the hot spring medicinal bath. Some were swimming around in the water, others just soaked happily¡­ and for some reason one of them seemed embarrassed and turned around not looking at the naked Jin. "I refuse!" Jin crossed his hands, before he took out a small towel hanging by the side covering his secret treasure before he returned to the bath. For some odd reason he felt a cooling sensation pulsating around him despite him being in a hot bath tub. "The System recommends User to use the high intensity mode more often, so that you can utilise the sleep capsule." The System spoke in the bathroom which made Jin nervous, getting the feeling that he was not as alone as he had wished. "Why do I have to use the high intensity mode before using the sleeping capsule? Can''t I just use the sleeping capsule any time I want? Would it be possible to remodel the hot spring mountain instance into something similar to the sleeping capsule? That way, the black sludge would not overflow and I would not need to worry that much." Jin asked the System while patting Ixa, who had swam over. "A certain level of tiredness must be achieved before the sleeping capsule can be utilised." The System replied with a short answer. "Otherwise the pure chi injection of the sleeping capsule will kill you. Unless your chi circuits are clotted up that capsule may as well be a torture chamber. When you are burdened with fatigue, your circuits are blocked with residual bad and broken chi, and that is one way to use the sleeping capsule." Zeru was the next person who joined Jin in the bathroom. Jin was slightly jealous seeing how extremely toned Zeru''s muscles were. More so than Kraft''s. But in terms of battle scars, both of them were comparable. "Its like oxygen. Too pure a substance and it will kill you because your blood cells cannot carry them away." Kraft flaunted his knowledge of uncommon torture techniques. "So similar to chi circuits, the System''s artificially pure chi would overload your chi circuits if you just go inside without truly needing it. If it was 100% natural pure chi, that would be a different story since the human producing it could suit it for the body." "Well, what if I continue to use the hot spring instance?" Jin laid back to a more relaxed position. "The effectiveness of the Emerald Mountain hot spring instance has been reduced due to your grade. While it is possible to buy more high quality herbs from the black market the cost-effect-ratio is suboptimal. User not recommended to use it for cultivation purposes." The System replied as it automatically injected hot spring water into the tub to replace the current pool. Jin made use of the quiet time and engaged in some small talk with Kraft and Zeru. Primarily they talked about how his progress was going, and what he should do to improve himself. After a bit of silence Zeru proposed more topics to entertain people which was later overshadowed by Kraft. Never did Jin realised that both the males were such a talkative duo given the right time and atmosphete. "Won''t it be great if we have some plum wine?" Zeru suggested on the fly which the System immediately granted and they enjoyed a cup or two. Jin did not drink much since he knew he needed to work later. During their deep conversation Jin realised that Zeru had a lotus flower at the side of his thigh. Zeru noticed Jin looking at it and he sighed. "It''s a memory of a loved one. She tattooed it for me with traditional ink and blessed it with her eternal love. No matter the battle scars on my body, this lotus tattoo is my Achilles heel. I will never let anyone scar this area." Zeru said solemnly. This confession caused Kraft to become somewhat sentimental. He turned his back and showed Jin a battle scar that transversed along the entire spine. "At one point, probably not too far off, the System will undoubtedly ask your permission to resurrect some certain individuals as higher NPCs beings. The ones that can make decision on their own and will demand authority and respect no matter what. Even though I hate most of them, I need to admit, but they will certainly be useful. If you wish their help, I will somehow tolerate it. All I ask is that you do not re-summon this one particular person. Panda Lord Zhou Lin." Kraft said in disgust, with a murderous look after spouting the name. "This nice little reminder was given to me by him. He had already been resurrected once before. A Panda Clan Chosen had received it as a mission from the System. Well without going into too much detail, this turned out to be one if not the biggest mistake the Original System has ever made. The Panda Clan Chosen was later forcefully stripped of her status and the ownership of the System went to Zhou Lin as he fought against the Jade Emperor and his lackeys." Kraft explained. "The Three Kingdom Civil Wars in your books were all because of him. He started the precursor wars to weaken the nation as a whole so that he could swoop the entire nation for himself. He almost won in the shadows until I rebelled against him. Rebelled against my own master since I knew the loopholes against the original System." Kraft laid back staring at the ceiling and sip his sake as one of the foxes came to console him. "Nine other bellators rebelled against him¡­ I am the only survivor of that coup d''etat. Even though me surviving was also a stroke of luck. As you might have guessed, their spirits are currently manifested within these little darlings before you. In short, you are technically commanding Zeru, Peppers, Milk, me and six other original bellators, though they are unable to remember too much of their past life. Most of them only retained their abilities" Kraft went on and before Jin could even ask about the other three, Kraft was already ahead of him. "For my earlier work the System has promised to reward me one of the last three foxes that it had previously withheld. Since those three are classified as ''troublemakers'' the System needs your permission to release them." Kraft finished his story, when Jin suddenly realised something. "OIII System! You not only owe Kraft something, but you also owe me A HECK OF A LOT of rewards! Time to pay up!" Jin stood up and shouted with anticipation. Chapter 305 Pei "The Oceanic Phoenix Dung has already been delivered to the Jacks with dramatic effect flying from the sky." The System stated and Jin pity the Jacks. "Please tell me you didnt just flung dung into their backyard." Jin said with some awkwardness. "Negative. the dung that can be used to accelerate the growth of the Living Armour is extremely valuable. It had been secured properly before sending the reward to them. According to their expertise it will not be long until they fully grow." The System replied which gave Jin an ease of mind. "Your Secondary Optional Objective of reaching general sales to 5000 people by the end of November is still in progression, though System estimates User''s completion with a 93.6% certainty. As for the Partnership Mission, it has been completed beyond the System''s expectations. Transferring Pei and Kiyu into the possession of Original System Bellator Kraft." The System stated once more and a large box magically flew from the ceiling and into the bathtub, causing a big splash that pushed all the foxes out of the tub since they could not hold on to the sides of the tub. Jin and the others slowly waddled near the box while the System replenished the hot spring water and it revealed two shiny bullets in the crate. The bullets vibrated for a moment before flying onto Kraft''s hand. "What? I thought only one fox would be released? ¡­ System what are you playing at?" Kraft was slightly confused by the System''s rewards and then it struck Jin. "Oh¡­I did ask the System to grant me the ability to defy psionic abilities so that the System could not read my mind¡­perhaps one of your released foxes is able to do that?" Jin asked as he went towards to Kraft while holding on his small towel to have a look at the bullets. They were crafted with an intricate design as if the bullets were meant to be an ornament, rather than used in battle. Kraft thought about Jin''s reply and nodded before a rare smile surfaced on his face. He seemed to insert some energy into the bullets causing one royal purple fox and one pure pink fox out from his hand. The pink fox looked at Kraft for a while before turning her head towards Jin. "Are you the new master?" Pei, the pink fox, spoke into Jin''s mind, which surprised him but he replied with a nod to keep his cool. "Brilliant. Keep me away from that disgusting devilman." The fox gracefully walked on water as if she was a celestial being. The other foxes who already gave way by being out of the tub, allowed Pei to gently lie on Jin''s lap when he sat down while she kept ignoring Kraft the whole time. Meanwhile, Kiyu was elated upon seeing Kraft and was extremely jumpy, causing a lot of splashes within the tub. "This is a nice surprise. I thought Jin would need to convince her somehow to share her powers with him. But to think, that she would so easily accept anyone over me. Seriously just how much does she hate me¡­" Kraft had his mind occupied by Pei even though Kiyu was another one of the three foxes, who had been sealed and was now creating some havoc to get his attention. After Kiyu saw that Kraft seemed to be in a world of his own, she jumped onto his head and pounced on it. She did not stop until he carefully hugged her and whispered into her ear: "See, I did promise you guys, that I would get you back. I am sorry, that it took me so long¡­" Zeru who was at the sideline patted Tsu and Kai while Pei became the attention for Jin. Kraft''s attention had also fully shifted to his freed fox. Jin felt a sort of tranquil peace that he had not felt for a very long time the moment Pei rested herself onto his lap. In response, he slowly stroked Pei''s fur. This made her also start to feel a sort of bond towards him. For some unknown reason, she felt as if she had found some long lost relative, even though she had never even seen him before. "Come to think of it¡­if I remember correctly, Pei could be considered a distant Panda Clan member. She should have married into the clan at one point. She passed on and was turned into a Bellator at the request of the System. Could it be those two are somehow related?" Kraft thought to himself as he unknowingly let Kiyu bite his fingers. "Maybe that''s why she feels so comfortable being with Jin? Too bad her soul was so badly damaged from the coup d''¨¦tat on Zhou Lin." Kraft having noticed their somewhat intimate interaction thought to himself. Suddenly an idea appeared in his mind. If the System could resurrect that certain bastard, could it maybe help these damaged souls¡­ Perhaps Jin could revive all of his foxes into proper bellators if the black sludge research went well. But even if it was possible, would that really be what his former comrades would wish for¡­ "I guess I should keep this as an idea for now." Kraft smiled as he began to leave the hot spring tub along with Zeru. The foxes stayed for a while to relax a bit more. Usually they had to stay inside their bullets, so this was a rare opportunity to stretch their legs, before they returned to Kraft''s side with the exception of Pei. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Boss, we did receive the dung and boy it is massive!" Gold, the leader of Jacks sent a text and picture to Jin which caused him to laugh as he was browsing his phone a little in the tub. (All hail waterproofed Zamzung phones although technically it had been modified by the system.) "Yea, the living armour plants¡­That is definitely one thing I have to explore urgently. If not for that piece of living armour, who saved my ass against the dantian poison corruption, I would not be here taking a bath so casually." Jin thought to himself as he began to walk out of the tub. As he was taking a shower to clean off the herbal medicinal bath he was in, he realised someone else was still around. "Is this another one of Kraft''s illusions¡­?" Jin bitterly laughed at himself as he saw a naked teenage girl with a fluffy pink tail showering herself. Her body was petite, and her long neon pink hair was slightly curled at the edges. "Hmm?" For some reason, Pei who had been a fox just minutes ago suddenly became a fox girl and was not afraid of Jin at all. "Sorry¡­ I didn''t mean to stare. It''s just the first time I saw erm one of Kraft''s foxes turn into a humanoid form." Jin mumbled an apology as he quickly turned his head around and continued to wash his hair. He had been totally oblivious to the fact that Kraft had any female foxes in his skulk. "Relax. Even though I have just been released, I am not that desperate to go for you. Besides, I had a husband before. Even though my memories of him are somewhat hazy, my love for him will never cease." Pei said as she continued to wash her hair and subsequently her tail in peace. "System had decided to test out the results of the Black Sludge with ex-Bellator Pei, now known as Fox Bullet Pei. She has agreed to participate in the experiment as a method to try and break out of Kraft''s fox bullet form, even though it constitutes a risk of her soul being corrupted while outside the protective formation of the bullet." The System noted and it had already caught on Kraft''s idea on using the black sludge soul research. "So could you tell me a bit more about that guy? What is this Zhou Lin made out of that he was powerful enough to destroy nine bellators?" Jin asked casually. He only blinked before he found himself at the mercy of Pei''s claws aiming at his carotid artery. "Never ever speak of his name so lightly. He is a monster equivalent or maybe worse than the Banned Emperor. All he cared about was power. Fucking hypocrites¡­ to think that we were crazy enough to all worship him as the Saviour of the Panda Clan when he was resurrected." Pei released her claws and walked back to her showering area. "So¡­ You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Jin tried to calm the tense situation between Pei and him, but all he heard was a sneer. He started to guess, why exactly those three could have been deemed ''troublemaker'' if this was the way they interacted. Though it was probably his own fault speaking of such a forbidden topic in front of her. "The System will admit that it has erred by using a tabooed high quality soul to resurrect Zhou Lin. Please accept the apologies from the System. Therefore it was decided to use its results from the Black Sludge Soul research to compensate for your loss. System hopes to have an amicable relationship between System, the User and bellators." The System replied to Pei who kept her silence. However, Jin could clearly feel the aura of death emitting from her and decided to quickly wash up before exiting the terrace house. Shortly after, Pei turned back into her fox form, but now it became as small as the digital pets that Jin''s customers had following them around. "Well guess, I can always claim that this an exclusive pet of mine, even though it seems strange seeing me with anything but a Panda¡­" Jin thought out loud as he went out of the house. Listening to him Pei simply changed her form into a blessing bracelet with pinkish orbs right beside the tattered storage watch he was wearing. "Wow¡­to think you can do more than just change your size and appearance. Thank you for changing your form just to suit my everyday life. So I guess this means you are fulfilling your duty of protecting me wherever I go." Jin laughed as he could feel the bracelet suddenly glow, perhaps a response to his words. "I will not let another Panda Clan Member fall for the System''s stupid tricks. No one should ever be dumb enough to resurrect Zhou Lin ever again." Pei told him in his mind before she kept quiet for a long time. Jin felt that the System, Kraft and Pei were not precisely speaking their mind about this whole Zhou Lin issue. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to ask them about it, without risking any serious harm to himself. "No matter how I see it, the Panda Clan just has too many skeletons in its closet. Since they aren''t willing to share any of it, I shall not care about anything and continue with my business. As long as I don''t accept the resurrection all should be fine." Jin tried to think positively as he reached his shop. Chapter 306 Sea Mesh CEO Chapter 306 Sea Mesh CEO ¡°Boss JINNNNN!¡± Ke Loong was practically jumping him the moment he found out Jin came into the shop. Jin tried to push Ke Loong away, who was about to give him a bear hug. ¡°Boss, I am very sorry for my friend¡¯s awkward behaviour. I hope you can forgive his enthusiasm.¡± Mr Know-It-All smiled at Jin¡¯s arrival. ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t know that he was a friend of yours. You somehow seem very relieved to see me¡­¡± Jin said, before he figured out the reason. With his absence, it was on Mr Know-It-All to entertain his friend all this time while Jin was recuperating. ¡°Erm¡­ Yeah. He told me what had happened in the morning. I am impressed and very thankful, that you managed to resolve that situation on your own. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t share this information with anybody else.¡± Mr Know-It-All resumed his smile as Ke Loong stabilised himself and returned into being a grown man. He took out his business card and presented it to Jin. ¡°Though I was at the presentation this morning, I am not a military vendor, but primarily a Dungeon Supplier Technologist.¡± Ke Loong officially introduced himself with Mr Know-It-All interjecting and stating that Ke Loong was the CEO for a company called Sea Mesh. ¡°Sea Mesh¡­? I think I heard about it during my school graduation¡­¡± Jin took out his phone to search the name on the net and realised that it was the up and coming Dungeon Supplier Tech company to provide cutting edge technology infused with lesser cultivation techniques. They aimed to encourage more people to become dungeon suppliers so that mankind as a whole could enjoy cultivation as a sport rather than a necessity to have a more comfortable life. (Kraft felt pitiful that the cultivation which was used as a means of survival became so trivial in the modern world.) ¡°I read about your ¡®Remote Portal¡¯ theory in university and loved the concept. It is admirable how you tried to connect people from other regions and even overseas to local dungeon suppliers¡¯ instances. Something like beaming into a virtual reality. Only that your team managed to turn this concept from science fiction show into reality. I still remember being in awe about it when I saw the video of your prototype working on a human.¡± Jin shook Ke Loong¡¯s hand as a sign of respect. He brought the two over to the Bar Island for a cup of coffee on the house. ¡°Yes, thank you for your praise. It¡¯s a shame it never went beyond the prototype stage. Shortly after that video was released the investors stopped funding it, since it consumed too much electricity for something to be considered convenient. But at the very least we managed to confirm that the remote portal device really works. If only it became widespread¡­ we even planned to go one step further to integrate them into a Mass Portal Transportation which would have definitely caused quite an uproar with the airline and shipping industries.¡± Ke Loong spoke of his plans in a more serious tone with a lot of regret. ¡°With the improvement of technology, can¡¯t the high ranking Western Wizards create a mass portal spell? They already have a working portal spell at Rank 16 and those above should be even more powerful.¡± Jin was not ignorant of such modern theory and dismissed traditional methods. Not to mention, Jin had access to the System, which already had a way to do that plus portaling him out to other worlds. ¡°Those wizards kept emphasising that such spells should not be messed around with too much. Especially when it comes to space time continuum and quantum physics. Can¡¯t really say that they are wrong either. There were cases of wizards messing up the space time continuum, who caused some weird monsters to appear. It was a good thing that those monsters could be killed quick enough, before anything worse happened. Just imagine if they had flourished in our world.¡± Ke Loong shuddered at the thought of it. ¡°And as expected of Boss Jin, your knowledge about this subject did not disappoint. I have been waiting here for you, because I would like to request your help with improving the Remote Portal Technology. We know that you are just a dungeon supplier and not some brilliant technologist since we had your background checked before approaching you.¡± Ke Loong admitted in an honest way, but he purposely left out Mr Know-It-All¡¯s role in that investigation. ¡°However the incident this morning changed my perspective of you. You have companions and contacts who might be able to help us complete this ¡®Remote Portal¡¯ Project. Of course we will compensate everyone involved, even you just for referring them, generously. I can even help promote your shop or how about letting ¡®Dungeons and Pandas¡¯ be the first dungeon supplier to have access to the Remote Portal Technology. ¡­Or even make it become the exclusive shop to have it. Plus the money from the patent of this Remote Portal and possibly the sales of the-¡± Jin stopped Ke Loong from talking anymore. ¡°I am sorry, but my contacts and I are not interested.¡± Jin stated in a firm but apologetic tone. ¡°Why? The amount of money you could get is immeasurable. And what about the fame? Don¡¯t you wish for future generation to learn your name, in helping develop such a thing? My company is currently going through an IPO, there are many eyes looki-¡± This time Ke Loong was stopped by Mr Know-It-All, who simply shook his head at his talking friend. ¡°One of my companions has already been working on a similar prototype for quite a while. It should not be too long now, before my companion will complete the work and make it ready for production. However I also have a counterproposal for you. How about you work for me instead?¡± Jin offered as he stared into Ke Loong¡¯s eyes with determination eager to win this argument. Mr Know-It-All could only laugh at the absurdity of the situation. A local small time dungeon supplier asking a CEO to work for him¡­ who else but Boss Jin would ever dare to propose something like that. ¡°Well, once Jin is set on something, he is sure to get it. I doubt you can compete with his companion¡¯s products.¡± Mr Know-It-All injected. ¡°How can you be sure his product -I mean his companion¡¯s product will even work? You know how many brilliant scientists it took just to get the prototype running. Did you plan this out with him? Are you doing this to compete against me? You are nothing but just a measly little- Ow!¡± Ke Loong got knocked at the head by Mr Know-It-All. ¡°How many times do I need to remind you? Do not let success go over your head. Remember what I told you? If you wish to make a deal with Boss Jin, you will have to learn to swallow your pride.¡± Mr Know-It-All repeated the advice he gave his friend some time ago. Ke Loong looked down and he nodded with some understanding. Jin found that both of them might actually be more than friends from the way they acted. ¡°System wishes to ask User who this companion is. There are no entries of User having friends possessing such high levels of knowledge in regards to such a technology?¡± The System asked, to which Jin could only sigh. ¡°It¡¯s you, you dummy.¡± Jin sent his thought back, and a silence overcame the conversation in his head even though it was noisy outside. ¡°Let¡¯s change the question, why would you want to create a Remote Portal? And why not let your companion meet Ke Loong and let him or her decide for themselves? Is your companion really that trustworthy of your judgement?¡± Mr Know-It-All was shooting Jin down mercilessly. ¡°My goals go into the same direction as Ke Loong¡¯s ambition, to spread my love for dungeons instances and cultivation to other parts of the world. For now I may be considered a small time Dungeon Supplier, but I believe I have something unique to offer, and would love to share it with the world¡­ provided they come here. I also have some other plans for my customers down the road.¡± Jin answered ambiguously. ¡°Hmm? Do you plan to create an exclusive guild here?¡± Mr Know-It-All casually asked and Jin merely shrugged his shoulders, but his expression was evident for both of them to see. ¡°Well as for the trustworthiness of my companion. Everything you see before you was created thanks to my friend.¡± Jin spread his hands and show them that this entire shop instance was made by the System. ¡°Does my companion really fully hundred percent trust me? Not really but my companion fully respects whatever decision I make.¡± ¡°So you are not even going to tell us a gender, huh.¡± Mr Know-It-All smirked and patted Ke Loong¡¯s back. ¡°Go for it. I will recommend going in this deal blindly. Trust me. That¡¯s the fun of Dungeons and Pandas. From what I know, you will gain more than you may lose.¡± Mr Know-It-All said as he left the bar island and proceeded to watch the fights. ¡°Well¡­if Brother Know trusts you to such a high degree¡­ Fine. I will come again tomorrow with my secretary and all relevant personnel to get the pre-contract agreement deal finalised.¡± Ke Loong remarked before he finished his cup of coffee. ¡°I will see if my lawyer is available tomorrow.¡± Jin thanked Ke Loong for his confidence. ¡°Lawyer?¡± Ke Loong panicked a little. Why would Jin need a lawyer for just a simple deal? ¡°Ahh, he will be around just to make sure I am not getting cheated. I am rather bad at reading deals.¡± Jin used his inexperience as a reason and Ke Loong had to agree with him. The fact that Jin¡¯s shop was barely two months old indicated that he was indeed not too familiar with these kinds of agreements. Had he known, that the lawyer Jin would bring was Xiong Da, he would not have stayed so calm. ¡°Damn, even your coffee is great. I will definitely be back! But before I leave, I still need to get myself more of those Digital Pet Cards! Hehehe!¡± Ke Loong slid down from his seat and hurriedly moved to the second floor. ¡°So erm yea System¡­ I want to create Remote Portals. I noticed we have quite a substantial amount of resource left after setting aside the budget for the Deep Ones Dungeon. Arghh, but I also have to remodify the National Stadium instance first for the evening¡¯s release of that dungeon instance.¡± Jin grumbled as he quickly returned to the Dungeon Maker and booted up the National Stadium Instance. ¡°Preparation will be made according to your wishes, User.¡± The System noted, but Jin was already using high intensity mode commanding three copies of Jins and was too busy to hear it. Chapter 307 High School Students Chapter 307 High School Students ¡°I am sorry! I am sorry!¡± Bu Dong, the Angry Ape cultivator, was rushing towards the entrance of the shop where a group of people were waiting for him. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect anything else from you. You are always the last one to arrive at meetings.¡± Yue Han, the Blind Bat cultivator, laughed as he looked at his phone. It was 15 minutes past 7 pm and they were supposed to meet at 7 pm. ¡°At least he is not as late as he was for school this morning. Nearly skipped the whole of first period.¡± Xing Li, a classmate of Bu Dong chimed in and grinned widely at Yue Han as she re-tied her ponytail right beside of Bu Dong. ¡°Now that we are all here, let¡¯s get going. Bu Dong, you treating again? Hahaha!¡± Kong Xian, the Towering Tortoise cultivator, laughed loudly. ¡°How about we get something to eat first?¡± Katerine, an exchange student suggested, while rubbing her stomach. She got assigned to same class as Bu Dong and the others. ¡°You Europeans always get hungry that easily.¡± Xing Li teased, not wanting to admit that she was hungry too. She and her stomach were glad for Katerine¡¯s honesty and she envied the other girl who could eat so much while keeping her slender dark yet s.e.xy figure. ¡°Technically, I am from¡­ eh, whatever you guys never bother to remember anyway. Let¡¯s just grab a bite. I don¡¯t even care what kind of food. Does this panda shop serve anything delicious?¡± Katerine figured her German mixed with African blood lineage did not really matter since Xing Li was just making her comment as a sweeping statement. ¡°Yeah it does and not just any ordinary kind of food. I can promise you, it has the best food you can ever find in this district.¡± Yue Han was full of confidence answering her as if it was a statement of truth and both Bu Dong and Kong Xian nodded in agreement. ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a dungeon supplier? How could the food be good?¡± Xing Li furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the big panda billboard that was glowing with various colours in the evening light. ¡°Just trust us guys on this. You will be pleasantly surprised. We can have dinner here first then try out the new dungeon that Boss Jin released not too long ago.¡± Bu Dong told her as he taught Xing Li how to enter the shop while Yue Han assisted Katerine. As they entered the shop, the two girls were amazed by the interior decor of the area. The Halloween Theme was spot on for the month of October. ¡°Oh yeah I forgot to ask, but you do have a cultivation style or erm magic ability, right?¡± Yue Han asked Katerine and she nodded her head while opening her palms out. Without a word, fire sparked out from her palms and two small orbs were floating around her hand. ¡°Fire Shaman, Rank 2. What are your cultivations?¡± Katerine asked curiously, and the boys did not hesitate, wanting to show off a little. Three tortoise silhouette appeared from Kong Xian while both Yue Han and Bu Dong had four silhouettes of their bats and apes, respectively. However, it was apparent that Bu Dong¡¯s cultivation silhouettes were better defined. Xing Li and Katerine were mesmerised and baffled by their cultivation silhouettes. ¡°How do you all have such high grades?! I remember, that I broke through to Grade 2 even before Yue Han just last year!¡± Xing Li covered her mouth in awe. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to this place. This dungeon supplier trained us this way. As long as you put in the effort, you can definitely reach a higher cultivation too.¡± Bu Dong smiled at Xing Li and she nodded in excitement at what this place could potentially offer. The group entered the Restaurant Train of Delicacy, and the girls were once again overwhelmed with the scenery and the penguin butlers, but it was also the first time the group as a whole tried the ramen. ¡°Holy shit! What kind of noodle is this!¡± Kong Xian who did Kendo as a sport was an avid ramen lover. ¡°THIS IS THE BOMB! I never tasted such good ramen in Shenzhen before nor in Japan!¡± ¡°Oui Monsieur. Our Chef Lynn is indeed amazing. We shall forward your praises to her. Please do enjoy your meals.¡± The Penguin waiter said as he went ahead to entertain other customers. The group had a fantastic time eating the ramen in red snapper broth. ¡°Man, I thought that it was just for promotion, but turns out it is true¡­ the ramen really buffed my stats up.¡± Yue Han was surprised at this realisation. Yet he could feel his chi having increased, and his pandamonium stat screen also indicated the truth of this situation. The rest of the group all were pumped up, ready to go for a dungeon. However, the girls decided to go to the loo, before they would exit the train. As soon as the girls were out of sight, the boys huddled together to talk. ¡°So, any progress with Xing Li? I will try to stall Katerine later, so Xing Li does not stick to her as much as she usually does. This should give you time to be together with her.¡± Yue Han asked Bu Dong who fancied her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. She doesn¡¯t seem to be receptive to my questions or talks.¡± Bu Dong felt a little depressed about this situation. ¡°I am sorry to break the bubble, but it is because she likes Yue Han more than you.¡± Kong Xian stated as he leaned back to drink his bamboo juice. ¡°EHHH?¡± Yue Han was utterly surprised by Kong Xian¡¯s analysis and he shook his head and hands vehemently. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. She never liked me to begin with and had it out for me ever since we went to middle school. She always picked on me to do things for her¡­¡± ¡°No, I agree with Kong Xian. Maybe because I was too focused on her I hadn¡¯t noticed? She seemed to be more responsive to your jabs than to mine.¡± Bu Dong laid back a bit and sighed. ¡°What? No. No. No. This whole night hanging was supposed to be your opportunity to get closer to her. I am in no way as capable as you!¡± Yue Han still could not wrap around the fact that Xing Li could not just like him, but even more than that. Especially that she would prefer someone like him over Bu Dong. ¡°Sometimes, love is blind.¡± Kong Xian patted Bu Dong on the back. ¡°So change of plans? Want to get them together for your bro¡¯s sake?¡± ¡°ARGGHHHH! MA YUE HAN!¡± Bu Dong shouted in agony, which made everyone actually turned around to look at them for a moment before they returned to eating. One of the penguin waiters came to ask them to lower their voice since they were not in a premium seating of the train. ¡°Ma Yue Han. I am sad, devastated and feel like shit right now. But be honest with yourself. Have you ever had any feelings for Xing Li?¡± Bu Dong kept his voice down and talked seriously to Yue Han. ¡°I eh¡­¡± Yue Han did not know what to say. Should he admit that he did fancy her and break Bu Dong¡¯s heart any further? ¡°I-I do not have any interest in Xing Li.¡± ¡°He is lying.¡± Kong Xian once again sipped his bamboo juice in peace and Bu Dong sighed once again. ¡°Yea¡­he is definitely lying.¡± Bu Dong said as he pointed upwards and Yue Han saw where he was looking. It was his bat cultivation, a single bat silhouette flying around. ¡°Whenever you lie, a part of your cultivation will appear for some reason. I am disappointed in you.¡± Bu Dong said shaking his head, as he placed his hand on his temple. ¡°I-I am sorry, I just did not want to make you feel sad anymore.¡± Yue Han tried to salvage the situation¡­ it was not very effective. ¡°Kong Xian. Be my new bro.¡± Bu Dong ignored Yue Han¡¯s excuse, but Kong Xian immeditaly refused without a second though: ¡°I don¡¯t need a bro¡­ and I already have a girlfriend.¡± Bu Dong¡¯s he could only bitterly cry at Kong Xian¡¯s rejection. He then stood up and walked towards Yue Han and held him by his neck and started to mock punch Yue Han¡¯s head. ¡°Then you better make sure you use this chance properly, you stupid bat!¡± ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡°So? How¡¯s your progress with Yue Han?¡± Katerine asked Xing Li when they were alone in the toilets. Xing Li was gurgling her mouth before she coughed out the water upon hearing Katerine¡¯s question. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Xing Li took a dry towel paper to wipe her mouth and began to touch up her makeup. ¡°Seems rather obvious to me since the day I came into your class. If you want, I can move myself away from him and you can have more interaction with him.¡± Katerine offered. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. We¡­ the two of us aren¡¯t like that. He is just an old classmate from middle school. Nothing more.¡± Xing Li closed her makeup and instinctively picked up her perfume bottle, but upon the conversation, she quietly put it back in her handbag. ¡°It¡¯s alright, go ahead and use it. Don¡¯t think too much and go with the flow for now.¡± Katerine grinned as she went outside and saw the commotion the boys were making from afar. ¡°Oooh. So Yue Han knows about it too. If she does not want to admit that she likes him, then it¡¯s time to make some trouble. After all, what¡¯s the fun of an exchange program if there are no memories about it?¡± Katerine smiled at herself as she waited for Xing Li to come back. Chapter 308 Shaolin Football Instance With all of them being toughened up by the Chashu Ramen in Red Snapper Broth, Bu Dong''s group exited the Restaurant Train of Delicacy to the main shop lobby and bought the tickets to the new dungeon that Jin released earlier in the evening. "Where is Boss Jin?" Bu Dong asked Yun who was at the Bar Island and a penguin waiter who helped serve drinks. "Apparently he is making some prototype contraption to present to a business dealer tomorrow. More new things to play with! Hahahaha!" Yun informed them as she curled her hair up at the side and all the boys and girls were smitten by her beauty. "Man, the boss sure has a good taste to hire such a beautiful employee like you." Katerine did not hold back her praises for Yun which made her giggle. "Enjoy your new dungeon!" Yun told them as she busied herself by entertaining the next customer. "What does this dungeon entail?" Xing Li decided to ask Yue Han, but he was suddenly distracted by Katerine''s squeal at the auditoriums showing off the dungeon fights. "Are we going to fight and they are gonna broadcast us?!" Katerine pulled Yue Han''s hand away from Xing Li and he unhesitatingly blushed at her initiative. "Erm¡­that''s the Bank Heist Raid. We are going for the Shaolin Football Instance. Only the best instances are being shown but chances of us being broadcast is high because of Bu Dong." Yue Han managed to answer with a little stutter. Bu Dong noticed that Xing Li was a bit frustrated by Katerine''s move and decided to attempt to bring Katerine away from Yue Han. "Katerine, come here. Let me show you how to enter the instance." Bu Dong beckoned for her, but she was absorbed in her own world, pulling Yue Han wherever she went and ultimately ignored Bu Dong. Xing Li did not care much and decided to enter the instance first. Yue Han eventually saw Bu Dong signalling him and he pulled Katerine with him to the Dungeon instance entrance machine. Bu Dong managed to teach Katerine and she went in second. There was sufficient time lag to speak a sentence or two and Bu Dong decided to discipline Yue Han. "Don''t get over your head! Katerine is leaving us in less than a week''s time. Since when were you a playboy, thinking you can have both her and Xing Li?!" "What are you talking about, I never even dreamt of something like that?!" Yue Han tried to defend himself, though suddenly they all heard a bat screech. Yue Han sighed. "Look, I just enjoyed myself for a moment. This is the first time in my life I feel wanted okay?! I did not think I ever could become so popular all of a sudden!" "Popular my ass!" Bu Dong sneered and Kong Xian laughed as he entered the instance to give some more time for the two good brothers to settle their differences. "Fine, you know what? If you don''t want to use the chance to get with Xing Li, I will just use it myself. Don''t blame me for stealing her under your nose!" Bu Dong tried to intimidate Yue Han and it seemed to be working. "¡­Try me!" Yue Han tried to put up a brave front in front of Bu Dong¡­ but it was not working. Bu Dong had been using the Angry Ape cultivation for years causing Bu Dong not to be afraid of the little scare the bat tried to give him. "Just get in already." Bu Dong scanned their tickets and pushed Yue Han in before getting in himself. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- When the group entered, they found themselves in a locker room with a Panda figure entering, slamming the door and blowing his whistle. "LISTEN UP! This is the preliminary tryout round! We Pandaz are fortunate enough to get a chance to participate in the upcoming Inter World Football Cup. Either you blow your chance now, or you pull up your socks and get a win for the Pandaz!" Coach Panda Hui shouted. (Well at least that was the name the sticker said, which was badly pasted onto his shirt.) "We are going to fight with just five people?" Bu Dong asked and he was given the death stare by Panda Hui. "Problem?" Panda Hui asked, and Bu Dong did not say anything else. "Good. Change into the jerseys. Be glad, your opponents this time around are just mere robots." Panda Hui banged the door and left the locker room. "Wow, that kind of attitude really reminds me of my coach at my old school," Katerine commented as she saw a locker with her name on it. She opened it to find a black and white spots shirt with matching shorts inside. Giggling at the absurdity of the shirt Katerine went to the ladies bathroom to change. "What sports is this going to be? Regular football? I am going to suck at it." Xing Li complained as she naturally turned to Yue Han for assurance. "Nah, if we know one thing about Boss Jin, it''s that he wouldn''t be so kind as to present us with some simple football game." Yue Han patted her back and went to change. The five subsequently walked onto the field and realised that they stood at what looked like a carbon copy of the Beijing National Stadium and began to be in awe at the sheer size of it. Even walking on it resulted in them being filled with pride, as if they were now the ones who would compete at the Olympics. At this point, the widescreen TV of the stadium showed the empty result board of Pandaz VS Roboz. "Can''t Jin think of a flashier name?" Kong Xian shook his head at Jin''s poor naming sense. Not one moment later, they got called over by Coach Hui, sitting at the bench. "Look, newbies. This is your chance to spread your glory into the Inter World Football Cup. All you have to do is focus and defeat your opponents." Coach Hui instructed them so vaguely that Bu Dong did not hesitate to put his hand up to ask how to play the game. "What? You guys do not know how to play the game?" Coach Hui furrowed his eyebrows before he fiddled around his shirt pocket to wear his glasses. "Holy Moly. You guys¡­are not¡­" Coach Hui realised that the people in front of him were not his men at all. "What happened to all of my men? My players?" Coach Hui shouted loudly only for a Panda from the sideline to shout; "WE QUIT YOU LOSER COACH! NO BAMBOO MEANS NO PLAYERS!!!" The Panda booed at him one last time before he ran out of the stadium. "No! If you all quit, how can I ¡­how can the Pandaz compete in the Inter World Football Cup?!" Coach Hui sat down and started to scratch his head with his two paws. Xing Li then went beside the Coach and comforted him. "Erm, we can help I guess?" Xing Li rubbed his head a little, and suddenly he stood up with fire in his eyes which scared Xing Li and the rest of the group. It became apparent that he had played the sympathy card to cheat the group even though it was obvious for the entire team.. "THAT IS WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR! ALRIGHT! Here are the basics!" Coach Hui seemed to radiate his burning passion and started to teach them how to play. "Two Guardians are standing at the back of the goal posts. Each team will be defending the opposing team''s guardian. You will do so to prevent the opposing team from reaching their own guardian. Your goal in this Inter World Football Cup is to get the magical balls, which will spawn on the centre of the field at the start of the round and to feed your guardian with them. The more magical balls you are able to deliver to your guardian, the stronger your guardian will get." Coach Hui explained as he entered the field and simulated the area before the actual game started. "At the end of each round, the two guardians will power up so the one with more magical strength will win when they clash in the end. That is why I said numbers do not matter. It is mostly about teamwork." Coach Hui explained. "How do we fight for the magical balls?" Kong Xian questioned and Coach Hui smiled as he was getting to the juicy part. "Fight and kill your enemy. When an enemy clashes with you, it will trigger a one on one fight for 30 seconds. The field referee will raise an energy barrier to let you guys brawl it out until the time is up. If there is no winner for the ball, it becomes a free for all. Of course, you can pass the magical ball before you clash but whether the ball gets intercepted or not, that is another issue. The field will always have three magical balls for the first two rounds. Should it come to the final round, only one magical golden ball worth four points will be on the field. That one alone is sufficient to turn the tide of battles, and the fight for it is always a free-for-all. In other words, it depends on all of you." Coach Hui finished his description of the game. "Will we die if we lose the fight?" Yue Han was a little afraid for losing two members early in the round, mainly Xing Li and Katerine. He wanted them to have fun but it would not be fun if the group lost them in the first round. "Nah, when you are close to death, you will be automatically withdrawn by the field referee and the Panda Nurses will give you a standard recovery spell. After about 5 minutes, you will be allowed to enter into the fray again¡­that is if there is even time for you to enter." Coach Hui pointed at the Panda Nurse who looked like a somewhat shady doctor, as they could see him smoking a cigar at the side of the bench. "The only time you will get eliminated for good is in the last fifteen minutes when the stakes are raised. That means as soon as the magical golden ball appears, it is all or nothing. So till then, do your best! But first, say hello to our little friend!" Coach Hui grinned widely at them as he introduced the Guardian of Team Pandaz at the end of the field. No doubt. It was a Panda to represent the Team Pandaz and it growled loudly to show its ferocity to the newly joined team members. A Gigantic Pandajilla. (Actually, it was just big ass giant panda wearing a Godjilla suit with its fluffy face poking out at the neck area.) Chapter 309 Pandaz vs Roboz "Holy Moly! This is our Guardian? A Panda wearing a Godjilla suit?!" Yue Han shouted with surprise but he got whacked by Coach Hui for being so loud. "Be more respectful to your Guardian! Okay, I know it would be best if you guys had a dry run, but we don''t have any time. I trust that you all are more than capable in understanding the rules since there are three Pandawans in the group." Coach Hui stated as he performed an ''O'' with his arms to the field referee sitting at the side of the stadium digging his nose. Upon closer inspection, it was a rather big bulky guy who was carrying a motorcycle helmet with him. The field referee threw his nose dirt with his pinky finger and wore the helmet¡­ for protection? (Or maybe as a fashion statement?) But then a whistle blow was heard from him, supposedly from under his helmet. Bu Dong''s group could see a group systematically walking out of the gates like robots. With every step, they started to become more and more human, which left all three boys in awe. "Wow, I am seriously impressed. This is the most animated dungeon instance I have ever been to. Even the ones back at home either had no story or some bad excuses which amounted to simple monster killing. So what''s a Pandawan?" Katerine asked Kong Xian who was right beside her. "That is the beauty of Boss Jin''s dungeons. We were also kind of fed up with standard dungeons that were offered by other dungeon suppliers. Oh and we played enough dungeon instances that we somehow earned the title ''Pandawan'' from the Dungeon NPCs. It is also stated in our Pandamonium Stat screen." Kong Xian opened the app and showed it to her. "Woah, you guys have played more than 30 dungeons?" Xing Li was also curious as she took a look. "Nah, those are just the number of times Kong Xian entered Boss Jin''s dungeons. I have more dungeons under my belt. Although I have not tried all of them since most of the time was Bu Dong treating us. We usually just follow him." Yue Han confessed and the girls were amazed by Bu Dong''s generosity. "Erm, I just have some spare cash with me¡­that is all." Bu Dong tried to sound humble but failed so badly with the guys teasing him even more. The girls subsequently joined in and Bu Dong got rather embarrassed by it. Yet to the boys, they all appreciated Bu Dong for being honest. "Alright, alright. Enough chatter. Have a look at your opponent. It''s Team Roboz." Coach Hui folded his arms as the coach of Team Roboz came closer. For a moment, interim members of Team Pandaz could not see who Coach Hui was referring to until they heard some slimy sound from the ground. It was none other than Lord Wolte who decided to play along with Jin''s dungeons to personally get a feel of what Moloch had been talking to him about. The naked slug without the defunct core dragged itself towards Coach Hui. His tempo was rather quickly contrary to his form. (And yeap, the defunct core had been taken away by Moloch but that is for another story!) "So you''re only down to five people for your team? That is pandathetic Hui. Oh wait, did I make a bad panda pun. BURNNN~!" Lord Wolte said as he used his small little slug tendrils to push his coach cap down a little while smirking. However, there was only silence in the field. No one else found it funny, even his own team members did not play along to force a laugh. Lord Wolte awkwardly recovered and began to speak, "I will do the same and send in only five of my best as a sign to pity you, Hui." Wolte walked away and commanded five Savants to enter the fray. As the rest went to the side bench and the Motorcycle Helmet Referee told the players to take their position as indicated on the shining beacons on the field. "Xing Li, I understand that your Henotic Hedgehog Style is a kind of support cultivati- WOAH! What''s that for?!" Bu Dong''s reflexes were fast enough to dodge a boomerang coming from Xing Li. The boomerang later returned to Xing Li''s hand, making Bu Dong aware that there were sharp edges at each side of the boomerang. Xing Li was wearing a sort of armoured glove which she used to hold the weapon in her hand. "I can fight too." Xing Li stated as her eyes were determined to go all out. That was when Yue Han whispered to Bu Dong. "Erm, Xing Li is a trained gymnastic despite her cultivation style. In fact, the Hedgehog style makes her even more aggressive- WOAH! WHY ME TOO!?" Yue Han barely dodged after lowering his guard while talking to Bu Dong. "Because you talk too much. Let him find out how good I can be. Don''t you look down on me, even though I am just a Grade 2." Xing Li smiled confidently at Yue Han which made him slightly uneasy but he still struggled a smile out for her. "Alright then, Yue Han, you hold the backline with Katerine. Wait, erm¡­ I should go behind and hold the line with Katerine. Both of you and Kong Xian go to the middle." Bu Dong realised that he almost separated Yue Han and Xing Li due to his own desire to be with her. "That does not make sense. You are a Grade 4 Peak. You should go to the frontline and grab the ball from the opponents as fast as possible." Katerine disagreed with Bu Dong''s decision. "Actually, Bu Dong''s plan does make sense. We need someone strong for defence too, so that the¡­ Savants is it? Ah yes, the Savants will have a hard time going to their- WOW THEIR GUARDIAN!" Kong Xian was taken aback when the Titan Knight, which Jin and the others had painstakingly fought against, was revealed to be the Roboz''s guardian. "Oh my lord. That is one crazy big ass robot. And here I thought our Pandajilla was already large enough." Katerine commented. "SIZE DOES NOT MATTER!" Coach Hui shouted at them to get into their positions quickly, otherwise, the game would not be able to start. "Total of three rounds. 15 minutes each round. Follow what Ape Dong suggested. Sissy Han, Crazy Shit Li and Monk Xian at the front. Fire Girl and Ape Dong at the back!" The group looked at Coach Hui, all with a peculiar look when he finished giving his orders. "Please Coach, don''t use those names. ¡­ such an awful naming sense." Bu Dong complained and the others agreed. "It felt like Jin was controlling the coach and gave us terrible nicknames on purpose." Yue Han added and the Coach Hui was somewhat angry and he clapped to hurry them up. He later changed back to their normal names. The frontliners went to the centre of the field facing three Savants while three magical balls the size of a basketball mysteriously appeared right in front of them. "Ready? Fight!" The Motorcycle Helmet Referee blew its whistle once more and the clashes happened simultaneously. Kong Xian locked his blades with the Lord Knight Savant and a magical barrier appeared right in front of them. Fortunately for him, Katerine being a Fire Shaman had cast various buffs to her teammates seconds before the whistle went off. Kong Xian''s two handed sword lit up like a bonfire and the food strength buff that he got eating from the Chashu Ramen allowed him to go toe to toe with the Lord Knight Savant. In the meantime, Xing Li was paired against an Assassin Savant and similar to Kong Xian, she had the same burning fire buff as she clashed with the Assassin Savant. As for Yue Han, Bu Dong did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw Yue Han''s opponent, the Warlock Savant, summoned his Otherworld minion. Coincidentally it had a striking resemblance to the zombie abomination, which Yue Had fought against, during the Great Wall of China Dungeon Instance. Just that it looked meaner, bigger and possessed even more hands like a Thousand Arm Buddha. The Otherworld Abomination swallowed the magical ball with its back mouth and engaged the fight with Yue Han. "Why do I always get the shittiest enemy!? And of all monsters, THAT THING AGAIN!!!" Yue Han grumbled as he went forward with his burning one handed sword with a renewed vengeance against the Otherworld Abomination. Chapter 310 Cultivators Vs Cultivators Chapter 310 Cultivators Vs Cultivators As the clash was happening, the group¡¯s instance was being broadcast in Auditorium Three. Most customers knew about Bu Dong and his reputation as a first clear dungeoneer and they began to call others to watch him and his group. All were also eager to check out how the new dungeon would develop. ¡°Looks to me like a pretty straightforward dungeon.¡± A male customer commented on the dungeon that Bu Dong was participating. ¡°I think so too, the price of the ticket can also be considered to be on the cheaper side.¡± Another customer agreed with the male customer. ¡°I might be overthinking this, but don¡¯t you think it could be set up for future cultivator versus cultivator matches? I mean those robots or Savants look very real to me.¡± A bespectacled female customer speculated as she analysed the dungeon instance. ¡°For guessing correctly, Five Bronze Medals have been awarded to the lady at the end of the stairs of Auditorium Three!¡± Mr Patsu announced a surprise reward. A small box came parachuted above her head with the rewards. She was a bit shocked since it was just a passing remark. However it was the confirmation of the observation that caused a big ruckus from the customers at Auditorium Three. ¡°Does that mean we might have an internal tournament against each other in the future?!¡± An older customer was excited to see cultivators pit against each other. Usually, it was based on a need to fight basis and police had to oversee the duels. Otherwise, those cultivators would fight in underground arenas that were illegal to the public. Mixed martial arts or other fighting sports were regulated to make sure no cultivation was allowed at all. ¡°Ahh, so Boss Jin is releasing this dungeon as a tryout? A tutorial for cultivators who might want to participate in future cultivator versus cultivator fights? Well, that is an original way to introduce such a concept. I love the idea to make it a game rather than an outright fight too.¡± Another customer voiced his opinion. ¡°It is illegal for dungeon suppliers to promote cultivator versus cultivator directly, so his way should be a nice little loophole. However, I believe some dungeon suppliers have tried doing something similar, but they were not very successful because the matchmaking was terrible. And that is only in the cases of the technology working¡­ I recall reading that some smaller dungeon suppliers were not even able to handle it, causing cultivators to be ejected the very moment they clashed with each other. Nevertheless, if it¡¯s Boss Jin, I believe he can do it.¡± Mr Know-it-All who was sitting at his favourite spot gave his expertise, and many agreed. ¡°Man! Then I got to learn how this dungeon game really work. I got some colleagues who would love to let off some steam against our superiors!¡± A male customer joked, though many could sympathize. While not all had the same motivation, others could feel the urge to compete with others, and the crowd got even more pumped up than usual. As the Inter World Football game continued on, the first round came to a close. Bu Dong and group lost severely for the first round, securing only one magical ball for their guardian. Yue Han had no chance to impress the girls and was instead beaten to a pulp by the Warlock and his Otherworld Abomination. ¡°HOW IS THIS FOOTBALL!?!?¡± Yue Han shouted in agony as he could not believe he was trounced by the Warlock. ¡°To be honest, Boss Jin would like the audience to give their input on the game and hopes that they could come up with a more suitable name for the sport.¡± Mr Patsu admitted upon hearing Yue Han¡¯s cries of help and everyone all laughed as they they were trying to come up with a suitable name on their own. ¡°Oh, please present your suggestions into the Pandamonium App. There is an open survey option on the front page of the app!¡± Bear Cub One, the secondary announcer added on. ¡ª¡ª- As there was an interval between the rounds, Coach Hui gathered the rest up in the locker room and commented on the tactics that were used by the group. ¡°You guys are too segregated. No one is helping each other at all. Zero teamwork. Even an unlearned spectator would laugh at you for performing so terribly.¡± ¡°How can we have teamwork when we are stuck in the energy barrier with an enemy, forced to fight them one on one?¡± Bu Dong questioned angrily. ¡°Remember how that Assassin Savant retreated the moment Xing Li stole the magical energy ball from him? Great work, by the way, Pandastic movement. Ah yes, the energy barrier disappeared, right? It was because he was willing to forfeit the magical ball. That means when you no longer have the will to fight for it, the energy barrier will break. But that also allows you to use this move tactically.¡± Coach Hui explained. ¡°Ah¡­at that time the Lancer Savant came in and contended me for the ball. With my stamina spent fighting against the Assassin Savant, the Lancer Savant who had the range advantage against me managed to defeat me and won the magical ball.¡± Xing Li analysed as she sighed. ¡°Yes, and when Bu Dong tried to clash with the Lancer Savant, the Assassin Savant slipped in and entered the battle against Bu Dong, giving the Lancer Savant a chance to press forward to his own Guardian.¡± Coach Hui continued. ¡°I was in too much of a shock the moment the Lancer Savant clashed with me as I was not prepared to fight against a melee opponent.¡± Katerine stuck her tongue out to apologise to the group since her death was the fastest among all of them. ¡°Then in Kong Xian¡¯s case, he was able to withstand the battle against the Lord Knight but as soon as the 30 seconds were over, it became a free for all, allowing the Archer Savant to enter into the fray. Because of the blunder you all made, three of you were down for the count, leaving Kong Xian alone to fend for himself. Defensive character against defensive character was the right choice, but when a ranged attacker comes in¡­ there was no way Kong Xian was going to win.¡± Coach Hui concluded as he folded his arms. ¡°Ahhh¡­we blundered so much.¡± Kong Xian apologised in his own way. ¡°Hmm, surprisingly, the MVP for this round was Yue Han. His shadow form allowed him to slip through the cracks of the Otherworld Abomination¡¯s defence, bypassing the Warlock Savant¡¯s notice and delivering the magical ball to our Pandajilla. It¡¯s a pity the Warlock Savant found your presence afterwards, cursing you so badly that you could not move away, allowing the Otherworld Abomination to beat you senselessly.¡± Coach Hui shook his head. ¡°I think we all know where we went wrong and with one match, we more or less learnt a little about the opponent.¡± Bu Dong tried to defend his group since he was afraid that they would become more depressed with Coach Hui¡¯s complaints. ¡°Question, what if two of us went for one particular magical ball? Will it become a two versus one?¡± Kong Xian asked as he was thinking if he should pair up with a ranged attacker like Katerine, a Fire Shaman. ¡°Yes, if you manage to do that, it would become a two versus two in an enclosed area, and any other Savant could join in at will. Not sure how to explain this well. Erm¡­it can only occur if both of you move towards the ball at about the same time. Not in instances like ¡®Ah! I should join him!¡¯ That kind of excuse. To play it safe, both of you must be within at least 5 metres of the energy ball for the two versus two to occur.¡± Coach Hui said which made Kong Xian light up and he shared his intent to partner up with Katerine. Meanwhile, Katerine was already bent on winning, forgetting her previous plans of causing some mischief between Xing Li and Yue Han. This dungeon instance way more exciting than creating discord between friends. Fortunately, this did give an opportunity for Yue Han and Xing Li to communicate and discuss their technique and tactics together. Bu Dong also felt that they should partner together since they knew each other strength and weakness reasonably well. ¡°Guess, I will continue to stay as the defence.¡± ¡°Judging from your discussion, you both are aiming for two balls rather than getting all three energy balls?¡± Coach Hui rubbed his stubble. ¡°Get these two energy balls, achieve at least a tie in terms of energy balls against Roboz for the second round and later go all out for the last golden ball.¡± Bu Dong cusped his hand together in a thinking pose. ¡°I see, so you guys are already considering the end goal. I like this simple and straightforward strategy. Good luck.¡± Coach Hui said as they heard a ringing bell, indicating the start of the second round. Chapter 311 Round Two - Part One Chapter 311 Round Two ¨C Part One Both Pandaz and Roboz took their position for the second round in a similar fashion as the first one with Yue Han, Xing Li and Kong Xian at the front line. However, while their position was somewhat different, the Savants simply stuck to their initial formation. Kong Xian once again was faced to battle it out with the Lord Knight Savant while Yue Han stood before the Assassin Savant. This time around Xing Li decided to handle the Warlock Savant. When the referee blew his whistle under his motorcycle helmet, something radical happened. Xing Li feinted her movements and actually went to assist Yue Han against the Assassin Savant. Bu Dong used his cultivation to dash towards Kong Xian the moment the whistle blew, but as Bu Dong was beside Kong Xian, Katerine used her Shamanic powers to do a body swap. Katerine had given Bu Dong a ritual doll in advance, which was used as a catalyst to swap position with the one holding it, allowing her to pair up with Kong Xian. Unfortunately it was a one time use. As the body swap was successful, Bu Dong now ran towards the Warlock¡¯s Otherworld Minion clashing with it the moment the minion managed to grab the ball without any resistance. ¡°Take this, you stupid monster!¡± Bu Dong shouted as he slammed his sword hard against the abomination, causing it to be knocked back into the energy barrier. The Otherworld Minion looked down on himself to see that it was being burned as well. Bu Dong realised this would be the best time to inflict more damage. With his opponent being knocked down he hurried towards it. Suddenly, he noticed a bad smell coming from another ritual doll he was carrying at the side of his waist. The doll had shrivelled up. He then looked up towards the Warlock, who had been casting his curses, yet seemingly out of nowhere the Warlock went into flames momentarily, causing it to lose its connection with his Otherworld Minion instantly. ¡°Hah! A curse for a curse. Way to go, Katerine! Your Shamanic powers might be the thing to turn the tides for this round!¡± Bu Dong praised Katerine but she was too occupied with the fight against the combined might of the Lord Knight Savant and Archer Savant. As they had planned to win this round by concentrating on going two-two-one, Katerine had given all of them some support before the start of the match. She had a number of ritual dolls ready in her storage ring and decided to enchant a few of them as a counter curse management seeing that there was a Warlock Savant within the group. Of course, being just a Grade 2 Fire Shaman, she did not have the capability to counter all of the curses, and could only do so indirectly. Therefore, she asked Yue Han what kind of effects he felt when he was fighting the Warlock and his minion. Via his explanation, Katerine figured the Warlock was using a sort of movement slowing curse to reduce Yue Han¡¯s ability to evade. So she created a specific counter curse that blocked the movement slowing curse and burned the one casting it. In this case, the Warlock. Bu Dong did not hesitate to use his Intermediate Sword Art, Lacerate in the Blazing Edge of the Angry Ape on the Otherworld Minion. His sword burned even brighter and a larger radius of flame was ignited along his sword especially with the initial buff of Burning Weapons from Katerine¡¯s magic at the start of the match. ¡°Die, Abomination!¡± Bu Dong shouted as he cut off all the arms with two slashes before he followed it up, by stabbing the unresponsive minion causing flames to blow out from the back of the Minion¡¯s mouth. Bu Dong was not done yet, he immediately withdrew his sword from the Minion¡¯s body and threw it at the Warlock who had just recovered from the sudden burning. The sword struck his shoulder and surprisingly, it allowed Bu Dong to teleport to that direction, allowing him to slash the Warlock through the chest. ¡°WOAH! Is that the Advanced Sword Art, Flash Sword?! Bu Dong managed to do it with a Grade 4?!¡± A customer exclaimed as the crowd cheered loudly. ¡°No, I think that is his own cultivation technique. There is no way a Grade 4 can learn the Flash Sword, Advanced Sword Art. I remember the Angry Ape Cultivation Style having something similar to a Flash Sword technique but with a shorter distance and with more requirements.¡± Another customer added to the discussion. ¡°Indeed, the Intermediate Sword Art, Sword Throw of the Angry Ape allows one to teleport to another opponent. However, the requirement for that is to have killed an opponent beforehand. It is meant to keep the ¡®combo¡¯, the tempo of the battle, flowing. If Bu Dong did not manage to kill the opponent beforehand, the Sword throw technique would just be an ordinary sword being thrown at the opponent.¡± Mr Know-It-All explained to them and as usual some of the crowd acknowledged his comment. ¡°Hahaha! Sounds like some game skill.¡± A customer joked as they continued to anticipate the next move of Bu Dong as he trashed the Warlock. However, to the high schooler¡¯s surprise, the warlock had his own tricks under his sleeve as he held on to him. At that point, Bu Dong suddenly felt his vitality being drained from his body and the hold of the Warlock becoming stronger by the second. ¡°Shit! This must be some life drain skill?!¡± Bu Dong realised his predicament too late. He also saw that it did more than just weaken him. The Warlock decided to release him from his grip, but at that point his left arm has already started turning into stone. Having played enough games, Bu Dong knew that it was some sort of petrification skill that could turn him into stone. Hence, he took the most drastic action he ever took in his life. He cut his left arm away. The crowd was petrified with horror by the drastic action that Bu Dong took. Some of the female cultivators even held close to their partners upon seeing blood rapidly flowing out of Bu Dong¡¯s arm. Even Yun who was tending to the Bar Island was surprised by Bu Dong¡¯s action when she caught a glimpse of the auditorium. ¡°That guy sure has guts,¡± Yun said with approval and the crowd did give him sympathy and bravery points in their hearts. He quickly used his chi to forcefully block the gushing of blood as he rubbed his teary eyes away. Suddenly the blood around him started to rise and turned into a stream of fire which then sprung forward to burn the Warlock once more. He looked back to see that Kong Xian was rushing from behind to prevent the revived Otherworld Abomination from backstabbing Bu Dong. It seemed that while Bu Dong was busy dealing with his petrification status, the Warlock made use of the time to resummon his minion. It was unclear if it was the same or a 90% similar looking Otherworld Abomination, but no one really cared about that. Seeing their injured friend, both Kong Xian and Katerine decided to disengage with the Lord Knight and Archer Savant duo to save their classmate. With another glimpse, Bu Dong realised Yue Han went ahead to keep the Lord Knight and Archer Savant occupied for a while as Xing Li alone was dealing with the Lancer and Assassin Savants. The moment Katerine confirmed that the Warlock was in flames, she ad hoc joined Yue Han and provided a decoy flame doll to deal with the Archer Savant as she regained her positioning and energy. Bu Dong did not hesitate to use his Personal Technique, the Angry Ape Pronounces Its Superiority as he unconsciously dashed to save Xing Li from impending doom from the dual attack of the Assassin and Lancer Savans. It was at that particular moment that Xing Li released her own technique with her Boomerang which wowed the crowd and the ¡®hero¡¯ rushing to her rescue. Chapter 312 Round Two - Part Two Chapter 312 Round Two ¨C Part Two ¡°Boomerang Art, Body Swapping Attack of the Henotic Hedgehog!¡± Xing Li threw out her boomerang. This allowed her to swap places on the fly, causing the Lancer Savant to miss his attack. The weapon continued to fly towards the back of the Assassin Savant providing Xing Li with the perfect opportunity to attack, when she appeared behind him. She grabbed the boomerang mid flight and immediately used it to hopefully take out the assassin. With the Lancer Savant attacking nothing but air, Bu Dong was able to crash into it. However, the Lancer Savant was quick enough to block partially, so that Bu Dong¡¯s attack was only somewhat effective, mostly making the Lancer Savant flinch. The Assassin Savant got successfully hit¡­ only to transform into a decoy log. Instantly the real one appeared at the back of Xing Li. As she had paid attention to his attacks from the last round, the high schooler was prepared for such a thing to happen and did not hesitate to do a back roundhouse kick with her gymnastic skills while throwing her boomerang upwards. She initiated her Body Swapping Attack, thereby evading the daggers which the Assassin Savant was aiming at her vitals. The fight between Assassin Savant and Xing Li had gotten so intense to the point that the Magic Eye Camera provided many angles showing off the stylish blocks and evasive maneuvers and counterattacks between the two. Unfortunately, the lack of experience on Xing Li¡¯s revealed an opening which the Assassin didn¡¯t hesitate take advantage of. A poisoned dagger flew and struck her foot, causing the poison to spread out in Xing Li, slowing her down significantly. Furthermore he followed it up by initiating the ¡®Culling Strike¡¯ skill to bring her down mercilessly, but then a shadow appeared in between them. *Clang~!* Sparks flew crazily when the edge of the Assassin Savant¡¯s dagger struck onto steel. Yue Han was able to block the attack with his shadow form before he grabbed Xing Li by the torso. Suddenly the shadow form turned into a gigantic shadow Bat which flew past the Assassin Savant and Lancer Savant who was still battling against Bu Dong aggressively. Coach Hui looked at his stopwatch and noticed that thirty Seconds had passed since the start of the fight against the Assassin. Yue Han¡¯s timing was perfect, and allowed him to grab Xing Li to take her away. He managed to bring her to the edge of the battlefield as he tore open the first button of her shirt. Xing Li could not help but stifle a scream when Yue Han covered her mouth with his left hand while pushing her head to the side. ¡°I am sorry, you can scold or beat me later for this.¡± Yue Han whispered under his breath as he went ahead to bite her neck. Suddenly, the four bats screeched loudly above Yue Han, indicating that a technique was being used. It was none other than one of the signature skills of the Bat¡¯s style, the Blood Drain of the Blind Bat. While the technique had the ability to reduce the health and vitality of his enemies and provide Yue Han with a bonus, there was an alternate use of the Blood Drain of the Blind Bat. It was to fuse the Blind Bat¡¯s cultivator blood with another cultivator. In this case, Yue Han was using it to lighten the poison that Xing Li was afflicted by. However, as he was doing it, Xing Li could not help but blush as her heart beat became extremely fast because of Yue Han¡¯s close proximity to her. Not to mention, the accidental physical touch as Yue Han grabbed her tightly to remove the poisoned blood from her body. The Assassin Savant was unwilling to let them get away without finishing them off. Rushing over towards the defenceless couple he suddenly encountered a new enemy, because Kong Xian had used his taunting skills, courtesy of the Towering Tortoise Style. This changed the mindset of the Assassin Savant who felt compelled to drop everything and kill Kong Xian. ¡°Don¡¯t you f.u.c.k.i.n.g dare to go near that couple!¡± Kong Xian shouted at the Assassin Savant only encouraging the latter to hurry over. However, the Assassin Savant also noticed that the high schooler was already panting. In actuality the Towering Tortoise was already at a disadvantage against the Otherworld Minion alone. A wicked smile appeared on the Assassin¡¯s face as he understood what would happen once he joined in on the fight. It would spell the end of the annoying Tank of Team Pandaz. Yet before the Assassin Savant could do anything about it, another meddlesome thing happened. Once again the boomerang came flying towards him. The Assassin Savant deflected it with ease into the air but what he did not expect were two bodies suddenly appearing right beside the boomerang. ¡°RIDER KICKKKKK!!!¡± Xing Li and Yue Han shouted at the same time to pay tribute to the masked riders they watched together when they were young. The Assassin Savant was caught off guard and not only got bashed by the two cultivators kicking it to the ground he also dropped the energy ball. Yue Han quickly picked it up and Xing Li threw her boomerang to teleport the both of them to the Pandajilla Guardian to feed him the magical energy ball. However, afterwards a quick glance at the scoreboard made them realise that Katerine¡¯s portrait was crossed out. At that point, the Lord Knight proceeded to send their energy ball towards the Titan Knight while the Archer Savant began assisting the Lancer Savant. ¡°Shit! I totally forget about her!¡± Yue Han wanted to assist his friends, but the poison, despite only absorbing a small and weakened amount, had started to take effect on him. Fortunately his grade was higher than Xing Li¡¯s so the effects were lighter on him. On the other side Xing Li nearly fell to the ground though Yue Han managed to grab her in time. Internally, she felt conflicted. She was happy that Yue Han was right beside her but also angry that he was so selfish to save her and abandon the team. But ultimately, all she wanted to do was stay in the moment and continue to lie in his embrace. ¡°Stupid. Why did you have to save me? Now the whole team will blame you.¡± Xing Li whispered as she began to sweat from the poison. ¡°Well, at least we finally fulfilled our promise and we have done the Rider Kick in a dungeon. Heh.¡± Yue Han rubbed his nose as if he accomplished something great. And to him it was. It was a dumb middle school promise. The two of them had casually declared to be the Hero and Heroine of the town they were protecting. The 8th grade syndrome. A condition where people believe they have superpowers when they were in the Manga school club together. However whereas Yue Han continued to remember that flimsy promise, Xing Li had moved on with her life and even started looking down at Yue Han for being so childish. Only in High school where Yue Han met up with Bu Dong did he continue to increase his cultivation and managed to become the superhero that Xing Li once envied. Slowly but surely, she fell in love with him even though he was still clumsy and oftentimes a coward. Yet today, she saw a new side of Yue Han being so heroic. Something which she never thought possible in the past. In the meantime, Bu Dong had no choice but to try and go over his limits in order to keep the Lancer Savant on the defensive, hoping to clear the Lancer Savant before the Archer Savant severely assaulted him with a bombardment of arrows. He was too busy to pay attention to the time they spent fighting, when suddenly felt tentacles which were grabbing his legs. Only then did he notice that Kong Xian had already fallen in battle. ¡°Ah oh well, at least those two reconciled their feelings in some way or another¡­¡± Bu Dong sighed but smiled at the end¡­ as the Lancer pierced his body and the Archer placed an arrow right between his eyebrows. The crowd saw the brutal annihilation and realised that this particular dungeon instance was not easy¡­ not a single bit. Not just that, The Titan Knight finished absorbing the remaining energy ball from the members of Team Roboz and summoned his gigantic sword. He proceeded to cleanly cleave the Pandajilla who was still charging his energy blast into two. The dungeon instance was over despite Yue Han and Xing Li still surviving. As they got back to the auditorium, some of the crowd thanked the group for the exciting exchange of blows despite their loss. However, the dungeon instance was not a waste as Mr Patsu, the penguin announcer stated that each ball they gave Pandajilla allowed them to earn five bronze medal each as a consolation prize for playing. ¡°Ahhh¡­what a waste, I thought we could manage a tie from that and try to win the last round. Sorry, I was not strong enough. But I gotta admit, this was a gratifying experience. It¡¯s a shame we don¡¯t have such a brilliant Dungeon Supplier¡­¡± Katerine sighed at the group and the entire group shook their head. ¡°Nah, it happens. Don¡¯t worr-ow ow ow ow¡± Yue Han was trying to console Katerine but got grabbed by Kong Xian and Bu Dong punched Yue Han continuously. ¡°Yea, yea, don¡¯t worry my ass! It¡¯s my money you dumbass! I treated you guys so you could play your best and win!¡± Bu Dong kept punching Yue Han relentlessly and was not letting up. Xing Li smiled at the guys¡¯ playfulness but told Bu Dong to stop after a while. Yue Han thought Xing Li was there to rescue him. Oh, how wrong he was¡­ ¡°I think he needs more endurance training. Besides, I remember a certain someone telling me, that I could beat him up for biting me on the neck without my permission.¡± Xing Li kicked him in the torso with all her might as they could see the two hedgehogs coming out. ¡°What is with- Ooofff!¡± Yue Han did not know whether Xing Li really liked him or was just toying with him. The others laughed as they unleashed the punishment to Yue Han for breaking the planned formation. (Although in the end, Bu Dong did give him a potion from the Panda General Store to recover.) Chapter 313 Oath Swearing Chapter 313 Oath Swearing Frustrated, Jin came out of the dungeon maker room after trying to design the remote portal based on what he had seen and what he knew. Turns out, it was not as easy as making the Gearbox device mainly because the blueprints and information had already been provided to Jin and the System. Through analysing the product, the System could simply replace inefficient circuit routes and increase the output. Unfortunately Invention was another thing altogether. Theoretically, Jin could use the System¡¯s portal ability and call it the prototype to impress Ke Loong. However such a method would pose a drastic problem when it was time to mass produce it. Sure, Jin could say that because of the patent, he could solely produce the item and not let others touching it all. Even if Jin tried his utmost to try and hide the inner workings of the portal, he was aware, that there was no way to stop some pesky busybodies, who wished to try and copy the prototype design by reverse engineering it. (Because as an engineering student, he did that plenty of times with products that he liked. Tinkering such items was the only way to curb his curiosity.) Jin could place anti tampering steps into the Remote Portal Device, but should only be a matter of time until people would start to get suspicious of Jin¡¯s anti tampering methods. As long as nobody was able to break through such an iron defense, eventually they would believe he was using some sort of magic unknown to the world. Yet even worse¡­ if someone really does manage to break through the anti tampering methods he or she would gain access to the System¡¯s knowledge about portal making. Ultimately, this was without a doubt a double edged sword situation and repercussions were dire if not handled properly. ¡°This time around, I think I may have shot myself in the foot¡­¡± Jin scratched his head as he went out to get a bit of fresh air. Surprisingly at this late hour, when it was already to to close his shop, he saw Yun sitting there, together with Hou Fei. ¡°Ah Young Master, you are finally free. I was starting to worry that I had to wait the whole night.¡± Hou Fei addressed him as he sipped his cup of Black Ivory Coffee. ¡°Good thing Yun was so nice to keep this old man company. I¡¯ve heard the basics from Yun about your adventures so far as well as your goal and the System¡¯s. Indeed, your actions are quite admirable¡­ To become a dungeon supplier is a good way to achieve it, and also provides a very good cover to gain comrades on the sly.¡± ¡°¡­How would he react, if he knew that it had nothing to do with the revival of the Panda Clan?¡± Jin thought to himself, but he just smiled at Hou Fei. There was no reason to correct him, he only hoped Yun left out the part about his relationship with the System. ¡°So, what brings you here? It must be pretty urgent, if someone of your standing would even be willing to wait the whole night for me?¡± Jin asked Hou Fei with sheer curiosity. ¡°Of course, in fact it is very important. I am here to renew my Oath to the Young Master. The last Oath I took was with Ming. If you recall, he was my commander when I was merely a recruit in the army. I had no idea I was even a Panda Remnant, until a few years later.¡± Hou Fei told him while they walked towards the the Restaurant Train of Delicacy for a late meal. It just so happened that Lynn was assisting the penguins to clean the train interior a little, although her peggies demanded her to have a rest. ¡°Lynn, this is Hou Fei. Remember what I told you about the Panda Clan? Turns out he¡¯s one of the remnants. I was hoping to have a chat with him here since there is some food¡­plus I am famished.¡± Jin rubbed his stomach only to produce sounds which were indicative of hunger. ¡°Hahaha, What do you two wish to eat? I can prepare it for you guys!¡± Lynn asked with a gentle smile. ¡°Lynn, we will simply take the leftovers. Honestly you can go back home and rest. You have worked really hard for the past few days ever since this restaurant instance was opened.¡± Jin said with a bit of concern in his voice, but Lynn refused as she lifted her arms and flexed it a little. ¡°After I got the Penguin cultivation, I never feel as tired as before. For some reason, my work in the kitchen seems to even boost my cultivation, too. Haha!¡± Lynn giggled as three penguins silhouettes were shown right above her head dancing around happily. ¡°Wow, in less than a few days you jumped grade?¡± Jin exclaimed and even Hou Fei was impressed by Lynn¡¯s dedication after hearing Jin¡¯s explanation. ¡°If that is the case, I shall not be humble and get the most expensive dish on the menu.¡± Hou Fei said as a show of support for Lynn¡¯s hard work. ¡°I will get erm¡­the curry rice.¡± Jin just wanted some hot quick food. However, Jin was in for a pleasant surprise, as he had been unaware that Lynn even modified the Tonkatsu curry rice which enriched the flavour of the curry. Lynn noted down their orders and told them to give her a bit of time to prepare the dishes. In the meantime, they decided to talk some more. ¡°For your oath thing, is there a ceremony or just reciting?¡± Jin asked since he did not know how the Remnants worked. Not too long ago, he was oblivious to ¡°Panda Clan¡±, ¡°Remnants¡±, ¡°Sub-System¡± and things of that nature. ¡°Yea, just reciting the oath will be fine. Back then Ming asked me to do it during the mission. I was super shocked when I got in contact with the System for the first time. The pain was excruciating and worse still because we were in a mission, I had to tolerate it with the utmost silence. I would love to tell you that I valiantly endured it, but as a rookie you can probably imagine, that instead I screamed. This lead to the enemies finding us but we managed to annihilate them.¡± Despite Hou Fei being rather old, him talking about the memories of the past made him smile like a young kid again. ¡°Oh, then erm feel free to just recite it then. Or do you need me to ask for your allegiance first? Maybe some clarification of what I need you to do?¡± Jin asked to which Hou Fei shook his head yet again. ¡°After what I heard from Yun and the limited interaction I had with your customers while waiting, you are likeable enough. Plus I have seen what you did in the assassination attempt against Yang Ling¡¯s dad. Your power considering your age and your time with the System is remarkable.¡± Hou Fei picked up his hand and the insignia Jin saw previously appeared and glowed. What Hou Fei recited was rather long and to a point, quite cryptic too. Jin managed to decipher the first part since he understood how the Pandas swore to secrecy back then while preparing to fight against the Banned Emperor and his retainers. When the oath was done Jin suddenly felt his hand burn and looking down, he found the same particular insignia now glowing on him. It was a Panda Head which at the same time looked like a black and white magical ritual circle. Yun informed Jin in his head that only when someone swore allegiance to his lord, would the insignia emerge again. ¡°So does that mean, Lynn does not count? Even though she was granted a Sub-System?¡± Jin asked Yun in his thoughts. Yun clarified that Lynn was not part of the Panda Clan at the moment, but rather more of a collaborator. Jin had to officiate her into the clan through a proper ceremony unlike Hou Fei who was merely renewing his oath. After all since he was a Panda Remnant, he was already part of the clan. ¡°So do you need me to tell you more about me and what I do? If not, what are your current plans and how should I fit into them? Oh? The food is here!¡± Hou Fei smiled as he suddenly whiffed a salty fragrance in the air which nearly made him start to drool. ¡°For now, I¡¯d love to have more information about the Banned Emperor since you guys have custody of him. I plan to get myself to a higher grade so that I can protect myself. I can¡¯t always be so lucky, to have my friends around protecting me. Short term goal wise, I guess it¡¯s to get this store up and running, maybe make it more famous so I have more money to plan for bigger things and have a better cover. They always say ¡®Famous people get away with stuff¡¯, right?¡± Jin listed his plans, as he munched on his curry rice and Hou Fei nodded. ¡°Indeed, famous people always get away with stuff. After all the victor gets to change history.¡± Hou Fei added before he slurped his noodles. ¡°But yeah, I would also like to know about your abilities and what you do in detail. Perhaps I can achieve more with your help.¡± Jin tried to keep it short in order to enjoy Lynn¡¯s food Lynn. The flavour was indeed enriched. He even felt some chi circulating in his body, even though he was not cultivating it. ¡°Yes. Let me get to that- *slurps* After I- *Slurps* Mmmmm Finish this bowl of noodles.¡± Hou Fei face showed immense delight while chewing on his food. Chapter 314 Future Goals Chapter 314 Future Goals ¡°Actually, on second thought, I¡¯d like to observe some more of what Young Master can do before I reveal anything to you.¡± Hou Fei wiped his mouth after the sumptuous meal. Perhaps it was the hunger that was talking previously and now that he was filled with a full stomach, he was able to think more rationally. ¡°Huh. I knew it was not going to be that easy. Oh well, in stories, both old and new ones, the elders would also want to see and test the protagonist to see if he was worthy.¡± Jin shrugged as he chewed the last bit of his Tonkatsu curry rice. ¡°Hahaha, you think you are a protagonist of a story?¡± Hou Fei placed his arms on the back of the chair as he laid back. ¡°Nah, I doubt it. I might have a System which might make me seem like a protagonist, but in actual fact, I am just a tiny little person with slightly more powers than the average crowd. There are other worlds out there where there are heroes a hundred times stronger than me. I can consider myself lucky, that we live in a modern world, otherwise I¡¯d probably explore the world, only for enemies to always appear, who just so happen to be right at my power level. But this is reality, if I had encountered that Assassin anywhere but in my dungeon, I¡¯d most likely be dead.¡± Jin sniggered, before he got serious towards the end. ¡°Hmm hmm. It¡¯s good to see that Young Master is somewhat humble as he acknowledges the power he wields.¡± Hou Fei wanted to smoke a cigarette, but subsequently remembered he was in the presence of Jin. ¡°Is it okay if I..erm?¡± Hou Fei asked but Jin shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d rather you not. Sorry and thank you.¡± Jin wanted to be still respectful to his senior even though Hou Fei called him the young master. Hou Fei did acknowledge his young master¡¯s wish, put the cigarette back into the box and continued to talk. ¡°While I continue to observe you, do not hesitate to call me if you need any help. And by the way, I was serious about you conducting the exercises for the military. This will give me a perfect excuse to give you access to records for military equipment, maybe I can even manage to reveal some of our experimental stuff. I believe the System and you might find this very useful in the long run.¡± Hou Fei said as he asked the penguin waiter for a cup of coffee to temporarily curb his addiction for tobacco. ¡°I see, if I run some military exercises, I¡¯ll get money and access to military equipment which might be vital for fighting against King Baal in the dungeon world,¡± Jin pondered, but Hou Fei who overheard his mumbling wondered what the hell he was talking about. ¡°King Baal? Wait¡­a minute. Yun and you are serious about other worlds existing?¡± Hou Fei furrowed his eyebrows and became serious as he leaned forward to look at Jin. ¡°Oh oops¡­should I not have said it?¡± Jin asked the System. ¡°Negative. It is better for him to know about your plans. Transparency with your clan members is vital for communication.¡± The System replied, and Jin rolled his eyes as if he could not believe what the System said after what it did to him. After which he sighed. He had to admit that in retrospect, it was partially his fault for not taking the initiative, too. Then he turned to Hou Fei and Jin explained to in detail how he got the Dungeon City Fortress. And the more Hou Fei learned about it, the more he was thoroughly amazed by Jin¡¯s actions. It would appear, that Yun had deliberately left out some parts when she had informed him prior. ¡°You know, you seriously don¡¯t need to compete with the twelve zodiacs. I mean if you can own a city in that foreign world, is there even still the need for that? From the looks of it, if you can bring our modern technology into that city, you might very well become the most profitable and famous person in that world if done correctly.¡± Hou Fei voiced his thoughts as the were going wild with all the possibilities. ¡°In that case, all the more reason for your dungeon shop to allow the military exercise. With the favourable debt of the Zodiac Tigers under your belt, you can never know what kind of resources you can get. Play the cards right and you might have people and resources on your side!¡± Hou Fei was extremely excited about how this would go. ¡°I have done plenty of military administration and organisation. I do not mind chipping in as an advisor. Who knows? Maybe I can get the title of Defence Minister.¡± Hou Fei laughed for a while before he continued. ¡°It¡¯s a jest¡­ although part of me was serious about it.¡± ¡°That might actually be a good idea. If Qiu Yue can look after the civilian building aspect of the city, you could take care of the military organisation and defences and Moloch can deal with the politics. Oh yea there¡¯s Wolte too¡­Honestly, I am not too sure what to think of him. Hmm. What do you think about this, System?¡± Jin folded his arms and started to think of the possibility. ¡°Does User not intend to take revenge against the Banned Emperor, who killed your parents? Does User not wish to follow the mission of his ancestors, to revive the Panda Clan in China and claim its rightful place? What about being the Number One Dungeon Supplier in this World? The Dungeon City Fortress was meant to be a backup as we do not know how strong that King Baal is in reality. User might not be well equipped to fight the Supreme Being in another world. What if he is untouchable and manages to raze all the work User did? Will it all be for nought?¡± The System questioned. ¡°Erm to the Banned Emperor question, No. Too troublesome. I just got Kraft to get information out of him because I think he likes this kind of stuff. Also can¡¯t hurt to see if we can find anything useful to protect ourselves or buy a favor or two if the information would be good enough. In any case, might as well make him be happy once in a while.¡± Jin answered and suddenly he felt a chill down his spine, but it was not as cold as the usual ones. ¡°Revival of Panda Clan question. Also a no. No matter how I thought about it, I find it too crazy. You basically wish for the upheaval of the twelve zodiac clans. It might have worked in your time, or some centuries before this time, but currently they are too deeply rooted in the society. Not to mention how hard it would be, even if I somehow manage to do it, this would basically put me above all others powerwise in China and unless I eradicate everyone against us, the survivors would try to take me down. I do not wish for that kind of future, too troublesome.¡± ¡°Number One Dungeon Supplier? Why affect only this world? If the Remote Portal can really work. I am not aiming for just this world. I am aiming to incorporate the other worlds in other universes too. Of course, there are kinks that need to be ironed out. For example if we are introducing it to other worlds that do not have resurrection in place like ours or the Dungeon World. However using our city as a base for resupplies and the town itself will be a fantastic way to provide a whole new experience to our customers.¡± ¡°And for your last question¡­I do not have confidence but I wish to try. If we really can defeat King Baal, it might bring even more glory and trade to our city. Not to mention, we have monsters from other worlds. With their powers combined, I do not believe we cannot do it. Besides, Moloch did say that I am a supreme summoner h-hahaha.¡± Jin proudly answered. The System quietly listened and analysed it for quite some time. ¡°I guess you are thoroughly beaten by Jin for the first time System,¡± Kraft commented as he appeared in front of Hou Fei which shocked the latter. ¡°Sir Kraft?! ¡­You are alive?!¡± Hou Fei sounded very surprised, his lips trembling with trepidation, but Kraft ignored him for a moment as he was waiting for the System¡¯s reply. ¡°Indeed, User provided feedback which the System did not consider due to its adamant attitude towards its past goal of having revenge against the Zodiacs. System did not realise that the original goal of reviving the Panda Clan¡¯ glory was well assimilated into the revenge goal, that it long became the primary objective of the System. System will need to spend more time to reevaluate its priorities. However, the long term mission still stands. The Ruby Rat Triad poses a threat to Jin¡¯s business in the long run. It will be best to eliminate this particular pest problem.¡± The System replied which Jin acknowledged. ¡°I could never forgive how they tried to manipulate Lynn. For the safety of my colleagues. Yes, that will not change.¡± Jin nodded his head, yet he also started to be disturbed by Hou Fei¡¯s 180 degree change in behaviour towards Kraft. ¡°Kraft, did you scare him when the assassin struck in the morning?¡± Jin asked as he could not remember Kraft staying too long aside from his foxes stopping the ritual. ¡°Nope didn¡¯t do anything to him this morning. However I did tell you how Ming and I kind of bullied a Royal Zodiac Snake fellow, didn¡¯t I?¡± Kraft pointed at him with his thumb and smiled a bit too innocently. Chapter 315 Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation Jin stared at Kraft for a moment to see if he was joking about it, but there were no signs of him letting it off as just another one of his pranks or illusions. "Well, don''t get me wrong, he will be loyal to you. His oath guarantees it. There is no way that he will break that oath unless he wants to suffer the Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation." Kraft said as he backed up Hou Fei''s credibility to Jin. "What? Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation? That thing is also real? ¡­ well, that should probably not surprise me anymore." Jin scoffed at it when he was younger, thinking it was just some made up stuff in the past to promote honour and loyalty in the folklore. When someone betrayed their clan, the person breaking the oath would immediately be subjected to the Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation on the spot judged by the Heavens themselves. If their ''betrayal'' was just, all they had to do was to bear with the pain of Earthly veins seeping into their body, Fire burning their lungs, Water filling their stomach, Lightning electrocuting their brains and Metal rotting their skin. If the person could bear with the pain, which the majority obviously was unable to, they would not be chased after by their clan members because they had passed the trials by the Heavens. Should other clan members still feel dissatisfied and decide to attack the member who betrayed the clan, they''d have to undergo the same tribulation trial by the heavens in order to be allowed to chase after them. If one thought carefully, this was an apparent loophole to be exploited, but that was how the law of natures was made by the forefathers of cultivations. Some even believed that the forefathers placed such a loophole on purpose, so unusual cases like people seeking justice could still be reprised by it. However, the tribulation itself was sufficient to cause enough deterrent against most people from switching their clans like changing sweaters. "Sorry, I still don''t get it. If what Kraft said is true and you are Royal Zodiac Snake¡­then how can you be a Panda Clan Remnant?" Jin was slightly confused. Maybe the fatigue and a full stomach was setting in so that he could not think well enough. "The clan had been decimated and scattered all around the place. I am honestly not surprised if the Remnants mixed in with other clans to increase their numbers. After all, there was no way to differentiate someone as a Panda, unless they were one of the prominent direct descendants and you can guess that nobody would admit to being from a family which was to be executed. Even I gotta admit it must have been painful to hide right under the noses of our enemies, and executioners. Hoping one day the clan will rise up again." Kraft was the one to provide the answer and Hou Fei nodded his head. "I could technically be counted as being one of the direct descendants of the Snakes. At least my mother was one of the children of the Snake Lord at the time. However she was the 6th daughter, therefore her value to the family was not too big. When my father got engaged with her she got assigned some attendants to create another sub family. That was how I was born. All this while, I thought that I was a true Royal Zodiac Snake member until Ming and Kraf-" "Let''s not use such a flowery language. I was frustrated, that I got caged in, and got a perfect chance to let some steam off. At the same time, I found out the secret, which even he was unaware off. Ming became like the mediator once he found out his true lineage leading to the Panda Clan. Hahaha!" Kraft laughed heartily as he interrupted Hou Fei''s explanation and remembered the days he tortured Hou Fei. "Sigh, if not for Kraft''s¡­deliberate bullying, I may not have found out about my proper lineage and that I partially came from the Pandas and not just the Snakes." Hou Fei replied with a bitter smile. "Then why do you still choose to be part of the Panda Clan? As compared to a member of the Royal Zodiac Snakes? I mean, you even if you are ''only'' considered part of the sub families. That is more or less the best position to be¡­ Ooooh. No wonder you wanted me to go for the peaceful solution." Jin was really curious about Hou Fei''s decision to be a Panda Clan Remnant until he seemingly figured out Hou Fei''s goal since the beginning of the conversation. "Yea. Me being part of the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan was one of the reasons why I proposed you grow in the Dungeon City Fortress instead. But don''t get me wrong, it wasn''t the main reason at all. Sure, I am not exactly abandoning my identity of being a Royal Zodiac Snake yet my lineage allows me to serve two clans at once. However, with my standing, I am not allowed to hold any true position of power for the Snakes. The rest of my Royal Zodiac Snake Clan family obviously does not know about my half lineage. Even my wife has no clue about it. However, fortunately, the clan has no rule which makes its members admit to their allegiance unless they have been granted an official seat of power of course." Hou Fei explained. "That is why I can still do whatever I like until now and they assume I am doing it all for the sake of the Royal Zodiac Snake." Hou Fei felt a little proud saying it out loud. "Wait¡­so you want to be part of the Panda Clan Remnant¡­ because you can be a double agent?" Jin sounded confused with Hou Fei''s rationale. "That is the wish, if not the unsaid goal of every Royal Zodiac Snake Clan member. We learn the art of deception and assassination since we are young, yet most of us do not get a chance to practice it truly in real life. Many still use it for office politics to backstab some people and rise through the ranks. But that could only be considered as child''s play." Hou Fei laughed as he said that. "Well, I suppose some people might really be double agents for our country overseas, though generally sub families do not get such privileges. Besides, they all think that my father was just some minor cultivator that was adamant about practicing a Panda cultivation. No one seemed to suspect that the cultivation he practised was the long lost one and that included me." Hou Fei added, but he could see Kraft''s eyes gleaming at him with excitement as if he was ready to pounce to claim the credit for allowing him to see the ''light''. "Okay, I guess I can trust you for now." Jin told him, though he felt that there was a more significant underlying reason why he decided to side with the Panda Clan as a Remnant until Kraft pricked his bubble of curiosity. "His father was domestically abused by the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. His childhood memories showed that he himself was also bullied. However, most of that was the usual stuff between the younger generation. His treatment overall had been better since his mother was of pure blood. Nevertheless from what I learned Hou Feng could never forgive them for ultimately treating him as a toy to play with. From what Ming told me after Hou Fei found out that he was part of the lost Royal Panda Clan he started to have doubts that maybe the Snakes had suspected his father''s true lineage after all this time. Unless he succeeded even today, he should be trying to collect evidence and proof to avenge the injustice towards his father. But judging from how he is now with the lack of activity in the Panda Clan since Ming was excommunicated PLUS the time reversal¡­ I am not entirely sure how he is coping with the whole situation." Kraft explained in Jin''s head. "Don''t you always intervene and casually look into other people''s heads? Why not do it for Hou Fei? Isn''t that your expertise?" Jin asked quietly as he made small talk with Hou Fei at the side. "Have you forgotten what the Snakes execl at? My prefered working methods are not exactly used on the sly. No matter what, he is ultimately a Royal Zodiac Snake Clan member. If I ever try to casually break into him, he would definitely know about it and that would only serve to create mistrust between you and him. Why lose a potential ally right at the beginning? There is currently no reason to do so at the moment. Besides it''s way more fun to see if he ever betrays you or serves you with utmost loyalty just as how he did for Ming." Kraft stated while giving Jin a look as if that much should have been obvious. "I see, then I shall take your words into consideration and put my trust into him." Jin pondered for a moment even though he was not showing it which earned him some rather rare praise from Kraft himself. "You are improving at the use of separating the thoughts of your subconscious and the actions of your consciousness. Keep it up. The Astral Phantom might be within reach of a year if you continue to do this." Kraft patted Jin''s back as he disappeared once again. "Oh my god. How did Kraft survive from the encounter with Ming?" Hou Fei released a breath of relief. "You knew about what happened that caused the System to create the time reversal?" Jin asked with anticipation. "The System did not tell you about it? Ming when he was alive never said anything to you?" Hou Fei asked with some disbelief. Jin shook his head casually and pretended not to care too much, but his heart desired for that information. "Then¡­I will not tell you, too. Perhaps, it''s not the time for you to know. Besides, it is not as important as the future." Hou Fei discussed a few more things with Jin before they both returned to their respective homes to prepare for the next day. Chapter 316 Completing The Checklis Chapter 316: Completing The Checklist Throughout the next few days Jin met up with Ke Loong for several meetings and was accompanied by Xiong Da. It was to discuss the finer details in regards to the Remote Portal Device deal. There were many red tapes as Jin had expected but Xiong Da cleared them for him with ease and in advance too. Most of the paperwork were handled by Xiong Da and his new assistant and girlfriend, Ruo Ying. Obviously, Ke Loong knew of Xiong Da and his reputation and cursed at Mr Know-It-All for bluffing him to go in the deal blindly. He was basically ripped off by his friend and this duo in front of him, but ultimately he reluctantly agreed to all conditions even when his personnel advised their CEO against it. However, it was because of the presence of Mr Know-It-All in the last and final meeting, Ke Loong accepted the Remote Portal Device deal. ¡°You will not regret it. Trust me, Bro.¡± Mr Know-It-All patted Ke Loong¡¯s back as he could clearly see that his old friends was basically holding back his tears back. ¡°If I lose out in the deal, you better repay me all the money you owe me since school days!¡± Ke Loong snapped at Mr Know for a while before returning to the company with his personnel. Hence with both Mr Know It All and Xiong Da¡¯s help, Jin managed to clinch a good deal and that even included the desperately needed data of the remote portal Jin wished to create. With the data, the System could now work its magic to analyse it and attempt- no, manage to produce a Remote Device Portal that had little to do with the System¡¯s own special powers. On the other hand, the Shaolin Football Instance proved to be a hit after Bu Dong¡¯s debut against the Roboz. Many tried their own luck, wishing to be the first to defeat Team Roboz but till now no one was able to. There were a few instances, when teams managed to tie the Savants and advance on to Round 3, but it was as if there was a difficulty notch that was automatically turned to make sure that the teams lost at the very last minute. Some of the dungeon goers began to suspect that foul play was being performed and it was impossible to defeat it. Many began to dub it as the gold standard of dungeons in Jin¡¯s dungeon instances based on the number of goals being thrown into the Pandajilla. However, only Mr Know-It-All seemed to be able to recognise the effects of the Shaolin Football Instance. Even though the people lost to that particular dungeon, Mr Know noticed that the cultivators who tried the Shaolin Football dungeon instance had a higher survival rate in other previous dungeon instances because they were more alert and aware of their surroundings. ¡°Overall teamwork has been raised at least by five percent. No wonder, Jin called it the Shaolin Football Instance, it was like a paid session at the Shaolin Temple. Be defeated and learn your mistakes from it. Hahaha, if only Jin had tutorials for cultivation again like how he had Miss Milk and Miss Peppers.¡± Mr Know-It-All mumbled casually to himself while noting something down, so focused with his work, that he did not notice Jin coming up beside him. ¡°Well, how about you do it? You have been in my shop for the longest time ever. The customers trust your expertise, thanks to your comments in the auditoriums as well as your top voted dungeon guides.¡± Jin was wiping his sweat as he was wearing just a singlet from the Halloween Pandracula costume. It was a good thing that he could finally take it off within the next few days. ¡°Hahaha, that is a fascinating proposal. I can no doubt pass you the data of the cultivators that I took note of, but I have a feeling that you might have more detailed data than me.¡± Mr Know smirked as he said that. ¡°Why would you say that? I am just the owner of this shop.¡± Jin was trying to keep his poker face, but judging by the others reaction, he was doing a poor job of it. ¡°You surely jest. I have seen Team Roboz defeating people almost immediately when they tried to use the same tactics again. It was not that obvious for the other instances, but in the Shaolin Football Instance, it was as if you are training your customers to think more.¡± Mr Know shared his assumptions as he placed his notebook down for a moment. ¡°People are saying that you purposely priced it low, so that they can learn. And I would tend to agree, especially when you count the number of medals you can win if you compare it with a proper story theme instance. What exactly is your objective?¡± ¡°To prepare them for something larger. Something grander. Something more exciting.¡± Jin tried to hide the details. Mr Know did not bother to ask too much since he preferred to be surprised by this dungeon supplier in front of him. And so far Jin had yet to disappoint. ¡°I shall look forward to it then. I will think about your offer and will let you know, after I¡¯ve decided.¡± Mr Know told him before he went back to watch the cinematic right in front of him. Jin thanked him and did not bother him anymore. ¡°Hmm, me being a teacher, again? Will I be still qualified to be that?¡± Mr Know whispered to himself as he thought of the past before taking a sip his favorite tea and concentrating on the screen and his notes. As Jin gave the Pandracula suit over to one of the Red Pandas to clean it, he was also thinking of the meeting that Grandma Yuan talked about. He did receive an official reminder earlier in the day from Sheng Si Fang, the owner of Lele Caf¨¦ and the committee leader of the Tiangong Shopping District. ¡°If even Si Fang does not know what Grandma Yuan expects of me, then how should I oblige her wishes¡­¡± Jin scratched his head a bit as he looked up on the tasks to do on his phone. For the past few days, he had been busy settling a few affairs. First things first was the Sanctum of Worlds, the home instance for his various monsters. Similar to Mr Derpy and his Deep Ones before they got their deep sea alike home instance, Wolte and the other Savants stayed at the guest rooms waiting for Jin to act. To his surprise, Wolte just asked him for a peaceful house and nothing too fancy. In turn, and more as a jest, he created a standard 1950s western suburban neighbourhood for Wolte and the Savants on the fly. Shocking him even more was the fact, that they immediately fell in love with the simplicity and tranquillity of the neighbourhood. Even the Savants who were loyal to his every action when asked for their opinions, they immediately had requested getting one of the houses to call their own. Jin subsequently noticed that they seemed to have their own quirks and even some semblance of personalities within each of them. As if they were humans in a robot suit then it suddenly struck him. ¡°Wait¡­if Kraft can put Pei into a fox bullet, can he¡­those Savants?¡± Jin shuddered at the thought, but he was not afraid to ask Kraft since he had to be clear where they originated from. Continuing the list of surprises, Kraft did not even try to deny Jin¡¯s assumptions. However before Jin could even start to get angry, Kraft only asked him: ¡°What exactly are you unhappy about? Those Savants do possess a lot of the memories of those adventurer who were captured by me and the Derpies. However those adventurers, apart from suffering from mild amnesia for a couple of days, they have not been killed, and not only will they forget what I did to them, they will even have false memories implanted in them. This in turn will make them fabricate a fake story, so that your identity in the Dungeon World will be safe. All of them have been teleported outside. Also can you argue about the Savants efficiency, seeing how they dealt with the assassin? The way I see it, I not only honored your wishes, I also increased your strength directly by providing you with a loyal troop of your own, and I even indirectly increased your assets by getting one of my foxes as a nice bonus.¡± The old crafty fox give Jin a giant smile. After standing there with an open mouth for a couple of seconds, Jin thought about his bellators words, before he sighed out loud: ¡°I cannot believe that you were able to find a loophole in those orders.¡± Jin shook his head and Kraft could only shrug his shoulders. ¡°Well, that is how a counter intelligence agent should work. I mean I could have erased their personalities as well, but you do not seem to be someone, who would want something like that to happen.¡± Kraft smiled gently and walked away. However, the reasoning from Kraft made Jin feel at ease and Jin acceded the Savant¡¯s requests. The next thing Jin did was perfecting the Deep One dungeon instance. He had been delaying this dungeon for a long time and Mr Derpy was complaining why Lord Wolte was able to get an instance before him. Jin explained that it was mainly because of one thing. Budget. ¡°If you need more treasure, release us into some world. We terrorise it and get the loot for you. What is so difficult about that?¡± Mr Derpy was still angry at Jin giving Lord Wolte preferential treatment. ¡°Oh Derpy, you do not understand this. I need my customers to be stronger so that your Deep Ones can rip them apart with more joy. If they are all weak and useless, is that even worthy of praise? Besides, would the mighty Deep Ones lower themselves to do something like suppress their strength and be defeated by some peasants? I want them to be free and wild. To fight to their death with satisfaction.¡± Jin tried to talk to Mr Derpy in his ¡®language of chaos and violence¡¯. ¡°Hmph. You better make sure the dungeon instance is worthy of our presence. Or else, I will make sure you suffer the wrath of Lor- Wait, Master where are you going? I am not done talkin-!¡± Jin closed the instance door in front of Mr Derpy as he entered the Jack¡¯s Mansion, where the werejackals were living. ¡°Time to check on my living armour plants,¡± Jin rubbed his hand in anticipation, as he ticked another task off the to-do list. If Chapter 317 Chapter 317: Living Armour Plants Jin entered the Jacks'' mansion and he could see the results of their daily cultivation of the land. (What pun. :< ) Gold happened to be at the side of the field sitting down and taking a break when he saw Jin entering their instance. He stood up and waved at Jin to welcome him to their home instance. "Wow, these crops have grown quite a lot since I last saw them." Jin noticed that potatoes, cabbage and even wheat were growing in the home instance. If he had not come here regularly, it might have been more of a shock to Jin. "Hahaha, it''s all thanks to Shu. That damned old treant kept uprooting the soil and scolding us for not placing the fertiliser correctly. Sometimes, he''d even whip us for overlooking to water a single plant. Let''s not even start about us having to work the whole time. We are like, you cannot blame us for missing one day since this home instance does not have any rain at all." Jin was impressed by Gold''s smooth way of complaining. As he got the drift of what Gold wanted from him, he promised to ask the System to help them out. "That''s why I like you, Master." Gold laughed heartily as he patted Jin''s back hard. "Despite their complaining, they never ever thanked me for putting them into shape." Shu who was at the back of the field shouted at Jin. Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress, giggled at the side of Shu as she continued to play the music for the Jacks who were hard at work and the plants to grow. The Great White Snake lay lazily at her side and enjoyed the music. "WHAT TRAINING?!?! You call shooting your leaves at us, that could easily cut us into two, while we are ploughing the field TRAINING?! It''s more like torture. You damn¡ª" Yellow who stood up was barely visible from the height of the wheat plants retorted loudly. At that point, Shu already shot a leaf upward and down towards Yellow without destroying the crops. Getting used to this treatment Yellow had to dodge with care as not to spoil the plants¡­ otherwise he would get an even harsher treatment from Gold teaming up with Shu for destroying the carefully nurtured crops. "Any more complaints?" Shu grinned evilly with his limited expression and Yellow decided to keep quiet for now. "So, I guess you are here for the Living Armour plants?" Gold beckoned Jin to follow him towards Shu where the living armour plants were being raised. "Aside from that, what are you going to do with all these crops? We produce way more than what we need to self sustain ourselves, though I believe the System has a stockpile of food on its own." Jin asked as he walked behind Gold. "Hmm hmm hmm. If you do not know, then wait for a another week. With Lynn as your chef, I guarantee you that our products will make it possible for her to create a heavenly feast. Trust me, it will be something you won''t forget!" Gold was gleaming with confidence. When they reached towards Shu, Jin noticed that there were wooden statues with some sort of rocks holding onto the wooden figures. Gold clarified that Shu was training the living armour to form as early as possible. With Ke Mi''s music which promoted growth, the living armour plants who had initially been at the bottom of these wooden statues had learnt to grow and cover the statues. The statues were not stationary too as they were formed with Shu''s roots. Hence, the statues changed their pose slowly on a weekly basis and the living armour learnt to cover vital areas of the human being. "I had no idea these living armour plants could learn too¡­" Jin looked as he wanted to caress the young living armour gently. However, Gold immediately pulled Jin away and so did Shu who abruptly grew the statue higher up. Even Ke Mi had her strings prepared to be cast in between Jin and the young living armour pieces. "Wait, what, huh?!" Jin was stunned for a moment. Gold sighed in relief since nothing happened, before explaining to Jin that they reacted this way since he still had the old living armour attached to him. Any closer and it would be chaos. "Why? I thought the living armour pieces would assist each other?" Jin asked and both Shu and Gold shook their heads. (or branches) "Your current living armour will only dominate the young living armour pieces. They will demand the younger ones to fuse with them. It might seem like a good thing but in actual fact it isn''t." Gold told him while assisting Jin up from the floor. He also pulled him some steps away from the wooden statues. "The old ones cannot grow any more, but they can strengthen itself by fusing together. Meanwhile, the younger ones have still a lot of potential which we can expand even more than it is right now. If you interfere with the process, you are wasting your living armour pieces." Gold concluded. "Oh¡­so you guys want quantity right now instead of quality¡­" Jin realised and apologised. "Yeah, we are hoping to proliferate them more. That way we can train them when they are still young to make full use of their potential. Also we might even be able to create more than just one living armour suit if we succeed. And that is where the Oceanic Phoenix Dung comes into play." Gold said with Lynn and Qiu Yue in mind, but ultimately, Gold estimated that he could only produce one more suit by maximising the growth rate of the living armour. "I see. So that probably means, that you want me get even more of each item which you requested previously? Those erm horn, tails and hoofs of the demons. Oh and the eyes of the transforming spider." Jin took out his phone to check the details of the requests. "Hoofs and Eyes should be easier since they¡­ well¡­eyes come in pairs as do hoofs¡­you get my drift. For the tails and horns, maybe not as easy. The horns have to be above a certain age, so that might make it harder. But the most important ones would most probably be the eyes. Try not to damage them too much during battle. The purer and more wholesome the item is, the stronger the quality." "I shall remind you, that I will not be helping you in this expedition, since this is part of your training. The one I assigned you some time ago" Zeru who now appeared in a similar fashion like Kraft said to Jin. "Sorry Master, I did not expect myself to delay that long!" Jin apologized respectfully and Zeru nodded his head accepting it. "No matter. While I did say I am not helping you, it is still my responsibility to oversee you. I have something for you." Zeru informed his student as he passed a tied up scroll to Jin. "Hahaha, he figured Master Jin does not have that much time to do the scouting, so he and my fellow Jacks did that for you during our spare time. After all, those oversized cows are not the only ones who are good at gathering intel." Gold boasted about their capabilities, while at the same time exposing Zeru''s kind intentions. "Thanks, Zeru. Appreciate the help." Jin opened the scroll and saw ink styled pictures of the demons and their coordinate location in the Farming World. Jin then tried asking Peppers about these demons since she was the resident walking encyclopedia endorsed by the System. For the first time he got to enjoy the sight of Peppers wearing a pair of large rimmed spectacles and looking at the scroll provided by Zeru. "Hmm. I remember a little about these obscure demons. But if you ask me, I''d advise you to fight against the Lightning Goat Demon first. No doubt, he is the strongest amongst all of them, but I do recall his coat and horns being valuable. Those can be refined into equipment, so he has his uses aside from his hoofs. That said equipment can in turn be used against the Water Snake Demon, allowing you to fight it with ease. After which, rinse and repeat. Use the Water Snake Demon''s parts against the Burning Lion Demon. Only then, you should fight the Transforming Spider. It might not be the strongest, but its transformation ability make it the trickiest to fight." Peppers was suggesting, as she pushed her glasses up while also drawing circles on the scroll with pencil, marking the probable weak points of the demons. "Can this much really be called ''remembering a little''? Peppers is like a strategy guide against these demons!" Gold was amazed by Peppers'' knowledge. "Alright. Let me get this straight, Zeru. I have to fight one on one against them, correct?" Jin asked as a form of confirmation. "Yes, but you are allowed to bring any item that you want against them. However no monsters allowed." Zeru replied. Thanks to Peppers ''How to exterminate Demons for Dummies Guide'' Jin decided to take a trip to his omnipotent Dungeon Maker to get some equipment up and ready. "Now I feel like an adventurer, preparing for a fight at the expense of my life." Jin thought. "User is not allowed to die, Bellator Zeru will step in if something goes awry." System gave a negative reply to Jin''s thoughts at which he sniggered a bit. Chapter 318 Lightning Goat Demon Chapter 318 Lightning Goat Demon Beyond the horizon the morning sun was slowly rising. There was not much time left before the Lightning Goat Demon would wake up. Jin was teleported into a mountainous area of the Farming World and surveyed the surrounding area. According to the ink style painting that Zeru drew, he knew that the Lightning Goat Demon was white with bluish curvy patterns on its body. The designs were similar to those tribal tattoos that were sold in tattoo shops. Suddenly his phone beeped indicating that there was a signal about 500 metres away from Jin. He quickly took out a camouflage ghillie suit and hid in it. Afterwards he took out his binoculars to take a look at the Lightning Goat Demon. ¡°Okay, seems like it hasn¡¯t woken up yet. I have to prepare something to catch its attention.¡± Jin checked his phone which had a list of items that were kept in his storage watch. If only they were in a forest¡­ Jin would have lots of experiences setting up traps after seeing how the goblins did it. However, this was a mountainous area. The only thing that set him apart from the Lightning Goat Demon was merely distance and the unconscious state of the latter. The area was dangerous and the map which the System provided showed that there were no caverns or any other signs of proper even ground. The only thing there that he could take advantage of was the steppe below the mountains area. However, Jin remembered what Peppers said. ¡°The Lightning Goat Demon has an ability to call upon the skies for a bolt of lightning. The only sign showing this attack is coming is the slight movement of grass at the spot it would target the lightning strike. Unfortunately, according to Zeru, the steppe seems to be mostly covered in a thick layer of snow. Unless there would be a windstorm or you can get rid of it somehow I¡¯d advise against fighting him there. Of course if you can notice the slight snow movement before the lightning strikes then kudos to you. You can avoid the lightning attack.¡± Peppers explained to Jin. ¡°Do not forget that the Demons can go into a ¡®Rage Mode¡¯. Well Gold described it as a power up, but this term should be more familiar to you. It¡¯s that phenomenon which the beast demons enter when they are critically injured.¡± ¡°Mmmhmm I am interested to see how you are going to fare, Boss. Peppers told you that even professionals need a whole team to defeat this goatie. For you to attack it alone is indeed courting death.¡± Kraft teased in his mind. ¡°I just hope I prepared enough¡­¡± Jin started to move and set up his equipment along the mountainous ridges. Not long after, Jin decided that food would be sufficient to get its attention after it awoke from its slumber. These beast demons all shared a love for meat especially the Lightning Goat Demon living in the mountainous area where it¡¯s a luxury. Not to mention, the meat was of top quality from the System¡¯s stockpile. How could they resist such good food? Jin prepped the campfire at the centre of the steppes and cooked the large piece of succulent meat on top of the fire, allowing it to roast. He did not forget to put some seasoning which was prepared by Lynn in a packet as it spread it along the meat. Then he placed a dummy sleeping bag while he hid himself in the snow foxhole he created almost instantly with his magic. To create that foxhole, Jin first seeped his ice into the ground and once it reached a certain depth, he expanded his ice magic to surround the soil like a cube. After which, he inserted more chi into the base of the cube and allowed it to expand upwards, creating a perfect cube foxhole for him to hide in. The rest of the soil that was dug out was spread around the campfire to show there was some digging around the ice covered steppes. The aroma eventually travelled into the Lightning Goat Demon¡¯s nose and attracted its attention immediately. With a slight stretch, the Lightning Goat Demon leapt from the mountain and onto the steppes within five steps which kind of distraught Jin a little. ¡°If the demon has that kind of jumping strength, my prepared equipment and traps might not be enough!¡± Jin started to worry, but he continued to remain as still as possible. The Lightning Goat Demon saw the campfire, but was cautious since there was a lack of activity. The camping place had possibly a human inside the sleeping bag with its meat being roasted. As if there was some intelligence to the Lightning Goat Demon, it gave a sneered expression before howling into the skies. ¡°Who ever it is that dares to hunt me down, come out now! I may show you mercy by killing you instantly! Otherwise don¡¯t blame me for being rude!¡± The Lightning Goat Demon shouted with an audible language which was translated by the System to Jin¡¯s head. Jin sighed and guessed that even if he fired the first shot, there would not be any difference despite the initiative of battle. Jin came out of the foxhole with his bamboo rifle on his right hand up high. ¡°Hmph. Where are your other comrades?¡± The Lightning Goat Demon bellowed. ¡°No one else. Only me. I have decided to hunt you all alone.¡± Jin said as he placed his bamboo rifle down slowly. ¡°I do not believe you.¡± The Goat Demon replied. ¡°I can only offer you these words of truth. If you do not believe it, then there is nothing else I can do.¡± Jin shrugged. ¡°Human I am unsure whether you are brave, confident or plain stupid?! Don¡¯t you know, that hunting me is already courting death?! But you are the first one in centuries to try doing it alone!¡± The Lightning Goat Demon had sniffed and slammed its hooves on the ground causing lightning to destroy the surroundings of the campfire and in turn all the traps around it were destroyed in an instant. It then proceeded forward to the sweet smelling meat. ¡°Hmm. No poison at all. Are you that dumb to feed Keyrin, the King of the Aucbec Hills, such great quality meat without any poison in it?¡± The Lightning Goat Demon who declared himself as Keyrin snatched the roasted meat from the campfire and ate it in peace while still keeping an eye at Jin. ¡°Ehh, cannot go into battle with an empty stomach?¡± Jin tried to joke, but Keyrin did not bother with him. ¡°Peppers, did you somehow FORGET to tell me I was going against a friggin King?!¡± ¡°He probably declared himself as King since there shouldn¡¯t be that many Lightning Goat Demons around. He is probably the strongest of the bunch, so he is acting arrogant.¡± Peppers answered, as she was still studying her books on city building and design in her room. ¡°You might be right¡­ But you did not tell me that the stripes glowed rainbow when he shoots his lightning bolts!¡± Jin replied as the description of attacks were not the same as what Peppers had taught. ¡°Glowed rainbow¡­? Wait¡­a minute¡­¡± Peppers stopped her reading and jumped off her bed. She opened her bookcase shelf and took a book at random even though it was still a book on Monsters in the Farming World. ¡°Oh¡­erm yea¡­I have good news and bad news. Bad news is, I guess you are most likely fighting a real King Class. It¡¯s a rare variant of Lightning Goat Demon. The strongest and last known record was one Lightning Goat Demon named Keyrin. Records show that he had decimated an entire capital before by making it rain bolts of lightning continuously for weeks to show its fury against that nation¡¯s hunters that killed his wife. It was the only Lightning Goat Demon that dared to attack cities. Other Lightning Goats mostly keep to their habitat and at most might attack a settlement, if it lies to close to their home. Because of that, it is now classified as Thunder Ram Demon, King Class. ¡± Peppers recited what was on the book to Jin. ¡°Erm¡­question Mr Keyrin. Sorry to interrupt your meal time. Are you the same Keyrin that destroyed a capital city before?¡± Jin asked as he internally cursed Zeru for giving him the strongest opponent for a while. He was aware that his master wanted strong opponents that would push him to his limit, but isn¡¯t this much a little over the top. ¡°Probably. Don¡¯t remember though, destroyed too many cities to keep track!¡± Keyrin spoke as he ripped apart the meat to munch on it. When it was done eating, it shook its head a little where Jin could see sparks flying around it. ¡°Do you want some water to clear your throat?¡± Jin asked courteously as he took out a bucket and poured the spring water he used in his shop to serve customers with for Keyrin. ¡°For a person who wants to kill me, you are awfully humble. You are strange, Human.¡± Keyrin walked towards the bucket and drank the water without a care. ¡°I am satisfied. Because you fed me well, I will reward you with a swift death.¡± Keyrin announced as it walked backwards and gave Jin and it some distance. ¡°Speak of your name, Strange Human, I shall also honor you with trying to remember it. Then let¡¯s begin the hunt.¡± Keyrin shouted at which Jin sighed. ¡°Xie Jin, Nineteen Astral Lazy Panda Style, Dungeon Supplier.¡± Jin bowed as he picked his bamboo rifle up. ¡°Keyrin, King of Aucbec Hills.¡± The Thunder Ram Demon proclaimed while a blast of thunder and lightning flashed across the skies. ¡°I am so screwed.¡± Jin thought to himself. Chapter 319 Thunder Ram Demon "BAMMM!" The bullet flew out of the Bamboo rifle that Jin was holding, but even at optimum speed, the bullet could not make a dent on the scales of the Thunder Ram Demon, Keyrin. In the meantime, Keyrin stood there and fired a blast of lightning at Jin from the skies. Jin barely managed to see the fluttering of snow in time before he took a step back. However, the lightning strike was impactful enough to send Jin flying a few metres away. Meanwhile he transformed his bamboo rifle into a bamboo shield and surrounded it with multiple layers of ice. Without a surprise, another lightning struck at the place where Jin landed from the knockback impact, but the White Ice made of pure chi did not allow electricity to pass through it. "Holy shit, all hail science. Never would have guessed that it pays to remember something from school."Jin was sweating madly after blocking the electrical attack. He was taught that Ice was a poor conductor of electricity since it was the salt ions that made water a good conductor of electricity. However, if water with no impurities was present, ice frozen from pure water would not conduct electricity at all. That was exactly the principle he used with his White Ice techniques. His chi that made White Ice did not have any impurities in it at all hence, protecting him from the attack. Nevertheless, the impact of the lightning strike still caused some physical damage to Jin. "Hmmph, at the very least, this is not as bad as I thought it would be." Jin huffed and puffed as he dodged the next lightning attack while also using the shield coated with barriers of ice for cover. "What? My strikes are not affecting him at all?" Keyrin was curious what kind of artefact his newest challenger was holding that could stop his strikes. "If one strike is not enough, then several more will do the job!" Keyrin announced his attack as he gathered energy on his curved horns and shot the lightning bolts towards Jin. "White Ice Petal Barrier!" Jin shouted even though he was moving forward with his enchanted bamboo shield up against the bolts of lightning. Jin figured that since the steppe was covered with snow, he should use the surrounding to his advantage. It''s true that the snow in the surroundings was not pure like his ice, which might only partially block the lightning attacks but impure ice barriers were still barriers and using the natural element did not expend his chi as quickly as a large area pure white ice enchantment barrier. The snow around him began to flow up and became petals of ice fused with a tiny bit of white ice chi essences and when the lightning pierced through the barrier of petals, the strength of the bolt was lessened significantly which was easy for the primary White Ice Petal Barrier to block. Jin was finally close enough to attack Keyrin especially when he was the only one on the defensive for such a long time, but Keyrin simply stood there and continued to fire his thunderbolt to counter against Jin. "Panda Yawning!" Jin opened his mouth to fire a large Ying Yang Beam towards Keyrin and he shot a quick strike of lightning bolt from his horns in return. The interaction of Panda Yawning Beam and the flash of lightning caused a large amount of snow to flutter up to the sky creating a temporary snow screen for Jin. However, the Thunder Ram Demon was a beast. Slight movements in the air were sufficient for it to detect the presence of an incoming target. "There you are!" Keyrin snorted as he stamped his hooves and thunderous wave blew the snow away while his horns fired a bolt of lightning at the direction Keyrin detected movement. Only when the snow dust dispersed, Keyrin then realised that it was just a decoy from the campfire. The fake sleeping bag was burnt into crisp, but Jin was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, explosions occurred right beneath him as a blast of blackish fire engulfed Keyrin. It was a compressed spiral box which Jin threw right before the snow dust surrounded inserted them. At that moment, Keyrin heard a boom from the top of his head and when he looked up, an iron cannonball rapidly fell onto him, causing him to fall to the ground. Jin had made boots capable of boosting him into the air, out of range of the snow dust screen and released a mini parachute that allowed him to float in the air for a while. After which, he changed his bamboo rifle into a bamboo cannon and fired his first shot. Now that he knew Keyrin was down for a while, he did not hesitate to activate the equipment he had prepared beforehand. From his waist, he took out a detonator and pressed on it immediately. The automated cannons which Jin had set up previously immediately booted up and fired their rounds onto Keyrin which they registered with infrared imaging. The steppes were suddenly filled with multiple artillery explosions that echoed throughout the mountainous area, scaring all other life forms in the area to get the hell out of the steppes. The impact of the explosion was immense enough to knock Jin away in his parachute from the steppes. "Nope¡­he is not captured." Jin looked at his phone and noticed that there was no notification and the automated cannons were running dry of ammunition. Jin managed to land normally on a mountainous area as he quickly reloaded his bamboo cannon while waiting to see the devastation that his multiple cannons did. Suddenly, a swift shadow burst out of the burning fields and choking smokes towards Jin at a quick speed. It was none other than Keyrin, but his skin was turned to all black with no white at all. "JINNNNNNNNN!" Keyrin roared as he dashed towards Jin with no regards of his life. "Holy shit, please do not tell me that''s rage mode!" Jin was not able to conjure the white ice barrier in time nor change his bamboo cannon into the bamboo shield again. *BAM!* Keyrin slammed onto Jin''s torso so hard that he threw out blood and could feel several of his rib bones breaking. Even his cultivation that increased the strength of his body could not prevent such a thing from happening. It was the first time Jin felt immense pain causing him to go numb through his entire body. Keyrin was not hesitant to call upon a lightning strike onto the fallen Jin. Not once, not twice but multiple times. The lightning fell and struck Jin''s body continuously causing severe shock and pain. His skin was burning. His eyes felt dry even, and his muscles were not working. "I will strike until you burnt to crisp. Trust me, I will follow through my word." "User, just imagine you are going through the Heavenly Five Element Tribulation." The System offered some console to Jin. "NOT HELPING!!!!!" Jin shouted as he tried to stand up but each time he does, he was brought down by another lightning strike. "Not like this is going to work out well¡­.FUKKKK!" Jin struggled as he pressed the trigger on his cannon that caused an explosion right in front of him. It made him fly but at the same time it literally cost him him a leg since the cannon was aimed downwards. Keyrin did not expect that and cause a lag in the command of his lightning strike. However, that brief moment was all Jin needed to execute his backup plan. "GEARBOX!" Chapter 320 Jins Gearbox Chapter 320 Jin¡¯s Gearbox The Gearbox system that Jin created for Yang Ling was still saved within the database of the System. Since he had some time to himself in the past few days, Jin had made use of the time to modify it a little more, making it more durable by using higher quality metals. Jin also added more offensive and defensive options that enhanced the current schematic of Yang Ling¡¯s prototype Gearbox suit. A few simple looking boxes flew out from his living armour storage watch and immediately got attached to him. The first box fastened itself to his back, before expanding its metal pieces out from the box, strengthening his back, allowing him to fall to the steppes at ease. The following boxes attached to his arms and what was left of his legs. Because of the adrenaline he experienced, there was not much pain due to the sudden loss of his leg and the gearbox that attached to it numbed it even more with a mixture of anaesthesia provided by the System. In the previous full body gearbox prototype, the loss of legs or arms would impede the functions of the full body gearbox since it was meant to enhance the features of the existing extremities. Yet, Jin suspected that the fight against the Thunder Ram Demon would be a tough one and he already considered the worst case scenario. (In fact, he asked the System to calculate the possible consequences of this battle against a Lightning Goat Demon. The prognosis was not very cheerful.) Hence, he had added modifications for the new gearbox and it enabled him to ¡®grow new arms and legs¡¯ if necessary. The extended metal platings of the gearbox shaped itself to the size of Jin¡¯s feet and modelled itself accordingly to ensure the mobility for Jin. The Thunder Ram Demon Keyrin scoffed at Jin¡¯s attempt of revival. ¡°Don¡¯t you get that your struggling is futile? Or are you simply enjoying the pain? All that you do is only prolonging your suffering. Do you think some metallic linings across your whole body can help you in any way? You are simply courting death.¡± Keyrin did not hesitate to stomp towards Jin as he stabilised himself the moment he landed. ¡°Hmph, you do not know the extent of my abilities yet.¡±Jin smirked as he noticed that an opportunity finally arose. This was the perfect chance to execute his new ability. The Thunder Ram Demon did not him give any quarters by charging its horns with electricity, making the attack more potent than before. ¡°Epic Sword Art, Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda.¡± All seven pandas of Jin¡¯s cultivation appeared right above of him roaring excitedly. This was the first real technique that Ming had ever taught Jin in his sub consciousness. That¡¯s right. He never learnt any proper Basic Sword Style nor Intermediate Sword Style because there were no restrictions in the depth or width of the techniques he could learn. That was the beauty of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda Style. (not to mention Bam and Boo could shapeshift) However, there was a penalty to be incurred when Jin executed a technique above his current grade. Hence, even though Jin could theoretically learn a Legendary Sword Style but its powers would be diminished to his current level. Not only would it decrease in power, it would take a toll on his body. The higher the discrepancy the more he would suffer. Therefore, Jin decided to learn a technique which would not toll the body too much. By equipping the Gearbox system onto his body, he was able to take the strain of an Epic Sword Art without much hassle or restriction. With a side stroke from his sword, a gust of wind was summoned right in front of Keyrin who did not see it coming. Yet the moment he entered the area, he was entrapped by the sudden upheaval of wind. No matter how fast Keyrin tried to run or dash in his lightning form, he was still being spiraled around by the wind. Only then did he notice that there were ice petals mixed within the strong cyclone and he remained stuck in the eye of the cyclone. ¡°Heh, an impromptu technique modification to stop your lightning from going through the harsh winds.¡± Jin explained as he took a breather for a moment. ¡°If I cannot go through, then I will go up!¡± Keyrin shouted as he prepared himself to jump. Suddenly, multiple shadows of bamboo swords were seen at the top of him and before he could evade them, the swords were falling at tremendous speeds. Keyrin immediately summoned a lightning storm barrier to surround him in order to negate the falling swords. Just then he felt a cut going through his torso area. More cuts and stabs followed as he roared in pain and anger. Trying to stop the bleeding he noticed that the swords were magically enchanted with White Ice too. Keyrin who was still in Rage Mode called upon a burst of lightning strike onto himself in order to heal him by absorbing the elemental power. Yet suddenly the shadowy swords that on the ground that just pierced through him vibrated at the power of electricity. ¡°Boom, bitch! Oh, wait. You are a guy. Nevermind.¡± Jin cheered a little as he saw his plan working even better than expected. Those shadowy swords were not just enchanted with White Ice. They were compressed spiral boxes that were shaped into swords which he prepared in advance. They could be triggered remotely by a sudden surge of chi or energy. In this case, it was the lightning strike that triggered the spiral ¡®swords¡¯ and a series of black fire explosion was seen emanating out of the ongoing cyclone. Jin hoped that would kill or at the very least incapacitate him, because he was nearly out of tricks to use. He initially wanted to hold the spiral swords and use them at close range, but he got a sudden inspiration and decided to combine it with his Epic Sword Art. As the explosions subsided, Keyrin was still standing at the centre of it all. Jin did not know what else could he do but he prepared his arms for two simultaneous Lazy Swipe in case Keyrin dashed towards him once more. ¡°Jin. You proved yourself worthy! Even though it was a short fight, you have bested me. I had underestimated you in battle multiple times and even though I am standing, it is through sheer will. My life is now within your hands. I ask of you, what do you need from me? Are you seeking my heart in the hopes of gaining eternal youth? Are you willing to bind me down to a demon¡¯s pact? Or do you simply desire taking my head as a war trophy?!¡± Keyrin emphasized his words with power even though he was near defeat. His fate was no longer his own, but at least he wished to keep his pride as a King. ¡°Oh? Can you heart really provide eternal youth? Nah, I do not need that nor the pact. I also don¡¯t want to end your life, I merely require one of your hooves. It is to strengthen my armour.¡± Jin answered bluntly and Keyrin stared blankly at Jin. ¡°Wait¡­you want my hoof for your armour? That¡¯s it?¡± Keyrin was puzzled. Throughout his life he had been ambushed many times, and whenever he cared enough to ask those adventurers what they¡¯d hoped to achieve the answers varied. Some wanted revenge, others fame, some pretended to it for justice while hoping for his treasures. Yet this adventurer right in front of him had been strange since the start of their encounter. Even though he could have taken much more things from Keyrin, he would be satisfied with exchanging a life threatening battle for a hoof¡­ for his armour. This was quite an insult to Keyrin himself. ¡°You must be kidding me. I can offer you something more than this. A magical ability? A rare Artefact? Please at least take something else!¡± Keyrin was practically begging Jin to rob him, but the young man shook his head. ¡°Well if you insist¡­ Maybe a part of your horn and some of your skin?¡± Jin could not understand why Keyrin was insisting on parting with a stronger item. Was it a challenge hidden for him behind the prize that Jin did not know about? ¡°Why are you insisting on my body parts? I am offering you something more precious than my body part!¡± Keyrin was a little frustrated trying to offer a reward for his defeat. ¡°Because my monsters asked me to? They said your body parts were useful in the upcoming fight against the Water Snake Demon and perhaps, the Burning Lion Demon. I have no idea what other artefacts might be good against them.¡± Jin shrugged his shoulder as he conversed with the Thunder Ram Demon. ¡°Against the Water Snake Demon? And the Burning Lion Demon? What is your goal?! Do you wish to be chased after by the beasts demon all over the world?!¡± Keyrin suddenly went into a battle stance again. ¡°Wait wait wait! It¡¯s not what you think!!! I also only require some pieces of those few demons and nothing more. It¡¯s all to create a suit of living armour with those parts!¡± Jin declared his intention with honesty as he knew there was no way to fight one on one against Keyrin in his current state. ¡°Living armour? How did you manage to find those precious items? Why would you want such a sacred thing to be mixed with items associated with evil? Your intention does not make any sense at all!¡± Keyrin was not yet convinced as he charged up a lightning bolt on his horns. ¡°That was what my monsters told me. They said, it would provide a good set of armour against my enemies, that¡¯s all, I swear!¡± Jin guessed if he was about to be zapped to death, he might as well do it with style. ¡°You keep talking about your ¡®monsters¡¯, who are they?!¡± Keyrin halted his thunderbolt and gave Jin one last chance. ¡°Gold, the leader of the Jacks?¡± Jin answered honestly and quickly which made Keyrin startled for a while. ¡°Gold¡­? The leader of Jacks? The one who used to be the ¡®Grand Scholar of the East¡¯, before he was infected by the therianthropy virus?¡± Keyrin released his charge into the air, dismissing any animosity against Jin. Chapter 321 Scholar of the Compass "This is a quite surprise. I never expected to see the mighty undefeated Keyrin would ever put down his battle stance for a talk." Gold appeared after being given approval by the System. Strangely Gold looked nothing like his usual appearance. He was in his human form but wearing clothes that Jin had never seen before. A silver half mantle hanging on his shoulders and underneath it was an adequately ironed black uniform that simply screamed ''high noble class'' from afar. Right beside Gold was Grey dressed in similar fashion, but in his case instead of a silver mantle, it was just a simple white shoulder mantle. "Hmph. Well, same to you. I never even expected to see you again at all, much less alive nor in one piece! But judging from your¡­acquaintance? You were dying to see me dead!!!" Keyrin sneered as he heavily blew some air out of his nostrils. "I did not purposely send him after you. It''s just that I underestimated my Master''s reckl-¡­ Master''s capability to choose the most powerful of all lightning goat demons. But even if he had told you, that I was the one sending him, I doubt you would have chosen to simply let it go, which would have ended up in a battle regardless. Anyways now you know how powerful Master Jin is." Gold sniggered a little which made Keyrin even more furious. "That is because you lied to us! To the entirety of Beast Demons!!!" Keyrin shouted as they could suddenly hear thunder looming from a distance. "This was never my intention, and you should know that. I became a victim in all this mess, the same as you. I mean, just LOOK at me!! In the end, I got the virus affecting me!!!" Gold complained as he transformed his human hands into a jackal''s claws. "Fine, I admit that at least you did not turn into them. Sigh, it''s unthinkable that the Scholars of the North and South decided to-" Suddenly Keyrin''s ears moved instinctively and so did the noses of both Gold and Grey. "CRAP! I cannot believe that they could track us in less than a few minutes. This is more serious than I thought." Gold quickly turned to Jin and requested to bring Keyrin back to their Home Instance where it was safer for them. "System, is that allowed? To bring an external monster not under my control into my dungeon instances." Jin asked the System, but to the Thunder Ram Demon, that strange human was simply talking to himself. "Access denied! System does not allow anyone, nor external beings, to disrupt the instances'' ecosystem. Since User does not have a secured encrypted guest hall or prison, there are only two options. Either capture the monster or talk it out over here." The System was unwilling to compromise. "Quick! Master, I do not want them to discover my presence and Keyrin''s if at all possible!" Gold hurried Jin along. It was a rare sight to see the usually composed Gold so flustered. After their short exchange, Jin could already guess, that Keyrin would not let himself be captured willingly. Because of the Thunder Ram Demon''s prideful attitude and arrogant behaviour, there was only one way left. "Zeru, cut him down immediately," Jin commanded and within a second while Keyrin was still internalising Jin''s words, he suddenly felt blackness surrounding him. The last thing he saw was black flower petals floating right in front of him. In an instant, the almighty Keyrin fell to the ground with his head separated from his torso. "That is not the best way to go, but better than the alternative. Let''s get going quickly." Gold requested for a portal from the System and they immediately disappeared, followed by the corpse, just before a shadowy figure was able to reach the destination. "Hmmm. The blood of the Thunder Ram Demon¡­" The figure tasted the blood a little and sniffed the air. "Heh. So someone really killed it¡­ Not to mention, the scent of the Scholar of the East has appeared again after all this time. Also the scent of that particular person. Interesting¡­ we can rejoice, at the very least it''s one annoying King Class demon gone." The figure mumbled as he ran away to report to the most recent activity to his superiors. In the Jacks'' Mansion, Keyrin was ''reborn'' once again, but was frustrated and at the same time shocked that he could die from a single strike. He may have been weakened, but that power would have done him in, regardless¡­ "I DEMAND TO SEE THE ONE RESPONSIBLE! WHO HERE DARED TO CUT ME DOWN?!?!" Keyrin was so furious that he did not even question his second chance on life, only wishing to discharge a burst of lightning in the mansion of the Jacks¡­ but with a simple command of Jin to stand down, he was forced to kneel, unable to disobey it at all. The enmity in his eyes was visibly disappearing from Keyrin. "Wow, the System is really a terrifying thing. To be able to calm such a kingly beast so fast, making him obey a single command¡­" Gold gulped down. He was aware of the effects of the loyalty enforced by the System, but in his case, he had agreed willingly when given the chance. This, in turn, allowed him not to feel too weighed down by it, since he did not dare to push the extent of the System''s limits, yet Keyrin''s sudden transformation frightened him. "What have you done to me, strange hu¡­ Jin?!" Keyrin was annoyed that he obediently answered to Jin''s commands, even though he did not wish for it. "Well judging by Gold''s reaction, I guess I have saved your butt!" Jin had learned from his interactions with the monsters a bit of each of their backstories. In the case of his werebeasts, the Farming World had experienced a viral plague, which pesticides were unable to stop. It caused the crops to grow deformities. Unsurprisingly farmers, who made up a large majority of the population, were baffled by these strange phenomenons as their crops were their only livelihood. However, the plague did not just deform the crops. As time went by, those crops that were just discarded and not burnt, grew something out of it. Rat Demons. (Yeah, even Jin was bothered by it too. He could not believe Rats haunted him at every step.) The Rat Demons were sentient in nature as they grew out from the crops. Since the Farming World literally grew anything and everything from the soil, those Rat Demons inherited the properties from the crops they came from. Farmers that were growing weapons and armour from the land were afflicted with the worst outcome. Most were killed by the very own things they planted themselves, which the rats grew from their bodies. Those who were not killed got turned into slaves for the ever learning pests. Eventually, the Rat Demons went so far to create a small underground kingdom for themselves, which turned into a sufficient cause for organisations to band together and dismantle them. But instead of this turning into a happy end, this was just where the misunderstandings started. Most assumed that the majority of the Beast Demons sided with the Rat Demons. After all, it was known that they had made pacts with a large number of Beast Demons. Humans using their trusty method of ''Kill first, ask later'' started their extermination of the Rat Demons as well as the Beast Demons. Keyrin''s wife was also one of the unfortunate victims. She was killed because of these circumstances, making him unleash thunder and storms on the capital where the hunters resided. That was when the Scholars of the Compass which comprised of the North, South, East and West came together to calm the people down and tried to negotiate peace between the Beast Demons that were not affected and the organisations. However, the Scholars of the East and West did not know that North and South had decided to band together and were already working with the Rat Demons. An internal battle ensued at the Tower of Compass which resulted in the death of the Scholar of the West. Gold, as the Scholar of the East, managed to run away with his life but was infected by the Rat Demon''s curse. A curse which would ultimately turn him into a Rat Demon too. Left without any other options, he took a gamble and used a high level mitigation spell in the hopes of avoiding his fate. The result was somewhat unexpected. While it did prevent him from becoming a rat, it turned into a different affliction¡­ Therianthropy. That was how Gold became a werejackal. Seeing his method work, he looked for others suffering from the curse and also changed them into werejackals and werecats. Everything was preferable over becoming a rat. "So¡­erm¡­ I knew this is a bit out of the blue but¡­Should I even interfere with your world or your country''s problem?" Jin asked when Keyrin was discussing with Gold. "If it were anybody else asking it, I would answer that they shouldn''t¡­ but you have the power of the System. You may be able to help us if you wish. After all, we cannot deny, that the Farming World is our home. I should tell you that getting rid of them, will probably also be in your own interest. If the Rat Demon Kingdom continues to reign further, markets and business centres of the Farming World will disappear. Who knows what will become of the Farming World. And unless I am wrong, the System is also buying a lot of the food from the Farming World. Price inflation will not rest well with the System''s stinginess." Gold answered, trying to convince his master. "Many innocent Beast Demons have already been killed. The hatred between normal Humans and Beast Demons will get even more intense, that much is for sure!" Keyrin added. "But I am just a simple Dungeon Supplier¡­" Jin yawned a little as he looked at his new legs. As soon as he entered his own territory, the System and Milk had already been present and immediately started the process to regrow his limbs back. "User, what if the System tells you that assisting Gold, the werejackals, werecats and the Beast Demon Keyrin, will allow you to gain significant rewards?" The System seemingly had some bait prepared for him. "Well, the rewards should better be VERY enticing. I mean we have sort of agreed not to take drastic measures in the worlds¡­ yet here you want me to do something which is no less world revolutionary than uprooting the Twelve Zodiacs! Even so, this is their world, not ours. I have no obligation to go in and slaughter uncountable hordes of Rat Demons. I don''t even want to capture and breed those things." Jin saw them as expenses rather than proper monsters. "System would like to propose that those Rat Demons, capable of thought, to work under the service of the Dungeon City Fortress. Instead of under User''s care, they would fall under the System''s obligation." The System offered Jin. "¡­Is that my reward?" Jin asked bluntly like an innocent kid. "No, there is a separate reward. Capturing them as workers as only something which both sides can profit from. After all, the System needs workers to create the buildings for User''s purposes as soon as possible. Preferably the moment Qiu Yue enters the picture officially." The System was reeling the bait in. "What is the reward then?" Jin now got slightly interested. "Evolution of the Werejackals. Evolution of the Werecats. Evolution of the Beast Demons excluding the Rat Demons that User captures. Five kilogrammes of Oceanic Phoenix Dung. Complete Prototype Blueprint of User''s Remote Device and lastly one additional Level in your Dungeon Supplier Rank, which will bring User''s Rank up to 4. System also wishes to congratulate User who has completed the previous Mission objective as of this afternoon 1337Hrs." The System stated. (Apparently, the bait the System has prepared was top class) "Oh my god." Jin wanted to pull his hair at the number of rewards the System was offering. Chapter 322 Town Council Meeting "What if I am still adamant about not doing this particular mission?" Jin asked hoping to spite the System a bit. Although mixed in it was maybe a wish of trying to get even a bit more of the usually stingy System. Nevertheless, it did not change the fact, that such a mission was outside the usual scale. "In that case System will¡­ not force the User. Ultimately, it does not matter. There are other routes in acquiring our workers for the Dungeon City Fortress. It just so happened that this would have been the one route that had the highest probability of getting the Dungeon City Fortress up and working for User and the System within the three months. System also took into consideration User''s character, who might want to help out his monster''s situation." The System was being so kind for the very first time that Jin was rather taken aback. "Wait, System are you sure you not affected by some virus? Any fever? Do you maybe need some medicine?" Jin asked as he suddenly got hit by a metal safe falling from the sky. When Jin opened it, there was nothing inside, yet his head still hurt from it. "For dramatic effect in reply of your sarcasm." System noted which made Jin and Gold laughed heartily when they realised the System was most likely only portraying its version of embarrassment. Even Zeru had to pull out a genuine grin once in a while. "Alright, alright. I will probably end up doing it. Besides, we already got the Shield Barrier working with the defunct core, right? I agree we should start working on the Dungeon City Fortress as soon as possible too. Barren Land is not productive land." Jin complied with the System. "Moloch and the System have installed it without a hitch. Your spoil of war this time was even better than expected. The shield protecting the Dungeon City Fortress can now nullify any World Class magic for up to five times before its effectiveness is reduced." The System stated. As it turned out the ''defunct core'' which they took from Wolte was not exactly ''defunct''. It acknowledged Lord Wolte as the master for the dungeon and hence it was still partially working. This made the core an even more valuable item for the System to utilise since it had the usual magical property of a dungeon core. "I am delighted to hear that, Master. Even so, fighting the Rat Demons will be everything but easy. Their underground kingdom is widespread and no one knows if there are other outposts of the rats out there. We need to get rid of them once and for all, else they will reappear and wreak havoc once more." Gold deduced. "Stop right there. Since we are taking this mission, I think it is time to convene for a town council meeting." Jin smiled as he said that. This was because in the Sanctum of Worlds, he had created a specific Home Instance that allowed all the monsters to gather and he made sure that the place could also accommodate future monsters. It was an extensively large field similar to a live music concert place. Jin already considered throwing a party once in a while for the monsters and this particular Live Music concert area also worked as a gathering place for the dungeon monsters to reside and listen and maybe throw in ideas if needed. The System summoned all of the monsters into the live music concert place and provided seating arrangements for each and every types of monster. Except for Mr Derpy. (Joking, he did have a seat and a ridiculously large one to boot. Some of the Deep Ones also had the honour to even sit on him.) "We are gathered here because of a mission that the System had issued," Jin explained the story of the Rat Demons and how they were going to be rat exterminators for the next few days or perhaps weeks. "There are some things I''d like to know though. Is the Virus Plague still in effect? Because if it is, it would be an endless cycle of kill and rebirth against the Rat Demons." Mr Derpy asked. Though his face made it hard to say, the monsters were not sure if he asked it out of concern or was looking forward to an opportunity of enjoying a continuous literal bloodbath. "No need to worry about that. I and a friend of mine, the Scholar of the West have ensured that the plague has stopped spreading. However, I do not know the current situation whether the Rat Demons managed to find a way to reproduce that particular strain of Virus Plague." Gold answered. "In that case what Jin said holds true. As long as we do not know how extensive the Rat Demon Kingdom is, it will be a futile way of settling things." Shu voiced his opinion. "You won''t have to worry about that. The foxes and I will work overtime to get the pieces of intelligence mapped out. Also, I have a few tricks under my sleeve which I can utilise to track down any possible remnants." Kraft replied to Shu''s concerns. The anticipation to his future fun made him grin so wide, that he could be mistaken for a Cheshire Cat. "The penguins and I do not mind assisting in the food supplies and encampments. Leave the logistics to us. However, I do wish to fight in the frontlines if possible. I shall show you, that I don''t need to get rescued by you all the time, Jin!" Lynn smiled as she announced it out loud with determination which the penguins cheered her on. Everyone agreed that Lynn should go out to get some battle experience, which made Jin reluctantly agree to it. "Fine! Fine! I will bring her out! You penguins better take care of her too in the field! Or else I will make fried penguins wings out of all of you!" Jin said and the penguins were horrified by Jin''s drastic reply. Lynn even closed one of the penguin''s ears when he said that. The monsters, on the other hand, drooled a little thinking about fried penguin wings as they wondered if it tasted the same as chicken wings. "In terms of communications, my Magpies can handle it easily so leave that to me. They are capable of sending messages from the depths of hell to the highest pillars of heavens." Que Er, the Magpie Queen, raised her hand out and offered her expertise for the whole group. "Well that is all good and dandy, but you seem to have overlooked a problem. They are a KINGDOM. So, in short, we need manpower first to get dedicated manpower for our dungeon city fortress? Sounds rather contradicting." Moloch commented lazily as he raised his puppet''s hand. "I think it''s more like we need to get competent manpower to circumvent the situation." Sandy, the Sand Witch, rebutted against Moloch. There were further ramblings under the stage that Jin was on and people were discussing what was the best way to defeat the monsters until one of the goblins raised his hand. "Ahem! If everybody would listen to me if I could speak." Ripcaller, the Dagger Goblin requested and Jin demanded everyone to be silent for a moment. The crowd immediately kept quiet and listened intently to Ripcaller. "If you need manpower, we have the perfect place for you in mind. We three can request for more goblins to come in our service. If we are lucky, we might gather a whole army too. All we need is a force that is somewhat expendable like the Zombies, no offence to Ghoul Half Lord Derek. ¡ª and a sizeable force to perform proper specialised tasks like the goblin army. As long as we are able to obtain the army, the division of labour would be easier while dedicating a strike force against the main bosses of the Rat Demon Kingdom, we should be able to dismantle them systematically!" Ripcaller explained. "And why should they listen to you? Don''t tell me that you were secretly some sort of goblin royalty all along, that we did not know about. Does your birthright allow you to loyally command a goblin army?" Yellow sniggered as if Jin had managed to catch some high class nobility goblins in the Goblin World. "Ahahahah. We could only wish for that to be true. No we are not that prestigious. However, all three of us ARE sons of various fairly renowned Goblin Generals in the Goblin Kingdom we hail from. When Master Jin captured us, we were forced to go out for our very first live battle practice as a group. It was because we were very sheltered from living the good lives. We had been rather truant and decided to stray from the main battlefield. That was when we encountered Master Jin." Piercestriker confessed. It was the first time the goblin trio shared their story with anyone. "Oh¡­erm¡­" Jin was slightly speechless from the amount of embarrassment he had when he heard the goblins situation. However, the goblins stopped him from saying anything further. "No, it was a good thing that Master Jin captured us. We were rather disobedient, and we did not tell Master Jin anything because the System was the one that controlled us crazily. Everyone here knows that the System had not been the friendliest of a host at first, but seeing how Master Jin grew up within these past weeks and even managed to let the System evolve into a kinder entity, we are glad to be a part of this ragtag group. Not to mention the amount of training we get here is so much more than what we would have ever gotten in our old world." Slashreaver added out loud and some even nodded their head. Most of the monsters'' lives had improved tremendously ever since living under Jin''s care despite the loyalty oath that they were required to pledge to. "Who knows, our current strength might even match the heroes of the past." Piercestriker boasted a bit at such a possibility. "Won''t it be weird if you guys suddenly appear again? I mean with you being gone, won''t they think you died? Or worse, marked you as deserters?" Jin questioned as he guessed that this would mean yet another detour he had to make. Sometimes it seemed as if the whole world was keen on preventing him from being a simple Dungeon Supplier, who could just enjoy making dungeons for his customers¡­ "System will increase the rewards accordingly. Should User decide to get help from the goblins the following rewards can be arranged: Evolution of the Goblin Trio and Mr Oink. Other Rewards pending, based on results and humanoids captured." The System added. "We shall deal with the situation when we arrived. First, we need to know what happened to our kingdom in the meantime, since there were bordering tensions between our goblin kingdom with some other kingdoms. At best, nothing. At worst, an ongoing war against the others." Ripcaller stated logically. "Oh gosh, I fear that by returning I will just make things worse." Jin shook his head as this was what happened when he came back to the Farming World to get those monster parts. Instead of a simple fetch quest, he had somehow unlocked the hidden SSS-Class "Topple the Worlds" Quest¡­ "How about this, you return with the Goblin Trio and monitor the situation first? We can formulate other plans in the meantime in case the goblin army reinforcement does not work out." Grey suggested and a number of the monsters agreed. "Alright, tomorrow okay? We will scout the area, find your daddies and determine if it is worthwhile to get that goblin army." Jin compromised and the Goblin Trio nodded their heads as they excitedly returned back to their home instance and so did the rest of the monsters. "I guess they missed their parents, too," Jin pondered as he could not help but think of Ming¡­ and somehow his thoughts changed to Yun too even though she was out there tending the shop. Chapter 323 Dungeon Supplier Rank 3 Chapter 323 Dungeon Supplier Rank 3 For the rest of the evening, Jin tended to his shop and woke up earlier than usual. He needed to prepare the items and equipment for the trip to the Goblin World. Ripcaller said that the Goblin Kingdom was called the Gob Gob Kingdom, named after a mighty ancestor. The Gob Gob Kingdom was one of the more advanced and highly populated Goblin Kingdoms in the Goblin World. Some even said that their military was the most advanced and highly sought after to enter by many various smaller kingdoms. ¡°So, we are going into the Capital straight away? Didn¡¯t you tell me that humans were the enemies of the Goblins.¡± Jin asked the goblins and they nodded in unison. ¡°Well, we could bring you in as a slave?¡± Slashreaver suggested casually but did not mean any offence to his Master. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not being a slave and get a harsh treatment. Hmmm¡­ What about the half panda mask that I once used in the Dungeon World. Could that hide my presence as a human?¡± Jin asked the System and it gave an affirmative reply. ¡°It can be arranged. All the System requires is to insert a dispersing presence magic onto the mask. You would be able to walk into the capital with near zero awareness.¡± The System stated and Jin was confused. ¡°You mean I can just walk in and people would treat me as just a mere somebody?¡± Jin tried to confirm. ¡°Indeed. However if the mask is taken off, your presence will be noticed by everyone immediately. Consequences will be for you to handle. System advises not to bump into anybody and keep your distance!¡± The System replied as it magically popped the half panda mask right in front of Jin to hold on to. It looked the same as before, expect for a slight shining effect, which was barely noticeable. ¡°I do not feel comfortable doing this,¡± Jin admitted with a sigh as he looked at the Goblin Trio. Strikereaver then stepped forward and told Jin that he didn¡¯t need to force himself today against his wish. ¡°It might be a dangerous mission to undertake so we understand your concerns.¡± Piercestriker said, but Jin knew that a day delayed also meant one extra day without knowing how their home was. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it tonight. That way I still have this day to think if I forgot to make something, which could end up helpful. Anyways I hoped that you guys still know your way around.¡± Jin asked and they all nodded their head until Slashreaver suddenly blurted, ¡°That is if the capital is still around when we get there.¡± The other two goblins immediately knocked Slashreaver¡¯s head as if what he¡¯d said was a taboo. The shop was as busy as ever but everything went smoothly throughout the day. Jin also began to hype the next dungeon instance that would finally feature the Deep Ones. Unlike all the other dungeons that were announced at short notice, Jin decided to change his strategy and tried to promote the upcoming dungeon. With the early completion of the October mission, his dungeon supplier rank had finally turned from Level 2.5 to Level 3 giving Jin the ability to renovate his shop even further. And he did not waste the opportunity immediately opting for some changes both in the shop instance and outside of the shop. The first thing was to remove the ugly empty first floor of the shop in reality. He had changed the interior of the first, second and third floor to something similar to the Zen gallery. Open space with fresh green bamboos inviting both new and old customers to enjoy a sort of serenity that they desired after a day of hard work. As the recovery instance and other service instances were already integrated with the shop instance, the second floor was renovated into something more of a place to relax and enjoy a quiet time where people could take a break from the shop instance or the real world. Benches and chairs were placed around the room, and there was even a bookshelf filled with random books and manuals. Jin had requested Peppers to randomise the books, manuals, magazines and novels that were available in there once a week and even allowed cultivators and customers to rent or buy books from there with the use of their Pandamonium App. It turned out, it was very well received by certain groups who just wanted some peace and quiet. Unsurprisingly Jin had placed an anti-theft system in place for the books, but there was currently no one who would be so stupid to do that especially in a shop filled with cultivators. In addition to that, Jin also recommended cultivators to donate their own books here for recycling purposes. Any books sold to Jin would be compensated with a few Panda Medals and maybe that was also why people received the whole mini library idea quite well that Jin converted the third floor similar to the second. As for the first floor, Jin had placed posters of the promotional Deep One Dungeon and short clips of it at the front of the dungeon. He even changed the billboard with a few creeping octopus tentacles coming out from the Halloween themed Panda. As for the October Mission, the System did promise a restaurant instance as a reward but Jin had already created one in advance for Lynn. Hence, the System had decided to enhance the Restaurant Train of Delicacy Instance by introducing more recipes, menus and exotic food parts from the Farming World to Lynn. Jin pouted when he learnt that he was short changed for the effort he put in but Lynn patted him on the back while teasing him at the same time. ¡°You sure it is your dungeons that brings you the customers? I have a nagging feeling it is more because of my cooking.¡± Lynn¡¯s cute face did indeed melt Jin¡¯s anger as he sighed and gave her a pass. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Evening came and Jin asked Yun to take over his role to take care of the shop while he made a last check alongside the Goblin Trio. With the results and analysis Jin received from fighting Keyrin, he had managed to improve the Gearbox even more and prepared partial Gearbox parts for the goblins for this particular trip. The new Gearboxes turned into equipment cards and Jin equipped a Right Arm Gearbox Gauntlet for Slashreaver, Left Arm Gearbox Gauntlet for Piercestriker and Legs Gearbox boots for Ripcaller. Why prepare so much when Jin could summon people in need? The main reason was that Jin would be considered an enemy as the Goblin World had no concept of something like a summoner like the Dungeon World had. So him materialising monsters out of nowhere would only serve to make him stand out and he did not want to risk too many red flags for the Goblin Trio. It would be best to be simple yet versatile enough to act on any situation. Hence, the System teleported them into an alleyway of the Gob Gob Kingdom. To their relief they found that everything was still quiet and orderly. ¡°Let us go to a pub to get some information. We will then know about the current situation before we proceed in searching for our families.¡± Ripcaller suggested. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just go straight to your family?¡± Jin asked as he adjusted his half Panda Mask. ¡°Heh, because Ripcaller¡¯s family owns almost every pub in the Gob Gob Kingdom. By contacting the bartender there, it is effectively telling Ripcaller¡¯s family that he is alive. They will then spread that information to our families too.¡± Piercestriker explained as they brought a hood out when they walked out of the alleyway. Jin did the same to minimise his presence. Additionally he had used one of Kraft¡¯s looted treasure from the Dungeon World. The Silent Cape. ¡°Feels like a medieval world to me,¡± Jin pondered as clouds started to shadow the moon and drizzles of rain tinkled into the Capital City of Gob Gob Kingdom while he and the goblins quietly moved from one street to another. Chapter 324 Goblin Pub Chapter 324 Goblin Pub The rain was getting heavier and there was no shelter apart from their flimsy capes and hoods. Jin followed closely behind the three goblins as they paced themselves not to be found, kept hidden in the shadows when necessary. From what Jin was told on the way, the Gob Gob Kingdom usually had a curfew at night with guards walking around. Unless you had an official pass or a work permit for the goblins that were required to work in the night, you were not allowed to walk around that late. However, Goblin Pubs still function at night. As long as they stayed within the pubs during the night there would be no problems. Hence, going into a Goblin Pub was a measure of skill and wits trying and hoping that you do not get caught. It¡¯s a subtle way to promote subterfuge and training the goblin guards on duty too. Initially, the goblin citizens found it ridiculous until some official blurted out the reason during a Pub crawl, stating that the King wanted to encourage the goblin citizens not to forget their skills and hone their awareness despite the peace they were having. The word spread and the curfew became an exercise for the Goblin Guards to spar in the night and the goblin citizens to practice their hiding abilities. Hence, the punishment for breaking the curfew was not severe nor kept in the records unless intentions to do malicious harm was found. Initially, the goblins planned to get caught so that they could be brought into the castle almost immediately. This plan was quickly abandoned as Jin was with them and his treatment would be different. It was also a gamble since the guards might not necessarily recognise them, after all they did not know how much time had past after Jin captured them. Therefore, they decided to just find a nearby Goblin Pub while avoiding the guards. As Jin followed the goblins, he noticed that he could learn a lot from them up close instead of just watching the goblins in action from the monitors. The timing to move, the places to hide and the coordination between the three of them were fantastic. They might not be exactly the strongest in terms of firepower in his assortment of creatures, but in Jin¡¯s opinion, the goblins had the best teamwork coordination of all his monsters, though the Jacks came in as a close second place. After hiding and almost encountering some extra vigilant goblin guards, the trio and Jin found their way to the nearest Goblin Pub where they were welcomed with open arms. The pub was boisterous with goblins chugging down rum and ale as if there was no tomorrow. Ripcaller went towards the bartender and threw a gold coin on the table. The busy bartender who did not give a shit because of the ruckus happening in the pub suddenly shifted his attention to the gold coin. He picked it up and bit the coin to test its ¡®authenticity¡¯ before looking at Ripcaller. ¡°Hmm, you may order four drinks from the secret menu.¡± The Bartender said as he gave a quick glance at Ripcaller. ¡°No, I want information. The Night had dawn before the Sun turned black.¡± Ripcaller cited the secret passphrase that was unique to his family which the Bartender furrowed his eyebrow for a moment and sighed. It seemed it was an old passphrase, but it still checked out. ¡°Come with me. OEI YOU! PICK UP THE SLACK!¡± The Bartender shouted at one of his assistants as he beckoned the rest to follow him upstairs. Jin was rather surprised that there were multiple floors to the pub, but the higher you went, the quieter it got. ¡°The pubs also serve as a place of resting. You have your own names for such things¡­ Hotels? Inns?¡± Piercestriker tried to use more modern words to describe the Goblin Pubs for Jin to understand since he was the tourist after all. On the fifth floor, where the Bartender reached a particular room, the group stepped into the hall of his office as the Bartender sat at the desk but asked Jin outside for now. They knew he had the dispersing presence aura from his magical half panda mask and the silent cape, but it would be better if the Bartender did not know his exact identity. Jin agreed and he stayed outside while asking the System to open telepathic communications with the goblins inside the room. ¡°User can listen to what your monsters are listening. System can activate the particular ability if User wishes to.¡± The System offered and Jin nodded his head in silence. There was some fuzzy noise at first but eventually, he could clearly hear what the Goblin Trio were hearing. ¡°Give me a moment as I set up the communication stone.¡± The Bartender told them as he fiddled with some of the contraptions on his desk with a blue gem at the centre of it all. Eventually, it glowed and the Bartender eyed Ripcaller. ¡°Speak of your business, Lost son of the Dagger General.¡± ¡°So you know who I am.¡± The goblin lowered his hood and the Bartender sighed as he confirmed Ripcaller¡¯s identity. ¡°Of course. It was a big thing for the sons of three famous generals to disappear out of nowhere. Goblin scouts were sent to the site and they only found traces of dead guards, fighting and human footprints. However, there were no other footprints from the vicinity at all. While evidence was inconclusive, the scouts figured that a magical portal had to be used, which would indicate that a human mage of high talent still exists during the reign of the Gob Gob Kingdom.¡± The Bartender spoke as he looked at the other two hooded goblins who subsequently let their hoods down too. ¡°Heh. So the sons of Spear General and Sword General are still with you¡­ Care to explain?¡± The Bartender asked as if there¡¯s a juicy story waiting to be squeezed from a customer. This kind of information could be sold for a pretty penny. ¡°Now is not the time, what is the year and time? Did anything drastic happen while we were gone? More importantly did our disappearance cause anything with our neighbours?¡± Ripcaller asked in a solemn manner which led the Bartender to rub his stubble. ¡°I do not remember hearing gossips and rumours of the son of Dagger General to be this¡­calm.¡± Bartender took another look, but the appearance of the goblin did match the wanted poster. He resumed checking the communication stone while he continued to babble. Apparently, the goblins were gone for more than a year. The only reason the goblins could infer was that time was in fact relative between worlds just as Jin had guessed and warned them beforehand. ¡°Various secret missions were sent to scout the human towns after your disappearance but there was no news. Secret contacts also said that there was no kidnapping of any high ranked goblin nobles and so the Generals were desperate and conducted ¡®exercises¡¯ around the borders to the Gob Gob Kingdom. In actual fact, those were search parties in disguise to look for pockets of human resistance since they could not make a big deal of their sons being gone. It would have been a political disaster. Eventually, conclusive evidence from goblin sages noted that there were no traces of magic being used during the fight. You three were just suddenly gone from the world.¡± The Bartender explained as he now became very curious about how the three of them re-emerged again. ¡°Eventually, the generals gave up publicly. But behind the shadows, they continued to have us contracted to work with them. They suspected that internal politics were involved, so they had goblins check on the high ranking individuals. Occasionally the generals also send out quests to search for the ¡®missing goblins¡¯ and paid us in advance should you ever appear in Pubs¡­like now.¡± The Bartender opened his drawer and showed them the contracts. ¡°Other than that, I can provide you with a magical portal to the castle since the magical scroll came along with the contract. But be careful how you contact your parents, the Orcs are in the King¡¯s castle tonight. You know how we cannot show weakness to the Orcs, even parental care.¡± The Bartender warned them as he wilfully summoned a portal. ¡°The Orcs? I thought the Orcs were enemies?¡± Slashreaver remembered his lessons on history about how they had once been slaves under the Orcs, but the humans and Orcs fought furiously before the goblins learnt how to take advantage of the situation and defeated both of them. ¡°Heh, how would I know? All I heard was that they are here for a courtesy visit.¡± The Bartender shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make our way to the castle ourselves instead of using the port-? ¡­Oh.¡± Piercestriker initially thought of Jin who was not here in the room to take the portal but then they had forgotten how omnipotent their master was. ¡°Where does the portal exactly lead to?¡± Ripcaller asked and the Bartender replied stating it was the usual place. Only Ripcaller understood that as there was a mini Pub in the bas.e.m.e.nts of the Castle for goblin guards to relax too. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. For some reason, I had a bad hunch that the Orcs are trouble.¡± Slashreaver had his hood up once more and took a breathe before walking into the Portal. Unknown to them, what the Goblin Trio were about to do with Jin would forever stay in the records of their history. Chapter 325 Starfire Chapter 325 Starfire The System made it possible for Jin to join his Goblin Trio¡¯s teleportation. Immediately all four came out of the portal, making it look like he was one of the few allowed into the Castle. However, when they arrived, it was not the scene of drunks talking nor merry noises of the underground pub which welcomed them. The ground was filled with bloodied corpses of goblins, and three cloaked figures were fighting against the seemingly last surviving goblin who was barely left standing from the blows. It became clear that the goblin was left alive not out of its own strength but to to be toyed with¡­ With a glimpse, Slashreaver noticed it was someone familiar to him. He did not hesitate for even a moment and jumped directly into the fray against the three figures shouting: ¡°Starfire! Perform a Thunder Skip out now!¡± Before he got to finish his sentence, Starfire got stabbed in the stomach. She seemed barely conscious, but the familiar voice made her react to the command as she snapped her fingers. Her magical ring contained the stored spell Thunder Skip, a movement skill blasting a thunderclap in front of her opponent while she magically moved backwards. The spell activated and allowed her to gain some distance from her opponents without the need for chanting at all. Jin caught her just in time. Due to her heavy injuries she was unable to land properly and the stab in the stomach was about to finish her off. He immediately took out a chi potion. Through experience they had found out that those were surprisingly suitable for consumption by the goblins after the System had given them some as an experiment. ¡°Drink this. Trust us. We are here to help.¡± Jin told her with his half Panda Mask on. (How can you not trust a Panda? ???? ) With her life hanging on a thread and the assurance of a familiar voice from seconds ago, Starfire listened and she sipped the bottle of sweet nectar. Slashreaver advanced forward catching the three cloaked figures off guard as he shouted a taunting war cry which he had mimicked from Kong Xian, the Towering Tortoise Cultivator. Slashreaver also hoped that some Castle Guards would enter and intervene with the fight. The hoods from their cloaks flew off from the impact of the shout and revealed them as Black Orcs. One male who was armoured under the hood and two females with one holding a staff and the other with short sword and a dagger. The Goblin Trio immediately identified them based on the weapons and armour they were equipped with. The male was most likely some sort of Orc Knight with high defensive capabilities whereas the female orc with the staff had to be a magician of some sort. Most Orcs that were magicians were ones who dealt with black magic, but because she had yet to show any abilities, they could only find out. The remaining one was definitely a thief or an assassin Orc with a slender figure. ¡°Too bad for you, the entire castle is in a lockdown fighting. Don¡¯t think that your loud shouting will attract any aid for you. In fact, it might attract more of my kind against you! Hahahahah!¡± The male Orc Knight sneered and laughed. . ¡°The Orc Knight is mine.¡± Slashreaver eyes were burning as he pulled out his cultivation from the depths of his body. Seven goblin-ish silhouettes were shown each mixed with various animals. According to the System, the goblins were one of the most versatile of all monsters Jin had ever captured too, managing to not only learn skills off of the cultivators they were fighting but even going beyond that merging them with their own abilities. Other monsters were also doing the same such as Ke Mi who learnt how to create more snakes phantoms after the fight with the high school student who used his flute to summon his Weasel. (It¡¯s unfortunate he did not appear ever again after his defeat.) The Savants also learnt the most from the cultivators and merged a lot of their skills with the cultivators in order to fight them toe to toe. However, the System found it very odd that the goblins were able to cultivate similarly to Jin and other cultivators but it was the first time the System saw goblins were able to master various animalistic styles into their cultivation, unlike humans who could only learn one form. Unless cultivators were very talented, humans could at most practice two styles. And even in such rare cases, those usually belonged to the same family of styles. ¡°Pfft, what are you some Animal Shaman holding a sword?¡± The Orc Knight swung his sword backwards and attempted to smash Slashreaver with its overwhelming might. Or so he thought. Slashreaver held onto the Orc Knight¡¯s two handed sword with his two fingers as if it was just a piece of paper. Even Jin shook his head at the scene, seeing how Slashreaver was filled with anger compared to the other two who were fighting without their cultivation on. ¡°I guess this female goblin means a lot to Slashreaver.¡± Jin looked at Starfire to see if the chi potion was making any progress to her wounds. ¡°What! How can a goblin hold onto my greatsword!¡± The Orc Knight was visibly fl.u.s.tered as he tried to pull his weapon, but it was to no avail. He quickly abandoned his primary weapon and to draw the short sword from his waist as a counter. Yet, before he could even swing his weapon, his arm was cut off at the blink of an eye. Slashreaver had let go of the greatsword and slashed his lower limbs away, causing the Orc Knight to fall sideways from the low sweep. Seemingly not wishing to dirty his own weapon the goblin picked the greatsword up again as he pierced it through the Orc Knight¡¯s thick armour and into his abdomen area. The Orc Knight could not make a single noise as the pain numbed his voice while he bled to death slowly. Ripcaller, on the other hand, did short work with the female Orc Assassin. The Goblin Assassin wanted to ¡®play¡¯ a little more with his prey, but he decided to save his energy since the Orc Knight said that the castle was overrun by them, the Black Orcs. Shocking enough, Piercestriker decided to immobilise the Orc magician by knocking her out. ¡°Master, do you mind asking Sir Kraft to do his wonders? It would be best if we gain some more intel from the Orcs. The mages are usually the most respected ones and should have the most information about the whole situation since there aren¡¯t many Orc Mages that the Orc Kingdom can afford. We could get the other part of the current situation from Starfire.¡± Piercestriker suggested and before Jin could have a say, Kraft appeared right almost immediately as he picked up the Black Orc with his hand crushing onto her skull. ¡°Well I shall skip the fun, since time is of the essence, I suppose. Don¡¯t blame me what happens to her afterwards.¡± Kraft had a serious look as he squeezed his hand even harder so that the head began to deform from his grasp. The Orc Mage suddenly woke up from her unconsciousness state since the pain was getting unbearable and tried to fight back. She ignited her hands with fire, hoping to burn Kraft alive while screaming vilely from the excruciating pain. ¡°No use, I¡¯ve been through things far worse than this soft, warm flame you are holding,¡± Kraft did not even flinch as he pressed on her head yet harder. Blood was oozing out of her nostrils and ears while some sort of black smoke was seen emitting out of the top of her head. Not long after, the Orc did not retaliate and her hands turned lifeless. ¡°In short, the Orcs had been planning for this massacre and takeover of the upper hierarchy of the Gob Gob Kingdom for years. Not just this kingdom. All the other goblin kingdoms should simultaneously be struck tonight. All the upper hierarchy goblins will be gone come tomorrow. It¡¯s a Do or Die kind of act. They wish to destabilise the kingdoms before following it up with an ambush attack against all kingdoms. The Orcs of every colour ¨CI do not know what that really means, but I guess the collective groups of Orcs decided to war against the Goblins.¡± Kraft let go of the skull and swiped his hands together to remove some leftover dust. (Still, the System did capture the three Orcs too. Though the last one turned ¡®special¡¯.) ¡°The takeover of this castle is still in the first few phases according to her most recent memories. She and some other mages have set up a magical barrier some minutes ago. No one will be able to go in nor out. I guess that means the goblins in here should be setting up a final defence line to protect the King of Gob Gob. We might manage to save your King if we hurry.¡± Kraft added while Slashreaver returned to take care of Starfire. ¡°How did we manage to get in then if the magic barrier was up?¡± Jin asked casually as he passed another bottle of chi potion to Slashreaver. ¡°We used Leyline magic to connect our portals with different pubs. Something different from the usual magic that we are using¡­.Hmm, maybe that is why they decided to slaughter the goblins here so there is truly no escape nor entry. How could they know about the portal system¡­Shit there must be insiders.¡± Ripcaller guessed. ¡°Well, if the mage¡¯s memories were true. They must have a lot of insiders.¡± Piercestriker commented as he looked around the dead goblins. ¡°Crap, so that means the King might not necessarily be safe even in the final defence line,¡± Ripcaller said as he checked for any usable items left by the Orc Assassin after she was captured by the System. ¡°It¡¯s true¡­it¡¯s really you!¡± Starfire immediately hugged Slashreaver when she recognised him. ¡°Where did you go? How do you have such immense power coursing through you?¡± Starfire had so many questions, but Slashreaver stopped her. ¡°I will tell you more once we have the time. Right now, we must stop the orcs and traitor goblins from killing your father.¡± Slashreaver told Starfire. ¡°Welp¡­I guess we came in at the most opportune of times. System, you sure you aren¡¯t planning all this in advance.¡± Jin sent a thought to the System. ¡°Would User believe the System, when being told, that this is just a happy little accident?¡± The System replied with a question and Jin could only sigh at it. There were more pressing matters to settle than to contemplate the coincidence of fate. Chapter 326 Half Panda Mask Guy Chapter 326 Half Panda Mask Guy The Goblin Pub was located in the bas.e.m.e.nt, specifically, three floors below the ground floor of the castle. There were two ways out from the Goblin Pub. However, one of these would lead to the outer gardens which were nowhere near the Reception Halls nor the Throne Hall, unless one had a gadget that allowed them to fly and sneak in through there. And that was exactly what Ripcaller was suggesting until he realised something important. ¡°Wait¡­if the magic portal was up just minutes ago and wasn¡¯t affected by the Leyline magic¡­then how did Master enter so nonchalantly with us? Does it mean his portal magic was able to intervene against the magic barrier?¡± They all looked at Jin with the exception of Starfire who thought that the person in the half Panda Mask was a nobody. ¡°What? You want me to teleport you guys into the Throne Hall? Ehh, System can you do that?¡± Jin asked as if he was talking to himself again while holding onto a metal piece that shined, though Starfire just thought the Half Panda Mask guy was weird. He also seemed rather large for a Goblin. Did he maybe have Hobgoblin Ancestry. ¡°Negative, System does not have the coordinates to the Throne Hall. System was able to teleport the User to the goblins because the portal they were using had specific coordinates. Copying those coordinates was as easy as making pie.¡± The System answered through the phone speakers which alarmed Starfire. ¡°Relax, Starfire.¡± Slashreaver comforted her and asked Master Jin once more. ¡°What about teleporting us up to the roof? Or drop us from the skies? It is definitely easier and faster to access the rooftop compared to climbing up the stairs, fighting Orcs throughout the place. The faster we get to our Liege, the safer he will be.¡± Slashreaver gave his opinion and the System gave an affirmative reply almost immediately. ¡°Ehh so I guess I will be fighting the Orcs as a distraction while you four proceed from the roof. But won¡¯t the goblin guards be mistaking me for an intruder and fight against me as well?¡± Before any of the goblins could reply, the System butted in. ¡°User, the female goblin cannot be teleported. She is not a monster under User¡¯s care.¡± The System stated it bluntly which made Starfire furious. ¡°How dare this metal thing call me a monster!¡± Starfire was just about to cast a fire magic spell on it but Slashreaver stopped her in time. ¡°Starfire! Princess! Please calm down. Master is a monster summoner, just like in the legends! He ¨C¡± Before Slashreaver could add more, Starfire became even more furious. ¡°Master?! That Half Panda Mask Guy owns you? What happened to the Proud Slashreaver? Has the son of the Sword General stooped so low as to sign under some slavery contract?!¡± The way this conversation was going was not at all how the Goblin Trio imagined it. Starfire currently had an even deeper misunderstanding than before. Jin went forward and slapped her on her face which stunned everybody for a moment. ¡°I do not care who you are. I don¡¯t know how you are used to handling things, but this whole thing is everything but normal. All I know is that we here saved your life and I expect you to repay that favour by shutting the hell up. This is not the time to quarrel. Every second spent here is a valuable second your King or should I say father is in danger. Stop behaving like a spoilt goblin!¡± Jin lectured her firmly before he turned to his own Goblins and started giving them orders. ¡°Ripcaller, Piercestriker and Slashreaver, you three strike from the skies. You, Starfire was it? Follow me. Mr Hot, Ms Cold, Que Er. Come to me.¡± Jin commanded as the System began teleporting the three goblins into the sky. ¡°Princess, stay strong and trust him as we trust him with our lives,¡± Slashreaver managed to say with the rest nodding their heads before the bodies were digitised and disappeared into thin air. Meanwhile, Mr Hot, Ms Cold and Que Er appeared right in front of Jin. Que Er, The Magpie Queen, had a half Magpie mask on her face instead of the Panda Mask, courtesy of the System. Starfire squealed a little when she saw two uniquely shaped ants and a female looking humanoid kneeling in front of the Half Panda Mask guy. She tried to see if the female was a human but somehow no matter how she focused, it was blurred out. ¡°Mr Hot, Ms Cold. Assist the Goblin Trio. The exit is there. You can climb up the walls to get to them. Kill any Orcs along the way. Que Er, send a Magpie with them for communication purposes and assist me in protecting this lady Goblin.¡± Jin ordered the three and the ants to set out immediately. ¡°Excuse me, Princess Starfire, what are you waiting for? Lead the way. You should know all kinds of secret passages and so on. Bring me there via the fastest route.¡± Jin commanded and Starfire grumbled at him before heading for the stairs. ¡°Who does he think he is? Does he think he has the ability to fight off these monstrous Orcs all by himself?¡± Starfire flew up the stairs with her hover spell and was not giving any quarters for the Panda Mask Guy to catch up. Yet, she was unconsciously hoping to scout ahead and eliminate the Orcs by surprise if possible to show that she was strong on her own. What she did not expect was that The Panda Mask Guy was able to catch up by sprinting and jumping along the walls. ¡°Can¡¯t you hurry up? We already spent far too much time discussing things just now!¡± Jin complained as he moved ahead of her. Starfire became somewhat frustrated and continued to pour more mana into her hover spell to receive a speed boost. Within less than a minute, they reached the main courtyard of the castle where the Princess saw the goblin guards losing a fight they were entirely unprepared for. The guards were still wearing the ceremonial uniforms for the Orc Ambassador visit instead of real armour. As a result they were at a significant disadvantage against the incoming Orc fighters who were armed to the teeth. With the city still at peace and no alerts being sent out to the military camps, Jin figured that the Orcs must have most likely used something like the Trojan Horse technique from ancient Greeks before the fight started. That was also why most goblins were fully unprepared and died from the surprise attack. ¡°Que Er!¡± Jin shouted as he brandished his sword out and charged forward with a Lazy Panda Swipe ready. The Orc fighter that saw Jin coming forth, thinking it was just a puny nobody humanoid, raised his axe up high to smash Jin into bits. Boy, how wrong he was. ¡°BOOM!¡± The Lazy Panda Swipe did not just kill the clueless Orc fighter. Its strength was so terrifying that the orc fighter exploded from the raw kinetic force with blood splashing all over its comrades and a shockwave ensued that caused many of the Orc Fighters to disperse before reaching to the demoralised goblin guards. ¡°REGROUP!¡± Starfire shouted with an amplified voice filled with mana. The goblins who heard the call immediately made their way towards their princess. Separately, Que Er summoned her Magpies to the battle. Her followers magically appeared on the trees and bushes of the Main Courtyard awaiting the commands from the Queen Magpie herself. With a gentle swing of Que Er¡¯s arm, all the Magpies immediately flew up to the sky which distracted the Orcs even more while Jin swung another Lazy Panda Swipe on to the group of the Orcs. Upon witnessing this, Starfire realised how wrong she was for doubting the strength of the person who the three Goblin Generals¡¯ Sons had decided to call Master. ¡°Could it really be, that they were not forced to sign a contract? So does that mean they are following him out of their own free will¡­ Maybe¡­he is really truly a hidden master rather than a slave that I initially thought¡­¡± Starfire mumbled to herself as she saw Jin blasting a few more Orcs away. They flew to the walls of the castle, remaining as permanent decorations for the interior stone walls. ¡°Starfire, here.¡± Que Er called her as she placed a Blue Magpie on Princess Starfire¡¯s shoulder. ¡°This should help you with your Mana regeneration and consumption.¡± The blue Magpie chirped and it immediately gave the female goblin mage sufficient power to summon a shield barrier that prevented further entry to the Orcs. It gave the goblins time to retreat to her side and regroup while Jin bullied the Orc Fighters. In the meantime, the Goblin Trio was facing another challenge of their own. They initially managed to surprise the Orcs that used the roof as a vantage point to kill goblin guards from afar and to alert the situation to their commanders. Most were killed except for one Orc who clapped before appearing out of the shadows from the tower door beside the roof. ¡°So¡­the missing children of the Three Gob Gob Generals returned to their motherland and fell from the skies like heroes of the past.¡± An Orc covered in heavy black armour narrated sarcastically as he wore his helmet on and swung his signature halberd. ¡°That armour¡­that halberd¡­The Black Orc¡¯s Lord General Nubwort¡­¡± Slashreaver went into a defensive stance immediately. ¡°The Black Disaster.¡± Piercestriker swung his spear in a similar fashion and aimed it at the Black Orc General upon mentioning his nickname. Chapter 327 The Black Disaster Chapter 327 The Black Disaster ¡°Guess my reputation precedes me!¡± The Black Disaster dashed towards Piercestriker as he was the closest one at the front. The two spearsmen (or erm spear-Orc and spear-Goblin) collided with each other, both matching the others attacking speed. Piercestriker went for a strike towards the shoulders of the Black Disaster, but the Black Orc Lord General slipped in a downward chop forcing Piercestriker to evade, making his attack too weak to do any damage to the other¡¯s armour. Unlike the Black Disaster who was not only fully armoured but was even further enhanced through magical runes shining through from his body, all Jin¡¯s goblins had was protective leather. The quality of it may have been higher than any run-of-the-mill leather armour, however it was no match to their enemy¡¯s armor. Yet, Jin didn¡¯t leave his monsters in a totally vulnerable situation. Those leather armours had various inscriptions applied to them. They were mainly of a supportive nature such as an increase in speed and agility. Jin initially wanted them to be fast. Hit Fast, Kill Fast and Run Fast was the idea for this particular mission. He knew that there was bound to be trouble, but he never expected that they would encounter a surprise ambush by one of the strongest of the Orc Race so soon according to the the goblins. ¡°Shit, I should not have used my cultivation powers¡­¡± Slashreaver regretted using them earlier on, thinking that it was vital to save Princess Starfire. At the same time, it allowed him to demonstrate how powerful he had become. A vital difference between the goblin and the human cultivators were that the goblins could not use their maximum cultivation powers more than once a day. They could still use the skills they learnt, but the power of the supposed technique wouldn¡¯t be the same. Perhaps, that was the tradeoff for being so versatile as compared to humans learning only one particular style. ¡°Do not blame yourself. If I were in your position, I would have done the same. Besides, you have never been the strongest amongst all of us and Princess knew that. Can¡¯t be helped that you wanted to show off to impress and express your love for her.¡± Ripcaller teased as he remained vigilant and noticed something incoming from the side of the walls. Even Slashreaver got distracted and wanted to strike at that thing until they all identified it as a magpie flying upwards. ¡°Master Jin has sent us as reinforcements. Mr Hot and Ms Cold at your disposal!¡± The Magpie transmitted her message to the two of them. ¡°GO! I will keep him busy!¡± Piercestriker yelled as he fell back to take a breather. He did not turn his head back nor allow himself to be distracted by the arrival of Mr Hot and Ms Cold because¡­ he couldn¡¯t afford to. ¡°Hmm, Youngling you do show promise but you are at least a decade too early to be my match. You¡¯re overestimating yourself, thinking that you can handle me!¡± Nubwort spoke through his helmet with a muffled voice. ¡°Heh, I have yet to show you some tricks which I picked up after my disappearance. You could say that I have gone through some training especially for you!¡± Piercestriker kept his spear steady while keeping his breathing in pace. ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s go Slashreaver.¡± Ripcaller understood that there was a history between the Black Disaster and Piercestriker¡¯s family. Slashreaver unhooked his Gearbox gauntlet and it turned back into a box which he threw towards Piercestriker. ¡°Bro. Right Arm. Raise it up.¡± Piercestriker raised his hand while his eyes were still onto the Black Disaster¡¯s Halberd. Slashreaver¡¯s Gearbox hit Piercestriker¡¯s right arm and immediately attached itself to him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare get defeated. We expect to see him captured by the System!¡± Slashreaver tried to motivate his friend as he sat on Mr Hot while Ripcaller was on Ms Cold. The Ants crawled over the castle walls once more, heading downwards and towards the tall windows of the Throne Hall. ¡°Ready?¡± The Black Disaster asked in a reasonably impatient tone. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were the kind to be nice enough to wait.¡± Piercestriker sidestepped before dashing. ¡°Well I do have my moments. After all, this will be the last time your friends will see you in one piece. But don¡¯t worry they will join you soon enough!¡± Suddenly, fire emerged from a rune on his Halberd that coursed through the entire weapon. Subsequently, his gauntlets were also on fire. Yet, Nobwurt wielded it without any fear even though the intense burning temperature should be hurting his hands. Nobwurt was used to it. He was cursed with the inability to feel anything. His sensory nerves were dysfunctional and only in battle could he be able to feel his heart beating, urging him for more slaughter. He earnt his name from massacring dozens if not hundreds of foes during the war in one night. Thus, rumours spread like wildfire and he got recognised and feared as a natural disaster. This particular natural disaster struck Piercestriker¡¯s family when they least expected it. Piercestriker, his older brother and his father were the only ones that survived the onslaught of the Black Disaster. The trio of father and sons had decided to go for a mountain hike while the rest of the clan was in a large but relatively modest wooden cabin in the nearby forest at the borders of Gob Gob Kingdom. Unfortunately, Nubwort was feeling bored that particular day and went on a hunt to hurt some animals. Following his prey, he accidentally ended up in that exact forest. Then, he helped himself to the delicious platter presented to him on a shiny plate. The Black Disaster effortlessly killed the entirety of the Piercestriker¡¯s family the moment they picked up arms to defend themselves against the Orc. The fight was ultimately one sided, but the thrill of fighting the trained goblins of the Spear General made him go wild into a blood frenzy and he ended up killing each and every one of them cleanly. That was right. Nobwort did not inflict any wounds to any of them, instead they all shared the same fate. A decapitation with his halberd the very moment they had an opening, presenting him with the chance to execute. When the Spear General of Gob Gob Kingdom returned with his sons, they all swore revenge against the one responsible. Eventually, they discovered that the culprit was Nubwort when a few days later a condolence letter had arrived written in blood by the Orc. The insanity caused by that letter was head numbing for the older brother who decided to duel with Nubwort as proposed in the letter. Piercestriker was knocked unconscious on the day of the fight by his own father and the King forbade the Spear General to make a move, effectively placing him under house arrest. The older brother was the only one who answered the call of battle and he was defeated in under ten seconds. His body was given back, yet without his head on it. Instead, the servants and soldiers passed on that it was burnt into ashes by the Black Disaster himself. Even nowadays, Piercestriker regretted that he did not send his brother off and was unable to assist him against the Black Disaster. He was aware that even if he went, he would have been more of a liability, and he would have most likely returned just as his brother. Nevertheless, the guilt for failing to follow him accompanied him every day. ¡°This time, I will take revenge for my entire family!¡± Piercestriker shouted as he released his cultivation, similar to Slashreaver seven goblin-ish silhouettes merged with various animals were shown above him. ¡°What is this? Some monkey show? If you want to be fancy, I shall accompany you.¡± The Black Disaster activated more of his runes and the flame on his halberd spread onto his arms and to his torso. Now the flame turned slightly black but not as dark like Master Jin¡¯s version and it was colder rather than hot. There and then, Piercestriker started to distinguish some faces of goblins seemingly screaming their last death throes from the flames burning the armour and he realised that they looked like the clan members that he lost. ¡°My Halberd holds the souls of the departed. The cleaner the kill, the more powerful the boost I get in return. This is why I aim for a clean head execution. Since you are out for revenge you will soon reunite with your loved ones! Now I shall use the powers of the souls of your departed family against you! How does it feel to be cursed by your lost ones?!¡± Nubwort smirked as he aimed his halberd at Piercestriker. ¡°I will release you all. I promise. I have trained all this while just for this opportunity!¡± Piercestriker eyes burnt with revenge and endless fury from his heart which fuelled his cultivation even more. Both of them released a mighty warcry as they once again clashed with each other releasing their most powerful techniques. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The goblin captain who was barely alive was brought towards Starfire and she treated his wounds with multiple cure light wounds spell which allowed him to at least breath normally for now. There were internal injuries which Starfire was unable to heal because she was not a full fledged healer. She knew a few easy to learn healing spells for first aid purposes. Even her shield barrier was supposedly a simple protective spell which usually does not have the power to prevent the entry of the Orcs. It was with the power of the blue magpie on her shoulder that it was enhanced multiple times to the point where it only allowed her allies to enter. ¡°What kind of little bird familiar is this to contain so much mana in it? What kind of secret master did the three of them encounter?¡± Starfire was still in awe by Jin¡¯s powers and his companions as she saw black flames spewing out of his hand to incinerate the opponents. ¡°What are you waiting for? Get going to the Throne Hall quick! I will follow behind!¡± Jin shouted as he lifted up his Silent Cape to the side like a mage in style. Starfire acknowledged and commanded the goblin guard remnants to follow her into the inner corridors that will eventually lead them to the Throne Hall. On his left hand, Jin conjured a ball of white ice engulfed in black flames and threw it up to the sky. After which, he immediately changed his Bam and Boo into a two handed Warhammer. This was the first time he used such a form of his Bam and Boo since Jin always loved the slicing power and versatility of the katana. With the Panda Rolling technique, he managed to jump up high and fast enough to be slightly above the white ice ball of black flames into the sky. Some of the Orcs tried to retaliate by throwing nearby rubble and shooting arrows at Jin but he was too high for those to reach him. ¡°Boom Bitches! Arghh I forgot that these orcs fighters are males.¡± Jin rolled his eyes a little as he slammed the Warhammer onto the white ice ball. A sound similar to a volcanic eruption pierced the ears of the orcs when the Warhammer slammed onto the white ice ball. It shattered on impact, causing dozens of pieces of white shard infused with black flames to rain on them. Some of the orcs tried to take cover under their shields and bucklers, but they did not know that when the ice shards came into contact with their shields or body armour, it would explode once more. Thus, it was like a rain of explosions falling upon them and none could hide unless they ran out of the courtyard. However, the shards did not just fall on them but onto the walls of the castle too, causing it to drop rubbles and large pieces of debris onto the orcs. ¡°Oops¡­ Guess I went a bit overboard with this new concept.¡± Jin was being kept afloat by the numerous magpies flying right beside him. It was with their help that the technique Jin performed was amplified many times over, increasing the destructive power of the white ice ball in black flames. ¡°User, that skill is unique enough to be specially named if you wish.¡± The System noted. ¡°I cannot be bothered at this moment,¡± Jin said as the magpies gently dropped him down while the area was still being burnt with black flames and orcs were being torched alive. (And eventually kidnapped by the System *cough* captured *cough*.) ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Jin said to the tens of magpies and they followed willingly behind him like a swarm waiting to devour the next orc group. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The Black Disaster feinted his halberd strike to the head and aimed for the groin of Piercestriker instead of the legs because he was shorter than a normal orc. Yet, Piercestriker managed to parry the strike towards his groin area with the pole of his spear and immediately aimed for Nubwort¡¯s head. However, that was also a feint which Nubwort did not hesitate to try and block mainly because the angle the spear was coming in from Piercestriker¡¯s small build would allow it to aim for the small opening Nubwort has in his helmet. The defensive block gave Piercestriker a chance and opportunity to go for a lower torso strike instead especially when his gearbox gauntlets gave him more control over his spear. Nevertheless, Piercestriker did not wish to give Nubwort a chance to parry so he aimed slightly lower nearly to his groin and lower limbs as another feint so that he could aim for the torso area where it seems that his armour was the thinnest. ¡°Hmmph. Double feint. I am not stupid.¡± The Black Disaster thought to himself as he could foresee the movement of Piercestriker¡¯s spear from the years of experiencing fighting life and death situations. Nubwort pretended to go for the feint though he was prepared to parry the torso strike when Piercestriker went for it. Piercestriker thought the feint was successful, but Nubwort parried effortlessly which he later switched to the offensive and went for a thrust to Piercestriker¡¯s chest, mainly for the heart. Piercestriker sensed the immense bloodl.u.s.t from the Black Disaster and quickly went for the defensive especially when the halberd can slash if it is unable to strike. Piercestriker had to be wary of the possible angles of attack which Nubwort can employ, but there was no time and instinct kicked in by redirecting the halberd with his spear to the left and out of range of his body. ¡°Caught you,¡± Nubwort whispered as he used the redirection of his halberd as momentum to go for a head blow with a high strike. If Ripcaller was here, the opening caused by the redirection of spears between them was so large that he could quickly slip in three arrows. ¡°Shit!¡± Piercestriker panicked a little and he quickly raised his spear up to block the attack. Unfortunately, he did not know that the slash from the halberd was infused with magical energy that it nearly broke his spear into two. Piercestriker quickly fell back and took a glance at the condition of his spear. ¡°Boss will be so mad that I nearly broke his equipment. Maybe not as mad as the System.¡± He smirked to himself as he released the Gearbox on his left arm and placed it on the spear. The gearbox parts immediately wrapped itself around the simple looking spear and its appearance changed drastically. Parts of the Gearbox reinforced the nearly broken part of the pole of the spear and several metallic edges were magnetically hovering around the spear. ¡°Hahaha, I did not expect this at all!¡± Piercestriker looked at the all new Gearbox enforced spear and looked at Nubwort. ¡°I do not have much strength left, might as well use the full extent of my cultivation.¡± Piercestriker thought to himself as he burst out all of the chi he had been containing within him. One prominent silhouette that appeared so shiny above him was the Stag Silhouette. Piercestriker had learnt the most from Jia Ying the Sanguine Stag Cultivator. ¡°I will be borrowing one of your techniques Big Sister.¡± Piercestriker always regarded Jia Ying as a mentor when it comes to spear techniques. Her tenacity for perfection in her spear techniques made him respect her deeply. Not to mention, she even gave pointers casually to Piercestriker when it came to duelling between each other during the Goblin Forest Instance or the Random Arena Instance. Whenever he improved, Jia Ying would already be five steps ahead of him. In short, the two of them continuously improved despite being just a monster and cultivator in a dungeon instance. ¡°Heh, tired already? That is not unexpected. In fact, for a goblin, you lasted quite long.¡± Nubwort¡¯s burning armour had a fatigue effect on his enemies and the scorching temperatures made it unbearable for extended fights against the Black Disaster. Upon seeing that the little goblin was pinning his hopes for the last strike, Nubwort decided to entertain him too by absorbing all of the spectral dark flames into his spear. ¡°The Puzzled Spear of the Stag!!!¡± Piercestriker shouted as he charged towards Nubwort with all his might and the Black Disaster responded the same. ¡°Shouting some bombastic names of skills like amateurs,¡± Nubwort smirked as he could clearly see it was just a straight thrust. Even though there was some sort of magical energy that he never saw before, the Black Disaster believed that it could not beat his magic devouring Halberd. Suddenly, the Gearbox Spear turned its thrust like a lightning wrapping around a conductor, causing multiple spears to branch out from the main spear and stabbed through the armour of the Black Disaster. In the meantime, Piercestriker used his empty left hand to forcefully block the incoming halberd with whatever Chi he had left in his body. The pain of Piercestriker¡¯s muscles ripping out from the straight halberd attack and bones splintered out of his arms were killing him in the inside, but there was a glistening smile on his face. His Gearbox Spear struck true. One of the branches of the Gearbox spear managed to penetrate the helmet and through his neck. There were other parts of the Gearbox spear hitting all the other vital organs of the Black Disaster and only blood could see sipping out of his armour. In less than a minute, the towering black armour fell down and subsequently disappeared into thin air just like the other black orcs that were killed by the Goblin Trio. What was left was a mystic rune that was kept in a pouch. ¡°Mom¡­Brother¡­I won against it¡­¡± Piercestriker teared up as he suddenly felt a void dwelling in his heart yet at the same time a sense of accomplishment. Chapter 328 Throne Hall The Wyrm Ants Mr Hot and Ms Cold brought Slashreaver and Ripcaller towards a window that was connected to the Throne Hall and they both could outright see that the room was filled with an intense sense of urgency. There had been a mutiny. However, none of them had suspected that the traitors would even include the whole of the Goblin Royal Guards including their Leader, who had been treated like a son by King Sol. Spears and swords were directed towards the King and merely the Three Generals were left still protecting their Liege in the Throne Room. "You three¡­why do you still risk your life to protect this worthless life of mine?" King Sol had thrown the rune-filled scabbard on the floor and his sword was up high alongside his trusty Three Generals as they were being cornered at the steps of the throne. Even though grey hair and age had gotten the best of him, his skills as a renowned fighter could not be underestimated as he did what he preached to the masses. Even at his advanced age, he had never once neglected his training in the slightest. "Heh. ''Worthless life''? Please your Majesty, after all the days of your past glory you still call it that? Then what shall the three of us say? Besides, you think we will allow you to die that easily? You still owe us a beer from the last practice fight." Gladios, the Sword Goblin General joked. At the same time, he tore out his stiff ceremonial armour and swung with the Greatsword while exposing the fearsome tattoos and battle scars he had accumulated throughout his life. His muscles were still bustling out of his body and for a fairly old goblin, he could hold his weight against five Orc Warrior Captains at their peak. Most of the dead Orc bodies that scattered on the floor were his contribution. Those were the ones the traitorous Royal Guards had sneaked into the Throne Hall through the secret passage. "It seems that our King is too lofty. I bet he still thinks of us as the grunts he could beat up so easily in the past. Let''s remind him why we earned our titles as Generals." Igni, the Dagger Goblin General, unfolded his partial blindfold to reveal a bloodied eye. Despite the fact that the other eye was permanently damaged by battles in the past. Igni was nicknamed the One Eye Assassin before he obtained the title of Dagger Goblin General for killing many Orc sympathisers during the Goblin Rebellion against the Orcs. He brandished his old daggers which were rumoured to have evolved into weapons with sentience. "Hahaha, If we don''t protect you my Liege, Queen Moonshine would never forgive us in the afterlife." Argent, the youngest of the three Goblin Generals and most versatile in the ways of the spear, chimed in as he knocked on his shoulder with his prized experimental magical pistol while pointing his customised one handed spear to the mutiny guards. The unique thing about his weapon was that it could gather magic from the surroundings to use it as a projectile. In an era with cold weapons, this gave him an edge more times than he could count. He regarded it as a sacred treasure he had salvaged after fighting against one of the Orc Head Researchers who had experimented on slaves to develop those prototype magical weapons. Yet, Argent''s fighting potential does not lie in the pistol but in combination with the spear that he was carrying. "To think that the whole regiment of Royal Guards would be the ones to betray us all. This is inexcusable. Have you all forgotten your pride? I still remember each and every one of you, and how delighted you were when I personally picked you out for this position!!! What have the Orcs enticed you with? Gold? Women?" King Sol shouted to the captains of the Royal Goblin Guards. A lot of them looked down, the guilt clearly written on their faces. "They promised us protection and salvation from the Black Disaster and the Red Hurricane! Us and our families¡­" Their Leader replied as he grimly held his sword towards his King, the one he had sworn to protect. What he did not dare to say were also the conditions that King Sol suggested. An awful lot of money and women for their lustful desires. "You think that we are unable to defeat those famous Black Orc Generals, so you decided to betray us? Have you forgotten how hard your parents, your brothers and your fellow comrades-in-arms once fought against the Orcs to gain this independence? Are you not even willing to die for your own freedom? Instead, you''d rather cower under the feet of an Orc which might eventually kill you after you are done being useful?!" Argent cursed at them for their cowardice and knew the terrible acts Orcs had done to the past goblin sympathisers. "You cannot blame them¡­ The Three Generals and their King is a good tale for the history books. But every tale will have to end someday. So just accept the fall that you are about to experience." The wind whispered to all that were in the Throne Hall and a Black Orc began to materialise right in between both fronts while the distortion in the surroundings got stronger. "But you are right. I have no use for cowards." The Black Orc smiled as his entire figure fully emerged from the winds and space distortion. An exquisite grey cape was floating around the Black Orc, but unlike most Orcs, he fashioned a set of bright red leather armour at the sight of which all Royal Guards trembled in fear. It was none other than the Red Hurricane. "Bleargh, I always knew the guards were useless. Too much good life in the castle. Those who are good at fighting belong on the frontline, and not at the back to grow lazy." Gladios spit a mix of blood and saliva at the floor as he tightened the grip on his Greatsword. "We have been living peacefully with the Orcs for decades. We even aided you Black Orcs to reconstruct your kingdom. What made you want to invade us once more?!" King Sol slammed his sword on the ground to make his stand against the Red Hurricane. "Does it even matter at this point? ¡­ Fine, if you wish to know a reason: Because you are too soft! Taking pity on your enemies when you should have wiped them out. Don''t worry. My wind will carry you in cold embrace and make sure that you will never wake up again." He snapped his fingers and the captains around him were all struck by cones of air cyclones that appeared at his will. Only their Leader could barely withhold it. The remaining Royal Goblin Guards were paralysed by the horror of their captains being shred into pieces by a mere snap of the Red Hurricane''s finger. "This is madness! This is nothing like what you had promised us! We allowed you to the castle and you said that you would protect us!" One of the goblin royal guards shouted, but before he could say more, he felt something hovering around his throat. In an instant, a cut flashed through his throat and blood involuntarily sprayed all around his fellow Royal Guards. This was more than what his fellow guards could handle, they dropped their weapons and quickly knelt at the horrendous power that the Red Hurricane was wielding while a vague greenish shadow was seen hovering above him. "The Avatar of Garuda. I did not expect them to summon the Shaitan Queen of Wind." King Sol thought as he recognised the green shadow while mumbling a few words which generated a multilayer magic barrier in front of his Three Generals. The barrier shone brightly with rich magical energy, one of the few spells used previously against the Shaitan Nobles. "To think they are back again." Argent felt agitated upon witnessing the Avatar of Garuda which the Red Hurricane was, appeared once more. He wanted to rush in but Argent knew that the Avatars of Shaitan nobles were not to be underestimated. "The Orcs have always been in contact with the Shaitan Kings and Queens! The Avatars of the Queen of Ice, Shiva! The Lord of Thunder, Syldra! And the Prince of Fire, Ifrit are currently conquering the other Goblin Kingdoms as we speak. Soon this land! This nation! Nay! This world will belong to the Orcs and we shall reign supreme against those who oppose us!" The Red Hurricane bellowed. Yet, before he could relish the taste of his speech, the side windows broke and a massive continuous blast of fire and ice were hurled towards the Red Hurricane which he blocked with some difficulty. He had not expected this surprise attack and the fact that those were intertwined elemental attacks did not make it any easier for him. Two shadowy figures made their way through the defences by escaping his line of sight and headed towards him. Ripcaller did not hesitate to boost his speed with the Gearbox boots that he was wearing and managed to stab the Red Hurricane on his right shoulder while Slashreaver slipped in a cut to his lower left leg. Nevertheless, the Red Hurricane blasted blades of air towards them. Fortunately, the two goblins with ample experience of fast melee attacks could vaguely see the magical blades, allowing them to dodge them better than those dead useless Royal Guard captains. "Ripcaller?! Slashreaver?!" The two fathers who caught a glimpse of their sons were baffled and delighted that they were still alive. The goblin sons then retreated into the barrier of King Sol to escape the continuous onslaught of air blade attacks by the Red Hurricane. "Heh, even the Avatar of Garuda can bleed. What is there to be afraid of?" Slashreaver proclaimed as he clasped his hands and arms with his father, Gladios. His father did not care about their circumstances. He was just happy that his lost son had finally returned now and hugged Slashreaver tightly. "Aw man! My boy! Where have you been!?" Gladios asked with tears nearly emerging out from his tear duct. "Father." Ripcaller knelt down on one leg in front of his father. Instead of acknowledging this with his usual nod, Igni pulled his son up and grabbed him close to his side. "Welcome back. I know you will be fine." Igni said in a low and proud voice as he had just watched his son managing to injure the Red Hurricane. Argent could not help but notice that his son was not with the two of them and assumed the worst until Ripcaller affirmed him. "Uncle Argent. Worry not. He is alive and well¡­he may even have done you proud!" "What do you mea-?" Before the Spear General could hear more of the circumstances that his son was in, there was a sudden banging at the Throne Hall door which was barred from within. "Hahahaha! Looks like your pathetic goblins cannot even stop the might of our Black Orc fighters!" Red Hurricane decided to help his fellow orcs, who were restlessly banging the door by releasing a violent blast of wind towards the haphazard barricade placed behind the Throne Hall doors. The metal obstacles were scattered everywhere which allowed the group who was banging the door to finally get through. The heavy white double metal doors ornated with golden designs were suddenly smashed wide open by the group behind and the Red Hurricane was a little shocked when the people knocking on it were not his predicted reinforcement. At that moment, Argent took the opportunity to fire his magical pistol towards the Red Hurricane, while the dagger wielding father and son sprinted into action, attempting to bring the Avatar of Garuda down in one shot. The Red Hurricane was undoubtedly distracted by the arrival of Jin, Starfire and the group of battle weary goblin guards that allowed him to be shot by Argent. Unfortunately, Igni and Ripcaller were unable to get close enough to the Avatar of Garuda as it seemed that there was a self preserving wind barrier that repelled the melee strikes. The Red Hurricane was surprised since he had even enforced his own wind barrier after the two goblin sons had managed to wound him. However, he did not expect Argent''s magic bullet to go through the wind barrier when it was supposed to repel both melee and projectile attacks. The mighty Orc General seemed a bit flustered about those unforeseen new circumstances, whereas the Goblin General smiled. With the Orc Researcher dead no one except for Argent knew about this type of weapon. Argent''s magical pistol absorbed the surroundings to create the bullet that he fired. At the current point of time, the surrounding had been infused with King Sol''s magic due to the barrier and hence the pistol quietly absorbed King Sol''s magical essence from the barrier he created. King Sol''s magic was specifically meant as a countermeasure against the Shaitan''s elemental magic which the Orcs worshipped. That was the sole and primary reason why the goblins had been able to rebel during the war against the Orcs and Humans. With the aid of Sol who happened to be bestowed with the magic of Light, he and his comrades were able to go against the weakened Orcs. With a high magical calibre packed bullet, it easily managed to pierce the Wind Barrier that the Red Hurricane created. Unfortunately, the Dagger General''s family was not having as easy of a time and failed to penetrate that barrier. Meanwhile, Jin feared that the Throne Hall would be in the same situation as the rest of the castle that he had traversed. He assumed the King would be some useless old goblin that was ruling the community. Never had he even considered that the King that was standing right in front of him had the presence of a ruler. "Ahh¡­so there is really a coup d''etat." Jin noticed the goblins that were kneeling with their heads on the floor and stopped Starfire from commanding those traitors into the safety of her enlarged energy barrier. "They could just be scared! I mean that''s the Red Hurricane! He is feared to be wielding tremendous wind magic in the Orc Kingdom! Some even say that he is a Chosen of the Wind Queen!" Starfire replied and Jin shook his head on how innocent and na?ve her way of thinking was. After all their King was being attacked while they were not doing their one and only duty. "No! They betrayed the King!" Gladios shouted as he charged towards the Red Hurricane with his Greatsword in front of him, blocking the direct air blades that were being thrown towards him. Slashreaver stayed close behind his father as they could not just stand hiding behind the shiny shield barrier that King Sol had created. Starfire was left speechless and decided to maintain her barrier while keeping the front door occupied. The goblin guards that were with her fortified themselves in hopes to deter the Red Hurricane while the other half of the guards protected the rear against any remnant Orc Fighters that were to come this way. "It is fruitless!" Red Hurricane expended more of his energy by creating a stronger, more defined series of air blades with a few more incantations added to the spell and sent them flying towards Gladios. The air blades slammed onto the Greatsword which caused the old goblin to flinch a little before he could move forward again. That kind of reaction caused the Red Hurricane to make some quick minor adjustments to the incantations and the air blade was able to create sufficient impact to knock back the unwieldy Gladios. "Kid! Stay behind me! Do not move out! It''s too dangerous!" Gladios warned his child and Slashreaver obliged for now. There were times to disobey to be a hero, but there were also times that common sense should prevail against those impulsive thoughts. Jin roughly understood the situation that they were in and he decided to enter the fray as reckless as ever. "Wind against Wind, let''s see who will emerge the winner! Epic Sword Art, Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda!" Jin shouted as the seven panda silhouettes appeared right above his head. Red Hurricane noticed the arrival of another pest which was about to throw his life away meaningless. "Maggot, wait your turn. I have other better things to kill first!" The Red Hurricane immediately turned his left arm towards the weird half panda masked guy and cast the reinforced air blade from his hands. Suddenly, the air blade was dispersed by an abrupt wind entering into Red Hurricane''s proximity. "What the hell?!" The Black Orc then noticed how his wind barrier was being dispersed too and realised that the wind that was blowing around him was moving in an anticlockwise direction which cancelled out his wind barrier that was being blown in a clockwise manner. "Sheesh!" The Red Hurricane slammed his fist downwards ignoring the pain of the bullet wound he had received on his chest, and a more massive cyclone appeared around him to protect the Black Orc as he stayed in the eye of his hurricane. "Guess that guy is the real deal." Jin bitterly laughed as he noticed his cyclone was being cancelled out quickly from the one that Red Hurricane created. Yet instead of attacking, the Red Hurricane decided to throw a punch to the left of the Throne Hall. Immense wind magic ensued in that particular direction, destroying the granite stone walls of the Throne Hall. "Consider yourself lucky. You might be safe for now, but not when daybreak comes!" The Red Hurricane had decided to retreat for now. Given the circumstances, their initial plan seemed to have failed. There was another Wind User that tried to fight against him and King Sol''s magic still working strong till this day. "Those bastards! I will get them for feeding me the wrong information. I dare them to say that King Sol''s magic was not working once more!" The Red Hurricane mumbled to himself as he cursed his fellow avatar comrades. At that point, King Sol released his magic and he fell to the ground panting for breath. The Sword General ordered the guards under the temporary command of Starfire to apprehend the traitors in the Throne Hall. Starfire in the meantime quickly went to her father''s side and aided him to what was left of the throne. "Father! You promised me that you would not use ''that'' magic. Why did you still use it?! You know about the consequences. Venerable Blue Bird, do you mind assisting my father?" Starfire humbly asked the blue magpie on her shoulder to aid her father and it did not hesitate to do so. After all, Jin asked Que Er to do the same too. With the improved mana generation provided by the Magpie, the King''s breathing lightened, and he rested on the throne while the Three Generals took their leave to search for other Orc Fighter Remnants in the castle. "Take my Magpies with you. They will assist, not only in communication." The half masked Magpie Lady told Gladios and he readily accepted her help seeing how the blue magpie was able to save King Sol. However not all the Generals took the active search for Orcs as Argent, the Spear General decided to head towards the rooftop of the castle to find his son after he heard from Ripcaller and Slashreaver that he was fighting against the Black Disaster. "You idiot! You better not die on me!" Argent was planning to scold his son as he sprinted his way up towards the Rooftop nearly breaking the limit of his weathered body and heart. There he saw Piercestriker standing with a broken arm and his spear aiming towards the sky. "What in the King''s name is that¡­" Argent could hardly make out various blinding lights in the sky in the middle of a moonless night. "Enemies. Father. But don''t worry they will suffer the same fate as the Black Disaster" Piercestriker turned his head and grinned when he saw his father surprised look and swung his spear down. Chapter 329 Airship Carrier Chapter 329 Airship Carrier Piercestriker called Jin via the magpie messenger to spread the word about the various lights that were shining in the night sky. Many were unable to identify those lights, not even King Sol and his generals who experienced the most in their lifetimes. Though the same did not hold true for Jin who himself was equally surprised. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that a supposed medieval world had such things around.¡± Jin scratched his head while looking through the binoculars he had prepared with his scouting pack before he entered the Goblin World. ¡°Have you seen anything like this before, benefactor? What are those exactly?¡± King Sol asked since he knew nothing about this particular half panda mask guy except for the fact that he was able to fight toe to toe with the Red Hurricane and seemingly aided the rally with his daughter Starfire, which earned Jin some brownie points and the king¡¯s respect. ¡°I¡¯ve not personally seen them, so I can only deduce from the (fantasy) books I read, but they are like slow moving sh.i.p.s that swim along in the air. If I remember correctly, they were dubbed as airship carriers. Those lights are used to convey signals so that the airship carriers do not crash each other and some are just headlights to see what lies ahead of them.¡± Jin answered as he himself was keeping pointers. Maybe he could create an airship carrier instance for his cultivators. ¡°Airship carriers? Erm so like sh.i.p.s in the air which carry troops?¡± Gladios did not know all that sophisticated stuff and asked bluntly. ¡°Yea, I might be wrong but they could be carrying hundreds if not thousands of soldiers in there. Not to mention, the sh.i.p.s might have cannons that could blast from the skies and onto the towns. I doubt you guys have anything that stops things that come from the air, now do you?¡± Jin questioned without much hope, which King Sol and his two generals shook their heads. ¡°Then what the Red Hurricane said before he left is true. They are bringing the invasion to us despite our kindness to their race!¡± Starfire felt irritated for being so helpless. ¡°Master, we know that you did not come here initially to protect the kingdom, but we beg of you are you able to help my father, my liege and the Gob Gob Kingdom against the Orc Invasion.¡± Ripcaller and Slashreaver knelt down in front of the half mask panda guy which shocked their fathers. ¡°Eh¡­. Let¡¯s reconvene and have a proper talk elsewhere. Those airship carriers take time to come. But if I were you I¡¯d get your goblin armies to prepare for war.¡± Jin suggested and King Sol agreed at once. He commanded his two generals to send word to prepare for war while they reconvened in a smaller meeting room which they temporarily set up as their war room. In the meantime, Piercestriker had his broken arm fixed by some goblin healers and with the help of the major chi potions that they brought from Jin¡¯s world. The three goblin sons then briefly explained to their fathers a story which they all collaborated to make sure Jin was not wrongly implicated. Jin also properly introduced himself to King Sol and the Three Generals by taking his half panda mask away. ¡°All¡­this while I thought that you were humanoid, but not a human at all.¡± Starfire felt ridiculed that she sided with the humans. It¡¯s not that she had any real enmity against the humans, but reports of human resistances killing goblins just made her feel that humans and goblins could never coexist together. Sure they might have trading agreements and diplomatic relationsh.i.p.s but it was all a fa?ade for business since the humans in their world had too much pride. ¡°So¡­in short Master Jin rescued the three of you from those human kidnappers that used some sort of flying creature to capture all of you?¡± Argent, the Spear General summed up the story which made sense to him. After all there was no magic presence in the area and the goblin sons disappeared way too quickly. The three Generals had considered the possibility of a human using a flying creature but not many were able to master those creatures of flight compared to monsters and humanoids. It would also explain why no party asked for a ransom to release their sons. ¡°Yes, and even though he let us off, we realised that he was a master of some secret arts. We begged him to teach us more and even though he warned us that there was a pact that had to be made, we did it unwi- *cough* willingly.¡± Slashreaver coughed as he remembered to tweak his words a little. Jin had released some sort of bitter laugh when he nearly heard it, hoping to cover it as well. ¡°They exaggerate my greatness. I am just a ¡­unique summoner.¡± Jin figured he should tell the primary basis of his powers or else they would get shocked by the number of summons he would have to call if they really needed his help against the Orc Invasion. For now it seemed best to pretend he was from their world as it should make cooperation easier than to outright tell them, he came from a different world. ¡°I am sorry to interrupt but I like to know. What kind of summoner would have such powers?! He is clearly not a summoner at all when I saw him fight recently. His strength might be equivalent to Uncle Gladios. He is hiding something.¡± Starfire interjected and she explained what she saw in the courtyard. Now it was the three generals¡¯ turn to become rather impressed with how Jin was able to defeat that many orc fighters in such a short and seemingly simple fashion. ¡°But you did see him summoning the ants and the Magpie Queen out of nowhere, didn¡¯t you?¡± Slashreaver added and Starfire stopped her tracks for a while. ¡°I erm¡­yes I forgot about that.¡± Starfire kept quiet for now as King Sol cleared his throat. ¡°Slashreaver, Piercestriker and Ripcaller. Do you three vow that he is on our side and not some spy or mole for either the Humans nor the Orcs?¡± King Sol asked and the three immediately dropped to their knees and shouted in unison. ¡°Yes, your Majesty! We entrust our lives to Master Jin as much as we served it to you.¡± The goblins swore which made the Generals somewhat baffled. They still remembered that their sons never acted this decisively before. The fact that their return had brought surprise from one to another made it mind numbing for the Generals and their king. To see Ripcaller and Slashreaver competently suppressing the Red Hurricane was already a feat on its own, but the Black Disaster who got killed by Piercestriker alone was a piece of news to be celebrated for days or even weeks. Heck, he might even be hailed as a new Hero for the goblins. All these helped King Sol decide to take the gambit and to trust Jin for now with a condition. ¡°I am asking for your services Summoner. We can discuss payment later.¡± King Sol requested with utmost sincerity¡­ when he caught Jin accidentally yawning, who suddenly stopped the moment he heard King Sol make his plea. ¡°Eh? Wait. Wait a minute. You wish to hire me?¡± Jin was fairly shocked when he heard that. He had thought the King would be demanding him to do it as compensation for taking the goblin sons away without any permission. Jin thought that kings would self centred and selfish. That Goblin King was nothing like he had expected. ¡°Yes. We are not allies in any way, but you shall be handsomely rewarded for your services. Not to mention, we have yet to reward you for rescuing these three goblins and training them. To see them this powerful¡­ I can vaguely feel their auras just by standing near them proves that you must have exhausted quite a number of good tonics, equipment and training for them.¡± King Sol replied. ¡°However, I am forced to ask that you and your other human comrades continue to wear your half masks since I do not wish our goblin army to mistake us having allied with the humans. I am sure you can understand, how that would implicate morale. Once we survive this we can later reveal your identity, if you so wish.¡± King Sol added which Jin did not agree with immediately. ¡°I will get back to you. Let me get out of this room for five minutes.¡± Jin answered as he walked out of the War Room. ¡°Eh? I thought your master was willing to help us?¡± Argent whispered to his son and Piercestriker could only shrug his shoulders. ¡°Master can be sometimes hard to read since he¡¯s actually a secluded guy. You thought that he was willing to help but he might think it¡¯s not worth the hassle. Convincing him could be the hardest part. We will try to persuade him a little.¡± Slashreaver tried to justify it as he beckoned the other two to follow their master out of the room. ¡°Do we really need his help?¡± Starfire asked even though she could not deny that Jin was strong. ¡°You saw how he chased away the Red Hurricane and the death of the Black Disaster only came to be because Piercestriker trained under him. That makes it evident he is not only a skilled warrior but also teacher. Do you think his allies will be that much worse? And¡­that blue bird which you said it was under the command of the half mask magpie lady. He summoned her right?¡± King Sol asked his daughter, and she reluctantly nodded. ¡°That little small bird not only provides me with mana but I can feel that somehow my magic lines in the body have been partially mended too. Never in my life would I have considered such a thing possible. I thought that my magic lines would remain impaired since it was written in stone that once the lines are broken, it will stay broken. Yet that little blue bird enabled me to mend some of my magic lines back and I do not feel as weak as before. Nothing like in my prime, yet I can feel myself improving. If he can summon such powerful beings to his side that perform such miracles¡­this might be the chance to shorten this Orc Invasion and protect our kingdom from ruin.¡± King Sol explained and the three generals could only smirk at their King¡¯s foresight. Starfire did not think that far and was embarrassed that she solely focused on the superficial. ¡°User, you have put yourself further into deeper shit. According to prior thought analysis, this should be your way to express your current situation, is that correct?¡± System added and Jin felt annoyed as he went out of the war room. ¡°Why are all the worlds at war? I don¡¯t really want to interfere that much with this world.¡± Jin complained to the phone as he saw the three goblin sons coming out of the war room and closing the door behind them properly. ¡°War is inevitable in every world. User is just lucky that the current country User is residing in is not involved in any major armed conflict. Had User come in any later, this could have been more peaceful, but with a 96.7% probability it would be Orc Territory. Does User wish to leave?¡± System questioned Jin. ¡°We plead that you aid our kingdom Master.¡± The three goblins knelt once more and Jin placed his palm on his face as he leaned on the side of the wall. He sighed as he took out a bottle of spring water to drink from his storage watch and pour some on his face to freshen himself up. ¡°Let get back to the war room to discuss further. I am not agreeing to anything yet.¡± The King was discussing some minor issues with the Generals and their trusted lackeys in the war room as Jin entered again after a short break. They stopped their conversation and all heads were turned to Jin. ¡°Here is my opinion. From what I gathered from you guys, the Orcs are also attacking other goblin kingdoms, right? If all of the kingdoms are suffering the same pattern of attack they are bound to be overtaken by tomorrow. That means the odds are stacked against your kingdom and people. You all will be pinned down eventually by refugees running from those kingdoms and the Orcs might join an alliance with the humans you all hate to finish you off.¡± Jin did not mince his words and the generals, unfortunately, agreed on what Jin had mentioned. ¡°What I am about to do later before daybreak would only delay the inevitability. Sure I might save some goblins while sparing some time for you guys to fire up your smiths and boost your conscription to prepare for war but that does not change the fact that you guys would be forced into entering war again. And this time it will be basically you against the world.¡± ¡°But what else can we do instead of preparing for war? From what we can deduce from the ¡®airship carriers¡¯ , they might have found some lost technology from the depths of the earth. There is no way they are stopping for a diplomatic resolution when they have the upper hand in terms of weaponry and technology.¡± General Igni concluded which suddenly struck Jin. ¡°Didn¡¯t Hou Fei, our fellow Panda Clan Remnant promise that he could provide me blueprints for military incursions if I agree to create a large field exercise for the military?¡± Jin thought back and suddenly broke into laughter which irked the goblins in the room. ¡°Hahahahah! Just when I thought we would be in a terrible situation.¡± Jin stopped laughing as he sent a thought to the System. ¡°You better reward me well for participating in this war. I know you are thinking of cheesing me off the equation if I agree willingly. Plus I can foresee the kind of results you might be able to take advantage of as long as this goes well.¡± ¡°User is learning to be shrewd. System approves of User¡¯s growth and awareness of business deals. System agrees in setting a proper reward list for User¡¯s efforts.¡± The System stated as it created a new mission objective for Jin. ¡°Mission objective for the Month of November: Defeat/Capture the Orcs and their Shaitan representatives. Even better if User manages to capture the Shaitan Nobles themselves. Use whatever means possible. Budget allocated for the Orc-Goblin War: 10 million Dungeon Dollars. Rewards: Pending (varied based on return on investment). Time Limit: End of November. Additional rewards will be given if User completes the mission within ten days.¡± The message popped up on his phone while the others thought that he was holding on some magical artefact. Jin could not help but feel astonished and surprised by the System¡¯s generosity. ¡°I see, if I can end the war as soon as possible, more time can be allocated for the Rat demons¡­.System are you willing to also take in the Orcs as your servants?¡± Jin furiously typed his message on his phone to pretend he was busy. Besides, the others did not know the basis of phone etiquette, so he shouldn¡¯t bother about it either. ¡°Most definitely. The Orcs that you captured previously in the ambush were analysed. They are more than capable of doing manual work and are good for construction and defence. If User wishes to use them for dungeons, do go ahead. Rat Demons are applicable too.¡± The System replied. ¡°Now we are talking. Time to get this war done and over with.¡± Jin grinned to himself as he sent his message to the System and looked at the others. ¡°Yes, I am willing to help. You say payment can be discussed later right?¡± Jin asked directly to King Sol and he nodded his head with affirmation. ¡°I will be very expensive. You sure you can afford it?¡± Jin tried to tease the King since he was by no means afflicted to their system. ¡°Imprudence! Our Kingdom was titled as the busiest trading centre among nations and we have the highest trading profit in this world. The Orcs and Humans have no choice but to trade with us if they wish to do business with other goblin kingdoms!¡± Starfire argued meaning that gold was not a shortage. ¡°I might not want just money¡­.but we will discuss that later. Now let¡¯s talk how we stop those airship carriers.¡± Jin shifted the topic to their forces and the Generals obliged him as commanded by their King to share as much information as they could with him. ¡°¡­So we could have flying goblin units, which are goblins piloting wyverns, get close to the airship and interrupt their forces while we assemble our forces. The assassination squads can be flown with the flying units since the wyverns can carry an additional two more goblins, but optimally we fly with just one goblin on them since it will affect the mobility of the wyverns.¡± Igni formulated the attack plans. ¡°I can assist and coordinate the artillery goblin squad and ask the goblin engineers to tweak their artillery settings to the maximum length so that we might just be able to hit the airship carrier before they land,¡± Argent spoke out. ¡°The alert had been sent to the entire kingdom. Draft conscriptions of our citizens are currently underway as we speak while the old and young are being gathered to evacuate to the outskirts of the next town in case our capital falls. I will see to it that each abled body male goblin will join in the fight. If the female goblins wish to help, they would be welcomed for logistic purposes.¡± Gladios stated, and King Sol nodded at the plan. ¡°If all fails, we will deal with it via City Defence Plan C with formation number 27 in place,¡± Igni added and the other generals and lackeys agreed after some thought. ¡°I will assist too. My magic lines are sufficient for me to shoot a high level ¡®Light Lance¡¯ but I am hoping Master Jin might be able to provide that little blue bird for me again.¡± King Sol chime in, but Gladios and Starfire disagreed almost immediately. ¡°Your Majesty, if you use such a high level of magic, your body might not be able to take it. You know those Light magic break your magic lines!¡± Gladios argued and the other generals were also not comfortable with him joining the action. ¡°Heh, if you let me ¡®convert¡¯ him, he could be basically immortal.¡± Jin thought to himself and felt that could be the most practical way for them to survive. ¡°Although that also means he is sure to be very expensive in terms of souls.¡± Jin knew he was in the monster catching business with the System so he inadvertently tried to guess the number of souls he might need to reincarnate him. Yet, something inside him told him that there might be better ways to do this. King Sol might eventually come into Jin¡¯s command but not like that. If he forced him it would only result in more distrust and that was one thing he did not advocate amongst his monsters. The King was quiet for a while and gripped on his chair before slowly accepting the fact that he was needed to lead the nation and not fight alongside with his comrades. ¡°Alright, but that does not mean I am not joining you. Even if I shall not directly fight in it, at least my presence will help morale.¡± King Sol told them and the others just nodded their heads to appease him since they knew that he had already foregone something. By rejecting him outrightly would just incur¡­dissatisfaction to be unable to serve the nation he built with his own hands. Other than that, the generals felt the plans they proposed were a good idea except for Jin. ¡°I do not agree with all of the plans you all made,¡± Jin clashed in with his own opinion as he banged his hand on the table. King Sol gave Jin a curious yet slightly angry look. He might be a respected master for his arts but totally not agreeing with something that the Three Generals planned with their foresight which was acc.u.mulated through many years of battles and experience was an insult to him and his buddies. However, before King Sol could interject, Jin had already begun laying out his plans for them. ¡°Just listen to me first! Judging from the number of lights, we know there are quite a few of them coming your way and we do not know what unknown horrors it contains. Your wyvern unit might not even go near it if what you said is true about the lost technology that they discover. You have already witnessed, that there were traitors within you ranks. Even if your wyvern unit was supposed to be a secret force, we should expect the enemy to know about them so you can be sure, that there are counter measures in place. Also, they might just be waiting to go in range for them to shoot a blast of magical energy at your kingdom and eradicate it completely away from the map. Therefore I recommend you to let me handle those things.¡± Jin shared his brutal truth. ¡°You can enter the airship carrier all by yourself? Even if you do and there are multiple airship carriers as you deduced, won¡¯t there be too many Orcs for you to handle on your own?¡± Starfire asked with much annoyance for the disrespect of Generals and towards her father. ¡°Did you forgot? I am a fairly unique summoner. Just consider me a one man army. Leave those things me. I assure you they will not reach here. While it is not my place to say anything else, I suggest you focus on informing the other towns and villages in your kingdom to evacuate into your capital city. Start your production for defending your borders. Setting up defences and traps, gathering of resources, upping your weapons and training of new goblins into your ranks. You should know best what to do!¡± ¡°You are so confident that the airship carriers will not come close to our capital at all?¡± King Sol furrowed his eyebrow as he had a tinge of disbelief in his tone. ¡°Who do you think I am? Let me prove to you, that I will be worth each and every cent!¡± Jin smirked as he wore his half panda mask and walked out of the war room with confidence. Meanwhile, the three goblins smiled at their Master¡¯s spirit. ¡°Heh, looks like we get to fight again,¡± Ripcaller seemed happy as he stood up, nodded at his father as a sign of goodbye and walked out of the room. ¡°Master can be so dense to social situations. Please forgive him.¡± Piercestriker tried to excuse Jin¡¯s behavior, but before he was able to go, his father stopped him. ¡°You sure you are going? Your wounds, have they recovered properly?¡± Argent asked with concern as he was the only child left for him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Master¡¯s potions are out of this world good, maybe even a hundred times better than the ones we produce.¡± Piercestriker affirmed his father and left the room. ¡°I guess you are going too?¡± Gladios asked Slashreaver, and he nodded his head. ¡°Master needs us.¡± Slashreaver held his head high as he said that and his father saw a resolute face which Gladios never imagined his son would ever have. It felt as if just yesterday he had to teach the little grunt how to hold a weapon properly, and now he¡¯d go to help defend the Kingdom. ¡°Son, you changed¡­for the better.¡± Gladios patted Slashreaver and let him go. With a last fleating glance at Starfire he followed the other two. ¡°Feels like the old days doesn¡¯t it?¡± King Sol mentioned with a slight grin on his face. ¡°Heh, I can admit I am jealous of their youth,¡± Igni replied and the other two generals agreed. If not for their administrative work, they could be slashing and hacking their enemies down. ¡°Let¡¯s entrust the future in them¡­and their Master Jin¡­or we can do so along with them if we hurry.¡± King Sol announced solemnly as he began to change the plans according to what Jin had proposed. Chapter 330 Orc King Hamu Chapter 330 Orc King Hamu The torch flickered in the Throne Hall of the Orcs as Red Hurricane appeared right in front of his King, who was attending to his other subjects. Red Hurricane was the last of the Four Avatars of Shaitans to return. As he materialised, the Red Hurricane already had a knee on the floor to pay the proper respect to his King in front of him. ¡°Where is the head of King Sol?¡± Orc King Hamu demanded the moment he felt the presence of the Avatar of Garuda. ¡°Sir, there were¡­some complications.¡± Red Hurricane did not know how to properly phrase it nicely to excuse his failing. It was then King Hamu did a simple gesture and his Right Hand Oku stepped forward and threw the heads of the other kings right in front of Red Hurricane. ¡°Where is the head of King Sol?¡± King Hamu repeated once more, though this time his voice indicated that there would be no third time asking. The Avatar of Ifrit, Prince of Fire, Green Inferno, laughed at Red Hurricane, who was squirming at the question, for a job poorly done. ¡°Was it not you who boasted that getting the head of King Sol would be as easy as plucking a gr.a.p.e from the gr.a.p.evard? I also remember someone promising to be the first to arrive! My my ho-¡± Green Inferno added sarcastically but he was immediately stopped by King Hamu with a simple glance. ¡°King Sol was still able to perform his cursed Light Magic and an intense one at that when we fought against each other. The missing goblin sons of the Three Generals had returned for no reason and were somehow powerful enough to even manage to wound me. Also there was a humanoid with a half mask of a white bear with black spots who seemed to have no presence but was able to counter the winds of Garuda. The Orc forces that were fighting against the goblins appeared to have been decimated as I briefly scouted around the castle before I returned back here.¡± Red Hurricane reported with his head down. His breathing and heartbeat was slightly elevated as he was aware what King Hamu does to incompetent orcs. The Red Hurricane could only hope that his status as being the chosen Avatar of Garuda would be enough to be forgiven. Thinking about it he was the Avatar of Garuda, no matter of the failures, he should be kept alive as compared to when he was just a minor orc. His breathing started to stabilize at this train of thought. ¡°EXCUSES!!! You were beaten up by some kids and a lowly human? What kind of Humanoid stands a chance against a Chosen Shaitan Avatar? Whatever the case, you let some stupid masked guy halt your unstoppable winds, I am embarrassed to be known as your equal¡­ To imagine such failure brought upon yourself. I can already foresee the other Shaitan nobles laughing at Queen Garuda upon hearing that her Avatar being so useless in battle. Next time, do not boast.¡± Yellow Ice, the Avatar of Shiva, Queen of Ice, scoffed at Red Hurricane. ¡°The information I received was not at all accurate. Your Majesty, Please reconsid-¡± Suddenly, a giant two handed sword was thrown towards Red Hurricane. Yet again his preserving wind barrier was not able to block an attack this day. All that the Avatar of Garuda could feel was darkness seeping into his vision and subsequently, he coughed out blood from the attack. He then remembered that the Shaitan Nobles were susceptible to both Light and Dark magic. Sure, the orc mages may have dabbled with dark magic but not even the Archmages should be able to circ.u.mvent his barrier that easily. There was only one entity who could bestow others with such a power but no one has ever managed to contact the True Messenger of Shaitans, Diabolos. ¡°¡­.My Lord¡­You¡­You have managed to contact it?¡± The Red Hurricane do not doubt the might of his King but he had once thought with the Avatar of Garuda, the Red Hurricane might be able to overtake the throne with the other Avatars of Shaitan Nobles. ¡°You are too noisy.¡± King Hamu sneered as a blackish shadow appeared right beside him. Energy shaped as a black orb appeared at the tip of King Hamu¡¯s index finger and gradually, the Red Hurricane felt his powers waning away. He quickly realised that the powers of Garuda were being transferred into that particular black orb. No doubt it was the power of the Messenger of Shaitan. It had the ability to take away the powers of an Avatar and choose someone more suitable for the job. But who could be more suitable then the person wielding the power of Diabolos? King Hamu then turned his palm to hold onto the floating black orb immersed with the energies of Garuda and he pushed it into his chest piece. He knew that an Orc could only hold the Avatar of a single Shaitan no matter how strong willed they were. It was not about the strain on the body nor a fight of willpower but rather the required pact between the Shaitan Noble and the Orc who initiated it. And even though those Nobles were working together, the idea of sharing was nowhere on their mind. The body of the Orc who was chosen as the most worthy after a bloody offering henceforth belonged to that particular Shaitan Noble and no other magic could break the pact among the Shaitans. However this also meant that should they perish, their patron would get ahold of them. And as the powers of Garuda were being grabbed away by King Hamu, Red Hurricane was required to sacrifice his entire body to the Shaitan Queen of Wind. True enough, a green swirling portal appeared right in front of the injured Red Hurricane and beyond the portal was none other than Garuda staring at him. ¡°Please!! Exalted Queen! One¡­more chanc-¡± The portal was sufficient for Garuda¡¯s enormous finger claw to slip in as she poked Red Hurricane. Particles of his spirit were visibly absorbed by Garuda¡¯s finger claw as it ledged onto Red Hurricane. He yelled with intense agony yet no one was able nor willing to help him in his demise. But the other Avatars of Shaitan burnt that image into their mind. They thought that King Hamu would be too timid to do anything overly drastic against the Avatars of Shaitan but they were proven wrong. Who would have imagine King Hamu, who gained the power of a Shaitan through despicable but similar means, would not be sympathetic to the painful efforts of the various Orc cults to create the four Avatars and destroy a powerhouse of their army that easily. Once Garuda had finished absorbing Red Hurricane¡¯s soul, her finger claw pointed at the orb containing her powers that King Hamu was holding at his hands. It was obvious that she wanted it back. ¡°Mighty Queen of the Winds, I offer you those goblin heads on the floor. They are still fresh from the decapitation and each of them had been blessed with Light Magic by that Usurper Sol.¡± Orc King Hamu negotiated and the finger claw did not hesitate to absorb the imbued souls those goblin heads had into her finger. ¡°Ten days. Return them to me after the dawn of ten or I shall consume half of your kingdom¡¯s population.¡± Garuda declared as if it was as simple as breathing for her, before she retracted her hand and the green swirling portal disappeared into thin air. Without the spirit, the body of Red Hurricane became just an empty husk. His expression of horror and betrayal was still intact despite being dead. However, King Hamu felt there was still a use for it even though it was just another material for the worms to feast on. ¡°Put it out and send the message that the goblins killed the Avatar of Garuda. I believe those who preach, pray and follow the cult of Garuda will wish to retaliate with stronger force. Oh, and also tell them Garuda chose me as a temporary substitute.¡± Orc King Hamu ordered Oku as he placed the power of Garuda on his armour. Normally the King¡¯s armour was supposed to be enchanted with the most advanced runes made of magic gems, but strangely this one seemed simple, as if prepared for just such an occasion. Since there were no other conflicting runes transcribed onto the armour, the power of Garuda enhanced the armour with enchantments of wind. Now King Hamu was not only the Avatar of Diabolos, he had the power of Garuda¡¯s Wind Magic at his disposal thanks to his armour. ¡°Excellent idea, your Excellency. Especially considering the Cult of Garuda controls most of the Orc Flying Forces. Doing so will make them fiercely loyal to you.¡± Oku praised his liege as he personally picked up the dead corpse of Red Hurricane and began to make preparations for the official announcement. Separately, the other Avatars of Shaitan Nobles came forward and knelt down awaiting the orders of their King. ¡°Green Fire, Yellow Ice and Purple Thunder. You¡¯ve done well. Rest now and consume as much as you want. Gold, food or woman. Take your pick. Ask my servants and they will fulfill your wishes. I will call upon you when I need you.¡± King Hamu dismissed them. Yellow Ice and Purple Thunder stood up and prepared to leave but Green Fire could not help but ask: ¡°Why are we not allowed to fight now? The airship carriers may bring the elite of our Orcs into various Goblin kingdoms but the newest development from Gob Gob Kingdom may prove to be a threat. Should we not attack them now, before they have the time to consolidate their power?¡± King Hamu simply stared at Green Fire for a moment and repeated his order once more. ¡°Dismissed.¡± Green Fire did not say anything else as he had seen the potential repercussion of displeasing the King and fell back with the other two Avatars. ¡°What about you two? Don¡¯t you guys want to avenge Red Hurricane? He was punished because of that Gob Gob Kingdom! And my intuition tells me that things are not going to be as simple as we had thought.¡± Green Fire questioned his compatriots once they were out of the Throne Hall of the Orcs. ¡°I thought you hated him?¡± Purple Thunder was surprised by the other one¡¯s wish for revenge. ¡°I did, but losing a comrade no matter how obnoxious he was, is still a ¡­waste. Just think about how many Orc lives were just for him and will be consumed to choose his successor.¡± Green Fire did not want to show his concern out too forwardly. ¡°Then make sure we do not fail our mission in the future if you feel it is a waste.¡± Purple Thunder replied as he snorted and walked towards the outer courtyard. He quickly found a servant, who immediately went on his knees after seeing the purple leather robe. Though all Mages wore robes, only the Avatars were allowed to dye them into their respective colours. After making sure the servant understood his desires, he went to his own quarters. ¡°Are you that certain we will be able to come out alive seeing how Red Hurricane was taken away that easily?¡± Yellow Ice had his own thoughts and walked quietly to the direction of his room thinking that his King might had other plans in mind. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡°So Master, are you just going to fly to the airship carriers with your portal?¡± Slashreaver had begun to like those teleporting magic, creating chaos from above like there was no tomorrow. He did not expect that the ambush through the skies made their job so much simpler and more effective. ¡°Stupid, did you forget that Master needs coordinates to portal there?¡± Piercestriker gently used his spear to knock on Slashreaver¡¯s head and he could not rebut. ¡°Master, are you intending to use my Magpie birds to carry you there?¡± Que Er, the Magpie Queen queried since her magpies were capable of creating a bridge between the Mortal Earth and the Immortal Heavens in her old world before she was recruited into the System. ¡°I actually thought of that¡­but it is not menacing nor impressive enough. I want the Orcs to fear the goblins so that the survivors if any, might spread rumours and ultimately bring the wrath of the entire army to Gob Gob Kingdom. That way, other goblin kingdoms should not suffer as much. Firepower wise, you can leave it to me.¡± Jin answered as he stared at the bright lights from afar. It was clear that they were getting brighter and nearer as compared to an hour ago. In the meantime, Sword General Gladios and Starfire arrived on the roof and explained the situation to Jin and his minions. Apparently, the Goblin King did not want to allow Jin to fight the battle alone when it was their kingdom in danger. (The Generals just want some revenge too.) ¡°Under the commands of our King, we are to follow you into battle.¡± Sword General Gladios took out the worn out warhorn which he kept at his waist and Jin noticed it resembled a Viking Horn in Jin¡¯s world. With a deep breath in, General Gladios blew the warhorn and within a short span of time, there was a reply from a distant warhorn which Jin and the others saw a battalion of flying monsters coming towards the direction of the castle. The moonless night made their figures even more terrifying to behold. ¡°The 38th Flying Goblin Battalion, Dashing Wyverns. They are the unit directly under Spear General Argent.¡± Starfire introduced it as she was once again amazed by the magnificent looking flying reptilian creatures with two legs and an armoured barbed tail as they came closer with magically power lanterns at their sides to illuminate their presence. Without any hands on the wyverns, the goblins controlling the Wyverns glided around the castle before hovering above General Gladios to show their professional expertise in controlling it with their mind to mind connection. It was then the three goblin sons saw that Igni and Argent were already commanding their very own unique wyverns which seemed much older, badder and fiercer with General Gladios¡¯ wyvern landing at the edge of the castle walls for him to jump onto. ¡°I assume you are coming too?¡± Jin asked Starfire to which she looked away with some dissatisfaction before blowing her own whistle that summoned a white but smaller and younger looking Wyvern to the castle roof. By utilising some magic, she jumped on her own pet Wyvern with ease and waited for Jin and the others to react. ¡°So, do you all need a ride?¡± General Gladios chortled seeing how the ¡®almighty¡¯ master that their goblin sons were praising stuck at the roof tops. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I have my own ride!¡± Jin tightened his half panda mask casually took out his phone as if he was making a call. ¡°Eh, Derpy, your debut, now.¡± Jin placed a hand in front of his mouth, making it appear as if he mumbled something underneath, when in fact he simply yawned a little as he scratched his head a bit. The other minions of his were already giggling as the head of a terrifying fish with numerous teeth appeared out of nowhere in the moonless night. The creature of that magnitude nearly scared the shit out of the wyverns who had never seen such catastrophic size. Its presence alone was able to shake the nerves of steel of the Goblins flying the wyverns and the wyverns themselves could have pissed themselves while flying. (some of them did and not just that) The only wyverns that were able to stay relatively calm were the slightly bigger ones who belonged to the Three Generals. One could only assume that they had seen horrors equivalent to this or something worse than that. Either way, those Wyverns were battle hardened to the point they were not afraid of Mr Derpy. Que Er assisted Jin by allowing the birds to provide a bridge from the castle roof to the top of Mr Derpy¡¯s head. She understood that by doing so it would only deepen the image of Jin being a mysterious being that needed to be feared since he had the control of not just an enormous monster at his fingertips but even nature had to listen to him to a certain extent. No doubt the other Goblins Wyvern Riders that were on scene were in shock and awe at the existence of such a mysterious figure which even made the Three Generals glad that they were in the same team for now. This scene did not entirely escape the sight of King Sol as he was in the outer courtyards assessing the damage and personally passing a few Royal Decrees. Those would be announced by goblin envoys as suggested by Jin and would among other things immediately start producing more weapons and gather more food stock. ¡°I read the legends about summoners, but those seemed not as imposing as that Human. He is a ¡®Unique Summoner¡¯ for sure.¡± King Sol smirked a little as if to comfort himself that his generals would be in good hands, he quickly proceeded to settle other national matters. At the top of Mr Derpy, Jin summoned his newest monster, Keyrin. Instead of the usual happy face, the mighty beast simply looked at him with some annoyance. ¡°Who do you need me to kill?¡± The Thunder Ram Demon questioned. He was unable to hurt Jin, but that would mean that someone else had to taste his fury. Jin simply pointed at the edge of the mountain. ¡°Those mechanical sh.i.p.s. Strike them down with all your might. Release your- FUWAHH!¡± Jin was suddenly grabbed from behind by Peppers who knocked his head with her staff. (Did Kraft teach the other Bellators his patented ¡®appear behind Jin¡¯ move?) ¡°BAKA BAKA BAKA! WHY DID YOU FORGET ABOUT ME!¡± Peppers did not let go of her staff as she kept slamming it on her master without fear of retaliation. Even if Jin wanted to stop her and deny her her fill of explosions, she was already about to do so even without his permission. ¡°This is how you do it Master! BOOM BITCHESSSSSSSS!¡± Peppers yelled as she was still pushing Jin down onto the Mr Derpy¡¯s head (How could he retaliate against the fury of a Fiery Demonic Sage Queen?) and collected a massive amount of energy into the wooden staff that she was holding. It was to the point that the space and time were visibly distorting right in front of Jin, which made him kind of panic a little. ¡°DERPY! FULL SPEED AHEAD! Bring us as close as possible to the sh.i.p.s! I do not want Peppers to miss that magic blast at all cost!¡± Jin screamed at the top of his voice while he kept beating Derpy¡¯s head, telling him to move as soon as possible. Mr Derpy grinned so evilly that his teeth were showing as he immediately swam through the air like a fish flowing along a high speed river current. He literally took Jin¡¯s command word for word which made Jin regret wording his order in that way due to panic. It was so fast that Peppers nearly flew away and Jin had to hold on to her legs. No doubt she was a little fl.u.s.tered by his touch but it was nothing compared to the excitement of making sure to turn such an enormous flying metal being into one of her colourful explosions. In the meantime, the 38th Dashing Wyvern with the Three Generals were in a conundrum. Should they¡­follow this ¡®uniquely¡¯ eccentric summoner or stay behind and watch how things unfold? ¡°So ermmm¡­General? Should we chase after them?¡± The Dashing Wyvern Goblin Captain asked and before Spear General Argent could say a word¡­They heard an extremely loud explosion, before the nightly sky was illuminated like a firework. Every goblin diverted their eyes and could not believe what they saw. From afar, the goblins flying their Wyverns could see an airship carrier being hit and currently being burnt into crisp with a mushroom shaped smoke coming from the middle of the airship carrier. Additionally, Mr Derpy was unable to stop in time so he decided to simply open his mouth and half of another airship carrier disappeared inside of him. Proving he deserved his name, he derped and choked himself, causing him to vomit loads of acid onto the airship carrier¡¯s engines at the side of the ship. The engines melted in an instant and the airship carrier was unable to function properly. Mr Derpy then pulled the entire airship carrier out of its mouth but in the end merely decided to put it into his mouth bit by bit. He ate the entire airship like a bag of potato ch.i.p.s and even grabbed a bunch of orcs that were on board like a handful of ch.i.p.s before throwing it into his mouth. Some of the Orcs tried to shoot crossbow arrows or even hurl magic at it but either Mr Derpy did not notice, or he was simply enjoying the extra flavour. Despair grew deep for the Orcs and they either jump off the flying platform that was about to be eaten by this unknown creature of disproportionate size and die by free fall suicide. ¡°I totally¡­did not expect this to go this well.¡± Jin admitted as he piggy backed Peppers after she ignited the previous airship carrier. Watching the last bit of it vanish from sight, Jin took a look around. He had counted a total of three airship carriers but the first two which already went down were seemingly smaller versions of the third one at the back. As if to take revenge for killing his ¡®siblings¡¯, the third airship carrier fired a beam of intense magical energy at Mr Derpy. It was¡­ very very ineffective. The large monster seemed to take it in through his mouth as if someone was spraying water into his mouth. ¡°I am speechless. Master Jin is too¡­unique.¡± General Gladios¡¯s jaw stayed open the entire time since the explosion first started. Even Starfire was starting to worry about saying those hateful comments towards Jin in the beginning. Hopefully he was not one to hold grudges. ¡°Hahaha! It looks like our sons have indeed chosen a great master!¡± Igni smiled widely. His two long time friends could not even remember when the last time was that Igni had such a stupid grin on his face. ¡°System, how goes the capture of those Orcs?¡± Jin asked as he continued to stabilise himself while holding onto Peppers on his back. ¡°Approximately 45% capture rate. Many were killed by collateral damage of the surrounding equipment in the airship carriers. In short, of the four out of ten Orcs that were being absorbed into the System, only 4.5 Orcs were deemed useable. The rest were already dead upon arrival in the System¡¯s grasp and the System could only dispose them. Resurrecting and controlling them is not worth the resources.¡± The System replied and Jin could only laugh bitterly. He had nearly forgotten that the System was still a calculative entity. It was not that he could not pity the Orcs but there was no time for any pity. In war, survive first. Emotions later. ¡°Que Er, make a bridge towards the third airship carrier. Let¡¯s take some high ranking Orcs in for Kraft to interrogate.¡± Jin requested as he pressed a button on his phone which created a portal that lead to Pepper¡¯s room. Then he gently placed Peppers on the bed before patting her for a job well done and returned to the head of Mr Derpy. By then, the bridge of magpies was already placed in front of him and Jin began to run towards the third airship carrier. Chapter 331 A Talk with Pei Badbog, the Admiral of the biggest last airship carrier witnessed the unspeakable. He had to pinch himself to test whether or not he was dreaming the horrors before him. An unexplainable massive creature which appeared to have manifested out of nowhere just as though it was one of the honourable Shaitan Avatars, destroyed one of their ships¡­ by eating it up whereas the other one got blown into thousands of pieces and was falling to the ground because it was unable to stabilise itself. It was definite that the orcs in that airship carrier would not survive at all as he could even feel the trembling effects caused by the impact of the explosion within the command deck. "How could this lost technology be so frail?! I cannot believe that! We managed to do the unthinkable to transport hundreds if not thousands of Orcs through this wondrous flying piece of metal to restore the glory of our Orc Kingdoms and yet we are not even able to see their cursed capital?!!" Badbog banged on his comfy leather chair as he cursed the loss of two airship carriers and the orcs that were in the Command Deck were equally shocked by the sudden turn of events. "I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT! We are not going to be defeated by this monstrosity that sided with the goblins! ALL CANNONS! AIM AT THE MONSTER!" Badbog commanded while pointing at Mr Derpy. Unfortunately for him, the Command Deck was exposed at the top of the airship carrier and a certain Thunder Ram Demon still had to work off some aggression as it gracefully leapt onto the deck of the airship carrier. Keyrin blew his nostrils and summoned multiple concentrated lightning strikes towards the Command Deck and the intense electrical discharges directly obliterated almost every Orc present as it pierced through the reinforced windows of the deck. Blue streaks of flashes exploded the entire command deck, causing even the roof to break open. The mechanical systems were fried nearly immediately and the Orcs who were wearing metal armour were charred instantaneously. There were a lucky one or two who managed to get down under the control consoles, but the continuous strikes electrocuted them nonetheless. No one was spared in the Command Deck and those strikes of lightning continued to pierce through the metal flooring of the Command Deck. "Damn and here I thought Kraft could interrogate them," Jin said with a hint of regret as he watched the lightning strikes thundering down the skies without a care in the world. "Technically, since they were killed by Keyrin, some of those orcs should be converted by the System. If you wait a while, the System should finish granting them the absolute loyalty trait without my help." Kraft shrugged his shoulders and later he yawned once more at the boredom he was experiencing. Separately, the Orcs from inside, decked in full armour and armed with various melee and ranged weapons had waited for the attack to die down. Once no more strikes were heard they rushed out to the top deck to see that there were only a white goat monster and two humanoids with their half mask left. "Capture them! Anyone who does so will be handsomely rewarded by the King, I assur-" The captain was struck by lightning and the Orcs who saw that got even madder. They shouted with fury and charged towards them. Jin wanted to make a move but from behind him streams of yellowish orange flames were being shot down onto the top deck of the airship carrier. The Dashing Wyverns had already made their arrival as grand as they could with organised formations, taking turns to burn the enemies that were on the deck. The ranged Orcs tried to shoot down the wyverns but Jin did not give them any quarters to breathe. A blast of Panda Yawning surprised the group of Orc Archers who had concentrated on to the wyverns and that strange attack caused more confusion to the ones who had no space to move about on the limited space deck especially with the fire spreading all over the decks. Their tactics and mission briefing only detailed that they would be ambushing the Goblin Kingdom where there would be debris cover and terrain for the Orcs to take advantage. Unfortunately, they were being slaughtered left and right by staying in the open on the top deck while being picked by the Flying Goblin Battalion and Keyrin shooting lightning bolts from its horns. (Keyrin knew he might cause collateral damage to the wyverns if he summoned lightning from the skies.) Starfire stayed further back to assist the Dashing Wyverns by boosting their magical powers so that they were able to shoot flames of higher quality that had more poof and pow which made the fire burning on the top deck to be more destructive. As time went by, some of the Orcs decided to parachute prematurely out of the top deck in hopes of surviving the massacre on the bridge. Perhaps that way, they could get their revenge by killing a few goblin civilians. Oh, how na?ve those pea brained orcs were. While the Orcs thought that the Dashing Wyverns were busy focusing on the top deck, they did not realise that there was a sole goblin who was killing the ones who jumped off the airship carrier. It was none other than Ripcaller with his powered Gearbox boots as Jin gave him the ability to jump in the air to stay afloat while performing his kills from one parachuting Orc to another. He used the Orcs as platforms to execute the air jumps, allowing him to ''combo'' his kills easily. Meanwhile, both Slashreaver and Piercestriker used their gloves to attach themselves onto each side of the ship as if the Gearbox gloves had some sticky glue mechanism. With their other hand free, they took out a magically auto reloading crossbow each which Jin endowed them during the equipment phase before they embarked on the mission to get in contact with their fathers when all this journey was meant to be as simple as to request an army from them. They used those magical crossbows and shot their falling enemies without any prejudice, ripping through the orcs defences like paper since they were powerless with their parachutes open, making them perfect target practices. It was near impossible to escape especially when the goblins had a seemingly unlimited amount of arrows in their crossbows. In due time, the damage done by Keyrin and the Dashing Wyvern unit had taken its toll on the airship carrier and it also began to destabilise and sink to the bottom¡­well to the ground. At that time the three goblins were informed by the magpies flying alongside them that they needed to evacuate from the sides of the ship before they too were crashed to the ground by the sinking airship carrier. As the land beneath the airship carrier was a mixture of forest and jungles, the Three Generals had decided not to pursue any Orc survivors and commended the 38th Flying Goblin Battalion for a job well done. "Heh, we did almost nothing. The credit should go to those masked humanoids." The Captain of the Dashing Wyverns said and most of them agreed and cheered for Jin who was currently on Mr Derpy checking out his Tact Tweak, the mobile command console that Moloch had created for him. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not over at all. My sources indicate that more enemies are marching downwards from the North. However, it should take some time for them to come here. Perhaps a few days or maybe up to a week? I am not exactly very familiar with the terrain here." Jin told them as he studied the map on his Tact Tweak that was generated by the System. He then beckoned the Three Generals to come to him for a more detailed analysis. The Three Generals manoeuvred their own Wyverns on top of Mr Derpy, though their mounts did so grudgingly. Mr Derpy just sneered not caring for them and continued to simply stare at the falling air carrier, wondering if he should take a bite out of it. Once they landed, they jumped off and hurried to Jin, who expanded his tact tweak map to a holographic 3D image. This kind of magic surprised the Generals but they immediately had a good gauge on the current situation. "Assuming they know the terrain, and judging by their prior preparation there is no reason not to do so, they are probably planning to go through the mountains as it is a natural shortcut. Perhaps we can set up a temporary militia to slow the army down if we set out by today." General Argent voiced his opinion to the other Generals. "I assume you wish to go by air with your wyverns battalion?" Gladios asked and Argent nodded. "Igni, your Assassins Guild, can they prepare some traps along the way?" Gladios turned to the other and Igni replied positively. "I can set the traps up before the militia arrives," Igni said as he excused himself and called his Wyvern to land on Mr Derpy for him to ride on. "Master, may I follow my father?" Ripcaller gathered his courage to request some free time and Jin simply rubbed Ripcaller''s hair to tell him to be careful. Ripcaller was delighted even though he did not overly express it and went to his father. "With you around? I might actually feel more secure. Good job on killing the deserters. The way you handled it was superb. Maybe I should make you teach the Vice-Guildmaster some tricks!" Igni praised him without any reservations which made Ripcaller''s day. "Can we also stay?" Piercestriker asked and Slashreaver was right behind too. "What are you talking about? The whole reason for coming here was because I wanted you guys to see your family, right? So why would I separate you so soon? Now off you go. Go! Shoo! The System and I have a few things to do back in my own world. So take your time to spend with your family. Report to me if there is anything you cannot handle on your own." Jin instructed and the two goblins quickly rushed to their own fathers. "If that is the case, I will return to the capital to organise the defence with¡­my son." Gladios bid his friend Argent goodbye as he escorted Starfire and Slashreaver back to the capital. "Now then, it''s time for me to return to my Dungeon Maker!" Jin stretched a little before he looked at the destruction he and his teammates inadvertently created. "User, do not worry. Reconstruction efforts simply mean more work for the goblins, indirectly creating a source of income for other races too. Once this is done, we can even help them out by lending out some workforce¡­ at a reasonable price, of course." System comforted Jin in its own¡­peculiar way. Jin did not argue with the System for war was cruel. He might have won the battle but the war was far from over. Every other orc who''d soon come to hear of this goblin victory would be vying to kill the goblins ten times over. They might even take revenge on the goblins that were currently held prisoner by them. Most likely the Orcs could use this as a perfect excuse to start a genocide and killing even more goblins. Whatever the case, the casualties to come should be far more than today. "Hahaha! And here I was naive enough to have such delusions that I''d have the ability to end this war as soon as possible for the orcs and the goblins. If anything my interruption should serve to escalate things only further." Jin mocked himself after realising what was yet to come as he entered the Dungeon Maker but it was obvious he had doubts despite all the battles he went through and seeing people going against him. This was the first time, he would be taking the initiative by going to war, an event that he had actively decided to participate in. To him, he was starting to feel that it may be really necessary to end this war with even more bloodshed. "As terrible as war might be, this is the order of nature no matter which world you would be in. It should be a universal rule, that the strong desire to dominate the weak. Of course, there could also always be some strange ones, who may be good minded people like you who would want to protect the weak. Yet, it is hypocritical no matter which side you are on. Get used to it or you will be bogged down by unnecessary feelings. There is no such thing as equality in the eyes of nature." Mr Derpy who happened to enter the dungeon maker understood his master''s expression with one look. For a fragment of a god who seemed to be blundering in everything he does, he was very aware of his master''s mood. Mr Derpy went closer and opened his mouth to unroll his tongue. There was a tablet that was glowing with a particularly dark energy and Mr Derpy advised Jin not to touch it with his bare hands. "Let this be an example. I am able to withstand it since I am more powerful than this particular tablet. Found this while I was chewing things out. The System wished me to give this to you, in exchange for some yummy Orcs." Mr Derpy explained and suddenly Pei, one of Kraft''s foxes and ex-Bellator who stayed at Jin''s side as a blessing bracelet appeared before Jin. "That big fish is right." Pei who was now wearing a whitish pink kimono said as she took a look at the tablet by walking around it for a moment before she took out a wooden stick which looked like a broken wand and tapped the tablet with it. The dark energy that was emitting from the tablet immediately created a barrier as if to protect itself. "After living for so long and experiencing enough what life had offered to me, all I can say is this. All beings that are given life are also burdened with karma and responsibility for how they treat life." Pei seemed to be trying to break the energy barrier of the tablet with her broken wand but there was no reaction from the dark energy tablet and it seemed to be buzzing while being afloat. "They say¡­all life is equal, but doesn''t anyone consider how much the life of others is consumed to keep themselves alive? Just think about your eating habits. For every piece of meat you eat, it means an animal had to die. For every animal that died, other plants or species were killed in the process too." There seemed to be a response from the tablet finally but the energy barrier was not waning. "Sure, I may be generalising it as a broad perspective. Yet, I am not looking down on life nor do I think that meaningless killing is a good thing, but at the same time I am not pretending to be a saint, who advocates against violence." Pei continued as she stepped back from the tablet for a moment. The reason Pei was saying all this out was that she could read Jin''s mind and emotions while providing him with mental defence against external sources of psychological or mental attacks. However, an external mental defence would be useless if the own mentality of her Master were to break himself even before the others could break him. "You are here because you and your ancestors fought and stood atop a mountain of other lives, just like the other Royal Zodiac clans and even the people who are living right now. That is the karma that all living things must bear. That is why you have to live for the sake of all the lives which were sacrificed along the way and that is the responsibility that all living things must bear." Pei looked eye to eye at Jin when she spoke before Pei turned her attention back to the tablet. "If you want to take the easy way out and think of shutting yourself to prevent yourself from seeing the horrors of war yourself then I suggest you abandon the System and resume your previous life before you take on more responsibility. Especially now that you are a Minion master, handling the lives of not one, not two but hundreds of minions." Pei did not mince her words as she finally got the knack to release the energy barrier of the tablet. Jin kept quiet and processed Pei''s ''lecture'' as she continued to break the energy barrier down of the tablet. It was a lot to take in but somehow her advice answered some of his internal predicament and indirectly strengthened his resolve. "I am not handling just myself but a number of monsters that I do care for and call them as friends¡­" Jin thought to himself and remembered back to the first time he went into the Dungeon World as he tightened the grasp of his fists. "No, I am not like last time. I am and will continue to take responsibility for the actions like what Pei said." Jin was not hesitant as before as he now accepted the actions he took. Unlike last time where all he thought about was his the survival of his own shop and wanted to keep the powers of the System. Selfish reasons. A material want rather than need. However, now it was different. The invisible burdens of leading the Panda Clan, of taking good care of his monsters and his shop''s employees. Jin now held the responsibility for more than himself and developed the need to protect, raise and nurture his clan remnants, employees and monsters. They might seem heavy but he figured if he took it one step at a time with his precious comrades, they should be able to achieve wonders. These thoughts also made Jin remember the beginning days when all he had were the goblins and he had to hold the fort at the shop register. It did seem like such a long time ago ever since Yun took the responsibility of being the face of the place as it gave him the opportunity to venture to other tasks, which seem to pop out one after the other. "You are right, Pei. I should not start to doubt myself and end this war as soon as possible to the best of my ability." As Jin steeled his resolve, a sharp sound was suddenly produced by the tablet. Words started to appear out of the tablet yet it was a language neither Jin nor the minions in the dungeon maker could make sense out of. "It appears to be Ancient Orc language, User has Orcs at your disposal." The System replied and immediately referred Jin to his phone and selected the rumoured Black Disaster Nubwort in his glossary of minions. "I guess I shall try summoning this." Jin who had wanted to call out Piercestriker, decided to refrain from disturbing his reunion with General Argent and summoned the fearless Orc General in the Dungeon Maker. Nubwort appeared in front of Jin who had already taken his mask off. He assumed that Jin was an enemy and nearly wanted to slaughter the human but was stopped before he could point his halberd at Jin. It was at that point a rush of information was being communicated from the System and into Nubwort who quietened down and knelt in front of Jin. "So in a way, I am alive again but at the mercy of a human from another world? In return, I have received a blessing of immortality?" The Black Disaster tried to make sense of it, with his head held up high towards Jin. "Yes. I was the one who trained the disappeared goblin sons. So I hope this should give you an idea of what you can expect if you wish to defy me. But I am not heartless, in fact, you can be sure you will receive enough opportunities to enjoy your bloodlust in the coming days and months." Jin said as he leaned forward, unafraid of the Orc General. He knew he had to act somewhat tough but not to the point of boasting. "Hmph. We will see about that¡­Master¡­Jin. What do you ask of me?" Nubwort seemed to treat him with the same contempt as Keyrin, as asked and Jin pointed at the floating tablet whose words were still visible on the tablet. The Orc General stood up and previewed the tablet for a moment. "The menaces that lurked under us must not be released. Lest upon the innocents the beasts begin to feast. Until the menaces have all been banished from this world, Our people would be forever shackled by fear, never knowing mirth. Fear not, for the Light -" "The rest of the tablet readings is ineligible. From the looks of it, it was recently worn out due to corrosive damage which caused the dark energy within the tablet to flow out." Nubwort guessed and Jin inadvertently turned his gaze at Mr Derpy who decided to slowly ''splash'' his way out of the Dungeon Maker. "Never mind, what do you make out of the readable part, Nubwort?" Jin asked and Nubwort who had some idea of what the Orc King Hamu was doing, told his master everything he knew because of the loyalty oath that he had been ''blessed'' by the System. Jin was surprised how much information he found out from Nubwort about the Shaitan Nobles including that one Orc King Hamu was possessing a Shaitan noble who was known as the True Messenger of Shaitans, Diabolos. "Diabolos was gifted by the ancient lost gods themselves the responsibility to pass out powers to balance the world. However, he abused his authority by accumulating all elemental magic from all life and transferred the elemental powers into specific nobles that decided to make full use of his potential while bribing him with wealth and notions of more power." Nubwort explained with the knowledge of a previous follower of Diabolos himself. That was also how he could receive the enchanted Halberd that stole souls and transferred them to his black armour. Jin checked the stats on his phone and noticed that the armour and halberd were shrouded with black graphical effects as if the System was playing a prank on him. "No User, the System was unable to identify the ability of the Halberd and armour due to certain restrictions or perhaps due to the pact imposed by said monsters to not learn the true name of the equipment." The System stated and Nubwort nodded his head. "Even though you are my master from today onwards, I do not believe in you enough to unleash the true names of my equipment. However, considering the powers you are wielding and seeing how the son of Spear General Argent was trained to such a high level. I believe knowing the True Name would not change much for you." The Black Disaster snorted as he disappeared into the emptiness of the Dungeon Maker. "True Names? You mean there are some weapons that have a name on them and give them some magical effect?" Jin casually asked Pei who was still around in her foxish human form. "Remember how Kraft has No Mercy and you yourself wielding Bam and Boo? Those are names provided by master blacksmiths or craftsman of transcendent level capabilities. It might not look much to you but knowing the True Names such as Bam and Boo brings you closer to your weapons and allowed you to change them into any other weapons." Pei explained as she looked at the broken wand she was holding and smiled. "Other users who do not know the names of Bam or Boo could only wield them as simple weapons. Just like how humans have names to influence others, you know the names of Bam and Boo which makes the weapons feel closer and have more affinity towards you. That is why you should feel much more comfortable using them instead of any other weapons. Just try it out, to see how much difference it would make." Pei added. "I see¡­in any case, we still do not know what this tablet is used for. Is it just a message, maybe a warning or could there be something more to it?" Jin asked Pei and she just shrugged her body and turned back into a simple looking blessing bracelet on Jin''s wrist. "System, continue to analyse this. I am going to make a call to Hou Fei and tell him about this war thing. Also, fire up the dungeon maker console. I think¡­we are going to have a surprise real time event for our customers before the release of the Deep Ones'' Dungeon." Jin smirked to himself as he dialled up the number for Hou Fei. Chapter 332 Hou Feis Blueprints Hou Fei woke up in the middle of the night to pick up the ringing phone that was lying right beside his bed. He got used to receiving midnight calls since his work involved collaboration with overseas partners. Nonetheless, he was still mildly surprised when he saw the number on his phone. "Yes, Young Master?" Hou Fei sat up slowly while reaching out for a glass of water at the bedside cabinet he had placed earlier to drink after waking up for just such an occasion. "You sound so slee- Oh! Shit, I didn''t realise what time it was at all. I am sorry to have woken you up." Jin seemed to be fumbling from the other side of the conversation. "No worries Young Master, I am used to it. What is the problem?" Hou Fei felt like going back to sleep since the situation did not seem to be too urgent if Jin''s nightly call wasn''t even on purpose. Most likely Jin had been too busy creating something that he did not even take a look at his clock before remembering about Hou Fei. That or he went to some other world travelling. The Panda Clan Remnant still had trouble believing such a thing to be not only possible but seemingly easy to achieve via the System. "I have decided to cooperate with you. However, I need military blueprints as soon as possible. If you have them now, I can get the System to open a portal for you. I promise to do the military wide exercise you have mentioned as soon as things on my end have been cleared. You wouldn''t be wrong to call it a matter of life and death." Jin explained and Hou Fei was quickly shocked more awake. "What exactly happened?" He asked with concern since Jin was initially apprehensive in creating the large scale military exercise. For him to change his mind so soon, something out of the ordinary must have happened. "Long story short, I currently am at war with an Orc Race that seemingly not only has the power to dominate the entire world. Their world to be exact, not ours and they are in the midst of doing exactly that. They live in what we would probably describe as a medieval world, yet their might consists of ''lost technology'', which you can think of as modern technology. On their side are representatives of awfully strong magical gods that should be equivalent to a Grade 15 and above Western Magic users and also shit tons of muscleheads." Jin was already splitting himself into a few of him with the High Intensity Mode by the System and started preparing the new real time live event that would be happening. "I see¡­? Erm okay, you hold the line for a while. Let me see what I have on hand." Hou Fei slowly got out of his bed and turned on his desktop which booted within seconds. While he was searching for his work files which he had secretly taken for reference and ''research'' purposes, Hou Fei asked Jin what exactly the other one wanted. "How about a C130 military cargo transport aircraft? Or Military Airships, those balloon ones? Or an aircraft carrier. I was thinking of combining the capabilities of a floating balloon airship and aircraft carrier together. If not, something similar to a C130 blueprint would be great." Jin said while he continued to assist another Jin who was creating the background story scenarios by choosing which costume would be nice for his latest Panda guides in the dungeon instances into the control console. "Ah, you are lucky. I have the basic 1960s C130 transport blueprint on my computer sadly it''s not the latest super Hercules version, hope that is fine with you." Hou Fei wore and pushed up his round rimmed glasses for farsightedness to search for the blueprint file. "Well, beggars can''t be choosers. I do not mind as long as I have the basic schematics. The System should be able to iron out the bad parts of the plane. I am also looking for military defences perhaps something like automated turrets and the likes to be mounted on a wall?" Jin did not know what to look for since he never imagined participating in a large scale war, not to mention one in a foreign world. "You think this is some sort of game where you can have weird automated Gatling gun turrets and missile turrets? Our particular modern world does not have such things developed yet because it would be suicidal and Friend or Foe recognition would be a pain in the ass to create. Not to mention just think of the repercussions if anything would go wrong with that, or somebody hacked into it¡­ If you want, I''d recommend installing some machine gun emplacements and bunkers and perhaps some surface-to-air missile turrets." Hou Fei scoffed at Jin for being ignorant and Jin did not know how to reply back. "I erm sorry. Did not mean it that way, I always thought our military technology encompasses almost everything." Jin tried to salvage the situation. "Sigh, my bad too. Perhaps I was merely jealous that there is so much excitement at your side since this old man is no longer suited to participate in a combat situation." Hou Fei admitted honestly which he himself felt odd opening up to a person he just met regardless of status. "I might have an idea, how you can actively help out. Perhaps take charge of teaching the goblins how to use the machine guns and where to place the bunkers." Jin offered which made Hou Fei jump at that particular idea. Anything would be better than to merely sit at the sidelines. "What''s the compensation?" Hou Fei tried to play the money card to see if he could squeeze any benefits from his young master although he was willing to do it for free. "Eh, how about we consider it as a test to see if you are really competent enough and have the foresight in leading our territory as the potential future defence ministry?" Jin did have at least 10 million dungeon dollars worth of budget at his disposal and he could convert them to Chinese Yuan or USD to pay Hou Fei. But like a businessman, he tried to keep cost low if possible unless Hou Fei insisted on monetary compensation. "Heh, you are as stingy as Ming. Can you believe that your grandpa made us, his subordinates, pay for the drinks, instead of the other way around? But okay, let''s do it your way. But once I become the defence minister, I expect to be showered with lots of money." Hou Fei sniggered as he downloaded a few more blueprints he thought would be helpful for the survival of a particular goblin kingdom he had no further knowledge about. As sly as he was, most of the blueprints were old military tech which he had obtained through favours all for hobby''s sake. "Who knew, collecting patented old military tech blueprints that were once locked under many layers of security, would end up becoming handy for my new master?" Hou Fei was excited as he changed his nightwear for a proper shirt and shorts. It was unfortunate he was unable to obtain the latest high tech blueprints that potentially could give the extra edge to any modern countries. With his connections, Hou Fei might be able to obtain them from various military tech producers for a hefty price but he did not. Mainly because they were too expensive and did not have the feeling of uniqueness which the old blueprints had. Most of the new military tech was influenced by those old designs and modified via it. They did not feel special at all and the latest revolutionary ones were so heavily guarded that his connections might not be able to even touch it. Trying to do so, would most likely even be regarded as an act of betrayal against the respective country. The portal appeared right in front of him after sending Jin a message that he was ready. He entered it only to be astounded by the many other Jin''s who were working in the Dungeon Maker. One Jin came over to the flabbergasted older man to explain to him that time was of the essence and they needed to hurry. The time dilation in the Dungeon Maker would reduce the relative time lost in Goblin World as compared to if he was in his real world. "Ah¡­ A year for a month. Did not expect that kind of disparity of time to be that huge. No wonder you had me see you work in such a¡­group setting." Hou Fei said as he passed the USB thumb drive to the Jin in front of him. Jin fired a separate console in the Dungeon Maker and pulled the data out of the USB thumb drive. He noticed there were not only the C130 blueprints but equipment blueprints from the past wars, especially from the World War 2 Era. "I figured you needed some of this." Hou Fei smiled as he explained the various blueprints. There was the infamous M1 Garand semi automatic rifle, the M2 Browning .50 calibre heavy machine gun, the German Pak 38 50mm anti tank gun, the 4¡Á4 Command Reconnaissance utility trucks or Jeeps in short, the M2A1 Howitzer artillery gun, and lastly, the German Flak 88m anti aircraft gun. "Not that I am complaining but how the hell did you get those schematics?" Jin asked and Hou Fei only winked at him once. "I will leave you to your work. Just tell me when your goblins need their training." Hou Fei told him, and was on his way out but before he could leave, Jin stopped him. "You can teach them now if you want." Jin pressed a few buttons and asked Hou Fei to proceed to the door East of the Dungeon Maker. Hou Fei did not ask much and opened the door to see that tens of M1 Garand rifles were already fully assembled and left on the large extended table while two M2 Browning HMG were in the middle of being produced. Hou Fei''s jaws dropped and Jin did not bother with him. "How did you do it so fast?! Wait no it''s the powers of the System. That is seriously one handy thing to possess." Hou Fei picked one up to get the feel of the rifle and he felt it was more robust than the one he carried before. "Remnant Hou Fei, the materials in the blueprints were replaced with stronger ones and the design has been tweaked to reduce mishaps and loading problems for the guns. The rest of the blueprints that were given have already been analysed and tweaks are underway to ensure sturdiness and maximised firepower." The System stated as it magically extended the room and inserted a shooting range for Hou Fei to try out. He wore the earplugs that were provided on the table and inserted a cartridge of bullets into the all new M1 Garand Rifle. The feel of the rifle was fantastic and he could even smell the original finishing of a sturdy solid wood. "Inhale¡­.*BANG*" Hou Fei fired the shots until he heard the traditional metal cling sound of the clip that flew out of the rifle. It was very satisfying with only a minor knockback unlike the original rifle and the firepower seemed comparable to the mainstream modern guns. "Come to think of it, why did you not simply ask the System to make those weapons for you? I believe there should be rifles out there in the Weapon Store that could help to assist the goblins too." Yun who brought a tray of Black Ivory coffee into the Dungeon Maker and passed it to Jin as well as Hou Fei. "I checked before, the Weapon Store does sell guns and explosives but the cost of buying them in mass bulk was far more expensive than me having the blueprint and buying the tons of materials to create them. I don''t know why though." The Jin near Hou Fei answered Yun after thanking her for the cup of coffee. The other Jins also thanked her as she approached each one of them. "User, Rank 4 of Dungeon Supplier Level reduces the duty tax rate to zero, allowing you to buy from the System at cost price plus miscellaneous expenses related to your purchase. The duty tax was to prevent potential Users from abusing the System''s supply stocks. While secondary, the System made use of the duty tax surplus to achieve other miscellaneous objectives. This reduction of duty tax includes subsequent purchases of any materials including medicinal bath materials and completed products." System noted and both Yun and Jin nodded their head in acknowledgement. "Ehhhhhh! So does that mean my blueprints are essentially useless?" Hou Fei came out of the shooting range and felt embarrassed that he felt proud assisting his new young master but the System rebutted. "Negative, your blueprints mean the System and User are able to create our very own products and are also able to market them to finance the store. The Gearbox blueprints which User had obtained and produced are selling like hotcakes in other worlds. System also utilised User''s negotiating skills to sell at exorbitant prices." System stated as another Jin who was at the far end corner of the Dungeon Maker stuck out his tongue in embarrassment. "Of course, we did not sell the perfect version but the one with a few flaws and some with less obvious defects which did not create safety issues though. After all, if we sell the perfect version, they would not come back for more in the future. The Black Market is rather fun." Another Jin boasted and the main Jin shook his head. He could not believe his own personality was equally shrewd like the System and he blamed Kraft for making him this way. (A certain foxy guy had to sneeze out of nowhere.) "Now I also understand how the System managed to be so generous to provide you 10 million dungeon dollars as your budget." Yun who was looking at her phone realised that the Gearboxes were sold for at least 2-3 million dungeon dollars each. More if there were personal modifications and everything was sold in the black market. "Don''t you ever worry those products that you sell will eventually come to haunt you?" Hou Fei was speaking from experience and Jin could sense that. Another Jin shook his head and revealed that all the products created by the System had a miniature inscription embedded into them. It was something similar to a kill switch and Jin had been told that it was initially made by previous members of the Panda Clan to test for authenticity of products since they were from a family of businessmen and traders and it turned out, that he was not the first arms dealer by a long shot. The System even seemed to boast that the inscription had been improved many times over and had yet to disappoint. Some people who decided to break the inscription would unknowingly disintegrate with the product. However it was clearly written at the bottom of the invoice to not tamper with it, even though the part of disintegration came with a fine and slightly invisible print. "So evil. Young Master, you are so clever in this business sense that I am loving it!!!!" Hou Fei went straight to Another Jin and hugged him tightly which made that Jin slightly uncomfortable, whereas the other Jins were grinning happily that it was not them. "Oh, don''t you worry or anything. I have a wife too. Unfortunately, I don''t see her that often, she is just very committed to her job." Hou Fei rubbed Another Jin''s head and asked the Original Jin where he should be going next. "That''s not the point! Anyways, Que Er, accompany him would you? System please provide him with a Half Mask with the same properties as my own. Ghoul Half Lord Derek, mind if you lend me some of your zombies for moving the equipment?" Jin asked the Magpie Queen along with Ghoul Half Lord who appeared in front of him to acknowledge his orders. The Magpie Queen Que Er opened the portal to the Goblin Castle courtesy of the System while Half Lord Derek commanded his zombies to carry the equipment. "Ah yes, Master Jin, I have something to report if you do not mind me interrupting you. I merely request your presence at our Home Instance for five to ten minutes." Ghoul Half Lord Derek asked and Jin stopped for a while and decided to give him the full attention despite his busyness. With so many Jins working on the other necessities, he should be able to free up that short amount of time. "I have managed to practice some necromancy arts in my free time and have managed to create this. It was through the recent disposal of Orc Remains that I found the use of the necromancy arts. I have managed to request the System grant me those before it could properly dispose the remains away. We believe it could be of use, now that I have finally completed my first creation." Derek explained and the theme park lights shone at Derek''s creation. (The zombies operating the lights were very proud of their actions.) Not surprisingly, it turned out to be an Orc Zombie, created from various parts of the Orcs that the System managed to salvage. What was surprising though was that the usually stingy System had granted Ghoul Half Lord Derek access to a limited amount of souls which it had manufactured as a result of the black waste Jin had produced from his cultivation. The Orc Zombie was flawless from afar but upon closer inspection, Jin could see the pieces had been sewn together and he looked at Ghoul Half Lord Derek. "Ahem. Erm. Yes, as you might have seen, Lady Zhi Nu, the immortal weaver, did help with my creation." Derek coughed loudly as he said that and Jin could see Zhi Nu coming out from her hiding with Niu Lang right beside her. "Well¡­Derek gave us permission to use his theme park home instance for our dates¡­" Zhi Nu said blushingly while Niu Lang mentioned that the zombies also assisted him in repairing Mechataur by moving the heavy parts. "So that is why we as a couple decided to help Derek out with his experiment. And I''d say it turned out to be a pretty good job!" Zhi Nu giggled as she saw Derek''s finished product and was delighted that it was working. "Ahah hah haaaa¡­.I guess we now have our own in-house Victor Frankenstein." Jin smiled. Derek told Jin about his proposals for future experiments like inserting weapons and making them learn some basic fighting. He elaborated that the souls made from the black goo were rather effective, allowing them to gain some intelligence. He even proposed to include some of the Savants in their experiments who may have experience in this regard. (Not as samples but for comparison sake.) Ghoul Half Lord Derek also reported that his zombies that were being used in the Great Wall of China Instance were gradually improving too although the process was slower compared to the experiments he was doing. The zombies managed to learn to move faster and some hit harder. Some even managed to learn how to throw things or hurl their magic for the elemental zombies instead of just biting to discharge their elemental powers. Jin who was fascinated by the improvements told them that if they needed a dedicated area like a laboratory for recreating more monsters, all they had to do was to ask. Both Zhi Nu and Derek were excited and Jin looked at Niu Lang. "Don''t worry, I also have plans to create a Mechanical Bay Area so that you can finally house Mechataur properly instead of just the basement of your house with Zhi Nu." Jin patted his shoulders and took his leave. "Now it''s time to concentrate on creating this particular live event!" Jin was very encouraged as he finished the last bit of coffee and continued with his work. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Xiong Da woke up upon hearing the alarm clock blaring beside his bed. "Urghhhh¡­four more minutes¡­.it''s a Saturday god damn it." Xiong Da grumbled as he put the pillow over his head. "Dear! Wake up! Didn''t you promise Bin Yong and others to go to Jin''s store?" Ruo Ying who was already awake turned off his alarm clock for him and pushed him around to wake him up. Xiong Da opened one of his eyes and saw Ruo Ying dressed in his large oversized shirt because she stayed overnight at his place and decided to grab her into his arms. "You don''t know what time I went to sleep last night¡­." Xiong Da mumbled the rest of the sentence and rolled her to his bed as he quietly cuddled her. Ruo Ying made a small squeal the moment he pulled her close but she enjoyed the warm embrace of this hippo. The touch of his toned arms and chest muscles mixed with that bouncy bulge he had on his stomach made her somewhat crazy in love with him physically. She did not know what would happen if Xiong Da did not persist in training himself up and he said it was all thanks to that Dungeon Supplier in Tiangong Shopping District. "You! Don''t think you can escape my wrath for sleeping so late! I had been waiting for your return last night until I fell asleep!" Ruo Ying pinched his nose and he opened his mouth to breath and continue his sleep. It was clear that Xiong Da had no intention of staying awake. "What about this!" Ruo Ying moved herself closer to Xiong''s face and placed her mouth directly to his, and they began to kiss slowly. However, at the same time Ruo Ying did not stop pinching his nose, though Xiong Da who had the stamina similar to a hippo managed to make out with her for about a minute before he finally gave in and opened his eyes. "That is torture, Darling." Xiong Da frowned as he sat properly on his bed and he looked into Ruo Ying''s beautiful eyes. "Can''t help it. You are stuck with an Egret for life once she has chosen you." Ruo Ying''s sweet talk made Xiong Da really happy as he grabbed her closer once more and hugged her gently. "Let''s prepare to leave shall we?" Xiong Da stretched his arms on the bed while Ruo Ying kissed him before going into the kitchen to prepare a simple breakfast for the two of them. Xiong Da went to pick up his towel for a shower before receiving a notification from his phone. It was different from other notifications as Xiong Da purposely changed the ringtone of the Pandamonium App notifications. He always had an interest in what was coming out, and so he went back to his bedside cabinet to reach for his phone. "¡­Real time live event?" Xiong Da squinted his eyes a little and began reading what was on the event. "Holy shit! Boss Jin, you might have outdone yourself once more." Xiong Da got pumped up and went for a quick shower. "Ruo Ying! Doing toasted bread will be fine! We should head to Boss Jin''s shop as soon as possible or just let me take over with the cooking while you get in the shower!" Xiong Da appeared as he wore something comfortable and for combat purposes. Clothes that he bought from Jin''s store. He could not deny that it was extremely comfy and had his size too while providing temporary and permanent inscription slots. It was a bargain. "Why? What''s the rush?" Ruo Ying wanted to make scrambled eggs before Xiong Da took over. "Boss Jin is hosting a limited time event that provides rewards and the best thing. It is dirt cheap and yet the rewards are super enticing. I think this is the first farmable event!" Xiong Da carried his girlfriend into the shower and brought her towel and the set of clothes she wanted to wear into the bathroom. "Is this that big of a deal? Don''t other Dungeon Suppliers also host such things, every now and then?" Ruo Ying knew that Xiong Da was once crazy with dungeons instances, but this was over the top. He never acted this rushed before. "Yes, but this is Jin''s Store we are talking about!! There is this limited item which WE NEED to get!" Xiong Da showed Ruo Ying and she too became excited jumping up and down while squealing in front of him. "It''s that large fluffy Panda Plushie that cuddles you with warmth or cools you down!" Ruo Ying now understood why Xiong Da was so excited. It was the one that was made available during the lottery along with the coupon booklet and Ruo Ying had been eyeing that gift for some time. The coupon booklet was a success and every shop in Tiangong district benefitted from Jin''s generosity, but yet no one was able to get the large fluffy panda Plushie because not too many customers understood the mechanics of the lottery that Jin created or was ignorant of it. Ruo Ying tried a few coupons as a way to thank Jin for helping her Hippo but she was not able to get any of the better prizes and subsequently due to her new job, she nearly forgot about it. Ruo Ying did not care about the large plushie initially until Jin showed her the Plushie in its entirety when she asked about it later on. In an instant, she fell in love with it and Xiong Da whispered to her that maybe he could ask his contacts to create something similar. Jin managed to hear it with his acute hearing senses and playfully told them that the plushie was not as simple as how it looked. He told them to check it out for themselves. That was when Ruo Ying personally went to hug it. The plushie automatically cuddled her up and she felt so comfortable as if she was in a luxurious bed and nearly fell asleep after being cuddled up for a while. It was a personal warmer in the winter and cooler during summer. Xiong Da decided to try it too and then the plushie expanded and accommodated both Xiong Da and Ruo Ying which shocked them. That was when they both fell in love with it. And that was even before Jin told them, that it could get as large as being used as a sofa. However, the coupon booklet event was already near its end when they found out about this first prize and there were not many tickets left despite having so many prizes in the lottery pool. Xiong Da, no doubt with his purchasing powers, tried all the coupons he could obtain but there was no sight of the Cuddling Panda Plushie ¡­until now. Ruo Ying saluted at Xiong Da as she closed the bathroom doors quickly and proceeded to shower while Xiong Da cooked up a quick breakfast. Jin not only decided to put all the figurines he created from the System and that large Panda Plushie into this limited time event. But he also produced some goblin themed earth elemental weapons that can be purchased with points. Yes! Upon participating in this particular goblin real time event, the customers would be able to accumulate points to get those items. That was why he had purposely priced the event dirt cheap at about 60 Yuan (~9USD) as compared to his usual dungeons. He even made a package of 550 Yuan (~82 USD) for ten dungeon tries for those who wished to collect them. Some might say this was still expensive but Jin also allowed his customers to use their existing Panda Medals to buy the dungeon at 10 Panda Bronze Medals or 1 Silver Panda Medal. Not to mention this particular goblin real time event would still give out medals, points and potentially loot at the end of their dungeon. "So how does the dungeon work this time around?" Ruo Ying changed to her combat clothes which were equally stylish courtesy of Xiong Da who previously spent loads on Jin''s shop which allowed him to accumulate a ton of Panda medals. "Not sure, the notification says we have to go to Boss Jin''s shop to find out more details." Xiong Da passed the bacon and fried omelette egg squeezed into two pieces of toast bread to Ruo Ying. She ate the food while Xiong Da helped Ruo Ying dry her hair with the hairdryer. "Oho ho, looks like Bin Yong is scrambling too." Ruo Ying giggled as she chewed her food and showed Xiong Da the texts in the Pandamonium group chat. "We must beat him to it!!" Xiong Da declared which Ruo Ying fully agreed as they quickly left the house the moment she finished her plate of food and left it in the dishwasher. Daily chores could wait. The Panda Plushie would not. Chapter 333 Goblin War Raid Even "XIONG DA! HOW DARE YOU!" Bin Yong entered the shop instance and ran to the elevated floor of the Level One Shop Instance panting as he saw Xiong Da already holding onto tens of dungeon tickets and food waiting for them. Xiong Da specifically asked the penguins from the Restaurant Train of Delicacy to deliver the plates of curry rice to the second floor. Ruo Ying was already chewing on a few pieces of flavoured onigiri while stealing some scoops of curry from her boyfriend. "What? Who asked you to be so slow? Come earlier next time! Hahahaha!" Xiong Da laughed as he placed the tickets on the table and Bin Yong reluctantly took them. Shi Zuo was the next to enter and found out that Bin Yong failed. Yes, they initially wanted to repay Xiong Da for the previous treats of dungeon instances by buying the tickets for Xiong Da and his girlfriend this time around but Xiong Da had beaten them once again. Xiong Da promised that whenever possible, he would treat Bin Yong''s group to dungeons because of the huge favour they had done for him in getting Ruo Ying. Bin Yong had thought Xiong Da was joking and gladly accepted the idea. As a matter of fact, Xiong Da took his promise very seriously¡­ However, Bin Yong and Shi Zuo could not let this generosity continue for long. Once or twice would be fine yet Xiong Da treated them for almost all the dungeons whenever they met up with him and they felt that they would be losing face if they could not treat Xiong Da back once in a while. It was a Chinese man''s matter of pride to Shi Zuo and Bin Yong since they were not shameless enough to take the tickets for free on a regular basis. Ironically, Xiong Da felt that it was a decent game to play with them. If they arrived earlier than Xiong Da, he would gladly receive their treat. But as long as he was earlier, Xiong Da would be buying the dungeon tickets. "The score should be 6-1 already. Please try again." Ruo Ying teased Bin Yong as she munched on the pork cutlet soaked with curry sauce. "You must be kidding me, you guys live just a few stations away from here. We''ve already tried to come as early as possible!" Shi Zuo grumbled as he sat down and thanked Xiong Da grudgingly for the food. Xiong Da sniggered and continued to eat his curry rice since the breakfast he made earlier was not enough for him. "Where are Luo Bo and Jia Le?" Ruo Ying asked since they would usually be together with the guys. "They had some work to clear for the upcoming animation project we got assigned to. That is why they would be rather late." Shi Zuo answered and Bin Yong added that if they were still playing by then, the two girls would join them. "Pity, I bought extra curry rice for them too. Guess I will be taking them. It''s a waste not to finish such good delicacy." Xiong Da helped himself to it but it incurred the wrath of Ruo Ying. "You better work your ass off later!" Ruo Ying took the opportunity to bite another delicious scoop of curry even though she kept saying she was conscious of her weight. "But isn''t this the perfect opportunity for Ruo Ying to practice? The girls always make things less serious for her." Shi Zuo suggested as he knew his girlfriend always like to steal the spotlight. "Hmm, I guess that would mean we can focus on training Ruo Ying." Xiong Da looked at her and she gave a slight nod but she was not forgiving him for eating that much early in the morning. Xiong Da asked Ruo Ying for the app as he wanted to check her current physical status and equipment. Speaking about the stuff she carried, Ruo Ying''s weapon was similar to that of the Werecats Nyanmi and Meomi. But instead of whips, Ruo Ying used heavy duty chains as her primary choice of weapon. To everyone''s surprise, the Esthetical Egret Style focused a lot on arm strength to perform her attacks with grace. Not to mention, there was something that Xiong Da really liked about a beautiful lady swinging chains all along her opponent. There was a time they decided to duel with Xiong Da suppressing his cultivation. In the end two out of three battles, he was unable to win against Ruo Ying''s graceful style. (Or perhaps Xiong Da was too enthralled by her beauty.) They discussed a little on what had been going on in their lives but it was a brief discussion since Xiong Da and Ruo Ying had their objectives set for the Large Panda Plushie. They quickly went to the instance stations which were continuously packed with people, but then they realised the event had yet to start officially. "Do not worry about the dimensional instance machines! Please let the others who wish to do other dungeons use them first!" Mr Patsu stood near the dimensional instance machine and shouted at the top of his voice even though it was not necessary when the sound system in the shop instance was surround sound to begin with. "What do you mean? Did you not say it''s a limited time event? If we do not use the dimensional instance machine, how do we teleport there?" A customer who was standing at the very front shouted back, feeling a little frustrated at the fact he was allowing others to go through. "Because it does not matter." Jin who came out from nowhere was wearing a brand new costume. A large Panda head with a helmet on while his outfit carried a full battle gear that consisted of a combat vest, a large backpack (which had nothing inside!) along with miscellaneous items that made it appear as if Jin was so overly prepared that it encumbered him, making him useless in a fight. But it was just a costume and costumes was meant to exaggerate. He took off the Panda Head like how he did for Pandracula and addressed the masses. "As long as you have a ticket, you can now scan it with your Pandamonium App QR code capture and be teleported from anywhere within the shop instance compound. So you can do that from the Hot Spring instance, from the Restaurant Train Instance, from the Panda Muscle Instance, so on and so forth! This method is currently only implemented for the Goblin War Raid Instance. The rest of the other dungeon instances will follow within the next couple of days after we receive sufficient data from the servers to make it possible." Jin shouted as he looked at the time and day on the digital clock in the shop instance. "Ah crap, I have to change the interior decor to suit the November Mission." Jin placed a mental note to remove the Halloween decoration soon or else it would not fit the mood. Other than that, there were more questions coming from the floor when Jin spoke about the Goblin War Raid Instance. The customers were fighting to get an answer from Jin but they were doing that to pass the time for the event to start. "Why is this one called a Raid instance? How is it different from your other Dungeons?" A customer asked and Jin smirked at the incoming question. He instantly took out his phone and messaged the System to pull out a map of the goblin world, which was mostly centralised at the Gob Gob Kingdom. The map instantly turned into 3D and appeared at the top of the audience on an angle for better viewing to a large crowd. "This will be your battlefield. As some of you might have read in the mail I sent via the Pandamonium app, we will be fighting against Orcs while siding with the goblins. All cultivators will be inserted into the battlefield like special forces to stop pockets of the Orc invasion and completing various objectives." Jin explained and everyone immediately became very excited. This was the first time a dungeon supplier created a large scale battle for everyone. Even big names like King''s Monster could never do it. If Ke Loong were here, he would be pulling his hair our once more. (No doubt, Mr Know it All would notify him about the change of events in Jin''s store.) "The Dimensional Instance will teleport you to a certain location which will, in turn, send you wherever Orcs are bound to appear planning on attacking the goblins. So you might have missions like save the Goblin Villagers, Protect the Goblin Village, Stop the Orc Escorts, Ambush the Orcs, so on and so forth. For now the events are related to defensive manoeuvres. If the response for this Goblin War Raid Event is good, we might host offensive missions in the future." Jin elaborated and people started to discuss among themselves. "Once your objective is completed, you will earn a number of Raid points which can be exchanged for items. The Event Redemption Counter to collect loot is right over there. There will be Pandas to assist you in exchanging your points for items, medals and every other thing available." Jin added while pointing at the corner with a door that stated ''Event Redemption Counter''. He purposely made a room filled with babyish Panda AIs to aid the collection at the counter. As a nice little bonus, seeing all those Pandas should motivate a lot of his customers to aim for the Legendary Panda Plushie. (Which Jin created a few more to cater and entice the masses upon seeing Xiong Da''s and Ruo Ying''s reaction previously.) Some other customers had more questions but Jin interrupted them by saying that more will be revealed when they enter the instance in a minute''s time. Everyone including Xiong Da and the others had their hearts pumping since it seemed like this could turn out to be the largest event yet. While they were unaware how much Jin had to put in to make this work, Jin felt this was the fastest way to end the Goblin War and the only way to not just protect the goblin borders but ensure the orcs were being pushed back to their own regions. People were taking live videos describing how excited they were and posting them in the social network services and some were taking pictures of their preparations for the Goblin War Raid instances, indirectly promoting Jin''s shop even more. The clock ticked to 12 pm and each and every of the customers'' Pandamonium App was lit up, giving them access to the Raid Event. "THE EVENT STARTS NOW!!" Jin shouted at the top of his voice and even shot a firework from his fake grenade launcher to announce the start of the event. Everyone who had their tickets was immediately beamed off to the Goblin World with the help of the System. This is where the magic began, and also where half of the budget of his 10 million dungeon dollars was being spent on. Xiong Da, Ruo Ying, Bin Yong and Shi Zuo found themselves in a large cargo plane setting, having been teleported with many other cultivators. From the looks of it, it seemed like a military cargo plane which they saw in movies and the sound of propellers made their heart start pumping faster. Usually, such a setting would mean that they would be jumping off the plane, so would they have to do the same?! In any case, the group also realised that each of them had been equipped with a half mask based on their cultivation. Xiong Da had a half Hippo mask with teeth protruding out, Ruo Ying was wearing a white Egret half Mask with the beak angled downwards. Bin Yong had a half mask of the body of a beetle and though it looked like it blocked his vision, it was nothing like that. He could perfectly see through it and Shi Zuo had a comical monkey mask on instead of those serious ones like Ruo Ying''s and Bin Yong''s. "Comrades! Captain Hei will debrief you on the things to do! Have a seat at the side of the plane!" A large muscular Panda shouted and his combat vest had Bai written on his left chest tag. Bin Yong and Shi Zuo had played enough of Jin''s dungeons to notice that the Pandas that instructed them were usually Hei, Bai, and Hui. All they did was wear different outfits for different dungeon instances. In a way, it gave the cultivators a sense of familiarity with the muscular three leader pandas. When the group began to sit down, a holographic map appeared right beneath their legs, on the floor of the plane. It was similar to the map that Jin had shown but it was more detailed than the one in the Shop instance. The map was zoomed in to a region and it was concentrated to the size of a village. There were many various beeping colour markers on the holographic which the Captains told them that they represented different things. Greens were goblin military soldiers regardless of ranks hence allies. Whites were the innocents and civilians while the approaching reds were the enemies. Greys were some larger creatures, which should best be avoided, as they could turn hostile. Captain Hei also said that the cultivators were marked as Purples. "For the team that will be participating, you will be protecting the village from a company of Orcs attempting to pillage the village of their food stocks, wealth and manpower. We can not allow that. There are currently ten goblin militia defending the village behind the flimsy wooden walls but as you can see from the map, their enemies outnumber them ten to one. We would like to even the playing field a little so I am sending one team into that area. Who wants to do the honours?" Captain Hei asked and almost everyone put their hands up. "Heh, Pandawan Xiong Da, your group is far too seasoned to take this." Captain Bai commented and the two Panda Captains decided to choose another team. At that time a monster appeared from the direction of the cockpit. Most cultivators quickly recognised him as one of the Werejackals, to which everyone almost took their weapons out as part of an instinctive reaction. "Woah! Woah! Woah!" Werejackal Grey expected the reaction as predicted by Jin but he did not think it would be this fierce. "Put your weapons down! We told you, you would be hunting Orcs! Does he look anything like an Orc?!" The two Panda Captains commanded and everyone slowly lowered their weapons. "Is he not the enemy?" A male Deer masked cultivator asked while placing his weapon back to his storage ring. "Nope, all the monsters you had encountered in Jin''s dungeons will now serve as your guide and companions for this battle in case anything goes awry." Captain Bai replied as he formally introduced Grey which allowed everyone to relax. "Nice to meet you, I will be accompanying Team¡­ Alpha was it? Ah you! I remember you. You killed me with that fancy sword style!" Grey recognised the Deer masked cultivator and they did some small talk before the Panda Captains interrupted them. "Attention Team Alpha. Each of you wear this ring before you go down. Do not worry. The ring will fit all sizes." Hei started to pass the rings to Team Alpha and everyone examined the ring before putting it on. "This particular ring has multiple purposes. One, it will calculate the number of kills you''ve attained and the participation points for stronger orcs. Two, it will teleport you back to the shop instance when you are done. Three, it will also teleport you back when it senses that you are in critical danger, and most likely save you from a fatal blow. When it does that, it will also be game over for you. Points will then be calculated regardless if you complete the objective or not." Captain Hei explained. "Meanwhile, I will be there to assist in your fight too if necessary. I will not interfere for most of the fight but take it as I am the support if things go south. Else, I will be assisting the villagers to safety." Grey said and the five cultivators in Team Alpha acknowledged. "Alright, we will be reaching our destination soon. The rest of you listen up! Strap on to your seats! Team Alpha! See that platform over there? Move to there immediately!" Captain Bai commanded and everyone followed the Panda Captain''s orders. The five cultivators with Grey stood on an elevated platform which subsequently lit up red boxes under their feet. The red boxes blinked for five seconds and the cultivators within the red boxes on the elevated platform moved downwards. All of a sudden, a seat appear on each of the cultivator red boxes and pilot like seatbelts were blinking at the side, asking the cultivators to strap them on. However, the only one that did not follow was Grey. He held on to the platform bar and even ordered the cultivators to strap tight. Xiong Da and others who were at the side of the plane wondered why the strictness and then there were flashing lights and blaring sounds that indicated the opening the plane''s cargo ramp. "HOLY SHIT! ARE THOSE ALL C130s?!" Shi Zuo was shouting as he could not hear himself when the cargo ramp was fully opened to see multiple C130 planes flying in unison from the rear. The other cultivators were in awe by the authenticity of the whole dungeon experience, (If only they knew how real everything was¡­) that they did not realise the lights in the C130 turned from red to green. "GO GO GO GO!" Panda Captain Bai shouted while waving his hand and the platform in front of them was being slingshotted like a rock on a catapult out of the plane. That was when the others saw that the platform was flying with its own jet boosters at the back like those flying cars in the cartoon Jetsons less the awfully large spherical glass covering it. Grey was enjoying the wind as he manoeuvred the floating platform to their destination. Team Alpha experienced a huge scare at the start but their fears turned into enjoyment as the floating platform brought them closer to the village. That was when the C130 cargo ramp closed up and the holographic map appeared once more. The Panda Captains showed the remaining cultivators on board the other missions available. At that point, Captain Hei gave out the rest of the rings as they were deciding which mission to choose. While the Panda Captains had covered most of the capabilities of this simple looking metal ring, it would be doing more than what was explained, hiding the true abilities of the ring. That ring allowed the System to monitor the condition of all the cultivators in this particular world, making it a sort of monitoring and tracking device. It also made it possible for the System to determine if more reinforcements were needed to enter that particular region. However, that was not the main reason for having those rings. It was to ultimately alert Jin if the Avatars of Shaitan would be appearing on the battlefield. That was when Jin and his bellators would enter into the fray to fight against them. Who knows, maybe the other cultivators could finally see Jin in real action. Not only that, whatever monster the cultivators killed, the ring will enable them to be captured through the System''s powers. It might look like the orcs disappearing from the ''instance'' after dying and it would serve to reduce suspicion for the cultivators that were participating in it. In short, they would be doing Jin''s work while paying Jin to do it. Ingenious idea thought up by one of the Jins in High Intensity Mode and the System was more than happy to implement it. This ''Raid'' instance had been given the go ahead by King Sol and whatever advisors he had left after the ambush in the Goblin Castle. By using Ripcaller''s family connections to the Assassin Guild Network (mainly due to the fact that almost every village had an inn or pub), the goblin citizens were being informed that humanoids in half masks alongside various monsters would be coming down to protect the village and towns whenever possible. This gave the villagers and goblin citizens a certain awareness that they would be protected by these humanoids. However, not every goblin believed it since pubs were always filled with rumours. Hence, Jin partnered with King Sol and Que Er to send out Royal Decrees informing the goblin citizens of the current situation and the ''Raid'' instance solution that Jin proposed to reinforce the message sent by the Assassin guild network. Information transmission was a problem in such medieval ages and that was where the Magpie Queen stepped in. Que Er utilised her magical magpies to deliver the messages which travelled at the speed of the fastest bird on earth, the Peregrine Falcon at 386 km/h (240 mph) to deliver those messages. The town criers who recognised the Royal Decrees announced it to the villagers they were in and thus most of the news was spread within half a day. Many of the village and town''s militia had sufficient time to set up defences and every goblin took the initiative to prepare for war such as harvesting the food stock and conscription. Initially, King Sol was stunned by the help that Jin was providing and the arrival of Hou Fei was a more than welcome surprise. The Panda Remnant got Sword General Gladios to assemble the best marksmen in the army and taught them how to use the weapons. General Gladios always wanted to have a magical projectile weapon similar to what General Argent was carrying but he felt it was too far fetched since they killed the Head researcher and his assistants during the Goblin Rebellion. The goblins had been unable to retrieve any important information because the Head Researcher managed to initiate a self destruct sequence before his death. However, with Hou Fei entering the picture, the goblin marksmen were able to get the hang of the new weapons quickly. He even taught them the basis of reloading the right way. (Some of the goblins nearly had their thumbs dislocated because of the impact of the reloading mechanism of the M1 Garand rifle. However, the System already tried to modify the weird reloading design and it was less painful than Hou Fei remembered.) Firing requires ammunition and those and more rifles were later brought in by the zombies in batches. Meanwhile, the defending goblins were practising all day and night firing the guns. Hou Fei even introduced paintball exercise to make them learn to fight against each other, and of course, the highest scorer had the entitlement to operate the M2 Browning heavy machine gun. The marksmen goblins turned fanatical the moment they saw the heavy machine gun in action and every one of them vowed to be the best. "More will come in, your Majesty. In no time, your goblin kingdom should turn out to be the most advanced kingdom in this world, all thanks to my young master." Hou Fei bowed with courtly etiquette, something he learnt during his stint in the Royal Zodiac Snake family. ¡ª¡ª- "Alright, Xiong Da! Finally, I found a mission worthy of your team. Don''t worry. In terms of points, you will definitely get more than you''d expect. We saved the best for last. Let''s just say it''s a special for our regular customers." Captain Bai winked his eye and Xiong Da finally released a big sigh. "About time! I thought you guys purposely ignored us." Xiong Da complained half seriously as he still did not let go of the ultimate goal of getting the Big Panda Plushie. Even Ruo Ying and the rest were getting restless. As Panda Hei was about to explain the mission, there was a portal appearing and two familiar figures came out of it, panting madly. "Why did you two not tell us that this was a special event?!?!" Luo Bo with her Rabbit half mask smacked both Bin Yong and Shi Zuo''s head and she demanded Jia Le to follow suit. Jia Le did not dare to beat Shi Zuo''s head but instead gave double the punishment to Bin Yong after adjusting her bellflower mask. (Shi Zuo went to comfort Bin Yong afterwards.) "Looks like this will be a fun group to enter with." Zhi Nu, the Immortal Weaver came from the direction of the C130 cockpit and introduced herself to be the support monster of the group. Jia Le waved happily towards Zhi Nu, seeing a familiar monster which Bin Yong and her had encountered and sided with. Their interaction was cut short by Panda Hei who gave a brief summary of what was happening to Luo Bo and Jia Le. "Your objective, Team Hippo is to assist and hold the frontlines for half a day if possible. The elite goblin flying unit, Dashing Wyverns will be there commanded by one of their famous Goblin Generals in the kingdom alongside with Piercestriker. Although you should know him as our very own ''Spear Goblin''." Captain Bai explained and everyone who played enough of Jin''s dungeon could never forget that little spear goblin. "The Goblins and you need to stall the invading Orc army for the main goblin army to arrive in about half a day to the bordering town of Gob Gob Bu. Only competent Pandawans will be allowed in this main fight because of the danger it poses as well as the strategic value the town possesses. More Pandawans should most likely arrive later as reinforcement but your group will be first to enter and assist with the fight." Captain Bai added as he beckoned them to come to him as he showed them an unopened crate. "Just for you guys. Pick your poison." Captain Bai used a crowbar nearby and pried open the crate revealing a series of temporary offensive, defensive and support inscriptions and high quality chi potions which would have cost them tens of Panda medals. "Courtesy from our boss. Part of the reason why you guys are the last team and we could not let the other customers see this. It''d seem totally unfair to them. Regardless, choose fast. ETA five minutes." Captain Bai sniggered and Team Hippo quickly chose their inscriptions and potions. Because Xiong Da had worked with Bin Yong and the others, he roughly knew the team dynamics of the group and recommended certain inscriptions to specific individuals of the team. While this was going on, Captain Hei took a sledgehammer and crashed it into a lock of a large metal crate which caught the group''s attention. The reveal of the contents in the metal crate was equally amazing but Luo Bo who was a frequent buyer noticed that they were stock products from the Weapon shop. "Yes, Luo Bo. If you wish to restock your arrows, you can do so here. The price is the same as the Weapons Store but the range of items are limited. Boss Jin felt this selection would be best unless you have any specific requests, we can bring it in later during your fight." Captain Hei told her and added that only competent Pandawans in limited events were allowed to have this feature. "I see, I will get some of these arrows and would like to request the following." Luo Bo took out her phone and started browsing her notes. It turned out she had detailed the kind of arrows in various dungeon scenarios. She had also predicted that Boss Jin would be doing a large scale scenario and had prepared accordingly with the stock in the Weapons Store. (She browsed the various stores Jin had in her Pandamonium app when she was bored, especially the Armour Store where they sold almost every other apparel in the net.) "Ah, I understand. Sure I will add them to the airdrop supply crate if you guys can survive for at least an hour or two." Captain Hei noted the purchase and the transaction were all done with the Pandamonium app. Even Jia Le bought certain special kunais and slotted it into her side leg pocket. The rest were quite satisfied with the current weaponry they were carrying. "Alright ETA 1 minute. Get to the platform, hurry hurry!" Captain Bai banged on the side of the plane and the standard blaring sounds of the plane''s alarm system went off. The members of Team Hippo assembled themselves on the next elevated platform that appeared from the floor of the plane. "Let''s kick some Orc butt." Xiong Da was eager to start as he adjusted his belt. "Ass, you mean." Luo Bo corrected him as she saw the cargo ramp opening from the C130 plane. "Language!" Zhi Nu shouted, which Luo Bo conveniently ignored because of the awe of the high skies and the wind that was blowing towards her. The platform was shot out of the C130 plane and towards the valley town of Gob Gob Bu. Chapter 334 Orc Scout Party "General Argent, look up there!" One of the Wyvern Riders was wiping his sweat as he pointed to the where they saw a floating platform being dropped by a large metallic bird. Everyone stopped their digging for a moment and watched it drop down towards them. The goblin riders were elite warriors, yet not one of them thought that this dirty manual work of digging shell scrapes was beneath them, since they all understood how important it was for the upcoming battle. It was not intended for them but for the incoming goblin army which might have some use to it. One might ask what a small company of 50 goblins could do to contribute to the upcoming battle? Why were they wasting their strength for shell scrapes which were equivalent to graves? The answer was to present some sort of goblin military force presence when there was none to begin with against the incoming Orc army. To show that the goblins were at least prepared in their defences and not to be underestimated by the Orcs. Yet at the same time, showing weakness while holding on to the surprise element of the flying units. This should give Orcs the perception the goblins could be crushed easily causing them to be more reckless and careless when the goblins actually had a trick under their sleeves. The Dashing Wyverns and the incoming cultivators were at least 400-500 metres away from the bordering town of Gob Gob Bu and the militia in that area had already started evacuating the innocents away from the fight. The militia was also commanded by General Argent to shored up defences by creating the makeshift barricades in the town in case the Dashing Wyverns could not delay the Orcs. The wyverns, those flying lizards were on standby at least 50 metres away based on the mind to mind connection that they had with their riders. It was part of General Argent''s plan to use the wyverns as a surprise element against the orcs but whenever the riders needed the Wyverns to swoop in, it would be possible to connect to them from such a distance. General Argent also dropped his shovel and looked up as the floating platform slowed down. Similar to Jin, these humanoids were wearing the masks of animals. Most jumped off the floating metallic platform except for one who was standing at the side holding a bar. Her clothes closely resembled the style of the eastern goblins and she was wearing a full pure white mask compared to the others. Argent was aware that they were humans according to Jin but he kept the promise of hiding the fact that such reinforcements assisted the goblins. Piercestriker placed his shovel down in the earth and greeted the cultivators and proceeded to chat with them. His father watched the son, who did not seem to care that those were humans and Argent realised that his son most likely had seen more than what this world had to offer. (He did not know Piercestriker travelled to more than one world.) "Master Jin brought you guys to the front line?" Piercestriker asked while Zhi Nu requested him for his spear as he conversed with the cultivators. "Yeah, Mission briefing said that the orcs might be coming soon. We assume it''s the scouting group that is ahead of the main Orc Army." Xiong Da replied while surveying the surrounding valleys. It was definitely a good spot for the orcs to flank them if they caught on fast else it was definitely a viable spot for the goblin army to hide and ambush orcs. This particular valley seemed to be a double edged sword. "There seem to be two scouts per team approaching on each side of the cliffs. The rest of the scouting party are approaching from the centre." Shi Zuo took out his phone to check the map of the current region via the Pandamonium app. "The usual I guess? Bin Bin and Jia Jia as a team to the left, me and lazy monkey Shi Zuo will be moving to the right." Luo Bo suggested and they agreed to leave Xiong Da, a heavy hitter, at the centre with Ruo Ying. "It''d best to not let them see the wyverns this early. We want to appear weak in our defences, so that we can surprise them later on." Argent shared his opinion with Team Hippo and they nodded their heads in acknowledgment. "We will try our best to deter and if possible kill them." Bin Yong said as he started to sprint forth to the left. "Do you need me to follow any of them, Father?" Piercestriker asked and he shook his head. "You can defend the frontline with us for now. We will be ready to intercept at a moment''s notice." Argent patted his son''s back while Zhi Nu had been making some adjustments to Piercestriker''s spear returned it to him. "Master Jin noticed that your spear was in poor condition after the fight against the Black Disaster. He requested me to come here to repair it. Master Jin wanted me to give this to you, too. " Zhi Nu said as she passed a shorter one handed spear to the son of the Spear General. She had temporarily repaired the spear by weaving her strings on the damaged areas of the spear. (Especially the area which was nearly broken by the halberd strike by Nubwort, the Black Disaster.) Her strings were as tough, if not stronger than modern metal compositions, sewn at the damaged area of the spear. She was able to do it skilfully due to much accumulated experience in that regard. Zhi Nu had been utilising this skill to repair the metal armour plates of Mechataur and hence its armour plating was able to withstand the repeated attacks of the mechanical spider it fought in the Dungeon World. However, even Jin was surprised that she could weave metal as easy as weaving cloth, her potential was deemed limitless by doing that and he wondered if her metal weaving could be infused into clothes, strengthening them while still remaining flexible enough. The spear that Piercestriker received seemed to have a mechanical component to it and upon closer inspection, it looked like a duplicate form of the Gearbox enhanced spear that Piercestriker haphazardly put together during the fight against the Black Disaster. The System had copied the data of the fight and already placed it into production. However to facilitate prolong use, it made it slightly lighter and shorter as compared to the current one that Piercestriker was holding. "As a spare." Zhi Nu said but in actual fact, the System was rewarding Piercestriker for a job well done. The gearbox spear could be shortened to the length of a baton and Piercestriker placed it at his waist as a backup weapon while he heard rumbling noises from afar. "Get into position!" General Argent told his goblins as he too hid himself except for the two masked humanoids. "Ahhh these humans!" Argent thought to himself as he assisted the goblins with sheets of camouflage that they obtained from the bordering town of Gob Gob Bu. "It''s okay, we will be the decoy. Besides, I need to exercise some steam off from work." Xiong Da told the concerned general. Argent nodded his head reluctantly since they did not follow the plans and hid under the sheet of camouflage while pointing his gun towards the front. The rest of the company had their crossbows lock and loaded, ready to fire at a moment notice. The Orc scouting party was travelling at a fast speed on their war boars to see two large humanoid figures at the centre of the road. The party immediately assumed those two were travellers. "A bulky male and a slender female with chains on her hands ahead. Probably a slave. What should we do Leader?" One of the scout orcs asked their leader for their next actions while slowing their war boars a little. "Heh, what else? Kill the man, grab the girl and enjoy a little break before announcing our arrival to the town of Gob Gob Bu. We have been travelling without entertainment for a long time." The leader answered as he licked his lips looking at the slender but well toned legs and butt from afar. "Urgh, somehow I can feel an extremely lecherous vibe from the orcs." Ruo Ying shivered a little and Xiong Da sniggered. She knew how others had looked at her with Xiong Da and talked behind their back. She could even sense those prying eyes looking at her body without any reserve which made her feel very uncomfortable. Previously when she was with Ji Ao rarely anyone dared to look at her that way. After all it was known that her criminal then boyfriend crippled those who did. Xiong Da was not the type to resort to such means. However, Xiong Da gave her personal coaching with regards to confidence by assisting her with her cultivation style on a daily basis after their honeymoon. Due to the busy work schedule both of them shared, they did not necessarily take part in Jin''s dungeons but the both of them made an effort to train and exercise at least an hour each day together. This made Ruo Ying able to face others with more confidence. Not to mention she was reassured through these training that she had a rather fierce bodyguard with her all the time. He might not look the part, but she had witnessed the capabilities of her enraged Hippo. "Hmph! How dare they try to ogle and feast on my girl''s image." Xiong Da turned his snigger to a smirk as he fetched his warclub from his storage ring and swung it over his shoulder. "War Club Art, Hippo Ground Pounding Smash!" Xiong Da roared as his chi was released from his body and was felt by almost every goblin hiding. They never felt such strong magical aura from what seemed to be a warrior. (Mainly because Jin had yet to reveal his own chi aura to them in the previous fight.) "Darling I cannot let you do all the work. Chain Art, Void Strike of The Egret!" Ruo Ying said with a smile on her face. The chains on her hands unrolled and unlike Xiong Da who was waiting for the Orcs to come closer, Ruo Ying''s Void Strike enabled the chains to extend magically at fast speeds, striking the legs of the unlucky war boars. This caused the front few orcs to fall forward while most of the remaining scouting party managed to manoeuvre their war boars in time to prevent a direct crash. The Orcs flew forward from the crash. They entered the range of Xiong Da''s war club and with a simple descend, their bodies were utterly crushed under the weight of the weapon. Bloody and bone fragments scatter around the surroundings and Xiong Da shook his war club to remove the excess remains that stuck to his weapon. The Orcs on the war boars immediately surrounded them after what had happened and they gave out a war cry as if to avenge their fallen comrades. But it was actually a signal to the nearby scouts at the cliffs to provide support. Unfortunately, there was no response and Xiong Da could only laugh loudly when his phone started to ring. There was apparently a voice chat in the Pandamonium App which he did not know until now when he picked up to answer the phone. "Left All Clear." Bing Yong whispered into the phone as he kept his presence hidden to the scouting party in the centre of the valley. "Right Clear too. Bash away Hippo." Luo Bo was still used to calling them by their code names for anonymity sake when she joined in the group voice chat. The Orc Scout Leader realised that someone or something had silenced their men on the cliffs. However it did not matter at the moment. Right now, he felt insulted that he was bested by some fat adventurer with his slave chained girl. "Let me pla- erm no let me punish them. Hippo." Ruo Ying slammed her chains down and her Hippo stepped aside to enjoy the upcoming showcase of her skills (Technically he couldn''t really move anywhere else since they surrounded them.) "If that slave girl wants to fight us then so be it. Show her what us mighty Orcs can really do!" The leader of the Orc scouting party shouted and ordered the front two orcs to charge towards her. "Maybe, you should not tell me which Orc is moving towards me. Makes the thing a little less of a challenge that way." Ruo Ying rolled her chains up to her arms while making sure it was tightened and waited for the two orcs on war boars to charge with their spears pointing at her. "It is all about the timing!" Ruo Ying immediately used her two open palms to intercept the incoming spears. Her Esthetical Egret Style allowed her to elegantly move between the two spears while her command of chi enabled the chains to wrap the spear poles like a snake. By intercepting the spears, she made use of the incoming kinetic force and Ruo Ying leaped into the air to prevent herself from colliding with the war boars. The chains that wrapped around the spears held on tight, causing the spears following the direction of Ruo Ying''s leap. The orcs who were holding on their spears tightly found their hands being pushed upwards because of the sudden entrapment by the chains of Ruo Ying. After which, the change in momentum made the orcs fall backwards but the war boars were still charging on towards Xiong Da who used the war clubs to slam them to one side. The scout leader did not stay idle not wanting to see his comrades die in front of him. He stood on his war boar and leapt towards Ruo Ying but she pulled on the chains that were still being wrapped with the spear while using her leg to push the arm of the orc away from the spear. Like a whip, she unleashed the chains with the spear wrapped around towards the leaping Orc scout leader and used her chi to untangle the spear, granting the spear freedom to approach the enemy with no mercy. "You underestimate me!" The Orc Scout Leader deflected the incoming spear and the subsequent one which Ruo Ying threw later. However, this broke his leaping charge and he was on equal ground with Ruo Ying. "Let''s see how you deal with melee attacks!" The Orc Scout Leader purposely threw his sword to her as a distraction while rushing in to attack at close range, disabling the chain''s potential. "Have you not learnt yet?" Ruo Ying now focused her chi again and this time she activated the temporary inscription she chose during the mission debriefing in the C130 plane. The temporary inscription enabled her to have more control with her chains, making it straight and work like batons with which she clobbered the unarmed orc. Yet, the orc did not flinch and pushed forward attempting to throw a jab to her abdomen area. If not for her Egret Style, she would have been unable to evade it properly. That made her realise that he might have some physical resistance with his tough skin. The Orc Scout Leader grinned quietly as he increased the pressure by throwing even more punches towards Ruo Ying. "Stepping in." Xiong Da sent a voice transmission to Ruo Ying as he felt this was not the time to suffer any wounds for Ruo Ying if they were to stay here for half a day. Ruo Ying acknowledged the intention and hurled her chains towards Xiong Da''s war club. He then pulled her in time before a punch could connect yet at that moment, the lethal force of the blow left a deep scratch at her shoulder. "This Humanoids only look tough, they still blee-" A sudden impact was felt at his side as the Orc Scout Leader was trying to boast. Nonetheless, he managed to block in barely in time and understood that the bird masked girl used the change of momentum to throw the war club at him. The throw was not that painful and it was still tolerable by his high physical resistance until the Fat guy disappeared. In actual fact, he sped himself up fast with chi and grabbed onto his war club to finish the job. "This is what you deserve for injuring my girl!" The bloodlust eminating out from Xiong Da was intense as he grappled the Orc Scout Leader with his bare hands to the ground and slugged the war club into his face. The Orc Scout leader managed to cover with his hands. Hoping that his metal gloves would protect him, but the impact made him quickly regret it. His arms were broken beyond repair and his metal plated gloves were bent along with his bones. The other remaining Scout Orcs rushed towards Xiong Da as they attempted to save their Orc Leader but three of the Scout Orcs were killed almost in an instant before Xiong Da or Ruo Ying could touch them. A Kunai, an arrow and a magical shot which dissipated the entire head away had done them in. After which a volley of arrows suddenly shot out from the ''ground'', making sure the rest of scouting party were killed except for one. The remaining Orc was not killed but strung up by Zhi Nu before the attack began. "Looks like our goblin allies and friends backed us up." Xiong Da smiled while he returned his full attention to the Orc Scout Leader and slammed his war club into its face. Seeing that the situation calmed down, the goblins had come out of the camouflage sheets and looked at the captured Orc scout that they spared. General Argent then commanded his goblins to put the Orc Remains on stakes and placed them at the front as a sign of provocation and warning. (Apparently, the System noted the situation from the monitoring rings the cultivators were wearing and had not processed the bodies for capture yet. In the worst case scenario, the System would just ignore those corpse as there were many more to choose from.) The Orc who was tied like he was spider food began to squirm when Xiong Da approached him along with the still freshly bloodied war club. "Tell us more about you guys. The size of your force? Who is leading you? And how much time until the main force arrives! Any unfavourable answer will lead this club to a particular extremity of your body." Xiong Da threatened him while pointing to his legs and arms. "I will say! I will say!" The Orc was surprisingly easy to break but considering what he had seen, he''d rather live than be subjected to such cruelty. "The Thunder Army is being led by the Exalted Avatar of Syldra, the Purple Thunder. All our superiors have been equipped with thunder related equipment." He figured that confessing to these goblins and humanoids who were rumoured to be kind was his best choice to keep his life. Despite their threats they would surely let their prisoners live after getting the information. Besides, what could they possibly do in the short time until the main force arrives.. Their destiny would be to die in the hands of the Thunder Army. "Anything else?" Xiong Da asked and the Orc swore that he was just a cog in the Orc machinery and knew nothing more. General Argent wanted his men to perform some quick interrogation techniques but Ruo Ying stopped them. "It is fine. Let him go." Xiong Da said as he looked at General Argent and they unwilling let him off. The Orc thanked them openly but secretly cursed them at the bottom of his heart as he took his war boar and started to run away. "Luo Bo, finish him." The Pandamonium App Voice Chat was still on and Xiong Da used his phone like a walkie talkie. "Was waiting for you to say that." Luo Bo took a special arrow she had bought previously and aimed at the back of the running Orc. Despite the speed the War Boar was going, Luo Bo''s Illusive Rabbit style gave her the intuition to predict how much pull was needed to shoot a precise shot. "The main army is about 1km away and the speed the war boar is travelling¡­I''d say set it at 175 seconds." Shi Zuo was at her side doing some rough calculations via the Pandamonium Map App. "Okay, Timer set. Shooting." Luo Bo adjusted certain parts of the arrow and later increased the position of her current bow angle higher so that she could achieve a longer range and nock her bow with the special arrow before loosing it. The arrow was slung over the cliffs and it pierced the war boar, causing it to grunt and huff. The escaping Orc laughed at his fortune while steadying his war boar and continued to run towards the main orc army. "Luo Bo, did you just miss?" Xiong Da who entrusted Luo Bo for doing her job, was shocked that she was not able to kill the Orc Scout before it got away. Heck this was the first time he had ever seen her miss her target so far. "Ahh, young Pandawan, you have no sense of war tactics." Luo Bo teased him over the voice chat and that was when Jia Le got worked up. "Rabbit! Did you use that arrow?!" Jia Le asked over her phone with amazement and Luo Bo could only laugh. "Indeed! It was exactly one of the scenarios we talked about during lunch break!" Luo Bo guffawed and Shi Zuo shook his head in dismay. "Why do I continue to fall for this girl." He thought to himself as he explained the entire thing to the rest of the confused group until they finally understood what Luo Bo had done. "Oh my, you are one terrifying archer." Ruo Ying meant that as a compliment and Luo Bo took it as such although the others understood the underlying meaning. "In any case, your group has successfully allowed us not to sustain any causalities and showed some of your abilities. I am thoroughly impressed and no doubt the comrades of the Panda Master, if I get the animal correctly. My son told me otherwise." General Argent praised with some relief in his tone. "However if it really is the Thunder Army we will have to fight then these shell scrapes are for naught. Unfortunately my Dashing Wyverns have the worst compatibility fighting against magical thunder units. I was assuming we would be against the Wind Army since the Avatar of Garuda would surely wish for revenge." Argent was talking but only the goblins understood what he meant and not the cultivators. "What is this avatar thing?" Xiong Da asked and General Argent remembered that these comrades might not know about it too, so he explained them as High ranking generals like him with mighty magical powers. Meanwhile, the rest of the cultivators regrouped to the centre of the valley too. "If you are unable to fight against the incoming army, do we need to retreat to the border town since they have fortifications?" Bin Yong suggested and General Argent agreed that would be a good choice. "Technically, the plan was to delay them as much as possible. If the Thunder Army reaches the border town, well the result is still¡­" Argent began discussing certain plans with his captain and the cultivators while he sent out a Wyvern messenger to check how far their own reinforcement army was. The Dashing Wyverns had pledged to fight to the death but Argent felt uneasy. If possible, he did not wish to waste this particularly elite company of his. They had been with him for years and the potential for them in the upcoming campaign was vast. "I have already notified Master Jin about the current developments, he said that he would send more reinforcements on our way as well and he has prepared some surprises ¡­oh wow that was fast." Zhi Nu was informing the cultivators when they heard a C130 plane flying low to drop something off. It was a fairly large supply crate and most of them had to make way for the crate to land properly on the ground. Once it landed, they removed the parachute as quickly as possible and noticed that there was a note stuck at the side of the crate. "Have fun with this! This is the first one ever field in this raid dungeon and you guys have the opportunity to be the pioneers of using it. Very user friendly to use, the controls are rather automated once you get the hang of it. I made sure that even a goblin can pilot it with sufficient training! DO NOT LET THE ORCS HAVE IT or I will personally deduct all your points! Or maybe panda medals ¨C Jin." "What is it inside that made him so agitat- WOOOOW!" Bin Yong went mad when the crate automatically opened from all sides once they removed the note. Inside it was a M4 Sherman Tank from the World War 2 Era. Team Hippo never thought they would ever be driving something like this at all. At best they assumed if there was one in the field, it most likely be an NPC. "Holy shit! We are going to drive and fight in that?! This might really change the course of the battle¡­wait a minute this is made of metal right?! Aren''t we gonna be fried like roasted meat when the Thunder Army uses their -" Bin Yong hyped the thing and subsequently got dejected because of the Thunder Army. Yet, he got interrupted by Zhi Nu, saying that Master Jin had already taken that into account. "Look here." Zhi Nu pressed on the metal plating and an inscription glowed all over the tank in blue. That feeling the aura emitted and the design of the inscription was no doubt the exact same resemblance of a thunder resistance inscription. Just a lot larger in size. However, what amused the group more was the side of the metal plating. It had stickers of cartoonish animals of their style. The egret, monkey and rabbit were standing on the hippo while at the side of the hippo, there was a bellflower and a beetle holding on it. A very innocent looking sticker on a fearsome war machine. "What is this metal thing? Some lost technology similar to those flying metal birds?" The goblin captain of the Dashing Wyvern asked with curiosity and some fear of the unknown. "This." Xiong Da slammed his hand on the metal plating and it made an echoing sound. "This baby right here will delay the incoming Thunder Army that you are so scared of." Xiong Da smiled as he began formulating a quick battle plan with the Dashing Wyvern Captain and General Argent. The rest explored the functions of the M4 Sherman Tank, which they dubbed the ''Mastodon." Separately, the Orc Scout that was rushing back to the main army was delighted that the Goblin and humanoids were stupid enough to let him leave. He purposely left the arrow on the war boar to show that he did not desert his unit and that he was injured. Fleeing while healthy was a war crime, but falling back after receiving an injury was still honorable. The closer he got to the main army, the more he tried to look injured and scared. "LET ME THROUGH! I HAVE IMPORTANT INTEL!" The Orc scout shouted to announce as he was the sole survivor. The frontlines marching broke their formation slightly to allow the scout to run past them and to their commander. "What exactly happened?! Where is your entire group?" A higher ranking officer was shouting his questions even before the Orc Scout could stop his war boar and get off it. "Sir, I am afraid I have bad things to rep-." The Scout Orc pretend to pant a bit even though he was on the war boar all along. "Obviously! Your entire group is missing! Stop wasting my time!" The officer shouted back at the Orc Scout and it was visible the rest of the orcs were busybody as they tried to inch closer to listen to the conversation while still being in formation. The other Orc officers noticed it ordered them to stay in formation while approached the Orc Scout to listen to what he got to say. "There was little goblin presence but -" The Orc Scout got down from his war boar and accidentally broke the arrow that was on the War Boar. All of a sudden, there was a loud booming explosion that took out the officers and the Orc Scout along with the Orcs around them. The rest stood there were horrified. Was there a long range fire magician around the corner?! The Orc magicians immediately started their sensor magic while the frontline orcs immediately went into a fighting stance. Most of the normal orcs involved in the explosion became pieces and one or two heavily armour orcs survived the blast. All of the high ranking officers wore armour with magical defence which was able to withstand the blast but a number of them still lost arms or legs from the sudden bombing. The Orc Healers hurried but the initial confusion caused delay resulting a few officers to die from the loss of blood especially from the legs. This explosion had indeed crippled the chain of command of the advancing Thunder Army. Luo Bo initially just wanted the orc scout to explode near the main army to create chaos. If she were to find out that her explosion killed multiple high ranking officers all at once which would cause the main Thunder Army to delay their advance, she would be boasting to the group for months to come. Chapter 335 Qiu Yues Return Jin was in the Dungeon Maker continuing to monitor the fights via a large interactive map console that showed what was happening to regions at the border and in Gob Gob Kingdom. His monsters were spread as much as possible with every team being accompanied so that he could obtain a better grasp of the situation. They were his proxies keeping an eye on the cultivators to make sure they did not harbour stupid ideas like looting the area or hitting innocent goblins, while at the same time capable of providing additional firepower for the cultivators. Things were looking good at the moment. He noticed the Orcs so far had employed raiding and pillaging tactics where the Orc Lower Command sent in a few orcs to attack the villages and run away with whatever they could carry. It brought fear to the citizens in the village, reducing their morale and resources. Sometimes, the Orcs would even set the towns on fire to increase the property damage. Luckily with Jin officially joining and assigning the cultivators, they could prevent such things from repeating too much. Yet, no matter how Jin viewed the current situation, the main concern was the incoming army from the north while most of the others were pockets of orc raiders meant to cause trouble while stocking up on resources for the main army. It was also meant to divert attention away from the main crux of the problem (The army from the north), but it seemed that the Generals and Jin noticed that and had begun preparations for that. General Gladios had been pushing their advance goblin army to the hardest to reach the northern valleys and felt relieved and contended that he had Jin and his ''comrades'' to handle the Orc Raiders. However, Jin''s assignments involving the protection of the villages and other missions were expensive in terms of upkeep. Yet, so far it did not manage to match the cost for the black market''s remote space satellite. Thankfully the high tech piece had come as a bargain due to the sales of the Gearboxes which allowed them to forge certain connections with other worlds. Peppers had helped calculate the ideal position for the System to place the remote space satellite which provided them with full coverage of the current situation. This, in turn, helped them with the sortie that involved dozens of C130 military planes flying unhindered. Well, mostly. There were a couple instances of flying monsters who interfered with the C130s. Fortunately, there had been cultivators able to engage with those flying creatures at the top of the C130s misinterpreting those attacks as part of the ''raid'' event. Afterwards, Jin quickly asked the System to remodel the existing C130s and to equip them with M2 Browning machine gun (Not the best for anti air guns available but budget constraints¡­ The Flak guns were too big to be placed on the plane.) Hence, there were new missions created for such cases. However, Jin was also at a loss despite the wide net of surveillance that he had running right now. He was able to start and propel the war up but he needed some advice on how to continue. Right now, they could continue defending for some time but the war could not be won this way especially when they had too many enemies on many fronts to outlast them. What about the continuation of food production? Jin could do something with the help of the System by buying food from the Interdimensional Market. However, to supply for the whole country, he could sustain that for a week at most. Any more than that and he would be out of budget. What was worse if the Market would suspect shortage and increase its food prices accordingly. He desperately needed competent advice on how to proceed though he already had three people in mind. Ming, Moloch and Qiu Yue. Moloch had proven to Jin that he had the expertise in commanding an army during the Ruined Dungeon where they managed to rope Slug Wolte into his team. But had he really gone through a full scale war from the start to the end? Jin remembered that Moloch said he was just Lord and nothing more. "I have a suspicion on why you have called me here. Before you ask. No can do. This is way beyond me. Best I can do is help you out if you give me some fortification defence scenarios. That way you can focus on other tasks at hand." Moloch had appeared in the Dungeon Maker upon the System''s summoning. "You sure you can handle it? The last time I remember I kind of defeated you." Jin kindly reminded him about the Minotaur Fortress in the Dungeon World. "What bullshit?! I was merely curious about you. That''s the only reason. If I really wanted you gone, I would have been more aggressive and revealed my entire hand to you." Moloch looked at the map before he disappeared. "Call me if you have a castle to defend." Jin sighed and reviewed his other candidates. Ming and Qiu Yue. Jin initially considered Hou Fei too, but given a choice, between Hou Fei and Ming, Jin would definitely ask his grandfather for advice. He was after all promoted to a General in his time. On the other hand, Hou Fei had experiences in a unit and not as an overseer of every aspect of the military. Nevertheless, his choice leaned more towards Ming but there was no way to contact him unless he entered into a trance with his cultivation. Perhaps, Jin could ask for general overall advice since Ming would not be able to react to any significant changes in real time. "Actually, if you need to speak to him, I can assist you with that. In fact, I can lend him my eyes and he can see through them." Kraft offered. "But I can only keep that up for a while since this is rather power consuming. So at most, it can last up to ten minutes per day. No more than that. And that''s without mentioning the bad feeling of having to let that geezer occupy my mind." Kraft added and Jin guessed it could prove useful, but more of a ''in a pinch'' kind of situation- All that was left was Qiu Yue. Qiu Yue was the most brilliant game tactician he had come to know. When he thought back on their time together, she was always seemed to enjoy those 4X strategy games which comprised of running a kingdom. The objectives of creating the kingdom mostly relied on four aspects. Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate'' (4X) and she had been a genius in all aspects. For Qiu Yue the games proved to be a kind of relaxation as well as a brain teaser. She had fought against not just him but even defeated a lot of top tier players online. At that time she had even garnered a small following and was dubbed as the Princess of 4X in the forums and streamers (Although, there was a star player that she could never beat.). This inadvertently made Jin fall for her even harder especially when he had found out that Qiu Yue had not played any of these kinds of games until she met him. (Guess, that means she''s a natural talent for it.) Unfortunately after university, her work was far too important and left her with little to no time to play these kinds of games and until recently Jin never met up or heard of her in the forums since then. At the moment Jin very much wished to contact her but he had promised that he would allow her to finish her previous job before coming here. "But it''s a Saturday¡­does she think¡­Nevermind." Jin thought to himself and hesitated for a bit of time, but it was just a convenient excuse he thought up to try to call her. "Even so, this is not a game, its a real war. Calling her in would not help much¡­I think?" Jin tried to reason to himself logically but then his hands and hearts somehow did not follow what his mind was thinking and began typing in Mechat. Before he knew it, he had already typed a long message and he was contemplating to press the send button. Suddenly, a notification appeared on the dungeon console which made him look up but also caused him to press the send button accidentally. "Hmm, so Team Hippo requires some assistance¡­and this new information¡­ Maybe I should send in the customised M4 Sherman Tank which Hou Fei gave me the blueprints this morning as an experiment." Jin thought to himself and got so engrossed with the current situation at hand that he had forgotten about the message he typed. (Lies! He tried to ignore it as much as possible.) Jin pressed a few buttons on the Dungeon Maker control console and a modification screen appeared. He intentionally added a heavy duty thunder resistance inscription, meant to be able to last against anything under Grade 10 Thunder magical attack throughout the whole tank. He then noticed half a million dungeon dollars was reduced from his current electronic wallet. "Hope that will be worth it," Jin muttered as he called for the nearest C130 to transport the M4, making it more realistic and impactful than just teleporting it into the battlefield. Out of the blue, his phone was ringing and he was contemplating ignoring it only to realise that the number was none other than Qiu Yue. "Shit did I accidentally press the send button?" Jin panicked but on the other hand, he did not want to miss this opportunity. "What''s the situation now? Jin, you cannot send me such a bomb and leave things with that! You did not answer any of my messages after you sent that message!" Qiu Yue asked with a hurried voice as if she was panting on the phone. "I urgh. Erm. A lot of small skirmishes which seem to be handled¡­ Oh and also the main Orc army is uhh engaging soon I think?" Jin fumbled in his conversation before he took a deep breath and tried to sort his thought, before he asked properly. "Where are you now? Do you have some time to help out? I can simply teleport you to my place as long as there is no one around you." Jin offered bluntly. "What?!?! You should have told me sooner! I was running with my heels on!! Hold on, let me go to a more secluded area." Qiu Yue responded while Jin asked if the System could trace where Qiu Yue was. "According to the call tracing, it appears that Qiu Yue''s currently located in the Shenzhen International Airport." The System stated and shortly after Qiu Yue gave the go ahead to get to him. Jin requested the System to teleport her. In mere seconds Qiu Yue appeared flustered with her large luggage beside her. "You were going for a business trip?" Jin asked with a bit of embarrassment as she was dressed very formally. Qiu Yue was still catching her breath as she took her coat and placed it over the chair while unbuttoning a few buttons on her sleeves and chest to release the heat from running. Her heels too as she unzipped her luggage to take a pair of sneakers out. From her coat, she took out a band to tie her hair while taking her glasses from her handbag. However, while she was doing all these, she was already studying the large map that was in front of Jin. (Meanwhile, Jin was staring at her nonstop since her beauty was unmatched as before.) "Tell me the details; everything you know." Qiu Yue did not answer the first question and got to the more pressing topic immediately. Jin told her whatever he knew and since she was a bit of a geek herself, she roughly understood the concept of the Avatars of Shaitan and the whole Orc and Goblin war. "Seriously, your thinking and habits did not change. You always do band aid stuff, trying to fix all the small stuff that you forget about the big overall picture. Give me some paper and pen." Qiu Yue requested but instead Jin handed her an electronic pen and interfaces appeared in front of her. She was honestly shocked but continued to do what was necessary. "Is it possible to enlarge the map? If so how much can we zoom in?" Jin then briefly explained to her how to use it. Within minutes she got the hang of it and she even started to post notes, only to realise that there was an AI in the background assisting her, which Jin referred to it as the System. Something she almost forgot after Jin confessed to her about the truth of this place. Surprisingly, the System was willing to aid her, despite the fact that she had yet to endure the initiation ceremony which both Lynn and Jin had gone through. But then again most of the requests she had made were for information sake and nothing too special. "So era wise, they are still using swords and shields with some magical creatures and some magic users too¡­but you introduced certain modern technology into the world too right?" Qiu Yue asked for affirmation. "Yeah, just a few basic stuff because it costs money to build them. The C130s were already taking up much of my budget but I am able to recuperate by selling certain products I have at hand. Luckily, their world has something which they call ''lost technology'', think of it as remnants of the usual highly advanced race which has perished. So they think of our stuff as just that. I''d appreciate it, if we don''t reveal that we come from another World yet." Jin told her and asked the System to list his current budget and other assets. "Oh my god. This is so exciting and frustrating!" Qiu Yue thought to herself as Jin was coaching her, telling her what kind of expertise he had on hand. However, Jin kept iterating that this was the real world. They might have access to powers as if they were gods, but ultimately lives were at stake. "Hmph! Don''t worry we should be able to win this though I might not be able to achieve a flawless victory. Do you mind sending me to see the King? I have a few things I want to discuss with him." Qiu Yue asked and Jin reluctantly agreed. He understood that she needed information about the diplomatic status around his kingdom, the current production of his food, his conscription and the total number of goblins. Without sufficient information, she could not proceed to assist the Goblin Kingdom efficiently. "I can but I am a bit occupied here. I cannot leave this place here to see the- " Kraft suddenly appeared right beside him which made Qiu Yue panic for a bit. "Woah woah, calm down there cutie. I am one of Jin''s hmm¡­you could say, agents." Kraft extended his hand and introduced himself. "Master, go ahead and meet the King, I can handle things here. Despite how I look, I too can handle ''band aid'' situations here since I did some commanding before when I was¡­younger. So go with Lady Qiu Yue. A familiar face would bring confidence and trust for King Sol, which both should come in handy if you wish to collect information." Kraft said while sending a telepathic message to Pei on Jin''s wrist. "If needed, take the information from the nobles forcefully. We do not have time to waste on a stupid long war." Kraft ordered but even without eyes he could feel that Pei gave him annoyed look. "I know what to do. You don''t have to tell me." Pei surprisingly agreed to it. She might despise Kraft but considering the fact she had been through enough wars in her lifetime, Pei knew it was vital to get sufficient information to make proper judgements. The System then created a portal for the ex couple to meet King Sol who coincidentally was in a meeting with his advisers. Qiu Yue reached out to her face only to notice that there was some mask over her spectacles and asked Jin what it was. Instead of telling her, he got his phone out and took a photo for her to see. She inadvertently was unable to contain her liking for the Red Pandas on her mask and was astounded by the high details. Unfortunately, the two of them were interrupted by a short abrupt cough and remembered what they were here to do. "Sorry for the poor display of etiquette, King Sol. This here is my trusted second-in-command, Qiu. She is here today to assist and win the war with the utmost confidence. I have already done my part in dispatching various mercenaries aiding your villages and towns. Now I will need something in return. Information and of course the talk of payment." Jin said and suddenly there was an uproar in the whole meeting room. "Your Majesty! Are you really intend on sharing vital privy information with this humanoid?! How could you let him dispatch his mercenaries all over Gob Gob Kingdom?! Where is the pride of our race? Have you considered how these humanoids might be in cahoots against us? Wasn''t he the one who asked you to increase food production and taxes? Our people are suffering because of that! " Various advisors expressed their disagreements vehemently. Yet, King Sol kept quiet until all of them who were behaving so rowdy settled down enough to realise that he was not interested in working with a disorganised group of advisors. "Done complaining?" King Sol asked with much authority in his voice as he emitted a strong aura presence of both warmth and power. His body was in much a better condition after Jin provided him with a specialised treatment from Que Er, the Magpie Queen. Her blue magpies assisted him in recovering the magic lines he had previously lost. That coupled with a generous supplement of high quality chi potions and King Sol felt that he owed his remaining life to Jin. The rest of the advisors were surprised by the sudden change in King Sol''s attitude and kept their silence. "By your sacred oath to me. You are to cooperate with¡­Qiu the half masked girl with whatever information she requires. And by the vested powers in me, I hereby assign Master Jin the post of Special Royal Advisor. With Qiu as his second in charge, she is to be treated as the Assistant Special Royal Advisor. So in terms of rank, they are both above each and every one of you. Hence, it should even be an honor for you to listen to them, no matter their race!" King Sol commanded with a stern voice and no one dared to defy him. After all, most of the current advisers had been appointed by him not too long ago. Most of their superiors or predecessors had died from the ambush attack and it was obvious that the humanoid had a hand in saving the king. "However, if you lot have any severe disagreement with them. Do not hesitate to approach me. Now, Qiu. Ask away." King Sol gave the stage to Qiu Yue and Jin. Qiu Yue took centre stage and immediately demanded many answers from the board of advisors. "How much gold are you producing at the moment? What is our food stockpile like? How are the citizens coping with the news of war? Are there any state or erm kingdom controlled movements of the food supply? Where are the troops stationed presently? Is there any research being done currently to improve the lives of the citizens or the troops? How''s the trading market look like after the war has started? Any levies imposed?¡­" Qiu Yue shot out her questions like bullets from a heavy machine gun and each answer begot either silence from the new advisors due to lack of knowledge or more questions. The board of advisors were being slaughtered left and right by Qiu Yue which even made King Sol embarrassed that he was not doing a good enough job. The secretaries of each advisor at the side of them were panicking as they wrote down all their shortcoming, whereas the goblin advisors got more afraid of this lady. In the end, they all realised that their entire economy was hanging on to a fine thin string. "This is worse than I thought." Qiu Yue who had national building knowledge was shaking her head badly and the advisors were thoroughly spent. Even the secretaries were panting from writing. This was the most intense ''bout'' of Qiu Yue, which Jin had witnessed. A lot of stuff went somewhat over his head, and he was glad that she was on his side. "Jin, can I have a word with you?" Qiu Yue excused herself out of the meeting room, with the advisors being more than happy to let this woman go. Their workload had increased for the foreseeable future. "This is bad. Very bad. Look, I know that you asked me for my expertise because you think I can handle this just like a video game. But this is nothing like a game at all. After all games don''t usually have you deal with all the stuff surrounding a war, at most only on a surface level, but here we not only have to win a war, we also need to help a Kingdom sustain through it. And to be frank, the goblins are going to crash hard if the war is prolonged for too long. Even I myself have trouble calculating just how long we can last if we stretched the provisions out but it does not look too good at all. This is real life, there will be unforeseen disruptions and my plans can still go awry. Shame you cannot just input a chea-¡­wait." Qiu Yue just remembered something very important. This might be real life but the person in front of her was like a Video Game Developer. All the tools and solutions to everything could be created with the person right in front of her. Jin kind of figured where this was going to head and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you sure you are ready for this? I thought you said that you needed to complete some things as part of your responsibility before you officially joined me here? After coming here I am sure you understand the gravity of the situation, and I do not wish to push you into it. That being said, I''d love for you to join of course¡­" Jin questioned and Qiu Yue bitterly laughed as soon as she returned to reality. She asked if there was a private place to talk and so Jin informed the King that they would need a short break first to discuss some details. The King immediately obliged and told the advisors to convene in half an hour time. Meanwhile, Jin and Qiu Yue went into one of the guest rooms and they started to talk. "Well I planned to join, but some complications arose. You see¡­long story short. I was tricked by my boss. I told him that I wanted to quit, but he does not accept no for an answer. He even somehow managed to suppress my letter of resignation. Worst of all he kept advancing on me like a lecherous man and I''ve been refusing him RATHER politely. This time round, he forced me to go on a business trip to sign some papers for a new project. The thing is if I do that, I am obligated to see through the new project which I''ll be unable to leave without many national repercussions. Not only that he is also forcing me emotionally because this project''s earnings will directly affect my colleagues'' bonus and that was his way to ensure that I''ll stay." Qiu Yue explained with some frustration. "Also I am pretty sure that he is plotting his own devious plans to continue his lecherous advances. But no worries I have been training really hard with my cultivation! In fact, I turned grade 3 after that fight in your dungeon instance. The spirit power in me was swelling so much, I got a brand new red panda silhouette! I did not have too much time to study that cultivation manual which you send me, but from briefly taking a look I can tell that whoever designed it, was a genius!" She smiled very gently at Jin when she said that and proudly showed her cultivation off. "So I was really hesitant to head for the business trip especially when my colleagues'' bonus was at risk. But when I was at the airport dragging my feet for the flight, you messaged asking for help. I do not know why but it felt like an olive branch to me which I desperately wanted to hold on to." Qiu Yue confessed as she took out her red panda half mask and fiddled with it but Jin immediately went forward and hugged her tightly. Qiu Yue could not help but feel relieved and the unexplainable void that she had been experiencing for the past few weeks was filled with warmth. She could never think logically after the Arena Battle where they both challenged themselves against overwhelming odds. (Well, Jin did suppress his cultivation.) Her heart raced without any reserve as Jin reassured her with that hug. "I am sorry for being slow at things. For not appreciating you. I am sorry for not being there when you feel so helpless. I had been thinking about you all this while but circumstances as a System User had provided me with enough excuses to keep you off my mind." Jin released his hug and talked straight to her. "But I do hope that everything gets better once you team up this with hot manly Panda right in front of you." Jin let go of her and looked her in the eye while grinning widely. Qiu Yue stared at him blankly. After which she laughed and laughed. Qiu Yue found it so ridiculous and did not know whether she deserved this brand new Jin that was in front of her. Sure, it was her wish that after their mutual break up for him to focus on their individual lives. Somehow, it came true as if somebody (or something) else entered his body and made him so honest and forward looking. So hardworking and somewhat dependent. The previous Jin would not even be able to say such things to her nor provide her with this sense of security she was experiencing right now. She did not expect him to change this much and yet here she was being the same old her. Now she laughed so hard that she began to tear up. "Wha wait, Don''t cry please. I erm -" Jin flustered, trying to find tissue paper around and later he tried to search his storage watch only to find a camouflage scarf for her to use. Qiu Yue chuckled and laughed even more at his silliness before she wiped her tears away. "In my opinion¡­I suggest you still quit. Sure your colleagues will badmouth for spoiling their bonus¡­ But, right now. I need you more than ever. I can go with you to the HR to settle your termination of the contract, I can even pay them severance money. For that lecherous boss.., tell me his name, let me see if I can do any magic to make him disappear -ow!" Jin was hit by Qiu Yue hard on the head with her mask. "Baka Jin!" Qiu Yue blushed for a moment and Jin could clearly see her face was all red. "Didn''t I already miss that business trip for you? That is equivalent to ditching my job for you." "Oh yea, that''s true¡­ Ahaha. I think I was too caught up with. -Ow! Why did you hit me again?" Jin asked and Qiu Yue pouted and looked to the side with her face smiling from cheek to cheek. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door when a goblin guard asked if there was anything they wished to eat for refreshments. Jin stood up hiding Qiu Yue who had her mask off and answered that they did not require anything. "Guess we should get back to topic. I remember you saying that the System can trade with some sort of Interworld Market and you have C130 cargo planes for transport. I think with that we should be able to help sort this economy out." Qiu Yue placed her mask back and took her phone out which she had written the important points down. "User, do you wish to grant the prepared Sub System to Candidate Qiu Yue so that she might be able to help you achieve more?" the System asked directly. "What can exactly can the Sub System do?" Jin asked in turn while seeing Qiu Yue busy browsing her notes. "Her Sub System will specialise in what she does best. Empire Building." The System stated and Jin brows furrowed. "I do not understand. What does that even mean? Can you be more specific?" Jin was really confused. "She has a natural ability in regards to empire building. She will be able to directly influence and control economy markets, research and construction. For example, you were previously a buyer in the Black Market and in recent days, you are a supplier. However, in Candidate Qiu Yue''s case, she can be an investor in the black market even without much of an accounting background because the Sub System will flag it out in case she goes wrong. Her abilities will help you not only accumulate funds, but also allocate them in the required places, so that User can go back and concentrate on his own strong points. While User is also capable of doing things similar to Candidate Qiu Yue, the System for User is more catered towards Monster caring, summoning and frontline business." The System explained. "Hence, if User purchases any stocks in the future as such, it would be handled by her. However, her main ability would be an Empire Builder. She could influence hypothetical rat demons or orcs to work day and night without losing sleep nor destroying their health to build. Higher tier materials could be purchased in bulk and Research could be done quicker with a dedicated team of (captured) researchers under the aid of the Sub System instead of just the System analysing it. At the moment, all the System can do is to note the possible flaws. The System cannot innovate unless prompted to. However, for Candidate Qiu Yue, even without the right people at the start, the Sub System would propose possible ideas allowing her to innovate. Something similar to what User has done with the M4 Sherman tank." The System added. "So¡­.you are saying you are taking some of my secondary work away and she will have access to the more advanced features? because she has the knack for it?" Jin summed it up and the System replied positively. "Yes, hence a Sub System. Not a separate system. Similar to Sub System User Lynn, the System always had the cooking features but User did not utilise them at all. While User was and is still able to make use of it, without the necessary aptitude the results will always be inferior to someone who is granted a Sub System." The System elaborated. "Also, the System noticed that User''s shop had slowed down in terms of development after User was overloaded with secondary work. System is not suggesting User to stop all secondary work, but it is advisable for the workload to be shared. User can then concentrate on catching more monsters and build more interesting instances." The System explained which made Jin rather surprised for the System''s concern. "Alright, I will ask her about it," Jin said as he got up after a guard came to inform them that it was about time to convene again. The System however had something it withheld from Jin when it proposed the idea of granting the Sub System to Qiu Yue since there was no such thing as free lunch in the world after all. Chapter 336 Northern War Theatre - Part One Chapter 336 Northern War Theatre ¨C Part One ¡°Guard, do you mind giving us a bit more time? Please do not open the door if you hear any sudden weird sounds!¡± Jin asked the Guard and he slowly nodded his head in acknowledgement. Qiu Yue gave Jin an odd look and suddenly instinctively covered her body with her hands. ¡°Jin¡­I know you just cheered me up and I have yet to answer you back properly¡­ Are you misunderstanding my silence as an acknowledgement? Also don¡¯t you think you are taking this a bit too fast?¡± Qiu Yue asked to clarify and Jin gave back a blank stare before he started to laugh. ¡°What? You think I wanted to have s.e.x with you right here and now?¡± Jin¡¯s laughter filled the room after he realised the guest room did have a bed it the corner. Nevertheless that sentence unconsciously made him stare at her body and his nether regions immediately growled for attention. ¡°Ahhh so Master has his needs too.¡± Pei chuckled in his mind and he started to feel very embarrassed at his body¡¯s betrayal, before he sighed. ¡°Uhooo. Am I no longer attractive enough for Jin? Are there other women in your life that you might consider prettier than me?¡± Qiu Yue who got the message from his body language, began to tease him even though she still continued to cover her chest area. Jin enjoyed her being back to the way she usually behaved but he was also aware that this was not the time to fool around. ¡°You¡­ Sigh, never mind. Just a fair warning but getting a System might not be as easy as you think it is. I fear that you will cry in pain that is why I send him away. So please let me hear your decision. Would you still like to join me¡­and be part of the System officially?¡± Jin asked. Qiu Yue pondered for a minute before asking a few questions of her own. ¡°What kind of System¡¯s features will be available to me? I assume that I would not have exactly the same powers like you since that should be a conflict of interest for the System?¡± Surprisingly the one to answer her wasn¡¯t Jin, but the System using Jin¡¯s phone speaker. ¡°Affirmative, Candidate Qiu Yue. Your powers are not going to be as versatile as the User¡¯s. So it would not be wrong to call them lesser. As a tradeoff your powers are more specialised and in that regard you will have access to more advanced features.¡± The System replied. ¡°Your powers have been dubbed ¡®Empire Building¡¯. Something similar to the 4X kind of games you have been playing. You¡¯ll have control of the economy of the new city that we are intending to build from scratch. You¡¯ll be able to research all you want, build what you want, basically you will have control over every aspect of it. Well technically I do have a say in things too¡­ Anyways, that has been the plan all along since day one. The System and I had discussed your joining and it has analysed your aptitude through whatever kind of test it made you go through that particular day when you were fighting with me.¡± Jin explained to her while sitting right beside her. ¡°User is correct. System has determined your aptitude is exceptionally high in terms of city management and therefore ideal for building an empire. System will provide the necessary tools for Candidate Qiu Yue to create a city for User and his monsters. However, System would like to place an emphasis that reviving this particular goblin economy for war and their future will have a great impact on the features unlocked from the start when you obtain the Sub System from Jin.¡± The System stated coldly. ¡°Wow, Jin. So helping you win this war is just a giant test in the eyes of the System? ¡± Qiu Yue was really surprised at first but soon she came to enjoy this prospect. After learning of their situation, she wished to help the goblins regardless. But this being a test¡­ well it has been far too long since she was able to enjoy a good challenge. She was already more than fed up with those red tapes at work and numerous projects. At first it made her feel good since she was leading the team but subsequently, she could feel that the other colleagues were just throwing their responsibilities at her since she was the youngest. While she still felt bad for potentially robbing her colleagues of their bonus, most of her guilt for leaving was centered on one particular work colleague. Her supervisor, Yi San. The woman in her late 20s was spending most of her time in the office, and it was rare not to see her working overtime. The poor woman needed to raise enough money for her two year old kid¡¯s upbringing while at the same time paying off expenses owed to the hospital that was incurred by her late husband who passed on from late stage brain tumour. Despite her current condition, she had an assertive behaviour befitting of a supervisor yet still presented a kind disposition. Qiu Yue always felt that her supervisor was more genuine than the rest of the her selfish colleagues she had to endure working with. There were many times Yi San covered Qiu Yue¡¯s mistakes as her own without asking for any repayments nor did she berate the younger woman for it. Instead she actively gave her advice on how to avoid those mistakes in the future. There were also times when Qiu Yue overheard her supervisor promoting her to be in charge of larger projects instead of smaller ones, emphasising that she was the talent they needed to groom but the Boss kept thinking that she was not ready for that yet. Qiu Yue managed to persuade Yi San to accompany her out for dinner once as repayment of gratitude. While there Qiu Yue asked why Yi San seemed to have such a high opinion of her. Her supervisor answered, that she saw her work and that had a natural talent for it. She also was impressed with Qiu Yue¡¯s determination of seeing things through. After a bit of silence she also shared that Qiu Yue reminded of her of a very close friend she once had but lost contact with. ¡°I am sorry Qiu Yue, I was not informed about this test until just now when the System spoke.¡± Jin told Qiu Yue honestly and looked mad towards the phone. The System seemingly aware of Jin¡¯s stare explained to him that it was to check whether she was committed to aiding Jin rather than just utilising Jin for his powers. To the System, a past relationship did not justify automatic assurance to a Sub System. ¡°But you did not do the same for Lynn!¡± Jin sent his thoughts and the System replied that Lynn had already pledged her allegiance to him after he managed to save her from that particular ordeal. It was no brainer for the System to take her in as a Sub User. ¡°If I do this test¡­and manage to complete it¡­ Am I allowed to have a selfish request?¡± Qiu Yue asked in a gentle tone and Jin asked what it was. ¡°Could I have my colleague join us to assist me¡­in this building empire thing? She has more experience in the Ministry of National Development and definitely can prove herself to be of valuable assistance. All I want is to have her get out of that toxic environment and still be able to care for her kid.¡± Qiu Yue pleaded Jin which he hesitated for a while more. ¡°What is her name?¡± Jin asked and the System was already one step ahead, preparing to do all the necessary background checks needed. (Do not ask how the System was able to do that! It could even create a genuine dungeon supplier license for Jin back when he first started.) Qiu Yue provided the name which the System responded that it would consider granting the request depending on the test¡¯s results. Qiu Yue readily agreed and Jin apologised in advance. ¡°Sorry, I really thought the System was willing to gift you the Sub System immediately so you can have an easier time handling this particular situation, especially when I was the one to ask you for help.¡± ¡°No worries, this is the kind of challenge which I relish when I first joined the Ministry but it never came true. Most of the projects were mere improvements which did not provide any long term benefits while some of the projects were because of connections. While I understand that it¡¯s fairly normal in all companies or organisations, your transparency and full trust in me ¨C which I still think is somewhat na?ve and foolish of you ¨C nevertheless it provides me with the greatest appreciation I had received for a long time.¡± Qiu Yue answered as she stood up and walked towards the door. ¡°So shall we get the ball rolling?¡± Qiu Yue softly smiled at Jin as she adjusted her half Red Panda mask. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°GET AWAY FROM THE BALL OF LIGHTNING!¡± Xiong Da shouted as he smashed the skulls of two orcs right in front of him while he saw a magical ball of blue lightning being sent out from an Orc Mage. The Wyvern Riders were notified and immediately performed evasive manoeuvres to dodge out of the way. However, the ball of lightning seemed to have some sort of magical tracing ability and it tried to chase one of the Wyvern Riders. No doubt the goblin rider pushed his wyvern to the limit by flying upwards before turning and spiralling the wyvern downwards towards the advancing Orc Army. The Lightning Ball eventually lost its magical tracing trait and it shot down, doing collateral damage to its own fellow Orc warriors. (due to the movements of Wyvern rider) The Wyvern and its rider did not stop there. Although the goblin controlled the fine movements of his mount as it flew down, the flying beast blew fire from its mouth, incinerating a few orcs before lifting into the skies again while skilfully avoiding multiple arrow shots. The wind draft prevented the arrows from hurting the Wyvern but a few did manage to pierce through its scales. But what are a few arrows? They were the Dashing Wyverns for goodness sake! They were the elite flying force of General Argent! Sadly, war being war, there were some unlucky Wyvern riders that got shot down, some were lucky shots by the archers, others were because the mages struck them down mercilessly. In the meantime, the M4 Sherman Tank was at the centre of the valley indiscriminately firing its machine gun courtesy of Luo Bo while Jia Le drove the tank forward and backward to prevent the Orcs¡¯ bodies from mounting up in just one area by pushing them away. It was also to ensure they remained dead by driving the tank over them. Shi Zuo, on the other hand, was looking via his binoculars and identifying vital targets for Bin Yong to aim and shoot. What vital targets one might ask? The Orc Mages and groups of archers which might pose a threat to the Dashing Wyverns. Dwindle their numbers and the Dashing Wyverns would provide stronger air support which would cause discord in the Orc Army ranks especially when they were stuck in the middle of the valley. It proved very effective against ranks of orc archers but the mages were still able to withstand the attack unless it was an armour piercing round. (Which Bin Yong tried once to see the effects against the energy barriers the mages placed. It was very effective.) The M4 Sherman tank shooting also gave the Orcs a slight scare initially but once they observed that metal box for a while, they quickly identified it as the biggest threat of all. The officers ordered their men to bring it down by hook or by crook. In the meantime, Ruo Ying was teaming up with Zhi Nu to hold the left side of the valley while General Argent and his son Piercestriker stood their ground on the right. The remaining Orc Officers had studied the layout of the valley before coming into the region and it was no surprise that they were going to do it with overwhelming force since this was just the start of the campaign. This was especially true when they had lost about a quarter of their officers from the surprise explosion initially. All they could do now was to advance into the Valley town of Gob Gob Bu and wait for the main bulk of the Thunder Army. Yes, that¡¯s right. The Orc scout did not exactly give the goblins and cultivators the entire information. (Who would in their right mind?) The incoming force was just the spearhead army of the Thunder Army. The main force was on route with their own war machines and armoured infantry which had ten times the fire power than the current army that they were fighting. Those war machines the orcs had found came from a deserted island far in the sea where they excavated a treasure trove of lost technology years ago. Orc King Hamu had ordered those lost technologies to be examined, studied and replicated. Of course the originals were transported once able harnessed to attempt and overthrow the entire goblin nations. Without finding this particular island of mysteries, Orc King Hamu would not have gone to unite the entire orc nobilities in secret and would not have planned out this particular domination plan. Even Goblin and Human Spies had been unable to detect any traces of his grand ambitions. ¡°When we get out of here, I will have to thank Jin personally. If not for this simple control interface, I doubt I could even load a tank shell in my life ever, much less be able to fire it!¡± Bin Yong thought to himself as he wiped his sweat away. He was carrying a HE shell and inserted it into a capsule where the capsule automatically brought the shell forward into the barrel of the tank. After which, all he had to do was to move the turret so that the main gun pointed towards the enemy. This was all done easily without any training because the interface was similar to a handphone game. He held the sides of the control console and the turret moved to where he controlled it to be. After which, he clicked on the specific coordinate on the interface and the main gun automatically adjusted itself to the angle required to shoot that particular distance. ¡°FIRING!¡± Bin Yong shouted when he pushed a button down. The tank roared as it shot the shell out of the barrier, heading towards a battalion of Orc Archers. The shell flew and managed to hit one of the orcs, penetrating a hole through its stomach before exploding into shell fragments and damaging the area it impacted on. The entire battalion of Orc Archers was burned to death by the explosion fire yet Orcs did not care about their dead. They only cared about advancing and many of the Orc Warriors still sped through the fire thinking it was just a trial by fire similar to the fire blown by the Wyverns. Unfortunately they did not know that the fire from the HE shell was burning more than a hundred degrees Celsius, causing them to charge meaninglessly to their death. The driving was just easy for Jia Le since the controls were similar to a modern car with a manual gearbox and control stick. Meanwhile Luo Bo kept firing indiscriminately until she found out that the machine gun could overheat and needed to be reloaded from time to time. Not being content with waiting around she got out of her seat and changed to her bow and arrows. ¡°Oh my god, be careful out there!¡± Shi Zuo warned her as she squeezed herself out of the c.o.c.kpit while Shi Zuo had to stop observing for a while to allow her out of the tank. ¡°Ahh, the smell of stained air. Terrible but weirdly invigorating.¡± Luo Bo eyes¡¯ turned green as she activated one of the Illusive Rabbit¡¯s techniques that made her have wide sight and keen sight the moment she locked onto a target. She charged her bow by inserting chi into it and released a singular arrow that caused shock waves all around her. As she was at the tank platform, her vision and angle of attacking the orcs were higher and more advantageous. The charged arrow flew through the masses knocking back and injuring many of the Orcs and yet the front lines was unable to advance towards her as much as they wanted with Xiong Da defending the tank. While it might be seen as a standstill, only half an hour had passed. The orcs had suffered casualties, yet without a doubt they were gaining traction as the cultivators were starting to get tired and ammunition was getting spent. There were times Jia Le crossed seats to the machine gun emplacement and shot to her heart¡¯s content, covering Xiong Da¡¯s back while Luo Bo cleared targets that were coming towards the tank from the side. There were times Luo Bo was not able to cover in time which made Shi Zuo appear out of the tank to slash them away. Xiong Da was also not coming out of this unscathed. As the defender he received punches, blunt weapon blows, slashes to his body due to his size and even suffered from spears piercing him. He usually tried to defend his vital areas like his neck and joints but other than that, it was painful no doubt. Regardless, all Xiong Da needed to do was smash all those away, create some space buffer and take in his chi potions that were stored in his storage ring whenever he was free. That was the one and only way to survive the current onslaught. (It was mostly due to the fact that his past training with Zeru paid off, granting him a higher tolerance to pain.) Separately, Ruo Ying and Zhi Nu were tangling their enemies to their death. Due to the nature of their weapons, it felt like they were conducting some forbidden ritual war dance as their strings and chains cut, bruised and even sent orcs flying down the cliffside. Fortunately this battle gave Ruo Ying the opportunity to learn a few tricks from Zhi Nu and she even managed to copy and execute them flawlessly. ¡°Keep up, Egret. I am performing the Heavenly Dance of Migrating Birds. You should be able to perform the movements and adjust it for your style.¡± Zhi Nu threw a needle into an Orc¡¯s head as it pierced through the temple and into the brain while coming out and strung it up to the side of the mountains. Ruo Ying roughly saw the control of chi of her needle and strings and she kept a mental note about it. In the meantime, Spear General Argent was witnessing how Piercestriker managed to beat the rumoured undefeatable Orc General Black Disaster. His strikes were fierce, filled with strength and the intent to kill. There was no hesitation in his stabs, and his forms were pure. The footwork and calculation of the distance was not something that could be learnt within a year of disappearance, there must be something that Master Jin had done to increase his competency with the spear drastically. He shuddered at the thoughts of what kind of hellish life and death training his son must have endured. (If only he knew how often Piercestriker did end up dying¡­) Piercestriker had not been listening to Zhi Nu and did not avoid using the Gearbox Spear that the System granted as a spare. After all what use was a weapon if not being used. If one did not familiarise with their own weapons, how could they gain affinity with it? The weight of the spear, the length of the spear, the power it can withstand. All these had to be experienced if Piercestriker wished to be the best spear goblin. Hence, he started to dual wield both of his spears and used them to slaughter the orcs. Deflect. Parry. Pierce. Repeat. The current enemies proved to be the ideal targets to practice with as they only had brute strength and not much finesse due to the lack of space the cliffside provided. Hence, both spear goblin experts took turns going into the fray and out, practising their teamwork at the same time. Shi Zuo killed yet another orc and kicked him away when he suddenly heard a loud sound from afar. With little to no time to focus himself, he ignored it and continued to combat the other orcs surrounding the tank. Bin Yong was the one who managed to make out the source of the sound through his own screen and screamed to the team. ¡°GUYS LOOK OUT! Over the horizon!!!¡± Bin Yong quickly looked through his ammunition and grabbed an armour piercing shell from the tank storage and plunged it into the capsule. The latest enemies were simply huge. Five times the size of ordinary Orcs, they were carrying a makeshift catapult behind their backs. Enslaved goblins chained up to the back of the large orcs preparing the ammunition to be loaded onto the catapult. ¡°Shit! Those are Catapult Ogres!¡± The Captain of the Dashing Wyvern shouted as he took out his war horn to sound the order for retreat and the rest of the Wyvern Riders hurried to pull back. General Argent heard it and whistled for his own wyvern to appear. ¡°Son! Fall back now! There is no way we can handle the Catapult Ogres out in the open. If it shoots gr.a.p.eshots at our Wyverns we are done for!¡± General Argent took out his pistol and shot at the Orcs trying to stop them while his son got on the Wyvern. Piercestriker believed he had proven himself enough to his father and was not as stubborn as to stay in the battlefield and fight a meaningless battle. ¡°We need to help Egret and Weaver with the retreat too.¡± Piercestriker was concerned about his current comrades. Argent simply smiled and told his son that the Vice Captain should already be collecting them. He had been ordered to do so and by controlling a spare wyvern from a fallen goblin rider he¡¯d meet up with them. ¡°BOOM!¡± The M4 Sherman Tank screamed once more in battle and its shell spiralled towards the closest Catapult Ogre. However, the orc mages were aware of the strategic value of those Ogres who doubled as their siege weapons and made sure to protect them. If they did not defend them well, the fight against the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu would be even more difficult and might cause a delay in the War Plan created by the military advisors under Orc King Hamu. Hence, they focused their entire mana consumption on creating a defensive barrier. Unfortunately, they still underestimated the penetrating power of the AP shell and the wide energy barriers were broken in an instant. Nevertheless their efforts managed to deflect the path of the shell enough allowing the Catapult Ogre to only got shot in its right arm. The impact also made him fall and his weight crushed both the makeshift catapult and the enslaved goblins that were forced to operate it. ¡°Ignore the goblins, healers concentrate on aiding that ogre now! The rest! Shoot your gr.a.p.eshot at those pesky wyverns!! Mages those of you low on mana get back and rotate with a new batch. All of you are to enhance your shield with the offensive thunder runes!¡± An officer shouted his commands as the orcs listened loyally. The Orc mages smirked as they realised what the officer was talking about. The initial plan had been to surprise the goblins with these precious thunder runes once they got to the capital, but they were more than happy to use it now. By enchanting their shields with offensive thunder runes their barriers could shoot out lightning strikes which should interfere with the incoming projectile. ¡°FIRING!¡± Bin Yong did not let up as he did not hesitate to use up the remaining AP shells. There were not many HE shells left and he wanted to keep them for other scenarios. Besides the Armour Piercing shells were most effective in taking out large targets. Right now, the AP shell flew without a care towards the enchanted lightning shields that the Orc Mages exhausted every thunder rune they could find in their belongings. True enough the lightning strikes emitting out of the large wide shield impacted against the incoming shell that it diverted the shell from its original path and killed a few random orcs instead. (It did not explode because most armour piercing shells do not have any explosives in them.) ¡°Shit! That shield managed to stop the shell targeting the ogre!¡± Bin Yong complained and Shi Zuo suggested that now would be a good time to fall back. However, Xiong Da refused despite suffering the most injuries. ¡°Hippo, do not be this stubborn. Even Zhi Nu and Ruo Ying are falling back!¡± Shi Zuo slammed his Giant Axe which he did not usually use against an orc that tried to backstab Xiong Da. After which, he pointed at the wyvern carrying the two girls that were heading towards the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu to Xiong Da. ¡°Then all the more reason to stay. I refuse to move away but I require your help, Jia Le, Luo Bo.¡± Xiong Da punched one of the Orcs while grabbing one by the head and threw it towards Shi Zuo¡¯s large axe blade. The Orc split into half while Shi Zuo was maintaining his posture with the large axe. Xiong Da then picked up the large axe as if it was not a big deal and dual wielded it with his war club. Jia Le stopped her machine gun and came out of the tank after Bin Yong attempted another shot at the Ogres who seemed to be ready to fire back. ¡°Looks like gr.a.p.eshot ammunition from the many pieces in the catapult¡¯s bucket. I am guessing you want us to stop those from hitting the wyverns.¡± Luo Bo who had the best far sight out of the whole group clearly saw those enslaved goblins chained to the makeshift catapults, loading various metal balls as the payload lumped into the catapult¡¯s bucket. ¡°Yeah. I cannot do that. Perhaps only you and Jia Le can stop those things from flying towards the Wyverns.¡± Xiong Da cleaved the incoming three orcs into two halves as if they were a neverending wave. ¡°By right, gr.a.p.eshots cannot travel far due to accuracy issues. But seeing how this is a magical world, this might not necessarily be true here. I think we need to be creative in our fights too.¡± Jia Le took out a kunai and threw it into an orc¡¯s neck who wanted to flank them at the side of the tank. The orc¡¯s artery was hit and pressurised red blood spilled on the tank¡¯s plating. ¡°FIRE!¡± The orc officer shouted its command seeing how the metal box failed to launch another attack against them. The ogres regained their confidence and pulled a lever right beside them to release the catapult¡¯s payload. Even the officer looked thrilled as he saw the wyverns flying away and thinking that this would be the end of them. After which they could concentrate against the metal box and finish off those humanoids who sided with the goblins. Now, the result was something the Orc officer did not expect. The payload flew and just as suspected it was enchanted to shoot far against the wyverns that had wrecked havoc amongst their group but¡­the gr.a.p.eshot had been aimed towards the advancing orcs. Since it came from the behind them, the orcs had not even considered the possibility of friendly fire. The enslaved goblins all cheered at the deaths of many armoured orcs which surprised the group of cultivators from afar since they were preparing to deal the gr.a.p.eshot attacks. ¡°Our lives for many lives of the Orcs! It was worth it!! We shall not submit! We¡¯ve rebelled once! We will rebel again!¡± One of the enslaved goblins shouted before its head exploded like a balloon by the orc officer controlling them. Subsequently each and every enslaved goblin was killed and the makeshift catapults were unmanned behind those Ogres. ¡°F.u.c.k! To think those goblins dare to die despite knowing their families were just right under our blades!¡± The officer smashed his fist into a nearby large rock in anger. He then told the Ogres to remove the catapults from their backs so that the Orcs can control them. (The weight of the makeshift catapult as well as three orcs in light armour was enough to enc.u.mber the ogre into not being able to move. Hence the use of those slave goblins.) ¡°That was really a change of situation I did not foresee.¡± Shi Zuo stabbed the incoming Orc with a random weapon he picked up on the ground. ¡°Does not change the fact that-¡± Suddenly, they were interrupted by a C130 flying right above them while multiple flying platforms flew out of the plane¡¯s end carrying a crate. Reinforcements has finally arrived and just as promised those were no simple cultivators. ¡°Geez. To think that they sent a police duo and some high school kids to help us out. Come on Boss Jin, you could have sent out a squad of Panda Warriors from the Great Wall of China!¡± Luo Bo loaded three arrows on her bow and shot them out consecutively against archer Orcs that were trying their luck at the cliffside now that it was not defended by anybody. ¡°Well, I am sorry that I am just a policeman!¡± Se Lang, the Wacky Wolf Cultivator shouted back as he jumped out of the flying platform before it landed and managed to decapitate a few orcs. Bu Dong the Angry Ape cultivator, had already activated his intermediate sword art and dashed into the fray without care while Kong Xian the Towering Tortoise Cultivator let out his taunting warcry which made the orcs divert their attention towards their group. Only Deng Long stayed on the the flying platform until it landed and opened the crate that came with it showing it off to the rest. Of course they were also accompanied by a Dungeon Monster and it was none other than Sandy, the Sand Witch. Her one small movement caused walls of sand, dirt and mud to block the view of the orcs that occupied the side valleys. ¡°This way you have no chance of attacking this tank from the sides.¡± Sandy smirked as she created projectiles made out of sand and launched them towards the orc army while she created a sand wall at the front to reduce the flow of the orcs advancing for the moment. ¡°Panda Hei ordered us to reinforce you guys. Part of our mission was also to deliver the supplies to you guys¡­WHAT! WHY DO YOU HAVE A TANK?!¡± Deng Long only noticed that when Bin Yong shot a shell out once more before the sand wall came out in front of him. Deng Long also found out that the crate was filled with tank ammunitions and fuel alongside potions, kunais and more arrows when he opened it. ¡°Long story. Refill with us, I will tell you more.¡± Shi Zuo said as he threw two potions towards Xiong Da which he drank all at once before throwing them aside and started to push the box full of ammunition towards the tank for easier transfer. The other two guys assisted Xiong Da by bringing the crate closer and refilling the tank while the rest of the cultivators did their best to prevent the orcs from coming closer. Chapter 337 Northern War Theatre - Part Two Chapter 337 Northern War Theatre ¨C Part Two Once the M4 Sherman tank was fully filled with ammunition and fuel, everyone got on it. Some sat at the side of the tank while Jia Le began to make a three point turn and drive towards the Valley town of Gob Gob Bu. Bin Yong wiped his sweat away from assisting the refilling of the ammunition and turned the main turret of the tank towards their back in case some orcs came forth. ¡°Do not worry, I did more than just construct a sand wall. I added a few deep quicksand pit right beside it, so even if they manage to break through that sand wall it will take them a lot of time to catch up. They will lose a good number of orcs before they will be able to proceed.¡± Sandy reassured Bin Yong over the open c.o.c.kpit as she swirled a barrier of sand around the tank to cover any possible arrows attacks from afar. Nearly everyone in the first wave was deadbeat tired. Xiong Da was covered in scars which both Se Lang and Deng Long assisted in applying some basic first aid for him while Xiong Da continued to chug down the freshly arrived bottles of chi to recover. Kraft who stepped in as the overall commander understood that Xiong Da needed much more chi potions, but there was a limit to how much he could stretch the generosity of the System. As the ones defending the front, they were allowed to receive preferential treatment, but ultimately the System possessed the mindset of a business manager. If the cultivators needed more resources, they would be more than welcome to purchase them from the shop to be delivered in the next supply drop. Kraft then asked the System to notify the first wave responders via the Pandamonium App that after their break, they would be going through the second round of the raid event, requiring the use of a new entry ticket. If they had any qualms, they could teleport back to the Shop instance within the next five minutes and their new entry ticket would be refunded. However, they all agreed and pressed the continue button as they proceed towards the next destination. Not just them, most of the cultivators approved of this ¡®do you wish to continue?¡¯ process and some even bought additional electronic tickets via the Pandamonium App while they were still in the Goblin World to be able to stay longer and collect even more points. It was a new function in the App update by Jin when he created this Raid Event so it would not break the experience of the living goblin world but also reminded them that this was after all a ¡®dungeon instance¡¯. Jin wished to motivate the cultivators to stay around and therefore implemented a great incentive for them to do so. As long as the customers survived through continuous runs, their points would acc.u.mulate with a multiplier factor. In the second round, the cultivators would receive 1.2x more points than usual (rounded up) and 1.4x points in the third round, so on and so forth. However, the monitoring rings that Panda Captain Hei made them wear would also signal the System to pull them out if it realised that the fatigue acc.u.mulated in a cultivator was too high. Bin Yong now slouched on the chair inside the tank relieved that they appeared not to be in trouble for now, while Luo Bo was checking out if there were any updates of points on the Pandamonium App since she had already decided to continue to the second round. ¡°Hm?! How come I have the highest points amongst all of us? I did not really kill that many¡­¡± Luo Bo was shocked when she saw the points score among the team. Luo Bo thought that Xiong Da would be in the lead but instead became second while Bin Yong was third. The others who were curious also picked up their phones to take a look and it was true, Luo Bo¡¯s score was miles away from the rest, even though she did not remember killing as much. ¡°I roughly heard from Master Jin that the points are based on the types of orcs that you kill. Higher ranks should yield higher points. Perhaps you accidentally killed a top brass officer?¡± Sandy offered her opinion and the team could only congratulate Luo Bo for having a lucky shot or two. (They never learned it was the explosion of the Orc Scout that happened.) ¡°We are reaching soon!¡± Jia Le shouted from the front of the tank and those who were sitting at the top of the tank saw the incoming fort walls of the Valley town of Gob Gob Bu. It was at that moment, Se Lang noticed that there were long metal barrels poking out on the top of the walls of Gob Gob Bu and the walls got taller the closer they got to it. With the ironclad gates slowly opening to welcome them, the cultivators felt a sense of excitement they could not explain. It felt unreal that the raid instance was so realistic. Deng Long later noticed a group of goblins holding familiar looking gun models from afar as well as another unfamiliar face who wore a distinct half mask similar to his fat looking w.o.m.bat half mask or Se Lang¡¯s slick grey wolf half mask. He did not hesitate to check the Pandamonium App¡¯s Stat page which indicated that person as an ally. ¡°Fei?¡± Deng Long read out the name from the Pandamonium App and it got the group curious too since they saw him commanding tens of goblins who were actively reloading their bullets into rifles and checking their combat vests to ensure they had sufficient ammunition. Hou Fei heard his name and was delighted to finally see ¡®humanoids¡¯ arriving into the scene. Hou Fei was equally surprised that Jin had managed to obtain and customised the Sherman Tank blueprint in a short period of time and deployed it almost immediately for the cultivators to use when he asked his contact to pass it to Jin via email. But then again, he underestimated Jin¡¯s High Intensity Mode and the System. Also, Hou Fei was nearly unsure about Jin and Kraft¡¯s plan upon hearing it from the two Panda Captain NPCs when he was on board the C130. This was because he had been in this Goblin World for days, intensely training the select few for the war, when it only had been a matter of hours back in their own world. But he figured it was work he gladly do if it could make him one step closer to become the Defence Minister in the new Dungeon Fortress City. ¡°Ah! Welcome cultivators. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I¡¯m Hou Fei. You could say I am a helper for Master Jin rather than a customer of his.¡± Hou Fei held onto his half snake mask and bowed. Since all the cultivators had come in with an NPC to support, they were a little wary at this new helper of Jin especially one they had never seen before. Even Xiong Da and Bu Dong did not really recognise this particular helper even though they were by far the oldest regular customers of the store. ¡°Yea, he is with the Master, I can vouch for him. Do not worry, he is not going to betray us or anything.¡± Sandy chimed in after she made sand float stylishly around her face as a cover so that the goblins did not suspect her as a human too. The cultivators lowered their guard upon hearing Sandy¡¯s reassurance and they began listening to Hou Fei. ¡°I am responsible for building up a modern attack force for these goblins and teach them how to use the *cough* lost tech that Master Jin has in his collection.¡± Hou Fei told them and the cultivators grinned at the attempt in keeping to the story of this particular raid event. ¡°Hence, you can say I am somewhat the proxy for Captain ehhh Hei and Bai.¡± Hou Fei took up his phone as if to check if he was following the script correctly. Who could blame him since it was an impromptu decision by Kraft to airlift Hou Fei, the unit of Marksmen trained in the M1 Garand Rifles and a new unit that trained in using the German Pak 38 50mm anti tank guns to assist the cultivators. The anti tank guns were of decent size and had been transported via the C130s. It was easy enough for the goblins to operate as compared other gun emplacements like the flak guns or artillery guns. They were similar to cannons they had operated but provided more range, less complications and most importantly, more firepower! It was difficult to get the anti tanks up the top of those fort walls but the wyverns who managed to return from the first wave of attack, assisted the goblins in setting them up. General Argent came by and saluted Hou Fei while apologising to Team Hippo for abandoning the area ahead of time even though it was part of the plan they had agreed on from the start. Xiong Da shook his head and said a good general knew when to retreat and when to advance. He also notified him about what had actually happened to those makeshift catapults. General Argent listened with some disbelief but felt proud that those goblins never lost their pride after being captured by the Orcs. ¡°Their sacrifice shall not be in vain. We will do our best to protect this valley town.¡± General Argent swore solemnly before Hou Fei interrupted him. ¡°Not be an asshole or something but you do know that we are in a valley right? Technically, we could plant explosives at the top of those cliff sides and rocks will come tumbling down against the main bulk of the Orc Army.¡± Hou Fei pointed at the mountainous areas and explained how it could be the last ditch attempt to stop the Orcs from coming by blasting the two mountains and cover of this Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu with an avalanche. General Argent listened to that and pondered for a while. ¡°I get where you are coming from. Why surrender the town when you can destroy the town alongside the enemies at the same time? Hence, denying them leftover resources in the town and a fort town with natural terrain advantages. It is very tempting but there is actually some significance to this place.¡± General Argent sighed. ¡°This was where General Gladios was born. At the same time this was also the place where our ideas of rebellion started, thereby holding a significant cultural value to us. The Orcs crushing us here would prove to be a morale booster for them too. So Gladios is bringing the best of the best goblin warriors to here as soon as possible. Sentimental values aside, this place also holds the only chokepoint preventing the Orcs from spreading like wildfire. If we can stop the Orcs from coming through here, we should be able to hinder the entire Northern Invasion of the Orcs.¡± General Argent stated and Hou Fei took out his phone and checked the map. ¡°But can¡¯t the Orcs simply cross over via sh.i.p.s from the West? Although that should take a longer time I presume.¡± Hou Fei studied the map and General Argent did not deny that possibility. ¡°They can. That is also why General Igni is preparing a special squad of goblins to infiltrate into the Orc¡¯s territory and attempt to link the leylines from their country to ours before the orcs get the chance to block us from doing so. Should we succeed, it would allow us to send an assassination squad against the Orc King Hamu and end this nonsense.¡± General Argent answered while revealing it to the cultivators too. (Of course, not in such open space, they had entered the High Command Tent to speak of such sensitive information!) ¡°I see, no wonder you are sharing this information with the comrades of Master Jin.¡± Hou Fei rubbed his stubble as he eyed the cultivators in front of him. The cultivators would make an ideal strike force, worst case they could try to overwhelm the enemy with numbers. ¡°But I think Young Master Jin would prefer personally going in with his trusted bellators rather than these people. Oh well, maybe they could go in to support him. We will see¡­¡± Hou Fei thought to himself when suddenly a loud clanging sound alarmed them. A messenger also hurried into the tent and delivered a report to the General, which he quickly studied, before shaking his head and sighing. ¡°While this might sound like an excuse, I regret to inform you that this message informs me that the Goblin Army has reached an impasse and requires more time to come here. An ace unit will rush here as soon as they can but I fear the rest will not be fast enough for the next wave.¡± General Argent picked up his spear from the side of the High Command tent and wore his battle helmet. ¡°What actually happened? Did the Orcs manage to bypass us and attack them?¡± Hou Fei asked as he walked out with the General, so did the others. ¡°The escaping civilians from this town have blocked the one and only road with their belongings. We have warned the civilians to take only what was necessary with them, but it seems they ignored us. After somebody took more than they should have, others followed suit, and currently their wagons are blocking the way. Both the army and civilians have to compromise to make some space for each of them to go through. Plus this is a valley area. The road leading here is steep which makes transporting items slightly difficult.¡± General Argent gave some specific orders to an officer after he explained it to Hou Fei and the others. The Dashing Wyverns and their goblins were currently banned from flying by General Argent and they rested at the back of the valley town. They were being treated by the Town¡¯s healers to the best of their abilities and if General Argent needed them in action, they better be in tip top shape. In the meantime, the Town Militia had set up their defensive parameters with the precious time earned from the cultivators and deaths of some of the Dashing Wyverns. Despite it being makeshift, barricades had been set up in 50 metres intervals away from the front gates. The plan was to fight as much as possible near the Town¡¯s Fort walls but as soon as they would start to get overwhelmed, they would pull back to each defensive layer the militia had set up. The front fort walls were currently manned by simple militia bowmen, elite marksmen with their new M1 Garand rifles and the anti tank guns that served as cannons. The rest of the militia continued to strengthen the barricade supporting the front gates while the Cultivators had parked their M4 Sherman tank about 25 metres away from the front gate. The tank would act as the buffer against the incoming orcs and allow the goblins to fall back too should the walls were overtaken. The only cultivators and monsters participating at the top of the fort walls were Luo Bo, Sandy, Zhi Nu and Jia Le. The rest of the cultivators would be on standby, conserving their strength until the Orcs started to siege on the fort walls. However, not everyone wanted to stay idle, especially Xiong Da. ¡°Is there anything else we can do instead of just waiting around?¡± He asked Hou Fei who seemed to be the one in command of the cultivators. Hou Fei thought for a while then realised he did have some task which requires their help. He leaned forward to Xiong Da and whispered to him. ¡°The goblins assume that the orcs will move in a straight line and focus on their barricades. The thing is, I noticed there seemed to be many loopholes in their defences. Well it is not exactly their fault, since the main cause is the houses. I suggest placing explosives in those houses in case the orcs decide to ambush us from there. While I respect their cultural appreciation, we are at war, and sacrificing houses to kill off some orcs and potentially lessen our casualties is a fine trade to me. If they would be mad at us, I shall take responsibility. Right over there, you should be able to see a large red striped crate. Get your friends or acquaintances to place the C4s in those houses.¡± Hou Fei whispered and Xiong Da agreed readily. Some collateral damage to the houses was inevitable if they had such a small force against a tide of Orcish Sea. ¡°What about the detonators?¡± Xiong Da asked and Hou Fei smiled widely. ¡°Do not worry, I have control over all those explosives right through this tablet here.¡± Hou Fei smacked his backpack while holding onto a customised Barret M82 0.5 calibre sniper rifle. He had been a sniper by trade before he turned into a military vendor. He figured it was a good time to catch up with his sniping skills against these orcs and aid with the fight too. ¡°Hahaha, all this for a request of an army. Jin better be well compensated for this. Now to make sure that we will still have an army to help us out later¡­¡± Hou Fei thought to himself as he went up to the tallest building he could find. The cathedral bell tower was perfect as he could oversee up to 900 metres from there. At the same time, Xiong Da called the others to assist him in allocating the explosives. Noticing the movement of the group of humanoids, Spear General Argent came over to ask what were they doing. Xiong Da announced that they were going around to make sure no other goblins were hiding within the houses by banging house to house. Yet, General Argent was not so stupid to simply believe them, especially since he could see that Xiong Da was carrying rectangular parcels and so did the other cultivators. ¡°You guys¡­I sense that you all are plotting something more than that¡­ but you have already proven yourself trustworthy. As long as you sweep the area properly and ensure that there are no civilians around, I shall pretend not to have noticed whatever else you might be doing. We do not wish any innocents to be killed in this meaningless war.¡± General Argent walked away while he hurried the militias. Xiong Da and the others did not hesitate to throw as many explosives as they could split equally into their storage rings and began to search every house while placing the explosives right at the doors and exits they could find. They figured if they were to destroy something, might as well be the openings, at least then the interior of the house could still remain more or less intact. Meanwhile, Luo Bo, Sandy and Jia Le looked over the horizon and saw that there was not much daylight left. With the mountains blocking the sunset, it would get darker soon. Unlike in a lot of fantasy books, these goblins did not have the sight to see in the dark. Thankfully, Luo Bo, after learning that it might drag longer than a day before the start of their mission, she had purchased specialised arrows to be supplied in the previous ammo crate similar to the flare arrows she had used in the warehouse when they tried to save Lynn from the Yakuza. After having been delayed by the sand wall, it appeared that the Orcs finally managed to get through, as their silhouettes started to appear in huge numbers. It seemed that the Orcs were relentless as if they were rushing for something but the moment they saw that the walls were in sight, they went into their practiced siege formations. The frontline warriors placed whatever shields they were carrying in front of them. The lines behind the front held their shields at the top of their heads in an angled position to prevent arrows from damaging them too. The remaining archers that survived the first wave began to nock their arrows while the Ogres who were carrying the Catapults started to place them on the ground for the Orcs to use them. ¡°Cannons! Aim towards their siege weapons! Bowmen, nock! Marksmen, on my mark!¡± General Argent walked along the fort walls as he gave his commands. The cultivators began to ready their weapons too including Sandy who was preparing a spell to subdue the frontlines. If not for the terrain being sand and rocks all around, she probably could not unleash her full potential. Perhaps, that was why Kraft had decided to send her. ¡°OOOOOOWWWWWOOOOOOO.¡± A loud long warhorn sound sounded from the back of the Orc Army lines and signalled the commencement of the siege against the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu. ¡°FIRE!!!!!¡± The highest ranking Orc officers shouted simultaneously once the warhorn echoed throughout the mountains. Rocks doused in a special concoction of oil were lit before the Orcs fired their catapults towards the fort walls. The Orcs began to stomp their legs as they walked towards the fort walls. Orc Mages started to cast supportive spells to aid the warriors in the frontlines making them more resistant to magic and projectile attacks. Separately, a small group of high ranking mages was summoning a spawn of the Thunder Serpent Syldra to aid the Orc Army especially when they knew that there would be those pesky humanoids helping the goblins. That was definitely one oddity factor that they did not account for at the start of the war. Still they believed they had the firepower to damage and take over the fort. As the fiery rocks were fired towards the fort walls, Zhi Nu who was at the side of the fort walls threw her threads that were as tough as steel, wrapping those rocks and slowing them down to a point where she could control them. The fire was not strong enough to melt the immortal¡¯s strings and she lobbed the rocks at the warriors upon releasing the immortal strings. Sad to say, the Orc mages had anticipated such a possibility of retaliation and cast out bursts of lightning targeting the rocks. The lobbed rocks disintegrated into debris in mid air which did not affect the incoming Orc frontline formation a single bit simply landing on their shields. Arrows were being released by the Orc Archers, also doused in fire but Sandy managed to summon a Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit which was tasked with protecting the fort wall. Like its name, the Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit was a giant being made out of sand and possessed some sort of sentience. It carried eight particular large shields that aided the fort walls in defending the goblins and defended the cultivators from the rain of arrows. Even the goblins were in awe as the Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit appeared right in front of them, providing them with the confidence that they could defend this small Valley Town. ¡°Marksmen, fire when your targets are in range! Bowmen keep suppressing them with your attacks! Cannons fire away!¡± General Argent shouted and the German Pak 50mm anti tank guns produced a raging booming sound that was equivalent to the sounds of the thunder striking. Some of the goblins even had to close their ears when anti tank guns were fired. All of the shells that were being sent out into the midst of the Orc¡¯s army were highly explosive in nature and the Orc Mages tasked with defending nearly broke down from the strain of maintaining the shield barriers because of the consecutive blasts that the anti tank guns had sent out. They vomited out blood but continued to maintain the barrier only to realise it was futile when hearing another round of booming echoing through the valley. Those Orcs did not expect the goblins would have such heavy consistent firepower at their disposal. That metal box was a beast on its own, having claimed a majority of the casualties, but the Orc army had assumed that was the only thing to fear throughout this particular leg of the campaign. Fortunately in the previous battle, they managed to found out how to deflect the metal box¡¯s attacks, so they were insured that it was only a matter of time until the metal box could be beaten. However here, there were even more new types of attacks, which had never before appeared. To the Orc¡¯s best knowledge they were aware that humanoid factions out there had secretly found and horded lost technolgy. Though only a small handful could learn how to operate it, Orc King Hamu purposely sought out these humanoids and enslaved them to make them replicate or utilise the lost technology he found. So the orc officers that were observing the battle believed that the intense firepower must have belonged to the humanoids or the Goblins had somehow found a way too to replicate lost technology alongside with the humanoids which the Orc Intelligence was not able to pick up. (Well, of course they could not pick it up, they never knew the existence of Jin, teehee!) The wide shield barriers finally shattered after the second volley of high explosive shells drained the mages dry. Many died on the spot after exhausting the mana lines in their body. This allowed the bow goblins to be slightly more effective and both Jia Le and Luo Bo could start attacking too. However, it was not yet their turn to shine. The Goblin Marksmen fired their very first fusillade of bullets onto the orc warriors in the frontline. They listened to Hou Fei¡¯s instructions and aimed the Orc¡¯s heads or vital regions while ignoring the shields that were blocking it. ¡°Those metal shields do not stand a chance against these babies right here.¡± Hou Fei had told them in their training exercise as he demonstrated by firing a few shots through the thickest shield they made. The bullets pierced the sheet of metal easily and travelled further than the goblins expected. With such knowledge, the goblins scored dozens of confirmed kills, practicing Hou Fei¡¯s preaching of one shot one kill. ¡°Each bullet is equivalent to a gold coin. Imagine each click you press, one gold coin of your kingdom disappears. Painful isn¡¯t it? So make every bullet count for you! Use the kingdom¡¯s coffers to not only suppress but eliminate the enemy!!!¡± Hou Fei lied to them but his bluff had been very effective. The goblin marksmen made sure they used them efficiently. (If Jin knew how Hou Fei successfully bluffed the goblins operating the Anti Tank Guns about the cost of each shell, he would have a heart attack too. That military vendor was not to be underestimated with his powers with words.) Yet, the orcs behind the fallen frontline did not start to panic, instead they picked up the bodies of the dead and turned them into meat shields to protect themselves from further attacks. ¡°Wow, these orcs, they¡­are that heartless¡­ To use their comrades¡¯ body as protection.¡± Jia Le could not bear her eyes at such sight as she threw a kunai towards an Orc who used that tactic. The Kunai she threw was enchanted with one of Jia Le¡¯s cultivation techniques, causing multiple vines to appear from the weapon to whip and slash orcs in its radius of attack. To the orcs, it looked as if the dead orc were used as a catalyst where vines appeared to attack them, which made the orcs that survived the attack to stab the dead orc¡¯s body repeatedly, ensuring the vines would not emerge once more. In the meantime, Luo Bo unleashed her intermediate Bow Art technique, Charge Tornado Puncture of the Rabbit to mess up the frontlines. The tornado wind knocked and slited orcs up but it did not lower their morale a single bit as they remained as organised as ever moving towards the front gates. ¡°The way these orcs are moving¡­I know this sort of magic¡­¡± General Argent saw how mindless yet determined those orcs were acting. ¡°I cannot believe they¡¯ve continued to use this kind of taboo magic!¡± He slammed his fist at the fort walls as he commanded the anti tanks to continue to aim at the catapults. ¡°Colonel Ayse, the runes you¡¯ve distributed to the orc warriors are working splendidly! They are fearlessly moving towards the fort walls!¡± One of the Orc officers knelt in front of the female Orc who was dressed in a dirtied white coat riding on a war wolf. ¡°Of course, they are based on the products from the previous Head Researcher. I have improved them, so their usefulness is a given. Have you started to activate the lost technology artefacts just as I instructed you to do?¡± Ayse asked as she pushed her glasses while grinning at the possible turn of events. ¡°Yes, we are in the midst of doing so. They are being covered by our mages using illusion magic as we activate them. So far the Goblins seem eager to destroy our catapults, so they must assume, those are the biggest threat so the artefacts would be ready in no time. We have also received reports indicating that the one leading them is supposedly the Spear General of King Sol.¡± The officer reported before Ayse dismissed him. ¡°Heh, to think I might be able to meet one of the famous Three Generals in person. And it¡¯s the Spear General of all people. This must be fate. Guess it¡¯s a good thing I parted away from the main army to oversee this foreseen mess. Father, I hope you are watching me, today might just become the day for your revenge.¡± Ayse smirked while overseeing the entire battle from the back of the valley. Chapter 338 Rite of Battle "What are you guys thinking?!" Qiu Yue slammed on the table which frightened the advisors once more. "Oh my god, I really cannot believe it." She lowered her head in disappointment and shook her head. This was definitely harder than she had anticipated. "What seems to be the problem, Qiu?" King Sol asked in a gentle tone rather than an imposing one and hoped that he did not offend her in any way. However, Qiu Yue ignored him and sat down right beside him and started to write her own notes while the advisors could only keep quiet staring at her in silence as they heard the sound of intense scribbling. "I understand that a lot of your advisors are freshly recruited, but they should have been around to see how to work this job. I can''t believe you need me to point out all your flaws. It''s as if you are on thin ice without even realising it and slowing. Let me point it out for you. You have approximately three months worth of dry food stockpile according to the population that you quoted me. Your coffers might be high currently, but considering the fact that the orcs have crippled every other goblin kingdom, you are left with only the humans to trade with." Qiu Yue stood up to grab the region map that was placed on the far right of the table. "Your relationship with the humans has always been shaky to be blunt. Assuming they even ARE willing to aid you in trading, you might gain an additional two months of dry food stockpiled according to the amount of food that they had been trading with you for years. Also, you can be damn sure, that they are going to skyrocket the prices they are going to charge you. After all, they should clearly understand, that you will be forced to pay up." Qiu Yue walked towards the Economy advisor''s secretary and requested for the notes that the poor goblin had been taking down. "Resource wise, King Sol has had the foresight to found the kingdom in a location with rich forest and mines, so we are mostly self sufficient in terms of metal works and construction. Food and manpower, however, are an issue." Qiu Yue took a marker out from her storage ring and started to jolt some figures on her palm. "At the very least, you enforced the conscription law strictly. This way we can call up military reserves anytime but it also leaves the kingdom with the old, the woman and children if we are not careful." Qiu Yue now requested the military advisor''s secretary to surrender his portion of notes. "Unfortunately you guys did not phase out old equipment nor introduce new equipment to your soldiers in a long while. Most of your resources were diverted into tangible products which are beneficial for trading purposes, allowing the kingdom to amass a large amount of wealth. I am not saying it''s not wrong, but a quick glance over the numbers of your account books reveals that there are obvious signs of manipulations indicating massive corruptions done by your predecessors. From what it looks like, Your Majesty, it seems you''ve been aware of this, is that correct? " Qiu Yue diverted the question towards King Sol. "I..yes. It has come to my attention¡­ I, however, would like to iterat-" Qiu Yue stopped him and shook her head. "You are surprisingly honest, Your Majesty. The accounts are pristine clean on your end. I think I roughly get the situation and what sort of predicament it could have possibly lead to if you had openly addressed those corruptions." Qiu Yue remembered Jin informed her that King Sol had been in poor health almost all the time and was sure the advisors had been taking advantage of that. If not for the fact that the Three Generals were his friends, the corrupted advisors would have likely tried to overthrow King Sol in a military coup themselves. "However, that does not change the fact that your previous advisors were corrupted. Military Advisor, I suggest ordering a raid in their premise as soon as possible to retrieve records of their financial assets and seize any valuables kept in those advisors'' houses." Qiu Yue wanted to recover as much gold for the war funds of the Kingdom. "This is blasphemous! Those families are currently mourning their dead and you want us to be the bad guys and raid their house for the sake of gold? Why must I listen to you?! You are just a female humanoid scolding us and barking orders at us! You did not give us a speck of respect at all!" The Military Advisor shouted in retaliation and Qiu Yue smirked that this is now going as what she planned. (The goblins were mainly a male dominated race, hence they looked down on Qiu Yue.) "Even though your King had asked you to cooperate, you are still disobeying? Do you really think if we were spies, that we would point out all your faults for you?!?!¡­ Fine. I do understand your reluctance to follow orders of someone you have just met. Let me prove to you, that I have every right to be here, and to command you. I heard from the castle guards that you have an ancient rite of battle if things do not get resolved, right? The one who loses will have to obey all wishes. So how about this? Why don''t you all fight me? That''s right. Each and every one of you can attack me in one go. My condition: Listen to every fucking order I give. If I lose, I won''t force you to ransack those houses, instead, Jin here will provide one million gold coins to the kingdom and we will stop complaining about a single thing." Qiu Yue pointed at Jin and the System gave an estimation to Jin. "User, one million gold coins is equivalent to a hundred thousand dungeon dollars. " Jin smiled weakly and nodded his head in agreement to Qiu Yue''s plan. "Heh! One million gold coins? That is pathetic and not even worth our time." The Economy Advisor snorted as he wanted to increase the bet of the ancient rite of battle. How could they lose? She was after all a humanoid with a slender figure. There was no way she had experience in fighting and she probably would make an excuse to let Master Jin fight against them. "Alright, Fifty million gold coins. Jin here will not help at me all. Heck, let us turn up the difficulty. I will be fighting with one hand tied to my back, and I have to defeat every one of you. In return, all your ministries shall belong to me if all of you lose. What about it?" Qiu suggested but at this time, she and Jin did not know that Pei was already secretly using her Psycho cognitive abilities to influence the advisors, making them more rash than usual. Yet the goblins were not stupid. They demanded Qiu Yue to show the money before they participated in the ancient rite of battle. This was because this rite was not just a promise to be made between either the goblins, orcs or the humans. It was similar to a magical binding contract between the two parties in order to settle their disagreement. Qiu Yue looked at Jin and he sighed heavily and asked the group to meet at the throne hall since there would be no way to show the coins. In the meantime, Jin asked the System to convert the dungeon dollars into gold coins. "Can I change them back to Dungeon dollars later again?" Jin asked and the System replied positively, though it would be based on the market conversion rate with transaction fees added. Jin suddenly felt his heart tighten as he slowly accepted the fact that he needed to part with the money he earnt to the System. When the goblin advisors along with King Sol reached the throne hall, Jin was pulling large suitcases out of his storage watch like some magic trick while Qiu Yue assisted in opening the suitcases one at a time. The goblin advisors'' face turned white when they saw the mountains of gold coins neatly stacked in each suitcase and their mouth even drooled a bit from this sight. King Sol noticed the desires of his advisors and shook his head. He could only trust that Jin and Qiu would be able to set the goblins mindset right. The freshly recruited goblin advisors had not seen the humanoids in action and they only heard stories of the male humanoid Jin''s prowess in the art of fighting. They eventually came to an agreement amongst themselves and agreed to participate in the ancient rite of battle asking King Sol to initiate the contract. According to their risk assessment, they felt that if they ganged up against Qiu Yue, she should not be able to stand a chance at all. However, they did not know that Pei was the one riling up their emotions of greed for the money in front of them nor that she was the one fanning their anger for enduring all the insults Qiu Yue had been hurling at them for the past hours. Their goblin pride had been insulted. They were appointed goblin advisors after all! Respective leaders of a specialised ministry for the glorious Goblin Kingdom! Not just mere nobodies that could simply be lectured by someone else! Jin started to notice that his bracelet was glowing slightly understanding that Pei must be doing something, though he decided not to interfere since fifty million gold coins were at stake. As long as the advisors were to fight against Qiu Yue, everything else should be smooth sailing. "Then I shall initiate the following. You goblin advisors of mine will be fighting against Qiu in a free for all combat. Should Qiu win, she will be granted full access and confidence of each ministry, your future fate as advisors will also depend on her judgements. Her orders will be absolute! However should she lose, she will surrender fifty million gold to the treasury of Gob Gob Kingdom." King Sol stated as he cast a magic circle on the floor with the ring glowing red. "Step in to confirm these conditions for the contract for this Rite of Battle." King Sol invited them. Both parties willingly stepped forward to affirm the participants. "I hereby proclaim to act as the arbiter for the contract and declare it valid to be resolved by the end of the day." King Sol finished and the magic circle slowly faded away. The goblin advisors saw that there was a red triangle being embedded on the palms of their hand as well as Qiu Yue''s. The advisors smirked as they decided to battle at the Castle''s Outer Courtyard in an hour''s time. The secretaries needed to return to their houses to gather their weapon, armours and other miscellaneous equipment. At that point, the advisors had distanced themselves from the humanoids and started discussing how they could best coordinate with each other to take down Qiu Yue. All had been trained in military thanks to the compulsory conscription law and some were even old buddies during their stint in the army. Therefore their discussion got sidetracked every now and then while reminiscing about the old days only to return to the kind of possibilities they might encounter fighting against her. Some assumed she had magic on her side to even the odds, while others felt she must be in possession of skills with area of effect that would make her confident against a large group of goblins. Meanwhile, Jin returned all the suitcases into his storage ring and requested King Sol to lend them the guest room for Qiu Yue to rest before the duel which he granted immediately. The same guard brought them to the guest room they used and showed a thumbs up to Jin as if he was approving of his actions. What actions? Only the guard might know. "Aaaaaghhh!!!" Qiu Yue screamed her frustration into the pillow before she finally relaxed on the bed heaving a sigh of comfort. "Sorry, I should have discussed this before proposing such a thing. Did I push it too far?" Qiu Yue gave a "pity this cute red panda" kind of face which instantly melted Jin''s heart. "I doubt so. After all you are just trying to help them, but they still disapprove. History taught us that logistics is an internal war we have to deal with consistently. No proper supply routes and the armies starve, no proper planning and we will be failing in our operations. We would lose this war before we know it." Jin reassured Qiu Yue as he sat on a large cushion chair and leaned his head at the side of the large chair. "There were too many factors that were lacking in the combat service support. They have no discipline in this particular planning phrase and everyone is pushing responsibilities left right and centre. Honestly they kind of remind me of the Ministry. Even the way they ignore my expertise¡­ They have no idea how much work is needed in transporting their personnel, and there are currently no plans of any forward bases. Medical support is also sorely lacking and much more- ARGGHHHH" Qiu Yue took her half mask out and messed her hair up before she relaxed once more on the bed. "So you simply decided to bet against the goblins so you could obtain total control." Jin smiled at the cuteness of Qiu Yue''s pouting on the bed. "I know I can be a control freak at times, but I cannot think of anything else to circumvent this situation." Qiu Yue places the pillow on her face as she takes a rest. "Distance is not a factor at the moment since we are defending. However, there is a limit to defending. The resources here like I said previously will not support us in the long run since we do not have that many farms. Besides, the advisors also pointed out that winter is coming. If three month of food surplus is the best they can come up for the winter, we will be dead in our tracks." Qiu Yue continued to grumble to Jin. "You are thinking too much right now. For now, you just stay calm and win this particular battle. Or else we will lose the upper hand in negotiations." Jin then beckoned to Qiu Yue as she required her own battle strategy for the upcoming duel too. He and Qiu Yue reviewed her current abilities which was not much to begin with since she had always busy with work. Jin did pass her the manual that the System bestowed to him as a reward, the Radiant Red Panda in the Umbral Snow, but she did not have the time to read it properly. Even the small part she skimmed over was not making much sense at all. The complexity and in depth instructions clearly showed off the expertise of whoever wrote it, but without understanding it, it might as well have been written in another language. "Candidate Qiu Yue requires to have the System imbued for her to integrate the cultivation manual. It was a safety measure created by the System to prevent misuse or abuse of the manual by other potential threats." The System noted and Qiu Yue could only shrug her shoulders. "I think, the only way for you to win in this short amount of time is to have superior equipment than them. If they needed their secretaries to fetch their personal armour, it can only mean that those weapons and armour must be enchanted. I also overheard that they might have some magic prepared to restrain you." Jin warned Qiu Yue and started to suggest some equipment. "I have asked King Sol about the rite of battle. Apparently, this triangle symbol works as a sort of resurrection spell that is granted upon those undergoing the rite of battle ¡ª it seems similar to our resurrection methods but more of a magical nature. Therefore, the advisors will be going all out on you for sure. Luckily for us we have the best weapons supplier one could ask for." Jin was happy to be able to help out as he was more experienced in combat. Qie Yue was aware that she was lacking experience in that battle department and decided to leave it to Jin "Recommend away. I will take whatever you say." Qiu Yue smiled sweetly as she stared into Jin''s honest eyes for a while as he rambled away in his own self talk. "I guess, you can change into this set of clothes. Stats wise, it provides more flexibility and allows you to hide things too." Jin passed her a singlet with shorts, along with a long coat similar to what Kraft was wearing. The unique thing about the long coat was that it could insert more temporary inscriptions compared to other sets of clothing. (Not to mention the jacket has a permanent cooling inscription which Qiu Yue would like very much.) The singlet and cargo shorts were her staple kind of fashion when she was with Jin back then and he simply chose the colours she preferred. Navy Blue and Black. Qiu Yue gladly picked those up and demanded Jin to turn around as she changed. However, Jin could not be bothered as he was currently in a world of his own choosing a suitable katana for her to use in the Weapon Store category in the Pandamonium App. Even those clothing that he arranged for her were from the Armour Store category. He hardly had to pay much since they were pretty cheap stock items. "Hmm. This katana seems decent. It has the chance to freeze the opponents the more the user hits with it." Jin said and took consideration of future customisations for that particular sword in conjunction with her brand new cultivation manual which seemed to deal with the ice element. The next thing he picked up was a pair of Uzi submachine guns from the weapon shop. Those submachine guns were similar to machine pistols that fired at high speeds and they would be effective against a close encounter. Jin received reports from Hou Fei that the improved modified M1 Garand rifles were great against their thin sheets of armour. Jin guessed Qiu Yue could start the fight with one and used the other as a spare. He purposely chose those and bought extended magazines so that there would be no reloading required whatsoever since there was no time to train her. All she had to do was remove the safety and squeeze the guns dry. "Now I understand why you asked me to wear this particular singlet. I remember seeing such clothing made to be slash resistant during an exhibition I happened to be attending. Kevlar, was it? But why these shorts?! Won''t I be vulnerable to attacks to my legs? Do you think the concept of bikini armour really applies in this world?" Qiu Yue asked with some annoyance as she was going for battle, not for a walk on the beach and Jin laughed. "Well, it does suit you stylishly with that long black coat. " He teased Qiu Yue who pouted before she said she was changing once more. It was a good thing she had some spare clothes in her storage ring. However, Jin stopped her and told her the real reason behind it. "Wait, Qiu Yue, I was just joking. Here it''s because of this." From his storage watch, Jin took out a pair of worn metal boots. They were none other than the old gearbox boots that he used before. Jin kept the newer version with improved features for himself, the one he created once more after the battle with Keyrin, the Thunder Ram Demon. After all, there was no way to sell the old ones unless he refurbished it. (No one in the black market wished to buy a product full of scratches and damaged armour. It was equally troublesome to repurpose the usable armour plating just to sell. It was not worth the effort and price.) "It should improve your footwork and serve as armour for your legs. It''s equipment of mine which I used in battle, so I can personally guarantee that it is quite efficient." Jin asked Qiu Yue to try it who in turn asked Jin to assist her in putting them on. "Heh, I suddenly feel like Cinderella." Qiu Yue grinned widely while she thought to herself as Jin gently pushed the gearbox boots up for her and pressed a button at the side. The gearbox boots analysed her leg''s form and gradually wrapped around it. Once done, Qiu Yue stood up and walked around the guest room to test them out. "I guess they are not as bad as I thought it would be." Qiu Yue praised as she tried to jump around a little and kicked a few times to test her flexibility. She could feel some strain at the start but like an artificial intelligence robot that learnt how to adapt, the gearbox tweaked the output and Qiu Yue starting to feel so natural as if she was barefoot, though more comfortable after a while. "Alright, now it''s time to choose some temporary inscriptions." Jin announced which gave both of them some bonding time while discussing what needed to be chosen. An hour later, they assembled to the Outer courtyards where there was a training ground for the royal soldiers to train. The goblin advisors and Qiu Yue had decided to use that as a place of battle and King Sol was around to attend to it. However before he allowed both parties to resolve their differences, the King shared some information with Jin about the current situation in the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu and notified him that the goblins and some of Jin''s comrades had engaged once with the orcs before retreating. Jin pretended to acknowledge the fact as if it was the first time he heard about it but Jin had been given constant updates from Kraft. Thanks to his surveillance Jin was even better informed about it, and the situation was actually even more dire than what King Sol had heard but he trusted Kraft would be able to handle it on his own. "Heh, Master. You are giving me too much control over something you should be doing on your own. You sure it''s a good idea to give me so much power? I could always try to abuse this opportunity to usurp you." Kraft chuckled softly. "If you were not responsible and loyal, you would not have stayed with Ming for that long or me. I think¡­ With your strength, you could''ve easily overpowered me and taken over the System for yourself. Especially when a lot of the upgrades were because of you. I am sure you know enough loopholes of the System but you did not exploit them. So, I trust that even though things might get chaotic on the battlefield¡­ to you, it should simply further your fun. I trust that you can get the job done. Besides, these chaotic things those are the same things which will make the cultivators remember about this ''raid instance'', right?" Jin replied and Kraft cackled in amusement. "You are now talking my language! And¡­thank you Master. I am glad to have met people like Ming and you." Kraft replied sincerely to Jin before he abruptly cut off communications and Jin concentrated on observing the battle in front of him. The goblin advisors were decked out in excessively expensive gear. Magical runes were shining brightly on their armour, well polished swords, spears and ornaments like golden chains running along their customised helmet. If Qiu Yue were to find out they were in on the corruption, she would not be surprised either. However, with a glance Jin could gauge that a number of them had not worn them for a long time. Perhaps, the desk bound jobs in the ministries made them complacent¡­ or perhaps that was what he wished to be the case for the upcoming fight. Regardless, Jin made sure Qiu Yue was equally well equipped since this was a bet too heavy to fool around. King Sol gave a clap and the goblins immediately went into their previously discussed formation. Obviously, the one with the biggest shield stood in front and the rest had their swords and spears pointing outwards. In the meantime, Qiu Yue was putting up a front while folding her arms but in actual fact, she was holding on to the pair of uzi machine guns at the sides. The long black coat was covering those weapons so well, the goblins were smirking being sure it was going to be an easy victory. "She does not have that wooden stick they called M1 Rifles with her. You know, the one that Snake masked Humanoid was training our troops with before they were flown away in the bellies of the giant metal bird." An advisor at the centre of the formation was whispering to the military advisor. "That is great. That means our defender has a higher chance of survival. This should give us the opportunity to fight against her. I propose we go for Plan G, instead of being defensive. Let''s go for a swift attack the moment King Sol declares the start of the battle." The military advisor suggested and most agreed except for one. The Magic Advisor was afraid that Qiu had a different sort of weapon which could shoot something similar to the M1 rifles. He insisted on putting up a barrier just in case. "Don''t be a wuss. We need you to support us with the strongest magic you can summon while not destroying the castle!" the Military advisor continued to argue in a whispering tone but clouded with worry the Magic Advisor was not following his lead. Truthfully Pei was still subtlety influencing all the others with her magic except for the Magic Advisor. Pei had concluded that the Magic Advisor who was tuned with the art of magic seemed to have a higher resistance towards mind control magic techniques. Instead of using more of her energy to influence him, she decided not to bother with him. This in turn would help prevent any suspicion of foul play from Jin''s side. "I will let the group herd thinking settle that magic advisor." Pei thought to herself while she maintained her magic in bracelet form. True enough, their petty bickering began to annoy King Sol who was witnessing everything at the sidelines. "Ready. Get set." King Sol activated a magic circle under them to activate the so called resurrection spell which would work as long as they stayed in that circle while performing the rite of battle. "Go." King Sol slammed his scabbard on the ground to commence the start of battle. The goblins were unhesitant to charge forward in a triangle formation to which Qiu Yue brandished her two Uzi submachine guns and fired indiscriminately at them. *CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK* The frontlines fell instantly. So fast that it shocked the advisors who were behind. However, it was too late to do anything about it, as they were the next to be killed by the spray of bullets. There had been no chance for them to even activate their magical runes at all for they clearly underestimated their opponent and the unstable emotions did not allow them to think correctly. Qiu Yue stopped for a while and jumped up to have a higher vantage point as she emptied whatever little amount was left in her extended magazines. The only one that managed to survive the relentless onslaught was the Magic Advisor who had defied the military advisor and created a personal magical barrier shield for himself. Qiu Yue smiled as she threw the submachine guns to scare him further before she rushed in with a flying kick powered by the gearbox boots. Jin laughed as it was that infamous ''Rider Kick'' that they had already performed during the arena too. Only the King was troubled by the almost instantaneous kill. He was aware that Jin should not be underestimated, but this was simply overwhelmingly disgraceful for the goblins. He heaved heavily, simply glad they were their allies. If they had sided with the Orcs, King Sol shuddered at that train of thought. "User. The goblin advisors have been captured into the System. They will definitely be loyal without a fault." The System stated after the battle had been concluded with Qiu Yue''s kick crushing the shield barrier. The surprised Magic Advisor''s was subsequently killed with a stab through the heart. "Eh? I thought only my weapons, bellators and monsters were able to capture the goblins?" Jin was pleasantly surprised by the sudden change of situation. That would mean he could safely trust the goblin advisors to do their job. Now there was not even a need to worry should there be a way to revert the so call contract by the rite of battle. "The System understood that the items you were purchasing would be given to Candidate Qiu Yue. System had taken the liberty to inject the capture module code into those weapons. Should Candidate Qiu Yue continue to use those weapons, the code will remain valid." The System stated and Jin smiled. "Let the rite of battle resurrect them. That way we won''t even need to spend souls on them." Jin said and the System acknowledged while at the same time, it was analysing and processing the resurrection magic that was being used on the captured goblin advisors. There was a chance this type of magic could help in developing the System''s very own Black Goo Souls. King Sol came down from the stage he had been overseeing the battle from and shook Qiu''s hand. "Congratulations. The advisors will have to listen to you now. Should they try to disobey they would have to suffer the punishment of death due to the clause contract in the rite of battle." King Sol smiled bitterly but now believed more than ever that Jin and his comrades would be the ones able to save them from this certain impending doom. "I was not expecting such a win from this group¡­" Qiu Yue grinned widely when suddenly a loud explosion echoed within the capital city not too far from the castle. "User, Satellite images show orc raiders attacking the capital. Judging from the tight security from the borders, it could indicate they used an underground passage of some sort to reach into the middle of the captital city." System surmised causing Jin to frown at the attack before calling Qiu Yue to follow him. "King Sol, we will deal with that Orc menace!" Jin said as he grabbed Qiu Yue who was slightly stunned by that explosion from afar, but the grab jolted her back to reality. "When we are back, I want all the relevant documents that we had been talking about in the previous meeting to be on the table!" Qiu Yue shouted towards the King while Jin was pulling her hand to hurry her up. Chapter 339 Extra - Ladies Nigh "Yun, are you really okay with just handling the store?" Milk asked Yun when she closed the shop for the day. The shop instance was empty with nearly no one around while Jin was busying doing up his gadgets and dungeons. "Meh, it''s not that bad. I am part of the System and so when Jin asked me for my help to do so, I would do it for him." Yun replied as she took a cup of black ivory coffee to drink and asked if Milk wants one. She took up Yun''s offer and looked around Jin''s shop instance. "It''s so much different from before. Remember the days when it was really just a small shop." Milk said as if it was something very nostalgic and Yun laughed at the absurdity of the exaggeration Milk gave before putting the saucer and cup of hot coffee down in front of her. "Girl! It''s barely a month had passed since Jin opened this shop." Yun blew her hot coffee to cool it down faster. "Does not feel like a month at all. All the planetary travel kind of spoil my sense of time." Milk put her hand near Yun''s coffee to cast a minor spell that was consisted of a small wind breeze. Yun thanked her for it was the right temperature when she sipped on it. "Oh yes! I did not imagine you to be that strong when you fought against Jin." Milk was surprised by the moves Yun had done when she saw her fought with Jin in the random arena and Yun can only smirk at her comment. "Mind your own business, Milk." Yun said as she checked her watch and felt it was not the time to sleep yet. "You want to come with me and walk around the shopping district? There are some night activities we can partake. It feels too early to sleep." Yun said and suddenly a few monsters started to appear in the shop instance as they always do when the Master Jin was not around. "Lady Boss! I want to walk around the place too! I heard there is this place where you can sing your hearts out!" Zhi Nu came out from the Sanctum of Worlds. "Oh Karaoke? I guess we can try that. They should be open till early morning. Let me check if we need to make any reservations." Yun took out her phone to check the site. "Then, let me join too." Que Er the Magpie Queen appeared in front Yun as a magpie before she turned to her human form. Not only her, Nyanmi and Meomi, the werecat sisters also came out from their instance too. Surprisingly, Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress was interested in this particular karaoke activity. If it can increase her exposure to music, she would not hesitate to join. "Count me in." Sandy emerged from a pile of soil near an artificial tree and Yun laughed. "So this is a girl''s night out? Well, why not?! But first! Clothes! You ladies need more fashion taste!" Yun said and pointed especially to Que Er and Zhi Nu who were still in their traditional Chinese garb. Yun clapped her hand and everyone was teleported to the Armoury store where hundreds or maybe thousands of clothes were being sold. The Red Pandas attendants immediately came towards Yun and asked if there was anything they could do. "Get them suitable modern clothes, those without inscriptions. We just want a night out." Yun smiled gently at the red pandas which they bow in respect before they scattered out in search for the right clothes for the monsters. Milk chose something rather modest for her body size. A green chiffon blouse and black long pants. Sandy actually took something more casual, just simple shorts and long sleeve shirt with a panda cartoon graphic. The werecats despite always in their werecat forms had changed into humans just for this occasion. Their long turquoise and light purple silky hair were of something to envy as it was natural rather than dyed. Of course, because of their hair colour and style, they decided to wear something a little more loud. Black leather jackets with short leather skirts and broken stocking nets. The cats purposely matched with each other for the occasion. In the meantime, the immortal girls took a simplistic approach to their dressing. Que Er wore a cardigan with a white shirt and black pants while Zhi Nu wore a long dress with a duster sweater. For Ke Mi, Yun personally chose a light pink one piece dress and assisted her wearing it. "Don''t worry Ke Mi, when we reach there, I will create a portal for you to come in. Great White Snake, you better transport her carefully! Do not dirty that dress!" Yun said and the Great White Snake beside Ke Mi stuck its tongue out in acknowledgement. "Actually, if you use this pair of magical boots, she should be able to walk normally." Shu suddenly appeared in the armour store and held onto a box. "The only bad thing is that there will be roots wrapping around her legs and she cannot run with it because the roots would be heavily strained and break. But with that dress, Ke Mi can hide those hideous roots. Maybe when Jin complete that Gearbox, it could serve as a replacement for Ke Mi''s legs too." Ke Mi extended her hands out while showing an "I want this now!" expression as she desperately wanted to go out with the female monsters. Shu grinned widely as he placed the shoebox right beside her and she picked it up to use it immediately. The ladies were all cheering for Ke Mi as she took her first step up and walked around in the new boots. She did not know it was that simple to stand up with it. Yet, it was an extremely magical moment for Ke Mi. Yun, on the other hand, had no sense of appreciation for such magical moments and hurried the entire group. "Time is not waiting for anybody! Be quick or we will miss out the reservation!" The girls quickly went out of the armoury store and subsequently out of the shop instance for the very first time. If not for Yun, they might never see what the outside world looks like. Even though Ke Mi could walk, Sandy took the initiative to piggyback Ke Mi as the girls ran excitedly around the shopping district to see the various shops. She did not want the little girl to miss out or anything. Although a number of shops were closed since it was already past midnight, the products behind the glass panels excited them. It was then Yun beckoned them to go into the Karaoke store where she had reserved a large room. (all expenses were forwarded to the System''s user. Keke!) They ordered many tasty quick bites, and alcohol for the older ladies while the younger ones like Ke Mi and Sandy had soft drinks. Yun then introduced them to how the karaoke system worked and began to sing a song as part of the demonstration. She later played a few modern and classic songs with singers covering the lyrics too so that they knew how the tune would go. It took some time for the monsters to get used to it but within an hour, they managed to get the hang of it and started to repeat some songs they tried for the first time. The cats similar to their attire loved rock music while the immortal ladies preferred music videos that suited the traditional Chinese music. Sandy and Ke Mi loved the modern songs but since Ke Mi could not sing, she summoned out her Zither and played along with Sandy and the accompanying music. Milk somehow knew some songs from the radio she last heard when Jin and the Bellators went to the Zoo and she had been singing those songs too. Nonetheless, most of them would try to sing along with any song even though it was unfamiliar. The camaraderie between the ladies for that night was extraordinary. Even when they were not singing, they would be playing some simple games that involved drinking. For example, if any of the girls went off tune, Milk and Yun would drink a cup of beer and they would see who can last longer than the other. All in all, they had their fun on their very first ladies night. Chapter 340 Terror Attack in the Capital Chapter 340 Terror Attack in the Capital As they descended down the castle stairs, Jin took the opportunity to open a portal. The System had set the destination at the roof of the house where the explosion originated from. Unlike previously where the System was unable to portal Jin or the goblins to where they wanted, the satellite it had deployed allowed coordinates to be input almost instantaneously for the portal to appear. The only problem with this particular satellite was that it could only handle the region of Kingdom Gob Gob, mainly because Jin had bargained for the cheapest one out there. There were no other functions other than observing for the System and its energy charge was approximately two months or so. Once its fuel had been used up, it would cease to work any longer, becoming probably the first space junk in this Goblin world or it would fall back to the planet when it happened to be in its geo-orbit. Otherwise Jin would have used the satellite to find the Orc main kingdom and immediately teleported right there to stop this stupid war. (The other satellites even with just the basic modules would cost ten times more than this stripped down bare boned version of a satellite.) Jin grabbed Qiu Yue tightly to prevent her falling off the house when they came out of the portal. Thankfully the roof managed to bear the impact of Jin and Qiu Yue when they arrived on the scene. This gave them a clear vantage point of the area and it was evident that the Orc Raiders were killing wantonly, doing as much damage as possible. Jin found a suitable target and jumped down into a ¡®death from above¡¯ kind of attack, surprising the Orcs. To his own surprise he noticed Qiu Yue doing the same on to the Orc Raider right beside his. The Orc Raider Captain saw these humanoids and immediately realised they were a threat. He vaguely remembered hearing chatters and rumours from the various orc raiding groups in a secured magical telecommunication channel bestowed by the Orc Researchers. Those orc raider messages were broadcast throughout the goblin region within a day. Some of the orc raiders did not care and those who did, were already dead. (Courtesy of the cultivators from Jin¡¯s shop.) The captain thought it was a ploy by the goblins to scare the Orc raiders. But the goblins did not know all these raids which looked like random encounters were all a coordinated plot. Hence, instead of ordering his men to defeat the humanoids, the Orc Raider Captain commanded them to scatter around and do as much damage as possible. ¡°I will deal with them myself.¡± The Orc Raider Captain said as he brandished his large axe and slammed it on the ground, shattering bricks on the road. ¡°Shit, most of the monsters in my possession are held up with the cultivators. There is no way I can chase all of them down even with the help of the System¡¯s navigation ¨C¡­Wait a minute.¡± Jin realised that there was someone else who could help out. ¡°Qiu Yue, keep him busy for a moment. I will be right back!¡± Jin had no time to waste and chase down one of the Orc Raiders while dialling his phone. ¡°You are just going to leave me behind?!!!¡± Qiu Yue screamed after Jin who was already running far behind her. ¡°You can do it! Trust in yourself! Show them the might of the Red Panda!¡± Jin said as he dashed forth into the streets. ¡°Oh my god, I should have listened to Jin and kept one Uzi submachine as a spare.¡± Qiu Yue felt a little terrified by the size of the Orc Raider Captain who was more than happy to finish off the female humanoid first. He rushed forward while dragging his giant axe along the ground, breaking more of the brick road. Qiu Yue immediately went into her battle stance, preparing to parry if needed. ¡°Hello? Lynn! I need you and your Penguin Crew to help us out! Several Orcs Raiders are attacking the capital of Gob Gob Kingdom. I need you guys to track them down and if possible to defeat them. The System will assist in finding them!¡± Jin hurried to explain the situation as he finally caught up with one raider as he threw Boo forward, injuring the Orc Raider¡¯s back. ¡°Some of the Raiders are mounted on wolves. It might prove a little difficult for the Penguins to catch them.¡± The System interjected the conversation between Jin and Lynn. ¡°Heh, You are underestimating my Peggies! Do not worry Jin. We will prove the System wrong.¡± Lynn put the phone down as she picked up her Wok Chuan (Chinese Spatula) and ladle. She subsequently knocked the two of them together constantly to get the attention of the penguins in the kitchen. ¡°Listen! Boss Jin needs help tracking some runaway Orc Raiders! To the Kitchen Armoury! Activate the skeleton crew on duty. Let¡¯s kill these Orc Raiders and get back to work!¡± Lynn shouted as she took out her chef hat. The Penguins hailed Lynn and almost half of the penguins in the kitchen rushed to a room right beside the Kitchen. The room lit up and an assortment of knives, cutters, choppers and even sickles were attached on the wall and the penguins immediately picked up their choice of weapons. Meanwhile, a penguin slammed the floor tile. It was used to press a button on the floor, causing the tiles on the floor and ceiling to flip. More weapons and accessories like esoteric scrolls, shurikens, chains, extendable staff were revealed. That¡¯s right. The Penguins were more than simple cooks. In fact aside from being top notch helpers for the Restaurant Instance, they were also ninja trainees and Lynn was their Queen Ninja or so they dubbed her. It was a hidden function that Lynn discovered in the first few days of obtaining the Sub System. She realised that her cultivation was similar to a Ninja or Assassin as the cultivation manual, Perfectible Penguin Ruling the Kitchen Hell, was more about the use of culinary tools to kill if necessary. What better way to earn the trust of an assassination target than the allure of yummy food. Providing one with a perfect excuse to study a target up close. Yet the training involved was all about the kitchen. The art of balancing plates, the need to dash quickly and serve the orders in time. The endurance to cook as much quality food as possible. The strict detailed instructions in recipes. The correct timing to throw a speck of salt. The use of chi and harnessing it to prepare the dishes. All this while still remaining courteous to the customers. It was a delicate and yet arduous set of tasks for the penguins. But what Jin did not see was that during all this hectic work as cooks and waiters, they were simultaneously training their ability to fight. The penguins would duel with each other by throwing dirty plates for clean plates or when serving the food. All this while ensuring the food presentation would still be exquisite for the customers. Not a single drop of soup was allowed to be on the floor. The cooks would parry each others¡¯ Wok Chuan and even used the Woks as a shields while ensuring the food cooking was still intact. The amount of dexterity to perform such finesse was absurd, but the penguins and Lynn had managed to get it. In the meantime, the occasional failures did not mean the food was entirely wasted. The Sub System ensured all the food waste to be recycled. After all that food still contained spirit energy because of Lynn¡¯s Sub System ability. Hence they were reprocessed into fertilisers for the living armour plants. (The Living Armour plants always looked forward to this since they were fertilisers that was filled with chi energy but unfortunately in recent days, it was getting lesser.) The Penguins took their weapons and put them in their black storage scarves and wore black bandanas that covered their eyes. The Sub System initially wanted the penguins to hold those weapons in a bag but Lynn insisted on the scarf part. Contrary to a certain Panda miser, she did not mind paying more for a bit of style and flexibility. (Yeah, Unlike humans, a fanny pack would only interfere with penguin¡¯s short body.) Besides, ever since the Restaurant Train of Delicacy instance opened up, a huge chunk of the profit the instance generated went to Lynn instead of Jin. This in turn allowed Lynn to purchase and experiment with newer ingredients as well as upgrade her beloved peggies. ¡°Ready?¡± Lynn also changed to her all new ninja attire which consisted of a full leather suit, similar to a motorcycle suit for aerodynamic purposes. Its material was very sturdy and seemed to consist of a material similar but sturdier than Kevlar. She fashioned a few pieces of black painted armour on her kneecaps and elbows while equipping a lower torso armour piece made of the same material making it stab resistant. She also donned a black scarf and a black penguin half mask on her face. ¡°GYOI!¡± The ninja trainee penguins shouted in unison while kneeling halfway. ¡°Your will, your pleasure, huh?¡± Lynn smiled when the ninjas gave their reply in an old formal Japanese way of agreement. She kindly asked the Sub System to communicate with the Main System and it opened multiple portals all around the kitchen. The penguins immediately took ¡®flight¡¯ into the respective gateways. (More like jumping with their flippers open. Lynn found them too cute to remain serious.) One of the Orc Raider that Jin was chasing took the opportunity to throw an oil filled bottle on fire into the buildings but Jin was fast enough to use Panda Rolling to cut it into two. However, by intercepting that particular Molotov, the Orc Raider managed to further the distance by a few metres from him, forcing Jin to keep running once more. ¡°Darn it! Even Panda Rolling has its limits. Maybe I should also get myself a mount. Riding into the battle on top of a Panda would be¡­¡± Jin puffed as his thoughts went wild for a moment, while he tried to catch up with the Orc Raider again. The Orc Raider smirked as it prepared to throw another Molotov c.o.c.ktail but suddenly a magical portal appeared which made him instinctively throw it into that portal. A shadowy humanoid figure came out catching the flying Molotov and shoved it on top of the orcs head. At the same time she used the hidden blade under her hand that stabbed through his mouth. Not stopping at that, a hidden blade under her boot appeared and it was directly used to puncture the running wolf. With a twirl and a kick, the hidden blade under the boot punctured a vital nerve of the wolf, causing it to topple along with its owner. Lynn jumped off and kneeled in front of a stunned Jin while the goblins around the scene immediately hid in the surrounding houses or took behind cover. ¡°Master Jin, your chef at your service.¡± She solemnly said and Jin could not help but laugh and compliment for a job well done. ¡°So that¡¯s what you¡¯ve been hiding all this time, isn¡¯t it? No wonder you refused my invitation for training when I asked you.¡± Jin was surprised as he had not noticed how much Lynn had been growing in both power and maturity. She blushed a little but ultimately gave a wide grin towards Jin before she stood up. ¡°I figured I could never catch up to you. But if I stay as your shadow, perhaps¡­¡± Lynn turned her back and stared at the struggling Orc Raider that was bleeding to death while the fire was spreading out on the rest of his body. ¡°I can always be at your side no matter the circ.u.mstances.¡± She thought to herself while walking towards the Orc and ended his struggling. Lynn looked towards the dying wolf and asked the Sub System to capture it for her. Jin was no longer the only one who was able to capture creatures, though Lynn¡¯s capturing skills worked slightly different. If it was bestial in nature, Lynn was able to capture them to harvest them later as cooking materials. Her Sub System would preserve it with utmost ability and could even copy it¡¯s genes and anatomy for reconstruction at a set price. However, the monsters which the Sub System recreated for food purposes did not possess a soul in them. Instead of being classified as a creature, it was more accurate to describe them as just a sack of meat and bones. The capturing also created a problem of its own. Once the monster fell under Lynn¡¯s domain, Jin would not be able to use said monster for his own dungeons unless he went out to capture another such creature. To avoid fighting over these monsters Jin and Lynn had decided to implement a ¡®first come¡¯ rule, since it could develop into grey point of contention for the living monsters. Yet behind the sidelines, the System and Sub System had discussed to use the Black Goo Souls with parts of the lifeless creatures for experiments especially since Half Ghoul Lord Derek had started developing some expertise for it. (They dared to proceed forward because Jin had given the go ahead to do so. An abomination is after all a whole new type living of creature.) It seems they were playing God in religious terms but to the System, the ex Panda Elders had indeed been bestowed powers similar to god in a limited way. To avoid anything unforeseeable, Kraft¡¯s foxes were monitoring such experiments very carefully. The crafty fox did not wish to relive an incident like with the ex Panda Lord Zhou Lin. Jin looked at his own phone with the System¡¯s map on it. The red targets were indeed disappearing one by one, courtesy of the penguin ninja trainees. Jin had a breather before he beckoned Lynn to follow him back to Qiu Yue. Meanwhile the poor young woman finally realised how weak she truly was during the time she had to endure against the Orc Raider Captain though the Orc Raider Captain himself was surprised at her sturdiness. He had thrown a few punches which had proved to be very deadly against many of the Goblin Guards but against this particular humanoid, they appeared ineffective. ¡°Ineffective my ass, I still feel the bloody impact.¡± Qie Yue as if she could read the orc¡¯s thought through his mildly troubled expression, was glad that Jin had provided her with the temporary inscription. Not to mention her upgraded outfit too, otherwise she would have probably died already. Her new weapon also proved to be a boon. Qiu Yue was using her sword to block the blows. With the nature of the ice elemental katana, it activated whenever it struck something. In this case, it was the Orc Raider Captain¡¯s fist, which started to become numb. ¡°In this case¡­¡± The Orc Raider Captain started to take her more seriously and picked up his axe to furiously slam it down on Qiu Yue while she was panting for breath. ¡°F.u.c.k!¡± Qiu Yue quickly tried to block with her sword but the blow was so strong that it broke the ice elemental katana into two. She felt memories suddenly flashing past her. The steel axe blade even broke the defence inscription that was desperately trying to negate the damage¡­ but it was not robust to withstand it. However, at that point, a separate inscription activated and Qiu Yue got teleported out of the way, preventing the axe from splitting her into two. It had been an emergency teleport inscription fused with the defence inscription which Jin designated as a last ditch technique in case the defence inscription failed Qiu Yue. Nonetheless, she was not out of danger yet. The teleportation only put her ten metres away from the Orc Raider Captain. ¡°Heh. I¡¯ve heard of such humanoids, the experienced orc raiders said that they were strong, powerful and ruthless against our kind. But look what we have here? You are like a rat who scampers away at the sign of danger. So pathetic.¡± The Orc Raider Captain paced himself a little before taking a big leap towards Qiu Yue. ¡°You think I am going to die just like that!?¡± Qiu Yue had no time to activate her storage ring to take out a spare sword. She just had to survive both the insults and the incoming attacks while waiting for Jin to appear again. Her eyes were a bit teary, her heart was beating like crazy but the sense of danger did not dull her battle senses. Even though it was just once, she remembered the odds Jin and her overcame in the battle arena. As the adrenaline was rushing through her and time seemed to slow down, her brain was trying to think of a way to get out, when she realised she still had Jin¡¯s old gearbox boots. As if the boots were reading her mind, they actively moved her legs upwards as the Orc swung his axe towards her once more. Qiu Yue could feel the impact of the axe attack even more since she no longer had the temporary defence inscription protecting her. Her spine was strained, and her legs were trembling from the attack. Yet, the gearbox boots were able to withstand the attack and did not break like the ice elemental sword. ¡°I might have a chance!¡± Qiu Yue used her might to push the axe sideways with her legs and got up with a jump before gaining some distance away from the Orc Raider Captain. The Orc did not give any quarters as he rushed forward with all his strength. That was when Qiu Yue used her gearbox boots to boost ahead as well. With speed at her side, she managed to dodge the incoming vertical slash and she knee strike the Orc Raider Captain to the upper right chest before utilising the momentum in her to kick his face. Sadly, the Orc Raider Captain had enough experience in battle and seemed to have anticipated this kind attack and attempted to grab her. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare you filthy orc!¡± In an instant, the Orc¡¯s Right arm was severed, and Jin grabbed Qiu Yue from behind before twisting and spinning to deliver another slash to his left arm. Before both of his arms managed to reach the ground, two hidden blades were plunged into the sides of his neck and Lynn used her strength to slash it out of his nape. ¡°You okay?¡± Jin panted as holding Qiu Yue in his arms once again. Qiu Yue was also breathing crazily not just from the exhaustion but her heart was jumping all over the place. She thought she was a goner when Qiu Yue saw the evil smirk on the Orc¡¯s face. ¡°You Stupid! So slow! So ¡­Waaaaaaaa¡± Qiu Yue softly punched Jin a few times before she took the initiative to grab on Jin and cried quietly. Lynn saw that and sympathised with her. If she were in that same situation as Qiu Yue, she would be equally scared too. In the meantime, Pei took the liberty to take the memories of the orc before his brain was totally dead from the loss of blood. ¡°Hmm. Boss. The situation might be worse than we thought.¡± ¡°Speak freely, Pei.¡± Jin sent the voice transmission to Pei while asking Lynn to take care of Qiu Yue for a moment. He proceeded near the dead Orc Raider Captain and began to search his belongings. He then saw a machine like artefact and according to his memories from what Pei described, it¡¯s a Lost Technology Artefact. The other orc raiders that ran away were trying their best to portray this whole thing as a suicide terror raid. But in actual fact, they were planning to plant these machine like artefacts to transport troops from the Orc territory directly into the capital. ¡°The Thunder Army from the north is a ruse, forcing us to bring the best of our goblin army there. The Orc King Hamu was planning to bring the fight into the capital all along. The Kingslayer Ambush and the ship carriers were their initial plan, hoping to get rid of all the kings simultaneously and catch the unarmed goblins as slaves once more. Since that was no longer an option, they decided to bring their armies forward. They showed off their flying lost technology so that none of us will even thought about them coming from underground. Little did we know that this was their backup plan and everything was a calculated ruse. They purposely sent more raiders for this attack to scatter and activate the lost artefacts.¡± Pei deciphered the Orc Raider Captain¡¯s memories. ¡°Lynn, send the word out to your penguins to retrieve all these lost tech artefacts. System, analyse these. Perhaps they will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I have an idea which might allow us to encounter the Orc King Hamu faster than we thought.¡± Jin ordered and Lynn complied. The System immediately took the item into its possession and began to analyse the part of the artefact. ¡°I¡¯m leaving Qiu Yue to you, Jin. I will assist my penguins in finding the lost artefacts.¡± Lynn nodded her head before she suddenly ran and disappeared into the alleys of the house and asked the Sub System to reverse analyse the paths those dead orcs had taken. They would then be able to get an approximate location where the lost artefacts could have been placed in case the penguin ninjas did not find them on the Orc¡¯s belongings. However, she was doing all this to deflect herself from thinking too much about Jin and Qiu Yue since she had decided just to assist Jin from the sidelines. (for now.) ¡°Sub User Lynn should be more assertive. System has confirmed to Sub System that those two are not a pair yet. Sub User Lynn should not give up.¡± Sub System tried to console Lynn, while giving her advice, but got not reply. ¡°I will get the military advisor to assist in the search for the lost tech artefacts.¡± Qiu Yue steadied herself as they too went into an alley before teleporting back to the castle to prevent ciivilian goblin eyes staring at them wildly. ¡°Are you sure you are okay? I can do the explanation for you while you rest a little?¡± Jin replied with concern. ¡°It is fine. We went through worse, right¡­?¡± Qiu Yue tried to crack a joke as she dusted her coat a bit before proceeding to the meeting room of the area, yet Jin insisted on accompanying her. ¡°Is everything alright and under control? My guards have yet to give me an update.¡± King Sol had even taken off his coat and was assisting the advisors preparing the doc.u.ments. ¡°There is a new development which gravely concerned us. This was not a simple terror raid as we expected it to be.¡± Jin explained the situation to the entire group of advisors and King Sol. Afterwards Qiu Yue ordered the military advisor to help out Lynn with searching. ¡°Where the hell did they get those artefacts from?¡± King Sol pondered before shaking his head. ¡°Your Majesty, should we send the word out now or continue to suppress the news of the attack?¡± Home Affairs advisor asked which resulted in Qiu Yue interjecting with her own opinion. ¡°Do not say anything directly about the Lost Artefacts. However do inform the public that if they discover any suspicious packages or sightings of orcs, they are to report the location of those to the guards immediately.¡± Qiu Yue went on to explain it would be more beneficial to pretend those being possible dangerous magical contraptions left behind by the Orc Raiders. ¡°I understand, I will proceed to tell my department to distribute the news.¡± Home Affairs told the secretary and they continued to look at the doc.u.ments. Jin, on the other hand, decided to return to the Dungeon Maker and left the care of the government advisors for Qiu Yue to handle. ¡°Kraft, anything major?¡± Jin returned and Kraft lazily looked at the screens. ¡°Nah, just a large mega laser cannon that fired through the gates of the Valley Town Gob Gob Bu, allowing the Orcs the chance to go in. Peppers would probably give it something like a 3/10. Oh, and those Orcs were enchanted with some kind of No Pain or High Endurance magic spell. They are rushing forward with no fear nor regard for their own safety. Some of them were marching forward with missing hands or bleeding torsos. Pretty sure I even saw one crawling on with his guts leaking out. So you know, the usual.¡± Kraft leaned back and munched on some potato ch.i.p.s near the console. ¡°So in other words¡­everything is under control?¡± Jin smiled bitterly as he looked at all these screens. ¡°Meh, you can say that. Surprisingly almost all your regular customers were free enough to join this particular fight. You seem to have gathered a pretty loyal mercenary troop of your own, The Pandawans. Your enemies will shake in fear after hearing that mighty name. Hahah.¡± Kraft pointed and Jin could see the list of Pandawans that had entered the Raid Instance. It was no longer simply Se Lang the Wacky Wolf, Deng Long the W.o.m.bling W.o.m.bat Style, Bu Dong the Angry Ape and Kong Xian the Towering Tortoise that had entered right before the second wave had started. Yue Han the Blind Bat, Yue Wen the Healing Maiden, Jia Ying the Sanguine Stag, Shi Hui the Shadowy Swan and Jing Ru the Gunning Giraffe had seemingly entered the fray as well during his absence. It was becoming a significant battle with that many cultivators in one particular region. Kraft had even allocated some cultivators to assist with the citizens moving away from Gob Gob Bu so that the rest of the goblin army could enter. He purposely gave out a bunch of extra raid points to those cultivators and even promised to send them to other missions for free. Jin was surprised that Kraft was able to think of something so kind and meaningful. ¡°You doubt my sincerity after all this time?! Your thoughts truly hurt me!¡± Kraft gave a fake annoyed face, but Jin ignored the theatrics and simply created a chair from the Dungeon Maker to look over the situation with Kraft. ¡°You sure about this? Too many cooks spoil the broth you know.¡± Kraft asked as he figured Jin¡¯s intention. ¡°Two heads are still better than one,¡± Jin replied as he extended his hands out for some ch.i.p.s. ¡°I can do that in your head too.¡± Kraft smiled and summoned out a new bag of ch.i.p.s instead. ¡°Argh, spare me. I only got like six hours of sleep from the sleeping capsule. I still feel like crap alright.¡± Jin complained before he started to discuss what to do with the lost artefacts. ¡°Heh, do you really want to hear my opinion? Your eyes already tell me that you have thought up a crazy plan of your own, don¡¯t you?¡± Kraft smirked and Jin laughed. ¡°It¡¯s unrealistic to be honest. I was hoping we could put the artefacts on top of the volcano and expect a whole lot of orcs to teleport in there. However I fear, this will only work once. Since chances are that they are going to teleport in batches. So if the first batch does not respond, they will probably not send more afterwards.¡± Jin revealed his idea. ¡°So what? Just build a fake city on top of the volcano. Pretend to struggle there for a while, until no more reinforcement arrives and then let the volcano do the rest.¡± Kraft took the last few ch.i.p.s and threw them in his mouth. ¡°So shall we call it Operation Pompeii?¡± Jin suggested and Kraft liked that idea as they nodded spiritedly together. Chapter 341 Northern War Theatre - Part 3 Neither the cultivators nor the goblins expected it. They thought everything was going to be just fine. The anti tank cannons had managed to shoot down the catapults, rendering them useless. The marksmen repeatedly fired their M1 Garand Rifles and managed to scored more kills than they ever had in their entire military career. Some of the marksmen had to shout at others to pass them some ammo since they managed to nearly burn through it despite the supposed cost. Even Jia Le, the Breathtaking Bellflower, and Luo Bo, the Illusive Rabbit Cultivator, shot out uncountable kunais and arrows until their hands hurt. Yet, roughly half an hour into the battle, the Orcs in the front line had managed to reach the fort walls using whatever means possible or necessary to head towards their destination. Shields, dead Orcs, leftover pieces of armour. It seemed like a mostly one sided massacre; nevertheless, the overwhelming numbers gave them the sole advantage especially when they were pitting against a small number of goblins. At this time Spear General Argent started to notice a noticeable change in the siege formation. There were no Orcs who attempted to break down the front doors at all as if they were actively avoiding that place. This should not be the case since it was the weakest link of the defence fortification. Instead, the Orcs were attempting to climb up the walls which were fifteen metres tall and they were doing it hastily. Each unit was carrying a ladder with them for that exact purpose. The first few orcs died under arrow and gun fire and eventually became the foundation for their rickety ladders. Some of the stronger or more agile Orcs used sickles and claws to climb up the walls instead. Others were successful in reaching the top and started distracting the marksmen from the regular orcs allowing more of the ladders to be placed. (Of course, those orcs were taken care of immediately.) There were two castle towers at the side of Gob Gob Bu fort walls and the goblin militia that was not manning the fort walls as bowmen were responsible for transporting hot oil to be thrown over the walls. Because goblins were small in size, it was relatively difficult to throw those heavy pots of oil over alone. Luckily with the help of either Sandy the Sand Witch and Zhi Nu the Immortal Weaver who were at each side of the castle towers, the goblins managed to do so without getting scald by the hot oil pot. Those orcs that were climbing up the siege ladders, however, could not avoid that. They had their skin melted off entirely and some of the less lucky Orcs had the hot oil running down along their throats, causing them to suffocate and die. Still, that was not the only purpose of the hot oil. The goblin militia bowmen lit up their arrows and shot the areas where they poured the hot oil. Some even just threw their burning arrows or empty quivers doused in oil and fire to burn the makeshift wooden siege ladders. Regardless, the orcs were not deterred at all by these horrors. It seemed as if the effects of the taboo magic that Spear General Argent had seen during the days of Goblin Rebellion was even more potent this time around. However, he did not have a clear look at the Orcs themselves to verify it. "Damn it, they were branded taboo for a reason! How can they care so little for the life of their soldiers, those cold hearted bastards!" General Argent swore in a fit of anger. Overseeing the battle, he finally felt something was off when he accidentally noticed that there was a gap got larger in the orc siege formation. Never one to doubt his instincts he moved towards Luo Bo and asked if she could fire a few of her flare arrows towards the end of the mountain valley. Luo Bo did not hesitate and shot the chi enhanced flare arrow breaking the looming darkness of the coming night. This particular flare arrow was somewhat special in that it released little flares periodically at every ten metre interval which provided General Argent with the vision he needed. True enough, the siege formation was split into two with the middle emptied just as suspected. As Argent was waiting for view at the end of the trail, the flare arrow disappeared when it was reaching the other side of the valley instead of burning brightly. "Shit! They are using illusion magic! Whatever they are hiding can''t be good!" General Argent immediately commanded the anti tank guns to shoot at what seemed to be the end of the valley and called out the militia to raise their shields up. Even Sandy''s Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit went into full defensive mode. However, before the anti tank gunners could pull off the next volley of explosive attacks, a large energy beam silently ripped through the optical illusion that was well covered in darkness and a ray of intensely bright light blasted through the centre of the valley. It instantly destroyed the fort gates and the subsequent makeshift barricades that had been created by the goblin militia. The blast was strong enough to decimate and burn almost everything in its path, creating a hole not just through the fort wall but reaching the other end of the town as well. The M4 Sherman tank which was stationed at the 25 metres away from the fort walls took a hit too. Fortunately, the Grade 10 thunder resistance inscription managed to protect the electronics and ammunition in the tank, but it was obviously more than the inscription could have handled alone before fading away along with the additional metal sheets plating of the tank. The tank was only able to survive due to the help of Sandy''s Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit that had focused all eight shields and placed them as a layered defence absorbing part of the ray or else the beam would have eliminated not just the fort gates, but probably the entire town and whoever was inside it too. "Tsk, I did not expect that foreign magical summon of theirs to be that strong. Even though it seems to be on the verge of disappearing, this is unacceptable!" Colonel Ayse was disappointed at the result of the attack as she looked through her binoculars at a distance. She did not hesitate to order her war wolf to devour the Orc officer in charge right in front of her for showing such poor results. Yet, she was equally excited. Her gut was telling her the Spear General must have survived if they had such a summon to protect the city. And if he did, that would meant she had the opportunity to slay him with her own hands. "Shame it''s a one time use, but its output is something that we can improve on." Colonel Ayse ordered one of her orc guards to get the caged humanoid responsible for researching these artefacts to write the details down before she continued to feast her eyes on the town. In the meantime, Spear General Argent was the first to recover from the intense shockwave emitted from the energy ray attack. He looked at the portion of the wall that had the fort gates disappear completely. Rubble were littered all around the remaining sides of the fort and the goblins tried their best to recover from the shock too. However, the Orcs were not giving them any quarters and had rushed forward through the opening while others continued to climb up any surviving makeshift ladders to the top of the fort walls. The victorious orc war cries lowered the morale of the goblins but it was not enough to break their spirit. The goblin marksmen reloaded their rifles and continued to shoot from the sides of the remnants of the fort wall, using whatever vantage point they still possessed. The first thing the Orcs ran for was actually the metal box. They did not care if the energy ray attack destroyed it or not. The Orcs had witnessed its capabilities and would capture it for their own use and reverse engineered it if possible. The cultivators that were scouting around the houses recovered from the blast shockwaves and tried their best to return to the M4 Sherman Tank as soon as possible to provide support. Bin Yong rushed to the open space and was horrified by the destruction brought by the enemy''s siege attack. The ground was still scorching from the attack and everything in its path was burning. There was even one or two goblins militia being burnt into half while trying to avoid the attack. But what caught his attention was the orcs that were climbing up to the tank''s cockpit. Sad to say, those poor orcs did not know that Hou Fei was still in the cathedral tower sniping down at those who attempted to loot the M4 Sherman tank. The orcs that reached the cockpit and tried to open it with brute force were first in priority to be shot in the torso. (He knew a bullet of that calibre from the Barret Sniper Rifle would kill them almost instantly, besides time was of an essence. It was better to hit something than a miss because he wanted a confirmed kill via a headshot.) Blood and body parts were splattered all around the tank. Even though it did not deter them, their numbers were dwindling, giving Bin Yong ample time to rush towards the Tank. Another reason their numbers were limited was because Zhi Nu. Her position was away from the fort gate giving her more time to assess the situation as compared to the goblins attempting to recover from the blast. She took the opportunity to ''decorate'' the opening between the fort walls with her lovely deadly steel threads. Such intricate decoration proved to be quite deadly for many of the Orcs Calvary. Their only large company of Orc Boar Calvary had waited for the fort gates to be broken and the town to be defenceless. They believed it was that golden opportunity to dash down the middle lane with overwhelming speed and power to occupy the town as soon as the gates were brought down. Hence, the war boars rushed in. Unfortunately, due to the poor visibility with the coming darkness of night, they were unable to see those thin steel threads clearly. As expected, they were sliced into pieces by their own speed and momentum. Although the calvary subsequently noticed it, their speed rush made it difficult to stop in time, causing various accidents before the calvary behind finally realised there was something wrong at the front. The remaining calvary later notified the Orc infantries about the steel threads after and tried to cut them down but it proved to be difficult to pass through. Many were stuck which provided the goblin marksmen with perfect stationary targets. That does not mean the goblins were recovering from the change of situation. With the Sand Shield Sentinel Spirit removed from the equation of the fort defence, the goblins were exposed to arrow fire and magical attacks and it also meant that they could no longer proactively continue to suppress the orcs, giving the Orcs the chance to climb up the fort walls too. Bin Yong managed to activate his tank and Shi Zuo caught up to take the driver''s seat. "Fuck! Will that beam thing happen again?" Bin Yong tried to zoom into the big laser cannon that was smoking at the end of the valley. If not for the infrared and night vision options, Bin Yong would not have been able to see it. "Just concentrate on the defence first! Such big ass laser cannons definitely have either high cool down or a one time use. Let''s just hope it''s the latter for now! Implementing such a weapon in this Raid Instance, I can''t be sure if this is madness or genius." Shi Zuo did not give a damn as he decided to push forward close to the steel threaded opening and Bin Yong took the chance to fire towards what he could see from the limited vision. "Time to earn our points." Xiong Da said as he climbed up the fort walls along with the other melee cultivators like Bu Dong, Kong Xian, Deng Long, Ruo Ying and Se Lang. They smashed and slashed the orcs down and decided to take the offensive by jumping over the walls and force their way through. The Orcs officers were not expecting a strike force from a defensive battle because that would be stupid to risk your already small numbered forces for an attack against a large army. But because of that mindset, Xiong Da and the others had a good time taking some revenge against the Orcs that killed some of the goblins. Xiong Da being the leading vanguard of the group rushed in with his War Club and the Great Axe which he borrowed from Shi Zuo. In possession of two great weapons, he smashed and bashed his way through the siege formation, running as much as possible creating space for the other cultivators to fight too. (He was afraid he would accidentally hit one of the cultivators especially when his instinct was to kill everything on sight. ) Despite the attack by the humanoids, the orc frontline officers themselves were not to be underestimated. Their body size was larger than the regular orcs and they had activated their magical armours and weapons, making them strong opponents for the cultivators. They personally engaged with the cultivators and challenged them to a duel. (Needless to say, the other Orcs did not care, they would steal the kill if it means earning glory and rank from their higher ups.) If one were to scrutinise the fights, they could see that almost every Pandawan was engaging with at least one Orc officer while fighting against their orc''s rank and file. It was basically a free for all match against the cultivators. Fortunately, they were outnumbered but not outpowered. Each of them pushed their limits to the max, activating the most powerful techniques they had mastered till then and did their best against the Orcs. Nobody had the mindset that this was just another dungeon instance. The fights felt too real to even think of taking a step back and hoping the difficulty would be lowered for them. They could feel their hearts beating crazily when their weapons clashed with the Orcs. Bu Dong, the Angry Ape Cultivator even tried out new fresh techniques, hoping to drive his cultivation to the limit and achieve a higher grade. Kong Xian pulled taunting cry techniques against the Orc rank and file to cover Bu Dong''s back while he tangoed along with the orc officers. Before this raid event, those high school brothers had continuously entered the Shaolin Football Arena for experience and they grew closer with better teamwork. (Sadly, the Savants remained unbeaten.) "If only that traitor Yue Han was here." Bu Dong complained as he remembered Yue Han saying he would come as soon as possible after his date with Xing Li, the Hedgehog Cultivator. "Just let him enjoy himself. They haven''t seen each other for days because of his girlfriend''s part time job. Don''t worry you will always have a place in his heart." Kong Xian teased Bu Dong while asking him to be understanding as he cleaved a few orcs into half. But the battles were not focused on just them as the objectives of each side did not change. Orcs that were not occupied with the cultivators tried their best to seize the town as commanded. The goblins on the fort walls were desperately keeping their wits together, fighting to ensure the orcs did not take over the chokepoints resulting a constant exchange of bullets, arrows and magic bolts causing damage to both the fort walls and orcs army. Just when the cultivators'' assistance started to turn the gears of war into a battle of attrition, that was also when the representatives of their army send in their specialities. Colonel Ayse commanded the Ogres to be sent out for battle instead of them just lying around doing nothing. Those Ogres were hastily outfitted with heavy makeshift armour on the spot and ordered to destroy the fort walls. If the lost artefact laser cannon was unable to do the job, old fashion brute strength should finish it. The Ogres charged into the scene and did not care about their orc ''comrades'' since mind control techniques had crippled their intelligence. In the meantime, the veteran Orc mages who were summoning the spawn of their Shaitan Noble Syldra finally succeeded. Though the ritual consumed the lives of the orc mages, they gladly sacrificed themselves for the Shaitan Noble of Thunder. The spawn was smaller in size than their revered Thunder Serpent, which was aptly named as the Storm Viper by their followers. Like its name suggested, it cast supportive lightning magic to the Ogres and they started to move out at thrice the speed towards the fort walls. (Those Ogres were a bunch of creatures that did not like to move much. Three times the speed was equivalent to the speed of the charging war boars which was already commendable. Most mages'' high level supportive movement magic would not be able to achieve twice the Ogre''s speed.) Colonel Ayse who became the highest ranked officer of this particular frontier army after they lost their initial chain of command from Luo Bo'' attack, could not care less about the lives of these orcs which were trampled by the moving Ogres. As long as the walls were brought down, the fallen would receive their desired honour and that was all it matters. She kept pointing at her personal pocket watch to the second most senior orc officer in the army who was in charge after his senior officer got eaten by Colonel Ayse''s war wolf for being terribly ''incompetent''. "What are you wasting time for? Waiting for the Sun to come up? Quick, get the walls down with the Ogres! We are expected to welcome our General inside the city! I will ensure that you suffer a fate worse than your predecessor if we dally around! " Colonel Ayse bellowed impatiently. The Orc Officer could only bite his lip and nodded at his head reluctantly before scolding his own subordinates for not assisting the ogres that were rushing ahead. At the same time General Argent had commanded his own Wyvern to appear which became the signal for the rest of the Dashing Wyverns to enter this messy War Theatre. The Wyverns were initially responsible for thinning the advancing forces once they took care of the range units. But with the Ogres advancing faster than they expected, General Argent had commanded his goblin riders to aim for them first. Even Piercestriker joined the Dashing Wyverns too as he had taken over one of the surviving wyverns that recently lost its rider. Piercestriker thought it would be difficult to ride a wyvern tamed by another goblin rider, but the mind to mind connection connected almost instantly. It was as if the Wyvern had known him before and seen Piercestriker proving his worth. Regardless, the other riders even congratulated Piercestriker briefly during their uneasy rest time but they knew they had to heal up before going into battle again. That was their plan until another large metal bird appeared within the sights of General Argent when he ordered his Dashing Wyvern unit to enter the fray. However, unlike previously where the large metal bird took off after dropping a few of Master Jin''s comrades. This time around, the metal bird flew very close to the ground and the Pandawans inside were shooting the attached machine guns freely at the backlines of the Orc army, wreaking havoc amongst the remaining Archer and Mage units of the Orc army. The most prominent figure in the C130 plane was standing at the edge of the plane when it opened its cargo doors. "Looks like they really do need help. Pandawans, when the plane does another pass along the valley, get ready to jump." Zeru folded his arms observing the situation while the ''third wave'' of cultivators came in as reported by Kraft to Jin. Kraft initially wanted to send Peppers in but Jin had decided to use Zeru instead. Jin''s rationale was that he wanted Peppers to work with another Jin to prep for Operation Pompeii but Original Jin only sent out one Another Jin to work with Peppers because he was too tired to split anymore for the day. Peppers did complain about not being able to dispense some pent up stress on the Orcs but Jin assured her that if she did this operation well, she should be able to create a scene that could possibly be remembered for the ages. "I will hold you to that! I am not going to care about the budget at all!" Peppers stuck her tongue at Jin as she worked friendly with the Another Jin. "How does that even work?! I am that Jin too! It''s as if he is another entity¡­" Jin shook his head as he saw them chatting so lively. "Maybe the Other You has a personality that Peppers cannot resist despite it being controlled by your subconscious. It seems you have the potential to be quite the ladies man¡­" Kraft rubbed salt on Jin''s wounds before returning to focus on the screen. As the plane began to make its second descent, the orc army''s ranged support was too thined out to even make a dent against it. Yue Han, the Blind Bat Cultivator, saw his mates and jumped when the plane made its descent. The aircraft was flying so low that Yue Han could execute his shadow sword and movement techniques with style and assist Bu Dong who was fighting against two Orc officers at once. "Sorry that the hero is late!" Yue Han smirked at the two as he did a landing pose but instead of them being delighted, Kong Xian and Bu Dong actually found the time to push Yue Han down to the floor and kicked him a few times. "Hero my ass! We are eating dirt and arrows while you have fun with Xing Li!" Bu Dong still had some residue feelings for her, the Hedgehog cultivator and he was throwing his punches of jealousy to Yue Han. "I am just following what Leader is doing. Hehe!" Kong Xian kicked lightly whereas Bu Dong was more serious while still deflecting the blow from the remaining Orc Officer who thought Bu Dong lowered his guard. "Come on you guys, give him a break." Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden Cultivator, arrived via the floating platform from the C130 plane and healed all three of them as Jing Ru the Gunning Giraffe cultivator covered their backs from the usual Orc Rank and file. Meanwhile, her friends Jia Ying and Shi Hui assisted Se Lang and Deng Long. "BLEARGH! I AM THE FOURTH WHEEL AGAIN!" Deng Long shouted in agony as he smacked an orc with his baton repeatedly that its bleeding nose was flattened. "Oh come on, bro. I did not expect them to come." Se Lang tried to smoothe his police partner''s feelings but the two girls had to make it worse for him. "But Big Brother Se Lang, if you do not fight with us¡­We might fight against each other for you and only you~!" Shi Hui, the Shadowy Swan Cultivator, sexily dance towards Se Lang and creating a sort of hypnosis dance that made the Orcs dizzy which Jia Ying, the Sanguine Stag cultivator, took the opportunity to clear them off with her spear techniques. "My dear Shi Hui, I do not need to fight for him, he is already mine." Jia Ying winked confidently at Se Lang making him speechless and Shi Hui pouting. "I get it! I GET IT!" Deng Long kicked one of the Orcs away and continue to fight through the orcs all by himself. "Bro!" Se Lang was slightly hesitant since he really did promise Deng Long he would play this raid event with him even when his two girlfriends asked for his presence. That was when Shi Hui and Jia Ying finally broke into laughter at Se Lang''s helplessness. "Go Wolfie, we knew that you promised him but we did not expect to be in the same battlefield. Have fun with him." Shi Hui smiled and slapped his sturdy back hard, indirectly casting a support boost on him that increased his agility a little more than usual. "Shall we get back to our training? We cannot lose out to our boyfriend." Shi Hui said and Jia Ying smirked and nodded her head. In the meantime, Zeru was busy occupying himself defeating the ogres with no techniques. Just mere brute strength against those blobs of meat and metal. All he did was to jump to their faces and a seemingly gentle hit with Zeru''s wooden sword made the Ogres fell. Some of the Ogres got more aggressive after seeing their fellow kind killed, but they were the ones who got it worse from Zeru. Their faces were cut into two, spilling blood, saliva and contents of the brain out all over the battlefield. One Ogre even went into a raging fit when his head was separated from him. This gave General Argent some breathing space as he and his Dashing Wyvern unit decided to head towards the Lost Tech Laser cannon, hoping to destroy it before it could fire once more. (They did not know it was defunct after that attack.) If not, the Storm Viper would be their other target. However, when he got closer, a thin beam of purple electrical energy was released towards him and General Argent barely evaded it. That was when he noticed a bunch of heavily armed orc guards, that was distinct from the rest of the orc army or its officers. "That uniform!" Argent''s blood boiled as he could see a particular female Orc was smiling at him hysterically and with a snap of her finger, the Storm Viper who was standing around nonchalantly immediately slid up in the air towards them. "Wyverns! Spread out and go with flanking formation against the Storm Viper! I will deal with the commander personally!" General Argent shouted as he charged in. "Hahahhaha! ARGENT! It is nice to see you again ''Brother''! Adopted son of the Head Researcher Vox! Of all the people he treasured! You were the one that betrayed him so badly and still holds on to his treasured gun!" Colonel Ayse commanded her guards to attack Argent as he came down striking one of them. "AYSE!!!!!" Argent roared as he and his wyvern swooped down towards the Colonel and her guards. Chapter 342 Northern War Theatre - Final Chapter 342: Northern War Theatre ¨C Final Argent dodged yet another energy laser attack from Ayse as he jumped off his wyvern and pierced one of her guards with his spear. "You dare to say I was the one who betrayed him!? You were the one who planted that wicked idea into Father''s head and the previous King''s! You forced us to kill each other!!!" Argent shouted back as he did a spinning like attack with his spear before distancing himself away from the guards. Separately, the Dashing Wyverns were finally given the opportunity to show off their teamwork against the Storm Viper who tried to attack them in the air. Despite being able to fly, the creature who prefer land combat, shot numerous thunder bolts out of its mouth to force them back on the ground. Yet the wyvern''s air to air combat was unparalleled and they had an easy time dodging those thunder bolts because of the six degrees of freedom in mid air. Launching attacks of their own the Dashing Wyverns split up. One half distracted the Storm Viper by letting out multiple breaths of fire while the other half had the goblin riders nose dive from above before retreating thereby slowly accumulating damage to its lengthy body. Yet the proud Spawn of Syldra, would not accept going down like this. It stopped with the thunderbolts and started to emit electrical charges out of its body to protect itself instead. Unfortunately those lightning attacks were not as effective as the Storm Viper had expected them to be. Goblin healers had made use of their resting time to cast magic that gave them higher lightning resistance. The goblins also had gone through the Town''s alchemical stores and gathered bags of magical powders that reduced the effectiveness of static discharge around them after having learnt that their enemy would be the Lightning Army. This allowed the Dashing Wyverns to act bolder in their attacks and try eliminate the Storm Viper before it could potentially inflict serious damage to the entire unit. When all of this was going on one goblin stood out from the rest. Piercestriker flew up vertically high with his new wyvern as if they were going to launch a death strike from the skies yet that was when something miraculous happened. Piercestriker body started glowing alongside the Wyvern while he felt the chi within him rotating around him eccentrically. "User, Goblin Piercestriker seems to have fulfilled the criteria to be entering a stage of evolution. This evolution is outside of the planned one which was promised as a reward. Do you wish to allow it, so that System shall provide aid to speed it up?" The System noted and Jin who was looking at the overall battle was shocked at the content of the sudden message. "Erm, go ahead I guess?" Jin moved his console to look at Piercestriker and his stats popped up too. The console immediately updated a new page of stats and an updated card picture for his Tact Tweaker. "The Goblin seems to have managed to develop a unusually high affinity with the Wyvern it was currently riding. Such evolutions are considered symbiotic evolutions, a subtype of side evolution rather than a step up evolution. Bellator Peppers has left a note for you in case of such situations arising. System is now playing back her explanation: ''Think of side evolutions as unlocking and changing hidden class instead of a step up evolution which is more like a class advancement'' ." The System played the recording of Peppers voice and explained it further which lead Jin to understanding that it was more like a Goblin version 1.5 than a totally new form. "Ah, you scared me back there. I thought for a moment that he would change into some sort of winged flying goblin after making friends with a surviving wyvern from the Dashing Wyverns. " Jin sounded relieved after he saw the new stats of the new ''goblin'' form. "Negative. Only through a step up evolution will there be such cases of major changes, whereas a symbiotic evolution will strengthen both parties and enable them to improve their teamwork. Side evolutions are more commonly encountered in the wild, though they are still rare. The changes may happen instantly after the requirements are met. User''s monsters only require the proper equipment, other new minion or certain skills. All it takes is the right click. System will help out in speeding up the process and enable the monsters to get in peak condition in such situations." The System noted, stating that Piercestriker''s name to be changed to WyrStriker. Wyrstriker experienced some minor body changes as the side evolution occurred. He became aware that he no longer required the saddle which was burdening the Wyvern with more weight. Instead, his body could automatically create a kind of mechanism that allowed him to stick to the Wvyern. Piercestriker did not understand how this happened but he guessed he would find out later. Upon reaching higher altitudes, the Wyvern did a backflip and dropped into a free fall towards the Storm Viper. Being pushed back for a while, the Storm Viper was attempting to gather her energy to annihilate the pesky wyverns flying around it even at the cost of its own life. But before it could do so, a spear pierced through its head at Mach speed. Wyrstriker did not stop there, he continued to push his old spear into the snake''s body and headed for the duel against Argent and the guards. General Argent being a seasoned Wyvern rider could roughly sense the change in the air and decided to ruse the guards by skitting around to fight against them. The guards thought the General was fighting defensively and decided to go offensive as predicted by Argent himself. Even Ayse''s war wolf mount participated with the collective offensive. "Hmph, Dad sure has a keen sense." Wyrstriker lowered his body to increase the aerodynamics, hoping to achieve terminal velocity and raised his spear that was filled with chi with the snake on the front. "Because he had been through many battles, although I feel that you had your own fill too." The Wyvern who previously only answered through its emotions via the mind to mind connection, was now seemingly able to communicate via his thoughts to Wyrstriker. Wyrstriker was initially shocked by it when his new mount suddenly introduced himself as Iwen. It was the ability of a Wyvern Knight, which was the current new class Wyrstriker attained. Even in the whole Dashing Wyvern unit, there was only one that achieved the same and unsurprisingly it was General Argent himself. During the descent, Iwen also shed his old brownish red skin for bright red scales and prepared to ignite the gas he produce from his mouth to incinerate some of the orc guards. As expected, the corpse of the Storm Viper fell towards them and impacted and electrocuted the Orcs to a certain degree. (The Storm Viper was accumulating discharge before it was stabbed by Wyrstriker.) Seeing how the impact killed almost every guard in sight, Iwen withheld his attack. He later turned his body and glided towards Colonel Ayse and shot out multiple fireballs at it. "Heh, it seems our reports were wrong. You have another rather fiesty Wyvern Knight in your possession." Colonel Ayse blocked the fireball attacks with her multilayer barrier, though the outermost layer went down which irritated the female Orc. Wyrstiker controlled Iwen to glide straight towards her until the very last minute before he used the momentum to spin around and smack the shield with his tail destroying even more layers. Not letting up, Wyrstriker himself jumped out to strike her with his old spear¡­ only to get bounced back. Changing his spears he took some distance before charging towards Ayse once more. "So cute. I like hard working goblins. But I love them even more when they are dead." Colonel Ayse raised her other hand up and conjured a fireball of her own version. It was purplish in colour and it crackled, only to see that it was imbued with lightning element. General Argent understood what kind of attack that was and wished to aid his child but he was too far. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" The Spear General shouted as he threw his own spear in the hopes of distracting Ayse even just a little bit. He even went so far to shoot repeatedly at her barrier with the laser gun he was holding till it overheated but to no avail. This was because her gravely injured war wolf mount sprung out to protect its own master for one last time. Most of the laser gun shots were block by the wolf''s body but Argent''s spear pierced through him cleanly with immense force that it was able to impact strongly against the shield barrier Ayse created. Unfortunately, the Lightning Fireball flew out of her hand and headed right towards Wyrstriker as she ignored and the subsequent laser gun shots and spear attack from Argent. But Wyrstriker simply smiled. He pushed his gearbox spear forward and suddenly his spear spread out like an umbrella which allowed him to block the particular fireball. More so, he was able to absorb part of the energy of the fireball and stored it within his spear as he continued his charge. The dust and explosion from the lightning fireball gave Wyrstriker some cover as he diverted his movement a little and jumped out from the left. Ayse was pleasantly surprised that the kid goblin survived and created the same initial barrier once more. "Have a taste of your own medicine." Wyrstriker smiled as he plunged the gearbox spear into the barrier and released the absorbed energy. An even louder explosion occurred. Ayse unable to see through the smoke realised that there was something foreign in her stomach. Wyrstriker had utilised his old spear, doused with wyvern poison from Iwen''s tail spike. "What?!" Colonel Ayse was so shocked that for a moment she was unable to comprehend that she was pierced. Being a scholar she lacked much in battle experience, limited to the theoretical knowledge about it, yet she always assumed that her multilayer barrier would be able to hold against any attack just as it did against the Orc Generals. Especially when her mana was not expended as since it was powers bestowed by Shaitan Noble of Thunder Syldra. She simply stood there with a hand on the spear not believing the situation. That was when Argent walked towards her after picking up his spear that was now glowing in white light. Ayse started to realise that she had completely forgotten that Argent''s weapons were imbued with the power of light which could nullify the Shaitan''s magic and that included her multi layered barrier. "Fuck!" Ayse coughed out blood as she knelt on the ground with the bitter realisation that she had underestimated the Father and Wyvern Knight duo. General Argent was not ashamed for his son ''stealing'' the glory for putting down a high ranking Orc. However, before General Argent could get any words out from her mouth, Wyrstriker stabbed his gearbox spear into her heart and the old spear into her neck to ensure she died quickly from it. "Ahh¡­I actually wanted to ask some questions¡­" Argent thought his son was out for blood taking care of such a high ranking officer but Wyrstriker shook his head. "Master Jin will have his ways getting your request fulfilled this way. Please don''t question why. Instead I have questions for you, Father. I''m sure you can see the slight transformation which have occured to me. Who exactly is that Wyvern? Why did it feel so familiar when I initiated the mind to mind connection with him?" Wyrstriker brandished his gearbox spear as he noticed other orc officers and orc rank and file heading towards them. In actual fact, they were trying to retreat after seeing Colonel Ayse''s demise. When Ayse died, the taboo magic cast upon them faded away almost immediately and the orcs all were able to see that they were stuck in in a losing situation after their leader was cut down. Regardless, some did not give up without a fight though most retreated back hoping to rejoin the main Thunder army again. "Half of these Wyverns that my goblin riders are using were found by both you and your brother? Don''t you remember?" General Argent cleared the Orcs that were charging towards them before their Wyverns flew in upon being called and brought them out of their retreat path. Some time later they rendezvoused at the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu and during the flight back, they talked about the past. Wyrstriker learned that it was the nest of eggs that his brother had discovered one day. The next day he aided his elder sibling to move them to the house, hoping to have a good delicious meal of fried eggs. It was their mother who noticed that those eggs were heavier and shaped slightly different from the usual ones. Consulting with their father, Argent assumed that what they found out had to be abandoned Wyvern eggs. Without being near the right temperature they were unable hatch. After learning that inside were those majestic creatures both brothers immediately asked their parents to keep them. Hence, Wyrstriker''s brother and him took great care of the eggs until the first hatched and Argent delivered it as well as the rest to the Royal Pet Farm. "So in other words, Iwen must have been the first one to hatch. Seeing as you and your brother were around at the time he must have imprinted on you and was more than happy to finally see you again. ¡­ Although it''s a little late, congratulations on getting the form of a Wyvern Knight. The scriptures of the olden days used to tell us that it is a form of blessing from the Gods for worthy goblins, it is a kind of new life starting, so¡­ Any title or name you wish to be bestowed upon or would you prefer to continue to use the name of Piercestriker." General Argent pat Wyrstriker on his back when they reached the ground. "Wyrstriker. Master Jin decided on that name long ago. He had trained us in the hopes of achieving this kind of breakthrough but we seemed to have lacked something, which is why he had taken us out. " Wyrstriker lied as he knew it was the System that came out with the name since it informed about it when the evolution happened. Nonetheless, if Wyrstriker wished to change his name, all he had to do was to ask Jin. The cultivators were finally able to relax as the Orcs were retreating. Many sustained wounds but they were not as major as they thought they could be. Zeru commended their efforts before mass teleporting them to the Recovery Instance for check up and healing. In the meantime, Hou Fei came down from the Cathedral Tower and talked to Zeru about a few things, hoping to get some update from Jin. Zeru was happy to scratch that itch or curiousity and gave Hou Fei the rough version of what his Master was planning. "Huh¡­Operation Pompeii?" Hou Fei was surprised by the new updates. Meanwhile the goblin militia handled their wounded and gathered their fallen. Separately, the remaining Anti Tank users and goblin marksmen came to report to Hou Fei who told them he could not be any prouder. They nearly used up all their ammunition and scored tens if not hundreds of confirmed hits. It was unfortunate that a number of Anti Tank Guns were busted by the Super Laser Beam attack but it was to be expected during the war. Even the now abandoned M4 Sherman Tank took much of beating defending the weak point of the broken fort walls. Hou Fei later dismissed them as he and Zeru discussed more about Jin''s new development. "I shall overlook the area for a while longer and report to Jin when necessary. You can return to the recovery instance and enjoy some good sleep. A private room was allocated for you with shower and afterwards you can enjoy a fresh hot meal. The time dilation in that room matches with this particular world so you can rest easy." Zeru said and Hou Fei agreed wholeheartedly as he passed a tablet that controlled the detonation of explosives to Zeru before leaving. Afterwards Zeru went forward to General Argent who was passing orders to his subordinates. "Master Jin would like to have a talk with you. General Argent." Zeru opened a portal requesting General Argent to enter as soon as possible. "As much as I''d like to entertain Master Jin''s request especially after he sent such a major assistance to the operations here, I can''t abandon my men." General Argent shook his head reluctantly until he heard sounds of howling coming from the other side of the town. General Gladios, Slashreaver and the best response unit Gladios could muster entered the town before the main army officially arrive. "Bro, it is nice to see you well and alive." Gladios came down from his personal wolf mount as he surveyed the surroundings. "You are indeed a sight for sore eyes." Argent kindly asked Zeru to wait for a while as he summarised the events to Gladios. Sword General Gladios could not help but pat Argent on his back for a good job well done. "If King Sol hears of this, you and the rest of the goblins here will most definitely receive a medal for your efforts. We will conduct a proper military funeral for the dead once this is over." Gladios looked at the dark moonless night once more. "Please, as if I need another medal." Argent grumbled as he thought back at the award ceremonies being so boring that he regretted being forced to attend them. "In any case, you do not have to worry, I am here to supervise." Gladios declared proudly while Zeru also reassured Argent that he would be staying watch too. Argent sighed as he adjusted his battered armour before stepping forward into the portal. Chapter 343 The Interrogation...? Spear General Argent entered a dark room. A lamp with a dim light was all he could make out at first. Just after getting used to his environment he heard some muffled noises from afar. He followed the sounds only to find Colonel Ayse all tied up, but alive and kicking while Master Jin and someone unfamiliar in a long trench coat were sitting at her side. The unknown person seemed to be enjoying the rest of a meal before turning his attention towards the goblin. "She is all yours to interrogate. If you fail to learn anything from her, it will be my turn to have some fun." Kraft said as he plucked the debris between his teeth with a toothpick. "Sorry for the late introductions, this is Kraft. He is my erm personal¡­erm¡­ He is a specialist who helps convince people to reveal their secrets." Jin put it nicely and Kraft could only grin. "Rest assured. Both of us haven''t done anything to her. You two seem to have history so we will leave you to yourselves before we interfere." Jin finished his sentence and asked Kraft to disappear into the darkness with him. Argent understood that they were establishing some kind of good cop bad cop scenario so that Ayse would confess what the Orc race was planning. He dragged the chair Jin had been sitting on over and faced Colonel Ayse who only had her hands cuffed at the back of the seat. "10 minutes. That is all you are getting." Kraft threw the toothpick on the ground and with a snap of his fingers both figures disappeared into the darkness. Argent thought that the dimness of the light was playing a trick in his mind but he got into business quickly. "You seem strangely comfortable being chained down. I had always hoped to meet you under different circumstances¡­ So how does it feel to be on the other side for once?" General Argent removed the tape over Ayse''s mouth as he tried to start the conversation. "What does it matter to you? Let''s skip the bullshit and get to the point. So speak up. This may be the last time we see each other Brother." Ayse begrudgingly acknowledged Argent''s existence for now. He was the last person she wanted gloating over her, yet she was in no position to do anything about it. "Fine let''s get right down to it. Is Orc King Hamu suffering from the same thing as what Father did to the previous Orc King?" Argent asked bluntly and Ayse smirked. "Heh, you still acknowledge him as Father even after what you did to him, huh?" Ayse stared at General Argent for a moment before continuing to speak. She was after all commanded by Jin to answer truthfully to Argent. After being ''baptised'' by the System she was loyal towards him but under normal circumstances, important secrets could still be withheld from Jin. Similar to the conditions that Nubwort, Black Disaster described, until Jin proves himself worthy he would not reveal much¡­ Although, a small bite from Evon, one of Kraft''s foxes, made non compliance no longer an issue which Jin usually tried to avoid unless it''s urgent. "Yes, but I used a different mixture. Orc King Hamu always enjoyed his pork soup to be served first before every dinner. All I had to do was to plant a mole inside his Royal Kitchen and continuously feed him ''that'' drug." Ayse emphasised the last word which made Argent rage inside. "The dosage was small but the effects started to become apparent after a month or two. I doubt he ever even considered the possibility he could fall into the same shithole as the previous Orc King." Ayse laughed as she revealed that. Argent knew one thing was for sure, Ayse''s insanity knew no bounds and she inherited it from their ''father''. Because of her distorted way of thinking and immense knowledge as a young researcher, she was hailed a genius creating all sort of gadgets and devices. To date, she might have created more inventions to improve the military force and indirectly affect the Orc population than anyone else, even trumping the previous Head Researcher after his demise. Ayse was also the one who managed to decipher the lost tech map; a task which her father failed in his lifetime. This accomplishment lead to the Orcs discovering the mysterious island which was filled with old lost tech. She was also the one who suggested to capture the humanoids to operate the lost tech as well as the one who aided Orc King Hamu to contract the Messenger of Shaitan, Diabolos. "So you are the mastermind after all¡­ Why did you not learn from Father''s mistakes¡­ You saw where such a path lead to, didn''t you?" Argent asked with a sad tone which ironically pissed Ayse off. "Please, my methods should be considered less crude compared to Father''s. He personally shafted the idea into the previous Orc King''s mind! I could never do that do our Saviour and King, Hamu!" Ayse was being sarcastic and making a fool out of Argent. "Although, I must admit following Father''s legacy was indeed thrilling. We were all wrong about him. Everyone thinking he was a monster in person, was just too blind to understand him. If only you could have seen his research notes and secretly kept papers. That knowledge was out of this world! In retrospect, he was a saint. Such a pity that you had to kill him." Ayse complained with disdain. "What else could I have done? Just wait at the sidelines and let him sacrifice the whole race of goblins so that you could have pursued some fake immortality? Please! That whole plan was just madness!" Argent got up from the chair and pulled Ayse''s collar towards him as he shouted. "Oh, Brother. Seeing you act all protective for the inferior race is amusing. But you know what is even more amusing? Knowing that the hypocrite in front of me also not only ordered but even took part in the deaths of his brethren so many times until he felt guilty about it. My only regret is that I did not notice this weakness of yours soon enough. Otherwise, I wou¡ª" Ayse laughed out loud. "Enough!!!! What is the current plan of Orc King Hamu?" Argent demanded and Ayse rolled her eyes. "Why should I tell you? I am done for anyway. No reason to give you this satisfaction. So what are you going to do know, General Argent? Do you believe you could force me to tell you by beating it out of me? Maybe take revenge before I get the chance to tell the whole world that you had tortured hundreds of goblins all back then as well?" Ayse taunted with the truth against which Argent could not fight back. "This is just painful to my eyes. Not even five minutes in and you fell into her pace. That''s it, let me take over Mr Goblin. Time is of the essence after all." Kraft yawned as he grabbed Ayse by the throat with the chair attached and threw her to the wall. The chair broke from the impact and Ayse coughed for breath. "We will deal with this ourselves. You can go back now." Kraft dismissed him as he opened a portal for Argent. The middle aged goblin grasped his own fist tightly and walked towards Ayse instead and punched her. Once. Twice. Three times. Many times. He beat, slammed and punched until his knuckles were filled with blood. He did not care if it was his blood or coming from Ayse, he was punching until Ayse was knocked out. Argent then walked towards the portal with no remorse. Kraft did not seem to care about the goblin''s fit of rage and just waited before he clapped lightly and escorted him out. "What was that all about?" Jin asked as he resurfaced from the darkness and into the slightly dimmed area. "I probed his memory after he entered my domain. Young Argent had rescued Ayse when she was just a tiny little baby orc. There had been some terror attack by some rebellious goblins. As a simple servant back then he had been tasked to look through the rubble for possible survivors. He found her screaming in a burning house and did what he could just to rescue her. Apparently, the Head Researcher was there at the time who witnessed the whole thing. Impressed with not just his bravery but his quick wittedness to grab a bunch of draft research papers which the Head Researcher so happened to be working on, he tasked Argent to bring her up. Especially since he had other more important assignments to do. The Head Researcher granted him the status as the personal servant for Ayse which elevated his rank to be the same as an Orc citizen." Kraft explained as he picked up the female orc who was disfigured by the attack. "Growing up this little young Orc kept close to Argent despite being surrounded by other excellent Orc guards. Their relationship became very cordial and Ayse regarded Argent as her brother despite their different races. The Head Researcher became interested in observing their strange relationship and figured if Argent learnt how to fight, read and stuff like that, Ayse would naturally try to copy him so too. She did and they eventually uncovered her talent for researching things, which lead the Head Researcher to invest more resources in her. In turn, he also elevated Argent''s status even more and allowed him to stay as Ayse''s personal servant. However, Argent was also made to perform personal tasks for him too. As you might guess it involved torturing and killing his own kind. Well, that is where the tragedy started. Little Ayse witnessed this and started to develop a superiority complex. Some boring stuff happened in between and in the end when the Rebellion happened Argent was forced to kill his own adoptive father. " Kraft summarised it for Jin. "Oh¡­so Ayse did this kind of taunting is to break the bond with Argent?" Jin asked as he pushed the chi regeneration potion into Ayse''s mouth. "My best guess is that she could not forgive Argent for killing her father, but you would need to ask her yourself for her side of things," Kraft answered as he laid back on the chair and waited for Ayse to regain full consciousness. "I hope you had a nice little nap darling. But now that you are up it''s time to tell us what we want to know. So what''s the Orc King''s plan?" Kraft yawned lazily. There was no reason for him to enter her mind to search for the answer. "He will personally enter the capital kingdom of Gob Gob in 15 days alongside the avatars empowered by the Shaitan Noble," Ayse said without any hesitation in her voice. "15 days?" Jin queried as he thought the King would do a swift strike, similar to what he has done with the Kingslayer Ambush "He is waiting for the full red moon phase, that is when his Shaitan powers will be at their peak. At the same time, every offering the Avatars present to the Shaitan Nobles at that time will be rewarded handsomely. If you are wondering where are they going to enter from the North or West, you would be sorely mistaken." Ayse warned with a serious face and the duo giggled together before taking out the lost tech artefact Jin had found on the Orc Raider Captain. "How did¡­oh wow." Ayse realised what was happening and chuckled too. It seemed that she was captured by either a fairly capable person or a person with heaven defying luck. "Then I guess that settles the Capital Kingdom part. You could now control where he would be teleported. Though I would not celebrate too soon. He always has a backup plan if things do not seem to be according to plan. Also, you can be damn sure, that the King is not going in first but should be last." Ayse said as she calmed down. Jin then explained his operation to Ayse and she could not help but laugh loudly till her stomach hurt. "Are you freaking serious?! Here I thought that the one to enslave me would be boring, but you are just crazy. However, I really do like the sound of that plan. And that will definitely should not make him suspicious. That is at least what I think. But beware he is not alone. Diabolos and the other Shaitan Nobles should not be underestimated. I doubt simply dropping him in a volcano will be the end of it." "Let that be our problem. Just let us know if there are any good large volcano places around?" Kraft asked since the orc researcher might have stumbled on geographical knowledge or perhaps detailed maps of the regions. "It so happened that I know of a displaced island that would fit those criteria," Ayse replied and Kraft did not hesitate to scoop that information out of her head and transmit it to the System. The System then projected the information to a floating digital screen in front of them and Ayse verified the location. Both Jin and Kraft agreed it looked very suitable for the Operation but before they wrapped up the entire conversation, Jin asked Ayse of something important. "Wanna play spy?" Jin asked politely which both Kraft and Ayse grinned widely. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Once Sword General Gladios finished supervising the area, he went around town and ahead to the top of the fort walls to overlook the destruction that was left by both parties. The bodies were many and the distinct smell of blood was obvious. He later ordered a group of militia to go outside to collect any usable swords, axes, spears, shields and arrows. Even pieces of armour and helmet would be great but were placed lower in priority. The orcs might have carried weapons larger than what a usual goblin would hold but the salvaging was to reuse and recycle. The metal collected could still be melted down and those arrows that were left untouched could be used against the orcs. This would also prevent the possibility of Orcs taking them up and made them even more deadly. In the meantime, Slashreaver was looking at Wyrstriker''s new form and his wyvern. "Wow, I did not expect you to evolve faster than Ripcaller. I always thought he was the superior one¡­" Slashreaver tried to pat Iwen but the red wyvern seemed to proud to allow that and even gave him an annoyed look. "Who knows maybe Ripcaller already evolved?" Wyrstriker wanted to be humble but at the same time, he unknowingly hurt Slashreaver''s feelings. Noticing this he tried to salvage the conversation by consoling him. "Anyways didn''t the System promise we would evolve no matter what when we finished this so called war thing?" "True that¡­oh yes talking about the war thing. I discussed with my Pops about loaning a goblin army to be used for helping with the Rat Demon eradication. He said it would definitely be an honour for a part of the army to serve under Master Jin. My Pops himself told me that he wanted to experience Master Jin''s training." Slashreaver boasted to Wyrstriker who became surprised. "You told him about the Rat Demon eradication part?" Wyrstriker questioned. "Nah, I just told him Master Jin might ask for Pops to loan an army once this particular war is over. He agreed to it immediately. Didn''t even have to tell him what it would be for." Slashreaver replied. "And now after seeing first hand how the young Piercestriker turned into a magnificent Wyvern Knight and earning himself a personal title, I feel even more compelled to go along with Master Jin. Whatever he needs us to do, I am sure it would definitely push my limit even more." General Gladios had accidentally overheard their conversation and decided to chime in after entering their tent. "Son, you better buck up or Princess Starfire may fall for Wyrstriker instead. Hahahahah!" Gladios gave his son a large pat before extending his hand to congratulate Wyrstriker on his advancement to Wyvern Knight. "Pops!" Slashreaver blushed a little. Suddenly a portal appeared beside them and Spear General Argent came in with his fist bloodied. Gladios saw that and quickly shouted for a healer to attend to Argent. Argent explained what had exactly happened and both Wyrstriker and Slashreaver revealed a little more about Master Jin''s unique summoning skills which surprised their fathers. Jin allowed them that so they could reveal such an ability but limited it to their fathers and no one else. The two generals were left distraught for a while before a guard rushed in alerting them that the main goblin army finally arrived. "Looks like more work hands has arrived. I shall go out give some orders. You three have a rest first. You have earned it. Unless something major happens I''d say enjoy it." Gladios said as he went out of the Command Tent and started to organise the incoming military reinforcements. In the meantime, Zeru overlooked the entire town from the cathedral tower Hou Fei was using. He picked up a few used gun shells and twiddled them around his fingers as he passed time. "What are you thinking?" Yun came out from a portal that was situated right beside him. She carried a tray containing two drinking cups and a bottle of sake from the Hot Springs instance. "Lady Yun, it''s a pleasant surprise to see you here." Zeru wanted to kneel in front of her but Yun stopped him. "The cultivators were pouring in non stop ever since the start of this Gobin Raid Event. Many new customers too after they heard about the price. Thank the System for the shop instance which has the ability to expand indefinitely, otherwise there would be a giant queue outside. That itself would be another headache to settle." Yun placed some large ice cubes into the drinking glass cup and opened the bottle of sake to pour. "It is good to hear that the business is booming for Master Jin." Zeru thanked Yun as he accepted the cup from her and sipped it slowly. "In any case, I''ve asked Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One to tend to the store for a while. I am only ''human'' and also need a break every now and then." Yun poured herself a cup as well and began drinking hers while leaning on a pillar at the top of the cathedral tower. "How is his progression?" Yun asked Zeru since she knew he was always observing Jin silently at the side lines. "Not fantastic, but he is my first student so it could be partially my fault for not guiding him properly. Though I suspect that he has another master teaching him things too which is why I pulled myself back and let him decide who he wishes to follow." Zeru shook his glass and the ice in it settled down. "Heh, Jin thinks he can hide it but it was obvious once he started fighting. The System is aware that Kraft is helping him to hide something from us, but chooses to ignore that matter since that master you talked about is putting positive changes into Jin." Yun revealed as she sat opposite of Zeru in a rather provocative manner. Zeru did not care about Yun''s sitting posture and stared at her intently. Yun somehow enjoyed the attention she gave was being reciprocated she smiled unabashedly as she consumed her cup of alcohol. "I know what you want. Well nothing like a little exercise." Yun whispered across the tower and Zeru smirked. Both of them slowly placed their cups down simultaneously as they leaped towards each other with their weapons out and clashed in the night with all their might. Chapter 344 Winding Down Two wooden swords clashed against each other with such force that the goblins thought there was another attack incoming. Panic spreads across the majority of goblin army, who have not seen such a sight and they picked their arms up. But when Sword General Gladios noticed the silhouettes of the two humanoids above, he calmed the goblins down saying it was nothing to worry about although he warned them not to interfere in any way. Some of the resting goblins continued with their business while others who saw such humanoids before came over to watch the fight as if it was some sort of martial arts contest. Yun was wearing a full white plain mask with no holes at all when she started the fight with Zeru while Zeru''s one quarter mask was covered with a lotus petal design. However, from the inside, she could see everything as if the mask was not really there. One would wonder why would Yun spar with Zeru? That was actually way before Jin had his first training session that they had been sparring in secret. There were multiple reasons for their little bouts. One was to make sure Yun was capable of fighting if the need for that arises. Two was to keep Zeru in fighting form and three was merely to kill some time and release stress. Yun being part of the System had copied Zeru''s fighting style and allowed Zeru to somewhat spar against himself. Surprisingly, this initially resulted in a very quick defeat for Zeru when they first fought against each other. Instead of feeling down, Zeru was more than happy with the result that he immediately asked Yun to spar with him whenever she was free. Zeru hoped that he could learn about the flaws of his own techniques and improve them accordingly as no one in the real world or in his past life had managed to defeat him nor copied his style. Mainly because he created this series of techniques from his own experience and kept to himself. The System even went beyond Zeru''s initial request and gave Yun access to the amalgamation of all the martial arts, experience and techniques acquired by the System so far in its lifetime. This made it hard for Zeru to predict what he was up against as Yun''s style could change daily while sometimes staying the same just to throw him off. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary power up and once it was over she only had her own style to back herself up in order to fight. It was due to the fact that each time Yun accessed such information from the System, it would take precious resources away from the System, mainly Souls. That was because those experiences and techniques were the embodiment of other cultivators'' memories. There was no way to replicate its actual technique through just sending said information to Yun''s brain¡­ normally. Thanks to her special constitution as a being created by the System when it extracted her spirit from the broken Dantian, her Soul was "incomplete". For that reason, it was possible to assimilate other souls to fill that gap and complete itself. The System made use of this by coding the information into a particular soul and sending it to her for use and experience those souls for oneself. After a set amount of time, the soul would devour the "foreign" soul as it was not part of it. Yun had asked the System if there was a way to make it permanent but the answer was that by sending a larger part of a foreign soul would create the risk of her being taken over or simply go crazy by too many different experiences. It assured her that through collating more data via Zeru''s sparring, there might be a way to prevent, overcome or maybe exceed that. For this reason, Yun was more than happy to accommodate Zeru with his training as she enjoyed trying out the new techniques. Hence, the techniques that Yun used when she fought with Jin in the random arena with the large cleaver was not her own but came from another cultivator whose fighting style was noted down by the System. In a way, this was also the last resort the System had in place to protect Jin in case of any catastrophic incidents such as fighting against a Grade 19 cultivator. However, if there was ever a Grade 20 cultivator who was trying to kill Jin, the System was unsure how much it could help Jin out as its records only included the entry for one particular Grade 19. Former Panda Lord Zhou Lin. Despite that, Yun was able to copy Zeru''s moves was because Zeru worked enough for Jin to earn a partial soul fragment a day as his daily reward. (Yeah, bellators were given daily pay too, Heh.) Therefore, Zeru always paid for Yun a set number of souls to copy his techniques and sometimes more to incorporate other techniques for him to train himself up or else he would not be in shape. Other bellators had their benefits too. Peppers were given partial soul fragments to recover her body or used them to buy books. Milk used those partial soul fragments to strengthen her magic while Kraft refused the soul fragments but instead bargained with the System for things whenever he needed them. (the System gave in to the bargain because he had done too much for the System defences compared to the other bellators.) The fight was proceeding like the ones before it. While both fighters seemed to be evenly matched at a point, Yun managed to push her advance mainly because she was so familiar with his fighting style unlike him who had to adapt at the fly. Till this day Zeru had not seen Yun utilising her own cultivation technique as if she wanted to hide it from Jin or even Zeru for some reason or another. The two wooden swords clashed one final time and the impact from the swords even made the heavy cathedral bell rang out once. After the gong, Yun called it off. She wiped her sweat off while adjusting her business skirt. "As always I find it incredible how you manage to fight at this level with your skirt on and still show off your style in coolness." Zeru complimented her as Yun opened a button from her shirt to release some heat. "Its a subtle way to distract male fighters and made them think I do not have the mobility." Yun winked as she cleaned up the tray and disappeared into a portal without saying another word. "She is as elusive as ever. Oh Yun, how do you manage to appear so close at times and so mysterious and distant as if you were someone else at others. I wonder what Jin would say if he knew¡­" Zeru sighed before he smiled and looked up into the sky. He took a good look at the foreign black sky before he resumed to keep watch at the corner of the tower after a satisfying workout. The rest of the goblins clapped for such a show before they returned to their work. Even Sword General Gladios learnt a bit or two from their fight. "Heh, loaning an army you say Master Jin? You yourself already have that many One Man Army in your possession." Gladios reflected while he patrolled the area to ensure the goblins were doing their job recreating the defences. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Xiong Da was lying in a private ward recovering peacefully in his sleep with light snores escaping him. At the same time in the same ward as him, Ruo Ying had just woken up in a separate bed. She stared at the ceiling confused for quite some time before realising where she was. Then her mind replayed all that she had gone through in the last hours (even though in their world not too much time has passed) only to become aware how many times she could have died in that particular dungeon instance. It was hard to believe anyone could create something like that. The monsters felt too realistic, their screams of horror when their comrades went down. The victorious war cries of the orcs during the laser cannon attack. The heat emanated from that laser cannon even when she was tens of metres away from it. Her mind briefly wandered and as if it was just nearby, she could still hear the far-off ringing noise of the anti tank cannons and the sounds of the marksmen shooting their rifles. She did not know why but it made her heart uneasy and her body started producing adrenaline. Only what seemed like a few seconds on, there was a light knock at the door. "Miss Ruo Ying, we noticed your heart rate and blood pressure elevated to an abnormally high level in a short period of time. Do you feel alright? Is anything hurting or does something feel strange to you?" A panda nurse came in to check on Ruo Ying and she did not know how to respond. "I think I am alright. I do not know. It''s just me thinking back at what we just experienced. I am unsure if it was fear or excitement. Whenever I think back about the horrific orc and goblin deaths, I consider myself lucky that I am to still alive here through my own sweat and blood¡­I feel ecstatic and the same time scared. Is it stupid of me to think that way?" Ruo Ying told the Panda Nurse about how she was feeling. "It is alright you are not the first one to feel that way. You just need to remember. This is just a dungeon instance. However, Boss Jin has made precautions in such cases as yours. We have a specialist who can help you to cope if the memories are too burdensome but it requires some more time and you would not be discharged that soon." The Panda Nurse offered. "Else, we can let you see a counsellor and talk about this. Remember, all you experience might feel real but it''s just a dungeon instance." "Give her some time to rest, I had those thoughts at the start too but after I got over the fact that all this was just a dungeon instance, my mind seemed to relax. Boss Jin aims for perfection, though I have to admit that he may have taken it a bit too far." Milk came into the private ward, lying so blatantly that it somehow convinced Ruo Ying. Unknown to the cultivators while they were relaxing in the recovery instance, the foxes of Kraft were making their rounds to reduce such possible cases of PTSD or general anxiety disorders one might feel after the raid instance. After all, it was a real world that they had joined and not a controlled environment. However, for veteran customers of Boss Jin, the past dungeons they experienced had already triggered both placebo and nocebo effects of the cultivator and conditioned them to think that everything was not real. It was mainly for new cultivators where it might trigger the effects of anxiety orders. With the new Goblin Raid Event, gossips and rumours were making their rounds that you can experience a true fight. Of course, some of the gossips were more extreme, stating that everything was possible with the Dungeon Store as long as Boss Jin was behind it and he actually listened to the requests of his customers. Jin too heard about such rumours and he himself would love to keep it that way by exposing them sufficiently just for a fight and not too much to learn about the whole grand scheme of stuff. It was indeed a dangerous move by him but he felt that with the current state of dungeon suppliers being just an entertainment venture rather than something to train the mind, body and ultimately the improvement of oneself. If possible, he would like to return to the roots of being a Dungeon Supplier. Despite it being an unorthodox move, Jin had the System in place to regulate his customers properly. With the System being somewhat omniscience and omnipotent when it came to the well being of innocent third parties, it was there to ensure incidents did not happen at all cost. (Customers always first right?) Worst come to worst, a memory wipe would suffice though Jin does not like that a single bit and that would be the last resort. Milk personally went to check on Ruo Ying and at the same time apply a calming spell on her to let her relax. Ruo Ying was finally able to lay down peacefully but at that moment, she did not realise that there was a black fox in her peripheral vision. When she blinked and turned to confirm what she saw, it disappeared. She thought she was seeing things as Milk reassured once again before allowing her to sleep peacefully. Milk smiled and walked out of the private ward to check on the others. Bu Dong and his other high school mates who were allocated in another private ward were not resting as compared to the first wave of cultivators. They were excitedly discussing what had happened in the Raid Event. Of course, Bu Dong was still trash talking about Yue Han but he did not care much since Yue Han knew it was Bu Dong way of showing concern to him. "That combination is not that bad huh?" Kong Xian talked how proud he was to showcase a new attack during the counter offensive which he used after Bu Dong unleashed an intermediate sword technique. Yue Han was curious and all three of them gathered at Bu Dong''s bed as they watched the replay which was exclusive to the raid members. While the System did not have any ''magic eye'' similar to its own dungeon instances per se, it was already monitoring the goblin world''s battlefield in its own way, hence allowing the replay for Bu Dong and the others to watch. (The System was in control of its own dungeon instances, any replay was easy to capture.) Therefore, the goblin raid event footage was more expensive than normal because the monitoring footage was not cheap to process. Those who had subscribed to the ''Nettoflix'' of Jin''s dungeon replays had to pay 20 Yuan more to get the footage which Bu Dong gladly did so. "Oh wow, Kong Xian, I did not know the Towering Tortoise had such an attack." Yue Han was complimenting him. The high school kids continued watching the replay though they somehow made a ruckus everytime the footage showed some crazy stunt made by one of them. That was when the Panda Nurse had to step in and asked them to keep quiet and made them to go back to their beds to rest like little kids. They initially obeyed but when the Panda Nurse closed the doors, they all scurried back to Bu Dong''s bed to continue watching. Meanwhile, Luo Bo signed a waiver form for early discharge as she wanted to see the rewards in the redemption store. "You sure, you do not wish to stay here longer to rest? The time dilation here would be more beneficial for you to rest right now, allowing you to save more time in the real world." The Panda Nurse asked to reconfirm her decision. "I want to go check out the store, with these much points there is definitely something to buy!" Luo Bo noticed that her normal clothes were already washed and dried when she changed from her ward gown. Shi Zuo was awake but he was lying down lazing in the bed and told Luo Bo to have fun while Bu Dong and Jia Le were peacefully asleeped in their own beds. "If there is anything nice, do take a picture for me to see. Don''t go overboard with your purchase." Shi Zuo said sluggishly as he waved goodbye to Luo Bo. "Heh, if there is anything pretty, it will be mine." Luo Bo stuck her tongue out to Shi Zuo as the Panda Nurse escorted her out of the recovery instance. Chapter 345 Event Redemption Counter "You must be kidding me¡­" Luo Bo''s jaw dropped when she entered the Event Redemption Counter. She was expecting something similar to an Arcade Redemption Counter when she entered the instance but it was more similar to the Armoury store only with more accessories and miscellaneous items in stock. The products were lined up neatly and the variety was extensive. Wall paintings, T-shirts, mugs, figurines, plushies, snacks, keychains and many more. Luo Bo was initially taken aback by the many sizes of graphical monster paintings when she entered. Some were hanging from the ceiling and rest were on the top part of the wall. All of them were seemingly in top quality and it was so real that they could jump out of the picture. Some were imprinted on metal, others were canvas portraits. There were solo pictures as well as combinations of various monsters in those pictures. For example, Shu the Sakura Tree Treant together with Ke Mi playing with her beloved zither while her Great White Snake was lying nearby listening in peace. It did brought about a sense of serenity from within when one looked at it attentively. The Event Redemption Counter also offered various dungeon monster figurines that were so detailed that it put famous toy production companies to shame. Luo Bo saw two dynamic fighting poses of the Werecats, Nyami and Meomi in their sleek sexy outfits. The werejackals in their half transformation with fire sparkling on their hands captured in a cool victory stance. Luo Bo could still remember the first time she got beaten after underestimating them. That was exact same pose they had used to celebrate beating her. (Along with some victory quotes, she could not remember.) "Judging from the production value, they must cost at least over a 1000 Yuan (150USD). But damn¡­I wouldn''t be surprised if they actually could sell for 2500 Yuan (372USD). Maybe even more to passionate collectors." Luo Bo analysed the figurine in the display boxes. Working in an animation company she had dealt with her fair share of designs for many anime figurines. This had provided her with the expertise to notice the quality of plastic and the details estimating their worth. "¡­not to mention scrappers¡­hmm but Boss Jin is not ''that'' famous right?" Luo Bo briefly entertained the thought of gathering all these figurines as a personal collection. However she quickly abandoned the idea of doing that¡­ at least alone. The sheer volume was just too much, but maybe she could convince her friends to help her . After all they could serve as a wonderful work inspiration. She did not know who Jin had contracted as there there no obvious toy company stamps nor any artist signature to it. Browsing through them, there was one that caught her eye and made her start to drool a bit. It was possibly the largest, most comprehensive and likely also one of the most expensive set that was available to be redeemed. "Oh my god how long did Jin plan this for?! I did not expect this to be on sale and they have her as well!" Luo Bo squealed on the inside at the figurines on display in a glass box. She took out her phone to take pictures of it. It was the notorious Team Savant. Although it''s not the entire eighteen, the set featured the initial five which had become famous after crushing Bu Dong''s team. Up until now Jin had kept some of the Savants a secret from his cultivators. Some of the classes were hidden for future surprises or maybe Jin wanted to sell them as part of a second series. The ones that featured in the redemption counter were truly branded into the brain of every cultivator who had tried to beat the Shaolin Football instance. Hence the current team on display included the Lord Knight, Lancer, Archer, Assassin and Warlock. Despite the fact that they were the ones most often encountered, Luo Bo remembered Mr Know-It-All stating that they were not necessarily always together. However, she only cared for one model at this moment, the Archer Savant. Luo Bo grinned with joy as she took pictures of it and was excited just for the Archer Savant alone because she herself was an archer. When she first joined the Shaolin Football Instance, Luo Bo had sulked after being beaten, even though it seemed that a win was so close at first. However after watching the replay of her loss she paid extra close attention to the Savant Archer. After a couple more matches she analyzed the footage and tried to copy what she saw. Luo Bo learnt quite a number of tricks this way from her, especially skills that did not involve any particular techniques at all. For example, when to optimally shoot a scatter shot, how much she needed to nock and turn her body to release a spin shot which could curve slightly so that an enemy would not notice until it was too late. It was surprising how perfect the Archer Savant managed to display her skills. However, the display model in the glass box seemed to indicate that it was the whole team that was to be sold rather than merely the archer on her own. Nevertheless Luo Bo decided to just ask one of the Panda Attendants whether if the archer figurine could be redeemed by itself. "Hmm¡­technically they are supposed to be sold in a set, but let me check something real quick and get back to you." The baby Panda attendant replied with an adorable smile before it went under the glass box display which had a red cloth covering the legs of the table. It seemed to be sniffing around for something for a while, but then started to move backwards. It was pulling a box out from underneath the glass box display and lo and behold. It was a solo Savant Archer figurine. "Here you go!" The baby panda gave a childish smile which could make every humans go ''awww'' for it. The Panda attendant wanted to stand up to give Luo Bo her Savant Archer figurine box but because of its clumsiness, it fell down before it could stand up although the Panda was aware enough to grab on to the box tightly preventing the figurine box to suffer any damage at all. Luo Bo nearly had her heart skip when the Panda fell but more so for the box. She was relieved when everything was okay. "You okay there little buddy?" Luo Bo squatted to assist the little Panda attendant as she rubbed the fur of the panda. Naturally, the Panda attendant responded with a slight growl and Luo Bo could not take it anymore. Giving in to her urges she picked the Panda attendant up to pet and got a slight yawn in return. Thankfully, unlike normal animals, Jin''s Pandas had a natural perfume smell instead of stench wild animals which made Luo Bo cuddle it even more. "Misss! Your box!!!" The Panda wanted to get away but Luo Bo was not giving him any chances. Suddenly, she heard a loud stomp from the entrance of the Event Redemption Counter and it was none other than Xiong Da who was panting loudly. "Brother Xiong Da! Why do you look so flustered?!" Luo Bo carried the Panda attendant to show how cute it was but Xiong Da hurried to the Panda attendant as if he was carrying some sort of life and death message for it. "Where is that Panda plushie?! That large one! Fluffy one!" Xiong Da exclaimed and the Panda Attendant calmly pointed it to the left hand corner and Xiong Da being large and tall in stature immediately saw what he wanted to see. Relieved that it was still there he picked up the Panda from Luo Bo and oddly thanked her for her assistance before he rushed quickly to that place as per the baby Panda Attendant''s direction. On his way to the plushie, Xiong Da did not care if he bumped into people (he did say sorry though!) but as he reached the large Panda plushie, he saw the price and nearly vomited. "Panda, if I combine the Raid points with my girlfriend''s, is it possible to get that particular plushie?" Xiong Da purposely took Ruo Ying''s phone when she was sleeping and turned on her Pandamonium app in case if he did not have enough points and hoped to use her points together if it''s possible. "Sir, your request is unusual but not impossible. We are here to provide compromise and satisfaction whenever possible. Please place your phones on my paw here to redeem your XXXL Panda plushie." The Panda Attendant who was in Xiong Da''s arm raised its paw out. Xiong Da did not hesitate to place his and Ruo Ying''s phone on its paw and the transaction was done immediately. Xiong Da could see that Ruo Yong''s account only have four Raid points left while his was completely empty. "Congratulations on being the first to receive this XXXL Panda Plushie!" The Panda clapped its paw as the Panda plushie which was hanging on the wall suddenly dropped down and smashed into Xiong Da''s face. Instead of being angry, Xiong Da was overwhelmed by a heavenly cushion of comfort from the soft embrace of the cuddle from the XXXL Panda plushie. Luo Bo was curious about what was happening and sniggered when she saw Xiong Da being so comfortable with the Panda plushie. "I did not expect a large and mature guy like you to enjoy a Panda plushie this much!" Luo Bo said as she held on to the box though she had yet to make her payment of raid points. "I will not argue with you on this Luo Bo. Just give it a try and everything should make sense to you." Xiong Da let go of his large new toy for a while and the Panda Plushie returned to its previous normal size. Luo Bo was a little apprehensive at first but she guessed there should not be any harm in trying it out¡­ She was dead wrong. The plushie embraced her like a baby in her mother''s bosoms. Luo Bo suddenly felt whatever fatigue she''d gathered from the battles in the Goblin Raid Event was lifted from her. She could not remember when the last time was she had enjoyed such homely feeling. Even when she was deeply in love with Shi Zuo, this warmth¡­This softness¡­This comfort. She never felt anything this impactful before. "Okay that is enough." Xiong Da smirked as he pulled Luo Bo out of the XXXL Panda Plushie and she felt she was being pulled out with a rough awakening. "NOooOOooooo!!" Luo Bo cried out because she wanted more cuddle time with it. After looking wronged at Xiong Da she shifted her attention the poor Panda Attendant who got scared because of her eyes burning with desire. In the meantime, other cultivators were starting to gather as they noticed the more well known cultivators in Jin''s shop were fighting over a product. "I want that thing now!!" Luo Bo demanded and the Panda attendant shook its head. "I am sorry Miss, your account does not have enough points to purchase this." The Panda attendant said regrettably. "What if I remove this particular archer figurine away from the cart. I should have enough right?" Luo Bo''s heart was getting a little agitated and the Panda attendant regrettably shook its head again. "You are still missing over a thousand points." The Panda answered and Luo Bo felt like flipping a table. "Can I pay with medals instead?" Luo Bo asked with a bit of agitation in her voice as if she was really desperate and there were some other cultivators who began to try out the Panda Plushie that was for redemption too which got on her nerves. Unfortunately the Panda apologised and she could only sigh in regret. "Why Xiong Da! Why did you have to show me this!!!" Luo Bo felt she would have prefered staying ignorant about this particular plushie especially after she found out more of its functions. Frustrated, she placed the Archer Figurine box back and started to call Shi Zuo. However, he was not picking up his phone and she knew that there was no way to return back to the recovery instance from the shop instance since it was a one way exit. "Arggh! That does it! I will go do another goblin raid!" Fuelled by the rage, desire and the need to own one, she bought the ten ticket package and pointed at the Panda. "You better keep one for me, or I will rip you into two!" "Miss please refrain from threatening us, we are here to help you. I am afraid I cannot reserve any items, its against the store''s policy no matter how veteran you are in this store." The Panda gathered the courage to deny her request and Luo Bo went off in a fit of anger. She teleported away and found herself in the same scene of the C130 where she saw Captain Bai and Hei. "Oh, you are back so quickly. Are you waiting for your other team members or joining oth-" Luo Bo suddenly banged the red button on the C130 without the permission of the Panda Captains. "Give me a mission to kill those orcs. I will do it solo." Luo Bo said with eyes of murderous lust to which the Captains reluctantly obliged and gave her the same monitoring ring which she had returned to one of the Panda nurses. "I shall be your companion." A lady walked out with a slight robotic voice and to her surprise Luo Bo saw it was none other than the Archer Savant. At least, her luck seemed to turn around. "There are raiders chasing after a goblin merchant caravan, you can- Sigh¡­couldn''t you at least listen to the briefing?" Panda Captain Bai shook his head as Luo Bo and the Archer Savant jumped out of the C130 together while scaring the cultivators that were waiting for their turn to sortie. "Do not worry, she is a veteran. Maybe someday, you can be as daring as her." Captain Bai assured them as he continued the briefing with the others while Captain Hei closed the cargo door of the C130. "Target on sight. Fire a few, I will later assist you with your landing." The Archer Savant was cold in her words but calculative in her actions, a feature which Luo Bo secretly admired. "Let''s rain some arrows on these orcs." Luo Bo smirked as she activated her far sight and nocked her bow- She aimed with the intent to kill. All for the XXXL Panda Plushie!!! ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jin was experiencing an overwhelming success with his new Dungeon Raid Event. Many people tweeted, shared in the social media and continued the event for the next few days. Various dungeon supplier reviewers had began to take notice of this particular shop because of the hype it was producing even though it did not have a social media account. Most was spread through the word of mouth and it was surprisingly effective. The new customers were speechless when they first joined the shop instance and the crowd it could handle despite it being just a storefront from the outside. Sure, there were some people loitering around outside Jin''s shop but the newbies did not expect it to be this grand when they were teleported in. Jin''s store really was a hidden gem, if one could overlook the outrageous prices in comparison to others. Luckily the Dungeon Raid Event was so cheap that newbies managed to get their first taste and some of them found the prices of the other Dungeons acceptable given the dungeons'' complexity and high details. Jin had also changed the interior decorations for the month of November again to something more goblinish in nature to reflect the Goblin War. He took inspirations from the towns of Gob Gob Kingdom and the interior layout of the tavern he visited. Jin even made Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One wear green goblin ears and have a goblin mask at the side of their face. The restaurant train instance was also remodelled to the scenery of the Goblin World after the System had gathered sufficient information from the satellite. As the days went by, the redemption store was not only stocked with Jin''s merchandises but it even introduced local Goblin products which Qiu Yue had traded. Of course, most of the products were repackaged with more of the modern context while retaining the authenticity of the goblin theme. For example, the beer was sealed in mini kegs with modern plastic sealings to prevent people thinking it was not airtight. The local delicacies like goblin cookies were repacked with a more colourful packaging which helped attract the sight of females. Qiu Yue introduced those modern packaging styles to the Goblin Trade Ministry and to their surprise, it also became quite a boon for their own markets too. (Qiu Yue did charge them a little more for all this cosmetic packaging which earned her and Jin quite a nifty profit as well.) Of course, with customers sharing such a wonderful event, it did not take long for the competitors to take notice of it. Ruby Rats owned Dungeon supplier store, King''s Monster launched a similarly major campaign called the ''King''s Advance'' to attract people. It even bundled it with major discounts to their dungeon instances for a limited time only. Being the current market leader in the region it unsurprisingly attracted quite a crowd, but compared to Jin''s store, it did not retain many customers willing to try the event again. Once seemed to be enough for most of the customers. The whole event helped gave a commercial boost to the Tiangong shopping district and some took the chance to offer discounts to attract more people to dine or buy items when they visited Jin''s dungeon supplier store. While it was true that Jin''s store did offer food that was off the charts, a number of customers simply preferred to have a cheaper food alternative. Some of the shopping district shops just adapted and started to offer cheaper alternatives of equipment for the new customers. Clothing shops collaborated with inscribers and sold cheaper defensive options after they themselves tried samples from Jin''s store. A new weapon store was built not far from the dungeon supplier store and it was shockingly popular amongst the newbies. Even Shen Si Fang, the owner of Lele caf¨¦ had created a goblin themed breakfast. Jin really did not expect such a response from the Shopping District, but he was happy that others also profited. While he wished to relax there was one thing on his mind which he did not know what to expect from. "I know that you said, that your memories are hazy and incomplete, but do you by chance remember anything about her? From what I was told Grandma Yuan has been around for ages. Surely you and Ming must have met or at least heard anything about her." Jin asked Yun as she tended to the stores. "No sorry, nothing comes to mind, which could help you. All I know is that she as a Guardian and that she could be considered just as influential as the Royal Zodiacs around these parts. You just have to be relaxed and yet attentive to her needs." Yun tried to calm the anxious Jin down while she prepared an announcement signage ready to be placed outside of the shop just for Grandma Yuan''s arrival. "Besides, she got you out of jail. You owe her that much." Yun proceeded to tell the customers that there would be an early closure for some maintenance purpose and almost everyone jeered at that. "Yeah right, my ''servers'' needed rest too and I have placed the announcement since a day ago so no one should be able to complain. Those who wish to dungeon, you have five more minutes to enter an instance. The Raid Instance is closed for now and the rest of you, please get your asses out of here." Yun said to Jin before announcing the closure of the shop through the speaker system. Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One later tried to salvage the ruthless announcement though many knew that when Yun was rough, she meant business. Hence, many obliged and decided to call it off for a day. All except for Jin who felt the pressure mounting up and for once that time was passing way too slowly. Chapter 346 The Wait for Grandma Chapter 346: The Wait for Grandma As Jin was waiting for Grandma Yuan, he was looking through the details for Operation Pompeii. The preparation was hectic but it seemed to be progressing very smoothly. The other Jins via the High Intensity Mode in the past few days had managed to obtain the materials for makeshift buildings that were used as props for Hollywood movies and such. For the more important buildings which were the ones most likely to be rushed through by the Orcs, those were purchased as customised prefabrications. The fifteen goblin days seems little but were precious providing Jin ample time despite the time dilation. Peppers had even found the time to cast magic to remodel those makeshift buildings to imitate the ones from the the goblin town. The more perfect the fake buildings were, they could be disguised it off as the real one, right? While the System had provided the Other Jins and Peppers with the exact city design layout via the satellite images, Kraft had made his way to the desolate island to check its conditions and most importantly whether the volcano was truly inactive as described by Colonel Ayse. His favorite weapon, No Mercy, worked as a sort of power booster allowing his foxes to turn large enough to be mistaken for Kaiju Monsters. They proceeded to take take turns to ''fly'' him there as fast as possible to scout and make his own observations about the island. (Technically, the foxes ran, leapt and jumped but to those goblins, it looked like they were flying monsters. Some goblin mothers used them as an excuse for their kids to behave otherwise the giant foxes would come get them in their sleep. ) "Not that bad I guess¡­ as long as we cover the top of the inactive volcano with a piece of land or some floating island, we really could pull the disguise off with very high walls. They should never know¡­well actually they might find out if some of them could fly. Damn I guess some of them CAN fly¡­maybe I could borrow that dungeon core responsible for powering up the shield barrier from Moloch and Sluggy Wolte. Perhaps we could even turn it into a sort of giant mosquito trap. As soon as they fly away far enough¡­ ZAP." Kraft thought to himself before asking the System how much would it cause to make such a thing happen. "Exorbitantly expensive. However recreating the energy for short, one time use is feasible and sufficiently cheap. As long as Original Bellator Kraft keeps up the appearance of a permanent barrier it should be possible to fool them." The System noted and Kraft being a big softie for crazy plans had asked the System to make him four of those "toys". "That will be equivalent to one year worth of soul fragments, but since Original Bellator Kraft had not been collecting his soul fragments for decades. System shall write it off as miscellaneous expenses." "Good System." Kraft smiled as he clapped to open a portal and returned back to the Dungeon Maker. At the same time, the exact city design layout coupled with the old city plans from the Goblin Home Ministry were also used elsewhere. Initially, the Other Jins had ambitious plans to include the complicated yet poorly designed sewers in the fake city. Later they decided to abandon them because of the lack of time. Instead they talked the System to purposely create a part of it to throw off the orcs who wanted to use the Sewers as a direct route to the Ministry Office. (That was also one of the possible targets that Colonel Ayse had suggested to hit to the King previously.) The System also marked out where the ninja penguins had found the lost tech artefacts as well as the possible places where the orcs could have planned to place them, hence giving an idea of the Orc''s train of thought. Peppers used this to possibly deduce the locations they were targeting. Once they analysed the possible routes, Peppers suggested the kind of traps to be placed there. (Although Kraft also chimed in with his own crafty suggestions¡­well because he''s a counter intelligence agent!) Separately, The Orc-Goblin War was still proceeding with the goblins putting up a fierce defence in the North. They even sent out assault parties accompanied by cultivators against the Thunder Orc Army who had not expected that much damage to be inflicted from the goblins. Within the coming days, there was indeed a diversion coming from the West where the Ice Orc Fleet travelled via their ships just as Colonel Ayse''s intel had warned them about. The Ice Orcs thought they easily could pull up to the shore and quickly take control over the Western Region with their almighty sea fleet that was equipped with sturdy iron ships they replicated from the Lost Tech Island. The Ice Orc Fleet would be more daring in the diversion attack. It was especially so as they were accompanied by the Wind Orc Army''s airship carriers. This time around, the Wind Orc Army were equipped with larger guns and sturdier materials. Both armies being confident of their army, they sailed and flew to the Western region of the goblin territory for the diversion attack. If a normal human or goblin in the waters saw such a scene, they would feel like a terrifying nightmarish menace was coming to take over the lands of Gob Gob Kingdom. Fortunately, the Goblins had some tricks under their sleeves now, courtesy of Jin. According to the Orc plans, the Orc raiders were supposed to pillage, raid and cause discord to the remote goblin villages while collecting resources. They would then proceed to store those supplies for either the Thunder Orc Army or the Orc Ice Fleet to utilise. However, with Jin''s interference, most of the Orc Raiders were killed and the resources were retrieved back. The villagers were safely evacuated and their militia was reorganised with the supervision of Qiu Yue and the workings of Defence Ministry. She worked them like slaves and not just the Defence Ministry but the rest of the other Ministries too. However, for the survival of their kingdom, they would endure this hardship. (Not to mention the bet they lost to her.) Even though the war was still ongoing, the pedals of economy was moving fast and steadfast despite the lack of manpower after the conscription. Trades with other towns and races were still ongoing and the markets were reorganised to support the war effort. There were even cases where the goblin kids helped out with the labour if necessary due to lack of manpower. (They were not enforced but strongly encouraged.) Diplomatic wise, the goblins had managed to convince the humans that if the last remaining goblin kingdom were to fall, there was a very high likelihood that the Humans might be next. King Sol and his diplomatic agents (alongside with Qiu Yue!) had initially asked for a simple alliance. They did not ask for much as they understood asking the humans to cooperate with them in the War against the Orcs was impossible. They never shared a big connection and it would be impossible to overcome the historical differences in a small amount of time. All they ask was just simple aid supplies or at worse discuss to keep the trading alive if possible. Qiu Yue knew humans were beings driven by selfish emotions no matter which era or world they were in. They would ally with the winning side if they knew what was best for them. Therefore, she purposely asked some goblins trained with the M1 Garand Rifles to follow the diplomatic convoy. She even purposely drove the battered M4 Sherman tank after it was repaired and refurbished by Jin into the territories of the Human Kingdom to show the goblin''s supposed might. Following the idea of Hou Fei, they even made three additional "tanks" from the System which looked the same but had no functions aside from being able to drive forward. The plan was for the main tank to fire off its canons and the others to be a display of strength. Later weapons could either be added or it could be sold back to the System. A show of strength was exactly what they needed from the goblins. It would warn the Humans not to do anything stupid like trying to assassinate the King during the diplomatic convoy part¡­which some hired mercenaries really did rather openly in the streets of the Human Capital. The goblin riflemen shot them down mercilessly before they could come anywhere near the King nor inflict any serious damage. This superior show of force flipped the idea of the goblins being weak upside down and even made the humans start to fear their neighbours. Yet, Qiu Yue felt this was a sufficient portrayal of power to show that the goblins could come in peace but mess with them? They would not show mercy too. The Human King eventually received the message of what happened from his advisors. (Needlessly to say, his various spies who monitored the war from afar.) He promised to send aid in order to curry favour with King Sol who was now beaming with vitality contrary to his past self. In short, Qiu Yue had managed to secure better trade ties and even aid supplies for the Goblin Kingdom, earning her brownie points from the System. Additionally, with the early warning system in place because of the constant satellite footage, the goblins were able to sortie in time against the Orc Ice Fleet. Spear General Argent took charge of the western defences with a costal army of his own while Sword General Gladios held the fort in the Valley Town Gob Gob Bu. Dagger General Igni was still in a secret high risk mission to connect the leylines with his son, Ripcaller and a team of highly ranked goblin assassins. This way even if Operation Pompeii should fail, the assassination team would turn into their backup plan. It was a no brainer for Jin to sent his Assassin Savant to assist the group that was a huge boon to their offensive operations. Unsurprisingly, the original Western coastal defence by the goblins was weak. However the goblins who were now trained to use artillery and flak guns by Hou Fei were stationed right where the Ice Orc Fleet and the Wind Orc Army would arrive. Shu, the Sakura Tree Treant finally made his appearance since he had been unable to fit in a C130 nor to follow cultivators along them through missions. (Imagine a large tree trying to squeeze itself out of the C130 plane and begin free falling with the cultivators¡­The customers would probably be scared of the tree crushing them into pieces before they could even land properly.) For the Western Coastal defences, Shu along with Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress had created makeshift wooden walls as temporary defences. How did they do it? Simple, grabbing a few of Shu''s branches or alternatively some wooded logs provided by the goblins from the surrounding forest. Shu first planted them down near the beach and used its magic to grow them. Ke Mi, on the other hand, who had been cultivating the living armour plants day in and day out learnt the tunes on how to accelerate the growth of the plants. Compared to the living armour plants which were very picky in terms of food consumption or even the type of music being played to stimulate their growth, the enlargement of these branches and tree logs were like child''s play to Ke Mi. With just a short musical tune, the plants and trees reacted to the chi in the music Ke Mi played and the magic provided by Shu, growing up to form a strong defensive layer of wall along the coast. Taking lessons from the World War Two''s infamous Normandy landing, Jin had purposely asked Sandy to increase the land mass along the beach so that the ships would not come close to the beach at all, forcing them to land far from the beachhead at least an additional 500 metres away from the actually shoreline. More M4 Browning machine guns were made available and deploying prefabricated bunkers, they basically shored up their defences in the western coastal region. The goblins practiced day in and night on how to minimise the time to reload, how to shoot effectively and assisted in placing explosives in the beachhead. When the Ice Orc Fleet comes, the Western Coastal Defence would be more ready to receive them. However, according to Colonel Ayse, the diversion would only begin on the day of the Red Full Moon. In a coordinated effort from the three armies, the Ice Orc Fleet would attack the West, the entire Thunder Orc Army would push forward through the North to their best capability while the Fire Orc Army would enter the cities via the Lost Artefact portals. In the meantime, The Wind Orc Air Force would serve as the backup since they were currently under the direct command of Orc King Hamu himself. The Fire Orc Army would burn a portion of the city down to let the Wind Orc Air Force to enter with their giant Mothership. Jin let out a sigh of relief. If not for his employees, the work of his monsters, bellators as well as customers, this war could never be won by the goblin''s alone. "Heh, if I were you I would not celebrate just yet. You know I hate to be the voice of reason, but don''t you think you overestimate yourself a bit? You may have the System, but do you think your Grade 7 powers would allow you to defeat the Orc King Hamu single handedly?" Kraft asked with a bit of ¡­concern. "Well, I have you and Zeru. I do not have to be that scared about that." Jin giggled and Kraft sighed, reminding him not to forget his training. It was at that moment, there was a teleportation into the shop instance and Jin somehow felt the pressure in the shop instance increasing in an instance. Grandma Yuan had arrived. The staggering aura was very familiar since he felt it before. It was hard to forget this familiar pressure, though with a cultivation of Grade 7 under his belt, he was able to withstand it a lot better compared when he was just a Grade 3. "Hmph. I see that you must have been training rather rigorously since the first time we met. Last time I did not notice it, but your progress is really something" Grandma Yuan walked in. Only after a few of her steps did Jin notice, that she was not alone but that there was a lady attendant assisting right beside her. "Grandma Yuan." Jin acknowledged her presence and wanted to assist her but she declined as she walked towards the bar counter. The lady attendant helped her up the barstool and Grandma Yuan turned towards the lady attendant. "Get the things in." Grandma Yuan ordered her lady attendant and she immediately acknowledged. Yun politely asked if she wanted to drink anything but it seemed that Grandma Yuan was annoyed when Yun was the one questioning her. She gave out a large sigh before she answered that she wished for some tea. "Grandma Yuan, if you do not mind, I will be the one to brew it for you. Any specifics?" Lynn was also around as Jin had informed her about their special guest''s arrival. After all, Lynn got out of jail because of her help too. "Hmm. Hoji Tea." Grandma Yuan replied which surprised Lynn that she asked for a Japanese specific type of tea instead of a chinese one. However as a professional, she did not spent too much time overthinking it and accommodated the request. In the meantime, the lady attendant returned with other attendants behind her. They were all carrying large metal boxes sealed with charms and all. All were carefully brought forward and placed on the counter while Grandma Yuan did not say a single word until Lynn came back with what she had requested. "Hmm. The roast of the tea leaves is so so. The tea''s temperature is sufficiently hot." Grandma Yuan took a whiff before giving her opinion. Then she sipped a little and put it back on the table. "Not too bad. The chi in the tea composition could be better managed. You are flustered because of my presence aren''t you?" Grandma Yuan asked Lynn while she took a handkerchief out to wipe her mouth. Lynn embarrassingly nodded her head and Grandma Yuan beckoned her to come nearer. She picked up Lynn''s hand and caressed it a little. "Hmm¡­I see, you relied too much on your dorsal area because of the way you fight. You need to learn to channel the chi from your palm to your fingers more delicately like this." Grandma Yuan circulated her chi along her fingertips and Lynn could understand what she meant. "This way, not only can you perform more delicate tasks in your cooking, preparing tea but also in your fighting." Grandma Yuan smiled at Lynn which was a first and Lynn hastily thanked her for her guidance. In the meantime, the assortment of stacked metal boxes had stopped and they occupied the entire central area of the shop instance. Grandma Yuan then dismissed the attendants and asked her lady attendant to only come back when she called for her. The lady attendant which came in first, seemingly the leader of them acknowledged it with a bow and left the area. With only Jin, Yun and Lynn left in the picture, Grandma Yuan finally faced Jin and started talking to him. However the first thing to come out of her mouth, shocked them all. "So¡­Jin. How has the System been treating you?" Grandma Yuan asked bluntly while staring very seriously at Jin. The Grandma knew all along. Chapter 347 Grandma Yuans Revelation Jin was at a loss not knowing how to respond to Grandma Yuan''s question. After what felt like an eternity to Jin her expression slowly changed into a smirk while she waited. At the same time Jin tried to figure out how she had learned about his most important secret. Did he mess up at some point? Was it Yun who told told her? Or was she a past user herself? "The User has been progressing fairly well despite an initial rocky progress. Current classified activities may even lead to a new breakthrough if User gets lucky." Suddenly it was the System who broke the silence through the speakers of the shop instance. For a moment the expression on Grandma Yuan seemed to change. Sighing once again she felt comforted after the System replied to her since Jin seemed to be too stunned to even utter a single word. "So exactly what Grade is he at?" Grandma Yuan asked and the System replied accordingly. "Hmm¡­Seven. A little better than what I had expected, but still lower than the ideal scenario." Grandma Yuan commented while she continued to drink her Hoji tea. "System wishes to point out the fact that User has managed to achieve Spiritual Union early on during the Zoo visit." The System added and Grandma Yuan laughed at that. She still remembered how she coaxed Jin into that near impossible fight back then. "I see. I see. That''s good to hear. That explains how he managed to reach Grade 7 in such a short time. It will prove as a good excuse for whoever tries to find out more about him. Achieving Spiritual Union early does wonders to one''s cultivation. However too many shortcuts and it will be a bad thing if his foundation turns weak because of this." Grandma Yuan continued to talk to the System. "Lady Yuan. Do not worry. I have personally ensured he does not neglect his training even while he attends to his shop." Zeru had appeared in front of Grandma Yuan and chimed in. "Kei- hmm¡­Zeru." Grandma Yuan stopped herself before she finished. Zeru bowed at the calling of his name and appreciated that Grandma Yuan managed to control herself by not saying out his true name although the others were too restless to take notice of it. Grandma Yuan seemed to know a lot more than she was letting on. "It''s been a while." Grandma Yuan tone was more kind and gentler than before. Zeru could only smile back while maintaining his quarter bow before he stepped back via a portal and let the living humans resume their conversation. "Did Grandpa Ming tell you about the erm¡­.?" Jin finally seemed to have collected himself enough to function and tried to politely ask Grandma Yuan with a conscious effort but all he received was a serious gaze back. "I doubt Ming would have brought it up to since Yun was gone, but I was the one who instructed Yun in her cultivation arts. I had been unaware of the System or really anything surrounding the Panda Clan. Only after I gained his trust did Ming reveal his secret to me. I feel it was the same for that little chef girl you have with you right now." Grandma Yuan narrated to Jin as she put her tea cup down. Again she was not really acknowledging his presence and instead she stared at Yun with an expression of disgust. The System proceeded to inform Jin that Grandma Yuan was once a Sub System User similar to Lynn. Jin assumed that could be why her memories were not entirely taken away when the System turned back time on Ming. Yun, on the other hand, did not back down and kept her head high in front of Grandma Yuan. She had no recollections at all to verify the reality of the story. However, she roughly guessed that Grandma Yuan''s story was very possibly true. And if she was to assume that the old Guardan was her teacher it would certainly explain her cultivation¡­which was based on the Griffins too. That was partially the reason why Yun had refused to use her cultivation to prevent Jin from having any misunderstanding. "To see this abomination standing right in front of me. I really cannot take it." Grandma Yuan swore and the System could only give a logical explanation. Using Yun''s image at the start allowed the System to save resources in case things did not work out. Economically speaking, the broken soul was cheap to "fix" and it had been one of the last request of Ming to "resurrect" her. Objectively, it appeared to be the most ideal solution rather than placing an entirely new soul or utilising a veteran Panda Clan member''s soul which cost a lot to be a tutor for Jin. Someone who had familial ties to Jin was ultimately the best candidate to introduce him to the System (Though we know Yun was not exactly the best teacher.) "To hell with you, System!!!" Grandma Yuan did not mince her words which kind of scared Jin and Lynn. Her rage briefly displayed her cultivation though it was too short for Jin to count the number of Griffins, before she just as quickly calmed down again. Then she finally shifted her eyes on to Jin, who immediately got goosebumps, before Grandma Yuan started to explained the full tragedy of the real Yun to Jin. "You deserve to know it. You are after all, her child. And I doubt that cheapskate System would share this with you, otherwise you would not have been so surprised to see me act this way." Grandma Yuan took a big sip and her face revealed a deep sorrow recollecting her thoughts about the incident back then. It felt like she reopened a large wound she had tried her best to close a long time ago. Grandma Yuan started at the time of the incident. The day had already started very weirdly for the now old woman. A photo of herself training with Yun and Ming in the background had fallen from the shelf and there was a large crack around Yun and Ming. Not being one who usually believed in superstitions she had nevertheless warned Ming to be careful on that day. Then nothing happened¡­ until she was notified by Ming about that particular incident. She had rushed over but when she arrived at the site where the Banned Emperor assassins killed Yun and her husband, she uncontrollably vomited despite being a veteran who had killed and seen people die to the point of getting used to it. However, the shock of seeing someone very close to her die had hit her far more serious than she expected. The scene was not just bloody with Yun''s body ripped into pieces. The walls of the alley were vandalised with their internal organs. They were mutilated so badly that the only way they were able to identify her so fast were the unique swords Grandma Yuan bestowed to her and her husband. Yet, it did not seem like it was an instant assassination. There were signs of an intense fight and when the scene was reconstructed by police investigators and herself, there were shreds of evidence of ritual magic having been used to ensure that they would stay trapped and forced to fight to the death. Whether it was the victim''s doing to prevent the assassin''s escape or vice versa, the outcome was ultimately not favourable to Yun and her husband. Grandma Yuan was unsure because the Griffin Style had a trap technique Yun could have utilised, but Yuan also knew that it was too dangerous to use it at her current Grade. Then again, there were also signs of other magical sources that were utilised to trap them too. Whoever was behind this had to have planned this for a very long time and had made ample preparations. Being the Guardian for Tiangong District, Grandma Yuan simply could not let this injustice go by and she had spend a large amount of time afterwards chasing this incident. Only in recent years did she finally decide to stop since the trail went too cold. She emphasised the word assassins since the media did say the police managed to apprehend a culprit. That was after the time reversal, but she explained more about the events leading to the time reversal. "Ming, however, did not think the same. He was convinced that the Banned Emperor assassins were employed by the Royal Zodiacs themselves." Grandma Yuan said in a depressed tone. "He knew about the history of the Panda Clan and the Royal Zodiacs involvement. Whoever was behind this had either really convinced them or simply planted a lot of evidence pointing in that direction. There was a particular trace of a special technique in the crime scene that was unique only to the Royal Zodiac Bulls. Ming managed to acquire that info from a trusted informer from the Royal Snake Zodiac. What made things worse was that this information was made to disappear as to not indiscriminate the Royal Zodiacs. After finding that out, Ming snapped and that was why he was also brash enough to announce his intention to tear down the Royal Zodiacs." Grandma Yuan explained. For the first time the powerful woman''s fingers were trembling around the cup, who seemed to be near the point of shattering. "Yet, I kept trying to reason with him. I kept emphasising to him that it was impossible since the Banned Emperor assassins would never work with the Royal Zodiacs or that the assassins should be unaware of the existence of the dying Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. However, he could not listen or he simply did not wish to. The loss of his precious daughter made him irrational. In the end, I do not know if he was aware of it or if he simply needed someone to vent his frustrations¡­" Grandma Yuan said before pausing for a moment. "For the rest of the story, you can let that crafty fox fill you in." She slowly turned her head to the side and looked at Kraft who was sitting in one of the couches in the auditorium waving at her. "Your senses did not dull after such a long time. Have you missed me, Birdy?" Kraft grinned one sided as he stood up from the couch and slowly walked towards Grandma Yuan with his hands in his pockets. "I was pretty sure that you had accompanied Ming in the Afterlife, you ancient Monster." Grandma Yuan turned the barstool and stomped her walking stick on the ground. A large golden Griffin silhouette appeared from the bottom of her stick screeching at Kraft and subsequently charging towards him at full speed. Kraft took out his No Mercy and used it. Itori the white fox enlarged herself and challenged the Griffin. The two beasts fought furiously for a few seconds with claws slashing at each other, beaks and fangs biting one another before they distanced themselves and later disappearing as chi particles at the behest of their owners. "Impressive, your edge is as sharp as ever. A shame how cruel time can be." Kraft clapped lightly. "Hmph. Not all of us can cheat the wheel of time like you. You are just as unpleasant as I remember the last time I saw you." Grandma Yuan noted before she let out a slight grin to Kraft as an acknowledgement. Jin did not realise the incident back then was that dire. Kraft had preferred Ming to tell Jin but he decided to follow suit since Grandma Yuan already initiated it. "What she said is true. Yuan did try to stop Ming and warned him that he should do things rationally. Rushing in with little evidence in hand would not help bring Yun back to life at all. In fact, it would be suicidal. However, Ming¡­ was unlike you. He did not have a shop to ponder over nor any other remaining attachments, all he had been doing up until that point was¡­" Kraft stopped for a while as he sat beside Grandma Yuan and glared at Jin seriously. "Train. Practice. Strengthen his cultivation like all past cultivators who stopped at nothing to reach the best of his abilities. The System at that time did not stop him and continued to feed him with more power via missions. All for the sake of potentially reviving the Glory of the Panda Clan one day. Imagine this. When you have been enduring all this training day in day out without having any outlet to vent, do you know what happens? There will be this itch." Kraft said. "At first the itch will only be barely there. Kinda like a craving for something. It can appear and be gone the next moment. However, without ever satisfying the craving it will only get stronger every day. At some point the itch will irritate not just your skin, but the fibres of your muscles and later the itch will gradually move towards your heart. But Ming was a very logical man. He was able to control that urge to succumb to that itch¡­.until the death of his daughter." Kraft pointed out. "I am not the one who should give you all these details but yea. He lost pretty badly against the combined strength of the Royal Zodiacs. Afterwards they did not bother and left him to bleed to death¡­ except for one. The last one whispered in Ming''s ear that all that was left to do was to crush his Dantian core. That was when the previous System realised Ming could be right. Only the Banned Emperor disciples were able to perform such an action. " "At that instant, the System purposely reverted time but doing something like that cost it dearly. It was forced to use a plethora of valuable resources. The time change was not only aimed at reverting the undoing of Ming, but also should have changed the perception of everyone involved with him. Your grandpa cried out why the System was unwilling to revert to the point at which Yun was not killed yet. The System at the time answered if it did that all its resources would be gone and the System would most likely cease to exist. Self preservation continues to be its utmost importance. It was regrettable. Another loss of a potential panda clan member that could exact revenge. However there was already a potential successor. Yun had already given birth to you, Jin and the System did not deem it necessary to endanger itself any further. Instead, the resources could be better used to foster you." Kraft added and the rest could only listen and not respond for a while. Yun just kept her silence when Kraft gave them the full story. All of this. "I guess¡­to the System¡­a huge number of Panda clan members had already sacrificed themselves before. What is one more to its cause." Jin spelled out the ugly truth and Grandma Yuan could only sigh out once more. At that point, she really looked more like a weak old lady instead of a powerful Guardian. "So System, why did you change your mind of exacting revenge and allow me to do things at my own pace?" Jin asked loudly. "User should be aware of the collective entities in the System. After the newest informations regarding the Banned Emperor it decided to reevaluate its strategy. The System did not lose sight of its objective to exact revenge against the Banned Emperor or the Jade Emperor''s Royal Zodiac subjects. The System''s collective entities had decided that User had a major potential to grow the Panda Clan to its former glory by fulfilling User''s dream. Money is Power. Hence, the System felt that gathering power was necessary to prevent such an incident like with Ming again." The System stated. "Also, even if User does not wish to pursue the objectives of exacting revenge, the System does not mind. After calculating the probability, the subjects of Banned Emperor coming for User is high enough to warrant deeming their defeat as a second main objective." The System said and Kraft laughed. "Hahahahahaha! In other words you are saying Jin is simply a magnet for trouble?" Kraft continued to laugh loudly which indirectly offended Jin a bit. "Using past events as the sample size, the probability of User getting into trouble are forecast as high to very high. Possibility peaking in the 95th percentile." The System replied and the rest of the group could not help and agreed. Even Grandma Yuan chuckled at that fact while Lynn nodded her head unhesitatingly too. "Fineeeeeee!" Jin pouted for a while before Grandma Yuan got back to business. From her storage ring, she took out a piece of paper and dialled her phone to call for the lady attendant that was previously helping her. "Bring him in." Grandma Yuan ordered and almost in an instant, a familiar figure appeared in front of them. It was none other than Xiong Da in a very formal suit with tie and high class leather shoes. "Good Evening, Grandma Yuan." Xiong Da greeted Grandma Yuan as he placed his suitcase in front of Jin. "I assume the rest here are the witnesses to this?" Xiong Da asked formally as he saw Yun and Lynn in the crowd too. (Kraft had already disappeared when he appeared) "Yes, proceed." Grandma Yuan said and Xiong Da then faced Jin. "I am the Lawyer enforcing the will of your late grandfather, Xie Ming. It was previously a case of my colleague but he decided to retire early. So it was really a mere coincidence when I saw your name in one of his cases." Xiong Da smiled at Jin as he took a few more pieces of paper out. "Under the will, he requested that more of his inheritance properties would be given out to you as soon as you prove yourself worthy. What he did not state to you in your version of his last will was that the person judging you in terms of your worthiness was actually the one right in front of you. Grandma Yuan." Xiong Da pointed out. "I approve of him. He is somewhat worthy. Cut to the chase, you can transfer the content to him now." Grandma Yuan hurried him up in a stern voice. Xiong Da did not dare to mess with her. However, he said that it was his responsibility to let both parties understand the papers they were signing. Thankfully, Xiong Da was brief enough that he did not test Grandma Yuan''s patience. They then proceeded to sign a few documents regarding the release of inheritance property. "If you are done, please leave us. Thank you for your assistance." Grandma Yuan said abruptly when it was obvious that the papers were done. "I will pass you the payment later, Xiong Da." Jin said and Xiong Da gave the ''okay sign'' before he hastily made his way out of the instance. "Now, in order to not waste any of your or my time. The boxes are there for you to explore. As a safety measure only cultivators of the Griffin Style can open those boxes. I believe they will prove valuable to your shop¡­and I am sure that is also what Ming would believe." Grandma Yuan slowly got down from the barstool and took a look of the shop instance for herself. Then she walked back to the bar counter and placed a name card down. "Prepare a Zoo instance if you get my drift. Those NPCs will not be able to teach your customers much. Call this number for my head attendant to assist you in this but remember only I know about the System." Grandma Yuan said but before she truly left the place, she stopped a final time and looked at Lynn. "Girl, I look forward to coming back and enjoying your next cup." Grandma Yuan remarked as she teleported out of the shop instance. Chapter 348 Unboxing When Grandma Yuan finally left the shop instance, Jin took a breather and composed himself before looking at the large stacks of metal boxes. Yun was already walking towards the boxes, not particularly caring what Grandma Yuan said previously about her. Her only concern now was Jin''s growth and that was all it matters. Yun did not feel the urge to explore her past after finding out the truth from Grandma Yuan though she did feel a little troubled. Regardless, Yun did not feel so conflicted that she felt that something must be done to rectify the problem. Perhaps when the System recreated her, it made her be that way so that she would not be burden by the past, else she could not explain otherwise. Or was she always that heartless when she was alive? In any case, she scanned the boxes and realised that there were progressive grades attached to the sealing charms on the metal boxes of various sizes. She also noticed that the seal was purposely made for her particular version of Griffin style; not any Griffin style cultivator would be able to open the box. Upon closer examination, Yun roughly figured Grandma Yuan motive of putting the seals. She made it so that the unboxing procedure could only be done when Jin reached a certain Grade. That was when Yun would also be pegged to that grade to unveil the contents of the box too. Hence, with Jin''s increase in grade, Grandma Yuan believed that would allow Yun to reveal the contents of the sealed metal boxes proportionate to his growth since she knew how the System worked. However, Grandma Yuan did not take account that Yun''s affliction was more towards the System then her being Jin''s ''servant''. So, Grandma Yuan''s intention to give the entire batch of metal boxes to Jin could be circumvented by Yun if she wanted to open everything. After pondering whether to either open all the boxes using the System''s powers or release the boxes to Jin whenever she felt the time was right, she finally decided to just follow Grandma Yuan''s way of doing things. Yun mumbled a few words before placing her hand at the Grade 1 metal box and the sealing charm burnt into a crisp in an instant. Jin helped himself to opening the chest and found that the large metal box was brimming with¡­books. Cultivation Manuals of various animals were in that box and all of which seem to be unique to their own. Jin estimated there would be at least a hundred of these manuals in there. "To be exact, there are currently 1028 manuals in the metal box. All of which are the common types of cultivation which most modern cultivators used. There were no duplicate copies in the box at all." The System stated. When Yun opened the subsequent boxes, the contents were similar. It was all books, books and more books so she decided to stop at the metal box with the Grade 6 sealing charm since the box''s size does not seem to look like it would contain books. The System noted that the cultivation manuals that the first five metal boxes contained, covered almost 80% of the cultivators seen in the shop. Despite the variations in certain styles, the System had already begun analysing those manuals and putting them in its database. "Don''t you have your set of own cultivation manuals in your database? I mean you did kind of gave Qiu Yue and Lynn their own special manuals." Jin asked wondering if all these manuals were really necessary or was it just Ming''s old collection. "The cultivation manuals that the System stored in its database were from the period of the Jade Emperor era. The Panda Clan had a monopoly in the education sector and it managed to control the sales of cultivation manuals really well. The System would like to note that due to the rebellion against the Banned Emperor, the Panda Clan estimated to have obtained at least 90% of the cultivation manual in that particular era with the efforts of the previous houses before they became the subjects of the Jade Emperor." The System reported. "With this set of collection in hand, the System is able to update its database, correlate it to the old cultivation manual and deduce the possible divergences of various old cultivation manual that lead to the creation of the modern cultivation manual. In addition, the collection of data from the cultivators in the dungeon instances had presented the shortfalls as well as the advantages of the particular style they were using. The System will take its time to compile all of the data and use it to create better manuals. In short, the System believes that it could finally open up the teaching instance User had desired Peppers to do so. User may do it in conjunction with the zoo instance that former Sub System User Yuan had suggested." The System stated and Jin could feel that it was very satisfied with the collection of the cultivation manuals despite the fact that it despised the person who painstakingly collected them. "I had totally forgotten about that part of asking Peppers to do it." Jin casually opened one of the manuals to take a look. Some of the older manuals had hundreds of pages while others were tattered and torn but Jin realised many of the newer looking ones were thinner and more concise. He wondered if Ming had gone through all these manual to create the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation manual. "He did. Well, not all entirely all of them but a number of them, yes." Kraft appeared and took one manual from the Grade 3 box. He then showed Jin a particular page of the Henotic Hedgehog Cultivation Style. Jin picked it up to have a closer look¡­then he realised the technique on that page was similar to his Panda Rolling technique but the steps were much simpler. "He was still a cultivator after the System abandoned him. When Ming was not working, he would take the time to create the particular cultivation manual you had been using." Kraft tossed the book back into the metal box which made a portal open right in front of him. Peppers suddenly came out of the portal like a person who had not seen food in his life for a very long time. "I SMELL BOOKS!" Peppers shouted as she ran to the Grade 5 metal box of books and stared at them for a while. "Oh wow. I did not expect your inheritance to be like this at all! I thought it would just be some old armour and lots of money. But look at this! These crates are filled with so much sweat and blood of the cultivation masters!!! Their life''s work all summarised into pages of papers! Master, I will not be courteous!!" She cast a magic spell that levitated the five metal boxes and with a snap, they all disappear. "Don''t go overboard reading that you will not be able to complete the preparations of Operation Pompeii in time!!" Jin shouted at her but before Peppers could even reply, she disappeared into thin air. "System¡­please do remind her¡­" Jin said as he knew there was not much time left to the Red Moon Night. "Do you wish to look into the contents of the last two boxes or you want me to do it another day?" Yun asked since she saw him preoccupied but Jin nodded his head. Judging from the rectangular size of the metal box, he did not expect the contents to be any much different. Perhaps, it was some ancient scroll that contained the knowledge or some picture painting that would teleport them into another dimension but when Jin looked at it closely, he was surprised. Two unique looking swords with their pommels carved with a griffin head. The crossguard was ornated with wings and the grip was layered with silver for one and gold for the other. The langet of the sword had claws grabbing on the fuller part of the blade. The scabbard''s locket and chape matched with the colours of the hilt with a simple black finishing. There was a note at the side and Jin can recognise that it was Ming''s handwriting. "Grandma Yuan might not like it but pass it to your supposed mother. It belonged to her and will forever be hers." Ming wrote. Yun picked it up and remove the silver griffin sword out of its scabbard. Somehow, the sword glowed when Yun raised it up to have a closer look. "The sword seems to remember me¡­even when I have no recollection about it." Yun said as she put it back into the scabbard and took the other out of the metal box. As she peered at the golden sword, water involuntarily accumulated into a droplet and suddenly escape out of her tear ducts. Yun did not understand why even when she had no memories of the golden sword, her tears kept flowing out as if it was pent up for a very long time. There was an indiscernible bond that was exposed from the depths of her heart when she held on to the golden sword. Jin saw the scene and kept quiet for a while. He figured that was the sword his father used based on what Grandma Yuan said and Jin could also feel that his heart been tugged by the sword too. "Why¡­why¡­why I cannot remember anything about you and yet you made me feel this way!" Yun cried out loud as if she could see an apparition of the loved one she lost. At that moment, her true cultivation style appeared and silver griffins silhouettes hovered over her as if to try and comfort her. Kraft was the only one who dared to walk towards her and place a hand on her shoulders and the griffins silhouettes disappeared immediately. "Keep that sword close to your heart. It proved that you were truly alive once before the System recreated the new you. No matter what, look forward to the growth of your ''son'' and hope that when we ever get close to those Banned Emperor bastards, use that sword to cut them down." Kraft comforted her in his own way before he walked away. "Do not worry. I will cut them down if I have to lose this life again." Yun kept that thought to herself as she wiped her tears away and took out a belt that appeared to have a placeholder for her swords. Yun then excused herself for a moment and asked Jin to open the last box himself since she already released the seal. Jin nodded his head and did not say much, leaving her to her own devices. Lynn who was at the side lines came towards Jin and asked if he was okay. "I did lose my mom before so I might have an inkling how you might feel. If you need anything, do not hesitate to come to me." Lynn said before she left for the kitchen service instance, leaving Jin alone with the last unsealed box among the many sealed ones. The box looked similar to the first five but the lid of the box was heavier than the others. Jin managed to open it but instead of books or weapons, there was actually nothing inside other than a metal crest in it. A Panda head shaped crest. Jin believed it was something special so he slowly picked it up. Yet, there was no sign of it being activated, and no matter how Jin looked at it, the crest felt and resembled a simple normal accessory to him. Jin tried to insert some chi inside but nothing happened too so he decided to ask the System about it which the System had no affirmative response to it. The System had no idea what the metal crest was supposed to do too and Jin guessed perhaps only time will tell. However, as he put the Panda head crest into his storage watch, the Panda''s dull looking eyes somehow blinked once before it was teleported into the storage area. (which Jin did not notice at all.) Jin then called out his zombies to carry the rest of the sealed boxes into the basement of his terrace house since there was sufficient space to put it. After which, he entered the Dungeon Maker and prepared to oversee the rest of the preparations for Operation Pompeii and the situation in the North and Western region of Gob Gob Kingdom. However, before Jin could do anything major, there was a beep in the control console and it was apparently a call from Ripcaller who was with the team of assassins with Dagger General Igni. He said that they had finally found a desolate village where past goblins had stayed before. They were going to set the leyline configuration in that village so it would operate as the initial waypoint to the Orc''s kingdom for other monsters, goblins or even cultivators to come in if needed. Ripcaller also asked Jin if he wanted to watch the leyline configuration so he might use it for his own purposes. On the contrary, Jin declined but offered them to enter a room created by the Dungeon Maker when they were done creating the leyline portal settings. He had prepared the System to create technique cubes, those small metal looking Rubik cubes which Zeru once gave Jin to acquire knowledge almost instantly. Jin wished to do the same to the goblins with regards to certain modern assassination methods for the goblins. That way, the assassination team would have better chance of performing the mission. Jin initially wanted to do the same for those goblin marksmen or those operating the heavy war guns but he felt that if he let Hou Fei teach, maybe he could save on those resources and perhaps Hou Fei can teach them a personal trick or two. (Which he was so successful in imparting those skills or perhaps the goblins learn things fast.) Ripcaller acknowledged his master''s instructions and ended the call while Dagger General Igni prepared the ingredients for the ritual in the basement of the broken tavern building. "Son, I need you to keep guard with the other goblin assassins. When I start this ritual, there are certain things to take note." "Monsters that usually kept to themselves might appear so you have to guard me against them. I must not be interrupted or else the leyline connection would not only break but cause an earthquake in this region too. However, if I am not wrong, there should not be any significantly dangerous monsters here that would pose a threat to this team. My men reported none living in the current vicinity from a quick sweep. Perhaps the Orc scouts or cavalry might appear but I believe the men and you can handle them." "Who cares about an earthquake in the Orc region? If Father''s life is in mortal danger, I will not hesitate to break you out of this trance." Ripcaller replied but Igni should his head. "It''s not just an earthquake. The leyline provides magic to every being mother nature had created. What I am trying to do is to open a path within the leyline so we can move along the leyline like blood flowing from the heart to another organ. If I mess up, this leyline opening will cause magic to flow out like a broken water pipe and it will have a disastrous effect on the surroundings. When we have the time, I might teach you how to do it, for now just keep guard." General Igni said and he dismissed him as he prepared himself for the ritual. Ripcaller sometimes would like his father to take less risk especially with rituals like this. They could have asked a Tavern Master to accompany them since they could do the same ritual as him but Ripcaller''s father felt that the smaller the team, the faster one could move. It already took them more than two weeks to reach the Orc mainland but managed to be left undetected by patrolling orcs. Ripcaller learnt a lot from his father in terms of tracking, survival training and sneaking but he too showed his capabilities whenever possible. His father, Igni, was not a man that dished out praises easily but Ripcaller did manage to perceive certain actions throughout the expedition which showed that he was proud of Ripcaller. Previously, General Igni used to not let Ripcaller perform a lot of tasks, asserting that he was incompetent or too young for it. But seeing how Ripcaller fought against the orcs and fighting against Red Hurricane, the Avatar of Garuda, made him realised that Ripcaller was no longer a kid. That was also why Igni had permitted him to come for this major assassination mission and that gesture alone had proved that Igni trusted his son more than usual. Or perhaps, he just wanted to spend a bit more time with his long lost son. Ripcaller closed the somewhat broken door of the Tavern''s basement and climbed up the stairs to the first floor with the assassin goblins resting for a moment. He passed down his father''s orders to his current comrades and they nodded their heads except for Assassin Savant leaning on the entrance door of the broken down tavern. "Savant, did you get the message?" Ripcaller not knowing his true name, called him Savant instead since he was the only one there at the moment. Suddenly, the Assassin Savant who usually the most composed of all of them, lowered his centre of gravity and had his hand at his waist, readied to wield his weapon out to strike. The other assassin goblins who saw that immediately picked their gear up and went to cover almost immediately. They trust the guts of the Assassin Savant who had helped them to detect quite a number of possible incursions. Without Savant, they might have clashed with orcs and lose a few goblins unnecessarily. However, instead of something or someone charging into the broken tavern there was a clap. "My King said he sensed rats entering our country and sent me out to this deserted place. Why don''t you just come out and play with me. Chop chop, let''s hurry. I have something more important to do than to be a pest exterminator." A fog of black smoke began to spread throughout the deserted village in a controlled manner and with a snap of finger, the smoke was ignited into a burst of green flames. Everything was burning except for the tavern and the empty grounds outside it. Green Fire, the Avatar of Ifrit did that to flush those pesky goblins out of their hiding hole. Chapter 349 Green Fire The assassin goblins knew that this was a trap. If the Avatar of Ifrit, Green Fire wanted to finish them in one shot, he would have blasted the tavern to kingdom come. Yet, he did not. It could probably meant two things. One, Green Fire wished to bring in prisoners so that he could interrogate them. Two, he really just wanted to flaunt his powers so much that he could ''toy'' with the goblins. Break them? Burn them? Why not both at the same time? He was after all granted all this power and he did not have any chance to use them until now due to the restraining order by Orc King Hamu himself. Now that his King allowed him to vent some stress, why should he not? Of course, Ripcaller also believed it was the latter especially since he saw how Green Fire set everything in flames. He deduced that there was a high chance the orc of fire came here alone with no backup. No sane orc would burn the surroundings with his comrades or fellow soldiers beside him¡­unless they were as crazy as him. "Your orders?" one of the assassins asked Ripcaller as he was appointed as the interim leader by General Igni before he performed the ritual. The General could have chosen his veterans to lead the team but the goblin assassins had a tradition of letting the young ones to lead so they could feel the pressure of leadership. (Or perhaps, feel the pain of sending one to their possible death.) But if things really went south, the most veteran in the group that would take things over. Seeing how things were going, the most veteran assassin in the group, Daga, was on the verge of taking over the command of the team if Ripcaller was not able to do something quick. Thankfully, Ripcaller was able to composed himself fast since he had always been the one to lead the goblins Piercestriker and Slashreaver in dungeon instances. He made a command to the goblins to hold their position in the tavern because he did not want to meaninglessly sent the goblin assassins to their unwanted death against an enemy which they knew was too great a risk for them right now. If Ripcaller wished to set an example, he should be the first to fight against Green Fire since escaping was not an option and protecting General Igni was the priority. As unfortunate as it might be, Dagger General Igni did not come out from the basement when the ruckus happened. That meant that the ritual should have already started in the basement with all the commotion that was happening on the first floor and Ripcaller would be unable to rely on his father to fight against this fearsome Orc pyromanic. "Should I inform Master Jin about this?" Ripcaller thought to himself since the reveal of Jin or other monsters coming into the picture might alert and raise the suspicion of the Avatar of Ifrit. He might do the same as Red Hurricane and escape whenever possible. If he did managed to escape and report the news to his King, there might be consequences he could not fathom. Would it delay the operation that they were preparing or would it quicken the attack by the Orc armies. Maybe the King might even call off the operation they were doing although Colonel Ayse somehow had return to the Kingdom to observe his movements based on her new master''s decision and ensured King Hamu did not do anything drastic which would jeopardise Jin''s plan that was set in motion. No doubt, She had to do some explaining upon losing the super laser cannon artefact. However, the King did not pass on any heavy handed punishment like the way he did against Red Hurricane. Hamu knew that he needed her to oversee the ongoing scientific research plus her past contributions of all the inventions she created made it unworthy to punish her. A short one day jail term was given as a warning and that was all. Besides, she was not a soldier in the first place but a researcher. Her rank was a formality so the orcs have to do her bidding when she needed the manpower. Ripcaller became indecisive especially when he saw Green Fire appeared to be sick of waiting for an answer and wanted to take the initiative. If the goblins were not moving, the orc might as well burn the tavern down right now and forced them out of there if there were any left. But before Ripcaller could make another command, Assassin Savant shot a shuriken he kept in his belt pouch to test the response of Green Fire. Yet, even before the shuriken could even come close to the Orc, the shuriken seem to slowed down upon striking onto something and melted, approximately three to five metres away from Green Fire. "He has some sort of offensive shield barrier." Assassin Savant whispered to Ripcaller who was at the opposing side of the front door hiding. The surprise projectile did not faze Green Fire and he scratched his head out of boredom. "Ahhh, looks like the goblins are not stupid enough to just charge towards me. I thought I could melt a few rats first to even out you know¡­the playing field. Though it seems that you guys are either cautious enough or too scared to fight with me directly. Well, if you do not dare to face me, I will make you face me." Green Fire taunted sarcastically as he walked closer towards the Tavern and everything around him started to roast from the high temperature his magical aura was emanating to frighten the goblins even more and the surroundings were subsequently burnt into black ashes. Even the footsteps he left behind, they produced a trail of black ashen ground and a foul burnt smell. "He is really fooling around while having the intent to kill us. We should take the opportunity to distract him from the main team." Ripcaller said to Assassin Savant which they decided to be the decoys for the assassin goblins hiding. The goblin assassins stayed put with their blades ready because they knew full well that one should not show its entire hand until they achieved a significant advantage in a fight. At the same time, they looked through their arsenal and the tavern to see if there was anything they could increase their odds of survival. As Green Fire approached the porch of the broken tavern, he suddenly saw two cloaked figures jumping out of the broken windows from each side of the door and continued to flung metal projectiles at him. "Finally some action! And is that guy the one who Red Hurriance said he had difficulty with?" Green Fire mistaken the Assassin Savant for Jin and threw a forceful stream of fire at the Savant. It made the Savant retreated even further from the tavern''s porch as he performed a few complicated hand movements as if to summon something. "Ninpou, Suiton no Jutsu." The Savant whispered and even though his mouth was covered with a fabric veil, a jet stream of magical water gusher out from his mouth to counter the onslaught of flames. Green Fire suddenly felt elated that these pesky goblins were able to ally with someone of talent. He might be able to vent his frustrations with more force since killing them at one go was not fun at all. Hence, Green Fire quickly focused his energies towards the Assassin Savant and raised his arms to hurled a large ball of greenish fire to the Assassin Savant that managed counter his previous fire attack. "Try extinguishing this. I will like to see that." Green Fire laughed hysterically when he released the large fireball. (Though if Kraft would to hear his laughter, he probably criticised the act. Maybe a score of -1/10.) "Doton no Jutsu." The Assassin Savant whispered while performing various hand signs with one hand. Instead of the Assassin Savant fighting against the ball of fire or blocking it entirely, the ground suddenly grabbed him and pulled him deep into the safety of Mother Gaia''s embrace. Savant did it in the nick of time when the gigantic fireball was coming close so that it had the impression he got hit by the fireball after countering the stream of fire. As the ground exploded from impact of fireball, Ripcaller knew that the Savant had his tricks of his own so he took the opportunity to enter the blind side of Green Fire to strike from above. He purposely used the powers of the Gearbox boots to produce a counter heat shield and hoped that his body would not be burnt in the process of entering the fire barrier. The sky dive strike was something he copied from Master Jin and Qiu Yue when they did the Rider Kick in the random arena. It was rather spectacular and filled with so much pow wow that he hoped to do the same against Green Fire too. (It was unfortunate that he did not understand he should only do that at the last part of the fight, and not used it as a opener for a fight.) The strike was supposed to be quick but the impact against the fire barrier made a loud sound which startled the Avatar of Ifrit. Though Green Fire had his focus at the humanoid looking assassin figure, he knew that was a goblin who would attack but he just did not expect the goblin to challenge the fire barrier head on. When Ripcaller made contact with the invisible fire barrier, he could sense the immense heat from his boots but the counter energy the boots produced allowed Ripcaller to pierced through the fire barrier and entered Green Fire''s proximity without being inflicted too much damage on himself. Ripcaller then realised once he got through the supposed fire barrier, his skin was not burning at all and he immediately became more aggressive with his attacks. Ripcaller initially thought he probably would have a window of opportunity that lasted for a second or two before he had to leave. But with the new discovery that Ripcaller was not going to be burnt to death staying within the barrier, he aimed to kill Green Fire. "Hahahah! I like crazy goblins! They are even more fun to kill! Let me tell you a secret since you were able to pass through it. Oh wait. Nope! I am not stupid to tell you my tricks!" Green Fire turned his attention to Ripcaller thinking the fireball attack should hinder if not kill the humanoid. "If that''s the case, let me deduce. It''s more like a fiery cage rather than layers of magic protecting you," Ripcaller replied as he attempted to stab Green Fire with his daggers. "But in this cage, I am the warden. You are the prisoner! You have no chance of defeating me!" Green Fire smashed the ground with his fist, causing bits and pieces of earth to fly all about which Ripcaller had to used his daggers to deflect those projectiles and it slowed him down for the subsequent dagger stabbing, allowing Green Fire to escape the critical distance from the dagger''s range. The Orc then utilised his magic to make the rocks fly towards him as he made his body temperature to rise in order to melt and mend those rocks together. Ripcaller then realised Green Fire was making an improvised molten rock armour from the ground. Green Fire did not hesitate to test out his new armour by breaking a part of it and threw the molten rock fragment at Ripcaller. The goblin was able to evade in time but that was just a distraction by Green Fire as he dashed towards him with hands burning with intense green flames. He wanted to slam the goblin into the ground, shaping Ripcaller and mould him to goblin paste from his burning corpse. Suddenly, multiple clay hands emerged out of the ground blocking Green Fire''s inevitable palm strike. It gave Ripcaller some breathing space to move away just in time for the hiding Assassin Savant to release his next move. "Hyoton no Jutsu." The ground split open revealing the Assassin Savant with his hand signs already performed. A giant drill spike of ice spun from the crevices of the broken ground when Green Fire succeeded in decimating the earthly hand models in an instant. Because of his current posture after defeating the clay hands, Green Fire was not able to evade in time and the Ice drill pushed him into the sky and making him hit his own invisible fire cage barrier that was meant to injure his opponents and not him. A part of the cage broke from the force, similar to what Ripcaller had done and it burnt the back of Green Fire''s molten rock armour while the ice drill had nearly penetrated a hole through the front of molten rock armour. It was close but close did not cut it when you want to take the chance to finish your enemy in one strike. That was the goal of all assassins and sadly Savant did not take account of the molten armour and therefore the drill was not deep enough to injure him. Green Fire coughed for a moment but to an assassin, a moment was golden enough for Ripcaller to pressed on for an attack as he boosted towards Green Fire with his gearbox boots while making sure he was as close to the drill as possible in order not to get hit by the now visible fire cage barrier. Green Fire instinctively used his arms to block and that saved his head from a savage cut from Ripcaller''s boosted jump attack. He shouted at the loss of his arms and his eyes turned from greenish jade to burning ruby red. "I shall let you taste what the flames of hell truly feels lik-" The sentence was cut off when a breeze of fresh air whiffed passed Green Fire. The silhouettes of five goblins instantly appeared flying in the skies. Green Fire was not cut into two but ten pieces. His head, torso, upper arms, legs were sliced and diced by the veteran goblin assassins. They were all carrying weapons imbued by the power of Light magic, courtesy of King Sol for just this expedition. The weapons immediately broke into pieces upon use but fret not, they have spares in their bags after all. "You did the hard part, we just cleaned it up nicely for you." Daga said as the five assassins landed down together all at the same time, as if the attack was synchronised to the very second. Ripcaller who was hanging at the tip of the ice drill spike smiled. However, the surroundings that was burning began cease and instead smoke gathered in the sky and a vague silhouette of Ifrit appeared right in front of Ripcaller. "The fight was not interesting at all. That useless piece of garbage did not even sate my hunger for battle." Ifrit''s silhouette that was mixed with smoke and green flames echoed throughout the quiet night. "But you." The smoky silhouette moved closer to Ripcaller as he picked up his dagger in a defensive stance while the rest of the assassins was in a dilemma. Their spare imbued weapons were left in the tavern and their normal steel weapons could never win against the Shaitan Noble. Should they abandon Ripcaller in the scene alone and collect their weapons to have the chance to finish the remnants of persistent Shaitan Noble of Fire or stayed to watch things unfold. Daga eventually decided on the latter as his guts dictated even though logic defied it. "I have a premonition that if I stick with you, my appetite might be quenched even though you are just lamentable meagre goblin." The Silhouette then spun around Ripcaller to ''check'' him out. "Quench your appetite? Please, I can even make you so bloated by offering you all the fights you desire if you follow me. That is the promise my Master had given me and he had yet to disappoint me ever since I met him. The opponents I met just get stronger each time we meet again." Ripcaller decided to take a gamble and said in a mockery tone. He realised that the Shaitan Noble was in a negotiating mood. "Hah! Your aura though as pitiful it can be, proved that you are telling the truth as compared to those other old pansies who are hiding in the darkness. Very well. I shall make an exception just this once and bestow you a small portion of my powers. If you can deal with my trial of flames, then I will let you be my interim Avatar until I find a more suitable one!" The silhouette boomed his voice as he distanced himself a little more before he flew into Ripcaller''s body. Ripcaller screamed at the sudden surge of power coursing through his veins. His body temperature started to rise so much that it melted the tip of the ice drill and made him fall to the ground. The ground gave way too because the fire itself burned it into ash. The rest of the goblins stepped back as they have no idea how to help him. "If he can overcome this trial himself¡­ he might be able to¡­" Daga whsipered solemnly. This was the first time he saw the Shaitan Noble possessing with a goblin and as excruciating it was to see Ripcaller suffered, he told the rest to get the imbued weapons of light¡­in case Ripcaller failed the trial of ascendancy. Suddenly, a notification appeared on Jin''s screen as he was focusing on other stuff in the Dungeon Maker. "User, Ripcaller the dagger goblin is proceeding with an unintended step up evolution without your permission. Do you wish to allow it? Or do you wish to assist with the step up evolution?" Chapter 350 Step Up Evolution Ripcaller "Step up evolution not a side evolution? Are you sure? And why is it happening at such random timing? Did Ripcaller got some magic powers from the leylines?" Jin stopped what he was doing and looked towards the console which now showed the stats interface of the dagger goblin Ripcaller. He noticed that his body vitals were deteriorating while attempting the evolution. Even if he is not a doctor, it was obvious enough with the blaring signs given by the System. "Negative, the goblin is attempting to unite its spirit with the Shaitan Noble of Fire, Ifrit." The System stated the reason behind the sudden drop of his vitals. Jin was shocked due to that particular information since the last he heard from Ripcaller was that they were going to initiate the leyline ritual, not unite with a Shaitan Noble. The System said it does not have the time to explain at the moment and demanded Jin to make a decision immediately. "Of course, assist him." Jin did not hesitate for his reply. If his goblin could obtain one of the powers of the Shaitan, it might significantly influence their operation''s preparations although he also wondered how Orc King Hamu would react to that particular fact they might lose an Avatar of Shaitan. As of yet, he did not know what was happening and told the System to do whatever it takes to assist him. "Understood. Peppers and Milk to the scene immediately. Do User wish to be there to ensure your bellators'' presence would not startle the goblins assassins?" The System asked as it had the coordinates to the dagger goblin and was able to teleport Jin to that location. "Please do so. I do not want an unnecessary fight among my bellators and the Goblin Assassins to happen when Ripcaller''s life is in danger." Jin replied and in an instant, he was teleported to the scene alongside Peppers and Milk who had their very own customised half panda masks. Daga was surprised at first but he immediately recognised Jin in his half Panda mask and knelt in front of him. He knew that as a master, Jin must be anxious for his young goblin and respected that about him but he asked Jin to not do a thing. "Venerable Jin, please do not do anything that can disturb the current situation. Ripcaller has to overcome this trial by himself or else the Shaitan Noble would not acknowledge him." Daga said with his head down and Jin knew that it could possibly be related to their tradition. Ripcaller was in desperate pain and he could feel the fire eating him up inside out but even with his blurry vision, he saw the silhouette of his Master Jin right in front of him. "Ah, damn¡­I made Master worried for me." Ripcaller thought since he prided himself as a cool dependable goblin among the trio. "Then all the more I should not let him worry¡­" Ripcaller took a deep breath and shouted out. "COME IFRIT IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?" Ifrit who was already in the midst of possessing the goblin body for his own use, laughed at Ripcaller''s desperate attempt to taunt him. "You might regret what you had said." While Ripcaller was unable to see it, he could feel that Ifrit was smiling behind the scenes and in an instant, the greenish flame that was engulfing him became larger, fiercer and more aggressive. The green flames also turned blue and later bright orange in colour as if to show the intensity of fire energy being pumped into Ripcaller. The rest had to fall back at least a few metres away to prevent themselves from being caught by the flames. Ripcaller trembled and fell to the ground because of the weighted flames but he gritted his teeth and tried to stand up. Yet, each time he tried to stand, the fire got heavier as if pushing to resist his will. "I have my own tricks too!" Ripcaller shouted as he raised his hand out, making a triangle hand sign and later interlacing his fingers together. He remembered precisely how Assassin Savant did the first Jutsu. Suiton no Jutsu, a technique that released the element of water at his disposal. "SUITON NO JUTSU!" The burning goblin utilised all the chi he could garner, opening every pore of his skin to release the chi which eventually turned into the form of a magical mist which was not extinguished by the flames of Ifrit. Instead, the Mist enveloped around the burning goblin and created a bubble of water that caged him up with the flames. Ripcaller was able to do this because the goblin could copy any particular skill technique they found worthy and used it for themselves. However, that would reserve one goblin grade worth of power. (Imagine the goblin silhouette being occupied to do such a technique. That was why their silhouettes were always filled with various styles when they portrayed their ''cultivation''.) Similar to how Piecestriker had copied Jia Ying, the Stag cultivator''s skills, Ripcaller did the same copying the Assassin Savant''s technique but its powers were depending on which grade he allocated it. At the moment he placed it at the highest tier of Grade 7. "Why are you doing this act of futility?" Ifrit asked and Ripcaller only had one simple reason. To drown himself in his own water bubble if he ever failed the trial of fire so he could deny Ifrit what he wanted. He remembered his father telling him how the orcs became the Avatars of Shaitan. If one failed the trial of said element, their soul would leave the body and the Shaitan Noble would consume its body while its soul would manifest as magic power. However, the nobles would only consume if the body was still alive the moment the soul leaves the body. It was the sweet spot which all Shaitan nobles desired. Even if it failed to be consumed, the Noble would possess the body and that was when the Assassins come to play with their imbued weapons. Ripcaller was sure that the System could replicate his body and soul with the data backed up in its servers. He would rather be killed by his mates then have his body being eaten inside out by Ifrit. Especially when he heard rumours of orcs being ''resurrected'' as puppets for the Noble''s use if both their souls and bodies were consumed by the Nobles. If that was true, the Nobles might gain a Ripcaller clone and he knew he could be deadly in an onslaught against normal goblins. Therefore, Ripcaller would kill himself the moment he failed the trial of fire, making him lost his soul but not his body to Ifrit. He knew that the said purpose for this particular trial of ascendancy was a lie and all the orcs knew about that too. It was basically a ritual to sacrifice one''s soul to the Shaitan Noble''s consumption. Only if one''s soul were sturdy enough not to be moved by the trials of the Shaitan Noble, they would be rewarded with the noble''s powers to enhance and strengthen their souls even more. Also if the chosen orcs ever die, the nobles themselves would have a more luxurious experience eating their souls using the bodies as a gateway to consume them and be stronger. Red Hurricane and Green Fire were exceptions. The Light Magic from King Sol and Dark Magic from King Hamu had prevented the Avatars'' souls from being eaten, hence breaking the cycle the nobles created between themselves and the said Avatar. Yet many orcs attempted to do that as they felt the benefits outweigh their miserable lives. (And also because the desire of wielding powers held prestige in their society.) That was why Garuda and Ifrit appeared pissed when their Avatars died since they had put in quite a lot of effort nurturing their ''livestock''. "You think I cannot burn out this tiny bubble of yours?" Ifrit said and poured more fire energy into Ripcaller''s soul, hoping to break him even further. But it was a first for Ifrit to discharge in this much fire energy into a soul. Most Orcs'' soul no matter how determined they were, would have burnt out long ago from it and yet this little goblin here was still resisting and even talking back against Ifrit. The Orcs at least have more respect for him than this little green guy here. What Ifrit did not know was that Ripcaller''s soul was tempered tens, hundreds or even thousands of times by the System and the cultivator''s use of dungeon instances. Ripcaller had been resurrected so many times that he did not know if his soul was broken beyond repair but one thing is for sure. He would not go down against this trial of fire without a fight. Therefore the more fire energy that Ifrit threw in, the more he started to feel it''s a lost cause and guessed he should let the goblin pass the ritual. Besides, he noticed that the water bubble was revolving quickly around Ripcaller, extinguishing the excessive fire energy that was emanated out of him. This was all possible because of the System. Even though Jin was not allowed to touch or assist Ripcaller on the scene itself, it did not mean that he was not able to utilise the System to aid him. After all, why risk the chance of letting his soul be burnt to death by the Shaitan noble? Souls were expensive, and the budget was somewhat tight! Jin would rather spend it on something more cheap and viable like inserting more chi into Ripcaller via the System, ensuring that the dagger goblin was able to overcome the trial. The chi was in turn, used to power up his revolving water bubble, dispersing the fire energy which Ripcaller could not handle. In the end, Ifrit realised there was indeed something more to this goblin than he had hoped to toy around with. He stopped the channelling of fire energy into Ripcaller''s soul to burn him but instead now to cure him. The fire turned bluish instead of the usual bright orange, and suddenly Ripcaller felt a calming wave of peace throughout his body. "You have proven yourself more than worthy." A portal suddenly appeared and Ripcaller was able to peer through what was inside the portal entrance. Ifrit was lazily sitting at his throne with a foot on the seat. From his hair, Ifrit picked something up and flicked it towards Ripcaller. It was an orb that was glowing dull when Ripcaller caught it with his own hands. "This. This is something that I did not even give to those power hungry orcs. Put it close to you and you will understand. You better keep your promise. I look forward to being sated with difficult fights." Ifrit swiped his left arm lazily and the portal began to close slowly. Only then, a dagger and a bow were being flung out of the portal as if Ifrit was throwing some leftovers into the trash. Ripcaller''s hands were reserved with carrying the precious looking orb that the weapons were being left on the ground. He also felt it was the right time to pick them up as it was apparent to see the weapons were burning the ground. Ripcaller decided to use the orb first and as he placed it close to his chest, a sudden eruption of lava came out from the orb, engulfing Ripcaller like an octopus wrapping around a ball. The System then notified that Ripcaller was going through his step up evolution. The lava cooled down and there were signs of cracking seen on Ripcaller''s lava coated body. More cracks appeared and it seemed like he was struggling to come out of the lava coat but as time goes by, it did not seem like he was having much trouble with it at all. The layer of lava disintegrated and Jin saw that Ripcaller skin was now brownish red in colour and to his surprise, slightly taller too. (Probably just a goblin head taller.) Other than that, his features still looked the same but ahhh¡­abilities wise. Jin quickly took out his Tact Tweak and checked Ripcaller out. The System now called him Flame Ripper, but his official title was . Not to mention, his ability stats were off the charts, at least twice for most parameters, if not three times for his specialised areas like dexterity. Previously, Flame Ripper had a chi component but now, it turned to a category called Shaitan Chi. Instead of him being just an Avatar of Ifrit, a mere container to hold a fraction of Ifrit''s power, Flame Ripper had fused a part of Ifrit in him. That orb was, unfortunately, Ifrit''s dandruff and nonetheless still part of Ifrit. (Perhaps, he did not dare to wash his hair with water being a Noble of Fire¡­Teehee~!) Flame Ripper picked up the burning weapons on the ground and it felt very comfortable to hold and felt as if he was proficient with it for a very long time. Daga and the rest of the goblin assassins cheered as they have obtained a battle advantage with a goblin that possessed the powers of a Shaitan Noble. He could probably be the first Shaitan Noble that the goblins ever had. Jin was then curious about King Sol himself. "Hasn''t King Sol been bestowed with Shaitan power abilities too? I mean he can cut and kill off powers of a Shaitan Noble." Daga heard it and laughed. "No way King Sol is an Avatar of Shaitan Noble. King Sol was born with it. It was only during the rebellion, something happened that allowed him to awaken those powers of light in him. Surely, if it were not for him, we would not have proceeded with the rebellion." Daga explained. "In any case, it looks like we came here for nothing. At the very least, I get to see a step up evolution in progress." Peppers yawned while Milk looked slightly agitated at the mess that was left behind. Everything all charred and left a very bad foul burnt smell. "Let''s get back. We do not have time to lose and I need to inform Ayse about this so she can think of ways to make the Orc King stay on track for the operations, else we prepared everything for nought." Jin said and the System opened a portal for him and his bellators. "We will explain the rest to Dagger General and shall liaise with Ripcaller if he has any opinions of this outcome that we achieved," Daga said as they returned to the tavern and guarded for the rest of the day until Igni completed his ritual. Chapter 351 Green Fires Disappearance "Your Majesty, it seems that Green Fire is still missing. Do you mind if we speak more about this in private?" Oku, the Right Hand of Orc King Hamu, requested as he saw Colonel Ayse beside the King, with her giving him an informal shoulder massage in his private quarters. "Do not mind her, I trust her more than enough with the matters at hand. Maybe she might be able to give an opinion on the current situation too." Orc King Hamu said and smiled at Colonel Ayse which his Right Hand rarely saw him doing so. He sighed inwardly and reported his findings to Orc King Hamu about Green Fire. "We had investigated on the tip that you had given on Green Fire and it does appear that the place had some form of fighting take place and a large amount of Shaitan Noble''s magic was detected in that place. Upon further investigation, our team found that there were other villages that were burnt down too and traces of Shaitan magic energy were present. There was no witness to question as the village were either deserted, burnt to ashes or maybe the potential witnesses ran away from the scene." Oku took a out a piece of paper from a folder and presented his findings to his King "The investigation team can only deduce two scenarios. One, he is still chasing these¡­''goblins'' Your Majesty had foreseen with your Avatar''s powers. Two, he did not have enough ¡­fun and decided to rampage around the area. However, we could not understand his rationale of abandoning the current assault which we had been planning for ages. The investigation team can only hope that he will return at the nick of time." Oku ended his summary report to Orc King when it was just 12 hours away from their imminent assault against the goblins'' capital. In the meantime, Colonel Ayse was laughing so badly inside her. She knew exactly what had happened after Jin had updated her about it. Hence, she had formed a counter plan to make sure the King does not suspect Green Fire death. Ayse had asked Jin to relay the message to Flame Ripper to burn down deserted villages and leave obvious trails since he had the power of Ifrit with him. The Orc investigation team would not suspect that it was Flame Ripper who had done it since there was no update on the death of Green Fire. (The goblin assassins also took the chance to teach Ripcaller what kind of evidence would be subtle and more believable for the investigation teams. Although Daga told him that if something was too obvious, the investigation team might overthink it.) "I suggest we delay the assault since there might also be a chance that Green Fire had allied with the goblins Your Majesty had predicted. That would be the only possibility I could come out with if we are being rational here. Maybe, he might want to overtake the throne and will do it when you are vulnerable. And because of this possibility, we need to shore up the defences or change our assault date to prevent the mission being leaked out to the Gob Gob Kingdom." The Right Hand suggested and Colonel Ayse displayed her displeasure. "Do you have any idea what you are talking about?" Colonel Ayse stopped the massage and folded her arms towards the kneeling Right Hand to question him. "If it''s a possible unexpected attack on my King''s life, I will do what it takes to protect him." The Right Hand spoke. After which, Ayse too knelt down in front of King Hamu and spoke defensively. "Your Majesty, I ask that you refrain from listening to him and reconsider the attack. He is speaking of conspiracy of the highest level and is being very ridiculous at that too, an Avatar of a Shaitan Noble betraying you for the goblins? What will the goblins give him in return? A bloodied throne that he had to fight not just Your Majesty alone but two other Avatars??" Ayse voiced out her objections. "Also, what can the goblins do even if they have the information here? It will take a messenger bird more than 10 hours to reach Gob Gob Kingdom from here. Magical channels like ours? As if those goblins are as smart as our researchers here." Ayse bragged to the King that there was virtually no way they would get the message. "Maybe they captured one of the Orc Raider Captains and forced him to use it. Your Majesty, you cannot discount any possible leaks." Oku said hastily to counter Ayse''s argument. "Alright, let''s say they did and by some fortunate mishap, allowed them to learn about this magical channel, how much can the leak benefit them? You already receive official spy reports that the majority of the goblin forces had already split themselves between the West and North, leaving the capital lightly defended. That amount of time is not enough to even sortie a cavalry battalion back in time." Ayse rebutted. "Spear Goblin General Argent has a unit of superior wyverns under his command which he can fly back in a moment''s notice." Oku tried to throw back his punches but he realised it was stupid of him to even suggest that one. Even if the wyverns returned from the north, they were only a bunchful. By saying that, it was like insulting the colossal Orc army to be so useless that they could be broken by a company of wyverns. Orc King Hamu who was observing the argument gave a serious stare at Oku for implying that his orc army was weak. "Oh, give me a break on the leak part. You are worrying too much. Besides, Green Fire is weak towards the Avatar of Shiva which he will be stupid to fight head on. From the looks of the evidence you described, it might just be more of an A.W.O.L (absent without official leave) case or Green Fire could be playing truant since Ifrit had always desired for battle because of his nature. He could be venting some magical powers which had been stored in him for a long time since Your Majesty did not allow any outlet for the Avatars." Colonel Ayse retorted and Orc King Hamu had a long pause which made Ayse become braver with her words. "Let''s just say your Right Hand is correct, which I highly doubt it, I humbly suggest we pressed on with the attack. The war supplies of the two armies, the Orc Ice Fleet and the Thunder Orc Army would not be sufficient for a return trip. If we do not follow the time table, we might have logistical problems since we are the invading Army if we were ever to withdraw. That was the reason why you assigned Orc Raiders to plunder the supplies right? So why waste the lives and efforts of your subjects that had prepared so much. Also, my researchers had reported to me that the Red Moon tonight is going to produce the highest amount of energy ever recorded. It will be a shame not to utilise that energy." Colonel Ayse was talking and she could see that Orc King Hamu was being influenced by her words more. "I have to thank the foxes for the ointment which I used to massage the Orc King. He seemed to be compelled to answer positively to me more than usual." Colonel Ayse thought before she took another breath and said her plans out. "Hence, I propose something else. Instead of releasing your army in phases, attack all at once. Send in the Orcs like a blob of massive destruction into their city. I can also release the prototype Orc Walkers¡­erm those Tin Cans which Your Majesty loved when you saw them." Colonel Ayse said and was interrupted by King Hamu. "Yes, those Tin Cans were magnificent looking. If you do bring them in, our firepower will greatly increase." King Hamu nodded his head in agreement. "But Your Majesty, if you do that and we do not gauge the defences of the goblin army, we might suffer a defeat similar to the one that Colonel had in the North before she shamelessly came back empty-handed and ask for forgiveness." The Right Hand Oku disputed with some bitterness in his voice. "I did not finish my proposal." Colonel Ayse stared murderously at the Right Hand but being a trained Orc warrior, he was not afraid at all. "That is why, I suggest you send in the Avatars of Syldra and Shiva to the capital instead of teleporting them to the North and West which your Right Hand had suggested in the past few days." "You are insane! What kind of plan are you suggesting? That will reduce the firepower in the North and West. Your Majesty, we should take precaution not to lose that many orcs even though it is just a distraction tactic." The Right Hand retorted. "My King, your objective is to kill King Sol and with the disappearance of Green Fire, I am suggesting that not just the Avatars, but Your Majesty as well, enter the fray with your Orc forces for the Capital Attack. That way, you have an overwhelming strength to crush them in one swoop. Whatever trickery they might have will be useless when you absorb the powers of the Full Red Moon. Besides, your Right Hand is not having any faith in the Ice Fleet and Thunder Army." Ayse smiled with an ever slight evil grin towards Oku. She could see in the expression of King Hamu and she knew she was going to win this. "I would like to ask the Right Hand, are there any reports of the Thunder Army, who had been suffering significant losses, asking for more reinforcements? Have they retreated any more than just tactical ones?" Colonel Ayse said with spite towards the Right Hand and he was dumbfounded for a moment which made her press on with her agenda. "With my upgraded inventions that had been dispatched for their use, I believe the two military forces are more than capable to provide more than just a distraction. I highly recommend this particular plan my King." Ayse had her head down as she requested. "Ayse, stand up. It seems that your proposal was similar to what I had in mind when I heard of the disappearance of Green Fire. To hear that my top researcher had the same thoughts made me reassured that overwhelming strength is the way to go. To show that fake king the might of our Orc Race. That we are their masters." Orc King Hamu said in a solemn voice and turned his attention to his Right Hand, Oku. "Oku, you had concerns but these puny concerns only make you look weak." King Hamu flicked his hand and a blast of dark energy made his Right Hand fly across the room. "Amend the assault operations according to her proposal. Inform the Avatars, commanders and the chain of command that we are proceeding when the sun sets. Tell them explicitly I expect no failures." King Hamu stood up and made his way to his personal armoury room. However, the ointment Ayse used did affect his mood and Orc King Hamu decided to relax with the company of a few virgin female orcs fresh from the neighbouring villages first before proceeding towards the armoury room. "Ooof! If only you can go in now and strike their king." Qiu Yue was viewing from the console with Jin as she dried her hair with a towel. Because of the long strenuous hours reforming the goblin ministries, she did not really have the time to go back to her home. Hence, she decided to take a bath in Jin''s terrace house which the System had designed. There were extra rooms in place and Jin had already created one with Qiu Yue in mind previously. Her parents did not call since they thought she was in an overseas business trip, (though technically she was indeed in another foreign country.) but her boss called her multiple times to ask for an explanation but the number he was calling from was not a local one. (She picked up once to say she quit the moment she heard it''s her boss'' voice and never again did she answer any calls from her phone.) Only then she realised¡­the boss had secretly booked a flight to their contractors'' region¡­so he could have the opportunity to ''bump'' into her. Qiu Yue finally able to see the link why her boss was so persistent in making her go for this particular trip compared to the others. She previously asked Jin if the System could trace the call and Jin was equally surprised the effort her Boss put in to stalk her. "It''s okay, you are safe here. I will make sure¡­he will have his just desserts." Jin reassured her and Qiu Yue said she wanted to be there to see the process. Jin could only laugh bitterly for now, although he really did ask the System to track him and made sure he did not come close to her in the future. Kraft, on the other hand, recommended something more effective. "We can have him assassinated you know. The country he is currently in made it a very easy excuse to have an unfortunate accident happen." "System agrees with Original Bellator Kraft. System would provide the resources for free for this mission. Protecting User''s potential Sub System User is of utmost priority " The System stated which made Jin surprised and wonder why but right now his focus was on Operation Pompeii. "Well, the king is VERY vulnerable right now." Qiu Yue finally blocked the number when it was the umpteenth time phone call she was receiving from her boss and looked at the console. The King was occupied with indulging himself in women and such a scene made her more than furious as it also reminded her about her boss too. Although, she understood that the Orc King was lecherous and they did not adhere to the same moral values as humans but torturing the Orc women after he had his fill? Not acceptable in her books, not a single bit. "Sigh¡­you know it''s not the brightest idea and you fully know well why." Jin closed his eyes for a while since he too could not take the imagery being showed by the System. (Ayse purposely placed secret cameras in his quarters and all around the castle to learn more about the castle.) Besides, Qiu Yue was the one who refrained Jin and his monsters from assassinating the King. With Colonel Ayse now a spy for Jin, he technically had access to the Orc''s main castle but the System refused to portal the goblin assassins unless they decided to be Jin''s property. Jin asked whether it would make a difference if he paid for the resources to use the portal services but the System still refused adamantly on that. That did not stop Jin having ideas of sending his own monsters to attack the King. Yet Qiu Yue stopped him because the possible implications of having their King slayed would only fuel the Orc''s cause even further and it might prolong the war instead of stopping it. On the other hand, if Operation Pompeii goes somewhat according to plan, the casualty lost in the long run was more acceptable for both orcs and goblins alike. They hoped to force the king down to surrender and if possible, brainwash the King with Kraft''s ability rather than killing him outright. "But boy, that was really a close call. If not for Ayse''s offensive argument¡­" Jin had a sigh of relief as he looked at the time. It was early Tuesday morning and people definitely had to go to work. Yet, if the cultivators were able to assist in the Western and Northern defences, it would greatly improve the chances of the goblin''s survival while Jin, his bellators and some top monsters would be on standby against the Orc King Hamu and his elite subjects. "If that''s the case, I shall make it more enticing for the customers then." Jin opened up the Pandamonium page via the Dungeon Maker console and wrote the following. "Emergency Raid Event! X5 points!! Shop opens now till the event is completed! That is right, the shop opens now! First ticket entrance of the day is free for every cultivator! Take this opportunity to get as many points as possible and earn those great rewards!" An announcement was being sent out early in the morning and every monster had started to prepare themselves for the Operation Pompeii and to aid the defence of the goblins. Chapter 352 Veteran Police "Dad¡­how come you are up so early? The sun is not even up.." The sleepy Jing Ru asked. After she was awoken by the constant minor noises from the living room, she found her stepfather Ren Wei adjusting his air rifle weapons. "Oh, Jing Ru¡­ I am sorry that I woke you up. Well, it''s a bit embarrassing to say this but I am going to the Dungeon Supplier store from last time for some fun. A few of my old police force friends from Tiangong District station informed me that they were wanting to participate in this raid event thing you had been talking about." Ren Wei hesitated for a while before saying the reason behind it. "Haha. I have been told the police captain has granted the entire police station some alternate budget to improve their cultivation. Since there are no other requirements apart from the money being used for cultivation purposes, they invited me to go along with them." Ren Wei honestly told Jing Ru though that did not help with her confusion. "Still it''s 3 am in the night. Can''t this wait until the morning? Why are you preparing so early?" Jing Ru yawned a little as she looked at the clock. Ren Wei embarrassingly picked up his phone and showed her the latest announcement that Jin had placed early in the morning. He told her how he thought it was a hoax notification, something to hype up the ongoing raid event. However, one of his police pals who was on night duty in the area got curious and tried to enter the store only to find it really was open. Their initial thought was that maybe, the infamous Boss Jin had forgotten to lock the front door of the shop, so they decided to try and enter the instance. To their surprise, it was really open and immediately after that, he announced it on the Pandamonium Chat with photo proof. "So erm, yea. Again, I am sorry to wake you up. You can go back to sleep now. I''ll just finish my weapon adjustment at Jin''s place. The weapon store there is fantastic. Even providing free workstations to let cultivators like us adjust our weapons. I am glad you took me with you that time." Ren Wei said and Jing Ru shook her head. "Nope. There is no way I will go back to sleep after that announcement. You are sooo not going without me. Give me a minute¡­erm let''s make it five minutes to freshen up. My gear is already in place, I will just change and we can go together." Jing Ru answered back as she quickly headed to the bathroom. In the meantime, Ren Wei smiled to himself while he continued adjusting his weapons a little more while waiting for her. "That little girl¡­Dear, she is growing up all fine and dandy. Rest easy. You do not have to worry about us at all." Ren Wei whispered to himself as he checked the number of magazine clips he was carrying. Jing Ru who had already participated in the Goblin Raid Event had raved to Ren Wei about how realistic the whole experience was. She needed to be careful emptying her air gun clips to avoid hitting friendlies while at the same time ensuring her own survival against the orc onslaught. It was nerve wracking for her as it was really outside her comfort zone being forced to fight at close proximities against the orcs. Jing Ru even told Ren Wei how his Gun-Fu( a mixture of kung fu martial arts and the use of guns) came pretty handy during the fight in the Northern Region. For a while now she had been including more and more short range weapons like pistols, sub machine guns in her practice rounds and even managed to increase the speed for her reloading while carrying a battle vest and small backpack. Although her storage ring was capable of accommodating all the required items, there was still a need to mentally search the items before she could retrieve them. Wearing a battle vest, on the other hand, gave her immediate access to her magazine clips or just a short reach to the next holster so that she could react fast enough. Ren Wei did help her customise her vest since he had the first hand experience on what was the direst thing to carry around. It had been initially awkward for her, but she was getting the hang of it with training. "Alright, I am done." Jing Ru was ready before the five minutes were up. She came out dressed in combat cargo pants and a simple black tight shirt allowing smooth movement. Ren Wei was taken aback for a moment after seeing her since her features resembled her mother more and more but quickly told her to check her battle vest and backpack one last time as he threw the weapons into his own storage ring. "I wonder what''s the rush for Boss Jin. This is the first time he''s hosted such a time limited kind of event. Why do you think he''s offering such high rewards at such a weird timing? On a weekday Tuesday." Jing Ru was voicing her thoughts as she placed her items at the back of the car alongside her father''s long sling bag. "Maybe, he''s checking out how many people are insane enough to play his dungeons in the middle of the night? I honestly do not know." Ren Wei started up his car and began to drive towards Tiangong district. "Heh, Dad. You have no idea how insane some of the people really are for his dungeons. For example another regular of his, a Rabbit Style cultivator who I met, Luo Bo. She seemed hellbent to obtain a particular prize, what was it¡­ ehh some large panda plushie. Apparently, it was limited in stock and it was sold out moments before Luo Bo returned with sufficient points in her account. " Jing Ru said as she put on her seat belt. I can still picture her rushing in with her full cultivation on display to the counter only to be rejected. She even made a huge fuss to Yun, demanding more of those panda plushies to be sold. Yun refused Luo Bo and she cried publicly in front of her claiming it''s unfair of Jin to make such limited quantities." Jing Ru described the scene she witnessed after she got out of the recovery instance on the day she completed that Northern Fort Defence mission of hers. "So did Boss Jin intervene or something? I mean that sounds like she was creating a great ruckus¡­" Ren Wei was later interrupted when he saw the opportunity to turn right before the green light arrow blinked. "Yea, he did. Boss Jin said he would add more of those plushies in and of different sizes too. Though not because of her crying but because what happened next. After she saw that Yun would not budge she demanded a duel against the person who managed to buy one of the first panda plushies. Remember Xiong Da?" Jing Ru asked and Ren Wei had a slight inkling who that was. He remembered Jing Ru showing him a picture of him and he was supposed to be some top notch lawyer of some sort. "Xiong Da refused even though I think he had the ability to win the match. I guess he did not want to push his luck in losing his gigantic plushie too." Jing Ru explained and Ren Wei furrowed his eyebrows. "Xiong Da bought that plushie? Did he plan to gift it to his wife or something?" Ren Wei asked while he went to the highway. "I too guessed it''s for his girlfriend, but from their interaction, maybe she will become his wife soon hahah! However, he seemed to enter some form of ecstasy whenever he held onto that plushie. Wanting to know the reason why we asked to give it a try, only for him to vehemently refuse it. He even stated he would never allow anyone else to touch it again. He claimed it was for the ''greater good'' to avoid turning someone else into a maniac. It seems he was convinced if we touch it, we would become another Luo Bo coming after him, begging him to release the plushie." Jing Ru laughed. "Well, if we have the chance, we could take a look at that rumoured plushie in the redemption store." Ren Wei suggested but Jing Ru laughed. "If Jin has indeed ordered some more, I''d love to." Jing Ru said as she yawned a little. "Get some rest first. I will wake you up again later. By the way, I just realised but don''t you have to attend your classes today?" Ren Wei had been so focused on the journey that he had totally forgotten about her university. "Nah, I have no classes on Tuesday, so I am okay. I will take a snooze first then." Jing Ru closed her eyes and lowered the seat. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Oh hey, Ah Ren. You finally arrived." Abdul Lian Fa, a Malay with Chinese descent hailed to him as he saw Ren Wei with a pretty girl alongside him. He was slightly plump in size due to age, but his enlarged shoulders and biceps gave away his past as a former muscle builder. "Abdul! It''s been a long time, how''s the station been treating you? By the way, this is my daughter. She said she wanted to join the battle with me. I hope you don''t mind." Ren Wei hugged Abdul before introducing Jing Ru to him. "Ah¡­so this is that rumoured beautiful daughter of yours¡­ Nice to finally meet you. Ah Ren was always talking so highly of you." Abdul smiled as he extended his hand and Jing Ru returned the handshake. "Not that bad I guess, nothing changed even after you transferred out. Gupta is coming too. He was just getting the ''training cash'' from the station and is on his way right now." Abdul answered the former question as they just finished their evening shift for the day. As policeman, being awake at irregular hours was normal for them. Thankfully having a cultivation helped out in that regard. "Seriously? I still find it hard to believe when you say THAT Captain Mao would be giving you guys a budget to train so luxuriously. I mean I love it here, but there is no arguing that Dungeons and Panda is an expensive place." Ren Wei commented and Abdul laughed and became a little gloom. "Gupta and I¡­ We ¡­hmm." Abdul seemed flustered as if he did not wish to say it out in front of Jing Ru and decided to switch to private transmission. Jing Ru understood the silence and claimed that she would be entering the Weapon Store to check out a few things first. Ren Wei apologised and thanked her for being considerate. However, Abdul still chose to tell him via close range transmission. "The Ruby Rat Triad Boss, he came to the police station roughly a few weeks back. His presence alone nearly killed us all. There were not many that could withstand such pressure from his aura presence. A bunch even blacked out cold." Abdul explained the past situation that happened in the Tiangong District Police Station. "The Boss wanted to pay some hush money for Captain Mao since he had connections with the Royal Zodiac Rat themselves. The money was just a sort of token of appreciation. Usually, we know that useless captain would simply accept the money and keep this under the rut. However, on that day something seemed to click within him, and for some reason he decided to change." Abdul then opened his phone and showed Ren Wei the picture of the gangster Ong. "Not only did he keep this imprisoned high level gangster under Wo De Tian for the maximum amount of time, forcing the Ruby Rat Triad Boss to wait, he also decided to give out the hush money for training. I guess he felt some justice needed to be done¡­No idea what comes over him, but I hope he doesn''t change his mind soon. Still a shock for a lot of us when we saw the change of heart in Captain Mao." Abdul told him as he folded his arms and later pointed to the signage. "Inspectors Lee An and Xue Ping, that detectives couple, remember?" Abdul asked casually and Ren Wei nodded his head. "They were the ones who suggested this place here for training. No matter what, be it just regular gym training, they claimed it was best to come here and they would whip us into shape. According to them, the Dungeon Instances here are supposed to increase cultivation¡­ To be honest, this is my first time coming here. So no idea how much I can believe their claims. However, seeing that they were the only ones who were to withstand the aura pressure with no significant injuries even though their cultivation grade was lower than mine, I began to believe them." Abdul disclosed to Ren Wei. "That is why if not for that coincidental shop opening in the night after the work shift and you agreeing to it, I probably would have headed back home and rest," Abdul remarked and Ren Wei understood him. "I guess having a new child must be hard on you. Thanks for calling me out. It is great to meet up with you guys again." Ren Wei sympathised and Abdul gave a slightly jealous face. "Well, yeah. I did not have a young adult as my daughter when my wife gave birth." Abdul remarked sarcastically. Ren Wei laughed awkwardly and that was when they saw a motorbike blinking its headlights at them. Riding on it was Gupta. A tall rather handsome Indian that came to China to work as a policeman, on his way to be a detective. (Mainly because he had a scholarship awarded by the Police Academy.) The most prominent feature of his handsome looks was that his skin was fair to the point that he was even fairer than Abdul and could easily pass off as a tanned Chinese. These three friends had graduated from the same batch when they were in the Police Academy, similar to how Se Lang and Deng Long had met. Sadly after working a long enough to get a higher position, their place of work separated. Both Abdul and Gupta were veteran police and in a way, held the supervising positions in Tiangong District Police Station but had different job scopes. Abdul went towards more of the education and operations job track while Gupta went for the standard promotion track to become an investigator. Even though they all held the same rank, Ren Wei had a better initial prospect than both of them because of his exceptional skills as a police sniper. But who knows what would happen in the future? "Yo Ren Wei, been a long time." Gupta hugged Ren Wei and they entered the store looking for Ren Wei''s stepdaughter. When Jing Ru saw her stepfather, she quickly beckoned him to come over. Ren Wei quickly introduced Gupta to his daughter and they exchanged greetings. After which, Jing Ru returned to the topic she wanted to discuss. "As I was preparing my weapons, the Three Headed Bear shouted at me and threw me the same particular model of rifle that I was using. It seems Boss Jin will announce it later but he is allowing us to use live ammunition for our weapons! However, it''s only possible to be used in his instances and nothing more." Jing Ru was happy that her previous suggestion to Boss Jin about the use of live ammunition had been accepted and already incorporated since she argued other dungeon suppliers had such a feature. All three were shocked and wondered if this was a smart move by Boss Jin. "I do not think you should worry. The restrictions seemed to be very strict, stricter than other dungeon suppliers. I briefly saw the live ammunition article in the revised FAQ section of the Pandamonium App. For example¡­" Jing Ru took the real design of the Winterwolf rifle that she was using and loaded a magazine full of live ammunition. Even as she visibly tried hard, she was unable to turn the safety off. But as soon as they entered the mini firing range which the Weapon Store provided to test guns out, the safety could be easily turned on and off allowing her to shoot. "I don''t know how he did it, but it feels like there is an artificial intelligence installed to the rifle. The FAQ stated that the rifle would not allow me to shoot another cultivator. They even provided a video of a person spraying his bullets but when it came close to a friendly, the rifle stopped firing in time before it could do any harm to the person." Jing Ru explained and the three policemen were very surprised. "Boss Jin does not allow those rifles to leave the shop instance too. If you ever hold on to the replicates of rifles, you will be automatically teleported back to this area after the end of dungeon instance play. Trying to exit the weapon store without returning the weapons back to us, or try to smuggle any parts away will result in a heavy penalty. Repeated offences may turn into being banished from the store and reported to the police. After returning those rifles free of your support modules or attachment then you are cleared to go back." The Three Headed Bear standing tall looked at the group and said his piece. (Even the policemen were slightly frightened by its low booming voice.) "If you are worried about the live ammunition¡­I can only say Boss Jin limits it to certain people who are allowed to use it." The cute Red Panda attendant took over the explanation. "After you register into the servers, we are privy to certain information like your nature of work. We then verify it in the back end and check with the official data record by the government servers as per the allowed regulations of being a Dungeon Supplier store." The Red Panda explained. Since we got the clearance for this not too long ago, our registration got more complicated. Though, we did all the necessary checks for all current clients. At the plus side, this makes it easy for newcomers with security related jobs are allowed to exchange for live ammunition rounds immediately." "Ah, no wonder Abdul and Gupta had trouble registering in the first place for the Pandamonium App. The machine at the storefront was asking so many questions that they started to feel their privacy was getting violated." Ren Wei sighed as he remembered he did not have to struggle that much previously. "All questions asked were in accordance to the Dungeon Supplier regulations, you can check it out in the official government regulated website for more information if you wish. Also, because you are police, more checks were needed to verify and give you clearance." The Red Panda replied. "Then what about Jing Ru? Why does she have clearance to use live ammunition?" Abdul asked since he wanted to know if there were any exceptions. "As for Pandawan Jing Ru, her record is squeaky clean and Boss Jin vouched for her to use those live ammunition. Should she get into any trouble in the future with live ammunition outside of this store, the government officials will have all rights to pin Boss Jin as a possible accomplice." The Red Panda answered and Jing Ru learned that Jin was doing so much for her. "Then erm¡­perhaps I should return this rifle back." Jing Ru suddenly felt her gun was too heavy with such responsibilities tied to it. "Your choice. We do suggest using live ammunition for the purpose of cultivation training though. Most gun cultivators have their cultivation restricted because they either lack a proper gun to train or the experience with it. As you are in a Dungeon Supplier store and Boss Jin foresees great potential in you, he decided to entrust you this responsibility. If you feel you are not ready, we are not forcing you, and your clearance will also stay even if you decide not to make use of it." The Red Panda explained thoroughly which Ren Wei and his pals unfortunately knew that was true. Many people took up on gun related cultivation because it felt cool, but the strict regulations made it hard for them to progress in their cultivation. Hence, that many people also dropped gun related cultivation and opted for other cultivation styles or they left it at a low level. "I see, then I shall not disappoint him." Jing Ru said as she looked at the Winterwolf rifle she was carrying. The policemen took out their weapons and they were surprised the Three Headed Bear was able to perform a direct exchange of the guns they had. Even Ren Wei''s customised air rifle was available to exchange for the real model, though Ren Wei purposely made it as authentic as possible for the air rifle. All of them took some time to gear up and the newcomers even took the chance to preview the weapons this place was selling. "By any chance do you have a Dragunov sniper rifle?" Abdul whispered to the Red Panda. In her characteristic cute way, she informed Abdul that those were available. Gupta took a look and thought it was a good idea too. They then asked what was the mode of payment and realised they could only buy them with Panda medals. "For the duration of the Raid Event, we are rewarding raid points for accomplished missions and combat achievements. While we do sell special prizes which can only be exchanged for those points, we also offer the possibility of exchanging them for medals too if you wish." The Red Panda informed Abdul and Gupta and they both nodded in agreement. They had decided to get an upcoming birthday present for Ren Wei. Little did they know Jing Ru was having the very same idea too. Chapter 353 Cross "You must be fucking kidding me! The King wants us to accompany him into the capital just because Green Fire is missing? What the hell? What about my troops?!" Purple Thunder banged on the marble table. Purplish thunder sparks flew around as the table broke into pieces, dirtying the floor. "That is not my decision. I am just relaying the orders from the King." Oku showed a troubled face as he leaned on the wall of the meeting room, rubbing his temple. He had already predicted that the Avatars of Syldra and Shiva would not be happy about the change of plans. "The King''s decision is absolute." Yellow Ice said reluctantly as he rescued his drink before Purple Thunder destroyed the table right beside them. "Screw you. Your fleet has yet to suffer a real setback in this whole campaign. Do not come crying to me when the goblins beat the crap of your army." Purple Thunder retorted back angrily. "I refuse to obey the orders of the King. Oku, you have a way to contact the Orc mages in the Thunder Army, right? Make them prepare a portal for me. I am going to assist my army no matter what." "But, that would be going directly against the King''s or-" Oku was suddenly interrupted by Purple Thunder grabbing onto Oku''s shirt and bringing it up towards Purple Thunder''s face. His fists were emitting a short miniature burst of lightning and Oku could feel his body to go a little numb despite his large stature. "No! Fucking!! Buts!!! My army is suffering from significant losses because I am not there to guide them. And WHY?!?! Because I am forced to stay in this stupid castle! Just to make it seem as if we have the advantage through the element of surprise? Don''t piss me off. Since when have we Orcs became as expendable as goblins? Fuck him and his royal orders!!!" Purple Thunder threw Oku to the wall and it cracked a little though his act did little to faze the Right Hand of the King. Purple Thunder''s breaths were heavy and he was pacing around the room angrily until he remembered something. "You owe me one¡­ or have you already forgotten, Oku? I am responsible for you becoming his Right Hand. What do you think would happen if his Majesty finds out more about that ''incident''." Purple Thunder threatened Oku by pointing his finger at his face. After a couple of seconds of staring into each other''s eyes, the Right Hand sighed. "Do as you wish. However, we are even after this." Oku held onto Purple Thunder''s arm and politely pushed them away. "You better keep that damn mouth shut. Yellow Ice. Oku, just report to that useless king that I had already left the scene before the orders reached me. That should buy you some¡­I don''t know forgiveness points from the King? That is if he still has his heart." Purple Thunder took his double edged two handed axe that was leaning on the wall and followed Oku to contact the Orc mages. But not before he slammed the door of the meeting room. "You think I want my men to die meaningless? The King is insane and all of us in the loop can see it. In hindsight, he should have stopped after the ''failed'' Kingslayer Ambush. So what if we did not get them all? Just occupying the other regions would have already boosted our economy at least two fold in the long run." Yellow Ice thought to himself. Unlike the other Avatars, Yellow Ice was a learned man. He knew how to fight and he knew what was stupid and what was right. Not to mention, he was the previous spymaster for the King before he was cut down by Hamu. To think that he had upheaved the former Mad King to have a crazier one sitting on the throne. Judging from the current situation, Yellow Ice really felt that the war they were currently fighting was a very stupid one which they could not back out in time. Even if they were to win it by following the new orders, it would be by sacrificing a majority of their main armies. The ratio of orcs to goblin death was already so skewed against them that Yellow Ice believed the orcs should have stopped after the attack at the Northern Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu had been pushed back even if they still think they had a chance after the Kingslayer Ambush. "If only those humanoids were not present¡­I''ve never seen nor read about them before. And those humanoids we captured had no knowledge of a race that wears weird animals as half masks. Even assuming they''re tribal by nature, the surviving orcs reported that they were ruthless, strong and powerful. " Yellow Ice finished his drink and placed it by the broken remains of the marble table. "How can it be possible for them to have hidden so long if they are so mighty? Some of the orc survivors even reported that those humanoids fought evenly in a one on one duel against our seasoned Orc Officer who has years of battle experience under their belt. Something doesn''t feel right about this whole war." Yellow Ice continued his thoughts as he walked out of the room and stared at the garden from the balcony. "It feels as if the humanoids purposely sided with the weak goblins against the Orcs. Meanwhile, reports also show that the humans continue to abstain from interfering with the battle¡­" Yellow Ice remembered the reports of the human spies who decided to work for the orcs. Those greedy creatures did not care for their race as long as their pockets would fill up. "Technology wise, the goblins should be inferior¡­but ever since the Kingslayer Ambush, the spies reported a significant increase of lost tech artefacts being used. There is no way they could have hidden these things and they were not even the same tech that we found on that island." Yellow Ice saw a few orcs saluting at him from afar when they caught a glimpse of him. He nodded back in acknowledgement. "Wooden sticks that shot out fire which worked similar to large cannons, metal carriages that required no mounts to drag them, slick cannons that were more effective than the largest cannons that we were using. They seem even more advanced than what we painstakingly build¡­" Yellow Ice sighed. "Wait¡­the Kingslayer Ambush. Didn''t Red Hurricane blame a half masked humanoid who assisted the goblins, for his failures? Yes, I remember now and he said that man appeared at the same time with the three generals'' goblins! " Yellow Ice felt he might have the missing link for this particular war. "The goblin sons who were supposedly kidnapped by the humans was with that masked humanoid¡­ So it should be safe to assume that the sons somehow are the reason for that alliance now¡­" Yellow Ice suddenly had an epiphany and hurried to his office from the meeting quarters he was in. He quickly ruffled through the archive reports he had kept and realised he was right. "Cross. Come out. I know you are here right now." Yellow Ice echoed in his empty room and suddenly a goblin shadow emerged from the corner. "Yes, Sir Yellow Ice." The one eyed goblin knelt in front of him as Yellow Ice continued to go through the report. "You were at the scene when it happened, am I correct? You reported failing in assassinating the three goblin generals'' sons yourself." Yellow Ice remembered how the Orcs had purposely brainwashed and trained a group of goblins to be their spies and made them carried out a specific assassination. The assassination of Piercestriker, Slashreaver and Ripcaller. It was meant to take place a day later when the sons of the Three Generals attended the training war games exercise for the very first time. It was supposed to look like an accident. But the orc affiliated goblins purposely made friends with the duty guards so they could exchange guard duties if required. The guards were lax with their security protocol and the treacherous goblins managed to substitute them. They felt that if they could push the timetable up, the faster they could escape from the exercise and not be suspected by other goblins. The ''guard'' goblins pretended to know the training exercise area well and told the sons there was a giant cliff with a deep lake as they were asking if there was anything more exciting to do than the exercise they were undergoing. The goblin generals'' sons realised they could do some cliff diving and the trio happily bribed the guards to take them there which they readily agreed. Everything was in place, The orcs were also happy that opportunity presented themselves early and quickened the assassination timetable. The accident was ready to take place as they went off course during a break towards the direction of the cliff sides. Cross''s teammates personally distracted the other guards on duty which Cross thought it was proceeding better than expected¡­until a human entered the woods out of nowhere and killed the goblin general''s sons. And just as quick as he appeared he was gone the next moment. Unfortunately the same was true for the corpses of the goblins. Cross was at a dilemma. There were no bodies to show and he could not report empty handed to the Orcs who were waiting at the cliffside for the corpses. Neither could he return to the goblins and explain why they left the safe zone. Even if they were to believe him that a human killed the goblins, he would have most likely been found out as a spy. A short while later his compatriots came to the scene seeing Cross stunned. He tried to explain it to his teammates and they ultimately decided to try to reason with the orcs. The Orcs, however, were unable to enter the scene to verify anything as the goblin mages could discover their tracks. To avoid exposing everybody, the Orcs decided to provide Cross with an alibi¡­ by killing Cross''s teammates and merely leaving Cross alive. (After all, to the orcs, they were expendable) Afterwards, the orcs cleared their tracks as much as possible and asked an Orc mage to teleport the dead bodies to the place where Cross encountered the human. Meanwhile, they brought Cross back alive to deliver the message to their King. Unfortunately only Yellow Ice being a seasoned spymaster felt he was telling the truth despite all the accusation and evidence being pinned on him. As the King was about to order his execution, Yellow Ice interfered stating he had methods to make Cross tell the truth. The enraged King Hamu was sane enough to listen to the Avatar. Yellow Ice suggested casting an old spell from the Orc Royals to learn about the truth of the matter. He reminded King Hamu that there was such a spell, but the King did not remember the specifics too well. Instead of looking it up and going through it the correct way, the impatient Orc King simply gorged out an eyeball from Cross and initiated the All Seeing magic spell. Although the imagery was blurred, possibly due to the incorrect steps taken to cast the spell, there was no doubt that in the shown memories of Cross that there was a human silhouette killing the goblin sons. Hence, Cross was spared. The Goblin managed to survive the ordeal and thanked Yellow Ice for beliving in him. Yellow Ice then decided to take him in as his guard as a spur of the moment decision. Till then, Cross quietly served Yellow Ice thankful for saving his life¡­in some way or another. "What if I were to tell you¡­a humanoid was seen with the reappearance of the three sons that you thought were dead, being stronger than before. What would your conjunction be?" Yellow Ice asked Cross. "I''d not have any idea at all how that would be possible. Humans would definitely not side with the goblins¡­ And I clearly saw the goblin sons died in front of my eyes." Cross replied with his head down. "But its true right? You heard reports of the goblin sons resurfaced again. Perhaps, they were not exactly dead when they were taken. Perhaps, the goblins knew about the assassination all along and decided to make a fool out of the assassins by allying with humanoids?" Yellow Ice said and Cross was dumbfounded for a moment. "That, I jest. But what if I were to tell you, I wish to become the next Orc King. Would you be interested in serving me as my Right Hand?" Yellow Ice asked with a smirk in his face. Cross hesitated for a while, but he guessed Yellow Ice knew about his unsurprising hatred against the King after what he did. "If you want me to kill the King, I will gladly do so. At the very least, I can know that I died trying." Cross answered and Yellow Ice laughed. "Oh my. Such violent tendencies! I might have to report you, Cross for being so disloyal to the throne. Or perhaps I should deal the blow myself!" Yellow Ice walked towards his office doors to close it and cast an acoustic barrier on his office. Cross had his hand at the crossbow grip and trigger in case Yellow Ice was not joking at all. "Joking aside there is one thing in your statement that you have to amend, Cross. WE will kill the King together. After everything, it should not be too hard to convince the Orcs, that the son has followed in the footsteps of his deranged father." Yellow Ice smiled as he remembered the face of the Mad King since he served the previous king before. Even if Hamu did not show the same outward signs as his predecessor, his actions were questionable enough. And everyone should understand how someone like that needed to be put down like a sick dog if the Orc Kingdom wished to survive long term. And If Yellow Ice were to profit at the end, who was he to say no to that? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Holy shit!" Abdul nearly scared himself to bits when he was teleported into a plane with the others. Gupta and Ren Wei were equally terrified but their expression was more controlled than Abdul''s. "Morning there, little Giraffe. Accompanying your father this time?" Captain Bai saw Jing Ru who was secretly sniggering at the older folks and passed her four rings. She knew what the rings were supposed to do and gave a summary to the policemen. "Since we will need to work as a team, mind telling me about your cultivation styles and your weapons?" Jing Ru asked and Abdul was the first to answer. "Rakish Rhino." Abdul said as he brought out a six barrel rotary Gatling machine gun also widely known as the minigun. It was being accompanied by a metallic backpack from his storage ring which made Jing Ru''s jaw drop. "Ahahaha! This is not really my main weapon, but this is what I always used when we went out for dungeon supplier runs back when we were younger. They made me the tank of the group if you get what I mean." Jing Ru then noticed Abdul''s natural large build. Even without his hobby as a bodybuilder, the towering stature made him a natural choice for a tank. Of course, it also helped carry that massive firepower around. "Exculpatory Elephant. But my weapon is not as crazy as Abdul''s." Gupta took out his weapon and it was a Mossberg 900 series Shotgun with a few customised modules attached to it. Notably, a customised fast reloading mechanism and a long round tube magazine extension underneath the shotgun barrel. There was a shotgun shell holder at the buttstock too. He even placed a customised bayonet at the tip of the shotgun extension tube which he had further enhanced with strength inscriptions to withstand impact so that his magazine extension will not break. "I was honestly amazed that the store was able to replicate my little toy with the customised modules attached so fast, even after I told them it would be difficult to remove. It did not even take them a whole minute after they took the whole gun for inspection. I had already prepared myself to switch for my old modules on the air shotgun which would be a hassle." Gupta exclaimed as he looked at the live ammunition model. "Only to suddenly get the gun thrown at me. The exact same replica with live ammunition. Even the inscriptions were all there. This shop''s reputation for providing top notch quality care for the customers really is justified." Gupta boasted with glee. "Boss Jin does care for his customers and caters to our needs. For example, this shirt, pants and even boots were from his shop, and they were all inscribed with at least a Grade 3 defence inscription." Jing Ru bragged as she twirled around like a little girl for Gupta to see. "Looks like you are very familiar with his shop. I am just happy that I was able to buy the live ammunition with cash and not medals. With no bullets to shoot, I''d have been forced to use my weapon as a giant club, hahaha!" Abdul joked as the System had allowed the newcomers to buy the live ammunition with real life cash. The accommodation for the weapons exchange was something Another Jin had suggested and was gladly accepted by the System. Mainly because the ideas behind some of those customised designs were great to copy. "You may be surprised but Jing Ru is actually a veteran in his dungeon store. My little girl scored a few First Clear runs before. So if she ever gives you an order, you better listen!" Ren Wei bragged with a chuckle and his two brothers saluted to Jing Ru. "Mdm, Yes, Mdm!" Jing Ru giggled a bit then realised Gupta''s belt was filled with shotgun shells and even a side waist plate that carried customised stick loaders which she had seen being used in air rifle competitions before for fast reloadings. Gupta noticed her look and asked if she knew about any of this. "Ah¡­a fellow air rifle enthusiast, and here I thought Ren Wei trained you on guns because it was easier for him to do so." Gupta commented which made Ren Wei threw a loaded magazine clip at his head. "Nahhh! Dad''s not that mean. He allowed me to choose what I want. Besides, he''s a very good teacher even if his attendance at home maybe lacking." Jing Ru teased her father a bit as she picked up the loaded magazine and threw it back at Ren Wei. All he could do was catch it and not blame her. Gupta secretly whispered a ''Nice job! to her while Ren Wei was not looking. "Okay, fellow cultivators. Enough talk for now. The party is beginning. This is your current mission and it will continue to take up every ticket you own until the event is over. If you wish to stop anytime before your current ticket expires, just hit the exit button in your Pandamonium app." Captain Bai said briefly and everyone understood before he showed them the Gob Gob Kingdom map. "Usually, we would send newcomers to the Northern Region but seeing that you are accompanied by a Pandawan it would be a less than ideal choice for Jing Ru. So in your case, we''ve decided to send you lot to the Western Region where she is sorely needed. It is also because we deemed that your cultivation grade is high enough, so we are entrusting you guys to be able to fend of yourself." Captain Bai explained as he zoomed in the area. "We do not have too much intel about the orcs but what little we learned makes us believe that they will be attacking anytime now. Maybe by the time this plane fly over the battlefield, it would have already started. If not, I''d advise you to take your time to survey the surroundings and take the best spot to secure the defence of the area. " Captain Bai advised. "Oh my god, looks like an old school coastal defence kind of scenario. Feels like Normandy." Gupta took a look at the console screen and commented. "You are not wrong, Boss Jin and the goblins had created a similar scenario and took Normandy as inspiration. The goal was to allow you guys to tide over the attacks. Of course, with fewer problems than the Germans were facing. Our back is quite secured according to Intel but do not be surprised if Orcs come from behind too. Anything can happen." Captain Bai smirked as he warned them. "Also just for this scenario, we have added some more option after some feedback. If you need extra ammunition or resources, dial up the emergency call button via the Pandamonium App. You can phone call or video call, your choice. The red Pandas NPCs will be answering you. As I notice some of you do not have medals, the raid points that you earn along the way can be used to purchase additional resources. If you lack the required points, it will be on real cash credit until the end of the raid. " Captain Bai said but he suddenly came nearer to the group and his voice became more gentle. "However, because this is a relative fair business, we have capped the credit to 700 Yuan (Approx 100 USD). You can put in more cash if you want but a voice authorisation with a double confirmation is required. Once you agree you''ll be allowed to buy more resources or even guns if needed." Captain Bai gave a wide smile before he stepped back and changed into his angry look again. "That''s rather friendly," Gupta noted. He purposely took out 3000 Yuan (Approx 450 USD) from the alternate police budget for this particular raid and felt that it might not even be enough. "Oh well, that Triad Boss did ''sponsor'' us with suitcases loads of money¡­should not be a problem." He remembered the detective couple emphasised that there was no need to be stingy when it came to training at Dungeons and Pandas. As long as they remembered to get a receipt which was weird to Gupta since it''s always the other way around. However, the freedom to make purchases without having to fill out tons of forms was a welcome change. "Heh, maybe they are trying to catch some corrupt cops." Abdul casually remarked when Gupta explained to him previously when he showed him the cash. "In any case, we are arriving soon. I am sorry, Pandawan Jing Ru. If you''re wondering, the monsters who usually act as guardians won''t be able to participate in the battle. But no worries, some are already on standby in the Western Region. They will act as the cultivators'' proxies if needed." Captain Bai remarked which only Jing Ru understood. "Alright! Saddle up! The landing pod''s over there!" Captain Bai ordered as he pushed the red big button at the side of the plane and the cargo backdoor began to open. The Veteran Police Squad had secured their seatbelts and was ready to leave the plane. Chapter 354 The Western Diversion - Part 1 As another landing pod arrived at the beach of the Western Coastal town of Gob Gob Si, the police squad with their half masks noticed the area was bustling with activities from the goblin and cultivators. Ren Wei could not help but smile at Jing Ru''s cutesy half giraffe mask while Jing Ru complimented how adorable his muskrat mask was. "Gah, so mushy¡­but I am curious to see how I look like too. Can you take a photo of my mask?" Gupta asked Abdul, who was wearing a mask with the rhino horn poking out at his nose area. Surprisingly it did not deter his vision nor did he himself felt the weight of the mask wearing him down. "Hahahha, you looked terrible with the elephant mask on. Like a follower of some hidden cult of Ganesha." Abdul took the photo of Gupta''s half mask, though it appeared more like a full mask with the elephant''s ears at the side, short tusks near his cheek area and his nose in a vertical upright ''S'' hose shape. "Blah! At least I hope it will scare the orcs a little." Gupta replied as he saw the photo in which he posed with his shotgun. "You just better make sure not to scare our goblin allies with your look. It would be a shame if they accidentally stab the elephant." Abdul teased his colleague while he adjusted his metal box bag. The sound of his ammunition shells hitting each other provided him with a sense of security. Jing Ru was slightly shocked herself. Unlike the previous time when she only fought with a few dozen goblins together in the Northern Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu, what she saw now in Gob Gob Si was their number having increased that encompassed hundreds if not, possibly thousands. She felt that Jin really seemed to have gone all out in his missions for the Goblin Raid. The town had been evacuated and it was obvious that the entire place had been cleanly stripped of civilians as it became the designated war zone for the goblins. Barricades were placed at strategic areas and emergency supplies such as arrows and medical aid were being stocked at certain checkpoints. What seemed to be the members of the goblin backline logistics were running around carrying boxes to Shu and Ke Mi''s newly created fort walls. Be it ammunition, arrows, barrels of oils or food rations, not a single goblin was lazing around. The squad even noticed some of the goblins were carrying modernised weapons like the M1 Garand while others were clinging on to crossbows, bows etc. Rows and columns of goblin fighters armed with swords, spears and shields were organised right behind the fort walls but instead of being readily active, they were sparring with each other. Not rigorously but warming their bodies up for the fight to come. At the same time, some commanders were discussing strategies with each other alongside with the prominent Spear General Argent and internalising the various backup plans. Yet what Ren Wei noticed was that there were tens of cultivators standing at the edge of the ledge who seemed to be intently listening to them as well. Ren Wei being a sniper had already spotted numerous vantage points being occupied by various marksmen, both cultivators and goblins. To his surprise, he believed some of the cultivators were from the Tiangong Police Station as they nodded at him or at Abdul and Gupta as a sign of acknowledgment. In the meantime, some of the spacious vantage points were occupied by artillery or flak gun emplacements. There were even machine guns emplacement being placed at blind spots. From Ren Wei''s experience, the commander who coordinated this definitely knew his stuff really well. Only an experienced commander or fellow trained sniper would have made arrangements for those spots. In his own opinion, he doubted that Boss Jin could have been able to create such a scene alone. He would need a person advising him, most likely someone experienced in the military or someone possessing a vast knowledge regarding military operations to create such a detailed dungeon instance. Once this was over, he would love to thank whoever helped Boss Jin to create some form of realism in the dungeon instance which was severely lacking in many other dungeon suppliers and if possible get to know the person better. As they were all the humanoids employed by Master Jin, the goblin military leaders were not bothered by their intrusion and allowed them to listen in and walk around the area as long as they did not interrupt the operations. Most of the cultivators were just busybodies and they left the goblins alone once their curiosity was sated. Similar to those cultivators, Ren Wei and the others did not know where to go at first so they explored the town and subsequently the fort walls. Gupta being a sucker for weapons saw that the walls were lined up with Pak 38 anti tank cannons. What surprised him even more was that the ammunition right beside it, were mixed for various types of scenarios. There were incendiary, high explosive, armour penetrating and anti infantry fragmentation shells. (All clearly labeled in both goblin which he assumed and Chinese language). He could not wait to find out if those were the real deal and hopefully be able to also fire at least once. (Just to have the feel and thrill of it!) Suddenly, a little blue magpie appeared and landed on Jing Ru''s shoulders. "Greetings, I am Magpie No. 039, I will be the one communicating with you all. My responsibilities include updating you on where to go, and suggest locations which might need help according to the military leaders." Magpie No. 039 introduced itself. It chirped while instructing the squad about its objectives. "I will also be handling your personal private transmissions within the team as well as any possible SOS from other cultivators and vice versa. Your private transmissions will be encrypted by me and send via thought to every one of you. It will be very hectic when the battle starts and it will be in your best interest to ensure my survival since I am your source of communication between everyone. In case I am taken out, you are advised to either continue your objective and wait an amount of time until I get resummoned or join with another squad in case you wish to proceed on." The Magpie No. 039 chirped once more while expanding its wings a bit, adjusting itself to be comfortable on Jing Ru''s shoulder. She did not feel any pain from its claws mainly because the magpie perched itself on the strap of her backpack. Suddenly, the sirens went off as the lighthouse tower at the northern side of Gob Gob Si began to sign light beams towards the town. The police who were trained in morse code roughly got the message and they checked their weapons and their armoured vest one final time. "Any place that needs our immediate attention or should we simply enjoy the show first?" Gupta asked Magpie No. 039 as he understood that it would be stupid for cultivators to rush into the shore. That would be suicide¡­unless he dared to play and dance around on a tightrope with the reaper of death. "According to how you phrased your question¡­Nope. Currently no places require your aid. You can watch the ''show'' first. The primary line of defence will be handled by the goblins. If the Orcs manage to get past the attacks and reach the shore, which they will, then it will be your debut. Long range cultivators can do what they like. Remember to always have sufficient ammunition and order more if you need them." Magpie No.39 answered which prompted Ren Wei to beckon Jing Ru to follow him. "We will keep in contact." Ren Wei said to Abdul and Gupta as the father and daughter ran towards a decent vantage point which he saw was not yet occupied. Meanwhile, Gupta and Abdul jumped on top of one of the taller buildings since they saw other cultivators doing it. The roof was not yet taken and provided both of them with a clear view of what was going to happen. "Chips?" Abdul asked as he was searching his storage ring. "Nice. You got those with sea salt black pepper flavour?" Gupta asked and Abdul nodded his head. He took them out and passed it to Gupta while he searched for his his own prefered flavour. BBQ sauce. They opened their bags of chips and began to watch the whole scene unfold. ¡ª¡ª- The Ice Orc Fleet Admiral had received notice that their supreme commander, the Avatar of Shiva, Yellow Ice, would not be joining them. As the highest ranking officer, it was decided that he would need to take matters into his own hands. "It''s about time for the battle! Sail forth!!!" The Admiral gave the command and a loud blaring sound echoed throughout the quiet colossal fleet, which it had been acting as a mobile blockade against other sources of possible aid to the goblins. With one sound, the fleet immediately powered up their engines and the orcs were barking orders to no end. Their wait for that signal was finally over. Their ships powered by a magic lost tech engine began to move forward despite the weather threatening to drop a ravaging storm at them. The Admiral hoped to land before the rain started since it might hamper the movement of their troops. It seemed that Mother Nature were not keen on making their invasion easy for them. If it were up to him, he would have attacked much sooner with the evening sun shining at them since they were at the western region. But because their primary objective was to serve as a diversion attack, they were forced to delay and to strike later in the evening so as to coincide with the rise of the Full Red Moon. Which was why the weather and the environment had became a disadvantage to the orcs. Yet, the King''s orders were absolute as their commander would say if he was here, so they were left with no other option but to make do with what they had. ¡ª¡ª- The anti tank cannons were all prepped with high explosive shells first which could travel the furthest range. Once the Ice Orc Fleet would enter the range of about 10 km, they were ready to start the counterattack. They were not necessarily aiming to kill them but rather to suppress fire and decrease the orcs'' morale with consistent shooting. In the meantime, the real hitters were the artillery guns which their goblin spotters were already prepping and verifying the exact coordinates for the Arty guns to fire before the ships could move another inch forward. All of them were trained by Hou Fei in an intensive classroom setting created by Jin. They were left with him in a room which had a long time dilation. Nevertheless, their lack of time made it a horrible time to force them to study as if their life depended on it. Apparently, more and more goblins wanted to quit by killing themselves towards the end. Yet Hou Fei''s background as Royal Snake Zodiac Cultivator allowed him to have ways to ''provide'' them with ''sufficient'' amount of sanity to stay in that gruesome classroom of his. "Fire whenever ready." Their magpies chirped simultaneously at the Goblin spotters and they gave the signal to fire which caused a barrage of sounds coming from the peaceful western coast. The airships piloted by the Wind Orc Air Force saw the mini flashlights coming from the western region and warned the Ice Orc Fleet about it. However, it was a little too late when the shells hit a few of their warships and some already caught on fire because of the initiative attack. A few of the smaller ships broke immediately from the fires. The goblin spotters wanted to hit those first since their mobility was the highest in the seas and selecting them for the first volley seemed to be the most appropriate target. The bigger ships were of course the larger threat but they could be dealt at a later time with the subsequent volleys. The orcs on the smaller assault ships had to abandon ship before the fire consumed them. It''s either that or they would be stuck in the ship and be killed by the burning debris. If not that, the other possibility was to be stuck in overflooded blocked cabins and that was no better. What they did not expect were the things that lurked in the sea¡­ The Deep Ones were impatiently waiting to get some action ever since the Ice Orc Fleet arrived in the Western Waters. They finally had the chance to kill stuff especially when they were not even allowed to assist as guardians for the cultivators because they were next in line to be featured in Jin''s store. However, because of the rather sudden appearance of the raid event, they were overshadowed yet again. And unfortunately for Derpy and his gang, Jin decided to focus all of his efforts to this raid event instead. Yet, Jin had deployed them when he learned about the Ice Orc Fleet. After getting notified the Deep Ones were elated that they finally would be able to get some blood in their hands as they were itching for a fight for a long time. However, Jin did not give them the orders to assault the warships directly. Else, they might taken everything for themselves and the goblins prepared for naught. (Most importantly, the cultivators would not have their fair share of battle. And that would be bad for business.) So, Jin only allowed them to kill orcs who abandoned ship or those who dropped into the sea. Whether the orcs put up a struggle or not was another matter. To make up for all those restrictions Jin did allow them to attack the orcs once they decided to retreat. Only Mr Derpy was forbidden to do anything except to support his entourage. Of course, he was initially furious at this order. Fortunately, Jin later convinced him that waiting until the end would guarantee that he could imprint his image as the mighty Shadow Dagen in the hearts of the cultivators. The image of himself rising from the Depth and annihilating those massive warships who were retreating did wonders to pacify Mr Derpy. Watching his army have fun, he secretly prayed for the Fleet to quickly retreat since his jaws were starting to feel itchy. Some Deep Ones were even toying with their prey before the orcs were teared into pieces. They stood no chance against their predators who were extremely versatile in the waters. They were not called Terrors of the Deep for fun. The rest killed them in one shot before dragging them deeper into the sea and eating them up. Yet, they were careful about not destroying most of the armour or weapons. Despite their appearance, they were conscientious scavengers. Whatever metal or leather pieces th orcs were equipped with, they would strip the orc clean before eating them up and nicely stack those pieces to offer them as tribute to Jin once again. It did not take long for the fellow Orc sailors to realise something was amiss when not a single orc managed to surface from the water. Some even shone bright light magic into the sea and only later found out that there were sea monsters eating up their companions. Something so vicious and rampant never happened before which they quickly reported to their higher ups. The leaders could only deduce their usage of lost tech might have attracted these monsters of the deep sea. This situation alone presented the Ice Orc Admiral a certain dilemma and he needed to make a decision fast since the goblin artillery bombardment was not going to stop for them to think. On one hand, he should be giving the orders to aid the orcs in need, on the other hand, he felt it was a waste of resources trying to aid them. By now it was almost certain that they were dead but abandoning them without at least attempting to help would be equally cruel and demoralising for the sailors. It was not a decision he could make off hand. After struggling with his conscience, he decided to follow logic and issued orders to press forth with full engines ahead while telling his orcs to prepare the long range cannons for a counter attack. The orc leaders had no choice but to follow the command of their admiral. In order to fire at them, the warships had to turn their gun ports to fire. This in turn, made the artillery spotters grinn as the immobile flanked target meant less chance to miss. The massive warships finally turned and fired their cannons whenever as soon as they felt they were in the correct angle and range which caused those behind the fort walls to brace themselves for the attack before they retaliated back with the anti tank cannon fire. In the meantime, the medium ships acting as troop transports started transferring the main bulk of the orcs troops from the massive warships to their end. By using the other side of their warships as cover to transfer troops, it would ensure the troops transfer be protected while the warships fired their cannons on the other side. After which, the medium ships charged together through the seas hoping to reach before they got hit by the goblin''s cannon fire. ¡ª "Woah, I can even feel the shockwaves from here." Abdul praised the realism of this experience as he held onto the ledge when he felt the cannon shots hitting the fort wall. "No kidding, and it looks like the battle''s just barely began and I already feel my adrenaline pumping." Gupta agreed as he finished his chips. Both of them were highly anticipating for the orcs to enter the shore so that they could get into action. Chapter 355 The Western Diversion - Part 2 As the medium transport ships tried their best to charge to the shoreline, their captains suddenly realised they hit shore rather early. They had previously estimated that they would land at most a hundred metres away, yet the distance now spanned multiple hundreds of meters. There was no way the ship could proceed any further no matter how much the ship tried to push its engine. Turning back now was also no longer viable so the captains immediately opened the platforms, forcing the first wave of Ice Orcs to charge with their shields up. That was when the carnage really started. The goblins slowly placed their guns closer to the edge of the fort walls, out of the bunkers and aimed at the various blobs of orcs. With a click, their safety switch were turned off. With a nock, their arrows were ready to take flight. And with just a word from Spear General Argent, the projectiles soared through the beach head and brought down the orcs so easily that it felt like a joke. As the Ice Orc Admiral saw the medium transport ships being stuck, he was outright stunned. The Ice Orc Admiral took a telescope from his navigator to take a closer look at the shoreline. Indeed it was reclaimed further into the sea. "How is that possible?! It should still be high tide now! Why are the ships stuck so far away from the shoreline?? I do not remember the Western Coast having any high shores at all. What use is all our intel and our spies if they cannot even report how the goblin must have placed obstacles in the vicinity?!" "Curses!!! First unknown monsters in the sea, then fort walls that seem impervious to our standard cannon attacks. Their seige defence weapons hitting so accurately on our boats and now an extension of the shorelines. Since when are those goblins so sly and resourceful!" The Ice Orc Admiral crushed the telescope in his hand with anger and went forward while taking a scroll out of his trench coat. "I did not expect to use this so early in the battle. I hope Yellow Ice will not fault me for this but if I hesitate, any further our companions will die meaninglessly." The Ice Orc Admiral unrolled the expensive looking scroll and chanted loudly, causing wide magical circles to appear underneath three of the massive warships of the Ice Orc Fleet. "Shiva, I beseech you, Bring these warships that are fully devoted to you back to the ground. Transport them as you see fit! Allow us to offer you those goblin lives as sacrifices! Tidal Ice Waves of Shiva! " The Ice Orc Admiral''s booming voice echoed and the wide magical circles glowed an ethereal blue. Suddenly, from the surface of the water, the first warship was slowly beginning to rise. Higher and higher, riding a giant tidal wave of ice and into the skies. The other two were quickly following suit. Yet instead of the wave moving straight towards the fort walls, two of the tidal waves curved sideways, one on each side allowing the orcs on those two warships to fire their cannons from their gun ports from the sky as the tidal wave steadily left a trail of frozen ice from the sea. The remaining warship pushed through the center, making it the priority target for all the goblin''s cannon fire. The tidal wave did helped to block the attacks but soon after, it was destroyed by the immense fire. The tidal ice wave broke and dropped the warship into the midst of the shoreline. Yet, this magical spell allowed the warship to be significantly nearer to the beach head, probably at least 50 metres away from the fort walls. It provided not just cover for the orcs from the transport ship, but a fighting chance against the goblin''s seemingly impenetrable fortress defence. The goblins did not expect this and most were already forced to take cover while the goblins manning the flak guns finally had some work to do since the Wind Orc Air Force had yet to make their moves. However since their ammunition was designed to take down the Orc''s aircraft it proved to be not as ideal against the massive warships on a flying tidal ice wave. At the same time the Orcs in those warships cheered at the sudden reversal. Morale had been at an all time low after all those setbacks they suffered. The commotion allowed the orcs dashing through the shoreline to have some breather since the bombardment had to stop in order for the goblins to brace themselves from the enemy''s cannon fire. But this did not faze Ren Wei¡­ and surprisingly Jing Ru too. The two daughter and father unceasingly aimed their shots from their occupied vantage point and fired at the incoming orcs. In the grand scheme of things those they took down would not change the tide of battle, but every shot counted. Something which was emphasised by the raid points they accumulated so long as they did not miss. "Ah, that last shot went through the shoulder, pace yourself. Do not rush the firing. Take an extra second to make sure one hit is all you need." Ren Wei decided to be the spotter cum sniper for Jing Ru who was not accustomed to using a sniper rifle which fired real live ammunition. If Jing Ru was not able to cleanly kill a target, he would fire the second shot to ensure his death. The feeling of the gun''s recoil, the reloading and the smell of gunpowder was a fresh new experience to her. Ren Wei was happy for the opportunity to not only spend time with her but teach her more about his line of work. In the meantime, the tidal ice waves finally crashed at the two ends of the Coastal Town of Gob Gob Si while the ships were still intact and had their gun ports facing the town. The Orcs had no mercy in releasing all of their cannons discriminately at the town. Meanwhile the goblins were doing their best to push their anti tank cannons and a few of the artillery guns so that they could reposition themselves to destroy the imminent threat. Ice Orc warriors took the opportunity to charge down towards the town itself. Argent was not prepared for the orcs possessing such a terrifying spell in their disposal and commanded regiments of spear goblins and sword goblins to fight against the threat within the town. However, the cultivators were already one step ahead of him, responding to the fight when they saw the direction the tidal waves were heading. Unlike the goblins who regarded this as a real war, the cultivators all thought that this was an instance and the spell was simply a flashy entrance for the Orcs designed to allow them to invade the beach, so that they could finally fight them off. Gupta and Abdul were no exception as they ran towards the eastern side of the town to aid the cultivators and goblin warriors. However, because of the numerous vantage points being occupied, marksmen and machine gun teams were already deterring the Ice Orcs as the two pushed through to the centre of a town square. As Abdul entered one of the mini town squares where he saw the Ice Orcs were beginning to split themselves up to cover various places, he stopped to ready his weapon. "I will focus center!!" Abdul shouted as he was already half pressing his minigun, allowing the barrels to rotate. The moment he had his footing, he released a hail of bullets towards the incoming Ice Orcs who had yet to split up. Meanwhile, Gupta followed close to those who had entered the city, crushing into some of them by using a basic Exculpatory Elephant charging dash technique. As those Ice Orc warriors flew to the sky due to the knockback of the charging dash, Gupta took out his shotgun and fired at them in rapid succession. The pellets easily went through their metal armour and pieces of their faces were being blown off by the shotgun shots. From his storage ring on his right hand, he took out three shotgun dragon breath shells with his left hand and did a quick defensive reload by using the buttstock of the shotgun to dislocate a jaw of an incoming Ice Orc. He managed to load a single dragon breath shell in after he fired the remaining normal shot in his gun chamber, instantly killing the orc with the dislocated jaw. Gupta turned as he used his shotgun to parry an incoming sword attack and pushed the shotgun barrel towards the orc''s stomach before pressing the trigger down. "BANG!" It caused a tremendous blast of fire to be emitted out of the shotgun with sparks of fire piercing the orc''s body and burning the orcs behind him too. "Oops, I guess I inserted too much chi into the dragon breath shell when I reloaded it¡­ Thank god the inscriptions on the shotgun can handle the impact." Gupta grinned widely while covering his face with his hand in case the fire blast recoiled and hit him but he was glad to see it worked too well. Meanwhile the remaining Ice Orcs tried to take cover when the quick barrage of fire from Abdul mowed down the escaping Ice Orcs. Even the Ice Orc Mages magical barrier could not withstand a second of it. Breaking almost in an instant. His firing rate was so impressive that few got the opportunity to use the building as cover. The only way for the Ice Orcs to survive had been to quickly leap themselves towards the ground so that they would not be in the line of fire. Abdul stopped his minigun and charged forward, using his brightly red glowing barrel as a club. The Ice Orc warriors assumed that the humanoid emptied his projectiles so they stood up and ran towards him. Not to mention, those who ran away from the divergent path began to return when they heard the loud sounds from the mini square city and upon seeing the destruction the humanoids created, they bolted towards him to finish him off quickly. Abdul laughed heartily as he smashed his minigun into the stomach of an orc like a rhino using his horns to pierce his target. Then he pressed on the trigger and bullets punctured the Orc''s abdomen. Abdul did the same for his incoming targets. Smashing his minigun, using his backpack as a shield or a blunt weapon to knock the orcs down before pressing the trigger, releasing a small burst of bullets. "Now this is a real workout!" Abdul was so happy about the realism that he did not even notice when he received a few cuts from the orcs because of his size. Compared to Gupta who was slightly more agile and whose Gun-fu felt way more polished, Abdul''s rough fight was more feral in nature. Yet, both managed to do their job until the goblins arrived to reinforce them. That was when both started to restrain their shots a little more to prevent friendly fire. (Even though the System was supposed to prevent such cases but after having to look out for their allies all their career it was hard to break such a habit, especially for policemen.) In the meantime, with the anti tank cannons at the side being occupied by the two warships, it allowed the Ice Orcs coming from the Beach head had slightly more breathing space. Still they did not know of a certain monster in the vicinity who was maintaining the fort walls. Shu, The Sakura Tree Treant. It had rooted itself at the centre of the fort walls with Ke Mi the Zither Mistress by his side. Unsurprisingly the Great White Snake was nearby, hanging around the Treant. The Ice Orcs warships from the sea tried to burn down the ''improvised'' wooden fort walls but no matter how much they attacked them, they would neither budge nor would they burn. That was because the ancient Treant was constantly mending it while the Zither Mistress ensured a constant magic barrier was being maintained. For the same reason the fire was not burning the fort walls down at all. Before the Ice Orc managed to come close to the fort walls, Shu would have already sensed their presence and attempted to stab them with his tree roots. With the fort walls being an extension of him, the orcs were killed within and instant and the magical tree roots would proceed to drag them to the wall¡­ not just as nutrients but also meat shield to cover the holes of the fort wall. It was a brutal sight for the Ice Orcs to see their dying comrades being merged with the living fort wall but they tried their best to overwhelm it as much as they could. True enough, Shu did not have the mental capacity to kill hundreds of orcs trying to climb the wall. Luckily there was no need for him to do so alone. As part of the living fort wall, Shu was able to make crevices large enough for the Great White Snake to pass through before closing the crevice again. This allowed the snake to slide within the fort walls and swallow the orcs. Sometimes it would grab a bunch with its tail and bring it into the city for the spear goblins to do their job. Other times, it would use its tail and smack the orcs away and into the range of the marksmen. Ke Mi continued to play her Zither the whole time. Only when certain Ice Orcs managed to cross over the Living Fort walls and appeared right in front of her, would she pluck a string, causing an off tune to occur. That would also be the last tone for the poor orcs, as she was creating a deadly sonic shockwave that sliced those orc in half. Other times, when too many Orcs came over, she''d just a swipe off many of her Zither strings to produce a gust of strong wind knocking the Ice Orcs away before she resumed her job. Separately, the Wind Orc Air Force finally made their move. To counter them, Wyrstriker came into play. What could a single goblin with a wyvern do? Not much right? That was certainly the mentality of the Orc Captains in the colossal airships that once threatened the skies of the capital of Gob Gob Kingdom. Wyrstriker did not forget about them and he prepared accordingly. Together with Jin they had a surprise in store. Jin had specially crafted a storage ring for Wyrstriker since it was one of the few monsters that had the ability to command the chi within them and was thus able to use it. The storage ring contained hundreds of rocket propelled grenades. RPGs. Wyrstriker had purposely handed out three sticks to each of the Wyvern Riders who were still at least a mile away from him as he had decided to initiate the attack and allow the Dashing Wyverns under Spear General''s Argent command to follow up. Since he was to only one able to resurrect, he had taken the initiative to start the battle against the airship carriers. Iwen, Wrystriker''s Wyvern was laughing hysterically as he noticed the arrows, mages and even laser cannons facing towards him. "Do you really wish to court death that desperately?" Iwen asked as he flew steadily towards the first airship carrier. "Death has visited me countless times. To me, she is already an old friend." Wyrstriker replied as he took out the first RPG. "Bear with me. It''s going to be my first time meeting her." Iwen eyes narrowed as Wyrstriker poured some chi into the wyvern, boosting its speed significantly and commencing their suicidal attack together. Arrows flew, lasers from lost tech cannons were being shot and wind blades were flung at Wyrstriker and sadly Iwen was not agile enough to avoid those aiming at vital places before Wyrstriker shot the rocket propelled grenade towards the carrier. A lost tech laser cannon burnt both the rider and wyvern alongside with the RPG he was holding. The Dashing Wyverns felt it was bound to happened and sigh¡­until they saw the emergence of Wyrstriker from high above. The surprise came when Iwen opened his eyes and notice he was being thrown into the battefield again and he quickly readjusted himself to the orientation of the airship carrier. "Death did not feel as bad as I thought¡­still, it hurts though. Is this the power of Master Jin?" Iwen said as he felt his strength renewed and Wyrstiker smirked quietly. He had to thank the System for resurrecting them more or less in place to avoid suspicion. The explosions were small from the RPGs but when Wyrstriker realised he could use it to potentially disable the engines they danced within the stormy skies against the projectiles aiming for them. Within minutes, the first airship engines were disabled through their intensive air acrobatic techniques, causing it to turn unstable by the continuous attack from Wyrstriker alone. Only then did the Dashing Wyverns came into the picture and proceed to bring the airship carrier down from the skies. That was when Wyrstriker noticed there were some creatures flying towards them at rather fast speed too, seemingly coming from another airship. "Shit! Orc Gargoyles!" Wyrstriker read about them in books but they did not seen one until now. "Cool yourself down! They are enemies that we fought at a constant basis! " Iwen calmed his rider as he transmitted memories of the Dashing Wyverns fighting against these monsters. Wyrstriker recollected himself and shot a RPG at the Orc Gargoyles which they evaded rather easily. (Although Wyrstiker was aiming at the airship carrier behind them instead.) He then took out his spear and lunged himself forward ready for a dogfight. Chapter 356 The Northern Diversion The horns blared so loudly that it could be heard throughout the valleys. Slashreaver was looking nervously back to the Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu. It was hard to imagine that this beautiful sight would turn into a battlefield in no time at all. The Thunder Orcs would start their attack soon. Even though it''s supposed to be a mere "Diversion" as reported by Jin, it was clear that no side could afford to pull their punches. The broken gate had been replaced by a permanent fort wall with the combined effort of Shu and Sandy before the Treant left for the Coastal Town of Gob Gob Si. The Sand Witch remained to aid with the defences of the town. This time around they had prepared more than just her sand sentinel to oversee the walls. Goblin Mages, Engineers, Another Jin and Niu Lang, the Cowherd had come together and the result of this very first collaboration between the members of different races resulted in ''Sand Golems''. Another Jin had purchased large hamster ball looking spheres through the System''s market channel as the core of the pilot unit. Being an experienced Mecha pilot, Niu Lang had suggested some specifics to be placed in by the goblin engineers. For example, the type of seats, the pedals to drive the golem, the pulleys to control the movements, buttons and flip switches alongside with headlights and ventilations. The Goblin Mages under Sandy''s lead had managed to procure large piles of sand and rock from the valley''s old mines and fuse it around the large ''Hamster Ball''. The rocks from the valleys were mixed with a sort of dense mineral, unqiue to this particular valley which acted as a sort of natural armour and was shaped into the core skeleton for the Sand Golem. The sand and soil were processed over and over with the subsequent help of Goblin mages to ensure that it would be as hard as possible. Finally Another Jin used a secret ingredient for these Sand Golems. Reanimation magical charms, which were aptly named the ''Frankenstein Activators''. (A byproduct of Half Ghoul Lord Derek''s inventions) Niu Lang with his ample experience as the pilot of Mechataur had been the perfect candidate to test out the first prototypes of the Sand Golem. He was rather happy with the result, especially after the activators aided with the smoothness movement of the golems, though the speed was still an issue. Also, when the visiting werejackals saw the project in the northern region while aiding the cultivators in the past few goblin days, they queried about their project too. Grey became especially interested in it since he had already assisted in the research of the reanimation charms and had developed an interest in creating new things. Gathering a bunch of Jacks, they asked Another Jin to allow them to assist and used some earth strengthening magic unique to the werejackals as the final touch. Surprisingly one more person got involved in their creation. Colonel Ayse proved herself to not only be a wonderful hidden spy agent for Jin but also a hidden treasure trove full of experience. The young Orc Lady secretly took the time to review the Sand Golems and criticised numerous points before she made suggestions how to improve them in the future. (Since the latest war operation was too near to make any major changes.) Nevertheless she did praise their effort. After all, it was rather ingenious how Another Jin and the rest of the gang managed to create a mechanised walker within such a short amount of time without access to the Lost Tech blueprints. Eventually, the Sand Golems became operational with very little mechanical materials and more of the natural ones, making it easy to replace on the battlefield. Goblin mages would be the ones to do the heavy lifting such as providing the mana for the Sand Golem to move. So long the large hamster ball core was still intact they could keep on fighting. Ayse deduced that their expendability and prolonged durability could become the winning point that might let them triumph over the ''Tin Cans'' she had designed for the Orc Army. A few carefully selected Goblins (mostly based on their size to fit into the hamster ball) were the ones privileged to test them out a few days before the start of the Northern Diversion. Upon seeing the finished products of the mass produced Sand Golems, Niu Lang could not take it anymore and decided to renamed the Sand Golems into ''Sandroku Golems'' to make them sound cooler. (The name change became an overwhelming success. Most of the goblins loved it. They even took some leftover paint they managed to salvage from the town area and painted decals on their Sandroku Golems to customise them further.) Even, Gladios got a teeny weeny bit jealous of those golem pilots. Unfortunately because of his size, he was unable to ride one of them. Slashreaver did joke that all his father needed to do was to make a request to Jin and he might create one on the condition he''d join him. With the addition of ten Sandroku Golems, the goblins were able to extend their defence line to the outskirts of the valley town where they could utilise the side cliffs to flank the Thunder Orc Army before they reached the Fort Walls of the valley town. Each Sandroku Golem was carrying a makeshift artillery gun which the engineers managed to wire to their backs. It turned them into portable artillery which could respond to any threat as soon as possible. The only drawback was the limited ammo that they were carrying. Hence, the Sword General Gladios would be the deciding factor when or where to use it and inform them through their accompanying magpies. Not to mention, those Sandroku Golems held rock solid shields and comparatively large melee weapons. They waited patiently at side of the cliffs were the several anti tank cannons had also been placed with the help of Sandy. When Jin opened the ''instance'' to the public, most of the newer cultivators were teleported to the northern valley and unlike Spear General Argent, Sword General Gladios was ordered by Jin to command the cultivators directly. He apologised that these few comrades of his did not see much of the battle compared to the ones that had been selected to assist the Coastal Town of Gob Gob Si. Gladios roughly understood the underlying reason behind Jin''s decision. The Coastal Town was guarded heavily and had more goblins manning the area, the distance the goblin army had to cover was large. Assigning Argent with fresh recruits would only worsen the Spear General''s headache in coordinating the defence. On the other hand in this Valley Fort, the enemies could only come from one particular direction, it was a do or die situation. Either they''d survive as one, or fail as one. Hence, Gladios gladly took the newer comrades under his wing and commanded them strictly. It was a surprise not one had any qualms about following Gladios who was thought to be a high ranking NPC. Unknown to him, not too long ago the cultivators had learnt that it was a bad idea to go against the NPCs. One of the cultivator who was a Grade 4 and a regular at King''s Monster wanted to skip all the introduction and simply want to start killing some Orcs. After he was refused, he decided to challenge Captain Bai to a duel, which the later accepted immediately. The moment the duel started, the cultivator tried to attack Captain Bai yet the Panda evaded each strike easily. No extra movement and always with just enough distance to avoid the slash. The cultivator then tried using his strongest technique¡­ but failed miserably when Bai just walked to him and smashed his paw on the cultivator''s face. Only splatters of blood were left and the headless body was teleported out of the instance. After he had awoken, Jin refunded the money with a stern look and warned him not to come back anymore if he did not wish to follow the rules of the dungeon instances. The other cultivators who witnessed that incident, spread it like wildfire in forums and it instantly became part of the "Things to know before entering Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas" guide on the internet. Hence, the cultivators followed Gladios strict to the letter whenever he gave out any order via the magpies. "Go, enjoy yourselves. The frontline troops are arriving soon." Gladios send the cultivators off when he heard the blaring horns of the Thunder Orc Army. At the same time, he had begun to give orders to the goblins staying at the cliff to commence their attacks the moment they saw the Thunder Orc Army. If Jin''s intel proved to be correct, it should turn into an easy battle with all their counter measures in place. Gladios stood on the fort walls as he saw the humanoids mowing the orcs down. Yet the Orcs seemed more determined than the ones he had seen in recent days. As if they were not just putting their lives down for the attack but there was a certain kind of craze which only fanatics had. Then Gladios noticed something else. Each and everyone of their weapons emitted sparks of thunder. He remembered that the Thunder Orc Mages were supposed to be severely decimated by the failed initial invasion. By all means the frontline orcs should not have such strong thunder imbued powers in their weapons. If not for the humanoids acting as the vanguards, his own goblins would have been killed in battle almost instantly. Yet, the humanoids were also visibly struggling against the ferocious attacks the Orcs were putting in. "If we assume that they have not hidden any more Orc Mages, which should be impossible without anyone noticing¡­Then that could only mean one thing¡­ Sandroku 004 do you have any visual on any powerful orcs in the vicinity?!" Gladios grabbed on the magpie and shouted his orders into the poor little bird. However, there was no reply. "Sandroku 005! Respond! 006! Any of the golems respond NOW!!!" The only answer he got was more silence which Gladios had started to fear for the worse. Unless there was someone somehow had the capability to jam their signal (which according to Jin was impossible) it would mean someone must have defeated the enhanced golems. And whoever or whatever that was doing it had not been taken account into any part of their plans. But before Gladios could spend more time pondering about it, suddenly a large purple lightning bolt ran across the valley and struck the fort walls. Sandy who was on the fort wall tried to block the attack but she only managed to deflect its might partially because of the sudden strike. The purple lightning bolt not only caused Sandy to lose her left arm, it destroyed a portion of the fort walls too. "Purple Thunder!" Gladios shouted to warn the rest of the army about the arrival of the Avatar of Syldra as he tried to help Sandy up. The Sand Witch refused as she tried to collect sand, dust and dirt from the debris of the destroyed wall to cover the wound she had suffered. In the next instant, another lightning bolt flashed towards the fort wall. Gladios had expected another attack and used the large two handed sword from his back to block. The sword glowed with immense light, creating a magical light barrier which protected Gladios, Sandy and a few of the goblins manning the fort wall from the imminent attack. Purple Thunder did not hesitate to run towards Gladios ignoring the humanoids which the Orcs were pushing them back. But even before Purple Thunder reach the fort walls, Slashreaver intercepted him in the valleys. "I am your opponent!" Slashreaver roared as he released a slash of chi towards the Avatar of Syldra. Purple Thunder smirked and evaded that almost immediately while countering Slashreaver with a ''slow'' ball of lightning. (To Purple Thunder, certain lightning spells were considered slow in his eyes.) The ball of lightning electrocuted Slashreaver but it gave Gladios enough time to enter the scene. Despite carrying a greatsword, Gladios'' actions were swift and precise enough to make Purple Thunder think twice about not evading properly. The orc himself took out his own greatsword. It was a sight to behold as the dark purplish sparks seemed to challenge the white shine of the goblin''s sword. Against the Greatsword of Light, it was nothing but a distraction for Purple Thunder to waste time for him to prep his spells. But as long as Purple Thunder managed to bring Gladios down, the goblin army would become less of a threat. The two started to exchange blows though they seemed to be somewhat equal. The slightest mistake could prove fatal for either side. "Don''t you dare forget about me!" Slashreaver entered the fray exactly when Purple Thunder had finally managed to force Gladios into revealing an opening. He felt annoyed that this brat dared to disturb him and so he decided to change the trajectory of his attack towards Slashreaver. A simple palm strike enchanted with his electrical powers flashed towards Slashreaver''s face. The goblin was unable to evade nor block in time. "ARRRRRGHH!!!!" The intensity of the electricity burned half of Slashreaver''s face away in a moment and it made Gladios stagger a little when he saw his son in such a dire condition. Purple Thunder himself became surprised as he had expected a counter attack. Wanting to make use of the situation he retracted his hand and prepared another lightning palm strike. "Father!!" Slashreaver did his best to overcome the immense pain he was experiencing momentarily through sheer willpower and gave it his all to stab Purple Thunder with all his power. As Purple Thunder had already written off the goblin and he did not was expect that attack and was unable to evade in time. The Avatar of Syldra cursed as he redirected the attacking palm strike to block or at least mitigate the sword stab. The sword was evaporating due the heat produced from the lightning palm strike but not before Slashreaver injured one of Purple Thunder''s main casting hands. However, the backlash from the lightning palm strike burnt not just the sword but Slashreaver''s hands too, melting them right in front of him. This time, Gladios did not hesitate and made use of the opportunity his son had provided to slash his greatsword at the preoccupied Purple Thunder. Trying to turn around, the Orc managed to mitigate the attack partially by using his greatsword yet the fury of Gladios broke Purple Thunder''s greatsword cleanly into two as he sunk his weapon into Purple Thunder''s body. The Avatar of Syldra coughed blood. He was unable to scream as blood had already entered his lungs from the cut. He looked up to the Sword General and his mouth turned into a sick smile. If Purple Thunder couldn''t kill the Sword General with his bare hands, then he would suicide with whatever powers he had contained in himself. "Get away!!!" Sandy managed to cry out. In her still sorry state, she used her magic to pull Gladios and Slashreaver away from the scene with sand. In that same time the Avatar was pumping himself up to explode, the pilots of two heavily damaged Sandroku Golem jumped down from the cliffs. The Golems were no longer able to fight but it was enough to move. They landed and leaped towards Purple Thunder, piling on top of him. "Sandy Big Sis! Do what you need to do!!!" One of the goblin pilots who was bleeding profusely inside the Sandroku golem 007 shouted to her while pinning Purple Thunder down with the Greatsword of Light still stuck in him. Sandroku Golem 002 picked up 007''s towering shield and slammed down two of their shields on the living orc bomb that was primed to set off anytime. Sandy knew immediately what they were doing and quickly used whatever magic she could summon to surround Sandroku 002 , 007 and Purple Thunder within layers of sand, rock and soil. "System! More magic! NOW!!!" Sandy shouted and the System immediately compiled as she could see a glimmer of light being emitted out of the ''prison'' of sand she had haphazardly created. Peppers was immediately summoned and a cylindrical barrier was placed around the sand prison which Sandy created before it broke down. The living bomb then exploded and both orcs and cultivators saw streaks of lightning running along the cylindrical magic barrier and up to the sky. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STARING AT! CONTINUE TO ATTACK! DON''T LET THEIR SACRIFICE BE IN VAIN!!!" Gladios roared and both the goblins and cultivators gave shouted in unison as they pressed on with their attack against the shocked Orcs. Chapter 357 Extra - Niu Lang And Robots Niu Lang dropped his towel as he was trying to fix a part of the broken Mechataur. After some time doing his best, he slowly accepted that he was not going to finish reviving him anytime soon. Ever since the battle against the Robotic Spider had taken a toll on Mechataur''s parts, his giant metal friend had remained dormant. Surprisingly before the towel fell to the ground it had been caught. "Master Jin, how long have you been here? What can I do for you?" Niu Lang closed a panel on Mechataur''s shoulder and came down slowly via a ladder. Jin passed the towel back to the sweaty Niu Lang and gave him a takeaway cup full of the Black Ivory Coffee alongside a stack of brochures. Jin wished to offer his help by recreating spare parts or even buy parts off the System''s black market as a thank you for Niu Lang''s efforts and their sacrifice in the Dungeon World fighting against the robotic spider and the Titan Knight. He knew that if not for Niu Lang the Cowherd, he would possibly have had a much harder time defeating the Titan Knight. However, Niu Lang refused Jin''s offer outright. "If I cannot rebuild Mechataur with my own efforts, I have no right to call Mechataur my own mech." Niu Lang said as he shook his head at Jin. "But isn''t rebuilding it yourself with the parts I am going to buy for you the exact same thing?" Jin scratched his head as he thought it was obvious enough if Niu Lang wished to rebuild Mechataur as soon as possible. "I don''t really know how to explain this but buying manufactured parts and inserting it into him feels like I''d kind of betray his soul. It''s like, after you learned my cow had an accident and was no longer able to provide milk, you had decided to give me a few gallons of milk, and perhaps a new calf in the hopes that my cow would recover better with it." Niu Lang tried to get his point across yet all it did was confuse Jin even more. "But Mechataur is a robot. He can be replaced with a few new parts. Plus the new parts can even improve his performance. You probably just need to replace parts of the core engine and such." Jin replied but quickly realised his arguments were not going to assist in the conversation in any way. Hence, Jin decided to twist his words a little in hopes that Niu Lang could accept his generosity. "Alright. How about this? You just accompany to shop for parts? I will pay. Heck, if you feel guilty about it, you can take a loan from me first." Jin suggested and Niu Lang hesitated for a while before agreeing. "But before you bring me to buy the parts, may I request something?" Niu Lang asked and went inside before he showed him a crumpled pamphlet which Zhi Nu found lying with a few magazines left by customers in the shop. Ever since reading that pamphlet, he took great care of it and was kept safe in his tools cabinet. Jin took a look at it and tried his best not laugh out (ultimately he failed). Niu Lang had no idea what Jin was laughing about. "Is this too difficult a request? I just wished to purchase it to have some ideas how these specific robots were working. To get a better idea how to help Mechataur recover. If it''s not possible maybe we could take a peak at their designs. I assume since they having them on sale we could buy one or more of these robots as a backup. Perhaps we could also dismantle the robot and ¡­use some of the parts for Mechataur too!" Niu Lang shared his ideas with a lot of enthusiasm. "Did you not say that would be like buying gallons of milk and a new calf for your injured cow?" Jin returned his quote to Niu Lang and this time he got rebutted with an ''amazing'' reason. "If Mechataur would be able to possess parts of these almighty robots that I am seeing in this pamphlet, I am certain he would not mind it at all. You did say Mechataur is a robot and his parts do have wear and tear. A living cow does not, they will just die from a severe injury. But that does not mean they do not have the chance to impart their delicious meat and bountiful amounts of milk for us to savour and inspire us to raise a better cow." Niu Lang remarked. To this reasoning Jin could only figuratively tip a hat in his favour. "I concede. Get changed, I will bring you to see those amazing robots." Jin said and Niu Lang eyes were starry wide. He quickly went to the Armoury Store to change while Jin waited for him at the spacious basement of his house where he kept Mechataur. "System, is Mechataur hibernating? Dead? Or is he unable to function because of the lack of certain parts?" Jin touched Mechataur''s giant feet and asked the System. "Is User asking the System a philosophical question or does he wish a report of Mechataur''s status?" The System asked bluntly and Jin sighed before clarifiyng it was the latter. "Mechataur''s heat sinks are not functioning as per his initial design. His core engine was partially fried but could be still useable with a replacement of certain parts. Cowherd Niu Lang had been diligently trying his best to fix Mechataur ever since the fight till now. As a result, its capability to function had increased roughly 6%. However, without new parts, Mechataur''s operating capability would only reach a cap of 35% in the most optimal circumstances." System stated and Jin sighed once more. "Chinese. Please." Jin asked which the System retorted that it was already replying in Chinese which made Jin feel like knocking his head on Mechataur''s feet. Since when has his System seemingly started to enjoy bickering with him. "In plain simple layman language. Please." Jin stated with a dead tone and the System complied. "It is possible for Mechataur to come online without new parts. In such a case he would be limited to walking and could communicate back to Niu Lang. However it would lack any capabilities of fighting. " The System analyzed. At that moment, a portal appeared and Jin banged his head on Mechataur''s feet upon seeing the dress up for Niu Lang. "Master, did I wear something wrong?" Niu Lang wondered as he was in a full black ninja robe with his face wrapped with black cloth too. "May I ask why you decided to choose this particular outfit?" Jin face''s was attached to Mechataur''s metal feet (thankfully it was thoroughly washed by Niu Lang already) and he slurred his question towards Niu Lang. "You provided me with the opportunity to see these majestic robots, and I had the feeling we might not buy them. So I figured we might be able to steal one of them away. Mr Kraft advised me that this would be the ideal outfit for that. Is that not correct?" Niu Lang answered innocently. Jin was beginning to get a headache as he summoned Kraft out who appeared sitting on Mechataur''s feet and explained what else had he been teaching Niu Lang behind Jin''s back. "He''s a pretty quick learner, isn''t he?" Kraft praised Niu Lang and Jin rolled his eyes. With his face still attached to Mechataur''s feet, he demanded Kraft to stop messing around and if he was so bored he should teach other people correctly. Kraft reluctantly nodded his head and brought Niu Lang to the armoury store again. In no time, Niu Lang came back wearing a full formal suit with a fedora hat and Jin was wondering if Niu Lang was doing all these on purpose or if he was really that na?ve. Sometimes he asked himself whether Zhi Nu, the immortal weaver liked him for his child like innocence. "Kraft asked me to wear this to pretend to be an influential rich man so they would show me those robots whenever I ask them. If it''s not possible with the help of this disguise, we might still be able to steal one right under their noses." Niu Lang repeated how Kraft ''corrected'' him and Jin decided to take things in his own hands. Jin took out Niu Lang''s coat, changed his shoes to something less formal and allowed him to keep his Fedora hat and suit vest on him. Jin did aid Niu Lang to fold his sleeves up and when Zhi Nu was coming down to the basement to see what was the reason for this commotion, she was surprised that Niu Lang could be that suave. "Dear~! You look like one of those advertisement models in the magazines!" Zhi Nu came over and she inspected him from top to bottom. She seemed very pleased with this change as she never saw this particular side of Niu Lang. Jin informed her that they would be going for some shopping and would be back shortly. Niu Lang went out with Jin to Tiangong Shopping District and realised¡­the place to buy the robots was nearer than expected. (Not to mention, a number of girls were eyeing and commenting loudly at that cute stylish guy walking with Jin which started to annoy him a bit too. That was why he chose a shop nearby.) "Oh my god! That is the Angel Goddam! The one that was advertised on the pamphlet! Why is it so much smaller than I expected? Are they being made by creatures smaller than us?" Niu Lang asked with his own deduction. "What are you gawking at there for? Come in and have a closer look." Jin smirked at Niu Lang''s innocence and beckoned him to enter the shop. Niu Lang was instantly being blown away by the hundreds of robot models that were on sale. Multiple boxes stacked from the floor to the ceiling and each of them was waiting to be bought and assembled by an interested customer. "Oh, Boss Jin? To what do I owe the pleasure?" The owner who was reading a particular mecha comic saw a customer arriving in. "Hi there, He Rong. I brought a friend here to buy some of your models. Don''t mind me loitering here for some time. I think he is quite the mecha enthusia-" Jin got interrupted by a shout which startled the toy model shop owner, He Rong too. " I WANT ONE OF EVERYTHING!" Niu Lang exclaimed loudly which spoilt his cool looking image immediately. He Rong''s jaws dropped a bit before he jokingly asked Jin if that was true because that would be doing a great service for him. "If you really did that, I can give you a 15% discount on the whole bill." He Rong offered and Jin went forward to him. "If I really did that, give me 35% discount on the whole bill." Jin replied with confidence. He was sure that he had the ability to buy one of everything in the shop. "20% discount." He Rong shook his index finger and pointed out he was already doing a disservice to his most loyal customers if he gave out a 20% discount to someone who did not share their love for the craft. "30% discount and I will always come back for newer models." Jin straighten his back and folded his arms while showing three fingers out. "25% discount as well as a discount when I patronise your Shop. I''ve heard wonderful things about your Fishing Instance from Lai Fu. That is my final offer for a fellow shop owner. Anything more would be cutting into my base cost, which I cannot do." He Rong made his ''ultimatum'' yet Jin was aware the other party was clearly bluffing since some of the models were plainly overpriced. However Jin''s intention had been to go for the 25% discount all along. He Rong being a business owner himself had already figured out his objective as well. Since both wanted the same he at least tried to gain a bit of a bonus by getting a discount when repaying the favor. The bargaining was more of a formality that needed to be done. "Mast- erm Jin, you sure I can have one of everything? I don''t wish to trouble you that much¡­" Niu Lang sounded unsure, but the excitement in his eyes clearly revealed his hope of getting them all. He Rong had hardly seen such enthusiasm in a very long time. Perhaps, his own passion had died down after he had to change his way of thinking ensuring the survival of his shop. "Yeah, go grab them!" Jin came over to pat his head like a big little child and his shoulders before he sent a close range transmission. "But with certain conditions attached. Learn the parts of these robot models and try to create new designs for me or at least think up suitable parts which could prove useful for in Mechataur." Niu Lang accepted almost immediately upon hearing the conditions. "It will be deducted from your pay as you promised." Jin said out loud and suddenly Niu Lang''s face turned from an elated young boy to a depressed old man. "I am just joking, go get them." Jin smiled after teasing Niu Lang who had limited to pick up the ones he liked most for now. He Rong was unaware of the relationship between them but enjoyed their interaction. He decided to loan Jin a storage ring large enough to store one of every model available. "Thank you for your business. Please come again! And your friend is always welcome to take in my shop!" Chapter 358 Operation Red Moon The Fire Orc Army was in an uneasy state with the change of plans when the new orders out were given out by the respective orc officers. Their commander, Green Fire''s absence and the rumours that he had derelict his duty made everyone wondered if he was doing the right thing to run away from this crazy plan of their King. Some believed Green Fire was killed, but there were still reports of random abandoned villages that were incinerated were due to his handicraft. Though Fire Orc Mages did have the capability to summon such fiery ferocity, their magic only contained a slight trace of Shaitan powers in them. Thus, the investigation team had no reason to doubt any Fire Orc Mages as suspects due to the high amount and intensity of Shaitan powers being detected in those charred ruins. This was because how the Fire Orc mages worked their magic was by syphoning residue mana from the Shaitan plane in order to cast their spells. Since they belonged to Fire Orc tribes, they were more tuned to absorbing the residue mana of Ifrit to cast their magic, which was why their magic was fire based. But unlike the Avatar of Ifrit, Green Fire''s source of power was directly from Ifrit himself and hence possessed a large amount of Shaitan powers. Then one might ask what was the difference between the powers of Fire Orc mages and Green Fire''s? The destruction it caused. To put it simply, an Avatar of Ifrit casting a fireball had the same destruction capability to a team of Fire Orc mages casting Firestorm. The intensity might vary depending on the amount of mana placed, but that was the whole gist of it. That was why the avatars of the Shaitan Nobles were placed as commanders of various armies because of their destructive power. Therefore, being desperate to know the whereabouts of their commander before the start of the most massive operation in orc''s history, the Fire Orc Mages did try to scry for Green Fire''s location by asking Ifrit about the whereabouts of his Avatar. Unfortunately, Ifrit did not entertain them and only said his powers were still alive in that world. That was because Ifrit was amused by the workings of his new descendant, Flame Ripper. The newly appointed goblin was doing what he could to confuse the Orc investigation team as instructed by Colonel Ayse via Jin. The hide and seek somehow gave the spectating Ifrit a bit of thrill seeing his new descendent playing the fool against the orcs searching for Green Fire. This was in lieu with the work the team of goblin assassins lead by Dagger General Ignis. While Flameripper was distracting the orcs, Ignis had been activating multiple waypoint locations across the Orc mainland. He was shocked when he learnt that his son managed to achieve the powers of Ifrit but because time was essential since the death of Green Fire, Ignis promised to give a surprise to his son when everything was over. The Dagger General also utilised Flame Ripper''s magic to burn down any evidence they could have left while hiding the waypoints in plain sight. (Most of the waypoints were in the basements of taverns and the orcs did not bother to see through the entire wreckage of each village.) With more waypoints activated, the goblin assassins increasingly used them to perform assassination missions in order to weaken and mislead the orcs and their investigation team. Not just that, they had been stealing from the supplies bases which were poorly guarded and yet resource rich for their own use ¡ª food supplies, gold, natural resources etc. After which, Flame Ripper utilised the waypoints to return to the capital and gifted everything to the Capital. Ignis attributed the lack of security in these supply bases due to the full focus on their current operation which made stealing so much simpler. Similar to Wyrstriker, Jin wanted to give Flame Ripper a storage ring but because he was the descendant and chosen avatar, Ifrit had given him abilities to transfer items to the Shaitan plane where he could keep an unlimited amount of items, which was more advantageous than a storage ring could handle. However, whether that power could be used in Jin''s world or other worlds, Flame Ripper had no idea. With the increased waypoints being activated once again in those old abandoned villages, it was now possible to bring in an army to fight against the King in his own backyard if they wanted to. All they need now was just the right time to strike back against the Orcs. ¡ª¡ª¨C Orc King Hamu had finally arrived at the most extensive base which so happened to be located farthest to the Orc Capital where the bulk of the Fire Orc Army was currently stationed. Along with him was Yellow Ice, his Right Hand man, Oku and Colonel Ayse in a more distinct officer uniform than her usual researcher coat. Colonel Ayse immediately started her work by commanding the humanoid slave researchers to start up the lost tech artefact portals which numbered to the dozens. The plan was to storm the capital by force while the Northern and Western Diversion diverted the bulk of the goblin army''s attention. After a few comments from the researchers, Colonel Ayse concluded that most of the lost tech artefacts were still functioning and proudly stated that they were able to proceed to phase two of the Red Moon Operation. But when the humanoid slaves were booting up the lost tech artefact portals, Ayse purposely asked them to attach a new piece of equipment on the main generator that was powering the lost tech portal devices. Right Hand Oku found it weird and asked what was that equipment for. "It''s to increase the output of the portals, making it easier for multiple Fire Orcs warriors to rush in as quickly as possible, taking full advantage of the element of surprise. It''s an invention I spent countless nights creating." Colonel Ayse said with grace as King Hamu walked towards them. Oku found it a little fishy especially since most of the equipment had gone through a quality check to ensure everything operated smoothly. "By adding something at the very last minute will only increase the risk of our Fire Orc troops, will it not? Isn''t this something you should not do at such a critical stage of the Red Moon Operation?" Oku demanded an answer which Colonel Ayse had something at the tip of her tongue to counter him, but King Hamu stopped her. Contrary to Oku''s expectation, King Hamu instead praised her for a job well done. "But Your Majesty!" Oku wanted to reason, and he was ignored by the King once more. Seeing the entire commotion, the humanoid slaves immediately acknowledged Colonel Ayse''s new command and began to attach the latest piece of contraption on the power generator. The generator whizzed for a while before moving faster than normal and suddenly the entry portals that appeared certainly became two times bigger. It meant more troops could enter the other side once the coordinates had been found by the lost tech linking device. As of now, the entry portals were still red in colour indicating that the lost artefacts that were placed had not been synced up yet. With the aid of a linking device that the humanoid slave researchers were busy dabbling with, it would capture the signal of the lost tech exit portal artefacts and provide the coordinates for the entry portals. It would then synchronise with the exit portals and the entry portals turn blue, indicating that the Fire Orc Army could finally charge into the Goblin''s capital. Hence while everyone was waiting for the portals, King Hamu began giving a speech as he stood on a podium that was specially prepared for him for this occasion. "Gentlemen, you might have heard of rumours or unofficial reports of your commander, the Avatar of Ifrit being missing for days. Rest assured. Appropriate investigations would be carried out before we pass any judgement. In replacement of your commander, I will be taking over his role and of Red Hurricane''s too," King Hamu said with a voice being amplified by magic. When he officially announced him taking over, there were disgruntled whispers in the crowd before the respective orc leaders on the ground demanded silence from their troops. "Yes, I will be the interim commander for both the Fire Orc Army and remaining of the Wind Orc Army which would be arriving shortly." The King spoke as he unleashed his Shaitan powers in front of the Fire Orcs to see. The only language orcs ever knew was Power. That was why when a giant silhouette of Diabolos appeared right above King Hamu''s shoulders with his six wings all spread out, the Fire Orc Army went entirely mute. Not just that, a slight faint silhouette of Garuda also appeared underneath the wings of Diabolos too and everyone who was at the base realised that their King was blessed with the powers of two Shaitan Nobles. A feat no Orc had ever done before nor heard before. Yet they did not know that was the ability of Diabolos, the Shaitan Messenger. As long King Hamu had absorbed the powers of other Shaitan Nobles once, Diabolos would be able to replicate an extent of the absorbed powers. "Hmmph! Ayse''s suggestion was right after all. By absorbing Red Hurricane Shaitan''s powers, I imposed a stronger aura than ever before." King Hamu nearly had a grin escaping his expressionless face as he continued to talk to the masses. "I understand some might be unsatisfied with the current arrangement but because of the commencement of our most complex operation in our entire Orc history, the Red Moon Operation, there can be no room for mistakes. We must improvise if we need to. Else, weeks or even months of training and preparation would be for nought." King Hamu said. "This operation would determine not just the fate of our kingdom, but to show those inferior beings a lesson they would never forget. A mark of history that would be ingrained deeply into their books and race forever!" Hamu said in such a deathly tone that every orc felt something was choking their necks and it was not going away anytime soon. Even Ayse who was behind the scenes had that particular sensation and realised that it was the doing of Diabolos under the influence of the ascension of the Red Moon. Yellow Ice was able to withstand the ''suffocation'' because he had the protection of Shiva with him. This particular move which King Hamu did, reinforced Yellow Ice''s motivations to kill the king even if it felt like a lost cause. Nevertheless, Yellow Ice was a cynic as he kept thinking when would be the most optimal to attack him. Perhaps when Sol, the Goblin King managed to weakened Hamu? "Hahaha, but that''s the best case scenario. There is no way fate would be that kind to a betrayer¡­" Yellow Ice thought to himself as he checked on Cross which he had hid within his shadows, a unique magical skill Yellow Ice taught Cross considering he was the previously the Royal Spymaster. The portals finally turned blue, just right before the full peak of the Red Moon. The Orc King smiled as he had waited for this moment for a very long time. All these desires for power went way back when Hamu remembered how he overheard that his insane father was going to sacrifice him in order to retrieve a fragment of Diabolos. It prompted Hamu to kill his own father to achieve a similar result but instead of a fragment of Diabolos, he received the acknowledgement of Diabolos. At that moment, he realised he was going to achieve greatness. With the aid of Colonel Ayse, he managed to find the lost tech island because of the prophecy given by Diabolos and that was when the gears of war started all over again. "Charge." The King gave just one single order which made the entire Fire Orc fire army to move instantly. The suffocation the orcs suffered was not only a show of power but a command leash to make sure no one would have the idea of abandoning this twisted cause of his. Ayse had an inkling what it was as she had the sensation to move too, but she was able to resist the command of King Hamu. She later figured that its powers were incomparable to the ''leash'' the System had placed her in. King Hamu, on the other hand, was quite surprised that Yellow Ice, Ayse and Oku were still sane despite the command leash spell he had placed on all the orcs and humanoid slaves. "Yellow Ice, I had nothing to say to you but for the other two? " King Hamu said with a tinge of sarcasm which Oku replied he was able to resist because of his absolute duty was to protect the King. "I am probably too occupied with other things to be commanded especially when my slaves are all gone now." Ayse casually gave an excuse and pretended to take a look at the machines that were operating before she had her back turned towards King Hamu and smiled. The attachment she previously asked the humanoids slave researchers to placed on the power generators was not any simple device. It was something created by the System after it had analysed the lost tech artefacts thoroughly. The System had disguised the unique attachment into a portal enhancer while hiding the actual functions of the device. Its primary purpose was to decrypt the real coordinates of the lost portals artefacts and masked them. Even though it was attached to the power generator, the attachment was able to transmit its signal and adjust the linking device accordingly. Since they were slaves, the humanoids operating the linking device and power generator were fearful for their lives and would do what it takes to prevent any mishaps from happening. Hence, they took great pains to sift through the many lost tech artefacts given to the orc raiders. When the linking device displayed a different coordinate that was not close to the actual coordinates of the capital, the slave researchers would ignore those lost tech portal artefacts. But what if all the lost artefacts were to show foreign coordinates? They would then have to report to their higher ups including Ayse in consideration for Plan B which was a mass transportation spell. Initially, if such an incident were to occur and it would, mainly because the lost tech artefacts were already transported to the Volcano Island for Operation Pompeii by Jin and his monsters, Ayse wanted to resolve it by herself and did not want any help. However, Jin felt that it would still be too dangerous since it might lead to further suspicions. If there were factors that were within their abilities to control, they would do their best to achieve so that their operation would have a lesser possibility of any hiccups. Hence, with the System''s attachment, all the lost artefacts ''properly'' indicated the coordinates were close to the Goblin capital in the linking device. There was no reason for the humanoid slaves to suspect any foul play since they were probably the only ones aside from Ayse who could decipher them. However, with the Diabolo''s command leash, those humanoid slaves had already blindly proceeded into the battlefield without the ability to properly verify the coordinates. This was a lucky break for Ayse while she continued to pretend to observe the readings on the linking device to ensure everything was working as per ''usual''. Seeing how Ayse was handling the portal device with ease, King Hamu sighed a breath of relief. He did not expect the command leash''s spell to be widespread and affected the humanoid slaves too. His only possible explanation was the power he obtained from the ascension of the Red Moon. Even by just standing at the podium, he could already feel power seeping into him as the Red Moon glowed brightly. Hence, he decided to have a seat at the makeshift throne that was prepared on the podium for him while he casually enjoyed examining his orcs obediently marching forward into the portals. "We shall capture the Goblin Capital and make King Sol bleed." King Hamu thought to himself but then Diabolos softly whispered him a reminder. "Do not forget that King Sol is mine to partake." Diabolos said in a deep voice which King Hamu sneered a little before remembering the bargain he did with Diabolos. He could only agree with a nod since he was still at the mercy of Diabolos. But deep under, he was also hatching a plan to overturn the Diabolos in him and obtain the power of light for himself. "This world would eventually be mine to conquer." King Hamu disillusioned himself once more while he bided his time to enter the Goblin Capital. Chapter 359 Operation Pompeii Under the influence of the command leash, the Fire Orcs stormed through the portals and into the capital city of the Gob Gob Kingdom. While they expected little resistance due to the constant curfew the city was under, the streets were completely empty. Not even a guard was around to entertain them. The Fire Orcs leaders were initially at a loss but they maintained their composure and proceeded to split up to hit their real targets. The Ministry Offices and the Gob Gob Castle. While slightly unreliable, the groups were dispatched depending on the placement of artefacts. Some of the portals were even placed in the sewers, abandoned houses, alleys while others were in the open squares of the capital or even roofs of certain buildings. There were some unforeseen incidents due to the placement of the artefacts but most of the Fire Orcs were able to arrive safely to the capital. A part of the Fire Orcs was assigned cleaning up duty. They would enter the civilians'' houses one by one, room to room and slaughter any goblins they saw. However, the more they searched the capital, they more uneasy the orcs began to feel. Before the war there had been some orcs who had been to the goblin''s capital for either business, as part of a military guard or merely because of personal reasons, so there was no doubt that they had teleported correctly to the city. However, the places were so void of life that it did not resemble the signs of the busy capital they had experienced. Even in a time of war, it was eerily quiet and unnatural. In the meantime, the humanoid slave researchers who had unexpectedly got mixed in and entered the portal under the influence of the command leash spell slowly realised what they had done. Confused, they looked at each other and quickly copied the Orcs by pretending to look around for goblins. For now, all they hoped was to find a place to hide from both sides and waited for everything to blow over. They believed the goblins would assume them as the invaders and retaliate against them, but the Orcs would not tolerate their cowardice, not caring for their lack of combat training. After one of the Orc groups raided a tavern to find only music been played in the background without any goblins in sight, not even the bartender, they could only confirm that something was up. A ghost town was currently the most appropriate term to describe the entire scene. The Fire Orc Squad Leaders relayed their findings back to their higher ups, who eventually forwarded it to Colonel Ayse. Without the humanoid researchers, she was the only one to pick up their messages and Colonel Ayse promptly took the opportunity to inform Orc King Hamu that a massive battle had ensued in the capital. The goblins were naturally taken by surprise and the orcs were progressing well. Sitting on his throne, King Hamu restlessly shook his legs due to a mixture of both boredom and anxiety. He understood that he would need to accumulate his powers to follow the operation plans but he was itching for battle the longer he sat on his throne. According to their plans, when the Fire Orc leaders secured a portion of the capital, a unit would be responsible for setting up the same lost tech portal artefact that had teleported them to the capital. The only difference was that the portal size would be ten times larger than the regular ones so that Wind Orcs'' Airships would be able to go through. They were confident that with the size of the portals that they saw initially (courtesy of Colonel Ayse''s portal enhancer), the Wind Orc Air Force which had just arrived, would be able to enter quickly to reinforce and decimate whatever resistance that was left in the place. "Proceed with Phase Three as soon as possible. Crush them with our burning might." King Hamu ordered Colonel Ayse to relay that order to the Fire Orc Leaders in the field. At that moment, Right Hand Oku wished to stop the King from being too rash. His instincts were telling him that something was not right, but he realised it was too late. He knew that Hamu would not listen without any definitive proof, but even then his expression said it all. "As you command, Your Majesty." Ayse bowed once and sent down the details for the Fire Orc leaders to commence with Phase Three of the Red Moon Operation. The leaders naturally were confused and demanded verification. Without their Commander Green Fire around and this strange situation they were hesitant, yet Colonel Ayse simply noted that it was the interim commander''s orders so they unwillingly obeyed. The portal was set up in no time. At the same time, some of the Fire Orcs had been ordered to find the entrance of the fort walls surrounding the capital to verify the situation. They knew that just beyond the walls, there were supposed to be some outlying towns and perhaps the goblins had gotten wind of the portals and evacuated the area. However, the warriors were unable to find a stairway or an opening that could enter the fort walls. They instead asked for assistance from the Fire Orc mages. The Fire Orc mages cast ''Levitation'' and ''High Jump'' on the orc warriors in order for them to overlook the walls. Similar to the capital that they were in, the towns were still there and some of the buildings had their lights on. Yet in a glance, they could see that it was just as empty as the capital. The warriors slowly levitated down to give their report. What they did not know was that the sight was an illusion created by Kraft and they would have known the truth if they attempt to exit out of the fort walls. Simultaneously, the Ministry Office appeared deserted after they kicked the doors into the main hall, but the Fire Orc leaders took no chance and decided to search through the building thoroughly. "If they evacuated, they must have left in a hurry. Look at everything and see if there is any evidence left about their whereabouts. Their plans or whatsoever!" One of the Fire Orc leaders ordered as he called for more troops to search the place. Again, the result was disappointing. After a while, they found one place that did seem to be inhabited. Guarded by a heavy duty magical barrier was the Gob Gob Castle. The Fire Orc leader who reached there immediately reported it via their secured magical channel and they deduced someone managed to leak the Red Moon operations plans to the goblins who conducted a mass evacuation. A huge smile appeared on their faces, relieved that the rats seemed to have simply hidden in their giant rathole. This would make things easy for them. "Tell all our troops to gather there to assist the teams at the castle and ministry office. Get those orc mages to cast siege breaker spells. Use the Tin Cans if needed. A number of them are equipped with laser projectiles that should significantly harm the barriers." Ayse commanded in a hurried tone as a show for King Hamu to overhear. The news did put a smile on him as he watched the colossal portal appearing in front of the Wind Orc Air Force as the situation in the capital developed. King Hamu stood up and released a silhouette of Diabolos to perform the very same ritual he had done to the Fire Orc army. Once that was done, he oversaw the Wind Orc Air Force frenziedly entered the portal. When the Wind Orc Air Force entered the skies above the Gob Gob Capital, they noticed something unusual. Their altitude meter readings were abnormal. It was a drastic change from the readings they had before they were teleported. Most of the Orc navigators assumed it was due to the portal spell since such an occurrence happened before during their test runs. A number of their sensitive equipment went haywired from the portal jumps and even though they tried to insulate and improve them, the sensitive equipment was bound to have a few mishaps. Nevertheless, this was the time for action and not speculations. The airship carriers immediately proceeded towards the Gob Gob Castle. From afar they saw the goblins'' magic barrier flashing as a result of the onslaught of their comrades'' attack. As there was no retaliation fire, the Orcs took their time to prepare the necessary siege weapons to fire all at once¡­until they saw a little masked humanoid girl coming out of the castle roof and standing on the edge of a parapet. "The Air force has arrived. Shall we start our dance or should we wait for the big boss?" Peppers asked while she walked and tried to maintain her balance along the parapet. "Yea, let''s start the show. Ayse already gave some juicy commentary on how the Orcs were valiantly killed. If the Orc King enters the portal and finds out he was being lied to, he might become suspicious. Let''s not disappoint his expectations." Kraft answered her question as Jin smirked while he finished gearing himself up in the Dungeon Maker. Peppers acknowledged the command and pointed her staff upwards. It glowed momentarily before shooting out a firework out of the sky with the Full Red Moon in the background. (A rather beautiful side if one ignored what came next.) The orcs were momentarily distracted by the large firework and assumed it was a desperate signal for help. But to Jin''s monsters and companions, this was the sign for the commencement of Operation Pompeii. Foul rotten hands forcefully popped up from the ground all around the capital and subsequently their heads and bodies. The various zombies under the command of Half Ghoul Lord Derek had laid the perfect trap by inserting themselves right under the ground before the portals had appeared. They utilised the element of surprise fully when Peppers distracted most of the Orcs with the firework. The rotten hands grabbed onto the orc''s legs and some of the zombies did not hesitate to bite them. The zombies infected the surprised orcs with poison with their bites or discharged elemental damage by some of the more powerful zombies that were enchanted by the enhancement card, Elementary Element Roulette, manned by Jin via the Tact Tweaker. The Orcs panicked and tried to kill the zombies, but for every zombie killed, three more arose from the ground to replace their comrade. In the same time, a loud and deafening explosion was heard from the Ministry Office. Some of the orcs could even feel the shockwave from afar, stunning them further and giving the zombies more opportunity to kill their enemies. "Building Demolished." Hou Fei grinned when he overlooked the intensified explosion that happened at the Ministry Office. The building was not just burning, it had already fallen to pieces due to its weak infrastructure. This was because the building was only a cheap prefab model of the real Ministry Office. And since it was a prefab, Hou Fei had already sneaked in a number of C4 explosives within the fake walls, making it extremely satisfying to see his work up in flames. "6/10. It''s too controlled but the timing was great, so I shall elevate it to a 6.5 ." Peppers commented in their very own secured channel via the System as she came down from the parapet and walked towards the middle of the roof garden. Everything was ready as Peppers placed her staff at the centre of the ritual circle and began to pump transmit magical powers via the circle into the volcano, priming it to erupt. "Heh, you better give us a spectacular one. All of us will be rating the eruption." Hou Fei retorted as he grabbed his tablet. The System already noted the buildings Hou Fei had rigged in the capital while giving him a live update of the number of orcs still left within the buildings. As soon as enough Orcs were inside the blast area, he would proceed to blow them up. At the same time, Zeru, Milk and Lynn were already on the move against the three newly arrived airship carriers. As bellators carrying the title of a One Man Army, Zeru and Milk in her Monk outfit entered individual airship carriers to clean the ship crew up by themselves. To motivate themselves they had made a friendly bet and were also competing on how many they could clear within a minute. "66, 67¡­ time is almost up. 73¡­74," Zeru said as his wooden sword sliced down most of the Orcs with style. Many had their necks fractured, ribs broken or skull smashed too. The Wind Orcs were unprepared for the sudden ambush right within their own cabins. His high speed manoeuvres gave him the illusion of air steps as he used the tight corridors to perform jumps, skips and even speed running via the ceiling to past through the bulky orcs he killed along with the cabins. If there were any door that was blocking his way, all he had to do was to cut it up with his technique. "56, 59¡­NOT FAIR! You went in by the control hub first!" Milk complained as she threw a kick that did not just knock the heavy metal door down but also proceeded to kill an unlucky orc. Her fist blows were as lethal as Zeru''s wooden sword. Sufficient enough to crack the Orc''s skull or ribs. Yet unlike Zeru, Milk entered the engine room through the backdoor according to the blueprint provided by Ayse herself a few days back. Both of the warriors had studied them carefully before inserting themselves into the airship carriers. They needed the carriers to be struck down as quickly as possible since Jin did not really have any flying monsters that could rival these flying metal machines. (He did make a mental note to search for good flying monsters if possible in the Farming World when it was his turn to invade.) Jin was afraid that if the airship carriers had sufficient time to prepare after teleportation, they would have been manning multiple lethal turrets covering both air and land defence simultaneously which could potentially disrupt the flow of success for Jin and his monsters. Therefore, Milk aimed for the engine room first as she ''God Punch''-ed the engine before she dashed to the other rooms crushing any resistance she encountered. The engine malfunctioned from Milk''s attack and it was sufficient overload the other generators along with the main engine. So despite the lack of kills on her side, Milk was technically the first to bring down an airship carrier. Unlike the two bellators, Lynn was accompanied by her ninja penguins who skillfully entered through ventilators and air ducts while she similar to Zeru, started her killing spree via the control hub. "Kill the ones who are the brains of the ship and the entire ''eco system'' can be brought down in a jiffy." Lynn thought to herself as she cut down the few orc navigators and their ship crew before she faced off against the airship''s captain. The three ninja penguins that accompanied her via the control hub took the initiative to attack the Wind Orc Captain but he was no pushover. (Unfortunately for Zeru, the moment he performed one of his technique, his Wind Orc Captain was cut into pieces before he could even touch Zeru.) The Wind Orc Captain took out a lost tech laser pistol and started to shoot at Lynn who had the instinct to move away immediately. But because the Wind Orc Captain ignored the penguins, thinking they were less of a threat, he was chained up by the three penguins immediately after shooting Lynn. The ninja penguins had their daggers attached to a chain, so they impaled him before wrapping the chains around him. Their knives were further coated with a numbing concoction which caused the Wind Orc Captain to lose his strength momentarily. That gave Lynn the opportunity to strike the killing blow at his nape. "Good job Peggies." Lynn gave a high five to each of the penguins and proceeded to find the engine room which was designated as the meeting points for the other penguins too. With the destruction of Wind Orc Air Force at hand, Colonel Ayse twisted the Orc Leaders'' word on the frontlines to King Hamu, finally allowing him to carry out Phase 4 of the Orc''s Red Moon Operation. The Arrival of Orc King Hamu into the battlefield. Chapter 360 Extra - An Unlikely Alliance "My Lord, where are you going?" Cross asked Yellow Ice. The Avatar of Shiva was ordered to rest and remain on standby with just one day to the Red Moon Operation. Purple Thunder had already abandoned his post yet Orc King Hamu had decided not take any action against him. It would only compromise their mission to try and punish him now. In the best scenario, the Avatar of Syldra would help the Thunder Army finish off those pesky humanoids. And if he did¡­ he could always be punished afterwards. If he was unable to¡­ well then the goblins and humanoids would have at least taken care of the intended punishment. "Our operation does not allow us to delay it. He will be judged in front of the collective will of the Shaitans who will decide whether he lives or dies for betraying the King." Oku preciously reported to the respective agencies responsible for handling the operation logistics and informed them not to send any more additional help to the Thunder Orc Army. "Cross, stay and observe the situation in the capital. My predictions were correct as my magical charms have picked up a village that''s being burnt by Green Fire. I want to have a talk with him before he escapes our sight again." Yellow Ice instructed Cross. Surprisingly the normally loyal goblin disobeyed his direct order and told Yellow Ice to follow him instead. "If you simply rush out of the castle like this, you will be spotted and Oku will be immediately notified. I can show you a route that is barely used at this time." Cross armed himself with his trusty crossbow and lead Yellow Ice out of the capital. Once away from the prying eyes of the guards, Yellow Ice used his magic to summon a boar out of ice and used it to travel to the burning village. However, when he reached there¡­ The village had already been burnt down to ashes. It was devoid of life. Nevertheless, Yellow Ice decided to take a look at the surrounding and check which direction Green Fire might have escaped to. Suddenly Cross took out his crossbow and warned his Lord. "Five. Six¡­at least eight nearby hiding their presence!" "Heh, you are too na?ve, Cross. There are ten. The first six were the only ones showing their presence to hide the presence of the other four. The next two pretended to slip up, so that it would appear, that we have noticed the hidden threats. This should allow the last two to remain hidden. Unless I am mistaken, it should be Dagger General Igni! Why not show yourself? I''d love to welcome our foreign guests!" Yellow Ice exclaimed loudly before addressing the presences. They could hardly be blamed for the former Spy Master managed to see through their efforts. Upon hearing that the enemy had discovered all ten without taking any action to directly confront them, Dagger General Igni decided to take the gamble. "It''s rare for one of you Avatars to come practically alone and unarmed¡­" Igni commented as he came out of the bushes. "It''s even rarer for you to step into our land at all, Igni. Usually we used to meet in the human''s territory." Yellow Ice replied as he came down from the Ice Boar and extended his hands to shake with Ignis. It had been quite a while the two spymasters had met. "So I presume Green Fire is dead." Yellow Ice sighed as he asked Cross to unload his crossbow as a sign of goodwill. (Only the crossbow, it did not mean he would not be able to retaliate back in other ways.) "Indeed Green Fire has been killed, but the Avatar of Ifrit still lives on. In fact, Ifrit now has blessed us with a ''descendant''." Igni said as he called Flame Ripper to come out from beneath the charred ruins of the village. Being an Avatar himself, Yellow Ice quickly recognised the aura surrounding Flame Ripper and confirmed that he was indeed an Avatar of Ifrit. Though his aura did feel different. He was unsure if this was because it was the very first time a goblin has become an Avatar or if it had something to do why he had been called a ''Descendant''? That was for him to find out during their barter of information. "So the goblins have finally obtained an Avatar of a Shaitan Noble and it''s your child no less. Congratulations to you, Igni." Yellow Ice still remembered the faces of every important goblin. The slight proud look from the Dagger General had also not escaped the notice of Yellow Ice. "Cross?" Flame Ripper vaguely recognised the goblin beside Yellow Ice and called out to him. Even with the changes to his outward appearances, he too was able to identify the other almost immediately. "So you do remember me. I am ¡­somewhat honoured." Cross bowed a little as a sign of courtesy to the new Avatar of Ifrit. "How could I forget you? You were one of us, fighting so desperately together before we got separated. We even set goals together to change the system. Don''t you remember?" Flame Ripper replied with a bit of melancholy in his tone. "But after all I did¡­" Cross thought to himself as he gripped on his crossbow. "Oh, your allegiance with the orcs? The three of us had kinda figured out about it. Remember the one time when the drill sergeant conducted those surprise drill and made some of us take laps in the middle of the night? While you were away we found one of the letters and thought it was a love letter, so we read it, wanting to tease you with it. Even when we learned your identities, the ideals we talked together were genuine and wholly believed that you would change. If you ever needed help back then, we would gladly accommodate you." Flame Ripper said and Cross suddenly felt disconcerted. "You remembered all those¡­trash- that idealistic bull crap that we spouted about goblins, orcs and humans living in harmony and working together?" Cross asked in a fit and Flame Ripper nodded his head. "It is in the works, believe it or not. Despite what is currently happening in our world, my existence here is proof that change can happen. Trust me!" Flame Ripper unclenched his fist and a ball of red hot fire burned brightly. Yellow Ice immediately understood the significance behind this action. As an Avatar of a Shaitan Noble their existence was special and they were venerated by others. However everyone of them was only too aware of the price they would have to pay for it. Though they were granted immense powers it also destined them to become the sweet juicy sacrifice for their patron to feast on. The abilities the Avatars obtained were usually not even the purest form of the Shaitan''s powers. Therefore his Ice was yellowish in colour instead of pure white or blue, Purple Thunder''s powers were dark purple rather than whitish blue whereas Red Hurricane had a slight red energy to his wind rather than a greenish transparent colour. Similarly Green Fire''s fire had been green unlike the pure red hot Flame Ripper was holding on to. There were times they might be able to unleash the pure powers, but that also indicated that the Avatars were desperate and sacrificed part of their souls in exchange to use them. Yet Flame Ripper was able to wield it so casually. This only confirmed it, that being a ''descendant'' seemed to be something unique and a superior form to himself as an Avatar. "Just look at me. Has there ever been a case in which a non-orc has become an Avatar? So if someone like me can become an Avatar of Ifrit, we can change other things too. Our ideas might have been idealistic but they were definitely not trash at all. My master can make it come true." Flame Ripper spoke with conviction and at that point, Cross felt that there was finally a glimmer of light in the darkness he had been living. "Reunion aside, I believe your purpose here is to assassinate the King. If so you should finish it by tonight otherwise would will leaving for the Fire Orc''s base." Yellow Ice shared his piece of information while he tilted his head to relieve his stiff neck. Whether they believed him or not was for them to decide. "That will not be necessary. We are actually the backup plan if things do not proceed smoothly and the Orc King decides to retreat back to the castle." Dagger General Igni stated bluntly as he bent his knees a bit to move them. This surprised the entire team of assassins. Revealing such vital information to the enemy? What was the General thinking? Or was he trying to use the real information as a bluff? "I see. So, we are in business?" Yellow Ice asked as he pulled out a coin from his pouch. Cross noticed that the coin had a goblin picture with two small diamonds in the place the eyes were supposed to be. "Very much. How are you going to do this?" Respetively Igni took out a coin from his pouch. It was similar in appearance, but instead it had an orc with two small ruby eyes on it. They both exchanged the coins and Yellow Ice began to mount his ice boar. "Alone¡­well maybe with this guy with me." Yellow Ice answered and beckoned for Cross to enter his shadow once again. "I shall forward the necessary information to you," Igni said as he too started to order the assassins to disperse. As Yellow Ice rode back, Cross was naturally curious what this was about. "We have made a temporary alliance with the Goblins. The ones you have to kill have now become the ones you have to protect." Yellow Ice explained as he hastened the ice boar. Cross remained quiet for now as he reminisced the days of the past and wondered what made Ripcaller must have encountered to turn so brave in the present. "So those movements were simply signals?" Flame Ripper asked as they teleported to another waypoint. Igni did not say much until they teleported to another safer place. "Let''s just say the history between Yellow Ice and I isn''t so simple¡­we actually go way back. There will be time for you to learn about it later, after we survive the ordeal." Igni answered as he took the goblin coin out and asked Flame Ripper to light a small flame up. Meanwhile, he started to scribble some things on a piece of paper and held the coin above the flame. Igni then placed the parchment on the coin. There was a weird ghastly aura that was emanated out of the coin before one of the diamonds turned black and seemingly consumed the item above it. "He will receive the information. Alright, let''s get moving. The sun is coming up." Igni said as they proceed to hit another supplies base before dawn break. Separately, Yellow Ice utilised Cross''s entry and returned to the office with no suspicion¡­ or so he thought. The Investigation team that day was secretly lead by Oku. The warrior had been blessed with Shaitan powers, a secret only known by him and King Hamu who made the pact with him. He noticed that there were two different Shaitan powers in the vicinity and a quick verification from Diabolos made him perceive that those belonged to Green Fire and Yellow Ice. Not receiving any report from the latter he could only assume that they conspired together against the throne. Oku figured there were rats scouring around the King and he had expected it to be either the returned Ayse or the Avatars. "You might not appreciate it, Your Majesty, but I will do whatever is needed to protect you. No rats shall be allowed to live after tomorrow!" Chapter 361 The Arrival of King Hamu The Orcs were perplexed by the sudden onslaught of monsters. Instead of goblins, they were suddenly defending against a surprise ambush of undead rising from the ground. Moreover, this was just the beginning as Jin had made it a free for all for his monsters to attack. (Some joked that there was hidden competition to see which monster or group of monsters could get the most kills and the System would reward them.) At the same time, the werejackals and werecats had taken the fight to the orcs who were still in the sewers. Their speed and occasional spell casting made short work of the brutish orcs. Minotaurs of various classes, the Fanatics, Maids and Cowboys clashed head on with the Fire Orcs warriors in the open city squares who welcomed the challenge. Jin had yet to introduce them formally into any dungeons so this fight was a great opportunity for them to exercise out all the frustrations they had for some time. The emergence of reinforcement also provided some breather for the zombies. Half Ghoul Lord Derek also summoned his latest creation onto the battlefield. The Orc abominations, or as he liked to call them ''Zomorks''. Unfortunately, Jin was unhappy with the rebranding of the entire class of orc zombie abominations although his suggestion to refer to them as ''Orc Zombs'' was just as bad. In any case, the Zomorks/Orc Zombs were truly frightening for the orcs to battle. As they were made from various parts of orcs, Half Ghoul Derek purposely strengthened their muscles by at least two fold by combining it with the tissue samples from other races. To the normal Orc Warriors, this alone would prove to be a challenge. However, that was not the end. Because there was nothing to limiting Half Ghoul Lord Derek to the normal anatomy of their original race, Half Ghoul Derek experimented by introducing many styles. Three armed, Four armed, Six Legged, Two Head, Double Full Upper (Both front and back) and many other variations which made the bravest of orcs shook in fear when they encountered such abominations. "At this rate, Half Ghoul Derek could potentially turn out to be as crazy as Ayse. Maybe we should limit his creativity a bit, or at least make sure he does not overdo it." Jin overlooked the battlefield and also got some shivers looking at the Orc Zombs as he asked Kraft to help tighten his flexible body armour a little. Kraft gladly helped as he was the one that pointed out that Jin had to go into battle in style. Since he represented the ''masked humanoids'' side, he would have to work on his image and do more than the usual shirt and pants he always had been wearing. Jin reluctantly agreed although truth be told, it was more because it was King Hamu they were going to be dealing with and being a mere Grade 7, Jin was starting to have doubts if he was ready to face him. The more armour he got on him, the safer he started to feel. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Therefore he had purposely created Another Jin tasking him to spend his time researching right combinations of inscriptions to be used for the operation ahead. When Qiu Yue heard about it, she could not help but decided to chip in. "I believe he''d like this shirt!" Qiu Yue said when picking up one of the only grey shirts from of the whole selection. "Nah, the cutting on the shoulders would make it a bit hard to move during battle. I did try it." Another Jin said as he dismissed the shirt he chose. "But Jin will like the design!" Qiu Yue replied back with a pout on her face which Another Jin could not deny. For her own sanity, she treated Another Jin as an entirely different person even though Another Jin and Jin were technically the same person altogether. Another Jin could not resist her cuteness but at the same time laughed bitterly when she said that. "Sure, he would like the design. After all, I also really do like the design. Nevertheless, it is no good in battle!" Another Jin tried to make Qiu Yue see the fact that they were the same person but she was not making any effort to correct it. "Then let''s simply adjust it. Your adorable Red Pandas can do that, right?" The moment Qiu Yue mentioned ''red pandas'' they came scurrying and surrounded her. It appeared they liked to be around Qiu Yue instinctively. "Yes, we shall rework it so that it will be practical, comfortable while still to your liking too." Red Panda licked their paws as it looked at Another Jin which he reluctantly nodded his head and followed the Red Panda into the fitting room. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "I would not worry about that. There''s a fine line between genius and insanity. Also, if Derek really became as insane as Ayse, you would still have a potentially brilliant head researcher for Qiu Yue¡­ there is no need for you to worry. My foxes will periodically oversee the experiments and they would inform me about any changes in his mentality. That is if I bother to reply you back, heh." Kraft teased Jin at first, but noticing the other''s nervousness he quickly joked about it. Jin''s body armour was finally adjusted to his comfort and the temporary inscriptions were in place which he thanked Kraft for his help. But without Jin noticing, Kraft had sneakily placed a bullet of his between the straps of the body armour. "Take care of this little guy, he is interesting and responsible enough to be our master." Kraft sent his thought to the bullet as he patted Jin''s shoulder to confirm that he was done. Jin later wore the grey shirt Qiu Yue selected for him over the armour which fitted really nicely mainly because the shirt was large enough to vest like armour. (And it did make Jin more manly than scrawny.) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Meanwhile, the firefight at the Gob Gob castle became increasingly intense when the Orc''s Mechanised Walkers or aptly named Tin Cans came into the picture. But unlike the Northern Diversion where they have the Sandroku Golems to defend against the Tin Cans, there was none here. Hence, Jin had finally released something which he kept for hidden for a long period of time. He finally felt it was the proper time to use them. The Robotic Arachnid and its robot crawlers. It was initially under the possession of Duke Wolte, but the lazy slug decided to seat this battle out. After his core had been taken away by the System to power up the shield barrier in the Dungeon City Fortress, he argued that unless Jin provided him with another suitable method to power up, he would not assist in any fight. Jin did not particularly care much since he did not have that much information on him in the first place. In addition, Lord Moloch recommended the same to Jin. It was no use patronising Duke Wolte. Had he not turned into a slug, he would be quite the powerhouse, but currently there was no time to search for a way around that. However, even in his feeble form, his military advice proved to be very useful. He was more than happy providing his expertise during the construction of the fort walls of the Western Coastal town of Gob Gob Si after Moloch had ''convinced'' him. (Technically he was just bored, and was starting to feel bad for not doing too much) "Well, at the very least he is also contributing in some way in the Shaolin Instance, helping to provide some deadpan comedy relief for the cultivators," Jin mentioned to Lord Moloch after he talked with Lord Wolte. Besides, what better way to kill a Tin can then with another robot class? The Robotic Arachnid appeared out the muddy moats of the castle when the Fire Orcs were happily dishing out their projectiles against the dense magical barrier protecting the castle. The orcs were initially shocked when the legs of the Robotic Arachnid crept out like tentacles right in front of them. The horrid mass of metal spikes immediately pierced some of the Tin Cans that were at the main gates of the castle and started absorbing its power source. They started to became immobile the longer the spike stuck onto them. It then proceeded to emerge out of the water to show its true form to the Fire Orcs. To further their shock, it immediately opened its belly and the same robot crawlers that had plagued Jin and his monsters were harassing the orcs. With the System providing them with a better supply of power than the half broken dungeon core, the robot crawlers turned even deadlier than before. Their speed could not be outmatched by these ''slow'' moving orcs so they aimed for the siege weapons first. In addition, the System had enhanced the Arachnid and her crawlers with the latest batch of metal which had a specification slightly inferior to the metal that was used for the M4 Sherman Tank. (They had to earn their keep to get better metal composition and this battle was one way to do so.) The blades on their claws were able to pierce most of the orc''s armour easily and the power up also included the ability to shoot laser projectiles too, although the strength of the lasers could definitely be improved. In less than five minutes, they had destroyed the joints of the siege weapons, rendering most of them useless. The Orcs that were trained to kill humans and goblins, were not skilful enough to destroy these crawlers and suffered considerable losses. However, that was all about to change when Orc King Hamu entered the capital via the same portal which the Wind Orc Air Force utilised. Unfortunately, his welcome was not as grand as it should have been when an airship carrier was crashing towards the location he was being teleported to. King Hamu smiled as he finally had something to unleash his stored powers at. With a raise of his hand, A silhouette of Diabolos'' hand appeared, stopping the burning airship carrier crashing towards Hamu. All he needed was a squeeze of his palm and suddenly a black orb of energy enveloped the entire airship carrier, devouring it in a matter of seconds. The black orb of energy turned into a spear like projectile with a twist of his finger and soon, dark red magical energy with green wind energy was seen spiralling around the projectile. No doubt, it was aimed at the dense barrier that had so far reflected and absorbed every single siege attack the Orcs had thrown at it. "BANG!" Hou Fei''s surprise sniper shot still echoed in King Hamu''s ears as he felt the projectile biting into him, squeezing his flesh from the inside. However, the power of Garuda on his armour aided him and automatically pulled the bullet out without him having to move a muscle. He observed that piece of metal that pierced him and commanded the Winds of Garuda to crush the shell into dust. Despite the slight bleeding, King Hamu was able to quickly recover thanks to his powers peaking during the red moon. In spite of that, he was annoyed that someone was honourless enough to target him when he was preoccupied. King Hamu conjured a spear out of energy and looked towards Hou Fei after Diabolos pointed to him where it came from. Hou Fei did not flinch and instead shamelessly shot another bullet at him again. "Insolent!" King Hamu shouted as he threw the energised spear projectile at Hou Fei without any regards to the orcs that found the whereabouts of the shot and rushed to engage the enemy. "Any time now System!!!" Hou Fei yelled as he fired one final shot towards King Hamu before the System created a portal on the floor, allowing gravity to do the work. Hou Fei freefall into the Dungeon Maker and sadly no one was there to catch him. Thankfully, his body still remembered the training from his youth. Hou Fei automatically curled up while holding his beloved rifle as he slammed on the floor. (Separately, the building he was on exploded from the energised spear attack and took the surrounding few blocks out too, eliminating dozens of orcs and some of Jin''s monsters with it.) "Oof! You could have given me a better landing spot." Hou Fei groaned with pain as he slowly got up. "I am not as young as I was, to suffer this kind of shit." Hou Fei exhaled loudly from the pain while using his rifle as a support to stand up. He then gave an ''okay'' sign to Jin which made the both grinned widely. Out of the three bullets that Hou Fei shot, two managed to hit King Hamu. The first was at his chest area and the other was his left shoulder which King Hamu did not evade as the energised spear projectile blocked his peripheral vision. Naturally, King Hamu cursed as the winds of Garuda took the bullet out of his left shoulder again but he did not know that the shots that fired were not just simple copper bullets filled with gunpowder. Those bullets were specially made by Hou Fei whose clan was well known for their research on poisons. How well would it work on a being belonging to a different race? Only time could tell. Still, he believed it should worked well enough. As this should be the first time the Orc King encountered this kind of weapon projectile which moved faster than an arrow but slower than the laser projectiles, the group would believe he would ignore the wound he received. Besides, Hamu would not be expecting it since he had the winds of Garuda imbued into his armour but this shot could only be prepared and factored into the operation because Ayse leaked the news about the demise of Red Hurricane. (Kraft really did a good job getting all the information he could get, in a rather friendly way, since she was already cooperative.) If not for their ample preparations, the shots would not have been able to counter the winds of Garuda. Starting to get a little suspicious about the extent of Garuda''s powers, King Hamu decided to deal with the high level magical barrier up close instead of remaining a possible stationary target for other goblins or humanoids to attack him. Unlike the newly acquired powers of the Shaitan Noble of Wind, the powers granted to him by Diabolos have already become a part of him and he trusted them wholeheartedly. Alas, that itself was another trap waiting to be sprung by Jin and the others. The moment Orc King Hamu got close enough to the magical barrier, the barrier instantly disappeared and transferred itself to surround Orc King Hamu, trapping him within the dense magical barrier. Peppers who was channelling her magic into the ritual, was smiling at herself as it happened and felt that the orcs were simply too predictable. (No, Peppers, you are just too sly.) The moment King Hamu became a stationary target in the air yet again, he noticed a line of weird looking animal or perhaps bizarre looking monsters on the roof parapet, looking at him as if they want a piece of him. They were none other than the werejackals and the werecats holding onto various weapons that were glowing with light. Those weapons had been emblazoned by Goblin King Sol himself who did not mind the work since he was brimming with vitality all thanks to Jin. Right Hand Oku and Yellow Ice who managed to catch up with King Hamu saw the scene at the castle and decided to aid their King in his defence. However, that sentiment only applied to Right Hand Oku as Yellow Ice sent Cross out of his shadow to shoot a bolt from his crossbow. Oku blocked it almost immediately with his gauntlet and sneered at Yellow Ice. "I knew I smell something fishy ever since Ayse began to propose the plan. Whether you are in cahoots or not, that is irrelevant at this point. Your current actions have betrayed you." Oku raised his hand and the same black energy orb appeared, floating above his armoured hand. "Unfortunately for you, the King has prepared backup plans to ensure that all traitors would be dealt with extreme prejudice." The Black Orb vibrated and the Fire Orcs that were gathered outside the castle immediately had a black hand mark visible on their necks. Oku had been bestowed with a certain degree of powers from King Hamu himself. One of them was the command over the leashes he had created. With just a point from Oku, the Fire Orcs blindly charged towards Yellow Ice. "Go, do what you must in order to let the goblin allies win." Yellow Ice ordered as he stomped his feet and an ice hand emerged from the ground, grabbing Cross and throwing him towards Oku who was trying to run towards Hamu. "¡­And make me King." Yellow Ice smirked as he could finally vent his frustrations on the orcs. A fog of mist had already started to materialise around the possessed Fire Orcs. "I will not fail you, My King!!!" Cross already reloaded his crossbow and held his dagger under the crossbow while maintaining his aim at Oku as he flew towards the Right Hand. Chapter 362 Reverse Aegis Cross''s shot pierced Oku''s back who was too focused dashing towards the castle where the werejackals were about to pounce onto Orc King Hamu. The Right Hand tried to ignore the pain from the shot but it cleared his head enough to realise that even if he tried his best to head towards the castle, the werejackals would have ample time to strike King Hamu regardless of his efforts. Instead, what he should be doing was to get rid of this goblin who was in cahoots with that traitorous Yellow Ice and find a way to aid King Hamu without sacrificing himself. However, this realisation came a bit late. Cross crashed into him using his shoulder while holding his dagger sidewards, allowing him to impale Oku''s torso. Familiar with the weak spots of the Orcish armours, the goblin made use of the sides which were vulnerable to stabs. Instead of screaming in pain, Oku redirected that anger he had by grabbing onto Cross'' head and smashing him to the ground while withdrawing his axe from his waist. Cross was ironically doing a similar thing before he momentarily lost consciousness from the blow that was bound to happen. Except he was holding on to a vial of an alchemical concoction instead which he threw at the Orc. The vial broke into pieces injuring Oku''s face. Yet this was not the worst part. The alchemical concoction was a form of liquid ice, courtesy of the Avatar of Shiva. The liquid went into Oku''s eyes, nose and part of it entered into his mouth too. Within seconds after direct contact, the liquid froze and expanded rapidly. The drying of the ice caused extreme pain to his eyes, nose and mouth, which caused his breathing to become more and more of an issue. Though Cross was unable to follow up immediately, he earnt the time needed to regain consciousness when Oku was incapacitated from the liquid ice concoction. Cross crawled towards Oku, grabbed the plunged dagger on Oku''s side and continuously tried to stab Oku with it despite the constant dizziness he was still experiencing. As his judgement was still impaired, his attempts focused on the vulnerable spot of the struggling Orc. Only until Cross felt he was stable enough that that he decided to change his dagger''s point to the neck region. But before Cross could follow through with his strike, Oku attempted to step backwards to distance himself from Cross. Yet, the goblin was nimble enough to hold onto him which caused Oku to change his approach and started punching the goblin until the goblin let go of it. (He tried to kick too but missed terribly because he was unable to see properly from the ice) Using the time that Cross was hindered by his wounds, Oku tried to remove the ice by breaking it with his bare hands. Unable to progress much this way he decided to pull it off to the degree that he felt his skin was being torn away as well. As soon as Oku could somewhat see again, he tried to summon the very same black orb that he used to control the fire orcs, only for a crossbow bolt to pierce his hand. Cross was not willing to give Oku any breathing space. His challenging gaze made it clear that he would not allow Oku to do as he pleased, even while the goblin was panting on the ground, seemingly badly injured. Oku raged at this nuisance of a goblin as he plucked the bolt out, walked towards the goblin and attempted to kick him into the moat. The goblin attempted to shoot one more time, but the bolt did not penetrate his front armour at all. Oku smirked and lift his leg up. Only to notice at that moment that his right leg had suddenly gone missing. Replaced by it was a robot crawler that was staring at him intently. The crawler made no effort to jumped onto his face and plunged its bladed legs into the back of Oku''s head and neck area just as if it was trying to hug him. Blood gushed out of his neck and he could no longer feel the squeeze from the robot crawler since his head was going numb. He tried to pull it out with all his might but it seemed meaningless. Slowly, but surely he knew that this was the end of him. Meanwhile, Cross was being assisted by two robot crawlers which dragged him further towards the castle for some emergency treatment. Simultaneously, the werejackals and werecats had already begun their assault at the imprisoned King Hamu who had a difficult time trying to break the magical barrier. How could he have known that it was tailored especially for him. Peppers had been working overtime behind the scenes to create such a spell. The spell was designed to work similar to a puzzle egg. This was why the magical barrier could be broken apart from the castle and refit back again, entrapping King Hamu in an enclosed space. In addition, the magic barrier became nearly impenetrable since the surface area it covered had lessened when it trapped King Hamu. But, it was the intricacies of the magic spell that truly made it shine. For it to work, the barrier had to absorb all kinds of magic and even kinetic energy to power itself up else it ceased to exist after a set duration. (Therefore, Peppers who had unlimited mana was needed to constantly insert magic power at the barrier to ''eat'' while waiting for the Orcs to appear.) So while it seemed that it had a high magical power consumption to maintain the barrier, Pepper''s calculation had paid off when the Orc Army had tried to overcome it with extensive use of fire spells and consistent siege attacks. And currently Orc King Hamu was doing his best to break the barrier by dishing out high level spells or using extreme brute strength. But because of the nature of the barrier, as long as his attacks were constantly feeding it with energy, he should remain trapped. (Which Jin complimented Peppers for making sufficient preparation against the Orc King.) Moreover, the barrier utilised a crystal which Peppers asked Goblin King Sol to insert his magic into. (So that the Goblin King did not have to be on the scene to power the magic barrier.) This light magic filled crystal was later used as a catalyst to cast this magic barrier. Usually, people would add a catalyst to increase the resistance of their magical barrier, but Peppers did it other way around. Inserting a catalyst would in fact disable the ability of her magical barrier to absorb that particular element. In this case, any attack imbued with the light element would be able to pass through easily. Therefore, Peppers aptly named this particular barrier spell the ''Reverse Aegis''. A nod of acknowledgement to the legendary shield which Zeus and Athena used which Peppers got her inspiration from for creating the barrier spell. The werejackals proceeded to attack King Hamu and their magically infused blades crossed the Reverse Aegis with ease and injured the Orc King. One strike was nothing but as the group struck ceaselessly without any resistance to King Hamu, he was bound to incur some injury. King Hamu did try to retaliate back but all of his black energy from Diabolos was absorbed so easily into the Reverse Aegis that it became a waste of time. Little did he know that all he''d have to do was endure for a time. Still after his multiple fruitless attempts, the barrier was still going strong and the werejackals and werecats made a lot of progress wearing him down without suffering a single injury in return. It felt as if it was a cheat although Peppers would argue against that. "Heh! If not for Ayse''s sample of the dark energy and the winds of Garuda from the King''s medical examination, I would not have been able to create this in such a short term, making it so easy for you guys! I put in a loooot of effort!" Peppers complaint in the secured System Channel which made Jin laughed and he promised he would compensate her with her very own XXXL Panda Plushie or whatever else kind of custom Plushie she wished for. "You are not making progress. At this rate, you will be useless to me!" Diabolos bellowed in a fit of anger. "How about you give it a try?!" King Hamu slammed his fist on the barrier yet there was still no reaction. Everything he did was useless, and even his ability to protect himself with Diabolos Energy got absorbed. "Pathetic." Diabolos forcefully took a big part of King Hamu''s soul without permission and the dark energy that King Hamu became even darker than black. Even looking at the energy felt as if the void was staring at back at him and wanted him to accompany the darkness in the bottomless abyss. At that point, his whole body shivered for a moment and it released an extensive amount of energy that the barrier was unable to cope with it. Diabolos had utilised the Red Moon powers King Hamu had absorbed for himself along with his own powers to break out of the barrier. Diabolos managed had overwhelmed the absorption of magical energy to a degree that it was unable to handle the load causing Reverse Aegis to shatter. Hamu did not like it a single bit, since he was planning to use the Red Moon powers as one of the plans to break out from Diabolo''s pact. But at that point of time, it was paramount that he survives. Therefore with the barrier broken, that was when King Hamu began his revenge against the werehumans. Yellow was the first one he grabbed as the Werejackal Vice Leader pounced towards him despite knowing that the Reverse Aegis spell expired. All the Orc King had to do was to point his finger at Yellow and he immediately disappeared in a mist of darkness, dropping the sword of light to the ground. The other werejackals immediately became wary of him. However it was too late, with a quick snap of his fingers, small dark projectiles appeared above Hamu and went towards them. "Just a bit more! Try to get his attention for just a while longer. All we need to do is to pin him down long enough to make sure the volcano hits him! Best case would be to push him into the volcano when it erupts!" Peppers was unable to help their companions as she had to remain in place in the ritual circle as her mana transfer was near completion to awaken the volcano. "Easier said than done!" Grey retorted back as the werejackals started to pace around the King Hamu who was floating above them. The werecats took the initiative by unleashing their gun whips. Sadly, even more dark energy orbs emerged around him to strike the werejackals and werecats. Though they tried to evade, the projectiles seemed hellbent to take revenge for their master and the new ones followed through if the initial ones missed. Some managed to evade them completely, others were not that lucky but they covered the werecats to allow them to catch him momentarily. That was when strings and chains started to pull him down. Zhi Nu, the Immortal weaver as well as the Ninja Penguins arrived on the scene in the nick of time to assist the surviving werecats. "You think these puny strings and chains will stop me?!!" King Hamu shouted as he curled up a little in order to let Diabolos wings forcibly emerge out of his back. The more King Hamu lost his soul to Diabolos, the more Diabolos took control of this physical body and changed him to his likening to play. "Burn us now along with it! That''s your best bet!" Zhi Nu said in the System Channel which Peppers would not hesitate to do. While cruel, she knew every second they tried to pin him down counted and they would use anything, any factor that could produce the highest percentage of success probability for the operation to succeed. Self sacrifice for the greater good was not an issue to those monsters. "You will be unable to stop him if he grows out all six wings." An odd voice echoed at the crowd of monsters and penguins trying to pin him down. At that instant, a gigantic pillar of yellowish ice fell from the heavens and slammed onto King Hamu. Despite that, King Hamu summoned an energy force field in an attempt to push the pillar upwards and away from him. "YELLOW ICE! HOW DARE YOU!" King Hamu shouted in agony as he felt the weight of the ice pillar on him. Zhi Nu did not hesitate to pull out even more strings from her sleeves and tightly secure the pillar to the ground. However, Yellow Ice was not done. With one hand busy controlling the pillar, he took a deep breath while using another hand to materialise shards of ice and use them to pierce King Hamu''s hands, wings, and legs. "As the former spymaster of the Orcs, I hereby deem you unworthy to rule the country any further. Your reign has plunged us into an era of chaos and has cost us the lives of hundreds and thousands of orcs. Therefore you are not only exiled, but deserve the highest punishment. Enjoy your stay with Diabolos!" Yellow Ice yelled while putting a brave front. (However, he could feel that his legs were already shaking and hands quivering from the extensive use of his ice magic.) "ALMOST READY!!!" Peppers shouted at the top of her voice and suddenly tens and dozens of portals appeared, allowing the rest of the monsters to escape. Yellow Ice did not know what was happening but he guessed it was to defeat the remaining Fire Orcs in the capital and most importantly, King Hamu. "Heh, so I was right. Betrayers ultimately never have a good ending." Yellow Ice regretted it a bit as his legs nearly gave out from the strenuous use of magic. However, Cross with bandages all around him appeared right beside him and supported his Lord. "My King, we will see this through together." Cross said solemnly and suddenly Yellow Ice''s heart was filled with a gradual warmth to see his first and final loyal subject. "Do not worry. Every ending is simply a new beginning." Zhi Nu smiled at both Yellow Ice and Cross as if there was a hidden meaning to her words. Despite her portal opening right beside her, Zhi Nu refused to enter it and decided to stay back to ensure the strings were held together. "Go, my fair lady. I will make sure this King will receive his deserved fate." Yellow Ice told her as he gritted his teeth to summon another two ice pillars diagonally and smashed it towards the force field that King Hamu was maintaining. "I shall take on your offer. Just remember my words. We will definitely meet again." Zhi Nu tied additional strings to the two pillar of ices and tightened them before she stepped into the portal. That was when Yellow Ice could feel that the temperature was getting hotter and the floor was rumbling. What the orcs did not know was that the entire (fake) capital city was built on top of a large inactive volcano. Within moments, the ground underneath the orcs broke and lava began spewing out of it, starting from the crevices that the zombies made when they crawled out of the ground. "You think this kind of pathetic magic will hold me down!!!!" King Hamu screamed but now his voice was mixed with another entity, Diabolos. "If it does not, I will make sure it will!!" Jin shouted back from nowhere. The skies seemed to part as the infamous half body Titan knight emerged appear from a portal more colossal than any before it, scaring every single entity on top of the volcano city. The Titan pushed the ice ''blocks'' down even more until it penetrated through the force field and froze the wings of Diabolos. After which, the Titan Knight grabbed onto King Hamu and smashed him down even further, into the boiling magma to ensure that he was boiled to death. That was also the trigger for the volcano to explode but the Titan Knight made sure it shoved King Hamu as deep as possible before being teleported away by Jin. (He would have such a big headache if the Titan Knight died. The cost to replace him was truly astronomical.) At the same time, Jin was watching via Tact Tweak from afar on a large fox provided by Kraft, as the volcano island met its demise. Unfortunately, Jin highly doubted this was it. After all, what kind of Big Boss did not have a second phase? But for now, he laid back to witness an explosion that Peppers would probably rate a 10.5/10. Chapter 363 Diabolos The volcano continued to erupt, consuming the entire town at the top of the mountain and later spewing lava over the crater. The ash cloud from the crater was immensely large that it hid the Red Moon from plain sight. In the meantime, Jin asked Itori, the white fox he was riding on to stay on guard for King Hamu. However, there was no sign of him coming out of the lava at all. The System then stated that it did not detect the presence of Diabolos Shatian powers anywhere in the volcano. "Did we capture King Hamu?" Jin was curious if the System was hiding the fact it captured the Orc King and wanted to make a joke out of it. "Negative. The volcano and the operation did, however, capture a total of 1323 Fire Orcs which consist of warriors, archers, spearmen, axemen and mages. 46 Humanoid researchers were captured too. Upon references from Peppers and taxonomy sources from the Goblins, the humanoids are a subgenre race of the Wood Elves that had essentially mated with the Lost Dwarves. For User''s information, the orcs called derogatory terms such as Fey Mongrels to them. The plausible reason why these Elvish Dwarves are able to operate the lost tech systems is that they have a faint trace of the bloodline from the lost dwarves which is needed to power up the lost tech system." The System noted to Jin. "That is a surprise. I was thinking how we could get the researcher slav- erm I mean these Elvish Dwarves in be in our servitude." Jin said while his half mask transformed into a full mask panda. It was to filter away the ashes in the air because of the ash cloud. "Avatar of Shiva, Yellow Ice, and his goblin subject, Cross which Flame Ripper informed us had been captured too by the volcano eruption User and others had initiated. Scans still showed no sign of the Orc King within the vicinity." The System stated. Jin adjusted the Tact Tweak and sent a message to Flame Ripper to check whether they had any signs on the King returning back to either the Fire Orc base of the castle. Unfortunately, they reported that there was no sign of him. Jin decided to wait for a little while more while he browsed the Tact Tweak even further. Before the annihilation of the entire fake capital, he gave the robot crawlers and the Robotic Arachnid a secondary task. It was to salvage usable parts from the Orc Mechanised Walkers if it was possible during their combat. Through the Tact Tweak, it seemed that they managed to recover quite a few of them before the volcano took the rest out. The integrity of the Tin Cans varied, but the crawlers were able to get one intact. "Does User wishes to begin analysis of the Lost Tech Mechanised Walker and the blueprints Orc Researcher Ayse to determine if there are any substitutes available in the market to replace the parts for these walkers? It could possibly be useful as reference for the repairs of Mechataur." The System asked and Jin commanded it to put it in the backburner for now. "I have a bad feeling about this, System. Enhance the detection of the satellite as much as possible in case he decided to target the real capital." Jin said which the System quickly put it into place. "User. The satellite indicated no Shaitan related activity in the goblin region. Separately, an update report for the Northern and Western Diversion is available if User wishes to preview it." The System stated which Jin guessed there would not be any harm doing so and allowed the System to carry on. "For the Western Diversion. The Ice Orc Sea Fleet is currently in a standstill with Spear General Argent''s army. Predicative analytics indicated that the counter attack would most be initiated by the cultivators themselves with the aid of the goblins within the next hour or so." The System replied. "In the Northern Region, both the cultivators and the goblin army had been pushing the weakened Thunder Orcs back following the defeat of their Commander Purple Thunder. Three Sandroku Golems were fixed in the heat of the battlefield by the goblin mages since their pilots were not severely injured. Damage reports of the golems will be sent back for further investigation and evaluation too. Slashreaver who was badly injured in the battle against Purple Thunder had his vitals stabilised. Unfortunately, he was not killed in battle, and System is unable to resurrect him to return his full fighting form." The System further added. "Will he be okay in the long run?" Jin said as he saw the condition Slashreaver suffered. Third degree burns all around his body, both arms amputated, his left ear was erased from the lightning strike and parts of his skull broke into pieces. "Affirmative. One of the rewards for aiding this war is the evolution of the goblins. As one of them had already completed Step Up Evolution, more resources can be placed into the other two to force their genes for a Step Up Evolution. However, the System predicts that Slashreaver might not need additional resources as he had met the sufficient requirements for a Step Up Evolution." The System commented but Jin did not understand the process. "Sufficient stress in the genes and experience accumulated, played a major part in a Step Up Evolution. What Slashreaver needs now is a trigger. Similar to what Half Ghoul Lord Derek experienced, the Enhancement card "I am the Alpha" was both the stress and trigger factor for him. That is why he was able to evolve." The System remarked. "I see¡­so erm any luck on finding King Hamu?" Jin worriedly asked although the System said there was no indication of him. "Maybe he is in hiding?" Kraft materialised sitting beside Jin on Itori as he proceeded to explain his reason. "By now, if the System did not consume them and there is no further detection of Diabolo''s Shaitan powers anywhere around here, I can only conclude he ran away. It is either Diabolos had fully taken control of King Hamu''s body and teleported away via his Shaitan plane or King Hamu was still strong enough to portal out of danger." Kraft deduced from what he had seen so far during the operation when he was in the Dungeon Maker. "You mean he retreated for now since the conditions are not favourable for him?" Jin asked for a confirmation. "That is my only deduction since we knew the Shaitans have access to another dimensional plane. If King Hamu was completely controlled by Diabolos, he could simply do that. Besides, we are not sure if Diabolos already ate King Hamu or that Shaitan Messenger planned to use his body for other nefarious acts." Kraft said his piece as he admired the beauty of the live volcano. "Moreover, we do not have the ability to scan the entire goblin world in detail since we only have a CHEAP satellite working. Regardless, we covered most of the locations. Both the Orc and Goblin Capital, his military base and the locations of the Northern and Western armies." Kraft said casually as he braced himself for another volcano explosion that was coming and the two guys could feel the shockwaves impacting them. Jin was naturally distressed if it was King Hamu that cause the volcano attack when they were talking about him, but the System said it was just the volcano. "Peppers ensured that the island itself would be flooded with lava. She is not wrong at all!! This is way beyond expectations!!" Kraft did not seem to worry a single thing as he whistled, seeing how cool it was for waves of lava to be oozing out and over the volcano crater nonstop. "ISLAND! YES, ISLAND!!!" Jin suddenly thought of something that they did not cover at all. "Ayse, didn''t you say you guys found an island full of lost tech? Right? Do you still have the coordinates?" Jin hurriedly asked in the secured System channel which Ayse promptly replied. Once Jin received the coordinates, he hurried the fox to move as fast as possible. "You bettER HOLD ONNNNN!!!" Kraft''s warning was too late since Itori had already begun sprinting over the ocean waters and towards the coordinates of the Lost Tech Island. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "To push me into the lava¡­.to humiliate us at every turn¡­.Who did those humanoids and monsters think they are!!!" Diabolos shouted as he tried to slam on the large metal door, but the punch was so faint that it barely made any noise. Despite all the setbacks, he had finally completed his objective of consuming King Hamu''s soul and taking over his body for his own selfish reason. But Diabolos felt extremely weak. It was not meant to go this way. He initially wanted to overtake King Hamu''s body when the Orc King was brimming with Red Moon energy. That was because the energy that was emanated from the Red Moon aligned to his darkness element. As long as King Hamu became a container, a vessel filled with dark energy, he would be able to enter the body and control it easily. But right now, he was drained out of Red Moon energy. This particular body was so battered up that it was in no position to fight against the humanoids. The body had also taken a lot of damage from the cursed Light magic which slowed its recovery since it hindered Diabolos'' dark energy to flow correctly. "Heh, too bad for them, I had purposely kept this place as a backup, my final gambit for this kind of situation. I never thought it would be necessary¡­ Just wait for me to get better, to get what''s coming to you¡­" Diabolos murmured while he dragged his feet and broken wings along the metal floors inside the deserted laboratory on the Lost Tech Island. King Hamu, under the influence of Diabolos, had previously demanded the humanoid researchers to recreate a recovery capsule when they were searching for other blueprints. The recovery capsule was a one time use equipment and the materials to replicate the fluid was extremely expensive, using only the rarest materials hunted down by the Avatars and veteran hunter gatherers. And for its quality, it was extremely potent. Just bathed in that miracle liquid for less than an hour, all the damage a body had incurred would be removed, like it never happened before. But this battered body of his was taking too much time and effort to move that it felt like ages walking towards the recovery capsule. Diabolos became too feeble after taking over King Hamu''s body. Not because of the possession but because he used by his remaining energy to shield and teleport this body from the lava to the Lost Tech Island. He even had to destroy the magical barrier that was protecting the island since only King Hamu knew the exact passphrase to enter without any harm. "I will make sure¡­that I will find these monsters¡­these humanoids¡­and mostly importantly Sol!" Diabolos growled under his heavy breaths as he tried to activate the console for the recovery capsule. As he was about to open the capsule, Diabolos suddenly felt that his stomach was feeling rather queasy and his legs gave out almost immediately. He started to gag from the pain and subsequently vomited but only blood was splattered all over the floor. Not just any healthy red orc blood, the blood Diabolos vomited on the floor was dull black. Lamentably, Diabolos heard heavy footsteps from afar, which made him feared the worst. The white fox entered the island with ease as it bashed through the metal doors of the laboratory and followed the pieces of feathers that were dropped from the wings of Diabolos. ( along with some blood stains) Just a sniff from the feathers, Itori knew where to find King Hamu. But first, She shrank smaller so that Jin would not hit the ceiling because of her size and later went after the trail of scent left behind by the feathers. Not long, Jin and Itori found King Hamu lying on the metal floor with an activated capsule right beside him. The stench in the room was obscenely strong and supposedly it was from the King Hamu himself. "Ah I see, Hou Fei''s poison had started to work. I guess it took that long because it made sure to impair the dantian of the cultivator so that it could no longer produce any chi to supplement the body." Kraft saw the effects and walked towards Diabolos armed with his No Mercy. "But because this guy did not practice any cultivation nor had any chi,not to mention we have no idea how their magic circuits worked, I guessed the poison took some time to act." Kraft frowned a little, considering he did not know what to expect from the poison on an orc. (Kraft then realised he should have asked Hou Fei to collaborate with him first and test on certain subjects before attempting this method. Although Kraft guessed they were both too busy to worry about this.) "But we still decided to give it a try right? It might have been a long shot to hope it would work and hinder the Orc King but looks like it did even better than expected." Jin said, and at that point of time, pitch black moonflowers began to abruptly grow from the pores of King Hamu''s body, oozing more blood from the flowers themselves. Later, Kraft quoted from Hou Fei that the flowers were usually the representation of their ''chi'' and it was the body''s way of expelling the poison and bad blood out from the pores of the skin. Through deduction, they figured that the expulsion of the toxins produced the flowers, and Kraft said that by the time the body defence mechanism kicked in to save itself, it was already too late. "What is¡­happening to this body¡­curses¡­ This is *COUGH* the wrong¡­*COUGH* time to enter a body¡­" Diabolos questioned as his vision turned foggy and he could not utilise any dark energy in him at all. He felt his mana reserves empty which was supposed to be impossible. He had totally no idea what was going on. For once, He was powerless. Kraft did not hesitate as he raised his No Mercy revolver at King Hamu and shot all three bullets at Diabolos, causing the body to become limp immediately, putting up zero struggle. Jin slowly walked towards the body and saw that even though it was King Hamu''s body, the features on his face was clearly not his. "User, Diabolos has been captured. However, he had been sealed and will be under System''s supervision until User reached higher grades. This is not a form of punishment, but merely the System''s precaution. The entity is a being with powers unimaginable and the System believed its current loyalty enforcement orders might prove to be inadequate against it. System would keep the entity in stasis and not treat its wounds until analysis of its powers is satisfactory." The System noted and Jin realised this was the first time the System felt¡­scared. "Are you saying its powers could possibly be higher than Grade 19? Or maybe an equivalent to the legendary Grade 20?" Jin was a little excited but the System denied his fantasies. "His powers are estimated to be an equivalent grade level 15 or 16. Without further analysis, System is unable to know its true extent of Diabolos'' powers. It is the first time the System encountered and captured such a powerful creature. The System will require some time to make sure the loyalty enforcement order works while recommends User to level up to ensure that User is capable of making full use of its powers." The System commented before it turned quiet once again. "Then I guess¡­Mission complete¡­?" Jin awkwardly cheered at this rather anticlimactic ending which Kraft sniggered a little before looking at the capsule right in front of it. "Let''s look through our ''rewards''?" Kraft said as he asked System to summon out Ayse for a better explanation of the items in this particular lab they were in. Chapter 364 Lost TeChapter Products Ayse stretched a little after appearing as she complaint how small the guest room was in the Sanctum of Worlds instance. "Ahaha¡­I think there is an influx of monsters that we did not expect at all. At this rate, I think it is vital we get the Dungeon City Fortress up as soon as possible." Jin said while his eyes wandered around at the complexity of the laboratory he was in. It felt futuristic enough with the weird interior design of the lab but still held an impression that it was archaic. "Do you still wish to proceed with the war against the Rat Demon Army considering we somehow fulfilled our objectives by getting a decent amount of monsters from this campaign," Kraft asked as he attempted to fiddle with the consoles of activated capsule a little, but Ayse later restrained him. "We might be more equipped to fight against the Rat Demons with the aid of the goblins too but I still think it will not be anytime soon. It''s best to reevaluate what had happened in this campaign and improve on it first before we jump into another war. Right now, we are on the defensive and it was already a pain in the ass to coordinate everything. Besides, The Deep Ones Dungeon is not up yet and I believed I had dragged that long enough." Jin said as Ayse turned on the secondary lights in the area to let her master have a better look at the Lost tech products she and her team had invented. Jin also took this opportunity to look around the lab. "DO! NOT! TOUCH! ANY! THING!" Ayse shouted at Kraft who had itchy fingers and allowed them to commit the crime of annoying Ayse once more. She also hoped that her warnings could be heard by Jin too. She then proceeded to activate a large screen and demanded the two to sit in front of it at a fit of anger. (They complied immediately even though Jin had the right to walk around.) "Oof! I cannot believe they actually hide all my initial creations here. I thought they all went to waste after I showed it to Hamu. But ARGH!!!!! Its all in a mess!" Ayse scratched and messed up her short hair but the guys did not understand as everything seem to be placed very neatly. "Wrong order! That X Projectile-23 should be placed together with the Power Condenser, not beside the Shield Dilator!" Ayse was whining while carrying her inventions around and putting them according to her logic. Meanwhile, the screen in front Jin and Kraft started to flash pictures of various lost tech products as if it was some presentation slide. Even though Ayse was busy cleaning up the lab, she babbled her explanation on the Lost Tech products on it. But it was so fluent and well covered that the two lads believed she might have probably given the same speech before. But only Jin was interested in the presentation and took notes with regards to the Lost Tech products. Kraft got bored the moment he sat down and asked Jin for the Tact Tweak. "Might as well aid the Northern and Western Diversion." Kraft thought as he started fiddling with the options in the Tact Tweak. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Abdul! Suppressive Fire! Two o''clock!" Ren Wei shouted when the group was taking cover at a piece of ship wreckage near the beachhead. Abdul unleashed his cultivation, the Rakish Rhino, to increase his defences as he went to the open and started firing at Orcs without a care for his life. Gupta charged ahead without hesitation and loaded five chi enhanced Dragonbreath shells into his shotgun. They were aiming for the crashed airship carrier that the goblin wyvern riders took down initially. Despite the crash, many of the Wind Orcs survived and the resistance from the Wind Orcs was strong enough to warrant a counter offensive to reduce their numbers. Spear General Argent utilised the cultivators'' magpies to inform them that the goblin armies were preoccupied with the Ice Orcs in the city so they requested for more aid at the front. Hence, Ren Wei and his group of police mates were the first few that responded to the call. "Intermediate Shotgun Technique! Gushing Showers of the Elephant!" Gupta held his weapon firmly on his waist as shots of Dragonbreath turn into a continuous spray of fire which burnt any Orc that exited from the crash site. Jing Ru and Ren Wei threw a few fragmentation grenades to increase the damage caused. After which, they went to the sides of the ship and fired their grapple gun upwards. They planned to clear the airship carrier cabins starting from the top while Gupta and Abdul would be entering from the bottom of the crashed airship. However, the moment some of the Orcs saw the grapple gun hooks and attempted to destroy it, they encounter shots of sniper fire from afar. Ren Wei had previously contacted with other police cultivators via the magpie communication system (which he found to be rather cute and useful.) When the father daughter duo managed to climb up to starboard of the ship, they found a series of dead bodies courtesy of the other snipers. Ren Wei thanked them via the magpies and proceeded to clear the rest with Jing Ru. Separately, Shu and Ke Mi were only able to handle that many orcs at the fort walls despite the counter offensive to hinder the orc''s assault. But this time around, the Orcs found out that using fire and highly flammable explosives against Shu''s fort wall was somewhat effective. It might not incur much damage for Shu because of Ke Mi''s magical barrier but it drastically slowed Shu''s roots'' reactions and thus the active defences on the wall were reduced. Once in a while, Shu was able to unleash hundreds of deadly sakura petals that sliced any orcs down the moment the petal had contact with them. But he required some time to be able to regrow those petals again which time was a luxury he could not afford in this battle. "We need more hands!!!" Shu bellowed in anger as he swiped a line of orcs away from the fort walls. Suddenly as if the System heard his prayers, the werejackals, werecats, his beloved praying Mantis and the family of Wyrm ants entered the fray killing the orcs that were trying to overwhelm the anti tank cannon teams. "Hey stupid tree, cannot handle these muscleheads by yourself?" Yellow, who was revived by the System mocked Shu. "Ah, frigging dogs always barking, barking and barking. Go bite something every once in a while!" Shu nagged but it finally felt more relax for a breather with the arrival of the monsters he can trust. Separately, in the Northern Diversion, the Thunder Orcs had already fought to the point that they decided to retreat from the official goblin territorial line. Sword General Gladios stopped the rest from chasing and only commanded his troops to release projectiles at them. Other than that, the remaining Sandroku Golems fired their artillery shells freely at the enemy to ensure that the Thunder Orcs were retreating for real. General Gladios commanded a unit to stay on sight on the goblin territorial line as overwatch while the rest went around the battlefield to ensure that the Thunder Orcs remained dead. He wanted no prisoners to be left alive. After which, Gladios quickly rode back to the camp to check on his son, Slashreaver who was being treated continuously by the Goblin Healers. Slashreaver heard his father''s familiar footsteps and looked up to expect him. "I did good, did I?" Slashreaver whispered when he saw his father entering the medical tent. "You fool. Why risk your life so eagerly to save mine?" Gladios sat beside him and patted his head. Gladios felt powerless in this current situation. If there were anything he could do to bring his son back to the way he is, he would not hesitate to do so, even consulting with the orcs themselves for that too. That was how desperate Gladios felt at that point of time and the despair could only grow even stronger. "Heh, you do not have to worry. Master Jin had his way to return me to my original self." Slashreaver reassured him but the goblin healers were shaking their heads with a deep frown in their looks. Gladios understood what it meant. Slashreaver''s vitals might be stable for now, but the Shaitan Thunder corruption was eating him up. The healers deduced that Purple Thunder had prepared his magic spells and enchanted them with a curse before the fight. They noticed there was a dark energy coursing through Slashreaver''s body and there was no way to remove it. Gladios believed that attack was for him so that the goblins would lose not just any general but one that was revered by the masses. Gladios, however, continued to retain a smile in front of Slashreaver until Milk with her customised half panda Mask asked for permission to enter the tent. "Good evening General Gladios, on behalf of Master Jin, I will be taking over his care." Milk was dressed in her priestess clothes when she appeared in front of them. "But the- Give me a minute. I will be back." Gladios exited the tent and asked if his son could truly be saved. Milk gave a soft smile and nodded her head. "Do not worry General Gladios, in fact, you might find your son¡­more powerful than before. Take this as a trial he had to overcome his physical body limits." Milk replied but Gladios was confused. He was not in the mood to think things but because she was a lady, Gladios tried to talk as calmly as he could even though he was fuming according to his body language. "Are you going to experiment on him or something so that he can become better?? If it is, I rather he die than to suffer through some weird experiment," Gladios replied which Milk slowly shook her head. "It is not an experiment, but a tried and true process. Besides, has Master Jin ever fail you before? Did you not once said that he was the goblin''s saviour?" Milk rebutted and Gladios kept his silence for a while. "I trust you on that, or else I made sure I will die trying to kill the whole lot of you," Gladios answered Milk with a slight tone of distrust in his voice. But it was the truth, Master Jin had been a major boon on the goblin race itself in the past recent days. If not for him, the orcs would have conquered the entire goblin race, and their next line of action would definitely be killing the old and enslaved almost every one of them. By then, death would be a mercy they craved so badly for. "You worry too much. General Gladios, everything will go just fine." Milk smiled once again before entering the medical tent and brought Slashreaver away via a portal from the goblin healers. Gladios knew that there were other things to take care in the battlefield so he decided to use that as an excuse to not think about Slashreaver. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Uwah! Why did you throw that thing at me!" Kraft let out a girly scream which made Jin laughed a little during the presentation. "Because you did not listen to a single word I said!" Ayse complained as she pointed at Kraft while holding on to another spiked ball. The spike ball which missed Kraft earlier, destroyed the chair that Kraft was sitting by instantly increasing the length of the spikes. "Do not hold back Ayse, continue on. Just do not destroy any other tech products in here." Jin gave Ayse the permission to throw another spiked ball which she gladly did so. "TRAITOR!!!" Kraft said to Jin as he proceeded to hide behind Itori who was sleeping at the side of the room, but she turned into a bullet immediately. "WHY YOU! ANOTHER TRAITOR!" Kraft cursed at Itori as he barely managed to dodge against another spiked ball. He did not realised that Ayse was that good in throwing items. Meanwhile, Jin was already reviewing the tech products in the lab. He figured there were some that were extremely useful. Such as the recovery capsule that was first introduced to Jin. The System replied, indicating to them that those ingredients found by the orc hunter gatherers could be easily bought over through the System''s market. It broke down the required concoction and the ingredients from the System''s market was able to replicate its authenticity to a near 100%. The System added that after using the replicated concoction, the remaining wounds were just derma related. Jin figured he could use that after utilising the High Intensity Mode Capsule or if mechanically possible, combine the both of them and it would have be capable of performing two functions. The other products that caught his eye were the Lost Tech Material Recycler and the Lost Tech Counterfeiter. The Lost Tech Material Recycler was the ''dream came true'' for an evergreen world. Even when the System heard of its uses, it immediately wanted to analyse it and use it for its own purpose. How does the Lost Tech Material Recycler work? Ayse said that they can start by inserting an unwanted item, which will break down the bonds of the object into sheets, orbs or even blocks of material resources. Yes, The recycler broke the item into specific resources and both Jin and the System felt that his machine had unlimited potential. For example, by putting a piece of glass into the Lost Tech Material Recycler, the device would chunk out blocks of sand, limestone and sodium oxide and calcium carbonate in separate casings. To the orcs, they did not know that they possessed such a gem in their facility. Even Ayse thought that it was such a useless product that the Orcs created from the Lost Tech blueprints. But to the System who has the database of almost every material available in the world, found this Material Recycler was the most exciting item it ever found. The only bad thing was that it took a long time to break the materials down to their base compounds. (But that was not an issue for the System who can willfully control time compression and dilation in instances.) Additionally, Jin could understand where the System was coming. If they could recycle the junk in their world, they would be able to obtain resources at a very cheap price or perhaps free. Even he started to think if he should have a selling option. By buying items that people did not want, they might have the chance to change the world. Jin believed that a system could be thought up to ensure that he would be earning more money buying useless items from the public. The next was the Lost Tech Counterfeiter which was kept in a cage. Believe it or not, the product looked like a bear with a large bobbling head, but it was indeed a lost tech product. (Apparently, the Lost Dwarves liked bears.) Ayse said that was how the blueprints could be recreated. Place a certain blueprint beside the Lost Tech Counterfeiter and command it to scan the blueprint before it starts to construct the entire product out inside its belly. Depending on the size of the product, it will expand and when it was done, the bear will sit straight up and split open itself for the completed product. Either that or place the item in front of the Bobbling Bear that the user wished to recreate and it would do so. However, because it does not know the composition of the item, the items it produced would be inferior. Jin realised it was something similar to the System''s way of producing certain items. However, there was a catch to that procedure. Jin had to insert dungeon dollars to the System to produce the item. For this particular Lost Tech Counterfeiter, all he needed was either a blueprint or the item on hand. However, it seemed to be defying the laws of physics. Every action must have a reaction. Jin could not believe the Counterfeiter machine was so powerful out that it was able to produce something without any ''actions'' to the reaction. Only through further probing from Ayse that he learnt that it needed ''food'' to work. "Any food?" Jin asked Ayse who was panting trying to chase after Kraft in the room but subsequently gave up. "Anything. Be it organic or inorganic, the bear did not care. That was why we just throw our junk into the counterfeiter and it eats like an ever hungry baby. When we needed something built, all we need to do was ask it to scan the blueprints and it will start building. That was why we were able to build our army arsenal so quickly." Ayse said as she asked Jin to replicate something as an example. Jin decided to give a problematic specimen for it to try on as he pulled out a piece of the living armour on him and let the counterfeiter scanned it. Red lasers appeared out of the bear looking machine as it paced around the piece of living armour to scan it. The counterfeiter even picked it up rather delicately despite its large ''paws'' to see the bottom of the item. Then, it left the piece of living armour alone and stayed at the corner of a cage while a digital timer appeared on top of its head to indicate how much time it needed to operate. "99 hours?" Jin exclaimed and guessed it could only know the result later and decided to bring the Bobbling Bear back into the Dungeon Maker along with the recovery capsule and the material recycler. Other than that, the rest of the lost tech products were pretty average in terms of practical use but the System still wanted to take it back and analysis it, so Jin ordered his crawlers and zombies to assist with the carrying. Even though Operation Pompeii was done, the time that passed in the real world was barely an hour. Thus it posed a problem for Jin''s announcement and the current goblin war theme in November. Therefore, Jin figured that he needed to extend the event for a longer period of time so that the cultivators would be able to have their fun while earning back profit to cover the exorbitant amount of expenses he acquired through this operation. "System, do you have sufficient data to replicate goblins as NPCs and the scenes of the Western Coastal Town and Northern Valley Town? Because we are going to put those orcs we captured to work before more cultivators enter our shop later in the morning." Jin said as he requested for a portal to the Dungeon Maker. "System had been running through various possible scenarios from the data collected and concluded it is more than sufficient. System had released another two million dungeon dollars as a loan to User''s account to recreate the instances." The System stated and Jin smirked. It was time to create the reenactment of these scenes as proper dungeon instances. Chapter 365 The Surprise for Ren Wei "Ohhhh my gosh! I burnt through like twenty over odd medals worth of ammunition!" Jing Ru exclaimed as the police squad returned to the Panda Weaponry after their time was up. While slightly regretful, it was Ren Wei''s decision to stop when their mission of clearing the crashed airship carrier was completed. The Pandamonium App asked if they wanted ''One More'' try, but Ren Wei figured that their ammunition was all spent, the squad was tired enough, and he also noticed more cultivators were entering the fray to replace others. Hence, he decided to call it off which the team unanimously agreed to it. "It was a really superb workout. I haven''t felt such an adrenaline rush for a long time." Ren Wei praised the experience to the others as he returned the real gun and got his air gun model back at the side counter. The Three Headed Bear noticed a puncture in Ren Wei''s rifle before asking him to leave and stared at him coldly for a while. "Heh, sorry about that. Needed to use it to defend myself from a surprise spear strike when I was turning the corner. Must say, the craftsmanship is supreme, it still works despite the puncture." Ren Wei smiled innocently as he replied while trying to compliment the other party to calm him down. The Three Headed Bear snorted back as he placed his air gun down and asked for Abdul who was standing behind him to come forward for his gun exchange. "If you want to experience a real adrenaline rush, you can always come back patrolling with us. I guarantee you will get such a feeling at least once every week." Gupta teased Ren Wei a bit when he returned his gun back. "Anyways, I am hungry, shall we go eat? I heard the Restaurant Train of Delicacy serves some great food." Ren Wei asked but the three of them retorted all at the same time that they wanted to look around the weapon shop for a while. Ren Wei then decided to stay for a bit, but Jing Ru conveniently gave him an excuse. "How about you go ahead and book a table for us first? I will be coming after you in a moment. Just some replenishment of some ammunition that''s all!" Jing Ru suggested as she pushed Ren Wei out of the Panda Weaponry and quickly ran to the counter. "I believe I should have enough raid points and medals for the gift I reserved. Do you mind taking it out?" Jing Ru asked hastily. Seeing her actions, both Abdul and Gupta realised that Jing Ru had reminded them about the same goal they had in mind; Getting a gift for her father. "Big Bear, my man. Could you give us our gift as well? If possible, subtract the points from both our accounts." Abdul asked which caused the Three Headed Bear to simultaneously bring out the exact same gun model for the both of them, the Dragunov Sniper Rifle. Jing Ru stared at the uncles, who looked back at the same time. The realisation that they had the same idea suddenly made all three of them chuckle and laughed together. "Well, Young Miss could you let us uncles purchase the gift for your dad? We don''t mind it being a present from all three of us. " Gupta offered since the two policemen assumed they would rarely have the chance to come together and play that much in the near future. "I cannot allow you all to pay for everything. How about this? We share equally for this rifle and perhaps we also buy him a 5 Gold Panda Medal Voucher so he can purchase customisations or ammo in the future?" Jing Ru suggested which Gupta and Abdul believed it was a good idea. "Here is your gun. For the rest of the transaction, go to the Red Pandas." The Three Headed Bear kept one of the sniper rifles and left the side counter to continue hammering his stuff on his anvil. Jing Ru then approached the Red Panda to inform her about their transaction. As always the cute animal gladly assisted them with their request. They even provided a sleek modern looking rifle suitcase to keep the air gun version of the Dragunov Sniper Rifle. "Do you think they sell any birthday cakes in this place?" Abdul asked, but Gupta had no idea while Jing was busy doing the transaction for them. "We do have cheesecakes! They are sold in the Restaurant Train of Delicacy Service Instance." The Red Pandas offered their advice which made Jing Ru became wildly excited. She had completely forgotten about its existence for a moment. "Oh yes!! How could I forget about THAT cheesecake! I still remember that sweetness in my mouth. Does the general store sells any candles or anything?" Jing Ru humbly asked which the Red Panda said that it could relay their request to the penguins. "Alright, if Ren Wei''s girl vouches that the cheesecake is that good then we simply have to go for it. A little dessert before breakfast should not be a problem, heh!" Abdul commented. The Red Panda asked if they would like the casing also to be wrapped up. "Do we need to pay extra?" Jing Ru asked as she checked her remaining raid points and medals. "You do not have to. It''s on the house. We will bring it to you and your father. Enjoy yourselves!" The Red Panda replied courteously as it playfully grabbed the rifle casing and asked the other red pandas for help to wrap everything up and get things ready. "We will pay for the cheesecake then, and it''s been a while since we last met. Let us at least do those honours. You can surprise him with the gift." Gupta offered as they proceeded to the Restaurant Train Instance to see Ren Wei waving at them. While waiting, he had already ordered some drinks for them. "I was unsure know what you guys would like to drink here, so I just ordered coffee for you two. For you, my princess, I knew exactly what you would like. Here''s your favourite Bamboo Juice." Ren Wei beamed with delight as he saw Jing Ru gleefully accepted the drink. Suddenly, all the lights in the train were dimmed, and a light drum rolling was heard in the background before an announcement was being made. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if you do not mind joining, let us put our hands together to wish a happy birthday for the pleasant gentlemen and loving father, Mr Ren Wei at Table 49." The penguin spoke with a microphone on an elevated stage. It was none other than Mr Patsu making his personal appearance for Ren Wei. Ren Wei immediately blushed and put his head down as the train''s spotlights were focused on him. The cultivators who were having their breakfast in the morning had unanimously clapped for him upon Mr Patsu''s request and the penguin waiters pushed a clothed trolley full of cheesecake with candles on it. There was even the penguin band that played a birthday song with an accompanying singer that the cultivators sang along with. Meanwhile, the other three rascals were happily giggling at the side seeing Ren Wei embarrassingly blow the candles out from the cake. "Hey! You did not make any wish at all!" Jing Ru pouted a little but she knew they had already embarrassed her father enough. The lights came back on and the penguins did a magic trick for Ren Wei to see. From underneath the small tray they somehow managed to pull out a big long rectangular box all neatly wrapped. Ren Wei was amazed by it and thanked the penguins for it as he was not expecting any birthday presents or celebrations but just wanted to spend time with his daughter and his buddies. Yet, the penguin waiter corrected him, informing him that it was a gift from the three right beside him. Ren Wei could not contain his excitement picked up the long bulky gift he received and took a good look especially when he noticed that the wrapper had cartoonish muskrats running around chasing one and other. "What is it?" Ren Wei became curious about the contents of the beautifully packaged gift when all three decided to remain silent about it. (They were actually trying their best not to laugh or giggle.) "Well, there is only one way to find out. Open it and you will see!" Abdul could not take it and laughed before he shamelessly tried a piece of the cheesecake. "HOLY SHI-! What kind of heavenly cheesecake is this?" Abdul could not help to interrupt Ren Wei''s unwrapping but it did make Ren Wei laugh out as he had a similar (though not so vocal) reaction after enjoying the same cheesecake with Jing Ru before. He had never forgotten that taste. Gupta, on the other hand, had had the decency to wait until Ren Wei was done unwrapping before he partook that fluffy, bouncy cheesecake on the table. "You must be kidding me! You guys bought this for me?!!" Ren Wei was at a loss of words after finding out the contents of the box. It was a brand new Dragunov Sniper air rifle which cost quite a fair bit on the market because of the lack of availability. Still, he could not fathom how the three banded together to buy this for him. "To be honest, we didn''t plan to share the gift. We happened to choose the exact gifts for you in Jin''s shop. So we added a bit extra. Recheck the box. There should be one more present in there." Jing Ru admitted that she had been planning to buy one since a month ago. "No wonder you two rascals were going crazy killing the orcs like there was no tomorrow when both of you are usually more tactical in your approach." Ren Wei finally figured why the two had been acting so strangely in the Raid instance. He noticed an envelope near the air gun rifle. Inside contained the five Gold Panda Medals Voucher which had a QR Code to link it up to his Pandamonium Account. "Blahhh if we had known beforehand that we were going to share the cost with your daughter here, I wouldn''t have worked my ass off like crazy after my night duty." Abdul sneered a little before he picked up another slice of the heavenly cheesecake to eat. "Hey who is the birthday boy here?!" Ren Wei quickly grabbed one to eat before Gupta and Jing Ru snatched them all. The four of them had a great time chatting with each other about the encounters they had in the raid instance before they decided to return back for the day. "Hey, Abdul, Gupta. Thanks¡­for recognising Jing Ru as my daughter." Ren Wei said personally to his two pals when Jing Ru went to start up the car for him. "She seems like a fine, dandy young lass," Gupta said in a weird fake European accent, but he returned to his normal serious self when Ren Wei sighed at him. "It''s great that everything seems to be working out for you. Happy Birthday, buddy." Gupta gave a hug which Abdul followed suit. "Be sure to visit us once in a while in Tiangong rather than sucking up to people''s ass in Central." Abdul patted Ren Wei''s back and went off. Jing Ru coincidentally came around the corner with his car and got down to wave goodbye to the uncles too. "It was fun training with you. Did not expect those two uncles to be this funny too." Jing Ru mentioned as she yawned a little when she got into the car but noticed a serious expression on Ren Wei''s face. It was as if he wanted to say something very important when he entered the car. She kept quiet and allowed Ren Wei some time to ask the question, although she roughly knew where it was going. "I erm¡­ Is¡­it okay if we go visit your mom''s grave?" Ren Wei asked and Jing Ru stared at him for a while and later nodded a bit. "I am sure Mom will be delighted." Jing Ru smiled tenderly as she pulled the chair back to rest. "Wake me up when ¡­OH SHIT, WHEN DID YOU?!" Jing Ru was shocked as she just noticed an item so flurry behind the back seats. "Well erm, I thought you would like it since you were rambling about it earlier in the morning. I was lucky that they just restocked. Sorry, I was not able to get the XXXL size because of the lack of points, but I hope XXL will do-" Suddenly, Jing Ru hugged Ren Wei and gave him a friendly kiss at his cheek. "Thanks, Dad!" Jing Ru said as she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled towards the back seats hugging the XXL panda plushie. She immediately understood why Luo Bo was so crazy about it and why Xiong Da was so protective. Before she knew it, Jing Ru fell asleep. "That little girl¡­" Ren Wei could not help but grabbed his phone out and took a picture of his daughter. Jing Ru''s innocent smile reminded Ren Wei of her mother when she was younger. "Thank you Xing Ru¡­ for coming into my life." Ren Wei whispered as he began to drive to visit Jing Ru''s mother''s grave. Chapter 366 Western Diversion Dungeon Instance Despite the late night announcement, Jin was surprised to see that a decent number of cultivators still managed to come to visit his shop for the Goblin Raid Instance. He decided to make a rare appearance at the shopfront while several of his Another Jins were hard at work recreating the western diversion, northern diversion and one hidden instance, the attack of the goblin capital for the entirety of the Raid Instance Event in his shop. Speaking of the western diversion, Mr Derpy finally got to enjoy some fun the moment he noticed that the ships were moving backwards. He had been staring at them for the longest time ever waiting for any changes. As soon as they retreated and crossed the imaginary line set by Jin during the operation preparations, Mr Derpy did not hesitate. The other Deep Ones immediately gave way to their Shadow Lord as he launched himself out of the water and made a deep wailing sound that frightened the already demoralised orcs before crashing back into the deep oceans with a large, loud splash. The waves from the splash impacted the medium ships so terribly that some even capsized from it, allowing the Deep Ones to selfishly snatched their prey from one another. Mr Derpy after having made his grand entrance, swam underneath a warship and bit through the ship''s keel, the bottom most structure holding the hull, causing seawater to gush into the hole rapidly. It also gave the Deep Ones the opportunity to enter and rampage through sinking warship. As for the rest of the warships¡­One after another they suffered the same fate as the first one, which Mr Derpy gave absolutely no chills for making him so long to act. The cultivators that were fighting on the ships had been encouraged by the magpies to escape but many continued to press on, believing it was only part of the plot for the raid dungeon instance they were participating. The cultivators took it as some time trial, killing as many as possible before the warship sunk to the bottom of the sea. Hence, many of the cultivators died from drowning though most did not mind a single bit when they returned to the recovery instance. Some thought there should be a way out which no one had figured out yet, just as always with other Jin''s dungeons. (They probably read too much into the situation.) Still, that data gave the Another Jins the idea to implement it into the real Western Diversion dungeon instance. Of course, there would be a hidden way to fly out of the whole mess if they could find it in time. If some drowned trying to find out, they could probably purchase more tickets to search for the answer. Another Jins were already contemplating whether they should add hidden achievements for bragging rights. Eventually, the orcs in the Western Diversion and Northern Diversion had fully retreated and the goblin armies began cleaning up the battlefield. Some of the Ice Orcs had decided to surrender in the Western Coastal Town of Gob Gob Si but the majority of them fought to the death. Jin''s monsters did one last sweep around the area before they teleported away, leaving the goblins to do what needed to be done. With the scenes of battle clearing up in the Goblin World, Jin encountered a problem he had not have time to plan for before. Technically, the defeat of Orc King Hamu allowed him to proclaim this official event to be over and tell everyone to go home. But that felt like a very bad idea especially after his sudden announcement in the middle of the night. It also felt unreasonable towards those cultivators who had joined the battlefield mere minutes before the battle was over, only for them to get teleported back. Jin announced to the cultivators that he found a critical technical issue which could result in a server failure. So as an apology, Jin compensated all who had joined too late with an apology pack worth five bronze panda medals. Even though Another Jins were not fully ready yet, Jin also opened another portal to the real dungeon instance for all who wished to participate after receiving the apology pack. However, the cultivators did not know that this particular dungeon instance was not a complete instance because of the time constraint Jin had encountered. A couple of unlucky Another Jins were simultaneously building the dungeon instance of the Western Diversion scenario as it went live for the cultivators. Panda Captains Bai and Hei dragged the start of the instance out as long as they could by giving the cultivators a surprise event, stating that the there were reports of Wind Orcs attempting to infiltrate into the Western Coastal Town via the hills at the side. This particular event was supposed to be one of the many pre-sequel events that Another Jins decided to incorporate but for this particular instance, it was a fixed event. That way, Another Jins had some more time to create what was needed for the eventual battle. But unlike the Goblin World which they had no control over, Another Jins purposely enhanced the Goblin Raids Dungeon instances in many ways. Firstly, communications. Instead of magpies, they made use of the mini pets that most of the cultivators had and those became the new messengers for communication purposes. If one did not have a mini pet they could purchase one for a slightly lower price during this event. If not, a magpie would be accompanying them in place of their pets. Second, He realised the orcs¡­were caught in such a bad predicament that they were unable to fight back, making it such an unfair fight. Now that it was no longer a matter of real life and death, he decided to even the odds. So firstly, he removed all the monsters that aided the goblins and changed it to solely a goblins vs orcs battle. Instead of lost tech warships, he purposely used models from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Wooden frigates powered by steam engines (which were way cheaper compared to recreating the lost tech) and the System matched the speed and strength of the lost tech warships which they had collected the data from. For the airship carriers, Another Jins had decided to copy the idea of aircraft carriers from the past, mainly the HMS Argus, a British aircraft carrier. As HMS Argus was converted from an ocean liner to an aircraft carrier, Another Jins decided to do the same. Because Jin was an engineering student before, he still had a user account giving him access to the university database (He did not clean his browser and cookies!!) and it allowed him to get access to look at the blueprints for ocean liners. On a separate note, Kraft asked if Jin wished to hack into the database and get access to all the information in case his user account ever expired. "You sure you can do this without being detected? I do not want police to come knocking at my doorstep." Jin was slightly wary. "Technically, you already have the Police Heads under your fingertips. Even if you were caught, you could get off with it." Kraft reminded him that the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s Head, Yuan Ba and his daughter, Yang Ling, owed them a favour though they could probably use that for something grander. "But in all seriousness, yeah I can do that in a jiffy with the help of the System. Their database is third rate and my judgement tells me, there had already been a few silent hacks in there. So as soon as we find a backdoor they left, we can just use it and subsequently, the blame would fall on whoever placed it there." "I had no idea you are able to do cyber hacking, aren''t you a relic from the past?" Jin mocked Kraft only to get whacked on the head by Tsu and Kai. The two black foxes had appeared out of nowhere and each stood at both sides of his shoulders. "A bellator got to update himself too, else what use would he have to his Master? Besides, did you forget I am in the counterintelligence business?" Kraft sniggered as he enjoyed Jin struggling against Tsu and Kai. "Haven''t you ever wondered how you managed to get your dungeon supplier license? Take a wild guess who made it so that the System was capable of such a feat." "But can you hack like erm the Black market or something like the FBI equivalent?" Jin was curious about Kraft''s extent. "Maybe." Kraft grinned evilly as he took the opportunity to fiddle with the database that Jin logged into. Suddenly just like in those science fiction and spy thriller shows, dozens of windows appeared in front of the laptop screen. And all Kraft did was place his palm right above the keyboard without touching a single key at all for the hacking process to initiate. Jin was taken aback by Kraft''s abilities until a small pop up came out which stated the following: "Copy All? Yes or No?" Kraft then pressed ''Y'' on the keyboard and the screen immediately buzzed with activity. "Done. Must say, there is a lot of information in your university database, all sorts of stuff. From politics to geography. Peppers will go mad happy deciphering all the raw data." Kraft stretched his hands and walked away. Looking back after some steps, he snapped his fingers for Tsu and Kai to disappear again. Jin was happy to no longer suffer their joint attack and passed the Ocean Liner blueprint data to Another Jin to work on as they recreated the aircraft carrier and added giant sized turbines to make them fly. Of course, theoretically in the real world, adding giant size turbines that would magically let a 50,000 over tons float in the air would never happen at all. But because this was a dungeon instance, certain physics laws could simply be altered. This was one of the exceptions that Another Jin was willing to make and provide the new cultivators with another platform to fight against the orcs. Third thing on his agenda. All of the goblins were replaced with NPCs because he and Qiu Yue had not negotiated the terms thoroughly with the Goblin King for the army. Hence, the System utilised the data of the three goblin generals'' sons when they were first captured. Back then, the goblins only had mediocre to above average attributes as compared to now. Hence, the system copied the data and made hundreds of copies for Another Jins to populate the Western Coastal Town Area. (Of course, Jin had to use the money the system loaned him to pay for the goblin NPCs. Nothing was free.) They had placed Wyrstriker as the overall goblin commander for the Western Coastal town in the hopes that Wyrstriker would get better understanding what his father, Spear General Argent, was going through for the battles. Lastly, the System had deduced it would be optimal to provide various modern tactics that the Orcs could take to fight against the goblin NPCs and the cultivators. Hence, it recommended the different plans to the Ice and Wind Orcs that were captured and advised their leaders to choose what they liked the most against the cultivators. Unless specified, the System decided to give them free rein over their commands. The captured Orcs had no choice but to obey, courtesy of the Loyalty Enforcement Orders that the System put them under. However, no Orc would say no to a good fight. (And most definitely a much fairer fight against the cultivators and goblin NPCs.) Separately, Jin and Yun were doing customer support and damage control after he put up the notice late at night. He saw Xiong Da rushing into the shop instance after his tedious work in the office and giving him a strange glare. Jin kindly explained that he just wanted to check the response of his customers and had seemingly underestimated the response. "Enticing us with a free ticket and x5 points, but imposing a requirement that one had to come as soon as possible? This is more like a threat than a favourable deal for the consumers! Have you really not seen this coming?! Aaargggh, I don''t have time to argue, I need to make full use of it. FOR THE (NEXT) PLUSHIE!!!!" Xiong Da stormed off after saying his piece. He hastily entered the raid instance which the Another Jins were patching it up live. Jin really did not expect that it would be that popular to open at night. Since his only desire was to protect as many goblins as possible with the aid of the cultivators while he dealt with the mastermind behind this whole meaningless war. But Jin believed it was because of their increase in grade over the months that less sleep was no longer much of a concern for the cultivators. "Perhaps, I should review my opening hours. Essentially I can employ more than one double to take care of the place if I want to." Jin thought to himself and the System approved of such a method. "User, please do take note that you are not able to leave behind Another Jin in the shop when you go away from the shop. Your alternate personality will disappear after the distance between yourselves reach a certain threshold. It could also potentially damage your psych up if you forcibly break it." The System, on the other hand, also encouraged him to train more since it should be possible to achieve what he wanted when he was able to create his astral phantom. "Okay, noted. How is Slashreaver doing? Are we going to use the recovery capsule on him?" Jin asked in his mind as he greeted another customer into his shop. "Milk is currently taking care of that. He does not necessarily need the recovery capsule and System had already placed him in his home instance in the Sanctum of Worlds for him to advance his evolution. Does User wish to partake in the process?" System asked and Jin answered that he needed one more minute. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Man, you are too riled up, calm down Wyrstriker." Flame Ripper tried to calm his friend down, who had been pacing around nonstop, while he sat at the side of the bench outside their simple goblin hut. They were both waiting while Milk was attending to Slashreaver. "How can you remain so still? Why can''t Master Jin just kill Slashreaver and revive him? That would make things much simpler. Heck I''d do i-" Wyrstriker replied but before he could say anything else, Iwen his wyvern used his wing to knock on Wyrstriker''s head. "Be patient! Sit!" Iwen commanded and Wyrstiker grumbled a little before he sat down as commanded by his wyvern. That was when Jin entered their sanctum and hurried into the goblin hut. Wyrstriker took that as an excuse to stand up again and followed Jin into the hut. Flame Ripper sighed a little before entering the hut too. "So System, what do I have to do?" Jin asked. Through the loudspeaker of his phone, the System told him that there was a new card in Jin''s Tact Tweak. With a little bit of fumbling to search for it, Jin found the card and it materialised at the top of the Tact Tweak''s screen. "Goblin Evolution Trigger." Jin read the title on the card and there was a strand of rainbowish DNA as the picture of the card with a goblin silhouette in it. As easy as it sounded, Jin placed the card on the panting Slashreaver and suddenly, a light shone all around Slashreaver. "Step back, everyone." Milk commanded and the rest complied. The shine grew so bright that all of them had to use their arms and hands to cover part of their eyes while peeking through in hopes to see what was happening. Within five seconds, they heard a loud thud of a footstep and out came Slashreaver. "Dread Reaver." Jin saw the new name of Slashreaver that was posted on the Tact Tweak as a suit of black armour came out of the light. Dread Reaver was taller than Jin and he featured a dark purplish cape as well as a two handed great broadsword. The great sword was simple looking, and it only had a handle tied in bandages with no crossguard nor pommel attached to it. What''s scary was the width of the Great sword''s blade width. It was at least two goblins head wide, roughly 45-50 centimetres wide and approximately 1.5 metres long. If not for Dread Reaver''s height, he might be dragging it around. His full body armour had bloodied edges at every edgy part of the armour and there was no single part of his body being exposed. Even the armour that covered the joints were made of a kind of metal which Jin could not figure out but it appeared extremely flexible, similar to tactical fabric. There was also an imprinted insignia of a lightning bolt penetrating a goblin skull at the back of his helmet. Speaking about his helmet, it had the design for only his right ear. The left side of the helmet did not have any which made it look like he was some one horned devil. Dread Reaver clenched his fists a little. It was a strange feeling after losing them for a few hours as he looked at his new self. He tried to pull his helmet out but it seemed like the armour was restricting him to do so. After a few attempts, he realised the only way was to pull his helmet similarly to taking a hood off. The helmet then retracted itself to the back of his neck and they finally saw his face. The side that was burnt by Purple Thunder''s bolt remained charred but his wounds were healed and left with one ear. Dread Reaver took the opportunity to kneel down and thank Jin for giving him new powers. "It''s all your own effort, Dread Reaver. Thank you for enduring everything. I hope to be able to continue working with you¡­and wish that Starfire will still love you as you are now." Jin gave his blessings to Dread Reaver. "Hahaha¡­ Starfire, I do wonder how she will react and think of me when she sees me like this." Dread Reaver gave a light soft smile but Jin could feel some bittersweet vibes from it too. Meanwhile, Flame Ripper and Wyrstriker were amazed by the transformation Slashreaver went through and came over to congratulate him as well. "How did he become this absurdly strong?" Wyrstriker asked out loud as he admired Dread Reaver''s aura. "He danced with Death for so long that Death must have finally begun to take an interest in him and granted him exclusive powers to represent her. Still cannot believe that Slashreaver is such a playboy to court both Death and Starfire at the same time." Flame Ripper believed that was the only logical explanation for Dread Reaver''s current class. The Death Knight. Chapter 367 The Knights Moun "Master, I hoped I had not worry you too much." Dread Reaver apologised before he turned to another direction and whistled loudly. A familiar rumbling noise came from afar and Jin noticed it was none other than Mr Oink. Despite the change in his appearance, Mr Oink seemed to recognise Dread Reaver and snorted happily at him. "System, if you do not mind." Dread Reaver was just pretending to be courteous as he did not wait for the System''s acknowledgement and placed his hand at the docile Mr Oink. Slightly dark, purplish energy flowed out from Dread Reaver''s gauntlet at Mr Oink who started to glow after being hit by the wave of darkness. "Mr Oink is currently undergoing a variant Step Up Evolution which was not intended by the System." The System calmly informed Jin who remembered that Mr Oink was also due for the evolution process because of the rewards for completing the Goblin War mission. "If User wishes to stop the evolution, User has to answer within the next five seconds." The System stated but Jin trusted in Dread Reaver''s judgement. Mr Oink snorted one last time before an orb of darkness completely enveloped him. At that moment, Dread Reaver was holding onto the very same Enhancement card that the System had given Jin to evolve him, only that it was now titled ''Eight Legged Mountain Boar Evolution Trigger''. He fiddled with the card in his hands for a while as he stepped forward and threw the card into the orb. Everyone in the vicinity waited anxiously before Mr Oink stomped its feet to break the orb that was surrounding him. As it shattered, Jin saw the new form of Mr Oink. He was encased with armour from head to tail. The very same bloodied edge black armour that Dread Reaver was wearing. But his hoofs were on fire, burning dark purplish in colour. That was not all, at the sides of Mr Oink was a smaller sized piglet, which largely resembled Mr Oink''s second form. The piglet was sitting in a floating sidecar chained onto Mr Oink and it was manning an auto repeating crossbow. Similar to Mr Oink and Dread Reaver''s armour style, Little Mister Piggy was fashioning a fancy grey edgy helmet with Dread Reaver''s insignia. He had no accompanying suit although his side car was rather well armoured. "Oinkmobile." The System reflected Mr Oink''s name on Jin''s Tact Tweak which made Jin burst into laughter. "You are messing with me, aren''t you?" Jin asked and the System stated that it was not joking. Jin could only accept that fact and walked towards the Oinkmobile to admire him for a while. Oinkmobile snorted deeply as Jin ruffled his fur (the armour was partially retractable, same as with Dread Reaver) and congratulated him for evolving. The armoured boar oinked happily after receiving some scratches and later went over to acknowledge Dread Reaver. (And hopefully, get more scratchies.) "You are still letting us ride him though, right?" Wrystriker tried to ease the atmosphere a bit. "Only if you let me ride your grand Wyvern." Dread Reaver replied chuckling. He raised his hands up and gave a bro hug to Wyrstriker and then did the same with Flame Ripper. "Gosh, I was worried your personality might have changed after you evolved," Wyrstriker admitted a bit embarrassed as he gawked at the fearsome armour that Dread Reaver was wearing. "Do you think your own Step Up Evolution will be as cool as ours?" Flame Ripper teased Wyrstriker a bit, only for the latter to refute him and did the same to Flame Ripper for still wearing nothing but his leather armour and cloak that was given by Jin at the start of the mission. This made his imposing figure look somewhat cheap. Jin gave them some time to ''argue'' amongst themselves before Wyrstriker came forward for his turn. He was a little unsure what was going to happen and for some reason, he felt pressured fearing he could not meet the expectations of Jin after he evolved. "Do not worry, Wyrstriker. Each one of you possesses their own strengths. Never doubt your powers which you trained so hard to obtain. Remember how you were able to defeat Nubwort, when just some months ago ¡­well that is for me, technically a year for you according to King Sol. Anyways, just two months ago, you never expected that you could fight against the Black Disaster all by yourself. So have faith in yourself!" Jin encouraged him as he took out the Goblin Evolution Trigger enhancement card in front of Wyrstriker. "But if you feel that you are not ready yet, we can always do this another day." Jin could see there was still some hesitation left in Wyrstriker''s eyes and in his body language. The two other goblins also tried to encourage him and told him that they did not expect to be able to evolve into their present forms. But in the end, Wyrstriker decided to postpone the evolution. "I am not ready Master, I am sorry. I feel that I should learn more about myself and Iwen first before we go for the evolution." Wyrstiker knew that his skills was on par with the other two but there was something in his heart that made him feel that it was not the time yet. "No worries. You have successfully changed into your side evolution not too long ago. Whenever you feel that you want to go ahead, just tell me. Besides, according to the System''s criteria, you are set to evolve with the help of the trigger card so time should not be an issue. Who knows maybe postponing it could help turn you even stronger than the other two." Jin said and decided to leave first and gave them some space to talk about their experiences. "User could have simply force evolved Wyrstriker, his advanced form will prove formidable in future battles and provide a higher difficulty for your customers too. System had noted an overall increase in grades from the cultivators that frequently patronised the shop. The number of regular customers should only rise, which will become a problem if User does not update his monsters. Wyrstriker might eventually prove too easy for the cultivators in the near future. If System might add, there are no recorded cases of a monster waiting to evolve into an even more powerful form. It is against the rules of Mother Nature''s survival of the fittest." The System seemingly complained about Jin''s actions as he entered the dungeon maker to overlook the progress of Another Jins. "No recorded cases does not mean that it''s impossible, correct? Even if it turns out to be the case, I feel he needed to be ready emotionally since it is, after all, a triggered evolution which is also against the rules of Mother Nature. " Jin rebutted the System "And speaking of the instances, I know that I''ve asked before but I just need one more confirmation now that they have evolved. The Goblin Forest instance, can it still feature the previous goblins form or do we need to change it to the new forms the goblins currently have?" Jin asked with concern. "The System shall repeat it for the 7th time. The data of the goblins had been analysed thoroughly. The substituted goblin NPCs can emulate their behaviour with 97.8% probability of success. Unless someone has encountered them dozens of times, no one should be able to tell the difference. Additionally just as User has previously suggested, System had implemented the new mode and named it New Game+. After a cultivator has beaten the initial instance, they will be able to choose this mode, which should prove to be more of a challenge." The System replied. "I see, alright. Then use the same storyline for now, I will make the necessary changes to the plot for the New Game+ levels later. For now, our topmost priority is the completion of the Western Diversion before more cultivators come in." Jin sat down and immediately coordinated with Another Jins to get the Western Diversion Dungeon Instance starting. ¡ª¡ª¨C Qiu Yue relaxed on the bed in the room Jin had graciously provided. After the battle operation was done, her work wasn''t. Far from it. She had to coordinate the resources with the goblins in order to ensure that it everything they needed was being sent off to the Western Coast and Northern Valley on time. Should she fail, the armies would starve or lack medical supplies. But one thing was for sure. Despite the hectic schedule she created in lieu with Operation Pompeii, she never had had such an opportunity to command whole ministries and it felt very rewarding for her. "So by following Jin, I can expect myself doing more of this in the future, huh?" Qiu Yue stared at the ceiling for some time before there was a knock on the door. "It''s me, Lynn, I brought you some food. Thought you would be hungry around this time." Lynn said from behind the door. With an unexpected quickness, Qiu Yue opened the door to let her in. There had been some touch and go moments with her, but the two young women hadn''t had the chance to really interact nor talk to each other either. Qiu Yue guessed Lynn just wanted to know more about the new occupant in the house. "Wow, piping hot noodles! Thank you, Lynn. That''s exactly what I needed at the moment. Do you wish to come in?" Qiu Yue decided to let her in since this was the opportunity to understand why Jin chose her to be part of the System too. Lynn, on the other hand, was checking out the room that Qiu Yue was in. There was not much stuff yet, most noticeably her luggage bag at the side of the bed. Aside from that, everything which had already been placed was rather neat and tidy. Even the clothes that she washed were all hanged up at the closet. "I asked the System to inform me when you''d return to your room since I saw how you were rushing around in the terrace house with your eyes half open for the past few days. I figured providing you a bowl of hot food would relieve some of your stress." Lynn had already prepared a good excuse reason to check her out. Though she did not have time to interact much with Lynn, Qiu Yue''s intuition told her that Lynn appeared the kind who would not talk that much. Hence, if Lynn was making such an effort to interact with Qiu Yue¡­ there could only be two possibilities for that. Either she was really that concerned about her¡­ or Jin. "Heh heh, so you want to get to know your opponent, huh?" Qiu Yue immediately assumed the latter to be case, as she happily indulged herself in the hot noodles. "What? No no no." Lynn panicked a little upon hearing such a direct statement from Qiu Yue yet her body language was plain obvious. Eyes diverting, cheeks slightly blushed, stiffened shoulders and a slightly high pitch. Qiu Yue guessed she was not the only one enamoured by Jin. She had known about his charm, especially now with how much he changed compared when he was in uni. "I am just teasing you! Were you the one to cook this? The food''s amazing. My stomach feels extremely content from the warmth of the soup and the noodles are absolutely delicious. I want another bowl, but I think I need to take note of my weight." Qiu Yue praised Lynn as she grabbed a rubber band from the side of the table in her room and began to tie her hair up so she could eat without it getting in the way. "Yes, I did. I''m glad it suits your liking. If you have any request, I''d be more than happy to make you something in the future, too." Lynn replied directly and with shifting eyes, she plucked her courage up and asked. "Erm, you seem to have some history with Jin. How did the two of you meet?" "We''ve known each other since our university days. We were classmates back then. But he sure has changed a lot. You know, he was not this responsible the last time I met him." Qiu Yue decided to keep her past relationship with Jin a secret for now. "But still as awkward as now whenever he asks somebody for favour?" Lynn asked and Qiu Yue nodded her head furiously. Both girls laughed at his behaviour. "Somehow, he always seems to feel guilty about asking somebody for help. I think it might have something with how his grandfather brought him up. You ehh, know that he does not have any parents, right?" Qiu Yue continued the conversation. "Yeah. Well, I guess there''s Yun. Supposedly she''s his mother, but she does not have any recollections on Jin or ever giving birth to him, though." Lynn blurted out and Qiu Yue was visibly surprised about that fact. She always thought Yun was just another NPC or Bellator under Jin''s command. "Anyways¡­I am actually here for another reason." Lynn decided to cut to the chase which Qiu Yue had not considered this girl to be this impatient. In fact usually, Lynn wouldn''t be that way but she was very nervous about her interaction with Qiu Yue, mostly because of the reason she wished to speak with her privately. "Are you very sure that you want to aid Jin in his journey? Supporting him all the way? Because once you gain a Sub System of your own, you can never go back to your ordinary life. Your life will be pretty much be tied to Jin''s in the future if you accept." Lynn asked with utmost seriousness. Qiu Yue was a bit baffled as she assumed Lynn was there to ask if Qiu Yue wanted to be with Jin. "I erm..I guess so." Qiu Yue replied haphazardly after being caught off guard. Out of nowhere, Lynn''s facial expression changed drastically. "DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME JOKE?!" Lynn who had pledged her eternal loyalty to Jin, who was willing to give her all for Jin got riled up by the weak answer from Qiu Yue that she banged her table. This was something that would change the life of Qiu Yue forever without any chance to revert everything, yet the other party did not seem to care for it and took such a decision so lightly. The soup from the noodle bowl even spilt around the table a little. Seeing the result of her own outburst, Lynn quickly regretted it. She realised she was in the wrong and returned to her meek expression. "Sorry. I am truly¡­ I spoke out of place. I erm was not thinking straight. It''s jus-" Lynn apologised and took out some tissue from her storage ring and cleaned the area up a little. "No. You don''t need to apologise. Jin is indeed giving his very best and it is obvious that you are highly committed to his cause to the very end. You were just looking out for him and making sure, that I shared your resolve. I do not know what has happened between the both of you for you to act in this way this but rest assured. If I thought of this as a joke, I would not have quit my job and put a single effort for Jin at all. I believe wholeheartedly that he can do great things. No. He will accomplish great things that can change this district, the country and perhaps even the world." Qiu Yue stood up and talked down at Lynn. "And you can be very damn well sure, I will be by his side when he reaches for the top. Because he is mine." Qiu Yue stated in a calm and yet somewhat threatening tone. That was when Lynn smirked as she curled her hair behind her right ear and stared intently at Qiu Yue. "I shall welcome the challenge," Lynn replied with just as much confidence. Usually, she was only this confident when in the kitchen, but somehow she had found the courage when it involved Jin. Qiu Yue grinned as she knew from that day onwards, she would be great friends (and rivals) with Lynn. Chapter 368 Aftermath of Operation Pompeii After the successful Operation Pompeii, Jin and Qiu Yue had been rather busy tying loose ends up. Another Jins with the help of Original Jin had managed to create all three raid dungeon instances for the cultivators that would be ongoing throughout the entire month of November. Each of the instances was meant to cater to various levels of cultivators. The Northern Diversion Scenario was declared as the place for new cultivators to try out the entire raid instance experience. The Western Diversion Scenario was more catered towards the veteran cultivators, though it was open to any cultivators that had participated in the Northern Diversion for at least five times. Jin purposely set such arbitrary requirements to allow the new cultivators to get accustomed to following orders, so that they wouldn''t get overwhelmed by the ambushes of the more aggressive Orcs which the System now controlled. The Western Diversion scenario had been restructured and it was possible to be invaded from any directions. After Jin had watched the replay of how the Ice Orc Admiral advanced their ships, he ordered those Ice Orcs to use that Ice Wave spell in every encounter in the dungeon instances. (It gave the Orcs a hell lot of fun doing so too!) Sometimes, the warships would ram and smash through the fort walls directly while at other times, they encircled the town first, bombarding the place and land from the sides. There were even occasional instances in which they landed at the back of the town, which caused much havoc to the cultivators. The amount of money the raid instances earned Jin was way more than he ever could have anticipated. Even the System seemed a bit surprised, when it announced to Jin, that half his loan had already been paid back. (If not for the Shop instance able to expand indefinitely, it would had been extremely packed.) One of the major factors for this appeared to be the relatively cheap entry fee for the event, enticing people to replay it a few more times. (The rewards they could earn, certainly also helped). But it was also the fact that Jin had decided to keep his shop open 24 hours. The demographics for the night was primarily skewed towards office workers who came to vent their frustrations after their overtime. A lot of them appreciate that there was still a place opened for supper, which catered such fantastic food that satisfied both office men and ladies. (though some ask for alcohol and Jin said he would consider.) After patronising the Restaurant Train of Delicacy instance, many would then head for the raid event. Even if they did not, the amount of money they spent in the Restaurant Instance was awfully much. Separately, there was surprisingly an increased number of policemen participating in his dungeons throughout the day. It was only recently that Jin found out the actual reason from Gupta who came back a few times with some of his other police mates. Their ''budget'' turned out to originate from the Ruby Rats who had come to collect some of their resurrected members which the police then used for training purposes. Upon learning this, Jin was more than happy to accept the cash from his competitor. He even told Gupta to tell their superiors if they wished to mass order any equipment from him, Jin was willing to make them an offer they wouldn''t be able to resist. One more demographic that surprised Jin came in the early wee hours of the morning before he switched shifts with Yun. Senior Citizens. The grandmothers and grandfathers aged 60 to even 80 years old had also been interested in testing out the dungeon instances, but his usual rates were too expensive. Not to mention, it was too crowded for their liking. When news reached them that Jin had changed the opening hours and the latest raid instance was cheap enough, they figured it was the best opportunity to enter. After experiencing an instance or two, some even declared that they would bring their friends along to the instance instead of their usual morning workout if Jin continued to open at these times. Some of the older generations of cultivators even made Jin dumbfounded when they exhibited their skills in the dungeons. The System was extremely interested because those cultivations were not found in the books that Ming rewarded Jin. Not to mention, their attacks were inherently stronger than most of the modern cultivators in the same grade. Through a few conversations, Jin also learned more about his newest clients and found out why the majority of the older generations did not wish to mingle with the younger folks. They were simply a little embarrassed to enter the instances, because of the mockery some had received in other dungeon supplier stores. However, Jin reassured them that such a thing would not repeat itself in his shop, as everyone should have the opportunity to cultivate regardless of age. If an incident such as that would to occur, he would personally see to that matter. The old folks laughed it off and thanked the young boss for his assistance. On a different note, Jin purposely made into the last instance as a special hidden instance that could only be bought with 500 raid points. When he was finished with it, he sent out a notification that a "mysterious instance" has appeared after the Orcs had been beaten back for the 14,605 times. The notification vaguely talked about an ambush of the Orcs and the Goblin Deities were angry with all the bloodshed. More was revealed when the cultivators obtained the hidden instance through the redemption store as the city contained obscure snippets of lore for those who were interested (Peppers had a lot of fun, writing it down and Jin even introduced the concept of player''s achievement in the Pandamonium App due to this.) The Hidden Instance was also a wild success. Jin created the instance by placing the cultivators randomly in the midst of an ambush by the Fire Orcs and forced them to react instantly. Some even died nearly as soon as they entered (though anyone who got that unlucky in the first 15 minutes, got revived, after a cooldown, and got a second chance). After the first day, the Hidden Instance was renamed as "Siege of the Goblin City" and Jin purposely listed the characteristics of the instance in the redemption counter to make sure that the cultivators had an informed choice before redeeming it. Similar to what had happened, the city was located at the top of the volcano and the cultivators had to race against time to take down as many Fire Orcs as possible. But unlike the real Operation Pompeii, Jin and the System purposely placed both combat and non combat goblin NPCs into the situation. He wanted to simulate the liveliness in the city as compared to what had actually happened during the Operation. Hence, in addition to taking down the Fire Orcs, raid points would be rewarded for saving the non combat goblins by escorting them to their ships that were docked right beside the sea. This also gave the Fire Orcs more freedom in the way they attacked the cultivators since it was no longer restricted to just the city but the island as a whole. Speaking of Orcs, the Orcs tribes of Wind, Ice, Thunder and Fire had not only learnt the truth but had also been given the time to let it sink into their skulls. Some were initially furious, others were relieved but most were just delighted to resurrect and get a second chance to fight again. Many relished in the fight against the cultivators and with enough bouts, some of the orcs started to get used to the cultivators'' way of fighting and developed ways to cope with it. The more they fought, the more the orcs were starting to prove to be a challenge. And because it was a raid instance, the cultivators had to quickly formulate tactics on the spot to overcome the everlearning orcs'' ferocity and tenacity. However, Jin noticed that most of the cultivators were not very successful mainly due to their prideful nature as a veteran cultivator. Without a commander, the cultivators treated the instance more like Jin''s usual instances, in which they could act alone. To deal with such problems, Jin made use of his NPCs. After the infamous match, his NPCs, especially Captain Bai and Hei, had earned respect and fear of his customers. The presence of those two captains quickly defused any situation the ragtag teams of cultivators had and ensured that they spent more time killing orcs as a group rather than squabbling. ¡ª¡ª- While Jin was occupied handling the stuff back in his shop, Qiu Yue was busy settling the negotiations with the Goblin King. The main demand did not change and it was to provide Jin with an army. However, before the negotiations could start, Qiu Yue had a lengthy discussion with Jin about what the demand was. What he truly wanted from the goblins since the request ''just an Army'' was pretty vague. Initially, Jin even wanted to pull back from the request. After all, he had already acquired more than enough Orcs to make an army of his own, but Qiu Yue did not allow him to. She emphasised it would be dishonouring an agreement and they could not appear too generous, especially if they wanted future dealings with the Goblins. It could potentially set a bad precedent for further negotiations. Succumbing to the pressure from Qiu Yue, Jin finally narrowed it down and asked for a tri joint force to join him. They did not necessarily need to be elites, but all should be at least skilled enough in the field of air, sea and land combat. He figured that he had enough capable leaders and officers from the various Orc tribes so if the two races could join together and share ideas, they might have an even better chance against the demon rat army in the Farming World. Therefore, Qiu Yue had been pressing King Sol for a Joint Force army consisting of Air, Sea and Land troops to be requisitioned. Unsurprisingly, King Sol agreed and even offered Sword General Gladios to accompany them but Qiu Yue refused. "All we want is a Tri Joint Army. We do not need one of your generals to accompany us." Qiu Yue replied as they were discussing the terms and conditions for her to draft a legal contract out. (With some outside help from Xiong Da when Jin had the chance to meet him. Of course, Kraft did some slight mind altering magic on him after seeing the goblin contract.) "Why not? Gladios was itching to go. In fact, he volunteered to be deployed under Jin." King Sol asked with some concern but Qiu Yue gave him a straightforward reason. "I- We want to further develop the skill set of the Generals'' sons. As you might have heard, the trio had managed to make large contributions to the war and eventually pushed themselves to evolve into a Wyvern Knight, a descendant of Ifrit, and a Death Knight respectively. They may possess a lot of fighting capabilities but in terms of leadership? There are lots to learn. We consider it to be possibly detrimental if they simply learn from their fathers. By providing them with no assistance, they would have the chance to grow individually and to become leaders with unique traits of their own." Qiu Yue replied. "¡­ That''s fairly reasonable. I shall inform Gladios and the others about your decision. However your other request¡­ I am unsure what to say¡­" King Sol was a bit hesitant since Qiu Yue''s second demand was to take the entirety of his goblin ministry advisors with her. That was way more than he could afford. The majority of them had taken to their job not too long ago, and this was already considering that they were the helpers and secretaries of their predecessors. Since the Ministry advisors were the pillars of their structure, without them, their economy might drop into a standstill if not worse. Qiu Yue wanted them because all of them were already under the System''s influence. Jin and Qiu Yue could certainly just grab them and leave the goblin society in a lurch, but that would go against both of their principles. Hence, Qiu Yue sweetened the deal by offering King Sol a time frame. She would give each of them some time to train a new batch of goblins to be their replacement. She would even help them with the teaching to avoid the ''discrepancies'' she had encountered since the time she helped. This way, they would be loyal to King Sol and not as corrupt as their predecessors. King Sol agreed under the presumption that only those advisors agreeing with the idea to be ''taken away'' to be allowed to go. He thought the condition was absurd but what he found even more absurd was that not a single one had any qualms about following Qiu Yue. Each and everyone agreed to it wholeheartedly despite the administrative torture Qiu Yue put them through. Some of the ministers had already begun writing their list of candidates for selection. Needless to say, Qiu Yue would have a screening of her own for picking their replacements, mainly because she wanted the Kingdom of Gob Gob to be not just a business contract but an ally to be counted on in the future. (as well as a trading partner.) Seeing his ministers having no objection to Qiu Yue''s decision, King Sol reluctantly agreed to it. While still a bit unhappy about it, ultimately the goblins did owe them a rather hefty favour. "Now I have my own set of cabinet ministers which will be useful for building the Dungeon City Fortress up." Qiu Yue smiled as she witnessed King Sol signing the agreement. Chapter 369 The New Orc King Apart from the Tri Joint Force agreement, Qiu Yue also negotiated for a few additional trading agreements to make use of King Sol''s previously promised ''blank cheque''. There was no written agreement on what exactly would be given to Jin if he successfully repelled the Orcs. Tasked by the System, she designed the contracts to be vastly in Jin''s favour. He, however, did intervene as Jin saw the deals would be so absurdly favoured towards them and asked her not to go too far. If they squeezed King Sol completely dry, then it would merely ruin their beneficial relationship. Only with Jin''s feedback did Qiu Yue admit that she might have gone a bit overboard. If it were just one particular deal in their favour, it would not be too much of a problem, but she nearly made a mistake to present them all to their benefit. She felt somewhat awful and decided not to take that much advantage of the poor Goblin King. Besides, it was not King Sol''s fault for giving her that much leeway with the contracts. There had not been much of choice for King Sol back when the orcs invaded. The goblin kingdom had suddenly been forced into a state of emergency following the Kingslayer Ambush. Despair was soaring high and spreading like wildfire when news spread that their kingdom being the only remaining goblin capital left to stand against Orcs. King Sol foresaw the potential losses and was very desperate for any helping hand after he found out about the successful Kingslayer Ambush in the other Kingdoms. Hence, with Jin''s deal being the only one on the table, King Sol could not say no. The revised trade agreements were mostly fair to both sides and covered a few key items, one of which was manpower. Qiu Yue sorely needed skilled workers and professionals for the upcoming construction of the Dungeon City Fortress. That was her main priority. Even though she and Jin had an engineering background, they needed the expertise of those who could overlook and guide the building process. They were unable to do that themselves especially for all the projects that were planned. A good city builder must have the awareness, comprehension and the insight to create not just a five year, but also a ten year and even a twenty year masterplan. He needed to ensure that there was sufficient space to expand, to modernise and ultimately to automate. Sure, Qiu Yue had gathered some knowledge on such subjects during her stint in her previous line of work but hers was more focused on developing the existing modern infrastructures. As a result, she was unsure on how to start from scratch. Therefore, she asked King Sol if she could initiate a recruitment drive. Engineers, mages, scientists, craftsman and all other sorts of professions would be welcomed to be interviewed by her. Initially, King Sol was wondering why she would require all these workers. To him, the humanoids seemed more than capable of creating items which were way more advanced than whatever they could come up with. Nevertheless, Qiu Yue created a somewhat plausible excuse, stating that her race liked to collect information from other races to build up from that knowledge and find ways to incorporate and improve their own technology. King Sol was a little sceptical about it but eventually, he started considering it as a sort of future investment. By loaning out their expertise out to Qiu Yue, the goblins could potentially return with the humanoids knowledge which should prove useful in their own future too. Even though he was immediately sold as soon as Qiu Yue offered an exchange of information (as long as they were not deemed confidential), he continued to be wary against this cute little Red Panda Masked Humanoid. But his love for the kingdom never waned and if these exchange of information could help to secure the modernisation of the Goblin Kingdom, he would naturally do it in a heartbeat. Nevertheless, after already being ''scammed'' once by Qiu Yue in the initial agreement, King Sol had become a little wiser and asked her to set a loan duration. Qiu Yue decided on a three year period. The time flow between their own world and the Goblin''s was different. To Qiu Yue and Jin, it would only be a mere six months which she felt was already cutting it too short. However, it was not precisely a lose win situation for the Goblin Kingdom. Through the help of the System, Qiu Yue managed to haggle for that terribly large lump sum of gold they showed the King and the other advisors previously in their bet as compensation for loaning their expertise. Not just that, those professionals who would be loaned out to Jin, would have the opportunity to bring families and loved ones along with them. That way, those skilled workers would feel less homesick and not be worried about their loved ones. King Sol thought that it was a decent deal, considering he was currently in need of gold. It was to cover the sunk costs incurred from the ever hungry war chest, which was depleted after mobilising the army to defend against the orcs. King Sol also required the funds to rebuild the Western Coastal Town of Gob Gob Si, the Northern Valley Town of Gob Gob Bu, the villages that were raided and take care of the refugees he took in that escaped from the Orc conquered regions. Those orc conquered regions also became an important point of negotiation. Qiu Yue and Jin offered to step in to mediate mainly because they had acquired the former spymaster of the Orc Kingdom, Yellow Ice. Ever since Yellow Ice and Cross resurrected from the dead, they knew what they wished to do. As soon as they got the chance, they asked for Jin and begged him for a pardon to remove the Enforcement Loyalty Orders by the System. Unfortunately, the System did not allow any monsters to be released back into the ''wild'' and stated that if Jin wished to allow them to leave, they could. However, if he ever needed their help, Yellow Ice and Cross would be teleported immediately to his side, without prior warning nor need for consent. Jin explained that he would try not to make use of this too much but that that would be the only compromise he could give in the matter and the duo accepted. Yet, even after the plea to return to their kingdom, the former spymaster was forced to stay in the Dungeon Maker until Jin and Qiu Yue gave their own opinions on the current situation between the goblins and the orcs as well as their expectations on how Yellow Ice should proceed once returned home. "Giving back the regions we took, that I understand and those kinds of arrangements can be made. But creating trade between the Goblins and Orcs? That is a tall order you wish for us to achieve." Yellow Ice grumbled as he looked through the documents. (The System had printed them out in the goblin language for Yellow Ice to read. As a Spymaster, he had to be proficient in all the major languages of their world.) "We are not expecting you to implement those immediately. Have a few stand offs, some scuffles between the goblin nation if you need to. Then convince the public that the goblins are willing to hold a talk. Start with the essential items like food, some natural resources etc. After that, we could talk about more specific resources or even luxury goods trading. Else, there is always the possibility of a goblin uprising against the Orcs and there is nothing much you can do to prevent it." Jin stated as a matter of fact. "All things considered, the goblins technically repelled all of your attacks. The majority of your troops have perished, three of your kingdom''s avatars died and your King has disappeared, missing in action. We could make the goblins push for more demands rather than staying neutral since they were the winning party in this war. I heard rumours that even the Humans had decided to side more towards the goblins after rumours of the Orc King''s disappearance. I have news that those humans already began distancing themselves from Orc related activities. Unless something were to change, it does not bode well for the Orcs." Qiu Yue decided to use the stick since Jin had prepared the carrot. "Considering I am under your command and have no way to disagree, you two make a very valid point." Yellow Ice was being sarcastic and he knew what they were expecting from him. They wished to have him crowned as the new Orc King. He certainly had credentials to become one. He was the King''s former royal spymaster, a trusted figure in the Orc Military, a respected figure between the Orc Nobles and advisors, and lastly not to mention the only remaining Avatar of the Shaitans. Sure, the avatars could be chosen again by the various tribes but Yellow Ice had already proven himself as someone the Orcs could trust. Besides, he still had the support of the remnants of the Ice Orc Sea Fleet under his command which would no doubt provide him support for the throne should he wish to ascend. "My Liege, this is the best and perfect opportunity for you to restructure the kingdom. There might still be differences between the Goblins and Orcs but at least, we are one step closer into this arduous journey of unification." Cross whispered as he knelt to acknowledge his new King. Aside from that, Yellow Ice indeed had no option to say no to his ascension as the new King after his own Shaitan Noble, Shiva also came to speak to him personally after he resurrected. After being enraged for some time that she was unable to taste the flesh of her dear Avatar once he died, she became extremely delighted that he somehow came back to life. Moreover, Yellow Ice was also supplying her with a sort of new energy source. That magical energy even managed to stem her constant craving. The source no doubt came from the System after it analysed Flame Ripper''s energy signature. It modified the energy signature to suit Yellow Ice and provided him with an ample and yet at the same time restricted supply as an experiment suggested by Kraft and it worked wonders. Shiva had promptly decided to nurture Yellow Ice further and turned him into her descendant. In a way, he performed a side evolution. His appearance did not change much, but his body physique was more tone than before. (It even shined like a diamond under sunlight too!) The most important thing was that he was henceforth able to wield the bluish white ice energy instead of his usual yellowish ice energy. And as the new descendant, Shiva had granted a new name upon her new child. Frost Echo, The Prince of Icy Wrath. With the blessing of Shiva, Frost Echo returned to the Orc Kingdom before anarchy took place. With an (Icy) Iron Fist, Frost Echo promptly restored the powers and established a balance among the nobles and surviving military leaders. With the knowledge of serving under two kings, the Prince of Icy Wrath had begun to settle existing internal issues that had been plaguing the kingdom for a long time. Only when he believed results were achieved then he would introduce his reforms and enact his real master''s requests so that both the Orc and Goblin Kingdom could prosper. Cross initially wanted to remain as the shadow of his new King, an assassin that would do whatever had to be done without implicating his King, but Frost Echo denied him such a position. Instead, Cross was appointed to become Frost Echo''s right hand man. Despite the initial disagreements from many orcs, Cross was able to walk the fine line of threatening Orc nobles and convincing them to work for the new King. Only then did some of the leaders begin to respect Cross for his abilities. This allowed both to realise how they had indeed taken a step into what they had dreamed of, the start of a kingdom that could coexist. But of course, behind the new Orc King were the real decision makers. Frost Echo had to rely on the System''s resources to remedy the current issues to make the general Orc population as well as Shiva happy. The System, in turn, made Qiu Yue responsible for everything that Frost Echo requested. At first, Qiu Yue was unhappy with the System''s decision since she already had much on her plate to handle. But she slowly came to enjoy the power she wielded as Qiu Yue realised she was now responsible for the two new developing kingdoms. And it did not take long for Qiu Yue to start making plans on how to use her new toys in the most efficient way. (Frightening little red panda user!) Chapter 370 Midnight Gathering The System was extremely satisfied with the overall outcome of Jin''s intervention in the Goblin World. Not only did it gain a puppet King for the Orc Kingdom but it also established a significantly beneficial relationship with the Goblin Kingdoms. Therefore, after the negotiations were done, it finally kept its word and allowed Jin to give Qiu Yue the rights to become a Sub System User. "About damn time I''d say, she did so much work for us." Jin criticised as he was slouching in his home''s couch watching some online action movie while enjoying some snacks he bought from the Tiangong District. The rest of the bellators, along with Yun and Lynn were accompanying him as he had decided to call for an informal meeting beforehand. (The shop was currently handled by Another Jin and the announcers.) "Do you think she will like eating all this junk food? I could make better ones." Lynn asked as she happily munched on some crispy chicken flavoured popcorn. "If she does not like any of these snacks, I volunteer to clean this up for her. My stomach craves for such food!" Peppers gleed while slurping on a large cup of coke. "She will like them¡­ that is if she has not changed her taste sinc- HEY PEPPERS! NO!" Jin stopped Peppers from grabbing more than what was allocated for her. That was when the System teleported a slightly weary Qiu Yue over from the Goblin World to the living room where everyone else was waiting for her. "Erm? What''s the occasion?" Qiu Yue was famished from all the talks and the spread of food on the table was already calling out to her, luring her body like a snake being charmed by the sound of a pungi. As soon as Jin gave her an empty plate and asked her to grab a bite, she did not hesitate a single bit at all and immediately dug in. Regrettably, Yun did not allowed Qiu Yue to do so as she grabbed her by her collar and dragged Qiu Yue to the kitchen to wash her hands. "Hand hygiene. Who knows what kind of viruses you brought back from the goblin world?" Yun said as she watched Qiu Yue washed her hands thoroughly first before permitting her to run back to the table. This time Qiu Yue grabbed two pieces of chicken wing without delay. "Erm¡­okay. A few things to celebrate but mainly, it''s to officially congratulate you for getting the job done and earning the approval of the System. Today you have the chance to become a Sub System User. I wanted to throw a party for Lynn back then too..but-" Jin looked over at Lynn the moment he mentioned it. "But I rejected him outright. I thought it was not necessary after all the time I''ve worked for him." Lynn was blunt and harsh which made Jin feel embarrassed on the spot. "Ah! I still remember that rejection. Jin was depressed for the whole day." Milk had decided to add fuel to the fire as she unabashedly took a few takoyaki balls and gobbled them all at once. "Oh¡­no wonder he desperately wanted to train with me on that day. I was wondering why his strikes were so unusually weak." Zeru added nonchalantly while he nabbed a few onion rings from the snack buffet on the coffee table. "He even failed to close the fridge door when he came back from work. If not for the System regulating the electricity, we will be incurring a few hundreds of Yuan on the bills for neglect." Yun mentioned while chewing on a large slice of teriyaki chicken chop. "Such a shame. Jin even had a fanciful speech prepared for the occasion. Our Master here has spent a lot of time in front of the mirror going through it. Well, time to use it now, Jin!" Kraft sniggered as he fed his foxes the Xiao Long Baos (Soup dumplings with pork meat fillings). Meanwhile, Jin was starting to resemble a tomato from all the embarrassment of the combined mental attack. "Well, here I am, and I am not going to reject this amount of goodness. Ohhh! Cheese fries! And it''s still piping hot!! Those are my favourites!!!" Qiu Yue grabbed a few with her bare hands as she opened her mouth like a hippo and placed that bunch of fries into her mouth without any reserve. (Jin found it especially cute that her behaviour had remained the same.) "Anyways¡­yeah, this is also a way to thank all of you guys for helping me this much with this whole unexpected war." Jin smiled as he looked at each one of them in turn with an open heart of gratitude. "System does not require thanks and is unable to process any kind of food. Any other form of compensation?" The System asked and everyone burst into laughter. "NO WAY!! You gained the most out of the whole situation. YOU should be the one treating everyone!" Jin complained and the System projected a sad Emoticon on the TV screen before it sent a message to Qiu Yue''s phone. The message of acceptance to be a Sub System User. Jin then proceeded to warn Qiu Yue what to expect from accepting it and asked if she wanted to do it first before enjoying the rest of the food or after their meal. Qiu Yue immediately agreed to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Thinking too much into it would not help much with the situation either. Hence, she tapped to agree on her phone and suddenly her phone floated and shot a beam of intense light towards the top of her head. Instead of the excruciating pain Lynn had suffered, Qiu Yue suddenly found herself resisting an invisible heavy burden that pushed her down to the ground, as if it was trying to flatten her. She tried to bear with it with her by displaying her current cultivation but it was useless. Within five short seconds, she fell to her knees and subsequently she was lying on the ground gasping for air. Yet the others could only look, they were unable to do anything to help her. Nobody was able to interfere with the trial of a Sub System User. What seemed like seconds for Jin and the others felt like an eternity as Qiu Yue tried to withstand the invisible force tying her down to the ground. Yet after some time, just as easy as it came, it also disappeared that abruptly. The System gave the notification to Jin that the Sub System had been inserted into Qiu Yue and he could see that she was already sweating buckets on the floor from the trial. "Good thing, you did it immediately, else you might have vomited all this tasty food. Relax a bit and enjoy it now." Yun tried to comfort her as she and Lynn assisted Qie Yue up. Milk passed her a few pieces of tissues to wipe her sweat away and aided her to remove her jacket. "Suddenly, I feel like Queen." Qiu Yue said and everyone laughed and stopped being too concerned for her, while they continued to enjoy their buffet that was laid out at the coffee table. Only Jin was still kind enough to offer her a cup of root beer and advised her to cool down some more. After the snacking, they decided to stay around at the request of Jin as he pulled out a deck of cards and they began to play Texas Poker on the dining table since there were still leftovers on the coffee table. With a tap on the phone by Yun, the dining table immediately turned into a poker table laid with premium speed felt and tens of chips appeared on the table. The felt layout gave an authentic playing surface and it helped to reduce the poker chip bouncing and those messy pots. Since they were playing for fun, Yun gave each of them a particular set of chips. As Lynn was not too familiar with the game, Kraft decided to assist her with it. Pei eventually came out of the blessing bracelet and sat down beside Jin, though he was the only one who could see her aside from Kraft. "I cannot project my full powers in the bracelet form. This is to protect all of you from that devilman''s mind games. Otherwise, none of you will ever win." Pei explained as she fiddled with her fox tail a little. As Jin rarely sees Pei in her true form, he noticed that she now wore the traditional Korean Hanbok. "Pei probably liked those traditional clothes in general huh¡­" Jin thought to himself as she had been appearing in various oriental sets when she was in her true form. Meanwhile, Kraft got a little disappointed upon Pei''s cruel accusation and in order to prevent any disagreement, he volunteered to be the card dealer after he taught Lynn the basics with the aid of others by giving her a dry run. However, before the game officially started, Moloch appeared in front of them with his puppet human in a formal casino suit. He stood right beside Kraft. "The System notified me that you guys are playing a card game. I shall be the dealer instead since I''m a good to honest card mechanic compared to this crafty old fox here." Moloch''s puppet immediately grabbed up the cards away from Kraft and threw them into a bin. An unopened box of cards appeared magically from Moloch''s puppet hand and he took the cards out to shuffle them. The various shuffles Moloch did was so quick yet stylish which it looked so amazing that the crowd clapped as he gave the cards out. Despite being ostracised, Kraft decided to stay for a couple game just for the fun of it. Even if he was denied playing some mind games behind the scenes, he was still going to get his petty revenge back on the entire crowd. Unsurprisingly it didn''t took long for Kraft to win a game or two because of the bluffs he made despite Moloch''s attempt to rig the game against him. While he was unable to mess with anyone directly, Kraft was able to pick up the subtle body language from the other players. That was just the start! Upon learning their behaviours, all he needed was to insert a few of his own little psychological games and that was sufficient to upset the entire balance of the group. If the group were some high rollers strangers, they would have ordered Kraft to be killed after the game was done. It was that frustrating. "Hahahah! Another win for me! Oh man, you guys should really train on your poker face. Especially Master. You are too easy to read." Kraft laughed heartily as he finally decided to stay at the sidelines to watch over the rest of the games before he spoiled the fun that Jin had wanted to provide for the whole gang. As the games went on, the chips began not to matter much, so Yun decided to make this into a more challenging game. "A chip for a glass of alcohol. Who is in for it? Whatever''s your poison, I will provide." Yun suggested and that was when everyone became excited. Even Peppers who was technically underage was given Chu-Hai, a sort of Japanese alcoholic beverage diluted with carbonated water so that she could have the feel of being drunk. "Who will be paying for all these premium drinks?" The System spoke out from Yun''s phone and everyone simultaneously pointed at Jin, who was already sighing in despair when the System opened its mouth. "Fine, fine. But then everyone has to get drunk or else they are not allowed to sleep! No clarity spells!" Jin said with his eyes at Milk and Peppers. Both of them accepted willingly and they began playing with such bets. On the other hand, being a card mechanic, Moloch had decided to spare Jin from drinking too much alcohol. After all, the shop needed someone to care for it. (Although on hindsight, Moloch had severely underestimated Yun''s capacity to handle liquor.) Should the Original Jin pass out, the Another Jin''s would also disappear. Therefore, he purposely made the card dealing look random but it was calculated to ensure Jin was still alive and sober. The longer the games go on, the rest of the bellators and Sub System Users, aside from Yun, were getting more and more drunk that the drinks counter could be empty before sunrise. "Hah! Four Kings!!! All of you drink and bow to the majestic prowess of this Fiery Demonic Sage Queen!" Peppers showed her hand as she matched with the dealer''s cards and everyone was growling except for one. Lynn quietly put her hand of cards down and gave Peppers a peace symbol and a wide smile. "HAHAHAHAH! FOUR ACES!" Milk was laughing hysterically at Peppers as she pushed five cups of low alcoholic content beverage to Peppers and demanded her to drink. Peppers cried foul play at Lynn''s beginner''s luck but Milk had already begun forcing the drink into that poor little kid. Kraft could not help and chuckled as he began recording these moments with the aid of the System via one of his foxes. "This is what a family should be. This is what the previous Panda clan masters had always aspired to have. Jin, never ever lose this. I only hope that you will have more time in the future to enjoy moments like this. Especially when trouble always has a way to find the System''s User¡­" Kraft solemnly thought to himself as he beamed with a broad grin, watching Peppers seizing the opportunity to drown Milk with her own alcoholic beverage in the next round. Chapter 371 Empire Building Sub System "You drunk yet?" Jin asked Qiu Yue who was sitting at the side of the couch fiddling with her phone when he individually aided the rest back to their respective rooms. "I picked my poison well. Have you forgotten that between us, I was the who could hold my liquor, you were always the one I had to take care of." Qiu Yue teased Jin as she already had taken a cup of Black Ivory coffee from the kitchen''s coffee maker. (Yun had purposely placed one there as she found it irritating to keep going back to the store to have one made.) "That was a long time ago¡­ How''s the interface so far? Are you getting familiar with it?" Jin was a bit embarrassed as he tried to change the subject. He asked as he sat on the floor, eating the leftovers. He was surprised they were still piping hot and then remembered Yun saying something about the coffee table having a time stasis function courtesy of the System. It paused the physical and chemical process that was ongoing on the coffee table until the food left the area. That was also why all of their food stored within the cabinets were never rotten or spoilt. Lynn also used that particular function to prepare cooked food in advance and kept it in their kitchen storage when there were lesser customers. She also used it to evaluate her penguin disciples when Lynn was not around to examine their food. "Very simple¡­very intuitive. It is really as easy as playing a computer game. Just that I did not expect it to be something like augmented reality. Can you see it?" Qiu Yue was reading the manual given by the Empire Building Sub System from her revamped phone by the System. As she pressed a particular app in her phone, the System screens would pop up for Qiu Yue to preview. Jin and the others who were affected by the System would be able to recognise what Qiu Yue was doing. However, everyone else like King Sol, all he would see was Qiu Yue making weird hand gestures in the air as if she was practising casting some magical spells while holding on to a thin metallic block of an artefact. "Hahaha, and apparently, it is giving me a lump sum of dungeon dollars as a bonus which is not affiliated to your account although I also have access to that one. I must say, you are not a very thrifty person at all as compared to the person I knew you as back then." Qiu Yue told Jin as she swiped her augmented screen towards Jin for him to see. "Well, business and real life are different, you know. At the very least, I am still getting a small- *cough* ahem, VERY SMMMMALLLLL cut out of every dungeon instance I sold, and they are all in the bank." Jin purposely emphasised the pathetic sales percentage he was given by the System back when he first started the shop. It never increased but the business accounts checked out in case of any audits. He figured there had to be some ex Panda clan member who could do such brilliant bookkeeping under the System''s care. "User will have a major increase in percentage when he reaches Dungeon Supplier Rank 4, up to 5% of the cut." The System noted and Jin wondered if it was a coincidence of the System improving his quality of life whenever he brought up a particular issue. "Do you actually have a plan on the benefits I get from ranking up or do you implement whatever I say as the improvement for the ranking?" Jin wanted to know and the System acknowledged his reply. "Indeed, some of the ranks'' rewards are based on User''s desires and complaints as a way to improve the User''s relationship with the System. This is because the System accommodates differently for each and every user it encounters. System must have a flexible ranking system to fit the user''s situation and especially since he is contributing to it. However, System has fixed milestones pegged to certain ranks as a default reward. The rest of the ranking system is based on the User''s needs. If you wish to change your rewards, do not hesitate to ask and the System shall implement it when fulfilling the requirement." The System stated and Jin for the first time realised that was how it was being done. "So, do I enjoy such benefits as well?" Qiu Yue asked and the System answered that the Sub Systems worked differently from the Main System. Whenever Jin levelled up, the rest would too but the rewards were more or less narrowed for the Sub System Users. For Lynn, it would be unlocking various cuisine recipes or food materials. Qiu Yue would have the opportunity to unlock certain quality of life functions that would make her Empire Building smoother. "Oh well, that is better than nothing. Anyways, Jin, come and take a look what Peppers has prepared beforehand. It was preloaded into the Sub System before I acquired it. Apparently, it is also one of the rewards that the System bestowed to me for doing such a seemingly excellent (according to the System''s rating) job in managing the Goblin Orc relations and the War." Qiu Yue said with a hint of pride as she beckoned Jin to the couch while she grabbed her cup of coffee from the table. "It had analysed what Peppers created and used Mooogle Maps along with other famous GPS apps to give me a model predicting of how the city will turn out to be in the future." "Then isn''t Peppers initial work is for nought?" Jin examined at the map carefully on the console while Qiu Yue sneakily cuddled Jin up as she sipped her coffee. Jin was concentrating on the map so much, he did not even notice it since Qiu Yue was also explaining to him the details of the city model map. "No I wouldn''t say that. What Peppers did was to allocate the regions like industry, agriculture, housing and surprisingly even tourism into the city model. The Sub System then added roads, transportation, the electrical and sewage system into it based on the hundreds of cities it analysed. It even recommended a swap of few regions but also stated the advantages of Pepper''s decision and left it to us to decide how we wish to proceed." Qiu Yue pointed out while holding her cup and Jin instinctively pulled Qiu Yue closer as if it was the old times. (She snuggled a bit tighter when given the opportunity!) "I see, then what about defence wise? I mean we will be facing strong oppression from that particular dungeon''s world demon army. Don''t we at least need walls or anything?" Jin asked to see if there was a difference in opinion with Qiu Yue. "Hmm, Modern cities do not have walls, and I think putting a wall up would not make too much of a difference if what you previously mentioned before is true. Besides, we already have a magical barrier to protect us from those crazy ass earth shattering spells. And why make the city a stronghold fortress when we can make each and every building THE stronghold. Get my drift? Capeesh?" Qiu Yue was laughing when she said that and Jin realised he had not even considered that at all. He had been wanting to construct a city akin to old medieval ways rather than modern ones even though his city was meant to be modernised. "That is awesome but I have some more questions. For one, I thought you said you are going to hire some building planning experts to alleviate the city building problem?" Jin asked and Qiu Yue replied that she initially did not know what to expect from the Sub System. "I was actually waiting to take a look at the Sub System first before I start the hiring process. The recruitment drive is not done yet so my final choices can still differ a little. Hmm, maybe I just hire a small team as perhaps consultant? I do not know how much help they can offer but I believe no matter what, their experience should be helpful. Additionally, we let them take this back home as valuable lessons. We can accumulate more favours that way." Qiu Yue deduced and Jin began to remember why he chose this girl for the job. Decisive, kind hearted and yet a little sly. "But aside from Peppers and the System''s input, don''t you also have any input of your own?" Jin asked. "Hmm, Regions wise I have no qualms and they make perfect sense. In fact, what they did, might actually bring out the optimal growth for city. I am more concerned about the cost of building the cities. The Sub System did allow me to have a look at the markets and buy things at the basic prices. I mean, we do have access to discounts and stuff by buying a lot so we should be able to get by with the money I received on my account. But I am also looking for alternatives." Qiu Yue explained and showed her Empire account to Jin. "Not to mention, one of the other rewards from the System was actually an Investments Mode¡­I erm bought the Orcs and Goblin''s Central Banks through a little bit of negotiation between King Sol and the new Orc King Frost Echo." "Holy shit. And considering their economy is still pretty immature, you stand to earn lots if you apply even the simplest concepts such as bonds and mortgages into their banking system¡­well if they did not have such a concept in the first place." Jin became so excited about the current issue and his amazement at her feats that Qiu Yue felt it oozing out of Jin. She felt rather aroused and wondered if it was the exotic alcohol that played a part even though she still felt sober. "Oh no, I want him so badly now¡­" Qiu Yue thought as she playfully pushed herself closer to Jin and touched his abdomen. She was surprised to feel the results of his training. No more flabby tummy like he had back in university and even his arms were well toned. "I checked, they do not have such concepts and if I implement them, I can definitely earn back a decent sum." Qiu Yue leaned her head on Jin. "Sleepy? Looks like the coffee isn''t working on you. We can continue this tomorrow if you want." Jin asked as he could feel the heaviness of her head on his right arm. Qiu Yue gently shook her head. "I just want to be right beside you. Let me¡­hold you a while longer." She pushed herself even closer to Jin and whispered into his ears. Knowing he was vulnerable and there was no one in the living room, Qiu Yue went ahead and nibbled on his ears before looking right into his eyes. Jin was not that oblivious and knew what was going on. He went on to grab Qiu Yue by the waist and brought her onto his laps. Their breathing became heavier but soon after it was synchronised. The stare between the two were intense and without any word, Qiu Yue''s face inched towards Jin''s with every second passed. "MASTER! MASTER! MASTER!!!!!" Mr Patsu suddenly barged in from a portal on the side of the living room and ran in with bated breath. Jin turned his head to hear what was the commotion but Qiu Yue was extremely annoyed by the change of circumstances. She was not giving up even though Jin released his hands from her and quickly hugged Jin tightly while showing a pouty face at the incoming penguin NPC. However, Mr Patsu did not care for anything else but the news he was about to relay. "There is an emergency! A group of gangsters has entered our shop! They are trashing the place for no reason! Another Jin told them to stop and instead, they assaulted him! He is currently holding them off but because you are split up, his powers are limited! Some of the cultivators tried to help but he told them not to interfere." Mr Patsu was panting heavily after he spoke and quickly turned on the TV. The System immediately switched the channel to the CCTVs. "16 in total and they are not low grades at all. At least Grade 4 or 5!" Mr Patsu exclaimed. "User, while unfortunate, given the situation you are required to return to the shop. Wear the Panda Mask and find a way to merge back with Another Jin. Do you require further assistance from the bellators?" The System asked as it opened a portal. "I will help you with this, let the others rest." Pei appeared visible to all from the blessing bracelet and whistled as she put on her Fox Mask. Tsu and Kai responded to her call and stood right beside her waiting for her commands. As Jin got up from the sofa while apologising to Qiu Yue, she stopped him forcefully. "You two. Stay. I will be the one go. It would be awkward if your real identity is accidentally revealed by the gangsters." Qiu Yue said as she took her katana out and her Red Panda Mask. "But your grade, it''s too dangerous to -" Jin wanted to stop her, but Qiu Yue placed a finger at his mouth before he could finish his sentence. "Let me show off a little to my new Boss. You won''t believe how strong I can be with this all New Sub System." Qiu Yue said as she picked up Jin''s phone. "You will support me right, System? Since it''s within the premise in the name of self defence." Qiu Yue commented as she walked towards to the portal. "As a showcase, the System shall provide the appropriate funds for Sub User Qiu Yue to impress User." The System replied openly before switching to a private transmission. "As compensation for interrupting a potential mating session, Sub User is permitted to go all out. The System will bear all costs incurred." Qiu Yue heard the System and grinned widely with her eyebrows furrowed with anger under the Red Panda Mask as she threw Jin''s phone back at him. "Well, expect this to get expensive. Because I have plentiful amount of frustration to vent on these goons to ''coincidentally'' disturb my happy time." Qiu Yue replied as she walked into the portal. Chapter 372 Money is Power "Why are you just defending? Scared to take on the whole lot of us? Huh!!?" The Ruby Rat gangster taunted as he slammed his war hammer hard on Another Jin''s sword. If not for the sturdiness and quality of his sword, Bam, Another Jin would have suffered the blow directly. He had been trying to defuse the situation when they first entered as calm as he could be. But those Ruby Rat gangsters were playing real rough. Kicking chairs down, whacking the machines with their weapons and trying to turn over the couches yet Another Jin did not make any move at all. What he did was instruct the other cultivators to remain calm and not make a move against them. Besides, he already called the police via the System''s communication channel and the police dispatcher notified him that they would reach in ten. Unfortunately, Another Jin was unaware that the Ruby Rats had blockaded off the Tiangong Shopping District''s main roads leading to Jin''s store. Even if the police managed to handle them, it would still take some time to reach Jin''s store. In a way, it was a reasonably small yet organised operation controlled by the lackeys of Ong, one of the Ruby Rat''s leaders who finally received bail to come out. The cultivators who were currently in Jin''s store were extremely furious by the gangsters'' acts of vandalism and wanted to retaliate. However, many of them understood that if they went against such a big crowd, they might not only get injured but also suffer some unnecessary trouble afterwards. They believed that was why Boss Jin was the only one that remained silent and composed even when the gangsters began to wreck the area. One of them even had the audacity to pee at the couch. Some of the cultivators tried to shout back at the Ruby Rat gangsters for their ruthless tactics but the gangsters warned them to shut up, else they would regret it. Yet, one of the cultivators'' words were so spiteful that the gangsters figured why they should tolerate these much insults, what more could go wrong with assaulting the customers? Besides, they also wanted Jin to react so they could have the excuse to attack him all at once. These acts of vandalism were indeed a statement against Jin, but the Ruby Rats would typically not be stupid enough to attack the bystanders without any reasons. They would be humiliated among the various triads for being so effeminate to initiate the attack on innocents. What''s more, was that the cultivators themselves were filming everything. If the Ruby Rats were to attack the innocents indiscriminately, they would lose all face if a video of them doing so got leaked out. "Stop. You can do what you want to the store, but don''t you ever dare hurt my customers." Another Jin moved forward to protect the low level cultivator who said those spiteful words and stared at the gangster intently. "Don''t expect any mercy if you do!" "Hahahaha! Oh no, we have angered the mighty Boss! I am scared! Mercy! Oh Mercy!" The lackey dramatised his actions before he attempted to sucker punch Another Jin who managed to block it easily. The cultivators saw that and felt offended as they drew their weapons for Jin. "Stop! Do not engage them. Step backwards. Otherwise, I will prohibit anyone who interferes, from entering this shop." Another Jin ordered and the cultivators reluctantly complied but still had their weapons at the ready. The gangster attempted to punch him once more but Another Jin kept evading with ease. Seeing that one was not enough, more of the lackeys entered the fray and fought against him. Another Jin noticed that even though the attacks themselves were crude, the coordination between them was there. They knew how to fight as a team. But no matter the case, Another Jin remained on the defensive and refused to throw blows unless it was needed to protect himself. "System, is ''five more minutes'' seriously that long?" Another Jin complained as the gangsters began to use techniques against him and if the police did not reach in time, Jin probably needed to disturb the Original Jin. "It''s past nine minutes. The police seem to be caught up with some other incident." The System replied. "Shit, call Jin. I cannot handle this alone." Another Jin said as he caught a blade with his two bare hands and attempted to throw the sword away. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C A few bullets whizzed through the air as Another Jin managed to climb over the bar in time to avoid them. "System, are they all focused on me?" He took a deep breather as he could hear the reloading sound of a pistol with live ammunition. "Yes, as planned, activating barrier to enclose them so the customers won''t get injured." The System reported and replied that the Original Jin was not coming. "What?! Why? Is he asleep or something?!" Another Jin reactively lowered his head when he heard guns firing at him once more before two shadows climbed over the bar in order to surprise ambush the unfortunate Another Jin. Suddenly, a portal appeared right in front of Another Jin and it surprised the two gangsters. A scabbard flew across to the right, stunning the gangster while a katana was thrown towards the gangster on the left. The scabbard hit the gangster on his throat causing him to grasp for air but the other was being stabbed into his abdomen. Qiu Yue jumped towards the one on the right and grabbed the sword''s hilt. She then turned the handle and pulled it out effortlessly from his stomach. "Yo, thanks for holding on. Jin managed to get in touch with ehh Detective Xue Ping. She said we could use any force necessary to subdue the gangsters and will handle the aftermath as soon as she arrives on to the scene. Of course, she instructed us, to limit ourselves to minimal casualties if possible." Qiu Yue informed him with her Red Panda Mask on and Another Jin noticed she was wearing the same armoured clothes she had on for the Goblin Bet. "IF possible." Qiu Yue reiterated. "Who is this fucking masked lady? You too wussy to fight yourself? Does the mighty Boss Jin need a girl to fight for him?" The Ruby Rat Leader, Yang scoffed at the hiding Boss. "More like, he cannot be bothered to fight with garbage like you. Haven''t you noticed? All he did was just playing the fool to buy time for the police to come. " Qiu Yue shouted loudly as she beheaded the choking gangster with a stroke. (So much for minimal casualties¡­ ) "Well, where''s your precious police when you need them?" Yang countered in a condescending tone while signalling the other gangsters who were controlling their anger to attack after witnessing their comrades being cut down by that Red Panda Masked Girl. "No need. I am the sheriff of the day in this store." Qiu Yue leapt over the bar counter with ease and moved towards the gangster mob. The ongoing scene stupefied Another Jin. He knew that Qiu Yue was going to duel with the gangsters to the death but luckily they would no longer face any repercussion as Detective Xue Ping authorised it. However, he did not remember Qiu Yue being this agile nor powerful enough to cut down two Grade four cultivators without breaking a sweat. "It''s one of the rewards bestowed to her. Using Money to exchange for a temporary boost of attributes. In User''s terms, she could be classified as a ''Pay to Win'' cultivator." The System explained to Another Jin who was looking at the whole scene with bewilderment. The System also further elaborated that Qiu Yue had boosted her body limits to the maximum by paying the System to power her up. She even bought certain traits such as acrobatics and a set of martial arts techniques to deal with these goons. "So she literally has the power of money in her hands¡­how much did she spent?" Another Jin saw how she effortlessly dispatched another three Grade 4 gangsters to the netherworld by beheading them in two slashes. Not a single blood was spilt from the body until the heads hit the floor and human fountains of blood slightly terrified the remaining gangsters. "''Craploads''. Those attribute boosts and traits are, however limited and temporary. Limited as in the amount of attributes points were capped to a certain value due to the constraint of her body and cultivation. Sub User Qiu Yue''s maximum limit is currently at Grade 9. By the end of the hour, she will return to normal and the strain of the increase in attributes will kick in. System has already informed Original Jin to take care of her as she will potentially experience extensive muscular pains throughout her body for pushing it to the limit in an instant without prior training." The System stated that Qiu Yue had decided to go all out to test the capabilities to the highest power ceiling available. Despite being afraid, the crowd who were behind the force barrier cheered for the Red Panda masked girl which they had never seen before in the store. Regardless, it brought them satisfaction that the gangsters were punished the old fashion way. Two gangsters revealed their Grade Six cultivations in an attempt to intimidate her but Qiu Yue did not give two hoots about them. She efficiently sent them to the afterlife even before they had the chance to use any attack. At this point, Yang became intimidated and panic stricken by her intervention. No one had informed them, that this Store had someone like her guarding it. That Red Panda masked girl must be some powerful sword user and certainly more trained compared to them. At the very least, she should be a Grade Ten to slaughter them without a hitch. He immediately went to his knees to beg for forgiveness and the rest who were still alive joined him to prostrate in front of her. Qiu Yue, on the contrary stomped her feet at Yang''s head. "Huh? I thought someone was acting so high and mighty. Now tell me, why should I stop my policing?" Qiu Yue said as she ''gently'' pressed her other boot down until the floor began to crack at the pressure. Yang nearly peed himself, as this time would be his head rolling along the floor if he did not give a satisfying answer. "The Ruby Rat Boss! De Tian! He wanted us to teach the Boss here a lesson for messing with us. If we could kill him, he assured us that we would be rich! We did not expect such an amazing martial expert such as your esteemed self to be under the employment of Jin¡­no I mean Big Boss Jin!!" Yang answered hastily as he attempted to curry favour to Qiu Yue, hoping she would spare his life with the praises he made. But as quick as he could correct his form of address for Jin, he saw Qiu Yue''s katana stabbed through the ground with only one centimetre away from him. Any nearer, Yang would have lost his nose. "Our main objective was to simply harass him! That is all! We have gone overboard! PLEASE! We will reflect on our mistakes! Please release us, and we will promise not to bother the Great Almighty Lady Boss ever again!" Yang cried out loud. He knew that he just needed to turn her attention towards him a bit longer. Once she dropped her guard, his fellow lackeys would perform a team sneak attack on her. A common tactic they practice throughout the years. "Heh, I could let you leave. But the thing is¡­you not only successfully harassed us. You destroyed properties worth thousands of Yuan, vandalised my workplace, attempted to assault our valued customers. In a way, it prevented my Boss from earning his income, which indirectly affects my bonus too. Additionally, you offended me verbally too, so being the Sheriff of the day. I think the judgement should pretty clear." Qiu Yue said as she lifted her fist and was about to kill him with a single punch until the police entered the scene. "Stop! This is the police! We will take over from here. Any further action will be taken as obstruction of the police!" Detective Xue Ping hurriedly entered the shop with Gupta, Abdul and Deng Long only to be halted by some invisible force. Another Jin then pulled the force barrier down and the policemen began to cuff the rest of the gangsters who were obedient enough to not struggle against it. Xue Ping saw the carnage that was left over and was relieved that she at least succeeded to reach before everyone present was killed. Qiu Yue held her fist and slammed it on the ground to scare Yang once again before she walked back towards the Bar. "I leave the rest to you then. Good Luck, my dear Imposter Jin!" Qiu Yue said as she left with a portal even though Xue Ping kept telling her to not run away. "Your employee?" Xue Ping asked as she demanded the entire account of the incident. Another Jin complied and gave the necessary details as well as the CCTV details from his bar counter. "For that Red Panda Girl¡­she is like a fixer of some sort. I am afraid you have to catch her yourself if you want information. Otherwise, I am taking the responsibility of her being my champion for the ''duel'' that you authorised." Another Jin replied. After taking the accounts of everyone, Jin''s story corresponded with the other testimonies and the customers even told the police they were willing to be his witnesses if needed. Other cops began to arrive and they took the gangsters back to the police station. Another Jin apologised to the customers for the inconvenience and provided them each with a one gold panda medal as a compensation package. Most were elated and thanked Jin before they went to the various shop instances to do some stress relief shopping. (To his surprise, many were not distraught by the killings as he had expected but he did affirm them that if they needed any psychological help, do not hesitate to ask the police or him.) After the entire incident, Xue Ping was the only one who stayed back as she put her badge down on the table and she discussed what had really happened with Another Jin. "As a friend, I have some bad news for you. I am afraid it is something I can only inform you about without taking any action about it." Chapter 373 Police Partnership "In that case, I suppose it would be appropriate to discuss it in a more private place. Our new High Class Option in the Restaurant Instance should be the perfect place." Another Jin suggested as he informed the System to contact Original Jin to meet Xue Ping. After Operation Pompeii, Lynn had created another train car to accommodate more private or special occasions. She had received feedback that some of the cultivators were willing to pay extra for a more comfortable, luxurious and intimate setting. Jin had casually reviewed the proposal and gave her the go ahead, though he emphasised that the service instance was ultimately hers to take control. Xue Ping acknowledged and headed in first as Another Jin excused himself, stating that he needed to tend to a few things. However, the moment she entered, Xue Ping already saw Original Jin waiting for her as if he had been doing that for a very long time. "I erm¡­weren''t you just..erm..nevermind." Xue Ping guessed he just teleported to the place while she had to wait a while for the train to arrive at the platform. "Would you like something to drink? It''s on the house since you helped us resolve that previous ruckus." Jin asked as he placed the menu in front of her. Meanwhile, he took a closer look into the interior decoration of the place. It did feel grand with what Lynn had done to the place. She created a couple of rooms within the train car, each with its own national theme. The one they currently stayed in featured a Traditional Japanese Theme (Washitsu). The traditional Koto (Zither) and Shamisen (Three string instrument) were being played in the background contributed to the feeling of serene tranquillity within the tatami room. The sliding doors were there to cover the view of the train and at the opposing side, to allow waiters to enter and serve them. Even the penguins'' outfits fit the theme room they served as they saw a penguin with a kimono wearing a traditional hair ornament (Kanzashi) entering from the side. It was truly a testament to all the effort Lynn put into designing it. "I will get the usual, Black Ivory with additional milk and sugar. Thanks." Xue Ping answered and the penguin bowed to acknowledge the order before waddling away. Xue Ping sighed before looking at Jin who was already enjoying a cup of hot Japanese tea. "The harassment was just the start. From what we heard, Ruby Rat Boss, Wo De Tian had appointed Ong to be the one overlooking these erm ''activities'' according to our sources." "¡­Wait, Ong? Wasn''t he killed back then¡­?" Only when Jin saw the expression on Xue Ping''s face did he realise what had happened. "His boss paid to resurrect him? That Ong is such a big shot for the boss to be concerned about him?" Jin was baffled as he had no explicit knowledge of the Ruby Rats'' organisational hierarchy nor what position Ong exactly had. All he knew was that he had been a pain in the ass to fight against and would be harder in the future. Like video game villains, they would only get stronger with their hatred and desire for revenge. Either that or he was bound to have his boss, or Big Brother trying to take revenge for him, the next time they met. Jin could already see Ong laughing at him the moment they meet again. (That typical an eye for an eye, ''I will return my debt'' kind of scenario was already playing through Jin''s head.) "Yes, and it''s not just that. Your sudden sales tactics in recent days not only plummeted their sales but even managed to affect their stocks to a certain extent." Xue Ping said as she showed Jin the Ruby Rat''s entertainment industry stocks. "Wait, this is a bit too far fetched. To be frank, I am just one small dungeon supplier store. While I may be successful on an individual level, King''s Monster is a franchise. There should be no way their stocks can plummet just because we got some new customers!" Jin rebutted. Luckily as things might have gotten heated up, the penguin waitress entered to bring in Xue Ping''s order which allowed Jin to calm down a bit. "True, it is not you that their shares dropped drastically. It is indirectly because of you. Take a look at this article here." Xue Ping swiped her phone to the right, seemingly prepared for Jin''s reply. He read the article with an intense focus which he then found out it was regarding Sea Mesh and their cooperation. The company whose CEO he made a deal with to create the remote portal device had made an official declaration. In the article, it was reported that by the end of the year, they would be developing a prototype of a Dungeon Instance Remote Portal Device in exclusive partnership with Dungeons and Pandas. Suffice to say, various major dungeon suppliers had been vying for a partnership spot with Sea Mesh for a very long time. Some had even offered millions of Yuan for their research budgets but yet, none had managed to secure that spot¡­ Until Dungeons and Pandas that is. A newly opened startup supplier store in Tiangong Shopping District which was rumoured to boast many exceptionally high quality and realistic dungeons. The article stated that many cultivators who went once, never bother to enter another dungeon supplier store again. "Oh my god, so Ke Loong advertised my shop as he fits¡­ Maybe he genuinely had good intentions despite what is happening because of it." Jin had been unaware that his partnership with Ke Loong would be this impactful so soon. "Take a look at where that article appeared. People''s Daily Newspaper. They are also the ones to publish the infamous Cultivation Monthly. And it seems congratulations are in order. Your store received a full six page coverage in their latest issue." Xue Ping took out a copy of it and showed it to Jin. He noticed that his Panda billboard was at the corner of the front page. When he briefly went through it, the reporter was very detailed and had information on almost every instance available before the Goblin Raid instances. There were even pictures taken of familiar Pandawans fighting on the Big Screen of his shop instances. The reporter never failed to mention about the service instances like the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring, Panda Muscles and the Reservoir of Deep Fishing too. He even told the readers to watch out for more updates on this supplier. "You stole the spotlight from any other store. I am sure you roughly understand now why De Tian is doing this to you and where this conversation is heading? While you may have been an annoyance before, you have suddenly become more than a thorn by his side. And someone of his stature will do anything in his position to crush you before you develop into even more of a threat to his business." Xue Ping explained, with a tone of sadness. "The police will naturally try our best to do what we can in order to prevent chaos and havoc in the district, but we fear things like today may repeat. Even worse, they might escalate to the point where a street war could occur. We do not want such a catastrophe to happen, nor do we wish this kind of infamous reputation to blemish our district. And since you are in this district, you are partially responsible for this incident." Xue Ping commented. Jin did not like the way the conversation was going one bit. It was as if there was a particular motive behind those words. "I am obviously oblivious to all this. Heck, I did not even know where that reporter got all his information from. I am simply trying to make a living here. Would you be so kind as to explain what you are implying?" Jin decided to act innocent and see what Xue Ping was getting at. She sighed and took out a stack of papers from her storage ring, before passing them over. Jin took a quick glance at the papers and slammed them on the table. "NEVER! This is out of the question!" Jin summoned his Panda Black fire at his fingertips and burnt that stack of papers right in front of her. Even as the fire burnt the last bit of the documents, Jin continued to hold on to it and crushed the reminding ashes in front of her. "I will NOT sell my shop to the Ruby Rats. If you are colluding with them, I ask you to pick up your badge, take your coffee and kindly leave. You are still welcome to join us for dungeons but this conversation is over." Jin answered in a stern voice and he threw the ashes to the side as if to indicate he would do anything to protect this particular shop with his life. Xue Ping smirked at the dedication and determination against the Ruby Rat Triad. "We figured as much. Then how about this?" Xue Ping took another stack of papers and placed it on the table. "Please. At least take a closer look at this before you even consider about burning it. I had to offer you the easiest solution, even though it would have been a surprise if you had actually accepted." Xue Ping pleaded to Jin and he could see that her hands were slightly shaking when she placed the papers down. Despite his anger, he decided to give Xue Ping one last chance as he looked at the new set of papers. He read through it once, but since a lot of it was written in legal terms, he would need Xiong Da to help him not overlook anything. "This is¡­?" Jin was a lot more interested in this particular contract. "In short, you will allow us to officially conduct police training in your dungeons. In exchange for your services, you will become one of our authorised training partners and enjoy every advantage, which includes" Xue Ping pointed at her badge, half indicating that he could potentially be approved for the use of lethal action in the name of self defence. "¡­if you get my drift. We will also definitely pay a certain monetary sum from our budget but do not expect a lot of profit. However, in return¡­" Xue Ping smiled and let Jin figure out part of the benefits. "In return, you will have policemen stationed here. If any gangsters decide to trash this place again, we will have the right to protect ourselves without any major consequences?" Jin tried to guess, but Xue Ping laughed heartily. "Well, not quite, but something like that. At the very least, the police will be able to respond in time. Should they mess with our fellow officers, we have valid reasons to take action against not just the goons but the Ruby Rat Triad as a whole, giving us the possible jurisdiction to stomp their building." Xue Ping commented and this suddenly gave Jin a bright idea. "Say¡­this Tiangong shopping district¡­it is not owned by any Triad or Royal Zodiac Clans, right?" Jin asked and Xue Ping furrowed her eyebrows at where his question was going. "While the Royal Zodiac Tigers partially own this particular region of Shenzhen, the Tiangong District itself is directly under Grandma Yuan''s protection. In a way, she has some district influence that may overrule the local police once in a while unless Central Police Station decides to step in. If you are wondering, the Ruby Rats operate under their own influence circle, so do not even think of venturing into their territory. The police there works for them too. Have you forgotten your last stint? Please don''t make us arrest you again. If you are apprehended again, it won''t be as easy as paying your bail. I am sure they have made preparations to detain you a lot longer if not worse." Xue Ping warned him, but she answered Jin more than he needed to know and he thanked her for the information. "Would you mind coming back soon? Let me go through this with Xiong Da and I will get back to you¡­ say in about two days? Don''t be surprised if there are changes or disagreements with the contract. " Jin said as he extended his hand towards Xue Ping. "We understand, I will liaise with the HR department and our lawyer. I shall accompany her two days later to assess any changes to the contract. See you then. Oh and eh about the damage¡­those Ruby Rats gangsters had done a lot, but I am afraid there is not much we can do. Of course, we will fine the remaining culprits heavily. However, if we are unable to collect bail from the gang members, which is very likely given the nature of the gang, we won''t be able to aid you with those damages. You can try with the city council and maybe have them assess you for the amount of compensation. Alternatively, if you have insurance¡­" Xue Ping said but Jin stopped her. She sighed a little before she returned the handshake. "I will handle that. It''s a small matter. Have a good morning detective. Thank you for coming in the middle of the night." Jin said and asked the penguins to teleport her out directly to the main entrance in order for her to avoid Another Jin. "A contract with the army and now the police. I had always wondered how to best contact them. But it seems like the Ruby Rat managed to help me out, without them knowing it. And If I play things correctly¡­ I might be able to earn some unexpected allies and reinforcements for my Dungeon City Fortress." Jin thought to himself. "And of course, more money. System must warn User, the budget indicated by the contract from the police is rather whimsical. System advises User to push for more profit." The System complained. "Sometimes, it''s not just about the money. Sometimes¡­it''s more about the relations we can gain from this partnership." Jin replied as he continued to read the details of the contract and messaged Xiong Da with regards to it. "Speaking of relations, I need to ask Qiu Yue when we can expect the Goblin army to be up and running," Jin noted mentally as he wondered how Qiu Yue was faring after the fight. "User probably needs to give Sub System User Qiu Yue a day or two to rest after her power up. System also estimates the goblins require a similar amount of time to prepare everything. After time conversion that is. Given their situation, it could also take longer. User can consider putting up the Deep One Dungeons in the meantime to increase revenue." The System suggested and Jin acknowledged the idea. "We have won a war not too long ago, yet not much seems to have changed. The work is never ending." Jin bitterly laughed to himself. Chapter 374 That Insidious Boss "Feeling better?" Yun came into Qiu Yue''s room to check on her condition now that Another Jin held the fort for her at the storefront. Many of the customers were sulking that Jin was back since Yun was a matured beauty to behold. Another Jin warned them not to have any funny ideas, her ''husband'' was one that should not be trifled with. One of the customers even teased Another Jin whether she was attached to him and he threw a ''lucky panda paw'' (one of the possible items to redeem. Naturally not made from real pandas) at the customer, making them all laugh when the customer got a paw mark all over his face. "Nope. I wish. Still feeling very bad and sore. The System could have warned me before hand instead of telling me after I applied the attribute boost." Qiu Yue answered even though she had difficulty talking as it meant inhaling and exhaling more rapidly, causing her muscles to contract and expand more which worsened the pain. It was to a point she felt eating was such a chore that she rather starve. Milk had to cast a low level modified paralysation spell so her nerves would be numb, allowing her to chew and drink food normally. By using her broken soul, Yun also learnt that spell temporarily from the System and took over Milk''s job who was supposed to manage the Recovery Instance later in the morning. (Currently still sleeping soundly from all the drinks Pepper forced into her after attending to Qiu Yue with a major headache.) "Here, try to get up. The food was made by Lynn with much love. Oh and if you need a hangover concoction, just hook her up via the System Channel. I found it very sweet to drink and made my head clear even though I did not need it. " Yun said as she took a letter out her storage ring and placed it on the tray. "She also asked me to hand you this envelope. It''s from her too." Yun said as she cast the low level paralysation spell slightly below her neck area before assisting her to get up in an upright position. "You know, you could just order medicine from the System, morphine and stuff would probably solve your aching problems," Yun suggested as she pushed a bed tray to her side and sat beside her to aid her with the feeding. Qiu Yue shook her head and reminded Yun that she still had alcohol content in her body, taking those medications might cause even more side effects. "And I can roughly guess the contents. You can leave it closed, I will open it up when I am much better." Qiu Yue replied with many regrets as she opened her mouth slowly due to the pain she had despite the paralysation spell. Yun inserted a scoop of congee into her mouth and Qiu Yue slowly chewed it. "There''s actually a faint fragrance of cinnamon in the porridge and it tasted good too. At this rate, I am probably gonna owe her a lot more for providing me food." "That is your own problem to settle. But at the very least you also now know what are the consequences of straining yourself to the limit. Better to experiment with it now during peacetime instead of using it in a dire situation and become more of a burden to Jin. If I am not wrong, the cultivation manual which Jin gave you previously should have something to do with this particular boost too. You can give it a look again while you are resting. With the Sub System, you should be able to read it now without a problem." Yun replied as she blew the spoon filled with hot congee to cool it down. "Now that you mention it. I remember something about boosting up attributes and it kind of make sense thinking back. You are right, I should go take a look when I have the chance¡­but for now, just let me slack." Qiu Yue answered lazily as she swallowed the mouthful of congee. "And remember to call your parents. They have been leaving you missed calls and messages for the past hour or so. Sorry that I peeked into it a little on the lock screen. They seemed worried that you skipped work or something." Yun apologised but spoke with concern even though her role as the mother was not exactly fulfilled for Jin. "Ah yea¡­I still have to deal with my shitty boss¡­Can I get Jin to handle him? ¡­ Or perhaps Kraft?" Qiu Yue looked up and saw the date on the digital clock. It would be roughly another day or two before her Boss should fly back according to the flight plans arranged by the company. "I think he is still there. Otherwise, he would have probably bothered my parents by now." "You are correct. He is still there." Kraft appeared out of nowhere as usual. "And judging from his credit card bill transactions, he has been quite busy ¡­entertaining himself. I wonder what his wife might say if she would find out." "Heh, I doubt his wife is that daring because¡­ he is the sole breadwinner and she is not exactly the most vocal kind of person. Even if she knew, she''d probably try to tolerate it. Actually, I kinda pity her a little for choosing that no good bastard." Qiu Yue commented as Yun stuffed another scoop into her mouth. "Then how about we provide her with some happiness so she does not need to stay miserable for any longer. What shall it be? Instant Death? Or Scandal?" Kraft sat at the end of her bed as he swiped out an augmented reality screen in front of him to check a few things on her boss, Shao Wai. "From what I see, he has at the very least multiple trust accounts and insurances to his wife''s name. I presume he is also doing this to avoid tax and judging from the records, it should be more than enough to get his housewife to live off the insurance money until she reaches 60. With a bit of investment and without an over the top luxurious lifestyle, she could have enough for the rest of her life. That is, of course, IF he dies. Scandal, on the other hand¡­I truly wonder if she is going to play the role of a ''supporting wife'' and be willing to ''overlook her husband''s unfortunate lapse in judgement'' or have enough guts to break up and demand alimony from him." Kraft said as his eyes were stuck to the screen. "Though I can safely say, death will be much better. His ''good image'' will live on, she will be pitied to lose such a ''loving and caring husband'' and the wife can move on with a large sum of money in her hands." Kraft concluded which made Yun frown at him. "Are you doing this behind Jin''s back? Do you have his approval?" Yun asked as she shoved another scoop of porridge into Qiu Yue''s mouth before she could make a sound. "Technically speaking, we bellators serve both Sub System Users and System Users. It is not wrong to fulfil Qiu Yue''s wishes if she has any. That''s all I am saying." Kraft shrugged his shoulders and gave a pretentious smile at Yun. "You, on the other hand, are basically Jin''s personal guardian and not the Sub System Users so I can understand why you would be concerned about his permission," Kraft remarked. "But rest assured, it can be done quietly and none of it will backfire at Jin at all, if you are that concerned." "Yeah, I might be serving Jin but I have my own agendas too." Qiu Yue chimed in after she chewed her food. "That does not mean¡­nevermind. But if it backfires, I am holding Qiu Yue responsible. If the System can abandon Ming, stripping a Sub Users of their powers will definitely not be a problem." Yun warned Qiu Yue indirectly as she spoke to Kraft about the matter. "Guess, that means that we will rid the world of a scumbag soon. Alright, Yun off you go, even I can handle feeding. I am sure your customers will be happy seeing you instead of our master greeting me. Let me discuss the details with her." Kraft suggested as he opened the augmented virtual screen in front of Qiu Yue and took over the feeding from Yun. When a sly little red panda and a devious old fox come together, the amount of vile, wicked ideas was too many to count from. They began by tracing by his movements and if there was any sort of routine he took despite the nature of his trip. Qiu Yue also chipped in and told Kraft about the past experiences she had with him so that he might have a better understanding of Shao Wai. Jin might have tickled his bones with the extensive military operation, but this particular escapade finally scratched a few itches he had for some time. Within the next few minutes, more information about Shao Wai popped up at the tip of Kraft''s finger, all thanks to his hacking ability. They found out that he was going to a private yacht party to vent some steam after he clinched the final deal with his contractors. (Supposedly, Qiu Yue''s job.) "So you wish to finish him off before he reaches the party, during the party or after the party?" Kraft gave options for Qiu Yue to choose and she decided the first one. "Let''s give him the loving, hardworking husband image. A scandal and murder do not bore well for the wife." Qiu Yue chose without any hesitation. "An accident then." Kraft began to run a few computations on the augmented reality screen and while waiting, he asked Qiu Yue one last time. "Are you sure? You will be taking a life away." "I just killed several gangsters without prejudice, what''s another and one who is a greedy, hypocritical pervert? Just do it." Qiu Yue replied with affirmation. "Very well, I will spare you the details, but it would be done soon. He would no longer bother you or his wife. Now eat your congee." Kraft asked one of his fox Evon to enter the room. Its presence alone made Qiu Yue went into a daze as she chewed food. She no longer felt any pain as compared to the low level paralysation spell. Kraft surprisingly continued to feed Qiu Yue until the bowl was squeaky clean. "Oh and eh, let''s just say someone made an anonymous donation to the colleague, Yi San, you spoke of to Jin. She should not have any problems supporting her child for the next few years." He then cleared up the place and let Qiu Yue rest properly. Chapter 375 An Adventure with Ming? Come afternoon, Another Jin was replaced by Yun for her work shift. After Jin reunited and became whole again, he decided to take the time to meditate and cultivate instead of preparing the Deep One Dungeon as suggested by the System. All the preparations for the war and store enhancements had made him neglect his cultivation for far too long. If not for the lucky break he had for not fighting with Orc King Hamu and his Avatar of Shaitan, Diabolos, Jin might have incurred injuries which would have hampered and slowed the progress of creating the Goblin Raid instances. Right now, he figured it would be best if he managed to increase his grade, especially with the incoming threat of Ruby Rats looming around. Sure, he had the bellators by his side to assist him in an emergency but his bellators were also pegged to his grade. While they seemed to be a lot more powerful than what a regular Grade 7 should be, it would be best if he could increase his own strength and not have to depend on others to fight for him. Also, although the System occasionally allowed the bellators to overcome the fundamental barrier of grade limits, he was not sure if there were any consequences to it if he went overboard. Jin did ask the System with regards to that, but the System gave him such a vague answer, that Jin figured either the System did not know or never dared to venture that far before. In any case, Jin had created a room in the Dungeon Maker that simulated the sleeping capsule, just bigger and wider so that Jin could be in a cultivation stance rather than being squeezed inside the capsule. Instead of a tight capsule, Jin now has a room with the ability to absorb all the sludge he produced during his cultivation. That way, he would not bother the penguins in the Hot Spring Instance nor destroy his house with the massive sludge output. (However, he did miss the Hot Spring medicinal bath, it was very refreshing.) Another capability Jin wished to utilise was the extreme time dilation he experienced in the sleeping capsule. It was a little expensive getting the room up (The System seemed quite happy to increase Jin''s loan yet again.) but Jin figured it was worth the price. Spending money to improve was by no means a bad idea. Nevertheless, he bargained with the System as usual for a lower price since it would receive the sludge byproducts from Jin for its own research purposes. (Though Jin believed the System had already taken into account of Jin''s consistent bargaining.) "Wake me up by force if there is a need. Otherwise, I trust the Sub System Users and Yun to handle the store for now," Jin instructed the System as he had already assigned Yun to hand over the police contract with the possible amendments to Xiong Da. It also included a note, that Jin would have time to go over it in the evening with the lawyer, which he estimated to be some time after he exits his cultivation mode. When Jin entered into his cultivation stance, he was abruptly forced into his subconscious state and Ming was already there waiting for at the side of the cabin with an item in hand. "What are you staring at me for? Let''s go!" Ming told him as he threw the backpack towards Jin. "Wait, what are we doing?" Jin asked as he caught the backpack and nearly fell from doing so. Despite its relatively small size, it was rather heavy. Ming warned Jin not to open it for now. "Why, we are off to an adventure. You could say a little grandfather and grandson adventure. Your state of subconsciousness has expanded quite a lot recently with your vigorous use of splitting yourself into many mini Jins." Ming beckoned Jin to follow him immediately. "Many Jins, you mean." Jin retorted but got hit by Ming''s scabbard. (The loving ''fist'' of a grandpa) "Bleargh, you are mini to me no matter how big you have grown." Ming scoffed before he cleared his throat and explained to Jin what exactly was happening. "I have created ¡­you could say my very own dungeon instance in your expanded state of mind which I must say I am quite proud of the end product! Hahahah!" Ming shamelessly praised himself. "But it comes with many restrictions attached. Firstly, during your stay here, you are unable to use your cultivation powers nor techniques relating to your cultivation powers. You will be relying solely on your skill to fight and your current strength. This is to test not only your body and endurance but also your wits. I have my own set of monsters and trust me. You will die to them. Many times. Many many times!" Ming laughed loudly as he finished the last sentence. "But if I die in my own subconscious state, doesn''t that mean I will d- Ow!" Jin got hit by the scabbard once more. "I am not done talking, stop interrupting," Ming said as they began to walk down the mudded forest road. "Unlike fictional books where you dying in your subconscious state would leave you brain dead, you dying here is nothing. Think of it as normal Dungeon Instance if you wish. You dying for real would help nobody, and heck you think I would be that kind of stupid to do that? I rather die than being that stupid¡­but I am also too handsome to die yet again¡­Hahahaha!" Grandpa was getting so absurd that Jin began to feel that his eyes were rolling to the back of his skull. "Anyways! Since I am the one controlling this particular ''instance'' you are relatively safe. BUT! You will still feel the pain of death. We wouldn''t want to let you be complacent if dying had no consequence. Let''s try the first leg of the journey first and see how you fare." Ming explained and even though Jin had the fear of his scabbard hitting his head again, he decided to speak up. "How did you know that I wanted to train with you even though I had no ways of contacting you? I mean, I haven''t been here for a long time, and I didn''t make my intentions known to Kraft. This was really a rather impromptu decision on my end." Jin asked and Ming sniggered. "I am your grandfather, you remember? The one who bloody raised you up for nearly 20 over years. Of course, I had the intuition that you wanted a good solid training the next time you entered. Your state of mind expanding at such a rapid pace only proved that you were busy training in other ways." Ming explained while he took out his hiking stick from nowhere. "And that stupid fox is withholding the occasional IMPORTANT tidbits of information from me again! I swear he does that on purpose just to get back at me. How can anyone be so petty only for getting locked up for a while? " Ming rambled on as if he had never talked to someone for ages. "Besides, I actually have nothing better to do after that crafty fox went away with you. So I decided to spend my time creating this adventure plane in your state of the subconscious so that I can train you up and show you that your grandfather is not that bad of a Dungeon Supplier himself. Heh! Maybe you can copy some ideas and monsters from this and use it as your own! What a great gift, right? Hahahahaha!" Ming laughter echoed through the bamboo forest. "Create monsters of my own? Can the System even do that? I thought it was all about capturing monsters?" Jin was surprised and really wondered if he could do such a thing. "Why not? Where do you think modern dungeon suppliers got their monsters from?" Ming stopped and looked Jin in the eyes. "From imagination," Jin answered without thinking about it. "Correct. Where better place to get a monster but from your subconscious state? Unlike you, Traditional Dungeon Suppliers do not have a System, so they use their imagination and experience to create and enhance their monsters up. Sure, live monsters are definitely better subjects since they have a will of their own, but imaginary monsters aren''t necessarily that bad. " Ming suddenly became wise towards Jin. "They were the ones that can bring awe and fear to the ones facing them. With the System''s consistent collection of data from the monsters in the past months, I believe it has the capability to create a monster of its own. Will it be perfect? Who knows. One thing is for sure. Unlike real monsters who can restrain themselves, the system''s own monsters will try their best to always meet or even overcome the expectations of your cultivators." Ming continued to walk and chat with Jin. "Oh¡­sounds like the NPCs and even those robot Savants. They are driven with some sort of artificial intelligence." Jin said as he enjoyed the scenery of the bamboo forest down the hill. "I heard you also received my rewards?" Ming asked and Jin nodded. "Ah, that will aid the System in utilising the flaws of an individual cultivator''s style when controlling that monster." Jin heard that and realised that Ming''s intention was not to teach the cultivators directly but rather giving the manuals so the System takes advantage of their cultivation style''s inherent weakness. Crush them mercilessly and they will have to come back for more to beat it. Subsequently, they could earn bragging rights from it. That meant extra moolah. Jin''s thinking was the other way round, get beaten up so they can learn and improve on their style''s weakness. But eventually, its all for the extra moolah, just different approach. However, he felt that his grandfather had a point. "I had never thought of that before. You are such a genius." Jin praised his grandfather as they laughed together. "In the meantime, I heard rumours that someone created some major military defensive operation from a crafty little fox. Care to tell me more?" Ming asked and Jin immediately recounted the grand scheme of things for him. Ming did ask a few questions but largely it was Jin explaining the whole operation in detail. He even boasted to Ming about the way his monsters created the defences and such. Ming remained quiet as he kept a mental note of all the flaws in Jin''s explanations. It was a bad habit as a General but he figured if Jin was going to fight against an army again, he might need those tips. For now, he listened to his grandson ramble about how proud he was for his monsters, bellators and even the Panda Remnant he met. It had been a long time since he had shared a close heart to heart talk with his grandson. Chapter 376 The White Monster "Hahaha so you managed to meet up with Hou Fei? How is that rascal doing?" Ming asked as he pulled up Jin before he got swept away by a fast rapids river. They had travelled through the first portion of the vast bamboo forest where the clear path became a rocky one, and eventually, they reached a rapid river crossing. With no cultivation powers at his disposal, Jin was not able to safely jump across the wide river nor perform the glorious water walking technique through his chi powers. Jin had to sink himself into the river and use his scabbard as support when needed while resisting the rapids with all his might so that he would not fall and flow along with the current. Even if he did, he used his scabbard to get a foothold against the riverbed and continued trying. The odd thing was, the river did not seem to end as far he could see. Ming confirmed that it was indeed never ending and told Jin he could attempt swimming as long as he did not mind getting hit by the rocks along the way. However, Jin was already doing so badly at the start, Ming feared that he would die an accidental death in the river but thankfully Jin managed to cross it with only some minor injuries. "He¡­is ¡­doing ¡­huff fine." Jin answered his worried looking grandfather as he tried to catch his breath the moment he came out of the water. "Watch out not to lose your backpack or sword. Otherwise, you practically guarantee your demise. " Ming warned Jin before they continued walking. Jin had not felt so powerless for a very long time. He remembered the days he was struggling with Ming''s training, but this was way more intense than anything he ever remembered. Even though he did not show it, the hike was starting to take a toll on his body. Especially the small yet heavy backpack was becoming more and more of a burden. Jin hoped whatever was inside was worth it. "We are reaching our camp soon. So hurry up, I want to reach it before the sun sets." Ming decided not to waste his energy talking and gave Jin the breather he needed as they continue to enter the other part of the bamboo forest. After what seemed like hours to Jin, they finally reached the designated camp spot where there were already two sets of camping equipment prepared at the side of a bamboo tree. Ming passed one to him and told him to set the basha tent up. Jin roughly remembered how and got onto it as Ming prepared the campfire and food for the two of them. He was previously talking to Ming so vividly that he had forgotten that this was part of the training process, so he decided to keep quiet and make the tent as instructed even if he was still half dead from the river crossing. Using the camping equipment, Ming began to boil some water and used it to heat up the packet rations that came with the camping set. Eventually, Jin completed setting up the Basha tent and went towards the campfire for his dinner. "Tiring, isn''t it? Without your cultivation powers." Ming asked as he passed the packet ration all heated up for Jin to eat. He checked the ration labels and realised it was ¡­macaroni with meat and vegetable fillings in the packet. Jin reluctantly opened it and ate, but it somehow tasted good even though he clearly remembered it being terrible. "Tiredness and hunger can make any food taste great," Ming lectured his grandson after seeing his surprised expression, while he also chewed on his packet ration. At this point, Jin asked if there is an objective to this particular leg of the journey. "Oh, don''t you worry that much. When it comes, it comes. Just be carefree for now and rest up." Ming answered with a gleeful tone which made Jin extremely suspicious of his expression. Not to mention, his anxiety was hitting maximum values. "You mean it could come anytime?" Jin asked as he gobbled his entire ration packet in case he would jinx himself for saying it out loud. True enough, Jin suddenly heard a growling from the back which made Jin stop all his movements and slowly reach for his sheath at the side of him. "Well, what do you know? What impeccable timing." Ming sniggered as a shadow immediately pounced towards Jin sitting location, but Jin was able to safely use the scabbard to block the bite from the monster right in front of him. White, furry, blue eyes and with a very large angry mouth. That was the first thing Jin saw as he tried to identify the white monstrosity which then it finally clicked what creature Jin was facing. It looked exactly like the mythical White Tiger of the West from the legends. (Î÷·½°×»¢ Xi Fang Bai Hu/Byakko). The moment Jin removed his scabbard away from the White Tiger''s jaws, he spat out the macaroni that he had still been chewing into the tiger''s mouth and somehow it managed to choke the tiger momentarily, allowing Jin to kick himself away from the White Tiger. (He wished his kick was strong enough to knock the White Tiger of the West away) "What the shit?!" Jin exclaimed as he swallowed the rest of his food down and even calmly took his flask that was hanging at his waist and drank it. "You do not look as surprised as I had imagined of the tiger. Should now really be the time for you to enjoy your food?" Ming complained as he laid back and decided to watch the show from a tree branch. "What can I say, I kind of expected that from you. Besides, better to die without an empty stomach." Jin joked as the White Tiger prowled around the prey which had angered him. Jin honestly did not know what to do about this situation. He read books about the White Tiger of the West and the praises of magnificent strength and prowess it possessed. How could a human with no cultivation powers suppose to beat a monster of such legend? "I think even at Grade 7, the chances of surviving this without my bellators would be low." Jin thought to himself as he gripped onto his katana hard. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier, but one of the restrictions forbids you to change your weapons. Bam is in permanent Katana form and Boo in your wakizashi form. But that should be about it. Good luck with your new friend." Ming commented as the White Tiger noticed the distraction in Jin''s face (Hope and optimism had begun leaving his body) and went to charge it with its claws at the front. Jin tried to evade at the very last second before he ¨C Yeah, Jin died. The tiger got him. With just a single charge, the tiger''s paws literally swiped away Jin''s head before he could make a move, causing it to roll beside the fire pit. Jin was not used to his new body without cultivation, nor did he have access to his Inverse Eyes that would allow him to predict the movement of the White Tiger correctly. "Oh well, I kinda expected him to die the moment White Tiger appeared. At least he did exceed my expectations a little bit." Ming grinned as he snapped his fingers, causing the entire scene to change right in front of their eyes. "UWWWOOOO!!" Jin suffered a violent shake from his consciousness and realised he was being swept away along the river with Ming strolling along the side. "Good wake up call?" Ming shouted to ask Jin who was struggling to swim across the river. Jin did not say a word and tried his best to get out of the river as he once did and Ming offered his hand once more to pull him out. "What are the chances of me killing the White Tiger?" Jin panted for air as he lay down at the side of the river and Ming sat beside him for company. "Honestly? None. I mean you can always hope for it to have a sudden heart attack, but otherwise 10/10 times it will decimate you in a direct confrontation. But you can figure it out, can''t you? I mean right now, you kind of know where it appears." Ming tried to console him. "Will it come for me no matter what?" Jin asked as all he had was a blank in his mind. "Who knows? I just leave it to you. Oh and no matter what, do not open that backpack. I will be waiting for you on the other end of the bamboo forest." Ming reminded him as he continued to stroll through the forest. "Fuck¡­that means I will have to fight it at least a few times to learn the tiger''s attack pattern. And I don''t even know if he has any magical abilities." Jin cursed as he thought to himself how impossible this task is. "Just a tip as an exchange for telling me the juicy story about your recent life activities. The forest is your ally if you know how to use it. Cheers!" Ming had decided to help him out a bit via a private long range transmission before he became uncontactable. Jin sighed as he stood up and looked at the immense bamboo forest right in front of him. Jin tried to summon his chi from within to confirm that he really did not have any cultivation ability within him. True enough, he felt nothing was happening. Even when he tried to cultivate, no chi was being circulated around him. "Guess that means I have to fight one on one against this monster of Legend." Jin sighed as he went into the bamboo forest with his backpack. He knew the chance of him dying in the second round was extremely high since nothing much has changed but he needed to seek for any advantages and check the surroundings as Ming suggested before the White Tiger finds him once more. "If Ming was being cryptic, he could mean that was when the tiger will appear but if he was blatant with his clues¡­then that was quite a useless clue." Jin thought to himself as he took out his shirt to squeeze whatever water remained in there so it would be more comfortable to run around with it. He assumed both the worst and the best. By being optimistic and if Jin was not mistaken, he probably had a few more hours before the White Tiger would appear to hunt him down. Perhaps, he might never encounter the White Tiger until he is ready to fight! But one thing was for sure. Hiding would not give him any advantage at all since he was now a vulnerable prey instead of the venerable hunter. The worst? The tiger can appear at any time, anywhere. But as he ventured around the bamboo forest for half an hour, Jin realised something stupid. He did not know where he was going as he was blindly walking around without any useful landmarks. That was when he tried to crack his brain to remember what Ming had taught him about woodland survival. He figured that was what Ming wanted him to do in the first place. Setting up Basha tent, hiking through the forest and now leaving him alone in the bamboo forest with just his sword and that damned backpack. Jin had been surrounded with tremendous help ever since he received the System and while he did have close encounters with various monsters or even enemies in the real world, there was not much of a real threat with the System protecting him. Jin guessed Ming wanted him to fend for himself so that Jin could push himself to the limit. It was definitely not impossible to defeat the White Tiger just¡­a matter of how (but also when). "ARGGGHH! No matter how I think, I still cannot see myself defeating the beast!!" Jin shouted out loud while scratching his head after brainstorming for some time. A few birds flew away from the sudden anger outburst he made. Very soon afterwards, he heard some rumbling noises from afar. Only then did Jin realise how much he fucked up. So, he quickly climbed up the largest bamboo he could find and as high as his strength permitted, hoping the White Tiger would not sniff him out that soon after his blunder. But as ''promising'' as the plan sounded, the bamboo bent and broke from his weight causing Jin to suffer a terrible fall. That was when he heard a low growl emanating from behind him. Jin scanned the area in a panicked state as he struggled after biting his tongue in order to tolerate the pain from fall. (Else he would be giving away his location away from shouting once more.) But it was too late when he felt something sticky dropping on to him. As if the tiger had the intelligence of a human, Jin could swear it smirked at him before aiming for Jin''s neck. The prey had lost its consciousness once more. Chapter 377 The White Monster - Part 2 Jin received an unpleasant awakening by the splashing of water on his face though this time, he also hit a boulder sieve which allowed him to stop being carried further down the river. Jin got up and observed the surroundings to make sure it was the right part of the bamboo forest he was moving to. (There was no more Ming to beckon him forward.) Jin sighed as he knew he''d have to go through the entire process all over again. In the meantime, he carefully touched his neck since there was still the lingering edgy pain from the White Tiger''s bite. The more he traced his neck along with the pain, Jin believed that he could feel some indentations being left at his throat. However, it was just the phantom pain he was experiencing from his past death. "Urgh, I''m certain it''s purposely aiming for my head. Now it feels all sore." Jin grumbled as he looked at the bamboo forest with fear instilled into him. "I need to make some progress or else, this nightmare will only repeat over and over," Jin told himself as he sliced a large bamboo down. There were no marks or signs to indicate where he went and he needed something to mark whether he had been at a location before. Hence, Jin cut the bamboo into pieces. He found some long leaf bushes and a bunch of bright, colourful flowers. After which he tied the bamboo ''cups'' to hold a flower or two and placed it on bamboo branch nodes around his height. That way Jin would know if he was going in circles. If he deviated from a straight path, he would change the colour of the flower. Sadly, he was not able to place any items in his backpack. Though Ming repeatedly told him not to open it up, curiosity made his fingers feel rather itchy, but the backpack would not budge under any circumstances. After trying for five minutes, Jin gave up the attempt and used his shirt as a temporary knapsack to hold the marking items. There were some inconveniences, but Jin managed to handle it well enough¡­until he found something out of the norm. From a glance, it appeared he had encountered an abandoned Chinese temple inside the forest. Jin knew there was a chance the White Tiger might be in there, but he had to find out for sure. If there were any useful items inside or if Jin could create an advantage using this particular Chinese temple, it would be foolish to ignore it. He placed the items he was using as markers down, wore his shirt and carried his backpack around in case of thieves. Jin read enough books with stupid protagonists who suddenly found the items they were supposed to deliver stolen only because they did not pay enough attention or simply left them in someone else''s care. However, Jin could sympathise with them because he also found it very tempting to leave the backpack alone for a short while so that he could survey the area and be faster and stealthier at the same time. He first went around the temple, checking for any openings to avoid entering from the front door and noticed some broken windows and even holes in the walls. Vines, plants and insects were also plentiful indicating the temple had been abandoned for quite a long time. The metal, presumably copper, used for the temple''s pillar supports turned rusty and had a greenish mould, but otherwise, it looked sturdy enough. He had feared entering the temple may have been a trap and he had no desire to experience being crushed under it. If it was on the verge of collapsing, he wanted to take the time to notice it. Before long, he found an unlocked backdoor and decided to enter with his wakizashi unsheathed. (He wanted to bring Bam out but holding the long katana indoors for close quarters defence might not be very feasible.) The door creaked loudly due to the rusty hinges so Jin opened it only enough for him to enter and he purposely kept the door open by putting a rock he found near the temple grounds. The appliances and the design of the room revealed that Jin entered the kitchen. The first thing he did was to look for any potential kitchen equipment such as knives being left around. He figured it would be better to have more weapons on him in case he needed them. To his surprise, he found choppers, knives, cutting boards, pots and even useable plates. He tried checking the containers in the kitchen too, but most of them were filled with rodents which did give him quite a scare when opening them. However, there was one thing that made him very happy. At first, he was unsure, but the smell of it was very familiar. So he decided to take a spoonful and place it in a pan. After which, he went back to the temple grounds to find a few dry sticks to practice the bushcraft Ming taught him. It took him some time to get it right and the dry sticks eventually lit up. That was when he poured the liquid on to the burning fire. "Yes!!" Jin raised his fist up as a sign of achievement. The fire burned brighter and fiercer from the liquid. Jin had miraculously found a container urn full of cooking oil. Now, this was a game changer. With this, he could try to turn the temple grounds into a hunting ground. Jin got extremely excited about the increased prospect of him surviving the White Tiger''s onslaught, but he reminded himself to remain calm and continued to check on the rest of the temple to make sure it was indeed free from any other predators. "This temple is huge! It does not look that big from the outside even after scouting the outside perimeters for a round!" Jin was curious if this was some magic at work since he got the perception that it was small from the outside, but it appeared far more spacious on the inside. When he reached the main hall, a giant statue greeted him. Jin was relieved to find no one there but Bodhisattva himself. He took some time admiring the dusty broken statue before bowing three times as an apology in advance. "I am sorry Venerable Buddha. I desperately want to survive this time around." Jin placed his hands together and offered a small prayer of gratitude. After which, he went to scavenge the cabinets in the main hall to find anything that could be used against the White Tiger. "Candles¡­matchsticks! This will be very useful. Okay, incense paper¡­joss sticks¡­" Jin spoke to himself as he found a bountiful amount of prayer supplies in the cabinets. They were naturally dusty and the offering papers had already turned yellow, but they were definitely still usable. What was even more delightful was that he found more bottles of oil. He was thankful they used those to fuel the oil pot for followers to lit their joss sticks. After which, he checked the other rooms in the temple and incidentally found a bunk room which he had no qualms raiding. There was not much except for books, a few miniature statues for meditation purposes, a few sets of praying beads and even sets of monk clothes in different sizes. "Nothing much¡­wait¡­if there are books¡­Perhaps I can find something useful on the White Tiger!" Jin suddenly got an epiphany and decided it should be worth it to spend some time to check if there were any books on such a legendary monster. He was not expecting much but if what Ming said was true, that the forest might be his ally, the temple should have something to do pertaining to that issue. Besides, who in the right mind would put a temple in the middle of a bamboo forest for no reason? For the serenity of the mind with a White Tiger as its hunting grounds? Impossible. Unfortunately, the more Jin searched for such a book, the more reality disappointed him¡­until he accidentally fiddled with a cupboard in the bunk room when he found a part of a folded monk''s attire stuck to it. Jin tried to pull on it but to no avail. He became slightly suspicious. Therefore, he took his wakizashi and placed it at the corner where the attire got stuck and used what little strength he had to rip it open. To his surprise, he found a classic revolver with six ruby jewel coated bullets. Even more peculiar was that the revolver had an insignia of the Yin Yang circle on the handle. Jin picked it up and inspected the barrel cylinder to find another six more of those jewel looking bullets in it. Jin felt reassured that this temple was indeed the ally he was looking for. He first unloaded the revolver and checked whether its trigger and hammer of the revolver were still in working condition. *Click Click* Those sounds seemed heavenly to jin''s ears after he pressed on the trigger. He hastily loaded up the bullets and stuffed them behind his pants. Thankfully, his backpack at the very least had visible side pockets which he used to place the remaining Ruby bullets for the time being. After which, he closed the door of the bunk and ransacked the entire place. He was not going to leave any stone unturned before he moved on. It was hard work and Jin''s haul was amazing. He found a second revolver only this one was filled with Aquamarine jewel bullets instead as well as a priest staff. He initially thought it was just an ordinary priest staff which it turned out to be something similar to a sword cane. A Sword Staff perhaps? Jin tried to pull it when he saw the staff consisted of attachments. The good thing was that the sword was still in good condition and it could prove useful. What was more surprising was the book he managed to find hidden under rolls of bed sheets as it was exactly the thing he had been wishing for when he first saw the revolver. It was a Demon Exorcist Manual. Jin looked at the book with whatever little sunlight left shining through the bunk room. After some quick flipping, he got stuck on a page depicting an image of a familiar looking enemy. The whole section was dedicated to the White Tiger of the West. To these ''monks'' the White Tiger was just another Demon instead of a legendary monster. Most legends were created from some form of truth and in their eyes, the White Tiger was merely another sort of demon instead of the legendary protector Jin knew him as. It would prove very useful since it listed the potential weakness of the White Tiger. The words in the manual were cursive and in traditional form, making it hard for Jin to decipher the entire text in a glance. But he learned that the White Tiger hated fire and the Ruby Jewel coated bullets that he had found were being referred to as Origin Ruby Fire Bullets in the book. Jin truly struck gold with all that persistent raiding. The manual said that the Ruby Fire bullets were extremely effective against the White Tiger. However, it was recommended to use the bullets wisely since a White Tiger could temporarily raise its resistance after repeated attacks. "So¡­use fire until he becomes immune to fire and after which utilise the ruby jewel bullets and it should be a near instant kill." Jin thought to himself as he flipped through the books and saw that the Azure Dragon of the East (–|·½Çàýˆ Dong Fang Qing Long/Seiryuu), the Vermillion Phoenix of the South (ÄÏ·½Öìȸ Nan Fang Zhu Que/ Suzaku) and the Black Turtle of the North (±±·½ÐþÎä Bei Fang Xuan Wu/Genbu) were listed in the book too. He decided to keep the book for future references in a Demon Exorcist sling bag which he had scavenged and was filled with various tools like a compass, a water flask etc. He also found a belt with a holster that allowed him to keep the revolver, which made it easier to carry it around. "Now, time to prepare some traps for that stupid oversized cat!" Jin rubbed his nose in anticipation as he carried the pieces of equipment to the main temple hall. Chapter 378 White Monster - Part 3 It took Jin hours as he strained his eyes and body to prepare everything under cover of darkness. As he placed the traps, he already planned for the next trap should one failed or the other was skipped. Jin did not rummage through the abandoned temple for fun, and with the experience of a Dungeon Maker, the generation and execution of ideas was smooth which lead him to believe that he was successful creating the traps to the best of his abilities. However, all this could not have been done if not for the partial moonlight shining through the forest to illuminate the place, else Jin doubted he could do anything until the next day. He was not very sure if he was going to make it through this particular ''life'', but at the very least, he had marked the locations from the entrance of the bamboo forest via the river and remembered specific landmarks to reach this particular temple again. Though one thing was still uncertain. Jin had no idea, if his death would result in elements of the forest being reset through something like a Time Reversal or if things would continue as if he was going through Reincarnation. There were pros and cons for both possibilities and Jin would only learn this if he could somehow survive this particular round against the White Tiger. The former would be a hassle since he would have to find the particular temple again. All his previous work with marking the route would be pointless. If Ming was extra mean, he could even make the temple move to a different place each time he died since this was his ''dungeon instance''. Jin hoped that at the very least, the items would not be shuffled around so that he could be more efficient in searching and preparing the traps again. Meanwhile, the latter of reincarnation meant that whatever damage he inflicted onto the White Tiger, stayed on the White Tiger. That way, the Tiger could potentially be worn out from all injuries, permitting Jin to go for a smooth final kill strike. But that was assuming the White Tiger did not have any regeneration trait. The bad thing about reincarnation was also that the items and traps would have been used against the White Tiger and it might be hard for Jin to find those items again in this desolate bamboo forest. Even worse was the possibility if the White Tiger was intelligent enough to remember his tricks and forcing Jin to invent new traps every time he fought against the White Beast. Therefore, Jin could only pray that he manages to kill the White Tiger without dying so that he would not need to worry any of those unnecessary random thoughts. Right now, all of those did not matter. Tired and hungry from all the preparation Jin, the only consolation he could give himself was that he was still ''alive'' for so long and that the White Tiger had not found him yet. "It will be stupid to fight in the darkness." Jin thought to himself as he went back to the Temple''s bunk room and barricaded both the door and windows with bed frames before using the chance to sleep somewhat peacefully so he could recover from the fatigue he accrued. When Jin woke up the next day, he slowly removed the bed frame and tactfully checked his surroundings before heading to the Temple backyard. He remembered seeing a well when he was scouting and required some water after being thirsty the entire night. Along the way, Jin plucked a few leaves from the bamboo trees that contained droplets of morning dew so that he could suck on it to quench his thirst temporarily. After which, he reached the backyard only to find the well in poor shabby condition. The well''s handle was broken and the rope rotten with the passage of time. Jin sighed as he took a pebble and threw it down the well to check if there were any sounds of water since he was unable to determine the depth of the well. If not, it would be a waste of effort trying to reach the bottom only to find out that there was nothing. Conservation of his strength was his utmost priority before the fight against the White Tiger of the West. To his expectations, the pebble hit rock bottom without a single sound of water splashing as he heard the pebble rolled and echoed back loudly. No doubt, Jin cursed a little. However, a part of him felt like exploring that well too since he now knew this temple was not an ordinary one at all. But on second thought, Jin should focus getting ready to fight the White Tiger before his body got any weaker. "Perhaps, I can escape into this well, if things take a turn for the worse." Jin laughed at himself before surveying the area, desperate to quench his thirst. Only then, it struck him. There was actually water all around him since he was after all in a BAMBOO forest. Jin had nearly forgotten about that as he quickly went towards a bunch of bamboo trees and cut them at the side. Without question, water was slowly dripping down in abundance that Jin brought it up above his mouth and drank it greedily. After a tree or two, he saw a few ripe bamboo shoots for the picking. "Better to go in with a stomach filled than a hungry one," Jin told himself again happily as he dug them out from the soil, rubbed the dirt away and proceeded to eat them raw. It was a little hard to bite and chew through the raw, fresh shoots so he used his Wakizashi to cut them into smaller pieces and had an easier time eating while enjoying the scenery for the moment. Jin remembered how terribly busy he was for the past few weeks and appreciated this gentle pace even though he was still on a constant lookout for the White Tiger. Upon finishing one last bamboo shoot, Jin grabbed another bamboo tree and drank it posthaste since he needed more water to clean his palate due to his eating habits. But if other people were to notice Jin''s way of eating in the forest, they might say that he was on his way to becoming a true ''Panda'' cultivator. Wiping his mouth from all the juicy bamboo water and crunchy bamboo shoots, Jin felt a lot more energised to fight against the White Tiger. Yet before that, he double checked the traps and familiarised himself with the temple grounds once more by practising where the traps were. (It would be a shame if Jin died by his very own trap.) When he felt he was ready, the weather suddenly turned for the worse almost immediately, as if the forest itself wanted Jin to lose. Dark clouds covered the skies, and a heavy gale blew through the forest and the abandoned temple. Still, Jin did not hesitate as he went to the abandoned temple and took a small portable gong, whacking it as hard as he could in the open temple grounds. The sound of the gong echoed throughout the forest and in no time, the White Tiger appeared with a hunger that only consuming Jin could satiate it. He gulped his saliva in as he moved towards the gong which was now attached in front of Jin''s chest, acting as an improvised armour. After which, Jin lighted up the stick he used to whack the gong. It was wrapped with straps of cloth and doused in oil in advance which startled the White Tiger a little. *GONNGG* GONNGG* Jin hit the gong with his burning, hot wooden stick while holding his katana on the other hand. "Come! What are you waiting for, you oversized cat?! Let''s get this over and done with! At the end of this one of us will have a meal for the night¡­ and I shall enjoy some juicy thigh meat!" Jin shouted, provoking the White Tiger to the best of his ability. Needless to say, the White Tiger of the West took the bait and went forward. However, being the king of the forest, the White Tiger had no previous experience nor encountered the sort of traps that Jin made. Multiple small depressions were dug around the temple grounds, similar to a porthole on the road which he spent all night creating with the tools he found in the temple hall. Within those depressions, he carved sharp bamboo stakes and stuck them in there. After which, he used the large prayer papers to cover the small depressions and masked it with some dirt and soil. Jin purposely left a small colourful edge of the prayer paper to remind and mark that there was a trap there. Tigers did not have the colour vision like humans so he was betting on the same applying for the White Tiger of the West. True enough, as the tiger was charging forward, it accidentally stepped into a depression and the stakes pierced him. Jin who had seen this coming was already taking advantage of the White Tiger''s stumble to attack it. However, unlike its paws, the fur of the White Tiger was similar to strands of metal. Bam in Katana form did not break nor slice the creature, causing it to only clash with the strands but hence Jin''s slash did not connect. Despite that, Jin was quick to react as he had prepared for something like this to happen. After all the White Tiger of the West was infamous for possessing and wielding the element of Metal, one of the Five basic Elements noted in China. That was why the Demon Monk Exorcists'' manual recommended Fire as the overcoming element against the White Tiger. Jin whacked the gong on his chest as hard as he could, momentarily stunning the White Tiger, allowing him a second try by piercing the tiger with his Katana. What''s more was that Jin had purposely heated his katana under the influence of oil and charcoal stones he had found in the Temple kitchen oven. While he was checking on his traps, Jin began heated his katana in the combination of oil and charcoal stones so that it could potentially be able to inflict some damage with the element of fire (Heat) before it cooled back to normal room temperature. The White Tiger growled in pain and used his body to perform a slight twirl to slam against Jin with it, spiralling him towards the temple doors which was more than tens of metres away. Instead of running towards his prey, the White Tiger removed his paw away from the trap and performed a very terrifying leap towards Jin in order to avoid the other possible traps on the ground. Jin tried to recover as fast as he could, but the pain was almost paralysing him from doing anything. "Ah, if only I could just die, this would all be over¡­" Part of Jin felt that way, but the other half of him knew that it would never end unless he quit his state of meditation and never cultivate again. Fortunately, the tiger slammed him at towards a favourable place, where Jin was right beside a trap trigger. Hence, he took his wakizashi out and pointed at the direction of the leaping tiger. The White Tiger did not care about a single blade edge pointed at it. It was after all the embodiment of metal. Its metallic steel fur would no doubt block the attack and the White Tiger would make sure that he chewed on the bones of this insolent prey till they break into many pieces. "Heh, sucker. This is the hardest trap I have for you in store." Jin smiled as his slammed his wakizashi down as hard as he could on the trigger rope, causing the trap to activate. With no time to run away from the impending pounce, Jin hoped that the trap would do the trick. And it did. A Buddhist prayer urn filled with incense ashes swung from within the temple and smashed onto the white tiger as it was about to strike Jin. The Urn broke into pieces upon contact which caused the tiger to be knocked down and the ashes created a cloud of billowing smoke, allowing the powdery residue of incense sticks to hide Jin''s next move as he took the chance¡­ to run into the temple the moment he noticed the tiger fell to the ground. The tiger tried to growl but it coughed from the inhalation of incense ash. Not to mention the foreign object that hit it gave it a very terrible headache in return. The White Tiger took some time to recover from the daze and naturally moved back to get away from the ash cloud that irritated its breathing and vision. But what the tiger did not expect was that the wooden steps leading to the temple door were booby trapped too. Jin had noticed the shoddy condition of the wooden temple steps after years of abandonment but still decided to utilise the temple as much as he and time could permit. He placed more of those sharpened bamboo stakes and stuck them deep to the ground with much difficulty. (as he had to ensure that the steps did not look like it was being meddled by him since Jin was not sure how smart the White Tiger was.) In the attempt to tamper the wooden steps, Jin guessed that he did the trap to the point that it looked like a normal hand pressure was sufficient to break it. To make things even more complicated, he poured some oil on the wooden steps to make sure they were slippery enough. The trap was not designed to kill but to hinder the White Tiger''s movement while Jin prepared the next upcoming trap in the main temple. (But if it did kill the tiger, that would definitely be a bonus.) Without question, the tiger who visually handicapped from the incense ashes and driven by instinct, made it fall into that trap which it could have normally avoided given its acute perception. The wooden platforms broke upon the White Tiger''s backward steps, and some of the bamboo stakes managed to partially pierce into the tibial muscles of the hind legs. "Time for Phase 2¡­" Jin covered his face with a wrapped cloth that was hanging on his neck so he would not inhale the ashes and used all his strength to close the front temple doors and locked it with a large wooden security bar. Chapter 379 White Monster - Final There was no mistake, the White Tiger of the West was undeniably furious. It let out an angry roar that made Jin shivered all over. The slope did not injure it as much as Jin had hoped, but it did plenty considering that the tiger would be agitated. When he heard it banging on the doors, he prayed that everything in the next few minutes would go as planned. The wooden security bar cracked after its first strike and Jin could feel the murderous gaze through the slight opening it created. Right now, it was no longer merely about acquiring some food. The White Tiger was going to kill him to quench its frustration that a tiny existence had not only dared to fight against it but was even able to injure the supreme being, the undisrupted ruler of this serene bamboo forest. In the meantime, his adrenaline rush was short lived. Unlike when he had cultivation, the injuries Jin incurred from the knockback began to hurt. However, Jin knew he had to bear with the excruciating pain even though he felt that his lower back could give out at any moment if he continued to fight against the white monster. "Heh, it''s too late for regrets. It''s kill or be killed again." Jin repeated this phrase in his head like a mantra. It helped to reduce his anxiety and to keep himself sane by reminding himself why he was still enduring in this fight. The Tiger''s gaze disappeared but within a flash, the entire door splintered open. Once again, Jin saw the majestic figure that stood at the gates of the once sacred ground. The White Tiger roared once more as a challenge, only this time Jin stood unwavering, holding his wakizashi pointing at his enemy with foolish courage and a lotus glass lamp lantern burning quietly on his hand. The white beast found the smell of the temple hall a little unsettling but it cared more about the prey in front of it. As long as he had the opportunity to strike a proper swipe against his cunning prey, he did not mind the wounds inflicted nor this particular disturbing unnatural place of rotten wood, broken stones and rusty metal. Learning from the mistakes of the past, the tiger did not charge immediately nor decided to pounce. Instead, it began to prowl around the great hall even though Jin remained at the centre of the hall armed with that puny metal poking stick and a small glowing spark. The White Tiger was naturally afraid of the fire yet at the same time fascinated with it. Because whenever there was a twinkle of burning light, it meant that food was around. But even so, it felt that Jin needed to try harder to scare it with a more substantial source of fire. Not only that, the White Tiger being an intelligent sentient being, it was looking out for those weird surprises this nasty prey had prepared. However, it seemed unable to find any kind of trap. The only thing it noticed was that the ground was covered with some sort of liquid, but his prey was standing there a little soaked as well so the White Tiger believed there should not be any harm about it. Yet, it did not stop lurking. The White Tiger of the West wanted to instil fear to that weird monkey looking prey and at the same time, trying to adapt itself to the injuries it incurred. Yes, unfortunately, the weird monkey''s long metal stick was still stuck in his lower right shoulder blade. It was a little painful to move about but the White Tiger did not bother too much for now since it had no means to remove it. Additionally, the injury it received recently from falling into the steps was not drastic enough to hinder its movement. But unlike other creatures who would cower soon after receiving such injuries, the White Tiger relished in the hunt for such a troublesome creature. Seeing that the White Tiger was taking its time, Jin also understood what it was doing. Psychologically speaking, it was wearing Jin out from the constant vigilance. Jin also noticed that the White''s movements appeared a bit clumsy at first probably due to the injuries it had suffered¡­ until the recent round of prowling where its movements seemed more fluid. But a half intelligent monster was easier to trick than a simple one. Knowing that right beside his feet was the Priest Staff with a sword blade hidden inside, Jin purposely threw his wakizashi at the White Tiger, aiming to provoke him. But before doing so, he changed into a crouching position so that Jin had a more natural reach towards the Priest Staff. The White Tiger dodged it immediately and went for the counter attack just as Jin suspected. That was when he used the staff to block the tiger''s advance with one hand. Needlessly to say, the block was futile as the tiger had its mouth chewing at the staff and injuring Jin''s left hand. However, he did not panic and instead Jin took the chance to thrash the lotus glass lamp at the White Tiger''s face. The oil splattered all around its face and the glass pieces forced the tiger to close its eyes. Jin then pulled the sword blade from the side of the staff and used whatever strength he had left to plunge it in the throat area. As compared to the Katana Jin used previously, the sword from the Priest staff slid into the Tiger''s neck quite smoothly, without any resistance. The White Tiger in retaliation bit at Jin''s hand which he was using to block with the priest staff and tore it off immediately. "ARGFGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH, FUUU- " Jin attempted to convert all the pain he was experiencing and focused it as strength to drag the priest sword closer to him, leading to an open wound at the Tiger''s throat. (Too bad, it did not hit the vital arteries) This attack forced the White Tiger to fall back a little before Jin had the chance to stab it again with the Priest Sword Blade. But it indirectly gave Jin the needed space to move backwards a little too to grab onto a rope which he prepared beforehand. Jin, with his head starting to get heavy, from the loss of his left arm (especially with the substantial amount of blood loss), pulled the rope, resulting one of the temple''s burning torch stands to drop onto the floor. The burning torch was the ignition tool to set alight the entire main hall since Jin had consciously soaked the pillars, ground and even himself to be on fire. Stupid idea but Jin had to risk everything. For an intelligent being like the White Tiger, Jin could not risk making it think that the whole hall was a trap. (although, he still felt a little weird that the tiger was able to walk normally on a ground filled with oil while Jin had to jump, slide and wiggle with his injuries through the oil soaked ground to reach the centre of the temple hall to use his trap.) The fire spread wildly in all directions and like a circus show, everything turned into flames almost immediately. The Tiger now staggered by the wound on the throat was trapped in the burning temple halls. It figured this was the last ditch attempt by the monkey and grinned. The stupid monkey would surely die from anger if it knew that as long as it tolerated the fire long enough, it would be only the monkey dying, not him. Hence, the tiger decided to walk towards the monkey despite the burning hall. As long as the White Tiger had a meal, it would have the opportunity to recover its wounds sufficiently before the fire could finish him off. Jin, on the other hand, was not moving anymore as he felt exceptionally frail. His arm torn off, probably a few broken rib bones and the fire was quickly coming towards them. "Ah¡­its really do or die now. C''mon kitty¡­quick¡­do your move." Jin whispered with a very faint breath as he tried to keep himself conscious to the best of his abilities. The White Tiger moved towards Jin with relief while he observed the monkey not being able to do anything else but to bleed to his demise quietly. Part of him wanted to keep its distance in case the crafty monkey had some last surprise, yet the situation and its own pride as the king of the region did not allow him to watch a prey die like that. Especially when it made him sustained that many injuries. Because of the wound at its neck, the White Tiger did not have the strength to bite. So it decided to go for the most tender, delicate part of his prey, the abdominal area. Hence, the White Tiger used its paw to move the gong Jin was using as an improvised armour away from his abdominal area. But as it to pull the gong away to feast on the dying prey''s stomach, it realised that Jin''s hand was hiding beneath the cymbal with a short, curved metal stick. "BANG BANG BANG!" The rounds were mercilessly fired from the revolver Jin had found. "I was hoping to do the fire resistance bit first as recommended by the manual, then follow up with the Origin Ruby Fire bullets. But with the circumstances at hand, let''s just hope that it will be enough or the reverse order is also fine." The bullets went through the White Tiger''s neck area, the mandible and its torso. With every bullet that exited out of the tiger''s body, a jet stream of fire followed out of the White Tiger''s body. The White tiger immediately fell onto Jin''s body, which he yelled in pain yet again. But he did not believe this White tiger will die just like that. Jin moved his hand around to ensure that the revolver''s barrel was aiming at the Tiger''s body before he fired another two more shots. Another two jetstreams of fire flew out of the body once more and Jin could see the eyes of the White Tiger dropped a tear of regret before it slowly turned lifeless. He did it. Jin finally killed the White Tiger, but he was stuck under the spiritless corpse of the beast and had no strength to pull himself through. "Ahhh..I guess I will try again next time round." Jin smiled to himself as he pulled the gun out between the beast corpse and his body. He then took a breather before putting it at his head. The last bullet was for himself since he''d rather die a quick death rather than a slow suffocating one in this fiery pit. "I hope the flames do you well, White Tiger. You have been a pain in the ass and a blast too." Jin muttered as he took the courage to pull the trigger on the revolver. "BANG!" A Jetstream of flames appeared from the other side of his skull. ¡­And he came back awake to the Dungeon Maker''s cultivation room with the sludge not being sucked in by the system but whirling around him. Even while a little surprised, he returned back to the real world from the meditation as he felt an extraordinary amount of chi being circulated around him via the sludge. That was when he looked down to realise that his body was more toned than ever and his chi circuits felt very refreshed. "Congratulations User, you have advanced to Grade 8 in less than a day. Although total time compression achieved within this cultivation room was approximately three months." The System stated and was especially delighted with Jin''s new progression. "White Tiger of the West huh¡­maybe¡­just maybe I can make you more than just a figment of my imagination. I look forward to you paying off the arm you took from me." Jin thought to himself as he lay down on the ground with relief after the constant exasperation. Chapter 380 Black Sludge "Eh System¡­why are you not absorbing the sludge? I thought it is important for your research?" Jin asked as he saw a vast amount of sludge swirling above him. "The System has already accumulated more than 600 litres of sludge from the User''s body. It could be considered a miracle that User is still alive and well. What puzzles the System is your ability to produce sludge. Generally, Cultivation removes impurities from the body, but the User''s ability to do so is somehow fundamentally different. The exact reason for this is still being investigated." The System stated as Yun entered with a Grade 8 Reward Box at the command the System, only to be frightened by the swirling sludge above her. "System why are you not sucking this sludge away?" Yun asked in a slightly disgusted tone. She still vividly remembered how much trouble this sludge gave her back when Jin cultivated in his house before it was controlled by the System. Even the plumbers she had called, was overwhelmed by the massive amount of sludge which clogged the house''s utilities. They had to return to their workshop to bring some heavy duty equipment in order to remove the sludge. "System is unable to. System tried to vacuum the sludge but it continues to swirl above User ever since User had achieved Grade 8." The System replied promptly and thanked Yun for coming quickly. "A likely reason based on what the System had analysed was due to the excessively high amount of User''s chi stored in the sludge. Previous samples did not have such property." The System added which made Jin curious. "Chi in the sludge?" Jin reiterated. If what the System was telling is true, there should be a way for him to interact with the sludge. He promptly tried out if he could command the swirling sludge in front of him. True enough, at his behest, the black sludge turned into a rotating sphere around Jin''s fingertips. ¡­Just a very big¡­massive, vastly large sphere. "Huh, I did not think this would actually work. It somehow feels like it''s reacting to me naturally." Jin remarked and the System stated that it was not mentioned within Jin''s cultivation manual. There was no explanation for why Jin seemed to be able to control his sludge. It was something out of the norm, and at this point, both the System and Jin could only suspect that the spiritual union had something to do with it. "But wait, he had been producing this sludge thing ever since he started cultivating the Nineteen Astral Lazy Panda form. I honestly do not think it has something to do with the spiritual union part¡­ Well, maybe not entirely." Yun commented and the System paused for a while before concurring. "Well there is nothing to gain from wondering where it came from, we should focus more and what it is able to do. Shouldn''t we start with some experiments to find out more about it?" Colonel Ayse appeared out of the blue and closely watched Jin holding onto the sphere. Without a proper place to run the labs, Jin and Qiu Yue had temporarily placed Ayse and the Humanoid Researchers in one of the rooms of the Dungeon Maker instead of the World of Sanctum instance. There were experiments and sensitive equipment that required the interference of the System to prevent anything from going awry. Her knowledge for the past war operations was much appreciated and the results encouraged Jin to value her highly. Even the Cultivation room had received some minor input from Ayse allowing the System to improve the suction of the sludge. "Erm¡­that sounds reasonable. I hope you don''t plan to try anything life threatening." Jin replied as he subconsciously thought of the White Tiger of the West when he mentioned ''life threatening''. Suddenly the sludge sphere at the tips of his fingers started to restructure themselves and in the blink of an eye turned into the shape of tiger. The sludge even had a step further and changed its colour from black to white in order to portray Jin''s image of the White Tiger of the West. "Woah woah woah?! What was that? HOW did you do that? Quick, tell me everything you just did, so that we can record and investigate this properly." Ayse''s desire to study Jin''s new ability flared up. Meanwhile, Yun continued to be surprised to see a live white tiger appear out of nowhere. Not caring for all the eyes on it, the tiger started licking its paws. When it turned its head towards Jin, it quietly lowered its stance and seemingly bowed towards him. Jin was also shocked as the tiger did all of these actions by its own volition. He slowly tried to touch the fur. "The fur¡­the menacing blue eyes¡­ even its size¡­it''s all the same," Jin whispered to himself, and the girls looked at him curiously as they also tried to touch the docile white tiger that was in front of them. Unlike its affection to Jin, the White Tiger did not seem to enjoy the ladies'' touch a single bit. After it tolerating for a few strokes, the White Tiger got up and distanced itself from the girls. "What do you mean ''the same''? Have you seen this Tiger before?" Yun had caught what he said and asked Jin about it. "Yeah, fiction books hahaha. I guess I accidentally thought about it." Jin replied with a half truth as he decided to try something else. Just as before, the white tiger''s silhouette began to change, turning into a human. The figure was none other than Yun. But in contrast with the beast, the details on the Yun look alike sludge were not as implicit as the White Tiger. "Hmmm¡­from what I can deduce, just a mere inference." Ayse looked as she began to touch the Yun look alike sludge form. "This sludge bends at the will of the user and is probably using the user¡­erm I''m starting to sound like the System. Jin, I mean. Anyways. It seems to use Jin''s memories to replicate what Jin had seen. From what I deduced from his answer, it also seems to have the same ''feel''. That''s two of the five senses down. We do not know if the sludge could replicate what Jin had heard, tasted or smelled before. Maybe, it''s not just the five senses and perhaps a sixth sense could be at play too? Who knows? " "That is why this Yun although imperfect, looks more or less like her but ¡­you see here Jin? It''s too hard." Ayse demonstrated while squeezing the shoulders of the sludge in Yun form. Ayse then picked Jin''s hand, pushed it towards Yun''s shoulders and later guided his hand down to her waist. She even assisted him to squeeze it. "Feel, how soft and flabby is it?" Ayse teased Yun. Almost immediately, the chest and waist of the sludge in Yun form took shape and Ayse nodded her head with glee. Her deductions were correct but it left Jin very embarrassed though Yun was indifferent to his actions. "You just had to let her do that?" Yun glared at him momentarily and Jin quickly apologised, which made Ayse laugh hysterically. "Now, I wonder how resistant this particular sludge is. Looks will not matter if it does not prove to be durable in a fight. Let''s test it out!" Ayse asked the System for a blunt club and it obliged. She swiftly gave a good swing towards the sludge and it blocked almost instantly. From its hands, it formed a large cleaver and proceeded to attack the unprepared Ayse ¡­until Jin controlled it to stop without any words or actions but by involuntarily wishing for her to stay unharmed. Picking up on this, the Yun Sludge Clone redirected her attack to avoid fatal injury. "Ow ow ow. Guess that''s another mystery solved. You can control it without the need for words or hand signals. It should be like a perfect servant for you." Ayse concluded as Yun walked towards her and healed her abdominal wounds inflicted by the sludge. "Even the fighting style is exactly what I saw Yun executed," Jin said out loud as he walked closer to the sludge. It turned back to a rotary sphere but he also noticed that the chi within it had reduced. "I wonder if I can produce more of this?" Jin went into half of his cultivation stance, a standing posture to recover his chi even faster from his main dantian. True enough, his upper chest began to sweat out a small amount of sludge and it joined the rotary sphere. Jin was amazed by it and tried to keep it in his storage ring, which worked perfectly. "Do you mind giving me a part of it to study later, Master?" Ayse now all fit from Yun''s healing asked Jin. "No, I don''t mind. Whether it listens to you or not is another thing. But I believe there is a lot of potential in this new power. I hope you don''t mind coming up with a list of experiments or questions so I can try to learn more about it based on your possible theories?" Jin asked as he gave Ayse the first official task for the researchers of the ''Dungeon Lab''. He also provided her with a sample after filling some in a container. "It will definitely keep me and my team a little occupied. Besides we are getting a little frustrated from only having to redesign the Sandroku Golems. This will be a good brainteaser for the team. I will study your sludge later, to see if I can find other uses." Ayse explained. A sudden thought occurred to Jin. Something very important too. "Do you mind spending some time looking at Mechataur, too? Maybe find some way to collaborate with Niu Lang, the pilot, and get Mechataur up and running again." Jin ordered Ayse. "More mechs? You think I am what? A Mech designer?" Ayse asked reluctantly as she folded her hands. She seemed way more interested in researching the sludge compared to the robots. "Mech designer? With your explicit knowledge of lost tech, it would be more accurate to refer to you as an inventor of mass killing weapons. I can only safely entrust the task to such a genius as yourself to accomplish this crucially vital task!" Jin tried to praise her and though it seemed a bit over the top towards the end, Ayse surprisingly took the hook, line and sinker. She happily went off and told Jin not to forget about building a proper lab for her and her ''slaves''. (Jin did make sure that the Elves received equal treatment as Ayse although she always seemed to ''conveniently'' forget that they were now standing on the same platform together.) "Anyways¡­it seems we dragged the topic a little, here is your reward box for Grade 8." Yun presented it to him as she had already removed the Griffin seal from the box. Jin opened it up and became flabbergasted from the revelation of the box''s contents. "These are¡­" Jin picked them up and held them in his hands. It was the exact colour and design of what he had used in his state of subconsciousness. The Origin Ruby Fire bullets. There was no revolver but rather a Colt 1911 pistol with the very same Ying Yang sign. Jin noticed that a manual was in it too, along with a few maps. "¡­Your grandfather was a Monster Slayer, but to be more particularly, a demon exorcist." Yun elaborated as she knelt down and looked over the contents. Jin promptly looked at Yun at dismay. Did she suddenly regain her memories? "Oh¡­card." Jin got all worked up for nothing when he realised she was reading it from a card which came from none other than Grandma Yuan. Yun passed the card to him and informed him that he should contact Grandma Yuan soon as stated on the card when Yun consolidated the contents of this box for Jin. "But aren''t monsters more or less controlled in the wild by the army??" Jin asked and the System stated that monsters and demons were different. "How are they different? Aren''t demons just a sub category of monsters? Like the demon rats that we are going to fight against." Jin asked as he looked at the manuals and maps. "I think it is best to look for Grandma Yuan for the answers. She would provide you in the right direction. Besides, you need to look for her for a few things regarding the Rats too right?" Yun intervened and Jin remembered. "But before you get going, Xiong Da arrived not too long ago. I passed him the stuff but he thinks it would be better if you meet him for some clarification about the police contract. He is currently in the redemption store and It looks like he isn''t running away anytime soon." Yun said as she reminded him to upgrade the monster''s equipment now that he is of a higher Grade. "Come to think of it¡­ Fighting the White Tiger of the West is a stress reliever compared to the piling amount of work that I have!" Jin thought to himself as he asked Yun to notify Xiong Da that he would meet up with him soon. But first Jin was dying to get into the shower. Chapter 381 Lynns Business Meeting For once, Lynn was in her office in the Restaurant Train of Delicacy. Jin had created it for her in advance when designing that particular instance. At that point, he did not know that the kitchen instance could be expanded to suit the Sub System User''s needs. And when Lynn found out that there was a train car dedicated just for her¡­ she thought it was a waste of space and resources. But in recent times, Lynn came around to appreciate it a lot more. It allowed Lynn to concentrate solely on her work and provided her with a working space away from the kitchen. It was a great place to relax and gather her thoughts, especially when sometimes she could not feel at ease upon hearing the penguins communicating in a crazy ruckus without her as the Chef handling them. Lynn was initially uncomfortable to leave them on their own but as the time went by, she realised there were instances when she had overlooked a few steps due to the increasing amount of orders which the penguins immediately corrected her about it. That was when she began to see that the ''mess'' the penguins were in, was actually an organised one. Even though she did not fully comprehend why they were so messy in their routine, the food they created was still up to her standard. That was especially true when those penguins came from the Sub System. But slowly, she came to the conclusion that the penguins NPCs, who had been helping out, were behaving in such a way in order to optimise the workflow within the kitchen. It prevented any wastage of resources as per Lynn''s instructions and that included idle time. (They were clearly not humans!) The training of her ninja disciples, cooking dishes in advance, having a minimum amount of food stock prepared in case of a flood of customers with the opening of the Raid Event and not to mention her personal ninja training had made her almost as busy as Jin in her own unique way. Within a month after receiving the Sub System, Lynn had experienced her own cultivation grade to increase at a soaring pace to the point she attained Grade 5 Peak. Even the Sub System was delighted by the quick advancement and showered her with rewards such as refurnishing her office train car with a mini kitchen in order to experiment on things. And because the train car space was limited by width, those equipment were ''storage friendly'' courtesy of the Sub System. The Food Sub System had given her equipment in modules so that she could plug and play certain kitchen equipment together. When she advanced to Grade 5 after the major goblin operations, the Sub System bestowed her a new train car right beside her office and it included a fully functional kitchen, similar to the kitchen instance that was being used by the ninja penguins. Needless to say, the kitchen train car had plug and play modules too and she could finally cook what she liked without disturbing the ecosystem of the kitchen. For example, if she needed more space to test on various broths, she could keep her large cabinet oven via the Sub System and place more cooking stoves in lieu of space. Of course, her experimental cooking now could only be contained within this particular train car. Jin promised that once they had set up the Dungeon City Fortress, he would create a cooking lab for her so she could perform tests on all kinds of other things. After all, science did have a significant impact on the cooking industry. On the flipside, her office was now filled with books with regards to cooking such as the science of good cooking. Some of it came from the customers that sold their books in the library section on the second and third floor of the store. Among those, some explained things like how fermentation worked, the various ways of achieving different umami (savoury taste) and many more. There were also cooking manuals and recently, the cooking books she bought from the Goblin World for her to peruse. (Fortunately, the Sub System could translate them in the blink of an eye.) However, what she was most interested in was the Farming World. At the moment, she worked rather closely with the werejackals and werecats since their home instance had become an experimental ground for her food. She had long ago noticed that the tomatoes the werejackals grew were so much juicier than the one she got from the Sub System''s food market. After that recognition of the Farming World products, her heart desired for more results. She tried comparing the result by getting her own world''s tomato seeds, the ones from the Sub System food market and werejackal''s food products and let them all be grown via the Werehumans method. The Sub System''s tomatoes were superior to the ones sold in the food market after being grown by the Werehumans and the same was true for the ones from her world. Yet, no matter how well they tended to the crops, those two products could not beat the original tomato taste from the Farming World. Still, the taste of a raw ingredient was just one aspect of cooking. It did not mean that the other two were in any way inferior especially after they were enhanced via the Werejackal''s farming methods. As a cook, she knew not to ignore any ingredients. No matter what food she was given, Lynn had to find a way to bring out the most potential of those raw ingredients. That was her ultimate goal. If Jin managed to invade the Farming world and eradicate the mess their inhabitants were in, there might be a chance that Lynn would have access to Farming World''s more exotic products. If possible, she even wished to own some land there, to grow more food and maybe even try to crossbreed some of them to improve it further. That was one of the reasons why she had been so eager to lend her support during the Town Hall council meeting back when Jin asked for help to go to war. ( And she wished to personally support Jin too.) Unfortunately, the Sub System food market did not have any access to the Farming World products, which was why she was all the more delighted to help Jin out. Initially, she did not understand why the Farming World had decreased the sales of their goods until they stopped outright. She also regretted not having to purchase more of their products when she still had the chance though back then. (Though the reason she could not buy more was that Lynn''s net profit margin was too meagre as compared to recent times.) Lynn thought that the products had been too exclusive due to their amazing taste so that the Sub System was unable to purchase it. Only after Jin informed them in the meeting about the circumstances of the Farming world did she learn that inhabitants were already trying their best to be self sufficient against the Demon Rats occupation that they just did not have any extra to sell. Ever since Jin had announced that they would not be attacking the Demon Rats anytime soon, Lynn was a tad disappointed but she had plenty other things in mind. Firstly, an update to her food menu. After this particular goblin raid event, Lynn realised that more communication was needed to liaise with Jin on the subject. Therefore, she decided to initiate a business meetup with Jin. (That and to make sure Qiu Yue was not hogging onto Jin 24 hours a day.) Lynn was thinking of producing a special theme menu that would only be available during the duration of a particular theme. Only once in a while would they reintroduce the theme again for nostalgia sake. Jin loved the idea, but he felt it was not feasible in the long run. "It would place too much stress on you. I want your food to be of the highest quality and cost somewhat reasonable prices since the focus here is after all the dungeons. That is also why the System and I worked out a deal to make the Sub System sell your ingredients at 85% of the selling price. The other 15% will be absorbed by me. I was planning to do the same with the Fishing instance but the System stated that good sushi had to be priced well for them to be recognised." Jin replied when Lynn introduced that concept to him in her office. "I agree, the sushi and even the Chef''s cutting techniques is top notch. There''s only one other restaurant that I can think of at the top of my head which could beat Chef Roro''s sushi making skills. Even the quality of fish that we have would not be a match to them." Lynn told him as Jin took a look at her office. "That amazing eh? We should go there sometime to bring back a few dishes for Chef Roro to taste. I''m sure it won''t hurt if he gets a chance to compare so he could work harder in the future." Jin jest as he thought back the time when he purchased Chef Roro. He was one of the top tier chefs offered by the System and his wage was equally of a top tier value too. Any more than that would cost him more than a bomb and even the System would not be willing to loan that kind of amount out for him unless his turnover was in the millions. "Aaaanyways, affordability is just one factor. The most important thing is for you to not stress out about this ''theme'' thing. What I''d suggest is that we introduce those goblin themes within your restaurant train cars and even make the penguins wear side goblin masks. Something similar to the high class premium train cars where the penguins are in kimonos etc but of a lower budget. After all, it is an instance, changing some furniture and interior decor in a moment''s notice won''t be an issue at all." Jin proposed as he took his phone out and showed a few pictures of the products he sold in the redemption counter as references for Lynn. "Ahh¡­you know I am not that great with art and design¡­the best I could make was that high class premium car." Lynn implied that this should be a job for Jin with all the awesome looking dungeons and interior deco designs. "Nonsense, you are underestimating yourself too much. The last time I checked your high class premium car, the backdrop, the music and even the little scenery ornaments synchronised well with each other that it gave the relaxing ambience I yearn at times." Jin complimented Lynn and she felt proud that her work was recognised. "Hmm¡­.instead of figurines and such, we can use this opportunity to open a small souvenir store at the train station to sell goblin themed tableware, plates, bowls, even saucers! Oh, and we can''t forget accessories like kitchen magnets, aprons, supermarket tote bags etc. This way, the customers won''t be so bored while waiting for the trains too." Jin added and Lynn was amazed by the business ideas he had. "Ah! But, But!" Jin suddenly went to the edge of his seat with leaned towards the table, closer to Lynn. "Bread! We can make themed bread! Like those bread with toasted symbols or pictures. Ah, what''s it called again¡­ it''s at the tip of my tongue but I cannot remember how they are called." Jin looked up as he was trying hard to recall. "You mean Artisan bread stencilling?" Lynn asked with a grin, seeing how cute Jin could be at times and he typed Lynn''s answer in his phone. "Ahh, I guess so! Something similar to that. Or donuts! Or erm cupcakes!" Jin started to babble whatever ideas he could think of and Lynn filtered through them and realised that most were actually viable. If they tasted decent and were priced fairly cheap, those goblin themed bread could be sold at a daily basis. Besides, her penguins needed more of a challenge. They were already producing the food faster than Lynn could have imagined especially after she taught them all she knew. This themed bread would indeed be a challenge for them to take up. She was already looking forward to letting the penguins design and come up the type of baked goods to be sold. And by directly competing against each other, to see who could sell the most, the champion could learn something about Lynn''s personal knowledge on bread. Besides, Lynn had sold her own Black pepper pork buns for a living for the past year or so which meant baked goods were within her speciality. "I wonder if it would be a hit¡­" Lynn imagined a crowd rushing over for the freshly baked bread and perhaps duelling it out just for the last piece of bread. (Oh¡­on hindsight, she really could predict the future rather well!) "That way, you do not need to worry that much about those heavy themes¡­like erm ''Burning Volcano City Ramen!'' that kind of theme heavy products. If the baked goods sell well, we can continue for perhaps a few more months before phasing them out." Jin added and Lynn loved the prospects of having an accessory store and a bakery in the restaurant train instance. "I will get cracking on the bread part but I need you to do me a favour and get those goblin designs up for me to choose from." Lynn became a little playful with her words and Jin giggled as he nodded wilfully. He hardly saw her this relaxed and yet enthusiastic at the same time. (She also did not want Jin to know that she planned to get her penguins to design too and wondered which one would the customers like the best.) "It will be up in a jiffy since I have the imposter Jins to do the job! But first, Xiong Da gave me a ton of things to consider before I can meet up with you again." Jin laughed as he pulled up the suitcase right by his side. "Hmm maybe¡­ in a few hours, you can look forward to some French toast accompanied by a cup of Black Ivory Coffee." Lynn chuckled and sent him off. "¡­and perhaps with some love in it too." She curled her hair at the side of her ear as she walked towards the experimental kitchen train car to test out the new ideas she had in her head. Chapter 382 Police Partnership Finalised Jin had many things on his plate so he decided to take things a bit slowly for the rest of November considering that he had successfully completed the monthly mission portion from the System. (That is assuming that the gangsters did not harass him that much.) First on the list was the police partnership contract. With the new partnership deal with the Tiangong District Police Station and only them (he did not trust the other departments), they had made Dungeons and Panda their official training partner for at least a year. According to the contract, every law enforcement officer, including their admin personnel, would have certain privileges when going into the dungeons in Jin''s store. The most apparent perk was a major discount on the dungeons. Every one of them would receive a credit budget of 3500 Yuan (500USD) the moment they registered with Dungeons and Pandas. The System naturally checked their records with the police''s database, but the policemen themselves did not know it. The HR personnel had technically only provided him with a list of names approved for by their captain. Jin, on the other hand, did not trust the police HR personnel with this list of approved names, mainly because a piece of paper could be forged while the central police database records were something that could be trusted. (Even though it was apparently not hackproof since the System had gained access to it, but it was way better than just a simple piece of paper.) Nevertheless, with the threat of the Banned Emperor and the Ruby Rats, the System made sure the information in the police database was reliable by cross referencing with the police''s payroll records. Sure, it could not catch moles coming into the dungeon that way, but at the very least, the System was able to inform him about a fake record that was recently altered into the database and provide a substantial level of security checks before allowing the policeman to train in Jin''s dungeons. Ever since the assassination attempt by the Banned Emperor lackeys against the Head of the Royal Tiger Zodiac, Hu Yuan Ba, the System had asked Kraft to increase the security checks against the customers who entered Jin''s store. The customers did not need to be checked in person. After they entered their data into the registration machine to gain access to the functions of Jin''s store, most of the customers forgot about it. But in the background, the System would ensure that every customer''s data was being processed, verified and identified any possible threats. To date, it had made a potential threat list that was being constantly revised and updated based on the actions, facial expressions and even conversations the customers had while inside ''Dungeons and Pandas''. It might seem scary, but considering that they were within the belly of a beast, they had no choice to be subjected to the System''s constant vigilant monitoring. With Jin being the last known Royal Panda descendant, the System would take no chances in regards to protecting him even though it did not show it out openly. One might ask what about the reincarnation process? If the System thought that the threat was similar to the Ruby Rats, the System would have prefered to let Jin handle it by himself as such an opportunity would allow him to gain experience fighting them, overcoming the odds and only assist him when it was needed. If Jin ever died, the System had sufficient top tier quality materials for an in-house reincarnation process. However, the System could not say the same about the Banned Emperor assassins. With their knowledge on how to destroy the dantian with a forbidden technique, the System would spare no cost to ensure the survivability of Jin. That was why, even when it was 99.77% sure that it was Ming who was helping Jin in some way, it would be best for Jin to have a mentor that was once mercilessly hunted down by the Twelve Royal Zodiacs. After the System saw the items and weapons related to the Demon Exorcists in the Grade 8 reward box, the System learned from Jin''s expression that he knew something about the Demon Exorcists even though they were supposed to be a secret organisation to begin with. Unbeknown to Jin and Yun, the System had recruited Grandma Yuan as a Sub System user back then not because she was just a mere instructor to Yun, but more importantly, she came from a long line of Demon Exorcists and was the perfect instructor for Yun. (since she was supposedly the next in line to inherit the System.) Back to the topic of the Police Partnership. Aside from the credit wallet budget of 3500 Yuan, each time they cleared a dungeon, the System or rather, Jin''s store would not only reward them medals but a one time increment of 100 Yuan (15 USD) towards their next month budget of Pandamonium Credits. Yes, registering would give them 3500 Yuan at the start and each month thereafter would allow them to receive a base credit of 3500 Yuan. It was a minor incentive for the policemen who managed to work hard to clear the dungeon. However, the amount in that wallet would not be addictive but rather replaced. Let''s say Deng Long did not participate in any dungeons, for November, his credit of 3500 Yuan would be brought forward to the month of December. Assuming he spent 3000 Yuan worth of credits and cleared three dungeons for December, he would be receiving 3800 Yuan worth of credits for January. Naturally if Deng Long decided to go the extra mile and he decided to fork out his own money to play the dungeons while clearing fifteen dungeon instances, he would be receiving a total of 5000 Yuan for the following month. It was an idea that Jin thought about since the one proposed by their HR personnel was stiff and inflexible. They had wished to control the money like how they had been doing for the past month or so with the Ruby Rat Triad''s money. Nonetheless, they admitted it was a hassle for them too since the system for that was already in place. However, the HR personnel loved Jin''s idea and model for it and calculated that it was still within the upper limits of their budget for training. After Jin offered them the juicy perk that his ''team'' would do all the accounts and transactions for the police, HR personnel felt it was worth the upper ceiling of the training budget if they had one less troublesome task to do, considering the fact that the policemen were actively taking money endlessly from the coffers. Apart from the discount, the HR personnel ultimately went ahead with the deal mainly because Jin did offer them something which they could not resist, just as he had promised Gupta. Jin was willing to sell them weapons such as pistols, taser guns, batons as well as ammunition and even armour at a price that the finance and accounting personnel in the HR department could not believe. (This would have been impossible if Hou Fei did not personally provide them with samples of those equipment in the first place to replicate them.) The price that Jin was selling was even less than the discounted price from their approved manufacturers. He might be just a dungeon supplier, but the System had manipulated the records with the help of Kraft to get the license with the least amount of restrictions. Going beyond that, Kraft had also issued Jin licenses which included the sales of food, alcohol, weapons and many more. Of course, such a license permit would prove to be expensive except Jin''s turnover in the near future would be sufficient to pay the next year''s reregistration. Hence, after several in house testing and the permission from the central police station to procure weapons from their soon to be exclusive training partner, the deal was done. Technically speaking, it was not possible for a district size police station to procure such items since they were not a major district. That was also despite the revised threat assessment by Tiangong''s Police Captain, Mao Pai Huo, that they had justification to buy such equipment. But what Pai Huo did not know was that behind the scenes, Yang Ling, the daughter of the Royal Tiger Zodiac Clan caught wind of such news with regards to Jin''s actions and gave the green light for Tiangong District Police Station to procure them. With Royal Zodiac Tiger family as the major ''shareholder'' of the Police and key protectors of certain regions in Shenzhen, she backed the words of the Police Captain. (Perhaps, Jin did think about such a thing in advance? He couldn''t, right¡­could he?) With these two sweet perks of the deal, the police also upheld their bargain by erecting a temporary police post in one of the vacant stores so the policemen in Tiangong district had one additional post to report to during their patrols. This increased the patrols in the shopping district and ensured that they could conduct a rapid response to Jin''s store if the Ruby Rats ever dared to disturb them again. One additional perk from the deal was that Jin was allowed to use lethal force without consequence should he judge that he or his customers were in mortal danger. Of course, there needed to be video evidence which should not be a problem within the shop instance but the police also took this chance to procure more security cameras to monitor the shopping district. The Police Captain used an overarching excuse that the shopping district needed additional monitoring which immediately received the approval from the Central police headquarters. It was quite a win win situation for both parties since one could enforce order better while the other was guaranteed more profit coming in. With the police contract approved, that was one thing that could be removed from the checklist. Only because of this, Hou Fei began to bug him for the military contract too since he rendered his services personally and in a business sense. "Though I hate to admit it, considering your relations with the Royal Zodiac Tigers, business wise it would be better if you team up with Yang Ling. That way, you will have a better chance to secure a Royal Zodiac initiated military exercise rather than a normal military exercise. It will definitely yield you more cash in return. Of course, if put me in the scene and you can be rest assured to have the Snake and Tiger Royal Zodiac ''working'' together." Hou Fei remarked during a night visit to Jin''s store. "I thought you said you do not have such clout to do so?" Jin was refining the final details of the Deep One Dungeon which he planned to release in the latter half of November. "Yang Ling''s family has an army and a triad under their command. I may perhaps have certain contacts¡­well more like many contacts to make things happen, but initiating a large scale army exercise that can bring in lots of moolah? I wish. You can expect to earn 10x more from Yang Ling''s family than from me." Hou Fei replied dejectedly. "Awww, and here I thought I could perhaps initiate a Tiger Army Division vs Snake Army Division exercise." Jin pretended to sound disappointment and chuckled after that. "I personally would recommend you do monster extermination exercises since those things do happen even right now. You might not have heard about this but a freak monster horde was recently exterminated in the southwestern part of Russia. There were some casualties due to the lag of response time, but the observers mostly blamed the inadequacies of the military for handling the situation." Hou Fei informed him as he searched for the article for Jin to read. "Heh, I will consider, but you know I have many things to do nowadays, right? The setting up of the Dungeon City Fortress is a top most priority since we do not really have that much time left in the automated dungeon barrier. About 2 months or so?" "To be exact 57 days." The System replied and Jin could only sigh louder. "So yea, the police is simple enough, I do not have to create any new additional instance for them. The army, on the other hand¡­ I mean it would be interesting since it could strengthen my own forces indirectly but I have been thinking how to." Jin admitted. "Modern warfare? You will probably need your troops to be familiar with modern war tactics since your Dungeon City Fortress would be that way. Perhaps copy a random city and use it to simulate the Monster Horde?" Hou Fei was throwing his ideas around. "Hmm, that''s a simple and realistic idea, the officers might like and it should be simple to plan. But how the horde moves is a different issue and those army nut heads have to think on their feet to defend against them. On the other hand, my horde gets to experience modern defence tactics which could be used for the defence of my Dungeon City Fortress¡­" Jin stopped fiddling the console and considered Hou Fei''s proposal more seriously. "Alright, but let me at least get the basic infrastructure up first, then we further discuss about the military exercise contract." Jin conceded and Hou Fei gave the okay sign and left him for Panda Muscles. (Since he was considered ''staff'' he benefited from free training) "Now¡­time to finish this crazy dungeon. I cannot wait to see how the cultivators will react to this!" Jin whispered to himself with glee. "Do not forget to visit Grandma Yuan else System will issue it as an impromptu mission with penalties involved" The System stated and Jin unwittingly nodded his head as he placed all his focus on completing the Deep One Dungeon. Chapter 383 Premiere of the Deep Ones Dungeon "Finally, some bro time together." Shi Zuo said as he placed his shoulders over Bin Yong. It was an unusually peculiar sight to watch the two interact since Shi Zuo was practically dragging Bin Yong into Jin''s store. It was now the latter half of November as well as the opening premiere of the long anticipated Deep Ones Dungeon. The Goblin Raid Events were still ongoing, but Jin figured he could make use of the hype while providing new experiences for the veteran cultivators and regular customers who consistently supported him. On a separate note, Jin recently found out that the Chinese government had created an initiative to keep their citizens fit. Every month starting in November, the government would credit 150 Yuan (20USD) for redemption in their citizen''s personal electronic wallets or bank accounts should they have accumulated five hours or more in sports related activities. There were incremental rewards such as supermarket discounts too, but they were harder to earn if the citizens went the extra mile. All of these activities could be monitored through a particular health app in Mechat to promote fitness and wellness. That included participating in authorised and licensed sports complexes or gyms. Naturally, Jin was included in the list of authorised health complexes with the aid of the System and the cultivators were elated to find out that his store was selected for such an initiative. According to the System and Kraft, people were willing to pay more in order to earn something for free and this was one such instance. That was also why Jin coincided the start of the government''s initiative with the opening of the Deep Ones Dungeon instance. (Actually, it was a day after. Jin needed to make sure he indeed had access to the government''s incentive.) Another reason was that the government was willing to reimburse 3000 Yuan (434USD) to any authorised sports shop that had a minimum amount of 5000 sports related sales accumulated from their customers. That included the sales of the dungeon instance tickets since cultivation was considered the epitome of sports. Rigorous training and the increase in grade would eventually lead to a better, healthier lifestyle¡­or at least that was what the researchers claimed. When Jin heard about the 5000 sports sales, he was wondering if the System was secretly preparing Jin for this particular initiative by the government since its previous mission in October sounded very similar to what the government deployed. "Could it be that the System is as simple minded as humans?" Jin wondered to himself when he saw the crowd rushing in for the premiere of the Deep Ones Dungeon instance. "System would like to make it clear that it was just a coincidence that the previous mission was similar to the government''s initiative." The System stated as it activated a screen console above Jin with a countdown timer. "Yeah, I definitely believe you. Trust me, you are the best. Praise be to the Almighty Benevolent Spendthrift System!" Jin did not hold back his sarcasm. In the meantime, he looked at his much anticipated dungeons goers and prepared a short speech with regards to the Deep Ones Dungeon to hype and excite them up a little more before the timer hits zero. Fortunately for Jin, there were many speculations about the Deep Ones after a few cultivators saw some of them during the first Western Diversion instance (well to Jin and his monsters, the real goblin battle). The rumours stated that those cultivators saw ferocious, deep sea monsters slaughtering orcs the moment they left the boat. It was a terrifying scene and hence, people anticipated that this particular dungeon would be something similar. Jin neither denied nor confirmed the rumours. Some people believed that those cultivators were privileged enough to enjoy a sneak peek preview of the Deep Ones by Jin, a sly advertising tactic in the cultivators'' opinion to spread the gossip for his future dungeon instance. Despite their opinions, the rumour spreading was indeed useful even though Jin had not purposely planned it this way beforehand. All he wanted was for the Deep Ones to vent some of their frustrations for waiting for their turn to shine (especially Derpy with his grand entrance). However, he decided to let the rumours spread since it was creating hype way more efficiently than the System expected compared to their own banners and trailers. Jin also considered to continue implementing this sort of preview for future dungeons, just a small cameo of the monsters in the next dungeon as a sneak peek. But he had to do it in a way which would require the dungeon goers to have a keen eye to catch such cameos in the middle of a dungeon. (nor did Jin forget the future creation of the secret Gentlebear instance which he neglected it for some time.) It was not an easy feat but he did incorporate what he wanted to do for the next dungeon in the Deep Ones Dungeons. "Firstly, thank you and welcome to the opening premiere of the Deep Ones Dungeon Instance. As you guys have heard, there had been sightings of the Deep Ones in the Goblin Raid dungeon. However, nothing else was shown to you guys and those rumours did not reveal much about the current plot of the dungeon. I presume the anticipation must be killing you guys by now??" Jin asked and the crowd cheered in unison. "Alright, alright I will give you a hint. Instead of (just) senseless fighting, your objective this time will be to meet with a certain NPC and from there you might learn the true meaning of terror through the dungeon." Jin spoke with a somewhat evil grin and everyone kept quiet for a moment to digest what he was saying before he continued "..or that''s what I hope you will feel. I''m sure some of the Pandawans out there will casually crash the dungeon and walk out unscathed." Jin sighed heavily and a few started to chuckle. They were none other than Shi Zuo and Bin Yong. "Does it involve swimming? I do not really know how to swim." One of the cultivators raised their hand and asked which made some of the other cultivators laugh. "Erm¡­well, technically we can all walk on water, right? Just a matter of duration. But no worries, I had planned a little on that aspect so you will be able to clear this dungeon without the need to swim. Of course, you are free to do so, if you wish¡­ at your own risk, of course." Jin answered and many started to whisper. They interpreted it both ways. Most believed that the dungeon scenario was on land, probably a coastal town since the name Deep Ones from Lovecraftian stories struck fear and despair in the stories via seaports and coastal towns. Others believed the plot would have something to do with a large ship where people would meet each other and decide to do something about the ongoing monster horde that plagued the ship. In this case, it would definitely be the Deep Ones. Jin managed to eavesdrop and smirked when he heard the cultivators'' ideas. "Good ideas which I''d all considered about when I created them but so far it seems that they will find their expectations subverted." Jin thought to himself as Mr Patsu came to interrupt Jin with the continuation of the countdown. Bear Cub One followed him while wearing a fluffy shark headgear which further strengthened the ship story theorised by the cultivators. Jin smiled as he stepped down from the bar counter, which he was using as a temporary stage to address the others. Perhaps he really should create an event space to announce this kind of stuff. "4¡­3¡­2¡­1!!!" Mr Patsu slammed a big red button on an augmented virtual console and suddenly, shadow figures of the Deep Ones emerged from the corners of the medieval goblin themes and the cultivators could see that the shop interior decor seemed to head for a dark turn. Then the lights began to flash to simulate the horrors of a blackout along with the sounds of lightning and thunder booming in the background. The cultivators could see the seemingly peaceful medieval goblin theme feel of the shop turn into an atmosphere of the eerie western 80''s era. It had some resemblance similar to the previous Halloween gothic theme but with grimmer colours. Suddenly the entire shop instance went totally dark, and the cultivators all pretended to scream for participation sake (though there were some that really screamed, men included.) Lo and behold, the corners of the auditoriums and the walls were now filled with dark, grotesque tentacles moving around occasionally to scare the cultivators in conjunction with the medieval goblin theme that was still around. It was to emulate the sense of fear that would patiently wait for the customers. To make the customers feel somewhat afraid yet at the same time obsessively curious about it. Some of the male cultivators jokingly warned that if the females got too close to the tentacles on the wall, they would be grabbed by them, inciting a few sexual innuendos. "No worries, my tentacles are equal to all genders." Jin smiled wickedly. The just teased lady cultivators took that opportunity to push their male counterparts towards the wall. True enough, the black tentacles on the wall wrapped around them for a few seconds before releasing them away. The male cultivators seemed like they were already scarred for life as the lady cultivators had their fill of fun bullying them. Separately, the cultivators also noticed the design of the bar was sombre green. A closer look at the bar counter and seats revealed that they all had some sort of Lovecraftian design to them. It was rather exquisite and some who were fans of such horror genre began to ask where to buy such items. "It''s all custom made by my suppliers, in short, Trade Secret. " Jin smiled gently this time round, and it had been ages since those customers especially the regular ones to hear such a phrase. "Alright, what are we waiting for? Come on. Let''s go, bro." Shi Zuo grabbed Bin Yong, who was already scared shitless by the opening ceremony. He was not surprised and deeply empathised with the girls, Luo Bo and Jia Le who did not want to try the new dungeon and let the guys try it out first to hear about their experience before attempting the dungeon instance. "We''ve been through the Halloween event and survived through that. You even played it three times, remember?" Shi Zuo was trying to encourage his buddy. "BECAUSE! You guys were not free at all THREE occasions. I had to bring each of you individually into that dungeon instance! And I have no idea how, but Boss Jin had designed it in such a way that I got scared every time I entered it. I still get shivers whenever I think about that stupid Pumpkin Face. " Bin Yong replied with exasperation in his voice when he remembered the sinister Pyro Jack. "Okay, chill man. Let''s do this first before our temporary attribute buff from the restaurant instance expires." Shi Zuo said as he took his phone out to find the dungeon ticket option in the Pandamonium App. As usual, a tech savvy guy like Shi Zuo was amazed by the developers of the app for pushing out new updates this quickly. Just as Jin had promised, everybody was now able to be teleported from the shop instance or any other particular service instance they were at to the dungeon they wished to play. There were even lobbies which helped people with matchmaking or create their own party beforehand to play the dungeons. This update by the System was to facilitate even less queuing time than before and to test out the true ability of the matchmaking technology the System had been collating data ever since day one. Of course, those who created a party of their own would not be subjected to any matchmaking and the difficulty of the dungeon instance would be adjusted accordingly unless at the request by the lobby maker. With higher difficulty came better rewards. Similar to other dungeons, Jin continued to give out Panda medals via the stages they completed but this particular Deep Ones dungeon was slightly different. He gave the System free rein to judge how much medals were to be given based on the cultivator''s progress. It was a new sort of predictive model which Qiu Yue recommended and wanted to see if the System could accommodate such an adaptive reward model. There was a set of defined criteria (of course not revealed to the cultivators, who would have to try and figure them out) but depending on the cultivator''s approach of playing, the System would give the amount of panda medals accordingly. Last but not least, the Pandamonium app could also synchronise the data it received to the Mechat''s health app so that the cultivators would be able to redeem their sports and wellness rewards from the government''s initiative. Hence, Shi Zuo did not bother about Bin Yong''s wailing antics and forcefully registered him into his lobby via his phone app. And within an instant, they were teleported. ¡­Into a derelict room, strapped to a chair. Both arms and legs were wrapped tightly around the chair, and even their torsos were tightly bound. "Where are WE??!?!?!?!?!?!!" Bin Yong shouted in panic as his echo reverberated within the entire room. Chapter 384 Black Suits The ceiling lights were dangling as if they were about to fall onto them anytime. The muddled mirror right in front of them made things worse as it allowed them to see the state of condition they were currently in. Shi Zuo tried to struggle and look around if there was anything they could use to get themselves out. "Bro, this whole thing just doesn''t sit right with me¡­ Can''t I just use the emergency escape from this place? They will refund us, right?" Bin Yong trembled but Shi Zuo demanded him to calm down. "Look, this is just the start, and we are still able to talk to each other. Boss Jin may have placed us in this situation, but so far, none of his instances has ever been unfair or impossible to solve. It''s just that our storage rings and even our phones are not within our possession. " Shi Zuo tried to calm Bin Yong down "Besides we are Pandawans, do you want that Hippo to tease us because we failed a new instance in record time? So let''s take a deep breath, simmer down and try to find something in this room to break out." Shi Zuo managed to convince Bin Yong at the mention of Xiong Da. Suddenly, they heard some footsteps coming towards them, and from the sounds of it, very rushed ones. Eventually, it seemed whoever it was making those footsteps made some attempts to open the door, but it was to no avail. If the door was locked even from the outside, that possibly means help. After a little pause, a complete silence enveloped the entire situation the Pandawans were in, and the next thing they heard was some static noises before the door was forced opened violently. It was a¡­. They could not believe their eyes. The fact that both Shi Zuo and Bin Yong were still in shock because of the thing they saw broke all expectations of the dungeon. It was a teenage girl dressed in full panda pyjamas with a full panda mask who entered their ''prison cell''. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it; Find Captain Hei in 34th Street, Exit A of Penn Station." The pyjamas girl announced as she pulled off the restrains with all her might from Shi Zuo, helping him to be free. He did not hesitate to save his buddy, but while both of them were preoccupied with removing the restrains that they did not see pyjamas girl with the full panda mask vanishing. Both were a bit baffled but figured this was just part of the instance''s setting. Shi Zuo took a quick peek out of the room and noticed that there were no guards, nor any strict security measures in place or anything of that sort. When he felt it was safe enough, he beckoned Bin Yong to follow right behind him. As of now, they were feeling extremely vulnerable without access to any weapons. (Though they kind of forgot that they themselves were living weapons). For some reason, they decided to be cautious and stealthily tried to find a way out without making any noise. No matter how hard they looked, there were no signs of enemies. It appeared as if they were locked up in some abandoned building the more they searched the vicinity. "Looks like a recently moved office to me. Not much dust, some leftover documents in the trash, a few broken tables and some vandalism¡­in some weird old English. Hmm, thou¡­shall, urgh I cannot read the whole thing. It looked cryptic to me." Shi Zuo whispered to Bin Yong as he quietly opened a door, which finally revealed a glimpse of the outside world to them instead of just closed rooms, walkways and corridors. "Maybe because we are just awfully bad at English?" Bin Yong rebutted and they chuckled a little before stepping forward. Both kept their silence for a moment as they could not believe their eyes the moment they saw what was beyond the windows. Bellowing thunderstorms, along with the heavy rainfall, made it almost difficult to see what was afar. But there was one thing that hit a raw nerve for both of them as they saw a landmark that should be familiar to almost everyone in the world. "The Empire State Building." Bin Yong walked closer to the window to have a better look at it. At the spur of the moment, Shi Zuo quickly realised why that turned out to be a terrible idea. True enough, Bing Yong also saw what was beneath it- a guy in dark sunglasses among the crowd in the streets that seemingly made eye contact with him. That guy in the black suit suddenly stood up from his seat and began to place his hand at his ear, as if he was communicating with someone while keeping a close eye at Bin Yong. Shi Zuo saw what was going on and quickly pulled Bin Yong back. "Shit. I think I have figured, what is going on here. This is not a simple dungeon instance where we just rush in to fight and kill the boss. We are not the pursuers here, we are the escapees!" Shi Zuo explained as he started to look for exits in the current level they were in. "Remember what the girl said? Your mission if you choose to accept? Didn''t that sound very familiar to you?" Shi Zuo finally found an exit to a staircase and beckoned Bin Yong to follow him. This was his turn to shine finally. Unless he was mistaken, this particular dungeon was designed to be some spy action thriller kind of instance, and it was making his heart pump a hell of lot faster. He had always wanted to try this kind of agent type of dungeon instances. There had been some dungeon suppliers that boasted offering this kind of spy thriller dungeons and till now, he had yet to experience something worthwhile. But this dungeon instance by Jin, he knew, no¡­ He trusted Jin to provide him with a full blown spy agent experience. He did not know what exactly would be in store for them in this current dungeon and did not care even if they were supposed to be the terrorists that would destroy New York or some handsome team of spies that saves the day. All Shi Zuo had in mind right now was to survive first and get to 34th Street as soon as possible to find Captain Hei to get the next piece of information. "Now I get what Boss Jin meant by terror!!" Shi Zuo thought to himself grinning when suddenly a door swung open with one of the guys in black suits. Shi Zuo did not hesitate to kick the door back and ordered Bin Yong to jump and slam at the door as he continued to run down the stairs swiftly. Bin Yong obliged and once again hindered the movement of the guy in the black suit. Albeit their little stunt, three more black suits were rushing towards them when they reached the first floor, and Shi Zuo immediately engaged them in hand to hand combat. While Bin Yong had yet to find out the truth about this instance, he saw his friend jump in to engage with three enemies. He could no longer remain passive since this was after all a dungeon instance. If he had been so fearful, Bin Yong should have just left at the start. Therefore, Bin Yong hurried towards Shi Zuo to help him out since he would take a frontal fight every day of the week over this instance, where they had no knowledge of what exactly was happening. The Black Suits put up a good fight but what they lacked was teamwork, something which Shi Zuo and Bin Yong excelled in, and with the combined efforts of both their attacks, Shi Zuo managed to knock out two black suits while Bin Yong was handling the last. However, in their euphoria of handling the ones in front of them, they seemed to have forgotten about the one that was chasing them from behind. Shi Zuo only noticed him when he pounced towards Bin Yong. At the spur of the moment, he did not hesitate to charge and rushed up to block the black suit guy from side ambushing his friend. Unlike the other three, this black suit was armed with a dagger, but before he could use it, Shi Zuo smashed his hand onto the railings, making him drop the knife as it bounced down to the ground near Bin Yong. Though hurt, the surviving black suit of the trio continued to struggle against Bin Yong and what followed was an intense bout of hand to hand combat¡­.until he who had been losing against Bing Yong, had withdrawn a few steps away from him. He threw his sunglasses away and the instant Bin Yong saw his aberrant set of ghoulish yellow eyes. That expos¨¦ instantly made Bin Yong reach for the dropped dagger for self defence. In retaliation, the Black Suit hissed at him and opened his mouth to reveal his unnaturally long tongue. Soon his jaws expanded, allowing more and more teeth to grow out as it became visibly sharper, longer and deadlier. Bin Yong realised those Black Suits had to be the Deep Ones in disguise. "That Boss Jin is getting creepier!" Bin Yong rapidly dashed into the transforming Deep One, hoping to kill him before he fully transformed. Unfortunately, the Deep One was not as vulnerable as Bin Yong had expected. With his already grown out tail, he not only parried Bin Yong''s blade but even counterattacked with a piercing stab. Instinctively, Bin Yong raised his left arm, but without his familiar shield, he had nothing to block the incoming attack, causing him to be injured by the tail jab. Nonetheless, with sufficient experience in dungeons, Bin Yong had used that attack as an opportunity to strike the fish''s head. Straight into this eye socket. "Bombardier Beetle Style, Bombardment Counterattack!" An outburst of smoke emerged from the dagger, causing searing pain to the Deep One as well as giving Bin Yong the chance to pierce into where he hoped would be his heart. "Ramming Blast of the Beetle!!" Bin Yong shouted as he penetrated the tough skin layer of the Deep One and greenish brown blood slowly flowed out of the Deep One''s body. Bin Yong always use that as a shield technique which he figured this was an equally good opportunity to test out the impact with other weapons. "Bro! Dagger!! QUICK!" Shi Zuo''s opponent was beginning to change its form too and the only weapon they had access to was the dagger. However, Shi Zuo was not willing to simply wait for the Deep One to transform as he continued to throw punches furiously as if he had entered into some blood rage while he waited for Bin Yong''s reinforcement. "Switch!" Bin Yong shouted and Shi Zuo gave it one last kick that made his enemy fly backwards while Bin Yong jumped up from the first floor to the landing of the half turn stairs and tried the same finishing move against the transforming Deep One. But unlike the previous Deep One, it seemed that Bin Yong had missed the vital part, which he compensated by punching the Deep One once at the head. That sucker punch gave him the momentum to swing his right fist to the hilt of the still stuck dagger, finally causing a fatal blow to the Deep One. He did not hesitate to pull the dagger out as he looked at Shi Zuo land safely on the other two unconscious Black Suits. Bin Yong then threw the dagger at Shi Zuo. They both understood it was foolish to take chances and it was better to finish the job before those two woke up. However, Shi Zuo did not comply immediately. Instead, he began to strip the two black suits down. "What are you doing?" Bin Yong asked as he hurried down the stairs before Shi Zuo told him to quickly strip the other Black Suit. "We need to check if they are carrying anything else to improve our chances of surviving like wiretaps, communication wires, phones or wallets." Shi Zuo explained as he checked every pocket the Black Suits had. True enough, they found another dagger as well as a storage ring which contained an iron sword, a small buckler and two iron hatchets. They were not their original weapons, but at the very least those were weapons that they were proficient in. Shi Zuo took the hatchets while Bin Yong equipped the buckler. Thankfully, the items came with a back holster, which allowed them to place their weapons at their back. Only then did Shi Zuo notice that it was a bad idea. They needed to blend in the crowd to reach 34th Street and not to stick out like a sore thumb. So he took one of the black suit''s outer jacket and tied the sleeves around his waist while he forcefully wore the holster at his waist. That way the outer jacket hid the hatchets. Seeing how Shi Zuo did it, Bin Yong placed his new loot back in the storage ring and copied it by hiding the daggers at his waist with the holster too. "Ready?" Shi Zuo asked, to which Bin Yong nodded as they proceed to slit the throats of the two unconscious Black Suits. After which, both cultivators cautious opened the door before exiting to the streets. Their experience of the dungeon instance had barely begun. Chapter 385 Grand Central Terminal Part 1 The two Pandawans tried to hide in the crowd, but no matter where they went, Bin Yong kept on having this irrational fear lingering on him that someone was watching them. It felt like they were looking over their every move and only waiting for the right moment to strike. Perhaps it was just the pouring rain and constant thundering of the clouds that made Bin Yong feel so insecure since they were the only guys without an umbrella among the crowd? In a way, that made them stand out amongst the soulless crowd who continued with their daily lives. Despite the fact they looked indifferent, the crowd''s attention would occasionally shift their focus on the Pandawans briefly before they returned to their meaninglessly daily routine. That alone reinforced that anxiety Bin Yong was sensing. Meanwhile, Shi Zuo was looking for directions to reach 34th Street. Fortunately, simplified maps were placed at the bus station near them. "If I am not wrong, the last street sign I saw should mean we are somewhere here, near 42nd Street. The Grand Central terminal station should be there and just a few blocks ahead." Shi Zuo figured that if they could find a subway station, they could use it to travel to Penn Station. After all, Boss Jin made the dungeon instance in a modern setting, so there should be some trains prepared in a modern day replicated version of New York City¡­ right? "Good, the longer we are out in the open, the more we risk getting caught, again. I do not see any agents around, but who knows with Boss Jin. Maybe he made the first ones into plain obvious agents, just so that he could trick us. For all we know, one of these people could turn any minute now." Bin Yong said while looking around nervously. His behaviour started to be anything but natural. Several bystanders slowed their pace as they stared disapprovingly at him. "Dude, you are doing it again. Why are you getting so worked up ever since the beginning of the dungeon? This is not like you at all." Shi Zuo pulled his friend towards him and took big steps to distance themselves from the crowd while whispering to his friend. "Have you not read about the Deep Ones before?" Bin Yong asked, and Shi Zuo shook his head sluggishly under the pouring rain. "I only briefly read a summary about them on the net. They are just minion monsters in some cosmic horror genre. So, what about them? We already killed a few of them, and we can always kill some more. Have a little bit of faith in your abilities." Shi Zuo tried to encourage his friend in a relaxed way as he plotted out the road in his mind to reach the Grand Central Terminal. Bin Yong sighed after he realised why Shi Zuo was taking this so calm. It made sense for him being a tech guy who loved action and spies not to be well versed in the lore of the Lovecraftian stories. However, Bin Yong had adored those stories in his youth, which he still loved to read during his pastime. As an aspiring animator back then, they inspired a dark period of his drawings phrase and allowed Bin Yong to grow out of his slump to the point he was nearly fanatical about it. Yet, it was a phrase of learning and growing, which eventually lead him to his desired graphical art direction. He did use some for his portfolio, and the interviewers were impressed by the various art style he could develop. To his knowledge, no one had ever come close to create the image of the perfect Deep Ones. Sure, there were vague descriptions of such monsters in the Lovecraftian books, and he had seen at a lot of attempts trying to give them form, but it was not until recently when he had killed them during their transformation that he experienced this indescribable anxious feeling his heart was secretly harbouring. It was also apparent that it was not even their final form yet but those eyes which Bin Yong had stared into summoned an indisputable pull of trepidation stirring within him. If he could choose sides, he would instead prefer being on their good graces than against them. The fate of those going against the dark powers rarely if ever ended up positively. "So, you are aware of the greatness of Lord Dagen¡­" A whisper caressed Bin Yong''s ears as he was watching out for Shi Zuo, who did not appear to have heard the voice. "Lord¡­Dagen?" Bin Yong was a little confused when he heard that particular name, especially since it came out of nowhere all of a sudden. He did some research as a refresher before coming to Jin''s dungeon and even read some of the articles about the Deep Ones that the cultivators encountered in the Pandamonium forum pages. But none of it rang a bell, as he only knew of the name Dagon instead of Dagen. Then again, perhaps Boss Jin purposely renamed it to possibly throw the cultivators off track. "So, you are aware of the greatness of Lord Dagen?" The whisper got a little louder and Bin Yong looked towards Shi Zuo to look out for any change of expression and actions upon hearing that whisper again. "You are chosen. Not him. Come to 34th Street, Exit B of Penn Station to learn the real truth." The familiar whisper continued to creep around his brain non stop, and it lingered for a little longer before he managed to get a grip on himself. "Lord Dagon¡­Lord Dagen¡­" Bin Yong was lost in his thought as he repeated the name a few times. Dagon was a long standing word associated with fish in Canaanite language, leading to the interpretation as a Fish God. However, modern records indicated that word to have been used for grain. Thus, Lovecraft could have used the mistaken myth of the fish god as the object of worship for the Deep Ones in his story. Yet, there were arguments stating Dagon was just an analogy in his novel, for the Deep Ones truly worshipped the Great Old One, Cthulhu. "Hello?¡­ Snap out of your daze. We need to move quickly before some of your feared Deep Ones really do catch up." Shi Zuo snapped his fingers a few times in front of Bin Yong and at the third snap, Bin Yong awoke from his train of thoughts. "Roughly three blocks down and then a left, afterwards we should be able to get a glimpse of New York City''s crown jewel landmark." Shi Zuo informed him as he quietly ''borrowed'' two umbrellas that were conveniently left near a stand beside a general convenience store, hoping to truly blend within the crowd. In less than a few minutes, the duo reached the Grand Central Terminal. Only there was no one else going towards the station at all. It was quite a contrast, the inside of the terminal station being completely empty compared to the busy, bustling crowd walking in the rain. "Not good, this is definitely a trap. We shoul-" Suddenly the large doors behind them closed shut without any warning. The two tried to open it almost immediately, but it was not budging a single bit. Shi Zuo quickly took his hatchet out and tried to hack at the door knobs to open it. But no matter how much strength he put into it, the door frame around the knob was too thick to pierce through. It was to the point that the handle for the hatchet broke with Shi Zuo''s eighth attempt, and the hatchet blade remained lodged on the door itself. "I think you should stop trying. We have company." Bin Yong warned him as there were a more than just a couple of Black Suits staring at them from the second floor of the grand central terminal. Intensifying the moment, the Pandawans heard thunder flashing from outside as the two Pandawans helplessly watched the scene of the black suits fully transforming themselves to the rumoured Deep Ones. What they did not know was that this was not the real Grand Central Terminal. None of them had ever gone to New York before so they were unaware that the real Grand Central Terminal did not have a pure all wooden front door. (They were mainly vintage doors with 3¡Á3 glass panels.) Jin did not make this dungeon instance as straightforward as the previous dungeons. He wanted his customers to actively look for clues rather than simply rushing in blindly against the monsters. Sure, they could do that, but that would mostly ensure that they would have an unnecessarily harder time trying to complete his dungeons (if they survived). Jin wanted to make sure that everyone had a fulfilling experience and hoped to do more of this in the future rather than giving the cultivators just some monsters to fight. If someone''s sole desire was to contend and test their cultivation, they could have gone for the random monster arena instances he set up previously. The ''correct'' approach, at least the way he designed it, would have been to start by collecting some information on their situation. Jin did not expect his customers to have some prior knowledge to be able to complete an instance, so anyone could learn what was necessary by exploring more of the city of this particular dungeon instance such as the general stores or even the abandoned building that they were teleported to at the start of the dungeon instance. (Granted that the location of the abandoned building slightly differed with every new instance to provide a fresh new perspective to the dungeon instance.) There would be magazines around the stands to show the picture of the real Grand Central Terminal. Also, there was a torn page with regards to that in the abandoned building that they were searching around for enemies previously. Unfortunately, they had not paid too much attention to it. Should they have realised that it was the fake station and walked further down instead of entering, the real station would have been just a corner turn away with no Deep Ones lurking in there awaiting them. They would have been able to take the ride to Penn Station and find Captain Hei to proceed with the instance. The tens of fish eyes were stalking their new prey, but they were unlike the Deep Ones Jin used to have. The cultivators who had caught glimpses of the Deep Ones previously in the Goblin Western Diversion would be equally shocked. These slicker and stronger Deep Ones still possessed webbed hands, feet and fish heads but now they featured a spiked spine instead of a large fin behind their back coupled with a deadly killer tail. Jin had used the upgrade cards from his complimentary reward by the System upon reaching Grade 8 to ''mutate'' the fellow Deep Ones to gain this new look. Initially, they had looked intimidating in the sea but flabby on land with all the gills and fish scales. But since Jin wanted to do an infested city scenario, he had made sure that the newly mutated Deep Ones not only looked equally scary on both terrains but were also decently agile on land too. Instead of transforming all of them to fit this instance, he only made 50 go through that mutation to test them out since he did not have the time let them experiment on any monsters. (Perhaps, he should create an in-house arena to let the monsters duel with each other.) In the meantime, with the help of Shadow Dagen''s magical powers as well as the System''s, Jin enabled a few of the Deep Ones to wield some wicked, unholy oceanic magic. Therefore, the rain and thunder were not something he had designed but came as a result of the work of the Deep Ones'' magical rituals. (This in turn, saved some money recreating the background from Jin''s point of view.) A Deep One undoubtedly leapt to the centre of the Grand Central Terminal main concourse, at the top of the iconic clock. If the cultivators were aware that that brass clock was valued at 20 million USD in real life, they might suffer a heartache seeing the claws of the Deep One latching itself into the opal glass. "Sacrificesssssssssss!!!" The Deep One on the clock roared as it wielded a long, broken and rotten wooden staff (with some seaweed hanging onto it) and pointed to the sky. The clouds grew even gloomier from what the duo was seeing and suddenly, the glass attached to the ceilings broke and out gushed three magical waterfalls flooding the concourse with water. The water that was pouring in quickly reaching knee deep and hindered the movements of Shi Zuo and Bin Yong who began to run the moment they saw a few Deep Ones jumping down from the second floor to the first while others were standing in wait. The Deep Ones, on the other hand, loved the incoming waterfall as it quickened their pace since (their webbed feet were not ideal on such smooth floors of the main concourse). "We have to move to higher ground. With the waterfall, escaping underground will only make things worse." Shi Zuo said as he focused his chi towards his feet, allowing him to walk on water the moment he jumped out. "To the roof, then?" Bin Yong suggested and Shi Zuo agreed as he evaded an incoming attack from a Deep One and pierced the broken shaft of the hatchet into the Deep One''s eye socket and hacked it from the back. They had a short term plan, but survival seemed nigh impossible when the odds of overwhelming numbers and lack of proper equipment were clearly stacked against them. Chapter 386 Grand Central Terminal Part 2 At first, they were happy since it seemed the Deep Ones wished for a one on one match as merely two of them had taken the initiative to attack out of the few that jumped from the second floor. The rest were either standing on the 2nd floor observing the fight or lurking at the sides of the main concourse, guarding the exits in case they decided to run away. Judging from how quickly they died previously, the Pandawan Duo figured it would be simple to kill them before they executed their plans of escaping. They want to show that they were not the ones to be messed with either. (Besides, if all they do is to escape, what fun would it be for a dungeon instance?) While the Deep Ones slowly made their way towards Shi Zuo and Bin Yong, they were already looking out for possible climbing spots to use in order to reach the roof as fast as possible. Maybe those pillars at the side of the Grand Central Terminal, the side stairs or perhaps a single full charge through the main concourse while evading the rest of the Deep Ones. Their strategy was to kill the Deep Ones once they found what they were looking for, and if circumstances did not allow them to be together, at the very least run separately to reach the broken roof windows. That way, they would at least not be at such a disadvantage than they were currently in since the swamp like situation benefited the Deep Ones more than the cultivators. Knowing not to fight someone in their advantageous element was basic Fighting 101. (But sometimes, cultivators wished to confront against such high odds, hoping to surmount them for the sense of achievement.) Considering that the waterfall was consistently pouring water into the main concourse and rising. Shi Zuo felt it was strange that the water level was able to raise since there should be multiple exits in the Grand Terminal main hall that lead to the numerous subway platforms. "Unless¡­could it be that the subway platforms have already been flooded¡­?" Shi Zuo thought to himself. This made him even more assured that they should escape upwards instead of downwards. (Welp, they did not know that this was all a trap, and the real subway platforms were not there at all.) However, as soon as they engaged with the Deep Ones, they noticed that they had been sorely mistaken. The Deep Ones'' movements were fluid, and their claw strikes, kicks and even tail jabs were damningly accurate. If not for the mini buckler Bin Yong had on him, he would have suffered multiple injuries to his left arm once again. (The previous bleeding had been closed off with chi and applying a makeshift bandage out of the Black Suit''s clothes) Yet, it seemed that the mini buckler would not last much longer since there were no enchanments on it to withstand such violent abuse from the Deep One attacks. Bin Yong really wished he had his durable shield right about now, which had been imbued with multiple middle grade defensive inscriptions which he had invested time and money on. "Darn it! Stupid fish head, if only I had my personal weapons with me!" Bin Yong cursed under a heavy breath as he estimated that the shield could take at most four more hits before it breaks. In the meantime, while his sword strikes were true, they were not strong enough to inflict sufficient damage against the Deep One''s natural armoured scales. The Deep One even began to laugh at how pathetic Bin Yong''s struggle was, angering him further to the point he felt focusing all his chi into the makeshift sword so that he could do a proper stab. He figured that he could continue fighting since he had the two knives as a replacement if the sword broke. At the same time, Bin Yong tried to refrain from doing that since it would not be ideal for him because of the difference in the weapon''s attribute. He would not be familiar with the short reach of the dagger nor was he well versed handling a dagger. Bin Yong could wield it like a short sword, but he would not be fully utilising what a knife could offer. Shi Zuo was not faring any better as he could feel that his hatchet could not stand the strain of his attacks nor the impact against the armoured scales of his own Deep One. It was bound to break within the next few strikes if he was not careful. That was why he was attacking with not just his weapon but with his fists and kicks too. Simultaneously, he tried to find any possible soft spots with his melee combat so that he could plunge his axe blade into it. "Hahahaha, uselesss Pandawaannsssss." The Deep Mage laughed as he clapped with his two webbed hands at the amusement they provided. There and then, the Deep Mage brought his beloved staff towards him and plucked out what seemed to be two rings. "Catch Ringsssss~!" He shouted as he threw the rings up high towards the direction of Bin Yong and Shi Zuo. The rings immediately glittered and the two cultivators could recognise the chi that was being emanated out by the rings. They were none other than their very own storage rings that had been missing since the start of this instance. Still, though their Leader was helping them to even out the odds, that did not mean the Deep Ones in front of them would be kind enough to simply wait until they were ready. They immediately became even more aggressive, preventing them from catching their rings. However, Shi Zuo had already predicted such an outcome as he threw his hatchet with whatever strength he could summon towards his own opponent to distract him briefly. The hatchet broke into pieces upon contact due to the immense rush of chi that was transferred into it, cuasing the Deep One to flinch badly. Shi Zuo took that opportunity to rush tackle Bin Yong''s Deep One so that his teammate had the window of chance to reach for his own storage ring. "I will not disappoint you!" Bin Yong shouted as he jumped forward to insert a quick, nasty knee strike at the face of flinched Deep One, giving Shi Zuo more time to keep the other one pinned down. He realised that Shi Zuo was potentially sacrificing himself so that he could reach for his storage ring. Moving forward, he was about to grab the storage ring before it dropped into the flooded floors of the main concourse, but it was at that point of time that something very strange occurred. The Deep Ones they were fighting as well as Shi Zuo and even the Deep Mage had stopped moving completely, seemingly frozen in time. "Have you comprehended the greatness of Lord Dagen?" That particular whisper came back to haunt Bin Yong. "Abandon your fellow friend. Climb to the roof and reach 34th Street, Exit B of Penn Station. The Truth is awaiting you." "I will not abandon him!" Bin Yong tried to scream with all his might though there was no sound coming from his mouth at all, nor were his muscles moving to produce those sounds. "Denial is merely a minor obstacle in the process to the road of enlightenment and ultimately, the Blessing of Lord Dagen." The whispers gently rubbed and enveloped Bin Yong''s mind once more before the time stasis released everyone in the Grand Central main concourse. His body continued what it was doing, but the sudden control of his body made him miss the falling ring. Quickly following to where it fell, he used his chi to pull the storage ring towards him. (If not for the short proximity range for the chi to work on the storage ring, Shi Zuo wouldn''t have tried to sacrifice himself to let Bin Yong retrieve his.) The moment the storage ring slipped into Bin Yong''s fingers, four spare swords furiously fuelled with chi flew out of his storage ring as projectiles and targeted the free Deep One. Needless to say, the Deep One defended with ease, but it allowed Shi Zuo to stop struggling with the Deep One underneath him and quickly get out of the way. Bin Yong immediately threw a spare axe to his friend from his storage ring. The four good friends including Jia Le and Luo Bo always knew that there might come a time when their own storage ring might go missing or not work, hence each of them always kept a few spare weapons for their teammates. "Finally, a decent weapon." Shi Zuo poured his chi into the axe. While it might not be the latest, strongest and lightest axe he bought, it was something he had used before to great effect. This axe was none other than the one he got from the Bank Heist instance. A rare drop which allowed the Three Headed Bear in the Weapons Armoury to create an Ice Elemental Weapon, before Jin had changed the way he handed out rewards. Shi Zuo grinned when he realised that the Ice Elemental Axe could be surprisingly effective in this particular stage. He poured a lot more chi in and slammed it into the flooded concourse as the Deep One who deflected the sword projectiles continued rush towards him. "Axe Art¡­ SCREW THIS GODDAMN FISH ATTACKKKK!!!" Shi Zuo shouted out blatantly as the ice elemental axe unleashed a cascade of icy glacier spikes at the Deep One, piercing its natural armoured scales. The chi ice spikes were strong enough to penetrate through the body and out of its back. Greenish foul blood leaked out of the Deep One as it tried to struggle one final time. The Deep One portrayed its savagery by breaking the ice spikes with its ¡­fish mouth. It opened its mouth widely and crunched on the tip of the ice spike despite the wound it had. When the Deep One got free, it released an enthralling scream of wrath to the Deep Ones who were watching before throwing itself again at Shi Zuo. "Just die already!" Shi Zuo whirled his axe haphazardly and gave a swing to the abdominal wound the Deep One had, severing it into half the moment the fish monster got into range. Bin Yong also had an easy time killing his target with a few precise strikes with his improved gear. In their happiness, both had forgotten about their escape plan as the Deep Mage snapped his finger once more. This time four Deep Ones moved into action against the Pandawan Duo. As they cracked their webbed knuckles, the Deep Ones on the second floors threw forked tridents at them to even the odds against the well-equipped cultivators. It then struck both of them that this was not going to end any time soon. Hope was in limited supply and running out fast. Chapter 387 The Eventual Loss A relatively large number of spectators in Auditorium Number Three was watching the intense fight between the Deep Ones and the Pandawans. Usually, when there were Pandawans participating in the dungeons, the System would focus the movie screens on their dungeon instance, which lead to them being quite famous in Jin''s shop. As long as they put up a good fight, it really did not matter if they lost the instance because people were using them as a metric to gauge how hard a dungeon could be. And this particular Deep One Dungeon was showing them no mercy at all. Unlike the Shaolin Football Dungeon instance where many of the cultivators fought against the (even now) unbeatable Savants, this latest addition, while not as brutal, kept sending waves of increasingly more and more dangerous Deep Ones against Bin Yong and Shi Zuo especially with them armed with a trident. On that side note, the Deep Ones were all trained with basic spear proficiency as compared to them previously brandishing their weapons crudely when Jin caught them in the Fishing World. It was all thanks to Wyrstriker, the Wyvern Goblin Knight who tirelessly trained them while Jin prepared the Deep One training instance. Wyrstriker could not believe the regimental training he used to hate would be implemented by him to ensure the teaching of Deep Ones was orderly. It was no doubt the fastest way to teach them the ways of the spear in a short span of time. The fight against four Deep Ones had been still beatable with some nonstandard attacks, but that was never the end of it. The Deep Mage creepily laughed as it snapped its fingers and sent double that number against the two cultivators. Thankfully, Shi Zuo had managed to find his storage ring during the battle against the four Deep Ones which he found it by chance when the ring glittered under the water in response to the chi his was emitting. The fight then escalated rather quickly from that point on and it was apparent how the difficulty level went up a notch with each Pandawan having to beat at least four on their own. Bin Yong and Shi Zuo had been forced to use a number of intermediate battle techniques that were usually kept in reserve to use in Middle Boss fights because of the amount of chi it expends. Before they knew it, the duo had unconsciously used up the gathered chi that was needed to let them walk on water in their fights. That forced them to fight unknowingly in knee deep waters, pushing their dexterity limit to the next level. But in Jin''s eyes, pushing their self imposed limit was the few viable ways to further their cultivation. Unlike Xiong Da, who could endure hits because of his unique cultivation, Shi Zuo was more of an all out offensive cultivator. To him, offence was indeed his best defence. Even the spectators and viewers who had subscribed to Pandaflix, Jins very own dungeon instance streaming, were baffled to learn that Shi Zuo had not fully utilised his Mad Monkey Cultivation until this particular dungeon instance. It was a brand new sight to watch him jumping around out of the waters on to the lower platforms and pillars to maintain his agility and attack them from tricky angles to counter the Deep Ones'' home field advantage. It was exhausting for Shi Zuo which was why he did not use it as often as he should. (Though the System was pleased with the new data input.) While the Deep Ones managed to block his wild attacks with their spears and armoured spike tails, all eight were subsequently defeated with Bin Yong making use of their distraction thanks to his Bombardier Beetle Style. Needless to say, the Deep Mage simply snapped his fingers yet again and now Sixteen Deep Ones stepped forward. It was definitely going nowhere for both of them. At first, they thought the Deep Ones would be willing to let them go after demonstrating their strength against them. But as the duels went by and with their numbers increasing with each fight, it was evident that the Deep Ones were merely toying with the two Pandawans. Instead of continuing to fight them, they tried to resume their plan to run away and climb up to the roof. Unfortunately, it became futile after the Deep Mage managed to slip a few spells of his own to thwart their initial plans. Redirecting the continuous waterfall like a water hydro pump, he splashed them off the walls. Not willing to give up, they tried again. Bin Yong eventually managed to evade the initial few water spells and climbed to the reach the windows grills by the walls of the Grand Central Terminal. The Deep Mage then used a charged water orb spell as a sort of deviation when the real spell was an elusive binding rope made out of water. The rope pulled Bin Yong towards the 2nd floor by slamming him right to the ground. To his surprise, the Deep Ones did not finish him off despite the injury he incurred, which allowed them to do so rather effortlessly. Instead, they dragged him to the railings and pushed him back down into the main concourse area again. They seemed keen on continuing their match and thus not granting him an easy death. Eventually, Shi Zuo was confident that the only way out was for one of the two parties to perish. At this point, they honestly considered giving up to return later with a new strategy since they believed that the pattern of this particular deathtrap would not change and only be harder the more they killed. As if the Deep Mage could feel their lacking resolve, it sniggered and threw a tied up rucksack he conjured at them. Both Bin Yong and Shi Zuo were cautious when they saw the rucksack, but the Deep Mage demanded them to open it. At that point, they guessed that they were fully at the mercy of the Deep Mage and Bin Yong did not hesitate to open it. Initially, they were shocked with a face of disbelief when they saw the contents of the bag. Only at a closer inspection, did they realise they had been scammed. "What the?! All these panda medals are broken!" Bin Yong took two pieces out and showed it to the Deep Mage. Now, the still spectating Deep Ones laughed eerily with their lowly muffled vocal cords that sounded more like a tortured goat struggling to scream than a burst of proper laughter. "Fooolisssshhh Meatssssss. Gather threeeee piecesssss." The Deep Mage clasped his hands together to signal that they could be combined and Bin Yong did what was told. To their surprise, three broken pieces of Panda Medals did become a whole. And judging from the bag of mixed fragments, there would be at least 20 to 30 Bronze Panda Medals in there. "Fightttt with my breathennnssss. More Medaaalllssss" Deep Mage explained and it was to keep them even longer in the dungeon instance. "So¡­I presume we are not going anywhere until we defeat that Magical Deep One." Shi Zuo was taking a breather, since the sixteen Deep Ones remained on standby ever since their escape attempts, as he peeked into the rucksack once more. "Seems that way, but if we dare to attack that Magical Deep One, we might incur the wrath of every Deep One in this Grand Central Terminal. The only proper way appears to be to survive the waves until it''s his turn." Bin Yong remarked as he could see that it would not end soon. "I don''t think I have enough chi potions for them all. I also doubt they are going to be nice enough to give us breaks to consume them except during those intervals when he snapped his fingers." Shi Zuo checked his storage ring and confirmed that his inventory of chi potions was still untouched "And so, I assume this is where hopelessness and dread come into play?" Shi Zuo chugged one chi potion before the Deep Mage signalled to the waiting sixteen Deep Ones to attack them. "It does not have to be that way. You can be spared, if you believe in the greatness of Lord Dagen, clueless one." Bin Yong heard that whisper when it abruptly entered his head as he prepared to defend himself from the Deep Ones. "You and only you have been deemed worthy." The whisper continued, but Bin Yong gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the deafening chatter that spoke to him continuously in his head. It was as if he was trying to pass a sanity check while fighting against the Deep Ones. However, the spectators did not know that Bin Yong was tormented by the unnatural mutters. They assumed the wounds from the previous battles hindered him. Contrary to Shi Zuo''s cultivation, Bin Yong was an all rounder that did not excel in any attributes. His strength, defence and agility were above average. Though his Bombardier Beetle Style made him fight more defensively, his techniques could be used as an offensive tactic against his opponents. Even though Bin Yong had experienced fighting a large group of monsters during the Goblin Raid Event, taking on tens of Orcs by himself, this was a different type of monsters. The Deep Ones had stronger scaled armour, and their arsenal of natural weapons such as teeth, tails and claws along with the proficiency to hold spear arms. Not to mention, they were even more ruthless and bloodthirsty than the Orcs who would whatever it takes to kill their opponent. Maybe because they had this particular feral instinct which made them behave differently from a comparatively disciplined mind like the Orcs. Therefore, having sixteen Deep Ones attacking at the same time was a completely different scenario against the ones he encountered. Even the spectators were having a hard time imagining themselves trying to fight against one, much alone sixteen. Sadly, their defeat was ensured when an exhausted Bin Yong accidentally missed a block, and a Deep One clawed his neck open, causing him to die from the massive instant loss of blood. No longer dividing their forces, they focused their attention on Shi Zuo, who had managed to take down three. As the last survivor, Shi Zuo could only go all out to kill as many as possible before the Deep Ones completely overwhelmed him. Though he fought valiantly, his luck came to an end when a Deep One who quietly hid under the shallow waters, sneak attacked him from the back and pierced straight through his heart. When the Pandawans awoke back in the recovery instance, they could not help but feel a little dejected but a few of the other cultivators who had been watching the Deep One dungeon via their phones, consoled them that they were probably the first who had managed to reach sixteen Deep Ones. In the meantime, Bin Yong took a bottle of water and splashed his face a little. He still had some shivers after the entire dungeon run and was torn between being sad for losing, and happy for it being over. A Panda Nurse beckoned him to follow her into a room. Milk was there waiting for him with a spell ready. "Those whispers are nasty, aren''t they?" Milk asked after Bin Yong took a seat at the side of her desk. She turned on her torchlight to check his eye pupil movements and systematically measured his blood pressure. "It was somewhat irritating but¡­I must say, it was indeed alluring. I could complain that I had trouble resisting it and fighting at the same time, but I think this is pretty much par for the course in a dungeon with this theme. In my opinion, I feel that we haven''t even seen half of the dungeon yet." Bin Yong sighed as Milk had already begun casting her magic on him to remove the effects of the dungeons. "Indeed, you guys were just too focused on reaching your objective. It seems you know a bit about Lovecraft?" She asked as she implemented the spell ''Calming Clarity'' on Bin Yong. "Actually quite a lot, and I''m sure Jin really took a lot of inspiration from there. When I saw the Empire State Building, I noticed a gigantic fish¡­snake like shadow wrapping itself around it. I think I managed to have eye contact with it before I saw the first Black Suit guy and after that Shi Zuo pushed me away from the window. Oh, and I did not say this to Shi Zuo in case he got all worked up." Bin Yong told her. "I shouldn''t be saying this, but consider this a Pandawan special privilege. You are right. You have yet to see half of the dungeon. From what I saw, you guys were not even 10% close to the completion of the dungeon. Come on, don''t look so gloom, others fared far worse than you." Milk tried to cheer him up as she took his blood pressure once more and asked if she could take a blood sample for research purposes after the dungeon instance. It goes without saying, Bin Yong was welcome to reject such a test if he found it too invasive. Bin Yong eventually agreed and in exchange Milk revealed a hint about the dungeon instance. "Remember what Boss Jin told you guys before the start of this instance? It''s not all about fighting. You should take the time to appreciate the little things which flesh out the instance. You can share this piece of information with other people if you want. But I am sure you still want your first clear." Bin Yong nodded and asked if two people were enough for this Deep One dungeon instance. "That, I really cannot say. The dungeon will scale its difficulty with the number of people. Knowing Jin, it should probably be possible to beat it solo if you know how. But just think back at every dungeon instance you successfully completed so far. How many members did your ideal group include?" Milk winked at him as she wore her lab coat with a vial of Bin Yong''s blood in her hands. The Panda nurse subsequently took charge and showed Bin Yong his bed to rest. "So¡­ it seems this is less a James Bond kind of spy movie dungeon instance even though it seems like one at first glance, but more of a detective thriller, making us search for clues." Bin Yong thought to himself as he felt his head being all cleared up. "This is not the end, Boss Jin. I ¡­no we will complete it." Bin Yong felt the need to rise to the challenge. First, he would make some preparations to be ready this time as he sent an SMS to Jia Le and Luo Bo inviting them to join them in the evening. Chapter 388 Escape City "What''s up with Bin Yong? He seems more pumped up than you?" Jia Le asked Shi Zuo as she sat beside Bin Yong who had entered a world of his own, scribbling down something in the Restaurant Instance seemingly unaware of their presence. The moment she had finished her work, Jia Le had rushed over at the request of her boyfriend. Similar to Bin Yong, she had been busy doing overtime all week long to get her workload done and be able to leave earlier today. (Just that Bin Yong had taken the day off with Shi Zuo while Jia Le and Luo Bo continued with their day work.) "He''s been like this the whole day. He refuses to believe that the Deep One arena is the correct way to progress even when everyone else appears to end up in the same predicament as us, just in different locations." Shi Zuo informed Jia Le, as they had watched others try their luck in the newest dungeon instance. Some were fighting at other famous places like the Madison Square Garden, Central Park, the Theatre District and even at the Statue of Liberty. Yet, Bin Yong was still clinging on to Milk''s words and hoped that the others had not been told about it. It was only a matter of time that someone else would get the first clear. So far they were luck as it seemed that they are the only Pandawans who had appeared. "Thank goodness, Bu Dong and the rest of the high schoolers are on an excursion this week, The Venus Four probably having their semester exams and Xiong Da has some other matters to attend to, or else he could have possibly figure out the instance in a jiffy." Bin Yong thought to himself as he watched a few more Deep Ones dungeon instance streams to see if he could catch anything before attempting with the entire group. "All I know is that I am starving." Luo Bo cried out loud and shouted for a penguin to serve her. She had followed Jia Le reluctantly even though she did not want to fight those scary looking Deep Ones, but she decided to come since Bin Yong rarely asked for favours. Besides, Shi Zuo would probably be the one paying for her too and that itself was already a plus. The entire group enjoyed some Tonkatsu curry rice together and no matter how many times they ate Lynn''s food, it seemed that it was getting tastier and more fragrant. People usually say about how tasty the first time was when they reminisced the days they ate that good full portion of delicious food, but for those in the Restaurant Train of Delicacy, the food continued to get better every time they visited it. After a hearty meal and a short talk on what to expect, Bin Yong decided to say his piece. "Guys, this is privy information which I got from Milk." He leaned closer and the rest followed suit. "We need to search for clues in this dungeon. Just as Boss Jin warned us at the start, we should not think of this as a ''Search and annihilate every single monster you see'' mission. The best case scenario might probably be that we entirely avoid having to fight any monsters until the last boss or so." Bin Yong then showed his close knitted group the notes he made while waiting for their arrival. There was not much to go about, but he eventually guessed about the Grand Central Terminal trap correctly. "The doors are different as compared to the real Grand Terminal station, come and have a look." Bin Yong utilised the virtual screen consoles that were available to them in the Restaurant instance. He showed them screenshots of certain individual streams. "See here, they spawned right beside the Grand Terminal Station and it is extremely crowded as compared to the one we had entered. See the doors here too."Bin Yong pointed it out. "I am no architect, but one thing we know about Boss Jin is that he is rather particular about details. I do not think this is a coincidence. Look over here there are other examples of stuff not being ''correct''." He showed how the iconic gates to Central Park and even the base of the Statue of liberty was off. He even scrutinised background in the video of the team fighting at the Statue of Liberty. "If I am not mistaken, there''s another statue right over there and of the right size compared to this one here. I think the bad heavy fog and rain pour made it hard to see. If not for the image to be of high resolution, I could not have found that original statue." Bin Yong indirectly praised Jin''s Magic Eye technology. At the very least, he knew that what he was paying for Pandaflix was indeed high definition. "I guess, it isn''t truly a spy kind of dungeon instance then¡­" Shi Zuo rubbed his stubble while frowning, showing some disappointment, but he did enjoy the thrill from the Black Suits. "Maybe when we are stronger, this could become a spy action thriller instance, but the fact is that we aren''t able to play it this way for now. We should go about it the smart way, I guess." Bin Yong suggested and he told them about the experience he had. "Ignore the whispers?" Jia Le asked and wondered if she had such willpower to withstand it. She too had read up on Lovecraftian lore and understood how alluring those murmuring whispers were. The protagonists were disillusioned by them, and after a while, it made them go insane. If this was any other Dungeon Supplier, it was nothing to worry about, but Jin had already proven in the Halloween Instance, that he had the means to make their fears become a reality. "So ¡­does this not mean that this dungeon instance is literally like a giant escape room?"Jia Le asked by chance, and Bin Yong looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed. That was when Shi Zuo was suddenly reminded about something they had overlooked. "Bro, don''t you remember that¡­weird English quote we found in the abandoned building? And we never found our phones in the end."Shi Zuo asked and suddenly Bin Yong placed his palm on his temple. "Gosh¡­you are right. Looking back we really didn''t pay too much attention and missed out on a bunch of stuff." Bin Yong grumbled, and they finally had adjusted themselves with the right mindset going into the Deep Ones dungeon instance. Still, he could not believe it. It was amazing that Jin had created a virtual New York City, only for it to be potentially a giant escape room. For what it was worth, the wait for the release of this dungeon was indeed justified. "Alright then, Please remember those escape games tips I gave you guys before." Luo Bo reminded them and the entire group quickly looked a final time through their chat conversations. Dungeons were just one thing they shared together as a group. The two couples had tried various other activities together since they found each other to be rather compatible. Even Jia Le, who was a rather new member of their clique, managed to quickly blend in and get to know some of the quirks the gang had. For example, Luo Bo, who was the laziest among them, had the most influence on the guys. But with Jia Le joining the group, it replaced Bin Yong''s previous craze for Luo Bo and the group dynamics was slightly more balanced. (Though there were times, Luo Bo pouted that things did not always go her way anymore.) "As usual, I propose Shi Zuo as the team leader since Bin Yong always overanalyses things too much." Luo Bo said and even Bin Yong agreed to that. "Bin Yong as the vice leader since he ALWAYS overanalyses things too much, so that there will be someone to watch our backs if we are missing out on things." "You know, you don''t have to say it twice, right?" Bin Yong frowned but Jia Le patted his head. "Too bad, it''s the truth." Jia Le whispered barely audible, reinforcing Luo Bo''s statement before the group entered the Deep One dungeon instance via their updated Pandamonium app. As if given a second chance, they were teleported into the exact same derelict room with that muddled glass facing right in front of them. The four were tied up and instead of struggling, they began to carefully examine the room while waiting for the little Panda Pyjamas girl to appear. She did not make them wait long, almost immediately entering by breaking open the door. Not panicking, the group slowly observed what the Panda Pyjamas girl did. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it; Find Captain Hei in 34th Street, Exit A of Penn Stati-" "We accept." The whole group said in unison despite the fact that they were still tied to the chairs which kind of shocked the little girl for a moment. Then, she stepped back while moving her panda mask a little to reveal that cute smile she was hiding. From her pocket, she took out a phone and placed it on the floor. "Your first objective is to reach Grand Central Terminal. I will call you if you manage to reach there correctly and safely." This time instead of pulling the straps out of the chairs for them, she disappeared after placing the phone on the floor. However, what she said corresponded to Bin Yong''s doubts. " She said ''Correctly''. So bro, your theory might be right after all." Shi Zuo was finally convinced by Bin Yong''s way of thinking. "Our cultivation is still active right?" Jia Le asked as she struggled a little after the disappearance of the little girl right in front of her eyes. "It should be, it was not blocked the last time I remembered. Just that, we did not think of using it immediately." Bin Yong answered and it assured Jia Le as she laid back and began casting a cultivation technique. Soon enough, there were vines growing from the bottom of her chair with razor sharp leaves, which at the behest of Jia Le, cut open the straps for her. Afterwards, she assisted the others in getting free. "Now this is something different. Shi Zuo picked it up as he examined the phone. The first thing that he saw was the battery lifespan. Not only was it blinking at 10%, but it was also none other than Bin Yong''s phone¡­ who had the lousiest battery life among the four of them. Mainly because he refused to change his phone after eight odd years since he claimed that it was still working fine for him. "Seriously, if we lose because your battery dies out early, I am so dragging you to the Hua Wee store in the shopping district and get you a new replacement immediately.'' Shi Zuo cursed a little as he knew that Bin Yong''s phone booted up real slow. The power button was slightly faulty and turning it off might prove to be a nuisance and eventually consume more battery than it should. "After getting a new phone for you, I will take your old phone and smash it into bits. I will make sure I crash and burn every single component." Shi Zuo sighed as he looked at the worn out phone before leaving it with Bin Yong. "I am guessing that it is also a sort of timer for us to complete this mission."Jia Le chimed in as she was examining around the room once more. Luo Bo was already flipping the torture chairs upside down to see if there were any clues at all. True enough, they found a tattered handbook stained with blood, hidden inside the chair''s broken cushion. Luo Bo was just trying her luck by poking her finger into those small cushion holes to see if she managed to feel anything. For a clue to be found so quickly, she became excited that she bounced around a little while Bin Yong was looking through the contents of the tattered handbook. "From the looks of it, these¡­are something like coded cyphers, I think." Bin Yong browsed through the contents for a while before giving it to Shi Zuo.(They would never guess that Boss Jin was well versed in cypher coding, and all credits were given to his grandfather teaching him that.) "Yeah, and all written in tortured human blood I presume? Hahahha!" Shi Zuo was not helping the situation at all with his awfully cold comment. They checked the other torture chairs just in case before heading out of the room. However, Jia Le turned around again as if to make sure she did not miss out anything else in the room. "Escape Room, huh? More like Escape City." Jia Le mumbled to herself to which the System secretly awarded the group ten panda medals to their current dungeon score for being the first group to correctly guess the true name and nature of this particular dungeon. Chapter 389 Speculations "Oh, hey look. Bin Yong''s team is trying out the dungeon once more, and this time the audio is clearer than usual for some reason. Usually, there would be some background music accompanying it." One of the viewers who recently failed the Deep Ones Dungeon Instance saw Bin Yong and friends on the screen. With the introduction of Pandaflix, the System had also been implementing ways to improve the stream, especially to a generation of cultivators who could not sit still and watch stuff for long. Hence, it had placed background music and the music selection surprisingly came from Ke Mi. Somehow, the System found out that she had the flair to choose the kind of music for certain dungeon themes. All it had to do was to expose her to all the available music and she would pick ones that would suit the dungeon. Not to mention, Ke Mi could alter the music tune in her head, inadvertently creating a new set of music for the System to have copyright free music. Jin listened to it and suggested that a compilation of such music could sell in the future. While the viewer and the following group that gathered around her upon hearing Bin Yong''s name had failed the Deep One dungeon instance multiple times, they were not too unhappy about it. The main reason for this was the surprisingly high amount of Panda Medals that was being rewarded, which Boss Jin had been quite stingy since the opening of his dungeon supplier store. One of the cultivators had posted a thread on the Pandamonium Forum to check how much medals one would be able to obtain in this recent dungeon. Many had stated that even without going that far in, the amount of medals they earned had been twice, or even three times more compared to the amount given in the previous dungeon. Some also wondered if it was a bug that allowed them to earn that many Panda Medals. However, Jin personally gave a brief statement in the forums (his account was Panda verified) that there was no issue with the amount of panda medals being awarded. In fact, he revealed that there would be a revision of Panda Medals for all dungeons by the end of the month, which would be officially announced in due time. Mr Know-It-All who was in the loop of every news of Jin made a few simple speculations on the current behaviour for Jin''s increased rewards for the currency. According to him, the most likely and common scenario would be more weapons and/or inscriptions coming in, since the ones he currently sold were kind of general and basic despite the supreme quality. Inscriptions like attack, defence or support Inscription were pretty standard such that the customers could buy them in other places, though getting from those from Jin''s store should not be a waste. If they followed the trend of his other additional inventory, they were guaranteed to be at least slightly stronger than the average inscriptions produced from outsiders. There was a collective term for such inscriptions that were better than average inscriptions of the same grade and the public dubbed these kinds of inscriptions as a plus. For example, Attack Plus Grade One inscription. Though some swore that Jin''s inscriptions were a notch better than the Plus versions that they even want to nickname them as Panda+ for the fun of it. (Perhaps it might be true in the future.) Furthermore, Mr Know-It-All speculated that Jin was going to bring in more very specific, distinct inscription stocks that would definitely improve the dungeon experience of the cultivators as well as aiding them with passing the dungeon even more efficiently. For example, Fire Element Attack Enchantment inscription which provides fire elemental damage for a short burst of time or Water Element Defence Inscriptions where the user would have better resistance against water spells or attacks. He even deduced there was a possibility of ''species killer'' kind of equipment. Some of the cultivators asked in the thread what those were and Mr Know-It-All briefly explained that those inscriptions could probably be more effective against certain monsters. For example, ''Orc Killer'' Inscriptions. Those inscriptions would prove to be very useful against the Orcs in the Goblin Raid Dungeons, making it easier for the cultivators to pit against the orcs if they had a hard time, or simply wished to feel more like a god of war on the battlefield. However, that particular inscription would be useless and not effective at all against any other kind of monster. Mr Know-It-All mentioned that those inscriptions had existed in the past mainly to combat monsters attacking cities. But since the monsters in a monster horde wave tended to vary by species, it was decided to be more useful to use general inscriptions than highly specific ones. He added that nowadays it should be rare to even find a particular ''Species Killer'' kind of inscription on the market. Most were probably gathering dust in the showroom of weapon collectors. One of the cultivators posted his own theory stating that it could be the first signs of an upcoming general inflation in prices since more and more people began to participate in the dungeons. He believed Boss Jin wished to inflate the prices of his goods after his removal of Panda Credits in favour of only using Panda Medals. Therefore, he had increased the number of Panda Medals to give the illusion that the store would not be ripping the customers off. Even though he admitted removing the Panda Credits was a decent move to avoid confusing newcomers, he felt the prices for the food items were rather hefty since they could either be bought with money or Panda Medals. Whereas, Panda Credits was something like an extra bonus for people to utilise to buy their food. Despite his theory sounding rather logical and some found it appealing, others argued back that the new tickets all came with food vouchers for any main dish of their choice. Other than that, they had to top up, which they found that particular reward method to be better. Especially since some remembered that the main dishes could be more expensive with Panda Credits. The older customers continued to argue that the credits had depended on the number of tickets they bought and reintroducing that system would have made those delicious dishes inaccessible. With the lure of food and dungeon at the same time, they felt it was already worth the price especially since they could not get to enjoy such heavenly taste anywhere else. It was both a pity and wonder that such mind blowing food was found in this oddly unique dungeon supplier shop and not in proper restaurants. It''s indeed a wonder since people agreed such luxurious heaven defying dishes were available to them either before (to buff themselves) or after a dungeon instance (to recover after a good fight), making it an excellent combination of both. Some even praised that they felt healthier and stronger after tasting Jin''s food, as if it was a health supplementary tonic that tasted incredibly delicious. Xiong Da once mentioned that if this place would allow delivery, he would stop cooking and simply buy from this place twenty four seven. Of course, Jin adamantly refused, stating that the quality of the food also depended on how fresh the food was being served from the kitchen. By providing a delivery service, it would reduce the quality of the food. No doubt Xiong Da pouted, stating that he was willing to throw craploads of money at Boss Jin who seemingly did not want it at all. "What kind of business owner does not want more cash?! You sure, you are Chinese?!" Xiong Da exclaimed and everyone beside him shared the same sentiment. Yet, he was also relieved that Boss Jin did not compromise on quality, which was why he and many others continued to come back to this dungeon supplier store. However, Jin mysteriously pointed out that in the future, they may drastically change the way they did things. When pressed any further, Xiong Da only received the two infamous words "Trade Secret" from Jin''s mouth. Another of Mr Know-It-All''s deductions was that Jin was going to experiment in some future instance that could involve big stuff. Literally big stuff. "If he can have Pandawans drive tanks in dungeons, there may be no limit to what else he can build in the future. Going one step further should the demand be high enough he could potentially sell off the rights to own cars, tanks and other items. It might be only real inside the store of particular dungeon supplier, but god be damned if I can ever fly around in my private spaceship or build a luxurious mansion of my own. One day, it may be a better alternative to someone''s dreaded reality." Upon posting that, many cultivators liked his post so much that it quickly became the hottest topic of the day. Still, he warned others that those were all speculations, and one could only dream that Jin could create such things. Some admitted that they would not mind staying in a beautiful instance compared to the cramped housing they had to live in. Others theorised that if Jin was building housing estates, the government could potentially see him as a potential cash cow and invest in him more. All these posts made Jin laughed as a few things they stated could potentially become true if the Dungeon Fortress City turns out the way he planned to. Even the System was starting to calculate the possibility of cultivators staying permanently and aiding Jin by earning dungeon dollars in the Dungeon World which would provide more profit for the System. And the System desired money, for money was power. To a point, that it could even consider that revenge against the Zodiacs was a secondary objective. If Jin managed to carve a city in the dungeon world, the profit would be immensely high. At the moment, it would be correct to say that the store did not earn as much cash from the cultivators as the System wanted to. On the other hand, the money flow from the Gearbox armour sales, courtesy of the unknowing Yang Ling, was in the millions. Without it, it would have been quite challenging to help fund Jin''s mini war all the way. Sure, they could potentially sell more of those gearbox armour but eventually, someone would intervene by copying those ideas and producing even better ones. That was the sad reality of the competitive market. The only way to curb that was to limit the number of stocks available and sell it sparingly to various worlds, but the System was unwilling to do so. Hence, the long term solution was to get the Dungeon Fortress City up and running so that it could generate profits that outmatch profits of the short term sales of the Gearboxes. That was when Another Jin''s negotiating came in very handy. He was getting more and more proficient in it thanks to all the other trades he made. His rude and rowdy way of hard bargaining was something certain worlds had never encountered before, and it was to the point that they had to bend over just to receive the goods and hand over the money. It went without saying that a certain fox, Kiyu, greatly aided him behind the scenes at the command of Kraft''s instructions by influencing Jin''s words with some magical power. (When asked by Jin why it was not detected by those high level mages, Kraft said it was something like a natural ability to Kiyu.) This proved to Another Jin that words themselves indeed had power in them. Judging by the reaction of the royal purple fox, she enjoyed watching those lowly ''worms'' succumb to Jin''s negotiation prowess. Witnessing the power of Kiyu firsthand after her debut, he also recommended Qiu Yue to use her if she ever needed to get a deal from Goblin King Sol and Orc King Frost Echo. Yet, it was plain obvious, she was already excellent at pulling those two''s strings without the help of one of Kraft''s foxes. The spectators who were discussing amongst themselves how far the Pandawans would make it this round had begun to notice that Bin Yong''s group was still not moving out to fight against Deep Ones but rather searching for things. They were already shocked when the little panda masked girl they all had encountered changed her actions the moment they replied to her. Come to think of it, almost all of the cultivators thought it was already an order, not a question nor a request. None had tried answering her, thinking she was merely part of the setting, so it was quite the discovery learning she would hand them a possibly important clue for the dungeon instance. Not any less important seemed to be the existence of that tattered handbook for the viewers. Some even began to try and guess the contents of the book when briefly shown by the Magic Eye of the dungeon instance. Mr Know-It-All, who was at the scene in his favourite spot, suddenly found himself justifying the group''s success when some people began to loudly accuse Boss Jin of having purposely given the Pandawans a head start or a possible clue. "I doubt Boss Jin would play favourites. Bin Yong and Shi Zuo might have discovered the true intention of the dungeon instances themselves. They are not the only ones, as I myself had begun to suspect that this dungeon is not what it seemed to be after watching various attempts by many cultivators." Mr Know-It-All further proved his point, by posting a few screenshots in the Pandamonium forum on the differences in the architecture of the famous landmarks and compared them in various dungeons. "As I am sure we can all agree, Boss Jin takes pride in his work by being meticulous with even the smallest details. Like the comment of cold morning air blowing in our face during the goblin forest instances or the dusty remnants of an explosion in the Goblin Raid Dungeons. These ''errors'' are totally out of the normal, and it leads me to believe those Pandawans might have figured out the dungeon instance they were in. That should be why they are searching for more clues as compared to the previous time when they went in blind." Mr Know-it-All remarked. With just a simple analysis of Mr Know-It-All, the entire mood of the crowd changed. Jin, who was at the sidelines, was amazed by the power of knowledge and influence that Mr Know-It-All wielded. It was not a joke. Even without going into any instance, his observation and knowledge in the dungeon instances on the forums made him as famous as the Pandawans in his shop, if not more. Also, for some reason, Jin realised that he had yet to introduce himself formally to Jin (or anyone else). While he did fill in his personal data when making an account to enter the shop instance, it would have been rude for Jin to snoop around, if the other party did not wish for it. However, Jin was equally surprised to learn that not even his long time friend from Sea Mesh called him by his true name. Upon this realisation, Jin began to doubt the validity of the contact information he had filled in even though it was just a random thought. While it was no crime to enter a fake name to register for an account in the Pandamonium app, it would not have been that much of a problem in the past as compared to now. One should not forget that the System had upgraded their security some time ago and was checking everyone''s real identity with a proper, thorough ID check via the nation''s registry. The thing is, Mr Know-it-all''s personal ID information checked out. "Maybe that could be a possible valid reason why he never enters my dungeons since revealing their cultivation speaks volumes of his identity. That could also be the explanation of why he refused to help me when I casually asked about the tutoring matter." Jin thought to himself. In any case, Jin kept that at the back burner, since there was no problem with Mr Know-It-All so far and quietly focused on Bin Yong''s instance. He smirked a little as he saw how that little bit of information from Milk had motivated them to change their strategy and look for alternate ways. "A little bit of playing cheat, but they are famous enough in my store to have some influence on the crowd. If they would know any better, I might have to pay them for advertising my dungeons instead of them paying me." Jin sniggered. Chapter 390 Solving as a Team Their search was proving to be the correct choice of action. The group found lots of hidden messages and possible clues that could potentially help them in this dungeon instance. They also avoided going outside nor look out of the windows to try and avoid being influenced by those whispers. As the leader, Shi Zuo collaborated with everyone and had suggested to bring all the evidence back to the ''torture'' room as fast as possible since they were racing against a timer. Unlike the other dungeon instances where their phone battery power did not deplete and could be used infinitely to check on the maps and stuff, Bin Yong''s handphone was indeed running out of battery. With each percentage decrease, it made Shi Zuo feel that he grown 10 years old for being so stressed out. Hence, he had demanded Bin Yong to turn off all possible apps to reduce the amount of battery the phone was consuming. They did not know if it would help and they could only pray for the best. That was until Luo Bo found a dusty old handphone battery lying in one of the abandoned office desks. Shi Zuo then remembered Bin Yong''s phone was so old that they would actually work with replacement batteries, unlike the newer ones the rest of them had which did not have a replacement cover to remove the battery pack. Still, he did not want to risk removing the battery since it would mean powering up the old phone again unless it was absolutely necessary. With the way this dungeon instance was clearly not pulling its punches, he''d rather find out when the battery died out. (or hoped not to find anything at all.) Back in the torture room, they laid out all the clues they had found. Luo Bo had brought in a few weird looking pamphlets. She arranged them in the same pattern she had found them, in case that was of importance. Bin Yong went back to the room where they had found the cryptic looking quote the first time and noted it down by using the random scraps of pen and paper around the place. Meanwhile, Jia Le had searched the entire building and found out that there was a door that was sealed shut with a weird combination lock. She tried to utilise her cultivation, but the door would not even budge a single inch. In fact, it felt like the door itself was defending itself from the blow. True enough, Jin used the exact same kind of door that was previously used to block away potential intruders from the shop''s basement for the dungeon instance. But instead of Grade 19, he used a Grade 15 door since he yet to encounter anyone of that level around the area. (It was highly unlikely that the Tiger Lord would visit him) Even if there was a Grade 15 cultivator that coincidentally entered Jin''s store, the System would automatically swap the door for the Grade 19 one. (well, that''s not to say if a Grade 19 or 20 cultivator comes in, then Jin guessed he would probably allow him to destroy a normal door as a bonus for being that high level.) Talking about the basement door, the store''s basement was cordoned off from the public since the shop instance handled all the entrances to everything from service instances to shopping instances. The library on the second and third floor was surprisingly popular since some students used that area as a studying corner while others used it to grab a bit of snooze time before going back to the shopping district. (Some guys even used that place as a place to pass the time to wait for their girlfriends in the shopping district.) Jin did not care about those two parts of the store for now as his shop instance was sufficient to cater to almost every need he has. Even the mini garden park previously used by Lynn and the other cultivators while waiting for their turns became a gathering place for some people. (Mostly the elderlies before they enter the shop for their dungeon instances early in the morning). On a separate note, Jia Le did find an interesting fragment piece that was glowing¡­eerily dark. She was a little afraid to hold on to it and decided to take a trashcan which she nonchalantly emptied the contents on the floor and used it to hold the fragment emanating such dark energy. When the rest of the group saw it, they too got wary and commended Jia Le on such an innovative idea. Who knew what might happen to her if she held on to the fragment without any care. "So, remember, think simple. Most escape rooms are meant to be solvable. If we overanalyse it too much, it might backfire on us. But Bin Yong, go ahead and overanalyse stuff" Luo Bo emphasised the last part which made Bin Yong rolled his eyes in annoyance before they gathered together to look through the clues. "I tried to decipher the cypher. It might fall into one of two categories, but I am willing to bet it is a prime number to alphabets decryption kind of code." Shi Zuo told them as he was used to having this kind of puzzles and probably the best analytical mind among the four of them. (Even though they said Bin Yong overanalysed things too much, as a tech guy he fulfilled the clich¨¦ of loving the crack puzzles.) "Why would you say that? I do not see any numbers at all? Its all dots, curves and lines along with cursive alphabets. Are you sure you are not overanalysing it?" Bin Yong asked with a little sarcasm in it as he borrowed the tattered handbook to flip through. "Well you are not wrong, my dear Watson. That was what I thought as well¡­until I saw this." Shi Zuo took out a piece of folded paper and as he unfolded it, there were scribbles of numbers and a few weird patterns. Bin Yong looked through it a bit confused at first before he understood that it seemed to correspond the odd patterns to the numbers. He then noticed there was actually a page that has seemingly been purposely removed from the tattered book. Shi Zuo added it was not that hard to find, but if he had not seen a few of those bloodied patterns on that tattered handbook, he would have thought that it was merely just scribbles too. "Hmm, but the quote that we found, it still does not make any sense nor fulfil any of that cypher code. I copied every single word and even the way it was written and where it was written to make sure we do not overlook any patterns." Bin Yong said. "The only clue I can make out from this entire quote is the possible missing letters, but I can''t make any heads or tails from it." Bin Yong sighed. "What are the letters that are missing?" Luo Bo asked and Bin Yong said it was Y, H and A. "Coincidentally, those were the words there seemed to be missing in these three pamphlets as well." Luo Bo had noticed a possible correlation as she showed the rest. It was a picture of a lottery draw to the holiday vacation to the city of Las Vegas. However, the word Y was deliberately missing from the word ''city'' from the first pamphlet and so was the ''A'' in Vegas in the second. "Win a Ooliday trip." Luo Bo purposely emphasised the missing H in the word Holiday in the third. "Perhaps, write those letters in that particular cursive writing on the pamphlet as per the quotes?" Jia Le suggested and they just gave it a try. To their surprise, it did work as the three pieces of advertisement suddenly glowed. The glowing caused lines and dots to appear on the paper throughout the picture, turning it bloody red which made Luo Bo scream a little before the glow faded away. "Now, this is something to look forward to." Shi Zuo tried to use the cypher code to decrypt the lines and what he got was 4-7-9 which correspond to D, G and I according to the alphabetical list. "D-G-I? Dig? Gid?" Jia Le tried solving it out loud. "Are we looking for some place to dig? or is it a combination with Y-H-A? I see no pattern at all." Jia Le was getting even more confused than before. "What if we turn it back to numbers? You said you saw a lock, right? is it a number combination lock or alphabetical lock?" Bin Yong asked and Jia Le shook her head. "It was neither, it''s more of a key kind of thing, and somehow I think it has something to do with this particular fragment here." Jia Le replied and then Luo Bo emphasised the group that they needed to think simple. "Let''s just do what the clue seems to provide us with. Dig. Well, we can only dig at the bottom of the ground I presume? I am sure Boss Jin is not that evil to make us dig every corner we can find¡­ right?" Luo Bo asked and everyone agreed. So far, it was either their luck or them accepting the mission, but they had not encountered any Deep Ones, and they hoped it stayed that way since they have to weapons with them. Not to mention, with four cultivators in the dungeon, it also meant that the difficulty level of the dungeon by dishing out more Deep Ones or stronger fish men. They collectively went to the basement of the abandoned building without a hitch which was incidentally a carpark with a rusted old broken car at the center of it all. Other than that, there was only solid, concrete ground everywhere, making it impossible to dig with their bare hands. Unless¡­Yeah, everyone who was at the carpark thought the same. To remove that damn busted car away. True enough, beneath the car was a pile of moveable rubble and soil which Shi Zuo and Bin Yong had the honours of digging whatever possible clue up, since their girlfriends refused to help. (Poor guys¡­) After a few minutes of digging, Shi Zuo noticed there was a glimpse of something metallic which prompted them to uncover the contents even more aggressively to reach it. It was some lockbox with a weird keyhole to it. When shown to Luo Bo and Jia Le, they both were at a loss of what kind of lockbox it was supposed to be¡­until Jia Le incidentally compared it with the fragment that was left in the trashcan. "Say, does anyone want to risk holding the fragment and try to insert it into this keyhole? Somehow I feel that it might fit in quite nicely." Jia Le commented and everyone looked at each other for a while. "Erm, let''s search insides of the car first. Perhaps there are some safety gloves or maybe some thick cloth or something that might help us avoid holding it directly." Bin Yong gave a reasonable rationale and they started rummaging the broken down vehicle. "Hey, I found a wire here, looks like something Bin Yong could use! Does the car have a USB port to jack it in?" Luo Bo managed to pull the backseats open and squeezed through to check the trunk of the car. Meanwhile, Shi Zuo could not help but watch his girlfriend''s butt poking out of the car seats. "Oh, Baby, you are so hot." Shi Zuo remarked bluntly. "Of course! I''ve known that for a long time. Still thanks for noticing, my darling monkey." Luo Bo teased her boyfriend a bit as she pulled her arms back and handed Shi Zuo the USB cable. "Hey, quit flirting in the middle of the mission. A Dungeon Instance is not the right place for that." Bin Yong said a bit annoyed as he checked the phone''s battery. It was starting to get dangerously low at 5% before he passed it over to Shi Zuo. "That''s not what I heard, dear Bin Bin. Weren''t you and Jia Le all touchy in the Dungeon Heist Instance when all of us were stuck in that lift, and it broke down of all a sudden?!" Luo Bo refuted his complaints and Bin Yong immediately kept quiet. Clearly, he still felt very guilty about that seeing how Jia Le was quite vulnerable during that dungeon instance since it was barely their second dungeon out together at that point of time. (Oddly, they did not blame Boss Jin for it.) "Hey, look! It''s charging! This is fantastic!" Shi Zuo shouted in delight when suddenly they heard growls coming from the dark isolated corners of the underground carpark. It was undeniable that Shi Zuo''s excitement awoke the feral Deep Ones. "I guess we are on the right track if there are Deep Ones not disguising themselves as those Black Suits." Bin Yong said as he cracked his knuckles but Jia Le tapped him on his shoulders while she stepped forward. "I diligently watched your dungeon stream during the afternoon lunch break. I suggest you to take the back seat and watch. Without your weapons, I believed I am way better than you." Jia Le sniggered a little as she summoned her cultivation with ease. Silhouettes of five Bellflowers bloomed so wildly and vividly above her head that a scene of the wind blowing the purple petals into the far end could be seen. It was definitely a breathtaking sight. Chapter 391 Extra - Ke Mis New Job Ever since the Ladies Night that was filled with laughter and karaoke, Zither Mistress Ke Mi had been wondering about all other new kinds of music this particular world had yet to offer her. She had been playing around with some of the tunes she still remembered from the karaoke with her zither and had been changing them bit by bit each night for days until she finally not only recreated but even improved the entire song in her mind. The day she played it to the living armour plants, they became so enthralled by the new music that they collectively grew 0.2cm larger in length, width and thickness. It might not sound much but their usual growth with Ke Mi''s constant music therapy roughly measured between 0.02cm to 0.03cm a day which on its own was already a big step up compared to their feral brethren in the wilds. Under normal conditions living armour plants took years or even decades to grow that sturdy armour plate defence that could defend against modern day bullets. It was so record breaking that the werejackals had decided to celebrate this occasion by personally cooking Ke Mi''s favourite dishes for dinner. They were usually too lazy to cook and ate most of their food raw even though they possessed some decent cooking skills courtesy of Lynn. After the young chef had started asking the were-humans to help her grow out some food to experiment, Lynn, in turn, taught them a few simple dishes they would be able to prepare. After all, they were Jin''s familiars so there was no harm sharing some of her cooking knowledge with them. (If it were other strangers or even relatives, she would not even bat an eye to their request.) The monsters never really had the chance to taste the yummy food Lynn provided in her Restaurant Instance, mainly due to the costly ingredients and Lynn''s tight control of the flow of ingredients to ensure maximum profit. Additionally, the System already provided all monsters with basic food. After Jin had introduced a bonus system, monsters who worked extra hard could exchange their bonus to get yummier food or improvements to their home instance. Still, those improved food quality provided by the System could never compete with the fantastic taste Lynn had casually cooked up for the monsters. Ke Mi, unfortunately, missed the chance to taste it when Lynn had taught them the basics of cooking. While it was nothing too complicated, it was sufficient for the were-humans to enjoy a change of pallet, with their own cooked food every now and then instead of the usual raw meat, fruits and vegetables that the System provided. That was also why they preferred planting their own harvest and trade them amongst the monsters for more points, food, or even favours. (When the Digital Pet Cards came out, they also used their food to trade for cards with the monsters or used their harvest as a betting item.) Although the visiting ninja penguin helped out today by covering most of the heavy cooking, the werecats skillfully assisted with the minor cooking such as ensuring the boiling of the stew, the timing of barbecued meat. Meanwhile, the werejackals helped with the pre-preparation, such as peeling the potatoes, ensuring the rice was washed, cutting of the vegetables etc. At the same time, Ke Mi was brought into the mansion with the help of the Great White Snake after her day''s work and was surprised to see Jin sitting at the side of the massive dining table. Apparently, the were-humans reported to the System about the sudden growth and Jin got wind of it. She never expected her ever busy master would make time to pay her a visit. "How have you been Ke Mi?" Jin smiled at her, which warmed her old tiny heart as she prostrated right in front of him with grace and courtesy. "I doing fine. Thanks Master." Ke Mi now spoke Jin''s language, albeit a little broken with the aid of Shu''s Teaching. Usually, the System would translate the monster''s language for Jin and vice versa, but Ke Mi was an exception. Ke Mi had remained uneducated for many decades. Her only friends had been the Great White Snake and the Wyrm Ants, none of which spoke any language, so that she only communicated with them via her Zither. She always assumed that it was just something that those other humans had and a demi human like her did not. Neither did she know that she even had the capacity and capability to learn speech. "I heard that you did some remix of your zither music, that enabled the living armour to grow way more than expected?" Jin asked politely and Ke Mi nodded her head vehemently. "When Master away, Yun brings us out, sing!" Ke Mi''s smile was awfully cute and Jin was happy that she enjoyed her time with Yun and the other monsters. A slightly hungover Yun had told him in the morning, that they had a Ladies Night, and Jin had made a mental note, to encourage such behaviours more often in the future and allow all his monsters to enjoy some entertainment. "Food is here!! Ah WOAH, Master! I did not expect you to also be here." Gold looked quite different with an apron, carrying plates of food. (the quantity of food on those big plates were overwhelming!) Jin greeted the Werejackal Leader as he went forward and helped him with the dishes since Gold became a little unsteady the moment he saw Jin waiting in the dining hall. "Be careful, there! All these are the hard work of everyone in the kitchen." Jin teased Gold, who finally collected himself before he immediately shouted back towards the kitchen. "HEY GUYS, YOU BETTER BE BE QUICK! MASTER IS HERE!" There was a unison of howls of agreement, and the kitchen quickly became more bustling than before. In no time, more food was served and the other werejackals, as well as the werecats, came out to greet Jin. "Master, here sit and join us for dinner¡­it would be our pleasure. We just hope that the food is to your liking." Gold said with a bow and pointed Jin towards the end of the table where Gold usually sat during dinner time. "No way, I am the guest, you are the head of this mansion in this home instance. You should sit there no matter what." Jin refused Gold''s offer. "Then at least be our guest of honour today and sit at my right?" Gold counteroffered immediately which Jin had no reason to refuse. With all the food sitting on the table, the ninja penguin came out and paid their respects to their queen''s master. "Master, please do enjoy the food but I apologise in advance if the food is not up to your liking. We were unaware that you would be visiting today. Else, we would have informed Queen Lynn and used top tier quality ingredients for tonight''s dinner. If need be, I shall perform hara-kiri to apologise for preparing food that''s not pleasing to our Queen''s Master." Ninja Penguin Kido said solemnly to which Jin bitterly laughed. "Hey! What do you mean about not having top tier quality ingredients? Are you implying our farm does NOT produce top tier quality ingredients?!" Yellow got a bit irritated by the way the Ninja Penguin spoke, but Grey whacked his head once to simmer him down. "Please, I can rest assured that you guys always do your best in cooking no matter the ingredients. Besides, didn''t Lynn praise the ingredients here so much that she even regretted that you guys did not have access to a bigger farming instance?" Jin did his best calming both sides as he sat beside Gold. He initially planned to enter the instance for a short while, just to praise Ke Mi and did not expect himself to get involved in the daily lives of his minions. Still, a change in pace once in a while would be a good bonding session as well. Thankfully, they acted quite naturally, despite their master''s presence, especially the werecats who had already begun digging in the food, famished from all the cooking. Though Gold disapproved of their attitude, he allowed the rest to partake in their feast after Jin took the first serving himself. He even asked Kido their ninja penguin chef to join in since there was empty seat among the dining table. That was also when his monsters started to talk with him about a few things. Some asked about their master''s progress, while others took the chance to flaunt the achievements they had against some of the cultivators, especially the Pandawans. Even though Jin had a pile of workload to clear, he decided to stay after dinner to listen to their stories and also offered some advice. Grey reported the status of their homegrown farming and provided ideas on how things could improve given a few additional tools. (He shrewingly hoped to override the bonus system and get his Master''s approval so that they could save on the points.) Jin listened carefully and told Grey that those things seemed valid and he would see to it as soon as possible, especially if it could potentially aid Lynn''s growth of home ingredients. However, he was more concerned about one thing ¡ª the future. "The future? You mean expanding this home instance?" Gold asked and Jin shook his head. "No beyond that. I have big plans for you guys. How does becoming leading agriculture industry in the future when the Dungeon Fortress City is up sound to you? I was unsure if you would like being the minister of agriculture, but at least the boss for the industry, are you up for it?" Jin asked as he was offered some grape juice. (Or maybe it''s wine? Jin could not taste the difference. It was intoxicatingly sweet. ) "I can consider it if I will have access to the Farming World''s workforce and soil. I cannot trust any other soil than my home world''s." Gold said hesitantly and the rest of his vice leaders agreed, though it seems to Jin that he was hinting something else. "That should be possible, though for some reason I seem to be having trouble accessing the market in the Farming World." Jin was willing to accept his conditions, though first, he would need to figure out how to get access again. "Should we tell him about the Demon Rat invasion?" Grey whispered politely in Gold''s ear. "No, at least not now. We should not burden Master unnecessarily when he has other stuff to do¡­although I did inform Bellator Zeru about the topic. He assured me that he might be able to convince Jin to aid us, but it would take some time." "Oh, is that is why Brown went away earlier this week with Zeru?" Grey questioned in a whisper and Gold nodded his head. "Is there something I need to know about?" Jin asked as he saw them eyeing him consistently while whispering amongst themselves. "No no, nothing Boss. You enjoy yourself while we clean up the area. Some of us still need to make the last round check to ensure that all the plants are properly watered and fertilised." Gold got up and thanked his master for coming to visit before he left. In the meantime, Ke Mi was enjoying the fresh orange juice which Werecat Nyanmi had made for her. Finally, with the were-humans gone, he had a proper one to one alone time, to converse Ke Mi before she returned to her own home instance. "Say Ke Mi, are you interested in making some more music tracks?" Jin asked as he got nearer to Ke Mi. "I was thinking about exposing you to more music, that way you could experiment with even more genres, maybe even creating a music style of your own?" Jin asked and Ke Mi had a long pause as if she was seriously contemplating. "Of course, it would not be completely for free. I''ll need you to help with our dungeons. Our Pandaflix erm ¡­those moving pictures Shu showed you before, the one that lets people watched themselves or others go through the dungeons." Jin said and Ke Mi vaguely recalled what her master was talking about. "Yea, so far we''re only streaming the pictures and the live feed audio. If you could produce music to accompany their adventures, like how you created the music remix from this morning, it would not just benefit the living armour plants but also help me out a whole lot. I would also love to share your music with a lot of other people." Jin elaborated as he wanted to provide her with a more meaningful task than tending to the Living Armour plants. He knew how hard and perhaps depressing it could be for a person of her talents to be stuck in here and play their music for the benefit of his plants (though all the inhabitants also enjoyed listening to it, while working) even though they were considered to be very valuable. If she could accept the task, it would bring Pandaflix to the next level, not to mention that it would definitely save him and the System the cost of buying copyrighted music. "But Ke Mi not know how to pro- pro- Prodew moosick." Ke Mi tried to articulate and it came out all weird. Jin giggled at how adorable Ke Mi was and patted her head gently. For that moment, he had forgotten that she was older than him by more than a century. "Do not worry about that, Mind following me? I''ll show you how it''s done." Jin replied and the System prepared a portal for her and the Great White Snake, who had rested underneath her. To her surprise, they were back at her home instance, but she quickly discovered that there was a new second floor to her house. The Great White Snake with Ke Mi on its back slithered the way up to the second floor. It had a modern look from the inside with various musical equipment waiting to be used, though everything had looked nicely from the outside with the traditional Chinese courtyard as her home instance. (Not to mention, those instruments were top of the line although they were cheaply bought by the System via its market. Jin nevertheless did some bargaining as well.) While the list of instruments might not be exhaustive and mainstream, Jin however figured that with his current budget, it should be sufficient for Ke Mi to play around. When he becomes richer, he would consider getting more variants. Jin then took out a unique pair of sleek looking headphones prepared by the System for Ke Mi to wear. Suddenly, her vision seemed to change and she saw copy silhouettes of her holding on to the various music equipment like the guitar, piano etc. "This is actually one of the music modules which the System had kept aside since it was useless to me. Before today, I had no idea the System even had such functions, but apparently, it can create phantoms of whoever has those headphones to play an instrument." Jin explained as he asked Ke Mi to try it out. He did not bother to explain the advanced stuff because he knew the System would automatically record the songs she produced or teach Ke Mi certain functions when necessary. With just her mind, she managed to command a silhouette to play some tunes on the guitar. It was the same for the piano. As she began to realise that she had now had access to a plethora of musical instruments at her fingertips, Ke Mi was having a giant smile on her face. She tried to play two instruments simultaneously, and it worked perfectly fine. Meanwhile, Jin watched there with his mouth open. "Wow¡­I previously failed to operate two instruments at the same time. She makes it look so simple." Jin thought to himself. "User is not as experienced in multitasking as a 200 hundred year old Demi Human. System had detected that Ke Mi possessed lightning fast task splitting abilities in the past when she fought against the user. Else she could not have controlled the Great White Snake and the Ant Wyrms movements together with just her Zither." "Guess, we really underestimated her ability. Damn, then I should not have bought that Y-tunes and Spotific music premium account. Oh well, at least those songs in their database could give her some inspirations." Jin sighed as he could see Ke Mi was sucked into this brand new world of hers. "Who knows, maybe someday she could produce some significant tracks that will wow the world with her music. I am sure her parents will look proudly over her, from above." Shu, the Sakura Tree Treant said while peering into the 2nd floor from the outside courtyard. "I would love for that to happen for her too.." Jin was glad she had found her speciality and left her alone to enjoy her brand new toys. Chapter 392 Breathtaking Bellflower Style Unlike Bin Yong, Shi Zuo or even Luo Bo''s animal cultivation styles that were passed down from previous generations as a part of the family heirlooms, Jia Le''s cultivation style was indeed a relatively modern one. And it was not a pure eastern cultivation per se. The Breathtaking Bellflower was in substance, a fusion between Eastern Cultivation and Western Magic. Western Magic usually worked best through magic circuits. Nevertheless, it did not necessarily require them nor did its spells need to be rewritten to be used with Eastern Cultivation since the concept of Mana and Chi had a few similarities. As long as the cultivation style maintained the workings of the Western Magic used, it could provide the cultivator with the means to utilise their chi to cast those spells. With the East employing the five basic elements theory of Fire, Water, Earth, Metal and Wood, it already shared some resemblance to certain aspects of Western Magic. This made it easy for certain atypical cultivations to adopt the practices of Western Magic. In turn, these eastern cultivation methods lightened up the practitioners'' stress load in casting those spells as compared to pure Western Magic. The advantages of such practitioners using Eastern Cultivation to cast ''western spells'' were in the ease of casting and the flexibility of the chi techniques. A particular technique could be executed in dozens of ways as long as the cultivators were familiar with the procedure and had the know-how at the back of their head. (Like shooting a fire blast from the leg, from the hand, or even from the mouth.) Additionally, Eastern Cultivation excelled in the speed for their casting, and with a bit of practice, they could learn to regulate the power output of their spells. However, this did not mean that it was necessarily superior to Western Magic. They were clearly structured to the point of being described as ''rigid'' by many mages. Though this rigidity resulted in longer cast times, overall they were guaranteed to be stronger. Fortunately, there were ways to circumvent this limitation. For Western Magic Practitioners, the preparations of spells before a battle was vital. If done correctly, the Spellcasters could cast their spells almost instantly, and the only limit was the maximum amount of spells which could be stored according to their Magic Level. Nowadays a majority of people also referred to the Magic Levels as Magic Grades, since the public hoped it would be homogenous with Eastern Cultivation. Jia Le''s parents had decided to embrace Western Magic fully and were Magic Practitioners to break the tradition in their families. However, the young Jia Le was heavily influenced by her grandma, who was her primary caretaker and an Eastern cultivator. Not wishing to choose one side, she eventually adopted both East and West styles and learnt a fusion style to compromise. (Fortunately for her, an uncanny affinity for the Earth Element was prevalent in the family, making it easy for her to use her current cultivation.) The feral Deep Ones were neither as patient nor as understanding as the ones both Bin Yong and Shi Zuo had fought against. Not waiting for the team to discuss their strategy, the Deep Ones went on the offensive. Jia Le told her teammates that she would take the lead, but the rest readied themselves by enhancing their fists and legs with chi, just in case the shit hits the fan. They may not have access to their weapons, but learning from the guys'' mistakes from the dinner chat, they had used some advanced defensive inscriptions before they got teleported. The Pandawan group were relieved it was still on them upon verification when they teleported into the Deep Ones dungeon instance. The grand appearance of the five bellflowers floating above Jia Le turned her into Enemy #1 for every feral Deep Ones. They had their eyes on the pretty, flowery smelling meat which they tried to swarm. Because of the dig site near Jia Le, it enabled her to effortlessly use her earthly cultivation powers without her weapon as a conduit to channel her attacks. Moreover, her weapons were only secondary as she had grown up training with her parents to use her cultivation powers without the need for any tools. (Although having her weapon with her would definitely increase her offensive capabilities by at least a fold.) Out from the soil, Jia Le summoned two large thorny vines. Two Deep Ones got pierced through their abdomens and subsequently were used as large projectiles against their brethren. The thorny vines then swiped across the carpark to prevent any Deep Ones from coming too close, even partially destroying a few of the pillars that could potentially be the ones that held the abandoned building intact. Yet, Jia Le was unable to care at that point of time. It''s either that, which caused the splinter rubbles to kill a few of the incoming Deep Ones, or risked those aggressive fish men to rush towards the group. She''d rather take her chances with the former. However, some of the Deep Ones managed to dodge the projectiles, demonstrating how agile they could be, as they were driven by the hunger for such strong, healthy prey. That did not mean Jia Le was defenceless. The Deep Ones saw a small little bellflower emerged from the cracks of the concrete in front of Jia Le. They did not bother about it as they continued to charge forward. Worst (and last) mistake of their life. That small little bellflower glowed with chi supplied by Jia Le, and within a second, it blasted out an energy beam that took out multiple feral Deep Ones in one shot before the petals of the bellflower got scattered into the air. The surviving Deep Ones who managed to avoid the beam turned berserk at the loss of their comrades. In retaliation, they screamed an annoying tone of a tortured goat which staggered the human cultivators by forcing them to close their ears. They thought they finally had gotten an opportunity to attack their meaty preys, but the bellflowers petals in the air remained afloat in the air. Jia Le was still controlling them and merely waiting for the Deep Ones to take action by coming nearer. As soon as they did, the scattered petals created links with beams of energy towards each other in order to form a sort of energy net. The feral Deep Ones had been too late to stop or change their course, causing them to be turned into Sashimi by the energised net. "Intermediate Bellflower Technique #57 and #32, Bellflower Petal Beam and Scattered Bellflower Petal Beam Net." Jia Le turned towards the group with a V-sign. They could see that she was already sweating from expanding such a large amount of chi to kill off that many feral Deep Ones in less than the span of thirty seconds. "Do you think we are all in the clear?" Bin Yong asked and Luo Bo immediately turned on her Dark Sight to check if there were any more lurking at the dark. "I don''t seem to spot anything else aside from dead bodies. High chance we are on the clear." Luo Bo answered as she patted Jia Le on the back for a good job. Jia Le pushed her hair sideways and sat down to take a breather. "I don''t mean to make you any more tired but would you mind putting up one of those Flower Beams on standby? I don''t want to find out those feral Deep Ones pretend to be dead, just to come and pounce on us when we let our guards down." Shi Zuo requested which Jia Le happily obliged. She quickly summoned a Bellfower out of the cracked ground once more and later when into cultivation stance so that she could recover some chi while the others took their time to examine the box. "Nope, other than that USB wire, I don''t see anything that can be used to pick that fragment up safely." Shi Zuo sighed and then Bin Yong had a crazy idea. "Erm¡­what about using the Dead One''s flesh while we protect our hands with chi? That way it would corrupt the Dead One if it is a menace. That way, we can safely and quickly let go, knowing that there''s still a chi barrier protecting us. Therefore, we can prevent anything from happening to us if there is any reaction." Bin Yong suggested, and the other two believed it was a decent crazy idea. "Good pun there." Shi Zuo chuckled a little while agreeing to Bin Yong''s idea. "Who would like to do the honours?" Luo Bo asked. It was clear from her tone that she was not going anywhere near those Deep Ones. "I volunteer as a leader. My Mad Monkey Style allows me to dodge quickly and can make my bare hands grow some chi claws as a reactionary defence if the Deep One turns out to be playing dead. Meanwhile, check if we have any WiFi reception in this place, I want to find out if the Pandamonium Map app would be able to differentiate a fake Grand Central Terminal and a real one." Shi Zuo told the rest as he went closer to the Deep One. To ensure that it was really, truly dead, Shi Zuo plunged his chi formed hand claw into the Deep One''s body and grabbed at what seemed to be the heart. He then pulled it out and threw it far away from the Deep One before dragging his entire body away from the other corpses and from the car too in case something freaky happened to him. (Like a corpse explosion, who knows?) By distancing himself a bit from the group, he could make sure that if anything happened, it would not affect the rest of the team members. The constant need to play it safe was starting to get to them. They had no idea if they were just over analysing things or if they needed to expect anything as bad as a sudden explosion from the box too. Following Bin Yong suggestion, Shi Zuo first threw the fragment out of the trashcan and observed it a little. He noticed that its form did seem to suggest that it would be the perfect match to the lockbox. Hence, he carefully enhanced his hand with a chi barrier to protect himself and then used the dead Deep One''s webbed hand to hold it. It was quite tricky since the webbed hand was somewhat slimy, making it slippery for Shi Zuo to make delicate movements with it. Eventually, he managed to grab hold of the fragment using the deadweight''s hand and pushed it into the lockbox. Within an instant, a specific whirling noise was produced from the lockbox and it automatically unlocked itself, showing off a bountiful miracle in it. Even the spectators were at the edge of their seats when they saw the lockbox slowly open. In the end, they cheered loudly for the miraculous treasure within that small little metal can. "Holy shit, we did it!!! This was totally worth it." Shi Zuo cheered as he let go of the deadweight''s arm and took a breather. "What did you find in there? Anything useful?" Luo Bo asked across the carpark as she told him that Bin Yong found the coordinates to what should be the real Grand Central Terminal. "I found hope." Shi Zuo smiled at them peacefully as he shook the lockbox up high, but both Luo Bo and Bin Yong''s face turned blue upon seeing his expression. He was not the only one to move. His shadow changed form. It started to become longer and wider, before becoming corporeal and taking on the silhouette of that large snake shadow which Bin Yong had seen on top of the Empire State Building. Right behind Shi Zuo, the creature''s eyes in the darkest of shadows were glowing brightly and literally grinning from ear to ear. Chapter 393 Storage Ring "Babe watch out!" Luo Bo shouted as she stepped forward, only to be manhandled by Bin Yong in order to prevent her from doing anything rash. Shi Zuo turned only to see the monstrosity of the ever growing whale like looking shadow opening its mouth in an attempt to swallow him whole. Even the spectators instantly grasped at the cinematic with the dramatic jaw dropping music on cue. Paralysed with terror, feeling just like a mouse in front of a snake, Shi Zuo accidentally dropped the unsealed lockbox to the ground. The contents spilt out of the box, revealing a number of accessories and among them was his own storage ring. Unknown to Shi Zuo, the storage ring reacted through the chi resonance coming off of from his claw hand, causing it to transform immediately. This in turn, activated a special skill which not only illuminated their area with bright shining light but also managed to forcefully dispel the illusion of Shadow Dagen. The shadow slowly but surely bellowed in pleasurable sadistic laughter in response as it tried to maintain its form. "Next Time!!!!!" The gloomy threat from the Shadow of the Fish God''s voice echoed throughout the empty car park before it fully dissipated into the corners of the carpark. After a couple of seconds of silence, they breathed out a sigh of relief, as it appeared they were safe for now even though they knew the security of nothingness was just an illusion. Still, they will grab every chance of it. Luo Bo elbowed Bin Yong to the face, who was still holding on to her. As soon as he had released her, she ran over towards her still terrified boyfriend. "Ahhh¡­now I understand ¡­*Gulp* What bro meant¡­*pants* about terror." Shi Zuo still trembling from the sight of Shadow Dagen had tears coming from his eyes and even his pants were slightly wet. "Shhh¡­shhh it''s okay. This is nothing compared to what we had to overcome in the Halloween Instance. Everything''s going to be okay. It''s gonna be alright. I am here now." Luo Bo hugged him, whispering in his ear, as she tried her best to console him. Meanwhile, Bin Yong stayed close to Jia Le, who seemed to be finishing her chi recovery in her cultivation stance. He did not want to leave her behind and allow Shadow Dagen another opportunity to catch them unaware individually again. Though he could have woke her up, she was not in any imminent danger, and it would be better for her to recover her chi to be combat ready. Having calmed her boyfriend somewhat, Luo Bo turned her head to check the accessories that lay spilt on the ground. She realised those appeared to be their missing storage rings except for one. The still shining ring appeared to be burning hot. Yet for some reason, she was unafraid of it. Even more peculiar, it exuded a sense of familiarity. Even while consoling her mate, she began concentrating on it and sensed an extent of Shi Zuo''s chi signature coming from it. Since this dungeon instance was always surprising them, Luo Bo ignored the glowing ring for now and picked up her ring to wear it. After everything, it would be great to have access to their prepared items as well as their weapons. Using her chi access the ring, Luo Bo got a bottle of water for her boyfriend to calm down, but at that moment in time, the ring she was holding began to change with a similar glow to it. From a modest, pinkish silver design, it suddenly possessed a rabbit head insignia with pinkish ruby jewels as its eyes. Upon closer inspection, not only a rabbit head got added, but a bow and arrow sign right below it as well. It was frankly beautiful, a perfect depiction of her cultivation style and favourite weapon. Looking back at the other ring, she identified a monkey with its mouth open. The monkey''s eyes were emerald green, while above it was two hatchets crossing each other. Lost in her thoughts, she only remembered about the bottle of water she was going to take, when she heard Shi Zuo taking a deep breath. She hurriedly took the bottle out and assisted Shi Zuo with drinking it. That was when she realised she felt something inside her was a little different. She felt braver, yet nothing had changed about their situation. This kind of bravery was somewhat similar to the time she had used the blue stone of courage she got from playing the Loot Box machine (A must have item, to conquer the Halloween Instance, according to some people). The only reasonable explanation she could come up with was the transformed ring being the cause for this. Trusting her intuition, she picked up Shi Zuo''s transformed ring and put it on him. He eventually managed to catch his breath, and his thoughts became more lucid. Turning to his girlfriend, he reciprocated her hug, which made her let out a sigh of relief. "Did you all see what I saw?" One of the male spectators pointed at the scene at which Luo Bo''s ring also transformed and the rest nodded in response. "What kind of rings are those?! Hey, Boss Jin I also want such a cool customised ring. Are you selling those rings, too?" "Nope, those rings are not for sale. If you want one, then you have to earn them." Jin answered with a grin. "Are you seriously gonna give each of us a ring?" A female cultivator had trouble believing such a thing. Just looking at the very cute rabbit insignia, made one understand that it was anything but cheap. Even if those Jewels were fake, just the operation of inscribing an insignia into a storage ring (without the latter losing its function) was usually only something very rich people could afford. "Yes, anyone can get a personalised ring according to their cultivation and fighting style. Feel free to share this and also one of the rewards possibly include getting a discount for a custom weapon set just by completing a particular section of the Deep Ones dungeon instance, or should I say¡­ Escape City Dungeon Instance." Jin finally revealed the true name of the Deep Ones dungeon to the entire group who were watching. There was no need to make a special announcement for this information because it would definitely be passed around with Mr Know-It-All in the crowd. "So¡­they were right. It really is a kind of Escape Room instance. I was of half expecting you to do that for the Gentlebear Instance and not this soon." Mr Know-It-All replied to Jin''s big reveal. "Nothing is stopping me from doing something like that with the Gentlebear Instance. I had to start from somewhere to see if it works well with the crowd. Hahaha. This time around, the cultivators can complete it the Escape room way or brute force. Just that Brute Force also requires some finesse and brains as well, perhaps not as much as the former. After all, it''s a story dungeon instance." Jin answered back and his intentions wowed everyone. "But won''t streaming this Escape City instance kind of ruin the whole point? Haven''t you just revealed everything to all of us who were watching this? Now everyone here would know what to do to complete this part of the instance." Another male cultivator asked. While he himself did not particularly mind, he was sure that others would have preferred finding out on their own. Be that as it may, Jin shook his head and was about to say something. "Hahhaa, bro! Do you really think Boss Jin is that stupid to show his whole hand that easily when he is charging us this much? I bet you, he has at least few dozen more of these puzzles should we ever try it out again. Who knows, maybe he is even going to remove this path until people start to forget." The male cultivator got pat on his back by his friend as he answered his concerns. Almost everyone on the floor agreed with that line of that, making Jin not having to add anything else. "Since you all appeared to be interested in the rings, let me share a little tidbit. Some of you might have already noticed by the behaviour of the Pandawans, but those rings do more than just look pretty. One of the prizes from the loot box vending machine, you know, the one used to sell tickets to the Halloween and Qixi instances. Oh, which I have to add! It is currently pending another new dungeon in-" Jin paused for a while, be it on purpose or accidental, he returned to his main subject though the cultivators who heard it and felt it was exclusive information but did not dare to interrupt. "It had been blue stones of courage and white stones of calming. I have added the same functions as basic inscription properties into the transformed cosmetic skin for the storage rings and they should be a permanent effect." Before Jin was done with his explanation there suddenly was a shout from the crowd. "Wait! COSMETIC SKIN?! You were able to achieve that too! And did you say PERMANENT?!" That shout came from none other than Sea Mesh CEO, who had been trying to stay undercover, but his quirk made him spoil his disguise. Even Mr Know-It-All started to giggle at the sight of Ke Loong quickly adjusting his fake beard as well as his black sunglasses. "Cosmetic Skin?" To the younger cultivators, it sounded like a vaguely common gaming term, and one asked the poorly disguised man what the deal was with that. His presence had been noted, but since he was harmlessly watching with the rest, they thought of him as just a cosplayer rather than hiding his identity. (After all, there are too many weird people in the world which the society had to tolerate.) "While more commonly known as ''Cosmetic Inscription'', the proper term is decorative enhancement inscription. The reason why it''s such a big deal is that it should be impossible to create them, much less mass produce these inscriptions. While simple in theory, in praxis they turn out to be not very practical nor functional. This is because of how inscriptions work. " Ke Loong coughed a little, realising his voice was his original one before he tried to change the tone a little. "Inscriptions utilised the chi for them to stay active. Hence, the decorative aspect is only as temporary as the amount of chi you placed in it. It is something similar to a disguise just more aesthetically pleasing." Ke Loong explained as he smiled while pushing his glasses up. (Some of the cultivators began to think Boss Jin should make him a better disguise upon hearing it.) "However, there are too many disadvantages to it. As aforementioned, they require a constant supply of chi. The second one would be occupying an inscription slot. But considering that storage rings do not usually have inscription slots attached to them, so unless he chang -" "No, I did not change the structure of the rings. It is too much effort transferring the storage data and I would need their chi signature to be able do so. Way more troublesome than personalising the ring''s design. While contradictory yes, I made it such that the inscription was added into their storage rings even though there are no inscription slots attached to it." Jin told the customers as he pointed back to the screen. "But right now, the main focus should be the ongoing dungeon instance." Jin said hoping to leave the topic as it is. He did not expect Ke Loong to be in here to be so knowledgable about the cosmetic inscriptions. (Seems like his disguise somewhat worked!) And he hoped that the cultivators who were currently way more interested in this Cosmetic Inscription to return their attention to what was happening since more was yet to be revealed. "Holy shit. And there goes one more possible IP (intellectual property) to him. Why couldn''t we have figured out how he does it." Ke Loong placed his two hands at his head. He was aware of the impacts of cosmetic inscriptions. If Jin could incorporate such a concept on rings, he would eventually be able to do it on clothes, other accessories and even weapons. While it might sound a tad ridiculous, it would be highly likely people would spend money to acquire these kinds of cosmetic items since they would definitely be cheaper than buying the real stuff, it would not clutter any space and not to mention size free. One thing was for sure, Jin had struck gold with this invention. Unaware of the commotion outside, Luo Bo handed Bin Yong and Jia Le their own rings. All of them checked their inventory after the transformation of the ring, but nothing seemed to be missing. "I wonder if these designs are permanent. It would be a shame to lose it. I''d pay to be able to keep it." Jia Le wondered as she admired her ring. "Oh¡­?! This¡­" Jia Le squint her eyes a little as the ring design triggered her memories. "¡­This could be it. Guys, I think we found the passkey for the door I was mentioning earlier." Jia Le blurted out. "It''s our newly formed rings. I remember seeing the imprint of my flower, but the rest were too detailed to make out the design. Not 100% sure, but I honestly think this should be it." Jia Le commented and later cleared her doubts as she spoke. "Then what are we waiting for, let''s go. Don''t forget about your phone Bin Bin!" Luo Bo reminded him as she helped Shi Zuo stand up and going up the stairs. She was not going to leave him alone by himself even if it''s just a few metres away, not in this particular dungeon. Bin Yong unplugged the phone and guessed 36% was better than nothing. He was surprised it charged that fast for a broken down car. Perhaps, Boss Jin did not want them to wait around for the phone to be charged in a realistic time frame. The entire group took their weapons out as well as a few potions to hang them by their waist in case their storage rings were ever gone again. (This dungeon made them rather paranoid!) After ensuring that they were well equipped, they climbed up to the 6th floor where the locked door was waiting. True enough, the lock was designed to be unsealed with their four new rings. There was a unique flat click sound that triggered the unlocking mechanism which subsequently made their rings fall off from the lock. Bin Yong then took the initiative to open the door only to find four pendants kept in a glass box like some museum centrepiece. Everyone else stepped back as Luo Bo took an arrow and shot the glass in case of any laser or trap triggering. To their surprise, nothing happened. Still, they did not wish to take any more chance as Luo Bo took out a special arrow coated with ferret magnetic metal. (Don''t ask how but the weapons store sold it!) The arrow picked up the four pendants rather easily and Luo Bo managed to get the arrow back since it was tied to a hiking rope. "I will give it a try." Luo Bo told the group as she felt that she should be the one to show Shi Zuo that she was willing to take a risk for the group too even though she was equally afraid. "No, it''s okay, dear. I am fine now. You can let me do -" Luo Bo ignored Shi Zuo''s rambling and put on the pendant. In an instant, her appearance changed into that of a black suit. White blouse, black short skirt and coat, brown stockings and a rather comfortable pair of dress shoes. Luo Bo wowed herself as she realised her hair was all tied and bun up rather nicely too. She did not know why she was dressed so formally until Bin Yong and Shi Zuo told her that it was a disguise by the Deep Ones. The rest wore the pendants and all of them turned into the Black Suits too. "I see, so by getting these suits, we might reduce the probability of being stalked by the rest of the Deep Ones." Shi Zuo said as he adjusted his black sunglasses. Little did they know that this was the cosmetic inscription that Ke Loong had been raving about. The CEO became even more fervent at seeing Boss Jin''s new shop item in action. It was a genius move of him to introduce a new product via a dungeon instance. "Just like in your spy movies. Let''s hide in plain sight" Bin Yong encouraged his buddy as they prepared to move to the Penn Station Exit A to meet Captain Hei with the aid of their new disguise. Chapter 394 Cosmetic Inscription Ke Loong, who initially thought that Boss Jin achieving the Cosmetic Inscriptions on the rings was already an understatement achievement of the year, became nearly insane when he saw the Cosmetic Inscription being utilised as a full costume. That was because he thought of reverse engineering Jin''s concept by paying a few veteran cultivators to play the dungeon and get that particular Cosmetic Inscription for research. That way, he might discover a way of creating a clothing based cosmetic inscription before Boss Jin did and perhaps sell it country wide. Yet, this young guy in this store packed with incredible inventions had once again beaten him and his company to it. Ke Loong could not take it anymore and decided to push Jin about it even though Mr Know-It-All advised him not to. "Jin, I would like to have a sample of that Cosmetic Inscription. Just tell me the price." Ke Loong went straight to the point and Jin furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Not interested," Jin said as his attention went back to the Pandawan''s dungeon instance. "How about just lending it to me for a while? I just want to see how it feels (and maybe figure out how this works). After that, I will return it to you. Promise!" Ke Loong begged as he was desperate to experience this one of a kind item. As he had seen their own failed cosmetic inscriptions before, Ke Loong was very intrigued with how Jin''s inscriptions differed from theirs. Jin sort of implied that the cosmetic inscriptions, he created did not need a constant input of chi. That was also evident when he saw the footage of Bin Yong and the rest using their rings, especially when they took their rings off while the cosmetic inscriptions stayed intact. He came up with two deductions. One was that the inscription consumed very little chi to be activated and maintained, hence it might last for a fixed amount of time before it needed to be charged with chi again. Another possibility, which was far more intriguing, was that no chi was ever required aside from the activation phase though perhaps, there should also be a kind of switch to remove the cosmetic appearance of the inscription. "Not interested. It''s a Trade Secret. If you want it, you will have to attempt the dungeon just like any other customer." Jin replied with an indifferent expression but deep inside, he was hoping he wasn''t going too far. Jin knew that Ke Loong could be pushed around if he wanted something desperately enough though the opposite was true too. If Ke Loong despised something, he would do his best to make sure the process or item to be fixed or scraped away. Jin did not want Ke Loong to become a business rival nor did he want Ke Loong to see that he was easy pickings allured by the greed of affluence. All he wanted was Ke Loong to respect him and see him equally as possible lifetime business partners. That was seen during the negotiation of the Portal Device when Ke Loong was willing to take uncalculated risks to obtain something that he wants. While his advisors warned him otherwise, Ke Loong would not budge because he believed that the portal device would make the company prosper. So far, as a practical visionary, he had been right on the spot, especially when his company stocks were still soaring high up to this day. "C''mon, just name your price. I''m sure I can make it worthwhile for you, Boss Jin!" Ke Loong was sounding absolutely desperate. Just when Jin was about to give way for Ke Loong, he decided to remain staunch in his stance the moment he saw Mr Know-It-All coming to aid his old buddy. "Please don''t push him anymore, Boss. I am sure, you two can work something out. He has already bent his back over for you in the portal device deal. You won''t regret giving your business partner some leeway." Mr Know-It-All tried to be the mediator and Ke Loong went all puppy eyes for over his buddy aiding him so much. Jin pretended to sigh and asked Ke Loong to follow him into the meeting room, which once housed the ''Tiger Princess'' Yang Ling''s guests when they were participating in the demonstration of the Gearbox device. Jin then closed the door shut and called Kraft to enter about a minute later in case Ke Loong had some other tricks under his sleeves. After all, Jin knew his limits when it came to negotiations. (But bargaining? Jin believed that he could win over Ke Loong with his pants down!) After a short explanation, Jin took out a sample ring and the same pendant that was awarded to the Pandawans the Escape City Dungeon Instance. Ke Loong hastily picked up the ring up and inserted some chi. As expected, the ring turned into a fashionable storage ring with a Hawk insignia on it. Ke Loong was extremely delighted but noticed that there was neither a shining light nor a weapons insignia on it. "Well, you caught me. Truth be told, we prepare the inscriptions for the cultivators beforehand. The shining light is only to make it look more spectacular and giving the illusion that there was some magic involved. Through the Pandamonium App data, our specialists pulled their info and create the inscription for the rings." Jin had prepared such a story for his cultivators since he could not explicitly revealed the true identity of the maker for these rings, the System. "This is the fastest we can create, hence there were no weapon designs on it. Besides, you''ve yet to participate in any of my dungeons, so my employees do not have sufficient data on you." Jin explained and Ke Loong realised that was the possible reason why Jin had acted so disinterested! He needed to stall for time for his inscribing specialists to create Ke Loong''s cosmetic item in advance. Ke Loong was happy to learn that Jin had no such intentions to refuse him from the beginning, while at the same time being a bit embarrassed thinking back on how he had acted. "Oh, Boss, you are too nice and cool. Making a cosmetic inscription on the fly for me. If possible, I''d be interested in meeting your inscribing specialists. You know get to know them and personally thank them." Ke Loong said as he examined the new Hawk insignia ring, checking the edges and admiring the fine details on it. Although he reinforced in no manner that he wants to steal his employees right under Jin''s nose. After which he tried the pendant and, in an instant, his original clothes were overwritten by the Black Suit. It was extremely comfortable and not to mention it fit perfectly. As a CEO, Ke Loong needed decent suits to impress his clients and other investors. When he wore the Black Suit Cosmetic Inscription that was on the pendant, he immediately realised that the quality was top notch and the dimensions were perfect, seemingly as if it had been custom made for him. "This is simply unbelievable. Well, a little scary too. You seem to have more than just my three sizes. As I am in this information gathering field too, I know that superior data collection is damningly vital, but it is also all about implementation too. In my opinion, your secret employees have done more than a wonderful job. Now I might take my words back for I am so tempted to find and poach them away from you." Ke Loong spoke honestly since he knew, that Jin more than just a one time business partner. If there were no significant problems between the two of them, he could foresee them creating the next big thing in the next five to ten years. Jin would not only revolutionise the dungeon supplier industry but many other fields too. Then he and Ke Loong could possibly be the ones leading the industry. All Jin needed now was just proper funding and exposure which Ke Loong could both provide. Thanks to that particular advantage, he was going to make Jin shine properly. (Well, and ultimately his company too.) "Hahah, too bad for you. Even if you find them, I already signed them on to a contract of slavery which they can never break. Hahaha! At least, I provide them with sufficient entertainment, decent housing and food." Jin joking said in his current situation, filled with half truths and Ke Loong laughed along heartily. "Boss Jin, you sure know how to crack jokes! Entertainment, housing and food? I bet you are simply housing them in some dungeon instance! Hahahah!" Ke Loong replied. "Even if that were the case, I am sure you saw how nice my dungeon instances can be. Hahaha. But you can be assured that I pay them well enough, in fact so much so that I could go bankrupt anytime if I do not manage my finances properly. That was why the absurd contract for the portal device." Jin mixed his lies with some truth to the point that Ke Loong bought it. "I must say, that''s a daring move. Youngsters these days will never do something like you did. They are too protected by their little bubble. I truly respect that about you." Ke Loong commented as he took off the pendant and noticed he returned back to the original clothes. After which, he experimented by putting the pendant back on and off. It was slightly hilarious for Jin because he had done the exact same thing when he obtained that technology from the System. Aye, the System had decided to assist Jin to boost his sales by unlocking this Cosmetic Inscription option after he reached Grade 8. It was a reward that Jin did not expect and even starting to wonder if the System had changed its ways. Though his praising thoughts did not last long after the System explained that it was part of the rewards for the completion of the secondary objective for his Goblin War Mission. The System also stated that there were more pending rewards that would be unlocked once Jin required them. "Delayed gratification is always better than instant gratification", or that''s how the System replied when Jin asked about those rewards. "By the way, how is the portal device going? Please tell me it''s doing okay." Ke Loong asked since he had invested a lot in promoting the prototype, which made his stocks soar so much that he too was scared of the repercussions of not being able to deliver. "Ah, about that. Could you come back in a few days time? I will send your secretary a text as soon as my employees have done the last few checks for the working prototype. I''m sure you can understand, how we have to make sure that everything is perfect." Jin offered and Ke Loong shook his head. "Just call me directly. Sometimes, my secretary does not know the importance of secrecy. Her mouth should be marked as dangerous." Ke Loong opened a QR code to his MeChat for Jin to scan so that they could exchange details. "If the portal device works well, I will not hesitate to make you my official dungeon supplier partner." Ke Loong said as he was about to walk out of the room, only to be stopped by Kraft. "I appreciate that gesture you are making for my Boss, but please return the ring. I do not recall my Boss Jin ever letting you keep it, just because it has a hawk insignia on it." Kraft said while wearing a half fox mask as a disguise¡­which somehow did not bother Ke Loong but rather terrified him a little. (just as the fact, that he had not noticed Kraft ever coming through the door) "Ahahaha! I am so so sorry!" Ke Loong hastily took out the ring and placed it back on the table next to the pendant. "I really assumed that Boss Jin was giving that to me since it has a hawk insignia on it." "No, Ke Loong, just take the ring. I too must apologise that I did not inform my staff to let you have it." Jin hurried his steps, grabbed the ring and placed it back into his hands. "Oh no, no. I really cannot keep it. I am content just seeing it, and trying out your pendant. People fought hard for that reward, and I cannot just take it like that. It was my fault for putting you into that situation!" Ke Loong tried to play the typical ''refusing the gift so I do not owe you, but if you insist. I will take it'' method. "Okay, I wouldn''t want to burden you. I shall keep it then." Jin said and Ke Loong was slightly appalled that Jin did not follow the usual protocol in such a situation. "Ah, must be because he is still young and does not know the ways of business making. But still, I cannot offend him that much. I guess, he is aware that he does have the higher ground in terms of negotiation this time." Ke Loong thought to himself and decided to let it go for now. But then he realised that would be stupid of him. So he decided to try his luck for a counter offer. "What about this? You give me the ring when I make you my official business partner? Until then how about I sell those cosmetic inscriptions out for you too?" Ke Loong tried to compromise. "Hmmm¡­How about this? Instead of selling, you give me designs of outfits that could be popular to recreate? In return, I give you a 25% profit for the sales of those cosmetic inscriptions. Both you and I know this could be rather big money." Now Jin was in his element, bargaining for something. "35%. A trial period of 3 months and if the overall sales are promising, we can go for an extension." Ke Loong was quick witted enough to reply. "30%. You can liaise with popular high tier brands to make more money out of it. As long as you can get them to allow it, my team will be able to recreate and refit their designs into it." Jin suggested and it was Ke Loong''s turn to sigh. "33%, since it will be on me to procure the rights for the brands. You drive a hard bargain that even I cannot refuse when I think of such a possibility." Ke Loong remarked as Jin handed the ring as a sign of affirmation. "Should not be too much of an expense for you since its just three months," Jin said as he shrugged his shoulders a little. "True, but my brand name would be affected. People would be like¡­since when have they gone into clothes designs?!" Ke Loong answered before he smiled a little. "Still, when I think about it, it is about dungeons too¡­Maybe I can open a side company to deal with this kind of stuff as an experiment too." Ke Loong then thought about it as he thanked Jin for the cosmetic ring. As he turned around, to his surprise Kraft had disappeared just as unnoticed as his earlier appearance. One more glance at Jin, who just gave him a mysterious smile, and Ke Loong hurried out. His heart was pounding fast at the prospect of being able to find out the properties of Jin''s ring. Rumours had it that all his researchers and engineers had worked overtime to figure out this brand new cosmetic inscription. (They were that enthusiastic about it.) Chapter 395 Escape City Second Phase While Jin had been busy discussing business with Ke Loong, the Pandawans had successfully navigated through the crowd with the help of the Pandamonium App''s navigation map system. On their way, they indeed passed a fake Grand Central Terminal, which the navigation system had utterly ignored. When the two guys looked at it closely, they noticed the doors changed to a metallic door design with glass windows. Shi Zuo felt a little foolish for his past mistake even though it was the first time seeing the Grand Central Terminal. As they were disguised as the Black Suits, none of the crowd bothered them. It was uneventful compared to Bin Yong and Shi Zuo''s earlier adventure when they got harassed by all the endless staring. Yet there was still something that bothered Bin Yong. The Whispers. Ever since he saw that prodigious black phantom that had formed from Shi Zuo''s shadow, he also heard the echoing of the whispers again. Despite it happening again, they were not as severe as the first run which Bin Yong believed it had something to do with the transformed rings or the pendants that they were wearing. But since it was muffled down, Bin Yong ignored most of the murmuring throughout the whole walk. The rain continued to pour and the group had to make stops under some shelters to check the map since Bin Yong''s phone was not waterproof. They did not wish to risk the water screwing up his phone, which Shi Zuo complained about repeatedly. (Though Bin Yong swore he would throw his phone at Shi Zuo and bet it could still work. ) It came as a pleasant surprise but, the suits were surprisingly waterproof and so were the shirts and blouses. The only thing that got wet was the exposed parts of their bodies, which was not much of an issue for the boys, though it was a little irritating for the girls. They instead prefer to stay dry, but the guys insisted that breaking the character of the ''Black Suits'' might be doing more harm. "Just bear with it a little longer." Shi Zuo pleaded and the girls grudgingly agreed to it. Within fifteen minutes, they managed to reach the real Grand Central Terminal, which was bustling with people. However, there was no little girl in pyjamas in sight, no matter how hard they tried to spot her. "Come to think of it, we don''t know how to contact her." Shi Zuo said as he was observing the ocean of people running for their station terminals or busy shopping (or pretending to shop in Bin Yong''s view) in this iconic landmark. "Maybe, she might have left her contact on your phone?" Jia Le suggested and Bin Yong quickly picked up to check. Suddenly, his phone buzzed on its own. He promptly answered the phone, and it was none other than the voice of the pyjama girl. "Hello¡­.? Hello!!? Hi There! Sorry, reception''s a little poor because of the place I am in. Took you longer than expected to reach the Grand Terminal but hey at least you reached it. Anyways, it is unfortunate that I am unable to meet you in person. The Deep Ones have found me so I suppose you have to take the train to Penn Station yourself. Remember Exit A! You will find that conspicuous Panda sitting down near the corner reading his newspaper!" The girl spoke so fast that Bin Yong had no chance to interrupt her before she dropped the call on him. At that point, the Pandamonium Map App immediately showed an updated route, including the trains that they should be taking to Penn Station. "Do you think we have to buy tickets to ride the trains? I don''t think our MeChats wallets can work for Jin''s dungeons! Hahah!" Luo Bo cracked a joke as she began to look for the exit that they should be heading towards.\ "That will be a major rip off if Jin made such a petty, realistic move. I think I paid more than enough to play this dungeon." Shi Zuo said, and even the spectators seemed to be agreeing to what he said. (Jin did unknowingly sneezed at that point while he was talking to Ke Loong.) "Eh, I think we should think about moving faster rather than worry about the tickets." Jia Le nudged Shi Zuo as they suddenly saw every individual in the Grand Central Terminal stop in their tracks and turn their heads towards them the same moment the Pyjamas girl dropped the call on Bin Yong. "I guess, we are officially in Phase 2 of the dungeon." Shi Zuo readied his weapon and removed the disguise pendant in case it got damaged in any way. He was also afraid the defence inscriptions might not work with the Black Suit Cosmetic Inscription Pendant was on. (An ungrounded worry, as they later would learn) "SIX MINUTES!" Bin Yong shouted as he saw the app indicate the train at Grand Central Subway Station would be leaving soon. "We need to find the Train Platform 7!" Bin Yong shouted once more to get the attention of the crowd as they all began to transform into Deep Ones. He ran the other way while signalling the others to take the exit that leads to the subway stations. "I am starting to have no doubts that this dungeon instance is really named Escape CITY! HOW DOES BOSS EXPECT US TO RUN AWAY FROM THESE MANY DEEP ONES?!!" Luo Bo shouted in panic and frustration as she nocked her bow and pointed it 45 degrees towards the Terminal''s ceiling. It was an explosion arrow similar to the one she used against Orc Scout previously but this time packed with a lot more power in it. By inserting as much chi as she could safely infuse into the arrow, Luo Bo hoped that it would be potent enough for the ceilings to be destroyed. "Here goes nothing! Loose!" Luo Bo released her bowstring with all her might that she was pushed back by her own draw. Surprisingly, her inscription on her bow activated as she saw a magical red circle appearing at the front of her arrow when she shot it out. The arrow went through the magical ring and bright yellow sparks spiralled around it as a stylish effect to indicate the arrow was enhanced by the inscription activation. Luo Bo saw and clenched her fist towards her face as if it was a sign of victory. It was a fire based inscription that caused her arrow to deal out a set amount of explosive damage at a random chance. She mainly used that inscription to make her opponents flinch or knockback since the explosion the inscription caused, was rather minor. Thus that was sufficient enough to give her an opportunity to either run from the enemy or slip in a second arrow shot to end their lives. This time round, it was different. As she was using an explosive arrow, the explosive damage from the inscription multiplied with her maximised chi infused explosive arrow, and it was bound to make a massive explosion. To Luo Bo, it felt like time had slowed down when she saw the moment the arrow make contact with the ceiling. *BADABOOM!* The arrow explosion was substantial enough for the impact waves to destroy the surrounding glass windows and the entire ceiling began to collapse at the stationary Deep Ones who were still in the midst of transforming from their human disguises to their real forms. "Oh gosh! What are you waiting for? A stray rubble to hit your head?!" Shi Zuo grabbed Luo Bo by her hand who was staring in awe by her own work and the couple jumped to the 1st floor as they headed to the basement where the subway station was located. "Guess, we aren''t paying for the tickets!" Jia Le leapt over the ticket gate machine and threw a kunai on the floor, packed with two spells worth of vine wall barriers. Should the first vine wall barrier''s integrity drop to less than 50%, the second vine wall barrier would emerge from the kunai. It was a nifty trick she learnt from her Western Magicians parents where spells could be placed like a simple straightforward programming code. (On a separate note, her grandma grudgingly acknowledged that was one aspect of Western Magic which Eastern Cultivation could not copy. Her mother laughed and hugged Jia Le''s grandma who seemed to come to terms with her own magician status through Jia Le. ) "Wait, where is Bin Yong?!" Luo Bo asked as she ran ahead with Shi Zuo and Jia Le was right behind her. "He said he is taking the other exit route from outside the Grand Central Terminal and into the Grand Central Subway Station as a distraction and to learn how terrible the situation is outside." Jia Le replied as she ran side by side the other two. "Why is he always taking this kind of unnecessary risks. That Bin Bin!" Luo Bo shook her fist in anger when suddenly a fully transformed Deep One came out from the corner armed with a spear. Shi Zuo was ready for that as he threw his axe towards the fish man. The Deep One was able to parry the axe but did not realise that there was a chain attached to it, causing it to wrap around the Deep One''s spear. Shi Zuo smiled as he saw the Deep One''s bewilderment and clicked on a trigger which emitted a bolt of electricity to pass through the chains and the axe. It subsequently shocked the Deep One which allowed Shi Zuo to move in closer with a spare offhand axe and slashed its head off. This new sort of weapon was something he and the Three Headed Bear had collaborated together while Bin Yong was busy taking notes the whole afternoon. It was a one of the reward options purchasable with Goblin Raid Points. Cultivators would buy a ticket to spend a set amount of time with the Three Headed Bear to craft a weapon together. It became such a big hit that there was a schedule that needed to be followed due to the number of people trying it out. Accommodating his customers, Jin quickly added the possibility to book a timing in the Pandamonium App. If the cultivator missed their turn, it would be a free for all for that particular time slot which Shi Zuo luckily managed to sneak in during a missed cultivator''s time slot. The Three Headed Bear just gave a stern look at the late cultivator who had been delayed by traffic and he obediently chose another time slot (his ticket got refunded as it was not used up and thankfully, he did not need to wait for long). Within that time slot, Shi Zuo had purposely crafted a weapon that should prove to be very effective against the Deep Ones. His only regret was that the inscription choices were rather general and the lightning inscription the shop was selling was as ''weak'' as the one Luo Bo used. (Though, it was really useful in earlier dungeons, just not in the more advanced dungeons.) Therefore, he decided to make a lightning based weapon with a multiplier effect along with the axe he was using. Unlike Luo Bo''s and Se Lang''s inscription, which were based on chance, Shi Zuo decided to take a flat lightning based inscription damage which was less powerful than the random chance inscription, but he figured he would make up for it with his speed Bin Yong had noticed the new weapon of his friend, when he came back boasting about it. Still, his friend did not seem very impressed at the time and teased Shi Zuo if he got duped by the number games which Boss Jin had placed on all the weapons when Bin Yong queried. "You do know in real life, there are no floating calculable HP bars above our heads right? Those numbers are worth jackshit." "But what if Boss Jin somehow managed to make it calculable? Like those wuxia novels where we can have 10,000 elephant powers and our weapon provide us another 5000 elephant powers!" Shi Zuo countered and Bin Yong shook his head. "I know you love your numbers, but don''t you think that is a bit unrealistic?" Bin Yong remarked though Shi Zuo honestly believed that Boss Jin had revealed those numbers on their Pandamonium Stat page for a reason. He might doubt any other person but Boss Jin had proven to him that nothing in this shop instance nor in the Pandamonium app was there without a reason. Be it an experimental feature or a quality of life update, there was always something that Shi Zuo looked forward to whenever Jin implemented any changes. Everytime that happened he got even more inspired to do the same for his IT security job. In a way, he secretly idolised Boss Jin''s technological edge and would love to talk with whoever was responsible. "Whatever those numbers are based off, at the very least his inscription works wonders." Shi Zuo looked before him. The Deep One was totally fried and when the head was cut off, Shi Zuo retracted the axe back and proceeded forward with the rest. That surprise attack made them even more vigilant than ever as they took the stairs down to Platform 7. Chapter 396 Subway Station - Part 1 Bin Yong rushed out of the Grand Terminal Station while cutting down any fish men that were in the midst of transforming. If not for his ''sacrifice'', the entire mob of Deep Ones would have chased after his friends through the subway exit. At the very least, the menacing crowd of Deep Ones had their attention divided into two but Bin Yong had to deal with the situation carefully and yet aggressively fast before all the Deep Ones had taken on their final form. "You made the right choice splitting yourself away from the group. Come join us." Suddenly the whispering was louder than before. But beyond that sentence, a series of mutters were overheard by Jin and he could barely hear the fish men talking to each other. "Join us¡­ !" Join us brrrrrotherrr!" "Kneel before the great Lord and be saved!" "You will gain powers you never have before!" "Be one with us!" The Deep Ones babbled all around him as they approached him slowly as Bin Yong finally reckoned they were in deep shit considering the situation where all the passers-by were indeed Deep Ones too. He took a quick peek on his phone to confirm the location of the other entry to the subway station that was outside of the Grand Central Terminal. "5 minutes walk?! Make that a 1 minute run!" Bin Yong gritted his teeth to prevent himself from being influenced by the fishes'' nonsenses as he kept his sword at the back of his waist and placed his buckler in the front while holding it with two hands. "Intermediate Shield Art, Defending Wall of the Bombardier Beetle!" Bin Yong shouted as he inserted his chi into his shield. The buckler instantly energised by his chi, created a blue floating orb right in front of him, which expanded into the silhouette of a large blue triangular kite shield. Acting like a secondary chi barrier, the blue triangle shield barrier bashed through the Deep Ones that were blocking his way, causing Bin Yong''s enemies to be knocked to the side or even toppling over from the direct shield charge. This enabled Bin Yong to charge through the horde of Fish Men in a straight line without much difficulty. However, the barrier still had its limits, which became apparent with the Deep one''s overwhelming numbers. Whenever it hit a Deep One, a part of the barrier seemed to be chipped away by the attack. It was even more significant when knocking over the transforming Deep Ones, but it was entirely another issue when faced with a Deep One who was prepared to counter the Bombardier Beetle Cultivator. As the Deep One in front of him charged with two spears pointing forward towards Bin Yong, it smashed into him with tremendous impact and nearly managed to slow him down significantly to the point that the other Deep Ones could pile on him. "Intermediate Bombardier Beetle Style, Bombardment Counterattack!" Bin Yong shouted as he shook the spears away by slamming his shield to the ground, causing a blast of gas made from his chi to spread outwards from the shield impact. The gas irritated the Deep Ones'' eyes and lungs so badly that they staggered. The ones closest to him suffered the worst, with their eyes melting and their fins and lungs dissolving upon absorbing the gas. Naturally, his own attack did not affect Bin Yong in any way, but he rarely used this particular technique as it had the risk of injuring his own teammates. However, he developed it since he felt that it might be useful in certain situations, and this particular scenario proved him right. With the Deep Ones immobilised by the hot toxic gas, Bin Yong reused his Defending Wall of the Bombardier Beetle to shield himself and charged his way to the entrance to the Grand Terminal Subway Station. Instead of climbing down the stairs, he decided to jump across it since he still had the Defending Wall technique activated. "Woohooo!!! This is why I adore Boss Jin''s dungeons, I can do crazy stuff like this!" Bin Yong shouted as he felt elated, especially when he fell on an unsuspecting Deep One. The energised barrier incidentally became a secondary barrier against other threats Bin Yong was facing with the Deep One stuck to the barrier, blocking most of the other hits he could potentially encounter. The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, he thanked the splattered Deep One who had acted as a buffer and jumped over the ticketing gate machine. Within a minute, he saw the rest of his team on the opposite side of the platform with the train arriving on scene at the nick of time. "Come! You need to hurry!" Shi Zuo called to his friend as the train towards Penn Station seemed to be ready to leave slightly earlier than planned and without the cultivators despite stopping at the station''s platform. Therefore, Shi Zuo did not wait for the door to open as he smashed the side windows with his axe and entered via it, proceeding to kill a few Deep Ones that were initially in the train waiting to assault them. (How courteous of them to be this patient even though they were such savage beasts.) It escalated into a slaughter inside the train carriage as the Deep Ones holding their spears stood no chance defeating the Mad Monkey Cultivator who skillfully dodged their attacks and slashed (and electrocuted) his way through the crowd. By the time he was done, Jia Le and Luo Bo had forced the doors opened. Shi Zuo then bowed and greeted the two ladies who were coming aboard. "Welcome to the Polar Express. Today''s menu; there is a selection of the finest fish for you to choose from." "If the North Pole has any Deep Ones lurking, I will be removing that from my bucket list." Luo Bo said jokingly as she stabbed the ground with her arrow along with Jia Le''s kunai further in front. They both smirked at each other as they quickly boarded the starting train while Bin Yong used his buckler to smash through a set of doors and rolled into the train carriage. He tried to wave at his friends but a Deep One took that as an opportunity to strike when his guard was down. Fortunately, Bin Yong''s reflexes were swift enough to block a direct claw strike, and his shield was definitely holding out better than the one he had in the previous dungeon run. Nevertheless, the Deep One was not stopping as it kept clawing in rage, attempting to destroy the shield that Bin Yong was holding on to his dear life without the chance to retaliate. Jia Le assisted him by throwing a Kunai at it, but the Deep One saw that coming metres away, allowing it to deflect the attack. However, this was all that was required as the Kunai released a spell on contact which caused vines to wrap the Deep One all over, keeping him in a bind as the vines slowly absorbed the Deep One''s essence until it turned into a shrivelled fish. (There were even signs of an after struggle ) The vines eventually bloomed into a beautiful white bellflower that released a sweet scent of fresh flowers, which also helped rejuvenate the entire party while the train started to pick up speed. "It''s a kind of chi transfer spell technique. By using the life of a living being, it absorbs and transforms it into chi to be released to the surroundings." Jia Le grinned as she felt refreshed. "That is pure wicked." Bin Yong was amazed that Jia Le had this kind of technique under her sleeves. "Well, if you just let me fight more by myself, I could prove to you that I am more than just a supporter or sub attacker." Jia Le laughed as she flicked Bin Yong''s forehead hard. "That is for doing things so selfishly even though it was for the sake of the group. Don''t you know how worried I was? And don''t you dare tell me that this is just a dungeon instance. I do not want you to develop such a habit if something like this really happens in real life." Jia Le reprimanded Bin Yong and he quickly apologised. "If you still do not get it, she wants you to take her along when you do such dangerous things. Stupid. She really cares about you." Shi Zuo released a heavy sigh as he relaxed back at the corner of the train bench while the train moved. "D''awww. But Bin Bin did a good job, right? Without him, we would have been swarmed by many fish heads and perhaps become part of them. Bloop~! Bloop~!" Luo Bo commented while she refilled her arrow belt from her new storage ring. Suddenly, they felt a series of rumbles emitting from behind them. Jia Le and Luo Bo looked at one another, each with a knowing grin on their faces. Their previous kunai and arrow placement had been part of a combination spell they created together. Jia Le, who specialised in Earth chi techniques, enabled her kunais to release a massive load of razor sharp spiky vines that would protrude out of the ground to grab the Deep Ones who tried to chase after the train. To enhance her slow moving from the kunai release, they were propelled by Luo Bo''s wind chi infused arrow. Upon grabbing an enemy, the vines would not just strangle and hurled the Deep around, but cause them to be more than just a simple projectile, damaging the basement integrity of the area as well as the masses of Deep Ones who tried to squeeze through the tunnel to chase after the train. Soon enough, the vines were cut down by the amassing horde of Deep Ones, but that combination attack resulted in dozens of dead Deep Ones. (Or Dead Ones as Bin Yong punned them to be.) Though they tried to catch them, the train was undoubtedly faster than them¡­ until a Deep Mage decided to summon a tidal wave to assist the Deep Ones on the ground to even up the disadvantage. The wave wiped the entire station clean as it carried the numerous Deep Ones through the tunnel. Bin Yong, who was at the lookout from behind the train, noticed that the rumbling had stopped and instead, an increasingly loud sound of water gushing to catch up to them. Luo Bo who had perceptive hearing immediately rushed to Shi Zuo, who had gone to the front, as fast as she could. (Meanwhile, Shi Zuo was slightly baffled to learn that the train was driver-less because he''d assumed a Deep One was piloting it.) "DO NOT STOP! Do not stop at the next station! Push the train to our destination forward!" Luo Bo screamed as Jia Le immediately went to the back to check on the situation too. "There is no escape¡­" Bin Yong''s legs turned to jelly upon seeing a glimpse of the incoming Tidal Wave through the tunnel. "Not when I am around." Jia Le drank two chi potions consecutively as she held onto a bunch of Kunais. "You are owing me more than just a work shift replacement." Jia Le smiled at Bin Yong before she prepared her kunais to throw towards the impending doom of Deep Ones. Chapter 397 Subway Station - Part 2 Jia Le had initially wanted to throw her kunais towards them until Bin Yong had asked her what spell she planned to use. She had hesitated a little since their situation was not exactly the perfect time for questions. Ultimately, she decided to humour her boyfriend and quickly explained that it would create various standing pillars to block the wave. Upon hearing this, Bin Yong advised her to tweak the spell a little to make them appear diagonally. (All she needed to do was to change the angle at which her kunai was thrown.) The moment those kunais hit the floor, pillars of stone and vines came out in a diagonal towards the Tidal Wave of Deep Ones. As the force of the tidal wave couldn''t be stopped, countless Deep Ones crashed into the pillars of stone. Some suffered a head on collision resulting in death, others, while slightly luckier, still ended up severely injured. Unfortunately, their sheer number did not seem to have decreased by much. When she witnessed the effects of the diagonal Vine Stone Pillars at work, she was surprised at its effectiveness. Looking at Bin Yong, her boyfriend explained to her that one of his past works involved scenes of a sea town. He did some research to be able to illustrate the sea waves splashing against the piers, and some of that past experience stuck with him till now. To effectively stop a wave, irregular structures needed to be erected to change the uniform arrival time of the impending tidal energy. "Especially when turbulence itself is a form of energy. I had to get some of my science friends to verify it for me and they even gladly performed an experiment in their labs for me to video record so I can draw and animate those waves the way I needed to." Bin Yong told her proudly though Jia Le was still focusing on throwing her kunais to impede the tidal wave of Deep Ones. While Jia Le and Bin Yong were dealing with the problem at the back (well mostly Jia Le), Shi Zuo was figuring out how to override the autonomous driving system so it wouldn''t stop at the next station. There was not much time left especially with the subway station appearing in sight. "Fuck fuck fuck fuckkkkk!!!!!" Shi Zuo was banging on every button possible and somehow through some combination, the train finally listened to his wishes and quickly increased the speed, pressing forward and away from the Deep Ones. "You sure we can skip every stop?! I remember seeing Bin Yong''s map app. It showed that we would need to get off to transfer to another train in order to reach Penn Station?!" Luo Bo asked and Shi Zuo panicked a little. "What?! I was not informed of that! Quickly get the information from Bin Yong or else we might be screwed!" Shi Zuo shouted and Luo Bo knocked his head. "You don''t have to shout at me! I am right beside you!" Luo Bo replied as she ran towards Bin Yong, but they did not pay attention, missing the fact, that as they passed through the station, a few Deep Ones from Bryant Park Station Platform took the risk and successfully jumped onto the train. "Shit! AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Luo Bo realised Bin Yong could be too far to listen to her and the Deep Ones would only hinder her. Since time was of the essence and to get his attention, she thought that shouting was the fastest way to get through him. So she did, focusing her wind chi into her voice, her shout became so loud, that it pierced and damaged the hearing ability of the Deep Ones, causing them to be temporarily confused. But, because of that stunt it managed to reach Bin Yong who heard the SOS for help and rushed towards her. At the same time, Luo Bo was furiously releasing her arrows as fast as she could to occupy the Deep Ones, who had boarded the train and focused their attention on her. Without anyone else in between, her ranged fights would soon turn into a closed quarters fight. "Argh! Once this is over, I better learn some more close combat acrobatics in the future! Maybe my sis could help me with that ¨C WOAH!" Luo Bo dodged in time and threw any strayed thoughts away since it nearly kill her by accident. "Hurry up, Bin Bin!" Luo Bo thought to herself as she was currently forced to use her arrow as a parrying stick to defend herself from the attack. Fortunately, she always had a blade arrow as a spare for emergency close combat quarters. When she first saw it being sold, she thought it was ridiculous. Why would anybody want to shoot a sword like arrow and then she realised it was designed for close combat defence first and shooting it at that close range for maximum damage second. Bin Yong finally arrived traversing through multiple carriages, charging in between the doors without any care and when Luo Bo saw him, she shouted at him. "How many stops before we transfer trains?!!" "From Grand Central? Two! We passed one, right? We need to get out at the next one! Time Square Station!" Bin Yong slammed the Deep One that was harassing Luo Bo. "Shit! If only we had that little blue magpie with us like during the Goblin Raid War. It was super useful! Argh!! I have to inform Shi Zuo! You get Jia Jia! We might be reaching soon!" Luo Bo high kicked the Deep One which Bin Yong pinned down and shot the blade arrow into its chest. "Roger!!!" Bin Yong quickly turned and ran back as fast as he could while Luo Bo did the same, though she was more like a ghost with her legs imbued with the chi powers of wind. "It''s the next station-" Before Luo Bo could say anything else, Shi Zuo was already up from his seat and grabbed her by the waist before exiting the driver''s carriage. "Oof!" Luo Bo did not expect her boyfriend to be so heavy handed with his grab, but she could see that Shi Zuo was stressed. "The next train is still at the station! We will collide in no time!" Shi Zuo explained as he ran towards the back as fast as possible. "It''s either we die by train crash or a tidal wave in a tunnel!" Shi Zuo huffed and puffed as they saw Bin Yong and Jia Le running towards them from afar. "TRAIN CRASHING! OUT OUT OUT! WE ONLY HAVE A SPLIT SECOND!" Shi Zuo shouted at the top of his voice while he and Luo Bo rendezvoused with the other couple. True enough, they suddenly felt the train''s impact, but they had no time to stop and watch, as they threw themselves out of the train the moment they caught a glimpse of the platform. "BAMMM!!" "WHOOSH!!" The Pandawan group combat rolled on the platform only to continue running for their lives towards the exit before the incoming tidal wave would swallow them up. There was no other choice, Bin Yong was still exhausted, but had to use it here or they would potentially lose this dungeon instance, even after going through so much trouble to reach here. "Guys! Hold onto me! Tight!" Bin Yong shouted as he rushed forward ahead of the group and lifted his shield up. "Advanced Shield Art!" Bin Yong spoke it out and the whole group turned their heads towards him with sudden anticipation while grabbing onto Bin Yong''s shoulders. "Jet Stream Bombardier Blast!" Bin Yong shouted and his buckler turned red hot in an instant. After hearing the name of the technique, the other three did not just hold onto his shoulders but instinctively grab anywhere they could. The buckler enlarged into a large plated tower size shield, and within a second, as the name implied, two streams of hot air burst out from the edges of the shield that caused them to move at tremendous speed, destroying anything in their path. Thanks to that technique, the entire Pandawan group destroyed pillars, railings, ticket gate machines, benches and so on but they eventually managed to get out of the station before it got flooded by the tidal wave. However, Bin Yong was totally spent and he was unable to move the moment his technique expired. As they had reached the subway entrance, Shi Zuo held his axe tightly and surveyed the new rotten situation they were thrust into. There were still voices of Deep Ones echoing from the exit they just came out from. It was not looking good when one of their teammates could not move at all. Suddenly, an oversized caped figure appeared in front of them with a weapon attached to a large fuel tank. "Been waiting on you." The figure pulled his hood to reveal that he was none other than Captain Hei. All of them were stunned and at the same time, relieved. Weren''t they supposed to meet him at Penn Station? "This is the limit for your group. None of you is in any condition to deal with what''s beyond. Do try again next time and get a true clear. Boss Jin purposely made this dungeon difficult, so don''t be too harsh on yourself. It was designed to test your situation awareness and ability." Captain Hei commented with a smirk on his face. " You will be rewarded duly." Captain Hei words were already like gold dropping from the skies to the exhausted group. "But first, a little bit of entertainment for you to enjoy before Pyjamas Girl here teleports you back along with your rewards." Captain Hei remarked as the Pyjamas Girl in the full Panda Mask appeared once more. At the same time, he turned the knob on his weapon, and a fiery burst of flames emerged from his flamethrower. The arriving Deep Ones stood no chance against his flames of fury, and while Captain Hei handled them, Pyjamas Girl took the opportunity to debrief the Pandawans. "Hey yo! Just to assure you guys, you did great handling the situation after the phone call ended, so do not worry too much! Oh and the train station was just one possible meeting point. There are also other ways to reach Penn Station, take your time to figure it out. That''s the fun and challenge of this dungeon!" The girl said as she magically conjured a large chest and placed it right in front of them. "Now tadas~!" A small clear sign appeared but it was not the usual ''Dungeon Cleared'' announcement. The Pandawans heaved a sigh of relief as they were teleported to the Recovery Instance. "How was it so far?" Milk personally saw to them in one of the exclusive VIP recovery rooms. There were some minor signs of chi poisoning due to the extensive use of techniques. That was also the reason why the System had cut short their dungeon experience since it would be detrimental for them to push themselves beyond their personal limits. Milk told them to rest for a while as she would handle each one of the Pandawans'' conditions but overall, it was a decent win for them. Though they were eager to open the rewards chest, they figured a nice proper rest in the recovery instance''s beds was more of a priority. "Job well done. Have a good rest." Milk said when she turned the lights off for the group after administering some medicine and sleeping spells. Chapter 398 Kiyu "It always feels so refreshing to wake up after a dungeon instance, my body feels lighter and less sluggish compared to everyday life." Woken up by the alarm in the recovery instance, Luo Bo yawned and stretched a little as she praised the dungeon instance they just went through. "Yes but I just want to sleep a little while longer, do we have to get out of this resting area now?" Jia Le said to Bin Yong as she placed her head into the pillow. "I must say, they always feel much more comfortable than my bed. I wondered if the bed is some kind of premium quality brand." Bin Yong asked. "But yea, I do feel more refresh than normal." "In my opinion, it has to be the rumoured spiritual powers of the monsters we received upon killing them in the instance. How else would our cultivation advance as fast as ¡­this." Shi Zuo, who was on the bed beside her, smirked as he went into his cultivation stance and portrayed his cultivation out front. The five highly defined monkey silhouettes were all clapping excitedly as if to welcome a brand new playmate. The rest of the group watched the show from their own bedside as the monkey silhouettes circled round above Shi Zuo''s head. As they danced, a glow appeared within their circle and out came a brand new monkey. He had finally surpassed the pinnacle of Grade Five Peak and entered the new stage, joining up with Bin Yong in the realm of Grade 6. Everyone clapped and congratulated him for reaching the special milestone in the cultivation race. Upon entering this Grade, his body would be able to withstand the backlash of using Advanced Techniques. Thankfully, they were in a private room in the recovery instance instead of the main hall where the bulk of the cultivators were. Else it was unlikely that they would have enjoyed such a decent rest. While being widely known had its perks, it was truly exhausting at times. It was mainly because of all the unwanted attention, especially when someone''s grade increased. Not to mention the noise level would have been incessantly loud. They guessed it was the perk of being a Pandawan and the group appreciated it a lot to be able to stay in a private room. Still, Jin took the feedback about that recovery instance very seriously. The reason why he had placed the beds in the main hall of the recovery instance like a gigantic makeshift military tent was that it was easier for the System to oversee the monitoring of the patient''s vitals with a glance. (Though it was also primarily due to lack of budget when he first started out.) But things would be changing. The goblin raid event had provided him with a steep increase in sales and a growing customer base, which allowed Jin to start planning to renovate the recovery instance. He no longer needed to worry about making every cent, since he knew that having a decently priced instance was able to bring in a constant amount of cash flow. Still, he found it hard to believe and was surprised that the sales already broke even merely a day before the Escape City Dungeon Instance was released. Jin hence contemplated whether he should extend the duration of the Goblin Raid Event for just two or three more months, especially when the school''s winter holidays coincided into the months of January and February for China. In that case, the students might become another lucrative source of income to his shop since the Raid''s entrance were cheap enough. Jin just needed to ensure that the popularity of the Goblin Raid events was still popular and the way to do so was mainly by spreading it through word of mouth or via social platforms. Word of mouth? Absolutely no problem at all. The cultivators here did an excellent job for him, but there were times that the customers questioned Jin why does he not have a social media account to spread the word. Boss Jin did contemplate on making a social platform account for some time now since it would no doubt aid in boosting his shop''s popularity a little more. (Though it would no doubt also be liable to part of the internet that received criticism too) But once more, he figured it was too much effort considering that he had a lot on his plate until Kraft stepped in. "You shouldn''t forget that there is no need for you to do everything by yourself. Why not ask Kiyu? She used to be a popular erm¡­ Celebrity. Yes celebrity seems to be the most fitting term. You can ask her to aid you in that aspect" Kraft proposed. Upon hearing her name, Kiyu suddenly came out from her bullet in a dash of purple streak and eventually ended up sitting on Kraft''s head like a pedestal in her fox form. (Strangely enough, it made Kraft appear more regal this way.) "You can put it that way, I was a rather famous entertainer in the past, going from one theatre to another before the System found me worthy to become part of it. I was not per se from the Panda Clan, but my ancestors did have connections to them before, so I had heard a rumour or two of their hidden capabilities." Kiyu said as she licked her paws. "And from what I saw, the personalities of your moderators, Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One, they were probably created by the System who had used past data of my behaviour as a template." Kiyu stretched out a paw, which quickly turned into a peace sign as she started to transform into human form right in front of Jin in the Dungeon Maker. Jin was baffled as this was the first time he saw her do so. He had assumed Pei was the only one in the System to be able to perform such a feat, but it seems he was mistaken. Were they meant to be Fox People or they appeared as Fox like humans under Kraft''s command? Her royal purple fur had turned into hair that was slightly black and purplish as it continued to flow out of her changing fox body. She ended up with exceptionally long flowing hair with straight bangs covering her forehead that reached down to her waist, coincidentally covering up her exposed chest while she still hung on to Kraft''s head. Her dimples were clearly visible when she grinned from one corner to another and her eyes were wide for a Chinese descent. Kiyu''s skin was pearly white, but it exuded a sense of tenderness and a yearning to touch it. Her body was perfectly slender and yet at the same time broad, where it needed to be, which made one wonder how one could maintain such faultless proportions. Jin was plain speechless as he felt more bewitched by her than Milk or any other girl he had ever known. His expression had been so brilliant, that Kraft could not help himself but secretly record it. Something which he would often tease Jin in the future about while avoiding any possibility of it leaking. (Even Kraft was worried about what Qiu Yue or Lynn would do to him if they learned that he was responsible for this encounter.) "So do you have any doubts about her being the perfect person to lead your social platforms?" Kraft smirked a little before snapping his finger to cast a clarity spell to clear Jin''s mind. "I¡­ I¡­" It was as if Jin just woke up from some hypnotisation spell and he quickly threw a shirt and shorts out of his storage ring for Kiyu to wear while he turned around. "Oooo, Master''s shirt. I bet not many enjoyed such an opportunity. I shall cherish it." Kiyu said and gladly wore the shirt and shorts behind Kraft before showing herself once more. Her fox ears and tail gave her the looks of a beautiful cosplayer though she hid it promptly unlike Pei who showed it out blatantly to Jin. "So where were we? Oh yes, you just need to say the word and I can create the social platform accounts for you. Kiyu could help manage them for you and since she is one of my foxes, a bit of knowledge and ability transfer is not an issue. Any objections?" Kraft proposed. "Social platform ACCOUNTS?" Jin exclaimed and Kraft was wondering if he said anything wrong. "Why yes? Not just a Mechat account but Doban, MeiBo and even western media accounts too. I assume we are going to go for a western audience in the future, right? Might as well make those Farcebook, Pinstagram and Tweeter accounts to make the Westerners a bit jealous that we are having all these awesome dungeon instances. Who knows, some of them might even travel all the way here to try it out. And putting Kiyu in charge will make that far more likely than you''d imagine." Kraft chuckled as Kiyu blew a kiss over at Jin. If not for Kraft''s previous spell, Jin would have fallen yet again for Kiyu''s charms. He assumed it was her strong powers, which made her into ''troublemaker'' and wondered if the entertainer bit was just a cover, but he decided not to probe any further. Jin sighed when realising that there was still one final fox under the care of the System. If those two were already a handful, he worried about the last. "Alright, let''s do it. I would love to see what she''s capable of. Kiyu, are you up for it? I believe it will be a different set of challenges, influencing the new modern generation?" Jin asked and Kiyu snickered at his comment. "No matter the era, two things will always stay important for any¡­entertainment platform. Looks and Charisma. Humans are driven by instinct, no matter how logical or ¡­how cultivated they believe themselves to be. Trust me¡­erm us. We can nail this down, and this way Kraft won''t be so bored looking over your shoulders all the time. It could give you some breathing space too." Kiyu winked as if she was doing a favour for Jin. "You remember how deadly her charming magic could be in her fox form for negotiations right? Wait till you see what she''s capable in this form." Kraft smiled as he placed his face closer to the bracelet Jin was wearing. "Pei, increase your master''s psychological defence against Kiyu''s magic to the limit later. That should prove a decent challenge for you since Young Master is still young and¡­impressionable. " Kraft sniggered before he left together with Kiyu (in Jin''s clothes). "User, Pandawan Shi Zuo has reached Grade 6 as expected from the Escape City Dungeon Instance. Pandawan Luo Bo and Jia Le are estimated to be reaching the limits of Grade 5 Peak soon. A few more Dungeon runs should allow them to cross the threshold." The System stated as Jin returned to his work in the Dungeon Maker after Bin Yong and the others finished their dungeon instance. "I see. How did they fare? Did anything happen outside your predictions?" Jin asked as he began to analyse some of the new techniques the group had used in their adventure. "Everything was within the upper limits of the System''s analytical prediction model. Does User wish to give them a clear status? The cultivators managed to perfectly clear the first part of the dungeon." The System asked and Jin shook his head. "Nah, it''s not a true clear. They would have failed if they were not rescued in the end. But I believe you''ve increased their rewards accordingly, right? If not, I might give them some additional concessions." Jin replied as he brought up the reward page to see what the System gave out since he was curious about the amount of rewards given the System''s own metrics. "670 Panda Medals in total. Eh, guess it''s more than decent. Be a little stricter for the rest of the cultivators. We want to avoid them starting to feel that we are giving the medals a bit too freely." Jin commented, and the System acknowledged it in an instant. After which, he brought up his to do checklist, which the System had visualised for him. It was a nice little feature since he wouldn''t forget anything this way and even asked the System to remind him periodically. "Hahah, so many things to do. With only ten days left, it''s best I prepare the December instance as soon as possible and later revamp of the recovery instance. Please put it on the list, System. Are there any particular mission for December?" Jin asked while he fiddled with the dungeon consoles. "Does User really wish to start fulfilling the monthly mission criteria for the December now? Activating a monthly mission before the start of that month will lead to better rewards, but at the same time prove to be more challenging than usual since User will have more time to complete it before the deadline." The System warned him, yet Jin confirmed choice once more. "Erm¡­ Guess I''ll have to try it at some point anyway. Worst case, I will handle consequences after that!" Jin somehow felt more ballsy than ever willing to face the challenge and he wondered if it was due to Kiyu''s magical charms. "Very well. System has confirmed that User initiated December''s mission. Primary mission objective: Create an instance (Dungeon/Service) with 10,000 sales has increased to 15,000 sales. Additional primary mission objectives: Complete the foundations of the Dungeon City Fortress." The System stated and it was not the end. "Please be reminded that the Dungeon Core assisted shield defence will end by the 7th of January. Secondary Mission Objective: Revamp the Recovery Instance and have an End User Approval of at least 4.7 stars out of five." The System stated and Jin''s jaw dropped. Before he started anything, he slapped himself once and began to rush out for the next particular instance until the System spoke up once more. "Secondary Mission Objective Number 2: Complete the Restaurant Train of Delicacy''s service instance upgrade." "YOU ARE KILLING ME!" Jin shouted in retaliation. "It was the User''s own choice to ignore the warning. Therefore, User just shot himself in the foot. Do not forget your promise with CEO Ke Loong and please also remember to meet up with Grandma Yuan." System stated with a manner of glee in its tone. "Yes, DAD!" Jin replied in a sarcastic tone. Chapter 399 Heavenly Pillar of Measuring During the next few days, the Escape City Dungeon Instance proved to be the most frequented dungeon instance, mainly because of the amount of medals it was giving out. Some believed in Mr Know-It-All''s speculations, but the majority had begun to realise that the sudden generosity of Jin had another reason, which everyone concurred upon trying the dungeon instance at least once. There was a need to upgrade. Most of the cultivators'' gear was pitiful to begin with. Only a fraction of his customers possessed some sort of family heirlooms, which proved to be very valuable and not to mention strong against the Deep Ones. (Yet even with family heirlooms, those snobbish cultivators were not up to par in terms of skills. Regardless, the System analysed those weapons thoroughly for future references.) Therefore many used this chance to upgrade their gear to better cope with the high intensity they felt in that particular dungeon instance. As a result, the once quiet sub forum for threads regarding weapons and armours became quite popular. There were some die hard fans which were seemingly even more enthusiastic than Mr Know-It-All (or perhaps he just influenced them?) who had gathered a plethora of data from the weapons store and listed them on the forums. The thread was so long that Jin as the administrator had decided to help them tidy the information up by changing it into something more like a glossary page with a well versed search option and interface. (Well, mostly it was the work of the System. Though it did not add any additional information, it beautified and also simplified the data entry process for future weapons.) With that thread being stickied to the top by Jin, those die hard fans discussed, theorised and helped others by recommending a few weapons based on their statistics page, as if it was some MMORPG weapon list. Some even recommended the type of weapons and inscriptions that could be useful for each particular dungeon. For example, they recommended fire based inscriptions for the Great Wall of China instance since the zombies were slightly weaker to fire or inscriptions that could enhance the area of attack for the Goblin Raid Events. Unsurprisingly some doubted the validity of the list, claiming that the weapons were more or less the same and the stats that were introduced by Jin were just a facade. Yet, many still followed it diligently since a guide was better than none. Eventually, some cultivators even went the extra mile and started to experiment with the weapons. One of them tried out the Western Diversion Instance with a pathetic Grade 1 Iron Sword which allegedly had a physical attack stat of 10 before switching it out with a Grade 4 Iron Sword to test if it indeed had an attack stat of 40. To his surprise, he reported that it did seem to make some difference. However, there were still some critics stating that there was no proper way to test it after all, it could have just been a placebo effect. This heated discussion continued for a while until Jin decided to play along with their whines and placed a couple of Heavenly Pillars of Measuring into Panda Muscles Instance. Those pillars were officially acknowledged as the international standard for measuring strength as they were made from a raw material rumoured to of the Grade 19 standard, if not Grade 20. (But many assumed the former since Grade 20 was akin to celestial like materials.) Because of the material''s sturdiness, they could be used to measure the strength of a cultivator and/or the strength of a weapon. In the past, people used to involve a cultivator well versed in the Earthly Elements to calculate and measure the strength used against these Heavenly Pillar of Measuring. However, thanks to modern technology, this became unnecessary. A built in monitor had been invented to measure the strength, speed and chi power of a cultivator in absolute numbers and its estimates were so much accurate than the old ways. Separately, the System derived the stats of the cultivators before the introduction of the Heavenly Pillars of Measuring through a similar method. But instead of such pillars, the System measured the cultivator''s stats through the monitoring of their physical body vitals and activities after every dungeon. Considering all those monsters that the cultivators were battling were not real per se but somewhat ''clones'' created by the System, it wasn''t a problem to calculate their strength when fighting them and update any progress accordingly. In the end, it was able to make a verifiable judgement which could be as close or even as accurate as the results of the Heavenly Pillars of Measuring. When the cultivators tried to pit their strength against the pillars, the numbers were similar enough, if not the same as what was shown on the Pandamonium App. After trying it for themselves, the sceptics finally believed that those numbers in their Pandamonium actually meant something useful. Never in their lives would they know that those numbers were in fact results derived from the rarely seen Heavenly Pillars and not just gibberish information meant to entertain the customers. This was because the cost of a Heavenly Pillar of Measuring and as the name implied, was astronomical in nature. Therefore, it (the price) made the pillars somewhat of a prestige object usually only found in Dungeon Supplier stores exclusive for wealthy patrons or in the main dungeon store of a dungeon supplier franchise like King''s Monster. (Yeah, they have one.) Even in those cases, it was the norm to be charged a hefty premium for each use. But in Jin''s case, he somehow managed to procure not one but five of them! (Albeit significantly smaller than the standard sizes. 1.5 metres tall instead of the conventional 5 metres.) It made the cultivators wondered and speculated what kind of backing Jin had, in order to get these expensive pillars. But when asked, he merely replied with his usual "Trade Secret~!". Not only that, Jin was still charging them the same price to enter the Panda Muscles instance and as a result, it made that particular service instance very popular again. Cultivators were all queuing up to try them, to the point that they saw the need to implement a rule limiting each cultivator to at most five minutes with the pillar. Within that time limit, the cultivators could test out all the various skills or weapons they wished to know. (If anyone was seen deliberately overstepping the time limit, Zeru was there to intervene with some ''heavenly punishment''.) Just as Jin had hoped, Mr Know-It-All had gone to the forums and revealed that the first part of the Escape City Dungeon Instance had been a giant Escape Room scenario. While he could not predict which escape room scenarios were being used after Bin Yong''s dungeon screening, (which was also the only time the Shop ever showed the first phase of the Escape City Dungeon Instance in full), he provided simple tips like how Luo Bo had done for her group. They were general but encompassed the concept of Escape Rooms, allowing many more cultivators to solve them. Anyone who managed to enter Phase 2 without resorting to the Brute Force way ended up earning a minor achievement in the Pandamonium App too. (Meanwhile, Jin started to consider if he should peg a few bonuses like panda medals, unlockable goodies for the Forums, like exclusive emotes or such to those achievements to make them more worthwhile.) The Shop Instance nevertheless continued to broadcast the Escape City Dungeon Instance in the auditoriums once the cultivators reached the second phase so the other customers could preview it and motivate them to reach that far. (But also learn from the mistakes of others.) To the collective cultivator''s knowledge, there were indeed multiple ways to try and pass Phase 2. Especially when there were various starting locations and the pyjamas girl would ask the groups of cultivators to meet her at different locations. That itself gave the dungeon multiple combinations to clear and it seemed that many cultivators preferred this somewhat open ended kind of dungeons over the previous instances where it was limited to just one particular place. However, others criticised that this way the story became too vague and broad unlike Qixi or the Bank Heist. But overall, there seemed to be a consensus, that the majority of the cultivators appreciated the significant increase in challenge and¡­medals. (Wait till Jin released Goblin Forest Instance v2.0 with the new evolved goblin classes!) Jin took all the feedback and criticisms as openly as he could. He was after all, just a dungeon supplier trying to make everyone happy even though he was aware that there were bound to be disagreements. Surprisingly, Yun consoled him by pointing out that there were too many other things he could be doing rather than focus on the complainers. "Do what you need to do, and leech as much money from them as you can. That is the main objective." Yun said with a smile and Jin laughed at her practicality. ¡ª¡ª- "System, how''s the progress of the portal device after incorporating Ayse''s knowledge of their lost technology?" Jin asked as that was one of the primary tasks given to the Elfish Researchers and Ayse to handle. He promised Ke Loong that the prototype portal device would be completed within a few days and he would keep to that agreement. "Based on their design, improvements have been made for the latest prototype. It no longer uses any lost tech components. In exchange, it had been fully replaced with raw and synthetic materials obtainable in this world. While still functional, this change has resulted in a few major flaws." The System stated and Jin nodded waiting for it to explain further. "One, the output portal does not strictly follow the input coordinates. There is a deviation of at least three to ten degrees. The substituted raw materials seem to lack some properties the original ones had. As a result, the traveller might be teleported up to 50 metres away from the supposed coordinates. " The System began explaining as Jin briefly looked at the schematics, hoping he could still understand if given his background as an engineering student. "Two, the current electrical input is too large for the concept to become portable. Barring those flaws, safety through portal travelling is not an issue. There were no instances of portal breakage as long as the specifications were met. Strict adherence to the design specifications are required to ensure the continued safety of the traveller." The System stated as an Elfish researcher took the initiative to demonstrate it within the Northern Diversion instance as that was one of the larger few instances Jin had made. (Of course, there were no orcs invading them, hehe) The researcher was trying to teleport from the town using the device made by the System to the said destination that was at the far end of the valley. Jin was glad when he noticed the portal device interface was straightforward too. It even used the Pandamonium Map App though Jin wondered if they could use any maps charted from his world like from the mini apps of MeChat. The System then stated that for security reasons, it had only integrated the function via the Pandamonium for now. Jin acknowledged the reasoning and later suggested that it would be good if they maintained it this way. Perhaps he''d have to talk to Ke Loong about using that app. But long term wise, it might pose a problem since Ke Loong''s engineers and researchers would probably wish to upgrade it in the future. "User does not need to worry. The cosmetic inscriptions do not just apply on clothes and rings, but also on any other medium. That is why System also feels the need to point out that the main reason for unlocking the cosmetic inscriptions was for User''s monsters to be able to disguise themselves as normal human beings. " The System stated and Jin was stunned for a moment. "Using it, Ayse and the Elfish researchers can learn more from this world''s engineers while the System will be able to complement their knowledge accordingly. That way, the humans would not need to touch the System''s apps since User''s researchers would do the job. Which is why, Ke Loong will have a version of the portal device to play around with, but the changes he wishes to implement will be done by Ayse''s team" The System commented at Jin''s dilemma on long term cooperation. "However, that specific cosmetic inscription technology must not be sold. It would be too dangerous in the wrong hands." The System remarked, which Jin completely agreed with, as he watched the elf researcher being teleported to the end and back again. There was nothing wrong with him, aside from having missed the mark by 3 meters on the first try, but everything was still intact. Jin guessed they should be able to improve it further with time, but it was ready to show off to Ke Loong to hold up his part of the bargain. With the collaboration between his researchers and Ke Loong''s engineers, he hoped that they could soon announce the very first portable portal device so that his cultivators can enter his shop wherever and whenever. (Of course, Ke Loong had more plans than just a portable portal device.) Chapter 400 Prototype Portal Device Ke Loong was as excited as a kid about to see his beloved superhero. Even though his driver could see that Ke Loong was sitting patiently at the back of his car, he was too distracted with the news of the new Prototype Portal Device Jin gave him less than an hour ago. He was initially scheduled to see a new, potential business client that boasted his new software to be revolutionary, claiming to be the next possible MeChat app. Of course, Ke Loong did not expect much upon seeing the draft proposal, but it was a favour he decided to do for the finance minister''s aide to see if there were any talented developers to keep the app industry competitive. However, one minute into the interview, Jin called and Ke Loong knew straight away that the prototype portal device was ready. He answered the call and Jin indeed met his expectations. "Come quick. I am busy later in the evening." If his secretary ever picked up such a phone call, she would have dismissed it immediately given her attitude and possibly stating that Jin had no manners at all. That was why Ke Loong insisted Jin to call him instead since he knew Jin had a no nonsense attitude. "Be right there." Ke Loong got up from his chair and answered promptly, which made the app developer very speechless. "Wait, I have not even star-" Ke Loong stopped him then sat down and scribbled something down on his notepad before tearing a page away to give the developer. "Go to this place. Observe, learn and triumph his app programming. If you are able to do that, then I permit you to knock on my door again." Ke Loong gave the developer Jin''s dungeon supplier address and packed his stuff. "But¡­is this not a dungeon supplier store?" The developer was stunned momentarily when he was given such a random address. He was expecting something more like an address to a software company. "Exactly." Ke Loong believed that If Jin did not boast his all rounded Pandamonium app as the potential business rival against MeChat, this developer had no rights to say so either. Thus, he went off and asked his secretary to clear the mess up in his office while he called his chief engineer to meet him at Jin''s place. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Upon postponing all the many tasks a man of his position was expected to fulfil. All he could do was to wait for his Pipi ChuXing* driver to reach Jin''s address and couldn''t care less about all that boring paperwork waiting for him. The anticipation for wanting to see the portal device at work had made him feel like time was passing way too slowly. True, there were portal scrolls out on the market created by high grade mages, which allowed anybody to go anywhere and anytime. However, their supply has always been limited and controlled very strictly to ensure maximum profit. Besides, the materials used were uncommon and only a handful of professional mages were trusted enough to be privy of such knowledge to craft them. Many western governments also cited the potential threat of using such portals for fear of terrorism and assassination attacks and justified the strict control over portal scrolls. Ke Loong''s country, on the other hand, did not care about those excuses, when it was an open secret that they just wanted to monopolise those scrolls. The ability to copy and subsequently innovate in order to be one step ahead of others was always the goal for every inventor and entrepreneur. As long as it was something revolutionary or had the potential to earn big money, the Chinese did not care about any consequences. Only results mattered. Ke Loong was pinning his hopes on Jin to succeed in his part of the bargain for there was a huge amount of political clout and money riding on this. If the western governments wished for their method to remain exclusive, the Eastern Governments would just have to create their very own version. Even before the speedy car could manage at a complete halt, Ke Loong was already too anxious to get out. If not for his Hovering Hawk cultivation, he would have fallen to the ground and suffered at least a few scraps to the knee and elbows. "BOSSSSSS I AM HEREEEEE!!!!" As quick as he could enter Jin''s shop, Ke Loong shouted loudly with his terrible disguise on again. (Some of the cultivators had begun to nickname him Mr Potato Head for the terrible fake moustache and a round black hat whenever he entered Jin''s shop.) "Ah, Mr Ke Loong. This way, please." Bear Cub One was the one welcoming him, but Ke Loong stopped Bear Cub One for just one moment. "I have a few more associates that will be arriving here soon, though I would love to check the portal device first! Please lead them to us when they arrive." Ke Loong said excitedly as he then hurried Bear Cub One to bring him to the assumed testing grounds. When he arrived, he noticed it was the very same stadium that Jin used to host Yang Ling''s gearbox prototype demonstration. He felt chills coming over him, remembering the Banned Emperor assassination attempt and was thankful that Jin was there to help not just him but everyone in that instance. Was it merely the only place for a demonstration or was this a power play by Jin to remind Ke Loong how they met. "Aww, this cunning fellow! I''m starting to like him more and more." Ke Loong thought to himself. Meanwhile, Jin was already there talking to a few of the Elfish researchers and Ayse, who now looked like a human with beautiful lush red hair and a sharp, slender face. All thanks to the cosmetic inscription that the System used on her. She could easily pass as a killer model and surely would be one of the most beautiful women Jin had ever encountered. Still, he could not help but feel that her beauty paled in comparison to Kiyu. It seemed to lack something, but he could not pinpoint it. Perhaps, the foxy minx really did have some innate abilities that made her so enchanting. The elves had turned to humans as well. They retained their near perfect features less their pointy ears. Even Ayse was shocked at first upon seeing them, since she never knew they could be that magnificent looking. "You know, according to the System, they could look like this on their own, if only they had been given proper nutrition while under your care?" Jin asked and Ayse laughed bitterly. She admitted that her former slaves had shown proved their competency in completing this particular project of Jin''s. She had indeed started to show some respect for them and even treating them on equal footing as her previous Orc comrades. (If her father would learn of this, he''d surely turned in his grave.) "BOSSSSSS I AM HEERREEEEEEE!" Ke Loong shouted again from afar the field and Jin could not help but sigh a little. "You are early." Jin replied back while he asked his ''employees'' to start booting up the machine to prepare the demonstration. "Wow. If your employees are half as competent as they are good looking, then I have no doubts about today''s success. Are you some kind of perfectionist?" Ke Loong asked as he nearly drooled at Ayse when she flipped her red hair. "In any case, I would love to see the portal device in action before my chief engineer and his team of goons arrive." Ke Loong revealed with much anticipation. "You sure, you do not want want to wait for your chief engineer and his goons to take a look at it before testing it out? Are you that confident that it will work?" Jin commented and Ke Loong laughed heartily. "I''m willing to bet a panda that either you or your staff have already tried it. Otherwise, there''s no way you would even dare to let me on here. I fully believe that your work ethics are on the moral high ground." Ke Loong praised Jin as he looked over the fairly large circular metal device with various pipes and ports connecting to it. If anything, it looked more steampunk than futuristic modern. "Thank you for your trust. So, we have prepared to showcase two variants. One is a portal device without an active exit gate. You input the coordinates, and it will teleport you there. The other is a portal device that is linked to another portal device, acting as an exit gate, which is a safer, but a costlier option. I assume you wished to try out the latter." Jin looked at Ke Loong who ironically asked to try out the former instead. "Let''s keep the best for last. Surprise me with the first." Ke Loong replied, and Jin informed the Sea Mesh CEO about all the flaws of the portal device by repeating what the System had told him. Ke Loong still insisted on trying the portal device without an exit gate. Jin shrugged his shoulders a little before telling one of the elfish researchers to teleport him to the far end of the stadium where the goal post was while Ke Loong stood ready at the device platform. "Any last words?" Jin smirked as he asked, which made Ke Loong turn his head suddenly towards him. However, it was too late to say anything since Jin had already activated the portal device. A blue light shone onto Ke Loong with him screaming his lungs out as he experienced an oddly weird feeling while being transmitted like bits of data and within a second, he disappeared, teleporting right beside the goal post. Ke Loong took a bit of time to calm down when he noticed the change in the environment. (He touched himself all over and checked whether all his body parts still remained intact.) "It¡­worked¡­IT WORKED!!!!" Ke Loong yelled in celebration mode. " IT FUCKING WORKS HAHAHAHAHAHA" Ke Loong began to run back towards Jin to congratulate him for this successful trial test. Coincidentally that was also when his team of engineers came in. Looking at their superior behaving like a complete fool, they stood there with a perplexed look on their faces, before they got noticed. "Hey Bo Ze!!!! IT WORKS!! This dungeon supplier and his researchers beat you to it! Suck it!!! You owe me an exclusive dinner with your cousin at Shangri La! WOOHOOOOO!!!!" Ke Loong still in some kind of ''happy shock'', could not believe it as he shouted at his chief engineer Bo Ze. "I wait -what??" Bo Ze was still so confused by the entire scene which Ke Loong dragged him to the portal and asked Jin to fire it up once more. However, unlike Ke Loong, Bo Ze was having a head full of reservations with this portal device, especially when there were no known credentials for the dungeon supplier nor the researchers in this field. They were total nobodies to him. "No! Ke Loong! Don''t UWAHHHHH~!" Jin did not care and accommodated his business partner''s request. This time, Ke Loong and Bo Ze were teleported together to a couple of meters behind the goal post, and the CEO kept laughing like a mad man. The first one could have been a fluke, but this proved that the concept worked. "SEE! Bo Ze! He''s done it! He really did it! You tasted it first hand!" Ke Loong felt so happy that Jin''s prototype portal invention surpassed all their expectations. To him, it was already a success being able to teleport one human at such a distance, as long as it worked all the time, but Jin had one upped himself once more since his prototype was already able to teleport at least two people. He couldn''t wait to try out the other version if this was supposed to be the inferior one. With his CEO continuing to behave totally out of the norm, Bo Ze tried to rationalise what just happened. Even after experiencing it for himself, he couldn''t believe it. "A mechanical device that managed to simulate the wonders of magic?" Bo Ze mumbled to himself. "Magic is just a type of technology we haven''t figure out yet. Everything can be explained with reason. (The Western Mages would surely kill him for such blasphemy) Nothing is impossible!" Ke Loong boasted as he subsequently introduced Jin to his chief engineer. "I''ve looked through your credentials, and I hope you can forgive my doubting you. I''ve believed you were just another run off the mill engineer, who somehow bamboozled Ke Loong." Bo Ze apologised genuinely and Jin chuckled bitterly. "It''s alright. You aren''t exactly wrong, I myself am just a run off the mill engineer. The credits due should be given to my employees who shared the same vision as me when I started to become a dungeon supplier to make people''s life better." "Ayse''s the name." The red haired brunette took the initiative to step into the conversation and introduce herself but Bo Ze was struck mindless by her beauty. "Erm, I uh *cough* Nice to meet you, I am Bo Ze, Sea Mesh Chief Engineer." Bo Ze subsequently introduced the rest of his team to Ayse before she did the same for her Elfish researchers. They began to start talking about the concept and theories behind it and used terms which both Ke Loong and Jin could barely catch up with. Granted Jin actually knew most of them, but their application talk on quantum physics just gave him the usual headache and made him realise this was one of the partial reasons why he''d rather become the number one dungeon supplier than the world''s best engineer. Eventually, Ayse demonstrated the variant with the exit gate and explained how two portal devices make the travel safer and more accurate. (An idea by Ayse when she asked the System whether having two portal devices would improve the accuracy of the teleportation. Jin blamed himself for not thinking about it himself, especially since he''d watched a series with such a concept when he was younger.) "Now since the techies are talking their own stuff, let''s talk business, Jin." Ke Loong said which Jin subsequently offered to talk over a nice warm meal which Ke Loong promptly agreed with. No negotiations could have gone better with Lynn''s delicious food by the table. Jin brought his guest to the exclusive premium part of the Restaurant Train of Delicacy instance and Ke Loong adored the authentic Japanese looking interior design. "I love it, it feels tranquil, the music''s at the perfect volume and the scent aroma makes one feel relaxed. I''m really considering bringing my clients to your shop''s restaurant instance for future negotiations. I''ve tasted the food, and to be frank, your chef could fight with those overly arrogant five star restaurants and besides, which businessman doesn''t want some secret eating place of their own?" Ke Loong rambled while Jin had ordered the food for both of them and the penguins began making the tea at the side. (A simple tea ceremony as a part of the gesture by Jin since Ke Loong could be considered a VVIP guest.) Even the way those penguins served the Japanese Tea made Ke Loong intrigued. "Anyways, where are we? Oh yeah. You held up your side of the bargain, and now it''s my turn. When do you want the devices to be up for sale?" Ke Loong asked as he thanked the penguin NPC for serving him while he took in the scent of the freshly brewed green tea. "To be honest, I would prefer your engineers to take a look at it and collaborate with my employees for a while longer. Ideally, I''d want it to be portable before we started selling them." Jin answered, stating his desires. "Oh my friend, you really are a perfectionist. There''s no need to be humble. What you''ve just shown us on its own is revolutionary. Besides, the world isn''t ready for portable reusable portal devices. Too many possible scenarios of countries threatening us would arise." Ke Loong took a sip of the green tea and felt refreshed almost instantly. "Just imagine us having a battalion of such special forces, able to teleport anytime, anywhere, ready to strike. It would no doubt be terrifying, and those Western countries wouldn''t like to entertain such ideas. In fact, this kind of technology, if you manage to accomplish it, would better be kept a secret." Ke Loong, who was more experienced in business and politics, told Jin about this. "Anyway, let''s focus on the main issue, instead of that! Can you even imagine how much money we''ll be able to earn?! If your two portal devices method truly works regardless of size, getting charged extra for cargo will be a problem of the past! Granted it will cause a lot of people to be out of jobs, but that''s the sad reality with the progress of technology. Still, it would save a shit lot on transportation. Heck, we can probably market it as truly environmentally friendly, if you consider lesser plane trips for cargos. And here I am just talking about shipping and transportation of goods. What about travel? That would be another avenue we can improve on. Well, of course, we are going to keep this all to ourselves and make our country an even more modern society!" Ke Loong rambled with the possibilities. "I shall leave that part in your capable hands. All I really want is my future customers to have an easier time teleporting to my shop instance. In fact, it would be ideal if my Dungeon Supplier Store will have the exclusive rights to get customers this way." Jin knew the implications of having the portal technology being spread region wide and hopefully country wide¡­ If he dared to dream bigger, worldwide. "I know, I know. You can leave that to me. I''ve figured you would be more worried about your shop. That is why my planning team had been tasked to distinguish a few majorly popular spots to put your portal device throughout the country. Places like Beijing, Shanghai, Macau and even Hong Kong! If we place it in a good spot and advertise it well, your shop instance will be more than a hit in no time. It won''t be long that this small store in the corner of Shenzhen will just be a fleeting memory!" Ke Loong replied. "Look, my friend. If you let me expand to these fields, I let you in with the share of profit too. That way you have more money to create whatever dungeons you want and maybe become an affluent figure in no time! Not to mention, you have the backing of the Royal Zodiac Tiger. There is no way this plan can fail if we time it nicely and execute it flawlessly." "Pei, are there any signs that I am bewitched or enthralled by any spells? Because I feel that his sales pitch is just too perfect." Jin sent his thoughts to Pei. "Not that I''m aware of. No magic nor chi powers are being emitted. He is being rather honest with you despite the wonderful sales pitch¡­or that is how I feel. He really wants you to succeed, and by doing all that was mentioned, he is willing to do most of the heavy lifting while you''ll be reaping most the rewards." Pei replied as she based her opinion on the many bargaining talks she''d accompanied Another Jin to protected him from any psychic magic. "I guess he believed that you and your monsters worked your asses off to make the portal device happen. Plus, you were recommended by Mr Know-it-all. That is why he was willing to take such steps with you." Pei added for Jin to consider. "I see. Because it really seems to be the most perfect sales pitch I''ve ever heard. It felt too good to be true¡­ Damn it, if I only Qiu Yue was around, right now." Jin presented some small talk as the food came, and they started to dig in. Ke Loong was keeping quiet, giving Jin some time for his proposition to sink in. If he pushed too much, he worried it could have an adverse effect. "Actually, I am overhearing the conversation together with Lynn." Qiu Yue suddenly talked to Jin via his thoughts. At that moment, he was glad that the System was with him. "The System wanted me to be around to calm you down because it knows that you aren''t fit for negotiations as long as they aren''t pure bargaining, but I''d feel too awkward to join you midway. " Qiu Yue replied as she was browsing at Lynn''s office. "But don''t you worry, we are in Lynn''s office and hearing the entire conversation, we even have video footage. If there''s anything worrisome, I''ll warn you. Damn Lynn, you mind making one extra set of that curry rice Jin''s having?" Qiu Yue said as she sat at the office watching the whole scene as Lynn told her penguins to prepare two sets. "In my opinion, this is possibly one of those life changing opportunities knocking at your door. His proposal is rather valid and I can see money rolling in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of yuan. It will be able to boost our financial account by craploads. Besides, the contract with him is still valid. It''s a good thing you let Xiong Da change some of the statements, or else he would have done all these possible expansions without your acknowledgement." Qiu Yue examined from afar. It was a pity she could not be in the conversation with him, but this was purely a Boss to another Boss kind of decision. She could only give her comments to Jin as any interference would show weakness in negotiations to the other party. "Trust what your heart wants. Don''t doubt the future. No matter the consequences, we will be behind you, Boss." Lynn gave her own opinion with conviction and Jin took his colleagues'' word seriously. "No input from you, System?" Jin laughed at Ke Loong''s small talk while he asked for the last opinion. "System has determined that User should have own his stand and decision long ready." System stated, and Jin smiled as he looked at Ke Loong. He placed his utensils down and raised his hand towards the Sea Mesh CEO. "Don''t worry, we will take this a step at a time and have some compromise if need be. But one thing is for sure. You will not regret this one bit. " Ke Loong grinned as he returned the handshake. From that day onwards, Jin''s reputation would no longer be isolated within Tiangong District. Chapter 401 Topping the Priority Lis After the informal dealings in the Restaurant Train Instance, Ayse reported back to Jin in the Dungeon Maker, informing him about the improvement ideas from Sea Mesh''s team of engineers, especially their Chief, Bo Ze. They were thoroughly impressed with the novel concept and asked permission to come over in the following days to analyse and study the prototypes further. "He was quite an easy person to charm. I hadn''t expected these cosmetic inscriptions to have such hidden perks, though it will take a bit more time to get used to them, especially this form." Ayse said as she tried it out on Jin but to no avail. (Pei was making sure of that although the System iterated to Jin that no such ''perks'' were added into the inscriptions). "Great job. Their demands shouldn''t be too much of a problem. I did emphasise that the development of the portal device would be facilitated within our premises since we have all the equipment and know-how. While they can work out there, I am going to build up a lab instance, but until it''s complete, you''ll be temporarily housed in the Sanctum of Worlds Instance. That way, you can also get the other monsters to assist you in the experiment more easily." Jin told them, which made the elfish researchers and Ayse perked up. "You mean I won''t have to sleep on that cramped little makeshift bed in your Dungeon Maker anymore?! Good Heavens!" Ayse exclaimed in delight, whereas the elfish researchers had their jaws wide open. They couldn''t believe what Ayse had just said, considering she had a king sized bed all to herself in the Dungeon Maker. How much more luxurious would she want her bed to be? "You guys will be moved to the real deal after the Dungeon City Fortress is up and running properly. Though I understand that shifting of equipment, research data into a new place might be a pain in the ass. Until then I hope you can tolerate staying holed up in a sort of makeshift Home Lab." Jin replied. "Meh, if the Home Lab is good enough, we can use it as a primary site and a secondary lab in the Dungeon City Fortress. Sometimes, splitting the researchers might potentially increase our efficiency. Also, if I remember correctly, the Home Lab can be improved further right?" Ayse questioned and Jin nodded his head. "How long do you think the creation of the Dungeon city fortress will take?" One of the elves asked. "To be honest¡­ I don''t really know. Especially since I intend to lay out the foundations of the city first according to the city plans Qiu Yue made and reinforce our defences as soon as possible. The deadline for the Dungeon Core powered shield will be down on the 7th of January. So we have a bit over a month." Jin replied with an occupied thought on his face. "We will have to see how fast the Goblins and Orcs can set things up. Though I doubt Moloch''s ex-King, Baal, will have his full army ready to march on us by that day, a certain basic defence perimeter should be up and ready to deter other sorts of mishaps like¡­I don''t know, Adventurers raiding? Pillaging from nearby monsters?" Jin said casually, only for Moloch to appear right beside him, responding to the call of the System. "Master, you shouldn''t focus on just random adventurers and monsters attacking you. Your priority should be on other towns and cities, who might take the chance to eat up your resources and take it for their own use since your Dungeon Core will have fully evolved into a City Core by the end of the deadline. Most new Dungeon City Fortresses don''t stand a chance against armies from veteran cities. Worst case scenario? Your city core could be taken and used as an enhancement material for other existing city cores. As a result, your city would cease to exist." Moloch stated matter of factly, with Jin stared back at him with a blank face. "¡­So when were you planning on revealing this little caveat? Better yet, why didn''t you tell me all of this at the start? Or at any point until now?" Jin asked with his gaze piercing through Moloch, causing him to stutter a bit. "Errrrrrrr¡­you seemed rather busy¡­?" Moloch tried to come up with a good excuse, which only served to make Ayse laugh out so hard she nearly got a stomach ache. The elves (wisely) decided not to get involved as they slowly crept to one side of the room. (Out of view, but not out of hearing range.) "Okay, erm that is rather valid. But still¡­you know. This kind of information is ¡­How shall I put it nicely? Vital? Crucial?" Jin answered with a heavy bit of sarcasm. Moloch, seemingly not in as much trouble as he''d feared, shrugged his man puppet''s shoulders. "I figured you would come up with a solution on your own. When I saw how you and the others handled the goblin war, it was¡­ Marvellous. Even Lord Wolte secretly praised your spectacular performance in handling the intervention. If you hadn''t shown me that my Master could produce this kind of results, I would have honestly worried for you. I''d rather not you becoming another one of those cursed people who break their promises." Moloch commented as he took a card out to fiddle with. The card picture changes whenever Moloch flipped the card with just one hand. "But then again, even if you lost this plot of land, I reckon you could always create more instances to accommodate us. So I did not worry too much at all." Moloch replied and Jin did not know whether to reprimand him or thank him for his praises. "Nevermind, I will figure something out as soon as possible. In the future I hereby ORDER you tell me those vital things beforehand." Jin realised that the situation was more crucial than he thought it would be. Perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise that the System made it part of the mission objectives. Jin initially planned to concentrate on the new Christmas themed instance for December after he was done with the Portal Device, but it looked like the plans for the Dungeon City Defence had jumped up in his priority list. "I have to contact Qiu Yue on this and maybe negotiate for the goblin army as part of the primary workers and later the defences for the Dungeon City before I use them in the Farming World. The Demon Rats will have to wait¡­." Jin said out loud and the other monsters around could only nod their heads in reply since they were not involved in this decision making. Realising that sudden awkward situation Jin placed them into, he quickly dismissed them except for Moloch and requested him to follow Jin to find Gold, the Werejackal Leader so he could explain the overall situation. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Ah, Master! yOU AreE HereEE TODay! Annnd yoU BrouGHt a FRiend! ComE, COme, jOIn me for a DRiiinnnkkk~!!!" Yellow greeted Jin in an oddly drunk state. Gold and Grey immediately rushed over and apologised for the rudeness of Yellow. "We''re testing out the traditional rice sake procedure that Lynn asked us about and he had volunteered to be our guinea pig as soon as he''d heard about it." Gold defended his subordinates which Jin did not mind. He was more surprised about Lynn''s secrecy since this was the first time he had heard about it. The atmosphere among the werejackals once more had turned for the worse as Jin''s face immediately revealed his underlying meaning. Though Lynn did not exactly insist on them keeping it a secret, it was clear to all that Jin''s unexpected visit had ruined what was supposed to be a surprise. "Gold, you free to discuss a few things?" Jin asked, trying to move past this incident for he trusted Lynn to update him when the time is right. Gold quickly left Yellow in Grey''s care as they proceeded into his private office in the mansion. To Jin''s astonishment, the office was immaculate, and to the point, he sensed some obsessive compressive behaviour at work. The books and cupboards were all well categorised. There were no messes of paper lying on the desk, and parcels were tidied to one corner of the room. Compared to the other parts of the mansion, which were staffed by the rotating werejackals for cleaning, this room felt too sterile for Jin''s liking. "Please Master, have a seat and Lord Moloch too." Gold said, but the two guests looked at each other as if they were a little too worried to sit on Gold''s pristine clean chairs. "As I was saying Gold, I need to talk to you on a certain issue." Jin took a small leap of faith to sit on that oddly cleaned chair then continued to ramble on the situation he was currently facing which Gold eventually understood the overall picture. "I see¡­ while it is indeed regrettable that you are unable to help at this point of time, I understood the situation in your hands. If I were you, I would not even have bothered to answer my ¡­ermmmm minions. Therefore, thank you for breaking the news to me personally." Gold said with a tinge of sadness lingering in his eyes. Jin felt it was a little unfair to the werejackals. He had gone ahead to conduct a town hall meeting and even agreed to embark on a journey with the goal of getting a goblin army to help their world. But right now, he wasn''t able to keep his promise for Gold. Jin honestly felt terrible about it so he decided to compromise, by continuing at a smaller scale. "Please don''t misunderstand me. I am not saying that we are going to leave those Demon Rats unchecked. For now, how about we start by sending a small scouting team to check on them? I prefer getting a better picture of the situation in the Farming World before I take any concrete action." Jin folded his legs and leaned his body to the side of the armchair. "Master, I appreciate that, but you really do not have to do that." Gold answered. He then awfully bad since it became obvious to Gold that Jin became obligated because he was guilt tripped into it, and refused him adamantly. Nevertheless, Jin had made up his mind and continued to ramble on. "As far as we know, the Demon Rats had established widely unlike the Orcs who were starting to invade the goblins, and they had been oppressive according to your information. If possible, I want to know if any resistance groups are against them or better, a rebel haven where we could assist them in the shadows before we officially enter the scene. I want to avoid getting dragged into the midst of something like a coup d''¨¦tat as soon as I arrive there." Jin suggested as he remembered the day he accidentally entered into a Kingslayer''s Ambush while his insistence immediately put a bitter smile on Gold''s face knowing that his Master still cared to keep his promises. "Pick your best sniffer or stalker for this mission. Ideally, it should be someone who knows the region pretty well, not necessarily your vice leaders since they are needed to keep law and order among your other werejackals. I will task Moloch to send one of his own battle maids as well as Flame Ripper. I bet he''s itching to go on another mission." Jin ordered and immediately turned to Moloch who had already opted to send his best, Sebastia, for this mission as a gesture from the Minotaurs. "If that is the case, I will go. I should fit all of your criteria. Besides, I would like to check on somebody while we are there." Meomi who had secretly been hiding behind the shadows of the cupboard, spoke out which startled both Jin and Moloch though not Gold. "From your expressions, I guess you agree that she is a fitting candidate for the scouting team!" Gold unexpectedly laughed out loud as he turned to Meomi "If Boss Jin allows it, you have my blessing. Please go ahead. Also, I hope you find your people are still well." Gold said in a solemn way, and the werecat walked out from the main room as if she owned the office. "Then that settles it! A three man team, your job is to scout the area, gather information, see if there are any potential allies out there, like a resistance force and most importantly report back on a biweekly basis." Jin said while he clapped his hands once as issues were being resolved. "If there is a need to save someone, try to rescue as many as you safely can, even if it''s a whole village. If the opportunity presents itself, feel free to do some sabotage, I leave it to your discretion Gold. I appoint you as the team commander for this particular mission." Jin said which made Gold slightly appalled. "No, Master, I am not very good at it. I think other monsters like Grey might be a better fit. I am just a leader because of my previous title." Gold felt this responsibility was befitting of his combat vice leaders. "All the more you should learn, should you not Scholar? If you need their help, just ask them, I see no harm in that. Not to mention, you are well versed in the matters of the Farming World, more so than any of us there. I will also allow the System to teleport you guys wherever and whenever you need to. Utilise its portal capabilities to the fullest." Jin retorted Gold''s argument. "Lastly, I want absolute surprise when we attack them, DO NOT make them aware of our presence. Disguise, fake it out, blend in. I do not care what methods you use. Never let them know we are coming to strike them with an army. Spread your purpose only to the people you trust." Jin instructed, and Gold proudly accepted the mission. "If I might add, we should designate an area for the teleportation. A secure room with a fake environment if that is possible. It would be a disaster if some of those rats if they are sneaky as Gold claims them to be, manages to slip into our portals." Moloch suggested which the System concurred instantly. "Demon Lord Moloch''s advice appears to be the best course of action. A countermeasure room will be set up, to catch any rats. It may be in User''s interest to take some prisoners to study them. Experiments on them would be performed mercilessly given the nature of their species." System spoke through Jin''s phone and Gold''s eyes turned menacing. "System, you better keep your word. They don''t deserve any mercy. Their kind wiped out countless towns and villages because of their greed. I expect nothing but the best information about them so we can not just track every single one of them but kill them all." Gold uttered in a deadly tone. "System will comply with the Scholar of the East, Werejackal Gold''s request to the fullest." The System replied as Jin thanked Gold for his assistance. After a short inspection of the fields and the progress of the Living Armor Plants, he messaged Qiu Yue to learn her whereabouts. After an hour, the System finally informed him that she was busy in the Goblin World, interviewing the goblin professionals for the Dungeon City Fortress. (At the very least Jin had spent the time surveying the progression of the captured orc army too.) "Guess I should drop by, to view the selection of candidates since I need to speak with her in order to proceed with the foundation building." Jin thought to himself as he looked at his watch to take note of the timing. Somehow, he felt that time became more and more of a luxurious commodity he had to spend wisely in the coming days. Chapter 402 Too Conventional "Next, please." Qiu Yue yawned in between the interviews of the professional goblins. It was not going as smoothly as she''d expected. "Maybe I have too many expectations on them¡­" Qiu Yue thought to herself when another goblin craftsman came to showcase his work. "Milady, we feel that your selection is a little too strict. We barely managed to find anyone to your liking." The Goblin Finance Advisor whispered to her. He, together with the other two goblin advisors sat on the panel of judges (though their votes were not as important as Qiu Yue''s). So far, the number of approved goblins could be counted on one hand. "But I feel it''s not like I am asking for anything impossible. The only requirement was to produce a list of their work experiences. Anyone in their line of business should have at least some sort of notable achievements. Present some sample of what they created or have a letter of recommendation." Qiu Yue remarked casually. It was not her that was cruel, but her Sub System that had been secretly rating each of the goblin professionals and most ended up on the lower side of the scale. At the same time, it also filtered out anybody who lied about their resume or achievements. Qiu Yue didn''t know how it was able to do that. Her best theory was that the Sub System had been cross referencing some raw data it had received from the various goblin advisors about a few days back when they were touring around the various bureaus. Suddenly, a portal appeared during one of the interview intervals and out came none other than Jin himself. Qiu Yue immediately understood it had to be something urgent enough to warrant an extended break between the numerous interviews. The advisors agreed upon seeing Jin, who still held the title of Special Royal Advisor, and decided to break for half an hour. "I''m sorry to disappoint. In the end, there were only a few that stood out, and even they weren''t as fantastic as I hoped. A magical clay¡­craftsman, a stone mason- Oh, we surprisingly found a weaponsmith and her cousin, a runesmith." Qiu Yue noted. "However, that was the one who stood out among the most. If I am not mistaken, the goblin runesmiths are something similar to our inscribers. Instead of paper charms that would merge with our weapons or bodies, they place their magic into rocks and metals and imbue these runes into the weapon or use those stones directly." Qiu Yue explained while drinking the bitter tea the Goblins provided. "If I had known that she was one of the few exceptional ones, I''d have asked her for more details. We had limited the interviews to a maximum of 5 minutes per goblin, but I will definitely get back to her soon¡­ After I finish looking through this next batch of goblins." Qiu Yue commented which Jin acknowledged. He loved her hardworking nature and appreciated that she was doing her best. After her report, Jin told her about the purpose of him rushing here and the dire circumstances that were revealed by Moloch. "I see, in that case, we will have to hurry with our plans. Have you already made a decision which of those layouts you''d like to choose to implement the city foundations? We can work out some more, each with their own pros and cons." Qiu Yue asked as she took out her phone, ready to show Jin the various city templates they have added. "The first one we''ve shown you is the most balanced, but if you have any special preference, like focusing on industry or agriculture, we have some prepared. All of the city layouts use up the same amount of allocated land, so that won''t be a problem." Before Qiu Yue could pass her phone to Jin, he suddenly refused and asked the System a very simple question right in front of her. "System, since you are partially the owner of the Dungeon City Fortress, is there any limit how high we are able to build the city up or how low we are allowed to go?" Jin asked. Qiu Yue noticed that Jin had a certain glint in his eyes, which could only mean he had come up with another one of his weird crazy ideas. "Please wait¡­" The System remained silent for about ten seconds before it replied to Jin once again. "There are no height restrictions if User wishes to build skyscrapers, there won''t be any problems. The same holds true if User wishes to dig deep." The System replied. "It will be impossible to reach anything like the core of the planet, but there is nothing preventing User to go as low as technologically possible. Nevertheless, certain restrictions still apply. Most notably, the allotted acres of land by the Dungeon Core cannot be extended. If User has planned to build an underground Kingdom, he won''t be able to stretch it out beyond his own confines of the allocated land." The System replied. "Thank you, but that was not what I had in mind. Again, are you completely, 100% sure that as long as we remain within our borders, there is no sort of depth restrictions?" Jin asked for an affirmation, and the System replied affirmatively. Jin quickly turned around at Qiu Yue as his face turned wide in glee. "That¡­is a rather terrifying expression. You briefly looked like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland." Qiu Yue''s shoulders stiffened and Jin''s grin got longer and wider as if to prove her point. "Alright, Mr Cat, colour me curious. What exactly do you have in mind?" Qiu Yue asked as she offered him a seat at the table. "Nah, I think it''s best to return to the Dungeon Maker for this. It should be easier if I illustrate it to you." Jin sniggered as the System created a portal for them. Upon reaching the Dungeon Maker, he used a pen provided by the System. (Though he called it Creator Pen or sometimes the Doraemon Pen since it reminded him of the blue cat robot that brought changes and wonders to his human friend''s world.) A virtual whiteboard console came out, and he began to draw out what he had envisioned for his new city. All along the System, Qiu Yue and even Moloch had only ever planned about what kind of city they should build to achieve the highest productivity, highest efficiency while ensuring that they would be able to defend themselves from external threats. Jin had been wrecking his brains every now and again to think how best to overcome this bland idea. That was why he created the Escape City Dungeon Instance to have a feel how City Building felt. Because it was a dungeon instance, the System was giving Jin all the tips and reminders on creating the city instance. But the more he build the Escape City Dungeon Instance, the more unsatisfied he felt. There was something missing and the novelty of a modern city was boring to him. He saw how mature cities like London tried to incorperate futuristic modern buildings in their old and traditional landscape. It felt foreign, surreal,but somewhat dull too. However, as Jin enjoyed a break after the release of the Escape City Dungeon Instance, a small idea had been grown out of his mind. He was happy that he could use New York as a template for his Dungeon City, even though this somewhat limited his imagination. However, why shouldn''t he create something as fun as the dungeon instance for the Dungeon City Fortress? Who exactly stated that they had to follow a certain standard for their city? Wasn''t the Dungeon World full of unexplainable magic, monsters and mysterious beings living in it? Wouldn''t a city defying all norms add to that charm? "It''s like we were being too constrained by the fact that we want to follow the best examples from this world. But you''ve seen how the goblins still can go on with their lives in their unique slow medieval world setting. Yet without their expertise and our help, we wouldn''t have created something as unimaginable like the Sandroku golems." Jin started his pitch as he continued to draw the city layout for Qiu Yue to see. "We have a freaking Fiery Demonic Queen Sage, a Legendary Battle Saint, the Strongest Swordsman in our century, an Original Bellator with the powers of nine¡­,well currently eight other former bellators under his command and the most versatile family heirloom backing me up. Let''s not forget a Red Panda Cutie and a Sweet Penguin Ninja Queen Chef. So why are we limiting ourselves by being so conventional in our thinking?" Jin asked rhetorically as Qiu Yue finally saw the outline of the city Jin was painting. "You must be kidding me." Qiu Yue placed her hands on her head as she pulled her hair backwards in disbelief. Now she understood why Jin would need the Dungeon Maker to lay the concept out for her. This thing before her would be impossible by any modern standards. "I think I might fall in love with you again. You never cease to amaze me." Qiu Yue blurted out loud and Jin laughed. (Although the System took Qiu Yue''s statement very seriously) Qiu Yue went closer as she observed Jin''s drawings on the three dimensional whiteboard. The layout slowly came to life with the Creator Pen with each stroke from Jin. To her surprise, the Empire Building Sub System was already analysing and imposing its results and marked the most ideal locations for various buildings, colour coded by industry on the layout itself. At the very end of the rough draft, both the System and Empire Building Sub System concluded that it was indeed feasible to create this magical city Jin made. Qiu Yue took some time to have a good look before exhaling a deep breath out. The threshold between Insanity and Genius only differed by a hair''s length. "The city will be broken up into many various floating platforms, each platform will be split into modules of their own according to their designated purposes." Jin began to explain his concept. "That way, we can concentrate on each module separately while splitting up the city platforms based on how much percentage we wish to allocate them for their purpose," Jin added and Qiu Yue became very excited. "But our previous city models were based on trade, commercial businesses, agriculture, scientific research and military. There was no focus on residential areas, so we were planning to incorporate housing in every sector like shophouses or underground flats. With your new model, there seems to be nothing left for residential housing." Qiu Yue felt the need to point it out, though she suspected the bottom part of the layout was the answer. And she was correct, as Jin pointed a laser from the Creator Pen at the bottom of the drafted plan. "That is where we will build our Underwater Sea City Rapt¡­ Pand-Atlantis. Its main purpose is going to be for residential use. Without any depth limit, we will be able to accommodate a quasi unlimited number of people. It should also prove to be much better than living underground. With an underwater sea city, we can also utilise inscriptions or perhaps¡­runes? To make people able to breathe underwater. That way they wouldn''t even feel too claustrophobic as well. " Jin replied as he expanded the 3D layout. "Besides, I think we all prefer fishes swimming around out apartments than insects crawling in it right?" Jin giggled as he imagined a large whale hovering above the sea apartments. "So basically you have a floating sky city for work purposes and a residential underwater sea city for this concept?" Qiu Yue tried to confirm Jin''s ambition for the Dungeon City Fortress. "Yeap! The floating city platforms can be equipped with cannons and fortress like defences even though we said we did not need them initially. This way, we already drive our enemies to divide their forces. Not only will they have to handle the sky city platform, but they also have to watch out from our retribution from below. " Jin pointed at the entrances and showed how they could disrupt an incoming invasion almost immediately. And that also means the invading army requires not only sky force but an equally good underwater sea fleet to be able to attack our cities. The nature of our cities alone should hopefully discourage most enemies from trying to assault us directly." Jin explained proudly and Qiu Yue was unable to find any fault with this plan. "And see here, all those statue models at the entrances of the ''dungeon''? When you told me about your magical clay craftsman, it reminded me of THAT Qing Emperor''s tomb where he had those battalions of clay soldiers as part of his grave. What if we were to replicate that idea? But on a much larger MAGICAL scale." Jin started to smirk in evil delight and Qiu Yue understood where he was coming from. "So thousands of replaceable magical clay soldiers that could be activated in a moments notice when the invading army will mistakenly assume it''s just part of the dungeon''s interior d¨¦cor? Oh! Oh! That is interesting!! Hey! How about¡­say we put a gigantic clay Chinese dragon here trying to take off and surround itself around the floating cities too? You know, the big crazy ass one from Dragoonball Y." Qiu Yue suggested. "That is fantastic¡­and let''s make it look like it is trying to fight with¡­hehehe Pandajilla near the seashores!" Jin added and Qiu Yue was tingling with excitement at the kind of ideas they could think for their defences. "I am not waiting, I am going back there and employ as many magical clay craftsmen, masons etc¡­ I will also get the goblin army as soon as possible from the King too." Qiu Yue said as she asked the System to create a portal to return to the Goblin World. "But what about loyalty issues and such?" Jin brought up a valid question which Qiu Yue winked at him. "Don''t worry about that. Look forward to a bunch of eager goblin workers." Qiu Yue''s show of confidence relieved Jin as he now entered the guest instance of the Sanctum of Worlds where he had been keeping the Orcs. It was time for the Orcs to earn their pay and place. Chapter 403 Goblin Craftsmen It was a long and tiring day for Qiu Yue after the brief meeting with Jin. Previously, it had been a drag for her to choose the candidates but with a clearer picture and that ludicrous city concept from Jin, she felt that she needed to do more to meet her new boss''s expectations. To the candidates, it was an equally exhausting process as those who Qiu Yue had approved from the first round of interviews were asked to stay back while the others rejected left. Still, they weren''t going back empty handed. Qiu Yue heard from the advisors that there were many who travelled far and wide just for this particular five minute interview with her. Hence, she promised that their efforts were not wasted as there was a compensation of varying degrees ranging from 1 silver coin to 5 gold coins depending on how the interviewee performed during Qiu Yue''s bombardment of questions. There had been some who had just been trying their luck with their mundane job skill set. Those, together with those had been lying, were given a single silver coin. The ones who took the time to travel and genuinely wanted to succeed for the interview even though they did not make the cut were compensated accordingly. (Granted, Qiu Yue could''ve been even more lenient on the criteria, but she already closed an eye for a few goblin candidates and her budget set by the Empire Building Sub System was limited.) Once the interviews were officially over, the accepted candidates from the first rounds of selection were gathered in front of Qiu Yue in the Throne Hall. There was sufficient space for the entire group to enter quickly and instantly became mesmerised with the grand hall of their beloved King. King Sol was also present and personally thanked them for volunteering and passing the strict requirement of the Humanoid Qiu Yue. He gave them an encouraging speech before Qiu Yue took charge of the subsequent session. "Each one of you is worthy to be considered a great craftsman in your line of work. But, I do not wish for you to become complacent yet. Being accepted by me and the panel of goblin advisors was just part of the entire process. We will have each of you be tested in your area of expertise to get a clearer picture of your capabilities." Qiu Yue explained and there were murmurs going around in the crowd of goblins. Most of them had never been through such a rigorous process of selection, and some might already have some doubts about this being a scam if not for the King backing Qiu Yue. "As for now, please enjoy yourselves. You will be served with food by the King''s finest chef as well as providing you with a place to stay for the night in the Royal Castle. However, I must warn you that it might be a little cramped with so many of you. Rest properly and maybe ease up on the alcohol for tonight. Tomorrow there will be a test at a different location and we want you in your best conditions." Qiu Yue explained as she put down a stack of papers on the table beside her. "Should you decide to stay for the test after the feast, you will need to fill up this particular form and ink it with your own blood. This will serve as oath which will ensure that whatever you see and experience in tomorrow''s test remains a secret." Qiu Yue''s tone became serious. "If you ever breached the contract, you will be struck down by lightning. Trust me, you do not wish to test them. Therefore I advise against revealing any information to parties not involved in this. Should you fail tomorrow''s upcoming test, you will be compensated 10 gold coins as an appreciation for your participation." Qiu Yue told the goblin crowd as she enjoyed watching them show a plethora of emotions on their faces. She waited for a while to let that information settle and let them mutter to themselves. "For those of you who shall pass, I assure you 10 gold coins is just a bare fraction of what you will end up earning and you all have the opportunity to bring your family members with you. You and your family will be fully rewarded for the years of hard skilled labour you''ll be working with us. At the very least, three years of good hard labour before you are able to return to this Goblin Kingdom. Take your time, think it over during the feast and sign the document before you go to sleep." "For those who had doubts about the contracts and wish not to take part in tomorrow''s test, you may stay for the feast and collect ten gold coins from me too before you depart. It is a thank you gesture for making this far into the capital and passing my first round of interview." Qiu Yue concluded what she had to say and bowed in appreciation. "Oh and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. I am happy to entertain any questions." Qiu Yue smiled as she carried the large stack of contract papers and proceeded to the corner of the throne hall. These contract papers were the key essential items that would bind the goblins to the Empire Building Sub System temporarily. As soon as they signed with their blood, the Sub System would enact the Loyalty Enforcement Orders on to the goblin unknowingly. However, it would only stay active for the period stated in the contract. At the end of the contract term, they would have to make a choice. They could receive an extension of the contract, agree to willingly submit themselves to a Permanent Loyalty Enforcement Order or they could choose to return. Should they go with the latter option, their memories of selected events would be completely erased, and their memories would be modified to account for the time dilation. Kraft would make sure that there would be no possibility of anything leaking. The contract itself also offered some benefits to the goblins and their families. The System would be liable to help heal any injuries, they might have had or they incurred during construction, as well as being obligated to resurrect them in extreme cases. Hence they were treated similar to the contracted rental monsters like the Boar Knights, without having to fight for him. The skilled goblin craftsmen heeded Qiu Yue''s speech and feasted on the King''s buffet, courtesy by Lynn too. Especially when she provided a great number of the raw materials for the feast and even offered some of her more experienced penguin chefs to aid the Goblin royal chefs. It was also an excellent chance for Lynn and the penguins to learn some of the more exquisite Goblin Cuisine since the Royal Goblin Chefs were supposedly the best in the Kingdom. There were some methods which Lynn vehemently disagreed with, but there were also many subtle arts of cooking that she was able to catch on, all thanks to the Cooking Sub System she possessed. Learning their recipes in just one glance? Catching a possible flaw in their recipe? That was just a few of her secret abilities granted by the Cooking Sub System and Lynn fully utilise it to her advantage. When the feast was over, Qiu Yue was surprised that nearly every goblin craftsmen had decided to pick up the offer except for a few extremely sceptical ones. The reason was that many of the goblin craftsmen had seen other humanoids coming to protect not just the goblins, but also their families and their hometowns too when the Orcs invaded. And unlike the humans they had encountered in their lives, these half masked humanoids had offered aid to more than just their villages and towns. All of them had heard how their King was saved by a humanoid who had rescued and cared for the three generals'' sons after they disappeared about a year ago. In addition, they selflessly aided the defence against the Orcs at multiple occasions at the frontlines, inadvertently saving numerous goblin soldiers at the cost of their own. Furthermore, what attracted them the most was their technology. When they saw the humanoids came flying to their rescue in those loud, metal giant bird monsters, they were frankly amazed by it. Some of the goblins even mentioned about the Sandroku golems that had been used to parade the Capital town as a show of strength and cooperation when they celebrated the retreat of the Orcs. Also, a few of these craftsmen personally experienced being rescued by the Humanoids and their fellow monster allies and felt they were indebted to them. All in all, they knew that if they were to join this¡­ work contract with the Humanoids, the craftsmen had the undeniable feeling that it would further their proficiency in their field of craft expertise. This notion had been reinforced by the strict selection criteria and the intelligent straightforward questions that were asked by the Lady Humanoid. Not to mention the secretive nature which Qiu Yue had allured them all into believing that the project they might be doing was more than meets the eye. No artisan in their right mind could have forgone such an opportunity to play an active part in something so historic. Besides, being rewarded with a Royal feast in the Throne Hall? It clearly showed the relationship between the humanoids and the Royalty, and it was already blatantly loud. The majority was immediately sold as soon as they heard that their families and loved ones could join them for the project. On a separate note, Qiu Yue was very delighted that this had been such a major success. She had lowered her expectations and would have been happy with an acceptance rate of 45%. That was because she had essentially made a death threat to the goblins who signed the contract. However, the number of goblins accepting the agreement begged to differ. "Oh Jin, this city project will be a blast to do." Qiu Yue thought to herself while handling the paperwork individually for every goblin. (Her Empire Building Sub System needed her to be the one to validate the contracts to ensure that the Loyalty Enforcement Orders was working.) ¡ª¡ª¨C Jin came into the guest room of the Sanctum of Worlds and requested the System to call out for Nubwort, the infamous Orc General known as the Black Disaster. Compared to the other Orc Generals or officers he and the other cultivators assisted in catching, none of them could be compared against Nubwort. He had earned enough reputation to be respected among all of the various Orc Armies, including the aggressive Fire Orcs and the all loyal Thunder Orcs. And yet, he was now bending the knee to Jin through the power of the System. "Yes, Master? To what do I owe the honour of your presence?" Nubwort was currently in a much better mood as compared to when he was first captured by the System. Ever since he realised that Jin was only expecting one thing of him, which involved killing any cultivator that came upon him in the Secret Raid Instance, he was contended. In fact, he was very much enjoying living the life of a Battle Orc. Seeing that his fellow orcs were not mistreated in any way, but instead being encouraged to fight to their fullest, Nubwort began to see a new light on Jin. "How are the Orcs doing?" Jin asked as he was slightly worried about the accommodation of the guest rooms. The Sanctum of Worlds'' guest instance hadn''t really been designed to hold that many creatures at a time. The idea was always for the guest room to be a temporary solution until he could build a Home Instance to his monster''s liking. "It''s not that bad. True it''s a bit cramped, but it could be worse. All prefer this over being chained down and behind bars. The food was decent too." Nubwort stood up and looked at Jin''s expression for a while. "I suspect you are not here just to ask about our well being. So, what can we do for you, Master?" "You are sharp. Call the rest of the Orcs for a Town hall meeting. And I mean every single Orc." Jin ordered as the System teleported him to the Concert Hall instance where he used to host a Town Hall meeting. While waiting for the orcs to assemble, Jin began to prepare the presentation materials to showcase his city concept to the Orcs. He needed them to know what he was going to do since they would be instrumental in building the dungeon city fortress up from scratch. If it was a dungeon instance, Jin wouldn''t have asked anyone for help but this was ''real life''. There was a need for some extensive heavy lifting in the construction department and the Orcs were suited for this, even though Jin could have asked Peppers to use magic on that front. However, he wanted to use her for other things, mainly the levitation of the platforms to create the floating cities and magical quakes that were large enough to penetrate the ground to form a crater valley deep enough for the creation of the underwater Pand-Atlantis. As he was waiting for the Orcs to arrive, the number of orcs the System had captured totalled in the thousands, and it was breathtaking to see all of them lined up systematically in an orderly fashion to await his announcements. "Oh boy, now I kind of understand why Orc King Hamu was so obsessed with power. This is ¡­this is too overwhelming for me. To be able to command all of these orcs with just one word. One sentence." Jin whispered to himself as he saw the various generals going forth to report to Nubwort that all the orcs were present and had been accounted for. "Then get used to it, or User won''t be able to get the job done both at present and in the future." The System prompted as it caused a podium to emerge out the elevated stage platform. Jin took a deep breath and stepped forward to the podium the System had prepared for Jin to address the Orcs on the situation at hand. Chapter 404 Orc Builders "Erm, Hi. I am going to make this a little informal, so you may stand at ease. If you want to, please feel free to have a seat. All you got to do is listen to what I have to say for the next five minutes or so." Jin started off by telling them to relax¡­ though none of them did as the Orcs remained in full attention. It made him slightly nervous when he looked down at the large number of orcs having their eyes focused on his every little move. "Okay, I will be straightforward with you guys. I have gathered all of you here to inform you about our future plans. We are building a city from scratch and I need you orcs as the pioneer builders for this particular city." Jin said and instead of the expected questions or anxiety on their faces, the orcs were somehow elated¡­? Jin couldn''t understand why but he decided to go with the mood here. "Also, we are going to make you guys work full force 24 hours, of course in rotation." Jin continued and the Orcs got even more hyped up. Some were cheering like crazy and Jin felt like he needed an explanation from anyone on their behaviour. Was it the Loyalty Enforcement Orders at work? Or was he missing something crucial? Fortunately, Ayse was around as well when Jin did tell Nubwort to bring every orc to the town hall. She had voluntarily allowed the System to search through her memories and asked the System to transmit it to JIn since the Hall was too noisy for him to notice her. (Even though the System already had access to being with.) Answering Jin''s confusion, the System stated that construction was in the blood of the Orcs and it was even a delegated honour for them, like a rite of passage when they were a teenager. True, they loved to kill, destroy and conquer¡­ because they wanted to build more stuff. That''s one of the reasons why they were so obsessed with the Lost Technology artefacts because it gave them the opportunity to create something so extraordinary, making their ancestors proud. "I always thought that it was the dwarves who loved building, not the orcs." Jin thought and the System replied that the fantasy tropes their world used, were after all fantasy and not facts. However, it did add that his orcs possessed a few genes and possible traits that hinted at them having the dwarves bloodline. The System elaborated, that to put it simply, goblins, orcs and elves were all distant descendants of the dwarves in that particular world which Jin had visited. Jin found it an oddly weird coincidence but decided to accept it. He couldn''t help but wonder if some of those fantasy authors hadn''t been World Travelers, for the lore of these worlds to be so identically close. Or perhaps there was some hidden proof for the existence of these sub races in Jin''s world historical timeline of monsters and magic. "In any case, more details will be given in the next 48 hours or so. You will all be working closely with some of my other monsters and even goblins. Please try to get along." That last line suddenly made everyone stop in their tracks for a moment. Goblins? Orcs working with Goblins? They all stared at Jin, not sure if they heard correctly, to which he nodded his head. "Yeah, goblins. The Goblin Kingdom is sending me a battalion of troops to help with the city building as well as a group of craftsman. I expect you guys to get along well. In case you don''t, you will be ordered to comply, even if you hate the goblins to the core." Jin warned the Orcs. However, I''d prefer not forcing you that way. I don''t pretend to understand why you have a feud with them, and frankly I don''t really care. If you are working under me, you better jolly well try to work together, eat together and sleep together. They are now to be treated the same as your comrade in arms, and I expect no less from those goblins. Should any of you disobey the orders repeatedly by causing the System to enact the Loyalty Enforcement Orders on you, I will make sure that the guilty be placed in solitary confinement with meagre food and be re-educated by Kraft himself." Jin was giving no quarters for the Orcs to make up any excuses. His word was ironclad, and the Orcs knew that from day one. "You also know how Kraft loves to have more candidates for his experiments. So I repeat, do not force my hand to do such a thing. Other than that, you all will be provided with a supply of delicious hot piping food courtesy of Lynn, our Head Chef. Yes, you are hearing right, three meals a day, every day. You will be able to eat what she and her penguin chefs cook. (with meat being back on the menu)." The Orcs suddenly cheered up again upon hearing that they do not have to eat the standard food that the System provided on a daily basis. "Apart from that, you guys will also be compensated with System points, on top of the ones you gain from fighting. I''d advise you to save some up for future purposes such as buying a house in the new city or having access to better facilities or equipment in your future Home Instance." Jin revealed to entice the Orcs even though he technically did not need to do any of this. Jin wanted to treat them as humanely as possible while meeting the mission''s deadline set by the System. That was the only few ways he could think of balancing the carrot and the stick (Since death was not an issue to them.) "Master, if our future home instance can fit us all, why would we need to buy a house of our own in the new city? Can''t we just live in the Home Instance?" An Ice Orc Officer brought up a valid point. "Yes, you can, but do note that the home instance for you orcs will be shared among all of you. Space wise it might be limited so you might want to save up the points to buy a house of your own. Or feel free to collectively put it in a pool and upgrade the home instance. Else, you can also use those points to purchase some items made in the Dungeon City Fortress in the future." Jin answered and everyone got all excited again. "Oh Yes, speaking about craftsman, are any of you good at certain professions?" Jin suddenly thought about it and decided to ask the crowd. If there were thousands of orc soldiers, chances are there might be a couple few who could have worked in a skilled profession before becoming a soldier. Ayse had previously informed Jin that the Orcs had to draft people from towns and villages to boost their military manpower. To his utter shock, nearly everyone in the crowd raised their hand up and they all had some sort of profession. Questioning Nubwort, he learned that all the Orcs required to be battle ready and thus, military training was a module for them in schools since young (A fact not in Ayse memories, as she had been taught personally under the Former Head Researcher). That was why all of them had a working profession since being a soldier was second nature to all of them. "System, please consolidate the skilled professions and send the list to Qiu Yue, I''m sure she might find it useful," Jin asked as he dismissed all Orcs except for Nubwort, who had a few questions of his own. "Is it really necessary to work with the Goblins?" The Black Disaster asked. He could not help but treat them as his lesser, even though he was beaten by Piercestriker. It also did not help a bit, that most of his compatriots thought the same. The Orc schools had heavily emphasised that in the majority of their glorious history, Goblins used to be their slaves. A fact only strengthened by the perception that most goblins Orcs came in contact with, were the slaves of other orcs. In his opinion, it would just reduce the efficiency of the work the Orcs could do if the Goblins interfered with them. "How about giving them a chance to prove that they are not as useless as you might think? While I would like the city to be built overnight, it is impossible. Hence, every hand available is useful in meeting the deadline." Jin replied and Nubwort could only sigh at his master''s direct orders. "Alright. Just one chance. Any screw up and I ask you to allow us to end the cooperation. Let us orcs work in different places and you will be able to see our superiority be the results." Nubwort was giving no space for negotiations even though he knew that his new master could overwrite his decisions. "Then what happens if the screw ups happen at your side?" Jin folded his arms and challenged him. Nubwort scoffed at it and told him that orcs didn''t make mistakes. "Yea right, in that case, you guys wouldn''t be here serving me." Jin remarked and the Black Disaster kept his silence for once. "Fine, if ¡­and a very big IF. If we screw up, I will ensure that the others will give them an additional chance in cooperating with us should they inevitably make a mistake. Happy now?" Nubwort snorted and walked away back to his guest instance. "Orcs and their pride issues." Jin shook his head as he headed towards the Terrace House where he believed Peppers to be. He needed her to start terraforming the land in the Dungeon City Fortress as soon as possible to get everything ready. "Peppers, you in there?" Jin knocked on her door, and there were a bit of clashing noises heard from behind the door. "You okay in there?!" Jin asked once more, ready to break down the door to help her. Suddenly, she opened the door and Jin was surprised that she was not in usual pyjamas. "Master, I am all ready to work!" Peppers was in her full battle gear that he had never seen before. As well as multiple large vials of life potions created by Milk to allow for fast recovery against the body strains she was bound to suffer after using a large amount of Mana. Apparently, the new battle gear she acquired was from all the fragments she earnt on a daily basis and figured it would help her to cast efficiently and quickly, causing less strain on her body. "¡­How did you know that I was looking for you?" Jin asked and Peppers pointed at his phone. "To ensure a quick start for the terraforming, System has informed Bellator Peppers in advance. It should be noted, however, that she ended up ditching her previous assignment of researching the manual cultivations as fast a student hearing the school bell." The System took the initiative for the first time in a long while. Jin was astonished but delighted to know that the actions taken meant that the System approved of Jin''s city concept. It tattling on Peppers was met with just a slight grin. In no time, Jin and Peppers reached the massive empty plot of land which the dungeon core provided for the construction of the Dungeon City Fortress. Moloch accompanied them since he was partially the owner of this City Fortress after all. "Just wondering, where exactly is the core? All I see is empty land with no one in sight except for your minotaurs camping right here." Jin wondered as the Cosplaying Minotaurs all greeted him the moment he arrived. "Ah, that." Lord Moloch showed Jin a deck of opened cards, and with a flip of his hand, the cards turned into a miniature version of the dungeon core Jin remembered seeing as he made the System and Moloch activate it. "As one of the Lords, I was able to carry this with me before the Dungeon City Fortress began its construction. Since you seem ready, we will need to put the core in a centralised place to provide ''life'' to the city." Moloch explained. "Like erm electricity and water supplies?" Jin asked and Moloch shook his head and his finger at his master. "Most importantly, resources. Raw Materials and the likes. Sure, it could produce water from the core itself, perhaps electricity too, though I think we will need to tinkle with it a little to make it understand the concept of electricity. In this Dungeon World, it does not necessarily have what Master''s World had. While we do have the concept, it is more so catered to turn enemies into ashes." Moloch said. " ''Understand the concept?'' You mean like the System, the Dungeon Core can learn stuff too?" Jin asked as this revelation opened up a lot more possibilities. "Affirmative, System had already inserted information vital to our city layout as well as the concept of basic modern necessities. The core will need time to modify its materials and uses based on the concepts System had inserted. In the meantime, Bellator Peppers can start with the Terraforming procedure." System stated but Peppers was already gathering magic in her hands, transferring them into her wooden staff. "I will take some time to do this in order to modulate the amount of Mana passing through me, but you should be able to see visible results very soon. Do not worry, I won''t kill ourselves, I am pretty sure of it." Peppers smirked as she smashed her wooden staff into the ground. Instantly, the ground started to crack and the Minotaurs who were camping in the area had begun evacuating the camping grounds, taking what was necessary and running towards Moloch while looking at the miracles the Demonic Sage Queen was doing. "Feed the ground with savage intent and not even Mother Nature will be able to hold it back." Peppers placed her hands on the staff and called out her spell name out loud. "EARTHHHHHH SHATTTTTERRRRR ¨C *cough cough* QUAKE!" Peppers screamed a little too loud that it strained her throat "You sure we won''t die?!?!!" Moloch had serious doubts about Peppers'' vouch and Jin could only cross his fingers when they were all been shaken violently by the ground under them. Chapter 405 Workings of the Dungeon Core For the next few hours, Peppers managed to crack the floor bed of the ''Dungeon'' they were in and proceeded to levitate each piece of land into mid air. The System was detailed in its instructions, telling Peppers how much Mana to use in order to crack open the ground. This was done so that the amount of land allocated for a platform corresponded to the percentage of land each industry would be granted to utilise efficiently, according to Qiu Yue''s Empire Building Sub System. Peppers then cast a permanent levitation spell on each platform that regularly consumed mana from the user or the surrounding. After Peppers would leave the Dungeon World, the Dungeon Core would be part of the surrounding which needed to provide the mana. With the System as a partial owner of the Dungeon Core, it would have to ensure that the Mana dispensed by the Dungeon Core was regulated properly into the platforms to keep them afloat and also to avoid them leeching the mana off each other. Even Moloch was once again amazed by the System''s capability since the Dungeon Core was more complicated than it appeared. "Our most experienced Demon Sages in this world could never handle this kind of calculations like the System in order to make the Dungeon Core work as they please, Moloch told Jin as it surveyed how Peppers conscientiously worked her magic unlike when she was in battle. "Really? I guess that''s the System for you¡­ But to be honest, when you previously said something about the resources and how it''s similar to the System, I kind of just blindly nodded my head." Jin shrugged, hoping Moloch could give a better explanation. "The Dungeon Core may look like a holy grail granting anyone whatever they want to for their land. But it''s not as simple as what you might think. Most masters of a Dungeon Core will just stick to the initial input options provided by the core and create their town fortress or cities fortress that way. " Moloch pointed at the active Dungeon Core that was rotating right in front of them since the System dealing it without touching the spherical metallic ball. "The Dungeon Core needs input, A LOOOOT of precise inputs to create something specific and ensure it works the way you want it to. The more complicated you want it to be, the more precise you will have to code it. Think of it as a software language builder like ehh¡­ C++ programming, if I used that term correctly. You have to type in certain codes for the Dungeon Core to work the way you want it to." Moloch started to explain when he scratched his puppet head "But us Demons, or as the System classified us as Dungeon Demons since you have encountered like demons from the Farming World, Demons in your world¡­.anyways, I digress. We Dungeon Demons compared to other monster races in this Dungeon World have a better edge since the codes required were based on a language that was nearly lost in the annals of history. " "I said ''nearly'' because it still exists in secrecy. We''ve termed it as the Core Language. If one is privileged enough to have learnt the Core Language, he would be highly sought after by various high class Dungeon Demons. King Baal has gotten a hold of one and paid him wealthily for the knowledge he held. That was also how Baal was able to create a near impenetrable Metropolis fortress." Moloch continued while they both watched Peppers levitating a humongous platform to the far end of the dungeon. "So with the knowledge of the language, King Baal didn''t rely on the input options but rather inserted the code directly into the Dungeon Core. Thus fully making use of his dungeon core. However, that was just one way of using the Dungeon Core. " Moloch said, and as if the Dungeon Core knew what he wanted to say, it revealed a series of codes to Jin. But the omnipotent System was already typing and rearranging the numbers on the Dungeon Core with no physical input. "As you can see, another way would be that the Dungeon Core reveals an analogue code puzzle filled with numbers. If you manage to decrypt it, the Dungeon Core listens to whatever command you have requested. For example, in this case, levitate that platform for eternity." Moloch said, and Jin was curious if there was anything more to that. "It cannot be that simple right? There must be some diminishing returns or something?" Jin questioned when he observed the code being cracked by the System. "Hahaha, not diminishing returns but increasing difficulty. The first code will be simple to crack. Once you have given it a wish of any magnitude, the Dungeon Core processes the request and reveals another analogue code puzzle with a difficulty based on the magnitude of the most complex wish you''ve ever made." Moloch answered. "I do not know how it scales its difficulty, but there were some Lords and Kings who used this method to jumpstart their cities by giving them a mountain of dungeon dollars to start building. Some other lords were more conservative and used this particular method more wisely like an emergency wish¡­say a group of army suddenly attacks the village and the Lord could use this wish to summon a big giant guardian monster to defend them." Moloch explained and Jin was nodding his head in silence. "So I was very sceptical when your System decided to use that method to get the Dungeon Core to do things¡­until I saw how easily it broke the code in a blink of an eye. Those harder puzzles were nothing to it, whereas such codes took High Wizards ages to crack similarly difficult ones, especially after such a high price." Moloch said while mentally recounting the the rumours and reports he read about them. "Now that I look at it, I wonder how many wishes the Dungeon Core will grant before it will say enough is enough." Moloch sighed in amazement when he saw the System crack yet another code, and wishing for the huge ass platform at the ceilings of the dungeon to be permanently levitating. "If the core does not have any limit, our city might be unbeatable. Surely, there must be some criteria barring certain circumstances? No? Oh and System, why did you not just wish to build the city for us?" Jin asked and Moloch shook his head. "I''d have said that there are none just some time ago¡­ except, that we have already tried, wishing for your city to be built according to your specification, only for it to reveal that a wish of this magnitude is not possible without much more input. " Moloch sighed and the System on his phone acknowledged. "There were also too many uncertainties in your current layout, which were prone for errors. While System previously stated that it is feasible, it was a gross understatement. Specific areas still needed User''s or Sub System User Qiu Yue input for the System and Empire Building Sub System to proceed." The System reported. "So congratulations, you have managed to uncover something that we all thought that every wish is possible. Not counting that, King Baal used his own wish to reverse the tide in a crucial battle in his Metropolis Fortress against an alliance of ''the goody holy knights and mages''. And up till now, no one was able to unlock the analogue puzzle his dungeon core had presented to grant another. " Moloch offhand mentioned it to Jin about the potential of the Dungeon Core. "To this day, there''s a reward of 1 billion dungeon dollars for the grab if someone managed to unlock that puzzle," Moloch remarked. Jin was quiet for a moment while his brain was thinking up something very¡­ shady. "Let''s just say¡­what if we were to disguise ourselves and complete the puzzle to earn the reward, do you thin-" Moloch used his deck of cards to slap Jin. He knew what Jin was thinking the moment his master proposed the idea. "Only the Lord in control of a Dungeon Core can use the option no matter the circumstances. You might earn yourself 1 billion dollars, but there is no way you can cheat him of his money and use the wish for yourself. That is even if you found a way to make the System into a partial lord. " Moloch stated until Wolte, who was hiding among the Minotaurs suddenly voiced out. "But what if you combined a fragment of your own Dungeon Core with the existing Dungeon Core? That way, it might be possible to make the existing Dungeon Core assume you were one of its Lords. And guess what? We do have fragments of a Dungeon Core." Lord Wolte, The Slug suggested, which made Moloch furrowed his brows hard. "What do you think Moloch? Can it work?" Jin was amazed that an old timer Dungeon Demon could give such a daring proposal. "Not sure. Something as crazy as that hasn''t really been tried out before. Do you remember what I told before? Dungeon Cores are generally functional or non functional. What Wolte is suggesting is to bring his own functional Dungeon Core near King Baal''s Dungeon Core, then use it so that the living core can merge with his core in order to get our Lord''s authentication signature in." Moloch seemed annoyed when he explained the possible rationale. "However, if you were to assume it could work, as you want it to, you would have about 15 seconds, to crack the code and make a wish. Anything later and Wolte''s Core Fragment would cease to be. Then we would only ensure that King Baal ends up with a slightly strengthened Dungeon Core, giving him even more power aside from cracking his code." "So, it works. That is all I needed to hear. And that does not sound so hard." Jin shrugged his shoulders as if fighting for his life was a daily affair to him which made Wolte laughed loudly. "Son, I like your way of thinking. I approve of you. Take my dungeon core to that bastard King. Teach him who''s boss." Wolte said and the Minotaurs at the side snickered at his overconfidence while Moloch rolled his eyes upwards. Jin was partially joking with Moloch, but he could see that the chubby minotaur puppet was taking Wolte''s and Jin''s words very seriously. "¡­I may have a way to make that happen but once he knows about our presence and intention, he''s bound to invade us. And I mean full force. He won''t be pulling any punches." Moloch said as he portrayed a depressed smile on his minotaur plushie. "We will do it if we get our bearings together by 7th Jan next year," Jin replied and for some reason, Wolte seemed a little disappointed even though he finally had a say in things for a long time. "I''m glad that I survived but I don''t wish to remain in this form any longer. Without the Dungeon Core I feel as terribly useless. If only I could have my old body back¡­" Wolte said out loud even though everyone seemed to be ignoring him. However, Jin already had a plan for the Slug after he saw his stats on Wolte''s attribute statistical page. Though his physical stats were near rock bottom, his mental strength capacity or the ''Will'' Attribute was tremendously high and the System stated that it was the most likely reason how he managed to use a half broken functional Dungeon Core for his own use. "Perhaps, I could make him a metal body¡­something like a HulkBuster. Then we could literally turn him into a Metal Slug. Hahahha!" Jin thought to himself while Peppers seemed to be doing the finishing touches. She had lifted almost 95% of the land in the Dungeon and created a crevice that was more than 3000 metres deep. However, Jin wanted an even deeper valley like crater so that he could build the foundation for the Pand-Altantis. "Ideally at least 10,000 metres deep," Jin told Peppers who was taking a breather from all the work she had none. "Ehh¡­then you want me to fill the entire place with water once I create a deeper depth?" Peppers asked as she took her pointy large hat down to fan herself while replenishing her vitality with Milk''s very own concoction of power vitality drinks. "Not really. I mean, since the crevice is still empty, it will be easier to descend and construct the foundations of the city before filling the entire place with water. Besides, any falling incident won''t harm the monsters since they are immortal. Oh wait, those goblins that Qiu Yue recruit might die." Jin suddenly felt perplexed upon realising a possible problem. "User doesn''t have to worry. Those who have been contracted to be under the Loyalty Enforcement Orders are protected by the System. The System will resurrect any monsters regardless of the extent of the fall. Should the System fail in resurrecting said monster, System will create a clone and replace the clone with the memories of the deceased monster." System said in a very cold tone. Surprisingly Jin accepted such countermeasures, as he believed the System would have already taken precautions. Hence, if such unfortunate events were to occur, it would be just poor luck. As if the System willed it, Qiu Yue came to Jin with a sunken look in her face. "You look like you haven''t slept for ages." Jin joked but she placed her head on his chest, nearly falling asleep at the touch of his warm chest. She then looked up and saw that the floating platforms were already ready. Jin then remembered that the time difference between Goblin World and the Dungeon World was moving at two different paces. "You are fast, I did not expect you to get the floating land platforms ready this quickly." Qiu Yue said as she pushed herself away from Jin and took her phone out. With a tap of a button, 3D holograms of steel bars and ropes were seen connecting from where they were standing to a particular floating land platform. "Emi, you can start doing your job now." She yawned as she called out to her Empire Building Sub System, which she had nicknamed for laziness sake. In no time, two System portals appeared with Orcs and goblins coming out from each. The goblin soldiers-turned-workers, had some slight reservations but weren''t as terrified as the craftsmen in the presence of the Orcs. Due to the Loyalty Enforcement Orders, both the Goblins and Orcs just kept their mouth shut and started the work as to how the Empire Building Sub System had commanded them to do. Tools and raw materials magically appeared for them, courtesy of the Sub System when they reached the 3D holograms. Apparently, it was the blueprint which the Sub System had already prepared and all the monsters had to do was to blindly follow the blueprint indicated by the Sub System. It was fast, efficient and not to mention precise. If a nut or screw was not placed properly, the Sub System would individually alert the monsters to tighten or loosen them. Within less than half an hour due to the ¡­complicated relationship between the two goblin and orc races, they managed to create a temporarily wide sky bridge towards a large floating platform. Qiu Yue asked for a piggy ride which Jin saw no reason to refuse and carried her to the platform. She did the same thing again, but this time, they started constructing buildings and it seemed like it was for agriculture purposes when Jin saw 3D holograms of a tractor and a farmhouse. "Your Sub System can build gadgets too?" Jin asked though Qiu Yue was lazily nodding her head and began snoozing the moment she confirmed that the buildings were set in place. This time round, Jin saw that the Minotaurs were also mobilised by the Empire Building Sub System. There were various building and construction tools he had not seen before, turned up from thin air, courtesy of the Sub System too. "Alright, I guess you did your part well. Thank you, I will bring you back to your bed you little red panda cutie." Jin smiled gently as he saw his monsters were all beginning to work on the task which the Sub System had given them. "I will overlook the building process for a little while after I bring her back," Jin said to Moloch, leaving him in charge to make sure that the three monster races played nice with each other. This was the beginning of the infamous Dungeon City Fortress that would subsequently be known throughout the Dungeon World. Chapter 406 Extra - Goblin Negotiation "Argghh Lady Qiu Yue. You are really putting me on the spot here¡­ You are simply asking too much from me!!!" King Sol sounded unusually annoyed while shaking his head vehemently towards her. While she had already acquired the Tri-force army according to Jin''s preferences, Qiu Yue wanted to impress her boss by getting more on top than what she had contracted before. "But this is still reasonable, right? I know this hasn''t been written in the contracts, so how about you consider this as personal loaning?!" Qiu Yue replied while she sat at the very same meeting room she had used to recruit the craftsmen. The Three Goblin Generals, two of their sons and some of the advisors were also present for the additional negotiations, yet King Sol was in a pinch since it appeared as everyone else in the room was in cahoots with Qiu Yue. "Hahahah Lady Qiu Yue, you are just too crafty. Thank goodness, you are dealing with our King, else I would have given in a long time ago!" Sword General Gladios laughed loudly, and even Dagger General Igni smirked at Qiu Yue''s proposal. "Look here, Lady Qiu Yue. We are not trying to deny the truth of you had done us more than just favour, which will be remembered in future history books. I have already made preparations for that army you need, heck I''ve even added 5% more than what you have asked so that you are in possession almost all of our very few but competent elites to serve you. My three Generals here can vouch for that. This is proof that you deserved our gratitude of the highest form." King Sol sighed and leaned his body forward and reminded Qiu Yue about them having made all kinds of concessions in their previous dealings. "I understand that which is why I am not asking for an army ¨C " "- You are asking half of the goblin mage AND the entirety of our combat engineers battalion to be loaned for a year!" The King slammed his fist in a fit of anger for it was really an unreasonable no, absurd request even by the Humanoids. It was one thing to loan out all their elites as the Humans should be too scared for a while to try and take any sort of action given the show of military might in the previous war. However the same could not necessarily be said, if spies would to inform their human neighbours that nearly the entirety of the Goblin Kingdom''s military had mysteriously left. Qiu Yue then realised that she seemed to hit a raw nerve and kept silent for a while as the King simmered down. "How about this? We will ask if any of the goblin mages and combat engineers want to join Master Jin, granted they are given perks that will be significantly better than the ones the craftsmen have received?" Dread Reaver who had been quiet up to this point of the conversation, had decided to back her up. "Maybe it is time that you reveal to us a bit more about, why you would want that many mages and engineers? What exactly is Master Jin plotting?" Spear General Argent asked with curiosity ever since the day the Humanoids asked for craftsmen that were obviously inferior to the Humanoids'' technology "He is building a brand new city and he needs as many experienced professionals as possible." Wyrstriker decided to chime in but he was only telling them the partial truth since he had not yet been informed about the changes in their newly formed floating/undersea city. The whole reason why Qiu Yue currently asked for combat engineers and mages was for the construction of more Sandroku Golems which could be used to accelerate the building process especially for the larger buildings as well as delving into the deep valley crater to construct Jin''s Pand-Atlantis. This was because the deeper they had to venture into the valley, the hotter it would be. Even though the System can consistently revive dead monsters, it would be too impractical to do so just because they died from heat strokes. Considering Peppers had ''dug'' much closer to the Dungeon World''s core, it would be better to be safe than sorry and protect the monster workers. To counteract this, Jin could fill up the deep valley crater with water but that would lead them to handle the pressures of deep water construction. The System had already calculated the cost and find that constructing more Sandroku Golems were more cost effective. Alternatively, they had considered fighting against the immense heat with a system of constant ventilation with cold icy winds while mining tunnels around the crater. Regardless any option they chose, the mages and engineers were still needed to make as many Sandroku Golems customised for construction as possible. Ayse and the Elfish researchers had already improved the initial Sandroku design as assigned by Jin and they could have asked the System to build it. However, that would incur huge unnecessary costs compared to getting the Goblin Mages and Engineers to build them since all they had to do was to follow the blueprints. The new Sandroku golems are now modular in nature, allowing it to fit parts for construction like drills, scoopers, clawers etc. It can also be refitted within a span of 15 minutes with battle modules so that they are all battle ready, making them extremely versatile. But because of the modular nature of the golem, it was not as tough as the first generation of battle golems. (But at least, the new one has cockpit air conditioning!) Therefore, it was Qiu Yue''s job and responsibility to make sure that Jin had sufficient money to build his new empire and then some for the future too by saving money on operational costs. But in a rush to catch up with Jin, she unwisely showed less tact with her current negotiations. After dealing with King Sol, so much over the last few weeks, she had not taken into account, that even the most patient creature could reach their limits at some point. "Still, that does not warrant using our civilian and military engineers or mages? What do you think we are? Some rental store?" King Sol said with a tone of controlled anger. He wasn''t too proud for having lost his temper for a moment. In fact he knew, that Qiu Yue had always been quite fair in their negotiations, not taking too much advantage of them having saved his country and waited for her to explain herself. "¡­I shall elaborate more." Qiu Yue understood she was in the wrong and knew that she needed to mend the relationship by giving them the full picture. When the Goblin King and his general heard the concept, they could barely believe it. After Qiu Yue, showed them the images of their blueprints, all of them applauded it. That mysterious Jin kept surprising them over and over. For him to have such an ambition to create a floating city as well as an underwater one, it clearly showed to the Goblin King how much power that young man was wielding. From the previous war, he had hundreds if not thousands of humanoid followers willing to aid to his cause. He also possessed mighty firepower that held back the Orcs and their infamous Lost Tech artefacts. Lets not forget him having seemingly unlimited other sentient monsters that were completely foreign to the Goblins. Not to mention giving them hundred of thousands of gold as part of the contract immediately up front? All this served to remind them that the Goblins should not even think of fighting against a person like Jin. Loaning all their elites as their ''ultimate gratitude''? Suddenly King Sol thought it was laughable that he thought of it that way. Even if they gave away the entire kingdom to Master Jin, he would think that was nothing to him. Qiu Yue hadn''t realised that her simple explanation became an efficient way of threatening-erm persauding the King and his Generals. "Thus, in return, those Sandroku Golems your mages and engineers are going to construct will be sold to you all at half the price we are selling at the end of our City Building." Qiu Yue finished her pitch and King Sol furrowed his eyebrows. "I understand your concept now. But why are we paying so much when we are loaning you the manpower?" King Sol asked his tone being more placid than earlier. "Because we have already improved the designs of the initial Sandroku Golems and we are going to buy all the raw materials from your goblin suppliers. We will need to earn something back or else Jin might not have enough money to build his city." Qiu Yue answered. King Sol considered her answer for a while before he suddenly smiled a little. "You have convinced me. I permit you to loan 60% of our mages and engineers to build the Sandroku Golems. The Kingdom will even pay for all the raw materials you need. In return, we ask for the selling price of the Golems to be at 10%, if possible at 5%." King Sol offered as he could not imagine how much those improved machines¡­ Those work of wonders he saw briefly during the Celebratory Parade would cost at full price. "6%. That is the cost needed to cover maintenance and the payment for my other workforce. As you should be aware, some of the materials needed can only be provided by us." Qiu Yue was a bit surprised that King Sol became so friendly, but she was willing to take his offer up. They had taken enough advantage of him already, so it should prove beneficial to make them this concession as a show of goodwill, for future negotiations. (As what Jin always emphasised to her.) The Sub System had already calculated to total amount they needed for magic fuel and other expenses, and hence the 6% of the original selling price would become 150,000 Goblin Gold. King Sol agreed since the gold used to spend on the local goblin suppliers would give the Royalty some exclusive loyalty benefits in the future too. It could also be seen as an injection of funds to potentially aid these suppliers as a tactic to recover the sluggish economy after the war. Qiu Yue instantly created the contract documents on the spot upon hearing the King''s agreement. The Sub System had provided her with a suitcase that had an inbuilt printer and laptop (as well as other things!) that allowed her to change and amend any prepared contracts on the fly. After which, she gave it to the King to sign. (The King was amazed that the Humanoids had such advanced printing technology. The goblins had to use mages to write that fast.) However, this contract was unlike the previous ones when she made only King Sol sign it. Thanks to the introduction of the Empire Building Sub System, she was able to make anyone who signed a contract with her to be subjected to the Loyalty Enforcement Orders. Therefore she decided to make sure that the Three Generals signed it as well. It was not too hard to convince them, as they were all in charge of the mage battalion. (King Sol did not want to give a general too much power by taking charge of the most offensive battalion in their arsenal.) As all four of them signed the contract, they did not know that there was a small subtext which stated that the Sub System could enforce it into a permanent Loyalty Enforcement Orders. It was an underhanded trick and Qiu Yue felt bad initially for making use of their trust this way, but she wanted the four goblins to eventually be exposed to the System so that this good hearted King and his three Generals would continue to rule the Goblin Kingdom with their citizens in mind for a very long time. (It also was a great way to keep tabs on them. because Qiu Yue unknowingly preferred to have them under her control, just like how she quietly controlled the Orc King Frost Echo.) "Congratulations Sub System User Qiu Yue. You have completed the optional Mission by gaining control over 2 Kingdoms now." The Sub System told her and granted her a crapload of gold for completing a side mission. Qiu Yue casually opened her phone to check her account to verify the amount given. "I initially wanted to use this gold to finance the Sandroku Golems. I will have to thank King Sol''s change of heart, which provided us with some extra allowance to play around for Jin''s new city. Thanks, Emi!" Qiu Yue smiled as she thought to herself while King Sol assumed that she was doing so because of the signed contract. javascript:; "As stated, I will return the mages and engineers back as soon as possible. Also as a sign of gratitude, I will send over one free Sandroku Golem Mk.2 for your other mages and combat engineers to study it. Who knows? Maybe they might find something that the assigned goblins could not?" Qiu Yue giggled and so did King Sol who imagined the prospect of having a mechanical army to deter his neighbours. Chapter 407 Goblin Runesmith It was a rocky start, but somehow, the Orcs managed to keep their temper in check as they worked alongside the goblins. The Goblins were surprisingly agile and useful when it came to more delicate tasks such as fixing the lights or electrical wiring, all dictated by the Empire Building Sub System. Oh and speaking of the Goblins¡­ A few hours ago, the incoming goblin army who would be aiding in Jin with the construction of the city, were briefed by Dread Reaver and Wyrstriker on the ''System''. They explained that Jin had employed a wide area magic that would allow commands and instructions to be given within their head. All they had to do was just to follow the orders from the voice in them. The goblins soldiers who also went through the signing of the contracts thought they knew what to expect until they reached Dungeon City Fortress and noticed two things that made their brains go haywire. Large floating land platforms above their heads and Orcs. Lots of Military Orcs. Some of the soldiers kept their wits as they had been warned beforehand, that there would be other races helping with the construction and only placed their hand on their weapon should they need it. However, the goblin footmen, especially the younger ones unsheathed their weapons instantly and were ready to fight at the word of the sons of Goblin Generals¡­ until Wyrstriker came forward and shook hands with the Black Disaster. It was almost impossible and in their eyes, it felt like it was betrayal until Nubwort threw a wrench at them: "What you puny green noses looking at? Get to work for Master Jin!" The Black Disaster shouted and the Goblins were stunned. "This is one secret we had withheld from you guys, but until you saw it with your own eyes, you wouldn''t have believed it. Master Jin had graciously healed those orcs and now they are in his debt. They shouldn''t do anything stupid such as attacking you guys. But if they do, you will be protected by us and Master Jin''s miracle magic." Dread Reaver reassured the goblin soldiers and the craftsmen who came in last. "Oh, but if you wish to spar against them, there will be a time for that too, trust me, heh." Dread Reaver added before he left. On a separate note, the goblin mages and combat engineers had yet to be selected by their battalion commanders and the contracts weren''t prepared yet. Why? Because Qiu Yue was busy sleeping in her room (with time dilation on to match the Goblin World) after spending nearly a day signing each individual contract of the goblin soldiers. Thus, they were projected to arrive at least a day later in the Dungeon World before they started working on the new customised Sandroku Golems for use in the construction of the Pand-Altantis. Right now, the entire workforce concentrated on creating the foundations for the floating industrial cities which was proceeding rather smoothly. The work was so simple as stated by the Goblin Generals'' sons. It was basically so idiot proof that the soldiers had no qualm following it to the dot. The monsters only needed to keep up with the orders the Empire Building Sub System had created to build the city up from scratch. Through logical analysis and based on proven theories, the buildings built by the System would be nothing short but superior. It was made to withstand a certain degree of damage and would be easy to rebuild again, should the need arise. As what it does as always, Modular building. Divide the heavy workload into various small tasks and conquer them individually. This particular System ensured the least amount of dissent and increased the teamwork between the Orcs and Goblins, as both races had differing opinions on how to ''properly'' build things. The Orcs preferred big bombastic kind of architecture whereas the goblins preferred to save and cut costs on building materials. For the Orcs, only the honourable ones were allowed to design or even build, so they used the opportunity to ensure that their building would be extravagant as a testimony of their abilities, and for future generations to try and improve on it. The goblins, being smaller in comparison and more pragmatic due to their nature, did not need a lot of space. While there was a minority who considered it a challenge to design houses as minimalistic as possible, the majority would not complain about building to have some extra room. The two extremes were forced to change their views when the Empire Building Sub System ordered them to do things the Sub System way, and it was refreshing for both races. Despite the aforementioned (enforced) teamwork, scuffles between the Orcs and Goblins did happen, but they were quickly broken up by the Minotaurs before any serious damage could be done. The Minotaurs were larger than the Orcs and had more strength than an average Orc soldier which made them ideal to intervene on the behest of their Lord Moloch. (Somehow the cosplay they were wearing made them even more menacing then they should be. The Orcs did not know how to argue or fight against them.) Although the Orcs could have overpowered the Minotaurs given their massive numbers, they were previously informed by their officers and generals that Nubwort himself would take strict action against any Orc who initiated the scuffles with the goblins. (He knew how prone young hotblooded orcs were quick to anger. Nubwort did not want to lose face by losing his Master''s bet. The looming threat of Kraft was also quite effective) Hence, when the Minotaurs broke them up, the Orcs were immediately asked to leave the vicinity and work elsewhere to cool off. Unlike the orcs, the goblins were informed by the Goblin General''s sons not to create any trouble at any circumstances with the promise of bonuses such as more gold or a custom made weapon/armour at the end of their work. It was a valuable learning point for the system to see that the Orcs were more receptive to punishment while the goblins preferred the carrot to the stick. The craftsman, on the other hand, were not subjected to the strict commands of the Sub System. Instead, they were given general tasks to do according to what they specialised in. For example, the magical clay craftsmen were each given the order to create a sample clay soldier for the Sub System to analyse. The best work would also be awarded an additional monetary incentive. It did not take long before the craftsmen informed Moloch of the quantity and the raw materials as well as the tools required. Because they did not have a proper place to create their products, the goblin soldiers and the minotaurs assisted them in building a few makeshift workplaces to start working. However, not all were satisfied with this particular arrangement. Jesta, a reputable Goblin Runesmith, demanded that she and her cousin Hespesta, a Weaponsmith, had a proper workplace to create their products. "I was made to believe that the Half Masked Humanoids have the best technology and you want me to work in the dirt?!" Jesta complained so much that even Moloch gave up calming her down and requested for Jin''s intervention. Jin, who was in the midst of preparing to design the upgrade of the Recovery instance was interrupted by the System, and came in to see two angry goblins pouting. His mood was not the best, especially when he had felt a sudden inspiration on what to do for the Recovery instance, only for him to lose his thoughts at the interruption. However, it was also on his behalf that the System was instructed to refrain from using the Enforcement Loyalty Order except for emergency situations. From what he knew, the two craftsmen (Actually it was mainly Jesta) were unhappy that they had seemingly been cheated by Qiu Yue and demanded a suitable and comfortable workplace or else she and Hespesta would not perform anything that Jin''s magic instructed them to do so. Jin felt a migraine coming up almost immediately when he heard it. He clearly understood that it was important how he handled this. He needed to play this cool. If he allowed those two haughty goblin craftsmen to get their way, others would want similar treatment too. But he also knew that Qiu Yue and the Sub System had chosen the best goblin craftsmen in the kingdom and they weren''t wrong to ask for the best equipment to maintain the quality of products they create or excel even further. "You are right, all you have is makeshift workshops. Is there anything wrong with that?" Jin, who had entered without his mask, as he saw no reason to continue the farce in the Dungeon World, had decided on the way he would intervene. "Who the hell are you?! I wish to speak to Jin and not some human trash serving under him." Jesta snapped at Jin, only increasing the odds of his incoming migraine. "I am nobody just like you in this place," Jin answered as calmly as he could while folding his arms. He stared her straight into her eyes while emitting his chi encapsulating the two. She and Hespesta immediately fell to their knees and started to cough a little before Jin released the pressure. "If you want to play with his toys, you will first need to prove that you can make do with these makeshift workshops." Jin purposely said it out loud for the other craftsmen to hear. "Haven''t we proven ourselves enough in Lady Qiu Yue''s examination? Why do we need to prove ourselves yet again?" Jesta replied with a shout though Hespesta was trying her best to calm her cousin down. They were in another foreign land, who knows how far away from home and the Orcs around them were giving them ugly stares of disgust. "Prove? You call those examinations proof that you are worthy? Don''t make me laugh. All you have proven is that you are worthy of our interest. Don''t forget it is US giving YOU the chance to learn OUR technology. " Jin was getting irritated even though he knew it might potentially make the situation worse. "You have the chance to acquire the knowledge you would think its impossible!!" Jin stated blatantly. While he did not like playing the arrogant bad guy, he figured that it would be better, in the long run, to prevent them from getting ahead of themselves. He snapped his fingers twice, and a piece of inscription charm appeared in his hands. "Tell me, can you even make something this with your runes, Ms Runesmith?" He picked up a stick which a nearby Magical Clays craftsman had just made and slapped the inscription charm on to it. After which, Jin walked a few metres away from them and ensured that there was no one in front of him. In less than a second, he activated the inscription charm with his chi. Suddenly a burst of fire engulfed the stick without burning Jin''s hand in any way. Jin turned his head to make sure that Jesta was seeing the result of that and he was quite amused at her shocked expression. Previously, Jin had asked his three goblins to tell him more about Runesmiths and they confirmed that they were similar to inscribers in every way except for the medium they used, which in turn resulted in one particular aspect that separated them from the inscribers. The runes could be activated by anyone, even a goblin baby. Since no chi was involved, even a non-cultivator from Jin''s world could use it. Instead of chi, it used the magic that was within the rune itself so it was not wrong to consider a rune something similar to a magic battery. The task of the Runesmith was to create a rune and its corresponding magic he or she wished to insert. With more proficiency, a Runesmith could ensure a higher quality of magic within the rune or an increasing number of uses in it. Naturally, the most proficient Runesmiths were able to ensure both. Jesta was one of the geniuses belonging to the particular category. She was hailed as one of the Kingdom''s finest and able to insert any Grade four equivalent magic into a basic rune. This exceptional ability clearly put her on top of other runesmiths. The knowledge and expertise to create runes of that power weren''t secret so all it came down to was ability. It was easy to imbue an elemental type into a Rune corresponding to Grade one magic, but even the ablest could at most execute a Grade two magic on a basic rune. If they wished to make a more powerful Grade three or four, those runesmiths would need higher quality stones or minerals which were hard to find in their world (but exceedingly common in the System''s market) Jesta did not know how exactly Jin performed his show though she realised straight away that it was similar to her runes just that it was in paper form. She could sense a bit of foreign magical energy or some kind of energy transfer into the paper that was already embedded as symbols on the clay stick before the burst of fire appeared. "You think this is it?" Jin asked after he had given her time to analyse what he had done. He slammed the clay stick down to the ground, and an immensely large fire blast was emitted out of the clay stick which scared the hell out of the goblins behind Jin, thinking that the fire blast was going to backfire at them. "If you are smart enough, you will get what I mean." Jin came out of the fire, without suffering any injuries as he threw the clay stick to her and she looked over the symbols on the clay stick, still glowing for a while before they went out. It was a direct challenge from this human and a show of power to signal the others not to mess with them especially not to harbour any intentions against the human in front of them, thinking that he could be taken advantage of. However, Jin was not going to leave without giving them something to ponder about. "We do not expect things to be done fast from you craftsmen. We understand items of quality take time to make. But for now, we want to see what you are capable of, without access to rare or high tier products. Show us decent results as ordered by the voice in your head, and you might just earn yourself a brand new luxury workshop and a wealth of knowledge that you''d never have the chance to touch upon otherwise." Jin saw that other goblins and orcs were looking at him from above the floating platforms and he nodded at them too. "That includes all of you out there! If you think that you deserve better treatment, prove it through your actions!" Jin stopped and looked around him once again since it was addressed to all of them. As if a switch had been flipped, all the goblin craftsmen began to work with that goal in mind. Even Jesta kept her peace and decided to work as instructed¡­for now. In the meantime, Nubwort and the Orcs had witnessed Jin''s show of strength and they respected the way he managed the situation. It proved once more that Jin stood above them all. "Heh, that kid. He understood how to handle both Orcs and Goblins at the same time." Nubwort thought to himself before he continued to ''urge'' his fellow orc comrades to pick up the pace. Chapter 408 Revised Layout of the Recovery Instance "It is rare for you to be that angry at a monster, especially a new one ¨C wait why the sad face?!" Pei asked via the bracelet as she observed the attitude of her master. "¡­ That one time use of Fire Blast Inscription was worth at least 500 Yuan. ¡­ I just spent 500 Yuan trying to show off. Uhhooooo" Jin exclaimed while feeling terrible. He thought it would feel good showing off and boasting about the System''s inscriptions to the new subcontracted monsters, but right now he felt regret. "It is all User''s fault for being so careless and choosing the wrong inscription." System stated as it knew that Jin had wanted to choose a cheaper inscription, the Burning Slash inscription. "It is not my fault! I was too angry that I snapped my finger twice okay!" Jin understood where it went wrong after he released the Fire Blast inscription charm only to realise it was the wrong inscription. However, it was too late to stop, and he had to keep up the act to ensure that the monsters were terrified and understood their own standing. "Hahahahah! At the very least, you made them acknowledge your seniority in this place. However. I still don''t get why you haven''t told her that you are the Master of this place? The System would have taken care of the Enforcement Loyalty Orders the moment they doubted you." Pei asked. "Eh really?" Jin got embarrassed as he hadn''t even considered that option. It could be that he was too immersed with the building of the recovery instance and got irritated when interrupted that he had forgotten about it. "Don''t give me that ''eh Really'' reply!" Pei came out of her bracelet and knocked Jin''s forehead with a large paper fan. "Ouch! What?! Ow! Where did you get a Paper Fan out of nowhere? You think this is some slap comedy? Ow!" Jin said while feeling wronged as he tried to defend himself with his arms blocking the incoming attacks. Pei had initially wanted to only hit him once, but she suddenly felt it was therapeutic, even fun doing so and laughed along too. "Anyways, those are deserved hits for being such a lousy designer when it comes to the recovery instance," Pei explained as she took another look at the current blueprint of the System Console in the Dungeon Maker which Jin had left halfway. "Imagine what would have happened if you used this to revamp the Recovery Instance¡­Oh wait, you might not know about the consequences since you do not have any experience in it. Anyways, the old System designed instance had a much better layout." Pei stated, and Jin noticed that she was in another traditional costume, a silky, neon blue Mongolian dress. "What are you looking at?" Pei squinted her eyes when she casually looked back to see Jin scanning her entire body. She instinctively took the large paper fan and whacked Jin''s head so fast that he did not see it coming. "Urghh¡­ Sorry, it''s my first time seeing someone wearing a Mongolian costume. By any chance is your choice of weapon that large Paper Fan?" Jin commented, and the paper fan flew towards him and instantly hit the bullseye (his forehead). "Just something a prop that I used on a daily basis when I was alive. That''s all." Pei giggled and she observed the layout thoroughly once more. "I was a surgical doctor by trade. A real doctor, unlike that fraud Milk who uses magical spells to heal people. And if you are wondering, yes, I have been keeping myself updated with the latest knowledge. Peppers isn''t the only one who has access to the hijacked data from your school''s database. While I can''t stand that fox guy, even I have to admit he''s capable of keeping the database updated." Pei said with some annoyance, but promptly smiling to herself as she remembered the times she sneaked out to gather a few research articles in while Jin was busy creating his dungeon instances. "Some of the information was quite appalling, to say the least, but they made much sense," Pei explained as she sat down with her legs crossed and swiped the digital console of the Dungeon Maker. "You are a doctor? I thought you were just good at psychological defence?" Jin uttered as he was beckoned by Pei to sit beside her. "Learnt that as part of my job. The System was kind enough to provide me with sufficient practice inside that blessing bracelet." Pei said while she placed her hand on the table to support her lazy chin. "Wait¡­What?!" Jin accidentally shouted and Pei''s eyes lazily looked at his direction. "You heard me. The entire blessing bracelet is like a surgical room for me to practice my surgical skills. Granted it started out as nothing but a storage ring, but I told the System to renovate the contents inside. So I eventually got a space for myself to cut a few zombies up for practice." Pei said. "Wait, what did you think I do in there? That I''d stare at you constantly for the entirety of your life? Waiting patiently for a moment to catch someone who tries to perform a psychological attack or use some mind magic? Dream on." Pei said as she took Jin''s Creator Pen and circled the flaws of his new recovery instance design. "Well¡­erm¡­ No, I was thinking that you more of a hacker of sorts, something similar to Kraft?" Jin answered without thinking and he was given a violent (death) stare for mentioning that name, but that was better than being whacked on the head by her. (Since the paper fan was beside him and not her. His forehead still hurts.) "Anyways, here. Here. And Here. This is bad floor designs. I know you want your patients *cough* I mean cultivators to be at the crux of the care flow but if you place your nurse station here. They will have to run from one end to the other to take care of your cultivators. Expending of portals to travel will only incur unnecessary costs." Pei pointed out as Jin kept quiet to listen. "You should place your storage rooms at the centre since this is not a real hospital. That way, your panda nurses can restock if there is a need. Also, you need about two cleaners per level too. For one thing, it will be faster than assigning your Panda Nurses to do that whenever they are free. Besides, it would indirectly degrade the image of your Panda Nurses as well as their perception of nurses in the real world. They are lifesavers, not servants." Pei explained. "At least it''s great that you have planned to include one more surgical rooms. It seems the assassination incident made you wary. But your surgical theatres are ill equipped." Pei berated him and started to create a list of items that Jin needed to buy from the System Market. Things like gloves, masks, gowns, extra sterile apparatus including a sterilising oven etc. "Oh my god¡­I didn''t expect it to be THAT expensive. A surgical couch cost at least 340k Yuan (44K USD)?! You must be kidding me!" Jin browsed the System''s market and could not believe it. "Trust me, the items sold at the System''s market are already waaay cheaper than those medical vendors out there ripping hospitals up." Pei added as she continued to ramble on that Jin also needed to add an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for follow ups after extensive surgery. She did not recommend an intermediate care ward because the surgical room and the ICU were for extreme cases which should not happen too often in Jin''s place. "Oh eh and upgrade your Panda Nurses. Like how you did for certain other NPCs like the Sushi Chef Roro. That way, your Panda Nurses won''t just be some idiot servers. That should come in handy if there is every a surgical procedure, you''ll have nurses who will be able to deal with emergencies." Pei added and Jin''s heart was about to break even more after seeing the total cost for going through Pei''s revisions. "System¡­do I need to follow Pei''s recommend- Ouch!" Jin got whacked by Pei before he could finish his sentence. "Do you really want to have a repeat of that Banned Emperor Assassination all over again? Do you think Milk''s powers are limitless?" Pei rebutted as she folded her arms angrily. "Huh? What do you mean? She can cure wounds and stuff, right?" Jin replied and Pei sighed at her hardest. It seemed as if she had enough of her stubborn master, for now. Seeing the frustration of Pei, the System instead took over, explaining why Pei was angry. "Healing Magic is not the same as surgical procedures. While Bellator Milk had successfully managed to do that surgery, it was through the System''s and Peppers help that it was possible. If all three possible Dantian sites had been affected, Milk would not have been able to remove it at all unlike Former Bellator Pei." System said and Jin nodded his head confused. "You are not answering what he wants to hear, System." Pei sighed again, feeling the urge to show a large enough paper fan at the System if situation permits. "Healing Magic fastens the process of recovery, such as wounds healing. It assists the body by removing insignificant foreign body objects like a small bullet with a cure wounds spell. But what do you think happens, when say¡­a spear is stuck in you? I hope you don''t need for me to explain how a basic ''cure wounds'' won''t help much, right?" Pei asked and Jin nodded his head. "It would only stop the bleeding, and more basic ''cure wounds'' spells would need to be cast to close the wound even further. That is kind of how Chi Potions work too, right?" Jin remembered the time he had to chuck a potion to recover his chi so that the wound would stop hurting. "Yes and no. Those chi potions made your chi generation more potent by unblocking clotted chi points, allowing you to create more chi and thus assist you to stop the bleeding. But can ''cure wounds'' or chi potions able to help you with a chopped off hand?" Pei asked once again, and Jin shook his head, saying that he cannot grow a new hand out. "Exactly, that is where surgery and medical skills come in. Healing magic prompts the growth of your cells to replicate faster or in a way, enhances your body''s healing mechanism. You can say it is some sort of time acceleration magic or hell, a mixed bag of time acceleration and deceleration magic." Pei explained. "Fine, maybe Milk has spells that allow shit tons of time acceleration for you to regrow your hand back but not every healer in the world had powers like her, and they would surely be downright expensive," Pei said her alternate thoughts for a second before returning to her exposition. "Unlike true time acceleration magic, healing magic''s time acceleration portion is only focused on one particular spot, the wound. The spell also aids in numbing the pain though that particular component is currently argued by many scientists that it could be the rush of adrenaline with the aid of time acceleration magic. Still, that is debatable." Pei said as she leaned backwards in Jin''s chair. "And I can guess what you are about to ask. What about those even higher level spells? Or even the rumoured almighty magical spell able to bring one back from the dead? You do know why it has to be cast almost instantly ¨C okay at least a difference of five to ten minutes ¨C or else it won''t work? Two words." Pei asked as she pointed two fingers out. "Time Reversal¡­?" Jin blurted out before Pei, and she smirked as if Jin had been listening and learning as she nodded her head in delight. "Correct. That so called ''resurrection spell'' literally brings a person back to a state before they died. But do not confuse that with the resurrection with the Dantian core since it must be within the time limit to work. The longest I read is about 30 minutes? And contrary to the Dantian method, there are no worries about anything going wrong in the process provided one has the knowledge as well as a shit load of mana required to cast it. Something limited to those high grade ¡­very high grade spell users." "¡­No wonder my professor said that the Dantian resurrection was something like a quantum jump made easy. Eh¡­Easy as in feasible and reproducible." Jin commented out loud though Pei was not well versed with the modern world''s physics. "Ehh..okay. Anyways, that is healing magic explained in simple science terms. Even though those mages always claim that magic could never be explained by science, hah. So yeah while healing magic does have its uses, it also suffers from limitations. It is possible to produce ''miracles'' as proven by Milk, but would you rather hope to recreate a miracle, or be able to reproduce something 10/10 times through tried and proven methods?" Pei admitted with a bit of annoyance. "Then how come you did not come to assist me when the assassination happened? Oh yea¡­I think the System and Kraft had not released you to me yet when it happened, no wonder Milk had to¡­Ow!" Jin got hit on the head again with that large fan which suddenly appeared in her hands again and he kept his silence. "System deemed that the impromptu surgery with Milk and Peppers has a 98% confidence level it would succeed without the aid of Pei back then. Should the Head of Royal Zodiac Tiger die, the System had also determined that User have sufficient witness to prove his innocence. User had also attempted to aid the ailing Head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger which had already increased his chance of being judged innocent. Furthermore, if the Head dies, it aligned with the previous objective of revenge which the System had temporarily ceased for now." The System explained its rationale, and there was a slight pause in the conversation before Pei changed the topic. "Anyways, I will write down more of those flaws of your recovery instance. You concentrate on settling the few things that I pointed out. I will prioritise what you need more urgently for the surgical theatre so you won''t have to worry about your budget too much." Pei added as she continued to draw big red circles on the layout with Jin''s creator pen as if a teacher correcting her student''s mistakes. "Don''t worry User. System will compensate adequately when User completes the Recovery Instance objective." The System replied but Jin still did not believe the System when it comes to rewards. "Please don''t do that. Don''t give me hope." Jin said as he took another spare Creator Pen provided by the System and started working on the pointers Pei gave him. Chapter 409 Farming Worlds Scouting Team "Weapons Checked? Armour Checked? Light Flares?" Flame Ripper asked Meomi the WereCat and Sebastia the Minotaur Butler on their equipment status in the Werejackal''s home instance. They were assigned by Jin and Gold to scout the Farming World and report the severity of the Demon Rats infestation or as the Werejackals dubbed them: ''Farm Rats''. If needed, they would assist the existing rebel forces and perform guerrilla missions with them. But for now, their main objective was reconnaissance. Secrecy was of the utmost importance. Flame Ripper had been appointed as the leader for the team of three, and though he wasn''t the most familiar with the Farm World, the goblin undoubtedly had the most experience as well as the most power amongst them all. As his first action, the assassin had asked the System to provide them with a few sets of cosmetic inscriptions to blend in. It wouldn''t be a problem for Meomi since she could switch to a human form but the horns on Sebastia and Flame Ripper being all goblinish red would immediately attract attention. (The half masks were an option, but as soon as they discovered even once, everyone would be on the lookout for masked individuals.) However, Flame Ripper wasn''t taking any chances for the group and asked that Meomi to put on a new face too. Oddly enough¡­she took an inscription that made her look like a bald guy and demanded the rest of the team to call her baldy for the duration of the mission. Both Flame Ripper and Sebastia were speechless and they did not know what the werecat was playing. "Onee-sama! You forgot this!" Nyanmi shouted to Meomi as the team was finalising the checklist for the group. Meomi looked shocked and refused since what Nyanmi presented was her very own Sniper Whip, a personalised weapon given by Jin. "No way, I cannot allow you to loan me your weapon. Master Jin created that for you to use. What are you going to do without it?" Meomi asked and Nyanmi shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I can ask the System to make me a replacement one, right? The most I have to do is to spend some points. Even if it were unwilling, I would use my default sniper rifle or the whip Jin had previously equipped me with those upgrade battle cards. Don''t you worry too much about me. You need it more than me in that god awful Farming World." Nyanmi retorted and pushed the Sniper Whip back at her. Both werecats could have asked the System to create a new Sniper Whip for Meomi, but that would also mean that they would also need to recalibrate it for her own use. Moreover, they would need to spend system points for the recalibration, plus all the mods they had added into the existing Sniper Whip, such as a faster reloading magazine, longer barrel for range and more rapid transformation mechanism for the whip. Buying a weapon from the System would always result in getting a basic one. In the first place, it would have been Jin''s responsibility to equip his monsters, but he was consistently being swarmed with more work that he needed an alternate way of dealing this particular matter. Thus, he had asked the System to make an exception and start awarding his monster''s with System Points, which they could use to pay for any mods along with other personal calibrations. It was because Jin felt that his minions would know what they needed, and the monsters appreciated the extra freedom, being able to buy what they wanted. It had proven to make them work harder and pose more of a challenge to the cultivators. However, Jin would still personally give the battle upgrade cards to them since they were considered as new equipment and battle skills. Unfortunately, this process would have taken time and points, both of which they did not have much to spare at the moment. "Alright, in return, you take my right Gun Knuckle. That way, you can surprise the cultivators doing the Bank Heist Instance or the Random Arena Instance." Meomi insisted as she shoved her personal weapon to that little cat sister of hers. They were not blood related as Nyanmi had been loaned and later bought by the System, but it was the closest relative she had among these rowdy werejackals. "Heh, I bet those cultivators will be confused once more about which werecat is which." Nyanmi giggled and hugged Meomi before Flame Ripper announced that they were departing. Gold had already assigned them a place to start their investigation, and that was the very same mountains where Jin had fought against Keyrin. The System had informed them that it had noticed the presence of a single Farm Rat spying on Jin when he had disappeared. It wanted them to learn if that was a scouting Farm Rat or just a stray one. The difference? A scouting Farm Rat meant that there could be an outpost of the Farm Rats in the vicinity of the mountains. Gold had determined that it was spacious enough for Jin and the others to set up a rebel base there since it was considerably secluded. "Oh, and while you are at it, try to confirm the location of the other three monsters that Jin has yet to fight for the upgrading of his Living Armour Suit. But that is wayyyyy secondary." "If that''s the case, I suggest you guys follow this route¡­.here and here¡­" Grey had suggested in a meeting with Flame Ripper before their departure. Nevertheless, the goblin was not very satisfied with the route indicated by Grey even though it seemed like it was the shortest way through. Similarly, Meomi also stressed the change in terrain and landscape would be an arduous trek. "Worst case scenario, you guys can teleport out, I guess?" Gold reminded them since Jin did mention to use the System''s portal magic to the maximum. "Besides, the System has finally budged and allowed the teleportation of ''foreign objects'' since we have prepared a secure area for them to be teleported into." "Still, I feel it''s for the best if we use the long way instead. In that case, we can resupply our food supplies and gather some information in the smaller villages before we reach our destinations. Portaling will create a disturbance in the atmosphere. The change in magic ley lines in the background can be picked up." Flame Ripper said. After he became the Avatar of Ifrit, he was able to sense these things whenever a portal appeared. "I shouldn''t have to worry about such a possibility that much. The Farming World does not have that many mages compared to what you World has. The search for talented individuals with magical powers had always been quite a tenuous search, even for us Scholars of the Compass. While it''s not that rare for the inhabitants to have come in contact with a form of magic, being able to wield them as they please? That is another issue entirely. From what we had learned in the past, the Farm Rats have no such capability." Gold commented, but Flame Ripper shook his head. "As you have said, that is the knowledge of the past. I do not dare to assume. Take me as a prime example. Would anyone have ever even considered that someone like me would manage to gain the approval of Ifrit? Nope, absolutely not. I was content with the knowledge that I would gain the chance to evolve into a Hobgoblin. But here I am, happy for fate to have had other plans for me." Flame Ripper said as he presented himself to make a point. "So, we are not taking any chances until we learn the true capability of the Farm Rats. That also means unless it is an absolute emergency, we will try to avoid using portals." Flame Ripper iterated which his members readily agreed with him. "I concur with that approach. If the Farm Rats can hide in a clear open day, we have to be better than them and not provide them with opportunities to predict where we are or what is happening." Sebastia, who had gone through various scouting missions for Moloch, remarked to the scouting team''s debriefing. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go." Meomi was all serious, but she did not add anything else since the route that Flame Ripper was going for coincided with her personal objectives as well. Both Gold and Jin did not object to it as they trusted her not to take any rash actions when the time comes. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The System teleported them without a hitch, and they were at the very same place where there were still some faint tracks of the leftover burnt marks all over the plateau even though most of it were already covered by the daily snowing. Incidentally, all of them were simultaneously searching where the sun was at the same time and with just a nod. Flame Ripper took out a piece of chalk from his storage ring and marked the side of a nearby stone to indicate that this was their starting point. The entire party all had a basic storage ring courtesy of the System so that the monsters wouldn''t be hindered by weight as they travelled. (They were the very same rings used by Sebastia and the other Minotaur Battle Maid scouts when they were searching for the broken core. The System had transferred the rights to Meomi and Flame Ripper.) While they had all unanimously agreed on the direction to walk, Meomi stopped their tracks when they had barely begun. She placed her nose closer to the ground and subsequently crouching as if to have a better sniff. "I smell them. It''s not strong, but I smell them." Meomi, now disguised as a bald man, picked up the presence of a few Farm Rats. "Hmmm¡­ They are leaving their tracks too obviously. Definitely, not seasoned scouts." Meomi said as she(he?!) pointed at the direction where it was coming from. Sebastia, who disguised herself as a short haired athletic female adventurer, first cast a shadow hiding spell to reduce their presence upon hearing Meomi''s findings. Flame Ripper currently appeared as a teenage boy allowed Meomi to take the lead since she discovered the source. Perhaps, Gold''s prediction about the Farm Rats was correct, and he hoped that the magic portal had not caused too big of a disturbance that it had already alerted the rats. Within a few minutes, Meomi discovered that it was not just a few rats but at least a battalion of them and they seemed to be training themselves here near the snowy mountains. "Odd¡­I remember Keyrin telling us that there should be no- Oh¡­ Keyrin is not around anymore." Meomi slapped her bald head and made sure it was covered properly or else the reflection of her shiny new head would attract unwanted attention. However, her claws were instinctively at the ready until Sebastia told her to calm down. "Don''t be hasty. Remember we are here to scout. Any divergence from our mission objective, especially this early in the mission will make everything we wish to do futile." Sebastia reminded Meomi about the consequences of her actions, and she took heed reluctantly by withdrawing her claws. "To be honest, this could be a great opportunity to see how the Farm Rats function since we have no idea what to expect from them." Flame Ripper suggested as he took out a binocular from the storage ring as well as a notebook and a pen. "I see. Observing their actions and tactics, learning their chain of command, their routine as a rat. It''s a good idea." Sebastia whispered as she too continued to observe the battalion. "For me, I just want to kill their commander and key personnel if possible." Meomi should have thanked Nyanmi for not allowing her to refuse taking the Sniper Whip out for combat. "I think I can do you one better since you want them dead so much. Why don''t we ask the System to call out Keyrin to wipe them all out, once they are nearly done with this training exercise of theirs. That way, even if they end up learning that their camp has been wiped out, they will be looking for Keyrin instead of us." Flame Ripper offered as he watched over the rats. He was surprised at the performance of the Farm Rats. They were disciplined enough to train, had created tents and had also started building some barrows from the looks of it. "Hmm, fine. I''d prefer being the one to do it, but as long as they are dead¡­ Anyways, I shall be scouting the rats in my own way. Three is a crowd here and even if we have the height advantage now, who knows if they haven''t deployed any veteran scouts in the vicinity. We don''t want to end up as the mantis who was unaware of the oriole behind." Meomi said which Flame Ripper hesitantly agreed to her plans. Separately, Sebastia readily sympathised with both of them. She knew that one was doing his job based on strict orders while the other was dying to get some form of revenge against the ones who apparently killed someone dear to her. It was not an easy job for Flame Ripper, but he had to keep her in check. Too lenient and she might blow this particular mission right at the start. Too strict and it might turn into a case of insubordination. Since he wasn''t Jin, he had no way to enforce any orders and it could eventually lead the entire team into trouble. But for Meomi, this was more than an act of pure revenge. Ever since she had heard that Jin was going to assist the Werejackals against the Farm Rats, she had been training tirelessly all day and night and even to the point that she would volunteer to be selected for the Random Arena Instance. Instead of a clone, she would personally join the Arena Instance, and because of that, the System rewarded her with additional points. She then used those points to increase her dexterity and spent the remaining ones to modify her Gun Knuckle further. She even tried learning basic magic from Grey, but unfortunately, she lacked the talent. However, Grey admitted there was some sort of weird magic in her which he was unable to identify. The only thing he could do was help Meomi course that magical source into usable magic energy, thus allowing her to conjure sufficient magic energy to activate an inscription charm. Upon learning the skill, Meomi proceeded in advancing her Gun Knuckles by adding inscriptions in it since there was no way to wear any decent fitting armour given the nature of her shapeshifting ability. Nonetheless, it did not mean she could not wear accessories filled with inscription charms, and she got a tail ring and a pair of earrings with the points she had accumulated. Meomi repeatedly pushed her limits to the point where Nyanmi would exchange some of her own saved up System points for recovery potions or healing spells so that Meomi could save hers. If given a chance, the System would have evolved her long before the goblins did. (But because of the System''s nature when it comes to rewards, it would withhold such evolution trigger card from Jin until he accomplished more tasks to spur him on.) If all Meomi needed was just the trigger for the evolution, she figured that she should either train even harder to evolve naturally or get Jin''s attention. But ultimately, it was Jin''s decision when to evolve a monster if it required the trigger. Otherwise, it all depended on the monster''s own initiative to show to Jin that it was worthy of an evolution. Reason for that was Jin had discerned that an evolved monster required more resources from the System, which indirectly impacted Jin''s money flow. It was not apparent until recently with the newly evolved goblins. They needed more quality food to satisfy their hunger compared to when the monsters were first captured, and the System would only provide the least required amount of food necessary for survival. Any more would be on Jin''s expense, which he could see a potential significant uptake if all of his monsters were to evolve. That was also why she decided to volunteer herself for this scouting mission so that Jin would notice her. (The System did assist her by notifying her about this possible lead for the mission, which was the reason she had been hiding in Gold''s office even before the conversation started.) If there was someone who wished so badly to annihilate the entire race of the Farm Rats, it was none other than Meomi. She would not stop until she achieved her objective. All rats must die. Chapter 410 Magical Clay Craftsmen As the days went by, December was just around the corner. Jin and his monsters had been working their damndest to keep up the pace so that he could fulfil the mission objectives. So far, Flame Ripper and his scouting team were able to avoid any encounter with the Farm rats. Despite what Meomi said, she figured a bit of patience would not harm her current objective. But she took the time to learn and had already memorised the dynamic patrol patterns those farm rats had employed. On a separate note, the Dungeon City Fortress had gone through a lot of changes since the first day. Some smaller buildings on the first platform were completed, while the larger ones had started to take form. Moloch did warn Jin that adventurers and other monsters could visit their city at any point, so he had instructed the Dungeon Core to deny entry to anyone outside their territory. He wanted to ensure that what they were building, would remain a secret until the fortress was functioning properly. With the current timeline, Moloch felt that they could only open the dungeon ''doors'' at the end of 7th Jan. He also started to see why Jin loved to ''surprise'' others as even the minotaurs, orcs and goblins who were the ones building this magnificent city, were staring at it with bewilderment at the end of each day. The platoons of Goblin mages and combat engineers eventually arrived on the morning of the second day on time for the start of construction, only to be astounded by the sheer size of the city Jin was building. As instructed by Qiu Yue and the Sub System, the goblin mages and combat engineers were given a small workshop to start building the Sandroku Golems under the supervision of none other than Ayse herself. The craftsmen no doubt got a bit jealous but when they saw the work of marvel being created, most of them kept silent. Those goblin engineers and mages were fast workers and had hands small enough to manage the delicate work but Head Orc Researcher Ayse had also employed some of the Orcs to do the heavy lifting rather than make the mages waste their powers lifting the metal body pieces. It did not take long for the orcs to become intrigued, desiring to build their own version. Ayse had already prepared a special blueprint for them the moment she heard Jin and Qiu Yue discussed the worst case scenario of King Sol unable to loan them any more goblins. Even though such a scenario did not happen and there were currently more than enough goblins to create the Sandroku Golems, Ayse already predicted that the orcs would love to try and build one. It was to prove that they were in no way inferior to the goblins. Hence, Ayse carefully picked several quick handed orcs to handle the delicate stuff while some of the larger sized ones and a few mages did the heavier lifting of the Golem armour platings. The orcs, who were building their own version of Sandroku golems were indirectly competing against the goblin made Sandroku Golems despite the fact that they were working for the same master. Ayse purposely allowed both races to work away from each other as she could sympathise with her fellow orcs'' distaste for goblins. (Well¡­not exactly far away from each other since the workshops were just opposite one another.) If not for her having worked alongside the selfish researchers, changing her narrow view of the world, she too may have looked down on the goblins. (Granted, she did not expect other worlds existed.) So while the orcs and goblins were forbidden to fight directly, surely there was nothing wrong with a bit of friendly to prove who was superior between the two through the Sandroku Golems. So Ayse decided why not? It meant that more golems would be ready, at an earlier time frame and if successful, orcs could even participate in creating the foundation of Pand-Atlantis rather than just the goblins. She also knew how competitions might have a chance to create some friendly rivalry between the races to interact, so they break away from the stereotypes that were deeply embedded in them. Interestingly enough, the orcs and goblins had their own ideas about further improving the revised version of the Sandroku Golems. Although some revisions were flat out rejected by Ayse, she ended up accepting a few and allowed them to test it on the next golem they were building. However, that was under the condition that if the revised golem did not work, they had to salvage the golem and build the approved model. Not to mention paying for any parts that would unsalvageable like fried machine chips or components that broke down during the experimentation. Oddly, not one of them disagreed with this. Despite the consequences, both races were willing to risk it all to prove who was the better one at building. The goblin engineers seemed to have an advantage at first since some of them were the ones who previously worked on the first generation models in the Northern Valley but the few selected Orcs had experience with building Lost Tech artefacts. Apparently, those orcs came from engineering teams which were outsourced by the Military Research Department during the war since Ayse could not be bothered to handle everything herself. She had to focus on the more critical military inventions like the lost tech portal device. Thus, Ayse was also interested how those Orcs would fare against the goblins. Therefore, it became a mini arms race to see who could build the most versatile Sandroku Golem for both construction and combat use. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- At the same time, the craftsmen had worked in unison to make batches of various clay soldiers all in different shapes and sizes. Jespa, the Goblin Runesmith, had created a magical rune that allowed the clay soldiers to be activated with just a mind command while her cousin Hespeta and some other Weaponsmiths began crafting weapons for them. Since they were ultimately expendable, quantity preceded quality. Many of the magical clay craftsmen worked tirelessly day and night, rotating amongst themselves to create as many shapes and forms as their imagination would allow. Until now, there had been no request to create a specific sort of clay soldier model with a standard mould and tool because the System wanted as much data as possible on their magical clay. It may look like mashed up clay, similar to the ones used for children to play with, but it was the forming of the mud clay by the craftsman that gave them their unique quality. It would seem like an easy task from an outsider''s perspective since all they did was smash it together at first glance, but it wasn''t particularly straightforward. Similar to drawing, the magical clay craftsman would first imagine a basic structure and the form in their mind. While mashing it together, they would insert their mana into it and make sure that the clay mixed evenly with high quality spring water. That lump of clay in their hands would then slowly change its form without the goblin touching it at all. It was all through the manipulation of the prepared mana. The bare bone structure could then be created within ten minutes. The next step was to recreate the bodily features of the moulded clay. Unsurprisingly nearly all of their soldiers took on the forms of Orcs, Goblins or Ogres. After all, those were the creatures the craftsmen were most familiar with and had sufficient inspiration right in front of them. However, some of the more creative talented craftsmen who were bored making orcs and goblins had started to deviate from this. (Besides, it allowed them to break their general perception of the world they had been living in.) There were some Humans, Masked Humanoids though the majority were in the image of the Minotaurs since they were in plain sight. Suffice to say, the first iteration looked barely anything like Moloch''s servants, but it did provide the System with some feedback and the idea of letting Jin''s Monsters model for future versions. The last step was to add minute details to the clay soldier such as broken nails, an uneven set of teeth, skin folds at the neck and joints etc. According to the craftsmen, having more distinct details on the clay soldiers would increase the durability of the magical clay models, thus also more alive and vivid once animated. But unlike the clay soldiers, Jespa''s runes had to be carefully created. Her runes were essentially the heart, and the larger clay soldiers such as the lifesize Clay Ogres would have at least two runes inside of them. Having two runes not only made those giant clay monsters harder to kill, it would also give the perception that the Clay Ogres were invincible. Be that as it may, in truth, destroying one rune can slow the Clay Orges down considerable. Regardless, the clay soldiers would be nothing more than glorified decorations without her runes. Her work was of the utmost importance, which was why Jespa had not been too happy with her current predicament. She could not believe that she had been asked for hundreds if not thousands of her runes only to be placed into non living clay soldiers. Jespa initially thought the weird voice that instructed her was joking, but when she saw the magical clay craftsmen hastily building tens of dozens of those clay monsters, she realised it was not a joke at all. "I can only make 3 of those runes a day. Any more and I won''t be able to guarantee the quality as fatigue might become a factor. I won''t jeopardise my Runesmith oath to provide only the best just because you want a large amount of quantity in a short amount of time." Jespa tried to shirk that responsibility by talking her way out of the task at hand as she complained to Moloch, after making sure that strange Human was not about to appear again. She was hoping they would pass this tedious, monotonous job to some other runesmith. Unfortunately for her, Qiu Yue had not hired any other runesmiths since they were rare to find in the first place, much less a proficient one. Moloch had been given full authority by Jin to handle any other disputes. In view of the previous incident, Moloch had been strictly told not to bother Jin anymore, unless it was a REAL emergency. Since calling his master was out of the question, Moloch decided to take a gamble since the System was watching after him too. "Then why not switch to a lesser version of the rune, so that you can create more of them? You sure you are even up to the task for greater things?" Moloch folded his arms as he confronted the pompous runesmith. "Now what do you even mean by that? There is only one rune capable of animating those clay things! Do you even know how hard it is to create one?" Jespa defended herself while taking out a sample rune of Animate Dead from her haversack. It was one of the many runes that she had carried with her to the capital to show Qiu Yue and the other goblin advisors her work for the interview. "That is exactly what I mean. Can you really just produce ONE type of Animate Dead? Master Jin already has a shit load of zombie monsters that can do much more than just moving around. How about you show us something we cannot do ourselves!" Moloch tried to taunt Jespa, who only appeared confused on what it was he wanted. "Sigh. Have you never tried combining your Animate Dead with another spell? Something like¡­I don''t know. An Increase Attack Power Rune or something of that sort? That way you''d get Animate Dead with a Power Up." Moloch suggested and Jespa scoffed at his idea. "Combining two insignias into one rune? Are you mad?! This is only possible in those legends used to motivate aspiring Runesmiths. Even the most proficient Runesmith that I''ve ever known, my own master could never do that." Jespa stated matter of factly as she shook her head. "Then I suggest you better pack your bags and leave. Have you already forgotten what you''ve been told? Only those who can push their limit by showing what they can do with what little they have right now will be rewarded with a better workshop and a better lifestyle." Moloch recounted Jin''s words. "If you are not interested in furthering yourself, then there is no place for you to be here. It is a shame, but we will be better off, finding someone less talented and teaching them. Someone who won''t give up so easily, before even trying to find ways to do what she''s asked to do." Moloch was stern and it struck a raw nerve for Jespa. "¡­Wait¡­Its just that¡­ I don''t have the materials and tools!¡­ I mean, I may have the basic tools and can try with them, but the materials needed for combining two runes would be high tier and extremely rare to fi-" Jespa suddenly stopped in her tracks when Moloch used a card trick to reveal a specific material to Jespa. "You mean like this the one?" Moloch asked, and it completely shocked her wits away. "¡­Yes. How did you even manage to¡­" Jespa was lost for words. Even thought this was the first time she saw mithril it matched what she saw and read upon recognising the rumoured metal of legends immediately and Moloch just pointed his thumb backwards. "There''s a shitload where that came from. If you need to recover your mana, all you had to do was ask. I have this little birdy for you. It will do the job." Moloch said as a blue magpie came out from his vanishing card tricks with another sleight of hand. "So, stop complaining and start giving me results. Since you''ve come here, all you did was complain. Just take a look around you. All but you are busy with the tasks we assigned. All of them were given the bare necessities, but they all just made do with them." Moloch said as he folded his man puppet hands. "Give me all the combinations possible with Animate Dead. I do not care how you do it. I expect all the runes to have something special aside from allowing those figures to move. Consider it a punishment for trying to act all stuck up in front of our master earlier." Moloch said decisively and Jespa''s face turned white and became dumbfounded upon learning it was Jin. She then recalled and remembered that the orcs who were grumbling, kept their silence when he came into the picture. "That.. *gulp* that¡­that Human was the Special Royal Advisor Jin? I thought he was a humanoid¡­?" Jespa could hardly articulate her words correctly but Moloch managed to catch wind of it. "He may be human, but he is anything but ordinary. I can assure you that." Moloch replied as he spread his arms wide as if to portray that all this that Jespa was seeing now around her was all Jin''s effort. "And that stockpile of mithril? He prepared it especially for you when he learnt that you were supposed to be the most capable runesmith." Moloch turned his back and started to move away from her. "Therefore, don''t you dare disappoint our master. He might have given you a second chance with that terrible attitude, but the rest of us don''t." Moloch eyes turned pitch dark, and Jespa knew better than to mess around. Chapter 411 Luxury Recovery Instance "¡­So this is it, huh?" Jin looked at his watch and saw that the clock struck midnight. It was officially December. Throughout the past week, Jin alongside many other Another Jins had tirelessly worked to create not only the Christmas Instance as well as the revamped Recovery Instance with the help of Pei. The fox doctor lady had corrected a lot of glaring mistakes that Jin had made and pushed him to do better until the result turned out to be something similar to a Luxury Hospital Hotel. Yeap! No more of those crude common area bedding which did not provide any privacy for the cultivators to rest properly nor the uneasiness to be bunked alongside strangers. For the new Recovery Instance, everyone would be placed together according to the party they had created in the waiting lobby area unless of course, they had opted for the random party member option. Trust and privacy issues were important to Jin, and it was even more essential, for his female cultivators who wouldn''t like being placed together with some random male cultivators. Jin wished to avoid an incident where the males would start to harass, or (Panda) God forbid, take advantage of the females when it should be a place of resting. Even though such an incident hasn''t occured, Jin needed the trust of his customers. With him expanding his business in the near future all thanks to CEO Ke Loong, the possibility of going global was high. It also meant that there would definitely be people with ill intentions guaranteed to appear to harm Jin or his customers. It was best to set things proper even before such situations could happen. Sure, the System always had its eyes pried open for such offenders, but why take the risk? Thus, it would be for the most ideal to make the individual randoms be bunked into single room beds and let them chat with their last party through the Pandamonium App if they wished to communicate again. The rooms in the recovery instance were all furnished to have a grandeur look. Since space was not an issue for Jin, he designed them in such a way that it looked like a hotel suite room with hospital facilities and had Panda Nurses on call 24/7. Besides, the customers had paid premium ticket prices to play his dungeons. Jin could at least make the finishing experience even more memorable so that they would yearn to come to his shop again. What''s more, he even reintroduced the snack vending machines which a number of cultivators had been bugging him about ever since he had repurposed the existing second and third floor of the shophouse into a library. However, the most impressive thing he had done was to connect the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance to every ward. Should one choose to relax in it afterwards, the price was discounted by 10% as a show of appreciation for using Jin''s dungeons. "When you told me that you wanted to make it into a luxury experience, I didn''t expect you would go all out choosing different themes for different levels," Pei said as she shook her head looking at the revamped Recovery Instance while wearing a Victorian Dress. "Well I don''t deserve all the credit, I got my inspiration from you. Hahaha." Jin grinned when he pointed at the dress Pei was currently wearing. "Whatever," Pei smirked away from Jin''s sight as she toured one of the levels of the Luxury Recovery Instance where the interior decor was based on Greek and Roman architecture. The classical luxury theme of the place eluded grandness with a twist of modern interior design. The scheme colour of the decor was mostly white as it featured elements like tall pillars and marble tiles. He did not forget to include a bit of his own touches through Roman Statues but in Panda Forms. (As well as a parody painting on the ceiling of the main hallway featuring one of Michelangelo''s paintings, the Creation of Adam with a man touching a Panda God''s finger.) "Oh this is good. Awfully brilliant! But I feel like it lacks something¡­ Do you mind adding a fox at the corner? You know, the one to sin them all." Kraft chuckled as he came out from nowhere to admire the painting. Jin rolled his eyes at his bellator''s request. Even Pei found the idea revolting. "Since you are here, mind telling me how the social media thing is going? I had no time to check though I saw an email notification asking me to subscribe to a newsletter." Jin asked Kraft since he had noticed ''Bubbling Social Media Director'' in addition to Bodyguard, Most Awesome Original Bellator, Ultimate Fox Lover, Cyber Hacker, Counter Intelligence Agent on the list of titles on Kraft''s attribute page when Jin last saw his update. "Kiyu is having fun creating those publicity images and advertisements. For now, she is going to stick to a few pictures and a general video introducing your shop. Don''t worry. We have contacted some more popular users to further spread the word. The best part after having watched the video, not a single one asked for payment in return so that it won''t cost you a penny! Or erm Yuan or Dungeon Dollars- Gah! Whatever suits your boat." Kraft answered as he took out a phone gifted by the System to allow him to keep track of these social media activities. He showed Jin the video Kiyu created, which started very ordinarily, showing a glimpse of the various Instances and a few footages of cultivators fighting. However, as soon as she appeared in the video to showcase the Shop Instance, Jin felt a little absorbed watching it. If not for Pei right beside him, he would probably be bewitched yet again. "Oooh looks like Kiyu''s power may have grown again¡­ or are you just slacking off, Pei?" Kraft teased seeing how Jin tried to fight back, but Pei gave an annoyed look in return. "I suppose¡­there should be some feedback already?" Jin asked, and Kraft showed the statistics of the video uploaded by those popular users as well as their own channel. At first, Kiyu''s MeiBo channel was sluggish, but the day Kraft gave out the video to be shared around, her channel instantly boomed with thousands of unique IP addresses, indicating there were people, not bots, following her channel. The comments were the typical polarising sort ranging from ''That girl is effing hot.'' to ''That store must be desperate to hire such a hottie to promote, but maybe I will give it a try.'' Still, one fact was for sure, Kiyu attracted both genders, although it was apparent that the majority belonged to the male side. "Hehe, as long as there are publicity results. I will take them." Jin smiled at the number of views the channel attracted. "Not to belittle her, but did she honestly make that on her own? I find it somewhat hard to picture her as a person who would like to do video editing and such." Jin asked and suddenly he sensed another presence behind his back. Kiyu''s arms came forward and grabbed Jin while slowly caressing his body. She was more aggressive than Milk could ever be, but he was secretly enjoying it, even more than the previous time until he felt a sudden pang of sexual hungriness possessing him. Pei noticed that and immediately cast a spell with word enchantments for the first time, returning her master''s sanity. Jin came back to his senses and kindly asked Kiyu to get off of him despite the obvious fun she was deriving from her master''s futile resistance. "Got a taste of my abilities?" Kiyu asked, and Jin reluctantly nodded his head. "Similar to video editing, it''s not something I excelled in immediately, even though I had a talent for it. But anything can be learned and trained. The video you''ve seen is merely the latest iteration. It''s something that I worked my ass off, so it hurts my feelings to hear you have doubts." Kiyu playfully bit Jin''s ear and gave him a light cheek kiss before leaving his side. "Thankfully, the System interface is user friendly enough that a bumpkin like me was able to quickly get the hang of it. Kraft would provide a few naughty tips every once in a while. Hehe!" Kiyu explained as she flicked her hair to the side. Jin did not want to know what kind of ''tips'' Kraft had given Kiyu, but as long as it managed to bring more customers in and is not borderline offensive, he did not care. (He just did not want any possible investigators querying him about the content he was responsible for.) "Alright, I''m sorry for having doubted you. Please keep up the good work. I believe I informed Kraft about the Christmas Instance a few days ago. Have you managed to prepare anything for it? Personally, I would like to have the Instance released as soon as possible since it''s already December." Jin said as he changed the topic. "You do know, you can just send me the details directly, right?" Kiyu replied but Jin shook his head. "Kiyu, you are the most attractive and seductive person I''ve ever met. I''m pretty sure I would embarrass myself going crazy over you, if not for Pei. It''s best I go via Kraft. The lesser evil." Jin told her the truth, and Kiyu pretended to act very disappointedly by going down on her knees while holding her hands close to her chest. "You hurt me so badly, Master. I work my hardest to be rewarded by you, yet you shun me so unfairly. Uh huuu uh huuuu~!" Kiyu cried her crocodile tears, which Pei told Jin to ignore acting. "Boo, Pei you are no fun at all." Kiyu stuck her tongue out in retaliation as she stood up, adjusting her bright pink tight fit dress which showed her figure prominently. "In all seriousness, please send me the details directly in the future. The video for the Christmas Instance is done. You can take a look, and if you approve of it, we will upload it immediately." Kiyu said with a straight face. "Okay¡­but you did not require my permission for the previous one, so go ahead with this one too. I trust you can provide solid content for the public to view and bring me a fortune." Jin praised her and Kiyu''s expression perked up. "You¡­sure?" Kiyu did not expect her master to be this supportive of her work. Kraft looked at her and nodded his head too. He still remembered how previous System Users had viewed her as merely an object of desire and not a treasured bellator. (Ming was not one of them since he had not had the chance to come into contact with the locked up ''troublemakers''.) "Be honest, did you let me play with Jin''s emotions so that you can show me that he might be a cut different from our former masters?" Kiyu sent her thoughts only to the two bellators beside her. "How is he different? Still just as lecherous as every other man." Pei secretly smiled back at them. "But I have to admit that at least he makes an effort to resist compared to the rest of the masters we''ve encountered before¡­and he is receptive to feedback. He can improve if he moves in the right direction." "That is why the System was willing to release the two of you to me as part of his reward. Even though the System does not show it, it had begun to trust Jin more¡­ Or at least it''s willing to take a high risk bet with him." Kraft replied via his thoughts while Jin was busy fiddling with his phone. "Blah, the System is as shady as ever if you ask me. Trust is a luxurious commodity to it." Pei said as Kiyu came over and hugged her. "Do your job well and don''t tease him that much." Pei gently rubbed her head before Kiyu returned to her newly created room in Jin''s Terrace House to publish the video of the Christmas Instance that would be released later in the afternoon. Chapter 412 Gathering at Lele Café "Hey, did not expect you to be here too." Bu Dong greeted Yue Wen, Yue Han''s elder sister, who was waiting for the other members of the Venus Four in Lele Caf¨¦. "Shouldn''t that be my line? Why are you here? Don''t you have exams right now? Yue Han told me that he had to study for one last paper." Yue Wen asked in an interrogating voice when she suddenly felt a shift of chi presence in the vicinity and a deep sense of guilt in the surrounding. She quickly turned her head and saw Yue Han trying to creep away from the scene after he went to the toilet. "Ma Yue Han! Where do you think you are going?!" Yue Wen asked, and Yue Han guessed he was busted. The stern look from his sister immediately revealed that if Yue Han did not tell the truth, he would be in even bigger trouble. He might run, but he could not hide forever since they were living under the same roof. Either way, being reprimanded now by her would be better than letting their parents know about it. "Didn''t you tell us just this morning that you had one more exam on Tuesday?" Yue Wen folded her arms and stared at Yue Han even though his eyes shifted to the ground. "Yeah¡­ I did." Yue Han confessed without feeling too guilty. "But it''s just a series of multiple choice questions! And I know that subject by heart already. That''s why -" "That''s why you decided to play with Bu Dong? So are you going to take responsibility if he fails his exam just because you can excel at it?" Yue Wen questioned, but Bu Dong decided to intervene on Yue Han''s behalf. "Actually¡­my exam subjects are over. I took different subjects from Yue Han this year, and I''m willing to bet my life that he is really good with Physics. It shouldn''t be a problem for him to pass with flying colours even if-" "You shush!" Yue Wen interrupted him in an angry tone before she breathed out a sigh and calmed herself down a bit. She noticed that the customers in Lele Caf¨¦ were looking at them with bated breath. Even Shen Si Fang had decided to remain at the sidelines for now. Never mess with a lady when she''s angry. "Fine. However, I expect you to ace that exam! Also, you two are joining me for Jin''s new instance." Yue Wen took the opportunity to blackmail Yue Han, which made Bu Dong acknowledged what a crafty girl she was. "Don''t you have Shi Hui and Jia Ying¡­Oh¡­" Yue Han saw from a distance the two aforementioned girls with Se Lang and Deng Long. "I see¡­okay. I get what you mean now." Yue Han mumbled which Bu Dong agreed reluctantly to it. "It''s okay. We''ll have Jing Ru with us too. She is coming to join us a bit later, hopefully not too late that we miss the opening of the new instance. In any case, the group dynamics are even out a little since you two excelled in close range." Yue Wen said as she grabbed Yue Han and screwed his head with her knuckle. "You are joining me no matter what, else I will tell mom that you lied about going to the library!" Yue Wen''s blackmail worked perfectly fine. "Owwww. But Ow ow ow!" Yue Han could have tried to overpowered his sister when Yue Wen grappled him, but he decided to give it a rest since it was his fault in the first place. "But technically Jin does have a library! So I was sorta telling the truth!" Yue Han argued back making his sister stopped in her tracks and unknowingly laughed. "Hahahah! Okay, that''s true." Yue Wen replied and let her younger brother off the hook for now as her two female friends and the policemen came in to greet her. "Ahh¡­guess it may be a good idea teaming up with her." Bu Dong told his best friend as he showed him the chat message he had just received. "Why? I cannot believe that Kong Xian abandoned us for real? I thought we had agreed on today!" Yue Han complained as he had informed his girlfriend, Xing Li, that he would be playing with the guys on the weekend. Kong Xian, Bu Dong and Yue Han had agreed to come together and check out the Christmas Instance on the day it would be released. If he had known Kong Xian would abandon them for his girlfriend, Yue Han would have also gone ahead and had a study date with Xing Li instead of playing with Bu Dong. Not to mention, he wouldn''t have had to lie and be caught by his elder sister. "Then you should have no qualms teaming up with me and Jing Ru, right?" Yue Wen had overheard her brother complained and Bu Dong nodded his head. "Why not? It''s not like we aren''t friends or anything." Bu Dong changed his tone a hundred and eighty degrees after he found out Kong Xian abandoned them. Besides, what he said was true. Bu Dong had been best pals with Yue Han for so long, his family kind of treated him as one of theirs. Because of that the Venus Four also knew Bu Dong for most of his life and treated him like their own younger brother. (Even though they sometimes shamelessly took advantage of his kindness and money.) "Have you guys seen the video that Jin''s new promoter made for the new Christmas Instance?" Se Lang who sat down at the table next to them asked as he swiped out his phone to show the rest and they all nodded their heads aggressively. Kiyu was in a little Santa Helper suit when she promoted the instance showing vague snapshots of the Christmas Instance, but they were not sure if the costume made her sexy or it was of her own doing. "Yeah I did! She is so beautiful. So hot." Shi Hui couldn''t help saying what was on everyone''s mind with her face turning very bubbly though Jia Ying sent a death stare at Se Lang for showing the video. "What did I do wrong? I just- Ow!" Se Lang felt a sudden pain coming from his feet and noticed that Jia Ying was stepping on it hard and her eyes were emanating a wave of murderous energy which even Deng Long could feel. "Just apologise!" Deng Long sent a private chi transmission to Se Lang which he quickly did and his buddy did a follow up to save his ass¡­ Or so he thought. "Oh yeah, girls. Se Lang is treating us for the new Christmas Instance." Deng Long said which Yue Wen thanked Se Lang immediately upon hearing it from the opposing table. "WAAIT?! I didn''t-" Se Lang wanted to protest Deng Long''s sneak attack, but the girls were already giggling across the tables with Bu Dong and Yue Han seemingly having disapproving looks for his actions. "Why are you just treating the girls? Come on, treat the students too!" Yue Han said back, and that was when Shen Si Fang came to take their orders since as they were all seated. "You might as well treat the entire caf¨¦ since everyone heard you." Si Fang teased while waiting for their orders and Se Lang became embarrassed to the point he wished to dig a hole to hide his face. "He might be able to do that. Recently, he earned an award with cash incentive for catching a group of Ruby Rat gangsters trying to gang up on him." Deng Long boasted about Se Lang''s endeavours that the latter was left speechless. "Oh is it the one where he single handedly beat them up for resisting arrest and attempting to harm a police officer with lethal weapons?" Shi Hui asked and Deng Long nodded his head. The people in the cafe were murmuring about his exploits and saying how the Ruby Rats were becoming a nuisance. "Hahaha, don''t tease that man anymore. But thank you for making this street a lot safer. More and more Ruby Rats have been loitering around the shopping district that it made people feel unsafe." Si Fang sighed. "Boss Shen, you should train yourself up at Jin''s store since you are situated so close to him. If the Ruby Rats ever dare to disturb the cafe, you can at least defend your store." Yue Wen, who was also a frequent patron of Lele Caf¨¦, encouraged him with some concern. "Ahahah, I''m afraid I don''t have a great aptitude for much cultivation training." Shen Si Fang replied with a tinge of regret in him, but suddenly all seven of the cultivators were fiercely encouraging him to give it a try. "Trust me. I thought I was useless and was already content that my cultivation let me stay awake at night slightly longer. But look at me. I even managed to reach Grade 4 all thanks to Jin''s dungeons!" Yue Han said proudly. "Yeah, that little kid now can last longer in the night, burning more midnight oil playing video games with Bu Dong instead of studying." Yue Wen rolled her eyes as she remembered how she was awoken all of a sudden because Yue Han screaming out of the blue after winning an online game match. "You should at least try the random arena instance. That particular instance will match you with a monster suited to current grade, and you can start training from there. " Shi Hui suggested as that was how she trained her skills up every once in a while if she was not with Se Lang or the rest of the Venus Four. "Plus it''s on the cheaper side of the types of instances he offers." "Alternatively, you can attempt the Goblin Raid Event. I heard that Jin is planning to extend it up till Feb next year. There are all sorts of prizes to be earned, and the ticket price is quite reasonable. Even those grandmas and grandpas from the Morning Taichi Group have joined in." Se Lang proposed other options to Si Fang. "Oh ho. I heard it''s best not to mess with those old folks. They may not look like it, but they pack quite a punch against those orcs when bunched together. If I am not wrong, even the Ruby Rat gangsters have begun to be wary of them." Deng Long remembered overhearing some Grannys boasting how they enjoyed the dungeon run during his morning patrol. "Heh, who knows? Maybe this Christmas Instance might have something easy for beginners to test it out. Especially after the release of the Escape City Dungeon Instance that featured the Deep Ones." Bu Dong chimed in which Ying concurred. "Yeah, seems like Jin has a tendency to release a relatively easy content or service instance and a hard content alternatively to continue to attract people. Unless he decided to spice it up for this coming Christmas Instance." Jia Ying added. "Hahah, you guys. While I thank you all for your concern, are you all going to order something?" Si Fang asked, and they began to order some drinks to pass the time while waiting for Jing Ru. There was still an hour before the opening, and the two groups needed some space to sort out the equipment they recently bought. However, for Shen Si Fang, he had been thinking long and hard whether to join the crowd too. He did not want to remain helpless if those rowdy Ruby Rat gangsters decided to show up one day and trash his place. The police had sent an updated memo to the Shopping District committee to be wary against the Ruby Rats since there were increased reports of these gangsters illegally gathering around the shopping district. Fortunately, the police too, had stepped up their patrols since it was nearing the festive period. With Jin giving them new police equipment and inscriptions, the police were better equipped to handle the Ruby Rats. In addition, the police increased the number of training they had via Jin''s dungeons and many had advanced their cultivation grades in less than a month. There were policemen whose cultivation had stayed stagnant for years finally managed to reach a new cultivation grade all thanks to Jin''s tough dungeons. Each newcomer to the store was pleasantly surprised how reinvigorated they felt after trying his shop out, and the advancement of their colleagues prompted them all to improve continuously. Even Lai Fu, the general store boss of Fresh Price began to say positive stuff about Jin''s store after Jin kept his promise of providing him with a darn good experience in the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance. Being a rather impatient person for such an opportunity to fish for free, Lai Fu was not able to wait any longer when he found out that his old fishing pals were not able to commit. So, he decided to invite the shopping committee members in order not to waste the one time chance even though there was no time expiration on this particular favour. Thus, the first experience of Jin''s store, which Si Fang received was more than fantastic. It was memorable. "Perhaps¡­I should ask Lai Fu to accompany me to try out the dungeons." Si Fang wondered as he admitted feeling a bit envious of the bunch of cultivators laughing and talking about what to expect for this particular new Christmas Instance. He had watched the promotional video with Kiyu in it and somehow that video made his heart itch to try it out. "Hi guys! Sorry I am late!" Jing Ru greeted them as she waved goodbye to her father, who had given her a lift to Jin''s store. "Ahh, Jing Ru! I heard that your Dad brought you to try out some real monster hunting at the city''s outskirts!!" Shi Hui asked and Jing Ru nodded her head as she took her phone out and showed a picture of what she had killed to everyone "This¡­isn''t this a One Winged Wolf? That''s like a Grade 5 monster!" Yue Han exclaimed excitedly as the phone was being passed around and everyone was praising her. "Wow, a clean headshot." Se Lang praised her and Deng Long who was at his side agreed. "Yeah, surprisingly, it''s not as hard as I thought it would be. Somehow, the monsters I killed paled in comparison to Jin''s. Still, it''s rather concerning that such a high level monster was sighted in the area." Jing Ru replied. "Hmm, I''ve heard of an increase in the number of reports of monster sightings, but they are still within the errors of margins according to my buddy from the Border Guards." Deng Long tried to talk down the situation. "I gotta say I envy you a bit. I wish I had a father to give me an opportunity to try monster hunting as a licensed Monster Slayer." "Aww please, as I said, they were really nothing compared to Jin''s monsters. Anyways, let''s get going!" Jing Ru replied, and the whole gang of Pandawans bid goodbye to Si Fang. Meanwhile, some of the customers were chatting whether to try out the Christmas Instance as advertised loudly by the cultivators and Si Fang could see that Dungeons and Pandas was becoming a big deal to the local community. "Yeah¡­perhaps I should give it a try soon." Si Fang pondered before he sent out a message asking his other committee members if they were interested in joining in after opening shop hours. Chapter 413 Business Owners "So¡­you are finally planning to try one of Boss Jin''s instances?" He Rong, the shop owner for toy models, Toyz Contention, came into the now empty shop of Lele Caf¨¦ to find Shen Si Fang looking through his storage ring. He saw Lai Fu, the Owner of the general goods store, Fresh Price, and Ke Ru, the franchise store manager of the shopping district''s Wacdonalds sitting at a corner having a coffee break together. "You came too?" Ke Ru giggled a little, but her wrinkles were visible. With time, age had started to catch up on her. Luckily, the spiritual powers gained through killing the monsters in Jin''s dungeons on the occasional visits made it easy for her to maintain her cultivation and thus better skin complexion. That was why in recent times all the grannies would smiling wide with glee. And people wondered why some girls in Jin''s store were battle maniacs. Most would say that it was to maintain their beauty, although Jin offering those beautiful clothes with inscription slots made the battle ''addiction'' worse. "It''s been quite a while since you picked up your weapon. But I thought you said you would not do so unless you retired from your caf¨¦?" Lai Fu asked, and Si Fang laughed bitterly. "Oh come on, you know exactly what happened that time when I picked my weapon, right?" Si Fang sighed upon mentioning the past. "Don''t you think you should give me some credit for the courage of wanting to pick up my sword again?" "How could anyone forget? Aaaahhh, those were the days¡­ You were so eager and nervous to prove yourself that you tripped and stabbed He Rong in the butt." Ke Ru laughed as she reminisced how the four of them went dungeoneering in the past before they became individual shop owners. "And then the monster ambushed you, and I had to fight with a broken sword stuck in my butt just to protect your ass." He Rong shook his head, but to Si Fang, it was extremely embarrassing because he had wanted to impress a girl that he liked a lot. And she was none other than the shop attendant in the dungeon store. He had boasted to her that she should watch his performance¡­ unfortunately, she did. He became a laughing stock that he did not patronise any dungeon supplier ever since, until Jin''s arrival. "I wonder what happened to that store attendant girl." Lai Fu wondered out loud as he offered a sit to He Rong. "Last I heard, she was going out with this hunky high cultivation grade dude. Ah, don''t you worry Si Fang. Your wife is so much better than that girl. Speaking of which, did you tell her you were going out for a dungeon instance?" He Rong replied to the group while asking Si Fang for a free coffee. "She did not believe me until I showed her the electronic ticket I bought from Boss Jin''s store. Surprisingly, she was very supportive about me trying the Christmas Instance." Si Fang said as he kept his sword in his storage ring once again. "Huh, I heard that the new Christmas Instance is unlike the rest of Boss Jin''s dungeon instances from my regulars. They tried it just now and informed me that it was fascinating. I''ve asked them for more details, but they replied it would be best to take a look at it myself." Lai Fu shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, even that Niu Lang who works for Boss Jin, did not want to tell me any details at all. Even when I promised him more discounts in exchange, he remained tight lipped about it." He Rong shared as he remembered that fellow toy model enthusiast who kept asking for more and more tools as well as advice on how to build them properly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s get going. I want to go back home after the instance to dry my clothes." Ke Ru said, but He Rong had yet to have his coffee. Si Fang outright denied He Rong and they all walked towards Jin''s store. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "No way!" the four middle aged business owners were stunned when they entered the shop instance. The interior d¨¦cor had turned into a Christmas theme. 3D holographic snow was falling from the ceiling and later disappearing the moment it dropped on the ground. There were piles of real pure snow at the corners of the auditorium that did not get dirty from touching it, which gave people the chance to play with it. (Which Jin found many of them to be very childish since all of them unhesitatingly throw those snowballs at his big headed panda costume.) However, the most striking feature was the gigantic Grand Fir tree that was over 50 metres tall filled with multiple decorations from big bulky socks, toys, artificial candies to mini stuffed toy pandas trying their best climb the top. Speaking of the top, there''s a panda with angel wings and halo holding onto a star and once every while, it would shimmer with a bright light that caused the entire Grand Fir tree to emit a noticeable rainbow aura around it. "IT''S NOW!" Someone shouted and suddenly everyone who had been minding their own business in the store immediately perked up. "Why are they rushing towards us?" Lai Fu, who was admiring the tree, looked at the incoming horde of cultivators. "I think it''s not to us but this!!" Si Fang pointed at the side of him and indicated the tree was glowing with an immense aura. Suddenly his phone vibrated and so did the entire groups of cultivators. He realised that everyone in the vicinity of the tree had picked up their phones, all cheering. Ke Ru took out her phone and saw a notification from the Pandamonium App, which automatically got updated when entering Jin''s store. "Oh! It''s a lottery wheel!" Ke Ru exclaimed which prompted the rest to check their phones carefully. The lottery wheel had various chances to win bronze, silver and gold panda medals but the odds were smaller for the silver and gold medals. For the first spin, Ke Ru managed to get five silver medals while the rest got 15 bronze medals. When they asked around, a nearby customer told them that every time the tree shimmered with a rainbow aura, they had to be near the tree to receive this free lottery wheel chance. "However, it happens randomly, and there does not seem to be any specific intervals. Sometimes it can take two hours, other times even just 1 minute apart! I think Boss Jin did this to prevent anyone from ''loitering'' at this place just for free goodies." The male customer explained. "There may also be a limit on how many times you can get it too, per day that is. I read that five is the maximum from certain users on the forum, but I''ve yet to confirm it personally since this was just my fourth time." Another male customer said and the store owners nodded their head in acknowledgement. "That is not like Jin to give precious medals out like candies." Lai Fu who had confronted Jin before knew that this was not his characteristic. "Hahah, you will understand when you enter the Christmas Instance." A Santa Panda''s muffled voice came from behind them. "Oh, Boss Jin!" The owners said in unison when the Santa Panda took off his large bulky panda head to reveal Jin. (Actually, it''s Another Jin manning the store.) "I am pleasantly surprised that you guys are here." Another Jin greeted them back in a happy tone and He Rong told him about their situation. "So¡­yea erm that''s why we haven''t tried any dungeon instances together for a very long time." He Rong explained the non embarrassing version to Jin, stating that they were budding cultivators before they became business owners and did not have the time to cultivate at all. But with Jin''s dungeon opening all day round, they thought it was not too hard squeezing in some time to get a bit of a workout. "Yeah, we are planning to train so we can guard our personal establishments and not let those rowdy Ruby Rats make us look like clowns." Ke Ru said even though the risk of her getting injured should technically be lesser, especially with many of the cultivators who passed by Jin''s store, would certainly patronise Wacdonalds every once in a while. But it was true that it would not hurt bringing their cultivation grades up to defend themselves from possible attacks. "Thus, we would like to try the Christmas Instance as advertised in your promotional video." Lai Fu replied which made Jin ponder for a while. "To be honest, the Christmas Instance is not exactly the best place to start proper training. It''s more like a service instance rather than serious dungeon instance. Though that may change somewhat in the coming days." Jin revealed with a bit of mystery, and Si Fang face turned white. "But¡­I''ve already bought the electronic ticket from the Pandamonium App¡­" Si Fang seemed down and the rest of his fellow store owners began to laugh at his terrible luck. "Seriously, the only times you''ve had good luck was with finding your wife and the cafe. You really cannot be doing anything else." He Rong laughed as he slapped Si Fang''s back to comfort him. "Okay, actually with your current grades, I suppose you can use the new instance as a method of training your cultivation too. Though in Lai Fu''s case, who is STILL a Grade 4 cultivator, it would probably be more of a fun experience for him." Jin revised his explanation upon looking at their grades via the System''s Pandamonium App. (The System could portray the stats of a cultivator in the dungeon for Jin to examine if he commands, but Jin guess the phone was more natural than staring at someone for a long time.) Jin also purposely mentioned Lai Fu''s name to make him a little guilty since that General Store Owner had decided to take up the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Instance free tickets and never return to patronise a second time. It made Jin slightly bitter. Yet it seems that his reply had no impact on the General Store Owner one bit. "However, in the future, when I add in a special feature for that instance, I assure you that everyone will be able to use that service instance as a part of their training regime," Jin replied as he took down the rest of the Panda Costume that he was wearing in front of them. "If you want, I can escort you guys there and provide several recommendations to train your cultivation," Jin added. "Sure, why not?" Lai Fu took him up on the offer and Jin proceeded to teach the store owners how to use Pandamonium App. Ke Ru remembered the mere basics since she did a dungeon or two before, but it did not hurt to have an impromptu tutorial as a refresher from Boss Jin. While he did not have to do any of this, he found it could potentially be beneficial to stay on the good side of the shopping district committee. Nevertheless, he did not give any business discounts to them, and they knew it was not personal, just the job. "Don''t we need to be in a party or something?" Si Fang asked remembering how the Pandawans in the morning were talking about team strategies and stuff. "Hahah! You will understand when you enter the instance." Jin smiled as he commanded the System telepathically to teleport them into the Christmas Instance. "Oh. My. God." "What is THIS?!?!" Lai Fu shouted, and the rest of his group were shocked too. "You created all of this?!" Lai Fu could not believe his eyes and Jin nodded his head proudly while he saw their stunned faces like all the other customers that first came into the instance. "Hi! Welcome to WunderPanda! A Winter Wonderland Theme Park to cater to every cultivators'' desires and fulfilling their wildest imagination!" A Panda Mascot came out from the front gates to greet them cheerfully. Chapter 414 WunderPanda Theme Park Instance WunderPanda! Jin had this inspiration ever since he used the broken theme park for the zombies'' home instance. Every single monster loved the theme park (including Derpy before he was no longer allowed) despite its terrible working conditions. Therefore, Jin decided to reward his monsters for their hard work (especially with the whole war) with a tremendous Service Instance to provide them with another place to rest, relax and enjoy. But as he was designing it, he suddenly thought why make it exclusive to his monsters? Why not open it to the public as well? This way, Jin could recuperate some losses from building this instance as well as ensure future profits if it turned out to be viable. His customers might even like meeting the monsters they fought in person and perhaps take pictures with them too. Giving the monsters some fame and joy would definitely be an excellent way to foster a relationship between them and the cultivators. However, Jin felt that a need to cramp in a little more than usual for this particular service instance mainly because he was aware that only a fraction of his customer base used his other services instances on a regular basis. His primary source of income undoubtedly originated from his Dungeon Instances. Jin had considered decreasing the prices of the service instances to induce more people to try it out and hopefully keep using them, but the System begged to differ otherwise. The price was meant to keep the service instance exclusive (except for Panda Muscles Instance) as the System did use top notch materials to create the particular instances (even though they were considered ''scraps/trash'' where it purchased them). Jin thought that it was unusual for the System to disagree to something that could bring in more customers. He was even more surprised to learn that it did not mind the losses as it was thinking more of the long term where other wealthy cultivators, especially the higher grades, were to join Jin''s store. "You sure we can even attract such people to our stores?" Jin once looked at the statistics of the customers who entered his store. They were mainly Grade 1''s and Grade 2''s. Only with time and persistent training from the cultivators who loved the place did their grades went up. That was evident with the Pandawans. "About fifty percent or more high grade cultivators are wealthy enough to pay for such a price. In fact, every other world runs on the same principle. Wealth brings power. Power brings prestige. Prestige brings wealth. " The System stated blatantly. "Right now, User has nothing in his name, but the System has the power to assist User to increase his prestige, thus bringing User more money. Other users will eventually notice your store. System recommends preparing some VIP features to make it even more expensive, as those people like to feel a cut above the rest." The System stated unwilling to compromise on the prices unless Jin could convince it. For example, that 10% discount on the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring service instance was a decent move by Jin, though it had already touched on the System''s limit of what it would allow. So in order not to compromise on quality and price, Jin decided to use another kind of business model and hence that became the perfect time to implement the theme park idea. They were going to sell them relatively cheap entry tickets and then burn the customer''s pocket linings with the rides and merchandise which were available in the theme park. Aside from that, it was not all the theme park could offer. WunderPanda was not going to be just an ordinary theme park but a theme park cum Cultivation Zoo. Jin initially wanted to mix the live zoo animals and the theme park together but quickly realised that it would be better to give the zoo animals the feeling of a natural habitat which would make them happier. Happier and freer animals would enable them to portray their individual skills. Thus, while the instance right now was mainly about WunderPanda, Jin had placed the zoo right opposite of the theme park, so the cultivators have to make a choice which to visit in the future. The idea of implementing a Cultivation Zoo Instance as a standalone service instance had been in his to do list, but because of the System''s constant reminders to visit Grandma Yuan, he got partially influenced by the System. Thus, Jin decided to include the zoo portion as part of the theme park instance even though he had yet to contact Grandma Yuan''s assistant. He was planning to visit Grandma Yuan anyway and learn more about the Demon Exorcist matter. Therefore, he might as well discuss both issues at the same time. (True enough, the System now placed visiting Grandma Yuan as a priority task.) On a separate note, Jin had already prepared a number of selected natural habitats for the animals to live in, especially a bamboo forest mountain habitat for the pandas. (His assuming he would be getting one!) Jin could never forget the pandas he met in the zoo, especially Xin after forging that spiritual union. Though for now, a signpost and construction barriers was placed opposite the theme park entrance that stated the following: ''Currently under construction. Opening soon in 1st quarter of the New Year!'' "This place is fantastic." Si Fang praised as he walked alongside the store owners to check out the WunderPanda theme park. The pathways were filled with both cultivators and even some of the monsters which he had seen advertised outside Jin''s store. As expected by Jin, most of the cultivators initially thought that they were some NPC mascots which were masquerading as the monsters which they fought with like the werejackals. However when the monsters started commenting on the cultivators when they were taking pictures together, the cultivators realised that they were like the monsters they had fought. Some of the monsters even remembered the cultivators that gave them a hard time and to the customers, they could not believe they are interacting with such a highly advanced AI for an NPC. (They would never guess that the monsters were real, but the more perceptive ones thought otherwise.) Through further observations, the store owners realised that each ride had a theme corresponding to a type of monster previously encountered in the Dungeon Instances. Even the previous themed dungeons, the Halloween Instance and the Qixi Festival had their own attractions. The Panda Mascots at the front of the theme park handed out a WunderPanda map brochure which showed all the currently available rides and every one of them was contemplating which one to try first. "There''s the Goblin Waterlog ride, going through the depths of the jungle and subsequently through a waterfall," Jin suggested as he pointed at the map and later raised his hand to show where the ride was. The store owners saw a cliff far ahead with a steep waterfall and people screaming their lungs out. "It''s not a game station that can be used for training, but I assured you the view from the top, and the thrill you get is -Oh erm¡­Yea."Jin then stopped and realised that the middle aged adults might not necessarily want to take a thrilling ride. "The Zither Mistress String Obstacle Course seems exciting judging by the description." He Rong said as he told the gang that it was more of a game to earn panda medals than a ride. The cultivators would have to try reaching the other end, a relatively short distance of around 400 metres in the shortest amount of time possible. As a matter of course, there were a lot of obstacles placed in their way, and they needed to avoid every string created by the Zither Mistress, Ke Mi. The System had assigned a clone to do the job, but Ke Mi was allowed to personally entertain them if she wished. Since it was the first opening day of the Theme Park Instance, Ke Mi had decided to be on the set to experience it herself. Jin briefly told them that it was a timed race, and every string they got hit by would increase the timing by 5 seconds. As long as they stayed under a certain time limit, panda medals would be awarded making for a fun form of training too. If a team of people participated, they could enter as a relay and possibly earn more panda medals as a group. "What about this? Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge?" Si Fang asked, and Jin answered it was something similar to rock climbing but instead of a cliff, he had to climb up the Ancient Treant Shu and grab a prize ticket that was hanging off its branches. "Technically, it does not matter how long you take, as long as you do not fall and trust me, Shu will definitely make things difficult. But there is also timer for the more competitive cultivators to have their names in the board of rankings." Jin said with confidence. He added that this was also a game and like the rest, it would cost five panda medals each round for the first three rounds of the day. If they wished to retry more than three rounds, it would cost them more panda medals as a multiplier would be added into the cost, else they could alternatively spend some real cash for doing so (which was slightly expensive.) Now everyone understood why Jin had revamped the amount of panda medals given. It was not just for new equipment but to spend for this theme park as well since there were rewards of three unique sets of cosmetic inscriptions that could be earnt by playing the games and rides here. Jin purposely created the games to make training more exciting and fun, but for those hardcore trainees, the Panda Muscles instance was also available within the WunderPanda, and they did not have to pay a single cent extra. Some might think it''s a bargain, but the System and Jin knew it was just the illusion of choice. If a gym goer wished to visit Panda Muscles, it was cheap enough for them to enter but if they thought entering the Theme Park while also enjoying Panda Muscles would be a better deal for their money, by all means. Jin would love to have more money in his pockets. In fact, the Panda Muscles in the WunderPanda was designed to be outdoors, so the ones training were visible for others, which could result in some feeling motivated to join in. Even the System closed an eye over this situation despite its ironclad rule of needing to pay for every instance since the WunderPanda entry ticket was already an added barrier of entry which the cultivators foolishly paid for if their sole purpose was to enjoy both WunderPanda and Panda Muscles. That way, it also made Panda Muscles instance livelier with the added crowd from the theme park instance, but Jin did not stop juicing people for their need for privacy. Cultivators who wished to have a quieter time, they could add half the price of the ticket to move to a quieter instance with fewer people or pay an additional cost of a ticket to get an instance with the entire gym all to themselves. To the System, it was merely mirroring the service as it has always done for other dungeon instances. Thus, it''s a quick buck for Jin. "Let''s just try the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge." Ke Ru and the rest of the store owners decided to go with Shen Si Fang''s decision since they had to start somewhere. Anyways, they had all the time in the world to try all the other rides later. ¡ª¡ª- "Eh yo Boss Jin, you know. I think it''s better we erm¡­try the Zither Mistress String Obstacle Race." Si Fang chickened out the moment he saw how large the Sakura tree was. Initially, he had no idea because it was out of his sight, and he thought that the brochure map was exaggerating the size of it through the pictures. Si Fang was aware that some theme parks would try to entice people by enlarging certain rides on the map to make them stand out. That''s how he had felt until Jin led them to a place with a row of elevators being used near the edge of a cliff, though he did not go near the edge of the cliff. (Fun fact! The waterfall log ride was further up on another cliff higher than the one they were at.) The moment they took the glass elevator, they saw the immersive view of a gigantic blooming tree filled with Sakura Blossoms and Shu''s petals were filling the air with its magnificent presence. With a glance, Si Fang could see that there were some cultivators trying out the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge running up the tree trunk. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as running up a plain smooth wall. The trunk grew branches to both assist the cultivators in climbing as well as hindering other cultivators by blocking their ascend. There were even times the lovely Sakura petals would fly like a razor towards the ascending cultivator without any hesitation. A misstep would undoubtedly cause the cultivator to fall. If the cultivator were lucky enough, he would be able to grab on to Shu''s tree bark and suffer some scraps on his skin. If he wasn''t then, the cultivator immediately arrived at the bottom of the trunk where Pandas attendants wearing a magical cape as part of their attire stopped from the cultivators splatting into pieces with gravity magic. (Courtesy of Peppers!) The Panda attendants with those magical capes called themselves the Wunder Pandits. Some of the Wunder Pandits were even parodies of different superheroes. There was one with a giant ''WP'' on the middle of his chest, one with a belt full of gadgets, one with a giant shield and many more flying around to assist with some of the rides which required more attendants. Jin wanted to make this place feel magical, and what could be more magical than flying pandas? He also reckoned it would be more efficient and cost effective compared to creating more NPCs. (Plus it''s more flashy too!) The store owners reached the bottom of the trunk where there''s an ongoing queue and it was probably the only service instance where the cultivators had to wait a while for their turn. However, the line served another purpose. Anticipation and Anxiety. Shen Si Fang was filled with the latter but with the addition of dread. If it''s not for his fellow friendly store owners'' persistence, he would have returned home and enjoyed being lazy on his couch while watching TV. "Nope, once you picked up that sword, you are bound to use again." Lai Fu chuckled with a sly smile. "What did I get into¡­." Si Fang thought to himself as his friends literally dragged him into the queue. Chapter 415 Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge Even though Jin was the master of the store, he acted as one of the cultivators waiting for his turn. Some immediately recognised Jin in the queue but ignored him to mind their own business and continued chatting with their friends etc. Else, it was just a few random questions from the bystanders since some recognised Lai Fu, Si Fang, Jin and even Ke Ru when they were in the queue but nothing too drastic. (The only people capable of recognising He Rong would be toy model enthusiasts, so he was fine with not being known.) Yet, Jin did not stop the bystanders because it distracted Si Fang for a while from the real problem of trying out the Sakura Treant Climbing challenge which worked wonderfully well. Si Fang did not know it was his turn until the Wunder Pandit asked for payment to enter the challenge. That was also when the store owners could see Si Fang challenging to climb away from the queue fence in order to escape the artificial ordeal which his friends had put him into. "Oh no, you are not going anywhere else!" Lai Fu grabbed him even without summoning his cultivation while Ke Ru took his phone and tapped it at the payment scanner. Since they did not have that many medals, they used real cash to pay for it, and Si Fang accepted his fate as his friends had already completed the payment for him. Might as well get it over and done with. "There is no way at all, that I can somehow complete this." Si Fang thought to himself with such low confidence, but his friends were not giving up on him since they knew that he attributed his incompetency to the years of inactivity. "We will do what we can. Maybe Boss Jin could show us how it''s done? That might give Si Fang a confidence booster." He Rong proposed and many of the cultivators nearby spontaneously approved of his comment by cheering and encouraging both Jin and Si Fang to get to it. The crowd also wanted to know the cultivation prowess of this dungeon supplier. For him to create such incredible crazy dungeons, he should be as great as these Wunder Pandits flying around. "No, I can''t really fly at all. You guys are expecting too much from me!" Jin replied slightly embarrassed while chuckling at the ridiculous comments the nearby cultivators gave. But the moment, this small little crowd started to cheer Boss Jin''s name, everyone in the vicinity began to take notice, and the attention towards Jin only grew larger. "I guess I better demonstrate quickly before they attract an even larger crowd." Jin thought to himself as he took out Bam, his katana. "Oh ho ho, do not think I will go easy on you Master just because tens of people are watching you," Shu warned him through his telepathy as the treant suddenly grow a lot larger than before to deal with Jin as the new challenger. "This is impossible even as a group attempting this challenge together~!" Si Fang trembled as he voiced his concern and got even more scared to the point that he nearly black out. "Hahaha, please don''t worry. The Wunder Pandits are just adjusting the difficulty to my level." Jin laughed as he stretched his arms a little while ensuring Bam was sheathed properly. "Yes, Sir. Do not be alarmed. We will adjust the challenge for you later on. This is merely for the demonstration of our Boss." The Wunder Pandits assured Si Fang and his group of friends. "You watching this?" Kraft asked as he was overlooking the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge from the cliff above while pretending to sip on an ice cold drink he bought in the WunderPanda theme park. The two black foxes sitting on the wide metal railings nodded their heads as they had their eyes on a few cultivators who were closely observing Jin''s every action since the time he had entered. "Considering the numerous times that we have beaten the Ruby Rats, they are practically counting death to enter our dungeon instances. And you! You so readily allowed them to come in." Kraft said with annoyance at a particular entity, "As long as they pay money, System won''t refuse them. System trusts the capabilities of those protecting User. Besides, User has also been alerted of their appearance too." The System stated. "Oddly enough, they are not the only ones watching Jin." Kiyu had a hoodie on so that her presence would be hidden from other cultivators. "To think the Three Eyed Tigers are concerned about him too." Kraft took his phone out and within seconds, the System transmitted the video feed of the other gangsters into his phone to have a better look at them. "System did not mention Yang Ling''s triad members to User as System felt it was not necessary to do so. Original Bellator Kraft may be interested to know that the third daughter of the Royal Zodiac Tiger is in the instance as well." System said as it switched the video feed to Yang Ling who was trying out the Zither Mistress Obstacle Course. "Huh, Tiger girl turned even prettier with her hair longer, and she managed to hide her gearbox rather nicely in that long elegant pleated grey skirt of hers." Kraft praised her which made the foxes and Kiyu curious to learn more. She quickly turned into a fox while no one was looking to have a peek at Kraft''s phone. "Aww yeah, she is definitely Jin''s type but doesn''t he have Qiu Yue already?" Kiyu asked, and both the black foxes Tsu and Kai shook their heads simultaneously. "You have much more to learn than just seducing a guy, though you could say Jin''s heart is more like a girl''s rather than a staunch straightforward young man. He''s definitely part of the strawberry generation no matter how you look at it, we kind of have to beat him up to toughen his stance. But for now¡­" Kraft answered as he tilted his head at the crowd''s loud cheering which could be heard even from the cliff that was hundreds of metres above. With the help of the System, Shu had enlarged itself even further to the point of surpassing the height of the cliff that was supposed to keep the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge a surprise secret for the first timers. Jin began sprinting towards the tree to gain some momentum the second those cute Wunder Pandits rang a gong at the side of the queue. When he was near the Tree, he focused his chi in his shoes and shot himself as high as he could, barely touching the tree trunk. Nearly fifty metres before he felt that his speed was slowing down considerably, he grabbed on the tree bark to get a proper bearing for a moment. After which, Jin propelled himself upwards, only to encounter a large piece of rock growing out of Shu''s trunk. Was he going to hit head on? No. Instead, he focused some chi on his hands, and attempted to grab the rock, using it as a support. However, he did not realise it would be so smooth until his hands slipped further up and Jin''s body knocked onto the rock, causing him to fall. Was that it? Nope. Jin quickly recovered and repositioned himself facing the ground while using his Epic Sword Art, Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda. He did not call out its name and used as little chi as possible to activate it so that his cultivation grade would not appear. Thus, it made the strength of cyclone weak. Still, it was enough to create sufficient uplift for Jin to push upwards and head towards the rock again. (Should he fully unleash the epic art, he believed that he would fly up at least a few hundred metres.) Now that he knew about the rock surface being so smooth, he increased the amount of chi on his hands to improve the grip to grab onto it. Afterwards, he pulled himself up with just one hand since he was holding his Bam Katana with the other, and the cultivators watching were clapping for him. "You are not planning on making this easy for me, are you?" Jin sent a chi voice transmission to the Treant which it responded to with a rain of sakura petals falling towards him. "I can make it even harder if that''s what you want," Shu replied with a gigle in his chi transmission and the rock Jin was standing on seemed to be shaking. He immediately realised that Shu was purposely messing with him, so Jin took a quick leap at a 45 degree angle towards a branch that seemed to be within reach. Meanwhile, the cultivators at the bottom were all watching with anticipation, hoping that he could reach that particular branch. Although Shu was playing mean, it was not to that degree of unfairness. Hence, the branch remained as it was and Jin managed to grab it before balancing himself at the top of the branch. Suddenly, Jin could feel a slight change in the atmosphere and dodged in time as he saw a blade sliding a few centimetres vertically away from him. It was none other than Shu''s (Giant) Praying Mantis pet. Not a moment of rest after barely dodging the attack, the Praying Mantis used its other front leg to slash at Jin which he parried using his scabbard. Without much space on the top of a three metre long branch, Jin had to either defeat the pet or ascend as quickly as possible to grab a prize before the allocated time was up. "Sorry, Mantis. I am going to be a little ruthless." Jin mumbled as he took out Boo from his storage ring him as well to dual wield against the double bladed legs. It was a furious flurry of blows, and the branch they were standing on shook violently. It could give way if one of the slashes hit the branch. It didn''t take long until the Mantis could not keep up with Jin, leaving an opening which Jin made use of to shoot a beam of Panda Yawning while portraying three pandas silhouettes above him. Jin kept himself in check to ensure that he did not use too much power so that the people monitoring him would be misinformed. Nevertheless, a Grade 3 Panda Yawning chi beam was ''sufficient'' to decapitate the Mantis and Jin did not hesitate to jump up again instead of climbing the tree like what other cultivators should do. While it was not obvious, Shu assisted with his pet''s decapitation with falling sakura petals since it was not entirely visible from the angle and height which the Ruby Rats were watching from. He knew that his master was keeping his powers in check the moment he slipped from the rock. "Hmm, I cannot confirm his cultivation grade, but he used some weird air cyclone technique which seemed weak as fuck and the same chi beam he had used against Lai Fu." A Ruby Rat member monitoring Jin was relaying his information via a wireless Bluetooth receiver which Kraft and the System intercepted easily. "He must be hiding his cultivation, but in most circumstances, this kind of people will show their true powers because who doesn''t like to show off? Have all eyes remain at him." The person at the receiving end replied before cutting abruptly. "But¡­he is already done¡­" The Ruby Rat mumbled as Jin had reached the closest price ticket he could find and picked it up. After which, he performed a free fall, and it became the Wunder Pandits turn to shine as they flew up and grabbed their master down. Everyone cheered again accompanied with a tremendous amount of applause. "There was no wasted movement at all." Lai Fu said as he evaluated Jin''s climb. "But it was boring. Even the fight against me that time was more exciting." "Yeah, I was expecting some crazy show of skills too." Ke Ru nodded her head in agreement. "Hey, it''s not my fault you did not expect me to shoot a beam of chi from my mouth that time! I was just showing you the attraction. I never planned to entertain you with some crazy technique play." Jin rebutted, but they did not care because now it was Si Fang''s turn to act. "I can do it. I can do it." Si Fang tried to calm himself down by repeating those words of encouragement like a mantra. He still remembered Jin back when he first came into Tiangong Shopping District, all clueless and naive. Si Fang thought a young entrepreneur like him would not last more than three months with the declining business atmosphere the district had. However, Jin kept on pressing and even though he had some special ''trade secrets'', it was obviously due to his perseverance that he managed to get where he was right now and not by escaping reality. He even changed how Tiangong Shopping District felt like. Definitely more lively than before. Si Fang would not lie that the increased number of customers he was getting would all attributed because of Jin. "Don''t worry. This is why we are doing this as a team." Lai Fu said as he patted his friend''s back and revealed his two handed great sword. "You better not fall, I want a portion of that prize ticket too." He Rong unsheathed his own sword. "At the very least, the tree grew back to normal." Ke Ru smiled as she brandished her sword too. Out of the four of them, only Lai Fu was the odd one out because the other three store owners were once fellow disciples from the same cultivation training ''school'', teaching the Hunting Hog Style. It started out as a university side module that Si Fang, He Rong and Ke Ru happened to take together as students. Due to the overwhelming work, the three of them who were in the same project group decided to learn cultivation from a grandmaster who was giving out free lessons. Their grandmaster, like other cultivation grandmasters had cooperated with the university to provide a basic course for the students and planned to teach them more about his self created style if they were willing to become his students. It was similar to the Cultivation zoo where various grandmasters tried to gain students but in a more formal setting via the university module. Si Fang''s grandmaster initially gained a lot of students'' interest for showing a unique ability, and he was delighted by the overwhelming response. Thus, he borrowed a barren temple ground to teach those willing to push themselves. The grandmaster hoped that they would spread the word of his Hunting Hog style among the many famous styles out there that were somewhat related to the Royal Zodiacs Styles. Sadly, the only students he ever had were those three that were genuinely interested in his Hunting Hog Style. "Hesitate no more Si Fang! Go for it! A command from your Senior in cultivation!" Ke Ru shouted at Si Fang as the bell gong rang once more to signify the start of the challenge. Chapter 416 Extra - Goblin Waterlog Ride "WOOOOW! IT''S A THEME PARK!!! HAHAHAHA!" Yue Han cried out loud as the group of eight entered the instance along with the massive crowd who waited for the opening of the Christmas Instance. "To think we were so worked up for nothing. Guess you were right." Yue Wen playfully punched Jia Ying on her shoulder for guessing correctly and she returned a smile. "I am willing to bet that Boss Jin has something else in store for this theme park. If it''s like the Raid events, there will be something that will entice people to come for this." Bu Dong was sure, and the Wunder Pandit welcoming the Pandawans acknowledged that Jin had prepared three Cosmetic Inscriptions that could be earned in this WunderPanda theme park instance and they were all stated in the brochure. "In order to earn one of them we will need to complete all the rides. The other cosmetic inscription can be earnt by defeating the gold standard of the following game stations as stated below¡­" Jing Ru read the thing and noticed that there were a number of game stations like the Zither Mistress String Obstacle Course and the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge. "The last cosmetic inscription can be earnt by participating in Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars and win a total of five matches." Se Lang read out and they agreed that it sounded like the most exciting ride of all time. "Hmmm, they don''t state what those cosmetic inscriptions will look like. Guess, it''s a mystery until someone manages to get one." Deng Long added and Shi Hui noticed that there''s an achievement for gathering all three cosmetic inscriptions. "Look! Title: WunderPandarian. Win at least three cosmetic inscriptions in the WunderPanda. Reward: 1 Gold Panda Medal! This is amazing, Boss Jin finally added in achievements that give out freebies too!" Shi Hui said excitedly but Jing Ru shook her head. "I doubt so. The 1 Gold Panda Medals seems more like a nice gesture. Who knows how much you''ll be spending unless you excel at every game station from the start." Jing Ru pointed out, and it appeared that multiple similar discussions were happening to everyone around them as well. All of them seemed like they were experienced enough to know what to expect from Jin''s store. Some rushed in blind to try stuff out immediately, but a number of them were slowly studying the map that was given by the Wunder Pandits. There was a minority that thought there''s more than meets the eye, especially after the lesson Boss Jin had given everyone through the Escape City Dungeon Instance. (Although the Wunder Pandits assured them that there''s nothing too sinister involved in this instance.) "How about we try out all the rides and games first? I doubt anyone will get everything on the first day and it should be best if we experience them all before we start making plans on how to beat the gold standard." Yue Wen suggested and everyone nodded their heads in unison since they had already paid for the entry ticket, they should just try everything and at least get the first cosmetic inscription reward. "But that''s like 1¡­2¡­4¡­there are more than 10 rides here!" Se Lang counted yet no one seemed to care too much. It was after all similar to a dungeon instance where time was slowed down. They could probably finish all the rides and be back home before midnight even though it''s already 12.30pm in the afternoon. Besides, it was a good bonding session among the Pandawans and a nice change of pace compared to the times they have to constantly fight for their lives. "Shall we go to the nearest ride? Or go chronologically by the type of instances Boss Jin had created?" Yue Han asked, and they all preferred the latter. Thus, the first stop became the Goblin Waterlog ride. All of them raced to the higher cliffside to reach the ride''s location. To their surprise, it was still relatively empty and they believed it was because of the shortcut they took. Instead of running up the path of the hill, Bu Dong tried to be creative as he jumped and climbed the cliff so they could be the first few to reach the ride location. Subsequently, a few other cultivators tried following them but realised it seemed harder than it looked and many ended up being stuck hanging at the side of the rock wall. Hence, the Wunder Pandits came to rescue and placed them back to the ground instead of the location they intended to reach. The Pandits told them that it takes more than just strength and stamina to reach the top, and the Pandawans were able to adapt to the situation quickly to reach the top. Unless one decided to study the patterns of the rock formation, it would be difficult to do it on the fly with a low grade cultivation. The cultivators saw that some of the Pandawans utilised their cultivation techniques to reach the top of the cliff and quietly decided to aim to be as competent as them. However, those who had walked the longer path were rewarded with a street full of merchandise stores up the hill that the cultivators could purchase. The stores were selling monster related products and even mini bites such as Goblin Cookies. It was none other than Chef Lynn''s trusty penguins that exclusively made all of those snacks. That being said, there were not just the stores at the hill, but at every ride, all of them selling products related to the particular ride. For example, "Ghastly" Grilled Boneless Fish on a stick near the Deep One''s Pirate Ship ride as well as the Deep One Taiyaki. Originally, a Japanese fish shaped cake with fillings such as red bean, cheese or chocolate but now moulded with the shape of a Deep One. Jin adopted the exact same model from theme parks since he knew that queues might be irritatingly slow, and these overly priced food merchandises fulfilled the cultivator''s craving while waiting for their turns. He could have utilised the electronic queuing system he used before, but that would defeat the feeling of anticipation for a ride. Besides, this allowed him to create a fast track queue to burn more of his customers'' wallets. The eight Pandawans finally got their turn to ride the Goblin Waterlog in less than five minutes, but before the start of the Goblin Waterlog ride, the Wunder Pandits pasted a temporary waterproof inscription on their body. This was to allow them to get wet and enjoy the ride while not worrying about their clothes becoming damp after that. The log ride carried four people maximum, and they all could see that unlike a regular water log ride, the water trail that they were in, was flowing rapidly. If not for the iron chains holding the log coaster, the coaster would have disappeared into the depths of the forest right in front of them. This was also the first time that they had to wear safety harnesses for a waterlog ride, and it could indicate one thing that was waiting for the Pandawans. Fun. "You guys ready?!!" The Wunder Pandits asked and the first group consisting of Shi Hui, Se Lang, Deng Long and Jia Ying shouted in excitement. The Wunder Pandits magically released those strained iron chains binding the coaster and in an instant, the ravaging river trail shoved the Pandawans into deep depths of the forest ahead of them. Bu Dong and others could hear the constant screaming from Shi Hui and Jia Ying and occasionally a high pitched tone either from Se Lang or Deng Long. They made it sound so thrilling that Bu Dong and his group could not wait for the Wunder Pandits to release the chains on their log coaster. "Your wish shall be granted." One of the Wunder Pandits said proudly. With a click, off the log coaster went, violently carried by the water trail. The waterlog ride had multiple turns and twists as well as various paths which eventually allowed Bu Dong''s Log Coaster to see Se Lang''s Log coaster for a moment before the two water trails split apart once again. None of them could do anything but enjoy the ride fully with water splashing non stop on their faces and hands. Now they realised why those Wunder Pandits had to insert those temporary waterproof inscription charms or else they would not just get slightly drenched but soaking wet! There was even one point where there was a 360 degree spin for Bu Dong''s gang and water drifting for Se Lang''s group. During the ride, there were some glimpses of the goblins fighting against boar knights. They were just additional extras that enhanced the experience especially for the slightly ''slower'' parts of the ride. However, the finale was indeed kept for the best where the log coaster slowed down when they got out of the forest to reveal the broad view of the entire WundaPanda Theme Park Instance for a few moments before the great waterfall. Shi Hui and Jia Ying could not resist and screamed at the top of their voice which even the guys took part shouting as well when the log was at the edge of the waterfall. All of them then held their breath and waited for the vertical fall ¡ª that slight creak of the wood structure of the log coaster. "KYAAAAAAAAA!" The fall was both scary and thrilling at the same time, but the Pandawans knew that this was merely considered a normal ride in Jin''s dungeon instance. There should be nothing to worry about with regards to safety and thus they let go of their fears and screamed until their lungs shrivelled from the lack of air. The log coaster dived deeply into the lake before merging out of it and the cultivators felt refreshed. The nearby cultivators who saw the drop from the waterfall had mixed feelings until they saw how delighted the Pandawans were. It was indeed one hell of a ride. Chapter 417 Si Fangs Attemp "Now!" He Rong shouted as he grabbed Si Fang''s hand and used himself to throw his senior upwards. They had barely passed a quarter of the vertical tree climb when Shu began disrupting the group of four store owners that challenged it. He Rong was stuck in a growing number of vines that appeared suddenly from the tree trunk. The only thing he could remember was that he stepped on something slightly slippery and all of a sudden, the vines grabbed him as if it was about to devour him. The only thing he could do now was to assist his other teammates. The Sakura Treant had also summoned his pet Praying Mantis to attack the group though Lai Fu stayed back, intercepting it early on so the other three could continue their ascend. Unlike the fight against Jin, the Praying Mantis merely upset their tempo and did not aim exclusively at Lai Fu''s vitals. The general store owner initially thought he would be a goner when he recalled the brief fight the mantis had with Jin, but after some exchanges of blows (blades?), he assumed that the Wunder Pandits did adjust its difficulty for their group. Si Fang then grasped the chance that He Rong assisted him with in order to grab a branch sprouting from the side of the trunk. Ke Ru was the only one that was still able to move in pace with Si Fang until Lai Fu shouted at them to be careful. The Pet Praying Mantis had used a feint to disengage him and was chasing after them. "Not so fast, you nasty insect!" Lai Fu concentrated the chi in his arm and launched his two handed sword towards the Praying Mantis which the mantis noticed barely in time to dodge it. While it did not do any damage to it, it made the mantis stopped at its track, buying more time for his two friends. He Rong tried to do the same though, but the Praying Mantis was able to deflect that one attack with style. Feeling breathless quickly from the climbing, Si Fang knew that he was very out of shape. Even Ke Ru had better stamina than him (Especially as a floor manager who had to run about operating at the frontlines of Wacdonald.) "Ke Ru, when we reach the next branch, I will boost you up and deter the mantis!" He sent a telepathy chi message to her to conserve his stamina. Ke Ru acknowledged his help and when both cultivators ran and jumped again to grab onto a large branch, Si Fang quickly shifted himself to Shu''s trunk. Meanwhile, Ke Ru ran to the other end of the branch before sprinting towards Si Fang. As she was running, the Cafe Boss mentally prepared himself to boost Ke Ru further upwards especially when his senior activated her Hunting Hog cultivation, and two hog silhouettes appeared above her. "You are not THINKING OF¨C?!!!" Si Fang shouted while closing his eyes the instant Ke Ru began charging at him. All he could do was to hope that his hands would not be trampled so badly by the Hunting Hog Charge. Ke Ru utilised all her powers into her legs and stepped onto Si Fang''s clasped hands while he boosted her as far as he could. Even though his hands were hurting, he unsheathed his sword and prepared to intercept the Praying Mantis. But as luck would have it for him, he peered over the branch a little too far, causing him to lose balance and fall. The only thing he could think was to change the trajectory of his fall to at least hinder the Praying Mantis. However¡­ things did go as he had imagined. The Praying Mantis dodged his fall quickly without losing a beat and even giggled at him before flying upwards. (That Mantis giggled! Such evil mantis!) "I GOT IT!" Ke Ru grabbed onto a prize ticket, and Shu whacked his Praying Mantis for wasting too much time being distracted. The group laughed a little except for Si Fang who nearly had a heart attack for falling from such a height. The Wunder Pandits rescued him in time and eventually the others who later crowded around Ke Ru to see the prize ticket. "Four Bottles of Spiritual Essence and 20 Panda Medals. Boss Jin, what is this Spiritual Essence?" He Rong asked and Jin told them not to ask and just redeem it at the corner where there was a small redemption cart which had a tree growing from the side of its cart. The Wunder Pandit gave them the bottles and told them to drink it immediately so that they could recycle the bottle. Hence, the store owners did what was asked of them, and suddenly, their bodies turned burning hot except for Si Fang''s. It was so abrupt that Lai Fu, He Rong and Ke Ru immediately went into their cultivation stance and started to cultivated right beside the redemption cart. They could feel their entire body pulsating with spiritual energy and their chi points were clot free. Jin looked at Si Fang who felt left out and asked how was his body feeling. "Nothing at all. There was a tingly warm feeling after drinking it, but other than that, I do not feel anything special." Si Fang said regretfully and he could see that his friends were all pumping hot with chi in them. In less than a minute, two of them advanced their cultivation. A set of three Hunting Hog silhouettes snorting above He Rong and Ke Ru''s head while Lai Fu had three sharply defined shark fin''s silhouettes hovering at the top of his head until a shark jumped up to show its shiny jaws before returning back into the ''sea'' of chi. He Rong and Ke Ru advanced to Grade Two while Lai Fu finally reached the peak of Grade 4, not stagnating at a measly Grade 4. "What is this?! Some miracle drug? A potion of advancement cultivation grade?!" Lai Fu exclaimed loudly, which attracted the attention of other cultivators and the seasoned ones laughed mildly. "No no, it is a bottle of stored spiritual essence. Killing monsters in my dungeons usually allows your body to absorb some spiritual powers from it, unlike other dungeons suppliers. I have somehow managed to convert these spiritual powers into drinkable essences." Jin said and their mouth opened wide in disbelief. "It''s not something new, trust me. The traditional Dungeon Suppliers have done it before. I am merely able to replicate it¡­ at a higher quantity." Jin smiled as they all clapped in approval. "However, the quality of the store essence is not that prominent, especially at higher cultivation grades. At higher levels, it feels more like a power drink, granting the ability to keep their chi moving, something like how Si Fang had described when he drank it." Jin said, and the rest had shifted their attention towards Si Fang. "It''s most effective at lower cultivation grades. Though I should add that it is supposed to be used as a supplement and not to increase one''s grades. You know, the whole deal about proper foundation of cultivating and stuff." Jin went on but the group''s attention maintained at Si Fang. "Are you keeping any secret from us, Junior?" Ke Ru folded her arms and stared at Si Fang. He panicked a while before adamantly denying. "I ¡­I¡­never did any cultivation training since that incident. I swear! I''ve no idea why the drink was ineffective on me!" Si Fang said which made Jin laughed. "I am sorry that I teased you. Such instances may happen for some people who have deviated from an established cultivation path. For example, Xiong Da, one of our Pandawans, his cultivation threshold is crazy high. He was a basic Grade 4 when I last saw him but his powers could rival a Grade 5P, heck maybe a Grade 6 too." Jin pondered as he examined at Si Fang from top to toe. "Maybe Boss Si Fang might have accidentally cultivated the Hunting Hog cultivation slightly different from what he was taught. His cultivation may have turned into a variant one without him realising, especially if he has not actively done any cultivation for some while." Jin inferred, but in actual fact, he had already taken a look at the statistical page and found that it was not called the Hunting Hog style anymore. Instead, it was the Haunting Hog Style. This may also explain why he himself always seemed to have such unlucky streaks even though it boosted his teammates'' luck. After all, the prize ticket that they received was considered as one of the rare higher tier prizes that one could earn from the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge. Jin also noticed during the previous fight that Si Fang''s silhouettes was more of a spectral form compared to the Hunting Hogs his fellow cultivators displayed. However, for the time being, Jin decided to keep quiet about it and let the group figure out themselves or else he might be in trouble if Si Fang''s team keep winning those high tier prizes. "Aww, its alright Senior. You will get there and with more training with us, you might be able to figure out your cultivation style." He Rong patted his Senior''s back. "Figure what out? Isn''t he cultivating the same as us? Maybe he has too many clotted chi points for the essence to work properly." Ke Ru jokingly said. As they were laughing at Si Fang''s demise, suddenly the entire WunderPanda theme park went completely dark. The Wunder Pandits who were working, stopped all the rides and brought the cultivators who were enjoying the rides back to safety. Even the monsters who were patronising the park assisted and everyone was wondering what was happening. "Boss Jin, is something wrong with the dungeon instance?" Lai Fu asked and Jin shook his head as he pointed his finger upwards. From afar, everyone could vaguely recognise the jingling sounds that were coming from the skies. "Ho Ho Ho Ho~!" The deep booming voice reverberated throughout the entire WunderPanda Theme Park, but it sounded more ominous than the usual ones the cultivators were used to. It was then that the cultivators saw the guest monsters taking out their weapons and smirking at one another which prompted them to follow suit. The reindeers eventually came into sight, pulling the sledge and the figure on it. Wunder Pandits then shone a beam of bright light on him whenever he passed over them revealing that Santa Claus was not the kind Santa they all seemed to expect. His eyes were glowing eerily blue in colour, and his beard seemed sinisterly alive. Even his reindeers looked demonised with broken horns and scaly patches on their fur. Santa the Fallen subsequently conjured and threw a snowball large enough to bury the Wunder Pandits making their light source to disappear until the next one would shine some light on him, repeating the cycle. There were sounds of horrors by the cultivators when they saw what the rotten santa did to the Wunder Pandits. In addition, possessed clockwork toy soldiers crawled out of the snowball armed with swords, spears, guns and other assortments of weapons. Weirdly enough, they looked more like Spartans than traditional clockwork toy soldiers although they still retained their toy like appearances with plastic joints and moulded eight packs. The Toy Spartans immediately went into formation, and it was obvious that they were protecting the snowball from being destroyed. After throwing the snowballs, Santa the Fallen repeated that creepy Ho Ho Ho tune before shouting at the cultivators and monsters in the WunderPanda Theme park. "I have checked my list twice. All of you Naughty children! No presents for any of you!" Santa The Fallen said as he continued to ride in circles, enjoying the scenery from above. "EMERGENCY EVENT! SAVE WUNDERPANDA FROM SANTA!" Everyone''s Pandamonium Apps were beeping like crazy as if to demand the cultivators to accept the event. Those who did not want to participate in the event would be transported into another WunderPanda Theme Park instance where the event was not being held. For those who had accepted, the cultivators were all secretly sniggering along with Jin''s monsters as they faced the Toy Spartans. Time to earn more Panda Medals! (and perhaps other secret rewards!) Chapter 418 Extra: Zither Mistress String Obstacle Course "Arrgh! I only got 1 Silver Panda Medal from it." Yue Han grumbled after redeeming his prize from the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge. Even though he had climbed the highest among the group with his Blinding Bat Cultivation, he got one of the lousier prizes compared to the rest. "Aww, don''t complain, you had the easiest time reaching the item as opposed to the rest of us. Shall we do the Zither Mistress String Obstacle Course or Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars next?" Bu Dong asked as he took a marker out and crossed out the Sakura Treant Climbing Challenge from the WunderPanda Theme Park Map. "Last I checked on the Pandamonium App, Supa Robot Wars has a queue with a waiting time of 1Hrs 30Mins¡­that is unless you decide to go the fast track route of paying 1 Silver Panda Medal or at the very least 25Yuan (~4USD) to bypass the crowd." Jing Ru said as she checked the app. The Pandamonium App had a section for the WunderPanda Instance where it dedicated real time tracking of the queue and estimated waiting time for all of the users. This was to allow users to have a better gauge of the time spent in this theme park as well as determine if they should try something else while waiting. "Let''s just do the Zither Mistress String Obstacle course first since our objective is to play at least all the games and rides." Yue Wen commented and everyone, as usual, began sprinting towards the Zither Mistress game station. It was not too far away and when they reached, they noticed that the game station had a fast moving queue. While waiting, the Wunder Pandits manning the station, gave an overall view of how the game worked since the obstacle course was not evident until they entered the building with a large statue of Ke Mi playing her beloved Zither and the Great White Snake right beside her. "This is somewhat similar to those Ninja Warrior obstacle course with a slight twist. You are to complete the course in the shortest time possible while avoiding the Zither Mistress'' string attacks. There will be blunt arrowheads attached to the strings so you can either avoid the strings entirely or destroy the string by deflecting the blunt arrowhead away from your path." The attending Wunder Pandit said to the group. "Should you touch the string, it will stick on you momentarily before fading away causing you to suffer an additional 5 seconds penalty to your timing each time. If you try to cut it once the blunt arrowhead hits the ground, it will also incur an additional 2 seconds to your timing." The Wunder Pandit added as he brought them to oversee the obstacle course through a wide glass panel from the first floor. The obstacle course in the basement spanned around 400 metres. The Pandawan group could see multiple people attempting it to the best of their abilities with Ke Mi at the centre of the entire course on a tower watch post, acting like an overseer for the entire obstacle course. Her music was as enchanting as ever as it lifted the spirits of the cultivators attempting the obstacle course. However, the fast tempo also meant that the appearance of the stringed arrowheads was numerous until she changed to a slower song. "This is clearly the same as a bard in those video and board games." Deng Long could feel his whole body relax as his mind swayed a little with the music of the zither but it was a different story for the cultivators in the obstacle course. Their movements suddenly became sluggish and it did not help that the stringed arrowheads were still travelling at the same speed. "Clearly a disadvantage to the ones participating." Se Lang understood why this obstacle course was brilliant for training. One might try to cheat by using their cultivation against these static obstacles, but Boss Jin had added in the unpredictable nature of those strings as well as music that would affect the body''s performance. It was clear that those were used to hinder cultivators who could jump high or customers with speed based cultivation. "It''s our turn, what are we waiting for?" Bu Dong said as the obstacle course was cleared in no time and the eight of them entered the fray. The Zither Mistress immediately recognised them when Shi Hui shouted to her and she even did a musical opening which invigorated the group before the Wunder Pandits started the timer. "Looks like Ke Mi is not giving us any chance at all." Jia Ying laughed bitterly as her body was filled with adrenaline. They knew that kind gesture was a double edge sword for things to come in the obstacle course. "We can only hope to meet her expectations." Se Lang said and then the Wunder Pandits did the same thing as for every start of a game station. The ringing of a Bell Gong. This obstacle course could only easily fit five people at the same time without becoming hindrances to each other, so the Pandawan group raced in batches with the first four consisting of Se Lang, Deng Long, Shi Hui and Jia Ying. Only a minute later would the Wunder Pandits ring the gong once again to let the following group move. The first obstacle was a low wall, and sure enough, stringed arrowheads arose from the ground which caused Se Lang and Deng Long to lose their momentum as they prepared for the jump over the low wall. However, the girls with higher perception did better than the guys. Shi Hui gracefully evaded the strings while Jia Ying performed a somersault to maintain her speed while deflecting the arrowhead. The Sanguine Stag cultivator landed on the top of the low wall via her somersault before she crouched to kick herself forward through to the next pitstop, Stepping Stones on water. For that particular section of the obstacle course, they knew it was not that simple since the Pandawan group had seen people fumbling with that. This was because the stringed arrowheads that appeared from the depths of the pond could be misinterpreted due to the reflection of the water''s image. Not only that, some of the stones were fake so that if one were to step on it, they would fall into the water, making them waste their time. Some of the cultivators initially thought to overcome all these obstacles by just running of water. However, because of the chi used to maintain their water walking, it attracted one nasty individual. The Great White Snake. The Pandawans had seen that the cultivators had to defeat the Great White Snake to a certain degree or else it would keep harassing and not just the ones who used chi to water walk but everyone that was participating in the obstacle course. Thus that alone would cause the entire group to lose some time. Thankfully, Jin wasn''t too evil and those who managed to ward off the snake would get a small token prize regardless of the timing the cultivators achieved. Count it as an additional hidden objective that could be completed running the obstacle course. Thus, Jia Ying flew forth in great speed while making sure to deflect any arrowheads coming her way but halfway through the stepping stone section, the Great White Snake appeared at the detection of the use of her chi. She somehow expected that as she was already storing one of her techniques in retaliation of this ambush. "Intermediate Spear Art! The Puzzled Spear of the Stag!" Jia Ying shouted as she zoomed straight towards the snake with its mouth wide open and fangs pointing at the Sanguine Stag cultivator. At the very last moment, the spear suddenly changed its direction, pulling Jia Ying along with her and stabbed the snake at the side. She then slid along the snake''s body and later water walked across the remaining part of the section. Shi Hui, who was right behind Jia Ying, thought the snake was defeated and happily used her chi to water walk (actually, she was sprinting). What she did not foresee was another Great White Snake appearing out of the water which caused her to pause in order to evade the snake strike and reluctantly use one of her techniques. "Intermediate War Fan Art! Pulsate Freezing of the Swan!" Shi Hui shouted as she swung her fans around, causing the water around to freeze instantly. The frozen pond made it difficult for the great white snake to move about as part of its body was iced by her technique. It was also at that moment, Deng Long ran past her while thanking her for making it easy for him to just use the stepping stones. "That is why I did not want to use that technique!" Shi Hui pouted and suddenly she felt a grab from her legs. Se Lang had carried her up and skated through the ice, by creating chi focused blades on his shoes. "I am helping you since you are helping me." Se Lang said which made Shi Hui give him a light gentle kiss in return on his chest. Because of the skates, they were speeding faster than Deng Long who relied solely on jumping over the stepping stones since the ice was too slippery to dash over. Furthermore, he was afraid that another Great White Snake would appear if he used his chi though Shi Hui told Se Lang not to worry about it. Unlike how the cold weather worked their ice on ponds, she believed her intermediate art had frozen the water underneath them too. She told Se Lang to skate at full speed ahead to catch up with that traitor Jia Ying. The next section was a hundred metres away after a fifty metre turn with skewed boards. Jia Ying tried to rush her way through ignoring all the skewed boards but regretfully realised that if she did not step on a skewed board, she would be restrained by a massive load of strings. Those strings would then pull her all the way to the first skewed board and only when she stepped on the board with two feet, the strings would immediately disappear, and she could proceed on. (There was no additional penalty as compared to getting hit by a stringed arrowhead except it was a waste of time.) Se Lang, who was previously second after leaving Shi Hui behind when they crossed the frozen pond, saw what had happened and performed accordingly on the large skewed boards. He also said goodbye to Jia Ying after she got pulled back from reaching the end of the turn for not touching the skewed boards. Shi Hui also caught up and stuck her tongue out at Jia Ying before attempting to catch up with Se Lang. The last section was a series of wall panels with windows to jump over. It was a matter of luck since out of the three windows on a wall panel, two would lead them to a pit of mud. Se Lang thought he had briefly memorised where the pit of mud would be when he was observing from the first floor but when he first jumped through the Number 2 window of the first wall panel, he struck mud. Not to mention, Ke Mi was playing her music with more intensity, and Se Lang had to both avoid the stringed arrowheads as well as attempting to get out of the mud. Shi Hui shamelessly used the same window and stepped onto Se Lang''s head ''lightly'' to avoid the mud pit. However, Se Lang was not so kind accepting to act as a literal stepping stone, not even for one of his girlfriends and allow her to get ahead of him. The Wacky Wolf cultivator''s hand was free from mud and thus quick enough to grab onto Shi Hui''s leg. He pulled her with chi enhanced force, causing the Shadowy Swan Cultivator to fall face flat on the mud pit. "SE LANG!!!" Shi Hui, who managed to catch a breather after emerging her face out of the mud, shouted his name in anger. Jia Ying, unfortunately, chose the wrong one as well and fell into the mud pit too. Thus leaving Deng Long to select the correct one for the first wall panel. But there were still two more wall panels before the finishing line and Ke Mi was not letting any of them win so easily as she now played a piece of calming music, causing the four to feel sluggish and lethargic. To the Zither Mistress'' wonderment, that was also where Deng Long shone. Because of his Wobbling Wombat cultivation, his resistance against elements and even to Ke Mi''s music increased temporarily the more he was exposed to it, and so unless Ke Mi directly targeted just him, the music she was playing now had little effect on him. Unsurprisingly, he reached the finishing line first followed by Se Lang, Jia Ying and lastly Shi Hui. (Apparently, the two girls fought at the third wall panel which allowed Se Lang to sneakily cross through.) The Wunder Pandits congratulated them as they held onto a wand and swivelled it around the cultivators. All the mud and other stains were removed from their clothes and body in a jiffy. Even girls'' hair was back to the original form. Being the first in the course, Deng Long got his prize of 1 bottle of spiritual essence and 2 Silver Panda medals as well as a QR code to obtain five Zither Mistress Ke Mi''s orchestral music songs for free. (Others could have bought it for 50 Yuan (~8USD) in the merchandise store right beside the obstacle course.) Second Place was awarded fifteen Bronze Panda Medals, third placing eight bronze medals and the last only had three bronze medals. However, what made Jia Ying and Shi Hui happy was the spinning of a physical lottery wheel for killing the Great White Snake. They both were lucky enough to win an additional one silver medal via the lottery, which inadvertently making Se Lang pout with (slight) jealously. "Ke Mi''s music, huh¡­ I might give it a try back home. Her tunes were indeed rather calming to listen to."Little did Deng Long knew that Ke Mi''s orchestral music would soon be his daily ritual before sleeping. Shortly after Se Lang''s group completed the race, it was the other group''s turn, and it did not take long before they heard Yue Wen screaming at Bu Dong and Yue Han. Chapter 419 WunderPandas Christmas Even It was initially a chaotic mess as the Toy Spartans assaulted not just the cultivators but the monsters as well. Even though this was supposed to be a place for the monsters to relax, Jin intentionally made this place for training alongside the cultivators to learn their tricks. The System had a lot of information on the cultivators based on the manuals Ming passed on to Jin as one of his rewards for achieving his cultivation grade. This information was supplemented from the daily input from the cultivators fighting in dungeons too, but it was never enough. The System also wanted information on how the monsters could cooperate with the cultivators. During the Goblin Raid Events, existing or veteran cultivators had exhibited unrecorded arts and techniques when fighting cooperatively with the monsters which surpassed the expectations of the System. Given the familiarity of the monsters by the cultivators, there was one incident where a cultivator performed a combination technique with Mr Hot and Father Hot, the two fire wyrm ants and annihilated a squadron of orcs by themselves. Usually, those orc squadrons needed at least a group of four to five cultivators with Grades varying from three to four to defeat or at the very least suppress them entirely. However, for that particular incident, he was only a Grade 3 cultivator, and the fire wyrm ants were pegged to his power level too. It was a similar situation to the Mentoring system which involved Milk and Peppers briefly before Jin scrapped that particular option from the store. Regrettably, it was unlikely to return since the bellators had more significant responsibilities at the present and possibly in the future too. The combination attack incident, therefore, gave Jin and the System an idea. Instead of reviving the mentor system, the monsters could replace such a system and be more like trusted allies to the cultivators. By assisting the cultivators through real fights, the potential growth was predicted to be higher than just fighting with random cultivators. This could also allow the monsters to expand their knowledge and increase their expertise too. Thus, this theme park wide event instance of fighting Santa the Fallen was to gather even more information about such possible techniques and potential combination with cultivators. If the data were useful, then Jin would make them as unlockable monster partners for the cultivators to fight with rather than partnering mere randoms. After a while, both the monsters and cultivators had a good time trashing the toy Spartans even though they were a tough bunch to handle. The System adjusted its difficulty level of each location depending on the number of cultivators and their average grade. The number of Toy Spartans being spawned were also based on the cultivators and the monsters in the vicinity. Occasionally, both the cultivators and monsters would face against an extremely tough Toy Spartan which were levels beyond the difficulty level of the adjusted toy Spartans. This was, in fact, a fixed match since the Bellators would enter as surprise guests to weaken the Toy ''Captain'' Spartan for the cultivators to kill. However, not all of the cultivators could work happily with all the monsters. Some still had some prejudice against them, especially after fighting against the Deep Ones which was why Jin purposely made the Toy Spartans and Deep Ones'' fights even fiercer, to show that the cultivators should not just judge a monster by its appearance. Speaking of cultivators, Si Fang and gang joined with some nearby cultivators including the spying Ruby Rats and the watchful Three Eyed Tigers to fight against the toy Spartans. Jin had expected the Ruby Rats to do something underhanded, but surprisingly, they joined in with the fight and seemed to take it seriously. "If that''s the case¡­" Jin silently jumped to Shu to have a better view up there, as well as purposely vanishing from the fight. He took out his Tact Tweak and began to have some fun. This time round, Jin was not using them to control the monsters but the Toy Spartans. He purposely spawned some ''Elites'' equipped with slightly tougher armour and better weapons to aim for the Ruby Rats. "Let''s see what kind of skills you''re hiding." Jin thought while he made the Toy Spartans move towards them. As the Ruby Rats hardly entered Jin''s store for dungeons but more for observation purposes, both the System and Jin were curious about the Rats'' techniques. Jin might have fought against the Rats while trying to rescue Lynn, but the System did not have much observation ability outside the store. Therefore, the System did not bother Jin when he deliberately changed the System''s default levels for the event. "Do you think they will defer much from the current Rat Cultivation Manuals we have?" Jin asked the System as he sent a telepathic message via the Tact Tweak to move the monsters. Only four were on scene. One werejackal and three other Orcs who were on break from construction. He did not count Shu and the Mantis since they were currently part of the rides. Also, that rascal tree was too lazy to move his ass to do anything else than bullying people. "Currently, most of the attacks they executed were relatively standard and corresponded to the ones found in the many Rat Cultivation Manuals we have." Just as the System finished speaking, the Ruby Rat gangsters did something out of the norm. They gathered their chi and fired a ruby coloured energy attack. When the attack hit the Toy Spartan, crystal like particles formed around the Toy Spartan and it grew slowly as if it was some infection. That eventually caused one of the Toy Spartan fighting against the Ruby Rats to lose one of its arms mobility due to the crystallisation. "What kind of attack is that?" Jin asked as he took the Tact Tweak and enabled the replay view mode. "It appears to be an intermediate immobilising technique inspired by Western Magics, the Crystallisation spell to imprison something or someone and the Plague Spell for infection purposes." The System stated as it fervently collected data on the new attack. It seemed that they did not send a low level lackey for undercover work but a capable one. Jin commanded the Toy Spartan to cut that hand off before the ruby crystal particles continued to spread throughout its body. "Is there any way to stop that chi technique from spreading to other parts of the body other than amputating?" Jin asked as he subtlety directed a bunch of Toy Spartans towards Si Fang''s group and made them move away from the Ruby Rats. After which, he sent another modified Toy Spartan to the Ruby Rats. "System cannot determine the type of infection used to spread the crystal particles. It does not permeate nor penetrate the body but rather expands and crawls over the body to immobilise it. System needs more time to analyse and understand the attack." The System said, and it made Jin worried. If capable Ruby Rat cultivators could do this on a whim, he cannot imagine what other kind of techniques they might have up their sleeves. He had yet to see what other high level cultivators were capable of. "Perhaps, I was really too lucky fighting against Ong. Or maybe he just underestimated me to bother using such underhanded techniques." Jin thought to himself when he suddenly saw two cultivators shouting at each other. "Oh shit, it''s the Three Eyed Tigers. They recognised those Ruby Rats?" Jin asked the System, but he got no answer. Without any hesitation, what seemed to be the leader from each side of the group suddenly charged at one another. Jin knew such a thing might happen at WunderPanda Instance, but he had planned only to allow such brawls in the Cultivation Zoo. Besides, Jin didn''t expect a brawl to happen so quickly in the theme park. But as accordance with his countermeasures, a wide enough circular barrier was erected between the both of them in the midst of a Theme Park Event. The barrier subsequently pushed monsters, the toy Spartans and cultivators away from the area. Eventually, blue and white police looking lines appeared, wrapping around the circular barrier as if to discourage people from coming close. This gave the Three Eyed Tiger and Ruby Rat triad members some ''breathing'' space to settle their differences as the chaos outside the barrier continued on. The remaining members from both triads were suddenly flooded with the Toy Spartans and had no time to bicker properly. "There it is again! That red ruby chi!" Jin exclaimed in his thoughts as he saw the Ruby Rat team leader now using a kick enchanted with that Red Ruby Chi against the Three Eyed Tiger. In response, the Three Eyed Tiger evaded the attack, only for Jin to realise that a spiritual Eye was at the top of the Tiger Triad member''s forehead. "Excellent data." The System spoke as if in happiness when the two continued their bout. In the meantime, some parts of the park instance had gotten rid of the Toy Spartans. The cultivators proceed to free the Wunder Pandit from the snowball attack that it suffered by digging them out of the snow pile and pulling them out. The Wunder Pandits soon after stood up and did its job by shining a bright light at Santa the Fallen whenever he came near the cleared regions again. Somehow, the bright light caused him to panic and wallowed in pain whenever the light touched him as if it was burning him up. The dark night atmosphere became slightly brighter with each revived Wunder Pandit doing their best to shine their light at Santa the Fallen. In due time, almost all of the Wunder Pandits were revived from the terrible clutches of the cold, snowy burial and consistently shone their light at Santa. Eventually, he knew that it was time to get away before he and his reindeers were killed by the Wunder Pandits. The Santa gave its last ''Ho Ho Ho'' before finally escaping back to the far end of the instance and later disappearing in thin air. At the very end of the event, the cultivators who participated were rewarded with Panda Medals, ranging from 1 bronze medal to 1 gold medal depending on the amount of participation. The monsters were also given additional System points to aid in their recovery as well as to improve themselves. (Alternatively, use those system points for recreational activities like more rides and games!) Those cultivators who had been defeated were sent to the Luxury Recovery Instance for observation. The only difference was that they were allowed to return to WunderPanda Theme Park for free once. Any defeats following the first would require the cultivators to buy a new ticket to re-enter the WunderPanda should they desire. This applied to any defeats they suffered during their stay in WunderPanda, including duels. Speaking of duels, the duel between the two triad team leaders had been ongoing even after the end of the event. It attracted many people as it became the first cultivator versus cultivator match that happened in Jin''s store. It was then the Wunder Pandit came to explain that a Cultivation Zoo was in the works for the WunderPanda instance thus they were permitted to duel. However, the duel required both parties to be willing since it would go on until one was defeated or surrendered. Should one refuse and the other cultivator proceed to beat him up, that cultivator would be subjected to disciplinary actions as per the standards of Cultivation Zoo rules. Seeing that the Ruby Rat Triad Team Leader was being put into the spotlight, he voluntarily surrendered the duel before any further developments could occur or else news of him would put the undercover team leader in the cross eyes of his Ruby Rat Boss, Wo De Tian. "That is one way to snuff the rats out from hiding, I guess." Jin giggled a little before appearing behind Si Fang and tapping on his shoulder, scaring him for a moment. "Where have you been?!" He Rong asked and Jin replied that it was the first ever live event in the theme park, so he needed to leave the scene to ensure that it proceeded smoothly. "Heh, it did not proceed that smoothly for Si Fang, hahahaha!" Lai Fu said as he explained what other unfortunate things that had happened to him when Jin was away even though they did not knew that the Dungeon Supplier was on the lookout the entire time. Chapter 420 Extra: Star Cross Heavy Industry "The queue for Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars has lessened, do you guys wish to give it a try?" Bu Dong asked, but they could see the girls'' reluctance when he mentioned that ride. They were not that interested in that ride compared to the guys. Yue Wen and Jing Ru had fewer qualms about it as they were only playing it and trying it out for the experience. They also want to try to get that cosmetic inscription which would only be unlocked if they played all of the rides. Yue Wen believed it was just some robots fighting together and managed to convince Jia Ying and Shi Hui after a bit of discussion to try it out together. "Alright. I guess you are right. We have to try out all the rides and games at least once to get that one cosmetic inscription. Might as well get it over with as a group." Shi Hui shrugged her shoulders as they decided to compromise and go as a group for the ride. (Jin would be so happy if he heard that the lure of a bonus cosmetic inscription worked for them.) "Still I am a little ticked off that Boss Jin is doing something more for the guys than for the ladies." She added as they chatted and strolled leisurely to the Super Robot Wars'' Station. (Compared to the past few times of rushing, they already had their fill of excitement.) "I guess it''s because it''s a theme park, there will definitely be more action based rides to cater for the guys. Plus Boss Jin a guy himself." Jia Ying remarked as they saw a glimpse of a gigantic robot statue in a crouching pose with its beam rifle pointing outwards. Occasionally, the robot statue would move its arms and head while dry ice vented out like a series of explosions happening behind the robot statue. For the guys, they were laughing at the robot because they knew that what Jin was showing should be pretty close to copyright infringement if not for the large Panda Head and a slightly different design on the blue and red chest plate of the robot. However, as they approached the ride station, they noticed that there was no visible queue outside as compared to other rides, but the queue waiting time was still active. They were wondering whether it was a glitch or something as they entered the game facility. Unlike other game stations, this particular game facility looked more like a company reception desk. The interior was entirely coated with a modern porcelain white walls. The ''company''s'' name was in black and yellow as a contrasting feature of the interior decor. The reception desk was curved with no edges around it and had a very futuristic feel to it. Even the Wunder Pandits that were manning the front desk were dressed similar to those space military clerks seen in Star Trek or other science fiction movies. They were decked in navy blue outer coats with insignias on the side of their shoulders as well as a cool looking mic for receiving calls. "Hi there! As one of the representatives of Star Cross Heavy Industries, which will be providing the robots for your battles, let me officially welcome you to Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars Game Station!" The Wunder Pandit greeted the Pandawans as if they had entered a legitimate office of a company that supplied the robots for their play. The guys believed it was some kind of mini storyline that Jin had created to facilitate this particular game ride. "If you wish to join our trial runs and participate as test pilots, please step forward and fill in a straightforward registration form. After which, we will require you to pay a minimum sum of one Silver Panda Medal if you agree with what''s written in the registration form for a formal testing pilot license." The Wunder Pandit acting as the receptionist explained as she laid out the forms and pens in front of the reception desk. Bu Dong took a look at the form and realised what they needed to fill in was somewhat akin to a disclaimer form that the ride might cost more than a silver panda medal and by agreeing to play this ride, they would create an account to hold details about the robots that they were playing. As it could be a continuous ride that could be played over and over again, the Pandamonium App would keep and maintain the necessary data for reference. Separately, they could pay an additional one silver panda medal to get a physical license printed out as a souvenir. Should they increase in rank, the cultivators could always come back and have their physical license updated with no additional charges. The guys were instantly amazed by the disclaimer form as it hinted that they might keep their progress for playing this particular game station. "Just wondering, will I always have to pay the entry ticket into Wunder Panda? What if I just want to play solely this game in the future?" Bu Dong asked as he knew that it could potentially be something that he would like despite the high cost. "Should you wish only to play Supa Robot Wars and some other game stations that have your progress saved, you will need to show the license from your Pandamonium App at the side counter of WunderPanda''s entrance. But do take note, playing this particular game station will always require you to pay one silver panda medal first or at least 70 Yuan (10USD)." The Wunder Pandits answered, and suddenly the Pandawans were curious about what other games that have saved progress. "The Pet Card Arena Instance has been revamped and placed under the WunderPanda Theme Park team''s care, so that is one of them. The other would be the Orc''s Spinning Blade Tops." The Wunder Pandits stated. Yue Han took out his brochure map and checked where the other two game stations were. "Ehhh! So expensive! 70 Yuan for just a robot game? I would rather spend that money refining my card deck for my pet." Yue Han exclaimed, and the Wunder Pandit giggled as if the very same reaction had already happened from other cultivators. "Perhaps you should give it a try first before you make up your mind." Wunder Pandit said as she collected all the disclaimer forms. However, for now, Deng Long and Bu Dong were the only ones who had decided to pay an additional silver panda medal for the physical license. The Wunder Pandit told them that they would be able to collect those licenses after the game. "Everything seems to be in order. Please follow me." The Wunder Pandit got off her seat and walked to a corner of the porcelain white wall beside the reception desk. The Pandit placed her paw on the wall, and a virtual interface appeared as if to verify her identity. After which, it opened up a portal which she directed the Pandawans into it. "Okay. Now I understand why it cost 70 Yuan for just a game." Yue Han took his words back as he was in awe by the scale of the Mecha hangar that they were teleported into. Eight of the Humanoid looking Mechas were facing each other in that enormous Mecha Hanger, and the details in the background were very realistic. The group saw pandas in maintenance outfits were doing some final checks to ensure the Mechas were operational. Some were moving parts like an entire robotic arm from one end to another while others were checking stocks. What seems like the boss of the engineering and maintenance crew came towards the Wunder Pandit and looked at the Pandawans. "These few are our new recruits? I''m Man Man, the Head for EMC (Engineering and Maintenance Crew)." The rugged looking Panda said as he folded his arms. "You will not be using any customised stuff until you prove to me that you can at least pilot these pieces of beauty." Man Man announced with pride. However, Deng Long thought otherwise and whispered to Se Lang that they looked like the most basic of mechas. "HUHHHHH? Do I hear some complaints from a newbie before he could even take his first step?." Man Man looked at the two, and Deng Long quickly went into attention alongside Se Lang. "Do you think it''s that easy to pilot that thing?" Man Man stared long and hard at Deng Long. "Sir No Sir!" Deng Long shouted in return and the EMC Boss laughed. "WRONG! Yes, you heard right, it is easy to pilot that fucking beautiful piece of metal!" Man Man replied as he beckoned the group to follow him. "But to master it¡­ hehe, that is another issue entirely." The group had a closer look at the Humanoid Mechas which were currently very plain looking. It was as if they were made with the lowest amount of budget. Man Man did not care what they thought and started assigning the Mechas #1-#8 to the Pandawans. But before they could even drive these Mechas, the Wunder Pandit brought them to an office where they would receive their pilot suits. (To their surprise, it was actually a cosmetic inscription!) "I understand that all of you have attempted the Escape City Dungeon Instance and achieved the Cosmetic Inscription Amulet?" The Wunder Pandit asked which everyone acknowledged and took them out as proof. "Brilliant, this amulet is somewhat special because it can contain up to 100 outfit based cosmetic inscriptions. In order to change the current one, use your Pandamonium App and select the cosmetic inscription you wish to wear." The Wunder Pandit informed them and everyone took out their phones. "By now, you should have received the notification that a cosmetic inscription has been gifted to you. Select that particular cosmetic inscription and the pandemonium app will tell you what inscription sign to draw in mid air with your chi." The Receptionist Pandit demonstrated and everyone followed. Their amulets glowed momentarily as if to acknowledge the change in cosmetic inscriptions and with a bit of chi activation, the Pandawans managed to activate their new cosmetic inscriptions in an instance. "That was simple enough." Bu Dong exclaimed as he checked out his new outfit as well as the others. They looked like safety G suits which fighter pilots wore for intense combats. "Huh? They even have oxygen masks. Oh my gosh, are we going to fight in the skies too?" Yue Han suddenly became very excited and the Wunder Pandit left it to the incoming Panda in a full formal black military suit. "Name''s Furi." The Military Panda bellowed through the office and everyone stood in attention even though they were not military trained at all. They all noticed his black patch on his right eye as he paced himself around the group. "Smells too fresh. You sure this batch of recruits can even make it? Mari?" Furi snorted while he slammed the office table right in front of them and suddenly a map appeared right in front of them. The Receptionist Pandit, Mari knew what the military commander wanted and went out of the office for a while. "Your objectives, Smellies. It is to ride the Mechas and destroy 40 stationary wooden targets and two moving targets. That is all. Nothing else. Do not do anything extra. Go. NOW." Furi commanded and the entire group ran out of the office with Mari standing around a bunch of numbered suitcases. "Take them. They are your keys to pilot the Humanoid Mechas." Mari clarified and everyone quickly grabbed one and ran to their assigned Mecha. As the cockpit was at the chest area, the Pandawans jumped from the ground floor and to the cockpits instead of taking the stairs that were provided for them. But for the EMC crew, they did not care as long as the pilot could enter the cockpit. Man Man started to sound the alarm, indicating that the Mechas were beginning to sortie. The EMC crew members commenced unplug electrical cables from the Mechas and gave a very brief introduction of the cockpit to each of the trainee pilots. Some of the crew began moving certain items away to ensure there was no obstruction to the robots'' sortie. The scene was a major mess with the EMC crew shouting at each other in the background, but the cultivators managed to stay focused and learn the essential things such as booting the Mecha up with the key that was packed within the suitcase that Mari gave them. "Starting up." A female voice was heard for the male''s cockpit while vice versa for the females. Somehow, they felt this was more than just a game as everything looked too real to them ¡ª even the controls. "LET''S GO PEOPLE!" Bu Dong was the most excited out of the whole group as he tried moving the controls. However, the Mechas immediately went into auto pilot mode the moment they booted up and it made sense to Bu Dong even though he became instantly disappointed he did not get to pilot the robot on the go. "I do not need you Smellies destroy my hanger because of your incompetence. Auto Pilot Mode will be activated until all of you are out of my Hangar Bay." Furi snorted as he sat beside Mari in a jeep before driving forth to the allocated training ground. Chapter 421 Hot Ice Café "So do you guys still want to try any other rides?" Jin asked, but Lai Fu and the rest believed they had had their fill for the day even. Though they only had the chance to enjoy one ride, that particular WunderPanda event afterwards really tired them out. Si Fang needed to catch a break from all that commotions and his fellow business store owners also needed some time to familiarise themselves with their boost in cultivation. "Very well, please come back again." Jin waved them goodbye, only to see a familiar face from the corner of his eye, standing in a shaded area. She bowed slightly when he turned to her and tilted her head sidewards, beckoning him to come to talk to her. Jin nodded in reply and walked towards her with Ku Wai as her bodyguard standing nearby. "Hi Jin, it''s been a long time." Yang Ling greeted him in a friendly manner when he got closer. "Shall we find somewhere more private to speak?" "I know of a place, follow me," Jin replied as he brought her to Hot Ice Caf¨¦, a coffee shop staffed by penguins alongside the wyrm ants, where they sold beverages and simple snacks like Chilling Cold Ice Cream with Sizzling Hot Waffles. Anything that had to do with a combination of Ice and Heat, the menu had it all. Their best seller though was undoubtedly their exceptional coffee. Instead of selling Black Ivory coffee which already had a unique taste to it, Lynn had taught her Peggies how to make other sorts to provide some variety, and Hot Ice Caf¨¦ chose to offer its customers the Blue Mountain Coffee which was extremely well balanced in flavour with a mild acidity to it. The only downside was the coffee beans, which were quite expensive even on the System''s market. Fortunately, not too long ago the System found a way to circumvent it. After Lynn''s budding experiments with the Jacks started to show some results, the System had assigned Ayse to assist the Chef in any way she could think of. The Orc Researcher herself did not really have any experience in that field. Fortuitously, the research team happened to have one elf researcher who was adept with farming and the cultivation of food products. So, Ayse had tasked Melis, the Food Experimentation specialist, to spearhead the research on food science so Lynn would be able to better refine her products. Melis started experimenting with monster faeces since they were all natural fertilisers ever since she found out about the Phoenix Dung, providing a lot of nutrients to aid the Living Armour''s growth. Furthermore, through some mix and match as well as a pinch of awfully good luck, Melis discovered that the Wyrm Ant faeces were compatible for growing Blue Mountain Beans. Especially the younger generation''s manure had traces of an element that was vital for fertilising coffee beans in general. The System literally threw additional funding for Melis to have a proper understanding of how it worked and Voila~! This way they managed to circumvent the middle man in the System market and grew Blue Mountain Beans which were better than those bought from the market. (Most importantly, faster growth too!) Needless to say, the price of that coffee was more expensive than the Black Ivory even though the latter was supposed to be the most expensive coffee in their world which Jin was selling at merely a fraction of its price. It was because only true coffee connoisseurs like Xiong Da would understand and appreciate the true flavour and authenticity of it. Jin had also tagged the Black Ivory Coffee as Black Coffee from the start to misconstrue people''s conception. He couldn''t let people know that he was selling the Black Ivory Coffee Beans at such a cheap price, as that would have only led to people calling him a fraud, particularly when he just started out. Besides, its unique taste was not to everyone''s liking, so it was not as popular as other drinks but compared to his reputation now and his drive for quality, the Blue Mountain Coffee could readily be sold with a steeper price tag. (The modern cultivators would always pay goodn money for quality coffee.) Anybody who''s a coffee addict loved it very much after just tasting it. (Even Melis herself began to grow her own stash for the researchers and her personal use.) Thus, it was priced at 103 Yuan (~15USD) per cup. It was a premium drink, and the Customers who bought it never regretted a single bit ¡ª even more so when it was brewed with Mr Hot''s flames, and the penguins'' inner chi. On a separate note, Hot Ice Caf¨¦, the store in WunderPanda was on the premium side in terms of prices; thus the interior design was more spacious and partitioned too. Similar to the rides, customers needed to queue outside to try out the coffee and snacks which were all under Chef Lynn''s control instead of the System. She had been extremely busy pulling a couple of all nighters these past few days to prepare everything after Jin approached her the moment he had thought up the concept of the Christmas instance. This instance literally allowed her to showcase all her creativity as well as creating a chain of food stores/carts that were manned by the more competent peggies themselves. "Ooh, I adore the interior design of the place! Classy!" Yang Ling said as she took a picture of the dining hall. It was an 80''s kind of diner car theme experience Hot Ice Caf¨¦ was presenting, and the partitions were well decorated with pictures from the 20th century including images of Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe''s infamous flying dress scene. "Ku Wai, mind stepping aside for the moment?" Yang Ling asked her bodyguard when she sat down with Jin. "But Miss, I cannot- " "You can and you will. Jin is strong enough to protect me. Besides, I believe I am at one of the safest places in the whole region. Go get a coffee, you desperately need it. Jin, please help me put his bill on my tab." Yang Ling commanded and Ku Wai had no chance to rebut. He quietly accepted his mistress'' orders with reluctance. "Wow, I think he must be scarred for life ever since that assassination incident," Jin mentioned as he ordered two Blue Mountain iced coffee and a Sizzling Hot Waffles with Ice Cream which surprised Yang Ling quite a fair bit. "Why, what''s wrong? You don''t drink coffee?" Jin asked the moment he returned the menu to Mr Hot, the Fire Wyrm Ant who personally attended to them. "No! Erm¡­I erm¡­" Yang Ling was suddenly at a loss for words when she realised that she was now all alone with Jin. "¡­I just did not expect you to order food." "You are asking for a chat, I figured it would be nice to have some food as well. Besides, it''s just waffles." Jin replied and far from the store was Kraft and Kiyu peeking via the System''s footage. His Original Bellator sighed at how thick headed Jin could sometimes be, but Kiyu did not understand what was wrong. "The tiger girl likes him a lot, similar to how Lynn likes him," Kraft commented and Kiyu looked at him with a weird face, since she had been released not too long ago, and did not have too much time to familiarise herself with Jin and his ''girls''. "Are you serious? Don''t you mean Qiu Yue?" Kiyu questioned and Kraft sighed once more. "Not really. Despite all her physical touches and initiative towards Jin, Qiu Yue appears to want to grow and be something like Jin right now. A new upcoming powerhouse. She admires him, but at the same time she''s jealous that Lynn has taken quite a fancy for him." Kraft explained and Kiyu nodded in acknowledgement. "You could say she is going through the ''I am an independent woman'' phase right now." No one could hide any motives from this particular Bellator, especially when he had personally sworn to protect Jin even without the System making him do so. "I also believe Jin is quite aware of Qiu Yue''s temperament and her slightly touchy tendency. Her language of appreciation. That''s the reason why he doesn''t respond to her that much." "What about that incident when he and Qiu Yue were interrupted by the Ruby Rats attacks?" Kiyu asked and Kraft smirked with a grin. "You should know what kind of needs young girls and boys have¡­" It did not take much for Kiyu to understand that meaning and she finally comprehended why Pei called Jin a lecher. "Oh well, at least he did fend off Milk''s advances¡­" Kiyu meekly tried to defend her master, but she could feel that Pei would scornfully snicker at her remark. "Well, I''d consider Milk more of a tease. But maybe that might change in the future. Regardless, aside from Qiu Yue, both Lynn and Yang Ling have clearly shown an interest in him. Jin did quite a number on both of them, even if he may not have intended it. " Kraft explained while zooming into the System''s footage. "Saving Lynn from being betrayed is one thing. Jin also sacrificed and assisted her reconciliation with her father. But on top of that, he has granted her a Sub System, and she has powers others can only dream off." Kraft remembered how fun it was to see Jin''s panicked face. "Saving Yang Ling''s Dad, herself, helping with her deal and giving her back the ability to walk. Even Jin schemingly knew that they are going to want to repay his kindness. Just not the way he thought it would be. Quite a shame our master has the heart of a maiden and will only choose one." Kraft laughed to himself. "Anyways, we shouldn''t intervene in his love life and let him do his own choices and mistakes. Though we both know, that the System expects him to sire an heir sooner rather than later¡­" Kraft elaborated to keep his long time companion up to date when suddenly the phone he was holding spoke back in retaliation. "Many Heirs." The System corrected the original bellator and made the two of them laugh hysterically. "Looks like the System does not care who he ends up with as long as Jin reproduces." Kiyu was still giggling as she leaned casually on Kraft to watch the interaction between Jin and Yang Ling. "So, what brings you here? It''s rare for you to come here unannounced." Jin treated her to the coffee and waffles as a friendly gesture. He knew that there was a high probability she would bring up the matter of the military army exercises which he and Hou Fei had discussed previously. However, Yang Ling was perceiving the friendly gesture as something else entirely, especially when she had been treated coldly by him on several occasions. This was the first time he had openly offered her a treat even though she knew what Jin was thinking about. Yet, she could not help but think that maybe, just maybe that Jin might have developed some interest in her. "Just wondering how my father''s saviour is doing. Ever since that attack, he has been actively erm¡­ in a covert manner trying to find the other assassins, and if possible, the organisation as well." Yang Ling whispered as Jin was serving her a piece of waffle. "You do not think it''s a solitary attack? And don''t mention it, it was my duty to try my best to save him. How''s your father''s recovery by the way?" Jin asked as he had his hunch about a secret organisation too. The System did hint about it, but it had not many details to follow. To the System, Jin''s business growth was more important right now since Jin started to reach what the System regarded as a ''decent'' cultivation level and not to mention, sufficient bodyguards around him. "Nope, for someone to infiltrate so deeply into a military vendor company with their clearance showing no records of such possible activities¡­it''s a bit concerning." Yang Ling replied as she savoured the sizzling hot waffles that were melting in her mouth with the blueberry ice cream. "Oh yes, I did hear that you have signed a contract with the local police station to protect yourself from the Ruby Rats." Yang Ling showed some concern to Jin, and he immediately thanked her. "Mmhmm. I too have heard that you played a part in me getting some business from them too. The sales of both lethal and non lethal weapons have drastically increased for the month of November. It would give my supplier¡­some confidence to push higher tier goods to me." Jin revealed and Yang Ling suddenly realised that maybe she could help. "Do you need me to assist you in any way? I am sure the supplier would be even friendlier to you if they know you have the backing of the Royal Tiger Zodiac family. I owe you at least that much. Especially after you helped me extensively with the sales of the Gearboxes. They have proven to be a hit and are selling like hotcakes. Although a lot of them¡­preferred the one you custom made for me." Yang Ling admitted in a slightly playful tone. "Hahaha, I bet they do. But I''m sorry I cannot help you with that since the gearbox I made was somewhat special. I had a good reason to assemble it just for you. Besides, some rare materials in it are nearly unobtainable through regular methods." Jin tried to deflect any possible custom made orders from this world. At this point, he believed he had done enough for her. Yang Ling, on the other hand, felt her heart beating quickly. Good reason? Just for her? Nearly unobtainable? Was Jin very concerned of her well being from the start? But why was he acting so cold towards her? To play cool? To play tough? There were so many questions in her mind after Jin''s reply, and she could not keep her head levelled. "Ahhhhhhhh, I noticed too when I tried to reverse engineer the gearbox you gave me instead of the improved blueprint versions that you sent me. Oh well. Still, it''s a pity because those customers were willing to buy that gearbox version for five times the price." Yang Ling sighed as she made an excuse up though it nearly made Jin spit out the coffee he was drinking to the point he was coughing. Yang Ling reacted quickly by leaning forward to pet his back and taking a piece of tissue by the table. She did not know why she was acting like this and feeling very flustered too, but Yang Ling decided to press on with her actions. While Jin was preoccupied with the fact that her customers were willing to pay five times the price, he could see how fast she had adapted with the new gearbox that was under her half dress. There was no standing issues nor sensory feedback issues such that her movements were so natural with it. Jin felt like boasting that the gearbox he made on the fly was nearly flawless. "What? Why are you looking at me like you are stunned about it?" Yang Ling asked with a little blush on her face. "No, I just saw how seamless you are walking right now as compared to uhh a month ago?" Jin replied while thanking her for the tissue paper. From afar, the two of them looked very natural with each other that Kraft and Kiyu were having fun filming them secretly. "Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, I would like to talk about the military deal." Yang Ling who was all smiles and giggles became serious when it came to business. (but she cannot deny her pounding heart and this was the only way to distract herself for now before he noticed something else.) In the meantime, Jin was at all ears and made sure that the System covered the partition they were in properly before they initiated the conversation. Chapter 422 Year 430, Ording Town "The Farm Rats finally are resting for the day," Sebastian said as she changed shifts with Flame Ripper. While Jin was busy creating the WunderPanda instance and now discussing business with Yang Ling, it had been days since the scouting team had been on the lookout against this particular battalion of Farm Rats. There were several close calls of being spotted, but the vanishing presence spell that Sebastia used was proven to be effective, those farm rats thought it was some stray animal that was staring at them. Some of the rats attempted to catch it for supper, but it did not know where it disappeared to. However, it was only Flame Ripper and Sebastian that were rotating. Ever since the first day, Meomi never returned to their sight as if she was doing her own scouting within the forest that was situated beside the temporary camp the rats made. Flame Ripper did not know what to do with Meomi with her disobeying his orders right at the start, but he noticed that there was no sudden upstart of activity by the Farm Rats. That indicated that she was stealthy enough not to be caught or raise any attention against the Rats or maybe she might have run away from the team and the Demon Rat battalion which they were supposed to be watching. "Anything out of the unusual?" Flame Ripper asked via a secured System Channel which they had used during the fight against the Orc King Hamu. The best part of a secured transmission channel by the System? No sound was involved, making perfect for a long range (more like interworld range!) and encrypted communication while having zero risks of getting caught. This way, they could make contact with Gold and passed the information to him even though he is back in the home instance. Gold and the rest of the werejackals would then piece all the information together and decipher the tactics of the Farm Rats from afar. Flame Ripper also hoped that Meomi was listening in so that whenever she needed help, he would at least know. "Nothing, as noted for the past days, they have zero mages at all. All they have been pulling out were something akin to steampunk technology. I see machinery, enhanced armour suits and weapons, cannons and even tanks." Sebastia said as she passed a book which Flame Ripper and her had been writing in about the behaviours of the Farm Rat. "Maybe their Mages were not in this particular battalion?" Gold who knew the timing of their shift changes, came ''online'' and chipped in his opinion. The way he phrased it, the tone made Flame Ripper felt like he was sure that a mage was to be expected¡­ Or at least for a certain somebody to appear. "I honestly do not think so. There was another battalion that came in around the forest earlier this morning. They brought in heavy weaponry that could rival the technology that we gave the Goblins. I saw a bunch of rats flying in some machinery with wings and blades similar to the C130 planes but of a much smaller scale." Sebastia said with some concern as she climbed further into the mountain ranges to hide herself to rest. "Its called a helicopter based on Jin''s current modern technology standard. I cross referenced the image you took with the System''s help. Perhaps to the other folks in the Farming World they were considered as magicians when you have this kind of technological edge against them." Gold said , and again it made Flame Ripper suspect there was something more than in Gold''s words. "Considering that they were not just training here but extracting some sort of fuel or energy source at this mountain range as spoken previously, they might find this as a place of importance. That is why they decided to bring in more security in to ensure the safety of their mining operation." Flame Ripper spoke in return via the channel. "In my opinion, if we wish to strike this place, its best to do it tonight when the first battalion is working on restocking food and equipment. Their guard would be down." Flame Ripper said, but Gold disagreed immediately, Two monsters against two battalions of Steampunk Mechanised Demon Rats? Even adding Keyrin the Thunder Ram Demon would not be sufficient to balance the equation. "Litoride." An unfamiliar voice in the secured channel came about and everyone was surprised that Meomi had decided to speak. "They are using Litoride as the fuel source for their equipment." "Shit, are you serious?" Gold suddenly sounded very troubled by the new fact that was presented to him. "Is it some rare fuel or something?" Flame Ripper asked as he continued to observed the Farm Rats. "More than rare¡­That is like ore from the Farming World''s Life Stream veins. I do not know how to explain it but Jin once akin it similar to the chi circuits of the world when I casually talked about it with him once. If they extract too much Litoride from the world, the Farming world might die." Gold explained. "You know it''s not just that. Year 430, Ording Town." Meomi said with controlled anger in her tone. "¡­You are right." Gold suddenly gave a sorrowful reply. He knew what happened in Ording Town and why Meomi mentioned that. It was her hometown and Year 430 was when the Scholars of the Compass officially recognised and recorded the threat of the Farm Rats. The Ording Town was famous for the Litoride extraction. While Gold said that extracting it heavily might injure the Farming World, small amounts of mining would be beneficial to the world too. The Compass Scholars found out that if the Farming World possessed too much of Litoride in its lifestream veins, the excess Litoride would swell inside of world''s core causing major natural disasters to happen or unusual changes to the crops. Thus, the Compass Scholars had also discovered a way to extract the liquid Litoride from the Life Steam of the world and made them into solid ore for transportation and storage purposes. But in Year 430, the miners found something more than just Litoride liquid. Within the buckets of Litoride, they found a black crystallised ore in it. It was the first time they saw such an abnormality in their years of mining, so they had contacted the Compass Scholars as a precaution. They were none other than the Scholars of the North and South, which later Gold uncovered that they could be the ones who instigated this entire Demon Rat infestation to this world after he and Scholar of the West fought with them. That was because the crystallised ore the miners had found contained the origin of the viral plague. The Original Virus of the Demon Plague. Gold did not have the exact details since he was not at the scene, but it was reported to him that the virus killed half of the population in that area immediately, changing them into demon rats. The rest were infected or partially infected, making them carriers of the plague. The Scholar of the West was the first to come up with a high level Mitigation Spell and she had assisted with the recovery of plague victims. However, she initally did not share the information with the other Scholars. Because she knew that this plague outbreak seemed too artificial. It was until when Gold, the Scholar of the East back then, came to her rescue against the Scholar of the North and South, confirmed her suspicions. The aftermath of the battle was obvious with the traitorous Scholars enhanced by the original virus. Hence that was also how West gave Gold the details of her mitigation spell through a book. Ever since then, Gold was running around aiding other fellow Farmers before he created the Jacks as a disguise for his rescue operations. Why? Because the people had become their slaves with the Farm Rats in order to stay in their good books and not be killed by the Demon Plague. Originally, the Demon Plague could only affect corps, but the traitor Scholars had managed to weaponise it to infect humans. That was in theory, though in reality, such lethal weapon was in limited quantities. However, widespread misinformation of the Ording Town incident ingrained the surviving Farmers to fear the Demon Rats. Thus, a bandit/rebel cover for the Jacks made it easy for them to steal and grab resources while preparing a sort of resistance group up and running in the Farming World¡­ until Jin intervened and inadvertently grabbed them for himself. When Jin learnt of this, he felt incredibly guilty, but Gold told Jin not to worry because he had passed that mitigation spell information to other living remaining mages he could trust. The group that Jin caught was just a small portion of the Jacks, and it had so happened he managed to get the Leader and a few vice leaders along. "So yea¡­Meomi was one of the original survivors of Ording Town which the Scholar of the West had managed to rescue." Gold said in the chat after a long explanation. Flame Ripper and Sebastia could probably guess Meomi''s true intention of coming into this Scouting Team upon learning her past through Gold''s recount of events. "You talked too much, Gold," Meomi replied in the channel with a strong hissing tone. "¡­I believe It is necessary for them to know your identity so you can work better with them." Gold commented, but he did not know that he explaining the details to Flame Ripper and Sebastia would eventually backfire against him. "You should call Keyrin in soon," Meomi said as she finally revealed herself from the shadows and aimed her Sniper Whip on a target she had been eyeing for a very long time. The overall commander of Demon Rat Battalions. He had been cladded in a full suit of steampunk armour the entire time they were observing, and this was the first time he finally took his suit out for some maintenance. From all the observations the scouting team had made in the past days, it was undeniable that he was the overall commanding and his suit armour made him stand out even more. Meomi initially wanted to stay obedient and tolerant as sincerely requested by Flame Ripper but the last conversation they were having in the secured channel minutes ago made her blood boil continuously and reignited her purpose once again. Right now, her feral instincts had taken over her, and she had only one objective in mind. "KILL KILL KILL THE FARM RATS." Meomi readjusted her aim at the tired looking rat commander as his steampunk suit automatically open the chest armour compartment and subsequently the helmet attachment. She took a deep breath with her finger half pressing the trigger, ready to fire anytime. Although the Farm Rats did not notice a thing yet, Flame Ripper finally got a glimpse of her location the moment she made her movement of taking out of her Sniper Whip rifle. "Shit shit shit shit, She is for real! Sebastia prepare for battle!" Flame Ripper said as he held on to the notebook he was writing tightly. *BANG!* The deafening noise of a shot echoed throughout the dark forest causing all the Farm Rats to turn at that direction, missing the scene of their commander still stuck in the process of stripping his armour, being shot in the head. *BANG!* Another shot was heard and now direct to his heart. The surrounding rats around their commander finally saw the horrifying scene of their commander''s corpse explode right in front of them. Meomi had used an explosive shot to make sure that their commander remained dead. "CHARGEEEEEEE!" The Demon Rat''s Second in Command shouted, causing everyone to drop what they were doing and ran for the forest. "Come now. The cat is hungry for some play." Meomi licked her lips as she saw the horde of Demon Rats coming to her. Chapter 423 Meomis Fury "Don''t make a move!" Gold shouted at Flame Ripper and Sebastia through the System Channel, making them to stop at their tracks. "Meomi had decided to do this without your co-operation, and you should respect her for that." "But isn''t she?!" Flame Ripper controlled his anger and frustration for a while, and later silence ensued. He knew from the random arena instance fights that Meomi had been trying hard by herself, struggling with various cultivators and sometimes against two cultivators herself. In a one to one fight against the Demon Rats, she would completely annihilate them, but this is not even a group but a horde of them! Not to mention, all of the rats were carrying steampunk enhancements on themselves. Also, the rank and file were equipped with basic weapon and armour equipment enhancement that would boost their strength. Gold also said that these Demon Rats were born from crops ranging from food to even weapons. How could Meomi possibly fight against all of them without their help? Was Gold really going to call forth Keyrin to finish the entire two battalions of Demon Rats rushing against her? There was also the issue of the forest where she shot her Sniper Whip Rifle from. Keyrin, the Thunder Ram Demon could not possibly summon a thunderstorm that pierces the lush forest''s emergent layer of the canopy to fight and support her. No matter the combination, Flame Ripper could not think of any way that Meomi could emerge this from all this. "Our Lady fired the first shot!! Attack now!!" A sudden high pitch squealing was heard the top of the forest and suddenly multiple, if not dozens or maybe up to a hundred pairs of eyes shone through the blackness of the woods. All of them were gazing fiercely against the horde of Demon Rats and tens of arrow shots flew abruptly across the forest. The surprise attack caused the demon rats to halt their advance for a while and Meomi took that as an advantage to attack the first few of the Demon rats. With just one swipe, the rats in front of her turned into mince rat meat. The rain of arrows did not cease, though none of it hindered Meomi''s furious charge of attacking the Demon Rats. Some of the Farm Rats immediately went into formation and brought their guns out to shoot where the arrows were coming from, but they felt like they were shooting at some shadow of the forest. "Hahaha, they think those metal projectiles of theirs could hit us." A tiny low pitch voice cheerfully said as the rain of arrows came from another direction which the Demon Rats did not expect. As the rats were frantically shooting and shouting into emptiness, Meomi continued her onslaught systematically. With each kill she performed, the rats felt that she was more confident in her attacks as well as stronger and faster. They were not wrong. Because of her efforts and constant pestering, Jin had decided to give her a few extra upgrade cards when he turned Grade 8. One of which was called Catzerker Fury. Each time she killed an opponent, she would have a slight boost in stats momentarily. The boost was an addictive effect and it continued to add up until a maximum stack of 20. Unless the System was seeing things, it observed that Meomi had long exceeded the 20 stacks of Catzerker Fury, hitting almost 40 stacks and counting with each additional rat she kills. It was a unique phenomenon that the System could only believe that the werecat was pushing the limits of the upgrade card herself. The drive to decimate the Demon Rat race was driving her more than expected. "System will not be surprised if werecat Meomi voluntarily evolved without any trigger." The System reanalysed Meomi growth as it continued to observe her reckless fighting. With her increased stats from Catzerker Fury, her regeneration rate increased too. However, she still had to endure the constant pain inflicted from the Demon Rat''s stabbing, shots and slashes that she received from all sides of her body. As long as it was not a vital wound, she continued to fight with heightened ferocity. That was why she was thankful that her increased regeneration abilities of the werecat were able to keep up with her battle tempo. Seeing how the Demon Rats fell quickly from the attacks of the merciless werecat, they decided to bring the big guns out. (The ones that did not require much time to activate.) A mobile steampunk tank like cannon mounted on a modified Demon Rat who was two times taller than Meomi. Like all of the steampunk enhancements, this mounted tank cannon was heavily reliant on Litorde ore as its ammo. The bullet was charged with Litoride, and the explosion radius was at least ten metres according to Flame Ripper''s observation and calculation. If she was the only visible target, take her out first. It did not matter to the rats if there were some friendly fire. To them, more can be created with mere crops by their saviours, the Scholars of the North and South, so that was not an issue. After which, they could proceed to remove the hindrances in the forest and burn the entire forest if required. A Demon Rat loaded the bullet into the mounted cannon and tapped on the Ogre sized Demon Rat to fire. However, instead of shooting to the intended target, the shell exploded right in its face, causing the demon rat on its shoulder to suffer the backfire, eventually dying from it. Meomi knew it was aiming at her , so she already had thrown her Sniper Whip forth, causing it to wrap around the cannon and crushing the barrel. Therefore it was unable to fire as intended when the Ogre Demon Rat pulled the trigger. However, the backfired explosion was not enough to kill it, merely allowing it to suffer third degree burns throughout its body. Even the arrows seemed like they were just poking him. Meomi, who was busy fending off a continuous attack against the Demon Rats, knew that she was obliged to take that Ogre Rat down as soon as possible so she can take a proper breather. Thus, she summoned out her Gun knuckle and equipped it on her left hand. The modified gun knuckle wrapped around her hand similar to a power gauntlet, comparable to what Xue Ping, the Prancing Puma cultivator had used. Using a storage inscription charm, Meomi summoned an attachment for her gun knuckle, and a rocket booster attachment appeared on it. Doing what a rocket booster should do, the gun knuckle roared extremely loudly, violently pulling Meomi along with it towards the Ogre Demon Rat. The Ogre Demon Rat was not stupid enough to let it get punched by Meomi, so it raised its arms out like an ''X'' cross to block the attack. However, Meomi smirked at such foolishness. With a pulse of slight magic coursing through her veins and into the storage inscription charm of the gun knuckle, the rocket booster disappeared, and now a spinning drill attachment was on the gun knuckle. Meomi pressed on the knuckle''s trigger, causing the drill to spin with high power while she delivered a barrage of bullets at the Ogre Demon Rat. The drill contacted with the burnt arms of the Demon Rat and it pierced through it effortlessly. Meomi thought it would be an easy kill¡­until she noticed it slightly late. The Ogre Demon Rat originated or¡­mutated from a Venus Flytrap crop plant. Therefore, its mouth grew larger in size, waiting to snap at the delicious incoming werecat. "Heh, I am a werecat remember? My senses already told me you had something up your sleeves." Meomi made an excuse as her tail ring glowed and suddenly she was able to evade in midair, avoiding the snap of the Flytrap mouth of that demon rat. After which, Meomi readjusted her sniper whip as well as changing the mode of the rifle into one of the modifications her dear fellow werecat had installed previously. A flamethrower. Not just any ordinary flamethrower but a flame breathing device capable of the savagery equivalent to Mr Hot''s wyrm flames and its sheer volume which it spits the fire was nearly the same as two breaths of Wyrm Ant Father Hot. After Meomi evaded above the mutated Venus Flytrap mouth, a click from the rifle produced the flames of destruction to flush the life out of the Ogre Demon Rat as well as the surrounding rats. "Woah! Lady Meomi had such an interesting device!" Another cheerful squeak was heard from the above the trees as if they was being encouraged by Meomi''s actions to press on harder. True enough, the arrow shower did not stop and was even more accurate. At this time, some of the Demon Rats were scuffling back to base, hoping to sortie in their different steampunk machinery so they could take on the ambush they encountered in the forest. But someone was not giving them any chance while Meomi fought at the frontlines. "Do not think you can escape alive from desecrating my home with your filthy presence." Keyrin stood majestically at the top of the cliff with storms brewing above him, and coincidentally he appeared just a few metres away from Flame Ripper. In his fury, multiple blue orbs swiftly appeared in front of the Demon Rats and their pieces of machinery. As they were entranced by blue orbs, several bursts of lightning struck their camp base, damaging the steampunk machines in one go. It caused the Litoride in those steampunk machines, those tanks and helicopters to explode, causing multiple fires to spread throughout the camp base. Being an Avatar of Fire, Flame Ripper could not standby idly when he saw that he was able to help out without making too much of a presence. He whispered a minor enchantment which caused the flames to be under his control temporarily and moved them at will, burning anything flammable. Thus, allowing the fire to grow stronger as well as ensuring that the rats die within the flames and smoke too. But Flame Ripper had another objective. He made sure the flames did not burn the commander tent down, and that was when Sebastia made her move. She knew that there would be vital information and went ahead to see if there was anything worthy to retrieve. In the heat of the moment, the Demon Rats did not notice the quiet female minotaur maid passing through all of them while gathering any possible critical information. Of course, there were occasional Demon Rats that seemed to enter into the tent for safety, but they were killed immediately by her unusual technique of coin tossing. (Seems like Moloch was not the only one who was good with ''magic'' tricks.) "I threw all the documents I can find in the storage ring," Sebastia said as she made her way out of the tent and fled into the darkness of the cliffs, allowing Keyrin to unleash his rage full force at the base camp for defiling his home territory. The Farm Rats realising that this was a coordinated attack of some sort had decided to retreat tactically to inform of such powerful rebels existing to other battalions. Else, at least report that Keyrin was not dead at all. With the numbers, some had decided to split the angry rat mob fighting against Meomi into several groups to increase the chance of survival. However, Meomi did not let them off¡­or to be more specific, her lackeys. While those Demon Rats were attempting to escape, several figures jumped off the forest canopy and hunted the retreating Farm Rats. Flame Ripper took a closer look at them with his binoculars and realised that¡­they have a rather small build. Despite those small builds, the figures aimed precisely at the Demon Rat''s vital points, killing them mostly with just one blow. "Mousefolk or weremouse. They preferred the former as it sounded less stupid." Gold said as he appeared right beside Flame Ripper. Not just him but the entire group of Werejackals appeared via the portals. "Hmmm let''s just say they are the subjects of Lord of Ording Town which my dear departed friend had once saved. If I say that Meomi was the daughter of the dead Lord, things should make more sense to you." Gold nodded his head lightly, and the werejackals behind him jumped into action, including Nyanmi. "Since they have no magic, we better make sure all of them die so that they cannot report anything out there. I am counting on you, Demonic Sage Queen, Peppers." Gold said as he jumped down, transforming into his werejackal form midway to fight against the Demon Rats. "I am surprised you accept to help us." Flame Ripper knew how superior the Bellators were and they were in no way answerable to the monsters that Jin had captured. "¡­unless Master Jin sent you here to aid us." "Nah, I owe this little scholar a small favour for something he did for me. That''s all." Peppers said as she plunged her staff onto the top of the cliff and initialised her area wide search magic. "No rat will run from my prying eyes of magic, be it under or above ground." Peppers said as she smirked wildly. Chapter 424 Extra: Shooting Targets The Basic Mechas were dubbed as Core Units for being extremely bare bones. Aside from a few thin sheets of metal plating, the Core Units were a joke if they would have been sent out for fighting. Hence, what the Pandawans were going through was just an introductory course to piloting to give them a sense of how the robot driving felt like. The reason why they could get straight into action right now was that they were basically still in tutorial mode. After passing the tutorial, would they be subjected to the waiting time as indicated by the Pandamonium App. However, that too was an artificial timer meant to waste the cultivators'' time and to create hype. It would be rather sad if Niu Lang had put in so much effort making all these robots and no one would like to play. But to date, at least 60 cultivators were playing simultaneously which could rival the number of cultivators playing the Pet Card Arena and the Orcs Spinning Top Blades. The System also noted that there were already some cultivators obsessed with the current game, clocking almost 3 hours real time in without any signs of stopping. (The park was barely opened for 4 hours in real time.) When the Core Units were in autopilot mode in order to get out of the Hangar Bay, virtual consoles were booted up to display instructions to the cultivators as a part of the tutorial. There were visual guides and cues in the entire cockpit showing what the controls were for and the cultivators took whatever time they have to learn as much as possible. Stepping on a pedal to drive the engine like a car accelerator, flicking a few buttons to activate a radar map in front of them or switching to infrared vision. There were even levers and buttons to control the movements of the hands. Moreover, the helmet they were wearing was directly connected to the camera feed that was being shown via the Core Unit''s head. But right now all of the Mecha robots were in autopilot mode. All those control and button mashings were for nought. The Pandawans could only use that time to familiarise what was presented in the cockpit. It wasn''t until all eight Core Units reached a large desert field like terrain that the autopilot came off. That was when there were minor cues to tell the cultivators what to do which allowed them to start moving the robot as they wished. In less than a minute, Shi Hui became the first robot casualty when she moved her Core Unit''s right leg too far front, causing the robot to lose its balance and fall right into the dunes of the desert. "How the hell do you even control this!!!!" She screamed while frantically pushing all the controls. Not only her, but the rest were having difficulties balancing their robots except for Bu Dong and Deng Long who seem to have more ''gamer'' sense than the rest. "You useless smellies, look at the left corner of the control panel, there is an assisted AI movement, turn that on." Furi grumbled in the intercom of all the pilot''s cockpit when he saw the situation from afar in his jeep. Mari was his personal assistant, and current driver while at the same time, evaluating the rest of the Pandawans. The cultivators immediately turned on the Assisted AI Movement mode and their performance instantly improved. Some of them even tried to jump around or sprint around until Furi spoke to them through the intercom once more. "Smellies, the targets will be up in 20 seconds. They could be anywhere within this desert terrain so unlock your weapons. The Core Units are all equipped with a basic sidearm pistol. If you''d like a challenge feel fre-" "just shoot down all the targets. Highest score gets secret prize from me." Mari interjected, and the intercom was immediately jammed with all sorts of chatter. Jia Ying was excited and asked if it was some sort of chi infused potion or some secret equipment? Separately, Deng Long believed that the prize had something to do with this Supa Robot Wars game which everyone boo-ed at him simultaneously. In the meantime, Bu Dong sent out a voice prompt to the cockpit AI which had been playing the tutorial for him asking where he should press to unlock the pistol. "Move your Mecha''s right arm and hover it around the right upper thigh of the robot. There will be a prompt appearing right in front of you, allowing you to unlock it and retrieve the sidearm pistol." The AI instructed. For the rest except for Deng Long, a voice command was all that was needed to retrieve the pistol since they had the Assisted AI Movement mode turned on already. "That movement mode might be useful now, but it will definitely hinder you if you plan to play long term." Deng Long constantly reminded himself as he tried his best to do what the AI cockpit told him to since he was moving the robot manually. However, compared to Bu Dong, Deng Long had more difficulties controlling the more delicate movements though he seemed to be getting the hang of it. Twenty seconds had passed as the group fiddled around with their pistol and the stationary wooden target boards appeared right in front of them. Without much difficulty, they had taken down their first targets, but the next wave of stationary wooden targets was now miles away from them. Although it took a few more shots than the first one, it was still manageable for everyone. The third wave of stationary targets became a challenge when it appeared at random places and even further from them. Se Lang knew that its pistol had an effective range as he briefly went through the weapon specifications which were pulled out from the AI cockpit database while waiting for the time to pass. Hence, Se Lang moved closer to the target before firing his shots and hit them within two shots. Meanwhile, other Pandawans like Yue Wen used two whole magazine clip trying to shoot the wooden target down because she was not used to the range. Her lack of knowledge in that regard also prohibited her from fully utilising it. Jing Ru, on the other hand, was similar to Se Lang but instead of moving forward, she made her robot prone and fired from a distance. She did some quick mental calculations with the aid of the AI cockpit and managed to get her first shot to hit the target despite using a pistol. That gave her brownie points in the eyes of the System- erm, Mari and Furi. "As expected from someone who was trained by a Police Sniper. She made used of the AI cockpit to assist her for giving her a good shot." Furi grinned at Mari "She even took account of the wind speed which their current AI had yet to implement it into the hit probability rate. She would definitely succeed as a heavy arms support ." Mari nodded her head in agreement with Furi. Bu Dong was amazed that the bullets were not unlimited like in games, the cockpit featured some realism by showing him how much ammo he had left in his gauntlets where the pistol magazines were stored. There was no recharge of bullets unless there were ammo crates around which he assumed none were given since he did not see any around the desert terrain. His notion got reinforced when Yue Han accidentally spent them all by spraying the pistol bullets just to hit a particular target, leaving him empty. Bu Dong decided to be nice to his friend and threw Yue Han a magazine. "This is the only one I am sparing you! I haven''t much left myself!" When Bu Dong threw the pistol magazine at Yue Han, the fourth wave of stationary targets coincidentally appeared as well as something else. "Didn''t you say this is just a training mission!" Jia Ying continued to shoot the stationary targets as she saw two Core Units similar to theirs emerge from the dunes of the desert. They were painted in solid red, making it very easy for the cultivators to spot them. "I did tell you to kill some moving targets, right? So, stop complaining and destroy those Core Units! The stationary targets are now optional!" Furi scoffed as he folded his arms and watched the scenes unfold. Chapter 425 Extra: Enemy Core Units "Fear not! We have eight Core Units here! There are only two enemy Core Units!" Deng Long said to rally the Pandawans who were felt slightly cheated by Commander Furi. But at the sidelines, Mari was already giggling if they believed that was all the Pandawans were going to encounter. Jia Ying was the first to rush towards the enemy Core Unit. She knew that her aim was terrible even with the aid of the Assisted AI Movement so what about a melee brawl? Perhaps her knowledge in melee combat could aid her in bringing down the enemy Mecha down. "Ahhh!! Stupid! If you rush in, how am I going to shoot the enemy!" Yue Wen said as she refrained from attacking. Even Jing Ru, who was a sharpshooter, was shaking her head at Jia Ying single minded selfishness in attacking solo. Since she was blocking the way, there were only two ways. To join her in a close combat fight or stay out of the way until the coast was clear. Choosing the former, Se Lang started pushing his robot forth towards the second Core Unit while searching the inventory of his Core Unit for any other weapons. He found that there was a combat knife attachment hidden under the armour chest plate. He announced it to all of the Pandawans and took it out by hovering his robot arm over his right chest plate. However, Jia Ying was already engaging the enemy Core Unit with her fist. She was a spear user, but her Grandmaster taught her to a few basic moves regarding fist and leg strikes to complement the openings a spear user could potentially show whenever she missed her targets. Thus, Jia Ying used what she learnt and apply it for this particular fight. But¡­the robot was just too slow in responding in a close quarter fight especially with Assisted AI mode on. The enemy Core Unit was not as easy they thought it would be. It managed to dodge the opening blow that Jia Ying had thrown and activated a jetpack booster to ram against her. The other Pandawans saw that and frantically search for a booster option in their cockpit too. "No, you smellies had nothing attached than a gun and a knife. Do not bother to try finding." Commander Furi shouted as he picked his nose and removed a booger that was stuck in it with a flick. "At the very least, I have a clear shot." Jing Ru said as she fired her pistol when Jia Ying was slammed to the ground by the charging enemy Core Unit. The Core Unit took a hit from Jing Ru, but it only damaged its left arm considering the AI use it to block the attack. Unlike living beings, the robots had no pain in them so that precise shot was nothing unless Jing Ru aimed for the cockpit. "Shit." Jing Ru said to herself as she thought she could kill one of the enemy Core Units before unloading the empty magazine on her pistol. Her right Mecha''s wrist flipped open to reveal a pistol magazine compartment. She still had four more clips compared to the rest who were hovering between one or at most two magazine clips left. Some like Shi Hui and Yue Han were dangerously low on ammo too, but Jing Ru also knew that they did not expect a ''mini'' game in WunderPanda would be that overly complicated. It was challenging which dawn upon Jing Ru that she was beginning to like it as much as Bu Dong and Deng Long. Unfortunately, to the rest, they find it extremely hard to cope, and it also reminded them how powerless they were when they first started out cultivation. "Too much of a grim reminder of how unfair this world could be." Jia Ying sighed as the enemy core unit took out a metal stick from its waist which eventually powered up to be an energy sword. With just one plunge of the sword into the cockpit area, Jia Ying''s Core Unit lost power immediately. "Reckless behaviour but it cannot be helped. She does not have the essential items to help her survive." Furi said while looking from the battle from afar. "Her spear?" Mari asked and Furi laid in silence. "Her determination to win. All the unknown factors had made her lose confidence in herself." Furi said, and Mari wrote it down as part of the evaluation. "¡­and yeah, I guess you could say, her spear too." "Shit, this is serious, they can easily take down our core units just because it had attachments and fancy gadgets." Yue Wen said as she warned Se Lang not to be as reckless as Jia Ying. However, it was too late. She could see Se Lang was enraged, shooting his pistol at the other enemy Core Unit relentlessly. Similar to the previous enemy core unit, the one Se Lang was facing had a portable shield that deflected a few of the shots. The shots that got through was inconsequential, and the enemy even fired back several rounds against Se Lang. Thankfully, none hit the chest area where the cockpit lied within. Se Lang could see that damage was taken to his shoulder and his chest too. There were armour integrity values indicated on the console screen of the cockpit, showing how much damage the armour could suffer before its integrity was compromised, exposing the internal circuity of the robot. But knowing all this was futile when all Se Lang wanted was to annihilate this particular threat as soon as possible. When his pistol clip was empty, he flipped the pistol around and held the barrel, whipping the butt of the pistol at the enemy Core Unit which it, in turn, blocked with its shield. However, the impact from the charging Se Lang caused the shielded arm to be torn off. Apparently, from Furi''s point of view, the shoulder joint of the enemy Core Unit was already critically wounded by one of Se Lang''s shot when he was running towards the enemy Core Unit. The pistol whip did the rest of the work, causing the enemy Core Unit to lost an arm. Se Lang did not stop there as he pulled the combat dagger from his chest plate and slash at the area where the cockpit would be. Sadly, the slash was shallow, revealing the crust of the cockpit module. Se Lang believed a subsequent penetrating stab would finish the job, but the enemy Core Unit was not going to stay there being defenceless. It headbutted Se Lang''s Core Unit, causing it to flinch and became unstable. It then reached out a submachine rifle from its back and aimed at Se Lang''s Core Unit chest. The enemy Core Unit fired ruthlessly at point blank towards the chest of the core unit, destroying any remaining armour plate it had before breaking the circuitry in the chest. Without a doubt, the Core Unit fell to the ground with the cockpit all destroyed too. As if the enemy Core Unit was basking at the glory for destroying Se Lang''s Mecha, the other Pandawans fired shots in retaliation. Yet, all those shots were just a distraction for the actual killer to prepare her move. Jing Ru recalculated her trajectory and aimed her shot towards the enemy Core Unit. The distraction was enough for the enemy Core Unit to turn its back at Jing Ru, allowing her bullet to penetrate the enemy core unit frame from the back and destroying the AI cockpit. The rest cheered momentarily, but there was still the issue of the one that had killed Jia Ying''s Core Unit. At that point, Bu Dong and Deng Long who had gotten used of the controls decided to team up together to fight against the remaining core unit. Similar to Jing Ru, Bu Dong realised there was an aim assist in the AI Cockpit system, and he utilised it to the maximum. "Aim at those joints!" Bu Dong said to the AI Cockpit system which the AI proceed to predict the hit probability of those joint parts. It also adjusted and increased the likelihood of its analysis the more Bu Dong moved closer to the last Enemy Core Unit. However, unlike Jing Ru, who did some manual calculations to append the hit rate probability, Bu Dong relied only on the AI assist. Hence, some of his shots missed because of the moving robot frame. Deng Long, on the other hand, kept his pistol back in the Mecha''s holster to conserve his bullets and charged in with his combat knife. Unlike Jia Ying fighting bare fisted, Deng Long knew how to handle a knife since the fighting style had some consistency with his dual batons techniques. He was also getting used to the robot movements and fighting close quarters would not be a problem as compared to Jia Ying who usually fought with some distance between her enemy due to the range of her spear. The Enemy Core Unit did not stay stationary upon Bu Dong''s firing and instead used its Jet boosters to evade the attacks while maintaining its distance away from Deng Long. However, it was not long before the fuel in the jet boosters were used entirely, giving the Wobbling Wombat cultivator a chance to catch up. Therefore, it fired up its energy sword and decided to eliminate Deng Long first. "While I know I can evade, this heavy piece of junk is just too slow! I rather count my blessing surviving the attack then rely on it to dodge!" Deng Long complained as he maintained his charge forward while placing its left arm ahead to block the attack first. The AI computed that the energy sword was sufficient to destroy the left arm of his Core Unit and a high chance of penetrating the armour plates to reach Deng Long''s cockpit. So, it proceeded with the attack with Deng Long blocking the attack as deduced. Nonetheless, Deng Long was not going to let the enemy Core Unit to kill him that easily. He slammed his brakes, causing him to place all the strain of the momentum and weight of his Core Unit on the left leg to crouch. The left leg sunk deeper into the sandy terrain causing the entire Core Unit to dip in height. This caused the energy sword attack only to have sufficient power to slash the left arm away and not able to penetrate the chest plate since the angle of attack was displaced by Deng Long''s shrewd movements. That was when Deng Long initiated the attack at the Core Unit''s cockpit by attempting to stab his combat knife into it. The AI responded by putting its arms forth to block the attack, but its arm joints were partially damaged by Bu Dong. The stopping power of the enemy Core Unit was severely hindered and was being overwhelmed by Deng Long''s Core Unit, allowing him to push the knife through the arms. Given that the Deng Long''s Core Unit had sunk deeper into the desert terrain, he was able to strike at the weakness of the armour plate that was protecting the cockpit. Through a low angle, Deng Long slipped the knife into the inferior crevices of the armour plate and stabbed through the enemy Core Unit, rendering it immobile. It was a hard earned victory for the Pandawans in the end. Deng Long was sweating and panting crazily at the adrenaline rush he was feeling after the fight had ended. He could not believe that robot piloting could be this thrilling. Commander Furi sent a short message that the mission had concluded, telling the cultivators to rest in the cockpit for those who were unable to move. He was specifically talking to Deng Long who was stuck in the sand. For Se Lang and Jia Ying, they had been teleported away by Commander Furi (aka the System) before the enemy Core Unit ravaged their cockpit with their attacks. They were now sitting in the jeep behind Furi and Mari as they saw the rest of the fight unfold. "You guys won''t be that lucky next time if you ever play Supa Robot Wars again," Furi said as he ordered Mari to drive back to base. For the rest, a voice activation by Furi allowed the Core Units to enter back into autopilot mode as they walked back to base. A statistics summary tab was shown along the way back to the base to let the cultivators see how well (or badly) they had done for this mini game. There was even a best action scene replay, best shot replay and Furi''s ''That''s a dumbass stupid thing to do'' of the day replay too. (Thankfully, Jia Ying was not in the cockpit to see that, but some of the Pandawans were giggling at it. Else, the communication channel was open, and they talked about their experience of the mini game while resting in the cockpit during the autopilot mode. "Erm¡­guys, anyone going to rescue me? I am still stuck! Guys! Help!" Deng Long groaned loudly through his intercom for being the one to be ignored again. Chapter 426 Extra: Hangar Control Deng Long finally returned to the base Hangar after the EMC crew (Engineering and Maintenance) had managed to pull his Core Unit out of the desert with the aid of multiple quad rotors helicopters and transported it back via air. Only then did he find the group still in their Combat G suits resting and eating delicious looking Western food from one of the stalls in the Hangar''s canteen. They were manned by a penguin chef too! But on closer inspection, it seemed as if that one penguin chef was manning all the stalls in the Hangar''s Canteen. (They could see him running from one stall to another to cook the food and very agile at it too.) "Ah Deng Long, I already ordered for you. Mushroom Chicken Chop Burger¡­ehh but your fries seem to have been seized by Furi." Se Lang informed him as Furi entered proudly behind him with a packet of fries on his paws and acknowledged the entire group''s presence. "Continue eating. It will be a casual debrief." Furi said as he shamelessly consumed Deng Long''s fries. "What are you looking at Smelly?" "Se Lang told me that packet you are holding belongs to me¡­?" Deng Long did not speak in an accusing manner in case Se Lang played a prank on him, but Furi who was enjoying his fries did not look pissed at all. Instead, he was delighted that Deng Long mentioned it. "So? You want them back? Do you prefer to pay for the transport expenses for carrying your Core Unit from the desert and back to Hangar instead?" Furi threatened Deng Long with a lofty stare while the latter looked at him blankly, speechless. "Then, you should be glad I am just taking these instead of your burger." Furi looked him dead in the eyes while grabbing more fries from the packet to stuff into his mouth. "Nope, nope. It''s my treat." Deng Long replied in an unwilling tone before he sat down with the rest of the group to enjoy his burger before Furi changed his mind. The food that the entire group received were complimentary with the ticket they had paid before entering this particular game. After the last of the fries vanished into his mouth, Furi started to commence the debrief. At the same time, Mari came in holding a suitcase, and the Pandawans knew it had something to do with the debrief. All of them had their eyes at Furi to give him the attention he needed while munching away their food. "All of you succeeded in completing the tutorial mission. You are now promoted to¡­ ''Still a Smelly''." *Cough* "What he meant to say. Every one of you has now reached the Rank of Private as accordance to Star Cross Heavy Industries standards." Mari interjected as she opened the suitcase. Inside were eight formation badge patches with a picture of half a Panda Head and half a robot head. The robot head resembled the Core Units they used. "From this point on, all of you are official Test Pilots for the Star Cross Heavy Industries!" Furi commanded Shi Hui, who was the nearest person to him to come forward. "Congrats." Furi shook her hand and slapped his paw on the right side of her shoulder. The Shadowy Swan cultivator gave a little groan at the pain of the slap but noticed that Furi had placed a formation badge patch on it. "¡­For reaching the rank of Private. NEXT! " Furi commented and did the same for the rest of them. The other Pandas in the EMC crew and administration staff observed them for a while before continuing to return to their own business in the canteen. After the informal ceremony was done, the Pandawans continued to partake their food as Furi left Mari to explain the rest of the debrief since he had more pressing matters to attend. "This is the most important part of the debrief, so listen carefully. You all have been rewarded Star Cross Points for the completion of your mission. While Master Jin did once say that less is more, he felt a need for this game station to have its own currencies. Previously, the Pandamonium App wallet only showed the amount of Panda Medals you had acquired, but this had changed." Mari said as she turned the suitcase she was carrying into a virtual console as picture presentation was the easiest to understand. "We temporarily added Raid Points to retest the market''s reaction to it and it returned with positive results. Therefore, we figured this is the right time to introduce currencies to the three major games that we have in WunderPanda. The Pet Card Arena, The Orc''s Spinning Top Blades, and Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars." Mari explained as the rest took their phone out to check the wallet. As usual, with every new dungeon or service instance, there would be an upgrade to the Pandamonium App. The Pandawans knew the update for this service instance was one of the largest ones due to the update size when they were waiting for the release of WunderPanda instance. (Thank goodness for free and fast wifi in Jin''s instances.) The cultivators noticed the three new currencies, as stated by Mari. Card Points, Spinning Points and Star Cross Points as well as a symbol next to them, which turned out to be a currency converter. For example, converting Panda Medals into a certain number of Star Cross Points. When Bu Dong tried pressing on it, he was brought into a new screen where there was something like a graphical data to show the fluctuations of the amount of conversion. "It''s a bit of a demand and supply kind of thing," Mari informed them, stating that if a lot of people tried to convert Panda Medals into Star Cross Points, the amount of Star Cross Points they get in return would be reduced drastically. Should the masses, however, do the opposite at such a time, by converting Star Cross Points Points into Panda Medals, they would receive a significantly higher amount of Panda Medals. As if that was not enough, Jin had placed ''measures'' to let the cultivators spend more money to obtain more points in the various games but never Panda Medals. They had to earn those medals as they remained the main currency. Jin cleverly did not implement a method to convert Card Points into Spinning Points, or anything of the sort.If they want other points, they have to buy them or use Panda Medals for their source of conversion (It''s all a ploy to earn more money by Jin!!) "You all have received 10,000 Star Cross Points for completing the objectives. Jing Ru and Deng Long have received an extra 5000 Robot Points for killing the two Core Units." Mari said, and the group immediately chattered among themselves loudly. "See! I told you they would get rewarded for destroying those two enemy core units!" Se Lang grumbled with a bit of regret in his voice. It was apparent Jia Ying and Bu Dong were also quite unsatisfied with the results. "Yeah yeah, fine! You win your bet." Yue Wen reluctantly took out a five yuan change and slammed it on Se Lang''s hand. Seeing how the commotion interrupted her debriefing, Mari cleared her throat loudly to get the attention of the rest again. "Now, if you are done chatting, follow me. I will send you to Man Man, the Head of EMC. He will tell you more about how you can customise your Core Units." Mari said, and that immediately made Bu Dong and Deng Long extremely excited. They were the first to stand up to follow Mari and Deng Long brought his food along since there was no much time to eat. Man Man was directing a few of his crew members at the centre of Hangar when he was interrupted by Mari and the group of newly promoted privates. He sighed momentarily before he thanked Mari for the handover. "Alright chumps. See that central block of concrete hanging at the top of the hangar? We are going there. AND NO JUMPING!" Man Man shouted before any of them had any wise ideas to jump up to their new destination. They quietly followed Man Man up the elevator reaching the central block, which was dubbed the Hangar Control where the EMC Boss later introduced it as an area for the pilots to redesign their core units. He booted the computers in front of them via a central terminal and the concrete walls around them retracted upwards, revealing a continuous glass panel that showed the workings of the hangar around them. It gave them a good clear view of their Core Units from Hangar Control as compared to them looking upwards from the ground up. "The interface for reconstructing your Core Units is simple and intuitive. The AI that you encountered in the Core Unit''s cockpit is the same as the one that will assist you in designing your robots." Man Man explained while giving them a short tour of the stuff they have in the Hangar Control. But both Bu Dong and Deng Long had already dashed to their individual work stations and placed their phones as instructed by the terminal workstation. Instantly, a rotating hologram of their Core Unit was visualised in colour with various options for them to select. Since both of them were sitting side by side, Man Man used them as an example. He asked the rest to gather round and used Bu Dong''s terminal as the teaching console. "You can see here. We have a few parts for you to change into for free. Call it a free service for reaching the rank of Private. There is no way you can win any battles if you just use the Core Unit. Now that you have reached Private rank, the queuing times affect you guys as well. The previous mission was instant for you guys because it was a tutorial." Man Man said as he clicked on a console option and it revealed the parts available for them to choose. There were only a few parts unlocked, but Man Man told them that there were daily and weekly missions which allowed the cultivators to earn more Star Cross Points as well as a chance to get new parts for free. "Call it part of the reward. You clear a mess for us, we supply a fresh new part for free." Man Man explained. "Does that mean if my right arm is destroyed, I have to buy a new part again?" Deng Long asked, and Man Man laughed loudly. "We are not that evil, we will repair the part for you for free, but should you wish to sortie out fast, you will need to either pay us Star Cross Points to expedite the repairs or use an entirely new arm as we repair that old arm." Man Man said as he leaned its body on Bu Dong''s chair when he explained the intricacies of the Supa Robot Wars. "Speaking about sortie, the AI will guide you but standard ammunition would be provided for your missions. Should you wish to purchase nonstandard ammunition like incendiary rounds, there will be cost of that too. I can only say that the higher your rank, there will be discounts for repairs, parts and anything that cost Star Cross Points." Man Man added in his explanation to show that Supa Robot Wars had many hidden mechanics to be discovered. "Alternatively, you are allowed to sortie without the arm, but you will be impaired offensively. I am not saying you cannot do that, but it is not recommended to do that. And before any of you have that crazy thought, there are no achievements coupled with going out with less than 100%. Unless you want to brag about you being crazy and stupid enough to fight with only one arm, I guess then, by all means. Go fucking ahead." Man Man answered Deng Long and showed them that there were durability levels on each particular part. "Let''s assume that your unit got obliterated by the enemy and you''re left with nothing. We can replicate the entire unit again for a fee. Consider it something like your resurrection procedure in your world and it might not be cheap depending on the type of parts you were using. Worst case, we do offer some level of ¡­''accommodations'', especially for you Pandawans." "Can you also use a new Core Unit and start over again instead?" Bu Dong interjected his thoughts aloud and Man Man nodded his head. "This is not a very fantasy based game like the Pet Card Arena. This is meant for serious gamers, and a certain level of realism is applied to ensure that Newtonian Physics remained relevant. Although here''s a tip since you guys are cultivators. You can get out of your cockpit and make a ruckus to destroy the enemy robot. Use that information however you like. It''s free of charge." Man Man chuckled with a low voice and let them be for a while. "I guess this is not my type of game at all." Shi Hui shrugged her shoulders and sadly, Jia Ying nodded in agreement. Yue Han thought it was a lot of fun and something he could get immersed by it but lamented that the cost was immensely prohibitive. "Ah, cost. Yes. Technically, you can play this game by just spending the ticket price with your Panda medals because you will receive a Gacha box each time you buy a ticket. That Gacha box will give you two parts of various rarity. That means you have a chance to obtain a rare part which will help you." Man Man added. "The ticket also allows you to play three missions before you need to get another ticket to continue playing. Unless, you wish to get the premium ticket¡­" Man Man seemed to be whistling when he said that to attract both attention and ire from the entire group. "And there will be limited event missions like cooperative raids and perhaps even battle royales for this. Of course, those have yet to be implemented in the game. Consider this as version 1.0 " Mari who happened to enter the Hangar Control to hand over the physical license which Bu Dong and Deng Long applied for at the start of the game. It was a rather sleek looking green metallic card with their rank imprinted as well as the squad they were currently in. Squad #167. "Even if you cultivators decide never to play Supa Robot Wars ever again, the Squad number is a way to say thank you for being part of Star Cross Heavy Industries. You all will always be remembered as Squad #167." Mari smiled at them. Out of the blue, Jing Ru decided to get a physical license too, and so did Yue Han. "I suppose you will be sponsoring some of the game tickets if you want me to carry you." Jing Ru tapped on Bu Dong''s shoulder and winked at him. He sighed and smiled gently, which prompted Deng Long to look at him shamelessly. "Dare to prey on a kid to finance your gaming addictions? You are a police officer, you should be better than that!" Se Lang folded his arms and stared at Deng Long. "ARGGGH FINE! I guess that means more overtime!" Deng Long sighed as he pressed on a button that caused a series of glass walls to rise up, surrounding his terminal workstation. "Now Please! Excuse me! Let me enjoy my robot making!" With that being said, Jing Ru and Yue Han joined them at the terminal workstations while the remaining four decided to leave the area and try out the other rides. Chapter 427 Mousefolk As Jin''s monsters mobbed up the Demon Rat horde with their surprise attack, there were a few casualties on their side. Mainly the Mousefolk as they tried to assassinate the retreating Demon Rats. While those sentient looking mice were nimble and agile, most of them could not handle more than a hit or two from the enhanced demon rats with their steampunk technology. However, it was also thanks to their small build, providing them with great speed and agility that allowed them to crawl to their weak points, their tails. (Most of them were only thirty centimetres tall!) Cutting a demon rat''s tail was similar to cutting the carotid artery of a human being. Slash that part away, and the farm rats would go into a nervous breakdown which eventually paralysed them, making them unable to breathe. Thus, they would die from suffocating. It was a newly made discovery, which the mousefolk had paid for to learn about it with a lot of blood. They didn''t have the time to share this with Meomi yet, though seeing how she was able to kill them without cutting their tails off proved that their Lady had become even more formidable than the last time they had seen her. "All the rats are accounted for. None survived, but I will move further into the forest to make sure that they are all truly dead." Peppers reported her findings to the secured System channel before flying on her magical wooden staff to the centre of the forest. With a flick of her finger, Shu appeared at a small clearing which she asked the Ancient Treant to enhance her search magic. Shu acknowledged the commands of the Demonic Sage Queen as he dug his roots deep into the forest grounds and connected them with the trees in the vicinity. After which, he let Peppers plunge her magic stuff into him via one of his branches. In an instant, the forest lit up with a light greenish aura. "Huh, so my hunch was right, there are some sneaky rats too. Guess the information about Demon Rats possessing certain attributes of crops or animals is really true." Peppers scribbled something down in her own notebook before she found a signal moving slowly, trying to avoid any detection. But too bad for that rat. With Peppers connected into the forest''s ''network'', masking their presence did nothing to avoid her search magic. Every step any animal or living creature made were all known to Peppers with her enhanced magic. "Kraft, I need to borrow a few foxes from you." Peppers typed on the new phone she just bought with the System points. (It had a cosmetic magical staff key chain and an anti dust plug as a shape of a hat in the audio jack. Without saying, her phone cover had a picture of her new favourite anime character from Konnosoba.) "That will be 15 System points!" Kraft gave a sly looking emoticon with a "Just Joking!" sticker before he sent out Ixel, Ixa, Itori to Peppers when he felt a phantom burning sensation behind his ears in the WundaPanda Theme Park. The three foxes popped out in front of Peppers and immediately knew their objective. They ran like quieter than a shadow through the forest in search of their prey. "Instead of System Points, I can only offer you a toy. Get as much information from it as you can. Have fun~! Speaking of captured Demon Rats, the System was initially happy to receive more minions to assist with the construction of the Dungeon City Fortress. It already made some calculations as to what task they would be assigned first. But to the System''s dismay, it''s plan encountered an unexpected error. The Demon Rats did not spawn back as living breathing monsters¡­ but instead as the original item that was once mutated by the viral plague. Hence, the System received an assortment of crops, weapons, armour, plants, or animals and other weird junk. And the list continued to increase the more Jin''s monsters killed them. (The ones assassinated or shot by the Mousefolk remained as dead Demon Rats.) If it could only sigh at the disappointment for the anticipation of the war it had harboured, the System would have already done so. (It briefly even calculated whether to discourage Jin from participating in a full scale war against the Demon Rats) However, the death of those Demon Rats was essential to reopen the Farming World markets up again for trade. Lynn also needed crops from it, and for its future expansion. Thus, it was still a war with merits to fight On a separate note, the werejackals gathered the injured mousefolk and began assisting them with whatever treatment they could manage without the help of Peppers or Milk. There were some crops they grew, which had healing properties and were useful for increasing the regeneration factor of the werehumans. (Since the mousefolk were therianthropic in nature.) In the meantime, Flame Ripper had decided to scout a little more. Peppers informed them that the coast was clear, yet he did not feel safe at all and had that premonition that someone might be watching them. Besides, it was a good time to practice what his father had taught him during the trip to the Orc capital. Most of his time had been spent listening while waiting to initiate their backup plan of assassinating Orc King Hamu, which never came to be. (The portals they had used were currently used by Frost Echo the current Orc King for travel and trade between the orcs and goblins.) Meomi subsequently met up with Gold who was commanding the rest of the werejackals to salvage any possible equipment that was not burnt to be analysed by the researchers or Grey who was now the overall in charge of equipment and tactics for the werejackal. That responsibility was previously on Gold, but he decided to release some of his duties to the vice leaders so that he could focus more time doing research on the therianthropy spell his friend had left behind. Despite Gold''s orders, Grey had decided that the equipment should be sent to the researchers for an initial assessment before he tinkered with it. Gold eventually agreed with him and told his vice leader to proceed with the plan. Meanwhile, for Gold, he imparted his responsibilities away to have more time for himself. Gold wanted to find out if the therianthropy spell could be improved to entirely isolate the viral plague or perhaps even kill the plague and reverse the effects of partially infected beings. Unfortunately, it was hard to do purely in theory. The fact that the composition of the spell was a mess to begin with, did not help at all. The Scholar of the West seemed to have done it in a haste, unless, there was some underlying meaning to that messy composition which Gold had yet to discover. "I am sorry, Gold." Meomi apologised as she knelt in front of him instead of being all high and haughty. "I''ve disobeyed orders to get in touch with my subjects." She admitted her wrong doings with her head down. Upon seeing that scene, the other mousefolk who were in the vicinity knelt immediately too to ask for forgiveness their Lady. "How did you even get in touch with them? I thought there were at least 15 days worth of travelling ¨C Wait a minute, did you use the System''s portals?" Gold furrowed his eyebrows, and she nodded her head lightly. "Jin said to use the System''s portals as much as possible. When Flame Ripper and Sebastia concluded that there was no sight of any magical users, I immediately opened a portal to that place." She replied. "But there is one thing I do not understand. Even if you have the System''s portal to transport them, how did you know where to open the portal? Don''t you need details like the map coordinates? We do not even have a proper map of the Farming world for our debriefing." "Remember when Brown was previously scouting for the demons you suggested Jin slay? I asked for a favour from Bellator Zeru to give me the coordinates of that place when he went scouting with Brown." Meomi replied. The place they were mentioning was nicknamed the Ording''s Sanctuary. It was one of the places which the Jacks were in control of but similar to the name, it was mainly filled with victims from the Ording Town incident. "Great Master Zeru trained us hard for this very day, Lord Scholar." Poppy, one of the vice leaders that commanded the Mousefolk warriors suddenly spoke out which made Gold and Meomi surprised. Seeing the look of the Lord Scholar Gold and Lady Meomi, he grinned a little before explaining. "It was very sudden, Great Master Zeru came to visit Ording''s Sanctuary saying he was with Sir Brown," Poppy said as he unsheathed his weapon, presenting his katana and there was a Z imprinted on the crossguard. It was something that does not exist in this world and Poppy showed it to them to prove he were not lying. Gold and Meomi for once, did not even doubt him the moment Poppy said the word Zeru. "He said that a day will come where we might need to fight aside our Lady. We had been worried that the Lady died fighting against the Demon Rats after she disappeared with the Lord Scholar who asked for her assistance. So, we did not believe him until he used some magical screen to show us Lady fighting against living humans as part of her training." Poppy explained. "When we saw our Lady train herself to come back to us, how could we, as her subjects, not do the same? From that day on, we learned from Great Master Zeru at least an hour each day on a daily basis before he left us alone to train ourselves. Sometimes, he would even bring stockpile of food and weapons as an act of encouragement for seeing improvements in our training." Poppy added which allowed Gold to understand why the mousefolk were that capable of annihilating the Demon Rats. (He knew that most of them were just miners and civilians at the start.) "I see¡­no wonder." A tear uncontrollably rolled down from her eyes as she now understood why Zeru out of the blue had told her to search for her hometown people the moment she joined the scouting team. "So¡­it was for this reason. I did not know there was so much going on behind the scenes. Thank you all for your efforts." Meomi said as she stood up and gave a noble bow as courteous as she could towards the mousefolk. "There is no need to thank us! We are your subjects and will always be your subjects. Ever since the day you rescued and protected us from the relentless attacks of the Demon Rats with Lady Scholar of the West." Poppy graciously lowered his head once more to give his gratitude. "Okay enough of all the mushy stuff." Brown interrupted the moment and told the abled body Mousefolk to aid the werejackals to pick up any usable items possible from the dead Demon Rats. Even though a number of the farm rats disappeared into the System''s inventory, they left behind the steampunk enhancement armour and weapons all over the places. If there was one thing that could be reused, it was definitely the equipment which Gold and the rest of Jin''s minion knew that the System would find a way to make them reusable again. (or perhaps make them even stronger.) "Let me help out too." Meomi said in a gentle voice as she assisted along with the mousefolk and caught up with them about what had been happening when she went ''missing''. Chapter 428 General Xie Even though the partition was covered with the System''s protection, the unknowing Yang Ling was paranoid enough to place some of her self designed inscription charms to make sure that no one else was listening to their conversation. Jin could not recognise any of them, but Kraft including Pei easily penetrated through the inscription''s abilities. The counterintelligence agent identified them to be mainly strengthened Illusion and Veiling charms to prevent the Jin and Yang Ling from being spied on. "I heard from a little snake that you''re considering the idea to conduct military exercises." Yang Ling said as she stirred her coffee a little before taking a sip. The mild acidity and rich coffee flavour from the Blue Mountain beans permeated her taste buds and almost immediately giving her a feeling of instant rush. "Don''t you mean old hagged snake?" Jin questioned her with a slight chuckle which made her giggled along as well. "Yes, yes that''s the one. Still, I cannot believe you have been able to get in touch with someone directly from the Royal Zodiac Snake family." Yang Ling commented. "Oh? He is part of the Royal Zodiac Snake family? You mean like you? I didn''t know that. No wonder that snake kept avoiding me and told me to get the information from you instead." Jin initially wanted to comment with a tinge of sarcasm, but he realised acting ignorant might lead to some information which he might not be privy about otherwise. And he was right. "Yea well erm no not exactly, his father had married one of the daughters of the main Snake family. Sigh¡­let''s just put it this way. Their relations are a tad more complicated than the rest of the Royal Zodiac family. The important point is, you have built up a relationship with one of the big shots from the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. And if you are wondering, the way he talked about you when he was discussing matters with me, I could sense it was not on the level of mere acquaintances¡­ Neither was it a face value friendship. There was more to it than that." Yang Ling explained while trying to deduce his exact relationship with Hou Fei in her head. "Oh I forgot, you can read minds," Jin said while he playfully tried to cover his head with his hands as if to signal that he was trying his best to protect himself from being read telepathically. "Nah, his subtle body language gave it away. Whenever he talked about you, he had a small smile on his face. Hmmm, kind of like a grandpa boasting about his favourite grandchild. Even though it''s near impossible to find stuff out from someone that important from their clan, I also don''t seem to be able to read you¡­" Yang Ling then paused for a while and stared at Jin. "But I''d love to get into your head." Yang Ling replied with a slightly sexual inclination in her tone, seeing how relaxed Jin had become compared to the last few meetings. She was genuinely enjoying her time right now, even though she always put a straight face when it comes to business dealings. There was something about Jin that made her put her guard down. She was aware that it was dangerous in the long run, yet Yang Ling couldn''t contain herself. "Well, well, well! If you cannot read my mind, then it looks like my evil masterplan can proceed without any hitches!" Jin played along with Yang Ling as he took another scoop of ice cream and waffles. "Seriously, how big is he a shot in that clan? Hou Fei purposely did not reveal too much to me when I spoke to him about the military exercises. He only mentioned that he could make it happen after I have your permission. That sly old snake!" "Perhaps, he just wanted to keep this as a surprise. Fine, I can tell you, but you didn''t hear it from me okay?" Yang Ling felt it was okay to trust Jin. No, she wanted Jin to trust her more. More than that. She wanted Jin to know that she could be trusted. Yang Ling desired to have the same closeness as how she perceived Hou Fei. She yearned for that badly. Given her circumstances, especially the current political clout that Yang Ling wields, she was not able to find anyone trustworthy. She would be lying if she said that she was able to trust her bodyguard Ku Wai completely. But Jin was an exception. Jin had done the impossible for her. He had protected her, aided her, as well as giving her a second chance to walk again when she herself had already abandoned that fantasy. Yang Ling understood the odds when she created the Gearbox. Even the most optimistic prognosis from her engineers revealed that without some miracle improvement to the Gearbox, it would be impossible to completely give her a 100% range of movements such as bending, crouching or kicking. But the miracle happened. Jin somehow managed to improve on the design in an incredibly short amount of time and most importantly, Yang Ling was able to walk again. Even better, she was able to run and jump after getting used to it. "You sure no strings attached?" Jin questioned her with an evil grin, but he could see a quick change in Yang Ling''s expression. She was solemn before showing a wide smile towards him. "No strings attached. It''s just general information of the Royal Zodiac Clans. You may acquire it from any black market information broker, but in our inner circles, it''s just considered gossip." Yang Ling answered before continuing. "He has served under Xie Ming, one of the few but very accomplished generals I had ever known. However, General Xie was never publicly acknowledged or given the recognition that he''d deserve for his deeds because he was not affiliated with any of the Royal Zodiac Clans. It''s a shame our country is as biased as that, but that''s the reality." Yang Ling went on, which made Jin very surprised. He tried his best to keep his emotions under the wraps as he continued to listen to what the tiger princess had to say. "Though General Xie was not recognised publicly, at the peak of his career, Xie held major influences over nearly every possible corner of military politics because of his prowess and renowned wisdom in tactics. You could say the modern Chinese military wouldn''t be in its current state if not for him." Yang Ling recalled whatever information she had in her head. "If you remember the history text on counterterrorism that we were taught in high school? He was the one that led the infamous 666th Special Forces into Somalia to thwarted the attempted hijacking of two Iranian tankers and one Chinese war frigate. It was a pretty complex situation which resulted in zero casualties except for many dead terrorists." Yang Ling gave an example about General Xie''s heroics. "But they did not mention his name in the textbooks. Instead, they cited the Dragons and Horses." Jin vaguely remembered what she was talking about. "Exactly, he gave them the credit which allowed them to be terrific friends with the Iranians after that incident. Russian literally became VERY VERY good buddies with us." Yang Ling stressed a lot on the last part. "Because of that and many other achievements, General wielded his a large influence in the military that he was able to overrule the decisions of the other ''less military oriented'' Zodiac families, and he often made use of this. Sometimes it even appeared as if he did it arbitrarily, just to mess with them, but there were always ''good reasons'' which lead to his ideas being incorporated most of the time instead." Yang Ling continued and she noticed that Jin was listening very intently to her conversation. With him at all ears, she continued her story to keep his attention. "Eventually General Xie retired for personal matters. I heard rumours that it was because he could not tolerate the incompetence in our police and military counterparts, including the intelligence agencies for the death of his daughter. Nastier rumours claim that investigation had been slowed down intentionally by those he had butted heads with¡­" "So when General Xie retired, Hou Fei, which had been considered his most trusted aide, was asked to take up his mantle. To the surprise of everyone he actually refused the offer, stating that he shared the same sentiments as General Xie, even going so far as to express the wish to follow him in retirement. Naturally, the Chinese Military could not take the blow of losing two of their most competent high level military officials. Through some negotiations, most likely directly with the Main Branch Clan of the Royal Snake Zodiac, they ultimately decided to compromise and promoted Hou Fei by making him a General in title, while also allowing him to conduct his personal business." "And his personal business of selling weapons is all thanks to his military influence?" Jin questioned which Yang Ling nodded with acknowledgement. "Most importantly to this day, he has retained the title of Major General. Therefore, he technically has control of a few military bases, which are very loyal to him because of his stint with General Xie. While his position inside the clan is fairly complicated, he is the one enabling the Snakes to have a major say in military matters despite the clout the Dragons and Horses had. " Yang Ling commented, and Jin grinned widely. "Looks like I have some dirt on him and can perhaps play that to my advantage instead of him controlling me. Hahahah!" Jin laughed as Yang Ling could not help wondering on a particular issue. "So¡­is that mysteriously supplier you have¡­Hou Fei?" Yang Ling questioned in a very formal and courteously tone. Jin stared at her eyes seriously for a moment while swallowing his saliva in as if to pretend that he had been caught until Jin broke into another bout of laughter. He then told her that it was not the case. Some purchases did came from Hou Fei''s weapons company, but not everything. For Yang Ling, it was a different matter entirely. That momentous stare felt like an eternity to the tiger princess. It made her desire for Jin grow to the point that she felt like confessing to him there and then. As she felt powerless trying to keep her urges together, Jin was the one that broke the tension with his bout of laughter, and she secretly thanked him for saving her sanity. "What''s going on with me? Why did I¡­" Yang Ling had those thoughts in her head but little did she know that it was the System as well as some nudging from Kraft himself. Yang Ling might be a high level psychic, except she did not expect her opponent to be way beyond her grade. "Krafty, didn''t you just say to let the youngsters do their own thing? You seem to have learned some new tricks while I was away. How did you do that? Subtle hypnotic suggestions? " Kiyu guessed as she noticed the sudden changes Yang Ling exhibited. It was slightly exaggerated with her expressions and body language, but their dear Master Jin really was too dense to even notice though Kraft knew he cared more for his grandfather''s history than anything else. (But Kraft still felt proud that Ming''s achievements were still recognised in history. Not to mention, he had much to play in that aspect. Fun times for him.) "Her inscriptions prevent things from coming in and information from going out. It''s a good idea, with only one slight problem. What if whoever is spying, is already there? Too bad, she did not take the time to check out where she was. Every partition seating area has an air freshener which can be used as a catalyst if you have access to it. "Kraft stared lazily at Kiyu for a moment before he continued. "The System offered me a deal. My ''suggestions'' coupled with some of Evon''s pheromones, to make a person of the opposite sex appear more likeable¡­ in exchange for the right to visit our friend. I''m guessing you want to tag along?" Kraft then answered with a slow big grin as he enjoyed the show every bit. "In any case, we seem to have gotten off-topic. Let''s resume what you came for." Jin said as he pushed the dishes aside while he took out a few pieces of drafts he had already done beforehand. "Ah sorry. Seems the blueprint draft is a little too big for the table." Jin was a bit embarrassed as he fiddled to rotate the draft. As he moved the bluprint, Jin slowly realised, that it would be hard for her to see upside down, but seeing him stop in his tracks, it made Yang Ling take the initiative. "It''s okay. I can just go over to your side and it will be easier for you to explain." She said with confidence, but inside her slender body, her heart was beating crazily. "So you see, I was planning to have the Zodiac Tiger pit against the Zodiac Snake Army in this particular terrain. That way we can do some Urban Warfare training as well as monster horde attacks simulations¡­.." Jin rumbled on as he enthusiastically pointed and explained his ideas to Yang Ling, who sat right beside him. (Whenever he looked down to point at something she tried to take advantage of the moment to inch her butt closer to him.) "But what if we want to simulate a surprise attack from external forces. How fast they react etc?" Yang Ling had her body turned towards him as she involuntarily curled her hair behind the ears. "It will be tough to simulate that since bases and cities are quite far away from each other. The response team will generally be from the police first. And I''m not sure if I can create a dungeon instance that far reaching." Jin sighed as Yang Ling playfully pouted. "I received a few reports from my clan mates that the Goblin Raid Event you did in the beginning was able to do that! Don''t you dare trick me!" Yang Ling accused him as she playfully jabbed Jin''s shoulder which he laughed bitterly in response. "That one wasn''t a dungeon. It''s a freaking new world!!" Jin shouted in his thoughts as he had a bit of cold sweat. He was trying his best to impress her, but the more he present to Yang Ling, the more she felt unsatisfied with his answers. It felt like she expected things beyond what he presented. "While I love how everyone thinks, that I can do anything, let me tell you a little secret. You know, how the current Goblin Raid Instance, is more akin to my standard dungeon, unlike how it was in the beginning? Truth is, some things happened, and we are currently unable to use that giant instance for the things that you want. To be more honest, it was more like a fluke of luck, that I even managed to do as I did in the first place. I will look into it." Jin tried to defend himself, but at the back of his mind, he wondered if he could do the same for the offensive against Demon Rats. "But in the meantime, this is the proposal. You can take it back for further study. I''ve already sent a piece of the drafted blueprints to Hou Fei." Jin concluded, giving her some half truths, hoping that there were no qualms to it. "Mhmm, will definitely look into it but in return, you have to do something with me." Yang Ling decided to use the situation to her advantage. "If it is within my powers, I will do it." Jin was beginning to feel there was some cold sweat rolling down his back. "This is a theme park, right? Bring me to play a game or a ride, then I will consider your proposal." Yang Ling answered and Jin suddenly felt burdened that he had to continue entertaining his¡­investor. Meanwhile, both Kraft and Kiyu cheered when they heard Yang Ling practically asking Jin out for a date. Their yelling attracted a few unwanted stares before they cowered back to what they were doing. "I love where this is going. The pheromones may be one thing, but she has guts!" Kiyu praised as she now began to cheer for her secretly. Separately, Jin was wrecking his head to think of a suitable and then he realised¡­ there was one station which might be able to impress her as well as help her rehabilitation. "Alright deal, I will bring you there now." Jin decided as he used his Pandamonium App to pay the bill they incurred in the Hot Ice Caf¨¦, but before Jin could do anything else, Yang Ling was already pulling his hand out of his seat. "C''mon what are you waiting for?" Yang Ling portrayed the friendliest and most beautiful smile which Jin had ever seen on her. (Kraft definitely took a picture! That sneaky fox!) Chapter 429 Orcs Spinning Tops Blade "But before we leave¡­is there any way to do so without Ku Wai finding out?" Yang Ling asked as she peeked out of the partition walls momentarily to see if the coast was clear. Jin guessed that she just wanted to enjoy some personal freedom. "Could you let go of my hand first?" Jin asked politely, which made Yang Ling quite disappointed. Perhaps she took things a bit too far and quickly released his hand while apologising to him. "No, I¡­ appreciate your gesture. Guess having a date every once in a while can''t be considered a bad thing." Jin stated bluntly causing her cheeks suddenly flushed with redness. "But I need both hands to configure a few things with my phone to make sure we can get away without your guards seeing us." "¡­I¡­ You¡­D..D..date?" Yang Ling never expected Jin to reciprocate her feelings that quickly. She merely grabbed his hand based on her impulse and now she was unsure on what to do next. Should she reject his perception even though it was true? "It''s not? I am sorry, but when it comes to romance, I can be quite dense (two spying foxes would 100% agree)." Jin replied while checking his phone. If not for Pei scolding him privately like a mad fox the moment Yang Ling took his hand for not noticing the visible signs, Jin would have overlooked that Yang Ling was trying her best to hit on him. Truth be told¡­ he found it annoying when he realised it. There were so many things to do at the moment which made Jin feel that this was really not the right time to dabble with romance. However, his current predicament reminded him of something his grandpa Ming once said. A particular quote that rang true for him and had forever stayed on Jin''s mind. ~There is no such thing as ''What If''s''. It''s either you missed the opportunity or you grabbed it by the throat and move on to the future.~ "At least you notice it." Yang Ling voice became meek as she shyly stared at Jin''s eyes, and they were filled with determination that made him understand that she was not joking at all. He thought that she was fooling around, but right now, he did not need a psychic to tell him that her feelings were genuine. "Man, why does she have to do this to me?" Jin scratched his head a little as he continued to double check on Ku Wai via the System. "System, please make a holograph of us chatting with each other so in case he comes up to us, he won''t have to worry." Jin addressed it in his thoughts, and in a blink of an eye, it was like he saw his own reflection. (He guessed the System would do what it takes to make sure Jin get a baby out from somewhere¡­) "Ah, clever. A decoy and it''s even speaking the same lines that we said just now." Yang Ling became all excited seeing that Jin was prepared for such a situation. Maybe, he secretly wanted to go on such dates too himself! "Though my hair is not that straight." She teased him a little for creating the hologram. Jin knew that she was joking except he felt a tinge of annoyance because the System did create an exact replica of her. "Yeah, hopefully, I can fix that hair problem in the future," Jin responded back with a forced smile as he summoned a portal within the partition walls. Without further ado, he took the lead to grab her hand and pulled her into the portal as quickly as possible in order to avoid suspicion. (Although he knew that the System and Yang Ling inscription charms would have prevented any possible view from outside.) "Oh my! Is that the portal that Ke Loong was talking about?!" Yang Ling asked with enthusiasm when she came out from the other side of the portal and Jin gave her a peculiar look of astonishment. "It''s the same teleportation that can be done from an instance to another instance, not to mention within the same instance. It''s part of my admin rights." Jin said which Yang Ling giggled in response. "Exactly! I hear only a select few can perform such a feat easily even with technology. Less said about the amateurs out there." Yang Ling readily acknowledged that for a young age, Jin was competent in the art of Dungeon Dimensions. "Hahahaha! You think too highly of me!" Jin continued to hold her hand and brought her to the place he had in mind. "System, please inform me of this kind of stuff in the future¡­I will not be able to answer true, erm¡­authentic dungeon suppliers if they ask me such a question about portals." Jin reminded the System. "System will provide you answers should such an occasion arise again." The System assured Jin as he proceeded to the game station where Yang Ling should feel excited watching and perhaps, she might even join in. "Orcs'' Spinning Tops Blade?" Yang Ling looked at the building for a moment. There were two orc statues at the top of the building as if they were preparing to throw their spinning tops in into a small arena. She thought Jin would be more romantic and bring her to the Qixi Festival theme ride that Yang Ling saw when she came to spy on the dungeon supplier. "Ehhh, we can spectate the matches that are happening right now. I doubt you will have seen something quite like it. If it''s not to your liking, you may choose our next destination. I will allow it." Jin could sense her dislike the moment she spoke out. "Alright." Yang Ling smiled back and decided to give it a try since Jin purposely brought her here. His promise of letting her choose where to go next also helped make her happy again. That meant a longer date too! (Ku Wai will cry if he knew that she was missing for a long time.) The Orc Spinning Tops Blade was indeed more than what it seemed at first. When Yang Ling first entered the building, it was a storefront selling various spinning top blade parts that came in many designs. What''s more was that the store was bustling with people browsing and buying the top''s pieces, causing the two of them to squeeze in order to reach the store''s exit furthermore to the Spinning top game entrance. Meanwhile, Jin wondered if it was the first day effect or whether it was really that popular to the cultivators. This was because Jin usually had a storefront right beside the building like he had done for the Pet Card Arena. But he was worried that this game would not be as popular since it was not as flashy as the other two. So to boost the number of people surveying it, Jin had chosen to merge the store with the game''s building. Never did he imagine that it would become so crowded to the point people had to queue outside of the store with Wunder Pandits guiding them to pay for their goods. The System even had to employ a few additional Wunder Pandits as mobile cashiers to deal with the long queue. "Compared to the Card Pet Arena and Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars, the Orc''s Spinning Top Blades so far has garnered the highest popularity. Likewise, System admits that it did not expect such a phenomenon to happen." "Ehhh perhaps we have underestimated the nostalgia factor. It should have been a childhood game for most of us? I used that idea when I saw the Orcs did the same thing during their downtime." Jin conjured his reasons which the System still found it hard to accept. "Its fine, all that matters that we hope the popularity maintains," Jin said to the System in his mind as he saw Yang Ling peer through the entrance doors to see an entire stadium of cultivators playing the spinning top blades. "Hi, it will be two Panda Silver to enter the Spinning Top Blade Indoor Stadium. It''s a one-time fee and you can revisit us whenever you want within 24 hours of paying the fee. You two seem to be newcomers. If you would like to purchase a Spinning Top Blade starter set, that will be an additional three Panda Silvers." The Wunder Pandit guarding the Indoor Stadium entrance reception informed to Yang Ling. She paid for the ticket and the starter set almost instantly. Jin was surprised as he was sure she would use cash to pay instead of medals. "Don''t forget, I was the first one to correctly finish your Musical Theatre Instance. I got the first clear rewards even though I was not stated on the wall of fame." Yang Ling pouted for a while befor grinning as she waved her handphone at him. "Thank you for patronage. Now please pick a ball from this box." The Wunder Pandit acknowledged her payment and took a lottery box out with numbered balls in it. Yang Ling proceeded to put her hand into the lottery box and started to fiddle the balls around before she decided to pick one up. "Number 27." The Wunder Pandit confirmed the number by showing it to the Tiger Princess before he showed her the piece of the brochure that listed the things that could be won from the lottery box. "You have received a Standard Spinning Top with an accelerated spinning pull charger." The Wunder Pandit presented two small boxes to Yang Ling. As stated, it was a basic spinning top in one of the boxes and the other had a picture of a pull charger. She immediately gave a blank look at Jin and that expression was easy to understand. She had no idea what to do with it. "Hahah don''t you worry. I can help you with this. For now, let''s watch the matches that are happening." Jin smiled as the Wunder Pandit subsequently opened the doors to the indoor stadium for them to enter. It was rather gigantic, and if Yang Ling was not mistaken, it should be as large as the Bejing Stadium that they had once experimented with their Gearbox. But unlike the Beijing Stadium, this particular indoor stadium had been partitioned into tens of areas to allocate competitive Spinning Top matches. That way hundreds of cultivators got the chance to play simultaneously while the people in the spectator''s stands waited for their turn. When both Jin and Yang Ling randomly took a seat in the spectator''s stand, she began to observe the surroundings of the indoor stadium. The first thing that attracted her attention was a small sized tablet looking TV at the front of her seat. It allowed her to choose one of the live matches to watch. There was also a set of four display screens at the hanging at the centre of the indoor stadium which replayed the highlights of fascinating matches. They noticed that some of the cultivators were just here to enjoy the matches, while others were either learning or waiting their turn. Jin told her that there was even an open concept workshop that allowed cultivators to refine or rebuild their Spinning Tops. "If the parts were too damaged, they have to replace them and that is also a place for them to test their spinning tops. There are computer AI''s to calculate and measure each Spinning Top strength, speed and durability if the cultivators needed more information." Yang Ling acknowledged Jin''s explanation, but what they were most interested was apparently the centre stage, the one Jin told Yang Ling to be the Champion''s Arena. "I''ve designed it in such a way that a reigning champion stays in that ring as long as possible," Jin commented and Yang Ling realised that it was something similar to the King of the Hill. "Yeap, befitting to that name, that cultivator who stays at the top has to compete with every competitor that comes forth to challenge him. Beating the reigning champion will yield you a number of Spinning points and some panda medals according to the number of matches he stayed on." Jin explained. "So that entrance ticket that I bought, do I still need to pay more to play or something?" Yang Ling asked as a Wunder Pandit came to them, offering to sell beverages and snacks. Jin decided to get a small packet of chips while Yang Ling asked for a beer. (He chose to pay for the snacks on their first date and not because of Yang Ling''s question.) "Nah, paying that two silver is all that''s needed. You can play here as long as you want if you got the spinning tops¡­but if you want to place bets¡­that is another story." Jin answered as he pointed to the betting section on the King of the Hill game. All they had to do was to access the tablet right in front of them to notify the System how much they were willing to bet for either the king or the challenger. "No wonder they''re so many people here, hoping to earn a quick buck." Yang Ling concluded as they can see old folks came just to try their luck. "Somehow, with this WunderPanda theme park, you managed to create a mini ecosystem for your Panda Medals to be circulated around." "Hmm, maybe that is why it is so popular¡­ Maybe I should copy the concept for Pet Card Instance when I start the mini tournaments." Jin mumbled to himself and Yang Ling was able to catch wind of it. "Hahaha, always thinking about how to earn more money even on a supposed date. You truly have the workings of a true businessman." Yang Ling giggled. "Heh, anyways a challenger is coming. You might understand why this is not your regular spinning top game." Jin said as he brought the two tablets in front of him nearer. The two tablets connected together and became a wider screen for both Yang Ling and Jin to watch. The spectators nearby did not know they could do that and began to imitate that trick. It subsequently spread throughout the spectator stands in the indoor stadium awaiting the match of the day ¡ª reigning champion Se Lang who had been holding his title for six matches and challenger Xiong Da. "Did not expect to see my Pandawans compete against each other on the very first day." Jin sniggered to himself. "It should be a fairly interesting match to watch." Chapter 430 The Wolf And The Hippo "Hippo, I thought you''re busy working your ass off for some new case?" Se Lang taunted his new challenger seeing how he had been able to hold the fort for six consecutive times. "My little Egret told me that I had to put someone in place. Some arrogant wolf thinking that he could sit at the throne so comfortably because he had a taste of power. That is why I decided to come." Xiong Da took his formal coat out and rolled his sleeves up. He meant business fighting against the reigning champion. To gain the right to be a challenger, you had to win at least three consecutive matches against anyone in the indoor stadium of Orc''s Spinning Top Blades. Only then would you be placed in a queue to fight against the champion along with other challengers. However, each challenger had the right to ask for a duel against someone before him in the queue time, to get their place. Xiong Da was previously Number 44 in line to fight against Se Lang, but he did not wish to wait that long. For every new challenger that Se Lang fought, the participants in the queue were allowed to challenge someone to get the queue number except for the first three in line. Therefore, Xiong Da instantly confronted against the one in position four. That particular cultivator was cursing his luck madly for being pushed back at the back of the line since he had lost so terribly against Xiong Da in the issued challenge. When the crowd realised that two Pandawans were fighting against each other, everyone became more interested in the fight. They knew the Pandawans as sort of mini celebrities in Jin''s dungeon and were bound to show a decent fight of the tops. Some of the cultivators even began to be envious of such status and decided to strive hard to get that status in Jin''s dungeons. How does one do that? Previously, it was based on the first clears, but the System made the requirements simpler and at the same time harder for cultivators striving to be a Pandawan. Clear every single dungeon available to gain such a status. So to become a Pandawan, the cultivators have to clear all the dungeons up to the latest dungeon instance which now is the Escape City Dungeon with all the Deep Ones. Even the current Pandawans had difficulties clearing it properly. Those who did only received a partial clear but should any cultivators able win every dungeon and also receive a partial clear from the Deep One Dungeon before Jin released a new dungeon instance, they would attain the Pandawan Status. Otherwise, the alternative available would be to fully accomplish the Deep One Dungeon instance objectives and obtain a true first clear as compared to the other Pandawans. Back to the Champion Arena for the Spinning Top Blades, the Orc referees had issued the clearance that their spinning tops had no illegal modifications and were constructed using the store''s original pieces. Jin intentionally made that compulsory because he knew that as a kid, he himself had illegally added ball bearings inside his spinning top to make them last longer in a fight. Of course, the spinning tops could be modified to such a standard in Jin''s new Spinning Top game because each spinning top consisted of a top layer, a weighted disc and a performance base tip. The store also sold a variety of weighted discs which included mini ball bearings to increase the durability of the spin and maintaining balance. They were the more defensive types, and there were offensives builds which enabled the top layer to have a thin layer of steel coated on the spinning top''s top. That allowed the spinning top to hit even harder and cause damage to the opponent''s top. While all these spinning top modifications were vital for the arena battle, the most critical component was the control of those tops via the cultivator''s chi. After the Supa Robot Wars, Se Lang had decided to participate in the Spinning Top game while the rest tried other rides and he realised his cultivation style had given life to his spinning top. "Both of you ready?!" the Orc referees asked simultaneously after they returned the Pandawans their customised tops. "LETS SPIN!" Se Lang and Xiong Da shouted together as they released the pulling string from their top charger which caused their spinning tops to fly furiously into the Spinning Top Arena in front of them. Se Lang immediately inserted his chi into his spinning top the moment it entered the arena, and the plain white top quickly turned colour into a black menacing looking top. A wolf silhouette appeared right above the spinning top, as he controlled it to charge towards Xiong Da''s spinning top. Meanwhile, Xiong Da let his spinning top land properly into the arena first before infusing a small amount of his chi into the top. Unlike Se Lang''s spinning top, Xiong Da''s did not show any silhouette above his top yet. It was because the lawyer had already analysed the policeman''s fighting strategy while waiting. Charge in fast and kill his opponent as swiftly as possible before he could even counter attack. The Wacky Wolf cultivation was all about that one shot kills which Se Lang portrayed very clearly in his spinning top attacks. He also understood by looking at his opponent''s top that Xiong Da had strong defence and endurance. Therefore Se Lang had inserted two times more chi than against other spinning tops he had faced. "Moon Divide of the Wacky Wolf!" Se Lang shouted an intermediate Art Technique but instead of applying it on himself, he visualised it on his spinning top. Xiong Da might be buff and tough, but Se Lang had more experience fighting with spinning tops than him. The reigning champion believed that those four previous players were just too weak against Xiong Da but was it the case? The Wacky Wolf Top spun in high speed before it suddenly jumped upwards instead of crashing straight into Hungry Hippo Top. Like a scythe slicing things into half, Se Lang''s spinning top turned 90 degrees upon reaching a certain height and slammed its top''s blades straight to the stationary but sturdy top of Xiong Da. "Se Lang, you have much to learn." Xiong Da flicked his finger which released a burst of chi into the Hungry Hippo Top. His spinning top hopped a little and discharged a shockwave around it which caused the Wacky Wolf Top to divert its striking path, barely missing the Hungry Hippo Top. Everyone who was watching it cheered intensely loud and even Yang Ling wowed at the trick that Xiong Da performed. The strike caused the Wacky Wolf to hit the arena''s floor, but Xiong Da seemed to have forgotten something vital. Se Lang was the WACKY Wolf cultivator. He took advantage of the incoming bounce and redirect his chi that made his spinning top change direction, aiming towards Hungry Hippo Top. *CLANG!* Sparks flew brightly in the air when the two spinning tops clashed against each other, and that was when the Hungry Hippo Top revealed its silhouette. It might not have the speed and agility but power and defence? The Hungry Hippo Top clearly knew who would emerge as champion. Wacky Wolf Top got deflected once more which Se Lang quickly threw in some Chi to maintain its speed and balance before it got out of hand. Xiong Da saw the panicked face on Se Lang and started to smirk. "Well, well, well. Did someone say he want to obliterate me? But all I can see is a shaky spinning top from afar." Xiong Da boasted in a proud, egoistic tone. "Let''s see who truly has the last laugh!" Se Lang shouted as he used something else. "Racing Bloody Top Inscription! Activate!" Se Lang had been unsure whether he stood a chance to win against Xiong Da so he decided to prepare something against him with the winnings he had gained in the past six matches to buy an inscription charm for his spinning top via his phone. "What?! You can insert an inscription on your Top?!" Yang Ling couldn''t believe her eyes. They were full with enthusiasm as Jin nodded with a smile. She could clearly understand why Jin brought her here. Even without the use of her Gearbox, she could participate freely by using her powers and techniques on her very own Top, acting as a proxy for her fights. However to Jin, this was less of a game. Sure it was a supreme way of controlling their chi output to the point that if the cultivators could manage it well with their chi, it could be a backup ranged weapon which was easy to carry around. He was actually selling them another lethal weapon in the form of the spinning tops though that was for the cultivators to realise. And the most amazing thing? It was a weapon that required little to no training to use. Hou Fei had seen the spinning tops and realised how potent it could be as an assassination weapon. He asked for a few of them when Jin showed him the game as Hou Fei said he knew of someone who might be able to bring out the potential of those spinning tops. If it works out, the sly snake might introduce that somebody to him. The Racing Bloody inscription on the Wacky Wolf Top made its spin faster and more deadly. Each time it clashed with Hungry Hippo Top, the sparks were furiously bright as it caused damage to the Hippo Top. Similar to bleeding, Xiong Da''s spinning top layers were breaking apart from its attack. If Xiong Da did not do anything soon, it would cause his top to lose all of its attack power and the only way to win would be through brute show of chi which both were willing to expend it all to turn it into a battle of attrition. Despite that inscription, Xiong Da decided to go to the offensive through a different method which would eventually make Se Lang open his jaws wide in disbelief. "Muscle Bursting of the Hungry Hippo!!!" Xiong Da shouted as the spectators nearby could see Xiong Da''s arms visibly bulge up. Same as Xiong Da, the Hungry Hippo Top suddenly increased in size and height, expanding sidewards while shredding and spinning the damaged parts away. The All new Hungry Hippo Top was at least 2.5 times the size of Se Lang''s spinning top. Even everyone in spectator stands was speechless by the turn of events. "How is that possible!?!" Se Lang questioned as he saw Xiong Da control his Top to chase after Wacky Wolf Top. With its large size, hitting the smooth speedy Top was not an issue, and within a moment, Se Lang''s top was smacked out of the arena before the Hungry Hippo Top returned back to normal. "Whew, that Top part sure was expensive but damned, it''s worth it!" Xiong Da answered him as he raised his right finger, which he rubbed his thumb and index finger to indicate one thing to Se Lang. ''Money.'' Se Lang cursed under his breath. Nevertheless, he had managed to stay as the champion for six rounds, the amount of Spinning Points and the panda medals he earnt was multiplied by six times too. Xiong Da did receive a hefty amount of Spinning points too for toppling the champion down, but he had achieved what he came here to do. He did not wish to continue standing in as the champion after that match. "That means the #1 and #2 challengers in the queue will have the opportunity to fight for the crown, are you sure of that?" The Orc Referee asked Xiong Da to confirm his choice then suddenly a loud high pitch voice was heard from afar. "Xiong Da! I wish to challenge you!!!" Yang Ling shouted, and though many people did not recognise her, Xiong Da very well knew who the Tiger Princess was. He also saw Jin sitting beside her and started to clap and laugh all by himself. "Interesting, I like your attitude, young lady! For you, I shall wait for four rounds! If you are not here by the fourth round, I will take my leave!" Xiong Da decided to entertain the Tiger Princess a little and make a bit of a drama here. (Besides who does not like any drama and it advertently shook the betting stations which made the System equally happy too.) "How about we increase the thrills a little more? If I win, you join me for the Deep One Dungeon and help me achieve a first clear? I plan to be a Pandawan just like you!" Yang Ling announced, and Jin suddenly had a premonition that he was about to be dragged into something terrible. "It''s okay! I can just give you your status as Pandawan. Remember, you actually snatched a first clear before!" Jin loudly whispered as if to stop her from making a ruckus. They were, after all, trying to hide the fact that they were away from their bodyguard. If she made such a statement, wasn''t she basically asking for trouble? "I agree, however in case I defeat you, Boss Jin will have to join me for the Deep One Dungeon! If I am feeling magnanimous, I could even let you join in too!" Xiong Da cunningly stated his demands, and that was Jin felt like he was about to lose it. Xiong Da had been dying to learn how Jin fights for the longest time ever. Unfortunately, the dungeon supplier clearly did not want the world to know about his powers. "Deal!" Yang Ling shouted with a thumbs up. "No!" Jin stood up with crossed arms to refuse, but Xiong Da shook his index finger at him as if it was to tell the dungeon supplier that he was too late. (Jin swore he could feel someone laughing at him while holding his sides at the back of his head.) "Oh god¡­ you better win Yang Ling." Jin sighed heavily and Yang Ling smiled with a naughty expression on her. "Hmm but I feel it wouldn''t be such a bad idea to follow Xiong Da''s lead and force you to come too. ¡­ Luckily for you, I am hell bent on winning that monster hippo." Yang Ling teased him at first as she unboxed her spinning top. "This Tiger wants some tender fresh hippo meat." Yang Ling smirked as she walked down the spectator stand to the multiple mini arenas set up around the indoor stadium. Chapter 431 Ording Sanctuary After hours of sweeping the area, the Werejackals had gathered up of all the enhancements of the Steam Tech as the Mousefolk called them. The Steam Tech was then brought back into their home instance where Jin''s zombies would move it over to Ayse and the Elfish researchers every few hours to analyse. (The Zombies needed time to ¡­do things.) When most of the injured Mousefolk had their conditions stabilised, they asked the System to transport all of them back to the Ording Sanctuary. Keyrin, on the other hand, decided to stay in his home territory for a while longer, stating that as the King of the mountains in these areas, he should be able to do something to repair the damage done by the Rats and his own attacks. "Lord Scholar, if you do not mind¡­" Keyrin asked with his front legs kneeling in front of Gold, a begging gesture which no one expected from the proud, majestic ram. But he had his reasons. To the others, this place may just be a battleground and not as important as one would like to come here ever so often. But to Keyrin, it''s been his home for decades and his ex wife''s burial ground. He might not be able to reverse all the damage done, but he was willing to do what he could to help the land recover. Gold nodded solemnly as he walked to Keyrin''s right flank and took out a magical brush. He began to ink Keyrin''s body with a few magical occult symbols that acted as a sort of converter for his magic. For the time those symbols were active, his usual lightning magic would change to earth based nature energy and regrow the land as well as covering the Litoride extraction site. Keyrin thanked Gold tremendously and proceeded with the recovery process while Gold was the last to enter the portal to Ording Sanctuary. Upon entering, the Mousefolk started to gather around Lady Meomi for returning victorious against the Demon Rats. Some of the warriors who participated in the skirmish used the opportunity to boast about Lady Meomi and her daring exploits against the Demon Rats. Especially the tale of taking down the Ogre Demon Rat by herself. Everyone in Ording Sanctuary also warmly welcomed the Werejackals to their humble abode which was situated in a large hollow underground cave. The miners of Ording Town used to extract the Litoride from this cave itself, so there were tunnels as well as secondary caves that were large enough for these humans turned mousefolk to live in. It was slightly squeezy given the number of people being teleported back to Ording Santuarcy, but the main cave was still spacious enough to allow such a gathering to occur. Flame Ripper and Sebastia were surprised that Meomi was very well received in the Sanctuary considering she always had been known for her cold, aloof attitude. While Poppy the vice leader for the Sanctuary commanded the mousefolk to care for the injured, his brother Pippy, brought Gold, Grey and the entire scouting team to their makeshift military quarters within the caves. The rest of the werejackals and even Nyanmi had decided to make themselves useful by assisting the mousefolk with any problems that they had. "Lady Meomi, to be honest, I assumed Grandmaster Zeru was preparing us for the worst when he said that he was going to train us. Like a last wish that you had asked of Grandmaster Zeru. To see you in the flesh, the entire town has been delighted that you''re still alive." Pippy told her as he bowed to Meomi as a sign of respect. "Heh, if Pippy knew how many times I died, he would be devastated." Meomi faked a smile back to Pippy to cover her thoughts. "Indeed, when you went missing, we only thought of the inevitable since there were such rumours of Demon Rats having a way to make people talk their secrets out. " Pippy said as he loosened his collared shirt beneath his mini armour chest plate. "So we had prepared for the worst. Stockpiled food, trained the people how to escape should the Demon Rats attack us until Grandmaster Zeru graced us with his presence." Poppy entered the makeshift quarters made out of improvised materials. "Still, to see our Lord''s little daughter handle herself in a fight against the horde of those bastard Demon Rats, I could only cry tears of joy out." Pippy was elated as he and his brother Poppy had once been the knights serving for the Lord of Ording Town and had watched her grow up from a rascal to a young lady before the disaster struck. If not for Zeru''s interference, they might be the only ones capable of ensuring the security of this secret hidden haven from the Demon Rats. "Due to erm¡­special circumstances, Gold and I went to meet a ¡­legendary grandmaster. One that even Grandmaster Zeru has acknowledged as a master." Meomi tried to tell their story but quickly tapped Gold on his back while he was drinking a cup of hot tea. "It''s your turn to explain! I do not know how to lie!" Meomi practically begged Gold in the secured System Channel, and the rest on the table had a slight smirk on their face as if to see what story Gold could conjure out of the blue. "Eh hahahah! Yea, at the time there was an error with our communication. We thought that someone had stolen the seeds of the Living Armour Plants, but it turned out to be that Zeru''s master was just interested in acquiring them. We had offered to cultivate it for him in exchange for his help." Gold nearly bit on his tongue while trying to think of an excuse. "However, he first wanted to meet up with us leaders to make a final decision, which is why I asked my cousin Silver to get Meomi for me, saying it was urgent. I feared that he could have changed his mind at any moment, so we had to hurry. By the way, how is Silver?" Gold gave them some half truths about the things which happened, hoping they would not ask for more details and at the same time, he tried to change the topic. "Silver? We hadn''t met him nor any of your Jacks after that day when he came to state that you required Lady Meomi''s help. It was weeks or months later that Brown came along with Grandmaster Zeru." Poppy said. "You never got in contact with Silver after that? Why is that? The Jacks should have periodically appeared to give out the standard aid package to all of the Sanctuaries?" Grey was concerned too since Silver was a good friend of his and the protocol to send aid packages was to keep tabs on the Sanctuaries still around, to make sure they were not yet invaded by the Demon Rats. Unless¡­ Gold could see Grey''s distressed look and pressed the Mousefolk Knights for additional information. They, unfortunately, had nothing else to add. They had been scraping by with the food they had gathered from the surroundings and stayed strict to their sanctuaries. Because of their petite sizes, the mousefolk needed a lot less food compared to other werehumans. Therefore, the aid package that the Jacks provided them was just a bonus to them. (Not to mention the occasional additional food supplies by Grandmaster Zeru after they met.) "With or without the aid package, we could still survive with the amount of food we gather. We assume Silver had decided to prioritise the aid for other werehumans since such cases happened before." Poppy suggested as Pippy went to take the manifest of the last aid package sent to them. "We do not come out of the caves that often, so in terms of time, I am afraid to admit we have lost track of time without the dates on the aid packages or the time keepers. You also know how we perceive time differently when we turn into werehumans and live in caves." Pippy apologised for they could not give a proper timeline to Gold. "Time Keeper?" Sebastia asked, which Grey explained that it was similar to a town crier who would spread the news as well as inform the twon population about important dates and kept the time. They were merely animated pieces of wood. The Scholars and their underlings did the maintenance for these time keepers. Most of the mousefolk were not as educated as to the nobles. Hence they relied on these time keepers to keep track of their activities. Silver had been an apprentice similar to Grey to Gold so apart from being a deliveryman, he would maintain the time keepers. Without the appearance of any Jacks to charge it up, the magic that was powering the time keeper eventually wore off. "We might be able to backtrack a little. Do you remember the approximate period the time keeper lost its magic? Was it before the appearance of Grandmaster Zeru?" Gold asked which made Poppy and Pippy scratch their heads in agony. "I guess¡­so?" Poppy could not confirm it at all and neither could Pippy. "A rough estimate would be at least a few months since Silver is gone." Gold did the maths in his brain before spouting it out. "Brown did tell me the dates when he brought Bellator Zeru to scout for the monsters¡­.though the best way to confirm is to travel to one of the towns to learn the exact dates." Gold added as he looked at the scouting team. "My werejackals will continue to aid the mousefolk here so Meomi, rest assured your people will be taken care of. We will stick to the old plan by returning to Keyrin''s home and start your scouting from there." Gold started to give his commands to them. "Keyrin will stay at the mountains to see if any additional Demon Rats return to check on their comrades. With Keyrin stationed there, it also gives an alibi for the destruction done by the Meomi and the Mousefolk. They should not suspect any foul play by us at the moment." Gold explained his amendments to the plans. "If possible, I''d like to aid Lady Meomi in her quest." Poppy immediately volunteered, and Pippy chimed in his opinion too. "As much as I''d like to be with my loyal servants, I will have to decline and ask you to stay here and continue to practice your skills. Through the aid of our new master, which Gold will explain in time, you all will have a busy time ahead." Meomi respectfully declined while staring at Gold. "What do you mean exactly?" Pippy asked, but Poppy was giggling which eventually turned in a series of loud laughter. "Are you saying that we are going to have more surprises for the Demon Rats?" Poppy asked with a smile of confidence on him. Meomi nodded her head gently, and Poppy continued to laugh uproariously before he got out of his seat and knelt in front of his Lady again. "As you command!" Poppy shouted with pride and happiness mixed into one. Pippy immediately got to his knees and knelt behind his brother. "We will do as told by Lord Scholar Gold and be prepared to sortie whenever needed! Knight Poppy at your service!" Poppy repledged to Meomi his oath of loyalty to her again. Pippy did the same thing which incidentally caused Meomi to have tears well up in her eyes again. "Damn, second time in the day." She thought to herself. Nevertheless, she held them in as much as she could while acknowledging their oaths. Flame Ripper could see that Meomi cared much about her subjects and realised that she had a lot of history that she had yet to reveal. However, one thing was for sure. She was willing to go any length to defeat the Demon Rats and return the peace they had in their world. Knowing her objectives, Flame Ripper had decided to do whatever he can to make sure they get their homes back. Chapter 432 Appointed Monsters The scouting team returned to the mountains and noticed that within a few short hours that they were away, Keyrin had already cleaned up the mess at the demon rat''s base camp. With the magic converter, the Thunder Ram Demon made sure that there was no scent, no tracks and no trails of the Demon Rats at all. Should a Demon Rat ever return to scout the area, they would only find the forest and mountains as it is (Perhaps more lush than ever.) Even the cave which the Demon Rats mined was covered naturally with rock formations matching the surrounding walls. Keyrin also ensured that all the tunnels that were excavated had been covered too. "Brilliant job." Sebastia praised the Thunder Ram Demon resting at the side of the cliff overseeing the forest. Keyrin snorted and mumbled a few words that allowed him to cast a spell on them. Magical particles surrounded the scouting team momentarily, and they could feel their steps were lighter than usual. "It''s a light footed spell." Meomi noticed as she jumped about to test her balance, and it did not impact her body at all. She deduced she could move faster in it, especially the scouting gear the team had brought. "The spell will last for a few days, sufficient for you to reach the next town in less than a day. You will sorely need it considering you already spent so much time here surveying the Farm Rats." Keyrin said as he looked away and mumbled. "¡­and as a thank you." "Heh, the haughty, majestic Thunder Ram Demon is also capable of thanking people." Flame Ripper thought to himself and grinned as he saw another side of a monster he could not have seen when they were in Jin''s home instances. "Now, be gone! I need some rest before I prowl the area for these Farm Rats." Keyrin neighed and peacefully closed his eyes. The scouting team did not hesitate any further and began to travel with Meomi in front since she had knowledge of the locations ahead. Separately, Gold was in Ording Sanctuary to check on the conditions that the mousefolk were living in. It was utterly desolate and to call it a Sanctuary was somewhat of a stretch. However, the mousefolk were resilient in their ways. They had managed to grow a few crops that did not need sunlight and surprisingly, they had stumbled upon an underground source of water that aided them to stay in hiding for long periods of time. But all this was about to change with Gold now in charge. Because of Jin''s permission to aid the fellow ''resistance'' groups, the System had given a very limited access of Qiu Yue''s and Lynn''s subsystem modules to Gold. (Of course, whatever he does will be tracked by the System and notified to the respective Sub System Users as well as Jin.) Unlike the Goblin General''s sons, Gold had already proven that he was capable in leading the werejackals by ensuring there was a hierarchy in place to maintain order. Jin also felt that he should not be micromanaging too much of the monster''s aspects. He might be the user of the System that supposedly controls every aspect of the things he built, but it would be the death of him if he really did that. Even if he could achieve Astral Form and be capable of leaving the Another Jins behind to oversee the projects and do the work for him, there would still be an endless amount of tasks to handle. Kraft wasn''t wrong when he told Jin that there was no need for him to do everything by himself. That was also why Lynn used her Sub System to have her penguins not just do the cooking but also train new penguins whenever the Sub System deemed it fit to reward her with new ones. Not only that, with the emergence of WunderPanda Theme park, the more experienced penguins had taken more roles such as managing various cafes as well as handling the administration for anything related to the matters of cooking. Similarly, Qiu Yue had also subcontracted the Minotaurs to be her overseers for the construction of the Dungeon City Fortress. It happened that those cosplaying minotaurs were outstanding mediators between the goblins and orcs, which resulted in the overall construction process to be faster and smoother. So far, the agriculture sector had already been completed, equipped with modern aqueducts and processing factories. While some of the Orcs had already planted a few crops, native as well as foreign according to the System''s choices, both Shu, the Ancient Treant and Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress had also been tasked to come on a regular basis to get the crops up fast. This was more of a massive scale and endeavour as compared to the farm the Werejackals had done. However, this particular agriculture floating platform sector could not have been accomplished so successfully if not for the System using the data it had gathered by analysing the Werejackals. They were indeed the specialists when it came to farming. Food Experimentation Specialist Melis had also cooperated with the Werejackals to learn more about the quality of the food grown. Other than the penguins, Melis was currently the only one to have been subcontracted by Lynn to be allowed to use the Cooking Sub System. She had been using the Sub System modules to check the overall health of the crops, and how long they needed to be matured for harvesting. While the Werejackals already had some proven farming methods, Melis was granted a fairly large patch of field in Agriculture Sector One to test out other possible fertilisers as well for any other experiments she was going to conduct. In addition, the Orcs and Goblins had commenced rearing animals for meat processing along with the production of other materials which the animals provided like fur or eggs. And because the System had the power to manipulate time, the animal farms had been placed in Agriculture Sector Two, a separate floating platform that was strictly regulated by the System and Lynn. Lynn knew that raising livestock was a different issue compared to growing plants. Animals needed way more time to mature, and they required extra care such as food supplies etc. At the moment, she was rearing livestock that was native to their world such as chickens, pigs, ducks and cows to test out the time manipulation powers of Agriculture Sector Two. The animals were also allowed to roam and breed freely since the meat¡­are the tastiest in the wild free ranged ones. The System had already geotagged each and every individual animal in Sector 2 and monitored their health and progress while accelerating the time in there. Should there be any signs of disease or sickness (which there should not be any after the strict vetting by the System), Lynn could assign the penguins to take them out of the Sector before it was allowed to spread. Otherwise, the penguins would only enter to bring the matured livestock out for slaughtering. (given the Peggies'' skills, their deaths would be swift and merciful.) On a separate note, when Qiu Yue was away negotiating economic and political deals with the Goblins and Orcs, Moloch became her second in charge. He made sure the minotaurs did their own part in the construction efforts while mediating if needed. Thankfully, it seemed that squabbles were getting less and less frequent the more those two races came together and worked alongside each other. Moloch even got them to work hand in hand (albeit grudgingly at first) with the improvements on the Sandroku golems and had already begun working in teams on a 24 hour shift to create and reinforce the foundation of the Pand-Atlantic City. (However, they still competed in regards to which Team managed to do the most in a day) To Moloch, it was just business as usual, but if Orc King Frost Echo and Goblin King Sol were to see this, it would be a historic moment for both races. In the meantime, the researchers were swarmed with more work to study the Steam Tech that the Demon Rats had used. The designs were not as complicated as the Lost Tech which the Orcs had used, but it was the inconsistency of the armour and weapon enhancement that pissed off Ayse. "THERE IS NO ORDER IN THEIR CREATION! They merely slap some pieces of metal together and use the enhancements with any disregard for their lives!" Ayse shouted as she looked at the horrid mess of technology those Demon Rats were making. She could not find any common basis in their designs, which she found it annoying to a certain extent. Even the Steam Tech tanks Gold had taken were not of the same dimensions or within a margin of errors. "It will indeed be a headache to categorise them." One of the Elfish Researchers said. "At least we have the System with us to sort the items." The Researcher was pointing out the Savants who had decided to ''volunteer'' to sort the problem Gold threw them. The Savants might be of various adventurer classes from the outside and their limited personalities did not suit to be research assistants but being Savants, they could all be further programmed by the System''s AI. The System believed that those Savants would make good helpers for the researchers who were currently short handed. If those savants could pick up cultivator''s skills based on the System''s AI programming, they should also be able to quickly pick up the instructions and rationale of the researchers. The System believed by allowing them to experience research procedures rather than installing it in them that it would allow them to create their very own artificial intelligence functions. It''s like seeing mini Systems grow; an experiment by the System to see if an AI with limited capabilities was able to thrive and perform. The researchers would also use this chance to oversee if they could create more of this kind of Savants without the invasive procedure Kraft had performed. If this was successful, Jin could easily create an army of sentient soldiers (to take over the world?) but for now, categorising the Steam Tech was the number on priority. Back to Gold, with the permissions he received from the System, he had asked for some prefabricated houses to be put into the caves of Ording Sanctuary, creating furniture and giving the mousefolk a better place to rest. However, all this was not free, and someone had to pay for it. Fortunately for Gold, the Farm Rats he killed were all ''reincarnated'' items, and thus they were natural resources that could be used to pay for the costs in a certain way. The System had made use of the Lost Tech that Jin had looted from the Mysterious Island. The Lost Tech Material Recycler and Lost Tech Counterfeiter. Jin had recreated the piece of living armour successfully after 99 hours with the lost Tech Counterfeiter or Mr Bobbling Bear as Ayse had named it. Since it was the System, it was able to quickly sort through the useful and useless items that the Farm Rats had been reincarnated into. Afterwards, the System inserted useless junk from the Farm Rats and gave it to the counterfeiter machine as food to create the prefabricated houses for the Mousefolk. With such ingenious products at its disposal, this was also why it did not allow Ayse to throw the Steam Tech away. Even a useless item had its uses. Whenever Mr Bobbling Bear was not in use by the System, the System would place it in Lynn''s kitchen to let Mr Bobbling Bear eat whatever mishaps made in the kitchen. It was in replacement to the incinerator that the System once used for the kitchen and it proved to be very useful. Because of the constant waste from the kitchen, this time round the prefabricated house and furniture that System had created were all free. and within a short time limit too. (Poor Living Armour Plants no longer receiving scraps anymore from the kitchen.) As for the Lost Tech Material Recycler, the researchers had thrown a few badly damaged Steam Tech enhancements into it to see what was thrown out. To their surprise, the rumoured Litoride was also extracted by the Material Recycler. Ayse was more interested in that than categorising the items, and so she had decided to appoint herself and a few other lucky researchers to study on the composition of the Litoride. The rest of the researchers grumbled and took comfort that the Savants were there to make their jobs slightly easier. The Mousefolk were filled with delight and felt immensely indebted to Lord Scholar Gold. "This is so that you guys can rest properly. Insufficient rest means a drop in quality of your training. Right now, every bit of that training is needed to make sure that you all can defeat the rats." Gold told them, and the mousefolk swore on the previous Lord''s name that they would do whatever it takes to win against the Demon Rats. "A Sanctuary with less than a hundred people¡­as compared to the thousands ¡­if not hundred of thousands of Demon Rats¡­I wonder if Master Jin can pull off such a miracle." Gold thought to himself. Chapter 433 Yang Lings Preparation *Beep Beep Beeep!!!* "Winner, Yang Ling!" The Orc Referee announced the conclusion of the match between her and a random cultivator. Her first win might have been a fluke to others spectating her, but it no longer seemed to be the case when she also won the following one in under 30 seconds. "You might actually be a natural at this." Jin laughed bitterly at Yang Ling, who was pleased with the results. Unlike the vast majority of his current customers, Yang Ling had magical grades at advanced levels (which she was trying to keep a secret from Jin, but it was impossible under the all seeing System) as well as the previous cultivation that her father had taught her. With Jin''s modified gearbox equipped, she was able to stabilise herself in a modified cultivation stance for the past month since Yang Ling last saw him. Thus, it allowed her to start cultivating her Royal Zodiac Tiger Style once again. It might not look much to other people, but to her, it meant everything as it allowed her to start to regain her former life once more. Not just her, even the Tiger Clan doctors regarded this miraculous recovery progress as a fantastic sign. Though she only recovered to the level of Grade Two of her Royal Zodiac Tiger Style, there were signs that her chi circuits along with her active mana circuits were used in conjunction to bypass the damaged nerves in the cauda equina region. The doctors also said that she was the few uncommon cultivators able to utilise both mana and chi circuits due to her special circumstances. (since most cultivators could only use either one circuit.) They advise her that if done right, she might potentially be the powerhouse that the Royal Zodiac Tiger family had been looking for. Yang Ling took the information with a pinch of salt, especially when the very same doctors were previously filled with disdain after they knew that she was incapable of cultivation many years back. "That injury was a blessing in disguise, my ass¡­" She said to herself as she smiled back at them for providing such an optimistic diagnosis. However, the information from the doctors also meant that slowly, but surely, she was able to walk small steps without the aid of Jin''s modified gearbox. Yet, as per Yang Ling''s request, the Tiger Clan doctors did not reveal such optimistic information to her father, Hu Yuan Ba. It might be the secret trump card that she could keep in case people like the Banned Emperor Assassins were to target her or her family again. This particular spinning top game, on the other hand, seemed to be an excellent opportunity to allow her to use both chi and mana circuits at once, practising and compensating each of the circuits in her body to regulate her power. As magic had no animal or monster forms, she could use the excuse of portraying her tiger silhouette via her psychic abilities, but in actual fact, it was a disguise for utilising her tiger cultivation. Even though the majority of the crowd did not realise her true identity since the Tiger Princess rarely made her appearance as compared to her older brothers, she still had to be cautious in utilising her chi cultivation. The Royal Zodiac bloodlines made her particularly unique, enabling those who were sensitive to chi able to seek them out easily. Thankfully, Yang Ling''s high grade magical powers still overshadowed the chi energy that was given out and everyone in the vicinity believed she was a magical user that appeared to be close to Boss Jin since he was there to accompany her. The match highlights immediately displayed her fights against the other two players that had been defeated and the Orc Announcer had wonderfully showcased her fight to the rest along with the King of the Hill event that was ongoing. Xiong Da had also mercilessly crushed one opponent, but he took his sweet time since he was utilising a defensive route with his spinning top to provide Yang Ling with the opportunity to challenge him. By the time he initiated the fight against his second challenger, Yang Ling was already midway fighting against her third one. But unlike Se Lang or Xiong Da, Yang Ling''s spinning top fights were just plain¡­normal for some reason. Even though she could have portrayed the tiger silhouette with some of her magical powers, she decided to keep it hidden from the others for now. From the spectator''s point of view, her control of the spinning top was top notched and based on the commentary by the Orc announcers during the highlights, they had acknowledged that her magical powers gave her the leverage to control her spinning top to the strictest level. They believed that the finesse of her spinning top in addition to the accelerated charger she received in the lottery was the key to winning the last two matches. True enough, her top spun rapidly in slightly lowered angle, allowing it to hit the enemy''s base of the top, causing it to topple almost immediately even with the opposing cultivator''s continuous infusion of chi into the top. "Winner, Yang Ling! You are now qualified to challenge the King of the Hill event!" the Orc Referee overseeing the third match said to her. "Look at the Spinning Points you''ve received. You should use some time to buy a few parts to modify it before the Xiong Da challenges the next cultivator." Jin advised Yang Ling as he wanted her to win very badly. He had no intention to participate in the Escape City Dungeon instance because he knew exactly where the routes to take were to reach the end goal. That was one of the reasons why he did not wish to participate since he was not willing to reveal the secrets to the masses. If he won the Escape City Dungeon Instance, it could be considered cheating. But if he purposely lost the dungeon instance, his dungeon supplier competitors such as the Ruby Rat owned King''s Monster would surely start to spread rumours criticising how weak the dungeon supplier had become, making others lose faith in his dungeon designs. They would comment on how Jin was too greedy in creating a dungeon that could not be beaten, and it was one of the ways to trick the cultivator''s money. On the other hand, if he won, spies like the Ruby Rat Triad members would be able to gauge and determined his strength from the dungeon run. Although it was not indicative of his true strength since it did not include the System, the lesser information they had about him, the better for Jin. In the modern day, succeeding on espionage runs meant that half of the battle had already been won. Alternatively, he could have a close door dungeon run with Yang Ling and Xiong Da, but they had already announced it in front of the public without thinking of the consequences for him. (Perhaps they did not care to think at the heighten limits of their adrenaline.) That was why Jin was going to aid Yang Ling as partial as he could. "But the queue at the store will be very long. I don''t think I even have the time to shop properly or make payment at the cashier." Yang Ling rolled her eyes as she joined the queue for the King of the Hill event. "There is a list of nicely catalogued items in the Pandamonium App which you can check it out. If you wish to buy anything, I can get it for you instantly." Jin offered to aid Yang Ling with the navigation to the online store in Pandamonium App. In the meantime, he was thinking if he should add voice activated commands to make searching of options even easier since the app was getting more and more extensive with every update. "With a price on top of it, so there will be no favouritism involved," Jin said, hoping to entice Yang Ling. "What are you talking about, you helping me to get the items, is already considered favouritism. So, no. I do not need your help, but I honestly appreciate the gesture." Yang Ling said as she went close to Jin''s face and playfully pressed on his nose. The rest of the cultivators saw the public affection from Yang Ling to Boss Jin and begun to have speculations about their relationship with each other. "Stop¡­ stop it. The rest seem to be watching." Jin frantically mumbled when he saw the other cultivators looking at him with an oddly approving look. "Looks like they acknowledged our presence." Yang Ling said to him with a gentle smile. She initially wanted to take the opportunity to wrap her hand over Jin''s shoulders, but in the end, she stopped her teasing after her comment. Despite her desperate urges, Yang Ling remembered that they were not as close as they should be. She should be lucky that Jin was not too adverse with her sudden advances. She also did not understand why she became so daring as if something¡­Some kind of desire was brought forth within her and had overcome Yang Ling to made her perform things that were out of the norm. Yang Ling got control on herself eventually and did not dare to do anything further so as she knew the misunderstandings in body language might pose a problem to him and her down in the future. If Jin had not been a target of the Banned Emperor''s subjects for the botched assassination, this particular gesture that Yang Ling had made publicly may have repercussions for Jin. She could only hope that no such people were monitoring at them for the moment. Lynn''s kidnapping was a perfect example that had occurred to Jin, and Yang Ling inherently believed that she must train harder before she could even be near Jin. "As you wish, my princess," Jin said when Yang Ling''s expression turned for the worse after she commented on them. He did not know what was going through in her mind, but it seems to Jin that Yang Ling did not want his help any further. "Perhaps she wanted to prove herself?" "But at the very least, take this or else you might not be even able to scratch Xiong Da''s spinning top based on the specs of your spinning top." Jin said as he grabbed Yang Ling''s hand and placed a weighted disc on her hand. "It will give you a slight edge in the battle. I assure you can find the same weighted disc at the store too." Jin said and Yang Ling hesitantly accepted his gift. The part that was given to Yang Ling was of a higher grade that could be paid with the current Spinning points she received winning the first three matches. Despite her initial stance, Yang Ling felt a slight comfort that Jin was persistent to aid her. She too had some lingering doubts that she could win Xiong Da although the tiger princess was too proud to show it out. Besides, it''s been a long time since Yang Ling relished for a challenge, so it''s a win win situation for her. (even though it''s a lose lose scenario for Jin.) However what Yang Ling did not know was that even though the weighted disc had the same exact attributes as stated by Jin in the Pandamonium Online Store, it had functions hidden from the main analysis page on her Pandamonum App. The System also knew the risk that Jin was exposed to, and decided to aid him once for free. The weighted disc was imbued with an auto rotating inscription charm as well as an invisible charm to make sure the inscription activations could not be seen with the naked eye or be felt by chi or magic unless deliberately searched. It was also a one time use inscription that would be activated by the System automatically. That means after this particular battle with Xiong Da, those two inscriptions would disappear. With the System as the grand overseer of the entire King of the Hill event, it would not allow Jin to be under unnecessary exposure to the public too, so the Orc Referees were given the signal to cheat the checking of the Yang Ling''s item. It was slightly despicable but an essential move. The one time use of those inscriptions also meant that no trace of evidence could be found if Xiong Da would to query. Besides that, the System had prepared to coordinate video filming of the magic eye to look the other way so as to prevent any possible evidence from leaking. It did an extensive search around the compound to ensure that no search magic was being cast by any cultivators at the same time. Everything had already been preplanned by the System to ensure that the cheat would move as according to plan. Jin might want to be an honest businessman when he first started out, but businesses around him will never be legitimate. Sometimes, cunning schemes and shrewd thinking were the only ways to ensure he remained honest for most of the time. Chapter 434 Immovable Pillar of The Hippo The moment Xiong Da finished fighting his opponent, Yang Ling had already begun challenging the challenger in the fourth position. However, instead of fighting her, the cultivator graciously gave her the place and daringly asked the ones in line if they could move back once. Oddly enough, the entire crowd was willing to do just that. Even the first in line had decided to give up his place to let Yang Ling enter the arena before him. Xiong Da had said he would only wait for four matches for her, so there was no way Yang Ling could have done that. Especially since by the time Xiong Da reached his fourth match, she would have at best become one of the first three in line no matter how fast she battled against others. However, what Xiong Da meant in his context, was that he was willing to wait for Yang Ling to become a challenger for the King of the Hill event. So, by the time he withstood his fourth match, she should be in the queue. Only afterwards did he realise that he was not clear when stating his demands when he saw the crowd moved backwards for Yang Ling. (So much for a lawyer!) Luckily the other cultivators thought similar to Yang Ling, and when Xiong Da saw how the cultivators gave up their place without fighting, he immediately understood why. They all wished to see him clashing with a capable challenger. One that potentially had a chance to beat him down from his high horse. "Works for me too, This way I don''t have to fight that long against incompetent competitors." Xiong Da sniggered to himself without saying out loud. (He knew better than to say that out loud offending many people! After all, if it were not for Jin''s intervention for his cultivation training, he would also be one of them!) Yang Ling stepped up on the stage and gave the Orc Referees her modified spinning top. She had already equipped the weighted disc that Jin gave her minutes ago as disassembling and reassembling parts of the spinning top was quick and easy to perform. Unless Yang Ling decided to use customised parts akin to the cultivators experimenting in the workshop at the far end of the indoor stadium, there was no need to worry about her spinning top''s structural integrity. As instructed by the System, the Orcs ignored the weighted disc''s hidden functions and showed the ''normal'' statistics on screen for the rest of the spectators to view. While it may not be that interesting or relevant for average viewers, it was a way to offer the gamblers in the indoor stadium more insight and the probability(and therefore the payout) of winning based on the Spinning Top alone without the consideration of the cultivator''s control of it. It was also to prove that the spinning tops were ''clean'' from illegal modifications and that the game was transparent enough for the gamblers to bet. Usually, there would be betting behind the scenes or bookies that defined the state of the game. However, the gamblers had Jin''s dungeon instance as a sign of trust that everything would be clean. (Just not for this particular match!) In the previous matches, it was easy for the gamblers to bet on Xiong Da to win some panda medals since it was fairly obvious who was to win. Nevertheless betting the minimum of one Silver Medal and getting one additional Bronze Medal guaranteed, was by no means a bad deal. A number of ''wealthy'' cultivators bet the maximum of 10 Gold Medals every time for a decent payout. However, for this particular match, the odds between the reigning champion and challenger were staggering high. Many continued to bet on Xiong Da, but given the stellar record of defeating cultivator''s spinning tops in less than 30 seconds, Yang Ling had given reignited the gambler''s spirit and some risk to bet all in on her. If she were to win, the gamblers would literally strike gold¡­ \Gold panda medals. This caused a few of them to cheer for her loudly when the Orc Referees asked if they were prepared to fight. In the meantime, the System took this occasion to suggest for Jin to create a gambling instance for high rollers only. Jin kept quiet when the System requested about it and decided not to give an answer for the moment. Right now, it was all about Yang Ling and Xiong Da. "Let''s SPIN!" Xiong Da shouted which Yang Ling embarrassingly followed along with the tagline. That momentous embarrassment did not linger long as her spinning Top went into the arena. Xiong Da was still following the same tactic he had utilised in the past four matches, and if not for the Orcs swapping the spinning top arena for a new one in every match, the arena would have been filled with cracks by Xiong Da''s constant shockwaves. Instead of attacking directly like Se Lang or like the rest of the cultivators who tried to aim for Hungry Hippo Top''s performance tip, Yang Ling had a different approach. She controlled her spinning top to spin around the arena continuously to gain more momentum. "No matter how fast you can go, you will not be able to gain enough traction to move an immovable pillar of heaven." Xiong Da boasted as he flicked his fingers once again to maintain his momentum. "Because none of them knew how to topple a pillar properly. To do that, you just have to aim for the top." Yang Ling replied as she infused both mana and chi into her spinning top, causing a tiger head silhouette to appear above her spinning top. "Any idea what tiger cultivation that is?" A spectator asked another stranger and judging by the murmurs most of the indoor stadium was wondering the same thing. Few had seen a tiger cultivation style similar to that. Even those who were practising tiger styles did not know about it except for a handful¡­ one of which just happened to enter the indoor stadium. "ARGGHHH!!! Princessss!" Ku Wai almost had fits when he saw an ad hoc advertisement of the match between Yang Ling and Xiong Da being televised on TV in Ice Hot Caf¨¦. He nearly threw out his third cup of coffee while waiting impatiently for the negotiations to end in the other partitioned dining area. "Please don''t be her! Please just be a lookalike!" Ku Wai mumbled to himself as he decided to check on her personally¡­ only to learn that all the desperate knocking and kicking of the barrier did not alert them in any way. Ku Wai was just about to use his cultivation to blow the barrier off until Mr Hot, the Fire Wyrm Ant personally came to inform him (with body language) that they were not there at all. Ku Wai quickly gathered the rest of the bodyguards and headed to the Orc Spinning Top Blades game. As one''s bad luck could go, it was on the other side of the WunderPanda Theme Park. Ku Wai and the bodyguards became determined to run as fast as they could with the aid of their cultivation which nearly scared the bystanders to death when they saw a stampede of tiger silhouettes running across the theme park. However, Ku Wai''s voice was drowned in the midst of all the cheering in the indoor stadium since nearly everyone in that ''room'' had placed their items down to watch the match to see if Yang Ling could really defeat the immovable pillar of hippo heaven. The Tiger Spinning Top had gained enough momentum rotating around the arena, and Yang Ling tried to attack Hungry Hippo Top by utilising one of the most basic cultivation techniques which basically all tiger styles used. "Pouncing Tiger Strike!" Yang Ling commanded her Tiger Spinning Top to pounce on top of the Hungry Hippo Top. Xiong Da smirked at that futile attempt when he saw the Tiger Spinning Top jumping towards his spinning top. "And here I thought you had some surprise in store¡­You wasted enough of my time! Muscle Bursting of the Hungry Hippo!" Xiong Da sighed as he decided to enlarge his Hungry Hippo Top to prevent Yang Ling''s Pouncing Tiger Strike from hitting precisely. He knew that there had to be a reason why Yang Ling waited for some time while gathering speed to hit him. While he was fighting against other cultivators, Xiong Da took the time to watch the short highlights that Yang Ling was in. That was also why he decided to take the defensive route so there was sufficient time for him to digest her tactics. It might seem like it was a fluke for her to win the matches, but Xiong Da had eyes keen enough to see that she was essentially aiming at the weak points of the opponents'' spinning top. Combined with the angle of the semi bowl shape of the arena as well as her perfect control of the top, it had allowed her to do one precise strike that eliminated her opponent when they were in position. If Se Lang''s one shot kill was like a blast of fire from a deadly fireball, Yang Ling''s one shot kill was akin to an arrow with a fatal piercing tip. That was why he decided not to move around in the arena, and stay in the centre where it would be difficult for her to aim his performance tip. Xiong Da was very confident until her words struck him when she lectured him that others did not know how to topple a pillar. Initially, he thought she was just taunting him since the top layer of his spinning tops had blades that would deflect her attack. But then he realised that she could mean attacking literally from the top of the ''pillar'' by using her performance tip to pierce through the immovable Hungry Hippo Top. With Yang Ling''s supreme controlling skills which allowed her to execute precision attacks, he was not risking a single thing. Thus, Xiong Da used his technique, Muscle Bursting of the Hungry Hippo to throw her top''s strike off. That was when Yang Ling started to grin widely. "Oh Hippo, you just fall into my trap~!" Yang Ling said as she flicked her hand to insert more mana into the Spinning Top and suddenly the Tiger Spinning Top turned away in mid air from striking the top of Hungry Hippo Top. Instead, it moved sidewards and subsequently scratched the Hungry Hippo Top at the side. With its large size, the Tiger Spinning Top moved around the Hungry Hippo Top like skilled chef peeling the skin of an apple in one go, rotating around it doing as much damage as it could. Yang Ling had deduced that with the strength of her top, she could at least inflict some damage to slow it down. However, she did not include the presence of the auto rotating inscription charm. The moment Tiger Spinning Top was moving like a whirling snake around Xiong Da''s spinning top, the System had activated the hidden auto rotating inscription charm which allowed Yang Ling''s Tiger Spinning Top to maintain its spin rotations and momentum despite its specs. Hence, the supposed scratches to weaken the enlarged Hungry Hippo Top became slashes that caused sufficient damage to the performance base, making it vulnerable for one final strike. Xiong Da panicked at the sudden turn of events and attempted to use his Grand Slam Fissure to break the ground of the arena, making it uneven for Tiger Spinning Top to even attack properly. "Too slow!" Yang Ling shouted as she infused as much chi she could garner along with mana, causing the Tiger Spinning Top to accelerate and perform an intermediate technique, ''Ambush of the Sleeping Tiger''. The spinning Tiger Top reached its maximum speed in an instant without gathering any momentum and slammed itself into Hungry Hippo''s bottom of the damaged performance base, causing the tip to break from the weight of Muscle Burst mode. "None could have expected it. The mighty Hippo Pillar has been toppled!" The Orc announcer shouted and everyone who saw the attack screamed in excitement as the scene was being replayed a few times in various angle on the indoor''s stadium''s live feed. (Sadly, not the other half of the betting audience.) Yang Ling was exhilarated that she jumped around in happiness before involuntarily hugging Jin who was right beside him. "We won!!" Yang Ling shouted with delight. In the meantime, Jin could only feel as if his soul had nearly been crushed by the weight of Xiong Da''s toppled Spinning Top. He had not seen what it was, but he was sure that his System somehow intervened just now. Yet he was not mad at it, as he guessed that otherwise Xiong Da could have indeed withstood that attack and proceeded to eliminate her. "I am sorry, my friend. It is for my safety." Jin apologised with some guilt in his heart as Xiong Da walked around the arena to congratulate Yang Ling for defeating him. "That was an unexpected move, Princess." Xiong Da whispered the last part with more emphasis so that only the three of them could hear it, to prevent others from realising who she was. "Thank you for the thrilling fun! I''m sure we will have more in the future!" Yang Ling returned the handshake and reminded Xiong Da to hold on to his bargain. Chapter 435 A Deals A Deal "Princess!!! You cannot just run away like that!!" Ku Wai became a large softie in front of Yang Ling. The chief bodyguard would have also given Jin a death threat for potentially bringing her into harm''s way, but he knew that the dungeon supplier was way stronger than him. Whatever Ku Wai had to say to him would be invalid unless he proved himself to be more powerful than Jin. "Breathe Ku Wai! Relax! Like I said, Jin''s with me. Besides, that was the most fun time I had in a very long time." Yang Ling said as she smiled sweetly towards the dungeon supplier. Like Xiong Da had initially planned to, she forfeited her King''s status after the match and the rest in queue continued on with their Spinning Top games. "Of course, Princess'' match was no doubt fascinating to watch," Ku Wai could feel the passion in her last attack through the large screens in the indoor stadium. It seemed that the spinning top was able to portray her long lost cultivation skills, and he assumed that to be the reason why Yang Ling felt so happy. Because of their long history, the Royal Zodiac Styles had become the basis of every other cultivation that followed their style. Hence, every modern tiger cultivation out there had its roots from the Royal Zodiac Style. If Yang Ling ever wanted to be the most powerful tiger cultivator, she would have to master the Royal Zodiac Style. It was no surprise that the Royal Zodiac Styles did not have any prefix on their style. It mainly focused on a lot of foundation skills, making it easy to quickly learn skills from other tiger cultivations. While every cultivation style does have its own foundation, the Royal Zodiac Styles were so rigorous that its foundation learning stages even continued into the high grade stages contain Epic and also Legendary techniques for a simple, straightforward move. The other Royal Zodiac Styles were no different in this aspect and the families took pride in their children for mastering the foundation stages. Some of the descendants had to take up to 20 years to master the foundational knowledge before they were allowed to call themselves an official part of a Royal Zodiac family. It was remarkably stringent that mastering it practically guaranteed most of the Zodiac clan members to turn into arrogant pricks thinking themselves as superior beings. Jin was lucky enough to meet Yang Ling and Hou Fei that were more civil minded in their manners and probably because of their history. "It just so happened I am able to mimic them with my magic powers, Ku Wai. Don''t be so excited that I can ever achieve my old cultivation back." Yang Ling said but to Jin, he furrowed his eyebrows at her. "Didn''t she produce chi throughout the whole match?" Jin thought to himself, and the System affirmed his suspicion. "For User to be able to sense her chi under the guise of magical powers, it seems that your chi interpretation is up to expectations. System is pleasantly surprised." System stated and Jin scratched his head a little. He had no idea how he was able to sniff out her chi powers from her magical power. "I don''t remember learning any skills that would allow me to do so. Also, the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas manual shouldn''t have anything that would allow me to sense chi that well. " Jin replied to which the System''s only possible explanation was that it could have been one of the effects of the Spiritual Union and the creation of the Astral Form which were not detailed in the cultivation manual. "Ehhhh, then what''s the use of a cultivation manual when it doesn''t tell you what to do?" Jin complained to himself. "Then perhaps you should ask the one to have designed the manual. System shall help as long as it will result in the User prospering." The System nonchalantly stated, letting the cat out of the bag and surprising Jin. He nodded in agreement as he thought it''s about time for the System and Ming to reconcile. It didn''t come as too much of a shock that it managed to figured that Jin''s tremendous improvement and Kraft''s reemergence was all because of Ming. Fortunately, the System was previously more concerned about getting money from customers than vastly improving Jin, allowing Ming to do what he wants increase Jin''s combat efficiency. "Jin, Jin! Why are you spacing out?" Yang Ling called his name a few times and he only responded when she snapped her fingers in front of him. "Uh, no. Sorry I was just thinking about something important." Jin apologised, and Yang Ling folded her arms in front of him. "Well, I can forgive you for bringing me to this place. That military exercise thing is a deal. I will coordinate with Hou Fei since you and him seem to contact each other more often than the two of us. In the meantime, I''ll see if I can influence my father to include some important police members into the exercise as well." Yang Ling said to him as they walked away from her bodyguards. She told them that she needed a bit more time to discuss a few things. Although Ku Wai and the rest of the bodyguards didn''t fully trust Yang Ling after that incident, they were willing to allow some distance as long as she remained in their eyesight "Oh? How come?" Jin was curious about the sudden change of decision. "That monster horde you talked about¡­I remembered reading it in the papers recently. For some reason, monster activity has peaked up in recent months. The border guards also mentioned about it in some sections of the weekly internal security debrief report to my father. I consider it can''t hurt to prepare the police and military troops for such an event. That way, the response should be faster." Yang Ling answered in a serious tone. "And If it were up to me, I''d suggest using monsters. Maybe something that numbered in the thousands instead of a single large giant monster to mimic like those monster hordes. Some that could invade underground, above ground and fast enough to overwhelm the response team. That way, it will show those arrogant generals that they need to revise their tactics¡­ Oh I''m not referring to Hou Fei, but the bulk of our Tiger Generals." Yang Ling continued and had a terrifying look at her face as if she wanted revenge against someone in particular. "Sure¡­ Well, that is if I manage to produce a large enough playing field to mimic a real life monster¡­ horde¡­." Suddenly a bout of inspiration appeared in his head, a very mind blowing inspiration which made him tremble with trepidation. "What''s wrong?" Yang Ling could see that Jin suddenly turned fidgety and felt very distant, she became anxious when Jin grabbed her by the shoulders, hugged and later shook her violently. Even the bodyguards became wary of Jin''s unspeakable actions when they saw Jin shaking Yang Ling like a toy doll. "You are brilliant. You are so brilliant! Thank you!" Jin said while rubbing her head gently as thanks for the inspiration. "You just helped me solve a conundrum that I had for weeks! Sorry, I got to go first. If anything message me!" Jin said as he hastily took out his phone and opened his Mechat QR code for her. Yang Ling was in state of hysteria, her heart nearly stopped beating after Jin hugged her and complimented her. All she could do was nod her head until Jin took his phone out for her. She quickly broke out of her trance and eagerly searched for her phone. "Woah woah, take your time! Hahha!" Jin said to Yang Ling as she almost dropped her phone because of her sudden frantic behaviour. However, deep inside him, he was dying to go into the Dungeon Maker. She eventually managed to exchange numbers with him and he opened a portal to leave the area. "One more thing- Ahh, he went off already." Yang Ling decided she would ask him in chat later now that she had his number in her phone. "Looks like Princess has a thing for that Dungeon Supplier." One of the bodyguards said to Ku Wai, and he nodded his head with pride. "That Dungeon Supplier should be proud that our princess chose him." Ku Wai acknowledged his fellow bodyguard''s guess as they gave her a bit of space before returning tor her side. Meanwhile. Kraft being on the sidelines could only giggle at the development of the entire situation. Even if Jin did not have a strong feeling for her, the Bellator had gained some brownie points from the System by ''aiding'' a girl in being more honest about her own feelings. (Poor Jin, even in love, the System would like to interfere for him.) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "System!" Jin entered the Dungeon Maker and started to call out for it. "Why do you still say it''s impossible to create a playing field as large as what Yang Ling had proposed?" "It is possible but not at User''s current Dungeon Supplier Rank. User is only allowed to do so after he reaches Dungeon Supplier Rank 5. Additionally, to maintain such a large scale dungeon will require something similar to a Dungeon Core." The System replied, which did not deter Jin at all. "How come you need a Dungeon Core? Can''t we just add more computers and servers to do it like every other dungeon suppliers do? I kinda thought you were omnipotent enough to accomplish such a feat." Jin asked. "System is able to do it. However, given the specifications that User desires, it is not possible to maintain other Instances. Just the power usage and processing required, as User would put it, is higher than the entirety of the currently in use Store. Unfortunately, the Supercomputers of this World would crack under this kind of pressure." The System stated in its explanation. "Instead of additional computers and servers, System needs higher-tier materials for an upgrade. Dungeon Cores can serve such a purpose. However, given User''s nature, extracting a Dungeon Core from the Dungeon World will not sit well with User." The System assumed based on past actions of Jin and concluded. "¡­ Is it because we are essentially cutting the lifeforce of the dungeon out by forcibly removing the Dungeon Core away?" Jin deduced based on the System''s words. "Precisely. Should User accomplish such a feat, it will have dire consequences for the inhabitants in that area even though User will get what he wants. According to predictive analysis, the resurrected monsters will have no place to go. Hence, they will 1) Rampage against surface cities in the Dungeon World 2) Disrupt the ecosystem of another Dungeon or 3) Transform into a Harbinger." "Harbinger?" Jin quickly questioned as it sounded extremely ominous while he checked the condition to remind himself how to receive the prior Dungeon Supplier Rank 4. It was still to aid the Farming World and annihilate the Farm Rats. However, he noticed that the Mission Reward changed a little. Since they had already completed the Portal prototype in advance, it now listed a ''mystery reward''. "A Harbinger is similar to a monster leader of hordes from your world. They are extremely mighty in nature and require thousands of trained veteran adventurers to take it down. In the history of Dungeon World, such an incident happened twice according to the records System has access to." The System brought it out on the Dungeon Maker screen for Jin to preview. "The first time a group of high level adventurers supposedly set out to rid the world of evil by trying to destroy the dungeons. The second time, by having a precedent a group of fanatics harbouring ill will to the human population forcibly destroyed a Dungeon Core. Both Harbingers that appeared plagued the Dungeon World for years to come before eventually getting suppressed and sealed." More pictures of the destruction were detailed in the Dungeon Maker console. "The historical records agree that it should be because of the hatred from the loss of habitat that caused the monsters to go into a frenzy, transforming them into Harbingers. Millions of countless lives were lost. Astonishingly, none could resurrect after being killed. Some theorised that it was because the loss of the Dungeon Core caused the law of natures to change. Meanwhile, several other opinions argued that the Harbingers act as the balance the Dungeon World needs with its overcrowding population." The System stated. "Wow, let''s hope it does not happen again. If those from the Dungeon World were unable to resurrect, I do not wish to experiment if our monsters could survive such an event." Jin said, and suddenly Pei appeared out of the bracelet and used her large paper fan to hit Jin on his head. "Can you NOT create death flags for us unnecessarily!" Pei screamed in a fit of anger in her Red Indian traditional outfit before returning back into her bracelet. However, she was also angry with the System for not being entirely honest with Jin. It knew a lot about the harbingers because of someone. Someone who was desperate to resurrect the Panda Clan again. "¡­Ouch. Anyways, if Dungeon Cores are not an option, what do we need to find?" Jin asked as he leaned back on his chair and twirled his Creator Pen around. "User has to obtain a brain of a living mechanical titan." System answered. Chapter 436 Mecha World "What?! Brain of a mechanical titan? Where do I even find such a thing? Dungeon World?" Jin was a little surprised and asked the System for more information. "No, You''ll have to get it from another World." System answered. Immediately Jin started to have some bad premonitions. "Wait, please don''t tell me we have to go to the Mecha World." Jin sighed as he was sure that that would be exactly the case. As he shared his memories with the Another Jin who done face to (Panda) face trading with various worlds, he also shared their dislike about that particular world. This was more or less impossible because those from the Mecha World were all a bunch of calculative heartless sons of beetches. He had a difficult time selling that one piece of Gearbox to one of the buyers. Eventually, they finally reached an agreement at the point that they would receive the money for it and also buy that piece of satellite junk he used for the Goblin World. However, the buyer almost backed away at last moment from the deal stating that their ''Papa'' disapproved of the sales when it saw Jin being a fully organic form. Thankfully, Kiyu managed to make the buyer stay for the transaction, but she had to work harder than usual to achieve the desired results because it was a part cyborg and part organic monster. Thankfully Kraft did lend a hand at the request of his ''child'' and used his hacking abilities that enabled Kiyu to momentarily overwrite the logical circuits in the buyer. If not for Kiyu and Kraft combination, Jin probably would not be able to purchase the satellite for the observation in the Goblin World. "Unfortunately, Yes. The Mecha World. System had been buying parts from the Mecha World behind the scenes to upgrade its capacity. That is also where the money went User had earned so far. Without upgrades from them, the System will not be able to keep up with future progress." The System stated. "Ehhhhhhhhhh?!!! I thought the System had always been omnipotent that it did not need hardware upgrades or anything of those sorts!" Jin stood up and was extremely surprised when he heard the details from the System. "Does that mean that you are also ever growing and evolving?" Jin asked as it seemed like this was the first time the System had openly acknowledged its weakness to Jin. "Indeed, however, the use of time reversal for¡­ex User Ming had forced System to drastically deplete its own resources, cripple its finances and obliterated the hardware. Without current User''s aid, the System would have been stuck at 3.4% capacity of its original powers in the best case scenario. The more likely scenario would have been for the capacity to deteriorate even further." The System acknowledged Jin''s business saving maintaining its existence. "No wonder, you always need money in return for any favour¡­" Jin said to himself. "Then what''s your current threshold you are at?" "At the moment, 12.8% of System''s peak powers." The System replied. "What? So when Ming had you at 100%, that time reversal killed your resources that much?" Jin asked. "Negative. At the time ex User Ming had received the System, the maximum capacity peaked at 25.9%. It had been depleting ever since the start of the System. There were only two instances where the System received growth in its powers. During the period when Panda Lord Zhou Lin was revived and current User." The System stated. Jin now started to realise why the System had been merciless back when he first started out. It should be because of multiple reasons. First of all, it was dying. Not only was it dying since the very start but because of his Grandpa''s actions, the System had been as this close to Death as ever before. Though it acted logically in most instances, Jin would not have been surprised if it somewhat blamed Jin, who had been unaware of it all and did not conform to what the System needed at the time. This, in turn, should have lead to the second reason, making it desperate at the very least use the last of its powers to achieve the ancestors'' desire to defeat the twelve Zodiac families. Finding it unlikely that the weak and naive Jin would be able to achieve its goal, the System had even gone to the length of somewhat brainwashing Jin in hopes of making him kill live subjects in the Dungeon World so that it could regain its powers to finish its objective in the future. However, with Jin''s current bout of hard work and effort, the System was finally able to regain a portion of its original power, allowing it to put its revenge mission on hold. But should Jin manage to let the System restore all of its original powers, revenge was considered as a petty issue in its eyes. "So what is this mechanical brain thingy? What''s the estimated amount of your original powers that it can restore?" "Conservatively numbers state that it can increase System''s computative capabilities by an additional 5%. The brain, as stated has to come from a living Mechanical Titan. System has been following the state of the Mecha World for quite some time since System was on the lookout for discounts on their products whenever possible." The System replied, and Jin placed his palm at his forehead. He knew that the System''s spendthrift attitude knew no bounds. But even when it comes to upgrading its own self? Unbelievable. "¡­System will send the info to Yun. You can get more details from her." Suddenly the System had decided not to say what had happened in the Mecha World and delegated Yun to do the job instead. "Why her? Can''t you just tell me straight in the face?" Jin asked, but there was no response from the System at all. "Because our venerated ancestors always need to save their¡­face when it comes to things that they had messed up. It could have put all the blame solely on you, but the System unanimously decided that it''s both their fault and yours." Yun suddenly appeared from a portal as she held onto a stack of papers to read. "Why? ¡­What? I don''t understand? I just wanted to know if the large dungeon was possible or not as I had planned. If not, I was thinking about using separate dungeon instances instead. For example, the military bases in one particular instance and they can be connected with other dungeon instances as if to simulate one large dungeon instance instead." Jin was confused until the System suddenly responded to the particular proposal. "That idea is feasible. System had underestimated User, assuming User wished to be able to do that in one go. In that case, the Mechanical Brain to increase the System capabilities is of utmost importance to get the Extensive Dungeon Instance up." The System stated quickly as if it did not proofread of what it spoke. "¡­ System, if you wanted me to get you something, you could have just as¡­ erm, I meant you could have issued a Mission for me¡­ If that is the case, I have another idea to correspond with what Yang Ling had requested, but now you made me feel worried that I should know about this ''mistake the System and I made collectively''." Jin said with a troubled face. "Sigh, let''s hear your idea first. Then we can talk about the trouble thats brewing behind the scenes. Else, you might not be able to think straight afterwards." Yun suggested as she sat down beside Jin. No matter how she looked at him, most of the time, he still seemed like a little kid that just wanted attention. Every now and then he had moments when he resembled an independent young man. Something deep inside her wanted Jin to stay the way as he is, but at the same time, she also hoped that he would mature a little faster. Thankfully, all these business negotiations with Xiong Da, Hou Fei, Ke Loong made him a bit more adult than he first started. He was getting there, but Yun knew sometimes, he would just release his tantrums at the System or his bellators. "Ah, alright then. I was thinking of this. Why not do the same as with the Goblin World? We have two tasks to handle, and if we combine them, it will sort itself out. Why not provoke the Demon Rats and attack our mock city setup? Then we will let the police and military clear them up. Given the nature of the Demon Rats, it''s unlikely for them to show mercy against our forces." Jin described it excitedly. "This way, we can cut their forces by a huge margin and proceed to attack their territories and exterminate the rest region by region. I was also thinking of making the cultivators to join in as well, like the events we made." Jin suggested and Kraft entered nodding his head. "You know you can count on me, whenever you try to put together something as entertainingly crazy as this. However, have you considered how we lure the Demon Rats in en masse? They will find out something is up when they enter into a portal. Not to mention they can U-turn back and return to their homeworld if they sense it''s a trap." Kraft tried to point out the weak points of the plan. "True¡­ that''s assuming we are letting them run along the mock cities with the portal opening along the roads of the cities. But what if we make them rain down the mock cities instead? It will scare the police and kill some Demon Rats as well as making the situation extremely difficult for the police response team to handle." Jin put forward another of his idea. "Okay, that solves the U-turn problem then what about the lure?" Kraft asked although he had an inkling what the lure would be. Unfortunately, Jin did not. "Using Farm Demons like Keyrin. Those demons that Gold suggested for Jin to hunt for their parts are apparently all Elder Demons that lived for hundreds of years. His apprentice Grey once told me that those Elder Demons managed to fend the rats off their territory and killing hundreds of them in the process. " Zeru entered into the picture of discussion. "Because beneath their homes are rich sources of Litoride that are used to power their Steam Tech," Zeru explained, and Jin was absolutely clueless what he was talking about. "Hmph, when you are having your fun in the WunderPanda, a number of things happened. Gold will give you a debriefing later, they just clashed with the Farm Rats at Keyrin''s home territory and emerged victoriously. As ordered, they made sure no rat was left alive." "And the System regrets to inform User that the Demon Rats cannot be captured." The System told Jin how the Demon Rats were reincarnated into raw materials which made Jin laugh bitterly at the information. "Oh my god¡­but I guess, this plan is still feasible? Such a shame about us not getting thousands of Demon Rats, otherwise¡­" Jin asked the bellators around him. However, only the System replied back. "It would potentially be more immersive if User manages to get the mechanical brain first for the military and police forces. However, should the planned military exercises need to be expedited, the System approved of User''s alternate plan." The System stated, and both Bellators nodded their head. "Alright, sorry to break the happy bubble but there still is the issue that the System¡­ was unable to tell Jin (personally)." Yun intervened and told the rest if they wish to stay to hear the things, she would not mind a single bit. "Since funding the goblin war was not cheap and we lacked the funds, Jin decided to sell the prototype Gearbox to various worlds at ultra high prices but also in limited quantities. Because of the System ''s bias choice of trading in the Mecha World''s market, it had not vetted the buyer before selling the product¡­ even though our dear System was always careful in the past." Yun started to address the issue to Jin while not wasting the opportunity to get some jabs into the System. "In defence, the System did vet the -" "System Shhh! You allowed me to say it on your behalf, so keep quiet." Yun placed her index finger at her mouth to indicate the System to shut the hell up before she cleared her throat and continued on. "The System did not vet the buyer sufficiently thorough because of the lack of multithread capacity to process the entire vetting procedure while they were in the midst of preparing for the war." Yun had decided to give the System a chance to come clean itself. "However, that lead to a successful deal, which now indirectly caused a great threat to the Mecha World. According to black market information brokers, the buyer was from an elitist cult group which used the prototype as a sample to build an enlarged version of it for their Mecha frames. So even if we destroy the original prototype with our failsafe method, it would be useless." "Please don''t tell me that that prototype leads to the productions of robots like Gomdem. And instead of saving the world, they are destroying it?" Jin said it out loud, and Yun shrugged a right shoulder while nodding her head. "That''s more or less the gist of it. World Domination¡­ as per usual." Yun replied. "Hahahahah! So, you are saying our dear little master''s sale had inadvertently caused chaos to their world? Oh boy. Jin you shall be remembered in the future as the ancestor who has sold weapons starting an intergalactic war¡­" Kraft laughed so badly at the situation at hand. "At this rate, we might as well call ourselves the Protectors of the Galaxy or World, going everywhere to solve each and different world''s problem. And they all originate from this tiny little shop on Earth. Oh, the irony of a fantasy light novel." Kraft couldn''t help but add more salt to injury as he continued to chuckle at the absurdity at it. "Are they..erm the Mecha World in very much in trouble?" Jin did feel a little guilty when Yun laid it out that way. She was right, he could not think straight after hearing the news. "At the moment not really. But don''t blame yourself too much over it. It was bound to happen for their world sooner or later, according to predictive analysis. We just kinda¡­erm accelerated the process for the bad guys. Also, unlike the worlds you been to, Earth''s time move roughly three times faster than theirs¡­if it brings you any consolation that you actually have more time in your hands." Yun tried her best to comfort Jin, hoping he would not blame himself too much. "In my opinion, you had done well in past cases. The Goblin sons were a fateful coincidence that leads us to protect the balance in the Goblin World. " Zeru also consoled Jin. "And if we did not remove Gold from the equation in the Farming World, the fate of that Farming World might have been sealed. We would not be able to procure any more luxury food products from their world''s market." He added on while patting on his disciple''s shoulder. "Now I am beginning to feel letting Niu Lang creating that Supa Robot Wars was a blessing in disguise." Jin sighed. "He would say it''s the Heavens that ordained it. Good luck pal." Kraft patted on Jin''s shoulders and left Jin to his own devices for now. Chapter 437 Revising The Store For the next few days, The WunderPanda Theme Park received more news coverage by Kiyu after Jin had lifted the information embargo for the service instance. As expected her video channel was bombarded by thousands of hits within the first day. The video coverage by Kiyu had also broadcasted on the Pandaflix as well as the front page of the Pandamonium App, for those cultivators who had patronised Jin''s store before. The System had noticed there was a drastic increase in the one time customers coming back for the service instance. Because they were coming back after a long time, Jin had implemented a welcome back gift by letting them receive appropriate benefits like a booster pack for those who had played the Pet Card Arena or a 1 Silver Panda Medal, whichever they wished to choose. The online video had also garnered a lot of attention and the people influenced by the video coverage were coming in flocks, making WunderPanda theme park the most popular instance, with Goblin Raid Events coming at a close second. That wasn''t to say that the other dungeon instances were left untouched. A number of the cultivators came because they heard that dungeon instances were real and intense, unlike other dungeon suppliers. They were no doubt extremely satisfied by the challenge, and many were hoping to join the ranks of Pandawan status because of the fame and recognition that they were as strong as them. Separately, Yang Ling had a few things to take care of because it was the end of the year and told Jin that Xiong Da and her would liaise among themselves to challenge the Escape City dungeon instance as promised. They were confident that none could defeat the Escape City dungeon instance as of yet. The cultivators also noticed the newly revamped Luxury Recovery Instance. Many gave feedback to the Panda Nurses that it was a remarkably comfortable experience, much better than the real hospitals. The Panda Nurses could only chuckle and emphasised that this was not a hospital at all. Some even kid about driving here if they ever injured themselves, just for the care and concern of the Panda Nurses. The decision to insert the hotspring instance option in every ward was a fantastic idea. A number of them were lured into the 10% discount and the ease of having the option right beside them. And because the wards are either solo or with friends, many tend to take up this opportunity after battling. The Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance had seen more than a 100% turnover just within a couple of days as compared to a month ago. In addition to the luxury rooms they were warded in, there was also a gathering area on the first floor of the luxury recovery instance where every cultivator had access to. It was a lobby kind of space where the cultivators came together to discuss or merely chit chat about the experiences they had. However, not everyone would be willing to do that since city people were not like people from small towns and villages. They rather prefer to keep to themselves. That was why Jin had included something extra to incentivise them to mingle in the lobby. It was by changing his loot distribution yet again. Jin no longer made treasure chest pop up at random times or at the end of the dungeon. Instead, everyone would be teleported to the Luxury Recovery Instance lobby to retrieve their treasure from their assigned lockers. (The assigned lockers were also for the cultivators to keep their belongings if they had any.) Should they win any prizes that were more than a gold Panda Medal, a ticket was given to them, and they could retrieve it at the Redemption Counter. This was to ensure no stealing of loot although the System had made sure such an act was impossible. Because all of the loot was already tagged to specific cultivators. It was the act of going to the redemption counter, that thrill which made it look like the cultivators got something great. Jin had read about hyping the excitement for customers and creating addiction, and this was one of the ways that will entice people to come back again. Even the lobby halls that Jin once made for cultivators to gather party members had all been connected to the first floor of the Luxury Recovery Instance so that the main shop instance would not be as crowded as it was. However, those who were not injured were forbidden to visit the levels with wards unless they wished to meet a friend of theirs. Their pals would need to acknowledge and permit their arrival before they were allowed to ride the elevator to meet their fellow cultivators. Otherwise, all the gathering activities were done in the lobby. All of these were to accommodate the increasing number of cultivators that were flooding into Jin''s store. What initially seems to be a large and spacious place in the shop instance had become a place for cultivators to wait for their friends before moving into the Lobby area of the Luxury Recovery Instance. Lynn also had plans to expand her Restaurant Instance and the first thing was to actually incorporate one of Jin''s service instances, the Reservoir of Deep Fishing instance. She felt that by placing the fishing together with the restaurant, it could boost the sales of that particular service instance since it had Chef Roro to cut up the perfect sushi. She reasoned that not many would know the existence of that service instance, and the price was off putting for the majority of the people. Jin then explained the System''s rationale to keep the price hefty but Lynn argued that he should relook at it while keeping the System''s wishes in mind. "What do you mean?" Jin asked, and Lynn giggled a little when he was talking to her in the dining area of the terrace house. (Come to think of it, Jin does not really have an office to himself nor does Qiu Yue.) "Let them fish for free, the first set of bait and fishing rods are free. The subsequent baits will require payment but allow them fish for as long as they want. However, have a bear cub NPC to accompany them and use the bear cub to promote the fish they caught. This way, the fishermen won''t be bored and have a companion with them while fishing. If they manage to catch a fish, the bear cub could tell them that they can either release the fish or buy it for sushi, bbq or maybe as a meal in the restaurant." Lynn explained her idea. "I believe this will improve the odds of the fishing experience and eventually there will be people who would want to buy the fish," Lynn added and suddenly it raised a question in Jin''s head. "Hmm, System is there a way for the Lost Tech Counterfeiter to ¡­erm counterfeit a living fish or do you need to use souls with it to recreate the fish? I find that there is some kind of weird loophole here." Jin questioned and Lynn was surprised that Jin could even think of that. "Negative, the System had tried counterfeiting a living being and had been unable to achieve the same result. The counterfeiter might use the living being as a design blueprint, but the result is more similar to a dead item. System even tried inserting a soul in, but the body rejected the soul entirely." The System replied and Jin guessed that the System had its own procedure in making those clones out while maintaining both the spirit, soul and information that it once had. The System was after all a byproduct from the Will of the Heavens. "Oh well, I was just asking, since I thought it could duplicate a one to one for almost everything." Jin sighed and he told Lynn to go ahead with that particular idea since the fishing instance only had a handful of customers. Maybe he could add a fishing tournament or something in the future. But for now, if Lynn could revitalise the instance, that would be an excellent idea and a possible boost to their income. "System, please transfer Lynn the rights to the fishing instance and allow her to merge the instance with her restaurant instance," Jin ordered the System and it did what it was told upon seeing the marketing potential Lynn had proposed. In the meantime, Peppers after hearing some ruckus decided to come down to see who was around. "Ah! Master, you''ve come at the right time!" Peppers greeted Jin as she told him to stay where he was. She rushed back up her room to get a few items down. "What''s this?" Jin asked as Peppers laid a suitcase down right in front of him. She smirked a little before opening it up for him to see. "This is¡­ how did you do it?" Jin was surprised as Peppers giggled and shited the suitcase for Lynn to see, making her awe in amazement. It was none other than the Living Armour Plates. Zither Mistress Ke Mi had informed Peppers that a few of them had reached a decent size so she decided to pluck one out for Jin to see the results. However, because she had to tend to the crops in Agriculture Sector One, she had handed it over to Peppers instead. Peppers, on the other hand, had decided to feed it with some precious stones she bought off the System to mimic Ke Mi and suddenly the living armour plate had started to glow and emit a rainbow shine off its plate. Peppers told Jin that the stones it ate were infused with an exceeding amount of energy which she had inserted before they could explode. As the living armour plate consumed the stones, it grew larger to a point it was a wide and vast looking plate. One which would have taken centuries for it to grow into such a size. And somehow it transformed its shape into a belt when Jin touched it with his chi. Peppers quickly picked it up before the living armour plated belt wanted more of Jin''s chi and placed it in the suitcase. "I do not understand much about it, but I figured that this particular living armour plate eats whatever it can to grow, and it still seems hungry for more. You''re lucky I''m here as it seems to be attracted to the highest quantity of chi or mana in the vicinity. Else even Lynn would not be able to remove it from you." Peppers warned Jin not to activate his chi in front of it. "That could actually become a very effective weapon against certain types of enemies or even high level grades." Jin deduced and Peppers agreed with him wholeheartedly. "Which is why I am going to experiment with it a little more and see if other plates respond the same as this plate. At least to my knowledge, this is a very abnormal behaviour for a living armour plate. The Jacks also have never heard of a precedent for such a case." Peppers responded. (she was hoping to turn this mistake of itchy fingers into a blessing in disguise.) "But it brings a lot of possibilities if you think about it. Like chi or mana absorbing armour plate. Those attacks would render partially ineffective to Jin, protecting him even more." Lynn said that this plate could be unique enough. "Heh! Sounds like my Reverse Aegis barrier spell, absorbing all kind of magic to keep itself alive." Peppers chuckled and realised¡­that could be the key from absorbing Jin''s chi if Jin were to use it. "Oh my god, talking with you guys is one of the best things that happened to me this week! Unless it''s an emergency, don''t call on me. I have ideas to try out!!!" Peppers squeaked with delight and brought the suitcase up with her. "She totally looks like you when you have your bouts of inspiration." Lynn laughed as she continued drinking her Blue Mountain coffee. "Wouldn''t it be ironic if she was my kid from the future?" Jin uttered casually and Lynn nearly choked from drinking her coffee. "Please, don''t make me laugh when I am drinking," Lynn warned Jin and they both chuckled a little. "By the way, Lynn. I am sorry if you were keeping this a secret but erm¡­ I stumbled upon some sake the last time I visited the Werejackals. However, I did not see it on any menu yet, including the ones in WunderPanda theme park. Is that a new drink for the restaurant?" Jin asked since he did have plans to create a bar instance in the future too. "Oh, I erm¡­ I am planning to create a bar¡­for the expansion of my Restaurant instance." Lynn guessed there was no harm revealing her whole hand since Jin already found out part of it. "As you can imagine, they will be serving only the best and if there is one item on the menu, then so be it. As long as the sake wine can meet the expectation of the people, I am happy to serve that." "But as of right now, it is still in the planning phase. I have asked Melis to try them ¡­but unfortunately, she gets intoxicated rather quickly. That''s why I asked the Jacks before you met them. Thus, I need more time before I can perfect the sake for sale." Lynn explained. "Oh¡­so the bar expansion and the fishing ¡­are they like stops for people to alight from?" Jin wondered to which Lynn nodded in excitement. She did not expect Jin to guess her plans that quickly. Like Jin and Qiu Yue, Lynn wanted to expand on her sphere of influence in the store too, and only by showing that she had the capability to do it then she believed she was worthy to be in this store. "I see, I see. Please! Keep it up! Like I said that instance is your very own wonderland aside from the WunderPanda that is. Hahah! Do continue with the good work!" Jin encouraged her before he received a call that he had to answer. "I will, Jin. I will." Lynn quietly stared at his back as he moved to the backyard to answer his call. Chapter 438 Burnt Temple "Grandma Yuan is ready to see you. Be prepared, it won''t be a short visit. She has cleared her schedule especially for you. Oh and wear that Panda Pin if you understand what I mean." The assistant on the phone informed him, and Jin immediately took off his stuff and told Yun to look after the shop. He hailed a cab via his phone app to reach the destination the assistant had given him. "Sir, the place you are going, you sure that is the correct address?" The taxi driver asked casually. "That is what my colleague told me, why? Is there anything wrong with the address I gave you?" Jin who was sitting at the back seat, stared out the windows for once, instead of consistently looking at his phone. "Hmm, it''s just that I assumed you were one of the few relatives of the victims wanting to pay your respects to the place. Guess I was wrong, sorry to disturb you, Sir." The veteran taxi driver answered and his reasoning made Jin curious. "No, it''s okay. What actually happened in that area?" Jin pressed for an answer. "I think it was about 23 years ago? A fire, a large enormous one that consumed the entire temple during the Qing Ming Festival. A sizeable number of people was there to give thanks to their forefathers." The taxi driver started. "But what remained a mystery was how the fire was able to spread so fast that it killed that many nearly in an instant. The government was short of calling it a terrorist attack given how most of the people who died there were pretty decent cultivators at least Grade two and above." He made a turn and into the expressway. "Oh yea, to common folks, Grade 2 cultivators were the norm of life¡­as compared to my cultivators." Jin thought to himself as he continued to listen to the taxi driver. "However, that''s the government and national news. You and I both know that the government would always keep things under wraps. I had a friend whose relative died in the fire too, and he depicted a different story according to his relative who later succumbed to the injuries and passed on." "His relative supposedly shared that there was a man, with literally monstrous chi. He had horns coming out from his shoulders and even a tail. He came barging into the temple and immediately started slaughtering the people in there. It was not just mass murder but a massacre at that. The cultivators came together to fight against it, but it was no use at all." The taxi driver went to the third lane and drove a little faster since the traffic was smooth. "It might sound delusional but the relative even on his deathbed kept emphasising the word demon, demon, demon. The recount he gave stated that there were a few cultivators who managed to fight that ''demon''. But the demon eventually gave one last push by ending its life with a blast." He narrated with exaggeration which made Jin give him a weird look. It seemed such a coincidence that the taxi driver talked to him about Demons when he was about to see Grandma Yuan about the request on Demon Exorcists. So he decided to try his luck and ask with regards to it. "I am sorry to sound rude. It''s just that for a relative that had succumbed to injuries, your friend seemed to be able to get a lot of information about the incident." Jin said as courteously as he can while questioning the cab driver. "Heh, what do I know, it''s only a story. I am merely telling you to pass the time. Besides, you gotta admit it''s a rather decent story from a friend." The driver replied in a joking manner. "I am more concerned about the loopholes in that. Like Demons." Jin said while staring intently at the rear mirror to see the expression of his eyes. That moment when their eyes connected, Jin swiftly understood that the taxi driver knew something which he did not know. The taxi driver immediately drove faster, seemingly with little to no regard to his life. "What is your motive for going to the abandoned temple." The driver asked as he continued to step onto the pedal. "That is none of your business," Jin said as he prepared himself by diverting his chi into his left hand. He was ready to slam the side door open when he deemed fit to escape even though he knew the car had already reached 110km/hr. "I will probably be going to escape with more than just bruises on myself." He prepared himself mentally. "You do not seem to understand the current situation. Even if you manage to get out of this car, you will die no matter what." The taxi driver lowered his voice and warned Jin. "I shall ask again. What is your motive for going to the abandoned temple?" "Likewise, you do not seem to care about your life." Jin wasn''t planning on revealing anything no matter what. He was confident that he was able to get out of it with just a few bruises. "System, I hope you are ready for a portal escape." Upon Jin''s reply, the taxi driver smirked and pressed on the pedal even harder, accelerating to the maximum limit of the speedometer. Jin could also feel that the car was shaking from the top speed it was going. However, he suddenly felt his chi in his left hand dissipate as well. "What?" Jin could not fathom what was happening. He tried to muster the chi back into his left hand, but it was not working. The System was also not responding to him while he tried to turn on his phone. None of it was working, and now he started to panic as he pulled the car''s handle. "It''s locked, don''t bother." The taxi driver said in a dark, ominous tone. Even the seatbelt was unwilling to budge; instead, it was strapping him tightly to the point he was severely immobilised by it. Jin could see from the front that the driver was evading as many cars as possible until he reached an overhead passing before the taxi driver made a sharp right turn. The taxi smashed into road barrier that protected the pedestrian crossing but the speed that it was going, allowed the car to break it easily and it went off the road. All Jin could see was a valley which he was going to smashed into. The taxi driver laughed as the car flipped in midair and there was nothing Jin could do. He was powerless without his chi, without his system. All he could do was to wait for the impending crash to happen. ¡ª¡ª¨C Jin gasped for air as he opened his eyes wide, and the taxi driver in front of him turned his head. "You okay back there Sir?." The middle aged rugged looking uncle asked as he returned and concentrated what was right in front of him. Jin held on to his for a while and nodded a little in response. "Looks like you had a bad dream, you were sleeping soundly just now. We should be arriving soon." The driver interrupted and continued his driving. The dungeon supplier looked around him and quickly checked his chi gathering abilities as well as his phone. His chi was gathering smoothly, the phone was not locked and Jin asked the System for a quick update. "Did anything happen to me just now?" "You had been in a deep state of sleep for 67 minutes until a minute ago, your heart rate and brain activity spiked, and you woke up immediately. Other than that, there was nothing unusual. No interference of any sort." The System reported. "How did I fall asleep? I don''t believe I was that tired or anything." Jin asked but the System only stated the time he slept. "Is something wrong? Your vitals are all over the place." Pei asked via the bracelet in a worried voice for once. "I¡­I do not know. Perhaps I just had a very bad dream." Jin said as he noticed that the taxi was driving into an isolated side road. "Hmm, the GPS said it should be a few hundred metres ahead. Do you know where are you going, Sir?" The driver asked as he looked unsure where he was going but continued to follow the GPS. "Honestly, I am not sure. My colleague told me its a temple or something?" Jin still remembered the details of the dream and see if it matches with the ''real life'' version. "Really? Well, this is my first time coming here. I have no idea what- oh¡­you are right. There''s a temple." The taxi went up to the slope and saw the standard Guardian Lion statues that were guarding the temple main gates. "Looks awfully run down and broken though." The uncle gave his own assessment of the place. "and burnt too." "Well, yeah. My colleague just told me to come here. You can stop further up front." Jin said as he prepared his payment to the taxi driver. "Hmm, if you need a ride back within an hour or so, do not hesitate to message me via the app, I believe I should be nearby taking a break. Else, I will be going back after that." The uncle hoped that he could earn Jin''s business again since it was quite a far trip from where he was. The money would be good. "You do not have to. We will send him back." A well dressed young man in his twenties said when he overheard the conversation between Jin and taxi driver as he opened the gates of the temple. "Ah, alright then. Have a nice day, Sir." Even though the driver was irritated by the arrogance of that well dressed person, he was still courteous to Jin and bid him goodbye. "Go in, don''t waste any more time." A separate attendant from the lady Jin saw at his store had spoken to him as he snobbishly told Jin to enter. "Do not expect us to give you any preferential treatment just because you are acquainted with Grandma Yuan." He said out loud as he closed the temple main gates with just a push. Jin noticed that aside from the front temple gates, the temple structure was similar to his dream when he fought with the White Tiger of the West, except that its exterior was badly burned. And like those shounen anime he watched, there were a few teenagers spread out around the central courtyard sitting and observing his every move. Grandma Yuan was at the centre of them all as she sat on a rather lavish looking chair in the middle of the courtyard. "You got the message, that means you are finally a Grade 8?" Grandma Yuan asked rhetorically and the other teens sniggered at her sentence. "Just a Grade 8? So old and yet so incompetent." One of the boys in a fancy suit was looking at his phone. "Stop it! There''s probably a reason why Grandma Yuan chose him." The girl with plaited hair from afar waved at Jin as she replied to the boy. "Have more respect to Grandma Yuan who is in front of you!" The supposed attendant in a well dressed suit shouted at the two teens while there was the last lady with long hair sitting on a tree branch who did not bother to respond. "Yes, Grandma Yuan. What is the meaning of this?" Jin asked and the others chuckled again. Grandma Yuan smacked her stick once and suddenly everyone kept quiet. "I am afraid I have to test you first before I can reveal any information." Grandma Yuan replied as she nodded her head once and the four cultivators around him immediately went ahead to ambush Jin. "Survive for 30 seconds and we shall talk more." Chapter 439 Thirty Seconds There was no time for any argument. The moment Grandma Yuan declared that Jin had to survive, it turned into the longest 30 seconds that Jin would ever feel in his lifetime. "Rong! Coming forth!" The boy who appeared to be in his late teens shouted as he portrayed his cultivation with five Ox silhouettes above him. However, what Jin could see was that they were not ordinary Oxen at all. "Demons!" Jin expressed his shock as he saw the Ox Demon had four protruding horns, two large and two small. The body of the Ox Demon was covered with massive thick strands of hair as if one had just woken up from bed. Underneath that gigantic hair like fur, it had hooves that were similar to a bird''s claws, as if it was used to catch humans. "That is right, I wield the cultivation style of Ox Demon, Ao Ye!" Rong shouted as he summoned out a large hammer from his storage ring and prepared to slam it at Jin mercilessly. However, the dungeon supplier was quick enough to dodge it, clinging on to an inch of his life, but that was also when the next challenger came in to strike him. It was the girl who had been talking to Rong before Grandma Yuan issued the challenge. "Lian. Striking from behind!" The girl with plaited hair announced her name as she revealed a cultivation of six fox silhouettes above her. This was the most familiar demon that Jin recognised almost immediately, the Nine Tailed Fox Demon. "Very interesting. Not many people can handle the constant trickery of the Nine Tailed Fox Demon. You have to watch her out the most, she will not show you her best attacks until the end." Kraft whispered in Jin''s head even though that was insufficient to distract him. Jin whipped out Bam, in katana form and tried to stop her claw attack from inflicting any damage. Even though he knew that he should have blocked the attack just now with the back of his scabbard, he somehow could feel a slashing sensation on his body. Jin could not verify if he were bleeding as there was no time to, especially when the next demon cultivator came towards him. "Su Zhen. On your left." A whip secretly wrapped around him while Jin was still busy blocking Lian''s attack. This particular cultivator portrayed one large white snake silhouette above her. He roughly knew that a large silhouette meant that the cultivator had at least ten grades on them, and even had attained spiritual union. But did she really attain a spiritual union with a white snake demon or with white snakes in particular? Jin did not know and had no time to think and could only react. He swiftly cut off the whip upon making a body flipping twirl via Panda Rolling with Bam. However, upon cutting, the broken white whip on Jin''s right hand turned into a snake trying to crawl up his arm, as if looking to bite his neck. Thus, Jin quickly released a burst of his Black Panda Fire which thoroughly burnt the snake, revealing his one of his trump cards to the demon exorcist trainees. Su Zhen gave a visible ''tsk'' as she retracted her whip. In a few short seconds, the whip regained its original shape. "Interesting. A type of fire that can actually destroy Su Zhen''s snake whip. That I have to give credit. However, you shall now die by my sword. Lein! Meet your match!" Lein shouted at Jin as he jumped in the air, and the clouds turned partially dark for a moment as a flash of lightning imbued his sword. Similar to Su Zhen, a large silhouette of a Qilin, a unicorn like demon came out above Lein''s head. "Intermediate Sword Technique, Thunderclap of the Qilin!" Lein shouted as he struck his sword down hard and fast at Jin. "Panda Rolling!" Jin was unable to completely dodge out of the way in time judging from the amount of area damage that particular technique Lein was using might have. However, he needed to use Panda Rolling to at least get into a position to defend himself. "Note to self, get a fast reacting defensive skill!" Jin thought to himself. Jin assumed that there was no need to use White Panda Ice despite of the grade that Lein was in. The lightning infused sword clashed into Jin''s katana and the impact made the surrounding ground caved in. "What the hell?!!" Jin thought to himself as he was sure that a Grade 10 shouldn''t be as strong as what Jin was experiencing. Was the power gap that high from a Grade 8 to 10? Even so, Jin had fought grades higher than himself, and he attained spiritual union which was why Jin did not expect the disparity in strength to be so unequal. Lein gave a wide smirk as if he wished to execute another technique, but it appeared that Jin had more battle experience than Lein, allowing the dungeon supplier to open his mouth and shoot a beam of chi energy from it. Lein had to swirl his body to the side to dodge it and his teammate Rong covered his flank by initiating a hammer swing straight to Jin''s chest. Because Jin was too focus on bringing down Lein, he did not see Rong coming, causing him to eat the slam of the hammer. Su Zhen then took the opportunity to grab Jin by the neck with her whip while Lian dashed in for the final blow. "Stop." Grandma Yuan said as she banged her stick on the ground again, and Jin was centimetres from death. "29.6 seconds to immobilise him and reach for the kill. You kids have more to learn." The bespectacled female assistant in office wear who Jin had previously seem and made contact with was right beside Grandma Yuan and spoke out loud to the teens. "If it takes you this long to kill him, you all better practice more." Grandma Yuan berated them as she commanded Su Zhen to release the whip. "As for you, Jin. You failed to uphold our bargain." "How the hell, did I know that I will be-" "NO EXCUSES!" Grandma Yuan shouted with chi infused into it, which caused the rest of the teens to immediately kneel in front of Grandma Yuan with their heads lowered. "If you do not wish history to repeat itself. You better learn to be much stronger!. And why are you holding your punches back? You think that just because they are kids and probably lower in rank than you, that you can afford to go easy on them?! You saw how two of them had higher grades than you!" "But I¡­" Jin was speechless as he stood right in front of Grandma Yuan. "No Buts. I understand why you do not wish to use ''that'' in front of them. Still, does that mean your self defence ability is this weak? What if they were indeed the very same assassins that came to your shop? All your work would have gone down the drain!" Grandma Yuan scolded Jin. "I am sorry." Jin had no other words to say. "Claire. Bring this guy into the Isolation Ward. Jin. I will only give you one more chance to redeem yourself. Three Days. No one will disturb you. In three days, you will duel with all of my students once more in a one on one match. Either you kill them all, or you receive zero help from me." Grandma Yuan stated as she nodded her head towards Claire, the lady secretary right beside her. Claire understood what needed to be done and told Jin to follow her. With a slight push, she opened what seemed to be a hefty iron door which Jin was amazed at her strength. There was no revelation of her cultivation to Jin, and as he walked past the gates, he also tried to casually push the other side door with his usual strength. It did not budge a single bit. He sighed at the discovery of these group of people and quietly followed Claire behind. In the meantime, he did feel some sort of d¨¦j¨¤ vu coming from the temple interior d¨¦cor. While it was not precisely the same, the temple that Ming created in his dreams, had many similarities to it¡­ if not the exact same designs. There was silence throughout the entire walk as Claire brought him underground, and it was several floors below where he eventually noticed a sort of trapdoor at the edge of the basement room. Claire mumbled some words which he did not recognise, but they caused the trap doors to open for it to reveal a room void of light. "Jump in, it is approximately 50 metres deep. There are no stairs, no food or water and only a small hole at the right end for you to relieve yourself. The¡­erm stench might be a bit strong, but you will get used to it immediately." Claire said as she took a flare from her storage ring, lit it up and threw it into the Isolation Ward "Exactly three days from the moment I close this door. That is the time when I will come to retrieve you. While I will usually say that this is your last chance to back out. You have that ''thing'' with you. Whether you choose to keep yourself confined or escape from this place, its none of my business." Claire seemed to be aware that Jin had the System with him. "In the isolation room, there is a sensory inscription charm. It will activate to send us a signal when it senses that you are not in there. Should that happen for whatever reason, we will assume that you forfeit your right to speak with Grandma Yuan to learn about the matters of the Demon Exorcists." Claire explained as she relayed the wishes of her boss. "Till then, as I said, whatever you do inside the isolation ward is none of my business." Claire reiterated and waited for Jin''s reply. "I understand." Jin realised Grandma Yuan was at least prepared to counter Jin''s way of escaping and therefore decided to go into the isolation ward of his own free will. Claire banged the door shut even before Jin reached the bottom of the lit flare. "I guess it''s time to formulate my own strategy against those demon exorcists trainees¡­ heck they might even be the real demon exorcists." Jin thought as he quickly went into the cultivation stance to recover the wounds he had. ¡ª¡ª After Jin left the courtyard, Grandma Yuan stared at the four teens that were still kneeling down in front of her. They heard the entire conversation and knew that they had to fight with this Jin once again. And this time not only would it be one on one, but he would also be prepared. "As for you kids. If any of you lose, you will be resurrected. However, anyone who loses, no matter if Jin defeats all of you or not, will have to work under him until you paid off your debts to me before you can kneel before me again. Like I said, fight to the death or no more teachings from me!" Grandma Yuan announced her orders to them out of the blue, and the teens immediately spoke out rackets of rejections. "Why?! He is just a nobody! It was a fluke that he could dodge and block our attacks! You saw how we managed to get him in the end!" Su Zhen tried to refute and the others chimed in as well. "Silence! I told you guys to bring him down in 20 seconds. You all took 9.6 seconds more because you severely underestimated him. How many times have I told you not to waste time talking with the enemy?! ¡­ Three days later will also be your only chance for redemption." Grandma Yuan said. The teens understood how strict Grandma Yuan was and reluctantly nodded their heads as they began to leave the temple ground to go to their respective training areas except for Lein. Grandma Yuan told him to stay for a private conversation. "Did you see his intent to kill when he shot you that beam of chi energy?" Grandma Yuan asked Lein, who was all proud and arrogant in front of the disciples, suddenly trembled badly and nodded his head. "The others have yet to experience it first hand because he was still holding back his abilities but when he sensed that his life was in danger from your attack, that intent to survive¡­that intent to kill. Now, do you understand that this is what you will feel if you ever go out to fight real demons?" Grandma Yuan became slightly gentle in front of Lein despite her strict demeanour. "Three days later, you will notice that his intent to kill and survive will still be the same¡­ Perhaps even more terrifying. If you think you have seen it all from your training, you are sorely mistaken. You might have the skill and talent, but if you cannot overcome that fear of striking him down for good, I suggest you drop out of training." Grandma Yuan warned Lein. "You can pass that message to the others, though I doubt they will understand until they experience it during the heat of battle." Grandma Yuan added before dismissing Lein. Claire returned by the time she finished lecturing Lein, and she was enjoying the calming tea that was placed right beside her. "Hmm¡­I still think Jin''s girl brewed a better tea." Grandma Yuan said casually which Claire apologised immediately. "Nah, it''s fine. Do not blame yourself, she is a natural. That''s all." "I see¡­so are you really going to make them fight to the death?" Claire asked as a sort of concern. She herself had undergone a similar trial. It was the norm for Demon Exorcists to have to go through a selection process that included death. The teens had learned about this when they first picked up the mantle as apprentices, but whether it got into their heads was a different issue. "Perhaps¡­but you know, Jin is a dungeon supplier and with the System too. So¡­" Grandma Yuan did not finish her sentence. Claire chuckled. "You''ve changed. Perhaps for the better, Madam¡­" Claire bluntly stated her thoughts. "You cheeky fellow. Since when you can talk back to me like this. Haha!" Grandma Yuan said as she closed the lid to the teacup she was drinking reminiscing a little on Lynn''s brewed tea. But when Claire assisted her, Grandma Yuan snapped out of it and they returned back to Tiangong District for the time being. Chapter 440 Flirting for Information "Thank goodness the mousefolk still had some currency with them." Meomi said in her bald headed disguise as they passed through the Demon Rat checkpoint and into the middle sized town called Uote. "Heh, it was free anyway, why bother negotiating with them, Flame Ripper?" Sebastia asked as she played with the coin they ''paid'' to the guards that had the Demon Rats scrutinising them from afar. "I totally forgot that you were well versed with coin tricks¡­" Flame Ripper sighed as they surveyed the bleak condition the town was in. Ever since the Demon Rats infested the entire northern region, they had maintained the strictest restriction in that area since that was where the so called home base was. The Farm Rats did attempt to spread further down to the rest of the land, but the main issue was the ocean. They were unable to cross the bodies of water, and the northern military, or what was left in the Farming World had fiercely protected the remaining port towns. So, unless the Scholar of the North and South had decided to personally bring the viral demon plague infestation to the other parts of the world, this was the last known spot where Gold, the previous Scholar of the East had seen the plague. This was precisely why Gold sorely needed information. He wanted to know if the Demon Rats had control outside of the northern region. If there were, it would seem even more disastrous than he could imagine, and it would potentially change how Jin should confront the situation. "You seem to like the bald disguise a lot? Does it remind you of someone?" Sebastia asked as they managed to check into an Inn to stay for the night. The scouting team had been on the road for two days straight with their light footed spell before they reached Town Uote. By the time they arrived, it was already in the evening. "Yes. My father." Meomi did not mince her words as she unpacked her items in the small room they rented. (Which, of course, was being paid with the same coins that ''magically'' found itself again in Sebastia''s hands.) "I see, I shall not probe any further then," Sebastia said as she also began to change out into her proper combat gear. "Rendezvous in 30 minutes at the top of the town''s clocktower when the sun is down. Get food if you need to and if possible some information." Flame Ripper instructed as he was already draped in an all black attire. With just a quick peek out of the window, he disappeared like the wind. "I will be off too." Meomi subsequently followed Flame Ripper''s way of exiting the room and disappeared even before Sebastia could deliver a reply. "Guess, I am the only one using the old fashion way of collecting information." Sebastia took some perfume out from her backpack and sprayed it all around her. She also adjusted her combat gear to make sure her ''erogenous'' areas were well endowed. With her new disguise from the cosmetic inscription as well as a magical ring of truth which Peppers imbued to get information easily, she believed things would go well. However, the ring only had a fixed amount of charges in it, and hopefully, Sebastia was able to get the information without using it.) The inn had a bar that served food and beer on the first floor too, as such she decided to try her luck getting information first. "Urgh, the atmosphere seems to be the same no even in other worlds." Sebastia thought the moment she got down from her room to the first floor. Every guy in that bar turned to see the badass beauty they caught a glimpse of when they initially entered the inn. Even the innkeeper was staring at her and prolonged the checking in procedure just to talk to her. That was also why Sebastia had decided to try to get the information from them. She might not be as convincing as Kiyu, but she believed decades of experience with Lord Moloch would prove to be sufficient. (What''s a few decades to a demonised Minotaur in the Dungeon World?) "Jackpot." Sebastia smiled to herself when she was all along in the bar, already enjoying the free drinks from the lecherous bartender when a rugged, tough looking guy talked up towards her. All that in less than 10 minutes. "You seem alone, young miss. That bald guy and little kid your family?" The stranger asked though Sebastia continued to pay more attention to her drink than him. "Clients. I am here to chill out." Sebastia answered eventually as she took a sip from her drink. However, she also performed the sipping as sexual as could be, arousing the tough guy to get his utmost attention. "Hmm, maybe I can assist you in your chilling out. That is if you get my drift." The stranger came closer to her as if to check her out even more. He could clearly see her sensuous volume of fats staring at him back right at his face, and the stranger was trying his best to control himself in front of the crowd. "Perhaps. That is if you can answer my question. If you can satisfy my curiosity¡­ maybe I won''t mind the company." Sebastia played the ''hard to get'' part rather smoothly, and it already made the stranger swallowing his saliva. "What do you wish to know?" The tough guy went even closer, caressing her arms. "What is the status of the Demon Rats around this area? Are they very active? Have they invaded the seaports or spread to the other regions?" She asked directly to the point and suddenly the tough guy became not so tough. He quickly covered her and whisper to her ears. It was not a sign of flirting, but he was genuinely terrified. "Why are you asking all these questions? You should know anyone could be a spy. They are putting out generous rewards for anyone asking too much. If their collaborators catch you asking these kinds of stuff, they will imprison you for interrogation!" The stranger replied in a fairly panicked tone. Demon Rats. These two words were enough for his libido to hit rock bottom. Even the bartender who had been eavesdropping quickly moved away from her for his own sake. "Sounds even worse than I thought¡­" Sebastia thought to herself before she put up a smile. "I just need to know for my client. That bald guy needs to travel to the southern area to reunite with his family. He wants to know which seaport is still safe to travel. I also heard they would need to stop either at the East or West region before they proceed further down." "Ah¡­I thought you were one of the resistance members." The stranger said in a concerned manner when he realised the motive of Sebastia. "Recently, there had been too many raids on the outskirts of Uote. The rebels were conducting ambushes against the rats. The Jacks, I believe. Or what''s left of them anyway." "Heh, those Jacks? Aren''t they a miserable bunch of people, trying their best to thwart the peace that you guys have in town? "Sebastia was trying her luck to see if any of the resistance members were in the bar. She was also scanning around the crowd when she spoke ill of it. It was killing two birds with one stone by announcing her opinion out loud. Those that hated the rats would not be able to say anything much or at least pretend to not hear it. At that moment, she was also surveying the crowd of those who were looking for the very same people that she was looking for as well. The collaborators. Sebastia did not know how deeply rooted the collaborators were with the Demon Rats. The illusion of peace in this town was too fragile and fake. Everyone was just going on with their own lives as per normal while living in the fear of the Demon Rats. "You have not answered my question." Sebastia now took the initiative to whisper at the stranger''s ear and bit it lightly after she noted that there was a possibility for both collaborators and the rebels to be in the very same bar. "From¡­From¡­what I know, the¡­erm they could not pass through the defences at the major seaports and decided to stay inland conquering the entire Northern Region for themselves. They seem pretty satisfied with it." The tough guy said, and Sebastia furrowed her eyebrows as if she was in disbelief. "Why are they just satisfied with the Northern region?" Sebastia questioned as she took her shot of booze. "The northern region was supposedly the leading exporter of agriculture because of its rich and fertile lands for crops. Taking the farms away and you basically starve nearly half the of the world who relied on the food supplies." the stranger said and Sebastia asked how reliable was his information. "No shit, serious. I work as a sailor and am currently on home leave. If your client needs a boat ride, I can ask my captain to provide you with a space to travel to the south. There was no such news of ¡­them invading yet." The sailor confessed, and Sebastia knew it was true. The magical ring of truth needed to be in contact with the person to know that they were stating the fact, or at least what they seemed to know. Which was why Sebastia decided to act playful and bit on his ear to let the ring work its magic. In the meantime, she could deduce why the Demon Rats were satisfied with maintaining the northern region. If what the sailor said was true, by starving half the world would mean that the other regions would be fighting among themselves for food supplies. If that was true, the Demon Rats could have bid their time to attack them while they are at the weakest. Sebastia could not fathom that they would able to think of such a plan unless there was someone more intelligent leading them. "Well, the night is still young, I''m going to walk around a little. Perhaps I will visit you later in the night¡­when it''s less crowded." Sebastia teased him before she gave her coin to the bartender. "Extra, to keep both of your lips wet." Sebastia winked and the bartender poured a cup for both the sailor and himself to steady their nerves. (Little did he knew the coin was gone the moment he kept it.) "I got to meet up with Flame Ripper and Meomi to see what they know." Sebastia thought to herself as she walked out of the inn and went via the back alley since the clocktower was behind the inn. However, not even five minutes later, there were multiple footsteps behind her. The minotaur maid did not expect actions of either the rebels or collaborators to be that fast. She did what every person who was being followed would do. Walk faster and then run until she found herself in a dead end. The mob were panting trying to get her but seeing how they finally surrounded her, they took out their hidden weapons like knives, daggers and even wooden clubs, "We heard that you saying bad things about the Jacks and asking about the whereabouts of the Demon Rats. What are you exactly planning? To spread more of the plague? To be a collaborator? Who is your client?" A person with strands of silver hair came forward among the mobs. "We do not tolerate those who support the Demon Rats." "Sigh, just when I thought I can give someone a good thrashing," Sebastia said, and she stared down the entire group with a menacing aura. While it seemed apparent that they were the rebel group, especially the one right in front of her, she needed further verification to prove that they could be trusted. "I know where Gold is. Heard that he is not in a very good shape. My bald headed client seemed to have had fun bullying him at times." Sebastia smirked as she spoke half the truth out. Suddenly, the eyes of the guy in Silver Hair grew wide, and he tore his cloak away in anger. The growling sound got louder and louder. The rest followed suit and Sebastia licked her lips. "Oh, thy thank our Lord and Almighty System for being kind and benevolent. I shall guide the helpless to your arms." Sebastia prayed as she stretched and readied her palms against them. Chapter 441 Silver Mage "You should pray to your lord that you will be granted a swift death if you do not tell us where Gold is!" The silver haired leader had already transformed into a silver furred werejackal, probably correlating to the name that he has. "Funny, he mentioned a Silver before. Seeing you are a silverish werejackal¡­Am I correct in assuming you are that Silver?" Sebastia was confident upon having fought against Gold and his other werejackals that the werejackals in front of her would be no match. She did not even bother using her coin speciality and raised her palms out, asking them to come at her as a taunt. "Perhaps, I should bring you to my client too." Needless to say, the entire group of werejackals took the bait rather quickly after hearing Gold''s name. Sebastia did not need to provoke them any further to harm her. Defeating them and thereby be under the System''s control, would definitely aid to serve her purpose. Besides, it saved Sebastia fewer explanations and a quick reunion with his cousin, Gold would do the job. "I must say, you guys definitely know your basic tactics for combat." Sebastia was still standing at ease seeing the werejackals attacking from all angles since this was a dead end with blocks of buildings surrounding them and her being at the centre. Silver dashed straight like an arrow while the other werejackals pounced up, moved to the sides and even tagged behind him to initiate a follow up attack. Two werejackals also ran a bigger round so that they could strike from the back of Sebastia, making sure that she had no place to run. But she did not need to run at all. Her martial techniques had gone up several levels after she studied the various ways of cultivations manuals which used Wing Chun as a base. Sebastia might not have any chi to practice such techniques, but that did not mean that her inner demon powers were unable to help her achieve something similar. With the aid of the System as well as Bellator Zeru''s instruction in learning how chi works, Sebastia had adapted the chi techniques into her demon abilities, allowing her to simulate the chi techniques as her demon powers. Lord Moloch had tested her strength and deduced that it should be strong enough to be called a demon ability too. Thus, Sebastia had named those modified Wing Chun techniques as ''Martial Arts of the Demonic Minotaur''. "While I wish to compliment you more, I do not hope that those praises will go over your head. There are plenty of martial skills that could surpass the ones you created." Moloch stated as a matter of fact. "Do not worry, I will not lax in my training and continue to improve these martial arts skills as we level up together with Master Jin. But most importantly, I will not let you down." Sebastia told Moloch straight to his face. "Aww. Don''t you make me blush. Silly." Sebastia still vividly recalled the scene and Moloch''s reply in her head as Silver rushed towards her. To her, even if she received a scratch from him, it would not do much harm at all, but that would hurt her pride being the strongest Minotaur Maid for Moloch. Thus, she deflected the straight thrust of his claw strike with her hand and swung him to the side, hitting another werejackal. In the next few seconds, all she did was brushing the werejackals off one by one as if they were flies desperately fluttering around her. (To be honest, even flies provide more challenge than these clumsy werejackals.) "Sad to say that your basic tactics cannot help you if you can''t even land a hit on your opponent. Please try again." Sebastia once again provoked the werejackals and Silver, citing that she had not warmed up from all the attacks. "You are asking for it. We were trying to be nice to you." Silver panted angrily as he clasped his hands together. The other werejackals knew what he was doing and proceed to distract Sebastia. "Sebastia, what is taking you so long? It''s past the allocated meeting time." Meomi asked in the secured channel. She heard some loud sounds from the south where the Inn was located and noticed that a few Demon Rat Guards had been alerted to it. "I''m a bit busy. You could say I''m preparing a special present for Gold." She replied while smacking a werejackal hard onto the floor that the contents of his skull leaked out. The others growl and howled at her upon seeing it, making Silver even angrier. "We hear distant sounds from the direction of the Inn. I assume that''s you and it seems you will have additional company very soon." Flame Ripper informed her as he took out his notebook and jotted down what he had observed the Demon Rats doing in the town. He believed that those rats were hierarchical in nature. Instead of personal power, ranks played a part since he saw some weaker rats commanding big hulky ones. "That means either someone is pulling the strings or they are sentient with some level of intelligence. The steampunk technology they put together also indicated they might have rats smart enough to create inventions." Flame Ripper discussed his findings with Meomi at the clocktower. "I don''t remember Gold, your knights or even you mentioning something like that before. Did they showcase such behaviour when those rats invaded your town?" Flame Ripper asked while he also observed the reactions of the townsfolk seeing the guards. "No. They did not have Steam Tech at the time. The Demon Rats were not a single bit organised. Just crazy monster rats biting anything that moved. I thought that it was only that particular battalion would have those Steam Techs, but it seems things have changed a lot after Master Jin captured us." Meomi quietly watched the movements of the rats from the top of the clocktower too. The same kind of rats they saw in the battalion fight, were rushing in doves to Sebastia. In the meantime, Sliver had finished powering up his magical energy to infuse it into the shape of a sphere, the standard kind of energy bolt or ball in this case. (At the very least, it''s glittering with silver energy.) The werejackals knew what was at stake and risked their lives to hold on to Sebestia. "Now taste the fury of the Silver Mage!" Silver announced as he had strained his lifeforce to create this silver ball of magical rage. "Really? That is all Gold taught you? He must be either too busy to teach you properly or thinks that you do not have a single shred of talent to do it properly." Sebastia continued to harass Silver even though she was ''pinned'' by the werejackals "At least we know that you would not be surviving to tell him your opinion!!" Silver said as he ran towards the Minotaur Maid with every ounce of strength he had. "What a joke. Enough playing around. The Rats are coming." Sebastia was still calm and serene despite the situation. "I do not give a damn!" Silver smashed the energy ball into Sebastia''s chest armour as the energy engulfed her upper half of the body. The Werejackals were doing their best to hold her despite the heat they experienced from the energy blast. "Hmm, no doubt that you guys are serious about Gold and have the will too," Sebastia said out loud. "But at this rate, you will not be a help to him. More of a burden. Time to end this." Just a twitch of her muscles and she was able to break free from the werejackals'' hold. "Demonic Minotaur Martial Art. Drawing The Full Moon, Dividing The Watermelon!" Sebastia shouted as she moved her arms as if she drew a full round circle with her arms, throwing all the werejackals into mid air and with a slash from her hand. All of them including Silver were cut in half. Fountains of blood spilt all over the back alley, as if it was raining body parts from the sky. Silver could barely comprehend the situation and only realised that he had messed up fighting with this formidable opponent. "No wonder¡­Gold was captured by her client¡­" Silver saw the hordes of Demon Rats running into the scene as he breathed his last breath and fell from Sebastia''s Demonic Minotaur Martial Arts. "What happened here?" The Demon Rat Guards used a human collaborator as their mouthpiece to relay their messages. "Just killing a few rebels. You can have a look for yourself, just that the parts are everywhere." Sebastia raised her hand up in innocence. The human collaborator walked right up to the dead werejackals and confirmed what the beautiful lady saying was true. "It checks out. It''s the Silver Mage and his rebel mates." The human collaborator said out loud to the Demon Rat in charge of the horde behind it. The rat then chattered his teeth, which seems like only the Human collaborator understood what it was saying. "The Captain of the Uote Demon Guards says that you did good. Strong and Beautiful. What kind of reward do you want?" The human collaborator asked in lieu of the captain. Suddenly, Sebastia had a wondrous plan in mind which would make their work in finding the resistance so much easier. "I want information on the rebels. I want to kill them all for you. And, of course, I want to know what you are talking, not indirectly talking to this pile of shithead." Sebastia demanded, and the Demon Rat Captain looked like it was deep in thought for a moment. Then it beckoned at the annoyed human collaborator by snapping its fingers. "Yes, Captain? What do you-" A clean cut to his neck was performed the next moment, making his head roll down like a basketball. Blood spewed spontaneously which made the rats at the back of the captain giggling in delight. It looked like they also had had enough of that boot licking human collaborator. The Demon Rat Captain then picked a transmitter from the ears of the dead human collaborator and carefully passed it to Sebastia. She shook it a little to remove any scattered blood before blowing and putting it on her ear. "Can you understand me now?" The Demon Rat Captain asked which she nodded her head firmly. "You did good. You say you want to kill more rebels? I give you a chance. Intelligence said that Silver Mage was planning to meet a resistance group to pass them the Jacks'' aid package. We found out that they will meet them at the outskirts of Uote Town, right beside the windmill." The Captain gave the information out freely. "Hmph, why kill all when you can leave one alive to know where their hideout is?" Sebastia smiled wackily, and the Demon Rat Captain was stunned momentarily before laughing. The others behind follow suit too. "You good! You good! I''m starting to like you! If you can do what you are assigned to do, kill all, leave one. We will give you lots of rewards. Good food, Good men. Good money." The Demon Rat Captain speech became more monotonous as compared to the first speech. "I smell some trace of magic before he laughed. Felt like death¡­perhaps necromancy magic." Meomi said as she already turned into her werecat form ready to attack the Demon Rats until Sebastia offered herself to kill more rebels. "System, can you aid us to trace the magic source?" Flame Ripper asked and suddenly Meomi rubbed her nose. "Follow me, I think the System just enhanced my sense of smell." The werecat said as she climbed down the building and followed the trace as much as she could. "I will continue with their plan since it is beneficial for us to have information too." Sebastia spoke in the secured channel before talking back to the Demon Rats. "Those rewards do not entice me. Let''s just say I want to be the best Rebel Hunter you''ve ever seen. What do you think of that?" "Hahahaha! You good! I like you more and more! You kill rebels, I will introduce you to more Captains! They love Rebel Hunting too!" The Demon Rat Captain answered with a laugh and Sebastia smiled with glee. "Then what are we waiting for? Get one of your rats to show me the way! I will ambush them instead!" Sebastian replied which made one of the Demon Rats, apparently a scout, lead the way to the rumoured meeting place in advance. "Those rats, they won''t even know what hit them." Sebastia licked her lips again as she trailed behind the fast moving Demon Rat Scout. Chapter 442 Isolation Ward The lit flare which Claire threw in eventually went out, and it became evident that there were no other ways to get in or out except the door Jin had used to enter this place. Aside from being dark and damp, he noticed a lot of battle marks on the walls. All the dents, cuts and bits of broken wall on the side of the corners were indicative that he was not the first occupant in this Isolation Ward ever. "So ehh kinda like solitary confinement for like three days?" "Not very solitary when you have the System with you if you ask me." Pei came out as she snapped her fingers out and lit the entire isolation ward with a bright warm light. "Now, this is a story that people could have failed to see." Pei paced herself a little while she noticed the pictographs on the wall. Kraft appeared as well and with his phone started taking a video of the entire place. "Looks like a lot of history that had been going on in this room," Kraft commented and saw¡­a very peculiar picture at the upper side of a wall. "Heh, I kind of figured that he would appear here." "Hmph, just the picture alone is enough to spoil my mood the moment I saw that face." Pei spat at the wall even though her saliva spit was too far away from that picture. "You are lucky I can control myself as compared to last time." She returned into the bracelet without any warning. "Who''s he?" Jin asked as he walked up to have a closer look. "The one person none of the foxes will ever forget." Kraft sighed as he stopped the video and kept his phone. "Panda Lord Zhou Lin." "EX! Jin is now our Master!" Pei shouted via her bracelet with much hatred still brewing inside her. "He''s a Demon Exorcist too?" Jin could only fathom that much from the pictographs. "On the contrary. He is the one all Demon Exorcists were after. You know, like the Last Boss kind of thing? Not every one that held the System is kind and benevolent¡­ or as lazy as a certain someone was at the start." Kraft said as if it was a dark history for the System and the bellators. "Care to explain more?" Jin asked as he continued to look at the pictographs around Zhou Lin''s panel. "Do you really think now is the right time for a history lesson?" Kraft folded his arm and asked. "¡­You are right, I was distracted for a little. Every second should count." Jin replied, but even though he was willing to train, he had no idea how to start. As one of the few capable of reading his mind, Kraft sighed and shook his lowered head. "Seriously, buck up, dude. What happens if there comes a time, we won''t be able to look after and protect you? What happens if we should cease to exist or even worse everyone will be against you? While friends and allies are great and stuff, in the end, the one person you will be able to count on at all times, is yourself." Kraft''s feedback to Jin made the latter start to ponder, and the former gave him one last chance to think for himself before he gave his aid. Jin did come up with a few ways, but he wasn''t sure how effective any of those methods would aid him. Still, he would just give it a try since Jin was guessing that Grandma Yuan''s reason for placing him in isolation was so that he could train with his System without the other demon exorcist trainees peeking at him. He also believed it also ensured that he spent the time training rather than worrying about the shop. "If that is the case¡­" Jin searched in his storage for one particular item. The item that might potentially support him since the System was unable able to help Jin with him being far away from his home base. The large sphere of sludge. "Ah, good. I was thinking of that too." Kraft sniggered evilly before continuing. "So what do you plan to do with it?" "You saw it yourself. One of them is a Nine Tail Fox¡­ You are a Fox ¡­master, tamer¡­.collector¡­ I don''t exactly know. All I know you are a bellator with foxes! You got to know something about the Nine Tail Fox Demon." Jin said before realising that he was asking for a request. "I figured if I can against a demon, I might understand how their fighting patterns would be." "¡­Please help, Kraft." Jin bowed a little to show some respect to him. "Hmm¡­That attitude, I don''t dislike it." Kraft replied as he summoned Ixel, Itori and Ixa, His three main battle offensive foxes. "Combine with the sludge and fight with Jin. There''s no need to hold back too much. I''ll ask Milk to place a near death barrier for him so he will not have to die and waste resources resurrecting." "Aye Aye! I heard my name." Milk appeared as commanded by the Original Bellator of the System. "Sorry Jin, but you will end up in lots of pain. But pain is good for you to grow, okay? After everything is over, I shall let you sleep on my lap." Milk winked at Jin as she cast an Epic Level spell called Critical Survival Barrier. As the name suggested, it would allow Jin to survive even the most severe of hits by the three foxes. It was similar to a video game cheat where the player would forever have 1hp no matter how much damage was done¡­or until the barrier protecting it disappears. "Do you really think it''s a good idea for the sludge to consume your foxes?" Jin asked in a worried tone. "Awww, like I say. Think about yourself right now." Kraft tilted his head towards the sludge and Jin could see that the three foxes had already merged with the sludge, producing a Three Tailed Fox Demon. "From my analysis, even though she possessed a Grade 6 Nine Tailed Fox Demon cultivation above her, her true strength isn''t even on par to a true One Tailed Fox Demon no matter her appearances. Yet, her skills and techniques seem to be genuinely coming a Nine Tailed Fox Demon." Kraft explained. "So, if you can survive against this Three Tailed Demon, you should be able to defeat her pretty easily." Kraft whistled upon finishing what he had to say, and the Three Tailed Demon shot a projectile of dark looking energy beam at Jin, similar to Panda Yawning. It was lucky that Jin was able to dodge in time and saw that the wall was already burning from the beam attack. The Three Tailed Demon did not give any quarter and already zoomed past Jin as he was distracted by the burning aftermath of the beam attack, causing him to be slashed at the stomach. If not for the living armour plates activated in time, he would already have an open belly, spilling the guts out for everyone to see. "Ahh, I forgot that you have those living armour plates. Shall I keep them for you?" Kraft asked courteously, but Jin hesitated about giving up his only type of armour. Since he did not respond immediately, Kraft snapped his finger once. At that point, Pei''s bracelet began to glow, attracting the Living Armour Plates towards it, and that was also the time she absorbed all the plates into her bracelet. "We''ll return them to you after the three days. Like Milk said, for now, you have to suffer." Pei told him via his thoughts. "Grandma Yuan already said it. Use everything in your disposal! Well, except for those plates. But I know that you have a habit of keeping a trump card in case an opportunity arises from nowhere. However, life does not work like that! You already experienced it first hand how the pathetic kids ambushed you!" Kraft commented from the side as the Three Tailed Fox Demon swiped Jin to the ceiling of the Isolation ward with just a tail swipe. "Sure, you don''t use the System. That one should be left as your ultimate trump card. And since that''s the case, use more of your other skills! Or else you are disrespecting the enemy and putting yourself in unnecessary danger!" Zeru suddenly appeared and scolded his disciple as the Three Tailed Fox Demon jumped and smashed its head when Jin barely recovered from hitting the ceiling. "Fuck!!!" Jin coughed out blood from the attack and quickly used Panda Yawning to his best ability, hoping to hit the Three Tailed Fox Demon. However, the beam needed time to charge and with the pain he was filling, he was unable to focus his beam out. The Three Tailed Fox Demon smirked as it used its hind legs to kick Jin who was still in midair into the side of the walls. However, this time Jin struggled through and used Panda Rolling to get out of harm''s way. Still, he could see that the Three Tailed Fox Demon floating in mid air, licking its paw. To the sludge infused fox, this was not a battle at all. Jin now understood what his master meant as he took Bam out and switched it to a bow. The fox demon was not stupid as it quickly dashed towards Jin to prevent him from even nocking the bow. "Panda Swipe!" Instead of nocking the bow, Jin waited for the fox to come close enough for him to unleash his Panda Swipe. Unfortunately, instead of the intended effect, the Three Tailed Fox Demon only flinched from the attack which surprised Jin as well. Thankfully the flinch was enough of a distraction. Jin was able to switch his tactics quick enough by transforming the bow into an axe and slashed it forward. It barely scratched the fox at all. Still, it gave Jin sufficient space to back away to take out his other weapon, Boo. The fox recovered from the attack and his three tails began to grow longer. Like living tentacles, the tails willingly moved to attack Jin from afar while the Fox Demon shot out an energy beam to strike the distracted Panda Cultivator. "¡­They are still just playing with him. Why does it feel like all the monsters he encountered were too underwhelming for him to practice." Kraft criticised as he looked at the fight from a corner with Zeru. "I assumed that upon reaching Grade 8, he would have improved his skills or techniques. Looks like he did not have much at all except for the whirlwind attack Ming taught him." Zeru commented to see how pathetic Jin was struggling against the Three Tailed Fox Demon. "Meh, can''t be helped. He was left out of the loop for most of his life. Then he focused more on his business in recent days and neglected his training. Not everyone is as diligent as yourself, training every day and night relentlessly. Give that kid a break." Kraft countered as the demon bit Jin on his left hand while he tried to defend himself. "A break? Coming from you? Looks like you are the one that turned soft. Not me." Zeru smiled and somehow that irritated Kraft, making him stare at Zeru intently. "You want to fight? Do you think I won''t be able to destroy you without those three kids at my side? Maybe it''s time to remind you what I can do on my own¡­" There was a tinge of murderous vibe coming from Kraft, and Zeru ignored him to defuse the situation. Another slash from the fox demon disfigured Jin''s face almost immediately but it also gave Jin the opportunity to slam his Boo in shield form at the fox demon. "Black Panda Fire!" Jin shouted, and from the shield, a small compartment opened, spewing out a surge of fire at the Three Tailed Fox Demon, causing it to burn. Somehow, Jin was feeling the adrenaline rush as blood continued to leak from his hand and face. The pain of the attacks was scorching, but there was no time to stop. Unfortunately, it''s precisely due to Milk''s Critical Survival barrier that the Three Tailed Fox Demon''s attack would not stop until Kraft said so. Hence, its either Jin obliterate it or suffered relentless attacks for 3 days straight before Milk could heal him up. "I must¡­press on¡­ Black Panda Fire!" Jin continued to spew the black Panda Fire, but the Fox Demon was smart enough to jump backwards and shot a beam of energy to counter the black fire from the shield. "White Panda Ice!'' Jin shouted as he imaged his chi to be near the Fox Demon and allowed it to materialise the Ice right beside his opponent. This was the first time he was trying this and had no idea it could work. Usually, the ice would appear from him since the chi flowed out from him. This time, because of his residue chi being rampant in this isolation ward, Jin tried to send more chi towards the leftover chi and hoped that through imaging his chi that way, the Ice shards would appear to strike the Fox Demon. It was a concept by the Western Mages since they already had concentrated mana or memorised spells which allowed them to store their mana before a combat fight. However, Jin was an Eastern cultivator and he could only try to replicate it. He never knew how successful it would be until now and one thing was for sure. The White Panda Ice shard projectiles did materialise. Chapter 443 Silvers Reunion "Where am I?" Silver woke up with the rest of his gang members in a very comfortable room setting. However, that feeling was shaken off the moment he saw an unusual decor architecture and modern looking machines with tubes all sticking onto him as if he and the other werejackals were being experimented on. "Awake? Feeling okay?" A bear looking humanoid was talking to Silver, and it was wearing some sort of white working suit, looking at a wooden board filled with papers. A piece of metal was in her paw, which she used to tap on it in a rhythm. Silver was unsure how to react in this situation. The one in front of him did not appear dangerous, but the tubes on his body made him want to resort to violence. Yet it all changed when he heard a snort beside his bed. "¡­Gold?" Silver saw his cousin Gold in his human form, dressed in clothes that were modest and convenient. Gold stood up and flicked Silver''s forehead. "You little rascal. Always so strong headed when you are supposed to lead by example." Gold scolded him. He folded his arms and told him to relax. "Those Pandas are just monitoring your vitals and checking if everything is alright for you. Consider this a sort of hospital." Gold said out loud for the others who were waking up or already awake. All of the werejackals immediately acknowledged his presence with a loud shout. "How do I know if you are not just pretending to be the Gold that we know?!" Silver still did not believe the person right in front of him was the real deal. "How? Simple. When you were just 17, you went behind Brown''s back and dated his sister. After all, not too long prior to that, you swore a supposed oath that you would be disfigured for life if you started dating her." Gold said it out, and his cousin kept quiet for a while before Gold turned and pointed to a random Werejackal. "You. I am sorry I can''t recall your name, but you assisted me in the Grand Library on the night of a half moon. I wanted to ditch work to see an opera play without people knowing, but you found me out. In the end, we made a deal. In exchange for your silence, I was to personally give you a one time lesson on basic magic. "Lord Scholar! You remembered!" The mentioned werejackal immediately went to his knees on the bed and bowed his head down. "And you. Argh, I hate to say this, but I did tell you that your Mother was smoking hot for her age. You even proposed to let me bang her if I let you access to the inner Archives of the Grand Library. You son of a-" "Lord Scholar! Please! No more!!" Instead of bowing with respect, it was more like the werejackal was bowing for forgiveness. "You want me to go on? I still have some dirt on the rest of them." Gold looked into the round and saw everyone practically begging him not to go on. Finally, he transformed himself into the werejackal that they all uniquely recognised. "Okay, okay! I get it now! We believe you! But there are so many questions in my head! How did we survive that attack? I remember seeing all of us getting dissected¡­ What exactly is this place? That long hair battle combat lady told us you were being tortured by her client! Everything just doesn''t add up!" Silver looked very confused, and Gold laughed before returning to his Human form. "Then there is much for me to tell you. But first, let me clear one thing up. None of you survived that attack. All of you were minced into pieces by her, Minotaur Maid Sebastia." Gold said as he told them to get changed the moment the Panda Nurses gave them the go ahead. He left the portal open to the Werejackals'' Home Instance. Slowly and surely, the werejackals entered through the portal entrance and saw a whole new sight where Gold was in as he sat on the large sofa. The fabulous mansions as well as other fellow werejackals that Silver presumed to be missing or worse, gone forever. "Silver!" Grey saw Silver entering through the portal and went to hug him once. "What is all this? I heard you disappeared with Gold after I was tasked to get Meomi to aid in some important business?" Silver was glad to see his buddy again. "Ahhh¡­Seems like Gold has yet to explain everything. Have a seat, I will get you something to drink." Grey replied as Brown was at the second level of the mansion shouting at Silver''s name as loud as he can. "YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU!!!" Brown jumped and threw a flying kick to Silver''s face. Initially, Silver thought he could evade the attack, but in a split second of realisation, he saw how fast Brown had become and was unable to dodge in time, receiving the kick in full. "How did you even hear what Gold said?!" Silver held on to his abdomen as Brown was still staring him straight in the face. "Wait, what did Gold say? I was just joking around." Brown looked at Gold innocently, and his leader only gave a shrug in reply. "What DID Gold say?!" Brown pulled Silver up with anger. "Chill! Calm down, Brown. I was just following with your joke!" Silver realising what was happening, tried to adapt as fast as possible. However, he could already feel more than beads of sweat running down his spine. If those were just prank punches, that meant Brown got stronger since the last time Silver saw him. In that case, it would mean real trouble if he got serious. "Oh. Dayum. Sorry, Bro. Welcome to your new life." Brown said as he bro hugged Silver (maybe a little too hard) and told him the same thing. To let Gold explain everything. The remaining werejackals discharged by the Panda Nurses minutes later were now sitting in the living room of a spectacular mansion. A sight they never saw in their lives. "First things first. I shall repeat this to get in your thick skulls. All of us in this room have died at least once." Gold said to clear that white elephant out of the room. "You guys have been killed by Sebastia who was ten times, if not maybe a hundred times stronger than all of you." "But instead of death, you have been given a second chance in life. It might sound ridiculous but you are now all immortal." Gold gave them a second to let it sink into them. "However, nothing in life comes free. We all have to serve someone that has a higher calling than the rest of us. You all have been resurrected to serve our new Master, Jin. He possesses a ¡­cosmic entity which pretty much defies the rules of magic or science." Gold continued on by telling them how the first batch of Werejackals were killed and a summary of the events they had gone through. After which, he brought the werejackals out and showed him the crops they had been making and explained to them that Jin was now working hand in hand with Gold along with the other werejackals to try and win back the Farming World. Or at least, annihilate the Demon Rats. "So¡­Sebastia killed us to save us?" Silver asked for a confirmation. "Pretty much. The last I heard was that she was going to kill the rebels that you were supposed to meet at the outskirts of Uote Town. She should probably be on her way there as we speak." Gold answered and suddenly Silver''s eyes were wide open. "No, no. You cannot do that! She will be facing very dangerous rebels!" Silver tried to explain when he found out how fucked up Sebastia would be. "What are you talking about? You saw how fast and easy she killed all of you. You do not have to worry." Gold countered. "No, Cuz, YOU do not understand! Because of the constant raiding by the rats, the Jacks were nearly decimated. Since I was the highest rank after your disappearance, I had to do something about it¡­ You remember the contact you gave us before you left us for good for this Jin person?" Silver asked to see if it jolts his memories, "What?! You contacted the Eastern Region''s Dark Templars? How stupid can you get?! I thought I told you not to mess with them. I gave you that particular contact only to send them the scroll of Therianthropy Mitigation Spell in return for some aid packages." Gold was furious at Silver''s actions. "If not for the basic right of every inhabitant of our world NOT to turn into a Demon Rat, I''d have never wanted to deal with them! They are just as bad as the Demon Rats, looking to conquer the Northern Region." "What choice did I still have?! Since the Eastern Region Dark Templars wanted to help us eradicate the rats, I considered it to be a win win situation for us! Besides, I''d rather have the Dark Templars rule us by taking our wealth away than our freedom which the rats did!" Silver retaliated back. "Was it¡­ that dire?" Gold calmed down and decided to give Silver some room to explain the current situation. "Ever since you left for that night, it was as if the Demon Rats knew exactly that you were away. They stormed the place with at least four battalions of troops. They brought heavy machinery, waiting outside to kill us all, burn us all. If not for the secret tunnel and escape route that you had created in advance we would have all perished." Silver recalled the painful memories. "Still, I barely managed to save a fourth of us. Afterwards, it only got worse. We were constantly raided resulting in further deaths. ¡­ Orange was killed and she is not coming back like I do!" Silver banged his fist at Gold''s chest in anger upon reminiscing the past. "Yet, you are here¡­growing your crops¡­trying to perfect your magic¡­serving some master!" "¡­No words can -" "THEN SHUT UP!!" Silver turned his fist into an uppercut attack but that blow did not even make Gold flinch a single bit. "Fuck! At least look injured!" "As a leader of the Jacks, I cannot show weakness to anybody." Gold said, but he grabbed onto Silver and moved him closer to his chest. "At the very least, cry and mourn while you can, right now, for the past comrades that served us well." Silver quietly teared in Gold''s embrace, and the other werejackals also kept their silence for these few moments. Gold knew that the Dark Templars should not be trifled with when he was alive in the Farming world. The Dark Templars were a cult of knights that had literally fallen from grace. Lords that did not pay their knights enough, the Dark Templars killed them. Lords who mistreated their knights as well as their citizens, the Dark Templars killed them. They believed they were the true wielder of justice, doing what was needed to be done for they were the judge and executioner of everything unjust in their eyes. That was why the infestation of the Demon Rats made them the prime target for the Dark Templars. They were the epitome of injustice and they would do anything to remove them¡­ but of course, for a price. Gold dealt with them before because they were the only few who dared to practice the dark arts. Thus, as a Scholar of the East, it was his responsibility to remain impartial to all, as long as they contributed their knowledge to the Grand Library. Ironically this was also why the Dark Templars favoured the Scholars of the Compass, for they saw the value of their knowledge more important than morals and ethics which the common folk judged them for. When Gold shared the mitigation spell with them to research and to see if their dark arts could be of any aid, they were extremely elated. They knew that the Scholar of the East would understand their ''justice'' in the dark arts they wielded. And now with nowhere else to go, Silver and the remnants of Jacks were forced to seek help from the Dark Templars to ask for assistance in rounding up the remaining resistance they had. But after Sebastia killed Silver and took his place to meet the vice commander of the Dark Templars, he was afraid that she was no match for him despite her demonstration of powers on the werejackal. "That is exactly why! You should inform that- erm Lady!" Silver warned Gold. "You know how they even have contracts with Demons to perform their dark arts." Gold laughed at both at Silver''s plea and current plight. "I am surprised how you are willing to help a person that just killed you." "Ehh, she let us learn the truth of your disappearance and also reunited us¡­ even if the process, according to you, could have been more peaceful." Silver said as he and the other werejackals agreed. "Then you do not have to worry. Instead, you should plan how you are going to explain the situation to the vice commander of the Dark Templars when he reaches here." Gold smirked at the situation that was about to go down. "For Sebastia is a being that the demons of our world should be afraid of." Gold said proudly in front of them. "I think." Except for the last part, which he quietly whispered in his head. Chapter 444 Awakening The white ice spears shot through the air and into the sludge body, causing the Three Tailed Fox Demon to let out a piercing scream. After which, its movement got even more erratic and aggressive too. The three tails acted independently from the main fox body, making Jin feel like he was fighting four enemies at once. It became even more challenging when the tails shot their own energy power beams at Jin. He was unable to block them entirely even when he transformed Boo into a bamboo shield. Block the attack to the chest? The fox demon would aim at his legs instead. If not for the Critical Survival Barrier, Jin would have lost his arms and legs many times over. (Not to mention his head too.) Thus, Jin tried to replicate the same trick with the White Panda Ice Spears since he was no longer able to move as quickly as in the beginning. However, the Three Tailed Fox Demon was smart enough to learn from its mistakes and destroyed the formation of the White Panda Ice Spears before Jin could even hurl it. "Cast faster, distract it or surprise it with something new. Else it will know that you are creating those shards. Remember, if you cannot beat a Three Tailed Fox, do not even think about defeating a Nine Tailed variant." Kraft lectured as he was still leaning on the side of the Isolation Ward with Zeru. "How do I cast faster when it does not allow me to cast in the first place!" Jin thought to himself as he got smacked by the fox''s paw on his shoulder, causing him to drop his guard because of the impact. That was when the fox demon went for a bite to Jin''s head. "Fuck it!" Jin used all his might and smashed his bloodied forehead onto Fox Demon''s mandible before it could go for the crunch of Jin''s skull. Surprisingly, that unremarkable move caused the demon to fall back momentarily to fix its crooked jaw, giving Jin the breather that he needed to recover. "Too hardworking." He suddenly heard a distant voice in his head. Was he hallucinating from the head bash? Did he lose too much blood? "Be lazier." The voice emerged again, and Jin could vaguely focus on it or the battle in front of him. "Be as lazy as a Panda. That is your cultivation." The voice was louder this time round, and Jin realised it was Ming''s. It took him a while to remember those were the things he said about his cultivation when he was training with his grandfather during the adventure trip that they took¡­and before he encountered the White Tiger of the West. "The Astral Panda Cultivation is meant to be cultivation for lazy people. Your yawn produces an energy beam, and your swipe generates a tremendous force at once. The Epic Art that I taught you was also a demonstration of laziness. Other cultivation styles need to be flashy and insert even more chi to reproduce the amount of destructive power in your Epic Art, the Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda. But all you needed was a swing of your hand to create that with a bit of imagination." Ming had explained. "So the same goes for your White Panda Ice and Black Panda Fire. They were also taken from other cultivations, and I had simplified its activation just for you. The Cultivation Manual did not explain much because it was supposed to be that straightforward. So stop thinking that much and let your body take over the fight." "Trust in the cultivation that I painfully designed for you both in manual and in person. Remember the number of grades that you reached was not by chance but by hard work. Combine your imagination with your powers, and they will become your skills." "For you are the Lazy Astral Panda Cultivator." Jin panted as his body slid down with the wall as his support. "Gramps, why are you lecturing me in flashbacks? Hahahaha." Jin whispered to himself as he continued to catch his breath though the fox demon was not done with the fight yet. "Since I cannot move my body a single bit, I shall listen to your advice. Be as lazy as possible." Jin said out loud, and it made Kraft and Zeru worried for a moment when the Three Tailed Fox Demon charged towards him. "Is this the end? Jin seems to be incapacitated from all the attacks." Zeru worried as he could only feel Jin''s chi aura in a mess instead of him concentrating to make a barrier. "Looks like it¡­ I will stop the foxes before they can deal any life threatening damage to Jin. At least it should be a valuable lesson for that kid too." Kraft said as he prepared to halt the berserk Three Tailed Fox Demon. Just when the two bellators thought it was the end, suddenly the fox demon who was a few centimetres away from Jin was being stopped from mauling him. The demon was then slowly being pushed away from Jin. "What is that?" Zeru saw that the massive chi aura seemed to produce some sort of silhouette in front of Jin. "¡­a Panda..?" "Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jin laughed when he finally comprehend the truth about the teachings of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Cultivation. The Panda silhouette in front of Jin was carrying Boo in shield form, protecting Jin from the attack. Both of his bellators were awestruck that they also began to laugh at the true awakening of Jin''s cultivation. "With his mind concentrated, purified and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to create a mind-made body." Zeru preached out a short modified quote from a Buddhist manuscript, Sama??aphala Sutta: the Fruits of the Contemplative Life. "What bullshit are you spouting? It''s obviously his mind switched off! Too lazy that it attained the state of not giving a single fuck which in turn subsequently inclined him to create a mind-made body!!" Kraft gave his depicted version of Jin''s awakening of his Astral Panda Cultivation. Similar to what Jin did previously, the Panda Silhouette smashed the shield to the Three Tailed Fox Demon''s head but instead of shooting flames from the shield, the Panda Silhouette blew flames from its mouth. However, this time around, the Black Panda Fire were more intense than the one that Jin had produced. The flames were so widespread that it drowned the Three Tailed Fox Demon in it. The moment the Astral Panda stopped its fire breathing, it let out a sneeze and caused an impactful knockback to the fox demon, smashing it into the opposite side of the Isolation Ward. With its job done, the Astral Panda in front of Jin dissipated. In exchange, two Astral Pandas now emerged at the sides of injured fox demon with two stakes made out of White Panda Ice that were at least 2 metres in diameter and 10 metres in length. Even Kraft had to close an eye to see the glory(and gory) of the two Astral Pandas slamming the ice stakes into the sludge body with a coordinated tempo to it. The fox demon growled in pain before its sounds slowly became a whimper. A large amount of sludge was also spilt all over the ground, and there was barely anything left "Alright boys and girls, you did enough. Come back to me now." Kraft ordered his three foxes as the spirit forms of Ixa, Ixel and Itori floated towards Kraft and hovered around him momentarily before they disappeared right in front of him. Jin was still panting but not as much as he had when he took his breather. Both Zeru and Kraft went towards him, clapping with elation. "Well done, well done. Looks like Ming''s efforts paid off." "Now we can start the training for real with your Astral Pandas," Zeru said as he took his wooden sword out and started warming up while Kraft called for Pei and Milk to look at his wounds. "You can''t be serious! Forcing him into training with this much damage on him? Do you want to cripple him for life?!" Pei examined the body and realised that the wounds were very severe. She estimated that the bones in his extremities were all broken, not to mention 8 broken ribs, 2 of which were crushed into nonexistence. In addition, there was internal bleeding in all of his organs and blood was rushing into his punctured lungs, which was why he could not stop panting. The reason he was not dead yet was because of the Critical Survival Barrier, which Milk had reinforced while casting her other healing spells. "He does not have much time left to train should he need a guarantee against the four Demon Cultivators. If Grandma Yuan decides to break her promise and add that Claire into the fray or even join in personally, he won''t be able to handle it" Kraft said as he clearly did not trust that old grandma. (their distrust for each other was mutual). "Her attitude towards us might never change for the reasons in the past, but there is one thing I am sure of. She always keeps her promise. When she said four fights, it means four fights. Right now, Jin needs urgent intervention. It''s already a miracle that he can survive your No Mercy Trio. Also! You should have held them back even more. How could you allow them to go berserk?!" Pei argued with some scorn under her breath. When she was in the bracelet, she realised that Jin had already pushed past his physical threshold and was solely relying on his will and abnormal chi generation to hold on to the fight. However, she was equally surprised that Jin managed to awaken his cultivation''s true powers rather than relying on the ones he had obtained through training. "Enough talk, I should be able to slow the time down with some temporal manipulation spells, but I cannot do it as well as the System. I will do as much as I can." Peppers appeared despite her recent discovery of the unusual living armour plate since she was concerned for her master. "Fine, get him up as soon as possible. You might think Zeru and I are heartless, but we both agree that this is the only way to make him learn that he has yet to see the world. We cannot shelter him forever. I''d rather him hate me than have a repeat of-" Kraft wanted to continue until he heard a loud shriek from the girls. "SHUT YOUR DAMN TRAP!" Pei screamed so loud that everyone felt like their ears were going to burst. (If Jin''s ears hadn''t been bleeding already, they probably would right now.) Pei called upon Peppers to first expand the storage bracelet into a dungeon like instance to create a pocket dimension in the Isolation Ward. Something like triggering a dimensional plane onto a current plane. Some say it''s akin to merging two different spaces into one. This was because Pei feared that the sensory inscription charm that was in the Isolation Ward would trigger if Jin disappeared entirely into the storage bracelet for treatment even though he would still be technically present in the ward. Thus, Peppers not only had to expand the storage bracelet into a makeshift operating theatre, but she even called some of the Panda Nurses from the Luxury Recovery instance into this merged dimensional space. As advised by Pei, Jin had previously upgraded all the Panda Nurses with all the necessary knowledge to cope with an emergency as well a Head Panda Nurse that knew everything literally. (It cost him a bomb, but Pei made him do it.) While all the fuss was happening in this makeshift operating theatre, Jin was technically not in mortal danger. With sufficient rest and consistent healing from Milk, he would recover. It was because of the time limit that Kraft artificially imposed on him to be ready for the next battle, Pei had decided to step in to quicken the process. "I have stopped all the internal bleeding in the organs. Also, all broken bones and bone pieces were removed. Those that had punctured any of the organs were discarded too." Milk said as she wiped the sweat off her while Pei quickly gowned up into her scrubs. "The temporal manipulation spells are ready, I will cast them the moment you start cutting him." Peppers said to the entire group. "Then let''s begin. Since we are replacing the bones, we might as well add in a few inscription charms to his new bone parts to ensure people like a certain DEVILMAN, and potentially Zeru does not make me perform this kind of emergency operation on a daily basis." Pei said while staring at the two who were watching at the sides as usual. "Hey, look at the bright side, didn''t you always claim that you could create an ultimate ma-!" But before Kraft could say anything else, Zeru already took a masking tape out from nowhere and slapped it on to the fox''s mouth. "Don''t make things worse. We need Jin to be ready as soon as possible." Zeru spoke with a firm objective. For some reason, Kraft noticed that Zeru suddenly felt pumped to teach his master(and disciple) a few tricks. Chapter 445 Resistance Groups "You think those Dark Templars will be able to put up a fight?" Meomi asked on the secured channel. She and Flame Ripper had decided to do something else after they received intelligence from Gold (Well, actually Silver) that the Dark Templars were not the only ones that would come to the meeting place. Despite how Silver had acted emotionally¡­unstable towards Sebastia and Gold, he had still been a capable leader in his own way. Tonight''s meetup was supposedly one of the few meetings that Silver had arranged to get aid and manpower from various groups of power in order to rebuild the resistance group. Besides, the meeting places were near where the scouting team was located. Their initial tracking of the scent of Necromancy magic brought them to an isolated derelict hut near a swamp area, but the tracks to whoever was casting it was wiped clean. Without any further evidence, they would proceed to the next task of initiating the meetup. "Blah hahah! I would love to be defeated by the Demons from another world. I can''t wait to see how strong they are compared to me." Sebastia answered while she simultaneously listened to the random chatters those Demon Rats were talking about. The entire unit of Rat Demons was walking through the town of Uote as if owning the place. It was a show of power for those who would dare to mess with the Rats. Sebastia noticed that their proclamation was loud and strong since they just past a group of beheaded rebels being hung at the checkpoints and the Central Square as a grim reminder that the people in Uote Town were indeed under the control of the Demon Rats. "If we can capture the rebels, we may gain information on how to get into the Eastern Region. He he he." The Demon Rat Captain was talking proudly about the possible achievements, and it seemed to Sebastia they knew in advance who the rebels were supposed to be. "So it was a ruse for the Dark Templars to come in?" Gold asked Silver who reminded him that because they were the most prominent group to enter the Northern Region, there was already word of them the moment they stepped on to the Ports of the Northern Region. The Dark Templars could not hide themselves as well as the other groups that were planning to aid the Jacks. The spies from the Southern Star Organisation were already masters of disguise, and the adventurers from Western Skies Guild despite being an odd bunch, were mere adventurers. Each was sending a representative team from their respective regions to meet Silver. Also, the information that the sailor in the Inn''s bar had shared with Sebastia was true. The South, West and Eastern Regions were not infected with Demon Rats yet and had their borders placed in the highest security alert after they learned about the situation of the Northern Region. Checks at the ports were extremely strict with all ships were being manually searched with the help of at least one able bodied apprentice from the Scholars of the Compass. Unfortunately, because of the Scholar of the North and South''s betrayal, there were no leaders left who could be taking charge over the organisation. The apprentices had to scatter and return to their original lives until some new trustworthy Scholars would appear to lead them again. As it was an unprecedented event for all the Scholars to go missing simultaneously, no one really knew what to do except to wait for the upcoming election to choose a new batch of Scholars. It could only be done during the time for the peak of the Solar Eclipse, and even though it was drawing near, there were no preparations for it since usually the Compass Scholars were the one who settled them. Besides, the only ones capable to appoint new Scholars were the Heavenly Four Windmills of the Farming World. They were existences similar to the Shaitan Nobles, but without any ambition of reigning supreme. Those willing to serve as their representatives had to pass a trial set by the Heavenly Four Windmills. ''Knowledge is the only truth, everything else is irrelevant.'' Or so it was written in stone in every Windmill that was situated in each region. At this point of time, the Scholars of the North and South had lost their respective blessing for betraying their post by siding with the Demon Rats when they caused the death of the Scholar of the West. The West Heavenly Windmill was precisely empty because of that incident. As for the Eastern Heavenly Windmill, there were signs of a vacant post however the Windmill was still moving, though incredibly slowly, unlike the other three Heavenly Windmills which had stopped completely. It was said that no wind or storm would move the blades of the Heavenly Windmill except for the life force from the Scholar of the Compass that had been appointed. Thus, some believed that Gold was alive or at least his presence was masked, waiting for the right time to emerge again. "Do the Dark Templars know about your plot?" Gold asked Silver as he brought the latter to his office and Silver laid all the information he had onto Gold''s map. "Not exactly. I was planning to lure the Demon Rats to our meeting place with the Dark Templars based on the information that I had leaked out to the collaborators in various Inns. So that the information would reach those Demon Rats." Silver continued to cross out the hideouts that had already been destroyed by Demon Rat Raids on Gold''s map. "I wanted the Demon Rats to ambush us so that the Dark Templars and the Jacks would fight as a team. You were the one to teach me, that the bonds made in a life and death battle were the strongest¡­ even if its an artificially created situation. That would have also shown them the severity of the situation in the Northern Region. I was hoping that they would send in more manpower from the East to us." Silver also updated any other miscellaneous information such as the information brokers Gold used to handle, both dead and living ones on the map. What had started out as a mostly empty map quickly changed into an elaborate one under Silver''s scribble. He was no doubt a capable interim leader after Gold had disappeared. Something the Lord Scholar was extremely proud of. "But since there is a change of plans with you still living and your master''s odd necromancy powers, it should be for the best to kill those Dark Templars and proceed to negotiate with the Western Skies and Southern Stars." Silver stated his own opinion. "More money and power grubbers, in my opinion. The Western Skies had been wanting a piece of the Northern Region for the longest time. This is a treasure trove full of monsters and resources waiting to be mined! well¡­ erm if the Demon Rats did not get to them first that is." Gold replied to Silver. "But out of all of the Southern Entities and organisations why the Southern Stars? You know that the Compass hated them. Even the South Compass Scholar had battled them on a few occasions because of their merciless killings." "That is exactly why. That assassin organisation was what we lacked to spy and get more information out of those Rats. Besides, they are masters at killing essential targets before we proceed to the main culprits. The ex Scholars of the North and South." Silver banged the table and gave his reasoning to Gold. "¡­ and what did they want in return?" Gold sighed as he knew that the assassin organisation would not be so benevolent in nature. "50% cut of all the loot we would find." Silver replied "What about the Western Skies?" Gold felt that Silver was about to say something stupid. "50% cut of all the loot we would find and a claim to one of the regions." Silver replied with a straight face. "¡­The Dark Templars?" Gold hoped that Silver was not as stupid as he was thinking. "¡­50% cut of all the loot we would find as well as a piece of land, to call them lord." "DID YOU FORGET HOW TO COUNT?! AND HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN DO ALL THOSE?!" Gold could not stand the absurdity of the deal that Silver was cutting them. "We are neither dukes nor viscounts that could grant anybody a land just like that either!" "Ehhhh, I already tried to haggle with them, but all of them refused to lift a finger without getting at least half of the loot. (Incidentally, they yet to be unaware of the other groups.) I figured we could just try and undercut them when they meet. Besides, the losses they bound to incur would have been huge too. " Silver tried to reason his way out. "It would be wrong not to compensate them sufficiently. In any case, it''s the loot that we find, not future profits and earnings. I have stored all the sealed deeds of our pact into this hideout here." Silver drew a new circle on a particular mountain which seemed to resemble the one near Keyrin''s home. "Huh¡­let''s see how things go. Worst case scenario, Flame Ripper and Meomi will kill them." Gold said to Silver. The leader of the Jacks appreciate how Silver tried to take things into his own hands, but it might have made things messier¡­ Still it was not like he could be mad at him. Noone could have expected their current situation with Jin. At the same time¡­ Assassins, adventurers (They are actually mercenaries, but they preferred to call themselves adventurers to make it sound nicer.) and rogue knights, it would take more than a miracle to make all of them work together¡­ unless of course, if a cosmic entity was to interfere. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Sebastia was waiting all alone at the appointed meeting place which the Rats had clearly deduced where the werejackals were initially going to meet. However, instead of assisting their assailant, they were more than a few hundred metres away from the scene. The Demon Rat Captain wasn''t stupid for he had mobilised all the Rat Guards under his command and covered every possible route that they could run away from. Not only that, he had already sent runners to inform the nearby towns which were also under control by the Demon Rats. Even the reports of the past movements by the Dark Templars had already been recorded by the Demon Rat Scouts. "You sure that Battle Lady can be trusted?" One of the Demon Rats questioned the Demon Rat Captain. "Perhaps¡­ We know she useful. You saw her face when presented more targets to kill? Science Team verified that Silver Mage was real. His signature energy left in the area. If she can kill resistance, why not let her?" The Demon Rat Captain cackled, as he looked through a piece of contraption that resembled a telescope. However, there were tubes around the telescope, being powered by Litoride allowing him to zoom as close as he liked. Sebastia got bored without anybody showing up and was about to sit down near a tree. But it seemed that she was not given a break when a sword blade crept beneath her mandible and its edge pointed upwards. "Move, and you shall die. Speak with your hands. What is the code for the meeting." The voice was muffled yet enough got through his helmet. "I do not know." Sebastia was quick enough to evade the blade and bit it with her teeth, biting into the metal blade as if it was some biscuit. The Dark Templar who was trying to threaten her stepped backwards and that was when tens of footsteps were heard throughout the entire area. His companions were hidden in the broken windmill observing Sebastia from the moment she stepped into the area. "Then there is nothing to be said. DIE!" The templar with the broken sword send the signal for all the Dark Templars to attack and at the same time, he sent a blast of dark energy towards Sebastia. "Hohoho, This battle lady kept to her promise." the Demon Rat Captain was excited to see that they might potentially obtain a killing machine that would do the bidding of the Demon Rats. Using her martial arts, Sebastia deflected the ball of dark energy with only her palms. "Come on. Show me what you got!" Sebastia taunted while in a relaxed, composed stance yet ready to take on any Dark Templars. An arrow flew towards her, and when she tried to deflect it, the projectile changed position and managed to escape her left palm. Luckily, that was not enough to faze the Minotaur Maid as she grabbed it with her teeth once again. Her eyes were beaming with excitement and there was no saying if she enjoyed it a lot. That was also when two Dark Templars charged her, attempting to bash her with their shields and subsequently stab Sebastia with swords energised with dark energy. Even if they failed, the other Dark Templars waiting at the side were already conjuring their dark arts to fight against her. True enough, Sebastia stopped the magically enhanced shield charges with her bare hands and the Dark Templars also missed their sword stab strikes. "Demonic Minotaur Martial Arts, The Noodles That Skips the Mouth and into Stomach." Her palms were placed onto the shield and her demonic energy vibrated through the shields blasting the two Dark Templars into oblivion. Call it a warning shot for the others to think that she would be easy to be dealt with. "Formation Zulu. Make sure her corpse disappears from the face of the world." The Dark Templar Leader commanded in a stern voice upon seeing the pool of blood and metal pieces in front of Sebastia. Chapter 446 Emergency Surgery - Part 1 "Suction," Pei called as she entered a state of total focus to deal with the impromptu surgery. The Head Panda Nurse became her first assistant, and she precisely followed each instruction Pei gave her. As soon as Pei removed the final pieces of debris with the suction, Milk was already in the midst of preparing the inscription charms with the aid of their very own General Store NPC. His personality turned him into somewhat of a hermit who focused solely on his passion. Previously when Jin required anything from the General Store, it had always been the red panda assistants who provided it for him. Nowadays, he would just ask the System to create whatever he needed when he was in the Dungeon Maker. "Octofussy. I am glad you are able to be here." Milk said as she was already sweating buckets from preparing the charms without the inscriptions and needing to heal Jin''s minor wounds previously. This was because the charms she was preparing were special. Generally, the kinds which could be placed on a weapon or armour would be impossible to use on Jin. But as Jin had proven with his cosmetic inscription, there was one type which could theoretically be placed onto anything. Slotless inscriptions. Milk had to ensure that the charms would not harm the human body else that might affect the chi circuits in his body and in the worst case put an end to his cultivation. However, with his body currently all broken, his chi circuits were in a mess but also provide the best opportunity to place the inscription in too. After that, the messy chi circuit problem could also be effortlessly resolved by Pei which she was currently doing at the moment. Additionally, if Milk sustained her healing procedure during his post surgical recovery, the chi circuits would return to normal in no time. There were however other problems to consider too. Instead of the standard permanent inscription charm that required constant activation of chi, a slot to activate and that might mess up the chi circuits, Milk had been ''fitting'' the current charm with a sort of dispel magic to prevent the chi circuits from coagulating towards the inscription charm. There was no doubt the System was assisting her in this too, providing the formula of the slotless charm into a piece of rectangular paper which was roughly 5cmx25cm in size. "If there is any way to serve the master, I will *sneeze* try my best to aid him. *sneeze*" Octofussy said as the System had already begun providing the grandeur greenish grey octopus head humanoid with the tools to create the most crucial inscription charm. "Please do." Milk stood up after finishing infusing the paper with holy magic to create the inscription that would dispel small amount of chi away to prevent the chi circuits to grow towards it. But at the same time, a strong, steady amount of chi flowing near it would enable the inscription charm to work. "Towel to wipe your sweat away. After which, please wear the disposable scrubs." One of the Panda Nurse was already one step ahead of Milk. Peppers also went towards the exhausted priest, transferring some of her Mana into her. At the same time, Peppers also gave her the anti fatigue concoction potion Milk made for the Sage Queen. "Thanks, little pepper." Milk hugged Peppers nearly suffocating her between her chest, which could have potentially caused chaos to the whole operation. "Your chest is as dangerous as always. You do know that if I faint, the temporal manipulation spell will break." Peppers pushed her damndest away from Milk in order to get a breather. "I am just facilitating the quickening of the mana transfer." Milk rubbed her head a bit and messed up her hair. "I do not want your stinky sweat all over me, you fake priestess!" Peppers complained until they heard a rough cough from Pei. "Stop playing a fool and start focusing. Peppers, if you are that free, grab a scrub and facilitate some mana into Jin''s body via his brain. It should nourish his spirit and keep it in place with the body when we start recreating his body. And Milk get those udders here as soon as possible. I need some recovery magic to be cast to quicken the process. Nurse, Tweezer." Pei commanded the two of them. "Shouldn''t he need more chi instead?" Peppers questioned as the Panda Nurse quickly took a scrub for her to wear over her current clothes. "Body and Soul concept. Yes, he should be taking in chi instead, but I have slowed his chi generation from his dantian significantly. This will make his brain thirst for any source of energy. Besides, Milk had been using so many healing spells on him, his brain has feasted on an overload of mana which also serves to help us maintain his spiritual form intact at the moment." Pei answered as she asked for a cutter to fully remove a partial broken bone that stuck on it. "Got it. On my way." Peppers understood exactly what Pei was talking about as she positioned herself towards Jin''s head and recast the temporal manipulation before she started transferring mana into his brain. The Body and Soul Concept had been a traditional way of thinking by the doctors of the past. The body was not just a husk for the soul to live in. Without the soul, the body would be nothing but a piece of meat. Without the body, the soul would linger on the earthly plane. By maintaining the link of the spirit to the body, the soul would not be influenced by the surrounding chi, which could potentially corrupt the spirit''s essence. Modern doctors did not believe in such a concept. Instead, they placed their faith in magic and science, which had proven their worth time and time again. Ironically, they had unknowingly been using the Body and Soul concept in their treatment methods even though it was just a minor portion of it. Only those doctors who were more sensitive spiritually, truly believed in the Body and Soul concept and had published papers to prove its extent in current treatment methods. Yet most medical professionals still regarded them as nothing more than an interesting theory. Still refusing to believe what they cannot see or explain. "Alright, the spirit form is stable, I can take more drastic actions. Thanks, Peppers. Milk, use a barrier spell on the following points to reduce the impact of the melding affects the other organs. Nurse, prepared 100cc of blood for immediate transfusion in case shit happens." Pei was blunt, but her orders were straight to the point. Usually, the head surgeons did not explain much because there were too many things in their head. But not for Pei. She had been the life saviour of the Panda Clan for many generations and honed her craft both in the medical field and in the battlefield. If one were to ask her to do an emergency surgery in a warring trench, she would do it without even questioning it. Her brain worked more like a supercomputer thinking multiple steps ahead while processing the overall situation and accounting for of any kinds of mishaps that could happen to the point of percentages. What Kraft had said to her wasn''t a lie. The more new masters she had served, the more she had played with the idea of creating a ''perfect'' Master. For most, this would have been merely a thought experiment, yet Pei had the ability to make it happen. Ever since she got to know Jin, and had been with Jin for the countless hours as his protective guardian against mental assaults, she secretly analysed his body structure to identify his physical flaws. When Jin who had already proven to her that he possessed the potential to lead the Panda Clan back to its former glory, he became the perfect candidate for an ''upgrade''. All humans were born unequal. During this surgery, it reconfirms all the analysis that Pei had found and she was already in the midst of preparing to turn Jin into the Ultimate Master. It was a major boon for her that he finally awakened the true form of the Lazy Astral Panda cultivation. Furthermore, it would be an insult to say that Pei had not prepared the materials in advance for such an accident should happen to her master. The surgeon had only hoped that she would get to use the materials eventually, but she did not expect for this scenario to arrive this quick when she coincidentally managed to collect everything that she needed about a day ago. (Sometimes, she wondered if that nasty fox had a hand in this.) Those materials to recreate Jin did cost a fortune but the System was convinced to lessen purchasing cost for what she needed since their goal coincided with each other. Meanwhile, Octofussy, the General Store NPC was getting a hand from Milk to create a high level regeneration charm as well. What Milk did not know was that Octofussy had already decided to pay a major price of his own to aid his master the moment he learned that it would be a long term permanent inscription charm on Jin. Unlike the red panda assistants and the Panda Nurses, Octofussy, Chef Roro, and the Three Headed Bear in the Weapon stores were more similar to bellators in terms of power, though still a level lower than them. The System''s official classification put them as Enhanced NPCs because they were made from unique souls which the System had managed to obtain via the black market. Recently Jin had been pumping more resources into all of his NPCs since he was planning to push them out as possible helpers in the coming future. Witnessing the positive effect on the Panda Nurses, he felt it was a worthwhile investment to upgrade the NPCs. What he did not know was that improving the Enhanced NPCs had allowed them to retrieve abilities their former self had once possessed (or in System''s words, they had levelled up and unlocked more proficiency levels). Thus ever since Octofussy was upgraded, he had been practising to create new inscriptions for the upcoming reveal of the next batch of inscriptions. (Something that Mr Know It All had speculated and mentioned before in the forums) Nevertheless, Octofussy believed that if Master Jin were to learn about his contribution with regards to the charm, he might get upgraded further, allowing him to create even more complex inscriptions which he loved. Thus, he had decided to use a signature inscription which Octofussy planned to keep for his own so called "Ultimate Inscription Series!" in his General Store. ''Otherworld Parasite God'' was the suffix that he wished to add into the inscription, making it the ''Rapid Regeneration of the Otherworld Parasite God''. For higher level inscriptions, inserting suffix and prefixes into the charms would allow the inscription charm to perform more unique as well as varied effects. For example, a fire inscription charm was a general usage charm that could be used in weapons and armour. Therefore, a ''Burning Fire of the Sharp'' inscription charm would not work on armour, only on weapons. It will provide twice the power as well as sharpening the weapon that was equipped on, making it harder to be blunt. However, adding prefix and suffix depended on the enhancement material too. Thus, in order to create that signature inscription, Octofussy had to cut off one of his tentacles from his head and used it as a catalyst for the inscription. Painful? It was more than that. He had just sacrificed a tentacle which would take him at least a decade to regrow since it was one of the primary tentacles Octofussy had (Using healing magic to regrow it would only result in him losing a decade of his life). He temporarily stopped the bleeding by using another tentacle on the back of his head to apply pressure. After which, he used the blood from the tentacle he plucked out as ink to write the inscription charm. Everyone in that pocket dimensional instance was working their hardest to recreate the new Jin until Kraft sneaked into the picture. "Just here to inform you, that half an hour ha-" "SHUT UP!!!" Everyone, including the Panda Nurses, screamed simultaneously at Kraft. Chapter 447 Dinner Time "Where''s Jin? Wasn''t he the one to come up with the idea to always eat dinner together no matter how busy we all get?" Qiu Yue asked as she packed her items that were scattered all over the table for Lynn to place the dishes she had just cooked. Ever since Qiu Yue had joined the gang as a Sub System User, Jin had decided to impose a rule to the Sub System Users. To always eat together like a family. Jin''s rationale was that it was an informal way to discuss the things that happened over the day as well as a daily meeting to know what was going on with the other two. He also used that opportunity to explain any future changes he was planning for the store to the other two Sub System Users so they could give him some feedback. Often times he would ask the bellators to join just for the fun of it or when there were certain things that he needed their advice on. Thus, the dining table had never been as empty as today ever since he implemented that rule. Not to mention, Lynn was always cooking something new for them as part of her training. It was basically a fantastic treat before returning back to work in the evening. "Oh, Yun told me that he left a message saying that he would be away for some secret training and won''t be able to come back for a few days." Lynn answered as she took the lid off for the stew to cool down. "So, it''s just us, huh? Well, that''s a first. Itadakimasu!" Qiu Yue said as she thanked Lynn for cooking in her native language and quickly dug into her food. "Unless I''m mistaken today should have been the day you returned to your office, right?" Lynn asked, happy to see Qiu Yue enjoying the food she cooked. "Yeap, I did. I needed to go to the Ministry to free up my office space and ''fulfil my contractual obligations''. Well, that''s the official reason." Qiu Yue explained that she needed to pay the compensation for breaking her contract she was serving. While she thought she was liable for some other compensation, her supervisor, Yi San, had been able to step in and help her. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Unlike the past, with that lecherous boss of hers disappearing out of nowhere, Qiu Yue''s supervisor had been appointed as the interim boss to lead the team. Entering her former workplace, she found her supervisor in the middle of a stack of papers. She knocked on the door and entered to pass a cheque with the amount she owed the Ministry. "Be sure to come and visit me at Tiangong District, whenever you are free!" Qiu Yue told Yi San who seemed to be way happier than ever despite the increased workload. "Wait, you are working for that Dungeon Supplier in the Tiangong District?!" Yi San asked with a bewildered expression. "Is there a problem?" "No, no. Definitely not! I just always pictured that when you get headhunted, it would be to join some other private company. It surprised me that you get employed for the Dungeons and Pandas! Though maybe it shouldn''t surprise me that much." Her supervisor stopped her worked and decided to accompany Qiu Yue to her table. "I vaguely remember a night out when a certain someone told me about her ex boyfriend, who always wanted to be a dungeon supplier. Wasn''t that your initial plan then? Congratulations on fulfilling it. I heard that it is currently the most popular and most trending dungeon supplier to go to for cultivation training!" Yi San as if she wished to try one of such instances one day. "You should! Come visit us and see for yourself. I''m sure I can make Jin give you some sort of employee and friend''s discount. Maybe you can even bring your kid in the future. Hahaha, it''s supposed to be a secret, but we have some plans to teach kids the way of cultivation at a young age. You know how that it''s currently very popular for parents to train their kids to learn some cultivation style so they can study longer and harder for exams." Qiu Yue gossiped a bit with Yi San about one of the possible future developments for the Dungeons and Pandas. "Hahah, then all the more you have to work hard. I read in the news that it was getting more and more difficult to get the Education Licence for Cultivation from the government after there had been scams of such cultivation teachers, causing the kids to corrupt..ermm no erm.. break their dantian early?" Yi San said as she helped Qiu Yue to pack her stuff. A trait which no boss would ever do and the employees around her respected her for that. "Oh¡­I did remember reading something on the news about that. Because they had yet to cultivate to Grade 1, their dantian broke, and they became commoners that could die from any incident without any possibility of resurrection. For some reason, they cannot learn magic too." Qiu Yue recalled the news Yi San was talking about. "Yeah, fortunately, such an incident was discovered early and the guy was put in jail for ruining the future cultivation path of five children. They are actually even worse off than commoners. As a commoner, you may not have a talent for cultivation, but all of them did and lost it to a fraud. Since then, the government is extremely cautious about handing out that education license." Yi San replied while opening another cardboard box for Qiu Yue''s belongings. "I bet you can imagine and empathise the concerns of the parent''s kids." Qiu Yue remarked. "I read in various forums that the parents were so heartbroken and worried for their kids that they sued the government for being so irresponsible, and the government quickly caved in, and providing them with a hefty sum of insurance that their kids'' health would be covered for life. Some even called it hush money to stop such news from circulating." Yi San noticed that Qiu Yue still kept a keychain which she had given her when she first started work. "Baahh! It''s not as if right now that when people die, they are resurrected immediately. The process is getting more and more expensive to the point that the government now just keeps a hold of the dantian of the dead until the relatives come and either pay for the treatment or sign a waiver form to crush the dantian, ensuring that the dead would never be able to return ever again." Qiu Yue said as she folded her arms being a little mad about it. "Effectively they are making it so that eventually only the rich will be allowed to resurrect." "There is no choice, it''s the only way to maintain the balance. At least, for now, they don''t plan on abandoning the guaranteed resurrection of any victims in criminal cases. However, resurrecting everyone who ever dies wouldn''t be too good too. Else there will be too many still living, straining the planet''s resources." Yi San stopped for a while too and conversed with Qiu Yue. Even though she had a pile of work, she figured spending a bit more time with her former coworker would be a better alternative than trying to conquer the never ending work amount. "Besides, this had been the natural course of life for ages before the inception of resurrection. It made the world a liveable place compared to what we had learnt in history. It has already shown that it does not allow us humans to live that long as we could previously since we lived till most 100ish. And that is assuming we have the cultivation to suppress cancer and other diseases. Also just imagine feeding billions of people with the majority older than that because we decided to be a pacifist with the advent of modernisation." Yi San continued. "No, no, no. Just think about the logistical workload, new Boss. Development in the urban area would be a major headache for you." Qiu Yue laughed upon saying it which made Yi San roll her eyes. The Red Panda Cultivator finally finished packing her stuff after another 10-20 minutes, and she returned back to her home to have lunch with her parents and spending some time with them. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "However, there is something that is bothering me." Qiu Yue said as she picked a piece of omelette mixed with meat and egg. "That broken dantian incident. I''m afraid it may be something like Yun''s case." "You mean that whoever was responsible had something to do with the Banned Emperor Assassination which Jin told us about?" Lynn asked as she munched on her food while comfortably talking to Qiu Yue. Food and familiarity had made Lynn and Qiu Yue be less hostile towards each other. They even began to share ideas to help each other work out. (Maybe they might have forgotten the challenge they tried to make someone solely theirs.) (On second thought, Nope! Highly doubt so!) "Yeah. People might think its an isolated case but given that the incident was less than six months ago, in addition to the attempted assassination which was kept a secret by everyone involved¡­I think there might be more to it." Qiu Yue deduced as she accidentally let out a small burp. "But it''s not like we can do anything about it. The most we can do is aid Jin and hope that the Banned Emperor thing might blow over. I mean they had threatened to take down the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan''s Head. Surely the Royal Zodiac Clans will do something about it. " "You mean like them torturing the assassin to get as much information from him?" Qiu Yue asked and Lynn gave a disgusted facial expression. "Speaking of torture, I remembered Kraft did boast that he managed to get some information from that assassin, but he refused to reveal anything, not even to Jin." Qiu Yue quietly snatched the last piece of pork from the delicious stew. "You got him to talk it to you?" Lynn assumed Kraft and Qiu Yue had to be close since her the latter had been brutally honest to admit that she had asked the former to permanently get rid of her boss in front of the whole table. Jin was not too pleased, but he figured if it made Qiu Yue feel safe and as long as it was untraceable, he was willing to close an eye to the situation. The crafty fox meanwhile had continued to casually enjoy the food, as if that whole situation had nothing to do with him. "Nah, he was extremely tight lipped about it. He said it was not time for Jin to meddle with this kind of stuff yet. Being so serious for a second and the very next moment, he proceeds to bully Jin again." Qiu Yue shook her head when she recalled the scene. "Actually, I was thinking more of like¡­erm we should do our own training too." Lynn proposed to Qiu Yue when she meant how to aid Jin. "Hahaha how? We spar against each other? Well¡­ That would be interesting." Qiu Yue said after a bit of hesitation as she wiped her mouth and also thanked Lynn for the food once more. She then proceeded to take a can of beer for both her and Lynn. "Nah, something more productive. Want to go ¡­food hunting?" Lynn asked after taking a gulp of beer. She was nervous when she suggested that idea to Qiu Yue. "I think that would make me more fat. Do you plan to make Jin yours, by making me round? No thanks." Qiu Yue made a frown after drinking a sip of her beer. "Hahaha, sorry I did not make myself clear. I meant monster hunting. Getting their tasty parts as food for my restaurant''s cooking." Lynn clarified herself. "Oh? Which world? Goblin World or the Farming World?" Qiu Yue seemed to be more interested in the monster hunting aspect. Besides, she had been feeling a bit guilty that Lynn was always the one cooking the dishes for the three of them. If this monster hunting could assist her and thereby alleviate some of that guilt, Qiu Yue would be more than happy to lend a hand. "None of those. It''s a world which Jin hasn''t visited yet." Lynn was proud to say it out loud since the Sub System had allowed her to travel alone when it recommended that place to her. "You had my curiosity, but now you have my full attention!" Qiu Yue leaned forward to hear more juicy details. "Giant World. As the name depicts, the creatures there are all gigantic in size!" Lynn shared with a wide smile on her face. "Although there are varying sizes of giants, there was one that I saw which could feed thousands of people." "Wait wait wait! The one you saw?! You went in there yourself?!" Qiu Yue could not believe it when Lynn nodded her head in reply. "It was for a quest by the Cooking Sub System. Coincidentally it''s also the place my penguins come from there. Oddly enough, they seem to be the only species that do not grow to the size of giants." Lynn cheerfully remarked as she remembered visiting a village full of Peggies the last time she visited the place. "I have another quest that I received so I was wondering if you would like to come along, that way we can practice and perhaps surprise Jin too." "Not a bad idea at all! So we go there, hunt some monsters, get food and complete your quest?" Qiu Yue confirmed the stuff that needed to be done. "Yup! But don''t you dare even thinking of conquering the Penguin Village! I want them to live freely!" Lynn warned Qiu Yue about her odd obsession of collecting kingdoms under her belt. "Damn, you caught me. Fine, Fine! I promise I will leave your Penguin Village alone. But if there are other villages out there like that, don''t blame me for trying!" Qiu Yue said as she helped Lynn pick the dishes up and bring them to the kitchen''s dishwasher. "So meet you in 10 minutes at the backyard?" Lynn asked but Qiu Yue disagreed with it. "In an hour''s time. I need to delegate some work to Moloch and oversee some construction tasks before I can leave in peace." Qiu Yue replied and Lynn agreed to it. "Oh, but drag me out if I take more than an hour. Sometimes, I just lose track of time." "I get that feeling all the time." Lynn gave an okay sign to her and clear the rest of the dishes. Chapter 448 Dark Templars "Your whatever formation won''t make any difference," Sebastia said as she faced her enemies as confident as she was since the start of the battle. Instead of throwing dark energy bolts or relentlessly throwing their lives away, the Dark Templars seem to act more cautiously in attacking and had taken positions around Sebastia. Standing at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o''clock of Sebastia, with a pair of Dark Templars facing the Minotaur Maid, they began to chant words that were foreign even to the System''s translation abilities to make sense of. One of each pair swiftly knelt down as they cut their wrist simultaneously and ensuing that Sebastia did not interrupt the wrist cutting action, the other Dark Templars stepped forward to protect their partners. Surprisingly, Sebastia did nothing to disturb them at all, which made the dark templars to feel a sense of uneasiness as well as anticipation. The chanting stopped as the Dark Templars kneeling down stood up and threw the blood they collected within the grasp of their hand and threw it at their partners who were protecting them. "Now you shall fear the Dark Templar''s true powers." The one who initially gave the orders spoke. On closer inspection, Sebastia observed that his armour design was more intricate than the others and assumed that he was the leader for this small squad of Dark Templars. A dark reddish circle appeared above the four templars who had been tainted with their partner''s blood as it shone a malevolent, dim red light on them. Sebastia continued to idle around and gave them time to show their full form. "We have contact with demons beyond your understanding, and since you are out to kill us, I can only assume you either killed the Silver Mage or the Silver Mage betrayed us. Tell us your objective, and we promise to make it a swift end!" The leader attempted to reason it out with Sebastia seeing that she remained calm the whole time. Either she had gone completely mad or she had some trump card that she was not showing, allowing her to be¡­ overconfident of her abilities. "Yeap, I do not understand them. From what I see, there are no visible changes to you lot at all. You sure you are already done? That was not just a magic trick?" Sebastia taunted them once more. Unlike their leader, the Dark Templar standing behind Sebastia was pissed at her for sorely underestimating them. He proceeded to dash towards the Minotaur with his brand new powers. A pair of bat wings which grew to full size the moment it emerged out of the dark templar''s scapulae. Thinking that he could ambush and cleanly lob the head of that arrogant battle lady in front of him, he smiled at that the incoming result and prepared his sword at the ready. "Oh, it really is a magic trick. You grew wings." Sebastia was still talking when the winged dark templar slid to the other side with a broken sword and one less wing. Blood spewed out at a tremendous rate from his back, making the Dark Templar screamed out in agony. Meanwhile, Sebastian looked at the trembling batwing and sniffed at it for a moment. "Sure, it does smell a bit different from the usual, I wonder if it will make a difference. Guess there''s only one way to find out." Sebastia bit off a chunk from the batwing, and all of the Dark Templars went into a defensive stance. However, not everyone was as composed and steady. The sight before them resulted in one of the Dark Templar removing their helmet and vomiting from the disgust of the scene. "Hmm, it sure tastes a little more exotic and the same time familiar, but this wing does help a bit. Thanks, I can feel my muscles in me moved, guess the quick ejection of the wings can be considered as an ability." Sebastia bit another chunk off before throwing it down on the floor. "Next?" Instead of a stance, she placed her hands at the back and stood at ease. "Who are you!?!" The leader finally knew for sure that the being in front of him was not a mere human neither was she a practitioner of any arts he was familiar with. "How did you manage to outrun the speed of the demon?!" "You call that a demon? Hahahahah!! HAHAHAHAHAH!! I think you meant a human borrowing a pathetic portion of its power." Sebastia was laughing with her guard down. The dark templars on her left and right charged in, both with the same kind of enhancement. A borrowed arm of a demon. Their right and left demonic fists were enlarged, reaching a size almost bigger than themselves as they hurled it towards Sebastia with the palms open. It was as if they planned to squash her between both palms but Sebastia dodged it with grace by bending backwards and continued to laugh. However, the Dark Templars were not done, as they slammed into each other palms, it caused a shockwave that made Sebastia lose her footing and fall to the ground. Next, the two palms interlaced with each other and as if the arms had the will of their own, neglected the weight and balance of the Dark Templars and slammed its clasped hands onto Sebastia. A powerful impact rippled through the area, causing even the broken farming windmill to break further into pieces. Amidst the smoke, the Dark Templars thought they did it until they heard the continuous laughter right in front of them and then noticed their arms were also ripped off, causing them to be in the same situation as the dark templar with a missing wing. "You are more dangerous than a demon¡­" The leader mumbled as he saw two of his subordinates drop like flies in front of him while Sebastia threw the two ripped arms into the dark templar who had the last enhancement. However, that dark templar managed to escape the throw and proceeded with unbridled speed towards the horrifying Battle Lady. Unlike the wings and arms, the last dark templar, who was stained with blood enchantments, was blessed with the hind legs of the contracted demon that moved at the speed of sound. Yet, no matter how fast he tried to hit, Sebastia was blocking all of his attacks and she was smiling quietly while deflecting all of them. "You know, even though you are attacking this fast, hitting high, hitting low and at different directions, you made yourself laden full with openings. It is an admirable attempt but at the same time, pitiful. " Sebastia sighed as she used her hands and legs to block the attacks but never once attack back despite her analysis. "Don''t mind me, I am just curious to see how long your heart can last before it gives way. By the way, you are one kick off from the previous three seconds, buck up, or I will kill you." Sebastia complained and the dark templar threw in all he could. He might have the speed, but he did not have the brute arm force of the contracted demon which possessed his squadmates. Still, he believed that even if he had it, there was no way to defeat this real demon. Soon, Sebastia got bored of it since it was apparent he was slowing down more and more. Thus, she grabbed his two legs and lifted him up before smashing him to the ground, tearing his two legs away from his body. The dark templar immediately fainted from the impact and subsequently died from the immense blood loss. Meanwhile, Sebastia noticed that the five who cut their wrist were already chanting at the side of their leader. She even saw that the sacrificial knives were now at their throats. "Hmm, so they are willing to sacrifice themselves to further the cause of their leader. As what my Lord would say." "Admirably stupid." This time, Sebastia did not stay idle, but instead of rushing forward, she took out a coin out and shoot it at them. The coin immediately split into and five instantly pierced through the heads of the chanters despite having their helmets on to protect them. Sebastia did not want to waste the number of potential workforce because of some meaningless suicide. If they wished to die, they might as well die for Master Jin. "Now, the only one that''s left is you, why don''t you tell me what you know?" Sebastia asked as the Dark Templar instinctively went into defensive stance. At the same time, the minotaur maid could see that he was trembling in his boots even though he was still willing to look death in its face. "Your body''s expression alone reveals to me that you have seen enough fighting to last your lifetime. Though my presence should be telling every fibre of your body to run, you endured to stay. Heh, I like your courage, little one." Sebastia praised as she strolled slowly towards him and his sword immediately glowed with dark energy. "Good Good Goood!!! You did well, Lady!" The Demon Rat Captain began to come to the scene from afar, and Sebastia felt irritated that the Demon Rats chose to come forward at such impeccable timing. If he were just an underling, the Minotaur Maid would not care about the Demon Rats capturing him. However, based on the short interaction with his squad, he should have a sizeable influence in his cult. Therefore, Sebastia swiftly flicked a coin into the Leader''s helmet and it slipped through the visor without the Demon Rats noticing. "We will capture this bad bad templar!" The Demon Rat Captain ordered his rank and file to surround the dark templar. He knew that the leader would struggle, killing a few rats before succumbing to their capture. However, instead of killing the rats, his glowing dark sword was lifted towards his neck, and a clean cut was done by himself to avoid being captured. The Demon Rats wanted to stop him, but it was too late since he also engulfed himself with the glowing dark energy, causing him to explode and wipe a few out a few demon rats off this planet. "Pffft, Dark Templars, always eccentric. Does not matter, job done. " The Demon Rat Captain raised his hand to shake with Sebastia. "You prove yourself strong. Good ally for rats. We approve your request. You can kill more rebels!!!" The Demon Rat Captain said as they provided a carriage for Sebastia to sit in. "But first good food, good rest then tomorrow start killing more rebels okay?!" The Demon Rat Captain added as he went into the carriage with Sebastia accepted the offer. "You do not need to rest at that pathetic inn, we have a grand room for you to sleep!" "That''s the way! But one condition, if you want me to kill rebels, I will do them myself. No Demon Rats can interfere. However, you can bring demon rat scouts to check the place once I am done with it. Fair?" Sebastia asked before she got into the carriage. "Fair? Sounds excellent!" The Demon Rat Captain nodded as he slapped the side of the carriage and it was pulled by bigger and seemingly dumber Demon Rats back into Town Uote. Chapter 449 Another Dream Jin had a rough awakening. He could only remember that he was beaten badly by the Three Tailed Demon Fox. However, when he woke up, he was all alone in the isolation ward but with large fat candles lit at the corners of the room. "System? Kraft, Zeru, Pei?" Yet he got no answer. "Shit, where am I this time?" At the centre of it all, he saw a kid''s outline trying his best to practice his skills, but it was not going well at all. Jin immediately took a glance at the isolation ward and realised that the damage done by Three Tailed Fox Demon was not there. In fact, most of the wall and floor was still intact. Even the pictographs were not as faded as before. Immediately he knew that he had to be in some dream or some alternate dimension and tried to see if there was anything around to beat himself up so he could wake up. Yet, his storage watch was not working a single bit. "It''s no use. Nothing works in here. I guess that man trapped both you and me here. To fight to the death!" The kid who was practising stopped and said to Jin. "Oh urm, I am sorry. Who is that man who threw you in here?" Jin guessed he would just play along with this dream. He could always try to run into a wall, but for now, he was somewhat curious to see where this was going. Still, he reminded himself to remember all of this wasn''t real. However, there was something that he was mistaken. As that kid approached him, he realised that it was a girl. With an unpracticed and a rather slow swing, she placed a sword at his throat. "I do not know, he kidnapped and threw me here. All I know is I saw a crescent moon on his forehead. I happened to see when I tried to bite his hand. If not for his long hair, I might not be able to see it." The little kid had beautiful blue hair flowing to her chest, yet her speech seemed a tad broken. "He said that I have to kill all inside room. Else I turn into a demon." Her hands were trembling with the sword, and her eyes were teary. The kid''s voice, however, was the opposite. Filled with determination to complete the job as tasked, it was as if she had been through some sort of event that scarred her life. Jin did not know what or who this crescent moon tattooed man was, but to kidnap a kid and telling the kid to kill a random person, he had to be totally insane. "Do you think that you can kill me with that sword?" Jin knew that this was most likely just a dream, but at the same time, he could not help but pity the little girl. "What is your name?" Jin gently pushed the sword away, but the moment he did that, she decided to swing the sword at him. Jin was able to catch it with ease since he could see the trajectory of it (He would have been unable to face his master if he lost against an untrained kid.) Jin grabbed onto the sword and pulled it out of the little girl''s hands, which caused her to step back. Her eyes were filled with harmful intent as if she had wronged, yet still resolute to get out of the situation in any way possible. "Tell me your name, and I shall give you another chance of killing me." Jin tried to coax this little kid in his dream. "¡­Ryuli." The girl breathed anxiously as she realised she lost the advantage the moment he caught the sword from her hands. "Oh? Erm okay, hi there Ryuli." Jin was definitely sure that it did not sound very Chinese at all, not even given the context that they should be in the same Isolation Ward. Nevertheless, he did not care that much about the name but more about why she was here. The blue haired girl ignored his greeting and extended her hand out, indicating that she wanted the blade back as promised by Jin. Jin sighed as he knew that he had to keep his bargain; otherwise, he was sure she would not even speak to him anymore. He placed the sword on the floor and slid it towards her, which she took the opportunity to run towards him to grab the sliding sword. "Hmm, for a kid, her instinct for a battle seems to be remarkable," Jin remembered the talk with Qiu Yue when he shared that he wanted to build a sort of tuition centre to cultivate children and in a way possibly act as a childcare centre too. Ryuli''s breathing was chaotic as she tried to swing her sword towards Jin though he dodged it quite easily. Jin also checked if he could activate his chi since in the previous dream he was not able to. "Hmm, but for me to have two lucid dreams in one day, that''s definitely more than just a coincidence." The chi checked out, but even though he could dodge Ryuli''s attack with ease, he could feel that his internal organs and bones were cracking within him. "Could it be a side effect from the fight with the Three Tailed Fox Demon?" Jin pondered while he finally had had enough and snatched the sword away from her again. Only this time around, it seemed Ryuli was more clear headed and felt more determined to fight back as she ran away¡­ Reaching for her school bag. (Jin inserted chi into his eyes to activate the infrared vision and saw her trip a few times before reaching for her school bag.) There and then she came back with a kid umbrella and held it in front of Jin. She was not going to fall for the same trick again and took upon the umbrella to defend and attack Jin if needed. "You sure you want to fight me with that umbrella?" "Uncle can have the sword! I will defend myself with this!" Ryuli said, and Jin could see that she was putting up a strong front. There were some bleeding scrapes on her knees and despite the pain, she believed she needed to defeat the person right in front of her. Only then Jin vaguely remembered what she said. "Why did you say that you had to kill me in order not to become a demon?" Jin asked as he tried to use chi to influence the kid''s mood. A trick that he learned from Pei during his break time. She said it would be useless against humans since cultivators had some basic form of mind guard with the chi around them. The higher the grade, the stronger the guard against chi influence. But right now, the kid in front of him was not a cultivator as he sensed nothing from her. She was just a commoner. Influencing her with chi was literally child''s play. "Because¡­because mama¡­*sniff* Papa ¡­became demon. Papa ate Mama. Burnt the temple. But Ryuli confused. Papa never eat me. He made all others bleed. Ate anyone who came in his way. Papa used flames to burn people. Many many people in order to protect me." Ryuli suddenly broke down under the influence of the chi as her words were almost incoherent. "The man¡­who brought me here, killed my papa. He said that I might become a demon. Threw me here. He also said that *sniff* kill anything here and survive, I will not become a demon." Ryuli rubbed her eyes and held on to her umbrella. "But can you defeat me at your current state?" Jin squatted down to be on her eye level and asked her the question seriously. She knew it was not possible, but she did not dare to give the answer that Jin wanted to hear. If Jin was not mistaken, that crescent moon man was putting her to starve to death and gave her the illusion that if she can escape from here, she would not be a demon. Even if she did become a demon, the isolation ward would be able to prevent that from happening. "Solitary confinement will drive the girl insane the moment those candles die out. Making her go insane, fighting her inner demons and later starve to death¡­what a cruel way to die¡­" Jin pitied the girl upon hearing the story. "How about this? I will teach you about cultivation? That way, maybe you can defeat me and not become a demon?" Jin proposed as he placed the sword down to show that he was sincere and not intent on hurting here. "Why would uncle want to do that? Teach me cultivation, so I kill you? You are strange¡­ make no sense at all?" Ryuli was confused whereas Jin was confounded. "Let''s just say, I want a fairer fight." Jin kicked the sword towards her and despite the heaviness, she carried it one handed and with the umbrella on the other hand. "Now look at this." Ever since Jin saw those Astral Pandas, he had been wanting to try that again. He only hoped those Pandas could still appear even though they were just in a dream. Lucky for him, it did work, and a big fat panda appeared in front of her. The little blue hair girl was dumbstruck by the cute fat panda. Some instinct compelled her to go forward to touch it, but she managed to remain vigilant. "Hahahah! You are right to be aware of it despite its cuteness." Jin praised as he could see that the little girl was wary of it. "And that is cultivation." "I know what cultivation is! I am not stupid!" Ryuli replied back and tried her best to summon some chi out even though she had yet to break the barrier of awakening the chi circuits. Sometimes, kids could be gifted with the ability to break that barrier naturally. More often however they got to be forcibly awakened. (Only if their aptitude for cultivation was positive and reached a particular mark). The chi circuits were like those science experiments, all they needed was just a jolt of chi from their family members or perhaps a grandmaster that was willing to pass their secrets down. That way, the dantian would be activated and use that chi as a basis. The System had warned Jin that if he planned to open a teaching hall for kids, all of them had to be awakened first and it emphasised that under no circumstances should Jin or his Sub System Users be the ones to give their chi to kids. Of course, upon hearing this, the first thing Jin asked was for the reason why. Yun, who was around, explained that their unique cultivations and being in contact with the System made them exclusive. "It will have severe consequences to a kid as compared to an adult," Yun said as she reminded Jin about the first time he came in contact with the System. Only then did he realise the process was similar to him having his chi circuits being awoken by his Grandfather. Just that the System''s jolt of ''chi'' had been way more painful than he could ever remember. "Okay, I understand. I shall never to do that to any kid." Jin promised, and Yun told him that if he ever wished to awaken a commoner, to get her instead. She could predict the aptitude with the System and adjust the chi output while ensuring it would be a normal jolt. But this time round, it''s just a dream, right? He could play the Devil''s Advocate for all he cared. "So how about it? I help you gain your cultivation, and in return, you give me a fair fight? But I have to warn you, the activation of your chi circuits will be extremely painful. It will be okay if you refuse it. Instead, I can teach you some basic sword skills." Jin offered as if to tease her. "I will do it." Ryuli said without hesitation. "Wow, are you sure? That response was really fast. Don''t you want to think about it for a moment, at least? I assure you the pain will be 10 times, if not 100 times more painful than that pain you are experiencing with your knee scrapes." Jin warned Ryuli. "But Papa said if someone gives a lending hand in your darkest time, take it. No matter how evil the other person was. Take it. Move forward. Kill evil if need to." Ryuli replied, and Jin felt that was a very mature response for a little girl. He could not help but feel encouraged by it too. "Very well, take a seat near the candle and face the wall," Jin instructed her because he realised that he needed to have some skin contact at Ryuli''s back to activate the dantian. He did not want to be seen as a child pervert so he asked her to sit near the candle. But to his surprise, she removed her shirt but carefully covered her front as if she knew the procedure of how the chi transfer will work. "Guess¡­that makes my job even easier if she vaguely knows how it goes." Jin thought to himself. "Mama and Papa¡­tried for me¡­they cannot activate the chi circuits. That is why we come to the temple and ask for help." Ryuli said out loud to calm herself down. Jin then recalled that temples usually have a grandmaster or at least a monk healer that knows how to unblock chi points. Something similar acupuncture, but for chi points. Her parents probably brought her to the temple to seek help. Still, to feel that the dream was in a way continuous from the previous one, was too much a coincidence. He guessed he should tell the System about it and see if it or any of the bellators knew anything. "Hmm¡­" Other than that Jin did not know to respond to the little girl''s reply but decided to remain confident that he knew what he was doing. "If you think it''s painful, scream. Scream out loud until you lose your voice. Do not hold it in." Jin told Ryuli, and she frighteningly nodded her head. "Here goes¡­" With the chi of the Lazy Astral Pandas surrounding his hand, Jin gently pressed it onto her. ¡­only for her screams to fill the room consistently. Chapter 450 Ryuli At first, Ryuli was controlling herself when Jin placed his palms at her back, but the moment he sent a small amount of chi into her little tiny body, she felt like death had visited her. The horrid screams from her petite stature frightened Jin, but he was aware that breaking the procedure halfway could have dire consequences. He did not understand why all this felt so real when he was lucid dreaming, but the fact remained that there was no System around and his storage ring and phone were not working indicated that this was unquestionably a dream. He pressed on with his chi transferring and told Ryuli to bear with it a little longer. The little girl shouted until she was unable to breathe anymore. Ryuli could hear her heart pounding, felt her blood circulating and pulsating through her entire body and yet at the same time felt that her whole body was numb. The only thing she could see was darkness with a fickle of light from the edge of her vision. The only thing that kept conscious was Jin''s constant yelling that it will be over soon and she held onto that stranger''s lingering voice to as long as she can¡­until she blacked out. ¡ª¡ª- "You awake?" Jin asked as he saw Ryuli open her eyes while she lied on his knees. To Jin, it felt like it had been an eternity after Ryuli blacked out. By then, he started noticing that the chi circuit within her had begun to flow after the chi transfer was done. However, instead of leaving it as it was, Jin took the extra mile and regulated the chi within her runty body. He did not understand why, but he could somehow feel the chi pulsating through her body as like it was his very own. All he could do was to make sure the chi flow into every part of the circuit so that there was no blocked or missed points. Or that was how Ming had done for that for mini Jin when he was younger. Ming had briefly explained that the opening of chi points in a child''s body was the most vital. Should a family member or grandmaster miss a chi point opening during the first circulation of the chi after the transference, it might lower the future potential of the child. Hence, Jin was making sure that it passed through all of the points by ensuring his chi travelled through her whole body. But even as he tried to do so, Jin could only rely on vague memory to ensure that he covered all the parts. This was because he was using himself as a reference to circulate the chi in Ryuli''s body when he cultivated. Jin placed her in the same sitting position that he usually was in and aided the circulation of the chi based on his experience. It was easy because the chi that was in Ryuli''s body was his, but he subsequently noticed that Ryuli was also starting to produce the same type of sludge that Jin gave out when he cultivated. "Ah¡­?" Jin was equally confused but guessed if it was a dream, it only made sense that there was no sense in the things he saw. Surprisingly, he was able to control her sludge too with his chi as well. So he did just that to prevent the sludge from consuming the nearby candle. After circulating his chi a few times through her body, he could rest easy that at least a main bulk of her chi points had been opened. Jin understood why this was usually done either by a grandmaster or under the tutelage of a professional. But this was the best he could have done, and it comforted him the chi within her was not rampant but as quiet as a motionless lake. "Umm¡­" The little girl woke up realising that mean uncle who had nearly killed her just now, was staring right in front of her face, and she quickly rolled away to her best of her ability. "You are cute when you sleep you know? You should maintain your cuteness when you fight." Jin felt an urge to tease her even more as he walked away from her weapons which were placed near the candle. Suddenly, he realised he was starting to imitate Kraft a little too much for his own liking. "Urgh, that sly old fox is such a bad influence." Ryuli did not care what that uncle mumbled to himself as she ran to pick up the umbrella and sword to protect herself from that lying uncle. "You said it was painful! You did not say it was death!!!" "If you think that is death, you have to rethink the sacrifice your Papa went through," Jin replied as he now had the command of the sludge that came from her body. Jin also called out an Astral Panda to light the place up with his Black Fire so it would be more visible for Jin and Ryuli. "Right now, you will be fighting with this sludge monster which I am controlling. Defeat it, and then you can fight me." Jin instructed as he made the sludge into a panda. Following the orders of Jin, the sludge panda immediately screeched at Ryuli and she was already taken aback by it. "Okay, maybe I should drop the difficulty level to another notch," Jin noted to himself as he made the Sludge Panda sit lazily at one corner. "Okay now attack it," Jin told Ryuli except she was too scared to do so. "Perhaps, having a tuition centre might be harder than I thought. I should reconsider the options of getting one¡­" The dungeon supplier decided to try something else instead. "What happened to your determination and will that you had previously when you fight against me?" Jin recalled and used Ryuli as the subject of motivation. "The Panda too cute; I do not want to hurt it. I am afraid it hurts me too." Ryuli replied so innocently that Jin did not know what to do. "I¡­ oh my god. Okay, the panda is fake. You saw the ball of sludge, right? I made the panda from it just now. The panda is that sludge. So do not worry, hit with all your strength for now. I promise it will not hurt you." Jin tried to reason with that kid, and she unwillingly nodded her head. With a straight forward charge with her umbrella and sword, she attacked the lazy sludge panda at the corner, but it had no effect on him. No matter how she slashed or stab, it did not make a dent because Jin had solidified the sludge to the panda''s form, allowing it to be tough on the exterior. "That''s it! Keep hitting the Panda! You are not putting enough strength to it. You are a Grade Zero cultivator! How are you going to kill me when I am a higher grade than you?!" Jin encouraged her as he tried to analyse the fighting patterns of the little girl. Ryuli might not have any tricks or techniques at her disposal, but Jin seemed to have had the feeling that she might have the potential because of her attitude. Usually, kids these days would give up after a short period of time when they realise their efforts could not achieve any results but not her. She initially tried to attack at different angles to see if it made any difference. There was even once she climbed up onto the Panda''s leg to try and poke her sword into the Panda''s eye, but the sludge panda simply picked her up and put her down. Yet, Ryuli did not give up. Instead, the little girl went for the easiest method. Continuously hit something until it had an effect on it. A stab from her kid umbrella, and subsequently a slash from the sword that was left by the crescent moon man. Rinse and repeat. Each blow might be minute, but she was trying her best to make a dent onto the lazing panda. That was when Jin decided to help her. "Your breathing is too shallow! Concentrate on taking a deep breath before hitting it!" Jin shouted at her and Ryuli followed it to the letter. "Next, you are not bending your knees enough. Your centre of gravity is not stable! Lower your knees, concentrate on your breathing!" Jin instructed as he showed Ryuli how it was done by demonstrating it onto a nearby wall. He took a deep breath, concentrating on the energy to put in his punch and lowered his knees. Subsequently, he slammed his palms onto the wall and he could feel the entire Isolation Ward shook momentarily only to notice that he had created a palm indentation on the wall too. "Oh shit, I think I over dramatised it for her." Nonetheless, that was what Ryuli needed to see. She took a deep breath in and lowered her knees a little before stabbing the Panda with her kid umbrella. The sludge Panda opened its eyes and looked at her for a while. It before snorted and gone back to sleep. Ryuli was pleasantly surprised that it worked and she began to do the same for the next few rounds until she could feel that something was swelling inside of her. It was her own chi. "Yes, continue, do not stop! I can see your own chi appearing right now!" Jin prompted her to continue, and she was also aware of the changes that were taking place in her body. Unknowingly, she was able to stab the Sludge Panda with an infused strike which caused the Panda to open his two eyes lazily. In retaliation, the panda flicked its fat chubby paws at Ryuli and she was knocked back a few metres away. "Good, now you finally have the attention of the panda! But first rest up a bit! We can continue after a short break." Jin praised her as he opened the school bag to notice there was no food nor water in it. She had no way of surviving for more than three days of dehydration unless¡­she cultivated to stay alive. There were instances where some cultivators had cultivated over decades in Isolation with no food or water, but that was because their cultivation style had allowed them to do so. Most cultivation styles would not be that efficient in reducing the amount of food intake or water intake to zero. He could only imagine how long she could stay in this place before her bodily needs overcame her. Jin then proceeded to teach her his way of cultivating since the Lazy Astral Pandas required almost no food and water if they were stuck in cultivation for a long period of time. It did not take long for her to get the hang of it and went into a trance. However, this was just a temporary solution. The only way was to ensure someone would help her get out of this Isolation Ward¡­wait, no. Was Jin not in a dream? Why was he so concerned about this little girl''s wellbeing when it should be merely a dream? If Jin was in a dream, could he not think of something and go all the way out to create an exit for her? At least, there''s a happy ending if he suddenly faded out from a dream. Therefore, while Ryuli was deep in her cultivating stance, Jin looked at the Isolation Ward''s only opening at the top which was currently shut tight. If that crescent moon guy had left her to die and the story of the burnt temple was true, he would have to destroy the opening of this isolation ward and bring this little girl out of it himself. Jin recalled the sludge panda and when it was a sphere of rotating sludge, he threw it to the locked door to see if there was any inscription charms or protective charms that might be used to prevent anyone from unlocking the Isolation Ward. True enough, the moment he threw the sludge towards it, a sort of protective energy wrapped around the locked door. "If it was that easy, it would not be fun." Jin murmured to himself as he recalled the sludge. Once again, he condensed it with as much chi as possible. "So. In my possession is some little kid''s sludge and some ''magical '' powers. I do not know how powerful that charm is and doing this conservatively might in fact backfire." Jin thought to himself. "Hmm..maybe change the sludge into a spear, and use the White Panda ice as a coating. Throw the spear with bamboo cyclone or the wind energy I had harnessed. After that, utilise Black Panda Fire to burn the protective energies since its the most destructive force I have at the moment¡­.Should I use Panda Yawning or will that be overkill?" Jin thought to himself how to get it done. In the meantime, the dungeon supplier called out three astral panda forms out to test his theory out. One harnessing the power of the wind from his Epic Art, Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda while the other two were gathering as much Black Panda Fire energy and White Panda Ice energy together. It was taxing for Jin, but he seemed to be able to get the hang of it quickly. (It''s a dream after all, right?) With the sludge now condensed into a spear, Jin asked the pandas to now combined the Black Fire Panda and White Panda Ice energies into the spear. "And now the finishing touch." Jin gathered whatever chi he had left and thrown it up with the aid of wind energy which the last Astral Panda had gathered. The spear boomed from Jin''s hand as it spiralled crazily towards the locked door and clashed against the protective charm. The White Panda Ice gave the spear an extra penetrating power while the wind energy increased the velocity and thus the strength. While the spear pierces the charm, the Black Panda Fire in it consumed the protective charm wildly. The moment it penetrated through protective charm, the Black Panda Fire ignited the condensed sludge spear instantly when the White Panda Ice coating melted away, causing it to explode and shook the entire Isolation Ward. Jin realised that upon doing that, random debris was falling down on to the almost forgotten Ryuli. He quickly ran to her side and covered her while using his body to prevent any rocks from hitting Ryuli. The Panda cultivator, however, was not stupid and used whatever remaining chi for Panda Yawning against the smaller rocks but a large part of the ceiling broke and fell onto him. "There is no way, I am going to let you die after making you suffer to become a cultivator!" Jin said as he withstood the impact of the debris and held it with his bare hands. Slowly but surely, he managed to at least move it away from the cultivating Ryuli. Sadly, that was also when he began to lose his consciousness when he successfully moved the impacted debris away from the little girl. Everything in his vision started to fade away, and all he saw was the bright wide opening from above. A silhouette of a man¡­no a few others were looking at the destruction of the isolation ward from the top. "The girl still survives!" A voice echoed through the isolation. "She did all this by herself? She did not possess any demon blood like her father right?" The sounds had also began to get softer but Jin tried his best to listen. "Doubt so, However its like what you said! Her chi awakened as you said she would. But I think -" Unforunately, all Jin could hear subsequently were just murmurs and everything faded into black. Chapter 451 Emergency Surgery - Part 2 "Why is Jin''s pulse suddenly going all haywire again?" Peppers wondered as she tried to maintain the mana output in Jin''s body. They had reached a critical period during the surgery where his brain was consuming more mana than he should be able to produce on his own. Peppers could only keep up with it to maintain his link between the body and spirit but when she decided to reported that anomaly to Pei, Jin''s vitals went off the charts. "Peppers, maintain the brain''s mana consumption, we mustn''t allow the spirit to leave the body at all cost especially during the infusion of the inscription charm. " Pei ordered while hastily asked for a surgical stapler. "Milk, proceed with the final chanting for insertion of the inscription charm as soon as possible, we need to close his body up. Nurse, get the AED machine in case of sudden cardiac arrest." Pei calmly gave her orders to the people on this medical battlefield. The repairs to his body were done. Pei had already inserted the replacement parts for his bones and the inscription charm was attached to his sternum. Milk was starting the final chanting to make sure that it could remain in his body forever regardless of any severe attack in the future. At the same time, the Panda Nurses were running around in that pocket dimension to prepare the worst case scenario. She acted calm, but Pei still did not have any idea what was really happening to him even with the help of the System. In her centuries of healing, the sudden spike in his charts was extremely abnormal. "Au Voir Lait, Greg Gi A Hi!!" Milk barely completed the final chanting, before Pei sutured up the body. She had ensured that the inscription charm was meticulously fused in line with the body and it was also thanks to Octofussy who had rushed out the Rapid Regeneration of the Otherworld Parasite God Inscription charm for them. Pei did the final touches quicker than any surgeon would be able to perform and told the Senior Panda Nurse who was handling the anaesthesia to dial down the amount as smooth as she could while the rest of the Panda Nurses cleared the remaining procedures of the surgery such as ensuring the surgical scar was bandaged properly. "We have done everything in our power. Now only time can tell." Pei sighed as she fell to the ground, lying on it dead tired. Milk did the same but not Peppers who seemed unconvinced that Jin''s spirit was stable. She decided to take a risk and increase the amount of Mana output she produced, and suddenly eight panda silhouettes appeared above him. "Whew, Jin, you scared me back there." Peppers fell to the ground as well, unable to move a single inch but she had one more thing to do. Increase the speed of the temporal manipulation to hasten Jin''s recovery. What seemed to be just five minutes, was pushed forward to five hours in that pocket dimension which allowed Jin to open his eyes as well as giving the entire surgical team to have some rest lying immobile on the ground. "Where am I?" Jin asked as he saw bright lights shining onto him as he was still on the rough surgical bed. "Sorry master, we cannot get you a hospital bed nor teleport you to the Luxury Instance, else we will risk you getting dismissed by Grandma Yuan." Pei answered as she lay on Milk''s thigh. "Master, you are a pain in the ass. I was so excited discovering the properties of the magical living armour plate, and here you are getting slaughtered by a Three Tailed Fox Demon fused with your own sludge." Peppers complained while enjoying the other thigh of Milk. "It''s glad to see you all well and healthy." Milk genuinely cared for Jin, but she suddenly got a knock from Peppers Staff to her mandible and a hit from Pei''s paper fan to the head. "OEI! YOU TWO!" Milk shouted, and Pei disappeared into Jin''s bracelet while Peppers returned into her room post haste. Milk''s temper finally simmered down as she got up and gave Jin another healing spell to fasten the recovery. "We have made a few adjustments to you while you were out cold." Pei started explaining as she now was back in her comfy zone. "I have removed your broken bones and replaced them with bones from a more robust creature which have a similar body structure as humans in the wild." "Eh? What?" Jin was surprised, but Pei did not allow him to continue. "I have merged some monster muscle fibres into you as well, so you should be able to surpass human capabilities even without using too much chi." "Wait, WHY did you-" "Milk and Octofussy have produced a one of a kind inscription charm especially for you to make sure that whatever injuries you suffer in the future, will heal almost as instant as snapping a finger. We also ensured that it''s compatible with your body." Pei interrupted Jin once again. "WHAT?! How can you-" "The only thing I regret is not fiddling with your brain, else I would have been able to increase your mental capacity and up your physic defences too, so I wouldn''t have to work too hard all the time." "STOP! PEI! STOP!" Jin finally shouted but realised the pain in his abdomen was stopping him from saying anything else. Pei was finally done talking and waited for Jin to catch his breath and ask what he wanted. "I did not give you permission to do any of those to me! How could you?" Jin was overwhelmed by Pei for receiving such drastic news. They actually turned him into a ¡­''monster''. (Which seemed to be the most fitting phrase.) "You lost your rights, the moment you signed up with the System." Pei stuck her tongue out. "After your ''training'' you were as good as crippled. It would have taken you months maybe years to fully heal from that. I did what I could to help you recover and saw the chance to help you survive in this cruel world out there. And this is the thanks I get?!" "No! I did not mean that way, I mean¡­sigh¡­ Thank you Pei. I''ve seen the shagged faces on all the bellators, including you when I woke up. I believe it was stressful for you and the rest of the surgical team. I am grateful for your actions. It''s just well erm¡­I will just have to get used to my new body, I guess?" Jin apologised and Pei could sense that those were words coming from his heart. "Hmmph! I will forgive you this once!" Pei replied with a bit of arrogance. She couldn''t be too mad at him. The fox lady had access to his thoughts, so she understood how he felt. And he had every right to feel wronged. After all, they did just perform a highly complicated surgery and turned him into something which wasn''t 100% human anymore without any consent, even if it was all for his own sake. Focusing her attention on him she asked a very peculiar question. "I was not able to make the connection during the surgery but now thinking about it, you seem to have reacted just as earlier. Your vitals spiked in a similar way as when you had the bad dream during the taxi trip. Was that it? Did you have bad dreams again? " Pei questioned. "Yeah, you can call it a bad dream¡­ I guess? I don''t know and felt unsure about that. It seemed too real to be a dream. As if what I saw, actually happened." Jin replied while he stayed idle on the bed. "Heh, don''t think too much into it. Sometimes the ancestors in the System might accidentally form a link with you, resulting in you catching a glimpse of their memories, causing you to have such dreams. " Pei deduced that his spirit might have contacted something in this Isolation Ward, which she could sensed it was filled with past horrors and lingering essence of past souls. That was also why she emphasised to Peppers to keep Jin''s mental spirit intact. "Or sometimes, it''s just your imagination running wild. You know the kind of dream, where you get the feeling that you fall and jump out of bed? Whatever it was you probably shouldn''t worry too much about it." Pei consoled Jin as she and the System could not understand what had happened. "But just to be sure. Do you still remember anything about your dreams? What it was about, what you saw or what you did maybe?" "Ehh¡­blue hair? Does any of our ancestors or past Users have blue hair?" Jin asked, and the System instantly gave a quick No. Jin then figured it could not hurt to give Ryuli''s name out and see if the System could cross reference to anybody in the national database system which had that name. "No, a two tier cross reference check brought up a negative search for the person you called Ryuli. Similar pronunciations were also used without any matching results." The System stated, and Jin was a tad disappointed. "Guess, it was really just a dream," Jin mumbled. Suddenly he remembered about the palm imprint, he made on the wall. Jin was able to get up from the surgical bed and started to feel the inscription within him already working its charms. The sense of pain lessened more and more until disappearing completely and Pei started to second guess if it was the right choice to give him such an immortal level inscription. Still, that had been Octofussy''s choice, not hers. "Where are you going Jin?" Pei asked as he walked out to the western wall of Isolation ward and ignited his Black Panda Fire to illuminate the place up even further. It was useless, the walls were already cracked and dented from past attacks, and the battle with the Three Tailed Fox Demon just made the place even worse. On a separate note, the System had not been completely frank with Jin. There had indeed been a match for the name Ryuli, but no picture was found in the database. Instead, a high level tier SSS executive clearance was required to access the file. The attempt to search for this person had resulted in an alert being sent out informing the officials that someone was looking at something that should be top secret. Kraft, who had been bored because everyone shunned him, had checked out what the System was doing at the same time. Seeing what was happening, he managed to respond by retracing the alert to an isolated remote router that was off the grid. "Wow, this Master really pulls out some pretty unpleasant sucker punches every once in a while." Kraft quickly went into action and began to analyse the ping and the data it was sending, it was unfortunate, but the ping had already reached the router in record time preventing him from intercepting it properly. Hence, he did the only thing possible for him before the signal went through all his other proxy servers. The sly old fox changed the location of the IP address and blamed the search on a criminal who he randomly found in the police database that had almost the same data address as what the ping was sending with the help of the System. It was merely a difference of just a digit, and that was all it took to keep whoever was managing this highly sophisticated database to be unable to trace it back to the dungeon supplier''s store. "Looks like I''ve been too inactive for some time. It may be time to upgrade my cyber skills." Kraft spoke as he (metaphorically) eyed the System. "You know what I am getting at, don''t you? Or do you need me to spell it out?" "Original Bellator Kraft, by releasing the last of the ex bellators to you, you are entirely liable for the future consequences of such an action. Are you completely sure? At your current strength, you will not be able to handle them as you used to." The System warned Kraft in a serious tone. (As serious as a bodiless entity sounding like a computer could be) "You saw how advanced that piece of technology was. The speed it reached wasn''t normal and seemed better than any supercomputer. I haven''t seen such advanced tech in ages. Unless you release him, we won''t know whether the existence of this Ryuli is a threat to Jin or a potential ally." Kraft tried to contend with the System to get the last ex bellator out. "If we don''t do anything to cover our tracks quickly, the people out there might eventually learn that we have meddled with their database. It will only be a matter of time, for them to realise that our sacrificial lamb isn''t the one they are after. " Kraft argued while writing additional codes to their existing firewall. "Let''s not put Jin in unnecessary trouble, well erm¡­ any more unnecessary trouble that is¡­ at least we should be able to control this one to a certain extent rather than having government agents which might consist of Royal Zodiac Clans to come after us." Kraft hoped he managed to persuade the System. "Agreed. Changing Original Bellator''s previously won visitation rights to a temporary loan of that person. Limited to this period when User is still confined to the Isolation Ward. Return him after usage. The deal will remain as it is, for User''s safety." The System replied and Kraft agreed. "At least you are coming out for your cage for a bit," Kraft replied with a wide grin. Meanwhile, Zeru appeared right in front of Jin and threw his Bam back at him. "It''s time to train, no time to waste. I have been waiting for your Astral Form awakening to teach you the things that you need. And thank you Pei, you have my sincere gratitude for providing Jin with an immortal body. I can finally teach him the full extent of my abilities." Zeru said as he brandished his usual wooden sword in front of Jin. With a soft wooden click, a red metallic sword was unveiled from inside the wooden one. It looked like Zeru had been fighting with his sword undrawn the whole time. "Lotus Sword Saint, Thousand Lotus of Hell Cultivation Style. Zeru. Coming forth." Zeru finally revealed his true cultivation name as he dashed towards Jin with pure murder intent. Chapter 452 Magpies And Gold While Jin was battling in the Isolation Ward, the Farming World was getting heated up with the intervention of his monsters. The Dark Templars who were killed by Sebastia eventually met up with the Silver Mage as they were acquainted with each other. Silver explained that Sebastia was killing them to gain favour with the Demon Rats while secretly allowing the resistance members to meet up by resurrecting them for her own master. The Dark Templar Leader who went by the name of Zieg also realised there was a higher power at work and came to understand that Sebastia was a demon herself, just that she was from another world. "I know, I was also shocked to learn that there were other worlds out there apart from ours." Gold came to greet Zieg who immediately knelt upon seeing the Lord Scholar of the East. "Lord Scholar Gold! It is an honour to meet again! We feared the worst when we saw that the Heavenly Windmill had slowed down to a crawl. However a few weeks ago, we received reports that for a slight moment it turned just like in the past. We all hoped that you were still around, still fighting for dear life. To see you all healthy brings me great joy!" Zieg spoke with elation. "Same to you and thank you for listening to my little cousin. Sorry about the killing. Perhaps it will appease you, knowing that at the very least you and your squad will be able to experiment with your dark arts to the fullest without needing to worry about losing your life." Gold jested, and Zieg laughed with him "Yes, yes! However it''s already our honour to learn that it was a demon who bested us instead of a regular human. Maybe, we shall worship her and get her to be in a covenant with us." Zieg suggested, and the other templars also agreed. "Erm¡­you might be surprised that even a ''minion'' or you could call them footsoldier, in their standards, can beat your Dark Templars the same way Sebastia did." Gold while patting Zieg on his shoulders to comfort him. "Anyways, we have understood the situation, and since you granted my entire squad immortality, we shall henceforth be in your debt. Those lands and loot issue do not matter compared to this absolute precious gift that was bestowed upon us. We will be at your disposal. Do you need us to share our headquarter''s location so that Lady Sebastia may proceed to bless our brethren with this very same gift?" Zieg asked politely as he wanted to share this great piece of news with his other Dark Templars. "Ehh, Silver what did you tell them exactly?" Gold brought Silver one side and queried him. "Basically the same that you told me, you did say that this master of yours is busy, so that is why he put you in charge right?" Silver whispered back and Gold shook his head. "We ALL serve for that Master you speak so lowly of." Gold emphasised that Jin was their ultimate ruler of them all. "But right now the master is not here, so you ARE the one in charge." Silver could not comprehend why Gold could not understand the absence of command. "Whatever, I will explain to them properly." Gold returned to the Dark Templars and told them that their immortality was not without any conditions and listing what he and Jin''s other monsters were doing. Zieg looked at him and laughed, stating that it was a small price to pay. "You provide us with worthy opponents to fight and kill. Not to mention space for us to research our dark arts? You sure it''s still a fair trade for our new master? Given these conditions, I say, we shall set out post haste to massacre my remaining brethren, so that I can bring them into this place!" Zieg seemed a little too eager to slaughter his people. "Well, yes but don''t you think that they have a right of choice to choose whether to die for you or not? Or whether your Commander has a say in things? After all, if I am remembered correctly, he was still in charge." Gold questioned his moral ethics and his position as the vice commander of the Dark Templars "About that, my father Sieg had decided to allow me to hold the reins of the Dark Templar''s organisation." Zieg refused to call his group as a cult. "Thus they now all sworn their fealty to me at the price of their own life. If I demand that they die by my sword, they shall. Those who do not will be killed regardless, as you said, this was a high level secret that cannot be passed around like cheap booze." Zieg countered, and Gold nodded slowly at the poor analogy. In the meantime, Flame Ripper and Meomi had met up with their individual organisations, and they were successful in their exchange. The Western Skies Guild was easily influenced by Flame Ripper''s introduction of gold¡­and something else. "More bags of gold if you join our resistance. We have retrieved this from the rats so you can definitely see more if you kill those bastards. And Captain? Try to learn not to discriminate against people." Flame Ripper lectured as he had proven not to be trifled with by initiating a duel of confidence against their captain. All of the adventurers laughed hysterically at first, seeing their captain who was nearly twice as tall and older was challenged by the small innocent boy that they were ''negotiating'' with. The outcome, however, had stopped their laughter. Especially the moment Flame Ripper took his dagger out. The captain who was swinging his blade as if he was performing some swordplay, already had the dagger by his throat before he could do anything else. Any movement from that poor fellow would have cost his life. Usually, Flame Ripper would let things go but that captain had insulted him so much that he decided to play a prank on him. By ripping his pants off. The rest of his adventurer crew could not help but giggle at the choice of underwear their captain was wearing, but that embarrassment also proved that Flame Ripper could take his life away and it would not cost him any effort. "That was a terrible lie, that gold came from the System and from my coffers!" Gold complained to Flame Ripper once he reported the transaction to him even though the dagger goblin told Gold that it was a small price to pay. "Stupid small boy! You will get your just punishment!" The Captain of the Western Skies Guild grumbled, but the rest of the adventurers told him off. He of all people should have learned his lesson not to underestimate people. "We will contact you again on where to strike. Take this little bird. It will tell you where to go next. Till then, stay frosty¡­and windy, especially you, Mr Pink Kisses." Flame Ripper giggled as he threw a magpie at them for communication purposes. ¡ª¡ª¨C In a separate location, Meomi met up with the spies from the Southern Stars Organisation and a person from the opposing side was nearly shocked to see the face of the Lord of Ording Town to be meeting them. "Sire, I thought you were dead?" A lady with masked scarf came forward to speak, but she was held by another agent, who was supposedly the leader for the negotiation group. "State who you are. We have received evidence that Lord of Ording Town was dead." The leader demanded while brandishing his sword out. "The Lord may have died, but before you stands the New Lady of Ording Town. I can still recognise your voice, sweet little Nightingale." Meomi said as she disabled the bald figure disguise that she was wearing and showed her human form to Nightingale. "Mistress Meomi?!" Nightingale ignored her leader''s actions and went towards Meomi trusting her fully. The rest of the Southern Stars agents continued to watch them with their guard up since they did not trust any contacts until their leader told them to stand down. "I heard you disappeared with Lord Scholar Gold when he asked for your help?" Nightingale questioned as she pressed onto Meomi''s neck as if to check something. "Touch all you want, only you know the secret," Meomi whispered as she relaxed herself and let Nightingale to caress her neck. "She''s real. I can vouch for it." Nightingale said to the others, and the leader decided to give them some space. "Since she was your past acquaintance, you conduct the negotiations. I have faith in you. The rest, fall back for now. Keep a sharp eye for any Demon Rats." The leader ordered his agents, and they all proceeded to their assigned duties. "They have so much faith in you?" Meomi asked with a tinge of sarcasm which made Nightingale lightly punch Meomi on her shoulder. "Hey! So rude! They trust me because I worked hard, alright?! Before you stands the vice leader for this negotiation team! Especially since I grew up here." Nightingale became more friendly and casual in her tone. "And with you." "Thank goodness, we sent you to the Southern Stars for your spy training even though we northerners hate the tricks the southerners always use. At least you were one of the only few from Ording Town that escaped the Demon Rats outbreak." Meomi hugged Nightingale by the waist as they both swayed their bodies together in delight. It had been a long time for the two of them meet up with each other. One was supposedly just an ordinary maid while the other a noble''s daughter. However, Lord Ording had a criteria for his team of maids. To be sufficiently strong during a fight because the Lords of small towns could only have that many knights under their disposal. In fact, only three were assigned to that small little town in the north. Poppy, Pippy and their father, Porke had been the only three knights under Lord of Ording. However, the brotherly knights'' father and mentor perished during the outbreak as he and Lord of Ording defended the town for the rest of the Townsfolk. Meanwhile, the maids and knights assisted with the escape of the townfolks, causing many of those maids to lose their lives protecting them against the Demon Rats. This was because they were assigned to protect the back of the crowd as Poppy and Pippy were guarding the front. Thus, all of the maids of Ording Town perished, except for Nightingale who was a year older than Meomi, stayed with the Southern Stars for training. Not many Northern Region Lords had such amicable relation with the Southern Stars, and those who had were only a handful since relations were strained due to a past war between the both of them. However, the Lord of Ording had been one with friendlier relations to the Southern Stars because he assisted to smuggle some Litoride for the Southern Stars as well as supplies that had proven to aid the spy organisation greatly. Thus, they took in all of the Lord''s maids as a sign of gratitude towards him (Some of those maids would also spy on the Lord, keeping him in check). This was also one of the reasons why out of all the organisations, the Southern Stars was the only one from the South who had decided to help the North. (in return for riches.) "I did felt regret that I was not able to do anything for our Lord." Nightingale admitted, but at the same time, she also thanked him selfishly for sending her away from the town when the outbreak happened. Meomi appreciated her honest thoughts and subsequently started to discuss with her what the Southern Stars cpi?d provide for the resistance. Through their conversation, both Nightingale and Meomi had noticed that they had changed rather drastically, in both appearance and the view of the situation. Nightingale was thinking about the benefits for her organisation since she had been graciously taken in by the Southern Stars after the Demon Rat outbreak. Meomi was thinking about the eradication of the Demon Rats and reinstating law and order again. "Do you wish to be Queen of the Northern Region?" The short haired assassin asked, and Meomi laughed at that question. "Assuming I could make such a choice? No. I have a master that I am grateful for having given me the opportunity to do some good in this land. After all of this is over, depending on the calls of the people, I will assist with the redevelopment and build the Northern Region up again. Else, i will follow where my master goes. I believe it''s similar to how your Spymaster treats your organisation¡­ I hope." Meomi answered, and Nightingale was able to relate her feelings to a certain extent though she was very curious who this master was that she talked about. "He''s just a human, to be honest. Alright, maybe that is a bit too far fetched right now. You could say he''s a martial arts master, eh ¡­hmmm that''s also not too fitting a description¡­" Meomi could not fully explain what Jin was unless her sister figure Nightingale sees it for herself. "You know what? Just work with us for a while, and you might get to see him. We are currently running reconnaissance for him and gauging the amount of resistance this region has to offer before he makes a move." "Sounds more like a general or tactician rather than a martial arts master," Nightingale replied, and Meomi felt that was also not the right way to call him that too. "In any case, I agree to your terms of negotiation. You provide us with bags of gold for now, and anything that we find, we will split half." "One more thing. I do not wish to surprise you, but you have the right to know since the region is small enough for you to eventually bump into each other anyway. The Western Skies Guild is working for us too." "Oh huh¡­that''s fine. If there is no competition, it would not be fun anyways." The way Nightingale took it so casually seemed to indicate that she already knew that the Western Skies Guild were being called in too. "Hahaha, I guess nothing can escape the ears of the Southern Stars. But let me introduce you something that might improve your way of communicating." Meomi offered as a portal opened and four blue Magpies landed on her shoulder before the portal closed up again. Nightingale was bewildered by the sudden show of magic though Meomi iterated that portal belonged to her master as she was merely borrowing it. "Enough of that, this is more important. This birds can allow you to communicate far range. We will loan you these four birds to assist in your reconnaissance of the area. All we ask is to give us the most likely locations of the various major bases of the Demon Rats be it overground or underground." Meomi demanded and told her how the birds worked. Nightingale called her leader who was nearby through a series of sound signals, and when they both tried it, they were immediately amazed by these magical birds. "How¡­where can we get more of these birds?! We are willing to negotiate more for this!" The leader asked excitedly, but Meomi said they belonged to a colleague of hers. She could only loan the birds to them for a period of time, unless they managed to prove worthy like the Goblin King Sol and Orc King Frost Echo who used it to keep in contact with Master Jin or Qiu Yue. "I see, then we will do our best not to fail you," Nightingale promised on their behalf to Meomi as they made their way with the four magpies and a bag of gold. Chapter 453 Demon Origins "Demons, huh? I guess I can help you with that." Gold wondered as he looked through the mansion windows and saw somebody that could use a push in life even though he was literally an immortal. It was none other than Lord Wolte. The depressed slug now aided the Werejackals by killing some very annoying pests that had invaded the home instance. There had not been any such pest initially, but the System introduced it and isolated it to part of the crops the werejackals were growing because the crops ironically needed the pests to survive. The more the pest bit and feasted on the crops, the more resilient the seeds of the said crops would become. However, there was a limit to how much damage the pest could do to these unique crops before it was considered destroyed. A balance had to be struck, so Lord Wolte was sent in as the pest terminator, killing the pests that were already out of control. With its slug''s body who was able to emit the same fragrance as the crops, the insectoid pests assumed that Lord Wolte was part of crops and got attracted to it. This allowed the System to bring in a higher and varied number of insects to test the limit of the unique crops to the point even Lord Wolte found it to be staggering. This was so that the System could grow one valuable resource. Oil. When the oil plant matured, the roots of the oil crops would secrete oil into the underground where they had already placed an oil deposit (the size of a tanker) to catch that black gold. In the beginning, it would only be able to secrete 1ml of oil, but the seeds that bloomed afterwards allowed it to emit an exponentially increasing amount. The cycle continued until the current iteration of seeds could secrete 1 litre of oil per week. Lord Wolte had been eating those insectoid pests to make sure that the crops would not die from being bitten and the werejackals encouraged him further by thanking him for making such an important contribution to the ecosystem. Initially, he had been quite excited to finally be part of something bigger, but in recent days, he wished that he could do more than just eating pests since the System had already created a few clones of him to do the same thing when the oil fields got wider and larger. However, the real reason why he was so disappointed was because he did not even have a ride to his name in the WunderPanda Theme Park. Even the Minotaurs who weren''t featured yet in the dungeon instances received a mechanical bull rodeo ride in the Theme Park and Jin was selling soft toy versions of Moloch puppets as the prize. He couldn''t get any sadder that Moloch received more attention than him. Still, Lord Wolte did not know how much of a help he would be when he gave the System a breakdown analysis of how his body worked for it to create similar clones like him. The market for oil was tremendous, especially in Jin''s world. The System did not need it because it was omnipotent enough to power itself up. (Though it would be more efficient if it had the mechanical brain to increase its processing speed.) Nonetheless, the System was thinking long term and considered extending the werejackal''s farming instance to incorporate larger oil fields, else a multi storey oil producing farm. In terms of expenses, it would definitely help Jin too especially when he and Qiu Yue needed the extra dungeon dollars to get the Dungeon Fortress City going. The System had already calculated their expenses for just the first year and noted that if they could sell the oil, it would benefit them greatly. The prognosis might look decent for the future, but first, they have to survive that critical sapling stage of city building thus every extra dollar counts. "Yo, Lord Wolte. How''s the pest extermination going?" Gold came down with a group of (armoured) entourage with him behind as he asked Lord Wolte about his well being. "Eh, could be better, you know. If I positioned myself from Section 1.2 and mowed down the pest from that point, I might have been a few minutes faster than yesterday." Lord Wolte answered as he looked somewhat intrigued at the armour fellows behind him. "Ah yea, I have some good news for you. These are the new batch of monste- *cough* humans that came in and it just so happens that they''re practitioners of the dark arts." Before Gold could say anything else, Lord Wolte''s expression immediately perked up a lot. "Practitioners of Dark Arts? So which demon do you worship? Baal? Diablos? Mephisto?" Lord Wolte wanted to share his own personal knowledge since he had been lonely and feeling useless for some time. Gold guessed it was the right move to push these Dark Templars on to him. "Actually, we do not know the name of the demon that we worship because he hasn''t given us any name," Zieg confessed with a bit of embarrassment. "Hahaha! it''s actually more common than you might think! These kind of demons usually try to act all high and mighty, but in fact, they are just little brats who feel happy that some humans happened to be summoning them out. Or maybe, they think that you are incompetent enough to know its name. Come now, let me see-" Lord Wolte was suddenly pulled back by Gold for a moment. (Gold used his magical powers to do so since it''s quite impossible to do that physically.) "Wolte! They are from a different world! Theirs might not even be the same demons that you are familiar with." Gold whispered to Wolte. "What?! I don''t think it really differs that much between worlds. Demons are arrogant pricks that want to be acknowledged." Wolte proclaimed with certainty before mumbling a few words which Gold needed to strain his ears to catch them. "¡­even myself¡­" "Regardless! I would like to see the kind of demons they summon." Wolte told Gold as he waited for them to start the process. Needless to say, they did the same chants as when they tried to surround Sebastia, but this time it was a vastly longer incantation since they were not in a hurry. After all this time they were asking their contracted demon to come out. The circle that the dark templars formed turned purplish and then red, which later shone quite brightly to reveal the emergence of the demon the Dark Templars had made a pact with. Horns rose up from the summoning ritual, and that was when Wolte immediately called out the name of demon even before the demon had fully descended. "Baphomet!!!" Lord Wolte shouted just half way through the summoning, Baphomet was in shock hearing his name spoken so clearly when he knew that he had not once given a name out to any dark arts practitioner at all. "Wolte?!?!!?" Baphomet roared in return, just as surprised. "EHH??!" Gold was speechless when Baphomet also appeared to know Lord Wolte''s name when he even barely got out of the circle. "What the hell?!" "Hell it is." Lord Wolte chuckled as he waited for an old friend of his to be summoned fully. The Dark Templars did not know that their benefactor was friends with this particular slug tending the fields. "I ¡­just can''t even¡­." Gold had wrapped his mind hard on the matter, and unless there was some ritual or spell that could transcend worlds, there should be no way the two demons should know each other''s existence less being friends. "Hahahah! That look on your face is priceless!! Hahahahah!" Wolte laughed as he asked Gold if he could contact Yun in any way. "What''s the matter?" Yun came by to see a number of new faces, most of which she was aware of. She was briefly informed by the System, except for the demon that was standing in the farms. Upon closer inspection, System had notified that the demon''s existence was permissible in the instance. "Huh¡­even the demon they summoned is also partially taken into possession by the System already. No wonder the System allowed it to be here with strict supervision." Yun thought to herself as she noticed the processing capabilities of the System was third in priority in this particular instance at this moment. The first was still Jin who partially recovered and the second was working with Kraft to get more information about Ryuli. "I just needed to ask you a simple question. Do the names of demons like Diablos, Baal and Mephisto exist in Master Jin''s World?" Lord Wolte asked, and she nodded her head, which only served to make Gold question everything around him even more. "Oh, I think I understand why Gold may be confused. I doubt you''d know this. The existence of the demons are both separate and at the same time singular in their entities." Yun explained as she inadvertently looked at the progress of Oil Crops. "It might be a bit too much to take in, but the Demons can basically exist in various worlds; however, their souls can only exist in one place at one time. Think of them as having possible replacement bodies in every world that know about their existence though the moment that particular world wants to summon it, they need to sacrifice an equal or greater number of souls or resources like blood etc to have that entity to exist in their world." "So you are saying demons are in a way some sort of immortals too? They can pop up in any world they want?" Gold questioned, and Yun nodded her way. "Putting it very simple, the answer is yes. However, there are still conditions to be fulfilled. For example, Wolte''s and Moloch''s King, Baal currently exists in the Dungeon World. He has a major presence in the Dungeon World, and if someone would wish to summon him in another world, the sacrifice required should be massive, like a metropolis or equivalent for the soul to move to another place." Yun tried to explain the best as she can to the scholar. "But if the demons were killed, their souls would lie in wait in a dimensional plane or that was what I was told until someone decides to summon them. For more information, you may want to ask Wolte or Moloch themselves." Yun explained. "Is there no way to stop them from being summoned ever again?" Gold asked and Yun shook her head. "There always exists a balance of good and evil. Somehow, someone in a time unknown to us, created these demons to ensure such forces would remain indefinitely balanced. For our side, Moloch and Wolte belong to the System. Someone would have to sacrifice something similar to the worth of this ever growing System or more to retrieve back one of the two. Only then could they break the Enforcement Loyalty Orders from the System." Yun cited examples to him to understand better. "However, do note that the System is also a by product of the Will of the Heavens. Meaning, unless some guy in the heavenly plane decides to sacrifice a part of heaven to get Moloch and Wolte, it''s most likely they would not be able to obtain them" Yun concluded her explanation to Gold which he appreciated deeply. "So erm bro, it''s been a long time. That girl is smoking hot though." Baphomet and Wolte were talking to each other at the sidelines while Yun gave an impromptu lecture on how the demons worked. "Heh, you better not mess with her. The last time I tried to look underneath her, woohoo~! I got killed ten times before she let me off." Wolte cautioned Baphomet. "So, bro, how have you been? Guess your death in the Dungeon World wasn''t the worst thing to have happened to you. I mean you seem to do pretty swell, now that you have some fun with your little dark arts practitioner group to give you resources and stuff." Wolte sounded a little jealous, but Baphomet understood what he meant. "Yeah, they''ve given me shit loads of items, especially this thing they call Litoride. Yo man, that''s the bomb! You should give it a try once in a while. But you know what brother? I will not leave a fellow brother of mine in a wreck, especially after what Baal did to use. " Bahpomet attempted to carry Wolte up with his batwings. "I''ve currently only taken the pact with this particular squad, they still have a hell lot of nubs back in their headquarters. I can introduce some of them to hook you up. That way, you can regain some strength and followers too." Baphomet generously offered to Wolte. "You sure you to give your precious resources to this old man? Don''t you want to have them for yourself?" Wolte asked. "Hell yeah, I want them to myself brah. But you''ve always looked out for me and even helped me to take a hit against Baal before I''ve gone apeshit and stuff. So take them as thanks." Baphomet took out something similar to a cigar made out of Litoride and smoked it. "Heck! Even I might even repledge my allegiance to you again. You were like the coolest leader ever, although a bit talkative and punny but damn~! You treated your men well. I''d love to serve under you again." Baphomet revealed as he knelt in front of Lord Wolte once more. "You that solid? Bro, you do not know how much your gift means to me." Wolte said with visible tears sweating out from his skin. "Yeah man! *clears throat* I Baphomet, hereby swear to be under the service of Duke Wolte. May this pledge be ever binding till our souls disintegrate!" Baphomet swore and, in that instant, Wolte himself was oozing with brightness. Suddenly Yun got alerted that an evolution was triggered in front of them. As Jin was still unconscious at that particular point from surgery with the Sub System Users already away in the Giant World, Yun was the highest authority. So being the only one that was able to substitute Jin for an answer, she nodded her head. "Go ahead, Jin would want his monsters to evolve anyways." "Very well. Initiating Wolte''s evolution." The System stated as it allowed the evolution procedure to proceed smoothly. Chapter 454 Monster Bones It took Zeru less than a microsecond to unleash his sword. Before Jin could finish blinking, his master had already inflicted him with hundreds of superficial cuts on his flesh, from head to toe at a distance. The cuts were too numerous to be counted, and Jin staggered instantly. "Hey! I just healed him! Can you be a bit more gentle?!" Pei shouted through the System Channel at Zeru though he shook his head in defiance. "In a fight, not giving your all is not just a sign of disrespect towards your opponent, it may also be the one mistake that might reverse the tide of battle," Zeru replied, giving Jin barely enough time to close his wounds with the aid of Octofussy''s Rapid Regeneration of the Otherworld Parasite God. Regrettably, there was no free meal in the world. Jin could feel a tingling sensation whenever his flesh wounds healed. It was as if a worm crawled over his wounds to treat them. One alone would be unpleasant enough, yet that feeling was multiplied by over a hundred. He instantly felt violated even though his wounds were closing up. Jin had learnt his mistake from the past battle, and instead of moving, he summoned out two Astral Pandas each equipped with a shield. They were none other than Bam (Tower Shield form) and Boo (Wide Buckler shield form). "How are you going to fight me without your weapons?" Zeru asked as he produced a swing in the air, causing a flurry of white lotus petals to fly towards Jin. The two Astral Pandas stood staunchly in front of Jin and handled the attacks while he prepared his counterattack by summoning his Black Panda Fire. "Forgoing the path of a swordsman, and facing me as a magician?" Zeru questioned directly beside Jin as the white lotus petals flew beyond the Astral Pandas. With a swift chop from Zeru after teleporting to Jin, the hand that Jin was charging his Black Panda Fire dropped to the ground. (More work for Pei if not for the Rapid Regeneration, this time he felt his whole hand grew from worms.) Jin shouted in pain, but a kick from Zeru to his throat silenced that scream and knocked him away. His Astral Pandas disappeared the moment Jin lost his concentration, causing Bam and Boo to drop to the floor. "While you are not wrong to stop a strong attack with the Astral Pandas, you seem to have forgotten that I have speed and strength on my side. Distance is not a problem at all, so you cannot hide from me. How long can you prevent me from attacking you should be your most and only relevant concern." Zeru lectured as he strolled towards Jin. He could see the insane regeneration inscription already working its magic to reproduce another hand for Jin. "His chi regeneration is truly abnormal, else he would not have been able to activate that rapid regeneration inscription that many times." Zeru thought to himself. "So what if you grow another hand? All I have to do is to cut it down." "Is cutting me all you are capable of?" Jin finally regained his voice as he placed his other hand away from Zeru''s sight since he was leaning on the wall. "Do I need anything else? Whatever tricks you do, it doesn''t matter. In the face of superior speed and strength, they are meaningless." Zeru moved forth as if he was floating on air, but that was also when Jin had finished his preparations. Learning from the experience he earnt from the Three Tailed Fox Demon, Jin used the wall as a base to grow spikes of White Panda Ice towards Zeru. Despite his efforts, none of those White Panda Ice spikes mattered to Zeru as he dodged every single of them gracefully. Whenever it looked as if the ice spike was about to hit his master, Jin ended up missing Zeru by a fraction of a centimetre. All the near misses pretend to frustrate Jin since it was not the main trick, for Jin was trying to fight just as Zeru had described¡­ A magician. Since Zeru was moving like the wind, Jin would have to slow the wind down. Each missed ice spike exploded behind his master into hundreds of ice shards and towards him. Jin did not care about the collateral damage to himself as he trusted in his own fast regeneration inscription even if it felt like he was being skinned alive. There was no other choice if Jin hoped to win against Zeru. Zeru noticed the forming of the multiple ice shards behind him, and he twirled once in mid air, creating lotus petals to appear destroying most of the ice shards. He thought that Jin would be using those as a way to attack him. "Barely a decent move, but I hope there''s more to it." Jin did not reply and instead shot a scatter beam of Panda Yawning for the first time. He figured if he could shoot one large beam, how about splitting the beam into several parts? Only in the future would Jin eventually learn that all it took was to move his tongue up and down as if he was ululating a Red Indian war cry and his beam was scattered. For now, he just opened mouth really wide and tried screaming and stopping to let them move erratically. (which worked perfectly fine but more of a hassle. Due to the distance and taking the divergence of the scatter beams into account, there were only a few chi energy beams that targeted Zeru''s position. However, what his master did not know was that Jin''s scatter beam was not meant for him at all. It was the scattered, floating ice shards that remained in the air. As the beams travelled towards the ice shards, they deflected the beam like a diamond shining bright under an intense source of light. Some of the shards even refracted the Panda Yawning rays, causing more of the beams scattered to the other ice shards that were not destroyed by the Zeru''s whirlwind of lotus petals. Zeru was unaware about what was happening behind him as he went forward to slice down a fragile sheet of White Panda Ice shield which Jin conjured haphazardly to protect himself at the very last second. Yet, Zeru was merciless in tearing that last form of defence away from Jin to show that he was serious in defeating his disciple. "Your White Panda Ice shield appears way too slow. If you were 0.5 seconds faster, your White Panda Ice Shield could have reduced the blow of the attack and not be a piece of paper for me to cut." Zeru said as he had already vertically slashed and plunged his sword into Jin''s chest. If not for the monster bones that Pei had just merged with Jin, his entire rib cage would have been cut. Nevertheless, even the monster bones didn''t manage to handle the severity of Zeru''s slash unscathed. The cut broke a number of the bones, just not thorough enough to be called a clean cut. (It would have if not for the incomplete ice shield) Yet that ice shield was also part of Jin''s impromptu plan. The moment it got sliced into two, the broken ice shield pieces angled themselves and went ahead to attack Zeru with Jin''s manipulation of chi. It was enough distraction for the major backstab waiting behind him. Jin had been slow with his casting as he had moved the ice shards with chi alongside the aid of his Panda Vision, Inverse Eyes (or as Ming called them Pandaromic Eyes). Like a targeting system, the eyes allowed Jin to clearly see the path where the ice shards must be placed to accumulate sufficient power in the beams to rejoin as one again and hit Zeru''s back. When Jin felt it was the right movement, he did not hesitate to redirect the towards his master. The energy beam was concentrated enough that it punctured a hole through Zeru''s shoulder while he fought off the broken ice sheets. However, Jin did not know that Zeru deliberately took the damage as he had figured it was enough for now, thus receiving the blow to call off the match. Still, he did not get the full picture until the moment he saw Jin''s eyes bleeding along with the broken pieces of ice shards behind him. Only then he realised how Jin performed the counterattack. Zeru slowly stepped back and sheathed his sword again while he granted Jin time to recover. His disciple might have an abnormal production of chi, but there was a limit for anything. He was still a Grade 8, and his injured eyes proved that his overconsumption of chi was taking a toll on his body. Once more the Rapid Regeneration inscription kicked in, but Jin could feel that squirmy feeling getting worse this time. It was as if the worms had grown to the size of snakes, and he screamed, unable to stop his body''s own regeneration. In the meantime, Pei felt like a revelation hit her about what Zeru was doing. "Are you doing this because of the side effects of the monster materials merging with his body?" Pei wanted a clarification to see if she really did miss a step in the recovery process. Zeru nodded his head with delight. Pei finally understood why Zeru needed to attack Jin the moment he was somewhat combat ready. "The monster bones you used had a will remaining from the monster it came from. If Jin''s chi and body did not overpower them in the first place, the monster genetics could have potentially possessed Jin''s body." Zeru answered as he brought Jin''s face closer and looked through Jin''s eyes. "Good, the signs are gone. It seems to be breaking down and Jin managed to reforge himself again. This time round, his body won." Zeru said as he placed his master back down and went over to pick up Bam and Boo for Jin. "What bones did you use? I thought you were going to improve me and not making me fight an entity for control over my body¡­" Jin finally had a breather to ask. "Bones of a Vampire." Pei and Zeru answered at the same time, and Jin now understood why Pei said the monster had the same body structure as a human body. "Technically, I had planned to make the System purchase the bones of a Vampire Duke for you. Unfortunately, such a high ranking creature is impossible to purchase legally, and the black market prices are astronomical. Let''s not even start with a Vampire Prince or a True Ancestor. A Vampire Marquis, however, was exactly perfect for budget purposes and the bones are as hard as metal." Pei answered via the bracelet. "The wounds inflicted was to awaken the vampire genetics in the bone marrow. The inscription should be the one eating all the vampiric genes up so you would not be consumed by it." Zeru shook his bloodied shoulder a bit before the System healed him automatically. "Heh, so I might have become a vampire. That would be great for Halloween, but so bad for business otherwise. Still, this rapid regeneration is eerily creepy. I don''t think I will ever get used to the feel of worms squirming around me." Jin answered as he was feeling better. "A small price to pay for such an excellent inscription. Besides, you saw how your chi output was not able to cover the regeneration process after two severe hits." Zeru was also testing out Jin''s regeneration capabilities. "Now that you learn your limits and how awfully slow you are to even use your sword, it is time to give you proper training with the remaining time you are in here and remember. You do not much time left." From Zeru''s pocket, he threw a few lotus petals around the isolation ward, causing it to float mid air. "I want you to manipulate your chi and control your body to jump onto these petals without making them move more than 2cm away from their original spot. It''s to increase your manipulation of chi so that you can call out your fire and ice energy as fast as your mind can think." Zeru said as he gave a demonstration by jumping onto a lotus petal making it appear as if he was floating on it. "I notice that you were also able to harness wind energy. Use that to aid you too. But always remember not to move the floating petal more than two centimetres away from its original spot or else I will cut you down." Zeru instructed him as he drew his wooden sword towards Jin. Jin understood and gave it a whirl at the training exercise, but any without warning, Zeru already send a whirlwind of cuts towards Jin for breaking the rules. "Don''t worry, I can do this all day until they open the isolation ward. Besides, my arms needed some exercise too." "What if I do not complete the test by the time the ward opens up?" Jin asked which caused Zeru to send another whirlwind to him, prompting Jin to dodge barely in time. "Don''t ever consider the option of failing. Be headstrong and convince yourself that whatever you try will succeed. However, considering this isn''t really something to be learned in a brief period of time, you will have to continue the training after you have defeated the four demon exorcist trainees. That is if you fail." Zeru twirled his sword while telling Jin to get up as soon as possible. "In short, you are not getting back to the shop until you learn how to control your chi properly without using your Pandaromic Eyes," Zeru said as he deduced Jin''s eyes were bleeding because he was using his Panda Vision to manipulate his chi down to exact and detailed movements of the ice shards in order to create the concentrated beam. Such precision had its price and Zeru preferred his student not to take any short cuts. "What are you staring at me for? You are a hundred years too young to fall for me. Plus, I do not swing that way. My wife is the ''bestest''." Zeru shot another whirlwind at Jin to make him get back to training. Chapter 455 Rex "Rex, it''s time for you to come out." Kraft was in the deepest level of the Dungeon Maker with the System''s supervision as he unlocked the very last fox which the System had kept. Aside from Pei who was currently making sure of Jin''s condition in his fight against Zeru, the rest of the foxes were present to witness the unlocking of Rex''s cell box. Its outer form was very similar to a giant and very advanced level complicated Rubik''s cube. Numerous combinations were unlocked, including Legendary Grade sealing inscription charms to prevent him from coming out. Pepper''s task to discover the properties of the magical living armour plate was interrupted once more, as the System needed her to remove the previously added custom made barrier, the Reverse Aegis. It had been a perfect addition to Rex''s holding cell since its property to absorb almost every type of energy in order to maintain its barrier form was a boon for the berserk fox. After analysing its usefulness in the fight against Orc King Hamu, the System had asked this little girl bellator to incorporate the Reverse Aegis, thereby freeing up 0.5% of its maximum processing capabilities needed to hold onto Rex. The three ex bellators who were marked as troublemakers by the System, each had a reason why they were deemed as such. Kiyu had always been hailed as the goddess of natural beauty. With a charm which she painstakingly trained, Kiyu could make ANY male fell head over heels for her in minutes, resulting in major headaches for previous Users. Pei has been at odds with the System for a very long time, and had regarded Kraft as her personal jailer. Furthermore, because of their shared history, to this day, she had not forgiven him and kept regarding him as the Devilman. And lastly, there was Rex. An ex bellator dangerous to the point that the System needed more than a single leash to stop him from doing the one thing he craved to. Rampage. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- The desire to destroy everything in his path had not always been inside Rex. Originally, he had been a human just like all the other ex bellators. He had lived a long and in his own regards, a happy life as the one and only right hand man for Zhou Lin. Together with the Jade Prince, Panda Lord Zhou Lin had commandeered his enterprise to aid the Twelve Clans at the time to the best of their abilities to vanquish the Banned Emperor''s reign. He and Rex had overcome countless trials to unite the business world of both Eastern and even the Western regions. The Western Magic Kingdoms back then had been very fearful of the Eastern expansion, but Rex had been able to make it happen because of his origin. He had been adopted at a young age by Panda Lord Zhou Lin during one of the many revolutions in the Western Magic Kingdoms, yet nothing could hide the fact that he had been a westerner by blood. (Regardless of the purpose, Zhou Lin had the foresight to raise a Westerner within his clan.) Surprised by his discovery that Rex could control both Magic and Eastern Cultivation, Zhou Lin personally tutored Rex, making him on par with Zhou Lin''s bodyguards at the tender age of 12 years old. Treating him like a son, Zhou Lin further inculcated values and business decision making into Rex. Despite the protests of the various Panda Elders stating that as the Panda Lord, he should focus more on his blood related sons who would one day take over his seat in the future, Zhou Lin openly ignored them. In fact, Zhou Lin had never been one to show favouritism to those who were not capable, even if those happened to be his own children. Thus, he preached meritocracy as the indicator for those who wished to get the seat of the Panda Clan''s Head. Without a doubt, his sons had been jealous towards their adopted brother but time and time again their plots to remove Rex had been in vain because of his knowledge, insight and mere prowess. He could be considered a near perfect human in all regards¡­ except for one distinct weakness. Their father, Zhou Lin. Thus, fostered by their hatred towards Rex, and clouded by their own ambitions of becoming the next Panda Clan Head, Zhou Lin''s sons decided on the most villainous plan that any child could ever come up with. Patricide¡­ followed by fratricide. Even Yun as the spokesperson of the System for Jin had never been informed about the whole truth for one of the darkest chapters in the Panda Clan''s history. The children of the Panda Lord had collaborated with the Jade Prince to allow him to remove their father, Rex and any respected Panda Elders opposing their own rule in return for a 50% share of profits after they had won against the Banned Emperor. It had not been too hard convincing the Jade Prince to do so, as it was obvious to anyone that he feared the Panda Lord Zhou Lin as a potential threat to his ''rightful'' rule. The Panda Lord had been the one that gathered all the clans to his banner so that the Jade Prince would not be implicated in the long run. If such a man could dispose of one ruler, why should he stop at two? After gathering of all these power and the vast sums of money in his disposal, the only thing he lacked was prestige, which Zhou Lin could buy if he were smart enough. Despite the many pledges to the heavens by Zhou Lin with the Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation as part of the oath, the Jade Prince was constantly worried due to his inferiority complex. So the Jade Prince agreed to the Panda Lord''s children terms when they came to him. Yet unbeknownst to them, he had something far more sinister in mind. After collaborating for a long time with the Panda Clan, the Jade Prince had already been aware that the sons were rather useless, and understood why Zhou Lin would prefer to choose Rex as his successor who was their exact opposite. The Jade Prince could already foresee that with the removal of the respected Elders, all their businesses would eventually be devoured by other competitors given their incompetence. While the profit of 50% seemed alluring at first sight, who was to say, they would be content with that amount and not plot against the Jade Prince to backstab him at some point in the future? If they could do that to family, what little concern would they have for the lives of others in exchange for money? Hence, the Jade Prince decided to put his real trust into the Twelve Clans. He would remove the elders as requested by the children since it was part of the unbreakable oath when the Jade Prince asked for Panda Clan''s help. (Both parties agreed to make the oath vague, so there could be leeway with any request done) Afterwards, the Twelve Clans would dismantle the Panda Clan and absorb and divide their financial assets as their own. The rest of the Panda Clan members were to be branded as traitors. Initially, the Twelve Zodiac Clan leaders had been very uneasy with such a decision as Panda Lord Zhou Lin had been extremely generous to them. Only because of Zhou Lin, their Clans rose to fame and betraying that man would be a disfavour to him. Knowing how the clan leaders felt, the Jade Prince used underhanded methods to instil distrust, caused discord within the leaders and even had some of them replaced by their more ambitious clan members. After all the Jade Prince did dabble with a few Western Arts when the Banned Emperor had sent him off as an envoy to the Western Kingdoms. The magical scrolls of influence he bought, enabled his proposition to be more readily accepted by the leaders in exchange for the promise of wealth, power and land. Following the betrayal of the Jade Prince, the System came into existence and was inherited by the final Panda Elder, who had been hidden in case the Jade Prince would betray them just as he ended up doing. Understanding their overall situation from the System, he ordered the rest of the clan members and his allies to hide amongst the population as best as they could. For those from the main family, it was no easy task since many were found and killed on the spot. He also told their other branches and outer families to integrate into the twelve clans if needed. As for the Panda Elder himself, he knew that he needed time to make preparations for a potential comeback. The System allowed him to grant a part of its own powers upon the various branch heads within Panda Clan with the goal of passing it down as an inheritance for future generations. It was to raise warriors to lead their revolution, thus creating the first iteration of what was called Sub System Users, who would later become the first Bellators when they passed on. Unfortunately, the plan of this Panda Elder only bore fruit a couple of decades later after he had already relinquished the role of the System User to a new generation. Only then, the new (Panda) Chosen called upon her allies to gather so they could begin their counterattack. She felt that waiting any longer would result in a further consolation of power by the Jade Emperor and his Royal Zodiac Clans, just as they were promised by the then Jade Prince. Answering her call were the most promising members of the young generation of Clan Head candidates who had staunchly allied with the Panda Clan despite the emperor''s declaration to brand all Pandas as traitors. The following were some of the Sub System Users which the Panda Chosen was being accompanied with. Pei of the Crane Clan. Kiyu of the Butterfly Clan. Evon of the Frog Clan. Tsu and Kai of the Wolf Clan. Itori, Ixel and Ixa of the Grizzly Bear Clan. All of them gathered at the behest of the Panda Clan''s Chosen with their rank and file, as they were all aware that the power they wielded partly came from the ''one'' behind her. From what they were told, disobeying the Panda Chosen meant losing a huge chunk of the power they had gained so far. However there was one more candidate that did not stand out in the open, but orchestrated most of what had to be done from the shadows Kraft of the long lost Fox Clan. He had obtained the powers by previous Panda Elder through an incident of opportune. The Panda Elder used it as a chance to revive the fox clan who had bravely fought beside the Panda Clan through the years. He was the one who had influenced the new Panda Chosen to convene with the rest and came up with the intricate plan of attack. The general idea was that they were to infiltrate their enemies'' camps and learn every detail of the Jade Emperor''s activities. If needed, blend into the daily routines of the Jade Palace. Be it a chef, cleaner or prostitute. Everyone was clear of their objective. Only then, the rest could ambush them under the guise of the forgotten Fox Clan. Coincidentally, the Fox Clan was also one which Panda Lord Zhou Lin used to have close ties to, since his paternal grandmother hailed from them. Unfortunately, the Chosen did not care as much for that bond, but not for the last surviving member of the clan. (He had other plans in mind.) The whole plan was to eventually destroy the Twelve Clans and have the Panda Clan start anew again with no dirt on their name and with everything else getting pinned onto the foxes. But to Kraft, that was how the Fox Clan should regain its reputation as the clan of trickery and deception. During the constant skirmishes, the spies had learned that the Jade Emperor had constructed a tomb in which he housed the remains of the Panda Lord and his only filial (adopted) son Rex. (For the emperor''s trophy sake.) With the System issuing a mission the Panda Chosen could not ignore, the Foxes were forced to infiltrate the palace and recover these remains. But not without heavy losses. A forbidden ritual initiated by the System sacrificed the lives of many rank and file including the Chosen''s very own two children, allowing them to revive Panda Lord Zhou Lin. The betrayed former Panda Head swore revenge against the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans and promised to use whatever he needed to do to bring them down. Together with Panda Lord Zhou Lin once more, Rex was revived in order to handle the main objective of removing the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans. Thus, Rex became the very first one to be deployed as an official bellator under the System. Panda Lord Zhou Lin did keep his promise of revenge. He had done many things which on the surface appeared as if they all were in the best interest of the Panda Clan, but the justice that Zhou Lin served was suffering to both the common folks and Royal Zodiac Clans. Yet his hunger for power only seemed to grow more and more. Eventually, he even usurped the authority over the System from the Panda Chosen who had resurrected him, turning her into a useless rank and file cultivator. Rex was furious about what his father''s wrongdoings, and felt unjustified of what he had been contributing to. The repeating acts of terrors by Panda Lord Zhou Lin had made Rex doubt whether this was the very same person he had decided to accompany into the very depths of hell. Still, he followed him with a heavy heart knowing that Zhou Lin had a reason for all this. Eventually, it had reached the point that the Panda Lord''s actions could no longer be overlooked. It happened when Zhou Lin had personally executed some Panda Clan Remnants. They, who were ordered by the previous Panda Elder to hide by marrying into the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clan had been branded by Zhou Lin as traitors. All the Sub System Users had agreed to rebel against him. Ironically, Rex had been the first one to get killed by Zhou Lin even though he had been the only one who had refused to join their side. Unfortunately, when the System had been the one to inform Zhou Lin about the Sub System Users'' transgression, the Panda Lord first severed the head of his loyal right hand. This particular action had in turn sparked the internal coup d''¨¦tat against Zhou Lin. What was now only known to Kraft and the System; when the coup happened, the Sub System User''s overall Grade had dropped for some reason. However, the System actually played on both sides of the coin. While it could have stripped the Sub System users of nearly all their powers, the System had decided against it. Instead, it treated the whole infighting as something akin to a test for the Panda Lord. In case Zhou Lin was unable to deal with his own faction then it meant that he was not strong enough to remove the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans. In such a case the System planned to wait for however long it would take to find someone suitable. However, if Zhou Lin managed to remove Kraft, it would listen and grant Zhou Lin complete access of all its abilities no matter the cost to itself. Against all the System''s expectations Kraft managed to revive Rex with the help of Pei. By performing what would later be improved as the standard of resurrection, the drive that kept the betrayed aide alive was seeking justice from his injustice. (Resurrection was not available until much later when the laws of nature were changed.) In the end, it was not Kraft but rather Rex that enabled the rebellion to go smoothly. His burning rage became the backbone of the Sub System Users to defeat Zhou Lin aside from the weak points that he suffered. But it was no easy battle. All of the Sub System Users were eventually killed and later revived by Pei into bellators. When the Panda Lord knew that it was Pei who managed to restore them as bellators, she became his one and only prime target. Tsu and Kai who protected her fiercely were maimed by him. And regrettably, they were just the first two on the list of her dead guardians. Eventually when Pei was killed, the remaining bellators thought all was lost if not for an emergency backup plan by Kraft who had unwillingly allied with the Demon Exorcists. Otherwise, Pei could not have been resurrected as a bellator for Kraft too. However, Rex was proven to be more dangerous than Kraft anticipated. When Zhou Lin was defeated after permanently losing all their Sub System Users turned bellators, only Kraft and Rex remained. Sadly, Rex was not satisfied just seeing the corpse of what was once the man he regarded as his father. To make sure that there would never be a repeat of such a case, he decided to consume Zhou Lin''s dantian. "AFTER EVERYTHING I DONE? ALL THE TROUBLE AND HARDSHIP WE HAD BEEN TOGETHER? THIS IS HOW YOU TREATED ME?!!" Rex managed to eat half of Zhou Lin''s dantian before Kraft stopped the man who had become like a brother to him. Lamentably, that was also when Rex had killed Kraft who tried to stop him. But with his dying breath, Kraft used the remaining of his commanding power he had over Rex after his resurrection to change him into a fox and sealed him. At that point in time, the System placed Kraft in a time stasis and offered him a deal. The latter could swear allegiance to it, in exchange for resurrection as a bellator with immense power, including a limited ability to bring back those who had died similar to Rex. Kraft ultimately agreed, yet unfortunately without Pei, he was unable to resurrect his former comrades as humans, and could only provide them the forms of foxes. The Original System made sure to cage Rex up before he could do any further damage to the world and to the dantian of the Panda Lord. To the System, the ex Panda Lord was still a valuable subject for the future. ¡ª¨C "I hope your anger has quelled over the centuries, Rex." Kraft greeted him with a sad smile. Surprisingly Rex did simmer down after that long period of inactivity, especially when he finally got a chance to vent his anger towards Peppers'' Reverse Aegis (It had helped a ton) "If those old pencil pushers allow you to take me out temporarily, that means it''s something important. Speak and then leave me alone." Rex sent fiery chi out when he spoke. Kiyu quickly hid behind Kraft while Ixa, Ixel and Itori came forward defending Kraft from that attack. "I guess hearing you call me Little Brother once more, is too much to ask¡­ Please lend me your powers, I need you to increase my abilities so that I can track something down for the current User of the System. I hope there comes a day when I can get you to meet him. You should like him. It appears he is a bit like the one you really referred to as Father." Kraft explained and Rex was a bit surprised at this information. He looked at the rest of the foxes, who unanimously agreed that the User was not unlike the Panda Lord Zhou Lin in legends but of his memories. "Hmph, Ten minutes, after that, I am returning to my cage," Rex replied and Kraft was delighted. "Ten is a miraculous amount. Thank you! Big Brother¡­" Chapter 456 Updates From The Store "Three days? You kidding me, right? It felt like three years!" Jin exclaimed as he was perpetually filled with bruises and wounds on his body. For the last two days odd after his surgery (further enhanced to nearly one week, thanks to Peppers'' Temporal Manipulation magic), Jin had been furiously practising the lotus floating technique. Worse, Zeru had been upping the difficulty whenever he felt that Jin was getting the hang of it. He threw whirlwind attacks, vast swarms of petals, and even directly attacking him whenever he tried to jump on the piece of lotus. However, Jin discovered a nasty neat trick by overcoming the trials. All those chi control training with the Wind Energy which Zeru forced him to do, allowed him to unlock the Green Panda Wind power within him. Jin found it ironic that he wasn''t able to control it from the start but had to reverse engineer his Epic Art to understand how to utilise the wind energy from the Bamboo Cyclone of the Lazy Panda. That enabled him to create a Wind Astral Panda to infuse into his own body, giving him the agility and chi manipulation he sorely needed to float in the air and control his movements in three dimensions. The System later noted that his Green Panda Wind movements were similar to the cultivation of the Space Hummingbird Cultivation Style. "The similarities of chi control surpass 80%. System recommends User to read the manual to further improve his chi control movements." "As if I have the time to read right now," Jin complained while lying on the smashed up floor finally enjoying his first rest since the whole ordeal, at least for his little a while. Zeru had decided he was competent enough to pass the test though he''d preferred for Jin to practice more so he would have been guaranteed to pass with flying colours. However, Zeru also knew that Claire would open the door to Jin in ten minutes or so according to the System''s timer, thus giving him time to recuperate completely for the fight. "And even if I did, I sure as heck would not bother reading that. Instead please give me some updates regarding what''s happening at the store, the scouting mission or other things that I should be aware of." Jin asked as he closed his eyes just for a moment. He did not realise that sleeping on the floor could be such a blessing. "The Store is still well managed by Yun. WunderPanda Theme Park Instance remains to be the most popular of all instances and the highest grossing instance ever since its inception. The Restaurant Instance still remains the toughest competitor with Lynn''s inclusion of the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Instance as part of the stops in the Restaurant Instance." The System began its debriefing to Jin. "There has been an increase of 5000% in regards to catches and the number of customers buying the various fishes for food increased by 300%. The most popular order was to stew it instead of eating it raw. Thus, the business model that Lynn introduced has been working well and it''s become a popular spot for friends and co-workers to relax. System has also upgraded Bear Cub NPCs with ''playful attitudes'' for free to prompt customers and guilt trip them into buying more fish." 5000% might look like a lot, but Jin knew that it was because the original number of catches in the past month was way too terrible. (Hint: it was in single digits.) "Secondary News. A unit of 15 Dark Arts Practitioners was first captured with the aid of Minotaur Maid Sebastia. Fifty additional Dark Arts Practitioners were later captured by the Leader of the Dark Arts Practitioners. This had -" "Wait, what? Dark Art practitioners? I thought they were supposed to do reconnaissance and/or fight Demon Rats? Are they related to the Demon Rats? Have we found the ones responsible who were manipulating them yet?" Jin threw a series of questions, and if the System had been Zeru, it would have thrown more slashes to shut him up. "Minotaur Maid Sebastia has proven quite resourceful by infiltrating into the ranks of the Demon Rats. She previously captured the cousin of Werejackal Leader Gold, Silver, nicknamed the Silver Mage, alongside his subordinates. They had been the remnants of the rebel group known as the Jacks and Sebastia gained the trust of Demon Rats by eliminating them." The System later summarised the list of events to Jin, and he was pleasantly surprised by the development by his monsters. "Yeah, I should trust them more so I can focus on bigger things." Jin smiled as he thought that when the System interrupted him with more news. "Lord Wolte has evolved immediately after he gained a demon worshipper, who happened to be the patron of the Dark Art practitioners." "Huh? But the last I saw him, he had no evolution trigger or meeting any criteria to evolve. Is that even normal? Or was that Demon Worshipper so powerful it caused Lord Wolte to evolve based on its presence? No wait let me guess, because of the practitioners?" Jin asked and Peppers interrupted him when the System had enough of this babbling User. "Demons and Gods are different from normal monsters. They need worshippers to increase their powers and based on Moloch''s past tale about Wolte, it seems that he just needed worshippers to get back some of his original powers. The evolution shouldn''t be because he met the criteria, but rather his power level was way more than the current threshold the System had set, thus identifying it as an evolution. Am I right System?" The System acknowledged the suspicion firmly. "Oh¡­but can he also meet criteria for evolution?" "Yeap, definitely. Although I think the worshippers part will be most crucial to him." Peppers assumed, and the System presented pictures of the new evolved Lord Wolte. "What is this? A tank? How is this an evolution? He merely ¡­wait a minute. These spotlights? ARE THOSE EYES?!?!" Jin sat up to take a closer look at Wolte''s new form. It was definitely some sort of tank which he did not recognise, but the thing was he had eyes, a mouth and even a white moustache being merged at the front of the tank. "Do you have a video of him moving around?" Jin curiously asked, and the System presented one as requested. "Holy wonkers! This is ¡­ HAHAHHAHA oh my god!" Jin noticed how the threads on the tank were like his hands and legs. He was able to move them at various directions albeit slightly restricted, but he was in full control of the tank. Lord Wolte was literally an anthropomorphic talking vehicle. "Lord Wolte, in his free time had studied various forms of military vehicles, most likely to find a way to be more useful to User, despite his previously lacking strength." The System finally took an active role to explain. "His current form, he nicknamed the ''Slug Tank'' is his most basic forms according to him. This indicates that there is a lot more room for evolution should he be able to obtain more followers. However, as of now, he is combat ready and has been equipped with slightly more advanced armaments than the Sherman Tank User had possessed." The System explained which Jin thanked it for the heads up. "Third News, Sub System Users Qiu Yue and Lynn have been deployed to the Giant World to complete a mission issued by the Cooking Sub System. User was not informed earlier because it has been their unanimous decision to train themselves up." The System reported and told Jin that the mission was to find the missing Penguin Chieftain as they were not back from their monthly pilgrimage to the Altar of Giants yet. "The Giant World? Oh, the one where insects can be as big as the size of an Ogre from the Goblin World?" "Affirmative, the one User had also used the same analogy on the cats from that world, stating that they would be the same size as an Ogre." The System replied and Jin rolled his eyes. "What can I say? They are really all at the size of an Ogre! Only some were a bit larger!" Jin argued as he remembered Lynn and the penguins bringing back a dead Boar looking monster which was the size of an Ogre before cutting it up to use its bones and meat for the ramen broth. (The number of customers that visited the Restaurant instances required such a size to feed their hungry stomachs consistently despite the Sub System''s cloning ability of ''raw'' materials) "Alright, leave the two alone unless they signal for our help, but please do monitor them close enough. Call me overprotective, but I don''t trust them enough to be on their own yet. Their cultivation grades are too low for comfort." Jin ordered the System while he looked at the reports of the ongoing construction for Pand-Atlantis. "Under the supervision of Demon Lord Moloch, the Orcs and Goblins have completed Phase One for the foundation of the Undersea City Pand-Atlantis. A few Sandroku Golems were damaged due to the constant work, but revisions of those golems are already underway to ensure such mishaps won''t happen again." The System noted as it continued with its report with regards to the Floating City "Progress has been significantly smooth for the Floating City. Agriculture Sector One''s crops are at 110% growth with the aid of Ancient Treant Shu and Zither Mistress Ke Mi. Agriculture Sector Two livestock have increased to two fold with controlled temporal manipulation. Industrial Sector One has recently been completed and awaiting your choices to select what kind of industry User is looking at next." "I want a factory dedicated to improve and produce more of these Sandroku Golems so that the Orcs and Goblins working on it have a better workshop environment. Allocate half the industral factory space to Niu Lang and the Robot Crawlers." Jin commanded as he explained his rationale. "If we are going to invade or protect the Mecha World, we better start producing our own Mechas. But make sure to prioritise the repairs of Mechataur to get it up and running before anything else." Jin said as he had already spent a generous amount of money on Niu Lang to increase his knowledge on Mechatronics via the System. The profit returns were visible from the mini game that Niu Lang created, but it was still not sufficient to cover the costs yet. "If need be, outsource help from the goblins and Orcs who had been working on the Sandroku Golems. We need as many people on deck for this. Heck maybe get Lord Wolte since he potentially might have some knowledge on robots too. Else get him to get some tanks or planes. Continue building Industrial Sector Two as per Qiu Yue''s plan." Jin continued to swipe the boring statistics that the System showed, and that was also when he heard a lock unlocking from the top. "You can come out now," Claire informed him as she fully opened the door. Jin closed his eyes for a while to get used to the outside sun before he jumped out effortlessly with no help from his new Green Panda Wind energy. "We have verified your existence within the Isolation Ward for the past 72 hours. You may now challenge the four demon exorcist trainees. However, I will suggest using your System to teleport you back home and have a change of clothes." Claire said as she distanced herself a bit from him with an irk of disgust on her face. Jin looked at himself and finally noticed the amount of bloodstains he received not only on his tattered clothing but all over his skin, making it all dark red. If he hadn''t known any better, Jin would have thought that he had drowned himself in a sea of blood. "I shall inform Grandma Yuan that you are in dire need of a bath. I am sure she can spare you another 15 minutes. Meet you above ground soon." Claire walked away, evidently covering her nose, which made Jin wonder if it was that bad of a smell. "Trust me, if not for the bracelet being a dimension of its own, I would have already run far away from you." Pei agreed with Claire entirely, and the System had already opened a portal for Jin to a private Emerald Mountains Hot Spring Instance. "Oh my god, Master! You smell worse than a rotten fish." Mr Patsu complained as he saw his Master coming back for a bath but criticised his body odour. "THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW!! Mr Patsu, prepare the most fragrant bath soap you can find and put it into the hot spring instance!" Jin ordered as he hastily took his clothes off. "Sire, this is a hot spring, not a bubble bath. Besides, the soap bath would not remove the odour from you. We need to manually scrub your entire body to make sure the stains are washed off." Mr Patsu tried to reason with Jin but he was already butt naked. "Then what are you waiting for? Scrub away! I only have 15 minutes in real life! Get it done as soon as possible and soak the hot spring with medicinal herbs! I want to dip a little before I go for the fight!" Despite the demands, the penguins in the hot spring instance were pumped up to serve their master to the fullest. "And somebody! Get me a bowl of cold soba noodles! I am literally starving!" Jin yelled as he tolerated the penguins intense scrubbing starting from his feet. Chapter 457 Selecting a Location Upon returning to the burnt temple location, Claire and Grandma Yuan were actually waiting for Jin at the stairs of the underground basement. "Seems like you had more than a good bath," Claire mentioned as she thoroughly scanned Jin''s body to the point he felt a bit violated from her staring. "Am I late?" Jin asked as he looked at his storage watch, which indicated he should have a minute to spare. "No, but I''d like to request something from you." Grandma Yuan answered as she nodded at Claire as if to signal for her part. Claire brought out a suitcase from her storage ring and opened it right in front of Jin. It was not filled with cash but bars of gold right in front of him. "I refuse if you want me to lose the fight intentionally. Also please don''t tell me to go easy on them, because I literally went through hell inside the isolation ward." Jin was quick to refuse what he assumed Grandma Yuan was here before she could say anything. "Hahahah! I can imagine. The sensory inscription does not exactly operate the same way as a CCTV, but it was able to track the moments in that Isolation Ward. Truth be told, I''d call it a miracle that you managed to survive after all the crazy things that happened inside that Isolation Ward." Grandma Yuan laughed before she shook her head. "No, I am not asking you to do anything of that sort. My words are promises. You shall fight one on one against my students and I sincerely expect you to not pull your punches. However, I never specified the location so that''s the part I would like to ask for your help." Grandma Yuan clarified, and Jin started to realise where this conversation was heading to. "I see. Even with this amount of money, the materials for resurrection might not cover all four of them and considering they are all fairly high grades, it would be all the more expensive." Jin pondered out loud and Claire seemed offended by this. "Grandma Yuan is rich enough, she does not need your pity!" Claire rebutted before Grandma Yuan stopped her. "Claire, stop it. It''s true I might have that kind of wealth but would be stupid to waste it for such fights when it can be used for far more important matters like funding a certain store''s expenses. Am I right?" Grandma Yuan was sly enough to change the topic. Claire initially approved when Grandma Yuan had proposed that idea, but after a while, she disillusioned herself that cultivators having a tremendous advantage in life especially Jin, who possessed the System, would be more prideful in nature. She figured Grandma Yuan lowering her tone and proud stance was to please Jin in order for him to get the request acceded. "Sure, no problem. What kind of landscape do you want the dungeon?" Jin agreed almost immediately, which stunned Claire for a moment. "You¡­ are not bargaining or anything?" Claire tried to clarify her doubts about Jin, and he shook his head. "Nope, that gold amount is more than enough for a dungeon instance. Besides, Grandma Yuan has been treating me rather nice ever since I met her despite her tsundere demeanour." Jin blurted the truth bluntly and Grandma Yuan laughed. "Hmmph! Cheeky brat watch your words!" Grandma Yuan smirked and walked away, ordering Claire to follow her. "A simple arena will be fine and get the portal ready when I come back here." "She means in five!" Claire said. "Aye Grandma, five is more than enough." Jin acknowledged as he returned back to the Dungeon Maker and whipped up a dungeon instance as instructed by Grandma Yuan. However, he decided to make it a bit more fanciful despite her instructions to be simple. The terrain was endless with a few slopes and hills, but the ground was filled with water, similar to the Grand Central experience that Bin Yong and the rest had been in. The water was only ankle level and to avoid the endless pool of water, one had to make for the hills. Jin also did that to give himself a slight disadvantage, especially for the fight against Lein''s since he was an electric user. "Why does User wish to give a slight handicap to himself?" The System asked and Jin brought up an important point. Trust. "The moment they enter the portal, the demon exorcist trainees might discerned that its a dungeon instance if everything is in my favour. While they do not know that I might have the System, seeing an obvious advantage that Lein can utilise should be sufficient to gain their trust." Jin replied. "Will it?" The System shot the question back at Jin, and he was unable to answer for a moment. "In any case, I did not do that just for the obvious disadvantage part. I am genuinely afraid of the Demon Snake Cultivator and the Nine Tailed Fox Demon. The shallow water should provide me with sufficient clues to know where they are coming from." Jin explained his rationale and once again the System rebutted his claims. "The Demon Snake Cultivator and the Nine Tailed Fox Demons are highly likely to use the small hills as cover and as a platform to jump on User. System recommends User to not be stupid and give himself unnecessary disadvantages." The System stated, and it made sense when Jin considered the System''s opinions. After all, it did witness the thirty seconds fight till the end and had probably formed some analytical report given the trainee''s performance. Moreover, the System should benefit the most from analysing them in the dungeon instance. "Fine, fine. Give me a nice scenery then. Maybe the beach or something." Jin passed the task over, and immediately the System recreated the entire dungeon instance to show a neverending skyline of the sea in the beyond and the beach he requested. But as for the sandy beach part, it was spacious up to a 100 metres wide before a high cliff blocked the entire view. "Tall cliffs on on side and the ocean on the other side with an endless beach strip. Seems pretty enough and it gives the challengers options to choose whether they want to fight at the sandy beach, sky or sea. I accept this instance." Jin smiled weakly at the System''s design. "Of course, System will never manufacture inferior products." The System boasted itself in front of Jin, and he sighed with a light smile once more. Jin reappeared back at the temple hall in time and saw Claire escorting the trainees as well as Grandma Yuan into the area. "You could have just waited here, Grandma Yuan." Jin mentioned with a little concern since she did not have to walk out to get her students. She seemed to be quite soft on the inside when it came to her students. "Mind your own matters. Have you selected the location already?" Grandma Yuan questioned. "Heh! He better selects one that will give him an advantage or else it might be too boring for us in a one to one fight. Am I right guys?" Rong, the Ox Demon Cultivator sniggered as he looked down upon Jin. How much difference could three days of training really make? It''s not like he could have improved in grade, right? Besides, he heard that Jin had remained in the Isolation Ward the whole time. With no light, food or supplies, one could only cultivate within that room. Unlike him, the demon exorcist trainees returned to their respective Royal Zodiac Clans to train under the closest scrutiny. Yes, all four of them hailed from various Royal Zodiac Clans, and they happened to have an affinity with the variant Zodiac animals which prompted them to learn these Demon Cultivations. Each clan not only had a Main Family and Branch Families but there would always be another House related to the Royal Zodiac Clan family made up of either Monster Slayers or Demon Exorcists. This had been mandated by the Jade Emperor when he first started up to counter against the ever ongoing monster hordes that plagued the earth. Hence, these minor Houses within the Royal Clans were called the Extermination Houses. There was even a joint organisation that handled these minor Houses to coordinate joint monster extermination efforts in the country. Grandma Yuan happened to be Shenzhen''s best and was also ranked amongst the world''s top 100 most experienced demon exorcist instructors. For this reason, despite her little known post as the Tiangong District Guardian, she carried significant influence in Shenzhen. It was at her own request that she maintained the title as the District Guardian due to personal reasons. Rong was from the Royal Zodiac Ox clan. Su Zhen hailed from the Royal Zodiac Snake clan while Lian cultivating the Nine Tailed Fox Demon cultivation style came from the Royal Zodiac Dog clan. Lastly, Lein who practised the QIlin Demon Cultivation Style was from the prestigious Royal Zodiac Horse clan. Within the past three days, they had not received any instructions from Grandma Yuan. Hence, they sought out their clan''s own instructors to spar and consumed food that had high spiritual powers to rejuvenate their spiritual cultivation and body. Other fellow clan mates had also come to assist them with their training so they could practice what Grandma Yuan and their parents had taught. As compared to Jin, they had been living the heavenly life while Jin had been in the hellish pits of a closed, isolated ward battling for his life continuously without any stop. Not to mention, the cold soba noodles in the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance had been the first meal he got to enjoy in these three days (actually a week, counting in the time dilation). And let''s not forget about his emergency surgery though it proved to be an upgrade he sorely needed. When they reached the other end of the portal, all six of them, including Grandma Yuan was taken aback by the beautiful sun setting in the horizon. They found themselves inside a cave inside the cliffside, wide enough for everyone to line up at the opening to watch the sunset. The temperature was cooling enough so that one could snuggle in bed just to enjoy the sea breeze. "This is an isolated, disclosed place that I found. We can fight along the beach below and to the sea if any one of you wants to do that." Jin pretended to state that this paradise looking place was found by him even though there was a high chance they knew it was a dungeon instance. "Amazing place! Which part of China is this place located at?" Lian asked as she tried to turn on her GPS to check, but there was no signal at all. "Don''t bother looking, this place is isolated enough to have our battles uninterrupted," Jin answered as he asked who would be the one to face him first. Rong raised his hand up immediately and Jin wasn''t too surprised, especially when he had taken the initiative to attack him before the others had had the chance. "So, is he the typical ''let me fight them all'' kind of person?" Jin wondered as he gladly let Rong entered the Beach first. "Ox Demon Cultivator Rong has reached Grade 5 Peak as compared to the first time you battled with him. The System will continue to collect information with regards to these Demon Style Cultivators." The System noted and Jin nodded his head, but before he left for the battlefield, Jin asked Grandma Yuan if she needed a chair to watch over the battle. "Heh! Imprudent fool! I already brought my own chair." Grandma Yuan coughed as Claire took out the very same majestic looking chair from her storage ring she had used to oversee the 30 seconds battle. She even prepared a teacup and placed it at the side of the chair. "Now, don''t act all concerned about me. This isn''t anything like the previous you, and I despise being treated like an old weakly grandma by a greenhorn. So stop sucking up to me, it won''t bring you any extra merit points." Grandma Yuan attacked Jin with her stinging words. Jin, in return, shrugged his shoulder and took a rope and a modern pulley system out from his storage ring and tied it at the side of the cave. (Jin had actually made it beforehand when the System created this place for him.) The dungeon supplier then slowly descended down the cliff, making Rong waited impatiently for him. "Oei, slowpoke! Can you hurry up?! Dragging out your demise will not help you any further! Just get down fast, and we can start the fight or else I will come after you immediately!" "Huh? Me? No, I''m just actually being helpful enough to make sure the rope is strong enough to withstand your corpse after I kill you. After all, Grandma Yuan needs to see the evidence that you died. Besides, you know you cannot do that. It is a sacred part of the rite of the duel to wait for the person to acknowledge your duelling request, else it won''t be valid." Jin lectured as he finally climbed down from the cliff. "Who the hell invented such rules? I never heard of such rules from my instructors at all?" Rong sounded unsure of the truthfulness of Jin''s words as he folded his arms. "Me. I invented those rules like just now." Jin smirked shamelessly handed a peace sign at Rong and made him mad on the spot. "And your instructors? Grandma Yuan is not the only one teaching you? Do you need more than one person to explain to you how to hit and kick and such?" Jin taunted him as he took out Bam and Boo in katana and Wakizashi form and tied them at the side of his waist with a makeshift holster. "You piece of rotten scum! I have no more words for you!" Rong took out a well ornated two handed hammer that had two bull horns at the cheek of it. With a pull and push trigger on the Hammer''s stick, it seemed like the chi from Rong''s body got inserted into the Bull Horned Hammer, and continuous steam was venting out of the hammer. "Begin!" Grandma Yuan voice echoed in that quiet beach which Rong took the initiative. Chapter 458 Giant World "Urghhh I never knew that trekking would be such a pain in the ass. Can''t we just use our cultivation? Or ask the System to teleport us someplace nearer?" Qiu Yue complained as she followed behind Lynn. If this were just an exploration mission to the Altar of Giants in the Giant World, Lynn would have personally beaten Qiu Yue for having such a talkative mouth. The trek was not treacherous or anything of that sort. Still, it was obscenely long because of the number of kilometres they had to cover (If they had been giant size, this would not have been such a problem). There were a few Penguins accompanying them including Kido who was like a shadow following Lynn wherever she went. He became a personal bodyguard after she found out that he was more well versed in Ninjutsu compared to the rest of the penguins. His cooking skills were also top notch, and as it turned out, he was also ranked as the best candidate to have been selected by the Sub System. However, not all were as incredible as him. The rest of the penguins were only more competent in Ninjutsu rather than cooking. Hence, Lynn allowed them to focus more on the combat component and used them as servers. "We should be reaching a checkpoint soon. There is sort of a cave¡­erm, I mean crevice between the walls." One of the penguins told Lynn and Qiu Yue, which made the latter slightly relieved. The penguins were not slowing them a single bit. Instead, their ninjutsu training had made them even more agile than Qiu Yue. The cultivators who had been to the Restaurant Instance would know that each waddle they took could be equivalent to six of theirs. "Remember that we are here for training while searching for clues to fulfil our mission to find the chieftain." Lynn reminded the Red Panda Lady as she informed her about the Penguin Chieftain, Skitter and the rest of the elder penguin council having used the same track they were covering right now. If they had used cultivation to speed up their way to the Altar of Giants, they could have potentially missed any clues left behind. Qiu Yue did argue a valid point that they should use their cultivation to move to the Altar of Giants as soon as possible since they might potentially be trapped there. Kido shook his head and denounced that particular plan because of a few things. One of it was that they had already missed the deadline to return from their pilgrimage. Should anything have happened to them at the Altar of Giants, they would have been dead by now. Therefore, the penguins back at the village had already accepted the Council of Elders, including Chieftain Skitter, might have been killed or worse, eaten. Hence, what the penguins needed to find was actually a unique item that had been carried by Chieftain Skitter. The Totem of Atem. Kido mentioned that this particular small totem had allowed the penguins to survive and thrive because it shrunk them permanently into small sizes. In the Giant World, the largest always won and the original sized penguins had definitely not been among those who could become competitors in this cruel world, but a mere survivor in this giant eat giant world. The area which they had established their village was deep within one of the crevices of the broken Cathedral that lead them to the main Altar of the Giants. Yes, they were located not too far off from the Altar itself because the Penguin Chieftain needed to periodically repower the totem of Atem to immunise the penguin hatchlings from the Giantification Genes. "You mean Atom?" Qiu Yue figured that made more sense but Kido and the other Penguins simultaneously corrected her, that it was ''Atem'' and even spelt it out for Qiu Yue. "Alright! Alright, no need to be so agitated about it." "Hahaha, it happened to me too. That totem to them is a sacred item like how a statue of Buddha is to a religious person." Lynn giggled and consoled Qiu Yue as they were reaching a broken part of the wall that connected the room they were into another. "Still, this is just crazy, do these Cathedral ruins have a history or something? A look at the stained glass windows, I can already imagine there must be some sort of civilisation that lived in this place." Qiu Yue looked upwards and saw a gleam of light shone down through the giant piece of a cracked window. Qiu Yue realised that if she were standing at the spot where the sun had shone through the window, it would have felt like in a desert walking through that particular area. "Surely there is some sort of history behind it all, but we do not have the luxury to find out at the moment," Lynn answered as Qiu Yue could hear the penguins taking out their weapons. It was a Giant Boar Rat larger than the size of an Ogre staring at them in the intersection of the broken off wall. To the great vermin, it was staring at delicious looking food looking to be eaten up. "Penguins ready?" Lynn asked as part of her habit. Even if it looked like a rat, the System would still categorise it as a consumable when it''s killed because the meat itself had nutritional value to it and most importantly all those who tried it could only describe it as such. Absolutely Tasty. Lynn had killed a few of the same Boar Rats before and even used them as part of the ingredients for her more top selling dishes. Yet the customers thought it was merely pork meat, since it was named as such in the menu. Even Jin assumed it was a gigantic boar when Lynn captured it back then. (At the time Jin had been looking through the porthole window, Lynn and the penguins were already slicing the boar rat up.) Qiu Yue fumbled as she took her katana out, but by the time she did that, Lynn and the penguins had already charged in and blinded the Boar Rat by stabbing their kunai into the eyes of the Boar Rat. It caused the vermin to screech while stomping its feet and shaking its body to prevent the penguins and Lynn to perform any follow up attack. "Qiu Yue, come and join in the fun!" Lynn offered as she stepped back to the direction of Qiu Yue. The cultivator of the ''Radiant Red Panda in the Umbral Snow'' Style thanked Lynn for giving her a chance in the battle. She took a deep breath and stepped forth with her chi all gathered within her sword. A cold breeze of air flowed through the intersection of the broken wall when Qiu Yue raised her sword to accommodate her offensive stance. "Katana Arts! Snowy Dance of the Red Panda. Act 1!" Qiu Yue shouted as her sword turned pristine white and dashed forth to release the chi in her sword. The energised slash released a wind of snowflakes, causing the Boar Rat movements to be slowed down significantly. That was when the penguins took the opportunity to rush in and deal an all out attack by stabbing and slashing the Boar Rat''s legs and tail, causing it to stumble and eventually tumble to the ground for Lynn to deal the finishing blow. A straight cut under the neck released the Boar Rat''s suffering instantly, and the Boar Rat was immediately sent back to the System for cleaning. "Another cooking material to be used!" Lynn wiped her one handed sword with a cloth which was hanging at the side of her waist before sheathing it back into the scabbard. "Hehe, It''s a habit. I am a bit particular about cleanliness, even with my sword." Lynn explained a bit embarrassed as she saw Qiu Yue giving her a strange look. "Yea, I think both Jin, and I learned that the hard way after the last time we went into your kitchen to share with you some snacks we bought from Tiangong district. You''ve been shouting at us as if there was no tomorrow." Qiu Yue easily accepted Lynn''s apology. "The Penguins also gave us a death stare. Only afterwards did we realise that you were in the process of washing the kitchen up for the day. " Qiu Yue giggled, and Lynn automatically apologised for her Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour when it comes to cleanliness. "Sub System User Lynn, Sub System has found a piece of possible evidence when processing the Boar Rat for freezing purposes. Sub System was able to retrieve a particular piece of accessory that was stuck in the fur of the Boar Rat." The Cooking Sub System stated and teleported an amulet necklace accessory into Lynn''s hands. She quickly passed it to the penguins for verification and Kido noticed that it belonged to Colwaski, one of the Council Elders that followed Chieftain Skitter for the pilgrimage. "He is basically the overall genius in the Penguin Village. Without him, we would not have survived this long. All the items he managed to salvage or create are vital for our survival." Kido explained. "So do you think it''s a coincidence that he left it with a Boar Rat or was there some purpose to it? Sub System, any conclusive evidence that Elder Colwaski could have been eaten by the Boar Rat?" Lynn asked, and the Sub System conclusion came out negative. Even if there were any signs, it could have long been digested. "We are far from over. We have yet to reach the Altar of Giants as you guys stated. At least we know there are some physical remnants of him lying around which meant we are on the right track." Qiu Yue tried to encourage Lynn and the penguins beside her. "You are right. We should rest up and continue on later. Sub System, please analyse this to check if there is any possible hidden message in there." Lynn requested since Kido did state that Colwaski was the Overmind in the village, he might have left some valuable clue behind. However, the Sub System informed her that it would take a few minutes since the System was currently running at near full capacity. "How come?" Qiu Yue asked as she opened her Sub System via her phone and checked that everything was fine at her end. "Jin is currently fighting against a Demon Cultivator or as they call themselves the Demon Exorcist Trainees. System is currently analysing the information being collected in real time." The Sub System answered, but the Sub System users were unaware that the System was at full capacity because of Kraft. He was pushing the System to the max into working something valuable after he was done hacking with the aid of Rex boosting his abilities. "Shall we watch Jin''s fight while we take a breather?" Qiu Yue asked Lynn, and she agreed wholeheartedly. "We hardly see Jin fight earnestly, maybe we too will get an idea on how he performs so we can perhaps train collectively in the future too," Lynn suggested, but in actual fact, she just wanted to fight side by side with Jin. Even though it had been a brief experience, she missed the adrenaline rush when Jin had been by her side fighting against the Orcs in that make believe goblin capital they had created. The Sub System obliged to their request since it would occupy them for a while as it could delay the process to identify the object which required the main System''s aid. "Oh my god, it''s true. An Ox looking Demon silhouette above that guy''s head. I don''t recognise that demon though." Qiu Yue commented but neither did Lynn could comprehend since she was only acquainted with Japanese Mythology and Lore. "Ao Ye. A demon that seemingly originated from the folktales of China''s western regions. The System does not currently have much information on it either. Only that Ao Ye is rumoured to consume humans and collect their bones for keepsake." The Empire Building Sub System revealed to Qiu Yue, and they saw how aggressive that Ox Demon Cultivator''s attacks were. The attacks had immense strength behind them, and his footwork was precise, but for some reason, Jin just kept dodging without any retaliation. "What is that fellow doing? Tiring that guy out?" Qiu Yue seemed frustrated watching the match, and Lynn begged to differ. "If I am not wrong, you should look closer at Jin''s eyes. He seems to be actually trying to learn the footwork of that demon cultivator while avoiding the steps." "What for? Jin could just blast him out in the sky if he wanted to¡­pretty sure he could." Qiu Yue replied back, though she whispered the last more. Still, that was the moment when Jin finally did something to break out of the monotony. He used his shoe to pick some sand up and threw it at the Ox Demon Cultivator to distract him. After which, Jin lowered himself as he aimed for the legs instead and suddenly from under the shadow of the Ox Demon Cultivator, a silhouette of Ao Ye appeared from Rong''s legs as if to try and bite Jin off. However, Jin was able to evade the silhouette and stood up properly with no loss of balance. It was Rong''s fighting technique that allowed him to concentrate his chi into his legs, making them fight independently in case Rong''s upper body got immobilised. "I see, so the rumours of the Royal Zodiac Ox cultivators taking pride in their legs more than the Royal Zodiac Horses were true. For you to able to gather enough chi to summon a silhouette above your leg, it is truly a wonder." Jin praised his opponent as he took a step back. "Hmph, you should be proud to have made it appear. That is why no matter how much you dodge, you won''t be able to pass through my impenetrable defences of the Ox Demon Leg Techniques. Similar to how Ao Ye hides his legs in his large fur like body hair, you will not see my leg attacks coming!! And that includes my hammer attacks." Rong announced with pride as he had mastered the foundation techniques of the Royal Zodiac Ox clan before becoming a Demon Exorcist trainee. "Then it''s all the more interesting." Jin beckoned Rong to attack him. Chapter 459 Abyss Web "Whew! it''s finally done!" Kraft heaved a heavy sigh as he pressed the ''simulate'' button in the Dungeon Maker to let the software he created run in the background while he stretched his body a little. Rex'' ability boost had proved to be of a significant help for Kraft as he and the System enabled the Original Bellator to penetrate the Deep Web and into the Dark Web of the internet. This was because in order to gain access into the restricted cyber database which the Chinese government had placed, Kraft first needed to gain some knowledge about the latest possible ways to hack. Usually, traversing into the Dark Web was like going into a deep shaft mine without a canary to check for possible signs of poisoning in the atmosphere. However, Kraft had the skills to do that with his eyes closed though this time around, he was not there to merely poke around the Dark Web. Instead, the sly old fox had something more sinister in mind. He was going to infiltrate the lowest depths of the Dark Web or as hackers nicknamed it, the Abyss Web. Ironically, it was Kraft who placed the groundwork for that before sending out a challenge on the Dark Web for other elite competent hackers to try and crack the code. All those who read about the challenge determined to use this opportunity to join in the fun. It took roughly about three years before Kraft''s code was broken. The top hacker who did that managed to find out the hidden objective of Kraft and remodified it to become a forum for the best of the best hackers. (He gained the infamous title of Conqueror of Fox Wall by accomplishing this feat.) However, when the hackers cracked his code, Kraft was already staying within Ming, laying domain. That was also when the world wide web was just an expansion from a small group of governmental users, especially from the various defence departments in the world which Kraft took an active part in it. That was the reason why Kraft, who was knowledgeable in counter intelligence was among the first few to dabble into it and helped expand the project. It happened when the System User back then had the foresight to infiltrate into the intelligence and defence departments of the Chinese government to gain an advantage over the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans. Kraft, at the time had been successful in placing a monitoring device of sorts on the clans. It proved to be very vital in information collecting since the User and System collated plenty of data on the Zodiac Clans which they would had never known in the past. He even managed to marginalise a victim (as what he had done recently) for the crimes of monitoring the Twelve Royal Zodiac Clans. The User did learn about it and eventually assisted in compensating that particular family by matchmaking the victim''s son to a daughter of the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. (Of course, behind the scenes.) And that victim was none other than Hou Fei''s father. Kraft had been like a hidden guardian angel for him because it was the User''s command to take care of the victim''s son and subsequent family members until they were able to stand on their own. So, Ming having met Hou Fei in the army was no mere coincidence, but it was something Kraft had orchestrated behind the scenes. Unfortunately, after the time reversal incident, Kraft had not been able to actively access the net because of the need to conserve his energy to assist Ming whenever he felt like it. There was also a personal reason why the original bellator decided to follow Ming rather than stay enclosed within the System who had entered a full dormant state after the time reversal. Kraft had been afraid the System would repeat the same mistake it did in choosing a person that had intents and actions similar to the Panda Lord Zhou Lin. Ever since Kraft re-joined the System, he made sure to gather sufficient resources under his name in case of such a worst case scenario. While the System was aware of Kraft''s doings, it did not stop him because the Original System''s judgement had been flawed at a time when it had been at its peak. Thus, the current System knew that depending on the circumstances, it might have to resort to such an option once more. Also, despite the System''s pledge to enhance its logical thought process, Kraft inherently knew that the System''s processing capability was being reduced with every User it blessed. The fact that, up till now, only two Users managed to help it recover some of its power proved that most Users it chose had never been very successful at all. Some squandered them away by wanting to become the top cultivator in the world, which most often lead to their own demise along the way while others preferred to just live their lives comfortably without too many complications. The System had been desperate for a decent User for a long time until it met Ming. Jin''s grandfather ought to be the candidate with the most potential within his generation. It was precisely what the System had been looking for despite his equivalent (foolish?) desires to be the best cultivator in the world. Hence, the System had decided to invest everything it had onto Ming, giving him the best training resources possible and aiding his quest to reach Grade 20. However, problematic issues arose when the Banned Emperor assassin killed his daughter, which ultimately broke his will and thoughts, causing him to do suicidal things. Therefore, the System decided to abandon Ming in order to conserve whatever process capability it had left after the time reversal, and that was when Kraft jumped into Ming. Kraft could have assisted a Sub System User like Grandma Yuan, but he decided to do something to amend his past regrets. Kraft blamed himself for retrieving remains of the Panda Lord and Rex at the cost of the many lives of his dear friends and comrades including his fianc¨¦e. He felt that it had been partially his fault to have let Panda Lord Zhou Lin rampage on his path of destruction. That and the desire of empty revenge for the multiple deaths of the Panda Clan Remnants back when Panda Lord Zhou Lin had been the User for the System. So, when the time reversal happened, Kraft guided Ming when no one else could. Jin''s grandfather had been depressed and suicidal thoughts made him believe ending his life would solve everything. Fortunately, he decided against it, as there was still a little Jin to take care of. Nevertheless, it felt like a living hell seeing everyone around him proceed as per usual. Hou Fei and Grandma Yuan did show some concern, but Ming always acted strong in front of them. That resulted in them not knowing what was occurring inside of him and they even thought that he had turned over a new leaf. However, Kraft knew what was happening and stay with him, encourage him (albeit in the form of a little sarcastic subconscious) and aided him to pull through. Ming realised and understood where he had gone wrong and taught Jin whatever he could despite how busy he could be at times. In the meantime, his career skyrocketed with the aid of Kraft and Hou Fei supporting him. There had been times that Grandma Yuan did pull a string or two secretly for Ming to rise to the top and he was extremely grateful for it even though both of them did not show it to each other. ¡ª¡ª "The malware works with a 100% success rate in the simulation. Original Bellator Kraft''s assistance to dive into the Abyss Web has proven to be very insightful." The System thanked Kraft for breaking into the Abyss Web and getting all the information including the various types of malwares and hacks for the System to analyse. Kraft was able to infiltrate into the Abyss Web due to a hidden backdoor he placed in his code when he allowed the others to crack it open. After all, when inviting all sorts of folk into one''s house, why not have a second pair of keys in case he needed one? "Duh, you definitely have to thank me. I had to isolate all those malware codes to prevent them from infecting you when you were analysing them. But the most valuable player is no doubt Rex. There were two! Two secret deep root malware codes which I could not have detected without Rex''s ability boost." Kraft emphasised as he remembered how merciless the System had been when it placed Rex back into solitary confinement via that odd Rubik''s cube prison when the ten minutes was up. "¡­System has taken Original Bellator Kraft advice into account. System shall provide better food for Rex as compensation." "You better make sure to take note of that!" Kraft said as he glanced through the simulation results of the malware that had undergone the test run. With the knowledge he snatched from the Abyss Web, the System and him had been toiling through the hours to perfect the malware they were going to insert into the National Database. Like every infamous malware ever made, the System and Kraft named the malware virus ¨C ''Foxy''. What was special about Foxy was that the System injected a part of its artificial intelligence coding into Foxy''s code structure. Still, Kraft made a plethora of contingency plans ensuring that the System''s code would disintegrate if someone managed to try and isolate and analyse the code structure of Foxy. Other than that, the malware was loaded with all the latest weapons of mass cyber destruction. Like an assassin, it''s able to blend itself into its surrounding, preventing others from detecting it and smart enough to gather any information it could grab. After which, it would lie in wait, analysing the target''s structure until there was a loophole for Foxy to exploit. It might take time for the Foxy malware to work, but it was guaranteed to breach through any firewall silently on Earth. However, Kraft needed to enter as soon as possible since the security administrators probably had already detected the breach in their database when the System had queried about Ryuli. The Chinese government might not be able to patch the loophole immediately, but they would get it done as soon as possible, best case scenario they would have about four to five days. (In addition, it was to wait for the hacker to act again so they can confirm their catch.) That was also why Kraft and System worked to the bone to smuggle in their malware before that window of opportunity would be gone forever. "Now, let''s get this baby fox to work," Kraft spoke as the System queried about Ryuli once more, sending another alert out. Kraft had previously instructed Tsu and Kai to track down that particular cybercriminal which he shifted the blame to and happily learned that he had not been caught yet. So, Kraft was going to use the same trick. Besides after a bit of research, the counter intelligence agent had found out that the criminal was working for an underground syndicate that dealt with human trafficking. The crafty fox believed he would do the world a favour by ensuring someone like him would rot behind bars as soon as possible and not just stay on the watchlist. This time around Kraft managed to isolate the alert ping within one of the System''s own virtual routers for which he already simulated the settings of the government''s internal database on to it. Hence, there was no way it could come back to haunt Jin. When the ping was isolated, Kraft injected the malware code into the ping, while also changing the digit of the IP address, elaborately switching several international routers'' address so as to ''mask'' the address of the criminal he wished to incriminate. After which, he released the alert back into the wild and waited for time to pass. But it did not take long for a returned ping by the malware who was connected to the System to respond. "Holy smithereens. What the hell is this!?!" Kraft saw what was inside the hidden national database when Foxy sent a sneak preview of the list of data that were inside there. Of course, there was the usual scandalous information about the politicians, among the royal Zodiac Clans as well as a certain terror crime watchlist etc. But what made Kraft surprised when he should be immune to all these issues after living for hundreds of years was that there was a file listed ''Surviving Panda Clan Members'' as well as "Possible Relatives to Fox Clan." Both of which were an interest to Kraft for particular reasons of the past. "Damn it, we cannot command Foxy to gather what we desire, we just have to wait until the information comes in." Kraft regretted not designing it, but a remote control option had a risk of being detected. Meanwhile, he also analysed the firewall which the hidden national database was using. It was out of the world and according to the knowledge he acquired from Abyss Web, it seemed that it was even more advanced than what Israel, Germany and US were using for their database protection combined. If those western countries were tp describe their defences as an impenetrable firewall, China was literally using the Great Wall of Fire. Kraft sighed when he also noticed that the sneak preview list had an existing watchlist for the Banned Emperor Assassins. "At the very least, they are not oblivious to their existence." Kraft knew that all he needed to do was wait even though it was the most excruciating thing he could do right now. "I guess I could watch Jin''s fight while waiting for the time to pass so, so slowly." Kraft sat down and leaned back in the Dungeon Maker to enjoy the fights. "Still, I am interested in the Nine Tailed Fox Demon Cultivator. It''s time for a well deserved break anyway. Shall we find out how the foxes of this generation fare?" Kraft invited his companions over, and the System teleported a penguin carrying a plate of tonkatsu curry rice for Kraft and the others to partake. (Evon grabbed two pieces before Kraft even had a taste of it!) Chapter 460 Pandaromic Eyes 2.0 A shockwave blast travelled throughout the beach as Rong, the Ox Demon Cultivator slammed his two handed Bull Horned hammer on to the ground. When the impacted sand finally settled to the ground, Rong was still panting from his continuous attacks. Jin gracefully dodged the attack and struck towards his legs once more. Rong partially blocked the attack, no longer having the same stamina he had at the start of the fight. "Are you fucking messing with me? Why are you always aiming my legs?!" Rong complained when Jin took a few steps back, still feeling refreshed. The battle was taking so long that the sun had already set and was replaced with a waning crescent moon shining its best to keep the place lit up. "Ehh, isn''t that because that''s your weak point?" Jin asked back, and Rong was speechless for a moment. He had no idea how he knew it as he had tried to cover it up as much as he could. "What the fuck do you even mean?" Rong faintly tried to bluff his way out of the accusation as he tightened his grip on his bull horned hammer and charged forward once more. "How did Jin knew that was his legs were the weakest part?" Lian asked and Grandma Yuan was gracious enough to speak the answer out. "It is because Rong overcompensates his weakness. See how Rong gets flustered the moment Jin tries to aim for the legs? This kind of body language, as well as the strong retaliation attacks from him, proves that he can''t afford to let himself get injured there. In other words, it''s exactly where Jin should aim for. Now, most people would do the opposite the moment they see that there are no openings for his legs." Grandma Yuan explained. "Also, notice how his hammer swings are not as swift when it comes to defending his lower part of the body? It is an inherent weakness of the hammer techniques due to the shift in weight to block the attack. Which is why most hammer cultivators would have learned how to push their opponents away and strike them back. Unfortunately for him, Jin isn''t one to be pushed around, and he is capable enough to avoid any attacks." "But you have to give credit to Rong, he had been practising his Ox Leg techniques for the longest time and continues to do so after he picked up the Ox Demon cultivators." Lian chimed in defence of her teammate. "Still, you saw how Jin always attacks the left leg instead of the right whenever he got the chance?" Grandma Yuan clarified, but apparently, her disciples had not noticed that details. "Fools! I believed Jin saw a slight difference in movement with his left leg instead of his right. Rong might have practised a lot of his Ox Leg techniques, but he predominantly uses it on his right side rather than left which causes that foot to react slower" Grandma Yuan scolded them reiterating her point to underestimate Jin. "Still, it looks like he is withholding his punches against Rong as if he knows that we were going to analyse them and use it against him." Su Zhen said as she was the only one who had her eyes affixed on Jin''s movement. While the interaction between her fight against him was short, it was enough to know that he seemed more agile than the last time they met. Visibly agile and less panicky. Was it because he was prepared to fight them this time as compared to the previous surprise ambush? She would not know until Su Zhen fought with Jin one on one. "He could be, but does he really need to?" Claire fired the question back at Su Zhen which broke her gaze on Jin. "Yeah, Rong is already bearing the burden of the sword slashes on his legs," Lian replied to the group on behalf of Su Zhen. "With his leg injured, Rong cannot fully expend his Ox Demon powers as much as he wanted to. The fear that Jin would attack him again at the same spot limits his options against Jin. Rong might be a frontline fighter, but he requires support to distract the enemy so he could unleash his dynamic, powerful attacks." "Indeed." Claire agreed as she eyed at Lian, who was itching to go down to help him. They were, after all a pair when it came to training, each of them covering for the other''s shortcomings, providing an almost perfect offence. If it was not Jin who fought against them in the 30 seconds trial, the Demon Exorcist trainees were sure to have gotten a victory within the first five seconds. "Last but not least, his full body plated armour only covers his shins," Claire added as Rong was the only one in full armour amongst the Demon Exorcist Trainees although he only affixed plated armour parts which did not affect his overall movement. "His inscription was working, and leg strikes prevented a number of hits before it got serious." Su Zhen commented as Jin suddenly changed his stance. Not caring for those watching him and their talk, Jin had not only been dodging to taunt Rong. Instead, he had been using this fight to get more used to his upgraded Pandaromic Eyes ability ever since he was able to control his chi to a certain degree. Jin was finally able to link it up with the System and use it like a digital display which the System showed the potential weakness that Rong had. In his defence, Grandma Yuan never stated that he wasn''t allowed to use the System to the fullest potential. The Pandaromic Eyes 2.0 made everything look very game like him. He could see an estimated percentage of Rong''s health in a bar, which made he doubt the analysis that the System gave him. "Are you sure this is accurate? The last time I used this Pandaromic Eyes feature on Zeru, all you gave me was a ''??????'' question marks all over his so called health bar!" Jin complained to System while he was fighting with Rong. That was another reason why Jin had not fought to the best of his ability. It was not because he was hiding his skill, but arguing with the System. "System has collected over thousands of cultivator''s data to provide such an estimate, so User could gauge how much damage is needed to defeat Ox Demon Cultivator Rong." The System replied back. "Then why are there times his so called health bar increases when he is obviously not taking any health potions or anything of the sort? He was just recharging his chi!" Jin pointed out as he parried the hammer blow while looking extremely focused when he was actually very annoyed by the System. "As Bellator Peppers would put it, ''because this is reality, not some sort of video game. Unlike in the virtual world, no one can fight at 100% top strength while only having 1% of his HP remained''. Chi is a factor that has to be taken into account as it helps reduce bleeding, enhances body recovery in a short burst as well as expending energy output." System stated its rationale to Jin. "System originally wanted to place a chi/stamina bar factor right underneath the health bar but decided otherwise. This was because chi can be affected by an individual''s willpower. Therefore, System cannot properly estimate a chi bar." "Hence, System decided to include the chi factor into the health bar algorithm, to represent a more accurate indication of a cultivator''s health. Through the constant use of Pandaromic Eyes, System believes that it could push out products similar to that to the store''s cultivators." "Oh please, if you wish to push it out, you would already have done so. Aside of that, you can also control each and every minion, and if you want them dead after a certain hit, you could make it happen." Jin added as he made an irritated sound in front of Rong as if it was just too bothersome to fight with Rong. "What the fuck is wrong with this person? This was supposed to be a fight to the death¡­ why does it feel like I have interrupted him mid-thought? If he is feeling irritated, why can''t he just finish me off quickly?" Rong thought as he panted heavily and began to feel the pressure on his left knees and ankle. After seeing that it seemed impracticable for him to continue, Rong had wanted to withdraw from the fight. No matter what, he wanted to escape the sensation of death, but remembered boasting those big bombastic words of his to Jin. If he withdrew from the fight, it would be guaranteed that the others would remember him as a coward, including his opponent. Or maybe Grandma Yuan would personally cut him down since she already declared that there was could be one person to be left alive. "That is actually a very good idea, User. By introducing health bars to the monsters, System could artificially control the amount of health a minion can have. Upon reaching the threshold, System can then teleport the minion away as if it disappeared into nothingness. While in actual fact, the minion is still alive. Thus, it will save a significant cost in the long run." The System sounded excited upon hearing Jin''s proposal. "But your initial cost will be quite troublesome if you have to invent like some glasses or contact lenses for them to see through." Jin avoided another incoming hammer strike from the exhausted Rong. Because of the heavy blast impact that he made, Rong was stuck in mid air due to the momentum he made, but Jin was not bound by any since he had the Green Panda Wind energy infused within him. With a slight push, Jin was able to slip through the sandy impact and slash at both of his legs. Blood was visible with Rong unable to block in time and he fell to the ground in pain. Jin did not waste any time and finished him off with a slash to the neck. The others saw how effortlessly Jin killed Rong, but none of them noticed the Green Panda Wind Energy he utilised because of the sand fall from the impact. Except for Grandma Yuan. "Looks like he is able to mask his technique with Rong''s attack. For him to control his chi to such a level as compared to just a few days ago, there''s no doubt he had been trained hard by Master Zeru." Grandma Yuan thought as she continued to drink her tea. Meanwhile, the rest scorned Jin for killing Rong so mercilessly while at the same time trembled at the fact that Grandma Yuan had been deadly serious about this being a fight to the death. Though they could afford the resurrection given their family status, death was still something unknown to them, and it was definitely something no one would want to experience. They had heard rumours how resurrection could go wrong, or be damaging to the spiritual soul and hence reducing the cultivation grade. Some extreme gossips even claimed that it might render the cultivator handicapped from chi production because of the dantian dysfunction after the resurrection. "Ah! How about reusing the masks that we made the cultivators wear during the Goblin Raid? Maybe we could add a cosmetic lens enabling the cultivators to see each other''s grades, by showcasing the data from their account. You should be able to cut cost if you proceed that way. Well, if you want, we can try and make the cultivators pay for an upgrade at a small fee to offset some of the costs. The new masks can be produced via the Lost Tech Counterfeiter if needed." Jin suggested while looking coldly towards the sea. To the other Demon Exorcist trainees, they believed that he was looking down of them. In the meantime, Lian came down to retrieve the body of her close friend while tearing a little at the fact that Rong was killed just like that. She knew that he would be resurrected, but still, such a sight wasn''t easy to behold. "You did well¡­you did well¡­" Lian sobbed as she repeated those words. Angered by Jin''s indifference, Lein had decided to be the next opponent. "Lian, you recover your composure first. I shall defeat this nobody before he dares to lay another finger on either you or Su Zhen." Lein announced, but the White Snake Demon Cultivator jumped into the fray with her weapon already out. "I want to fight him too." Su Zhen words were direct and cold. "Like I said, one on one fight!" Grandma Yuan spoke with an uncaring tone. She knew such a scene was bound to happen after seeing one of their comrades killed. Yet, the two Demon Exorcist trainees would not budge at all. "Sigh, they have so much more to learn than just revenge for their comrades." Grandma murmured her troubles at Claire and she nodded her head quietly. She remembered how blinded she was by the same thoughts during her training. "No, he is mine!" Lian argued as she was filled with rage. Her portrayal of the Nine Tailed Fox Demon silhouettes was burning brightly above her head as she moved towards him. "Actually, how about we change the rules a bit. I fight against all three of them." Jin suggested as he stretched his arms to loosen the ache in his waist. "You sure about this? ¡­ Alright then, the deal still stands so don''t blame afterwards if you lose. But if you win, I shall throw in a little something for your¡­kindness. Other than that, Proceed." Grandma Yuan started the match verbally. Claire shook at her head for their rashness but believed it was a still a good indicator to see if Jin had truly improved from his stay in the isolation ward. "Then let me end his life in this instant." Lian did not hesitate as three tails appeared right behind her. Jin noticed that her rage for revenge had nearly consumed her entirely, and her control was seem very limited that it could breakdown anytime. Lein and Su Zhen immediately knew that Lian would not be playing around when her tails had appeared, therefore giving way to her make the first move. "So, I guess its Round Two?" Jin smirked at himself for the deja vu he experienced when he saw those three tails waving radiantly right behind Lian. Chapter 461 Combat Magus This time around, Jin did not get distracted as he was fighting not one Demon Exorcist trainee but three of them. As it seemed that the trainees had not figured out that they were inside a dungeon instance yet, the System had withheld the teleportation of Rong''s body for a long while until Claire came down to pick it up. Lian did not want to get distracted by Rong''s body and was relieved after Claire had taken it towards Grandma Yuan. However, the moment Claire returned to the Grandma Yuan''s side, the System initialised the body, transferring it to the Recovery Instance. In the meantime, Jin and Lian clashed with each other furiously. He knew that her attacks could penetrate his blade after experiencing it first hand in the 30 seconds trial. But what if Jin had two weapons out? Jin held Boo in on the reverse so that he was able to manoeuvre the wakizashi more comfortably in hopes of defending the penetrating claw attack. *Clang!* Jin saw a slight spark as his wakizashi deflected a heavy push of strength from Lian''s claw attack. While he was elated that his theory worked, it made Lian extremely annoyed by the fact that he was able to defend it so smoothly this time around. But in terms of speed, she believed she had the upper hand and with the aid of her two teammates, should he even think of surviving the next strike? "Su Zhen! Lein!" Lian shouted for the two''s assistance as she took a step back and charged her chi up. Even though she wasn''t the one that usually gave the orders out to the group, the other two obliged as they shared the pain of losing a comrade. However, it seemed to be hurting Lian more than the other two. Su Zhen, the White Snake Demon Cultivator threw out her whip at Jin, but just like last time, he was able to estimate the length of the whip and dodged it by initiating a Panda Roll. Thanks to Pandaromic Eyes 2.0, he knew the estimated distance he needed to move away. "Damn! You are barely wrong!" Jin thought to himself and the System as he could sense the whip''s end turning into a snake mouth attempting to bite him. "Still User had evaded the whip part." The System argued back as it recommended evoking White Panda Ice magic to prevent the Lein''s follow up attack. Jin already had the chi ready as his body immediately enveloped itself with a layer of thin but effectively strong ice of armour. Unlike the previous time, he had no difficulty getting the chi out due to a lack of time. This current evocation of the White Panda Ice Armour was lightning fast. Zeru had been drilling the process of chi control into him, forcing him to be more nimble and faster. While he was imaging the shape of the particular magic he wished to cast, Jin needed to roughly gauge how much chi was required as well as the direction of how the chi should be transferred out of his body. For example, the White Panda Ice Armour. He imagined himself to be in a full suit armour while portraying the chi out from his entire body instead of it coming from his hands. Therefore, the trick quickened the process while the imaging of the armour allowed the chi to materialise itself. "Intermediate Sword Arts, Thunderclap of the Qilin!" Lein used the same technique only this time Jin blocked the attack flawlessly with no damage to himself. "Ice Prison Transference!" The moment Jin blocked the electrifying strike, he dropped his wakizashi and pushed himself forward to grab onto Lein''s hand, and the ice crept- no. Raced from Jin''s body and onto Lein''s arm. His sword immediately lost all electrical charge, and Lein was taken aback by this odd skill that his opponent used. The ice swiftly enveloped the entire right arm while the ice armour on Jin''s body lessened. "As long as you have your imagination with you. Anything is possible with your magi- *Cough* chi abilities." Jin remembered Zeru''s words during his training, and he had been using it prominently in battle. To the spectators such as Qiu Yue and Lynn, it was a side of Jin which they did not see, and they were envious that he was able to perform such chi abilities. Even the Penguins climbed on the girl''s head or shamelessly squeezed themselves through their chest to watch the match. "Ahh¡­Ming, I can practically hear you boasting about your grandson already. For you to combine western magic and eastern cultivations to the highest degree and use Jin as your experiment to perform Maqi. You are one heck of a crazy genius¡­ I am glad I decided to follow you." Kraft grinned as he saw Jin seamlessly used his newfound Maqi abilities on the terrified Qilin Demon Cultivator. Maqi. It was a term coined by Ming after he happened to discover a way to convert chi for magic purposes. (Chi can be pronounced as ''Qi'' too.) He had taken the concept from modern cultivators like Jia Le, who had fused Eastern Cultivation and Western Magic to use the Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivation style thus allowing her to cast earth magic with chi. This allowed Jia Le''s to create those magic spells out and like Jin, imaging played an important part. However, her cultivation only utilised the concept of chi. For Jin, his Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation always emphasised on the being, how Jin had to be one with the spirit and body. To know thyself, he must go within thyself. The whole basis of his cultivation was based on the symbolism of a circumpunct; an ancient sign made of a circle with a point at its centre. Ancient writings and historical records believed that the circumpunct was the most original aspect of God and that it also represented the consciousness of man. The dot in the middle of the circle represented a person''s origin, while the ring symbolised life experiences through one''s soul. Hence, the Astral component of the cultivation style. And which animal had the most obvious symbol of a circumpunct in them? It was none other than the Pandas. With the connection to the Heavens via the System, and Jin being a product of circumstances, the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda cultivation had been the perfect complement for Ming''s grandson. That was why Ming also named it with the prefix ''Lazy''. For only when one was lazy, they would question and ponder how they could improve their life so they can laze around even more. That was what Jin had been doing every single day despite his busy schedule. How could he improve the lives of his team and monsters while making their life easier? How could he serve his customers better and more efficient? Jin might not have achieved enlightenment, but he did make an effort towards his own path of altruism. (Even though he was a businessman in nature.) By attempting to knowing oneself and improving oneself spiritually, mentally and physically, Jin had unlocked the way how to use his cultivation correctly. But in technical terms, the most important aspect for him to utilise Maqi was the spiritual union with the Pandas. Because of that fateful encounter, it enabled his cultivation to tap into the mana circuits without him knowing and it was the merging of the mana circuits and chi circuits that produced the by products of sludge. The problem was that as Jin attained a higher grade, it also meant that his mana and chi circuits were merged to the point that they were either strengthening the circuits or even start growing new routes to accommodate and increase his Maqi output. Thus, he produced even more sludge that contained not only by products from the merging process but Maqi infused in it to allow him to move them at his own will. So, Jin was not simply a cultivator nor a mage, but a true blue Combat Magus. The perfect (well, almost in Ming''s theory) fusion of Eastern cultivation and Western Magic, akin to the Yin and Yang circle. ¡ª¡ª- "Lein, get away!" Lian burst herself like a bullet towards Jin when she saw what was happening to her fellow comrade. Su Zhen also assisted by trying to grab Lein by his waist via whip to pull him back. "Not fast enough. Ice Prison Crush!" Jin grinned as he tightened his hand''s grip the moment he lost contact with Lein. The Ice armour encasing Lein''s entire arm tightened to the point that the White Panda Ice cut it off from his body. Lein screamed in agony from the intense pain and blood that was gushing out at a rapid pace. Su Zhen quickly removed her outer shirt and wrapped it around the wound the moment she got a hold of him. She even cut apart her whip so that the snake that transformed from it could be used as a sort of compression to stop the blood from flowing. In the meantime, Lian''s claws grew larger to the point it would impossible to evade via normal means, but Jin was anything but ordinary. Without a word, an Astral Pandas appeared grabbing on to the wakizashi that had dropped on the floor and transformed it into a huge enough shield to cover Jin. Simultaneously, the dungeon supplier had already gathered enough Black Panda Fire Energy as he slammed it into the ground. A blast of Black Fire erupted beneath Lian as she tried to force her attack down against the defending Astral Panda. "AHHHHHH!!!!!" Lian screamed as she felt her skin being burnt from the attack. Even the high fire resistance inscription she had obtained from Royal Zodiac Clan was unable to withstand it. "I am not done yet," Jin ordered the Astral panda to jump up and slam her down while she was still in shock from the eruption attack. The moment the shield hit her, spikes emerged from the front of the shield piercing her through. Yet Jin did not stop at that. He utilised Green Panda Wind energy to reinforce the impact from above. Lian had barely been able to survive the piercing shield charge, but the Wind Energy reinforced the destructiveness of the fire. There was nothing left but ashes and his Boo in shield form. Lein saw the entire process and trembled in fear even though Su Zhen was trying her best to calm him down. "Stop moving or else the bleeding will only get worse!!" "But it is no use! That guy! That guy is worse than a demon!" Lein screamed until Su Zhen slapped him to keep his sanity steady. Su Zhen looked back at the direction of Jin but realised he was already gone only for the next moment to feel the edge on her neck. "Sorry." Jin uttered after he slashed her neck off, leaving Lein all terrified with random thoughts. "How could a Grade 10 cultivator be killed so quickly by a Grade 8 cultivator? Is he really just a Grade 8 cultivator? Did he hide his true strength in our last encounter?" Lein thoughts were spoken out loud, and Grandma Yuan replied for him. "Jin is indeed a Grade 8 cultivator." Those words sounded like a lie to Lein as he saw Jin''s katana coming at him with Black Panda Fire. "How is this possible? Where did we go wrong? It was a three against one fight! " Lein could not comprehend that he was going to die. Throughout his life, he had felt like the main protagonist. Sure there had been hardships, but up until this point, Lein always overcame them. People around him even boasted that he might be the rare ''once every century'' prodigy of the Extermination unit in the Royal Zodiac Horse Clan. Nevertheless, right now, his life was controlled by this supposed Demon Exorcist trainee candidate. Lein could not fantom the power gap as his eyes were desperate for an answer even though it was blurry from all the tears that had fallen. The next moment darkness enveloped him. "There is one way. Practice more and¡­erm be humble." Jin slashed Lein''s head away in one stroke to end any further suffering. Chapter 462 Lynns Ride "¡­Was Jin always that powerful? I know we fought with him a few times, but I''ve hardly seen him do any of that kind of magic skills out in the open with us!" Qiu Yue had her mouth wide open in disbelief when the Sub System stopped the broadcast. "I honestly never seen him so ruthless and act so skilled at all. But that first match?? Yeah, I kind of expect Jin to perform such a strategy. Buying time, learning his opponent and striking when he believed it was the right time." Lynn uttered as they were sitting waiting for the results of the amulet from the Sub System. "However, that last match. I am totally speechless at the speed he was moving and strength he wields." "Is that why he refused to show his cultivation out in the open? Like that previous time, he had been so reluctant to get out there and remove the Ruby Rat gangsters. I''m sure any other cultivator who has that kind of strength would like to do that in a jiffy and to show off who''s boss." Qiu Yue remarked while she took out a bottle of water from her storage ring and after taking a sip, she shared it with Lynn and the penguins. "Perhaps? Maybe he is keen on keeping his real strength hidden so his rivals such as the Ruby Rat Triad gang members will underestimate him in case they decide to do something more drastic." Lynn deduced as she also took out a few packets of biscuits to feed the penguins. "Speaking of them, they''ve hardly bothered us after Tiangong District Police stationed their policemen and increased their regular patrols by two fold." Qiu Yue checked the progress of the construction of the Dungeon Fortress City as a force of habit. "Hahah! Yes I know. Instead, the policemen and the Ruby Rats had been coming to my restaurant way too often for comfort. The System and Jin don''t seem to plan to prohibit them from coming in, as long as they behave themselves. Some even asked if there were any plans to sell the theme park food as a side menu." Lynn shared with Qie Yue. There were times she wondered if the Triads and Police would ever fight in her restaurant. "Are you going to do that?" Qiu Yue turned in order to get a piece of biscuit from her too. "Probably not, it spoils the restaurant feeling¡­imagine eating Churros in there. It ¡­I don''t really know¡­kind of feels weird, doesn''t it?" "Not to me, I like those churros. They''re awfully crunching, piping hot and sugary sweet! Way better than this biscuit that''s for sure. Speaking of that, why did you not bring some of the cooked food with you? Actually, why are we not teleporting back for a rest before coming back here?" Qiu Yue asked as she munched on the biscuit. "Because¡­we have our answer ready from the Sub System." Lynn showed the results of the Amulet from her phone to Qiu Yue. "Sub System has located a probable signal that matches the frequency of energy the amulet emits. However, Sub System is unable to pinpoint the exact location and can only guide Sub System Users to the vicinity of that particular point." "So, something like a tracking device? It seems like it''s still moving." Qiu Yue noted as she looked at the phone screen closely. "Please hurry, the signal is already weak enough. Anymore waiting and Sub System might not be able to track it down." The Sub System warned the Sub System Users that they were at least hundreds of kilometres away and the signal was almost too weak to be traced down. "Judging from the distance, even activating our cultivation will be a hassle to travel that far. Shame Jin doesn''t really have any minions that are well versed with long distance." Qiu Yue talked to herself out loud. "Ah! Wyrstrker has a wyvern but¡­urgh it might be too small for the both of us to ride. Or maybe Mr Oink! But urgh, I remembered how he moved too much for comfort and the seats were¡­ urgh." Qiu Yue said to herself as she checked the last bits of her construction tabs on her phone. "Lynn, how about asking Jin to get us one of those Jeep that he -Woah!" Qiu Yue was surprised by sudden booming sound that was right beside her, and when she looked up, there was a slick looking motorcycle rumbling its engines in front of her. Its twin turbo engines were bursting exhaust out of its vents and Lynn threw a helmet at Qiu Yue while she took out her scratch resistant jacket to wear. "You are riding this?!?" Qiu Yue asked the obvious question as she had difficulty wearing her helmet. Penguin Kido asked her to squat and assisted her with the helmet by hitting it hard on her head while the other penguins had their own mini combat cycles as well. The motorcycles were all due to Hou Fei. When he was reviewing the armaments with Jin in the terrace house dining table, Lynn happened to hear how they needed vehicles for the upcoming Demon Rat Wars, especially since they had lots of ground to cover. Because of the successful Goblin War, the System had rewarded Jin with a huge sum of budget for the Demon Rat War and the constant net profit that was flowing in allowed him to review the type of armaments they could use. That was also the time when Lynn considered getting her own combat cycle and if possible for her penguins too. Hou Fei''s eyes lighted up the moment he heard combat cycles and smirked at Jin. The boss understood that expression and decided to provide Lynn with a budget to purchase them. After all, the ninjas could make use of the bike''s high mobility, and Lynn hardly requested things from him. "I never dreamed of being able to find a fellow motorcyclist enthusiast in this store!" Hou Fei sounded elated as he immediately brought out a magazine and a suitcase along with it from his storage ring. The magazine detailed various famous bikes that were on sale and when Lynn was previewing them, Hou Fei opened his suitcase and showed the modified blueprints of such bikes for the use of combat. "You are intending to use military gear parts on a civilian motorcycle?" Lynn asked and Hou Fei smile got even wider. "You did say you want a combat cycle right? If you do not include engines made especially from the military, how fast do you think you could go?" Hou Fei reasoned, and she guessed he was right. "The System should be able to fix it up for you once I confirm the delivery. Plus, I heard from Jin that you guys have some Lost Tech machine that allowed you to do wonders such as copying a whole item. So I will acquire two of the motorcycles and stuff them with as many items as possible. Don''t worry, one of them will be rescaled to your penguin''s size." "Will that affect the output of the engine?" Lynn was worried, and Hou Fei patted her on her shoulder. "Fear not. When it comes to motorcycles, and military weapons. Nothing is impossible for this old snake." Hou Fei had indeed accomplished the seemingly impossible by delivering the motorcycles in two days time as well as a few crates of military gear to be fitted into the combat cycle. Niu Lang, their new in house mechanic, along with the robot crawlers began to fix it up for Lynn, and the rescaled version was later placed in the counterfeiter for production. "You can ride a bike?! Damn it you are too cool! How did you even get one in the first place?" Qiu Yue asked after Kido fixed her helmet. "Long story short Hou Fei is living up to his name as a weapons dealer! Come on, grab onto me. We have a lot of catching up to do." Lynn signalled Qiu Yue to get behind her and after which she hand signalled the other penguins on the combat cycles. The booming engines from the combat cycles suddenly turned silent, and it was apparently a feature that the Niu Lang added especially when he believed the Ninjas needed stealth riding. It was a high level anti sound inscription charm which he got from Octofussy and placed them onto the roaring V13 turbo twin engines. When all the engines went silent (Even though they were still shaking violently!), Lynn gave the okay sign to move, and Qiu Yue grabbed on to Lynn''s waist tightly. The combat cycles went from 0 to 110km/hr in 3 seconds, and if the people riding them were not cultivators, they probably would have flown off or broken their arms from the inertia drag alone. Not only that, the combat cycles were versatile enough to traverse on any terrain because of the custom made wheels which Hou Fei obtained as well as the multi-tiered suspensions. However, there was more to it than just speed, and while Lynn hoped she did not have to use them, she was equally eager to show off to Qiu Yue. (Even though right now, the red panda cultivator seemed like she was hanging onto dear life from the high speed ride. (or grabbing!) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Original Bellator Kraft, another wave of information was sent in by Malware Foxy. On a side note, the government has finally taken action regarding the scapegoat criminal." The System reported, and Kraft used his newly acquired knowledge to search for the CCTVs that were linked near the criminal''s location. "Black suits, black spectacles and armour civilian vehicles. Seems like they are taking this seriously." Kraft spoke to himself. The black suit agents were not pulling any punches, in fact, they were severely brutal towards the criminal, and a look at their tactics had shown Kraft that they were highly skilled. "Looks like Grade 10 and above." Kraft had made sure the hacker involved in human trafficking was implicated as planned. Before the agents had arrived, he had left a little present on his private computer. By placing a few headings which Malware Foxy had given him during the first wave of information, they would have sufficient reason to suspect him and have him investigated. Unless they were incompetent, the investigation should then lead to the human trafficking case and thwart the whole syndicate''s operations. "What a nice feeling to do something pleasant for the society." Kraft smiled to himself, making sure he had left no tracks behind and then proceeded to open the new package by Foxy. More incriminating things about the politicians and their party as well as dirt on various well known individuals whose net worth was well over the billions of Yuan. However, there was still no information on the Panda Clan list, Banned Emperor or this Ryuli which Jin had mentioned. If not for the fact that Kraft wanted to play safe, he would not have chosen this method. Instead, he would brute force against the database and find the information and then get out. Unfortunately, that would put his master''s store reputation at stake and the System highly recommended the alternative. "Urghh!! So bored and Jin''s battle was way too fast! Can''t believe I had any expectation for that fox girl. Such a disappointment!" Kraft complained to the System. He weighed his options on what to do to relieve his boredom. He could go and pester Jin, but that would mean he would have to see old hagged Birdy again. However, Yuan and Jin seemed to be discussing something important, and he guessed he could eavesdrop on them. Else, he could either wait once again for Foxy to send another batch of information or wear his fox mask and openly disturb some of the cultivators in the WunderPanda Theme Park. "Maybe harass some of those Rats or Tigers." Kraft thought to himself as he twirled his chair around in boredom. "If Original Bellator Kraft has nothing else to do, System will recommend Kraft to assist Minotaur Maid Sebastia in her scouting mission as ordered by User." System suggested. "Why? What''s wrong with her? I thought she had things under control?" Kraft guessed doing some more practical work would be a good enough distraction for him, so he agreed. "In return, I expect you to notify me as soon as the next batch of information comes in. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING WITHOUT ME!" Kraft warned the System as it teleported him to Sebastia. "Ah?! Bellator Kraft? To what do I owe the honour of you being here?" Sebastia asked without being embarrassed when she had to remove the cosmetic inscription and was currently in the midst of changing her clothes after a quick shower. "Hmm, nice body." Kraft praised and Sebastia shyly thanked him for his compliment. "The System assessed that you require some help for your future plans." "Oh? The System noticed it? And here I thought I had to improvise a little. But with you here, it should make things easier." Sebastia said as she tied her hair up away from her curved horns at the side. "Of course! Who do you think I am?" Kraft smirked evily as he folded his arms to pose a little. "So, what''s the matter? The System did not specify anything to me." "The Demon Rat Captain of Uote Town is planning to bring me along to the capital which is currently heavily guarded. I might be a decent scout, but I cannot possibly search or map the whole area on my own. I did ask if I could bring a close friend with me, citing the reason that both of ''us'' never see the capital before." "Flame Ripper was ordered by Gold to search for the remaining Elder Demons as well as the hideouts that Silver had marked for him. As for Meomi¡­ I am unsure what she will do when she encounters those high ranking rats." "That Rat Captain allowed you to do that? I thought Demon Rats are inflexible bunch of people." Kraft chuckled. "''Your friend, my friend''. Urgh" Sebastia had tried to copy the Demon Rat Captain tone as she activated her cosmetic inscription once again. "So yeah, I need someone to map the area and thought the System could provide me with some assistance. I had considered having another Minotaur to accompany me, and at some point, change into my real form to map the area. Of course, this could have run the risk of them noticing my current form disappearing and getting suspicious." "Sure, why not? I have time to spare, and besides, you''ve asked the right people." Kraft replied and each and every fox under his disposal appeared all around the room as if they had been already watching her from the beginning of the conversation. (Of course, except for Pei and Rex.) They all simultaneously nodded their heads in unison and it did creep Sebastia a little. "Oh yea, also great job on improvisation, I totally did not expect you to choose the bloody route of killing the resistance to gain the rats'' trust," Kraft noted amused as he looked out of the window of the pathetic small inn room. "Aren''t you going to put on the cosmetic inscription?" Sebastia asked as she heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. "Why should I?" Kraft''s face had already changed shape and featured a scar right beside his cheek. "I am after all THE counter intelligence agent." Chapter 463 Team Leader "Where am I?" Lein slowly opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. He then felt something soft and furry touching his hand, only to see a panda wearing a nurse uniform readjusting his vitals. Unable to cope with such a strange sight, he got shocked and attempted to move away from it. "Hahaha! You''ve got the same reaction as Su Zhen when she woke up." Rong exclaimed as Lein noticed that he was sitting on the opposite side of his bed and found out that his arm was back with him again. "How did I¡­? Have we been resurrected? How much time has past? Also, where is this place?" Lein asked as he saw the other three Demon Exorcist trainees being wide awake relaxing on their own beds. He was baffled why it looked like they were in a hospital instead of a Revival Chamber. "You are currently in our Luxury Recovery Instance, a place designed for recovering after going through a dungeon instance. You have slept for around 5 minutes after having been defeated." The Panda Nurse explained as she asked if he felt any particular pain on his body. "Luxury Recovery Instance? Dungeon Instance? Weren''t we fighting with that Jin in an isolated place?" Lein inquired. "Apparently that isolated beach was just a dungeon instance," Rong answered as he had already asked the Panda Nurses the same questions. "I never expected a dungeon instance to feel so real." "Mmhmm! I can still remember the cooling sea breeze blowing at my face! There is no way that was a dungeon instance! Our Clan''s top dungeon supplier had never managed to reach such realism with his instances at all and he has been hailed as one of the best in the country!" Lian had trouble believing it herself. After she was done with her own medical query, she was browsing her social media account. "Actually, I heard that Shenzhen had a rising dungeon supplier that everyone was raving about. People were boasting about how real the entire dungeon instances were, and an increasing amount of people were posting it in their Mechat accounts. " Su Zhen was also looking through her social media platforms for more information about the dungeon supplier they were in. "There were even rumours flying around that going through the dungeon would help one''s cultivation. I also remember seeing a picture showing off how amazing the post dungeon experience was and it looked exactly like this room, albeit smaller." Su Zhen said as she browsed her MeChat looking for it. "What''s the name of this particular dungeon supplier store?" Lein queried as he grabbed some water from the side cabinet. "Dungeon and Pandas. Given the fact that we are being served by Panda Nurses right now, I can only deduce that we are in that very same store." Su Zhen concluded. "Wait, so does that also mean the portal that appeared in front of us was not Grandma Yuan''s doing? I thought she was able to afford a portal scroll for that Jin to choose a location. You mean that portal brought us directly into a dungeon instance?" Rong asked out loud, and only Lian replied that she did not know. The others were busy looking at their phones. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Claire opened the door for Grandma Yuan to come in. Claire went after her, followed by Jin. Grandma Yuan took her time to look at the ward her trainees were housed in. In the meantime, the demon cultivators came out of their beds and stood in attention. "How are they?" Jin asked the Panda Nurses, and they reported nothing unusual. He thanked them kindly and they went out of the room. "Heh, so you treat them like real humans eh?" Grandma Yuan asked Jin upon seeing his attitude towards them. "They should be respected as such." Jin''s answer was short, sweet and to the point. "Now, I can understand why those who have come to you most often wish to come again. The post dungeon experience is indeed a refreshing way to make them feel like they are appreciated for visiting your dungeon instances." Grandma Yuan pretty much confirmed the theories of her trainees and they could not believe it. "Jin is a dungeon supplier?! I thought you said that Jin is just a Grade 8 cultivator that wished to be a Demon Exorcist Trainee?" Lein questioned and Claire cleared her throat to signal his imprudence. "Would it have made any difference if you had known that he was a dungeon supplier? Does telling you that he owns a famous shop cause you to be wary of him? Each of you had ample time to find out more about him, but did anyone of you cared enough to research about him, until your defeat?" Grandma Yuan asked the entire group, and they simultaneously responded with a firm no. "Good, at least none of you give me any excuses for your failure. As for your mistakes." Grandma Yuan walked towards Lian who was the nearest to her. "Lian, why did you allow your anger to consume you when you saw that Rong was killed? I''ve warned you that the fights would only end in death and only the strongest can survive. You should have prepared for such a possibility. Knowing that he could and would be revived afterwards, why did you let it cloud your judgement?" Grandma Yuan shot her questions at Lian that it made her speechless. "Lein, what was that shocked expression for, when you saw him casting a magic spell on you? Why didn''t you react back in any way? Instead, you remain stunned to see that he was able to cast magic. Having a full grasp of the abilities of your enemy is a pipe dream! You have to trust in your own abilities and deal with the circumstances as they present themselves!" "Su Zhen, you might have been the most composed of them all, but you still erred in your judgement. Knowing that an enemy is right in front of you, you performed first aid for your comrade, who wasn''t even critically injured." Grandma Yuan''s stare was so stern, Su Zhen could barely looked away. "While your compassion may be commendable, on the battlefield, it most often leads to the result you all just experienced. Still, the biggest mistake wasn''t in helping him, but not covering your bases sufficiently. How blatantly confident were you to not put up any defences or traps to protect yourself when you aided your comrades?" Grandma Yuan wanted her to recognise her own flaws. Su Zhen looked like she wanted to retort but Grandma Yuan''s stare immediately shut her down once more. "You never accounted for the possibility of him having an ability that allows him to get behind your back, did you? I keep reminding you to think about the worst case scenario. You believed you had sufficient distance and Lian was covering the both of you?" Grandma Yuan asked and the White Snake Demon Cultivator slowly nodded her head. "Good judgement of the scenario¡­ but too bad, Jin was not your average cultivator." Grandma Yuan concluded as she walked back towards Jin and Claire. "¡­its cheating." Rong whispered. "What did you say?" Grandma Yuan turned her head at Rong and dared him to repeat his words. "It''s cheating! This is his dungeon instance! He must have cheate- !" Rong exclaimed but the sudden slap Grandma Yuan sent to his face stopped his words. "You lost. It''s as simple as that. Did you forget your Clan''s own lesson about losing graciously? ''To be thankful to have lived through the experience and strive to do better next time''? Just be glad that this was a Dungeon Instance instead of a real death!" Grandma Yuan became very strict, and Rong looked dissatisfied and sore by the match. "If you want a rematch, I have no qualms about fighting you in any other dungeon supplier store. With your background, it shouldn''t be hard to find one, which has a special licence allowing for cultivator matches." Jin offered confidently. Lian excused herself and walked towards Jin while looking him in the eyes. "Can you swear that you haven''t cheated and used only your own powers against us?" Lian asked, and Jin instantly swore to her that such had indeed been the case. "I hate to admit it, but Grandma Yuan is right. Jin did not cheat when he fought." Lian sighed as she took out a miniature toy charm from her pocket. "You all should know that aside from my Nine Tailed Demon Fox cultivation, I''ve received the foundation training from my Royal Zodiac Dog Clan." She showed the entire group that the miniature toy charm which featured a husky dog, was looking brightly coloured and vibrant. "A Legendary Grade Truth inscription charm!" Only Lein was able to discern it compared to the other trainees. "Yes, my dad gave it to me as an insurance of sorts. He was worried that the enemy might have planned on using some underhanded method to cheat since it was a fight to the death." Lian said as she shook the miniature toy charm. "I had also activated the truth inscription charm along with my Keen Smell of the Watchful Dog technique to check whether he was lying or if his vitals would increase. Everything was as per normal." Lian said, and Rong quietly suffered the humiliation he brought on himself. "Sorry, Rong¡­" Lian whispered to herself quietly. She too would have preferred to believe that he was cheating, but the truth was that Jin was way stronger than them even though he was lower in grade. "Now, as promised. Your oath to me when you enrolled included that you had to obey each and every deal I had made. All of you lost this particular match against Jin so, from today onwards, he will be your boss. You will work and get paid based on the salary I had drafted a few days back." Grandma Yuan announced, and Claire passed them each a sheet of paper that stated the contract. "What? Only 10,000 Yuan(1450 USD) a month? That is even lesser than the allowance I receive?!" Lein exclaimed at the absurdity of the contract. "Yes, only 10,000 Yuan a month. You will work until you repay your debt equivalent to a resurrection fee for your current grade. And don''t even think about paying with your allowance or anything outside of your salary! Don''t worry. To make it fair, I''ve taken into account your overall cost and split it evenly." Grandma Yuan seemed to oddly enjoy their shocked faces. "That''s going to take like forever! What the hell?! I''d rather undergo the Heavenly Five Element Tribulations than be stuck with him!" Rong complained only to realise he angered his instructor once again. "Rong stop being so impatient and listen to the end! I won''t hand you over to him without giving you a chance to prove yourself and regain your freedom earlier. " Grandma stopped him from interrupting her. "All of you will have the possibility to reduce the debt you incurred if you can complete the future tasks I''ll create for you. For example, passing out as a Demon Exorcist will allow to reduce your debt by 1,000,000 Yuan." Grandma Yuan added, and everyone somehow perked up. "Heh, talking about being a Demon Exorcist, if Jin is to be accepted, he will have to address us as his seniors." Lein notified the others via private transmission, and Grandma Yuan could visibly see their lips curling at the side. "Also, before I forget. Jin is now a Demon Exorcist and assigned as team leader of your group." Grandma Yuan said, and their faces turned green and later red with anger. "What! How can he just directly become a Demon Exorcist without proper training? Has he even fought with a demon before? We''ve been your disciples since our childhood, why are you showing such favouritism to this dungeon supplier?" Su Zhen who had been keeping it in all this while finally flared out her concerns. "Oh, I fought many demons, slew them as well as monsters." Jin chimed in as he could not stand this bunch of kids. Not to mention, now Grandma Yuan wanted to place them under his care. "Do I seriously look that carefree to her?" Jin thought to himself and sighed. "So if you want to prove yourselves, go fight them. Since you guys are Demon Cultivators, I might at least use you for testing the prototype of a dungeon I had been working on. You all should know that a dungeon and the monsters in them is based on the Dungeon Supplier''s experience, right?" Jin questioned, though they did not even bother responding. "Guess, I take that as a yes." Jin looked over, waiting for an answer from her as to whether or he could let them try the dungeon instance. "By all means. You are the team leader now." Grandma Yuan''s arrogant voice became even more haughty. Claire could not help but cover her face while visibly giggling at Grandma Yuan''s reply. "I will join in this dungeon instance too as a precaution to avoid you all getting bullied, okay?. After all, I was your former team leader." Claire volunteered, and the rest reluctantly agreed since Claire had decided to join in. "However, I will not do anything unless I see him intentionally overstepping his bounds." "We understand. Then what if we manage to beat his dungeon instance?" Rong was still unhappy with the overall situation. "I will slash the debt by 50,000 Yuan. (~7200USD)" Grandma Yuan said, and they were delighted to have at least something in return. "However, if you fail. Half salary for the first month." Jin had already begun abusing his authority even though Grandma Yuan knew it was a prompt to push them even further. "A Panda Nurse will come in, and she will teach you how to install the Pandamonium App. Afterwards, just follow the instructions from the app. I will see you guys later." Jin said as he left the ward alongside Grandma Yuan and Claire. "So since when I did become a Demon Exorcist?! Also, could you please explain what is happening? I don''t even know anything about this Demon Exorcist thing! And why did you push those kids to me? You retiring or what?!" Jin who had been calm and composed became frantic after the Panda Nurse had closed the ward''s doors behind them. "Hahahah! Well, I did promise you a little chat after all. Care to lead the way?" Grandma Yuan laughed, and her demeanour was a bit kinder than usual. There was a load of things she could finally take off her chest. Chapter 464 Demon Exorcis As the Demon Exorcist trainees were in good hands with the Panda Nurse, Jin had decided to bring Grandma Yuan and only her to the Dungeon Maker. The System had made an exception for the past Sub System User to enter into to a slightly less restricted area, the place where Jin had previously undergone his cultivation training. But instead of the usually desolate room, the System had already furnished the interior with a table and two chairs as well as a jug of water for them. In addition, that room had temporal manipulation capabilities, and so it slowed the time enough for a proper conversation before the trial of the trainees would start. Jin poured a glass of water for the elderly woman in front of him and subsequently took out the items that he believed were related to the Demon Exorcists. The Panda Emblem and the Colt Pistol which had the Ruby Origin Fire bullets. "So? What do you wish to know?" Grandma Yuan started their conversation as she cleared her thirst with the cup of a rather satisfying glass of spring water. "Everything, but let''s start with the elephant in the room. What is this whole Demon Exorcist deal? Why did you say that I am already a Demon Exorcist?" Jin asked and Grandma Yuan smirked at him ever so slightly. "You did fight a demon, right? And won against it too." Grandma Yuan questioned him, instead of answering as she took out a rather old looking book and placed it on the table as well. "That manual!?" Jin exclaimed, seeing the same exact manual from the time he was fighting against the White Tiger of the West. "How did you know that I killed it, and what is that manual? I''ve already seen one like it!" "Because a certain fox reported it to me after he met with that stifling old buffoon. Whether they liked it or not, both of them owed me a huge favour." Grandma Yuan spoke with simple hints, and Jin realised that it was not his grandfather''s scheme to make him into a Demon Exorcist but rather Grandma Yuan''s. "This manual is a sort of textbook relic and is mandatory to read for all Demon Exorcist Trainees. Of course, many full fledged Demon Exorcists also use it as a reminder of how to deal with certain Demons." The one in front of Jin was more explicit, more accurate and even had updated text and pictures as compared to the tattered and old manual he had looked through previously. "So you know that Ming spiritual consciousness is somehow within me?" "He had planned it this way ever since he contracted his illness. Haven''t you wondered why your chi generation started to become so abnormal when it wasn''t like this at the start?" Grandma Yuan gave him another hint and it hadn''t struck him at all until now. The System was not the only gift he inherited from Ming, he had devoted himself wholly to improve Jin. "Now, most people would not be able to stay sane, having two spiritual forms occupy one particular body. You, however, have had the System by your side, increasing your capacity and tolerance to housing another entity." "Then why does the System pretend to feign ignorance?" Jin asked his question loudly. "Because the guidance has been an overall boon to current User despite the actions previous User Ming had committed. System preferred not to interfere unless it had unwanted implications against User or the System." The System answered. Grandma Yuan just nodded as she knew that the System would use whoever and whatever to maintain its overall advantage in the field. It did not discriminate like how humans would against each other, but rather valued the abilities and capabilities of others to further its own cause. After another sip of water, Grandma Yuan continued: "That Panda Emblem had been awarded to Ming for his services as a monster slayer by the Joint Organisation of the Demon Exorcists (JODE). Right now it''s purely ornamental, but after I cast this particular spell, it will be your emblem to signify that you have been officially decreed as a Demon Exorcist." "Even the blossoming flowers will eventually scatter. Who in our world is ever unchanging? In the deep mountains of karma, the demons will be exterminated." Grandma Yuan chanted the scroll right in front of her and the Panda Emblem in front of Jin shone brightly. "Congratulations, you are now an official Demon Exorcist, if only one of the lowest ranks. In turn, all you need to do is answer JODE''s calls whenever it is needed." "While I know it is a bit too late but ¡­why did you want me to be a Demon Exorcist? You should know that I can''t really move out from the shop as much as I want to." Jin said, and Grandma Yuan shook her head. "Ming''s last request to me had been to take care of you. I am doing it my way. To let you become a Demon Exorcist is my only way of showing my care and concern." Grandma Yuan returned the now expended scroll into her storage ring. "Suddenly, I feel the heavens had fallen." Jin couldn''t help himself but remark with a tinge of sarcasm at his ever increasing responsibilities. Her walking stick immediately swept under the table and cause his chair to fall sideways, taking Jin with it as well. "You imprudent ingrate. Is this how Ming taught you how to thank others? Perhaps I should have let Ming be the one to wash your butt and clear your shit when you were younger instead so that I could have been to one to teach you." Grandma Yuan openly revealed that she had been his caretaker as well when his parents passed away. "I did not know that¡­" Jin was probably too young to remember but he did remembered a motherly figure that entered his life someway or another. He stood up and apologise properly to her, but she shook the issue off with a wave of her hand. "In any case, as a Demon Exorcist, especially under me, you will have access to details not privy to the public. Such as unique monsters'' whereabouts or humans possessed by demons. While it is our responsibility to get rid of those monsters, what happens with them afterwards is generally of no concern to the organisation." Grandma Yuan said, and Jin realised what she was getting at. "Not only that, because of my status, I am able to establish a branch of the Demon Exorcist Guild under your store provided that you get a license as Demon Exorcist. That way, all of that information will be for you to partake." Grandma Yuan revealed her grand scheme of plans to him. While in theory, he had to answer the JODE''s call to also investigate any possible clues at their behest, Grandma Yuan''s exertion of influence would enable Jin to be excused from all those minor tasks. Instead, she would promote him to the administrative side of JODE. "So you want me to be some sort of a guild manager responsible for managing the Demon Exorcists?" Jin was surprised that Grandma Yuan had been planning this for a long time. "Yes, currently they all come to me for the quests, and I am already too old for this bullcrap. Besides, with your growing reputation, the Demon Exorcists will also be able to come here and train as well with a price tag slapped on it." Grandma Yuan answered with a wide smile on her face. "Oh¡­so those four Demon Exorcist trainees¡­are like promotional materials for others Demon Exorcists to see my capabilities?" Jin realised why he was appointed to be their team leader. "Something like that. Plus, I believe they will be growing better and stronger with the kind of monsters you provide for them to spar. Also, being a Demon Exorcist branch has its perks too, but I will let Claire fill you in about that." Grandma Yuan replied. "That does not mean you can slack all the time. I still need you to occasionally hunt some demons or else the Main Extermination Guild would start to question your worthiness. You don''t need me to convince you to them, you have a System to do that for me." "Why do I feel that you are going to make me do some impossible task," Jin asked bluntly, and she laughed at his honesty. "Because that will be the fastest way to rise up the ranks in the guild. Besides, Demon Exorcists do not just fight demons. We also get called up to go against monsters, although our priority remains to slaughter the former." "But I do not have the knowledge or equipment to do so. I did not even know about their existence until Ming let me suffer at the hands of one." Jin questioned while it made Grandma Yuan furrow her eyebrows. "System, please explain." Grandma Yuan can''t be bothered to do a basic 101 for Jin. "Demon Exorcists are a subgroup of Monster Slayer Class which specialise in removing demons from the world. The demons User had already encountered such as Lord Moloch and Lord Wolte are in the same category as the demons you would be encountering." The System spoke and told Jin about the existence of the dimensional planes which Yun had explained to Gold. Both on Gods and Demons. However, Grandma Yuan expanded the fact that all lore that Jin had heard and read about was true. For example, the World Snake in the Norse mythology or even the Gods in the Roman Mythologies. They all once did live on this planet before vanishing or going into hiding. "So basically¡­just do what I had been doing? But this ''branch'' that you were going to make me create¡­ wouldn''t I need to have at least the basic equipment or knowledge I can pass forth."Jin wondered as he was beginning to think about how to facilitate the other Demon Exorcists. "You and Ming are all the same. Lack of patience! Since you are now a Demon Exorcist, Claire will provide you with the things to get you started. The Main Branch will be sending in a shipment for your System to preview. But rest assured that your current cultivation allows you to fend off demons." Grandma Yuan said as she paused a little. "Ming sought my help to develop the current cultivation that you''re wielding so your chi had already become potent enough to hurt a demon. And judging by your fight just now, you have somehow already mastered Fire, Wind, and Ice so you should not have that much of a problem. Although I expect you learn and master the Lightning and Earth Energy too." Grandma Yuan said to Jin. "Do not worry, I will ask Zeru for that. I realised how weak I was when fighting against your trainees during the 30 second trial and will not forget that experience anytime soon." Jin said while thinking about the horrors he had to face as a consequence of losing. "Good. And remember to continue on your cultivation with Ming. You have yet to beat all of the remaining Heavenly Beast Demons." Grandma Yuan reminder him as she stood up. "Do I have to fight empty handed as last time?" Jin asked as he could not fathom himself fighting against Suzaku on a one to one battle. He would definitely lose for sure. "Maybe?" Grandma Yuan grinned as she asked the System to teleport her back to the Luxury Recovery Instance. "So ¡­Let''s have a little chat, System. What are the prospects and possible revenue we can get being a branch of the Demon Exorcist? Should we accept it? You should know them more than me." Jin folded his arms and rest his eyes a little as he lay back on his chair. "The Joint Organisation of Demon Exorcists had been founded decades after the System''s inception. Previously, the System would have disagreed partnering with them. However, considering the new sense of perspective gained from the interaction with current User during the past months, the System believes joining them will prove to have its benefits, especially in the monetary aspect." The System stated its desire to be a part of the Demon Exorcist branch. "It should be noted that for secrecy''s sake, it would be best to create a service instance exclusively for the Demon Exorcists group, for they have sensitive information to be passed around all the time. They might not operate like spies, but maintaining secrecy is still considered a priority." The System added. "How come? They are just monsters and demons that need to be defeated." "Ill willed cultivators might use the opportunity to get a head start on them and contract with the demons. Hence resulting in what past Sub System User Yuan had called demon possessed humans." "Aren''t the Demon Exorcist trainees the same? Like Rong, Lian and others?" "Negative. Their cultivation stems from manuals, although possessing said demons would enable them to have a spiritual union with them, increasing their cultivation and strength by at least two fold." The System stated that the conditions for spiritual union could be easily met if they contracted the demons. "However, if the demon''s powers through spiritual union aren''t controlled well, the trainees might end up becoming possessed by the demons instead." System cautioned Jin to take note in the future should he have a hand in handling the trainees. "Considering their grade, I do wonder why Grandma Yuan still doesn''t allow them to be full fledged Demon Exorcists¡­" Jin stood up and went to the main hall of the dungeon maker while preparing the trial for them. "Because they have yet to officially defeat a real Demon. Only after a trainee has defeated a demon under the eyes of a Demon Exorcist instructor, will they be considered for promotion." "Oh, is that why Grandma Yuan had given me this official title? But she did not see me kill that thing in my subconsciousness." "The System is unable to pry into your subconsciousness and can only deduce it was a hard fought battle considering the amount of sludge User has produced previously. It can only be presumed that she has taken Original Bellator''s Kraft message from previous User Ming at face value." "Wait¡­ if all they need to do is to kill a demon, why don''t we provide them with a real demon to kill? You did show me in the updates that there were sightings of the demons in the Farming World, which I was supposed to get the materials from right? Why don''t we point them into that direction? Worst case scenario, they will serve as a distraction for the Farm Rats." Jin suggested as he opened up the Dungeon Maker console to find that particular update. "Affirmative, tracks of Transforming Spider have been accidentally picked up by the Ifrit''s Descendant, Flame Ripper on the way back to meet with Werecat Meomi. She has verified and confirmed the existence of the tracks." The System stated and gave the probable location coordinates of the area. "Then how about ¡­we field them for the test? Like how we placed the cultivators in the Goblin World?" Jin asked if the System could narrow down the probable regions where the Transforming Spider was. "A search and kill mission should serve as a more feasible test for the trainees. Does User wish to inform past Sub System User Yuan about it?" The System asked as it could send a transmission to the Panda Nurse to inform Grandma Yuan. "I will tell her after I throw them into the fray," Jin said with a smile on his face, as he made the necessary preparations for his unwilling subordinates. Chapter 465 Demon Exorcist Promotion Examination "Why is that fake exorcist taking so much time?" Rong complained as they were asked to stay in the room by the Nurse Panda even though they cleared the trainees for discharge. "Maybe he frantically tries to make a new dungeon to overpower us." Lein proposed with some bitterness in him for failing to defeat Jin. Could he have had fared better in a one to one fight? Honestly, he would not have a clue. Unlike Jin, who had some details on his technique, Lein had no idea what to expect against that peculiar dungeon supplier. "Patience." Grandma Yuan, who was sitting at the side looking out the window said the word with a heavy emphasis in her voice, and they immediately kept quiet. (Surprisingly, Jin had taken the effort to create a rather beautiful, tranquil seascape right outside the window. The cool ocean breeze made Grandma Yuan appreciate the beauty of what the System could do, and she savoured a bit of it.) At that moment, Jin happened to open the ward door and two luggage suits with him. "Change of plans, your dungeon trial will consist of searching for a demon rather than fighting mere monsters. I had tweaked the settings a little after some discussion with Grandma Yuan." He shifted the luggage at the centre of the ward. "Find it and kill it without prejudice. I will be one of the observers in case things go haywire since I did say it was an untested version. Also, I heard a great deal about you guys from Grandma Yuan a few minutes ago. So treat it this seriously like a mock trial for your promotion examination." Jin ordered as he opened the two luggage suits in front of them. Inside were laid with various Panda shaped cylinders, containing an assortment of potions. From strength enhancing to health recovery. Jin told them to choose and take three each for the upcoming trial. "No thank you, we have our own potions which are definitely superior to yours, especially since they were made by the Royal Alchemists in our clan." Lein refused the potions. Jin shook his head and told the trainees they could either take them or leave them alone. Both Rong and Lein had decided against it whereas Lian and Su Zhen took not only theirs but the boys'' portion as well. They probably figured Jin had his reasons to gift them those items. "Alright, I will be doing the briefing. You will be entering near a forested area where multiple caves were seen in the vicinity. Your objective is to find this particular demon called the Transforming Spider." Jin had taken longer than usual because he was preparing the short summary for them via a PowerPoint presentation. That was the excuse he gave, but he was performing other matters behind the scenes to make sure the cultivators can return back to Dungeons and Pandas. (Not to mention to check on the status with Yun on the shop''s operation.) "While its figure is shown here, do note that the name Transforming Spider means that it could transform into anything to hide itself from its predators as well as its prey. However, there is one distinct feature of the Transforming Spider." Jin showed the picture of the transforming Spider and gave explicit details as shown by the System. "Its gem eyes. They should glitter slightly during the brief intervals after it has transformed, but some reports have also stated it might be hard for novices to find them. So, the other thing you could check is the irregularity of the current environment. Something like Finding Waldo." Jin continued, but in his heart, he wondered if this current Transforming Spider would turn out similar to Keyrin who had evolved into a more superior species. If that turned out to be the case, it could prove a tough fight for the trainees. "So the most important thing is to stay together as a team and- " Jin was suddenly interrupted by the proud Ox Demon Cultivator. "Not to worry! We have Lian and Su Zhen with us. They have superior searching abilities which will be able to hunt it down. That is if your dungeon is really able to simulate such minute differences." Rong belittled Jin''s dungeon making skills, but he smirked back at the Ox Demon cultivator. "Oh trust me, it will feel as if you had entered a whole new world," Jin reassured them (though to them it felt more like he boasted) and concluded the presentation. "There is no particular time limit from my side, but it''s best to find it as soon as possible. Else you might stumble upon some¡­ problems." Jin left it vague as he opened the portal right in front of them. Su Zhen went in first followed by the rest and lastly Claire. In the meantime, he closed the portal and revealed his true objective to Grandma Yuan. "Heh! Sneaky bastard. Fine. I will promote them if they manage to kill that monster. But you sure you do not need to kill it by yourself?" Grandma Yuan was satisfied by the twist since she had been wanting to promote them but hadn''t found any monsters that could match their current abilities. "Also are you sure this monster is a menace against four of them combined?" "More than a menace. I had checked the status of the last seen Transforming Spider and apparently the knights in the area along with their mages (the Scholar of the North in Jin''s context) could only push it back to the wild. According to Peppers, the last documented case of one being killed was centuries ago. And as for your previous question¡­as long as I get to hit it once, it will be mine. So, no worries about that." "Too convenient. The System makes it too convenient for you." Grandma Yuan shook her head, and he brought her back to the dungeon maker. "However, there is one more thing I need to tell you. That is not exactly an instance. It''s another world entirely." Jin said as he fiddled the controls a bit, so Grandma Yuan was able to see what was happening from the view. He had already deployed a few robot crawlers which Niu Lang had tinkered with to enhance its durability previously. The System then imbued those robot crawlers with the "Magic Eyes" capabilities to monitor the surroundings since it does not have the satellite capability that it had in the Goblin World. But Niu Lang did not just increase its durability, he also converted and equipped those robot crawlers with four helicopter propellers and rotor engine that allowed the crawlers to obtain flight capabilities. Meanwhile, the System added the anti sound inscriptions on them and move the robot copters around to view the situation for Grandma Yuan to watch. "A world made up from the System?" Grandma Yuan was not following him a single bit. "No, as in¡­ another world from our world. A separate world." Jin tried to make it clear that it was not the System''s doing. "So¡­ you mean they are searching and fighting actual demons?" Grandma Yuan furrowed her eyebrows greatly and seemed both a little disappointed and surprised at the same time. Jin could not differentiate her expression out well enough. "That is why I had decided to be with them, in case that the Transforming Spider was more dangerous as expected," Jin remembered how Gold mentioned to him about the Thunder Goat Demon, but instead he fought a stronger variant of it. In the meantime, the demon exorcist trainees were indeed teleported to the forested area which Jin had shown them. It was also getting dark with a slight emergence of a fog in the area when they teleported into the area. Su Zhen then took out two potions from her storage ring and shafted it to the guys. "Drink it. you will need it to survive." Su Zhen said as she opened hers out and began to drink half of it. Lein then realised that the potion that was given to them was allowed the cultivators to gain a temporary effect of the ''Cat''s Eyes''. It grants a low level dark vision for a set duration of time and that was what they need if they were to search for the Transforming Spider in the dark. "This is from that fake exorcist?" Rong could not believe he had to drink one of his items to survive. "If you wish to see in the dark. While your praise for us to be able to sniff a spider is heartwarming, this odd looking fog and the weird stench of this forest is preventing me from searching on any clues. As usual, it felt too real for comfort." Lian told Rong as she forced the potion open in front of him and demanded him to drink. "Where do we even start? I have no idea what to do. There is no information about this Transforming Spider Demon other than the ones Jin had provided." Lian looked around with a bit of anxiety. "We were not taught of such a demon too." "A lot of demons that our parents encountered were unknown too. We just have to find the basic steps to find the Transforming Spider." Lein said as he started to look around for any possible clues after drinking the Cat''s Eyes potion. Any signs of cobweb, large indentations on the ground, dead animal remains and anything that looked out of the norm. Separately, Claire was observing their movements while searching for the Transforming Spider herself too. She was occupied only until Jin came out of the portal right beside her. "Grandma Yuan told me to pass you this," Jin said, and Claire knew what that was from a quick glance. They were the very same kind of emblems which Jin had been bestowed with. The only difference was that the emblem pins were synonymous to trainees'' clans that they were in. "She wants to put them up for the examination?" Claire looked Jin and he nodded his head but continued to keep her out of the loop despite the fact that she knew he had a system with him. Jin instead lied to her that the transforming Spider that he encountered was one of the few most difficult demons he ever encountered. Even he did not know the full set of skills and managed to capture it live with the use of the System. (It will eventually be true if he did capture it alive.) Claire believed him in an instant since she knew how unusual Jin had become with the use of the System. She remembered the days when she first scouted for Grandma Yuan, and this shop was barely out of its infant stage. Right now, it was bustling with cultivators from all walks of life. "I understand, I will initiate the examination for them right this instant. In return, you have to be the only observer since I am not allowed to interfere." Claire replied, and Jin acknowledged that he knew his responsibilities as Grandma Yuan had told him the same too. "But do I have the ability to interfere if they are in trouble? Or will there be marks deducted if I entered the battle?" Jin asked. "You can interfere if you find that they needed help sorely or the demon happened to be way above their grades. There are indeed consequences to aiding them at their desperate time of need, especially when the demons might have an alternate form which could have caught them off guard. But erm¡­let''s just say the marking scheme is too complicated." Claire said as she shook her head when she kept the emblem pins in her storage ring. "If you help them with a ranged attack, only some points will be deducted. But if you personally made your presence known by entering into the fray, major points will be deducted. And that is just a start, the marking criteria will get even stricter with every kind of action the observer had performed to aid the examinees." Claire took an electronic tablet out and passed it to Jin to preview for a while. "So¡­I guess its best not to interfere as much as possible." Jin saw how ridiculous the marking criteria was. From searching for a monster to killing the monster, and there were even points for environment preservation. (He believed there were some exorcists who more than just killing the demons with their flashy skills which caused the examination committee to create such marking criteria up.) At the same time, Jin realised Claire gone all quiet, and he noticed that she was already marking the students based on their performance till now. "I shouldn''t interrupt her, she looked too focused¡­System, any sight of that Transforming Spider?" Jin tried to perform his own way of search magic by extending his Maqi out to see if there any interference or disturbance around. However, the moment Jin spread his Maqi out, it seemed as if the whole forest reacted to it and he quickly retracted it. His face turned into a horrid expression upon receiving the feedback from the surroundings, but Claire looked as if everything was as per normal. "The System had analysed the vicinity when User released his Maqi. System believed that-" "That the entire forest is part of the Transforming Spider¡­" Jin swallowed his saliva and realised he had placed the trainees and Claire in a very precarious situation. Chapter 466 Transforming Spider - Part 1 After a more in-depth analysis, the System had determined that the entire forest was no doubt the body of the Transforming Spider. Jin could not bear himself to spread the news out to the rest of the group here. "Should the Demon Exorcist Trainees wandered too long in the forest, it would eventually be eaten by the Spider." The System commented. "You mean the spider will appear to consume them?" "No. If the predictive analysis is true, the appearance of the forest will consume them when they are caught off guard." The System stated and warned Jin not to mess around with this particular Transforming Spider. "So¡­ any damage done to the forest is equivalent to hitting the spider?" Jin asked as he changed his Bam and Boo now into combat gloves. They looked like a gauntlet made out of many small bamboo poles sewn into it. Hence it does not restrict the movement of the user at all. Unlike the usual combat gloves that Meomi or even Xue Ping, the Prancing Puma Cultivator had used, Jin was able to modulate his Maqi even smoother with Boo while Bam had the ability to amplify it creates damage to a certain extent. "Not necessary. Based on the Magic Eye drones, the System observed that some of the forests consisted of normal trees and bushes. Should User wish to inflict damage, it had to be wide scale." "Then I guess it''s unfair for the cultivators to search for something hiding in plain sight," Jin said as he generated his Maqi and stored them within Bam and Boo for the moment. Claire noticed that Jin was being all anxious when she was documenting specific behaviours of the trainees. So, she decided to stop and calm him down. "Jin, you do not to be too concern of them, they should be able to take care of themse-" Claire noticed his chi was awfully dense that it nearly got to her. "Jin? What''s wrong?" Claire knew that the dungeon supplier would not do something as stupid as to kill the trainees but she felt something was off about him. "I am sorry but for the ''search'' part. I will be interfering for them. Send them a chi transmission to take cover." Jin said as his hands felt awfully heavy with the accumulation of Maqi. "Jin, why are you doing this? Doing so will significantly deduct marks from them. And you were the one who proposed this." The dungeon supplier did not say anything else, and Claire sighed as if she found his actions improbable. Was he so insistent of messing the examinees that much? "No, it''s my mistake. I did not regulate the search part properly for this dungeon. I only found it out when I saw the forest. They would not be able to find it without my help." Jin apologised sincerely by giving a bow. "Guys, your new team leader demands all of you to take cover as quickly as possible. He would be helping you to get the demon out for you to slay." Claire shook her head as she announced it to all of them. The exorcist trainees were confused as to what was happening and listened to their ex leader''s instructions for the moment. Rong activated his cultivation, and a silhouette of a massive, hairy ox demon covered the entire group within its embrace. Meanwhile, the Astral Panda Cultivator raised his hands up and shot a blast full of Black Panda Fire energy towards the sky. Both the exorcist trainees and Claire saw the immensely powerful chi rising up to the sky. The beam of Black Panda Fire energy seems like it hit a pinnacle in the sky. Moreover, the beam energy scattered, fanned, and spread the Black Panda Fire like a geyser emerging the ground throughout the entire forest. "Is he copying the western magic, Fire Storm?" Claire raised her defence with a spherical chi barrier as well and witness how the projectiles of fire rained down the entire forest. "Is he going to burn us alive?! Or just showing off? Course¡­if it''s both!" Before Lian could finish her words, she screeched at the incoming fiery projectile that slammed onto the body of the Ox Demon Silhouette. But like an umbrella shoving the raindrops off the waterproof cloth, the shield silhouette protected the trainees from the onslaught on projectiles. "Everybody still okay?" Rong said as they could see he was trying his best to defend the entire group from the indiscriminate showers of black fire. "You will soon understand why," Jin shouted at Claire in reply to her outstanding question. True enough, the forest itself seemed to give a horrifying scream that echoed throughout the entire area. The whole group could not believe it when the ground shook and broke down as what it seems like a big hairy pillar rose from beneath them. Their eyes were nearly blinded by the sheer size of the pillar only to be triumphed by an insectoid body emerging out from the centre of the forest. "This is no pillar! It''s a freaking spider leg!" Lein shouted as he commanded Rong to pull back along with the Ox Demon Silhouette shield. The trainees then finally saw the full picture. With legs taller than a high rise building, a spherical body was the only thing that connected all the pillar looking legs. It then finally revealed its gem like eyes not from the front or from the back but from the bottom of its spherical body. The legs then produced a fog mixed with some magic which extinguished the Black Panda Fire that was spread all around the forest. "Unlike previously when I captured it, I believe the spider has gotten smarter and decided to pose a challenge to our trainees by imitating itself as part of the entire forest." Jin tried to keep up with the lie for Claire and told her to make it an exception so as to not penalise the trainees unnecessarily. " I see, as the circumstances, this ''kill'' part could take a lot of effort too. Very well, I will write an excuse report for the ''search'' portion." Claire said as she told the students that this was the Transforming Spider Jin was talking about. "Fuck me. This is way above our level!!" Rong exclaimed before Su Zhen emphasised to the Ox Demon Cultivator that Jin managed to catch it, so it should be doable for them. (He did not!) "Damn, does that mean that Grade 8 is really way stronger than all of us combined? I do not believe it! Guys, let''s show him that we can bring this down. Size is just a matter of perspective!" Lein said as he ran towards the pillar leg to show an example for the team. "Ahhh fuck, fuck, fuck!!!" Rong retracted his Ox Demon Silhouette shield and began swinging his hammer as hard as he can. "Intermediate Hammer Arts! Rocket Hammer of Ao Ye! " Rong continuously placed his chi into his stick while swinging it horizontally. He was spinning his hammer round and round until he had sufficient momentum and subsequently used that technique to propel himself towards the upper portion to the pillar leg with his hammer ejecting an intense amount of steam to create airlift. "Intermediate Hammer Arts Combo! Rocket Hammer Slam!" Rong''s injected even more chi into his bull horned Hammer as he now changed the trajectory of where his hammer was facing before it ejected a ton of steam to create a forceful collision. Not only that, because of his consecutive use of a particular Hammer Arts'' technique, it allowed Rong to execute an Arts Combo which had an accumulative effect of the techniques to be even more deadly. Arts Combo was different from the combination of techniques that cultivators used together as a team, mainly because it was a series of moves that create a grand move finisher. (That was how video games adapted from the cultivations.) The Arts Combo from a set of techniques allowed the cultivator to amplify their chi that was used and thus increasing the damage output. The only thing was that not many cultivation styles had Arts combo in their repertoire because it is straining for the cultivators that used them too. Unless one is skilled enough to fire off three to five cultivation moves in one go, most cultivators would also stray from Arts Combo and instead learn the techniques as individual attacks. Rong''s attack connected and smashed a part of the pillar leg which made the pillar leg of the Transforming Spider to tremble ever so slightly. However, the hairs on the spider''s leg retaliated by extending itself like spikes to hit Rong. Thankfully, Lein managed to catch up and destroyed the hair spikes with a single Thunderclap technique before grabbing Rong from mid air and pulling him down to earth. "Appreciate that, Bud," Rong said as he took a breather from the attack as his heart pounded madly when he saw the spikes coming out. "Be careful, this is not like those small fry demons that Grandma Yuan kept to train us." Lein, who was a Grade 10 cultivator by training diligently and gained his cultivation through several bouts of enlightenment, did not know how to proceed when they saw the hair spikes retracting back into its leg. "At the very least, the dent is still there. This demon is killable." Rong said while he lifted his hammer again and insert more chi. "Can you guys stop dashing to every problem that we see?" Su Zhen shouted at them as she and Lian finally caught up with them. "If brute force can solve everything, we would not be in this predicament in the first place. "What should we do then?" Lein had decided to pass the responsibility in coordinating the team to Su Zhen. "Remember how Jin told us about its gem eyes? He said hit it to find its true nature." Lian said, but the two male trainees were not getting it. "Sigh, Su Zhen and I believed that the transforming spider had transformed into this gigantic large ¡­spider to scare us. Something like a defensive mechanism against other predators. If we hit the eyes, we might be on to something." Lian explained to the group. "However, this is just a conjecture. The transforming spider might be this big in the first place. We do not know and do not have enough information to get by in order to make a proper judgement." Su Zhen remarked as the pillar leg still stood tall and steady, not making a single move at the trainees at all. "I see, but how do we get up there? It is literally more than what my Rocket Hammer can offer." Rong said as he held his Bull horned hammer tightly. "I can aid with that, but it might do some damage to you since it is not a refined technique." Lein offered a solution by utilising one of his Lightning Dash movement skill to complement the Rocket Hammer technique. "After which, Su Zhen can use her substitution technique to replace me and Rong with her and Lian. Our little fox would then use Su Zhen as a platform to jump and attack the gem eyes." "Why me? Su Zhen could have done it all by herself." Lian said as she was slightly scared of heights. "Because you have the highest probability to attack the gem eyes if it decides to protect itself. You saw how your True Strike did wonders against Jin." Lein tried to encourage her. "Yeah, then in the second match, he totally could not block that," Lian said with a tinge of regret in her for not putting her best against Jin. "Highly likely a fluke," Rong interjected to make Lian not think about the past. "You guys remember how much she owned Lein in a one to one fight. If not for his imperfect lightning dash attack in that last round before we fought with Jin, Lian could have won that fight." Lian stopped him before he said more and told him to focus on the issue. "I agree with the plan, shall we execute it?" Su Zhen said, and the rest acknowledged it, all going to the centre of the spider before the Transforming Spider did anything out of the ordinary. However, the nearer they traversed towards the bottom of the spherical body, the fog somehow became thicker, and the stench was worse. It was to the point that the trainees felt they were being slowed down, pushed down by the fog. "Why can''t I move?" Lein tried his best to walk further in, but his body was not listening to him. He tried to look back but found it extremely difficult to do so. The rest of the other trainees felt the same way as well, and they soon found out their whole body was stuck within the thick fogs. Lian, on the other hand, tried to expend her chi to get her Three Tails out. (Every two grades of cultivation allowed her to get one to simulate a tail out.) But instead of being able to move, Lian felt even more restricted and to the point of suffocation. But that also allowed them to reveal the true nature of the fog because of the chi being consumed within the area. It was essentially a massive collection of cobwebs that had transformed into a fog. "What the hell is this¡­.!" Lian tried to speak, but she could feel the gossamers tightening its grasp on her. Su Zhen, the White Demon Snake Cultivator used her chi to release the snake that was in inhibiting in her whip so that it could chew or at least assist Lian to break out from the ''living'' cobwebs. But, similar to Lian, the moment Su Zhen used her chi, the living cobwebs aimed for her as well and the snake whip was also immobilised by it too. "Now I understand what was with the odd stench¡­and why this spider did not bother moving despite our *breathes* attempt to attack its legs," Lein said, and it looked like a desperate situation for the trainees as a whole. ¡ª- "Can I assist them now?" Jin crouched upon a branch and saw the entire group being devoured by the fog of living cobwebs. Chapter 467 Systems Ring "What plans do you have in store for that boy," Grandma asked the System as she saw how Jin went into the fray and burned the magical fog away. He interfered with the impromptu examination with the permission of Claire and protected the rest of the trainees with his Green Panda Wind while his Black Panda Fire burnt the living fog of cobwebs. "Nothing in particular. System is just maintaining what User had been doing. If past Sub System Yuan wished to enter back into the System, the System would not hesitate to grant back both enhanced mortality and powers to Yuan." The Almighty System offered Grandma Yuan seeing how she had contributed back to the System by offering Jin to be Shenzhen''s branch of the Joint Organisation of Demon Exorcists (JODE). "I am not doing this for you, but for that little fellow." Grandma Yuan retorted when she saw from the Magic Eye camera that the trainees proceeded with the plan they had come up with. "As for how the System sees it, your contribution to User would be tremendous if you return back to the System. You can further your cause in helping User, especially in terms of the JODE branch which you had been suggesting." System added while it appended more information about the exorcist trainees when they performed their tricks and stunts. Rong had propelled himself up along with the help of Lein''s Lightning Dash movement skill. With the snake whip in Lein''s possession, both Su Zhen and Lian had switched places with the boys when they reached the maximum height their ability could bring them with the substitution technique. "Hmph, don''t bluff. You have been aware of the JODE when I used my Sub System back then. There''s no difference between then and now. You can help Jin up with the knowledge you acquired previously before you disappeared from action. "Grandma Yuan tried to ignore the System when she continued to observe how Su Zhen pushed Lian even further up with the help of a Whip Arts, Raising Snake Strike. The art''s technique allowed Su Zhen to create a visible chi snake silhouette that Lian could hold onto while it extended itself up to the top. Lian proceeded to use the snake silhouette as a platform to bounce off and reach for the gem eyes that was below the spherical body of the Transforming Spider. She infused herself with chi again to keep the form of the Three Tail Fox Demon and extended her claws towards it. The Transforming Spider quickly tried to cover its eyes by releasing a wide oval shaped carapace within its body to keep the gem eyes safe from any damage. However, the spider did not know that Lian''s attack was able to penetrate the first layer of defence and damaged one of the few eyes on it. The gem eye along with some gooey liquid dropped through the pierced carapace and Lian managed to catch it in time. In retaliation, a horrifying tune was emitted out of the spherical body and the carapace that was protecting the eyes immediately ejected out, slamming straight at Lian''s face. That sudden attack rendered her to be stunned momentarily. "Oho, looks like this is not an easy fight at all." Grandma Yuan saw that when the carapace hit Lian, the three other cultivators who landed safely on land had scrambled to save her. Another raising snake strike from Su Zhen was used to assist Lein along with his burst of Lightning Dash allowed him to grab the slightly stunned Lian in time before she dropped to the ground like a dead fly. "Question. There is a particular matter that the System had been been unable to address and deduced that past Sub System User Yuan might have more information considering your relationship with the Royal Zodiac Clans. System would like to ask if Yuan knows of this person, called Ryuli." The System suddenly spoke out of place, and Grandma Yuan''s sudden fazed reaction made the System believed she knew something about it. "¡­How did you know about that?" Grandma Yuan''s eyes turned deadly, and her chi was burning brightly in the middle of the Dungeon Maker. "Jin said he dreamt of this person in the Isolation Ward. System attempted to make some inquiries, and it had no luck as of yet." System answered, and Grandma Yuan''s wrath did not simmer with the explanation. "Jin¡­knows about Ryuli?" Grandma Yuan thought to herself before she gripped her walking stick tight. "I assumed you attempted to hack the national database to find its information." "Affirmative. Should past Sub System Yuan refuse to give any clues, the System would still obtain it sooner or later." The System said as it magically issued a file for Yuan to peruse. She sat down and saw that the System had managed to have obtained partial access to the things that should be hidden. "Heh. I told them already, it''s useless to place it there. Pen and paper would still be a better form of security. They would not believe me." Grandma Yuan said with a distressed look on her. Suddenly there was a high pitch screech that made her look at the cameras to see that the form of the Transforming Spider had disintegrated. In replacement, a humanoid emerged out of from the spherical body. It looked like the theory of her trainees were right. "So it is really not a monster but a demon¡­.still what kind of demon is that¡­?" Grandma Yuan stopped reading the compiled file that the System gave her and saw a humanoid with spider legs behind its back and its face was filled with gem eyes. There seemed to be a slight disfigurement on her face, and it could probably be Lian''s attack that caused it as it appeared, she was missing one gem eye out of the six that she had. "Is past Sub System Yuan willing to share information to notify the System?" The System interrupted Yuan''s viewing, and she groaned at the System''s discovery. "I will not say anything until the time is right. Deduce as you will," Grandma Yuan replied, but the Dungeon Maker abruptly turned all pitch dark and later blaring with red lights. "If you wish to treat me as an intruder, then kill me. Know that this will not further your cause in doing so or provide you anything in return. It was never my aim to help you, but only Jin." Grandma Yuan stated clearly that she only saw the System as a tool and nothing else. The red lights went blaring for a very long moment before the Dungeon Maker returned back to normal. "Then, all the more past Sub System User Yuan is not allowed to die." The System changed its tone as it placed the very same envelope which made Jin a User in front of Yuan. "By accepting this, you can read my mind, correct?" Yuan refused the envelope, but the System had another trick on its sleeves. It presented Grandma Yuan a ring to right in front of her, and it was encased within a box of thick glass. "Wear the ring. It would teleport you to the System should anything goes wary. The only compromise System can offer before allowing you to leave the Dungeon Maker. Past Sub System User Yuan may also use this to teleport herself willingly to the Dungeon Maker." The System stated as it released the lock on the glass box. "I am guessing if I wore this, there would be no way to take it out ever again¡­unless I die." Grandma Yuan said as she sighed when she saw the ring that was in front of her. "Bloody prick¡­keeping this here in the System''s possession even after such a long time." Grandma Yuan commented as she took the familiar looking ring up to examine before she wore it on her ring finger. There was a slight twitch of her finger when it happened, and she could feel a great deal of chi was kept within the ring. She rubbed and adjusted it a little before returning to the screens of the camera to see how they were doing. Since then, the System did not speak much and allowed Grandma Yuan to continue watching the proceedings of the Demon Exorcist Promotion Examination. ¡ª¡ª "Return my eye!" The Spider Humanoid did speak while rubbing its legs at its back together, producing a high pitch creaking sound which made the trainees faltered backwards a little. "This is way too pretty to not keep." Lian showcased the eye right in front of the Spider Humanoid and kept it inside her storage ring, causing the Spider Humanoid to go even more insane. "Now this is a size I can fight!" Rong charged senselessly forward again despite repeated warnings not to do so by Lein. The Spider Humanoid did not hesitate either as it raised its hand up and transformed to the very thing that it was facing. "Huh!? That spider can transform into us?!" Lian said with shock as the two Rongs clashing with each other. "I will not be outwitted and outmatched by a fake!" Rong gathered his chi and whacked his bull horned hammer at the side of the Spider Humanoid and similarly, the Transforming Spider did the same, but to the other trainee''s surprise, Rong was knockback by the Transforming Spider''s attack. "Why you!" Lian stepped forth to clash with the fake Rong when she saw Rong smashed to a couple of trees away from the battle. She knew if its a fake Rong, all the more it would easy for her to defeat it. However, that was also when the Transforming Spider turned into Lian and copied the same thing she was doing, and to her surprise, its agility rivalled up against her. "No use, we should not let it fight one on one!" Lein charged his sword with chi but Su Zhen stopped him. "How do you know we are fighting the fake Lian?" Su Zhen said as the speed of battle caught up and there were after images of their attacks and them evading the attacks. "Unlike Rong, we might accidentally injure the real Lian if we intervene in their battle." "Urghh¡­Lian! Use your three tails! I bet that stupid spider does not have it!" Lein suggested, but it seemed like his advice went into deaf ears. "She needs time to activate the three tails, and at the rate with the fight that they are going with, it is impossible for her to do that. Plus, she used it previously to snatch that gem eye away from the spider''s body, it would be harder to do so." Su Zhen said before she began to murmur a few words out. "I see, if we cannot help her directly, we can do so indirectly." Lein understood what Su Zhen was doing as he too started to gather his chi and prepared a long range technique. "Lian! Remember that battle against the Black Elephant? We will be doing that!" Lein shouted to the fighters, and he caught a glimpse of Lian''s eyes, acknowledging what they were saying before the fight became a blur again. "What are they doing? Black Elephant?" Jin asked as he returned to Claire''s sight to observe the fight. "There was this partially mutated elephant¡­possessed by a low level demon. The trainees used that elephant as part of their training. I believe they are trying to recreate what they had used for that Black Elephant kill," Claire replied while continuing to mark their performance. "Woah, that means they kill demons before? Then what is with this examination for?" Jin asked while moving a few trees back to have a better view. "No, that demon was placed by us. A few of us in JODE can summon and contract demons without too much of a consequence. Hence, it was a type of training rather than a proper kill." Claire said as she noticed they were going to put their plan in motion. Chapter 468 Transforming Spider - Part 2 "I still do not think that they will be able to defeat it." Jin felt like going in and settle it once and for all. "The System had updated its analysis of the Transforming Spider. It seems that it can match the power and speed of any monster it encountered in that particular form. Should User try to fight against it, it might pose as a dangerous foe for User." The System responded. "Because it can copy me? But it could not copy the Astral Pandas right?" Jin asked System as he can see Lian was pulling back slowly to their ''trap''. "It might not be able to copy the Astral Pandas, but System had noticed that it consistently looked at Qilin Cultivator Lein and noted a few sparks coming out from the Transforming Spider as if to imitate it while fighting with Nine Tail Fox Demon Cultivator Lian." The System reported that it could still possibly imitate the strength of the Astral Pandas even if it could not copy the Panda silhouetttes. "So¡­unless I kill it in one shot," Jin said and System cautioned that there might be a defensive mechanism in place to prevent itself from being assassinated such as the carapace it produced when Lian tried to attack it. "Do note that User had used Black Panda Fire and Green Panda Wind in front of the Transforming Spider before. Should User wish to attack it, it''s best to surprise it with White Panda Ice instead." The System gave its analysis to Jin. "What a troublesome foe." Jin folded his arms and continued to see what the demon exorcist trainees could do. "The trouble would be worth it for your Living Armour upgrade. Gold did not make the wrong choice in choosing the Transforming Spider. And it seems like this particular Transforming Spider is a variant. The same as Thunder Ram Demon Keyrin." The System replied, and Jin wondered if Gold already knew that all the Elder Demons he chose were variants. "Just wondering, if people worship Moloch or even Elder Demon Keyrin, will they have the chance to increase their powers like how Lord Wolte did?" Jin asked as he saw Lian finally broke off from the fight and Rong, caught up with their plans, stood against it once again. "Affirmative, all demons have such potential when they were worshipped or had eaten/killed enough to transform into a variant." The System stated as it too was interested in this particular trap the cultivators were doing and commanded its magic eye to follow carefully. "Rong now!" Su Zhen said as she placed her hands on the ground. "Intermediate Hammer Arts! Rocket Hammer of Ao Ye!" Rong fired up his batter bull horned hammer towards the fake Lian which now turned into fake Rong when facing the Ox Demon Cultivator. "Intermediate White Demon Snake Technique! Hundred Snake Ambush!" Su Zhen shouted as her hands pressed deeper into the ground, causing chi snakes silhouettes to appear from the ground beneath the Transforming Spider. They all came out to strike the fake Rong when he was distracted with the real one in front of him. "Epic Qilin Technique! Qilin''s Thunder Implosion!" Lein shouted as he cast his chi skill onto Su Zhen''s snakes as a combination attack while a bolt of lightning struck the Transforming Spider. The fake Rong endured Lein''s bolt of lightning, but that was not the main attack as the snake silhouettes that were affected by the lightning bolt started to implode. The chi snake silhouettes turned into a ball of energy before collapsing itself and explode the energy from within. It caused considerable damage to the Transforming Spider before it was slammed by Rong''s rocket hammer technique. Without further ado, Rong continued with his Rocket Hammer Combo. "Intermediate Hammer Arts Combo! Rocket Hammer Slam!" The Transforming Spider being hit by in the gut by the hammer next suffered an explosive impact on its head by Rong. "And lastly! Intermediate Hammer Arts Combo Finisher! Rocket Hammer Earthquake!" Rong threw in all the chi that he had, and the Hammer bounced back from the Rocket Hammer Slam to give Rong the finisher attack. However, the rest was not convinced that finisher move would kill the Transforming Spider, so both Su Zhen and Lein entered the fight too. "Intermediate White Demon Snake Technique! Hundred Snake Bind!" Su Zhen threw her snake whip towards the Transforming Spider to restrict its movement while Lein jumped high up to release his follow up technique the moment Rong completed his attack. The bull horned hammer dived towards the Transforming Spider and everyone could hear a rumbling noise when it hit the fake Rong, causing it to lose an arm. (It could have evaded if not for the Hundred Snake Bind.) "Rong, move! Epic Sword Arts! Burst Horn Strike of the Qilin!" Lein shouted as a silhouette of a Qilin encompassed the whole of Lein and his sword portrayed like the horn of the Qilin. He dived in straight after the Transforming Spider lost its arm and blasted the entire area with electricity. "Gem Eye! GIVE ME BACK!!!!" The Transforming Spider held onto Lein''s sword not with its other arm but with its spider legs attached at the back of it. That was also when Lein saw that it did not change to a fake Lein nor stayed with fake Rong. Instead, it went with the face of Jin. With its free hand, it conjured a towering inferno of fire towards the Lein and the rest of the team. However, the only difference was that it did not shot black flames, but just the regular looking orange fire although the System measured its magical strength to be a near equivalent to the output which Jin had used to save the kids. "Ah ah ah, that seems like trouble," Jin said to himself as he saw the Transforming Spider now imitated himself to face the kids. "Hahah! Looks like the kids can finally get their revenge¡­that is if they can still stand up. I have to say, this spider demon is stupidly strong. How did you even manage to kill it and use it as your dungeon experience? It''s way too powerful for current users." Claire commented. "That is why I did mention this was a prototype dungeon that I had been messing with. I needed some ¡­erm tester input before I could put it out for the other cultivators to try. Or else it might be too difficult for them to handle." Jin tried to put a strong front, but he was also in a dilemma on how to defeat it. "The eyes are the key right?" Jin asked the System. "Highly likely, according to Peppers and Gold''s text. System is unsure if the method of killing could be applicable to a variant like this." The System gave his disclaimer in case it does not work. "Claire, do you still want them to continue the fight? Or should I step in and interfere?" Jin asked and Claire shook her head. "Give them one last chance. They might not have a plan, but they at least would like to put in one last ditch effort." Claire knew how much the trainees could handle. Despite Su Zhen and Lein were Grade 10, they were not a true battle hardened Grade 10, which was why they had so much difficulty with fighting. Their pace was all over the place, and it didn''t help that they did not have much battle experience. "The folly of being in a Royal Clan. I dare say those cultivation grades in most of them despite their foundation training they had is just a fa?ade. The modern workings of the world did weaken the cultivation world¡­.but not for this guy." Claire said to herself as she saw Jin, who was a Grade 8, but it felt like he had seen more battles than herself. "Hahaha, guess who is back to haunt us¡­" Rong said as he managed to activate his Ox Demon Silhouette Body Shield and tried to cover the rest of the trainees as much as he could from the inferno blast. However, because of that, his entire back was burnt to the point he was unable to move. The other demon exorcist trainees received some burns, but it was not to the point they were rendered immobile. "I leave the rest to you three," Rong said as he laid heavily on the floor gasping for air. "Please, I cannot move too¡­" Lian replied, but contrary to her words, she was trying her best to stand up. "Hahaha. Now I understand why so many in the extermination branch of JODE wanted to go into administrative after a few rounds in the wild." Lein panted as he raised his sword towards the fake Jin. "Must be wussies." Su Zhen summoned a chi snake silhouette to tighten a broken splinter on her left arm. It was hurting her, but at the very least, she could still move, unlike Rong who sacrificed himself the most. "You owe me a drink for doing your work, you lazy ox," Lein said as he charged towards the fake Jin with no plan in mind. However, before he can move, something was holding back, and it was no other than Jin. (the real one) "What do you think you are doing?!" Jin shouted at him as held onto his collar and pushed him back to the other injured ones. "Arggh, I know I should not interfere, but at the rate, you four are going, you wouldn''t be making any progress and instead be spider food again." "If you know that you should not interfere, why are you still here!" Lein pushed Jin away, but oddly the Transforming Spider was not attacking at all despite the internal conflict its intruders are making. In fact, it was observing the person that it had transformed to and was interested in getting more information from him. "User, it appears the Transforming Spider is observing you very carefully. Please act with caution." The System said after obtaining sufficient data from the previous fights against the other demon exorcists. "Don''t worry. I know." Jin replied to the System while he folded his arms and stared at Lein. "Because I am your team leader even though both you and I hate it," Jin said out with brutal honesty. ''That is why I am going to give you orders, and you follow to the letter. Or else, do not even think of killing that thing." Jin showed the rest of them the Panda Emblem that Grandma Yuan had imbued and the trainees realised they could not disobey a direct superior without facing appropriate consequences in the future. "The enemy is currently observing me and will not do anything rash. So now''s the time to drink up your chi potion, the one I asked you guys to bring out." Jin said he continued to stay with his arms folded. The trainees reluctantly drank the potion which Lian and Su Zhen distributed, and they could visibly see that Rong''s burnt wounds heal quite a fair bit too. "I did not expect the potion to take effect so quickly! This is way faster than the potions our Royal alchemists made!" Rong said as he could move a little as compared to a while ago. "Never discount your team members in a tough pinch. And most importantly, do not be a hero! We need slayers and to work as a team, not heroes! The last I heard was that I joined the Demon Exorcists, not the Hero''s Clan!" Jin said as he assisted Rong to slowly stand up while waiting for the rest of the chi potion to take effect. "Tell me, what do you all know about this monster so far after fighting it? Su Zhen, you go first." Jin asked while keeping tabs on the monster. "It can transform into any of us and copy our skills to a certain degree. Like you what you have done, to use your black panda fire but it could only produce normal fire." Su Zhen spewed what she knew. "Anybody else wants to add on?" Jin looked around and saw Lian raised her hand. "It wants the gem eye back," Lian said and Jin asked for the gem eye from Lian. "User, please hold. Analysing the Transforming Spider''s Eye." The System said while Jin decided to drag a bit more time for the System to see if there is any weakness to it. "What other skills do you all have in your repertoire? It is likely to counter any skill you guys have unless you show it something new." "Not many left for me," Lein said with embarrassment since he purposely took the few most offensive skills in the Qilin Cultivation manual and practised them to perfection (or so he thought.) Rong said the same except for Su Zhen and Lian who had yet to show their offensive skills at all. "I see, if that is the case, you two will be the offensive, the boys will be distracting it. Lian it is up to you to kill it." Jin said as he purposely reversed their roles in combat and told them to go into position. Chapter 469 Transforming Spider - Final "Jin What are you doing?! You know by interfering and giving orders, you are jeopardising the impromptu mission that you supposedly wanted them to take," Claire said in a voice transmission to Jin while the rest were preparing their formation. "I know, I will hold responsibility later. Right now the Transforming Spider Demon matters more." Jin replied briefly while he told Su Zhen, The White Demon Snake Cultivator to release the Hundred Snake Binds again to test the reaction of the Transforming Spider. "Won''t it go into flames?" Su Zhen said as she performed the command of her interim leader. The chi snake silhouettes bound the Transforming Spider again, but it was not moving nor did it release the same wave of fire attack at them. "So, it is really a patient and intelligent demon." Jin thought to himself as the Transforming Spider assumed that by being bound, it would be attacked by Jin''s flame as a follow up move. However, Jin was not doing that at all. Instead, he asked Rong to attack with his Rocket Hammer technique again. "Here goes nothing!" Rong charged forth but realised his body was not as heavy as usual. Instead, there seemed something to be enchanting his body. He felt faster and lighter as the winds were with him rather than against him. The others at the back saw that there was a Green looking Panda silhouette right behind Rong, powering him. The Transforming Spider scoffed as it brought up its hand to block the attack. It already knew the strength and impact of the hammer so it would be easy to deflect. However, when the hammer attack connected, the Spider''s hand was splintered right in front of it into many directions. Causing blood to smear all over his hammer and himself. Because, instead of a blunt blow, the Green Panda Silhouette had enhanced the hammer blow into something similar to a pickaxe, thus the change of impact. The Transforming Spider released a screech as if it was not expecting that particular attack from Rong and it transformed back to Rong with a huge hammer by its side. However, what was interesting was that the hand that Rong had split was still bleeding and not fully recovering. That was when the others finally believed they were able to defeat it. "I only changed the tactics a little. How could it have such a big impact?" Jin queried, but he felt the pieces did not fit properly. "That is because of Jin''s chi. Now he had awakened to the true cultivation, His Maqi was more than enough to cause damage against the demons." Grandma Yuan said as she could hear his conversation via the Magic Eye cameras. "¡­Plus he killed demons before. His body had sufficient capability to kill the demons." "The other demon exorcist trainees had yet killed a proper demon, their chi was not fine tuned to fight the demons. Thus, they had to fight harder than usual to make the demon bleed and be baptised by their blood." "Baptised by blood? User had not done anything of such sort." The System retorted, and Grandma Yuan laughed. "It''s a figure of speech and in some way literal. Demons had a natural resistance against all sort of attacks, and thus the trainees had to use more chi than usual to pierce their resistance and physical armour. This was to produce a more solid kind of chi. For some reason, that''s the only logical method to make the trainees effective against demons. To hit harder." Grandma Yuan explained. "However, that is only one way of doing things and not to mention traditional too. The other way was more unorthodox and seemingly effective despite the process. Let the exorcist trainees be exposed to the demon''s blood. The blood might not have a visible effect, but to the cultivator''s chi circulation, it was a different issue. Because the demons had a tendency to thirst for the spiritual body. When the exorcists had come in contact with the demon blood, their chi circulation will react in a way which will defend the cultivator''s spiritual self from being affected by the blood." "A bit of it is fine, the chi can produce something like an antibody against it. How it works is similar to a vaccine. Thus, their chi would be effective against the demons. What Jin was doing incidentally was just quickening the process for them." Grandma Yuan remarked. "The lads have had some form of demonised chi within their blood, but this Transforming Spider was way beyond their capabilities or their bodies. That boy cheated me saying it would be a decent challenge for the kids." "On the other hand, if a person was literally immersed by Demon''s blood, you will see that they might go insane as if they were possessed by them. Sadly, It''s the same if someone was draped in God''s blood. That is why we subjugate both despite our names being Demon Exorcists. Gods are equally a troublesome sort for their spreading their overwhelming love and their twisted ideals of peace." Grandma Yuan went down the memory lane, remembering a case where she had to convince the parents that it was a demon that was possessing their child instead of a selfish god. "Rong! Holy water!" Lian shouted towards her training partner as she threw a potion of holy water right at him. Rong took it like a man as he allowed the potion bottle to smash straight at this head. (Actually, he was too tired to even catch the potion properly) The demon blood on him dissipated from the use of Holy Water and Rong felt refreshed as always. "Why do you need to splash holy water¡­? A possible incoming flame attack?" Jin did not know what was happening until the System filled Jin on what Grandma Yuan said right after he sent a command to Lein to attack with Rong. "Oh, really? Then the times I am stained with the blood of fighting those demons from the dungeon world?" Jin could remember how bad it was against Moloch''s army and fortress. "Like what past Sub System User Yuan had said previously, your cultivation was made to prevent those and at the same time allowed you to fight them." The System replied while Jin did the same thing for Lein and supported him with a Green Wind Astral Panda. Lian and Su Zhen, on the other hand, were surprised by Jin''s use of chi skills. It was the first time they saw an Eastern cultivator supporting someone similar to a Western Enchanter. (Most cultivation styles were selfish in nature, rather than selfless.) It was apparent that Rong could smash the Transforming Spider''s hand into splinter was because of Jin, and they finally saw his powers at work. "Even the four of us could not have made much of a dent against the Transforming Spider but just one enhanced hit with Jin''s chi, we can finally make a dent. He really had beaten a demon before." Su Zhen said in a voice transmission to Lian. "Can''t he be manipulating the dungeon so that he could be absurdly strong as the Transforming Spider?" Lian had her doubts but Su Zhen shooked her head. "You do know my father is a talkative but extremely knowledgeable dungeon supplier for the Royal Clans. If not for my mother''s insistence for making me a Demon Exorcist¡­ I would have followed him." Su Zhen said as she prepared the chi skill which Jin had instructed after hearing her skill repertoire. "Your point?" Lian was preparing her chi while Jin had temporarily enchanted her with the Black Fire Astral Panda and Lian was steadily trying to adjust herself to attack the Transforming Spider in one shot. "I know exactly how a dungeon supplier works. My dad had taught me how dungeon works. It is not as easy as you think. Jin''s power is the real deal, there is no way to fake it. If possible, I would want my father to meet him and exchange pointers. I believe he would be thrilled to do so and be envious if he knew that I went to the rumoured Dungeons and Pandas for a fight." Su Zhen replied in the voice transmission as they heard Jin giving orders at them to get ready. In the meantime, Rong noticed his dexterity enchantment disappeared, and that was when he knew that he had to withdraw and gave Lein the priority to distract the Transforming Snake. "Yes Rong! Come back, drink another chi recovery potion. Your stamina is faltering and your burnt wounds might act up again." Jin beckoned to him as he used the Tact Tweak and the System to keep track of their supposed health bars. The way he commands people from the Tact Tweak suddenly gave him a sudden bout of inspiration in the midst of battle. "I think I thought of another nice mini game for the shop¡­ Ah, I should keep it for the new year when the kids are having their holidays. I could make a bit of their pocket money that way." Jin thought to himself as he told the System to remind him to keep that idea on hold. "Ah! You traitor! I thought we agree to hate that fake exorcist!" Lian said out loud towards Su Zhen as she boosted herself up into the sky with the aid of an additional Green Astral Panda by Jin. However, the White Demon Snake cultivator was concentrating on her timing the moment Lian shot up. The plan to eliminate the Transforming Spider was now in motion. "Su Zhen! Now!" Jin said as he promptly placed the Green Wind Astral Panda he used on Rong and transferred onto Su Zhen. From a distance, she hit the whip on the floor, and a great chi snake silhouette emerged from the ground, breaking it a hole underneath it. It then slithered towards the Transforming Spider which Lein delivered one last thunderclap before retreating as well. The Spider saw the great chi snake silhouette from afar and was already preparing to counter it by transforming back into spider form. It was something similar to the first form the exorcist trainees had fought but of a smaller scale version and highly more agile. The snake''s mouth was wide open, only to be stopped by the legs of the spider as it tried to spit venom into the snake''s mouth. However, it did not realise that it was just a chi form energised by Su Zhen and with the help of the Green Wind Astral Panda infusion. "Lian! Kick away!" Jin said as he secretly prepared a lance of White Panda Ice in case their attacks would not work. Lian did what was told, and her three tails form appeared once again. Just that this time around, flames were enveloping her tails and legs. The Green Wind Astral Panda infused with Lian''s leg made her feel like the embodiment of the spirit of a flame god had possessed her as the flames continued to spiral around her leg like a cyclone. "All of nothing!" Lian flew down, and that was when Jin also ordered Lein to give an impromptu thunderbolt discharge at the Spider. The Transforming Spider who had its eyes affixed at the snake got electrocuted and paralysed momentarily for Lian to execute the finishing attack. Her kick managed to hit the spherical body of the Transforming Spider and everything around her burst into dark black flames. "Don''t get back yet! Continue to attack and make sure it''s dead! Do not let it have a chance to copy your attack!" Jin ordered loudly via chi transmission. "SO LOUD! You do not have to tell me what to do!!" Lian recovered her stance and continued her assault in the flames. "Claw Arts! Vertical Rebounding Slash of the Fox!" Lian said as she placed utilised as much chi as she could garner. "From above!" In the heat of the moment, Rong shouted and did a Rocket Hammer Slam before grabbing Lian and pulled her out of the flames. "We are not even sure if it''s dead!" Lian shouted as if to tell Rong to put her back. "I rather you survive than ensuring that thing is dead! Remember what Jin said! Do not discount anyone!" Rong followed Jin''s order to rescue her as soon as he can while making sure Lian did the maximum amount of damage before leaving. "System, found where the eyes were located from the analysis?" Jin asked and the System gave the coordinates via his new Pandaromic Eyes. "Thanks!" Jin held onto the ice lance until it was bustling with chi. He believed the damage from the trainees, which were enhanced by his Maqi, was sufficient for the last act of this battle, but he wanted to be sure. The moment he knew that everyone was out of the way and the Black Panda Fire was still burning the Transforming Spider, Jin overcharged his White Panda Ice lance and threw it upwards before it angled based on the coordinates he received from the System. "Transforming Spider, It''s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can get along together in the future." Chapter 470 The Impromptu Ambush "So Lord Wolte is our new patron?" Zieg, the commander of the Dark Templars, said as he and the fellow dark templars knelt down in front of Baphomet. "Yes, I Baphomet had sworn my allegiances towards our new liege," Baphomet said as he introduced the anthropomorphic tank to the rest of the Dark Templars. "For a slug to turn into a deadly construct of death!! Now I understand why Sir Baphomet wanted to pledge its allegiance towards Lord Wolte!" Zieg commented, and every other Dark Templars echoed the same sentiments. "You all humble me with your praises. I, however, believe that words should be matched with actions. I see that some of you are having doubts in your eyes despite your leader''s decision now to worship me." Lord Wolte said as he eyed at a few of the dark templars behind Zieg. "Who is it!" Zieg turned its back at his followers. "Who dares to question my position ?!" His followers immediately lowered their heads and said no in unison. "Calm down Zieg. Calm down. Portraying authority at the right times is essential for a leader, but if you misused such power, it would only create doubts among your people. They have the right to suspect how this construct which I named myself as the Metal Slug Tank would have the same if not stronger ability than Baphomet. So, let''s put it to the test!" Lord Wolte explained to Zieg. "How do you propose we do so?" Baphomet, who was standing beside Wolte questioned him. "Easy, let''s go crush some rats." Lord Wolte said with delight. "Where? We are not familiar with the territory at all." Zieg replied with a lingering regret not to scout in advance before they meet up with the supposed Silver Mage. "Then we take Uote Town back from the hands of the Demon Rats." Silver who was lurking around hoping to speak more to Zieg, had spoken out. "The last I heard, Sebastia had taken the Demon Rat military leaders of the Uote Town to the capital. Their guards would not stand an unexpected assault against our attacks. "You mean attack now? now?" Zieg questioned the validity of the plan, but Lord Wolte stepped up, hearing its an excellent opportunity for him to shine. "Why not? Let''s get going. Don''t worry, if you die. just wake up and repeat again." Lord Wolte said, and Baphomet laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Bro! That is so typical of you. So fearless of death even at such an old age. Very well! I Baphomet will personally join you in battle as well!" Baphomet stretched his wings and roared excitedly. "As expected of our new Patreon! Dark Templars, what say you?!" Zieg roused up the battle spirit within them by slamming his sword to his shield. The Dark Templars who were apprehensive at first became emboldened when they heard that they could battle against the Demon Rats. "Very well, I will tell my cousin about it! I will be right back immediately!" Silver said as Metal Slug Tank began to learn the type of tactics and formations from the Dark Templars while waiting for Silver''s reply. After all, they were not the ones capable of transporting or teleporting back to the Farming world. ¡ª¨C "YOU WHAT?" Gold''s eyes were wide open when he heard Silver''s proposal. "You did say your Master wanted you to assist the rebellion. We are just using the Dark Templars as our diversion to see the reaction of their defences. No blame will be placed at Sebastia since it could be seen as the Dark Templars are having their revenge by attacking back against the Demon Rats." Silver tried to explain his rationale to his cousin. "Even if we were able to occupy the town, there will be attempts to overtake it again by the Demon Rats from other towns! How foolish can you get!" Gold replied and Silver shook his finger. "That is where you might be wrong. We can use this as an experiment to see how the demon rats retaliate, and it would be a good data for future resistance fights." Silver state his reasons with Gold once again. "So you want to use the townsfolk as collateral damage? Did you think of them? Then how are we any better than those Demon Rats if we destroy their homes?!" Gold said as he slammed the table. "I believe¡­the Dark Templars will be careful¡­" "Urgh! And you already riled them up for battle. If we say no to them, they will distrust us in the future." Gold said as he scratched his head, having to deal with a troublesome dilemma. "You did say your master can command them to be obedient¡­" Silver whispered. "Does not mean that he will use it that way! Like I say, if we do that, how are we any better than¡­URGHH!" Gold knew the advantages of an ambush attack right now since Sebastia had reported to him they were already on the way to the capital. Plus the morning dawn had yet to arrive, causing any guard patrol to be at the most vulnerable period. "Let me¡­consult Yun first." Gold finally calmed down and sent a System Channel transmission to Yun. Upon listening to the plight they were in, the first thing Yun did was portal into their werejackal mansion and slapped Silver on the face. "Always notify your commanding leader before doing any actions of your own. Or you risk being court martial." Yun said, and Silver was clearly upset from that sudden slap. "That is why I came to him and told him the plan!" Silver said, and Yun folded her arms and stared at him. "It is because you do not have the capability to teleport. That is why you came to Gold. I am not dumb. If you were able to do so, you would not be here asking him for his help. Besides, if everyone acts like you, there will be no discipline within the organisation." Yun said, and Silver kept quiet while obviously angry for being blamed. "Yun, Mdm. Please forgive him. Despite his actions, his intentions were for the town. Silver had been trying hard to survive all these while and was thinking for the liberation of the townsfolk. He is just not mature enough to know the consequences that he had incurred." Gold tried to protect his cousin from Yun''s fury. "Indeed. He does not." Yun sighed once before she looked at Silver in the eye once more. "Thus, I am authorising this operation. Any civilian death will be on your head. You might not be able to die, which makes our punishment more than enough as a warning for your future actions." Yun said as she called out Que Er to appear in front of them. "But I will not let you die so badly. Que Er, provide them with sufficient Magpies. How they use these birds for communication is their own business." "Understood, Yun." Que Er who was now in the comfort of modern clothes, made Silver realised that such a beauty could exist in this world. Yun nodded at Gold, giving him permission to oversee the impromptu mission before returning to run the shop for Jin. "Erm, don''t bother. She is at least a few thousand years older than you." Gold saw how Silver was enthralled by Que Er''s mature beauty and discourage him, so he would not have the idea of even trying. Yet, the little teenage boy continued to stare at her, causing Gold''s words to fall into deaf ears. "Gold, that is your cousin?" Que Er said as she instantly knew what kind of expression the little teenage boy was looking at her with. "Please go easy on him¡­he is still too na?ve despite his wits." Gold replied as he hit Silver on his head and told him to bring the Dark Templars outside his mansion. Silver understood and relayed the message to the Dark Templars. ¡ª¡ª¨C "Hahah, I kind of figured." Lord Wolte said as he already knew the kind of master he was serving. "But I did not expect them to make such a big ruckus about it. Guess its also good. Allow you to grow too." "I don''t think people grow by having their heads cut off." Silver was disgruntled, and yet Zieg also understood where Gold was coming from. "Do not worry, we are at the side of the people. After all, we seek justice for them. We will not let them be harmed during our fight." Zieg patted Silver as they walked towards the mansion. "Well, your justice is a bit skewed, so don''t mind me doubting you." Silver thought to himself as Zieg continued to ramble. "I had been suggesting some ways to let the people know that we are not here to harm them¡­but it seems that you have a better solution behind you." Lord Wolte eyed at Que Er, the Magpie Queen and bowed with his tank form a little out of respect for her. "At the very least, you know your manners, unlike this boy." Que Er spoke with an arrogant tone in order to dissuade Silver from ever liking her. Yet, she did not know that Sliver was starting to like her more when she revealed her enchanting voice. "Wolte! You better not destroy any buildings or no food from my kitchen at all!" Gold shouted at him as they approached the front gates of the Werejackal''s mansion. "Damage them a little?" Lord Wolte asked for some compromise, and Gold reluctantly agreed, knowing that the Metal Slug Tank wanted to rampage a little. "We only have that much budget from Yun to repair the area plus if any civilians got injured, she would deduct 1000 dungeon dollars from our budget." Gold said as he eyed at Silver again. "I know! I know!" Silver gave a partial frown at the side of his face while Gold began to obtain the permission from the System to create the portal for them to enter. "I will be teleporting you guys to the Uote Town''s Guard Quarters. Sebastia had sent me the coordinates to that area before she left for the capital. And yes, you can destroy that building there. But I wish you do not, as you can use that to hold your grounds." Gold explained his mission objectives to the rest. "Ahhhh I see! Clever rascal. Holding their guard quarters and the other patrols will come to reinforce it. Hold onto the building, and we can possibly reduce the civilian casualty to none as well. Good idea." Lord Wolte said and the Dark Templars also wholeheartedly agreed to the plan. "Silver, before you go, wear this mask. It is to prevent you from being identified." Gold said, and Silver understood why. It was to remain dead. Else if the word had spread that the Silver Mage was still alive, there might be consequences for Sebastia. (Although he was tempted to get even at her someday.) "If not, what are you guys waiting for? Let''s get going! Lord Wolte, remember we are doing this all for you! You better prove yourself to be the worthy patron for those Dark Templars!" Gold cast a wide enough portal the Metal Slug Tank to enter. "What are you talking about? I will succeed." The newly evolved Lord Wolte was more confident than ever. Chapter 471 Assault at Uote Town It was roughly 4am in the night, and after their leaders had set off to the capital with Sebastia and her companion, the Demon Rat Guards decided to take a breather in the night. The excitement had finally died down from all the running around and seeing resistance forces to be slaughtered. "I wonder what the rush to the capital is? The Captain isn''t always this¡­assertive. He was more laidback and take credit whenever possible." Demon Rat Guard No.67 in the guard station spoke to Demon Rat Guard No. 1757, who was accompanying him for a game of cards. "Oh. Remember further north of the capital, where the temperature turned every naked demon rat into ice within three days?" Guard No. 1757 asked as it yawned at the ever quiet of Uote Town''s Guard Quarters. "Yes, I do remember. There were rumours Demon Rat Battalion XII tried to enter there with newer snow gear created by Masters. They did not last long either, all of them never returned. The winter winds there are definitely cursed." Guard No. 67 said as he threw a playing card down. "Thing is, I heard there was a long standing squabble between the Burning Lion Demon and Water Snake Demon right over the territory there. Apparently, this time, the squabble nearly turned into a fight." Guard No. 1757 threw down another card, and it looks like he had the chance of winning the pot for tonight. "Oh¡­so Captain want to bring that sexy Battle Lady and her companion to defeat the two Elder Demons?" Guard No.67 placed a higher bet into the pot. "What?! You want to raise? Urgh, I will follow. And yes. Captain does not believe in that Battle Lady. Sarge No.98 said she stinks. You know how Sarge''s stink is more or less correct." Guard No. 1757 followed with the bet. "I see, I see. If that battle lady is truly formidable and wants to gain favour from the two Masters as well as the Demon Rats, it''s best she defeats the Elder Demons. Even killing one will allow the other to simmer down and the Masters can quietly proceed with their plan." Guard No.67 threw the cards down and showed a straight flush. "Fuck!." Guard No.1757 dropped his cards and laid back a little. "Yeah, and if she is not geninue with her help, she could be chased after by the two Elder Demons until she dies. Did not know Captain is that cunning." "Nah, I think Captain received orders from Master. I caught a brief glimpse of the Masters''s magical eyes residing with Captain when Battle Lady was fighting the Dark Templars. I think he wants to know how strong the resistance was." Guard No.67 pulled all the whole pot to himself and thought of all the food he could buy with it. "Hahah! Then Masters were shocked by the strength of Battle Lady! No wonder they want to invite Battle Lady to the capital." Guard No.1757 stood up for a stretch and then saw a glint outside of the gate. He picked up his weapon, wore his makeshift helmet and slowly opened the guard station''s door. "You going patrol? That is rare!" Guard No.67 was recounting the amount of copper he got from the game. "No, I saw something shiny for a moment. I guess that was my ima-" A loud metallic noise, something similar to their Steam Tech was heard from outside the gates. *BRRRRRRRR BRRRRR BRRRRRR* The Metal Slug Tank literally flew out of the portal and smash its tracks on the gates while driving at full power. The solid iron gates held by a flimsy iron chain broke into two dented gates as it turned wide open from the Lord Wolte''s aggressive charge. "What the hell is that?! Sound the alarm!" Guard No.67 picked up his pot instinctive, but before any of them could reach to the alarm which was powered by a series of Steam Tech controls, Lord Wolte had already aimed his turret at them and shot an anti personal shot. The whole guard station was painted red with the innards stuck to the walls, and Guard No.67''s coppers were scattered all around the floor. "Bro! that is wicked!! I want to let my little boys see you in action too!" Baphomet said as he raised his hand to draw a magical spell circle of him. There and then, he raised the magical spell circle up and from above, a scythe dropped from it. Baphomet held his weapon tight as he swung it once, causing three little Baphomet Juniors to appear who had the same appearance as him. Goat head with a lion''s mane as well as two hoofs and a pair of small bat wings behind. "Go make havoc my little juniors! Make Uncle Wolte proud and see how he fights too!" Baphomet smiled as his juniors saluted back and ran like scurrying rats towards the front doors of their Guard Quarters. Lord Wolte knew instantly that Baphomet wanted him to blast the front doors and he gladly did so. "One Shot of Wolte''s Special Door Breaker coming right up!" Wolte fired his turret again, and a purplish ball of fire came out from his turret and towards the main doors of the Guard Quarters. It exploded so loudly that they finally heard alarm bells ringing within the compound. The Baphomet Juniors were delighted to see Uncle Wolte in action again that they need to prove they were in no way inferior too. The juniors jumped up to the second floor and started their massacre from the barely awoken demon rats in there. Shadows of the Baphomet juniors could be seen briefly from the brittle laterns the Demon Rats used as their source of light, and Daddy Baphomet was cheering them on while they moved closer. The Dark Templars were in strict formation behind Lord Wolte when they entered the compound and for a good reason. They were there to assist Lord Wolte defences since his mobility was slightly limited based on how fast the turret could rotate. Lord Wolte knew that he could have machine gun emplacements at the side of his tank but he did not have sufficient worshippers under him yet. That was the whole reason for this ambush. He wanted to show his strength to the Dark Templars to give the commander and his troops enough reason to trust he was worth worshipping to. "Ahhh, I am finally seeing the rats coming out of their lair," Zieg said as he saw the Demon Rats coming from their sides and towards the Metal Slug Tank. He called out to the Dark Templars to now surround Lord Wolte in a oval shape formation to protect him. "Don''t you worry. I have something that will hinder those pesky rats a little so they would not be too much of a trouble!" Lord Wolte said as he retracted the long barrel back into his turret. With a bit of twitching of his moustache, the anthropomorphic tank released a shorter tank barrel, but this time, there was an ignition torch right at the end of the barrel. "Wolte''s Special! Very Hot! Flamethrower!" Wolte said as he spewed flames out of his turret and slowly turn his turret to burn from the left to right of the tank. The rats that were caught in the wall of flames screamed in pain, scattering the first wave and breaking their supposed formation. Some of the Demon Rats even died on the spot of the wall of flames. But this gave the opportunity for other rats to be fearless as some tried to jump over the Wall of fire to reach their enemies. Nevertheless, before they could reach within the 30 metres of the tank, balls of dark energy were shot out from the Dark Templars. Specialised enchanted dark arrows also flew from the longbows of the Dark Templar Archers and to the demon rats at the backline. "Enough of the Very Hot! Flamethrower!" Lord Wolte wished to try all the various weapons he had obtained from his evolution. The barrel retracted once again, and this time around, its barrel was angled as he aimed at the right of the Guard Quarters where Baphomet noticed a large Giant Demon Rat emerging from the shadows. "No worries that is why I am using Wolte''s Special Burst Mortar!" Lord Wolte happily announced the name of his weapon and fired a series of mortar fire towards that direction. The entire area turned into smoke from the blast, and Lord Wolte laughed at his fabulous powers. "Bro, sorry to disappoint you but¡­it seems like that Giant Rat is still alive." Baphomet still sensed its presence coming forward despite it coughing from all the smoke. "Eh? Erm¡­Oh¡­I used the wrong ammunition. That one only produces smoke. My bad." Lord Wolte thought to himself, but he needed to show his might towards Dark Templars. "That smoke was just to slow them down like the fire wall! If they are still brave enough to walk through the smoke and fire, then I have to show them the real deal!" Lord Wolte cleared his throat and acted confident throughout. He quickly changed its ammunition and this time round when he fired, there were not just smoke but loud explosive vibrations that accompanied it as well. "Ah! That sounds more like it. I was thinking why the shell just now had no impact despite all the smoke." Lord Wolte smiled to himself as Baphomet clapped at the successful mortar attack. "As expected from my Bro! To misdirect the enemy despite being in their territory! Such bold tactics!" Baphomet shouted out loud. "Looks like I cannot slack as well! Dark Templars! Because you are Lord Wolte''s worshippers, I am giving you a taste of real demon powers!" Baphomet flexed his muscles, and a frightening demon aura eluded out of his body and the Dark Templars absorbed it willingly. "Woahhhh! This is Sir Baphomet''s powers!!!" Zieg said as he put his palms out and a long beam of dark energy came out, annihilating any Demon Rats in the way of his attack. The rest did the same, and everyone was shooting wicked energised lasers at the Demon Rats. "Hey! I cannot be outmatched by my subject! Dark Templars now have a taste of my power too!" Lord Wolte said as he emitted his energy towards the surrounding templars and suddenly, their dark energised beam stopped. Instead, something was forming right in front of them, and it looked like a thin cylinder looking metal arrow. "Say Unleash Wolte Missiles! And those projectiles in front of you will fly to your enemies!" Wolte said proudly as he continued the indiscriminate firing of his mortar. "Unleash Wolte Missiles!" Zieg and the rest of the Dark Templars shouted simultaneously. Like heat seeking missiles, (Except they are not or else they would be aiming at the wall of flames) the missiles flew from their hand with a blast of fire coming out of the back of the jet booster. The Dark Templars were surprised that it flew slow, but they were aimed at their targets with such high accuracy that when it exploded, they were surprised by its effects. Lord Wolte saw their priceless faces when they saw that the dark templars could wield the same kind of powers like the Metal Slug Tank. ¡ª- In the meantime, Silver himself was running on the rooftops carrying a cage that was covered with a cloth from within. Qu Er told him that he could only open the cage at the Central Square for the maximum effect. He was going to relay the message via the magpies that the resistance consisting of the Dark Templars was performing a brave frontal attack against the Demon Rats and demanded the townsfolk not to be alarmed. Leaving their house would not be recommended until the assault was over. As he ran across the rooftops, he could see the massive amount of smoke and dust rising from the Uote Guard''s Quarter. "Too late guys!" Sliver said to himself as he noticed that the patrols were running back to the guard quarters to see what was exactly happening. When Silver reached Central Square, he climbed up the fountain that was at the core of the square and opened the cage while he grasping for air. "Out you go birdies! Time to do your job! Damn the cage was heavy!" However, there were no signs of any birds coming out. Sliver felt it was weird since it was not as what Que Er had told him. There should at least be a bird inside as he rattled the cage previously. "Did they die or something?" Sliver tried to look into the cage since the cloth enclosed the cage from within and not outside. Suddenly the magpie''s cage shook violently, and suddenly tens of magpie flew out of the cage, causing Sliver to be surprised that he threw the cage down and he fell into the pool too. The cage was stuck on the fountain statue, and even more magpies of various colours flew out in all sorts of directions, spreading the information around to the civilians of Uote Town. Chapter 472 Looters The explosion at the Uote Guard Quarters had woken up the entire town. Some of the townsfolk decided to stay in bed, hoping not to get involved in whatever was happening, while others were overwhelmed with their curiosity and went out. However, at that moment, a flock of magpies covered the entire sky, and a number of them flew towards the curious civilians warning them to return indoors for now. The townsfolk did not know how to respond to this sudden change of development, but many decided to obey the magical talking birds. Unfortunately, some were insistent going outdoors. Those who did, quickly found themselves being harassed by the birds forcing them to return to their homes in order to prevent possible casualties. Meanwhile, the remaining Demon Rats had decided to retreat for the moment as Lord Wolte and the Dark Templars had conquered what was left of the Uote Guard Quarters. Baphomet had summoned even more of his little juniors to scout the area to see if any pesky Demon Rats were hiding in hopes of ambushing them. At the same time, the Dark Templars began raiding the Guard Quarters by checking their armoury, main offices and lastly the storage rooms. "Damn those Demon Rats! They were indeed keeping the food stockpile for themselves." Zieg cursed as he opened the main doors for one of the storage rooms. "I will get some monsters to transfer those items back to the Mansion Storage Warehouse, we have more than enough space to keep them." Gold said in the System secured transmission channel. "But should we not give it to the civilians?" Silver questioned as he was still hiding above the rooftops, tracking where the remnants of the Demon Rats were going. "We will, but not now. Handing it out now would only cause fear. The citizens might also be branded as accomplices for this particular ambush attack should we decide not to stay. We shall keep it for the time being and distribute it back to them when the time is right. The reason why we are emptying the Demon Rats'' coffers." Gold answered before he asked Half Ghoul Lord Derek for some assistance in bringing back the stockpiles of food into their Home Instance. Afterwards, Gold also requested Mr Derpy to get his Deep Ones to retrieve the gold and place it in their home instance''s treasury as the Baphomet Juniors found a safe in their basement. The Deep Ones, despite their feral appearances, had a knack of finding gold and keeping it for themselves. (They even had an accounting department to have their gold being tracked.) This made them the perfect candidates to not only fill the coffers but search for more with their keen sense. Not long after the Deep Ones entered the scene, they managed to unearth a basement doorway which lead them to believe there was some hidden stash down below. By following a perfectly hidden stairway down to another safe, it had been behind a combination lock that was as sophisticated as modern ones. But right now, they were looters, not thieves. Baphomet cleanly cut the safe from the side, and the Deep Ones rushed in to collect all the gold and happily brought them back into their undersea home instance. The sheer amount of treasures inside led Gold to believe that this was where the majority of the money was kept unlike the previous safe "The nearest neighbouring town is about 50 kilometres away, and the retreating rats have most likely already sent out their runners to get reinforcements in. We might have about two at most three hours before the first ones to respond arrive." Silver informed as he saw the vague silhouette of a demon runner rat racing towards the direction of the Youi Town. "Lord Wolte, what shall we do? Do we make use of the town and risk involving the townsfolk or provide a protracted battle against them right here?" Zieg asked his new found patron. "For now, we rest. Your Dark Templars have not just protected me but also faced them head on in melee range. They are worthy of my praise." Lord Wolte answered, and the Commander of Dark Templars was delighted that they did well. "My Lord. To me, you had already proven your worth in battle when you first crashed into the gates of the Guard Quarters, killing any enemy in sight. I sense your justice, and I believe your praise for them will only strengthen their belief in you." Zieg knelt and thanked Lord Wolte before returning to an abandoned bunker for the Dark Templars to rest. Separately, Gold personally entered the Uote Guard Quarters gathering whatever important looking documents were left over by the Demon Rats. "It seems they were really caught in a bind. There was no time to raze any classified information, everything is still intact." Gold happily thought as he helped himself to the information. As Gold skimmed through the Demon Rat''s intelligence reports, he was surprised by the content. They had kept track of the whereabouts of Silver, had spied on several of the resistance meetings especially on the Dark Templars. There were also mentions of the Western Skies and Southern Stars but compared to the Dark Templar''s report, there were only snippets of information from the other two organisations. "Looks like the resistance still has hope." The more concerning news revolved around the Burning Lion Demon and the Water Snake Demon. "If those two are about to fight, that means¡­" Gold could only deduce one probable cause for their upcoming fight despite the report stating that it was due to territorial disputes. "Wait, that direction¡­ isn''t that the place they summoned Sebastia to? Do those traitors and rats want to use her to remove the Demons away?" Gold pondered to himself. "¡­ that might not be that bad¡­That might actually turn into an ideal situation for us! Especially when she has Bellator Kraft with her too!" Gold remembered that Jin had only obtained the Horn of the Thunder Ram Demon for his living armour plates. If Sebastia and Kraft could assist their master in getting the Burning Lion Demon as well as the Water Snake Demon, all he had to worry about was the Transforming Spider which Flame Ripper had already found traces of. "Speaking of Flame Ripper¡­" Gold immediately went into the secured channel to ping for him. "Yes, Boss?" Flame Ripper replied instantly. "How is the situation looking at your end?" Gold had sent Flame Ripper ahead to Youi Town when Silver wanted to attack the Uote Guard Quarters. "I''ve already eliminated those inside their Guard Quarters. Quiet at first but there was a sniffer rat who managed to notice me. It was nice to be able to go loud once in a while." Flame Ripper grinned widely as he slapped the Youi Town''s Guard Captain awake. "Information gathering wise, it''s going well. The Youi Town''s Guard Captain didn''t seem to know any more than the intelligence reports I had sent to you." "Any escaped Demon Rats?" Gold asked, and Flame Ripper proudly claimed he had gotten rid of all of them. "Amazing work. Lord Wolte has already eliminated most of the Demon Rats here, but there''s a messenger rat on the way to you, you can kill it if you wish. Else, burn the whole place alive and pinned it on the Dark Templars." Gold instructed. "Oh and of course, only after all the money and other resources have been taken away. We don''t want to waste any good gold or food, do we?" "Derek''s zombies and Derpy''s Deepies are already working on it. I''ve opened the secret safe for them to ransack." Flame Ripper replied as he continued to take as many documents as he could under him. "Meomi, how''s the coordination with the Southern Skies Spies?" Gold asked as he looked at the remaining intelligence reports in the office. "We''ve located a few outposts, and they are manufacturing the Steam Tech, mining Litoride or stockpiling food and resources just as Flame Ripper''s update reports suggested," Meomi reported on the coordinates where the Southern Skies spies had found the outposts based on Flame Ripper''s past experience in raiding the Orcs. "But the spies guess that these are just the surface. The scouting leader believes more are hidden, and the ones we found were deliberately placed to attract attention." Meomi elaborated and Flame Ripper who was still in the chat concurred. "I trust your spy leader''s instinct. The coordinates you gave¡­there is just too many of these outposts. Maybe if we plot the points on the map, we might get an inkling of an idea where their main underground base is located." Flame Ripper suggested. "Grey, you heard that?" Gold asked on the transmission and Grey replied that he was already in the process of plotting the points. "Okay, continue to remain vigilant. Flame Ripper, proceed just as you did, scout the next town and eliminate them the next night." Gold ordered, and Flame Ripper sighed as he called out to his brother again. "Wyr, would you kindly give me a lift? I think I might be able to reach the next place and kill them all before dawn." "Man, I envy you for having such a fun job. if not for your calls, I might be stuck here transporting construction materials." Wyrstriker complained and Dread Reaver who was coincidentally beside Wyrstriker chimed in. "At the very least, you get called out. My blade had been itching for some killing for a long time." Dread Reaver placed the bricks on his Oinkmobile. "Hah! Just wait your turn. I''m sure after this attack, Gold will pull everyone back from the scouting mission." Flame Ripper deduced as he waited at the rooftop of Youi Guard Quarters for Wyrstriker to appear as well as the report from the Derek and Derpy. "If that is the case, can''t you just let us fight this one?" Wyrstriker had laid the transported goods down and was ready to be teleported. "Gold? System?" Flame Ripper tried to help his sworn brothers out a little. "Arghh what''s up with each and every one of you, just itching for a fight?! Just go to the random arena and beat some crap out of them!" Gold prefered to keep the operation just as planned. "WE CAN''T!" Wyrstriker and Dread Reaver answered at the same time. "Jin forbade us from appearing before our official debut." "Fine! Just this once! You better make it as clean as Youi town, or this will be the last time!" Gold just sighed. "So if we do a good job, there will be more in the future?" Dread Reaver tried to twist Gold''s words. "No! I mean! Urgh!" Gold turned off his transmission with them and focused on collecting the data around him. "Hahaha, don''t tease him that much. He''s got a lot on his plate as the leader for this mini expedition." Flame Ripper said as Wyrstriker teleported to him by Gold. He noticed Dreadreaver was also already on it. "Can you handle all three of us?" Wyrstriker asked his pet Wyvern, Iwen, but he snorted and showed his rider that it was none of his concern. "Come to think of it, I think its good you guys followed me." Flame Ripper said as he pulled out the Farming World''s map on top of Iwen''s back. (The Wyvern had a windshield that protected the goblins from the piercing winds and backlash. Hence at its back, there was little to no wind to interfere with them.) The duo asked why and Flame Ripper pointed to the far end. "It''s a trading town, and according to Silver''s information, the guards stationed there, are at least two to three fold larger than the surrounding towns." Flame Ripper remarked. "So, you are suggesting that those are not just mere guards, and there might me be some harder foes? Like Elites and stuff?" Dread Reaver inquired and Flame Ripper nodded. "Possible, I have yet to encounter one though." Flame Ripper replied, but that short conversation alone made Dread Reaver excited. All the boredom moving construction materials finally gave him the chance to put his muscles to better use. Chapter 473 Extra: Jespa and Hespeta "How many have you completed today, Jespa?" Moloch questioned as he was holding a tablet bestowed by the Empire Building Sub System to take note of the construction progress. "¡­332 pieces of mixed Animate Dead runes," Jespa grumbled as Moloch could see her hand shaking after all the rune making. "Not bad, see you can do it if you put your will into it." Moloch praised somewhat sarcastically as he checked off the list to oversee Jespa''s rune making. "At this rate, I feel more like a contracted slave rather than a runesmith¡­" Jespa grumbled softly to herself but not soft enough for Moloch not to hear. For a moment, he put down the tablet and looked at the goblin lady in front of him. "At the very least, you had the chance to work with mithril. If you think you had enough of this place, we can always let you return home. Else I shall ''kindly'' ask you to continue. If you stick with us, you might get the opportunity to work on something¡­ more exciting soon." Moloch offered her the carrot and the stick, but it did not seem to work on Jespa a single bit. "Heh, that''s what you''ve been promising from the start, but come on, even a six year old would know at this point, that you are just bidding for time. Heck, you might be making excuses." Jespa gave her brutal feedback to Moloch. "Even my cousin, Hespesta, a master blacksmith felt her hands and back aching from all the work. And for what? Mere clay statues which do not appreciate her items." "How long will these versions of Animate Dead work?" Moloch finally decided to entertain this Runesmith since she had held up to her bargain. After days being busy creating different types, it had provided the System ample time to catalogue them and find out which type would be the best to recreate with its own NPC. Hence, he agreed that it was probably about time to let her do something more significant. "The latest batch of pure Animate Dead Mithril Runes can last between 90-120 minutes after being activated before they would need to be recharged. The mixed Animate Dead can last roughly half the time." "See, you did improve, right? Optimising your efficiency in the runes and making them even more effective in a long protracted combat. Not to mention you were able to create mixed Runes. The Magical Clay Craftsmen had also perfected their statue making procedure, and they are now able to make more improved statues in a shorter time frame." Moloch argued back. "So? Doesn''t that just mean that they had devised even more work for me? Even though I had improved, I alone can''t match the output of dozens of them." Jespa folded her arms and challenged the purpose of the contract. "We are not asking you to do that. If you are unable to suffer now, why should we believe in you for bigger projects? Now let me show you what we are capable of before you run that little mouth of yours again!" Moloch bragged that they were nowhere as talented as they once claimed to be. He then beckoned her to call her cousin to meet Moloch at Industrial Sector 1. "Cuz, what are all these tall gigantic buildings?!" Hespesta was shocked to learn that the floating city had managed to hide these large warehouse like buildings from plain sight. Jespa was also shocked, even more so after they discovered a few goblins working together with the Orcs to create Sandroku Golem in an open workshop while waiting for Moloch to arrive. "Have you goblins gone mad? Don''t you know that the Orcs are our enemies?" Jespa accused the team of Goblins and Orcs. It was one thing to work near their enemies, but it seemed preposterous to her to see them working along together. The Goblin Orc combi could only laugh at how small minded the goblin shouting was. "Empty vessels make the most noise." One of the goblins ridiculed her right to her face leading to more laughter amongst his fellow goblins while the Orcs just grinned to themselves. They had learnt the long and hard way that it was impossible to win over the goblins in a verbal competition. "Why¡­you¡­ Just because you are making some metal boxes working together, does not mean that you -" A sudden loud thud was heard from the Sandroku Golem and the floor broke into two as it split right towards Jespa and Hespesta. "You are right." The Goblin pilot inside the Sandroku Golem spoke through the speakers. "This is just some metal boxes mashed together and somehow we managed to get it to work. It''s best you leave us alone before these metal boxes accidentally crack your heads open." "Jespa! Enough! Let''s just wait for Lord Moloch somewhere else." Hespesta pulled her pompous cousin away from the scene while putting her hand over the other''s mouth. "Crazy goblin, right?" Moloch, who was behind the workshop doors, had observed everything. "Lord, why would you want that arrogant Runesmith to work with us? We''ve just gotten used to tolerating each other''s presence. She is will be the real threat to teamwork." The Goblin Pilot questioned as he came out of the cockpit. "Do you have a choice? You''ve tried it yourselves, and her runes obviously made a difference for your creation. You''ve dealt with the Orcs, surely you can handle one of your own kind." Moloch argued back as he told them to consider for a while as he tapped on the tablet before the crack on the floor got mended in an instant. "Heh, I think I''d rather bash my head on the golems than listen to that female goblin ramble nonsense." The Orc Lead said, and everyone started to laugh heartily. "Whatever helps you tolerate her." Moloch smiled from his stuff toy form and began to approach the gagged Jespa. "You can''t seem to keep your mouth together, can you? Think twice before you speak. First impressions matter even here. Now follow me to your potential new boss." Moloch led them to a building that was around 500 metres away and surprisingly got to enjoyed peace for a moment. "Niu Lang, open up!" Moloch called as he banged on the hangar bay door loudly and pressed on the side door''s bell a few times. The loud sizzling noises faded away, and there was a faint voice shouting that he was coming. "Sir Moloch? What are you doing here?" Niu Lang opened the side door and saw Moloch with two other goblins that he had no recollection of. "Who are these goblins? New workers? They do not look skilled at all. Their hands have yet to be seasoned with mechanics. You do know that I require someone to build the weaponry and not just two random goblins?" Niu Lang words were rather sharp that it stung Jespa, who was doing her best not to speak back, and even Hespesta. "No, Niu Lang, they are just prospective goblins that might be useful for the incoming project. I just wanted to show them around so that they have some idea what they were aiming for." Moloch tried to phrase it nicely to Niu Lang, who was terrible with words. "Oh sure, why not. I always welcome prospective goblins." Niu Lang changed his tune quickly and let them in to have a look. The moment the goblins entered, the stench of oil and metal entered their nostrils. Something Hespesta was familiar with but not Jespa. But the main thing that caught their attention the moment the stepped in was the gigantic mechanical body right in front of them. It was none other than Mechataur. With Jin paying for Niu Lang''s upgraded skills, the former cowherd had learnt how to fix his friend with the aid of the robot crawlers. Like a surgeon, Niu Lang had slowly ''dissected'' and replaced every single part that was no longer functioning or burnt out from the previous battles. All that was left was to improve the main engine as well as some performance upgrades, and Mechataur would be as good as new again. "What is this¡­?! This is way more magnificent and majestic than the metal box the Goblin and Orcs were doing!" Jespa immediately fell in love with its colossal stature while Hespesta was excited to see the various parts lying around in the hangar. All the unfamiliar instruments and components that potentially made this giant robot tick. "Before anything else, one more insult against my buddies in the Golem Workshop and I will kick you out personally and never allow you to step foot in here. " Niu Lang overheard the incident briefly from Moloch and stared at them intently which they realised he was serious. When they nodded their heads, his demeanour turned cheerful again. "This here. This piece of work is my war machine, my masterpiece and most importantly, my buddy. His name is Mechataur, and I am going to use him as the core concept for the production of other Mechas." Niu Lang briefly introduced it to the two goblins. While it was beautiful to look at, Jespa questioned Moloch about the meaning of this trip: "Why did you bring us here? We are just a Runesmith and a Weaponsmith. Not a mechanic or specialised craftsmen like the Goblin-Orc team or Niu Lang here." "Now wasn''t it you who wished to see what bigger projects we had in store? So here you go. Marvel at what you may be part of." Moloch pointed at Mechataur, and Niu Lang suddenly rejected his proposal. "No way! You are not letting anyone touch him!" Niu Lang opened his arms wide as if he was protecting his Mechataur from any external sources. Moloch laughed at how gullible Niu Lang was and told him that he was not letting them to perform anything on Mechataur at all. "Don''t worry no one but you will touch the inner workings of your Mechataur. Instead, I want the two goblins here to create some accessories for Mechataur. Mainly its weapons." Moloch explained as he looked at Hespesta. "Me, you want to me to create weapons for the Mechataur?!" Hespesta felt her heart skip a little, and she hiccupped in happiness. "Precisely. While not as talkative as your cousin, I''m sure you have also wondered why we wanted you to create weapons consistently. Not only was it, to equip our clay soldiers, it was also to increase your stamina and strength in preparation for bigger works. Starting tomorrow you will begin with the equipment for the Ogre Clay Soldiers, and we will work our way up until you can create something as large for Mechataur" Moloch answered. "But I will need a furnace¡­way bigger than what I have," Hespesta stated the obvious and Moloch laughed and told Niu Lang to show them the way. At first, the cowherd boy did not know what he meant until he realised that Moloch was talking about the Mechanised Factory they were building. Niu Lang powered up his jeep (sponsored by Jin''s scraps but Niu Lang decided to repair it from scratch) It allowed faster transportation in this sizeable industrial sector where the transportation system was nonexistential at the moment. "Remember to allocate some budget for transportation." Moloch wrote a memo on his tablet as he sat beside Niu Lang while the two goblins sat behind. The ride was short, but the goblins were amazed that such a mode of transportation existed. The metal carriage was definitely faster than the wolves they use to ride. They reached another factory which was still evidently under construction, but the bare bones were up. Hespesta could see the so called Mecha Furnace where Niu Lang explained that all she had to do was wear a set of Gearbox Suit and work just as usual. The modified suit would send a signal to the machinery and imitate what she did. If the blacksmith were to hit the iron in her small little furnace, giant extended mechanical arms, that was hanging on the ceiling with a multidirectional conveyer belt, would do the same to the large piece of metal that was allocated hundreds of metres away from here. Currently, there was a delay with the mechanical arm response, but Moloch said it would be tuned within the coming weeks. "Basically, you have the ability to control what kind of melee weapons will be created for Mechataur and the subsequent robots." Moloch summed up her task and Niu Lang finally understood why Moloch had wanted to build this Large Mecha Furnace. "Prefabricated weapons from modular pieces tend to break easier. But if a real blacksmith creates the weapon for the Mechas, they should be stronger, faster, and more durable. Maybe I should tell her what I want Mechataur to have. " Niu Lang thought to himself. "You are essentially making weapons for Giants!" Jespa was elated for her cousin but still wondered what her role would be in all of this. "You, Runesmith. You are responsible for creating emergency power packs for these Mechas. Your Animate Dead can also be used as a power source, letting users have control, right? We want you to create these power packs as a sort of backup battery, in case of too high a power consumption¡­." Moloch continued to explain, but Jespa did not understand a single word as she only heard that she could take part in this large project. "Not only that. We might need your runes to power up beam rifles and provide power as additional properties for weapons like your cousin''s creation. Of course, on a larger rune." Moloch added, and the two female goblins felt excited they were finally doing something big. "Why did you not tell us all this in the first place?!" Jespa asked, and Moloch smirked. "Because we wanted to know if you guys were at least capable of pulling your own weight before showing you the fruits of your possible labour. Now that you know your next objectives, I expect you to finish crafting all those runes and weapons. After that it''s working with the Golem Team to create power packs and weapons for them as the experiment!" Moloch ordered, and the two craftsmen for once were happy to return to their monotonous work. Chapter 474 Animals for Cultivation Zoo All four demon cultivators trainees were still alive after the fight against the Transforming Spider. However, they were ordered by Jin to return to the Luxury Recovery Instance for additional medical checks and recuperate after the battle. The Panda Nurses took great care of them by providing them with chi potions and Lynn''s food. Additionally, with a bit of Milk''s healing magic, the recovery procedure became fast enough that the exorcist trainees barely felt any pain after a while. Still, the fatigue they incurred from the long fight caused them to feel slightly heavy headed. Jin decided to allow them to rest in the ward and asked the System to use a bit of Temporal Manipulation to get them all fit as a fiddle in no time. Meanwhile, Claire and Grandma Yuan were offered to have a meal at the Restaurant Instance. "This instance is managed by Lynn. All the food you will enjoy is made by her and her trained staff of penguin chefs." Jin explained as he led them to the high class Japanese theme room at the front of the train car. "That little girl is here?" Grandma Yuan''s mood seemed to improve until she heard Jin say that Lynn had gone off for some training. "Never mind then, don''t bother her. It''s a pity, though. I was looking forward to getting another taste of her Hoji Tea again." Grandma Yuan sighed. "Your orders will be served shortly. For now, please enjoy the time with each other." The penguin server bowed after taking their order, and the three began to discuss the results of the Demon Exorcist Promotion Examination. "I''m sorry that I interfered in the whole exam, especially when I was the one to ask to treat it as a promotional examination for them." Jin apologised to Claire and Grandma Yuan. "I already figured you could pull this sort of stunt out after you warned us that you had an untested dungeon." Grandma Yuan saw no reason to reveal to Claire that she had just been in another world. She herself still felt that it was a bit unreal, but the existence of the System itself was everything but ordinary. The old woman drank her hot tea surprisingly realising that it was not too bad. (as compared to the tea which Claire used to serve her.) "I understand that, but we still have to consider your involvement in the overall grading. And since you basically interfered with their exams at all relevant points, the marks they have obtained were not desirable at all." Claire presented him the marks on each of the demon exorcist trainees. There were sections on teamwork, strength, weakness, how many demons killed and etcetera. "What? There is even a whole section on compassion?! " Jin looked at the marking criteria score and felt it was ludicrous for the examination to be filled with odd standards. "In our modern age, Demon Exorcists have to work on their people skills too. Especially since there are times we have to deal with family members or relatives whose loved ones were possessed by a demon. Though we have ''Exorcist'' in our name, the most risk free way, to deal with someone who has been possessed is to kill them in order to protect not only us but their family too." Claire answered, and Jin was reminded of Ryuli. "If her story was true, she must have been suffering without any parents." Jin thought to himself before he asked the pertinent question. "Sooo¡­all of them failed?" Jin asked, and Claire shook her head. She took out a Snake Emblem for him to see, before handing it over to Grandma Yuan. "Su Zhen had been the most composed of them all. She huddled them together at times of need and managed to correctly assess the situation. Her plans, while inevitably ineffective due to having underestimated the demon''s capabilities, had resulted in the rest working together as team," Claire summed it and Grandma Yuan agreed with the situation. "Rong was a somewhat close second for covering the teammates at the risk of his own life¡­ but he''s still too rash and impulsive. Lian has been placed third. She has achieved high marks for her effectiveness in combat." Claire continued evaluating her results, which made Jin laughed. "So that means Lein''s the last? I thought he was also quite decent in his combat." "He was, but I had to deduct his marks. It''s just as you said, there''s no need for a Hero in the Demon Exorcist''s organisation. He and Rong have both been trying to play Hero when the Transforming Spider Demon appeared. However, Rong''s Demon Cultivation allowed him to have good defensive capabilities, whereas Lein focuses more on evasion and attack. We want Demon Exorcists to work as a team, not solo. Even Monster Slayers are encouraged to work as a team." Claire replied just as the food appeared, the aroma of the ramen and curry rice immediately made all three of them salivate. "Please enjoy your food." The penguin server replenished their cups with hot tea and bowed before walking away. As it was Chinese manners for the oldest at the table to eat first, Grandma Yuan took the first bite before they dug into their food. "This¡­this is ¡­" Grandma Yuan eyes were wide open as she hasn''t tasted anything so tasty for the past few years. The ramen was firm, and the soup was not as salty as she thought it would be. "I have purposely asked the penguins to give you a milder soup base. We had a number of elderlies who had given us their feedback about the taste before." Jin said, noticing her surprise. "That is good to hear. It is delicious. Please pass my regards to the Head Chef." Grandma Yuan said as she enjoyed her meal. Meanwhile, Claire''s action no longer seemed that professional nor ladylike. The young woman had no idea that the restaurant would serve such amazing dishes. The tonkatsu curry rice was pure bliss as with the fluffiness of the rice, the crispy texture of the pork cutlet as well as its meaty content. "I am glad you enjoy it. I will pass your praise to Lynn when she returns." Jin said before he too continued to slurp his noodles loudly. After the quiet and yet noisy meal, it was time to go over the next portion of the business. After all, Jin''s reason to visit Grandma Yuan had not been to become a Demon Exorcist, but to receive the zoo animals. "I''ve prepared the land and the dungeon instance for the Cultivation Zoo. Roughly 200 acres overall." Jin presented them a blueprint with the help of the System, telling them how he had managed to separate the dungeon instance into various ''planes'' so that every site would still be accessible next to each other and yet big enough for the zoo animals to run wild. "I can also make more land available since they are all within a dungeon instance." "Having a large land is good, but what about the caretakers?" Claire asked, and Jin explained to her that he planned to use NPCs or even monsters like the penguin servers to manage the entire Cultivation Zoo. "But your monsters and¡­servants do not have any knowledge about the animals right?" Grandma Yuan asked which caused Jin to pause a bit. "¡­ I could ask Kraft, but I kinda doubt he would be an animal expert, even with his foxes." Jin admitted, and Grandma Yuan sighed. "I have some acquaintances who would be willing to become part of the new Cultivation Zoo. You can sort it out together with Claire, or you can let her handle it entirely. However, you will need to pay them wages. They are not like your penguins who work for free." Grandma Yuan emphasised. "Hahaha¡­as if the System pays me a decent wage for the amount of work I am doing¡­" Jin complained loudly before a safe magically dropped on the sky on his head. "Ow!" "Your wages in advance." the System said in his head as the suitcase opened¡­and the other two onlookers saw a stack of bills in it. "See?" Jin said as he waved that wad of cash in front of Grandma Yuan. "I barely have enough to pay myself¡­.what makes you think that I can pay for other people?" Suddenly a message appeared in the form of an email to Claire. The sender was apparently from Dungeons and Pandas, and she assumed it was the System that was trying to communicate with her. She opened the email and saw the balance of accounts for Dungeons and Pandas and nearly choked on her saliva. "You are kidding me! You EARN that much??!" Claire couldn''t believe it and had to show it to Grandma Yuan, which even surprised her too. "What? From the last I saw, it was not that much at all. It was just enough to get by." Jin borrowed Claire''s phone to take a look and realised why they were that shocked. The System had taken into account the tradings Another Jin had made previously, but that cash had been budgeted for their Dungeon World Base, as well as for subsequent dungeons. It might look like he had craploads of extra cash on hand, they were all tied for future expansions, and there was set aside as emergency cash. "Then I guess, you can at least afford a professional Zoo team that is worthy of their talents? Yes?" Grandma Yuan asked, and Jin regretted not having Xiong Da at his side right now. "If it''s within a fairly reasonable amount, I''ll see what I can do. Else, no promises. They will work on a provisional contract of three months first, and I''m not obliged to answer any questions that could jeopardise the identity of the System." Jin stated his demands in a subtle way reminding Grandma Yuan that having Claire know about the System was a dangerous move. "Do not worry. You can always just use the dungeon instance as an excuse." Grandma Yuan suggested as she listed the number of animals she was able to release to Jin. "Two of each? Are you serious?! Won''t Shenzhen Zoo be severely crippled by the loss of so many animals? I am no Noah''s ark, you know?" Jin saw the extensive list of animals and momentarily doubted Grandma Yuan. "Heh, guess you haven''t done your homework. Before you, the esteemed Demon Exorcist Chief Instructor in Shenzhen Yuan is one of the most generous donors in terms of money and animals for the Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo. Therefore, any demands she makes, they will have to follow or risk losing her support." Claire happily declared in front of Grandma Yuan, and Jin was in awe with her reputation. "Guess being the top instructor had its perks." "You think all these benefits come without having to earn them?" Grandma Yuan verbally challenged him, and Jin quickly backed down. "If that is the case, I will prepare the habitats according to the animals. But I have a request." Jin swallowed his saliva before asking. "Can I have at least Xin the Panda with to be in my zoo?" "Oh, that unusually haughty Panda? Heh. We will be more than happy to get rid of that for you to handle." Grandma Yuan said as if the animals were tokens on a board game. But Claire reassured Jin that her words might be rude once in a while. "Thanks and one last question. Is it really okay? Won''t it be competition for Shenzhen Zoo if I open mine?" Jin asked so innocently that it made Grandma Yuan laugh loudly. "You think you are that capable? Wait till you make Shenzhen Zoo panic for the lack of people than we can see how to handle it. Besides, I am not giving you the zoo animals for free. You have to pay for each and every of them as part of a rental to Shenzhen Zoo. It might be a more of a burden than charity." Grandma Yuan proclaimed as she stood up and decided to make a move. "No worries about that, I can bear such costs. Besides, I shall remind you of the competition when the time comes!" Jin declared as he knew that Ke Loong was going to get back to him about the production of the portals any day now. That alone would drastically change how this dungeon shop operates as well as the competition the shop might face. He recalled that there was some correspondence that Ke Loong wanted to Jin to take a look at their revised Portal device whenever he had the time. Their next time would be an excellent opportunity to let his partner spread the word about his cultivation zoo. "Ah! I totally forgot about the kids!" Jin suddenly remembered and sent a message to Claire with regards to them. In contrary, Claire told him he could do whatever he wanted with the demon exorcist trainees and only informed that Grandma Yuan would return tomorrow to confer Su Zhen''s promotion. "Argh, looks like I''ll really have to oversee them for the near future. ¡­ Well, I will find a use for them." Jin considered if it would be wise to show them some parts of the System or let them work on some specific dungeon instances while waiting for information about the opening of a JODE branch in his store. However, one thing was for sure. Now, Jin was a step closer to bigger profits. (And responsibilities.) Chapter 475 Unexpected Trouble When the demon cultivators woke up (yet again), Yun was there waiting beside their ward. Jin had decided to relieve his ''mother'' from shop duty since she had been up for more than three consecutive days. In exchange, he summoned his Another Jins out via the System to hold the front while noticing that it was less straining than previously expected. Jin believed it was probably due to the ''true awakening of his cultivation'' just like the System and Kraft had predicted in the past. The System then informed Jin that he should be able to leave the shop with the Another Jin on duty. However, there were consequences to it as it would consistently strain his chi consumption. "Imagine your chi producing and maintaining at 100%. Should User leave Another Jin on duty, the System will establish a connection with User and will be reserving 50% of his chi to maintain that particular Another Jin in the shop. Therefore, User will only be 50% as strong against any enemies on the outside." The System explained. "And there is no way to get back the 50% reserved chi without User having to return to the store and recombine with the Another Jin. In theory, it is possible to extinguish Another Jin to free up the chi, though System believes that this will come with consequences for User." "Please also take note that prolonged separation might cause severe headaches and possibly develop into paranoia and Dissociative Identity disorder in the long run. System recommends that unless deemed necessary, do not attempt it for long periods of time." "With User''s current Grade, an estimated period of 30 minutes had been established to be safe as long as User does not exceed a distance of 50 kilometres from the store. System will also prohibit User from attempting to travel to other worlds while leaving behind the Another Jin." "I know, I know. There is always Yun, bellators or even other monsters that can substitute to take care of the shop. I do not have to run everything by myself." Jin nodded his head as he went back to the Dungeon Maker to personally take a look at all the things he had missed during his training. That said, he was especially interested in seeing Wolte''s Slug Tank up close as well as Gold''s enormous stack of reports. He quickly skimmed through the detailed reports as expected for the Lord Scholar but also noticed that they might be taking drastic actions as part of the resistance soon. In the meantime, Yun had introduced herself to the demon exorcist trainees and brought them around Dungeons and Pandas for a tour. As they were going to be the shop''s newest batch of assistants, Yun introduced them to every permissible dungeon instance and service instances. Even though they might still dislike Jin for defeating them, they admitted that his Dungeons and Pandas had been built with much realism and¡­fun. They were positively surprised at the great services during their stay in the luxury recovery instance, and when they thought that was it, Yun had shown them the Restaurant Train of Delicacy Instance. Rong and Lian loved the food so much that they were dying to share it with their family members back home, but Yun forbade them from doing so. "We do not allow the food to be taken outside, and at least for now we have no plans on offering a delivery service. However, you are more than welcome to bring your family members here and enjoy your time together¡­ as long as you are off the clock that is." Afterwards, she brought them to the Panda Muscles Instances and Emerald Mountain Hot Spring and lastly the WunderPanda Theme Park Instance. "I can safely say that Jin is either a grandmaster at Dimension Instances or he has employees that are so much more capable than my father." Su Zhen praised as she took pictures of the various instances. (Yun did not stop her from doing so.) "Are we allowed to train or spar with the monsters?" Lein asked as he felt regrettable that he was not able to contribute much against the fight with the Transforming Spider and attributed it to the lack of strength. "While the rules are not yet set in stone, Staff is allowed to visit one particular dungeon instance for free once a day. Any subsequent instances will be available to you at a discounted rate." Yun answered as she led them to the shop instance. "Pfft! So stingy!" Lian complained, and Yun stopped in her tracks. She folded her arms towards her and looked at her with a strict expression. "Don''t forget why you are here in the first place. You have been assigned to us to work, not to play or train. We are already courteous enough to allow you to visit one dungeon instance for free each day and give you discounts after that." Yun started to reprimand the teens on their attitude. "During your shift, the basic rules of work still stands. Be punctual, do your allocated tasks, and you can go off for the day. Jin is not so inflexible to force you to have to work 8 hours a day to repay your debts." Yun concluded her tour and asked them for their phones for the System to update their Pandamonium Apps to ''Temp Staff'' clearance. "What kind of task will we be given?" Rong asked, and Yun said that it could be mundane stuff like explaining to customers how the dungeons work or assist customers in their dungeons. "Oh, that sounds interesting, assisting customers in their dungeons." Su Zhen replied as she continued to take pictures of the interior decor of the Winter Wonderland theme as well as the humongous Christmas tree. "When I said assisting, I meant you could either help them or make the dungeon even harder. Of course, if the customers can withstand your attacks, it would be a bonus for them." Yun said as she pretended to update their phones via the computer near the bar. "However, there might be other things which Jin might ask you to do, like testing more of his prototype dungeons. I am merely giving you the gist of what to expect." "I think this job does not sound as bad as I thought it would be¡­just that the pay sucks," Rong said. "Food is good, the environment is good. And the technology used is very advanced. I do not mind either." Su Zhen remarked. "Then Miss Yun, what time do we need to report tomorrow? You did said that Grandma Yuan will brief us on yesterday''s performance." Lian asked respectfully as Yun returned the phones to them. They noticed that the Pandamonium App symbol had changed from a Panda peeping through from the corner of the icon into a white collared Panda with a ''Hello my name is _'' nametag on the icon app. "12pm sharp. I will be waiting. I have updated your Pandamonium Apps. It now includes a tab telling you how much debt you have left as well as one tab with the instruction manuals you are to read up. I expect all of you to know the contents of the manual, which is why I am giving you guys some time tomorrow to prepare. Other than that, you guys are dismissed for today." Yun concluded and shooed them off. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Aww man, here I thought I could have a rest after that crazy fight with that Transforming Spider," Rong said to the group as they exited the store. "Do you think it''s part of the training by Grandma Yuan? And what is the connection between Grandma Yuan and Jin anyways? Three days ago was the first time I ever saw her with that dungeon supplier. First, she wanted us to kill him, and now we are to work under him¡­" Lein questioned, but nobody bothered to answer. "All we have to do is get rid of our debts as soon as possible and regain our freedom. But I doubt we will be able to complete this task before the end of next year. We can only hope Grandma Yuan''s bonuses will help us." Lian sighed when she tried to put things into perspective. "Just take one step at a time." Su Zhen replied as she began to look through the features of the app. "Still, it''s a good thing we do not need to go through standard formal education. Can you imagine us having to work and study at the same time? I probably think I''d rather quit school and focus on training and saving the world." Rong said. "Heh, most people do not have the luxury to choose like that. Be thankful you are in a Royal Zodiac Clan." Lian teased, and suddenly a group of men stopped them in their tracks. "Did you say you are in a Royal Zodiac Clan?" The man who appeared to be their leader was smoking away in front of them. "And what if we say we are?" Lein stepped in to intervene when they saw the group of hooligans trying to surround them. "Why don''t you just surrender yourself to us? We just want to get even with that dungeon supplier over there. As long as you come with us quietly, we won''t do anything to you. We might even pay your debts!" The leader offered as he overheard the words debt and Royal Zodiac Clans. "What shall we do? It seems they have some grudge with Jin''s store." Lian asked via a private voice transmission. "They are probably goons from people who are jealous of Jin''s success. He has risen too fast for his own comfort. They must think we are just mere clans people of the Royal Zodiac Clans that could be exploited easily since our kind does not usually go to a commoner''s dungeon suppliers for training." Su Zhen deduced the whole situation. "Oh. So, these goons think that by kidnapping us, they can shift the blame to Jin in some way or another?" Lein queried, to which Su Zhen nodded slightly. "You are kidnapping us?" Rong asked out loudly, resulting in some of the passers-by starting to look at their direction. "Hey hey hey! We are just inviting you to join us. It''s a simple transaction. Now don''t make it harder than it has to be!" The leader partially revealed a knife out towards them, and so did the rest of the gangs. Some even wielded iron pipes which had been hidden in their jackets. The leader was definitely very welcoming as it looked like an invitation they shouldn''t deny. "Well, we did plan on getting back at Jin some way or the other. But it pissed me off these thugs think they are better than us. Let''s us just follow them and beat them up " Rong shrugged his shoulders at Lein before he sent a chi transmission at him. "Yeah, let''s go along for now, and we can kick some ass when they gathered us in an area," Lein said via the transmission before they all pretended to be scared and terrified by the provoking act. Suddenly, a police patrol appeared from nowhere and saw a glimpse of the gangster brandishing a knife at the kids. "Hey, you guys. What are you all doing to those kids?!" "Nothing, just having a conversation with the kids, officer. They were lost, weren''t you?" The leader smiled widely at the police officer. "Aren''t you too old to be telling tales? I saw you and your men threatening them with knives. Take ''em out slowly and put them on the ground." The officer demanded, and the leader became more relaxed than usual. "Ah Sir. You must have been seeing things, we are not holding any knives or anything." The leader grinned as he raised his hands up. That was when the police officer instinctively placed his hands at his baton and immediately called for backup. The other patrol officer then asked the demon cultivators to come at his side. However, that was also when the gang leader suddenly struck the police officer with a cultivation technique. The very same Ruby Rat chi which could immobilise a person with red crystal growing all over the body. The demon cultivators who were walking towards the patrol officer immediately went to the offensive by drawing their weapons. The rest of the Ruby Rat gangsters did not hesitate and assaulted the paralysed police officer as well as the one who was too stunned to react. "Shit! This is not how things were supposed to go!" One of the gang members cursed as they stabbed the two police officers in broad daylight while the demon cultivators managed to defend themselves from the attack. "Oh? So, we have some decent cultivators instead of just some pests." The Ruby Rat gang leader said while some of the onlookers who were witnessing the exchange suddenly screamed and alerted the entire Tiangong district. Several cultivators immediately took their weapons out to defend themselves as well as their loved ones but not everyone was skilled to do so. Like rats in the sewers waiting for the opportunity to strike, the rest of the Ruby Rat gang members who were lurking around appeared abruptly and started to assault random people on the streets. Some were killed in cold blood without being aware of the situation because they were tending their stores or shopping But unlike other shopping districts, the famous Dungeon Supplier store had made this place thrive on cultivators. Thus many were still able to put up a fight without the major assistance from the police. Yet, those cultivators were only doing so in the name of self defence and did not have the brutality the Ruby Rat gangsters showed. "Let''s get that dungeon supplier brat out of his hole! Continue to vandalise, destroy everything around here! Kill if they resist! This is all on you, Jin!" The Ruby Rat gang leader shouted as he understood that after killing two police patrols officers, they could no longer turn back. They might as well go all out and force Jin''s appearance to fight against them. "Let''s fall back to Jin''s store!" Su Zhen suggested, and everyone immediately agreed as they protected one another against the sudden onslaught of the Ruby Rat gang members. As much as they wanted to help others, they could only fend for themselves against the extraordinary large number of gangsters. Chapter 476 Ruby Rats Plan B "Boss, I have an urgent matter to report." Ong, the resurrected Ruby Rat veteran, knocked at the office''s door after he opened it to see his Boss, Wo De Tian, having a mahjong session with some of the other big wigs in the entertainment industry. "What? Speak!" De Tian ordered without looking up, as it was his turn to pick a mahjong tile. "I am afraid it is something you will want to hear personally." Ong bowed as he requested for some privacy to address the issue. "Hahah, you should just go, your subordinate seems extremely nervous for once." The businessmen on his right who had a long white beard advised. "Heh, you better not be looking at my tiles." De Tian sighed as he flipped his tiles down and got off his seat. "What is so important that it can''t wait?" De Tian asked when he closed his office doors and talked in the corridor outside his office. He even noticed the absence of his secretary. It seems that Ong must be very important to send her on an impromptu coffee break. "Our guys in Tiangong District. They''ve begun with Plan B without any warning." Ong revealed as he received reports that the Ruby Rat Triad gang members had had enough of the waiting game. They were initially tasked to kidnap a fairly wealthy or influential cultivator from Jin''s store and use them as collateral against him. It was the typical kidnap and blaming game which they had employed to use against Lynn previously, but the police were not dumb and had repeatedly tried to prevent such an attempt by the gang members. They had always ensured that there would at least be one police patrol near Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas and the increase in police patrols had made it very difficult for the Ruby Gang to perform such a task. It had forced the triad gangsters to play cat and mouse game for a very long time, and no other tactics were available or offered to them. Officially, they had decided to risk it because an opportunity to kidnap a Royal Zodiac member had presented itself, but Ong believed that one of his gang members must have snapped when he assaulted the patrol officer and killed him. However, he wisely chose to skip telling De Tian his presumption. "So? What is the current situation?" De Tian asked as he picked up his cigarette for a light. "We have seven teams, each with seven men in place. After the escalation they have been entering the nearby stores in Tiangong district, beating people up and thrashing the shops. According to my informant, some of the passers-by managed to fend off the sudden raid and entered the Dungeon Supplier store for protection."Ong replied dutifully. "Since they started the fight, we might as well proceed with the rest of Plan B. I''ve already sent the signal to intercept any police support, but our boys are asking for more reinforcements as well. " "Good. Follow me." De Tian reopened the door to his office and walked straight to his guests. "Gentlemen, it looks like there is an abrupt change in plans. Remember how I told you guys, about that pesky dungeon supplier who had taken the likings of the Leading Dungeon Technology Company Sea Mesh and their CEO Ke Loong?" De Tian asked, and the three nodded their heads. "Well, looks like my goons have had enough of playing the waiting game and decided to attack Tiangong shopping district. I intend to burn the whole shopping district down. That pachinko incident from years ago will seem like a joke in comparison. In the coming days, I will need you to spread some fake news to inform people that the entire district owed us money, and we decided to redeem the entire district by ourselves." "But De Tian, don''t say that you have forgotten who really own that district. Can you really afford to defeat their District Guardian Yuan or at least destroy that dungeon supplier store before she intervenes? You will have to get rid off her if you plan on making any serious moves." The businessmen with a white beard interjected. "Mu Bing, I have confidence if you three are willing to provide some of your forces, we can burn that place down. But I require your prompt decision because my boys are currently in the process of ''renovating'' the district. And you know how artistic they can be." De Tian replied with a request on top of it. "So, you really are planning to build the Casino as discussed? Do you have the funds?" A slight bald businessman with a beer belly questioned. "Please Tang Wei, don''t insult me. We both know that your audit team has already checked my accounts. You acknowledged I have the ability to pay for that, but I don''t have the manpower after what that Jin had done back in our own district." De Tian leaned forward the mahjong table and looked away to blow his smoke away. "I even had to pay tribute and sent some labour to those asshole Japanese Yakuza for the loss of Yamazaki." De Tian momentarily showed off his cultivation, remembering the shame he felt, because of that damn dungeon supplier. "I need your help, but you guys know that it''s in all our interests to take down Jin and Guardian Yuan if she chooses to appear." "That old hag is useless. It so happened I have one group situated near that area, So, I, Mu Bing will send the Prosperous Pigs to your aid." Mu Bing sent a text, and a call ensued, asking for a confirmation. "Yes, to Tiangong district. Bring some additional firepower too, just in case." "Mu Bing, I thank you for being fast in your response." De Tian nodded his head with a wide smile. "You do not think the Royal Zodiac Clan families will interfere? They are after all indebted with District Guardian Yuan." Tang Wei asked as he was tapping his phone on the table with a bit of anxiety despite Mu Bing''s immediate extend of help to De Tian. "Hah! You do know that the Royal Zodiac does not interfere with Triad business unless it has something directly to do with them. Just give them some money, and they will look the other way. Worst case, some of our lackeys will take the fall for creating a riot. You know, the standard stuff of bureaucracy." Chen Xun, the youngest Triad Boss and also the most promising businessmen among them, had spoken as he lit a light up. "De Tian, you promised us a percentage of the Casino profits for the years to come. I will aid you, but it will cost you." Chen Xun grinned widely. It was a nice rare moment for him to have a certain advantage of power over his older and more powerful associate. He enjoyed a puff before stating his demand: "5% of your dungeon supplier shares as collateral in case things go south!" "Not just you, Chen Xun. Mu Bing, and Tang Wei, I can offer each of you 5% of my shares to as collateral. As long as you guys are willing to help me at the time of need to remove this dungeon supplier so that we can build the biggest and most luxurious Casino in Tiangong district." De Tian extended his offer to the rest of the two. "Very well, The Raunchy Roosters will offer their aid." Tang Wei wiped his sweat and picked his phone up and made a single call like Mu Bing. "So will the Deranged Dogs." Chen Xun''s text had already been sent when De Tian verbally accepted the agreement. (After all, Chen Xun had previously recorded what De Tian said in his phone so there was no way, De Tian could be cheating on them.) "Thank you, my friends. I assure you that your investment will be worthwhile." De Tian said as he picked up his coat. "You are not finishing the game?" Mu Bing, the Triad Boss for Prosperous Pigs asked. "With such a big investment, it''s preferable that I overlook the situation myself." De Tian replied, but Ong intervened before he could wear his coat. "Boss, give me a chance to redeem myself. I want revenge against that brat for killing me. Last time I''ve underestimated him, but I swear to you, I won''t make such a mistake again. You have fun with the remaining game. Just await the good news." Ong pleaded as he did a quarter bow. "You sure you can handle him on his own turf? While I appreciate your determination, there is a lot to lose if you fail. Don''t forget he had some powerful allies when he attacked us. We still have no idea about that fox guy or the others around him." De Tian questioned Ong''s capability. "Boss, you have ensured the highest quality of resurrection for me. Since that day I was released from prison, I had been training day and night for this particular event. I''ve recently broken through and am itching to get revenge. Please, have a restful game. I will bring the head of Jin here for you." Ong said with conviction which made De Tian agree. "Alright. Go do what you need. But remember¡­ this is your second chance. No one gets a third." De Tian put his coat on his office chair and returned to the mahjong table with the rest of the Triad Bosses. However, as Ong went out, he made a phone call to one of his other lackeys. "Watch him closely. If he is losing or called to require more reinforcement. Call me straight." Only then he ended the call and returned to his game. "Shall we?" "Pong." De Tian opened his tiles again and immediately four mahjong tiles were already lifted away from his main tile hands and to the side of the table. This Plan B might very well be the breakthrough opportunity he had been waiting for in his life. ¡ª¡ª- "Boss Jin! The gangsters are tearing up Tiangong district! They-" One of the passers-by who managed to enter Jin''s shop saw Jin gearing himself up for the fight as he wore fingerless combat gloves and a long combat jacket filled with various defence and counter attack inscriptions. Even his pants were made out of Kevlar fibre so that some cuts could be avoided or at least lightened. Jin knew a day like this would come after the Ruby Rat gangsters had attacked him previously, thus he had prepared the defensive safety gear in advance. However, the dungeon supplier had no idea that it would be so sudden and out of the blue. "I know. I am heading out." Jin had already been notified by the System of the situation when it showed him the riot outside Tiangong district from the Dungeon Maker. Not long after, he noticed that the demon exorcist trainees had teleported into the dungeon instances too. "Jin! Those men outside! They are assaulting people and even killed some police officers!" Lian reported as she trembled at the memory of the policeman being murdered in an instant. She wanted to tell him in more details what had happened, but she was gasping for air, and Jin looked too preoccupied with the whole matter. The four were still shocked about what had just happened to them. The demon exorcist trainees initially believed they could have fooled the gangsters and beaten them up after being underestimated by them. Yet, the trainees had never expected those gangsters to suddenly go on a rampage and even worse, being out for blood. "You can do either one of two things. Stay here to wait it out and maybe go speak with Milk in regards to what has happened to you and what you saw. Or follow me into the battlefield and aid the rest of the people back into the shop instance." Jin said with dead serious tone. "Do we need to kill them¡­?" Su Zhen asked, and Jin shook his head. "No, just wallop them up. I don''t wish to do that either, but if the situation demands it, I will. For you guys, just help those people to retreat into here. If necessary, defend yourselves too." Jin replied as he double checked his potions. "Most importantly, do not get killed! You won''t help anyone by becoming a casualty. If it seems you can''t win a fight, there''s nothing shameful in retreating. Those guys are gangsters, they won''t fight honourably one on one. Expect them to gang up on you and use every dirty trick in their disposal!" Jin warned as he zipped his combat jacket and placed his Bam and Boo in a proper holster. "I will follow you." Su Zhen picked up her courage and after a bit of hesitation, so did the rest of the group. "Very well." Jin used his phone, and suddenly the two luggage suitcase from earlier appeared in front of him again. "Take all the chi potions and cramp them into your storage ring. If the civilians need any emergency aid, use the chi potions and subsequently escort the injured to the shop instance. There will be Panda Nurses on standby to take over from you all." Jin ordered them the details of their tasks. "Sir, yes Sir!" All four demon exorcist trainees stood at attention and acknowledged their task. Whether it was because they blamed themselves for this situation, or because Jin was assuming the position of team leader, they knew they had to execute the orders quickly to save as many lives as possible. While the trainees began stocking up on the chi potions, Jin headed out into the open first and saw that everything had turned into hell very quickly. The gangsters were beating people up in a coordinated manner, destroying properties and even set fire to some of the stores. He noticed that at the direction of Lele caf¨¦, Si Fang was trying his best to block his caf¨¦ entrance with tables and chairs, but the gangsters had already broken his windows and went in to harass him and his customers. "This is going way overboard!" Jin thought to himself as he raised his voice as loud as he could with amplified chi. "Hey! I am here! I am Jin! If you have the guts, how about you try taking me on!!!" Chapter 477 Return of Ong Despite Jin''s loud declaration that he was there to face them, the Ruby Rat gangster paid little attention to him. Instead, they continued with their harassment and vandalism of the district. Jin then realised that he was not the only objective in the eyes of the Ruby Rats. "Si Fang!" With a speed boost from the Green Panda Wind, Jin instantly covered the distance between him and Lele cafe, colliding on any Ruby Rat who was in his way. The other four demon exorcist trainees followed behind him and rendered the other Ruby Rats along the way unconscious. "Boss Jin! Thank you for coming! My customers have already informed the police, and they said they are on the way!" Si Fang, who was quivering with fear when he held onto his sword, made Jin feel both proud and disappointed at the same time. Proud to know that Si Fang had decided to stand up for his shop but at the same time disappointed with himself as he could have done more for the shopping community right over here than just earning money from them. "I will try to make this right. For now, follow these cultivators to my shop. They will provide cover for you!" Jin ordered as another Ruby Rat gangster attempted to stab him from the back. With a quick draw of his blade, the gangster was mercilessly cut into two, and the rest took the opportunity to run back to Dungeons and Pandas. "System, what exactly has happened to trigger all of this?" Jin asked as he revealed his Pandaromic Eyes and scanned all the possible threats with the aid of the System. "According to the CCTV footages that the System has control over within Tiangong District, the Demon exorcist trainees seemed to have been threatened by a group of Ruby Rat Triad members. While it at first appears to be an uncommon scene which was handled frequently by the patrol officers on a daily basis, the Ruby Rat members for undetermined reasons, have initiated the first blow against the officers this time." The System stated saying that there was a high chance the patrol officer was killed in action. "White Panda Ice Showers!" Jin shouted as he visualised multiple ice arrows up in the skies and rained down on the crowd aiming specifically on Ruby Rat members only. That was possible all thanks to the aid of his new Pandaromic Eyes. The System indicated that there was a 70% hit success from that particular technique, causing some of the injured Ruby Rats to be mortally wounded. The remaining 30% managed to block or evade the ice arrows. "People! Those who seek shelter, move to Dungeons and Pandas! I have assistants to aid you there!" Jin shouted once more with even more chi infused. The panicked crowd took the opportunity to flee when most of the Ruby Rats were injured to escape. Many tried their best to fall back while others who were capable of fighting thanks to Jin''s dungeon''s training held the line momentarily against the Ruby Rats. Jin then picked up Bam and Boo and transformed both of the swords into a two handed staff. He smashed the BamBoo staff on the ground and applied his Maqi into it. Using his Pandaromic Eyes once more, he was able to identify who were the civilians and amplified his Maqi into the area, buffing them with the Green Panda Wind energy. Buffing one to two cultivators had been manageable for Jin during the fight with the Transforming Spiders. However, this time, it was a different scenario. The passers-by numbered two dozens and counting with the aid of Pandaromic Eyes. Jin would not have been able to help everyone unless he used Bam and Boo as the amplifier. Still, he felt the burden on spending so much mana. He was sure, that if he had to quantify it, it would be at least an Advanced if not Epic Art level. When Jin inserted a huge portion of his Maqi into the BamBoo staff, a panda head appeared at the top of the staff which caused its mouth to open and release the Green Panda Wind energy into the atmosphere. A large green panda silhouette emerged from the density of Maqi surrounding Jin as if it had just woken up from a nap. The yawn it produced spread the buff to every innocent civilian in the vicinity, and they all felt lighter that they quickly proceed to Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas. Even the cultivators who were defending the civilians from the Ruby Rats felt invigorated by the sudden burst of energy, and they took that opportunity to escape from the Ruby Rats. Only then did Jin noticed Lai Fu, the General Store Owner of Fresh Price and He Rong, the Toy Model Shop owner who were amongst the few cultivators covering the rear for the civilians. "Boss Jin! When I saw that big panda at the distant! I know that this light footed feeling was from you! Damn! I did not know you are that powerful!" Lai Fu praised as he ran towards Jin. "Thank you guys for helping the passers-by. I came out as soon as I heard the ruckus. Is there anyone else that needs help?" Jin asked as he now held his staff forward and unleash a gale of wind that pushed the Ruby Rats away from the civilians. "I do not think so. Ke Ru and her Wacdonalds team aided the innocents out of the district from the other end. She updated me via Mechat voice message that there seemed to be more of the fighting going on at our side than hers." He Rong informed Jin who handed him a bottle of chi potion to drink and recuperate. "Yeah, I heard the sirens at the other end of the district, the police should be reinforcing that part too." Lai Fu added as he assisted Jin by unleashing a Chi shark silhouette from a distance, causing some of the Ruby Rats to stagger from it. "I see, return to the dungeon supplier store, there will be medical aid for you guys there and round up any potential survivors along the way too." Jin walked in front of them. "Fine, Dungeon Supplier Jin. If you want a fight, we will be happy to provide you one!" One of the Ruby Rat gang leaders shouted at him as he beckoned his forces to him. "Heh, how can we leave you alone? This is our district, after all." He Rong said as he raised his sword up, but then Lai Fu smacked his head with his two handed sword. "Stupid! What grade are you at? You think you can handle them?! You will only slow Jin down!" Lai Fu lectured his friend as he began to drag He Rong with him. "What?! And you want to leave Jin alone against these many Ruby Rat gangsters? You sure you do not want him to court death?!" He Rong replied with angst, but Lai Fu told him to look around him. He complied and saw that there were gang members not just at the main street but on the roofs and alleys too. While it was not clear, Lai Fu could feel the presence of multiple gangs appearing right in front of Jin. "Go, retreat. I can handle this, I just have to endure until the police arrive." Jin spoke in a confident voice. Lai Fu understood and grabbed He Rong with him. While he appeared brave in appearance, his heart was trembling with horror. He did not know whether those gangs were there to aid Jin or to harm him, but there was one definite conclusion. He would not get out alive if he stayed with Jin. "I am sorry that we are unable to help you with our current strength. Boss Jin, best of luck." Lai Fu whispered while making sure that there were no other survivors within the vicinity. All that was left on the Tiangong district was Jin and the rest of the gangs. "System, make sure that nobody, not even the trainees, are granted access outside until the whole situation died down. It is too dangerous when they do not have combat experience and especially now when it''s my responsibility to take care of them." Jin requested, and the System said it had already denied exit for any who had entered. "Looks like there is one Panda that is not going back to the zoo." A grating voice echoed from behind the Ruby Rats, and Jin saw the familiar face with that trashy sense of fashion. "Ong¡­." Jin mumbled his name as he clenched tight on his staff. "You can forget about the police coming to aid you. We''ve barricaded the district with our men, and all four corners of Tiangong Shopping District have been blocked off by the various gangs. Do you like how fast we act upon you?" Ong boasted with some dramatic actions. He was unsure if it was because he had been killed by him, but he somehow felt a bit of pressure from Jin making him visibly sweat a little. "Various gangs?" Only after Jin released his Maqi after Lai Fu had entered the store did he notice that there were varying chi signatures coming from those surrounding him. "Indeed. Our bosses have deemed this place as a prime location for our new establishment. The Prosperous Pigs, Deranged Dogs and Raunchy Roosters are here to help us evict your asses off our future property." Ong happily announced the names of the triads out as a show for the other leaders from other triads. Each time he emphasised their name, the members of the gangs shouted out their names proudly. While Ong himself regarded it as stupid to give out that much information, he had to do so to appease the pride of the people who had come to help. Besides, with all that manpower, Jin was as good as a dead man walking. "So that means you guys will not stop with just destroying my shop. You will damage other people''s livelihoods as well?!" Jin shouted, and his reply came in the form of someone from the top spitting on him. Of course, Jin evaded it with just a step away. "What can you do? The police won''t be able to interfere if we apply sufficient pressure on them." Ong replied as he walked towards the brat that killed him. "Did you ever expect to see me again, you little punk? I''ve spent a lot of time preparing to get my revenge on you bastard." Ong stared at Jin at close proximity and even revealed his newly advanced cultivation, but Jin did not flinch a single bit. After which, Ong withdrew back slowly with and walk away with his back towards Jin. "But you know¡­ I wouldn''t want to hog all the fun for myself. Boys, enjoy!!!" The moment he finished his sentence, the Ruby Rats charged right in front, but the gangs at the top did not step in yet. "Boss Chen Xun said that we are here to show strength and only to offer assistance when things are dire." One of the Deranged Dog''s leader informed the leader of the Prosperous Pigs who had come forth. "Heh, looks like both our bosses think alike. Why interfere in something so needless?" The leader of Prosperous Pigs grinned. "But I wonder why the Raunchy Roosters are not here yet." "Isn''t the gang opposite of us at the roofs, the Raunchy Roosters?" The Deranged Dog''s leader squinted his eyes a bit and realised that there was someone holding onto what appeared to be the Raunchy Rooster''s gang leader over the roof railings. "Do not think the tigers are not aware of what you guys are plotting." Ku Wai wet his lips with his tongue and threw the fatally injured leader of the Raunchy Roosters across the main street and towards the opposite roof. The entire gang of Raunchy Roosters had been quietly subdued by the Three Eyed Tigers when Ong was talking. Chapter 478 Three Eyed Tiger Triads Assistance "Ku Wai?! Why are you here?! Jin shouted as he was fighting against the lackeys without throwing much of a punch. With these many gangs that appeared at Tiangong Shopping District, he could only hope that the Tiger Princess'' triad would be on his side and intervene. "Hmm¡­ how to put it well enough. Our magnanimous princess had placed us on permanent guard duty, alongside your policemen." Ku Wai smirked as he jumped down from the roof of the shophouses and fought side by side with Jin. "Care to explain what''s going on exactly? How come there are so many gangs all of a sudden in this place? Some reunion gathering? Or did Ong tell the truth that they are planning something big here?" Jin smacked one of the gangsters with his Panda head bamboo staff that was now infused with Black Panda Fire energy. Because the staff was imbued with Jin''s Maqi of the Black Panda Fire energy, each time the Panda Head staff hit someone, they would be ignited by it, causing them to be burned with blackish fire. Even though Jin made sure he tried to only harm and not kill them, there were times he could not control the output, and he inadvertently created several more casualties. "Before I answer, you have a really cute staff with you." Ku Wai praised as he punched his way through with his bare fists. Jin rolled his eyes up momentarily and inserted more Maqi into his BamBoo staff, causing the Panda Head to open its mouth and spewed fire like Flamethrower. Some of the Triad gangsters were in front of him were burnt to a crisp in the aftermath. "Well, I am sorry. I am not manly enough like you to use your bare fists!" Jin retorted as his flames got even more prominent and wider, attempting to scare the gangsters away. Meanwhile, the Deranged Dogs and Prosperous Pigs Triad had also descended to fight against the Three Eyed Tiger Triad. Without the police to maintain any order, the gangsters had been using whatever they could find in the streets as well inside the stores for cover and weapons. "You know how the Rats had been scurrying around the district for quite some time. What Ong said is most likely true. Our sources have stated that the Ruby Rat Boss has his eyes set on this piece of land for development. It''s apparently not a new thing, and it had been in consideration for some time now. But it did not seem to be an urgent priority at all until now." Ku Wai kicked away the gangster and punched another with an uppercut. "However, your increasing fame and presence, as well as the string of events such as the kidnapping of your employee, had made Wo De Tian reevaluate his decision and actively pursue for this district." "So, the other gangs'' involvement is because they are in cahoots with De Tian to redevelop this land here? But there is nothing much here that is worthy of any value!" Jin said while retaliating his attacks against the Ruby Rats. Even Ong, who was staring from afar, started to become a little pissed that everything was not going their way. "To think the Three Eyed Tigers are here to aid Jin." Ong thought to himself as he decided to make a few phone calls because of the change of developments. In the meantime, the Ruby Rats'' attacks got even fiercer despite their dwindling numbers. "Then that means even if we managed to defend this place, De Tian would continue to harass me, right?! Not to mention those behind the other gangs whose members are involved. With their members getting killed or injured, they could just use it as an excuse against me too?" Jin asked as he blocked an attack for Ku Wai. "Wait! Wouldn''t they have a grudge against your gang too? I mean aside from me!" "Hmph! You shouldn''t worry about that now. Besides, what else do you want to do? Surrender so they can peacefully slaughter you? Or officially declare a Triad war against four Triads?" Ku Wai questioned Jin. "No matter how many you kill here, there will always be more of those Triad members all over the country. Killing the head off will not work. Heck even if you wipe every single one of them, the Royal Zodiacs will come after you instead!" "If so, why are you guys risking your lives for this place or for me?" Jin slammed the staff through a lackey''s chest, and he coughed blood out from the result of the attack. "Those higher up will deal with it ultimately. No matter what happens, the losing side will simply pay off the winning side, and all is good. Some of the dead members will simply be declared as bad apples and discarded. As for us helping you, there is only one reason we do that!" Ku Wai shouted since the whole place was just damn too noisy. "Because the princess demands so! We serve only for our princess!" A nearby Three Eyed Tiger Triad member shouted in return, and the rest echoed along. "User, there are a few ways to get through this. Do you wish to listen?" The System spoke out of turn, and Jin accepted. "A short time reversal." The System offered and Jin was shocked that the System who was always selfish had decided to propose such a method. "Thanks to the increased resources and processing capability that the System has acquired, the System can reverse time to the point where you spoke with Grandma Yuan while the Demon Exorcist Trainees were resting." "Won''t it reduce your treasured processing capacity?" Jin asked as he stepped back and aided a Three Eye Tiger lackey up. "Definitely. At the very least, a 2% reduction in overall processing capability is to be expected. This is without tampering with the minds of all involved. Since there is no reason to twist reality, most will simply suffer feeling a major case of deja vus. However, this method could allow User to be able to find the Ruby Rat Boss and take him down before the matters blow up as much." The System replied. "Huh, don''t you think it will embolden them even more to attack the place?" Jin questioned but that slight distraction caused a Ruby Rat Triad Gang member to stab him from behind. Thankfully, the Living Armour plates were active and blocked the attack, giving Jin enough time to counterattack and finish the other party off. "User can call the police to reinforce the place before you leave. System is sure that the inspectors will take you seriously. Additionally, User would have past Sub System User Yuan by his side to vouch for him." The System replied while it had already taken countermeasures into the picture. "It does not change the fact that the other gangs that are in cahoots with De Tian, will not only resume the ambush but possibly exact revenge too." Jin assisted the injured member to Ku Wai as his Vice Triad Leader shouted for the medic in the bloody, crowded fight of attrition in Tiangong Shopping District. "You can see how fervent they can become. I do not believe the gangs will stop if they know a little shop can bite against them." "Another possible way out is to accede to their demands. The development lease to the shopping district will be expiring next year. Even If User manages to survive their attack this time round, the business will be affected as a whole due to the lack of confidence in the place''s security." "Tiangong district has been hit once with a tragedy. Despite your efforts to increase the number of customers in the area, a second blow such as this will only create undesirable rumours for this particular place." The System stated. "So what? You want us to surrender our stores? And the livelihood of all the other store owners in this place? Where do you want to hide?" Jin asked the System as Jin now faced the other gangs who upped their game. "Where the fuck are the police?! This should be the Tiger''s and Grandma Yuan''s territory, can they seriously delay them this long?" Jin thought to himself as he was wondering if he should call his bellators to assist him. "The Central Police Headquarters in Shenzhen have already issued a code for the Tiangong Police to not interfere with the triad gang fight. But to assist any casualties and prevent it from spreading out of the shopping district." The System had managed to pick up the police chatter via its access to the police database. "With regards to User''s question, the answer is negative. You have made a presence within the Goblin and Orc kingdoms. You can emigrate there or open even a store in the Dungeon City Fortress. There are avenues to move away from Earth and be a dungeon supplier." "Additionally, User can use it as an opportunity to claim his Dungeon is so exclusive that it is hidden and only accessible through the Sea Mesh Portals. This should prevent future problems such as these." The System stated, but Jin was not satisfied. "Logically, what you said is true! But, I did say I want to be the Number One Dungeon Supplier! If I cannot survive this trial by fire and run away at the face of rivalry, there will be no way to become Number One!" Jin roared at the Ruby Rats and as he held at his Panda Head staff horizontally as if he was holding a cannon and shot a beam of Maqi energy similar to Panda Yawning from the staff. Ong saw the incoming beam and quickly jumped up high to dodge the attack, but he did not know that Jin was waiting for exactly that. "ONGGGGG!" By moving his staff, the beam followed through and hit onto Ong. He could feel his skin burning from the beam of energy attack as he tried to use his chi as impromptu armour. When the beam attack was over, Ong fell to the ground, burnt with second degree burns. A number of the Ruby Rat Triad gang members who were within the area of attack perished almost immediately. The rest saw how dangerous Jin could be had decided to be a little more cautious while some went to aid their leader. "This is exactly why I said I cannot leave it to you." A black BMW car drove in, and the window was opened with a towering figure smoking his cigarette. "Boss¡­? How? I thought I asked for more reinforcements." Ong wondered as De Tian opened the door and cut the lackey he resurrected at his neck. "Because I told them to inform me if you ever ask for more reinforcements. If you can be defeated twice by a mere dungeon supplier, you are of no use to me. Not even you deserve a third chance." De Tian finished him off with a single stomp and walked away from Ong''s body to face Jin. The rest of the other Ruby Rat Triad gang members stopped their fighting and made way for him. "But¡­all I wanted was to serve you. I did not wish to trou-" The last thoughts of Ong was for his master even though De Tian did not appreciate it a single bit. The Ruby Rat Triad Boss showed that as much as he can provide life, he could take it away too. "Heh, to think this little brat proves to be more than just a nuisance. You better give us a good show for making us come with you." Chen Xun, the Deranged Dog Triad Boss, demanded as he came out from the driver''s seat while the other two Triad Bosses who tagged along decided to stay within the safety of the car. "For the Triad Boss to come in unhindered. No wonder the Central Police does not wish to interfere. I bet Yang Ling has no choice but to protect her own policemen too." Jin deduced while Ku Wai walked towards Jin to stand beside him as a show of strength. "Ku Wai! Boss says not to interfere." A Three Eye Tiger lackey shouted which made De Tian curled his lips from afar. "But it''s the princess order to protect Jin!" Ku Wai said, and the Three Eye Tiger lackey passed the phone to Ku Wai. It was a short phone call with Ku Wai''s face trembling with rage and regret. "Sorry, Jin. Our Boss told us to withdraw from the fight. Any more and this turns into an Inter Triad War in the various provinces and states." Ku Wai clenched his fist as he said regretfully. "Don''t worry. I should be able to handle it somehow. All of you. Go to the shop instance if you need, there will be medical aid for all of you." Jin offered, and Ku Wai tapped on his shoulder. "Don''t die. The princess forbids you to." Ku Wai mumbled. "Heh. Since when did I serve your princess? ¡­ still I don''t plan to disappoint her." Jin thought as he walked towards De Tian with his Panda Head Staff in his hands. Chapter 479 Cutthroat System "WHAT?! Pull out?! Sir, you can''t be serious! All we need is just your permission to enter the fray, and we can go in guns blazing!!! We have multiple civilians as witnesses claiming that they killed at least one officer! You saw that smoke cloud coming from afar. That is also on them! Why can''t we enter and help?" Xue Ping refused to accept this order from her superior as she was fully decked out in combat gear, itching to go in and help the remaining innocents. "That is not your prerogative nor mine. Those are direct orders from the Central Police HQ (Shenzhen''s)" Tiangong Police Captain, Mao Pai Huo instructed Xue Ping to stand down along with her fellow husband, Lee An. "But Sir! There are innocents inside! Stuck there! We all know that the Central Police Superintendents are being bribed and coerced to not interfere with the fight! You yourself saw how De Tian''s entourage crashed through our police checkpoint to enter the Shopping District. The people there need our help!" Lee Ann reinforced his message to Captain Mao. "BUT CAN WE DO ANYTHING IN OUR CURRENT STATE?!" Captain Mao slammed his chi infused fist on the police car''s bonnet, causing a visible indentation. "You all experienced first hand how strong Wo De Tian was and we are nowhere near his level. Guns are useless if you are unable to even pull the trigger. Do you think I don''t want to go in and help them?" Captain Mao retorted in a stern voice. "You two may be capable detectives, but I am the one shouldering the responsibility of the entire fate of Tiangong station police force. Have you considered the consequences of such actions for a moment? How it may be selfish of you to drag the lives of these policemen into an undefeatable battle?!" The investigators could see that Captain Mao was holding back the rest of his anger so much that he was trembling. "Then, Sir. Let me go in instead." A fellow in a brown jacket and a cap entered the conversation followed by two other veteran policemen. "Ren Wei?!" Captain Mao was shocked to see one of the best police snipers in Shenzhen in his precinct. "What are you doing here?" "Just a coincidence, my daughter and I initially wanted to visit the dungeon supplier today but looks like if we do not close this up soon, there might be no dungeon supplier to enter." Ren Wei answered as entered through the checkpoint without any interference from the other policemen and he was not taking any answers from Captain Mao. "Bro, What about me and Gupta?!" Abdul shouted out as his buddy left them out. Ren Wei just smiled at them and jumped over the barricade. The policemen who were guarding the barriers were in a dilemma whether to chase after Ren Wei. It was then Gupta realised what it was going and sent a private transmission message. Abdul heaved out a heavy breath and held onto to the policemen shoulders. "Sir! Sergeant Ren Wei may be from the Central Police Headquarters, but he did not make his intentions clear. Permission to enter the scene and chase after him for the clarification!" Gupta stood in attention in front of Captain Mao, and the rest immediately understood his intentions. "Fine! You and Gupta enter and bring him back as soon as possible. You hear me? In one piece too! I do not want his daughter to be orphaned." Captain Mao ordered. "Sir, his daughter is already in university¡­same age as your boy." Abdul said, and the others including the detectives, could not help but sniggered a bit. "¡­WHAT are you waiting for?! Go chase after him!" Captain Mao embarrassingly looked the other way as he waved his hands off to the two policemen. They saluted, and the other police guards happily opened the barrier for them to pass through. "Sir. Thank you." Xue Ping whispered as she empathised the Captain''s situation. "What? I am just doing my job. Now the rest of you make goddamn sure those reporter vultures do not come anywhere near the site." Captain Mao ordered his men to reinforce the barriers. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "I suggest you surrender to me." De Tian demanded as he portrayed his cultivation by releasing his chi aura to the surrounding areas. The Ruby Rats, upon feeling the densely concentrated aura within the vicinity, knew better and immediately surrendered themselves to the ground instead of trying to resist it. In fact, it was too suffocating to even tolerate the dense chi that was being emitted. Even Chen Xun, the Triad Boss for the Deranged Dogs had to emit his own chi to counterbalance against the overly burdensome aura to maintain his balance. "For his aura to reach up to my gang lackeys at the far end¡­ seeing them squirm might not be that bad once in a while." Chen Xun thought as he saw them struggling their hardest in an attempt to escape from the aura. Those farthest out still had the strength to crawl out of the area as far as they could, not that it helped them much. For those nearest to De Tian, they were too weak to move a single muscle. His strength was undeniable. The other Triad Bosses pretended to act strong against him, but whenever De Tian asked them for something they would always eventually concede or compromise to his terms because of his cultivation grade. However, the only who seemed unaffected by the aura was the opponent he was here to crush. Jin, the Dungeon Supplier. "Haven''t you showed off enough yet? Can''t you see your followers are suffering?" Jin shouted with his hands folded. "Looks like I underestimated you a little. I''ve to admit you intrigue me a bit, but unfortunately for you, you managed to anger me quite a bit." De Tian replied as he threw the cigarette butt towards Jin''s direction. He stopped releasing his chi aura, and the gang lackeys were finally able to take a breather. However, not all were so lucky. Those too close and too weak to handle the pressure had died from it. "I''ve done nothing to you at all. Heck up until today, I haven''t even met you. From my perspective, you are the one that is actively hurting the people around me. You are the one that has decided for yourself to consider me a threat that should be eliminated. Do not blame others for your own problems. If you cannot handle losses, then quit your job." Jin accused, not even caring for the butt which was thrown at him. He considered it beneath him to get out of the way only because De Tian wanted it. "Seems that despite being a Panda, you are not as useless or lazy. You seem to have quite the bite. Perhaps that''s why the Tigers seem to have taken a liking to you. Let''s get down to business." De Tian said as he renewed his cigarette. "Seeing as how you have me surrounded, I doubt your conditions will be any more appealing than this situation, but I am willing to listen," Jin replied as he continued to stand ready with his Panda Head staff. "It''s easy. Join me, give me your dungeon supplier technology as well as those portal technology patent rights. In turn, you will get out scotfree, and I will make you into a very rich man." De Tian offered. "Sounds not as detrimental as I thought, but what if I were to decline?" Jin questioned with a firm tone. "I am a very generous in nature, so I shall present you with two other choices. Your second option is that I let you live, but cripple your cultivation. After you hand over what I want we will allow those you protected to get out unharmed and you will begin your new life as my slave. You should make a perfect cigarette ashtray." "Of course, we can always go with the initial plan and turn this day into your death anniversary. You can be assured that your miniscule land and property will be in good hands afterwards. " De Tian announced, and the rest of the Ruby Rats chuckled at the choices. "How about I give you a better suggestion?" Jin asked with a grin as he suddenly walked sidewards while tapping his staff on his shoulder. "What? Don''t tell me you are one of those with some sort of superhero complex? Do you seriously think you have a chance at killing me? There are three other Triad bosses with me. Not even that old hag Yuan, would stand a chance." De Tian laughed at that prospect. "Hahaha, I advise you to be reasonable. You should accept the first choice before De Tian changes his mind." Chen Xun chimed in. "Even if you managed to defeat all four of us. There is the matter of revenge by the entire four gangs. You know we can be a very tight knitted family in cases of revenge. Especially if it concerns our good reputation." "I wouldn''t dream of it. We all know that with your influence, even if it would count as self defense, all of you are important enough to get resurrected and come back to haunt me. Killing you in someone else''s territory would be useless. Still, you might wanna take a look at this before you decide on what do to next." Jin typed something on his phone and then threw his phone towards De Tian. He caught it with ease and looked at the contents, which made him feel like crashing the phone. "How¡­? How??? WHAT DID YOU DO?! This has to be a bluff!" De Tian shouted back with anger, but before he could crash the phone, Peppers performed her favourite (party) trick of exploding the phone right out of De Tian''s hands. The other Ruby Rats immediately took out their weapons out as the phone flew back into Jin''s hand. "You saw correctly. Either you get out of here, or I will happily enact the laws! That blast was just a warning shot. I can do far worse!" Jin shouted, and De Tian used his hand to move the smoke away. He did not get out of the explosion unscathed, and Chen Xun was ready to enter the fray, but De Tian stopped him. "What? What''s wrong? Aren''t we supposed to finish him before that Guardian hag arrives?" Chen Xun shouted at De Tian. He was eager to get this over with. If possible, he would rather avoid fighting Grandma Yuan. "He bought the friggin place. The entire goddamned Shopping District." De Tian uttered with disbelief as well. "Well, if you do not believe. Feel free to consult my lawyer. I assume you know Xiong Da from the HHH Law Firm." Jin shook his shoulders while giving a smirked face back. "But you said that the place is only up for grabs starting next year onwards!" Chen Xun retaliated back, and the news made the other two bosses in the car to chatter as well. "That should be the case. Unless¡­he has the money to buy it prematurely." Tang Wei spoke out from the window. "With the new Building Law that was placed two years ago, the tenants of the district have the right to purchase it one year before the development lease on the place has been expired at 1.5 times the amount the land was valued." "What bullshit! It already costs at millions of Yuan to buy at the normal rate. How would he have the money to buy it out beforehand. He is just a Dungeon Supplier!" Chen Xun cursed, and Jin''s lip curled. "IT IS BECAUSE I AM A DUNGEON SUPPLIER!" Jin shouted back at them. "So what are you going to do? You know what is going to happen if you fight in someone''s own territory, right?" He eyed at De Tian intently. "¡­the rules he set within his own territory cannot be overruled in court, and whatever casualties inflicted may not be a cause of revenge. If he manages to kill us, he may even legally get rid of our Dantians in his territory." Tang Wei spoke out, and Chen Xun banged the car''s side door. "This has to be bluff. De Tian. It''s impossible for that to be the case!" Chen Xun could not believe this brat in front of him would have the financial capability to perform such a deed. More importantly, how did he found out that they were eyeing for this land¡­unless it was the source was from another Triad. The Three Eyes Tigers. "You know, I''m happy to wait here. You can get your secretary to verify¡­ No, better yet. Get all your secretaries, my dear Triad Bosses and check with them that I had already procured the land. Also, expect me to send you the check for the repairs for all the damage you have inflicted on my turf." Jin proclaimed with utmost confidence even though internally he was sweating like mad. There was a break in the discussion as all the Triad Bosses were indeed double checking the facts. Jin saw their faces when they received the confirmations by their secretaries, and it was indeed priceless. "System has taken a picture of all their shocked faces as it believed User would appreciate having a memento." The System notified him. "System, you know me, oh so well." Jin widened his smiles at the side of his mouth. He could not have done this feat without the System. The devious, ruthless cutthroat of a System. Chapter 480 Transfer of Development Lease When the Triad Bosses showed themselves, Jin knew that big trouble was inevitable and that was when the System had recommended Jin to buy up the entire place according to a loophole that was found within the land''s contract. The System duly noted the benefits of procuring the entire land, thwarting the entire plans of what Ong revealed and what Ku Wai, the Vice Head of the Three Eyed Tigers had reported. Fortunately, all of this was possible because Jin was already a co-owner of the Tiangong Shopping District due to the land he possessed. (All thanks to Ming buying it when it was dirt cheap after the Pachinko fire.) Even as the Ruby Rat Triad Boss was busy showing off his aura, Jin was not bothered by it and was instead contacting the owner of the development lease. And it was none other than Grandma Yuan via the System''s communication line. "What do you want brat? How did you even get this number?" Grandma Yuan started scolding Jin as soon as she realised it was him. She took a look on her hand ¡­ not even a day has passed, since she was forced to accept the ring, and she was already suffering the consequences. "I''m sorry for bothering you this way, but I wouldn''t ask if it wasn''t so urgent. Please listen carefully." Jin maintained his poker face at De Tian while explaining his situation to Grandma Yuan. "Oh, so the big bosses have come to visit you personally? So what? Can''t you handle them yourself? Do you honestly need me to still wipe your butt for you?! Brat, I have vouched for you being capable enough to lead a Branch Location of JODE. If you can''t even deal with some thugs, you can forget about JODE assisting you without proving your worth. Do you want me to arrange for you to scrub the Headquarters toilets for a year, to do so?!" Grandma Yuan threatened, and Jin politely asked her to listen to his proposal first. (despite being rather annoyed by her tone at times. Perhaps she did not want to be disturbed with her phone number.) "I am handling it, but I still need your help. You saw my assets during our meal, right? I want to buy the entire Tiangong Shopping District from you, Tiangong District Guardian." "Why don''t you just defeat the¡­ Oh." Grandma Yuan stopped arguing and started to see Jin''s point. "Ah, I guess those rumours of the Triads wanting to change the shopping district into something more lucrative were true. So, you want to buy the entire plot for yourself? Your assets should be enough for a 50% down payment. Even so, we need a lawyer to-" Grandma Yuan suddenly heard a swishing noise behind her and saw Zeru bowing towards her. She looked down at the ring once more and was even more pissed at the System apparently ''forgetting'' to mention she would be tracked by its ''gift''. "Xiong Da will be managing the papers. He said he can expedite the process, but he needs your signature." The Lotus Sword Saint explained as he placed the papers on the table. Jin''s signature was already on the bottom of the page. "How? Isn''t Jin in the battlefields?" Grandma Yuan asked as Zeru showed her where to sign the transfer of ownership of the land. "Let''s just say the System is not being lazy for once," Jin answered instead through the loudspeakers as Grandma Yuan began signing the papers. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C To prevent Jin from wasting any time having to explain everything to Xiong Da, the System had sent out a message with the rough details of the situation and what he wanted from his most loyal customer. The Hungry Hippo Cultivator couldn''t say no to his favourite dungeon supplier. However, even the almighty lawyer warned that processing might become a problem and would require at the very least a working day. Yet, the System (posing as Jin) assured him that this would not be an issue as long as Xiong Da approved the transaction. Even before Xiong Da could agree to the matter, Milk was already at his firm''s doorstep knocking on the door with the papers ready. "Mr Wa, I brought Milk in." Ruo Ying, Xiong Da''s girlfriend and secretary, acted with professionalism as she brought Milk in a well dressed OL suit into the office. However, she decided to remain in the office, unlike usual circumstances where she would leave the client and Xiong Da alone. She sensed Milk was being too¡­ sexy and sensual for Xiong Da to stay sane, although she did bring up an excuse for her behaviour as a special case to see how Xiong Da handle the situation with Milk. (She was merely jealous of Milk''s body and fashion wear.) "Here, the cheque and the signed papers. As well as Jin''s balance of accounts to ensure we are not lying." Milk picked up her phone and showed an image of Jin''s balance in his bank. It was actually the System''s which it managed to manipulate and insert that amount of money without alerting the bank system. (The trip to the Abyss Web had been beneficial for the System too, not just Kraft.) "The rest of the evidence is here, but I need you to sign it quickly so I can get it approved soon. There is not much time left." Milk demanded as she banged the table and Xiong Da nodded his head to her intimidation. "Xiong Xiong, I know you trust Boss Jin, but this is clearly an abuse of your powers. You might get in trouble for this." Ruo Ying warned, and Milk shook her head. "Trust me, Jin has a few tricks behind his back. Xiong Da will be safe. Besides, we will need more of his services in the future. One wouldn''t exactly betray an ally needed in the future, right?" Milk reassured her, but Xiong Da did not care about the two and had already started stamping his approval on the transaction papers. "There! Done. You sure you can make it? It''s getting late, and the ministry''s office is probably closing soon." Xiong Da worried for her. As Milk was just about to leave, the lawyer was unable to control his curiosity. "Is it because of the gang fight that is happening at Tiangong district?" "Yeah, it''s because of that ridiculous, stupid fight. Don''t worry. Jin will appear victorious with this." Milk winked at him and gave a peace sign before rushing to leave the office. (To teleport back into the System.) "There you go System. It''s all yours. Time to do your magic." Milk said as she unclipped the staple on the papers and each of them side by side on the desk. The System immediately scanned the entire transaction deal and infiltrated into the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development''s database to tweak the name and expedite the approval. This was done to make sure the database had been modified to reflect the latest changes and allowed Jin to play this Trump card of his towards the Triad Bosses. The System could have personally edited the data in the database, but there were too many loopholes and Jin might be penalised if found guilty. However, the transaction deal only stated the transfer of the name from Grandma Yuan to Jin. Xiong Da did state that the minor details of the deal would be finalised on a later date since it was a deed that was hastily done. ¡ª¨C "I have to thank Xiong Da for this¡­" Jin thought as he saw the Triad Bosses coming together to discuss what needed to be done. "Indeed, it was a major feat and a leap of faith for Xiong Da and past Sub System User Yuan to trust you. With just one disagreeing, this whole plan would have fallen apart." The System stated. "This is impossible! I double checked merely two days ago, the deed was still under Guardian District Yuan, not Jin." De Tian was furious and stared at Jin for a while, knowing that he must have had some under the table help. "Was it the tiger princess? No, even she could not have such power under her. The most likely candidate would be the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Head, Yuan Ba. But why would someone like the Tiger Lord do something like that for a mere dungeon supplier?" Mu Bing wondered out loud, but Tang Wei shook his head. He was the one most informed about the gossip of the royal families. (It was actually one of his guilty pleasures, better than any soap opera) "Yang Ling is not exactly close to her father, ever since her accident. Even if they were, the amount of money involved to buy this land is not a joke." Tang Wei commented as he wiped his sweat. "There''s a snowball''s chance in hell that Sea Mesh''s CEO would provide such money to that dungeon supplier. Ke Loong is a stingy person, the last time I asked him to sponsor me some stuff, he would not even oblige." De Tian chimed, and the only person who kept quiet was Chen Xun. "Say, even if you cannot kill him. You can make him go that way, can''t you?" Chen Xun mentioned in a devious manner. "What do you mean?" De Tian asked, and Chen Xun began to whisper at him. "A duel? Just use your tiny brain for once! Would you accept a duel in your own territory?" De Tian snorted at that idea. "Not if you don''t offer good collateral ¡­ It''s fine either way with us. Either you get him to agree, or you will have to give us 5% of your shares. Don''t forget about that." Chen Xun inadvertently reminded him, but in his heart, he was laughing at how devious the plan was. De Tian thought about it for a while, and with a bit of persuasion from the other two Triad Bosses, he agreed to it with a condition. "Interfere with the duel. Make sure he dies." De Tian sent them a close range transmission and the smiles of the other three Triad Bosses were at their most wicked. This was what they were living for. Deceit and betrayal. "Ku Wai, I know you are still hiding around here. Come out." De Tian shouted at Jin''s direction, and the Three Eyed Tiger vice leader came out from an alley. "What do you want?" Ku Wai felt an ominous feeling when De Tian called him out. "Conduct a duel for us. I hereby challenge Jin for the ownership of the development lease of the Tiangong Shopping District. In return, I offer him the entire King Monster''s franchise AND all its land." De Tian announced proudly at Jin. He was sure that Jin being a businessman of a certain calibre, would understand the weight of the offer. "Nah, no thanks," Jin replied and waved his hand as if he was telling them to shoo off. Chapter 481 Enlightenment in Cultivation Chen Xun was muffling his giggling with his hand after he saw De Tian being rejected like a guy earnestly confessing his love. The Ruby Rat Triad Boss found himself ashamed that his challenge was so easily denied, but then he noticed something. Why the hell was he even doing something as stupid as to ask for a duel? Was it because it''s an honourable thing to do right in front of his Ruby Rat lackeys? Or was he scared of the laws? God damn it! Wasn''t he a Triad Boss? Why did he suddenly become so timid because of the change of circumstances? Shouldn''t this case be the most ideal? Instead of fighting against District Guardian Yuan who was around two to three grades above him, De Tian was given a heaven sent gift. A little young panda who was acting all haughty just because he had the cash to buy over the land. "Not only is he the new owner of Tiangong Shopping District, but he also has the financial backing¡­ probably by his parents? Ah, who cares. I should just kill him and later demand money from whoever is backing him. Yes¡­That''s right. He does not want to fight with me because that brat knows he can''t win!" De Tian began to snigger and subsequently started laughing out loud, which made Jin feel that Triad Boss had to be sick in the head. Even the Ruby Rat lackeys were wondering if their boss had gone insane. "Kill him, extort an exorbitant amount of ransom from his parents to retrieve back his dantian! Or relatives or whoever is backing him! No, wait! I should get the ransom and the deed to this land as well! Heck why stop there, might as well demand a pardon in case the authorities really make things hard! Killing three birds with one stone. Oh, Jin you are my golden goose¡­ before I cut you open!" De Tian was laughing so hysterically that his chi burst out and suddenly his cultivation was revealed right in front of everyone. Ten silhouettes of reddish furred rats running above him in a circle and suddenly another rat jumped out of the ring. His aura got even more stifling, and every remaining Ruby Rat lackey had to display their cultivation in order to survive this suffocating aura that was being emitted. "He had a sudden enlightenment and thus an increase in grade?!" Mu Bing could not believe his eyes that De Tian managed to attain a Grade 11 in such circumstances, displaying his might to everyone. In the meantime, the three policemen saw all this happening from a distant apartment which they managed to use with the occupant''s permission. Gupta was the spotter while Ren Wei was preparing his sniper rifle. Abdul had asked the family to move to their neighbour''s house temporarily. While a little untrusting, the father had decided to stay behind and promised not to interfere in anything. He just wanted to make sure that they were indeed police. (and also hoped to see them in action.) As the policemen did not have any warrant to enter their house, they could only be grateful that they had gotten access to his home. It was not ideal to work where there are civilians around, but regrettably, this was as good as they could achieve without any roof access and this particular apartment had the best vantage point according to both Gupta and Ren Wei. "You may stay, but I will have to confiscate your phone for a while to avoid you from filming us, sir," Abdul demanded politely and the owner of the household grudgingly passed it to them. "Thank you, Sir." "How is the situation?" Abdul asked, and Gupta shook his head. "Not good at all. We haven''t exactly expected so many Triad Bosses to be here. Worse still, De Tian had surprisingly broken through to Grade 11. Even with Ren Wei''s at Grade 6 Peak, the additional offensive inscription we can pack in a bullet will at most only hurt him." Gupta lent Abdul his spotter binocular. "That is why we will only snipe when the opportunity comes or when Jin needs help. At most, we may have two shots against them. The first will be a surprise, and the second bullet is the one that matters. But let''s hope we don''t have to use any." Ren Wei concluded as he was startled when watching the events. Jin appeared to be in some negotiations before De Tian revealed his cultivation. "Whew, that is a lot of rats. And they aren''t alone. The Triads are serious in attacking Jin and man, I really applaud the dungeon supplier to have guts. I did not expect him to face all of them by himself." Abdul praised as he saw the situation was getting tense. "Heh, that is why his dungeons are always that realistic. Jin must have gotten through a lot in life to be standing alone so fearlessly despite at such a young age. From the looks of it, I believe he is still hiding a few trump cards against those Bosses." Ren Wei replied as he was taking out a worn hard covered suitcase with scratches from his storage ring. "Let''s hope it''s not ignorance.:" Abdul returned the spotting scope to his friend. "Want to make a bet that Jin does not need our help at all?" Gupta suggested, and only Abdul was interested. Ren Wei decided against it as he knew this was not a laughing matter. "Abdul, report the situation to Captain Mao and the detectives through the radio. Study this building''s structure as well in case we need to make a quick getaway with minimum disruption to the public." Ren Wei ordered as he borrowed the coffee table and a few pieces of the sofa furniture so that he could position his sniper rifle (which he ironically bought and customised at Jin''s store) The only difference was that he had acquired the live bullets from Tiangong police station with a bit of help from his buddies instead of Jin''s store. The owner of the house was a bit shocked, and Gupta assured him that he would be compensated for any damage to his furniture. ¡ª- "Ehh grats on the jump in cultivation?" Jin bitterly realised that all the effort he made to avoid conflict appeared to be for nought if De Tian chooses to enter into a confrontation without any regard for the law. "Not all futile, User. If the Ruby Rat Triad Boss decides to attack you on your grounds, you not only have the right to kill him legally, there will be no additional repercussions to you. The Royal Zodiac Rat Clan won''t be able to use that to execute you since he had personally initiated the fight against you, especially after you have informed him of the situation." The System reiterated. "I give you credit that you are not even a bit afraid of me. I am not sure whether you are foolishly brave or merely ignorant about the fact that you have no way to get out of this alive!" De Tian said as he pulled out his personal weapon, a war club similar to Xiong Da, but it seemed to be glowing with various inscriptions infused into it. "Is there any way to detect what inscriptions he''s using?" Jin asked the System as he lifted his Panda Head Staff and aimed it directly at his opponent. De Tian nearly laughed at how ridiculously cute Jin''s weapon was but recalled that half of his Ruby Rats were decimated by it. "Negative. As De Tian is not within the store, a thorough analysis is not possible." The System stated, and Jin wanted to curse how useless it was outside of the store. "However, a superficial level of analysis is possible. There are at least three inscriptions according to your Pandaromic Eyes. System had already eliminated and narrowed the possible inscriptions Ruby Rat Triad Boss is using." "That is more like it." Jin briefly looked at the list via his Pandaromic Eyes and prepared to insert Maqi into the staff as he saw De Tian kept releasing his chi aura, trying to intimate Jin while dragging his warclub at him. "All our plans won''t matter if I can''t get out of this alive¡­Honestly, what are the odds of winning this guy? " Jin asked as he prepared to get Zeru out for help. Luckily, the ability to teleport his bellators wasn''t hindered outside the store. "With your current grade? Roughly 30% survival rate. However, following your true awakening, User has access to the Astral Panda forms." The System finally had the perfect opportunity to reveal Jin''s hidden Trump card . "By combining your Astral Panda forms with them, you can temporarily borrow powers from Zeru, Milk and Peppers. Proper and opportune usage of the Astral Panda Bellator forms should increase your chance of survival up to 75%." System clarified and Jin nearly opened his jaw wide open right in front of De Tian. Instead, he quickly pretended to yawn a little. He did not expect such a feature being available with the bellators. "Why you brat¡­underestimating me through and through!" De Tian was pissed looking at Jin yawn and decided not to hesitate anymore and rushed towards him. He dispelled his aura to be able to use it in his attacks, which gave most of his still living Ruby Rats a breather. (With his increased Grade, some more fell victim to pressure and died from the suffocation of the intense chi.) As the war club smashed to the ground, Jin managed to dodge backwards in time, but he did not expect an aftershock from the attack. Thus, causing him to be knocked back by the impact force. Fortunately, he used his Panda Head Staff to summon a wind barrier as well as infusing his body with an Astral Panda with the powers of Green Panda Wind to balance himself. However, that was not the end, Jin also riled the surrounding dust and debris on the floor from the impact and created a temporary smokescreen to confuse his opponent so he could talk to the System for a while longer. "So, you mean I can sorta become Zeru, Peppers or even Milk?!" Jin asked, and the System clarified that Jin had the potential to inherit their abilities for 8 seconds. "For that 8 seconds, User can possess the powers of your bellators without any potential strenuous setback to your body. You will have access to the full extent of their abilities that have been unlocked according to your grade. Do note that the training that you had with Zeru was an exception. Because he needed to teach you, System had boosted his powers to several grades higher than User''s current grade." The System stated as Jin found himself defending another blow from De Tian though the smokescreen did buy him a few precious seconds. "Not so tough, eh?" De Tian spat at the dungeon supplier, but Jin did not give De Tian another glance. "I do not need to be tough. I just need to be fast." Jin said out loud as he commanded the System to provide him with the powers of Zeru through his thoughts. Suddenly, Jin could feel another soul coming into his body, and he felt an immense amount of strength coursing through him. The System''s artificial infusion of Astral Panda form and Bellator Zeru immediately streamed through Jin, and the dungeon supplier smirked as he transformed his Panda Head Staff into a two handed Odachi. He placed the two handed sword behind his back while he spewed out a Panda Yawning to distract De Tian for a moment. Within those three seconds, he felt a burst of strength through his stomach as he could feel every fibre of his muscle turning the Odachi and making one quick stroke with that massive thin blade. "Snip, and the petal of the lotus falls," Jin whispered as his blade had cleanly gone through the innards of De Tian while the Triad Boss was attempting to swing his war club upwards in order to perform one of his War Club Epic Arts. In De Tian''s perspective, he already predicted such the beam technique from his mouth but did not realise it was that weak when he purposely received the damage to intimidate him. However, he did not know because of that split second distraction due to his pride, De Tian was bound to lose his life. For that few seconds, Jin was enlightened on how Zeru''s technique worked. The technique was so ¡­stingy in its movement, making the strike as clean as a perfectly polished granite which allowed one to see their reflection through it. "I hope that brief movement was able to provide some insight into the ways of my sword," Zeru said via the System channel and Jin nodded his head as he saw half of De Tian slowly descend to the ground while the other half was left standing, spurting blood from the rest of his blood veins. "Yes, it did, Master. I shall learn to do it myself in the future." Jin promised as he went to De Tian''s lower body and grab the solid dantian with the aid of his Pandaromic Eyes. Chapter 482 Triad Boss of the Prosperous Pig The other three Triad Bosses and the Ruby Rats lackeys in the vicinity saw how Jin cleanly bisected the notorious De Tian. Even as Jin came over to pick up the solidified dantian from the lower half of the body, the upper half of De Tian was still barely conscious and could not believe that the dungeon supplier annihilated him within seconds of his first counterattack. "Anyone of you three also wants to come at me? I''ve offered all of you a peaceful solution by purchasing the land here. Yet, the Ruby Rat Boss came and attacked me on his own volition, did he not?" Jin asked with a forceful tone. He now had the upper hand in negotiations. The three other Triad Bosses were scared as they regarded this as a threat. If Jin could easily wipe out De Tian with a single stroke, that meant Jin was stronger than a Grade 11! "No wonder, Tiangong District Guardian Yuan was willing to part this small shopping district for this dungeon supplier." Mu Bing, the Triad Boss for the Prosperous Pigs as well as the most experienced one among the three of them concluded. "So, you also think we should make him an ally by sucking our pride up rather than make him our enemy?" Tang Wei asked as he suddenly saw an opportunity that could be struck. "Well, we three haven''t done anything to him. Up until now, all our boys did was stand around. And at the end of the day, we are still the Triad Bosses of our Royal Zodiac Clans despite Chen Xun being the youngest and inexperienced one here." Mu Bing replied, and Chen Xun realised what was going on. "Just because I haven''t received my official initiation ceremony, doesn''t mean I am not taking up the duties of the previous Boss of Deranged Dogs." Chen Xun commented, and Mu Bing had decided to say out what they were all thinking. "So? What are you waiting for? Send away your own goons along with the Ruby Rats. I have had enough for the day." Jin ordered as he lifted his sword and placed it on his shoulders since it was rather heavy to bear, holding it with just one hand. But instead of moving away, the Triad Bosses were having an internal discussion among themselves before Mu Bing decided to personally enter the fray. Jin held his Odachi steady and the small portion of the Ruby Rats as well as the rest of the other gang''s goons who were already over the shock of the sudden death of Ruby Rat''s Boss, immediately went forward to protect Mu Bing. After all, Mu Bing was one of the oldest Triad Boss among the various clans and had sufficient influence despite his lack of cultivation. Yet, instead of fighting, Mu Bing raised his hands up from afar and asked Jin for a truce to restart the negotiation instead. "We have a new proposition that we wish to discuss." "I do not see much of a proposition here. What I see is a lot of chaos, made by the leftover garbage still protecting you." Jin pointed out as he held onto his sword. "Forgive them. They are just doing this because of my identity. After you took care of their boss, their line of command is disrupted. It is pretty much protocol to conform and listen to the highest ranking and most experienced ally in such a situation." Mu Bing explained as he asked all the surrounding lackeys to stand down. The Ruby Rats obeyed and opened a passage for him to go through. Jin, on the other hand, refused to relax and instead stuck his odachi on the ground so he could pick it up at any moment of notice for another fight. "Hmm, Jin. Is it? I am very curious. You really aren''t easy to read. You pretended to be weak, but in fact you yourself managed to defeat a Grade 11 with your own hands so effortlessly while not even revealing your cultivation to us. And yet here you are still wary of us as if we might have the upper hand. Will it help you relax if I tell you that De Tian, was the most powerful out of all of us?" Mu Bing remarked, but Jin continued to have his guard up. "I see. You are indeed an experienced fighter. I know that a Dungeon Supplier has to experience a lot, to make a dungeon appear real. I heard rumours about you providing very realistic dungeons to the point of them being called lifelike. I daresay I no longer doubt your capabilities after witnessing today''s brief¡­encounter." Mu Bing continued. "There is no need for any flowery language. If you wish to negotiate, do it fast. Or else get the hell out. Other people still need to clean this place up, and I''m now forced to be the one to give out these statements which are a waste of my time when I could be attending to my business instead." Jin felt like they were buying time unlike De Tian who was straight to the point. "Not to mention there is a need to renovate this place considering how much thrashing your Ruby Rats gave. By the way, you can all expect a large invoice for all the damages caused." Jin grumbled right in front of Mu Bing who he laughed. "I see, I see. You are a businessman through and through. I am sorry to have wasted your time. As you may already know, we were indeed planning to build an entertainment venue. A Grand Casino. I was wondering if you would let us do that?" Mu Bing proposed. Jin did not even need to consider it, he just shook his head in disagreement. "You have yet to hear me out. I guarantee you that the profit would be more than substantial. You might even get your land''s purchase worth within a month or two. We could even sweeten the deal and provide you with some manpower for the renovation of this place." "Not interested one bit. If I wanted to build a casino, I could just create one within my dungeon instance, and it would definitely be more interesting than whatever you might have planned. " Jin said and Ku Wai who left by the side suddenly chimed in. "I can vouch for it. His instances are out of this world. The current state of entertainment will be considered crap if you compare it to his." Ku Wai said, and Jin smiled at his compliment. "Maybe that''s why the Tiger Princess wished to keep this place alive. To send the Three Eyed Tigers to protect you is no ordinary feat I tell you." Mu Bing replied as he noticed the Three Eyed Tigers gangsters suddenly bow near an alley behind Jin. "Exactly. That is why any further negotiations about this land will be invalid. If I am not wrong, I believe I know what you are going to talk about next. Too bad for you, I am going to issue his disagreement to you instead." A bespectacled male, seemingly in his mid thirties walked in, wearing a smart casual outfit, unlike the other Triad Bosses. "Boss Ya Bai, it''s rare enough to see you in joint meetings and even rarer to see out in the open. If you are willing to come out of your den, then Jin must be a big deal." Mu Bing commented as he nodded to acknowledge the Three Eyed Tiger Triad Boss''s presence. Ku Wai even bowed similarly along with the lackeys he commanded right in front of him. "Jin, what this old pig was going to propose was to make them your go to partner as a dungeon supplier. They will then strike a deal with you since you just killed the boss of the Triad''s main dungeon supplier for Shenzhen." Ya Bai explained, and Mu Bing sighed and nodded his head in agreement. "In return, King''s Monster will cease its operations, assets will be liquefied for you to use. Alternatively, you can expand over King Monster''s current assets and take them under your control. You will effectively be the biggest dungeon supplier in Shenzhen with the Triad''s backing. In return, they have access to your dungeons at a low to no cost for training." Ya Bai added, and he could see Jin''s reluctance or annoyance to that particular matter. "They will, of course, assist in paying the operating costs and then some. Do note it is not just their triads, but the entire twelve triads who will benefit." "And since there are three Triad bosses here, with me as one of the senior bosses, we can also crown you the new Ruby Rat Triad Boss and the Ruby Rats here would have no choice but to follow you. Should you want to kill them all because of the crimes they have committed, you are allowed to do so at no consequences." Mu Bing offered more in front of Ya Bai and Jin. "What if I said no? Seeing how you are still the Boss, I would probably still be bound by all these Triad rules. Also, I assume that would somehow make me a subordinate of the Royal Zodiac Rats, wouldn''t it? I''d prefer being my own Boss." Jin asked, and Ya Bai nodded. The older man also figured Jin would go that route. "Technically speaking, they will not be able to harm you in your own little territory should you refuse. But the moment you leave this strip of shopping space, be prepared to be killed anytime, anywhere. You don''t need me to tell you how the Triads have their own laws." Ya Bai commented, and Jin shook his head. "Is this how you coerced other people to join your cause? Either serve or die by the swords and guns of our Triads because you spewed our blood?" Jin shouted as he reminded them again that he was not the first to attack. "That is why I am here to give you another alternative, Jin." Ya Bai took out a tiger emblem and showed it to everyone. "Should you accept this, you will become an honorary member of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan. If anyone harms you, they will suffer the wrath of the Royal Zodiac Tiger family themselves." Ya Bai shouted out loud and clear for everyone, including Chen Xun and Tang Wei who were at the back. The Triad Bosses were shocked to hear that. Honorary members were indeed treated as part of the royal family by the clan themselves. They had proven themselves by accomplishing an invaluable service to the family. The number of honorary members of each clan, could be counted on one''s hand. "No strings attached at all. No answering to anyone in the clans. This is the Tiger Lord''s way of repaying his debt to you, it seems." Ya Bai announced, which reminded Jin about the favour for saving the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s Head, Hu Yuan Ba from the Banned Emperor''s assassination. "Needless to say, the Princess played quite a huge role in this¡­ including throwing a huge tantrum at Yuan Ba. It''s been a long time since I saw the Tiger Head being so powerless against his daughter. Definitely worth it to come out." Ya Bai whispered to Jin. "I see¡­ I see¡­" Mu Bing was obviously disappointed that the revenge of the Triad''s was circumvented by this abrupt change of circumstances. Yet, he was not entirely saddened by the whole situation. "If that is the case, I will return as a businessman to you, Dungeon Supplier Jin. Please keep in mind that the only ones who attacked you were the Ruby Rats." "Mmm. If you are truly talking about business, then yes, I will not mind entertaining you." Jin nodded, and Mu Bing finally saw a silver lining through this incident. "Looks like you do not bear grudges like the Triads. That is a very promising trait." "Gains and losses are part and parcel of a businessman. What you lose today might very well be an opportunity to gain so much more." Jin replied, and Mu Bing bowed a little before commanding the Prosperous Pigs and the rest of the Ruby Rats to disperse before they were caught by the police. Chen Xun informed the Deranged Dogs to get ready to leave as well. Tang Wei, however, had to ask Ku Wai to let go of his Raunchy Roosters, who had been ruffed up by the Tigers. "Well said. The next time we meet shall be on another kind of battlefield." Mu Bing nodded in agreement and Jin bid him farewell. "You sure about that? You know that we are Triads for a reason." Chen Xun asked Mu Bing, who was returning to the car. "All the more we have to be honourable. And trust me. He might not look like it, but Jin is greedier than De Tian. Both in ambition and in character." Mu Bing smiled at himself as he asked Chen Xun to get Tang Wei and him out of the area. While it was pleasing to know that the whole Triad business was somehow solved, there was another thing that bothered Jin. The current state of Tiangong Shopping District. Chapter 483 Four Clawed Scorpion It became a whole new landscape after Lynn and Qiu Yue managed to navigate their way out of the enormous cathedral and into the outside world. "What do you think that is? An abandoned village? A town maybe?" Qiu Yue queried as she saw how nature had taken over the entire place. "Might even be an abandoned city. Who knows? You saw how big the cathedral was from inside. Usually, you can judge a place based on their religious infrastructures." Lynn answered. She parked her vehicle near the giant building, after making sure it was safe and went up to the roof to scout. (Thankfully, she had yet to see any giants that were as large as the houses themselves.) A lot of giant herbivores were roaming the streets. The boar rat they fought had been the size of an Ogre, but these chickens and cows that were grazing the grass right in front of them were at least three times their average size. Oddly enough, their sizes varied drastically even amongst their supposed species that it made both the Sub System users wonder if there was any order in their sizing. "I''ve seen a Boar Rat as big as the largest Furry Cows before us. Seeing how some of the Horned Chickens appear to be bigger than some of the cows I can only assume it''s probably the longer they survive, the bigger they get." Lynn concluded as she tracked the signal from her phone once again to find Colwaski, one of the elder penguins with the Chieftain Skitter. The girls were unsure whether they would find any survivors¡­ or solely their remains. They just knew that the longer it would take, the likelier the second scenario. The Giant World was indeed a place where any creature could be a predator only to find themselves becoming the prey the very next moment. Hence, the penguins decided to take another route with their combat bikes. They believed it would be best not to disrupt any of the Horned Chicken or Furry Cows grazing at the overgrown grassland in front of the cathedral. The penguins utilised a derelict open drain pipe as part of the cover from the overgrown grasslands and Lynn could see why they would use that as the main route to travel to their destination. They might catch the attention of the Horned Chicken on the surface, who would definitely love the challenge of chasing after the penguins. The rocky terrain would make it hard to flee from them and who knows what other creatures would await them hiding under the overgrown grass. The drainpipe in comparison might be filled with running water and some debris, but the combat cycle was versatile enough to run along the water and at the side of the pipes. Still, things never go as planned. Despite their combat bikes being equipped with anti acoustic inscriptions and being as silent as passing wind, they managed to attract unwanted attention. A scorpion appeared at the intersection of the drain and treated them as prey that landed in its territory. The penguins informed Lynn about that arachnid being extremely tasty, if one managed to slay it. Qiu Yue also noticed those penguins were riling to go against the four clawed scorpions. Perhaps, they were comforted by the fact that without Lynn''s additional training, they would have already been scared to shit and be killed for food. Fortunately, there was indeed a glimpse of chance as the penguins were leading the front while Lynn and Qiu Yue were at the back of the bike entourage. Thus making the scorpion be surrounded despite it trying to chase after the penguins on the combat bikes. "My Queen, do you wish to stop so we can properly fight against the scorpion?" Kido asked via the system channel which Lynn denied his request. "Let''s keep moving forward. The scorpion might just be the very guardian angel we need. It could become a distraction we need in case other giants appear." Lynn replied while she slowed her bike down in order to not arouse the predator''s attention. "Way to go, Lynn. I did not think of that." Qiu Yue, who was holding on to her tightly, responded via the system channel since it would be stupid to be shouting and possibly create even more hassle for the group. "Well, it does not mean we have to risk our lives throughout the entire run. Injure the scorpion whenever possible. Refrain from using the Combat Bike functions as of yet. This is just a small fry compared to what we might encounter later!" Lynn ordered. "Lynn! Please remember we still have the teleportation magic at our disposal, it would be stupid to not use it." Qiu Yue reminded and suggested that they could get the System to fix the bikes, or maybe ask Niu Lang to do so. Their Sub System informed them that it was certainly possible if they returned to their world, but it would cost them some dungeon dollars. "That''s true. Qiu Yue, please inform Niu Lang about this. Tell him to get the schematics of the combat bike from the Sub System and the necessary armaments." Lynn replied, and Qiu Yue squeezed Lynn a bit tighter (albeit a little more joyful and playful and not due to fear.) "Yes, Mdm!" Qiu Yue agreed as she decided it to take the backseat (literally) and watch Lynn handle the situation. After all, the penguins were Lynn''s underlings, and it would be disrespectful to command her team, especially when she was present. Even though Qiu Yue could overtake them, she also needed time to know about the penguin''s fighting capabilities. For now, the red panda cultivator was looking forward to seeing Lynn''s battle tactics. "So my Queen, weapons free?" Kido asked for a confirmation, and a simple yes from Lynn ignited the penguin''s bloodlust. The four clawed scorpion had no idea that it was ultimately chasing its own doom. At the moment, the penguins had decided to run full speed through the long drain to deter and exhaust the scorpion as much as they could with their own weapons. The bike''s weapons did cost quite a bit of money according to their fellow penguin accountants. Yes, Lynn had tasked a few penguin chefs to take up the accounting role, all that despite having a Sub System. To Lynn having a clear understanding of one''s own stock and predicting how much food they needed was a vital skill she wished to impart into her peggies. That was why Lynn had increased the number of penguins to open and create their own stores in the WunderPanda Theme Park instance. The Sub System would eventually take note of the amount of food left and money they made, but the penguins would have to do it first as part of Lynn''s training. She believed that a cook without a financial sense would not know the value of his kitchen. It could make one unaware of the real worth of particular food stocks and eventually lead one to abuse the kitchen with his ignorance. While the concept seemed somewhat shallow, it made the penguins learn an important lesson. By handling the money themselves, the penguins would grasp how much of a portion that needed to be given for it to be both profitable for the chef and beneficial to the customers. Too little a serving and the customers might get disappointed, giving too much food and the chef would make a loss. A balance had to be struck. But there was another reason why the penguins had yet to initiate any attack. The Sub Cooking System possessed something similar to Milk''s legendary skill, Scan. Aside from scanning the body parts for any damage or condition problems, it also displayed the nutritional value and how similar it was to certain groups of food that Lynn would be familiar with, be it on Earth or from other worlds. That way, Lynn could decide whether it was worthwhile to keep it for food purposes as a whole or if just a part of it would be sufficient. Similar to Jin, Lynn could have killed the scorpion and allowed the Sub System to analyse its corpse afterwards, but Lynn wished to play it safe whenever possible. (Less the ones she already knew, like the Boar Rat.) At the moment, the four claw scorpion was not an immediate threat since the penguins were able to outrun it, so knowing the properties of the monster would have a significant advantage in a battle. Most importantly, they could try and damage its non edible parts and minimise the damage on the edible ones despite the fact that the Sub System could recreate it. However, the more complete the food stock was, the more data the Sub System could play with rather than compromise. (After all, it was a Sub System and not the main System. In terms of omnipotency, it was a few notches less capable.) "Sub System shall now list the conclusion of the Scan for the User. The four clawed scorpion consists of Grade 3 meat, with its texture similar to Earth''s crab meat. Caution is advised against its tail, as it contains a paralysing venom. In the case of smaller targets, like the penguins, it may be directly life threatening." "Its claws are agile and strong enough to grab hold of a boar rat and hold it in place for the scorpion to jab it''s opponent multiple times guaranteeing the paralysing venom to work to its fullest potential. Combat bikes stand no chance if hit." The Sub System had finalised its scan and explained the possible weakness that the monster would have was its thin carapace. In addition, the Sub System indicated that there was a subtle glow on its carapace and had identified it as the heart of the scorpion. It told Lynn that hitting there with a blow through the glowing part of the shell will no doubt kill the scorpion instantly. "If only Jin would be as patient as you are when it comes to fighting monsters. You are practically Liu Bei, preparing your moves while he is Zhang Fei rushing in blindly to defeat his enemies." Qiu Yue sighed as she too heard the Sub System''s analysis of the four clawed scorpion. "Thanks for the praise. But what am I compared to you? You''re Zhu Ge Liang in the making or probably a mix of Cao Cao and him." Lynn replied back, and that compliment made Qiu Yue rather happy. Lynn saw the battle against Qiu Yue''s mock battle with Moloch, but she felt Moloch had been holding back quite a fair bit. Still, it was also because of that mock battle what had made Lynn decide to work harder in commanding her penguins. The kitchen itself was a battlefield, and she was the commander in chief in that warzone. It had been easy handling a few penguins, but as the numbers grew exponentially large in less than a week of the restaurant''s opening due to the influx of demand, she had been forced to change her tactics to handle the kitchen as well. There was no way that Lynn could handle the high request load all by herself. Even a general could not control each and every one of his soldiers. Instead, she relied on a chain of command. That was when the penguin cultivator began to trust her penguins and taught them what she knew so that they could do the same. Lynn was apprehensive at first, but as she experimented with how the Sub System worked and observed how Jin used his minions to leave them to their own devices. Lynn also chose to let go and change her way of life accordingly. Like a penguin swimming along the currents of a raging ocean to get to their destination by any means possible, Lynn did the same. She did not know how Qiu Yue was handling things in the construction site, but Lynn knew that when she compared with people, it was to improve herself and not to be envious of other people''s success. "My Queen, we are reaching the end of the drain tunnel soon and do not have much space to manoeuvre. We, your loyal peggies, will be engaging the monster soon." Kido informed her as the other penguins began to get into formation. "Go ahead, give the four clawed scorpion some fishy surprise," Lynn said, and Qiu Yue laughed at the terrible pun. With the command, the penguins simultaneously pressed a trigger button on their bikes, and the entire bike body including the seat shifted 180 degrees while the engine and wheels continued to stay in tack. Thus the bikes were moving ''in reverse'' with the penguins facing the scorpion, and that was when the internal compartments of the bike were revealed. "So, they are going easy to the scorpions." Lynn deduced when she saw what internal compartments were engaged. After sending the Sub System''s scan information to the penguins, they had deduced to use the combat bike''s grappling hooks to hold down the monster. "I shall join in too then," Lynn revealed her bike''s internal compartment and shot almost simultaneously with the penguins. It was time to reel in a big catch for the kitchen. Chapter 484 Rocket Boos The fast approaching grappling hooks were a shock to the four claw scorpion, but it managed to react fast enough to snip away at one or two. Unfortunately, due to the lack of lightning reflexes, the rest of the grappling hooks managed to pierce its carapace. When the hooks pierced and locked themselves onto the scorpion, it screamed in pain and stopped in its tracks. However, the penguins riding the bikes did not stop and instead, they accelerated even more when they were pushed back by the inertia of the falling scorpion. They did what they can to continue dragging the scorpion along with them there was no way the scorpion could retaliate. On a separate note, Lynn was thankful that Hou Fei''s stabilisers were working exceptionally well or else the weight of the scorpion from the fall would pull the bikes towards it instead of away from it. At the same time, Lynn slowed her bike before shooting her grappling hooks. They managed to pierce through the tail and sent a mild electric shock that caused the scorpion to flinch. After making sure it was unable to move, the penguins in the pillon seat took the chance to run across the ropes of the hooks like tightrope acrobats and went straight for the scorpion''s main body with their weapons drawn. The first thing to stab was the joints of the claws so that it would not have any chance to retaliate back. "Qiu Yue! Go!" Lynn turned her head and commanded at her pillon passenger. "ARE YOU MAD?! You want me to climb on top of a motorcycle and jump across at I don''t know how many hundred kilometres per hour hoping I can kill it in one shot?!" Qiu Yue was scared shitless and did not want to follow the instructions. "It''s not even a hundred kilometres per hour! Don''t exaggerate!" Lynn leaned to one side and showed her the speedometer. "NOOOOO!!!" Qiu Yue denied seeing it at all. "Fine! Then hold tight!" Lynn sighed as she broke off the grappling hook and turned her accelerator handle multiple times and pressed on the pedal to change into the highest gear. At that moment, she also lifted her bike handles with her cultivation (despite it being extremely heavy due to the numerous hidden compartments it had) and voice activated her bike''s compartment with her helmet that was wirelessly linked to her motorcycle. "Rocket Boost!" "ROCKET WHAT?!" Qiu Yue managed to catch that in time but had no opportunity to do anything about a sudden nitro boost from the back turning into a dual rocket booster that provided them with the lift they needed to fly momentarily. While in the air, she turned her combat bike sidewards and summoned a Ninja Yari (Spear). "Spear Arts! Penguin Beak Pierce!" Lynn shouted the name of her Combat Art, and she threw the spear right above the scorpion''s carapace. The spear had the silhouette of a penguin diving into the scorpion, and as it hit, brownish yellow blood spilt all over the area before it was continuously dragged by the penguins. Meanwhile, Qiu Yue was screaming her lungs out in her helmet (thankfully the anti acoustic inscription from the inside covered it) as Lynn skilfully returned on her bike with a slide while running the accelerator on so that she would be moving forward the moment she found her balance on her bike. (Else, she would be hit by the scorpion body.) The rest of the penguins slowed down their advance as they were reaching near the end of the tunnel while Lynn continued to speed up towards it. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING LYNN!?! YOU WANT TO CRASH?!" Qiu Yue did not know whether to continue on this adventure with Lynn or teleport back. Lynn smirked within her helmet as the combat bike stopped within centimetres from the dead end of the drain tunnel, but the inertia caused Qiu Yue to knock her head on the wall (a little too hard). "Oops. Hehe!" Lynn chuckled as she managed to balance herself. "HE HE MY ASS!" Qiu Yue took out her helmet, placed her hands on Lynn''s shoulder and squeezed it tightly. (Powered with some chi as well) Lynn shrunk her body inwards as she felt the pain vibrating through her entire body, and Qiu Yue was not letting go a single bit. She was going to let out ever inch of fear she had accumulated and passed it into this chef''s body. "Owowowowow!! Okayyyy, I''m sorry!!!" Lynn apologised for scaring her companion as she laughed in pain and fell from her combat bike. Qiu Yue stopped with the rough treatment, but as she still felt unsatisfied by her retribution, so she proceeded to lift Lynn''s shirt a little and began tickling at her waist level. Lynn immediately squirmed and cried for help from the penguins. (Although they refused to enter, knowing too well not to get involved in a girl''s fight.) The penguins on the sidelines enjoyed the sideshow very much until the four clawed scorpion, which was supposed to be dead, suddenly shot one of its claws towards Qiu Yue and Lynn at a frightening speed. There was no time for the two girls who were playing around to react accordingly to the monster''s strike. Fortunately, someone else did something at the same time. A spear flew down from above the crevice of the drained tunnel and stabbed through the four clawed scorpion''s carapace and forced it to stop before it managed to touch either of the two girls. "Lady Lynn, it was the right choice to pierce the heart of the four clawed scorpion, but there is one feature of it, you could not have known about it. Especially since you come from another world." A voice boomed from above and echoed throughout the drain tunnel. A silhouette jumped down from the crevice to pick up its spear. "The four clawed scorpion has the unique trait of being able to protect its heart, by shifting it to the left under layers of muscle when it senses danger. It is possible to tell when it does so if you paid sufficient attention to it. You should have seen how the glow was slightly faint when you were aiming your stab, right?" The silhouette turned out to be a penguin. "Elder Perate!" Kido was delighted to see that their most seasoned hunter was alive and well. "Elder Perate! Thank you for saving our lives. I shall remember your guidance and do better next time." Lynn stood up and bowed gracefully for this timely rescue. "Heh, you are jesting! I should be the one to thank you for keeping our penguin village alive. Just make sure not to get deceived by its feint of playing dead in the future. One careless moment may turn the predator into its prey''s next meal." Elder Perate said as it swirled its spear to remove the yellowish bloodstain. "Be that as it may, you are not here by chance. Am I correct in assuming the penguin villagers asked you to find Chieftain Skitter or at the very least, recover the Totem of Atem from him?" Elder Perate wondered, and the penguins and Lynn nodded their heads in acknowledgement. "In that case, you''ve come at the right time. We can use some extra help." Elder Perate said and told them to follow him as he led the way to their chieftain. "As always, our genius was right on the mark." Elder Perate said as he recounted how the Elder Colwaski had broken his amulet into various pieces and placed it along the path of the cathedral hoping someone would notice it and follow their trail. "You were betting that I would notice it?" Lynn asked, and the elder penguin laughed heartily. "Yes, indeed. With the Elder Council and the chieftain going missing, the villagers would eventually call upon someone who has the ability to find them. And who may be better suited than our benefactor?" Eldar Perate recounted Colwalski''s analysis and Kido agreed with him. "Indeed. Even us penguins who are skilled enough to conduct searches, without finding anyone within a day, we would come to exactly that conclusion. The giants are something we cannot underestimate. For the first time, we managed to have a population increase and many of us do not relish the idea to fight against the giants blindly. You, however, have provided us with the power to ensure our survival." Kido stated how Lynn had enabled the fights to be more manageable despite the previous encounter. "Trust me, I have much to learn as well." Lynn grabbed onto Qiu Yue''s arm and pointed her to the other penguins. "If you require a tactician, you probably should ask her instead." "Thanks, but I feel you are pretty good at leading the penguins. I am happy for the praise, but tactics also require great team leaders and capable members willing to execute it. " Qiu Yue shrugged at the possibility of her being Jin''s tactician even though there were rumours that Jin recruited her mainly for her skill to command armies and organising the building of his city. The four clawed scorpion was officially dead and the Sub System, who apologised to Lynn for the gross oversight, had begun to teleport to freezer. Unlike Jin, Lynn''s killing of monsters allowed the Sub System to replicate the body for consumption after an in depth analysis, much like the counterfeiter machine. However, that does not mean catching or killing the same monster again would not be beneficial for Lynn. The increase in the number of catches allowed the Sub System to analyse the monsters and allowed it to pick and recreate the DNA code. Thus, it provided the Sub System with the opportunity to replicate the exact same monster with lesser defects, and potentially a tastier food material for Lynn to utilise. ¡ª¡ª- The combat bikes were kept by the Sub System, and the scouting party jumped out of the drain via the crevice as they followed Elder Perate to where the Chieftain was located. The team later realised that Elder Perate had seen them coming out from the cathedral with the gifts that Lynn had bestowed them when she visited the village. "Glad to know the binoculars came in handy." Lynn smiled, and Elder Perate led them into an abandoned house through a broken sill of the main door. That was when the others managed to judge the kind of era the past occupants had been living, and it was probably the early Middle Ages. Qiu Yue could make out an old looking fire stove at the centre of the house which had a pit designed for wood or charcoal to be burnt and a pot hanging from the top. Along with the skeletons of the fish and dried up rotten fruits as well as the clothes that were hung up on the ceilings, those items had confirmed her suspicions. It was also at the centre of the house that they saw the rest of the elder council who were right beside Chieftain Skitter. "Oh, Lady Lynn! Kido! My Warriors! And good day to you, Miss¡­ Friend of Lynn''s I presume!" Chieftain Skitter greeted them from afar as they converged together to meet up. "Chieftain Skitter, it''s good to see that you are still safe. Why did you not inform the village people that you will be away longer from the regular trip to the Altar of Giants? A heads up would not make them worry too much." Lynn said, and the rest of the elder council laughed before they apologised to them. "Lady Lynn. It''s because of this. I cannot reveal much to the village people of this particular secret." Chieftain showed her the Totem of Atem, and it seemed like it was breaking apart. "You see, there once lived an oversized hamster that was somehow not affected by the giantism virus like those monsters you encountered, allowing him to retain his intelligence." "He was the one who created this Totem of Atem and requested me to return in ten years time to exchange it with him. Unfortunately, we are unaware of the whereabouts of the Great Hamatarou." According to Skitter, Hamatarou was also the one who instructed them to visit the Altar of Giants to renew the blessing for the Totem of Atem, and with this year being the tenth year mark, Skitter had promised to return here. "We did not mean to overstay our visit with our limited resources, so Colwaksi purposely placed the broken pieces of his amulet as a trail in case we were long overdue." Chief Skitter acknowledged that they had been running out of rations if not for this fortuitous encounter with Lynn. "I keep telling that stupid chief to stop being so optimistic. Ten years is a long time. Hamatarou could have died or even worse, killed and eaten." Elder Colwaski reiterated. "Besides, for us to be able to live and break away from the Giantism Virus for ten years is already a blessing. We can only hope our new younglings can naturally break out from it too." "You know¡­we can A) attempt to find this Hamatarou for you or B) fix this Totem of Atom-" Qiu Yue casually gave the standard few suggestions but before she could finish¡­ "ATEM!" The red panda cultivator was then interrupted by every penguin and Lynn in the vicinity which they all simultaneously laughed until they felt some rumbling noise from afar. Chapter 485 Hired Killer Seeing that there was not much for them to do, Ren Wei breathed out a sigh of relief. As much as he was prepared to press the trigger to assist Jin, he was only human and was afraid of the repercussions of going against multiple triads without official police backing. Gupta and Abdul were also relieved that there was no need for any intervention. Should the mobs enter the apartment building to search for them, it was bound to cause unnecessary trouble and damage to the residents here too. Overseeing the additional negotiation and discussion after the surprising death of De Tian, the police trio continued to keep vigilant and kept their Captain informed about this unforeseen turn of events. "Good thing Mao had the foresight to spread the police force just in case. Without De Tian, we should have no problems getting most of the Ruby Rats lackeys off the street." Abdul praised Captain Mao after the latter revealed that they were ready to intercept the dispersing gangsters. "Old Mao knows what he''s doing. He had been the commanding leader against various riots before." Ren Wei said as he continued to watch out for possible threats that would try to deal a blow to a potentially unsuspecting Jin. He recalled a case where he was supposed to guard a VIP, but the assailants had taken advantage of the chaos they incited to shoot the VIP. It had been a painful mistake in Ren Wei''s career, and he promised himself never to make the same mistake. His primary focus was on the rooftops, especially the area''s he would choose as a sniper himself. "Your intuition is as potent as always. Bearing east. Near the Wacdonald''s roof." Gupta pointed out as a potential assassin he spotted and began to move away from the window to give Ren Wei some space to move into position since the target was slightly out of the range from where he was lying on the coffee table. "Good thing these Triad Bosses never learn not to repeat the same trick, I guess!" Ren Wei grumbled as he rolled himself towards Gupta instead of standing up. He had already more or less adjusted his sights. He knew he might only have mere seconds before the assassin takes his first shot. Abdul assisted by pushing the coffee table to the side too so his sniper rifle would have better stability too. "One shot?" Gupta smirked, and the other two immediately understood what he meant as they joined his smirk. "Five," Abdul said. "Ten" Ren Wei replied as he took a deep breath in, exhaled and adjusted his sights. His Musket Muskrat cultivation shone brightly within the room, not caring for anything else as Ren Wei wanted to have just one shot. He breathed in once more and squeezed his trigger halfway. *BAM* Right when the assassin heard that familiar sound, he tried to dodge instinctively along with his rifle, but it was too late. The shot went through his neck, and his body was pushed back with the impact of the bullet. Blood splattered all over the roof of Wacdonalds. Ren Wei had used a technique to delay the sound of the impact, providing a feint to the enemies. Even though it was just a few microseconds later, it made a huge difference for his target. "Damn it!" Abdul said as he searched his pocket for some spare change and placed it on the coffee table and it was more than ten Yuan. He looked at the owner who was still terrified of the sound of the rifle and tapped his shoulders. "Thank you for your service to the police, Sir. Buy yourself some beer to calm your nerves." Abdul said as he pointed the hefty amount of change on the table. "Just consider this a friendly thank you for being an honest citizen. Hope we did not mess up the place that much." Afterwards, he aided Gupta to clear the place a little while Ren Wei was squatting on the balcony and checking through his spotting scope if there were any other possible assailants in the area. "Seems clear." Ren Wei thought to himself as he and the rest went to Wacdonalds to check on the dead assassin sniper. The lifeless body was still there indicating that the sniper most likely had been working solo. "Let''s go, guys, we need to catch some bad guys to earn our paycheck." Ren Wei confirmed the body, and they went ahead to assist the rest of Tiangong District police to catch the Ruby Rats. ¡ª¡ª- Previously when they were on standby due to the Central Police''s orders to not interfere, Captain Mao had given into Detective Xue Ping''s and Lee An''s orders to arm the policemen in riot gear. They reasoned that the Central Police''s orders were simply ''not to interfere'' and allowed the fight to be spread out of the designated area. It did not mean that they could not do anything if those gangsters were out of the designated shopping district. Thus, Captain Mao had allowed all the police to suit up and wait for further instructions. Thus as soon as Ren Wei''s group had reported the situation where the Ruby Rats were running out of the district, the police had already manned their police checkpoints at every exit near Tiangong Shopping District even though they were mostly guarded by the veteran gangsters of various Triads. In the subsequent hour, Captain Mao had ordered the search and capture of any gangsters that were involved in the terrorism of Tiangong Shopping District, including those gangsters who were merely securing the area. All were allowed to use lethal force, and their improved weapons were no joke. Each of them was equipped with at least Grade 3 defensive inscriptions on their riot armour and helmets while their guns had the capability to shoot specialised rubber bullets that inflicted as much pain as standard issued bullets (since the gangsters were all mainly cultivators, they would survive from it). Tear gas was also deployed, and the policemen who had trained in Jin''s dungeons indeed fared better than most of the gangsters. Granted the gangsters were already injured and tired out from the fight against Jin and the Three Eyed Tiger Triad. Many openly surrendered while others fought to the bitter end until they were brutally captured by the police. Even the Triad Bosses were not just given a free ticket to pass, but Chen Xun''s combat driving allowed him to escape despite having several police riders'' attempt to chase after him. The detectives asked for more reinforcement to chase after them, but Captain Mao told them to close an eye and focus more on the goons. As much as they despised that order, they belayed their burning desire and focused on the small fries. The detectives cursed knowing that even if they caught the Triad Bosses, it would do no good since they practically had police immunity due to their underworld influence and the Royal Zodiac''s backing. That is unless there was a very valid reason to clamp them down, such as drugs. Ironically, drugs and human trafficking were considered more severe crimes which even the Royal Zodiac Clans frowned over. ¡ª¡ª- Soon after, Detective Xue Ping and Lee An went to the ''terror'' scene and saw the sad state of Tiangong Shopping District. While it might be just a quaint shopping district which managed to pick up some slack due to the rise of a particular dungeon supplier store, this destruction would practically disable the operations in this place. "Boss Jin! I am happy that you are still safe and sound just as the reports had stated." Xue Ping greeted Jin who was outside his store apologising for the trouble brought to all the customers that were sheltered in his shop. The customers, on the other hand, were grateful for the Dungeon Supplier''s aid. Mostly they were surprised thinking that he was a goner when he had decided to go out to protect them. While they were not there to witness his heroism, the injured Three Eyed Tigers were apparently a very talkative bunch and had spread the exploits of Jin to them. To make it worse, some had even captured Jin on video, killing De Tian with just one blow and uploading it into the net. The System argued that while it could go into the net and remove the clip, it would be better if Jin had more exposure especially when the Shopping District had suffered a substantial blow. "It would have been worse if Ku Wai and his men had not been here with me. Please do not arrest them. They are not the bad guys." Jin asked and Xue Ping laughed. "They are still the bad guys, just less bad than others. Our resources are limited, so we will prioritise capturing the big bad ones." Xue Ping agreed, and Ku Wai smirked at that particular comment. It was Ya Bai, the Triad Boss for the Three Eyed Tigers who ordered the group to stay with Jin as he had the foresight to predict what would potentially happen if they tried to escape. Besides, it was their princess who ordered to protect the dungeon supplier. "Boss Jin! Thank goodness you survived!" Lai Fu slapped Jin on his back so hard that he nearly fell forward. Taking a look at Tiangong Shopping District, he could only sigh heavily. He had been there for many years, but this was the worst thing to ever happen to it. Even the Pachinko Incident seemed like a joke in comparison. "Let''s just be thankful for our lives have been spared. Our stores may not be intact, but we can always rebuild them." He Rong chimed in as he heard from the injured Three Eyed Tiger members the story how the Ruby Rat Triad Boss wanted to buy up the whole place cheap. "You are right. Only I doubt our insurance will be sufficient to cover this kind of damage." Si Fang, the owner of Lele caf¨¦ was devastated, seeing what little remained of his caf¨¦ after the whole affair. "You may not have to worry about that, Jin had already bought the whole place up. Given his status, you can be assured that they will pay out what you are owed." Ya Bai reassured them. Though the owners did not know his true identity as he looked just like a nobody from the streets, they were more excited by the fact that Jin had bought the entire place. "Yeah¡­technically, I already paid the down payment for this place¡­" Jin did not care to explain how he got it but assured the owners that everything was going to be fine. "One thing is for sure, you do not have to worry about the state of your stores. Get the insurance money, rip those companies back for ripping your money." Jin teased them a bit, and the rest of the store owners who were sheltered in Jin''s store was given the same assurance as well. "Hmm, you did kill De Tian, and you seemed to have some form of backing to buy the whole place down to prevent the Triad Bosses to buy this place¡­ We will trust you for now." Si Fang, who was also the Tiangong shopping committee lead, aided Jin to calm the masses down and told them to trust the dungeon supplier. Besides, he was also the one who had supported them to improve their business indirectly and had now become their landlord. They decided to trust him and return home for now. Meanwhile, Jin had other agendas since he now possessed the entire Shopping District for himself. But first, he had to follow detective Xue Ping and Lee An back to the police station for a full statement. "Si Fang, tell the owners not to do any reconstruction work¡­I have something in mind that might prove to be a better solution." Jin asked, and Si Fang promised he would contact the rest to inform them of their new landlord''s decision. Chapter 486 Stores Coffers It was a long haul to the police station, and most of them could not believe it when they heard the entire story from Jin. Ku Wai and Ya Bai were also ''invited'' to the police station for interrogation but compared to Jin, they left much earlier. "The records and videos from the Three Eyed Tigers matched with what you said. Now as for that solidified dan tian you are holding, are you willing to give it up to the police?" Detective Lee An asked, and Jin shook his head. "It is rightfully mine to keep since he had the audacity to attack me against all warning and paid the price in my territory." "Fair enough, we won''t pursue that, but I am just warning you that other people might come after it. Though the laws are on your side, stating that those backing him up can''t just demand it back, perhaps expect them to at least try to buy it off you." Lee An said as he packed his files up. "However knowing you, I doubt that you will let go of it that easily, so it should be only a matter of time until they try to acquire it by other means. It just might be easier if you put it in our hands for safekeeping." Lee An told Jin who gave him a suspicious look. "Sir, it is not that I do not believe in you. I do not believe in the ''impartiality'' of the justice system. For it to be controlled and sponsored by various of the clans, I can''t trust each and every one of your colleagues to be as honest as you or your wife. Some are bound to have their own agenda, and I don''t look forward to ever face a revenge seeking De Tian ." Jin replied as he recalled the vengeful look on Ong''s face which Lee An could only sigh at that response. "I cannot fault you for that after what has happened today. We''ve tried our best to clear up the aftermath though. Hahaha." Lee An laughed bitterly and understood where Jin was coming from. How was he supposed to explain to Jin, that the orders from Central HQ had practically ordered them to allow that havoc to happen. "I''m glad the weapons and armours you got from me came in handy. Though I sold it to you guys in the hopes of preventing just what had happened today¡­ In any case, I understand there were some things that you could not control, in the end, you did fulfil your part of our contract. For that, I am grateful." Jin bowed slightly and asked about the victims that were killed during the ''terror'' attack. "Captain Mao is currently trying to accelerate the process for those victims to get the most basic resurrection. There will be some loss in cultivation, a bit of memory loss but hey, at least they will come back to life free of charge as guaranteed by the government." Lee An answered, and Jin felt more than relieved. After filling in some additional information, Lee An was done processing Jin''s statement and finally let him off. "Oh, and eh help me thank Ren Wei for the assist. Ask him to find me the next time he visits my store. I owe him a brand new weapon customisation voucher." Jin said before he left the police station. He was aware that the sudden sniper fire as the Ruby Rats dispersed came from Ren Wei since Jin caught a glimpse of his cultivation with his Pandaromic Eyes. In fact, Jin was prepared that there could be an assassin waiting for him as soon as the destruction of the district started, but he couldn''t know when he would strike. Nothing happened during his fight with Ong. Neither did he intervene in Jin''s duel against De Tian. Was he waiting for the Triad Bosses to leave? Or was he waiting for Jin''s guard to drop after everything was over for the moment the dungeon supplier would leave his back wide open? All he knew was that the assassin was biding his time to take the shot, which was why Ren Wei managed to kill him before he could make a move. Now Jin could only hope that some kind of connection would appear who the assassin worked for. (He believed it was from one of the Triad Bosses since it was way too convenient and too weak to be a Banned Emperor assassin.) But chances were slim to know the connection, and Jin just left it as it is. "Haha, you knew? I guess Ren Wei can''t claim to have been your secret guardian angel then. I will make sure to pass your thanks to him." Lee An acknowledged and bid Jin goodbye. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "So, System. What shall we do with the new plot of land? You know I actually wanted to create one more dungeon instance before Christmas, but with all that is happening, I don''t know whether it is wise to do that anymore." Jin asked as he called for a taxi. "User does not have sufficient cash to renovate the Tiangong Shopping District, nor does he have any budget to make any new dungeon instances." The System stated, and Jin frowned at his phone.. "Then what am I supposed to do? Wait for craploads of money to drop from the sky?" Jin questioned sarcastically. The System took a moment to connect Moloch into the secured telecommunication channel. "Oh Boss? I hear you want to earn a quick buck? Why not just do what you did to us? Just invade some of the dungeons from the Dungeon World. With your current power, you may even solo clear those mid-ranked ones." "Funny, as I recall after I invaded you guys, you provided me with a new set of problems. The kind which only increased my daily spendings instead of alleviating them." Jin remarked, and Moloch laughed at that prospect. "Oh, come on. You should know that it requires spending money to make back even more money. Can you imagine the income from owning a whole city?" Moloch asked via the channel. "Heh, but are we guaranteed to make that much money? Even if we offer unique products and services, it won''t help us, if no one comes to us. Besides, even after completing the city, we are bound to still have a lot of cost for any future projects or just trying to pay for the upkeep of our buildings." Jin replied as he dreaded remembering the expenses on that ambitious project. "There, there. I admit it might not earn sufficiently for the first few years to cover the costs we incurred. And as unfortunate as it seems, we are also not in any major trading routes nor are we famous in any way as of yet. King Baal did place us in a very secluded place." Moloch didn''t deny the facts. "But I am too surprised an ''adventurer'' came to invade us at that point in time. Little did we know it would change our lives drastically." "Enough of the bootlicking. So which dungeon do you suggest to invade?" Jin queried as he saw his taxi coming forth to pick him up, "I have several in my mind, but I need to double check with some of my sources first to verify. Give me a day or two to see if it''s alright." "User, you can also have Hungry Hippo Cultivator Xiong Da issue out the threats that you made previously to the Triad Bosses." The System advised. "What threats?" Jin could not exactly figure what it was that he said since it was in spite of a moment. The System reminded him that he threatened the triad bosses to send them the repair bills for the damage incurred. "While I''d like to do that and am probably in the position to do so, I''m sure it would just infuriate them even further. I''ve had enough of them for a lifetime. Who knows they might use this as an excuse to incite some schemes that I''ve yet to foresee. Let''s just wait for them to approach me. It seems they want to do business with me. I can always just scam them for all they are worth then the time comes." "User''s worries may be valid, but System is unwilling to spare any extra cash until User finds some by himself." "That plot of land really did dip into our coffers, huh?" Jin wondered if that move was really the best in hindsight. He had some feelings of buyers regret, yet it was too late for him to return his purchase. "Yes, after the acquisition of Tiangong Shopping District, the System estimates that it has only two months worth of budget to maintain operating costs." "Yea, I guess everything we''ve been doing so far, are long term plans. We might need to focus a bit on short term profits." "Alternatively, you can get your monsters to work for some of the dungeon fortresses. Sometimes, they are hiring extra monsters to defend their place." Moloch suggested, and Jin became very curious with this scheme asking him to elaborate. "If you think of the dungeons in our world as a store like your own, it should not surprise you that some dungeons are more popular than others. The more adventurers come to try and conquer a dungeon, the more losses on our side." "For us monsters, we are granted resurrection from the Dungeon Core after a certain amount of time passes. There is a limit of how many monsters can be resurrected at the same time, before the next batch. Since we don''t have a System who can just use copies of ourselves, it isn''t that rare that adventurers are slaying monsters faster than we can resurrect." "So in cases where a dungeon''s monster resurrection timer can''t keep up with the number of adventurers, that is when monsters for hire come in. This concept also allows those monsters who lost their dungeon cores to find a new place or those monsters living in less popular dungeons to get subcontracted." "While uncommon, certain adventurers do pick up these jobs and fight against their fellow adventurers. Eventually, they revive in their churches like any other adventures, but since in the eyes of the dungeon world, they had ''sinned'' for siding with the monsters it takes a lot longer." Moloch explained. "Why would other monsters from lesser known dungeons be subcontracted out? Won''t it leave their dungeon vulnerable?" Jin questioned the validity of such a method. "Sometimes, there are some dungeons that don''t have a single adventurer at all. There may be a number of reasons for that. For example, they could be in a place that''s hard to reach, making it undesirable for adventures to get there; Sounds stupid and defied the meaning of adventuring but yeah." "Or there may be a more popular dungeon near them. It may sound all fine and dandy, but the monsters do have quotas to hit. While we do get resources for protecting the dungeon core, it actually requires adventurers to thrive. It''s something similar to your System, the dungeon core will issue out quests periodically to those monsters." "Eh?!" Jin could not understand why it would do that. "User, the Dungeon Cores utilise a similar concept as what System wished to use to trick User to kill humans permanently. However, instead of the entire Souls or Magic, the dungeon core absorbs just a part of them. In gaming terms, User can perceive them as experience points being taken away." The System interjected. "Ahhhh. Okay, so the Dungeon Core feeds on these things too." "Yeap, so when the monsters get subcontracted, the essence earnt will be taken and converted into physical vials which the subcontracted monsters can send back to their dungeons. And on top of that, dungeon dollars which the dungeon core also accepts as part of the resources." Moloch added. "But won''t the money be rather pitiful? Sounds like a part time job." Jin asked and Moloch laughed. "If you work for a top tier dungeons, part time work can pay up to a few thousand dungeons dollars per raid. The longer you survive, the more cash you might earn." "Why am I struggling to earn yuan when I can go the dungeon world and earn so much more¡­" Jin sighed to himself. "Speaking of that, you can always hire monsters for work from the Dungeon World if you need extra workers or should we get invaded. Especially when Qiu Yue has the power to enact provisional contracts to monsters." Moloch remarked. "I could do that too since I am part of the owner of this dungeon core. That way, the System won''t have to worry about food, housing, and even paying for Souls since the monsters generally regenerate after being killed in the Dungeon World." "The only caveat would be that we would have to wait for them to travel from their Dungeon Core back to us. Still, it might potentially save us some money in the future." Moloch, who was still in the chat said. "Hmm, hiring monsters will be a secondary priority right now." Jin sent his thoughts while lying dead at the back seat of the taxi. "Yea, but as I said, the dungeon core will provide the monsters with their daily rations and stuff. We can also sell such food to adventurers and monsters, those that are already growing in the agriculture sector¡­ When the city is fully open." Moloch replied. "That is WHEN the city opens. Right now, we need some major short term recovery. With the shopping town district in ruins, people probably will have second thoughts coming to visit us. I am guessing revenue will drop to less than half of what we''ve earned unless we get the shopping town up and running properly." "How are we going to do that? The city is still barely defensible from any attacks and not even up and running. If we stop construction, we might be overdue for an attack when the dungeon core''s shield drops. Also, we just concluded a war, and from the look of things, we might jump into another soon. That is more expenses, not profit." Moloch questioned Jin since he was just a store owner with no real financial backing though many people thought he had. Even the System''s coffers would go dry at some point. "You know you did say something about subcontracting and that we just concluded a war. I may have an idea instead of random dungeon runs. But keep me informed of those once you contacted your buddies." Jin said to Moloch as the taxi driver stopped near the police checkpoint that barred people from entering the ruined Tiangong shopping district. "You thinking of putting a dungeon store in the Goblin World?!?" Moloch could roughly guessed his idea but Jin did not reply a single word back. It was as if he was telling Moloch to sit back and watch him unveil his idea. "Boy, this is the closest I can get you. Apparently, there was some fight that had happened here, and the police condoned the area." The driver spoke out. "No worries, this is far enough. Thank you, Shifu!" Jin said as he got out of the taxi and personally passed the checkpoint since he was one of the store owners. However, the Tiangong District police were puzzled why he would return to his store at such a late timing. Because a businessman got to continue to sell things or else, he had nothing to eat. Chapter 487 Horned Chickens The rumbling did not stop, and with each passing second, it felt more and more like it was the prelude to an earthquake. Lynn and Qiu Yue wanted to teleport the rest of the penguins back to their world (of course, to the temporary holding area previously allocated for the Farm Rats.) Still, the Chieftain insisted on staying in this room no matter what was to come until the saviour of his village were to appear. "Don''t be stupid, Chief!" Elder Perate berated him as he could feel that the rumbling was approaching closer. Suddenly, the gigantic wooden door was smashed open with such a force that it nearly made the whole team fly backwards and into the bed of charcoal and burnt wood. At the same time, a large furry figure appeared as it rolled into the house with two Horned Chicken double its size chasing behind. "Sir HAMATAROU!" Chieftain Skitter shouted even though the others figured that it was in vain. Surprisingly despite the oversized hamster being four times their size managed to hear him. "Skitter! You did arrive as promised! Your timing is great!" Hamatarou spoke as it skilfully evaded the horned chicken''s charge by rolling towards the cooking area. "Don''t worry! It''s only two of them that noticed my presence!" "I do not think that is the point!" Qiu Yue argued while Hamatarou took out a similar looking totem that had been hidden in his fur. He pointed it towards the two horned chickens and within an instant, the feathered horned birds gradually shrunk down to the size of the four clawed scorpion. "Skitter! Deal with it, while I close this door before any more of those cursed birds appear in front of us. By the way, you should hurry. The shrinking is only temporary." Hamatarou turned the totem towards itself and grew half as large as the size of the door before proceeding to close it. Meanwhile, the horned chickens became terrified of the newly transformed giant attempting to retreat. Too bad, Hamatarou had been able to close it in time, and the chickens were stuck with their prey turned predator. "You are more than enough to kill it with that size!" Qiu Yue complained some more, but at that moment, Hamatarou jumped up and returned to his original size. Only now, the hamster jumped with a body enhanced ability and grabbed hold onto the edge of an open cabinet to watch the fight from afar. "Hmph! Sir Hamatarou is testing us! Colwaski, Perate. Time to show our saviour that we are capable of surviving this trial!" The Penguin Chieftain roused the battle morale up among the penguins as they were going to fight a monster they had continuously been avoiding in the past. "Lady Lynn! If you could, please handle the other one with your friend." "Qiu Yue, let''s get going! Kido and the rest, assist your chieftain and elders. We will kill it if possible, else distract it until you guys kill yours." Lynn commanded, and Skitter was grateful for her enthusiasm. "Let''s separate the two horned chickens so they will not be distracted by each other''s prey!" Qiu Yue suggested as she took out her mobile phone. Some clicks later, she held onto her newly purchased RPG rocket launcher. The Empire Building Sub System had given Qiu Yue the ability to buy almost anything from Jin''s armoury stocks as well as the black market on the go. (It gave her an advantage against Jin who needed to go into the stores to buy them.) "I agree!" Lynn summoned her combat bike out as well as an ornated chest and told Qiu Yue to get on the bike before firing at one of horned chicken. Qiu Yue instinctively obliged and fired her rocket propelled grenade at the horned chicken, only to realise she did not have a helmet on with her. But the moment the red panda cultivator shot the RPG rocket, Lynn had already started the engines up and began to move. Qiu Yue was in such distress that she let go of her new toy (despite it being spent) and grabbed onto Lynn tightly. "RIDE CAREFULLLY!!" Qiu Yue shrieked as she had one hand grabbed on Lynn''s chest and the other on her waist. The horned chicken only noticed the unknown projectile when the rocket hit it. While painful, it was sufficient to destroy it, but more than enough to piss it off. The horned chicken saw Lynn running away from it and figured that insect sized being was the one that inflicted damage to it. Thus, it began to divert away from the penguins and moved to chase after the other. "I see, so Skitter found himself some new allies too. Interesting." Hamatarou thought as he walked around the open cabinet and partook on the food that was left there. (His secret stash) The overgrown hamster wasn''t too worried about the time limit since the shrinking would be effective for around half an hour, and Skitter and his penguins appeared more than capable of handling it. Hamatarou''s thought was more about those new allies. He had never before seen such creatures, nor the weapons they seemed to wield. Meanwhile, with one less horned chicken currently chasing after Lynn, the penguins felt slightly relieved, though still on edge against the impending disaster they had to fight. "Kido, Perate. Aim for its eyes when it pecks down. Skitter, you are ''unfortunately'', the juiciest among us. You will have to be bait. The rest of you guys come with me after you pick up the equipment, we are going for its legs!" Colwaski, their Elder Genius commanded the group. Apparently, the ornated chest was filled with the familiar weapons that the penguins had used in the service of Lynn. Smoke bombs, caltrops, shurikens, grappling hooks and several ninja scrolls were waiting in that chest. All the penguins instinctively knew what to take from that chest while Colswaki personally handed the more specialised ones to certain penguins. "You sure this is not revenge, Colswaki?" Chieftain Skitter asked sheepishly, and Colwaski shrugged its shoulders as he threw two ninja scroll to his boss. "Sand Drift Scroll and Fire Breathing Scroll!" Colwaski shouted and the moment Skitter picked up the two scrolls, he activated the Sand Drift Scroll immediately. Chieftain Skitter murmured a short quick chain of chants, and the scroll unwrapped itself, causing the long piece of paper to turn into a pile of moving sand which increased the mobility of the Chieftain. Next, he undid the seal on the Fire Breathing Scroll, but instead of chants, Skitter seemingly compressed the scroll, and like a magic trick, it disappeared. The large pile of sand drifting did attract the remaining horned chicken attention, and it proceeded to catch the juicy fat penguin that was gliding on the sand. However, as it tried to peck it, Skitter managed to manoverure on the sand fast enough to evade the attacks while moving the chicken into position as ordered by Elder Colswaki so that Kido and Elder Perate could simultaneously blind the chicken. In the meantime, Qiu Yue was complaining how selfish the hamster was despite Skitter''s insistence of it being a saviour. "If it''s really a saviour! Then why doesn''t it just make the penguins big so they can kill the chicken easily!" "If every mentor thinks that way, men would probably starve for not learning how to fish," Lynn replied as she noticed the horned chicken was moving closer at a much faster speed. Its beak was close to the ground as if it was ready to snap at them any moment when it had the chance. "Any great ideas, Ms Tactictian?" Lynn asked, and indeed Qiu Yue did have one trick under her sleeve. "If you can get us under the horned chicken or at least close enough, I might be able to do something about it. Just trust me on this." Qiu Yue offered, but Lynn preferred to have an explanation rather than being kept in the dark. "Man, you are not fun at all! Let me be cool once in a while" Qiu Yue replied. "Save it for Jin, not me. So what''s the plan?" Lynn questioned as she drifted her bike so that she can turn and ride towards the chicken. "I bought some C4 explosives. As long as we are close enough, I can throw the C4s, it should deal some damage, probably at least cripple it." Qiu Yue replied. "That''s a rather boring plan. I was expecting more excitement from you." Lynn commented as she accelerated herself towards the chicken. The chicken was a bit confused why its prey decided to come towards it, but nevertheless quite happy, that the snack decided to deliver itself into its beak. "You can''t blame me for not being able to do anything else than holding on to your waist! Besides! I am already risking myself by throwing the bundle of C4 onto that chic- KYAAA~!" Qiu Yue stopped her explanation as Lynn was utilising her rocket boost. "Don''t throw, just drop it! I''ll give you the signal." Lynn instructed Qiu Yue as she did not want to take the chance of the chicken pecking it or squashing them just because Qiu Yue needed Lynn to ride slower so that she could throw it. "FINE!!!!" Qiu Yue prepared the bundle of C4 explosives in one hand, and the other was grabbing on to Lynn with the remote detonator. The penguin cultivator noticed how flimsy Qiu Yue''s grip was and seized the detonator from Qiu Yue when she kept hitting her with it, asking her to take it. Thus, allowing the red panda cultivator to grab onto Lynn''s waist rather tightly. "NOW!!!" Lynn shouted as she zoomed passed the horned chicken''s legs and Qiu Yue did what was commanded. The Red Panda Cultivator somehow managed to drop it on the top of the chicken''s feet before holding onto Lynn as she moved off at top speed. The chicken had tried to peck them but had not gotten anything, as it never predicted its prey to have the ability to accelerate. It had stopped and looked confused at where its prey had gone. Lynn took that opportunity to hit on the detonator the second they were at least dozens of metres away from it. "BABOOOOM* A loud explosion ensued following the detonation, and Lynn even had trouble controlling her bike despite having activating her stabilisers when the shockwave came. "What kind of C4 was that?!!" Lynn asked as she continued to outrace the explosion so that they would escape the subsequent shockwaves. "Inscription enhanced explosives! Meant to bring buildings down!" Qiu Yue screamed as she continued to grab hold of Lynn. That explosion was a sight to behold for Hamatarou as he clapped while chewing on some (giant) sunflower seeds. (Not to mention Peppers would have been slightly proud for the use of explosives.) It also distracted the horned chicken, which the penguins were fighting, and they seized the window of opportunity with greed. Chieftain Skitter controlled the mobile pile of sand to rise and subsequently jumped upwards. The horned chicken was surprised that its prey came into its sight as it opened its mouth to bite it down. That was when Chieftain skitter made his Fire Breathing ninja scroll appear and activated it. A burst of intense fire came out from the scroll and directed it into the beak of the chicken, burning its insides, while Kido and Elder Perate finally had the chance to release their multiple shurikens into the eyes of the horned chicken. The bird screeched and panicked while Colwaski and the rest of the penguins threw their bolas towards the chicken feet. The bolas were not made with mere stones but had explosives attached to them too. (Just not as strong as the explosives Qiu Yue had used.) They knew that the Bolas would not be large enough to deter the chicken, so they detonated the explosives. That act alone, caused the legs to give way, making the horned chicken to fall to the ground, which the penguins proceed to stab and injure the chicken at its vital joints. It was better to immobilise it than to attempt at a slim chance of hitting its vital points. Kido even grabbed a few smoke bombs with a small bag of caltrops and threw it into the chicken''s mouth as Elder Colwaski used a grappling hook to tie the beak up along with the aid of Skitter. The rest of the penguins subsquently went forth to its neck and kept stabbing at it while the horribly injured horned chicken tried to get up from the consecutive attacks by flapping its wings in terror, but it was in vain. The penguins had already immobilised its movements. Its legs were terribly injured, and the articulation of its wings had been severed by the penguins due to their knowledge of cutting chicken meat up. Lynn and Qiu Yue eventually came to their aid, and with a bit of stat boost from Qiu Yue''s Sub System (by spending money), the Red Panda Cultivator managed to enter into the fray and cut its neck deep from top to bottom for its blood to spill on the floor. While slightly slow, the remaining horned chicken eventually died a pretty horrible death. Chapter 488 Hamatarou "Well done, well done!" The hamster clapped at the top cabinet before he rolled down his body to the table and subsequently the ground. "Did not expect those chickens to see me when I took their eggs. I thought I could grow a few chickens of my own! Hahahah!" Hamatarou laughed at his own misfortune as he revealed two oversized chicken eggs from the depths of his furry body. "How did he keep all those things inside his body?" Qiu Yue wondered looking at Lynn as the other gave her a deadpan stare. "I''ve only come to visit this world twice before. As if I would know such stuff." Lynn replied as she took the bodies of the Horned Chicken via the Sub System. She was informed that signs of Body Restructuring had been detected inside the creatures. It advised Lynn to wait until the chicken reverted to its original sizes before processing it. "Interesting. Are you a shaman too?" Hamatarou asked and ignored the Penguin Chieftain Skitter who was kneeling in front of him. "You don''t seem to be a particularly good host. I suggest you answer the person who is requesting your audience first." Lynn answered with a bit of annoyance in her words. "Ah! Sorry Skitter! I did not see you down there." Hamatarou laughed loudly as he took out another exact copy of the Totem of Atem for them. "Just as promised you ten years ago. Here is your new and improved totem. According to my research, I predict that with this improved one the generation after the next should hopefully not even need this. The same routine, go to the Altar of Giants to recharge its powers every once in a while." "Thank you, Sir Hamatarou!" Skitter expressed his gratitude as the rest of the penguins knelt and bowed in front of him as well. "No need to be so humble. You did earn it, especially after my impromptu task of killing the horned chickens. Now if you don''t mind, would you introduce me to your two companions? They seem quite capable. I regret to say that I have yet to encounter any members of their species in our world." Hamatarou requested. "Other species? No, you are mistaken Sir Hamatarou, they aren''t from anywhere around here. Lady Lynn graced us with her presence suddenly. She is actually from another world." Skitter replied. "Another world? Well, I am surprised you appear to believe them so readily. I admit that I have never seen those strange vehicles they rode, nor the weapons they used. Still, that does not mean they hail from another world. This might as well be some long lost technology or magic." Hamatarou remarked as he suddenly became suspicious. "It is true, Sir Hamatarou." Kido took the initiative to speak. "I''ve been to their world and the others had served Lady Lynn in her quests." "¡­Hmm okay. Assume that I''m interested that I want to see that world for myself. Will you bring me along as well?" Hamatarou said in a wishy washy manner. "Sure, but you will have to sign a contract with us. The short version is that you will have to serve us at our times of need." Qiu Yue immediately took out a contract form and showed it to Hamatarou. The Sub System had managed to write it all in its native language based on what it had learnt about the Penguins. As she wanted to hand it over, she noticed, that there was a bit of discrepancy in their sizes, but the hamster immediately used his own totem of Atem to turn the same size as Lynn and began to read the contract. "Interesting. So, I will have to go into combat against other members of your species?" Hamatarou questioned, and Qiu Yue nodded her head. "That is most often the case. However, it may also turn to you battling some species you have never seen before. If you have other talents to provide, we can also change the contract to something more suited for you. In return, you will experience at least our own world, and maybe others." Qiu Yue listed their demands, and Hamatarou was deep in thought. "Sounds like a very unfair deal." The hamster concluded, and Qiu Yue shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you will practically become an interworld traveller with our help. It''s not something anyone can offer you on the spot. Additionally, we will provide you with decent food, entertainment and a place to stay. Not to mention, if you work for us, we will pay you some credit in accordance to your results to get better food and the chance to train yourself to self betterment. If that is not to your liking, we also offer knowledge you may never learn otherwise." Qiu Yue added, and Lynn could not help but cringe at her promotion of a contract. "Anyways if you don''t like it, it''s not like we are keeping you forever. The duration of the contract is designed for a three month provisional stay. If you like it, you can renew it or turn it into a permanent contract. " Qiu Yue was basically trying to hard sell it to the hamster. The penguins, on the other hand, shared their own experiences with the sceptical hamster. "Fine. I trust the penguins more than you guys. And I am really curious to see how other world looks like. You are right, such an opportunity may only come once in a lifetime, but I am unable to leave for three months. One week. That is all the time I have before I have other matters to attend to." Hamatarou bit on his paws and was ready to use a drop of his blood to seal the contract. "Agreed. For starters, please tell us more about this Giant World." Qiu Yue told the System to rewrite the contract, and upon verification, the hamster sealed the deal. "Very well. Long story short, I am a druid. Which is also why I am able to provide these totems to the penguins. This place is just one of the meeting places that I had set up as a haven for the various races that wish to survive this harsh world without being affected by the Giantism Virus. Follow me." Hamatarou ordered as it grew larger once more and indicated the rest to grab onto its fur. The hamster opened the door with much ease since it was on par with its enhanced size, and jumped up to the roofs as soon as it was out of the house. Lynn and the others saw only a part of the entirety of the ruined city that they were in. It wasn''t until Hamatarou reached one of the watchtowers that they saw more of it. "When I told Skitter ten years, I was not joking. You have seen that I can control my size, but the transformation is not permanent and has its limits. Even at my largest, the city remains vast and huge. It took me a year alone to get the totems to different races like the penguins here. After which, I had to travel using stealth to other small towns and cities to share with them." "So there are other sentient races as well? Why are you doing this?" Lynn asked, and apparently, others who lived far away from the penguins within this city. The turtles, walrus, crocs, frogs as well as other different penguin settlements. "I need all of them to get stronger so that we can eventually prepare for an exodus from this cursed city," Hamatarou said as they were jumping from one roof to another. "Exodus? Leave this city? Cursed? Why?" Lynn continued to ask as Qiu Yue grabbed on both her and Hamatarou''s fur. "The city has long since been depleted of its food stock. The giantism virus had infected almost everyone that lived in this city. While the different tribes are procuring their own food, there is only so much they can grow and survive." Hamatarou sighed. "I am trying to find a place for all these people to live and thrive, a mass exodus of the most capable warriors and talented beings who will follow me to find such a sanctuary. I heard of an island beyond the sea that should have an abundance of food and animals still on the size of the penguins. This meant that they can live there." Druid Hamatarou announced its plans to them. "Is that why most of the races that you saved¡­are amphibious in nature?" Lynn questioned as she had noticed, that all the races he had listed could live on land and survive in the long sea trip. Mildly surprised, the druid nodded in acknowledgement. "Still, depending on your ability to travel to other worlds, that might change our plans a little. Although we potentially still face another problem." Hamatarou spoke out saying that they were reaching his base soon, which was at the bottom of the large tree ahead of them. At the centre of a desolated nature park. "To search for the other surviving races," Hamatarou spoke a few words in an unknown language (though it sounded like an annoyed hamster) and the tree roots opened itself up to let the hamster in. "While I did not tell the penguins initially, I''ve told the other races to meet me at the Altar of Giants within a few months time if I sent a continuous flare of light in the night. That would also signal the start of the mass exodus." Hamatarou stated and the rest immediately understood what that meant. If the entire village or even just a small group travelling will attract danger from the various giants in the vicincity. "Can''t we just search each tribe up individually? That''s what you did to meet up with them, right?" Qiu Yue asked as they finally reached the ground. "I remember he said that he met them via meeting places," Kido replied and Hamatarou nodded. "Yes, this was to prevent any possible infiltration from another group. A group I regret having saved before." Hamatarou lit up his base, and the first thing everyone saw was an entirely horrifying body of a lizard hanging right in front of them seemingly ready to pounce. "The Salamanders." Hamatarou told them how he tried teaching the salamanders to shape shift ¡­or size shift after the Giantism Virus had hit throughout the country. However, the Salamanders had used their newfound knowledge to infiltrate other villages and steal their food. Sadly, it did not end there. The Salamanders eventually killed entire villages and burned them down so that they could use the corpses as food stock. The druid had been so mad that they did such an atrocious act and decided to curse them with a forbidden spell. They remained fairly large in size no longer able to revert to their original smaller size, allowing the other more giant monsters to prey on them. Afterwards, they had decided to hole up in the castle of the city which was up the hill. The city was split into three parts. The bottom of the hill once housed the peasants with the middle being for the wealthy merchants and nobles. At the top was once occupied by the royalty, though it appeared to be a lifetime ago. "If I shoot the flare spell up, the salamanders will use that as the perfect opportunity to kill us as part of the revenge. I also fear they have found ways on how to tame the monsters too. This will allow them to reach the cathedral very quickly. And they are prone to attack anything in ''their'' territory." Hamatarou finished his story by giving the stone salamander in front of them a disgusted look. This particular one had tried to kill the druid in his own home, but the druid managed to petrify it and decided to allow it to remain here as a grim reminder that the Salamanders could strike him at any time. "That should not be a problem. Whenever you meet up with the other races, possibly teleport them to our city?" Qiu Yue suggested, and the others agreed that it seemed like a good idea too. "Besides, you signed the contract, just holler me up if you wish to transport them." "If it were that easy, I would have been elated the moment I heard you have the ability to teleport people. But it seems like the Salamanders are doing their cleansing job seriously too. There was a tribe I was supposed to meet, but they never appeared. This was also the reason I was late for the meeting as I tried to track their village down." "Same kind of destruction?" Lynn asked solemnly. "Worse. The Salamanders massacred and decorated the place with their entrails. They were not even interested in them as food stock because they were too small for their appetite; it seems. Their marks were all over the place, and it felt deliberate. I''m pretty sure that they wanted me to find it that way." Hamatarou replied. "That is also why I readily accepted your contract. I want to see your world, and see first hand whether it would be liveable for my other subjects." "¡­Other subjects?" Lynn repeated that word, and suddenly, the two Sub System users realised. "¡­You were the king of this city?" Both asked at the same time which the druid hamster was silent for a while. "¡­Prince. An exiled one." Chapter 489 Extra: Frontal Confrontation - Part 1 It had already been a while since the Deep Ones and Zombies had so much work to do. Transporting all the foodstuff, weapons, armour and back into Gold''s home instance while the gold to the Deep One''s treasury. The Half Ghoul Lord Derek wished he could do something more, but for the moment, he obeyed the orders from Gold. Even Mr Derpy was a little restless seeing how much work his minions were doing. That was when Derek had begun talking to Derpy for the first time and became rather good friends. They both agreed that their minions and could do something more meaningful in the future. Meanwhile, the goblins reached the trading town of Wecha in no time. The sun had yet to rise, and the guards obviously were unaware of the situation in Uote and Youi town. Wyrstriker had ordered Iwen to circle around the city while Flame Ripper located the main guard quarters of Wecha. "Not a very favourable spot to hit." Flame Ripper said as they noticed how packed the trading town was. The location of the guard quarters made it very convenient for the rats to escape into the minor districts and slums. "You sure it''s a trading town? It appears more like a maximum security prison." Dread Reaver asked as he had discovered a remarkable number of humans in chains who were working even though it was the middle of the night, tolling through the goods that were transported from the various towns. Demon Rat guards were whipping the slaves to make them work harder and faster, which did not make the situation any better. "The Demon Rats will scatter no matter what unless we trap them by burning the entire place into bits of ashes." The Wyvern Knight added and Flame Ripper concurred. "This might prove to be a difficult war if the capital is in the same situation as what we see here. No matter how much we try to eradicate these rats, it will not matter unless the farming inhabitants decide to rise up against them as well." Flame Ripper replied. "Heh, not to mention those outposts that Meomi found? I believe the rat issue will not end for at least several years. They don''t seem to be as straightforward as the orcs." Wyrstriker commented. "Hmm¡­then I guess the Demon Rats here occupied the previous occupants of the Guard Quarters rather than building a new one like in those smaller towns." Flame Ripper said as he was contemplating whether to hit the guard quarters and risk the possible deaths of the enslaved townsfolk. "As much as I want to destroy those rats and don''t get me wrong, I''m itching to do so, our orders, erm I mean- your orders were to help fan the fire of resistance. Don''t you think we should take another approach rather than hitting their guard quarters?" Dread Reaver asked as he shared the sentiments with Flame Ripper. "Hahaha, why think so much? This was meant as a surprise attack. We might not get an opportunity if we wait around. Just attack from the front gates." Wyrstriker answered, and even Iwen agreed to a simplistic plan of his partner. "They have walls for a reason. We are attacking them because we want to kill the Demon Rats. Then clearly, we should let the Demon Rats come at us." "Won''t you think the Demon Rats will use the inhabitants as fodders first?" Flame Ripper questioned. "That is possible but look at it the other way, we can put them down, and they will be part of Jin''s helpers, right?" Wyrstriker argued, and the other two chuckled but shook their heads. "I think Master Jin only wants capable monsters. Having normal humans isn''t really part of the list for his dungeon making." "But even Jin and the other cultivators started out as just humans. If those humans can also train as hard as them, they could become worthy cultivators one day. It''s better than living as a slave." "Technically¡­speaking we ARE slaves to the System. So I guess you are right, killing them will just put them in a nicer environment. Hahahaha!" Dread Reaver injected which the other two goblins laughed bitterly to. "At the very least, we were not treated as slaves. Jin had proven time and time again that he wants to improve our lives and not just control them. Although there might be some things, I personally might not have agreed with, like him subjugating the Orcs at first. But, his outcome is usually rational and rather realistic." Flame Ripper added. "Fine, let''s just hope we are not making a mistake by sending these slaves to another master," Dreadreaver replied. "So, kill all on sight?" Wyrstriker asked for a confirmation. "Yes kill everything that comes out from the front gate. We will conduct multiple raids if need be. The most important thing is not destroying any of their civilian infrastructure except for their defences. If possible, try to contain the number of civilian casualties. We can''t help it if they die, but we should still try to limit their numbers. What is the use of a liberated town if nobody was there to control it?" Flame Ripper said his views out. "Heh! If we keep attacking, it will eventually disrupt their trading post too. It might be good if we have some other monsters assaulting the trading caravans. More resources for us as well." Wyrstriker suggested as he thought of someone who was itching to have his spear scratched too. "Hmm, we will see how things go. Maybe, we might make a name for ourselves¡­as demons by dawn." Flame Ripper and all three loved the idea. Iwen placed the goblin trio about a few hundred metres from the front gate of Town Wecha and decided to scout from above the city to report the movements of the demon rats. The goblin trio had a System channel connection with Iwen so it would be easy to communicate and they were mainly going to use him to destroy any ranged support the demon rats were going to use. "Ready?" Flame Ripper asked, and the other two goblins nodded their heads. The descendant of Ifrit lifted his palm up, and sparks magically appeared right above it. Slowly, those sparks revolved around its hands, and the more it spins, the more it looked like a fiery sphere. "Let''s go!" Flame Ripper held onto his arm as he shot the fiery sphere into the direction of Wecha''s town gate. It was a rather quiet release like an arrow set loose from a bow until it contacted the town''s walls. "BOOOOM" A chunk of the wall exploded from the impact, causing debris to fly around its surroundings. Some of the inhabitants that had been staying near the wall were killed directly, and unfortunately, there was no way to go around it. The Demon Rats who had been soundly asleep guarding the area was stunned by the shockwaves as it went to have a look. Another deafening sound was heard, but this time, Flame Ripper went for the watchtower. It was immediately incinerated into ashes as the fire goblin threw another ball of Ifrit''s sparkle at it. That was when the guards had begun to sound the alarm. "ENEMY! ENEMY! BY THE FRONT GATES!" The demon rat shouted which abruptly awoke the demon rat captain in his guard quarters. "Resistance?!" The Wecha Demon Rat Captain asked, and the rats were scurrying to get their equipment. "We cannot confirm how many but they seem to be destroying the town''s defences! Its firepower is more demon like!" One of the guards answered, and the Demon Rat Captain grumbled. "It must be that curse! Rumour said that everywhere those Demon Rat Special Elites go, their enemy will follow suit." The Demon Rat Captain complained as he went to one of the rooms and knocked hard at their doors. "Yawnnnn, I barely fell asleep, and now you want me to wake up again? Come back in 5 minutes." Claw Rat Specialist ''Quell Poletaker'' said sleepily as he unlocked the door for the Demon Rat Captain. "There are rumours of demons attacking our city right now. Go and vanquish them. That is why you are here right?" The Captain ordered but Quell Poletaker slammed the door right at him. The Demon Rat Special Elites used that excuse in every town for a place to stay, and this was not an exception. Besides, they were just patrolling at the command of the masters, and those ''demons'' they had encountered were only part of the resistance, the apprentices of various Scholars. Hence, Poletake believed this current case was the same. "It''s probably just the resistance. The Dark Templars can make use of the power of demons, but they are still just humans. Call us when you verify it." Poletaker words could be heard through the door, but the Captain punched it back hard. "Damn you! If they are really demons. It will be too late to do anything!" The Demon Rat Captain said, and there was no response to it. "FUCK! Guards, wake up the rest and prepare to assault this resistance or demons!" ¡ª¡ª While Flame Ripper was busy hurling balls of fire that destroyed nearly half the walls, Dread Reaver was preparing his spell to patron, his Death Goddess. For every skill that he wished to execute, the Death Knight needed to accumulate ''souls'', be it whole or fragmented to activate his skills. Thus, Dread Reaver had been buying fragmented souls from the System while working at the construction site. He kept most of the souls in his sword, which acted as a conduit for his skills as well as storage purposes. But right now, there was no need to use those souls that he bought. Thanks to his ''Eyes of the Death God'' which was an innate ability of a Death Knight, Dread Reaver was able to discern that those stored souls were unneeded in this particular case. It was fortunate and both unfortunate that there was an abundance of unrestful souls floating around the trading town. Filled with the stench of unpeaceful deaths, which most were likely from the excessive punishment of slaves, Dread Reaver attempted to collect as much as he could before the killing starts. As for Wyrstriker, he just stood right beside both of his friends and observed their performance. He took the time to equip himself with the leather armour which Jin had bestowed to them previously. Other than that, he waited patiently for the Demon Rats to appear before them. "Ranged support incoming," Iwen warned. "But it seems the debris from the past attacks had disabled them from going up the walls¡­or what is left from it." "Hmm¡­some are using the civilian''s infrastructure as an elevated platform to shoot." Iwen continued, and Flame Ripper gave Iwen permission to kill. While it was not ideal since he did not wish to destroy any infrastructure owned by the civilians, but some collateral damage could not be avoided. "Understood." The Wyvern swooped down immediately and spat out a slew of acid on the Demon Rats before flying back up into the dark skies. The Wyvern understood that if he used his fire breath, it could burn the entire place up. On the other hand, those acidic breaths would melt the Demon Rats and do minimal damage to the area. The Demon Rat Captain who was moving towards the frontlines, saw a frightening terror of a shadow swoop by decimating the Demon Rats while the stone walls remained on fire. It was as if Hell had descended to them. "Demons! They must be Demons! 1st Wecha Battalion! Charge out! 2nd Battalion, gather the human slaves and use them as cannon fodder to find out their capabilities!" We need to annihilate the demons before the town gets destroyed!" The Demon Rat Captain ordered as he told one of the guards to send word for the Claw Rat Specialist to take care of the demons. Soon, the goblin Trio could see the first wave of demon rats appearing from the front gates, and Flame Ripper waited for some time until the rest of the demon rats were out of the town to enter the fields. But as he was waiting, Flame Ripper prepared to shoot at them the very same fiery yellow sparks that conceived his spheres of fire. The Demon Rats somehow managed to deflect the sparks and thought that the demon did not have much power left. Thus, their battalion leader ordered them to charge forth. "Heh! Right into our trap." Flame Ripper clapped once, and the sparks of fire ignited into a burst into a pillar of fire, incinerating any rats that were within the radius of the pillar. The Demon Rats were shocked by that attack but did not trouble them much as they continued to charge right in front of them. Death, in their opinion, were also inevitable. "Dread Reaver you''ve been preparing for a while, so I guess yours is an anti army attack that could wipe out at least half the battalion right?" Wyrstriker questioned seeing how brilliantly bright the Death Reaper silhouette was shining right above him. "Correct." Dread Reaver replied as he was reaching the limits of his weapon before he changed into a proper fighting stance. "Then you won''t mind if you let me practice a bit first. After all, I am not as strong as you guys." Wyrstriker said as he inserted chi into his gearbox spear. Chapter 490 Extra: Frontal Confrontation - Part 2 Wyrstriker took his spear up and with a swirl, he threw the weapon into the army of Demon Rats coming towards them. The gearbox enhanced spear flew into the depths of the enemies'' ranks and pierced any rat unlucky enough to find itself in its way. However, that was not all. At the same time, Iwen attack the rats at the sides of the spear forcing them to either take their chances with the deadly weapon or his incinerating flames. Everywhere the spear moved based on Wyrstriker''s chi, Iwen seemed to be in direct synchronisation with its path of trajectory as if the spear was the GPS ping and the wyvern was the tracker that followed it. Wyrstriker had learnt how to command his spear by infusing chi into it and moved it in a large circle before it landed back on his palms. The two goblin brethren gave a thumbs up for a rather solid effort for a goblin that was side evolved unlike their own step up evolution. "The thoughts in his brains. Urgh. Gives me the goosebumps at times." Iwen commented on how Wyrstriker loved his buddies'' praise, as their symbiotic evolution allowed each one to share their thoughts and feelings even without the need of the System, making the other two goblins laugh. "You should tell us what he thinks. Do we need to wallop him for any dirty thoughts about the princess." Dread Reaver asked teasingly as if he was hinting that Wyrstriker also had a crush on Starfire. "Heh! You can keep that princess to yourself! I have no interest in her at all since girls of nobility are the least of my concern. I might have ninety nine other problems, but the princess isn''t one of them at all." Wyrstriker replied as the demon rats finally recovered from the attack and began to return back to their basic formation. Spears and shields at the front, with archers nocking their arrows, all enhanced with Steam Tech ready to crash the Demons standing before them. That was when Dread Reaver came forward and made his appearance by first drawing a circle with his sword around him. The Death Knight swiftly and aptly controlled his sword with chi that he did not even need to turn his body at all to draw the circle. The sword flew from the back and to the side, enabling him to complete the circle. "Now. Let me release these lost souls to get their revenge against those monstrous creatures so they can rest in peace." Dread Reaver announced as his sword glowed with a light turquoise colour. The arrows were let loose from the hastily formed file of archers, but it did not seem to concern any of the goblins. Dread Reaver hardly lifted his sword up, and a wave of angry like Wraiths rushed out from the circle he drew, blocking all of the arrows and subsequently flew over the demon rats'' defences annihilating the file of archers. The frontline of Demon Rats guards did not dare to look back as they heard the pent up wrath of the demented wraiths peeling the flesh off the Demon Rat Archers. Only the rear guard started to panic as they faced the wraiths head on. However, the conventional weapons as well as the Steam Tech was unable to damage them at all. The attack went right from them with the wraiths recovering the very next moment. Only fire managed to hurt the apparitions or the Demon Rat leaders who had their blades enhanced with litoride ore. "Interesting. I did not expect their Litoride to work against my wraiths. That is one thing to take note of in the future." Dread Reaver murmured to himself and wondered if the Litoride had a hidden property of holiness or elemental magic in it. "Hahah! Looks like I won''t have to do anything else with the damage your wraiths are doing." Flame Ripper folded his arms, and he watched the guards crumbled right in front of them. Dread Reaver had summoned a row of ethereal Wraith Riders, with spears and pitchforks rushing against the frontline. "Indeed, and thank you, my friend. It looks like the souls here are extremely delighted in partaking of the culling of the rats here." Dread Reaver smiled, but it was then that Wyvern Iwen notified them about a large mob of humans being thrown into the fray. They looked extremely ill equipped with pitchforks, spades and axe picks. Some of them were even without a weapon spurned by their slave masters whips from behind. "Well so much for not burdening Jin with any slaves. The Demon Rats had to play dirty." Wyrstriker sighed, and Flame Ripper already had his flames at the ready. "Let me burn them up quickly to end their suffering. Seeing all these demon rats only disgust me." Flame Ripper was about to shoot his flames, but suddenly all three felt a different presence from usual rushing over from the gates of the Wecha Town. It felt extraordinarily aggressive and reminded them of the bloodlust the orcs had. "No, no, no! No more killing you demons!" A claw swiped close to Flame Ripper, but he managed to deflect it with the dagger Ifrit bestowed upon him. "Oooh, nice ornate dagger. It will be a pleasant addition to my collection. For a demon to be able to use one, you are no simple demon. I like you already." Claw Specialist Quell Poletaker grinned as his claws vibrated with the use of Steam Tech, but Flame Ripper managed to deflect another quick blow from him. "Flame R-!" Wyrstiker was also intercepted by another Demon Rat specialist though this time, it was a large abomination rat that was the size of an Ogre with chains tied up through his mouth while another Demon Rat was controlling it at the top of its head¡­.just way smaller than the other demon rats he saw before. "Tsk! Pesky Demon! Do not dodge!" Rider Specialist Pallet Zort Barbedcutter shouted at Wyrstriker for dodging the attack. "Damn it! Looks like I got the short straw. This one feels weak!" "Then stop complaining, and kill it before the deathly looking demon knight comes after you instead!" Quell spoke as he exchanged blows with Flame Ripper, but in fact, the goblin was able to dodge or deflect every single one of them. "I''d say I am the one with the short straw." Dread Reaver snorted as he waved to his brothers and faced the incoming army alone. "Heh! You are welcome to tag in!" Wyrstriker said as he bent his body backwards to evade the punch while using his gearbox spear to pierce the abomination rat under his elbow. "No thanks, the souls of this place prefer to kill those rats over there. Have fun with your new friend!" Dread Reaver smirked under his helmet as he plunged his sword into the ground and a mist began to surround both the army and him in it. "Tsk, looks like that dark knight looks more than trouble! Quickly finish the spear demon!" Quell ordered as he started to speed up with the aid of his Steam Tech. The rats were unable to understand the goblin trio, but they saw that Dread Reaver seemed keen on dealing with their army instead of helping the other two. This meant that the death knight was confident of his comrades being able to deal with them on their own, forcing the Specialists to hurry to prevent further losses. On the other hand, Flame Ripper felt refreshed from the battle. "Been a long time since I fought someone at this speed. But you are not someone I will bother to waste more than a few minutes." Flame Ripper said asking the System to help translate its speech to his enemy as he continued to parry his attacks. "Says someone who had yet to even strike once. Please! I am a Specialist! One of the chosen elite by the Great Scholars! You think I will be defeated by the likes of y-?"Flame Ripper finally understood his pattern of attack and cut him down by sliding his dagger under his arms and eventually up to his neck. It caused his right arm to be amputated and subsequently, the specialist rat was decapitated. "You talk too much. Should have focused more on the battle." Flame Ripper lectured the dead demon rat''s body laying in front of him. "QUELL!" Zort saw his comrade perish surprisingly quickly and immediately attacked Quell''s body with a whip. Making use of Zort''s momentary distraction, Wyrstiker took the chance to pierce the neck of the Demon Rat. "Didn''t your instructors ever tell you not to be distracted during a fight?" Wyrstriker asked with glee, but the abomination Rat did not fall from the spear attack and instead grabbed the spear and pulled it out. Wyrstriker tried to pull it out of his enemies hand by applying the same amount of force, but it was useless. The abomination rat took the spear and threw it side wards and the goblin along with it. "Distracted? You fool! My creations are undead! You have no chance to defeat us." Zort laughed at the small flying demon and believed it would crash into something and die. Never did he think that throwing Wyrstriker into the air was the worst possible option. Iwen managed to soften the blow of the impact of Wyrstriker''s flight with its belly before the little fellow grabbed onto his wyvern''s leg for support. "See, I told you the food you let me eat was worth it," Iwen smirked a little as it allowed his master to climb up onto him by helping him hold up his spear with its mouth. "Yeah, Yeah. I shall treat you to something nice once this is over. Thanks, buddy." Wyrstriker patted his companion on the side as he got up properly and took the spear back. In the meantime, Flame Ripper was forced to contend with not one but two opponents. With that whip attack, Zort had resurrected Quell as his underling puppet and commanded it to fight against the flame goblin assassin. "Ho, Ho! I did not expect your body to be so well articulated my old friend! I guess the fresher the body and the more trained it is, the better the puppet it makes." Zort laughed maniacally as he made his puppet friend attack the goblin consistently. "Bah! I should just overwhelm you two with my powers!" Flame Ripper replied, but Wyrstriker told him to delay that plan. "That prey is mine to kill," Wyrstriker said resolutely as he was already halfway diving from the skies and down towards Zort. Flame Ripper deduced he would just become the distraction Wyrstriker needed to execute that dive attack so he might as well focus against the undead claw specialist. "Too bad, you were much more useful as a sparring partner when you were alive." Flame Ripper said as he ignored the blow from the abomination rat and went towards the undead Quell. If it did not have a head to chop, then slice the whole damn thing into pieces. And slicing it to many pieces, Flame Ripper did. However, that was not all Flame Ripper had executed as he quickly dodged the next swipe by the abomination rat. Zort tried to control the undead Quell, who was aimlessly standing, but there was no effect at all. This distraction gave Wyrstriker all he needed to swoop down quietly from Iwen''s back and pierce the Demon Rat through its skull and later into the spine of the abomination rat. As the spear goblin achieved that move, Iwen managed to turn away in time from crashing into the ground and took to the skies once again. "Gosh, thank goodness this undead puppet master did not have any other abominations with it." "It is not exactly playing with magic¡­" Flame Ripper said as the abomination rat fell onto Quell who was eventually dispersed into many pieces from the cuts that Flame Ripper did. "I found this attached to that dead guy. Looks like a controlling device." The dagger goblin showed it to his pal, and they could see it looked like it was a marvel of steam engineering. They picked up Zort''s weapon and noticed that the whip was made up of many of those bug like components, seemingly alive. "So that guy is not using magic but controlling him with this tiny little bug like device?" Wyrstriker asked, but Flame Ripper could only shrug his shoulders. "Could be just a component of the Steam Tech. Let''s be safe and pass it to our dear Head Researcher Ayse. She might be able to have a glimpse of what it does." Flame Ripper suggested. "Heh, normally, we will just throw this kind of stuff down on the ground. Looks like working with Jin made us fairly paranoid as well." Wyrstriker said as he turned his head to the misty fog and heard terrified screams of both rats and humans. They noticed how the enemy tried to walk, run or even crawl out of the fog, but there was this invisible force that brought them back into the mist. "HHELP ME!!! I DO NOT WANT TO GOOO IN THERE!!" A human slave tried his best to hold on to a bunch of grass, but it was futile. The fog mysteriously pulled him in as they could see the slave''s fingers were plunged deep into the soil, being dragged along. "Seems like Dread Reaver is handling stuff very efficiently," Wyrstriker mentioned and offered to take the odd looking contraption back to Ayse. Flame Ripper agreed and opened a portal for him. They could not have known that that particular little contraption was all that was needed to turn the tide of this unending Demon Rat infestation. Chapter 491 Demon Rat ResearChapter Centre The Uote Town Guards accompanied their Guard Captain, Sebastia and Kraft to the capital arriving at the break of dawn. The first thing Jin''s companions saw from afar was the encroaching tall walls made not out of brick and mortar but metal. "Heh heh! You guys have definitely never been to the capital before, aye? The look on first timers is priceless!" Uote Guard Captain giggled loudly. The guards at the front gates demanded passes from the carriage that carried them, but with a show of the Captain''s face, the guards immediately consented their entry without much hassle. "You must hold much influence for them to let us in without even inspecting the contents of the carriage." Kraft tried to make some small talk while complimenting the captain. "Our masters. They are expecting us. That is why they let us through. But of course, if not for my presence, the guards would be more stringent with their checks." The Demon Rat Captain replied proudly as they saw a large group of demon rats mobilising. "Is this a normal sight for soldiers to mobilise this early?" Sebastia asked, and even the Demon Rat Captain wanted to pry into the matter. "Not unless something happened. Let me ask." The Demon Rat Captain went out of their carriage and called over one of the Demon Rats with one rank beneath his own. It was unlikely for the normal grunts to know anything besides the need to assemble. "What? An attack at Uote town?!" "Yes, sir! Apparently, it was a direct report from the Masters themselves when dawn broke out." The sergeant reported that not only Uote Town was affected. Even Youi and the trading town of Wecha were hit around the same timeframe. "We believe the Dark Templars are the cause of all these attacks. We are setting out now to recapture those towns." "Do you need to follow them?" Kraft asked in a concerned manner although he already knew it would be pointless, as he had the reports from the System and had already informed him of the scouting teams'' progress. "Argh, I will bring you to meet Masters first and then I will follow the contingent." Uote Guard Captain grumbled and struggled with his choice, telling the carriage driver to hasten the speed even though the road were packed with soldiers bringing groups of slaves into battle too. "For them to use slaves and prisoners as cannon fodder shows much about their hierarchy and intelligence level." Kraft thought and pitied the System being unable to catch any of them at all. Still, the additional resources would be a welcoming gift too. Meanwhile, Sebastia noticed how the inhabitants were all living in cramped places in order to make way for factories that were polluting the atmosphere. There were definitely more than just one or two factories responsible for all the smog and smoke covering the entire city''s sky with dark clouds. If anything, they were exploiting a lot of the people to work hard for them to produce those Steam Tech and the demon rats did not care about a single bit of their well being. To them, one slave or prisoner of war could easily be replaced with the next. After all, the entire capital''s population was their plaything. Kraft had already used the opportunity when the Guard Captain left the carriage to send out his foxes for reconnaissance. They proceeded to map out the area with everything they saw reporting to him as well as the System. The System noticed that many war factories were producing not just Steam Tech, but weapons, armoury, and even vehicle parts such as the steam tanks and helicopters. All of them were powered with the very same Steam Tech. The System then commanded the foxes to get more insight into these items and if possible the blueprints. However, the foxes deemed it as a secondary objective compared to what Kraft had asked them to do. "Sorry, Captain. The masters do not wish to see anybody right now and asked us to pass you this instead." One of the guards at the doorstep of the castle denied their entry and gave the Uote Guard Captain a task instead. He quickly scrambled to tear the envelope open and read the contents of the letter. "Urgh! After all, I did for them!" The captain crashed the papers and told them to follow him instead. "Where are we going?" Sebastia asked with a stern tone. "To the main Research Centre. The Masters have allowed you and only you Battle Lady to pick a weapon and armour of your choice. They want you and your companion to annihilate the demons in the north. The lion and the snake!" "Two demons? And you are just going to give me one weapon? What about my companion?" Sebastia asked, and Kraft echoed along. "No! No can do! Masters say only you since you gave results! Your comrade did not do anything to earn the trust of our masters! Be glad that he is able to come into the capital and see our glorious empire without doing anything!" The Uote Guard Captain vehemently refused as he told the carriage driver to move to the research centre post haste. "Oh, come now. It doesn''t have to be the latest model, but surely you have some older ones, that are just gathering dust? You know how strong demons are. Even our dear Battle Lady might have some difficulty fighting against two of them. You do not want her to lose, right? Having an extra weapon will no doubt prove a boon, and it is just one weapon, I am not asking for an army." Kraft commented, and somehow it gave the Guard Captain some headache. "Grrrrr. We will see about it when we enter the place." ¡ª¡ª¡ª- It did not take long, but the moment they entered the building, the temperature of the place shot up by at least three fold. The labourers and workers that were busy on the production line were all so hot that none wore any upper clothing. It''s either they stifled themselves to death, or they injured themselves for not wearing any safety gear. (As if the demon rats were going to give them any in the first place.) At one glance, they noticed that the rats were using the slaves for creating the parts for their combat vehicles, and everyone gave them the momentous stare before returning back to work. As much as they hated the bad treatment (still better than the slaves), the job paid just enough for the workers to send some money to their family. Sebastia despised the current work setting as she could feel how oppressive the atmosphere was. Still, she continued on with Kraft who seemed quite at home. The Uote Guard Captain brought them into a special room whose entrance was cordoned off by guards equipped with Steam Tech. It appeared to be an even more advanced version of the power suit which Sebastia saw the ex-commander wearing back in Keyrin''s territory. If the guards were wearing such amazing power suits to defend the place, it had to be of relative importance to the rats themselves, and there was only one way to find out. Both guards turned around in their power suit in order to lift the door open for the guest to enter. The bar handles were indeed at the bottom and the only way to open it was by lifting it up. However, just the two of them were not enough, and two more were called over. The four of them could only lift the twenty inch thick steel door enough to create a sufficient opening for their guests to enter. (They had to bend over to enter but not for the Captain.) Once they entered, the door smashed down behind them, creating a giant noise echoing throughout the factory. What awaited them was a long spiralling staircase which took some time for them to reach their location. A spacious hall the size of two football fields and at least tall enough to place Mechataur in there. But what intrigued them most was that the place was filled with makeshift construction platforms. Stairs leading to elevated platforms with each of the platforms used to conduct various experiments. There were caged demon rats, humans and even demons of some sort at the side of the halls as well as gadgets, broken pieces of steam tech etcetera. "New subjects?" The cloaked figure sighed. The Captain shook his head. "These esteemed guests are here to choose one of your newly developed experimental weapons." Guard Captain explained before he bowed himself out of the place. "Afterwards, you are to teleport them to the demons in the north¡­and eh give both of them weapons. Just make sure the Battle Lady stays alive at all cost. Give the other one something that may increase their chances." As if the cloaked figure understood what the rat was saying, he nodded his head and cast a teleport spell on the Guard Captain. "What? Why are you leaving so fast? Aren''t you supposed to guide us?" Sebastia asked with a tinge of suspicion. "Guide? I am a Guard Captain. Not some guide! You should be grateful that I guarantee an increased chance of safety for your life!" The demon rat said as he was teleported out via a magic circle. "So I am guessing you are the guinea pigs for my experiment." The cloaked figure took a look as he asked them to follow him to the back of the hall. "The Scholars probably want you dead, which is why they made an attempt to kill you via the demons." "The Scholars? Not the Masters?" Kraft got really curious when the cloaked figure referred to them as such. "Hmm¡­ yes, you are right. It should be Masters. It''s rare for me to receive any guest. I am usually alone with my subjects, so it''s not like I have to watch my language." The cloaked figure stopped momentarily before acknowledging and continued to walk forth. "If the ''Masters'' hate us, why don''t they kill us outright? Also aren''t you worried that after telling us all this we would just try to kill you?" The crafty fox asked though he had no intention to simply forego this opportunity to gather intel. His sixth sense was tingling, indicating that they had stumbled upon a rare opportunity. "Honestly, it''s not like it will make a difference. Should you choose to kill me, you will be automatically teleported to the demons anyway. If you don''t kill me, I can at least provide you with a weapon allowing you to live a little bit longer. The demons are now their pet projects. They had mutated them from two non caring demons who bothered with their own businesses into some vicious murdering machines they are today. Their lust for battle is never ending, and there is nothing I can do about it." "You seem to know a great deal about those demons," Kraft questioned with a hidden purpose. "I''ve raised them myself. It''s a pity that my beloved demons were forced to fight against each other instead of growing to fulfil their initial objective." The cloaked figure answered with a hint of pride before it turned into melancholy. "Let me guess. To use them as the guardians for each country?" Kraft proposed his theory, and he could hear a soft sigh coming from the cloaked figure. "How did you know that? This is something only one person should have been aware of." It was as if he knew about it all along. "Because your words were tied with sorrow and regrets. Judging from your explanation, those masters of yours seem to have spoilt your work, which should have been part of some grand scheme. I''ve long since wondered about those elder demons like they were meant for something greater." "Also, I feel it''s just too convenient for the demons to be under their control. That is unless there was some sort of link no one else knew about¡­ or something¡­ or more likely, someone was used to blackmail them." Kraft seemed to know the vague identity of this cloaked figure. "Things did not go that well, that''s all." The cloaked figure went to the corner of the hall, and with murmuring words flowing out of his mouth, the illusion of the corner of the hall broke, allowing them to enter. "You seem to be more than just some mere travellers. It would be a shame for you to die because of their scheme. Let me aid your escape at the very last minute with my experimental ''weapons'' that I had developed." The cloaked figure offered an olive branch to the travellers and Kraft burst into a short laugh. "Do you think we cannot win against your demons?" Sebastia questioned with a confident tone. "Verily so. I suggest you come down from your high horse. No one can beat them. Many competent warriors have tried in the past. None came back alive." The cloaked figure suddenly displayed past images of various adventurers who tried to battle against the Burning Lion and Water Snake. "I see, they sure are horrifying. Please do give us all the information on them. Sebastia looks like you will have a great work out for later. For now, try to learn their attacks." Kraft ordered, and Sebastia already had her notebook out making notes on their pattern of attacks. "What are you doing? Have I not given you a choice to live? Don''t act too rash!" The cloaked figure panicked as if he really wanted them to not fight against the demons. "Don''t worry. We know what we are doing." Kraft walked up to the cloaked figure and stare at him eye to eye. "Now how about you take off that pathetic disguise? I prefer talking face to face." "Miss Scholar of the West." Chapter 492 Scholar of the Wes Upon hearing the name ''Scholar of the West'', the cloaked figure stopped all movements and shivered at the name of it. "What are you talking about? Why are you bringing up my teacher?" The cloaked figure continued to lie. "Oh, please. Stop pretending. You are not really good at it. Do I need to spell it out for you? Miss. Scholar. Of. The. West?" Kraft had yet to encounter anyone being able to fool the old fox. Given his ability to read people''s mind, it was a piece of cake for him to figure out that before them stood the real Scholar of West. He initially had not cared a single bit when he entered the hall with Uote''s Guard Captain. It was not until the cloaked figure referred to his superiors as Scholars instead of Masters. (And he was just too lazy to read people minds most of the time.) This was knowledge only a select few should be aware of. That was when he knew something was up. It did not take long as the first image that came out from the cloaked figure''s memory was none other than Gold himself. That was when he started playing around with her. "A shame, I should have played this game a little longer and make you spill the answer yourself, instead of being the one to give the answer directly." Kraft was disappointed in himself, and Sebastia patted his shoulder. "I''m sorry, but you really are confusing me with her. Perhaps this is because I am emitting a similar magical aura as my teacher? After all, she was the one to have taught. I assume you two must be acquaintances of the Scholar of the West? I regretfully inform you that my teacher has long since passed away." The cloaked figure bowed his head but did not remove his cloak away. "Oh? You want to continue with the game, is it? Or is it you are afraid the other two scholars will be listening in? Either way fine by me." Kraft smiled, as this meant his fun wasn''t over yet. He took a piece of inscription out and threw it up the sky. The inscription shone for a moment and suddenly broke into blackish, dull looking dust before it disappeared into nothingness. "What kind of magic is that?!" The cloaked figure felt a calming silence overtaking his presence and felt intrigued at the disappearing dust but later returned his attention to Kraft. "Hmm? So? What do you want to do now? You can reveal your identity now. I''ve already blocked all possible eavesdropping in the area." Kraft explained as he removed his own disguise right in front of her by moving his hand over his face and later folded his arms. "I¡­ I¡­must insist that you are really mistaking me for someone else. Besides, you should have noticed I am a guy! Not a female like the Scholar of the West." The cloaked figure felt conflicted if he should believe the person right in front of him. "Guess, it''s better to bring someone in to verify. That should be the most optimal way of solving this impasse." Sebastia suggested to Kraft, and he nodded his head. With a snap, a portal opened, and Kraft grabbed someone''s shoulder inside the portal before he yanked out his hand. "Oooof! Kraft?! What are you doing?! Can''t you see I am busy arranging the intelligence that those farm rats collected?!" Gold barked with frustration at Kraft. That was when the cloaked figure froze once more, but this time it was with bewilderment as he found the notion inconceivable. (Kraft was loving that body language of the cloaked figure a hell lot.) "You can soon return to that boring stuff. Right now, we are in one of the top secret research facilities of the Demon Rats." Kraft explained with a sly smile. "In the Capital?" Gold asked innocently as he glanced the hall full of experiments and Kraft could see the cloaked figure''s hands trembling full of fear, anxiety and¡­delight. "Yeap, and apparently, they captured this person making ''him'' do all the research for them. I believe ''he'' is responsible for all the Steam Tech and other stuff that the Demon Rats have access to right now." "¡­I was just following orders. I could not deny¡­the masters¡­.or they would punish me. And those dear to me." The cloaked figure replied with a shaky tone and Gold sighed. "Don''t worry. I understand, the North and South scholars will pay for their crimes some way or another." Gold stated confidently and tapped on both of the cloaked figure''s shoulders. "Do not let the guilt swallow you. Instead, use that guilt to move you forward." "Sounds very familiar¡­" The cloaked figure whispered in a soft enchanting tone. "Hahaha! It''s from a dear friend. A very, very dear friend." Gold smiled gently. "Does that friend matter a lot to you?" The cloaked figure asked, and Gold furrowed his eyebrows. A question posed with an intent to intrude his privacy? Gold assumed that the cloaked figure right in front of him just needed some moral support to spill his secrets out to Kraft. (Gold probably knew Kraft would like to do it the hard way but decided to give the cloaked figured a chance.) "AHhhh! My bad, I forgot to introduce you to our dear friend. He said he was once a student of the Scholar of the West!" Kraft immediately interjected. "Oh?! Really?!" Gold''s eyes and brows suddenly turned very hostile, and he held onto the other''s shoulders a little longer and with slightly more force. "Which region? She has so many students that I don''t remember them all." He knew that the Scholar of the West never had taken an apprentice at all. She was always busy and kept saying that there would never be a time to do that even in the future. Either the cloaked figure was fake, or there was more than met the eye. "Western Region, Town Copo. The soft cream bread there was delicious." The cloaked figure replied, and suddenly Gold''s eyes turned from aggressive to the most delicate expression he ever had. That sentence had struck him into memory lane. The one which he had the most profound impression of and no one else should know. (Until now by our dear little sneaky Kraft. (or old Kraft)) "Ah¡­I remember how there was this one postman at Town Copo who was always an asshole. He once dropped his whole bag of parcels on to me." Gold said, and cloaked figure kept quiet for a while before he uttered two more words. "El Phi-" "- Konguru." Gold immediately turned the tap on the shoulders into a hug and grabbed the cloaked figure extremely hard. The three words were part of a magical passcode each other used to send encrypted letters to each other. No one, even Gold''s closest aide, knew the passcode. Sebastia and Kraft both smiled widely at the reunion of the two Scholars. (Unsurprisingly Kraft had waited for his moment to capture it as photo of Gold hugging the Scholar of the West.) "Weslie. I missed you so much. Way too much. I''ve thought I had lost you forever!" "So have I¡­so have I." The cloaked figure''s voice turned into a female one as she returned the hug. She could feel some tears dropping on to her cloak. When they released themselves from a long embrace, Gold attempted to remove the cloak, but Weslie immediately backed off, not wanting him to do that. "Why? What is wrong?" Gold could not understand why she did not wish to reveal her face. "¡­I did not survive the attack at the Tower of Compass. The North and South Scholars¡­they used that forbidden magic to resurrect me. ¡­ I am not who I was anymore." Weslie said. "They used the Necromancy ritual infused with Demonic bones?!" Gold''s fury for the North and South doubled instantly. Weslie nodded reluctantly, but Gold insisted on looking at her once more. "Appearance is superficial. I care about you more than -" "Then can you care about this?!" Weslie immediately released her cloak and the people around them finally understood why she was so afraid to show her true appearance. The upper right quadrant of her face was all bones and muscles with no skin at all, revealing her eye sockets. There was also a magical mark there which Gold assumed that was how the Scholars of the North and South had managed to keep her in check. (if not she would had teleported away long time ago.) Upon their shock, Weslie quickly pulled forth her cloak, but Gold stepped in and stopped her. "Don''t! I feel terrible at the sympathetic looks I get from all of you! You do not understand at all! The shame that comes with this accursed mark and being unable to do anything than to crave for death every day!" Weslie shouted and Gold could feel a sharp pain in her words. "Then why don''t you kill yourself?" Sebastia questioned her directly, and suddenly Weslie stopped her tantrum and cried. "I tried¡­I tried to hang myself¡­I tried to cut my wrist. Even an explosion spell! There was nothing which worked. Given time I would always revive, looking even worse than before. After I refused to work, they promised me to tell me more about this curse, even a way to remove it¡­ They just did so, to see me dive into the abyss of despair even more." Weslie suddenly broke down. "It''s a pact. The North and South scholars knew that she would commit suicide, so they tied her to a demon-." Gold attemping to explain the forbidden spell from memory. "Not just one¡­demon." Weslie interjected with a depressed look. "Two of them." "The Burning Lion and the Water Snake Demon?" Kraft asked, and she nodded her head. "Is that why you said no matter what, we would not win?" "Yes¡­ the demons have been informed that my life has been bound to theirs. They know that if they die, I will die too." Weslie stated. "So even before their transformation, they started to fight till the end against anyone to ensure that they do not die. Eventually, the scholars started using them as a nice way to execute troublesome individuals or ''heroes'' that they deem as a threat." "But didn''t the reports say that the Burning Lion and Water Snake Demon were fighting each other? Aren''t they fighting for the large Litoride Gem in the oasis?" Gold asked, but Weslie shook her head. "That''s a false rumour started by the Demon Rats. To make the resistance think that they could rely on the demons to make more trouble for the Demon Rats. In the end, it''s a trap for them. They all think that by going there, they can earn an ally, but all that awaits them there is death." Weslie replied. "So the only way to free you from the curse would be to kill both demons?" Sebastia asked again, and with a frightened look on her eyes, she nodded her head slightly. "No, we cannot do that. The curse will be lifted, and she will die because of it." Gold answered Sebastia and Weslie pulled his hands. "If they can do that, let me. Please, let me go. To have seen you once more¡­to know you have comrades willing to fight against the Demon Rats¡­I am happy enough." Weslie interjected with a guilty smile and tears on her face, but Gold could clearly see she did not really want to die. "I do not want to be under their commands any more too, but that does not mean I cannot fight back." Weslie murmured another set of magical words and the illusion on the wall broke again, and it showed a ton of new experimental weapons. "I''ve been working secretly behind their backs and used their resources to create these. I only hope your friend''s anti-eavesdropping spell still works or they will notice all of this." "You have my guarantee, my spell still works." Kraft bowed and realised that the Scholar of the West was very well versed with mechanics as well as spells. Gold later boasted to him that she was more than just gifted. Some people even dubbed her the rare once in a millennium kind of genius. "If you take some of these, it will definitely improve your chances of winning against the demons." Weslie offered, but that was when Kraft shook his head. "We do not need those at all," Kraft replied, and Sebastia chuckled at his response. "What? What¡­are you talking about?" Weslie became even more confused as Gold seemed extremely confident about his comrade too. "Gold. You did well. Really well for this particular series of operations. I am glad Jin managed to recruit you." Kraft said as he walked towards Gold to give him a pat on the shoulders. "So! As a present or should I say a reward for your services, I will be handling those two pets so you can save your girl. As for you, darling, your hidden resistance is remarkable. You deemed more than worthy of being under the service of my master" Kraft declared proudly. "Kraft¡­you¡­ terrible, glorious bastard." Gold immediately understood the underlying meaning to that as he immediately bowed with gratefulness. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart." Chapter 493 East Meets Wes "What are you talking about?" Weslie asked in a panicked tone. "Are you crazy? Haven''t I established the fact that they could not be defeated???" "Oh! No worries, Weslie. Trust him, he can defeat them in a blink of an eye. Besides, our master, who was way weaker than him, managed to defeat Keyrin and Spiky." Gold answered, and Weslie was extremely confused. "Your Master? Defeated the Thunder Ram Demon and the Altered Transforming Spider Demon?! What is happening?" Weslie questioned, but Kraft interrupted them. "Gold, you know how to do that necromancy whatever shit ritual, right? You probably will have to redo it since those demons are going to die soon." Kraft as he stretched a little before he asked if Sebastia was ready. When the latter nodded, Gold asked Weslie to teleport the two of his comrades. "No! I am not going to, even though I have an obligation to do so!" Weslie refused, and Kraft sighed. "We do not have much time. Seems like Jin is stuck with something major and it''s best to take her away before more nuisances arrive. My anti eavesdropping inscription does not last that long, it''s a cheap one. You want to ask your girlfriend to hurry it up?" Kraft asked, and suddenly both scholars'' faces turned red. "She is not my girlfriend!" "He is not my boyfriend!" The two disagreed with Kraft simultaneously. They felt embarrassed, and it made the other two laugh together while averting away from each other''s gaze. "Look at you two! Already so synchronised! Just like an old married couple! Alright, just teleport me, and you two can enjoy your catch up chat. Gold don''t forget to take her collection with you afterwards." Kraft teased them before getting serious. "Please teleport me as well." Sebastia did not wish to remain as the third wheel in the following conversation. Gold scratched his head as he glanced at Weslie''s eyes and later looked away immediately. And then he turned back and asked her to trust them. "I assure you that they will be alright. They can put things right. Soon you will be out of this accursed loop." Gold''s constant pleading drove Weslie into a dilemma. She initially wanted things to end for her because there was nothing more than suffering. However, long after she had already accepted her fate, she was suddenly given the opportunity to finally rest¡­ But now she hesitated. Especially because Gold, the one Weslie lost all chances to be reunited with, was in front of her and somehow he did not mind her to die. Still, that trickster looking guy did command Gold to recreate a necromancy ritual. Why was Gold that desperate to remove her? She could not understand a single bit. And he was so confident that things would go alright. Still, did she really wish to be bonded to Gold for the rest of her life? Hell yeah. He had been nothing less of a gentleman, a loveable attitude with an inquisitive outlook. To her, she did not mind going through the river of death again just for him. But still, did Gold feel the same for her? Would she become a burden to Gold? As much as Weslie wanted to be with him, she did not know whether this was the effect of isolation or if these were her true feelings. Sometimes, the Scholar of the West felt that Gold was merely accommodating her, and he admitted once that he did not do much to get her attention, as if implying that he treated her as just a friend. "¡­Fine. But I have a lot of questions, and you better be prepared to answer them! I am not willing to die for good just yet!" Weslie said as she cast a teleportation spell on both of them and left Gold and Weslie alone. (But not before Kraft released another anti eavesdropping inscription in the area.) "What do you wish to know?" Gold dragged two chairs in front of them and Weslie sat down. "You can start by telling me how you got involved with those people," Weslie demanded, and Gold started recounting their encounter with Jin and what followed after. (He had been very apt at explaining this since more and more people kept asking him the very same question. At this rate, he could have written a bible on his lord and saviour, the System.) ¡ª¡ª "Ahhh finally out of the awkward situation," Kraft spoke as he took out his trusty No Mercy revolver. His mouth turned into a wicked grin. He could not help it since every time he took out this weapon, a blood bath was imminent. "They have too many things to sort out. Our fight may not give them enough time for that. Both of them obviously want each other at the same time, but seem to believe that they both are just treating each other as friends." Sebastia sighed. "Scholars are a weird bunch of people. They should be wise, yet in some ways, they are no more mature than our ''young'' Master." Kraft said as he heard the flowing of water and cracking of fire in the distance. "Anyways, go enjoy some exercise first. Once you have had enough, I will enter the fray. Otherwise, it will all be over too soon." "Thank you, Bellator Kraft. Please do give me your thoughts on my techniques as well." Sebastia bowed formerfully as the snake''s head emerged from the snowy ground. "Sure, why not. It will buy those clumsy scholars some time to sort their feelings. But remember. After I intervene, please keep whatever you see to yourself. I''ve not revealed my true strength to Jin yet. Just keep it as a surprise for now." Kraft said, and Sebastia promised. "Same goes to you System. I''m looking forward to Jin''s shocked face, so don''t you dare spoil my fun!" Sebastia added as she cracked her knuckles while the Burning Lion was seen charging from afar. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get working! Mr Fox does not have all day!" Kraft sniggered as the Water Snake Demon went forth towards Sebastia immediately. ¡ª¡ª "So¡­you were killed and resurrected?" Weslie did not expect Gold to act so rashly which he eventually admitted his own mistakes. "Well¡­ technically no. At least not at that point in time. Please keep it to yourself, but unlike Grey, Brown, Yellow or the rest of them, I submitted to Jin, when he promised me that I would see all of them again, just by letting myself hit by his metal box (phone)." "Sigh. But can you fully blame me? Master Jin, or more accurately his hidden power, is an anomaly, that none could have foreseen. His subordinate Zeru had broken into one of our hideouts and stolen some freshly acquired Living Armour Plates seeds. "We had to pay a hefty price to get them in the first place and could have used the money to fund our operations for months¡­ or at least prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. But hey! As you can see I am still alright! Fine and dandy and I achieved the impossible and the envy of all the past Scholars." Gold said with a slightly arrogant, filthy tone which made Weslie laughed. "Immortality," Weslie said with a smile despite her cloak hiding her eyes. "With conditions!" Gold smiled widely before he again tried to lower her cloak down. "Don''t worry. It''s just the two of us here. " Her peaceful, delicate eyes along with that sweet looking mouth was a sight for sore eyes as Gold curled her hair behind the right ear where the flesh and bones were apparent. Weslie retracted her head a little and Gold apologised, thinking that without the skin, touching the muscle would have hurt her, but she shook her head furiously. After multiple suicide attempts, she felt very little at all. "¡­.I want you to join us. To see the world we live in and many more. To meet Jin and all those whose life your spell has saved. My Master has even granted us a mansion with a farm in front of it, tended by all of us. You could finally live out the simple life a lot of people dream about." Gold said, but Weslie could see that he was struggling to say something out. It was not until he took a deep breath. "¡­I ¡­I missed you. I really did. Not a day went by where I did not regret that I was unable to protect you." Gold confessed while looking straight into her eyes. "I always regret not able to say it as I grabbed onto your nearly cold corpse as we fled away from the Compass Tower¡­I promise I will absolutely slaughter the North and South Scholars for defiling your corpse." Gold then realised he might have been a little too emotional as he saw her eyes were flooded with tears. He remembered how West used her last breath to teleport Gold even further away from the scene as he had already used the last of his mana to fight against the mutiny. "As I thought, that my life was over at the fight, my last thought was hoping you would be safe. When I awoke once more, I was looking forward to meet you again¡­ but then I saw what they did to me. What they forced me to do since then¡­" Weslie felt those nightmarish memories were ever recurring. "Every time I created a new weapon, I wished that none of them would be used against you. Each and every day, my heart ached, and it grew numb by the consistent demands of North and South. I am sorry. I am so sorry! I tried to undermine them. I really tried." Tears flowed like an unending river and Gold attempted to come closer and put his shoulder around her, but she took the initiative first. "I will only get uglier, you know? Even if you manage to recreate that necromancy ritual! I may look worse! I might even be a different person than what you see now! You know the repercussions of re-resurrecting a dead person!" Weslie cried, and Gold sighed because it seemed like she did not remember whatever they discussed a while ago. "So please, let me be yours. Not because I owed you. Not because of the guilt that I have. But because I really did like you. ¨C No, I still do! Please let me be in your arms until the end of my life." Weslie wept. Gold never thought that a logic driven lady like Weslie could fall into the traps of emotions and act way beyond reason. But he understood the fear¡­even though it was just a little. Since he too had experienced death. Not once nor twice but like a frequent traveller going through the customs. All he could do now was to comfort her until she experienced the System''s resurrection herself. "Scholar Gold, System has determined that Scholar Weslie won''t require the necromancy ritual. Her soul has been tightly linked to the two Elder Demons due to various circumstances. System speculates that this was done to prevent the deterioration of her skills and abilities." The System suddenly informed Gold about it. "Your rivals have used the highest quality of blood ritual normally performed by powerful demons. Scholar of the West, Weslie''s fate is greatly intertwined with the two Elder Demons." System then provided the most optimal solution. "To assure a perfect capture, both Elder Demons have to be killed simultaneously, or her soul may fracture." "Roger that. Any relevant information from our cute malware Foxy?" Kraft overheard the conversation from the System Channel, and the System notified that there was nothing of note yet. "Boring!" Kraft yawned on sight as Sebastia was working out furiously. "Sebas, Girl! You heard the System. Just weaken, I will kill them together. Enough with the warm up, time to show off your skills, before I finish it." "Yes, Bellator Kraft!" Sebastia smiled as she performed her Demonic Minotaur Martial Arts, Drawing the Full Moon, Dividing the Watermelon, and cutting the Water Snake''s tail away despite the watery illusion it used. The Burning Lion had already received damage through its innards with her ''Noodles that Skips The Mouth and into Stomach'' punch. "Okay, that is good enough." Kraft sneered as he aimed at his No Mercy at the two Elder Demons. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- Suddenly, Weslie felt a strange feeling coursing through her whole body. She could feel her circulation system begin to fail her. Her breathing was getting worse along with it. "Gold!" Her eyes were trembling with even more tears as Gold held onto her. Even though he knew that she was going to be resurrected again, Gold could not help but tear at the sight of it. "Shhh Shhh¡­I am at your side. Do not worry, Weslie. I am here. I am here for you. I am not going anywhere. It''s just like a short dream. And once you wake up, I will still be by your side." Weslie tried her best to cling on to Gold, but her strength was waning by the second, and she disliked that feeling a lot. For the second time in her life, she was fading away from her lover. "At the very least¡­I finally confessed my feelings for him. This time he is here for me¡­" She thought to herself as she could see Gold sweet talking her as if encouraging her that everything will go just fine. "You idiot. Thank you for giving me hope¡­" Weslie smiled weakly as she closed her eyes in peace and soon her flesh disintegrated, leaving just her cloaked robe and dust. However, within that robe, Gold could feel something heavy and went to dig into the robe. What he found was the Litoride Gem that the Elder Demon Burning Lion and Water Snake had treasured. "Hahah, those North, South bastards¡­I know you were bastards. But to go the extra mile¡­ to defile my gift to my love and use it the catalyst for her life. I am ¨C We will never forgive you." "But first¡­System suggests that Scholar Gold welcome his lover at Werejackal''s home instance. System has placed her in your bed. A kiss will be sufficient to wake her up." The System notified before it automatically teleported Gold back with all the items in that basement hall. "Damn System. I didn''t know you were such a romantic." Chapter 494 New Dungeon Concep Back in the Dungeon Maker Jin would have preferred to work on his idea for a new dungeon. However, he realised that there were a number of issues that he shouldn''t be delaying. One of such problems concerned the Farming World. There were many updates on his minions'' scouting missions, but the most intriguing thing was the reports about his newest addition of monster force ¨C human slaves. Jin asked the System to show him a live feed where regrettable his biggest worry turned out to be true. Among the slaves, hundreds of them were ordinary humans. It was a somewhat unsettling feeling which Jin should ironically be accustomed by now. The dungeon supplier had already foreseen that one day they would inevitably capture some humans, but it was still bizarre acknowledging that he now literally owned the lives of hundreds of them, who were supposed to be equal to him given their country''s laws. It was true that amongst his monsters there were those with human like appearances, like Ke Mi, Niu Lang and of course the werebeasts. Yet at least in his subconscious, he could justify that Ke Mi was multiple centuries old, which made it a bit hard to think of her as a human, and Nie Lang was given to him by the System. The werebeasts had initially been human, but Jin could not help but associate them as a werebeast, a different species, though if he was honest, he might admit that it was just his conscience trying to pacify itself. And then there were the Savants, which Kraft had ''gifted'' Jin to help and protect him. They had always been a grey area. Even though their bodies were technically robots, they still possessed their human memories. Were they really that different from humans? Jin kept silent for a while as he was sorting his thoughts. "Not the most ideal form of monsters but they are still regarded as resources." The System stated as sort of console for Jin who seemed to be deeply rooted in thought. "¡­ yeah, I guess humans are monsters in the eyes of other species¡­" Jin sighed and finally accepted the fact that the System could capture humans too. Just mulling his brain was not going to solve this problem. Even if he released them back to the farming world, would they want to return back as slaves again? Should Jin give a choice for them to stay? And if he does that, would that make him biased against other monsters who were forced to stay under his command? That was especially true when the humanoid species like the orcs and goblins too viewed the humans as monsters too. However, he was curious why slaughtering the Ruby Rats did not yield him any of the cultivators or even the demon exorcist trainees, and that was where the System stepped in to reason with him. "It is not because they have resurrective powers, the System had programmed your weapons and powers such that they will not resurrect anybody from this Earth. Even if you use your monsters, they will not be able to capture anybody from this place." The System explained which made Jin even more curious. "Treat it as a programming syntax. It will create a paradoxical loop or a potential bug in the system commands. System had performed simulations before and had deduced it was not worth the problem to catch humans from this particular Earth." "However, humans from other worlds were of a different matter. Though they may look like humans, their DNA syntax varied greatly from the ones in this Earth, allowing the System to capture them. So technically speaking, those humans that you obtained were of irregularity and can be considered as out of the norm from your ''standard or average range'' of homo sapiens." The System explained, and Jin took the time to digest the information. Jin eventually accepted the information the System had given and believed it for now until he has further concrete evidence of its word. Still, the dungeon supplier would meet with them later and decide on his future course of action. He took another look at the reviews and was delighted to find a lot of construction materials were among them. (All thanks to the hundreds of dead Demon Rats.) "That will definitely reduce the cost of my new idea." The System briefly recounted the efficiency of Wolte, the Silver Mage and Dark Templars, and also informed that they had just captured the last two of the Elder Demons that Gold required Jin for the parts of the Living Armour plates were captured. "What?! Who captured the Burning Lion Demon and Water Snake Demon?" "Who else but yours truly?" Kraft appeared and removed his coat. "Gosh, that place was freezing cold. Any longer in there and I''d have gotten frostbite." "Why did you do that?" Jin queried. "You normally won''t lift a finger for this kind of things." "Why you hurt me, Master! I do a good deed, and everyone treats me like I''ve gone crazy." Kraft dramatically played the part of a wronged samaritan. Jin just watched the theatrics without entertaining him, patiently waiting for Kraft to get serious again. "Tssk, you are no fun. And here I brought a new present for you, one I know you will love. Our ''buy two get three'' deal included a Scholar from the Farming World and guess what? She is rather adept in regards to Steam Tech!" "North or South Scholar?" Jin was surprised at this revelation. "None of them. You have one more try. Maybe third time''s the charm." Kraft conjured two ceramic plates with ''X'' on it, emphasising that Jin was wrong while also asking the penguins for some warm food and a hot Blue Mountain coffee via the Dungeon Maker. "A new Scholar? But I remember Gold telling us that the selection is still far away. There should only be four Scholars at a time, and West was killed according to him." "Nah, still wrong. Well, can''t fully blame you for getting wrong information with Gold not knowing any better. We found the Scholar of the West. Turns out that North and South turned her into an undead by binding her soul to the two Elder Demons." "Oh?" Jin quickly used the Dungeon Maker to check on the stats of the Scholar of the West. "Weslie, huh¡­" Jin turned his console screen to Gold''s home instance to have a look at the new Scholar and marvelled at how affectionate Gold was treating her. "Hoooohhh. Is this why you''ve been so cooperative suddenly? Didn''t know you supported their relationship so much that you were willing to kill those demons for her." (Was this old fox, a softie after all?) "Hahah! Just doing a service for a colleague. Besides, we are going to turn her into our spy very soon just like we did with Ayse." Kraft explained how she was the creator of the Steam Tech and all other technology that the Demon Rats were using. "Wow, given her abilities, she will be instrumental in the future. Honestly, she sounds much more like a Scholar compared to Gold." Jin stated bluntly, and Kraft laughed hysterically. "Oh, that''s a good one. A good burn. Come to think of it, did Gold ever tell us what speciality he had." Kraft asked ''innocently'' before he thanked the penguins for bringing the food to him. "I swear if Gold tells us it''s martial arts, I will make him retire and focus just on farming. Hmm, but that''s already pretty much what he is doing most of the time, anyway." Jin said before he briefly analysed the four Elder Demons in the Dungeon Maker. "Should probably be something more general like farming. I guess in the Farming World, this makes him very valuable. Or else, how would he know about the living armour plates." "Speaking of them, did you know that the Elder Demons required for the upgrade were pretty much a pet project by the Scholar of the West?" Kraft fanned the flames as he sipped his coffee slowly. "Ehhhh??? Don''t tell me that he was really missing her so much that he manipulated me into getting her pets¡­ I am so going to punish him if that''s the case." Jin recalled how terrible the fight was with Keyrin and not to mention that troublesome spider which apparently was called Spiky according to the System''s revised entry. "Punishment? That sounds right my alley. Would love to see the reaction on Weslie''s face when you tell him." "You sick bastard," Jin said as he stole a piece of tonkatsu from his plate. "Always was and always will be." Kraft agreed as he poured some of this coffee into his Tonkatsu curry rice making Jin nearly puke out the cutlet he was chewing on. "What? Coffee Curry? Never heard of it? Want to give some a try?" Kraft asked with a mischievous grin. "No thanks¡­I''d rather trust Lynn than your version." Jin shook his head furiously, which turned out to be a mistake. With a snap of his fingers, Evon appeared jumping into Jin''s face and temporarily disabling him. (Jin probably felt that if he struggled more, Evon would use a stronger anaesthetic to numb him.) Not missing the chance Kraft used his chopsticks to shoot another cutlet directly into Jin''s surprised open mouth and another one in Evon''s direction as a reward for playing along. Unable to prevent it, Jin swallowed it down. It tasted better than expected, but he wouldn''t admit that to Kraft after what he did. Knowing better than to try and argue with Kraft he gave a deadpan stare and subsequently asked the System for details about his two Sub System Users. "They returned back to the terrace house not too long ago. One is in the bathroom while the other is already resting on their bed." "Want to see some steamy action?" Kraft teased, and Jin only gave him a death stare back in return. "Good. Looks like you still have some moral inclination and haven''t been infected by this perverted old fox yet." Yun suddenly appeared right behind Kraft and pulled his ear. "Ow ow ow! That''s painful, Yun!" Kraft complained, but Yun was not letting go at all. Apparently, she had infused herself with a cultivation that ¡­was good at pinching. It was some type of crab cultivation though Jin was unable to clearly identify it as the silhouette was only briefly revealed. "The girls are my responsibility. Try anything funny, and you two will have to answer to me." Yun warned before performing the very same disappearing act which most bellators nowadays did. "I will get the information from them some other day. Looks like everyone had a rough day." Jin sighed, remembering he had not slept for a long time already. However, it was more vital to complete the new idea as soon as possible, so his sleep would have to wait a bit. "So what are you going to do?" Kraft asked with more seriousness as he continued with his food. "A Dungeon Cave in the Goblin World." "That''s a surprise. Why not putting a store there?" Kraft asked as he found it intriguing. "Nah, it feels too unnatural to place a dungeon supplier store there. But! That does not mean I cannot take money from them in other ways. It will be a store but not exactly a store." Jin said as he pitched his idea to Kraft and the System. First things first, Jin was going to place it at the borders between the orcs and goblins. Right smack at the middle. Then he would be using Goblin King Sol and Orc King Frost Echo to spread the news about the discovery of the new dungeon he made. It was going to be exactly like the traditionally styled dungeon where a party of four would enter the dungeon and kill monsters. Upon killing the monsters and surviving the traps in the dungeon, there would be a chest at the end of each dungeon floor. Not only that, clearing a level will reveal a staircase down to even more troublesome foes. Loot wise? The System had noted that the Demon Rats turned items were an overall boon. A lot of them were growable seeds, and Werejackal Grey had identified them as weapon plants and armour plants which could be grown within their home instance or the Floating Agriculture Sector in the Dungeon City Fortress. With a bit of DNA manipulation, the armour and weapon plants could produce a significant variation of loot for the Goblin and Orcs to equip. That way, the Orcs would have a reason to fight while attempting to keep peace with the goblins. How would they do that? Jin had ensured that the party of four would need at least a surviving goblins and an orc or else they would be rejected out of the room. And because the Dungeon Cave was still a dimensional instance, any party that lost one party member could be kicked out of the Dungeon Cave though Jin was still theory crafting and changes would be made along the way. "But of course, not during a fight. That would be stupid. The party will be teleported after they finished their room back to an Altar in front of the cave. And with their treasure chest too. Depending on how far they made it, they will get only a fraction of the prizes, but we want to motivate them to try again after all." He believed that would at least force them to comply watching each other''s back. However, Jin understood that this was just an ideal scenario, and it was questionable how successful it would be. So, in order to establish a precedent and also show off such trust was possible, Jin was going to ask the Goblin King and Orc King to come together, hoping them to participate the very first dungeon crawl. While it could prove dangerous to any kings, the two were already under the protection of the System so even if they somehow died, they could simply be resurrected. In fact, Jin predicted that it would deepen their bond and may prove to be the start for a healthy Goblin-Orc relationship. "Ok, that covers the rewards part, but you haven''t told us how exactly you will profit from this." Kraft was curious how it was going to work. "Nothing in this world is free. I plan to add an Altar of some sort right in front of the Dungeon Cave. It will provide them with the ''blessing of safe return'' in exchange for something¡­which I had yet to work the kinks out." "Perhaps an offering of at least forty silvers. And without it, they won''t be allowed entry into the dungeon entrance. I think we can later ask for a higher price, for those who are able to conquer the first five floors." Jin answered as he began to visualise the whole concept, and Kraft nodded his head. "Sounds good, but just putting weapons and armours inside as rewards will limit your customer base. You should add other things like fruits, vegetables and stuff like that." Kraft replied. " After a war, most of the Orcs and Goblins won''t travel to the end of their borders for some adventure. They require money to buy food. Therefore, we should give them what they crave. Let''s also insert junk like stuff we get from the Demon Rats to make it rarer for tastier food materials to appear." Kraft suggested capitalising on the current situation. "We can use a system similar to how pachinko works. We ''give'' them stuff they won''t need in the dungeon as their rewards and repurchase it posing as merchants outside the cave. It will make them think: ''Hey! It''s worth it to enter the dungeons!''." Kraft added, and Jin''s eyes opened up. "A fake self driven economy¡­.one that benefits us and not them," Jin whispered to himself. "Well, technically you can make it benefit them, but that can come later! You need the money, right? Anyway, you will appear more magnanimous, if you benefit them later down the line, instead of giving them everything up front." Kraft continued his ramblings as he worked his brain juice. "And we can also charge portal services to controlled town areas. Heck, we can even charge them by providing some ''services''. If we reward them with a seed of some food and use ''magic'' to make it grow, they can get it cheaper than buying it upfront. We can earn back our ''losses'' know." Kraft spoke slyly but said all these were just ideas for his master to play with which Jin got even more interested. "I see, I see¡­ I will get right to it!" Jin sounded very motivated as he fired up his Dungeon Maker to see if it was feasible. All the sudden brainstorming made Jin feel that this particular Dungeon Cave concept he created could be the next big thing in the Goblin World. All he need to do was to play it right. There would be some manipulation in the back end with the two kings and Jin would need the aid of Qiu Yue to do so. "Oh and eh make the entrance fee cheaper. A traveller pays like a silver for like 5 days of rest in an inn." Kraft snorted when he remembered Jin wanted to charge 40 silvers for it, there would literally be no one coming at all to venture if the price was that exorbitant. Economy in the Goblin World does not work the same as the Earth his master was staying in. "Then, I guess I really need to make use of the Goblins that Qiu Yue had contracted for more information." Jin was thinking of the ministers especially the one versed in economics to advise on some things as well as asking the Deep Ones to start putting some value on the items he wished to place in the dungeon chests. "Looks like another sleepless night!" Jin smiled to himself as he too called for a Blue Mountain coffee via the penguins. Chapter 495 Charity Funding While most of the site was cordoned off by the Police, Dungeons and Panda was the only shop that was still operating in Tiangong Shopping District, and a high number of customers came in to share their sympathies on the day after the incident. Many of those regular customers petitioned to Jin to set up a fund for the victims, and since it was additional money for their reconstruction, he accepted graciously. However, as shrewd a businessman as he was, Jin did take advantage of the situation and their kindness (to a certain extent.) First, he asked the System to create an impromptu page within the Pandemonium app similar to a Gofundme account in the West. The icon for it within the Pandamonium was shaped as Panda wearing a construction cap holding onto a donation box. The System made sure to create the most innocent looking pair of eyes for the Panda to attract even more sympathy from the crowd. On the very top of the page, it stated that 15% of every purchase made through the site, regardless if it was from dungeons, food or items, would be used for the reconstruction efforts of the Tiangong Shopping District. Alternatively, they could choose to put it into a donation fund for the residents and store owners that were affected by the triad attack. After their first purchase, they would get a physical Donator Panda badge from Yun which they could wear showing off that they had helped out as well as an electronic one to show their contributions to everyone. To spread the news, Jin conducted a brief Q&A session together with Kiyu where he also promised that all the dealings for the funds would be transparent for all to see and a breakdown of the funds received would also be reported in real time. The customers were surprised that Jin was willing to be so open about it and they poured in their support significantly, some were even from overseas which Jin had no idea how. Qiu Yue''s ex superior Yi San who happened to pop by as part of the Urban Development Ministry to assess the destruction also took the time to pay them a courtesy call. Qiu Yue informed the older woman that Jin was currently busy and they spent some time with small before she introduced Jin to Yi San. "You have a troublesome headache ahead of you." Yi San said after exchanging some pleasantries. Though she wasn''t part of the department of the Urban Development Ministry that dealt with this, she was called down to assess the damage as a visiting consultant since Yi San was involved in redeveloping this particular region of Tiangong District previously. Yet, with one look, she knew enough to know its a major trouble. "Yeah, I am doing what I can to get things going as soon as possible, especially considering this is supposed to be the time of the year where shops should be earning the most money. It is definitely a blow to all of us." Jin lamented. "I''m sure the banks definitely make it hard for you to lend some money and only do so by devaluing the land here based on its past history. I also doubt money you can receive that way will be sufficient unless you get it from external sources." Yi San remarked, and Jin understood what that meant. The quickest and ''safest'' way to get the money would be to turn to the Triads and people with influence like Hou Fei, his Panda Remnant that had a decent position in the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan or Yang Ling, the Tiger Princess. Perhaps, Jin could try to coerce Grandma Yuan into giving him a bit of money, maybe as some sort of development fund from JODE since she was going to create a branch here in Shenzhen using his dungeon supplier store. However, given his prior history with her, he could already foresee Grandma Yuan yapping away with her constant nagging turning this into a Trial he would have to overcome by himself. "You are not wrong, Old Birdy is certainly that type of person. She''d rather see you suffer and wring in pain-" Kraft commented in the System Channel before hearing a loud thump sound in the background. "Do not listen to him, Jin! You''ve done a good dead and have taken in her former disciples. It won''t hurt to ask her." Yun replied and surprisingly sided with her old instructor. Yi San then gave Jin a few additional pieces of advice and her contact number if needed help in the redevelopment portion. She figured she could try and squeeze a bit of funds to help ''redecorating'' the place since the district was also slated for major reworks previously. "Ehh¡­let''s just say I have someone in mind. If I contract a private construction company to rework the stuff and send you the bill, will you ever consider that? Perhaps pay the necessary reworks?"Jin tried his luck since he knew he should be able to match whatever criteria they needed to meet with the help of the System. Every bit of cash helps, even if it was obtained by somewhat cheating the government funds. "I am not exactly sure, but I can check it out for you. The most, I can repay you a given amount. Let me check if I can increase the funding at my side." Yi San as she bid Jin and Qiu Yue goodbye. "Thank you, Senior, for helping me a lot. I surely owe you one." Qiu Yue bowed as she walked her out to the front door. "No need. I received an anonymous donation right around the time that leecher went missing and you transferred jobs." Yi San replied with a cunning smile. "Take this as a repayment of the favour as well as the revenge taken." "But I did not do anything!" Qiu Yue tried to counter, but Yi San placed a finger at her mouth. "I totally agree with you. It must have been just a lucky coincidence." Yi San winked and left the area. "Kraft." Qiu Yue rolled her eyes, and she called out his name via the System Channel only to get an innocent bird like whistle before he disappeared into nonexistence as always. ¡ª¡ª- Later in the day, Jin met up with Xiong Da and Grandma Yuan to finalise the development lease deal of Tiangong Shopping District. Just as expected, Grandma Yuan decided not to render any help to Jin when he hinted about it as subtlety as he could. "I expect you to pay the full amount just as agreed¡­ however, we can arrange a delay for the remaining payment due in half a years time. Is that agreeable?" Grandma Yuan suggested, and the System immediately recalculated the expenses at lightning speed. "According to System''s calculation, User should have the budget to begin basic reconstruction with this delay." The System stated before it paused for a while. "Should the User promise to complete a Dungeon Takeover for at least one Rank 80 Dungeon Run in the Dungeon World by the end of December, System will consider releasing the funds for operating cost of a month for the furnishing of the town." Jin happily agreed to Grandma Yuan''s proposal, and they concluded the finer details of the lease contract. "After you clear this hurdle, I will provide you with the necessary funds for the creation of JODE branch. Do your best." Grandma Yuan left a voice transmission to Jin before exiting the room. With the legal documents for the lease agreement out of his way, Xiong Da remained in the client''s meeting area and asked Jin for a moment of his time. He then wrote a cheque and placed it down on the table, slowly pushing it towards him. Jin saw the cheque and turned pale from the amount Xiong Da was offering. "No. Xiong Da." Jin shook his head vigorously. He needed the money, but he could not accept such a massive amount of money from his most loyal customer. "Ahhh! Don''t hesitate to take it. Even if I don''t use it, the money is just left rotting in the bank. Might as well let it do some decent work." Xiong Da smiled. "This is too much. I cannot, Xiong Da. I already owe you so much for all the services you''ve provided by me. People are queuing up for you, dying to pay you just a fraction of this amount for you to agree to be their legal representative. Yet, I am using you like nobody''s business!" Jin exclaimed, and Xiong Da laughed. "And yet you still dare to say it so shamelessly right in front of me!!" Xiong Da continued to laugh before he was serious with the donation. "Take it. This Shopping District had become one of my fondest memories. If not for you, I would neither be as strong nor as happy as I am currently. You did your part to save the district from the clutches of the evil triads. I can''t just sit and watch you getting punished for something that was burdened upon you. " "As a regular customer, I am sure you have the vision to make it rise like a phoenix from its ashes. Allow me to provide you with the means. Make it great, Jin. That is all I request! Then perhaps, I can collect that favour back from you by enjoying the dungeons first hand." Xiong Da insisted with glee on his face. "Very well. But I am putting this in the Pandamonium Aid page so you can track the accountability of it!" Jin agreed, and Xiong Da approved such an action. "With this amount of money, it will take some time for the cheque to be processed. The System is willing to forgo the previous condition and allow you to start remodelling the Tiangong Shopping District." The System said as Jin left his office with a heart unburdened. "I am not a saint, nor am I a businessman who does not know how to repay his debts. I will use this money to refurbish the Shopping District, but I will also continue on with the plan for the Dungeon Cave. Like you said, we need to diversify a bit, and Kraft''s suggestion was decent." "By creating a sort of adventurer camp near the Dungeon Cave, we can take advantage of their economy in there to fuel our workhorses. In the future, I want us to be rich enough to be able to handle such an expense by ourselves." Jin made a promise to himself as he quietly teleported when he saw no CCTVs around. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Without wasting any more time, Jin had already asked Hou Fei for his help to contact a construction company to cordon the whole Tiangong Shopping District while blocking the entrance of the subway station. There were too many onlookers such as high rise apartments around the district overseeing the rumbles and Jin needed a total enclosure or at least sufficient enough to block the view from most apartments for the dungeon supplier to do its magic. The construction company was initially curious why they would put up only acoustic construction barriers without the start of any demolition, but a job was a job. The lead administrator tried to persuade Jin to take on their services, but he adamantly declined. The dungeon supplier excused himself by stating that he did not have the money as off yet. Seeing how their potential client was penniless, they could only grumble for not telling them sooner the moment they received payment for the setting up of the barriers. ¡ª¡ª¡ª In the meantime, the Goblin King and Orc King had already sent out the announcements about the Dungeon Cave, a ruin appearing so suddenly right in the middle of both of their borders. They both claimed in their royal decrees that it was the result of some hidden collaboration by both nations. This became the first successful case of cooperation ever since the inception of their mending relationship after the war. "A small sized adventurer base camp has been set up near the Dungeon Cave! Our allies, the half masked humanoids have shared with us, that they had similar experiences with these caves, especially from where they came." The town criers spread the news throughout the Kingdoms. "They require members of at least two different races to enter the cave after paying some tribute. Those who do not fulfil these criteria are rejected by the Dungeon Cave. Our glorious King and our friendly counterpart have agreed to band powers and money together and try to conquer the Dungeon Cave!" The Orcs were very excited about this piece of news. Finally, they would have another way to vent their frustration for losing the previous war. If this could itch their crave for a good fight, and with their new King setting the example, they would gladly temporarily join forces with the goblins for the Dungeon Cave. On the other hand, the goblins were interested in the Dungeon Cave primarily of the relics or items that were hidden inside. They knew that such dungeons would usually have treasures of great value. The goblins did not mind working the Orcs if it helps them to earn some extra cash. "First few scouting runs indicate that the monsters are pegged to their dungeon floors and rewards are given after the monsters are cleared for that particular floor. A reward chest has magically appear filled with relics, weapons, armours and even fresh food stock." The town crier continued. "Both the Kings believed that by running that dungeon, the lives of both goblins and orcs can potentially improve as a whole. The most important thing is that even after one ever gets defeated, you will not die!" The town crier said, and many of the orcs and goblins alike scoffed at the advertising part of the decree. "More importantly, not only does one come out relatively unscathed depending on your progress, you still get a minor reward! A seemingly unlimited number of people could attempt the dungeon run at the same time." The town crier added, and many people despite a little sceptical about it, was equally excited by the thrills of earning treasure and weirdly enough, food. Both races also believed that since the Kings were leading them, it should be at least reliable enough to trust. The news spread fast, and so did the number of adventurers who wished to try their luck with this new and exotic Dungeon Cave. Unknowingly to Jin, some of the humans who had stayed in the goblin towns had also begun to spread such news to their counterparts. (Including the human spies and their diplomats.) "Gosh, it looks like I underestimated this world''s crave for adventure and dungeon!" Jin exclaimed as he teleported to the site for the adventurer''s base camp upon hearing the System''s review of the situation. Chapter 496 Adventurer Base Camp The Dungeon Cave in the middle of the two borders had been conveniently placed by Jin near an abandoned town in the goblin''s regions. He believed that if there were signs of development for the base camp, the abandoned buildings would soon fill up. As of now the adventurer base camp was loaded with various makeshift tent stores that were at least dozens of metres away from the Dungeon Cave''s entrance. Colourfully draped linen cloth roofs were used as shelters from the weather while the first merchants had laid out items varying from weapons, armour, accessories and even food. Nearly all of these merchants if not all, were Jin''s Orcs and Goblins that had been working on the construction of the fortress city. All chosen members had been confirmed to have a decent amount of experience in the ways of a merchant. However, for the orcs, they were obliged to wear a half mask to conceal their identity in case someone were to recognise them. It was a sad price to pay, having been resurrected yet being unable to tell anyone about it. Should any of their friends or relatives come to visit the Dungeon Cave, the Orcs were forced to feign ignorance. Nevertheless, Jin allowed them to control the prices of the wares they held, thereby helping them to reforge any bonds if they so chose. (As long as they earnt a profit at the end of the day.) Jin wanted to see the progress of the market driven by buying and selling his own goods. Items retrieved from the dungeon by the adventurers would be purchased at a lower price and subsequently sold at a higher tagged price. And of course, not directly selling back to the said adventurers. He already made the preparations so that there would be a black market merchant that would periodically come to buy off those goods that were sold by the adventurers for slightly more favourable rates than the merchants, to prevent any of his own merchants from stockpiling. (However, it would be mostly limited to weapons and armours). This was because he knew there were a plethora of major underworld gangs in the various worlds that worked away from the law and would definitely try to take a piece of the Dungeon Cave''s loot. (He learnt much from the Triads.) So instead of allowing some other underworld gang to prosper, why not make use of this opportunity to create his own fake underworld gang? Some of the Orcs who heard about this idea immediately volunteered. The System verified that those who did had underworld operational experiences, making them the best candidate to set up their own gang within the Dungeon Cave territory. Jin already had a particular mischievous individual in mind to be in charge of them, one he could perfectly envision as a Bandit Leader without any trouble. (It would be a perfect reward for him helping with the Elder Demons while simultaneously allow the bored Fox Fanatic to incite Chaos upon somebody else.) On the surface, this was still seen as a giant cooperation project between the Goblins and the Orcs. The dungeon supplier had, therefore, asked both Kings to station their staunch defenders to ensure law and order were in place. Goblin King Sol sent Wyrstriker''s father, Argent, the Spear General and Gladio, the Sword General to monitor the lands for at least the first few months of its inception. Meanwhile, Orc King Frost Echo, sent out Cross, the Orcs'' Spymaster for the first month. It had been months since the Goblins and Orcs had started traded items, slowly mending their relationship under the watchful eyes of Spymaster Cross and Dagger General Igni. This adventurer''s base camp existence would be the best proof that both races could peacefully coexist and therefore, lots of steps were taken to ensure this would go right. Even though Jin could have created two Dungeon Cave Entrances or perhaps even three to include the humans, that would just have been an easy way out for this world, and nothing would have improved. Qiu Yue had also strongly encouraged her boss to make them work together. The Red Panda cultivator who had the two Kings under her control dipped her hands into this adventurer base camp by making the trade routes which she established between both races to create a checkpoint there. For now, they would be using this particular checkpoint as a place to rest and replenish certain stocks. However, Qiu Yue hoped that if this base camp grew big enough, she could build up a trading post right there. Lynn had also chimed in by getting her penguins to create a makeshift spot to earn money from travellers and adventurers. Jin had already allocated a large enough space that could potentially feed hundreds in one go with huge makeshift tents for the adventurer''s to partake the food. With the giant Horned Chicken as her new meat dish, she had already whipped up a few simple but very satisfying dishes to be served in that area. And as Jin had created the makeshift tents for the restaurant, he realised sanitisation could become a problem. The location did not have any lakes or other sources of water anywhere in the vicinity, so he asked the System to work on a proper sanitisation area for the goblins and orcs. That was also when (soon to be Bandit Leader?) Kraft jumped in and proposed Jin to utilise the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance. Jin realised that was a brilliant idea and told the System to create scrolls of portals to the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring instances which could be sold for a price by the merchants. On top of that, he was planning to use that particular idea to create a portal scroll to enter the Deep Reservoir Fishing Instance as well, allowing anyone to fish up food to eat. (But of course, priced at a significantly lower cost as compared to the ones they sold for his cultivators.) At that point, Jin also considered if he should instead directly integrate the Restaurant instance into the scroll since the fishing instance was already part of it. Operation: Dungeon Cave had to work. For the prospect of future and more importantly, immediate profit! ¡ª¡ª¨C Both the Goblin and Orc Kings were leading a rather large entourage of people who wished to fight in this particular dungeon. Thus, it might take some time for both parties to arrive, so that they could officially open the Dungeon Cave. Jin had decided to use whatever time he had to get on with the renovation of the Tiangong Shopping District. While waiting for the System to create a render of the new landscape for the shopping district, he focused on a few miscellaneous issues which may potentially allow Jin to expand in the long run. The first was to allow the store owners who were interested to sell some of his merchandise in the area. In short, he would become their supplier for goods to sell for certain stores, for example, the weapons, clothes as well as inscriptions. He already had some specifics in mind. He Rong, the owner of Toyz Connection, could sell the Spinning Tops seeing how it was a major hit ever since its inception. Lai Fu was the perfect candidate to sell some of his own produce which he would get from the Agriculture Sector. If they proved a hit, he might be able to sell them in his world and save the transaction fee that could occur while dealing in the System''s black market. On a separate note, since the System had captured humans, Jin figured he might as well use them for the delivery services his customers had been pestering about for a long time now. This would ensure they would get more cash in a relatively quick time. He and Lynn had thought about it and ultimately decided to sell only the following. Chashu Ramen in Red Snapper Broth, the Tonkatsu Curry Rice for the main dishes. Onigiris, the Triple Cheese Pizza, Fried Oreo pie and the cheesecake for dessert. Drinks wise, Jin had made everything available, but the only drawback was that the users could only use Pandamonium App to order them and it was not available in other food delivery apps. The reason was rather obvious for him but not the customers. However, when the news broke out in the Pandamonium forum, everyone went batshit crazy that Jin was going to allow delivery only within 10kilometres of the vicinity (even ignoring that the prices had been jacked up 20% to cover transportation fees). They argued that if he allowed other food delivery services to handle, he would be able to cater to more customers and further distances. (Oh, and the sub icon within the Pandamonium app? Jin had named the food delivery service as Pandafull.) Yet, Jin made his stand and replied in the forums stating that this was for now just an experimental project. He wanted to ensure that the food remained at its highest quality when being delivered. And the dungeon supplier was not joking. Jin had the System to create a delivery bag that provided temporal stasis for the food which utilised the same concept as the storage areas for Lynn''s kitchen. He also enhanced it with gravitational inscriptions to ensure the food would not be rocked should the Farming Humans get into any accidents like tripping or accidental crushing of the bag. He did not trust other food delivery drivers to maintain the food in their best condition. Worse, his reputation could suffer, if some decided to try possibly cheating the customers. (There were documented cases of this) But now that he had Farming Humans, he had reliable workers after inserting a few upgrade cards he created himself. The customised upgrade cards were no weapons but the Pandafull Delivery Bags, detailed information about Shenzhen''s location on par with GPS as well the (most expensive one to create) and a temporary Humble Horse Cultivation Grade 1. In the future, they would have to learn the Cultivation themselves as it was quite costly to upkeep, but on the flipside it allowed them to move long distances on foot quickly without the need for any bikes, allowing them to take short cuts based on their ''inherent'' knowledge of the city. These former slaves were already grateful that they had seemingly somehow survived the fight against the ''demonic'' beings at the trading town of Wecha. While it was strange that they awoke somewhere unfamiliar, most initially assumed that not much would change, trading one Master for another. Fortunately, they could not have been more wrong. Food was a hundred times better than the scraps of stale bread. There were a spacious bed and roof above them instead of the hard dusty ground that had awaited them each day. The Farming Humans was also afraid when the first being they encountered had been some of the Orcs who were still occupying the Guest Home Instance. They thought they were going through another hellhole. However, they soon realised that those Orcs were far more compassionate than those Demon Rats could have ever been. Many of them showed them the ropes and even introduced them to other minions in the place, including the infamous resistance group, Jacks from their farming world. Meanwhile, the announcement of this particular food service had caused Lynn''s penguins to be working overtime, busy preparing sufficient food not just for the dungeon supplier store but for the Pandafull delivery service. Based on the statistics of the type of food that was consumed in the Restaurant Instance for the past month, they had begun creating dozens of dishes and placed them into temporal stasis awaiting the next day when the service would go live. The whole endeavour was not cheap, but Jin believed the Pandafull delivery service will bring in more than sufficient profit to cover the cost which the System concurred as well. Chapter 497 Dungeon Cave Opening Ceremony "So, we meet again." Frost Echo greeted Sol, who bowed slightly in return. Hundreds of eager adventurers were awaiting the opening of the Dungeon Cave. Each one equally afraid to enter too late, fearing that others might clear out the cave within a single trip given their vast numbers at the adventurer''s base camp. Though the town criers and even the Kings had assured them repeatedly that the half masked humanoids promised the Cave would be filled with wonders and surprise regardless of their adventurers, it was hard to believe. Jin had initially proposed the first party to be led by the respective Kings, but many in their council spoke out against such an endeavour. What might be seen as the most powerful sign of cooperation would definitely threaten the minor humanoid towns as well as the humans who were staying at the side of the Goblins. Both sides agreed that assassins and spies from other countries would be within the adventurer camp just waiting for an opportunity to sabotage such an act should the kings enter the dungeon cave. Thus, the kings had decided to heed their council''s advice and solely be present for the opening of this Dungeon Cave. "No fun¡­" Kraft had already been looking forward to collecting some more ''volunteers'' amongst any wannabe assassins, but Jin consoled him by reminding him about his new responsibilities. He himself was comforted by the fact that the two kings preferred the event to proceed with success rather than risk any interruptions. Before the opening of the Dungeon Cave, both of the Kings were given a chance to address the audience. Groups of adventurers were already speculating which king would be the first to give their speech as it was basically an extension of power emphasising for all how the power balance really was. However, all this speculation was for nought as Jin, who had been on site as soon as the System informed him about their arrival, proposed to decide everything with ''the will of the Gods''. A simple coin toss would decide which king would speak first. Everyone in the vicinity disagreed with the way it was handled but also accepted that it was a rather ''fair'' idea to get things done without any political implications. The coin tossed by Jin as a (relatively) neutral party landed with on tails, which represented the Orc King''s choice, and so Frost Echo went up the temporary podium and gave his speech to both Orcs and Goblins and the visiting Humans. It was rather short rhetoric but filled with emotions that he hoped that the Orcs could learn to cooperate alongside the goblins. He ended by using himself as an example with his life entrusted to a Goblin, their current Spymaster. Most of the Orcs may have been sceptical by this in the past, but the Goblins had already proven their superiority by winning the war. (And Orcs who always loved a good fight will respect the champion.) Therefore they were at least willing to give it a try, seeing how the Dungeon Cave somehow required a variety of races to enter. The subsequent speech by the Goblin King was more factual and reminded both races that in that cave, the only one watching their backs would be their fellow comrades. "It''s like a trial of fire, to see if the bonds of Orcs, Goblins and maybe even Humans and Humanoids can be forged and tempered through the cave, giving rise to a better understanding among all our races." Goblin King Sol admitted that it would not be an easy task but used the examples of the Orc and Goblin merchants at the adventurer camp who came together regardless of race so they could do one job. To service the adventurers through the cave and grow rich with them. His speech was surprisingly well received, especially that last particular line made both races simultaneously cheer because that was what they all wanted to accomplish. At the end of these two short speeches, Jin came forward to activate the Altar right in front of them. The Panda Altar with a plate right in front of it shone brightly and spoke in a strange sounding voice (Chinese) since it was governed by the System. (In fact, the whole piece of land between the two kingdoms had been bought by Qiu Yue for dirt cheap, giving the System control of the place.) "Worthy Adventurers! Heed my warning. This cave is filled with treacherous traps and monsters! Offer a tribute if you wish to enter this perilous place, and you will be protected by my blessing!''" Jin translated for the confused looking adventurers. "From our personal experience, the tribute required consists of at least two copper coins for each adventurer before the Dungeon Cave will allow anyone entry. Upon noting that the adventurers have placed their tribute, the Panda Statue will glow slightly to see whether the tribute was genuine." Jin explained briefly how they had set it up to work. "Any outsiders who attempt to enter without paying any tribute will be attacked by heavenly flames without any mercy." Jin continued and warned them, leading to murmuring among themselves. "Do not worry, the Panda Statue and the Dungeon Cave are in a way sentient like how certain mages can speak to animals and trees. So you can be sure that you guys won''t have to risk your lives unless stated clearly." "Venerated Masked One, I have heard, that one does not die inside the cave, is that not true? Are there parts of the cave where death is unavoidable?" One of the Orcs asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Our race has studied this sort of Dungeon Cave back in our homeland. We have managed to place a spell for the first ten floors ensuring that none of you may be killed as long as you do not venture further down." The half masked panda cultivator assured the masses. "However, we cannot guarantee anything below the tenth floor because our magic seems unable to reach deeper. Perhaps in the future, when we find a way to purify a particular floor of the Dungeon Cave without too many expenses, we will do so. Some of the materials you may find could prove quite helpful for our research." Jin created an impromptu excuse. While Jin could have made the dungeon participants unkillable for every part of this new Dungeon experience, he figured that this could potentially create an imbalance in their societies. Seasoned adventurers might grow to the point where they could band together sparking wars. Both kings agreed to the idea that sometimes death was necessary for the kingdoms to maintain the balance of power. Still, the only things that would not die were Jin''s monsters, and those were dying for fights especially the ones who had stayed in the Sanctum of Worlds for the longest time and had no other work to do. Even the Orcs who were working in the construction had been permitted to take turns in order to enter the dungeons and let out some frustration. On the condition that their skins ought to be tainted with other colours so they would be unrecognisable as the former orcs that dwelled in their country. Customised helmets were also made to protect their identity, and the System had provided them with weapons and armour which it had collected from killing Demon Rats. "So, beware of this dungeon, for after the tenth floor, even some of our Humanoids have been unable to make it back to the surface. It''s regrettable, but our kind is not as numerous as your two races. For the glory of exploration and the endless amount of rewards, we have opened this Dungeon Cave for the rest to enter!" Jin stopped dramatically as his last statement resulted in a lot of cheerful applause. "To help our kind learn even more about these caves, and to help you accomplish this, we have prepared a dozen of counters right over there. That one will create an adventurer license card. This ordinary looking card shall give you the most important ability in that dungeon. The ability to escape at any time." Jin announced, and everyone started to chat loudly. Most had assumed they would have to climb back to the top to return from the dungeon cave, but if what Jin shared was true, it would change everything. "This card can act as your identification keeping track of how many floors of the dungeon you have conquered as well as the number of times it has taken you to conquer each floor. Additionally, you can use the card as magical storage for the items you receive or are rewarded inside the cave. Should you ever lose this, nobody else can open it. Even if someone dares to kill you within the cave to try and steal something from you, it will be in vain" Jin said, and everyone was delighted at that particular fact. "Speaking of killing! Let me be perfectly clear so that none of you succumbs to the temptation of greed. Like I said, the Dungeon Cave is sentient! Not only can it place one party on a different first floor compared to another party, it despises the act of betrayal. Should one of you kill your own party members, the Dungeon Cave will haunt you forever! If you do not believe me, then try it! Some of those who went before you were trapped in the Dungeon Cave eternally, for their insolence." Jin warned in a dead serious tone, and both races felt that something similar might have happened with the Humanoids. "Then what if one of our comrades dies during a fight?" The goblin wanna be adventurer asked loudly. "If your comrade dies a swift death, we recommend recovering the fallen body so that he can be handled by our specialists (Panda Nurses) after your fight. The Dungeon Cave may reward such an act of benevolence in the future. For it is ever watching, ever remembering the acts of the adventurers in the cave." "However! If a fight proves too challenging and you feel the need to escape with the license card, then it might be advisable to do so instead. Eventually, the license card will automatically teleport the fallen to the adventurer''s guild we have set up. It''s a spell mechanism that we have put in place to account and set a memorial up for them. So, there is no shame in retreating, for you live another day to take your revenge in this ruthless Dungeon Cave." Jin replied. "Esteemed masked one, you said the card will teleport the dead, but what if someone stole that card instead?" An Orc queried, and Jin smirked at him. "Any of you can give it a try. Trust me, it won''t be something pleasant." Jin concluded his explanation to the masses and a large number of Orcs and Goblins had begun rushing towards the counters filled with half masked pandas humanoids to get their adventurer cards. They were all the farming Humans which Jin used to have the counters operational. It would feel unnatural to use Orcs and goblins for this particular case. Some of them were excited to work for their new master while others were just curious how the Orc''s world looked like based on their conversations in the Guest Instance. Without further ado, Jin had Adventurer 001, while the Kings received 002 and 002 as part of the ceremonial courtesy of the adventurer base camp. The next card started with 004 and the first 300 would later become as the ''First Generation of Adventurers''. "And thus begins the great Adventurer Age." Kraft who had been at the sidelines to spy on any suspicious looking characters, teased his master as he patted him on his shoulder. "Hopefully. I''m already happy if we can earn some money from all this fake economy." Jin sighed in his transmission to Kraft since he did not want anyone else to know what this whole scheme was about. Right now, the adventurers had brought some cash with them and with any luck, they would be buying the services provided in his place. Registration to be an adventurer, food, accommodation were the things Jin was trying to earn from them. But the most important thing was that people from all over the kingdoms would bring their goods to most likely banter, buy and sell which allowed the System to earn money. The adventurers were just the lure in Jin''s eyes. It''s the economy of both kingdoms, with hopefully soon even the humans and maybe some humanoids, but ultimately the purchasing power of those kingdoms combined was the deal behind this Dungeon Cave scheme. Jin might not be a business student, but he believed that this particular scheme was an excellent way to control the economy of this world. And if that was not enough? The Dungeon Cave would be collating data from all the adventurers, and any adventurers who died would technically come into the possession of the System which it will gladly use to increase the workforce for both the Dungeon Cave or the Dungeon Fortress City. No matter the outcome, the System always wins! Chapter 498 Dungeon Cave Instance For the first time in history, the commoners between the Goblins and Orcs reached a compromise and banded together to try their luck in the Dungeon Cave. For the reward of attempting to see each other as equals, Orc King Frost Echo had personally enchanted the first ten parties with his ice magic, making their armour stronger and sturdier. Goblin King Sol did the same by enchanting their weapons with his Light magic, making them sharper and emitting a small shining light, allowing for an easier time in the dungeon without the need for torches. To the adventurer''s surprise, the first floor was brightly lit with various lighting that did not seem to originate from lanterns or torches. They saw miniscule wires along the cave tunnels and at every five to ten metres interval, there was a small bulb like object that shone brighter than any torches they had ever seen. Most orc villages were too poor to afford any lightings, and even in some of the smaller towns, it was a bit rare. Except for the capitals and the major towns, the orc villagers in the first party had never seen such stuff before. The goblins, on the other hand, were not as surprised with most of their cities powered by electricity. As they would eventually find out these lightning privileges were only available on the first ten floors. On the eleventh floor onwards, the System was programmed to place torches at irregular intervals. They would need to steal the torches to proceed forward or learn to bring in their own lighting source to compensate for it. Jin had designed the whole Dungeon Cave experience similar to an MMORPG. He wanted to make things easy and approachable, providing everyone with an authentic taste for adventuring. The first ten floors were intended to act like a tutorial. The first time an adventurer cleared a level would result in a guaranteed chance of a random weapon and armour pieces that consisted of chest plate, boots, helmets, gloves and perhaps shields. Any subsequent visit to an already cleared floor would yield lesser rewards, most often in the form of materials, but it would not be impossible for parties to try and make a living by not risking their lives. The first floor was filled with copies of the Wyrm Ants. The System had disabled their elemental properties for the first floor, only activating them on the second. That itself had already proven to be a challenge since the parties never seen such a monster before. They assumed those wyrm ants were just a variant of an Ant but most of them were dead wrong when they came charging towards them without any regards for their life. Howwever, the Wyrm Ants were not stupid and did retreat whenever it sense that it was in a trap, giving its prey a chance to chase after it too. Starting with the third floor onwards, Zombies began to appear as requested by Half Ghoul Lord Derek. Derek felt that his zombies were not getting much love in the Great Wall of China Instance as they used too. He wanted them to practice more, but after the introduction of the Raid Instance, the zombies had seemingly been forgotten by most of the cultivators. This particular dungeon was an excellent way for his zombies to gain more experiences and hopefully grow stronger in the process. Their progression was similar to the wyrm ants with the third floor holding regular zombies and the fourth level of the Dungeon Cave adding elemental zombies. Only unlike the wyrm ants, the adventurers would have to contend with various kinds of elements like poison, sleep, paralysis and stun as compared to the wyrm ants who had fire and frostbite. While some parties managed to power through the particular floor by tolerating the aliments, this notion did not hold true for all of them. Thus, they would be forced to return to the base camp where the merchants were selling antidotes and even potions against specific ailment resistances. The merchants knew that selling these various antidotes and ailment resistance potions would generate a relatively reasonable sum of profit at the start, but these miscellaneous recovery items were all needed to lead up to the sale of the more potent remedy that could increase resistance to ailments. An all resistant potion. Of course, the merchants employed by the System were not stupid. By pricing the various antidotes fairly cheaply, they could jack the price of a minor ''all resist'' potion by at least three to four times the price even though the System bought all these potions for nearly the same cost. Besides, the potions were selling like hotcakes when the adventurers pieced the information together at the makeshift adventurer guild headed by someone who Jin felt that she was working out of her normal scope of work. Zhi Nu. She felt wanted to contribute more towards Jin when she saw Niu Lang working hard in the Star Cross Industries. The Weaver Girl knew nuts about machines, but she had learnt a fair bit about management when she was being schooled back in her world''s Heaven''s academy. That was why Zhi Nu wanted to help Niu Lang by first establishing and learning the ropes from the beginning by being in this particular adventurer guild. Zhi Nu would tell the other merchants about the gathered information she overheard while handling the farming humans through the System Channel. This gave the merchants a heads up to perform their tricks as well preparing sufficient stock for sale. Thus, the adventurer''s guild and the Merchants had long coordinated among each other even though they were all busy handling their customers and ''compete'' against each other (They all had a quote to fulfil after all). Meanwhile, some adventures who were too poor to afford those potions had decided to fight more cautiously, and others had decided to return to take on jobs that were in the vicinity. What jobs one might ask? The dungeon supplier had told both Kings that he had already created an opportunity for the two races to work together. The rest was up to them, but Jin ''leisurely hinted'' that a small village could be useful and fortunately, there was an abandoned town in the vicinity. Thus, the two kings had signed a royal decree and pooled money together to create the village. Any adventurer''s who did not mind this back breaking labour could earn some additional cash by helping clear the abandoned village and aid with the construction of it. Qiu Yue also chimed in by providing improved schematics by Jin''s researchers to improve the quality of life of the adventurers. (At a cost too) That was how Jin pushed his self driven economy and started to take the share of this Goblin World''s money pie to eat. With the tasty food by the (half masked) penguins, the constant avenue to earn some revenue and a possible permanent place to stay when they built the site up, the opportunistic goblins and orcs began to see that there was hope. And it was this hope propelled them as a united front. In the subsequent days, the Human Kingdom had sent emissaries to visit both the Goblin Kingdom and the Orc Kingdom proposing that the Humans take part in the village building endeavour as well. They were farsighted enough to see that the cooperation of the Goblins and Orcs could threaten their own existence if they decided to stay their hand on this particular matter. Frost Echo and Sol had both agreed to the human''s participation on the condition that they who had come in late invested the same amount both Kings had already paid into this village. Unable to decline, they accepted and the humans sent out their own entourage of adventurers as well as the paraphernalia support needed for the construction of the village (Not to mention more gold.) As expected, budding alchemists, mages and healers had decided to come in and try to make a quick buck when they heard how the dungeons could not be coped with brute force alone. Unfortunately for them, the merchants who were present offered a wide variety of options so that those support adventurers who arrived eventually ended up paying for more to enhance their own supportive roles by providing their value added services to join the adventurers. As the days went by, some of the adventurers managed to hit Dungeon level five where Jin had placed Shu''s Praying Mantis as their first boss that they would be fighting against. There were no tunnels, no tight spaces but a spacious hall with the praying mantis munching on some meat. Jin purposely placed the Praying Mantis there as a definitive test of the adventurer''s teamwork. It was by no means an easy fight, but it gave many of the adventurers the feel of adrenaline with the Orcs undoubtedly excited to be fighting against such a terrifying monster. Eventually, after a full day had passed without any team able to defeat it, the first three adventure groups who had managed to reach that floor had met up and discussed possible ways to overcome this challenge. In the end, they not only succeeded in defeating it, but their names had appeared under the Panda Statue as the first few parties to succeed leading to the most other adventure teams following their example by making use of each race''s natural talent. The Orcs took pride in their sturdy build, enabling them to take and dash out a lot of beatings, so most parties had them act as the tank of the party or their offensive tank. The goblins were generally nimble due to their size, and most of them took on the role of sub attacker, by providing ranged support or surprising the enemies from behind. Lastly, the humans took the positions of support or finishers where they were either healers or mages. Nevertheless, there was a considerable number of exceptions, turning party matching in the adventurer guild almost a bloodbath. In these moments, Cross and Gladios'' security regiment came in to break the fight. Many of the Orcs tried to challenge the famed Sword Goblin General after the war, and those who lasted for more than ten exchanges could be counted with less than one hand. Meanwhile, Cross was so agile that the battle ended even before it could start. This showed that the presence of security and the response of security teams was equally important even in this (relatively) small adventurer base camp. So that brought in the question of how? Let''s start with Qiu Yue previously pressurising the two kings to succumb to her demands by allowing her to buy the land at the middle of their borders at a very cheap price. (Jin tried to stop her, he really did, but in the end, he was powerless to stop her too.) So, although it was stated that the dungeon cave was in between the borders of two kingdoms and was still under their authority, the land actually belonged to the humanoids. With that in mind, the System had full control over that area and had placed various magic eyes to keep track of the place. As the land owner, the Red Panda Cultivator rented the place out to both kings at a rate that they were both satisfied paying. (Considering how much they owed her, they believed it was a reasonable thing to do while the kings seemingly forgot that they were pretty much controlled by her.) Thus, Cross was sent out via the System''s commands to catch those lawbreakers and explicitly showed that the laws of their kingdoms were applied strictly. It was not a pleasant sight, but it reminded people that while this might be a new haven, big daddies were still watching among the people. However, the heartening thing was that all three major races despite their differences and the usual racist remarks towards each other could still put aside their long standing grudge in just a few days to work together and fight against a common enemy. The kings while still cautious of the optimistic early results, were delighted to see such a scene and had pledged to aid the place even more to ensure it would stay this way. Even though a whole Earth day had passed, the profits that Jin had earnt from this particular endeavour were increasing by the (Earth) hour. The dungeon supplier now hoped that more of this profit would continue to roll in the coming days giving him more assurance in terms of money flow for he had started to focus more on the Tiangong Shopping District. "With only 12 days away from Christmas, let''s hope that I can finish in time, so there is at least a week of sales for the owners." Jin thought as he prepared a bottle of Blue Mountain Coffee right beside him. Going through all nighters was one thing, but communication with the rest of the store owners was another nightmare he had to brace himself for. Though right now, he was going to build the most unique and iconic feature Shenzhen would ever have. One it would be remembered for in the future. Chapter 499 New Tiangong Shopping District? "Hey Old Fu, did you also get the message from Boss Jin?" He Rong called Lai Fu, who was scratching his head and yawning since he had woken up only seconds before. "¡­huh? What message are you talking about? Do you know what time it is?!" Lai Fu complained as he looked at the alarm clock showing it was roughly 6.30am. Even his wife was mildly irritated by the early call as she turned to the other side of the bed and continued snuggling on her bolster. "You would have done the same in my shoes! ¡­Something drastic has happened to Tiangong Shopping District. Just look outside and take a look for yourself!" He Rong hurried his friend as he could not believe his own eyes. The Toyz Connection store owner lived approximately a few blocks away the same as most of his peers from the shopping district, including Lai Fu. "Calm down, you are not making any sense. What exactly happened? I thought Jin was still in the midst of removing the debris so that we could renovate or rebuild our shops. You can''t mean¡­is it another Ruby Rat ambush?" Lai Fu sat up almost immediately and started to dress his shirt over his singlet as he rushed over to the main hall of his apartment. At that moment, Lai Fu was slightly stunned and nearly dropped his phone as he opened the curtains to overlook the state of Tiangong Shopping District from afar. (His apartment was on top of the hills, further away from the shopping district and nearer the edge of Tiangong District.) "Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is¡­is that a tree?" The Fresh Price General Store store owner rubbed his eyes a few times and pinched himself to see if he was really awake. A large gigantic tree had appeared right smack at the centre of Tiangong Shopping District. And it was not an ordinary tree if Lai Fu could see it clear enough at kilometres away from his house. "That''s all you got to say?! You are kidding me, right? From my perspective, that is a HUGE ASS FUCKING TREE. Like how the hell did Boss Jin even manage to import a tree this big?!" He Rong asked rhetorically. Outside his apartment, some people who went out for work were pointing at the anomaly. Even though the acoustic construction barriers were still up, He Rong could see many of residents near the Tiangong Shopping District taking pictures of the enormous tree and theorising how Jin had accomplished such a feat. From what he could overhear, some claimed that he employed a group of western mages to spur the growth of this tree while some others seemed to have taken inspiration from the tale of Jack and the giant beanstalk wondering if Boss Jin had bought or created some magical beans to create this tree overnight. Some nastier opinions pointed out that the dungeon supplier was lucky the tree did not grow to the heavens, else it would be disrupting the air traffic in the vicinity. However, despite all the mindless chattering, there was no doubt that the colossal tree was as high as the apartments in the area and had become the talk of the morning. Some residents recalled how Jin had initially created his shop in less than a night, and people were eager to learn what kind of construction company could create such miracles unless it was prefabricated buildings. Though this rumour has long since been debunked. Some construction specialists had heard about it, had come to check Jin''s shop out in the early days. After some personal inspections (out of their own interest), they swore it was definitely not prefabricated in their eyes but solid groundwork. They could not fathom which construction company managed to do this overnight without the help of a crapload of western mages. The same thing could be said about this colossal tree right in front of them, but the gossipers believed that even those well versed in nature magic would not boast about being able to perform such a feat. To put it frankly, if there were a few who could perform such a brilliant display of magic, the amazon forest would not be threatened in any way. "Ah yes, you should check your phone. Boss Jin had messaged us through the Pandamonium App asking us to meet him and gather as many, possibly all of the store owners in by today. Si Fang has already messaged and strongly emphasised to everyone to come at all cost in our Mechat Group." He Rong was glad that Jin had pushed Si Fang to get all the store owners to at least verify the insurance claim by yesterday. He believed that if Jin created such a tree amid all the damaged stores, there would be no way to verify and assess the extent of damage those Ruby Rats had done. "Hmm..if he is rushing, there can only be one thing¡­" Lai Fu pondered at his balcony as he was still in awe with the colossal tree right in front of him. "He might want us to reopen the stores by Christmas or maybe a few days before Christmas." "He cannot be that considerate, can he? The expenses he needs to fork out are already tremendous just to accomplish the recovery of the shopping district!" He Rong could not buy that particular reason though at the same time he was hoping that it was true. The pending insurance coverage was adequate to get by, and this made most of the store owners resign to the fate that they would lose business for Christmas at best and at worst the Chinese New Year period as well. "No use wondering, we will know for sure once we meet with Boss Jin." Lai Fu replied as he started to make his own breakfast. He briefly looked through the store owner''s chat group, yet Jin himself was not included there. In fact, none of them knew his phone number or Mechat account and realised they had been communicating with him exclusively via the Pandamonium App. The store owners who saw He Rong''s picture in the group chat were all scratching their heads at how Jin was going to handle the reconstruction of their stores. Some even worried that the new landlord was going to break the promise and kick a few shops out of the shopping district with the new sightseeing feature. However, Si Fang did what he could to relieve the anxiety among the store owners who reacted that way. He too understood what the owners were going through as they could foresee the colossal tree becoming the future main attraction for Tiangong Shopping District. The shopping committee head could not comprehend how the shops would be placed if the tree was at the centre of the district. Thus, he could only assure them that their new landlord would have their answers ready. Ironically not shortly after everyone had been calmed down, Jin sent out another message to store owners in the Pandamonium chat group. An ultimatum which he asked Si Fang to copy paste into their group chat. He demanded with the vested power as the new landlord to all store owners to attend the meeting he was set up in his Dungeons and Pandas store at 12 o''clock or else there was a high chance he would not entertain their request to remain part of the district any longer. True enough, not all of the store owners had arrived at the allocated meeting time at the Dungeons and Pandas, but Si Fang asked Jin to give him some time to contact them. The dungeon supplier was aware that some store owners had decided to close their shop permanently after the incident as they believed the shopping district had to be cursed with the episodes of the pachinko fire and now the Ruby Rat. However, after some convincing on Si Fang''s part, Jin eventually decided to give the latecomers some leeway before he brought the other store owners to the meeting room instance where everyone was surprised by the atmosphere of the office environment. A replica model of the tree was right in front of the conference table as well as the design of the layout outside of the tree that occupied the shopping district. "Thanks for waiting, I managed to reach all five of them, and everyone refused to enter this new phase of the Tiangong Shopping District." Si Fang entered the conference room last with the aid of Yun. Three of them did not believe in Jin as the new landlord and instead assuming he was crazy to pull a stunt like that, while the last two had reached their retirement age and had decided to let their business die off with the new renovation of Tiangong Shopping District. "I see, then we shall get started." Jin, who looked more presentably for the occasion with a set of formal shirt and pants, had begun his presentation. Only instead of a standard presentation, the dungeon supplier used the Tiangong Shopping District model right in front as the prop for discussion. "This will be the new phase of Tiangong Shopping District. I assume all of you have seen the giant tree right outside the store, considering it is a bit hard to miss, that will be our new mall." Jin started with a joke, earning some polite chuckles before he became more serious. He went forth to the middle of the conference table and removed half of the tree replica right in front of them, showing the anatomy or the intersection of what was inside the tree. The store owners immediately understood the purpose of that tree. Instead of the typical modernistic style of new malls, Jin had chosen to go for the opposite route in this concrete jungle city. As Jin had mentioned, the tree was indeed like a mall with a number of floors that could accommodate more than the number of occupants that were sitting in this room. The stores would be situated around the circumference of the tree, with the centre carved out be empty in order to insert a gigantic copper Panda statue which resembled one of the highest ranking deities in heaven, Tian Gong. More commonly known as The Jade Emperor. Kraft found it extremely hilarious that Jin had decided to use the Jade Emperor, the past nemesis of the System at the epicentre of his shopping district. However, not in the image of him directly but the very symbol of the Panda clan. "A direct insult to him!! I am loving this district already!" Kraft was rolling on the floor laughing at the sight of the copper Panda statue. It was draped in the design of royalty clothes as well as the crown in a separate instance within the Dungeon Maker as the System was continuously refining the said statue. Jin dubbed it the Panda Tian Gong Statue which he would use as advertisement for the district so that the panda statue would gather love and popularity from the visitors. It was also a subtle move to gain support for the lost Panda Clan and the System approved of it so much that it had decided to use the highest quality of copper and gold to create the statue. At the same time, it also employed the goblin craftsmen to refine the details, ensuring it would be lifelike despite the type of material they used. (Copper can be considered everlasting, since it does not rust, and very easy to mould into shape.) But back to the issue at hand, the store owners realised that though numerous there was not much space in each of the individual stores with the largest not even sufficient to house He Rong''s old store. That was when Jin looked at them with disbelief. "Are you kidding me, guys? You all still cannot figure out why I haven''t put that much space for the storefronts? Do I need to remind you how I earn my bread and butter?" Jin asked them somewhat impatiently, and Lai Fu and the others suddenly felt very stupid, which led to a series of laughter. "You are not joking, right? You are for real that you are going to do that?! Because if that''s the case, I am going to send in an absurd number of requests for you to fulfil it." Lai Fu questioned Jin seriously, and the dungeon supplier returned with a smirk. "Trust me anything is possible¡­ for a price of course." Jin smirked at him, and slowly, the store owners came to understand the ramifications of Jin''s claim. Jin was going to make a dungeon instance for all of their stores. And each one of them could have it designed anyway they wanted. (as long as they were willing to pay for it) "Don''t worry I won''t nickel and dime you guys. The charity fund that I have created will be split among you guys after I sent some recompense to all the victims that were involved in the fight. I am giving it out equally to everyone, and all these funds would be accounted in the Pandamonium Charity Report. I want each one of you to start as soon as possible in this critical period of time. That was why I urged all of you guys to be here for this meeting" Jin reiterated, and the store owners understood Jin''s reasoning for not revealing everything up front. He only wished for those to remain who genuinely cared for the district, who attended this meeting with concern and not greed in mind. "There are some things that came out from my pocket, like the subsequent decorations and the Panda Tian Gong Statue. However, the rest can be seen in the report if you download the Pandamonium App." Jin stated as he opened the report right in front of them at the projected screen on the wall, detailing the approximate amount all of them would be receiving as recompense. He was planning to make this whole tree mall ''instance friendly'' so, Jin required all store owners to individually install a (slightly modified) Pandamonium app into their phones to fully utilise the dungeon instance making process. Each and every store owners were extremely excited as they were given a chance to make their dream shop a possible reality. Chapter 500 The Beginning of a Brand New Star Even though the amount in the charity funds appeared quite substantial at first glance, it would have to be divided between numerous victims. Jin knew how much a dimensional instance would cost based on the System''s requirements and the store owners currently allocated cut of the funds alone was not sufficient. If possible, Jin would have preferred not to use the fat cheque which Xiong Da had handed him, but in order to create the ideal version of the Tiangong Shopping District he envisioned and more importantly do so in time before the upcoming Christmas, he had to spend that money to earn more money. When Jin had offered the store owners his services for instance making, and the System had promptly jacked up the prices accordingly. This would allow him to earn some of the cash back, but he quickly asked the System to ease up with the prices for this first batch of tenants. Subsequent tenants wouldn''t be let off the hook merely because he would have proven that paying his prices would be worth it at that point. The dungeon supplier explained that the owners did not need to worry about electrical or water fees. Instead, they would be charged a standard maintenance fee each month along with the rent which he had decided to lower to 50% of the original price. Jin understood that losing business during a festive period was extremely devastating and offered some help to the store owners. He had sworn a pledge to aid the store owners when he was fighting against the Ruby Rats and Jin intended to keep it. Until they managed to get back up on their feet, he would not touch the rent pricing because if they prospered, he would prosper too. (Definitely way more than what he spends right now.) The store owners were very surprised that Jin was willing to lend them so much help. Those prospective tenants he had not interacted with, will wonder whether the kid even knew how to be a proper landlord or if he was just too rich for his own good. Yet Lai Fu casually reminded them that it was his business sense that allowed the old Tiangong Shopping District to pick up some slack after the pachinko accident. That was when the store owners clearly misunderstood Jin''s kindness and probably with a tinge of shrewdness for his portrayed stupidity, and many unconsciously swore to aid his cause if things ever were to go south again. Jin at that point then asked this first batch of tenants to start writing or draw how they wanted their new stores to be. Even if they could create their dream store, it was the dungeon supplier who would be the one to create the instance for them. Thus, he needed them to accurately visualise and articulate what they wanted in their stores. It was a fairly simple procedure considering all of them were experienced business owners, and many started by listing their demands prioritising the practical stuff such as cash registers or specific appliances for the various stores like coffee makers, stoves and fridges. Going through their requests, Jin realised many of those things he could provide at a fraction of the cost compared to buying it wholesale as well at a superior quality too. (However, he kept quiet and retained the pricing as per Earth''s market price to earn some profit. At the very least, those machines will definitely be more of a higher quality.) Upon glancing through the request list, there were even some things that Jin believed the System could improve. For example, it should be easy to overhaul cash registers and the need for computers to do their accounts. Jin felt with Kraft''s help, he could create a simplified program that could link the System''s powers to the computers that they had, allowing them to easily manage their accounts while he could keep track of the amount of money that they earnt. (For analytical purposes too. If he knew everyone was earning decently, Jin could subtly increase the maintenance fees and rent without too much of a complaint.) After receiving the wish lists of items and their own depiction of their dream stores, he sat them down in the conference room and spent some time getting to know them better. (As if he was Santa Claus in the room, addressing the kids about their toy wishlist.) Since they would all be working under his umbrella, Jin did not wish for them to compete against each other, but rather earn the customer''s money as a collective group. That was one of the few ways how Tiangong Shopping District could survive the harsh ''winter'' that was coming. To his surprise, most of the store owners had already specialised long before he opened his store and there were not much of repeat in terms of stores. Lai Fu had his General Store, selling everyday goods and other sundries, Si Fang was the only caf¨¦ store in the shopping district. He Rong was no different, dealing toy merchandises for hobbyists while Ke Ru had the only fast food restaurant in the neighbourhood. Qian Qian owned a bakery, and her bread had won her several die hard fans, especially among the workers going to the subway station. Man Tang was the only karaoke entertainment owner within a five kilometre radius, and her establishment was considered the bigger few within the shopping district. She could be on par in size with Lai Fu or perhaps even more substantial than his. Bai Wan and Bai Xin were a pair of twins, brother and sister, who had taken the opportunity of the dungeon supplier store and revamped their stores in facilitating the sales of weapons and armoury. However, because of the Ruby Rat attack, they also suffered the most due to the triad members being raiding their place first and had picked their store clean from the attack. Jin knew that their insurance was surely insufficient to cover, especially when their two connecting stores had been from their parent''s generation, and they hadn''t had much to cover such expenses. (That also gave Jin the perfect opportunity to help them.) Yu Xiang, handled her parents'' Chinese medicinal store before the destruction of Tiangong Shopping District but she also possessed her knowledge of western medicine and a graduate certificate in pharmacy had given her the license to operate a western pharmacy corner in the shop too. There were some disagreements with her parents, but ultimately, they knew that not everyone believed in Chinese medicine and their daughter''s knowledge in western medicine hopefully would augment their store''s profit and reputation. Unfortunately, the loss of their shop made them lose a lot of valuable medicine, and the insurance coverage was also not sufficient to cover for their losses. Yu Xiang only came because her parents were not able to make it, as they went to attempted to source for other medicinal suppliers hoping it would be cheaper. Thankfully, all hope was not gone for this family store nor for the Bai Twins. Jin saw a lot of potential in aiding Yu Xiang as his chi generating potions had been mainly derived from Chinese medicinal herbs and he believed she could sell his potions and potentially¡­improve them further. The last one but definitely not the least of them all, had made quite the impression on Jin. Yong De was the store owner who owed an arcade in the shopping district. Initially, he wanted to sell all the different mini games to He Rong but seeing Yong De mentioned how he sold not just arcade and UFO machines, but even hosted card tournaments it made him the perfect person to deal with. If those two store owners worked together, there was a possibility that they could push the mini games Jin created to a higher level. There were others that sold food too, and Jin was not very interested in them since he had Lynn, who was clearly superior to them in terms of food. He did not wish to brag nor did he want to simply remove those choices, so he had instead decided to open a food court to cater their food. However, that did not stop him from wanting to sell ingredients to them because of Lynn''s request. Even the chef working under the Dungeon Supplier welcomed the competition when Jin had previously discussed about aiding the store owners. Lynn claimed that only through competition was she able to excel among others. Of course, in terms of ingredients, Jin would be selling only what could be found on Earth although they were still thoroughly enhanced in quality by Ke Mi''s and Shu''s aid in the farming aspect. Juicy, tastier and nutritionally more valuable than the ones Jin bought in Lai Fu''s general store, not to mention no insecticides or pesticides used at all because of the strict growing environment that the System had regulated. It was truly the wonder vegetables that Jin would be selling at a higher cost price. But he was not stupid to sell it immediately and rather planned to give out a few as a sample for the store owners to try. As Jin got to know them personally while learning about their requests, the other store owners began to network with each other by brainstorming what their instances would going to be like. They were hoping that all of them had a different theme, so it would be an assortment of experiences for the customers. It was the food store owners that believed that they had picked the short straw among the rest of them since Jin announced that they would be placed together. Some were disappointed for not receiving the same treatment as the rest but that was when Lynn entered the conference room. Accompanied by a few of her penguins they brought in some refreshments for the group, and it was none other than Lynn''s speciality, Black Pepper Pork Buns. Along with cans of bamboo juice, the drinks and food did perk the store owners'' mood up a little as they continued with their brainstorming session. That was also when Jin had a breather and decided to face the entire group of food store owners in order to address their issues. While the store owner''s complaints were valid, the dungeon supplier replied that he was aiming to catch the attention of the surrounding neighbourhood by providing this collective food court concept. "Your maintenance fees as a collective will be significantly lesser as a group, and there was a reason why I am putting you guys together. By aiming to attract a large crowd, a crowd larger than what you all were used to handle. See those penguins over there? Because you are in an instance, these penguin NPCs will be able to help you cook your food too." Jin said as he asked the penguins to come forth and let the store owners feel them. Some of the store owners who had never been to a dungeon supplier were shocked to see how real these penguins felt but still questioned their abilities. As if on cue, Lynn took out a portable stove from her storage ring for her peggies to demonstrate. The store owners knew that these mobile stoves can be used as efficiently as the ones in kitchens since many of the street vendors used them as well. Most did not remember that not too long ago, Lynn had been a street peddler selling her famous Black Pepper Pork Buns. Jin humbly asked the store owners to move to the side of the room while his chef brought out a mobile sink and plugged in a five litre tank of pressurised water so the penguins in the area could prepare the simplest and yet one of the most demanding dishes in Chinese cuisine. Egg Fried Rice. While Jin was amazed by Lynn''s preparedness of cooking supplies, Si Fang said that it was actually quite a standard set of items in a chef''s storage ring and the food store owners nodded their heads. They also had these portable stoves and sinks as an emergency backup (though not all as modern as Lynn''s) in case an appliance suddenly went faulty in their stores, or when they needed extra manpower to cook, the store owners could provide their temporary workers without using up much space. The penguins immediately started by first cracking the eggs smoothly, beating them up in a rather fast pace and the store owners could see that the actions were not dramatised and instead efficient. Lynn left and came back into the room quickly with some cooked rice that was stored in a fridge with a steady temperature of 23-24 degrees Celsius. This was because everyone in the room knows that half of the secret of making fried rice is to have the cooked rice be at an appropriate humidity. The amount of moisture locked in the rice would prove to be one of the essential properties in preparing a good quality egg fried rice. The penguins took the fairly large bowl of cold cooked rice and threw them in the wok to stir fry, ensuring that the chunks of rice were gradually separated because any chunk of rice will spoil the taste of it. The food store owners themselves saw how the penguins had the strength and delicacy in stir frying the rice. Only when the penguins deemed appropriate, they poured the egg mixture into the rice and did a quick stir fry. At that point, the store owners could see a slight amount of chi power being emitted out into the wok, and it was coming from the penguins themselves. They realised that the penguins were controlling the wok as if it was an uphill battle to get the egg liquid to slowly but surely wrap each and every grain. With a slight pinch of salt, and one last shake of the wok, the penguins began to place the Egg Fried Rice on the plates while adding the final touch, chopped minute pieces of green onion on the top of the fried rice. "Please, enjoy." The penguins said as they could see the mouths of the store owners were salivating non stop just by the smell and sight alone. Like a horde of camels who saw a miraculous oasis at the centre of the desert, each and every the store owners shamelessly went ahead to have a taste of the fried rice only to be rendered speechless by its taste. These were the first time that some of the food store owners had tried the food in dungeon supplier''s store, and they could not believe that the egg fried rice could be this incredible. Si Fang was then curious why Lynn did not sell this as part of her main dishes. She was guaranteed to earn a ton from it. "This is due to the fact that the supplier we have contracted is still growing the supplies for the eggs and rice. To ensure they are of top quality and of sufficient quantity, they temporarily delayed their shipment." Lynn had begun advertising their ''food supplier'' to the rest of the store owners. While listening to the dungeon supplier''s main chef, the food store owners began to eat with more focus and realised that the rice was so much juicier and the egg that was wrapped around it made very succulent. They had no doubt that the quality of the food plays a part. "As we are the supplier''s exclusive customer, we can sell you a portion of our food supplies which is not cheap at all and the option of renting you our penguins as part of the food court instance to reduce your overall monthly expenses. These penguins can learn and become part of your store, so you do not have to worry about manpower." Jin pointed out the advantages and Si Fang and Ke Ru had already shown signs of wanting to rent those penguins. They saw how skilful those penguins were in an instant and if they would be able to serve a bigger crowd, these penguins definitely could play a pivotal role in their stores. While some did not like the idea of artificial intelligence in taking over cooking assistants, they kept quiet knowing that they were no doubt superior. Lai Fu then asked if he could have these penguins to help with his store as well, but Jin said those were mainly for food specialities. However, the dungeon supplier said he could recommend other monsters to serve with Lai Fu''s workload. "Now! That sure is helpful! Recently kids these days just want high pay, more rights and less hours. If these¡­NPCs is it? Yeah these monsters can help us, and we just pay a portion as part of the maintenance fee, that would be a huge help." Lai Fu commented and unknowingly helped Jin to strengthen his sales pitch. Eventually, the food store owners were pacified that they had something unique other than the shared food court instance and decided to stay on board with Jin. Hence, Jin spent all of his time for the rest of the day in helping his tenants to shape their dream instances while the System prepared the materials needed and crunched the estimate amount they need to spend. A lot of them, in fact, all of them were astonished by the astronomical amount, and many felt like jumping off the ship upon seeing the numbers. Jin then reassured them that they could pay in instalments and told them that this was already the discount price and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for them. "All of my dungeons are this expensive, if not, how do you think they can become so strangely close to reality? Because of this striking resemblance to reality, the high number of people coming to my dungeon allowed me to earn more while maintaining if not, pushing the quality of the dungeons even further." Jin commented in front of them. "It takes money to earn money." Si Fang gritted his teeth as he repeated what all of them knew. He sighed but was the first to go forward and sign the contract with Jin thus setting an example. Jin nodded his head sincerely as a thanks for his support. The store owners saw how the most conservative and most level headed person among all of them had decided to bet everything on this chance, they all felt that they should trust Jin a little more. "We all will be hounding you for refunds if there''s no profit to be made!" One of the food store owners shouted, and everyone laughed at that moment. Jin subsequently promised them and reinforced that they would not regret it. As the meeting was finally adjoined, Jin laid back at his chair in the conference room and sighed heavily. "I guess it''s a win today¡­?" he wondered to himself as he stared at the ceiling for a moment. This was barely the prelude of the battle. The worst had yet to come as Jin promised to get everything sorted out with all of his might in the next few days. "Time to call out the maximum number of Another Jins to start cracking with the work." For a new Tiangong Shopping District and a brand new start for everyone. Chapter 501 Extra: Lord Woltes Trial of Death There were no heavy machinery noises or anything of that sort in the Tiangong Shopping District. Nothing out of the ordinary except for that colossal tree in the middle of the district. Dungeons and Pandas still operated normally despite everything, and though Jin was prepared for some financial losses as the aftermath, reality turned out quite different. The Pandafull delivery service became an instant hit, mainly due to the fact that the food was still piping hot and tasted unusually amazing for a delivery food service. It was to the point Jin had decided to expand his merchandise a little as part of the experiment. (Also, focusing solely on the various shop instances all day long he felt himself turning insane. By doing this, it gave him a bit of a breather.) Instead of dispensing disposable forks, spoons and plates, he decided to become part of the environmentally friendly movement. He had begun selling ceramic plates and bowls with a few picture designs of his Pandas as well as other monsters such as Ke Mi, the Goblins or the Jacks. Adding to the charm, he added two extra small protrusion on the plate to indicate the panda''s ears or a bowl with picture designs of pandas trying desperately to escape the bottom. Meanwhile, he also offered cups that depicted the Deep Ones via the shape of the handle. Naturally, Jin did not forget to take advantage of the kitchen utensils such as spoons, forks, and chopsticks. (Kraft loved his new fox designed chopsticks) The price point for these aesthetically beautiful upgraded utensils was adequate enough that over 90% chose to go with it. Given his sheer variety of the motifs, Jin wouldn''t be surprised if some started a collection of all these plates and cups. The best thing was that repeat customers could return them before they would be used for their own subsequent deliveries. Hence, the customers would have an easy way to help use fewer plastics as they could indicate for no chopsticks, straws etc with an easy press of a button on the Pandafull sub-application in the Pandamonium. The selling of the plates itself would not pose a problem for other suppliers, but the exchange of plates for future use would have been a logistical nightmare for any food delivery company¡­ luckily Jin was in possession of something his competitors would never have. The System had already booked and allocated the spaces for their repeat customers'' utensils in a separate storage instance. Jin had created a picture pamphlet sent out to any customer who chose to purchase any of such plates and utensils. It depicted how they could return their purchased articles on the next delivery, which would be used for the third delivery by deducting the cost of plastics incurred in their sales. Going one step beyond that, he even promised that their food would come in exactly the containers they had purchased and offered them to have their bowls and plates signed not only with their name but also with an insignia of their cultivation. (Additional cost unless they decided to buy a complete set of kitchen utensils.) The delivery service team (referring to them as Human Slaves still made Jin shudder) were a lot happier with the new job they had been assigned. Not only were they free from their chains, but the delivery job also provided a whole lot of perks for them. Most noteworthy was the number of System points that were rewarded. Each time they complete a delivery, they would be given a set amount of points, and upon completion of ten or more jobs, there would be a multiplier effect on the points that they received. There was even a competition ranking within their own service to see who could get the most amount of points. (Those who participated in the rankings would receive an additional perk of 100 extra system points.) This made them strive harder as Jin had promised them that as soon as the team collectively earnt enough points, they would be able to afford their very own Home instance within the Sanctum of Worlds. Speaking of promises, the Orcs quickly reminded Jin that they had already gathered enough points but were still waiting. He replied to this accusation by nervously laughing. It was this promise which leads many monsters to personally participate in extra activities such as the Wunder Panda Theme Park. Unfortunately, the dungeon supplier had simply been swarmed with tasks that he nearly forgot about it even though it was on the System''s reminder list (though low in priority). Meanwhile, he reemphasised and guaranteed that some of the minions could earn their very own homes in the Dungeon Fortress City and many were also pacified by Jin offering them one free visit to the Dungeon Cave for every week that their Home Instance got postponed. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Separately, the Dark Templars and Lord Wolte had decided to portal back to the East Region of the Farming World to meet up with the rest of the Dark Templar organisation as Zieg was convinced that Lord Wolte was a patron worth praying towards. The leader of the Dark Templars purposely teleported to the middle of their headquarters, scaring his fellow comrades to their wit''s end. The moment Zieg and the rest appeared seemingly out of thin air created some panic, but the young commander used this opportunity to introduce Lord Wolte to his comrades and credited this to his power. The Metal Slug Tank eluded an aura of superiority onto them with Baphomet bowing at his side, creating an even stronger, darker impression of Wolte''s capabilities. Quickly all of the Dark Templars knelt and attempted to accept Lord Wolte as their new Demon Patron. However, Lord Wolte knew that many, if not all of them would have doubts in their hearts at this sudden change. Unlike the Dark Templars who had already been indoctrinated by the System, these dark templars were merely following orders. Thus, Lord Wolte had demanded a compulsory trial to prove their faith to him, unsurprisingly it was going to be a trial by death. And many were confused by the sudden onset of these events. "One moment you teleport in to tell us to obey, and the next you want us to die for it?!" One of the Dark Templars could not understand the logic behind it. "As long as your faith is strong enough, nothing will keep you down!" Zieg caught on pretty quickly and recounted how Lord Wolte was the one who had resurrected them after a deadly ambush from the Demon Rats. "Have faith in Lord Wolte, and gain eternal life!!!" A number were still sceptical about the issue. Teleporting a whole squad was one thing, as many of the more experienced ones could accept such a concept, but resurrection? That was another matter entirely, and while unwilling to offend their leader, they still could not believe it until Zieg personally asked his patron to be allowed to demonstrate. Lord Wolte understood that Zieg was trying to show the testament of his faith towards his new Patron to his other believers, so he agreed to execute the plan. Right in front of everyone, Lord Wolte moved himself a few metres back while Zieg slowly stripped out of his main armour while raising his arms into a welcoming pose. "Lord Wolte! I believe solely in you! For you are my Demon Patron!" The leader of the Dark Templars shouted and requested Wolte to fire. With a loud blast of fire coming from his barrier, Lord Wolte purposely used an armour piercing shot which penetrated Zieg through the abdomen, creating a visible hole in what was once his stomach. Blood and innards were spilling all over the ground which some of the Dark Templars regarded as blasphemous. Many quickly drew their arms, wanting to defeat this buzzing metal box. However, the ones with the System stepped forward and demanded the rest of them to watch the entire thing to the end. Even Zieg who was poorly injured used all his strength to lift his hand and signal them to stay their blade. Lord Wolte was willing to show off how brutal he could be to gain more respect from these batch of dark knights, so he changed from his cannon barrel to flamethrower and spewed flames at Zieg, lighting him up as he screamed and yelled praises for his Lord in agony. The rest of the Dark Templars could only watch and see the pain which their beloved leader was going through as he somehow being able to maintain a smile before getting reduced to ashes. It was to mask the resurrection and act as a sort of symbolism where Zieg would rise from the ashes and be renewed again. And that was what Zieg did. Within the pile of burnt ash, there was nothing but silence from the crowd for a minute as they suddenly saw a slight twitch coming from the ashes. True enough, their Dark Templar Commander slowly moved his arms and legs and using them as the support to push himself out of the blackened dirt of his own flesh. The rest of the Dark Templars were in awe of the miracle that had happened as common sense dictated that none could be resurrected from the dead unless there was assistance by the devil himself. That act alone proved to his entire organisation that Lord Wolte was a genuine bona fide demon, and everyone immediately let go of the doubts in their hears. Even the hole in Zieg''s stomach was healed completely. "The requirement still do not change whether you bend your knee right in front of me. If you wish to truly serve me, go through this Trial of Death! Show me that your resolve is just as strong as the one your leader showed all of you. This one simple test shall be a testament of your belief in me, and I shall answer your belief accordingly." Lord Wolte bellowed his speech to the entire organisation. Slowly but surely, a veteran Dark Templar managed to gather his resolve up and slowly stepped to the very same place where Zieg had been killed as he quietly removed his armour and opened his arms. His eyes were resolute when he nodded his head firmly in before the metal vehicle looking down. The next sound the rest of the group heard was Lord Wolte engines buzzing with metal hitting against each other within him. Lord Wolte had already reloaded an armour penetrating shell and aimed his barrel at the veteran Dark Templar with no remorse. Triggering with just his will, the audience saw smoke and fire coming out from his barrel once more, only to witness the sacrifice stood there headless as he fell down to the very same spot where Zieg had resurrected. Instead of Lord Wolte changing barrels to a flamethrower, he opened a side door at the front of his tank and threw a grenade at the spot, causing a mini explosion to happen. Every templar who had a shield went forward instinctively to cover their fellow comrades from the blast and smoke. Seconds later, they could barely make out a shadow within the smoke as it stood there lifeless. But there was something different from this particular shadow as compared to what they remembered. The body did not blow into pieces, and most importantly, its head was still intact! The shadow started to move, instinctively checking his own well being, wondering if what had just happened had been just an illusion. As the smoke settled and they looked at the veteran Dark Templar all well and healthy. Everyone who witnessed this miraculous act were amazed by Lord Wolte''s power. (System merely assisted by teleporting the minion back to the same spot.) "I can feel a sort of different power coursing through my veins, as if I am connected to Lord Wolte himself." The veteran Dark Templar said as he raised his hands to the sky to gather dark magic energy. Usually, he needed to chant a few words of magic to activate the magic, but right now, the veteran felt that just concentrating was sufficient. A small yet condensed orb of dark energy could be observed as the veteran used his other hand to control the flow of magical power while maintaining the direction of his hand towards the sky. "Release it." Lord Wolte commanded, and the veteran did as ordered. The orb of energy flew upwards into the sky, and in a split second, it exploded magnificently in mid air (3.5/10 on the Pepper scale). The sky which had initially been cloudy was cleared at once by the explosion, and the residue of the dark energy was so intense that it reduced the glare from the scorching sun. The Dark Templars marvelled at the results of this trial of death causing everyone still kneeling to prostrated right in front of him as if begging their new Demon Patron to be the next one to be sent to the halls of Valhalla. "Now, this will definitely bring my powers up to a notch or two. Maybe Three." The Metal Slug Tank managed to somehow portray a smile on its face which would put even a Cheshire Cat to shame. Chapter 502 Prelaunch The rush for the dimension instance building was insanely real for Jin. In the past three days, he had been chugging chi potions and coffee to keep himself awake until his fatigue became overwhelming, forcing him to use the sleep capsule to recuperate. The System has been unable to directly absorb any of his sludge ever since Jin turned Grade 8. Hence, to prevent the panda cultivator from drowning himself, it had created an elevated platform for Jin''s sleeping capsule, allowing it to rise indefinitely (while raising the ceiling too) within the training room of the Dungeon Maker. After his long overdue rest, Jin had kept 90% of the accumulated sludge and handed the other 10% over for the System to analyse it. Hopefully, it would eventually allow the System to start their own production of high quality souls and perhaps, creating monsters of their own. All this time he had never stepped outside, nor was he disturbed by any outside interference. He had made preparations that if anything happened, they all could confer with Kraft for otherworldly business or Yun who continued to be the face of the shop by entertaining the customers. Funds were still pouring in, even more after the sudden arrival of the colossal tree outside of his shop. This was further helped by the store owners who had been asked to circulate some rumours about the tree. Even Kiyu had been taking tabs of the gossip news on it and listed a number of her own favourite theories she had picked up via her Mechat and Meibo account to a number of his customers and her online viewers. His regulars had believed they could not be surprised by Jin''s imaginative creation after experiencing his dungeons¡­ but for him to use that creativity and turn it into reality was something else entirely. People were starting to wonder what kind of backing Jin could have had to be able to pull such a feat. The rumours about his backing got crazier and wilder, some even stating that he must be some illegitimate child of the Royal Zodiac Families or maybe the Western High Noble families. While Jin was busy finalising his instance making, the various store owners had gathered to get a glimpse of the interior of the tree with Another Jin accompanying them. (Thanks to his awakened form, his Another Jins could also leave the store as long as they remained within a 50km radius, sparing him this tedious and boring task) Another Jin began allocating the various stores based on the System''s predictive analysis. While some insisted on bringing in a Feng Shui master to look into the place, Another Jin vehemently refused them stating that the slots were fixed beforehand due to the dimensional instances that would be placed within the area. (A good excuse for stinginess.) The only thing they could feng shui would be the placement of items within the small allocated space they were given. Jin advised them that they could use the area as a promotion board where they could place their menu. Alternatively, the space could be used for selling items on flash sales like how Lai Fu had done when he wanted to get rid of some perishables by the end of the day. Other than that, the store owners could only stare in awe at the gigantic Panda Statue within the tree. There was even a donation box as well as a joss-stick pot where people could pray to the Panda Tian Gong Statue. A few of the store owners found it slightly distasteful, but the majority thought otherwise. Pandas had always been a significant symbol of China, and with Tian Gong being the first God in the myths and legends, it seemed perfect to combine the two together. Besides, Panda in Feng Shui terms represented masculine energy as it helped protect the ''house'' it was in. In this case, the new Tree Mall that was being created. Not only that, the Pandas were always associated with bringing abundance and prosperity. So by combining the concept of Tian Gong and Panda together, it should be a perfect match representing Power and Prosperity. As if the statue itself was proving this point, when the store owners gathered in the vicinity of the figure, they somehow felt a sense of tranquillity by just standing right beside it. The System had inserted a legendary inscription made by their very own inscription master, Octofussy, which eluded a high level aura of calmness within a ten metres radius of the statue. Yet at the same time, the Panda Tian Gong Statue also emitted the perception of strength and might whenever someone gazed into it. Octofussy had made sure the inscription would make people felt like they were in the arms of a caring mother who knew how to kick her enemies'' ass. Other than that, everyone felt extremely excited as Another Jin asked them to return the next day considering their instances should be ready by then. While the dungeon supplier could provide almost everything including individual store''s equipment, the things that he could not were mainly their stocks such as sundries and food, so he informed everyone to get their suppliers coordinated as they would be running an extremely tight schedule with only one day to prepare. Should they need extra funds, they could contact Yun to aid them with their request, but the supplies were to be delivered first with the money being paid on the spot of the transaction. Some of the suppliers and store owners found this method a bit out of their protocol but considering how much Jin was taking care of the plight of the Tiangong Shopping District, they agreed to his conditions. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Early in the morning, several trucks arrived near the construction site and the suppliers were also astonished by the grandeur of the tree. The store owners were already sitting inside the 24 hours open Dungeon Supplier Store waiting for their goods. The real Jin came out of his dungeon maker with sunken eyes as big as the size of a tea bag, acknowledging the presence of his tenants. "Everything is all ready, there might still be some hiccups or some variation which is why I want all of you to inform me of any problems by today, so I can rectify them," Jin informed them with a slightly slurred speech which Yun in turn, quickly offered him a cup of coffee to perk himself up. The Dungeon Supplier took the coffee, blew a few times before chugging the whole thing as if it was water. There was not much to waste for him. Every second here stuck in his shop instance could be a second more the owners could use to settle their things. The store owners, on the other hand, found it rather bizarre how he could gain such fatigue within the span of a night. Especially since he was supposedly a high grade cultivator from the looks of his fight against the Triads, a person of such calibre should not be able to tire himself that quickly. Jin opened the gates of the construction barriers which allowed the suppliers'' trucks to enter, but even the trail towards the colossal tree seemed to have been modified wihtin the span of one night which subsequently shocked everyone who saw it. "Is this why Boss Jin seems so tired?! All of these were not here in the first place! How did he do that? Was it those wondrous workers of his again?" He Rong wondered out loud as he saw how the trail towards the Tree Mall had changed so drastically. The path right in front of them was no longer the two way road which the Shopping District used to have. Instead, the path caved into the bottom of the tree, as if the mall itself had a basement floor. Meanwhile, the pedestrian paths had been upgraded with grey granite tiles which were a major improvement in terms of d¨¦cor compared to the previous standard path of cement. Beside all of these tiles, the side of the pavements was decorated with spruces of bamboo trees which provided both shade and cover as if the whole district had become a park itself. On the other side of the pavement where the cars were moving, safety railings were placed all along the road but overlaid with a long track of bushes and flowers. Cultivators could easily jump over the fences, so it was not a problem to catch their taxis, but Jin had also made a broader and longer opening for the bus stop that operated within the district so the taxis could use it to manage their pickups. After recovering from their shock, the suppliers quickly got into their trucks and drove them to the basement of the Tree Mall where they could see a further separation of paths with one leading to the warehouses and the other to the carpark. "Carpark? But back then, they did not create a carpark because of the subway train station!" Si Fang exclaimed, and Jin told them to look at it themselves. A number of them followed the carpark trail which was spiralling to what appeared to be at least a few basements levels. The cultivators could not imagine that the construction company that did this was able to dig so deep into the ground without disrupting the subway tunnels at all. The spiral to the carpark was also decorated with animated screens of a bamboo forest. Along the way down, some of the store owners were able to catch a glance of some of the pandas playing or climbing a tree. But the most extraordinary thing about this spiralling pathway to the carpark was that the driver would not have to drive his car at all. Like a conveyor belt, the car would be brought into the carpark while the driver and his passengers could enjoy the screen as the conveyor belt transports the vehicle to a slot for them to park. (Those conveyor belts had anti slip capabilities to hold the weight of a full load lorry.) "This ¡­this is revolutionary¡­I''ve never seen any car park like this." Lai Fu exclaimed as they saw how spacious the slots were and the rates for the parking were also very affordable compared to the central district, specifically given how advanced the car parking system was. Jin smirked as this was just one of the features that the System had in place since it finally had control of this land. "There''s more to come," Jin replied as he beckoned them to take the lift up to the Tree Mall. Unlike the day before, where all they saw was just the bare interior of the tree, this time around, there were electronics all hooked up within the tree. The lightings in the entire mall were great, the elevator and escalators were responsive and most importantly the air conditioning (or heater at this period of the year) was working as intended. The harmony between modern technology and the wood was delicate but not impossible to achieve, and with the System, Jin managed to do just that. For example, instead of a metal frame, wood was used as the base for the escalators and elevators, cleverly hiding the circuits of it and ensuring that they were laden with a coat of fire retardant paint to ensure they do not get on fire. (To be honest, there was nothing much to be afraid of since the System was in control of it.) There were even pamphlets in every level as well as a navigation cum information system that was consumer friendly near each pamphlet stand. Not to mention, the navigation was voice activated as well as which the store owners had tried and proven to be rather perceptive. After taking in the new sights, the first store that they visited was the food court instance where a human sized Panda statue with a chef hat and a pan was standing there all happy and ready to serve. Jin''s customers would know that these statues would bring them into a dimensional distance by just placing their phone right towards the statue. That is, of course if they had the Pandamonium App. Without it, all the customers had to do was install the Pandamonium App, and they were all good to go as a guest account would be created for them to use. The customers would then be able to upgrade into a personal account within the dimensional instances, and all of them would be able to enjoy five percent off on all purchases that day, excluding on the sales that had been placed by individual store owners. It was an initiative to make all customers in the Tree Mall use the Pandamonium App so the System could perform its wondrous magic called data collection. After Jin finished his short demonstration on how to enter the instances, the rest of the store owners sprinted off to their own allocated shop instances and began to discover the hidden magic Jin had worked for them. "Impatient people¡­" Jin shook his head slightly and felt the need arise to go back to sleep from all the work that he had done. (The calming presence of his Panda Tian Gong Statue might have made it even worse for him.) Chapter 503 Pyramid Food Court & Panda Burger Instance. The individual store owners were led to their very own shop dimensional instances by the instructions in the Pandamonium App, and without exception, all of them were baffled and bedazzled by it. The first to enter their store instance was the collective group of food court store owners accompanied by Jin considering it was the nearest to the elevator. Unlike the others, they had no idea what their instance would be like. Jin had taken full control over the design of the food court instance. Though some still grumbled internally that they did not have any say in it, their rent was a group collective and therefore significantly lower, leaving little to no room to openly complain. But without any expectations to their store instance, they were left flabbergasted at what was before them. A giant pyramid with their stalls facing outward in the current cold winter. One of the penguins came sliding down from the tip of the pyramid and greeted them upon hitting rock bottom (or snow bottom). It introduced them to their new stores and explained that Jin got the inspiration from the ''healthy'' food pyramid that they were all taught in school. The penguin iterated that the pyramid was going to be something similar to a competition kind of system. Whoever led in sales would be placed above the others. All of their stores were able to move around in a moment''s notice as demonstrated by a snap of the penguin flippers. Next, they witnessed the blocks of their stalls being shuffled from the bottom to the top. The fluffy little flightless bird added that everyone would start from the bottom and the moment lunch time was officially over, the stalls would begin to move to their respective places based on the profit sales. As there were ten stores in total, there was currently no problem with the pyramid structure. The first would be placed at the peak, second and third on the upper level, fourth to sixth on the middle level and the rest would be at the bottom level. In the future, where there are additional stalls, Jin might place another great pyramid or perhaps enlarge the current one to fit the rest. When the store owners heard that, they were a little disappointed as they argued some of the stores could be superior in profit to the others because of the type of food they were selling. However, Jin had placed a few certain measures to ensure that these rankings would not be permanently skewed towards just one particular criterion. The penguin told them that the criteria for the top spot would vary and others such as best dressed costume chef for the week, or most healthy choice for the week were also in the rotation. Each time a customer order something, there would be a short, interactive and straightforward survey to attend to while waiting for their food. The store owners were glad that this would potentially allow each of one to get the top spot at least once. As they listened to the penguin explain everything, they noticed that while it had a winter setting, the place felt relatively warm given the weather outside. It was cooling for the head and yet still lukewarm for the rest of the body. Some thought that Jin was probably only mimicking the way the weather was outside, but in actual fact, he had already maintained the temperature as well as the amount of wind in the area. The store owners than glanced around the Great Pyramid and noticed how the seats were all made of stone, making it hard to move the chairs and tables around. (Well granted, they were all cultivators, but it was still a relatively mind gruelling task to move the tables around.) However, the penguin stated that there should be sufficient seats to cater to different types of people. For the loners who prefered to eat alone or just wanted a quick meal, Jin had placed multiple rows of single tables, and sadly they were also the furthest from the stores. For families who needed a larger space or a baby seat, there were tables that accommodated such setting. Lastly, the front few rows were reserved for the elderly. Yet, all these were just the standard amount of seats allocated. The penguin noted to them that because this was a dimensional instance, additional seats could be created in an instant for people to eat should the need arise. However, what set this particular instance apart from other food courts was one particular initiative which plagued everyone since the advent of restaurants and their small space. Seat reserving. The second the customers entered the Food Court dimensional instance, the System would automatically reserve a seat for them and direct them there via Pandamonium. If all the standard seats were taken, the System would create more places without the need for the store owners to do anything. To allow for this, the customers would have to indicate outside of the statue how many would be joining for one table. Afterwards, it would issue the customers who ''booked'' the table to have ample time to gather his or her mates for a meal. This was created because Jin himself hated restaurants where they requiered the full group to be present before being allowed to enter the premise. And that was despite the fact they had already book a reservation in advance. Therefore, Jin was more than happy to eliminate this particular petty trouble when given a chance. The only thing left was how fast the food could be churned out for the customers. Unlike the Kitchen Instance, which Lynn and her penguins had access to, Jin was not intending to share this capability of keeping their food piping hot with the aid of temporal manipulation storages. (After all, he needed to maintain an edge over his competitors.) So, if the queue was long, it was all up to them on how to handle the customers. The dungeon supplier had already made sure the pyramid was large enough to accommodate future expansions or for other prospective owners to enter into the food court instance. On the other hand, Jin had decided to permit each of them to rent one penguin at no cost for the rest of the month of December as a sign of goodwill. (Not precisely that good of a will since the penguins were learning their recipes etc.) Should they wished to hire part timers or rent more of the penguins, he did not mind at all since it was their own particular business. As the food court store owners entered their individual stores, there were already some supplies from Jin''s agriculture sector. It was merely a carton of samples for everyone to try. It didn''t cost Jin much, but it would make them consider if they wanted to purchase those expensive but high quality food supplies for their business. Some who had been to Lynn''s restaurant instance had quickly decided to order a week''s worth as a try out through their penguin. Meanwhile, the rest waited for the personal food suppliers to enter their instance to get in. Speaking about food, Ke Ru was the one that was exempted from the Food Court Shop Instance because of one particular reason. She had had the capital to buy into the Wacdonald franchise. Jin roughly knew that buying a major franchise name was a big headache as the big honchos usually dictated how Ke Ru would have to manage her store. That meant that the dimensional instance would also have to follow these specific Wacdonald''s guidelines. But Jin felt it was a waste to use a dimension instance to do something so boring. So he proposed to start Ke Ru''s very own particular fast food restaurant at 75% of the cost that she had to fork out for the franchise contract and Jin promised to provide her 75% of the profits in return as well as give her the ability to make any decision she wanted for the store. However, Lynn would have the final say on the quality of food that would be served since it carried the name of the Panda with it. Ke Ru wholeheartedly agreed on this condition because she had tasted how superior Lynn''s food items were. With Lynn giving her input and even create some recipes for the fast food restaurant, the new restaurant manager''s money was more or less guaranteed. On a separate note, Lynn was delighted she was able to create a Western food menu as the Penguin Cultivator always had had some ideas with regards to that particular cuisine. She just lacked the confidence to put it in her menu because it was not up to her personal standards. Ke Ru, however, begged to differ even though Lynn insisted, so Ke Ru just accepted the fact that it was the woes of a perfectionist. Luckily, there were no western food stalls in the Food Court Instance as previously the store owners in Tiangong Shopping District had recognised that Wacdonalds was more or less dominating the western food scene. There had been some who attempted to create such a stall in the district but ended up losing money with their prices either being too big compared to their competitor, or the quality taking a hike to ensure the price point. Ultimately by creating this fast food restaurant instance which Ke Ru had aptly named ''Panda Burger'', it provided an avenue for Lynn to improve her western cuisine (despite it being called fast food) and the penguins were mainly responsible for most of the cooking. Ke Ru still maintained most of her past employees who were willing to enter this new phase with her. It was a bit costly, but with the money she was saving by foregoing to extend her contract with Wacdonalds after the loss of her store she managed, Ke Ru had the foresight to see its potential. Thus, she was willing to take a bet on this new venture. As long as the food standard was there, and the price was right, people would come in masses. Thankfully, the price was more than reasonable in Panda Burger. It was slightly more expensive than her previous Wacdonalds, but the System had already predicted that the fast food mega chain would inadvertently increase their prices in the coming months. Besides, the System was confident that the prices were decent enough, given their superior products. Oh and the dimensional shop instance? Since it was named Panda Burger, it was obvious that the instance was shaped as a ¡­Burger. Yeap, when Ke Ru first entered the instance, all she saw was a Big Fat Triple Stacked Burger House right in front of them. Ke Ru hesitated for a while before she went towards the burger house and tried to pluck out a piece of the burger bun that was at the base of the Burger House. Unfortunately, it did not work, and Lynn who had been in the vicinity helping her penguins to prepare the food items told her it didn''t work that way. "Wait what?! It does not work THAT way?! You mean you can actually bite a piece off that?!" Ke Ru asked, and Lynn nodded her head with a wide smile. "Remember how you listed that you wanted to make the Burger meal set unique? Well, there you go." Lynn took out a set of three spatulas coloured bronze, silver and gold. She handed the bronze one to her and asked her to ''scoop'' the bread out. Ke Ru did what was told, and at that moment, she indeed took a piece of the bread bun out! It was crunchy and tasty (also slightly hot). "This is a fantastic idea¡­ and equally unhygienic. I love the idea but aren''t we just asking for the Health Inspector to take us out?" Ke Ru asked worriedly and Lynn pondered for a moment. "That is why we we will be limiting the areas where you can ''scoop'' them, so it will be regulated by the Panda NPCs. It''s a trial to see how our citizens react. Worst case we can always explain the gimmick by this being a Dungeon Instance, I guess." Lynn answered as these spatulas could be redeemed via a voucher on the Pandamonium App when they approach the section where the Panda NPCs were located. Ke Ru reminded her not to underestimate their fellow Chinese people for being greedy and ''innovative'' when it came to free stuff which Lynn wholeheartedly agreed and said it would be a promotional trial. While the furniture for the customers was on the upper floors from the bread bun level, Ke Ru realised there were not many places for people to sit. That was when Lynn told her to follow her to the highest ''mayonnaise level''. Upon reaching, they saw the top bun covering as the roof. Lynn pretended to press a few buttons on her Pandamonium App, and suddenly the top bun flew upwards. Somehow, a whole new level of Pork Bacon came falling from the sky! It stacked right on top of the mayonnaise level, and a staircase gradually descended right in front of them. Ke Ru was surprised by the level design and how the Burger House could accommodate more customers. She also noticed that the Panda NPCs not only handled the spatula event but were also used to distributing food on that particular floor. All the customers needed to do was to the Pandamonium App to order and then show their order number to the NPCs. And then Lynn showed Ke Ru the most important feature of Burger House which every level would have¡­ The Exit. Each level was equipped with a tube slide leading the customers to eventually land in a gigantic ball pool where there was a Panda NPCs there as well to ensure no customers or children getting hurt within the ball pool. (As the number of levels expanded, so would the number of slides and subsequently the size of the ball pool.) And the elderlies? Reserved on the first floor as usual! "Jin better have those toys ready too for the happy kids'' meal!" Ke Ru mentioned jokingly to Lynn, who relayed the message to the System. It was a kid and adult friendly fast food restaurant which Ke Ru could foresee it would be a hit and she was delighted to have bet on Jin. Chapter 504 Offshore Sea Store/Reef Knolls Bakery/Castle Tower Cafe Instance Lai Fu who would be operating on the second floor of the Tiangong Tree Mall was quite satisfied with his instance. It was designed to be something similar to a kelong, an offshore platform built mostly with wood and little metal was involved. By using ropes or rattan, tree trunks and wooden planks were held together within a kelong, but in the dimensional shop instance, the System used something stronger to keep them together. In a way, the kelongs that Lai Fu requested was to create a scene similar to an offshore sea community within his shop instance. The temperature as per Jin''s standard was just the right amount, and the sea waters were calm. Occasionally, there would be a wooden frigate which passed by and provided the kelong with supplies. Even the trucks of his personal suppliers came in via a wide wooden shipping platform. Lai Fu did not go for anything fanciful but something that reminded him of the sea. All his goods were spread out in various open concept platforms, and these platforms were clearly labelled with large advertisement boards so the customers would know where their desired items were. For those refrigerated items, the bins and tables were filled with an automated cooling system aka a permanent cooling inscription which ensured their freshness. Lai Fu also half jokingly requested a spot where he could fish a little inside the shop instance, and Jin fulfilled the request by placing albacore, red snapper and the occasional tuna within this Offshore Kelong Shop Instance. It was an excuse for him to practice his fishing and act as an impromptu activity for the customers who had the time to waste. If they managed to catch any of the three fishes, Lai Fu would give the said customer a small discount on the most expensive item they wanted to purchase. All Jin asked in return was for Lai Fu to inform them about the Fishing instance within his Dungeons and Pandas. That being said, it was not so easy catching those fish because Lai Fu would be able to adjust the difficulty level and the fishing rods they could use were basic ones, unless of course, someone brought in their own personal rod. All in all, Lai Fu''s store had been amongst the few easy ones Jin had to make. Still, the dungeon supplier did not spare any expense in creating the wooden frigate when Lai Fu listed that he wanted to use a frigate as the ''discount'' ship. The idea was that whenever the frigate reached his shore, it would offer the items he had planned to discount. Normally, it would require additional manpower to charter a frigate, but since this was an instance, it was not much of an issue. Jin employed the Deep Ones dressed pirates who fit right into this store instance. Whenever the frigate arrived, Deep Ones would pop out from the water and onto the platforms helping the frigate dock. Afterwards, they would be bringing down some of the treasure chests containing the discounted items. A Deep One Mage posing as the pirate captain would loudly announce that they had arrived wishing to trade their loot for doubloons with these landlubbers as his crew was in dire need of more booze! Thus, Jin had designed the frigate to be a little more menacing while at the same time somewhat comical. It looked deathly with the aura and ship design it was having( Basically, the ship was modelled as Derpy''s head), but Jin placed a banner at the portside stating "All Aboard the High Discount Ship!". "Imagine those aunties trying to literally fight the Deep Ones for more of a discount. That would be one hell of a funny scene!" Lai Fu chuckled as he called out to the Deep Ones to help unpack the items which the general suppliers had offloaded. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Right beside the still named ''Fresh Price General Store'' was the bakery with Qian Qian in charge. Similar to Lai Fu, the middle aged female boss with two kids did not request much for the shop instance. All she wanted was both modern and traditional bakery equipment which could not be found on the market. To her, it was a feat that was hard to achieve since the traditional equipment required a lot of space and they were near non existential as of this age. However, the Bread Lady Boss shared that she was in possession of generations-old recipes that were based on the traditional baking method all left untouched because there was no one who would make such equipment anymore. She firmly believed that the past held onto treasures which people might not be able to appreciate. That was why Qian Qian wanted to preserve those recipes and the knowledge to do so. With the new dimensional instance, the System had simply scoured its past database on how to make those traditional oven kilns. (In the past the Panda Clan had amassed the knowledge from a variety of talents and the experience of an entire trade conglomerate at its disposal made it an easy feat.) Because it was an instance, the oven kilns had been made extremely large and spacious enough to make a plenty amount of bread. Lynn''s experience in this field was somewhat limited, and after trying a few of Qian Qian''s past samples, she admitted that the Bakery Lady Boss was clearly superior to anything she could muster without a lot of studying. On the other hand, the System managed to peek at a few of those recipes and found striking resemblances to the ones it had in its database. Surprisingly those recipes were seemingly at the rank of Royal Kitchen Grade, and they were basically national treasures. However, the System kept quiet for now and decided to pass a proper judgement once Qian Qian revealed her whole series of traditional recipes. Instance wise, Qian Qian''s bakery shop was located on a hill with a large hut at the top of it. Surrounding the hut were acres worth of reef knolls filled with grown wheat plants which were something she did not ask for. Could it be that Boss Jin was seriously growing wheat in her shop instance? Qian Qian could only ask him the next time round she saw him, but one thing was for sure, it naturally complemented the scenery of her bakery. However, that giant hut was merely the storefront where she would place her bread for sale. Right behind it was the oven kilns and even a wheat mill. Qian Qian also was unaware whether it was really producing any wheat grains or just for aesthetic purposes. Continuing with the surprise, Jin had assigned her a few additional helpers aside from her own trusted employees. A couple of Orcs who knew some form of farming and traditional baking, as well as two penguins which Lynn had purposely selected for the baking learning experience. While he wanted to use the werejackals who had experience in farming, they were somewhat occupied and decided to use the next best alternative. Besides, even though the Orcs'' experience differed from the humans according to the System, their foundational basics on baking were quite similar. Thus the System had enriched them with its own knowledge. As usual, data collection was priority number one, and Jin told them those helpers were ''on the house'' while hiding his true intentions. He was sure people might suspect it but at the same time, who could not say no to free, extra work hands? ¡ª¡ª¨C Despite the separate instances, everyone was still helping each other out. For example, Lai Fu''s general store supplies usually stocked more than adequately for his sales as well as for the food store owners. There were times the food store owners might experience a shortage, and that was where Lai Fu sold his stocks at a ''friendly'' price. Even with the new instances, this thing did not change, and Jin hoped to take advantage of such inter-business relationships too.. Another example was Qian Qian''s bakery, which was vital for Si Fang''s caf¨¦ because she sold cakes and desserts to Si Fang as a side business. Her cakes and pies were the bomb, and many knew that she let Si Fang sell them because she could not afford to make them on a daily basis to be countered as regular sales. However, Qian Qian believed that perhaps with the additional helpers and new experiments; things could change for the better. Speaking about Si Fang, his dimensional shop instance was also located on the second floor as the first floor had been assigned for the Food Court instance and the Panda Burger instance. His dimensional instance would be considered one of the more unique ones. His instance was essentially a castle tower. It made Jin remember the Candy Castle which he had built for the Halloween although the interior was not exactly designed to house a lot of customers. Nevertheless, since it was a castle tower, Jin chose to use the candy castle to save some time and effort to create the exterior portion of Si Fang''s dream instance. He did not expect Si Fang wanted a high class royal treatment kind of caf¨¦ as he thought Si Fang was more of the ''caf¨¦ on top of a large tree branch kind'' of owner. The relaxed and homely feel, and until Si Fang told Jin more about his request, he then realised that was really what he wanted. "Yes, I want a relaxed and homely feel kind of caf¨¦. One that gives off the feeling of being away from everything else. That is why I want a castle tower being surrounded by a tranquil lake with only a tiny weeny bridge connected the isle." Si Fang said. "I want the caf¨¦ to be something like an escape from reality, away from everything else. No pompous kind of feel at all. Something like Rapunzel in the tower." "Si Fang, my friend. Are you okay? Do you have any fever?" His fellow cultivators Ke Ru and He Rong asked simultaneously during the brainstorming session, and Jin laughed when Si Fang declared that he was serious and Jin kind of understood what he was going for. The Boss of Lele Caf¨¦ wished to offer a sanctuary for his customers, allowing them to get away from all the hectic work and bedazzling attractions. So Jin did fulfil that wish of his, and although he did save time in the exterior initially, he actually placed a lot of effort in changing the interior. In hindsight, the dungeon supplier believed that it had been one of the hardest few instances he ever made. To make something homely and cosy was difficult because everyone had a different image and expectation of it. So the use of colour combinations was vital as well as the furniture that was placed in the castle tower could not make it appear too professional looking nor also unique. The use of warm lights, as well as the placing of the windows, was important. Eventually, Jin also remodified the exterior to suit the interior by modelling it similar to those airport control towers because of its open windows concept while still retaining the design of a castle. He finished this off by placing greenery within the place and smoothing jazz background to ensure the right mood. Unlike the food court instance or Panda Burger, Jin did not place anything that would increase the table limit or seating capacity because space played an essential part in the design. The couches and benches were placed in a certain way along with a few cushions including (panda and fox) plushie toys too. He did inform Si Fang about the decision of limited seats, who thanked Jin to have not gone down the route of profit but instead towards tranquillity. However, that had been just a passing remark until Si Fang had truly witnessed it with his own eyes. As soon as Si Fang entered his shop instance, his tears accumulated, slowly rolled down from his eyes as he saw how much love and effort was placed into his shop instance. Chapter 505 Panda Arcade Store Instance Jin was sitting right beside his tall and mighty Panda Tian Gong Statue, wanting nothing more than to just close his eyes and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the System informed Jin that he had to move to the Arcade Dungeon Instance on the Third Level of the Tiangong Tree Mall and instruct Yong De, the owner of the Arcade Dungeon Instance on several things. He stood up sluggishly before inserting some chi on his legs and used his Green Panda Wind to jump to the third floor. Without opening his Pandemonium app, Jin merely scanned his phone over the statue of a Panda sitting down and holding an arcade joystick controller. There he found the anguished face of Yong De and He Rong. He had asked the two to collaborate together for this new joint dungeon instance. This usually wouldn''t be a problem, however, Yong De and He Rong had some history with each other, and it wasn''t exactly the pleasant kind. Apparently, Yong De had asked He Rong to sponsor some of the card tournaments when he first started out which the latter agreed to unilaterally. However, Yong De''s ambition had gotten the better of him, and he had promoted the gaming card tournaments a little too widely and fiercely. The participation had been tremendously successful, but because Yong De''s predicted budget for He Rong''s sponsoring had been severely underestimated, he inevitably caused He Rong to be unable to pay for his shop''s rent for three months. He Rong was forced to wit''s end when the landlord''s management team had insisted on him paying up or else they would demand the immediate closure of the store. Upon learning of his plight, Si Fang managed to get into contact with Grandma Yuan begging her for leniency towards He Rong especially since he had always been consistent with his payment. Grandma Yuan, who always left the management team to their own devices, had been unaware about the situation He Rong was in and had graciously allowed him an extended period to pay his rent. On the other hand, Yong De knew about He Rong''s plight but had not helped out much because he too had underestimated the prizes he gave out, causing him to pay the rent by living on just the basic necessities. While the Arcade owner had improved since then in terms of managing his business, He Rong had not been very happy to team up with him when Jin asked him to. The Toyz Connection store owner no doubt had prefered to do literally anything else, but Jin asked him to give the partnership another shot. "I roughly looked through the records you guys have given me and thanks for that by the way. He Rong, I see that your card sales have been doing rather well in the months whenever Yong De conducted these mini tournaments." Jin had pointed out as a matter of fact, and He Rong had his mouth tight for a moment. "I believe Yong De has been trying to make up to you and was too afraid to offend you too. But you need to make an effort to understand what he does too. I think both of you owe each other an apology and with this new shop instance, you can start things anew." Jin had said during the brainstorming session when he asked the cooperation between those two. Jin perceived that He Rong would not have the guts to do anything daring, and that made him rather conservative and calculative with his accounts. That was how he managed to keep a vast array of hobby related goods while maintaining his accounts well. Yong De, on the other hand, was the opposite. He enjoyed being an entrepreneur and always wanted to bring in the latest fad since he yearned for both kids and adults to have fun. But because most of these new arcade machines were licensed by the Japanese, importing them cost a fortune which had always put his accounts near red. That was why Jin had a hunch that if these two joined forces, they could become an unformidable duo against the tides of business obstacles. Yong De had been more than happy to bury the hatchet by joining such a partnership. He Rong had been still reluctant but agreed to give it a try. If things did not work well, the dungeon supplier promised that he would create a brand new shop instance for both of them at no cost at all. ¡ª¨C As Jin entered the brand new Arcade store instance, he could already see the two owners arguing on what needed to be done. Contrary to most arcade centres where the place was either very flashy with lights and poor decoration or the opposite being mostly dark and dull, Jin had chosen a simplistic modern view for it. His concept took inspiration from Zamzung or Huawee store outlets with lots of space providing the items in stock the opportunity to present themselves. He Rong''s toy models (or what''s left of the undamaged stocks) were placed in a gallery kind of exhibition. Should the customers for something in particular, they could use the virtual hologram which Jin had installed to choose what kind of robots or toy models they wanted to buy. The virtual hologram module was an extension of the pilot''s modification workshop console which Niu Lang''s Supa Robot Wars mini game offered, and Jin had used it here after scanning all the models available in He Rong''s stock. New stocks needed to be scanned once, and the System would take care of the logistic matters. Usually, one would not necessarily have a good idea on how the product looked like before it was assembled, and the advertising on the packaging could only make them imagine. However, imagine no further since the virtual hologram not only showed the toy model but also the history or background of the toy based on internet sources and Wikipedia. "Humans become slaves to what they see." One of his professor''s quote during architectural design had made Jin remembered and slighty understood the vague and complex concept of aesthetics. Since then, he applied to his understanding superficially and in depth whenever possible. Hence, the creation of this virtual hologram was one of the ideas. He Rong was surprised that they could do that and he believed that these virtual holograms would definitely make window shopping a blast for the hobbyists. Not only that, but Jin also began to sell some of his models to He Rong and of a high price too since most of the models were currently redeemable from the Goblin Raid event. Jin purposely asked He Rong to price it high so that it would be fair for those who worked hard to get the various toy models Jin had created previously. As for the newest XXXXL Panda plushies? Those would be under Yong De''s speciality. Aside from placing the three mini games instance entrances (the WunderPanda Park Entrances are still valid, these were just additional entrances) and the sales of Spinning Tops, Digital Pet playing card packs, Jin had placed a giant UFO machine that featured these oversized plushies. How big was that UFO machine? The cage size was as big as a large cinematic screen, and the plushies were not limited to Pandas. Mmhm. Pandas. Red Pandas. Penguins and a limited number of 1st edition Foxes and Snake plushies. Yong De could not get the meaning behind these plushies and thought that Jin was merely exaggerating especially when the price to get these plushies was equivalent to getting a Panda Burger Set Meal (which cost roughly 15-16 Yuan.) Jin could only smirk and told him to leave it there for it to do its magic. Other than that, Jin had revamped the fighting arcade games in one particular corner and equipped them with wide screens and a default arcade joystick controller. Should the gamers have their own personal controllers, there were terminals for them to attach the controllers as well. As for the other arcade games, Jin had placed them neatly and replaced them with more modern controllers so they could be more responsive. (For example, the gun controllers were replaced with ones that could vibrate whenever reloading and the response time was better.) The seats on the racing arcade games were also upgraded to quality leather ones, and it was very comfortable to sit in. The grips on the stick and wheels were better than the worn ones which Yong De had. But that was not all for the arcade games as Jin was planning to make this arcade instance one of the best instances he ever made. Yet. (He has no more money right now.) Jin did tell the two new co-owners that he would be directly meddling with a number of the games and in return, they would receive these new arcade games for free without having to pay for any sort of license. However, Jin would receive 50% of the profit while the rest was them to keep. Hence, the Arcade was handled not just by the two co-owners but by Jin too, and thus he aptly named it the Panda Arcade so people can associate the Panda brand to Jin''s Dungeon Supplier store. (At the same time, a meagre wish by the System to revive and relive the old Panda Clan''s roots.) In terms of maintaining the games, he would get the goblin engineers to take a look once in a while so that would fall under maintenance cost. Otherwise, Jin would leave the promotion of these arcade games to He Rong and Yong De for he wanted to focus more on the dungeon supplier part. One of the games that Jin had invented was something similar to a street fighter style game, but Jin told them not to charge any money for that particular game. That was because it would be a violation of various copyright reasons and that particular game was set in the underground basement level where it would take place. At first, the He Rong was curious why Jin placed it underground, and then Yong De informed his new partner that the Triad members frequented the arcade a lot. That was why he requested Jin to create something to occupy the Triads time and most importantly money. As for the Triad who would be protecting this particular underground fighting game was none other than the Tigers. In return, the Three-Eyed Tigers Triad would set up a small outpost here to monitor and protect the Tiangong Shopping District. The dungeon supplier was unaware that this under the table deal was struck between Yong De and the Three-Eyed Tiger Triad Leader, San Ya Bai, enabling the tigers to response to the previous Ruby Rat ambush that quickly. For this, it gave Jin the impression that Yong De was not a simple person to read. In any case, that particular (and borderline legal) game was sort of a replacement of the underground arcade game matches that had been taking place under Yong De''s basement. (It was surprisingly popular, and the money they made wasn''t that far from underground illegal street/boxing fights.) This was because they would not be using any licensed game but toy models and figurines. It was laughable, but Jin purposely made it this way to boost He Rong''s sales. However, this was where the magic came in. Any toy models or figurines could be used for the fight. That''s right. ANY! So those cheapskate plastic toys that cost under five Yuan? It''s valid. Those miniatures that one bought from those gacha machines? Also valid. That collector version of Godzilla which worth thousands of Yuan? Equally valid! The fighting game worked was by placing the desired toy model in front of the ''transporter'', and the System would analyse its fine details for art and assign it a set amount of arbitrary stats. Based on the quality of the figurine, including custom paint job or mods would increase the stats for the model. Yet, stats were just part of the equation. The System made sure that the stats would provide the player an edge but only enough to make a minor difference. The rest was up to the player''s skills and abilities in controlling the ''character'' that they used from the figurine. So, a cheapskate toy plastic tiger could beat a well painted American/Japanese figurine costing hundreds of dollars. However, like fighting arcade games, the outcome could not be determined beforehand so the Three-Eyed Tiger Triad would be using the underground basement of this shop instance as always for betting purposes. While he did condone the betting act since the dungeon supplier did it in his instances too, Jin did reinforce Yong De to not keep any of the profit from them at any cost. In return, he would fall under the dungeon supplier''s protection instead. Meanwhile, He Rong did not exactly understand (or pretended not to understand) the concept, and he asked Jin for a demonstration in case other people were interested to play in the game. Jin nodded stating he would gladly give them a demonstration. "But first, choose a toy model. Both of you. Let''s have a mini try out after some basic tutorial." Jin said as he purposely chose his Knight Savant figurine model that was on the shelves. Chapter 506 Figure Fighters He Rong smiled as he looked through the current toy stocks he had and queried whether unmade figurines were possible as well. Jin was stunned for a moment before as he hadn''t considered this, but the System quickly told him that it was possible. However stats wise, it would be of a standard attribute as per a freshly built model. The co-owner than asked if those stats could be seen in the Virtual Hologram and unfortunately Jin had not thought of adding that feature because this fighting game was designed for the underworld. "Nevertheless, I did place some Virtual Hologram machines in the basement for them to choose and even place an NPC that helps to fix these models up in a jiffy. Depending on the money they are willing to spend. It can be fixed instantly; else, it should be within an hour or two. I am planning to offer paint jobs for miniatures as well. " Jin shared as he pressed a button at the Shop instance where there was a Tiger Mascot at the side of the room. The Tiger Mascot lit up a little as if it was scanning Jin for a moment before the statue of the Tiger Mascot moved away, revealing the stairs to the underground fighting game arena. Yong De had chosen one of Jin''s models as well (obviously unopened like the Knight Savant Jin was holding on.) while He Rong went for a Real Grade version of Gunndam 99, Metal Build edition and brought it along with him to the basement. The Minimalist Modern style of the Arcade Store instance did not transit the same into the basement area. Instead, Jin made it dark and shady, accompanied with lots of neon lights. Leaning more towards the Cyberpunk genre. Everything looked rather futuristic, and even the goblin engineers who were in the instance inspecting and preparing the fight machines for the trio were wearing high tech gadgets with their usual clothing. Some of the gadgets they wore were repurposed from the basic Gearbox suit which Yang Ling had made before. But instead of the full gearbox suit, It was broken into parts just as the Gearbox gloves and boots which the Evolved Goblins had used previously. However, unlike the first iteration of those gearbox armour parts, the ones these engineers used were more functional rather than combative. The gloves featured a series of tools that would be useful for modelling purposes as a clipper, file, glue, and cement or green stuff (a sort of clay that dried up quick to cover holes or create new customised parts) The same could be said for the one eyed visor, where the System gave instructions visually on how to tackle a particular nasty repair of a model. Initially, the System wanted the goblin craftsmen to handle these modelling issues, but then it decided to give the engineers a better understanding of the models that this underground community would build. So, in return, the goblin engineers could apply that inspiration or new found knowledge on future designs. Perhaps on the Sandroku Golem or probably blueprints for a new model. However, as Jin only allowed the Goblin Engineers to fix impromptu problems, the Goblin Craftsmen were the ones more responsible for the refurbishing of any broken toy models, and it included the customised paint jobs as well as building the model up if needed. (However, Jin did emphasise that the Goblin Engineers could join in if the model were futuristic or involved any mechanical parts. Who knows? Maybe the Goblin Engineers could build their own series of miniature robots in the future that could be used to fight as compared to the three dimensional game which Jin had created. (Despite it being already too real life looking.) The Goblin Engineers went ahead to turn the machine up, and that was where the miniature arena right in front of them started to glow. "Please choose your battlefield." A computer voice suddenly spoke out, and Jin knew that it was none other than the System''s mimicked voice. However, the rest did not know any of this. At the same time, Jin was wondering if he should use Kiyu for the announcer''s voice. He did not think of that until he heard the monotonous System''s voice instead. The game would differ based on the number of players entering the field. With three standing at the circumference of the arena, the System had determined that three players would join the game. They then collectively chose the type of battlefield they would want to fight in. As Jin was the ''game master'' for this particular match, he swiped the battlefield options for them to see. But what was amazing was not the options but how the mini arena right in front of them changed accordingly with the battlefield options. They could feel the weight of the ''battlefield'' physically moving before it disappeared into mere bits of data. The first option was a simple empty room concept battlefield, but as Jin swiped to the right, the choice of broken forest concept was selected as the entire empty room physically moved and replaced it with the broken forest concept battlefield. It was as if someone brought a new board and shove it through the arena''s playing field. In addition, Jin had plans to increase the number of battlefield options, including allowing customers to create their very own mini arenas. They could pay the Goblin Craftsmen to create it according to their instructions or buy a selected number of prefabricated decorations and architectures to place them into the mini arenas. (Yes, there is a workshop for them to do this as well within the basement.) While it was costly to create, they could be uploaded into the arena as an option called random concepts. Should the players or audience liked a particular piece of concept arena, the System would subsequently add it into the weekly rotation of battlefield. This would allow players to showcase their own ideas of a battlefield and whenever they were utilised, a commission fee would be given to the players and they could be credited as Panda Medals, or as cold hard cash. However, that was for the future when this game picked up traction. Now, the mini empty room concept battlefield would be their designated training and fighting grounds which their three figurine models would fight in. Once the battlefield had been selected, they placed the intended miniatures they wished to use at the front of the highlighted area, so the System could analyse the figures and used them for the battle. Anything that was on the model transporter would be teleported into the battlefield. Unfixed toy model versions would be fixed in an instant, and the System reminded Jin to place an automatic ''fixing'' fee as part of the update later. "Ah, you can put it for me System. Place it the same price as fixing a toy model by a craftsman." When the figurines were transported, both Yong De and He Rong was surprised that his Real Grade Gunndam 99 which required a few days of proper trimming and fixing of the plastic parts were already created on the scene. Even Jin''s Knight Savant Model and Yong De''s Triple Goblin and Eight legged Boar figurine were out of their boxes and on the scene of the empty room arena. "I thought you say the model box does not need to be open?" He Rong said as he saw that the Gunndam Model box that was teleported back was filled with empty plastic molds in it. "Mhm, I did. Sorry that I did not explain it well. Anything that is used for a fight will have to be opened. The Gunndam 99 you placed on the transporter will build for you immediately, but the fixing cost as I have spoken earlier would be added in as well." Jin apologised and told them about it. "Damn! I lost a few hundred Yuan just like this?" He Rong asked, and Jin replied that the amount had already been transferred into their business accounts. All three models. "Why do these models need to be opened? What if the customers want to keep it in pristine condition?" He Rong questioned Jin, and it did not occur to him until now. "Ah. Those toy model collectors huh¡­" Jin thought for a while before telling him the rationale behind the opened toy models. "Because this game physically utilises the toy models and any damage to it will need to be fixed, we can earn a little on the repairing fees. I thought that would definitely boost our profit quite a fair bit. This wasn''t exactly designed with the collectors in mind¡­" The dungeon supplier was contemplating whether he should use the counterfeiter in the process of creating the game session, but that might be unfair to those who painstakingly created their models from scratch. Even if he used the counterfeiter, the collectors would wonder if the product was real. (Even though it was totally one to one copy. Collectors had such twisted logic.) "How about we put a disclaimer? That way if the toy collectors wish to use their models for combat, they will bear their own responsibilities for the damage. Still, I too would not agree with opening collector models. Sometimes, I have occasional players that will play an extremely valuable card, but it was placed in a sealed tight reinforced plastic box." Yong De suggested and He Rong did not seem very satisfied with the outcome. "Can''t we use something similar to your dungeon instance system?? So that there is no physical contact to the models." He Rong requested, and Jin was deep in thought for a moment. "So, you are asking me to scrap the fixing figurines scheme and replace the physical with digital ones?" Jin asked for a confirmation, and they both nodded their heads together. "Fixing wise could still be of a service because there are times even experienced toy modellers make a mistake, mainly because their parts were too fragile. But other than that, it should not be a deterrent to play the game. You can still charge a commission for assembling and even for painting them. That usually takes time, and I know a lot who would rather pay for it as long as the result is desirable." He Rong suggested and Jin nodded his head with a bit of some reluctance. He got the point from the two store owners. To Jin, the models were just a part of a money making operation for himself since the underground scene would no doubt be quite lucrative. But to Yong De and He Rong, the cards and toy models were a part of their life. It was more than just a mere hobby to them. They put in love, effort, soul and heart into this process just like how Jin did for his dungeon instances. "I get what you mean. I see if I can make any changes before tomorrow''s grand opening, else I will keep this place closed until I resolve the issue." Jin said to them, and they were delighted that their landlord was open to suggestions and recommendations. "But as for these three models, I do not think I can do anything about them." "Oh, it''s fine. This is a small price to pay compared to the love that we have for our customer''s hobby." He Rong rubbed his nose as he looked at Jin and widened his eyebrows while showing the money sign and then putting his hand into the pocket. "Gosh, He Rong. It''s good to know there is still a money minded person in this room." Yong De said with some forced laughter when the other two looked at him momentarily. He Rong smirked back at Yong De and gave him a pat on the back. "Boss, time to teach us how to play this game? I assume that aside from the models, everything else should be the same right?" He Rong smiled back at Jin, and he chuckled a little before proceeding to teach them the basics of the game. The ''Figure Fighters''. Chapter 507 Meow Meow Karaoke Store Instance After Jin taught them the basics of the ''Figure Fighters'', they had conducted a mock battle with Yong De winning, before Jin left them to their devices. He wanted to visit the other shop instances that were in the Tree Mall, if only to see the store owner''s reactions to his hard work. Man Tang, the entertainment giant in the Tiangong Tree Mall, was right beside the arcade for added entertainment value. Her shop instance had been equally complicated but for another reason entirely. On its own, the karaoke shop instance looked like every other karaoke store Jin had even been to. The outside store exterior within the instance was an exact replica of what Man Tang had previously. A billboard greeted the customers featuring a cat holding onto a mike with musical notes surrounding or coming out of the fat cat. Man Tang insisted on maintaining her billboard as that particular brand for her shop had made a small reputation for itself. She, therefore, refused to change her shop name at all. When Jin went inside, the interior was exactly the same as her previous shop, emphasising that she did not wish to change a single thing stating it would break her routine up. Ah, but what was different about this particular instance were the karaoke rooms. That was where he worked his charm and also where Jin''s problems arose. As of now, Man Tang decided to limit herself with only five rooms for each particular theme she had requested, resulting in a total of fifteen rooms. If the business continued to be as prosperous, she would consider adding more. Thus, Jin produced the three themes for her to use but because it was an instance within an instance, the dungeon supplier did encounter some problem. So, he decided to use the Sanctum of Worlds as the leading example since that was the closest to this particular design assuming it was already an example of Sub Instances only for the System to tell him otherwise. The System stated that the Sanctum of Worlds was considered as a series of interconnecting instances because the System allowed two way communication between the monsters and they could enter via permission based requests which were loosely coded since most of the monsters had their home instances open for all to enter. The karaoke store instance, on the other hand, needed to be slightly different in terms of design which the interconnecting instances could not achieve. The first difference was that the Sub Instances were smaller and more definite in scale, which in turn would make it many times cheaper to maintain. But because of its rigidity, the System could not use it for the Sanctum of World''s concept. Imagine using a Sub Instance for the guest home instance where everyone had their own rooms and cabins. If Jin caught more monsters, the System would eventually have to build even more Sub Instances that would be a waste of resources compared to infinitely expanding the guest home instance. The normal instances could also be reduced in size when not in use, making them very flexible. But there were also perks to Sub Instances. The most important factor was security. Only the select few guests could enter a particular Sub Instance as soon as Man Tang granted her customers the permission via her modified Pandemonium app or her computer, which was connected to the System. Only the master of the instance and a few of her trusted employees would have access to the rooms. (In the Sanctum of Worlds, all the monsters basically had ''Master'' permission.) Fifteen rooms might not be much for the moment, but if she expanded in the near future, she worried that she could not possibly monitor that many rooms. Security was obviously crucial to her and using Sub Instances allowed the System to not bother too much and waste its precious resources to a particular tenant. Jin also believed this was vital since Man Tang said that there were unfortunate incidents of her customers nearly got raped or robbed by unsuspecting passer-bys or fellow customers of her store. Therefore, by ensuring that the rooms were locked based on the rights of the guests, it should hopefully reduce such incidents before. As stated previously, Jin was both busy(an excuse for being a little lazy) and too afraid to experiment too much with the Sub Instance, so the first five room he created were based on the theme of the Sanctum of Worlds'' Stadium instance where he held his town hall meetings for his monsters. Man Tang''s customers could use the stage as a mock platform to sing to either an empty grass field or to an audience of Farming Human clones. The latter was more expensive and was limited to two of the five rooms. For the clones, they would react accordingly to the singer''s effort. They wouldn''t boo or jeer but instead try their best to encourage within the stadium Sub Instance if performance was lacking. Likewise, if the customer were singing exceptionally well, the clones would clap along with the song or even echo along with the sing along. It was to give the customers a sense of confidence while standing on stage and allow them to sing to their heart''s content. Some might treat it as more than just a confident booster as a minority could use it as a way to practice for real concert performances. A singer wannabe entering ''the Voice'' competition could use this as a stage practice, or maybe a band of choir members use this as a viable platform to practice their performance. Either way, Man Tang liked the idea and was contemplating to build more of these themes. When Jin was more confident, the next was a Cat oriented theme karaoke which was similar to a cat caf¨¦. The multitude of cats would be accompanying the customers to sing along with the Karaoke. But unlike the stadium one, the sound system in this Cat theme karaoke was more mellow since cats were supposedly scared of loud noises, so it was slightly more realistic. However, Jin emphasised to the worried Man Tang that those cats were not the same as the real world cats, and all these were generated from the dimensional instances. Man Tang did not understand what Jin was talking about until she went into Cat theme rooms by herself. The cats were quite accommodating to newcomers compared to most real cats except for a few naughty and rebellious ones added to the mix. (since a certain fox claimed it would be more lifelike.) Despite how real they seemed, Man Tang could see that the cats were not afraid of the sound system at all and she even saw one yawning away with the fairly loud music blasting away. Of course, Jin justified this with the way they had been programmed with some of the cats reacting a bit more violently to pitch or the sound level being way above the usual threshold. He even demonstrated that by giving her a real life example of shouting loudly into the mike and the cats shriek and ran into the corners of the karaoke room to hide. Man Tang laughed at the reaction of the cats and believed it was authentic enough, and though there was one more themed room to check out, she preferred to stay with the cats a little while longer. "Maybe that''s why she insisted on keeping the Cat billboard." Jin thought to himself as he wondered if Man Tang was some sort of Cat Cultivator. While the karaoke owner was playing with the cats, Jin entered the last particular theme of the Karaoke Store Instance. It was basically a musical studio theme room where there was an electronic menu right at the centre of the room. Within that menu, Jin could choose any instruments he wanted to play in that room. Ranging from the piano, guitars to more orchestra based instruments such as the cello or violin. It was more of a room for people to come together to enjoy playing music or for lessons. Man Tang was known for allowing others to use her previous place as a teaching ground for singing and musical lessons. While not teaching, she herself on some rare occasions even played the harp herself, causing her to earn a few fans of her own too. Otherwise, the room could be reconverted to a more grandiose karaoke room with a push of a button at the front of the console where the cushions were spacious, and the sound system was as good as the stadium theme. There was even a cabinet with all miscellaneous musical instruments along with a small stage for them to sing solo. The console would then act as the selection menu for the customers to choose their music. Still, it was rather uncommon to put musical lessons in this sort of entertainment venue, but Man Tang kept it clean and family friendly at least till 9pm where the lessons should officially end. (Though there were occasions the lessons were dragged for at most an hour more.) After which, Man Tang would allow the ''rowdier'' groups of customers to enter her shop. She had decided to maintain this way for the upcoming new instance too, and the Triad members who drank and sang at her place knew better than to misbehave. Her cultivation level was said to be at Grade 6 and rumoured to be even higher. That was also why Man Tang''s karaoke store was among the only few shops that were mostly left unharmed by the fight except for a few glass windows breaking. Jin was initially surprised after he heard that Man Tang had protected her customers from any of the Ruby Rat''s harm. When given the charity funds, Man Tang also refused the funds stating that the damage that occurred was minimal and the funds should be given to someone that needed it more than her. Her regulars commonly joked that Man Tang could even win a fight against the legendary Boss Jin, but the karaoke owner had always refused to entertain their playful thoughts. After inspecting the Karaoke Store Instance and judging that it was more or less in the best condition for tomorrow''s opening, Jin bid his goodbye to Man Tang. However, before he left, Man Tang stopped him for a moment and passed him an envelope. "This is the payment in advance for any damage incurred in the karaoke store instance for at least the next three months." Jin looked into the envelope and was shocked to see a stack of notes within it. Not tens nor hundreds, they were in the thousands. (It was rare enough to see Yuan notes in the thousands since they were near non existent in the digital age of phone payment.) He stared at her with his eyes wide open as if to disapprove of this and knew immediately that it had something to do with something illegal. His dungeon instance might be expensive, but no matter how one destroyed something, it would not be as costly as this particular wad of cash in front of him. Jin believed that the cash was hush money for the activities that might happen in the night when the triad members or businessmen performed their illicit deals. What kind? He did not have enough evidence nor proof to determine. (Maybe now and in the coming future, he does.) However, he did hear gossips and rumours from various customers in his shop when they went operationally open for twenty four hours. Jin just believed they were mere hearsays and ignored them until now when Man Tang proposed to Jin to keep the money. "Is it not enough?" Man Tang furrowed her eyebrows as she saw Jin''s expression. She had a hunch that he might be the righteous kind of person and might not want any of these deals to happen. However, her store was also able to weather because of this, and she would not mind leaving the Tiangong district if she was not able to allow these deals to happen. "¡­Is that why there are occasional raids by the police, and yet nothing has happened to you?" Jin asked, and Man Tang who decided to be honest to her new landlord, simply nodded her head slightly though her face was nonchalant about it. Jin sighed for a moment before looking at the amount of cash in his hands while looking back at her again. "I understand. I will pretend that this act of transaction has never happened." Jin pushed the money back at her and bid her goodbye. Man Tang let off a slight smile and sighed as well. "I guess for a new landlord, he is quite a decent person in handling issues." Man Tang understood that Jin did not want to be involved in any issue of hers, nor was willing to offer any protection should anything happen. (or that was what she assumed) Even if he wanted a piece of that cash, he could now indirectly increase the ''maintenance fee'', and Man Tang would still have no issue to it for she wanted to continue to stay in Tiangong Shopping District as much as possible. "Thank you for understanding." Man Tang said behind him as she saw Jin off at the exit. It was a way of life for her, and that was how she grew up. Chapter 508 Chinese Medicinal Store Instance The next place he went to was Yu Xiang''s new medical store instance, which was on the second floor as well. The store instance was basically an old Chinese house with a courtyard at the centre, quite similar to Zither Mistress Ke Mi''s home instance. While Yu Xiang could have asked for something grander, their family was satisfied with paying what they could afford. Though the outside looked like a traditional Chinese home, the interior was that of a Chinese medicinal store from ancient times. The System had no trouble replicating such a request, saving Jin a lot of time which he used the prior knowledge of the System to immediately bring the store up. There were tens of cabinets all over the store, some at double of Yu Xiang''s height but the movable ladders and assist ropes hanging from the top would allow her to reach those drawers with a bit of cultivation. Her parents, however, felt quite at home with this kind of cabinet system using their chi to balance on a few of the tiny knobs that were protruding at interval levels of the cabinet. (It was meant to be done that way too according to the System.) Due to this level of finesse, which even Yu Xiang had never seen before, her parents were busy unpacking all the Chinese medicines that were kindly provided by Jin. Yes, Jin had decided to take over the entire medical store instance for himself as well. He not only sponsored the store instance but also gave the Yu Xiang''s family full autonomy of running the store. The only requirement was that they worked for him by selling his wares instead. But unlike the arcade instance which the profit earnt by the co-owners would eventually be used for various tournaments, Yu Xiang family''s earnings would be commission based on top of a decent base wage salary. Should the sales pick up, their commission based revenues could eventually rival the overall sales they had made in the previous years and that was how Jin advertised it to them. The family was also kind of tired to keep worrying for the store and gave Yu Xiang to decide which she accepted the deal on behalf of the family. Yu Xiang wondered why Jin was being so kind to her family and even suspected that he was trying to woo her. This wasn''t Jin assuming, the not so much older woman had unabashedly told him that she was not interested in Jin during their personal brainstorming session. The dungeon supplier was slightly stunned before her parents told her off and apologised to Jin about the sudden change of developments afterwards. They obviously did not want to offend their potential benefactor, yet Yu Xiang was adamant in her stance. She was not ready to be wed off nor was she in any rush to look for a boyfriend as she wanted to expand on her career first even if that meant that she would have to work part time jobs to keep the store afloat. However, Jin shook her suspicions off and insisted that his interest in her was purely on a business level. "I find it interesting. Why do you insist on staying in this store? With your capabilities, you should be well sought after by a bunch of prominent hospitals?" Jin asked Yu Xiang after her parents had negotiated the ownership details with Jin. "It''s a personal issue. I find it a little discomforting to share it with you." Yu Xiang was still direct with Jin and not mincing any of her words at all. "Alright, erm¡­ How about this? Do you mind telling me what it is you wish to achieve by staying in this small shop?" Jin asked Yu Xiang, and she looked pissed once again, clearly not buying the initial statement that Jin was not interested in her. (A certain fox was laughing at Jin being regarded as a playboy) "I have no need to tell you any of this at all. You just have to wait and see." Yu Xiang replied with a stern tone. "¡­Sure. Then what if I ask as a concerned SPONSOR of your store?" Jin had decided to use that particular trick even though he didn''t like to guilt trip someone. He could obviously see that she was quite irritated by it. "¡­I want my parents to recognise that Western and Chinese Medicine can coexist together. While Western heals the symptoms, the Chinese medicine helps provide nutrition for the body and has the ability to cure the root cause of most sickness. That was why I defied them and studied pharmacology while taking up a Chinese Medicine certificate." Jin was surprised that Yu Xiang revealed more than he expected as he smiled awkwardly at her answer before putting a chi potion at the centre of the table. "What do you think of this?" Jin asked as he opened the chi potion for her. "By the label on it. It''s a chi potion. Not really a brand that I recognise. Judging by the bottle, it looks to be somewhat valuable. So most likely an (intermediate?) chi potion." Yu Xiang stated as a matter of fact which made Jin at a loss of words before Yu Xiang smirked to herself and picked the bottle up, opened it and took a sniff, subsequently tasting it. She could feel her body reinvigorated in an instant, and she had never drunk such a potent chi potion before. "Even the concentrated ones that I''ve tried in my Chinese Medicine Academy were not as fast acting nor as strong. What kind of materials are in it?" Yu Xiang asked curiously. "I believe it''s the usual. You know, Hare''s Ear Root, Chinese Angelica, Peppermint, Hawthorn berry etc." Jin was reading all these off the System''s prompt. "That''s impossible. If it uses the usual formula, how could it be this good?" Yu Xiang asked, and Jin chuckled contemplating whether to answer with his ''Trade Secret''?. "Well, aren''t you curious? Go research it." Jin answered before leading her downstairs. Just as promised, he had prepared a small medical laboratory for Yu Xiang to play with. And when she requested to play with it, the Chinese Medicine Girl had not realised what she was getting into. "You must be kidding me. You have the latest pharmacological equipment in here, and it''s the full set?!" Yu Xiang saw the machines in the basement and had not expected to receive an entire theme park to play with. "I can''t possibly do this all by myself. I will need to consult a few friends or maybe professors in this." "Can you vouch for them being trustworthy? Are you sure they are hardworking enough? I have more materials, and I believe I can provide a decent salary for another five of your friends." Jin clarified. Yu Xiang laughed: "You kidding me? As long as they get shelter and are decently fed, they will spend all day doing this kind of back breaking research. Also, though I might not be the best in regards to this kind of research but my thesis had some relation with this. I believe can handle such stuff." Yu Xiang answered proudly. Jin nodded his head as if he already knew surprising her and Yu Xiang wondered whether that Jin must have already investigated her past background and if that was how it led him to sponsor her family''s store. She mellowed her attitude and asked where he got that particular potion from. And yes, Jin had looked her up via the System (after all the System had a backdoor to his university''s online database.) Her research was based on the fusion of medicine and therapy between Western and Eastern products. She even created a prototype of what could have been the ancient and forgotten spiritual core pills by using both Chinese herbs and western medicinal products. The spiritual core pills were rumoured to improve the dantian circulation leading to increased chi production and better enhancement of the body. For some reason, these pills had gone out of production after the dantian had been made permanent and no one was able to find any traces of its formulae nor its existence ever since. Even in the underworld where most scared stuff was kept, sold and exchanged, there were no traces of the spiritual core pills at all. However, before she and her team members could reach phase three of the trial research, it seemed that she had suffered some setbacks, and there was no subsequent news about the spiritual core pills. (Phase three of modern research trials are usually meant to test if the products were fit for human consumption.) In addition, there were gossips and rumours that underworld organisations wanted Yu Xiang''s research, and people concluded that it was one of the reasons why her research trial was moot. "This chi potion? It came from the very same supplier that provided you with the Chinese herbs and some of the western medications. But he has been charging me a bit too much for comfort lately. I''d like to see if I can provide some competition for him¡­You know to lower the price" Jin answered bluntly while looking at a CCTV, indirectly hinting to the System. He knew that the chi potions came from the Alchemist World after trading enough in the black market. These batches of chi potions were considered as one of the most inferior of all potions in their world. However, they had noticed that someone was very interested in it, which led to prices slowly increasing. Jin hoped to eventually recruit one of these alchemists for his research lab team as well. But right now, there were too many things to take care of. And the dungeon supplier wanted to see if humans from this world could accomplish the same. If so, it should also be rather interesting to see the inhabitants of Alchemist World compete on their products with Earth''s humans. "I see, but I cannot guarantee you any results." Yu Xiang tried to voice her concerns before it was too late and hoped that her sponsor was realistic enough to understand it. "We won''t know without you trying. Some results are better than nothing. Who knows, perhaps you and your team can make the next breakthrough. I promise that there will be sufficient funds for you guys. But that''s for the future, for now just concentrate on opening your family''s store." Jin knew not to pry too much into this. He couldn''t guarantee the same for a certain fox who might become very interested after learning that Yu Xiang wasn''t just a normal person. Fortunately, Kraft was currently occupied, busy having fun in the Goblin World. "Sometimes, I wonder why our Boss keeps encountering these many girls with some tragic past or hidden history. Can''t he find someone more normal?" Pei thought. As if Jin had a sixth sense telling him that he was being badmouthed, the dungeon supplier unconsciously rubbed the bracelet rather roughly. "WHY! WHY ME?!" Pei shouted as she could feel her entire instance suffered a kind of earthquake, tempting her very much to come out of her bracelet to whack Jin for this. Yu Xiang nodded her head while she was looking around the new lab that was bestowed upon her. Even though she knew that the dungeon supplier was just a landlord, she felt that there was something peculiarly odd with him. Claiming to be poor yet at the same time seemingly having no problems forking out this many pharmacological equipment that had to cost millions of dollars? Had he been anticipating her or was he acting poor to gain sympathy points? If it was the latter, he was not just a shrewd businessman but someone that Yu Xiang had to be wary of. Nevertheless, he was undoubtedly the saviour of Tiangong Shopping District, so she was somewhat uncertain whether to trust him or not. "Oh, and don''t worry about security in this place, I assure you that it is as secure or even more so than those labs you''ve worked in," Jin said as he walked out of the lab basement from the Medicine Store Instance. "Que Er, have one of your magpies follow them whenever they are returning home. I trust her, but we don''t know about her friends yet." The Queen of Magpies appeared and bowed to acknowledge his request. "I can do that but wouldn''t it be easier for you to provide housing for them? Are you sure that you don''t want Kraft to let one of his foxes follow them?" Jin could not help it and shook his head furiously while talking to her at the corner of the Medicine Store Instance when no one was looking. He could imagine the potential horrors those scientists could go through if the foxes were bored. "¡­I think a magpie will be better for modern world surveillance. Besides, it''s for their safety instead of suspicion issues." Jin insisted that he wanted her to take over this job. "Very well, I shall have one of my magpies follow Yu Xiang and subsequent ones after she recruits her members." Que Er nodded her head, and for some reason, Jin could feel that she was stronger than usual since the last time he saw her face to face. "So¡­you noticed? Or have you been informed by it beforehand?" Que Er smirked as she pushed up the new glasses she had exchanged for System points. The Queen of Magpies explained that the Farming World Resistance had been using her magpies so frequently that she had received a lot of System points and in turn, she was making herself stronger in hopes that her magpies could be even more useful. "User, Queen of Magpies has reached the capabilities allowing her to undergo a Side Evolution with some help. Without help, chances exceed 90% that she can also undergo it on her own within the next 6 months" The System said, but Jin for some reason, he refused the side evolution which he was not willing to say. "No, Que Er. You are too valuable to us just to side evolve. Be patient and maybe all you need is a battle to have a Step Up Evolution trigger." Jin encouraged her before he began to notice that Yu Xiang was on the verge of eavesdropping them and he quickly picked his phone up and pretended to talk into it. "As you wish." Que Er was a tad disappointed and at the same time, felt relieved to hear those words of praise from her master. "To be useful¡­hmm." Que Er smiled gently as if she was reminiscing the past before the Queen slowly disappeared via a portal by the System. Chapter 509 Bais Weapon & Armour Department Instance Contrary to the other instances, Jin was extremely confident that there would be no need for any fixes with this last instance and it would be to the liking of the twin shopkeepers Bai Xin and Bai Wan. This was because he literally had handed them his Weapons and Armoury Instances. But for the two of them, this became a major headache. Bai Xin and Bai Wan would have prefered to become store owners in title, acting as mere of assistants for Jin. The dungeon supplier, however, had other plans in mind and was more than happy to delegate this task to fully concentrate on his dungeons. Begrudgingly, they were currently trying their best to memorise what items were in which section. Not to be too cruel, Jin did assign some Red Panda NPCs to them if they had any questions and as workers free of charge (for the rest of December at least). The minor difference between then and now was that Jin had revamped the place a little. The weapon store now featured a dedicated shooting range, a place where dummy mannequins sacrificed themselves to allow for weapon tests and most importantly private workshop spaces for people like Ren Wei who loved to customise their weapons. The workshop wasn''t bound to just guns. With Bai Wan taking over as the manager of the store, the Three Headed Bear no longer needed to be the one to sell weapons. Jin asked him to use this freed up time to instruct budding aspirants who wanted to become blacksmiths or at least learn how to keep their weapons sharp. That way, Jin could get people to take blacksmithing as a professional hobby¡­ and who knows, they might produce decent weapons in the future under the guidance of the Three Headed Bear. Of course, Jin did not expect too many customers to trifle with the Master Blacksmith since his attitude could be at times overbearing. (or most of the time.) But unlike the research into chi potions, this was not a priority. Jin wasn''t in any dire need for some potential breakthroughs in blacksmithing as he already had a damn good weapon on hand. Usually, the Master Blacksmith would ask the System to collect all the weapons that were not in use and place it in an instance for him, which also worked as a furnace. After which, the Three Headed Bear would pick a weapon up and hammer it in the forge. The thing was, as he picked the particular weapon up, hundreds if not thousands of weapons were invisibly lifted up by an unknown force. When the Three Headed Bear started banging his hammer on the said weapon, one could see that the weapons that were lifted with an invisible force started to twirl around as if they were the one being reforged in the anvil too. Every turn, every hit gave the weapons a sip of brand new life. He had dubbed this as the ''Rain of Hammering Fire''. Highly effective, this particular Legendary Grade blacksmith technique was only limited by the state a weapon was in. Regardless of dents, chips or blunts, the Rain of Hammering Fire fixed all of these problems, yet what was already broken could not be fixed were eventually reforged in bulk. The Master Blacksmith claimed that each weapon had an innate soul to it, but whether that soul turned sentient was another issue. According to him the latter was more commonly known as living weapons and the System cited that this particular Earth had seen its fair share of such weapons before. Unsurprisingly they were all made by Master Blacksmiths too. "The soul of a weapon responds to the Rain of Hammering Fire, for they wish to be cleansed of their own sins. Of not taking responsibility. Of betraying of their master, or just¡­the lack of maintenance." The Three Headed Bear said without looking up as he continued to hammer on the weapon before him. "But sadly, some do not wish to obey, and most do not oblige to any being who happens to find them. They merely wanted to be free and to be more than just a weapon." The overly large bear shared with a tone of sadness as he placed the heated metal into the water for cooling. It was the first time the Master Blacksmith had talked to Jin using more than just a few words and grunts. Although the conversation was awkward and came out of nowhere, the dungeon supplier kept quiet, hoping to learn more. ¡ª¨C Yet even after a couple of minutes, the sound of the hammer hitting the anvil was all that filled the room. Regardless, that encounter was definitely an improvement as Jin reminisced about it while continuing his inspection of the private workshops and the training hall which he had placed. Because of the nature of dimensional instances and System''s infinite capacity in making them, the workshops instances became something akin to a box. While Jin did contemplate whether to make the workshop instances as sub instances but realised that, the blacksmith tools and equipment that could be bought and filled their personal workshop up. Hence it was best to put them as instances which could be called out whenever they needed to be used. Thus the System would pull out the data of the said personal workshop instance and the items within that particular dimension, and someone could immediately use it. It did not take up any physical space and was easy to switch these workshops around for the people who rented them. Meanwhile, the training hall was similar to a giant forge with tens of multiple anvils and blacksmith equipment, ovens and tools etc. For a fee (be it a single session or multiple sessions), the customers could learn how to fix their weapons and create a weapon of their own. If the weapon were deemed passable in the Master Blacksmith''s eyes, Jin would allow it to be sold, and the customer could earn the profit after a deduction of 5% for operating fees. That was how the training workshop could be conducted, but the Three Headed Bear had demanded that he would teach at most 10 customers at once, with each session being at least three hours long. (Afterall, he insisted on quality, not quantity when it comes to teaching.) In addition, he would determine if the customers were worthy enough to learn how to smith. When Jin asked if he could relax the conditions for the moment, the Master Blacksmith shook his head slowly and told Jin not to fuck around. The dungeon supplier was stunned for a moment before laughing bitterly at his opportunistic greed for money. Jin eventually agreed and started making posters and brochures that would be given out with every purchase of a weapon. "Do you even smith?!" became the tagline on the brochures and Bai Wan liked it very much, considering trying out himself if time allowed it. Meanwhile, Jin was wondering about the true identity of the Three Headed Bear ever since he had created the brochure. He needed a name to spread the word and not just a mere title of Ultimate Instructor Blacksmith, which people deemed the words to ''be void of any weight''. The System did not help him in this regard since it had promised the Master Blacksmith that it would not reveal its true name under any circumstances. Unless the bear introduced himself to Jin, there was no other way to find out. Nonetheless, without a name to go by, Jin felt it would be hard for the customers to address him, so he personally asked if the Three Headed Bear was okay with a nickname instead. "Vulcan." The Master Blacksmith answered after some slight deliberation. "I see¡­ Roman God of Fire otherwise known as the Smith God. Very fitting." Did the story of Vulcan have some link with the mysteriousness of not revealing his name or was he perhaps indeed a smith that had, in fact, worked for the Gods? Only time could tell. Either way, Jin was reasonably satisfied with these new changes. He watched Bai Wan do some stocktaking and learn to navigate the weapon store instance under the Red Panda''s supervision as he went over to the Armour Instance. Just as he had done with the weapon store instance, Jin had also slightly modified the armoury department store theme. A fashion runway was added to the middle of the department store where there would be a constant (small and varied) promotion on the clothes that were showcased. For this, Jin had decided to use the cosplaying minotaurs, but with a slight twist. Those minotaurs had to wear the cosmetic inscriptions to turn into pure humans or alternatively pose as cosplayers with horns. It wasn''t too hard given they were already humanoid in shape and figure (though a bit hairy in their normal forms). Still, he insisted that at least a couple of them should use human appearance to showcase that ''normal'' humans would also look good in the outfits. As for the ''storekeeper'', Bai Xin was responsible for creating bi-weekly themes based on the clothes available for sale. Jin didn''t mind if she wanted to rope her younger brother in for a few of the weapons that Jin was selling and encouraged the twins to experiment with the double promotion within the store. He believed it would create some hype and sales, especially when the storekeepers were to mix and match and sell the weapons and armours as a set. The cosplaying minotaurs no doubt gave some of their input to Bai Xin when they first met her, hoping to try out certain themes for the future. At the same time, the Bai Twins had never seen so many handsome dudes and beautiful ladies of various colours converging to the dungeon supplier''s store. The models collectively lied telling them that Jin had hired them at separate occasions for their advice for his own series of inscribed defensive gear. The young woman could not be happier, allowing them to help her and accepting their opinions. Meanwhile, the cosplaying minotaurs had asked Jin if he could allow them to create their very own cosplay sets. It was a wish of theirs ever since they discovered this miraculous relic called the television and cinemas. At the very least, they wished to create their very own cosmetic inscription costume. If Jin wanted, they were more than happy to allow him to sell it as defensive gears. (Jin quickly came to regret showing them his world''s definition of cosplaying when he had asked the minotaurs where they had learned how to dress up.) For now, the Boss told them to attract a large crowd first before he would entertain such thoughts. That alone had made them extremely elated and already provided Bai Xin with a lot of ideas which had accumulated ever since the day they were exposed to Japanese and Chinese animation. Bai Xin had never seen such enthusiasm and promised her new colleagues that she would do what she could. She revealed herself to the minotaurs as a budding seamstress and her cultivation style of the Weaving Spider that aided her in creating clothes. At times like this, Jin wished that Zhi Nu hadn''t have taken up the management job at the Adventurer Guild and instead worked with Bai Xin and Vulcan to create even more defensive gears with more modern designs. However, Zhi Nu surprisingly revealed to him that her weaving job was not something she enjoyed particularly, especially when it had been forced upon her ever since she learnt about the needle and thread. Still, the Weaver Girl was not going to leave Jin in a lurch. If he ever needed her to help to make a suit of his own, she would drop everything to assist him. She only wished to try and repay the gratitude she held for him in helping Niu Lang to gain a new skill and profession. Chapter 510 The Portrai The Figure Fighter game was the only major thing Jin would have to redesign else the store owners were more than just happy with their own instances. Some did ask for some minor tweaks to smoothen their work process before the grand opening, but nothing that would take too much out of his time. They were all was busy unpacking their supplies and preparing their own special events and discounts to welcome their guests for the big day tomorrow. Meanwhile, Jin went off on his final round checking if the miscellaneous facilities in the Tiangong Tree Mall were working as intended. The toilet instances were the same ones he used for his store, placed at each level as well as inside the store instances. The only inconvenience was that the Pandamonium App was required since it was instance based, yet their high if not, perfect level of cleanliness could put other toilets in the world to shame. The mall''s lights were also functioning well, and the air conditioning in the area was lukewarm for the current weather. The railings and floor on every level were all custom made, especially with the railing guard. Tree-like branches were being fused with the glass on the railing while the tiles were polished quality wood with some greenery placed at the side. There were bins at several strategic points the System had determined to be the places with the most amount of human traffic. Quite convenient for Jin as there was no need for cleaners, the trash would be sorted automatically (even in the various food store instances) as an effort to recycle. The Lost Tech Recycler was always ready to accept any trash that was given to it, and the System was not going to let any go to waste. Alternatively, it could always be given to the Lost Tech Counterfeiter as energy resource for future productions. Oh, and the possible litterbugs? They would receive a warning by the all seeing System via the Pandamonium App as well as an immediate deduction of five Panda medals if they had any. Further violations would be reported to the police or to the social public department to have their well-being scores amended. Information plaques had been placed on the ceilings to indicate where the lifts and toilets were. Jin believed he had everything covered except for one last thing. The most important facility that was situated at the highest level of the Tree Mall has been reserved solely for it. His new store. Jin figured since he was the one creating this Tree Mall, which was fundamentally unique, he might as well join in and relocate his store. The flooring of the top level incorporated the entire diameter of the tree and Jin had gone for an open air concept for it. It was a marvel how there was a glass dome ceiling at the top of the tree while the tree''s branches were converging to provide sufficient shade. If someone were to pay closer attention, they would realise that the tree branches had been grown systematically in a way which covered sufficiently to allow pockets of sunlight to enter the top level as it encroached over the reinforced glass dome. In addition, the top level was modelled to be similar to a bamboo forest park with patches of bamboo trees along the pathway and diverging from both sides of the paths into various ancient Chinese styled pavilions. People could either sit and chat or enjoy the tranquillity of the medium size pond with a rocky landscape right beside the pavilions. During the night, there would be garden lamps in the shape of Chinese lanterns illuminating the path, providing the bamboo forest part with a mild glowing yellowish shine, giving off a mystical feeling with the night sky above. With it being one of the tallest ''buildings'' in the area, Jin believed that the visitors might find the occasional star twinkling or moon glowing its soft radiance down to the bamboo forest. The pavilions were painted black and gold to have a stark contrast with the bamboo forest, blending it nicely regardless of day and night. Yet, the most striking feature was the interior design architecture. The intricate design of pandas playing or lazing around was crafted within the roofs of the multiple pavilions scattered across the bamboo forest part. One could see the pavilion was meant as a place to have their guard down and enjoy the scenery. However, there was one particular pavilion clearly different. It was crafted with an artwork of ten Foxes, a Red Panda, a Penguin and a Snake altogether. While Milk, Peppers and Zeru did not have an animal cultivation style, they were portrayed within the ceiling artwork in other ways. The Giant Book which Milk used was seen along with the Red Panda and Penguin while the snake wrapped itself around a wooden staff. Pictures of lotus flowers were painted at the corners of the roof while the foxes were playing hide and seek within the flower fields. As for Jin''s store? It was at the centre of the Bamboo Forest Park where it was placed on an elevated sloped platform. Was it a physical shop? Nope. Was it a statue? Nope. What was standing at the centre of the elevated platform was actually a mega sized portrait of Jin wearing his Half Panda Mask, along with his retainers and monsters in it. The Master of the System was at the centre sleeping on the belly of a Giant Panda. Qiu Yue was on the right paw of the Giant Panda surrounded by red pandas holding various items, including a crown and a bag of gold. Lynn was on the left paw demonstrating some of her skills to her penguins, some of which were in ninja attire. Separately, Peppers was sitting cross-legged at the top of the Panda''s head reading one of her books. Shu, the Ancient Treant was right beside the sleeping Panda. The Great White Snake lying around Shu''s protruded roots was quietly staring at something outside the picture and acted as Ke Mi''s cushion, who was immersed in playing the Zither. Naturally, the Praying Mantis was also present blending with the giant tree itself. Milk and Zeru were both above Peppers on one large branch, eyes looking towards their sleeping master while Yun was sitting alone at the other side of the branch, looking away into the far space seemingly enjoying the ''wind'' of the scenery. The portrait also featured the three evolved Goblins riding Mr Oink''s Death Rider Form while a Wyvern had spread his wings attempting to squeeze in. Their shadows on the ground was noticeably different as it depicted their former selves being a playful trio. The Wyrm Ants family had popped their heads out of the bottom of Shu spewing a minuscule amount of fire and ice as if they were communicating with each other. Beyond Shu''s roots, Ayse and the other humanoid researchers were seen recording some experiments as they observed the Dark Templars and Baphomet worshipping Lord Wolte in an underground cavern. At the left side of the portrait, Sandy had used her sand powers to create a sandcastle. Inside that sandcastle, Half Ghoul Lord Derek could be seen creating more zombies with his makeshift Frankenstein machine. In the opposite part of the sandcastle, the werejackals and werecats were taking the effort to open a vault seemingly continuing what they had attempted in the Bank Heist Instance. Separately, at the centre of the sandcastle, there was a spiral staircase up to the second floor. The Jack-o-Lantern was running upwards followed by some Boar Knights that connects to a long corridor which eventually led to Lord Moloch sitting on a throne with his maids and subjects bowing towards him in another room, supposedly the sandcastle''s throne hall. Above the sandcastle was the Black Disaster, General Nubwort standing proud with a few of his orc officers. Unfortunately, they were overshadowed by a working Mechataur who was blowing steam outwards, which somehow seemed to have ruffled the leaves of Shu. Meanwhile, Zhi Nu and Niu Lang were behaving like a lovey-dovey couple sharing some ice cream at the shoulders of Mechataur. At various parts of the giant robots, robot crawlers could be seen repairing it. The upper part of the portrait had clouds mixed with thunder revealing the silhouette of Mr Derpy and his minions were trying their hardest to cling on to him. A bit further back of the portrait was a mountainous cliff where Keyrin was standing proud and tall summoning the clouds and thunder out. A leg of the Transforming Spider, Spiky was shown at the side of the mountainous cliff too, as if it was too big for it to present its entire self within the portrait. The Fire Lion Demon and Water Snake were also present, still battling each other in a small land of tundra. The picture of them was a lot further into the background and hard to see without a closer look. On the other side of the picture, the Titan Knight looked outwards as if trying to protect the Tree Treant from something and the Robotic Arachnid had crawled up the Knight''s chest. The Savants that were featured in the Shaolin Instance had drawn their weapons towards a monster with a sinister Black Aura revolving around him, and it was hiding at the corner of the picture. That was none other than Diabolos who was still asleep within its protective barrier. Further into the background was the Fallen Santa riding his chariot of evil ready to throw more snowballs as two of his Spartan Clockwork soldiers had taken the reins for the flying deer chariot. As for Kraft and his foxes? They were once again hidden all over the portrait. Even the sealed up Rex could be found within the lining of the protective barriers against Diabolos. The System had informed Jin that it would gift him something for all his hard work it had done for the Shopping District especially since it did not formally issue a mission for him. Jin had not paid any heed to the System''s words as he doubted it would be something valuable, seeing as there had been no objectives to complete. That was until he saw this mega portrait right in front of him. The corners of the portrait were safely protected by a golden metal frame with even more Pandas on it while most of the frame consisted of high quality bamboo. This large portrait was floating as if it was being levitated by a magnet. Jin was speechless from the artwork as his eyes slowly scanned over all the tiny details of it, potentially rivalling the famous historical portraits in the London Royal Museums. "System will update the artwork once User has captured more monsters." The System explained that the portrait was an ever evolving piece of art and told Jin not to worry about security or potential stains to the artwork. Going one step beyond if someone tried to take a video or picture of it, it would suffer from photo manipulation effects which would cause fuzziness on the picture or video taken, rendering the photo useless. As Jin was about to ask how to enter the store instance of the revised Dungeons and Pandas, he realised that the elevated slope platform had the answers, demonstrating how to do so with the QR code engraved on the slope itself. The dungeon supplier smiled as he took a few steps back and replied to the System with regards to the portrait. "System, for something so omnipotent, you missed out the most crucial detail within this whole portrait." Jin said as he heaved his breath out and when relaxed, he figured out where to insert that particular detail. The System analysed the portrait once more and could not determine the missing link that Jin was talking about. "Please specify what System had missed out." The Dungeon Supplier walked towards the portrait, going through the forcefield which was set up to protect the precious portrait. Jin then placed his finger at his ''chest'' on the picture. "You." He then explicitly told the System to add his store signboard and place in such a way as if Jin was holding the signboard tightly even though he was asleep. "Now the artwork is complete." Jin smiled widely as he nodded his head in approval. Chapter 511 Opening Ceremony - Part 1 "Oei, sleepyhead. Time to wake up!" The intercom voice sounded like it''s from Yun as Jin felt groggy within the sleeping capsule from the forced awakening. "¡­ Five more minutes." Jin managed to grumble as he could barely move any part of his body within the uncomfortable capsule. He was too tired from another night''s worth of projects with what little money he was left with. "It''s your big day. Do you plan to skip out on your own opening ceremony?" Yun asked through the intercom once more, and the System proceeded with opening the capsule without waiting for Jin''s permission. The amount of black sludge, as usual, was more than terrifying but the System had already collected today''s worth, and the rest was for Jin to keep. Yun could see that Jin''s head was still drooping from the heaviness of his sleep, so she personally went into the dungeon maker''s room to pick him up. With a snap of her finger, they were instantly teleported to the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance. At her beckoning, the Panda Masseur from the wooden cabin came out to carry Jin to the changing room aiding his barely awoke master in changing to something skimpier. But instead of a bath, the Panda Masseur brought Jin onto his massage table and started to work its panda massage magic on Jin. The System had provided the masseur with a type of essential oil which was enriched with various effects to perk Jin up and bring his energy back. "Master, I am starting from the back." The Panda said as he placed his paws on Jin''s scapula and started to rub the fatigue out of his body. Jin, who was aware of the massage, became briefly unconscious from the pleasure of the massage and the instant relaxation of his muscle made his body to go all soft. The Panda Masseur smiled, seeing his massage working as intended and proceeded to his lower back, subsequently his legs and later back up to his arms. At the last part, the Panda placed a warm wet towel that encompassed the whole of Jin and allowed him to experience the heaviness of the towel as well as the comforting warmth of it inside the air conditioned cabin. "Master, you are good to go for a bath." The Panda Masseur said as he removed the towel and gave him an ordinary one to cover his genitals for decency sake. "Gosh, I feel so much more refreshed than ever. I didn''t even realise that my shoulders were previously stiff as a piece of hardwood. They are so relaxed now~. Thank you." Jin praised the other for his work as he wrapped his lower part of the body and went to shower. Suddenly the penguins that were manning the hot spring instance dashed into the same cubicle as Jin and pressured him to sit on a stool as they wash his entire body for him. "What are you guys doing?! I can shower myself!" Jin exclaimed as a penguin placed its two flippers onto Jin''s face and began rubbing it with face wash. "Lady Yun''s orders. She said there is not much time left before the opening ceremony. A crowd of people has already formed, and she asked us to assist you in your bathing in case you fall asleep while bathing. She is not taking any chances with you. Please pardon us for the assistance." The penguins exclaimed as they began to scrub Jin''s body from head to toe after not showering properly for the past few days. (Disgusting, but true.) After which, the penguins opened a portal which led him back to the room with his towel barely on. Yun had already prepared an appropriate set of clothes, belt and even shoes for him. "Quickly get changed. The crowd is getting anxious." "How big can the crowd be? It''s just the reopening of their old district. It hasn''t been that long¡­" Jin grumbled once more as he quickly wore his underpants with Yun looking the other way, busy with some messages on the phone. As soon as Jin was done looking decent in his new outfit, his supposed motherly figure had put a Lynn-made sandwich in his confused looking mouth. "Eat the sandwich, another one is on your study table if you want more. Here''s the script that has been prepared for you." Yun instructed as she helped him trim his unkempt hair. Yun somehow was able to pull off this magic trick where the hair would disappear the moment it was cut away, enabling Jin to enjoy his sandwich while he reluctantly read the script that was vetted by the System. "Do I really have to do this? Can''t I send out Another Jin in my stead?" Jin asked Yun as she berated him to not move his head and only his mouth. "No you can''t. I know you it might seem boring to you and not exactly what you want to do, but it''s your district now, and you have to accept some of the responsibilities. Also, it''s exactly because it hasn''t been that long, which caused the interest in your district to be that big. " Yun said as she lifted his hair and snipped it off. "Your little stunt of building a gigantic tree was one thing, which many had accepted that you used some impeccable ''Trade Secret'' level of magic, but you basically rebuilt an entire district within a week, and that made everyone''s attention to be on you." "Grandma Yuan received a call from the governor of Shenzhen informing her that he was hoping to be a guest for this opening. They did not expect the place to open so soon and they cleared their schedule just for this." Yun replied, emphasising his new duties as the landlord. "And it looks like it''s not just her but a few other big shots from the Demon Exorcist organisation who will be coming in to take a look at the place as well. Teacher told me the big wigs were impressed by the district''s recovery and decided to personally discuss the opening of the branch headquarters for Shenzhen with you. It''s your opportunity to get a big cheque from them!" Yun added, astounding Jin with her form of address for the old woman. "I am actually surprised that Shenzhen does not have branch headquarters." Jin wondered aloud as he chewed on his food and awaited Yun''s reply since he''d rather listen to her rumbling than memorise the script. He figured the System would prompt Jin with the script in the case he ''forgot''. "There was a small outpost here that acted as the branch headquarters previously. It was led by Teacher, but as she gained renown, that outpost became a training centre cum headquarters. In recent years, she closed that training centre due to old age and only took a few bunch of kids as part of the minimum requirement to continue enjoying the perks of the Demon Exorcist organisation." Yun explained as she magically summoned an electric shaver and comb and helped Jin to further trim the sides. "You knew quite a bit¡­" Jin wanted to know if Yun could remember anything about her old past. Just a mere glimpse would be better than nothing. "All of those were from some past articles I read. Nothing too classified nor from my supposed old memories. You know it wouldn''t exactly hurt you to read up things like that yourself." Yun answered understanding what Jin was hinting at as she requested Jin to lower his head a little. "In any case, I can only do this much for you. Whether you want to follow the script or ad-lib it, it''s all up to you. Now go out there and cut that damn red ribbon so we can start work." Yun smiled at him as she teleported Jin back to the Shop Instance, and people started to become aware that the new landlord had finally arrived. "Woah! Boss Jin! It''s unusual to see you wear something so smart! " Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden Cultivator shouted as she waved at Jin from afar. That shout alone was enough to start the wave of congratulations to Jin for the successful construction of the new Tiangong Tree Mall. She and the other Pandawans were queuing up too, though not as early as the rest in the crowd. "Alright, alright! Let him through! If you guys want to see the opening ceremony, just go to the first floor of the Mall!" Yun, who magically appeared behind Jin, looked formally with a full business suit and screamed at the customers to make way. The old store was still operational for a few more days at least until the end of December to make people aware of the new store in the Tree Mall before Jin would officially close it. (Well technically, he can leave the shophouse alone since he was the landlord, but the instances would be moved away to the new mall.) While most of the Pandawans came to lend their support, it was not their only reason for coming. Jin had sent out the audit report on the charity funds on the day before and indicated that because of their donations, the Tiangong Tree Mall was able to start earlier than scheduled. In return for the expedited opening, Jin had thanked the loyal customers and cultivators with a special reward. Those who had donated would be given a ''donor'' status depending on the amount they had given. For those who gave less than 100 Yuan, they were given vouchers for the various stores via the Pandamonium App by Jin. The first five dungeons they decided to play for the month of December and January would be offered at a 25% discount too. Between 100-1000 Yuan? Jin had given them Silver Donor status, and they were given the same benefits as the Donor status, but their benefits were up to ten dungeons (depending on the contribution) would come with 50% discount from December to February. There were a few who donated more than 1000 Yuan and those were bestowed with the Gold Donor Status with their next ten dungeons priced at 25% of the normal cost price no matter when they decided to come. Not only that, they were given three times the number of e-vouchers to spend in the Tiangong Tree Mall. As for most generous donor, whose contribution was a six-digit figure, he was given Platinum Donor Status. This came with multiple benefits (including a custom Hippo & Egret Plushie), the most obvious being that anything that was purchased in the Tiangong Tree Mall would be free for life. That was none other than Xiong Da, who was also the guest of honour for the opening ceremony. Jin thanked all of them, but Yun pressed him to move faster out of the store instance and into reality as the first thing they saw were reporters vans and an unbelievably long queue of people that were lined up from the front and side gates of the Tree Mall. It was so damn long that the queue line was all the way to his original shophouse and beyond. All of them were dying to try out the new Tiangong Tree Mall which had been aggressively advertised by Kiyu in the past few days too. Neither the System nor his comrades in arms had bothered to inform him about it, as Jin was fighting the (seemingly neverending) battle of creating instances. "Oh my god." Jin could not believe the sight in front of him as Yun pulled his arm to take Jin back to Earth and they both used their chi to jump and sprint in mid air. The people in waiting were wowing at the sight of the two cultivators literally jumping dozens of meters at once into the air, which was a feat people recognised as a feat of highly cultivated individuals. As Yun and Jin moved closer to the site of the Opening Ceremony, Yun purposely twirled and pushed Jin forward while inciting her cultivation to appear. Along with Eight Panda Silhouettes, more copies of it playfully surrounded Jin via Yun''s cultivation. The Astral Panda Cultivator flew forward with tens of Pandas circling him, eventually gracefully aiding him to land on the stage platform where everyone took pictures and videos of it happening. The multiple panda silhouettes fused into one towering Panda figure before it gradually disappeared right above Jin. "Good Afternoon, esteemed guests and fellow friends." Jin started as he adjusted the mike on stage. "Welcome to the new Tiangong Tree Mall." Chapter 512 Opening Ceremony - Part 2 Jin gave a short opening speech describing how the store owners were resilient despite the despicable attack by the Ruby Rats. He, however, did not openly condemn them but instead used them as the defining example of how this district had overcome adversity and grew to be better through this trial by fire. However, with the exception of a few select guests, Jin noticed that the majority of the audience was not too interested in this kind of long opening speech, so he decided to cut it short. At the same time, Jin signalled Yun as the moderator to get on with the ceremony. "Please give a big round of applause for our dear Mayor Cheng Rui and our biggest sponsor, the guest of honour, Mister Xiong Da who has helped to kickstart the opening of the Tiangong Tree Mall to the stage," Yun announced to the audience which perked them up. (Initially, Kiyu was supposed to fulfil this role, but Kraft had suddenly called all the foxes to his side, including Pei. He did place a failsafe within the bracelet instance to make a return if Jin ever needed her urgently.) The Shenzhen Mayor was the first to go up to the platform, followed by Xiong Da. The two of them came to greet Jin by shaking his hands before he took out a ball like structure. Jin then asked them to also put their hands on the ball and on the count of three, the trio simultaneously pushed the button together. A series of confetti poppers went off, and everyone started to clap furiously, seemingly trying to accelerate the ceremony, eager to discover all the wonders of this new district. Yet no one had expected that particular ball like structure to be a button to light up the entire Tree Tiangong Mall with Christmas decoration lights. While the scene could have been more magnificent at night, the lights at the moment were sufficient to attract the media''s attention. Soon, Jin also remotely released the locks from the glass doors and the people in front of those entrances immediately rushed in at the sight of the glass doors opening. If not for the fact that Jin had used reinforced glass, some potential accidents could already have happened. As the crowd entered, they were immediately amazed by how spacious it looked and at the gorgeous sight of the Panda Tian Gong Statue. As prompted by the Farming Humans that were acting as guides for the opening ceremony, most of the customers had already installed the Pandamonium App. This allowed them to quickly transition into the area and the various store instances. The System itself had underestimated the size of the initial crowd and had applied a quick fix to the Panda Statues. Without the need to touch them, anyone within a fifteen metre radius could use their phone to teleport into the respective Store Instance. Everyone rushed frantically to the places they had read up on online or via the brochures handed out to them while waiting for the opening. Kiyu and Kraft had done a fantastic job in the past few days to aggressively advertise on the Tiangong Tree Mall. Shots of the various instances with Kiyu trying them out first hand in the Mall Preview had piqued many people''s interest, and there were promises of wonderful door gifts or at least on the first day with many discounts to be expected. Ke Loong was also among one of the few honoured guests who participated in the opening ceremony and seeing how the temporary stage area was the only safe area to talk, the few guests who wished to mingle remained in that particular area. "Boss Jin! Sorry to hear about what has happened to the district. I''ve been away in Germany to discuss about the production of the portal. I am glad to see what you did to the place." Ke Loong greeted Jin with a hearty handshake. He ensured Jin that the portals were made of the highest quality and not to compromise with the materials since human lives were at stake. "I see, did you manage to make any improvements with our researchers on deck?" Jin asked even though the System was updating him about the current circumstances of the portal situation. "Excellent! Even my Chief Engineer Bo Ze was bewildered when they showed him some of the relevant parts. Must say, you are one sneaky Boss. You allowed us to build the entire portal device, but you withheld the most important part for it to work." Ke Loong said, and Jin furrowed his eyebrows as he assumed that all the portal device were made with Earth''s material. "User, System had placed a failsafe part that needs to come from you first in order to regulate the number of portals that could be built. The part had something to do with the Lost Tech found in Goblin World." System revealed to Jin while he was laughing at Ke Loong''s replies. "I thought you said that all the items would be from Earth?" "That particular Lost Tech is merely a key. There would have been ways to replicate it, but it was cheaper to use the original method. It''s needed to kickstart the processor in the portal device once." The System stated. "According to simulations, the Lost Tech part will disappear upon use, hence making it hard to impossible to replicate it on Earth and abusing it. System understood that User had some concerns previously that he was unwilling to address during the negotiations. This was the last failsafe before they could begin the Portal Revolution in this world." The System for once was concerned for Jin and wanted him to be very sure to go ahead with it. "Thanks," Jin said to the System with a smile showing on to Ke Loong before he continued. "Ke Loong, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I fear releasing the portals might be a bit too soon for commercial use." Jin continued, and Ke Loong was confused. "What do you mean? I have already ordered and produced over a hundred portal devices. Isn''t it a bit too late to back out now?" Ke Loong tried to remain calm and wanted to hear the reason Jin gave first before making any assumptions that he was backing out for selfish reasons. The implications of the portal device would significantly empower the Chinese economy and most importantly, his company. "No. Please don''t misunderstand me. What I meant is that we should regulate the use of the portal. Instead of allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry going to use it as if it was free." Jin replied, and Ke Loong subsequently got what he meant. "Something like airports security?" Ke Loong asked, and Jin nodded his head. "While the potential crisis of a security threat will always be looming, we should do things that can reduce such risks. After experiencing it myself, I''d rather not be responsible for someone abusing it and creating another disaster like the Ruby Rat Attack." Jin clarified, as the Mayor of Shenzhen came walking towards him at an inopportune time. "Greetings, Mr Xie. It seems like your Tree Mall is a hit." Cheng Rui said, and Ke Loong who was contemplating on what Jin said nodded and took his leave for the moment. The Sea Mesh CEO told Jin he would contact him soon to discuss more pertaining to that outstanding issue in front of the Mayor. "Mayor¡­Cheng. To grace our humble little district with your presence, I consider it an honour." Jin greeted the other in a courteous way, and the Mayor laughed at Jin''s attempt at flattery. Cheng Rui understood that the dungeon supplier was just throwing pleasantries at him for the sake of it, yet he acted the part too. "The pleasure is all mine. It is unfortunate that the government was not able to help you in time for the unfortunate incident a few days ago." Cheng Rui sent his condolences to Jin. "We will do our best to get the resurrection procedure up and running for the dead victims as soon as possible. And we were also planning to aid this particular district in terms of the rebuilding. But I believe you already beat us to it." "What can I say? The support for this place was overwhelming. Although I''d like to add that additional fundings would be appreciated. You know¡­ assuring the maintenance of the aesthetics won''t come cheap, especially if one considers how costly the purchase alone was¡­." Jin would definitely not turn down extra money should the government grant him some. "While that is true, the public funding is not that great as well. Seeing as it has already been rebuilt, support in allocating our budget for reconstruction may be a bit hard, but we cannot leave such selfless devotion unrewarded. If the crowd remains plentiful, I will try to bring it up at our next meeting." Cheng Rui was pushing the responsibility back to the young chap right in front of him. If Jin was able to build this much, he definitely had the money to support the upkeep of this particular place. "Then I suppose I will not expect any support from you," Jin stated bluntly as he thanked his time from coming and moved along. Cheng Rui was shocked that Jin would just walk away from him. Did he not realise what power he held as the mayor of Shenzhen? "Maybe I should teach that little ignorant kid a lesson¡­" Cheng Rui was starting to get a bit furious at such disrespect, which he hadn''t encountered for ages. Just as he wanted to say something, he suddenly heard someone shouting Jin''s name. At a closer look, the person who was waving at him had multiple guards surrounding him. "Ahh! Jin! Congratulations!" The Royal Tiger Zodiac Head, Hu Yuan Ba was holding onto a mega hamper. Jin was making large strides towards him with the guards making way for him to pass through. "Mr Hu! Thank you for coming to my mall''s opening ceremony! I have to admit, we have not expected your presence. Otherwise, we would have prepared the necessary accommodations for someone of your standing!" Jin said in delight which he graciously received the hamper and Yuan Ba gave him a hug befitting of an Honorary Tiger Clan member. "Hahaha! Nonsense, that won''t be necessary! Just call me Yuan Ba! Or maybe Dad would be good in the near future!" Yuan Ba half joked as he placed his hand on Jin''s shoulders and gazed at the colossal tree that was right in front of him while Yang Ling who was right beside him playful punched her father for saying the last line. "Damn this little kid sure surprises me at every corner. Good work recovering this place!" "I figure your Triad Head had briefed you what had happened?" Jin asked, and the two Royal Zodiac members nodded their head. "At least allow me to properly thank you for coming to my aid when I least expected it. Without that, things might have turned out for the worse." Jin took a step back and bowed sincerely. "No worries! After what you did for me, or should I say us, it was the least I could do." Yuan Ba gleefully replied until Mayor Cheng Rui decided to greet the Head of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan. The guards, however, did not even move an inch away, barring the mayor from entering. "Ah, Dad. That is the mayor of Shenzhen." Yang Ling pointed out to him, and Yuan Ba nodded his head slowly in acknowledgement. "I am not interested in greeting anybody else for today." Yuan Ba announced loudly, and the guards in their black suits immediately asked the Mayor to back away. "Then how come that kid is able to talk to him?" Mayor Cheng Rui defied and questioned the guards. "Because he is one of us." The Head Guard answered in his stead in the most professional manner and told Mayor Cheng Rui to back off or face the consequences. Only then did the Shenzhen mayor realised he might have made a grave mistake for ignoring Jin a few moments ago. No one had informed him that this little kid who was capable of reviving a shopping district a few days after its destruction was also friends with one of the twelve Royal Zodiac Clan''s Head and treated like they had familial relations too. "I see¡­I''m sorry to have interrupted the Tiger Lord." Mayor Cheng Rui nodded his head in embarrassment, and he quickly took off. He was pondering whether to swallow his pride and offer some grants to Jin to mend their relationship, only to encounter another respectful figure. The guards who saw her nodded their heads in acknowledgement and immediately allowed her to enter. "Looks like this little tiger is still fit as a fiddle after that particular incident." Grandma Yuan greeted him, and though Yuan Ba held his head high in the face of anyone else, he quickly lowered his at the sight of her. He even clasped his hands together and greeted Grandma Yuan formally. Yang Ling did much the same, but as she was still in a wheelchair (for appearance sake to potential enemies in a huge crowd), she limited it to a small bow. Jin was a little perplexed at the current scene, and Grandma Yuan smirked at him. "What are you so surprised about, you little brat? At my age, I have known most of the heads from the time they were still in their diapers!" Grandma Yuan emphasised the last part leading to a slight blush on Jin''s face as she told them all to be at ease. Only after a few exchanges did Jin realised that Yuan Ba had formerly been a student of Grandma Yuan''s as well. Not as a direct disciple but a mere student of her class. "I did not know that Grandma was that famous." Jin blurted at, and a wooden stick knocked on his head before Grandma Yuan used some chi to take it back. "Jin, I don''t suppose you can bring Yang Ling around? I have a few things to discuss with Grandmaster Yuan." Yuan Ba suggested, and Jin nodded as he pushed Yang Ling forward. "So is that considered an approval from your dad to bring you out for another date?" Jin teased Yang Ling, and her face turned red almost immediately. She knew that he was joking but could not help feeling something for him. (This time Kraft was innocent.) "Don''t be such a tease, my Dad knows what kind of man I like. You have a long way to go." Yang Ling stuck her tongue out as comfortably allowed Jin to slowly push her into the new Tiangong Tree Mall. (There were guards to aid with the movement of their VIP too but in a less forceful manner.) Chapter 513 Extra: Weslies Revival Gold was right beside Weslie when she woke up. The female scholar was amazed by the sterile, comfortable setting she found herself in compared to the slightly dark, cold and dull walls she had been trapped in for the past months. Gold grabbed onto her hand so tightly that she nearly feared her arm was going to fall off from all the numbness. "What is this place?" Weslie asked as she enjoyed the beautiful seaside scenery outside the window with the winds from the ocean blowing into the room. (Were this not an instance, Jin would have trouble maintaining the building) "Just as I told you, the power of our new Master is unbelievable. Think of it as a part of a small world in and of itself. One he created thanks to his powers." Gold chuckled and began to tell her more about what life was like under the System, their new Master Jin and brought her up to date. With Gold rambling like a grandfather, the Panda Nurses interrupted them once or twice to provide some food for the Scholar of the West. After the first bite, Weslie couldn''t believe it. No matter what, each bite was nothing short of it being delicious. Seeing how preoccupied Weslie was eating, Gold stopped with his tales and partook the meal together with her. It had been a long time since Weslie felt this way and appreciated every single waking moment with Gold. His details in the stories were equally juicy and sometimes very animated since Gold utilised some magic to show some of his past memories that he had gone through. This lasted until after the sun had set when one more Panda Nurse came in to check on Weslie, asking if they needed anything. "So¡­whew. That''s that." Gold said as he took a glass of water for himself by the table. "That''s all? I am disappointed." Weslie replied with a jab in her response and Gold nearly fell for it. "Hmm¡­I might have one more surprise story to tell for the ages to come." Gold revealed mysteriously as he asked her to close her eyes. At that moment, he used the storage ring, which Jin gifted him and pulled out a mirror he got from the previous Panda Nurses when Weslie was too busy with the food. "Okay, you can open them now but do it slowly." Weslie listened and opened her eyes gradually, only to see a familiar looking reflection of in front of her. She was stunned. Astonished by the current look on her face. She tried to touch the face, only for the mirror image to replicate her action before she put her hand on her own cheek. She knew that beauty wouldn''t last and Gold had claimed he was willing to accept her for who she was, regardless of her looks, yet Weslie was unable to comprehend the image that was portrayed in the mirror. Her face was completely back to normal, there was no protrusion of the muscle nor bones or any scars or blemishes as well. "I¡­this¡­ I erm¡­" Weslie was at a loss of words as she covered her mouth and tears began to fall. "Is this really me? I am a normal person¡­?" She asked as she too could not feel the link of the necromancy magic tied to her repeated resurrection. "Told ya it was a good story." Gold winked at her, and she responded with a quick hug. "Thank you¡­Thank you¡­for returning me to normal." Weslie whispered as she quietly sobbed on his shoulders. Gold instinctively wanted to say it was not entirely his effort, but even a romance idiot should know that it was best to keep quiet for now. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- When Weslie had calmed down, Gold opened the door for her, and it was as if she stepped into another world. ''Welcome Scholar of the West!'' A large banner was set up on the ceiling and poppers were used alongside a unison of shouting coming from the various mansion floors. Apparently, the System had temporarily linked a ward of the Luxury Recovery Instance with Gold''s home instance, so the moment they stepped out, they would be in Gold''s mansion. The numerous werejackals and a number of the Dark Templars including the newly joined ones who had ''survived'' the trial of death and fiery destruction welcomed the newest addition from the Farming World into Gold''s mansion. They celebrated because Weslie had been one of the more popular and well received scholars among the current four in the Compass Tower. Thus, everyone was excited to see that the Scholar of the West not only survived but was now on the side of ''good'' too. Gold had prepped them in advance via the System channel to ensure the surprise welcome would go off without a hitch. He even allowed the werejackals to open the wine stashes, they had previously plundered and ask the penguins to cook up some good food all under his System''s account. However, everyone knew how difficult it was to earn System points and because it was a joyous occasion, every single Werejackal, including the new ones chimed in some form or another. Be it points or effort to set up the whole welcoming party. Meomi and the goblins even came back from their assault missions to partake in the party while sharing the information they had from all the scouting of caves and raiding of towns. Ke Mi was invited to showcase some of her musical talents which surprisingly took place in the form of DJing. Many were amazed and bewildered by Ke Mi''s beauty and skill with her in traditional Chinese clothes while wearing her headphones as she rocked the house with some catchy music from Earth and a few songs of her own creation. The Great White snake no doubt played a big part by aiding Ke Mi to move around the various DJ machines as they partied all night long. Weslie took some time to warm up, but after seeing how the werejackals did it, she began to loosen herself up though never once did she leave Gold''s side. (Or was Gold the clingy one?) ¡ª¡ª¡ª- It was a crazy night filled with booze, music and decent company until everyone dropped dead tired. In the meantime, the all seeing System also had made sure to dilute the temporal manipulation of the home instance so the entire group would have sufficient time to rest and ensuring that their plants especially the delicate ones would not be affected by their party. Come morning, the bellators and Yun visited their home instance along with a few helpers. Milk and the Panda Nurses aided each and every drunken werejackal back to their rooms while ensuring they were not overly intoxicated. Yun got a few Deep Ones with her and began cleaning the place up. In the meantime, Zeru and a few sober Werejackals who had refused to drink too much had begun to pack the remaining food items that were not eaten into various packages as they would be sent over to the Ording Sanctuary for the Mousefolks. Zeru figured the leftover food was too good to be thrown away and considering it was still edible, it should not be wasted into the Lost Tech Recycler and be given to the Mousefolk instead. Besides, the weremice deserved some reward for practising every day and night while preparing for the inevitable fight against the Demon Rats. As they were nimble enough and great with ranged weapons, Zeru had taught them not only the proper way to use swords but introduced them to guns. That is right, Zeru may have come from a different time period, but he studied various different weapons, including the newer ranged one. While he might only know the basic Weapon Arts for guns, Zeru had a strong foundation in it for he had to learn how guns worked to counter them properly. To be ignorant of other weapons other than the one he was holding was a folly of his old master and the demise of the original Lotus Clan. Thus, the Mousefolk became competent in both guns and swords, making them versatile warriors and their reward for their hard work was the constant upgrading of their sanctuary even though it was a temporary one. They had better beds, easier access to water and improved sanitation as well as a constant supply of food from the System. Somehow, Zeru had placed a lot of effort on the Mousefolk as if he saw something in them, but whatever it was, the System lets Zeru do as he pleased as long as he answered Jin''s command. Chapter 514 Extra: Weslies New Job After recovering from the party, Gold and Weslie headed to the Research Instance where Ayse and the other fellow Humanoid researchers were doing work. Gold introduced Weslie as the inventor of the Steam Technology which made Ayse incredibly furious at the sound of that. "YOU KNOW HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO SORT YOUR STUFF!!" Ayse voice boomed, but Weslie stood her ground without wavering. That was when she calmly asked the Head Researcher to show her the inventory. Even the Scholar of the West was baffled by the number of parts salvaged by the System. But with a quick glance, Weslie understood how Ayse sorted them and realised what she had done was too inefficiently. "I see where the problem is. You are sorting base of similar designs, but that is not the underlying concept of Steam Tech. It will give you a headache considering how much the System had accumulated. So instead of that, sort via this particular serial number instead." Weslie said and explained that while the serial number and the designs of the Steam Tech differ, the materials used as well as the engine used were the same. "In that case, System is able to sort the various Steam Tech Parts for the Research Team without too much of a hassle as compared to the previous iteration of sorting." The System replied and lifted the entire warehouse worth of Steam Tech. Suddenly, everything disappeared in a blink of an eye and appeared again within a moment''s notice. Now, the Steam Tech parts were placed according to their serial numbers as suggested by the inventor and Weslie showed them how the various editions of the Steam Tech items were improved. Some of the Humanoid Researchers were interested in combining the Steam Tech and the Lost Tech together so they could use it for Jin''s new Mecha if it were possible for the Mecha World. Surely, if Jin would to accidentally ''kidnap'' someone from the Mecha World, they could utilise the Mecha World''s knowledge as well and further enhance the machines. But for now, it was meant to improve the engines of Sandroku Golems or for future designs. In the meantime, Ayse had a few questions for the Weslie since ever since she had begun tinkering with the Steam Tech. But the first and more pertaining question was that one Steam Tech Part that the Goblins had found. The bug looking Steam Tech. Weslie took a long time to inspect it and then recalled making this particular steam tech part. "Isn''t this from one of the specialists? One of you managed to defeat a specialist?" The Scholar of the West was in awe that this new Master she was serving had minions powerful enough to rival one of the elites that the North and South Scholars had to offer. "Indeed, not just one, but two of them." Ayse smiled as she brought out the Steam Tech items that were related to those two Elite Demon Rats. "I see¡­I did some individual tweaking for them, but I produced it under a spell so I could not remember much. I can try to reverse engineer this particular Steam Tech to the best of my ability." Weslie said, and Gold felt suspicious about what she just said. "You were under a spell?" he asked with some concern. "Yea, there was a period where I refused to do under their bidding, seeing how they had so much firepower in their hands already. North and South used more of their necromancy magic to control my emotions and body, demanding me to fulfil their orders." Weslie said, and at that moment, Ayse was curious. "I wonder¡­why do you two speak as if they were still revered as the Scholar of the North and South? Can''t you just say their names." Ayse asked as she walked them out of the warehouse and back into the main lab. "For me, it simply infuriates me to use their names. That''s all." Gold said, and Weslie nodded her head in agreement. "If you wish to know. Nathan Welihelm for the North or as I called him Whinyhelm. Douglas Olgret for the South. Did not expect Douglas to collude with Whinyhelm. I thought he had more backbone than North." Gold felt as if he had said some taboo words and refused to speak more about them. Ayse somehow understood what they were going through and kept quiet until they reach the front of a locked room within the main lab. "I had placed whatever Gold taken from the basement of the factory to this room. While we initially wanted you to continue spying for us against Nath- The North and South Scholars, we figured it would be useless since Gold literally TOOK everything from the basement before returning back to the System." Ayse complained while eyeing at the guilty werejackal. "Ehhhh, when Kraft and the System said to take her stuff, I did assume everything I deemed valuable and throw them in the storage ring¡­" Gold replied while scratching his head. "Besides, when Kraft killed both the demons, they should have known that you would have defected or at least not survive since the link to keep you alive was destroyed." "Sorry Ayse, he can be quite dumb for a scholar at times. I do not mind either way. At the very least, I can work the stuff I want in peace." Weslie replied with a relieved smile. "Just not this piece of junk¡­" She said as she held the bug looking Steam Tech. The Scholar of the West did at least promise that she would look into it and reverse engineer if possible. "What are you previously interested in? You seem well versed in mechatronics, and so I assumed you would want to work more with it." Ayse asked which Gold sniggled and shook his head. "She liked to rear animals. The Western Region of the Farming World is famous for its quality of erm¡­animal meat." Gold said and as if the System were eavesdropping from plain sight, spoke out of hand. "System wished to fund Scholar of the West her research should she able to increase the yield and quality of the animal products." The System said which frightened Weslie as it came out of nowhere. "User or in your case, Master had created a sector solely for animal rearing. Should Scholar of the West able to increase the rearing capabilities of the Agriculture Sector, it would be greatly appreciated. Rewards shall be given out appropriately as well." The System added, and Weslie agreed to it without any hesitation. "Then I shall hurry the reverse engineering of this Steam Tech." The new girl in the block replied while turning back to Ayse and told her that if she needed any help with the Steam Tech, just holler for her. The System then quietly asked Weslie if she was able to continue engineer the Steam Tech for other purposes, it would increase the rewards for her as well, though it was not a priority. Weslie said that she would not rule it out entirely and get back to the System in the near future once she had familiarise herself with the new environment. As she bid Gold goodbye to perform her research, Ayse pulled him to the side. "So, any progress? You guys did wake up in the same bed, right? Or that was what I heard from Milk." "Nothing happened!¡­ yet." Gold said in a shy tone. Ayse smirked and used her elbow to hit his arm. "Heh. That''s a decent enough response from you. Looking forward to seeing progress in the future. I heard that Kraft have some psychedelic drugs that might induce an increase in hormonal response. Love Potion if you are not as dumb as Weslie says. You can ask for it from him if you want to ¡­you know speed things up." Ayse said with a wink before leaving him. "I would love to¡­ -WAIT! I AM NOT DUMB!" Gold shouted before looking far into the glass door where Weslie was wearing a new lab coat and noticed that he was staring at her. She pouted and demanded him to shoo off which he shyly waved and walked away. (Oh that jackal did blush a little too.) "But first, let''s end this terrible Demon Rat occupation and make sure no one else will suffer like we did." Gold said to himself as he returned back to his mansion to coordinate the next stage of operations. Chapter 515 Extra: Hamatarous Tour "So this is your world?" Hamatarou had completed the contract with Qiu Yue and looked around the Dungeon City Fortress. He saw sentient creatures that were out of his knowledge and with odd looking shape of their faces, Hamatarou could only swear that he saw such creatures in his books of myths and lore. "Nope, this is another world which we had the opportunity to own the land in." Qiu Yue said as she toured the area with him, allowing him to observe their work while at the same time checking on the progress of the construction of the Pand-Atlantis City. Separately, Lynn had returned to the penguin village via the System''s teleport with the Chieftain and Elders together. The entire village previously signed a pact with the Sub System, so there were no issues of the Chieftain and Council of Elders to utilise the teleport ability of the System via Lynn. (After all, there were still some restrictions imposed on the penguins as compared to Jin''s minions like Gold who had full teleportation access.) Even though they were under the control of the Sub System, it respected the wish of the penguin''s collective to stay in the Giant World and continue with their lives until further notice from the Sub System. Another reason was that the powers Lynn were initially granted by the Sub System were not strong enough to execute and move the penguins to another instance. At that point of time, the System was still wary of the new Sub System User and did much to control the amount of abilities Lynn can possess. But with the revelation of the System''s true identity as well as Jin''s growing power both in his purchasing capability and strength, the Sub System offered Lynn to give the penguins a place in the Sanctum of Worlds if needed. The Penguin ''Queen'' now had the ability to create a simplified home instance for her minions and was in the process of doing so. However, any additional modifications required her to complete more Sub System''s quests to gain resources for her and the System to utilise. Qiu Yue, on the other hand, did not have any minions under her except for the minotaurs, who volunteered to be temporarily under her supervision. While she could technically influence empires at the touch of a button, the Red Panda Cultivator was in the same predicament as Lynn when she first started or maybe worse. The Empire Building Sub System did not give her much reign in their issues unless Jin allowed it. While it looked as if she had the full complete control of the Dungeon City Fortress, there were many components or issues that were not under her purview. Many a time Qiu Yue had to ask Jin for permission to build if she believed that the new facility she thought it was useful, or she had to give her personal opinion on various issues and convince Jin to allow her to act in a certain way. It was initially frustrating to both Jin and Qiu Yue, but the Boss did console her that it would get better. In retrospect, the Sub System gave Lynn more control over her issues than Qiu Yue when they first started out. If the Cooking Sub System could not trust Lynn, the Empire Building Sub System treated Qiu Yue like an enemy until proven otherwise. For example, the construction of the Pand-Altantis City was based on the precise calculation of the Sub System, and when Qiu Yue questioned a specific design of the building plan despite it being perfect in theory, the Sub System was unwilling to listen until she explained it through countless simulations. But slowly, the Empire Building Sub System learnt that Qiu Yue was becoming a valuable asset and decided to loosen its stance when it comes to certain construction procedures. ¡ª¡ª As Qiu Yue went down the makeshift construction escalator with Hamatarou, the Exiled Prince saw the construction of many high rise buildings within a vast dome shaped shelters. From afar, the constructions were buzzing with activities, and every worker did not have the time to stay and chat. Thus, Qiu Yue explained why they would want to build a sea city, mainly indicating that it was out of the way from the invaders. Hamatarou could only sigh that their technology was ten if not hundred times more advanced then what he had in his old world, especially after seeing that long slender carriage which he saw Lynn and the penguins were using. (He was in love with the combat bikes too.) "If my subjects were to be here, will they be guaranteed a place called home here?" Hamatarou asked, and Qiu Yue shook her head. "If they were hardworking enough under the eyes of an all seeing entity and earn enough points, they could score a house here. Else, they would be working and living under my Boss instead." Qiu Yue replied as she greeted a few of the workers in their Sandroku Golems The new Sandroku Golems that they witnessed were revised several times. Now it was capable of working long hours in extensively strenuous construction procedures just as drilling for the building''s foundation. The golems were a wonderous miracle by the two races which accelerated the construction of the Pand-Altantis by a few folds, way ahead than their supposed deadline set by the System. It was all for the sake of completing before the shield barrier of the Dungeon Core disappears, commencing the start of trade and immigration of both monsters and humans from the Dungeon World. Additionally, the Empire Building Sub System also indicated that the Orcs had completed Industrial Sector Two of the Floating Platform City and initiated the building of a platform sector that was solely for military sorties, both offensive and defensive in nature. And that particular sector was designed by the Visiting Defence Advisor and fellow Panda Clan Remnant, Hou Fei. He knew what facilities were needed and gave the schematics required to Qiu Yue for the Empire Building Sub System to take charge. Other than that, Hamatarou was impressed by the scale and magnitude of the place before Qiu Yue teleported him to the Sanctum of Worlds and showed him the various home instances. The first place she showed was the Guest Home Instances which acted like hotels rooms and revealed to him how spacious most of them were. (The rooms were roughly about 100 square metres in size.) Of course, there was some bias towards Minion Leaders. For example, Nubwort, the Black Disaster and Zieg, the Dark Templar Commander were given a larger apartment compared to the rest of their companions. The System rewarded them due to their additional responsibilities to control their fellow rank and files and deserved a bigger apartment to show that they were of a higher position so as to command respect. At this point, Hamatarou was seriously contemplating to gather his surviving villages and bring them out of harm''s way before the Salamanders could crush all of them. "Why don''t you talk to my Boss? Maybe he might be able to send out a punitive force and defeat the Salamanders once and for all. Before you know it, they would be your colleagues in the future." Qiu Yue said as she subsequently brought him into WunderPanda Theme Park where people started to think Hamatarou was some costume mascot. "If that was a joke, it left a poor taste for me." The chubby, oversized hamster turned into a regular one which landed on top of Qiu Yue in order to avoid the numerous visitors staring and wanting to hug him for some reason which he felt rather uncomfortable in doing so. Yet, he agreed to have talks with this Boss of hers, but she told him that he had to wait for at least a few days since Jin was busy doing his projects up. "Very well, I shall wait. In the meantime, I will do some scouting of the castle and see if I can grasp the situation that the Salamanders are in which made them this aggressive." Hamatarou said before smelling a scent of carrot cake which caused him to salivate almost immediately. "¡­After you bring me to eat this delicious smelling scent." "What am I to you? Your subject?" Qiu Yue picked him up and squeezed his cheeks a little. The hamster, in return, gave an adorable looking face which inadvertently caused her to do what he asked for. Chapter 516 Extra: Demon Rat Training Facility The welcoming party for the Scholar of the West was what Meomi needed after the gruesome exploration she did in the past few days. Along with Nightingale and the ace team from the Southern Stars Organisation, they had found a series of underground training facilities and the memory of those facilities were deeply imprinted into her mind that she would rather keep herself drunk to erase those memories off. Initially, the scouting team thought they were merely warehouses or storage facilities since the various scouts observed the amount of inventory the Demon Rats brought in were numerous. Meomi thought that it was sufficient info until Nightingale stopped the werecat in her tracks to return back. "Why stop here when we have the ability to sneak in?" Nightingale grinned as she said that. "You are kidding me, right? As a werecat, I probably have better stealth than you and I have seen how guarded the place is. If not for the mission, I would have gone ape shit against them right at this moment." Meomi said, and Nightingale giggled without a sound. "Looks like you did change a little." Nightingale shook her head and showed the way the Southern Stars Organisation did their missions. Without revealing much, her ex maid told Meomi to follow her until they were at least 25 metres away from the four guards in front of the cave. They were actively guarding the cave with a Brute Demon Rat guard in the midst of their group. (If the scouting team had not known any better, it was the same kind of guards with the power suit that was doing patrols where they kept Weslie.) With a whisper to the little magpie sitting on her shoulder, the information was passed to Nightingale''s team members too. The magpie somehow knew that secrecy and silence were utmost important, and thus it sent information via its long range chi transmission technique which initially surprised the members of the Southern Star Organisation. But after the second usage, they were used to it, which made Meomi impressed with their adaptability to the situation. "Go." Their Team Leader said, and Nightingale immediately threw a dart simultaneously with the rest of the team. The Demon Rats who were hit by the darts did not notice it immediately and continue to talk loudly among themselves in order to stay awake. Unfortunately for them, the effect was instantaneous as the rats felt drowsy and immediately fell to the ground asleep. "Nightingale, you and Meomi go in check and be out in ten. No more, no less." The Team Leader said as he and the other members appeared and took the darts out from the rats before disappearing into the shadows of the forest that was surrounding the cave. "Understood," Nightingale said as she dashed in immediately, followed by Meomi who did not hesitate a single bit at all. However, as they went further in, Meomi took the lead since she thought possessing dark vision would be safer for the group. Yet, there were instances where Nightingale was able to spot some concealed traps which Meomi nearly stepped on to. Even though the scout assassin was only following Meomi based on her other senses aside from sight, Nightingale''s past scouting experiences came in handy too. Some of the trap activations were things like a fake pillar or faintly scented location. After one or two of those close calls, Meomi decided to be more vigilant as they walked further in and found that there were even more patrols of Demon Rats. The duo decided not to do anything too drastic if possible, and hide until there was an opportunity for them to past through the guards. It did not take long, and eventually, they caught a glimpse of a spacious cavern where they had been hearing constant yelling and screaming. Upon closer and careful inspection, they found that young Demon Rats were practising vigorously on their basics in handling a weapon. All of them were given various weapons and grouped as such to perform their training. "At least a hundred in this cavern," Nightingale noted as the magpie appeared from within her bosoms and started to relay whatever it saw to their Team Leader. While observing from afar, Meomi also noticed that they were using slaves or prisoners as training materials too. She saw how the prisoner was being tied up as target practice for the Demon Rats to practice their archery. And they were not a single bit merciful at all as Meomi could see the prisoners were stark naked and bleeding from all the arrow piercing. However, she held her anger as Meomi knew that any drastic action would jeopardise Nightingale''s safety. "You damned rats¡­I will get you all. I will flush you all down to hell." Meomi whispered with her fists trembling, but Nightingale tapped on her shoulders, indicating her to move back to the surface. As if it was mere coincidence, one of the prisoners shouted for help extremely loudly when they were leaving, and it grabbed the duo''s attention. He was being stabbed continuously to the gut by a spear rat trainee who was testing his strength. Meomi could not contain her fury anymore, which Nightingale quickly responded upon sensing her wrath that the scout assassin hugged her close to the chest as she whispered to calm her down. "Meomi. Not now, please." "Not now. Then when?" Meomi grabbed tightly on Nightingale as she turned her body abruptly while holding on to the Sniper Whip. With a silent click, a bullet came out of the rifle without any sound and flew towards one of the stalactites from afar. The Sniper Whip had a modified silencer that was equipped with an anti acoustic inscription, perfect for a quiet shot and thankfully, the sound of the bullet hitting the stalactite was muffled by the Demon Rat''s shouting. One might think that the bullet would not do much, but what if it was a bullet packed with explosives? Because of the anti acoustic inscription that was installed into the gun''s silencer module, the explosive was considerably quiet, but it nearly lost the inscription''s power the further it went. Still, that minor explosion alone was enough to break the stalactite, and it fell down to the human slave that was screaming for mercy as well as the Spear Rat Trainee who was having fun poking him. When Nightingale turned to see it happening, the end result of Meomi''s action made the Demon Rats stopped their training to aid the victim. At that moment, Nightingale quickly grabbed Meomi and ran as fast as possible back to the cave entrance. Regrettably, the guards that were patrolling within the tunnels heard the commotion too, and made their way to the cavern, causing the duo''s escape to be a lot trickier. Yet it was nothing too difficult for the scout assassin. Eventually, they got out safely, and the Team Leader had already prepared their horses in advance for a quick getaway. Nightingale was not entirely pleased with Meomi''s act, but knowing her for a long time, her attitude to obtain justice for her people did not change at all. It was frustrating that it nearly cost the secrecy of the mission but figured since they did not get caught, it was better to just let the matter rest. Despite that lucky break, Meomi was nowhere in the mood to let go until Gold specifically ordered her to come back and have a drink. He too had received images from Que Er''s magpie with regards to Meomi''s exploits and decided to use the party as an excuse to get her to relax her nerves. It was a temporary solution, but something that worked effectively, allowing Meomi to rest sufficiently to be ready for part two of Gold''s operations. Chapter 517 Forest of Marve The Dungeon Cave was getting more and more popular by the day. Since its inception, the number of adventurers had risen sharply, and it was just a matter of time until the 1000th card was printed. The overall progress was within the System''s expectations. (But well above Jin''s!) Most of the adventurers were able to reach the Praying Mantis on the fifth floor, but beating it still proved a challenge without the necessary teamwork which many were still improvising on. Starting with the sixth floor, the difficulty had ramped up by a notch, most notably in the form of more complex traps like falling nets and poison darts. The floor featured Boar Knights, who usually went around in groups of 3-5 decimating unprepared or weakened groups who had fallen victim to the various contraptions. (Jin was starting to think that he should formally recruit these Boar Knights for the extra manpower.) Even on the seventh floor, it took the leading adventurers more than a week until they eventually managed to defeat the newly introduced Boar Knights riding 6-Legged Boars on the seventh floor. Considering that the dungeon''s layout was different every time they entered, some swore that those monsters had some sort of a 6th sense. The Boar Knights seemed to know exactly where the adventurers were given the times they had been stampeded to death despite a wide corridor. Soon, most of them believed that their fighting was noisy, especially their armour and that was precisely why the merchants had begun selling a type of magic scroll that reduced the sound of their armour. Some even bought a unique item from the merchants called ''fireworks'' where it was used as a distraction against the boar knights. Yet, seeing how those fireworks were actually kind of pretty, many also bought it to play with it although the merchant did warn them to be careful with it since it is highly volatile. Should any fire incidents were because of them, the adventurer guild might revoke their license. In part of that, Zhi Nu began to inform the System to prepare fire extinguishers and placed them in various buildings in case of fire. In the meantime, the System also ensured that the buildings in the Dungeon City Fortress compiled with fire safety standards. (Because despite Qiu Yue''s insistence on fire safety compliance, the System was strapped on cash and had quietly skipped that step until now.) Eventually, the leading adventurers were barely able to complete their achievement, and the Adventurer Guild made a notification via their boards. Apparently, someone had discovered a sort of herbal plant that emitted a scent which the Boar Knights couldn''t stand as part of the distraction tactic. It not only distract them but weakened them significantly. The most crucial detail was that the herbal plant was dropped as part of the loot by the elemental Undeads, or they could be sparsely found within the third and fourth floor. Thus, it didn''t take long for gathering quests to be issued out and the merchants to start selling special bottles containing the concocted solution. As long as one would smear their weapons with it, they were guaranteed to have an easier time contending against the monsters. All of this was, in fact, a clever plot arranged by Zhi Nu who headed the Adventurer Guild. With the Weaver Girl taking care of the Dungeon Cave, Kraft was free to fully concentrate on his newly promoted role as Underground Crime Boss (or Bandit Lord as Jin referred to him). He had initially been busy turning the Orcs with underworld experiences into full-fledged gang members ready to his bidding, most importantly teaching them about proper information gathering. To ensure this, he had made them open the favourite pastime establishment of any adventuring group. ''The Fox Den'' tavern became the surface Headquarters of their gang and the proving grounds for his impromptu ''followers''. After a few days, Kraft received the first reports of what they had uncovered. Amongst many unnecessary wife tales, there were some promising pieces of information. Rumours had it that there was an elfish settlement deep in the Forest of Marve. Though it was further below the border town of Gob Gob Bu, it was still within the Goblin Northern Region, yet no one really dared to trespass into that region. Hearsays mentioned that King Sol had charted up a restrictive zone within the Forest of Marve and proclaimed that anyone who dared enter within that particular forest would be responsible for their own safety. However, there were no goblins stupid enough to live anywhere near that particular area much less within the proximity radius of the forest. The Forest of Marve exuded an aura outside the comfort zone of the quite resilient goblins who had survived even the harshest of tortures. Some gossips mentioned that the pillaging Orcs not too long ago had lost a team of highly skilled raiders attempting to shorten their distance by going through it. Regretting their actions all other teams had taken a much longer route to attack the other goblin villages Naturally, this had piped Kraft''s interest, and his new gang could use such a fearsome reputation. Hence he had summoned his foxes for a little excursion. "Hooooo. No wonder nobody wants to come near the forest at all." Kraft sniggled as he was greeted by dead decomposed bodies, with bones sticking out of whatever dead flesh was left, hanging along the perimeter of the forest. It was a clear sign that nothing good was beyond this point, and only demise awaited the visitors. Though Kraft had no doubt he could handle everything by himself this was supposed to be a pleasant little excursion, so it was time to give the foxes an opportunity to exercise themselves once in a while. "Tsu, Kai," Kraft called out to his two most used companions. The black foxes emerged from the sides of the trees, but instead of their usual fox forms, they were out in the open in humanoid forms. Tsu and Kai had been the most promising Clan Head candidates of the Wolf Clan, and as they appeared in their humanoid form, the foxes also retained a fair part of their identity. Similar to Kraft, the two Wolves were wearing their traditional Wolf Full Battle Armour in the past. Cladded with full metal plate cladded with Wolf designs on their spaulders, chest and even their helm with the shape of their past insignia, Kraft laughed at them and told them to change to something simpler. "No need for full battle mode. They aren''t that dangerous. We are here to subjugate not necessarily exterminate¡­ unless they want us to." Kraft waved his hand and chuckled as the duo changed into something more similar to Kraft. Battle Leather Jackets, with a wolf insignia design at the back of it. Needless to say, a Fox insignia was seen at the Arm Patch of the jacket. Both had their ornate wolf masks (with a little fox spirit at the top) equipped, combat Boots and military grade cargo pants as well as a holster that allowed them to hold their swords, Tsu and Kai knelt right in front of Kraft, awaiting his command. "Follow me," Kraft ordered as he sauntered into the forest without a single care for the warnings placed at the front. Not even five minutes into the woods, several killing intents flared up as arrows were zooming straight towards the trio. Tsu and Kai defended the unflustered Kraft with ease by slapping the shafts of the arrows away with their palms. However, there was one arrow that slipped past their defences as it came from behind them from a point which should have been a blind spot of the two guards¡­ yet Kraft stopped it with just two fingers. After which he picked the arrow up and inspected it for a moment before throwing it aside. "Not your usual arrows and boy it sure stinks! You guys like to put poo on your arrows?" Kraft asked, but the only answer came in the form of a wide magical circle appearing right beneath them. Kraft sighed unwilling to do anything himself. "Kiyu, your debut." "Aye Sir~!" The royal purple furred fox emerged from within Kraft''s long jacket as she turned into her humanoid form. Her own combat leather jacket had the insignia of a butterfly on the back, with the Fox Insignia being on her Arm Patch as well. Dressed in the very same attire as Tsu and Kai with the difference being her tight shorts and lace-up long combat boots reaching up to her knees. Kiyu unbuckled her weapon from the holster slamming the sword, still in the scabbard, on the ground, breaking the magic spell that was about to be cast. At that moment, the sudden attacks halted, and though still hidden, they could feel numerous pairs of eyes staring them. They appeared to be waiting for something or someone. Shortly after, a silhouette stepped forward and was still partially hidden within the trees. While it was not intending to fully revealing itself, the humanoid silhouette started to address them. "No human mage has ever managed to break our spell before. You may have our attention for a minute. Speak." Kraft deduced it had to be an attendant, diplomat or maybe just a person speaking their human tongue. The fox looked around and waited for the System to analyse the language the elderly silhouette used to order his people to prepare another salvo in case these strangers had malicious intents. As soon as the System confirmed that it had found a language matching the other''s party to 96.9% accuracy, the fox asked it to translate. "Two Words. Be Mine." Kraft demanded with a confident tone as he sent out his crushing chi aura enveloping the entirety of the forest. It was strong enough to visibly affect the leaves on the trees. They trembled under the vibration of the aura Kraft had emitted. His companions meanwhile were unaffected by his chi and actually enjoyed those eyes in the forest diminishing. Some who had hid behind the trees fell to the ground most likely crippled. "Ahhh¡­ my bad. It''s been a long time since I could stretch my chi. I''ve always been bad at holding bad~. Oh well, we can call over Pei to fix them up later¡­ Nah that takes to long, let''s accelerate the process and simply hand them over to the System right now." Kraft rationalised and with a small ''hmmph'' sound and a nod, Tsu and Kai began throwing kunais at the unconscious looking elves, causing them to disappear. The Elderly figure had been luckier than its companions. Still breathing shallow, he went forth to boldly intercept Tsu and Kai simultaneously. Kraft smiled since the charging elf had revealed he was no ordinary elf. It was a Drow. Chapter 518 Dark Elves Drows were a subset of the small population of elves living in the Goblin World. Dark violet-skinned with beautiful white hair, they were the only elves to worship the Moon. Their Wood Elves brethren honoured the Woods as an entity providing them with shelter and a safe home whereas the Golden Elves devoted themselves to the Sun. Kraft was elated since he hit the jackpot with them. They would make ideal underground members simply through their reputation alone. Rumours had it that all Drows were ''evil'' incarnate of the otherwise highly esteemed elves. He himself was aware that all these were just stereotypes used to scare unruly kids into bed and could empathise with the ostracisation they had to suffer from. Unfortunately, after a lie got repeated long enough, it had a way to become a ''truth'' in itself. "One thing''s for sure, they are indeed a hardy bunch of elves." Kraft smiled watching the recovering drow warriors spark into action. Every dark elf still able to move after Kraft''s menacing display of aura, gritting their teeth and pushed forward to assist their elder in the hopes of preventing Tsu and Kai from murdering more of their members. Though he appreciated their valiant efforts, he had other plans for them. Kraft summoned Evon out, interrupting their feeble attempt at resistance. The Frog Clan member specialising in using poisons and drugs remained in his fox form as he jumped high up by stepping onto Kiyu. He curled his body into a ball, before stretching it to send out a burst of fog throughout his entire body. Like putting a stack of dry ice into a bucket, the greenish fog was visibly oozing out from his entire body, causing the warriors to enter a state of euphoria except for the elder who had engaged its blades with Tsu. However, the drugged Drows were merely entering the first stage of Evon''s mysterious fog attack. Kiyu, although a bit angry at Evon for using her a stepping stool, assisted him by making use of the drug fog effects. She initiated one of her sacred butterfly cultivation dances, the many techniques she learnt in her clan before she disappeared to assist the incriminated Panda Clan. After getting an estimation on her opponents'' level of strength, Kiyu proceeded to dance in her combat jacket. Switching to her traditional battle dance costume would have been even more effective considering it had ancient inscriptions specifically for her dances, yet she decided it was unnecessary to bring out a relic from ancient times last used when fighting against the servants of the Jade Emperor. The moment the Butterfly had started her dance, a music rhythm was heard in the minds of the helpless dark elves. With a swirl and twirl, Kiyu brought out a bell tied to a satin cloth and danced gracefully in the midst of the forest. Even those Drows had been wise enough to close their eyes despite their condition, fell prey to the deathly enchanting aura as it got more and more intense the longer she danced and eventually they became fully immersed by it. When Kiyu sensed the majority of the Drows enthralled by her dance, she gently made the bell go round her own neck. As the satin cloth along with it gracefully touched her nape, every single Dark Elf who got absorbed into her allure got killed instantly seemingly due to a crushed neck. Blood sprayed, scattered throughout the forest grounds and one by one, the Drows dropped towards the ground, only to disappear before ever hitting it. The elder saw what was happening to his people, allowing Tsu to throw in a punch which he was unable to block. "Do you really think you have time to be distracted? Looks like I''ve been way too kind to you." Tsu berated the other as he cracked his fingers and leaned his toned body forward. "Tsu, your hairband came off." Kai pointed out as he took the initiative to hold onto his brother and assisted him with tying up his hair. "There. Much neater." Kai nodded as he gave Tsu a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, Kai. It''s been ages taking on this form. I''m too used to our fox form." Tsu smiled kindly at Kai before returning to a face the Drow Elder whose face was full of anger and hatred towards these intruders. Before they could resume their fight, Kraft stepped forward and stopped both siblings from toying further with the elder. Seeing his people die from unknown, obscure circumstances he had never encountered before in the centuries he had lived, the Drow Elder had tried his best not to inhale too much of the surrounding fog. He had quickly tried to distance himself, and the foxes hadn''t hindered him. The small amount of the drugged fog he had inhaled caused him to feel light headed, and the more he distanced himself, the worse the withdrawal symptoms inside him became. The elder felt the rising need to return into the fog, despite fearing the consequences, all to get rid of the increasing pain. After a short while, he was already gasping for air and tried to use whatever magical energies he had to suppress the feeling. Nevertheless, he was too weak to do anything, and Kiyu walked towards him with Evon in her arms. (She had pinched the mischievous fox for its earlier action, though) "Nasty thing that you inhaled, right? By now, you should be craving another dose¡­ Hmm, but it is quickly dissipating into the air. So how about a little trade? We give you some more of that stuff, and you tell us where your village is "Kiyu is as scary as ever," Tsu mumbled and Kai nodded his head in agreement. Suddenly they both felt a cold chill down their spine and continued to remain silent. "Why? What do you want?¡­ Who sent you¡­?" The elder asked with much difficulty barely able to grasp onto his sanity. "No one really. I just needed some members for a new group I''ve established. Our goal? Hmmm ¡­let''s not be too greedy for now¡­ let''s just say I wish to lead the number one underworld gang in the Orc and Goblin Kingdoms? Humans can come later." Kraft rubbed his chin as he stated his reasons. "I¡­don''t *Cough cough* I don''t understand what you''re talking about. *Cough cough* then why kill¡­ us?" The Drow Elder looked up to Kraft as he bid his time trying his best to gather his magical energy for one final counter attack. Unbeknownst to him, the accumulation of magical energy had already been sensed by all the Foxes, though they pretend to not notice anything. "Weren''t you the ones to have attacked us first? To be honest, we don''t really need your help that much. I merely was intrigued about the rumours of this place. Don''t worry, you soon will be seeing your friends again." Kraft shrugged his shoulders and looked away from the elder, providing him with an opening. Except there was a catch. The moment the Original Bellator turned away, tens of Dark Elves appeared out of nowhere, each with a weapon pointed at one of elder''s vital spots. Any kind of sudden movement and it would be the end of the Drow Chieftain. "Sorry, Elder. We cannot refuse their orders." One of the Drow uttered without remorse and the rest resonated along with him. "¡­But I saw you guys die! *Cough cough* You disappeared into nothingness." The elder was speechless at what was happening. He thought it had to be the fog that made him hallucinate. "Too bad for you, it''s no illusion." Kiyu stood up and clapped her hands, giving the signal for their new allies to cleanly cut off the elder''s head without a hitch. Suddenly, there was a hollow echo resonating throughout the whole forest. It was as if the Forest of Marve griefed the death of one of her important guardians while alerting the rest about it. "Too bad for the forest. My hands are feeling rather itchy after all the waiting here and there. A Bandit Lord has got to do some robbing." Kraft stretched his hands as he summoned the Drow Elder back out from nonexistence. The elder was back in prime health, and he felt way better than ever before. He never knew that he could feel this way at all. "Alright, enough admiring of your own body, you narcissistic elf. I know you have nice white hair and chocolaty black skin. Go! Do your job, old man! Chop Chop!" Kraft commanded the Drow Elder and the resurrected Dark Elves, telling them to invade their very own forest village. They acknowledged with a single nod and started to move in various direction while a Dark Elf guided them straight to the village. What followed was not a pretty sight at all. "Good thing Jin''s not here to witness all of this. System remember put them all under my account for now. We will transfer them over to Jin at a later point in time." Kraft smirked as he followed behind the crowd of murderous Dark Elves eager to enjoy the following show. "It''s best to get it all over at once as I can practically see our young master screaming his head off for giving me that impromptu title he thought of." Kraft evilly smiled to himself as he gave the order for the Drows to move forth. "It''s unfortunate, but if you desire a ''kind'' and powerful ruthless gang, you got to be brutally ruthless at the start." Chapter 519 Panda Miniature Keychain The customers fell in love with the new Tiangong Tree Mall the moment they stepped into it. The air in the mall felt fresher and had a mild scent of varying fruits. The System had utilised the essential oils used in the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance and linked it to the air diffusers throughout the Tree Mall. It lowered the tension of the customers significantly, making them feel relaxed and less likely to rush around from one place to another. Many were amazed by the giant Panda Tian Gong Statue, and after someone had set an example, others proceeded to also pray at the altar for good luck. True enough, anyone near the Panda Tian Gong Statue felt at peace thanks to Octofussy''s amazing job of creating the Legendary Tranquility Inscription. The customers did not hesitate to take a picture and did the same for all other places of the Tree Mall as it had the feel of an amusement park. The food store instances on the first floor were eagerly awaiting the hungry mass of people, and a number of customers rushed through to be amongst the first hundred in queue. They were flabbergasted by the Pyramid Food Court Instance''s sheer flexibility concerning the number of tables and the stores that provided the food. It was slightly more costly than before, but old patrons quickly realised that the food quality had improved by at least a fold. Many of the stall owners were delighted to have taken up the superior food stock from Jin''s ''supplier'' and had even placed down another order via the store management icon in their Pandamonium App. Some of their die hard customers loved their food so much that they also took the time to write up a review on the Pandamonium App, hoping to help the owners bump up their so called rankings. In an hour''s time, the food court owners were surprised to experience their stores in the Pyramid getting moved around just as the penguins had promised. The customers in the queue enjoyed this sight of the stores flying in mid air before going to the allocated levels of the pyramid they obtained according to the sales. Most if not all of the customers uploaded the pictures and videos on to their MeChat and Meibo accounts to show off the incredible shuffling of the pyramid stalls. With all this free advertisement, Jin did not need to worry that the stalls would be suffering losses anytime soon. Even if their food were not the best, the novelty of the instance would bound to make people visit the place. As for the rankings, the mixed rice store was currently occupying the peak, followed by the noodle store and the vegetarian store. The chefs were undoubtedly nervous by the moving of their stores in mid air, but the assistant penguins assured them that nothing in their stall would be affected. It even suggested to make full use of the time to continue cooking so as to prepare extras for the continuous batches of customers arriving. The Stall Owners were also glad to learn that they could buy chi potions from the Chinese Medicinal Store Instance via the store management app to aid them against their fatigue or emergency supplies from the Offshore Sea Store Instance like extra tins of cooking oil. The Pandafull Delivery Team had dedicated a guy to run around replenishing the supplies for these food stall owners and making sure that they were fully stock for the Day One craze. On the other hand, the Panda Burger also received its fair share of Wows. From the edible Panda Burger parts to the toys as part of the Merry Panda Meals. Ke Ru, the Store Manager for Panda Burger had shamelessly copied her former Wacdonald''s tactics and now used it for her own promotions. The first batch of ''toys'' available were Panda Miniature Keychains. For the first day only, they would be giving them out as a special edition of such keychains. When the store manager asked Jin whether if there will be a rerun of these keychains, he told Ke Ru that it would be impossible to find them anywhere else unless someone decides to replicate it. Still, he said it all depends on customer feedback. The Day One Panda Miniature Keychains was shaped as a Panda with the Panda Burger uniform trying to fit a giant burger into its mouth by leaning backwards but failing to do so. Its eyes were furiously helpless, making the design an attraction for both adults and kids. Ke Ru even provided customers who bought the normal Panda Burger set meals the option to buy the keychain which was supposed to be part of the Merry Panda Meal by paying an additional five Yuan. However, as greedy as humans could be, many tried to purchase multiple keychains in one go (most likely hoping to resell them later) which obviously went against the rules set by Ke Ru. She only allowed one Panda Keychain per person, and because they had to use the Pandamonium App to order, the System pointed out to the cashier if a particular customer had already bought the keychain. It was to prevent the waste of food just for that small keychain, and allowing other people the chance to get one of these limited items. (Although ''limited'' was just a gimmick to Ke Ru since Jin promised a near infinite stock until the Panda Burger closed for the day.) To be fair, the System had also warned customers who had already redeemed their keychain that queuing up again after placing an order would not result in another piece. But humans were creatures with high adaptability when it came to such situations¡­only to learn the hard way that it was futile against the almighty (cheapskate) System. Some customers had extra phones because of their line of work and had installed the Pandamonium twice before realising it did not work since the app was tagged to their ID, which was similar to many of the apps they used. At least it was worth a try, but not everyone had given up. Many customers begged in their reviews for the Panda Burger instance to allow them to buy at least one more for their next of kin or loved ones to the point that Ke Ru had to forward that message to Jin. (In fact, it was addressed to the System and later to Jin.) "Wow, I did not expect that. Okay, only for those who have purchased the keychain once, let''s allow the customers to get a coupon if they buy another meal. They can redeem that coupon to get it when purchasing a dungeon in Dungeons and Pandas." Jin slyly told the System as he was pushing around Yang Ling to tour the place. Jin wondered to himself whether he should create a Christmas version for the coming week if Day One really turned out to be a hit for those keychain miniatures. Perhaps he should do it no matter the circumstances. There would bound to be people who love to collect such items. Oh, the money. The sweet, sweet scent of digital money rolling into his wallet. Chapter 520 Rolling in the Deep Ones The store reception for Lai Fu''s Offshore Sea Store was exceptionally well received by the older generation. The discounts and offers that he had assigned for the first day made all the aunties and uncles rush in like mad dogs, snatching up almost everything he had on display. Thankfully, being an experienced storekeeper for many years, he had previously ordered three months worth of stock to satisfy the demand for the frenzy buying. Lai Fu knew that the first day was one of the best times to earn quick cash to recoup the losses since people always wanted new stuff and a store opening usually resulted in the most substantial amount of customers. Helping them out, Jin had developed a small little USB drive that could be connected to any sort of phone (as part of Lai Fu''s request list). Those USB drives would act like temporary storage rings allowing them to put the items that they wanted to buy into it since most items were enchanted with anti-storage ring to prevent looting and theft from happening. Either that or they could personally hand carry them on the carts provided. However, the technological advancement in recent years had made online supermarkets extremely popular, and the Offshore Sea Store was no exception in participating them. With the help of the System, Jin had assisted Lai Fu in creating an online mart on the Pandamonium App as well as applying to the famous supermarket delivery services apps. As Lai Fu previously subscribed to be one of the sellers in those apps as well, the System merely aided him by instantly updating the items that were left in his store to those apps. Else, he had to pay an additional premium subscription fee to do that. But because of the integration of the online market via Pandamonium App, users could also earn and utilise Panda Medals by doing so. In fact, every purchase in the Tiangong Tree Mall would allow them to earn Panda Medals which could indirectly be used to either obtain items in Jin''s store or used as the premium currency for his mini games and dungeons. During his downtime from the day before, Jin had planned a road map to revamp the usage of Panda Medals. Instead of merely using it as a sort of reward or extra currency, he was thinking of creating discount packages that utilised those medals too. Things such as free food delivery package for 10,000 Bronze Panda Medals or discount voucher package for 8,000 medals. While he was merely copying ideas that were already on the market, they had proven to be successful, and Jin saw no reason why he could not get a share of the pie as well. Maybe in the future, Jin could liaise with other apps like the taxi and online market delivery to further integrate the Pandamonium App into society. Right now, he was satisfied starting small and just making sure that his Tree Mall was not only an overnight success but a continuous one. Yet even though there was the online market app choice, most of the older generation prefer to go down to the stores to select their items. As long as it was not a crazy surge of people, the aunts and uncles would love to take their time in choosing their fruits and vegetables, picking the best out of the lot in the store''s bin. In addition, the physical stores sometimes provided discounts that were not available on the online apps. The same was true for Lai Fu''s Instance Store. The current Day One discount was the biggest discount he had ever offered. By buying five items, one of the five cheapest items would be discounted at 99% (up to a certain price point of 100 Yuan). Hence, many people took the chance to buy the more expensive stuff all at once, mainly comprising the premium food stock from Jin''s Agriculture Sector. Even Lai Fu was shocked at how fast Jin''s food stock vanished, and when he queried some of his long time customers, their reasoning made perfect sense. "There was no scent of pesticide used on these at all! The colour of the vegetables is very prominent too! It has been so many years since I saw this kind of naturally grown fruits and vegetables." the collective opinions of his customers who were equally health conscious in their advanced age answered him. (Things which Lai Fu already know when he personally examined the goods too, but verification from his peers sealed the deal for him even further.) "Do you know that considering the quality of the products, the price you place on it is freaking cheap? Of course, I will get a bulk of them before it gets all sold out!" His customers said frantically and went to the payment cashiers where a team of Deep Ones were manning the cashier booth. One scanned the items, the other two packed them up before the customer could choose between delivery to their house or self carry. Most were okay with carrying thanks to the power of the storage ring, but some did choose the delivery option, taking advantage of the Day One discounts to buy for their relatives too. As Lai Fu began developing a friendly relationship with the Deep Ones, he even requested more of them via the Pandamonium App while they were still free. (He still would be charged according to their numbers starting next month). Sure, he still had some of his old employees, but many quit after the incident, with only a few loyal enough to remain behind. Thus, Lai Fu ended up deploying them for all kinds of jobs. The owner used them for cashier services restocking the items and currently (maybe most importantly) for crowd control. Lai Fu believed that they were the ideal monster NPCs which were fierce enough to go against the crowd. There were instances where those greedy uncles and aunties were tempted to take fresh stock from their hands, (mainly because of the discounts Lai Fu had provided) which caused the Deep Ones shouted at them and even scratched them superficially as a warning. The customers in return demanded for compensation, but before Lai Fu could intervene in any way, the Deep Ones officially issued a duel challenges to settle the store. Should they accept and win the duel, they would get their compensation, fair and square along with an apology. The ignorant older cultivators thought this was a simple fight and part of Lai Fu''s new instance, so they fought against them recklessly. (The only ones who had the last laugh were the cultivators that had experienced Jin''s stores and knew what capabilities these fishes had. ¡­So far, none had won against the mighty Deep Ones and the customers learnt the lesson not to disturb the Deep Ones during their restocking. What followed was an extremely ridiculous sight to behold. Lai Fu had never thought it possible to witness customers standing at the side, mere inches away from a Deep One, patiently waiting for him to finish restocking the items before pouncing on the goods and merchandise. "Each Yuan for these angry fish is worth it." Lai Fu chuckled to himself as he sat at the side of the recently arrived Discount Pirate Ship and enjoyed some fishing. Chapter 521 The Valiant Orc in a Baking Apron Compared to Lai Fu''s rather chaotic Offshore Sea Store Instance, Qian Qian''s Reef Knolls Bakery was the complete opposite. The lines were orderly, and everyone queued to buy her bread. Aside from the few Orcs and Penguins that were aiding her with the baking procedures, Qian Qian handled the cash register. It was still a bakery store no matter how one looked at it, and window shoppers wouldn''t know why it was that popular until they stepped into the store instance themselves. The first thing awaiting them was the mouthwatering fragrance of fresh bread out of the oven. The old customers who had frequented Qian Qian''s bakery knew that she handled this store mostly by herself as a store passed down by her family throughout the generations. Her customer base wasn''t too large, but neither was it too little. It was enough for a decent living, which was why when she saw the large crowd waiting to pay for the bread, she could not help but feel a little anxious. The crowd outside easily surpassed what she usually had to tend for a whole day by at least twofold. Luckily the presence of her orcish helpers in the area made almost everyone aware not to mess with Qian Qian''s store. However, some idiots who were too used to convenience, got pissed off by waiting and shouted for the store owner to work faster. Just as Qian Qian wished to apologise, one of the Orcs who was working on the next batch of bread stepped forward in her stead. "You got a problem, punk?" The Orc asked, and the customer was still daring enough to shout at the Orc for being so discourteous to the clientele. "Since it''s day one, I will present you with three choices. One. Shut up, apologise and silently wait your turn. Two. Turn around and leave while you still can do so yourself. Three. Stay and face my wrath. Which one would you like?" The Orc somehow appeared even more threatening in his baking apron, making those surrounding them move back a little. (Or forward to give them some space.) "Don''t you touch me!!! I will sue you!! I will call the police!! How dare you threaten to assault me?!" The customer was trembling, but his mouth was still rumbling off nonsense. "First. This is an instance. Second. I am a monster. Third. No one is here to help you right now." The Orc approached him even closer and cracked his knuckles. Scared witless, the customer fell to the ground and his hand covering his head, afraid of getting beaten up. "No worries, Landlord Jin has comprehensive medical care. If a few punches don''t do the trick, perhaps the experience of death might help correct your behaviour." One of the spectating cultivators interjected his opinion, and everyone laughed at his misery. The Orc, however, did not let it end there. He single handedly picked up the rowdy customer and lifted him by his throat. Unable to resist the customer quickly began begging for Qian Qian''s forgiveness. With this being the very first day and the store owner wanting things to be over she agreed to forgive him. The Orc simply dropped him on the ground, returning to his station. The unlucky soul kept quiet in the queue, trying his best to ignore the surrounding jabs at him. Eventually, it became known as the tale of the Valiant Orc in a Baking Apron on the Pandamonium Forums. People were pointing out that the Orcs were like knights for Qian Qian''s bakery. The rest of the day went uneventful, with the Orcs making sure that everything would go smoothly and that people were happy with their purchase of bread. ¡ª¡ª¨C As for the Castle Tower Caf¨¦ Instance, Sheng Si Fang had spared no effort in ensuring the tranquillity of the area. Instead of people queuing within the store instance, the customers were queuing outside of the Castle Tower Caf¨¦ instance entrance where there was a statue out there of a Panda drinking a cup of coffee. Si Fang was not willing to compromise his ideal of the instance and told Jin that he was ready to forego profit to ensure the customers in his Castle Tower Caf¨¦ were enjoying their time there. However, he too, did not allow people to hog the area. Amongst his former customers, students made up a large percentage. Yes, Si Fang knew that his new place might be popular for those students wishing to do their work there, so he had asked Jin if there was any way to incorporate a space for the students to focus on their studies. There and then, Jin had already moved most of the library from the old store to the underground floor of the Castle Tower Caf¨¦. Hence, there was a vast and spacious underground library which could only be accessed by the little panda statue reading at the back of the Panda drinking the coffee. It was a sort of hidden instance which allowed students and adults to enter the place. For the underground library, he used the same principle as the Panda Burger Instance where more floors were added further down to accommodate more students. There were basic facilities like toilets and water dispenser, but the library only had access to a limited menu of the Castle Tower Caf¨¦''s, such as sandwiches and beverages. When ordered, the purchase would be dispensed in a specially allocated area which the students/adults had to pick up themselves. The food and drinks were placed in a vacuumed box where the students had to use their Pandamonium app to unlock the box safety mechanism to prevent theft from other people. Other than that, the underground library offered individual cubicles as well as an open area for discussion. Each of such a table could produce an anti sound barrier similar to the caf¨¦ operated by the Wyrm Ants in the WunderPanda Theme Park. That way, the students'' livid discussions would not interrupt students that desired peace and quiet to study. Else, for Si Fang''s caf¨¦, the customers were thoroughly satisfied with the layout of the castle instance as well as the improved food quality that Si Fang served. So long it had something to do with food, people felt the Tree Mall was the most desirable, new place to rely on. As the ambience was important, Jin suggested Ke Mi showcase her instrumental music at Si Fang''s Castle Tower Caf¨¦. Though Ke Mi offered to do it out of goodwill, Si Fang insisted that he paid her and even added a decent tip for every gig she performed at his place. Since Jin had long planned for this performing stage when he created the instance, he had already included a platform for Ke Mi to play the grand piano. Jin initially wanted to put a Zither in there but felt that it did not fit with the current theme and chosen the grand piano instead. When Ke Mi was not playing, customers were invited to use and perform their musical talents every once in a while. Not to mention, for those who played and was well received by the audience, Si Fang would present them a coupon voucher of the Tiangong Tree Mall as a sign of gratitude. Thus, the caf¨¦ became a unique hit of its own within the Tiangong District. Chapter 522 Gamer Model Pack The Panda Arcade Store? Yong De and He Rong, the two co owners for the Arcade store never saw it coming at all. They had been informed about Jin hosting his mini games through their store, but both had vastly underestimated the massive appeal and thus the giant fan base it would bring them. This was even more accurate after Jin had tweaked the paying models for his mini games. The first significant change that all the mini games were free to enter. For those who had paid previously were given additional points for the amount they had spent on the game. (And it could have amounted to a crapload of points since there was no cap to the amount they paid.) Jin also gave the people who paid those the entry fees such as the Supa Robot Warz and Spinning Tops a special achievement badge which could never be received in the future. The second change was that Jin created a basic gamer model pack where the customers could choose which mini games they wanted to subscribe to, which was generally cheaper than buying individual parts. The Basic Gamer Model Pack cost 9 Yuan and would provide five Bronze Panda Medals worth of game currency each month as well as two ''supply packs'' depending on the chosen mini game. The Pet Card Arena subscribers received 500 Card Points and two Basic Card Packs. For Spinning Tops, it was 500 Spinning Points respectively as well as two temporary inscription effects (useable for up to three times), whereas Supa Robot Warz got 500 Star Cross Points and two basic parts for their core model. Jin also offered a Moderate Gamer Model Pack, Hardcore Gamer Model Pack and the most expensive of them all, the Extreme Gamer God Model Pack, costing 29 Yuan, 59 Yuan and 149 Yuan respectively. The amount of goodies rewarded were exponentially higher with the higher priced model. The Hardcore and Extreme Gamer God Model packs had the chance of getting rare inscriptions, cards or robot parts for each of the games. Additionally, the Extreme Gamer God Model Pack included priority queues and an extra 0.5% chance for getting Legendary parts or cards in their packs. Some might complain that this would turn it into a pay-to-win model, but Jin had ensured that the System would pair all of them up equally based on their technical scores. Jin was even considering adding gamer levels to the Pandamonium App in the future, but at the moment he lacked the time to properly conceptualise it. The only thing that he added as of now was the achievement badges for subscribing to his Model Packs. His limited time had, however, been spent on improving the Pet Card Arena. Jin finally created a few additional cards that would spice up the current card scene, and placed them into the basic card packs, indicating that they were rare cards and also making them even more unique, they were holographic in nature. When one thought of holographic cards, they would think that the card merely shines under light. As for Jin''s kind of holographic cards, it was the literal meaning. For example, the Great Poison Energy Arrows rare card depicted a half masked Rabbitwoman silhouette shooting arrows filled with purplish green energy. When a cultivator inserted their chi into the card''s artwork, the arrows appeared to be jumping out of the cards and what followed was an animation of the female silhouette reloading before shooting them again. Basically, he was handing out holographic gif inserted into cards and the Jin plans to do that for all subsequent rares ones. If possible, he wished to update the old rare cards to this holographic design as well for consistency sake. He Rong and Yong De both agreed that this had to be the first time a physical card game managed to produce such beautiful effects and claimed that if the card game ever got popular, it would revolutionise the way how card games would work in the future. Jin could only laugh at such a possibility. First, the panda cultivator had to concentrate on improving the basic card packs to the point he was satisfied with the amount of variety before he concluded that the base game was sufficient and challenging. Thankfully he had received the help of Yong De who unsurprisingly was a Gaming Card Fanatic. Jin tasked him to come up with more card ideas to improve the gameplay, which they could later release in the form of expansions. (He told Yong De to not be shy and copy the game designs from other card games and modify them accordingly.) Only time could tell if there was something flawed with the current game cards and Jin was looking forward to designing future cards to change up the ''meta'' of the gaming card scene so that they had a more concrete set of rules in case of holding tournaments. Speaking of which, Yong De was also responsible for drawing out a plan concerning a Pet Card Tournament as well as propose the possible prizes. He Rong couldn''t help himself but teasingly remind Jin that it could backfire on him if he were serious about his partner not having to worry about a budget. "Go all out!" was all Jin replied to He Rong''s teasing and told Yong De to be daring with the tournament. "Ask Kiyu if you need promotion on those cards. You can find her details in the Pandamonium Forum. I will inform her to keep an eye for your message. Else, you can shoot me an email to remind me too." Separately, with the inscription effect packs, the Spinning Top game had begun to enter a brand new level of gameplay. Performance of the tops would eventually be insufficient, and the inscriptions push the game to be even more challenging and exciting for the fans. (As well as the gamblers) Octofussy was delighted to put out various inscriptions in the packs as this gave him the perfect opportunity to test out his ideas for weapon and armour inscriptions while ensuring that they worked as intended so he could release them for dungeon use as well. Whenever he realised the inscription was too powerful or took too much chi for activation, Octofussy would tweak the inscriptions accordingly. Hence, Spinning Tops became his new favourite past time to watch the people use his products. As for the Supa Robot Warz, He Rong continued to source for various robot models to send to Niu Lang to tinker with thereby increasing the number of parts the game would have. Copying was not the issue per se. Instead, tweaking it a little to ensure that the parts were not copyrighted was what Niu Lang had to focus on. With the aid of the System, the simplest way to circumvent it was to combine two models, merge them together and see what kind of abomination he would receive from it and modify from there. That way, the designs of every model part was ensured to be different, and only the most astute would have the ability to differentiate what they had been initially. Still, it was sufficient to fool the majority. Niu Lang naturally created his very own model parts as well, and recently he had made the Zodiac Series, where the full robot models featured the various zodiac animals. However, he had yet to finalise some of the items and only teased it as a ''coming soon'' event for those who played the mini game. Despite Jin''s mini games, the main attraction of the Arcade was the actual arcade machine games right? Jin also placed his hand in that issue and purposely made them very cheap to the point that the experienced Arcade Store Owner felt the need to intervene. Listening to his arguments, Jin merely asked the following questions. "Who usually frequents the arcades? Adults? Young Adults? Working Adults? Or is more teenagers? Students?" "The latter¡­" Yong De admitted that his place was where a number of students hung out after school too though lately there were not many students since their pocket money had all been spent on presents for the upcoming Christmas. (Which Jin felt it was a mere excuse.) "Yeap, there you have it. Previously, you had to put it at a high cost to ensure the games were properly utilised for their price. Now all you have to worry about is that customers are always around and not the operating costs. So we are keeping it at 1 Yuan for two tries no matter the arcade machine." Jin decided, and He Rong agreed that such a price should be extremely attractive for the kids to play and relax. Yong De shrugged his shoulders and told the boss that this was his playground, and they were simply their ''caretakers''. Still, there was one component which drew the attention of all the working adults in the arcade, which He Rong and Yong De up to this point could not understand why. The Giant Plushie UFO machine. Chapter 523 Giant Plushie UFO Machine Similar to the mini game fanbase it seemed as if the Giant Plushie UFO Machine had garnered its own cult following. The first thing that all the adult Pandawans had rushed towards was this particular plushie dispensing machine. At the same time, there were also murmurs by various UFO machine experts on how to tackle such a machine. It was the first time they saw such a gigantic UFO machine and the controls definitely different from the usual ones they had experienced. Thus, the UFO machine experts allowed other customers to try it first as they cross examined each other''s thoughts and opinions. But the cross examination seemed rather ineffective when there was one particular guy who happened to hog the one side of the machine all to himself. While every customer was green with envy that Xiong Da was rewarded with a customised Hippo and Egret plushie due to his large donation, it does not feel appropriate that he acted like a bully and refused to give up the machine after several attempts. (In fact, it''s many, many failed attempts that the crowd got bored looking.) "Who dares to interrupt my plushie attempts?!!!" Xiong Da shouted, which caused the bystanders to move aside and let him continue his attempts to gather more of them. If anything else, Xiong Da was happy that he now had unlimited spending power to get the plushies. All that Hippo Cultivator needed was time. However, the Pandawans like Luo Bo, the Rabbit Cultivator would not back down without a fight¡­ which in the end escalated into such a significant disturbance that He Rong had to call Jin to settle it their dispute. Yang Ling decided to tag along Jin as she had met Xiong Da before and was curious to see how Jin would mediate the fight. "You know, you could probably just add a new rule to ensure that everyone has to take turns trying that machine." Yang Ling suggested as they took the elevator up to the Panda Arcade Store Instance. She had asked Jin if he wanted some fries which were packed in cute Panda packaging paper bag. Jin gladly took two pieces and noticed that she had already hung the new Panda Miniature Keychain at the side of her wheelchair. "Nah, that rule would probably turn many people off. Especially for those who really want the plushie so badly that they were willing to spend loads on it. Erm¡­just not Xiong Da. Although I kind of figure he would be there when I created that UFO machine." Jin said with his mouth filled with fries as they walked towards the Panda Arcade Store Instance. "That''s true. But what are you going to do? Let them fight it out? I don''t recall you having an instance to allow for proper cultivator versus cultivator dungeon instance." Yang Ling inquired as they entered the store to see Xiong Da and Luo Bo fighting over the controls. The small sized girl was doing all she could to prevent that fatty from playing while Shi Zuo, the Mad Monkey Cultivator merely stood at the sight and watched them fight like little kids. "Thank goodness my machines were made of good quality, or else I swear those two rascals would have dismantled it by now." Jin sighed as he told Yang Ling to give him a moment. "Do you require my guards?" Yang Ling offered as a sign of concern, but Jin just shook his head nonchalantly. "What do you two think you are doing here exactly? You are both adults, yet you behave worse than children bickering over a candy! You are supposed to lead by example, Do I need to revoke your Pandawan status?" Jin berated them as he folded his hands while giving them accusing looks. "But he started it first!" "But she started it first!" Both of them yelled simultaneously, pointing fingers at each other while their partners shrugged their shoulders, not wanting to get involved. He requested the immature adults to leave the Giant Plushie UFO machine to allow the others a chance to use it. "Do you really want a giant plushie that bad?" Jin asked the two angsty cultivators who had stared down at each other, but eventually turned their heads towards Jin at the mention of ''plushie''. Both just nodded. "Fine, since you two are Pandawans, I am allowing you to undergo a special challenge. Luo Bo, should you win, you will get a personalised Rabbit Giant Plushie while if Xiong Da wins, he will get to choose one of those plushies up there. Deal?" "Why does she get a customised plushie?!" Xiong Da exclaimed at which point Ruo Ying finally entered the scene and pulled his ear. "Dear. Remember what I told you? Don''t get too greedy." Ruo Ying reminded him, and she surprisingly managed to control him very well. Jin could only look at her with an expression of disbelief. "¡­Honestly, if you did that earlier, everything could be solved." Jin sighed even stronger, but Shi Zuo shook his head. "My bunny girl would not have listened to me." Shi Zuo intervened, and Ruo Ying echoed the same sentiments. If she did that earlier, it would not have been effective at all. "Why do I feel that all of this was merely a big ploy by the four of you to mess with me? And to get me to issue out more giant (customised) plushies?" Jin accused them loudly while putting his hand at his temple and shaking his head. "You were the one who initiated and suggested the solution, not us." Shi Zuo chuckled at Jin''s overthinking of the whole situation. He knew that his girlfriend was being childish and Ruo Ying agreed wholeheartedly with him. "Fine, fine," Jin replied as he looked at them and saw how eager they were to win against each other. "Follow me, all of you." He asked the two couples to follow behind Yang Ling. On the way, Xiong Da revealed to them the identity of the woman in the wheelchair. However, he was slightly confused as to why she was in a wheelchair when he remembered that Yang Ling was able to walk perfectly fine the last he saw her. Yet, his gut instincts told him that it would be rude and inappropriate to ask something like that in public, and she must have her reasons. When they reached the top of the Tree Mall, the cultivators felt more peaceful in their hearts than ever before to the point, the two grumbling cultivators nearly forgave each other on the spot. Yang Ling laughed at Jin''s customers, seeing how spontaneous they were and was slightly envious of their friendship. Jin led them to the centre of the top level, where they were welcomed by the enormous portrait of Jin and his monsters. There were a number of people gathering right in front of it admiring the picture. Yang Ling was extremely interested in it but did not wish to disturb the crowd in front of her. Xiong Da, on the other hand, was shameless and loudly requested to allow the person in the wheelchair to get a better look at the portrait. Using her ''crippled'' status, they got close to the portrait and saw the entirety of it. Luo Bo tried to take a picture but was unhappy to realise it was blurred out even after a couple of tries. Shi Zuo was startled that Jin''s portrait made use of the latest censoring technology which only prominent museums utilised for artefacts and relics of great value. "To me, it''s one of the most valuable pieces that showed a milestone in my life," Jin revealed solemnly, and the rest silently continued to appreciate the art piece. While they were busy admiring the picture, Jin opened his Pandamonium app. A large big ''Enter Store'' appeared as a banner at the top of the app. With a crowd of this size blocking the ''main entry'' of the store, the System had also modified the Pandamonium app to allow entry other than from the QR code in front of the portrait. (Did Jin mention that he also changed the QR code to include the shape of a Panda in it too?) Customers in the vicinity of the top level would be given directions via GPS to the centre of the park if they wished to enter Jin''s Panda and Dungeons instance. Alternatively, they could access his store''s instance instantly by hitting the large big ''Enter Store'' button, which was revealed the moment they reach the top level of the Tree Mall. Thus Jin informed his customers that once they were done admiring his magnificent portrait, they could find him at his store instance. Chapter 524 Special Challenge "So, what is this special challenge about?" Xiong Da asked, and Jin smiled as he instructed them to take a look at their Pandamonium App. "An upcoming instance, but right now it''s in an experimental state. Something similar to the Orc Invasion only with another type of monster. You know the usual stuff. Whoever got the highest number of kills wins the challenge." Jin answered before he told the two of them to gear up. Shi Zuo and Ruo Ying questioned if they were allowed to join in the fun as well. "Oh, you think this will be fun? Sure go right ahead." Jin smile turned into a smirk which made them slightly suspicious of the dungeon supplier. Still, he had agreed and sent them the invitation to the dungeon. At this point, Yang Ling looked Jin in the eyes and pouted cutely. Jin ultimately heaved out a sigh. "Fine¡­I will let you in as well but not your guards. It may not be fully balanced, so I do not want too many people to be in it in case of problems. You can go inside and take a look. Whether you wish to fight, is entirely up to you." Yang Ling agreed and asked the guards to take a break at the Restaurant Train instance by sending a 500 Yuan red packet to each of their MeChat accounts per guard. "Enjoy yourselves, you guys worked hard enough." "But Miss, Clan Leader Hu ordered us not to leave you at any cost. We will get in trouble if you-" The guard got interrupted by Yang Ling''s impeccable stare and they understood that she was doing it of her own volition. "Very good. Now please, enjoy what this place has to offer. You might even try to increase your cultivation while waiting for me." Yang Ling expression turned friendly again. Defeated, they nodded their heads in return. "Shall we?" Yang Ling requested Jin to push her into Weapons Store Instance in order to access one of the workshops in there. He was surprised that Yang Ling had secretly been visiting his store in disguise with her Triad Bodyguard, Ku Wai. The only reason why Ku Wai had not followed her this time around was because she had for ''official business'' to Jin''s opening ceremony. Hence, she needed to keep the act of being crippled. Once the System pulled her personalised workshop instance into reality, he realised that she had stored all her combat gear here. There was even a highly expensive 3D printer along with a laptop in the workshop in case she needed a quick fix. "Seriously quite a handy feature you have. Can''t say I''ve seen many stores with, especially at your low rates¡­in fact the Royal Dungeon Supplier store I used to frequent charges exorbitant prices to rent a space there." "I really hope that you can expand or at least place a portal in our Zodiac Tiger Headquarters which I am sure the people there would love it. That will show that arrogant Royal Dungeon Supplier that he is not the only freaking supplier that the Tigers can rely on." Yang Ling complained with spite in her tone, and Jin bitterly laughed in reply. "I will see what Ke Loong and I can do." Jin went forward to assist Yang Ling and realised she was able to walk a little on her own. "This is ¡­a great improvement!" Jin was astonished, and Yang Ling winked at him. "Of course! I worked hard, you know." Yang Ling said proudly but eventually revealed that along with her extended use of the Gearbox, she had been eating rather often at Jin''s store (in disguise). The Tiger Princess speculated that the abundant spiritual power from the food along with her rehabilitation aided in her speedy and yet miraculous recovery. "I''ve a long way ahead of me, but at least I can stand and also walk a little," Yang Ling said as she unveiled a series of suitcases from her storage ring. Seeing his guest struggled a bit on her own, Jin assisted her with the donning of her customised Gearbox. "Oh, did I ever thank you for making it extremely easy to fit in? If I am in a pinch, all I need is some time to put it on, and I can enter into combat immediately. Had been practising on that diligently in case of emergencies and my timing is decent now. Honestly, it''s so good that we adapted it to all other models." Yang Ling said as she put on the Gearbox. "Yea, I did design it with that in mind, I don''t want to imagine how helpless you might be if you are stuck in a serious predicament," Jin stated as a matter of fact instead of a matter of concern for her. Like donning an armour on in medieval times, he knew that speed was of the essence if she was ever in serious danger again. However, to Yang Ling, she thought otherwise and smiled widely with a bit of embarrassment on her face. (Though Jin did not see it when she expressed it.) Once she was outfitted with the customised gearbox suit, Yang Ling began putting small plates of flexible armour which she kept in her workshop. The Tiger Princess had already modified the Gearbox to suit them, and it was kind of like a plug and play. Jin noticed it was quite an ingenious idea and kept that in mind should he wish to produce more of those gearbox suits. "Do not worry, System has already input all the data, including the items she had not chosen to use this time into the System database. System will prompt User should he wish to reproduce gearbox suits for personal use or for his monsters." The System informed him within his thoughts, and he could only imagine what kind of other inventions Yang Ling''s research team had created as she stuffed several more items in a separate storage ring before telling Jin that she was ready for battle. When they returned back to the store instance, Xiong Da was donning his clothes with his new defensive inscription as part of his recently earned privilege rights. While the System had prevented him from abusing his special status to gift their assortment to others, the lawyer had all the money in the world to purchase some new gear for Ruo Ying without batting his eye. Knowing that it was a special challenge (with the plushie at stake), Luo Bo did not hesitate in buying the latest items that were offered within the Weapons and Armour store instances, especially since there was the Day One mega discount in effect. The only one who was crying was Shi Zuo''s wallet, but he figured with Christmas around the corner, he convinced himself that it was ''okay'' to be spending a fair bit of money and decided to splurge on his new armoured clothes set. (Little did he knew that this was merely the beginning of the couple''s spending fest.) With all of them ready for the special challenge, Jin looked at them and brought them to the conference room instance to brief them on the new ''experimental instance''. Chapter 525 Special Challenge Briefing "Your challenge will be to defeat a new type of monster called Demon Rats," Jin explained as he showed them the pictures taken by his reconnaissance teams. Demon Rat Brutes, Demon Rat Specialists with their various equipment such as the Steam Tanks and the Steam Helicopters. "Xiong Da and Luo Bo will be fighting against the horde of rats who have come to recapture a town that was liberated by the Werejackals. You remember those from the Bank Heist Instances?" Jin asked, and the rest nodded their heads except for Yang Ling and Ruo Ying who had neither seen nor experienced those instances before. It wasn''t until Xiong Da described them as the human-ish dog¡­fox like creatures they saw in the WunderPanda Theme Park Instance when it clicked for them. Jin continued his briefing telling them that the Werejackals were the commanding defensive team that would be protecting the town along with some knights. "So it''s basically the same as the goblins, just a different battlefield and probably on a harder difficulty?" Shi Zuo asked as he saw that the Demon Rats now had access to heavy machinery to aid them, unlike Orcs, who mainly focused on manpower to overwhelm them. Jin nodded his head, and Luo Bo commented that Jin must really hate the Ruby Rats to the point he even created a raid theme all about them. The rest chuckled at her comments, yet Xiong Da agreed he would be dying to kill all those Demon Rats in place of the Ruby Rats. "Aww Shucks you guys." Jin was being slightly sarcastic before continuing the briefing. "So yes, it is a new raid that will most likely replace the Goblin Raid instance in the near future. Call it something fresh or else people would become bored killing Orcs again, and again, right?" "Personally, I would love to join the Orcs and fight against the goblins for a change." Shi Zuo said, and the rest agreed. "How about making it a bit more special, like a cultivator versus cultivator kind of thing with the old Goblin Raid Instance. Where cultivators fight alongside the race they choose?" Yang Ling suggested, and Jin nodded his head at that idea. "Ah, I did think of that one before as well, but I hope there will be varied battlegrounds instead of just the two raid instances and the secret instances." Luo Bo replied as she had nearly memorised all the building and knew exactly where to hide in order to snipe the Orcs down. The Orcs did became cleverer in time and tried to ambush her, but so far they failed since the rabbit archer was very creative in her use of traps. (However, she had to give credit when they nearly caught her in a surprise.) Ruo Ying also added that she remembered how exciting it was to be teleported to somewhere new in the first limited phase of Goblin Raids where they could do various missions. While the current instances were vast and crazily exciting, she missed those short battle sorties and hoped Jin could bring them back. "Hmm. Perhaps, I really can spice things up, I will revise it when I have the time. As for the cultivator versus cultivator kind of battles, I have already filled out the necessary paperwork, but before I get issued the license I can''t implement anything of that sort. The one time with Xiong Da was only possible because the detectives agreed to look the other way." Jin took all their opinions in before he returned back to the topic. He was thankful that they were taking their time to talk and discuss all this because Another Jins were frantically making the presentation slides as they were speaking. Even the images when the presentation first started was by them, and yet the Pandawans before him had no clue Jin had helpers behind the scenes creating all of this in real time. They thought that he was merely a person who was very prepared for anything ¡­or had someone proficient in the use of magic like how the dungeon supplier managed to create the Giant Tree in the middle of Shenzhen overnight, getting coverage not just in local news, but to the whole country as well. The System had predicted that the global news network would pick on it when it goes viral after Day One and was anticipating to collect the opinions of other news networks. "Anyways there is something I haven''t mentioned yet. To make it even more unforgettable for all of you. I''ve taken into account the feedback gathered in the Goblin Raid Instance and came up with this innovation. You guys will be testing out this brand new feature." Jin moved the presentation to the next slide with merely a word there: ''SQUADS.'' Both he and the System had used the data of the cultivators and replicated highly intelligent human behaviour on the NPC clones they created. Not to mention, using the Farming Humans as the base of the NPCs had accelerated the process. The System had always been keeping unique individuals that it found impossible to clone for use as followers. However, the Farming Humans was sort of an empty slate, where the System could clone them as NPCs and inserted certain specific behaviour, making them behave like humans when they were not (at least in the biological sense of Jin''s world). They were more akin to Penguin Patsu or Bear Cub One rather than Octofussy, Vulcan or Chef Roro. To call them human was kind of the wrong category, so in order to preserve them as NPCs, the System had made the ''Squad'' mates faceless and equipped them masks that were in accordance to the Leader who would be leading them. For example, Xiong Da would receive a Squad full of Full Masked Hippo members. Initially, the masks would be very basic and more details would only be added as Xiong Da levels his squad up. Yes, Jin was going to proceed with the virtual gaming system that the System and him had talked about during their fight against Rong, The Demon Bull Exorcist Trainee. (This reminded him that he still had to speak to the leaders of JODE and initiate the passing out ceremony for the Demon Snake Exorcist Su Zhen later in the afternoon.) "Oh? So we get to receive these squads for free from you?" Shi Zuo was excited to hear that and Jin nodded his head. "As part of the experiment, yes. Otherwise, they will be priced rather expensively. Consider it as a possible premium feature of future instances, like how customers wished to fight alone and not with other cultivators. They can replace the team with their own NPC squad members." Jin explained and listed the various possibilities of having a squad of their own. "Also, this Squad highlight might potentially change how cultivators participate in Raid Events drastically. While I do not wish to brag, but you can customise how all your squad would look like to a certain extent and even choose the kind of weapons they would be equipped with." Jin emphasised that it was an exciting feature which he could not wait to see it being tested out. Chapter 526 Extra: Price Adjustments Jin had thought long and hard on the day before the Opening Ceremony. Since the very beginning, he knew that his exclusively high priced dungeons were not so accessible for the general public. Those who played frequently were usually the wealthier people or at least the upper middle class people. For cultivators like Luo Bo and Shi Zuo, they had to work additional overtime just to play an additional one or two dungeon runs. Nevertheless, they felt like it was a sort of investment. The guaranteed increase in cultivation had allowed them to be more focused at work, and hence more of their energy could be devoted to performing their job well while some of their colleagues were desperately trying to stay sane after a straight ten hour shift. The university and high school students were usually unable to pay such prices unless they came from wealthy families like Bu Dong. Luckily there was a long running programme by the government to subsidise cultivation activities by up to 75% of the price as an incentive to entice students to have a better base cultivation from the start. The government recognised that higher cultivation grades meant that students could do better in exams and subsequently work longer hours for their future companies. Hence, it was like an investment for their future workforce. What''s more was that an increase of cultivation grade allowed the students to earn a one time cash incentive too, which was extremely useful in further upgrading their cultivation or to pay off their student loans. However, Shenzhen''s governmental accounting third parties were baffled at the recent receipts from a particular Dungeons and Pandas store. Initially, they assumed it was a hoax or something which they eventually filed a report the police for an investigation. Yet Yang Ling was able to intervene. Apparently, the Tiger Princess, who fiddled with everything that had money in it, predicted that sort of thing would happen to Jin and assured the government accounting third parties that it was legitimate. At one point, she even gave them a ''disguise'' tour of the place without Jin being informed of this. Eventually, they had to agree that given the superb quality of the dungeons, the pricing was somewhat valid. They could only sigh that the government guidelines had been lax enough for an anomaly like Jin''s store to be accepted. Still, Jin was notified by Yang Ling that he should consider looking into the prices or expect formal inspectors to come and audit the place which she knew that he had a lot of "Trade Secrets'' to hide. Alternatively, he was more than welcome to become a Royal Zodiac Dungeon Supplier which would exempt him from a lot of questions. This was part of the reason why Jin had decided to take another look into the prices and give a proper model of pricing so that if inspectors were to physically audit his store, there would be sufficient paperwork prepared by both the System and Jin. (However, the more apparent reason was that he wanted repeat customers from all ages and not just the rich.). In addition, their past analysis indicated that about nearly up to one quarter of the people who visited Dungeons and Pandas came to solely spectate and perhaps engage in the cheaper alternatives at other dungeon suppliers. They unsurprisingly found most of them to be disappointed that they were unable to experience the same feeling they had in Jin''s store. Still, they equally frustrated that they did not have enough cash to play any of it in his place as well. Thus, the Goblin Raid Instance was a prime example that things did not have to stay that way. He had priced it relatively cheap, and in return, Jin was promptly rewarded with an influx of customers from various ages. The store got only more popular ever since the opening of the Goblin Raid Instance, leading Jin to ponder if it was truly necessary to keep those high prices as the System had dictated. "At this point, the System can only recommend and hopefully persuade User from not changing the prices." The System reiterated that it was looking at long term growth, where higher grade cultivators would come in and find the price point and quality worthy just previously stated in their discussion. "To accommodate them I wish to return back to dungeon tiers in the future. Now that we have enough variety of monsters that I feel that it should be possible to do so." Jin said, and the System requested for a more detailed explanation for clarification. At that point, Jin merely teased the System to wait for him to develop the tier based dungeons and proceeded to adjust the cost price of his dungeons. Similar to his Gaming Packages, Jin had decided to revamp all the prices of the dungeons. The Goblin Raid Instance would be priced at 15 Yuan, with all dungeons previously published as well as the respective arenas costing 25 Yuan. Not only that, he had revitalised his two old dungeon instances and offered them on Day One as well. The first instance to be revealed was his old Goblin Forest instance where the forest was filled with traps and included his (unevolved) Goblin trio who fought alongside Mr Oink against the cultivators. But because Jin used the Goblin Forest for the story instance, he renamed this particular old dungeon instance as the Goblin Woods Instance. The other dungeon instance was where cultivators used to fight against Ke Mi''s and her pets, and it was aptly renamed as the Zither Mistress Grasslands Instance. The instance was also priced the same at 25 Yuan too. The only difference was that Jin had promoted these two dungeons as a beginner friendly instance as compared to the rest, which had a storyline in them. The Dungeon Supplier then included them into a series of package deals to entice people to buy more of them. However, these packages were mostly considered as promotional for the moment until Jin found the right amount of cash squeeze he could get from the customers. He had created a number of packages which would aid beginners and veterans alike. For example, his Basic Dungeon Party Package cost 90 Yuan, and it consisted of four dungeon tickets which could be gifted to friends or used all by one person. There were also the Veteran, Hardcore and Extreme Packages. Needless to say, better discounts on a higher quantity of dungeon tickets as well as additional Panda Medals. Only the Hardcore and Extreme Packages featured a pack of tickets that allowed them to obtain several free weapons and armour temporary inscription through a Gacha machine in Octofussy''s general store. Most of it would usually be at least Grade 3 considering the amount of money they paid, but there would be a chance to receive a Grade 5 or even above temporary inscription charms which might aid with their dungeons in the future. However, the store also made them sign a disclaimer that the use of those inscriptions outside of their store was not the store''s responsibility when they bought their packages. That was just the beginning of packages¡­ There were even more, and Jin was planning to add a tab in the Pandamonium App called Sales Deals. Chapter 527 Extra: Adventuring Packages As Jin was finalising the Dungeon Packages, he realised there was no reason to stop just there. He could easily pair it up with various deals in order to spice up the variety of promotional packages available and suit people''s desire for additional discounts. Deals like Adventuring Foodie Package that allows the cultivators to get some grub before working out or the Jack of All Trades Adventuring Package which featured a bit of everything. From service instances to the mini games, it was a mix and match of tickets, food coupons and items in that package. However, the Beginner Adventuring Package that consisted of a Grade 2 weapon and armour coupon along with some potions and such was predicted to be selling like hotcakes. (And in hindsight, it did exceptionally well with the new crowd from Day One.) Not just chi potions were sold within that package but medicines similar to the ones he sold in the Goblin World too. By making use of the experience he had gained from designing the Dungeon Cave, Jin had asked the System to make ailments in the current dungeon design as a noticeable side effect. Effects like fire would make them feel like it was searing their skin away and freezing could potentially slow their entire body to a halt. Jin had also permitted the System to appoint random elemental inscription on various monsters and make those who already utilised them stronger. For example, Werejackals'' Vice Leader Grey loved to use fireballs, and the System amplified the effect through the dimensional instance, causing the cultivators to receive a burning effect whenever they were hit by the fireball. While it''s true that those who had high control of chi or had water magic can remove the fire, those of lower grades would have to purchase those anti burning potions or creams to prevent or reduce the consequences of burning. The same was true for poisons as well as other effects like causing the chi to generate slower or general paralysation. Hence, this allowed him to sell an Adventuring Pancreas Pack that featured these kinds of potion and included chi regeneration potions as part of the sales too. The dungeons were not the only thing that received price cuts, as Jin had ensured that it also affected the Service Instances. All the Service Instances were priced at 15 Yuan except for the Panda Muscles Service Instance which was priced at 5 Yuan per visit though he also offered monthly and annual membership deal for Panda Muscles Service Instance as to entice more people to use his services. Since the fishing instance was combined with the Restaurant Instance, it was not affected by the 15 Yuan entry fee, but it had their prices slashed to a more affordable price range in the hope that more people would be able to patronise Chef Roro''s superb sushi skills. Meanwhile, the food was subjective to Lynn''s way of pricing, which Jin did not object a single bit. He also gave Lynn full authority over the Pandafull delivery service when it came to food, and it allowed her to provide daily discounts depending on the System''s predictive analysis. Despite Jin making all these price adjustments, he suddenly understood the System''s point of view of making it expensive. When it meant long term growth, the System was anticipating a new sort of crowd as soon as the portals were up and operational. Foreigners. If Jin converted the Yuan to other currencies, it would definitely be inferior to say the Euro or US dollar. Hence, Jin made it clear to the System that the prices stay as per their foreign currency. What he meant was that an American paying the dungeon would not be paying 25 Yuan, but be paying 25 USD instead. Jin found that this was the fairest in accordance with each cultivator or magician''s personal expenses and at that point wondered if he should open separate shop instances to accommodate to a different crowd so as to avoid bias. That was when he realised how bloody useful Another Jins could possibly be as he could exist at various shop instances as they teleported into the shop instances. But of course, Jin would need the System to ''install'' their language into his Another Jins to be able to have effective communication with foreigners. "Maybe I instead of calling them Another Jin 1 or Jin 2, I can start referring to them as America Jin, European Jin, African Jin, oh Farming Jin and Dungeon Jin. Hahahahah!" Jin joked to the System as he prepared and input the various price deals into the System for consideration. "It is technically possible, but System feels the need to remind User that having too many Another Jins will ultimately strain your body and chi. Thus, System has an obligation to not allow Jin to be out of the store unless all the Another Jins recombine with you should User attempt such a feat." The System spoke its concerns out, and Jin understood. "Anyway, no need to get ahead of ourselves. Let''s concentrate on China first before we expand outwards. Maybe before our expansion, we could get some foreigners in too." Jin shrugged his shoulders as he stretched his hands and continued to fiddle with his personal projects despite having only a few more hours before the opening ceremony. Considering that he was in the Dungeon Maker, time moved at a different pace that he did not feel anxious about the opening ceremony at all. With time currently at his side, Jin had been reading reports on the Demon Rats provided by the System and learnt that they were more widespread than they had initially thought. Although he had yet to make time to greet the new monsters that entered the System, he knew their names and what they had been doing. For example, Weslie the Scholar of the West was reverse engineering a Steam Tech control that might possibly turn into the game changer and allow them to create the legendary tool for Operation Pied Piper, which was taken directly from the Pied Piper of Hamelin or that was what Jin thought when he read about the news. It would fit nicely into Jin''s scenario of creating the multi instance Military and Police exercise operations Hou Fei had talked about. He had been missing the crucial element of attracting the rats, and if he had some way to amplify that control and push all the rats into the multi instance, it would be advantageous for him. In the meantime, Gold had sent out his Werejackal scouts that reported tens of Demon Rat battalions and human slaves coming from their capital to the captured towns so the rats could ''liberate'' them from their control again. The Dark Templars and Lord Wolte were then in charge of surprise attacks, causing the battalions to be delayed in their march but it was more than just a dent in their schedule. Still, every single hour counts, and that was what matters. Because the Dark Templars were playing the defensive role, the Three Goblins were acting even bolder in attacking the towns ever since the incident at Town of Wecha. The news spread fast, and the Demon Rats began shoring their defences up in those controlled towns. But this time, the Goblin Trio brought Meomi with them as the Southern Stars Leader had criticised Meomi being an unwanted risk after what had happened. Thus, Meomi commanded the Mousefolks while Flame Ripper brought the Western Skies adventurers along with them. With the Mousefolks fully contracted to the System, Meomi was not afraid of utilising them in freeing more towns. As for the Western Skies Adventurers, they were tasked to disrupt any supply caravans towards those rat infested towns, and in exchange, they were allowed to keep the gold they earned. The adventurers also tasked to spread the news, rumours and gossips that a resistance group was doing its best in liberating the towns from the rats. As the Sea Port Towns were still under the protection of whatever Northern Guards were left in the region, Gold hoped they could be spurred into action with all the positive news. With all these happening, Jin felt that another Raid instance was needed to assist his monsters and he needed to do something a little more drastic to increase the manpower since they had no help except the pockets rebel groups in the region. That was how the idea of ''Squads'' came to be. Chapter 528 Extra: Goal Adjustments The Squad idea had been on Jin''s mind for a very long time, but there hadn''t been a right time to implement it up until now. He had discussed it with the System, and it had countered they were for not ready stating a lack of resources. The System also wished to stop Jin from reducing the profits when he planned for the extreme reduction of prices until its predictive analysis had concluded that the profit margin in the next two months should be able to rival what they had earned in their past few months or even more. Unlike when he first started out, Jin no longer dealt with just dungeons. Even though they were supposed to be the bulk of the profit for the shop, the dungeon supplier had expanded sidewards so people would not find his main attraction to be exorbitantly expensive. From food, weapons, clothing and vulneraries, everything would be used to supplement the reduced cost of the dungeon entrance, especially since his main customers were entering the dungeons with an increased cultivation grade. Higher cultivation grade meant the dungeons were programmed to be harder despite the same cost of entry. While the conditions to enter the dungeons were the same, staying and thriving within the dungeon would require the cultivators tp spend more on better grade weapons, more inscriptions and perhaps even one time magical scrolls which Jin had recently added into his stores. In terms of food, Lynn was also preparing a road map for both her penguins and her restaurant. As she increased her cultivation grade, the Sub System began to release certain food recipes that included grade requirement. For example, the current dishes such as Chashu Ramen in Red Snapper Broth and Tonkatsu Curry Rice were marked as Grade 1 Food by the Sub System. It was useful in regaining chi and spiritual power from a day''s worth of work, but the attributes it granted were considered minor. That was why the Sub System had the Giant World in mind from the start. If they were able to tame the animals from that world and train them in such a way to have cultivation similar to the animals they had on Earth, they could start an extraterrestrial Cultivation Zoo (or Demon Cultivation Zoo) as well as getting better food quality. However, in that aspect, it seemed like one of Half Ghoul Lord Derek''s experiments was also going in that direction. The evolved zombie was keen on fusing food and monsters together, creating an abomination of food monster that would provide way stronger quality of food. He felt that he had been limited by his class restriction to truly create a sentient monster after all the experiments he had done. So, he had decided to work backwards and began by fusing living creatures with various items. He initially thought of using mechatronics, by utilising the abundant Steam Tech parts which the System collected, but that had been beyond his expertise before Weslie entered the System. Hence, he decided to try combining both food and monsters together in an attempt to fuse different sort of food with body parts together. Derek''s sole purpose was the idea of augmentation, and if it worked, it would definitely bring much profit to Lynn and Jin. On a separate note, the Dungeon City Fortress was not all red in Jin''s financial accounts. (Well, it''s still red, just a lighter shade of red than before.) When the store owners of the Tiangong Tree Mall began to demand more of the quality food stocks from Jin, he was able to earn some money from selling the stockpile of agriculture goods the city had harvested through the use of the System''s Temporal Manipulation. Considering that the seeds were cheap, and the effort to farm those were minimal with the aid of modified Farming Sandroku golems, the profit was tremendous. (Yeah, the Orcs managed to customise the Sandroku Golems into various sectors. Construction, Farming, Transportation etc. It had slowly turned into a core part of the Dungeon City Fortress that both Orcs and Goblins wished to own.) Oh, not to mention the secret oil plants that the System managed to obtain from the Farming World. What had been treated as garbage by Gold previously, became the most valuable and profitable plot of land that the Werejackals were sitting on. Instead of expanding their home instance, the System opened up a new dimensional instance and instructed the Werejackals to take great care of the oil fields. In return, the System points awarded to those guarding werejackals became extremely enticing for the farming duty rotation. Jin contacted Panda Remnant Hou Fei, and together with the System, they started to sell these oil barrels to various companies and even countries. As it turned out, that old snake had multiple connections that brought massive profit for Jin. Even Kraft applauded Hou Fei for being nearly as resourceful as him. Bloody or clean money, Jin did not care. As long as nothing could be traced back to them, Jin was satisfied. The dungeon supplier considered this to be a short term plan as he believed that if he could travel to other worlds, and with the access to an interworld black market, there was definitely a way to import clean energy for his country to use in the future. If they wished to remain a step ahead in future developments compared to other countries, Jin was able to contribute to his country. Therefore, what he was working on with Ke Loong was vital, and the portal start up must be successful enough to skyrocket Ke Loong''s company to be a leading giant in the transportation industry. That way with money, prestige and power, they can push their ideals to the country. All these improvements for what? For the sake of becoming the Number One Dungeon Supplier in his world. The portals would eventually bring him the numbers to his business. The clean energy he thought of would also reduce the energy intake his instances were using. (If one were to see his electrical bills¡­) Does Jin wants to be famous to become the Number One Dungeon Supplier? Not necessarily. All he wanted was to be number one so that he could spread his joy of dungeoneering to the world. And if in the process, Jin was able to make the world a better place, why not? Despite all these new goals in mind, Jin knew that it would not be all roses and the Ruby Rat Triad was merely the first stepping stone on his way to his desired future. He didn''t doubt that there would be other people who would be vying his technology, for his secret methods in getting all his research up and yet he would not give up on making the world a better place. The System''s previous revenge plot was petty compared to this dream that Jin had. If they could accomplish it, they would possibly be remembered in history. Not as the ones who had been bested by the Jade Emperor, but as the ones who had risen from the ashes and helped guide the world to a brighter future. But for now, Jin would not get ahead of himself as he knew the hard effort for such grand goals was created with every step. And speaking of dungeons, the Dungeon Cave was one of his new plans when the System conversed with him previously. Why settle on being the Number One Dungeon Supplier on Earth when he could become the Number One Dungeon Supplier on every world he would come to visit? Chapter 529 Squad Theory "What can we do with the squads? Are we going in with mere AIs?" Xiong Da asked, and Jin shook his head. "Nope, they will fight based on your orders. Right now, you have access to basic commands like charge, unite, fall back as this is still in progress. When the new experimental instances come out, there will be more advanced commands for you to use. You can tell them how you want to attack or even join another squad temporarily to boost their members." Jin answered as if Xiong Da would be able to have control a fully sentient squad of AI. "So how we use it efficiently totally depends on us?" Luo Bo asked, and Jin nodded. "Yeah, that is assuming you want to have full control of the squad. Actually, on second thought, go ahead and try those individual commands. However, if the squad does not respond in your favour, my servers will still record what''s happening, and I will take a look to rectify them in the future." Jin replied since they were here to do some debugging for the new NPCs. "But if those squads do not work as intended, do not blame them if you lose the special challenge." Jin chuckled as he looked at the two of them who inadvertently agreed to those conditions. Aside from orders, Jin told them they had currently three squad personnel under them. As they levelled up their squads, the cultivators had the chance to increase the number of personnel under them, and that was why Jin had previously mentioned that they could eventually hold a battalion(s) when their squad levels were high enough. The Pandawans were excited over this particular new feature as they believed Jin could possibly prepare instances like inter cultivator war games and allow them to mimic grand battles. Instead of just being a small little part like in those Goblin Raid instances, they would be the grand generals leading them to victory. "While you cannot customise how the squad member''s faces look like, we will offer themes for the masks like Tribal Masks, Cyberpunk masks, and maybe limited theme masks though that would be for the future." Jin started to explain the features of the squads. "As of right now, you can buy weapons, or even give them your existing array of weapons and armour but you have to understand that the Squad is a very complex kind of feature that I am going for because it is realistic." "Basically equipping a squad is similar to equipping a group of people in real life?" Xiong Da leaned forward and queried. "Yes! So while your squad levels limits how many squad members, you can command, your squad personnel themselves have their very own Grades, and according to the way you use them they can even develop basic personalities." Jin revealed more about the squads, shocking his listeners. "For example, if you keep using Squad Personnel 3 for scouting purposes, they will eventually get more agile than say the one you kept behind for sniping reasons, with the latter developing higher accuracy stats." "So, if it eventually grows into a battalion, you are saying we will be managing a group of 100 odd people?" Shi Zuo felt overwhelmed all of a sudden at the thought of it. "If you wish to micromanage them all, yes. But because it''s still in development, things can change. For example, the battalion stats will be dependent on platoons. And each of those platoons will be based on the highest level squad personnel leading it." "Currenlty, what I envision platoons are based on the main type of weapons they are using and the stats of the highest level squad personnel. If it''s is a sword platoon, their entire group stats will lean towards melee strength and higher defence." "The Squad Personnel leading the platoon will then further enhance the platoon''s stats as well. By then, you should be macro managing platoons and the amount of experience earnt would be spread evenly throughout the platoon." Jin said, and the Pandawans had a rough idea. "Of course, it will also depend on my servers if such a theory could be transposed into a practical setting, else I need to set a limit. But let''s not get ahead of ourselves first. If the prototype turns out bad, that means there''s no platoons or battalions in the near future." Jin put a damper on their mood, and they laughed at him to console him. "Knowing you Boss, you will get it to work. I look forward to those war games. Even if there are no platoons or battalions, having a squad will be decent enough if I do not have Shi Zuo or Luo Bo to play with." Xiong Da stated, and Luo Bo gave a ''pfft'' sound out. "Don''t think that some sweet words will earn you mercy points. I intend to give it my all for a customised plushie!" Luo Bo replied in a challenge and Jin bitterly laughed at this. "Will I have a squad too?" Yang Ling asked as she was standing upright at the side of the room. "Yes, you will." Jin nodded his head, and the rest except for Xiong Da was a bit curious why the daughter of the Tiger Head who had been in a wheelchair just moments ago was suddenly able to stand. "She should be wearing a support aid that helps with walking. A friend of mine bought something similar from the Tigers. It had helped her tremendously and seeing how the Tiger Princess can walk with it too, confirms that the 3rd daughter of the Tiger Lord was trying to keep a low profile." Xiong Da explained to them with his current insights. "That is correct. Thus I hope all of you will keep quiet about this particular situation. In return, I am prepared to offer you a token of appreciation by sponsoring your squads with the weapons and armours needed." Yang Ling offered as she asked Jin to transfer their expenses to her account. "That is fine by me. Do you wish for us to swear an oath of the Heavenly Five Elements Tribulation?" Shi Zuo asked, and Luo Bo smacked his head for offering something so severe as a pledge of silence. "I do not require something so severe and archaic. Just a promise will be fine." Yang Ling smiled coldly, and they nodded their heads slowly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let''s buy stuff! Oh, wait. Boss Jin. My privilege rights are still valid for this store correct?" Xiong Da bragged indirectly, and Jin nodded his head quietly. "While, I might have given you the impression that it''s for life, it''s actually only until you have reached three times your donation, after that, I will need to charge you. To other people, it should most likely suffice for life¡­but probably not for you." Jin shrugged his shoulders. "How much did he donate exactly?" Luo Bo asked, and Shi Zuo directed her to the Pandamonium App''s donation audit report, which was all pristine clear how much was donated. "HOLY FUCK! Shit?! You had that kind of money?! You thieving hippo of a lawyer! If I do not defeat you in this special challenge, I cannot be called Luo Bo!" "Hehe! Try me, little rabbit." Xiong Da scoffed at her as he ran out of the conference room and into the weapons and armoury instance where Luo Bo relentlessly chased after him. (Not before Shi Zuo tried to hold and calm her down.) "I guess¡­I will just buy the weapons and armour on my phone¡­" The Egret cultivator told Shi Zuo, who was already dead beat from entertaining his energetic girlfriend. "Doing the same as well." Yang Ling stood at the corner of the conference room which left Shi Zuo sighing before he went after his girlfriend to stop Luo Bo from causing more of a ruckus. Jin smiled as he looked at his phone. "Ah, it appears Grandma Yuan is looking for me." "You''re not planning to join the special challenge?" Yang Ling asked, and Jin shook his head. "You should know that Grandma Yuan does not like waiting for others, but I might join you later. Yun will be overseeing the whole thing in the meantime." Jin answered though Yang Ling felt it was a poor excuse. A little disappointed, she waved him goodbye, and when he vanished from sight, she uttered. "Idiot Jin¡­" Chapter 530 Extra: About the Future Yun was already waiting for Xiong Da and Luo Bo at Bai Wan''s Weapon''s Store Instance where she asked them to wait a moment before rushing to buy some weapons. The two grumbled like little kids but decided to hold their little grudge as Yun demanded for their phones. "Please do not mind me. This squad thing is a special feature; hence, the app does not officially have it yet." Yun allowed them to take a look as she plugged a USB drive each into their phones before it asked for an installation of the modified Pandamonium App. With their own permission, she installed the app. The app symbol changed to a Panda in military clothes with one white stripe on its shoulders, indicating the rank of Panda Private. Yun told them the higher their squad level, the Panda Military ranks would increase too. (The picture changes as well!) Yun iterated that if there''s an update, the modified app would automatically get replaced by the new version of the Pandamonium App. Shi Zuo who caught up to them was given the same treatment, and Yun told them briefly to follow the instructions on the app. "The app will show you what item slots are available for you to outfit your guys. Do take note of the restrictions. Your Level 1 Squad will be limited to Grade 1 weapons, so don''t try outfitting them with Grade Five weapons, it won''t work. See you guys back at the conference room once you are done shopping." Yun smiled at them before returning to the conference room to update Ruo Ying and Yang Ling''s apps. In the meantime, Xiong Da and Luo Bo went separate ways to purchase the weapons they wanted for their squads. The Hippo Cultivator saw that he was given command over two guys and a girl for his team and even managed to peek at Luo Bo''s team composition, who had two girls and one guy. "I see¡­" Xiong Da muttered to himself as he started his search for the strongest Grade 1 melee weapons available. He had previously enjoyed playing RPG games when he was younger, and he knew that a balance was needed in a fight. As a tank, he was able to take hits, but he required more damage dealers if he wished to kill more Demon Rats than Luo Bo. Hence, Xiong Da had taken a Grade 1 two handed lance and a Grade 1 Two handed Sword. After which, he purchased a Grade 1 Rifle and for the final touch, some miscellaneous items such as grenades and Molotov cocktails. Considering he did not need to pay anything, he simply took the most expensive of all those weapons and went straight into the armour store where he proceeded to do the same as well. Right here, there was not much to think about at the current Grade his squad was in and Xiong Da simply took the ones with the highest defence rating without limiting mobility before returning back to the conference room. However, Luo Bo needed to go with different tactic than Xiong Da. She could vaguely guess that Xiong Da would focus on dealing damage since he was able to tolerate the hits given his own cultivation. Unfortunately, Luo Bo was not able to perform such a feat, and if she didn''t have a benefactor to buy the equipment for her squad, she would have simply selected the cheapest and gone into the dungeon instance. Yet right now, her objective was of utmost importance. With a customised Rabbit plushie at stake, she needed to inflict the most amount of damage while simultaneously preserve herself for long attrition battles. Shi Zuo sighed as he noticed that Luo Bo had entered into her dreaded window shopping mode, which might potentially last for hours. Thus, he decided to enforce his decision no matter how Luo Bo disliked it. He took two of the following. Grade 1 staff, sword & buckler and wand. After that, he grabbed three Grade 1 axes and pulled Luo Bo to the armoury store without waiting for her consent. "Wait! What are you doing! I haven''t checked everything out yet!" Luo Bo made a fuss at Shi Zuo, but he simply continued to drag his significant other to their next destination. "This concerns my plushie! How can you be so evil towards me? Darling!!!" Luo Bo shouted at him as she refused to budge but him being physically stronger than her, Shi Zuo picked her up and went towards the Weapon Store''s connecting statue to the Armoury Department. "Go, choose the outfits that you want and make it quick." Shi Zuo told Luo Bo, but the latter pouted not wishing to listen to what her boyfriend had to say. "Fine. If you want to act this way, then I will choose for the both of us. Don''t blame me for my bad taste in fashion." Shi Zuo said with a bit of anger in him, and that was when Luo Bo noticed the anger and decided to play the concerned mate. "Don''t." Shi Zuo warned her to ease the grabbing of his arms as he went towards the male section. "Why are you acting like this?! Didn''t you say you wanted to help me get the plushie?!" Luo Bo could not understand why Shi Zuo was acting this way. Still, she was also wary of his response because he did not usually get angry this easily. "Because, if you plan to shop like you usually do it will take ages for you to finish. I don''t care when it''s just me, who has to wait for you, but you can''t be wasting Xiong Da, Ruo Ying and the Tiger Princess''s time. As I understand the princess merely wants to try out Jin''s newest dungeons, yet I believe her kindness has a certain limit and her time should be way more valuable than ours." "I am not sure about you, but at this juncture, I prefer to keep my job intact rather than to comfort your wants. Otherwise, I won''t be able to provide for you in the future." Shi Zuo reprimanded Luo Bo, and it struck her hard. The Rabbit Cultivator took a step back and nodded her head silently. "Please¡­ choose for me. I trust your taste." Luo Bo quietly said to Shi Zuo as he noticed something was wrong with her again. Was she going to cry? Shi Zuo sighed and took a step back too and apologised to her. "Look, I am sorry. I know Jin is entertaining us, but we should not overextend their courtesy, okay? After this challenge is done, we can still go window shopping again, and I''ll pay for it if you find better stuff, alright?" Shi Zuo suggested which Luo Bo eventually nodded her head and hugged her partner. "¡­you thought of our future?" Luo Bo whispered when she was in his embrace. "Erm ¡­Duh? I have to think about the house and future expenses." Shi Zuo wondered if he said something wrong. Yet Luo Bo merely kept quiet and buried her face in his chest for a moment in happiness before stepping back and told him to choose the clothes for their squads. "About the future, huh¡­" Luo Bo thought to herself and smiled quietly with a warm feeling inside. Chapter 531 Experimental Dimensional Instance There was another reason why Jin wanted Yun to be the one to enter the ''experimental instance'' alongside the cultivators. It indeed would be an experiment, though not the kind his customers had expected. Though the System might appear almighty, Jin had noticed in his fight against the Ruby Rats that its powers did have certain limitations. For example, it could create a sheer limitless number of clones for regular minions (it wasn''t entirely free, they cost souls), but the System could only exercise such powers inside of dimensional instances and the areas it owned. For this reason, during the cultivators'' participation in the Goblin World, the monsters that had accompanied them had all been the originals. Given the sheer number of customers, even his bellators had to help out acting as guides once in a while, or the monsters cut short their interactions. After Jin had calibrated the actual Goblin Raid dimensional instances, this was no longer an issue. While they temporarily occupied some areas in the Farming World, they were not really under their control. It meant that the System could not send its clones there unless they turned it into a dimensional instance or something similar to it. That''s where Yun came into play. Jin''s ''mother'' was not just part of the System like the bellators but an embodiment of the System''s Powers. Yun was therefore used as a proxy to create an impromptu dimensional instance that should allow the Pandawans to test out their Squad features. After all, dimensional instances could be conjured by a legendary grade cultivator, but the art was ancient, which no modern cultivators would be able to perform without the aid of technology. Yet, what was ancient and had the likes of highly advanced technology in its possession? Mmmhmm! Yun with the System in her! Still, there were limits creating a dimensional instance since everyone was pegged to Jin''s grade. So, the store assistant explicitly told the Pandawans that the squads could only go so far ahead. After a certain distance, the Pandamonium App would beep loudly, indicating that they had reached the boundary of the impromptu dimensional instance which could also be seen through the fuzziness of the surrounding. "If you leave the set perimeter your squad may disappear or stay behind within the barrier that I cast! You will still be able to kill things outside of my barrier, but you will have to do so without your squad''s help!" Yun warned them, and they acknowledged it within the C130 plane which seemed like the standard mission briefing area for the Pandawans who attended previous raids. Shi Zuo couldn''t help but ask Yun why the squad needed to stay within the barrier and could not follow them throughout the whole raid instance. "Because that barrier is the server''s current limitation of creating something similar to a fused dimensional instance in order for the NPCs to work. That''s what I got from the tech guys. I do not know much beyond that." Yun feigned ignorance and Shi Zuo, who wasn''t that well versed with dimensional instances nor the corresponding technology, accepted that answer and prepared to take off the plane at Yun''s discretion. As experimental as this instance could get, Yun had also asked them to insert and keep the previously used USB drive on their phones. Unbeknownst to them, that particular USB drive''s actual purpose was to serve as an amplifier of the temporary dimensional instance which Yun was enabling. The USB drive would extend the field of the dimensional instance. Wherever the cultivators went, the squads should technically still be functional as long the USB drives remained on their phones within a ten kilometres proximity of Yun. All this information would be gathered for Ayse and her humanoid researchers to work on a more potent and robust solution. The USB Drive Amplifier had already been one of their accomplishments through the addition of Lost Tech. Fused along with the System''s modification to suit Earth''s generational phones, that USB Drive could be considered the first step in creating a portable Dimensional Instance Generator. If successful, the System could manipulate its powers within the pocket dimensional instances and not be effectively useless when Jin was out of his store. Not to mention, it would also provide Jin with the perfect excuse for his monsters to appear in the cultivators real life. (Even though some of the monsters like Ayse were already meddling on Earth with the use of cosmetic inscription.) In the meantime, the cultivators could see their assigned squad mates opposite them, equipped with the gears their team leaders had bought for them from the Weapons and Armour Store instance. Yang Ling wondered if they had been all in a rush to buy the clothes or whether they all thought that it was indeed the best protective clothing for the squads (there had been other models with the same defence rating). Almost every one of them, including her, had chosen to go with the military outfit. The only difference was the varying colour between the squads. ¡­ ''Almost'' because Ruo Ying had gone for something entirely different. Unlike the rest of them, she had picked out 3 sets of Grade 1 Knight''s plate armour which nobody in their right mind would wear outside a renaissance fair or perhaps on Halloween. (Maybe with the upcoming squad feature, it could be a hit!) There were perks in wearing that old fashion plate armour and it was mainly their ridiculously high defensive stats and the number of inscription slots it featured, though the tradeoff was a reduction in mobility and stealth became a non option. (But who needs secrecy right now? Its all about mass annihilation!) Comparatively, the standard military outfit''s stats were all above average, and it included a built in offensive stat boost due to a which many other clothes did not offer at Grade 1. Still, it was Ruo Ying''s choice, and the cultivators checked their gear once more before Yun gave the signal to move out. From the bird''s eye view, the Pandawans noticed blobs of rats moving in unison towards the towns as mentioned by Jin. Only Luo Bo, whose cultivation style included enhanced vision, was able to make out exactly what was going on beneath them. She managed to catch on some action of the Demon Rats fighting against a group of knights with a¡­ tank aiding their advance. She did not hesitate to ask Yun about that anomaly. "Oh, that? They are our allies. Do whatever you wish with the information. Now, go go go!" Yun ordered them to jump down with their parachutes pack on. Shi Zuo was initially concerned as there was no safety landing platform for them this time around, but before he could complain, Luo Bo already pulled him along and jumped out from the tail of the C130 plane. The rest of their squad followed behind them systematically, and Yun grinned at Shi Zuo''s terrified face. "Oh, don''t worry. The helmet will give you cues on when to open your chute." She said to Yang Ling as the other two had eagerly jumped off for their special challenge to kill the most number of demon rats. Chapter 532 Demon Exorcist Graduation Ceremony "System, have they left the conference room already?" Jin had prepared his documents in the Dungeon Maker before he met up with Grandma Yuan and the other high ranking members from the Joint Organisations of Demon Exorcists (JODE). "Yes, it has been cleared and cleaned. User can proceed to host his guests in the room." The System answered Jin. The dungeon supplier had teleported near the group''s location in the shop instance and stood almost as stiff as a rock when Grandma Yuan brought the large entourage towards him. He opened up a portal and asked them to enter. Starting with the seemingly most important member, one after the other went inside the conference room instance with the Demon Exorcist trainees tagging behind the adults. "Ah Jin, Yang Ling isn''t with you anymore?" Yuan Ba asked with a hint of worry. They would be the last two to enter the conference room. The Tiger Lord himself was not an active member of JODE, but as the clan leader of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan, he had been a long time benefactor and had been invited to join the ceremony. "She wished to participate in a special dungeon instance alongside some of my regulars. I sent Yun to take care of her since I needed to be here for this meeting." Jin replied courteously. "Hmm, that does sound like her. It should be a good chance to test out her customised attachments for the Gearbox." Yuan Ba said to himself as his eyes were averted away, thinking of something else. "You know about the customised attachments on her Gearbox?" Jin questioned Yuan Ba, and he nodded his head vigorously. "In fact, I was the one to recommend them. Before your generous gift allowing my daughter to somewhat recover, she was unable to gain much military experience. So for the first time (maybe) ever, Yang Ling has consulted with me on what kind of unique accessories might compliment her in a fight." "I see¡­ it''s great that I could help you guys have some father and daughter bonding despite all your busy schedule." Jin spoke with delight, and Yuan Ba chuckled. "I dare say surviving that assassination attempt has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to spend some quality time with my family during my recovery period. But enough about me, you have guests to entertain, and I shan''t be keeping you from them any longer." Yuan Ba then pointed at the conference instance entrance indicating Jin to go ahead. The System had not just cleaned up, but also taken the liberty to fill the conference table with nameplates for the various JODE leaders, making it easy for them to find their own seats. Along with Yuan Ba who was an impromptu guest for the conference meeting too, he was able to find his place quickly before Jin went to the middle of the conference table and shook hands with the Chancellor of JODE. "Ma Ge. It''s a pleasure to meet you in person." The Chancellor of JODE introduced himself to Jin who returned the greetings. "I heard many things about you and to experience your¡­product for myself, reinforces Grand Elder Yuan''s praises for you." Jin took a quick glance at Grandma Yuan, yet her face was as haughty as ever before he graciously thanked Ma Ge for the compliments. In the meantime, he was briefed by the System that Ma Ge was also the Vice Head of the Royal Zodiac Horse Clan. As the currently most influential Zodiac Clan, he was advised to do his utmost to get on their good side. Though perhaps more importantly to the System, it was because of their vastly accumulated fortunes which would dwarf any other Zodiac Clan''s in comparison. The Horses had a generous share of each pie where money meant to be made, with the majority concentrated on global economics. Hence, the Royal Zodiac Horse Clan dipped their hands into the Demon Exorcists business to show that they were not plain influential in terms of fortune but also in combat might. "I hope you don''t mind if we start with the official passing out ceremony for our Demon Exorcist Trainees." Ma Ge suggested with his tone clearly being one of someone who would not accept no for an answer. This request shocked Jin for a moment, especially with the Chancellor himself being the one to propose it. The Dungeon Supplier initially planned to carry the passing out ceremony after the meeting with JODE''s leaders. Could it be that the trainees weren''t just annoyances which Grandma Yuan had pushed on to him and were actually more important than he had believed? After a moment, Jin gathered himself and agreed to the request. Grandma Yuan stood up, assisted by her attendant Claire, went to the centre of the stage and announced the passing out ceremony for the Demon Exorcist Trainees. With a short formal announcement, she quickly came to the main point: "¡­Just as we ourselves have once been greenhorns, we are aware of the burdens placed on to our trainees and appreciate all the efforts they undertake to better themselves." "Among the four trainees here today, there has been one that stood out among her peers during an impromptu examination conducted by Claire and me. Demon Exorcist Trainee Su Zhen has clearly demonstrated an outstanding performance showcasing her intellect and her adaptability given the unique situation." Grandma Yuan announced, and Su Zhen got surprised that she was the one selected to be the first among their group to graduate into an official Demon Exorcist. She quickly went to the middle of the conference room instance and shook hands with Ma Ge as he presented the trainee with her activated Demon Exorcist Snake Emblem. Su Zhen had never felt as honoured as before, able to receive her Demon Exorcist''s Emblem from the Chancellor himself and visibly fought with tears of joy. She bowed a few times to portray her deepest gratitude before walking back to her seat where some adults congratulated her (one even hugged her from behind and whispered something to her, making her grateful). Her friends envied her a little for passing that impromptu examination; nevertheless, they sincerely congratulated her for a job well done. "However, that does not mean that the other examinees were not competent. After a detailed review, each one of them has made a tremendous effort fighting against a powerful foe which I gauge that it would be a difficulty even for their team leader Claire by herself. Perhaps even I might have had some trouble." Grandma Yuan jest and the crowd laughed a little. "Therefore, with the blessing of the Chancellor, I will be presenting Rong, Lian, and Lein with their very own temporary Demon Exorcist''s Emblem enabling them to take part in official Demon Exorcist missions to gain more experience and the recognition of their fellow Demon Exorcists to eventually rank up into a full fledged Demon Exorcist." Grandma Yuan finished resulting in a big round of applause. Only her students were too astonished to come to terms that their instructor was gracious for once. All of them clearly did not expect this particular passing ceremony as they were only instructed to report to work for the opening of Jin''s new Tree Mall. They thought that they were simply shadowing some of their parents who were JODE leaders who happened to come to this conference. (After all, Grandma Yuan asked them to join in the meeting as they were about to start working in Jin''s stores.) "What are you waiting for? Hurry! Don''t keep the Chancellor and Teacher Yuan waiting!" Su Zhen asked, pushing them forward on stage before their instructor decided to change her mind. As clumsy as the three could be, they quickly adjusted their attire and briskly walked to the centre of the conference room to receive the emblems. These temporary emblems were dull in colour and were considered probationary in nature, awarded only to those Demon Exorcists who barely met the criteria during the strict examination process. However, it was a tradition that was long erased, only to be brought back by Grandma Yuan as her standards for a Demon Exorcist were rather stringent. These probationary Demon Exorcists were required to complete ten official missions in two months with the aid of an official Demon Exorcist instructor. Be it Claire, or Grandma Yuan, only when their instructors deemed them capable for independent solo missions would they be issued with the fully coloured badge of their clans. "It''s good to see a fellow Horse Clan Member on board. Work hard, this is not the end. I was once a temporary Emblem holder too and look at me now. Sometimes, a slight setback is exactly what we need to spur us Horses further." Ma Ge encouraged Lein as he was the first to receive his temporary Horse emblem. The Qilin Demon Cultivator had suppressed his feelings of regrets about being unable to receive a full official emblem, but he promised Ma Ge that he would do his best to meet his expectations. Next was Rong. The Chancellor congratulated him as a probationary Demon Exorcist without any further delay. Last was Lian, but unlike the boys, Ma Ge seemed to hold her there for a moment longer, just enough time to send something via close range transmission, before he officially congratulated her for graduating. Jin did not think much of the situation, but other JODE members seem to have their own theories of what Ma Ge may have told the young girl. Now that the ceremony was over, it was time, to begin with the official business. Chapter 533 JODE Meeting The chancellor allowed the newly officiated Demon Exorcists to stay and listen to the meeting. It was no secret that Grandma Yuan had previously assigned them to remain under Jin''s care for the foreseeable future. The panda cultivator stepped to the front, powering up his presentation slides with the aid of his System and passed down documents that were related to the building of the new Main Branch of Shenzhen. He waited two minutes, allowing them to take a quick look into the document before starting. "I do not know what kind of requirements you are looking at, but I can at least ensure the basic necessities for a group of Demon Exorcist to be stationed. If you turn to Page¡­" Jin went on to showcase that his Dungeon Supplier already offered Food, Weapons, Armour, Inscriptions, not to mention various sorts of entertainment to relax as well. "All I need is a description of what you ladies and gentlemen wish to see in a branch location," Jin said, and the other leaders were whispering to themselves. One of them raised their hands and asked if the weapons and armour that he sold were limited to Grade 5. "No, in fact, I am planning to release more powerful equipment in the future. I work together with a contracted dedicated blacksmith that has no problem creating them upwards to Grade 15. However, he demands materials and payment upfront." "With my current resources, I have been able to supply him the materials for Grade 5 and below with ease. Especially when the average grade of my customer base is around Grade 2 to 3, I have yet to the need to upgrade even higher." "However, that does not mean the higher grade cultivators do not any choices. While limited, I do have a few¡­you can say higher tier weapons available for them to choose from a VIP room in the Weapons instance." Jin answered, and the others continued to whisper amongst themselves. "I have heard that your dungeon experience is quite unique and very lifelike. You''ve been praised by my kid to high heaven. I can''t help but wonder, if we were to provide you with the comprehensive data of various Demons, do you think you would manage to recreate those demons too?" A middle aged woman with the beauty to charm almost every father in the room posed this question to the dungeon supplier. "Your kid?" Jin accidentally blurted out and immediately apologised. "Ah, where are my manners? I''m Su Zhen''s mother, Lee Na from the Royal Zodiac Snake Clan. I''ve also heard wonderful things from another clan mate of ours. For you to gain his positive favour, I have no trouble believing that you tried your utmost to please one of the greatest Snake Generals in the military." Lee Na shared, and the rest began to discuss among each other again. "Hou Fei gave positive reviews about this place?" A JODE senior member asked, and Lee Na nodded even going one step beyond by revealing that Hou Fei had agreed to arrange a training exercise for his troops in this dungeon supplier in the near future. At this point, the Tiger Lord added that it would be in fact a joint exercise, which included police members as well. While it still in the discussion phase, Yuan Ba had personally pledged his support for the police to join the training exercise. It made the few sceptical JODE senior members start regarding Jin in a brand new light especially with the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s Head assurance and testimonial. "Just how much influence does Hou Fei hold exactly¡­" Jin thought to himself but replied Yes to Lee Na''s question almost immediately as soon as Ma Ge told everyone to calm down. "I do not doubt your capabilities, but I believe a little demonstration would help all of us assess your abilities. I happen to have extensive data on the Great White Snake Demon right here with me. Will you be able to replicate it within this conference room instance? I assume none of the leaders has any objections to wait for a little while?" Lee Na looked around, and not one of them disapproved of this idea. It was clear to him that it was meant as an impromptu test for him as a newly promoted Demon Exorcist cum dungeon supplier. She passed the USB data drive to Jin, which he plugged into his phone. "How does it look, System?" Jin kept quiet in front of the group while he spoke to the System via his thoughts. "Very much in User''s Favour. The data corresponds to Ke Mi''s Great White Snake to nearly 100% in terms of appearance. However, the abilities of the Zither Mistress'' snake are vastly different from the Great White Snake Demon seen on Earth." The System noted. "Is it possible to mimic those abilities with upgrade cards?" Jin pretended to fiddle on his phone for a short while. "Possible. However, within such a short amount of time at most, you could replicate intermediate and advanced abilities." The System answered, and Jin nodded his head and told the System, he would take over. "Erm¡­I know it is stupid to ask but don''t you need to go to some server to recreate your monster?" Lee Na asked, and Jin smiled back at her. She could not understand what was going through his mind until they all sensed another new and yet distinct aura in the room. The atmosphere in the room felt heavy as it nearly made everyone move instinctively to reach out for their weapons in their storage ring. It was later then the seniors realised that it could possibly be the results from the test that was given to Jin. Looking to their right, they saw glimpses of a big white snake body slithering towards them before disappearing into thin air again. Ma Ge noticed and portrayed a broad smile towards Jin. "You were actually able to create one this quickly? Even our Royal Dungeon Suppliers would need around 30 minutes after having studied it extensively beforehand. How did you manage to do that?" "Trade Secret." Jin''s smirk widened as they saw the snake emerge from emptiness once more. Its head hovered right above Jin''s shoulder, sticking its tongue out while scanning the room as if it was treating everyone in the room as a threat. The dungeon supplier subsequently gave it a little pat before the Great White Snake withdrew itself, and the camouflage made it vanish from the premise of the conference room instance. Everyone was astonished at how authentic the aura felt for a Dungeon supplier''s creation. Even Lee Na, who was a cultivator of the Great White Snake Demon herself approved of the appearance as well as its presence. "Well not to belittle my competition, but that was not the final version yet. Within such short notice, I was merely able to recreate the snake''s appearance according to your data. But for its more advanced abilities, I am afraid I also need time to reconfigure the settings." Jin admitted, and Lee Na had all her doubts cleared. "I temporarily approve of Demon Exorcist Jin as the acting manager for Shenzhen''s Main Branch. While an extensive review of his dungeon facilities will still be conducted by our members in the future, the documents can serve as sufficient supporting documents for now to proceed to the next phase without much delay." Lee Na sent her verdict and only then did Jin realise that she was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for JODE. "That''s great. Now we can officially begin business with Boss Jin¡­no I suppose it should be Branch Manager Jin now." Ma Ge corrected himself as he looked towards Grandma Yuan for a moment as if it was her turn to speak. "Jin. We wish for you to not only create an instance to serve as our base of operations but for you to also continue my legacy by maintaining the Demon Exorcist''s training centre as well." Grandma Yuan said and asked Clarie to come over to bring out the documents over to Jin''s seat. "These are the bare requirements for the main branch as well as the training centre. You won''t need to worry about Manpower. We will send you the necessary people to handle the day to day operations. We do, however, expect you to create a facility instance worthy of the main branch." She said as if it was a hefty duty to take on. She leaned forward a bit and sent a close range transmission: "Now brat, do you think you are up for this challenge?" Chapter 534 JODE Training Centre Proposal "Wait a minute. Training centre¡­does that mean that you plan on having them to stay in here as well?" Jin asked, and Grandma Yuan nodded her head. "I assume it shouldn''t be too much of a problem. You already have beds in your luxury recovery instance, heck even I felt that they were more comfortable than the bed I''m sleeping in." "Oh, I assure you that the beds are definitely better than the bed you are sleeping I- ow!" Jin quickly found the Grandma Yuan''s stick meeting his forehead for being disrespectful while the other JODE leaders laughed at this exchange. "One thing is for sure; you gained the approval of Grand Elder Yuan." Ma Ge, the Chancellor of JODE chuckled as Grandma Yuan gave yet another haughty look at Jin. "You exceeded all our expectations in the test just now, and we believe you are the perfect person to construct the training centre we have envisioned. The quality of our Demon Exorcists is, unfortunately, deteriorating at a breakneck pace." Lee Na sighed. "Recently, too many are joining us only to make use of our name, our reputation. It''s not for the sake of protecting the world from the existence of demons or monsters." She also told Jin that JODE was willing to provide Jin with a handful of Demon Data, hoping for results for the new training centre. If it worked well, they would proceed to pass the entire database of what they knew to Jin to recreate the Demons. "I really hope that the demons that you create will prove a significant challenge for the upcoming Demon Exorcist trainees. I would love to task you to create harder demons to allow our veterans to train against them too." Lee Na added, and the other JODE leaders wanted to chime in their opinions too. However, Jin raised his hand and asked if he could have a few questions answered. "Go on, we are listening." Ma Ge was happy to take in the questions. "Firstly, do you happen to have any data on the Four legendary Cardinal Demons. Like the White Tiger of the West?" Jin asked shocking the JODE leaders since he brought up a topic which would have been classified as ''Top Secret''. Grandma Yuan sighed internally as she heard that question and decided to see how the Chancellor of JODE responded to it. "Erm, why did you suddenly ask about that?" Ma Ge was equally curious why this dungeon supplier had this specific question on his mind. "Hahaha, please don''t be so tensed up! It seems I''ve asked something which I shouldn''t have. Before I had become involved in this whole Demon Exorcist thing, I''ve planned to feature a special raid instance with the Cardinal Demons as Final Bosses for my store. I figured since they were so widely known it would have been a real treat for my customers trying to fight them. So with you having all the data, I thought it wouldn''t hurt to ask so that it could be more realistic." Jin improvised and quickly made a comeback. "Ah! I see." Ma Ge, who had been all serious a moment ago, lightened his expression and shook his head. "They ¡­ our forefathers kept the books in a secret place, and we have no idea about the location." "They ended up guarding their secret a little bit too well, probably since the elders believed they had subdued all of them completely and confirmed that they would never exist in this Earth ever again. Therefore we cannot help you in that aspect." Ma Ge said, but Pei who had been summoned back for this business could sense that he was masking a few truths from Jin. Why else had the Chancellor chosen to erect mental barriers so suddenly when he talked about that particular question. "Still, that does not mean that there are no lesser versions, so called variants of those legendary demons and I believe we do have some data for you to peruse. However, I firmly insist that you keep the Demon Exorcist data within JODE." "Nevertheless, we can permit certain demons for your customers, but please send in a request form to our COO, Lee Na, first." Ma Ge compromised, and the COO nodded her head. They knew it had to be a give and take kind of situation as Jin was, after all primarily a dungeon supplier. He would no doubt like as much monster data to create his own monsters for his dungeons too. Even though he would be paid for each Demon Exorcist who used his dungeons, it was a given that their number was unable to compete with the sheer mass of customers he could host on his own. "Ah! Then I presume, I am allowed to use my own versions of the Four Cardinal Demons as part of my dungeon series, yes?" Jin asked for confirmation, and COO Lee Na pleasantly nodded her head to his request. "Okay, next question. Will I have to provide the instructors along with the dungeons or do you send out your own instructors or specialists from JODE to conduct in the training centre? Also, am I allowed to change the curriculum or programme set by JODE in any way?" "No, you can''t." Grandma Yuan interjected at that point. "The main training centre will still be the one in Shanghai. Yours will be considered as part of advanced training. The trainees that come here will be accompanied by officers who will use your dungeon instances as simulations for the fights." "Basically, it will be the same as the test you had conducted for the four of them. You just have to ensure that the fights are as real as it can get. The data will include some video footage, so I trust it won''t be too much of a problem. I will personally be checking up on your progress for the next few months to ensure the quality of those demons in your dungeon instance." "Not only that, a few specialists will join you too. Whether they will be a permanent addition or just temporary depends on the success of the new training centre. Huang Xiang, our Trap Formation and Talisman Specialist will be aiding your training centre as soon as it is constructed." Ma Ge added on to the current conversation. "I roughly know of trap formations¡­they are the ones that create those wide area traps creating an illusion, similar to a sub dimension instance to trap the Demons. But Talisman Specialists, what do they exactly do? If it makes any difference, I happen to employ an expert myself who specialises in inscription charms." Jin revealed, and Ma Ge chuckled as he momentarily eyed Grandma Yuan. "Considering you joined through the recommendation of Grand Elder Yuan and haven''t gone through the official course, it is not too surprising that you do not know much about a Talisman Specialist." Ma Ge replied, and Huang Xiang who was in the panel of JODE leaders stood up explaining his profession. "As a Talisman specialist, I carve and infuse energy into accessories that are capable of warding off the evil that demons exude. Not only that, but I can also include special properties that can act as something similar to a magic scroll." Huang Xiang explained. "Say you wish to cast a fireball as a non-mage, you normally need to read out the magic scroll or at least speak the chants from memory with the scroll on hand to activate it. But with the talisman, you can skip that time consuming step while being able to shoot a fireball nevertheless." "Soooo am I correct in assuming that there is a fixed amount of times the fireball can shoot out?" Jin asked since he knew there would not be an all power accessory available to all demon exorcists regardless of their ranks. He believed his higher level inscriptions would be able to achieve the same or at least a very similar effect to this and the talisman operated identically. "Yes, but unlike inscriptions, the talisman does not require additional chi to activate it. A voice command is really all you need." Huang Xiang then picked up a talisman that he had kept in his storage ring and demonstrated it to everyone. "Tali, Float." Huang Xiang ordered his pentagon looking talisman, and immediately it let out a cyan glow. Bouts of wind gradually surrounded him, and slowly everyone watched he got off the ground without the use of any chi. "This also gives us the preemptive opportunity to jump on demons since most of them can sense our chi. Most accomplished Demon Exorcists have their own customised talisman, and they can imbue one or more spells depending on their Exorcist rank." Huang Xiang said indicating that it was kind of like a perk for higher ranking Demon Exorcists. "I see¡­" Jin nodded his head, and Ma Ge felt that the objectives of the meetings were more or less achieved. He then told Jin to look through the finer details of the JODE''s main branch operations centre as well as the training centre. "If you have any questions or after you have agreed to the requirements, you can liaise with Claire as she knows how to deal with our administrative work." Ma Ge suggested as he concluded the meeting. The rest of the JODE leaders thanked the Chancellor and began to leave the conference room instance. Some had even decided to experience the dungeons themselves after seeing the Great White Snake Demon especially when it got their heart racing for a moment. (Ma Ge was inherently interested in Jin''s dungeon too. Unfortunately, he had so much on his plate that he was unable to enjoy a simple 15 minute dungeon.) "Oh and after viewing the Tree Mall, we believe you have earned a sign of goodwill for the unfortunate Ruby Rat incident that has happened to you. It may be a bit late, but I figure it should still help you in some way or another." Ma Ge paused in his tracks as he reminded Lee Na. The COO appreciated the reminder and went forward to Jin as she took out and present a cheque signed by them for 100,000 Yuan. Jin was startled by the large amount but Lee Na assured him that he was already a Demon Exorcist when the Ruby Rat incident. So, it was only natural JODE should help a fellow¡­prospective manager in need. (Su Zhen later revealed that her mother was very relieved that Jin had left them out of harm''s way while dealing with the top brass of the Ruby Rats) Jin thanked both of them and showed them the way out. On the other hand, Tiger Head Yuan Ba and Grandma Yuan stayed behind for a bit of chat alongside the recently graduated Demon Exorcists, all hoping to have a conversation with Jin. Chapter 535 Yuan Bas Reques "While I have only been to your testing grounds, to see that Great White Snake Demon in action, just proves to me that you really are one heck of a Dungeon Supplier." Jin could feel that Yuan Ba had more to say to him rather than just praising. "So¡­ Apparently, I heard some chattering from the ground that the exercise was not conventional as I thought it would be." Yuan Ba asked politely, and Jin nodded his head. "Yes, I was hoping to discuss with Yang Ling whether if you are able to spare more than just police for the training as well. But considering how I saw the police acted during the Ruby Rats Incident, I do not really have much faith to other stations than people posted to Tian Gong Police Station." Jin said, and Yuan Ba bitterly laughed. "That¡­ was partially under my orders. The police as a whole are considered to be affiliated with the Royal Zodiac Tigers even though it could be said that the majority was managed by the other clans or the common folks themselves." "When I heard that the Triad bosses personally entered the fray to fight against you, my only concern was to reduce casualties in the vicinity. Especially since I''m aware that most of them do not have the cultivation grade to stand toe to toe against the Triads themselves." Yuan Ba explained, and while he seemed slightly apologetic towards Jin. The Tiger Head did not mince his word a single bit and stood by them. "There''s a SWAT team in Tiangong Police Station, yet they alone couldn''t have handled such a size. It would have required Central to dispatch more SWAT teams or other police stations to reinforce the perimeters. However, given their inability to do so, they took my orders literally and stood down. It can only be described as a disgrace to my police''s reputation." Yuan Ba felt something must be done to change the attitudes of his police force. "Hence, I am sending every abled police officers, including the higher ranks to participate in this joint military and police training exercise as soon as you manage to create one. I will make sure the logistics are settled on our side as I can send my military people to temporarily hold the fort for a day." "¡­Wait. So, you want me to perform a mass training exercise not just for Tiangong Police Department but for the entire police force of Shenzhen?" Jin exclaimed, and Yuan Ba nodded his head. "Yes, if possible, I would like some of my military units to enter the exercise as well, especially when I heard that you are preparing them for monster horde attacks." He then leaned forward to Jin''s face and whispered to him. "What I am going to tell you is considered highly confidential. Recently, the Border Guard reports are not favourable at all. My analysts predict that there will be another major, devastating monster horde attack within a year or two unless something unforeseen happens." After which, Yuan Ba stepped back and smiled at him. Only Jin was feeling uncomfortable upon hearing the news. "¡­Optimistically or worst case scenario?" Jin asked, and Yuan Ba sighed. "That''s the optimistic scenario. The forest bordering Shenzhen between Dong Guan and Hui Zhou is not much of a concern. We are more afraid of coastal attack. However, I do not have much more information other than the daily intelligence snippets from the military. We do not control the navy, the Royal Zodiac Sheep Clan does." Yuan Ba replied. "So, in a way, what you want is for me to simulate the monsters who could arrive through the naval defences?" Jin asked, and he nodded his head. "Something like that. But it would also be great if we could train for multiple potentialities. Perhaps they could remain undetected until they surface to the coast, who knows? We are so out of touch from monsters that we do not know if they mutated." "Maybe worse if they swam from Zhongshan and hit the West Coast which includes Shenzhen''s international airport. It would equally be a nightmare if it attacks Hong Kong, and we have to settle both refugees and the defence of the city." Yuan Ba stated all the possible scenarios out he could think of at the moment. "I might not be able to do a replication of such realistic situations, but I''ve thought of some ways to surprise the military and police if the instance ever happens," Jin said. He was still thinking of his plan for raining Demon Rats upon them. That would definitely be harder to deal with than a coastal assault by monsters. "I am assuming you are in the process of making something?" Yuan Ba asked, but it felt more like an indirect order. "I am working out the theoretical part to accommodate that many people in a fighting instance. The biggest fighting instance as far as I am aware had about 200 cultivators with 1000 monsters, and it was a horror maintaining it from what I know." Jin explained. "What you two have asked of me requires me to break a new record. Still, I believe it should be doable. Once the math checks out, you will be the first to know." Jin tried indirectly to ask for more time by giving reasonable excuses. However, the Tiger Lord was apparently keen on getting a concrete date. "Very well, shall we do it before Chinese New Year?" Yuan Ba questioned Jin further, and he could sense that the Zodiac Tiger Head was withholding some information from the dungeon supplier due to the pressing timeline. "Aren''t the weeks towards Chinese New Year also the period that police needs to be on high alert?" "So, you are saying that you could do in January instead of Feb?" Yuan Ba seemed even more delighted, and Jin started to feel the strain on his resources if he started even earlier. "No, I was actually suggesting after Chinese New Year Holidays." "That would be a problem¡­ after the Chinese New Year Holidays there are multiple international conferences that the police needs to participate in." Yuan Ba''s excuse wasn''t really great, but Jin was in no position to call him out on it. From what he knew about the other party, there had to be a good reason for this rush. "Hmm okay. How about the second week of February? Chinese New Year happens to be on the fourth week of February in next year''s calendar." Jin tried going for a compromise to get the latest possible date. He knew the third week was where the security was doubled almost everywhere due to the preparation for the celebration, and it was impossible for the police to relieve their duties by the military. "I would personally be grateful to you if it could be arranged for the first week of February." Yuan Ba placed his arms on Jin''s shoulder and tapped it ''gently'' enough to remind him of his promise. "Don''t worry, I will send some¡­support along the way in the next few days. Call it some motivation to get it down as soon as possible." Yuan Ba let go of him after patting him on the back. He bowed once at Grandma Yuan, who was talking to her students. "I will inform Hou Fei too then," Jin said, and Yuan Ba smiled as he walked out of the conference room instance. "Oh, and eh tell Yang Ling not to come back home too late." With his back facing Jin, the dungeon supplier somewhat understood what he meant and acknowledged it with a defeated sigh. Chapter 536 Too Many Things, Too Little Time "User, System has to remind you that a Mega Instance or Multiple Cross Instances are not possible, especially after the implementation of the Tree Mall without the Brain of a Living Mechanical Titan. You will have to travel to the Mecha World for that particular task." The System stated even though Jin remembered. "Didn''t you see that I was trying to push the deadline so we could have more time on our side to deal with the Farming World and Mecha World? Not to mention, you told me that this hamster prince requires help in the Giant World as well. Oh and that''s not even mentioning King Baal in the Dungeon World who could visit us next month¡­" "Liberating the Farming World should open up potential farming fields to you that will be useful in the future. Agricultural Sector 1 and 2 can only accommodate that many fields for User to utilise." The System began listing the options. "Sigh that would be great, but we cannot fully liberate it until we can gather all the rats. And as luck would have it, that is also why we need the Mega Instance for the military exercise so that the military and police can clear it up for us." Jin added in as he pretended to look through the documents for a while and asked Grandma Yuan to give him a bit of time since he needed to move all the important documents to his office. (or the Dungeon Maker to be precise.) "Correct. In order to achieve that goal, User has to travel to the Mecha World. It appears that there are already skirmishes between the two factions. The United Federation and Xeon Union." The System informed Jin who was already in the Dungeon Maker. The dungeon supplier quickly opened up the System''s Database (Even though it was still limited viewing for Jin) and did a quick check on the United Federation and Xeon Union respectively. "The United Federation is the one that has the Living Mechanical Titan, right?" Jin asked as he saw the Mecha World news of the skirmishes. If one were to compare Mecha Animes and robots of the Mecha World, Jin could only say that they were similar to the start of the original series of Gunndam. Whether there were Mewtypes or the likes of it was another matter. (Mewtypes in the Gunndam series were portrayed as psychics.) "Now wouldn''t it be such a coincidence for the author of these to originate from the Mecha World and by some freak teleportation incident, he got sent to Earth. Having no way to go back to the Mecha World, he started drawing about them." Jin theorised wildly as he saw some striking similarities to the Gunndam and the Mechas used in the Mecha World. "That possibility may not be as likely as User believes. However, please note that said story writer does not originate from China, but Japan." The System corrected him, willing to play along with Jin''s outlandish theory. "I ¡­could help you track him down." Zeru came out of nowhere and volunteered to help out. He was startled for a moment, and Zeru continued. "¡­My wife was from there. It would give me some time to visit her grave before the new year. At the same time, I can investigate your hunch." Zeru humbly requested, and Jin saw a twinkle of sadness in the eyes of his Sword Saint. "Do you need a teleportation from the System? Things might have changed after a few¡­erm decades." Jin did not question his Bellator any further and immediately gave him permission to visit his wife''s grave. Zeru greatly appreciated the gesture. Even if it were not for the coincidental comment he made, Jin would still have given his Bellator the opportunity to do something he wanted. Nevertheless, the Dungeon Supplier was entirely sure it had to be a mere coincidence like how the Deep Ones had been portrayed by Lovecraft. Peppers had mentioned before that when humans dream, they might inadvertently connect to their ''other selves'' in worlds different from the one they were living in. While it initially seemed farfetched to Jin, especially when he was brought up to lean towards the ideologies of science and technology, Peppers explained that the universe was ultimately governed by the concepts of Chi and Mana instead of the Big Bang theory. (She added that the concepts Earth developed for Mana and Chi were still primitive in nature compared to other Worlds and it would take decades and maybe centuries to be able to properly grasp it.) In his bellator''s theory (In a simplified manner), whatever Mana was used, would return to a universal pool of Mana and that Mana would eventually be distributed to other beings. Be it the same world, or other worlds, the distributed Mana could have a residual effect that allowed beings to have a glimpse of the ''other'' worlds. Jin did not want to believe it, but with his own exposure to the System and his experience in other worlds, that particular explanation was theoretically sound. Only strengthened when he factored in the God''s and Demon Plane''s Existence where the plane of Demons was spread across the various multitudes of the different Worlds it could appear. "System will deduct System points accordingly and provide Bellator Zeru sufficient information on the story writer. Make sure not to reveal User''s identity nor the System''s." The System instructed Zeru, who was immediately given a change of clothes as well as a fake identity card along with it. There was some money for transportation as well, and the System told Zeru to call upon Kraft when he found the target. Other than that, it should be a quick reconnaissance to check if he was a Dreamer or truly a person that transmigrated to Earth by accident. "If you need anything, give me a holler. I will be right at your side." Zeru thanked Jin sincerely for the chance to visit his beloved grave as he was teleported by the System. The System transposition his memory into coordinates so as to ensure he was teleported safely (and out of people''s view.) "We will keep this Mecha World in view. But I am also concerned that we have a fighting chance. The Dungeon City Fortress are still producing experimental designs, and we do not have sufficient natural resources to work on them AND the city." The dungeon supplier briefly looked through the construction process for the Dungeon City Fortress. "As for the Farming World, we might not be able to kill all the rats, but we should be able to disrupt them enough to force more rats to appear or at least push them to reveal some of their hidden trump cards they were hiding," Jin said, and the System acknowledged his opinions. "Alternatively, User could aid the Hamster Prince. It might potentially result in more minions for the fight in the Farming World or Mecha World." The System pointed out. "He is not asking me to conquer his world, right?" Jin joked again, and this time Qiu Yue was conveniently summoned by the System to the Dungeon Maker. "Nope, all we need is to lead a strike force against a disgruntled clan, while simultaneously perform a rescue operation to get all the other villages under Hamster Prince''s banner into the System." Qiu Yue answered when she realised what they were discussing. And the Red Panda Cultivator sounded as if she already had a plan in mind. Chapter 537 Grandma Yuans Advice. "From the look on your face, I am assuming you have a plan in mind?" Jin asked, and Qiu Yue returned a half smile. "Hamatarou is scouting the castle as we speak. Based on his prior knowledge, we already managed to create a rough map of where the villages are within the Giant city. Right now, he is trying to find out where exactly the Salamanders are all hiding. With him being contracted to me the System is updating anything he finds in real time." Qiu Yue replied. "As soon as he is done with the scouting, Lynn and I are going to help him by storming the place when they least expect it. We should be able to clear this particular hurdle for you by ourselves. After all, we were the ones contacted by him. Unless one of the enemies turns out to be so powerful that we can''t handle him, you can sit back, relax and take care of other stuff." Qiu Yue added which made Jin thought for a while. "Hmm¡­ I shall get back to you when I am done with all those various meetings. Just promise me that if there is a drastic change in ¡­say Hamatarou''s safety, or more importantly your own, then don''t hesitate to call on backup from either Peppers or Milk. I jump on the chance to participate with your mission, but for some reason, I''ve been unable that troublemak-" "Original Bellator Kraft is currently busy and told System to pass User the following message. ''Do not disturb me! I am having fun creating my new underworld gang! Go bother the other bellators! Or ask the System to release another Bellator! It''s about time you get a new helper! "Speaking of which, don''t try to pretend that you''ve ever accounted for the possibility of me coming back System, so stop hold¨C'' End of message." The System stated. "O¡­.Okay. Anyways, we are helping that prince since he can potentially get us another army worth of minions for work and I can''t say no to that. Still, keep an eye on him for me, alright?" Jin asked Qiu Yue. She casually saluted at him after receiving her orders. Lightly chuckling at her actions, Jin quickly returned to the Conference Room Instance and saw that the students were still chatting with Grandma Yuan. "Sorry for the wait," Jin announced his return which Grandma Yuan came up to him immediately. Instead of greeting him, he felt the already too familiar sensation of her stick once more. His face was blanked with anger and confusion. What did he do to deserve this, this time? "You have the audacity to make an old lady wait." The Demon Exorcist Instructor berated him, and it made the newly graduated Demon Exorcists laugh a little before they all bowed a little to thank Jin. "What are you thanking me for?" Jin did not expect that kind of behaviour and told them to dismiss the formality. "We initially believed the test you made us go through was just to prove that you were superior to us in every way despite the fact that Lein and I should have a higher grade compared to you." Su Zhen represented their group to explain their actions. "But the fact that we were clearly defeated by you in a one on three combat situation and you had the capability to lead us out of a precarious situation during the Demon Spider fight. So, despite our varied¡­differences, it had shown us that we were wrong about you." "You secretly turned the Demon Spider Fight into an examination which we had never even suspected¡­and it allowed us to gain the Demon Exorcist rank earlier than any students of our age. Well even though only Su Zhen got the full one, the rest of us are sure that under your guidance we will reach her level soon enough." Lein, the Qilin Demon Cultivator, commented that Jin thought of them more than just workers and that he truly wanted to help the students grow. "We also saw how you aided the people of the Tiangong Shopping district. You could have simply hide away in your store and waited for police or others to deal with it. Yet, you did not." Rong added, and Lian nodded her head, saying that he was very brave to go against these many Ruby Rats and even the Mafia boss himself. "But shucks, when you think about it, if he can kill the Mafia boss, that Grade 8 silhouettes have to be fake. He could possibly be as strong as Instructor Yuan." Rong suddenly thought of it, and that comment struck the entire group as a possibility. Jin did not understand where the sudden praises for him originated, and Grandma Yuan was the only one keeping quiet and smirking at him. "Alright, enough of all this. We all have much work to do with the creation of the new Demon Exorcist Operation and Training Centre." Jin began to give orders, and every one stood at attention. As the dungeon supplier did not know what was needed in either of these centres, he had assigned each of them to visit various operation centres and training centres, taking pictures of the interior and their overall architectural design. If possible, they were also tasked to interview the current employees and ask if they had any improvements in the work process or facilities. He then sent them travel allowances via his Pandamonium App into their electronic cash wallets. They understood and went off without saying goodbye to their new Boss. "Kids no matter which age, are always eager to prove their worth." Grandma Yuan said and now looked at Jin. "Now that we are alone. Brat, you must have at least a few questions to ask me too." "Yes, mainly about how you used to operate the training centre. Did your methods differ from others, or was it the same as every centre." Jin went straight to the point. "Honestly my experience won''t be much help for you. You''ve been assigned to operate an advanced training centre. I can''t add much more than what has been told to you in the meeting earlier." Grandma Yuan replied promptly. "Your main objective is to allow the demon exorcists to get more exposure through these additional training. You can repeat what you did with the four or design it like an arena style kind of instance if you prefer." "Whatever the case, the most important thing is to make it as real as possible. Tsk, but given you have the System and can literally either send them into another world or get demons from there I doubt that will be a problem for you." "But is all this training even useful? The ones they will encounter won''t necessarily be those standard demons, right?" Jin asked as he offered Grandma Yuan to have a seat. "Yes and no. There are some demons that persistently appear given their nature. Most of those are earth bound demons. Still, they could appear and take on various forms. It can''t hurt for them to get as much experience as possible." Grandma Yuan said as she suddenly saw Lynn entering the instance. The Grand Elder smiled kindly as she saw the Penguin Chef bringing along an exquisite teapot with her. "Grandma Yuan. I''ve heard that you''ve come to visit us. I hope this time around this tea will be to your liking." Lynn smiled widely as she graciously nodded and slowly poured a cup for her to drink. Grandma Yuan''s expression was filled with elation that she barely controlled herself. Claire felt a little envious of Lynn being capable of satisfying Grandma Yuan''s desires for good tea, but at the same time, she was very delighted to see Grandma Yuan''s lighter mood. "So, demons like fox spirits?" Jin continued his conversation, and Grandma Yuan, who was sipping her tea, nodded her head before turning and thanking Lynn before the chef left them for their conversation. "Those, formidable types of Jiang Shi (zombies), skeletal demons like Bai Gu Jing and the list goes on. You should know that even the monster remains could summon a Demon if left unchecked. In most cases, it won''t hurt to burn the corpse." Grandma Yuan answered. "There were too many variations to keep track of, luckily throughout the centuries, JODE had managed to compile a detailed list for the most common ones and how to effectively deal with them." "The most crucial aspect for the advanced training centres is to foster teamwork like how you did for my students previously and to ultimately earn experience from victory and death." Grandma Yuan added. "I see¡­in other words it''s not too different from a typical dungeon run," Jin concluded, and Grandma Yuan nodded her head. "There are other centres that utilise Dungeon Suppliers and classroom setting, but the simulations were too predictable. Instead of preparing the Demon Exorcists, it had conditioned them, making them think that the actual demons were easy to kill, which resulted in several meaningless deaths." "Don''t you resurrect them then? After all the training they went through." Jin asked seeing how the Demon Exorcists was exclusively from the Royal Zodiac Clans except for a few like Jin. "You might be surprised, but even the Zodiac Clans do not resurrect them all unless the demon exorcist was of great importance. It used to be different, but in the majority of cases, those who came back developed various traumas prohibiting them from working their job." "Those who did also generally burned out eventually. It was bad enough if they died repeatedly, but in a lot of cases, their sudden breakdown in the middle of a mission also endangered their teammates." "A lot of our members are merely affiliated with the clan via name or through distant family ties. Nowadays when they perform the resurrection for the ones that matter, it''s the premium kind. Get what I mean?" "Oh¡­even if you resurrect the incompetent ones, they might turn even more incompetent because of the side effects of bare bones procedure." Jin thought of it a little. "Those families within the clan who can afford the basic ones will still proceed as per normal, but they usually do not have the backing of the main clan." Grandma Yuan then clarified that JODE was just an organisation that did the training and paperwork. Thus, the missions the Demon Exorcists undertook themselves were their responsibilities. "Hahaha! Insurance would only cover that much either since it''s a job full of risk in the first place." Grandma Yuan commented before looking at the time. The two discussed a few other matters which were mainly about the students and Grandma Yuan decided to leave for the day. "Do not worry too much about the operation stuff. Just get the facilities and equipment prepared, and JODE will handle the rest." Grandma Yuan bid goodbye to Jin. Finally, he had some time to browse through his messages. His phone had been vibrating nonstop in his back pocket. "This Ke Loong¡­" Jin chuckled and dialled his phone number to call him Chapter 538 Creating A Portal Shop "Boss! Boss! Your Tree Mall is truly amazing!!" Ke Loong was quickly invited into the Conference Room instance. Jin was drinking the leftover teapot that was intended for Grandma Yuan. Ke Loong was able to get into the conference room instance the moment his Pandamonium App detected that he moved inside Jin''s store instance. "Not bad right? I was thinking of getting more store owners into ¡­you know encompass every possible corner of life." Jin revealed casually to Ke Loong, and his eyes were sparkling. "¡­that look. You want to be part of it too?" Jin asked, and Ke Loong nodded his head willingly. "It''s not that I really mind, but let me warn you it won''t be cheap. We are business partners so I may give you a minor discount, but not too much. Else it would not be fair to the others. Besides, it''s not like you can''t afford them. Anyway, what do you intend to sell?" Jin decided to entertain this CEO as he offered him a seat and poured him a cup of tea. "Thank you." Ke Loong took a small sip and was immediately intoxicated by the taste. "What kind of tea is this?!!" Ke Loong exclaimed so loudly that it nearly shocked Jin. "It''s¡­erm one which Lynn made. You would have to ask her for the name. Is it too sweet for you?" Jin asked with concern, but Ke Loong unhesitantly took another sip of the fantastic tea. "It''s the best tea I''ve ever tasted. Can I get an entire box of it and bring it back to my office?!" Ke Loong asked, and Jin was relieved that it was to his liking. "I believe I could arrange that¡­anyways, what do you intend to sell?" Jin asked yet Ke Loong was still busy enjoying his tea. "Oh..erm. The first will naturally be your portal. You are right, I kept thinking of the likes of portal scrolls and didn''t consider the security involving them. Did you know that you need to pen down a written record should you wish to use a portal scroll when you buy it?" "I ¡­am not very familiar with that, I sell basic magical scrolls not the high end ones yet," Jin answered and Ke Loong explained to him that most of the stores selling high end scrolls required a minimum background check with the police. "So it is no different for portal scrolls in case you wish to go somewhere¡­restricted with it. Say the White House or military bases. That is why the store owners would usually transcribe the portal coordinates into the scroll so that they know where they are going." "Then I suppose Black Markets are filled with illegal portal scrolls," Jin commented, and Ke Loong thought for a while before shaking his head. "It really depends. As soon as it became slightly more ''main-stream'' if you can really call it that, restricted areas quickly employed anti-portal measures. From what I''ve heard, the most common one is an inscription which messes with the coordinates. So instead of the White House, you might find yourself in a cell room instead." "Even if you somehow manage to get through there are other counter measures such as scanning spells to search for illegal trespassers. Let''s just say, the Black Market can allow you to travel to more places compared to official portals." "Still, that does not mean they would not keep a record. There are Black Market snitches or undercover agents to ensure that no one does anything too illegal." Ke Loong added. "Especially after that infamous bombing that occurred near the United Nations assembly, it caused every government to sweep through the Black Markets all over the world and annihilate them as a show of force. Subsequently, they managed to reach a back end agreement, and things stabilised afterwards." "Isn''t it ironic how the lawful constitutions cooperate with the Black Market just like a company having a transaction with another." Jin mocked, and Ke Loong shrugged his shoulders. "Black and White are just the two sides of the coin. One cannot survive without the other. Anyways we should look at their example and think of ways to improve on it. Implementing security checks should be our main agenda should we wish to push the portal forward so people can feel safe using it too." "How about putting them as part of the dimensional instance? That way, my team, including yours, can monitor them too. It would be safer, and my monsters can kick their asses if we suspect anything unusual about them." "I see¡­then that way, it will save on space and security personnel! If we suspect anything, we just need to lock the dimensional instance and let the police investigate them. That is rather brilliant." Ke Loong replied with a wide smile. "But the problem is, I have to create those dimensional instances. I have certain technical parameters to fulfil if I want to install the monsters and they are proprietorial intellectual properties which I am unable to share with you." Jin listed his condition. "I see, one of your many ''Trade Secrets'', huh? Okay, I am game. I should be able to buy the land and offer to put it under your company''s name. In return, I assume you won''t expect me to pay for your ''monsters'' or maintenance?" Ke Loong asked, and Jin nodded his head. "The profit of them using the portals¡­say 80 to 20?" Jin asked which nearly made Ke Loong spit his tea out. "Not good?" Jin was concerned that he made an outrageous deal. "You kidding me? If people were to learn that I was only giving you 20% of the profit when it was mostly your team''s effort in creating the portal? Not only would I lose respect, but I would have to constantly fear competitors killing each other to headhunt you right under me. Given your team''s technical ideas, I wish for us to remain business partners for a looong time. 60 to 40 in your favour." Ke Loong said, and Jin was pleasantly surprised. "Besides, you will be providing the monsters and stuff, all I need is to send operational staff to use the CCTVs etc. Right?" Ke Loong asked, and Jin thought for a moment. "I assume we are starting small by teleporting people to the Tree Mall, right?" Jin asked then the Sea Mesh CEO mentioned that he initially wanted to expand everything in one shot until Jin talked about security. "How about you put the portal machines all over in Shenzhen first? Let''s test the reaction of the crowd. We should be able to find out if there will be any problems like waiting times being too long and other things so that we can sort those out before going nationwide. Most importantly, we need to learn how much capacity it can handle before it breaks down." Jin suggested. "Oh, if you mean stress testing, I''ve already done it in Germany. Even the production company asked whether I can introduce that portal machine into their country. There should be no issues for the portal in the long term, so long as the production company does not skim in the materials they use. " Ke Loong replied. "But other than that, I have no issues putting it all over Shenzhen linking it to your Tree Mall. Using it as the main attraction will inadvertently increase my profit plus its cheap advertisement. After a trial period then I will see if we can put it in advance into the transportation of cargo etc." Ke Loong''s goals were still the same as before, and he believed the profits would be tremendous. "Then, I am happy to work along with you." Jin smiled as he somehow managed to become an active part of the future portal industry. Chapter 539 Extra: Giant Worlds History Even though Hamatarou had decided to investigate the Salamanders, the Hamster Prince was actually quite afraid to do it alone. One enemy would be easy to handle but fighting the entire group was suicide in his mind. Still, Qiu Yue and Lynn had repeatedly assured him that after signing the temporary contract, there was apparently some magic at work that would protect him. He could only clinch on to this hope while trying to find out more about the Salamanders. As a Druid, he had created multiple tunnels within this forsaken giant city to facilitate easier travelling when needed. At the same time, they were also quite handy in the frequent cases where he had to escape from the Giant wildlife that plagued their world. This underground network had become quite vast and would at least allow him to reach the inner castle. Within his heart, there was hesitation in meeting the Salamanders once more. Hamatarou had once trusted them after their world got turned upside down and he got betrayed by them once. Thus, the druid figured that meeting them could only result in a particularly bad ending. But part of him could not bring himself to kill them, after all, they had once been his relatives. His kingdom was similar to Jin''s medieval age with just a tinge of magic mixed into the formula. Nothing too out of the ordinary and while each world had their petty disputes, the Royal Family Hamatarou was born into controlled one of the most successful kingdoms within their own world. However, his life hasn''t been too rosy. His future subjects lived their lives as one might expect in a highly defined hierarchical structure. The rich got richer, the middle remained the same, and the poor become poorer. As for Hamatarou¡­ he was considered an anomaly within the Royal Family. All of his relatives and siblings held the power of Fire while Hamatarou was the only one who was born with an affinity for controlling the forces of nature. His father did not want anyone else to find out that one of his offspring had been ''tainted'' with he regarded as a ''lesser power''. Unfortunately for the young boy, Hamatarou was forced to endure a tough childhood in their castle. He grew up the victim of constant bullying by his own siblings, the harassment of their servants as the King did nothing to prohibit such action and instead encouraged it. Even the ''wise'' elders seemed to have nothing but spiteful words for him, with some going as far as blaming the mother for producing such a varied offspring. At one point, Hamatarou had been kidnapped by a politically motivated extremist group who demanded the Royal Family to step down yet the King did not bother to send out a single knight to rescue his youngest potential heir. Ultimately, the personal knight in service of his mother had to take action to search and find young Hamatarou. It did not take long for Clyde to find their hideout, and the knight was skilled enough to reduce all the kidnappers to ashes with his magic. He then eventually found Hamatarou in an enclosed underground basement with mouldy bread and dirty water as his only source of sustenance. While the Queen wished for him to return alive, the King had long suspected his latest wife''s course of actions and had promised Clyde a wealthy reward to get rid of Hamatarou and blame it on the kidnappers. "It''s nothing personal, kid. It''s just business. Do not blame me." Clyde whispered to suppress his consciousness as he raised his hand to conjure a fire blast to kill the feeble, starved prince. However, what no one had expected was that Hamatarou''s will to live awakened his natural magic to an unprecedented tier. Without ever being introduced to the magic, he managed to manipulate it by sheer willpower, not needing to utter a single world. The ground erected as if alive and surrounded Hamatarou in a protective barrier. Clyde''s fireball was unable to dent the ground barrier, and after a few attempts, he decided to give up and just burn down the whole place. Before he managed to leave another surprise awaited him. In front of the knight, magical tiny creatures had appeared¡­ Fairies. One of the fairies offered to bestow Clyde with more magical power than he could ever dream of in exchange for a small favour. He was to deliver Hamatarou to a specific location. The Queen''s personal knight did not need long to make up his mind. Clyde never expected that he was able to meet fairies in the course of his life and they appeared as what he had dreamt of after hearing those wonderful tales in his youth. Magic was believed to be fixed at the moment of one''s birth. If one was lucky enough to have an elemental affinity, one either had a lot of power or be merely blessed with it. Thus, the Queen''s knight believed that with an increase in his magical abilities, there was a good chance he could get promoted to a higher calling. Everyone in court knew that it was the King who really held power (and more importantly coin) so rising to become one of his personal guards could not only ensure his personal wellbeing but perhaps even result in a noble title for his progeny. As a bonus by delivering the young prince to the Northern Druids would allow him to satisfy both his regents'' demands. He could receive the coin of the King while earning his trust, and perhaps (if he was feeling generous) reveal the young boy''s actual fate to his mother. So, Clyde quickly accepted the fairy''s proposal. First, he burnt the house down to cover his tracks and blame the kidnappers for having decided to die with their hostage. Then he followed the fairies instructions and delivered the young prince to a nearby forest where he placed him inside a circle of mushrooms. Clyde did not bother to wait for the Druid to come to pick the boy up and hurried back to the castle. As the naive knight dreamt about impressing everyone in court with his new found power, he did not see the ''fairies'' laughing behind his back at his stupidity. Alas, how was he supposed to know that Feys were separated into various kinds? Most humans would live their whole life without ever meeting any such spiritual beings. Encounters with them became even rarer ever since they opted to live in stone cold cities away from the magical forests. Therefore he also was none the wiser that a bargain with the Feys could be considered the worst kind of trade deal, maybe in all worlds. They would twist their words no matter how the agreement was made and ensure that they ended up with the most fun because of it. To make matters worse, the fairy he spoke to and made a bargain was actually a faerie instead of a fairy. And it was not an ordinary faerie, but it was the Matriarch of the Winter Court, Queen Mab. To them, Hamatarou was not just some boy with the powers of nature, he was prophesied to be the saviour of the world by the Feys. However, Hamatarou never learned of this. The young him had been sad to lose his mother but also happy enough to finally get accepted by a group of people who had become his real family. As for the Fey¡­ they mischievously set the stage and allowed the humans to play their part in it unknowingly. (Or in short, their victims.) Clyde did receive his magical boost just as promised. Not only that, the Queen''s personal knight was experiencing a growth in his magical energy by the day. It was to the point, he needed to release his magic energy from his body in order to keep himself sane. Coincidentally, he discovered that it was far easier to share his powers with others compared to casting spells non-stop. Utilising his newfound knowledge, he diverted his magical powers into other knights. They who started to experience themselves becoming stronger shared this incredible news. But what none of them knew was that by accepting Clyde''s generosity, they all doomed themselves. Finally, the stage entered its next act. During an inter kingdom conference meeting, the accumulated magical powers were too much for Clyde, who suddenly exploded into pieces, right in front of everyone. Every leader who was in that conference got infected by the magical energies that spread wildly and subsequently, it became a domino effect, causing every magic abled person to explode when in contact with those magical energies through the months. The sad thing was that there was nothing to contain it as the air was infused with magic too. It even caused some of the normal humans to mutate by becoming larger and explode. With little to no time available, court mages managed to come up with one solution, and it''s by polymorphing them into various animals. They theorised that the magical energies seemed to target only Humans so if they were to polymorph into an animal, changing the structure how they absorbed magic, it would stop the increased flow of magic preventing the calamity from harming them. Most of the court mages initially believed that the mass polymorphing would be temporary solution claiming they only had to wait it out until the magical energies were dispersed or diffused into the environment. And yes, the energy did dissipate into the environment but it also inadvertently affected the wild life, causing it to become more rampant. It caused gradual mutation to the animals, turning them into monsters as large as the humans were with their new traits like the Horned Chicken. (Through hindsight, if Lynn or Qiu Yue ever learn about his history, they can only speculate that the humans Hamatarou talked about were not average homo sapiens but giants.) Not only that, some humans refused to become animals and decided to use the magical energy they receive as a way to kill the raging wildlife who had now come to invade their cities for more space. Sadly, most did not make it. They either died in battle or became unable to discharge enough magical energy to prevent their head from exploding. The remaining realised it was futile and polymorph into animals. While polymorphing did not entirely stop the ''Giantism'' Virus (especially since they took on animal forms and were destined to grow large until they and be killed in the wild), it significantly reduced the number of incidents, and the survivors did what they can to continue surviving. Being human became a thing of the past in the Giant World. The animals were unable to transform back into their human form and instead became animals with human traits. Hence, it became a battle for survival against Giant monsters in their animal forms for many years until Hamatarou came into the picture and assisted the remaining survivors to shrink and escape from the gigantic dangers. Chapter 540 Extra: Swordsman Gaeru Hamatarou managed to reach the gates of the castle that he once stayed in when the Hamster Prince was young. The memories of the past still haunted him occasionally but he had no time to reminisce the past right now. Two large human sized Salamanders were guarding the front gates. The druid pondered whether he should cast a spell to make them sleep or wait for the next change of guards. At the moment, he was at the top of one of the watchtowers overlooking the front of entire castle and noticed that the two Salamanders were not the only guards around. Thus, he decided to lay low for a while, hiding himself within the wild flowers that grew in the cracks of the watch tower to monitor the situation. If he wanted to, Hamatarou could probably rest especially since the hamster had used the Totem of Atem to shrink himself to the size of a petal on the wildflower and it should be impossible for them to notice him. Less than half an hour had passed and he was already intrigued as well as frustrated by what the Salamanders Guards were talking about. Their conversation provided him with much insight on the Salamander''s own situation and future spells. And that was when he noticed something peculiar. A frog who was less than a quarter the size of the Human sized Salamanders approached the gates of the castle. It was wearing a cloak as well as clothes that fit him nicely. But the most crucial detail was his sword. A broad double edge sword with broken edges at the side, the frog used it to point at the Salamanders who were guarding the front gates. "Huh, so one of the Frogs survived, eh? I thought we killed them all already. They were tasty though." One of Salamander Guards snickered. "You cowards! Cannibals! You massacred our entire Frog Village and you ate them too?! If I do not cut the Salamanders down today, I cannot be called Gaeru!" The Frog shouted at the top of his voice, attracting the attention of the other guards too. "Looks like we have frog legs for tonight!" the Salamander Guards licked his lips with the long tongue as he picked up his sword from the side of the wall and withdraw it from the scabbard. "What is wrong with him? How can that frog be so stupid?! He should have realised that he stands no chance against them, much less two. Oh why couldn''t you have at least attacked before the guards took their weapons out?!" Hamatarou clenched onto the petal of the wild flower he was sitting on and continued to witness the scene in front of him. As if he was giving them a handicap, the two salamanders charged right in front of Gaeru. The frog swordsman swung his sword forward, blocking the two swords from swinging any further. However, the Salamanders were not done yet as they used their slender bodies to twist and utilise their tails to hit the frog swordsman from the side. Still, Gaeru managed to evade it by leaning back. He released his sword grip and continued to jump over the height of the Salamanders. Upon landing behind them, he extended his tongue to grab the sword and the weapon acted as a burgeoning item, hitting the two guards on their face. He quickly grabbed on to his broadsword and tried to slash sidewards at the Salamander Guard but his attempt was foiled when another Salamander Guard from above shot an arrow down, preventing him from attacking with full strength. The attack barely cut into the Salamander''s torso due to the poor condition of the sword, resulting merely in a skin wound. That was when the uninjured Salamander Guards opened his mouth and spewed a breath of fire towards the frog. In response, Gaeru raised his cloak up, preventing the fire from reaching him. He quickly detached the mantle, but because of that, the guards were given the opportunity to steady themselves and prepare to fight again. No matter how one looked at it, the frog swordsman was clearly at a disadvantage and it seemed that the Salamander Archer on guard duty had called up even more reinforcements. Hamatarou realised that his window of opportunity to save this little frog swordsman was growing smaller by the second. "Damn it!!! So much for just reconnaissance!" Hamatarou grumbled as he remembered he had been given a portal back to the System by utilising the ring that Qiu Yue loaned him. It was apparently for Hamatarou to capture a Salamander if possible and put them in a temporary holding area. However, from what he saw, the Salamanders that were on scene were merely lackeys and not the main leaders that he wished to ''kidnap'' for interrogation purposes. "BAH, here goes nothing!" Hamatarou placed a Totem of Reverse Atem on his mouth as he cast his spell to boost his jump speed to the next level. The frog swordsman was getting surrounded. Worse he was being made fun of with the reinforcement hiding behind their shields lazily poking towards him with their swords and pikes. Gaeru was prepared to kill himself rather than endure this dishonour of failing to get revenge. Suddenly, he noticed a change in the winds as if a projectile was coming its way. However, if he stepped any further from his current spot, he would also be killed by the Salamanders. Thus, he placed the broadsword right beside his ''neck'' and prepared to cut his own head off. ¡­Until the projectile suddenly enlarged into a large furry monster which both the Salamanders and the frog had never seen before. It was similar to a bear but it had black and white spots on it. Hamatarou had shapeshifted into a Panda though he was roaring like a bear. The Druid had been intrigued by those bear like creatures he had first laid eyes on in the WunderPanda Theme Parks and thought it would be a good way to frighten the Salamanders while hopefully keeping his druid identity secret as long as he could. Gaining his senses back quickly from the shock due to amount of experience he had in hunts, the frog swordsman quickly scanned the situation. So, instead of cutting his own neck off, Gaeru instinctively pointed his broadsword at the Black and White Bear but it appeared as if the bear was here to attack the Salamanders. He did not know if this strange creature would turn on him next but all he knew was that he might still manage to get some revenge so the swordsman quickly shifted his target to the remaining Salamanders. "You are mine! Salamanders!!!" The Frog managed to cut a distraught Salamander Guard into two and wished to continue the momentum he had. However, what he did not expect was that the giant, black spotted white bear suddenly (and gently) bit onto the Frog''s head. At the same time, it plunged its claws into one of the older looking Salamanders before disappearing into thin air. And like a whirlpool sucking everything it contacts with, the portal swiped the bear (with a frog in its mouth) away from reality. The Salamanders were in a shock of the sudden turn of events and quickly reported the happenings to their leader. Chapter 541 Extra: The Hamster, Frog and Salamander Hamatarou slammed the Salamander down to the ground, pushing his claws further into it as he arrived into an enclosed empty room. He looked around for a moment and only then realised that there was something slimy in his mouth. Hamatarou quickly spits it out, and the frog swordsman rolled on the floor, gasping for air. Despite all the saliva that stained his entire body (and his clothes), Gaeru struggled to stand up as he directed his sword towards Hamatarou. "Is this how you treat your saviour?" The Hamster Prince turned back into a large hamster as he removed his hand and stepped on the wound of the Salamander underneath his claw. "¡­You¡­you are the saviour? The one who gave us the Totem of Atem?" Gaeru lowered his sword for a moment as Hamatarou proudly nodded his head. However, announcing his true identity made the Salamander struggled even more under Hamatarou. But instead of lowering his sword, Gaeru changed into a stance where Hamatarou felt an intent to kill coming right towards him. His sword had reached a position that would be optimal for an upper slash cut against enemies larger than Gaeru. "Wait, wait! I am not your enemy! You are mistaken! I really did save you from that mess-" "You are no saviour! You did not come to aid us in our time of peril!" The frog swordsman began to leap toward Hamatarou, and he was too slow to act against the attack. But suddenly a mysterious figure entered Gaeru''s path and intercepted the attack by parrying his sword away. "Is this an enemy as well? The Frog?" Qiu Yue, who had finished talking with Jin, happened to see that the room was immediately occupied by a large furry hamster and two other creatures. The System allowed her to observe for a moment until she noticed things were not going as planned. The young woman decided to enter and protect Hamatarou. Before the Salamander could even speak properly, Qiu Yue plunged her sword into its head, and the Salamander died. "Why- Why did you kill it? I was hoping to interrogate it!" Hamatarou complained as he saw the Frog, relentless in his attitude, picking up his sword again and aiming to kill Qiu Yue in front of it. "How is this possible? You are not of any of the tribes I''ve known. I do not know what exactly you are, but if you are trying to defend him, then I can only consider you an enemy!" Gaeru shouted as he charged in once again only to have its attack easily deflected by the Red Panda cultivator. "While I am not one to criticise, but your sword strike is not true. You obviously have reservations in your eyes despite your comments." Qiu Yue then proceed to break the sword with one strike with the usage of her cultivation powers. Gaeru stepped back and drew out a short dagger he kept as a last resort. Both Hamatarou and Qiu Yue sighed at his unyielding behaviour. "Sub System User Qiu Yue. Killing should prove to be the most efficient method of dealing with this nuisance." The System stated, and Qiu Yue agreed to it immediately. "Wait- What? Hold on a moment. How is killing the most efficient metho-" Before Hamatarou finished talking, Qiu Yue already sprinted towards Gaeru and chopped him into half. Nonetheless, she was surprised that he had managed to aim for her carotid artery as a last ditch effort while she was not looking. The aim was correct, but the cut was very shallow mainly because his dagger was equally blunt too. "I see, so that little Frog had some skills too." Qiu Yue praised the deceased as she took out a chi regeneration potion and drank it on the spot. In the meantime, Hamatarou was absolutely speechless and furious to see the two dead bodies on the ground. "¡­ I can perhaps excuse you killing the Salamander Guard, as he would likely not have known too much and we could easily kidnap another one. But did you have to kill the frog?!" Hamatarou had no idea what was going on in the Red Panda''s head. "You are, without a doubt, capable of incapacitating him without the need for lethal force. We could have learned what happened to his village! If you kill the person I saved and the one I intended to capture, then what is the point of my actions?!" Hamatarou folded his tiny arms and reprimanded Qiu Yue heavily. "Relax. Didn''t I tell you, our magic and technology is way more advanced than what you could have imagined?" Qiu Yue replied and told Hamatarou to look around. The bodies disappeared, and instead, he saw an intact Salamander Guard and frog swordsman kneeling in front of Qiu Yue. "This. This is the power of my Boss''s magic." Qiu Yue announced as she requested the System to get them a table and chairs to sit and talk. Eventually, Hamatarou learned more about the System which he was contracted too and the two that became minions for Jin. The Hamster Prince could not believe such a convenient¡­magical entity not only existed but was so readily available to be used by them. "Now I sort of understand why you asked me to bring the suspects in." Hamatarou looked at the Salamander Guard who introduced himself the grandson of the great Edwardio. Hamatarou lied by saying that he vaguely remembered that his father had a royal guard with such a name. (To preserve their family''s past honour, his father named him as Edwardio II. But ever since the passing of his father, he kept his name short instead.) It had been around a century or maybe more (who could tell how many winters had passed, when surviving tomorrow was always a persistent problem) since he last faced his father who had not cared for his fate. That was the reason why Hamatarou had assumed Qiu Yue and Lynn to be members of an entirely new species. He had personally confirmed that no humans existed in the current Giant World (at least not on their continent). "I am honoured you remember my grandfather''s name, Prince Hama. It has been years since his death." Edwardio seemed elated, and Hamatarou with a slightly guilty face told him to drop the title and to refer to him as Hamatarou, especially since the Druids had baptised him with this new name. "I too apologise for my rash behaviour. I knew that you alone could not have prevented the inevitable death of my fellow village mates." Gaeru formally knelt and begged for forgiveness. Hamatarou quickly accepted and demanded him to stand. That was when he took his broken sword and pointed at the uncaring Salamander. "However, I cannot forgive myself that I have to sit at the same table of my enemy. I wish to kill myself, knowing that I will have to work with one of those murderers in the future." Gaeru sounded enraged and sent the other party a deathly stare. Qiu Yue figured that the Frog Swordsman behaved very much like the samurais of the past days where''s one''s principle was so rigid that they died fighting for their country or cause. She was entertaining the thought of whether to introduce him to Zeru or Lynn first. (She did think about Kraft too, but he was way too good at brainwashing¡­) Oddly enough, the Salamander was experienced enough not to fall for such an obvious taunt. Edwardio ignored not only Gaeru, but his petty insult towards the Salamanders had no effect on him. Ever since he was resurrected by the System, Edwardio could already feel that he had cut all allegiance to his fellow Salamanders. No one acted upon Gaeru''s insult as well, making him slightly embarrassed by the many stares. After which, Gaeru croaked to break the silence, and he quietly placed his broken sword down while slowing moving his seat to the opposite end of the table. Regardless, the Hamster Prince felt it was a good start and began to ask the table several questions. "Now that we have introduced ourselves perhaps we can finally talk about why the hell the Salamanders are acting this way," Hamatarou suggested with eyes looking at Salamander Guard Edwardio who coughed to clear his throat. "Prince''s orders. Hmm to be precise¡­The New King''s Orders." Edwardio answered truthfully without any prompt from the System. Chapter 542 Improved Half Masks "Please pull the red angled pulley at the side of your parachute pack in five, four, three¡­" Shi Zuo was instructed by the half mask he got at the start of this special mission. Similar to the envisioned Mooogle Glasses, the mask was a visor filled with tons of information as if he was wearing an augmented reality headset. Shi Zuo felt like it was virtual reality, but it really wasn''t. They knew the dimensional instance was real and not a mere illusion. It was a pocket of time and space that separated itself from the ''real world''. If one were to stay in the dimensional instance, there would be no significant difference except the perception of time. Of all the information portrayed, the most important segment Shi Zuo needed to take note off was the estimated health of his shown at the top right corner of the visor. The health of the Squad Members was also indicated right below of the cultivator''s health bar. Also, the bottom left corner had multiple icons which would light up when Shi Zuo glanced at it. The half mask was equipped with vision tracking and a voice recognition unit that enabled the cultivators to communicate with the visor in order to receive the information they needed at a moment''s notice. As of now, the half mask was instructing Shi Zuo on how to open his parachute. It even highlighted the part which needed to be pulled to get the parachute working. Of course, this half mask could not be operated without Yun in the vicinity. Removing the System out of the equation and the visor was as useful as a radio without reception. Aside from the Squad function, the System was simultaneously learning and gathering information on the visors through this ''experimental'' instance as well. Jin figured he might as well try the things that needed to be done while assisting his minions on Farming World. Still, even though the information was presented all around the visors, it also had the feature to dim the HUD (Heads Up Display) interface and allow the cultivators to fight without obstruction on their current peripheral vision. Jin did not want the cultivators to lose because they could not see their enemy due to the interference of the HUD interface. Other than that, the upgraded half mask was a welcome addition to the other cultivators going into battle. Shi Zuo''s parachute opened, and he managed to steer his parachute towards somewhere safe alongside his squad mates. Luo Bo was right behind him by about 40 metres or so, but the trouble came when the Demon Rats saw Xiong Da and Ruo Ying''s descent. The ranged Demon Rats immediately directed their weapons towards them and shot indiscriminately. There was no way Shi Zuo or Luo Bo could help them and communication were not possible since they were too far apart. (Thankfully, they had yet to encounter the Steam Tech copters the goblins saw during their scouting missions.) "Control, can I communicate with Xiong Da or Ruo Ying?!" Shi Zuo asked in a panic, but the half mask was unable to do so without the aid of the magpies. (The visors introduced themselves initially as Control Supports which was why Shi Zuo and the rest called them as such too.) "Damn, if we only had the magpies!" Shi Zuo sighed, but there was no time for him to be concerned about the other couple as he and Luo Bo had also been noticed by the Demon Rats. Luo Bo went in front of him and immediately shot an arrow at them. The rabbit cultivator did not waste time with a regular arrow shot. Instead, it was one infused with tremendous chi which Luo Bo had been storing ever since she descended from the plane. "Intermediate Bow Art! Lightning Rabbit Dashing Arrow!." The arrow sped through the open fields like a burst of lightning, and upon hitting one of the Demon Rats, it zigzagged through the opponents. Like a rabbit dashing through the grasslands to evade its predators, the arrows struck the rats who never seen such a magical attack before. Not only the demon rats electrocuted by the attack, but the steam tech they were using, explodes from the overcharge. Most were minor explosions except for those who were carrying Steam Tech that had a larger piece of Litoride on them. Those unlucky ones Demon Rats exploded into smithereens, creating an impact large enough that took out their surrounding Demon Rats. The series of explosions gave Shi Zuo and Luo Bo enough time to dash with their chi infused boots as they created some distance for safety. They then noticed a winged dark knight flying towards them. Shi Zuo almost attacked him when he got nearer, but Luo Bo ordered him to not harm it, indicating that he was the allies that Yun talked about. "Are you the reinforcement our master sent?" The Dark Templar asked as he gracefully landed right beside them, and they nodded their heads when they saw his wings spread and protected them from some stray projectiles from the Demon Rats. "While meagre in quantity, you guys sure pack a punch." The Dark Templar introduced himself as Mou, one of the lieutenants working under Commander Zieg. "We are temporarily moving out for a retreat. We''ve done enough damage for the day. If you wish to come with us, we can formulate a battle strategy together." "What?" Luo Bo said as she stretched herself a little with a new arrow in hand. "Retreat? I am just getting started." "¡­ I see. Full of energy. Go on then. We will reorganise ourselves, and if luck has it, we might meet on the battlefield within the same day." The Dark Templar bowed as a slight tremor could be felt from where they were at. Unable to defend himself in midair, Xiong Da ripped off his damaged parachute and went to perform the improved version of his Grand Slam Fissure, which he had finally mastered throughout the months of training in Jin''s dungeons. Previously it was a Hippo style, but now, Xiong Da managed to combine it with his Warclub, making it more deadly as it was now considered as a Weapon Arts. He and his Warclub were like a raging meteor that slammed into the ground, producing a shockwave deadly enough for pieces of the ground to fly up and kill dozens of Demon Rats that had been shooting at him. Although Ruo Ying''s parachute was thankfully not too damaged by the ranged attacks, she was nearly blown away by the impact of Xiong Da''s Grand Slam Fissure. Thus, she had no choice but to execute her Intermediate Chain Arts, Descending Chains of the Egret to grab onto an Ogre Demon Rat. Her newly bought chains extended like there would be no end to thanks to one of Octofussy''s newest inscription creations. As the chains wrapped around the Ogre Demon Rat, the chains shrunk and reduced in length, allowing Ruo Ying to fly towards the Ogre Demon Rat and give it a kick towards its face. It caused a critical neck fracture but also enabled Ruo Ying to land safely. Their squadmates, on the other hand, landed right beside her without much aid from the parachutes. "Time for some pest extermination." Ruo Ying pushed her half Egret mask up a little as she saw the Demon Rats trying to surround her and Xiong Da due to their flashy entrance. Chapter 543 Modular Gearbox Attachments The modified gearbox proved to be a tremendous boon for the Tiger Princess. She actually devised a way to land quickly and swiftly to the ground. One of her attachments was similar to a wingsuit in case she needed to jump from one building to the next. (Did she perhaps want to compensate for not being able to do this feat on her own?) Thus, a gliding attachment mechanism had been inserted into the gearbox suit right before she jumped out. After achieving terminal velocity, Yang Ling released the gliding wingsuit, not bothering with the parachute and glided away from the current battlefield towards an open grassland (presumably a farm field). Oddly enough, her own main objective was less taking part in the fight but rather to adjust her gearbox attachments for the fight. Yang Ling did not particularly care which one of those two couples won the plushie, no, the thing she came here for was much needed data for her attachments but she could not get it if she were dropped in the midst of battle. Not to mention, the current iteration of her wingsuit had a minute design flaw. It was like an escape tool attached to the gearbox, rendering her useless for at least a good full minute unless she decides to use her psychic powers instead. Still, her mental capabilities were meant to manipulate a single individual rather than controlling a massive crowd. The Tiger Princess removed the Wingsuit attachment and replaced it with combat capable items. Modular in nature, most of the accessories weren''t hard to set up. It felt a bit like a plug and play, so it was easy enough to change them up for battle. Once Yang Ling felt ready for the battle, she took a deep breath and proceeded forward. The second attachment she was trying out was what she called the ''Ostrich Legs Attachment''. As the Tiger Princess ran, her gearbox attachment module slowly spread out and increased in length, giving her the form of an ostrich running. With the tremendous strides it was making, Yang Ling did not have to run hard and fast as the attachment already took care of this. The empty grasslands were suitable for letting her test its top speed, and Yang Ling wanted to learn how durable it would be in combat. Surprisingly, her half mask had tools of measurement that allowed her to record her experiments making her job ten times easier. Yang Ling had been worried that she would have to take out all the recording instruments she brought along in her ring. She even conjured up the ridiculous idea of using her battle squad mates to take down the results for her. "I really have to ask Jin how he got his hands on such an advanced piece of equipment and without selling it in the real world!" Yang Ling noted to herself as she noticed that her visor was already measuring her current speed exceeding 90 kilometres per hour. "I will have to send the researchers a bonus, it met the expected optimal value without any issues¡­ Time to bring it up a notch." Yang Ling bent down a little and widened her strides more although she started to feel the strain from her back due to her previous handicap. "Warning, Cultivator Yang Ling. Do not overstrain yourself." The Visor advised as it also indicated that her ''health'' bar was diminishing slowly due to her pushing the limits. "Just a bit further and we will be able to kick one of the Demon Rats with top speed force." Yang Ling smiled as she dismissed her visor''s advice. True enough, she inserted a mix of chi and mana to focus her strides, which caused the Demon Rats to think that an abomination or demon was rushing towards them. "As if I do not have enough disruptions in a day!" One of the Demon Rat Officers complained as he called out the human slaves to intercept the attack. But before he could make an announcement, he felt a slight tug at the side of his head and soon after, his body was left standing while his head disappeared completely. The impact kick of the Ostrich Leg Attachment had caused the Demon Rat officer''s head to dissipate into nothing but blood splat all over his soldiers. Yang Ling immediately jumped up as she kept the Ostrich Leg Attachments and switched it to Tiger Leg Attachment. Her other parts of the body had also equipped similar attachments pertaining to the Tiger. With her half mask on, she looked like a human superhero in a tiger armoured suit. Her gauntlet attachments were like claws protruding out of a large shield from both sides of her. There was even a tail attachment near her coccyx, and Yang Ling crouched while analysing the Demon Rats that were stunned momentarily at the absurdity of the situation. Suddenly, one of the Demon Rats recklessly charged forward and without moving, Yang Ling beheaded it even before it could use its Steam Tech weapon on her. It was a new psychic technique which she learnt how to utilise alongside the cultivation of the Royal Zodiac Tiger. By infusing her telekinesis powers with her killer chi, it enabled Yang Ling to create a sort of wind slash with her mind. However, it could only be used within two metres of her and yet that kill alone had scared the Demon Rats out of their wits until another officer who was oblivious to the current situation, ordered them to rush towards her. He used his Steam Tech to send the command to all of his rats, and at the same time utilising the powers of amplifying strength via his steam Tech with the aid of Litoride. Yang Ling could sense that the aura around her became more toxic and the Tiger Princess believed that she had to kill that particular Demon Rat Officer to stop the amplification of strength. Hence, she jumped up to have a more unobstructed view of the Demon Rat Officer, and in midair, her legs attachment boosted her once towards the Demon Rat Officer. Yet, that officer smirked. It was not a ruse at all as an Ogre Demon Rat suddenly emerged from the ground protecting the Demon Rat Officer by throwing a punch towards the flying tiger princess. Yang Ling reactively curled herself up, and the shields on both her arms and legs blocked the attack, but it caused her to fly out of the Demon Rat crowd. The rank and files did not hesitate, knowing that it was the best opportunity to kill her when she seemed incapacitated by the recent attack from the Ogre Demon Rat. "Gearbox has taken considerable damage. 10 seconds required to reboot the system." The visor warned as there was a percentage bar in the middle of her HUD interface. "Fuck! No! I -" Yang Ling closed her eyes to avoid seeing the rushing spears that were seconds away from here. *Clang~!* The noise of a broad metal shield clashed against the sounds of dozens of spears hitting it. "Lady Yang Ling, sorry we could not catch up with you on time." A manly figure said as he tried his best to hold back against the multiple attacks at one go. Suddenly the rattling of a machine gun went off, and it lightened the load of the man holding the shield. Only then did Yang Ling realise that she still had a Squad with her and that these forgotten AIs squad mates had just saved her skin. Chapter 544 White Knight, Black Panda After his hopefully final meeting of the day, Jin returned mentally exhausted to the Dungeon Maker. Not wanting to go out to somehow ending up in yet another lengthy discussion with anybody else, he checked up on the status of the experiment he placed his cultivators in. "How are the visors working for them?" Jin asked as he brought up personal monitors on all of the cultivators in that region. The System was busy analysing all the meaningful information they were gathering via this method, so it took a bit longer for it to answer Jin''s question. After calculating the amount of resources gained by killing the rats, his customers were currently inflicting more kills than his dark templars. "That shouldn''t be too much of a surprise. Normally, those Dark Templars could possibly take down the Demon Rats in a ratio of 1:6 based on their estimated stats. For them to hit and run around the clock, as well as the surviving these quick strikes, I am more than happy that it works out." Jin said while running the statistics for the predicted number of kills required for his new Dark Templars to increase their abilities or ''levels'' as the System dubbed them. Jin simply referred them as Grades since he was able to relate to that better. At the moment, the Dark Templars were averaging around Grade 2 with their leader being at Grade 2 Peak, reaching towards Grade 3. Having gained a strong base followers as his foundation with the aid of Dark Templar Commander Zieg, Lord Wolte''s current power level reached to Grade 5. If not for subordinating Baphomet, Lord Wolte would never have attained Grade 5 this easily. And with an increase in power, it seemed that he had another form which he had yet to use when the Metal Slug Tank was fighting against the Demon Rats. The Dungeon Supplier knew about it since the monster''s stats and abilities were all detailed within Jin''s Monster App on his phone. Jin just did not have time to read it properly and only recently found it useful to go through the nearly non exhaustive list of his ever increasing and evolving monster base. There were not only combat details but surprisingly there was a fondness level in it as well. The System stated that the more time Jin spent with particular monsters and granted their desires, the better their abilities could be strengthened too. However, when the dungeon supplier asked how exactly it was being strengthened, the System was unable to answer it. He did not know whether it was a work in progress feature by the System or something it just couldn''t or wouldn''t explain in detail. But one thing was for sure, he believed it was hilarious. "Something like the power of Friendship? Did you forget that we kind of chained them up and made them work for us? If anything wouldn''t Stockholm-Syndrome be the more appropriate term?" Jin asked the System, and the almighty entity did not reply immediately. "Regardless, it is imperative for User to study more about his monsters, so you have the chance to utilise your monsters in a fight with higher efficiency." The System countered as Jin was gearing himself for the instance portal jump. Instead of using the Squad feature he introduced to the customers, JIn decided to experiment with the Black Goo matter he had accumulated within these few weeks and shaped them into Pandas. Besides, Jin had no need for Squad mates for he already has an army worth of monsters under his command. (Thankfully, he was not some evil dungeon master, or his world could possibly be in some serious trouble down the line.) The System also informed Jin that his phone was now able to create a temporary dimensional instance after the System had made a few impromptu tweaks. "The radius of the phone generated Dimensional Instance is considered inadequate, approximately 200 metres at most. However, the instance is mobile, and you are able to move around with the dimensional instance. User should be able to make use of monsters'' clones in the future wherever he goes. An additional increase to the range requires the Living Brain of the Mechanical Titan in the Mecha World." The System replied with emphasis on the Living Brain and Jin nodded his head with a little annoyance. Once Jin was ready, the System called on Yun to open a portal, allowing him to enter and meet her on the far end of the grasslands where they were hundreds of metres away from the main fight. Jin could see that his cultivators were already getting tired from the constant fighting. If not for their squadmates, it was very likely that they would have been defeated a long time ago. "Xiong Da''s team have totalled 250+ kills while Luo Bo''s team have yet to rea- Correction Cultivator Shi Zuo has just killed the 200th Demon Rat. Both groups were initially hunting apart from each other, but with time and fatigue setting in, all teams gradually started to fall back and stick together near each other." Yun reported to Jin as she yawned a little from all the observing. "How about Yang Ling?" Jin was concerned that the Tiger Princess was nowhere to be seen. "She retreated not too long ago. I don''t believe she really cares about the competition for the plushie. Instead, she''s been fighting solo. After an amazing display of skills at the start, she took a bad hit which nearly got her killed." "I took the liberty of controlling her squadmates and managed to rescue her at the last moment. (Without her knowing of course.) The state of the Gearbox has been deteriorating ever since, and it looks like a mess now. " Yun complained as she took her phone out, projecting a hologram that showed video of what the System had recorded on her. "I doubt the princess can push it any further. Still considering she was fighting by herself, her kill score was topping close to 170 kills. After her near death experience, she showcased great talent and utilised her squad better than the other four, even switching their weapons on the go." Yun gave her observation to Jin. "Thank you for your actions, you spared her the embarrassment of getting killed first. Then I guess it''s up to me now to help the tiger princess a little." Jin smiled as he climbed on top of one of his Black Sludge Pandas. Surprisingly, they were not sticky. If anything, it had already been moulded into a Panda. It''s breathing, the feel of its fur, everything was nearly the same except for its colour. With a group of Pandas running behind him, Jin suddenly thought of deploying mounts in the future but wondered how hard it would be to accommodate every single cultivator. Unless they used their ''mini'' pets that were floating with them in the Store Instance. "Oh, hmm. That could actually be quite useful. If I remember correctly Qiu Yue''s report mentioned that the hamster prince''s Totem of Atem could also enlarge himself. If we use that method on the pets, it shouldn''t cost us that much." Jin thought to himself and then realised he could also ask Octofussy to create a temporary inscription charm to enlarge the pets. "Then I can put a price on a permanent enlargement inscription charm and shrinking inscription charm. Or perhaps made them into a card! Oh!! Racing Service Instance! Why did I not think of that sooner?!" Jin suddenly had the urge to jump back to the Dungeon Maker yet when he saw from afar the poor condition Yang Ling was in defending herself against a skilled Demon Rats with Steam Tech Gauntlets he couldn''t leave her there. "The White Knight on a Black ¡­Panda coming forth!" Jin shouted loudly, attracting the attention of the Demon Rats as well as the Tiger Princess and her squad. Chapter 545 Black Sludge Panda "¡­White Knight¡­.Black Panda¡­ WHAT?" Yang Ling looked at the side and suddenly saw dust rifling up in the distance. Unfortunately, she was in no position to get too distracted with the opponent in front of her being one of the strongest Demon Rat she had fought up till now. The Demon Rat in front of her did not waste any breath. Instead, he let his fists do the talking. Yang Ling somehow managed to block it with her Tiger Shield Claw Attachments, but it seemed its durability had almost reached its limit. Right now, the Tiger Princess could only hope that she did not mishear the Panda word since there could only be one cultivator Yang Ling knew that would appear here and spew that animal name out. Seeing that the Tiger Princess was in a major pinch, he quickly opened his mouth, and a mixture of black and white Maqi flew out, annihilating the Demon Rats that were waiting for the chance to pounce on her. Jin did not realise how stupidly strong his Panda Yawning had become ever since he had unlocked the Maqi in him. With such a high amount of devastation caused by one Yawning beam, the Demon Rats had directed their animosity towards the new challenger. Suddenly, a new variant of Demon Rats appeared with two Steam Tech shoulder cannons on their shoulders as they were ordered to aim towards Jin. The dungeon supplier reacted by sending his other Black Sludge Pandas right in front of him in order to counter against the cannon projectiles. With each volley of fire, the Steam Tech Cannons roared at such a volume even Xiong Da and gang were wondering what was happening at the other battlefield. It was then the Black Sludge Pandas performed as instructed. Each one of them jumped to counter the flying projectiles. With Jin''s Pandaromic Eyes and his enhanced manipulation of Maqi, he was able to move the Black Sludge Pandas to the predicted path of the projectiles, and they swallowed the shells into their sludge bodies. "Have a taste of your own medicine." Jin smiled as he fiddled with his fingers in the air and commanded his Black Sludge Pandas to return the metal shells back to the Demon Rats. (With, of course, some additional surprise.) When the shells were in the Black Sludge Pandas, Jin rotated them viciously within their bodies via Maqi. He believed that when the shells were spewed out, they would be flying back at around twice or thrice the speed they were fired at from the Demon Rat''s cannons. True enough, some of the shells flew too fast and too high that they ended up missing the Demon Rats'' army and hit somewhere further down the grasslands. Luckily the rest of the shells were more or less a direct hit (Considering the number of rats gathered), killing multiple Demon Rats including those who had the Shoulder Cannons on. Jin also noticed that when the Litoride powered shells exploded against those Steam Tech equipment, it caused a chain explosion to happen. "So¡­Litoride against Litoride explodes even harder?" Jin asked himself and Peppers suddenly stood behind him and observed the explosion. "Looks like it! Maybe we can conduct some experiment back in the labs with all the Steam Tech we''ve collected!" Peppers suggested, but when Jin turned his head, she had disappeared into thin air. . "I thought she wanted to see more of the explosions rather than the synergy of the litoride." Jin spoke to himself, which made Peppers openly complain in the System channel. "Well, duh! Those explosions don''t even reach a 0.05 score on my Explosion scale of perfect 10." Peppers replied and told Jin to prepare something more beautiful for her to watch. "How about no?" Jin countered as he saw that his attacks had been sufficient for Yang Ling to fall back. "You are no fun at all! I miss the old Jin. He loved lots of explosions." Peppers commented. "What old Jin?! I am still the same!" The Panda charged towards the Demon Rat Brawler and bit into his arm, tearing it off his body while Jin waved awkwardly at Yang Ling. "Pfft! You''ll see what you get if you ignore me further!" Peppers pouted in the background while Jin apologised for his tardiness. "These black bears are your squadmates?" Yang Ling scoffed at the colour of the bear even though it was obviously shaped like a Panda. Meanwhile, the brawler was screaming considering his arm was bitten off by a weird large black bear. Yet, Yang Ling didn''t show any mercy and stabbed him through the guts with her Tiger Shield Claw attachment as she sent some chi and mana, causing the Claw to vibrate violently and cut the brawler into multiple pieces. "I certainly had enough of killing Demon Rats for today." Yang Ling sounded exhausted as they saw the Demon Rats coming through the smoke of the attacks which Jin returned to them. They did not care about their dead and instead moved forward, wanting to kill the humans right in front of them no matter what. "You sure? It doesn''t seem like they had enough of us." Jin joked as he raised his hand out from his Black Sludge Panda Mount. Yang Ling did not hesitate to grab it and climbed on the Panda. The moment Yang Ling was behind him, her fatigue caused her to not waste any time in putting her head onto his back and clasped her hands over his torso. Jin did not expect that but kept mum about it for now as he commanded his Pandas to move towards Xiong Da and Luo Bo. The rest of Yang Ling''s Squad also retreated on top of the other Black Sludge Pandas as they ran towards the Pandawans. When Luo Bo saw Boss Jin coming towards her, she felt as if that more or less signified that they are approaching the end of the challenge. "In that case, just one last shot to go all out." Luo Bo thought. She quickly unplugged the cap of a chi regeneration potion and gulped it down in two mouthfuls before throwing it towards an incoming Demon Rat to slow it down. "Shield! Protect me! Staff, further enhance my chi output! Wand, do as much distraction as you can!" Luo Bo shouted at her squadmates. The rabbit cultivator hadn''t put in much coming up with their names and referred to them by the weapons they were using. The squadmate with two shields equipped slammed down in front of Luo Bo as if to protect her from ranged attacks while he went bare fist against the Demon Rats that came near her. The double staff squadmate, on the other hand, slammed both of his staff down and started to gather the surrounding magic and turn it into chi for Luo Bo to use. Oh and the dual wand squad member? She was shooting her magic arrows like a gunman on drugs. (Whether they hit or not was another matter.) In fact, Luo Bo loved the craziness in the wand wielding squad member as she helped to distract the rats from their incoming doom. Luo Bo''s new advanced weapon technique. Chapter 546 Rabbit Geyser Blasting Arrow No one would be able to doubt that the Rabbit Cultivator had trained hard not only in Jin''s Dungeons but outside of it too when Luo Bo''s Cultivation Grade 6 was displayed brilliantly above. (One which even made Xiong Da very surprised at her cultivation grade since the others were still Grade 5 at best, and him at Grade 4.) The rabbit silhouettes were not just jumping around her head but instead, pulling the bowstring in unison as two long rabbit ears appeared right on top of the bow''s handles. "Advanced Bow Art! Rabbit Geyser Blasting Arrow!" The moment she released her bowstring, the arrow flew straight into the crowd of Demon Rats amassing themselves to defend against the immensely shiny projectile heading their way. However, they soon realised that the magically charged arrow flew over their heads and the rats thought the worst was over. It then flew further until the chi energy within it dissipated, and it became a regular arrow, which one of the Demon Rat was able to block with ease. "Hah! What an archer!" One of the Demon Rats commented sarcastically as they continued to move forward to finish off the archer and her friends especially now when they looked thoroughly exhausted. Unfortunately, what they did not know was that the attack was far from over. A few seconds later, the ground atop the arrow''s pathway started to glow a little. And when the Demon Rats finally noticed the shimmer underneath, it was already too late. Rainbow coloured geyser like explosions emerged from the ground, instantly killing any Demon Rats within the vicinity of the Geysers. While it lasted only for seconds, that particularly advanced bow art technique had successfully annihilated a reasonably good number of Demon Rats which made Xiong Da worry that he might have been overtaken by Luo Bo. Thus, he too was going to give it his all against the Demon Rats, but Jin tapped him on his shoulders and spoke two words out. "Time''s up." Within the blink of an eye, the Hippo Cultivator could visually see that he had returned to the conference room instance with his weapon missing from his hand. Xiong Da then looked up and around to see his weapon was on Jin''s hand. "Oh, come on!" Xiong Da sighed as he regretted not taking the opportunity like Luo Bo had done. Regardless, all the cultivators who went to the Farming World were dead beat. They could hardly stand properly, and the moment they took a sit on those comfy chairs in the Conference Room instance, their legs gave way immediately. "Any of you guys need to hit up the luxury recovery instance? ¡­ I can also call for a Panda Nurse to check on you?" Jin offered as he was looking at his phone, seemingly tabulating the scores for their special challenge. "Hmm¡­that''s quite a surprise." Jin looked startled when he saw the total scores on his screen. "Yun, are we counting the officers as additional points or standard one point for each rat killed?" "Does it really matter?" Yun asked uninterested as she was sitting down with her head staring at the ceiling for no particular reason. "In a way¡­ Yeah." Jin answered as he shrugged his shoulders towards Yun. "Then just pick a coin or something and let it decide. No use thinking too much about it. It''s a silly challenge anyways." Yun decided casually, but suddenly two strong proponents yelled towards Jin. "Hey! You are saying you plan to let a coin decide the fate of that plushie?! Don''t let me go to you and bash your skull into pieces!" Xiong Da threatened, but he was currently glued to his chair, obviously too tired to move an inch away from comfort. "Too bad for you it''s my challenge, and I can change things on a whim too. Jin stuck his tongue out playfully at his customers which made them whined loudly from their chairs. "Booosssssssss!!! Don''t do this to us! I worked hard, you know! Really really hard!" Luo Bo was wailing until Jin could see that she was on the verge of tearing. (However, Shi Zuo was signalling from the back, warning Jin not to take pity on her.) "Okay. I hear you guys. Coin toss then." And the entire room was filled with more groaning. (Except for Yang Ling who was giggling at the close knitted interaction between Jin and his regulars.) "Heads and the Demon Rat Officers will have additional points. Tails and each Demon Rat earns you guys just one point." Jin announced as he closed his eyes and flipped the coin up high. He would let the coin drop on the table to ensure he didn''t manipulate it in any way. They followed the coin with their eyes as it flew high up and accidentally hit the ceiling. ¡­ It got stuck in the middle of the intersection of two fake ceiling covers. Jin was kinda speechless while Yun placed her palm to her temple. "Unbelievably stupid," Yun said as she took out another gold coin from her storage ring and threw it towards the stuck coin. (As her coin was somehow older, it was easy to make the distinction based on the wear and tear.) After which, she decided to leave the room to make herself a cup of coffee, not wanting to stay to watch the results. That coin finally dropped to the table as it bounced a little before spinning for a while longer and landed on Heads. For some reason, all the cultivators demanded a new rethrow, but Jin did not accede to their demands and went straight to declaring the winner of the special challenge. "Not much of a surprise here but the winner is¡­.Yang Ling!" Jin had waited for a second to let them suffer the anticipation, but the result made both couples drop their jaw to the ground. Even Yang Ling, who had been enjoying her spectating position, got startled by the fact. "Eh? Me?" Yang Ling asked for a confirmation and Jin nodded his head while he placed the results on a simple excel sheet (which was projected on the screen) for everyone to see. It took them a while to digest the facts. As soon she recovered from the shock, Luo Bo called foul play. "IS SHE YOUR NEW GIRLFRIEND?! ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS HER?!" Luo Bo shouted at the top of her voice despite her posture in the chair. "Wait, what?! No! I was just doing this as a jo-" "You!!! This despicable Boss! I know you want to impress your new date, but you can''t use us as mere collaterals! I demand compensation!" Ruo Ying who had been relatively neutral up until now had begun to complain about how unfair this whole challenge turned out to be. "I AM SUING YOU! Xiong Da, please make this case a pro bono for me." Luo Bo asked her plushie rival, and Xiong Da readily agreed to team up against Jin. "With much pleasure. Besides, the Tigers have a lot of money. Let''s make sure we go back rich." The hippo lawyer promised with a smirk on his face as he eyed Jin with unwarranted hatred. Chapter 547 Results of the Special Challenge "Alright! Alright! Relax I was merely joking. It was super fun and scary at the same time to joke with you guys!" Jin switched out the excel sheet for the one with proper scoring. "THE PLUSHIE IS NOT A JOKE!" Both Xiong Da and Luo Bo managed to gather their strength to stand up and shouted simultaneously¡­ before dropping back to their seats. "Obviously I underestimated both of your desires for Giant Plushies," Jin told them to calm down and started explaining the stats obtained by the System to the cultivators. "If we go by the number of kills, Xiong Da, Ruo Ying and their squadmates combined killed a total of 314 Demon Rats. On the other hand, Luo Bo''s team had a final kill count of 286 Demon Rats. Without that final attack, you would have been hovering at around 250 Demon Rats or so." Jin summarised, and Xiong Da seems very satisfied by the final score. "However, since we decided that those Demon Rat officers matter, Luo Bo would have killed an equivalent of 406 Demon Rats while Xiong Da''s new score reaches barely 350. That is assuming one Demon Rat Officer is worth about twenty Demon Rats, and higher ranks are worth more." Jin explicitly showed the type and kind of Demon Rat Officers they each killed. "Oh¡­so you mean that my Bow Arts managed to kill those leaders?" Luo Bo asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Xiong Da had been mainly dealing with the rank and files as they were swarming him and his squad non stop." Jin replied and also broke down the number of Demon Rats each of their squadmates killed. "Like I said, this is still experimental, so the squad mate''s teamwork is still not up to par¡­ at least not to my expectations." Jin reminded them, but Yang Ling raised her hand and objected to this. "For a level one Squad, I think it''s more than enough. If you tweak it too well, you may start hurting the cultivator more instead of helping." Yang Ling said, and Jin understood what she was talking about. "I see. I will look through the data thoroughly and take your opinion into consideration." Jin agreed. "Sooooooooooo whaaaaatt isssss the verdiccctttt?" Luo Bo asked impatiently, and Jin sighed as he told them to wait a minute to get their plushies. With a snap of a finger, he disappeared from the conference room instance giving the two couples a chance for a round of rapid fire questions towards Yang Ling. It was as if their energy returned when it came to Boss Jin''s romance life. "You dating Boss?" Xiong Da raised his hand and asked Yang Ling, but she was speechless for a moment. "Nope. She wants to date Boss." The Love Expert Luo Bo immediately saw through her weakness. "But Boss does not want to date her?" Shi Zuo started to query. "Though I feel Boss has at least some obligations with her." Ruo Ying started to pitch into the discussion. "Haisss, I bet Boss is too focused on his work that he feels that a relationship is not his main priority right now." Luo Bo shook her head as it slowly drops to the table. She felt disappointed that Jin was missing out on something good. All this time, Yang Ling couldn''t even say a word despite the fact that the discussion was all about her. It was as if she was muted by her ¡­guilt? Or were her desires so plain for them to see through? Shi Zuo suddenly noticed that Yang Ling was quite uncomfortable about the situation, and told Luo Bo to stop. Yet, that little nosy rabbit was not stopping at all. After playing Cupid for her good old friend Bin Yong, the Beetle Cultivator and Jia Le, the Bellflower Cultivator and later aiding in Xiong Da''s affairs, Luo Bo felt confident she was able to give a helping hand to the Tiger Princess. However, unlike the other two, Luo Bo gave a disclaimer. "I don''t know how much he is willing to invest in romance¡­ honestly, sometimes I think that his head is filled with ideas of expansions. Especially now when he has a whole freaking town mall." "Come to think of it, Boss really does expand rather quickly. I mean, for him to have the funds to create all of this within a few months. It''s kind of respectable in a way too. It feels like ages ago when he was just a small dungeon supplier store with just a couple of instances, even though it''s just been months. " Shi Zuo noted which made everyone nod their head. "I think that -" Before Yang Ling was able to tell them about her thoughts, Jin returned. This time all of the cultivators'' eyes brightened up, and their energy levels peaked to the maximum. PLUSHIES!!! "Everyone will be getting one plushie each. It''s a thank you for all the efforts in participating in this special experiment. The data you helped gather will work wonders to improve on the concept." Jin smiled as he first passed a giant rabbit plushie to Luo Bo. The Rabbit Cultivator squealed in excitement as she thanked Boss Jin profusely for the price. The giant fluffy rabbit plushie was at least 1.5 times taller than her, and when she hugged it tightly, it felt as if the rabbit plushie curled up towards her. Like a mother hugging her little child. As for Xiong Da, he had already received a custom plushie, so instead, he got the Fox Giant Plushie whereas Ruo Ying got the Snake Plushie. (She did not mind at all, as it felt extremely comfortable when held it like a bolster.) "I haven''t forgotten about you, Shi Zuo. Here is a customised monkey plushie, but its erm toy size. I did not have the time to really make a large one." Jin apologised as he passed a toy monkey plushie which was the size of a baby. The moment Shi Zuo held on it, he could feel that the ache on his shoulders was released. "YOU MADE THESE?" Luo Bo and Xiong Da exclaimed at once, and Jin stared at them for a moment. "Erm¡­I did contract someone to make this, just that I figured in some way or another¡­you guys would be vying for more." Jin tried to make up an excuse on the spot, yet both of those plushie maniacs could sniff that particular lie out of him. They then stared at him for a long time until the dungeon supplier gave up and used his last resort. "TRADE SECRET!" Chapter 548 Reward For Yang Ling By using that dreaded excuse, the cultivators gave up on their questioning. They all knew that it was impossible to get anything more out of Jin whenever he resorted to his ''Trade Secrets'' and were ready to leave the instance until the Rabbit cultivator noticed something amiss. "We all helped you with your little challenge, so how come the Tiger Princess didn''t get one?" Luo Bo asked loudly, and Jin bitterly laughed in return. Yang Ling blushed a little and said she did not need the plushie. (Although Luo Bo could see that she wanted the same as the rest of the cultivators too. Who doesn''t want a customised plushie from Jin''s store!? They probably have yet to know the magic it contains.) "All I wanted was some battle data for my prototype suit. It''s fine even if I don''t get the plushie." Yang Ling insisted, but Luo Bo ¡­persuasion skills were scarier. (To the point, Jin asked System to create a mental note not to provide such plushie challenges again with Luo Bo in the participation pool.) "Boss, you do have it, don''t you?" Luo Bo stared at Jin for a moment, and before he could reply, Shi Zuo dragged his girlfriend by the ear and out of the instance. Xiong Da, who could read the situation understood immediately, thanked Jin for his challenge before also hurrying away. Once everyone was gone, leaving only Jin and Yang Ling in the room, a period of awkward silence settled between them. "Sigh¡­ alright I do have something for you. It''s not a plushie, but I suppose you might prefer this over it." Jin was the first to speak, and he took out a large metal suitcase placing it on the table. Yang Ling came forth and watched Jin click it opened. Only to reveal a brand new Gearbox suit. "I hope you''ll like it. As you might recall when you initially asked me to help out with your demonstration we were kinda short on time, so the one I gave you was a rushed model¡­ Anyway, my researchers had a lot of fun creating it, and in the meantime, they also started modifying it." Jin explained as he looked at the nearly busted Gearbox suit that Yang Ling was wearing. Yet instead of trying out his the gearbox suit, the tiger princess went straight to the specification sheet manual. "I see¡­" Yang Ling noticed a significant increase in the power output and a better metal composition which she did not believe to be possible with such innovative methods. When she picked a piece up, Yang Ling realised how light it was compared to the one she was using. However was it also durable? She was unsure about that as she threw one of the pieces with all of her might and it startled Jin for a while. The piece cracked the wall panels, and Yang Ling went forward to pick it up. "Not bad. It is rather solid for something this light." "You could have given me an advance warning that you were going to do that¡­" Jin grimaced and Yang Ling bit back at his sentence. "Same to you too. You didn''t give me any warning that you were going to give me such a pleasant present." Yang Ling said as she retrieved the piece and put it back into the suitcase. "You sure you want to give this to me? It must be rather expensive making it? I mean, with all your expenses. Wait¡­UNLESS YOU-" Yang Ling''s face turned rather black as she gasped as the possibility. "YOU DIDN''T! ¡­did you?!" "No! I swear, apart from you and me not a single human on Earth possesses any of these custom made Gearbox products!" Jin gulped his saliva as he spoke the truth. "Not a single human on Earth, you say?" Yang Ling was a little suspicious on his rather strange choice of words, but she could sense an aura of truth through the use of the psychic powers. She noticed it was getting harder to read Jin each time they met. Though she was diligently training her powers in that regard, it seemed that the dungeon supplier was also keeping pace with his own training to not get affected by it and she could not really fault him for that.(¡­ If only she knew, that it was mostly Pei protecting him although its the System that doing her work right now. If she were present right now, she''d probably tell Jin ''You owe me one.") It was easier for her to read other people. Luo Bo, for example, was sincere in wanting to help Yang Ling in her endeavour to get into Jin''s pants whereas rest was merely joining for the fun of it. Yet, the Tiger Princess did not say a single word at all about it. Also, was it because she could not read Jin that she felt this way about him? She didn''t have an answer for this yet. However, what Luo Bo mentioned wasn''t exactly wrong. Jin was indeed not looking to have any romantic relationship at the moment, and Yang Ling also had her own agendas. After Yang Ling discovered that she could walk again, it didn''t take long for her father to learn of this as well. The Tiger Lord began giving her more responsibilities than her two elder brothers because of their narrow mindedness in wanting to become the next Tiger Head. "Then I assume this is a bribe?" Yang Ling curled her lips as if wanting to trap Jin in another awkward situation. As expected, Jin sighed and nodded his head. "¡­ I at least hope you can believe that I didn''t intend for it to become one. Your dad came by just now, and he wanted to proceed ahead with the combined military and police training exercise for the monster horde simulation. I am totally on board for it, but it''s just that he pushed the deadline way too near for comfort." Jin tried not making himself sound too whiny, and Yang Ling stopped him. "You want to know why he''s pressing you for the exercise, right? I believe I do know the answer. What did he say about Northern Shenzhen status?" Yang Ling questioned. "He told me everything is all fine in the northern forests and mountains for now. He seemed to be more worried about a coastal attack." He replied, though a bit confused as he saw Yang Ling started to ponder over something. "Really? Hmm. That information kind of contradicts what I learned¡­"Yang Ling murmured to herself before she looked at Jin with a serious look. "What I am telling you will be confidential and can''t leave this room." She said as she had accepted the improved customised prototype Gearbox and stored it in her ring. "Monsters are getting more rampant in the northern forests, but the Border Guards are still able to keep them under control so far. Still, there were times where the monster remains got possessed by demons. We do not know if it is a deliberate act, especially since demons do not appear as often until recently." Yang Ling revealed to him though it made Jin frown hard. If this was true, then it meant that the JODE organisation had purposely avoided sharing this information with him. He did not like to be blindsided, and it was one thing to let him create the centre and work it for them, but it was another issue if they were using him to disguise some ulterior motive. Furthermore, assuming Grandma Yuan was in it too, Jin believed that a certain kind of trust had already been broken before he even started. "Should I confront JODE about this directly?" Jin asked for Yang Ling''s opinion. She was surprised as this was the first time she had seen the usually relaxed Jin with burning eyes. Only later did she connect the dots and realised that Jin must have been furious of being used to create the centre. "I do not know what you are thinking, but one thing''s for sure. The creation of a Shenzhen operation and training centre had always been the goal for JODE. If not you, they might have gone with somebody else. Reason being that it was nearer to the APAC (Asia Pacific) for collaboration purposes. Not just Demon Exorcists from China but from other APAC countries as well." Yang Ling tried to reason it out, and upon listening, Jin seemed to cool down a little. "¡­ I see. I might have read to much into it." Jin then forced a smile out. "Still, no harm asking your elder about it. She might have some clue about these occurrences. Especially when you are now a Demon Exorcist and a soon to be Branch Manager, this information should be privy to you." Yang Ling relaxed her stance a little when she saw Jin returning to normal. "Alright, thanks for the information. Oh, and please make sure to go back early. Your dad made it pretty clear that he would personally hold me responsible if you came back late." Jin said, and Yang Ling rolled her eyes up for a moment. "I bet he just wants to give me more work. I swear he''s enjoying the free time he''s getting by making me do that stuff for him. ¡­ still, I wouldn''t want him to come and bite your head off." Yang Ling joked before she waved goodbye to Jin. The tiger princess then reunited with her guards, and they went back together. As for Jin, he had some pressing matters to settle. Chapter 549 Demon Rat Analysis Jin returned to the Dungeon Maker not to check on the squads'' details nor the data he received from the improved Half Mask visors. He was there to analyse the Demon Rats and their abilities. With a cup of Blue Mountain coffee by his side, Jin started to compare the replay of the earlier fight to the notes and reports that his minions had given him. With today being the first time he had actively met the Demon Rats, they still continued to be something of a mystery to Jin. Unlike Gold''s initial description, there appeared to be many variants that Jin did not know how to categorise, and the reports he received were even messier especially as they seemed to show biases based on his minions'' attack power. The Goblins were able to annihilate and obliterate the town guards with ease, but when it came to the incoming army that marched to take back the towns, the Dark Templars'' group portrayed a different picture. (Yet, the Dark Templars did report that killing the Town Guards was much easier than handling the army.) While there could be outside factors such as equipment, experience and sheer numbers, there ought to be a baseline to measure the Demon Rats strength. Fortunately, with the creation of the temporary dimensional instance by Yun, the System had been able to measure each and every one of them systematically and group them based on their characteristics. The most apparent evidence was that the army had each and every Demon Rat equipped with a steam tech weapon regardless of rank, making them more dangerous than the Town Guards who did not have the same loadout. Jin could only conclude that the North and South Scholars ensured that their armies were at least equipped with the basic weaponry. By retrieving the steam tech as well as the materials the Demon Rats turned to, it had notified Jin that both weapons and armour were way superior to the previous iteration. Even the materials gained seemed to be of a higher quality than the town guards. However, what surprised the System the most was their numbers. Within the Dimensional Instance itself, the System tabulated that there had been at least 5000 within the region. If not for the cultivators'' constant use of weapon arts and techniques, they would have been quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number. Yet, what was most concerning was that even though Demon Rat vermintide had the advantage to pin its numbers against the cultivators, they chose not to do so. Rather, the Demon Rats had been cautious enough to first learn about the new type of enemies that had suddenly appeared in the region. This proved that they were at least intelligent enough to know that these particular new enemies were a menace to them. However, given the System''s analysis, as soon as they had realised that they could defeat the cultivators, they had pressed their attacks relentlessly. The replay video on Yang Ling demonstrated this very well. As soon as they noticed her attack weakening, and her power mostly stemming from her Gearbox, they had utilised their superior fighters to take her down. Despite their numbers, one might think they had low levels of constitution until the System found out that the advanced Steam Tech armour they wore had some sort of healing capability for them. While, the armour they wore may have been incomplete, for example just the helmets or the pair of boots, many of the rats who were mildly injured had the ability to recover themselves. As for the officers, they were better equipped and those with a complete set of armour, their healing capabilities were off the charts which lead to believe that the amount of armour and the quality of it, increased their healing factor by at least two folds. Since some of the officers were killed, the armour was also placed into the Laboratory instance for sorting and reverse engineering. When the System queried the creator of Steam Tech, Weslie noted that most of the items she saw had been the improvements of what she had previously designed. There were some of the Steam Tech items that she had not seen before and iterated that the North and South Scholars had never given her any feedback on the performance of those items. Weslie could only deduce that the North and South Scholars must have had their own research team improving the technology that she had invented. Still, with the resources System had provided her (including the whole new level of knowledge in Engineering from Jin''s world), the Scholar believed she could reverse engineering the Steam Tech and learn how to counter them. The only thing that she required was more Litoride. Pure ones that were freshly mined from the Earth for research purposes. Thus, Jin had tasked the Mousefolks (many who had been miners before) via Gold to search for Litoride veins. As for the rest of the Mousefolks, they were continuing their assaults on towns with Meomi. Also, what was worth noting were the variants and types of Demon Rats that the System was able to encounter from the battle skirmish it had hosted. While Xiong Da and Luo Bo mainly fought with rank and file Demon Rats, Yang Ling had the bad luck of encountering several Specialists (like the Demon Rat Brawler.) But instead of finishing her off at once, the specialist took the opportunity to test their abilities on her. It wasn''t until Jin came that those who were watching quickly ran away to learn more about the dungeon supplier on his black sludge mounts. Jin was concerned with how incredibly sneaky these Demon Rats were and that they were more than troublesome than the Orcs. "It''s as if I am fighting a human army. They are retreating when necessary to observe and learn more about us¡­ I know that we are doing basically the same, but it sucks when it''s used against one." Jin complained, fully aware of his hypocrisy, as he examined the various kinds of Demon Rats that the System had categorised. "User had been lucky that the Orcs had been more objective oriented and willing to sacrifice everything and anything for victory in one sweep. The Demon Rats are not invading, as they have already taken root in the Farming World, and can, therefore, take their time with retaliation. It pains System to see that they are more cunning and shrewd despite the fact that they could have been ideal workers." "Sigh, and they have yet to come out the big guns. Remember how the scouting party reported tanks and other heavy pieces of machinery? None of those appeared in the skirmish. Only foot soldiers and human slaves. Even their transports are non existential." Jin said as he noticed that the human slaves were used to drag their cargo and supplies. "I can only infer that this is just the cheapest subjugation battalion that the Demon Rats are willing to afford to retake those towns. They have yet to show us any more of their trump cards." Jin looked at how large their armies were with a holographic map that the System had created. With reports of caves and mountains that hid their training facilities, it painted a gloomier picture for Jin to win against them. The only thing he could do was to possibly kill off the head of the snake (North and South Scholars) and slowly handle the rest of the body later. However, that would make the common townsfolk suffer since their food and trade would be significantly affected by the protracted war. "So is User going ahead to create another Raid instance to delay the attacks on the subjugation army?" The System asked as it predicted that the invading army would take another week or so by foot to reach the nearest town that was liberated. "Not sure, we do not have any leaders at the moment for the resistance movement. Unless Gold or Weslie personally reveals themselves to the public, and entice the townsfolk to move out of their homes, there is not much we can do." Jin contemplated for a while before he decided to collect all the data, store them safely in the System''s database and return back to his home for dinner. If he could not think up a good solution right now, this didn''t mean that others would be in the same predicament. After all, that was one of the reasons he had insisted on the whole mandatory group dinner, and it had been days since Jin got his fill of Lynn''s cooking. Chapter 550 Dinner Time Jin returned to his home, and the first thing he saw was Lynn already preparing the meal for the table. "Ah, Jin?" Lynn did not seem too surprised to see Jin finally back at home. For the past few days, all he had taken were snacks and coffee, so she figured that he probably craved some delicious food as part of the celebration for opening the Tree Mall. Even Jin was kind of startled by the amount of food that was placed on the table. It sorta felt like some welcoming back feast. (Well thinking about it he did kind of lock himself up in the dungeon maker for ages.) Qiu Yue was at the side of the table nearly drooling at the sight of Lynn''s creations, along with Milk and Peppers waiting patiently for Lynn to finish cooking up the last few final dishes. Jin kind of figured the occasion and sat at the far end of the table. (None of them dared to try and ''help out''. Lynn had made it painfully clear that only her and her Peggies were allowed to do so.) Yet, it didn''t take long for the Penguin Chef to have all the dishes placed on the table. Some of which looked so good in the presentation that both Qiu Yue and Jin believed themselves to be in some five star restaurant. Before partaking the food, whenever Milk was present, she would ask Jin for permission to say Grace for the lord. Even though Jin was never much of a believer in religion, (especially after learning about gods, demons and other fantasies he was exposed to) he permitted Milk to lead the whole group for a small little prayer of thanks. "Thank you Lord, for the food and bless this small family of ours to survive the trials set by Lord thyself. May we get stronger through the hurdles of life and always support each other in times of need. And as I pray, Father, keep me in your presence. Amen," As Milk finished speaking they could feel a light enveloped the food, and the first to open their eyes was Peppers. "Let''s DIG IN!!!" Peppers shouted enthusiastically. She immediately grabbed the grilled chicken drumstick at the centre of the table. The rest shook their heads at the childish behaviour of little Peppers and began to pick the savoury food on the table in a more civilised manner. Jin enjoyed the two new dishes that were on the table and Lynn told him that those came were part of the latest spoils from the Giant World. Specifically, the Horned Chicken and the Four Clawed Scorpion they killed. "My Sub System had given me recipes on how to create Horned Grilled Chicken which used the horn as a spice condiment¡­ Though I had to grind the horn to obtain it." "Ohh so that''s where the slightly spicy but at the same time peppery kind of taste comes from?" Jin asked, and Lynn nodded her head. "As for the Four Clawed Saut¨¦ed Meat, it comes primarily from the claws themselves rather than the body. Hence I left the part of the large claws as part of the presentation decoration for the dish." Lynn described as she introduced the dishes. "I loved it a lot! It tasted a little beefy, and its juicy parts are very satisfying, it''s guaranteed to be a hit." Qiu Yue commented, and suddenly a teleport appeared right in front of them. Kraft sauntered through the portal and greeted Jin with a dish as well. "Whew~! Just in time for dinner! Lucky me. I have something for all of you, take it as apologies for not being around for quite some time. Being a¡­leader in the underworld sure has been trying." Kraft half smiled as he placed the dish on the table and opened the lid for them to smell. "It''s rare for you to be so busy with a task, that you even sent a message not to be disturbed. What exactly have you been up to?" Jin asked as he stood up for a while to peer through the new dish that was on the table. It looked like a mish mash of vegetables in the pot together. The soup was piping warm, and Kraft also figured that Jin would at least come down for dinner with the whole gang after the opening ceremony. "Oh, you know nothing too special. Checked out the other gangs, infiltrated some of their headquarters and branch location, just to see what we were up against. But more importantly, I''ve been making friends with the Drows." "They are a surprisingly close knitted community. Had a very warm welcome and I never expect for such an isolated village to be so hospitable. We could learn a thing or two from the dark elves." Kraft replied and explained that the vegetable soup was a traditional delicacy of theirs, promoting vitality and rich in antioxidants. Lynn took a sip of it and found it delightfully light and pleasant that she asked if Kraft could scoop a bowl for her to drink. "With pleasure, Chef Lynn. I can even do you one better as I''ve brought along the recipe and the vegetables needed if you wish to recreate or improve on it. Here you go! I never wish to miss any of your meals if possible. To be able to serve you with some good quality food for a change is my honour." Kraft smile rather genuinely for a change and subsequently helped the rest to get a portion of the soup. After which, he too had started digging in the sumptuous feast. As Kraft was about to start, he spoke out that Zeru seemed to be missing¡­only to coincide his findings with another Portal appearing from the backyard. Zeru came back with a large bag alongside him. It was not some luggage bag but a body bag¡­with someone still screaming inside. When the portal closed, Zeru went to the side of the bag and used his hand to knock the person unconscious, causing the muffled screaming to be reduced to silence. He then opened the bag and left him at the backyard for a moment. "Erm¡­ Welcome back, Zeru." Jin greeted his master, who also had something else on his hands. It was Japanese Takoyaki. "Mixed flavours. There''s octopus, chicken, squid and cheese. It''s slightly late but congratulations to you Jin for successfully opening the Tree Mall." Zeru said as he took out the delicious smelling meatballs on the table. "Please dig in," Jin said even though he was worried about the unconscious human that was placed in the body bag. He figured that if that human had incurred any injuries, Zeru would have asked Milk to do something about it. "Sorry about the unwarranted visitor, the System told me that you came for dinner, so I had to improvise a little," Zeru said as he thanked Lynn for the food. "Good thing I made extra. Please enjoy!" Lynn said casually as they started to discuss the things they needed to address while enjoying their meal as one big family. And yeah, the first thing on the agenda was the elephant in the room. That body bag. Chapter 551 Body Bag "Is that who I think it is?" Jin asked as he munched on his food. Zeru nodded his head as he was taught not to speak when chewing. "I tried contacting Kraft, but the System denied me access. Thus, I had decided to follow the guy around instead." Zeru told. The person in the bag was none other than the mangaka artist and creator of Gunndam, Amura Rei. "Well done¡­I actually did not expect you to find him that fast." Jin praised his bellator with much respect for his abilities. After all, he had instructed Zeru only hours ago and to show up with the results by dinner was somewhat too efficient even for Jin. Unfortunately, Zeru didn''t speak of visiting his wife''s grave but instead focused on how he found the mangaka artist. "Neither did I. The System was able to vaguely pinpoint the mangaka''s favourite places via his Tweeter Account, and it was a huge coincidence that I found him exiting the animation company he was collaborating with." "I wasn''t sure at first, so I bumped into him when he had his phone out and helped him pick it up. The System was able to infiltrate his phone within an instant the moment I insert a USB drive in it." All the Sword Saint needed was less than a second to connect and disconnect it, which was more than enough time for the System to run interference. "System managed to correlate the information on his Tweeter account and the one used on the target''s phone, ensuring that the person was the correct target." The System stated. "Yet, System was unable to find anything in his phone that had information pertaining to the Mecha World." "Thus, I shadowed him for a while. He seemed to be in a hurry after getting his phone. I was sure that given time, there would be an opportunity to at least have a conversation with Rei." Zeru finished filling his plate with food and began eating. "Kraft''s here now." Qiu Yue pointed at an annoyed Kraft who disliked being called out. "Oh, come on. You want me to work while eating''s Lynn food? You must be crazy! I do not want to be beaten by her for not appreciating her food." Kraft gave a lame excuse, but it at least made Lynn pleased. "Since when was the guy such a foodie?" Jin wondered to himself before Kraft''s eyes turned to him. "You try living in a shithole for who knows how many years without access to food, and we will see how you turn out. Especially if you have a star chef making it for you. Also, you really should keep up with your training, Pei has been complaining that you''ve been slacking and I see that she''s right!" "I don''t think Zeru is done with his story. He said he stalked the guy, but that does not really explain how he ended up in a body bag. It should have been easy enough to knock him out and transport him without¡­you know that body bag. So, there must be more to it." Peppers deduced, and everyone looked at the Sword Saint. "Indeed. I''ve rescued him from the Yakuzas." With his mouth empty, he made a comment and proceed to continue eating. "Arggh!! Don''t keep us hanging! It won''t hurt to talk a little while eating!" Milk was slightly frustrated by the pausing Zeru did, and he chuckled a little while chewing his food. "Did you manage to see which Yakuza group that did it?" Lynn, who had had her fair share of encountering the Yakuzas was curious to know more about the culprit. However, Zeru shook his head as he swallowed his food. "I only saw a partial tattoo at the neck of their ring leader when I intervened. It was a Skull biting on a gold coin." Zeru replied, and Lynn pondered for a moment while Zeru began from the top on how Rei got into the body bag. "Even though it was an open space, there was only him and me in the street after ''accidentally'' bumping to him. So when the action ensued, the kidnappers seemed to make sure that I was somewhat out of sight before they rushed the van in and grabbed him." Zeru said as he took a sip of water. "But hearing the ruckus and seeing how the incident unfolds, I quietly followed behind them, hoping to learn more about the situation. But instead of the gangster''s hideout, they brought him to an abandoned garage. I believed it was a holding place for interrogations." Zeru shared and told them that was also the time when the System informed him that Jin decided to come for dinner. "So I figured I get some local delicacy before assaulting the place since Rei would not be going anywhere else for some time." Zeru then picked a takoyaki ball from the table and began to chew. Everyone immediately inferred that the Sword Saint went to buy desserts and returned to bash the Yakuzas up before grabbing Rei. "Ah~! It could be the Clan Fukurouju. Considering that particular Lucky God deals with wealth and necromancy. Plus, they love to put people into their debt for favours." Lynn suddenly remembered what those tattoos could mean, but Zeru shrugged his shoulders. He knew that he only intervene to save the artist''s life, and it had to be done as quickly as possible to prevent them from calling reinforcements. (As well as keeping his identity secret.) "We could ask him more when he wakes up. If it has to do with money, then I guess he must have been lucky that we intervened for him before the situation got worse." Jin said as he looked back for a moment and continued eating. The mangaka artist was soundly asleep after being knocked unconscious by Zeru. "Nah, keep him asleep, that way I can do my stuff after my meal," Kraft added when the table incidentally shifted their attention to him. "You talked about Drows. How are the Dark Elves aiding you there? And how''s the Dungeon Cave going so far? Anyone finally defeated Dungeon Cave Level 10" The dungeon supplier asked even though the System could have provided the answer to him. Just as Kraft was about to speak, Yun entered the house via a portal right at the moment too. "Ah! Yun!" Lynn suddenly stood up and went to the kitchen to pick a plate up. "I kept the best ones for you," Lynn said, and the dish was indeed filled with the juiciest of drumsticks that made Peppers envious. Very envious. The little Demonic Sage Queen was going to whine about it, but Milk immediately shafted a piece of meat into her mouth to keep her quiet. "Sorry for coming in late, the shopfront had some meddlesome customers. Took care of them and I don''t wish to talk about it. Continue with what you guys were saying. I am already up to date from the System''s logs." Yun said in a slightly annoyed manner, and everyone understood that it would be best to let her eat and chill rather than ask about the incident. "Alright, fine. My turn, right?" Kraft leaned forward, and his usual smirk face was showing. Chapter 552 Night Foxes Kraft explained how the integration had been a rather smooth sailing experience with the Dark Elves. The moment they joined him, he had already begun their induction in the tavern''s basement. The training was personally given by the foxes themselves. With all of them having received the necessary combat foundation, it was easy enough to teach. Additionally, as all of them had their own specialities, they were even able to help the Drow learn more about their craft in the future. But practice? That was another question. Kraft had asked the System to make an exception for them to able to train by themselves in the Dungeon Cave, but of course, he was willing to pay for their entrance fee. (At least the first 500 attempts of each elf.) Did they get some sort of help? On the contrary, he had viciously put a bunch of restrictions on them. For those with magical abilities, Kraft had collaborated with the System to purposely place anti magical inscriptions on them. With just a rock in their hands, the Dark Elves were forced to go through intensive training of killing the monsters. No potions nor weapons at hand. They had to learn to either go through it by brute force or with a cunning head. Of course, they died terribly over and over as the monsters did not show them any mercy since its a dungeon run. (At least Kraft did not strengthen the monster they had to fight, and he enjoyed each and every coin he spent on them.) However, with time, their nimble bodies learned how to evade the elemental attacks, endure the physical punishment, and if there was something like proficiency with rocks, each one of them inevitably became a grandmaster. They managed to clear the Dungeon Cave all the way down to the tenth floor, while no adventurer has set foot on that floor yet. It was because the ninth floor was not just a dungeon but a maze dungeon. One that was filled with treacherous traps and its layout changed every day. Jin initially wanted to make the shift in layout per entry, but the System informed him that it would discourage the majority who would most likely proceed to farm out the first eight floors in such a case. Not only that, but the ninth floor was also filled with an amalgamation of monsters from the past eight floors, including the Praying Mantis. Only instead of a wide playing field, they had to fight against the Mantis in a narrowed space with possible traps at every turn. Which was also why the Dark Elves was able to succeed in this particular instance. Their constant fighting sharpened their senses which allowed them to sniff out prey and notice the difference in the maze. Yet to the other adventurers, they were bogged down with items and heavy armour to protect themselves from enemies. (Still, this maze dungeon was a practice for most of them, to prepare them for the lower levels when death was looming with every step.) Besides, after getting cut a dozen times by the Praying Mantis in the earlier levels, it would be a shame if the Drows would be killed by it. And unlike the adventurers who could teleport to any level of the dungeon they had set foot on, Kraft was sadistic enough to make the Drows start over from level one as soon as they died. It wasn''t too surprising that only one out of ten of them managed to clear this trial within the first 500 attempts, as for those who were unable to they would either need to pay for themselves or earn money to do that. Their new boss allowed them to do so by partying with the other adventurers but with one condition. The Dark Elves had to wear the attire which Kraft had custom ordered from Zhi Nu. It was the same kind of battle jacket which the Foxes were wearing (minus all the inscriptions). The only (other) difference was the particular badge on the Foxes sleeves, the Drows had been given their own symbol. A fox with a full moon in the background. Kraft told them to call themselves the Night Foxes from that point on. The adventurers were initially scared to death when they saw Dark Elves in the vicinity. It would be one thing if it had only been one, but there were so many, that some had assumed it they came here to ambush one. Luckily Zhi Nu, the adventurer''s guild manager had come out to assure them they were not here to make any trouble, but because they were the security forces which the adventurer guild had employed. While Kraft did state that he wanted to create an underworld gang, in essence, he was also creating security for this particular small budding town. And what would be better than a group that would remain unbiased against the goblins, orcs AND humans? Their appearance came at the perfect time as well. Qiu Yue and Jin''s contract between the Orc''s spymaster was nearing to its end. Cross, the spymaster goblin for the Orcs had graciously extended their stay for another month because of the overwhelming progress of the Dungeon Cave. Still, the Orcs Security Force could not remain there forever since it was draining a lot of their resources too. Therefore, the Night Foxes took over the security the adventurers needed in the vicinity. The moment Zhi Nu made the announcement, no one dared to mess the Dark Elves nor did they try to make fun of them at all. Their presence alone was menacing enough to cause crime rates to drop down to unprecedented levels after they demonstrated their show of force once. One of the leading adventurer team had started to think that they could extort whoever they pleased just because they had first hand information on how to clear the Dungeon Cave. Needless to say, Kraft made a shining example of them when they were thrown into the makeshift jail cell by the Drows. Nowadays, that particular adventurer team selflessly looks after anyone who needs help without any complaints. "So¡­are they super buffed or something? Especially that ridiculously harsh training with just a stone." Jin asked, and Kraft nodded his head with confidence. "Not that stupidly buffed kind of image that you have in mind but they are strong enough to take down Three Boar Knights at once. And that''s the weakest of them all with just one stone. I won''t bother to tell you how powerful the strongest of them is, cause it will spoil the fun." Kraft grinned and iterated that the Dark Elves were now respected as the Big Brother of the neighbourhood. "Many of the new adventurers rely on them to make it through the first five floors¡­for a price of course." Kraft laughed as he knew that it was easy money. "But that''s more or less the overall picture for the Dungeon Cave." "I see. Use the money you earn to build an outpost for them¡­unless you prefer to use the tavern as the base, which I won''t mind too." Jin suggested, but Kraft had already proceeded with the latter choice. "I already asked the System to create beddings and such under the tavern. Like a secret base, you know." Kraft smiled as he said that. The old fox seemed to be done with his report and looked expectantly towards Qiu Yue and Lynn, as it should be the girls'' turn to share plans for the Giant World. Chapter 553 Blowing Out Of Proportion "Qiu Yue already shared some of it with me earlier, but let''s share it with the rest of the group. Do we have an update on the Hamster Pr-" "Oh, we have already captured a Salamander, it''s in our possession already." Qiu Yue interrupted as she leaned over the table to take a piece of the Takoyaki as well. "The moment you left after instructing me, Hamatarou managed to apprehend one." "¡­That''s fast. What did you learn?" Jin asked as he sat back. "Apparently, their new King had the precognition that massacring all the other villagers were the only way to survive. Edwardio, the Salamander Guard we captured told us that whatever their new King eats, he gains the power of that particular species as well as their knowledge. Not to mention, they also possess a Totem of Atem from robbing the frogs." Qiu Yue explained. "Their new King can absorb powers? So which villages have they killed already?" Jin asked as the situation seemed more pressing than he had anticipated. If all the villages were destroyed, there was no saying if he had powerful enough minions to assist as they had promised the Hamster Prince. Also, no help for him meant no new minions and of course no new manpower. "At the moment, it''s only the frogs. Oh, but we happened to rescue one frog survivor. Gaeru happened to have gone out on a hunt that particular day, so he was spared from the massacre. However, he did not seem to take things too lightly, so Hamatarou had to kidnap him when he tried to single handedly take revenge." Qiu Yue replied. "Mhmm, Qiu and I decided to let out the Salamander Guard after roughing him up a bit and for him to open a secret passage for us. The System should already have the map of the castle in its database by now. All we need is a plan to gather all of them and annihilate them at once." Lynn discussed their plans out. "Sounds like it will be a nice workout for me," Kraft commented which also made Peppers raise her hand. "May I blow up the whole place? That should be able to kill the people in the castle all in one go. With Milk''s Scan, I can do an area wide scan and annihilate the remnants as well as rescuing the other villages." Peppers asked, and Jin looked at her with a bit of a dilemma. "¡­How about we rescue the villages first and bring them to our place before dealing with the rest of the castle?" Jin asked, and Peppers eyes shone like a diamond. "Oooooh!!! The old Jin is back!! Exploding not just the castle but the entire city itself!! If that''s the case, we can just skip right to that step and burn the entire city down. Save us the manpower to rescue them." Peppers suggested with glee (some people just want to see the world burn) and Lynn looked at Peppers with fascination at her proposal. "They are like giants, you know. At least ten times taller than you. Their buildings are waaaaaaaaay bigger than you can imagine." Lynn told her as if her explosion was not meant to bring down a Titan''s City. "NO WAY!? A Titan''s City?!!! Give me a second while I take a look!" Peppers said as she sucked her thumbs of all the food sauce and conjured a magic eye out before teleporting it into the Giant''s world. Then, a projected screen appeared at the far side of the table, giving her a bird''s eye view of the city. Everyone on the table was equally curious as they stood up and looked through the screen ike a window to that world. "Estimated distance to cover the entire city, would approximately be the size of accumulative land size of Mexico." The System stated, and it made Peppers contemplate before she started to make some calculations on a conjured blackboard. "¡­You kidding me, right? You want to tell me that you seriously have the power to blast an entire country out of the existence?" Jin queried, and Peppers who snapped out of her thoughts, turned and smiled at Jin. "I can do that. I mean the System would have to remove the limiter of course, but ahhaha I''ll probably be out of commission for at least a week¡­ no scratch that. More like a month if I''m lucky even with constant treatment." Peppers answered as she returned to her blackboard. The System chimed in that they could alleviate her pain by placing her in a controlled coma. However, to Peppers. It would be an achievement. A test of her skills to prove that she was capable of annihilating an entire country. "Wwaait. You are seriously considering!" Jin halted Peppers way of thinking, but before he knew it, she disappeared. "HAHAAHHA! Scare you for a second, right?!" Peppers appeared on the second floor as she laughed from above. After which, she skipped down the stairs and returned to her chair. "Gosh, do not scare me like that." Jin let out a heavy sigh of relief and returned back to his seat only to notice that Qiu Yue had an earnest look on her face. "Maybe, it''s not the worst idea after all." Qiu Yue blurted out. "What? Destroying the entire city and putting Peppers into a coma?" Jin questioned Qiu Yue''s way of thinking. It was one thing to aid them with some of their minions, but another thing to become terrorist on a whole new level, and more importantly, he did not wish to burden Peppers that much for a favour. "You see, currently we have Lost Tech and Steam Tech in our possession. We can ask Ayse and Weslie to come up with something that may be able to amplify Pepper''s magical powers to a point where our little wizard does not end up killing herself." Qiu Yue voiced out her opinion. "So now our solution is to destroy everything with a big blast?" Jin seemed not to be in favour of that plan. "No, you don''t get it? The threat is the Salamanders which are in that city. The people we wish to help are also in the city. Either way, we are going to get both of them. The explosion that Peppers performs also helps us collect tens or maybe hundreds worth of diverse species within that small region itself, enhancing our food repertoire by many folds." "While I do not really agree with that method, but yes, with Peppers being the only one to kill them in one hit, we would be able to replicate the Giant Monsters and use them for breeding. If I kill it, it will only be a piece of meat." Lynn added on. "But the meat you receive and clone will definitely be cheaper than the reproduction cost of those Giant Monsters." Jin countered yet Lynn shook her head. "Remember what Half Ghoul Lord Derek is experimenting on? If he has live subjects, he should be able to turn those Giant Monsters into a more viable food source. Dead bodies can''t be of assistance of him." "Haha, not to mention, you can rebuild that city from scratch. Who knows? Other Giant inhabitants might be able to live in there as well." Kraft said which gave Jin the chills. "Why does it feel like you want the experience of little humans to be crushed by Giants." Jin accused the fox. He felt defeated that everyone seemed to be supporting that idea. "I¡­shall ask that Hamster Prince for his opinion before I proceed. I do not want our actions to bite us in the ass like that mechanical brain titan." Jin sigh as he looked at the decisive faces at the table. "System, please find out if there will be consequences to such actions. I don''t want to be blacklisted from your market nor do I want to end up on a bounty list and be hunted down by some Protectors of the Universe." "User, please be reassured that such Protectors of the Universe are non existential. If there is, we are technically the pioneers." "You mean the pioneers of bringing death and destruction?" Jin argued back. "User protects them by putting them to the System''s care." The System rebutted, and everyone laughed with a bitter smile on their face. Somehow they knew that the System was being sarcastic to a point where Jin could only proceed to the next topic. Chapter 554 Mecha World Discussion Everyone was almost done with their food, so Lynn decided to show off the true desserts of the night. Mocha Ice Cream Pudding. However, the conversations were still ongoing between the entire group. Jin told them about the situation he was facing and how he needed to go to the Mecha World to get the Mechanical Brain of the Living Titan from the United Federation before defeating the Farm Rats for good. "Neither one of them can be classified as good." Yun who had asked Lynn to place her dessert at the side as she finished the last bit of chicken on her plate. "Both factions committed treacherous crimes on each other, and this isn''t the first time they got into a war." "So, unlike the Demon Rats or the Orcs, there are no clear lines for this?" Jin asked, and Yun nodded her head. "Hurting either one of the two factions will help shift the balance in favour of the other faction. For example, if you take the Living Titan''s brain away, it will cost them a superweapon which could be used to deter the Xeon Union." Yun continued. "Then let''s be the bad guys this time around." Zeru, who usually refrained from giving too many opinions, had decided to speak up for this. "What do you mean?" Jin asked, and Kraft giggled as he held onto this glass cup of mocha ice cream pudding. "I see where you are coming from Zeru. But still, for you to suggest that? Oh man, that''s gold! Comedy gold! My stomach hurts from all the giggling." Kraft broke out in laughter as he bit on a biscuit that was placed on top of the mocha pudding. Meanwhile, Jin was all confused from that side conversation. "Oh, you don''t know the full story?" Kraft looked at Zeru for once, and he reluctantly nodded his head, as if permitting the fox to tell the story out. "You know how everyone praises Zeru for his swordsmanship and for that movie about his chivalry to protect his master?" Kraft asked, and all three System Users nodded their head. "It''s a coverup leaving out all the bad stuff. Like the really illegal kind of bad stuff. That is why all the underworld gang came after him. Even the police couldn''t handle the scum of his ''master''." Kraft revealed, reinforcing what Yun had said about Tou Ma. Suddenly Zeru let out his killing intent aimed at Kraft. "Oh oops, my bad, unlike me, some of us actually have sentimental value for our mentor." Kraft apologised to Zeru before continuing. "The gang wars were extremely rampant during Zeru''s time, and when his mentor became part of the cabinet members, he made Zeru do despicable things," Kraft mentioned the assassination of known cabinet members and Zeru''s hand in disguising them to look like it was the work of various gangs. "Oh, but in his defence, those cabinet members were the worst kind of scum imaginable. Each one tainted black in the cesspool of corruption, so you do not have to feel bad for them." Kraft explained that triggered the police to do a shakedown on the gang wars that were in the shadows. "Usually, the police do not interfere with the gang stuff, but this was too big of a news story that the police commissioner had his hands forced." According to Kraft, Zeru participated with the capturing of key gang members, to kind of cover up his tracks but his master was not done yet. What he did next shocked all of them. To change the game completely, he was tasked to kidnap the children of the Triad leaders. Nobody except Zeru was skilled enough to perform such a feat. "In return, his mentor demanded millions of money which he later used to improve the infrastructure of the country. Naturally, it took decades to see the genius of his groundwork, so at that point of time, people did not know his objective and the gang leaders united together to go against the police and the public." "Seeing how Zeru''s master was a proponent of anti gang war, he was targeted regularly but little did they know that he was the mastermind of the whole fiasco in the country. Well, what followed afterwards isn''t too far from what that movie showed you guys. The infamous fight of protecting his master. Up to this day, only his mentor and Zeru knew about this." Kraft concluded his storytelling and paused to scoop another portion of his pudding. "And me, of course. Hehehe! Otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to share this story with you! Everything else is covered in lies and propaganda." Kraft added, and Zeru shook his head. "You were after all the one who advised him to do these despicable things" Zeru pointed out the fox''s involvement and Jin furrowed his eyebrows for a while¡­until he connected all the dots. "Your mentor was a System User??" Jin asked, and Zeru nodded his head. "Sub System User. To be exact." Kraft shook his chair back and forth until Yun threw her spoon at Kraft, to remind him to show some table manners. "So, you are suggesting that we should be the common enemy to unite that world''s two factions together?" Lynn tried to return back to topic and Zeru nodded his head solemnly. "We might not be gods, but we can play the act of gods." Yun chimed in with her opinion and Jin guessed it was a decent idea¡­ provided they had the necessary power. "Even if we want to be their enemies. We do not have any advanced capabilities against the Mecha World!" "We can always steal." Milk said out loudly, which nearly made everyone spit their pudding out of their mouth. "What? Just because I am a priestess, I can''t say bad stuff?" Milk pouted and stole a spoonful from Peppers. "Hey! Why did you-" Suddenly another spoon flew towards Peppers and the mother of the group told them not to quarrel at the dining table. "Okay, even if we were to ¡­borrow their items, what are we talking? Their robots? Mechataur and the Robot Crawlers were alive in the Dungeon World, but I cannot really kill non living thing and make them obey me. I need to physically bring those things back to the System place." Jin said with more dilemma when he first started. "Did you not bring back those Steam Tech as well?" Qiu Yue questioned and Jin said that it was because they were equipped on the Demon Rats. "Then if we kill the humans piloting the Mechas, do you think you can obtain them?" Qiu Yue replied with yet another question which made Jin equally curious as well. "If that were possible, Jin would already have gotten the Floating Lost Tech Carrier Ship when his minions killed the captain." Peppers reaffirmed that it was not feasible. "And if I may interrupt. As much as I am a fan of the five finger discount (shoplifting), why bother when you have a library full of blueprints right in front of you?" Kraft pointed his spoon at the body bag that was still left in the backyard. "Believe it or not, he truly is from the Mecha World. Haven''t figured out how he arrived here yet, but this ''Roland'' was a pretty talented engineer." Chapter 555 Krafts Insistence "You kidding me?" Jin looked back and saw the Amura Rei sleeping so soundly after Zeru''s chop. "Do you wish to bring him into the interrogation room?" Kraft smiled mischievously as he remembered he was supposed to have been captured by the Japanese Yakuza. "Are you planning to pretend we are the ones to have abducted him?" Qiu Yue questioned. Her face revealed that she would be happy to take part in such a farce. "You can''t be serious, right?" Lynn began clearing the dishes and Yun assisted her, ignoring the conversation the rest were having. "I don''t think it''s that bad? If he thinks that we are the gangsters, he might probably be more submissive than learning that we are a group of magically enhanced people that knows his origin." Qiu Yue replied, and Kraft had already started dragging him to his ''personal'' chambers. "DO I even have a say in this?" Jin asked unwillingly for all the decisions to be made without him today. Most importantly, he demanded to know why Kraft didn''t just merely pick the information out of his head. "You kidding me?" Kraft reiterated what Jin just asked to him. "It''s no fun that way! I''ve been training those violet skins until I became too bored of them all for your sake. Besides, this is a scenario, we do not usually get to play with." "Enjoy being one of the bad guys for a change! And of course! You have a choice. Do you prefer being Underling A or Subordinate B? Heck, I am feeling generous¡­ if you ask really~ nicely, I may just promote you to be Henchman C." Kraft teased, and Qiu Yue began followed him upstairs. "Zeru, do you mind being the ''good'' cop in this situation? I''d feel better knowing that someone looks out that Kraft doesn''t break our guest." Jin asked, and Zeru furrowed his eyebrows. "Master does not wish to be part of the interrogation? We could call for you once he is more cooperative." Zeru suggested, and Jin laughed as he looked at Qiu Yue and Kraft carrying the body to the second floor. "I have¡­a few special projects to take care off for the night. I am afraid if I don''t do it now, I might not have the time after I learn the truth. Also, I''d rather be able to have a good night''s sleep. I somehow doubt it will be possible if I watch ¡­you know how Kraft can be¡­too creative in his methods." "I see, very well then. Have a good rest, Master. I shall overlook the interrogation for you." Zeru promised as he got up and thanked Lynn for her wonderful meal. "Oh, before you go. Was your trip ¡­ fruitful?" Jin asked with concern, hoping that he managed to at least accomplish his personal desire. "Indeed. It was a pleasant surprise that no one touched that place yet. I can only hope that I can still see the grave in the future as well." Zeru''s smile was bittersweet, an expression which Jin rarely saw his teacher show to the public. "I see¡­That''s good to hear." Jin said as he teleported himself back to the Dungeon Maker. "System, is Zeru telling the truth? May I have the coordinates for his wife''s grave." The System did not reply and instead gave the coordinates for Jin and teleported him to the particular spot. The first thing Jin noticed was that he was at the middle of a hill with a gigantic tree. While it definitely cannot be compared to the size of his Tree Mall, the tree was large by its standard counterparts. Many were seen taking photos of themselves with their friends and spouses underneath it on a cold night evening. "The city named that particular tree, the Daigo Zakura. It was named after their Emperor Go Daigo who visited around 900 years ago." The System stated and told its User that they were currently at Maniwa in Okayama Prefecture, West Japan. It also noted that the city was known as the City of Flowers. "Now that you mention it, Zeru''s cultivation is the Lotus, right? Don''t we have our very own City of Flowers in China as well?" Jin asked as he enjoyed at the towering Sakura tree alone. "The state government had proclaimed Guangzhou to be the City of Flowers in the late 1990s for tourism promotion purposes. However, the original City of Flowers was located in Jiangsu Province, Suzhou, where the Classical Gardens including the infamous Cang Lang Pavillion were built in the 11th Century." "The original City of Flowers?" Jin did not know that his country had such a place before. "Indeed. The Flower Clans, who were infamous for their Flower Eastern Cultivation, called that place their home during the ruling of the Wu Dynasty. Records stated that one needed special permission or at least a Flower Cultivation in order to enter their city. Else, it would merely be a mirage to those who sought that city out." The System stated. "So¡­Zeru was originally from that city? Wait, I thought he was a mixed blood." Jin questioned, and it seemed to have more questions than ever. "One of Zeru''s parents originated from here in Maniwa and his wife was from our City of Flowers. For more information, please query Bellator Zeru." The System did not wish to reveal more unless Jin personally questioned Zeru himself. "Fine then one last question. Is this the tree where Zeru laid his wife to rest?" Jin asked the most pertinent question, but the System diverted his question to Zeru. "Please refer your queries to Bellator Zeru himself." The System repeatedly replied even though Jin was trying his luck out. "Fine, then I shall rephrase the question. I wish to lay down a bouquet of flowers at her grave. May I know where it is?" Jin knew that sometimes, it was the phrasing of the questions that matter. Instantly, the System reported the directions to where the grave was, and Jin found it to be at another Sakura tree, and this time it was near a small pond. There, he saw a glimpse of two lotuses floating at the side of the lake. A pair of black and white lotus. The dungeon supplier could sense that there was chi infused into the pair of lotus as if to ensure their longevity on the pond. "Ah, that is no doubt Zeru''s chi," Jin whispered to himself as he pulled out a small bouquet of lotus flowers from his storage ring which he bought it immediately via the System''s black market app on his phone. (The app icon had a Panda with a hood down, smirking right back at Jin.) He then placed it near the pond since there was no gravestone in sight despite trying to search for it. Only a few minutes later did the System decided to reveal that Zeru purposely placed the grave in the water, making it out of sight for other people. "I guess he must have his reasons." Jin thought as he bowed towards the lake as a sign of respect. However, at that moment, he realised that there was a change in chi within the atmosphere as if it was in reaction to his flower offerings. Chapter 556 Spirit of the Land - Part 1 "Warning, the System has noted a significant change in the environment." The System stated, and yet Jin felt like he was telling him the obvious. However, what the System meant was that there was such a drastic change of chi that he warranted caution to his well being. True enough, the water of the pond right in front of him began to ripple and suddenly the Sakura tree that should be out of season, bared with only branches, had begun to bloom. Jin did not take any chances and took his sword out and conserved his Maqi into the sword that he was holding. Ever since the dungeon supplier had experienced Zeru''s way of drawing his sword, his body automatically attempted to copy that particular movement stance to dish out the strongest amount of damage in a single hit. "That ¡­stance. Xiao Ru taught you that?" A gentle female voice sounded from within the pond, and Jin''s shoulders stiffened up immediately. "Xiao Ru?¡­ Do you mean Zeru?" Jin asked, mildly confused by the question, and the voice giggled. He clearly remembered that Zeru''s original name should be Zhe Rou rather than Ru nor as the voice named him ''Zhi Ru''. "I see, so you call him by his nickname instead." The voice whispered in Jin''s head as a foggy silhouette of a lady appeared right beside the Sakura Tree. "System recommends User to emit more Maqi for the silhouette to materialise further." Jin acknowledged the System''s opinion and did as he was told. Soon, the foggy silhouette started to take on a more corporeal shape through the more concentrated emission of Maqi. Consequently, the Sakura tree started to bloom even further. Within a few minutes, Jin could see a gentle, demure looking lady with hair longer than her height sitting at the side of the Sakura Tree, staring at the dungeon supplier with curiosity. "Zhi Ru never liked to use his new name for some reason." The lady graciously introduced herself as Fei Er, and the wife of Zeru. "To be able to meet his current master is an honour." Fei Er said as she slowly bowed and prostrated in front of him. Jin then realised that the way she prostrated did not use her legs at all. Only with a closer look did he notice that she did not have any legs at all. Her thighs were practically rooted to the ground. "Ah¡­it''s a long story." Fei Er saw his expression and smiled bitterly. "What I have is time." Jin lied. He hardly knew the history of his bellators, might as well start with this. Although he was kind of surprised that her spirit still lingered on this land. "I feel that you are not really honest in that aspect. Nevertheless, I am happy for your concern. Long story short, it''s a curse." Fei Er said as she dragged herself towards the pond. There were no apparent tracks on the ground when she moved, indicating that she was indeed a spirit of the land as Fei Er looked at the pair of Black and White Lotus. "Zhi Ru has been here, recently?" Fei Er asked seemingly unaware that Zeru had recently visited her grave which confused Jin all the more. "Wait, how did you know that I am ¡­his current master, without knowing that he was here to visit you just earlier?" Jin asked, and Fei Er smiled slowly. "You have his smell on you, so you ought to have interacted with him often and not too long ago. Other than that this place is not accessible to anyone who does not know of it. If you are here, then he must have shared it with, so he must trust you a lot." "Given your young age and the Panda Cultivation I can see in you, you should be either the current Head of your Clan or the next in line." Fei Er answered with a hint of sadness and longing. "System, is it true? Zeru did not get to see her?" Jin asked, and System gave a positive reply. "Bellator Zeru said it was enough to place the flowers down and returned to complete User''s request." The System replied shortly after. "That idiot!!" Jin exclaimed, and the spirit of the land kindly requested Jin to calm down. After a bit of short conversation, Jin learnt that Zhe Rou was also a cover up name from the time he was working as a personal bodyguard for Tou Ma. He who had been one of the most promising cabinet ministers in his time as well as the Sword Saint''s most recent master before retiring. Yet Jin also remembered Yun had told him that Tou Ma was once a Sub System User which abused his powers the moment Zhi Ru was done working for him. However, Jin only knew bits and pieces of the story, and with each new revelation by the Fei Er, it made dungeon supplier feel that he only had pieces of the overall puzzle. "Ever since he ran away from the City of Flowers with me, he had been busy protecting this master of his. Master Tou Ma privately paid Zhi Ru a high amount of allowance not only to protect him but also do ¡­''other things'' for him. Alas, my love could not refuse him." "He used all that money to help slow down my curse for leaving the City of Flowers without permission." Fei Er explained that it was her city''s tradition to hold a special ritual which would make it so that they forgot most details about the real city of flowers in Suzhou. "So, the typical situation where your parents denied your marriage with Zhi Ru, so the two of you eloped?" Jin asked as he sat right beside the Sakura Tree. After having reached full blossom, the enormous tree continued to wither. It was as if indicating that Fei Er only had that much time to remain as a visible spirit of the Land and Jin''s Maqi was only able to slow the process marginally. She nodded her head lightly as if it still haunted her, but one thing was for sure. Her eyes did not betray her resolution of being in this current state. Not a single regret could be seen in her expression at all. Still, Jin did not understand how Fei Er appeared right in front of him when she could have done so for Zeru instead. "User, do you really wish to waste Spirit Fei Er''s time on pondering why she appeared?" "You are right. This is a direct order which demands 100% compliance. Order Zeru to get here as soon as he is readily possible. Ignore that Kraft idea that I was asking him about. Teleport him to this exact location and use my money instead of using his System points." Jin commanded in his thoughts as he could see Fei Er staring at the distant end of the pond. "Bellator Zeru, reporting for duty." In less than a few seconds, Zeru appeared right in front of Jin, but his combat ready expression turned into a surprise when he saw the surroundings and felt the familiar chi aura within the vicinity. "Fei¡­Er?" Those two words were something that he yearned to say out loud for the past few decades. Chapter 557 Spirit Of The Land - Part 2 "Xiao Ru!" Fei Er placed her hands towards her mouth, covering the astonishment she had seeing Zeru once more in the flesh. "Jin¡­ Master¡­ How did you manage to?" Zeru was still in disbelief that he was able to see her personally. "Wait¡­System did you have a hand in this?!" There was a slight tone of distrust in his voice but at the same time, gratitude from his heart. "User wished to pay respect to Bellator Zeru''s wife. Upon triggering the initial chain of events which made her visible, System merely suggested a certain course of action for User to take. User takes full responsibility for ''reviving'' Fei Er." The System slyly explained while Jin intuitively moved himself away from the scene, giving the two some private space for their reunion. "So, System. When have you become such a matchmaker?" Jin asked as he returned to the hills. As he looked back, he realised that there was some form of mirage illusion happening, which covered the entire scene of the Sakura tree blooming in the middle of winter. And to top off this miracle, a fresh batch of snow seemed to be falling at the same time as well, giving the couple the almost perfect reunion. "System is an amalgamation of various entities. The matchmaker was one of the jobs the previous Panda Clan members had acquired. Thus, it should not be a surprise that System behaves this way every once in a while." "Wait. So does that mean that those love dovey couples blooming in my dungeon runs, was partially your job as well?!" Jin asked as he vaguely remembered the pairings of his Pandawans changed drastically around Halloween. Especially Se Lang, the Wolf Cultivator and the two young girls. Jia Ying, The Stag Cultivator and Shi Hui, Shadowy Swan Cultivator. "Indeed. Making them fall in love with each other in the face of danger guarantees them having an experience not to be forgotten. It dramatically increased the chance of the said customers returning to User''s store. System felt that there was no substantial negative impact to the User, and instead brought about increased benefits." System confessed about its behaviour. "Gosh. So does that mean you are also to blame that Yang Ling is looking as if she wants to have a shot with me?" Jin sat at a bench while admiring the Daigo Zakura from afar. "You realised it now, idiot?" Pei, who had returned to her bracelet, could not help but comment on the current situation. "If not for me, the System would have you create a Harem between Lynn, Qiu Yue and Yang Ling. You should be thankful that I am holding off those starved thoughts of theirs AND yours to manifest." "To note, System had attempted to reduce such effects ever since the adventurer test incident and can only hope for User to become more proactive in creating babies for the future of the Panda Clan. System still prioritises the survival of the original bloodline of the Panda Clan." The System rebutted. "I am speechless. Simply speechless." Jin said and guessed that was the trade off for having a System way too concern of protecting the surviving line. "That is why I am here, making sure that System does not get into your head too much as well! Yet I haven''t even gotten a single thank you from you!" Pei scoffed, and Jin decided to use the same tactic for getting out of trouble. He asked the System to give her a fox plushie as a reward. "What?! A Fox Plushie?! Why would I want a FOX plushie to remind me about that guy?! Can''t you give me a Crane plushie instead?! That IS my original cultivation!" Pei grumbled, and Jin was taken aback by that new info. He apologised for not knowing that and asked to tell him more about herself. "Meh, since we are waiting for time to pass, might as well give you some background information about our past as well. Thanks to that Devilman you did receive more or less eight other Bellators, so it can''t hurt for you to know about us. If you want to find out more details, you should ask them themselves though." Pei agreed and gave Jin the summary of Kraft, Rex and the other foxes as well as Panda Lord Zhou Lin. Naturally, she spoke ill of Panda Lord Zhou Lin and repeatedly told Jin not to ever follow his footsteps. "Obtaining full access to the System might not be as grand as you think. There is a price to pay too. Which is why sometimes you might feel that the System is restricting you more than you expected. You just have to learn how to work around it as much as possible." "Once the System deemed that you are capable, then it will reveal more of its powers to you¡­and that is assuming you get that mechanical brain of yours. Hahaha!" Pei said and continued with her other stories. She did not share anything too personal but enough for Jin to get familiar with their origins and their overall capabilities. "Sounds to me like this Panda Clan is always destroying themselves despite the fact they have an omniscient relic at their disposal." Jin sighed as he looked at the time. "Yeah, nothing last forever but the Panda Clan certainly seemed to have picked the short straw for a long while. That is why it''s for the best that you have received the System without growing up and being influenced by the past. However, we are still in the infancy stages of you owning the System so no matter how you see it, Jin. You have a long way to go. We will be supporting you, but at the same time, we will be watching you too." Pei remarked, and Jin quickly asked the System to create a crane Plushie for her instead. "What is so great about all these plushies anyways?" Pei took hold of the crane plushie which magically appeared in her bracelet. The moment she hugged it¡­ "Pei. You are too quiet. Hello? Hellllo? HELLLLLOOOOOOOO?" Jin called out, but the System stated that Pei had entered into a deep sleep after all her work in the Goblin World while holding the crane plushie. The System User smirked a little and looked at the time. "Say¡­you think I can capture Fei Er? Since you know, ¡­She is kind of like a monster in a sense. That way Zeru won''t have to worry about this place being demolished or anything, and have a companion with him." "While possible, it would not break her off from the curse of the City of Flowers." The System replied. "Serious?! The curse carries over with the capture?" Jin asked, and the System explained that it was the norm to purify and recreate the monster again, but Fei Er was different. "She was able to live and survive as the Spirit of the Land in that Sakura tree because of that curse. Without the curse binding her to the tree, Fei Er would have already passed on." The System stated. "Then erm how about we still take her in and find a way to break that curse?" Jin asked as he walked back to the exact same place where the mirage illusion barrier seemed to be weakening. When he entered, he noticed that both were sitting under the tree which was nearly bare from the look of its branches, with just a few sakura flowers still on it. The rest of the petals were on the ground mixed with the incoming snow. It surrounded them like a fairy circle, blessing their time together even though they knew that their time together was nearly up. "Thank you Boss Jin¡­for giving me a chance to reunite with Xiao Ru." Fei Er graciously bowed her head down to thank the person who made all this possible. "Master¡­my vow to you will always be unwavering for you to have reunited me with Fei Er once again." Zeru stuttered with tears rolling down his face. Even though he could not touch Fei Er, spending time with his ethereal wife was nothing short of a divine gift. "Hahaha, just call it an early Christmas gift for you." Jin smiled as he walked towards them with something in mind. "I know it may sound blasphemous to both of you but¡­" The dungeon supplier took one deep breath before deciding that it was best not to mince his words. "Zeru. What if I cut this tree down and bring it under Shu''s care until we can figure out a way to break the curse?" Chapter 558 Spirit Of The Land - Final Instead of a reply, Zeru disappeared from beneath the Sakura Tree and suddenly emerged right in front of Jin. With his face just a centimetre away from Jin''s, he used his sword hilt and stabbed into Jin''s abdomen. The next moment Jin reached unbelievable speeds. He flew like a rocketeer experiencing G forces that would knock a person out cold. If not for the System teleporting him within moments into the dungeon maker''s instance and allowed Jin to slow down with dozens of safety nets, he would have crashed into Maniwa''s town, causing a ruckus. As Jin finally slowed to a halt, he instantly coughed out blood multiple times and felt like all of his ribs and internal organs were broken into pieces. (or bleeding out profusely) "Am I dying?" Jin could feel that his consciousness was fading away fast and he was trying his best to keep his eyes open while he felt very light headed after the blow. "Negative. User''s monster enhanced bone structure from the remains of the Vampires was able to withstand the damage of Bellator Zeru''s attack. User''s recovery inscription will kickstart in 3, 2, 1." The System stated, and Jin immediately descended into even more pain than he had ever experienced. (At least still breathing with whatever function left in his lungs.) "So¡­Zeru was holding back all this while?" Jin asked as he babbled out blood while the dungeon supplier somewhat tolerated the initial worm like feeling going through his entire body, aware that it would only worsen from here on out. "Affirmative. The training you received from Bellator Zeru was below 10% of his capabilities. The blow that you received was most probably around 20-30% of his maximum estimated physical strength. However, due to the instantaneous hit, System was unable to fully pinpoint the exact percentage of raw strength he had used on User." The System explained in detail, but Jin was in no mood to listen to it ramble. "Serves you right. You should not meddle with other people''s relationship like that." Pei came out from the wristband while holding onto her (now treasured) crane plushie as she assessed the damage on him. (Now in her sleeping linen night dress as well.) "Anyways, from my observation, he purposely aimed at a place where you wouldn''t get killed, and no organs would be damaged long term with the aid of your inscription. Just tolerate the pain for the next half an hour or so." Pei analysed. "Don''t think you will get away this time by bribing him with a plushie." "I kind of figured that out the hard way," Jin replied as he tried to breathe in and out slowly. "Since you will be in pain for quite some while, want to hear yet another story that the System told me to distract yourself a little?" "Story? You are not going to give me any painkillers? What kind of surgeon are you? Whew¡­Haaa.. Wheew." Jin panted as he endured the worm like feeling going through his entire body. "I could do that, but unfortunately I have to agree with a certain sadist. ''There should be a price for stupidity and pain might be just the right currency''. Honestly, I know that you meant well, but there are certain place and time for things like that. You''ve just reunited the two and basically asked him if he was ok with you gambling her life away." Pei replied back with indifference. "Besides, you don''t need any meds, when you have a legendary inscription inside now. I know exactly how sturdy you are since I was the one to did the job. Moreover, you heard what the System said. He merely used 30% of his strength. So stop being a wussy." Pei said, and Jin gave up arguing. "Fine¡­ Colour -whew- Colour me intrigued." Jin requested as he gritted his teeth as the worm like feeling got even more intense. "Hearing my beautiful voice should be more interesting than hearing it from the System itself. So, you better be grateful." Pei said as she sneaked in a punch to his ribs as a cheeky gesture. (Without a doubt, Jin would scream if the pain wouldn''t have been already overwhelming, leaving him with his mouth wide open gasping for air.) "So, you were not the only one curious to know why she appeared. Apparently, even though you are not actively emitting your aura, a small portion of your Maqi gets passively exuded out of your body every now and then as part of the body''s way of maintaining a chi equilibrium. It just happened that Fei Er''s lingering spirit within the surrounding land was already active by Zeru''s gift. That pair of black and white Lotus." "Your Maqi made the spirit of the land hunger for more as it wished to materialise. Which is why the System recommended completing what Zeru had started. Initially, the System did not detect the spirit of the land as well since Zeru only inserted sufficient chi to maintain the flowers for seven days and seven nights." "But when I returned to the site, only then did the System note the -Argggh! -the materialisation of the spirit of the land?" Jin asked as he suddenly felt a spike in pain. He could feel that those ''worms'' were like gathering the parts of his broken vampire enhanced bones pieces and attempting to mix and match them together. "Well, your Maqi acted as a catalysator amplifying her appearance. It''s not like it knew that she was Fei Er until she called out to you." Pei replied as she giggled at the suffering of Jin. "That''s why when you inserted your potent Maqi into the surrounding, the tree started to bloom again even in the middle of winter." "Like you, even the tree had to regulate its ''chi'' component or else it would have suffered from chi toxicities. That being said the System also seems unsure, whether your Maqi reacted with the tree which strengthened the spirit of her or if it was the other way around, though I suppose in the end it doesn''t even matter." "Are you making all those things up? Sounds scientific and at the same time dubious. OW!" This time Pei simply flicked his forehead seeing as he was wriggling with pain. "Look if you want the complete scientific analysis from the System you can go ahead and read it yourself. I was just putting it into simple terms for you to understand. After all, I am not a biologist. Or plant scientist or whatever you want to call them. I''m only iterating what I know." Pei explained and returned back to the bracelet. "In any case, judging from his silent and yet prideful behaviour, Zeru won''t be apologising to you anytime soon. But given his personality, he should be extremely grateful that you allowed him to see his wife. I bet not even in his wildest dreams did he ever consider such a possibility." Pei said before becoming quiet. "Then I guess after I am done healing¡­I should go up and apologise for my behaviour. Still, I hope that he will let me help them out in the future." Jin whispered to himself because of all the pain. At this point, he would prefer passing out. At least then he would not have to endure the pain and this foreign yucky feeling all over him. "Sigh- this just proves that you deserve your current situation. Feel free to try and find a way, but it would be just cruel to give him hope and disappoint him. I can assure you that he is more than content with learning that it seems possible to spend time with her. " "And before you have a foolproof plan, you should not address it, unless you like pain. Next time he might not hold back so much." Pei cautioned him. "Funny how you treat most situations with caution but you act so oblivious towards relationships." "Then I think I am not mature enough to handle such stuff," Jin answered via thoughts. The dungeon supplier lacked the energy to form any coherent sentences. "Definitely. You have more to grow than just power. But you are still young and have capable people all around you¡­ Young Master." Pei finally stopped communicating and returned to her bracelet as Jin lay on the ground, breathing slowly to minimise the pain of this act as much as he could. "Well¡­guess I can start thinking of all the Christmas presents I wish to create and give to all my minions since I am stuck in this position for another 20 minutes." Jin thought to himself as he felt it was better to keep himself distracted than thinking about the pain. Chapter 559 Good Cop, Bad Fox "Hmm? Wasn''t Zeru going to be here to play the good cop?" Qiu Yue asked as she saw Kraft happily tying Amura Rei up to the chair and there was no sight of the Sword Saint. Not just simple knots on his hands, but also complicated sea faring knots meant to be a deadlock. He tied his legs to the legs of the metal chairs while placing the hands at the back. After which, he even placed a rope right around Rei''s neck and tied it to a robotic crane arm. (How he got that, Qiu Yue had no idea at all.) "That''s a bit too extreme, don''t you think?" Qiu Yue asked, but Kraft said he got the idea from Lynn herself. "She told me that the Fukurokuju Yakuzas are extremely ruthless when it comes to returning their debts," Kraft replied. "I am merely replicating the ruthlessness. This is also pretty much the scenario our new guest expected to find himself into. Well, one of many." Kraft said as Qiu Yue seems more than displeased. "¡­Don''t look at me like I am some sadist, I know that we need him to get to our good side eventually. Just let me work my magic and get ready to make him an offer he can''t refuse." Once all the preparations were done, Rei''s chair was titled to a 45¡ã degree angle back, and Kraft began the interrogation by splashing a bucket of water into Rei''s face. (More like a magical continuous waterfall, short of resembling waterboard.) It was without a doubt a rude awakening for him, and Rei began to slightly panic when he saw the new environment he found himself in. A shaky lightbulb swaying above him and the rest of the room was covered in pure darkness. From that darkness, Kraft''s silhouette could be faintly discerned whenever the light swung towards him. (Jin would have immediately recognised the scene even though it was just on a smaller scale) Kraft then changed his outer appearance to a buff guy with scars all over his body as well as the Fukurokuju Symbol which was mainly tattooed across his bare upper body. He used the accent of a southern Japanese person, speaking to him with crude yet fluent Japanese. Qiu Yue was surprised and only realised that the Sub System had at some point started to convert what Kraft said into Chinese for Qiu Yue to understand. "I ¡­do not have your money yet! Give me one more month, please! I just need a bit more time! I promise to pay double ¡­no Triple! Triple the interest! Please let me talk to your Bo-" Rei suddenly felt a tugging sensation on his neck and realised that the rope that was previously hanging loosely on his hand began to tighten. "Please! Please! I have always been prompt with my payment!" Rei shouted in fear. "We know that you have been a loyal client so far. But see, my boss is really~ interested to know where you spent all our money. So he tasked me to ask you. It''s up to you how ''nice'' our conversation is going to be." The experienced torturer had purposely used a custom made Fukurokuju mask as he had some familiarity with the workings of the Japanese Yakuzas from his past interactions. "I¡­ am using it to fund my work. The movie! The new movie! The studio needed some additional funds, so I sponsored a bit. I just want it to be as brilliant as it can be! Once the movie is out, I can return you guys! Really! Four times the interest! I swear!" Rei tried to plead his way out, but Kraft, who had a peek of his brain knew better that he was lying. "Really?" Kraft asked as he tightened the rope on Rei''s neck even further. "REALLY!" Rei shouted back as he started to feel the tightening strain on his neck. And yet, Kraft did not loosen it and instead kicked one of the legs of the chair, causing it to tilt and topple. In that instant, Rei could genuinely feel that he was going to die. "Well, I tried being nice. I cannot help you if you want to lie to us! Don''t worry, I''ve all the time in the world to make you talk¡­ and also the means. Heh" Kraft said in a casual manner behind his mask. He stepped back into the darkness and returned soon after with a silver tray full of torture instruments. Most of them still showed signs of being used, with different amounts of dried blood on them. "WATI!!! I''ll tell you, I swear. It''s just¡­ you won''t believe me!" Rei was full out panicking and gasping for air at this point. Kraft went behind him and freed the knot a bit. It would be bothersome if he passed out again. After all, it would ruin all the fun. "Try me." The masked man demanded. Fully aware of the consequences if he did not comply, Rei finally revealed the truth. "I shouldn''t even be here. I''m not from this world! One day I suddenly awoke in this strange country, and since then, I''ve been trying to return to my world. I needed the money to dabble with the portal scrolls. They already cost a fortune, but the magicians charge extra for custom changes. So we''ve tried to create the portal coordinates based on the memory I had shown them!" Rei revealed. "Aren''t you a bit too old to be a chuunibyou?" Kraft asked, as no sane person would believe this outrageous story without proper knowledge. When Rei was beginning to weep and swept his scared gaze to the instruments, Kraft sighed. "Relax, I''ve just been tasked to find out the truth, even if it sounds like the plot of one of these obnoxious Isekai stories. I can tell that you are not lying in your answer. It''s up to my boss to decide what''s going to happen with you. So the portals did not work for you?" Kraft made the instruments disappear as a sign of goodwill and also to prevent Rei from suffering a heart attack anytime soon. Nevertheless, the fox was rather curious that this guy had been attempting multiverse travel with the current magical prowess and technology. "No. Whenever they¡­the mages tried to activate the scroll, the magic backfired, killing them in the process. Once that information spread, it became far more difficult and expensive to enlist their services." Rei replied, "I also had to compensate their families in some way or else they threatened to reveal my real identity to the government." "So what or who are you really, Mr Alien?" Kraft was timing his actions really well with Rei''s state of mind. Just as he felt a little bit safer, the fox came really close towards the mangaka artist, and his eyes revealed no emotions. Rei could feel the aura of danger looming around him. "I am an engineer! Just a small time engineer and teacher! I have blueprints of robots in my head! Like photographic memory! Database full of them in order to teach my students! I can give you some of them! Maybe you can sell those to tech companies, will that give you some leverage for me?" Rei was desperate to live. "What? So, you are just going to give us blueprints of your manga and want us to sell shounen drawings to a tech company? Are you fucking with me?" Kraft was having fun threatening him even though he knew that Rei was telling the truth. With a snap of his finger, growling noises could be heard from within the darkness. Numerous eyes shone dangerously looking at the defenceless victim. "I am telling you the truth! I swear again!! I can take that tribulation thing you guys have! I can also convert the blueprints into something usable from my world to yours. You can put me on a lie detector test, or ask a mind reading psychic. I p-promise you I am true to my words! " Rei exclaimed as he saw multiple small yet menacing foxes approach him. "Please! I will give you everything I know! Your clan will sure make a fortune!" Rei shouted, and suddenly Kraft stopped his foxes for a moment. "Again, you appear to be telling the truth. In that case, you shouldn''t mind signing this contract which my partner prepared for you? Here let me help you." Kraft walked into the darkness and Rei could barely make out another silhouette passing a piece of paper to him. The devilman then sauntered slowly towards the frightened engineer and allowed him to read the piece of paper. "¡­forfeit everything that I have? My debt is not that much to ¨C *Cough*" Rei suddenly felt the rope tightening around his neck again. Kraft was not giving him any chance. Qiu Yue thought he was going overboard with it and thus came in to cut the rope. "You alright?" Qiu Yue asked with a worried expression. Rei knew that this pretty angel had to be just as bad as the devil in front of him, since she was the one who created that particular contract. Thus, he kept his mouth tight and concentrated on regaining his breath. "If what you offered us just now is true, then I promise we won''t hurt you anymore. In fact, let me apologise for my comrade''s¡­ lack of tact." Qiu Yue smiled kindly at Rei who could not help but blush a bit. But little did he know that the foxes in the shadows were already doing their job to aid with this "Good Cop, Bad Fox" style of interrogation. Chapter 560 Sweeten The Deal Qiu Yue extended her hand and helped pull Rei up. Suddenly the entire dark interrogation room turned into one that was well lit and equipped with two chairs and a table. There were only Kraft, Qiu Yue who did not wear any mask and Rei in the room. "Please, have a seat." Qiu Yue requested, and Rei listened as he began to notice how beautiful the lady in front of him was. With a formal business scarlet dress, Qiu Yue folded her sleeves and placed the piece of contract right in front of him. (The System had already changed whatever she was saying into Japanese almost immediately.) "Do you need anything to drink? A towel? My colleague has not been very welcoming to you." Qiu Yue offered as she eyed towards Kraft with disdain. (It wasn''t too hard to act that part for Rei to believe her.) "No, it''s fine. I''d rather get this over with and return home." Rei replied as he could feel that something wasn''t right with the situation. It was too¡­drastic of a change. Being a Mangaka artist, he had sufficient story ideas at the back of his mind, and Rei understood that he was experiencing one of these stories he had used in his manga before. Rei was glad that they seemed to believe him for now, but it felt¡­ too easy, too convenient. (He still was glad that the torture had stopped) "Fine. Let''s talk about your debt and our contract, shall we?" Qiu Yue suggested as she magically took a laptop out of her storage ring and booted it up immediately. With her phone connected to the laptop, it automatically activated a Panda Operating System. With the Panda Operating System, she was able to access all the apps and programmes she used for creating the Dungeon City Fortress as well as managing her investments in the Goblin World. (Not to mention, the phone worked like a power bank as well, and she never had to worry about charging at all.) With the contract app activated, she took out a wireless mobile printer from her storage ring too and was all ready to print a brand new contract for Rei to sign. What mattered now were the terms and conditions. "So? What exactly are you willing to offer us for the interest of your debt? It''s no small sum to begin with, and the interest is definitely enough to feed your manga assistants for two years or so." Qiu Yue asked as she was aware of the size of the debt due to Kraft''s sneaky mind peeking abilities. "I ¡­can offer all my knowledge and can prepare blueprints for you. I can even assist in building them, but I need you to ensure that my identity will be covered up. I do not want potential¡­assassins coming after me." Rei knew how technology could be more than just competition. Sometimes, mega corporations were of the mind, that if they could not have something, it was better that nobody had it, which was why they would send out corporate assassins to kill inventors or at least impede them in some way or another. The Dark Web was filled with such contracts ranging from grudges to assassinating to look like an accident. "That''s all? You expect us to do all the dirty work according to your designs without paying us any money back?" Kraft slammed the table which scared the crap out of Rei immediately. "I¡­I can give you a percentage of the upcoming movie. Depending on the success of the movie that it may even exceed the interest up to this point!" Rei replied in return. "But I''m not willing to give my everything!" "All my hard work in manga drawing is my pride too! Those blueprints mean nothing to me compared to the work I am doing! To you, however, it should be worth a fortune! If you don''t want to build it yourselves then just sell it. I would have done it a long time ago if I didn''t have to fear being captured for doing so!" "Then how about we offer you something better in exchange for everything?" Qiu Yue smirked as she stood up and told Rei to follow her. She unplugged the phone from the laptop and made a short call. "I need a portal to Star Cross Industries." In an instant, a swooshing sound was heard, and a portal appeared right in front of them. "Get in before I decide to help you!" Kraft threatened and cracked his bones. The next second Rei basically jumped towards the portal. When he came out of it, all he saw was a Hangar¡­full of Core Units being refitted, and the Engineering and Mechanical Crew (EMC) of Pandas were working hectically to listen to their pilots'' requests. There were two Core Units who had just returned from a sortie, and Qiu Yue recognised the first as Bu Dong, the Ape Cultivator and was told by the System that the other was Deng Long, the Wombat Cultivator. Each of them came back with the machines more or less busted and the Head Panda of EMC, Man Man, was shouting vulgarities at them. Rei fell to his knees and saw the entirety of this place in disbelief. This was no Mecha World, but the feeling was still nostalgic as he turned to Qiu Yue and asked who were they exactly. At the same time, Kraft (in his normal appearance) came out of the portal and smiled widely. "We are not the Yakuzas but actually the colleagues of the one who saved you from the Yakuzas." Qiu Yue answered as she called out to Man Man asking if there was a Core Unit available for testing. "However, we needed to know that you were the one that we were really looking for." "Arghh! First those two rascals and now you? Fine, fine! Parking Lot Nine. The joints were recently attached, but the armour plates are not in yet, so it''s not fit for a sortie. Don''t you dare bring it out or I will ban you from this hangar! Move only the arms and legs. Sit, Squat and stand. That''s all!" Man Man said as he knocked the two Pandawans on their helmets before dismissing them. "Well? What are you waiting for? Want to try out the robot?" Qiu Yue offered Rei who was still trembling at the sight of all the busy hangar in this particular primitive world. He quickly nodded his head and moved towards the Core Unit with awe. The Panda EMC Crew guided him all the way upwards while Qiu Yue merely jumped from the ground to the cockpit (earning her a bad stare from Man Man). The Gunndam mangaka artist sat on the new smelling leather on the seats and turned on the control consoles. It wasn''t the same feeling as the ones back in Mecha World, but to be able to control a robot again, brought him to his tears. That was when Qiu Yue knew that they had succeeded in getting him on their side. "You gotta give my foxes some credit, if not for Kiyu working her magic in the background, he might not have opened up to you," Kraft interjected in her thoughts, and Qiu Yue rolled her eyes in dismay. Chapter 561 Signing a Life Contrac Rei managed to get the Core Unit booted up and move around in it for a little before Qiu Yue made a call on her phone for another portal that appeared right in front of the open cockpit. "Get in, it''s time to get back to business." Qiu Yue ordered, and Rei obediently followed. They were back at the same well lit room, and the items on the table were still left intact. Qiu Yue reconnected her phone, and everything booted up in an instant. The big difference was that Qiu Yue had messaged Lynn to bring up two cups of blue mountain coffee and leave it on the table for them. Rei now seemed even more ready to talk after experiencing the products that they had created. "First, let me sincerely apologise once again for the rough introduction. I hope you can understand that we needed to verify that you were indeed from another world, especially one of the¡­robotic nature." Qiu Yue emphasised the last two words. "Are you guys some sort of secret tech organisation? How did you even know that I was from another World? Did you already know that before or are you guys abducting anyone who is drawing Mangas with Robots and Mechs in them?" Rei asked as he took a sip of the coffee. "We are in fact just a dungeon supplier store¡­with some particularly talented individuals running the place." Qiu Yue tried to phrase it nicely. "What? Dungeon Supplier store? But that thing I saw, seemed too real to be something out of a dungeon supplier dimensional instance!" Rei replied. He felt a little bit disappointed if that was merely a dungeon instance. He vaguely knew about the limits of the dimensional instances in Japan. He had tried a few dungeon supplier stores before, hoping they will create what he saw in the Star Cross Hangar Bays. Though this hope had quickly left him since he learned that it was not only complex but not possible with the current technology. Most importantly, anything designed could not be taken out of a dungeon instance. "Don''t worry what you saw was indeed real. As I said, we have some particularly talented individuals." Qiu Yue replied. "I doubt that you know anything about the current events of your world so let me begin by bringing you up to date. Your world, which we refer to as the Mecha World, seems to be in danger. According to our information, skirmishes have already broken out, and it''s only a matter of time before it blows into a full scale war." "That¡­ does not seem too surprising." Rei sighed as he heard that news. "However I would need some more proo-" Suddenly, Qiu Yue turned her laptop towards him showed him a channel of the Mecha World. The System had managed to capture a segment of the news and broadcast it live for Rei to watch. "You¡­are not kidding. I''ve never leaked any of my knowledge except for minor bits and pieces on my Manga." Rei said as he recognised the United Federation and Xeon Union on the news. "So, our proposal is as such: Give us your everything and work for us. We do not care if you continue your manga work, but we need ALL your blueprints and every bit of knowledge on the Mecha World you can give us. In return, we will pay off your current debt''s interest." Qiu Yue offered. She gave him a moment to consider it, and when Rei was about to say something in return, she added another part. "If we deemed your blueprints useful, we might be gracious to assist you in paying your debt too. Also, once the situation has calmed down a bit, we should be able to help you to return to the Mecha World." "Wait, wait, wait! So why do you want the blueprints? To improve that dimensional instance of yours? Or do you wish to give it to the other faction to gain their favour assuming you can travel to Mecha World." "Because all I can say is that what I have in my head is at least 20 years old. I don''t have anything which can compete with whatever new they came up with. Naturally, I''ve only received access to normal blueprints for teaching so I can''t exactly offer you any super weapon or something like that." Rei rebutted, and Qiu Yue shook her head. "You were willing to sell the blueprints, so you shouldn''t care what we do with them afterwards. If you like the condition, then sign the deal, and perhaps we will reveal more information to you." Kraft who had at some point appeared directly behind Rei (without him noticing) got another shock of his life. "Oh come on! You got to admit that was fun just now? Wasn''t it? So, have you made up your mind?" Kraft came closer and held onto both of Rei''s shoulder making him this close to peeing his pants. "What ¡­what if I refuse?" Rei trembled as he asked that particular question. "We will be forced to erase your memory about all of this. However, you should know that tampering with memories is a delicate procedure, so if you are lucky, you will still remember how to draw afterwards¡­" Rei could see Kraft''s smile at the corner of his eye until he released his shoulders "Probably." Kraft added promptly. "I mean, you will understand that we cannot let other people know that we have knowledge of interworld travel and don''t plan to share it, right?" Kraft whispered into his ear. "Kraft." Qiu Yue called in a deep voice as if telling him off. The Original Bellator slowly stared at Qiu Yue for a moment (a long eternity from Rei''s perspective) and slowly backed away from the mangaka artist. "So, I do not have a choice at all¡­" Rei said to himself seeing the predicament he landed himself in. "You do, though Kraft should be far more capable than he gave himself credit for. Still, you should earnestly consider what happens in the case we release you. I think you''ll agree that it''s the lesser evil working with us than meeting those Yakuzas without having any memory of why you even ended up there? Right? " Qiu Yue calmly cautioned Rei. "There is also the matter of us already having a way to get to your world¡­ unless you prefer to loan more money from the Yakuza and take your chances with the teleportation scrolls." Kraft chimed in at which point he sighed in defeat. He picked up the contract and read it thoroughly before clarifying a question. "You say I can continue with my Manga? Can I at least have a guarantee for that?" Rei requested humbly towards the person who seemed to be the one holding on to his life by a thread. "Sure. In fact, we can provide you with certain perks which will make your Manga career all the more fulfilling. That I can guarantee with my heart crossed." Qiu Yue replied sincerely while putting her hand at her chest. Rei''s head drooped for a moment before nodding. Qiu Yue specifically reprinted another contract that stated his manga career would not be jeopardised a single bit and in fact, they would provide him with anything he desired to continue it. Satisfied with the new wording of the contract, Rei signed his life to the System with the persuasion of Kraft and Qiu Yue. He would never learn that they had been so desperate for his help that they would pull off such a stunt to recruit him. However, one thing was for sure. With that signature penned down on that piece of paper, the manga career of ''Amuro Sensei'' (his pen name) would never be the same again. Chapter 562 For His Family Members With that permanent contract signed, Rei was officially under the care of the System and Kraft who had been acting all hot headed resumed being nonchalant about the whole issue. With his expertise no longer needed, he decided to return to the Goblin World and check on the progress of his Night Foxes. Meanwhile, Qiu Yue revealed to him that he was no longer in Japan but in China, shocking Rei. "But your ¡­grasp of Japanese is terrific! How did we get here? Was I out for that long?" Rei exclaimed as Qiu Yue allowed him to exit the dimensional instance and see for himself. Instead of their terrace house where the body bag lay outside of Kraft''s room, they had been teleported to the Store''s instance instead. Amura Rei was astonished by the vast difference and quality of the dimensional instance that he could hardly believe it was an instance. There was also no doubt that Rei had indeed been teleported to a completely different place, considering that he was being surrounded by Chinese nationals. If he had his phone with him, it would be more believable, but the crowd and the atmosphere around him told him as much. Qiu Yue escorted him out of the instance and told him that he was currently in the newly built Tree Mall of Shenzhen. "Wait, you mean THAT Tree Mall of Shenzhen that has been all over the news in the morning?" Rei hurried to the lower floors and out of the mall, and the mangaka artist was still in awe. But he certainly confirmed that this was indeed the Tree Mall that was trending all over social media online. This only helped him believe that they must have saved him from the Yakuzas. Despite the torture Rei had to endure just now in order to find out his origins, what they claimed might have an inkling of truth. There were various rumours spreading like wildfire online about the landlord who created the Tree Mall within days after what could only be called a terrorist attack incited by the underworld gangs. Not only it had resolved it on his own, but all these rumours also portrayed him as nothing short of magical genius. Perhaps, going back to the Mecha World was indeed possible with their help. "If the war hasn''t broken out yet¡­ Could my family still be around?" Rei thought to himself. Thus, the mangaka artist returned back to the dimensional store instance with haste and found Qiu Yue again, who was waiting at the side of the island bar talking to Yun. "Let me introduce you. This is Yun, one of the co owners of the Dungeons and Pandas. She is like the Mothe- *cough* Big sister of all of us. You should always listen to her and not make her angry in any way." "Qiu Yue, you told me that you may have a possible passage to the Mecha World, right?! If there really is a war, I want to know if my family members are still alive. If they are, I was hoping that we can bring them to this place instead." Rei asked with some anxiety in his voice. "Sorry, I cannot help you with that aspect. We only have a way to go there, but we don''t know where we will come out. With the threat of an impending war on the horizon, it''s not really the ideal time to extract your family." Qiu Yue replied as she was drinking a cup of Bamboo juice. "Besides, we haven''t really gained anything from you so far, but empty promises." "But didn''t you tell me that you guys are willing to help me via the contract? According to your terms, you have to take my well being into account as well!" Rei countered as he took out the folded copy of his contract from his pocket. "Please don''t leave out the part inconvenient for you. At the very top, it reads; ''In return for his services.'' You have not rendered any services as of yet. Nothing is barring me to aid you. If you want help, show us some results, then I will ask our Boss if we can try to fulfil your wish." Qiu Yue shrugged. Rei knew she was right, he had nothing tangible at the moment, and it would take time to draw up the blueprints. In fact, he was the one who needed help more than ever. With the Yakuza chasing him, it would only be a matter of time until they catch him again and demand the loan interest. The longer he waited, the worse it would be for him. And while he did not promise to use his upcoming movie as collateral, having the Yakuzas hounding at his back would definitely backfire in the final few months of preparations leading to the film release. The lie he used previously was just an excuse considering that he was aware that the movie needed more post production work before it could be pushed out. What''s more, it was supposed to be a secret project, teased to the masses that "something major" was to be shown at the 20th anniversary of the creation of his manga by the early spring next year. Therefore, Rei could not use the movie''s budget even if he wanted to since the studio solely needs the money. "¡­Please, help me." Rei went down to his knees at the centre of the store instance, and everyone who was walking by was stunned by his sudden begging. Even Qiu Yue was shocked that Rei was willing to go to such lengths to kneel in front of her at such a public place. "What the hell are you doing. Get up." Qiu Yue ordered quickly. Her body language indicated that she did not want to be involved in this particular sighting. "Please, I just need your help to get my family to safety. That''s all. After that, I will spend all my time on the blueprints!" Rei begged loudly (in Japanese), but before he could say anymore, Yun walked to him and slapped him. "If you have the balls and time to beg, you should take the matter into your own hands and do something about your current situation." Yun then pulled him up and threw him through another portal. As the mangaka artist had already been contracted with the System, the System was able to pull up the coordinates of his house and teleported him there instead. When Yun threw Rei back at his place, she threw two metal suitcases from her storage ring after him as well. "Get your life in order here before we can talk about getting your family. Do what you need to do before coming to find us." She then flicked a business card at Rei before closing the portal. "And you better hurry, my interest rate is 10 times higher than those Yakuza loan sharks." Rei held on to the side of his face, which was burning with pain as he saw the name card and noticed that it was the number to call the Dungeons and Pandas. He then opened the suitcase only to find millions of yen stashed inside. There, he quickly counted a stack and estimated the amount of money within the two suitcases to be sufficient to repay his loan interest and the remaining loan he had incurred. Rei realised that this had to be an advance payment for the blueprints and what Yun was telling him to do was to hurry up with the blueprints if he wished to save his family too. There and then, Rei turned to the direction where the portal was closed and prostrated in gratefulness. "I promise to get it done as soon as possible." Chapter 563 Ayses Assistance for Peppers Peppers came to the Laboratory Instance after dinner to find Ayse who may have the ability to help her in the plans for blowing up the entire city in Giant World. "Ayse! I need your help! I want to blow up an entire city! Do you have any Lost Tech available that can do that much damage or help in achieving it?" Peppers shouted at Ayse from afar which broke her concentration from analysing the Steam Tech. "Can''t you see that I''m busy? How many times do I have to repeat not to disturb me while I am working?!" Ayse rebutted, and Peppers frowned. "But you are ALWAYS working. Last time you told me not scare you by tapping on your shoulders from behind you. So, I shouted. How else am I going to get you to respond? You lose track of everything once you dive into your work?" Peppers asked, and Ayse sighed with her shoulders feeling like they were going to be burdened with another of Pepper''s requests. "What exactly do you want now, Peps? Shouldn''t you be capable of blowing a city up without my help?" Ayse stopped what she was doing and looked at the little Fiery Demonic Sage Queen. Peppers told her about the plan Master, and the rest had discussed. "Hmmm, a destructive force for a ''city'' that is about the size of Mexico? Even Jin''s current Earth technology could never achieve that. Their nuclear bombs would not be able to reach such explosive impacts. Far reaching effects, yea but that''s not you want." Ayse told her as she browsed the System''s projected console right in front of her. "According to my calculations, I believe my full powers can be stretched to the limit to reach that potential." Peppers replied eagerly. "But I was hoping you have anything that can strengthen me so that I won''t¡­you know faint and stay in a coma for months. Achieving such a potential milestone in my career as a Demonic Sage Queen, you can say that''s always my goal in life." "So, you''d rather be useless for the next few months just because you want to be selfish in pursuit of your own personal goals rather than be useful to Jin? If I am not wrong, with all the inter world troubles awaiting us, he needs you more than ever. Please do remember your place, Bellator." Ayse folded her arms as she berated the ''kid'' right in front of her. "I know¡­but that''s exactly why I want to be more than just ''useful''. Lately, he has been relying on Zeru and Kraft and maybe even Milk far more than me. I feel that at some point I''ve been left out of the loop. My most recent accomplishment was the Aegis Barrier, which I only powered up¡­ It''s as if he does not want me to overstrain myself after all the multiple¡­erm rainbow vomit." Peppers voiced her concerns out to Ayse. "But! I have been trying to train myself too! I asked Milk Big Sis for help in training. Dragged her out of bed in the morning so that we can do some laps on the Panda Muscles running track. However, I feel that my body isn''t improving to handle the strain whenever I practice my explosions spells." "Hmmm¡­Then perhaps it isn''t the body''s condition that affects your magical potency?" Ayse thought for a while before answering her. "Have you considered that it''s possible that other factors may be affecting you? Like the recital of your magical spell? Or the efficiency output of the explosion to the amount of magical power you need to use?" "Are you implying that I am not talented enough as a Sage? You questioning my abilities??" Peppers asked, and Ayse nodded her head. "I am. Even the most brilliant scientist like my dad tends to make the simplest of mistakes. If you have developed a certain mindset over the years, you can become enslaved by it, unable to see any other possibility. Sometimes a fresh outside perspective is just what you need. Like I remodified his equation to a theory he had and my Lost Tech now works twice as efficient." Ayse replied bluntly, and Peppers had no way to argue about that. "So if you wish, I can dedicate half an hour of my time off to help you with tweaking your explosions. Scientifically measuring it so that you can improve step by step." Ayse suggested with a sly smile. "But you know Peps that I won''t do that for free. For all my time is precious. I could be watching the new season of Mythbusters rather than doing experiments for you." "And what do you plan to do? Just see how much explosions I can do in a day?" Peppers struggled with her answer for a bit as if pausing to think, but in the end, she asked hesitantly for Ayse''s help. Ayse shook her head at her question and decided to tell her a brief overview of the methodology the Head Researcher was going to use. Besides, it was not an everyday occurrence to be able to witness and measure the powers of a Demonic Sage Queen. "I will methodically run down the list of what you need to cast your explosion spells. Things like how much the enchantments you are wearing that affect your spell power, the weapons you hold, the casting time and much more. Once we have identified all the possible factors of your body strain, we can see if we can increase the potency of the explosion by changing a factor and see how much change do you need." Ayse replied with a string of examples. "Oh, and we also have to factor in your age. You better tell me truthfully how old you really are." Ayse grinned as it was always a topic which Peppers actively avoided. "Argggh! Why did I even ask you for help? Fine! What do you want in exchange?" Peppers knew that she wanted something. "Owe me five favours which you cannot refuse," Ayse replied, and Peppers frowned at that number. "You kidding me? Half an hour a day for five favours? You think you are some sort of big shot? I read books on your so called scientific procedures. It''s like maths, I can deal with it!..if I have to." Peppers gave a slightly annoyed look, and Ayse laughed. "Hahaha, to see you pouting always brightens my day, even though I hate that you always interrupt me. Fine, let''s make it two favours which you cannot refuse." Ayse knew that her demand had been absurd and Peppers realised that she had been played with. "I agree. Two, but with 45 minutes per day. And I better have results before the end of the month!" Peppers said. "That is assuming Jin can''t find any other solution before the deadline you arbitrarily set on yourself. Hahaha. Goodbye, Peps." Ayse grinned as she began to return to her work that Peppers had interrupted. The status quo of a silent laboratory returned for a while. However, it wasn''t until a few minutes that she heard a sudden shout from one of the rooms within the laboratory instance. "I DIDDD ITTT!!" Weslie came out of her room with her hair all flustered, oil stains all around her face and shouted out loud with bated breath. Chapter 564 Taking a Break The shouting of the Scholar of the West had alerted not just Ayse but the other researchers in the laboratory instance as well. They hurried towards her allocated lab as she happily showed everyone the prototype she had managed to reverse engineer. It was not as small as the previous Steam Tech and instead had the appearance of a box with an antenna on it. For this particular research, Gold had personally gone out to help capture a few live Demon Rat samples (by killing all but a dozen and beating the rest to an inch of their life) that were placed in a prison cell and fed regularly while the System strictly monitored their behaviour. No one was allowed to be near the Demon Rats in case they tried to do something like overpowering them and running rampant. The System did not wish to waste any souls resurrecting the researchers because of some simple blunder, so it had created a four wall prison cell where the food was thrown from the ceiling. The walls were made of thick concrete which rendered the Demon Rat''s attempt to escape futile. Not only that, they were at least twenty metres tall with self repairing features. Even if they spent all their time and frustration to make a dent on the wall, it would be restored soon after. So far, those Demon Rats had not reached such a point of desperation, despite the many attempts. The concrete wall was too smooth to be grabbed, and soon the Demon Rat captives realised that it was useless wasting energy and they more or less accepted their fate mostly by spending large amounts of time sleeping. However, today was special. The ceiling was fully open with a number of humanoids looking down at them. Their hearts were boiling with rage as they shrieked loudly at their captors until one of them pointed a pointed stick at them. Soon their raging attitude was soothed without any assistance, and they started to become passive and returning to their lethargic lifestyle. "See, it works! It managed to pacify them, but I haven''t figured out how to input the commands to get them to move like the Steam Tech prototype." Weslie sighed, but Ayse congratulated her for managing to duplicate the signal used. "Although I know it is not complete, I could use further input from engineering experts to be able to insert commands for them to move," Weslie said as she threw a few baskets of food down while closing the ceilings and leaving them to the dark corners of the prison cell. "I''ve received confirmation from the System that it had managed to convince a foreign engineer into our ranks, but it will take some time before he starts working for us. Meanwhile, give me the schematics of the Steam Tech. I''ll see if I can find a way to include Lost Tech into it. If I succeed, we might not even need the new engineer''s help." Ayse replied. Weslie began to send the data via the System''s projected console. "But do you think wireless is the best? Since we have the Bug Steam Tech prototype in our hands and the signal, why not make a remote control that controls the Bug Steam Tech instead?" Orwell, one of the Elfish Humanoid Researchers who were there to witness the demonstration questioned. "Yeah, we can perhaps use the Lost Tech for that, if I am not wrong¡­ We should still have the Lost Tech Signal Amplifier blueprint lying around." Geddie, another Elf researcher, commented upon hearing Orwell''s opinion. "But I am not very sure how the Demon Rats will react to the signals produced by the Lost Tech amplifier. We will have to try out to learn if the Litoride Ore played an important part in this mind manipulation technique." Weslie said. According to her, Litoride itself was still a mysterious ore which had yet to be thoroughly researched. Even the analysis from the System was insufficient as it only indicated multiple unknown elements that were not yet discovered by the Scholars. "We can give it a try. Orwell and Geddie. Recreate the Lost Tech Signal Amplifier and see if the signal from the amplifier works on the Demon Rats. Oh and tell Gold to get more fresh batches of Demon Rats too. We need a control group as well as to see how many Demon Rats can the amplifier be used on." Ayse ordered, and the two other researchers began to work on it. "Weslie, take a small break. Focus on other things instead. Perhaps a breather will give you better ideas on how to tackle the situation. Again, you''ve done well in replicating the signal source." Ayse said as she dispersed the entire group of researchers off. "But Ayse, one less hour devoted to this will mean that the Demon Rats have an upper adv-" The Head Orc researcher placed her finger on Weslie''s lips. "Melis, bring this little girl to the Dungeon City Fortress and show her the Agriculture Sector 1 and 2. Let her familiarise herself with how the System raises the cattle." Ayse pressed on an announcement speaker option on the projected System console. "Now." "Aye, Mdm!" Melis, who came rushing into Weslie''s lab, grabbed the Scholar of the West by the waist and teleported her to Agriculture Sector 2. "Ow." Weslie seemed to knock her head on the ground, but when she looked around, the scholar was surrounded by many cattle from Jin''s world. The cow right beside her was chewing the grass nonchalantly as it snorted towards Weslie and Melis. While the scholar showed off reflexes slower than a tortoise, Melis had already put up a barrier, stopping the snort''s phlegm in time before it reached them. "Oops. Did not mean to teleport you straight here. When I heard Ayse''s instruction, this was the first place that came to mind. Right beside Sally." Melis gleed as she stood up and hugged the cow right beside her. "You could have given me some time to pack my stuff or something before coming here." Weslie sighed in defeat and yet couldn''t be angry at someone who obviously loved animals so much. "Nope can do. When Ayse tell you to take a break, you have to take it no matter what. She doesn''t care if the brain of yours is working 24 hours, but she demands that you are out of your lab every now and then." Melis explained Ayse''s way of working. "She knows that if we were to say later, the work in our labs will once again attract us to their side and consume us again. This is to ensure that we are not overly obsessed by our research, especially now when we have an immortal body by the System. We have all the time in the world. There''s no need to rush, unlike the days where our time was limited." Melis said as she rubbed Sally''s chin. "I see¡­I shall take your advice and listen to Ayse''s command then." Weslie smiled at Melis as she stood up to take a stroll around for a moment. "Oh, if you have time. Pick the farm products on the ground if possible. The System already marked them with a slight glitter, so it''s easier for you to see one. Don''t want you to accidentally step on an egg that was left on the ground." Melis smiled as she threw a storage ring towards the scholar. Weslie nodded her head and proceed with the menial task as a way to relax. Chapter 565 The Figure In The Tree Lines While Weslie was strolling within the wild fields of Agriculture Sector 2, she vaguely started to reminisce about her old farmland and the animals she tended to for farming and later research purposes. Weslie recalled how joyful the townsfolk were in her previous hometown. Walking around greeting the scholar, and always ensured that Weslie had enough to eat throughout the day because of all the work she was shut herself to work on. "Oops, nearly stepped on an egg." Weslie noticed the slight glint became a bright shimmer the closer she approached towards it. "Wouldn''t it be funny if these eggs are coated with diamonds? Hahaha." As she picked the egg up, the glittering disappears. At that moment, Weslie noticed that there was another person other than Melis in the sector at the tree lines in the distance. That figure was quietly rubbing the fur of an alpaca as it was sleeping under the tree. Weslie then realised that the person saw her and nodded his head towards the scholar. "Melis did say that everyone here is still part of the System¡­I guess I should introduce myself then." Weslie thought to herself when she did not want to be seen as anti social when she could possibly be working together with this person in the future. As Weslie walked closer, she noticed that the human had a hood on him, and while seeing that his demeanour towards sleeping alpaca was more than just gentle, she lowered her guard. As a fellow animal lover, it was apparent to Weslie that the alpaca liked him a lot. So much that it was willing to place its head at his lap and snore loudly. At a closer look, Weslie found there was a second alpaca merely resting its head at his opposite side. It was currently wide awake, only wanting to spend more time with the hooded figure. "Am I disturbing your rest here?" The Scholar of the West asked in a quiet tone, not wanting to disturb the scene, and the hooded figure shook his head. "Not at all. I am out here for fresh air, spending time with some of my friends too." The hooded figure said in a low, deep and somewhat tawdry kind of voice. "Never seen the likes of you around before. I assume you must be one of our latest additions?" "Oh. Hi, I am Weslie. From the Farming World. A colleague of Gold, he saved me recently." Weslie kneeled to introduced herself with a handshake. By coming closer, she managed to see what was underneath the hood. Derek''s outer appearance was grossly disfigured. She suffered a slight shock as she had not expected this. She tried to hide it as quickly as possible, yet the hooded figure still noticed. Surprisingly the hooded man did not seem to mind at all and instead raised the hand he used for petting the alpaca to accept her handshake. "Derek. From the Zombie World, at least that''s how Jin and the others refer to it." Derek had a good look at Weslie and his frown into a smile. "I see, so you are the rumoured girlfriend of our dear Gold. Glad to know that he managed to get the love of his life." Derek said before bringing the hood further down as if to cover himself. "Ah, please! I do not mind at all. I¡­was an undead too before Gold managed to get me into the System. I do not know what you''ve been through, but I vaguely know what is like being back scrutinised. So please, be open with me." Weslie exclaimed, and suddenly there was a period of silence before she heard an amused snicker. "Pardon me, I was merely adjusting my hood. It got a bit uncomfortable at the back that is all." Derek replied, making Weslie immediately blush for mistaking his intentions. "Nevertheless, that sincerity was welcoming. Especially for people who do not know me." Derek then removed the hood and showed his face to Weslie, and she did not feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, she felt envious (and at the same time ashamed of herself) that he was proud of what he looked like not minding other people''s opinions or if they had a prejudice towards. However, she did not dare to share that with him and instead changed the topic entirely, asking him about the Zombie World and what it was like before he was transferred to the System. "Heh. You think it''s interesting? To know that there are worlds out there other than the one you lived in?" Derek asked, and Weslie got the feeling that she accidentally stepped on another landmine in this conversation. "I erm¡­" "Hahaha, I am just pulling your leg." Derek lightly slapped on the resting (awake) alpaca to move aside and asked Weslie to sit beside him. But even when Weslie sat right beside Derek, she could see his slightly pained expression as he remembered about the past. "The Zombie World¡­I guess it''s a very fitting name. Though we also used to call it Earth. In fact, it was not that different from our Master''s." Derek started to paint the picture, but Weslie apologised saying that she had yet to see the Master of the System nor his world. "Now, that is a little hard to visualise. Hmm." Derek looked around a little and spotted that Melis was around, so he whistled for her instead. "Oh Derek, you are here for your break?" Melis walked over and greeted the Half Ghoul Lord. "Melis, do you still have that System tablet which Ayse lent you? I want to help Weslie learn a bit more about how Master Jin''s world looks like." "Sure. Just pass it to me before you are returning to your lab." Melis said and did not interrupt Weslie. Instead, she asked for the storage ring back as she went ahead to grab the farm products. (Even though the System was capable of using the Robot crawlers to collect them more efficiently. Melis somehow managed to convince the System that the animals would prefer having people they knew interacting with them and thereby producing higher quality goods.) "There, we go." Derek showed the various images of modern Shanghai via the internet through the use of the System''s tablet. "All these tower looking buildings are used to house the inhabitants? So our Master Jin lives in such an advanced society?" Weslie asked innocently, and Derek chuckled at the innocence. "So yeah, my world was nearly the same as his. Though we were more mundane and nobody could use any sort of magic. To us, chi was merely a concept of the mind and body but not tangible and usable like Master Jin''s. We were basically like your commoners but with the same technological level as Master Jin''s Earth." Derek explained. "While we did not have Orcs or Demon Rats in our world, the humans themselves were a monstrosity. Fighting wars based on religious grounds, for natural resources and for more power. Perhaps in hindsight, it was only right that the humans turned to the living undead." Derek continued, and Weslie asked how it happened. "Believe it or not, Aliens. If my memory still serves me well. Extraterrestrial beings that called themselves ''Our Creators''." Derek answered as he bitterly relived the scene in his mind of degenerating into a zombie. Chapter 566 Extra: The Incoming Asteroid ''Creators'' ¨C That was how the aliens that came intruding introduced themselves. Initially, the inhabitants of Zombie World thought that there was an asteroid that was on a collision course with Earth. "We normal working class were never supposed to learn the whole story until the space agencies were pressured to tell the entire truth from their side." Derek began his story while he stroked the sleeping alpaca on his lap. What seemed like a defect in their numbers when their probe was on their way to Uranus, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spotted way too many anomalies of the incoming debris and the subsequent loss of their probe. Afterwards, the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) who had a probe near the area was annihilated as well, sparking a debate if the asteroid was even more significant than anticipated. With highly advanced scanners and cooperation between the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA) and the American Space Agency (NASA), they finally had a glimpse how large the incoming rock would be, and the probability of its projected pathway hitting Earth was higher than previously predicted. With those findings, NASA and the other space agencies, as well as astrophysicists, were rushing to calculate a method to either defend Earth or escape from the planet. Some of the agencies proposed to do both under the veil of secrecy and disguise of a possible upcoming war between the Chinese and Americans. They used the war pretext to lie to people and using it as justification for building additional underground bunkers, producing a superweapon that seemingly appeared to aim at each other''s throat but all of this was just a hoax to prevent the anxiety of the entire world. It was surprising that the Chinese and American governments had been able to get together without too much conflict and manage on that plan unilaterally. However, the war construction efforts also lead to the prelude of a pressurising space race. With the seven major continents secretly cooperating with each other, the countries of the other five space agencies had already begun building space shuttles and fuel rockets at record time. Some of the most vocal critics who did now know much only fuelled more distrust among the people that were involved in it. But the rest of the world remained in their uncaring state and went on with business as usual. Derek was part of that. He thought it was absurd that everyone was preparing to fight another meaningless war, but work had to go on, so he could only hope and pray that it did not happen. The leaders, on the other hand, may have understood that it was dangerous to dangle the ''War'' card, but it was the fastest way to get budget approvals from the unsuspecting politicians that were not involved in it. Only the highest level of command and a few select individuals were supposed to know the truth as they prepared their way to destroy the meteor. Derek, at the time had not known what was actually happening behind the scenes. It wasn''t until a whistleblower decided that enough was enough and leaked it to the masses via the internet. That snitch was, unfortunately, a genius in the use of technology, rendering all the database to be open to the masses. Even the government top dogs in security defences were unable to stop it nor curb the information leak. There the war pretext was officially over, and the leaders of various countries like China and the USA finally revealed the true reason. As expected, it caused a full blown panic to the entire world, and it led to severe unrest in many countries. The military had to enter to assist the police in the riots, and that was roughly about a hundred days before viable military plans could be taken into action to reduce the size of the meteor coming down on them. People started to buy their ways into the bunkers which the countries had specifically made if their Plan A (Destruction of the Meteor) or if Plan B did not go as scheduled. (Which was lifting people into space and to the moon base which the Chinese and Russians had expedited in their construction of it.) "Multiple rocket shuttles had already been sent to space in order to preserve seeds of life as well as the soil needed for the growth of viable plants should the worst case happen in the scenario where the asteroid manages to destroy the entire planet." Derek reiterated the plans to Weslie while showing her how rockets and such looked like via Jin''s internet access. Some other stuff he had to explain with just words and hope that the scholar''s imagination was vivid enough. "But¡­since you said that you met with these creators, all these plans your leaders created were all for nought?" Weslie asked with sadness in her tone, and Derek nodded his head heavily. "Our plan to destroy the meteor failed. Considering that we have no telemetry or imagery of the process and based on the sensors on the rockets, we know that we failed since we lost signal far sooner than it should have reached it." Derek vaguely recalled the live broadcast on TV while everyone anticipated the news. Thus, Plan B was initiated and selected elites who were grudgingly approved by the mass population to be sent up into space, allowing them to survive while the rest had to stay in the bunkers and hoped for the best. However, an hour even before the first scheduled shuttle was able to lift off, there was already chatter of bad news in the social media. Eventually, the official press stated that the meteor was moving faster than anticipated. That was sufficient to cause even greater unrest throughout the world, and the governments had already been contemplating through a live conference to use all their mass destruction capabilities to destroy the meteor, reducing it into minor debris. "''At the very least, it would give Mankind some fighting chance to live through it. The rest will be remembered''¡­I always hated that line. How the hell can they dictate who may survive and who can''t?" Derek, at the time, had realised and detested how the small number elites perpetually made all the decisions for the rest of the world. And that was when he too took part in the ongoing unrest, apparently minutes before the extinction of humankind. Chapter 567 Extra: Going Nuclear Without waiting for the approval of the masses, the Western leaders had proceeded to empty their nuclear arsenal towards the speeding meteor in hopes that there would not be total annihilation of humankind within the hour to come. Yet at the same time, it was predicted that the meteor debris would split into hundreds of pieces, and most of it would be hitting the eastern hemisphere, causing widespread panic in Russia, China, the APAC and even the eastern European countries. At that crucial point, Russia was also considering firing their own nuclear missiles in hope to bring the American''s missiles down so that everyone would become extinct as a whole. To the Russians, what made the West so special that they could be allowed to survive while the rest of the world had to die for their sake? However, the Americans had already been a step ahead of them and had deployed their Navy on the probable sites which Russian would fire their missiles off. The American Navy was not giving them any chance to defy their plans, but the other countries were not putting this selfish thought of the American''s leaders aside. For once, Japan and South Korea had shared intelligence with China and Russian, giving them the contingency battle plans which the Americans were following. Her allies were asked to step aside for the greater good of humankind, and in return, they ensured that their fellow counterparts in the United States would be sent back to Ground Zero to rebuild their civilisation again. Enraged by their ''kindness'' in envisioning the post-apocalyptic Empire of their own, Japan and Korea had sent all the information they had on them to their comrades awaiting death by a meteor strike. With all the new reports coming in, the Chinese deployed their own Navy without hesitation, and the Russians immediately proceed in creating solutions in intercepting the American''s nuclear missiles. And yet all of this scheming to see who could succeed and triumph for the post apocalyptic scenario was useless as the said comet rock suddenly disappeared from the space agencies'' radar and instead appeared directly above China soil. "They claimed they were the creators of our kind, and that they had watched us all babbling about who would survive. To see it escalating into a scenario where everyone preferred to drag others with them instead of coming together as one to unite against a common threat was more than disappointing in their eyes." Derek said as he leaned back onto the tree. "They announced their presence? How?" Weslie asked as she played with a broken branch nearby. "As I recall, they spoke through our minds," Derek added that the Creator who gave the announcement called himself Ares. The God of War from Greek Mythology. Even though it could be just a coincidence, the asteroid that they predicted removed their optical illusion as if to prove their point. Lo and behold, it was a gigantic spaceship with all the ancient Greek designs on it. All these stories about the Gods of old, Derek would have probably believed them now. Of course, the government leaders and their military throughout Earth stopped their bickering and immediately banded together shooting their nuclear missiles at them. Russia was the first to fire it towards them since they were the nearest to China. Yet with just one response from the spaceship, it destroyed all the nuclear missiles in the air, causing a nuclear electromagnetic pulse that disabled only the electronic equipment on Earth. Shanghai City went into a major blackout because of the nuclear EMP blast, and the mothership did not send any troops down at all. Instead, it sent a wave of a particular electromagnetic pulse which crippled the entire city, shutting the minds of everyone in the vicinity, causing them to be brainless. Then, a squad of space soldiers came down to capture those who were able to withstand the mind wave attack. Derek was, unfortunately, the latter as he got his mind wiped out. "If not for the System''s recovery magic, I might not have remembered all of this," Derek said. Weslie could feel his powerlessness when he spoke of the past, but even now, she could sense that as well. "Still, with the System and the Master that we are serving, things should change, right?" That was when Derek smiled a little. "Indeed. The ''zombies'' that Jin captured, a small number of them seem to be regaining sentience. I may have been a simple man in the past, but as luck would have it, now I am their leader. I shall guide them and help them grow in strength. Hopefully, if things permit, I might gather enough powerful comrades to take revenge against our ''creators''." "You sure revenge is the right way?" Weslie asked, and Derek frowned back. "I know it might sound petty, but that is the only thing going for us. They destroyed our homes, left us in ruins, and treated us as toys. And for what?" "Because after they left, more than 99% of us never really had a say in the whole matter. So much for the gods wanting to show salvation. The first scene that I remembered was about Ares, who was showing off why he was named the God of War. Heck, even Lord Wolte feels more like a benevolent patron than a demon to me." "I know how it feels, or at least some of it¡­ I always hoped that achieving revenge against the North and South Scholars will bring me peace. To a certain degree, I still think so. But after hearing your story, I am not too sure of it myself." Weslie replied as her head was facing the ground. "Still, I will work hard to help my people get out of agony. That''s the least I can do to move on." Weslie confessed. "Are you sure? I sincerely believed that you can never forgive them after all the things they did to you," Derek replied with agony in his words. "¡­I can try." Weslie understood where he was coming from. "Don''t act so magnanimous. You are not the one currently sacrificing your life at the frontlines. You-" Derek then realised that he spoke out of tune and apologised. "At the very least, you still have a chance to save your people. I was among the first few to turn into a zombie. I do not know what happened next in my world. Did they conquer it? Did they leave us to die? Master Jin only told me that everything was pitch black and in ruins." "I am honestly not even sure if I have anyone to save," Derek said and Weslie grabbed on his left shoulder. "Yes, you do. You said yourself you are hoping your undead comrades can regain sentience. As long as you can guide them back, you will at least moved a step forward. Maybe, in the long run, you could find something that will help return the sanity of the undead that are still stranded in your old world. And that goal is definitely better than mere revenge." Derek only sighed in reply and adjusted his hood back to cover his face. Weslie unconsciously shook her head, and suddenly Melis came walking towards her. "It''s about time we go back. Ayse says enough of a break. Your boyfriend has gotten you more samples to test on." "I see." Weslie stood up and thanked Derek for his world''s story until he murmured the following. "I shall think about you said." Chapter 568 Dinner Reviews In the next few days, Jin had been spending all his time working on a secret project, and this time he did not allow anyone to disturb at all. He denied every visit from the likes of Ke Loong and only entertained the requests after he was done with his work since they were left as reminders by the System. Even Yun was not given any permission to visit him and the only times he came out was for Dinners prepared by Lynn. Only on the table, did the Sub System Users and the bellators get a chance to report to him if there were any anomalies they had. He was pleased to learn that the crucial component of Operation ''Piped Piper'' had been created, even if Weslie along with the other researchers required more time to refine and fine tune it. The Salamander Edwardio was given permission to return back to his clan but with a twist. Kraft along with Evon and Kiyu had brainwashed him of all the details and instead implanted fake memories into his brain. At the same time, he became the double agent who would monitor the Salamander''s clan progress with a believable story that he managed to escape from the grasp of the Panda Monster. What Kraft crafted was the Panda Monster was one of the latest Giants which somehow used the powers of teleportation to catch its prey. And that itself should prove enticing for the Salamander king to seek for it. Also, if any magical entities or relics were used on Edwardio, the Salamanders would most likely not able to get any information and instead find those memories of him trying to escape the Panda Monster that Hamatarou managed to mimic. (He had a bloodied scar and broken tail to prove it although Kraft wanted to chop his arm off for maximum effect.) This should allow the other tribes to get a breather from the slaughter that King Salamander was initiating since the power of teleportation would be a great boon travelling distance in this forsaken kingdom. Other than that, Peppers reported that she was putting that thought of exploding the entire giant kingdom on hold. With Ayse advising her and taking scientific approaches to increase her threshold, Jin had secretly ordered Ayse to put the most stringent criteria before allowing Peppers to pass. In a way, this was like a training exercise for Peppers to learn how to control her powers and use them even more efficiently despite the fact that she had unlimited mana at her side. In the meantime, Qiu Yue was proud to announce that Amura Rei had officially entered into the System''s database of minions. However, he was still being treated as a guest, and the System occasionally kept tabs on him to ensure that he was not being harassed by the Yakuza. "Yeah, you better. That amount of money¡­could have been used in other places ¡­" Jin sighed as he said that but Qiu Yue flicked his forehead. "Considering the amount of money, we are earning from the Dungeon Cave as well as the Tree Mall? We can earn that much profit back in around two days. Can you stop harbouring on it?" Qiu Yue furrowed her eyebrows. Indeed, the Tree Mall was getting so popular that the store owners started having a difficult time coping with it. If not for Jin''s introduction of monster helpers like the Penguins and Deep Ones, the owners would not be able to continue with the success they got for Day 1. Jin also allowed the store owners to join other respectable delivery services and even the Pandafull delivery for a small monthly subscription fee. However, a disclaimer was placed on those food items in order to not misplace people''s faith that it was Lynn''s cooking. Yet, people still buy from them. Some claimed that the food those stall owners cooked now had some spiritual power in it, making the dishes more palatable as well as revitalising. However, none of them could be compared to Lynn''s new Grade 2 Dishes. The Four Clawed Meat and the Horned Chicken Drumsticks. Those were more expensive than the Grade 1 dishes by 1.5x times, but the taste was without a doubt extraordinary. To the point that the Pandafull service was packed to the brim with orders. Oh, and those cutleries that Jin had designed? They were selling like hotcakes too. On the other hand, Zeru had finally apologised to Jin on what had happened and wondered if it was his ¡­erm rude behaviour which made Jin throw such a tantrum that he did not let anybody to visit him at all cost. "Obviously not! It was partly my fault for not bringing up this topic at a more opportune time. I am just busy with some System related tasks." Jin said nonchalantly that the only other person who knew about all of this was Pei and she was extremely adamant in keeping it this way. She had utilised her strongest mental defences to a point that even Kraft had some trouble getting through at the first try. Yet, instead of being challenged, he figured Jin had his own reasons and gave him leeway for now. "As for the Dungeon City Fortress, Industry Sector 1 to 5 have been completed. The Military Sector 1 to 3 requires a little more time but are still well within the estimated timeline. " Qiu Yue reported, and Jin could see in his phone app that the necessary infrastructures were up. Depending on what kind of production they wished to go for, had yet to be concluded. Perhaps Jin might keep Sector 4 and 5 to be reserved for future development purposes. "The foundation for Pand-Atlantis City are done so the installation reinforced glass domes should be completed within the week too. All that is left is the mass construction of homes. Home Sector 1 and 2 will be left for the ultra rich while Home Sector 3 to 10 can be for the rest with high rise condominiums and common luxurious facilities would be furnished as part of it. We have at least four more Dome sectors, but they are pending for future development." Qiu Yue added, and Jin suddenly realised something. "Come to think of it, we¡­do not have any recreational stuff for the people in the Dungeon City Fortress." "Well, we did only focus on the basics and self reliance was more important than recreational. Besides, we cannot expect the Dungeon World inhabitants to dungeon in our area, can we? We would be losing money rather than earning it." Qiu Yue brought up valid points and looked at Lynn. "Then perhaps, it''s time we look into some. Peps, give Qiu Yue some ideas since you are well read on the Dungeon World''s culture. Maybe we can look into implementing some of those as well as our own recreational stuff." Jin suggested as he stood up and thanked Lynn for the food. "Going back to your cave again?" Lynn asked as she folded her arms as she was both angry and worried what Jin''s behaviour. He seemed more haggled than when he was making the shop instances for his Tree Mall, and if not for the extra care Lynn had put in her food to revitalise him, he might have been burned out. "I promised I''ll be done soon. After that, we can start to settle the outstanding stuff that we have." Jin smiled lightly as he teleported back to the Dungeon Maker. Chapter 569 Evil Santa Boss Raid Instance On the day of Christmas Eve, Jin finally revealed what he had been doing. Those around him had been worried, but at the same time, they already suspected that he had to be preparing some grand Christmas event for his customers. The thing was that he was not doing much for the customers at all. Oh okay, actually he did make a ''small'' minor event for them. On Christmas Eve, he had released a special dungeon instance that cost 5 Yuan to enter, and it would only be available on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It was a group dungeon instance fighting against Evil Santa. There was no story theme dungeon to it but just one major Boss battle. (With a few minions to kill as a warmup fight.) It was the first of its kind Boss Raid type of instance with Evil Santa using such game like mechanics. His attacks had various but specific patterns which the cultivators would have to figure out. There were even different stages to this fight with him naturally changing forms once hitting a certain threshold. Not only that, but it was also the first time that the Improved Half Mask would be officially introduced for that particular Boss Raid Instance. Jin needed more mass collection of data after tweaking it based on the individual data collected from the cultivators involved in the Plushie Special Challenge. So, when they were fighting the Evil Santa, there was a visible HP bar for them to gauge its health, allowing the cultivators to play more aggressive. Not to mention, the System included health bars on each of the cultivators too, and that surprisingly increased the usage of chi regeneration potion more than usual. Perhaps, with the aid of a meter, the cultivators were more worried about them dying. They could possibly be more conscious about their own well being, and whatever the case it might have been, Jin found this kind of feedback very interesting. "Perhaps, I can manipulate that reliance on health bars in future dungeon instances as well¡­.and the sales of those potions too." The Evil Santa Instance was just one of the many Boss Raid instances which Jin planned to create for the future. But right now, he needed to find out how much strain the dimensional instances could take in a small area as compared to a wide area raid instance. Tentatively, it was designed as an eight cultivator raid, but in the future, he planned to increase the number of raid participants against a boss if he wished included more Dungeon and Boss mechanics. As for the Evil Santa, his mechanics were not too complicated for the first form. Still, it was just an illusion, baiting the cultivators to use their most potent attacks, only for the Boss to ramp up its stats and attack patterns on the second form. There was something distinctly different at the start of the second form. The Evil Santa would begin to use specific AOE attacks without any visual gaming cues for the cultivators to warn them. Instead, they had to rely on real visual cues in the surroundings or judge from his expressions etc. It was way harder at first, but once a group finally figured that it was the visual cues from its expressions, they immediately posted their findings to the Pandamonium forum. And it was a major hit. For some reason, Mr Know-It-All hadn''t been around ever since the inception of the Tree Mall, but that did not stop fellow cultivators (his disciples?) from creating a topic on it. Some even suggested that they should create something similar to a Wiki page to facilitate all their findings and Jin agreed to this. He informed the masses that it would be on his to-do list for January which led to a plethora of likes on his message. Other than that, the special instance was not without rewards. By defeating the Evil Santa (which no one had managed yet since most were stuck on the hardest second form) Jin would be releasing a cosmetic inscription not just for attire but for their weapons too! Evil Santa Candy Swords or Candy Axes were the few examples and Jin informed them that those inscriptions would only be possible within his dimensional instances. Although the cultivators could try it in other dungeon supplier''s instances, Jin could not guarantee a proper activation due to the state of his own special technology being used. Other than that, the cultivators who participated in the Evil Santa Boss Raid would be rewarded a certain amount of Evil Santa Raid Points depending on the stage they were able to clear. For example, if a raid team were massacred by Evil Santa''s second form, they would at least receive 10 Raid Points for defeating the first form. Aside from that, Jin also purposely introduced specific achievements for that particular Boss Raid instance. For example, the most amount of damage would receive the Best Attacker Achievement for that particular instance run which would allow him to gain 2 extra Raid points. That way, everyone would be able to earn extra points while excelling in what they did best. Because of the limited availability of the Evil Santa Instances, the diehard fans of the shop did not hesitate to stop by despite the busyness of the Christmas festival. Some praised Jin for keeping his shop open 24 hours even during the holidays, allowing them to enter anytime they desired for a dungeon. In addition, the low price made it accessible for Students and Elderlies to try, and it was to the point that the Elders and students even manage to discover some Boss mechanics that most adult cultivators would not be able to find. Thus, Jin also made sure that the sharing of information on an open platform would be rewarded accordingly too. At the same time, the dungeon supplier ensured that the rewards were not so huge that people purposely withheld such information. While understandably, some wished to withhold information in order to aim for the first clear, The System noted that that did not hinder the overall progress of cultivators at all. And yes, those Raid Points could be redeemed at the Redemption counter store (Baby Pandas had Santa Hats now), and this time Jin intentionally made the rewards more multi purpose. Prizes included vouchers for various sorts such as food, weapons, armour and batches of chi regenerating potions waiting to be redeemed. That was not all! Especially when special limited mini game parts that were listed too as part of the rewards in order to incite the collector spirit in the cultivators. There was a limited edition Christmas booster card pack for redemption which had the chance of dropping a rare holographic card that could be used for collection purposes or for battle. Jin purposely put two versions in the same booster pack so that the cultivators could frame it up if they wanted. (Assuming they managed to get it.) The collector version would not have any battle abilities stored within the card since there was no Pico-chip in it. (A Pico-chip was 100x smaller than a nanochip, and it could not be detected with the mere eye.) At the same time this lead to him being notified about single incidents with people selling their card for real cash, which made Jin unsure if he should be proud that his products finally had enough popularity for scalpers to exist. In any case, he was looking forward to his Pandawans or perhaps a new batch of cultivators to clear the Evil Santa Boss Raid Instance. But if one believed that he had used up all the time holed up to prepare for that event for the cultivators, they were dead wrong. This was because there was an event that was way more important than earning money. It was none other than a Grand Christmas Feast for all of his minions. (and of course, his bellators too.) Chapter 570 In Need For Food Materials The Grand Xmas Feast. Despite his conviction to do everything by himself towards the end, Jin had to admit to himself that he was not able to do it alone. Not even his Another Jins were enough to make up for the overall lack of time and preparation. Thus, he ended up seeking help from Lynn and Qiu Yue a few days before Christmas. Upon learning the gist of his plan, they gladly rendered their assistance. When Jin mentioned that he was going to prepare a feast for all of his minions, Lynn nearly fainted by the sound of it. He was not catering to dozens of minions but thousands of them! The Orcs were the largest number, followed by zombies and subsequently the contracted goblins. Speaking about the contracted goblins, after a month of their work (in Jin''s Earth time) Qiu Yue finally revealed the truth of the ''Masked Humanoid''s'' Origin. It was so that they could make a more informed choice on whether they wished to stay after their contract would expire to work for the Dungeon City Fortress or return back to the Goblin World. Most of them eventually agreed to stay along with Jin, given that the promise to bring their family members was still valid. The remaining decided not to work with Jin and agreed to a simple brain wipe and return to their original lives. Qiu Yue informed them that were free to contact her anytime in case they changed their mind one way or the other before their contract ended. However, not all was lost for the ones returning to back to the Goblin World once they would finish their contract that was an equivalent of Three ''Goblin Years". The ''brainwashing'' which would eventually be conducted by Kraft was not a full wipe, but only certain details would be erased or tampered with (like the time difference) to ensure that the goblins who had restricted access would not have the knowledge to change the current Goblin World. Going one step further, should they wish to ever return to the System''s contract, all they had to do was to seek out for the Dungeon Cave Town that Jin had finally maintained a presence in that area. (Especially since Jin always welcomed more help.) Back to the planning of the Christmas Feast, Qiu Yue had assisted by sealing one of the industrial buildings in Industry Sector 5 and started pumping out the mandatory door gifts for the minions. It was a customised miniature model size of themselves which had their names carved at the base of all those models. Jin felt this gift was personalised and showed them that they are not just insignificant workers for the System despite the number of minions under him. Qiu Yue believed the same but was worried about the cost that he would incur making these door gifts. (Because this was just the start! Jin had modestly prepared other things as presents for all of his minions.) "Well, you said that Rei''s debt was worth 2 days of our gross profit. What is another week''s worth of gross profit to our already hardworking minions?" Jin argued back to Qiu Yue, and she rolled her eyes. The Red Panda Cultivator was rendered speechless when Jin, who had grumbled about their loss of money not too long ago, used this sort of argument back at her. As for the Feast itself, Jin personally went out hunting with Lynn in the Giant World. It was a great opportunity to personally take a look over the situation in that place too. He finally met up with the Penguin Village where Lynn''s peggies came from, and they gave him tips on where the largest possible Giant Monsters should be located at. (But before that, the penguins purposely made Lynn and Jin stayed for a tea with the Elders.) But all was not a waste of time. Chieftain Skitter and Elder Colwaski had told them about the possible Giant Monsters that were in the vicinity as well as their habits and tracks, so the two System Users could be on alert when searching for those Giants. "You sure you can do it yourself?" Lynn asked, and Jin smirked at her when they reached the said location after their tea session. "I am not as confident without my minions and bellators. Feels strange and unusual doing it all by ourselves." Jin replied as he took a suitcase which contained a customised Gearbox Suit out. "But I''ve been working on something that might potentially aid us in the Mecha World." He then passed the suitcase to Lynn and asked her to wear the Gearbox Suit. "Wait, what? You want me to wear it now? Don''t I have to strip or something?" Lynn asked with a blush appearing on her face as she saw the suit and Jin laughed, shaking his head furiously. "You don''t have to do that!" Just put it close to your body, and it will do the rest!" Jin said and assisted Lynn to put on the Gearbox Suit. The moment a piece of the Gearbox Suit attached to her chest, the rest crawled all around her body, fitting a base metallic skeletal support for the entire body. Jin also brought out his own suit and quickly wore it. "System, any Salamanders in sight?" Jin asked, hoping that Edwardio, the Salamander Guard managed to divert their attention away. "At present, Edwardio has successfully convinced a majority of the forces to look outside the city for the mysterious teleporting Panda. To make it more convincing, the System had Yun place a one way portal in the middle of a deserted district to lure them." "From time to time a simulation image of the Panda appears there before disappearing again." The System reported that it had teleported those salamanders who used the portal to city outskirts, providing them difficulty to return back to the castle. "That''s great. While I do not wish to have all eyes watching what we do, it''s ironically the best way to attract the attention of those hiding. If you find traces of species other than the Salamanders in our vicinity, do give us a shout out as well. I still prefer Hamatarou to rescue those villagers before any harm is done to them." Jin knew that he contradicted himself, but sometimes, he had to be attention grabbing to get things done. At that point, Jin and Lynn went into a deserted house to the location which the penguins had recommended. They would use the house as a site to ambush their ''prey''. Thus, Jin began preparations by using his phone to press a few options, and suddenly a large portal emerged out from the bottom of the floor. He told Lynn that her job would be vital in luring the giant wildlife into the house so he could engage it. However, Lynn was more than a bit curious if Jin was really capable of holding himself out. (She also wondered if Jin wanted to use that particular large portal on the ground as a way to capture the monsters.) Because if that was true, she tried to let Jin know that those monsters are at least intelligent enough to not fall into that trap unless he manages to summon it instantly underneath its feet. Still, it would require something more prominent than the size of the portal she saw. Yet, Jin somehow managed to overturn her expectations. From the portal, out came a ¡­Mecha. Chapter 571 V2 Combat Bike The Mecha that emerged looked like an improved bipedal Sandroku Golem, but it was built at least two times larger than the ones they had used in the Goblin World. This one suited more for an Orc rather than a Goblin. Lynn inspected it all over and aside from its bigger size, there was nothing which looked particularly impressive. (Perhaps it was noteworthy that it looked like an Ogre.) Instead of sitting in a cockpit and controlling the robot like the ones in Supa Robot Warz, this particular Sandroku Golem appeared more like an enlarged Mecha Suit, an Ogrebuster if one might suggest. "Does this particular thing pack a punch? Because from the looks of it, you seem to be rather underwhelming in the size department." Lynn asked as she summoned her Combat Bike out, yet what appeared before her left her speechless. "Happy early Christmas to you." Jin half smiled as he could only hope that Lynn would like her present. He had made some significant changes to the Combat Bike in secret. "If you do not like this, the other bike that you own is still stored within the database of the System, and it can be pulled out again." Lynn was kind of shocked as she thought that Jin was only preparing Christmas gifts for the minions. "I did not expect ¡­this. Thank you." Lynn said as the Sub System told her to press the button at her top right chest. The Gearbox Suit immediately generated foldable plates out as well as a layer of nanofibers that covered her entire body. The nanofibers were a product from the Black Sludge which Ayse had experimented with for the past month or so while she mixed it with Lost Tech. (Actually, she discovered it by chance when she accidentally dropped the black sludge sample onto a Lost Tech Armour plate, learning that it was capable of it duplicating the hardiness of the plate.) Eventually, she experimented with it further and managed to make the liquid form into solid under the right electrical pulse. What''s more, it would retain its shape upon formation, and the only way to remove it would be to insert the same frequency of electrical pulses into it. Thus, Ayse said that the only weakness seemed to be electrical attacks. Jin later incorporated that new technology by copying Yang Ling''s modular attachment inventions and hoped that it would become the new armour for his Sub System Users. While defensive inscriptions would be useful, the Mecha World would not be such a kind world that used swords and arrows. It would definitely prove to be a boon the more defence a person could pack. "Here''s your helmet." Jin passed it to Lynn. It had the design of a penguin with a tilted crown that was shaped for aerodynamic purpose on top of it "You still have not answered my question!" Lynn said as she punched him lightly on his arm. She took the helmet while smiling widely at the new combat bike. "It will be fine. I guarantee you that. Don''t you rather want to try the V2 Combat Bike first?" Jin asked, and Lynn could not keep her excitement as she nodded her head with delight. When she glanced at the V2 Combat Bike, the Sub System had already started explaining the new features of the bike to her. Apparently, the New V2 bike had the flexibility of a yoga master. Its parts could be moved around to allow Lynn to fit and turn into tight spaces while performing a chase or escape. While the bulky armour on the V2 combat bike was still prevalent, it could be detached at a moment''s notice and be stored within the Combat Bike''s storage hard drive which had dimensional storage ring technology. The helmet was a notch better than the one she was using since it featured the same Black Sludge Technology that Ayse had created. (She aptly named it Black Tech, because sludge sounds so crude to her.) The Sub System integration within the helmet was vastly improved by the Half Mask HUD Technology that the System had gathered data on, making it more user friendly by showing the possible routes to take if she was in a pinch. The V2 Combat Bike was also integrated with the Sub System, so in case Lynn made a wrong move, or there was imminent danger she was unable to respond; the AI would immediately take over. Last but not least, it finally had the ability to hover. However, Ayse warned Jin that the Lost Tech was still lacking, so Lynn had to reach speeds of at least 100km per hour before activating the ability to hover. That was when Lynn snorted a little and said that bikes should remain as bikes but thanked Jin for the early Christmas present. "It''s a pleasant surprise." "I could not think of anything better but to modify your combat bike, especially after I saw you browsing those bike modifications that Hou Fei had given you. Ah. I totally forgot about Hou Fei¡­I should send him a message about the Christmas Feast." "You better tell him not to leak it since you are keeping this tight. Does Ayse know that it''s for a Christmas present?" Lynn asked, and Jin shook his head. "She only thinks that I was upgrading your combat abilities and did not seem to think anything of it. Besides, I''ve asked the System, and they don''t have a thing like Christmas over there. I think she will be a teeny weeny bit jealous that the stuff I asked her and the research team is for Christmas gifts¡­especially because I told them to rush it out. I can only hope that their present will appease them." Jin replied as he saw Lynn chuckled slightly while putting her helmet on. "There are a few new combat options but nothing too drastic. Happy luring! I will be waiting for you!" Jin said as the V2 Combat Bike roared loudly before it was silenced by the anti acoustic inscription placed onto the bike. Meanwhile, Jin made some minor adjustments to the Sandroku Ogrebuster suit he summoned out from the existing portal before diving into it. As he slipped his legs into the bad boy, the System was already making calculations to send in the actual giant to fight against the monsters. Jin knew full well how large those Giant Monsters could be and if he wanted to have a proper Christmas Feast, he would need something of the same size. And thus, a Mecha Titan. Chapter 572 Mecha Titan Knigh Jin did not build a Mecha Titan from scratch since he didn''t have the resources nor the money to accomplish such a feat. Instead, he had used the Titan Knight from the Dungeon World and constructed the Mecha around it. (So much for not asking his minions for help, but he did prepare a nice present for Titan Knight, plus it was unaware about the feast.) As the exterior was already in place, Jin mainly focused on repairing the internal parts as analysed by the System and gave him a new pair of ''legs'' to boot. For now, Jin used the caterpillar tracks from the Sherman Tank blueprints from Hou Fei. He would have preferred to wait until Amura Rei shared some of their world''s Mecha blueprints as a reference, but as time was of the essence, he needed to use the Titan Knight now to catch the giant monsters for the grand feast. Therefore, Jin installed the caterpillar tracks on the Titan Knight as its first iteration and made it modular in nature so the parts could be swapped when he finally had his hands on the Mecha Blueprints. The Titan Knight was rather satisfied that he finally had something to move around instead of being forced to hand around like a piece of clothing by the System in the Sanctum of Worlds'' Guest Instance. Initially, Jin wanted to just install the Hover ability from the Lost Technology, but it required wires sticking through the Titan Knight from his waist below with a portal constantly opened to the Guest Instance. With that method, he could be operating without the worry of his energy drying up. But on second thought, Jin believed it was too risky with too many exposed parts. (Not to mention all the debris falling into the Guest Instance. The System would most likely complain even though it had the capability to clean the mess. Also, the System did berate him about the expenses about having a giant moving portal out for that long.) After putting the Titan Knight on tracks, Jin further modified the internal compartments to install a cockpit inside, allowing the dungeon supplier to not only have a better grasp on the controls if needed but also to gain an easy way to insert Maqi into the Titan Knight''s body. This could potentially reduce the amount of fuel energy used by the Titan Knight which was currently running on oil that was produced by the System. In addition, by using Maqi, it was able to utilise the prototype energy beam rifles which were powered by the runes designed by the Elite Runesmith Jespa and her Blacksmith cousin, Hespesta. The Maqi would run through a series of large adamantium runes, invoking the magical powers within the Runes to produce the sufficient capacity to activate instead of using the energy source from the Titan Knight. Blacksmith Hespesta had also created the rifle based on the System''s purchase of a basic beam rifle from the black market and later magnified to 50 times the size to make sure that the Titan Knight was not losing any firepower because of the sheer size. (Needless to say, they never knew that Jin had begun using those prototypes without their acknowledgement. Even Moloch thought that Jin was taking it to analyse stuff.) Other than the rune activated Prototype Beam Rifle, the Blacksmith had managed to create a titan sword and shield which was lazily named by Jin as the Colossus Blade and Colossus Tower Shield. And of course, Jin would be piloting the Titan Knight with his modified Orgebuster Sandroku Golem equipped in case of any emergency ejection from the Titan Knight and for further protection within the cockpit. The supplier was also considering the same for any subsequent Mecha builds as he believed that the cockpit was way too dangerous for the pilot. If Jin could spend a little more money to make a suit that allowed them to exit a damaged mech in time (or at least endure secondary explosions), they could potentially inflict more damage to the enemy mech before having to evacuate. (or die gloriously?) At the same time, he did not wish to use Gearbox Suit as the base product as it would hurt Yang Ling''s business as well as her potential growth to be a badass Catgirl or Iron Lady. Hence, he was looking into the growth of his Black Tech, so he had tasked Ayse and her team to look into that aspect. However, all these prototype Gearbox suits and Black Tech Armour suits were all research mainly for one particular suit. The Living Armour Suit that Jin commanded his minions and Systems to create with utmost patience and diligence. Jin knew that he had all the essential components for the suit, but he felt that being hasty in the production for this one in a lifetime kind of armour suit would only be an injustice to all the efforts placed into it. Especially Ke Mi, Shu and the other werejackals who had tended to the Living Armour plants for months with much care. Furthermore, Peppers had yet to give him the follow up of the effect of the Living Armour plate that absorbed her magical energies. Was it just an anomaly or could it affects the whole series of crops? Only (Peppers in) time could tell. As the Titan Knight finished its fundamental movement testing with its new caterpillar tracks, it opened its abdominal plates and gave entry to Jin in his Orgebuster Sandroku Golem who later manually secured the plates properly. With some tweaking by the System, the golem was properly seated into the cockpit''s position, and wires were automatically inserted into the golem to have access to the Titan Knight''s sensors. The controls were similar to the cockpit of core units in the Supa Robot Wars. Thus Jin had an easy time manoeuvring the huge Titan Knight. (Although he felt weird like some kind of Robotception.) "All Systems good to go. Now we just have to wait for Lynn to bring¡­.WHAT THE SHIT?!" Jin exclaimed as he saw a tiny little bike hovering around to avoid getting stomped by a giant mutant pig. Sadly, it was not just some ordinary Giant Pig Monster. It was a Giant Pig Monster with giant spikes on its back! A Pigcupine?! Chapter 573 Piggycupines "You better receive it! I have a bunch of smaller pigs chasing after me as well!" Lynn said via System channel as she pressed the nitro boost on her bike, allowing her to hover and speed into the house. The ''smaller'' Piggycupines were relentlessly chasing after Lynn and Jin knew that now was no time to ask her how or why. The important thing to do was to prepare to support Lynn and make sure not to mess things up. As for the ''Titan'' of the Giants, the Father Pigcupine (as Jin dubbed it for now although, at hindsight, Lynn felt Porkcupine was a better pun.), got stuck at the door which Jin had much difficulty opening with the Titan Knight. That was currently the sole defence against a monster of that enormous size as it oinked in anger, unable to catch the tiny little fly that had offended them. "What exactly did you do?!" Jin asked as the most dangerous being seemed to be occupied for the moment. He sent his Maqi into the Titan Knight and immediately aimed at the Piggycupines, killing each with just one shot of the prototype beam rifle. While it reduced some of the numbers, the others started to get more bloodthirsty at the loss of their friends. It was not exactly very pleasing to see an angry horde of them running towards the Panda cultivator. (Not to mention, the prototype rifle was heating up real fast with the continuous shooting.) "I just did what Chieftain Skitter advised me to do. Stab one of them in the ass to attract their attention!" Lynn laughed as the Hover Bike barely scraped through a jump attack from the smaller Piggycupines. (Even with just one hit and Lynn would be a goner!) "System! Give Lynn the permission!" Jin ordered as he kept on channelling his Maqi for the Titan Knight to shoot and reduce the horde size of giants. "Permission for what?!" Lynn asked in a confused state when she heard Jin through the intercom, and suddenly a large digital button appeared right in front of her screen of her GPS installed in the V2 Combat Bike. Without any hesitation, she slammed her fist into it while doing a backflip manoeuvre based on the warning that was given by the System through her helmet. The Hovering Bike rose vertically upwards, and as it flipped to the back, the storage drive within the bike started to spew out attachments which Lynn had no idea she even possessed. Lynn thought she had gone through all the options before engaging the Piggycupines, but iJin it seems that Jin had been hiding this from her. Suddenly, a glass dome emerged from the back of the V2 Combat Bike covering her and moving her seat forward a little, causing her to be in a prone position facing the front of the bike. Once the glass dome had secured Lynn, the Modular Attachments that magically appeared from the bike''s storage drive slammed itself onto the bike, causing it to have hands and bipedal legs. For all she knew, the bike had turned into somewhat of a humanoid mecha which Jin dubbed it V2 Bike Mecha. (Oh how original~) The controls were similar to driving the bike, but more consoles were up and running, giving her the ability to hold onto a weapon. "WHAT? Weapons?! If I knew I would have asked Qiu Yue for some advice!" Lynn panicked a little, shaking the controls rather violently since she felt powerless without the knowledge of the new Mecha that she was driving. Jin then realised Lynn was not able to quickly adapt to the situation. He thought that the surprise would empower her further than making her anxious. So, he quickly ordered the Bike Mecha to go into a partial autopiloting mode, and that would allow the Sub System to aid Lynn in her endeavour to survive when she unintentionally entered into a panicked manner. With the Bike Mecha mode on, the Sub System was able to retrieve an assortment of weapons to be used against the horde of giant piggycupines. Weapons like an autocannon and RPG launchers were taken out and used mercilessly on the horde. Thankfully, all the piggycupines had was just a layer of skin with lots of fats in it, so the conventional ''large sized'' bullets and missiles were still sufficient to take them down. (Just that it required more than usual to make sure the giants dies.) In the meantime, the System was processing and analysing the Piggycupine''s body structure from the live samples captured by Jin as well as the dead ones which the Sub System assisted in procuring. It eventually was able to make a calculated guess for the several weak spots of the Piggycupine horde. But in that short period of time, they had already reached melee range with the Titan Knight. Thankfully it had the size advantage against the small giants. Dropping its prototype beam rifle due to overheating, the Titan Knight pulled out his sword and shield, cutting piggycupines down and ensuring that they disappeared into the System''s grasp. Eventually, Lynn calmed down again and took full control over the Bike Mecha, providing better support than what the Sub System was offering. (After all her Sub System was never intended for fighting purposes.) "Sorry Jin for blanking out like that," Lynn said in an embarrassed tone through the intercom as she did not expect her body to enter such a state by the sudden transformation. "No, it''s my fault that I did not tell you in advance. I thought we wouldn''t need to use that because the power consumption of that particular mode is extremely draining to your bike''s battery pack. There are two more backup batteries within the storage drive, but you would not last another five more minutes. It''s still a proto-" Before Jin could finish his sentence, the enraged Father Piggycupine finally managed to squeeze his way through the door by breaking the sides of the doors and did a highly terrifying low pitch oink. (Unbelievably, the wood splinters from the door killed one or two of the piggycupines.) Unlike the small piggycupines, the Father Pigcupine knelt a little while aiming his back towards the Bike Mecha and Jin''s Titan Knight. Without much warning, large spike projectiles came flying towards the both of them, and there was no way to defeat it unless the Titan Knight had more mobility in its current form. The only thing it could do was use its colossal tower shield to block, and maybe an opportunity to possibly parry the first attack while Jin had already commanded the System to teleport Lynn out of Giant World to get her out of harm''s way. Thankfully, the spike projectile missed the disappearing Lynn and killed an unfortunate offspring of the Father Pigcupine instead, but the Titan Knight''s shield was penetrated by the force of the projectile. If not for Jin''s quick thinking, the Titan Knight might have most likely lost an arm. Jin channelled whatever Maqi he had into the shield, slowing the destruction down a little with multiple energy barriers before the spike projectile penetrated it. "System! Get us out of here now! We don''t have the firepower to defeat that!" Jin shouted in his cockpit as he threw the shield away and held the Colossal Blade with two hands hoping it could stop the next incoming spike projectile before it tore the Titan Knight and him into pieces. In an instant, the System was able to recreate the portal underneath the Titan Knight, allowing both of them to drop into the portal. (Along with some extra goodies that came charging towards it.) Just when Jin thought he was prepared based on the data he had, he wasn''t. "Note to self. NEVER underestimate the Giant World." Chapter 574 Dungeon For Fun "ARRGH! THAT BOSS JIN! Always coming up with these surprises! How am I supposed to find myself a girlfriend if he always does that?" Bu Dong complained as he took another look at the Pandamonium newsletter while waiting for the other Pandawans to arrive. Xiong Da and Ruo Ying were, unfortunately, going to miss out on the limited raid instance for Christmas. According to his girlfriend on their Pandawan chat group, the lawyer had been moaning about it during their entire flight to their holiday resort in Boracay. He apparently had even looked up prices for a quick one day flight to return just to be able to try it out. (Ruo Ying had quickly shattered these plans though with a bit of ¡­ ''girl'' magic.) "You just have to sacrifice one of those priorities. Besides you''re still in school, you should have plenty of time finding a girl for you there ¡­ I''ve kind of given up hope a long time ago." Deng Long shrugged his shoulders as he and Bu Dong had become an unlikely duo because of the robot skirmishes they both participated in together. "But you don''t look bad yourself. You''re a respectable policeman so you should attract the ladies. At this rate, I''ll be wondering if you prefer men or something." Bu Dong teased, and Deng Long just laughed a little. "You''ll understand when you grow older." Suddenly Deng Long remembered how Bu Dong was way richer than any other Pandawan (except Xiong Da). Not to mention he had quite the high cultivation for his young age as well. "¡­ Maybe not." He whispered to himself as they saw Yue Han, the Bat Cultivator come along with his girlfriend, Xing Li, the Hedgehog Cultivator. (The other (and potentially the main) reason for both of Bu Dong and Deng Long to bond over each other.) "Merry Christmas Bu Dong! And Deng Long Sir!" Xing Li waved happily towards them. The two greeted her back even though it was merely Christmas Eve. "Don''t worry. I can afford the dungeon this time." Yue Han joked towards Bu Dong as the latter was eyeing at him. "Heh, you better." Bu Dong grinned as they were still waiting for the Venus Four. Se Lang couldn''t come as he was head over heels buried in paperwork. With the overtime pay being two times more during the festive season, he had taken all the overtime he could. Besides, Se Lang needed that money sorely to recuperate for the presents he bought for his ¡­two girlfriends. Many who knew about this m¨¦nage ¨¤ trois (especially within the Pandawan circle) were rather surprised that all of them were still together. They thought it would be just a passing loving season, but the bonds between those three only got stronger with time. Se Lang was proving to be a reliable boyfriend who brought them out for meals, either together or separately. At times, the Wolf Cultivator felt more like a brother to them compared to a boyfriend, yet perhaps that was an aspect which kept the relationship going. It was more than just the physical interaction but a pillar to rely on. Deng Long while initially envious to high heavens of his buddy (supposedly many straw puppets were nailed), he respected his bro''s dedication as he saw how Se Lang increased the number of overtime the wolf took in order to cover the expenses he spent on the two girls. Nevertheless, it was not just a one way street. The two girls also took on part time jobs in order to help out with the finances. Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden Cultivator, was so encouraged by their attitude that she ended up interviewing at the same place as her friends and was also hired there. (Selling bubble teas) "Oh, they are finally here." Deng Long said as Bu Dong was boasting about some of the Supa Robot Warz missions he had experienced to Yue Han. "Hi guys! I hope we are not too late." Shi Hui said as she waved at Deng Long. Judging by their outfits, they came directly from their part time job and rushed to Jin''s store as soon as they could. With all of them gathered together, they decided to have some early dinner at the Restaurant Instance. "The first form may be the easiest to defeat, but we can''t underestimate it. According to the constant forum updates, we will be teleported to one of three possible locations. Either in front, behind or inside the house itself." Bu Dong started to explain as soon as they had ordered Lynn''s latest dishes that were available in conjunction with the new instance. "If we are lucky enough to get teleported behind his house, the elves will be busy packing ''gifts'', and we can disrupt them by destroying the power generator. That is the most ideal situation as those elves that he possessed will build those annoying Spartans we saw in the WunderPanda Theme Park instance." "How will destroying the power generator help?" Yue Han asked and Deng Long who also read up on some of the information available answered that the power generator provided electricity for the entire house. By removing the generator, it will shut down the house''s defences temporarily before the backup generator activates them again. "It will give us enough time to enter and get rid of the small fries as soon as possible without the need to worry about the generator and defences of the house." Deng Long added that after killing 30 spartan toy soldiers, Evil Santa would appear. "Then I guess the worst case scenario is getting teleported directly into the Santa''s house?" Jia Ying asked as she received her drink. "Yes and no. Considering most of us are Pandawans, we should be capable of overcoming the house'' defences and defeating the elves before Santa appears." Bu Dong replied, and she was slightly confused. "Before Santa comes? Didn''t you just say we have to kill 30 spartan toy soldiers for Evil Santa to arrive?" Shi Hui interrupted. "That''s only the case if the alarm signals have been disabled. Though we could always get lucky enough to be teleported into a place where there are no elves in sight. It''s unlikely but not impossible." Bu Dong said as he had watched footage of a cultivator raid team that managed to pick them off one by one without raising the alarm. "Actually, should we even know all this information? Kind of spoils the overall experience in my opinion. Like knowing the answer to a riddle before having the time to try and figure it out for ourselves." Yue Wen wondered and Jing Ru, the Giraffe Cultivator, nodded her head in agreement. "While it would be nice to get the first clear again, I feel like something''s been different ever since the Deep One Dungeon Instance. We''re always trying to aim for the top and get the first clear bonus, but we don''t necessarily seem to be enjoying it as much." Jin Ru spoke out to the entire gang. "Back when Boss Jin had just opened, we merely played for the fun of it. If we managed to get a first clear, it was a bonus. Now that Boss Jin has put so much work into improving his dungeon instances, to the point where we have to look up ideal ways how to overcome a dungeon, it feels like more of a chore. Like we have to meet some kind of expectations." Jing Ru continued to voice her concern out loud, and it hit Bu Dong hard. When he thought about it, he too hadn''t been enjoying the dungeons as much compared to the Supa Robot Warz which did not have these rankings or a first clear bonus. It was just a mini game where he enjoyed fighting alongside Deng Long. He remembered how expensive it was to play the mini game that he had to squeeze every bit of a single play session dry until Jin changed the pricing. And even then, he still enjoyed the experience a hell lot. Not to mention being awarded so much game points for being the subscribers for the initial pricing list, which allowed Bu Dong to have fun due to the variety of robot parts for him to experiment. Sure there was some sort of achievements as motivations, but those were just optional. "¡­I get where you are coming from¡­ Alright, if everyone thinks this way, we shall go in with only that much information and figure out the rest by ourselves." Bu Dong placed his phone down, and everyone seemed happy with this idea. By then, their food arrived, and they enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner together with the company they had found in this particular shop. Chapter 575 Not Listening "Shit! We really teleported into the house!" Bu Dong cursed to himself as he saw the staring eyes of the elves in their greenish and black costume. On a side note, Jin used clones of the Elf Researchers as well as Kraft''s Night Foxes as Santa''s underlings. Of course, in terms of powers wise, Jin had to tune it down by a whole ton. The Night Foxes were too buffed up against the cultivators. (Come on, killing a Boar Knight with only a stone in the Dungeon Cave? That''s brute strength!) They immediately stopped their work, and their (Dark Elf) supervisor slammed the big red button, causing the alarm to blare loudly, signalling to everyone that there were intruders in Santa''s House. Afterwards, the elves mercilessly threw gifts at them, which transformed into incomplete versions of the Spartan Toy Soldiers. Some of the Toy Soldiers were missing hands, legs or even heads! So, they were not too much of a threat as compared to the elves who were throwing the gifts at them. However, just one minute into the Boss Instance, Evil Santa appeared right in front of their eyes with a great big smile. For some reason, the group felt that Evil Santa was ¡­ A little too tall! Unlike the past few times when they saw him in the WunderPanda Theme Park, he was at least three to four heads taller in size. "It''s the Boss Mechanics! Jin purposely made Evil Santa bigger so we can have more space to run around him! Watch out for his attacks!" Bu Dong announced, but Yue Han and his girlfriend Xing Li decided to make the first move against the Evil Santa. "Damn it, Yue Han! We need to clear the minions first!" Bu Dong shouted, but his friend was not listening to him at all. "Do you think those elves will disappear and not come back to haunt us again later in the future form?" Yue Han asked as he used his Sword Arts to damage Evil Santa. Xing Li, on the other hand, had learnt a few support techniques from her Henotic Hedgehog Cultivation to assist her boyfriend. Yue Han did have a point, but at the same time, if no one stopped the blaring alarm, it was guaranteed that more elves would continue to swarm into from the Santa''s house. Bu Dong remembered reading how there were intervals where the elves would continue to disrupt the Evil Santa Boss Fight due to the alarm. Unsurprisingly, the second form could summon more elves as reinforcement anyway, but it would at least be useful to get rid of the annoying small fries, while Evil Santa was in its easiest form. "Deng Long! I need you to go find the alarm controls or at least destroy the speakers or something!" Bu Dong dictated, and Deng Long who had been fighting to defend himself so far went on the offensive. "Okay, but I need someone to follow me as backup! I don''t think I have enough attack power against that many elves and toy Spartan soldiers!" Deng Long said as he whacked the head of an elf, rupturing his eardrums and causing him to fall unconscious. As he was about to use more strength to kill the elf, a bullet went through the middle of the elf''s head. "I can be your backup." Jing Ru, the Giraffe Cultivator, offered as she aimed towards the speakers in this room and disabled them with a spray of bullets. "Thank you. I will gladly accept it." Deng Long said with a nod as he rushed forth forward rushing into the nearest room they could find. With Yue Han and Xing Li distracting the Evil Santa Boss, the rest were able to clear the elves, but it was not without difficulty. With only four cultivators that hadn''t worked together much in previous dungeons, their aptitude and attitude were put to the test. Although the university girls treated Bu Dong like a younger brother since they hung out with each other frequently enough, they simply could not stand the orders Bu Dong gave even though he was giving them based on what he knew about them and their fighting style. While most of the orders were logical, they did not want to be micromanaged and prefered just having fun in this special instance as proposed earlier. Shi Hui and Jia Ying eventually started going at their own pace and trying out some of their unmastered attacks instead of following whatever orders he gave. As for Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden cultivator, she understood the behaviour of Bu Dong as well as her Venus Four comrades. But with her stuck in the middle of the fence, Yue Wen still decided to join her Venus Four members. "Is this what Yue Han mean by having fun?!" Bu Dong was furious that things didn''t go as planned. He didn''t mind going at Santa ''blind'' without knowing all the answers, but his competitive spirit still made him want to give it their best shot. When he realised that no one was listening to him at all, Bu Dong felt powerless for once. They might be friends, but that did not mean that they were partners fighting hand in hand. However, Bu Dong gritted his teeth and followed the majority for now while he continued to analyse the behaviour of Evil Santa. He knew that getting angry would do no good and he already half expected that this current Boss Raid would not end well at all. "Fine, I''ll just take it as a lesson learnt." Bu Dong mumbled to himself as he observed the fight and shoot arrows with a bow he had bought as a backup. "Since they don''t want to listen and work as a team, I may as well just do my own thing too." While he did not speak the last part out, it was plain to see on his face and by the way he acted. Over time he felt he should have just played Supa Robot Warz or pester Jin about developing something like AI teammates. ¡ª¨C "Awww, that won''t do! Bu Dong! If you give up, the whole team will only fall further into shambles!" A female spectator lamented as she looked at the screen. People were expecting the group of Pandawans to have an exceedingly good show to watch, but instead, they were witnessing a subpar show. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing instead of showcasing the supreme teamwork or innovative ideas they were known for, which caused most spectators to walk away and observe other cultivators instead. "So that''s the boy you talked about?" A friend of the female spectator asked when the group of teenage foreigners remained as the only ones who watched the Pandawans. "Mhmm, that''s him. I like his tactics. They''re bold and make sense. Those other Pandawans don''t seem to realise that they are missing out on a good leader. If they listened, they might stand a good chance of at least making it up to the third form." Katerine, the Fire Shaman replied. Previously an exchange student in Tiangong High School, she returned to China just for this dungeon supplier''s experience. And lucky for her, she was just in time for this special Christmas ongoing event. Alongside Katerine were her buddies from her own school and they were raring to go for an instance run. However, Katerine knew that all they had was firepower and they lacked a good leader to have a chance in completing this new event. But by the looks of it, she did not have to worry too much. Judging by the disgruntled expression of a certain Ape Cultivator, she believed he would be more than happy to change teams! Chapter 576 Fire Shamans "Hahaha, did you see that? Evil Santa just needed one hit with that special attack to obliterate us!" Xing Li laughed at how hilariously it was when Yue Han got smacked by the Boss. "Well¡­it is a DPS (Damage per Second) test to see if the cultivators can stop him before he charges up his attacks. That''s why it could kill everyone around him." Bu Dong mumbled to himself while the rest were merely laughing and talking about how much fun they had. Bu Dong guessed that was their way of having fun, just doing what they can against the Evil Santa Boss since there were points to be earned. While it was not much, the points were already sufficient to redeem small item prizes like a chi regeneration potion. That was how Jin enticed all cultivators of varying skills to earn something from the Evil Santa Instance. Jin had been informed that not many people really liked the high difficulty placed in his latest dungeons. To many people, it was off putting that they needed a high level of skills to clear it, and the rewards they got were minuscule. In most cases, this meant that people just tried it once or twice for the experience but stopped afterwards as to not waste more money being unable to get anything from it. Thus, Jin had decided to tweak it a little and was now trying out a new business model to give some leeway for his new dungeon instances. It might still be challenging, but at the very least, new cultivators could gain the experience and rewards for defeating the first form of Evil Santa, allowing them to have some sense of achievement. More seasoned cultivators should be able to defeat the second form while the most coordinated of all cultivators were the only ones who stood a real chance to beat the third and final form of Evil Santa. Still, Jin was learning how much of an impact the new dungeon model could make on the cultivators, so that was why he decided to label it as special. The three days limit was to gather feedback from the cultivators both in terms of dungeon play and the comments they had about it. Eventually, the dungeon supplier had to remember that he was still catering for the masses and not a niche group of people. (yet?) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Bu Dong~!" Katerine called out the name of the lone cultivator sitting at the bar counter to recuperate. The rest of the current group had decided to enter the redemption store to see what was offered while he stayed in the shop instance to check out his group''s performance chart review. The Ape cultivator was shocked to see that the former overseas exchange student came back to China so soon after having left. "Hahaha! We''re just here to stay for the holidays. I managed to convince my parents that it was so great here, and a perfect way to escape the extreme cold that we experience back home. At least it''s slightly warmer here because I just can''t stand the terribly cold weather." Katerine said as her group exchanged greetings with him as well. "These are all my friends. After experiencing the dungeon supplier store here, I''ve tried out a dozen other dungeon suppliers, but none could compare to the exhilarating feeling I got while fighting those Savants with you guys! So we just had to come during our stay. This Tree Mall is just marvellous. It was worth it to return back just for this." Katerine was now full on rambling like a fangirl, and Bu Dong smiled a little even though the praises belonged to Boss Jin. "That''s great. Don''t let me stop you from kicking Santa''s butt, I will be cheering for you guys!" Bu Dong promised cheerful manner to encourage her yet Katerine surprisingly shook her head. "We are not doing it without you." The Fire Shaman rebutted, and Bu Dong was confused by the way she said it. "Last time I was here, you were the one to always come up with the plans. We might not have beaten the Savants, but in the other dungeons you brought me along, your plans always helped us triumph. So, if you don''t mind, I would like you to lead my friends and me for this Evil Santa Instance." Katerine asked him politely as she further introduced her friends to Bu Dong. "These are Nia, Jasmin and Shanice." The three girls with German origins had varying white skin tone though Bu Dong seemed to differentiate them by their hair colour instead. (Since to him¡­their facial features nearly looked the same.) Nia had brown, slightly curled hair while Jasmin possessed a set of big beautiful blue eyes and golden straight hair. Shanice was the only one with orangish red hair, making it her the beauty among the three of them. But the most prominent feature for all of them was that they could speak Chinese. (At least coherent basic sentences.) Katerine told Bu Dong that they had all taken the Chinese language as an extra curriculum module. "But compared to Katerine, our grades and grasp of Chinese were not as good as hers," Shanice replied, and Bu Dong was rather impressed by the way she speaks. "Your intonation and the fluidity of the sentence is not bad! Do not berate yourself¡­so only four of you? I guess we have to find three more people to the Evil Santa Boss Instance." Bu Dong wondered who to ask, but Katerine''s group shook their head in unison. "We just want to play by ourselves with you leading us. I don''t think we really stand a chance of becoming the first group to beat the third form, but we want to at least reach the second form. And to defeat Evil Santa at that point is our goal." Katerine replied and Bu Dong could not see why they were so adamant in choosing him. "I get what you mean, but I honestly don''t think that I am as great of a leader as you give me credit for. You guys can play for fun." Bu Dong did not wish to be disappointed again another round of just for fun kind of gameplay. To him, dungeoneering should be taken seriously. "Didn''t you hear what our Chief¡­. *Cough* Katerine say that we want to beat just the second form. That is why she wanted your help. If not, we would not be waiting here for you." Nia exclaimed and Bu Dong was in a dilemma. Should he stay with his current group or try out with the new group who was willing to succeed despite their inexperience and the size of their party. "Come on, it''s not like we are always here. We can tell you about our abilities, and it should be easy to remember." Katerine suggested as she went up the top level of the shop instance to grab a table for discussion. "Why did you say that?" Bu Dong asked as he followed the group upwards. "Because, we are all Fire Shamans." Katerine smiled when she turned her head back as she grinned at Bu Dong. Chapter 577 Joining the Fire Shamans Bu Dong listened intently to Katerine''s explanation on their Fire Shaman class, both as a refresher as well as an in-depth understanding. The last time Katerine shared her own abilities as a Fire Shaman was during the Shaoling Football Instance which she knew he would have forgotten about it. Only now did he come to learn that there were basic variations of Fire Shamans. While most of the Shamans studied the basic offensive and defensive spells, they would usually specialise down a certain route. Katerine, was the rare type, who had chosen the support route while Nia and Shanice were the more commonly found offensive Fire Shamans. In contrast, Jasmin was the only one with defensive capabilities among the four of them. Compared to the Pandawans, the tourist group had little experience with dungeoneering, much less something as intense as Jin''s dungeon runs. Her friends would be Grade 2 equivalents in terms of power level and only Katerine who had been here before recently managed to rank up to level 3. Unlike Eastern cultivations, the Western way of magic was based on levels. As long as one reached a new level, they would be given access to a plethora of new magic skills to study. Most tended to practice a few select spells to master them well. Low levelled mages only had a very limited amount of instant cast spells they could prepare in advance. (Long casting spells were another matter.) The spells they decided to prepare capped based on the amount of magic power their body could handle. To reach higher levels, they would need to develop stronger and more diverse mana circuits. All these limitations were artificially imposed by the International Magical Associations (with varying names in many countries) to ensure that one did not go overboard. Eastern cultivators would mostly have to be wary of chi poisoning. If one wasn''t careful, it was enough to simply rest for a period of time as it merely affected the body. Mana poisoning, on the other hand, spread to the brain first and subsequently the body. Overconsumption of mana could pose a lethal risk. (Peppers was slightly different since her body was not considered as part of the homo sapiens category despite the fact that she looked like one.) To lessen the risk of such a thing occurring, various international magical associations instructed magicians to come for a monthly check up at their nearest Magic Clinic (or at the very most, quarter yearly). The association would then ascertain the magical power levels of said individual and promote him/her if they managed to reach certain thresholds, updating their corresponding badges. Those badges were imbued with specific magical properties and could also be used as identification. Through the advent of technology, a fingerprint and a trace of magical energy could nowadays be inserted into the portable scanners, rendering the badge almost meaningless. Still most would either wear it on their body or at least take it with them as it was a prestige item. (Aka bragging rights.) "So, when you say you girls aim to beat Evil Santa''s second form, that is not bragging or anything but a genuine plea to bring you up to such heights?" He asked, and the girls nodded their heads. "I am really not that confident at all." Bu Dong said as he clearly remembering how the Pandawans failed to work together to get past the first form properly. "Please! We promise to listen to all your orders." Katerine assured the Ape Cultivator, but he still had his doubts. "When you are in a fight, you might be too busy to care about other things other than your own survival, it will be hard for me to communicate with you girls. I might not even be that great in multi tasking. At most, I think I can help you clear his first form. How about that?" Bu Dong tried to compromise with the group hoping that they did not have too much of an expectation. "I guess that''s fine." Nia shrugged her shoulders as honestly, she and the other two girls did not know what to expect and assumed this current Dungeon Supplier was something more fanciful than the ones they played before. Katerine had been praising it to the high heavens, and from what they saw from Bu Don''s group, it was at least very well designed. However, most of their concentration at the moment was not concerning the dungeon (unlike Katerine). Instead, it was on the Pandamonium App. The funny thing was that the app that they were asked to install had immediately changed its language to German (the app icon had a german flag behind the Panda) and the prices were all in Euros which surprised them a lot. (Not to mention, they could pay by cash or by card.) For a dungeon instance to cost only five euros? The other three did not mind trying it out a few times to get the hang of it. Only Katerine was a bit baffled about this. She had already been to this store before and knew that the conversion to Yuan and Euro should be significant. So, paying five euros came as a bit of a shock, especially when Bu Dong told her he only had to pay five Yuan for it. She did ask Yun who was at the bar counter if it was some glitch or anything. Yun merely replied that this was the new pricing model. "Either you pay it, or you don''t. We''ve standardised across the board to ensure that each customer pays in their own national currency." "But that''s not fair¡­" Katerine complained and Yun looked at her. "According to our research, the average price for the most common dungeon type in Germany is around 40 over euros. Cheapest 30ish. Mind you, it''s the kind where you just fight without getting anything in return for beating it, unlike our Raid Points. So, do you still think it would be fair that you get to play such a wonderfully crafted dungeon instance for merely 63 cents? " Yun questioned, and Katerine was dumbfounded for a moment. "We do not need your patronage if you find our prices disagreeable or not to your liking. So what will it be, do you want in or out?" Yun knew that Katerine was dying to play the new dungeon instance, and the latter knew that this shop was making enough money to withstand any possible backlash it may receive with its stance on payment. "Yes, I would like to play. One Evil Santa Boss Raid ticket please!" Katerine answered without any hesitation. Chapter 578 Underground Garage "Hmm isn''t that Bu Dong?" Xing Li asked Yue Han. They had taken their time previewing the redemption store and were now looking for the Ape cultivator. His oldest friend had claimed it was best to let him sulk for a while after their loss. Surprisingly, instead of doing that, he seemingly had already joined another group to try again as he was currently featured on the big screen with Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One advertising it like crazy. This had less to do with him, but it was more with his company. It was extremely rare for Western Magicians to visit the dungeon instance let alone a whole group (it did not hurt that all of them were pretty girls). Yue Han took a closer look at the screen and discovered a familiar face near Bu Dong. It took a moment before he recognised her as Katerine. Xing Li did not realise it was her until Yue Han blurted the name out. Meanwhile, the rest of the cultivators who had also finished browsing the redemption store joined them as well. "I never expected her to come back so soon. Did Boss Jin perhaps succeed in making a connection portal to Germany?" Yue Han wondered, and Deng Long told him not to be silly. "If Jin had developed such technology making it possible to do such stuff, he''d probably be on the front page of the People''s Daily." Deng Long countered, and the rest chuckled at Yue Han''s naivety. "Well, if Boss Jin was able to create this large Tree Mall so fast and such fantastic dungeons, I don''t see why he couldn''t do that other stuff. Ahhhh just imagine portalling to Europe without the need to travel." Xing Li said in a dreamy state. "Things would be so eassssyyy!! We can plan a trip without worrying too much about air ticket prices and- Oh erm hahaha!" Yue Han replied (though with a bit of a red face) making Jing Ru giggle even more. "It might be nice, but that would literally kill the entire aerospace industry. And in turn, I won''t be surprised if people start attempting to assassinate him." Jing Ru noted jokingly. "Heh! You saw how Boss stopped a whole gang of triad members and personally finished off a Triad Boss? Whoever is crazy enough to try it should better consider it again. Also, if I''m not wrong, I bet that Jin has some powerful people behind him too." Shi Hui commented as she could always feel a veil of secrecy around Jin and his employees. "I agree. Still¡­ I just think about how much pollution could be reduced if we abandoned aeroplanes entirely. Also wouldn''t it be great to just spend winter in a more exotic and warm place?" Jia Ying added as they watched Bu Dong and the Fire Shamans fight their way in from behind the house. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Everyone follow me! Jasmin, set a fire wall behind us so they will be hindered!" Bu Dong commanded as he led the way into the basement of the house where Deng Long had previously found the generator able to stop the alarms from blaring so loudly. (He and the group once again teleported into the centre of the house.) At the same time, Bu Dong had to keep a mental note of how many spells they could use. He only knew that they were able to cast Level 0 spells, more commonly known as cantrips repeatedly without a strain on their magic capacity. Other than that, all of them had very limited spell set. Level 2 Fire Shamas was not really cut out for such intensive fights yet. If they wished to cast more spells, they had to use scrolls or use a longer ritual kind of procedure which would not strain their mana capacity. However, that was assuming they had the space, time and security to do it without any interruptions. In a dungeon run as spontaneous as Jin''s, this was pretty much impossible. High level magicians would be able to do that by simultaneously fighting against the enemies and chanting at the same time. Unfortunately for the current group, Bu Dong did not wish to overestimate their abilities. The fire wall cast by Jasmin surrounded the steps to the basement, giving the group some breather even though the Fire Shamans were carrying pistols as their primary weapon. Bu Dong was honestly surprised that their aim was so precise and accurate though he later found out that the half Shamanic mask with fire designs provided them with some aiming assistance. Meanwhile, the pistol was imbued with a level 0 fire magic which caused the bullets to ignite on fire, doing fire elemental damage on whoever came too close. "Standard issue or you girls just love pistols?" Bu Dong asked jokingly. "A longish dagger and a pistol are the standard issue of our equipment. Weapons are more expensive in Europe, and the laws are a lot more stringent than here. Without a magic badge or having a special reason, it''s nearly impossible to get one legally." Katerine replied. "We thought we need to improvise by using dual daggers or something since we were not able to bring any weapons overseas. Thankfully, we were able to rent weapons at this place, and the quality seems better than the ones we had back home." Nia said as they went down a spiralling stairway to find themselves in an underground garage with the reindeer stable at the side. Upon seeing intruders in the garage, the reindeers stomped their feet and snorted loudly to inform their friends. The entire herd started to ram on their stable gates, trying to get out and personally subjugate the invaders themselves. "Don''t worry about the reindeers! Quickly find the generator and pull the plug, wire or just destroy that thing." Bu Dong said to the group of Fire Shamans as he personally went to the other side of the garage. If Evil Santa''s sleigh was situated here, it meant there had to be a garage door further down. While the forum posts warned others not to stay outside Santa''s house for too long due to the debilitating cold, the Ape cultivator had something in mind. Judging by his last experience, if their group just entered the house, there would be no way to kill the first form if they would be swarmed with elves of various strengths and sizes as well as spartan toy soldiers. Without reaching the full group capacity, it was too much of a risk. However, the forum posters did speculate that with a sufficient or reliable heat source, the group should be possible to withstand the cold for a longer period of time. Since Bu Dong had a bunch of Fire Shamans in his group, he was planning to put this theory to the test. He remembered each one could cast a Level 0 Resist Cold spell on themselves, else he would get Katerine to perform her supporting role instead. "Besides, I am the Angry Ape Cultivator, I believe with my rage mode and a few warm potions from the General Store, I should be able to stall the Evil Santa for a while to let them cast the spell." Bu Dong thought to himself as he finally found the chains to manually open the garage shutters. He quickly drank a warm potion and started to jingle the chains before attempting to open it. There was no guarantee that Bu Dong''s somewhat crazy plan would actually work, but it was supposedly their best shot at defeating the bearded old guy in a red jumper. Chapter 579 Evil Santas Sleigh "We''ve managed to take out the generator!" Katerine called out as she saw Bu Dong desperately trying to push the Evil Santa''s sleigh out to the front of the house once he was done lifting the heavy chains of the garage shutters. "Great job that should stop those elves from interfering later! Now help me push this out of the garage before the reindeers manage to destroy their stable gates!" Bu Dong said with a strained voice. For some reason, he could feel his strength waning the moment he touched the sleigh, but Bu Dong had no choice but to endure, they¡­ he needed this sleigh for the next part of the plan. The rest quickly came over and tried their best to help push it, however their combined effort amount to almost nothing compared to Bu Dong. Soon, they could hear the footsteps from afar and the reindeers who were bashing onto the stable gates suddenly quieten down. There was only one possible explanation for this. Evil Santa had been informed about their location. "Damn it! Argh, I wanted to save my chi for later, but guess we have to gamble it all!" Bu Dong grumbled as he took out a large chi regenerating potion and chugged it down forcibly. It was thick, and his body felt like rejecting the contents in his stomach due to the excess amount he drank, but there was no other way he could think of. "Secret Art! Angry Ape Pronounces Its Superiority!! " Bu Dong shouted as the five angry ape silhouettes above him pounded their chest loudly. Finally, he and the girls had enough power to push with all their might into the snowy open right outside the house. Just as he had expected, the elves did not move out of the house despite their beady eyes staring through the windows. Even the toy spartan soldiers were seemingly not allowed to be used out in the open. Only after Bu Dong enabled the HUD in his mask interface, did he find out the reason for this. The ice cold winter winds itself had an environmental effect. According to the information he was currently suffering from, it was a Freezing I debuff, which slightly slowed him down and also inflicted a small amount of DoT (Damage over Time) which seemed minuscule right now. Bu Dong could discern that the thermometer at the side of his mask''s interface was dropping drastically. Without immediate warmth, the debuff would only worsen, making them slower and numbing them even more. The only upside was that the weather did not differentiate between friend and foe. For fairness'' sake, teams that started in the cold at the start of the instance, received a grace period of five minutes before the weather turned stormy. Before then, it was in their best interest to disable or circumvent the traps in front of the house. Hence, starting in the house like what Bu Dong went through was not without advantages. "Nia, Shanice! We need to burn this sleigh right here and now! Use your strongest spells to ignite it! I''ll assist you with my techniques as well. Jasmin, do whatever you can to delay Evil Santa for as long as possible!" Bu Dong ordered as he used his Intermediate Sword Art, Sword Throw of the Angry Ape to break the garage shutter chains, slamming the shutters right in front of Evil Santa. The garage shook a little after a delayed explosion (from his sword inscription), and Bu Dong took out his main damaging sword assist with turning the sleigh into firewood. Katerine already knew what to do without Bu Dong having to tell her. She was taking her time to chant out her Level 3 Fire Wisps which was already considered the Intermediate Grade of magic and one of the most potent support spells she could cast. She had only recently learned it and was, therefore, a bit nervous about using it in the midst of battle. With the help of her summoned grimoire, Katerine read the words out loud and slowly as it could have catastrophic consequences if she made a mistake now. Shamans received the source of magic from their patrons, who were usually gods (sometimes animalistic spirits). In the case of the four girls, they worshipped Tiw, a god of war. Most people might know him by another name, Tyr. As a famous being in Norse Mythology too, he had so much influence over Germanic people that a day of the week had been named after him. (Tuesday = Tiw''s Day). Through Tiw''s blessing, all four fire shamans commanded their version of fire to life. Katerine''s Fire Wisp spell had begun to take physical form and fire sprites formed around her which she transferred to the entire group. Nia and Shanice did not use their instant spells as well since Bu Dong had given them enough time to conjure their fire spells. The image of a bearded old man appeared with a Tiwaz rune (?) shining above them, fire enveloped their hands and subsequently their arms, generating warm and heat into a concentrated orb of energy. Level 2 Tiw''s Fireball. The two offensive fire shamans were making Tiw''s fireball as large as possible by combining their powers together so they had a bigger chance of burning the sleigh in one go. Bu Dong, on the other hand, took a deep breath in and recirculated his chi after using his signature technique and an intermediate technique. He was not going to waste the large chi potion for he now ignited his Grade 5 sword with his own chi. "Intermediate Sword Art, Lacerate in the Blazing Edge of the Angry Ape!" Bu Dong shouted, and the name made his teammate smile a bit as they continued to chant their spells. The sword was burning brightly in the dark winter skies like a beacon of hope as he started hacking his sword on the other side of the sleigh, hoping it was sufficient for it to start burning. He knew that Evil Santa''s sleigh was not some regular wooden cart. Cultivators in the forums had already discovered that it was made from ''legendary'' wood materials by gathering snippets of information scattered around the house. (Some people were just pure lore junkies, and they loved how Jin had begun to put meaning in their dungeon runs.) While it would not be easy for it to be burned into a crisp, Bu Dong was taking the most radical and logical method to stay alive. To make the sleigh a living burning campfire, so they have enough warmth to fight against Evil Santa in the open, away from all the elves and toy soldiers. Chapter 580 Tiws Burning Wall "I don''t think I can hold him much longer!" Jasmin shouted as she looked at the garage shutter. She had been casting Burning Hands, a spell that could be cast continuously so long as the caster was able to maintain the mana output and repeat the chanting in intervals. A sheet of flames was emitted from her hands, strong enough to heat metal up to over a 100 degrees Celsius, Jasmin upheld that particular spell on Evil Santa as he tried to pull up the garage shutters up. This caused him to drop the shutters continuously after withstanding a certain amount of damage from the burning attribute of the flames. After a few fruitless attempts, Evil Santa adapted and tried a different approach. Jasmin did not know what exactly he did, but it didn''t sound like a physical punch or kick and felt more like metal hitting another piece of metal. Perhaps Evil Santa managed to find something to damage the shutters and all she could do was to prepare to cast a fire wall in order to delay Evil Santa for a bit longer after he freed himself from the underground garage. The spectators outside, however, knew exactly what was happening. In fact, it had been quite the horrific sight to watch Evil Santa had gone over to one of his reindeers before twisting its neck. From the depths of the reindeer''s body, the gift giver drew a piece of metal that transmogrified into sledgehammer which he then proceeded to use as a tool to break the garage shutter. No one was prepared for that, and everybody was shocked by Evil Santa''s brutality. Some claimed later that it was befitting of his boss raid name, but none of them expected that the Boss Raid Instance to be so real. Most of the customers understood that the AI monsters in Jin''s dungeons were highly advanced but to read the situation and overcome the situation so quickly? (Although a customer did question if his AI was advanced, why he could not have used the front door instead? Obviously, that customer got silenced quickly by the masses to not speak ill bearing prophecies out.) "I might start to think that Evil Santa is real and Boss Jin was the evil one kidnapping Santas!" One of the spectators exclaimed, and some resonated to the comment. Another customer added that Boss Jin was possibly the grinch who stole Christmas! ¡ª¡ª- At that point of time, Katerine had finally finished her Flame Wisp spell, and small balls of fire sprites flew to each one of the group members. The Flame Wisps increased their defence against the cold as the shamans concentrating on the sleigh had begun to show progress with signs of the wood starting to burn. There were embers emerging despite the winter winds blowing furiously. When a fickle of fire was seen, the two offensive fire shamans, Nia and Shanice pushed their ball of fire towards the sleigh. Instead of hurling it at the sleigh, they purposely put it near the sleigh so it could be heated and catch fire from the expanding fireball. To the fire shamans who dealt with fire on a constant basis during training, it was nothing to have a ball of burning sun at right beside them. To their surprise, the winter winds were similar to the blizzards they were familiar with back in Germany, and this fireball ironically became their sphere of comforting warmth. Only Bu Dong who was trying his best to cut the sleigh into pieces with his intermediate sword arts was affected by the scorching heat from the other side of the sleigh. If not for the damnable weather, he might have been burnt to death, but currently, he''d choose that over freezing to death every time. Yet, that feeling was only temporary as soon after, Evil Santa finally broke a hole through the garage shutter. He peeled through the garage shutter with his right eye and the grudge in it was immensely palpable. But what shocked the Fire Shamans after was the spur of action that Jasmin did subsequently. She pounced forward and placed her hand into the hole in the garage shutters, holding on to Evil Santa''s face. "Tiw''s Burning Wall!!!" Jasmin yelled as her mana circuits went into overdrive and inserted the barriers of flames beyond the garage shutter. Shimmering lights could be seen escaping the crevices of the shutters and the hole made by Evil Santa. There were even flames attempting to escape from those places as if to indicate how excessive the wall of fire was. While Jasmin thought it was quite effective, she apparently underestimated the might of Evil Santa as she felt the grab on her wrist. The defensive fire shaman panicked but the more she struggled, the harder the vice like grip became with the monster behind the metal ''thick'' sheet pulling her closer towards the hole. Unwillingly, Jasmin was slammed into the metal wall and felt pain at her axilla as the metal protrusion from the hole that Evil Santa created, pierced into her flesh. "Tiw''s Burning Wall!" This time, Jasmin used her prepared instant spell to try and get out of her terrible situation. The lights behind the shutters flashed even more intensely with smoke appearing from beneath the crevices. Still, Evil Santa was not planning on letting her go at all. "Bad, naughty children have to be punished!" For the first time, the group heard Evil Santa''s rambling. Even the spectators who had been casually watching were surprised by the sudden developments. "Evil Santa can actually talk?" A bespectacled customer asked the question on everyone''s mind out loud and started to document the current scene with great detail. "Jasmin!!!" Nia and Shanice watched their friend struggle against the metal wall, but Bu Dong called them back to their senses. "FOCUS! You two are vital in making this sleigh burn! If we can''t manage to do that, the whole plan will fail. I''ll go rescue her instead!" Bu Dong said as he rushed in despite the fatigue he had accumulated with his past actions. "Why am I working so hard when all they wanted was to defeat the second form¡­? Heck, we can be happy if we manage to pass the first form¡­" he thought to himself as he rushed down towards the slope where the garage doors were. "¡­ But this is just too exhilarating." Bu Dong broke a slight smile as he looked at the impending danger. Chapter 581 Necrotic Damage "DON''T COME ANY CLOSER!" The gold haired Fire Shaman cried out in agony, stopping Bu Dong in his tracks. "Figure a way out to at least kill the first form without me!" Jasmin pleaded as her tears rolled down profusely due to the pain, and she could feel that her life was at an end. "What are you talking about?! I am going to pull you out!" Bu Dong shouted as he initiated his intermediate sword art, Blazing Edge of the Angry Ape, hoping to hurt Evil Santa bad enough to let Jasmin go. "It''s too late¡­" Jasmin said as she lifted her free hand and aimed her rental pistol at Bu Dong. "By the powers of Tiw, grant this weary warrior the strength to fight a battle worthy of your praise. Armour of Tiw!" She used up her final instant spell as she fired her pistol, imbued with the magic of a Fire Shaman The bullet flew towards Bu Dong and it transformed into a metaphysical armour that imbued the Angry Ape cultivator with magical signs. Those magical body signs floating slightly above his body was the Level 2 Fire Armour of Tiw. As it was only a level 2 version of the spell, the armour materialised looked something similar to a piece of thin shirt floating over his body. However, the essence of it remained which boosted Bu Dong''s defences as well as his ability to resist the cold even better, especially thanks to Katerina''s earlier support. At that moment, Bu Dong noticed that Jasmin''s eyes turning bloodshot with blood coming out of her mouth. He did not know what was going on, but for the other fire Shamans, the effects were as plain as day. From the kind of damage Jasmin suffered, they understood it had to be necrotic in nature. This evil energy was primarily used by the School of Necromancy or powers wielded by Undead Monsters or Demons. The spectators were also at a loss at what was happening. Mr Patsu, the inhouse penguin announcer, explained to them that Evil Santa was using Dead Touch, a necrotic based spell that could rot the body. Based on previous interactions, some of the cultivators discerned that it was acid attack since it was similar in appearance. The projectile blast that Evil Santa shot at the cultivators was able to corrode the weapons or shields they were holding and sometimes burned through their skin. They never knew that it was necrotic damage. Understanding her own predicament, Jasmin brought the pistol to her head. Her own insides were eating her, slowly corrupting her into a piece of mindless flesh and there was no way to defeat it other than accepting the fate. If they had a Water Shaman or perhaps a Druid they could have averted the situation, but right now all they had were a bunch of warrior-ish shamans that had skills to fight but none to heal. "Not so fast¡­" A voice said as another charred hand pierced through the metal shutters and grabbed Jasmin by the waist. "Naughty children¡­will be put to sleep by me." The voice alone was enough to shudder the entire group of spectators watching it. The whole situation seemed less like a Christmas dungeon and more as if it was a horror movie. Jasmin panicked even more, and instead of killing herself, she kept pistol whipping the enormous hand that was grabbing her entire waist. After which, the Fire Shaman attempted to let loose some bullets into the hand itself. It bled, but it did not have any other noticeable effect in releasing her. It was not until the pistol clip was empty that she immediately dropped it and tried to hit it with the dagger she hung it over her shoulder. But at that point, her movements were already sluggish, and she knew her time was up. Bu Dong hesitated for a while as Jasmin emptied her pistol, but when he saw that it was of no use, the Angry Ape cultivator immediately lunged into the fray, stabbing the hand that was holding onto Jasmin and he inserted a burst full of chi into Evil Santa. This time, not only his skin was burnt, but the vessels in his arm ignited into flames, causing it to release his grip. Bu Dong quickly pulled the dropped Jasmin aside, but the emptiness in her eyes indicated that the necrotic damage had already reached her brain and heart. "Good luck¡­" Jasmin whispered with her last breath as she tried to pass her knife to Bu Dong before losing all strength. Bu Dong inadvertently grabbed onto the dagger as he saw Evil Santa destroy the rest of the garage shutter and reveal his haggard self. His face was all charred by the previous fire wall. Yet, he remained standing in it, seemingly without a care for his life. Evil Santa endured the flames while gazing at the culprit who did this. His clothes were also burnt into crisps, exposing the various scarred marks on his body. "Bu Dong! Move away!" Nia and Shanice shouted as Bu Dong turned and saw that the sleigh that he wished to light up was burning furiously like a sun. After seeing what the Boss Monster did to their friend, they decided not to use it as a source of heat like a campfire. Instead, they planned to ram the burning sleigh onto the exhausted Evil Santa. Without any further warning, Nia and Shanice threw their already huge Fireball which they had sustained for a very long time onto the sleigh, giving it the explosive push needed to go back down the slope and towards the garage door. It zoomed and crashed into the Santa who stood there either unable or unwilling to move out of the way, receiving the full blow of the attack. The sleigh smashed into pieces further burning the Santa but instead of sounds of pain and agony, there was laugher within the smothering mess. Slowly but surely, a hairy black hoof came out of the burning debris as the fire crackled and the smell of burnt rotten flesh filled the surrounding winter air. What followed was a black furred body with horns on his forehead that was previously hidden by his hat. The masked HUD interface activated automatically and indicated that the being in front of it was no longer Evil Santa. A digital noise scrabbled before unveiling a new name for his supposedly last form. Krampus. Chapter 582 Krampus "Do we still want to keep fighting?" Katerine asked with a bitter smile when it indicated below the name that this was the ''real form'' of Evil Santa, Krampus. No one had ever reached that state until now, and every spectator was on the edge of their seats eager to see what was going to happen next. Legends and tales of the old mentioned that Krampus punishing those children who had misbehaved and just like the current monster in front of them, it was said to be half goat, half demon. Since there was no such thing as a copyright for a folktale, Jin had used that myth to the fullest. To make it even more realistic, he had actually asked Baphomet to be the one to play the part. Already possessing a goat demon appearance, all Baphomet needed was some cosmetic inscriptions to alter the way he looked for the first two forms and voila~! He had become the perfect Krampus villain just like Jin had hoped to present in his Evil Santa Boss Raid Instance. "Should you ever find and capture that old Demon Krampus, please use him instead of me. I do not want to smear his name for my actions aren''t exactly quite representative of him." Baphomet requested Jin when accepted the role. "Well if I ever get the chance, I will do so and take full responsibility for your actions. Besides I don''t need you to fully act as Krampus, you just need to appear like him for the last part. There won''t be much of a fight because the first two stages are already difficult enough." Jin added when he designed the dungeon. True to his words, suddenly the cultivators heard a jingling sound in the air and a loud ''Ho Ho Ho'' which echoed throughout the skies. The group and Krampus looked up towards a shining bright light, illuminating the moonless cold nights. Only when the light diminished a bit could they make out the form. It was another sleigh being pulled by¡­pandas with a red nose accessory and fake horns while the person riding it was not Santa but just Panda Captain Hei in a Santa costume with a large and seemingly heavy red sack behind him. (He still had his usual SWAT vest on his Santa costume, kinda like SWAT Santa version?) "Ho Ho Ho! Seems like you children have been quite resilient and brave to get Krampus to show his true form. Let me grant you some assistance and reward you with a Christmas present." Captain Hei said as he dropped the sack down, which caused the snow around it to flutter due to the impact. "Naughty children it''s time for you to be put to rest!" Krampus couldn''t care less about Captain Hei and decided to go take care of the nearest living cultivator who was Bu Dong with his chains and bundle of birch sticks. "Fine by me! I am dying to take revenge as well!" Bu Dong thought as he rushed forth and activated his Blazing Edge yet again as well as invoking all the inscriptions in his sword. It was time to show off the true capabilities of a rich man''s son. The sword burnt brightly with his chi but it was soon enhanced with an explosive effect that was slightly delayed whenever Bu Dong clashed his sword with Krampus'' birch stick bundle. It caused the sticks to disintegrate into various pieces, but Krampus was not done yet. With the splinters of the branches, he proceeded to pierce Bu Dong. Thankfully, the Armour of Tiw cast by Jasmin took effect, absorbing one of the hits, before dissipating into nothingness. But that was enough for Bu Dong to throw in another slash that bit into Krampus flesh. It was the Biting Edge Inscription, one of the newer inscriptions which Octofussy had created. The slash caused small little bugs to crawl into the wound, biting and gnawing at the surrounding area for 3 seconds before disappearing. The bugs were an illusionary effect, but the damage done by the inscription was real. While Bu Dong was keeping Krampus busy, Katerine and the other two fire shamans pulled out the present which Captain Hei was offering. It turned out to be a Gatling machine gun. "Here''s the manual to the gatling gun, hope you get to fix it before Krampus notices you guys! Other than that, a few chi potions for replenishment as well as a fire crystal to keep all of you warm for the remaining part of the fight!" Captain Hei stepped onto his sleigh and charged towards Krampus as a final gift for the cultivators. Instinctively, Bu Dong moved away, and Krampus received the full blown attack, knocking him back into the garage before flying off vertically into the skies and disappear. "Keep him busy! We have to prepare the weapon to kill him!" Nia informed him as the girls were trying their best to affix the gatling gun together, supporting it to mount correctly. To their amazement, it was not just some minigun as the manual stated that the bullets were imbued with holy energy, designed to take down demons like Krampus. A heavy rain of bullets should definitely do the trick. Krampus roared, causing the entire house above him to vibrate and after which he charged forward through all the debris. Bu Dong could see the large blackish body frame coming towards him, but then with the commotion at the top of the slope, the boy knew he had to do something to stop Krampus from destroying the weapon which could defeat him. Hence, Bu Dong stood his ground. "Secret Technique. Angry Ape Pronounces its Superiority!!!" Bu Dong shouted as he pulled out the dagger that Jasmin gave him and the sword that was still burning brightly. By hook or by crook, he had to buy as much time as possible to stop Krampus from charging, even it meant that he had to pay with his life. The Angry Ape silhouettes above him roared in unison as if to commend his spirit of bravery when he clashed straight on with Krampus. Even when the sword and dagger pierced into the Christmas Demon, Bu Dong could feel his elbows giving way like they were going to break under the intense pressure it was receiving. If not for the deep layer of snow he entrenched himself in, Bu Dong probably would have lost his footing sooner letting Krampus proceed forward. All he could do now was grit his teeth enduring the pain and hope for the best. In the meantime, Krampus did not waste a moment and had already used Death Touch on Bu Dong, causing his arms to turn blue and black. The effects seemed more severe and faster than on Jasmin. It appeared that his true form had caused his skills to grow more rampant and deadly. Aside from the corruption, the Christmas Demon had subconsciously commanded his chain to wrap around Bu Dong strangling his neck while trying to break his stance. Yet Bu Dong was not giving up. "Naughty child, just go to sleep!" Krampus stared maliciously at Bu Dong. "Go to sleep yourself, motherfucka." Katerine unlocked the safety, and the rotating barrel was aimed towards Krampus. Chapter 583 Aftermath of Evil Santa - Part 1 While she initially felt reluctant about it, Katerine understood that this was just a dungeon (even if it felt way too realistic) which was why she pressed the trigger button on the gun as a hail of bullets showered Krampus and Bu Dong. Bu Dong agreed to her decision as that was the most optimal choice that Katerine could have taken. If she had hesitated any longer all his painstakingly effort of pinning Krampus down would have been wasted. Trying to rescue Bu Dong would have jeopardized the whole dungeon run. Thus, the Angry Ape cultivator basked in the glory of the holy rain as he received a close up view of Krampus being torn to shreds before being teleported into the Luxury Recovery Instance. Everyone who was viewing it from the shop instance was quiet for a while before celebrating the first clear of this Boss Raid Instance. Bu Dong''s name was once more placed on the Wall of Honour and everyone cheered for the surviving members when they returned back to the shop instance. Thanks to the first clear, Katerine and her gang earnt an astonishing 500 Raid Points which was sufficient to buy a multitude of things. One of the most desired items were naturally the limited edition plushies. Including a cute Krampus plushie which had been added the moment someone cleared the Boss Raid instance. (Jin wanted to find out how many would want to buy the villains for themselves or just for collection purposes.) Yue Han and Xing Li went forth to welcome Katerina back to China and personally congratulate the girls. They hadn''t expected the arrival nor her awesome performance with Bu Dong. "He''s a great leader, it''s only thank to him that it was possible to win." Katerine said as they decided to wait for Bu Dong and Jasmin''s return. They planned to check out the redemption store as a group before deciding on the rewards. In the meantime cultivators were already rushing into the general store as well as the weapons and armours department to buy fire related items in order to defeat Evil Santa Boss Instance. Yun who was on the scene and iterated that there are a number of ways to defeat Evil Santa to calm the crowd, and Bu Dong was just lucky to show them one of the ways. She also warned them that Krampus might adapt to this method over time. Ironically her statement actually intensified the buying frenzy and Yun merely shrugged her shoulders. "No reason not to accept the extra cash. Jin needs it anyways." Yun mumbled as she vaguely looked over Jin''s business and personal account both of which were barely in the red in the past few days. She hadn''t expected the instance to be this expensive¡­ unless he was planning on releasing another dungeon instance, using this as a filler. Even the Venus Four felt pumped up when they watched Bu Dong manage to defeat the Boss Raid Instance especially with only five people. They were under the impression that Boss Jin had been throwing out difficult dungeons in recent days especially after the Deep One Dungeon Instance to earn more money but it turned out this was quite beatable after all. "Guess, we just need to crack our brains more and less brawn." Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden cultivator joked and the others chuckled. "More brawn can''t hurt either. Let''s go to the store and get some fire inscriptions before they are sold out." Jing Ru added and asked if Yue Han wanted to follow along. "Nah, we had our fill of fun for dungeons today, maybe tomorrow!" Yue Han answered flustered unlike his usual self. After his sister''s intense staring Xing Li blushingly came forward to tell them the truth. "Yue Han managed to get reservations for Christmas Dinner. So, we might be trying tomorrow instead with Kong Xian!" Xing Li said as they waved goodbye to the Venus Four. "I erm¡­I guess I''ll play some Supa Robot Warz, I got the Christmas Edition robot parts through my subscription. I think I''ll also try again h Se Lang tomorrow or the day after. Please guide me if you girls are there." Deng Long said and waved them goodbye. "I want to get the Christmas Panda Plushie for myself and the toy model for Se Lang." Jia Ying said and Shi Hui nodded her head agreeing to stay. "Very well, then it''s just the four of us. If the five of them could do it, I don''t see why the four of us who are seasoned Pandawans cannot!" Yue Wen smiled and they quickly proceeded towards the weapon store. Bu Dong and Jasmin eventually returned to the shop instance and Katerine immediately hugged Jasmin. "So sorry about what happened to you!" "Hahah! It''s alright! It''s alright! You cleared the thing, right? As long as my sacrifice helped you guys, it''s all good. Sooo what shall we do with all those points we earned?" Jasmin asked. Meanwhile Bu Dong gave Katerina a blank stare. "What about me? In my case you were the direct cause of my death?!" "I am more concerned about my close friend than you." Katerine replied as she pulled out her tongue making her friends giggle. Bu Dong''s mood seemed to sour a bit after such an answer yet he was suddenly hugged by all of them. "We couldn''t have done it without you!" Nia told him before letting go. "Thank you for leading us in this battle. It was terrifying and at the same time exhilarating" Shanice added. "Even though we were just doing preparations and you did most of the work, it kind of already shaved our life expectancy by half." Jasmin agreed with her friends. Suddenly Boss Jin appeared out of nowhere and started coughing. "Erm. Congrats for managing to get the first clear. Sorry I could not get here any sooner. I was stuck with other things." Boss Jin said towards Bu Dong who he clearly knew and shook hands with Katerine and the other three girls. "Boss, your dungeons are as fantastic as ever. Although it is a pity that I have to pay in Euros, the experience was worth it." Katerine said with an agenda in her eyes. "Unfortunately, that is how we plan to roll out our dungeons overseas in the future. If you like it, come back often and support my work. I can safely claim that I believe what I offer is worth every cent and superior to those places which charge you 40-50 Euros." Jin stood his ground on the matter at hand. "You are honestly planning to share your dungeons overseas as well?!" Katerine asked with bright wide eyes and it made the rest look at him with anticipation. "Yeah. Though I don''t know when it will be in the future. I would need to have the capital to expand first." Jin answered as he shrugged his shoulders a little. "Please come to Germany first! If you need money to expand, I am willing to ask my parents!" Katerine offered and Jin hardly suppressed his laughter. "That is¡­ very nice of you. But I don''t think you par-" Katerine, seemingly used to such a reaction, grabbed the name card of her parents and handed it to Jin. The dungeon supplier found the name of the company rather familiar and asked the System to check. "Is god playing a fool with me? Or does he truly want to help me?" Jin thought as he was notified that the company was exactly the one which Ke Loong had subcontracted the building of the portals to. InfiniteTechnik. Chapter 584 Aftermath of Evil Santa - Final "¡­I will carefully consider it." Jin smiled at the foreign girl and thanked her for her patronage. The other three Fire Shamans also gave their praise to Jin, especially Jasmin who suffered the most in the fight as she hadn''t been prepared for it being so intensely real. "If I didn''t know that it was just a dungeon instance, it might seriously have given me PTSD," Jasmin mentioned in a casual way, but Jin knew that the System had been ensuring that such symptoms were being sniffed out from their memories. Apparently, Pei and the System (with a little tinkering from Kraft) had come out with a sort of spell that would purposely manipulate the memories of the user. Because the experience the customers received was undoubtedly real, it was necessary for there to be such a filter to prevent the customers from developing possible symptoms of PTSD, anxiety or other traumas from merely playing dungeons. The way the spell worked was by changing the way the memory was being perceived. Instead of fear, the System would replace the memory to be invoked by adrenaline, especially when both emotions were two sides of the same coin. By tweaking the body''s response from flight to fight, they would wish to relive those memories again instead of being afraid of them. Through such memory replacement process, the System made the customers hunger for more fight. All of this had the positive side effect that it innately increased their desire to play more of Jin''s dungeons. That was one of the reasons why it was much easier for Jin to retain customers as compared to his competitor. The pricing restructures, the content of the dungeons, this passive brainwashing, attractive prizes and the inclusion of many other support services. It all adds up to increase the probability of his customers returning after trying it out. It was never just one particular factor, and he had to constantly review his methods until he made a name for himself. The route to becoming the Number One Dungeon Supplier was not laid with flowers on the side of the road. Yet, this particular tweaking of the memory was a double edged sword. When Jin was informed by Pei and the System about it, he was horrified and worried that it might create a compulsive addiction. He didn''t want to be the cause behind his customers turning into adrenaline junkies who could potentially lead to deviancy if not managed correctly. Worst case, what if he was responsible for acts like murdering people just to get that kick of adrenaline back when fighting monsters would no longer be sufficient to satiate the feeling of victory in the long run. His concerns were valid, especially with his dungeons now much more affordable, which would lead to cultivators experiencing them more frequently. In view of this potential setback, Pei collaborated with the System and Devilman to slowly tweaked the most intense moments in the cultivator''s memories instead of the entire memory itself. Kraft had jokingly dubbed it the "Enforced Nostalgia Filter" as the rest of the memory was left untouched. Yet this process eventually placed a strain to the processing speed due to the amount of analysis that the System required to do to pick the most intense moments but Jin made it a point to emphasise to the System that it was a priority to manage their customers properly. That was why most if not all customers had to visit the Luxury Recovery Instance regardless of victory. (For those who were defeated, they would definitely be in there to recover.) Remember how Jin created rewards for those victory achievements or the statistics of one would perform? It was all projected in a room in the Luxury Recovery Instance, and the cultivators had to stay there for at least a minute (or until the System was done secretly tweaking the necessary memories) before they were allowed to leave. Most cultivators thought it was just a new store feature to show the highlights of the battle and allow them to show off with a bit of boasting about how well each of them did. But they never knew it was a room to make sure that they would not turn out to be potential murderers (at the very least, lower that particular probability) For now, the brainwashing was simple, and with the lack of Psychics, it gave the System a consistent load of data to improve its methods and create a process even more efficient than ever. Even Yang Ling, who was a decent mental arts magician was subjected to it, and Pei personally made a presence to ensure the memory could be swap without her noticing it. It only further gave the System the confidence to do this process with ease. And because of the data it collected, the System also noted that it did not have to do this on a regular basis as the body eventually climatized to the way of battling. Given the feedback, it was sufficient to do the filter process for the first dew runs when the cultivator was still fresh and new to the whole realistic dungeoneering procedure. After that, the System only had to monitor the cultivator''s vitals and tweak accordingly. Else, it would not touch the memories unless necessary because it also knew that excessive tinkering would definitely have its consequences. For example, the Halloween dungeon instance was meant to incite fear instead adrenaline so the System left those cultivators'' memories alone only making sure it would not leave a drastic memory of trauma. With thousands of cultivators coming in and out for dungeons, even the System could learn, adapt and differentiate when it required the filter procedure. ¡ª¡ª "Well, I am glad that you''ve enjoyed my dungeon. If you are itching for one more, please don''t let me stop you!" Jin answered gleefully with a plastic smile for the moment when he heard PTSD, though the group did not notice at all since they were all excited to enter the redemption store to check out what kind of rewards they could get. "Boss, thank you for the dungeon. It was hard, but it was damn enjoyable!" Bu Dong thanked Jin for creating the dimensional instance. "When you have good company, anything is fun. I will review the customer''s comments and make sure I have something that can cater to every grade of cultivator some way or another. " Jin said and at the same time hinted to Bu Dong that he might have a Mecha Raid soon. "Is it something to do with Supa Robot Warz? Or are you genuinely making a Mecha Instance?" Bu Dong asked with delight. "Maybe something of both? I was thinking of allowing people who play the mini game a lot to have dibs on the new Mecha Instance¡­ Maybe a little more advantage than the rest" Jin answered, and Bu Dong eyes were glittering. "You better make your words count! Because I am going to grind more with Deng Long and we get that first clear right off the bat!" Bu Dong said as he thanked Boss Jin once again and went into the Redemption store. "Sure." Jin grinned as he waved goodbye to Bu Dong and then looked at the time on his watch. Just when he thought he experienced a time crunch making the Tree Mall, the Feast he was making pushed it to another level. Chapter 585 Extra: Bais Store Managemen Within the next hour, another group of cultivators managed to defeat the Evil Santa Boss by emulating what Bu Dong and the Fire Shamans had done. They lured the Christmas Demon out of the house where they were waiting for him fully equipped with fire enhanced weapons as well as new ice resistance clothes. To everyone''s surprise, Captain Hei/SWAT Santa would always arrive on the last form to assist them, which was a big help. (The weapons differed from time to time, ranging from a Holy Sword to a Holy Grenade and even a Holy Bazooka.) With this new development, the store co owner of the Armoury Department, Bai Xin had been waiting for this opportunity. Boss Jin had informed her beforehand that it was just a matter of time until the First Clear was achieved and advised her to moderately increase the price of the clothes due to shortage. It was to facilitate the supply and demand, and the trick was doing exceptionally well. However, it was not all a cash grab. Bai Xin would intentionally release more stocks every time a new ''shipment'' arrived with the first ten sets of ice resistant clothing at a major discount before resuming the current price. Many struggled when seeing the increased prices, but since the articles of winter clothing were rather comfy, and their designs were very trendy, people had trouble resisting. Many were forced to reach a compromise between their wallet and guilty conscious. (Bai Xin could see the inner struggle in most of the customers'' eyes.) And yes, sets. From winter jackets to socks and shoes, she offered everything needed to take a stroll in the freezing tundra. (It''s really an overstatement, but that''s how advertising works.) Bai Xin did not lie when she said the stocks came in waves because they were needed to be customised by her. She had collaborated with Octofussy to create a combination of inscriptions that could be sold as a set. (Thus, having a set bonus and it was the first time Octofussy thought of that.) The General Store Instance Keeper concentrated on making the inscription by using the many tentacles on his head to inscribe each of them whereas she sewed in those inscriptions with her Weaving Spider cultivation, enhancing the set a little more. It was hard work, but the money for the customisation was great, and the demand for it was increasing. (Good thing the System was able to buy a ton from other worlds at a very, VERY cheap price to meet with the demands.)The sales were so overwhelming that more and more Cosplay Minotaurs had decided to help with the selling and packing. Others continued with their fashion show and presented the various available sets. It enabled the crowd to know what kind of designs were ready to be purchased, and most importantly, the fashion show entices them even further. In the meantime, her twin brother Bai Wan and his weapon store department were not having it any easier. Yet, despite his busyness, he still assisted his sister by helping her restock when he went to stock up his own items. Apart from Vulcan being rather busy with enhancing the cultivator''s weapons with fire, the main income from the store stemmed from magical scrolls. Those were selling like hotcakes after the revelation that the element of fire was rather vital for this dungeon instance. But unlike the armour, the scrolls were consumables, and Bai Wan was not allowed to further increase the prices of those already expensive scrolls. After all, the scrolls became pricier the higher the scroll level was with. And each cultivator was restricted by the System to buy scrolls only up to their respective grade. Initially, the cultivators thought that Boss Jin was merely levelling the playing field until one of the ignorant cultivators had used a scroll two levels above his grade. (He got another cultivator to buy it for him.) That cultivator managed to cast the spell, but he later suffered a bout of magical feedback, leaving him unconscious. This had to do with how scrolls work. It already had magic stored within that piece of paper, so a small amount of chi/mana was needed as the trigger. Aside from that, a stable connection to the mind was also required to signify the will to cast the spell. Else, any chi or magic aura would be sufficient to make every scroll to explode on contact. When the mind connection was established with the scroll, magical energies stored within the scroll could then be released out as a spell. In addition, all scrolls had a sort of magical feedback since magical energies in the scrolls need to be more than what the ''mana cost'' of the spell could potentially be to keep the scroll stable. That was why the remaining mana would either be released into the surrounding environment and to the mind considering the cultivator had a stable connection with it. As long as one used scrolls corresponding to their grade, the body was able to adapt to the overflowing mana and dissipate it into the surrounding environment. However, using higher level scrolls would result in an excess flow of mana into the brain, causing possible mana poisoning. What the cultivator had done was no better than a Western Mage casting above his level. Thus, ever since that incident, Boss Jin became stricter with the selling of scrolls and wrote a disclaimer that cultivators using scrolls above their Grade would not be the store''s responsibility. Any cultivator failing a dungeon due to misuse would be charged for their stay in the Luxury Recovery Instance. (The price was luxurious too.) It just so happened that Bai Wan had long since been interested in magical scrolls before joining up with Jin. Part of him wanted to help their struggling weapons shop, but a much bigger part was due to how lucrative selling them seemed to be. Unfortunately, there was no one around to teach him this knowledge until they got this particularly new landlord. That was also how the (not so) friendly magician in the neighbourhood got introduced to him by Boss Jin. Peppers ''unwillingly'' taught Bai Wan the basics and even gave him a cultivation manual suitable for him to create such scrolls. (Ming''s hoard of cultivation manuals came in handy!) Deciphering Spider Cultivation. It allowed Bai Wan to convert chi into magic and later code it down onto paper. Before this particular cultivation, he had only studied the general form of Spider cultivation since he did not wish to take up his family''s Weaving Spider Cultivation like his twin sister. But ever since Bai Wan took up this Deciphering Spider Cultivation seriously, he had been creating level 1 scrolls in his spare time. Those scrolls were all later vetted by the System via a machine brought to him by Peppers to test the validity of the scrolls. The System compared the near perfect product from Peppers and listed various points of improvement for each scroll, telling Bai Wan how much each of those scrolls should potentially cost in comparison. That allowed him to improve further while selling those imperfect scrolls at a discount with a disclaimer that it was his products. Cheapskate cultivators sometimes preferred his version, but those who had money would still buy Pepper''s version. Bai Wan could only hope that one day, he would reach the standard of Peppers. Chapter 586 Molochs Pride "You got Boss''s message?" An orc engineer working on the maintenance of the Sandroku Golem looked at the time. There were only 15 minutes left until Christmas. "Yeah. I think everyone got the message. The peeps at Section A spread the news like wildfire." The Goblin assistant took off his working gloves before wiping off his sweat. Suddenly Moloch appeared to make a last minute check with the System Tablet on the Sandroku Golem."Looks like this one''s ready to go." He checked off the maintenance of this particular Sandroku Golem. "But that can wait until after the meeting." Moloch smiled as he thanked the orcs and goblins in the area. "Get a quick shower and wear your best¡­erm cleanest outfit for the meeting. I heard it''s quite an important one." Moloch told them as he sent the last unit working off to their bunks. The rest of the monsters had already returned to their instance. This was the first time he heard silence in the Dungeon City Fortress. He walked out to the edge of the floating land platform, to take in the scene of the nearly completed city. Lights from construction cranes as well as warning lights were the only things shining from the bottom of Pand-Atlantis. Moloch could not be prouder of their accomplishment. In fact, in his entire life, this was the first time he felt such pride and joy to see this particular city being built. Within a short time, the monsters along with the System meticulously brought this idea into fruition. Of course, Jin had a hand in this since he was the one who had supplied all the necessary manpower, resources. To be honest, Moloch had never expected his master to be able to fulfil the promise in such a grand manner. He''d long since thought that Jin would just create a half assed city for Moloch to control and that the Demon Lord would be the one to address any problems as they came up. But no. Despite his crazy ideas, the implementation of the city''s foundation was extremely sound. Jin purposely included sanitation and used proper city planning to incorporate the power supplies and even allow for future development. Without a doubt, Qiu Yue had been vital in the whole process too, as she modified the blueprints to suit the developmental needs while ensuring the highest quality. Her strict and stringent quality checks influenced Moloch to be observant and catch any possible defects as soon as possible. Any workers responsible for any deviation of the plan would not be reprimanded and instead given a full break. (She refrained from calling it suspension from work.) Yet, it was indeed suspension. Instead of telling the affected parties about the fault that they had done, the upper management purposely let them rest for three days before showing them the truth of what they had done to receive this treatment. After which, the goblins affected were given a lump of gold and asked to return home while the Orcs were given further breaks. But somehow, it had an opposite effect on them. It was mainly because they had been working so hard that the workers found the break extremely unusual. And when they learnt what they had done, the goblins and orcs would wish to atone for their mistakes instead of leaving after all the work they had done. They pleaded and even begged to let them get back to their work. The reverse psychology was heavily implied here, letting them feel a full load of guilt before Qiu Yue and Moloch allowed them to fix the problem they had done. Surprisingly, they became even more efficient and more careful. Was it because of possible returns that the goblins had stayed rather than to accept that lump sum of gold? Was it because the idea of not doing any work made the Orcs feel useless? Or was it because they had pride and passion in their work that they eventually felt responsible? Qiu Yue only smiled at Moloch when he asked these questions. "For a Demon Lord, you seem to have a bit more to learn on how to manage your minions." The Red Panda Cultivator replied before they returned to their work. Regardless, because of that incident, Moloch began to observe them more closely and started to learn that those Goblins and Orcs had their own quirks and bonded with them even more. Even those from Goblin World had discovered that the Minotaurs were not just a bunch of cows who just wanted to stop the infighting between the Goblins and Orcs. The Minotaurs eventually realised that some fighting was necessary to clear misunderstandings along with lots of explanation and sometimes even joined in with the fights to release their stress along with the Orcs and Goblins. It was a rough start for the first month or so but soon, their teamwork became the best Moloch had seen. Everyone was doing their work systematically to the point they invented new ways to clear the construction process more efficiently. "I guess within a week we can start pouring water into Pand-Altantis¡­ah. I have to consult with Master Jin where to get such a massive amount of water. Or maybe I should ask Sir Derpy since he came from the Fishing World." Moloch smiled to himself as he added that one last objective before turning his tablet off. "System, bring me to the meeting," Moloch said, and he was immediately teleported into the Town Hall meeting place where everyone was gathering behind a large towering digital wall of screen. It was obviously set up by the System with the following message: "Welcome to the first Christmas Grand Feast! The event will launch in 4 minutes and 48 seconds!" A few Pandas with a Santa hat were used as part of the advertisement, but other than that, there was no other information. "So it''s a buffet?" Moloch wondered out loud before he noticed that it wasn''t just the monsters from the Dungeon City Fortress who were called in. Nearly everyone was already present in the area, and they were all talking with each other as they waited for this feast event. Last to arrive were the bellators. Three minutes before the unravelling of the event, Kiyu was projected on top of the screen. The natural crowd puller began to explain how Christmas worked in Jin''s world. (Now Kiyu understood why Jin asked her to explain how Christmas came about.) "Does that mean we were supposed to prepare gifts for our friends?" Niu Lang asked in a na?ve manner. "I have no presents with me. The message only told me to come to the meeting." "Nah, I think it''s just a food buffet, I really hope that it will be Chef Lynn''s cooking!" Brown said as his mouth started to water. "You think Ms Lynn has the time to cook for thousands of minions? Her penguins would work themselves to death!" One of the Deep One Mages interjected. "Wait, speaking of penguins, where are the penguins?" Half Ghoul Lord Derek asked, and the people started to notice that the penguins were nowhere to be seen. "Maybe the peggies are helping with arranging the foodstuff? They should be the best ones for that job." Dread Reaver commented, and the people in the surrounding concurred with that explanation. The casual yet lively bantering went on until the last ten seconds where the screen changed to numbers. With Kiyu beginning a countdown, the monsters all became animated and started to chant along. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "You ready?" Lynn asked as she adjusted Jin''s fake beard. "He looks as corny as ever. Probably need a big round stomach to complete the look." Qiu Yue laughed as she took her phone out to take a picture of the empty side of the Town Hall Instance. "Hey, let''s take a picture together to commemorate our efforts. This preparation was no joke at all. And here I thought the hardest event I ever planned would have been for a company dinner. This feast literally brings it to another level." Qiu Yue complained while the other two smiled at her. They knew how hard she worked, arranging the required resources for the feast. Thus, the three System Users took a group ''we-fie'' on stage with the massive table preparations behind them before they heard the crowd shouting the countdown together. The System who was in the loop then asked if Jin was ready. "Even if I''m not, time doesn''t wait for anyone. So, let''s get the Surprise Christmas Feast started!" Jin answered with a smile as he quickly hid behind the stage. All that''s left to do was to hope that his feelings of appreciation would be felt by minions and bellators. Chapter 587 Grand Feast Seating When the countdown reached zero, the digital screen slowly moved upwards, and they saw rows of tables prepared for each and every one of them. The already vast Town Hall council meeting place had been stretched to become the largest instance the System had ever utilised for this particular event without reaching its limit. Nevertheless, the System required the Mechanical Brain as an upgrade since Operation ''Pied Piper'' would most likely encompass tens if not hundreds of thousands of Demon Rats. With Jin''s increasing customer base and more and more elaborate instances, especially the recent Tree Mall Instance, it started to tax his ''almighty'' inheritance. That was why it needed Jin to help it by improving itself and its processing speed to handle such workload. When Jin asked, the System admitted that while it was necessary for them to steal the Mechanical Brain, there were indeed alternate ways to reach the same goal. Until now, it had already managed by frequently reviewing its processes and purchase the necessary parts to upgrade the System''s processing ability, albeit it was at a speed that the System found it too¡­time consuming. Yet, the fastest and least tedious way to get an instant upgrade would no doubt be the Mechanical Brain. Given the political situation in the Mecha World, which they while not directly responsible, had at least accelerated their world''s predicament. The System also stated that it was also an excellent opportunity to commit the crime and blame it on somebody else. The System had strongly (and repeatedly) advised to Jin take action, specifically because the dungeon supplier was short on time (once again) to get it done before the upcoming Chinese New Year. However, there would be time to worry about this tomorrow, today was all about the workers in the Dungeon City Fortress who deserve a well needed break. The minions were surprised by the multiple rows of tables, all prepared neatly with the necessary cutleries. There were even accommodations to the ''tables'' depending on the monster''s way of eating. For example, at the side of the Town Hall instance (or open fields) there were labels of various monster names such as Shadow Dagen (aka Mr. Derpy), Keyrin and even Spiky to indicate that their seats were there. With the giant monsters at the side, the System had prepared feasts of similar sizes to fit their proportions. (On hindsight, Jin was very thankful that the Giant World existed, so he did not have to purchase thousands of chickens just to accommodate Mr Derpy or even Spiky.) The Water Snake Demon and Fire Lion Demon whose names he did not catch from Weslie was placed on placards on the side of the fields, and the four demons were reunited like this for the first time in decades. (They all truly had a decent time catching up with each other.) Jin was surprised that the System''s omni-lingualism enabled every monster to talk to each other until he learnt that it made everyone learn a common language. Chinese. "I guess that actually made things much simpler¡­" Jin humbled himself as he peeked through the curtains behind the stage and watched his monsters talk in their own social groups, seemingly a bit unsure where to sit. At the same time, Qiu Yue and Lynn appeared on stage, hosting as Emcees for the night. They were dressed in Santa costumes too but with the modern (cutesy) look. A erm¡­Red Santa red shirt and short skirt for Qiu Yue and a Santa long dress for Lynn. "Alright, please get seated so we can start our programme. I know the allure of food right in front of the stage and at the back is tempting but please hold on to your stomachs a bit longer." Qiu Yue announced, and the minions fastened their pace a little. "It''s free seating so you may sit wherever you want except for those names on the placards at the side of the field. Peggies, please take a seat for now." Lynn added and the Peggies who were manning the food booths at the front of the stage listened to their Queen. "What about us, we no VIPs?" Kraft shouted loudly, and Qiu Yue apologised and reiterated that it was free seating. The Original Bellator frowned wondering with whom to sit down. Suddenly Kiyu was calling him over from afar, and he saw the Foxes reserved a seat for him together with the Dark Elves. Even Pei for this rare occasion was sitting with them. Kraft half smiled and walked towards them not mentioning the fact, that she had chosen the place farthest away from his own. Milk chose to sit alongside the Panda Nurses that were off duty, while Peppers went towards Ayse and her researchers. Zeru''s company consisted of the Mousefolks surrounding him. They were equally shocked to see a myriad of monsters bonding together. Meomi calmed them down and told them they were now all part of this big family. Amura Rei, the newest of members, was even more shocked by the turn of events and Yun beckoned him to seat with Ayse and the other researchers to get acquainted. The Goblins and Orcs, on the other hand, did not sit with their races and instead had instinctively split up into the units or sections they were assigned to. Joining them were the Minotaurs who were assigned to their sections. Moloch was in a bit of an odd position. He was the one to overlook the whole project, so he technically did not belong in any one section, but ironically he was also the most sought from both races to sit beside them. Eventually, he took comfort with Jespa and Hespesta who were with a section of Orc and Goblin engineers that handled the leading Mecha Developments. Even the Merchants and Adventurer Guild from the Dungeon Cave Town had taken a day off or left it to their Goblin World assistants to handle the workload as they joined this compulsory Feast. As for the Farming World counterparts, the Dark Templars sat along with the Werejackals with the exception of Lord Wolte who surprisingly was allowed to be stationed at the end of the long table. Apparently, he had the ability to revert back to his slug form and thus he was allowed to eat near his comrades and sat down next to Baphomet. (Mr Oink was given similar treatment at the Goblin/Orc Table.) Separately, the Deep Ones did not abandon their lord. Initially, all of them sat closest to the Demon Beasts so that Mr Derpy would not be so lonely, but soon they watched their formidable Lord was able to make new friends with the Demon Beasts. Derpy got so engaged in the conversation that some of the Deep Ones joined the other monsters at the regular tables. In the meantime, Shu''s placard was on the other end of the field which he did abide by. It was a funny sight to behold to see Shu walk around with its roots up and later entrench himself at the side. Naturally, Ke Mi, her Great White Snake and the ants sat closest to them. Sitting beside them were Niu Lang, Zhi Nu and Que Er along with Sandy. The Boar Knights and Pyro Jack also joined in at the side. (Along with the Gingerbread Knights and the inhabitants from Giant World like Hamatarou.) Yun was the only one in an exclusive VIP table that was meant for the unique NPCs like Vulcan and Octofussy. It also included the System Users. Qiu Yue, Lynn and Jin but many of them noticed that Jin was not at the table with Yun. Once the Emcees were notified that everyone had taken their seats, they officially started the Christmas Grand Feast Event. Chapter 588 Door Gifts "First of all, it is our pleasure to welcome you all to the very first Christmas Feast! We apologise for the vague meeting details even though we''ve deemed it important. Boss Jin had to keep it under wraps so it would be a major surprise for everyone!" Qiu Yue announced. "There will be a few activities for your amusements which will also allow some of you to earn extra System points for free! Think of them as mini games for this particular event." Lynn explained with a professional voice despite Qiu Yue being able to see her colleague shivering from her waist down. When the minions heard extra System Points, it started to make the minions chat loudly. "But the Bellators are not allowed to join!" Qiu Yue added, and the loudest boo surprisingly came from Peppers and subsequently Kiyu. Pei had to pull her back to her seat in order not to make too much of a ruckus. "Just joking. Don''t worry, we aren''t excluding you guys. Instead, the bellators will compete equally and we will all be able to watch them on the screen to make sure it is somewhat fair." "Could it be a massive duel?" Tsu asked, and Kai smirked at that opinion. "If there is one, I would love to compete against you once more," Kai replied, and Tsu''s eyes turned to ones filled with senseless anticipation. "However, before you start with the feast, Jin here has some things to tell you." Lynn pointed to the side as they let the panda cultivator take the stage wearing a fake beard and dragging a large haversack behind him. "Thank you, Qiu Yue and Lynn. I wanted to surprise everyone, but I realised I could not have done it without their help. So please give them a round of applause!" Jin said at the podium, and a loud series of applause soon followed throughout the open fields. "Just like the two Sub System Users, I could have never reached where I am now without all of you here. So, this particular Grand Feast has been prepared for all of you as a token of my appreciation towards each and every one of you. The three of us took great pains to make this all possible, so after this speech, please eat to your heart content!" Jin continued, and the monsters roared into another series of applause. "The food was painstakingly prepared by Lynn and her penguins who just until a moment ago were still cooking extra in case the current food that we have prepared would not be enough. So you guys better eat until you drop or I will never forgive all of you for wasting the penguin''s work!" Jin ''threatened'' loudly and cheers erupted for the penguins from the other minions. "It''s Lynn''s cooking! The peggies too! No wonder the food smells so good! Master, please hurry and let us eat now!" One of the Orcs shouted out loud, and the rest resonated with him. Usually, such actions would displease Black Disaster Nubwort but seeing how Jin did not take any offence at that, relaxed his stance just for this event. He knew that even at times, he needed to have some fun. "Ah..fun, been a long time since I could even think of that." Nubwort curled his lips and realised how fortunate it was to be in Jin''s care. Not only was he allowed to help build up a city from scratch, but the Goblin Raid Instance was also a great way to fight with some worthy opponents even though most of the time they were not his match. "Sure sure, I shall hurry it up, but I assure you what I say next will bring more pleasure to all of you as a whole compared to the amazing food right in front of you guys. Besides, they will all still be piping hot with the System''s powers so bear with me for another few minutes!" Jin laughed as he too got excited by the news he had been withholding for a long time. "But first, I would like to welcome a few new¡­additions into our ranks." Jin started and coinciding with him the System dimmed the lights and shone a spotlight on their newest members. The first being welcomed was the new Mousefolks who were under Qiu Yue''s contract and werejackals like Silver. Subsequently, Jin touched on the Dark Templars, Hamatarou, Weslie, her Demons, the Farming Humans and even Rei. "I am sorry that I could not be there to get acquainted with all of you yet and even missed the chance to introduce myself as I had been really busy with my other work. But rest assured you guys are not forgotten at all. As ironic and iconic, a warm welcome to this extended family of yours." Jin said, and the clapping was less fevering, probably as a sign of respect. "Lastly, you all have just heard from Kiyu about the origins of Christmas. So I am hoping to establish this tradition, in hopes that you guys will also do the same with your comrades in the future. Today let me start by declaring that I have prepared presents for almost everyone¡­if not all of you guys! I hope they will be to your liking." Jin smiled as he placed his haversack down. "Robot Crawlers, I might need your help on this if you could come on stage for me," Jin asked as he dragged the enormous haversack towards the centre and the Robot Crawlers that were coming out from the Robotic Arachnid obeyed Jin''s orders. The Titan Knight, who was at the other side of the field with Shu and the Arachnid, used his Colossus Sword like a sky bridge for the Robot Crawlers to scurry towards the stage and not disrupt the crowd too much. It was the welcome door gift for each and every minion to date, including Rei. "This was made by Qiu Yue in secret. Let me tell you that she grumbled how difficult it was to create them all without any of you catching wind of it and make sure they were all up to quality." The Robot Crawlers indiscriminately picked the door gift and went frenzy with the delivery methods. (Meanwhile, Qiu Yue threw her mike at Jin like slapstick comedy before a robot crawler picked it up and returned it to her.) When they received the welcome gift, they noticed it was a 54mm miniature model (up to 20cm depending on their respective size) with them posing to do what they had been doing. The Engineering Section, for example, had customised miniatures that if placed down properly, it would create one perfect picture of their typical workday. The same was true for every group. Sandy thought that she did not have any friends since no one originated from her World. But little did she know that her model was actually a part with the Orcs and Goblins from the materials department. Her help was essential and efficient in making high strength concrete that could reach up to 80,000 psi (550 MPa) at a fairly cheap cost. From the age of sticks and stones, the orcs and goblins never knew that they could see something this amazing for construction. Even for Jin and Qiu Yue, they nearly fainted that it was even possible to create such a super strength material. The latter even joked she should sell it to the government and they could guarantee that the word invulnerable is indeed possible. Everyone was satisfied with the door gift, and they figured they could keep it as a memorial. Yet, this was not the end of the Christmas giving session. Jin had more surprises for them and the next was certain to change the way they lived. Chapter 589 Promises Fulfilled "Many of you might be aware that I vouched and made certain promises in the past months or so. Yet there was no news of those promises being fulfilled due to my busy schedule. So, for this particular Christmas Grand Feast, I hope that I have managed to make it worth your wait." Jin announced as he looked at the side and nodded his head. Qiu Yue got his cue, and via the System''s tablet, a projectile screen appeared with the image of an island. The minions did not understand what promise this could refer to until Jin further explained it. "This Island Instance is going to be your new home, my comrades." He added that he had created multiple Island Instances to house the minions still waiting for an official home instance and wished to replace the currently occupied home instances. The dungeon supplier then used his phone to click to the next slide. The following image showed an island with a huge stadium. Surrounding the stadium were not steps and seats, but market stalls in the first few layers and further rings showed housing of some sort. With the exception of the East having a large mansion, the rest were buildings of various ascending height. All of the houses supported a view of the extended stadium field without obstruction. This meant that the grass field was the pivotal landmark for this architectural framework. "I specifically built the currently shown Island Instance for the Orcs since my interaction with them taught me that they love festivals and get together for a good fight. This stadium will not only be a place to rest and relax but a place where the Orcs are free to settle their differences with everyone as the witness." Jin spoke and indicated that for simplicity sake, it would be named Orc Island Instance. (They were free to come up with their own name as long as they agreed.) A period of silence was suddenly replaced with intense cheering from the Orcs filling the place. Nubwort smirked at his delighted Orcs, who received the acknowledgement of their master for all the work they had done. For keeping his honour with the Orcs, it made the Black Disaster regard Jin in a different light and respected him slightly more. "Let me emphasise that this Island is solely for the Orcs, the other races will receive their own Islands which would be catered to their needs. There is no need to worry about space. Remember this is a dimensional instance that you will be living in. It can expand endlessly as much as I can allow it to." Jin had a giant smile on his Santa face after seeing the Orc''s reaction and subsequently showed another Island. The next one featured mushroom huts in a terrace farming kind of style. "There will be basements for this so do not see that this particular design as small. I have also included weather modules into these instances, so those mushroom huts are designed to weather through this." Jin made a small pun which made the goblins giggle a little. (Yes this particular island full of mushroom huts was for them.) He added that the three Goblin Generals'' sons would be joining them too, which perked the Goblins up a lot. Afterwards, the dungeon supplier presented a picture of a deserted theme park. Everyone instantly recognised that it was the home instance of the zombies. He zoomed out a bit, revealing that the theme park was only a small part of this Zombie Island, and they could discern that there was an abandoned town around it. "Master, What is the reason for putting everyone in islands?" Ayse shouted and also shamelessly asked if the researchers had their own Island Instance. "Like I said, everyone, including current owners, has it. So, yes Ayse you and your researchers will have one too. The islands are to prepare for something even more exciting in the future." Jin answered as he opened his phone and scrolled down to choose a particular picture. The System then presented it to the entire horde of his. It was an overview of the structure of the various islands which made it look like some sort of treasure map. "This will be my next grand dungeon scheme which includes all of you inside." Jin declared and revealed that this was the Sanctum of Worlds'' Open Dungeon Instance concept. He could see that almost every minion had their jaws drop and Jin enjoyed this sight. "In other words, this will not just be your homes, but something similar to the WunderPanda Theme Park. People will come and see how you guys live and interact with all of you." Jin explained that this was still in its experimental stage as he would not be able to achieve this particular endeavour until he got the Mechanical Brain from the Mecha World. He then added that even if all of this were not connected right now, all these islands instance could be expanded and built upon with the System points that they had earnt. "Items like furniture and accessories for your house can be bought via the System. Stalls are created to introduce economy and allow you monsters the chance to try each other''s specialities." "Then do we need to travel via ships to get to the other island?" Gold questioned, and Jin shook his head. "I will put a portal which allows you to teleport from one place to another easily. When it goes live for the customers to use, the cultivators will have to choose which race they want to support or ally with. This will also decide which Island they start on, with them receiving a save point to travel back and fro." Jin explained. "Other than that, they will have to travel via ships and depending on their interaction with you guys, they will be considered your friend or foes," Jin announced and there was much chatter in the group. "So for example, I may set it up that the Goblins are friends with the Orcs but rivals with the Werejackals for a particular week. When cultivators enter the Goblin''s seaport to resupply they will be charged higher should they be allied to the werejackals while the cultivators who are friends with the Orcs will receive a benefit or even a discount." Jin briefly described and people started to laugh at that particular example. "Aside from the Home Islands, there will be islands that have secondary dungeons in them or even Boss monsters. That is where Demon Beast like Spiky can reside in, and this will be the ultimate test of teamwork among those in their ships." Jin shared his ambitions for the entire group. "However, rest assured that the Open Dungeon Instance will not include your real home instances. If any of you do not wish to participate in the Open Dungeon Instance and prefer to rest after a day''s worth of work, please do so. But for those who wish to earn extra System points, no one is stopping from participating in these open dungeon instances." Jin kind of implied that hard work would not betray them as they would be rewarded based on meritocracy. "I will be showing slides of other island home instances as part of the presentation slides, and that''s more or less it from me. You''ve all heard me rambling long enough. Now, please dig into the grand feast that we prepared for all for you!" Jin finished and as soon as he did his minions pounced on the yummy food. Chapter 590 Home Island Instances In the subsequent slides, the Island Instances of various minions were shown while the minions enjoyed their food and commented on the pictures. It got extremely lively and even the Sub System Users who had begun taking their supper, hope to eventually question Jin on the feasibility of this whole Open Dungeon concept he had in mind. At the moment they were discussing how crazy some Island Instances looked like. The Zither Island Instance was where Ke Mi, Shu among with others would be situated. Jin had purposely created sufficient space for the wyrm ants to populate under the ground while Shu was located in the middle of a crater of their Home island. The Ancient Treant was allowed to grow as large as he wished, which he approved a lot. In return, he would provide the base and foundation for Tree Apartments where various houses would ''grow'' on the different height of Shu. Ke Mi wanted to take the lowest level as she did not wish to burden her Great White Snake too much. Yet Sandy, the Sand Witch who would be staying with her told her not to worry that much and insisted that she takes the highest level instead. "I will bring you down if need be," Sandy said and reasoned that her song should be heard from the top of the tree instead of being at the bottom. "You okay with Ke Mi?" The Zither Mistress, who had learnt to trust Sandy as much as her Great White Snake decided to listen to the Sand Witch instead. "Of course, if you think I am merely an acquaintance, you are dead wrong. If anything, I am a fan of your songs." Sandy said as she knocked her shoulder with Ke Mi''s as if to indicate her friendliness to the Zither Mistress. However, it would be an understatement to call the Sand Witch just a fan. Sandy was heads over heels with Ke Mi''s music. Whenever she was free from her construction errands or on break, the Sand Witch would visit Ke Mi in the agriculture sector, and they would have an impromptu music performance with many also on break coming over to listen to. When both were off their work, Sandy visited Ke Mi at home, and she would create Sand clones to play music instruments available to the Zither Mistress. Furthermore, the other group to stay with them were the Boar Knights as well as Que Er, the Magpie Queens. The Boar Knights did not mind taking the bottom tier of houses since they were rather scared of heights. On the other hand, Que Er had an amicable partnership with Shu, who allowed her to house her magpies. He agreed to it so long as they did not make too much noise early in the morning. Other than that, she was welcome to stay with them as well. During the feast, Jin came over to her to make sure the Magpie Queen was fine with his choice. When she nodded and told him it was a great idea, he asked her to meet him tomorrow at 11 for a particular errand. She found it weird considering the occasion but shrugged it off and continued enjoying the feast. Given the large new space, Shu tried to persuade Jin, who was on his way to return to his table. The ancient Treant listed the benefits of getting more insects for the vitality of the earth as well as to keep his Mantis and Wyrm Ants less lonely. "How about Piggycupines? I have them in a pen right now, and they are the only ones I did not invite because¡­ Well, a number of our comrades are eating them right now." Jin suggested, and Shu pretended to give a horrified face. "You! Evil! Heh, that was a bad joke. I do not want to go into existential crisis issues, but I do not mind them, I figure their giant poops should be good for my growth." Shu replied with a laugh as he would look forward to watching the Boar Knights trying to tame them as their steeds. The next Island Instance was none other than the Werejackals'' new home instance. Instead of a proper island, theirs was one of the more complex Island Instances which Jin had made. Mainly because of one thing. Their farms. They had been experimenting and even had dedicated a lot of their room for the production of Oil plants which the System took great care for. That was why the System was very willing to give a discount to Jin for making their Island Instance, as long as he would design it first. (and with profit in mind) Thus, their Werejackal Island Instance was literally an ivory tower. Their island included an inactive volcano and in the middle of the volcano stood a tower where all the expensive agriculture was done. The rest of the farming utilised the plots of land right beside the volcano. Jin tried to mimic the situation where the lands near the volcano were extremely fertile. And because of their large plots of farmland, the Werejackals would be situated at a seaport where most of the housing and stalls would be. For the other werejackals, they would have to take a transport to their farms or the ivory tower for the farming work. At that point, both Gold and Weslie had already begun discussing what needed to be done and which plot of farmland would be used for which particular sets of crops. The Dark Templars would be joining them too, and they had their own headquarters to call their own. Jin said that they would have to contribute with the farming efforts since security was currently not an issue. Yet, he did mention that there was no harm creating contingency plans in case the cultivators would wish to ''steal'' crops. The Dark Templars perked up, hearing that they could not only establish a security presence, but there were chances where they could also be hired as mercenaries for the Open Dungeon concept. In the meantime, Jin also assured the Mousefolks that they too would be given a sanctuary to call home within the Werejackal Island Instance. He even specifically named one of the streets in the seaport after their old town''s name, Ording Street. "However, you''ll have to earn your share! In the future, I will purposely place a cave full of minerals for you to guide cultivators who wish to mine as well as some monsters to spice things up, you know? Maybe if I have the time to create them, it will most probably be the Demon Rats, so feel free to fight against them!" Jin explained but all the Mousefolks had heard was one vital phrase. Full of minerals. This excited the miners of Ording, and it gave the Mousefolk a bit of anticipation that they could return to their old ways. The dungeon supplier also did not rule out the possibility of them helping with farming instead or even security work, especially when the opportunities were there for them to create since it was their home. That''s right. Jin wanted all of his minions to feel like they belonged. Chapter 591 Grand Feasts First Even The spread of food was not just fantastic, but absolutely amazing. Lacking time, Lynn had no other choice but to entrust her penguins with creating this particular grand feast from scratch. With the limited experience they had, Lynn has assumed that she would need to oversee all of the cooking of food. Thankfully she was proven wrong again and again as she sampled each and every dish early in the eve before Christmas day. Her penguins had taken what they had learnt and applied everything without fail. Sure enough, there were some minor mistakes here and there but to be able to cook such an enormously large amount of food without losing the quality, made Lynn respect her penguins to the fullest. The piggycupines surprisingly turned out to be one of the most versatile monsters they had ever caught. The meat was extra tender, making it very easy to stew, fry or even roast. And their spikes, when cooked well, had a nutritional value equivalent to a plate of vegetables. Thus, a number of dishes were based on these Giant monsters, and the System even gave them access to the farming world materials (Which were totally in excess). All the meat loving monsters adored the thickness of the slab of meat Jin was offered, and no one had any complaints at all. The Beast Demons mostly had the whole piggycupine in front of them to savour. The penguins had made sure that the meat was seasoned properly and sufficient spices were used on different parts of the body so the Beast Demons could enjoy a plethora of taste from a single dish. As for Mr Derpy, the size of piggycupines were like a chicken nugget, so for this special occasion, Jin had made sure that he had more than just dozens of ''chicken nuggets'' for his meal. Mr Derpy did not expect to have a sumptuous and filling meal in his life nor his stay with Jin so far. The dungeon supplier told him that if he does well in the new Open Dungeon Instance, Jin will get him more than just ''nuggets'' in the future. "As the Shadow of Lord Dagen, you have unknowingly signed a binding promise to me. You must fulfil at all cost or else¡­ Hey wait, Jin! Don''t take my piggy nuggets away! Please! I''ll be nice! I''ll be nice!!" Mr Derpy whined a little, and all his Deep Ones were laughing at the power play between Jin and their Supreme Lord. The Dungeon Supplier had come over to the Deep Ones to inform them that he did not prepare an Island Instance for them. Instead, they had the whole western sea region to play with. They would be retaining their underwater forsaken town from the current home instance, and in return, Jin had given them a bunch full of System points to use them as they saw fit. The Deep Ones were actually elated to learn that their underwater forsaken town remained status quo as they were initially afraid when Jin said all minions would move to Island Instances. They also quite liked the idea that it was up to them whether they wanted to further improve their city or stretch its perimeters. With Jin''s generous compensation, they even considered building a second outpost underwater. (Maybe an underwater military base?) "Ah, except you guys will definitely be one of the few permanent bad guys for this Open Dungeon. The sea cannot be all calm and dandy, right?" Jin said, and the Deep Ones immediately cheered for that death and destruction was still applicable for them. As the feasting continued on, Lynn and Qiu Yue suddenly appeared on the stage again, stopping the current powerpoint slides. Some of the monsters jeered and Qiu Yue snap back at them. "You guys! If you don''t see it, it''s more of a surprise! Rawr!" (She had been drinking a little of Lynn''s new sake which was meant for later part of the feast.) "Hahaha! Calm down Qiu Yue. How about we have a round of game as promised to earn some extra System points?" Lynn suggested, and that made the entire horde roared in unity. Who did not want some extra System points? That equated to better food in the future and possibly a more comfortable place to stay in with the new Island Instance. It was THE currency to get no matter what kind of hell the minion had to go through! "For fairness sake, anyone larger than Baphomet won''t be allowed to play. So Beast Demons and Mr Derpy, I am sorry. You will have to watch from afar. To make it up to you, we are preparing a secret meaty dish which has specially been prepared by Lynn. " Qiu Yue said, and the large monsters felt they had gotten the better part of the deal to be able to eat Lynn''s personal cooking. The next game was essentially a massive game of dodgeball with a slight twist. With the aid of Peppers'' magic, the participating monsters would be magically coated with a sticky layer for the ball to stick and donning a helmet on. The varying colours of the helmet indicated how many points that particular monster was worth in order to balance the game a little. Aside from catching the ball, the monsters could also block incoming attacks with their weapons or skills as well. The balls would be indestructible enough so that none of them had to worry about holding back. If a ball hit a monster, it would get stuck before getting teleported out, awarding to one who threw the ball the corresponding point. So for monsters like Flame Ripper, his speed as an evolved assassin goblin would make him nearly uncatchable, and he had the skills to block most other minions. Yet his helmet was considered A-Tier, the second highest number of points attainable if he had been hit and subsequently ousted. The S-Tier helmets were reserved for the bellators themselves. They were worth 500 points whereas hitting Flame Ripper would only yield 100 points. Thus, the bellators had become the prime targets for almost all of the participating monsters. And this made each and every bellator''s blood boil with much excitement. For this time only, Yun even participated in the event and wore a S-Tier helmet to make the game even more thrilling. There were no concrete rules at all, and Qiu Yue told them that teaming up was also an option but the points earnt would ultimately belong to one from an individual. For people like Amura Rei, who was just a normal human with the knowledge of the Mecha World, he was given the lowest tier helmet, D-Tier. Those helmets were also imbued by the System with a barrier mechanism that provided high defence so that if those stray S-Tier balls hit any of the lower tier users, they would not be accidentally killed by them. Oddly enough, Jin was not taking part himself and was the person who would blow the whistle in the Stadium Instance to start the games in there. The rest of the non-participants were given the privilege to watch it through the large screen with various magic eyes providing the live scene feed. "Are you guys ready?!" Jin asked as he flew above the entire group and held a flare gun with him. The participants shouted with anticipation and excitement as their master slowly raised the flare gun and pointed it upwards. A bright red flare flew up to the sky, and the game of deadly dodgeball commenced. Chapter 592 Monsters Dodgeball When the flare went up, the ones who felt the most danger were the monsters wearing the A-Tier helmets. They understood that they were the most vulnerable among all of the monsters because catching them would yield the second possible highest amount of points. The bellators would be safe for a moment unless the monsters decided to band together to remove them from the game. Those with S-Tier Helmets also understood that they were not the primary target as most of the monsters recognised how strong they were¡­except for the newer comrades who had yet to see or experience the unparalleled strength of bellators. The Deep Ones, as the species that was even keener on battles than Orcs, knew better than to trifle with the bellators and yet the Mousefolks were daring enough to go against their own master. Perhaps it was not ignorance but rather a sort of challenge to see how far the students could go against their own master. "I won''t show mercy," Zeru stated with a smug smile as he took his wooden sword out as if to protect himself. Unfortunately, the Mousefolks did not know that defence was indeed the best offence for the Sword Saint. Every ball that was thrown towards Zeru was directly reflected back towards them. The angle of the slashes and the amount of energy used to reflect the shots were perfect. The Mousefolks that were hit realised that Zeru was giving them mercy. And yet at the same time, it shed some light on how Zeru was able to control his attacks to such a precise degree that brute strength was seen as gross incompetence. After a few tries, the Mousefolks accepted that merely throwing their balls at Zeru would not be working and they needed to devise a plan of attack. However, they seemed to have forgotten that this particular dodgeball was a free for all. The other monsters were frantically trying to eliminate one another. Jin was fairly amused that even when his minions were not engaging a bloody fight, the monsters were doing their best to earn as many points. Shu ended up participating even when he was aware that his size would mean he would have a hard time. The Ancient Treant did put up quite a fight despite its inability to dodge by shrinking itself to a smaller tree and grew many branches to whack the incoming balls away quickly. (That was how he cheated the height and size requirement!) Sadly, his valiant effort lasted¡­ less than ten seconds, he was ousted when a dodgeball curved and hit its torso from his blind spot. It was none other than Ke Mi who had magically used her strings to manipulate a feint in the throw to hit him. "Ah, you ungrateful brat! After all these months of nurturing you!" Shu shouted when he saw the digital scoreboard in the Stadium instance. It clearly showed Ke Mi ''killed'' Shu, causing him to be teleported back to the Town Hall instance. "But you are B-Tier! Lots of points!" Ke Mi laughed and waved goodbye to the disappearing Shu. Afterwards, it became a major turning point for the game. For some reason, many of the monsters hadn''t even considered attacking the helmets of their own tiers but planned to get the big points by ambushing those in the higher level. Suddenly the free for all turned chaotic as everyone really became everyone''s enemy. Tsu was the first to attack his fellow brother, Kai. "What I said shall be kept as a promise," Tsu shouted as his ball flew towards Kai with a whirling cyclone of black energy surrounding it which vaguely resembles a wolf trying to attack its prey. "Fine with me," Kai replied quickly as he decided to take the attack head on. Some of the monsters in the vicinity were just in awe by the powers of Tsu and Kai as they had never seen these foxes in their human forms at all. It was also an eye opener for Jin and the other Sub System Users as they had enjoyed preview on the might of the foxes that remained mysterious till this day. However, not all bellators had it easy. Similar to Zeru, Kraft was also attacked by his own underlings. Their motivation was nowhere near as noble as wanting to test themselves. The crafty fox had forced them to endure hell, and all of them were looking forward to getting at least a little bit of revenge. Initially, the Original Bellator had enough time to play around and even taunt the dark elves for failing to hit him thanks to his illusions, but quickly more and more monsters came over in the attempt of bringing this fox down. Kiyu just joined for the fun of it whereas Pei, who had never hidden her contempt for the Devilman, was happy to mess with him. With the girls working together and pointing out where the real Kraft was hiding he was eventually hit by a ball. Peppers thought her magic casting would be able to save her in all kinds of situations. Yet, within the first few seconds, she had already been annihilated by a ball from behind. The ironic thing was that it was her fellow friend, Ayse who had done so mercilessly to earn those couple hundred of System Points. (Oh, Peppers made sure her next explosion experiment would be met with some sort of accident.) Other than that, the rest had much fun trying to escape from the attacks and dishing out damage. The spectators watched them with much glee, and after three minutes of annihilation, the final ones left were Milk, Zeru and surprisingly, Dread Reaver. The Death Knight had some manipulation with the power of fog that enabled him to slow down the dodgeballs and allowed him to either escape or block them. As for the other two bellators, it boiled down to speed. Milk was evasive enough to block every attack with her hands, and she even had some innate monk skills that gave her another extra pair of ''hands'' (Jin thought she was some sort of thousand arm buddha when he saw Milk using her abilities.) But instead of continuing to see who was the ultimate dodgeball king/ queen, Jin announced that the game was up and declared the remaining three as winners. Some of the monsters jeered at the sudden stoppage of the game since they wished to know who would be the ultimate winner. "Please continue with your Grand Feast! Qiu Yue and Lynn will be introducing more games to you all in the next hour or so. And if you wish to leave to get some rest, feel free to do so. Everyone will receive a video about today, so you can rewatch it anytime you like. Else, have a great night!" Jin said and took his leave from the stage. He teleported back to the Dungeon Maker due to a message by the System. There, he saw Kraft for once with a very serious look on him before resuming his usual self. Noticing Jin, he showed him a half smile. "Firstly, that was a hell of a dodgeball game, I will love to do it again. Second, I do not know if this is an intended Christmas present¡­but let''s say it is." Kraft spoke as he turned on the console for Jin in the Dungeon Maker. Jin saw a couple of files being decrypted right in front of him, and subsequently, a picture with striking features was shown on the screen. "Ryuli is real." Chapter 593 Assuming the Wors "¡­ What?" Jin looked at the picture. This person did not really look like the one he remembered having met. Obviously, if the timeline were correct, she would have to be at least an adult already. Yet, this baffled him a lot. How can a dream match with reality? "It could be just a dream, you know? Why are you putting so much weight to it?" Jin asked Kraft with all seriousness. The bellator grinned before he quietly asked Jin to take a seat. "Well, first of all, the person in your dream was hard to find. So much so that even I can''t call it anything but difficult. Aside from that. You are not the first to have lucid dreams, which may not have been dreams¡­ Its a little hard to explain." "Past System Users have dreamt of similar things before, and we have ignored them in those instances. Suffice to say, we shouldn''t have." Kraft replied with a rare solemn voice as if implying that it had personally happened to him. "Really? So it became precognition or a forewarning like of situation?" Jin asked, and Kraft shook his head vehemently and provided him with a little background story. "There was a System User who had inherited the powers of Time from the System. Nothing too fancy, just being able to slow down or accelerate it. You can imagine how useful such an ability could be in a fight." "It made it seem as if the User was able to appear at two places at one time. But as her powers grew, so did her skills in predicting the future. At first, it was predicting what her opponent would do in a few seconds, but in time it grew. It turned to minutes and later hours. " "Because of this, her headaches got worse and worse. One time she had overexerted herself and fell unconscious. When she woke up, the User told us that she could foresee problems even when unconscious. Surprisingly, being unconscious allowed her to peek further into the future, but at one point, it was endless." "And then Poof, all she could see was blackness. Given her prior condition, we dismissed it as just wild dreams. Only when the incident happened, did we realise her powers of prediction had indeed become too powerful? But that was also when she lost her life permanently." "How¡­could she lost her life permanently? A Banned Emperor Assassin?" Jin asked. As far as he knew they were the only cultivators who discovered the means to prevent cultivators from being resurrected. Else, it shouldn''t be hard to revive, especially with the System''s help. Kraft looked at Jin and sighed heavily. He knew that his answer would not be satisfactory. "A black hole of some sort opened up and swallowed her whole. The System was unable to find her signal afterwards. Perhaps she was teleported to another world, another time or she was dismantled into nothing but atoms." Kraft answered and later gave a stifled laugh. "Anyways, your guess is as good as mine! Getting back to the topic. Maybe I was just too bored and wanted to try my luck infiltrating the government." Kraft twirled his chair around once, and his sly smile came back in an instant. "But how did you do it?" Jin asked the most awaited question which Kraft had been waiting to answer. There, the bellator bragged on how the System and him managed to create the Foxy Virus. "Considering how deep Foxy had to infiltrate, the moment it found this series of pictures, I had programmed it to self destruct immediately after sending them back to us. Leaving no trace behind as quickly as possible. Did not expect the programme to work this long to get the results but thankfully it did." Kraft replied. "But could it not have waited until the Grand Feast was over? What was the urgency?" Jin asked as he only saw the portrait of the blue haired lady. "Now, see this." Kraft then pressed a button, and behind that portrait, a collage of pictures exploded into the screen. She was no longer fashioning that blue hair in those pictures and instead had disguised herself. Without knowing any better, it would be impossible to tell that those pictures were of the same person. Not to mention, there were symbols imprinted on the top edge of the photo, which indicated that they were sourced from multiple intelligence agencies from all over the world. "I''m sorry, I''m only getting more confused." Jin was just overwhelmed by the amount of information that was presented to him. "In short, the lady that you somehow seem to have interacted with, might playing with very dangerous people. The most likely answer is that she is one of them too." Kraft explained stating that she might be a possible spy for the Chinese intelligence, or worse. A double agent. "Buuuttt, the most important reason why I called you here just now¡­ was this particular picture." Kraft said as he pulled the image out from the myriad of images and expanded it for Jin to see. At first, he did not know what he was looking at until he scrutinised the picture a little more and noticed there was one very familiar person within the whole picture. Mr Know-It-All. "I tried to dig through all the classified junk that Foxy had collected and collated but to my surprise¡­ I cannot find him within all that data." Kraft said and even iterated that the System''s registered database of customers was no help at all. "I tried to cross check the details of this guy, but it was undeniable that he was using an alias. To have a master spy within our midst¡­ Oh, man. This is like calling me to take the challenge to unveil his identity." Kraft mentioned with a scary look on his face. "Maybe Ke Loong know something about him? I can casually ask about him since they seem to be best friends of some sort?" Jin asked, and Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "The CEO could possibly be one of the contacts that this Mr Know-It-All had. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to him. I''ve noticed that he never made an appearance ever since I sent Foxy out to scout for information." Kraft tried to piece the information up, and it puzzled Jin a while. "Though, to be honest, there is nothing much you can do about it now. Since you have already escaped the Grand Feast, go and have a proper rest. Perhaps even take a day off." "I guess I shall take the former¡­A day off is impossible with the pressing issues at hand." Jin thanked Kraft for the information and wished him a happy Christmas. In the meantime, Kraft was not taking things as it is. The old fox always knew that Mr Know-It-All had some sort of elusive presence. At first, he had not bothered too much with it. The middle aged guy always mixed himself with a public presence so at most Kraft thought him to be a competitor spy out to unveil Jin''s secrets. Only now Kraft did realise that hiding in plain sight was truly Mr Know-it-All''s real speciality and it made the original Bellator a little perturbed that as Jin''s personal self proclaimed spymaster, he had allowed such an individual to do what he pleased so long. Separately, the System advised Kraft to calm down. "Knowing that Mr Know-It-All is a possible spy won''t do much harm to User Jin. It shows that people are watching, and that is what the System wants. For more people to know more about User''s shop." "Oh¡­So your take is that we should see them as a customer base rather than a threat?" Kraft stared into space for a moment and chuckled to himself. "I guess¡­ that is fine by me. Tsk, you are fine as long as they bring you more cash, after all, it''s us who are going to deal with him if he becomes a problem." "Still, that does not mean we should not be prepared. Even if we are just assuming the worst or Mr Know-it-all could possibly be just a normal person being photographed at that point of time, it''s time to get those uppity rebels to enjoy some special Christmas training to burn those fats from the feast." Kraft replied as if he had some sinister training plan for all his foxes (including the elves.) Chapter 594 Clash of Titans Even Another game was played in the Grand Feast, and this time the Large Beast Monsters weren''t just allowed to play but even encouraged, because the event was casually called the ''Clash of Titans''. Mr Derpy and the Titan Knight would fight against All of the Beast Demons combined. (Mainly because Spiky, the Transforming Spider was comparably larger than Mr Derpy when it came to the overall size.) The game was fashioned as a modified version of the Shaolin Football Instance, with their current location as the battleground. The System could not be bothered to expand the size of the Stadium instance further, using up even more of its precious resources. It had stretched the instance as much as was needed allowing Jin to accomplish what he had in mind. After the feast was done, the System would only have to reset the Town Hall instance, and everything would become a piece of empty land once again. Since Jin was not around, Qiu Yue and Lynn took the initiative to act as the judges for this Clash of Titans'' event. Everyone was randomly chosen by the System to represent the Red and Blue team. Team Red would be siding Mr Derpy and the Titan Knight while Team Blue sided with the Beast Demons. Some like Weslie was lucky enough to get assigned into their preferred teams with the Beast Demons, but others, for example, the Deep Ones would have to compete against their Supreme Lord. At times like this, Qiu Yue wondered whether they would ''betray'' him further in the name of more System Points since she roughly knew that it was somewhat wrong to raise their weapons against their own god. When the game started, everyone went into a frenzy mode. One army clashed towards another just to fight for the sparkling rainbow orb that served as the ball to score. The Bellators, unfortunately, were not allowed to join in the game mainly due to their insane powers, but it was a nice change of pace to see the monsters fighting against each other to their fullest. Peppers even offered to play the bank and turn it into a small betting event on who might win the first round. But nobody bothered because they knew how good she was in deducing the winning team based on her magic. (If Ayse were around, she would take her bets and argue that her collected data beats magic all day long.) Besides, they did not wish to be spoilt through her prediction and simply rooted for their own favourite team. However unlike the classic game format where the Titans where mostly there for appearance sake, Jin wanted his Titans to battle it out too. So, whenever a goal was scored, it became a free for all for the Titans to pit their strength against each other for a set amount of time. The team that scored the goal would receive the opportunity to apply a temporary size debuff against their opposing rival. (The System was happy to use this as an opportunity to get a better grasp on the concept of Hamatarou''s Totem of Atem.) Hence, the opposing team had to fight harder and smarter instead of just relying on its huge size. In the meantime, the rest of the monsters continued to pitch their lives for additional System points. The monsters involved on the frontlines were rather apparent as the judges could see the majority of Orcs handling it with a mix of werejackals and dark templars in it. (In fact, the Orcs were so fierce that some of the Dark Templars assumed them to be demons incarnate.) Surprisingly, the zombies put up quite a decent fight too with Half Ghoul Lord Derek using his powers to personally enhance the horde on both teams equally. Though some of the monsters casually shouted foul play at that, they also understood that he wanted his zombies to be more than just cannon fodder. Meanwhile, the Mousefolks turned out to be a handy bunch of range support as their use of guns increased the fighting capability of their respective teams. It was to the point where they were aiming against each other since the Mousefolks knew best how much of a threat they could pose. Zeru and Meomi had informed them that they had gained grace from the powers of System which allowed them to resurrect, making them rather fearless without holding back. The Wyrm Ants dug a tunnel to surprise the opposing team, and it worked especially well for one round before Team Blue monsters realised and later sent their Mousefolks to defend the underground. As Wyrstriker was the only few that was able to fly, Que Er made sure to target him first with her murder of magpies. While one magpie was useless, having that entire flock of birds was a danger to Wyrstriker. This was the first time he had difficulty fighting and had to use multiple AOE attacks to fend for himself. Thus, Sandy assisted by creating a barrier for him on intervals since she needed to take care of the ground allies too. Still, Que Er managed to hold air superiority in the latter part of the event. The whole Town Hall instance became a slaughter with whatever items they could find. Forks, chopsticks, plates, chairs and tables being thrown around or used as temporary barriers to delay the possibility of a goal from the opposing team. (Some even used the leftover bones of the piggycupine as a weapon. Those Orcs sure know how not to waste stuff.) Still, not a single monster dared to mess around and risk destroying the food tables which the Penguins were guarding with their lives. As for stray bullets, the Penguin ninjas were capable of immediately deflecting or slicing them up. Eventually, the monsters unanimously seemed to have demarcated a line not to be crossed so as to prevent any possible damage to the food tables. Lynn was positively surprised and taken aback by this particular development and some of the monsters even declare that they would even kill their own teammates or themselves as punishment if anyone wasted the penguins'' hard work. The Boar Knights ironically pledged themselves to be the guardians of the food tables. (They loved the piggycupine meat way too much. Could that be considered some level of cannibalism?) As thanks, Lynn personally awarded them a small payout of System points to ensure that those who had sacrificed themselves were not in vain. Obviously, it came from her own System Wallet. The Sub System Users also had access to System points to periodically reward their underlings for a job well done. Those points were given to them by Jin who converted them using his own profit. So, the food tables were instinctively being drawn up like a barrier which everyone adhered to and fought to the fullest. After around half an hour of game time and both teams still tied, the System declared it to be a Sudden Death format with the monsters being allowed to help defeat the opposing Titans. Eventually, the ones winning turned out to be Team Red. They received 200 System Points each (no matter if they were resurrected or not) while the losing team earnt 50 System points each for participating in the game. When that particular Shaolin Football event came to a close, the last event that Lynn and Qiu Yue had prepared was an informal drinking contest. But before that, the monsters all helped cleaning up the trash and debris to be fed into the Lost Tech Recycler later. After which, they laid the open fields with mats as instructed by the emcees while Shu purposely went to the centre of the area to make some flowers bloom. Sakura petals floated around the Town Hall instance, while the System erected lamplights, making it a cosy and memorable place for every monster to gather around as the Penguins brought everyone bottles of plum wine to drink. Gold and the werejackals had already experimented with sake, but they achieved a real breakthrough after Chieftain Skitter had inadvertently found a Giant Plum Tree and gifted its location to Lynn. The Sub System User had not hesitated to reap the fruits from that tree. "This is the last event! Drink to your heart''s desire! Drink, eat and clear all the food that is on the table! Have a good chat with the monsters and interact with everyone!" Qiu Yue said with a bottle on her hand and pour one cup on stage to drink with everyone. "Everyone will earn some System points as gratitude from the System! You heard that right! Let''s all toast to the stingy System!" Lynn shook her head but joined in as well, as she commenced the start of the last event. To date, this had been undoubtedly the most laborious feast preparations she had ever come across. Nevertheless, she was already looking forward to next year''s feast. Chapter 595 Unexpected Bonding It had been such a long time Jin finally had a good night sleep. The moment he saw the bed in his room, Jin did not care whether the black sludge will flood in his place. He was somehow automatically been allured into the embrace of his bed. "Had it always been this comfortable?" Jin asked himself, and when he closed his eyes, he did not think as much at all. "It been a long time," Ming asked as he knocked Jin with his hiking stick and Jin found himself abruptly awoken with layers of clothes on himself. He noticed he was in some enclosed tent with little space to even get up. If one wished to move out of the tent, he had to crawl backwards to come out of it. When Jin realised it was Ming''s voice and he could know he was in his cultivation mode. "God damn!" He said to himself out loud as Jin had forgotten that whenever he sleeps, he would be cultivating at the same time. However, for the past few weeks, the dungeon supplier had been using the high intensity sleeping capsule, which accelerated his sleep more often. That only provided him sufficient rest and not enough to produce the circadian rhythm for dreaming, unlike this time when he came into the cultivation ''stage'' with Ming around. As he slowly dragged his body out of the tent, he realised that he was near the top of a mountain and Ming quickly gave him a pair of goggles to prevent the blazing sun and to protect him for the freezing winds. The view, on the other hand, was spectacular. There were lower peaks and deep valleys all around the mountain which his tent was pitched at. "What are we fighting this round?" Jin asked as he knew that he had the trial for the other three Cardinal Beasts. Ming did mention to him once, but he had forgotten which monster was it, and with no System reminding him, Jin could only hope Ming would not be so cryptic and give him the answer. "Nah, I abandoned that Four Heavenly Beast route for the moment. That initially was to force start the development of your Maqi, but it seems someone else managed to do it for me." Ming said with a slight sigh. "And to introduce you a little to Demon Exorcists and hope that Grandma Yuan could take you in. But it seems like you managed to not only become one but a branch manager at that." Ming knocked Jin''s arms as he said it. "Guess, Yuan was softer than I thought." "She is really a Tsundere, eh?" Jin asked, and Ming laughed loudly, which his voice was echoed back at the top of the mountains. He nodded his head and asked Jin to climb up with him to the top of the current mountain. "So, what are you teaching me this time around?" Jin asked as he went into the tent and get the hiking stick as well as the backpack which Ming requested him to take. "Not sure, to be honest. In these four months, you had grown tremendously fast that I am rather surprised by it." Ming said as he led the way up to the mountain. The two reduced their conversations as they hiked up the remaining distance to the peak. It may not seem as far from where the tent was pitched, but they had taken a few detours to ensure that the snow was solid enough to climb forward. Unlike the last time, Ming always offered Jin a helping hand and gave him a boost whenever needed. There was this particular ridge where they had to jump a little to reach, but with all their heavy equipment, it was nearly impossible. Jin tried to activate his Maqi as usual, but he knew it was somewhat futile whenever it comes to Ming''s unreasonable restrictions. Yet, it was a humble reminder that Jin was blessed with the System''s powers in reality. In an hour or so, they finally reached the top and surprisingly, there was a steel bench which made Jin shook his head in disbelief. The moment they sat down, the cold winds were not as harsh as before, and the sun was only partially blocked by the clouds. It made that beautiful view from the top even more pleasant. "Should I be aware that there is some meaning¡­erm metaphor or something attached to this mountaineering experience?" Jin asked as if there was some meaning to climb this mountain. "Oh, just relax for god sake. If everything is laden with some hidden meaning, your life would always be miserable." Ming scoffed at Jin and told him to not overthink. "Come to think of it¡­ let''s just say some proper grandfather to grandson bonding session?" "Heh, I rather you teach me something than do this. It''s so unlike you at all." Jin replied as he breathed in the cold winter air. It was slightly tingling down his throat but equally rejuvenating. "Hahaha~! That is quite true. But don''t you think it be fair for you to tell me the things you do? It is not fun trying to pry your memories or having that stupid fox coming in and bragging how creative you were in developing that tree mall." Grandfather Ming took his goggles and gloves off as he blew some warm air from his mouth to warm his hands a little. "Oh yea, if you were with the System, it would probably have shown you everything. Well, can''t you just pry my memories? Especially since our inheritance is a nosy group of ''people'' and probably already knew about your existence." Jin said as he placed his hands near his mouth and shouted at the top of his voice. "I could, but what is the fun of that? Knowing the essential stuff is good enough. You are a dungeon maker, so naturally, you should be a storyteller too. You never know when you will write a biographical novel or maybe keep some good stories for your kids?" Ming suggested. "Hmm¡­let''s say I am still alive after having the System for a long while, do I have to share the System with kids in the future? Or be like you? Make them inherit it? I mean, did great grandfather did the same as you?" Jin got curious and asked. "Great Grandfather, huh? Actually, he died without knowing that he passed the System to me." Ming said. "He never knew he had the System with him. For some reason, the System did not activate, and I do not really know the answer. Perhaps ask System when you get back?" Grandpa cluelessly answered and it only made Jin pondered. "Alright, then can I ask. Are you truly a big shot general or some famous Demon Exorcists? Somehow, Hou Fei was quite regarded in his military field, but he downplayed the way you and him fought previously. What was like the significant turning point for your military career? Oh and speaking of which, have you fought any monster horde before? There seem-" "Woah Woah! Stop right there, cowboy! You are shooting me with so many questions, I begin to think to have a chat with you is the wrong decision I made this time around!" Ming raised his hand and tried to take a pause. "But it looks like you deserve to know a little about me since I brought you this mess," Ming said as he pulled out a book and showed it to Jin. It was a diary. "This contains my life''s secrets. I give you 15 minutes to look through." "You are kidding me, right? 15 minutes? Judging by the additional notes and the thickness of this particular diary, I am basically swimming in the haystack to know what is going on with your life." Jin complained as he casually flipped through. "Well take it or leave it." Ming tried to take the book back, but Jin held onto it, very reluctant to release it. "I will read it. It is better than nothing. But can you at least point to the pages where ¨C Oh, what is this? Your first meeting with Grandma¡­Yuan?" Jin said out loud and suddenly a cold frigid wind blow towards Jin which abruptly that page flew off into the wilderness below the mountains. "HEY, THAT IS UNFAIR!" "If you didn''t say it out loud, the wind probably would not have blown I guess?" Ming shrugged his shoulders with a smug smile. "Then I shall go find it! It looks like this is one juicy secret you are quickly averse in sharing." Jin said as he saw the page flew further down. "Cough. Don''t blame me if you know, some beast appear or something." Ming said, and Jin stuck his tongue out as he placed his large backpack to the ground as if he was looking for something. "After all, this is my dream. I can do what I want." Jin said as he tried to imagine a snowboard out from his back. "You knew you are able to do that; you should have done it in the previous fight." Ming scoffed, but suddenly a snowboard slowly emerged out of the backpack. He was slightly surprised Jin managed to create a snowboard out. "I realised the moment I entered this place. I cannot feel my qi, nor the flow of Mana but for some reason. I can vaguely sense Maqi for over this entire area which you initially restricted. It did not take long for me to try and manipulate them." Jin said, and Ming smirked. "Guess Zeru did not teach you for nothing. I shall await that moment when you found out about my ''juicy'' secret." Ming replied while maintaining his sly smile as he shoo-ed Jin off and suddenly, the snow on the peak gave way immediately after his sentence. "GRANDPA I WILL REMEMBER THIS!!!" Jin shouted as he fell along with the snow. Chapter 596 From the Valleys "Uwah~!" Jin woke up violently on the floor and realised he was not in that cultivation dream state that he was in. But instead of sludge pool which Jin should have been immersed in upon waking up, he found that the black sludge was floating above him in a more condensed form like a cloud hovering at his ceiling. Jin quickly absorbed all that sludge into his storage ring and decided to not give up. There was obviously something Ming wished to hide actively from Jin, but at the same time, his grandfather seems to not be thrilled to let him take that particular information. "So much for being an open book! What lies! Anyways, it''s only 4am. I think I can force myself to sleep again." Jin said to himself as he went into a sitting stance which allowed him to mediate and subsequently absorbed himself into the cultivation dream state. True enough, the moment Jin opened his eyes, he returned exactly to the point he got violently awoken. In the middle of falling. "Snowboard, Snowboard!!" Jin looked around and noticed there was nothing but snow and ice all around him, and he believed he had less than thirty seconds before he made an impact onto the ground. Unlike last time in his dream state, Jin could feel that the Maqi in the surroundings was still unstable, maybe because he was forcefully entered into the dream state as compared to previously where he naturally fell asleep. "Ah, fuck it!" Jin said to himself as he tried to use his body inertia and whatever Maqi he could gather as the force to move himself closer to the mountain. The result was not pleasant, and he felt pain all over his left shoulder, but Jin attempted to hold onto anything he could grab. Unfortunately, it was all snow that Jin held onto, and the Astral Panda cultivator was still falling until he managed to grab onto a cliff. Yet, the pain he received was tremendous, but somehow Jin managed to tolerate it by gritting his teeth. Even with his bruised left shoulder, Jin forced himself to grab onto the cliff and had a proper footing while he looked downwards. There was still a much longer way to go, yet he did not dare to move much. Jin was afraid the small little ledge which he was holding onto might give way with the amount of force he exerted. Suddenly, he heard echoes within his brain rather than from the surroundings, and they were obviously from Ming. "You still alive? Should have taken my offer of leaving the dream state when I kicked you out. Now you possibly have to suffer just like how you fought with the White Tiger to get to that secret now." Ming chuckled within his thoughts before it came into an awkward silence. "But I am not that evil." A shimmering light was seen within the depths of the valley which the page had dropped, and Ming told Jin that was the only help he would render. Knowing his grandfather, diving straight towards the light would only bring unwarranted danger. It was either a major risk to take or waste his time going through the safe route. Obviously, Jin would take the former. But Jin was not that dumb either, he held onto the ledge for some time first, gathering whatever Maqi he could muster. After which, he took a deep breath and dive into the unknown. With no weapons, no armour and a limited amount of Maqi at his disposal, the Astral Panda cultivator steeled his nerves to brave the darkness. Unfortunately, the one who took pleasure in this scene as much as Kraft was Ming himself. Within the darkness, the shimmering light dissipated and two blue, glowing orbs emerged in the dark as Jin dived into the valley. Soon enough, a loud thundering roar echoed through the valley, and the two blue glowing orbs got nearer to Jin. Within a split second, Jin finally saw that those orbs were eyes. The eyes of a serpent. Only then Jin realised that there was no way to evade the attack in midair, considering the typical movements of the serpent and his experience fighting against Ke Mi''s Great White Snake. Even if he utilised his Green Panda Wind Energy, he would not be able to collect enough Maqi from the surrounding to do a counteroffensive. So, he decided to fight head on. With his fists slowly imbued with Black Panda Fire Energy, he raised his hands towards the snake like creature like how Superman would fly towards his enemies. However, it seemed like Jin had underestimated the serpent''s intelligence as it hesitated to attack upon seeing the flame charged fists that Jin was wielding. Instead, the whole bottom of the valley glowed with a dull green light in a peculiar pattern and out flew a piece of hard shell that impacted with Jin. Even with his Black Panda Fire imbued fists, Jin could felt that there was no effect against the shell. The only one that was in pain was probably just himself. But that was not the end of the attack. The piece of hard porcelain looking shell flew up so high that Jin had to hold onto the edge of the shell in order not to fall over. That was when he noticed the serpent attempted to attack him when Jin had his hands full. "Shell?!¡­Serpent? The Black Tortoise of the North?!" Jin thought to himself and an echoed sound of Ming laughing hard. "Perhaps but even if you discern its identity, how are you going to defeat it?" Ming asked as the shell violently shook Jin sideways to make him fall. It succeeded without much attempt, and another piece of the shell popped out to attack the Astral Panda Cultivator. "Not this time!" Jin gritted his teeth as he converted his Black Panda Fire Energy into Green Panda Wind Energy. Although the conversion potentially cost him half of his limited Maqi, Jin needed to at least survive the attack. "You could always restart, you know?" Ming replied, and Jin snarled back. "Yeah, and let you revive me to the exact same point which I began falling from the peak of a mountain? No, thanks!" Jin said as he was able to move out of the way at the nick of time. But that only bought him an extra second before the serpent strikes at him again. Perhaps¡­it might be wise to revive and rewind. Chapter 597 Massive Backlogs Instead of a rewind and revive, Jin was once again thrown back into reality as he lay on his bed for a moment to rearrange his thoughts. "Grandpa must be thinking¡­ Of all the things that you want to peer into my life, you got to see my relationship between Grandma Yuan and me first." Jin thought to himself while smiling. If he could not get that information from him, there are always other sources from to get. Perhaps, they might give a glimpse of what their true relationship was. On the other hand, the serpent attack reminded him that Ming was not lying about sending out the Cardinal Beasts against him. That was clearly the Black Tortoise of the North. Which stupid giant snake would be so dumb to live in a secluded, freezing area full of snow and still be active during winter? The hard shell attack was also the dead giveaway, and he believed only the Black Tortoise of the North was capable of doing that. The North Cardinal Beast fitted perfectly since the icy cold valley itself would prove to be an invulnerable spot for it to stay while using its ''tail'' to get resources. (When the tail was awake) Not to mention, it''s an extremely defendable spot given the lack of mobility. Thus, Jin believed it would not be a wise choice to re enter his cultivation ''dream'' state again only to find himself falling hopelessly without any weapons or tactics against the Black Tortoise of the North. Regardless, the dream state was an enjoyable experience to accompany his grandfather for a hike. Still, Jin knew he had to fight against the Black Tortoise all by himself in the coming future and perhaps, that would give him a peek into the next grade of cultivation as well as Ming''s secret. "No matter. I have other things to do¡­though I am curious what had happened in the Grand Feast." Jin said to himself as he asked the System to replay the event through his phone. While lying on his bed, Jin laughed hysterically at the game event as well as the big key moments during the gathering where the monsters tried to fight against Yun to a drinking battle. The game was fun inducing, and it was all because of Lynn''s choice of alcohol. Her sake was already potent enough for most to fall after a cup or two since Jin did try one for himself. True enough, almost everyone who participated in the ''competitive'' drinking contest, fell into a drunken state after the third cup. Even Zeru, with his overwhelming cultivation, could not stand against the sake. Lynn knew that her sake which was brewed within the Werejackals'' compartment was one of the most tedious procedures the workers had ever done, but the taste of the sake was tremendously sweet. It was one of the more traditional recipes which Lynn had unlocked from the Sub System. Considering most sake usually have a tinge of bitterness and dryness, the traditional ones were more luscious. Yet Milk and Nubwort, the Orc General, were the only few that was able to stand against Yun. They were at their fifth cup and Yun was still steadily standing and laughing at the state the two other contestants were in. Nubwort was barely standing with his sheer will while Milk went into a more drunken state but still conscious because she had previous training of the drunken fist style while the ''fake'' priest had her training as a monk. "Just give up already," Yun said in the video, and when given the sixth cup, both collapse almost simultaneously after drinking half of it. This concluded that Yun was the new drinking champion for this particular Grand Feast Event, and the organisers called it a day. For those who were still sober, they brought their colleagues back to their home instances in the Sanctum of Worlds to rest. Jin did tell them previously that the transition to their Home Island Instances could be done within a few months if needed so they could rest easy for now. However, it would be better to move as soon as possible, so the System had more processing capacity for other things. And although the System preferred to evacuate them once and for all, it respected Jin''s wishes and gave them at most a month to move out (which it would eventually send a notice to everyone) even though the Dungeon Supplier said ''a few months''. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "User, hope you have a good rest as the list of agendas have grown tremendously." The System stated as it began to show the objectives shown in no presiding order. 1. Creation of Cultivation Zoo Instance 2. Establishment of Demon Exorcist Administrative and Training Centre Instance 3. Joint Military and Police Raid Instance 4. Procurement of Mechanical Titan Brain 5. The liberation of the Minor Races in Giant World 6. Completion for the Dungeon Fortress City and its defences 7. Creation of a Mecha Related Dungeon as a promise to Bu Dong 8. Extension of the Christmas Raid as requested by customers 9. Polar Phantom Gentlebear Secret Dungeon Instance 10. Finalising the Portal Devices with Ke Loong "What the heck!? Since when did I have that many things to settle?" Jin swore to the System when he saw the list. "There are other things promised as well as like the goblin theme treats which User wished to promote Lynn''s store. However, given that the Tree Mall has a bakery, it would not be wise to create unnecessary competition for your tenant." The System stated. "Wait¡­ Did I ¨C Wait No! Nevermind!" Jin said to the System when his phone was suddenly taken controlled by the System, and a past clip of the System''s Magic Eye replayed the scene which happened in Lynn''s office. "Argghh. So you really did document everything." Jin replied with some bitterness, and he can feel that the System ''nodded'' its head. "All had to be documented should there need to be the reproduction of evidence." The System stated which made Jin shook his head. "Then what do you advise me to do first?" The Dungeon Supplier asked as he looked at the long list. There were obviously some items on the checklist that needed to be completed first before he could attempt them. "System suggest that User look into Item #8, the extension of Christmas Raid and prepare the shop instance for the New Year." The System stated. "A new theme? But there isn''t much going on for January. Unless you wish for me to prepare for the Chinese New Year in February." Jin understood that it was the norm for most shops to start the Chinese New Year festivities at the start of January. "Not just the new Theme, with the advent of the Tree Mall, the System noted a constant rise of customers coming in. At least a 280% rise in customers was seen during the Christmas Raid event during the day and a 70% increase of customers in the night. It would be wise to change the layout of the shop instance to accommodate more of the customers." The System suggested. "I see¡­ Then perhaps I shall do that. Besides, I need to kill some time before I meet up with Que Er." Jin looked at his storage watch and also realised he needed to do something about the Living Armour Suit as well. "Remember to take your breakfast as well. Without proper meals, User might potentially fall ill." The System reminded. "Yes, mommmmm." Jin brushed the System away like a nagging parent and went to the washroom to prepare for the day. Chapter 598 Your Remarks A new Shop Instance? Initially, Jin did not know what to do to increase the viewing capacity of the customers. What kind of view which was acceptable that could provide both privacy and at the same time, the overall mood of the people watching it. Jin could have just killed the view screening idea and proceed to expand his shop instance to accommodate customers, but that would destroy the community that he had painstakingly grown in his shop. The chat forums had always been bustling with snippets of cutscenes from various random dungeon viewings, and people discussed how silly some were (and of course they would be taken down should the cultivator in cutscenes asked the ''moderator'' aka the System to do so.) Or how epic some cultivators had performed as well as the discussion of the dungeon walkthroughs. The casual viewing was the very essence of Jin''s shop instance. So Jin cracked his brains to think of it and perused the internet for ideas. Stadium? Nahhh, he already had a stadium instance. Besides, there is no privacy in it. Concert Hall? Nah. Even though it could potentially accommodate people, that would be too cold and precise at the same time, wouldn''t it? A more substantial extension of the current cinema circle which the shop instance embodied? Not really very ideal and could get rather messy. These were the few times he had to crack his head hard since Jin could not possibly update his shop instances every time his customer base got larger. He needed something as modular as the Gearbox system. A particular instance where he could merely plug and play whenever he liked and at the same time, insert new stuff whenever he wants without having to revamp the entire shop instance. Thus, he needed a solid core foundation for his new shop instance and subsequently allow this modular concept. Also, the gathering hall which he had utilised as a stop gap in the luxury recovery instance was becoming full. As he allowed the System to take over the operations after setting up the necessary amenities, the System had instantly showcased the various flaws that Jin had created in the gathering hall. Things like lack of visual cues to show the way, shortage of storage lockers, insufficient seating space for people to wait etc. Jin could only remedy certain things with a band aid like adding more furniture and increase the number of Panda NPCs to aid the customers, but it did not solve the inherent problem. While it was clearly a more convenient and better way to gather people, there should be better ways for people to wait for their turns and have better dungeon play experience. That was also why Jin created the squads'' feature. Initially, it was to facilitate faster gameplay, although it might inadvertently promote solidarity or erode the community he grew. Thus, the dungeon supplier had to ensure that there had to be a balance involved. Too superior and the squad NPCs might potentially replace group play altogether. Too weak and they would be discarded as a cosmetic feature, not to be utilised unless deemed necessary. Only when Jin felt like he was giving up with remaking the place, the Magpie Queen came in just in time to interrupt him. He then looked at the timing and realised that she was slightly early. "Did the Feast went well?" Jin asked, even though he already knew the answer to it. The question was more of a conversation starter for him since he rarely spoke to her. "It was brilliant, thank you for the surprise feast. I suppose you might be doing this in the future as well?" Que Er asked as she was in modern clothes, a fashion trend more towards office fashion. Orange short blouse with long waist pants complimented her long silky black hair and the touch of makeup nearly made her almost indistinguishable against other humans living in Jin''s world. "Probably more of a joint effort from a number of monsters in the future. This was way more tiring than I expected it to be." Jin blurted the truth, and Que Er nodded with a smile. "What do you need of me, Sir? You seem rather serious when you send a passing comment to me during the feast." Que Er did not wish to waste much more of her master''s time as she saw him fixated with the consoles in front of him. "Remember how I said that you should not side evolve at Yu Xiang''s Chinese medicinal store? Your face seems more than just disappointed, and it made me think about what I had said to you." Jin asked Que Er which the latter vehemently shook her head. "No, it''s fine. It is fine, really!" Que Er anxiously replied, rejecting all the possible goodwill by her master until Jin took a card out from his storage watch. It was similar to when he used the evolution upgrade card for his goblins. "Hold this. Whenever you feel you are ready to use it. Use it." Jin said as he placed it right in front of her. "I do not know your legend, your history, but I know you are an immortal, a Queen to all your birds, be it magical or real." Jin placed the card onto her hands even though she was trembling with the intention to return the card. "I might be your master but I shouldn''t bound your potential just because of the pact you made with the System. You became part of the System for a reason that is unknown to me, and I realised some¡­ discretion should be given to you." Que Er leaned back on the chair and stared at the card for a moment. It was true that she had been working hard for reasons unknown to Jin and yet when she held on the side evolution card, she gazed at it as if it was insulting her in some way. "Your remarks back then were to be ''useful''. I thought about it long and hard. Were my services not sufficient? I had provided the communication network not just for the resistances in the Farming World but also the Goblin War. Were my birds not helpful enough? What do you exactly mean by useful?" Que Er said while her face was still directed towards the card. "¡­I was-" Jin was interrupted when he realised that Que Er was not done talking. "It was then that I began to understand that you did not mean just the practical uses of my abilities but possibly the initiatives I should take." Que Er said as she looked at Jin with a determined face. "So¡­I actually went on a journey myself with the permission of the System." Que Er reply was resolute, and with a whistle, two large ravens flew out of her, and each landed on the side of her shoulders. On closer inspection, those ravens seem to have a fake eye on the side they stood on. The crow on the left lost his left while vice versa for the bird on the right. Their feathers were not exactly entirely black as well, and there were shades of translucent blue and purple. To Jin''s knowledge, there were only two ravens that were infamous enough that he believed even the Queen of Magpies would attempt to recruit. Even if he did not fully know the lore behind it, Jin was able to warrant a guess for the names of those two ravens Que Er had on her shoulders. Huginn and Muninn. Chapter 599 An Alternate Perspective "You got those from Odin¡­?" Jin asked and assumed those two birds were the pets of the legendary Norse God King. "He actually owed me something back in the days when we were still students." Que Er said as she laughed and recollected past memory on it. "I merely went to him for some collateral interest." "More than just collateral. We are now the property of Que Er, the Queen of Magpies." Muninn said with the one with the fake eye in the right. "We are not the property of that fake bird queen! We are only here for show!" Huginn on the left rebutted, and the ravens began to fight against each other above Que Er''s head. "Oei." Que Er looked up with an annoyed look which they quickly simmered down and landed quietly on her shoulders once more. "So¡­does that mean that you can control ravens now?" Jin asked, and the Magpie Queen nodded her head, indicating that she managed to achieve her own version of side evolution without the need of Jin''s help. "Now I can summon both ravens and crows out the same way I summon my magpies. Mu made it possible. Besides, those pretty little blackies and magpies are of the same class of birds according to your world''s science books. But the interesting part is that the birds are erm¡­more offensive in nature." Que Er explained that while Muninn could allow her to summon the birds, it was Huginn that brought alive the innate latent powers of Que Er. "They made very good fireworks, in my opinion, though Peppers would beg to differ." Que Er said as she clasped her hand together and a crow emerged in front of her palm. It was like a nifty little magic trick by her as Que Er shadily pulled two more crows underneath the wings of the first crow, creating a total of three. She then asked the System to provide a dummy target for a little performance. A section of the dungeon maker room expanded specifically for the appearance of the dummy sandbag target. All the Magpie Queen needed was to point at the specific dummy and the crows moved silently towards it. When they were just a metre away, it exploded with a force that scattered their blood, bones and feathers all around the dummy target. Jin was shocked as it thought it would be just a normal magical explosion but not an implosion from within the bird itself. The System then pulled the dummy target towards Jin and saw that the feathers were of a piercing nature and blood of the crow corroded the outer layer of the sandbag. "A blood explosion. Usually utilised by Blood Mages from the olden days and later banned due to its extremely lethal potency against humans as well as the related matter of human sacrifices." The System stated that the feathers were strong enough to pierce through sheet metal, making it very useful against enemies like the Demon Rats who do not have advanced armour like Jin''s world. "But I can only do this to my birds." Que Er said, and suddenly a slow clap was from the corner of the Dungeon Maker. "Amazing. Bloody amazing." Kraft said as he looked astonished by the blood explosion of the magical crow. "Boss, imagine strapping C4 explosives to them. You have your very own miniature kamikaze air force at your disposal." "What you do you actually mean?" Jin said and Kraft merely said two words. Mecha World. Suddenly, it clicked onto Jin. The dungeon supplier had been thinking about the various methods of invasion against the Mecha World, and he thought that building his own Mechas were the only viable way. He had been thinking it all wrong for the past few weeks. When he remembered what they say about being the bad guys, they did not necessarily mean to be the ultimate enemy against the two factions. Instead, Kraft seemed to be pointing the direction of wanting Jin to be an annoyance, the irritating thorn in their flesh. Similar to how poorly budgeted resistances and perhaps even how terrorist organisation operated, they did not use flashy mechas or top grade materials to stifle the war against their adversaries. Instead, they used creativity to undermine their heavily armoured opponents and to achieve their objective. That was exactly what Jin had, and besides, he was not looking to be a messiah or the conqueror of their world. He just wanted the Titan Mechanical Brain. Furthermore, he had the upper hand with him. All the weird monsters at his disposal would be a definite surprise for the inhabitants in the Mecha World which the System stated that there were no sightings of such beings in their world. Thus. all Jin had to do, could solely be a grab and run kind of mission where he does either maximum damage or chaos to the place by distracting the guards for the main objective and steal the item. He believed that the press release would probably be contained, and with odd monsters attacking, it was less likely to pinpoint that to the other military faction. In fact, Jin could conduct a similar raid attack against the Xeon Union and both factions would believe that it was an external intervention by some extremist groups. When Jin proposed the concept to the System, it had analysed that it would not immediately escalate tensions as to picking a side and fighting against the United Federation at all. That was when the dungeon supplier looked at Que Er with renewed direction. "I think I know what you are thinking about. I see what I can do in terms of information gathering." Que Er winked at Jin and immediately asked the System for the permission to transport her birds into military bases etc. The System acknowledged and opened various portals up for her to send the birds. They were based on Amura Rei''s prior knowledge on certain military school bases he had enrolled in to teach the students. It was not much, but it was still a start for the birds to gather information gathering. Even if the crows and ravens were not a native species of the world, which the System nor Que Er had prior understanding of, they could still hide and take information in without the need for food or sleep. (since they were magical in nature). Thus, it made them the perfect spies in an urban environment. And before she left the dungeon maker, she returned the side evolution card to Jin which he guessed it was overall an unnecessary move by him. Nonetheless, Que Er did appreciate the thought, just that she did not show it out publicly. Chapter 600 Kicked Ou After the conversation with Que Er, Jin returned to the shop instance where he met up with Yun when she conveniently gave him a plate of curry rice to eat. "Eat up, I know you haven''t had anything since you woke up," Yun said as she placed the food on the table. "Thank you, Yun. This feels surprisingly homely despite the crowd around." Jin said as he partook on the curry rice. While Lynn had changed and improved the curry rice recipe, Jin somehow felt nostalgic when he ate the System''s original taste. Jin could have eaten at home or in Lynn''s restaurant instance in a private setting, yet he felt a need to eat at the bar for needed extra inspiration on recreating the shop instance. He believed that by using this opportunity to sit at the bar, it could instil him with the perception of the customer and to experience what the customers might potentially have in mind. Yet, he did not go full incognito. Customers who recognised him greeted him when possible while the others merely mumbled from a distance and announced to their friends that was the ''legendary'' dungeon supplier who had defeated the Triad Rat Boss in one stroke. Although Jin had a keen sense of hearing, he could also tune it down with the use of his Maqi. So, the rumours did not bother him at all. Moreover, the boss got to show up in the shop instance once in a while, right? And upon finishing his meal, he decided to extend the Christmas Raid Event for an additional week upon seeing the pleads and requests from his customers via his phone. The amount of profit he received from the stunt he pulled off was tremendous, and the System predicted that the net profit was even sufficient to cover the cost of the Grand Feast. However, it noted that it came with consequences which led to the System suggesting to its User to revamp the shop instance. Jin had also felt the ''crowd'' even though the Tree Mall was still relatively new and customers were pouring in to see the new building, which was trending in the news and social media. "Ahh¡­ too bad I was way too busy creating the Tree Mall and not create any Christmas events to take advantage of the holiday," Jin said to Yun who was cleaning the plates. "Not exactly, you have been cooped up in the Dungeon Maker for a long time to prepare the Grand Feast, so you never knew what was happening all around the Tree Mall. You barred the System from letting information out, and hence I decided to not let information in too. Especially when you are focusing on your work. " Yun responded. "Most of your tenants are experienced store keepers. They knew what to do and continue what they had been doing for years. Even without you, Shen Si Fang had already organised a mini Christmas event to attract even more people to our humble Tree Mall." Yun added. "Odd for you to say the Tree Mall to be ''humbling'' in front of me. It''s supposed to be eye catching." Jin rebutted, and Yun shook her head. "You could have gone for some grand scale architecture to blow people''s mind, but instead, you went for a tree. It''s like you are defying the reputation of Shenzhen city of being a highly modern society. That itself is sort of humbling." "¡­Erm okay? Thanks?" Jin replied slowly, not knowing how to respond to a praise by Yun and while he prodded Yun for more information, she suggested him to go for a walk around the Tree Mall. "Perhaps, a walk will help you trigger something and hopefully an idea. Just like how your perspective changed for the Mecha World Invasion when you met up with Que Er." Yun stated as she shoo-ed Jin off. When the dungeon supplier got kicked out of the shop instance by Yun. Jin reluctantly looked around the place. To his surprise, the current rooftop garden on his Tree Mall was decorated with Christmas decorations and even had reindeer plastic statues along with the Panda stone Statues. The Pandas also had those Santa hats on them! Only through the System''s explanation, Jin then found out that Si Fang had gotten the committee to decorate not just the Rooftop Garden but the entirety of the Tree Mall''s interior. When the dungeon supplier went to the lower floors, there were modest Christmas decorations all over window railings. But what surprised Jin was that a Santa Hat was placed on the Panda Tian Gong Statue at the centre of the mall. Jin laughed at the absurdity of it when he realised that it was the System''s doing roughly about a day before Christmas Eve. "I totally did not expect you to do this," Jin said, and he could visualise System giving a smirk smile while it reasoned that it had to do Jin''s portion of redecorating. It was repayment of favour for Jin to secretly preparing the Grand Feast Christmas celebrations for the monsters. While Jin was walking around the mall, he happened to check on the past week reports. According to the statistics, an increasing number of people are coming to the Tree Mall for lunch and dinner. It also inadvertently increased the sales of Lynn''s Restaurant Instance, particularly when the lunch crowd wanted something more exquisite. Lynn did not heavily advertise her instance, but it was through the word of mouth that people knew the existence of her shop instance. So those who could afford Lynn''s food would not hesitate to climb to the Garden rooftop for those extremely appetising meals. At the same time, there were feedbacks from his store owners that the customers asked if the Tree Mall would be willing to have a dedicated private bus route service to charter them from the business centre district (which were a few stops away via the subway). Jin did consider it, but he needed to get buses or vans plus also the need to hire people with licenses. Fortunately, the System indicated that manpower was not an issue since the System can use the Farming Humans from the Pandafull service to operate the buses. Jin then remembered that licenses should not be an issue too since he had his¡­printed without going through an examination. "I will consider that option maybe in the new year," Jin said as he continued his tour around the Tree Mall, towards Si Fang''s caf¨¦. (Ironically, some of the customers who did not know his identity thought he was cutting the queue.) "Si Fang, thank you for decorating the place. I was kind of busy preparing my ehhhhh¡­ Dungeon instances." The Tree Mall Landlord said as Si Fang had his smile placed from one cheek to the other. "Boss Jin! Welcome to my store. Hold on for a while as I explain to my customers for a moment." Si Fang purposely went out of the shop instances and explain to his customers before returning to chat with Jin. He tried to apologise for cutting queue, and Si Fang rejected the apology. It was after all his right as the landlord. "And no! I should thank you instead! Thank you for restoring the place and bring even further business to us! Not to mention, having this kind of caf¨¦ is really a dream come true for me." Si Fang said as he offered Jin a seat behind the coffee counter. (Since the caf¨¦ was fully booked that there were no places for SI Fang to have a proper chat with Jin.) "What new instance have you created this time round?" Si Fang casually asked as he brewed a cup of tea for Jin to drink while he asked his other staff to look after the cafe business for the moment. "I am undertaking a massive project. Something that could possibly change the dungeon instance industry. Hahaha!" Jin laughed and as Si Fang who was giggling along suddenly took his phone out. "Speaking about changing of the industry, I am sure you heard about the National Dungeon Symposium? I recently read some news that it is going to be host in Shenzhen next year!" Si Fang said as he showed an email to his friend. Jin naturally knew about the National Dungeon Symposium, but he never had the chance to enter as part of the crowd because the tickets were sold out really fast. (Besides, they were rather expensive for a student back then.) "Yeah. Perhaps, I might buy the tickets this time around." Jin said to Si Fang, and the Caf¨¦ Boss almost choked. "Buy tickets?! No! I did not mean that. What about participating in it?" Si Fang asked with his eyes glittering with curiosity. Chapter 601 Refusing To Participate Of all a sudden, Jin felt his sweat slowly wetting the back of his shirt. Participating in the National Dungeon Symposium? That would basically be an open invitation to have his secrets possibly exposed. For not being a proper dungeon supplier. At the moment, he could get away with it mainly because Jin was able to divert such questions to the quintessential excuse of ''trade secrets''. However, if he were to join the National Dungeon Symposium, authentic high grade dungeon suppliers would have genuine questions for him. Even Ke Loong had his suspicions and assumed that Jin was using technology more advanced than the current prototypes. But Mr Know-it-All told him to trust Jin fully and work with him instead of doubting him. This ''blind'' trust was not without any support. Ke Loong''s Chief Engineer, Bo Ze had sent numerous workers under disguise to try out Jin''s dungeons, so they all could fathom and theorise how Jin''s shop. Unfortunately for them, they came out even more baffled and had only worked out assumptions on how Jin''s instances work to a certain extent. There were numerous missing holes in their theory which Bo Ze''s talented senior engineers could not figure out, but that did not mean that they were not secretly attempting to decipher it. Because in the end, they were hopeful they were able to reverse engineer what they had experience in Jin''s dungeon. All of it was to possibly rival Jin in the future despite Ke Loong insistence saying that they want to be partners. Ke Loong did want to be partners all for one reason. Upon seeing such Dungeon Technology, he wanted to own this by himself. That was why Sea Mesh CEO ordered his HR to mercilessly headhunt Jin''s researchers. If he could get the technological knowledge from Jin''s researchers, they would further push the research they had been doing. Sadly, they had a hard time finding them, and even their online database had no information on them. (Mainly because they do not exist in this world in the first place! Teehee!) Also, why let that particular dungeon technology stay in one corner of Shenzhen? Let Ke Loong handle it, and he would spread it to each and every intersection of China and probably the whole world! Up till then, Sea Mesh Company would be famous world wide and not to mention the profit! That was also why Ke Loong appeared very trusting and accommodating to Jin for the Portal Devices. He wanted to do everything to earn Jin''s trust, and even he could not get the Dungeon Technology, this particular Portal Device technology would soar throughout the world given its use and efficiency. However, Jin was not a small little town bumpkin. He knew that Ke Loong had plans to poach people like Ayse and had been wary. So by placing the portal devices in dungeon instances and monsters, it was not only to improve the security but to show the dungeon supplier''s dominance. This particular move made Ke Loong wary whether if Jin was starting to learn to be street smart or it had been that way all along, and merely pretended to be taken advantage of. At the same time, Kraft had suggested to Jin''s Head Researcher to take further initiative to aid her master. With the success of getting information on Ryuli, Kraft had passed Ayse a thumb drive with another version of Foxy. Just plug the thumb drive once into any of their PCs or laptops and Ms Foxy will worm its way into their servers with absolute stealth. "Two can play the game," Kraft said to Jin after the revelation of Mr Know It All as a potential spy. A spy for corporate businesses, for the government or foreign governments? Kraft did not bother that much, but for Mr Know-it-all to introduce an intimate business contact of his to Jin, Kraft would not be taking any chances in counter industry espionage. With all these events happening at the sidelines, Jin knew that participating in the Symposium might potentially bring him more harm than good. He had enough problems to deal with both in this world and other worlds so he rather not risk himself exposing too much at the moment until he had time and energy to focus on his main business at hand. "I will consider but most likely not going for the Symposium as a participant. More of an audience. I will prefer to see how the competition is like before entering. Maybe the year after?" Jin said to Si Fang politely. "Ah, that''s a pity. I was hoping you could rise even higher, especially when your dungeon instances are always the talk around the caf¨¦. Even without me going to your shop, I already know that you have an awesome Christmas Raid going on." Si Fang teased how great Jin''s dungeons were. "Perhaps, you and the other shop keepers could come and try it out. I can give you guys a free trial for the first round as a thank you for sticking through. Hahaha!" Jin said, and Si Fang did not dislike the idea. "Yeah, we could do that. By the way, are you available for supper tonight? We usually have a get together at Boxing Day as part of the Tian Gong Shopping District shopping community." Si Fang asked, causing Jin to look at his phone. "If¡­I am not too occupied with my dungeon making. Hahah! I will inform Lynn in case I could not be there." Jin replied unfavourable, making Si Fang a little disappointed as he wanted to JIn to participate in this special supper as a thank you for what he had done for the Tiangong shopping district. Jin could have abandoned the old store owners, he could have ignored the livelihood of the people in this place. Instead, he stood up against the bullies in this unfair society and carved a breathing space not just for himself but for the rest of the owners here. Si Fang had always thought that the owners were being too irresponsible for demanding much from the new landlord. Jin did not need to accommodate to the old store owners at all, but he still did it despite the fact that not many owners liked him initially when he came. Even when their business picked up indirectly from Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas, many store owners were jealous of his efforts. That was why Si Fang saw Jin more than a thriving business owner when he saw how unselfish the dungeon supplier cared to open up jobs for the rest to grow as well. If Si Fang were deep down honest to himself in that Ruby Rat Triad incident, he would probably save his friends and ignore the rest of the group store owners. Some might say that Jin was na?ve, but when Siu Fang and his friends gathered for some casual small talk, they discussed how the dungeon supplier had the foresight to keep the old store owners. One was to prevent former store owners to inciting possible vengeance, assuming that it was Jin''s plan to use the Triads to push the previous owners out of the place. The other reason was to create a debt of gratitude and at the same time a sort of repayment for the destruction of Tiangong Shopping District. Yet, Si Fang and friends clearly knew that the Triad had been aiming for this particular spot to create a casino in order to attract more cash into their coffers. However, the act of killing a Triad Boss had caused Jin to have unintended consequences as well. The news spread like a riptide through the underworld scenes, and a number of Triad Bosses close to Wo De Tian were seemingly unhappy that Jin was to be left untouched. And that was the absolute order by Mu Bing, the Triad Boss for the Prosperous Pigs as well as one of the elders in the Triad Circles. Because of this effect, Jin noticed that there were multiple requests of store owners without any branded names wanting to place a mark into the Tree Mall to cash in with the popularity. (The famous shopping brands were intentionally avoiding the Tree Mall as an order by their respective Triads.) For now, Jin decided to play as the ignorant to the multiple requests until he finds what he needs within the candidates for his Mall. (After all, there is only ''limited'' amount of space he could give out.) Upon seeing Si Fang''s disappointed look, Jin sighed softly as he knew that he did somewhat owe SI Fang for the favour of him decorating the Tree Mall for Christmas. "Alright, I promise that I will join for a while since I also like to hear everyone''s thoughts and feelings after working for a few weeks in the Tree Mall." Jin said with a crumpled smile. Si Fang knew that Jin was trying to be accommodating and thus the caf¨¦ owner tapped on Jin''s shoulder and thanked him for making time. Chapter 602 Boxing Day Supper The supper gathering was after working hours at Si Fang''s Caf¨¦ instance which all of the Tree Mall''s store owners arrived, carrying their very own boxes of surprises into his caf¨¦. Jin was neither the exception as he came with a box of food along with Yun, Lynn and Qiu Yue who were free enough to make it for the Boxing Day Supper. In the meantime, the store was handled by Another Jin in a Panda Santa Suit especially since Jin could split himself into two safely and within the premise of his Tree Mall. The rest of the customers were not too suspicious and only assumed that the Panda Santa Suit was either Jin''s employees or he himself. "Jin! Glad you manage to make it! I heard from Si Fang that you are too shy to appear right in front of us for making us pay for premium prices on the ingredients you sold to us!" Lai Fu, the owner for Offshore Sea Store Instance, exclaimed loudly and the food court owners were agreeing him wholeheartedly. "Lai Fu! You know I do not say this kind of things!" Si Fang said in a mild tempered tone which Lai Fu shook it off very quickly. He then reached for his box and took out beers and soft drinks for everyone to drink. Meanwhile, Si Fang and Qian Qian, owner of Reef Knolls Bakery Instance, were behind the coffee counter preparing desserts for everyone to eat while the Pyramid Food Court store owners brought piping hot leftovers from their store for everyone to enjoy. Most of them knew that they were having a supper gathering and thus ate only the minimum for dinner. Even Ke Ru, manager for the Panda Burger instance had brought some of her store''s specialities to share the love as well as limited Santa Panda keychains for everyone to keep as a memento. The Twins for the Weapon and Armoury Store, Bai Xin and Bai Wan had prepared a stack of limited edition of Jin''s Christmas Raid Dungeon shirts for everyone. Lai Fu even joked, asking if they had permission from Jin to spread those around. "They do not need my permission for every small thing. As long as they produce profit for me, I am fine with what they do with the store." Jin said, and Ke Ru laughed heartily. "As pragmatic as ever and yet, behind that fa?ade of capitalism lied a hidden layer of kindness." She said so profoundly Jin tried to refuse that praise hard. At that moment, Si Fang came in with plates of delicious looking desserts ranging from cookies to pastries. "I must echo my agreement with Ke Ru. If not for Jin, we would not have gathered together today in happiness and delight." Si Fang said, and Qian Qian nodded her head as she asked everyone to partake on the desserts. Lynn took a piece and crunched hard on the cookie. Immediately, she could understand the meaning of the Chinese proverb that there''s always a mountain taller than another mountain. "How did you manage to get the taste of ''this'' cheese to appear?" Lynn asked which surpised Qian Qian as she did not expect someone to know about the ''secret'' ingredient she used to enhance the taste of the cookie. "For you to sense that cheese must mean that you have some professional chef training." Qian Qian said, and Lynn nodded her head without reservation. Even though store owners knew about the dungeon chef, they always thought it was an exaggeration. Yet, Qian Qian instantly respected her for finding the taste of the cheese which she hid carefully in the myriad of sweetness within her cookies. Not only that, by being the Sub System User that specialised in cooking, Lynn''s cultivation had the ability to both enhanced and dull her sense of taste at the same time. It was to allow her to adjust the taste in her food not just for the regular customers but professionals too. Lynn knew she does not possess the Heavenly Chef Tongue which she could criticise every work out there by merely tasting it, but it was sufficient to point out the glaring mistakes she or her penguins made. Additionally, the ability to dull her taste proved to be useful too. That was because this was the flaw of any chef who possessed the Heavenly Chef Tongue. Even a near flawless cooked dish would spoil the chef''s appetite mainly because it''s not perfect. From there on, Qian Qian and Lynn began talking to each other along with some Food Court owners who want to learn a tip or two from the infamous Dungeon Chef. Meantime, He Rong and Yong De took out photo chips they bought from Lai Fu stores and that alone was enough to satisfy their insensitive palates. With their hands full of chips and nothing else, Jin decided to move towards them to discuss certain issues which he had requested the arcade owners to keep an eye on. It was mainly about the mini games and if Yong De and He Rong had any personal feedback upon trying the games. Yong De said that the card game was simple enough, but it was not complex to master, and thus he did not think it would attract too many hardcore gamers. "Its more for casual players since its a bit too gimmicky in nature. It will be hard to attract more people in the long run. If you can make the gameplay something similar to games like Gwennt, Heatstone or maybe the Shadeverse, there might be more players would be interested." Yong De suggested. "If we go with that kind of thinking, I believed Boss Jin''s subsequent concern would be that the game might become unoriginal. But Yong De is right. With just one pet, it limited the things one can do. And if it is turn based, it is even more boring for the younger generation. Maybe I don''t know, make it more active?" He Rong suggested. "Perhaps have two modes? One turn based and the other active action to accomodate the young and old?" Jin asked which the arcade owners nodded their heads to that direction. "Still, I think only having one pet kinda sucks¡­if you get what I mean. I have no variety in my options other than the battle cards that I have in my deck. And you had already close my options because I used that cultivation. What if I do not like my cultivation and only use my cultivation because I HAD to." Yong De ranted. "Sure, co op play will spice things up, but I''m like ''I want to try that Tiger Mini Pet too!'' that kind of feeling in my heart. Or maybe, I feel that Tiger playstyle suits me more than my current cultivation. Its a good head start to use their cultivation style as the first pet, but having additional pets will ultimately give you more profit too." Yong De spoke as he was obviously thinking of the Triad Tigers that had beaten him in the recent card battles. "I see, I get what you mean. Your suggestions were indeed valuable." Jin nodded as he took a stylus out and wrote his notes down on his phone. If anything, these suggestions could potentially the expansion of the core game that he needed. Chapter 603 Secrets Veiled in Plain Sigh While Lynn and Jin were busy discussing during the gathering by Si Fang, Qiu Yue and Yun sat down in a corner and enjoyed the mountains of good food in peace. Yun did not like to interact much mainly because she did not have much interest with other store owners. She only came because Jin asked her to take a break from all the work she had been doing for him. Jin also hoped she will interact with the other store owners, but somehow after the revelation of the System''s true identity, Yun had been rather ''docile''. It became even more apparent when Grandma Yuan revealed herself to Jin. While she still communicates between the customers, the System and Jin''s workers, the System-created ''relative'' had always been putting up a preoccupied face. It was as if she was thinking non stop about a certain issue and when Jin prodded about it, all he got was a defiant silence. "Why do you even bother to care? Don''t you have other things to do?" That was her standard answer for now. Although Lynn and Zeru had more luck in making her exude other emotions other than a stoic facial expression, they had no luck in getting her to explain. Thus, Jin could only hope one day she would open up. On the other hand for Qiu Yue, she got kind of bored sitting with the quiet Yun, so she subsequently interrupted Man Tang, the Karaoke Boss for the Meow Meow Karaoke Instance who was also in one corner of the cafe tower instance. There was nothing much but pleasantries at first until Qiu Yue asked about Man Tang''s expansion plans. At first, Qiu Yue did not know anything about the shady things that Man Tang did, but the latter assumed that Boss Jin used the Red Panda Cultivator as his lackey to learn more about her current predicament. Thus, when Man Tang talked more about the reduction of the shady deals she had been conducting, Qiu Yue was slightly taken aback and surprised. Yet, the Empire Building Sub System User did not raise an eyebrow and even managed to reply back as the Sub System conveniently filled her with the information needed to continue on with the conversation. "¡­That is why I might think of expanding doing more than just karaoke, seeing this might be the chance to break out of the circle. Your landlord is not charging much from rent other than maintenance and a meagre cut from my sales. That inadvertently increased my profit margin by a lot. If he maintained this but introduce other entertainment-oriented competitiors, I might have to think of things to increase my competitiveness instead of just karaoke." Man Tang said. "But you lack the ideas on how to expand?" Qiu Yue asked, and Man Tang was in a slight dilemma whether to say it out. "Since I am already in the karaoke business and with some of the triad members as regular customers, I was thinking of opening up a billiard instance, and at least separate the Triads and other normal customers away from them." Man Tang suggested a few other venues of profitable entertainment which Qiu Yue felt it was feasible. "That could work. It does not take much to make an instance like that from Jin if I am not mistaken, but surely that would not drastically increase your revenue, right? Instead, you might potentially be losing more at the start." "Erm yeah, but I do not know what else can I do. Besides, the Tiger Triads are holding this place secretly as their new turf, I might not be able to do much compared to last time." Man Tang shrugged her shoulders, thinking that the tigers will bring this ''triad neutral ground'' setting to an end. "I thought the Tigers were just giving protection and using the arcade to you know, ''wash'' their money with that game which Jin had created. They aren''t exactly taking this place for their own yet." Qiu Yue believed Jin would not give the Tigers reigned the site if they really asked for it despite the help he got from them. "Exactly. I do not know whether Jin would be liaising with the Tigers in the future, considering the things that I heard from the other Triad members." Man Tang added that she knew Jin was now an honorary member of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan. "There are many factors could happen, and it isn''t like the days past where it is an ambiguous area for the various Triad members to mingle even though it is usually just the same with people." Man Tang explained, and it got Qiu Yue slightly curious about the workings of the underworld. It seemed like this current society had even more of its secrets veiled in plain sight. "Still, I do not think Jin would want to be under the protection of the Tigers forever. He is more ambitious than what you think of him. That I can guarantee you." What Qiu Yue said suddenly struck an entertaining thought for Man Tang. "Jin wants to create his own Triad?" Man Tang chuckled when she proposed that particular idea out which made Qiu Yue widened her eyes and laughed along. "He CAN do that??" Qiu Yue questioned which Man Tang shrugged her shoulders but as a gesture of jest than an inability to answer. "I saw a number of teenagers who create their very own gangs and later subverted into a larger group due to them encroaching on their territory. Eventually, those larger groups were subgroups of a Triad. As for now, this place is still a ''free area'' if what you are saying is true, so the other Triads had no right to fault him if he ever creates something like that." Man Tang said as she chewed on a few snacks. "That is assuming that the tigers continued to protect this place unofficially." Qiu Yue replied which the Karaoke Boss nodded her head. "Yeap and Jin can grow his own ''security force'' regardless of size since this is his place after all." Man Tang stated bluntly which got Qiu Yue thinking. "However, that is assuming he has the money and clout to do so. Currently, I believe he only has the latter." "Because he killed the Rat Triad Boss? But I thought this piece of news was not shown in any headlines nor social media." Qiu Yue questioned as her body slowly gravitating towards Man Tang''s direction, showing more interest in this particular topic. "This is because you are looking at the wrong end of the social media. To those in the Triads, its big news. There are even Triad Bosses who are angry about the death of the Ruby Rat Boss although it seems to me there is a gag order going around. Not sure how, but it seems somebody had the influence to let Jin live some way or another." Man Tang added that she was initially wary of Jin''s plans of the Tree Mall because she knew how the Chinese Triads worked. She could have taken her insurance money from the destruction of her stall and run away. But when Jin called for everyone and announced that he wanted to help the previous tenants, she hesitated in calling him out a fraud. But the moment she saw him in person, she somehow saw a glimmer of hope that everything could actually be okay. Man Tang did not know why or how, but he seem to be as promising as how Si Fang had depicted him. Perhaps it was because of the stunt Jin pulled to create a gigantic tree had indicated that he might have friends that could potentially stop the revenge cycle in the Triads. Also, that unwavering stance when Man Tang saw Jin spoke with ambition made her feel slightly comforted. Thus, she decided to gamble and worked with Jin with this Tree Mall project of his. In any case, she had accumulated enough ''black'' money to run away if there was a need to. Now with the current discussion between Qiu Yue and her as well as the additional information she learnt about her new landlord, she seemed slightly more confident about staying on. "I see. But I am just wondering, and it might potentially be a tall order. Do you wish to aid me with recruiting members for Jin''s potential Triad group?" Qiu Yue casually asked, and it nearly made Man Tang throw her drink out. Chapter 604 Haggard Researcher "You what?" "Exactly what I said. Well, a bit less underworld but more of secretive in nature. I was thinking if we could keep this as a secret from Jin. A shadow task force in case Jin ever needs help if you get what I mean. In return, I can aid you in getting a bigger instance to you know¡­gather people and such." Qiu Yue began to whisper her intentions to her. "But I do not think you will want mere lackeys, right? I mean there is surely some of your cultivators who are so loyal to you that they could potentially aid whenever possible." Man Tang asked. "While I do agree with you, it will be better to have a force that could be used at any time possible. And yes, I do not want just worthless lackeys. If need to, I can provide the fees for training in Jin''s dungeons." "That means something like ex-police and military, people who have cultivation experience but possibly needed a better paying job or more flexible work time." Man Tang started to see where this is going. "Yeap. Given your connections, I am sure you scout some people out, and you refer them to me for an interview. In return, I will provide you with the upgrading of your shop instances for free as well as a scouting fee. If you do manage to gather them, I will provide the salary and a bit of management fees for you too." Qiu Yue stated, but Man Tang started to be a bit suspicious. "You aren''t just an employee? I thought Jin was the only one creating the instances." Man Tang asked with furrowed eyebrows. "Hahaha! I''m not just some employee. Its a tad complicated but things will be done." Qiu Yue replied as she placed her hands on the Karaoke Boss to comfort her. "You can be sure that I have the ability to exert some level of influence to ensure that our shadow force is secret. As for the upgrade instances, don''t worry too much. Despite his erm¡­ attitude towards you, Jin will be more than happy to create more business. Because in the end, a part of the profit does go to him." Qiu Yue said, and Man Tang roughly understood what she meant. "I see, well the deal is not set until I find someone for you, so I shall at least agree to this dealing for the moment." Man Tang said, and they both shook hands as a sign of agreement for the spoken trade. Separately, Jin met up with Yu Xiang who seemed to be holding onto a few plastic boxes and filling them with food. "Ah, Boss Jin. Good evening to you there and Merry Christmas." Yu Xiang said with a huge smile on her face, as compared to the last time when Jin spoke with her. Yet, she looked less dejected but seemingly more haggard. "You okay? Your black eyes seem worse than mine." Jin said, and they both laughed. "Boss, you sure? It seems yours seem blacker than mine even though it''s smaller. Or are you becoming a Panda?" Yu Xiang said as she inadvertently took a bite of the mini pastries. "I am packing some food for my friends back in the lab. They are working overtime because they seem to find a minor breakthrough with regards to the chi potion you loan us." "Seem to find? You not there with them when they found it?" Jin asked too blatantly, and Yu Xiang immediately rolled her eyes, wondering if the remarks were genuine or slightly sarcastic in nature. "I can''t find it when I am here, right?" Yu Xiang said, and Jin gave a bitter smile. "Sorry Boss, I get cranky once in a while when I delved too deep into my work. And they made the discovery the moment I stepped out to represent the store for Si Fang''s gather. There and then, they called me and told ME to bring extra food to them to celebrate. At least Si Fang was able to loan me these plastic boxes." "Heh, I can empathise with that to a certain degree. Erm..I mean the work. Don''t like to be disturb when I working on my dungeons. So how''s the working condition and the machines? I did try to procure the items you asked for." Jin questioned, but that statement somehow brightened Yu Xiang a lot. "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! Seeing that we have a chance to do research unhindered and with sufficient funds kind of scare my friends a little. It was a deal too good to be true. Especially when I told them, I can get whatever machines they want except their desired salary. Still, they flew to me like vultures hunger for a fresh corpse." Yu Xiang replied with a lighter tone. "And those machine orders, we did not expect to be in so quickly, allowing us to proceed to what we want to research almost as swift as possible." "Have you met my personal research staff as well or at least my Head Research?" Jin asked as he helped Yu Xiang to get to fill the boxes with more food. "Oh, ehh Ayse was it? Also, kind of curious why you need me when you have your own research stuff but meh, you paid our bills and research so no complaints here." Yu Xiang grabbed another bite of the sweet tasting chocolate cake fondue before giving her impression of Ayse. "That employee of yours is a terrible distraction to my male colleagues. But other than that, I find her insights rather interesting. Exchanged a few pointers and even systematically solve a dilemma question that we like to pose when meeting new researchers. It''s like a kind of litmus test to learn their intellectual level." The Lady Boss for Chinese Medicinal instance said before looking at Jin as he tried to formulate a proper response. "Sorry, if I offend you in any way, Boss." "Nope! Not at all. I think if you give me that question, I probably fail terribly at that litmus test of yours." "That''s great to hear. Usually, our sponsors will like to ehhh¡­ ''playfully'' try this question when we brought it up as a conversation, and we have to entertain them. Thank goodness you aren''t that kind." Yu Xiang said with a gentler smile. "Hahah. I kind of know the extent of my ability and do not wish to humiliate myself in front of you." Jin smiled back and hope that the minor breakthrough could lead to more. "Other than the research, how''re your parents coping with the new store?" "Ah, they know that the Chinese medicinal store is a niche area. They aren''t expecting much business. Thankfully, my friends and I were there to manage the western medicine front of the shop. Together, we earn decent enough, though it was definitely better than in that terrible alley." Yu Xiang replied as she finally finished packing the boxes and decided to chat with Jin a little while. "And before you ask if I need any help on that aspect, given the nature of your ¡­helpfulness, we do not need any help. In fact, that storefront could be considered as a breather for us whenever if we feel that the research was taking a toll." Yu Xiang replied before Jin could answer anything. "Erm¡­ Then I shall not keep your hungry friends waiting. Guess I await the good news in time to come." Jin said as he thanked Yu Xiang again for the update. "No. Thank you." Yu Xiang took a step backwards and gracefully gave a half bow as a sign of gratitude before telling Si Fang that she was taking her leave first. Eventually, the supper party went without a hitch, and everyone returned with a stomach full of good food. Yun was satisfied with the meal while Lynn brought back a few handy tips back home. Qiu Yue no doubt had achieved something which she did not expect while Jin had an overall understanding that the Tree Mall was doing significantly well without him meddling. He even got some great feedback in his notes which indirectly expanded the list of objectives by the System. Thus, with him back at his Dungeon Maker room, it was time to clear those said objectives. The first thing that Jin did was to summon Qiu Yue in order to understand the current situation of the Dungeon City Fortress and its future. At first, she thought her hidden plot was found out by Jin, but later she realised it was an excellent opportunity for her to get some things done for Man Tang. (Although she did get a bit irritated since Qiu Yue was about to lie on her bed to rest after such a great meal.) Chapter 605 Review of Dungeon Citys Defence The start of the meeting between Jin and Qiu Yue was rather productive (along with the leftovers they had from Supper.) She managed to convince Jin that Man Tang was looking to expand her instances to be more entertainment-oriented. She proposed for additional instances like billiards, bowling and even a cinema theatre which Jin felt it was viable and definitely money making in the long run. "She said that she wants to get off from the crooked deals that she had been doing. But in order to supplement her lost profit margins, she wanted more of this." Qiu Yue said which Jin agreed and already had ideas for those instances. "Sure. I will create those for her, but those additional instances won''t be cheap as compared to the first." Jin replied, and Qiu Yue nodded her head. "Definitely, she knew that the additional instances will definitely be more expensive than the initial ones as written in the contract. But she was hinting whether a discount could be given since she was asking for so much more." Qiu Yue lied through her teeth when she knew that she would be the one paying for her instances in exchange for Man Tang''s secrecy. "Haha, that I will think about that. Now let''s go to the main issue." Jin asked the System to call Moloch into the meeting and pulled out from the digital consoles and projected out a hologram layout on the table. It showed the current constructed buildings and sectors within the Dungeon City Fortress. "I trust you want to know about the defences more than anything else?" Qiu Yue as she looked at the hologram layout and expanded the entrance of the dungeon fortress city. As Jin''s city was built in a cave unlike compared to the humans'' towns and cities, there was only one way in or out of the area. Sometimes, Jin regretted he did not build something similar to a defensive fortress city like the dwarves in his board games. However, Moloch previously told Jin that those layouts were exactly how his former King Baal had created his underground metropolis. The very thing that protected the dungeon metropolis was high walls and with layers of it to prevent the attackers. "I bet when his army stepped into our territory, they would literally scoff at this place when the general in command knows how terrible ''defenceless'' this place is," Moloch said in a sarcastic way. While Jin still severely underestimated the urgency, Lord Moloch repeatedly guarantee him that King Baal will attack with his army the moment the shield barriers are down. "But there are no buildups of any massive monster army or whatsoever in the neighbouring areas based on the wide scans from the System," Jin said which Moloch shook his head. "You are not the only one who have portal magic. He has mages that can do that too -well, yours is basically a hundred times way more advanced than his, since you can travel across worlds. Anyway, out of point. Erm, yeah, the portal magic will bring in his armies to the entrance of the dungeon cave because King Baal never liked any deserters or mutineers no matter how small the crime was." Moloch explained but that suddenly made Jin panicked. "User there is nothing to worry about. Regardless of how highly sophisticated one''s portal magic can be, King Baal will always be teleported to the cave entrance." The System spoke out and Moloch concurred. The System later explained it is something similar to the laws of nature in their world. That was why Jin was previously teleported to Moloch''s cave and not straight to the dungeon treasure room or dungeon core room. "Can we look at this quickly and get over it for the day? I feel kinda sleepy." Qiu Yue, who was at the sideline listening to them talk, made her bored. Returning back to the discussion with regards to the defence of the dungeon''s entrance, it had already been filled with hundreds of clay statues as ordered by Jin. The manually crafted clay statues had already been thoroughly analysed by the System, and a factory had started to produce them with the aid of the Goblin Craftsmen. As the new clay statues were mass produced, Qiu Yue and Moloch who were the temporary mayors of the city had continued to utilised the goblin clay craftsmen'' expertise to correct the moulds by inspecting the quality for every batch of fifty. This way, each and newer bunch of clay statues would be more detailed through the moulding process while the System finetuned the methods to make it cheaper. The runes, on the other hand, was still a bit of a manual process but Jespa had managed to scout for a few Orc apprentices, and with a mix of lost technology by Ayse, they had managed to create a simple ''Animate Dead'' rune to be mass produced . Of course, the crafted rune by Jespa was still superior though she began to fear her work would eventually be lost to automation. However, Moloch convinced her that automating her craft would then give her the time to explore the effects of new rune combinations, or maybe craft new ones. Eventually, her increased depth of knowledge could never be outstripped by automation. Jespa hesitantly agreed to it, but when she did found out that she had more time for herself, she gave more freedom to the orcs. With the defences within 500 metres of the dungeon entrance secured, Jin looked at the other matters. The Pand-Atlantis City were in the final stages for Dome 1 and 2 while the rest were still in basic construction. However, the glass domes were readily secured, and along with the pipes and tunnels required for the underwater transportation network. Moloch had stated in his reports that all that was left was to pour seawater and procure possibly defensive sea creatures. He had recommended the Fishing World where he found the Deep Ones as well as the ocean water from there. Likewise, for the Floating City, each sector were all shielded with a gadget created by both Peppers and Research Team''s effort. A magical shield generator that used oil, magical crystals as well as Jin''s black sludges. The System estimated that a litre of black sludge was as efficient as 1 ton of oil. With it, the power generated will be able to hold and produce a magical force of five megatons for each of the platforms that were equipped with the Lost Tech inspired Magical Shield Generator. This was partly due to the experiments on expanding Peppers'' explosive powers. It had allowed Ayse to understand and apply her understanding onto a few Lost Tech theories, resulting in tremendous results of the revised production of the Magical Shield Generator and upgrades. However, she and her team believed that more can be done when the System had investigated that the efficacy rate to turn the black sludge into oil was roughly 4%. While both the System and Research Team knew it was not possible to get a 100% efficacy, bumping it up in the future to at least 20% would be a major breakthrough. In addition, they had to treat Jin''s black sludge as precious as gold. What if Jin one day does not produce the black sludge anymore? Therefore, they had been using oil as a substitute until they could improve the efficacy of the magical shield or find alternatives to the black sludge. Nevertheless, in the event of an offensive or defensive battle, the generators would automatically be switched by the System to use the black sludge. While the Dungeon Core could essentially protect the Dungeon Fortress City, Jin believed that the power it routes throughout the entire grid should only be used as the last resort for the magical shield generators to be utilised. This was mainly because the core would have its hands full powering up floating city and an underwater city. That was when Qiu Yue questioned Jin''s decision to retrieve the additional broken dungeon core. It was supposedly be used to power up a city wide barrier and used along with the magical shield generators or at least reduce the burden of the current dungeon core. That was when he begged to differ due to an email Ayse recently sent to him which he did not read until this morning. (Ayse did scold him in subsequent emails for not reading it any earlier.) He found that it could still be used for defensive manoeuvres but just not for mere shielding purposes. The Dungeon Core which Lord Wolte possessed had a hidden function which the System and Moloch did not know until Ayse''s research team accidentally stumbled on it while they deciphered the broken dungeon core. They eventually required Lord Wolte''s aid to activate it, and he told them that he knew about this all along. Only to not use it because of the lack of magical powers on his side. It was the ability to create phantom soldiers. Chapter 606 Phantom Soldiers Moloch pressed for more information, and so Jin called upon Lord Wolte to enter the discussion too as he was not too sure about the ability himself. Once a reigning Duke in King Baal''s ranks, the clanky metal anthropomorphic tank was delighted to see that he was in part of some seemingly important meeting especially with all the big shots around. "The Phantom Soldiers are as what they are. Ghostly kind of beings which can do damage and only be killed with magic. I used it once and damn, it brought swift deaths to the adventurers while I distracted their wizard." Wolte was excited to speak in front of everyone and continued to ramble on. "The Dungeon Core utilised the freshly dead souls and used them as to our advantage. The only problem about these phantom soldiers is that they are ethereal in nature and require a lot of soul essences to make one strong enough to hold a metaphysical body." "Therefore, I used this ability something akin to cavalry charging formation. I summon the phantom soldiers temporarily and cause havoc in the front lines of the adventurers, later disappearing five seconds later. That was enough to wound both their body and mind." Lord Wolte described the procedure and subsequently explained to the rest that the broken Dungeon Core he obtained, had previously controlled a graveyard of the Dungeon World. "Graveyards? There are graveyards in your world as well? I thought everything was recycled. I mean resurrected again and again." Jin then openly queried whether it had to do something about the Harbinger issue they brought about a long time ago. "In a way. It was introduced after the 2nd Harbinger Catastrophe and most Dungeon Graveyards are a place of desolation handled by Gravemancers. They are an occupation that siphoned soul essences in order to make sure that those monsters or even adventurers who did not have a place to belong¡­ehhh ¡­They give them a peace of mind." Moloch knew a thing or two about the Graveyards. "Yeah, and those monsters and adventurers can even go into suspended animation for say 5 years, and the Gravemancers who siphon their soul essences would return a majority of their soul essences as a transaction in terms of dungeon dollars. It''s all very transactional, but it also significantly reduced the chance of a Harbinger appearing." Lord Wolte added that adventurers who did this were looked down upon as outcasts, too incompetent to earn their living through dungeoneering. For the monsters, They acknowledge it was a desperate measure for those who did it since their society was based more than just meritocracy and being a competent monster. "Ahh..then with cash, they could find a place to stay and start anew or something like that?" Jin asked which both the lords nodded their heads (for Wolte, it was his turret.) "Guess it feels like our society." Qiu Yue sighed at the similarity and discrimination of their culture. "Anyways, as I was saying, the Gravemancers sell those soul essences to live as well by exchanging it with the dungeon core. Thus most adventurers and monsters respected the Graveyards as a neutral zone." Lord Wolte said and Qiu Yue realised where the story was going. "Yet, that did not mean they cannot attack it." Qiu Yue surmised, and Lord Wolte gave an approving grunt, which allowed them to conjure how he got this particular dungeon core. "So, what does this Graveyard thing had to do with this broken dungeon core?" Jin roughly guessed the connection but preferred to get a confirmation answer. "Dungeon Cores in a way can develop a sort of ¡­you could say attribute. Or in looser terms, personalities. A Graveyard Dungeon Core would no doubt be able to utilise soul essences better than the dungeon core that I was governing currently." Moloch stated that his Dungeon Core was significantly capable of making other materials, especially after its upgrade to Dungeon City Fortress. "So Lord Wolte''s dungeon core could make phantom soldiers, my dungeon core can make monsters or adventurers who die into ¡­mini treasure chests. Literal treasure chests" Moloch added that when an opponent dies, it had the chance of becoming a treasure filled with raw materials or items that the adventurer/monster was holding on. "I don''t exactly remember that happening when I was fighting with you," Jin asked as he tried to recall seeing any chest lying around. "That is because it was just a Dungeon Fortress. The treasures are all generated to the treasury room. Now, this is a city, it does not have a treasury room per se, but you can assign one, and those treasures will pop in there." Moloch said, and Jin immediately looked at Qiu Yue. "Understood. Loud and clear." Qiu Yue smirked when their eyes connected, knowing what both parties want. Lord Wolte, on the other hand, was a bit confused when the Red Panda Cultivator statement but he was ignored thoroughly. "Does treasure appear in King Baal''s treasury room too when its army killed our comrades?" Jin questioned once again, which Moloch shook his head. "If it is a defensive fortress setting, yes. Because it is made that way, both parties only had two definite outcomes. Win or lose. So, when the attacking army lost, they received resources too, just not much and those come from the coffers of the Dungeon Fortress." Moloch answered and later added on that City setting was slightly different. "However, for us, it''s of a different predicament. Cities are not meant to besieged on a daily basis like fortresses because the aim of invading armies for cities was to fight for territory, rather than resources. Hence. cities earn rewards from invading armies because they needed the resources." "Other cities would have their own unique attributes too, but not many have the similar attribute as mine since we converted this into a city from a fortress dungeon core. But this brings a flaw too." Moloch said with a lower, slightly depressed tone. "Lesser resource regeneration as compared to a Dungeon City fortress?" Qiu Yue, who had to study a lot to know what she was governing in the future, gave an answer she was hoping that her readings paid off. "Aye. That is why it''s also good in a way that the System took over half of the ownership. It aided a lot, and the incoming assault would definitely prove to be a bountiful supply for us too." Moloch replied. "Okay, and I think we sidetracked a lot from the main conversation. If Lord Wolte said that the phantom soldiers needed a lot of soul essences to make a metaphysical being, how would it be a good thing for us?" Qiu Yue inquired, and Jin laughed. "I do not know how to say this, but it was a blessing in disguise to have the foresight to make those clay statues?" Jin did not directly answer her question, but she managed to figure it out. Those phantom beings the dungeon core produces upon the deaths of the invading army could be used to animate the clay statues and made them more potent. "I never think of that. Would that make Jespa''s runes obsolete?" Qiu Yue asked as she looked into the detailed hologram to see the variation of clay statues in the area. "Nope, it was also because of Jespa''s ''Animate Dead'' runes that made this combination work. Ayse research team had managed to put the mass produced basic ''animate dead'' rune and the clay statue into test while using Lord Wolte''s broken Graveyard Dungeon Core. It worked spectacularly, and the System was the one controlling it without a hitch." "That means we have a reproducible fodder army!" Moloch was delighted, and the other two System Users were holding their laughter at the Minotaur Lord''s odd choice of words. Chapter 607 Porkcupine-B After focusing on the entrance, Jin started to look at the other parts of the cities as he reviewed the defences of the floating platforms. An overhaul of the Agriculture Sector 1 and 2 was proposed by Weslie, the Scholar of the West. Based on the System''s predictive analysis, Weslie''s plans increase the overall output by at least 200%. Still, Jin had decided that to place that priority in the further phases since the opening of the Dungeon City Fortress was more critical. At the very most, he would play the ''demand and supply'' card if the store owners at his Tree Mall would to request for more of his food stock. The overhaul would be a significant renovation of both sectors. Weslie had proposed that sub dungeon instances be used for the animals to better handle their rearing needs. This would undoubtedly increase the Jin''s overheads significantly since he had to build a server as well as placing a portion of the System''s processing capability to handle the rearing of animals in the Dungeon World. However, she continuously emphasised that the animals needed the utmost care to provide the best quality of meat. At the same time, Weslie was very curious about the cultivation ability of animals in Jin''s Earth. She noted that the meat''s quality was indeed more satisfying with the spiritual chi flowing throughout the animal. (Of course, the way to cook it matters too but the ingredient always play a part.) However, it was deemed inefficient to rear cultivated animals as they could not meet the demands unlike the use of giant monsters from the Giant World. That was where Half Ghoul Lord Derek''s research of combining animals or plants into monsters might have an impact of Weslie''s plan. Therefore, Jin called upon Derek and Weslie into the dungeon maker room to have a proper discussion while Lord Wolte quietly (or as quiet he could be) look through the defence layout of Jin''s city. Weslie was a bit annoyed that she was summoned out of nowhere when the scholar felt that she had some ideas with regards to the vital ''instrument'' for Operation Pied Piper. But when she saw Derek and Jin in the room, she controlled her temper a little. "Sorry to disturb both of you and without any advance notice." Jin apologised when he noticed the expressions on their faces. They quickly shook their head and asked what the matter was. "While I had set the priority to the Agriculture Sectors overhaul in the future phases after City''s opening, I need some input and clarification on the overhaul. Particularly on the research, you were working on Derek." "Ah, the fusion research? Yes. With regards to that, I had a few things to announce. Firstly, I can say that the research had a partial success." Derek said, with a big smile on his face. "One of your giant porkcupines had been infused with vegetables, mainly broccoli and its individual spikes had grown to a broccoli plant. This increased the feasibility of it being a source of vegetable and meat at the same time." "That''s great to hear but since you said its a partial success, what is the bad news?" Weslie asked in a curious manner. "I read on your request about the animals with natural cultivation in Master''s world. So I had tried to ¡­ehhh inject the cells of Porkcupines and Grade 1 pigs together, and see if they could be cloned and grow. To my surprise, it worked, but it seemed that the pig''s cells ¡­in a simpler term, overpower the cells of the broccoli modified porkcupine." Derek started to explain. "So the in vitro fertilisation worked? Wait, before that, I am prying a little into your past. You a scientist or something? I never really thought about it despite your fascination in broken body parts and fusion of these food stock Jin asked, and Derek''s lips curled. "Was a life science student in university before I got a job in as a bank analyst. The pay was sadly more lucrative ." Derek added, and Jin vaguely remembered his world was similar to his. "Anyways, The porkcupine''s broccoli grew more vibrantly since it had some form of cultivation. I still do not know how it worked, but hey, it works! Guess sometimes all you need is a bit of magic dust to play the part." The Half Ghoul Lord was delighted to possess some magical powers to perform this miraculous act along with the scientific knowledge he had. "Don''t tell me you scrapped your skin or something to make those magic dust." Qiu Yue shuddered at the thought which made Derek laughed heartily. "That''s a good one Ms Qiu Yue. Perhaps it might have happened when I was not attentive. I shall keep a lookout in the future." Derek replied when he continued on with his story. "But because of the activation of its cells to allow cultivation, I hypothesised that the porkcupine became more violent. I mean it can even shoot out Broccoli projectiles that appeared like mini missiles." "You must be kidding me," Jin said, and Derek knew that only seeing is believing. So, he asked the System to create a temporary area to hold the cultivated broccoli porkcupine to demonstrate its powers. Suddenly the place which Que Er used to demonstrated her new raven powers was transformed into a gigantic platform which the Mini (still giant) Porkcupine was rampaging around the moment it got teleported. Derek then asked the System to produce multiple dummies where the Porkcupine could perform its attacks. True enough, broccolis were shot out of its back, and it even had the power to manoeuvre around like a heat seeking missile to damage the dummies around it. Not only that, when more dummies appeared to see what else the extent of the porkcupine''s ability, it even had a move which Derek was never seen before. A stem of broccoli stood among the rest of the broccoli on its back as it started to grow longer larger and larger to the point, the tall stem was not able to hold its own weight of the ''umbrella'' of the broccoli. As it falls, the porkcupine grabbed it and used it as a blunt pole. Every time the umbrella portion of the broccoli hits the dummy target, it seemed to explode a burst of chi energy towards it. While Derek could vaguely recognise the significance of the attack by having the dummy blowing up in front of them, Jin and Qiu Yue could see how dense the chi energy was. Thus, Jin quickly took his phone up and requested the System for its attribute. The phone promptly activated the monster app and revealed to Jin that the porkcupine was at least a Grade 2 Peak. "¡­Had it been rather violent recently? How about its diet?" Jin asked, and Derek said that it always wanted to smash the cages apart and the System had to use a stronger grade cage to contain it. "A Grade 4 Stage had been used, but the System did not expect the exponential rise of its grade. Food given were of the standard high quality meals System give to the porkcupines in Sector 2 for rearing." "Oh my god, then this is indeed a miracle find. Derek, is this the only genetically modified porkcupine?" Jin asked which Derek mentioned that he had a few more ready samples in the ice in case this did not work. "What do you mean it did not work? It worked perfectly well! I am already thinking about how succulent the meat will be." Qiu Yue said out loud to everyone as she leaned forward. "Won''t it be funny to use these pigs as the perfect practice training for the people low in cultivation grade? Or at the very least, train our monsters up with this especially for those that do not have a dungeon role yet?" "That could potentially be a good idea after all." Jin nodded his head with delight. Chapter 608 Gods and Demons Weslie was very impressed by Derek''s research that it rendered her severely speechless throughout the most part of the reveal. It was then she broke out of her daze and asked whether if the ''fusion'' of cells were only to certain species or could Derek had mix and match randomly. "I did not consider such options. Guess, I based it on logical instinct? I took the species most similar to the monster found in the Giant World and combined them. I never tried considered combining like Jin''s Pigs with broccoli, but even if I do, I believe it will fail." Derek replied, and Weslie wondered why since he could do it with the broccoli, porkcupine and subsequently the cultivated pig specimen. "I think it had something to do with the laws of nature. Like how a human can never impregnate an ape because we have 23 chromosomes, they have 24. To put it bluntly, there is already a system in place, and a certain order had to be met." Derek try to give a reasonable and sound answer to Weslie. "However! What if it is from another world? I am deducing that the worlds that Jin travelled are from a separate timeline, or maybe a separate dimension. Thus, the rules and order of that dimension do not apply to Jin''s Earth laws of nature. It''s just like how the Dungeon World had its set of rules." "I guess what support your hypothesis is the close and yet distinct similarities between my world and yours?" Jin asked and remembered how he recognised the ruined Shanghai tower when he caught the zombies. "Indeed. There is no way in chance that the very same Shanghai tower can be built the same way in two different worlds when both of our worlds had not reached a technology level capable of transiting space and time." Derek said until Weslie recalled what Derek noted previously. "Then what about those creators you talked about. Those God like soldiers?" Weslie asked, and Derek could not make heads or tails to that argument. Only Jin who knew bits and pieces of information could see a connecting picture. "The plane of gods and demons¡­.? Wolte, you said the demons are from a dimensional plane right?" Jin shouted at Lord Wolte, who was quietly snoozing after going through the battle plans. "Huh!? Yes, Master! The plans are fabulous!" Lord Wolte got up and tried to lie through his teeth which Jin ignored and repeated the question for him. "Oh, that. Yeah, all Gods came from the same sort of dimensional plane similar to us." Lord Wolte embarrassingly came forward and told them more to make up his snoozing during the meeting. (After which he stared at Lord Moloch who did not aid him but instead sniggered at him.) "Those gods manifested however they like and changed their appearances like us. They loved to ''save'' people the way we like to kill people. In the end, it''s all about control. The only difference is that we are honest to ourselves, and many did not like us as much as those sugar coating salesmen." "That is a rather interesting perspective to take in." Qiu Yue chuckled when she thought about Lord Wolte''s description of Gods. "It''s true. To us, Gods and Demons, worship can come in various forms. Acts of blasphemies are on the same side of the coin as acts of faithfulness. Our followers themselves wish to copy us -or in a more glorifying term, illuminate us in their acts of desires so that they could portray themselves as the gods or demons which they worshipped." Lord Wolte preached. "Is it because people like priests want the ability to control or influence people like the way gods do?" Derek asked, and Lord Wolte shook his head. "It is something even more simple¡­more primitive." Lord Wolte gave them a chance to try and guess, but only Moloch responded. "It is because it made them feel good." "Exactly." "System will like to remind that the meeting had once again digressed from its original objective." The System suddenly spoke out, and everyone felt a little embarrassed. "Looks like we always go out of topic." Qiu Yue, however, did learn a lot within this hour that she had forgotten she wanted to sleep. Perhaps the curiosity got the better of her. "Where were we? Oh yes. So Derek, continue to monitor the modified porkcupine and get Weslie to aid you in it. As much as we do not know the species well enough, its good to monitor it to get more information. Also, try and raise the other few that you put in ice as well. I like to have a better sample size and a better understanding before I recreate the Agriculture Sector 2 to place them with sub instances without too much changes." Jin said, and they both nodded their heads. "With regards to Weslie''s proposal to Agriculture Sector 1, I will discuss a bit with Gold for his opinion when he is free. Right now, I think the food stock from Sector 1 is moving along very nicely with the robot crawlers automating the planting and harvesting. Ke Mi''s music had improved to give them the required magical energy to improve their taste." "Not to mention how strong she had become. Just a four minute song is enough to accelerate the growth in conjunction with Time Compression magic placed in Sector 1. Though I wonder if she ever grew older." Qiu Yue asked, and System corrected her opinion. "The System only used the time compression magic if there are no monsters around to tend it. Thus, Ke Mi is not subjected to any effects of time compression." The System stated, and suddenly it made Jin concerned about himself. Would he get older in no time? "Time is a complex factor but based on System''s analysis of User, the System had reasoned that User does not have anything to fear. The balance of User was not affected due to the constant usage of both time magic. User used time dilation magic to create dungeon instances but at the same time, the Sleeping Capsule which utilised time compression magic had compensated the time he slowed down." "That is messed up. I do not even know how the math worked out." Weslie said which Derek concurred. "As long as the System deemed that the User is fine, I all good. We can''t have him dying on us with so many projects on hand." Moloch commented, and the rest laughed except for Jin. He was the only one who knew that he had too much in his hands. Chapter 609 Fortress Knight Golems Once Derek and Weslie were dismissed from the meeting, Jin moved onto reviewing the industry sector, which was still relatively unruffled. Most of the workload still centered in Industry Sector 1 with the mass production of clay statues and the other defensive equipment as per Lord Moloch''s guidance. Industry Sector 1 also handled the construction and design of Sandroku Golems. For an amalgamation of metal pieces whose humble beginning was to be an explosive hauling machine against the Ogres, it subsequently became an enhanced figure of mechanical greatness by the brains of Orcs and Gobs. The System even stated that it could potentially rival a Mecha Worker that dealt with specific construction uses. Recently, the Goblin Mages and Orc Engineers had been creating prototypes of a defensive Sandroku Golem, aimed to be a powerhouse against the various types of oversized monsters that King Baal was going to throw at them. They had perused Amura Rei''s blueprints and worked out a few modular types of equipment which would help to build a Guardian Mecha. As it was meant to defend the city, the mage and engineers placed more armour to increase its durability in combat. With the advent of improved Sandroku Golems, that also meant that they are not going to fight fair. King Baal might have the numbers, but Jin currently had the technological edge against them. Submachine guns, missile launchers and other assault weapons were enlarged based on Hou Fei''s weapon blueprints to fit the new golems, and they were reproduced as such in Sector 1. Meanwhile, Hespesta, the Goblin Blacksmith had already began building melee weapons as well as automated crossbows and arrows for the first batch of defensive Sandroku Golems which later Jin nicknamed them as Fortress Knight Golems. (Since they were in a Dungeon City Fortress, the name was rather apt, and Moloch liked it as well.) But because of their bulky build, the Fortress Knight Golems had lots of flaws. (Considering they were the first few iterations of the prototypes, it was normal.) The first on its list was their engine. The motor they used was a replicated Lost Tech that was converted to be constructed with Earth''s raw materials to save cost, and that itself provided restricted mobility to the Fortress Knight Golems. (Which incidentally reinforced their names further.) Not to mention, their battery pack could only last them at most half an hour each, and even with spares, it would be a strain to the sub-par lost tech motor should they wish to pursue their enemies. Therefore, ranged firepower and defence were used to make up their flaws in mobility. The first version of Fortress Knight Golems was equipped with anti ballistic composition armour from Rei''s blueprints. It was designed to stop a gigantic bullet in its tracks. While the System was unable to buy the raw materials required from their Mecha World due to their rising costs, it had analysed a few of the raw materials obtainable in the Goblin World which match similar parameters. Hence, the modified armour was built at a cheaper cost but gave lesser protection than the supposed set of armour. The modified armour was not as effective according to the System''s review since it did not meet blueprint requirements, but Moloch had tested it, and he saw some satisfying results. He had utilised a number of varying weapons he knew King Baal had in his arsenal (After all, Moloch had once served under him.) From arrows to a crude ballista shot, the armour plating was able to hold up. The Lord Minotaur also tested it out against an advanced level fire spell and the Fortress Knight Golem was able to fend it off with a shrug. (or actually several shrugs) Even though it seemed invincible, it is still a combination of metal chunks which the goblin pilots were piloting. Thus, there were concerns by the Orc Engineers about the use of lightning spells which could render potentially render the golems useless or at the very least its internal systems. That was when Moloch chuckled and asked if anyone fought in the northern frontier battle of Gob Gob Bu. Only one was raised his hand, and Moloch inquired if they remembered a tank able to tolerate an electrical based energy blast. "I vaguely recalled something like that. The officers were panicking that the Lost Tech equipment was not working as intended." The Orc Engineer said which made Moloch grinned. "That is because there are magic resistant charms which Master Jin and his other minions were able to create. Let me worry about the Golem''s inherent weakness. Continue to work on improving our golems." Moloch replied and swore to the rest not to worry about its weakness to electricity. And improvements, they did. The Orcs and Gobs had managed to overcome the energy consumption issue by creating an electrical outlet which a thick, durable electric cord could be utilised that the Fortress Knight Golems could be plugged into a stable source to fight. With a stable energy consumption, golem pilots did not have to worry about the power to their engines and fight to their fullest. It would be one less issue to worry during combat. They could also potentially be plugged into mobile electrical generators which could be transported around by a pair of standard Sandroku Golems. Otherwise, for the Fortress Knight Golems guarding at certain chokepoints, the System had asked Moloch to install sufficient electrical power points in the places where the enemies could potentially flood in. Even if the enemies don''t ''naturally'' move to those areas, the military commanders will make sure they do. And speaking of Military commander, Hou Fei was the overall in charge, and the auxiliaries would be Qiu Yue and Moloch. Jin had already passed Qiu Yue the portable tactical machine, so she had been practising on it via simulations created by her Sub System as well as some mini live exercises with the battalion she was bestowed with. They were none other than the orcs who assisted with the construction. Most of them took turns to take part in the live exercises which Qiu Yue had commenced within the Military Sector 1. However, she did not do it without the help of Orc General Nubwort. Their general knew that his underlings would not die and hence, they were subjected to the strictest combat training the orcs had ever since. Some of them who were considered special forces previously felt that Nubwort''s training was worse than the living hell they been through. They had no doubt that the title Black Disaster was earnt with much brutality. On the other hand, the three sons of the Goblin General had their own military platoons as well. Previously, the goblin soldiers were aiding with the construction as a way to keep fit. But their main job was military duties when they signed the contract with Qiu Yue. Hence, they were exempted from construction the moment Military Sector 1 was established as the Goblin Soldiers assisted with the base''s logistics until everything was set up. Now with the military base up and running, the trio made their military platoons join Nubwort''s training ''resort''. Furthermore, they did not abandon their men as they stripped their officer ranks in front of their goblins soldiers and joined the practice too. With the goblins added into the mix, Nubwort did what he was taught through these weeks in Jin''s ''captivity''. Instead of pitting Orcs against goblins, he had mixed the groups up, making it pretty even in terms of team size and variation. True enough, he saw tactics he never knew his Orc leaders could take, but he did not say a word of praise to them and instead, made them work harder. When everyone was trained to the degree that Nubwort found it suitable, Qiu Yue then started to incorporate the Fortress Knight Golems into their training exercises and later challenge Nubwort to a battle of wits. There were inter sector fights, intra sector fights and even simulated fights at the entrances. (Of course, they did not use the real dungeon cave entrance. The System created teleported them to a temporary dungeon instance for them to test it out.) As much as Qiu Yue was surprised with Nubwort tactics, thinking he would be more of an aggressive straightforward general, the Black Disaster learnt even more unconventional styles of tactics from Qiu Yue which broaden his horizons even further. At this point, if the Orc General still felt any regrets being under Jin, he believed his father would rise from the dead and personally end his life for being ungrateful. Chapter 610 Outsourcing Work Although Jin now possessed advanced Golems and competent soldiers at his disposal, he did not think of discounting standard military defences. This was primarily because the first few hundred metres of the entrances were restricted. He was not able to fill it with clay statues and it sort of bothered him to the point of mild paranoia. Moloch explained to him that it was an open ground designated by the Dungeon Cave itself for the invading armies to assemble. Because of this, it prompted the dungeon supplier that he might potentially lose the element of surprise of getting the clay statues to attack on sight against any invading armies. The Dungeon Core had affirmed that the few hundred metres of the entrance were not under its jurisdiction which the System had no way to tweak the rules of the Dungeon Core. Therefore it was unable to allow Jin and his minions to place any personal property in the open area. Even if they do, the ground would naturally corrode anything that was in its path, as if Lady Gaia of the Dungeon World did not allow any defilement of her land. Hence, Jin decided to be more assertive in his surprise tactics should King Baal invades. The dungeon supplier had ordered the goblins to transport the artilleries he used in the Goblin World to the Dungeon World. Those WW2 artilleries would be reused to aimed at the direction of the open area, which was at least three hundred metres wide. As for the next couple hundred of metres that bordered the ''restricted'' zone, it was massively cramped with the clay statues, waiting to pounce on the disarrayed army when the artillery bombardment begins. Flak guns were also brought into the Dungeon World to counter King Baal''s air forces which Moloch described it as one of the most offensive superior troops in his disposal. However, the Minotaur Lord had seen how those flak guns worked, and those wyvern riders would definitely be of no match towards Jin''s air defences, a scene Moloch was personally dying to see. Other than that, Qiu Yue did not wait too long to get the approval from Jin for the goblins to create the M4 Sherman Tanks. Regrettably, most of the engineers Qiu Yue had contracted were already busy with either the construction of the city or the production of the golems. So, she had decided to outsource it to the goblins and orcs in the Goblin World. The adventurer''s guild manager, Zhi Nu had placed an urgent job notice for any adventurers willing to earn a quick buck to come forth. Since Qiu Yue had provided Zhi Nu with a standard stack of contracts which, when filled up, the manager would be able to reveal the details and open a portal for them to enter a restricted factory zone to begin work immediately. A few of the experienced engineers on site would teach them how to assemble the final parts of the tank which an abundance of manpower, brute strength and to a certain degree of precision. Of course, the System had provided the necessary tools and machinery to lessen the workload of these temporary workers, so the assembly was not the main issue. It was the quality checklist that needed to be cleared and subsequent logistics after the tank assembly. The transportation of spare parts like caterpillar tracks, armour plating and other components into various outposts required manpower, and that was where the adventurers came into play. And as the Orc adventurers assisted in doing the manual labour of transporting, the goblins were assigned with less strenuous tasks such as filling ammunition and stock taking. (The humans did a combination of both.) Manufacturing of the ammunition was simple for the System to do, but the filling of the ammo clips required time and energy to be wasted. Although the process could be automated, it needed more investment in advanced machinery which the System felt it was a waste of money at this point in time. Thus, those goblin adventurers with deft hands were suitable for such jobs. The pay was good for the adventurers, and it was extremely beneficial for the System too. The conversion for the dungeon dollar to the Goblin World''s coins was like exchanging British pounds to a currency of a poorly developed country. The System was saving a lot of money by using manual labour instead of the use of automation. In addition, many if not all of the adventurers hardly complained since the completion their daily tasks came with a free meal cooked by the Penguins. Those who wished to earn more money would be allowed to sign a separate contract and help with the construction, but those contracts did not guarantee them any additional benefits other than monetary compensation, unlike the goblins which Qiu Yue had first contracted. (Fortunately, their contracts did cover them for death and injuries, which was why a number signed up without hesitation.) With a fresh workforce, the Dungeon City Fortress was moving to completion even faster than before. Most of the defences were on par to a minimum standard, and Jin decided to text Hou Fei if he was missing anything else. Though Hou Fei was a Panda Remnant which could be ordered at any time by Jin, the Astral Panda cultivator still felt a certain level of respect should be given. That was why he requested Hou Fei to come within the next week or so to have a final inspection and if there were any loopholes that needed to be filled. Else, the only thing left in the Dungeon City agenda was the Pand-Atlantis. A series of high rise Condominiums were constructed within the Domes 1 and 2 as shown the hologram layout along with the assortment of amenities planned. Unlike Qiu Yue who loved the complex and intricate layout of the Glass Dome 1, Jin was nauseated by it. He remembered why he did not choose civil engineering back when he was in university. However, he did recognise how much effort Qiu Yue had put in. The details were slightly minute, but each of them had its own purpose as well as why it was placed that particular way. Through the few years Qiu Yue was in the urban redevelopment programme during her stint, she had access to different building layouts as well as the basic stuff like the roads and piping systems. Thus before she officially quit, she did something similar to Ayse where she stole data from Ministry with the help of Kraft. Unfortunately, Kraft did not have Foxy back then, but the data security system was so elementary that a piece of customised spyware was sufficient. All she needed was time to transfer the data into the thumb drive. Similar to Foxy, Kraft''s customised spyware left no traces behind nor signs of intrusion, so no one ever suspected her anything. Still, Kraft was also blessed that he now had Foxy when he wanted to conduct counter espionage against Sea Mesh. The System noted that the data collection from Sea Mesh was somewhat faster and more frequent, indicating that the database was robust but not as groundbreaking as the secret servers the Chinese Military Intelligence used. And unlike the Chinese Military intelligence incident, Kraft did not programme the second Foxy to terminate and instead, allow it to continue to stay in the shadows to comb for new data while it learned how to counter the latest security patches. It was an evolving computer virus which Kraft eventually hope that it could potentially blackout their entire servers if there was a need to. As for Qiu Yue, the stolen Ministry database gave her a plethora of information which she used the Sub System to sieve out the most optimal plans. She then fused and combined the most functional layouts together to create her dream version of Pand-Atlantis. It was fortunate that even high rise building blueprint designs were in the stolen data, and that was when Qiu Yue recalled a law was made during her early days interning in the Ministry. With that introduction of the new law, every construction company ought to send a copy sample of the housing plans. Be it existing housings or future confirmed bids, everything must be given to the Ministry of Urban Development as a record. This new law occurred in response to a major accident where an entire row of high rise apartments collapsed because of inferior construction materials. (The Triad Clan responsible for the company was severely reprimanded.) So in order to hold future construction companies responsible, the Chinese government implemented the new law, resulting in thousands of housing plans to be upload into their database. The number of overtime hours spent just to upload and index the data was a complete waste of time in Qiu Yue''s opinion. Yet now, because of the hard work she had done previously when she was an intern, Qiu Yue had access to the most comprehensible database of housing blueprints the country had. Naturally, the Sub System did pick and choose the best housing plans to best fit the Pand-Atlantis layout which subsequently Qiu Yue spent nights perfecting the formulae. That was partially why she was grateful for Moloch for taking over the command of the city''s construction. Contrary to the time when she was a salaried worker, Qiu Yue was now able to create the dream district she had ever wanted. All those flaws in the Shenzhen districts due to old infrastructure, budget constraints or management disapprovals were no longer an issue when working for Jin. Well, there were budget limitations, but Qiu Yue refused to acknowledge it, which indirectly cause Jin to suffer from the shortage of money to build the Tree Mall. Yet Jin and Qiu Yue did not know about this. They each believed that the shop was not earning enough. Only the System knew about everything and decided to keep its silence. But hey! Everything seemed to work out just fine. ???? Chapter 611 Expectations of Glass Dome 1 As it was Qiu Yue''s precious pet project, she made sure that Jin listened to all the nonsense that she rambled out. (After all, she had to listen to his for the other parts of the meeting.) "Alright, alright. Fire away. I like to know what you had in store for us." Jin surrendered and got to hear what she what to say. "Before I carry on, I like to clarify on a few things on the record. From the past visions of this city, you eventually want Pand-Atlantis as a place for the cultivators to stay, right? Or do you wish to change to something similar to a hotel style kind of feel? Because, at this point, I can still make some amendments to suit your goals." Qiu Yue inquired as she liked to know whether would Jin regret his decision. But ultimately, the Empire Building Sub System User did not want all her and the monsters'' work to go to waste. "I am not entirely sure, to be honest. Initially, I wanted people to have a place to stay, especially for those who felt that the housing prices are too painful to afford. But when you mentioned hotel getaways, I feel that the scenario was entirely possible as well." Jin said, but Qiu Yue punched him at his arm. "Make up your mind! That answer you gave is too wishy washy!" Qiu Yue pouted as she hated this part of Jin badly. He always wanted to have a compromise between solutions while that kind of attitude worked for several cases of his, it was not entirely the best way to work in life. Sometimes, Jin have to choose a side and now was one of the few times. With the remaining budget and time left before the opening of the city, his decision was critical in deciding how Glass Dome 1 works. The forceful reminder by Qiu Yue did eventually shook Jin a little. For once, Jin quietly sat down and stared at the hologram layout of Glass Dome 1. He did mention that he wanted to create this as a place for the cultivators to stay. But there were other thoughts in his mind too. After all, this was a city in the Dungeon World, and it was also his chance to possibly make it famous. How so? If King Baal''s army did invade Jin''s Dungeon City Fortress, news would spread like wildfire how the almighty King Baal suffered a crushing defeat. After the sounding victory, Jin could send out a call of arms to both monsters and adventurers. This potentially leads to an influx of immigrants hoping to join his city that defended against King Baal. Given this world''s taste for blood and war through dungeons, the inhabitants would love to fight against the infamous King Baal army and make a name for themselves. And since only Glass Dome 1 would be the first to be available after the opening of the Dungeon City Fortress, he could take ''preorders'' from wealthy adventurers and monsters to build their houses in Glass Dome 2. With a series of empty land plots all around, it provided space for other monsters with various sizes too. But that was just one particular scenario in his head which he loved to achieve. If the first battle was a failure or if Jin could not attract the Dungeon World''s inhabitants to his city, he would then had to rely on the cultivators in his shop to buy the apartments or at the very least rent them. With such a dilemma, he decided to pour it out for Qiu Yue and Moloch to hear and asked for their opinion. "Oh? I did not expect you to think about the adventurers and monsters in their world. I always assumed that you will only cater this Dungeon City Fortress of yours for your cultivators." Moloch responded with an interested look in his face. "I can only assure you that what you said was more or less accurate. Cities with reputation do indeed attract adventurers and monsters of all sorts." "Mmm, Actually I beg to differ." Qiu Yue raised her objection without hesitation. "I will suggest you stick to the plan where you provide the city to the cultivators and treat the adventurers and monsters as the tourists." "Why? Aren''t we building a city in the dungeon world? Wouldn''t it be natural for those adventurers and monsters to enter?" Jin asked. "System prefer Qiu Yue''s plan too. While adventurers will go for raids too, they are a source of inconsistent amount of income. Monsters might be a cheap addition to the city defences, but System and the Dungeon Core had to pay them for their services." The System spoke out its opinion for once. "Not just that. People tend to fear change instead of embracing it. The technology we utilised, the creativity we put into this place. Only cultivators with the assumption that this is some sort of dungeon instance would appreciate it." Qiu Yue explained. "The adventurers also have an inherent bias against Dungeon Cities because they always assumed they are ruled by monsters. And monsters are their livelihood to live and survive. If you do not remember, Moloch said that only a fraction of adventurers would be willing to stay in dungeon cities." "Unfortunately, I did say that." Moloch smiled weakly. "And like the System had said, monsters who settle here need to be paid. We have enough on our plate, and I solely need an accountant to run our money properly despite the fact that we have a System." "¡­Because our cash flows go in and out too quickly?" Jin asked, feeling a little guilty. "Heh, glad you know. The System can calculate but cannot predict our windfall, our potential assets, and most importantly, we do not have any investments. All of these building¡­of great wonders, we rely our expenses on trading in the black market and our store-" "We have the Tree Mall now, we can increase the number of tenants to-" "Not the point! You are charging them cheaply that if not for the 3% commission of the net sales that I had written in the contract, you would only be receiving peanuts from them. But what I want to say is that if we only have someone that can play the stock markets and have multiple connections with other businesses, we could be better off." Qiu Yue said, and suddenly a thought struck on her and so did Jin. "Mr Know-It-All? I saw him playing stock markets on his phone a number of times and judging from the way he analysed battles, I think he could be a good addition to our team." Qiu Yue suggested, and Jin was in a lurch. "System, can you create an NPC that plays the stock market? Or maybe Kraft to do it?" Jin requested and totally ignored Qiu Yue. "Hello? Why did you suddenly change the subject? Is there something wrong with Mr Know-It-All?'' Qiu Yue questioned, but Jin gave a half-ass response saying that it would be better to have the System to create an NPC which we can fully trust since investments involved with boatloads of money. "But you roped me in? I am a stranger who did not know anything until I was exposed to the System, and it taught me things? How about that Amura Rei? He is even more of a total stranger to us!" Qiu Yue said and saw Jin''s face filled with dilemma again. She then stopped arguing and took a breath in. "Fine, get an NPC from the System and made us owe it an abyss worth of debt." Qiu Yue said with a bit of spite. Chapter 612 Creating Value "Calm down, everyone. There is no use if we argue about suggestions. Qiu Yue, I understand your concerns, and you want Jin to improve, but perhaps he might have some reasons he could not reveal." Moloch tried to quell the uneasy atmosphere in the Dungeon Maker. "Heh, so much for transparency. He promised that I could work unhindered and would not lie anything to me." Qiu Yue knew Jin enough to see that he was hiding something. "He did not lie to you, Master was merely omitting some information from you. Do not confuse the sin of omission and lying. The latter is one I do not tolerate and trust me, I know when he is bluffing." Kraft suddenly entered the Dungeon Maker room, and somehow Jin felt even more uneasy. "But understand this, little Red Panda. He is your boss. You can advise, guide or even beat him to a plummet to make him see your view, but you can never overwrite him." Kraft spoke each and every word in a slow and menacing slur while glaring into her eyes, reminding her that she gave her life to the System and Jin the moment she accepted to be a Sub System User. "Then what if he is misguided? What if he is wrong? What if he is adamant about being right even though his actions are unjustifiable and deserved to be punished? All I know is that the System will not do anything unless Jin affects its agenda." Qiu Yue did not back down. "I will punish him. Harshly. And trust me, I been through enough to see if a User is bad or not." Kraft said as he placed his hand onto Qiu Yue''s shoulder and suddenly a burst of his memories flow through the Red Panda Cultivator''s brain. If not for the protection of the Sub System, Qiu Yue might have already passed out. Tears involuntarily flowed out of Qiu Yue, but as she came back to reality, she quickly swiped them away and looked at Kraft with a more trusting look. "Very good, that is one thing I like about you, Little Red Panda. Your resilience is commendable. Now, continue on with the meeting in peace, okay? I will just seat at one corner and use your blabbering as a lullaby to go to sleep." Kraft''s lips curled ever so slightly to give his approval to Qiu Yue before going to the corner of the Dungeon Maker. "¡­Well, so where are we?" Qiu Yue asked, and Moloch managed to steer the conversation back. As for Jin, he had been thinking what Qiu Yue had in mind and decided to appease her by offering an olive branch. "We can make Glass Dome 1 as a place for cultivators to stay. Since we are using this city in the long run, its best to foster a collective identity than picking up stragglers from the Dungeon World." Jin said, but Qiu Yue was not as excited as before. Still, she did her job with professionalism. "If we are letting cultivators stay here, we need to let them know that this is not just some Dungeon Instance Hotel. It is a place where they could really stay for an extended period of times." "But I have a few questions on my part. If we want residents in the place instead of like erm hotels. Will there be an issue with our local government? Like deliveries of official letters, their housing tax etc? I mean, we are providing them ''a dungeon instance'' to stay." Jin asked sincerely, and Qiu Yue seemed to have all of this covered. "I had the Empire Building Sub System to look into our by-laws and housing estate regulation. What we do is technically a loophole because no one had ever created a dungeon instance real enough or substantial to hold for decades. We will be the ''first'' to do it." Qiu Yue said and added that they need to be convincing enough to let people know that living in the Dungeon City Fortress is an alternative. If they had fooled cultivators into thinking that the Goblin World and to some extent, the Farming World is a dungeon instance, there should be no exception for this too. The only problem is that their land had no real value at the moment. "So, we have to create the illusion of value on our side. Usually, people buy a place is because of a few criteria." Qiu Yue showed four fingers out. "Privilege, Comfort, Space, Convenience and lastly price." "I assume, the concept of Privilege is how luxurious the place or unique the area could be?" Jin asked, and Qiu Yue nodded her head. "The Pand-Atlantis Glass Dome itself is already a very unique concept, and staying in here will definitely be a notch better than all the other places out there. We have the illusion of comfort because the System will always be monitoring the area, so crimes can be quickly resolved." Qiu Yue started to explain the criteria they had achieved. "As for Space, the Sub System is still fixing the prices per square feet to make it competitive rate among the ones in the market. After which, we will mark it up. Lastly, convenience is definitely not an issue, I have placed all the basic amenities we needed, like shophouses etc. Else, they can teleport back to the Tree Mall and have their meals." "In fact, we might have something that stands out to attract buyers which no one in your world will ever have," Moloch spoke out, and he took a card out and place it on the table. It was a picture of a clown walking into a cave. "The chance to bring them to various dungeons in this world. We will have the last laugh for taking their money and making them fight to earn more resources for the city." Moloch said, and Kraft who was nearly asleep, half smirked at that opportunity. "Ah, that sounds really a devious plan you have there!" Qiu Yue began to be filled with happy anticipation. "Have the cultivators pay us money to stay on a monthly basis and organised a large raid to nearby dungeon caves at a small cost. If they win, their dungeon cores will direct remit money and resources to our city while we pay the cultivators in Panda Medals. If we do this on a large scale, it could be possible that we might earn ourselves a Metropolis in less than five years." Moloch stated, and that made Jin stared at Moloch. "Won''t it affect the ecosystem of the dungeon caves around the area? To have an influx of ¡­outer world travellers using the resources here?" Jin questioned the viability of the organised dungeon cave ''outings''. "Hahah! Never! There are always more dungeon caves dying to have some business than cities around." "Heh! Not to mention, there is not a need to create too many instances too! We save money, earn money and get more resources! That is a totally a win win situation for us!" Qiu Yue replied, and Jin seemed to like that idea a lot. "Oh and if we ever have an invasion, we can call on the cultivators to aid us as well. On the plus side, we do not even have to pay them money, just Panda Medals." Moloch added. "Fantastic! Let''s do this then. I will get Kiyu to start thinking of the advertisements ideas while we continue to prepare for the impending invasion." Jin said, and he finally wrapped up the meeting for the Dungeon City Fortress. Chapter 613 Beyond His Reach Qiu Yue and Moloch left the Dungeon Maker first since her Empire Building Sub System would compile what needed to be done into minutes of the meeting. Lord Wolte was also teleported back to his followers while Kraft was still at the corner, seemingly sleeping rather peacefully. As for Jin, he continued to stay in the Dungeon Maker while he looked at the ceiling to collect his thoughts. The issue with Mr Know-It-All still bothered him and for the old man not to appear ever since Kraft went to infiltrate the database was a bit too much of a coincidence. Jin even messaged Mr Know-It-All a few times, telling him about the new Tree Mall and such in the Pandamonium App. Yet, there was no response at all. "User, for your request to create an NPC to predict the stock markets would cost an astronomical amount which you have no money to pay for at the moment." The System stated "Isn''t it just mathematical models and prediction? Why would be such an expensive NPC to create?" Jin queried while he leaned back on his chair. "Because of the potential value it will bring in the future, and the System needs to weave a few souls together to create said NPC for there were no such NPCs nor Bellators in System''s possession that can do such a job." The System responded, causing Jin sighed. "Can I get Kraft to hack the stock market and manipulate it?" "Don''t bother thinking any further. I am somewhat a hacker through the System''s abilities and not some real life maths or economics whiz. Besides, I am also not willing to learn something so useless for the future." Kraft mumbled from the corner. If not for Jin''s acute hearing, he would have thought Kraft was merely slurring in his sleep. "Then I just abandon that thought and earn money the hard way," Jin said to comfort himself. "Alternatively, you can find Mr Know-It-All and get answers from him." The Fox Bellator suggested as he stretched his arms a bit. "You know where he is?" Jin suddenly stood up upon hearing Kraft''s response. "Something like that." Kraft yawned as he lazily eyed towards Jin''s direction. "Ayse''s aid to infiltrate Sea Mesh brought me some very fascinating data. System, pull me nearer to Jin. I am too lazy to move myself." The System did what Kraft requested, and the Original Bellator tapped on the digital console, bringing up a map of Shenzhen. But it was no ordinary map as Jin could roughly see that it was similar to the pictures he saw when he had the cheapskate satellite in the Goblin War. "Apparently, Sea Mesh has a private satellite which was for their servers and communications purposes. However, I found in its logs that they were also used to track a few individuals. At first, I thought they were just monitoring some of their key competitors, you know, the usual business spying stuff." Kraft babbled, but Jin was surprised by what he said. "They are rich enough to buy a private satellite? I know they are the leading few companies in Dungeon Tech, but I did not expect them to be that rich!" "Yeah? You think your dungeon servers are that cheap? Not to mention those high tier dungeon suppliers always buy their stuff from Sea Mesh, including software, technical support that kind of stuff. Now I AM surprised how little you know about your partner before reaching out to them." Kraft said, and Jin was a little embarrassed. He admitted that he trusted Ke Loong too quickly when he was recommended by Mr Know-It-All. "In any case, judging from the train of thoughts, I assume that this private satellite somehow tracked Mr Know-It-All as well?" Jin asked since he did not need a full version of the story from Kraft. "What?? You don''t want to hear how I impressively cracked the code and managed to find what Ke Loong was tracking? Perhaps, some conspiracy that the Sea Mesh is related to some sort of shady organisation and he is aiding people that are worse than the Triads?" "You gave just me your impressions and summary of the story already, so no," Jin answered making Kraft all pouty too. "Heh! No wonder Qiu Yue was angry with you just now! BYE!" Kraft said as he stood and directly walked away from Jin. "Hey! Wait! You serious?!" Jin got a bit annoyed by Kraft''s playful behaviour, but he knew he had to play along to learn more. "Yeah, I am serious. I have decided that it is best not to let you know about this yet. It''s too dangerous for you, kid." Kraft turned to smile momentarily before waving goodbye. "Then why did you dangle that carrot in front of me for?" Jin felt like throwing his weapons at Kraft even though he knew he was not up to match. "Because I want to let you know, like the stock market, there is always something ominous hiding in the shadows of the water. A fish that will always be bigger than you. Right now, you are still nothing but a pawn in this field of business. You think that you have grown a lot? Think again. This is merely the beginning." Kraft turned and told Jin off how na?ve he still was. "For now, I suggest you swim under the fishes that had bestowed you with some safety. When you have sufficient power, money and prestige. Then you stick your neck out and risk it all." After reprimanding Jin a little, the Original Bellator''s pose relaxed. "Still, it''s your life. Like I said to Qiu Yue, I can advise, guide and maybe provide an illusion of safety. But ultimately, you are still the Boss. You can do whatever you want." Kraft then stopped what he was saying as he tilted his head slightly to the right and lifted his index finger up as he provoked Jin by calling out to his Master to go against him. "That is if you writhe that information out of me." Chapter 614 Extra: Agent L "How long do we have to be their cleaning crew?" The lady said as she tied her shimmering aquamarine hair up to a small little ponytail. There was no need to hide her hair colour at the point of time when they were in the northern mountains of Dongguan and Huizhou which were neighbouring cities from Shenzhen. "Because our sponsors pay us well enough to do this?" Mr Know-it-all peered into the distance as he glanced at the overarching night sky. He was in his jeep, taking a rest and drinking his wife''s oolong tea as usual. "Meh, I thought you did not want to do anything with them anymore. Or are you using this as an excuse to go out with me? Won''t your wife be jealous that you are spending the Christmas night with a sweet young thing?" "You? Sweet young thing? Please give me a break, Li. You are anything but that. Besides, if you know this is a boring task, why did you join me and not go investigate that dungeon supplier? You always wanted to know the location of your Master since you are now an independent contractor. I believed that it is a good place to start." Mr Know-it-all mocked his partner. "Heh! As if my master is that young. He should be about 40 to 50 odd years old by now. And besides, if no one takes care of you during missions, who will? Your leg does not work as well as it used to." Ryuli sniggered towards Mr Know-it-all as she clenched her fist to feel the chi coursing through her. Though her memory of that incident was a bit foggy, Ryuli had always remembered how her ''master'' passed her the very thing that allowed her to survive before someone else found her struggling inside that god-forsaken place. Yet at the same time, she was curious why did he merely leave her inside the dark, filthy underground cell when he broke open the ceiling. Was it because he wanted to test her? Just give her the means to survive? Or did he encounter someone along the way and was killed in the process? Too many questions which Ryuli had pondered over the years. She was neither grateful nor bore any malicious intent towards her master ¡­Just curious. Thankfully, it was none other than Mr Know-it-all who discovered her and decided to take Ryuli under his wing. He initially wanted to send her to an orphanage but finding out that she had cultivation powers activated within her as well as the fact that her father killed an entire temple full of innocent people, Mr Know-it-all changed his mind. Mr Know-it-all also later realised that her cultivation was not inherent to what her family was known for. Her mother was from a family of Dancing Dragon Style, a subsidiary group under the Dangerous Dragon Triad. She was subsequently excommunicated from the Triads after she decided to marry a commoner for her spouse. However, she paid the price a little too harsh considering she had to strip all of her fortune, name and even artificially sealing her Dantian to ensure that she could not cultivate. Still, she persevered and be with the man she loved. So, Mr Know-it-all was remarkably interested upon seeing what Ryuli had in her cultivation was not a dragon but instead, a panda. Not only that, the chi she exuded had traces of mana in it as well. While he cannot adopt a kid due to the sensitive nature of his job, Mr Know-it-all decided to enrol her into the Special Training for the Young and Talented within the Chinese Military. In that programme, he knew that she would be well fed, educated and trained to be a competent field agent. The only problem was that she would not be living like a normal girl. However, Mr Know-it-all had a hunch that even she could, the society will blacklist her, scrutinise her because of the history of her family. In a way, this was Mr Know-it-all''s method of showing concern to her, and when he occasionally entered the programme as a special instructor, he will make sure there everything was fair to her in the most reasonable way. (After all, it was a strict programme, there was only so much he could do.) In retrospect for Ryuli, she figured that she could have gotten worse in the normal society as compared to the training programme that she was drafted to. Some of the students in that programme had been in an even more obscure situation which Ryuli felt that she was rather fortunate. ¡ª¨C "Seems like we picked up some static noises. Agent L, go take a look." Mr Know-it-All said as he observed the various monitors in the jeep that they were in. "Understood, Agent K." Ryuli got out of the jeep and checked her combat umbrella at her back as well as the short sword she held at her waist. Other than that, she had a standard battle jacket with a unique heat tech ability, along with long sleeved combat shirt that kept her warm during the Christmas Winter. It was made with nanofibres that are capable of withstanding a few monster hits along without an inscription. "Here, take these inscriptions and placed them on your shirt and jacket. As well as your weapons. I do not want a repeat like last time." Agent K said to Ryuli as she took the temporary offensive and defensive inscriptions to observe for a while before applying them. "That incident was not my fault, and I guess these inscription charms are from that dungeon supplier? Looks decent enough." Ryuli replied and noticed one of them was a little different from the others. She queried whether if it was from the same dungeon supplier store as well. "While I had not been there for some time because of this ''cleaning'', I got a few of my lackeys to buy whatever they have so yes, they are all from there. Even the limited edition one that you are holding. Apparently, it''s their Boss'' Special for Christmas. He infused his chi into it to bring a sort of Panda attack out regardless of cultivation style. Sold in limited quantities so it''s one of a kind¡­sort of." Agent K replied. "And I thought you might want to have some fun killing those monsters since its Christmas, and I am interested in what it will do especially since my lackeys had already spent money on it." "Aww, so sweet of you. Thanks, Agent K. I will make sure it will go with a bang." Ryuli winked at Mr Know-it-all as she patched it onto her Combat Umbrella. "That charm contained the very same chi that I have. How is that possible?" She thought to herself as she pretended to check her sidearm and the items in her storage ring before departing. "Could that Master be working for the Dungeon Supplier? Is that why K always lurked in that small store?" "The static noises are getting louder. Go. Now." Agent K ordered, and Ryuli snapped out of her thoughts as she nodded her head and disappeared in a flash. Chapter 615 A Polite Gif Obviously, Jin did not fall to Kraft''s provocation and decided to do a little bit of work before he returned to his room for the rest of the night. But instead of sleeping, he put on his outerwear and walked along the streets in the middle of the night. After what Kraft had said as a grim reminder not to get success over his head, Jin guessed a bit of time out would do him good. He initially thought sleeping would help, but he remembered Ming was waiting for him with a Black Tortoise at hand. Thus he decided a walk in the freezing night could help with his mind. The streets were rather quiet, but the stroll in the cold winter night was a refreshing change of environment instead of the stifling air conditioned Dungeon Maker room. Jin walked aimlessly for a moment but eventually found himself in front of the police station. The lights in the station itself were evident, with Jin believed a number of them would still be on night duty. "Ah, I never really thanked them for their services¡­" Jin said to himself and asked the System to purchase and teleport a large metal container filled with an assortment of food into his storage ring. "Done. The necessary amount had been deducted from your account." The System stated as Jin pulled it out from his storage ring. A policeman who recently came back from a patrol suddenly shouted at Jin. Since he could not see clearly but a silhouette from the bright street lights near the police station, he wondered suspiciously whether the man was plotting against the police. "Only at closer inspection, both of them realised they knew each other." "Se Lang?" Jin asked, and Se Lang extended his hand out to greet and congratulate Jin. "Boss! What are you doing here? You scared me for a moment that you are planting some bomb or something!" Se Lang said as two police officers came out of the station upon hearing the initial yelling. "I just thought to send some appreciation gifts for the effort you guys done for m- the district. Wanted to place here so I can be a bit anonymous and not feel too erm you know, look as if I am bribing the police." Jin said to Se Lang as the two police officers came down from the stairs. They realised Se Lang had it under control, but Jin told them not to go away just yet. "What is inside?" Se Lang asked as Jin opened the front compartment of the metal container, revealing a series of delicious looking food. "Just something to warm the stomachs a little," Jin said, and the three police officers were cheering. "Call the other officers to get it, and return the container to me tomorrow or something like that." "You not going to stay and eat as well? Its looks like there is a lot of food in this container!" Se Lang said as the other police officers agreed that the metal container which looked like a library cabinet stacked with bowls of delicious smelling foodstuff. "Nah, I am just strolling a little before going back home," Jin said and Se Lang told Jin not to be shy. Even the other police officers told Jin to join them for the food. "Yeah, you aided us in our training, and we even heard a rumour about an incoming Joint Police Military exercise! Tell us a bit more about it!" The officer beside Se Lang said. "If not, we have to arrest you!" One of the officers joked and later told Jin that he needed to be somewhere else, then it''s fine. "Alright, alright, I will join you guys for a while. I am hopeful just not behind bars!" Jin finally decided to stay behind for a while, and Se Lang escorted Jin to their cafeteria after he kept the container in his storage ring. When the rest of the officers were notified that there was a metal container full of food from Dungeons and Pandas, most of them did not delay any further and rush to the cafeteria for it. (Less the essential personnel on important posts.) "Jin! I heard this is your doing. Thanks for the treat!" Inspector Lee An said as he saw Se Lang and Jin sitting in one corner of the cafeteria. Almost everyone in the police station knew who he was and did not mind just this once for him to stick around for a while. Of course, with supervision by Se Lang. "Try the cheesecake, it''s terrific." Se Lang said as he pushed a slice of it towards his pal. "Belated Merry Christmas to you, Inspector," Jin said to Lee An as the inspector realised this was an excellent opportunity to introduce Jin to the Captain of the Tiangong District Police Station. Thus, he went off for a while and grab the Captain Mao Pai Huo to Jin. "Ah, Jin. Nice to see you again. I did not expect to meet you at the Police Station." Pai Huo extended his hand to shake his hand. "Captain, Merry Christmas to you too," Jin replied which made the inspector a bit curious. "You two met before?" "Just briefly. I was off duty and decided to see the Tree Mall opening ceremony. Tiger Head Hu Yuan Ba incidentally saw me and introduced me to him. It was a brief meet, but I must say, the Tree Mall was indeed a spectacular addition not only to the district but Shenzhen as a whole. Because of you, Central considered revising our annual budget and in turn, our training budget and sales with you." Pai Huo said with a delightful grin. "I look forward to more business. Oh, and it also comes to my understanding that you guys were not allowed to budge into the scene as ordered but still did your best to capture most of the Rat Triad Members." Jin thanked the Police Captain and subsequently, Pai Huo requested the dungeon supplier to come into his office. Upon reaching his office with a few slices of desserts on his plate, Pai Huo closed the blinds and locked the door and placed a magic scroll on the walls, activating an anti acoustic barrier around the room. "Seems serious concerning the things you wished to discuss," Jin said as Pai Huo settled to his office chair and tasted one of the cheesecakes. "I like to strike a deal." Pai Huo offered. Chapter 616 Contingencies Needed "Didn''t Inspector Xue Ping made a deal for the police already? If you wish to revise the deal because of better budgeting, I do not think we need all this sort of secrecy." Jin tried to ease the tension a little since Pai Huo looked rather adamant to seek for his help. "Heh. I am not looking at that deal. Xue Ping is fully capable liaising with the HR people to get the numbers and present you with a revision of the training deal. What I am here to ask is actually with regards to the Joint Police Military exercise that you would be performing in the coming month." Pai Huo said as he started to type something on his computer. "What I am about to show you is classified, but at the very least it will show you the severity of it. I am entrusting you because Tiger Head Hu said that you now have the clearance to know some things and he actually wanted to schedule a meet early next month." Pai Huo continued. "However, to my surprise, here you are in the station when I am doing the obligatory night shift of the month. Might as well take the chance to brief you." Pai Huo then turned his laptop around to Jin and showed him the current situation that he wished to brief the dungeon supplier. "I understand from Head Hu that you expressed a bit of hesitation in creating the joint Police Military dungeon exercise early, but this is the reason why Head Hu wanted to fasten the pace." What the Police Captain had shown Jin was a map of the northern borders of Dongguan and Huizhou. And when he later tapped on the keyboard, it revealed a congregation of colours in the forested mountains. It seemed like it represented the intensity¡­ the magnitude of an observed event and Jin inferred them to be the accumulation of the Monster Horde based on their conversation topic. "The border guards are doing their best to suppress the monsters, and we even have private hire recommended by the Chinese Military Intelligence to reduce the threat. Hopefully, they find the leader of the Monster Horde." "And? How does the joint exercise have any bearing with the suppression of the Monster Horde? The way you say it as if you have control over the current situation." "We have to prepare for contingencies even if the border guard manage to annihilate their leader. Besides the exercise does matter. We do not want any sort of panic to be happening for no reason, especially the accumulation of military power in the cities." "With the Chinese New Year looming in February, productivity will double and possibly a 24 hour work shift for most companies. Evacuation of Dongguan and Huizhou will have moderate to significant economic impact." Pai Huo said, and Jin still did not get why they need his help. "Please don''t beat around the bush. If you do not tell me what you want out of me, I do not know how to help you." Jin said, making Pai Huo stared into blank space for a while. He snapped out of it quickly and eventually appreciated Jin''s honesty. "Guess, I have been dealing with too much bureaucracy. My bad. Alright, I shall give you straight. We have information that you and Sea Mesh developed a mass produced portal device which is successful in transporting people." Pai Huo started the explanation of his request so bluntly that now it was Jin''s turn to be startled. "I guess, Ke Loong demonstrated it to the police and military?" Jin queried, and he quietly nodded his head. "He wanted to sell it to us as part of his future business endeavour. Usually, this kind of tech, we will love to use it for military purposes first and later the public but Ke Loong was insistent that he had a promise to fulfil first. I assume that promise was you when he mentioned that he needed to meet his dungeon supplier request before meeting others." "I assumed the money was not that great?" Jin joked, and Pai Huo shook his head. "I do not know the full figure, but rumours said that the military was willing to pay three to four times the price for priority usage. When Ke Loong refused, they even up the offer to another two times and yet he was adamant about keeping his promise." Pai Huo explained. "That is why we are going to you. You are the only one capable of letting us use those portal devices for a sudden raid in the northern mountains." "Wait. So, you guys are not interested in the dungeon instance in the first place but wanted a teleportation portal while disguising the intention as a gathering to test out the dungeon instance?" Jin asked, and Pai Huo had no other way to sugarcoat the truth. "Head Hu will provide generous numeration for the police side, and I believe he is trying to contact Snake General Hou Fei to discuss the details. I wanted to let you know earlier, and at the very least, you might have some time to talk to Ke Loong on shifting the portal devices for the dungeon instance raid." "And I assume I cannot refuse this?" Jin was filled with anger though he did not show it out openly. But he finally realised what Kraft was talking about all along being just a small fish in the ocean. "It would be wise to accept the deal. We are facing a national crisis, but I did mention previously that we have private hires and the border guards trying to deal with the situation before it escalates even further. The date that Head Hu gave you is already a generous estimate. He probably wanted the police and army to mobilise as soon as possible. Yet for some reason, he respected you and was willing to wait until the start of New Year." Pai Huo replied. "Also, if you do accept graciously, I can guarantee that you will maintain your prosperity for the upcoming year." The Police Captain later emphasised that he was merely a messenger trying to perform some goodwill for Jin. "¡­I understand." The dungeon supplier said slowly, but the police captain told him not to give up. "Assuming if the border guards can destroy their leader before the appointed gathering time, we might be able to proceed with your dungeon instance. If that happens, please be merciful to the Police teams." Pai Huo said with a little smile on his face as he thanked Jin for the wonderful dinner gift. Jin was given a lift home back by Se Lang in a patrol car as he happily told Jin how his two girlfriends had bought him a new Scythe weapon as well as a plushie from his store. But even with all that rambling, Jin only beamed at Se Lang as he started to formulate the course of actions that needed to be done in his head. There was no time for moping or feeling betrayed. Jin had to use whatever opportunities he had at his disposal and make the best of the situation. Hopefully, someday he will rise above them, and all this nonsense might go away. Now he understood why Ming potentially harboured more than just animosity against the Royal Zodiac clans and for good reasons. "I will not care for revenge, but I will make sure one day I will be the one utilising them as pawn pieces on the chessboard." Jin thought to himself as he thanked Se Lang for the ride. The total revamp of the shop instance can wait for it was time to get new allies before the new year, and hopefully an upgrade for the System. Chapter 617 The Northern Bulwark After a quick rest in the sleeping capsule, Jin woke up to check the status of the Farming World. The Dungeon Supplier needed to know if he could utilise any additional monsters for the raid in Giant World. That was because it was the first place he had in mind for new allies. He kept it from Peppers for now since her intention was to obliterate the entire city into dust. That would be madness, but so was coordinating a search and rescue operation, in addition to the intent of defeating the reigning Salamander family. If all else fails, at the very least he would still have the Salamanders in the worst outcome possible. Jin invited Gold to give him a debrief and the latest development was that he had managed to evacuate most of the towns they had liberated to the Trading Town of Wecha, the place where the three goblins had a massive fight against the Demon Rats. This was because Town Wecha was the biggest and had the most defensive features a town could have. Not to mention it was the closest to the seaports where the remaining Northern Military forces were guarding. The liberation of Wecha had led to the remaining general in charge of defences convinced to aid the townfolks. Silver, Gold''s cousin, was the diplomat to make it happen. While he might not be a very good fighter and a bad temper to top it off, his tongue was as silver as it could be. He not only convinced the remaining Northern General, Matt Umiterus, to send its military forces to Wecha, Silver had also given him an open channel to the Southern Stars Organisation and Western Skies. With the two other organisations done scouting and sabotage missions respectively, they had provided the information for the general to organise his troops. They hoped that bigger raid attempts could be executed in the areas near the seaports so they might have a safer perimeter. Silver and Meomi subsequently discussed with the two other organisations on hiring more of their members, but also came with a cost to borne. Fortunately, General Matt also being the remaining official representative of the Northern Kingdom, he had agreed to take on the expenses. Silver did not know how the situation would pan out at first, but according to his soldiers, General Matt was considered as the few sensible and honourable general as well as an incredibly lucky chap. Because of his budding talents, the newly appointed young general was being sent to Western Region for a military training exercise which none of the Northern Generals liked. They felt that the Western Military was too ¡­wilful in nature. They did not have the rigidness of the Northern Military, but the bilateral military exercise had to be participated as a show of friendship between the two regions. Thus, they made the general Matt to go instead. Little did they knew, the young general was able to accommodate to the Western Military attitudes and even became drinking buddies with the top brass of the Western Military. That was why when the Western Skies recognised that General Matt was in the negotiation table, the adventurer''s guild agreed too readily to provide assistance to him. (The head of the adventurer''s guild was one of the Top Brass and was all the more happy to aid Matt compared to any other Northern Generals.) But that was the only easy part General Matt had. For the past months, he had been struggling against the Demon Rats the day he returned to the Northern Kingdom. He and his army fought bit by bit, inch by inch to get back a seaport town. Some of the veteran soldiers even recalled that the fight started off the shores when the rats attempted to swim and board their ships. Subsequently, the other seaports were liberated by using the various surprise tactics he learnt from the Western Military. It was through his valiant efforts it was able to secure the seaports days after it was dominated by the Demon Rats. By denying the Demon Rats the seaports, General Matt was able to contain the Demon Rat infestation within the Northern Region. And for that reason alone, the remaining townsfolk in the seaport worked hard to support the defending army. Trade might have been reduced, but having a sea trade route meant that food and replenishment of armaments were available ¡­just at a higher cost. Yet, the other regions knew the implications of this untold horror after General Matt gave the other region''s representatives a glimpse of the grim reality. Consequently, they lowered the cost of trading essential food and arms while some trade companies even donated for free to aid their cause. The only thing the other regions did not offer was manpower as they too were busy shoring up their costal and sea defences. Patrols were done regularly in their oceanic borders, in case the Demon Rats learn how to swim. Some of the Western Military wanted to send their men, but their government was quick to shoot that down. (That was mainly the reason why Silver initially used organisations as a proxy to reach to them. Soldiers of fortune were still better than no soldiers aiding the North.) Ironically, not one of the region ever thought of conquering the Northern Region. Perhaps they were scared of the unknown, or maybe they wanted the Northern Region to be entirely infested with Demon Rats without any Northerners left. If not for the fact that General Matt needed to protect the remaining free Northerners, he would have personally sailed a ship towards each kingdom and punch the leaders for being such heartless cowards. However, all these constant doubts and worries were being washed away with the tide of good news from Silver. As Gold and the other monsters had previously raided foodstuff and armaments from the various towns, the army in the seaports was restocked with adequate supplies. The gold they stole were also given to General Matt as a supplement to his war chest. Townfolks from the evacuated areas were also inspired to join General Matt''s army, the Northern Bulwark, thus replenishing the manpower to train new recruits as well to fill in miscellaneous jobs like logistics and administration. In return, the Northern Bulwark extended their defensive borders to Wecha though General Matt was extremely apprehensive about stretching his forces too thin. But he had to show his gratitude in some way or another. Silver laughed and told him not to worry. True enough, days after the agreement, ships mysteriously appeared to the various seaports carrying the Dark Templars'' insignia. Dark Templar Commander Zieg introduced himself to General Matt and told him that the Eastern Dark Templars would be helping the Northern Bulwark in exchange for authority to operate on its own. They even passed on more foodstuff and supplies to the Northern Bulwark before marching on. At first General Matt was worried that these zealots would be a hindrance to the Northern Region future, but he figured that was a problem for a later date. The Northern Bulwark agreed, and the first place the Dark Templars went was officially reinforcing Wecha. By then, most of the townfolks had already acknowledged them as their saviours and protectors since they were also the ones who escorted them during the evacuation. (Just not officially.) Jin was impressed by Gold and his teams'' work and felt that the evacuation was a decent tactic to stall time against the Demon Rat armies. However, he was saddened that the Demon Rats could potentially utilise the resources left behind in those deserted towns. "Some of the citizens stayed back to gather whatever valuable resources they could find and pass it to the respective evacuation teams. After which, we used those metal carriages erm ¡­Jeeps to send them back to their groups." Gold explained that he had already thought of that. "While we gave the impression that we are going to burn them underground, we actually teleport the goods and supplies to Commander Zieg as teleported the ships from the Eastern Regions to the seas of the Northern Region to make our actions more believable. System nearly killed us for using so many resources with the portal efforts." "That''s great to hear!" Jin replied knowing that all did not go to waste. "And Boss ¡­you should have already known that Peppers will not give a pass to such sweet, vulnerable targets when their armies reached the towns for a pit stop." Gold said with a smirk on his face. "You don''t mean?" Jin started to chuckle a little. "Let''s just say Ayse had a wonderful field experiment with Peppers." Gold winked at him and continued to debrief Jin the finer details of his report. Chapter 618 Angsty Frog With a few pieces of pictorial evidence by Gold and video recordings from Ayse, Jin saw the destruction left by Peppers. Without a doubt, her explosion spells were as impressive as ever. "Heh, I remembered that her something, something super explosion was being thrown by a giant human silhouette in our time at the Fishing World. So I expected the same kind of spells, but now there are so many variations." Jin said as he glanced through the videos. There was a human silhouette shooting an arrow causing the explosion, another that used a large gigantic hammer to ''flatten'' the entire town, causing explosive aftereffects and the last was merely a sword punching out of the ground and subsequently exploding. Ayse even placed some afterthoughts and commentary in the videos and said that the more creativity Peppers was with her creation of the explosive spells, the stronger it was. At first, Ayse had made Peppers cast her explosion spells in the simplest possible manner and improve on it. Oddly enough, casting a simple explosion spell had a reverse effect on both the mana consumption and the damage effectiveness, which made Ayse wondered what kind of magician Peppers was. With some minor tweaks to her spell commands, as well as a detailed analytical breakdown of her mana consumption, Ayse had made Peppers improved her magical powers. The result was plain obvious with the obliteration of the three towns, but Peppers wanted more. (Thankfully, Ayse was able to beat some sense into her.) "While we have annihilated a bulk of the Demon Rat forward armies, there was still a large portion of them heading to Wecha. At the very least, we can expect they won''t have any reinforcements from the East and West. Too bad, the townfolks had no place to return at the end of the war¡­should we survive this ordeal." Gold sighed with a heavy heart. "What are you talking about? This is the best time for us to aid in their construction and even improve their lives significantly. We can then use these workers to help out with our Dungeon City Fortress in the future since they have the know-how. And for those towns which were burnt to crisp, I will suggest for Silver to create propaganda flyers and you can use the military to send it out through the seaports and the people of Wecha." "Meanwhile, I suggest that you start to create rumours that the Demon Rats were so evil that they burnt the entire towns down," Jin told Gold alternatives to turn this into their favour. "But won''t this create more fear?" Gold asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Yes, it would but what we want to inculcate in them is not the idea of fear. Instead, influence the people''s opinions to look at the other side of the picture. Fight for the resistance, fight for their homeland. Fight at all cost. Right now, they are more than just enemies of the state." Jin explained the rationale of the proposed propaganda. "Not only they were willing to burn the towns down mercilessly, but they also did not hesitate to enslave the humans, eat them or maybe even use the townfolks as toys for all their own pleasure," Jin said with conviction which astounded Gold. Jin then told the Scholar of the East that he merely stated the things he got from Sebastia''s report. After the fight against the two Elder Beast Demons, she had been secretly scouting the Northern capital. Gold could not believe his ears and eyes when he briefly read the report. "Those bastards!! North and South! I know you might imprison people and treat them as your petty slaves but allowing the rats to eat them?! That is a whole new low! You will get definitely get your just punishments!" Gold slammed on the table as he crushed the report into a paper ball. Seeing how his current battle commander for the Farming World was not thinking straight, Jin allowed him to vent his emotion before asking him to calm down. "That is why I want to get more allies from the Giant World. If those villagers could be a fraction as good as the penguins through some basic training, they would be a great help against the Demon Rats. Thus, I would like to know if there are any people we can spare to perform a dangerous operation in the Giant World." Jin spoke, and Gold understood his need for additional reinforcements. "I see, I will check who is available as we brace for the incoming Demon Rat impact. I might get the Mousefolks to help us instead. They seem more than ready during the Grand Feast." Gold acknowledged Jin''s orders and disappeared back to the Farming World. ¡ª¡ª- Hamatarou and Gaeru were the next who Jin asked for a meeting as well as the Salamander which they previously captured, Edwardio. "Salamander scum! If you do not die today, I cannot call myself Gaeru!" The frog swordsman shouted at Edwardio, who seemed rather lax in his attitude towards Gaeru''s provocation. Yet, Jin was interested in what was to come next, but to his surprise, Hamatarou stood right next to Edwardio, preventing Gaeru to attack him. "Sage Hamatarou! Please move, or I am forced to cut you too!" Gaeru demanded. The giant hamster sighed and chanted a spell out, causing the agitated frog swordsman to sleep even before he had the chance to swing his broken sword. "Apologies, Master Jin for the ruckus." Hamatarou bow as a sign of apology but the Salamander remained indifferent to the situation. Only when the hamster noticed Salamander''s inaction, he forced Edwardio''s head down. "It''s fine, may I ask the history for Gaeru''s animosity against Edwardio?" Jin inquired, and Hamatarou briefly gave a summary on the whole situation. "But did you guys not meet after teleporting into the System and mend out the differences especially now that we are now in the same team?" "For Gaeru, he had not properly cut any Salamanders down yet, and I suspect he felt frustrated by it. While I believe his skills are on par with a senior guard level, his weapon was not in the condition to fight against me." Edwardio picked up the blade and showed it to Jin. The edge got even more chipped when Hamatarou last saw and it was so worn out that the System predicted it had not been serviced for a very long time. It added that Gaeru might not have the intention of changing a new blade or repairing it. At first, Jin thought it was possible that his village did not have the resources or the knowledge to perform such repair services. However, Hamatarou begged to differ. He remembered that the frogs were one of the most meticulous animal people he ever knew. They would have definitely sharpened their swords and arrowheads before a hunt. "I mean we can forcefully repair it for them, right?" Jin asked, and the System stated that it was usually the case. However, for Gaeru, that blade was considered as a unique weapon, one that was something similar to Kraft''s No Mercy or Flame Ripper''s dagger and bow bestowed from the Flame Shaitan, Ifrit. "Unless we have Frog Swordsman Gaeru''s permission, we have no chance of touching it. When classified as a unique weapon, repairing his sword is equivalent of needing consent to modify a part of him." The System''s attempted illustration disgust Hamatarou a little. "Never mind, let''s put him to sleep for now, because I might have a plan which could fully utilise his unkempt rage against the Salamanders," Jin responded and subsequently asked the Edwardio how the Salamanders operated. The guard did not withhold any information and told Jin everything he knew about them. From the guard rotation time table to the secret routes which he knew the Royal Family had used (although not all of them) and the objective of the current Royal Family Head. The urge to eat every giant species and animal people to gain their powers for himself. Only then, he had the ability to overcome Sage Hamatarou and retrieve the totem of Atem and reverse Atem for himself. "I see¡­ But is he a tyrant against his own people?" Jin asked, and Edwardio nodded his head slowly and with hesitation. (He was initially expecting Jin to ask how the new Salamander King had gotten powers from eating giants and animal people.) "That is also why I am revealing all the information out. I am no longer at my King''s mercy and had believed there is a better life right here." Edwardio replied and later questioned Hamatarou if he knew anything about the Sniffer giant monsters. "Ah, those big dog head giants who are very protective of their territory? I heard they could be extremely aggressive." Hamatarou replied and suddenly realised why Edwardio talked about it. "You don''t mean that he wants to eat those Sniffer Dogs for its power?" "Yes, and the Salamanders managed to cut a down a front paw of Sniffer Dog. The moment the King ate it, he had begun sniffing everyone and trying to differentiate each and everyone''s odour. But thankfully because he did not feast on the Sniffer Dogs, his sense of smell were only enhanced to a certain extent. Therefore, if there is any current goal for the Salamanders, it will be to chase after the Sniffer Dogs as well as the Portalling Bear." Edwardio looked at Hamatarou while chuckling softly the moment he mentioned about the portalling panda. He clearly remembered how the Sage had transformed to distract the Salamanders. "Oh, then what about Hamatarou''s claim on burning an entire animal people village?" Jin brought it out as a counterpoint to the Salamander''s statement. "The Frogs were just unlucky. We had a clash with them, and so they panicked and returned to their village without any detours. Easiest find of the century." Edwardio said with sarcasm as he peered at the sleeping frog. "What are the frogs famous for aside for being meticulous?" Jin questioned, and Hamatarou seemed a little embarrassed to answer it. "The use of their tongue?" Chapter 619 Denial and Betrayal "Hahahah! The use of their tongue! Maybe that''s the few reasons why our Queen''s temper had improved quite a bit in the recent days!" Edwardio laughed out loud at Hamatarou''s deduction. "Well! I have quite a number of villages to take care, I cannot possibly track and remember them!" Hamatarou folded its small little arms together, and Salamander belittled him further that he should be doing a better job as the Sage. "In any case, how many villages you had contacted for the past year? I believe that''s the easiest few to find." Jin wanted to know, but Hamatarou shook his head as he opened his paw and three fingers out. "Eight excluding the ones that had already perished," Hamatarou said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. "The rest never met up with me at the allocated time for the exchange of the Atems. The penguins were the only one that was worth my extension of stay. As for the rest, I can only assume they are dead, gone or missed out the timeline I had given them." "Well what do you expect? I mean I heard that the penguins had to wait 10 years later for the exchange of totems. The chance of the village missing out that promise was extremely high. Besides, what do you for the rest of the time? Eat nuts?" Edwardio did not seem to buy his answer. "As for the rest of the time, I had been travelling to the Fey Lands in search of a cure for the Giantism Virus. I heard that there were rumours of them having the only solution to this cause." "The Feys? I thought the old folks said never to entangle yourself with them? The deals that they demand were out of the world. I heard they can twist the words of your contract to their liking and interpretation. I bet that maybe this Giantism was caused by them too." Edwardio responded angrily, and Hamatarou did not know how to react. "It''s alright, no one is blaming anybody. Like what both of you had said, there could be more villages out there that did not wish to come out because of the Giant Monsters. But let''s focus on things that we have." Jin calmed the two of his minions down. "Right now, with Edwardio''s information, we can at least take out a bulk of the Salamanders. Then we could possibly look around the City for the villages in relative peace." Jin hesitated at the last part of his comment as he remembered the ferocity of the Father Porkcupine which he had escaped from. He knew it was not the last time to see that Giant and there might be other similar predators that may be more menacing. (Or maybe even larger in size.) However, with Hamatarou''s aid, there could be a possibility that it would be easier to fight against those Giant Monsters should they ever show up. "You have to remember that the castle had a lot of secret passages. Even if you wish to surround the castle and siege it with all your might, there is a possibility that the key personnel run away to safety." Edwardio warned. "That is why I want to use Gaeru as our main part of our plan. The amount of attention he unknowingly portrays will definitely bring many eyes onto him." Jin said as he outlined the basic plan on how to capture each and every Salamander. Gaeru will appear again in front of the Salamander castle to make a ruckus and that is where he had to either push through into the castle with his own strength or be captured right towards the King. While Jin preferred the former, he needed to create contingencies in case Gaeru failed too badly. At this point of the explanation, both Edwardio and Hamatarou expressed low confidence of Gaeru winning fights with his personal sword. Jin could only wish that the frog swordsman would be able to accommodate different swords and have some other tricks under his sleeves aside from blind provocation. "So, assuming he would be captured by the Salamanders, I would need Edwardio to break him out and allow him to generate even more ruckus. Try to lead him to the main throne hall and then we could carry out phase two of the plan." Jin had dissected the main objectives of his current operation. "Break him out of jail? Do you know that the King personally supervise this kind of ''goods''? I will literally be trespassing into rooms which are under the King''s supervision. The senior guards would be a pain in the ass to work with!" Why don''t you just give the frog some lockpicking magical scroll? That would be far more easy than me attempting such an impossible task." Edwardio replied with haste upon learning what Jin wanted to do. "But you two are allies now, no matter how uncanny it seems. I can request the System to place a restrictive order to not let Gaeru harm you." Jin reiterated and tried to assure the Salamander, but Edwardio gave a heavy sigh as if he was considering what Jin was talking about. "Fine. I can aid that blabbering frog a bit, and I guess that will drum up a bit of ruckus since I am abetting with the King''s potential food. Although I honestly wonder if the King would even want to eat him." Edwardio sneered as he briefly glanced at the innocent sleeping frog who knew nothing about the plan. The Salamander guard began to think that the more Gaeru did not know about the plan, the better the execution of Jin''s operation. "In the meantime, I am very interested in Hamatarou''s sleeping spell. System, can you make spell scrolls out of Hamatarou''s sleep magic? I was thinking of detonating them all around the castle and have some agile monster to perform that feat. That way, we can disable the weak ones and handle the Salamanders who have resistance against the sleeping magic." Jin queried which the System announced that it would cost Jin a sum of money. He readily agreed and the System asked Hamatarou to perform his spell on a dummy. But instead of doing as per System''s orders, the Sage looked ticked that Jin had undervalued his magical powers. "Are you underestimating my sleep spell? I jolly well let you know that it is capable of making any Giant monsters to fall asleep, let alone the animal people!" Hamatarou said with conviction, but Jin shook his head. "I am preparing for contingencies in case they have a way to counter the sleep spells. Besides, like what Edwardio had said, there are some places where he would not have known to exist so there would definitely be Salamanders who could possibly be out of range of your spell." "User, do you wish to have Peppers to scan the castle? That would make things even easier as it could detect the number of Salamanders as well as confirming the layout of the castle." The System told Jin to consider such a possibility. "Hahaha ¡­You are kidding, right? I am doing all this because I did not want Peppers to burn this place down. Who knows if her explosion could not reach to the underground depths of the castle should the Salamanders try to escape? Or what about the secrets this castle had kept hidden? Won''t that be a more important find than just destroying the whole castle?" "Besides, I am denying her the opportunity to burn down a city as large as a country too. I do not think she will take lightly to that matter." Jin reasoned, and someone suddenly voiced out her opinion too. "Yeah, I agree with that. You will definitely be denying Peppers of that chance. And did you really just look down on the newly gain powers of Peppers which she put in much sweat, effort and rainbow vomits to achieve it?" "YIKES?! When did you appear?!" Jin was taken aback when he heard Peppers talking behind his back. "At the point where you decide to deny to me of exploding a city as large as a country. The System brought me in for consult. Little did I know that it was to let me hear the blunt truth." Peppers eyes turned all red and teary. She did not know whether this was considered as betrayal since the act had not been taken place but the intention was already there. "Look Peppers. Listen. There might be some misunderst-" *BOOOOOOOOOOOM* Chapter 620 Shooting Jins Plans Down When the smoke clears, Peppers realised that Jin was protected by a magical shield barrier by Milk. She was instantly summoned by the System as an emergency response when it noticed there was a build up of magical energy within Peppers. Predicting that there was a high chance to hit Jin, the System reacted preemptively to block the attack. The only people left stunned were the rest of the monsters in the meeting room. "Why! Why can you not let me hit him!" Peppers pouted, and the System stated that this is a very critical period for Jin. "There are times for fun, games and explosions. Unfortunately, Bellator Peppers, now it is not the moment. User has too many pressing issues to do for you to land him in the hospital for even an hour." The System concluded, and Milk went forward to hug Peppers'' head. "Other days, alright?" Milk said gently to Peppers, and surprisingly the little Demonic Queen Sage nodded her head. If the System and Milk chose to intervene for Jin, there was nothing much she could do either. "System, buy Peppers an assortment of her favourite candies and Milk a 500ml of Lynn''s sake wine. Put the tab on my personal account." Jin said, and Milk winked at Jin as a sign of thanks before moving off. Hamatarou checked his fur while Edwardio inspected his tail to see if they were burnt in any way. After which, Jin continued to discuss some minor details of the plan with the two of them, but Edwardio continued to point out the various pitfalls of the operation. While Jin found it very irritating he was being shot down at every turn, it showed that the Salamander was very concerned for the success of the plan. When he was finally done with many revisions of the plan, Hamatarou also felt that it was time for his master to take a break and thus, they left. However, all Jin did was took a cup of Blue Mountain coffee while his mind was filled with details they talked about. And even before his cup was empty, the dungeon supplier called upon Que Er, the Magpie Queen to check if she had any new details with regards to the whereabouts of the Mecha World. "I managed to pinpoint some information but you are not going to like it." Que Er said as she noticed the mess in the Dungeon Maker room. Jin quickly asked the System to revamp the area, and with a blink of the eye, the meeting room''s table was all brand new again. "Why what is wrong? Is the base too heavily guard or something? You should at least have aerial surveillance of the place, right?" "I don''t have any at the moment ¡­And although I technically can do that¡­it will be too supicious, so I can''t." Que Er did not know how to put it properly, and it only made Jin felt even more anxious. The Magpie Queen decided to put it as bluntly as possible to break the news for him. "The Mechanical Titan is placed in a spaceship. Like those sci fi films you watched, ehhhh "Moon Wars" kind of massive cruising spaceships." "I know I should not be surprised but damn. I did not expect that at all." Jin sighed as he asked she had any images of it. Que Er shook her head in dismay as she said her birds may be magical in nature, but for a bird to fly that high into space, it would just bring too much suspicion. "However, I might have a bit of good news for you. One of the places of interest where Amura Rei had taught included an Air Force School. My birds had picked up some chatter that a spaceship is going to have maintenance near the Mecha World''s atmosphere. I might not have the coordinates of the spaceport, but the Air Force sure does." "You believe that spaceship would be the one that carries the Mechanical Titan?" Jin queried, and the Magpie Queen laughed. "Hardly! But at the very least, I thought this will provide you with some insight. I am just an immortal, not some mechanical whiz with all the knowledge about those metal carriages flying around. Your world I can still handle, but their world? I nearly vomit birds at the sight of the technology that they used. My birds barely able to blend in." Que Er complained, and Jin had no choice but to summon Amura Rei in. "What time would it be in Japan right now?" Jin asked the System, but in no time, Rei was already sitting across the meeting table, drawing something. Only when he realised the table and chair he was sitting at was so different, he decided to take a look around. Que Er smiled at him, but Jin was equally shocked to see Rei. "I must apologise, I was hoping to ask the System to teleport you with some notification, did not expect the System to do this. Name is Jin by the way." "Yes I know, we met once during the Grand Feast," Rei said as he calmed himself down. This was not the first time he got teleported abruptly by the System. He could only wish that it would be more pleasant. At the very least, there was no one in the office when the teleportation happened. "So I assume you called me here is because you needed information about the Mecha World," Rei asked, and Jin nodded his head slowly. "And I also assume that you had been briefed quite a bit by your new erm¡­ colleagues during the Grand Feast as well from the System?" Jin made an effort to get the rest of the monsters and bellators in the loop to inform Rei about his roles and responsibilities. Rei knew that the United Federation had always wanted to create superweapon in order to counter the one by his nation, the Xeon Union, but he did not anticipate it to be so soon. The last he heard from rumours were that it would take another 15 to 20 years more. Now he understood why they were so eager to enter another war. "We found out that the Mechanical Titan is in tucked in a spaceship, and we want to hear your expert advice on how to counter it. Que Er here had suggested that a spaceship would be docked to a spaceport near the Mecha World soon enough for maintenance. I guessed she was hinting that we steal something to fly up to the spaceport and hijack the spaceship." Jin explained the current situation to Rei. "Impossible. If I am assuming that you are talking about the Air Force Academy, their rockets are for training purposes. While I agree the security could be lax compared to other military airports, their training rocket''s top speed is not fast enough to reach space. You will be dead by then." Rei warned and already took the time gap he was not in Mecha World into account. Yet, he felt that even though the Air Force Academy might have been too complacent and cheapskate to change their equipment, they should not take any chances to bet on it. "You mean it does not have the capability to reach space?" "Argh, I phrased it wrongly. The anti air defences will shoot you down before the rocket is able to reach the spaceport." Rei emphasised that that plan was not feasible from the start. "Then have you been to any spaceports before? We might be able to use you as a proxy to point our portal coordinates." Jin queried, seeing how he got shot down again by his minions "I erm¡­the last spaceport that I had been was the one I was supposed to die in," Rei mumbled his words slowly. "I do not know how, but I was teleported to this world and found myself lying in a hospital bed. With debts, if I must add. Took me a long time to gain a name and repay all the debts." "Wait, what? You were really teleported to this world without any probable technological aid from your world?" Jin had also known but never had the chance to clarify this part of Rei. It seemed like there were other forces that were in play, and the System was not the only unique one that could work with interworld portals. "Are you a natural interworld traveller?" Jin asked Rei seriously. Chapter 621 Interworld Traveller? Rei shrugged his body and said that magic never existed in his world before. The only magical stuff he knows were the superior technology that was barred from him to interact. "That is all I know. My body is still the same, but I am not in the spacesuit, nor the people around me knew what I was talking about. They nearly wanted to throw me in an asylum for saying rubbish out." "Only then, a male nurse came to talk to me and asked if I was having some weird condition called the 8th grade syndrome. I refused and told him I was sane until he came close to me, and told me that it''s fine to act that way." "As long as I do not show it during the real test he will teach me the ropes on how to ''blend'' into the ''real'' world and ironically because of him, I managed to pass the psychiatric exams." Rei later said that the male nurse revealed his true identity as the ''Dark Dragon Slayer''. "I guess that was how I learn about this world''s manga and the animation scene. Dark Dragon Slayer was also my sensei when it comes to drawing, and those were the days how I became a mangaka artist." Jin was totally speechless upon hearing the story and sometimes guessed the world worked in different ways to help somebody out. "In any case¡­ that spaceport I died should now be in the United Federation''s territory," Rei stated, and Que Er nearly wanted to send her birds there immediately until Rei stopped her verbally. "The spaceport should be in ruins from the previous skirmish. Knowing the United Federation, it would leave it a dead space of floating debris to remind the Xeon Union not to mess with the United Federation." The engineer reasoned. "Oh, come on. Here I was hoping your information will help us out." Jin leaned back on his chair and sighed. "Look at the bright side, at least we have a space coordinate. Maybe build a spaceship ourselves?" Que Er inquired, and somehow both Rei and Jin laughed at the same time. "Impossible. Impossible! There is no way we have the technology to do it! And do not look at me! I never browse at any spaceship blueprints before!" Rei said, but Jin laughed for a different reason. "We are at a ruined spaceport, surely there must be parts floating around, and most importantly, you are an engineer. Fix it." Oddly enough, Jin always wanted to say that to a fellow engineer, especially since his university friends used to berate him in those multi-disciplinary projects. "You can''t just fix broken space ship parts to one space ship! That is not how Astrospace engineering works! And I am a Mecha Engineer! Totally different field of speciality!" Rei exclaimed at the absurdity of the request. Maybe, his master was not as rational as his monsters advertised him to be. "That is assuming you are dealing with only science, but we have magic," Jin smirked as he snapped his fingers and fire appeared. "And do not worry, if you remembered Ayse, she had some experience in time-space engineering as well as being skilled in other areas. I am sure we can work something out. For now, I will loan you three Sandroku Golems, modify it to make it work in space. After which, haul any parts back to the System, and we will figure out something." Jin ordered Rei. "Even if I want to, I still have my deadlines to handle. If I can''t complete it by the end of this month, the movie studio I am working with, will go broke and might declare for bankruptcy. We are pinning our hopes, our everything by the end of this year!" "System wished to remind that there are debts Mecha Engineer Rei incurred from Yun too after you have used it to pay the Yakuza." The System responded in retaliation of Rei''s defiance to work. "I¡­ I¡­" Rei understood the chains that had bound him, and at the same time, he yearned to cut them off because of his passion. "System, find out the operational cost of the studio. We might potentially be Rei''s sponsor for that movie he was making. Heck, we might even be able to help him create scenes that he can never imagine." Jin ordered the System as he himself was searching on the internet for his trailer. "User, are you proposing to use the Supa Robot Warz mini game instance for the movie?" The System asked which caused Rei''s eyes to suddenly light up. "If you can really let me use the Supa Robot Warz instance, that will be great! In my opinion, I have reservations for the studio that I hired to create the 3D models for the mecha models. It is unsatisfactory work and did not live up to the hype for the movie." Rei spoke out his fears and in turn, his hidden desires. "So you want to remake your movie? I thought you say your movie is near completion?" It felt like Jin managed to bait him. "Yes¡­but I do not want my fans to recognise how terrible the overall animation could potentially be. The overall scenes are great, but it is a Mecha movie! The 3D animation must be on point! Currently, it did not have the poof I wanted. If we used the Supa Robot Warz, it will be so realistic that the fans would love it! Something like a mix of Live action robot fights and 2D animation together!" "Surely, other animation studios could have done better, right?" Jin managed to search the studio that was doing Rei''s work. He might not know much about the animation scene in Japan, but he knew enough about the reputation of the studio Rei employed. (Because he was a fan of Japanese animation himself in the past.) As what Rei had said, Studio Mashi''s 3D animation work had never been their top product although their past 2D animation works were considered to be notable in the past. Not too famous, but its name was still regarded as a contender within the industry. Yet, it was also because of their insistence of staying their style of animating while other studios moved to 3D computer animation made them not as popular as before. (Which was also why Rei could make employ them to adapt his works.) "So is it a deal? While it might be a hassle for their HR to push the dates further, it''s still doable since we did not announce the dates yet." Rei told Jin that the movie was still kept under secrecy and not much advertisement was made except for a few teasers. (Mainly due to budget issues rather than wanting it to be a surprise for the 10 year anniversary of his manga.) "Deal. Handle what you need to do by the end of tomorrow and give me the estimate of the studio''s expenses for the next few months. After which, start working to make the three Sandroku Golems viable for space." Jin shook Rei''s hand hard to confirm the deal even though he could have ordered him otherwise. Perhaps, just perhaps Jin secretly wanted to see his dungeon instance in the movies too. Chapter 622 Operation Gatecrasher - Part 1 For the remainder of the downtime, Jin had decided to use it to spend on making the renewed Shop Instance. Lately, the System had not created any further mission rewards for Jin''s efforts, but it had been giving him a few new benefits. One of which was that it had quietly levelled Jin to a Level 4 Dungeon Supplier, allowing him access to the black market items at cost prices without any duty tax. It had decided that the Astral Panda Cultivator had sufficiently proved itself worthy without completing the mission. Unfortunately, it would only affect the products and raw materials required for the dungeon or shop related Instances. The rest of the items not used for dungeon instances would still be at full cost or through negotiations. This, in turn, gave Jin a bigger bang for his buck when creating his new shop instance. The System had also given him a limited amount of funds for the dungeon supplier to build his new shop instance. (In hindsight, it was actually sufficient to cover half of the estimated cost of the revamped instance.) "How did you even have additional money? Didn''t you not said that our accounts are dried up? Or ARE ''OUR'' ACCOUNTS separate or something?" Jin asked with a bit of emphasis. "Indeed, the System had its own financial reserves to make sure that it would not go broke should User ever fail and some are seed money for the next incoming generation of Panda Clan members. Fortunately, through the current User, System had been amassing a decent amount of money for us to graciously provide you with an additional budget at our own discretion." The System stated. "I guessed you placed self preservation as the number one priority." Jin shrugged as he prepared the shop instance revamps in the Dungeon Maker. After spending some amount of time on it, Jin was notified by the System that it was about time to start Operation Gatecrasher in the Giant World. With Que Er''s new abilities granted by Muninn and Huginn, Que Er had become Jin''s latest monster for scouting purposes. During Jin''s downtime making the shop instance, dozens of Que Er''s birds bid their time to survey the Salamander castle and its surrounding exterior. Whatever the ravens, crows and magpies saw, it was transmitted to the System where it started to recreate a hologram of the castle based on different viewpoints. The pieces of information were later collated and compared with what Salamander Edwardio had reported as part of the verification process before Jin could plan a proper assault into the castle. However, as Que Er was about to recall the bulk of her birds back into her ''care'', Peppers suddenly appeared for a brief moment at the top of the castle. It prompted Que Er to inform Jin, but before she could send a message via the System Channel, Peppers had already shot a beam of her magical energy towards the roof of the grand castle. Surprisingly, instead of an explosion spell, the beam spread like a rotary fan before closing up into a thin line and subsequently dissipated. When the beam disappeared, so did Peppers at the very next moment, making the Magpie Queen suspect if she ever saw the Demonic Queen Sage. If not for her birds confirming that they also caught Peppers in their sight, Que Er might have believed she was experiencing a delusion. Even weirder, she returned to the Dungeon Maker room seeing Jin giving Peppers a pat on the head. "Que Er, thank you for the scout, you and your birds have provided a lot of information!" Jin said as he pointed at the hologram of the Grand Castle. "Can I have more sweets than? Milk says that you will promise me more of those Vanilla Cream Candies if I do good! And Potato chips too!" Peppers questioned with a purpose. From a pat on the head, Jin gradually turned it into a pinch on her left cheek. Que Er later realised that Peppers had taken the initiative to cast a Scan spell at the castle. She had managed to get the visualisation of the interior structure. The System also created a ''screenshot'' of the locations of every Salamander currently stationed in the castle at the time Peppers cast her spell. It even used Edwardio''s guard rotation table as a supplement to the hologram and predicted the guard''s patrol path on it. This provided Jin with a clearer understanding to plan his assault for Phase 2 of the operation. Jin eventually told Que Er that Milk had somehow convinced Peppers to give something Jin needed and he would potentially reward her even more. She added that there would definitely be other times to test her explosive magic on something¡­ more substantial. The Priest Bellator lied to Peppers outright that Jin was possibly saving her firepower for the coming days, especially the fight to obtain the Mechanical Brain. (That really hyped Peppers up a lot more than destroying a stationary giant city.) Of course Milk had used a few spells to soothe Pepper''s anger and much pep talk to remind her that they were under Jin''s service. But at the same time, Milk also thought that maybe if she could get Peppers to act in alignment of Jin''s wishes, she could get another bottle of Lynn''s precious sake wine. That 500ml that Jin bought vanished in an instant which Milk knew it was clearly more than just intoxicating. It made her yearn for more. Hence, when Jin got to know why Peppers was suddenly so helpful from the System, he could not help but to continue treating her as his younger sister he never had. (Considering she sometimes acted like a spoilt one despite the Bellator position she held and the immense knowledge she possessed.) And as Peppers whined more when he pinched her cheeks playfully, Jin had already requested the System to place more snacks into her room. "But remember this is a one time exception! I am not so gullible as you think I am to be!" Peppers announced when she got what she wanted. "I am merely doing this because I want to know if Ayse''s advice applies to my legendary Scan ability too. That castle target of yours was suitable for me to test that!" The Demonic Sage Queen stuck her tongue before disappearing from the Dungeon Maker. "That is more than enough for now." Jin smiled at that silly mage before turning serious once again. "Que Er, are your birds still in place?" "I had hidden a number of them in places the Salamanders should not be able to notice. Not too sure how potent that King lizard with a keen sense of smell could be, so I placed most of them in the surrounding perimeter instead. They can proceed to attack at your command." Que Er said as she stared at the hologram. She never saw a castle with that many hidden getaways and the scan that Peppers performed, did not even reveal the entirety of it all since her primary focus was the castle itself. But that alone unveiled untold numbers of tunnels and escape routes inside the castle. She suspected that it would lead out not to just the inner noble districts, but even to the outer common districts of the ruined kingdom. "Since we now have the essential information to conduct a proper operation, let''s have our main star to the scene." Jin officially commenced Operation Gatecrasher with Gaeru''s impromptu appearance at the front of the castle once more. Chapter 623 His Broken Blade The usual night duty. Two Salamander Guards were sitting at the corner of the broken main outer gate of the castle and with only a meagre amount of food served as dinner due to the tightening of rations, making them rather irritatable because of the hunger. It was not because they did not manage to hunt any monsters, but the King seemed to be angry that they had failed to catch the black and white spotted bear that creates portals. Sometimes, they felt that their King was unreasonable as the Giant Monsters could be somewhat unpredictable. Not to mention, they were rather ill equipped to fight against the bear. Most, if not all of their ranged items were of limited quantities, had already been used in the recent fight against the frogs. They have yet to replenish their military supplies before another sortie, and most of the Salamanders who were supposed to craft them were drafted to process the food rations. The rest had to scrap the remains of the defeated Frog Tribe to feed their King or aid the injured they incurred from the hunt of the Portalling Bear. In addition, their King had reduced the morale of the Salamanders significantly by restricting their food rations while he ate like a true glutton in order to gain the powers from the things he eats. As the guards at the outer main guards were complaining to each other about the current situation at hand, they heard a scratching sound from a distance, as if it was a piece of metal being dragged along the grey brick path. So, the guards immediately took their weapons out and brought their torches out to better illuminate what was in front of them. What they found right in front of them was a silhouette of a frog holding on to his broken sword. "Isn''t that frog the one that got bitten by that portalling bear? He survived and wanted to return to exact revenge on our kind?" One of the Salamander Guards snorted as the other chuckled at his friend''s comments. "Hey, maybe we should defeat this frog and eat it for supper. It had been a long time since I had a good meal." The Salamander Guard rubbed his growling tummy. "Hahah! Maybe get the Butcher to cut the meat up. It would definitely be tastier. At most, we allow him to keep some meat as compensation." The other commented. "Are you mad? You remembered how the King''s sense of smell had gotten stronger by the day. If he knows that we kept frog meat from him, he would surely come after us!" The former guard retorted as he continued to keep his eye at the frog. "So, we should just eat him immediately and dispose of him when we are full? Well, that''s better than nothing." The Guard shrugged his shoulders and decided to charge in front to attack the quiet frog. They thought it was too easy. The frog did not move a single step nor made any noise ever since it appeared on their sights. Its stance was also wide open for attacks compared to the last time when the frog made a huge ruckus. The Salamander guard believed it was too good to be true, yet it went for a straight cut through its neck. *Shinnnnn!* The frog silhouette was left standing while the Salamander that attempted to cut it down was split into two halves. Blood was spraying from both parts of the body as the guard struggled to have a last look at the monster that killed him. There was no mistake, it was none other than Gaeru who killed the Salamander with one clean cut. But what happened to the noisy frog who the Salamander Guards thought they knew? Before the start of the operation, Jin sought out for Kraft and Pei''s assistance. At some point, Jin believed that Gaeru''s anger stemmed deeply from the anguished loss of his tribe and perhaps, the burden he held might possibly cause to him to perform poorly. Kraft and Pei then agreed to take a peek at the sleeping frog''s memories, only to find out that he made a promise to return to the Frog Tribe when he was competent enough after embarking on a personal journey. The sword he carried was the first gift to a hunter''s son, and due to an incident which nearly killed his close buddy, Gaeru decided to repent by searching atonement all by himself. It was a mere coincidence that the day he returned was the day he found his tribe in utter ruins. He could not keep his promise to his buddy nor his family and had been in a state of depression ever since that day. The only thing that mattered to him right now was the revenge against the Salamanders. Though part of him knew that it was a mere excuse and knew that exacting vengeance would not bring him peace, his heart and mind were narrowed by grief. Knowing this and the fact that he was an essential piece in the upcoming operation, Kraft and Pei had unanimously agreed to tweak his train of thoughts. It was a mild form of psychic driving, turning his guilt into resolution. However, it''s Kraft that Jin asked for help for and he always needed a little fun factor to be added into the mix. The Devilman had requested one of his foxes, Evon for a little bit of clarity inducing drug to be injected into the unsuspecting frog. What they did not expect was that Gaeru was indeed a bona fide swordsman when he cut the Salamander Guard into two with his broken blade. At first, Jin thought of increasing Gaeru''s strength by inserting inscription charms into Gaeru''s blade, but the sword automatically rejected the offensive charms by itself, as if the weapon had a will of its own. The remaining Salamander Guard was horrified by the sudden change of events as it decided to run away to notify the others. However, before it could take another step backwards, the frog dashed ahead of him with just one leap, slashing his head off with another stroke from the blade. "Masamune, sip their blood into your steel and let them be part of your backbone," Gaeru whispered to his sword with bloodshot eyes. Chapter 624 Operation Gatecrasher - Part 2 With Gaeru steadily working his way up to the main gates, the System was already calculating and readjusting the probability of the frog swordsman''s success rate. The initial plan was to let Gaeru get captured by the Salamanders since Jin wanted the Salamanders to lower their guard. By fighting the only enemy, he hoped that the Salamanders could concentrate their attention on that one odd ball event rather than doing an all scale assault which could spit the enemies up. He thought that Gaeru would make much of a ruckus to attract as much attention as possible to the Salamanders, giving Jin time to employ the next phase of Operation Gatecrasher. After all, Jin''s goal was the annihilation of the Salamander''s family so they could peacefully search and rescue the other village tribes and hopefully prevent a slaughter like what the Salamanders had done to the frogs. Little did he know that Kraft''s little modification drug made Gaeru into an astonishing killing machine, veering the plan to another planned scenario by the System. (Jin initially thought Gaeru would never make it happen, but the System begged to differ and demanded its user to prepare such a possibility.) Now that the System predicted what Gaeru had done, the frog swordsman would not only be the centre of attention but attract the irk of the King Salamander. While that would definitely bring a better crowd pull to Gaeru, the System was concerned if it needed to switch the next phase of the operation soon. One of its concerns was mainly the properties of Gaeru''s broken blade. It had changed attributes the moment the frog managed to kill the Salamander guards. Though its name was revealed as the Masamune and categorised as a living weapon (which was considered as a unique item in the Giant World), it might potentially increase the threat level of the Salamanders should they managed to get hold of it. However, it is not uncommon to see a living weapon throughout the universe. There were other worlds which had an abundance of Living Weapons and had similar attributes to the Masamune. But due to the nature of the Salamander King, grabbing whatever powers it could grab on to, the System find that it becomes increasingly dangerous to let Gaeru be caught. "From the System''s deduction, the Masamune is a living weapon that absorbs the blood of its fallen enemies. The System could not deduce what other powers it might contain, whether it is a temporary buff or a permanent increase in attack power." The System warned Jin about the attributes of Masamune and the consequences it had if it ever fall to the Salamanders. "I understand the change of situation. Instead of executing Phase 2, call forth Sandy first and tell her to start preparing for Phase 3. The rest can wait for a while." Jin gave his instructions to the System which instantaneously portalled Sandy, the Sand Witch at the most bottom of the Grand Castle. It was in the deepest basement based on Pepper''s initial scan, and there should not be any guards in the area according to Edwardio''s guard rotation timetable. Yet, she still wore a black hooded cape and a full mask which was capable of night vision, hiding herself in one of the dark, damp corners in case guards were to appear. Sandy knew what she needed to do, and her priority was not to engage against the Salamanders until given the signal. Till then, she was ordered to prepare a few spells for the upcoming phase. As for Gaeru, he had managed to slaughter another three more Salamanders, prompting a senior guard on duty to engage against this unknown menace. It managed to parry the frog swordsman''s one stroke strike, giving the rest of the Salamander guards who were shocked by the amphibian intruder a split second to sound for the alarm. Gaeru however did not take this too favourably as he took a step back and pointed Masamune right in front of the guard. The broken blade howled in anger as a bloody looking phantom of a Salamander emerged from the edge of Masamune. Even as the Senior Salamander Guard raised his shield to protect himself from the unknown, the ghostly bloodied Salamander swoop towards him. As the phantom came into contact with the shield, it splattered hard against the thick rusted metal, causing the visceral, bloody apparition to spill its content all around. Just when the Senior Salamander Guard thought that he was safe from the attack, he realised that something was gnawing him hard accompanied by an intense burning sensation. He could not believe his eyes when he saw that that sensation began to spread through his entire body. The Senior Guard then realised that whatever the bloody phantom came into contact with, it gradually corroded like acid, even the ground. Its iron shield was being melted into half, and his body parts which were exposed to the reddish liquid was already eating into his muscles and into the bone. The affected armour plates became scorching hot, to the point he felt the metal liquefied and came in contact with his skin, painfully fusing the both as one. Masamune''s attack immediately rendered the Senior Salamander Guard paralysed by the immense pain coursing throughout his body, and it gave the frog swordsman an opportunity for a daring counter attack before more guards emerged. Unforunately, the Gaeru knew that the effects of the bloody phantom could burn him too, even though he supposedly should have the protection of the living weapon. Thus, in order to end the Senior Guard''s life, he threw Masamune towards him without hesitation, causing it to fly and stab cleanly through the forehead. After which, Gaeru used his tongue to forcefully bring his sword back to his two hands. At that point, the Salamanders who on perimeter guard duty had begun to steady themselves and attempted to shoot their arrows towards the frog the moment he threw his sword away. Oh, they were sorely mistaken if they think he was defenceless for even just a second. Chapter 625 Operation Gatecrasher - Part 3 Since Gaeru knew he was grabbing onto Masamune tight with his tongue, he power jumped vertically, avoiding a couple of arrow shots with much ease. He then swiped his weapon around the battlements of the castle''s high walls by using the tongue as an extension of his weapon''s reach. Still, it was a long shot considering he could not see too clearly anything too far away in the darkness. Gaeru was estimating his attack on the torches that were lit up as a guide, but in no way the frog swordsman could know whether he was able to injure or kill the archer guards. Yet, his broken sword now imbued with the Senior Guard''s blood unleashed a terrifying energy wave that shook the battlements. The bloodied energy wave had the same damaging effect as the bloody phantom which Gaeru had previously triggered, causing his attack to corrode some of the high walls along with the destruction done by the initial wave of energy. The frog swordsman wanted to continue, but Jin called out to him via the System Channel to keep going into the inner bailey and towards the castle itself. "They are not dead yet. I have to make sure they are dead." Gaeru retorted which Jin told him to calm down. "I have competent assassins to make sure that they never have the intention to harm another tribe," Jin promised Gaeru as the frog reluctantly proceeded towards the inner bailey. The Salamander Guard Archers who survived the initial shockwave deemed that the frog was now the problem of the guards further into the castle. Never did they know that it was not the end as Meomi slowly crept behind one of them and took its head off. Flame Ripper was doing the same on the other side of the outer bailey while his brothers took the further end of the outer bailey. Wyrstriker dived in to stab an unsuspecting archer who had its eyes on the commotion while Dread Reaver slaughtered without a sound. But not all Salamanders were that oblivious to the sudden deaths of their comrades. They noticed that there were other invaders too but could not make out their build nor species due to the cloudy night and lack of light. So, they activated the alarms to further alert the Salamanders. Unfortunately, their cries for help were hopeless. As Gaeru entered the inner Bailey area, the attention was focused towards him alone. The rest of the Salamander Archer Guards had to fend for themselves, and sadly it seemed like they were fighting against shadows. Despite the fact that Salamanders prided themselves to subterfuge and stealth warfare, these archers were considered as rookies in terms of combat, which was a reason they were given patrol duties. In less than a few minutes, the entire outer bailey was utterly decimated by the goblins and Meomi, which Jin immediately called them back via the portals. Gaeru was now facing a large group of Salamanders, though some suggested waking the King up to suppress this external threat. Even though the frog swordsman was still holding well against a crowd of heavily armour Salamanders who now stormed to surround him, Jin knew that there was a limit to his stamina. The System also recommended that some external help should be given before the Salamander King stepped in. "Should I have a get-go at it?" Hamatarou who was uneasy sitting in the Dungeon Maker waiting while the System continued to report what was going on at the frontlines. "You are our trump card against the Salamander King. I believe he would do the most harm, so making him sleep and subsequently teleport him to a secure area for battle would be a better decision." Jin said as he wanted to capture the King as quickly as possible and used him to rally the rest of the Salamanders. The dungeon supplier wished to do it with as little people knowing that Hamatarou came into the picture to knock the King out. That way, it would be more believable if the King decided to issue a few orders out of the norm, making the gathering of Salamanders to progress smoother without too many hiccups. Nevertheless, Jin had seen enough of battles to prepare a few contingencies at hand too, but he knew that there would always be something startling enough to make his contingencies useless. The dungeon supplier could only hope that was not the case for this time around. "Penguins, your debut," Jin said through the System channel and from the cloudy night skies, four penguin ninjas including Kiddo plunged towards the encroaching circle of heavy armoured Salamander knights. Each of the penguin ninjas began clapping their flippers together and executed their Elemental Jutsus against the enemies beneath them. Four streams of elements, Fire, Ice, Lightning and Water was unleashed on the Salamander Knights, giving Gaeru the chance to jump out of the encroachment. This further permitted the penguins to attack without prejudice, disintegrating the knight''s formation and went ahead to disrupt the other guards. The Commander Salamander Knight on the scene could not have imagined that the frog swordsman had a devastating capability after recalling that he was rather harmless in the previous engagement. What was worse was that Gaeru had allies to rely on, making him more formidable. The Commander Knight had also heard about the penguin tribes before but had never seen any of them wielding such magic. He did not know that such a weak flightless race of animal people would be one of their deadliest enemies to date. "Men! Steady yourselves! Go for Formation Delta! Archers, switch to those crossbows you found at the Frog Tribe Village. We have to take down these penguins, and that damnable frog before the King wakes up!" The Commander Knight shouted before he was confronted by Kiddo. But the old Salamander had wits and instinct to rival against Kiddo''s incoming short blade. The only drawback was the slight electric shock the Commander Knight received upon defending himself. He hazarded a guess that if the strike hit somewhere vital, the commander himself could be paralysed for an easy kill. "Men! Switch to Formation Sierra! A hit from those blades might incapacitate you instantly!" "Heh, they fall for your trick, Kiddo." One of the penguin ninjas whispered through the System Channel. "Yeah, did not expect you to single out the Commander that quickly." Another penguin Ninja sneered at the order. "It was mere luck." Kiddo smiled under his face scarf as they continued to distract the Salamander soldiers, so they had trouble regrouping themselves into various circles formation. Seeing that they were going defensive, Jin was on the System Channel kept telling them to press for the attacks. A quick succession of slashes and kicks to made them feel uneasy, hurrying them to belay their Commander Knight''s orders. Eventually, their weapons were drawn out like a sea urchin with its spikes aiming outwards, while at the same time providing the archers with a reliable cover to shoot. Basically, multiple mini domes were formed within the inner bailey as the archers prepped their bolts and crossbows and ready to shoot when their enemies got into their sights. The Salamanders would not go down without a good fight, and in fact, the Commander Knight believed he got a decent chance to catch his prey for the night. Chapter 626 Operation Gatecrasher - Part 4 "Regroup!" Kido said to the other three Penguin Ninjas while he pulled Gaeru with him. "Let go of me, Honourable Penguin! It is not the time to fall back yet!" Gaeru mistook the regrouping as a sort of retreat when it was pretty obvious that they still have the upper hands in the situation. With the penguin''s ninjutsu, they could force open those Salamander''s defences wide open. But because of the retreat, the Salamander''s mini domes of spikes took the opportunity to force their invaders to the centre of the inner bailey. The Salamander Commander Knight became even more ballsy when he noticed that the frog''s special weapon was useless against metal. "So as long as he could not have a hit or kill his weapon cannot activate, huh? Kind of useless of a weapon. As for those penguins, they might be annoying, but the arrow attacks from behind the cover of our shield dome formation proved to be formidable in scaring them." The Commander Knight said to himself as he decided to appear out of the dome to demonstrate the superiority. "Do not worry, Froggie. We have something more fun, just follow us for now." Kido said as he clapped his flippers once more and a wall of mud and sand emerged from the ground. The other ninjas did the same, forming a box to protect themselves. It provided them with a temporary reprise from the constant shots coming from the multiple shield dome formation. "Do not falter! If we can push them, we can kill them! Avenge our dead!" The Commander Knight was eager to remove the threat before the Salamander King arrives at the scene. If he managed to kill them, he would have three magic wielding penguins and a frog carrying a magic imbued sword as a tribute to the Salamander King to feast upon. "Any injuries?" Kido performed a quick check on his teammates to ensure they could continue with the next phase. "Just mere scratches." One of the penguins commented as it started to unroll a long scroll it had behind its back. The other penguins were also doing the same except for Kido. Gaeru felt that the penguins had some plan in defeating this current shield domes formation they encountered. It was true, his blade was broken to the point that Masamune was unable to damage their heavy armour. But as long as there was physical contact with the body, Masamune could absorb at least a portion of their blood and wreck havoc to them. Unfortunately, the living weapon had an inherent time limit on the duration the blood of its enemies could be contained before releasing it. Any longer than 10 seconds, Masamune would automatically be absorbed whatever blood it took in which Gaeru would then be unable to unleash any attacks. The odd thing was the more Masamune absorbed the blood of his enemies, the durability of the blade worsens. It reduces not only the sharpness, but Gaeru had seen how the metal at the side of the sword broke apart. So upon learning such a constraint during his travels, Gaeru always tried to release any pend up blood energy within it to reduce the chances of it breaking. (There were definitely instances where he could not have done so, and hence the condition of his current sword.) While the penguin ninjas were chanting the lengthy inscriptions of their ten metre long scroll, arrows were being shot into the boxed up monsters which they voluntarily enclosed themselves in it. Luckily, Kido was the one in charge of blocking all incoming projectiles by parrying, grabbing, or whatever means possible to not disturb the chanting. Gaeru assisted too by using its tongue to grab some of the projectiles as well. Still, Kido was more perceptive in predicting the shots'' trajectory, which made the frog swordsman respected the Penguin Ninjas even more and showered Kido with compliments. "Preparations are complete, Kido!" The Penguin Ninjas said in unison the moment the scrolls glowed a little. "Get your ass at the centre Froggie! We might not have the Totem of Atem like Sage Hamatarou, but we have our very own enlargement Jutsu!" Kido smiled as the penguin performed a roundhouse kick to reflect one of the arrows away. "Aye!" Gaeru did not fully understand the plan Kido created, but the veteran penguin ninja later admitted that he was improvised the plan along the way. They initially created the sand walls to show weakness, hoping that it would spur them to break formation. Kido understood that destroying the mini dome formations one by one would prove to be straining and they need to conserve energy should they wish to fight against the Salamander King. Thus, the penguins pretended that they had no way of destroying their shield wall domes. It indeed prompted the Salamanders to be cocky, and even though they were still in their mini shield dome formations, many relaxed their guard when the Salamanders could not see what was in front of them. A sudden poof of large smoke emerged within the box of sand walls, and the Salamanders shortly fell back, finally considering that it might potentially be a trap. However, their current formation reduced their mobility tremendously, and the Salamanders were not as used to it since they hardly used it for battle. Before they knew it, a large blade came forth from the smoke, splitting the sand walls into two and attacking anything within range. Both Gaeru and Masamune had grown at least ten times larger, proving to be a giant similar to the monsters they had previously encountered. This sudden transformation shocked the Salamander troops as most were still in the process of moving, resulting in them to be unprepared for the attack. A number were smashed sideward by the enlarged Masamune, and it instantly absorbed whatever blood it came into contact with. At the same time, Kido and the rest of the ninja penguins perched themselves onto the giant size frog and began to throw shurikens and kunais to the exposed flank of the Salamanders. There was also an additional surprise to the penguin attacks. Out of the three Jutsu scrolls, two were used on Gaeru and Masamune, allowing them to be of a colossal size to deal an immense amount of damage to the heavily armoured Salamanders within the inner bailey. As for the last scroll, the Penguin Ninja cast it similarly to an aura spell, enhancing any projectiles thrown by his fellow comrades. So the size of the kunais and shurikens that were thrown immediately expanded to such a dangerous size that one hit instantly kill a heavy armoured Salamander. Even if it was not dead with a direct hit, Kido was confident that death was at its side with the impact from the amplified projectiles. This sudden turnaround from the enemies made the Salamanders panicked even further when they found out that enormous weapon swipe killed their Commander Knight who was conceited enough to leave his shield dome formation to check the status of the Sand Walls. Their remaining Salamander Captains tried to rally whatever troops but even now the arrows and crossbow bolts were ineffective against the Giant Frog. (His skin got thick enough to ignore them) To Gaeru, the desperate attempt to rain bolts proved to be meaningless. "Come out now, Salamander King! Come out now and face the wrath of the Frog Village!" Gaeru''s booming voice was enough for the surrounding castle walls to vibrate. He needed the King to appear as soon as possible before Masamune absorbed most of the blood he attained or else he had to waste it towards the castle. The Frog Swordsman did not dare to underestimate his upcoming opponent but yet desperately hoped he could finish him in one shot. Chapter 627 Operation Gatecrasher - Final "Noisy frog." The Salamander King yawned as he walked into the inner bailey and witnessed the destruction caused by the Gaeru and the Ninja Penguins. The Frog Swordsman had no hesitation in unleashing all of the stored energy within Masamune and focused them towards the Salamander King. The King himself stood there, nonchalant about the incoming wave of bloody projectiles flying towards him but Gaeru did not take much heed to it as well. They both believed that each of them had underestimated one another. However, Kido knew that something was amiss right away and told his fellow comrades to be on guard. The energy projectiles not only scored a direct hit against the Salamander King but its secondary impact destroyed the area surrounding the final ''Boss''. Suddenly, the System noted an intense spike of energy within the area, excluding the ones that came from Gaeru itself. Jin knew it was never this simple with all these ''Boss'' monsters but continued to restrain himself from doing anything drastic until he saw what was happening. "It''s a Fey¡­" Hamatarou said as he watched the smoke dissipate after the attack and the Salamander King was still standing as if nothing had happened. A small little white faerie was standing right at the side of the King himself, protecting him from the devastating strike from Gaeru. "Not just any Fey. It''s¡­It''s the daughter of the Winter Court Queen, Maeve!" Hamatarou exclaimed when the pictures from the Dungeon Maker became clearer. "What powers does she have?" Jin asked, and the Sage Hamster shook his head violently. "It''s not the powers that matter ¨C okay fine, she had loads of strength as well, but its her attitude¡­her behaviour! For the Queen who is to come, the druid gave her an uncanny nickname." Hamatarou took a deep breath in before saying it out. "The Evil Kinkstress." "Her love to pull strings from behind the scenes and her eccentric definition of fun. You will never understand how much of a hassle Queen Mab, the current Winter Court Queen had to deal with Maeve''s behaviour. Druids told me that there was even once that she was so bored that she pulled the wings off a fly just because it came into her sights." Hamatarou explained. "Right now, I can vaguely understand why the new Salamander King would behave in such a cannibalistic way when they were previously more upstanding in their ways despite them being arseholes for being the highest of all nobles. For them to suddenly slaughtering both Giants and Animal People alike just to have fun was not in their nature at all." Hamatarou was finally able to link all the pieces together. ''There is no way Gaeru can defeat the daughter of the Winter Court Queen, even with his unique sword. Please get him to withdraw, it would be even worse if the Salamander King ever gets hold of the sword itself." Hamatarou pleaded with Jin, and it also seemed like the plan to make the Salamander King fall asleep would turn to moot. "So, you have no way of defeating this Maeve as well?" Jin questioned the Sage with a tinge of anger dwelling within him. "If Master asked me to distract Maeve, then yes. I can do that. But to defeat her? You need the powers equal or more powerful than the Evil Kinkstress to overwhelm her. Either her mother or the Faes from the Summer Court. And trust me, you would not want to go into a promise with either the Summer or Winter Courts. If you associate them like businessmen, they would be at least thousands times more corrupt and cunning than any business partners you have ever forge. The twist of words and promises are their forte." Hamatarou emphasised how dangerous the fairies were. "The System also acknowledge that it would be unwise to go against a known Fey without knowing the extent of her abilities. It would definitely be wise to retreat while we still can and attempt another approach." The System stated which made Jin slammed his fist on the table. "Damn it! Kido! Remove the spell of enlargement from Gaeru and pop a smokescreen to escape your way out of that situation. We do not want Maeve to suspect there is an external power helping them for now." Jin ordered through the System channel which Kido acknowledged. The other Penguin Ninjas forcefully removed the enlargement spell from Gaeru, and they took the necessary precautions by knocking him out cold so that he would not retaliate against the Salamander King despite his failed efforts. However their enlarged projectiles aura was still active, so Kido threw a kunai towards the Salamander King with a smoke bomb was attached to it as well. Although Maeve blocked the kunai with relative ease, she did not expect a smokescreen to pop right in front of her. Kido initially feared that it would not work and had already prepared an additional smoke bomb to cover their current location. Fortunately, the smoke bomb worked more effectively than he had imagined. Still, it did no harm to throw the one he was holding to provide everyone with more distraction to escape. Maeve and the Salamander King did not move an inch away from where they were standing to portray their superiority against their pitiful enemies despite the smokescreen. However, they had least expect the smokescreen to be fused with another effect mixed along with the loss of visibility. Indian Curry Powder. The smoke bomb mixture thrown at them had a combination of Indian curry powder as well as some unique spices from Farming World mixed into it to increase the effect. It was a concoction made by Penguins and Lynn as part of their research to make their cooking even more delicious (and to some point, deadly.) This mixture enabled the smoke bomb to another level of potency, and it was funny how they were created this concoction by accident. Seeing it in action, the System took note of the recipe and placed them for future production. Subsequently, both the Fae and her pet salamander had to withdraw from the smoke. Even when they were out of range from the smoke bomb, they were still suffering from the unspeakable itchiness emanating from the insides of their throat and constant urge to rub their eyes. Yet, the more they rub, the worse the effect was. Kido smirked when he heard intense coughing from afar and still retreated further before asking the System for a teleport back to the dungeon maker room. While Jin''s minions managed to escape safely, the whole operation was considered as a failure since their objective to kill the Salamander King was met with unexpected developments. Thankfully, there was a silver lining for the entire operation. Even if they could not kill the Salamander King, Jin had managed to isolate the Salamander King by annihilating the entire family of Salamanders with the aid of Sandy. The instant the King stepped out of his abode, Sandy sprung into action by activating all of her spells she had been preparing in the depths of the castle underground cellar. Initially, the Sand Witch was summoned to block all the exit routes found within the castle, but with the drastic change in the operation phases, her objective became something more of a search and destroy. Sandy''s magic spells gave her the ability to connect herself with the ground, allowing her to know where each and every Salamander was within the castle. With the aid of the scan done by Peppers, it was even easier for Sandy to locate the non combatants and the rest of the Salamander Royal Family. After which, she shot sand spikes through the castle simultaneously to kill all the living Salamanders within the castle without any prejudice. And as for the rest who were agile enough to evade the attack, the sand spikes immediately shapeshifted into a human sand clone and attacked them. Most of them died by puncture wounds or through suffocation as the Sand Clones smashed into them, entering the enemies'' mouth and blocked their airway. At the very least, Jin recognised that this would provide him with a bit of reprise knowing that the Salamander King would have trouble to find the animal tribes. Even now, there was no one to assist him with his terribly itchy throat. He had to find the kitchen room which the King barely had any recollection of its location. Furthermore, Jin suspected that with the lack of support, he might go into a rampage or perhaps depression. Either way that would probably mean the rest of the animal tribes might possibly be safe for now unless Maeve decided to make the Salamander King do something out of the norm. In the meantime, Jin would get Hamatarou to check on the new captured Salamander Tribe and perhaps they could finally get to the bottom of the truth to exactly know what happened between the King and Maeve. "Since this is a no go, then I guessed I should concentrate on retrieving the brain of the Mechanical Titan without additional allies." Chapter 628 Raiding to Distrac "Actually, I was wondering why don''t you make it as a Raid? You never fail to use your cultivators as fodder while earning money. Why stop at the Goblin Raids? Besides, you cannot do anything about the titan thingy until Rei remodelled the Sandroku Golems to be space worthy." Kraft spoke out of turn as he sat with his legs crossed and looked at the current situation Jin was in. "But won''t it be impossible to defeat? From what we know previously, the Salamander King gets his power ups from his defeated foes." Jin replied, and Hamatarou''s face immediately lighted up. "That is If he eats his defeated foes. What I understand from your dungeon shop is that once your cultivators reached to low health or killed, they would be transported back right?" Hamatarou questioned, and Jin nodded his head. "Then maybe it can work, especially since we need to throw lots of bodies to exhaust Maeve''s powers. As it now stands, we might have to throw everything at her in order for her to stop being a threat. If she can induce the cannibalistic behaviour in the Salamander King, Maeve might do worse things when the situation is not in her favour." "So, you two are saying that I should use my customers as a source of distraction? To keep that Fey occupied so that she would not bother the other animal tribes" Jin started to wonder if it was a good idea. There was no incentive, and in fact, he needed to fork out more expenses to manage the current situation. "I say it will be best to eliminate him as soon as possible. If Maeve is as crazy as what Hamatarou said, it might be possible that your future allies could be in trouble since her powers are of a different level. And if not for them, do it for my village." Kido, who happened to return and listen to the conversation, gave his opinion. "Basing on the assuming that he is a stereotypical tyrant, King Salamander would definitely smash and destroy stuff in his castle to vent his anger and rest momentarily before acting again. This is no doubt the best time to quickly gather people to pester him." "If you sending people in, I want to go as well." Gaeru declared as he still did not give up the idea of defeating the Salamander King. "User, it will be more beneficial for you to send customers to defeat the Evil Kinkstress. Monsters defeated require souls, but customers who were killed will immediately be sent to the Luxury Recovery Instance. While resources would no doubt be used, they are at a lower cost compared to sending monsters in and spending money on souls." The System stated that because Jin specialised in supplying Dungeons, the System had already attuned its resources his shop so sending customers would be the optimal choice. It also reminded that as his monsters are growing stronger and the number of souls to replace them increased exponentially compared to using them in dungeons or utilising the cultivators. "I see. I always thought the maintenance fee that you keep asking me to pay for, was partially due to the number of customers fainting." Jin replied as he recalled paying a lot more money when the number of customers skyrocketed. "As previously discussed, the System used the fee User paid to upgrade its processing capability and kept a portion for rainy days." The System answered with a slight glee in its tone, which was rare for the rest to hear it. Jin took a quick glance on his watch and laughed at the opportune timing given by fate itself. "Saturday morning. 4am. In a few hours, I will potentially have a load full of cultivators coming in." Jin said to himself. "Heh, don''t forget about the oldies. Their bones might be popping, but god damn, when I saw them fight, it was a sort of refined art." Kraft joked, and Jin did not know whether he was sarcastic or not. "That is if your pricing still stays the same since they are after all a bunch of grumbling cheapskates. But man, when they fought with Krampus, I was laughing my ass off how absurdly strong they were." "Hamatarou, any chance you can defeat Maeve when she weakens by the customers?" Jin questioned, and the Sage Hamster shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly have no idea what kind of powers she has, but the idea given by your monsters and the System makes sense. If you throw enough people in, Maeve will definitely be exhausted, and that will be a good time to jump in." Hamatarou concurred with the plan once more while telling Jin that he might have a way to give Gaeru''s living weapon a boost now that he knows the existence of Masamune and his ability. "How will you do it? I previously tried to add inscription charms and even support magic into it, the Masamune rejects almost everything." Jin said which Hamatarou smirked and replied with the following. "Have you tried blood?" Jin slowly shook his head with a happy half-smile and could roughly guess how he was going to improve Masamune''s strength. He then sent Hamatarou off to see Vulcan, his NPC Blacksmith for his help. "If that is the case, Gaeru. I shall temporarily bestow you with a part of my weapon set." Jin said as he presented Boo to the frog swordsman. As Boo was in the Wakizashi form, the blade size was perfect for Gaeru to wield. The frog initially did not want to accept it, but Jin convinced him that it was a temporary weapon to use against the Salamander King until Hamatarou managed to upgrade his Masamune for the killing blow. After that, Gaeru reluctantly accepted and went to Panda Muscles Service Instance to practice the hang of his new sword before being summoned for the raid again. As for Jin, he courteously asked the rest to give him some alone time to create an impromptu event while Kraft had already recruited Kiyu to make a promotional video with all the data the System had in its system. (Kiyu was cursing madly when she was given urgent requests, but she nevertheless delivered her product as scheduled.) Jin knew that this would be a one-time event, so he had decided to create a new category of Dungeon type called Emergency Dungeon Raid. When Jin published the particular type of dungeon ''instance'' into the Pandamonium App, there will be a buzzing notification that would be pushed to all the users. Unlike standard notifications, the Emergency Dungeon Raid notification would appear something similar to a vibrating phone call. He knew that it might be annoying to the users, but the vibration would only last six seconds. Should anyone response and accept the invitation for the raid, they would have a free ticket to the raid instance as well as 100 Panda Medals if they manage to reach in an hour. This was to incentivise users who wish to be part of the shop''s hardcore cultivating culture and at the same time, inadvertently help Jin to achieve his objective. In addition, there was no limit on the acceptance number and the dungeon supplier knew that if they managed to defeat Maeve and the Salamander King in record time, the System could replicate the data for other people to play the event. Now, Jin could only hope that the suggestions of his fellow comrades would be beneficial. Chapter 629 Emergency Dungeon Raid Instance Within an hour, Jin managed to release the Emergency Dungeon Raid, "The Battle in Salamander Lord''s Keep" to the public. Considering that he did not have to create the environment nor any monsters, it took him more time than usual. He spent the time mainly to create the reward system and Jin knew that he needed to prepare an incentive system since the raid would be nigh impossible, especially for the first few waves of cultivators entering. When Jin published the Emergency Raid instance into his shop, a wave of notifications was sent throughout to the Pandamonium App network as proposed by the dungeon supplier. Unsurprisingly, the first few to respond were a group of elderlies who had used Jin''s shop as a place to catch up with friends and relatives. The reason for this neighbouring group of elderlies to always gather in Jin store was mainly because Jin had provided them with an activity that allowed them to exercise on a regular basis. But most importantly, they had taken a liking for Jin''s store due to his food. (at reasonable prices!) Though Lynn had always provided savoury food with the bulk of the cultivators, she had purposely made an elderly friendly menu that was priced at a reasonable cost and suited the taste palate of the uncles and aunties. (not to mention filled with nourishment!) Hence, it was a place of convenience to gather for food and exercise while enjoying the modern trend of those youngsters, what was there not to like? As a group of them was waiting for some of their friends to arrive early in the morning for the usual workout before the crowd comes in, the notification of the Emergency Raid instance came without warning. Accompanied with the shop instance blinking with red lights, the sudden atmosphere change startled the group of ''young'' elders. "What is happening?" Xia Mao, a recently retired 60 year old gentleman, checked his phone when he felt the vibration coming from his phone. He squinted his eyes a little to check the contents of the notification and realised it was from his Pandamonium App. Zi Dan, a friend which Xia Mao acquainted from this casual weekend gathering, also took his phone out to check the notification out. "Hmmm, Emergency Raid Instance? Is this something new? I thought the current raid was the Christmas one?" "Should be new, I guess? It stated that if we decided to respond and join the raid within an hour, we would be able to enter for free once and earn 100 panda medals regardless of the raid outcome." Xia Mao replied. "Seems like everyone in the shop instance is receiving the notification. Some are not hesitating and accepted the Emergency request." Jing Yu, one of the few seniors that had started this casual community gathering in Jin''s store, observed the commotion within the shop instance. "Hmm I think we can give it a try first, it affirmed that this new dungeon is a community raid, similar to the Goblin Raids and of limited time only. Must be Boss Jin trying out new stuff again. Oh does this guy ever stop thinking us as some guinea pigs?" Xia Mao commented which made Zi Dan laughed. "But you never fail to participate for every dungeon of his ever since you join us! The way I see it, you liked to be part of his experiments! Hahaha!" Zi Dan chuckled as he accepted the notification request too though he did not enter the instance just yet to see the response of his two other friends. "You don''t wish to wait for the others?" Jing Yu questioned, but her intentions were painfully clear for the other two old men. "Don''t tell me you are still waiting for Heng Li to come? Because I know that you do not really give much of a concern to most of our other group mates. Did he not say he is returning back to his hometown to celebrate the incoming new year with his children and grandchildren?" Zi Dan was the first to say it out loud. "Even though I am not much of a position to say anything but I think you should give up on him. Do not mistake his kindness any more than what it supposed to be." Xia Mao said, and it made Jing Yu flustered for a moment. "What are you two talking about? Of course, I am definitely waiting for the others to come! You said it was a community raid kind of instance right?" Jing Yu pretended not to care much about the person that they were talking about. "Say whatever you want, your actions spoke louder than words. We are not young anymore. Just take the chance whenever you can, even though it is going to fail. At the very least, you can pass on to the next life with one less regret." Zi Dan rolled his eyes at the apparent lie Jing Yu was weaving. "So¡­are we still waiting for the rest? Apparently, they received the notice from Pandamonium group chat, but we can check the raid out before them. Besides the first time is free and we know how money grabbing Jin''s raids are. We need to complete it at least a few times to earn his rewards." Xia Mao asked once more, and the trio decided to enter the dungeon so they could at least guide the rest when they arrive. "Heh! That is probably your karma for taking other people''s money when you are still working! Besides, the food vouchers they offer as rewards is simply too enticing for me as well." Zi Dan saw the sample list of rewards they offered was extensive. There was even once he worked hard to get the Christmas plushie for his granddaughter and she loved it a lot. The premise for the Emergency raid was straightforward for once. Nothing too fancy and the storyline from the promotional video which came with the notice portrayed a frog swordsman fighting to get revenge from the people who murdered his family and later slaughter his entire village. (Jin clearly left out the cannibalism part to make it more ¡­community friendly.) But as the frog fought against his nemesis, the Salamanders, he found out that their King was possessed by a mystical being which had superior powers. Thus, the frog swordsman Gaeru had to retreat temporarily and rallied for aid to come. That was where the cultivators came in. His prayers were supposedly answered by a Panda God which decided to reward him for his courage to face the Salamanders alone and made it that far. Most of the customers grasped the concept of the Panda God was none other than Jin himself, and many giggled at the fact that he called himself a god during the promotional video. "Well, in a way, Boss Jin is a god since he created works to suit the storyline and make it a possibility for the frog to be victorious. Ahh, I assume he is gonna win with our help." Xia Mao chuckled to Zi Dan as he checked his gear once more before going in. "I just hope this current raid is not as strenuous as the Christmas one. Darn, I recalled hearing my joints cracked a few times doing that dungeon." Zi Dan stretched his back and move his waist a little. "If not for the increase in cultivation after attending Jin''s store, I don''t think I will be so active during my retirement years as well." Xia Mao replied with a smile as they both looked towards Jing Yu''s changed outfit. "What? Anything wrong with my outfit?" "Sometimes, I wonder why you go to such the lengths to change to this traditional Hanfu (Han''s clothing) outfits." Zi Dan questioned, even though he roughly knew why she had to wear that. "But it still looks great on you though despite your age." "Cut the crap. Use that sweet mouth of yours to younger girls. Not me." Jing Yu said with some irk. "Hahah, I think it''s because she looked funny wielding her two swords in modern clothing." Xia Mao replied with the obvious, but Jing Yu was already ignoring the two old man as she pressed the ''Enter'' button for the Battle in Salamander Lord''s Keep instance. The other two quickly followed on and wondered what surprises this new dungeon raid will provide. Chapter 630 The Battle in Salamander Lords Keep When Jin released the Emergency Raid Dungeon instance, he noticed a couple of cultivators had already teleported into the outer baileys where Gaeru was waiting for reinforcements from Jin''s store. The frog swordsman did not waste any time as they move towards the inner baileys with whatever number of cultivators were with him. (Even though Jin told him to wait until he had at least thirty over cultivators with him. Right now, he a little more than a dozen with him.) That was why Jin had placed Kido and his fellow Penguin Ninjas at specific points of the outer bailey to guide the cultivators the quickest way into the inner part of the castle. Xia Mao, Zi Dan and Jing Yu were among the first few to follow Gaeru. (They were lucky that when they arrive, that impatient frog was already planning to leave.) So, when they trailed behind the frogman into the inner baileys, they could not believe their eyes at how massive the walls and its surrounding environment were as compared to them. (Since they did not have the slightest idea that they were to be teleported to the Giant World at all.) The amount of distance needed to travel was annoying far, and though the cultivators persisted, it was not as favourable as Gaeru thought it would be. He initially thought the latest group of elderly cultivator would slow them down, but they happened to be the few that could keep up with his pace. The younger cultivators were the ones who had trouble maintaining their chi and thus, their pace was hampered. Some immediately gave the excuse that they did not have their breakfast while others said they happened to be around after some night activities and were not expecting this much running. On the contrary, it was the elder cultivators who gave them a bump in chi and told them how to regulate on the run. Gaeru had to slow down his pace for them, but it was not terrible as they were constantly catching up with him. If not for Jing Yu and Zi Dan''s aid, the young cultivators had to stop every few kilometres for a breather. Jin who was monitoring the progress of the group eventually decided to change the teleportation point to the Inner Baileys in order to prevent the following groups of people from being in the same situation, and it also gave other cultivators the opportunity to meet up with Gaeru and the rest of the customers as well. The only downside is that Maeve might notice something was amiss, but that was no longer a point of concern for Jin. The main giant door to the castle was menacing for most of the cultivators considering their size, but thankfully, it remained open. So, all they had to do was to simply waltz right inside of it and fight against their said opponent as portrayed in the Raid''s story. Nonetheless, it seemed like Maeve and the Salamander King was already expecting them. With the first step into castle, the old Trio along with the other cultivators were teleported separately into various parts of the castle. When they come into their senses, Jing Yu realised that she was paired with Gaeru as they arrived at the prison cells while Zi Dan and Xia Mao were teleported into the kitchen. For the rest of the other cultivators, she assumed that they were transported to various parts of the castle. Suddenly, a booming voice reached out to everyone within the castle. "I lost all my servants because of that stupid frog. Therefore, all of you are to be my slaves! Serve me food! Serve me wine! And clean this fucking place up!" A female voice which Gaeru automatically assumed it was the Evil Kinkstress Maeve that was shouting out. "The person who brings me that frog dead or alive will be instantly promoted to be my personal slave! You will have the best food and service your entire life! Not to mention powers beyond your own understanding!" Maeve continued to advertise. Jin knew that if Maeve wanted to kill the frog, she already had the means to do so. Hence, what she''s doing was equivalent to toying the people that entered her castle. At the moment, all the cultivators were accounted for within her premise with the aid of the Half Masks all of the cultivators were wearing. He also guessed that at this point, the Salamander King was nothing but just a puppet for her to play. There might be a chance which the King himself was already killed since everyone was dead, courtesy of Sandy and none was left to serve Maeve. Regardless of the annoucement, Gaeru had to get out of the situation he was in. (All of the cultivators thought that this was part of the raid as well and none took Maeve''s words seriously.) As for the prison cell Gaeru and Jing Yu was in, the frog swordsman broken the door with a quick slash using Jin''s off-hand weapon, Boo. Up till now, Gaeru never handled a weapon as light as Boo since all he had been with his entire life was Masamune. Of course, Masamune did not appear the day his father bestowed him the weapon, it was something which he found, and it decided to embody his sword and lived within his blade. Hence, Masamune was a kind of spirit which wished to harbour inside his sword. But how did Masamune came into contact with Gaeru was something which the frog swordsman did not wish to reveal even to the Sage Hamster. The System was not too bothered since it knew of worlds that have an abundance of Living Weapons and perhaps when Jin had cleared most of his current objectives, it would introduce that particular world to him. As Jin noted of the trouble Gaeru was having with his borrowed sword, he assisted him in transforming Boo into a shape something similar to Masamune, including the weight and length of it. The only major difference was the crossguard and the immensely good grip which the sword possessed. Gaeru even stated that it was an improvement Masamune should have in the future. "Perhaps, we might be able to do that in the future, assuming Masamune allowed us to modify it," Jin said to Gaeru before he departed further down the prison cells. As for Jing Yu, the half mask she was wearing aided her tremendously, and if she was able to applaud Jin for making such a significant Ui improvement to the mask, she would have done so. The current mask was able to show things that were already implemented during the beta testing by Xiong Da''s team in the Farming World and even more. Right now, since Jin had already scanned the area once, the full castle map was revealed to the Jing Yu, and she could instantly locate her teammates via her mask. So, her immediate concern was to protect the Frog and regroup with her team mates once more. (That is assuming she knew how to convince that musclehead frog to listen to her.) In usual circumstances, Jin would have placed a fog of war in the maps, but this was an emergency raid he could not afford to lose. So, the dungeon supplier believed that he should be aiding the cultivators as much as he could without too much meddling. He was also going to use the map function as an excuse to reveal the exclusive new features of the half masks before he used it for other raids or dungeon instances. The System liked the marketing gimmick that Jin employed and unexpectedly praised him for it before returning to monitor the situation. Even though it was an unforeseen development for the cultivators to be separated, it was not much of an issue since more and more cultivators will arrive and Jin was going to use quantity to squeeze the Maeve''s magic powers to the limit. Only when she was exhausted, then Jin will enter the fray as a special guest with his other bellators to finish the job. All he hoped was that the Queen of Winter Court would not appear and make their lives as difficult as it could already be. Jin did query about the Queen of Winter Court from Hamatarou, but he was not much of a help at all as well, as they were as elusive as they could be. He only knew from legends and his druid teachers that Queen Mab was not as mischievous and ¡­machoistic as her daughter. And unlike the Queen who possessed mostly ice magic, Maeve possessed a certain kind of magic that would make the demons under Jin rather jealous. The haunting capability to summon unnatural beasts into the physical realm. Chapter 631 Valg Parasite Usually, such unnatural beings required a sacrifice for them to be summoned, and Maeve was no exception to the rule. She had undoubtedly killed the Salamander King despite its pledge of utmost loyalty to her. But because of her Fey powers, she was able to reduce the amount of sacrifice needed to call upon her beloved type of unnatural beings, the Valgs. Besides, the Salamander King was solely seen as a mere pawn in her eyes. Maeve had never really needed him in the first place, and his entire Salamander Family acted as a sort of vacation home for her to fool around while escaping from her actual duties given by Queen Mab, the Queen of Winter Court. With just one sacrifice, she managed to open the metaphysical realm to call upon the hordes of Valgs as her plaything against the incoming foes. She never knew how Gaeru managed to get reinforcements, much less humans when they were supposed to be extinct or at least turned by her mother''s curse. But since there were playthings around, Maeve obviously would like to have some fun. Yet, it would be equally dull if those humans dash straight towards her. Thus, she provided them with obstacles like the Valgs to test their strength so she would fight against the few who were worthy. As for the Valgs, they were a sort of parasite which latches onto beings, feeding them off their vitality and subsequently killing them. That was how they usually gain form and eventually terrorise people with it. Be it a corpse or a living person, as long as they have something to feast upon, they will grow in size. There were few instances in the Giant World''s forgotten history of these valgs plaguing their lands. But the most recent and devatasting event was actually the Giantism virus in action. The virus was supposedly a rare variant type of the Valgs which the Queen Mab decided to play with when she was younger. Instead of the Valg leeching mana or life from the host, it did the reverse. By taking magic particles from the surrounding atmosphere and feeding its host with mana. It injects so much mana into the host body that it surpassed the body''s limit and thus explodes. During such explosion, the variant Valg parasite as a method of dispersal so that it could latch on something. The only problem was that humans cannot see them, and they quickly die off if there are no bodies to infect in the surrounding. So, like every being who strived to survive in the harshest of conditions, it adapted and evolve. Eventually, it was able to infect the surrounding environment and other creatures as well. The giantism virus which everyone feared was no doubt a metaphysical parasite which still exist up to this day and this type of parasite managed to leave a strain of their DNA and infused with the current nature of Hamatarou''s world. Hence, everything turned big and filled with mana and life. Ironically, when the actual Valgs invaded the Giant World, all they had to do was to leech the mana and life from the world itself for them to manifest physically. In short, what Queen Mab did previously against Hamatarou''s supposed killer as part of her fun in the contract loophole, eventually infected the entire human population became an unintentional playground for Maeve to use. The daughter of the Winter Court Queen knew for sure that her mother did not plan to make the world a place for the Valgs to manifest and survive with a proper physical body. However, it was a surprise that the cultivators did not get infected by, and it was mainly because they have yet to evolve to infect humans from other worlds. (And oddly enough, the use of chi deterred the parasites.) The System had also previously noticed such anonymous elements ledged in Qiu Yue and Lynn as well but did not know what it was and had decided to eliminate it in the name of safety when they returned back to their world. (They also thought it was a simple decontamination shower just in case. Besides, they stink so badly from the adventure, they gladly took the shower.) Now with a number of valgs manifesting under its radar, there was a striking similarity in the elements the System previously detected. Hence, it already prompted the System to immediately take precautions against these parasites the moment the cultivators returned to the luxury recovery instance. It even contacted Hamatarou who was busy with improving Masamune for the spells that changed the humans into animal people for analysis as part of a countermeasure. If the Valgs never appear, the System would not have known about a possible parasitic infiltration into their current ecosystem. To the System, it was a blessing in disguise for them to fight against Maeve. (Naturally, the System kept quiet and let Jin focus on the current raid.) The Valg parasites that appeared in the castle grew the moment they came in contact with this world. All sorts of monstrous features one could think of, the Valg parasites were able to grow as such. From insectoid forms to even human shapes, they rushed out from the portal gate created from the body of the Salamander King and helter skelter into the depths of the castle. Gaeru saw the abomination of an unnatural being right in front of it, dying to use its claws and fangs against him and Jing Yu. As for the elderly lady, it seemed as if she had seen her fair share of monsters and was not afraid to face it. She summoned her cultivation out, and a series of Condor vultures appeared right above her. Without hesitation, she went for the first strike by extending her arms out. In an instant, two swords flew from the scabbards that were attached to her waist and went towards the direction of Valg. Attached to the swords were pieces of cloth which were identical to the black Hanfu outfit that she was wearing. Her cultivation, the Hungry Condor Style was a cultivation style that placed great emphasis on the control of chi as compared to swordplay. It was to the point that Jin once thought that this was the few older styles that might have spark the fusion of eastern and western styles together. The smoothness of controlling the swords from a distance via the cloth that attached to it made it looked like advanced telekinesis, but it was all about the precise control of using chi. As the swords flew towards the Valg, it tried to block the incoming projectiles with its claws, but Jing Yu easily moved the swords away from its swing trajectory and attack it from another angle. Gaeru now partially understood why the old lady decided to wear a Hanfu clothing. It was to hide how she controlled the swords via the cloth that was attached to it so that the enemy could not predict her movements. He was amazed by the Condor Cultivator and only until an impromptu shout from Jing Yu awoken him from the daze looking at the elegant beauty of sword control. The frog swordsman quickly shook his head as he leapt forth and gave a straight stab towards the Valg. While it seemed like a suicide attack from Jing Yu''s point of view, especially since it looked like a straight, sincere strike, she had underestimated the frog''s flexibility. Like her swords, the frog was able to turn mid air evading the Valg''s swipe while he cut the hand down with his new sword and used the momentum from spinning to give an extra impact to the strike right in the middle of its torso. Unfortunately, the attack seemed like it was not enough to kill it and Gaeru hastily used his tongue to stick to the ceiling and pulled himself away from the Valg. Now Jing Yu began to understand the unnatural being in front of her. It was a monster with a high constitution and perhaps a considerable amount of strength, but agility is definitely not its strength. With that in mind, the Condor Cultivator pushed in more chi into her swords to made them hit harder while maintaining the grace of movement. However, little she did know that not all Valgs were the same as the one that preyed on Zi Dan and Xia Mao was of a direct opposite. It was to the point that the two had to use the kitchen appliances as part of their defences. It was extremely unsightly to see two old men desperately trying to dodge the Speedy Valg, but they were genuinely doing all they can to survive. Chapter 632 Six Legged Valg "If only we have Jing Yu, here!" Zi Dan panted as he used a pot to block a strike from the six legged Valg before retracting back to the ceiling and using the entire kitchen to its advantage. "Don''t joke around already! You are technically the fastest between the three of us!" Xia Mao said when he hid from a spitting poison projectile from the Valg. He assumed it was some sort of poison since it corroded the large wooden table he was hiding behind. (He could not understand why only the appliances were human-sized while the rest of the furniture around the castle were large by default.) "You want me to use my cultivation techniques at the start of the raid? Come! Take over my body and feel how painful it is when the aftereffects set in!" Zi Dan yelled at Xia Mao from a distance, and that attracted the Valg''s attention, prompting it to chase after Zi Dan. "Shit! It''s like a freaking spider waiting to entrap us! "Do you mean toying with us? Besides! That freaking monster only has six legs, not eight!!" "I do not think some minor differences in technicalities actually matter right now!" Zi Dan took his chain ball mace and infused it with enough chi to block the incoming projectile. Sadly, that was not the end as the Valg had learnt how those pesky humans were avoiding its attacks. Thus, it sprung forth towards Zi Dan, hoping to grab him before he could run into safety again. "Shit!" Zi Dan saw the incoming mass of hands (or legs?) waiting to grab him, and that scene alone had already paralysed him with much fear. Yet, Xia Mao was not going to let his teammate to be killed by the hideous monster even before reaching to the main boss. (Although that seemed to be the case for the both of them most of the time.) Xia Mao shot a projectile in the shape of a cat''s head from his crossbow, and it miraculously hit the Valg. That one shot was sufficient to push the monster away from hitting Zi Dan, and the sight of the cat''s head smashing itself directly on the Valg violently awoke Zi Dan, allowing him to move towards Xia Mao as quickly as possible. "What were you doing, freezing up right in front of the monster?!" Xia Mao scolded Zi Dan, and he hit him back on the head! "It''s not my fault! For some reason, I was paralysed the moment I saw its eye on one of its palms.. or legs or whatever!! When that cat projectile of yours hit the monster, it broke its eye contact with me, and I was able to move again!" Zi Dan explained as they ran to another hiding place to rebuttal against each other. "And holy shit! You still using those cathead arrows? I thought you swear not to use them anymore!" Zi Dan asked as the arrow that Xia Mao was using had a literal cat head arrow that continuously gnaws when infused with chi. "Hahahah! That excuse was to simmer your anger, besides it saved you this time around! This cat head arrow is a marvellous work of mechatronics! More advanced than you think! Instead of piercing the enemy, it bites the enemy until I detonate it (to explode) after that!" Xia Mao saw no fault in the quiver full of such arrowheads that looked like a cat. "Well, just because you had some lessons from Jin''s NPC blacksmith to make your own arrowheads doesn''t mean you can do this kind of crazy stuff! It''s equally scary and had been annoying me up till to this day!" Zi Dan argued back before they realised a hand emerged from the side of the wall with an eye looking at Xia Mao. True enough, the immediate eye contact had instantly froze Xia Mao, unable for him to react. As Zi Dan was facing towards Xia Mao during their heated arguments, he knew that fancying another look at the eye was too much a risk. Thus, he infused more chi into his chain ball mace and swung it sidewards. He did not care if it hit or not, as long as the eye breaks contact with Xia Mao, they could run away safely. Too bad for him, the attack missed but it hit the side of the wall, causing debris to fly all over the place, causing the Valg to retract his hand and broke the paralysis on Xia Mao. Xia Mao retaliated the moment he could move to shoot out of its cat head arrows at the hand, and he did not stop just there. A button on his crossbow allowed him to activate a one time inscription charm meant to power boost his shot should he need it. That inscription infused the cat head arrow with an exceeding amount of chi, and when the projectile flew, the cat head was enlarged to five times its size. Zi Dan saw the size of the cat head, instinctively realised they are too close to the blast radius and he had activated his cultivation, the Bullet Cheetah. He grabbed Xia Mao by the waist and with a burst of speed, he sprinted 100 metres away from the place they were hiding. This also allowed Xia Mao to confidently detonate his cat head arrow, hoping it would deal some damage to the monster. Ironically, the Valg thought that the big size cat head arrow was alive with its seemingly real facial features. So, it decided to lift four of its palms towards the cat head arrow to make eye contact with it. The monster did not know that it merely quickening its death and soon the Valg exploded into several pieces. Its impact sent most of the body parts flying before it was burnt into crisp from the attack. "Arsehole! Did you not notice that we are so close to the target?!" Zi Dan shouted at Xia Mao after seeing a blueish explosion from the corner of the eye. "Heh Heh! I had confidence you will bring me out of the blast radius." Xia Mao said in a shaky voice, and Zi Dan sighed at his blatant bluffing. The Valg continued to shriek at its demise, allowing the other two to think that would be the end of it. Or so they wished. The desperate howling from the dying Valg was, in fact, a cry for help and the rest of the Valgs which were lurking around the castle began to proceed towards the castle''s kitchen with the two not knowing how their impending doom was developing behind the scenes. Until then, Xia Mao and Zi Dan revised what they had in their inventory seriously. While the two elderly cultivators did not know what other horrors of unnatural beings were stalking this area, they knew the previous fight would not be the last. With their combined experience more than a hundred years, they had the same premonition that more of those Valgs were rushing towards them. And that was where one of the new features that Jin spent the time perfecting it before releasing the raid to the public came into play. Chapter 633 Pit Stop It was none other than the use of a battle store via the Pandamonium app. Through this battle store, cultivators can now buy food, potions, weapons, inscriptions and even accessories to aid them during their raid. It was part of Jin''s plan to improve the services he provided for a better dungeon experience. This would also allow him to create harder dungeons since the cultivators now had access to an online store in the midst of battle. While it might be seen as a break in the traditional way of dungeons, Jin saw it as an opportunity that had yet to be fully utilised (or in some sense exploited). He was sure some dungeon suppliers might offer such feature before, but the System guaranteed that Jin''s store app''s user interface and services will be maintained top notch quality. Thus, Jin named the Battle Store sub application within the Pandamonium ¨C ''Pit Stop''. The sub application would automatically be placed as the top options when the cultivators entered the dungeon, or it could be used via the half mask they were wearing. Via eye tracking movement or voice control, the store would then display items of the most relevance which the AI predicts what the customer might need during the battle. Hence, a cultivator well versed in the use of Pit Stop could potentially purchase an item in the heat of the moment to change the tide of battle almost instantaneously. However, all the items and even the delivery of those goods were all monetised by Jin. He knew the store might not be well received since it was literally a pay-to-win kind of method and Jin understood the implications of giving the rich cultivators an edge over the other players. So, he forbade the use of Pit Stop should he ever create a formal cultivator versus cultivator kind of arena but against monsters and raids? He believed it was a fair game for everyone except for the first clear rewards. If the cultivators wished to have their names on the board, they had to do it without any restocking from Pit Stop. Also, the items were priced at least 10% higher than the standard base prices that were sold in his shops. And to compensate that, there were weekly discounts on selected items in the Dungeon Store Instances, to make them attractive and viable for cultivators to continue to look into them. That was unless they were using Pit Stop to browse the contents of the stores outside the dungeon instances. While adjusting the features, Jin had also implemented a cart option, and this further improved the purchase experience within the Pandamonium App. Previously, the shop option in the Pandamonium acting as a catalogue or a wishlist for them to take note if there were any discounts. With the new implementation, cultivators were now able to buy and browse items they wished to get before coming to the store itself for the dungeon experience. This new update would also allow cultivators to take advantage of the sales even when they are not in the store physically. The System also believed this long awaited marketing gimmick will increase the store''s sales by another 80% since people fancied buying items from the net, not to mention at a discounted rate. (Don''t worry, Jin was still making a profit from everything.) As for the delivery of goods into the dungeon instance, Jin took the chance to make even more money. For the first delivery of each dungeon instance, Jin had implemented it in such a way that all goods ordered would be sent to their customers immediately. Only subsequent orders would be via a timed postal delivery. If the cultivators wished to have the second round of supplies to enter the dungeon instance quickly, they have to pay for additional delivery fees. Thus, for Xia Mao and Zi Dan who had accumulated a fair bit of panda medals, they had already started choosing items on the Pit Stop to aid them further. Despite their rich dungeoneering experience, this elderly duo knew that no matter how much they had prepared before entering Jin''s dungeon instances, it would never be enough. This particular pitstop was indeed a long needed new feature. With the inclusion of the System''s AI into part of the Pit Stop algorithm, it immediately recommended ammunition for Xia Mao. For the Bullet Cheetah Cultivator, the AI suggested an adrenaline booster inscription charm to further increase his speed as well as other support restorative items which they always lacked no matter how many bottles they carried. The trusty chi restoration drink in a large panda bottle. (Jin even featured XL bottles for heavy chuggers like Xiong Da.) There was even an intergroup mask communicator which Pit Stop was selling an exorbitant price and stated it was a Pit Stop exclusive item. "THAT BOSS JIN! HE IS DOING THIS ON PURPOSE! Extortion! Extortion! If I am back as a businessman, I am going to hire someone like him to bleed Jin dry!" Xia Mao shouted as he saw the ridiculous price of the intergroup mask communicator which unlock the team speak module in their mask. He believed it was essential since it would allow them to communicate with Jing Yu. "Hey, at least it is currently on discount right? And come on! The last time you boasted that your investment is making you lots of money and you have no place to spend them! Now it is the time!" Zi Dan added that he should buy for the whole group as well, hinting Xia Mao to buy for him as well. "Besides, the one time use team speak module cost like five bronze panda medals only. What are you waiting for?" "I am not wailing for the one time! I am talking about the lifetime module! That''s 999 Panda Medals per person! If there is no discount, its 2000 Panda medals! Just to speak with each other from a distance! How is that fair?!" Xia Mao said, and when he pressed on it, a pop up window with explanation appeared and then he kept awfully quiet. "What''s the matter? The Valgs are here?" Zi Dan asked as he scanned the area via his mask and there was no presence of any Valgs around. "No, I think I mistakenly blamed Jin. You are right, its a good investment. I will buy it." Xia Mao mumbled and quietly bought the set for himself and later also gifted an intergroup communicator module to Zi Dan and Jing Yu as well. Zi Dan did not expect that stingy at times Cat Cultivator would really buy a lifetime module for him. What the other two cultivators did not know was that the 999 Panda Medal package was a secret package which only appeared in Xia Mao''s screen because of his exceeding large purchase. Zi Dan did not have that option presented to him since his purchase from the Pit Stop was the bare essentials. That 999 Panda Medal Package combo provided team speak modules for 5 friends and a limited Christmas Panda Plushie which Xia Mao had been eyeing for a long time and could not get it from the Krampus Christmas Raid instance. The size was smaller than the ones redeemable from the store, but it was something which his grandchildren would definitely like. Upon reading, he realised that a lifetime team speak module would usually cost 200 Panda Medals, and thus Xia Mao quickly bought it. That was why when he immediately kept quiet, Zi Dan began to suspect something odd, so Xia Mao continued to grumble and gave an excuse instead. "I remembered I did not give you guys any Christmas present. This is a belated one. I got two more, and the group can do a lucky draw to see who get it later." Xia Mao tried to evade Zi Dan''s suspicion, and somehow his ''charisma roll'' succeeded. "No wonder you are so quiet, feeling guilty eh?" Zi Dan laughed as he saw a Santa panda animation appeared on his screen, presenting him with a gift box. He accepted with glee and the gift box popped open, revealing to him a team speak module. Without any need to tinker, the module programme was immediately unlocked in his mask, and he quickly called out to Jing Yu. "Hey, Jing Yu. Can you hear us? If you do, open your Pandamonium app, we have gifted you a team speak module, courtesy of our grumpy Santa Mao Mao." Zi Dan said with tongue in cheek. However, before they could have a reply, their masks are detecting multiple signatures at least 500 metres away from their current location. "Shit, I guess we better check out the physical items and get the purchases as soon as possible." Zi Dan said as he pressed his orders and a portal appeared. Out came a Panda in a light blue postman attire carrying a crate of items for Zi Dan and Xia Mao. "A little something extra for your good faith in our new service and for spending more than a thousand panda medals in one go." The Postman Panda said as he placed two long rectangular suitcases in front of them. Xia Mao opened it with curiosity which subsequently made both his and Zi Dan''s jaw dropped simultaneously. Lo and behold. The spear of death modernised to rip its enemies. The item which Peppers called a cheap imitation of her explosive magic. And yet its the envy for anyone who wields it in the battlefield, for its appearance only beckon the reaper to arrive sooner. It''s a triple barrel RPG launcher. Chapter 634 A Change In Direction Jin monitored the volatile situation in the Giant World, but he could help to feel frustrated and useless. As it was merely morning, the number of cultivators were still somewhat limited, and at least they were making some progress against Maeve''s Valgs. The System predicted that for the cultivators to reach towards the throne hall where Maeve would be situated at, they would probably need additional manpower considering the threat the cultivators were facing. In the meantime, the System suggested Jin to either work on something more useful or at the very least prepare countermeasures against Maeve. "You mean to prepare an army to assault her the moment the cultivators find her?" Jin asked if that was the System''s intention. He had initially wanted to rush in at the very last moment to aid the cultivators but eventually decided to not do so. At first, he was afraid that Maeve''s magic would teleport him away the moment he teleported into the Giant''s World. However, the Postman Panda delivery had alleviated his fears when it managed to portal right beside Zi Dan and Xia Mao to pass their purchases to them. So, Jin theorised that it could be the entrances and exits of the castle that were affected by the random teleportation magic. If they managed to teleport within the castle''s interior, there should not be a problem. Unfortunately, that leads to another problem. Upon learning that the cultivators should be able to portal safely via the castle''s interior, Jin requested the System to do as such for his minions to attack but it denied and fully objected to Jin''s demands. The System was afraid that Maeve might take that opportunity to locate the System''s portal and either send her or a Valg portal to the System''s premise. At the moment, those little Panda postmen was not an issue because the magical signature was minute. That could not be said to be the same if the System was teleporting either a portion of Jin''s minions or the cultivators into the castle itself. While it might not be as a problem considering that the System had created a containment premise, the System did not wish to put itself at risk unnecessarily. To the collective of wills, it had already determined that the risk was not worth it and the cultivators should continue to go via the front door. Besides, what Maeve was doing had unknowingly created a complex enough dungeon raid experience for the cultivators. It saw no qualms breaking that experience for the cultivators. But for Jin, the System later compromised to provide a one shot portal which subsequently led Jin to wonder if it was a good idea after the System had expressed its concerns. "What if the extent of her powers is more than we estimated? We might potentially incur more losses than predicted, and I have an awfully terrible feeling that Queen Mab may step into the picture to protect her kid from dying." "Then do just that? Why worry so much?" Kraft questioned as he emerged from nowhere once more. He sat at Jin''s chair and ate what seemed to be an open bag of chips. (If Jin was not mistaken, Kraft probably stole it from Peppers since he remembered getting such chips for her.) "The System had a point, we still need to conserve resources like souls for the Mechanical Titan attack since it would be hard for us to transport any cultivators to space without any proper space suits," Jin replied. "What if the cultivators failed without Queen Mab coming in? What do we do? Don''t know? That is precisely what the System wants you to plan. " Kraft reminded Jin of his duties. "Never forget the loyalty and eagerness of your monsters. Although it''s true that the cultivators are a source of your income and, to a certain degree, your fighting force, you have to remember not to rely too much on external help. That applies to business partners too." "But didn''t you suggested earlier to use cultivators?" Jin furrowed his eyebrows as he talked to Kraft. "Doesn''t mean you have to listen to everything I said, right? Did I accidentally lose my thinking master somewhere along the way? Or the person in front of me became a puppet of the System again? Do you want me to throw you back to that dark room once more? I can do that with a snap of a finger." Kraft warned Jin without facing him before heaving out a sigh. He knew that Jin was not himself when his master heard the ''business proposal'' from the Police Captain, even though it clearly sounded more like extortion. "Don''t let these small minor setbacks crawl all over your head. You had been marginally successful thus far, but it was not without luck. Even if Lady Luck is not at your side, doesn''t mean you cannot work around the problem. Remember that your long term goal differs from everyone and you should not let these setbacks take control of you." Kraft finished what he needed to say. He then disappeared after using the Dungeon Maker console to check on a few queries that he had before disappearing from the Dungeon Maker. Jin took a deep breath in and took a step backwards. Kraft was right, the System and the others had been holding his hand from time to time. They could only help him to a certain extent, and as for the rest, Jin had to grow some balls and take the situation by its throat. The Dungeon Supplier had always been worrying about the wrong things, and the only thing he should worry about is his own future, not some business deal or blackmail. Maeve, the Mechanical Titan or even the Farming World were also just temporary obstacles to enhance his life in the future. Thus, he should not see these events with dread and instead with glimmering opportunity. And there was indeed a silver lining in this particular circumstance. "Hamatarou, are you done with the enhancement of Masamune?" Jin spoke through the System Channel. "More or less, I think Vulcan understood my requirements, I should be available in a minute or two if you need me. What is the matter, Master? Do you want me to interrogate the Salamanders to find out why the Salamander King is acting that way? Or their connection with Maeve?" "Nope, I do not want any of those. The Raid is up against Maeve, and I think this is the best time to get the other animal people. You said you have some way of contacting everyone right? For that ehh massive migration thingy." Jin vaguely remembered the details. "Yeap, that something is similar to your flare gun, I shoot a magical flare from my hideout, and it will provide a signal to all the usable Totem of Atems to activate a hidden compartment. It contains a map various checkpoints for me to meet them for the mass migration. But we would still be in a sort of cat and mouse chase since giants are prowling the area." Hamatarou said. "No worries about that, tell the System when you are ready to return to your tree hideout and prepare the stuff. I will contact you again when I have actionable details for you to proceed with the flare." Jin hung up and requested Peppers via the System Channel. "Boom Boom time?" Peppers eagerly arrived at the Dungeon Maker despite taking the call from the System. "In a way," Jin replied, and Peppers frown before her master could finish his sentence. "That won''t do. I did you a service already, I am not going to do some useless scan to see the number of monsters in that pathetic castle. You should have enough information to go by." Peppers interrupted and was ready to return while still chewing on the candy that Jin had gotten for her earlier in the morning. Jin quickly grabbed by her shoulders and pushed her to the dungeon maker console. The System also assisted by blocking her teleport until she listened to Jin''s request. "No. Peppers, look here. I have a very important job for you, one that requires your utmost ability as well. It might not be as fun as burning the whole Giant kingdom down, but I need you to provide aerial artillery support." Jin then emphasised on the next sentence. "In short, an awful lot of Boom Boom." Chapter 635 Preparations For The Rescue Operation "Now, I am listening." Peppers eyes lit up like the lights of a Christmas tree, all twinkling and shining within the midst of her dark ruby eyes. "The current plan is that we get you to fly up high on Que Er''s magpies, Wyrstiker''s wyvern or maybe even Mr Derpy himself and from there, you will provide numerous bombardment artillery against the Giants," Jin told Peppers that those giants would be specifically targeting the animal people that Jin wished to rescue and recruit. The idea was to get them out of hiding immediately with the flare which Hamatarou would be firing. After which, find out where they were located and send the Penguin Ninjas to escort the animal people back to the Sanctum of World''s guest instance. During the mass transfer, the Giants might be a hindrance, and that was where Peppers would come in to remove them out of the equation. "So, you want me to use Scan and explosions at the same time?" Peppers realised the task ahead of her might be out of her league especially when she knew how much mana the scan could take. Even if the little bellator could scan kingdom wide, she would not be able to differentiate who was friend or foe. "Yes, that is why I am sending Ayse with you. I recalled reading a little on her recent report about you. She had prepared some contraption that would aid you in regulating your mana. Besides, she had been training you for quite some time, I doubt you will faint as much as you used to. Have some faith in yourself." Jin was encouraging Peppers more positively than the way Kraft did to him, but the essence of the message felt like it was a grim reminder way too soon. "Alright, but I demand more sweets and candies! Especially ones from Big Sis Lynn! Else!" Peppers attempted to take advantage of Jin, and he nodded his head slightly as a sign of agreement. After which, Jin had passed the message to Derpy as he imagined the support from Ayse would need some space to bolster Peppers'' magic powers. That big fellow was so excited to go into action and even asked if Jin needed the Deep Ones to assist with the expedition. Jin humbly turned down his offer and told him that only he could do the job, which made him even more elated. With Peppers'' aid, Jin had his very own improvised Search and Destroy satellite of destruction. (Just that this particular ''satellite'' isn''t as reliable as he wanted it to be. Still, it was better than nothing.) To have air support was something that Jin desperately needed but always overlooked. So, with Derpy acting as the floating platform, Peppers, Ayse and Que Er would be providing the much needed aerial support. Peppers would supply the bombardment strikes as Que Er used her newfound powers to reinforce the operation. She had her murder of blood explosion crows to be hovering all around the Kingdom to keep an eye for the animal people as well as distracting the Giants long enough for Peppers'' bombardment strike to work. Jin had also contacted Lynn, and she had graciously lent more Penguin Ninjas along with Kido to aid Jin with his rescue mission while the raid was ongoing. She knew how important it was for the penguins to aid their fellow animal people since they knew what it was like to live through day by day in horror. The Dungeon Supplier also figured that if they could not defeat Maeve, they should at least complete the grand objective of saving the animal people as quickly as possible and leave the area. While having Maeve will definitely be a bonus, its not their main priority. At the very most, Jin would cut short the cultivator''s raid and reward those who had fought valiantly in the fight. However, that did not mean Jin was going to stop short. He knew that Maeve will definitely be a fantastic addition to his roster (and so did the System) and even he did not say it out loud, the desire was plain and clear for everyone to see. (Well technically, only the System was around¡­) Yet, the only ability she had shown was to summon the Valgs, so she should not be underestimated if they were to fight face to face. That was where Jin had decided to take heed in Kraft''s request. "Kraft, You say to rely on you guys right? How about you loan me your Dark Elves? I heard they were trained to be your elite adventuring force. Thought I can see them in action." Jin asked through the System Channel. "Ehhhh? They will cost you." Kraft thought this would be an opportune time to take advantage of Jin. "I will provide additional funds to revamp your Tavern base. How about that?" Jin knew that Kraft would want more but the dungeon supplier had something up his sleeves. "How about giving me an extra-" "No, then the deal is off. I will find other monsters to take over." Jin then shut the System Channel and began to look at the directory of monsters. Perhaps, he could field the Orcs as part of training for the upcoming fight against Demon King Baal. Meanwhile, he was hoping Kraft will take Jin''s bait mainly because he knew that even though Kraft was a bellator with some authority, he did not have rights to acquire additional funding for his personal use. Besides, if he did not appear to take Jin''s request on, it meant that Devilman was shooting himself in the foot for telling his master a lie that he should rely on his monsters as well. It was the first time, Jin had the upper hand on the issue against Kraft and that Original Bellator knew that too. In less than five minutes, Kraft did appear in front of Jin, and with a twisted face of agony, he reluctantly agreed to it. "I should remind myself not to encourage you too positively in the future," Kraft said slowly, and Jin shrugged his shoulders with a slight smirk expression. (If the Dark Elves ever knew that Kraft was defeated by Jin due to a logic loop, they would be praising their ''actual'' master to no end.) Regardless, the Dark Elves were eventually scheduled to be the first responders against Maeve if the cultivators failed badly. The dungeon supplier had also decided to send a few fighter dark elves with the cultivators so they could find out any weakness against the Valgs. When the Dark Elves heard of the opportunity to go into battle, their elder suggested setting up a few ambush sites when they fight against Maeve in case she wished to escape or bring the fight out of the throne hall. Jin did not understand why and the elder explained that it was solely because they would be fighting against a Fey. "We have previous encounters against fairies in the Goblin World as well. They were a rare sight even to Elves, and not all were friendly. The first we reached out, nearly killed us with her words. And because of that, my elders had made countermeasures against such malevolent creatures. ¡­though I am not sure how effective it would be against this Maeve." The Dark Elf Elder said, and suddenly he felt a death stare coming from the Devilman himself. Oh, but the Dark Elf Elder was smirking widely back at him. Very widely. Kraft did not bother to check their memories when he first captured them which was why he did not know that they had countermeasures against Feys. The fox bellator did not think it was worth the time and effort. But now, even though he could forcefully enter their minds to check what they had seen, Kraft rather not waste his energy breaking the barriers he had ''painstakingly'' trained them to create. After all, they were his minions and obliged to tell him anything he wished to know. "You could have told me that earlier! Ah, but I did not really release information on the situation in the Giant World out¡­" Jin wondered if he should keep his minions notified about the current situation so that they might provide help if they were able to. After all, the System did not possess full knowledge of all their abilities and memories unless the monsters voluntarily decided to release that information. But with that new information in mind, Jin had already begun sending out the Dark Elves to be paired with the cultivators to scout for the ambush sites while he prepped the rescue operation. Chapter 636 David Vs Goliath Xia Mao and Zi Dan not only made decent progress against the incoming Valgs, but they had also finally connected through to Jing Yu via the team speak module. Apparently, Jing Yu was previously in a bind with Gaeru as the Valgs were explicitly targeting the frog swordsman, which was why she did not accept the gift when it first went through. Jing Yu did her best to protect the main objective of the raid, and that was evident through the number of points she was gaining. Eventually, the young male elders had made it to the first floor of the castle and met up with an exhausted Jing Yu while the Froggie was still pumping full of adrenaline. "This stupid frog is way too much of a hassle to take care in tight spaces. The length of his sword made it hard for him to fight in narrow corridors." Jing Yu complaint while she dragged the frog with her cloth, acting as a leash to make sure he was not out of her sight. "My condolences. But hey! From what you describe, those valgs were the slow moving ones. We have a shit ton of speedy Valgs itching to have our heads removed if we ever place our guards down." Xia Mao said as he could feel his money being drained from all the ammunition that he used. Even though the Cat Head arrow was a customised item he made from scratch, Xiao Mao did not know that his design could be stored within the Pit Stop and be replicated from within. He believed that it was a nifty feature, but because it was reproduced for him without Xia Mao personally crafting them, it cost nearly two times more. For this, he did not grumble because he remembered how much time and effort to create those Cat Head Arrows and the ones he used were of acceptable quality as well. Xia Mao even wondered if Jin could allow customised made items to be sold in his shop instances in the future. That way, he could earn a minor commission to further supplement his retirement activities. While Xia Mao was actually glad to pay double the price for an instant duplication of those arrows for him to use, that was not the only item he created when he attended the Blacksmith NPC workshop. As he was a cat cultivator and a lover of cats himself, Xia Mao had his weapons adorned with cat designs to the point that Zi Dan felt it was absurd. His crossbow had an ornate head of a Sphynx cat, and his crossbow stock was crafted with a silhouette of Persian cats lazing at the corner. Nonetheless, his fellow Cheetah Cultivator could not deny the effectiveness of his items despite the absurdity of it such as the Cat Head Arrows. Xia Mao also declared that if there was a Cat Suit Cosmetic Inscription, he would definitely wear it for every battle. Separately, Jing Yu had no knowledge about the Pit Stop feature as she was too busy fending for her life, nor did she read the updates to the raid. Thus, they decided to move to a corner of a giant room where the other two cultivators kept guard while she tried to restock her items. "Oh and DO NOT let that frog out of your side. He is always impatient, like a child so fixated on his path and ignored almost everything around him." Jing Yu said as she grabbed on to wrapped up Gaeru and told Zi Dan to hold it tightly. The Cheetah Cultivator was somewhat surprised that Gaeru''s skin was rather smooth instead of it being slimy and rough to touch. "Honourable Gentlemen! We should head for the throne hall as soon as possible! Our nemesis is there!" Gaeru not knowing that the Salamander King was dead, continued to struggle in Zi Dan''s arm. "Easy there Froggie, as soon as our teammate finished restocking, we will head in there! I know you are dying to exterminate the king who killed your tribe, but it''s better to be fully prepared." Zi Dan replied as he struggled to keep the frog still. Now he understood why Jing Yu warned about this feisty swordsman. "No! Every second wasted means more time for him to grow stronger. We must reach there, posthaste!" Gaeru expressed his concerns of the Salamander King getting stronger with the aid of Maeve, but he had also promised Jin not to leak any of the raid details to the cultivators unless they pressed really hard for it. "How about this? You tell us one good reason why you should rush in there along without us?" Xia Mao questioned, and suddenly the frog became motionless, he did not continue to put up a struggle against Zi Dan''s grab. "Because I did not want to think about it. I feel that fighting was the only way to divert my attention from the truth that I had abandoned my village when they needed me most¡­ While they would never have expected me to aid them in their time of desperate need, it''s still my responsibility¡­my solemn duty. And I had failed to protect them." The frog whispered slowly as if he spoke it out from the depths of his heart. Zi Dan did not know why but if this was seriously part of the raid''s backstory, the frog emotions was almost too real to be true. Xia Mao who was standing guard with his pal could not fathom such an emotional response from a dungeon instance as well and wondered if this emergency raid was a story long-planned by Jin. The only qualms that the duo had were the giant sized environment they were in. There had to be some sort of background history with regards to the place''s culture or giant size buildings, but for now, Xia Mao would not waste his brain cells to relate any of those. He was not the kind who search for lore in a dungeon instance as compared to those nerds in the Pandamonium Forum, so it did not matter too much to him. Ever since Gaeru gave his reasons, the whole group remained silent until Jing Yu was well restocked. Instantly, the very same Panda Postman appeared and passed her the items as well as a parting gift too ¨C a pack of incendiary grenades. And as they were about to depart, the team heard a series of horrid screams echoing from the hallway down from where they were hiding. A quick zoom via the Mask UI had revealed that four other cultivators were attempting to disengaged in a fight against an enormous looking Valg which the team had never encountered. That could only mean that they were getting closer to the Salamander Lord. Without hesitation, Gaeru quickly broke free from Zi Dan''s grapple and sped towards the Giant Valg to save the team of escaping cultivators (It was more like he was dying to get into battle.) Upon closer inspection by the older cultivators, they noticed that the Valg had distinct features similar to a Salamander. The only differences were its haunted expression, giant size and fists that were half the size of the pillars in the castle. It was not something a handful of cultivators and a frog could attempt to fight against. They were akin to ants when facing this particular giant Salamander Valg. "Shit! Even the RPG launcher and grenades that Jin gave us as gifts would not be sufficient to bring this monster down!" Zi Dan said as he held on to his ball chain mace with creeping dread. "But it is in our way, and I don''t think we can outrun it no matter how fast we go! I think even that Giant Salamander Valg will outpace Zi Dan running at his top speed ." Xia Mao commented as he checked the number of Cat Head Arrows he left. "Either we fight to the death against this or we last until the reinforcements enter the fray. Surely, we can use our team speak module to send an SOS, right?" Jing Yu queried as she opened her storage ring and placed an additional ten swords on the floor. Out from her Hanfu outfit, ten pieces of cloth flew out to attach themselves to the swords. Yet when the cultivators were thinking of ways to defeat the Giant Valg, the little frog charged forth recklessly with his heart steeled with nothing but absolute determination. From the shop instance''s screens, it was indeed similar to a reenactment of David versus Goliath. Chapter 637 Reinforcements En Route "That idiot Jin! Why does he always do this kind of nonsense!" Xiong Da was already on his way to the Tree Mall via taxi. If not for the fact that he had to take on the call of nature at 5 am in the morning, he would have totally snooze off the vibration notification from his phone. Though he loved to get Ruo Ying, his girlfriend and personal secretary up for the emergency dungeon raid, she had been awake an hour ago entertaining a few friends of hers that came from abroad. Thus, Xiong Da decided to go alone, hoping that Ruo Ying was able to get some quality sleep. (He too knew that he could snore too loud for comfort and sometimes, she had to bear with it.) At most, he will buy breakfast from the Tree Mall and surprise her with it. Upon consoling his conscience, the Hippo Cultivator attempted to message in the Pandawan group chat to see if anyone''s awake for Emergency Raid instance. Ironically, the only person who answered was Bu Dong. While he was preparing to rest for the night after a series of online video game session with his friend Kong Xian, the Towering Tortoise Cultivator, the Emergency Raid Instance came about. Since it was the weekend, they had decided to sneak out of the house to go to the Tree Mall. Kong Xian initially rejected since he had spent enough on his girlfriend and any more would put a strain on his January''s budget. But when he heard that his generous friend Bu Dong would be hailing a cab for him as well as treating him breakfast after the raid, Kong Xian had agreed to go. (Some friend he was¡­) As Xiong Da reached to the Tree Mall, he noticed that only the Panda Tiangong Statue with a Santa Hat was lit up. At the same time, he also heard a series of shouting echoing at the higher levels of the mall and observed that it could be Jin''s Emergency Raid working. Unlike Jin''s store which continued to open 24 hours, the rest of the place remained empty, and even the power to the escalators was down till the next morning. Hence, Xiong Da used his cultivation powers to jump up the top floor. He treated it as part of a warm up exercise and teleported into Jin''s store instance upon reaching the top level. "Yo, Xiong Da. I thought you will reach here first." Bu Dong said as Kong Xian was already yawning away. "I checked the forums a bit, and apparently it''s rumoured to be as tough as the Christmas Raid. The only difference is that its a community raid, so everyone gonna participates until the instance itself is full." "And Boss Jin had also added a few new features. Apparently, the improved mask UI feature you talked about? He implemented it into this particular raid, and people were saying that there''s store app we can access inside the dungeon." Kong Xian added, and Xiong Da''s eyes widen. "Well, its about time! No matter how much I prepared, Boss Jin''s dungeons would always bleed me dry of potions! This time around, I am just going to spam the store app when we are in the dungeon. He owed me that much anyway, hahahah!" Xiong Da said, and suddenly someone within the auditoriums was shouting for everyone to come to take a look. Although the number of people visiting Jin''s store increased, there was still more than enough space for people to squeeze through the auditorium to check what was on the screen. They witnessed the Giant Salamander Valg slamming randomly within the castle interior, and the magic eye would zoom towards the frog swordsman fighting against it. The fight was increasingly intense, and it became evident that the raid required more help. A few other cultivators were fighting against the Giant Salamander Valg as well, but it seemed like this raid was already pushing them to the limits. Mr Patsu urged the rest to hurry into the raid instance and aid the cultivators that were still standing strong. "I am all ready, been optimising my stuff on my taxi trip here and must say, it''s amazing that the new store function would allow me to buy items on the fly." Xiong Da said as he took his phone out and pressed the ''send purchase'' option. The little Panda Postman appeared once again, tipping his cap towards Xiong Da as he dragged a crate two times bigger than him out of the portal. The bystanders had mixed reactions to the Panda Postman. Some were commenting on how cute the Panda was in trying to get the crate out of the portal though others felt that the Postman was rather pitiful, doing a task which they deemed it was overwhelming even for the little guy. Xiong Da felt terrible too upon seeing the Panda Postman struggling, but the latter stopped him from coming any nearer. "I have a job to do, and I will finish it no matter what." The Panda Postman said, and the female cultivators were already posting pictures on how cute the little Panda Postman was in showing his determination to complete the job. (Even though most of them knew that it was all part of the gimmick.) Bu Dong and Kong Xian shrugged their shoudlers and told Xiong Da that they were ready to depart whenever he was ready. The three eventually entered the raid when Xiong Da filled his storage rings with the items he ordered. To him, it seemed like this community raid could be as exciting as the Goblin Raid instances. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Shit! This is no joke!" Xia Mao said as he barely dodged the pillar looking fist of the Giant Salamander Valg. If not for Jing Yu''s quick assistance by using her cloth to pull Xia Mao closer, he would have lost his life in an instant. "Stop fooling around already and use your cultivation properly!" Jing Yu knew that that crossbow and Cat Head arrows were not even a proper substitution for his actual cultivation. "You want me to activate my cultivation against this big guy? Are you nuts!?" Xia Mao said as he unwrapped the cloth around him, but somehow it got stuck. He then realised that Jing Yu was already pointing her sword while further tightening the cloth which was wrapped around that Cat Cultivator. "Arghhh. Fine! I am not as nimble as I am now! DO NOT expect much from me!" Xia Mao grumbled as he shot the Cat Head arrow before keeping his crossbow in his storage ring and took out a scimitar. Immediately, he revealed his cultivation above him, and it was a series of cats with blindfolds on them. "Activate Blind Cat Stance, Shadow!" Xia Mao said out loud, and suddenly his body sparkled with chi before half of his body became translucent while the other half was filled with void like shadows. "Grab on to my sword, I will send you flying so that you can assist that dumb frog who is jumping around like an annoying fly." Jing Yu said, and Xia Mao held on to the cloth that was wrapped around him. Jing Yu then slowly rolled her eyes as that was not what she meant. She knew that the sword was connected to the cloth, but Jing Yu needed him to hold her floating weapon to have her technique be executed correctly. And since Xia Mao wanted to tease and joke during this tense situation, she did not care anymore and sent a burst of chi through that wrapped cloth. With a blink of an eye, the white fabric intensely rolled towards the Giant Valg, and Xia Mao was literally flying off like a spinning top. However, with his Blind Cat Stance, he managed to balance himself midair and twirled once more before moving like an arrow towards the Giant Valg''s face. The monster noticed something was flying towards him, and he decided to open his mouth to release a blast of ¡­Valg corpses. But as luck would have it, Gaeru was perceptive enough to preempt the projectile attack. When the Giant Salamander Valg was about to make a move, the Frog Swordsman decided to counter attack by jumping towards its neck and stabbing it on the side. While Jin might not be there to handle Boo efficiently, the sword itself was still capable of inflicting a decent amount of damage by penetrating through the Valg''s thick skin. The quick stab was successful as the impact pushed that the Giant Salamander Valg to the side, causing the blast of corpses to be diverted a by few degrees. Still, Gaeru discerned that it was not enough since part of it would definitely hit Xia Mao. Even the other cultivators in the area who were witnessing the attack thought that Xia Mao would be a goner. But presently, only the Blind Cat Cultivator Xia Mao knew that the attack would be rendered useless with his ability. Chapter 638 Blind Cat Stance: Shadow Because of his Blind Cat Stance: Shadow, Xia Mao was temporarily in an ethereal state which he passed through objects with ease. However, that stance consumed chi like flowing water from the tap, and it meant that Xia Mao only had one shot at making it right. But the Blind Cat Cultivator was not an assault based cultivation style and more of a support type cultivation. That was also the reason why he adopted the use of Mechatronics and infused it with chi (i.e. His Cat Head Arrows) to fight against the Valgs. Xia Mao had shamelessly admitted to his dungeon group that when he was younger, he did use his cultivation knowledge to break into secure locations or big companies to pick their company safes. If not for his Blind Cat Cultivation, he would have gone to jail more than just once. For his imprisonment, the police had to specially create an anti magic barrier along with inscription charms designed to absorb Xia Mao''s chi. He recalled that the prison was meant to have the bare minimum amount of chi to survive. This was all to make sure that his blind cat cultivation would not be activated in prison. Fortunately (Or unfortunately), it was due to people like Xia Mao, the government became wary of such cultivations and begun upgrading prison security and even tried to ban the Blind prefixes in cultivation styles. (Xia Mao tried to boast that he was the few that made the government revamp the prison system, but no one ever believes him.) No doubt there were protests, but the country''s culture still made it easy to implement those bans as compared to other nations. Thus, most of the existing ''Blind'' cultivation types were either altered to suit the government ban (Such as Yue Han''s Blind Bat Cultivation) or those who used the original blind cultivation types were hidden in plain sight. The rest who were still active? Try the underworld society. It is uncommon to know a Blind cultivation type user in the underworld, but surprisingly, the Triads had also limited the number of blind cultivation types one could employ. All of the Royal Zodiac Triads obliged to it strictly without any question. (If Royal Zodiac Triad spies ever find out that a triad had more than what was considered acceptable, a shadow civil war between the Triads.) Despite the enforcement from the Royal Zodiac Triads, they were only a fraction part of the underworld society. And if one were to give a moral alignment to them, they were already considered to be lawfully evil. Why? Simple. It''s the society of shadows. Previously when Kraft travelled into the Abyss Web, it was not solely just for Foxy. As part of an unwritten rule with the System, he was there to scout and gather information. One portion of such information was regarding black sites and servers filled with contractable hitmen. The System needed data on those hitmen in case those people ever had the blind cultivation types and infiltrate the shop in order to take out Jin. While nothing can escape the eyes of the System when they are in the shop instance premises, it would still be useful to have the preemptive information on them. (And so, Kraft could strike them back hard too.) Even though most of the information was hard to obtain and such sites had the counter hackers to protect the identities of their hitmen, Kraft and the System never fail to break their security and decipher them during their spare (processing) time. And once they had access to their servers, Kraft kept a separate watchlist to take note of those men. In the meantime, the Devilman tried not to use Foxy spyware if possible since he wanted to keep its appearance as low as possible to reduce overexposure if counter hackers stumble on to it. Thus, it was solely his skills and his ability to break into the black servers. (If he ever fails, he would take it as a lesson to be learnt and come back with a better cracking procedure.) As for Xia Mao, because of his previous offence, he had to wear a mini monitoring device on his leg for 20 years after a year of jail. (Due to the intense and isolated nature of his imprisonment, the judge sentenced had reduced it only a year upon revision. Besides, the prosecution could not find any further pieces of evidence for his previous thefts except for the one he was caught for.) During that period, he atoned and worked (somewhat) honestly to become a successful businessman in the field of mechanical engineering with the money he had stolen. (Of course, he used it sparingly to avoid suspicion.) There were times Xia Mao had the urge to commit crimes again for the thrills but technology advances made it too risky for him, especially after being caught once. Through the years, he did attempt many dungeon instances from various dungeon suppliers, but they never gave him the kick he always wanted until now. Xia Mao never felt the battles to be this exhilarating in Jin''s store, and the use of his cultivation had become beneficial for the dungeon group he joined. (For example, he used his Blind Cat cultivation to retrieve the cosmetic inscriptions in the Deep One Dungeon.) That was why he never failed to miss a group dungeon meeting ever since he found Jin''s store. ¡ª¨C "Hey, Frog! Catch this!" Xia Mao said as he threw the scimitar towards Gaeru. The moment the frog swordsman caught it; the scimitar turned bright green like the colour of his skin. Apparently, what Xia Mao had used was something similar to a technique in Yue Wen''s Healing Maiden Cultivation. The Healing Maiden employed a technique that permitted the transference of chi through the physical touch of the body, but for the Blind Cat cultivation, Xia Mao transferred his chi using the scimitar as a medium of transport. That was also how he could never get caught until that fateful day. Xia Mao was able to make an item dissipate as chi, causing it to vanish without a trace. Well, actually almost. His technique enabled him to break the item down into dust, but those dust still contained traces of his chi, which was why he was caught with the advancement of forensic technology. Gaeru, who was barely familiar with the chi concept, only knows that the bright green light he was holding on to, was some form of energy which could be utilised to boost his strength. So, the frog swordsman held the glowing scimitar tight alongside with Boo, finally enabling Jin''s sword to change into a shape which Gaeru had desired. A larger version of Masamune. (What else could he think about?) But unlike the standard Masamune, Boo, now enchanted with a voluminous amount of chi, allowed Gaeru to feel like he was merely holding a feather despite its size. Without any doubts or hesitation, Gaeru casually took a swing against the Giant Valg, and the impact from the enlarged Boo caused it to fall to the ground almost instantaneously. The Giant Salamander Valg had no idea that the frog was able to wield such a weapon and was indeed taken by surprise. If not for the Giant Valg''s fists of pillars to block the swing, it would have been cut into two. By this time, some of the cultivators who came to reinforce were flabbergasted to comprehend a frog holding a sword hundred times its size. A few nearly assumed he was part of the monster horde they had to fight until their mask interface indicated that he was a friendly. "Stop staring and start killing the Giant! Do not give it a chance to stand up!" Jing Yu''s shout broke the mood of shock and awe as she channelled a bulk of her chi into her swords. Zi Dan, who was also in a daze, swiftly got out of it and release the triple barrel RPG launcher from his storage ring. The Mask''s user interface immediately booted up a screen that enabled Zi Dan to lock Valg into his target. To his amazement, the RPG missiles were programmed to follow the target locking mechanism provided by the Mask interface which allowed the Bullet Cheetah cultivator to fire without any training. With a click, three missiles were mercilessly shot out from their barrels, and they roared towards the Giant Salamander Valg''s head. Xia Mao who managed to ledge himself on top of a castle pillar after the previous stunt unleashed his Triple barrel RPG launcher at the direction of the Valg''s head as well. When all six missiles exploded, Jing Yu did not hesitate to follow up the attack by sending her swords forth. The only difference was that all six swords were attached with the incendiary grenades which the Pit Stop shop app had gifted her. Similar to Zi Dan, her incendiary grenades could be rigged for remote explosions via the Mask''s user interface, and that gave her more control with those grenades since she too had no experience in handling them. Somehow, Gaeru felt that those puny attacks were not sufficient against such a large Valg, as if they were merely scratching the surface. Thus, in order to finish this Giant Salamander once and for all, the frog continuously jumped up the walls and pillars, dragging that huge sword right beside him. Using the momentum of his jumps, he backflipped the moment he reached to the top of the ceiling and plummeted his sword down into the Valg''s torso. That giant monster screeched due to the wound he recieved, and his violent reaction to it was noticeable for everyone. It was evident Gaeru had struck a vital blow against the Giant Salamander Valg. Needless to say, that fabulous one-hit strike significantly boosted the morale for the rest of the cultivators as they rushed in, hoping to finish the Giant Valg before it was able to get up. And their efforts were not in vain. Chapter 639 Taking A Breather "¡­I think we are a bit late to the party." Xiong Da and his party members were panting heavily, running from a secluded part of the castle to the main lobby where the Giant Valg event concluded minutes after. "I presume we are already the lucky few, able to charge through the Valgs to reach the main lobby in record time. "Bu Dong laughed as he catches his breath. It was all thanks to Xiong Da even though the Angry Ape Cultivator did not say it directly. Xiong Da in his black suit cosmetic inscription, which most of the Pandawans had obtained from the Deep Ones dungeon instance, took a long look at the aftermath of the Giant Valg, hoping to grasp the situation. Some of the cultivators wondered why he was well dressed, and his main reason was that he did not want people to know how decked out he was. Beneath that cosmetic inscription, he had equipped the highest grade of armour inscriptions, allowing him able to smash through most of the Valgs on his way to the first level of the castle. Especially when those Grade 5 inscriptions were as flashy as disco lights when they were activated. Xiong Da felt that it was not necessary and possibly a hindrance if monsters were attracted to him because of the strobing lights from the activation of his inscription charms. Kong Xian, the supposed tank of the group, was amazed by Xiong Da''s dedication to Boss Jin''s dungeon instances. While one could say that he was slightly envious of the Hungry Hippo Cultivator, Kong Xian clearly knew his limits of being a student with little to no budget. However, he checked and saw that the redeemable rewards from this Emergency Dungeon Raid were alluring for him to work hard. With enough raid points, he might get those Grade 5 inscription charms as well at a fraction of a price. At the scene of the fallen Giant Valg, the remaining cultivators including the elders were taking a breather from the fight even though they knew this was not the end of the raid. Most were already exhausted fighting the Giant Valg, and they could already hear more of those critters are coming for them. "At this rate, we will never be able to finish the raid. Should we surrender?" Zi Dan asked his group members as he recognised his partners were already at their limits. "Looks like there is fresh blood coming in, and it''s none other than the few famous Pandawans. We might be able to fight at the sidelines while reaping the rewards of the raid completion." Xia Mao joked around, hinting that he could still go on even though it was evident that he barely had much strength to stand up after that battle. "Honourable Cultivators, I thank you for aiding me up to this point. If needed, I will go forth alone into the darkness to defeat the source of all evil. The Salamander K-" Jing Yu tied the babbling frog with her cloth once more, not allowing him to escape. As the chi within Boo had more or less dissipated after the attack, there was no way Gaeru was as capable as before. In addition, Jing Yu knew that the frog would not hurt them since he was likely bound by honour from the way he speaks. "Hey, you. That Hippo Pandawan." Jing Yu called out from afar. Xiong Da reacted and searched the room for the person who was shouting for him. When they had eye contact, Xiong Da hastily walked towards Jing Yu when she beckoned the group to come. "This is the NPC that you have to take care of in order to make sure the raid is a success." Jing Yu waved her hand a little, and the cloth gently moved Gaeru towards Xiong Da. Initially, the frog swordsman would attempt various means and ways to get out of the bind, but right now, he was obediently waiting for the chance to be released since he already knew that those cultivators meant no harm to him. "Just charge into the throne hall, we will clear the Valgs for you, providing you with rear support." Xia Mao said, and most of the cultivators who were resting concurred with that suggestion. Except for Zi Dan. "Don''t mind me, but I wish to see the boss myself. Have not been conserving energy so that you young chaps can clear the dungeon raid all by yourself." Zi Dan cracked his knuckles and ready to kick some Salamander King''s ass. He was the only few cultivators which the System had observed to have regularly paced themselves in fights. The others always gave their best in every battle but not for Zi Dan because he knew that the dungeon would not end until the final boss was defeated. It might sound selfish, but it was part of his nature to always find not just the right opportunity but the best one. Xiong Da took the ''package'' from Jing Yu and shouted at the group right in front of him. "If anyone is still well and able, follow us! Or else, stay in the rear and provide support as we rush to the boss room. Remember, this is a community raid, and it means that we need to help one another to achieve the win for this raid!" Xiong Da words echoed through the lobby, leaving behind a trail of resounding yes from the cultivators. Many had decided to stay in the rear support, knowing their fighting limits. They accepted that going to the frontline would ultimately be more than a hindrance for the capable group pitting against the final boss. Besides, the reward system on this community raid was substantially different from the one in the goblin raid, allowing less competent cultivators to take a step back. While the Goblin Raid Reward system awarded cultivators points for killing an orc, Jin made this particular raid''s reward system more dynamic in nature. With the new mask user interface, vast amounts of data were being taken from each individual cultivator and consistently analysed by the System. From kill counts to assisting in kills or even by providing a supportive role, the System gave points based on how much the cultivator had contributed. To satisfy the cultivator''s drive for accomplishments, there was a mini counter at the top right hand corner of the Mask UI interface which showed the number of points they had been awarded, prompting them to repeat or do more of those actions. Jin also gave mini achievements and bonuses as their raid points racked up. For example, hitting 500 raid points would award them a mini feat called the ''Frog''s Acquaintance'', and 50 bonus raid points to spend in the redemption counter. In contrast, higher levels granted better bonuses such more raid points, gifting of essential recovery items or even panda medals. "You better hurry. The Valgs are waiting to pounce at us from various directions, and their numbers are getting bigger." Jing Yu said to Xiong Da as he was still awaiting more cultivators to arrive at the mess she and her friends made out of the dead Giant Salamander Valg. In the meantime, Xiong Da unknowingly observed that there was an increasing number of cultivators with their hoods and masks on in their midst. The problem was that their masks were not of any animal shape and instead a simple semi-circle shaped mask covered in sheer blackness. Nevertheless, Xiong Da''s user interface indicated that they were friendlies, and no other information was provided. The Hippo cultivator was a bit disturbed by the masks and hoped they were not disguised as friendlies as part of the raid. However, he had coincidentally overheard from a few casual talks by the cultivators who just arrived that those Hooded Dark Mask cultivators had superior fighting powers, saving not only their lives but allowing them to reach this meeting point. "Then I guess, I just keep an eye on them for now." Xiong Da thought to himself as he blew a loud whistling sound to indicate that it was time to hit the throne. Spearheading the lead was Xiong Da with 30 over cultivators with him while Bu Dong and Kong Xian had ten cultivators covering his flanks. True to her words, Jing Yu maintained the rear along with another group of cultivators, including Xia Mao. At the same time, Zi Dan stayed in the centre group, which had at least twenty cultivators, and they would provide reinforcement to any groups whenever needed. With the sounds of the Valgs roaring, heading to the supposed Salamander King was a do or die situation, but soon the cultivators would find out that the opponent they would be facing, enjoyed killing as much as she created the chaos. Chapter 640 Peppery Tantrum "All Systems online. How are you feeling Peppers?" Ayse, who was making the final adjustments on her portable console, checked on her friend. "I feel disgusted with this metal vest attached to me. Not to mention all these wires that are protruding around the vest itself. I feel like I am some prisoner!" Peppers screeched as she shook the vest around because of how stuffy the vest was becoming. "Hey, at least you are able to move about despite your ''prisoner'' status, I am ordered by Master to stay put. Floating. Hovering. Not to move unless ordered to. I am the one that should be called prisoner!" Mr Derpy argued back right beneath them, and Ayse''s pieces of machinery shook as he moved his mouth. "Do not talk! Whenever you move your mouth, your entire body vibrates as well! My equipment is sensitive to such movement! You do not want things exploding on top of you, right? So, stay still! Please!" Ayse ran to hold on to her equipment in case they were toppled over. Mr Derpy sighed wearily as he rolled his eyes backwards and fell into a state of deep hibernation before abiding by Ayse''s requests to remain motionlessly. For once, Mr Derpy obliged the request of his master. Similar to a deal with the devil, the replica of Lord Dagen was promised to an all you can eat buffet of the fattest Porkcupines by Jin. Requirements? To act as a floating platform for Ayse''s equipment. Mr Derpy accepted it in a jiffy since it was his opportunity to get out of his home instance and breathe in some fresh air. It was better to be doing something rather than be stuck in the Sanctum of Worlds doing nothing. Upon seeing his underlings working hectically for the Farming World and Goblin World''s finances, Mr Derpy also wished to contribute to his master. In addition, Shadow Dagen had been feeling restless ever since he heard the announcement of the new Open Dungeon Instance during the Christmas Feast. The notion of lurking freely and swimming under the ocean once more was so enticing that he was willing to do anything to get it as soon as possible. Jin never knew that Mr Derpy had such desires for the Open Dungeon Instance until the Deep Ones reported their concerns to him. Although a portion of Jin''s minions were already moving their belongings to the new island home instances, Jin had yet to transfer the Deep One Home Instance to the new Open Dungeon instance. This was mainly because he needed the upgrade from the Mechanical Titan before he was able to kickstart the Open Dungeon''s ecosystem up. Furthermore, it was meant to be a long term endeavour, and Jin did not want to screw the open dungeon instance by hastening the process unless he knew that it was working as intended. Despite Shadow Dagen''s insistence of his master to grant his wish, he was surprisingly cooperative to ensure that such a reality would come true earlier. But as a fragment of the almighty Fish God Dagen, he too had his pride and always acted unwillingly even though his intentions were obvious even for Jin. "Okay, the readings from the machines are good¡­- HEY! Why did you take the vest out?!" Ayse shouted at Peppers who was frantically plugging out the wires from the vest and removing it. "I do not need to wear this stupid thing! It''s cramping my style as the infamous Demonic Queen Sage!!" Peppers said as she threw the vest back to Ayse. "But according to my analysis, you will not be able to do more than two Legendary Grade Scan Spells of this scale and do I have to mention the necessity to fire off those explosions spells whenever needed? Don''t be a spoiled girl now and wear the vest!" Ayse scolded Peppers, but instead of listening, the Mage Bellator aimed her staff towards the Orc Head Researcher. "I am not as weak as you think I am." Pepper threatened to blow Ayse off the floating platform if she was being forced to wear the experimental vest once more. However, before Peppers could even cast her spells via her wooden staff, a large raven swoop right in front of her face. It scared her momentarily, allowing the other raven to forcefully grab the staff away from her. "As much as I like to believe you, we cannot risk failing the whole operation when other lives are at stake." Que Er suddenly appeared onto the platform and intervened between them. "So, be a good girl now and wear the vest. In return, I''ll get Zhi Nu to make you a new combat outfit which should increase your magical powers." Que Er smiled as she swung the staff skilfully like a rhythmic gymnast before returning it to Peppers. "Heh! You won''t be able to create a good outfit without my analytical data!" Ayse wanted a comeback from the conversation since losing was not really her style. (Especially when she should be the one understanding Peppers'' attitude.) Regardless, she was secretly thankful that Que Er was able to coerce some sense into the stubborn Peppers. Being the older one between the three of them, Que Er took a step back and agreed to Ayse''s argument. "Then, I shall see Zhi Nu consult your data before she starts creating Peppers new outfit." Que Er said as she absorbed the beautiful scenery around her. After all, the view from Mr Derpy was indeed breathtaking. "Fly now, my birds. Take this portion of the sky as your playground." Que Er said as she used Muninn and Huginn to open a purplish portal right in front of her. A murder of crows continuously flew out of the portal, making it looked like a swarm of bees from afar before they were spread out into the open. While Ayse was fixing back the experimental vest onto Peppers, the little mage Bellator realised that there was something different with the wooden staff when Que Er returned it to her. She then noticed that there were minor bird emblems meekly glowing in blue on her staff''s shaft. Peppers then remembered that Que Er was a manipulator of the magical arts as well. Those minor bird emblems could potentially offload the burden she might incur from the continuous casting of spells. Thus, the Mage Bellator comprehended that what Que Er said was truly sincere. The Magpie Queen really wanted this operation to go well for some reason even though Peppers did not really know her intentions, nor did she wish to find out more. Because to the Demonic Sage Queen, her only concern right now was that this particular task that would definitely hurt her. Physically and mentally. Chapter 641 Maevellous Appearance "No way¡­" Gaeru was dumbfounded when he opened the gates to the throne hall. The first thing that caught his eye was the Salamander King hung from the ceiling, swinging motionlessly by the updraft from the opening of the throne doors. Whatever that was left of his intestinal bowels were hanging loosely from his gutted torso and the Valgs right under him were chewing it as if it was mere gum. Upon closer inspection, Gaeru discerned that what was left of the Salamander King was only his skin and scales. His bones, muscles and other organs were already missing. After all that struggle to reach the throne hall, the frog swordsman''s purpose for revenge vanished into thin air upon absorbing the sight of the unfortunate king''s death. The view of it nearly made some of the cultivators puke, but a few of them who were well versed in group support had emitted auras of chi to calm the nerves of the whole crowd. "Ahhh¡­ So, my new playthings have arrived. A bit slow, in my opinion, but it gives me the luxury to prepare a magnificent playing field for you." A tiny little purple light twinkled from the throne seat and swerved around the room before shapeshifting into a human a few metres away from Gaeru and the rest of the cultivators. "It had been a long time since I saw humans, and better yet, humans with magical powers," Maeve said as she walked around in a dress that was similar to the Victorian lineage. Her purplish black bustle dress packed with fluffy frills matched her slightly curled long hair. The top hat she was wearing had a veil that somehow managed to blur her face despite their masks'' superior vision technology. "But you guys smell different," Maeve responded as she casually walked towards the group while twirling the Salamander king''s crown around her index finger. The entire group somehow sensed a cold, piercing chill going down their back whenever she slowly took a step closer. Even the calming chi aura could not neglect the feeling of dread at all. "It smells like a freshly washed sheet of bedding that had been stained with a pungent smell of cheap perfume, but yet it still tingles me with anticipation!" Maeve''s smile behind the veil clearly crept every single cultivator, and even Gaeru felt disgusted. "So, I am guessing the monsters who populated this particular castle was because of this lady rather than the dead Salamander up there?" Xiong Da questioned as he held his weapon tightly. Something was telling him that this final boss would not be as manageable as the ones he had fought before in Jin''s dungeons. "Since you have killed the Salamander King, I have no qualms with you, fairy," Gaeru said as he kept Boo back into the scabbard and turned around, indicating that he had no intentions to fight. "Really? You think that spineless lizard ordered the massacre of your tribe?" Maeve spat at him the moment he lowered his guard. "I was the one who aroused his cannibalistic nature. I was the one who convinced him to kill not just your Papi and Mummy. Oh, I do know you rather well, Gaeru, Son of Magu." Maeve taunted the frog as she had tapped into his well of memories. "They were the most fun to play with, always urging, begging us not to kill your twin brother who injured himself because-'' Maeve was instantly interrupted by Gaeru''s first strike. Yet, she did not move an inch further and took the hit through her stomach. Initially, she was surprised that the blade was able to cut her, but her wounds closed the moment his blade slid away. "Well, well, well! Looks like this swordsman not only have a blade that can cut me, but have the will to do so too! Everyone! Let''s give him a round of applause!"Maeve said as she sauntered back to the throne seat while Valgs began to block their path to her. Despite her orders, no one dared to move a single muscle after Gaeru''s attack. "No clapping? That''s boring." Maeve laid back on the throne chair and suddenly, purple icicle flowers surrounded the throne chair and glittered beautifully under the dull candles around the hall. "But you know? You should have aimed for the head for more satisfaction." "Any ideas on how to defeat this boss? Seems like her regeneration will be a pain in the ass." Bu Dong was finally able to relax when Maeve walked a certain distance away from them. He then took his sword and pointed at the Valgs who were gathering right in front of the cultivators. "You should ask how do we even get close to her when her presence was enough to paralyse us." Zi Dan added as he charged up his chain ball mace. "She''s a faerie. Find her source of power. It could be anything, from a small trinket to a large block of stone." One of the hooded black mask cultivators finally spoke out. The rest of the cultivators were amazed that they have such information on them. Perhaps, they might have scoured the castle and found clues regarding this final boss. "Hahaha, is that a joke? This is too big of a place!" Bu Dong asked since they had no clue what they were searching for and the castle itself would need more than the number of people they have to find the item of power. He was suspecting that Jin had made this place gigantic in nature so that it would be hard to find clues on the final boss. What they did not know was that those Black Masked Cultivators were the Dark Elves from Jin. They had encountered a faerie before, and thus they knew what they were up against. In fact, they had a similar relic, an Item of Power from the faerie they fought against with but the Dark Elves did not know how effective it would be against Maeve; thus it would be better to search and use her personal Item of Power against herself. "Find something related to what she is wearing or the colours black and purple. It is usually connected, but I have no guarantees that you have results. It could possibly be a wild goose chase." Another Black Masked cultivator replied. "We will distract her while you take on the Valgs. Send people to search the rooms connecting the throne hall for the source. If unsure, destroy anything on sight." The former black mask cultivator said, but before they could continue their conversation, Gaeru had already fixated his sights on the boss. The moment he took his first step, the Valgs reacted the same way as well, and the two groups immediately clashed with each other. "Kong Xian! Zi Dan! Split your groups into two and search the east and west exits! You! That Hawk Cultivator! Send a message to Jing Yu, who is still fighting against the Valgs behind us to look for that Item of Power too! The rest, commence your attack! Bring these bloodthirsty monsters down to their knees and show them we¡­ Cultivators are not to be underestimated!" Xiong Da shouted his orders, and a resounding yes was heard from everyone. "Damn it, Boss Jin! You should have given everyone a standard title instead of just us Pandawans." Xiong Da whispered to himself as he rushed against the Valgs while the Black Masked Cultivators were already gaining their pace to assist the reckless frog. Chapter 642 A Cornered Cheetah When Zi Dan was given the order by Xiong Da to disperse, he was all the more than happy to do so. The horror he experienced upon seeing the lady dressed in Victorian garb, was amplified by the memory of his first encounter in this particular raid. The feeling of sheer trepidation from the Final Boss was similar to the six legged Valg''s paralysing stare, except that this time around, it was very much courting death. Hence, Zi Dan rather performed this menial job and let the brave Pandawans do the bulk of boss fighting while he attempts to find this Item of Power those Black Masked Cultivators talked about. "Hahaha! So much for conserving energy for the Last Boss!" Xia Mao said to Zi Dan with bated breath as he tried to catch up with Zi Dan''s running pace. "More like conserving the last bit of stamina to run away from the boss fight!" "Pfft! Say all you want! Of all people who had experienced that paralysing stare, you are the only one to understand how I felt! And why are you following me?!" Zi Dan said as he slipped through one of the rooms whose doors were left ajar. All he could find were even more Valgs lurking inside. The temporary squad leader commanded the cultivators at the back to deal with the threat as he continued forward, in search for more of the rooms. In the meantime, Xia Mao kept his mouth shut for the moment and continued to follow behind Zi Dan. Even though he knew that Zi Dan was not going at top speed, his regular pace was already demanding for most of the cultivators to catch up. Maybe that was why Xiong Da decided to use the Bullet Cheetah Cultivator as the scout to find that relic to defeat the faerie boss. And as for the Item of Power, Zi Dan figured that if it existed, it should be in a room where the strongest of Valgs be protecting it. All he had to do was to find it and report it. There was no use wasting his life trying to be a hero. (He was already earning points being a scout, and he felt it was a decent way to survive the raid.) So far, it was going all fine and dandy by commanding the cultivators to clear the room and giving them first hand information what was inside. Xia Mao eventually gave up chasing after his friend and decided to enter the third room to battle against those Valgs. "Heh! I knew that Blind Cat can never chase after me! So much for boasting to be a renowned escape artist when you cannot even run well!" Zi Dan remarked to himself as he glanced back for a moment before heading forth to the fourth and final room. When he was slowing down to check out the last room in the Western Hallway, Zi Dan already felt that something was wrong. Not only that, but he also noticed that he was not slowing down despite his desire to do so. The more Zi Dan tried to resist, the more he sensed that the last chamber was forcing its ''invitation'' to welcome the Bullet Cheetah Cultivator into the room. As much as Zi Dan wished to break out of it, he felt that his body did not belong to him at all the moment he entered the room. (Fortunately) to his dismay, the room was completely empty except for a series of open panel glass windows and an antique looking chair in the middle of the room. Right beside it was a man, dressed smartly with a buttoned black shirt. Or that was what Zi Dan thought. It was actually the man''s powers manifested into a physical form, covering his entire body with an ominous veil of energy. His hair was gelled all the way to the back, making it look as if he had multiple horns diverging from his head while his forehead had a visible scar on it. "Heh, to think I will ever see humans ever again." The man said as he walked to his seat and lean forward when he sat down. With a thinking pose, he looked at the frightened Zi Dan who was already poised in a kneeling posture, all thanks to his innate powers alone. "Did you see a broken Salamander before you arrive at this particular room? You should, right? Because that is the only viable entrance to reach here." The man inquired, but Zi Dan was hopelessly keeping his mouth shut even though his body was aching to tell the truth. "Ah. Not bad. And here I thought this was merely a spineless human. I guess you do have the will to fight back, its just a matter of when." The man smiled, and he leaned backwards. "I will make things very simple. Let me connect to your body and together, we will kill that bitch." The man relaxed further as he folded his legs and pointed at the Zi Dan. Even though he acted as if he was asking, but he was, in fact, giving a command Zi Dan could not refuse. Zi Dan figured this could possibly be the Item of Power since it was able to talk and powers probably equivalent to the faerie boss he encountered. And recently, he had seen nothing but yapping monsters that growl, shout and gnawed at cultivators. Even though this could be the best opportunity to steal the final boss kill if what the man said was true, Zi Dan somehow sensed that things were not that simple. The Bullet Cheetah Cultivator felt that he would be in terrible danger if the ''man'' in front of him decided to take over his body. Despite knowing that this was just a Raid, Zi Dan was unable to shake the feeling that it was as real as it could get. He could feel that if he did not fight against this monster properly, he might- Nay, he would definitely lose his sanity, soul and maybe will never be the same person again. Consequently, in a dire attempt to survive, Zi Dan called forth whatever chi he had within him and tried to defy the stasis he was trapped in as much as possible. "Ho? I did not know the surviving humans learnt some form of magic. This made your body even more desirable. Allow me, Dorian to take over the body and be the master of your craft and together we can defeat that wretched Daughter of the Winter Courts." Dorian unleashed his powers once more, and Zi Dan could clearly see a Valg-like phantom hiding behind his shadow. "Damn, why am I the only one fighting a boss?" Zi Dan clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. His uncalled determination enabled his chi to overflow, breaking his usual limits. Without a doubt, this ordeal had made Zi Dan increase half a grade to Grade 5 Peak. His body finally allowed him to break out of Dorian''s mind chains and regain control of his own actions. If it was a fight Zi Dan had to go through, at the very least, he figured to give his all. Chapter 643 Salamander King Dorian At first, Zi Dan had no idea what kind of monster Dorian was, but when he saw that Valg phantom controlling that body in the shadows, he could only deduce it was a Valg variant. Although the phantom looked similar to the animal silhouettes they portrayed, Zi Dan had the feeling that it required magic to defeat it. But he figured Jin would not be heartless to demand magic users when they were not the norm in his shop yet. Maybe a burst of chi could defeat him if Zi Dan was able to immobilise the humanoid? And what he deduced nearly hit the mark. When the Salamander King Dorian was killed, his soul and parts of his bodies were used as sacrifice pieces for the ritual to call Maeve''s beloved Valgs out from the otherworldly dimension. Although the betrayal was expected, he did not anticipate it to be this soon. Maeve had promised Dorian that he was able to achieve powers that were beyond his limits. The problem was that Maeve did fulfil his wish even though she had twisted the words of their promise to the absolute limit. With loose wordings from the contract, Dorian had become THE power that was beyond his limits. The Valg portal was made from the fabrics of his soul while his body parts were used as fuel to maintain the portal opening. However, what Maeve did not know was that her magic was as distorted as her interpretation of the promises she keeps. One of Dorian''s soul fragments ''coincidentally'' assimilated into a Valg variant parasite, allowing Dorian to ''reincarnate'' into a Valg, manifesting physically without Maeve learning of its existence. (In fact, Maeve never knew what kind of Valgs there were, she merely used them to her delight.) Not to mention, the richness of magical energy from the gigantic surroundings allowed Dorian''s Valg form to grow in strength. His anger and hatred harboured within his soul fragment became the very core of the physical shell''s existence. It was also the cornerstone that allowed the surrounding energy to supplement and strengthen him, giving Dorian the form he has right now. Ever since he was transformed into a Salamander to prevent the ''giantism'' virus, he dreaded it on a regular basis and always hope to return back to the human form he once had. But time dimmed that desire until the day Dorian incidentally found with Maeve lurking in one of the corners of the castle. Her boredom reignited Dorian''s yearnings and his family eventually became her plaything. Killing the former Salamander King by slowly draining his life away, cultivating Dorian''s appetite for the Animal People gave Maeve her daily craving of sadistic joy. Unfortunately, the prince played along with her, and at some point, learnt to enjoy such cruel sadism. If his people ever looked back and discover his true nature, they would have said that Prince Dorian deserved to die the way those cultivators found him. Nevertheless, the unexpected outcome allowed him to return and manifest as a humanoid, and to Dorian, it was more than enough he could get from the bargain with the Fey. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Upon breaking the mind chains, Zi Dan never experienced that very same technique ever again. Maybe the Valg Humanoid could only do it once, but in actual fact, Dorian merely wished to display his overpowering strength to test his abilities out. Dishing out kinetic blasts at the whims of the former Salamander Prince¡­ (or dead King), Zi Dan was barely able to dodge any of those if not for his cultivation. However, after experiencing a series of attacks, the Bullet Cheetah cultivator finally got a grasp of the blast''s speed. The young elder initially observed that the Valg Humanoid was similar to a psychic user, and his moves were mostly telekinetic energy based. So, it was basically the Bullet Cheetah''s nemesis, especially when his enemy''s attacks could be as fast as flicking a switch button. (Which wasn''t the case in his world since he had fought along with Psychic users before.) Yet, there might be a chance Zi Dan could catch him unguarded especially now that he had reached Grade 5 Peak. But even with the improvement of his Grade, Zi Dan also knew that he was engaging in a losing fight and there was no way for him to escape unscathed. He knew that he only had one shot despite the increased chi pool and the Cheetah Cultivator had to time his attack to make the best out of it. "Don''t underestimate the Cheetah Style!" Zi Dan shouted as he unveiled five clearly defined silhouettes of Cheetahs roaring above him. In a split second, Dorian''s eyes were unable to catch where Zi Dan was moving to. Hence, the Valg Humanoid released a burst of kinetic energy around him, hoping to destroy or at least push his prey away from him. Upon injuring him in the process, Dorian would then take the opportunity to steal his enemy''s physical body. Despite his ability to manifest a physical shell, the Valg Humanoid knew that his form was incomplete. The body he created would not last long since it was burdening him with consistent consumption of magical energy. Though Dorian could absorb the energies from his surroundings, it was not efficient in a prolonged fight and might prove to be detrimental when fighting against Maeve. That was also the very reason he hid himself to this very corner of the castle. He knew the Frog swordsman that crashed through his castle would return, and Dorian was betting that his comrades would search this room to escape from Maeve''s overwhelming powers. However, he did not expect humans to be accompanying him, and this brought his power hungry desires to another level. With a human shell, Dorian would revert back as what he used to be, right before the terrible transmutation into a Salamander to prevent his head from being blown off by the Giantism Virus. By being a Valg, Dorian was sure that he did not have to worry about the Giantism Virus (Especially when he''s the origin of the said virus!). The former prince could then consume other Valgs or even the rest of the Frog''s comrades and ultimately take his revenge against a possibly weakened Maeve from the Frog''s return assault. "Too bad for you. For once, I am faster than your mind tricks." Zi Dan said as he slipped past Dorian''s attack. He finally found the right interval between the casting of his Kinetic Wave magic. With his Bullet Cheetah Cultivation, Zi Dan travelled fast enough that he experienced something similar to a slip shot within the time space continuum. In short, his enhanced burst of speed allowed him to move in subatomic speed, making him seem to temporarily disappear from the world. Sadly, that trick could only be used once due to the limitations of his current cultivation grade, but it was a definite one hit kill technique. ¡­Or that was what Zi Dan thought when he smashed his ball chain mace with subatomic speeds against the Valg Humanoid. *Whoosh!* A pound of flesh flew out of Dorian''s chest like a bullet. Zi Dan did not stop there as he twirled and attempted to destroy his head as well. Regrettably, the concept of pain did not apply to Dorian now as he grabbed onto the ball chain mace with his bare hands and crashed it into dust with his magic. Zi Dan''s eyes went wide as he retreated to the back of the room while the Valg Humanoid raised his hand up to release a focused blast of kinetic energy towards him. "Shit, I guess that''s it for me, huh?" Zi Dan looked at his broken weapon while his fatigued body weighed him down. The feeling of hopelessness seeped in slowly into Zi Dan''s mind as his strength wore out of his body. "Your body is mine to take!" Dorian shouted in glee as he awaited Zi Dan''s death to take possession of it. *Boom!* "Twin Shields of the Towering Tortoise!" A voice came from the back as a slab of metal smashed right in front of Zi Dan. When the metal perched into the ground, it expanded forward with a blowout of chi that acted as a defensive barrier against the kinetic shockwave. Zi Dan then noticed a Cat Head Arrow flying towards Dorian as a follow up attack before it was dismantled into various pieces in midair. Yet, the parts were still able to detonate before it was disassembled entirely, causing a pause in Dorian''s attacks. "This is what you get for jumping the gun!" Xia Mao shouted as he panted with an empty crossbow in his hands. In the meantime, Kong Xian who sent his shield ahead of him, charged forward earnestly with his two handed sword, not knowing the dangers of the Sub Boss. Chapter 644 Black Masked Cultivator "If I waited for you, the monster could have already died from boredom by the time we reach here!" Even with the added reinforcements, Zi Dan exhibited his relief with a bit of sarcasm at Xiao Mao but also knew that they still did not have the capability to defeat Dorian. Without a doubt, Kong Xian was blown back by Dorian''s psychic attacks. If not for Zi Dan quick wits to throw the shield back at Kong Xian to defend himself, he would have been shred to pieces by the blast. Even Kong Xian who thought his new shield was sturdy enough, it was already severely dented by the recent kinetic energy blast from the Valg Humanoid. "Ahhh¡­ That one cost about 200 over panda medals¡­" Kong Xian said to himself as he kept the shield and focused holding on his two handed sword. Even though Zi Dan was relived by the additional support, he could not fathom why Kong Xian who was supposed to be heading towards the opposite side of the throne hall, would be right beside him. "Before I was about to make our move, one of those Black Masked cultivators held on to my shoulder and told us to move to your direction. they insisted that there was nothing significant at the side I was about to explore." Kong Xian replied as he observed the surroundings of the room. "But I think I should have ignored their advice and explore that area instead of being stuck here with a sub Boss. Heck, maybe this is the real boss!" "Not possible, his latent aura is not as strong as the one we encountered in the throne hall. We might have a chance to defeat it." Xia Mao reloaded his Cat Head Arrows and pointed his crossbow at the sniggering Valg Humanoid. "Hahaha! I think that chance just went out of the window when you stepped into this room." Zi Dan shook his head with a short sigh. "So there are more of these competent humans with magic, huh? Maybe I will consume all of you and get my revenge against -" A rock was thrown at tremendous speed, hitting right smack onto Dorian''s forehead. "Thank you for finding this¡­ monster. Now step aside, I will finish this." The Black Masked Cultivator said as he picked up a piece of broken tile on the ground, courtesy of Dorian''s persistent attacks. He then casually flung it right straight at the Valg Humanoid''s leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Even though Dorian had no concept of pain, the physical body still reacted to the damage he received when the tile destroyed the knee joints. "I shall not suffer such insolence!!!" Even with his brains splattered all over the place from the rock attack, Dorian''s mouth was still blabbering nonsense nonstop. "Heh! And take all the raid points by yourself? You do not have to be all that high and mighty, you know!" Kong Xian said as he attempted to rush strike the Valg Humanoid, but this time around, a stronger kinetic shockwave sent everyone flying to the corners of the room ¡­Except for the Black Masked cultivator. "Like I said, you guys can stay back." Even though his full mask blocked his facial expression, it was clear that the Black Mask cultivator was smirking behind it. Dorian was not exactly happy that his kinetic shockwave had no effects against the person who did the most amount of hurt to him. Even as he began regenerating, Dorian was cautious for another attack and prepared to dodge or counterattack whenever necessary. Yet the Black Masked cultivator took another rock and crushed it into smaller pieces with his bare hand before throwing towards Dorian. The Valg Humanoid thought that those smashed up rock pieces would be a threat and decided to release another wave of kinetic blasts to prevent them from hitting him. The stronger shockwave rendered the three other cultivators to be paralysed once again from the backlash, and it was a miracle they could still hold on to their lives. To Dorian''s surprise, the small rock projectiles disintegrated and cease to exist. But his focus on those rock pieces made the Valg Humanoid to temporarily take his eyes off his primary target. That split second was sufficient for the Black Masked cultivator to zoom past the shockwave without much effort and proceeded to serve Dorian an uppercut to his chin. Dorian''s neck splintered off from his main body, and his brain mass was scattered all around the Black Masked cultivator. Without hesitation, the latter continued by grabbing the torso and smashed it to the ground with a fraction of his might, causing the body to split its parts into various directions with just one hit. At the same time when the body was smashed into bits, a haunting, agonising shout echoed throughout the entire room. It was none other than the true form of Dorian as he lost his physical body. Still, that was merely a way for the sentient Valg to materialise. Given enough magical energy, it could regenerate the body once more. For now, it tried to escape the room via its spiritual form. In his mind, Dorian vowed to return and hunt this Black Masked human down and skin his insides out like how Maeve did to him when he was still barely conscious. Sadly, his dream of revenge would be for nought as the Black Masked cultivator was not done. From beneath his shirt, he took out an inverted black cross with thorns spiralling down the symbol and raised it up towards the floating spiritual form. A short flickering of dark toned light emerged from the inverted cross upon detecting a dense amount of magical energy in the room. The thing was, the cross would not react to any sort of magical power but only to the magic of Feys. The Black Masked Cultivator could have used it directly when fighting against Maeve, but the Daughter of the Winter Court would have noticed it and directly aimed for him to destroy the cross. Thus, this was the best place to get a hold of the Fey''s magic. Without any chants accompanied to the reveal of the inverted cross, the air within the room turned oppressive, and the haunting echoes suddenly turned into cries of pleas. For some reason, the cultivators observed the spiritual Valg form being forcibly absorbed into the inverted cross. Even though Dorian had no way to escape it, he still tried to curse the Black Masked cultivator for his actions until the room was utterly silent. "Heh, for a useless otherworldly spirit, he sure made a lot of noise." The masked cultivator said before he inspected the inverted cross. It was now brimming with the hatred from Dorian, and the Black Masked Cultivator could feel the cross''s magic to be pulsating at the same rate of his heart. "Now we have a working Item of Power. Looks like the Feys from our world are interconnected to this world as well. Hmph, makes the job all the more easier. Would be better if Narris and Tinda found Maeve''s Item of Power." The other three cultivators managed to regain their footing and wanted to know what was happening. Yet, the Black Masked cultivator made no noise and disappeared from their sight as if he never existed before. "Do you wish to wait here until the end of the raid?" Zi Dan''s legs gave way immediately when he noticed that the coast was clear. "You freeloader¡­count me in." Xia Mao whispered as he dragged himself towards Zi Dan and sat beside him. In no time, the two took out cans of beer and started to drink among themselves. Kong Xian could not believe that the elderly cultivators were acting this way. "Wanna join?" ZI Dan offered a can towards Kong Xian even though the latter was displaying disdain. Yet, that disdain gradually turned into acceptance, and the Towering Tortoise cultivator willingly sat down beside them for a drink. Besides, with that group of absurdly strong Black Masked cultivators tagging along with Xiong Da and Bu Dong? They probably can clear the raid boss in no time. Kong Xian believed there was no harm for them to rest for now and recuperate before coming to aid them at the very last minute. (If there was ever a need for that!) With Kong Xian taking out a few snacks from his storage ring, the three laughed and recollected the recent boss fight as they forged a new friendship amidst that few cans of beer. There was nothing more pleasing than finding new comrades in a perilous dungeon setting. Chapter 645 Operation Mass Migration - Part 1 "My birds have already covered most of the ruined kingdom and are in position. We are ready, Master." Que Er reported through the System Channel as she sat down on Mr Derpy''s head and rubbed the smooth scales. "Peppers is still bitter about wearing my experimental vest, but we are ready too," Ayse replied the moment Qu Er gave her signal. Her mobile equipment was functioning well, and her Orcs had also brought extra electrical generators as back up. The readings from Peppers were stable, and the discrepancies were within limits. Thus, Ayse gave Peppers the heads up to prepare her Legendary Grade Scan spell after her report to Jin. "The Raid is proceeding smoothly, my men are distracting her as we speak." The Elder of the Dark Elves, Drex was overseeing the Raid Instance portion since Jin had his hands busy with the rescue operation. "We have also managed to revive an Item of Power which could potentially be useful against the Fey Maeve." "So, your relic still works?" Jin questioned Drex, and all he could give was a slight shrug. Drex had previously told Jin about how they might have a way to defeat the Feys, and this Dark Elf Relic from their village was supposed to be that game changer. However, because this relic was from his ancestor''s era, they did not know how effective it would be against this particular Fey. But since the inverted black cross relic could be charged up, the Dark Elves felt it should work to a certain degree. If anything, it should distract her long enough for the rescue operation to commence with ease. Else, the only way to defeat it would be through overwhelming power against Maeve. Yet, Jin emphasised repeatedly that their objective was to rescue the animal people from the Giant World. Defeating Maeve was optional though he confessed, it would be beneficial for him and the System if the cultivators and the dark elves were able to do it. "Hamatarou, you ready? Everything else is going smoothly." Jin asked through the System Channel, and the Druid Sage was happily holding his wand in his mouth as he climbed up to the highest point of his tree hideout. "I ¨Chmmm I am shooting the flare in 3 minutes!" With the all important wand was in his mouth, Hamatarou made sure that it doesn''t drop off when he was speaking through the System Channel. (Maybe no one told him that he could use his mind thoughts to do it.) Jin acknowledged Hamatarou as he turned his back to check on Lynn''s ninja penguins. Kido, who would be leading the ninja penguins, was making sure they had sufficient equipment for the subsequent fight as well as signal beacons to alert Peppers for the bombardment if needed. Kido and the penguins knew the danger those Giant Monsters could pose and would make every effort to ensure that they were well equipped for most unexpected situations. And because Jin was also afraid that monsters such as the Colossal Father Porkcupine could appear when the flare strikes, he had painstakingly assembled Goblins, Orcs, Werejackals and even diverted the Mousefolks to be on standby. With each of them being led by a prominent monster leader figure such as Gold, Nubwort and the Goblin Trios, he was not about to delegate what they were supposed to do in the battlefield. That much he had learnt to trust his minions in battle since they were more than capable of doing that. While he could have asked Qiu Yue and Moloch to assist with the operation, Jin wanted them to focus solely on the completion of the Dungeon City Fortress since the deadline for the closure of the Dungeon Core''s Barrier were only a few days after New Year. With everything in place, all Jin had to worry was that the discovery of those migrating groups could successfully reach to the open surface for him to rescue them. He initially thought of sending the penguin ninjas straight to the village the moment Peppers scanned the area, but he felt that would incur unwarranted panic among the Animal People. That would waste more time than an already organised group leaving the village. Also, He initially wanted to insert the Penguin Ninjas at close proximity to the villages to make sure they attract the Giant Monsters, but Kido advised against that since a protracted battle would not be beneficial for both the ninja teams as well as protecting the escapees. That was where Que Er''s birds would come into play. Acting as a scout as well as a mobile explosive unit would provide sufficient distraction to those Giant Monsters. "Flare''s ready!" Hamatarou was panting a little as he held on to the wand. To said that he was prepared for this day was an overstatement. There was no way he could have predicted the migration and rescue of the common people would turn this way. Hamatarou did not have to do this, but through the years, something within him had always spurred him to save the common folk. He would never know that it was his duty ¡­his fate as the prince of this ruined kingdom to save his countrymen. "Alright, Peppers hit it. Get the first preliminary scan up so we can see if there are densely populated groups in the area before the flare goes up. The System will need some time to analyse your scan and prepare the coordinates to teleport our rescue groups to aid in their escape." Jin said through the System Channel, allowing for every monster on standby to hear it loud and clear. "Hamatarou also said that the mass movement of the animal people somehow would trigger the Giant Monsters to prey on them, so everyone time is of an essence. The lives of our new allies depend on all of you. Do a good job, and you all be generously rewarded." The monsters gave a resounding affirmation through the System Channel after Jin''s short prep talk, and he wished everyone a speedy and successful operation. The Mage bellator took a deep breath in before giving her staff a twirl to start the activation of her spells. As Peppers raised her weapon up high, a gleaming ray of rainbow light shone upon the floating platform. "Operation Mass Migration commence now!" Jin shouted, and Peppers released the spell into the sky. Chapter 646 Experimental Ves Peppers'' Legendary Scan Spell went through, permeating the sky with her magic and provided the System with a detailed breakdown of the place. The castle was nonetheless the most populated area with a mix of Valgs and Cultivators in it. Other than that, the System was able to identify various pockets of activity within the city''s underground. It predicted that those were the Animal People which they were hoping to rescue. Thus, the System had already started searching for viable coordinates to teleport the insertion teams. And because of this particular operation, the System had also diverted processing power away of its other menial processes to analyse the possible routes the monsters could take so it could allocate the soldiers needed for each insertion team. Peppers'' Scan Spell was without a doubt worthy of being called Legendary Grade. Should she ever be deployed into a war zone, it was clearly similar to a cheat spell for revealing the fog of war on the battlefield. There was nothing that could be hidden from her scan but only an entity like the System was able to analyse the copious amount of data. Such a high levelled spell would have already taken a toll on her body given the scale of the scan, but Ayse had already begun activating her machine. Her experimental vest had successfully counteracted the after effects Peppers was experiencing. What Peppers previously lack was the sufficient mechanisms to handle the overloading of Mana as it gushed into her. Peppers'' body was acting like a gate against an immeasurable amount of Mana flowing into her from the Universal Pool of Mana. If she was using only a spell or two, the body did not need to tap much from the pool, and it absorbs the Mana like a sponge. But the problem comes when she used a large amount of Mana. When her spell completely drains the body''s Mana circuits, Peppers would require immediate replenishment to keep herself sane. That was where the body would openly entirely, and the overflowing rush of Mana from the universe pool would gush in to fill this empty container. (Mages in Jin''s world works differently, but the discrepancies were insignificant. They had a Mana Core that tapped into the pool, unlike the Dantian Core which generates chi from within.) That was also where the pain and hurt come in for Peppers since the body could not close the tap to the Universal Pool due to her pact with the System. Her wish for unlimited Mana had inadvertently caused her body to be overflowing with it, damaging her circuits and thus the after effects such as vomiting and lost consciousness. In previous fights, all Peppers did was to leave the tap open and let the Mana flow for the battle while Milk tried to repair the strains. But with Ayse''s new vest, things changed drastically. Her machines acted like an extended container for Peppers, allowing overflowing Mana to flow out of her body instead of being restrained solely within her body. The experimental vest assisted diverted the excess Mana via multi layered tubes and later into the machines for processing. Ayse was also not dumb to let such precious Mana dissipate into the atmosphere. The machines condensed the Mana and inserted them into diamond crystals since they were the best containers of Mana. With those charged crystals, Jin could sell them for extra cash since such prisms held a lot of value in his world. Apparently, it was rumoured in Jin''s world that such crystals had the ability to aid a mage into the next magic grade quickly due to the high condensed level of Mana within and there was little to no consequences using it compared to other methods. High level mages tried to produce such crystals, and sadly few succeeded. Thus, the demand for such a limited quantity of these high quality crystals skyrocketed through the roof. Many mages who were able to obtain them were usually among the wealthy of the wealthy. These mages also preferred to use these crystals to push their grades up since the modern world had more or less reduced the places with natural occurring Mana near to zero due to globalisation. In the next few minutes, Peppers was surprised that pain was lesser than anticipated, and when she turned to glance at Ayse, the Orc Research already had a smug look on her face. "See? What did I tell you? Told you things will work out if you follow my advice. Oh, and you should feel even lesser pain for the next legendary spell casting since the machines were previously warming up." "Does that mean I can -" "No! No spamming of spells! My machines are still delicate! Just out of the prototype phase! Don''t you dare break it now!" Ayse interrupted Peppers'' line of thought. "Awww, no fun." Peppers frown for a moment before genuinely smiling back at Ayse. For the first time, the Mage Bellator did not have to worry about the backlash of her overflowing Mana. "At least, I can tell Big Sis Milk that you are better than her! Hehehe!" "Please, No! Don''t! The last time you complimented me, I found her drunk and had the urge of punching my other devices and messed up all the research paper! Just keep this to yourself." Ayse shook her head when she recalled Milk coming in complaining that she was not good enough for Peppers anymore. Clearly, Ayse did all this was to comply with Jin''s orders as well as satisfying her ability to solve ''impossible'' problems. Soon after, they saw a bright green flare flying upwards in the distance, and they guessed Jin ordered Hamatarou to officially start the operation. Similar to Peppers'' Scan Magic, the beacon of light lit up the sky and split out like a huge firework. But the scattering of the firework was non random as those projectiles flew with purpose into the various parts of the ruined kingdom. At the very same time, a series of monster cries were heard in the background. The flare had not only signalled the mass migration but also awakened the monsters in the vicinity as well. "That is why I did not want to send the flares up!" Hamatarou said to himself as he could hear anguished cries of the Giant Monsters. This was mainly due to the fact that the flare was induced with a Call of the Wild spell, inciting the Animal People''s will to move for the mass migration. Hamatarou knew that those Animal People would be too comfortable living in their shitty hole for the rest of their lives because that was how they were trained to be. Stay somewhere safe, hunt when needed and try to survive the harsh environment. Those who wished to seek further out of the ruined kingdom were at best a handful. But because they now were partially animals, the Animal People could not ignore the call by a Druid. However, that also meant that the spell incited and disrupted the basic habits of Giant Monsters, causing them to seek the Druid''s call. So right now, all Hamatarou could hope was that the rescue operation by Jin would be successful. Chapter 647 Operation Mass Migration - Part 2 "Chief! Chief! The Totem is reacting! It is true, they are performing the operation right now!" Colwaski came running into the Chieftain''s Skitter''s room. The Chieftain nodded his head in solemn, and they departed immediately from the hut. They previously had word from Kido that Jin was going to evict all of the animal people, including the remaining of their tribe. However, since the dungeon supplier and the rest were busy preparing, Kido could only forewarn his tribe and get the penguins to pack up early. Unlike the rest of the animal people, the Penguin Tribe had more than ample time to evict before the commencement of Operation Mass Migration. A portal subsequently appeared in the middle of their village, and a few armed Penguins Ninjas came out of it. Chieftain Skitter was already at the centre with the rest of the tribe folks all ready to depart. The Ninjas only were there to ensure the escape was in an orderly fashion. Unlike the other Animal tribes, who were sceptical of the commands from the Totem, the Penguin Tribe did not have to go to the surface to teleport since they already knew who Jin was. Besides, it was more convenient for them to have the portal at the centre of their village, allowing them to move more things given the limited time frame. "Is Kido out there already?" Skitter asked, and the Penguin Ninjas nodded their heads in unison. "I see. Then I hope the rumours of your master being an all powerful being is true. It will be a shame to lose Kido." Skitter replied with a worried expression. "Heh! You underestimate our fellow penguins. They will be fine." Chieftain Skitter said as he beckoned his people to enter the portal would eventually lead them to the new island instance. As it was placed near the beachhead of the island, everyone who entered it was surprised by the vast ocean in front of them. Colwaski, who was the first few to arrive, had his jaws dropped when he saw the mesmerising beauty right in front of them. "C''mon guys! Tell the ones in front to move forward! Or else those people at the back could enter!" Skitter shouted, not knowing what was beyond the portal in the Giant World. "¡­And here I thought, it was one shit hole to another. If this is truly where we are living, I would not mind working hard for this Jin." Colwaski whispered to himself when he thought of the times he had to struggle to survive back in the Giant World. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "User, according to the latest scan, some of the groups had already begun moving to the surface. However, there were a few tribes that remained as they were. No panicked movements nor an up spike in activity. They remained unfazed by the message sent out by Druid Hamatarou." The System reported the latest developments out loud to the people in the Dungeon Maker. "Let''s be realistic. We already did our part. Hamatarou did mention that some might not have the Totem with them while others simply refuse to move out." Jin said as he looked at the predicted movement of the Giant Monsters too. "There is only so much we can do. We cannot save them all." Once the System had already optimised and predicted the routes of the escaping Animal People, Jin gave out another order. "Send teams Charlie and Delta to these coordinates to divert the Giant Monsters away. Prepare Team Alpha and Beta for the extradition of the Animal People, teleport Hamatarou to those teams the moment they make contact with the Animal People. We have to show that we are friendly and prove our credibility." In less than fifteen minutes, Team Alpha was teleported to the location which Jin had specified, and Ninja Penguin Kido discerned that they had arrived at the Church where their tribe hid in. He speculated that it was possibly the other side of the Church since he cannot recall seeing any of the giant stained glass right above him even though the infrastructure were identical. "Can you imagine? A tribe that stayed near us all this time and we did not know of its existence! Man, if we had found each other and cooperated, things might turn out differently." One of the Ninja Penguins whispered. "You are too optimistic. What if the tribe are like the Salamanders? Eating Animal People to survive? We all know how hard it is to kill a Giant and the amount of sacrifice needed." Another Ninja Penguin reasoned. "Zip it. Eyes front." Kido''s orders were sharp, and the other ninjas obeyed immediately as they ready themselves for any possible danger. Without a doubt, they sensed movement south of them, and the footsteps seemed to be hasty. The penguins perceived that the cracked crevice right ahead of them was where the footsteps were coming from. Thus, Kido performed several hand signals to coordinate an ambush attack in case the Animal People was aggressive. Soon, a figure appeared out from the hole with bated breath, and upon seeing Kido''s stance, it panicked for a moment before brandishing his axe out. "A Croc?" One of the Penguin Ninjas asked and Kido shrugged his shoulders before shouting out loud to state his intentions. "We are armed, but we are friendlies who can assist you on behalf of Hamatarou, the Druid who sent you the message via his Totems," Kido exclaimed loud and clear. He could later discern the Croc right in front of him had dropped his battle stance when he lowered his axe, looking more relief than ever. "Forward Scout?" Kido confirmed his suspicion when the Croc nodded his head in reply. "How far behind is your tribe?" "I am sorry, but I cannot divulge that information out. I still cannot determine whether you can be trusted despite your declaration." The Croc shouted back. "Then you can at least trust me." Hamatarou teleported in time right beside Kido which scared the Croc a little. "Show your leader this, and he will know that I am speaking the truth. And hurry! We do not want to stay here long enough to be the Giants'' dinner." Hamatarou threw one of his similar totems at the Croc. Not to his surprise, the Croc''s short arms proved to be quite disadvantages to catch something this small. He only picked it up when it fell on top of his mouth. "Listen to these penguins, they would bring you to Paradise," Hamatarou shouted again before he patted at Kido''s shoulders and disappeared to aid another team. Suddenly, the Penguin Ninjas sensed another series of erratic movement and this time around, they were sure it belonged to Giants instead of another tribe or scout. The Croc felt the same thing and his legs trembled, those footsteps were not the same as the usual prey he and his fellow hunters fought against. It was something different. Bigger. "You heard the big hamster! Hasten the march of your tribes, mate." One of the Penguin Ninja shouted. "Wait! Toto! Follow that Croc and call Jin via the System Channel to open a portal below. If the scout made it up here, it means the route should be safe." Kido commanded, and Toto complied without hesitation. Although he knew that there would be one less man against the monstrosity that was coming, he knew his comrades were able to handle it. "Godspeed! Save me some fun as well!" Toto shouted as he took off with the Croc scout. "Heh! I do not want the fun to come to you. Master Jin will kill me." Kido chuckled as he unwrapped a giant scroll right in front of him and started chanting. Chapter 648 All I Need Is A Rock "Hahahaha! You call this a fight?" Maeve said as she watched the bunch of sorry mess right in front of her, trying their best to defeat her loyal Valgs. They were making no progress against Maeve as she continued calling out countless otherworldly monsters. (Why fight when she could let her minions do all the work for her?) The cultivators initially thought of clearing the room before they fight on a ''many to one'' basis. But it seemed like there was no end to her minions! What''s more, every cultivator in the room thought that the Victorian dressed lady had a limited in her summons, but it seemed like the Raid Instance was not designed to be as such. The only turnaround that happened was that Jing Yu and fresh cultivators was steadfast in their rear defence against the Valgs which spawned outside the throne hall or else it would be within the nightmare for the cultivators within the room. With time, Jin''s shop was getting filled with more people coming in response for the Emergency Raid Instance. Thus, it lessened the burden Jing Yu and the rest of the rear support drastically. The Black Masked Cultivators were, however biding time until their Elder gave them permission to engage the main boss. While waiting, they diverted their boredom by bringing newly spawned Valgs to their knees so that the cultivators had an easier time to kill them. Yet, the Daughter of Winter Court was not idling at the shitshow happening under her feet. She was monitoring who was potentially the most dangerous and might be the real game changer. Obviously, she singled out the ones with Black Masks. There were not many of them (In fact, only two among them), but from her observation, they utilised pure brute strength as compared to the rest of the group who wielded strange abilities that could bolster their strength or summon elemental magic to complement their techniques. Regardless of their flashy attacks, Maeve was not afraid of them as opposed to the two Black Masks. "Hmmm, but if they relied only on brute force, I shouldn''t have anything to worry about." Maeve scoffed at the situation as she slouched on her throne and yawned. Maybe, it was time to wrap this up as she started to feel something was happening outside the castle. She sensed a ripple of high level magic passing through the castle a few moments ago, and she was curious about it. Out of the blue, a projectile headed towards her from the side. Without the need to look, she stopped it with her powers and brought it to her face to inspect. Her barrier was able to block all manner of projectiles and even the smashes from Xiong Da''s club. But this projectile¡­.this particular piece of rock which had no magical energy attached to it managed to penetrate her almighty barrier with ease. The only way to stop it was to concentrate her magical powers to prevent it from contacting her. "Hah!? A rock? You people must really underestimate me to throw a mere stone at me!" Maeve lied as she glanced at the side. It was none other than a member of that Black Masked Cultivators. The third one and possibly the final one who left the throne hall earlier. This rock throw further solidified her theory that they only had brute strength and nothing else. Yet, it did place her into high alert when she found out it could penetrate her barrier. "You animals should know your place," Maeve said as her eyes royal purple shone as she placed kinetic pressure in the area, forcing him to kneel to his knees. However, for some reason, there was no reaction from him except his surroundings. The tiles were broken, and the walls cracked from the intense pressure. Some of the cultivators who were caught within the pressurised area died instantaneously. "Heh, you are not worthy of our weapons. Rocks are more than enough." The Black Masked Cultivator said while the rest of the Drows chuckled behind their masks. Maeve became speechless. It had been a long time since someone dared to insult her upfront. No one had ever treated her with this much of disrespect. Hence, the Evil Kinkstress summoned a high grade Valg right in front of the Black Masked Cultivator as a part of her retaliation to the remarks. However, the moment it arrived into this particular plane of existence, the Black Masked Cultivator jumped right to its face and used a rock to smash its face before it could react at all. Brutal savagery with just a rock nearly caused a pause in the battlefield as both Valgs and Cultivators could not believe how a giant sized Valg, equivalent to the one which the Elder Cultivators fought, was brought to its knees by it. Even when the Valg tried to counterattack, his opponent simply smashed it out of its existence. What''s more surprising was the rock''s durability. Being able to withstand the impact of each and every hit. It was as if the user was more than just a mere specialist in rock smashing. He was a master at it. "See? What did I say? All I need is a rock." The Black Masked Cultivator shrugged his shoulder in defiance as the Giant Valg lied on the ground motionless. At that instant, every Valg in the throne hall turned their heads to target the Black Masked Cultivators in the vinicity. "Do not stop your attacks!" Xiong Da shouted as he smashed the vulnerable Valg down and so did the rest. However, those who were still able to run, the monsters simply followed their mistress''s orders and headed for the Black Masked Cultivators. Immediately, the three Black Masked Cultivators with the aid of the cultivators crushed each and every Valgs without mercy. "Thanks, Narris. Tinda." The Black Masked Cultivator whispered via the System Channel as the two nodded their heads in unison. Maeve was ticked off. Pissed Off. She decided this group of playthings was not worth her time anymore, so she stopped summoning the Valgs, giving brief spite of relief to the cultivators. Still sitting on her high throne, Maeve instead conjured a sphere of darkness through her fingertips. "A Black Hole?" Xiong Da asked as he could feel his body being dragged towards the sphere and Bu Dong shuddered as he tried to balance himself. All he knew was that the cultivators were no match to Maeve except for those Black Masked Cultivators. He believed they were a bunch of high grade cultivators who could have possibly kept their identities hidden via the black masks to clear the raids. "Not good," Tinda said as she picked a broken tile on the ground and threw it towards Maeve. The Evil Kinktress sniggered at the pitiful attempt and sent the black hole towards the cultivators instead of them. "I will make you suffer by removing your comrades away," Maeve shouted as the sphere of darkness flung towards the centre of the throne room, and it started to suck in each and every cultivator within the room. The pulling force was so great that even floor and ceiling of the throne room were eaten up by the black hole. (Not to mention the Pandawans,) "Awww damn." Xiong Da eventually found himself in a bed staring at the ceiling within the Luxury Recovery instance alongside Bu Dong and Jing Yu. Thankfully, they were teleported before they were sucked into the black hole by the System. (As stingy as ever, the System scrimp every possible resource whenever possible) Also, because of the magical disparity coming from the Black Hole, Maeve did not notice a third party magical source moving the cultivators away from the scene. She assumed all were devoured within the Black Hole. (Besides, her focus and annoyance with the Black Masked Cultivators made her missed it.) "Looks like this raid is just way too hard. Maybe we are not supposed to win against the main boss?" Bu Dong said as he laid on the bed and checked how much points he received. "Ah! I enjoyed the raid, while it lasted. Speaking of which, did that frog disappear as well? I mean since he is the few main objectives of the raid, right?" Jing Yu asked, and the other two shook their head. "The place was way too chaotic to take care of that crazy frog." Xiong Da said as he began turning on Pandaflix, monitoring the stream for Emergency Raid Instance. However, he could not find any video stream near the main boss, except for the fresh wave of rear support who happened to be running away from the black hole attack. Xiong Da tried to connect to see what the Black Masked Cultivators were doing, but there was no such option in the Pandaflix stream at all. "Weird. Is this stream broken or something? I can''t seem to tune to the Black Masked Cultivators." "Ah! Unless they are NPCs! Part of the story. Maybe that is why the frog suddenly disappeared." Bu Dong suggested, and one of the Panda Nurses laughed. "They are ¡­friends of Jin and wished to stay anonymous for this raid. That is why their streams are not up." The Panda Nurse replied and somehow the Pandawans sighed. "Maybe that''s why we are eliminated. In that raid, the algorithm of the dimensional instance probably compensated for their presence, so the raid boss was wayyyy harder. Maybe we can try the next one, it should be less painful that way." Bu Dong theorised and the other two seemed to accept that. To them, they were convinced that there were really people out there so strong, it skewed the raid boss rating out of the Pandwan''s league. Or so they thought. Chapter 649 The Winter Court Queen With the hole left at the centre of the Throne Hall, Maeve had a gloating expression on her look towards the Black Masked Cultivators. "Reregot, the faerie thinks that we might be disappointed with the loss of our ''comrades''. She thinks that will reduce our fighting capabilities." Tinda chuckled behind the mask. "In fact, she is making it easier for us to move around without too much worry!" "I do agree. Let''s clear this fast and aid Master Jin in the rescue of the Animal People." Reregot took out the inverted black cross beneath his shirt and revealed it to the Daughter of Winter Courts. The moment Maeve saw the cross, she was mildly disturbed by it. "¡­Where did you find a fairy stone?!" She shouted and sent a projectile of dark energy towards the Dark Elves who were still under the cover of their Black Masks. Narris and Tinda evaded the attack instinctively except for Reregot who stood there with the cross. As expected, the cross was able to defend him from the dark energy projectile. When Reregot thought that it nullified the attack, it was actually dissipated as particles to be absorbed into the Dark Elven relic. Maeve suddenly lost her composure and could not believe it. The inverted cross which the Black Masked Cultivator held was no ordinary fairy stone. Like every other equipment in Jin''s store, there was a varying quality of the fairy stones too. For the stone to absorb Maeve''s magic this easily meant that the stone came from entities like her mother, who were tiers higher than her in terms of power. She vaguely remembered that there was a period where her elders like her mother gave such fairy stones to the humans for fun, just to experiment with the humans. But that was a very long time ago, so she could not fathom why these short lived humans were able to obtain these fairy stones or even had knowledge about such relics? (Needless to say, she was pinning on the assumption that humans are ignorant beings.) Still, Maeve believed that it was a fluke and even thought that these humans did not turn to Giants or Monsters because of the protection by the fairy stone. Still, she never saw such intricate design like the inverted cross before. And to add on, Maeve noticed that the Black Masked Cultivator was also bleeding from holding onto the fairy stone. The Evil Kinkstress had no doubt that there would be side effects for humans to use these fairy stones without magical powers. "Heh, as expected, he would not be able to last long holding that fairy stone, but I guess I better not fool around too," Maeve said to herself as she decided to move out of her chair and released the very same black hole technique towards Reregot. Except, this time it was much bigger. But what Maeve saw next, made her mouth dropped in horror. A silhouette of her aunt, Queen Titania of the Summer Courts emerged from the cross and halted the black hole before the magic could be fully executed. However, it was not the usual bright, cheerful figure that she always portrayed. Instead, it was filled with dark, ominous energy around her that created such a daunting picture of Queen Titania which Maeve never imagined that it could be possible in her entire life. Her clothes, her mannerism and even her hairdo were different from what she last remembered of her. The Black Hole magic was subsequently assimilated into the silhouette, and the silhouette of Dark Queen Titania unleashed the very same magic spell back at the Evil Kinkstress. This time, the Black Hole was more sinister than the colour black, putting the definition of the abyss into shame. Maeve still shocked by the sudden change of events was standing at her throne like a fool. She could sense that there were no magic spells in her repertoire that was able to block, negate or deflect it. And no matter how she runs, Maeve could most definitely be not able to escape from that spell. The Daughter of Winter Courts even believed that those Black Masked Cultivators were prepared to die with her considering the crazy stunt they pulled off. "That is why you still have more to learn." A calm breezing wave of cold rushed into the room. In an instant, the enhanced Black Hole Magic was subdued with a spell of spatial disintegration. A lady was standing at the side throne hall, with her arms crossed, looking at the Black Masked Cultivators. "I do not know how you have gotten my sister''s Fairy Stone, but I assure you that the amount of output to kill my daughter? It would nearly render the stone almost useless right now, and my magic would not be easily absorbed by that stone¡­though I would say, it''s not impossible. Just not long enough for you to throw something like that to me." The Lady spoke with grace as she protected Maeve by standing right in front of her. Proudly wearing a translucent dress, showing her flawless white skin and toned body, the Queen of Winter Courts, Mab was not one to abandon her child in her time of need. "Don''t you think your child had played enough? The mess she did is irreversible." Reregot questioned as he slowly put the Inverted Cross relic back beneath his shirt. "What gives you the right to lecture me? It''s not your child nor your business¡­ Outsiders." Mab hissed back. "But as a benevolent Queen, I will give you the chance to walk away freely for one condition. Kill yourselves for me." Mab said as if they had no way to escape her request. "You puny humans should take it! Before she invokes a contract clause on you guys! Then you all will suffer a living hell like never before! Your souls would not know what peace is!" Maeve barked right behind her mother. As usual, the Feys had to demonstrate their overwhelming powers to prove that they were right by freezing the entire throne hall into ice except for the areas where the Black Masked Cultivators were standing. After which, Queen Mab lowered the temperature of the throne room to the point where the Dark Elves were experiencing symptoms of hypothermia in less than a minute. The Dark Elves knew killing themselves was not an issue since they could resurrect again as long as they were under Jin, but to die because the enemy demanded it? It was more of a pride issue. Not to mention, they were still buying more time for the Rescue Operation. However, they knew that the Queen of Winter Courts was not deft to not know about what was going on outside the castle, but she rather preferred to protect her child from the direct threat than to meddle with Jin''s operation right now. Hence, all they needed was more time to let the rest of the minions continue their rescue efforts without the interference of the Winter Court Feys. "Ha! Asking them to kill themselves is like telling your kid to stop playing with dead bodies." A low growling voice was heard from behind Reregot. The Dark Elves turned around to see an Orc revealing his face from his hooded cloak. "Aye, Boss knew that her mother will be coming, so he asked me to come and assist. And I guess, this is indeed a good time to stretch my powers a little. All those governing nearly bored me to death." "You sure? Fire beats ice, you know?" Flame Ripper accompanied the Orc King Frost Echo by his side while the Orc asked if he could hold the cloak for him. "Don''t you know? Ice is a form of water? You probably die immediately from the drowning! Besides, didn''t Boss ask you to aid the penguins?" Frost Echo said as he tightened his armour. If it was regular armour, he probably would have discarded it by now. But they were armour bestowed by Shiva, The Shaitan of Primitive Ice, the Goblin World''s Herald of Winter. Frost Echo figured his bestowed armour could aid him to withstand a bit of the cold. If not, he probably complaining to his god that it was useless junk. "He told me I am the backup unit for this in case you did not appear." Flame Ripper folded the large cloak and hung it over his shoulders. "Heh! If I did not appear, I think the System gonna eat me up alive. If not that, Mistress Qiu Yue will!" The Orc King said as he cracked his knuckles and walked on the ice with poise. The Dark Elves did learn the existence of every minion in Jin''s consortium of freaks, and they happily jumped back to where Flame Ripper was. They knew it was a show they would not want to miss. Chapter 650 Ice Against Ice "Who do you think you are? You think your powers ever exceed my mother? You yellow freak!" Maeve did not know what kind of monstrosity that human had become to have such an ugly face and body structure. Or maybe it was one of those Animal People that she never saw before. "I know your species¡­you are an Orc, aren''t you?" Queen Mab squinted her eyes though she could not believe that an Orc had survived in this world for generations. "But you are more civilised than the ones I last remembered. Although I was very sure the humans had annihilated all of you and the ¡­goblin race from existence." "Aren''t you happy that the eyesores had come back to haunt you?" Frost Echo inferred that the Feys were probably the ones who incited the humans to kill the Orcs and Goblins judging from Maeve''s behaviour. Maybe it happened in their world too since the Dark Elves said they had encountered similar Feys before. "Not particularly. Usually, Orcs and Goblins are beneath me and powerless compared to what I possess. But out of amusement, I am going to erase you permanently out of this world. You should be glad you get to taste my powers firsthand." Mab clenched her right fist and loosen it, creating a ball of ice in front of her. She then used her magic to flatten it into a sheet and subsequently rubbed the ball of ice until it looked like an icicle spear. With a flick of her finger, the icicle flew towards Frost Echo but the armour he wore, dissipated the icicle into dust. "Damn, looks like I am not as fit as I was." Frost Echo said to himself when his intention was to dodge it at first. But even if he did avoid it, Queen Mab''s icicle spear was something similar to a tracking missile. It would not stop until it hits the target. "Probably eat less of those Royal dishes with those buffalo meat. Might also help to change your diet! And more exercise!" Flame Ripper blurted out, and the Black Masked Cultivators who were leaning at the door chuckled softly behind their masks. "Yeah yeah, I will tell Cross to watch for my diet and exercise." Frost Echo waved his hand in a manner to shoo them off before he turned his head to notice an icicle ten times larger was pointing towards him. "Try dissolving this into ice dust." Queen Mab was reluctant to use her powers against such a puny insignificant being when she released the projectile. She assumed that the armour was the one that was protecting him from the attacks. But from her perspective, the ''magical'' armour plates were only skin thick, and they could be pierced through with sufficient power. "You are not the only one with ice powers." Frost Echo said as he grabbed the thrown giant icicle spear by the tip with just one hand and eventually broke it into pieces. For the first time, the Avatar of Shiva was having fun, and his Shaitan was on the standby to come out any time whenever he needed to. It was a long time since they scratch their itch for battle. "You should have gone and not that bitch," Ifrit said to Flame Ripper in his head. "Nah, do not have to worry much. Her avatar would still interfere, and we can join in the fun later. Besides, Shiva''s your elder sister, give her some leeway." Flame Ripper tried to calm the Fire Shaitan in him. Queen Mab raised an eyebrow seeing that she underestimated the Orc and clasped her fingers. In an instant, her cold snap froze Frost Echo into a bulk of ice. "See, stop wasting my time already. Because of his interferences, I shall let do the Maeve killin-" An Ice Shard flew from the back and attempted to pierce Maeve, but Mab''s barrier blocked it. However, that was enough for Queen Mab to turn her head, lowering her guard momentarily. This split second distraction gave Frost Echo the opportunity to do the same towards Queen Mab as she was frozen in a bulk of ice for a second before breaking out. (Obviously, it was not a projectile based magic but rather a pinpoint type of magic, allowing Frost Echo to bypass her barrier and perform the Ice Prison spell.) Though Frost Echo was still in the ice block, his retaliation made Queen Mab ticked off, enough to magically create spears of ice into his direction. But to annoy her even more, the ice block Frost Echo was in, shot out the same number of ice spears against her, breaking it at a tie. "You! You are no normal Orc! There''s no Orc that could wield magic, much less with finesse like yours!" Cracks started to appear on Queen Mab''s face. "Why thank you! Don''t be too shocked that an Orc can perform such feats. I mean, I am also surprised how awfully sadistic you let your daughter to be. How about you let us kill her, and then we train her to be a good person?" Frost Echo replied with glee as he broke the ice block cleanly into two with his imprint still in it. "What? Don''t test my limits. I know you are cahooting with some magician that is currently performing a large scale movement to this ruined kingdom. Don''t think that I knew nothing about the situation happening outside. While I might not have any idea what your magician friends are plotting, but it looks like you are just a pawn in his books. How about you join me? And I will spare those people out there." Queen Mab seems to have taken an interest in high level Orc Magician. "Ehhh, that is a problem. Apparently, it''s a death contract I signed without much of my will, and now I could not break out of it. Besides, I can''t make promises with you since we Orcs value honour and trust the most." Frost Echo said but at the same time hoping that Jin was listening in to their conversation. If Hell did freeze over the entire ruined kingdom, it would spell trouble for the current rescue operation. "Then all we have to do is to weaken her to the state that she''s not able to cast such a large scale spell¡­or maybe distract her enough until its meaningless for her to cast it." Kraft who was watching at the side in the dungeon Maker said via the System Channel. "Don''t pull your punches, Orc King." "Heh, why don''t you come and try it for yourself!" Frost Echo''s thoughts were full hateful remarks for that Fox. Suddenly a fire arrow flew right behind him, and Queen Mab managed to create a partial ice barrier to block the ice. But she noticed that the fire was strong enough to melt the ice in front of her before it extinguishes. Not to mention, the moment she blocked the arrow attack, Mab saw a shadow at the side causing her daughter Maeve to immediately called a Valg out to act as a Meat Shield. Happy to be out of the hellhole it was in, the Valg roared out for the freedom it was bestowed in before it roared in pain, being burnt violently by an attack it did not anticipate. Flame Ripper had decided to take action since Kraft was right. If her concentration was with the fight, her threats would not be an issue even though it did hit a nerve. Even Dark Elf Reregot had decided to help by taking out the inverted cross and wrapping it around his hand. Even though it might not damage the Fey Winter Queen much as she had warned, he believed it should still inflict some damage to them. It was solely a battle to buy time for the rescue operation to succeed but to the cultivators in his shop, what they saw were the other cultivators struggling to fight the remaining Valgs in the castle. Some who manage to reach the throne hall found that there was a large hole right in front of them. There was also a layer of treacherous ice at the far end of the hole, making it almost impossible to land properly should one jump across the massive gap. Most thought it was just a dead end and turned away to search for other Valgs. The only ones who happened to know that something was still going on in the Throne Hall were the Zi Dan, Xia Mao and Kong Xian who wrapped up their drinking session. While they did catch a glimpse of the intense ice fight scene between Frost Echo and Queen Mab from a distance, it instantly clicked on them that surrendering was the equivalent version of knowing their limits. Thus, the ''real'' boss battle was shrouded with mystery and not known to the cultivators. Chapter 651 Operation Mass Migration - Part 3 While Flame Ripper and Frost Echo fought against Queen Mab, Operation Mass Migration was going pretty smoothly without too much interference. Jin had so far rescued the Penguins, Crocs, Walrus, Polar Bears, Turtles, Crabs, Otters and lastly Beavers. These eight tribes were the only few they managed to contact, and even though Peppers reported that there were at least another three more tribes that were dormant in the ground, Jin was not going for them. His manpower was stretched with the influx of Giant Monsters coming towards the tribes. At first, Jin thought it was the Hamster Druid that they were after, but soon, his hypothesis was proven to be invalid when Hamatarou tried to divert attention from them. Sure, they were some monsters that tried to eat Hamatarou, but not all of them were going for him. Thus, the rescue team was stalling the Giants as much as they could in order to make sure that there was sufficient time for Animal People to escape into Jin''s Portals. Thankfully, with Mr Derpy as the floating platform, Peppers was able to see where the flares were coming from to initiate her explosion spells. With the aid of Que Er''s crows as well as the System predictive analysis, they managed to have pinpoint accuracy of up to 10 metres for the bombardment. Most of Jin''s minions were able to divert the monsters'' attention, luring them to open spaces for the bombardment to have maximum effect. Needless to say, there were casualties, but the potential of having more allies as well as Giant Monsters into Jin''s Arsenal of monsters would greatly benefit the loss of resources in the long run. Also, Ghoul Half Lord Derek wanted to do more experiments to see if his food fusion experiment was viable for other Giant monsters than just the Broccoli Porkcupine, hoping to increase the variety of food products grown for slaughter. It was ultimately a small cost to pay despite the System being a Scrooge in the first place. However, Jin''s fears were realised when Father Porkcupine appeared not soon after the arrival of Queen Mab. To his comfort, there were oddly no other larger monsters the size of Father Porkcupine, and he was the only at the scene. This made the Dungeon Supplier wondered if Father Porkcupine was truly the only mega giant monster in the Ruined Kingdom or its Apex Predator was currently out of ''town'' in search for juicier foodstuff. Regardless, Jin had already prepared a few surprises for Father Porkcupine who was ravaging near the evacuation of the Crabs. (Fun fact: The Crab People are the only tribe that was out of the norm. While the other seven tribes maintained mostly their features like an animal, the Crabs had a full size human body except that their heads were made out of the shape of a crab. Even their pincers were on their head.) "Hamatarou, since you are not needed anywhere, I am teleporting you to the Father Porkcupine!" Jin said in the System Channel, and Hamatarou complained of being overworked. "Nope! This is your request to evacuate the people! It''s your responsibility, and you have to play the most part of it." However, the moment Hamatarou teleported, he was standing in between the nose bridge of Father Porkcupine. Not only that, he noticed that a magical circle large and complex enough to cover the skies was right above him. "HOLY SHIT! PEPPERS IS CASTING, AND YOU TELEPORTED ME RIGHT ON TOP OF THE PIG?" Hamatarou scared and terrified, shouted at the top of his voice with his fur all stood up. "That''s the whole idea," Shu said in the System Channel, and suddenly a Tree was entrenched on the nose bridge of the Porkcupine. From far, it would seem like a stick had merely fallen from the sky and on the monster''s head. "Enlarge me, and so this slab of good meat would not be able to run from Peppers Boom Boom." Hamatarou finally understood what Jin was trying to do. Since Shu was a Treant, a Druid would be the best combination to team up with. Without hesitation, Druid Hamatarou placed his wand, and his totem of Reverse Atem on Shu and a warm green light shone from the magic that he released. The bright light was coincidentally a decent distraction against Father Porkcupine, allowing Shu''s roots to wrap all around it. Father Porkcupine felt the roots crawling under his belly, his spikes and even around his mouth. Eventually, the roots also went deep into the ground, entrenching the giant monster to the ground. Naturally, the Porkcupine tried to wiggle itself out and even attempted releasing his spikes to break the roots, but the popping of the spikes only allowed the roots to tighten the creature further before it could grow back again. "Okay enough tree hugging, get out of the way or you be blasted off as well!" Peppers shouted at the System Channel with the floating platform was near the scene. (She just wanted front row tickets of the biggest, baddest and meanest explosion she could ever conjure especially with Ayse''s Experimental Vest. On the contrary, Ayse was panicking when she saw the magic circle up high. Although the Orc Head Researcher was able to handle Peppers output till now, she believed her machine would crack under the pressure of this subsequent magic spell. Yet, Ayse understood that this shot was needed to keep Father Porkcupine occupied. She remembered Jin telling her that even the Titan Knight''s weaponry was insufficient to make a dent on the monster at all. Granted there were problems with his weapon with it at the maximum output when Father Porkcupine appeared and overheated at the wrong time, but Ayse would also be lying if she said that she did not want to first hand see the explosion herself. Thus, there was no other way than to let the Demonic Sage Queen to go out. It was obviously the ''only'' choice. "If I leave now, the remaining roots won''t hold him for more than a few seconds!" Shu argued, but his argument became invalid when Jin had commanded the System to teleport both Hamatarou and Shu out of harm''s way the moment Peppers released her magic. "Are you even sure, we should be this close to the- " Ayse suddenly felt it was a bad idea when the magic circle disappeared, but it felt like time and space squeezed tight together and created a sound of vacuum. *Zooooooommm ¨C BA DAAAAA BOOOOOOOOOM* Elated, Pepper was. Chapter 652 The Otherworldly Power In The Background The explosion was too loud to be ignored and could be heard from the castle. It distracted Queen Mab for a moment, allowing Frost Echo and Flame Ripper took the opportunity to slip a blow to her now overpowering ice barrier. Part of her shield shattered but Queen Mab, filled with years of combat experience, had already prepared a counterattack despite the lapse in her defence. Maeve chipped in by shooting out projectiles of black magic from her hand to strengthen her mother''s counter attack. Even though she disliked her mother''s appearance, the revelation of the Dark Titania''s fairy stone had made her cowered like a rat behind her mother''s back. Like her mother, Maeve was shameless in making sure that she always had the advantage regardless of the situation. While Mab sighed that she had to clear her daughter''s mess and come to rescue her, she did not dislike it one bit. In fact, if Mab could, she liked to thank her playthings for allowing her to play the role of the protective mother once in a while to regain the image of Mother in Maeve''s head. As the Evil Kinktress continued to assist her mother, they had forgotten somebody who was in the Throne Hall for a very long time ever since the beginning of the fight. The frog swordsman Gaeru suddenly made his presence known as he coiled his tongue around Maeve''s neck, causing her to gasp for breath as part of her body''s reflex. The moment she had a mouth wide open, Gaeru immediately shafted Jin''s sword, Boo into her throat without any mercy. During the start of the battle, when Gaeru struck Maeve, he was easily deflected by her psychic barrier and was accidentally tossed by a raging Valg to the throne hall''s chandelier. The giant (and broken) lamp lights provided sufficient refuge for Gaeru to recover from the unexpected seismic toss. That was also when Gaeru realised something was attached at his nape near the edge of his worn, dirty cape the swordsman wore throughout his travels. It was an instant ninja scroll which Kido had previously attached to the frog swordsman should he ever found himself in a pinch. Gaeru did not expect the honourable penguins still cared for him so much they were charitable enough to attach a secret scroll on him. (More than caring, Kido was actually anxious that Gaeru became too reckless in his pursuit for revenge and hoped that having an instant scroll would aid him in his more dire circumstances.) A small piece of paper filled with instructions was attached to Gaeru''s cape so he could activate it manually else the instant scroll takes its effect the moment the mantle was pulled, tightened, burned or taken off. (In short, any drastic physical movements done to the cape activates the scroll.) Gaeru grinned when he saw the piece of paper was filled with 4 sketch panels. It was teaching him how to use the scroll of invisibility so that even the most illiterate should be able to understand it. (Well¡­maybe the System did aid in the clarification when it observed what Gaeru had trouble reading it. Pictures might not be the best representation, especially when all he did in his life was to fight, fight, fight.) ¡ª¡ª¨C Queen Mab heard the gasping from behind and saw the grotesque image of the frog grabbing her daughter with his tongue while plunging a sword into her mouth. Although the Queen was sure that she was able to save her daughter, and Maeve would be able to recover with her healing magic, it was the frog actions which trigger Mab''s aggressive protective tendencies. "YOU!!!!!!!!!" Queen Mab shouted at the top of her voice, which shattered not only the remaining glass windows in the throne hall but even made the entire castle infrastructure to shake violently from her scream alone. While Flame Ripper and Frost Echo were stopped in their tracks from the scream, the Dark Elves was somehow partially unaffected by the yelling. However, this sudden change of circumstances made Reregot realised that he could, in fact, participate in this crazy magical exchange of powers. By factoring the partially broken ice barrier into his throw, Reregot tied his Inverted Cross Relic onto a stone and hurled it towards the injured Maeve. Gaeru''s eardrums burst for the high pitch scream, and with blood flowing steadily out from his earhole, it made him slightly unconscious and causing his tongue grip to weaken. The scream also made him felt his temperature to decrease drastically, making him shiver. But it was also precisely that scream that aggravated the swordsman to execute a more drastic action by opening his mouth wide and placed Maeve''s entire head into his mouth as it emits poison through his saliva to numb Maeve. At the same moment, the Inverted Cross Relic (with a stone) stabbed onto Maeve''s chest and piercing it through her sternum, causing it to absorb her Fey Magic. The impact was strong enough to shatter her sternum and disabling her lungs further. Queen Mab was in a state of dire shock. She did not realise that her daughter''s playthings had no neglect of their lives and decided to go all out to defeat the Evil Kinkstress. There had been no one in their lives that was willing to do such despicable acts to them. They had always been revered regardless of their actions since most humans were willing to suffer to gain powers from the whims of gods. But now Maeve''s playthings were so ruthless, willing to bring such a ''god'' to their knees. But she did not know that their aim was never to defeat her, but to distract her. It was by chance that there was an opportune timing to inflict damage on Maeve while keeping Queen Mab at bay. With the ancient fairy stone taking Maeve''s powers away, she panicked and tried to tear the frog''s tongue out of the way. However, both Feys did not know that there was an otherworld power in the works when the frog was thrown aside like a rag. "Maeve, Princess of the Winter Courts, Summoner of Valgs, the Evil Kinkstress had been successfully captured." The System reported, and suddenly Maeve disappeared from the world right in front of her mother, making everyone stunned and speechless for a second. It was when Jin''s Sword, Boo, dropped to the ground which made everyone snapped out into the new predicament they were in. Everyone had forgotten the almighty System was in the background, waiting to capture such a valuable minion. The sword was not just Jin''s weapon but an item previously empowered by the System. If the monsters were using their own weapons, they had to make sure that the enemy was near death or dead on the floor, unable to move for the System to capture it. But with Boo? It was practically the substitute of Jin''s capturing app on his phone. There was always a chance for the System to capture it as long as some damage was inflicted to the enemy. It just that it would be much easier for the System and Jin to get the monster into their ranks when it''s dead. Queen Mab had no idea what was going on. Did Maeve escape from the battlefield? But if she did, how come she could not feel her presence anywhere near? Could Maeve had teleported herself and made her undetectable? Mab knew that fairy stones were not supposed to kill a High Fey or made someone disappear without any warnings. Things were not adding up, and so were the monsters right in front of her. They were injured but still laughing as if it was their plan all along. "No matter. I will kill them and find the truth from Maeve." Queen Mab said to herself as a burst of icy power shot out from her hands and directed to Gaeru without any remorse for removing such an existence from this world. Gaeru smiled as he gladly took the hit. Chapter 653 Operation Mass Migration - Final "What? Maeve is captured?!" Jin looked up when he heard the announcement from the System and was genuinely surprised. He was thankful that the Mass Migration Operation was proceeding rather smoothly despite the appearance of Father Porkcupine and the news of Maeve being captured could not have been any better. It was totally out of his expectation. Also, the timing of Pepper''s explosion was nearly impeccable as the penguin ninjas and Orcs managed to clear the ''migration'' queue by requesting multiple portals. They hope to rush the crowd in before the advent of the inevitable. The System naturally granted this one time privilege which quickened the queue but also brought in some unexpected visitors into the Island they were evacuating into. Needless to say, the Orcs who accompanied the rescue proved to be a positive distraction against those other Porkcupines. (They loved the meat so much from the Xmas Feast that they hoped by killing these live Giant boars by themselves, will eventually earn them the right to eat them once more.) Meanwhile, Peppers'' pride was hurt when she found out that Father Porkcupine did not go down with her latest iteration of explosion spell. It was still standing and even attempted to retaliate but it did not know where it came from¡­until it sniffed out a faint, similar magical source from above. Peppers could have escaped detection if she did not try to fire another blast at Father Porkcupine. However, the experimental vest broke as Ayse had expected and did not allow Peppers to release another spell on her own. Instead, she grabbed all the crystals that were charged up from her worn out machines and threw them in her storage ring before she shouted at the System and Jin. "Teleport Peppers and me back to base! Any more magic and you will have an incapacitated mage for the next month or so!" Ayse warned her master about the consequences of letting his Bellator running too rampant. "Right away." Jin acknowledged his minion''s request and the System immediately zapped them back to Ayse''s laboratory instance. Peppers screamed in defiance and wanted to finish the job, but Ayse was holding the battered girl back as much as she can. "To all Lab members! Code Green!" Ayse cried out loud for help via the System''s Lab Channel and immediately, her Elven researchers along with Weslie came to the main hall of the laboratory all armed with magic. Until they realised that it was not just a Code Green, its a Code Green, Peppers Version! They quickly used their magic to bind, seal and whatever possible methods they could think of to keep Peppers from releasing her magic spell on the spot. They remembered the lab instance was nearly blown away because Peppers became too agitated arguing with Ayse. But thankfully the System was aware of it and teleported Peppers away in time before any serious damage was done to the lab instance.(Talk about violent reactions!) "Sorry, sweetie. This will hurt a bit." Weslie quickly placed an injector gun on Peppers'' neck and fired a sedative that caused the Mage Bellator to lose her consciousness momentarily. After which, they put her in a trolley as the other Elven Researchers brought her to the medical lab for close observation. "This is why I do not want kids," Ayse said as she lied on the pristine clean floor of her lab hall while taking a breather. ¡ª¡ª- Even though the smell of the particular magical signature suddenly disappeared, Father Porkcupine did not stop its retaliation towards the floating platform. It thought that the culprit who did a number on him was still hiding up there. Noticing that all of the Colossal Porkcupine had spikes aimed towards the floating platform, Que Er realised Mr Derpy could be in danger and immediately stomped at him. "Evade Dagen! Evade! Hard Left!" Que Er sent a mind electrifying pulse of magic into the sleeping floating platform, forcing him to wake up and perform the instruction as ordered by the Magpie Queen. "Woah! What is happening?!" Mr Derpy''s sudden movement made the machines fell off his back and thought he also dropped Peppers and Ayse along with it. "Do not worry, the two had already returned to base. Peppers tried to kill the pig down there, but even her spell was not strong enough to penetrate his thick skin." Que Er held on to Muginn''s leg without much effort and explained the situation to Mr Derpy. "That is why it tried to kill me after finding out where the source of magic came from?" Mr Derpy asked for a confirmation which Que Er nodded. "Well, he started the fight first." The Shadow Dagen unknowingly gave his creepy smile as he looked at the prey staring at him. "I guess I better finish what Peppers had started -" "All units, prepare to teleport back! The operation is a success! I repeat, all units, prepare to teleport back!" Jin sent a system wide message which basically prevented Mr Derpy from doing any further actions. (Jin did not honestly it think it would be a running gag.) "I do not care already! So be it if there is no lunch buffet due to my insubordination!" Mr Derpy shouted as he flew higher a little more before diving straight towards Father Porkcupine. At that point, Que Er saw that the spikes on the pig''s back started to merge into one big spike. It was as if, the Porkcupine was going for a one shot kill against the diving impact of Mr Derpy. "Master, I think you better manually teleport Mr Derpy or else his death may lead to unnecessary wastage of resources which-" And before the Magpie Queen could finish her sentence, Mr Derpy was already teleported back into his instance. But the Queen realised that Father Porkcupine was still looking upwards, and only found out that the spike was subsequently diverted to aim at her. "No shit. This pig is cleverer than it portrays itself to be." Que Er whispered as she waited for the moment the spike flew out of his back like a rocket before she teleported away. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Ah ah, and here I thought I get to unleash my powers a little bit more." Frost Echo said as he did not know whether to breath a sigh of relief hearing that retreat order. "But technically, the raid is still on, right?" Flame Ripper asked as he looked at the distraught Queen of Winter Court. "You think its best to let her go just like that?" "You are saying, it''s better we die fighting?" Frost Echo questioned, but he saw the Dark Elves already jumping out of the windows the moment Jin sent the retreat order out. "Well, we still need to know the extent of our Shaitan powers to get stronger." Flame Ripper said as Queen Mab slowly turned to them with a different expression on her face. The ''I will hunt you where ever you go'' kind of face. "Heh, at most we get some scolding from Boss and maybe some isolation time? Nah scratch that, he probably made us work harder. That''s all." Frost Echo said as he leaned his neck sidewards to release a popping sound from his bones. "Besides, I am still a King. Got to keep my pride up once in a while." "Hahah! I guess it''s okay for us to fool around a little¡­" Flame Ripper said as he held onto his dagger as if it glimmered with desire. The desire to be set free and roam around the world a little to wreak some havoc. Flame Ripper took a deep breath in and shouted out the very words that had been itching to come out of his mouth for the longest time. "Command my body! Ifrit!" The Dagger Goblin held his dagger up high, and the glittering of light from the dagger turned into a spark of fire which quickly enveloped Flame Ripper. "What?!" Queen Mab had never seen such intense fire magic in her life. "Heh heh! Shiva, do you wish to be outmatched by your brother?" Frost Echo said as he raised his fist upwards and shouted the very same request beseeching his other Master to take over his body. "Command my body! Shiva!" Frost Echo said as he held his fist near his face as he slowly transformed with a barrier of ice around him. Chapter 654 Monster Merger Function "Master, I do not think this is a suitable time for the leftover cultivators to be in the castle," Drex said as he saw the two Avatars transforming to become the Shaitans they contracted with. "Agreed, System perform emergency transportation of all cultivators to the Halloween Castle instance and throw the Giant Valg we captured to occupy their time. When you are done, replicate the Salamander''s castle for me to work on it. We will create the raid instance like how we did for the Goblin Raids." Jin said as he opened up his dungeon creation consoles up while requesting Drex to oversee the remaining portion of Operation Mass Migration. All Drex had to deal with was the proper allocation of the Animal People Tribes and have his people or Jin''s minions to give out Qiu Yue''s standard contracts for them to sign. (Else, they would be stuck in limbo as the System restricted movement for those not under its command.) "System had partially replicated the castle based on User''s previous operation plan, but as your grade is not sufficient to fully control Maeve, she had also been locked away similar to how System locked Diabolos. It is for the User''s safety." The System stated that it was better to keep those monsters away since Jin did not have sufficient ability to deal with them. (Although Jin suspected that the System did not have adequate processing ability to hold reign on them as well as the other minions.) "It''s fine, we will use the Giant Valg as the sub Boss as usual and place the Salamander Queen and her guards in the throne room. I mean, the raid instance is the ''Battle in Salamander''s Lord Keep''. If we do not have any Salamanders, that will be kind of weird. Also System, do you Reregot''s data against that Salamander turned Valg Dorian right?" Jin said as he previewed the Halloween and Salamander castles'' data on his console and picked his stylus up. "Affirmative, while the monster regrettably turned into energy to powered up the Dark Elves'' Fairy Stone, System can recreate the Valg Dorian replica by sacrificing twelve of high grade Valg monsters. Does User give such permission?" The System asked as this was the first time he would be using the monster merger function. "Via the Monster Merger Function? Hmm. Usually, I''m not particularly eager to do this. It takes potential monster resources away, and I will lose the opportunity for them to grow independently. Besides, all of the monsters have their own lives regardless of the circumstances they were brought into our control. We should continue to respect that." Jin had always refused to use this particular function when he found out about it from reading the System''s manual on his phone. Upon seeing growth on each and every monster time after time, it further reinforced the fact that these monsters were like him. They have the ability to grow stronger without the need to merge them. What if Jin had previously merged the three goblins together? Does that mean the families of the other two goblins would have lost their sons forever? Would the last remaining goblin be haunted by the fact that he grew stronger using the blood, body and soul of his friends? Sometimes, a bit of compassion goes a long way. Such a feature might be present, but that did not mean that Jin would have to use it. Furthermore, from the data collected, those Valg Demons were sentient as well. Jin figured that they had to be born from something and not because they exist due to a snap from a few fingers. "Understood, System shall not perform any monster merging but will remind the User such an option still exists." The System replied before remaining silent for Jin to work on his magic to create the proper dungeon raid instance for his cultivators. To the cultivators that were in the Giant World, all they felt was a temporary lag in their body before resuming the fight. It was a relatively common technical problem in most dungeon supplier stores, and most cultivators who were in the fight did not really notice it as much as those who were cautiously exploring the area. Even though some felt it, the temporary instance-to-instance lag in Jin''s store was shrugged away as a one off thing. The Halloween Castle instance which the System had transferred the remaining cultivators into, was redesigned with data it had received based on Peppers'' Scan spell. Jin had previously asked the System to merge the blueprint of the Halloween Castle Instance with the interior design of the Salamander''s Castle in background processing while the System concentrated a majority of its resources into the rescue operation which Jin was commanding. For once, the System felt strained due to its limited processing powers, but somehow it managed to cope by simultaneously purchasing upgrades for itself when the System deemed appropriate. It was costly, but this was the only way to make sure that normalcy continued to maintain. (As well as the superior outlook it portrays.) Thank goodness the rescue operation was swift enough that the System did not see red in its own ledger nor the System had the need to dip on its emergency funds. The constant money from regular black market trading and profit from Dungeon Cave as well as Jin''s Tree Mall (the Dungeon Store included) was what kept the System account barely above red for now. A competent accountant would have sworn Jin would go red in the near future if he did not keep track of his finances properly. But Jin persisted in his ideology of spending money to earn more money. Aside from the System''s processing issues, Jin''s main concern was the proper transition of the ''fake'' Hallow Castle dungeon instance and the Battle Salamander Lord Keep Castle Raid Instance rather than the current situation in the Giant World. He knew that there were still some monsters who were still fighting in the Giant World like Flame Ripper and Frost Echo to keep Queen Mab distract, but he understood that these monsters, unlike Mr Derpy, had logical reasons for continuing their fight instead of retreating. Even if he put too much attention to it, Jin ensured that the System would dip its hand into the matter and pull them out when necessary to reduce wastage of resources. If the System had not pulled them out of the Giant World, Jin trusted his System knew what''s the risk it was taking with his monsters. So, with the System taking care of his back, Jin concentrated entirely on the Salamander Keep Raid instance before more and more people arrive to try the raid out. Yun, in place of the System, had already placed a stopgap measure to assure Jin no further incoming cultivators until he finished a major portion of the raid instance. Till then, Yun used the excuse of having too many people participating in the community Raid and used the Pandamonium App to have a queue number set up for the raid. (In hindsight, it inadvertently created a lot of hype for the new raid instance as well!) In the meantime, when Drex was wrapping the previous operation, he could not help but peek at the other console as he saw the glorious transformation of the two Shaitan Avatars. Flame Ripper had physically grown to a human shaped size with two horns curving to the back of his head. In addition, he had developed a fiery coloured mane around him, and it became apparent that he became a separate entity. Tribal Tattoos in the shapes of raging fire were imprinted on his entire body, and it pulsed with orange light every alternating second, making the tattoos looked like they were alive. Not to mention, all he wore was a loincloth. (So hot!) On the other hand, Frost Echo¡­that grumpy intelligent looking orc? He never expected that he would turn into a delicate pale skinned female human. The length of her (or his) hair reached to the ground, and it turned crystal blue in colour. Shiva was also spotted with similar kind of tattoos but in the shapes of tidal waves. (And they were glittering like ice under the sun!) The Dark Elf Leader did hear of those dumb Orcs worshipping these Shaitans as Gods, but this was the first time for him to see an Avatar transforming in the image of their gods. It was indeed a sight to behold. Chapter 655 Piss Off Contes "This is your true form? Whatever." Queen Mab did not care anymore ever since Maeve had disappeared out of a sudden. She could sense that her daughter was still alive but did not understand why there was no proper connection with her. Since there was nothing to protect and an unexplainable loss in her heart, maybe it was time for Mab to have her own fun to fill the void. The Queen had been so busy governing the Winter Courts that she barely had any chance to have a moment of rest and these two transformed beings were the perfect chance for Mab to exercise her powers. Firstly, Mab froze the throne chair and turned it with her magic to face the two Avatars directly. But the more she looked at them, she became irritated by Shiva''s beautiful glittering skin. It was so smooth that Mab could vaguely see her reflection in it. Somehow, that was more than sufficient reason to warrant their deaths, including the grave sin of attacking her daughter. "Enough holding back. I do not care what your excuses are, but you two deserved to die for being the accomplices sent to hurt my daughter." Queen Mab leaned backwards and folded her legs, giving an imposing stare towards the two Shaitans who refused to speak a word. Yet the two transformed Shaitans responded back with a half smug smile as if they were amused by her dramatic behaviour. But to the Queen of Winter Courts, it felt like an insult. They were literally signalling her to throw the first strike since all talk and no action made Mab''s threats hollow. "Fine. If you want to play it this way." Queen Mab took a deep breath in before speaking once again. "Ice Age." The second those two words left her mouth, a vast amount of ice rose from the throne chair and spread all across the room. While it was out of the Shaitans'' view, Mab''s spell affected not just the room but the entire castle and eventually the castle grounds. Soon, the ruined kingdom was engulfed in ice within mere seconds, her spell froze everything rock solid in place. Except for Shiva and Ifrit who was stood their ground against the cold. Ifrit yawned as he looked at the pristine ice castle as well as the window view of the newly frozen background. "Urgh, it''s all white and shiny." The Shaitan of Unyielding Flames groaned. "Do you now appreciate the beauty of my element?" Shiva said as she was dusting some ''ice dust'' away from her fingernails with her arms were folded. The Shaitans were not particularly amazed by Mab''s show of power. "Heh, she could have used that excessive power on us instead of wasting the whole kingdom. Later the others might judge and say that it''s not a fair fight at the start if we won." Ifrit shrugged his shoulders. "It''s already an unfair fight the moment you attempt to intrude into my duel," Shiva said as she swung her head a little before walking like a supermodel on the walkway towards the throne. It was plainly obvious that she did not want Ifrit to interfere. "Hah! Your avatar looked like he couldn''t hold himself against her. That is why my Flame Ripper had to interfere." Ifrit said while he discovered a large ball of ice flying towards the throne hall from the castle''s window and it looked like the Fey Queen had enough with their family squabbling. Before the ball could even hit the castle, Ifrit already took care of it by spewing flames from his right hand, causing both the castle walls and the ball of ice to melt from the sudden scorching blaze of heat. "Your welcome?" Ifrit smiled as Shiva glanced at the side of the castle before she continued sauntering towards Mab. To portray her proficiency in Ice Magic, Queen Mab, who was still sitting on the throne, had summoned dozens of icicles and instantly refined them into various weapon replicas she seen in the past. Those weapon replicas were later enlarged to the size of the castle''s pillars and hurled it towards Shiva with precision. The Shaitan of Primitive Ice held her chuckle, but Queen Mab could clearly see that she was barely holding the laugh in. The only thing that she was not keeping was a giant wall of ice that seemed impervious to Mab''s ice weapons as they shattered into pieces from the extreme force. While the ice wall seemed like it was fixed to the ground, Shiva proved Mab wrong by moving it with her while she walked towards the throne chair. "Tsk." Queen Mab got even more annoyed each time her attacks were deflected or stopped. The Queen of Winter Court also did not understand Shiva''s actions as they could have simply engaged in a battle of ranged magic to prove who was the better Ice Magic user, but it was as if the Shaitan was resolute to get close to her. So, Mab swore it would make it challenging to reach her. The floor around the throne chair shook as a block of ice shot Queen Mab out of the throne hall, soaring into the sky. It definitely prevented Shiva to reach her immediately, and thus pissed the Ice Shaitan off further. "Tsk, so irritating. Why can''t she accept defeat already since she''s running away?" Shiva''s vexatious expression provided Queen Mab temporary joy as she relished the moment until the Ice Shaitan created a spiral staircase along the circular block of ice. Shiva could have flown up to confront the Queen of Winter Court, but there was something in the her actions that made Queen Mab''s heart to quietly tremble with dread. The fact that Shiva took her time walking up to the throne chair and aimed to come up close and personal to kill Queen Mab clearly showed that Shiva underestimated her. However, Mab had decided to play along as she called for ''help'' by blowing a makeshift ice horn which she created on the spot. A series of rumblings were subsequently heard from a distance and Ifrit who was at the sidelines reluctantly obeying his sister''s commands, finally had something to look forward to. "Ahhh Ahhh~! Is that the rumoured Father Porkcupine?" Ifrit said to himself as he saw the said Porkcupine now covered with layers of ice, imbued with magical energy in it. There was no doubt Queen Mab had magically enhanced the Giant of Giants to harass Shiva and perhaps there was a connection between those two, but none of that matters right now. "Since Shiva wanted to kill that sissy all by herself, then I will entertain myself with the pig. Flame Ripper! I demand that this slab of Pork Meat be delivered to me every once in a while, for the Great Me to feast upon! For this is truly meat worth eating!" Ifrit shouted out loud even though Flame Ripper''s consciousness was currently connected to him. Ifrit lifted himself up from a squatting position and boosted to the skies at maximum speed. Unlike his sister, swift annihilation was the best way to settle things and thus, he charged his fist with all the magical energy he had and aimed towards the Ice Father Porkcupine. The latter subsequently noticed a build up of magical energy, and though the magical signature was different, Father Porkcupine discerned that the quantity amassed was equivalent or perhaps way more than that Peppers had fired upon him. So, Father Porkcupine had begun prepping the very same technique he attempted to use against Mr Derpy. His spikes combined at his behest and merged into one colossal spear, waiting to fire at the right moment. Chapter 656 Thrill Of The Hun Ifrit grinned at the incoming colossal spike as he loosened his fist and swerved around the spike as if he was pole dancing around it. At the same time, Ifrit scratched the giant projectile''s surface, leaving behind claw marks with a touch of his magic. The moment he let go of it, the spike exploded silently like a distant firework in the barren ice wasteland. Ice Father Porkcupine was intelligent to know that his attack failed and shooting again would inevitably be futile. Hence, he decided to do something different by separating his spikes again and shot them out like a fusillade. The only difference was that each of the spike was similar to a shot from a flak cannon. Each time Ice Father Porkcupine released a spike, it would pop at a specific range, causing multiple ice shards to disperse in mid air. Initially, Ifrit thought that dodging the spike would be sufficient, but when it found out the secondary function of the beast''s attack, he got even more glad that the Giant existed. "And here I thought I would not have fun hunting you," Ifrit caught an ice shard with his teeth and chew on it. The Fire Shaitan then conjured a ring of fire around him, allowing it to rotate repeatedly with his body as the axis, destroying the rest of the dispersed ice shards. But preventing those attacks were not enough, Ifrit wanted Ice Father Porkcupine to be afraid of him, especially when the beast dared to provoke him. So, he summoned the second ring of fire, making it to his prey. It did not take long for the Porkcupine to realised that his enemy had decided to perform a long range attack. To him, the Porckcupine believed that his attacks were working as intended. Thus the Giant of Giants decided to fire more intensely, especially since Ifrit was stationary. He increased the rate of his attack as well as cleverly mixing a mix of solid spikes and the popping spikes in hopes that Ifrit would be overwhelmed by it. Yet Ifrit was not fazed by these puny ice shards; instead, he hovered over the giant pig and loosen his fingers before squeezing the ring of fire. As if another dimension had opened from the ring, the secondary Ring of Fire subsequently released a waterfall of lava onto the Porkcupine itself. The Boar did not realised it at first and thought the pain was from his spikes since he was concentrating firing everything he got outwards. But when Ice Father Porkcupine felt more than just a burning sensation, he then figured something was off and decided to run to seek for cover. "Hahahahaha! What fun! Where are you going to hide? Everything is all too small for you, little pig." Ifrit said as he eventually stopped the lava and turned the ring of fire into a bow. "Let''s see if I am still proficient with this weapon." The bow eventually became the very same one that Ifrit loaned Flame Ripper, except this time it was magnified to fit his human sized hands. Although Flame Ripper had transformed to Ifrit, the body was still Flame Ripper''s despite the change in size. So, to a certain degree, what Ifrit was doing was based on Flame Ripper''s finesse. Naturally, the Shaitan transformation did give Flame Ripper a boost in his body''s makeup so Ifrit should not have any trouble missing a large target. The bow was drawn and set loose the moment the Shaitan of Unyielding Flames had the sights on the running animal. His blood boiled with excitement to see the arrow flying to catch on the Porkcupine. "Ahh, the Thrill of the hunt. It''s been such a long time since I had a prey to play with." Ifrit giggled to himself When the arrow was let loose, it flew and burnt brightly in the cold evening like a phoenix illuminating the dark skies¡­ before it struck on right between Ice Father Porkcupine''s butt. The beast let out an eerie snort and to Ifrit''s pleasant surprise, the Boar did not run for long as he turned and faced the Fire Shaitan. It later dawned on him that the prey was never going to run away at all, he was preparing itself for a jump! A run and leap to hit the stationary floating human sized powerhouse. With his size, Father Porkcupine thought that such a feat was possible, hoping that it knocked him out of the sky and trample on him subsequently. However what gave Father Porkcupine such confidence was the most unexpected ability he''s keeping. The capability to roll in midair and shoot his spikes as and when he wanted. He knew Ifrit would be dodging but would he anticipate a midair attack by the Porkcupine? Ifrit was assuming that simple hit and run concept from Father Porcupine and even entertained that thought process of his. The Fire Shatian stayed stationary while he unsuspectingly shot his arrows against the incoming charge. And as Ice Father Porkcupine leapt into the air, Ifrit purposely gave a shocked face before placing his hands in front. The beast was cautious when he charged towards Ifrit and ready to turn in midair. But instead of evading, Ifrit surprisingly held on to the Giant Porkcupine via his nostrils. "Too bad for you, you do not know the difference in our ability," Ifrit said as his hands warmed up with heat and shot out a burst of flames right through his nostrils and into the Porkcupine''s lungs. The flames were intense enough to spiral through his mouth, throat and later into his lungs and stomach. Any organ that connects to the mouth were torched. The output was so intense that there was a slight illumination of Ifrit''s flames within the lungs that could be seen from the outside of the beast''s body. Ice Father Porkcupine tried to struggle but with it being stuck floating in mid air, there was nothing much it could do. He tried to release his spikes, but he needed air to release them out into the open, and that was one thing it was unable to receive especially when all the oxygen was consumed by Ifrit''s flames within his burning lungs. The poor Porkcupine was gasping for air so hard that it eventually died from suffocation as his lungs were ultimately toasted. "Oof! The smell of burnt meat! Flame Ripper, quickly kill it and bring it to your master or else, I would lose such a valuable dish!" Ifrit said he left Flame Ripper''s body as soon as he finished his sentence. Because of the strength disparity from Ifrit, holding onto the near dead Porkcupine was not an option for Flame Ripper as he quickly released the dead beast and drew his dagger out. He was actually contemplating whether to stab the Giant Beast or wait until the Porkcupine reached the ground from the fall. But instead of rational thoughts, instinct took over as he stabbed a few times the body a few times as if marking a temporary achievement for defeating the foe which every minion had trouble with, even Jin. But after a couple of deep stabs, the Porkcupine''s body dematerialised. "Relax, Goblin Flame Ripper. While Shaitan Ifrit might not have been captured, the body he used is still yours. You belong to the System, and thus, the Porkcupine would be considered captured. System merely required some time to allocate space for the Giant Porkcupine to exist within the Guest Instance of the Sanctum of Worlds." The System reported as Flame Ripper''s dagger subsequently absorbed the ''data'' of the Ice Father Porkcupine into the System''s possession. "Wait?! ¡­WHAT? WHY NOW? I AM ACTUALLY NOT CONCERN ABOUT THAT! MORE OF THIS!" Flame Ripper instantly discerned that he was falling from a height that he might not actually survive with the lack of the Boar''s body to be his buffer. "System, TELEPORT ME OUT NOW!!" Flame Ripper shouted as he fell straight from the sky with nothing to break his fall. If he had his Gearbox boots, it would not be an issue, but no, he did not. The further and faster he fell, the more afraid Flame Ripper became and tried to break the fall as much as he could by rotating his body in hopes to executing some killing techniques to slow now the fall. (Even though he know that it was no use.) The curb seemed nearer than it looked. And just as his face was barely a few centimetres away from hitting the curb, the System transported him back to the Sanctum of Worlds instance. If it was a practical joke by the System, the dagger goblin concluded that it had succeeded very well. Chapter 657 Ice Against Ice - Part 2 While Ifrit was dealing the Ice Father Porkcupine, Shiva was walking up the steps appreciating the scenery around her while watching her half brained brother beating the crap out of the poor giant beast. She was sure that all he wanted was a bit of fun before going back to his cramped space and be revered as a god for his followers. But the steps to reach the throne chair became even more cumbersome as Shiva witnessed a thick layer of ice was being created right above her. She deduced that Queen Mab had decided to change the playing field once more and that''s if Shiva managed to reach the top. Spears, Swords and other sorts of weapons were created from Mab''s ice magic and being thrown towards Shiva while she climbed the stairs. Needless to say, it was more of a hassle for her rather than those ice weapons serving its purpose. However, the Queen of Winter Court was not done with the ''harassment'' as she created replicas of Valgs with her ice magic and sent them to rush against Shiva from climbing the spiralling stairs the Shaitan had built. "Now it felt like Mab''s the kid, throwing all sort of weird shit at me instead of letting me climb the stairs properly," Shiva said as she compared her to her daughter, Maeve. "Hey at least, that means that she is afraid of you¡­maybe at the same time, she had the feeling that you are not worthy of her true magic? Or her emotions are conflicted? Could be a long time since she fought a worthy adversary, but that''s just my guess" Frost Echo said his thoughts through Shiva''s mind. "Huh? So, in short, she is panicking?" Shiva placed her hand into a charging Valg, grabbing its spine with her bare hands before throwing it off the stairs and into the barren winter wasteland. The Ice Valg fell flat like a rock, whimpering and squirming a little for its last breath as Shiva continued to walk upwards without care to it. "Ehhh, I guess you can interpret her actions that way too¡­" Frost Echo decided to keep quiet instead. Soon, she arrived at the top of the ice block where it connects the giant sheet of ice she saw while climbing up. To Shiva, it looked like an open space arena with Queen Mab at the end of the ice sheet. But right in front of her was something that Shiva did not expect. The scale, the immense details as well as its liveliness. It was an entire army made out of ice. Archers, Cavalry, Swordsmen, Spearmen, Axemen, Knights¡­whatever Shiva could see was merely the frontline. There were hundreds if not thousands spanning across the ever growing floating ice sheet to accommodate Queen Mab''s Winter Army. Not to mentioned, she made sure that each and every ice figure she created was imbued with both offensive and defensive magic. Ice barriers were floating on every soldier, and they even had a petite ice pixie accompanying each and every one of them to regenerate any damage taken for a short duration of time. "Huh. So, those Ice Valgs and those weapons were merely a distraction¡­" Shiva shook her head in dismay. When both Shiva and Frost Echo saw the magnitude of the army, they clearly knew that Queen Mab was faking her reactions during the stairs up to the floating ice sheet. The Orc King guessed that Mab wanted to manipulate the perception of the Ice Shaitan so that she would lower her guard. "It worked. I am mildly surprised by this whole arrangement." Shiva said her thoughts to Frost Echo as she stared blankly at Queen Mab, who was smiling evilly at the change of events. "You wanted to see the extent of my powers, right? THIS IS MY TRUE POWER!" Queen Mab answered with a twisted look in her face. She was delirious to be able to portray the extent of her powers to a fellow Ice User even though the latter continued to remain quiet. "Why? Too shocked? Is this too overwhelming for you? Oh and just before you think of breaking this sheet of ice with an attack and hoped to shatter the ice, I trust that you are making a mistake. But please, be my guest and try." Queen Mab returned to a more composed expression as she calmly sat on the throne chair. "I shall then." Shiva lifted both her hands and subsequently went to a stance as if she was imitating crocodile''s head opening its mouth. Immediately, a series of ice shards lined up in front of the ice sheet like the fangs of a crocodile. The same happened at the bottom of the ice sheet as well with these shards being at least the size of a football field each in length and width, aiming at the ice sheet. Like a kindergarten kid playing as the villainous crocodile biting the soft tender meat of the innocent deer, Shiva closed the jaws by clasping her hands together. Sure enough, the ice shards followed suit as it fell straight to the ice sheet. But a psychic barrier appeared the moment the Ice Shards came close to the sheet of ice. Like a turtle, the barrier deflected each and every shard like it was the hardest thing the crocodile could have ever bitten. Shiva retracted the shards and tried again, this time with more force, but it was futile as the barrier broke all the shards into multiple pieces. Queen Mab was very confident that her barrier could not be destroyed and Shiva was trapped in it as well. The next step was to physically break the ice sheet with force similar to an earthquake tremor. But the piece of ice sheet reemerged itself once again. The Ice Shaitan deduced that the Queen fo Winter Courts had dynamic kinetic barriers and eyes on her battlefield to ensure that its area of play would sustained attacks. Since both had the power to make ice to bend on their will, Shiva guessed that the only way to escape from this was to retreat, die or kill Queen Mab. But like her dimwit brother, Shiva''s thirst for battle merely increased. On the other hand, the Winter Fey was very confident there was little or no chance to overcome her superior psychic barrier and believed that her command of ice was clearly superior Shiva sighed as she looked at the enemy, all ready to charge towards her and trample her to death. All it takes was just the ''go'' signal from their Queen. The Ice Shaitan could fight the entire army, but it was troublesome, and she suspected that the fight would not stop until either one of them back down. Not to mention, the strain on Frost Echo would be potentially immense, and the subsequent backlash would definitely do a number on him, "Heh. You are forgetting something, Herald of Winter." Frost Echo smirked as he opened the System Channel via his thoughts. "To all Orcs listening in, this is your King speaking. I invoke the sacred duty of every abled body Orc who can hear this. Defend your King at this instant. To all Shiva Worshippers, your God demands your presence by her side without fail. This is the time to show your devotion." The moment Frost Echo finished his order, a loud synchronised stomp could be heard behind Shiva. Without looking back, the Ice Shaitan put on a smug face when she noticed a crack in Queen Mab''s sly smile. Queen Mab could not believe her eyes when she saw a series of portals opening and out came thousands of Orc troops marching in to defend their Majesty and one of their God Incarnates. "Now this matchup is pretty even." Shiva licked the side of lips, almost tempted to praise her Avatar for the quick witted thinking. Chapter 658 Restructuring the Raid Instance From a third person perspective, Queen Mab believed that the summoning of the Orc Army was all due to Shiva''s powers. She never expected that it was the third party ''magician'' who she had detected previously within the vicinity. That was also one of the few reasons why she used her wide area spell, Ice Age, to remove any possible hindrances or assistances against Maeve''s opponents. However, the rest of Jin''s minions saw it as a way of her flaunting her powers. Still, Jin was relieved that the operation ended minutes before she decided to do that. (Else, the System would have been very unhappy wasting resources trying to resurrect his minions and at the loss of the Animal People.) But perhaps, it could possibly be preordained that Jin''s monsters had to fight against Queen Mab despite it being just a mere distraction. (Or he just had terrible luck.) While Drex, the Dark Elf Leader continued to report the overall situation to his master, it fell to deaf ears since Jin poured all his concentration in making sure his customers transitioned properly to the ''real'' Raid Instance. Sadly, there was one main problem. The Queen Salamander, her royal family and the rest of the Salamander Guards were nothing exciting compared to Maeve, so Jin had decided to change the plot a little and made the Salamanders a little more appealing. Instead of being the bosses as Jin initially planned, he had decided to give the Salamanders new roles to fit with the story''s instance. (In a way, he did pity them too since the family were tokens to Maeve''s playing field.) They were poised to be the victims of the whole fiasco when they reach the cultivators arrived at the ''new throne hall.'' Jin took inspiration from the Valg Humanoid Dorian and changed the story such that it was all along the scheme of a powerful Valg who overwhelmed the King Salamander''s sanity and placed the rest of the Salamander Family captive in various parts of the castle. Should the Salamander Royal family and their guards be found, they have the keystones to open the Throne Hall and fight the final boss. It was a little difficult to transit, but Jin somehow managed to tweak it and display useful information on his customers'' HUD interface via their masks. Thus, the customers would not find too much of a drastic change in the storyline. "Thank goodness I placed the disclaimer to expect the unexpected in the Emergency Raid Instance, and that included the changes in the storyline," Jin said as he wrote a lengthy post in the Pandamonium Forums. The post discussed the significant changes in this Emergency Raid Instance like how a game developer revised his game, and he had stated that he would classify it as Experimental in the future in case such raid instances would to ever appear again. As for now, the ''Emergency'' portion disappeared, and it was categorised as a normal raid instance. In return for those people who participated in the first and ever ''Emergency'' type, he had awarded not only the rewards promised but also increased the rewards by another 20% as well as a free ticket to the brand new Raid Instance. (Jin knows that he would still earn as much money if the trend was the same with the Goblin Raids.) While some people were jealous of those cultivators who not only had free entry but as well as free rewards, a number of forum posters stated that it''s an excellent move to reward people who were dedicated to the shop. A move that brings friends, families and even strangers to work together with a common purpose. (Of course, they would prefer to have more of these events in the future.) ''There''s too little of these community stuff that brings people together. Being away from cell phones and coming together to work as a team while meeting new people. Pandas and Dungeons is the best!'' stated by one of the commentators in the forum thread which Jin was surprised that there were a lot of likes on it. ''Haha! We all have been behind our phones and not care about the people around us. Pandas and Dungeons had shown that the community spirit can be still alive!'' Another commentator said. ''If Boss Jin ever goes global, maybe we can see hot chicks as well?'' Obviously, a young male commentator typed, and the sub replies did encourage Jin to go global for the wrong reason. Needless to say, there were dissidents mixed with the praises such as the increased pay to win features, but others stated that this was ultimately a business. They noted how Boss Jin had continuously showered them with free gifts, time and time again. The defenders also commentated how he tried to improve the rewards and creating new content. "I am a regular dungeon goer, and this is the first dungeon store I have known to feature so many dungeon instances. I could safely say that Boss Jin introduced more dungeon variety than more than half of the dungeon suppliers could in a year!" A commentator claiming he was a Dungeon Instance critic wrote. Jin saw that the thread suddenly became the most ''hot'' thread and though some still criticised the way Jin operates, the compliments kept pouring in, exceeding the ''bad'' posts. Some even asked Jin to do a regular thread posting to talk more about the dungeon instances he created as a sneak peek preview. (Upon reading, Jin believed he could get Kiyu to produce videos to match with his posts.) "Ahhh¡­just one forum thread by me and it is being spammed by so many people." Jin smiled as he closed his phone and performed the finishing touches to the Boss for the new raid instance. The dungeon supplier had used Zieg, the Dark Templar Commander and a support type of Valg combined together. No, Jin did not use the monster merger function because it was not needed. The Valg works by attaching itself towards the user. Apparently, it was found connected to another Valg, but the cultivators managed to defeat both Valgs at one go, and did not realise the Valgs were combined together. This particular Valg supplemented Dark Templar Commander Zieg''s magical powers, allowing him to shoot energy based projectiles without the need to chant the magical words to invoke them. And because of his experience as a commander, Jin made Zieg as if he had the ability to summon Valgs though it was just him calling out the reserve of Valgs waiting to be reused in the dungeon raid instance. After which, Jin made a cosmetic inscription that allowed Zieg to have armour coloured in red as well as a Salamander tail. He made sure that Zieg''s helmet would be permanently on by giving him a few card upgrades to strengthen his helmet. By having a permanent helmet, his face was not revealed even though the helmet had Salamander features on. This was also partially because Jin did not wish to aggravate the fact that the Salamanders had lost their King to Maeve. He hoped that allowing them to fight against the Valgs would aid in their grief but there was nothing more he could do. Jin needed to earn money, and there was no time for the captured monsters to rest. He could only wish that the Salamanders would be painted in a better light through this Raid Instance as compared to the stories his other monsters had heard previously from Hamatarou. (Especially when Hamatarou and Gaeru had a misconception of how the Salamanders were the bad guys.) With the creation of the new ''Valg Commander'', Jin finally released the last Salamander Guard that needed to be found in a secluded corner of the castle raid which had the final piece of the keystone to open the new Throne Hall. "What''s wrong, Drex??" Jin thought he was done for the day until Drex had a troubled look on his face. For a Dark Elf Leader to be fazed by the situation meant that it was something serious. "This." Drex turned the System Console Monitor to Jin, and he was dumbfounded. A battle of Orcs against Queen Mab''s Ice Soldiers. "How did this even happen?!" Jin asked, and Drex shook his head slowly. "I tried telling you a few times, but you were too absorbed in your work that I had given up. Right now, I can only witness and report what had happened. As for the aftermath of Operation Mass Migration, its a success. My people and the penguins had already calmed the eight other animal tribes down. Hamatarou had also briefly explained to them and made them signed the contracts." Drex replied before picking his jacket up. "I shall oversee and welcome the eight tribes with Hamatarou, but you should be making your appearance when you are done handling the particular task at hand," Drex added before disappearing from the Dungeon Maker. "I feel another bad headache is coming," Jin said to himself, but at the same time, he was secretly hoping to see some good action from the orcs to judge their new and improved army. All that training and construction work as well as being the aggressors for the Goblin Raids had certainly trained the Orcs to a whole new level. The System also stated a bulk of them was close to evolving, which was a pleasant surprise for Jin to take in. And even they were not at the limit of evolving, Jin could already see some noticeable changes. Still, it was undoubtedly a gauge to check if they were prepared for the incoming fight to protect Jin''s Dungeon City Fortress. Chapter 659 Verastile Weapons "Lady Shiva, it''s a pleasure to fight with you on the battlefield." Nubwort, the Black Disaster, an Elite Orc General which every Orc paid respects to, slowly walked towards the Shaitan of Primitive Ice and kneel to greet her. Most did not expect Nubwort to be the religious kind of person and hence surprised by the gesture he made. Shiva was not only the Orc''s Herald of Winter but their God of War as well, particular to the Orc Navy. In past history books, the Orcs had always prayed to the Shaitans for blessings before departing into battle. They believed that these gods would grant them the strength to survive the harsh battlefield, regardless of how dire it was. But to see an Avatar not just wielding the Shaitan''s powers but being embodied by the Shaitan themselves, it made the Orcs on this particular battlefield to be truly blessed. It was ever fighting Orcs'' dream to be able to see their Gods in action. Interestingly, records had shown that the Shaitan Avatars did not live long assuming the Shaitans possessed their bodies for the battlefield. Most could not handle the tremendous power of a god for so long since their bodies too fragile to be a long term vassal. However, in Frost Echo''s case, the Orcs were confident that even if their King fought alongside with Shiva against Queen Mab''s ice soldiers alone, it would be a walk in the park. Needless to say, he could be reborn again, so it was not much of an issue of self sacrifice but a matter of duration. ¡ª¨C To Shiva, Nubwort''s kneeling was a common sight to her and didn''t respond favourably. In fact, she cared nothing from their world other than her Avatar''s existence. What he does matters to her since he was representing her. As for those prayers and offerings from her followers were solely the Orcs'' way of thanking her for the deeds she did for them. She had always found them annoying, unlike the other Shaitans who adored it and basked in the glory of those praises. Thus, the Elite Orc General was none of her concern at all, and she maintained her indifference regardless of Nubwort''s status and past achievements. However, Frost Echo did secretly nudged her to give the Orc General a chance to prove himself. And for that, she sighed with her mouth closed as she stared at him intently for a moment before giving him a command. If he really wished to earn her trust and favour right now, Nubwort had to fight for it. Hard. "Do what you need to. Remove the threat as effectively as possible. I do not want to owe too huge a debt to ''your'' Master." Shiva replied which Nubwort nodded affirmatively. If possible, Shiva wanted to concentrate on killing Queen Mab before Frost Echo''s body gave way to strain. (Another reason why she resorted to the stairs as compared to charging against the Queen of Winter Court without any plan.) Utilising the System''s main communication channel, Nubwort sent a few coded messages to every single Orc officers on the battlefield and the officers in charge of their companies, in turn, signalled their troops to relay the message. Everyone was surprised with the new commands, but a number of them began to smirk at the orders given. In the meantime, Nubwort also requested System''s permission for the commands given (albeit it was more of a courtesy move by the General) which it later directed the request to Jin since he was already watching the whole scene unfolds. "Orc General Nubwort, I had never doubted your military tactics and your willingness to embrace new technology had made me recognise that you are a General that thinks. So, go ahead and fulfil your Shaitan''s orders. Also, thank you for asking for permission, your request had humbled me." Jin answered truthfully, and for the few times in his life, the Black Disaster felt greatly appreciated. "Commanders, Permission had been granted. Switch your weapons! Serial Line Formation!" Nubwort shouted, and every single Orc smiled as they activated the Rune Magic placed in all of their weapons, causing them to glow dimly before activating the changes. Jin had his face stuck on the screen, fascinated by the changes in the battlefield. The runes had enabled swords to turn into assault rifles, axes into shotguns, lances into larger calibre rifles and bows into heavy machine guns. "Give an Orc a sword, he can kill ten humans. Give an Orc a rifle, and he can kill a hundred. " Frost Echo sniggered at the swap of weapons which made Queen Mab even more confused. She did not understand why the Orcs would forgo their metal swords and blades for pieces of metal rods. Not to mention, they were holding it so weirdly and with no pointed ends to fight against her ice soldiers. It was starting to look like a joke to her, and her confidence grew even further. But what she did not know were that those rune weapons were first few mass manufactured products done right in Industry Sector 1. With the consistent innovation of modern manufacturing and Jespa''s Rune Making skills, all the weapons that the Orcs held were transmutable with just a voice command and vice versa. It was becoming the greatest feint of all time in Jin''s opinion. Increasing the versatility of the soldiers and allowing them to possess both superior melee and ranged capabilities? It was a wet dream of every tactician. Even though Queen Mab had no idea what was going on with her opponent''s side, she had enough of ''wait and see''. A lift of her finger and her Ice Army charged forward senselessly towards the Orcs. Yet, Queen Mab saw no movement from the Orcs, which made her a little anxious. Nevertheless, her confidence caused her to not suspect anything else, and that was ultimately her downfall. "FIRE!" Nubwort shouted when the Ice Army Cavalry were the first to reach his lancers'' line of sight. Like fireworks, the Lancers'' shots gave a deafening blare that nearly startled Shiva for a moment. In no time, the Ice Cavalry suffered tremendous losses, each bursting into dust as the large calibre bullets pierced through the Ice Barrier like a needle going into a piece of cloth. But because they were made out of ice, a number of them continued to push forward with broken bodies and horses. Thus, the second wave of volley came into action. The Orc Swordsmen (or Riflemen) had begun aiming for the legs. And even if they did miss, they knew that there would be collateral damage from the back due to the straight forward design of the battlefield, collapsing the waves of ice soldiers bit by bit. Likewise, if the remaining Ice Cavalry did manage to come into melee range, the Axemen (Shotgunners) made short work of their determined cause. Although she did not understand what was happening, Queen Mab promptly ordered her archers to fire after she observed how the Orcs quickly dispatched her first wave of soldiers. But this time, she did not remain idle as a series of ice spikes was seen emerging out of the ground, where the Orc Army positioned themselves at. The Orcs knew it would not be that easy and was prepared to take in some losses at their end as well. However, they had nearly forgotten that they had a God with them after the excitement of seeing their enemies falling so easily. With the appearances of random Ice Spike breaking their formation as well as an impending rain of ice arrows, Shiva had also begun to assist her Orc Army in countering such attacks. The ice spikes were magically blunt and became an elevated ice platform for her soldiers to fire even more freely. At the same time, she had employed floating snowflakes that enlarged to become ice barriers to block the rain of ice arrows or ice ''rain''. Shiva had also moved the entire stationary army on a piece of ice block, like a surfboard riding on a tidal wave. Thanks to Nubwort''s commands and past training, the Orcs adapted with the sudden changes in the battlefield, enabling them to take advantage of Shiva''s advances and pressing the offensive against Queen Mab''s charge. To the Orcs, they never had that much fun ever since the Goblin Raids. Seeing how the ice soldiers falling that easily, they could not contain the anticipation for the upcoming battle against King Baal''s demon army. Chapter 660 Ice Against Ice - Final No matter how fast Queen Mab created the ice soldiers to replenish the ones that were destroyed, they were already decimated in the process of making it. Her speed of creation was further impacted by the constant barrage of small, fast metal projectiles, which she needed to use a combination of ice and telekinetic barriers to stop it before she could remake her ice soldiers. Shiva did not pull her punches as well, causing it harder for Queen Mab to counter attack and it was indeed a battle of the Ice Users. Even when Queen Mab saw the slightest opportunity to breakthrough the series of attacks, their commander Nubwort somehow had the perfect timing to disrupt her, allowing the Orc''s offensive to continue on. Whether Mab liked it or not, there was a chance for her to be defeated if she was not careful. Even though she was the almighty Fey Queen, there were still limits to her powers, Mab felt that it was not wise to continue further, especially when she was out of her Winter Court. Thus, she had decided to break away from the battlefield by lowering the conjured telekinetic barrier to save Mana. She also shattered the ice sheet which she was so insistent in keeping to distract Shiva and her Orc Army. In doing so, Mab hoped to create a diversion with it, but the Winter Queen knew that it would take more than that to stop them from chasing after her when she retreats. Hence, with the leftover reserved mana she had from lowering the magical barrier, Mab decided to feign her retreat by conjuring a giant ice ball and hurled it at her enemies. Thinking that it was the very same magical technique from the castle which Ifrit had defeated, Shiva used merely a fraction of her powers to create an ice thin blade to cut the ball of ice into pieces. However, The Ice Shaitan was dead wrong when the blade was caught with the emergence of a beak from the ball while wings of crystalised ice feathers grew backwards. It subsequently became animated as its claws and legs popped out at the bottom too. It wasn''t hard to figure out that it was a giant Ice Roc whose screech brought it fully to life. Its cry dipped the surrounding atmospheric temperature further, beyond the zero celsius mark. If not for the Orc''s hardy skins and their constant adrenaline generation, they probably would have shivered and trembled, suffering from all the symptoms of hypothermia. However, that was not to say that they were coping well with the sudden drop in temperature. "Heh, not a bad trick to learn," Shiva said to herself as she propped up the icy snowflakes barrier in front of the Orc Army in case of any widespread attacks. Pretending to go all out, Mab stood at the top of the Ice Roc and cast one last magical spell to reduce the chances of them chasing her even though she made it seem like she wanted to end everything once and for all. A series of icy winds blew, and the army later realised that they were currently within an eye of a magical polar hurricane. Shiva guessed that if they were not careful, the Orc army could possibly be caught in a winter storm which potentially turned them into muscular looking ice figures. "Our objective is completed. No need to further harass the enemy." Shiva suddenly spoke out to Nubwort, and with a snap of her finger, a solid dome covered the entire army. It blocked all sight, allowing the Orc Army to teleport back before they had any serious frostbite injuries. Similar to Queen Mab, who had been pushed to the corner, Frost Echo meant what he said before the Orc King turned to Shiva. There was no need for them to fight the Ice Roc or be stuck in a possible winter storm which would further damage Jin''s troops. Also, Shiva did mention she did not want to keep too huge of a debt from Jin. Thus, withdrawing now was not a bad idea too. On the contrary, Queen Mab did not expect Shiva to go all defensive and also took the chance to leave when she assumed that they were blinded by the total defensive ice dome her opponent created. Still, she did ask her animated Ice Roc to peck at it a bit to show that she meant business, but Mab emphasised to ''poke'' around and not overturn their defences. Therefore, both sides retreated safely, with only their pride wounded. Jin was relieved to know that his Orc army was relatively unscathed from the whole battle thanks to Shiva''s protection, and at the same time, he felt rather terrified by the extent of their powers were. "No wonder, the System locked Diabolos away. If he ever defied me, we probably need more than an entire army to fight again." But other than that, Jin was relieved that his second mass operation on the Giant World was a success. Although he could not have saved every single Animal Tribe in the ruined kingdom, he did what he could. However, he was not done with the operation efforts, especially after knowing how Queen Mab literally wiped out almost every existence of life from the surface of the kingdom. If there was a chance the remaining Animal People were not affected by the Ice Age spell, they would eventually suffer due to the lack of food or sudden change in weather. In a way, Jin would feel a little bad leaving those innocents in a barren icy wasteland and so he had decided to send a minion which was comparatively impervious to the cold to look for the survivors. The Ice Wyrm Ants. Both mother and daughter were dispatched as a group to check the remaining spots as indicated on Pepper''s Scan spell. Since those tribe hardly move during the operation, Jin continued to assume that they should be there. All he needed to know was whether all that was left were corpses or living, breathing potential allies. In addition, the Ice Wyrm Ants had grown a little stronger since Jin last saw them. All the constant dungeon fighting had somehow allowed them to develop a pair of translucent wings. When Jin queried whether it was considered as a side evolution, the System denied such a possibility. "When you captured them, they were still regarded as infants despite the fact that they could mate and gave birth to two new ants into our world." "The System''s database had also shown such ants grow the more they gave birth, evolving their body limits and eventually earning the status as the King and Queen of their species. As of now, the two Wyrm Ants were considered as children after giving birth once." The System replied further to Jin. It also added their children will always copy her parents'' traits, so they were essentially making copies of themselves, just the slightly inferior versions in terms of development. However, when it comes to overall powers, their offsprings were definitely stronger. The System derived such an explanation after noting the evolution of the first generation of Wyrm Ants. The Ice counterpart had ice dust flying out of her wings compared to the second generation, which had nothing but wings. "That''s such a weird way to grow. If that theory is true, their royalty isn''t exactly due to their strength but because they are at the peak of their evolution." Jin gave some thought about it before commenting. "Of course, it''s weird if you are looking at them through the perspective of humans. Should you be a Wyrm Ant, you will find humans are weird and abnormal too." Yun appeared with a cup of warm coffee and a plate of French toast with scrambled eggs. Though he appreciated the gesture, he was pleasantly surprised by it until Yun told him the following. "Eat up before you meet them. I believed it had been a tiring morning and the System had noted you had not taken anything since the night before." Yun stated, and Jin did not understand what she meant. "Who''s them? Who am I meeting?" Jin questioned, and Yun clicked on the console to show a bunch of teenagers waiting impatiently in one of the carriages in the Restaurant Train instance. "Ack! I totally forgot about them!" Jin finally recalled that he had sent the newly promoted Demon Exorcists to find out about the formats of the existing training centres. "They came about an hour ago, but I told them that you were busy revising a dungeon instance, which was very evident from the crowd. So, the kids understood and decided to wait for you." Yun replied as she magically snapped out a bottle of salt and a jar of honey to accompany his breakfast. "Enjoy." She smiled and returned to entertain the crowd on the ''frontlines''. Chapter 661 Demon Exorcist Formation Badges "Boss!" Su Zhen, the Great White Snake Demon Cultivator, was the first to acknowledge Jin when she saw him entering the Restaurant carriage. Her recent success for being a full fledged Demon Exorcist had earnt her many praises from the Royal Snake clan, and most importantly, from her mother. Lee Na was not exactly the best role model for being a mother considering her busy position as the Chief Operating Officer of JODE. While she had harboured high expectations for her daughter, she knew Su Zhen''s battle limits. So, when Lee Na heard the news that her daughter was the first to graduate as a Demon Exorcist, she was completely taken by surprise and became elated. All thanks to Jin, Su Zhen had become a little closer to her mother as they started to talk a bit more even though it was mostly about work. The others greeted Jin as well, and the penguin waiter offered an additional chair for him to sit. "Thanks, bud. You did great with Kido." Jin smiled at the penguin waiter who he recognised him as the few Penguin Ninjas assisted in the rescue operation. The penguin waiter quietly smiled for Jin''s acknowledgement and returned to serve the other customers. He later turned back at his kids and took out four nicely wrapped gifts and placed it on the table. "Its a little late but better late than never. Happy belated Christmas to you guys." Jin said as he pushed the gifts to each side of the table and Rong, the Ox Demon Cultivator asked whether if they could open it straight away which Jin nodded back in response. To Jin, it was interesting to see how each of the Demon cultivators opened their presents. Lian, the Nine Tailed Fox Demon Cultivator, and Rong ripped opened their presents as if they had never seen one in their lives. At the same time, Lein, the Qilin Demon Cultivator, and Su Zhen were more demure in their movements as they systematically open by using their finger with a bit chi to act as a letter opener to reveal their presents. Each of them noticed that there were a formation patch and a pair of inscription charms in each of their gifts. Similar to how Kraft had given his Dark Elves a formation patch to represent their team, the Night Foxes, Jin had decided to create a group for them as well. When Grandma Yuan had told him to take charge of the Shenzhen''s JODE branch, Jin knew there was no way he could be handling so many things all by himself and those apprentices were the answer. Though, Grandma Yuan had good intentions to provide him both the reputation and money, she did not know that Jin had a lot on his plate. Sure, he might stick his hands in every little bit of issue that was raised up, but governing all of them? He isn''t a god and even the gods and demons he knew preferred not to do any of this. So, he had decided to groom these four and eventually, they would take over from him. Besides, there was nothing much to worry about them betraying after signing that System contract. As for the presents, the formation patches had a furious looking Panda growling at the centre. And right beside the panda, there was a small but obvious distinction in each of the formation patches. They were the common pictorial representation of the demons which the teens had cultivated. For example, Rong had an Ox facing at the side right below the Battle Panda''s face while Lein''s was the Qilin. Unlike a regular formation badge which needed to be pasted on a Velcro patch, these patches could be placed wherever they want, including on clothes or even their phones. And that was not all to it. Jin asked them to transfer some chi and Lian was the first to do to it since her curiosity took over her. In a few moments, the badge glowed, instantly creating a miniature AI right above her, similar to the digital pets that almost every cultivator had by their side. This particular digital pet was different from the usual AI digital pets. Jin had customised it a little as an AI assistant, courtesy by the System. With the upcoming creation of the Demon Exorcist Administration and training centre, Jin believed the four of them would be at the pinnacle of this situation and these AI assistants would be a great help aiding them to run it. Of course, Jin knew that they currently thirst for more battle and experience, but they had to take on the administrative matters and subsequently leadership roles. (Jin believed he knew how they felt since he was thirsty for battle too, but recently the dungeon supplier preferred the backlines.) Thus, those digital pet assistants would aid them akin something similar to a competent secretary. The good and bad side about it was that it would only exist within Jin''s compound since those assistants were powered by the System. (Because of it, they cannot bring any work back home.) Upon learning about the digital pet assistants, Su Zhen and Lein had already see the potential if it was working as intended. But to Lian, she was already treating it as a digital pet, hugging the nine tailed white fox and touching its exquisite fur. She could not fathom how real and fluffy it felt but compared to Rong''s, she did had the better looking pet. Rong''s Ox Demon lore was based on Ao Ye, whose body was filled with loads of long human hair, from the top of the ox''s head to all the way to its tail. While Rong did complain it looked disgustingly terrible, its hair was surprisingly smooth, and Rong secretly harboured the desire to touch it. He also found it quite ironic that it was in tune to some of the variant myths about Ao Ye, as to how the demon attracted its human prey by revealing a long bout of hair at an isolated corner of the village or forest. The humans who found the hair attractive, could not help trying to chase the beauty down, maybe to befriend her or otherwise for other nefarious intentions. As for the pair of inscriptions bundled with the formation badges, Jin had another surprise installed. Chapter 662 Dual Inscription Charms "I never saw these inscriptions before, are they custom made?" Lein said as he inspected on the pair of inscription charms after sticking the formation badge proudly on his shoulder. "Action speaks louder than words. Let''s bring you guys to an empty dungeon space to test it out," Jin said as he tapped a few buttons on his phone and informed his demon exorcists to follow the penguin waiter who later ushered them to a cabin with an open portal in it. When they entered the portal, the demon exorcists realised that they returned to the very same dungeon instance which they pitted against Jin in a ''one to one'' duel. While the memory of their defeat haunted them a little, the refreshing sea breeze blowing in their face made them take a step back to appreciate the scenery instead. But for Lein, he was more than excited to know what the pair of inscription charms could do. Without much hesitation, Jin told the Qilin Demon Cultivator to put the charms on his clothes. "Be ready to prepare a constant supply of chi, though I will suggest inserting a burst of chi into them for an added effect." "But won''t that means we have to use these clothes in the future?" Lein questioned and wondered if it was the best choice to use them on ordinary clothes as compared to customised high grade defensive shirts. "Hahaha, you are right. but there''s nothing to worry about. What you are holding are temporary inscription charms. And the reason I brought you guys here is that I want your honest opinions on it. You can say this current session with the inscriptions is part of a trial too." Jin answered as he brought out a few more of the very same inscriptions they were holding on his hands. At the same time, he brought out a few fighting dummies and placed them at various distance intervals. Lein gave a satisfied smile from Jin''s assurance, and he pasted the two inscriptions on his long sleeve shirt. The rest had decided to stand at the sidelines to watch and see Lein''s performance before trying it out themselves. As instructed, the Qilin Demon Cultivator focused his energies and inserted it into the pair of inscription charms with an intense amount of chi. But unlike the usual inscription charms, the current ones only glowed dimly upon receiving the chi energy, making Lein thought that he had not supplied enough chi into it. Then suddenly, a pair of phantom Qilins burst out of the inscriptions, growing more prominent as it travelled forward, hitting the dummies at the five and ten metre mark before performing a turn to run towards Lein instead. "Stand there and receive the blow like a man!" Jin shouted as he signalled the rest to move back a little more. Lein was surprised by the command given by Jin but he figured the dungeon supplier had his reasons ordering him to do so. Thus, he took a deep breath in and prepared for the worst. When the two phantom Qilins dashed towards Lein, it felt like a blast of his own lightning techniques pulsating through his body when they hit him. However, instead of feeling injured, he felt refreshed more than ever and noticed an external flow of chi covering his entire body. When Lein opened his eyes, the Qilin Demon Cultivator found out that he was in a different set of clothing. There was a sort of grey protective gear covering his chest while he wore a long white coat with blue streaks along the coat tails. Later he realised that the blue streaks somehow formed the outline of Qilin head. Lein even had combat gloves and boots on, and they felt extremely comfortable on him like a perfect fit. The rest of the demon exorcists were amazed by his sudden change in appearance as if he was some hero from some anime show. Jin smirked as he told them that the pair of inscriptions consisted of a cosmetic inscription and a full body defensive inscription. By materialising their own chi into metaphysical state, it creates a defensive body barrier around the user. Su Zhen had heard about such defence inscriptions and knew that they were used for higher ranked demon exorcists. Some even tailor made their talismans to incorporate this type of inscriptions. However, she recalled that these full body defence inscriptions were usually depicted like an aura enveloping the user. "That is where my cosmetic inscription come into play! It transforms the full body defence aura into physical items, and you could say I went a bit overboard with the design¡­especially for the females." The way Jin replied nearly creeped Su Zhen and Lian from trying the pair of inscriptions, but he subsequently assured that it was not lewd in any way. "Still, this is an amazing innovation! I did not expect inscriptions could be created like a transformation device." Lein was pleased with the gift, but he could feel that maintaining the ''hero'' form was not easy. "And you are right, the chi consumption is immense, I can feel my dantian churning madly just to keep this up for more than a minute." "It actually depends on how much chi you give at the start when you activate the inscriptions, it will then consume that amount of chi to maintain the cosmetic inscription," Jin replied while keeping the rest of the dummies. "However, I suggested a burst of chi is to show you that the defensive inscription could work as an offensive technique too. You had personally seen how powerful that Phantom Qilin attack was, shredding the dummies into pieces." He then asked Lein to deactivate his ''hero'' mode to save his chi. "And like every technique, the more chi inserted into the defensive inscription, the stronger the chi armour becomes. In my opinion, Lein''s concentration of chi in that previous transformation could at least withstand Rong''s full combo attack without flinching." "What?! I don''t believe that! Come, Lein! Activate that chi armour again, I want to prove Jin that his theory is wrong!" Rong said as he materialised his weapon. "Aren''t you more interested to see what your hero form looks like?" Lein tried to change the subject as he knew he needed time to recover his chi. "Heh! Probably the same as yours but I am more interested how the girls looked like. Then, it will also give us a glimpse of what kind of pervert Boss Jin is." Rong said with an evil looking grin on his face, but upon hearing his comment, the two girls refused to transform. "I really swear that the armour does not look as bad as you think!" Jin tried to downplay Rong''s response, though Lian gave a disgusted look back at Jin''s defensive comments. She discerned that Jin must not be telling the entire truth with the way he was acting. Meanwhile, Su Zhen shook her head in dismay and had forgotten that they were dealing with immature boys here. "Alright, alright. That''s enough for now. Here Lein, the replacement inscription charms. Use them wisely, they are not easy to make." Jin calmed down before opening another portal, leading them to the conference room instance. Now that the Christmas gifts were out of the way, its time for business. Chapter 663 JOME "We have checked the advanced training centres in the major provinces like Hubei and Guandong. Su Zhen also managed to get a peek in the central administration centre in Shanghai as well." Lein took out an A4 notebook from his storage ring and showed Jin what he found. "On the other hand, Rong had a friendly contact from overseas, and they had exchanged a few tips as well from the Mage Exorcists," Lein added before giving Rong the chance to explain. "Wait, the Mage Exorcists? Sorry, heard of them but I do not know much about them." Jin interrupted the conversation. He did hear of their existence, but they were not really well mentioned in public as compared to the Eastern counterparts. "Figure as much. That is because the Mage Exorcists always used their Church''s name whenever they performed their mission. The western counterparts rather glorify the churches they were in than to use their own names for publicity." Rong replied. "But we do have temples as bases too, right?" Jin questioned as he remembered the ''dream'' where he had to fight the White Tiger of the West. "Grandma Yuan or Claire should really conduct a crash course for you." Rong sighed, knowing that Jin was not trained in the Demon Exorcist Academy nor had any prior education. He did not blame him, especially since a number of new administrators and managers did not have any knowledge too. At the very least, Jin was trying to learn, considering he''s now among the ranks of the Demon Exorcists. "Heh, I have you kids to teach me. That should be sufficient." Jin answered with a smile, but the rest simultaneously shook their heads. "Please don''t put that kind of responsibility on us. Teacher Yuan will kill us if we teach the wrong things." Su Zhen responded bitterly. "Or too little. Haha¡­" Lian interrupted. "Kill? I believe she will think that will be too kind of a punishment. She would probably make us carry those hundred kilogramme weights on our hands and legs while clearing the triathlon obstacle course of hell." Lian said as if they had been punished that way before. "I do not dislike that punishment, but I agree its something I would not wish to live through again," Lein added which let Jin to conclude that Grandma Yuan did put them through a gruesome training period. "Anyways, JODE does not comprise of those Church goers. -We do not dislike them, barring them from joining or anything. It is mainly because our branding and members mostly came from the eastern counterparts. Some Exorcists hold dual membership too, but it''s rare because of their stringent criteria" Rong explained to Jin about the Mage Exorcists. "As for the Western Mage Exorcists, they had JOME, the Joint Organisations of Mage Exorcists. Their main headquarters is in the Vatican City where the Pope had reign and power over them." "They could be considered as Demon Exorcists too, but I think they want to differentiate themselves away from us," Lian said while Su Zhen added that the demons they fought usually originated from the mages themselves. "As the mages harness their magical energies, they tend to be more sensitive to their surroundings, and the alluring calls by the demons are not uncommon." Su Zhen interjected. "A few capable ones could summons them to do their bidding, but for most of the cases, the mages themselves transformed into demons. It made the exorcism a bitch if we want to save the person and that is why sometimes the Mage Exorcists think they are better than us." "Because you guys mainly kill stuff while they kill and save people?" Jin tried to deduce, and Su Zhen nodded in return. "Thus, it leads to the route where the Mage Exorcists looked down on forbidden magic like blood magic and to some extent, dark magic. Even though Dark Magic users started to have public recognition in the past decade because of their orthodoxical method to treat mental traumas, they have been frowned upon most of the time. The Mage Exorcists also had a long bloody history against the Dark Magic users." Lein said, but he prompted Rong to return back to the main topic. "Ah! Yes. My Mage Exorcist contact had graciously provided me with this information. As he had personally gone through the advanced training programme there, his end user experience should prove to be informative." Rong said as he showed Jin his phone logs with his friend. "The chat logs looked roughly the same as what you guys had so far gathered. Knowing the basic weakness of your demons and having live demon samples to fight against." Jin said as he made a quick comparison. "Yeah, it''s just that each of the centres has a specific set of live demons to fight against especially since the samples are limited. Sometimes, they do not even let us kill the demons since they needed them for training." Su Zhen recalled seeing some of the senior exorcists had to weaken the said demons so that it could be suitable for training. At times, they stopped the training to keep the demons alive and allowed it to recuperate. "Unfortunately, these methods poised significant risks for the Demon Exorcists both junior and seniors as the demons could get out of hand or even stronger the process. That is why there is always a Senior Trap Formation Specialist and a high tiered Rank Demon Exorcists to ensure that those demons were banished into the abyss if such an unfortunate situation rises." She said as she took out a file of all the protocols used in the central JODE headquarters. They were all photocopied and filed accordingly, but Su Zhen said that the protocols might differ slightly from each training centre since it''s based on their sample set of live demons. "Now I understand why Grandma Yuan had decided to use my dungeon instances," Jin said out loud as he briefly flipped through the protocols. "Yeah, considering how god damn realistic your spider was, I really believe we have a shot of making this happen," Lian said excitedly as she quietly caressed on her formation badge and pet her digital nine tail fox demon under the table. "Hmm, I am wondering¡­ Will it be a tall order to ask of you guys to find and hunt those demons you guys saw in the advanced training course? Or are you guys not prepared for that?" Jin questioned with the intention to make his advance training centre to be as authentic as possible. "Why do that? We have videos of those live demons courtesy of the advanced training centres. We can use them, right?" Rong could not understand Jin''s rationale since he did not know how people contracted under Jin''s system could automatically make those demons into his. "His question was whether we can kill it, not capturing it, right?" Lein asked for a clarification, and Jin nodded his head. "If it''s just killing, I see no reason why we cannot do that. Capturing will surely be out of our league." Lian shrugged her shoulders and agreed to it. She preferred to do something like that instead of sitting here, listening to all the meaningless talk. "But I do not understand. Why search and destroy? Even we can kill, what good does that do for you?" Rong asked with a series of impending questions in his head. "I also assume you are not coming with us, and that kind of defeat the purpose ?" "You are not wrong. I will not be there. But someone will be." Jin said as he took his phone out and pretended to call. Soon, the doors opened, and a gorgeous lady figure sauntered in with much¡­sleepy elegance. "You finally called? I was waiting too damn long for my turn." Milk yawned as she rubbed her bed hair. Chapter 664 Boys Be Boys ¡°This is Milk, one of my employees and the few trusted individuals in my line of work. Some of you might have seen her in the Luxury Recovery Instance.¡± Jin introduced the Priest Bellator to his demon exorcists. Needless to say, Rong and Lein were completely mesmerised by her looks (and boobs) as she stood beside Jin and gave a warm introduction. ¡°First of all. My heart is with Boss here, so don¡¯t have any ideas trying to chase me.¡± Milk said out straight since she knew how desperate Jin¡¯s customers had tried to chase after her repeatedly. ¡°And despite the fact that he kept rejecting me, it made my love for him grow even stronger!¡± Milk screeched as she took the chance to hug him from the side, with her grandiose pair of assets approaching Jin without any warning. Jin blushed almost immediately, and it reinforced to the girls that Jin was definitely a closet pervert and they even had afterthoughts to burn the dual inscription charms away. Separately, the two boys nearly died from blood loss through their noses as they could practically see everything with the low cut shirt she was wearing. Naturally, Su Zhen performed her cultivation techniques, summoning a snake to topple the chairs those perverts were sitting to break their concentration at Milk¡¯s assets. And when that was done, Lian took her claw weapons out and sharpened them while staring intently at the boys¡¯ crotch. Lein and Rong immediately understood the implication of her wanting to gouge their balls out, but the problem was that Lian accidentally revealed her upper thighs when she placed a foot on the toppled chair. (She only wanted to look menacing when she sharpened her claw weapons.) She did wore a pair of black stockings but it wasn¡¯t the complete ones. Lein already looked away when he accidentally took a glimpse of the forbidden fruit, but to Rong, his face looked as if he had found the holy grail. Lian noticed there was something wrong with Rong¡¯s expression, but she realised too late. Hence, she immediately raised her leg that was on the chair and stomped it directly on his face without any warning. Lian then placed her entire weight on her foot, causing him to fall backwards. As if that was not enough, she took a step back¡­to his crotch in order to make sure that he learnt his lesson for staring at her lewdly. ¡°Sorry bro, I have to fend for myself.¡± Lein thought to himself when he heard the muffled screams of his buddy, but then he too found himself in a precarious situation. An irate snake was staring at him with the intent to bite with extreme lethality caused the Qilin demon cultivator to quickly prostrate in front of the small little white snake and apologised not to do it again. ¡°Oof, it¡¯s a little extreme, but damn! Those girls really showed the boys their place.¡± Milk said as she tightened her hug, making Jin more than uncomfortable. ¡°Okay, okay that¡¯s enough Milk,¡± Jin begged Milk to release him, and with enough teasing, she sat right beside him, now with a jacket to cover her assets. (The jacket was not helping much, but it was definitely better than nothing.) ¡°She will accompany you guys for the demon searches and whatever demons you fought, she will record it with a pair of HD camera glasses which I had prepared for her. Should you guys needed any help, she could provide assistance too.¡± ¡°But helping too much would prove to be detrimental in your training as demon exorcists, especially the provisional ones. So, I assist only when you guys are in dire danger. Otherwise, I will be there as a spectator.¡± ¡°This way, I believe it is good for the provisional demon exorcists too. With the footage from the camera glasses, it will be considered that you all completed the exorcisms in a team. After which, I can send Claire and Grandma Yuan the progress report to promote the rest of you to full fledged exorcists.¡± Jin explained, and the rest suddenly felt that it¡¯s a rather good deal. ¡°What can Ms Milk do? Is she a Western Mage?¡± Lian asked after perceiving that she had a cross necklace. ¡°You could say I¡¯m a battle priest.¡± Milk did not explain further what she specialised in, but it already brought a wave of relief to the group. Having a healer in an inexperienced demon exorcist team was a great boon and not every team was able to afford a healer, much less one who was seasoned in the art of fighting. ¡°However, there might be times I might need to call her back, so I am leaving her with some portal scrolls so do not be surprised if she suddenly disappeared out of the blue. Of course, I won¡¯t ask for her if you guys are in battle.¡± Jin added and also explained that the portal scroll allowed Jin to send reinforcements in too if there was a need. However, he did emphasis that with Milk around, there should not be a problem with the team. ¡°So, what are you suggest for us to hunt?¡± Lein questioned, and suddenly a devious idea came into Jin¡¯s mind. ¡°I do not know what is happening there right now, and it would be good to have some eyes in the area. Given that they are demon exorcists, the border guards should allow them to go in and investigate as well. If not, those brats would probably think of a way to go round the situation to fulfil their curiosity.¡± Jin thought to himself as he used his phone as a remote control. With a few taps, he first opened up an electronic map of China with the aid of the System on the projection screen, and then Jin pointed at the north of Shenzhen. Dongguan and Huizhou. ¡°The mountains and forests up there?¡± Lein asked once more, and Jin nodded his head with adamance. ¡°Ah! I get what you mean. If I am not mistaken, there are increase sightings of skeleton demons reported in the monthly report, making it easy for us to get samples of the fights. They have the ability to possess animals and encage them in their bones. After which, they will use the bodies of the animals as the host to rampage.¡± Su Zhen said as she looked through her phone. ¡°I will like you guys to go there and have a look. But remember safety first. If the situation is grave, retreat.¡± Jin pretended to know what was going on with a faint smile and the rest also thought that it was a good place to get experience. Not too long ago, these brats might not have accepted Jin¡¯s mission since they knew that these skeleton demons were like the trash of the trash. However, the encounter with the colossal spider demon had made them learn not to underestimate any task, no matter how easy it sounds. Perhaps, they might encounter a variant which could prove to be useful material for Jin to create too. However, they all did not know Jin¡¯s actual intention of sending them there. Chapter 665 Tribal Negotiation Although it was best to start working on the JODE Administration and Training Centre instance, especially since Lee Na was waiting for his progress, Jin had other pressing matters to attend to. When he entrusted Milk with them, Jin quickly teleported to one of the islands in the Open Dungeon instance where he had previously instructed the System to place all the Giant World''s ''refugees'' in at that area. Hamatarou who acted on behalf of Qiu Yu to enforce the contracts had begun to be swarm with many questions which he was unable to answer or entertain. Some of the tribal elders knew Hamatarou, but the rest of their village had no idea what was going on. This mass migration matter was based on the absolute trust of their mythical treasure, which their elders doubted if they were duped. That was where Drex and the other Dark Elves came in. They were acting as the role of enforcers keeping the necessary peace among the groups and withholding the use of violence unless it''s inevitable. The Night Foxes were sorely needed to ensure that these tribes did not kill one another off until they signed the contract. Jin might have thought that he was doing them a favour or giving them a better life, but the truth was that he had displaced them from their ordinary lives. He was partially aware of it and therefore decided to enter personally to mediate in the current situation. But as usual, the System suggested the Night Foxes to eliminate every single villager, and make everyone be subjected to its loyalty command as soon as possible. Naturally, Jin rejected that as he felt it was essential to communicate with each other although the dungeon supplier learnt not to that naive too. Sometimes, power had to be applied to produce a scenario where everyone compromises. This was because many believed their elders were scammed, especially when they were forced to sign some sort of contract which they had no understanding of. So, Jin decided to take the soft power route first and see if these Animal People could understand through his explanations. When Jin teleported to the open dungeon instance, the major leaders of the eight tribes had already assembled together in a makeshift tent. While many wished to listen into the conversation, the Night Foxes forbade them from coming near the tent. Thus, the rest continued to wait restlessly outside, awaiting the decision of their leaders. Of all the Animal People clans, only two leaders and their tribes had already completed the contracts. The Turtles and Walrus. A majority of the tribal leaders were still on the fence except for the Otters who were adamant of returning back to their old ways. They were, unfortunately, the only ones who refused to sign anything. When Jin walked into the tent, they saw that he was with another Animal People, who they perceived to be a swordsman, along with him. Some of the leaders were old enough to recognise a human being, and they began to whisper excitedly among themselves even though they barely met. (Perhaps, adversity brings kindled strangers together.) "Greetings all. I am Jin, this frog here is Gaeru, and some of you have known my friend and associate, Sage Hamatarou." Jin tried to show that he was affiliated to Hamatarou to exert further power and influence to the group. "While a few of you had already heard from Hamatarou''s story why we had forcefully migrated you to this particular piece of land. I am here to tell you that was not all." Jin announced as he immediately summoned out massive holographic projections via his System phone and revealed them the current situation in the Giant World. None of the tribal leaders could believe the images of the cold, barren wasteland, and some even call out that its a hoax. Gaeru, who was the last sole survivor of his clan, later explained why Jin was doing all of these. He included the story about the massacre of his entire village by the Salamanders and yet none of them could believe what was happening. Jin soon realised that many were still in denial and the soft approach would not work with them. "I guess the only way is to return them back to where they come from. After all, showing is telling." Jin said to Hamatarou while he folded his arms. "Yes, we wished to return to our villages!" The Croc Leader demanded, and the others follow suit, including the Turtles and Walrus Leaders who had already sign the contract. "Very well. We had already done our part rescuing you guys from the Ice Age spell from Queen Mab, and that would be free of charge. Should you ever wish to return here, use this particular ring to contact Hamatarou." Jin said while presenting the rings on the table and the leaders all thought that was a good deal until the dungeon supplier started to open his mouth once more. "However, if you ever return, you would be automatically be required to sign a contract with us. Not only that, your contract terms will have three times more the requirements than what we presented you right now. Having to work until you clear your village''s debt will be the least of your worries." The sudden declaration startled the whole group, even Hamatarou. "Our operation to save you people from the Giants and deploying combat professionals to risk their lives for yours were not cheap," Jin warned as he looked at the rings on the table. Some were already hesitant to pick the rings. "I will give you guys one more hour to talk to your village people. Those who had decided either to leave or stay, please revert to either Hamatarou." "For the two other villages which had already sign the contract, you have technically broken a clause of your contract if you take a step back to the Giant World without permission." Jin said with a tinge of anger in his words before his face relaxed and spoke the following. "However, we are not slavers of any kind. So, I have allowed you to break your contract at a price. You are free to return here again. But at a tremendous cost than those who have not sign a single thing." Jin said while emitting his chi aura out to show that he meant business even though he was smiling through his teeth. "However, if you and your village wish to stay, I will promise you that providing you will be my utmost duty. A piece of bountiful land like this island shall be bestowed to you for your village to develop, grow and prosper. I also swear that I can provide you jobs, new skills to learn and heck. A damn good time." Jin had now switched his bait as he showed pictures of his penguins working hard in the Restaurant Instance while others were having fun at the Theme Park instance. "I will leave a few penguins here who had saved your lives to answer any questions. I hope you will make the right choice." Jin said as he requested the System to bring out Kido and his other ninjas to talk to the leaders. The dungeon supplier believed he had done what he needed to do and the rest he would leave it to Hamatarou and his penguins to convince the leaders. Because as of that moment, Amura Rei had messaged that he had finally outfitted three Sandroku Golems to be spaceworthy. Chapter 666 Extra: Su Zhens Recommendation Milk was still currently in the room, discussing with Jin''s demon exorcists with regards to the upcoming expedition. She knew Jin''s hidden agenda for sending them to the north of Shenzhen, so she was keeping a close eye to make sure that they were prepared for it, at least physically. "I believe I can handle our accommodations. The Royal Ox Zodiac Clan have quite a huge presence in Dongguan, so it should be easy for me to pull some strings around to get a decent lodging before the arrival of Chinese New Year." Rong suggested, and the rest agreed to it immediately. "Aside from the fact that we are currently earning measly peanuts from Jin, I have more than enough money to spare for you guys to buy equipment." Lein generously offered to the group though Su Zhen and Lian somehow felt bad taking it. "Don''t be. You could say I am a bit ashamed of my previous haughty behaviour and thought that I would be the first and best candidate to get promoted. Turns out I have much to learn¡­ And hey look at it this way! I have yet to give you guys your Christmas presents." He immediately recalled how Jin still appreciated their presence and efforts even though they demeaned him. "Hmm, I guessed its reasonable if it''s your way of giving Christmas presents to us." Su Zhen nodded her head and did not refuse the offer. "Honestly, I would prefer some of the clothing in Jin''s store compared to the equipment he sells. I mean, our Royal Armoury ought to have better equipment than what''s offered here." Lian countered, but Rong surprisingly disagreed with her. "I have actually bought a few axes and hammers from this place and gave it to my Royal Armourer as well. They were astounded by the quality of it. My uncle, who was in the weapon development said that some of the Grade 5 weapons were more durable than his Grade 10s. He even asked me to buy every single piece for him to test it out when I have the time." Rong divulged to the whole group, which made Milk deliver a smug smile. "Of course, while we import a few of our stuff in, most of our weapons were hand made by the best people." Milk wanted to openly praise Blacksmith Vulcan''s skills in creating those weapons, but she knew that they would not believe if Milk said that all those weapons were made by one person. Vulcan could have also created better grade weapons, but the System was locking his abilities and his production until Jin was powerful enough to handle high grade cultivators. "Our inscriptions are the best top notch too if you have not noticed. This is also why you guys can mix and match any items of clothing for defensive purposes." "But you guys do not have high grade combat armours right? The one meant for pure defence instead of daily use." Su Zhen did not doubt Milk''s, but this was one thing she noticed was lacking in Jin''s armour store. "That I won''t deny. We have a ''few'' weavers who could create decent defensive articles of clothing, but they are not to the point they could be compared to high grade combat armours. However, considering that we are selling quality defensive inscriptions, it should not be a problem for most cultivators." Milk explained, and though it looked as if Su Zhen had something at the tip of her tongue, she continued on. "Besides, we have trustworthy contacts to import such high grade combat armour, and I believe Jin will release them when the time is right. After all, this is a dungeon store, not the Royal Armourer. It will be scary if our normal cultivators are decked out with combat armour, right?" "I see. While it''s okay for dungeon practice, sometimes high defensive grade armour would be needed for real practical fights. Since we will be opening up to the Demon Exorcists, I believe we should look into that portion too." Su Zhen said and started to write an address on a piece of paper. "I feel that Boss Jin should have an inhouse armourer too. I have a frien- erm¡­ an associate that specialises in the production of high grade combat armour. He is, however, very difficult to find since he doesn''t stay in one place." Milk took the piece of paper and looked at the address. "If so, why did you pass me this particular address?" Milk queried. "The Royal Snake Clan used to contact him to make us some customised armour in the past, but I must confess, it was with much difficulty. Similar to your store, his a crazy miracle worker. He can easily make a piece of shirt withstand a blow from a Grade 10 monster from cheap raw materials." Su Zhen said, and Lian believed she heard of such an associate too. Subsequently, Rong and Lein attested to such a rumour and did not know that it was true, only to remember her mother was the COO of JODE. "Imagine getting him to seriously work for you, he would definitely be able to make a miracle. Some even say the ministers had people secretly scouting for him so they can pay a visit to him." Su Zhen expressed herself vividly. "My mom gave this address to me and told me to look up for him at this address. She said that if I was lucky, I would be able to meet him. But after trying a few times, it was needless to say, I have no luck right now. Maybe, meeting him had some requirements or maybe it was perchance." Su Zhen added and told Milk and the rest of her friends that he had no name except the moniker the Ghost Armourer. "What makes you think Jin can find him?" Milk chuckled a little upon hearing the whole story. "I do not know, I feel like Boss can do the impossible, and if he could really recruit the Ghost Armourer to his shop, his fame will shoot up to the roof. Of course, it''s just wild speculations." "Heh, I will pass the message to him when I have the time." Milk smiled and texted a message to the person who scoffed at the word impossible. The Devilman. Chapter 667 Reis Comeback "Rei, how did it go?" Jin showed a weary smile when he teleported into the workshop entrance. All the past two days, the dungeon supplier had been working non stop to ensure the success of gathering allies while fulfilling his promise to Hamatarou to save them. It did, however, derail into a new customer dungeon raid but the subsequent and yet surprising capture of Maeve proved to be worth it. Jin hoped that he could get some miscellaneous task done before the police and military cooperation exercise. Still, it was imperative he assisted the System in obtaining its upgrade to eradicate the perceived threat above Shenzhen. The police captain did say that things were under control, but Jin knew that he was definitely underreporting the severity of the situation. That was how his country work most of the time though everyone kept mum about it. Although it was a risk to send the young, new graduated Demon Exorcists to the field, they were already contracted with the System. So there was little to worry about his ''assistants'', and this would be another valuable experience for them. ¡ª¨C "Hey Boss, it went rather well. The Orcs and Goblins definitely had some knowledge in the field mechanics and electronics¡­although it sure is useful to have some magic capabilities. It made the process more viable." Rei replied with a hearty smile. It had been a long time since he was covered in engine grease, and the nostalgic feeling of it was tremendously satisfying. He already felt it was already worthy to take a two day break from his manga drawing to do all of this. "Not to mention, the crew here is itching to go have a test run, though I assume you want them to go into the practical immediately." Rei added as three goblin pilots came forth to salute at Jin. "Pilot Piratez, Washbuckler and Deckerhand reporting." The goblins announced but their names gave Jin a curious expression. "Ah, a bit of a long story. It was I who told them that having code names are common in my battlefield and informed the goblins that this particular mission was to salvage for parts in space. So, they had decided to get pirate-y names when I told them that outer space was like a vast ocean." Rei explained. "Its a little cheesy but if they like it, let them be." Jin thought to himself as he chuckled a little before nodding his head in acknowledgement of the goblins who were still saluting. "Yeap, so follow me. I have managed to convert two construction Sandroku Golems into Salvaging Golems, which by the way, I am impressed by the practicality of the golems. In terms of mobility and strength, they were as close, if not better, than the mecha workers we have in our work. Of course, I am comparing based on the models before I transmigrated. The only difference and complain is the use of batteries. However¡­" Rei continued to ramble as he beckoned Jin to follow him into the busy workshop in Industry Sector 1 of the Dungeon City Fortress. Jin was initially interested to hear, but when Rei got into the specifics, he was starting to feel like it was his engineering professor ranting all over again. (Undoubtedly it caused him to turn a deaf ear to Rei''s explanation..) Soon, they reached a more secluded hanger and saw the Orc engineers doing final checks to the golems. It caused Jin to wonder why there wasn''t a mix of Orcs and goblins going into space. Rei later explained that it was mainly because the goblin pilots have a good grasp of instant magic. "I have to fix up a support system for outer space and wanted to insert the backup respiratory support system too¡­ But I am afraid the battery load will exceed, and this will cause unexpected short circuits in the golem." Rei started his lengthy explanation. "So, with the pilots able to use magic at the crux of an emergency would heighten the odds of them surviving. Like putting a barrier in front of them in case of a breach or setting an air bubble around their head before ejecting and teleporting back to the Hangar again." Rei replied, and it looked like the mechatronics engineer was mentally checking off the standard safety protocols in his head when he was remodelling the golems. "Plus, we are lightweight and take lesser oxygen. More air, longer operating hours, lesser strain on the battery system." Washbuckler said, and the Orcs could not argue against that. When Jin saw the new remodified Salvaging Golems, he was surprised to know that it was extremely simple in design. This was because Rei did something similar to the Gearbox System which he had made the salvaging tools modular and detachable to the Salvaging Golems'' arms. These included typical salvaging items like a pickup pinching arm, a cutter arm, and there was one with a power magnet on it. "What happened to the third one?" Jin asked, and Rei''s smirk got wider as he quickly when to the corner and turn on the lights only for Jin to realise that the hangar was bigger than he thought it would be. (The goblin pilots did place a magical illusion spell to help with the surprise too.) The third golem was modified to fit on the nose of the C-130 plane. Rei and the rest of the engineering crew had ingeniously outfitted the C-130 plane with rocket boosters on its wings as well as putting automated turrets on the sides of the dropship. "Since we were going modular, I thought to see your old blueprints. And that was where we found the plans of your Orgebuster from Ayse, I felt inspired to create something similar. Of course, I did it within my timeframe, and there were limits to this prototype beauty." Rei said with excitement while tapping his hand on the plane. "We were, after all, using this as a dropship to haul the debris and salvaged items back to the hangar and this should reduce the System''s expenses instead of opening a portal infinitely," Rei commented, stating that the System was extremely pleased with the design proposal and gave a C-130 for free for them to modify. "I am honestly blown away by this too." Jin for once smiled like a kid in a toy store, seeing a brand new toy for grabs. Chapter 668 Honest Truth "All the controls of the modified C-130 Space Explorer can be handled by the Salvaging Golem at the nose of the plane. I''ve made some adjustments to the electrical board circuits, and with the help of magic, it''s been further simplified for both Orcs and Goblins to use without too much training." Rei explained as he opened the cargo door of the C-130 Space Explorer. "So, what are we expecting to salvage based on your experience¡­ you have done this before, right? Or have you only done this in theory?" Jin queried, and Rei stopped to ponder for a moment. "I think we can expect to find quite a number of good parts. If we are fortunate enough, a proper spaceship might be possible. Though I figured it would be derelict since in such cases, it would be a miracle if the internal parts hadn''t already been stripped by someone else. But hey, at least you might get a hull out of it. We can always bring it back to do modifications." Rei shrugged and speculated as much as Jin with regards to the possible loot. "Though realistically speaking, having only three Salvaging Golems won''t yield you that much in one week¡­ Much less in your allocated deadline. Best case scenario, and I stress, this is HIGHLY UNLIKELY; If we find ourselves an intact spaceship, one where all we have to do will be to change some parts and refuel the baby, even then, we are still looking at a space travel time of about two to three weeks to find the ship or port where Titan was holding onto. And that is already making a lot of assumptions!" Rei warned not to get too optimistic. "A lot of things can go wrong. The Titan could have already embarked onto a different ship, or been moved to another port. Heck, it might have already invaded the Xeon Union. And even if we were to somehow find it, we will have to face at least a small space fleet befitting the protection of the Titan. But again, this is already assuming the best scenario." Rei stood and decided to tell Jin off. "But considering that we always knee deep in rather shitty situations, I should expect not able to find the Titan anytime soon, and even if I did, I would be against fleets of the United Federation thinking that I am with the bad guy. To make things even more ''exciting'', the Xeon Union assumed we are also a ploy by the United Feds too and will fire upon us when given a chance?" Jin gave a hypothetical bad scenario which Rei nodded furiously to it. No wonder, Kraft''s suggestion to be the ultimate bad guy was not as unrealistic as Jin thought it would be. "To be brutally honest with you Boss, your timeline is plainly unrealistic, and even though I managed to finish this in two days, it was a more of a challenge for myself than keeping the promise to you. There are a lot of things that might go wrong with these golems too. I have yet to perform any stress test on them to make sure that does not happen. However, I am willing to forgo the test run and close an eye to the situation because the Gobs claim they can be resurrected. To me, machines don''t matter as much as the lives riding on them. So if it''s true the worst case will be us having to build new ones." "Hmm¡­" Jin was trying to consider everything Rei was lecturing him about, yet while doing so, he was unconsciously making a very frustrated face. Rei felt that he should continue to say his piece before Jin made any rash and stupid decisions. "I am beseeching you to reconsider the situation again. You have my blessing if you limit yourself to sending out your Gobs for salvaging, but NOTHING ELSE! I get that you have time constraints, but not everything can be solved with magic. Accept the reality and expect that this will be a long endeavour rather than a rushed one." Rei told him with his eyes looking directly into Jin''s. "Besides, take a good look at yourself. You should really think this over. You are tired, weary from the constant work and I bet you do not even know that today''s New Year Eve. I really suggest that you find an alternative or change the timeline and be realistic about the whole Titan finding situation!" Somehow that hit a nerve¡­ Jin did not know how to argue about what Rei said, mainly because it was all true. He looked over the C-130 interior for a moment and then sighed heavily. He was resolute about trying to change his own fate after getting a painful reminder that he was being manipulated by external forces who were rich, powerful and more influential than him. But here he was already being defeated by the inevitable fact, that some things lay outside his control¡­ at least for now. He was sure that having the System might change things, but it looked like life had a way to always put an insurmountable obstacle in front of him. He proceeded to take a seat at the side of the C130 Space Explorer and asked Rei to leave him alone for a moment. Meanwhile, Rei was stunned as he had not expected Jin to react this way. He had at least expected some kind of resistance, but not for him to solemnly ponder on the issues. Still a bit dumbfounded, he quietly nodded his head and moved out of the C130 space explorer granting Jin his desired alone time. "Do you think Boss be okay?" Washbuckler asked his fellow two space pilots, but they were equally clueless. Even Rei started to feel bad about pointing out the obvious to Jin. "No use thinking too much on our end. Let''s do some work to busy ourselves. If Boss wants to continue with the mission, he''ll approach us again." Piratez suggested as the voice of reason and the four of them decided to do some counter checks to ensure that their internal golem systems were working as intended. ¡ª¡ª- An hour had passed with no sign of Jin coming out of the C-130 Space Explorer. The waiting made the entire space crew a little anxious. "I''ll go and check on Boss. Maybe he teleported away and forgot to notify us." One of the Orc engineers volunteered, but Rei declined his offer. "No, let me do it. I was the one who pointed the issues out, so it''s only fair if I should be the one to confront him. And if he has any arguments, it will be directed at me instead." Rei strongly insisted, but deep down, the space crew team knew that Rei was just as timid as them. "I don''t think we need to worry so much, we all know Boss is quite a reasonable person. He is not the kind to flare up randomly." Piratez argued and both his friends immediately thought of their old mage master in the academy who used to shout at them for every wrongdoing. Eventually, they decided to enter as a group to check on Jin, but as they went closer to the C130 open cargo door, they realised that Jin was still sitting there. Rei had adamantly decided to be the first to move up, and as he got closer, he found a rare sight of their Boss¡­sleeping with his head leaning at the side panel. Rei signalled them to be quiet and beckoned them to come over to check on him, but one of the Orcs tripped which caused him to slip and fall, resulting in a loud deafening echo in the empty cargo area of the C-130. Jin''s eyes went wide open scanning the surrounding for any enemy intrusion, only to find the space crew attempting to crawl up on him. Then he yawned and stretched himself. "My bad. I think the moment I relaxed, I accidentally went into sleep. Where were we?" Jin apologised, and Rei informed him that he had probably been knocked out for over an hour. "Oh, no wonder¡­ sorry about that. Anyways, Rei. I thought about what you said, and I must admit you are entirely right. Have the space crew meet me at their workshop meeting room. Let''s have a formal and realistic discussion." Jin responded favourably to Rei''s reasoning and stopped for a moment. "And erm, order some good food from the Penguins since its New Year''s Eve. Don''t be shy, it will be on me." His stomach growled loudly, which the rest agreed heartily. Chapter 669 Extra: Preachings After that short cheering from the space crew, Jin instinctively checked his phone and noticed that dozens of missed calls and loads of messages had piled up. They were mainly from Qiu Yue and Lynn who had attempted to reach him. "System has noticed that User has entered a state of sleep deeper than any other compared to the last week and has therefore decided to mute the phone for you. Despite System''s assurance that the User was safe, the Sub System Users wanted to be sure." Jin was surprised by the System''s gesture and thanked it before looking at his phone. If anything, that sleep may surprisingly have been one of the best wake up call he ever received. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Being a cultivator of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas Style, he automatically entered his subconsciousness and found himself sitting beside his Grandfather Ming at the top of the icy cold mountain peak once more. "Yikes!" Jin shouted as he felt the winds blew through his shirt. Unlike the previous time with Ming, he was now dressed with what he had been wearing in real life, which was not exactly intended for this kind of weather. "Don''t worry, lad. I am not going to force you to fight any Legendary Beasts this time around. Though that turtle is still down there waiting for you with my secret. If you want to uncover it, be my guest." Ming gleed at Jin before turning solemn. "You haven''t been yourself lately, have you?" Ming placed his hand over Jin''s shoulder, and the latter quietly leaned at his grandfather''s side. "Yeah. It''s been rough these past few weeks. Problems keep piling up no matter how I try to clear them. It''s as if fate actively tries to put one obstacle after the other. I don''t feel at peace no matter what I do." Jin tried to phrase his problem without it sounding too much like whining since he knew his grandfather was a no nonsense guy. "If I was in the real world, I would have scolded you for not having any guts. For what a sissy you have become." Ming scoffed at Jin. "However, since I am not in the real world, let me give you something that might actually help you." Jin''s grandfather took a deep breath before he did the most unexpected to Jin. He swiftly moved his hands under Jin''s armpit and performed a judo throw on Jin, causing his grandson to split the bench they were sitting into two. Jin splattered blood out from his mouth in an instant while his grandfather''s smile got even wider. "When you are confused, scratch your lungs and order them to fight! When you are angry, rise up and fight it! When you are calm, learn to fight along with it! When you are happy, fight to live for more of this fleeting moment! Whatever you do, you have to fight!" Ming preached as he sent a palm thrust towards Jin''s stomach and the dungeon supplier absorbed the entire blow. There was no ''grandfatherly love'' or mercy in the strike. All he felt was pain. However, the pain was oddly refreshing. Jin had kept himself to the backline for some time now due to all the administrative work. It felt like ages since he had entered the fray, causing his fighting sense to dull a little. "What do you do when you see a wall in front of you? Push it down! If you cannot push it, climb! Go around it! Or dig underneath it! If all else fails just keep slamming into it until the thing breaks! If your bones break, wait for them to heal and then bash it again! Eventually, it will give way! Remember, you are a System User! The System is a product of the Wills of the Heaven. You ¨C No, we are part of the Celestial Chosen!!!" Ming emphasised with his foot on Jin''s chest. "Hah¡­ Celestial''s Chosen¡­ If that is true, the world must really hate us to hunt us down continuously." Jin remarked as he tried to push Ming''s shoe away, but the pressure seemed to only get greater until he could feel his bones begin to crack. "Because ¨C Never mind, that phrase just sounded good at the moment. So, just ignore what I said. In any case, look at how far you have come. Back then, when you first treated this path of becoming a dungeon supplier, you only went with the flow. You were no different from a Koi in a pond being fed bread crumbs, unaware that he might get eaten one of these days." Ming laughed at his own joke. "But now? You finally learned that there is more to it than just the small little pond. You have experienced what it means to get bitten. Most importantly, you are willing to fight back! Although it''s a little pathetic looking, you are getting there. Your fangs are still growing, and that is what I want to continue to see in you. Never stop trying! If things push you down, never stop moving. Even if you feel like you are going backwards, learn why you are going back. After which proceed forth." Ming encouraged him as he pushed even further while Jin struggled to go against the pressure. "Remember that you are no longer just a boss over a measly store. You are the boss for many villages! For kingdoms! For several monster races! Heck, even Gods and Demons are under your command." The pressure did not alleviate, and somehow Jin believed he felt a tinge of jealousy in his grandfather''s voice. "They may have started to follow you because the System compelled them to do so. Still, I believe some are genuinely pledging their service to you not only because it''s interesting, but you are worthy of following." "Just take a look at that sneaky fox. You may not realise it, but he does far more for you than meets the eye. Take a look at the girls beside you. They are doing their best to help you achieve what you are trying to do. Even Yun has been helping you in her own way. If you ever doubt yourself, never forget that there are those beside you, who believe in you." At the same time, a tone of praise and admiration in Ming''s voice too, something which Jin had hardly ever received from him. Yet, Ming was right. It was not the first time Jin met with problems larger than himself. Although he had been lucky the previous times, it did not mean that he did not see things through when the tough gets going. "I understand now, Gramps. It took me a while to understand, but please continue to watch over me." Jin nodded as he stopped trying to push Ming''s boot away. Instead, he gathered his Maqi at his palms and summoned ice spikes to attack Ming. Ming sniggered as he blocked the ice spikes with ease but did not realise that Jin did something else entirely out of the norm. With the ice spikes as a distraction, Jin imagined himself as part of the snow, and when the cold mountain winds blew, he immediately transformed into a pile of snow and allowed the winds to disperse him. "Hah! You rascal! Glad to know that you still remember you are in your consciousness." Ming laughed as he saw that Jin had reached a new understanding of himself, allowing him to passively transcend into Grade Eight Peak. Chapter 670 New Year Eves Dinner - Part 1 "You called?" "YEAH WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!?!" Qiu Yue shouted in the phone so loudly that Jin could feel her wrath transmitting through the phone. "I erm¡­ accidentally fell asleep in one of the workshop hangars after discussing some stuff with Rei and the others," Jin replied with a guilty conscience. He felt like a little kid who had been out playing for too long, worrying his mother. What followed was an awkward pause in the conversation. "Oh. Okay¡­ No wonder the System did not allow us to call through. -Sigh- I guess we may have overreacted, but the System could have just told us that you had fallen asleep." Qiu Yue sounded a bit calmer, but not by much. Suddenly the System interjected: "System cannot verify whether User is truly asleep or cultivating. Thus, System has been unable to provide a definite response to your questions." "Dude. I know you are omnipotent, but don''t enter our conversations like this. It''s creepy. Like stalker creepy." Qiu Yue complained, seemingly having found a new target for her rage and Jin laughed. "Forget about that. You know it cannot help being creepy, right? The System monitors our every move no matter what we do. Is there any use pretending it doesn''t?" Lynn interjected on Qiu Yue''s end, but Jin could roughly hear her voice in the background. "Yeah, it''s like the overprotective parents that Jin never had." Qiu Yue accidentally commented something a little insensitive, forgetting that she was still on the line with Jin. "Oh oops, sorry Boss." "No need, I am not overly sensitive as you believe me to be." "What lies!" Qiu Yue thought to herself. "Anyways, what''s the matter?" Jin questioned and Qiu Yue informed him that they had prepared a New Year Eve''s dinner with the bellators. "Hmmm, that does sound like a good idea." Jin looked at his watch, and it was nearly six in the evening. "Let me have a quick meeting with the space crew beforehand. We will be altering our timelines since Rei brought up some major concerns. If you don''t hear from me in the next hour or so, come to the conference room instance and drag me out. Thank you for reminding me about this." Jin said as he hurriedly teleported to the conference room instance. And before him, a sumptuous spread of gourmet food was laid ready by the chef penguins and the space crew was waiting rather (im)patiently for him. They collectively pointed at the helm of the table, which was still vacant. "THAT was fast!" Jin saw the amount of food and wondered if the space crew could actually finish up everything, especially since the food was stretched from one corner of the table to the other end. No room was spared to ensure the maximum presence of gastronomic gourmet. "It was Rei''s idea!" Deckkerhand immediately exposed the mastermind though Rei had never planned on denying it. It took a bit for the still sleepy Jin to realise what was going on. Since it was on Jin''s tab, they had thought to extend his generosity to not just the space crew but the other Orc and Goblin helpers who had assisted the team as thanks. "You really think this is sufficient to satisfy those Orcs'' stomach? Their tummies are practically black holes walking around! Order more! And do get the penguins to join the feast too once they are done with the cooking!" Jin ordered and pretend to wipe out a credit card from his wallet, causing the crew to cheer even louder. (Even though it was not necessary, but the action of presenting his credit card somehow excited the entire space crew.) Jin then beckoned Rei to gather the others to come in to join the feast while he asked the System to expand the conference room, allowing the insertion of another long conference table for the penguins to place their buffet. "For today only, enjoy the end of the year," Jin said, indicating that that the initial discussion be postponed for the new upcoming year. "Boss, are you not joining us?" Rei questioned, and Jin told him that his other family is waiting for him with dinner as well. "I better help out a little with the preparations or else, Lynn might kill me," Jin confessed he had not been helping with the dinner preparations for quite some time because of his workload. Only then, the dungeon supplier saw Rei''s quiet but troubled expression, prompting him to pick up the courage and placed his hand on the manga artist''s shoulders. "Worry not. We will do our utmost to help you find your family, but as you said yourself. Some things can''t be rushed. Please give us some time too." Jin promised, and given the recent turn of developments, Rei knew that his new boss would really try his best for his minions. Thus, he gave a slight smile in return as a sign of trust. "Alright, then I shall hold you to your word. But for today, WE PARTYYYY!!" Rei picked up a beer can and shouted, giving the rest the signal to start. At the same time, Jin had requested his system to connect him to various monster leaders like Gold, Moloch, Derek and Ayse. "Dinner is on me, order whatever you guys like and treat the entire group for New Year''s Eve. But it''s a little late, so give the penguins some time to prep the food too! We don''t want them to overwork themselves." "Actually, can we order from the Tree Mall? I seriously enjoy the penguin food, but I would love to try some of Earth''s cuisine too." Gold asked on behalf of his werejackals, which made Jin somewhat flustered. The rest started to consider such an option too, and it looked like they reached an overall agreement. "I don''t mind, though I cannot guarantee that the taste of the food out there will be as heavenly or spiritually filling. You guys still okay with it?" "Yeah, we are fine with it. Besides, it would be unfair to the penguins if they always have to work so hard for us, especially when we are growing in numbers." Gold replied, and Jin thought it was a good idea to give some business for the lower floors too. "But you will be working the crap out of those penguins aiding the human chefs," Moloch argued, and at that moment Kido joined the call. "Actually, we can afford to have a few more penguins assist with the orders. We have already completed the analysis on those chefs'' way of cooking and should be able to replicate it. We might even improve on their version." Kido currently represented the Kitchen since Lynn was preparing dinner for the bellators and Jin did not see the problem with that. "Alright, I am fine with it, give your orders to the System which it will compile and split the orders between both the human chefs and the penguins. That way, the workload is slightly less straining to the human chefs. As for you penguins if it''s possible, work out a rotation system, so that at least a third of you can relax at a time." Jin ordered and everyone was amenable to it. The call ended with much elation in the background, yet Jin decided to give Si Fang a heads up. "Ah Jin, I am -WAIT WHAT?! Is this some kind of New Year Eve''s joke?!" Si Fang''s sudden shouting scared nearly all the customers in his Castle Tower Caf¨¦ instance, and he immediately apologised for his rude behaviour. "Erm, yeah. I''m sorry, it''s so sudden. What was supposed to be an internal mini conference at my end ended up getting bigger than I imagined. A little unexpected but you know¡­how situations can be unpredictable." Jin tried to bluff, and he succeeded with a poor excuse. "I guess¡­ We cannot say no to extra money, especially if it''s coming from the landlord himself. Sure, I will tell the others to be prepared for the massive order, but I cannot assist you if we run out of stock." Si Fang warned, but there was this indescribable excitement running through his veins. "Stock supplies? You do not have to worry about that. I can gurantee that as long as if the chefs are willing to earn money, there''s plenty of supplies to go around. I will get Lai Fu to assist with it." Jin pointed out, and Si Fang immediately agreed to relay the message. So what if it was New Year''s Eve? All of them were veterans in the Food & Beverage business, and they had long since been prepared to work extra hard for the added income during the holidays. They just never imagined how absurd Jin''s desired quantity would have to be. Chapter 671 New Year Eves Dinner - Part 2 Even though the food court instance was packed like sardines, the hawkers had already become experts in handling this level of workload. It was nothing new after a few weeks, and some managed to increase in cultivation grade through consistent cooking with spiritual power. However, they had not expected the following when Si Fang personally came down to give the hawkers a heads up on what''s coming while their penguin assistants continued cooking. "WHAT?! Feeding an estimate 2000 people in one night? I don''t even necessarily serve that many in a week!" One of the hawkers who handled the mixed rice stall exclaimed. (Jin definitely had more than that if not for the splitting) For the people who cooked in bulk and sold at a reasonable price, San Sun claimed that it was an impossible feat to achieve. "The order came from Boss Jin personally. Apparently, he''s holding some "mini" conference and needs food to be cooked because of some miscommunication with his food caterer. According to him, supplies will be readily available as long as guys accept the orders. No price changes in the supplies but he won''t mind paying a little more for the food, especially since he understands that it''s a late order." Si Fang explained, and the hawkers started to ponder. "So, do we keep serving until the orders stop? Or will we have to keep going even after the new year starts? Because we only have that limited amount of time to prepare." "Ah, thankfully Jin told me he will stop ordering by 11.30. If there are any unfulfilled orders by 12, you guys can go ahead and cancel it. He also added the Panda Burgers will be taking orders too so I will speak to Ke Ru later." Si Fang noted, and the rest were having some form of small talk. "I assume the guests are not too picky with the food¡­" "¡­More like our food finally reached a certain standard. Hahah!" "But it''s a shit ton of money if we can clear his orders." "Perhaps Jin is trying to help us earn money, too? If he is going to advertise our food, we might be able to sell better in the future." "You mean stop being a hawker and get a restaurant?" "That would be a nice dream, and think of the instance he will make for us if we plan to upgrade!" "So, we are accepting this challenge?" "Why not? I never say no to more money." The hawkers knew that they had to come to an agreement. Currently, time was a precious commodity, given that the penguins were holding the fort for them on their own. Hence, their representative, San Sun had decided to go ahead with the request. "Excellent, I will inform Boss Jin about it, and I believe the first few orders should come in soon but don''t you guys forget to serve the customers here first. They are as important as the ones waiting." Si Fang emphasised and the rest gave a resounding shout. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "In hindsight, they would have never expected that this particular challenge turned out to be like a ripple slowly growing and transforming into a mighty tidal wave going forth to hit the world''s cooking scene. Later generations would refer to them as the founding members of the Pyramid Chef Guild." Kraft said to the entire group. "What are you blabbering about?" Lynn asked as she placed the last dish on the table. A pot full of noodles, particularly soba. "Just ignore him, he seems to have simply gotten too bored," Jin advised her to pay Kraft no heed. The foxy man might have spoken out of tune after Jin told them about how the monsters wanted to try other food from this world. As the fragrance of the noodles reached to everyone''s olfactory senses, there was a reason why Lynn decided to choose soba noodles for the last meal of the year. In Lynn''s culture, eating soba at the end of the year symbolised letting go of the hardships of the year and looking forward to strength and resiliency in the new year. A dish so humble in nature yet meaningful when the whole shop family ate with her. "Ah! Did you manage to eat it with your father?" Jin had nearly forgotten that the two Sub System Users still had their own friends and family. "Yeap! I had it with my dad this afternoon. Actually, he was the one who made the dish for lunch, because no matter how drunk and broken he had been, he never failed to make this dish for me. However, I never appreciated it up until now." Lynn answered with a bit of melancholy, and everyone quietly ate the soba noodles with various toppings and side dishes on the table. "While I did learn how to do the proper one from my formal training, I learnt this particular soba soup base from him." Lynn shared with a blush and added that she did improve on it too. However, there was something that Lynn had not revealed to the whole group. Being able to eat soba noodles with Jin on New Year''s Eve also had a distinctive meaning. "Soba ni iru." Roughly translated to ''I''ll be there at your side''. Lynn started to understand the meaning of family from Jin, and she hoped by eating with soba with the family she had forged through blood and sweat, they could be near each other forever regardless of the circumstance. "Now that you mention it, I do feel the family kind of taste." Qiu Yue teased Lynn a bit and finally revealed that her parents had flown for an overseas trip without her. "They kept having the impression that I am staying over with my boyfriend, so they decided not to interfere much." Obviously, when Lynn heard it, everyone on the table could hear the metal ladle crack under pressure. In turn, Qiu Yue quickly turned her tune and tried not to offend the chef of the night. She remembered that they agreed to have their little game of chasing after Jin but that the dinner table was supposed to be off limits zone. Yet the issue was that both of them had secretly played the game at the dinner table, so Lynn pretended to be magnanimous and decided to back off and not pursue the matter. Needless to say, Jin continued to be as ignorant to their advances as usual and proceeded to tell them about the current situation they were facing. (Despite the constant smirking of a certain foxy guy.) Milk also reported on how the new fully fledged demon exorcists were preparing as much as possible for their upcoming expedition and even told Jin about the Ghost Armourer. "Honestly, I cannot be bothered to find something that wishes to hide. It means that that Ghost Armourer you talked of, is not proud of his own goods." Kraft previously received Milk''s request and openly objected to searching as he scooped himself another bowl of piping hot noodles. "Still, I believe it''s a good angle to improve the store for the new year. I will attempt to get hold of Hou Fei and see if he knows anything about the Ghost Armourer. Of course, priorities wise, this is not a pertinent issue." Jin thanked Milk for the additional info. Next Yun shared an update from the System about two animal people tribes deciding not to sign anything and return to their village. The rest who stayed had been given individual islands near to relatively near to each other. "I have also provided them with a week''s worth of supply as a pity gift. They had been made aware of the consequences yet decided to proceed anyway, so I hope you plan to stand by your decision of punishing them, Jin." "No doubts about that, I sure will," Jin replied affirmatively before asking how Peppers was. "Ayse fixed me up rather quickly, though I am still a bit sore that I could not damage the Porkcupine. I still believe, credit should be given to me for weakening him, especially when that Avatar of whatever fire could kill it in a few blows." Peppers argued and everyone sarcastically praised her, provoking her into a semi rage mode until Milk soothed her down between her bosoms. As the dining table updates began to slow down, Zeru decided to raise his own issue up. "While I understand it''s all smiles and laughter at the end of the year, I feel that I have issues to report about the Farming World." Chapter 672 Zerus Farming World Repor "Has the situation turned for the worst?" Jin asked, and Zeru shook his head calmly. "Not at the moment. However, we have received warnings from both the Southern Stars and Western Skies organisations about increased activities. More locations like demon rats hideout and training cave camps had been discovered and marked. The mousefolks had also been very successful in confirming the information too, and upon verification, the System updated the existing map of the Northern Area." Zeru started his reporting while everyone continued to listen and eat at the same time. "Gold also stated that more and more fake hideouts have started showing up. Despite our progress, the northern area has yet to be fully mapped. In conclusion, we still don''t have a full grasp on the extent of the rats'' control." "I do not mind helping out with the mapping. Now that I know Ayse''s mana controlling vest is working, the pain shouldn''t be as bad as before." Peppers surprisingly volunteered for the mission, but everyone knew what her hidden motivation was. "Were you planning on bombing the cave hideouts?" Jin asked blatantly, and Peppers immediately nodded her head. "You do understand they are CAVE hideouts, right? Blasting the entrance does not mean much against the rats. They can burrow themselves out of the debris. Not everything is about the extent of the explosion." However, Peppers laughed in the face of Jin''s logic: "Ha ha ha! Have you forgotten that I am the mighty Demonic Queen Sage? I have magic beyond your comprehension." Peppers smirked as if she had some ultimate trick under her sleeve. "Okay, colour me curious. What is your plan?" Jin placed his chopsticks down and decided to listen intently to Peppers'' proposition. "I am not telling you just yet! It''s a very grand secret¡­ but I might be willing to give you a hint if you hand me that delicious looking chicken cutlet that was specially made just for you by Big Sis Lynn." Peppers hungrily eyed her would-be prize. "What?! I already gave you mine! Don''t be such a glutton when you had a total of two cutlets!" Milk exclaimed, but Peppers was adamant about it. "She got frustrated by the fact that her explosive magic wasn''t effective against the Father Porkcupine. After that, she had spent her time further researching into your world''s technology during her recovery. Upon learning the capability of a bunker buster bomb, she had been experimenting on how to replicate it." Yun revealed in lieu of the System as she obviously did not want Peppers to win an additional chicken cutlet. "Why, Yun? Why betray me like this!!!!" Peppers pouted, but Jin decided to reciprocate a little by giving her half of his. Despite her fickle childish ways, she nevertheless possessed one of the highest offensive stats among his bellators. "Aside from the increased sightings of demon rat hideouts, Sebastia who''s still lurking in the capital has also reported a significant increase in production from the rat''s war machinery. It looks like even the most compliant of humans had been drafted to work for the Demon Rats." "You mean forced into slavery. Just call it for what it is. They are being given little to no compensation for what they do. It will be surprising if they get more than the bare minimum to eat. There is no way you can call that work." Qiu Yue responded, but Zeru continued his reporting. "In more pleasant news, the Northern Bulwark under General Matt Umiterus has begun to receive some aid quietly from the various governments and organisations. The supply route from the sea port and the town of Wecha had also been secured with various guard posts, giving the people who escaped, some form of hope." "That''s indeed some good news. Speaking about escaping, any idea on how the other towns are faring?" "After Peppers'' display of power wiping several battalions in various towns, the Northern Bulwark has decided to use that as the momentum to incite rebellions in other towns. Some were successful, but not many were quick to act. For the towns who have decided to proceed with the rebellion, the Dark Templars assisted with much valour along with the mousefolks that I trained. We assisted approximately 600+ people out of the towns." "System will not deny the mousefolks'' efforts. Bellator Zeru has trained them exceptionally well." The System chimed in on the conversation with its own opinion before Yun proceeded to continue for it. "According to the System, the tactics the mousefolks deployed had been simple, but the execution was flawless, allowing them to break into their storehouses and steal tons of food, raw material and even gold." "However, knowing our Boss, we understand that such results are not acceptable unless we also managed to save those who were willing, given that we had the resources to do more. Therefore, with an expanded network of Southern Skies spies, the Jacks lead by Gold and Silver have performed multiple sabotages in those towns by kidnapping families on a daily basis. The Demon Rats barracks also suffered from a varying degree of arson attacks." "That''s rather drastic but effective." Jin thought out loud, but Kraft added that it was standard procedures during wartime. "We can''t exactly play fair when we need manpower," Kraft noted as he felt the itch to contribute. "Besides, I believe the dramatic boost in military production is because they want to have an overwhelming force to go against the town of Wecha. Set an example to the remaining humans that the rebels can be crushed easily. If they succeed, it would significantly break the morale of the rest of the towns, especially since all these sabotages and uprisings are happening." "Hmmm, if that''s the case, we can''t let that happen. How fortified is the town of Wecha? Do we need to provide them assistance in shoring up their defences?" Qiu Yue asked as the one in charge of construction and development. "Standard defences, nothing as fancy as what we have at our Dungeon City Fortress," Zeru replied. "System, are you able to create a predictive analysis on the upcoming invasion based on the limited amount of data?" Jin asked, and the System emphasised the need for Peppers to perform her scans to have a rough idea of the whole situation. "As of now, any analysis would be moot due to a severe lack of information." The System stated. "Alright, we need to have some contingencies and a rough plan on how to proceed with this. Qiu Yue, can I trouble you with this? You are a better strategist compared to me." Jin asked, and Qiu Yue was more than happy to take over the workload. "Judging from the estimated size and scale, we probably need to create another Raid instance. But as for the rest, you can leave it to me. I was getting bored with handling the finer details of the dungeon city fortress. It''s already more or less impenetrable, and Moloch can follow up with the minor stuff since he has learnt quite a lot from me¡­ not to mention he is the ''mayor'' of the city. He''s got to pull his own weight once in a while hahah!" Qiu Yue joked. "I will start sourcing and setting aside food supplies for the upcoming war. With the increased number of animal people on deck, we should be able to create a proper food and supplies reinforcement plan." Lynn took the initiative and Jin was impressed by her foresight. "But for now, let''s have dessert." Lynn beckoned Yun and Qiu Yue to follow her back to the kitchen. Peppers tagged along too¡­ after all, that is where the food awaited. Chapter 673 New Year Eves Dinner - Final The end of the year was mostly uneventful aside from the long chats which Jin appreciated. The bellators stayed, and each shared a story or two of their past. It had been a bit awkward initially, especially since this was the first time in a long while that Jin stayed with the entire group to chat rather than get caught up by his work. The System Users were most intrigued about Kraft''s story about how Rex got betrayed by his Panda Lord Zhou Yu despite his utmost loyalty. The foxes, including Pei, had also briefly shared their lives and their own stories which led them to become servants of Kraft. (Although Kraft kept insisting that they were companions and not servants, the majority claimed otherwise except for Kiyu. Still, from the tone of their accusation, it was clear that only Pei believed this to be the actual case.) As for the master of the house¡­ he didn''t have anything worthwhile to share since his life turned for the better (or worse?) after he met with the System. Speaking of which, he had been so busy that he had turned down a lot of his friends'' catch ups and meetings. "Wait, so that means you never met up with Yong Heng and Guo Zhong ever since? Hard to believe considering how close you guys used to be." Qiu Yue, the only one who had been part of Jin''s past before he turned into a dungeon supplier, was a little concerned that his new work focused lifestyle may potentially erode his existing friendships. "Ah¡­sorta. I did message the two of them recently, but I just told them that I was in some dead end job, slogging like a bull for the company. (Technically true) And, they kind of understood my situation." Jin would have loved to reconnect with them, but he did not know how to convey the message to his friends as showing them the dungeon supplier store would definitely expose him to a lot of lies. Meeting up with Qiu Yue had led him into eventually making her a Sub System User, but he could not picture doing the same do his buddies¡­ "Mmm, actually, that''s the problem with me too. I never really revealed much to the others in my social circle. The only exception is my previous supervisor, who did not really know me despite the close working relationship we had." Qiu Yue affirmed Jin''s predicament. "I even told my parents that it was compulsory to work in the company''s campus, given the nature of the work." "Hahaha! Nature of the work. That is undoubtedly true." Lynn chuckled. "At the rate, we are going, we can be considered as a full blown inter world mercenary company rather than just assistants to a dungeon supplier store." "I don''t think that''s a good comparison. Mercenaries don''t usually earn the moolah you do by selling top quality food, nor do they spend it doing various levels of research. Let''s not even start with the city." Kraft chose to put in his two cents. "Even companies and organisations do not wield that much influence and power over these many people unless you are talking about the top 1% multinational companies, JODE or JOME." "I guess in terms of size, we are more akin to JOME. They literally own the Vatican city and have armies of exorcists at their disposal. From what I know, I don''t think JODE officially even owns a city despite their overwhelming influence in the south eastern regions." Jin commented. "Heh! I think we are missing the most apparent winners since the past. We have yet to include the Royal Zodiac Clans into the picture." Yun chipped in her opinion to the matter. "And I am not talking about just the Zodiac Clans. The Japanese Seven God Clans, The European Astro Zodiac Clans and even the American Tarot Groups are in the same category. They are the people that controlled those companies and organisations." Yun was explicitly hinting Jin to be one of such groups. "Who cares about all this stuff?! Let''s start the countdown in the Dungeon Cave Town and throw some fireworks out!" Peppers insisted, and Kraft began to make a mental count in his head. "Isn''t it a bit early for that? It should just be evening at the Dungeon Cave Town around now? Also why not the Dungeon Fortress City?" Kraft was curious. "Because I cannot see the sky in the Dungeon Fortress City, duh!" Peppers rolled her eyes at the obvious. "Why ignite fireworks if there is no sky to fire upon?" "Then, what are we still waiting for? Let''s scare the people there!" Jin said in such an impromptu manner that the others joined in a heartbeat. (Naturally, Peppers was dying inside with much anticipation at the chance that her whim may turn into fruition.) When they teleported into the adventurer''s guild, the first person they saw was Zhi Nu, the Weaver Girl turned Guild Manager ordering some goblin merchants to place the food trays for the upcoming buffet. "Boss! Thanks for the treat! The preparations are almost complete and if you wish to partake on any food, do not hesitate!" Zhi Nu waved excitedly at Jin and the other Bellators. Zhi Nu had invited every single merchant under Jin''s command as well as a few very prominent merchants. She had decided to use this buffet dinner as a way to earn some new connections. And even if that endeavour ended unsuccessfully, at the very least, Jin''s Orc and Goblin merchants would enjoy it. A classic win-win. "Hahah! No need, Zhi Nu. We already had our dinner but -HEY PEPPERS NO ICE CREAM! Milk, please drag that kid back in line or no fireworks for her." Jin spoke out loud, but at the same time, Kraft decided to follow Peppers'' example by commanding his foxes to snatch several boxes of ice cream away. Jin had no idea how the foxes were managing to balance those boxes, and the only silver lining was that Peppers was not as greedy as Kraft. The Dark Elves in their Night Foxes outfit however decided to pretend not to see the crime. They all knew better than to foolishly try and compete against the insanely strong individual foxes. "Sorry, Jin. I may hate Kraft, but I do not dislike ice cream!" Pei apologised coyly as she transformed into a fox form and stole a box away, leaving Jin somewhat speechless. "Don''t worry, we have at least three more crates." Zhi Nu telepathically whispered to Jin before acting furious that the two bellators were acting like this. Surprisingly, Kraft stopped that mischevious behaviour after running out of the adventurer''s guild as he waited patiently outside on top of Itori, the giant white fox with his loot. "Come, I shall bring all of you to the nearest mountain peak and we can shoot our fireworks over there." Kraft offered with an ice popsicle in his mouth. Jin knew better than to argue with the egotistical fox leader. Soon after, the whole gang was up on a cliffside area with the perfect view over the Dungeon Cave Town right beneath them. The town had changed drastically since Jin last saw it. The main reason being the time difference between worlds. From the once medium size adventurer camp, it had turned into a proper town with various facilities. And while they did not officially have a mayor, Zhi Nu had perfectly fulfilled the role by taking care of everything. The board of committee under her were also Jin''s underlings, and thus the town was broadly speaking, his second upcoming city. "No wonder, the profit is steadily rising." Jin thought to himself before looking at his watch. It was exactly five minutes before the start of the new year in Jin''s world, and the bellators began to weave their magic spells as Peppers proposed a firework competition with Yun being the judge. Even Zeru had decided to join in the fun by creating a firework with his chi. Knowing that they were lacking in the chi department to win against the bellators, Qiu Yue and Lynn had decided to pin their hopes on Jin. "What, why me?!" Jin asked, and they each took his hand and demanded to see a specific type of firework. "Because you made us worry earlier this afternoon! So do some work and win the competition!" The two girls shouted in unison and in less than a few seconds, Yun announced the start of the competition. Happy New Year. Chapter 674 A Drop In Priority "Had a good feast?" Jin asked the following day. The dungeon supplier was surprised at how well rested the space crew seemed to be. In reality, all of those fellows had still been drunk not too long ago from all the partying. Fortunately, the System had sent over Orc Mages to cast a spell which could remove the hangover in an instant. (No wonder the Orcs could be such heavy drinkers.) "Fantastic," Rei mumbled as he was typing furiously on his work laptop, tidying up a few paragraphs on his spreadsheet before showing it to Jin. "Sorry, I know this meeting is supposed to be about the timeline for finding the Titan, but I really need to show you this. I''ve already upheld my side of the bargain. I need to ask you to do the same." Rei presented Jin with his movie studio''s finances and the balance sheet for the previous year. To Jin, it was mostly a random assortment of numbers. As a former engineer major, he had no idea how to correctly extrapolate the data presented. "Studio Mashi''s human resources managed to email me this in confidence. Basically, if they do not receive any money by this week, they have no other choice but to close at least half the studio down." Rei said seriously. "System, please take a look at this, I don''t have an accountant to interpret all these. Is it really as bad as Rei makes it out to be?" Jin asked, and the System started crunching the numbers. "While System is able to provide statistical reports and a simple predictive analysis of the studio''s expenses, it is not capable of providing accurate advice as per this context given that is it not under the System''s control. The System also currently does not have anyone expert enough to make such advice unless User creates one as discussed previously." The System stated that without full control over the movie studio, it would not be providing services related to them. "I will just take the expenses report for now." Jin had no intention of acquiring yet another liability without assessing the risk. Reacting to that thought, the System showed various graphs and charts which left everyone in the conference room with dumb expressions. "Wait a minute, I think I might have someone who can analyse all of these for me." Jin took his phone out and looked through his contacts. "Ah, Jin. Superb timing. I had planned to contact you in a bit myself. Oh, by the way, happy new year to you." Claire picked up the call and wished Jin well. "Happy new year to you too, Claire. How can I help you?" "This morning I received confirmation for the animals coming your way from Shenzhen''s Cultivation Zoo. I shall send you a manifest of all the animals so you can at least prepare the necessary space. I have also already conducted interviews of the staff who wish to work for your zoo. I will attach the list together with the manifest." "Oh dear, I totally forgot about the cultivation zoo. Sorry, I was too busy settling the new upcoming dungeon instances." Jin lied. "No worries. The actual shipments of animals have yet to arrive after Grandma Yuan''s donation to the World Wildlife Federation. For now, it''s just the list." "I see, then I will make it a priority to look at the animal manifest as well as the selected interviewees. Is it very urgent or will it be enough if I get it done by next week?" "I see no problem with that. Anyways, what''s the problem you are having? It''s rare for you to call¡­ unless you need a favour." "It pains me to admit, but unfortunately, this time''s no different. I have a request to make. You are among the few who know a little about my special powers, so you may not be too surprised about what I am about to ask. But first are you by any chance skilled in accounting?" "I do have a basic degree in accounting and sometimes help to break down such information for Grandma Yuan. Why? Do you need help filing this year''s taxes?" Claire wondered what Jin was so cryptic about. "No, it''s something entirely different, but I require an accountant''s input. My erm usual accountant refuses to cooperate. Do you have time to drop by and take a look? If I need to, I can pay¡­?" Jin requested for her help politely, but Claire laughed. "I doubt you can afford my hourly salary, nevertheless I will come around in the evening and see what I can do. Besides, I do need to discuss some additional things with you about the JODE administration centre and we perhaps we can use the time to have an in depth discussion on the cultivation zoo instance." "I understand that your main income comes from your instances, but please be aware that those cannot fail no matter the cost. It would smear Grandma Yuan''s reputation." Claire''s tone turned strict and demanding. "Thank you, Ms Claire. Be seeing you." Jin swallowed hard, finished his call and told Rei to wait till evening for the review of his situation. "Back to the topic at hand. I understand that all of you, especially Rei, have some grievances on how to proceed in regards to the Titan. And upon discussion with my bellators about the store''s current predicament, I have come to the conclusion that I might need to put this mission at a lower priority." Jin''s announcement came as a big shock to the entire space crew who had been eager to go out. "What, then does that mean our work is futile?" Rei was the first to seek answers. "No. I am going to let you guys do it at your own pace. You mentioned how our Salvaging Golems still have a lot of flaws left, and you are only accepting the goblin pilots to board them because they can resurrect and I insisted on proceeding." "So, I want you to start the salvaging operation and collect all the debris while improving the Salvaging Golems. When I say all, I mean every single little bit you can find no matter how minor it seems. Everything is useful to the System, even junk." Jin emphasised. "If you need some context of why the sudden change in priority, the Dungeon Core Barrier holding the Dungeon City Fortress from invasion will be down in a few days time. We might even be asking Moloch to drop the shield earlier for the Dungeon Core to gain some additional energy for an impromptu barrier." Jin explained. Jin had received information that The Dungeon World actually rewarded the premature abandonment of the ''newbie'' barrier. Upon releasing the current one, the Dungeon Core would be capable of deploying a city wide barrier that could last upwards of ten minutes after the city had been officially established. However, Moloch stated that the strength of the barrier varied and was proportional to the remaining number of days they would have had. He estimated that the city wide barrier could at least fend off an ultimate area of effect attack by King Baal and that should be sufficient for the city to have a fighting chance against his former master''s army. "So, don''t be disheartened. The space project will go on. The System and I still need that Titan." Jin reiterated. Chapter 675 A Big Mistake Claire arrived earlier than expected at the store, allowing both Rei and Jin to reconvene once again in the conference room instance. Rei handed Claire the documents to take a look at Studio Mashi''s expenditure records, and she was quite shocked at what she was looking at. "Isn''t this one of the few more popular animation studios in Japan? Are they really in such a dire state?" Claire asked. Both men were surprised that Grandma Yuan''s secretary knew a thing or two about the studio. The serious women certainly did not seem the type to watch anime. "Let''s say that their previous CEO was not really the cleanest person in the studio. He had been embezzling a large portion of money before he ran away. Not many know about the situation since they''ve done their best to cover it up. I happen to have a connection there, and he begged me to help the studio. They''ve been struggling ever since, and the movie I am making is currently the only project they are working on and is somewhat their only lifeline." "So you''re expanding into movies now, Jin? That is a very risky move to play, even more so considering that this one''s an overseas studio." Claire warned as she took some time to study the numbers after taking a brief. Unsurprisingly, Claire confirmed that the studio was bound to fail without a LOT of additional budget coming in. "I am not too sure about the Japanese laws with regards to overseas investment, but saving this studio is nigh impossible. Even if you inject in extra cash, it''s less than certain that you will break even. You can forget about seeing any profit from it unless the upcoming movie that Rei is mentioning will become a multimillion dollar hit. And I''m talking USD, not yuan or yen. It is very highly likely that you will experience a loss." Claire concluded. "What about if I hypothetically create a movie studio and hire those peeps instead?" Jin asked Claire shrugged at that particular idea but humoured him nonetheless: "I still can''t see you incur anything but losses. Nevertheless, that way you won''t have to worry that they waste the money and you will have control over the studio. Whatever the case, it''s not your responsibility to save any random Tom, Dick and erm in this case, Sato-san from their dying business. If you plan on doing that, I can only conclude that Grandma Yuan had misplaced her faith in you as someone unfit to make sound business decisions." Rei felt devastated by the sound of her analysis. "Rei, are you able to get Studio Mashi to send over the incomplete work? Maybe we can still finish from there and publish it ourselves?" Jin suggested yet the manga artist wasn''t on board. "I am choosing Studio Mashi because of their prestige in details and plot as well as their dedication to complete the project. I am not going to hand it over it to some Tom, Dick and in this case, Xiao Ming to complete their work." Rei was fully adamant on it. "Then my advice to you, Jin, is to not take this deal. You are walking in a financial death trap because of your friend. Let me repeat that you have no obligation to fulfil his request." Claire did not know the whole situation, but she had been through enough to see that trying to save Studio Mashi would be a big mistake. Contrary to her appearance, she did watch a few of their movies while younger and loved their characters. She would definitely be sad to know that the studio might have to close down due to bad internal office politics. However, that did not mean she would allow Jin to make a wrong business decision to save it. "Unfortunately, I do owe him an obligation to save the studio, and that is why I also need your help." Jin became extremely shameless when asking for Claire''s help. "Why should I? I have enough on my plate as is. My only helping you are limited to things connected to Grandma Yuan. This does not extend to helping you solve the problems of your friends." Claire replied until Jin dangled his trump card in front of her. "In return, I can let you learn more about the System. Perhaps it can enhance your skills and traits too." Jin said out loud, and Claire was dumbfounded. How could he offer something like that so casually to an outsider? "Watch your words. I have no idea what you are talking about." Claire pretended not to hear it until Jin had clarified the white elephant in the room. "He is already under the influence of the System, and to be honest, he isn''t a friend. More of a colleague." Jin did not say much, especially when ''controlling'' isn''t the best of words to convince someone to join them. "What? But judging from the conversation we had, he seemed to be in a different profession from you. Movie directing? Some animation artist?" Claire was getting frustrated that someone that simple was able to be exposed to the System. Why not her? "I am a Manga Artist, and I actually hailed from another world. You know like those transmigration fantasies?" Rei decided to speak the truth out and instead, incurred the opposite effect. Claire could not make any sense from this. Was this just some sort of out of season April Fool''s joke or was this after all an elaborate plot to get her to join Jin? "Look. Things are really that simple. He''s truly from another world and simply a typical engineer from his original world. Not some magic wielding super crazy powerful cultivator or that sort." "¡­ Fine. Show me his creations, and I''ll believe you." Claire folded her arms, wanting some proof. "You claimed that you owe him an obligation, which indicates that he must have already created something for you in return." Claire''s demand made Jin slightly cautious. "You see, if we show you his works, it will expose even more things about this particular System I have. Until you give me your word and sign a temporary contract, I am not allowed to give you any more information." Jin tried to explain kindly as he had vastly underestimated Claire''s reaction. The secretary sighed as she picked up the just materialised temporary contract and read the terms briefly. She quickly realised that there were many underlying meanings to the contract''s term. "I see this contract has been vetted by a well versed lawyer. There''s a lot of double meanings in the terms despite its outward simplicity." Even if that was the case, she was innately and insanely curious about this particular System that Jin was hiding. Grandma Yuan had always kept a mysterious fa?ade whenever this topic was breached, and it always made Claire feel left out when Yuan and Jin talked about it. She desired to know what made the System so special that it could have enabled a boy with seemingly normal qualifications to become so outstanding in a mere matter of months. "Fine, I will sign but only on the condition that you limit this to today. If you presumably can really brainwash me, then I will accept the specified consequences." Claire demanded, so Jin overwrote the time limit on the contract limiting it to midnight of January 1st. Upon signing, Claire felt that something entered past her entire body as if something took a long look into her soul. Chapter 676 One Day Contrac "What is this?" Claire exclaimed when she saw the Salvaging Golem, as well as a number of Orcs and Goblins in the space crew team, laid down their work to greet the three of them. "Is this another one of your Dungeon Instances? Why are the monsters working as if they were real?" "They are real. Don''t hurt their feelings." Rei defended his colleagues as they went further in towards the workshop hangar. There they presented the two Salvaging Golems which were currently being moved into the C-130 Space Explorer for the space salvage mission. Claire could not comprehend what was going on and to complicate things, Rei had asked one of the gobs, Deckerhand to pilot the Salvaging Golem and give their guest a bit of a ¡­demonstration. Deckerhand happily answered the call for a demonstration in a moment''s notice and took the opportunity to show off some magic by flying towards the Salvaging Golem unit. The other goblin pilots and engineers then assisted Deckerhand to unlock the golem from its mobile pod which was used to transport it to the C-130 Space Explorer. With some whizzing and steam coming out of the golem, it subsequently came to life and walked out of the mobile pod as if it was perfectly natural. When it proceeded towards Claire, she could see the golem moving very fluidly, indicating no wasted movement, nor balance problems which still plagued their world''s current field of robotics. Next Deckerhand showed off the various modalities like the power cutter and skillfully cut a piece of scrap metals into two with ease. She was even able to interact with the pilot within the golem, and it once again assured her that this was no dungeon instance. All this while, she had assumed that Jin had been using some highly scripted AI for his dungeons, probably somehow gotten from this mysterious system. This, however, entirely destroyed her conception of the dungeon supplier. "I told you he''s an engineer. Just not the same kind we have here on our Earth." Jin thought Claire would be amazed by the invention of the technology for a Salvaging Golem which was undoubtedly ahead of their world''s mechatronics. He did not realise that she was in disbelief because of him. After receiving a glass of water and calming down a bit, Rei and Jin subsequently gave her a brief summary of how they agreed upon to the obligation that the dungeon supplier had mentioned. "I see, so in return for these golems, you have to make sure his movie studio is running smoothly or at least able to operate long enough to get the movie published," Claire asked, and they both nodded their heads. "The System can aid you in financial analysis and prediction until the end of the day as per contract," Jin responded. "You do know that there are other people who are more capable of making this kind of decision than me?" Claire inquired. "That may be, but do you think they will share your concern for my business? They won''t understand how my business operates, leading them to underestimate our abilities. I need someone who won''t make this kind of mistake!" Jin answered, hoping to make Claire feel important. "Hmph. I am concerned because you are dealing with Grandma Yuan''s responsibilities. Not because I am genuinely concerned about you." Claire stated while looking him into his eyes. However, she had already signed the contract, and it would be too much of a shame to just leave without doing anything. Hence she asked Jin where she should do the calculations. "Demon Exorcist Claire, pass User your laptop." The System''s voice suddenly boomed, scaring Claire for a moment and causing her to enter into a defensive stance. "Oh yeah, I totally forgot that you are a Demon Exorcist Instructor as well," Jin mumbled to himself as he realised that in case he was able to recruit Claire over to his side even if it was periodical. He wouldn''t just get someone proficient with finances but also meant the store would have additional firepower to their arsenal even though he did not know what she was capable of. "System will bestow Demon Exorcist Claire with the abilities of the Financing Sub System for a duration of two hours. After which, the System will cut your connection to the Sub System and terminate your contract by proceeding with the brainwashing." The System announced, and Jin was surprised that the ultimate cheapskate was actually friendly enough to allow Claire to test out a new Sub System. "Fine by me. Am I correct to assume that this is something similar to a trial run, which could decide whether I am able to enter the System''s good grace?" Claire asked out loud since she was unsure where to look for an answer. "Affirmative. Should Demon Exorcist Claire be able to find an appropriate solution with the help of the Sub System given to you, considerations will be given for your candidacy as a User for the Financing Sub System." The System responded and immediately, Claire passed the laptop to Jin. All Jin had to do was to place his phone on the laptop. A slight bluish glow emanated through the circuits of the electronic device before he returned it to Claire. She decided to open it while standing, but suddenly a flow of information zoomed past her, seemingly giving her all the supposed insights upon the analytical predictions the System had made. In an instant, Claire demanded a chair and a table to start working. Both of them lead her to the workshop where she unhesitatingly pushed an entire pile of working prototypes to the ground and started furiously typing on the laptop. (The Orcs nearly cried when their precious delicate prototypes toppled off the floor.) While her financial knowledge had been a tad rusty, the laptop that she was using took care of that. It gave her the ability to work out all the different possibilities and patterns Studio Mashi was able to undertake. "Looks like the System had all the tools, but lacked the person to correctly utilise it." Rei deduced the current situation and Jin felt the same way as well. It did previously stated that the knowledge that the System held onto were bountiful, considering the Panda Clan used to a trading conglomerate. The only thing it lacked was probably the financial understanding of the current modern world. With Claire as the bridge between the System and its unhinged access of the internet (including the dark web), she was able to create various models to understand and potentially rescue Studio Mashi from its would-be fate of bankruptcy. The two males were simply in awe at how fast Claire was. All those movies portraying hacking by just pushing randomly on some keys on the keyboard would pale in shame to what she was able to do. Not even 15 minutes later, Claire had come up with a solution. "It''s borderline illegal in my opinion and according to the Sub System¡­ but it will work. Even the local and Japanese authorities should not be able to find out about it so soon. However, in order to make this plan work without too much hassle while maintaining the studio''s reliability¡­ we have to certain decisions quickly." Claire took a deep breath before declaring. "I need Rei to become the President of Studio Mashi." Chapter 677 Financing Sub System Tryou "Excuse me, WHAT?!" Rei was totally confused by Claire''s sudden declaration. "I have run various mathematical models using the Financing Sub System, and that is the most promising solution I could come up with. Now I also understand why the System gave me only two hours. Looks like it knows what to do, just that, it needed someone like me to verify its methods." Claire stated as she moved the chair back a little and presented the predictive analysis to Rei and Jin. While Rei had no idea what was going on, Jin had grasped a basic understanding of the whole model in front of him. (After all, studying software engineering in university would be impossible without knowledge on statistical models.) "How could the mathematical model be an upward trend? I thought the System projected significant losses when it took into account the movie and the expenses along with it? Wait a minute, where did all these stocks come from? I don''t remember seeing them in any expenditure report when I last looked at it." Jin exclaimed as he strained his eyes a little further down the report, and Claire laughed. "The Financing Sub System is totally a cheat. It managed to salvage anything with regards to Studio Mashi in mere seconds. So I collated public expenditure reports from the Japanese authorities and private transactions done by the previous bigwigs in the studio." Claire praised the tool for being the next essential thing needed for financial espionage. If it ever landed in the wrong hands, whoever held it could become stupidly rich or even destroy the world. She now understood the power and responsibility of possessing the Financing Sub System and why the System would go to drastic lengths to include a brainwash clause to remove the memory of using the Sub System. The definition of rags to riches was extremely evident in this case, and Claire assumed that Jin must have had this Sub System to maintain the expanses he incurred building the Tree Mall and such. "Huh, no. Today is the first time I ever heard about such a thing like the Financing Sub System existing." Jin replied honestly to Claire and told her that all of those were through hard work and determination (Naturally, with quite a bit of the higher powers), causing her to widen her eyes. "Then, how did you afford the Tree Mall? Or those high quality weapons, armour and even food?" She thought that she was being lied to, but there was no air of disbelief around him. There was also no reason for him to bluff Claire at this point in time. "If we manage to get past this ordeal, I promise to show you more." "Fine. Anyway, coming back to the topic at hand. I''m now sure that the past CEO of the studio must have realised that his firm was bound to head towards this particular bankruptcy situation. So he started buying out stocks on the market using the studio''s name. Maybe to insulate the firm and allow it to weather any economic crisis since stock markets behaved something similar to our seasons. There will always be a hot period and cold period, it just a matter of when." Claire began explaining. "I think he had made the buying of stocks conspicuous enough to show itself if one had decided to dig for it. But at the same time, it was hiding the intention in plain sight so no one would misuse the stocks that were bought under Studio Mashi''s name." "So, I assume you want me to become the President or CEO of Studio Mashi in order to have access and authorisation to such funds?" Rei questioned, and she nodded her head. It was the few ways to ensure that the studio had cash. "Considering that Rei was their one and only big time investor in recent times and you have been working closely with them for all this time, I see no qualms about you trying to get the position." "Feel free to mention that you are personal friends with a secret investor who will temporarily lift them out of the ''poverty'' stage. It is far better to use you as the intermediary than having Jin as an outsider try to control it. The laws can get a bit iffy when it crosses national borders." Claire explained. "But I have no money left, and I don''t think Jin has the financial capability to buy over the studio." Rei reiterated. "Yeah, and judging on how much they need for their project and expenses ¡­ at most I can only finance the first month or so without breaking into my reserves. Still, I would-" "What are you talking about? Your financial profile is in an absolute mess. Terrible. Chaotic or if you allow me to be blunt for a moment completely fucked up. It''s a blessing in disguise for you to have been able to survive up till now and earn a profit. (If only she knew how much of a cut the System itself took¡­) You are in dire need of someone to take care of your money properly." Claire scolded Jin, and her words pierced straight into his heart. "You might be a terrific dungeon supplier with the power of the System at your side and maybe a decent boss -I don''t know, since I have yet to interact with you on a daily basis. But it looks like the myth is true. Every kind hearted boss is a piss poor boss." Claire said as she adjusted her glasses. "So, what''s the plan if Boss Jin is unable to help me?" Rei questioned, and Claire smirked. "Remember why I said that I understood the rationale of the System giving me only two hours? In less than a few minutes, the US stock market trading hours will be open, and I have already preset out orders for some stuff." "Huh?" Jin could not comprehend what was going on. "Along with the Financing Sub System, I was given a few shares which the System had in its possession of. Though they were just blue chip shares, I guess it is testing me if I could make a turnover with this." "No, I meant¡­do you play the stock market on a regular basis or was this because the Financing Sub System gave you such abilities to do that?" Jin questioned. "Don''t you know? I am not just a Demon Exorcist Instructor and secretary to Grandma Yuan. I was an expert in asset and equity management for international banks, done a double degree for business and accounting. Sorry that I lied to you previously since I need to find out your intention." Claire was not apologetic a single bit as she stared at the laptop screen. "Oh, and I learned the ways of the stock market myself. Didn''t I tell you, you can''t possibly afford me? So, count yourself lucky that I decided not to charge you for any of this as thanks for letting me be exposed to the System." Claire replied as she waited for the stock market to open in a few moments. When the trading hours were opened, a single button on her laptop allowed her to start the selling of her blue chip shares with the aid of the Sub System. Chapter 678 Black Stock Marke Clicks and beeps from the laptop were filling the room. The screen was full of moving graphs, and Claire was switching between various windowed applications to maximise her efficiency in flipping the blue chip shares. Unlike usual corporate banks who had operators and dealers to sell the stock, the Sub System itself eliminated the middlemen functioning as a stockbroker. It initially seemed inconceivable, especially since the security, flow of the money and shares were tightly regulated, but most people might not consider that there was a black market even for the stock market. (or had knowledge of its existence.) Those blue chip shares might not mean much in the normal market since they were mostly associated with smaller companies. However, its a totally different story on the black stock market. The blue chips were ironically the shares of famous public multinational companies, and that meant one blue chip could potentially go up for millions per share. It should be noted that Claire had been limited to accessing their own world''s black market. The Sub System had yet to release the rights for her to participate in the interworld stock market or, potentially even more lucrative, the interworld''s black stock market. Those stocks were as volatile as a ticking time bomb. One wrong move and it could cause a chain reaction to blow up the participating companies in that interworld black market; making their stocks to plummet while others rise. It was seriously not for the weak hearted and many rich corporate companies who tried to enter that market had been viciously ripped apart by the big sharks. Of course, the Financing Sub System would be very cautious before making such moves, but it did not hurt for the System and its counterparts to dream about it. "The US Black Stock Market only has an hour and a half for its opening trading hours. The hours are really tight because the impacts from this particular black market will inadvertently ripple down to the public stock market. Shanghai''s Black Stock Market opens after the US Black Stock Market closes etc. The black stock markets then rotate around the 12 most economically powerful countries in the world, leaving out one or two for the day." The Financing Sub System stated loudly through the laptop to explain to Rei and Jin. (Some of the Goblins and Orcs who were mildly interested in it initially, quickly dissipated after failing to understand what was going on.) "The riskier the bet, the more enticing it is. I''ve always heard rumours about the Black Stock Market and how it''s only something for the privileged few. I never considered myself participating in it. Congratulations Jin, it seems without us knowing you have become part of the 0.001%." Claire made fun of Jin despite knowing the fact that they entered the Black Stock Market due to the powers of the Financing Sub System. She had obviously seen the state of his finances as soon as she had gotten access to the Financing Sub System. "What? No! I bet the System and Kraft made the access possible. I clearly don''t have that much reserve. Maybe the System has it? I mean it has been ripping me off for months." Jin did not understand the teasing and tried to deny it while Claire continued ridiculing him about it. This multitasking did not affect her focus on the markets, and she still made precise adjustments on the amount to sell and buy. In less than 10 minutes, she had already earned 2 million USD. To Jin, this sum was already a lot of money, but Claire begged to differ. She considered it far from enough for their plans and continued to push forth buying and selling. Surprisingly, the Sub System not only kept track of her overall sales but also advised her to change her tactics or choose to invest in other companies every once in a while. "Damn, and here I thought I was cunning enough already," Claire spoke unconsciously with a wide smile. She was clearly enjoying this challenge despite the visible beads of sweat rolling down her neck and the furious typing and moving of her mouse. Quickly an hour had passed. She ultimately made five million USD before she decided to call it off. Rei and Jin had only watched the ''Overall Profit'' number rise and fall and had been in a roller coaster of emotions. Finally, they had the chance to calm their hearts, only to see a few sudden major losses in that one hour. They thought that Claire was going to lose it all yet to their surprise, the newest candidate for the Financing Sub System explained that it was a bait to throw off her scent. (As if they understood the real meaning of that.) After paying the Financing Sub System 20% of the profit to cover its expenses such as the initial blue chips shares and other utilities, they were left with 4 million USD and Rei believed that it should more than enough to tide through for the movie studio. "What are you talking about? I am taking a million for myself. Take it as the stock broker''s fees." Claire''s smile turned more wicked, making her appear more like Grandma Yuan, yet Jin accepted her exorbitant fee. "The Financing Sub System rated your capability with a 2.9 out of 5 and qualified you to become a temporary Sub System User. For repeated use of the Financing Sub System in the future, Demon Exorcist Claire may have to sign another more permanent contract." "So after all that, I get a measly 2.9? This is the first time I received such a bad score ever since university. Damn, your system is strict." Claire felt hurt that she was only deemed as above average by the System. She sincerely believed earning 5 million USD would have been a good enough demonstration. "While the System is pleased that the Financing Sub System was able to find a suitable candidate, the methods used had been too textbook. It was successful this time, but there is no guarantee of what will happen if something unexpected arises in the future. System recommends Demon Exorcist Claire to learn more tricks." "Sigh, fine by me. Anyways, now that we have the money, I shall use the remaining 20 minutes or so to create an offshore shell company to park the money for you to use. Rei, three million USD should be enough as collateral for the rights to become acting president. Call me if everything works out. Afterwards, I will help you get the shares the previous Studio President had left. Then the money portion should be accounted for, and we will be equally happy." Claire informed the two, as she was looking through her newly received contract. (The System had sent it to her via email.) Included was a simulation app for a fake black stock market, allowing her to practice on her skills. Although a little hurt, she acknowledged the problems she had faced during the intense one hour worth of buying and selling. It had been such a rush that she would not forget it anytime soon and Claire was looking forward to hopefully experience it again. Not to mention, the extra million in her pocket. (No wonder, the System was extremely stingy in letting people use the system.) Chapter 679 A Million Dollars "Is it really wise to let her go off with a million dollars just like that?!" Rei questioned blatantly right in front of Claire and Jin. As the current System User, he was undoubtedly jealous given the amount she was going to keep. Fortunately, the System clarified the situation and cleared the air of any animosity. "Demon Exorcist Claire will not be able to claim the one million USD in a single transaction. It will bring up red flags and might cause trouble for her, Grandma Yuan and the User." The System stated, and somehow Claire began to reveal a chuckle. "Hahaha! Did you really believe I can transfer one million USD into my bank just like that? Maybe it would be possible if I was some big shot or working for the Triads. Unlike you, I don''t have a System. I am just a demon exorcist instructor and secretary to Grandma Yuan. If she says that she is a nobody, then that naturally applies to me too." Claire had fun teasing the two males in front of her. "Besides, having that much money lying around is bound to alert not just the bank but the secret police too. I do not want them to come after me for no particular reason. So, I have placed that money in a shell company and put myself on ''their'' payroll. It will write a partial sum for me to withdraw every two months to various bank accounts I own." Claire folded her arms. "Not to mention, those terrible personal taxes that I''d have to declare after I receive the payout." Her voice was filled with dread, yet it was apparent that Claire had the ability to evade those taxes but still decided to pay them. He wondered if there was something that led to Claire acting like such a law abiding citizen or if she was just morally obedient. "In any case, you should check with Xiong Da if he happens to know any good Japanese lawyers that will help facilitate the transfer of rights for Rei." Claire shared the next step even though she felt it might be a bit unnecessary. Still, it was always better to be overly prepared. "At this point, I think they will accept any help that comes along their way. Just go through the correct procedure and get yourself some insurance so that everything proceeds smoothly. Don''t forget you are technically an outsider and should continue to act the part of a potential investor despite your relationship with them." Claire added, and Jin agreed to message Xiong Da for Rei. For now, the issue was settled despite the frightening move by Claire to acquire 3 million USD in an hour. "User, please be aware that while the amount of money was considerable minute in the grand scheme of the Black Stock Market, there were already eyes prying at Claire. After the last transaction, the Financing Sub System was ready to forcefully log her out before performing scrambling procedures courtesy of Foxy''s counter tracking techniques from the Abyss Web." The System quietly transmitted its message to Jin''s mind. "Is that why you rated her poorly?" Jin questioned as Claire still continued to give some last minute advice to Rei. She was obviously over the top after earning that amount of money, and he guessed that she was on an adrenaline rush right now. "Affirmative. Demon Exorcist Claire does possess some promising skills, but her unkempt aggressiveness might cause the System and User trouble if she does not learn to act more carefully. In the Black Stock Market, System quotes the following saying from a previous member of the System: ''Gambling is like hunting. You need to wait, give it time. For it is time that rules all gambles. Big success is not something to strive towards. Because people will start to follow you, learn from you, be wary of you and eventually take your prey, your family and ultimately your livelihood!''" "But you only gave her a few blue chip shares to begin with. Her turnover was five mil!" Jin pretended to laugh, but in his mind, he was arguing with the System. "Financing Sub System stated that the turnover she made was average. It analysed that there had been other companies she could have placed her shares in to flip in the very last minute." The System replied which made Jin curious as to why it did not advise Claire instead. "It was a test for Claire, and there was no guarantee that the Financing Sub System was totally correct despite its excellent predictive analysis." "Because it''s the Black Stock Market? Anything unpredictable can happen?" "Correct. Does User recall the September 11 terror attack at the US world trade centre? The European Stocks had been falling steadily for the past few months, but evidently, there were rush buying of shares from those companies. The moment the plane crashed, somehow the European company stocks went up drastically along with the Asian Stocks." "While most of the world believed that it was genuinely a terror plot, they never knew that it was all about the money behind the scenes. Speculations, with substantial evidence, highly suggested that the attack was planned to target the overwhelming US market." "Wow, that''s dirty. Very dirty." "Ever since then, the Black Stock Market got even¡­in your saying, ''dirtier''. Major companies were secretly sending businessmen on corporate sabotage missions or even terror attacks on a regular ''irregular'' basis. In fact, as part of the revenge plot from the terror attack, the United States was the first to kickstart the financial crisis in 2007 to push everyone down from their high horses." "So that is why you have to limit Claire using the omnipotent Financing Sub System despite your anti-scrambling procedures. No wonder Kraft who''s literally a godly hacker refuses to use it to make money for my business." Jin thought to himself while he pretended to be on the phone to continue the conversation with the System. "Indeed. Especially when User''s store is still too small and unworthy of the trouble it is bound to attract. Besides, User is already a power magnet for unlucky encounters. System needs to reduce such possibilities whenever able to." The System noted, and Jin rolled his eyes. At that point, his phone vibrated for real, and so he decided to pick up the call. "Boss Jin! Ke Loong here. When are we going to discuss the portal instances that we previously talked about? Oh, also Happy New Year to you!" Ke Loong was so overly excited that he practically screaming. Jin needed to put the phone at least 10 centimetres away to continue his call. "And I also heard of that¡­peculiar circumstance that you were forced into by Tiger Clan Head Yuan Ba." Ke Loong emphasised much on the last part. "I understand. If you have the time, I''ll be more than happy to meet you later during dinner. I have some discussion going on right biw, so I''ll come after that." Jin promised. For a change, it was Ke Loong who agreed to wait for his customer rather than the other way around. This just showed how badly Sea Mesh''s CEO wanted the portal instances to succeed. Chapter 680 Cultivation Zoos Occupants "Jin, firstly thanks for letting me experience the System. It was fu- an eye opener to me. I hope there will be more opportunities like this in the future." Claire said as Jin had already teleported Rei back to his Japanese abode to prepare his meeting with the anxious executives in Studio Mashi. "No problem. Until that time, I suggest that you play around with the app. I believe the Sub System has many more surprises in store for you." Jin smiled as they changed their conversation topic to the Cultivation Zoo instance. Since Claire was around, both of them went through the manifest and Jin noticed that most of the animals on it were particularly exotic and not the usual kind of animals that the cultivators would go for. For example, the near extinct Siberian Tigers whose numbers were hovering at less than 50 in the world because of the increased monster sightings. "Shouldn''t you give me something more common? Like normal looking orange tigers? Or some easy to feed monkeys rather than this¡­Greater Bamboo Lemur? I doubt I am capable of handling such animals in my instance and having a variety of exotic animals will only bring in criticism to the cultivation zoo." Jin commented as he looked further down into the list and also saw a pair of Sumatran Rhinos. "What are you talking about? Your instances are so lifelike, it provides exactly what all these animals need to breed, nurture and live! Not to mention, time in the dungeon instances can be manipulated, right? So, from my understanding, you will be able to save these animals once again¡­though you are correct. If the animals do die, your reputation will suffer tremendously." Claire gave a slight nod while rubbing her chin a little. "What you really want to say is that if I fail, you will haunt me because it will damage Grandma Yuan''s reputation, right? How did you even obtain such animals in the first place!? I doubt the World Wildlife Federation allows such animals to just be kept in a zoo." Jin exclaimed his anxiety out. "Exactly, but when Grandma Yuan was the one to propose the use of dungeon instances to them for the purpose of breeding the endangered animals, many of the higher ups of the federation were very sceptical¡­until they saw your instances," Claire tried to explain, thinking that the dungeon supplier was informed. Yet, Jin continued to give her a confused expression as if he had no idea how this came about. "Huh¡­ Alright. In short, they personally entered your instances and had partaken in all the various types like the battle and service instances before determining that if these much resources were spent to recreate their natural habitat, it was indeed possible to save the endangered animals." "At the same time, it will push the limits of cultivation for simliar cultivators with the similar species and perhaps create new cultivation styles in the process." "I believe they communicated that with one of your shop assistants. It must have been ¡­ermm what''s her name¡­ Ah, Yun. That haughty looking lady at the bar. She filled them up with the details and even gave them a short tour to the unbuilt cultivation zoo instance." Claire tried to recall what was being told to her by the WWF agents. "Really? I guess I was too busy for the past few weeks or so to entertain them. If they checked out the cultivation zoo instance I previously allocated and Yun had given them a tour, then everything makes sense." Jin replied, now understanding the gist of the situation. "In any case, they were also doing this in hopes of getting Grandma Yuan''s donation," Claire revealed the truth about the wildlife organisation''s ulterior motives in allowing Jin''s cultivation zoo instance to be realised. "Mainly since Grandma Yuan co-owns a big portion of Shenzhen''s Cultivation Zoo, so her donations guaranteed the continued operation of the WWF in China¡­or at least southern China." Claire continued. "Sound to me like getting donations from Grandma Yuan and being able to let the endangered animals strive in my dungeon instance was more of a win-win situation for them rather than for us." Jin didn''t sound too happy about once again being used as the pawn until Claire corrected him. "Wrong, being able to obtain those animals will bring your dungeon shop up a notch, not to mention if you actually succeed in breeding them, it will bring major news and reputation to your place. High risk, big rewards. This is a long term investment by Grandma Yuan, hoping that you can continue her legacy in supporting the cultivation zoo scene." "I still don''t get the reasoning behind her support though." Jin felt perplexed that he was being shoved with an enormous responsibility even though he knew that this was extremely beneficial for him in the long run. "While this is System''s pure speculation, it''s based on past evidence of past Sub System User Yuan''s behaviour. The most likely reason why she may want for User to take on the cultivation zoo is therefore to fulfil Yun''s former dream of becoming a Cultivation Zoo executive, taking over Grandma Yuan''s position. In conclusion, User might be used as a proxy for Yun, in hopes she might regain her broken memories." "I see¡­ and here I thought Grandma Yuan was bitter that the System created Yun." Jin deduced, and the System did not deny such an accusation. "System is 99.99% sure that past Sub System User Yuan continues to have a deep seated hatred not just against the System. She also blamed the System for the actions taken, resulting in Previous User Ming having to undertake such drastic actions. She condemned the System for allowing Ming to unleash his anger willfully against the Royal Zodiac Clans and not turning time back further." The System stated as if it had turned over a new leaf when it was evident to Jin that the System also harboured some resentment towards Grandma Yuan. (Despite its rather monotonous voiceover, Jin was getting more proficient in deducing how the System felt based on its phrasing.) "Well, if it''s for Yun, I''ll see what I can do for her too. Sometimes she feels so lost that I do not know whether it was her being her or if she was troubled by the loss of her memory." Jin decided, assigning personal value to the work he would do to ensure this particular cultivation zoo instance to become a success. "Other than that, I have a list of candidates for you to choose. Judging from what had happened earlier, I figure you''ll be giving them contracts too?" The way Claire asked it was obvious she wanted to more accurately know if everyone contracted would be given the opportunity to possess a Sub System. (The answer was an obvious no.) "I''ll give the contracts out to the people I accept, but not just anyone can possess a Sub System." Jin alleviated her fears of a potential increased number of Sub System Users and perhaps the possession of the Financing Sub System which had given her a taste of how thrilling it was to gamble once again in the stock markets. "I see. I apologise for having asked for my own selfishness. Anyways, take a look at these people. They all have experience in Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo, and all of them were given the seal of approval by Grandma Yuan." Claire said as they returned to the conference room instance and spread out the number of files on the table for Jin to peruse. Chapter 681 Consequences of the Portal Device Jin did meet up with Ke Loong though the latter came rather late, nearly prompting Jin to cancel the meeting. Ironically Jin continued to be blissfully unaware about how many people were dying to meet up with Sea Mesh''s CEO while he was one of the only few who dared to consider cancelling a meeting with him. "Sorry, Jin! I was caught in traffic!" Ke Loong was immediately caught lying by the System as it informed the Dungeon Supplier that the roads leading to them were less than crowded at this point in time. Regardless, Jin ignored what he assumed was only a white lie and welcomed him to the Restaurant Instance at the first class carriage. "Ahh, any new additions on the menu? If not, I''d like the same old Tonkatsu Curry Rice." Ke Loong asked the penguin waiter who subsequently introduced a few new items for Ke Loong to test out. Eventually, he ordered everything new as well as the Tonkatsu Curry Rice. "You sure you can finish everything?" Jin queried with an amused look on his face. "Oh come on, don''t underestimate me. I had a suspicion that I was going to eat here tonight, and have already prepared my stomach for the delicious food. You can never stop me from enjoying all your delicacies in this lifetime!" Ke Loong gloated on about his superiorly capable stomach, able to stuff lots of food without ending up round as people. (Jin obviously saw that the CEO was already in denial with regards to the ''non existing'' roundness he had at the front.) While waiting for the food, they naturally jumped into the topic of the portal instance. Ke Loong informed him that he had already acquired a number of empty shophouses, outlets or storefronts to facilitate the portal instances. "The places are a little small, but otherwise they should be good to go." Ke Loong showed him some blueprints as well as some pictures taken from their interior before bringing up one interesting topic. "Recently, I had the privilege to be invited to a high class private Christmas party and found myself talking with a few ministers from the central government, particularly the Minister of Transport." When Ke Loong mentioned the minister, Jin had already braced himself for the inevitable. He had thought about his dungeon store or to maybe improve the travel for his potential customers. Never had it cross his mind that his portals could impede the current national transport system. Unlike what his customers have considered, Jin had been too busy with other stuff, happy to let others handle this matter. Needless to say, it did not dawn on him about the implications of having a major portal travel network on a national level. Sure, if done right, China could possibly save lots of money or even redevelop its current transportation, cementing its capability to be the world''s best industrial partner for manufacturing. However, at the same time, such redevelopment would definitely reduce manual labour or disrupting jobs like drivers and delivery couriers in the long term scenario starting with the transportation industry. While all these consequences were suddenly flying around in the dungeon supplier''s head, he let Ke Loong finish his statement. "I hinted at our collaboration with the Minister of Transport, and he was rather fascinated by what he discovered. The minister was so intrigued that he immediately called over a few secretaries from the other ministry to take a look at our project." Ke Loong seemed very excited to reveal such news to Jin. However, the dungeon supplier did not share his enthusiasm for the government wishing to interfere in this private company''s undertaking. It was true that Jin had allowed Ke Loong to his own devices in order to further develop, manufacture and promote the portal devices but he had never thought that the government had eyes on the current situation. It should have been years into the future, until the concept would be proven to be effective, so how come it felt like yet another obstacle had appeared above his shoulders. "The very next day, the secretaries from various ministries as well as a few in-house experts had come to visit us to take a look at the portal device. I personally demonstrated the portal teleporting, and their expressions were priceless. Of course, a few of the experts remained sceptical despite trying it themselves. They thought that this was just a developing prototype." Ke Loong did show a bit of anger at their distrust since he wanted to show off the power and the extent of the portal device. "That is why I had ordered two portal devices to be connected from Shenzhen and all the way to Germany where we manufacture the devices. Unfortunately, we cannot activate any of the devices unless permitted by your researchers who hold the activation keys to it. Obviously, they did not allow such a test without Head Researcher Ayse''s prior permission. So, I had no choice but to tell the government people that it was still under construction and undergoing some quality checks." Ke Loong sighed. "Yes, and I''ve already heard that ''someone'' had tried to steal the keys from their rooms or even indirectly coerce them for it." Jin''s response was filled with anger and yet at the same time, restraint. He had just been informed about this crucial detail the CEO has seemingly ''forgotten'' to tell him. Yet, Ke Loong laughed loudly at the accusations. He decided to play it cool: "Forgive me, but at the time I had been thinking that if we can get the activation keys for the devices, I could have shown the government people how the portal devices work making them provide us with a much bigger budget. Heck, maybe they would have even offered to assist us in promoting the devices!" "And if the government has a grip of it, they will then be able to try and develop into something portable for their troops. Please don''t treat me as an idiot. I am not as na?ve as you might think." Jin stated with a firm voice. He was thankful that there was the failsafe step to ensure that the devices could not be activated without his permission. "But that is why you are na?ve." Ke Loong''s happy-go-lucky expression suddenly turned dead serious. "Like I said in the phone call. I know your arrangement with Tiger Lord Yuan Ba. If you do not give me the activation codes, you can say goodbye to the portal devices that you want to possess." "Heh! You seem to forget which one of us owns the real bargaining chips. Without me, you are sitting on a huge pile of expensive metal. Unless you find a way to activate it, you will be lucky if those inactive portal devices will be worth salvaging." Jin challenged Ke Loong. "You sure you want to offend me?" Ke Loong threatened Jin as if he had a trump card waiting under his sleeve. "I am Sea Mesh''s CEO. I have a major influence over public figures. You have nothing but this odd tree mall. If need be, I can demand your assassination right now or even burn this mall down." Ke Loong''s true colours seemed to be finally out, and Jin sighed, regretting having considered his business partner as a decent person. Ke Loong was sure he was winning the conversation but decided to reveal his ''so called'' trump card for greater effect. He threw down multiple photos of Lynn and Qiu Yue walking the same route. It seemed as if he had discovered the Sub System User''s old homes and families. Without a word, the Sea Mesh CEO leaned back and shrugged his shoulders. Jin understood the meaning of his actions. If Ke Loong ever wished the death of his employees and their relatives, such a thing was most likely only one phone call away. It was that simple. The silence continued to permeate throughout the room for some time. Seeing Jin still unresponsive after a dozen seconds after his open threat, Ke Loong decided to open his mouth once more. This was enough stick for the day, and now it was time for the bait to reel Jin into his control. However, the moment he moved his mouth, he suddenly felt that something was seriously wrong. The air in the room had gotten heavy with the intent of murder¡­ and it was not coming from Jin at all. Chapter 682 Threats and Promises - Part 1 Even without much combat experience, Sea Mesh''s CEO could feel that something sharp was merely a millimetre away from his neck. It never moved away as he tried to swallow down his fear. Not just aimed at his neck, it felt like there was something pointy and sharp all around his body and away from his peripheral vision. Was he overthinking things? Overreacting since Jin had been able to defeat a Triad Boss? Yet the dungeon supplier before him continued to drink his sip of tea without a care in the world. There were no visible weapons, and he was over an arm''s length away with nothing but a cup in his hands. However, his body was denying his logical reasoning. There was something or things around him, waiting for him to make one wrong move, say one wrong word. Beads of cold sweat profusely went down his body, and the perspiration made his heartbeat even more palpable in that silent room. It wasn''t until Jin stared into Ke Loong''s eyes. "You must think I am new to this," Jin stated calmly. "I could have easily reached some sort of compromise with you. I did respect you and your company and would have been willing to comply with your demands. You could have easily just asked me for permission to activate the two portals between Germany and China for you to gain additional funding and support. Sure I would have added some conditions in it as well considering both of us are businessmen. And here I thought that we can do something to be beneficial for us both and eventually to the public too." "But for some reason, you decided to be greedy. From the first time I met you, I knew you were ambitious. Still, you always had that scent of caution around you. You made me believe that entrepreneurs of the new and old could come together and get rich together. Yet, for some reason, after mass manufacturing all of these portal devices, you seem to have changed your opinion. You decided you would prefer to keep everything for yourself, and if not for the failsafe device, I don''t even want to imagine what kind of atrocious contracts and promises you would have made. Still, I was not angry¡­we were tolerant." Jin said, and for some reason, Ke Loong thought he heard wrongly. "We¡­?" That one spoken word suddenly made the intent of murder even more explicit. He could feel as if the blades around him were already touching him even though he could not see anything. However, the intent was so heavy, he could hardly breathe another word out. "Yes, We. We thought of trying to work with outsiders, trust other people aside from the ones that were contracted under us. Heck, we''ve overlooked so many things you did. Trying to reverse engineer the cosmetic inscriptions, trying to headhunt our people. Your only saving grace so far was that you had yet to cross that final line. But that went down the drain when you showed us those photos." Jin replied solemnly. Jin snapped his fingers, and suddenly a giant mirror appeared right behind him, allowing Ke Loong to see what it was that he felt behind him. Several Minotaurs who worked under Qiu Yue and Moloch had their weapons pointed at Ke Loong, all just waiting for the command to act. At the same time, dozens of those penguin NPC waiters stood on their shoulders with their weapons at the ready. Those exact penguin waiters who had been so courteous in their mannerism and playful with the customers were filled with the same bloodlust aimed at cutting Ke Loong down. "If you think any of this is fake, feel free to test your theory. They are dying for you to do something stupid." At this time, their Penguin Waiter entered from the side of the first class carriage and placed the food they had ordered on the table. Faminished from all the meetings in the afternoon, Jin did not hesitate to start his dinner. "I thought you''d at least be smart enough not to wield your threats in other people''s home. It was rather rude and arrogant of you to do so." Jin berated the other, and right now Ke Loong could not deny any of those allegations. "Psst, don''t forget to add that ''eternal pain is not impossible''. My experience tells me he is just one threat away from soiling his pants." Kraft''s chi transmission advised him. The old foxy man sat in the corner, filming the entire process. He was quite proud of Jin to have asked him to stay on standby in case Ke Loong decided to do something funny. After being on the receiving end of the subtle blackmailing from the Police Captain, Jin had begun to review his outside contacts and promised himself to act warier against them. While they were great allies to have in times of need, the dungeon supplier had learnt his lesson that they would ultimately wish to fulfil their own agendas too. No merchant or businessman would be kind to one of its own. After all, theirs was a dog eat dog world. Sea Mesh''s CEO did not feel like testing his luck. He had no doubt that any abrupt movements or just the attempt to release any chi would leave him in small pieces. But instead of retaliating, Ke Loong started giggling, which turned into a peal of innocent laughter. Jin gave them a sign to not act yet, and somehow this laughter suddenly loosened the heavy atmosphere. Nevertheless, the Minotaurs and Penguins did not drop their guard. They had a job to do, and they would be ready if the situation demanded it. "Excellent! Truly excellent! When Mr Know-It-All told me to test you every once in a while, I certainly did not expect that you might have been prepared to this degree. Guess I should not make the test so obvious." Ke Loong laughed heartily as he slowly stretched out his hand on the table. Only now did Jin notice that his last finger was missing his distant phalange. "This finger was cut to make an eternal pact to my master and comrades, including Mr Know-It-All." Ke Loong admitted that he had lied to Jin. He even revealed that most of the things publicly known about him were not true. "Why are you showing me this?" Jin asked with a confused look. Ke Loong just continued to smile, yet it started to deform into a sickening grin. "Cut the tip of your finger and offer it to me. That way, we shall be considered equals. I swear to you on the life of my master and my comrades that I shall become your ally for days to come no matter what." Ke Loong said with a shocking amount of determination and Jin furrowed his brows at that idea. "That is my pledge and promise to you, Jin." "You sure?" "Yes." Jin summoned out Bam in katana form and without hesitation, cut off his entire last finger. Now it was Ke Loong''s turn to be in disbelief. Despite the emanating pain he was feeling, Jin did not allow himself to flinch as he presented his bleeding severed finger to the other. Chapter 683 Threat and Promises - Part 2 It took some time for Ke Loong to process what has just happened. Only then did he slowly start to realise what exactly was wrong with the whole situation¡­ "My gosh. I cannot believe I had been tricked twice in a row. I totally forgot that we are still in a dungeon instance." "I did ask for your clarification. It''s your own fault for not realising where we are." Jin gave him a grin as he wiped his bleeding hand with a towel and let the internal legendary inscription do its job of slowly regrowing the lost finger. (Although the feeling of recovery was just as painful and strange as before, at least this time it was slightly tolerable.) "I guess you did place me in such a precarious circumstance that it fizzled my train of thought. Still, a promise is a promise. It''s not like we actually need your finger for anything. It''s all about the conviction to actually sacrifice a part of yourself, and you have more than proven yourself worthy. Do you wish for a blood pact or something similar as proof of my promise?" Ke Loong asked, and Kraft took the opportunity in the shadows to ''quietly'' shout in Jin''s mind. "Contract! Now! I''ve already prepared it for you and asked the system to place it in your storage watch when you did that badass yakuza shit. Though it makes me wonder, is his master or organisation part of the Yakuza?" Kraft''s thoughts were intensely loud in Jin''s head, making him look as if he had a sudden migraine. "What''s wrong?" Ke Loong asked as a sign of concern. "Nothing, I thought the pain was dulling, but instead, there was a sharp sting afterwards." Jin lied as he looked at his hand, but Ke Loong laughed at his statement. "Hahah! Well, now I know that you really did your part in an attempt to sacrifice your finger. The pain will go off soon enough¡­ But considering that you seem to be already recovering by whatever dungeon owner rights that you have, I seriously envy you." Ke Loon replied while Jin took the opportunity to take out the contract from his storage watch. "What? You already have a blood contract ready for me?" Ke Loong questioned as he received the letter with two hands and started reading. At the same time, the minotaurs and penguins quietly retracted from the scene, and other fellow penguin waiters came in to clear up the mess, including replacing the meals with new, piping hot ones. "I see. This is an interesting contract. No wonder Mr Know-It-All believes in you so much despite the limited interaction." Ke Loong stated, and Jin who did not read it commented that it should be quite a fair one, considering what Ke Loong was capable of. "Quite true. Very well." Ke Loong agreed. He took out his pen and pricked his finger for blood. After which, the Sea Mesh CEO signed it and requested Jin to give him a copy whenever he was able to. Only when Jin was verifying the contract did he learn what Kraft had come up with. It was not the usual sort of contract forcing the other party to pledge their services to the System. Instead, it was a promise that Jin and Ke Loong were to be treated as equal business partners. Although the previous contract profit still stayed intact, subsequent contracts created would be made to benefit both Jin and Sea Mesh. If any of the companies ever stated to face difficulties, they would have to help each other in their times of need. There did not seem to be any no hidden clause, no double meanings or anything that might change the way either party operated. The only limitation was not to question nor probe into each other''s way of doing businesses unless it was for research or regulatory purposes. And even then it required informing the other party beforehand. Jin was initially surprised by Kraft''s contract, but when he thought carefully about it, it was still a major compromise for Sea Mesh''s CEO considering that the current Dungeons and Pandas was still young and developing. Usually, major companies would buy, absorb or take full control of minor potential companies. In this contract, they were established as equal partners for life. Though some might say it might eventually stifle the future potential growth of Dungeons and Pandas, what Jin needed now was an assurance that he could grow safely. (Especially when the latter could possibly develop into a threat to other businesses.) Even though Sea Mesh was not by any means a multi national company at the moment, being locally recognised as a national company brought credibility to Dungeons and Pandas, and that would prove to have many implications for Jin''s expansion. Not to mention, Jin believed that it could provide a reliable front for all the experimental stuff he had been doing in his store. Along with the clauses in the contract, Jin now recognised that Kraft had protected the dungeon supplier''s long term interests. Thus, he too signed with the blood from his severed finger (which was placed at the side) and completed the contract. However, with Kraft in the picture, Jin knew that while this may seem fair, a devil''s contract would always entail some unsaid parts. Although the agreement did not state anything about being in the service of the System, offering a blood contract meant that both Jin and Ke Loong''s fate were intertwined as one. Using that as the loophole logic of most blood pacts and contracts, it allowed the System to have partial surveillance of Ke Loong without him knowing. It was like a Trojan horse, forcefully entering Ke Loong''s fate lines without being in control. "There''s no need to control him. Knowing what he has is more than enough." Kraft thought to himself as he returned back to his room and started to preview what an interesting backstory Ke Loong had. Still, what he was most concerned about was the identity of Mr Know-It-All. Was he a foe who had sent them the CEO as a sign of mutual trust or an agent of destruction who had done so to make them less wary of him? "Well! That''s one way to start the new year." Ke Loong laughed as he clapped his hands and already felt famished from all the food staring back at him. "A gross understatement. Please partake in whatever you wish to eat, today''s meal is on me for the poor behaviour. I sincerely believed that you were going to blackmail me." Jin offered, and Ke Loong shook his head. "I honestly wished to see what kind of person you really were. The previous times that I met with you were mostly a fa?ade and the manufactured portal devices if needed, can be written off as liabilities, something I can afford to lose. While Mr Know-It-All did mention that you are still growing as a person and asked me to give you a chance or two, the business world is not as kind as he believes." Ke Loong was more than satisfied with Jin''s response in the impromptu test. "I wanted to see if you have the determination, the resolution to be a decent boss for the future and most importantly if you cared for your workers. I hate bosses who treat their workers like dirt and shit for their own benefits. I detest those people with all my being. If you had cracked under pressure to take my offer, I would have immediately sent word to annihilate you and redirect your workers to people who appreciate them more." Ke Loong said as he gorged himself with food. Jin only smiled at this. Even if Mr Know-It-All''s end goal was to harm Jin, the dungeon supplier was at least thankful that he had introduced a mentor for him to learn from. Chapter 684 Clan Enterprises "So, about what you said initially, was it true? Do you still plan to show various ministries the portal." Jin asked, and as they both continued to enjoy the meals. "You do know that giving it to the military is the fastest way to earn money, right? China''s budget expenditure for defence is still one of the highest in the world and given the vast amount of territory we have to cover, this will, without a doubt, benefit the Chinese military." Ke Loong argued while Jin began to wonder if this was another test. "No, no, no. No more tests. After that intense murderous intent from I don''t even know what, I am inclined to believe you have some serious tricks under your sleeve and I definitely do not plan to reencounter them." Ke Loong stated assuring Jin that he would be honest and forward with the dungeon supplier as much as he could. "If that is the case, then yes. Of course, I would love to make more money, but not this way. My researchers who I employed do this for the good of the people and not for death and destruction." (Ayse would be rolling on the floor laughing if she watched Jin saying this.) "If we use it for medical purposes, for disaster evacuation or rescue purposes, then it would be my greatest pleasure to share it with the world. However, we both know that the world is different shades of grey, not a true black and white." Jin stopped to take a drink, and after he had emptied his glass, Ke Loong offered to pour more for him. "As much as possible, I want to keep it off the hands of the government though we can sell to them at a lower price for those purposes I had mentioned. Sure, I am not naive to believe they won''t try to replicate. It''s in our blood to do so, but on the other hand, I''d like to see them try deciphering it. I have faith in my researcher''s products that they won''t be cracked that easily¡­at least for another five years or so." Jin replied with slight hesitation. "Heh! Let''s have a bet, shall we? If they really fail to make the very same top quality standard that we have, I will treat you to a grand meal with no limits." Ke Loong offered, and Jin laughed at that. "How about we take it up a notch? Let''s agree to broaden it to include all of each other''s employees as well." Jin challenged Ke Loong to another level who gladly accepted the bet. (If only he knew how many ''employees'' Jin had and would have in the future¡­) "Anyways, am I correct to assume that the demonstration you''ve promised them will be to use us for the upcoming ''training exercise'' up north?" Jin tried to link the dots together. "Yeah, I believe that''s my bad. While I knew that they would be interested in it, I did not expect them to order us to use it for ''that'' situation or in any case, for operational use." Ke Loong grumbled. "What''s really happening up north? I hardly have any details on it, even though I''ve been ''asked'' to help out." Jin tried to probe yet Ke Loong shrugged his shoulders while chewing. "All I know is that it could possibly be a giant monster horde, like those sudden ones around the world recently. Not sure why it is happening that way. I heard some rumours, mainly attributing it to climate change. Others go wilder and have some conspiracy theories that some terrorist organisation must be handling the monsters." Ke Loong told him what he knew. "Whatever the case, I did not have much care for all this, until those idiots in the government decided to use us. But it''s not wise to go against them, especially since allowing them to use it means more business interaction with them." "Which also means a bulk load of money." Jin sighed. "Unfortunately, that is true. Given how all the ministers up there are from the various Royal Clans, having extra contact with them equates to more very lucrative opportunities for us." "Do you mean to join one of them in the future?" Jin wanted to know his new ally''s modus operandi if possible. "Join them? Hell no! Have you ever interacted with those pretentious swine? They pretend like they don''t think each one of their clans is the best of the best, and you can clearly see it in their eyes that they plan to use you till the day your foot is two steps into the graveyard. They do not know how much shit and effort we have to go through to get where we are right now." Ke Loong banged his fist on the table to show his defiance. "Hahaha, I''m glad you think so. That makes two of us." Jin raised his cup in honour of Ke Loong''s words. "Really? Last I heard, you were quite mushy with the Royal Zodiac Tigers." Sea Mesh''s CEO hinted at the honorary clan member title that Jin had been awarded with. "Haha. Me disliking them does not mean I won''t use whatever chance I can get to benefit." Jin replied without any pause making Ke Loong realise that the young man had what it took to become a successful businessman. "Good. Good. I like that attitude of yours. They might be our rivals in business, but that does not mean we cannot earn favours from them. Then if you are not joining them, what are you trying to achieve?" Ke Loong''s curiosity about Jin''s ambition peaked. "Earn a sufficient level of reputation to become the number one dungeon supplier in China. After that¡­ probably the best one in the world. Who knows, maybe with enough clout, I can even start a clan enterprise of my own." "Big dreams. Big dreams. But creating a brand new clan is considered suicidal these days. Starting one is not an issue but making it famous takes a hell of a lot of effort. And once you are famous¡­ well, no one likes to share their pie." Ke Loong seemed to advise against it. "But there are other successful clans out there, right? Like the infamous Fivecents company by the Cat Clan. All I need to do is be something similar, and my best chances for that is to have a specialised tradecraft." Jin wanted to use his dungeon supplying skills as the trademark speciality of his clan enterprise. If possible, he would like to rebuild what his ancestors had done and reached their former glory. Even if it could not be done in his lifetime, though Jin believed it should be possible with the aid of the System, he would at least lay a foundation and pass it to those willing to go that extra mile. "If that is the case, I suggest you look into creating a brand new company to handle all your miscellaneous stuff while promoting Dungeons and Pandas. Right now, you seem to have a bit of everything going for you, but it is too scattered to my liking. There is not much organisation structure within it." Ke Loong was honest in his criticism. "So you''re telling me to create a parent company so that if I expand later, it will be easier to handle all the various groups?" "Something like that. But yes, it would be the best way to go forward if your ultimate goal is to create a Clan Enterprise. With the tree mall, you can create this particular parent company, and it would be easy to associate with you in the future." Suddenly the System interjected into the conversation with a name. "Panda Inc." Chapter 685 Panda Inc "Panda¡­Inc?" Jin accidentally blurted out, and Ke Loong sniggered at the name. "Sounds too generic. That is so unlike you Jin. Get something more bombastic or more eye catching, especially for the younger generations. Besides, getting another name will also be easier to identify. There''s already loads of panda named companies in the world." Ke Loong suggested and to prove his point, he did a quick search and it revealed various company names such as Panda Express, Panda Logistics, Panda Trash Recycling. "In my opinion, you could just go with Pandamonium Inc. Not only is the name not taken yet, but it sounds grand, mysterious and let''s not forget that you have an established base of customers already using that app. On top of that, you easily set it up to look that it belongs to the clan who''s actually backing you." "That''s a rather good idea, but I''ll stick to just my store for now. I have too much on my plate to create a new company." Jin admitted with a heavy heart. "But, you liked the idea of Pandamonium, right?" Ke Loong asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Well, then inform me if you change your mind and need help setting it up¡­ because as the first act of our partnership, I''ve taken the liberty and bought the right to the name Pandamonium Inc." Ke Loong was already typing furiously on his phone to tell his secretary to secure the new company name as soon as possible. Jin was surprised by the gesture and thanked him for it. Ke Loong merely said it was recompensation for the sudden test he made Jin took. "I''ll happily pass on to you when you feel ready unless you decide on something else. Sooo, what are we going to do about that police and military movement? From what I know, they plan to make at least 50% of the police force in Shenzhen participate. All their best people from the various districts and on top of that the bulk of the military. That will be at least a few thousand people using the teleportation device." Ke Loong explained the scenario. "Not to mention, we need to place an exit portal device too." "Don''t they have border guards along with their city''s police as well? If they need to involve police and the national guard from another state, then it clearly means that the threat is more severe than we were led to believe." Jin deduced the need to use their portal devices. "Besides, it does not make any real sense that they want to use our portals when they have only seen you using it once. Seriously, what would they have done without this technology? It''s kind of hard to believe that they put so much trust in us." Jin complained. Ke Loong took out his smartphone again to give his partner the full picture. Aside from the live demonstration, he also showed him videos of groups of his research people doing experiments with the portal devices. The experiment proved a steady increase in the number of people being teleported to know the extended usage of the portal device and those people knew what they were getting into. (Ke Loong fail to mention, there was huge compensation if an accident happened to them during the research.) Nonetheless, the video showed that they were very successful in transporting a massive amount of people and also included the use of portals to move large objects without a hinge. Jin obviously knew all of this since it was already proven by the Orc-Goblin War, but he pretended to be amazed by it. Regardless, The last part of the experiment was what amazed the officials the most. "You are right, they don''t just need it as an easy way to transport people. What they really want to use it for in this demonstration is to bring in the tanks and other transports via the portal." Ke Loong wrapped up the video viewing and subsequently showed him another document on his phone. "It will save them a lot of trouble and most importantly allow them to do this in secret without the public finding out what''s really going on. Besides, Shenzhen is also the home of the elite leopard tank divisions. They cannot exactly move those armoured tanks through the cities. Otherwise, they might as well go directly to all those reporters and secret informers admitting what something big was going on." Ke Loong was a bit hesitant at first, but the more he spoke, the more he shared than what he might have supposed to. However, since they were now equal partners, he believed Jin had a right to know all of that as well. "Still, it is not much of a time sensitive issue considering they gave you a deadline for it. Else, you will be crawling to me for the activation key, or I don''t know, sending a massive gang of triad members to my store." Jin replied, and Ke Loong laughed. "Yeah. Right now, the most crucial part for them is to get their vehicles and supplies safe and sound to the target location. Needless to say, such a big ''secret'' operation also presents a stressful amount of logistical hell to them and us." "They should be happy as long as we can technically teleport them from their base to the place they want to reinforce, right? Why then bother coming to the Tree Mall if they want secrecy on their part? Why use my dungeon as a poor excuse for a training exercise. Ever since I learned about their hidden plot, this part did not make any sense to me." "Ah, that is most likely because of me. I told them that the police and military groups should convene here to use the portals. It''s meant to be another layer to prevent detection and a way to attract more people to know about this place. Basically, if those buff guys know that a superbly good dungeon supplier exists here, all the more they would want to come here to train, don''t you agree?" Ke Loong had pure intentions to send some business Jin''s way. After all, if he prospers, Sea Mesh''s CEO would indirectly rise up the ranks too. "Hmm, if that''s the case¡­I think we should split things up." Jin decided as he too did not want too much attention from the media once this particular thing kicked in. "How so?" "I suggest procuring large container trucks that will host the Portal instance and send a few of those trucks to various military bases or police quarters. That way they can send their tanks, trucks, vans or whatever to the location they need. We can also send the trucks up north and not have to be on site to oversee the devices." "Ahh! I see! That is indeed a good idea, and with the dungeon instances, you can regulate the portal devices without being on site. Also, I am assuming you will be remotely operating those instances?" Ke Loong asked with an agenda in mind. He knew that remote operation of dungeon instances was made possible at least with his Sea Mesh dungeon instance technology. But upon learning that Jin had superior tech than his, Ke Loong could not help but get curious about the capability of the dungeon instances this particular supplier could do. He once had his Chief Engineer Bo Ze personally make a field trip with a group of instance technologists to experience Jin''s instances. They were beyond shocked. Words were not able to come out of their mouths. Their instance technologists and even Bo Ze were crunching the numbers hard. If it was hardware, they already had the latest in the world, and yet they could not achieve such realism. Thus they concluded that Jin had a personal team of technologists that were capable of creating an instance engine which could be optimised so bloody well that it created such realism to life. Some of the instance technologists even commented that they could possibly be in the world''s first real time alternate reality. "Hmm, that should not be a problem, but I apologise in advance if I say that when I create those portal instances, I will need some secrecy on my part. Also please make sure to tell them that this is a mid range portable prototype and if they ask, no I do not plan to make them long range any time soon." Jin kindly asked for permission to keep his copyrighted technology to himself, despite knowing that Ke Loong had already boasted on the ''China to Germany'' portal advertising gimmick. While Ke Loong did not mind, he did feel a slight bit of pity that he could not see the creation of the dungeon instance. "Whatever it is, I believe we have somehow solved a part of the problem. All that''s left is to coordinate with the police and military. But do not worry about that, I will let my human resource team assign some people to do that for us. You just concentrate on getting those trucks, unless you need me to procure them too?" "You do not have to worry. I''ll have my own sources getting those trucks On my side, I see if I can get hold of Tiger Lord Yuan Ba to discuss on the intricacies since he personally requested this from me too." Jin smiled, and they eventually agreed to get it down by the end of next week since Jin said that he would be swamped for the next few days. While Ke Loong did query about it, Jin could only reveal that he would give the Sea Mesh company some special privileges in that particular instance he was about to ''create''. Jin was tight lipped about any other information regarding that, even after Ke Loong tried to give some monetary incentives. "Sigh, very well. Sometimes I do enjoy the surprises you throw out, so I shall be looking forward to it." Ke Loong smiled as they continued their dinner. Chapter 686 Within His DNA For the first time in a long while, Jin took the conscious effort to cultivate in the night while sleeping. Unsurprisingly, he returned to the same icy cold mountain peak where the Black Tortoise of the North was still lurking in the valley. The surprising thing, however, was that he was alone. Ming was nowhere to be seen. Still, Jin gave his encounter with the Tortoise another shot, but this time around, he would attempt a different approach. While both the Tortoise and Jin were willing to battle, the latter sat down on a short ledge and continued to observe it from afar. Unlike the Tiger of the West, the Tortoise''s tail did not outright attack him. Confused that he wasn''t outright aggressive this time around, the Serpent continued to be wary of the Astral Panda Cultivator''s existence and stared at him wildly. They continued their subtle eye staring contest for some time until the Serpent finally understood Jin''s intention and was the first to lower its guard. Though it approached Jin cautiously, the Astral Panda Cultivator instinctively went on guard despite the constant reminder to remain calm. This was possibly a chance to learn a little more about this particular Cardinal Demon. Worst case scenario? He gets bitten and returns to the real conscious world. However, at times like this, Jin wondered if the cultivation he''s using create such vivid phantasms or if it was merely his uncontrollable imagination that came to haunt him in his dream. There were even times he questioned whether everything he went through was actually real. Was his subconscious filled with demons of the System''s past or did he outright turn insane whenever he was asleep, especially since everything felt so real to him. The pain and discomfort he felt during the whole process, the yearning of a true mentor and maybe to a certain extent, his grandfather¡­ Were all his fears, desires and dreams manifested into something tangible for him to face every time he sleeps? "You still tend to overthink stuff, though at this point you are not entirely away from the truth." Ming, who was suddenly standing at the side of the ledge beside Jin, sighed. "Why not just ask your gramps here?" He teased Jin as he placed his hand out for the Serpent, and it allowed him to pat him. "Then tear another page out of your diary and throw it into the mouth of the Tortoise?" Jin practically shot an arrow into Ming''s feelings. "Hmm, that is yet another valid point. Fine, I will give you the answer you are searching for. All these manifestations that you see, feel and touch are all embedded in your genes. The monsters, demons¡­even the places you experience in your sleep are all deep seated memories passed down from all the previous Panda Clan members that had been part of the System." "So, all those self realisation processes, the hunt against the Tiger of the West and even my existence, are part of your DNA, made real through the cultivation I created and your thinking process. That is why you feel that everything is familiar to a certain extent." "That is why, you never felt like the System is with you whenever you are alone here in your¡­''dreams''. The only things you can rely on are your powers and your grasp of reality¡­in other words, your perception. Besides, this is your mental plane, so your needs can actually manifest in your perceived reality in this never ending dream. For example, when you needed water during the Tiger Hunt, did water appear? Nope. But your subconscious still left you with a way to get water, from the bamboo shoots." "Then does that mean the dream that I had about this girl with blue hair, or someone''s attempt to kill me in a taxi ride, have happened to someone else? What about the time I was chained up, filled with hatred and anger. Are those memories of my ancestors?" Jin queried as he vividly remembered specific dream sequences that did not make sense and yet created a deep impression in him. "I don''t think those¡­" Ming''s expression changed as if this was the first time he heard of those. He was the one who created the Astral Panda cultivation, and during the period his spirit embodied with Jin, he never saw any of those memories that Jin had mentioned. (Even though he was the Ultimate Stalker.) Was it an unintended side effect? Ming knew that this Astral Panda Cultivation Manual was barely a completed prototype with not much testing when he passed it to the System. A totally experimental style especially with the merging of Chi and Mana together. However, he believed that with the inclusion of the System, it should have been able to weed out all the potential problems of the manual before giving the book to Jin. "Hmm. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to test your Astral Panda Cultivation. What you experienced might be something to do with the explosive growth of your personal cultivation, and that could be an unexpected side effect. Do tell me if you experience such a scenario without me in the dream. I will make sure to personally appear in every subconscious moment of yours." Ming reassured Jin as the Serpent now slowly moved its head towards Jin. As both the hunter and the hunted came to the conclusion that the other party did not mean any harm, for the time being, they cautiously proceeded with a more hands on inspection. The Serpent hissed with its tongue scanning the area around Jin while the latter raised his hand. Slowly caressing the scales of the Serpent, the panda cultivator could feel the quiet, silent wrath pulsating through its body. Jin noticed that feeling was something similar to what he had felt for the past few days before Rei''s speech to take a notch down. "So, all along, the turtle is also another manifestation of my current feelings. Being stuck in between mountains of obstacles and too stubborn to move." He thought to himself as he tried to recall if there was any correlation to the White Tiger he had fought. "Interesting, so instead of fighting this one, you decided to become friends with it?" Ming commented on the limited interaction between the two of them, and Jin nodded his head. "Perhaps. Also, I still don''t understand the concept of controlling my powers in this subconscious plane. Sometimes, I have a limited amount of Maqi flowing in me, and other times, I come out empty." "I am as frustrated as this Tortoise as I don''t know when my powers will be working and when not. So, for now, my goal is to learn how to control myself, and hopefully, the ability to exert my powers fully." Jin explained and Ming tapped his back for figuring out that it was not his grandfather that disallowed his powers to work. It was himself. "Still, you do know that this itself is supposed to be a test? You eventually will have to defeat this big shell in order to advance your cultivation." Ming reminded Jin as he became a fleeting voice and disappeared from Jin''s side. "It''s fine. With the Tortoise of the North not being a threat for now, I can focus on gathering my thoughts properly." Jin said out loud before sitting down and changed to the very same sleeping cultivation stance. With a deep breath, he searched for his Dantian Core and slowly but surely, Jin came to understand the teachings written in the manual. The Astral Panda Cultivator then began to trace both his chi and mana circuits in an orderly manner in order to awaken his core. Chapter 687 First War Room Briefing - Part 1 Cultivating within his cultivation stance had resulted in Jin feeling more refreshed than ever, and to his surprise, he discovered the black sludge had taken on a new form. A very fortunate discovery since he had forgotten about the side effects and had been cultivating in his bedroom. (Though technically, his entire house was controlled by the System which could remove the sludge as easily as it did in the Dungeon Maker room.) Instead of the sludge floating around and above him, he found crystals strewn around near his feet. Obviously, Jin did not poop out crystals while he was cultivating but instead, the floating black sludge slowly solidified into 30 cm crystals before they dropped out of the ''atmosphere'' and fell all around Jin. The System was delighted considering that storing the black sludge was a pain in the ass, though it did not complain about this to Jin in order to keep its almighty status intact. In the meantime, as Jin was observing one of the sludge crystals, the System reported to its User that Qiu Yue had already completed the defensive plans for the Dungeon City Fortress. "Although some of the domes have yet to be completed, 90% of the defences are already installed and operational. The remaining 10% are considered emergency placements and the Orcs are working double-time to ensure they''ll be ready in time." The System stated as it recommended User to contact Qiu Yue and Moloch for a last final meeting before deciding the time to drop the curtain for this new city. When Jin called for the meeting to be held in the conference briefing room, he was instead asked by Qiu Yue to come into the Dungeon City Fortress. He was teleported by the System based on the Sub System User''s coordinates. When he reached the location as specified by Qiu Yue, he realised that there was already a war table set up right in front of him. With a cursory look, he saw goblins operating the radio controls at the corners while some of the Orcs were moving leftover heavy equipment into the room. Maps of the Dungeon City Fortress were pinned on an electronic whiteboard, and he saw Nubwort using a stylus to draw some circles on the board to indicate certain information to his subordinates. "Ah¡­a proper war room." Jin said to himself, and the ''important'' leaders started to convene right in front of the war table. Qiu Yue, Moloch, Nubwort and the Goblin Trio were present in the meeting along with Half Ghoul Lord Derek. Even Duke Wolte came in, followed by Dark Elf Leader Drex and Dark Templar Zerg. "Greetings everyone, I apologise for my lacking attire, as I thought this would be an informal meeting or debriefing." Jin had noticed how everyone else was already decked in their armour or combat outfit. "No worries. I was the one who called you here on short notice after all." Qiu Yue chimed in as she was flipping a few documents on a clipboard before asking the Sub System to enter it into its database. Soon, holographic screen consoles appeared in front of everyone as if it was some sci-fi briefing. "Hahaha! This is much easier to read than that ¡­power point presentation that Jin once showed us." Ayse came in late to the meeting. "Please, your briefing on the Lost Tech was even more boring." Kraft suddenly emerged from the shadows into the war room and quickly dodged an incoming projectile. The goblins at the corner rolled their eyes as they called for an orc engineer to look at the damage done on the radio set. Ayse eyed the Devil one more time before returning to the table. "I hope you''re not all waiting for me." Hou Fei was teleported in by the System, and Jin bowed slightly in respect for him. A few followed suit, but the older man casually dismissed the formalities. "This is not my stage but your colleague''s. Let''s all hear what she has to say. I will comment afterwards." Hou Fei nodded his head in acknowledgement towards Qiu Yue to let her officially begin. Unbeknownst to Jin, the girl had been in constant contact with Hou Fei despite the appearance, and she had sought quite a bit of advice from the real expert. As Qiu Yue began to brief the defences, she efficiently explained the rough layout of the plans that still had to be executed before the war started. "Fortunately for us, Baphomet had managed to link up with some of his demon friends. He was able to obtain some information on King Baal''s movement. It appears that Lord Moloch was right. The King had been busy mobilising a colossal size army and he continued to wait for our Dungeon Core barrier to run out to begin the siege. Compared to the Rats we fought, this will be a thousand times harder, and I am not exaggerating." Qiu Yue started her report. "Yeah, Baph reported that all the demons are dying for a fight. They haven''t had a betrayal for quite some time, and all of them want Moloch''s head in order to get King Baal''s approval. There''s quite a generous bounty on it. Even I felt a bit tempted considering we are somewhat immortals right now." Wolte chipped in. "Assuming King Baal is using his usual tactics, he will swarm us with pawns first before sending the big guys down," Moloch commented ignoring the crude joke of his fellow demon. "So eradicate all the lousy peeps, and when the elite defenders are out, the senior demons will come to play?" Kraft never really liked this particular tactic especially since it''s too troublesome for him and not to mention, annoyingly dull. "Moloch knows how the Demon Nobles work, seeing as he also enjoys using this tactic. They love to do the commanding and send their minions to take care of the dirty fighting since it gives them the satisfaction of leading a group. Unless they perceive that their unit is close to being decimated, they usually don''t act. Besides, coming in at the darkest hour means they gain more glory from the other demons. It''s a vicious cycle." Wolte commented on the tactic. "But considering that the one who betrayed him is a person that had fought beside him before, I would not be surprised if he used a rush tactic to get us down all at once." Moloch continued. "Still, we have to remember that their main objective will be the Dungeon Core, with revenge only being an added bonus. It''s too bad we cannot teleport the core to our world. At most, we can try to shift it around the city during their attack with the aid of the System. But moving it outside the designated area will make the entire city which we painstakingly built, crumble." Qiu Yue sighed, and Moloch agreed. What''s worse if they were to remove the core it would be rendered almost as useless as Wolte''s partial core. "Hey at least, my core has some good effects! Not entirely a useless one!" Duke Wolte barked back, and Jin ordered the three of them to settle down. "Therefore Jin, I suggest that if you want to promote the Dungeon City Fortress, now is the best time. We only have approximately five days before we have to drop the Dungeon Core Newbie Barrier to still get the needed bonus protection." Qiu Yue recommended getting as many cultivators on board as possible. There would be a hell of a fight waiting for them. Chapter 688 Three Tier Rewards "Am I correct to assume that you have already thought up how to best utilise them?" Jin asked as he had no idea what Qiu Yue had in store for the cultivators. It also seemed more and more as if he was the only one who had been left out from the loop. Qiu Yue controlled everyone''s holographic console and synchronised the presentation that she was giving. "While Moloch and Wolte had given us some information on the degree of the scale, it still does not prepare us to fight against such overwhelming numbers. That is why we will need the cultivators to enter into action, as they present themselves as undying mercenaries fighting for a cause. The best way to entice them is naturally¡­ rewards." Qiu Yue stated and switched the presentation to the already prepared list of rewards based on Jin''s previous rewards list from the Goblin Raid and the Santa Raid. The only raid that didn''t have an explicit reward list had been the Salamander Lord''s Keep Instance. In a way, it provided vital information about how the cultivators behaved in regards to the raid instances. More importantly, they could infringe on the frequency of re-entering a raid based on the redeemed prizes. Last time they were given panda medals instead of raid points, which resulted in a certain amount of interest for various groups of cultivators. Although the rewards were lesser, earning the panda medals was practically like making extra money. Only the veteran cultivators who were aware of how Jin''s dungeons and stores worked found it the most beneficial to play. As for customers like Xiong Da, the experience of the raid was good enough on its own. He did not care too much about the ''medals'' at hand (seeing as he still had ''unlimited'' access). Thus, Qiu Yue''s modified list of rewards tried to account for all these different types of customers. Instead of just points, Qiu Yue had created a three-tiered reward system based on the type of points the cultivators could get by fighting the demon army. She made it more like a game to urge the customers to do more than defending against the incoming waves of demon pawns by introducing bronze, silver and gold credits. The System had near-total surveillance of the battlefield, so it would have no problem roughly gauging the kind of demons and monsters that were more powerful and assign them values in silver and gold credits. Based on the length of duration the cultivators stayed in battle, the System would also reward additional silver and gold credits as the effort they had placed in. Jin was impressed by the reward tier system as it included various items ranging from vouchers, digital pet cosmetics to the mini-game rewards. (Not to mention, limited edition plushies and at the moment, Xiong Da had to be the only person who had collected everything. By now he must have a whole storeroom dedicated to it.) But what was striking was the higher gold tier, where the rewards were still placed as ''???''. Qiu Yue mentioned that it was still something in progress and it would be based on Jin''s development of the Squads. "Ah shit, I nearly placed that on the backburner. System, how does the optimisation of the Squads function based on the cultivator''s testing look?" Jin asked, and the invisible elephant in the room had reported that the data was useful enough. "After making several adjustments, the squad function had improved, but System recommends not to use it in a ''real-world'' setting as of yet. It would be better if the Pandawans or selected few cultivators continue to provide additional data for the System to further perfect it." "Damn, and here I thought we would have additional help from the System, guess that was wishful thinking on my end." Qiu Yue grumbled as she had to think of something else to replace the higher gold tiers. "Will the absence of squads affect your plans?" Jin queried, and the Red Panda Cultivator shook her head. "I did not take that into account, seeing that it was still in an experimental state." "That is why I am here." Hou Fei said and waved his hands to everyone around the war table. "Despite how I may look, I''m actually a general in our world¡­so I will be actually sending in my troops to reinforce this Dungeon City Fortress." "Huh, don''t they need you up north?" Jin was in disbelief that Hou Fei was actually sending his troops for this particular defence operation. "With regards to that, I''ll talk to you later on the issue. For now, know that we have elite soldiers from the Royal Battalions fighting together with the cultivators. That should boost our numbers by nearly a thousand more." Hou Fei proudly claimed, and everyone was taken back at such the numbers. Sure, Jin might have more than a thousand customers in a day''s work, but definitely not at one time. By having an addition thousand more soldiers equate to nearly another 10% more troops in the field. "I wanted to have even more enter, but considering the crowd as well as accommodations around the place, it would be quite hard unless Jin could provide some form of camping. Other than that, we are using Qiu Yue''s idea of promoting the dungeon early as a form of cover." "But people could get suspicious with the sudden influx of people," Drex commented, and the others reluctantly agreed. It was not normal to have that many people at the Tree Mall unless its the weekend. "They might. Still, it''s a good enough cover, and this will artificially boost the crowd numbers to attract attention. I will get Kiyu to prepare some coverage on this to entice even more people to enter." Kraft noted in the conversation and Jin appreciated the follow-up. "Heh, but how elite can they be? We have fought against human cultivators and we orcs seem to have our strength restricted by the System to sometimes allow those cultivators to win." Nubwort commented, and Hou Fei laughed. "Then that''s good! This will be a wake-up call for all of them before they encounter the foes up north." Hou Fei replied with a wide smile. Jin could safely assume that Hou Fei planned to make them have a warm-up fight before entering the north, indicating that the threat could be as potent as Ke Loong had previously predicted. "Regarding the accommodations, I think we''ll be able to assist in some way. However, I am in no way allowing them to stay for free." Jin said, and the Panda Clan Remnant nodded his head with glee. "If that''s the case, I''ve already preallocated a few buildings for your soldiers to stay in." Qiu Yue flipped a few files from one holographic console to another, allowing Hou Fei to preview the accommodations in the Sea Domes. "So you are just waiting for approval from the big boss?" Hou Fei looked at the files and saw how the buildings were well furnished with facilities. "Nah. Even if he did not suggest or approve it, I would have found a way to do so, some way or another. Hehe!" Qiu Yue replied with a grin on her face. Chapter 689 First War Room Briefing – Part 2 "How many are we expecting from the Royal Snake Battalions? Also, we can accommodate that 1000 over soldiers if need be." Qiu Yue queried, and Hou Fei was already shaking his head. "Those thousand-odd soldiers stayed in Shenzhen, so accommodation for them is not an issue. However, if you were to take care of it¡­maybe another 4000 more? I do not wish to employ any extra, and that is more or less the maximum number of people I am willing to bring out. I can use the excuse of the ''North'', but any more than that and the Royal Clan Heads will question my motives and make some investigation¡­ Anyways, money is not an issue, you can credit me first, and those future weapons that I bring in will be at a discounted price." "Hmm, Jin you okay with that? Or do you need money urgently for any upgrades?" Qiu Yue asked, but everyone knew how Jin spent money like drinking water. "We are definitely getting more stuff from Hou Fei for the upcoming war against the Demon Rats, I say we take up his offer," Jin responded, and Hou Fei thanked his master for the renewed business. "If that is the case, I will start making preparations to deploy the full number. Weapons wise¡­ I will tell them to use their own stuff. Though I suppose letting them rent or buy them from your weapon store should be okay with you. Will that be sufficient?" Hou Fei needed clarification, and Qiu Yue had confirmed that the rooms would be ready by tomorrow. "Fantastic. Sorry that I am unable to bring out any new weapons other than the ones I have purchased beforehand for you guys. The Dongguan-Huizhou intervention has my hands tight right now." Hou Fei kept emphasising it as if it would be an important issue for the monsters to take note in the future. "It''s fine. As long as Qiu Yue and Nubwort are okay with it, we can assign your troops to handle those artilleries." Jin suggested, but Hou Fei shook his head. "Don''t bother. They are too used to our modern high tech stuff. Letting them use those old artilleries will have the opposite effect and actually slow the rate of fire. In my opinion, it''s best we leave it to the Orcs who must have already trained hard for it." Hou Fei replied while looking towards the direction of Nubwort. "Indeed, I have trained them to be able to reach record reloading time as challenged by Hou Fei. Furthermore, I have achieved great results by adding in a goblin mage to take care of the dust in the artillery barrel so that we can handle repeated firing without too much interruption." Nubwort explained proudly. "I believe they will be in a load of pain when they first teleport into the cave." Moloch chuckled when he recalled how vigorous the practices were that General Nubwort had made them go through. "I have double checked the Fortress Golems and made a few adjustments to the firmware within the golems. They should respond better with the interfaces the System had tinkered with. We have also been hard at work to design a battery pack that could last half an hour longer," reported Ayse when it seemed like it was going to be a round table discussion of the developments for the city''s defence. "Amura Rei had also provided some good tips in the calibration of the joints allowing the golems to move 10% faster. It''s a quick 30 minute fix, so I had already appointed the engineers to work around the clock to modify the existing golems. We also have a surplus of golems in stock, ready for replacement during the battle." "Sorry to interrupt but before we go any further. Do I understand it correctly, that we are going to bring the fight to the Demon Army at the cave entrance to the shoreline?" Jin asked, and the group nodded their heads. "We have prepared a major floating bridge that will lead to the currently empty floating platform. There are a number of prefabricated defences in place so as to impede the progress of the foot soldiers." Qiu Yue said as she switched the holographic console and revealed a forest-like terrain on the platform. "Huh, trees and hilltops. I see, so we are not clashing with them outright." Jin commented as he zoomed out. From this bird''s-eye view, it was clearly visible that the trees in the forests were systematically placed in an orderly fashion. Together with the hills, they were of great strategic value for their defending side." "Only a fool would give up his advantage to fight on the enemies terms!" Nubwort took over. He explained how more clay statues had been created and hidden within the trees and bushes. (Some were literally embedded in the trees!) He also added that these trees were made from offshoots of Shu, the Sakura Tree Treant, stating that they have some hidden properties to hinder the enemy. "In addition, we have placed mechanical traps at numerous locations and demarcated them with the System''s aid. So, the traps won''t be activated unless they are triggered by the enemies. Lastly, we are constructing mobile forts with the help of Sandy to be placed in the floating platform. The map will be updated in the coming days." "To add on, the Wyvern Goblin Knights Battalion commanded by me will monitor the skies. We are unfortunately not enough to establish air superiority, but our anti air defences should be able to make up most of our downfall." Wyrstriker stated while also showing the upgrades the Wyvern knights had been put through. It was nearly short of modifying the wyverns biological make up. The Wyvern Goblin Knights had been equipped with mobile rocket boosters based on Ayse''s Lost Tech, so they did not emit ignition. Instead, the boosters used air pressure as a way to increase their speed. At the same time, the Wyvern Goblin Knights were equipped with the very same rune weapons that the Orcs were using except theirs was more advanced to cover the demand of versatility. Their lances could be changed to a variety of ranged weapons such as a sniper rifle, an RPG rocket or heavy machine gun ideal for dogfights. Because of this, the Wyverns themselves were equipped with a neck bracelet that held a different assortment of ammunition. Thus, each and every Wyvern Knight was developed akin to a WW2 fighter plane. (Or perhaps even more capable than that!) In fact, Wyrstriker felt that such a comparison was an understatement, especially when he was pushing the limits of his Knights to the extreme. It was to the point that Nubwort felt his hellish training for his foot soldiers was a walk in the park. Wyrstriker made them perform day and night training of dive bombs, sharp curves, intense dogfights that lasted for more than half an hour with live firing as well as the handling of G force from the rocket boosters Knowing that Jin did not have many air units to pit against the demon army, Wyrstriker felt that he needed his Wyvern Goblin Knights to become one of the decisive factors against the rumoured Dragon Devils which Moloch spoke highly off. The Spear Goblin not only wanted to lift that worry off the ground forces but to make the demons acknowledge the Wyvern Knights as the true rulers of the skies. (or dungeon ceiling..?) Chapter 690 First War Room Briefing - Final "They will either try to kill us all and if that does not seem to work, opting to directly rush for the Dungeon Core is an option for them. We have a second contingency plan for exactly that kind of situation." Qiu Yue continued. At that point in time, Moloch could not help but get a broad grin on his face and take over: "The System has not only finished analysing the aura of Wolte''s broken Dungeon Core but also able to replicate and emit a similar magical signature. This way, we''re able to place a fake Dungeon Core in every non essential floating platform. Meanwhile, we''ll be hiding the real one underwater and suppressing its own signal, forcing them to split up their armies." "But knowing King Baal, he will eventually realise what we''re doing and split the sea open to get back the Dungeon Core, even though it means little to him." "Still, that lesson will come at a heavy price." Commander Zieg of the Dark Templars commented. "All the demons we kill will essentially become our backbone against those pesky rats in the Farming World. Thus, the Dark Templars will place their life to cut down as many recruits as possible for the next upcoming war." Wolte added that Zieg and the Dark Templars were able to learn how to operate the Sherman Tanks built from Hou Fei''s blueprints. But unlike the one used in the Goblin World, the current iteration of Sherman Tanks was vastly improved by Ayse with the aid of Lost Tech. And she wasn''t the only one who had been tinkering with these vehicles. As the Lead Researcher, Ayse had ordered Weslie, the inventor of Steam Tech, to use her past designs to readjust the barrels and firepower output. In fact, they believed the new version of Sherman Tanks were as powerful as the modern Leopard Tanks that Hou Fei''s troops were using. Thus, Ayse decided to change the name of the tank for dramatic effect to Sherman Tank EX¡­ However, the Dark Templars had no interest in following her example and called them Shermies instead. (Especially when Wolte demanded them to treat their tanks as their wives or husbands.) "Will the domes break apart if King Baal really does split open the sea?" Jin could not fathom the cost of repairing the domes and the buildings on them. "What if he used some world wrecking magic and destroyed everything that we had built so far?" "That is where the emergency barrier comes in." Moloch offered, but Jin was not convinced. "That might work one time, but what if he''s able to cast it more than once? How can we prevent that? Judging from how Moloch had been describing him, I believe he''ll be hell bent on getting it before deciding to destroy everything else. It will be folly for us to make him invade the underwater domes." Jin commented, and everyone fell silent for a while. To an extent, Qiu Yue had been optimistic that it would not devolve into such a scenario. Still, Jin did not share such sentiments, especially after his minion''s encounter with Queen Mab. "To be honest, it was ¨C erm ¨C a little hard to plan the defences if we need to take in all sorts of encounters. At some point, we have to make plans for what we can reasonably expect to deal with¡­ " Qiu Yue tried to make an excuse on the spot, but she could see that Jin was not too pleased with the answer. "Never mind. We still have five days, right?" Jin asked for clarification and Moloch nodded his head. "Make a makeshift fortress dome and place it at the highest floating platform. Rig it in a way that if our defences fail us, the platform will automatically explode and smash into our city''s ocean surface." Jin said but suddenly stop in his tracks. "No wait, devise a method to manually activate the detonation if needed just in case of something unforeseen happens. Like you know, some bat shit crazy elite jumps straight for the dungeon core, skipping every defence we have in place. Also, station the Deep Ones and Mr Derpy on sea patrol duty and we''ll let time decide what will happen." Jin commanded. "I see¡­" Kraft got where this was going after hearing Jin''s suggestion. "By doing that, you''re distracting King Baal from the underwater cities, and instead he''ll assume that all you have are the floating platforms. So, he''ll most likely either create a path straight to the dome defence platform. Or perhaps destroy the rest of the floating platforms and drop them into the sea for a massive amount of land to reach the dome. In that case, might I suggest to have more of these failsafe devices to increase our chances that he might not catch onto it." "Maybe, he has some pesky giant that will drag the dome to the shore for him." Ayse theorised, and both Demon Lords thought about it for a second to see if it was probable. "You guys get the idea, and we will use that emergency barrier on magic spells that focus on destroying our cities in the sea. Ayse, prepare a sort of floatation device for the Fortress Golems so they can still work if they drop down into the ocean. If need be, drag Rei and Weslie into the picture." "That''s rather demanding, but I like the idea of reducing our losses. Don''t want our golems to be mere deadweights once out of their guard posts. I will get to it." Ayse waved her hand, and she was teleported out of the war room. After she left, Half Ghoul Lord Derek wished to add his opinion into the whole defence operation. "While I do agree that Jin''s idea is fantastic in cutting losses, we cannot discount the preparations that Qiu Yue did for the Sea City Domes. It''s best to prepare for the worst of the worst. If Jin''s plan is insufficient in delaying the army to retreat, because realistically speaking, we cannot defeat them all, I will like to suggest one more contingency plan¡­or rather the backup of all backups." "Then I believe you already have a suggestion in mind?" Jin queried with much curiosity. He too knew his plan could only buy his defenders that much time. "I assume all of us must be aware that Mr Derpy is a fragment of a God in their world. However, I doubt anyone has ever seen how powerful he was exactly, and that made me curious about his abilities. He never had the chance to showcase his powers to the fullest at almost every junction. But as part of the third contingency plan and Jin''s introduction of Mr Derpy as part of the sea patrol, I can safely say we should continue with Qiu Yue''s defence plan with the aid of Mr Derpy." "You''ve been able to get a grasp of his powers?" Qiu Yue asked as she tried pressing for it and yet he did not wish to divulge any information on it. "I happened to have a glimpse of knowledge, and when I confronted him with it, he made me sign a pact not to reveal anything. However, that can''t stop me from recommending him for the third contingency plan. All I can ask is for you all to trust him." Derek pleaded, and Jin was not too comfortable with it. Leaving everything to an unknown variable left a bad taste in his mouth since there was enough of it on the current table. "Does User wish for the System to enforce the Loyalty order on Derek to make him tell you everything? As of now, the Monster App remained censored at the request of the monster." The System spoke out loud for everyone to hear as if it was a reminder of who was in charge of the area. It however made Jin stunned for a moment before he shook his head. "We all have some secrets of our own. Even I sometimes kept things from my colleagues or minions. It would be hypocritical for me to demand you to be completely transparent while I wasn''t. So, I say it''s fair game. Fine, I will leave the third contingency plan to you, Derek. Please do not disappoint any of us. Qiu Yue, please work in what I''ve designed and help Derek revise the third contingency later. Please get back to me afterwards. For now, dismissed." Jin said, and everyone quickly returned to do their respective work except for Hou Fei who had been waiting to speak with the dungeon supplier. Chapter 691 A Puff Of Smoke "Please tell me you have some information about the north. I''m desperate to hear some actual news about it." Jin beckoned Hou Fei to follow him to the Dungeon Maker where they had enough privacy to talk about this. "It would be bad if you actually heard anything about it yet. Considering how serious the government is suppressing every bit of information about this at the moment. It has reached a level where they have banned a few reporters who stumbled on this." Hou Fei said as he laid back on a chair and took a cigarette out. "You mind?" Hou Fei asked, and Jin shook his head. "If you have heard any rumours about the monster horde, then they are right on the money." "I''ve heard multiple rumours, but the scale of them is a bit frightening. For you guys to insist on using my untested portal devices to keep up the secrecy, kind of shows that you all must be more than just a little desperate." "We are. In fact, we''re also considering sending Demon Exorcists in the vicinity to take a closer look at the situation. While it falls in our jurisdiction to eliminate the threat, we have no idea how the hell they have managed to increase their numbers this quickly." Hou Fei took the first puff, and he felt his lungs finally relax. "Hmm, it just so happens that I''ve sent out a small group of demon exorcists on my side to take a look at the situation. Technically, their mission is to check out something probably unrelated, but I suppose they could examine the problem and provide us with some perspective on it while on site." Jin suggested, and Hou Fei squinted his eyes. "You have a group of demon exorcists under your command? That is¡­ quite a surprise. They''re an elite bunch of pricks who always undermine the military or police, thinking that they are the best of the best." Hou Fei complained, seemingly having had too many encounters with them to comfortably rely on them. "So do you think they are all that bad?" Jin asked as he showed Hou Fei his own Demon Exorcist badge. Hou Fei laughed, but not in a funny way, probably to cover his disgust for his master. "You joined them out of your own volition or was it forced upon you?" Hou Fei questioned back as if he had an inkling of what must have happened. "Erm, Grandma Yuan made me joined her¡­after all-" "Yeah, Big Sis Yuan can be a royal pain in the ass. She has ways to¡­''convince'' us to her bidding." Hou Fei thought back on all the times and how he was roped into performing errands for her. Not always willingly and not always even being aware of it until he finished. "There shouldn''t be that much bad blood, considering you called her Big Sis¡­?" Jin suddenly recalled about the crumpled piece of paper that had been thrown into the Black Tortoise of the North. Perhaps, he could pry a little on the relationship between Ming and Yuan from Hou Fei through this conversation. "Oh, you didn''t know? Ming and Yuan were childhood friends¡­ And guess what? This was actually supposed to be a secret which he leaked out when he was drunk. Considering that he isn''t here anymore, I don''t mind sharing it with you. Your old man Ming had been head over heels for her, but Big Sis Yuan never treated him as such. Hahaha! And Yuan never knew his feelings for her, as she always thought that he was behaving as her equal." "You mean not a little bit?" "I eventually got more out of Ming even though he obviously lied claiming it was just a short periodical moment that he had a crush on her. After which, he found the love of his life and Yuan became only a battle companion of the System." Hou Fei felt a little nostalgic over the whole conversation and decided to take another stick. Thankfully, the Dungeon Maker could make an impromptu ventilation system, so the place was not stuffed with smoke. "Is Yuan married or something? What was Grandma like? Do you happen to have a picture of her?" Jin asked, and Hou Fei felt uncomfortable from the sudden bombardment of questions. He then realised that Jin knew nothing about his elders at all. "Ahhh. I can''t believe those two continued to be this secretive throughout their lives, even to the extent of misunderstanding each other at times. That''s really their shared bad point." Hou Fei lamented as he flicked the burnt butt on a cigarette dish which the System had prepared. "Tell you what, I will be happy to gossip about their private lives when we are less busy. For now, let''s concentrate on the matter at hand." Hou Fei promised as he took out his phone and showed him an email. It contained a series of satellite images that showed how the Monster Horde was growing exponentially. "We have a few private contractors that have reduced their numbers significantly, but a group of them can only do that much. If the horde is coming towards them, I trust that they can handle themselves. However, for some reason, this horde displays remarkable intelligence. After their first encounter, the private contractors were forced to search and hunt them down despite their growing numbers. It was just like they knew someone was out there to hurt them¡­" Hou Fei started his report despite the need to keep them secret. Besides, he believed Jin would learn about it sooner or later anyway. "We have restricted the airspace above it in case of any flying creatures or those sorts but as of now there are no signs of this, yet we are remaining on alert. Though the border guards are on full alert, they have yet to increase their manpower unnecessarily." Hou Fei continued as he asked for his phone back. "Also, the disaster committee had mandated that we will start our operation next week, so you are lucky that my troops and I will be free for the fight." "Heh! If not for the portal device thing, you guys would have been travelling up north already." Jin countered Hou Fei''s ''benevolent'' behaviour. "Aww shucks, can''t you let me play a saint once in a while. I have always been the bad guy for quite a lot of stuff." Hou Fei sighed with a pleading tone. "It comes with the position of a general, I guess." "Props to your granddad for being so capable in raising a successor." Hou Fei grinned. He laid his head back on the chair and took his last puff before the cigarette died out. "So, is it true, your portal device truly works? Or are you just using the System''s magic to make it happen?" "Yeah, it does work even without the aid of the System, but I have also placed a few failsafe methods just in case of people trying to sabotage or copy our designs. Oh yea, the System has been upgrading the activation key with the help of Kraft. Now we will know exactly who uses which portal device and when. You should warn them not to pry in too deeply into our secrets. I think you know how trigger happy Kraft can be, especially after being bored for a while¡­" "Sounds like you are stricter than the government. But the big daddies will love you for such tracking information." "No matter what they do, they can only control people up to a certain extent. It''s more of the act itself than the actions it could perform. Besides, the failsafe key now acts more as a guarantee for me." Jin said as he typed a few things on the screen and showed Hou Fei. "Ke Loong is the main honcho for this matter, and while I believe they should be contacting your Human Resources soon enough, this is what''s going to happen," Jin explained to Hou Fei about the container trucks he was going to insert the portal instances in, and asked if there were any specifications that needed to be followed. "Ah, I will get the biggest dimensions of the tanks, 3-tonners and other miscellaneous vehicles and get back to you asap so you do not have wasted your time remodifying the container trucks. Other than that, I believe your plan should be fine. I honestly hope that you won''t get involved in this mess any more than you already, seeing that you have your hands full with other nonsense." "I hope so too." Jin agreed. (Hardly believing it though) Chapter 692 Extra: Checkpoin "BORDERS CLOSED, TURN BACK." The signs were wide and clear for the team of exorcists who were driving towards the checkpoint. Soon after the Border Guards demanded Lein to stop the car and present their IDs for verification. "The roads are blocked because of some reconstruction issues. Please divert back to the main road and try Exit 34B and upwards. Account at least two more hours to your travelling time." The Guard told them like it was a rehearsed response. As if Lein knew what was going to happen, he stopped as instructed and prepared himself mentally. Aside from the standard IDs that Lein had collected from the group, he had also shown their Demon Exorcist''s licenses. "We''ve heard about the ''matter'' and had volunteered to investigate the cause of it." Lein lied with a straight, yet confident look on his face. The Guard took a quick glance at the Qilin Demon Cultivator before scrutinising their ID cards once again. "I''ll get back to you. Go through the first checkpoint and turn left. Wait for further instructions." The Border Guard stated and shouted at his comrades to lift the roadblock for their car to pass through. "Looks like what Milk said is true." Su Zhen scanned around the vicinity and saw that the guards were in their full battle garments despite pretending this just being a typical ''reconstruction'' roadblock. "Heh. This Jin is as cunning as Grandma Yuan. He must have a sixth sense knowing that there was something going on here. I''m starting to think whatever is there, it won''t just be some standard bone demons." Rong felt elated that they were not doing some pathetic errand to catch these demons. "That does not mean it deviates from our mission," Lein told his companion as he thanked the Guard who removed the roadblock with a nod. "Whatever the demon, we have to grab samples of it. If possible capture it alive, otherwise kill it and hand over the corpse to Jin." "Assuming whatever they are afraid of is not a ghost type, grabbing samples might still be nigh impossible. You know how quickly demon bodies erode. We have, at best, two days to bring it back for cross-examination." Lian reminded them while she stared blankly out of the window despite the constant activities of the border guards. "In any case, we should concentrate on getting in first and meet Milk at the aforementioned location." Lein told the rest to stay in the car while he settled with the next batch of guards. "Man, if Ms Milk can get into the compound undetected, that means she must be quite a high-level cultivator," Rong mentioned casually while he helped Lein turn the car into idle mode, reducing the activity of the engine further. "Just where did Jin get to know all these people?" "Jin this, Jin that. You must be really jealous of him." Lian commented while Su Zhen snickered believing it was more likely the other way around. He wanted to be like Jin. "What?! No way! Who would want to be like that scammer! He could have told us that the spider was the exam!" Rong argued and tried to defend himself. "Ookayyy. Whatever rocks your boat." Lian shrugged her shoulders since she could not be bothered to turn her head from the front seat and quarrel with Rong. "Captain Samsu." The captain introduced himself as he extended his hand for a simple greeting. Lein returned the greeting but noticed that the captain''s grip was weak and he had heavy black eye bags on his face, making him look more than just haggard. "You claim to have volunteered yourself here. Please explain." Captain Samsu asked, but a sudden phone call interrupted the conversation. He quickly picked up and walked away for a moment to answer the call. Even without any eavesdropping, the expression on the Captain made the situation he was handling rather obvious, and Lein did not like this one bit. "My bad. Where were we?" "You asked for an explanation of why we''re here. I am afraid I cannot go too much into the situation, but you can regard it as a simple recon mission." Lein tried to make up an excuse, but Captain Samsu felt more irritated than ever. " ''Simple'' recon mission? What the hell? Is that how they treat all of this and the reason why they only sent newly promoted exorcists to us? Ah, whatever. Those government dogs are always thinking about their face." Anger was seeping out of the Captain''s face as if he was waiting for something more optimistic as Lein pretended to be nonchalant to the complaints. "Regardless, four fresh able bodies is better than none. You said you wanted to see what''s inside, right? Be my guest, but know this. I''m in no way responsible for you. You come back with everyone missing, it''s none of my business." Captain Samsu stated and shouted for one of the guards. "Make them sign the indemnity form and record their ID cards in case they don''t come back within the next 72 hours. After which, let them pass." Captain Samsu ordered, returned back to his office and continued to make calls for the guards. While the rest were doing the paperwork, Lein casually asked one of the guards about Captain Samsu''s lousy mood. "Not enough manpower and insufficient ammunition. The injured are getting more numerous, so they are being sent to various hospitals to lower the suspicions. But despite the increasing casualties, we still don''t get any reinforcements. Not to mention, none of us here had the luxury to spend any Christmas or the new year because of this fucking horde." Guard A ranted out loud, in poor hopes that the ''infamous exorcists'' could write that in their wretched report back to their higher ups. "Yeah, if not for the private contractors, this wall would have already been broken through many times. And here we thought there would be more help coming in the way." Guard B badmouthed the situation. It was clear that they had enough with all of this damned secrecy. "Didn''t they tell us the army will come by this week?" Guard A asked, but Guard B corrected him that they wouldn''t come here before next week instead. Even though Lein knew a little from Milk''s leaked information, he decided to keep his mouth shut for now and calmly fill in the rest of the paperwork. "Not to say you are useless or anything, but I doubt you''ll be of much help, considering your ranks. So please, do a quick recon and ask your superiors for reinforcements. We sorely need it." The first Guard requested. But as luck would have it, their own supervisor shouted at them to hurry up with the paperwork and get back to their guard positions. Lein took the border guard guest passes as proof of identification for the roads and subsequent checkpoints ahead. As he drove the car through the first line of inspections, the team quietly but vigilantly looked out for any damages done by the demons around the area. To their surprise, there was not much damage to the infrastructures, but there were obvious signs of firefights at the forests right beside them. Rong also managed to sieve out the scent of gunfire smoke, and it felt recent. Considering he could have a whiff of it from a moving car, indicated that the guards were not lying. Chapter 693 Extra: Camp For The Evening "Yo, you guys finally arrived!" Milk waved at them from above a tree while the rest were weary from the hike from the checkpoint. "Did you like, erm fly in here or something? And what kind of location is this? We are standing practically in the middle of nowhere with no landmark to follow." Lian complained as she was not used to the traditional methods of searching for someone using a physical map. All four of them were too reliant on technology to even understand the basics of survival. "Actually, I got bored at the real location some time ago, so I decided to search for you guys instead. Why didn''t you prepare better? It should''ve been obvious that you''re going into a massive jungle with no Wifi? Next time at least get a GPS receiver or a compass." Milk lectured them since she had wasted an hour waiting for them at the particular location she assigned. There was no apparent reason why Milk wanted to use the site she chose other than asking System for a coordinate to teleport. However, she did encounter a Bone Spirit Demon that was lurking around the area and had already plummeted it to death before sending it to the System for analysis. After which, she slept above a tree branch peacefully with a variety of alarm spells placed in her radius to alert her of movement either from the demon exorcists or any other demons. Milk honestly believed there was really no need for the kids to be here. If all Jin wanted was to find out about the monsters to create in the new advanced training centre, then there were better candidates for that job. So, she guessed he wanted them to learn and grow from the experience. After all, aside from Su Zhen, the rest still needed to prove that they had actually killed a few demons and solve a case or two to get promoted to full-fledged demon exorcists. This particular exercise could potentially allow them to gain such a reputation immediately. "Ms Milk, your information about a possible demon invasion was right. The guards were all dead tired and blabbering about how they needed reinforcements and weapons. However, as we travelled here, there were no demons in sight despite the tell signs. Was that your doing as well?" Lein queried. Milk''s information had been correct, and her criticism was valid from the way they were behaving. But there was no apparent threat at the moment. They wondered if Milk was secretly protecting them by giving them a seemingly random meeting location as an excuse. "Nope, I haven''t seen anything yet." Milk lied as she covered it up with another yawn. Su Zhen judged that their observer, as well as the team, were tired so it would be best to break camp for the day despite still having plenty of daytime left. (She had no idea how much sleep Milk always enjoyed.) "Ms Milk, is there a river stream or some other kind of water source around?" Su Zhen asked. She decided to scan the area for a place to rest by activating her sensing ability of the White Demon Snake. "Ehh, further up, there is a small stream. Enough to get some water." Milk pointed upwards, and Rong laughed. "We have more than enough water to supply ourselves. I bet Su Zhen is just looking for a clearing to settle for the evening." Rong pointed out as he took out a bottle of water and flaunted it in front of Milk. "Just¡­don''t litter the place or I will wallop you." Milk said casually as she beckoned the rest to follow her. Soon, they found a small clearing further up the stream and decided to camp there. Only instead of cooking dinner, they were busy setting a few basic trap formations and subsequently tents to rest. After which, all of them prepared to sleep despite the sun still being up. Seeing the curious look on Milk, Lian assumed she did not know much about the demons and explained that the demons were more active in the night: "They''re a little scared of the light, but that doesn''t mean they won''t attack in the day." Meanwhile, Lian took a spray can and started moisturising her skin from the intense heat. In fact, it also served as a sort of low level repellent so regular demons would not be able to sense the chi emanating from the Demon Exorcists as they rested. "The three of us will be resting up, while Rong will take watch for us until the evening." Su Zhen interjected and asked Lian for the spray can and criticised she should get the new lemon concoction from the Exorcists Shop online. "The Trap Formations also has an alarm spell to alert Rong and should keep us safe inside," Lein said as he properly activated the trap formation. It caused a faint greenish light to appear in the distance, and eventually, the trap formation blended with the surrounding environment. "So instead of using it offensively, you are using it defensively?" Milk concluded, and they nodded their heads. Usually, it was used to trap and prevent the demons from moving out of the formation, thus allowing Demon Exorcists to close into the demon and kill it. But at the moment, they were trapping themselves in so they could have a quiet and peaceful rest. Rong would be on standby and protect the group in case any demons accidentally destroyed the formation. "But most of the time, if the demons were able to destroy the trap formation, they are usually sentient in nature, and that means we''ll be big trouble," Lian added, but Su Zhen calmed everyone else by stating that there were no tracks of the demons on the ground she had trailed. ''You cannot track them because¡­they are using the trees to travel.'' Milk thought to herself when she recalled the Bone Demon infused Monkey diving down to attack her. Still, she decided not to say anything and allow these kids a bit of rest. Milk predicted that soon enough, the young demon exorcists would be in one of the hardest battles they would remember for life. Chapter 694 Weirdest Accomodation "This is the weirdest accommodation I''ve ever heard of." Meng Ruo grumbled as he stared at the Tree Mall right in front of him. "You sure the Sarge''s order is correct?" "Please, even Sarge thinks that this has to be some mistake." Zhang Min replied as he stared at his phone from the Mechat messages he had with his superior. "Well, that''s why we''ve been sent here, isn''t it? Besides, according to Sarge, General Hou Fei also wants us to do a warm-up exercise before going up north. He kept emphasising that we''re too inexperienced at fighting monsters after the last training exercise." Wei Yi added as he beckoned the guys to follow him into the Tree Mall. Their sergeant had forwarded a message from their higher-ups stating that they were to stay in a dungeon supplier store. Not only did the three corporals wonder if this was the right decision, but a lot of their higher-ups were inevitably showing doubts of their usually capable General''s orders. Had he suddenly gone insane to tell them to stay in a dungeon supplier store? It was to the point, many were starting to consider pre-booking some of the hotels around Shenzhen just in case that order was some sort of mistake. Especially when he gave the directive for them to mobilise into Shenzhen for the ''mass training exercise'' in five days time. As Meng Ruo, Zhang Min and Wei Yi happened to be assigned for a cross-state training workshop in Shenzhen by the 4th Royal Zodiac Snake Battalion, they had been secretly ordered by their sergeant (Actually it came from their Commanding Sergeant Major) to verify what the General had said before they decided to mobilise the entire battalion into Shenzhen in plain sight. "Welcome to Dungeons and Panda! According to your registration, I believe you must be here under the command of General Hou Fei?" Mr Patsu, the Penguin Announcer, turned guide for this impromptu accommodation situation greeted the three who had entered the shop simultaneously. "Eh¡­Yes, that''s us. They''ve been told to ask for Jin? ¡­ or Qiu Yue?" Wei Yi, who was the most senior among the three, had stepped forward to give Mr Patsu more information. "Ah, no worries, Jin, the Boss of this place has left me specific instructions to bring you to your accommodations first." Mr Patsu replied upon seeing the screenshot from the Mechat message. "Please follow me and do not hesitate to take pictures." That sentence alone had made the three soldiers suspicious. It was not due to the penguin NPC talking to them but mainly because of how shocked they were coming into a shop instance like Jin''s. Although the Christmas decoration themes had been removed, they still needed time to acclimatise to the ''ordinary'' look of the shop instance. "How did you know that we wished to take pictures of the place?" Zhang Min asked while also taking one photo of the penguin himself. "Boss Jin reminded us that it would be understandable for you esteemed guests to doubt the orders of your general given the content." Mr Patsu smiled as he always loved to see the surprised faces of new customers. It brought him joy that there was this ''magical'' touch that Jin''s store still possessed no matter the age of the customers. Soon, the trio readily followed Mr Patsu into an elevator at the edge of the shop instance which had a sign with ''restricted access'' written on it. Mr Patsu jumped to tap the ''up'' button with his keycard, and the elevator opened, revealing a pretty, petite chandelier at the centre of the lift. Its slight yellowish glow gave the lift a bit of a comfy luxurious feel. The spacious elevator included a white marble interior that blended nicely with the chandelier while slow 80s music was played in the background. "It will be a short ride to the lobby, but please hold on to the railings in case of jerking." Mr Patsu instructed them and pressed the only button on the elevator. True enough, there was some vibration that came from the lift, but the soldiers felt that it was not because of any infrastructure failure and rather the speed that the elevator was moving at. They could feel there was a slight gravitational force in play and it was similar to the elevator rides going from the 1st floor to the 80th floor in less than 10 seconds. In no time at all, the doors opened, and the sight was entirely different from what they had expected. A row of animal looking people at the elevator''s entrance welcomed their first-ever group of guests they ever received. The animal people tribes who had signed the contract had been employed as auxiliary support staff for the current humans, and they had been drilled madly by the penguins. In terms of management, Lynn was handling the animal tribes rather than Qiu Yue since she had experience training the penguins for service support. (Though the System was using her more for the total obsession to clean stuff.) Still, with Lynn only being apt in training others to become a cook she had left it to her peggies to train the staff for hospitality. The System had agreed to it as well since they were the epitome of her standard in cleanliness. Some of the tribe people had initially been unable to handle the intense training. Still, the System (along with Lynn) had decided to use the same incentive programme the penguins were using to entice them to do better. Unfortunately, the standard they had achieved so far, was not exactly what they had hoped for, especially since the penguins had had more time to learn and train. Yet, the Animal Tribe people preserved mainly because of the abundance of food, comfort and shelter they had been provided with in return. They enjoyed their new lives without the need to sacrifice themselves hunting for the chance of getting food. Some of the older members did complain that this could potentially erode some of their tribal tradition, though the penguins did indirectly reinforce the fact that Jin would always satisfy the thirst for battles when the time was right. Furthermore, the System had also bestowed them with cultivation styles based on their animals to further develop their strength, dexterity and vitality. After all, being able to stay awake longer meant working harder, and it would ultimately prove to serve better for the System and Jin. In the meantime, the three soldiers could not believe their eyes and their mouth were still left hanging. The lobby was grandiose in nature with comfortable chairs right beside the counters for guests to wait. The porters were around to carry any heavy luggages. Despite the soldiers'' insistence, they eventually gave way for the animal tribe people to hold them. Registration was just a form of courtesy as they were presented with not just the keys to their hotel room, but the information brochures about the hotel they were going to stay as well as food vouchers for the breakfast buffet. The guests were also brief that their physical keys were used to turn the circuits on in their room, but the locks could be open with the digital key affixed to the Pandamonium account. Thus, there was no need to worry about losing their physical key. Yet, another shocking sight awaited them after registering for their hotel room as Mr Patsu led them to it. Chapter 695 Hotel Room "Am I still dreaming?" Wei Yi asked as he opened the door to the hotel room on the eighth floor. It was not some measly one bedroom like he had expected but instead turned out to be an enormous suite. "Don''t get too happy now. I''m beginning to suspect there must be a serious caveat for such a luxurious stay. General Hou Fei wouldn''t just book us something as fancy otherwise." Zhang Min replied as he opened another door which revealed an individual room with a personal toilet. On further inspection, it felt more like a well-furnished five-room apartment with accessories attached to it. The living room was equipped with air conditioning, a 55¡å 8K HDR Television with a modest surround sound system at the centre of it all. From the looks of it, the brand of the sofa was just as expensive as everything that was placed alongside it. Even the carpet and tiles they were standing had a different feel. It felt like their feet did not deserve any of this. And hell, there was even a Playbox 720 in the living room ready for them on the top shelf of a cabinet filled with the latest games for them to try out. If they wanted party games, the Nentendo Switch Pro was also available but they had to prebook it at the front counter. It was mainly because of the limited quantity the hotel have in stock. (The hotel could not possibly cater to each and every guest with a set of Switch Pro) Aside from gaming, it also had the latest streaming premium services on demand. Sports, movies, dramas and even salacious programmes were available. Of course, the last one was a definite pay per view with the use of Pandamonium App and the users were reminded to keep it a secret since censorship controls were still rather tight about it. (On the side note, the System ensured that no such programmes were available for families with kids around.) Separately, the bathroom was filled with a large bathtub enough for two to enjoy a jacuzzi session. A somewhat smaller TV with anti-fogging and water-resistant technology was also placed within the room for a person to simultaneously enjoy their soapy bath and remain up to date with any show of their choosing. Talking about baths, the soap selection would put many five and even six star hotels to shame as there was a touch screen to select the kind of soap for dispensing. If there was no time to enjoy the tub, the occupants could always use the shower area right beside it. The most unique thing was, that it was a virtually simulated room which meant that it could simulate any environment the occupant wished to bathe in. Zhang Min tried it out by pressing the ''random'' button, and the shower room simulated the surroundings of a traffic cross junction. It was the most hilarious and ''voyeur-icious'' way of taking a shower, but the soldiers understood that this was more than fulfilling quirky desires. In a way, they got where the designs were coming from. It was really an escape from reality. The individual bedrooms were another example of such a design. Similar to the shower portion of the bathroom, those bedrooms had the exact same function only this time, it was even more extravaganza. The bedroom virtual simulations scenes were able to portray different well-known movie sets and allow the occupants to live in the moment. And if the guests did not like such fanciful scenes, there was the option to sleep beside a waterfall or waking up on a cliff. Else, the guest could simply turn it all off. The possibilities were numerous (although limited to 100 virtual scenes at the moment) made the soldiers already agree that this was the best decision that their General had taken for them. "After all the shit we''ve gone through, General really kept his promise of giving us a decent vacation!" Meng Ruo was crazily taking photos and uploading to his Mechat group. "Don''t forget we''ll still have to survive the North? This is probably a teaser since we have a joint dungeon exercise to do with the other Royal Snake Battalions." Wei Yi reminded his buddy, but he couldn''t be happier that they would all get to stay in such a crazy hotel room like this. Last but least, Zhang Min opened the curtains and doors right beside the living room. It revealed a spacious balcony enough to fit a BBQ pit, dining table and a few chairs for suntanning. If needed, the balcony could be covered and be converted into an extension of the living room. Two full-body massage chairs were also present in the balcony overseeing the beach from a distance. Zhang Min took a broad scan of the area and found several other similar hotels like the one that they were staying in. (Though most of the hotels he saw were blurred out with the some presence of fog except for the one right opposite them.) However, the most mystical thing of all was that they were currently in a dome. Outside it was covered with water and fish instead of space and stars. "Holy shit, either this is some big ass virtual simulation in the works, or we''re really in a dome deep under the sea." Zhang Min said as he took more pictures to send to their Mechat group. Obviously, people were responding faster than usual, most of it claiming how jealous they were. Suddenly, the bell rang. Meng Ruo opened the door, only to see Mr Patsu and a pair of Croc waiters ready to serve their dinner. The soldiers graciously allowed them to enter, and the Crocs professionally arranged the dishes on the dining table on the balcony for them to partake in. "Today''s menu consists of boneless chicken chop, served with Portobello mushroom sauce with a dash of pepper. Sides include freshly cut chips and a pinch of salad, enough for a healthy meal and I believe fulfilling for hungry soldiers like you three." Unlike waiters who loved to exaggerate, what Mr Patsu had described was more of an understatement. The portion for the chicken chop was humongous, and the fries were aplenty. Not to mention, the salad was mixed with a variety of vegetables that the soldiers swore they could still smell the freshness from them, unlike the ones they purchase in supermarkets. "Wine, champagne or any other drinks?" Mr Patsu asked. The trio was chuckling at how sumptuous the spread of food was, and they decided to go for a classic, beer. "Ah, my apologies. Yes, some icy chill beer should certainly go well with a meal like this." Mr Patsu agreed with their choice and asked for their flavours before dishing them out magically from the dining trolley. What''s more, this wasn''t the end as Mr Patsu subsequently introduced the various amenities Hotel Pandastic had for them as advertised in their information brochure. If this was any kind of indicator for Hou Fei''s appreciation for his troops, the soldiers believed the rest of the battalions would be dying to serve the Snake General well for the upcoming exercises and also the rest of his career. Chapter 696 Jins Forum Pos While others were busy preparing for the incoming assault of the Demon Army, Jin and Kiyu had been producing promotional materials for the cultivators to join in. Jin usually didn''t disturb the creative process of Kiyu, but this time he had been forced to step in because she had asked him to help out¡­ as a Panda Mascot. The Vixen of Seductive Advertising stood behind the camera to take pictures and videos of the new Dungeon Fortress City. She had cunningly decided for Jin to act as the ''hero'' of their advertisement. Obviously, not as himself but as a PandaMan wearing army slacks and holding a gun while randomly shooting at Moloch''s minotaurs who acted as the baddies for the videos. It was a fun shoot for Kiyu, but a damningly stressful activity for Jin. He had never expected Kiyu to be so strict. At the slightest extra movement or slip of the tongue, she had yelled ''CUT'' and forced a reshoot. The cosplaying minotaurs were already used to her demands and told Jin to buckle up. It took no more than two hours before it could go to editing, but it felt like 2 draining days of retakes until Director Kiyu was satisfied with her final product. However, to be fair, she was not just stern to them but held herself to the same standard, and the results spoke for themselves. When Jin had watched her previous videos, he had seen how cheerful and happy she had been acting during the whole advertisement. It had looked so easy and natural¡­ until he realised how much practice shots she must have diligently taken to reach that sort of ''fake'' natural happiness. To get perfect shots did not just require talent but also effort and a little bit of luck. At that point, Jin had considered if he should perhaps take a few shots or even clips of Kiyu hard at work as part of a ''behind the scenes'' kind of video he hoped to make in the future. After his work was done, Jin decided to post some snippets of the advertising video in a new forum post. Being an ''admin'' on the Pandamonium forum as well as the ''developer'' of the Dungeons and Panda, Jin''s posts always caught much attention in a short amount of time. The post informed the masses that a one-time special raid would be running on Saturday and there would be no repeats for that particular raid. Thus those who participated would be earning the rewards Qiu Yue had painstakingly prepared as well as a few unique stuff from Jin''s creation. Since the squad function was not fully ready, Jin had to create a few special items such as limited cosmetic inscriptions and even a set of promotional cosmetic weapons. (Let''s not forget about the plushies. Those plushies sell so well, Jin would not be letting go of them easily.) He told everyone that a sign-up application form would be placed in the forum post as well as in Pandamonium''s app main page''s noticeboard. (Which was later linked to the forum post.) Jin described the raid as realistic as he could and revealed the true hard facts about why the raid would happen. Those people who were reading it naturally assumed that all of it was just the raid''s lore and some even complained that Jin used such a clich¨¦. However, most were not really concerned with the lore. The famed gameplay of Dungeon and Pandas with its realism and the fighting scale has always been the real reason cultivators loved the shop and repeatedly visited for the experience. Jin promised that this would just be the first of many massive defence raids he planned to conduct. He even stated that the attendance of the cultivators would be used to judge how the dungeon supplier would proceed for these events in the future. Some thought that it was nothing new until they read that cultivators would be assigned into teams such as frontline fighters or backend support when they were filling up the registration form. And the readers viewed that this might be more than just a simple raid story since Jin had prepared to separate the cultivators into different roles. Jin clarified in further posts that though the Pandamonium App had data on each of the cultivator''s way of playing the dungeons and recommended certain positions to the cultivators, they did not have to stick to such recommendation strictly. His customers could choose what kind of gameplay they would serve to play in for the subsequent raid. What''s more, there might be a mock raid that would simulate the actual raid''s plan if garnered enough attention or participants, but Jin heavily emphasised that the computer''s algorithm was very likely to change in the real scenario and things might not go have to deviate from the plan. While losing was not an option, heavy losses are expected on their side. Unlike previous raids, this particular Demon Army Defence Raid had a rather expensive price tag pegged to it. It was set at 50 Yuan, 80 Yuan and 150 Yuan respectively. 50 Yuan was the most basic tier which gave the cultivators 3 chances of reviving. What this meant was that even if they were killed in the raid, they would be teleported to an express clinic where top Panda Nurses would examine if the user had any major complications. If there were none, they could be teleported back into the raid at a ''relatively'' safe location to continue the battle. However, the rewards they could choose would be capped to the bronze tier which Qiu Yue had introduced. For 80 Yuan or the Silver Tier, the customer would be able to access a price from either bronze or silver tier. Six revival chances as well as a T-Shirt to commemorate the first-ever Demon Army Defence Raid. (Subsequent tickets would not reward the shirt again.) As for the highest tier, the gold tier price ticket allowed them to redeem any possible price, the t-shirt as well as a permanent limited cosmetic item for their pet. Under the explanation, Jin wrote a big disclaimer that the ticket tier decided the rewards for that particular run. So, for example, if one bought the gold tier ticket first, all points would be tallied until the cultivator ran out of revivals and they would have to redeem a price from any tier with that amount of points. But should they wish to continue and buy only a bronze tier ticket on their next try, the silver and gold tiers would be locked out. Needless to say, those bronze, silver and gold reward tier had a ladder of rewards to them, and until they reached the top of every tier, there should be no qualms to the type of rewards being given out. A few customers scrutinised the reward tier lists hard and indicated that there was a big discrepancy for certain levels of rewards. Still, Jin iterated that due to the new technology he used for this special raid dungeon, the ticket prices were rather fair. The reward list itself was enough to make everyone talk for hours. This wasn''t limited to the Pandamonium App as people started talking about it on their socials and #DemonArmyDefenceRaid became one of the most trending hashtags of the day. Chapter 697 Hotel Pandastic As more of Hou Fei''s soldiers arrived after realising that their General had not been joking about providing them with an exclusive hotel stay, they began to take their R & R leisure time seriously. Given their sheer number, not all soldier could fit inside Hotel Pandastic, so the latecomers had been settled in the currently only other open hotel, Hotel Penguinton. Like their names suggested, the hotel''s architecture of each building was actually shaped close to the animal''s outer appearance. Hotel Pandastic had a wide curve exterior that placed the rooms outwards while there was an extensive inner garden in the centre of it all. (Qiu Yue seriously did not spare the reserves at all.) Within the garden, there were a variety of activities to spend their time on such as sports stadiums (yes! plural!) for baseball, football and even rugby. Worried that there were not enough players to start a friendly bout? No problem, the animal tribes were here to entertain the guests as well. For the tribes, this was considered their break time. They had learnt these new sports from Jin''s world and come to enjoy them tremendously. Somehow, the beavers had come to prefer baseball over any other game and despite their build, they had become rather accurate with their throws and hits, making them a formidable opponent to play against. The Polar Bears as another example adored rugby to the point that they even pooled whatever money they earnt to buy proper equipment from the System. Some of them used this opportunity to further their base cultivation bestowed by the System and built up enough strength that they managed to rival many soldiers in a test of brute force. While every tribe did have a chance to test out every type of sport that was offered there, football surprisingly turned out to be the only one that was appreciated by all the tribes equally. Each and every one of them had organised a dedicated team of eleven to play it. They even set up a tournament with a point system. This easily made football the hottest event during the soldier''s stay. Although cultivation was also allowed in both Rugby and Baseball, there were restrictions and limits for how much one could portray their cultivations since the rules they played by were similar to the one back in Jin''s world. Yet, football was the only exception to this rule. Throughout the day, the football events alternated between ''cultivation only'' and ''powerless'' matchups. For ''cultivation only'' matches, there were no bars holding any person on the field down. Every team member was allowed and even encouraged to use their cultivation to the utmost limit with no penalty insight to score a goal. It might sound like an absurd game of power, but that was the whole point of the game. Still, to make it more interesting and to avoid the game turning into a slugfest where the stronger average team would win, whoever scored the goal would be put into a weakened state for five minutes. The power limitation bracelet, which every member had to equip before the match, would turn on and limit the powers of that person to an average Grade 2 cultivator. This way, each team still had to strategise who should do the scoring and regulate the offensive strikers to pit against their opposing rivals. The ''cultivation only'' matches were so well received, that any soldier who was watching it on the sidelines hoped to give it a try. The game was so popular that the monsters actually reserved the fields so that they could play as soon as they were on their break. Even the Savants from the Shaolin Football Instance had joined in to pit against the soldiers for honour and glory. It had reached a point that the soldiers requested the ''powerless'' matches to be ditched in favour of more ''cultivation only'' games. Other than the fields within the garden, there was a gym and a pool though those were limited. However, should the soldiers agree to pay a little more, they could be connected to the Panda Muscles for privacy sake. And yes, the soldiers were paying for all these amenities that were on deck in Hotel Pandastic. Aside from General Hou Fei sponsoring the rooms, everything else required cash though it was charged at a discounted rate since they were ''guests'' in the hotel. Hotel Pandastic was more sports-oriented, whereas Hotel Penguinton offered more entertainment-based amenities such as bowling, billiard, karaoke rooms, (they were quite standard so as to not steal any business from the Meow Meow Karaoke instance), ice skating and rock climbing. The ice skating field was more extensive than one might think mainly because it was a hotspot for the penguins to relax at. There were also ice-skating tracks which featured something similar to a large playground for the penguins to slide around. (Sorta like a skate park but on ice.) And because of the nature of advanced ice skating field, there were certain parts of it which were restricted and only allowed highly experienced skaters to prevent any possible collision with the penguins. For the rock climbing portion, it wasn''t merely a static wall. Instead, it was more like a giant vertical treadmill with more than a thousand combinations for the position of the rocks, capable of posing a challenge for the most veteran of wall climbers. Obviously, the difficulty could be tweaked based on the guest''s preference, but there was never a dull moment for climbing. However, the most unique part of Hotel Penguinton was actually the golf park. It was designed to be more child-friendly for future customers, but the attraction alone made it worth the adults'' time. From the average Windmills golf attractions to using the ball to break a domino effect, the soldiers who played this were astonished how a simple game of hitting a ball could be that thrilling. (Of course, some were already planning to bring their girlfriends with them to try it out.) Qiu Yue had always found creative golf park courses to be a marvel of physics, considering the effort required to get the ball into its goal. Thus, when presented with this opportunity, she had decided to add this as a mini project and a way to explore her creativeness. (Although it was already quite obvious, she had more than enough creativity judging by the way she splurged cash to build the hotels.) The golf courses had a note stating that they would be changed on a quarterly basis and eventually, she wanted to compile all the courses into one big service instance. Considering all the fun stuff within the two hotels, not many soldiers had the chance to get out and explore the sea dome ''instance'' that they were in. Yet the few who did, soon realised that they were restricted about where they could go by Qiu Yue and the Empire Building Sub System and thus the message to stay inside had already been spread to their brothers-in-arms. The only outside entertainment that was currently available was the beach and that itself was a bit of a downer¡­ since the Royal Snake Battalions were filled with guys only. Still, with surfboarding, beach volleyball or just sun tanning, the soldiers of the Royal Snake had their fill of seaside fun before the ''training'' commenced. Chapter 698 Assembly At The Shoreline After two days of R & R leisure time, a mass message was passed to all commanding officers by General Hou Fei to meet at the beach for assembly by 0800 hours. Jin was there early to prepare the necessary pamphlets and booklets to distribute, but he can''t help to notice how orderly and punctual the soldiers were when it came to their appointed time. Instead of coming on the dot to assemble, each and every one of them had already been there at 0730 hours for roll call. They even performed their basic set of exercises in their standard army uniforms before standing at attention waiting for the commanding officers to collate and record the people who were present. All five thousand were waiting at the shoreline silently, and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the artificial sea waves hitting the beach. (To them it''s rather real though) A mass gathering of that many soldiers was indeed a sight to behold, and Jin could not help but take a panoramic picture of the soldiers awaiting their next orders. Soon, Hou Fei came fashionably late at 8.01 am. The commanding officers then announced their battalion''s roll call, stating the number of soldiers that were present. Upon the completion of the roll call, Hou Fei scanned the beachhead filled with soldiers and subsequently dismissed the soldiers to get their breakfast and return to the shoreline by 9 am. Everyone left double time, marching back to the hotels in an orderly fashion. Only the commanding officers had stayed and now followed Hou Fei to meet Jin. "This is the dungeon supplier who has created the raid exercise we will all attend. While I did mention that the police should be joining us in a combined training exercise, this one is going to be a little bit more special." Hou Fei introduced him, and everyone took turns to shake Jin''s hand. "Boss Jin, it''s an honour to meet you. Your reputation of realistic dungeon instances precedes you." Major Boon Tiong said to Jin as they exchanged greetings. "Indeed. When I heard of General Hou Fei''s plan to stay in a dungeon supplier store in Shenzhen, we believed only you could make it happen." Colonel Chen Lai added, which made Jin wonder how they had heard of his place before. "The good old General always brags about how he''s met this fantastic dungeon supplier and keeps insisting that we should send our squad/battalion to try the dungeons first hand. It''s a big headache for me though. Honestly, you can''t imagine how much of an issue it was to prepare the funds for this ''vacation''. The defence ministry got on my back and nearly wanted to start a full-on investigation about why five battalions left their bases early for the Dongguan-Huizhou incursions to join some impromptu training exercise leaving a barebone security to guard the bases." Colonel Kan Jian lightly complained, revealing himself to be the head of finance for the Royal Snake Battalions. "You''re here to relax right now, so stop with all that bureaucratic nonsense. You should all agree that it was a good recommendation for the soldiers to rest here, right? Besides, we are the first to be allowed to test this place out. Boss Jin hasn''t even disclosed this location to the public." Hou Fei rolled his eyes at Kan Jian''s constant nagging. He obviously knew that his subordinate was keeping the spending funds at a minimum for other big-budget purchases in the future. "Yeah, yeah. It''s all good. Nobody can deny a single bit. The accommodation was shockingly comfortable." Kan Jian praised while the others also agreed that the amenities and food were excellent too. "Okay, enough of that. Let''s get to the main topic, shall we?" Colonel Chen Lai pointed out, knowing how the officers sometimes wished to butter up their relations with General Hou Fei, even though they knew he was not that kind of person. "Jin, what are your plans for us?" "Yes, I''ll get to it in a moment, but before that, let''s go somewhere a little more comfortable for this talk," Jin suggested as he opened a portal right in front of them, allowing them to enter the prepared war room for the discussion. Waiting for the guests, the penguins had prepared snacks such as palm-sized sandwiches so the officers could take a bite while they listened to what Jin had to say. The dungeon supplier told them how the exercise would commence, explaining the current plans they had and informing them about the defences he had created beforehand. "However, please be aware that this is a new technological engine that I am experimenting with, so it''s likely that the algorithm is mighty unstable. In other words, the monsters that will enter the field might either be a lot weaker than you¡­ or what''s more likely to be the case, they could be way stronger than expected." Jin warned them. This did cast some worries on the officers. "Isn''t that dangerous for the upholding the integrity of the dungeon instance? Should we expect it to break down all of a sudden?" Colonel Chen Lai asked, and Jin shook his head. "No, that won''t be an issue. I''m using two different servers for this raid, so you do not have to worry about that possibility at all. This dungeon instance will not crash." Jin claimed with confidence though deep down, there was some anxiety that King Baal might choose to cast his strongest magics obliterating everyone to obtain the Dungeon Core and destroying all the hard work they had done over the last weeks. The System repeatedly assured Jin that even in such a worst-case scenario there were already measures in place to retrieve all the items they had built to a certain extent. Thus, it would not be a total waste of time, effort and money. "Is this erm¡­ technological monster creation engine you are using from Sea Mesh?" Evidently, at least Major Boon Tiong knew about the connections between Jin and Ke Loong. Only through further conversations did Jin find out that he was part of the information gathering team for the Royal Snake Battalions. "I''m afraid I can''t comment on that," Jin replied adamantly yet Boon Tiong did not mind the answer, stating that he had just been trying his luck. "Then I hope you don''t mind me asking why you choose to use this new engine when you could have created default ones for us to fight against?" Chen Lai questioned Jin''s reason for going with this particular method. "Because Hou Fei wanted me to prepare you guys for the worst of the worst against the upcoming Monster Horde that you''ll all be fighting," Jin answered as he eyed at Hou Fei, hoping for some assurance. The Panda Remnant did not disappoint him. "I vouch for him. Jin''s dungeons are the closest thing to a ''warm-up'' we can get without actually fighting those beasts. If he can''t manage to do it, you can forget about any other dungeon supplier. We''ll be doing this along with his customer cultivators as well as a few of Jin''s created monsters to even the ''playing field''." Hou Fei said to treat the remaining friendlies as variables that needed to be considered. After all, they were simulating a monster horde kind of exercise. "Too bad for us, we won''t be earning any rewards though Jin did promise me that if we do well in the fight, we''ll get to stay in the hotel for two additional days for free. So you guys better buck up! I want to enjoy that freaking presidential suite at the top of Hotel Pandastic!" Hou Fei teased, and everyone laughed. Chapter 699 Extra: Sound Asleep "Milk, aren''t you going to sleep at all?" Rong asked after he got sick of staring into the distant forest for a while. The rest continued sleeping soundly since part of their training included forcing themselves to sleep. The Demon Exorcists under Grandma Yuan had to go through rigorous training, with multiple lessons where they had to learn to sleep despite any noise and sense of danger, entrusting their lives to the people that were guarding the place. In one such scenario, they were placed in the middle of a military training exercise where live artillery shells were fired at a constant pace, and the demon exorcists had to take turns to maintain the shield as the others rested. Some people might think it was absurd. If it was dangerous, why stay in that area instead of looking for a more safe place to rest. But Grandma Yuan who had taken part in the World War before begged to differ. Sometimes there were no safe places¡­ "If fear can grab your heart despite your words claiming you''ll entrust your life to your allies, then you have absolutely no trust in them. On the other hand, for the person who is guarding, you have the responsibility to guard them with your life and make the appropriate decision on whether you all should retreat, fight or continue to rest. If a guard wakes everyone up at the first sign of danger, that is no guard. That is an incompetent person." Grandma Yuan''s words were sharp, and her words echoed with experience. "Unlike you guys, I prefer to sleep in a nice comfy bed, not some forested floor or tent with no air con. Still, I''m fine." Milk answered as if she was some high maintenance lady, but the truth was that she probably ate more salt than rice compared to the whole group of trainees. She had lived most of her life with the opinion that she had no one to truly trust. Even her former master had turned against the country, forcing Milk to fight against her. She had been compelled to travel alone and believing in herself had not been an option because of the dangers she had suffered on a regular basis. It was to the point that she treated god and religion not as some sort of guiding post in her life but instead as a stepping stone to ensure her own survival. Her priesthood had just been a passing phase in her life which she had accepted because it had seemed promising at the time. Even though she had been scouted and to a certain point, been regarded as one of the formerly most famous priest''s disciples before being branded a heretic. This just heightened her awareness and ensured that she never truly felt at ease. Milk believed that there was always something or someone out there threatening to kill her. Yet, despite all of this internal conflict, she continued to act for the sake of other people, for the masses selflessly. All of this work had been performed to validate her own actions. Thus, when she had been recruited by the System, all she asked for in return was that it would help her find someone she could trust wholly again. Unfortunately, it was a wish that became twisted. In a way, the System did grant her request. Her trust in the User would never be broken, no matter what he or she might do. Milk would follow them to hell and back if there was a need to. For someone who had never accepted anyone in her heart, the current Milk felt that it was somewhat liberating to be able to give her ideal of trust this freely to someone she didn''t necessarily know. But to the System back then, it did not think that way. All the System did was to pass its new User a faithfully blind bellator. With trust waning after the events of Ming, the System rather not risked using a Bellator that could potentially revolt. So, having Milk to faithfully follow Jin was basically a safety net for the System to test the new dungeon supplier. As to why sometimes Milk acted provocatively when Jin was around, it all stemmed from her wish. She craved to be ''one'' with him, especially when the fake priestess yearned his acceptance and hoped that eventually, this trust issue would become a two-way street rather than remain one-sided. ¡ª¡ª¨C "So, how long have you been employed under Jin? Or do you happen to be partners with him in this dungeon supplying store?" Rong tried to kick up some conversation to break the monotonous guarding since Milk had decided to stay awake for so long. But instead of replying, Milk remained dead quiet, making Rong worry that he might have asked a taboo question¡­ Until he sensed that something was wrong. Only an hour had passed, and the sun had yet to set, but the atmosphere was different from usual. "Ready your weapons and wake the others." Milk said as she brought out her giant book. "No way. We are trained to assess the threat and determine if it''s necessary to wake them up. Grandma Yuan''s training was ver-" The demon exorcist''s trap formation lit up for a moment, and suddenly everything shattered. There was no time for the trap formation to even activate its alarm. The instant it came down, Milk instantly pushed Rong away from where he was standing as a white bony fist emerged from the depths underground. The Priestess Bellator managed to block it with her giant book but was blown away from the impact, up into the sky. "Milk!" Rong shouted and then he sensed there was movement behind him, causing him to react instinctively by guarding himself with his hammer. That was not enough. A bone spirit infused monkey demon emerged from the trees and grabbed on to his hammer with a power swipe, causing Rong to be stunned about the abrupt theft. Fortunately, Milk managed to throw out a spell in time, blocking the monkey demon''s path of escape with a cage of holy swords. "WAKE THEM UP NOW!" Milk shouted, and Rong knew that this was definitely not something he could cope on his own. While punching the Bone Spirit Monkey Demon, he focused his chi into his throat and roared out to his friends, forcefully pulling them out of their deep slumber. "Enemy Horde! Battle Mode NOW!!!" Rong tried to wrestle his hammer away from the Bone Spirit Monkey Demon. It took him a moment to remember he could recall his hammer into his storage ring and summon it back to whack the monkey demon. To his surprise, the monkey demon was resilient enough, or maybe even intelligent enough to use the bone spirit''s outer bones to partially deflect the surprise hit. The bone armour just cracked, indicating that its toughness was not ordinary. Still, presented with a challenge, the monkey sent out a loud, resounding crackle that pierced the silence of the forest, as if it was calling out for more reinforcements. True enough, in a matter of moments, more monkey demons appeared and they started to approach towards the tent Lein, and the others had been sleeping in. At that point, the giant bone hand continued to harass Milk, unable to allow her to aid ''normally''. Rong only hoped that the defensive inscription charms placed on the tents could last long enough for the other demon exorcists to get ready in time. Chapter 700 Extra: All Out Attack Barely one metre away from the tent, the first wave of monkey demons rushed in without realising that it would be the gravest mistakes of their lives. A blast of lightning ripped through the tent''s defence inscription charms and obliterated three monkey demons in an instant. That was not the end as the lightning continued to chain, hitting the monkey demons coming after. However, its electrocution powers were no longer as strong as the initial blast, so it only slowed the new monkey demons down as they tried to shake off the paralysis. Still, this had provided sufficient time for Su Zhen and Lian to attack them with their cultivation techniques. A Great White Snake emerged from the nearby bushes and coiled around the monkey demons. It threw them into the air while Lian jumped up and sliced them into pieces. The only one not doing so well was Rong. He was stuck in the confined space after the cage of holy light swords blocked the monkey demon paths. It was only through a stroke of luck that he found out that the swords could be pulled out. However, the monkey demon was smart enough to try and copy Rong''s action except it did not know that those swords were tremendously effective against dark attributes¡­ which was exactly what these kinds of demons consisted of. With just one grab, the holy light sword instinctively released its powers, causing all the other spiritual swords to soar out of the ground and thrust into the body of the monkey demon. As for the caster who had performed that spell, she was ironically entrapped by the grab of the giant bone hand. However, that presented little to no trouble at all, as the giant bone hand merely acted as a cage and nothing more. It was not squeezing the life out of her, nor was it draining any of mana away. It also appeared as if the other demons ignored her for the time being. Thus, Milk decided to use this opportunity to watch how the demon exorcists handled this particular situation. "All of them are sentient in nature and have the ability to understand." Su Zhen shared her analysis with the group, suggesting that holding back their attacks might present more of a trouble for them than going all out. "No shit, sherlock!" Rong replied as he was finally able to perform a proper swing against a Bone infused Monkey demon and smashed it into pieces. The inability to do so previously had frustrated him enough to show them no mercy. Capture them? No way. It''s an all-out massacre. "Do you think that means there are other monkey demons watching us fight as well?" Lein made an astute observation when he vaguely noticed gazes from afar. "This does not bode well for us. We might clear the first wave, but the subsequent wave will learn how to break us if we don''t work together as a team to cover each other''s bases." Su Zhen answered as she stood on the Great White Snake and commanded it to spew out a sputum afar. The spit once broken would release a fair amount of toxic gas. Su Zhen did not intend for it to kill the monkey demons, although she wouldn''t mind if it did. Rather she was using it as a smokescreen so that they would not be able to spectate their fights. Even with the introduction of the poisonous gas, Su Zhen could see from the top of her snake that the monkey demons had a way of preventing the inhalation of the gas. The infused bone armour slowly turned into a mask shape, preventing the monkey demon from breathing in the lethal vapours. Su Zhen had never even heard of demons adapting that quickly to a new situation. It went to show that they must have learned a lot from fighting against the border guards. "Well, if what Su Zhen says is really true, thank goodness I am not in any fights for now." Milk was secretly craving a bag of potato chips as she peered down from the top, but then she started to notice that there were streaks of mini bones coming out the bony palm and fingers that had captured her. While she did not know what they would do, it was plainly obvious that they spelt terrible news. Thus, with a slight movement of her palm, the entire bone hand started to vibrate before it shattered into pieces. But that was not the end, as Milk had already imbued the entirety of the bone hand with holy magic. So, with a mighty swipe of her hand, the fragments of the giant bone hand dispersed into the crowd and rained down like some torrential rain. Instinctively, the demon exorcists used their chi to cover themselves from the attack. (Though Rong and Lian were complaining loudly that Milk should have given a warning of some sort.) That attack with such a wide area of effect had weakened the crowd of monkey demons significantly, prompting Lein to fire multiple bursts of lightning, starting from the ones afar. Rong and Lein went on an angry rampage to clear the nearby targets, dropping each and every monkey demon they could see while Su Zhen finished what Lein had started to ensure there were no survivors to spread the news. It was definitely an all-out kill with containment measures in place. But with this, the sneaky System was able to collect a variety of monkey demons as specimen samples and most importantly as minions. However, unlike the usual minions, the System noticed that a number of them were not producing the same kind of survival output as demonstrated in the forest. It was as if the bone spirits suddenly let go of the monkey it was fused with. Thus they were not as strong as the ones the demon exorcists had struggled. It prompted the System to determine that there might be external forces at work manipulating the monkeys, rather than it being a naturally occurring mutation among a monster horde. And if this was true, this practically confirmed that it wasn''t a natural disaster but a major act of terrorism. The System deduced that it was even possible that it could be counted as a potential new form of foreign invasion. Chapter 701 Can You Believe it? For the remaining part of the day, the soldiers spent it moving around the floating platforms in order to familiarise themselves for the upcoming defence raid. They quickly came to the conclusion that the dungeon instance that they were in was way too detailed and intricate for just a ''normal defence raid''. It looked as if it was a real living city broken into many parts for the monsters to work at. Some soldiers started to get the feeling that they would not be participating in an exercise but actually be defending a real city. Even the commanding officers who were being escorted by Jin and toured around the area found it overly suspicious. Confronted with all the questioning gazes Jin came up with the excuse of telling them that he was creating a living breathing city and this was the prototype for it. "If I can create a defence raid and accommodate massive numbers without the server breaking down, it will mean that we''ll be one step closer in creating an alternate reality fantasy world for people to experience real-life rather than just a virtual reality." "For example, we could use it to let city people experience a little bit of the rural lifestyle. It could be used to teach them about farming and get them to appreciate how tranquil it could be. With a bit of magic on hand, it should easily serve as an interactive agricultural simulation for them to enjoy." Jin mixed some half-truths in his lies when they passed through the first Agriculture Sector. "This is insane. From what I know about dungeon instances, this should not be possible right now. Your technology has already toppled the charts in many different ways. To be able to stay, live and breathe- heck! Eat and enjoy this area as if we were at a tropical resort. That''s more than enough evidence to show that your dungeon technology is more than just cutting edge.." Chen Lai praised when he saw how vast the agriculture fields were. "Can you believe it? When we passed the industrial sector, it was filled with those orcs and goblins who seemed to be working. If Jin ever reaches a level where he could ensure that the products produced here could be used for the outside world¡­ just imagine how much the defence minister would love to locate all-out black sites with Boss Jin." Kan Jian pointed out as he was able to perceive the capability of Jin''s ''alternate reality'' dungeon instance. (Although Jin had already been doing that.) "He would have endless orders just by the simple fact on how secure it should be. There would be no need to worry about foreign eyes peeking at our projects! This would be a fantastic boon! You should inform us as soon as you can maintain them for a long period of time!" "I''d not agree to that," Jin uttered without thinking too much. As the commanding officers surrounding him stopped, he looked around and decided to explain his reasoning. "Look, I don''t want to be accountable for the government. One small screw up be it on my end or yours, and I will be held responsible. Besides, do you really think I''d look forward to having my employees be at risk against possible foreign kidnappings, interrogations or assassinations?!" Jin said as he recalled how the Triads had tried to capture Lynn. "Ah¡­ you''re correct. You''re a good boss for caring so much about your employees." Boon Tiong nodded his head almost immediately, and Jin started to wonder how much this Major knew about him. Had Hou Fei allowed him to collect data on him that easily? Even though it should not be much of a surprise that he might possess the dungeon supplier''s data, but it was still rather disturbing to reveal something like that so openly. Aside from some minor chats, the commanding officers had a thorough look at Jin''s battleground and upon Hou Fei''s eventual instruction, they decided not to pry too much into Jin''s current dungeon. Instead, they accepted it as is and prepared for the attack. Soon after, Jin left the commanding officers to their devices and spoke with General Hou Fei privately. "Do you think it''s a mistake to show them all these or to even recruit your soldiers for the battle?" Jin asked with some pressing concerns on his mind. "You planned to eventually open it for the cultivators and customers alike, so I don''t see why this should be a problem. As much as they want to speculate, the fact is they are in this already. So, just relax and enjoy the remaining part of the day." Hou Fei consoled Jin and left, stating that he needed to find Qiu Yue for a few matters. "Relax for the remaining part of the day?" Jin laughed at that possibility. He couldn''t even remember the last time he sat down and relaxed properly. Perhaps it was karma for all the times he had slacked during his school days. However, the advice that Hou Fei had given him was not bad per se. Jin decided to combine work with relaxation and chose to take a look around the new hotels that Qiu Yue had created and their amenities. After which, he teleported out of the Dungeon City Fortress and took a short stroll in the Tree Mall. He had yet to thank the hawkers for that grand food order they accomplished for New Year''s Eve. Jin even had the cheek to think about scaring them again by informing them about the soldiers'' presence once more. "AH BOSS JIN!" Sam Su, the owner for the mixed rice stall, recognised Jin checking out his stall despite the large crowd. His shout alone caught the attention of the rest of hawkers who came over to loudly greet their landlord. "Thanks for the great work you all did that day. I''m truly sorry about it being so sudden of a request." Jin bowed gratefully before his tenants. "Small issue! The money we earned from you is more than sufficient gratitude. More importantly, what brings you here today? Want a plate of rice? Free of charge!" Sam Su offered, and the others chipped in. "Eh, you stupid rice hawker! Stop taking Boss Jin for yourself! Boss! Come over to my shop, coffee''s on me!" The drinks stall owner shouted from the pyramid base despite the crowd they were having. "Boss Jin! Don''t listen to these amateur chefs! Have a plate of my dumplings! My treat!" The noodles stall owner called jokingly, and everyone started trying to outdo the others in showing off how grateful they were for Jin''s order. "Fine! If all of you insist! I shall be shameless and take one of your signature dish each!" Jin agreed with a smile on his face, and all of the hawkers cheered on. The customers hadn''t expected such camaraderie between the hawkers and their landlord and it did bring a little smile on their faces too. Some decided to purchase a bit extra from these hawkers and to share it with their colleagues and such. It was a small gesture but nevertheless a positive one. "So, I heard that there is some event coming around?" Sam Su had decided to serve some steamed fish for Jin to eat as the dungeon supplier thanked him for the food. "Yup. If I remembered correctly, about a thousand have already signed up." Jin informed him, and at this point, Sam Su was no longer surprised by the numbers. Most importantly, the System only counted those who had purchased the game tickets in advance, and the numbers were still increasing as Jin was eating. "Then I guess I will get the other hawkers to prepare more food for tomorrow''s event." That was all Sam Su needed to know, and he allowed Jin to enjoy his food in peace. To Jin''s surprise, the hawkers purposely brought a mini bowl from their stores instead of a large portion since they knew that Jin would sincerely be tasting each and everyone''s gratitude. The more he sampled from the hawkers, the more he realised that they had improved leaps and bounds. "I guess it worked. Inserting the penguins as semi trainers did prompt them to improve their culinary skills after all. Lynn is truly a genius." Jin smiled as he thought back to the stuff Kraft had randomly spouted about the Pyramid Food Guild. Should he perhaps help and set it up to become a reality? Chapter 702 Bread "Relaxing sure is hard," Jin mumbled to himself after he woke up to a series of sludge crystals once again. As usual, he took a few for himself and the rest was absorbed by the System. After the impromptu lunch, Jin decided to man the store for a few hours allowing Yun to take a break. Ironically, some of the new regular customers mistook him for a brand new employee and kept asking for ''Lady Boss Yun'' instead. Jin figured he should try to come out in person a little more to make sure that his presence was still felt. Or perhaps, that should be placed into consideration when he creates the new shopfront instance. After that, the group dinner was a slew of reviewing the city defences for one last time. Despite her absence in the previous war room briefing, Lynn wasn''t entirely out of the picture. She had merely focused on what she''s best at. Feeding the cultivators good food so that they could be in tip-top form for the fight. The Sub System User also revealed that they had prepared an energising breakfast for all the soldiers so they should be able to even exceed their peak conditions. "We''ve even prepared emergency snack packs for the soldiers in case the fight drags on too long," Lynn added and Jin asked if the cultivators have such privileges as well. "Add that option in the Pandamonium mobile app store. We can earn a lot of money from those people." Qiu Yue chimed in immediately. She also suggested offering the first snack pack with a 50% discount to entice people to try it out. Other than that particular issue, Qiu Yue was mostly the one educating them about the latest changes to the city defences, and everyone except for Kraft was listening intently to all of it. ¡ª¡ª- "Morning Jin." Lynn greeted him after she heard Jin coming down from the stairs. "You''re really making breakfast for us? I figured you''d need to be in the Kitchen instance to oversee the production for today''s meals?" Jin asked groggily as he took out a carton of milk from the fridge to drink. "Silly, did you already forget that I promised to make breakfast for everyone at the end of our dinner conversation last night? Can''t go around breaking promises." Lynn smiled with her eyes closed so she could smell the fresh bread baking in the kitchen''s oven. She woke up early to try out baking bread after receiving some tips from Qian Qian. The older woman was also currently awake in her bakery instance to finish up the last few orders for the soldiers'' breakfast buffet. "Anyways, you woke up at the perfect time. Come and take a whiff of this." Seeing how the Cultivator of the Perfectible Penguin Ruling the Kitchen Hell was so focused squatting at the oven to sniff the making of the bread, Jin copied Lynn and smelt the bread. While the general scent was full of wheat, focusing his attention on the oven and watching it bake did make him start to feel very hungry even though with his cultivation and yesterday''s spread of food, there was no actual need to eat for another day. (It''s a surprise how all those extra calories escaped from Jin''s body, though he suspected they might have been used up during his cultivation.) "Were you aware that Qian Qian is an accomplished food science graduate? She even published a few research articles in the Journal of Cereal Science." "What is it about?" Jin asked as he opened the cap to the carton of milk and started sipping it. "She had discovered that her traditional methods of baking allowed a special form of fermentation to happen, despite the fact that according to modern culinary arts, this should not be possible? It''s crazy, and many peer reviews tried to disclaim her thesis as fake, but all failed." Lynn rambled about some facts that Jin had no prior knowledge of. His culinary knowledge was at a point where he had been amazed that cereals had their own science behind them until he thought about it logically. "Does that mean you were also one of the doubters? That you actually didn''t believe it, until you saw it?" Jin asked to try to keep the conversation going when it was exceptionally rare for Lynn to ramble on like this. "You got me. I was taken aback by it until Qian Qian quickly took one out for me to analyse. Of course, I had to use Ayse''s lab on standby to do so, and everything she claimed was true." Lynn admitted with her eyes open and with elation in her expression. "Then we can consider ourselves lucky to have a hidden expert in our midst." Jin replied as he heard the ''ding'' from the oven and Lynn had already put on the pair of oven gloves. As she took out the bread, the aroma of it spread throughout the house. It was strong enough to attract the sleepyheads out of their room. "What is that heavenly smelllll~?" Peppers shouted in a slurred manner as she was leaning her head over railings from the second floor. "Smells like a good hearty breakfast," Kraft answered as he picked Peppers up by her waist and brought her down with him. Unlike her usual antics, she did not make a single noise and allowed him to do so. "Indeed. We are truly blessed to have Lady Lynn in our household." Zeru mentioned as he came in from the backyard with a towel in hand. He had never missed a day of training in his life, but all the more he would not miss this tasting of freshly baked bread. "I won''t say no to any of Lynn''s food." Yun had already teleported into the living room upon System''s notification that the bread was ready. "Too bad, Milk and Qiu Yue are not here with us." Lynn lamented while she was preparing the side dishes and that prompted Jin to help out by taking the various fruit jams from the cabinet. It was already a rare occasion for Lynn to make breakfast in the morning, yet an even rarer situation had occurred for the Devilman was helping arrange the cutlery. Even Zeru was taking the various cartons of drinks from the fridge and assisted in pouring everyone''s favourite drink. It looked like a harmonious family dinner picture¡­ If it were not for Peppers. It would have been okay if she had sat down quietly at the dining table without contributing but nope. Her curiosity for the freshly baked bread led her to sneakily try to pinch a small portion of bread aiming to have the first taste while everyone was distracted with their various tasks. "Don''t you dare." Yun immediately pulled Pepper''s ear and dragged her by her red panda pyjama''s collar away from the heavenly bread before she even had the chance to touch it. "Noooooooo!!" Peppers moaned as she ended up tied by Yun''s binding spell. Even though the mage Bellator had the power to break the spell easily, she was acting as the child of the family, yearning for the bread to be served to her right now. The rest of the group chuckled at Pepper''s behaviour, and they continued aiding Lynn with the breakfast before the big fight. Chapter 703 Pandaren As expected, on the day of the Demon Army Defence Raid event, the Tree Mall was bustling with life more so than ever before. Dungeons and Pandas, being the (literal) epitome of shops in the Tree Mall, had given cultivators and their families a reason to get out of the house and enjoy it. The hawkers had already expected this and prepared way more food than usual. Many around the Tiangong Shopping District had started to become regular patrons of the stores. Without the hassle of finding any tables, people just had to wait until it was their turn to order, making it a big hit in the neighbourhood. It had reached a point where the hawkers had even asked Jin if it''s possible to allow their regular customers to book tables at the front of their store. Jin naturally agreed to it since such staunch support for the store just proved their food was getting better. (in fact, healthier too) Asking the System to add such an option on the app, was considered as a small friendly gesture or maybe even a privilege for them. The Panda Burger instance made use of the increased people count to finally reveal its new breakfast menu in conjunction with Qian Qian from the Bakery Instance. The ''Imperial Baker'' (or that was what Lynn teased) was seemingly starting to collaborate with Jin''s people like the drinks stall owner in the Food Pyramid Instance. The owner had been selling soft boiled eggs in the morning together with her toasted bread to supplement his income. As for the Panda Burger instance, it had a more westernised form of breakfast, similar to Wacdonalds. The so-called ''Panda Pancakes meal'' featured pancakes looking like a panda''s head. To make things even more interesting, the panda pancakes had been imprinted with ''dark brown'' spots on either side of the pancakes to simulate the black spots a panda has near its eye (or on its eyes). The pancakes varied in regards to where the spots appeared and sometimes both sides of the pancake had it. Qian Qian, with the help of the Orc engineers, had created a customised pancake maker that allowed for such imprints. Fortunately, they had benefited from an increase in manpower courtesy of the Salamanders. As part of the new animal tribes, they had been given the task to help Qian Qian and Panda Burger mainly because of their new cultivation that allowed them to control heat. The Sassy Salamander Cultivation. While throwing massive fireballs was not too far-flung off in the future based on their cultivation, they still received their education from a mix of Flame Ripper and the Fire Wyrm Ants who had a natural affinity towards the fire. At the same time, Lynn refrained them from learning from Peppers and deemed her ways as something akin to the forbidden arts. Naturally, the little mage bellator loved to create trouble and learning that she was not allowed to do so, made her more inclined to explain her ways of explosive magic to the Salamanders. (Perhaps, Lynn was using reverse psychology to prompt Peppers to teach?) Speaking of Lynn, the Restaurant Train Instance was jammed packed with people too. There wasn''t anything new on the menu, yet everyone was practically gorging on every food possible for the various buffs Lynn''s food could provide. The dish which had been ordered the most on that day was definitely the onigiris. Rumours had spread (all started by a certain bored Devilman) stating that there was a set of onigiris that would give an overall boost to strength, agility and vitality as well as chi generation all packed into one meal. This made people go on a search frenzy to see which of those random onigiris had it. And true to his craftiness, Kraft would occasionally fan the flames by sneakily walking amidst the customer who bought it and quietly buffed their onigiris by adding Evon''s strengthening drug concoction in it. One or two lucky random cultivators made an uproar upon finding the holy grail of onigiris and immediately posted it online. However, truth be told, the sneaky Fox Bellator had already researched them beforehand and knew who were the major influencers that participated in the advanced raid. All it took was a bit of nudge and that Meibo post spread like wildfire in the dungeon scenes. In the meantime, the redemption counter for Dungeons and Panda was also filled to the brim with people who were there to redeem their T-shirts. When asked if there was a T-shirt size, the red pandas at the counters stated that they had already customised their shirts based on their previous dungeon runs. For the cultivators who entered for the first time, the sizes were prepared on-site and some of them only had to wait for 15 minutes or so to receive their shirt. As for the shirt, it had a simple graphic design on the right chest corner at the front of the shirt. With a pocket to contain the design, a Panda holding a sword was depicted there. However, what most cultivators failed to realise was that their graphic shirts were customised to the type of weapons they were using. For example, Xiong Da''s shirt had a Panda holding a two-handed war club weapon. A short text was placed at the left side of the shirts'' sleeves, namely, the word "Pandaren" (or "Xiong Mao Ren") in Chinese. What it meant was literally "Panda People", and this was to give the cultivators who had dedicated their cultivation ''hobby'' or profession to this particular dungeon supplier a sense of belonging. As for the Pandawans who had registered (naturally all of them had pre-ordered), theirs had been printed with the Pandawan title instead. For both Pandawans and Pandarens, they all noticed that a set of numbers was also stitched onto it right below their titles. At first, people assumed that it was the registration number imprinted on the shirt. It was only after one of the newcomers pointed out that the numbers looked like today''s date, and someone followed up with the deduction that it was actually the dates the cultivators had entered the shop. Through that astute inference, many began to appreciate the fact that Jin did not treat them as a digit on his database. Instead, this showed that they were born as Pandarens on that day and date, allowing them to forge a better identity with the Dungeon Supplier store. To the Pandawans, this was no longer some store but a place where their second family belonged. One last special thing about this customised shirt was that on the right side, there was a Velcro patch with a badge on it. The badge was specifically made for this raid alone, and only those who participated would have it. Should they wish to sell it, Jin could not stop them at all, but each and every one of them would be limited to that one. The design of the badge was similar to what they were going to experience. There were multiple floating platforms in the foreground of the badge while a stereotypical demon with bat wings was kneeling down, covered with swords, axes and lances. At the bottom of the badge, it wrote "Demon Army Defence." For a simple-looking shirt to provide a collective identity between cultivators and offered exclusivity, made them feel extra special. It had inadvertently made the customers want to start gathering more of these in the future. Chapter 704 Pandapolis "There is no turning back now, you sure we are ready for this?" Moloch asked one last time at the war room table which was busy as hell even though this was just for the preparations of the eventual demon army raid. "I will laugh my ass off if your so-called King Baal does not even come at all." Dark Elf Leader Drex replied in a crude way as for once he was donned in his full battle armour passed down from his ancestors. They relied on no god for they themselves could become gods of war on the battlefield. It was true that the once mighty Drow Empire had fallen far from grace, reduced in size to a tiny population that would have been considered impossible in the past. After centuries of arrogance, they had incurred significant losses while defending their very last bastion until they were forced to live in solitude. However, with the advent of Kraft and his Foxes, they had now regained their confidence and strength to return to their past glory that the Goblin World had once feared. Still, they refused to ever bend the knee for him anymore. ("Only such prideful creatures deserve my pity!" said Kraft) "My other servants Yem and Mer had been to the other Dungeon Towns and Dungeon Fortresses, the news about the incoming attack was significantly well spread. Enough to garner the attention of both adventurers and monsters which pretty much guarantees that some of them will want to join the fight on Baal''s side." Moloch confirmed that the attack was imminent the moment they dropped the shield. "Even adventurers?" Jin asked, and Wolte shrugged as if it was a regular occurrence. To them, it was no surprise that some adventurers ventured into the dark arts. Besides, King Baal''s metropolis was not a place where one could stay at will. Even merchants needed to apply for a special pass or pay a dubious sum of money to enter. Else, every other single person had to be invited to be in there. "These kinds of demon army raids are quite rare, so they act as ideal chances to earn free passes for them to enter after they are done raiding. The more there are, the more it guarantees that the demon army will win, which is why news spread fast, and people happily volunteer to help King Baal to take out the betrayer." Wolte answered indicating why Moloch''s switch to Jin initially felt like a death sentence. "I guess no one ever lived to survive King Baal''s betrayal." Jin queried, and the two demons nodded their head. "All the better. We shall build our legacy by becoming the first to defy him and come out on top as the city that repelled King Baal''s demon army." He proclaimed with such a resolute voice that the two Demon Lords believed there was indeed a glimmer of a chance for success to be possible. "General, everyone is in place." An Orc telecoms operator reported to Nubwort, who nodded silently at this. "General Hou Fei, your men are in position too." A goblin operator reported the very same thing to General Hou Fei, the only one representing the real human soldiers in the room. He knew that there were sensitive issues to be discussed and told the other commanding officers to take charge of the various defence sections. They had their very own war room table at the opposite side of the building, allowing Hou Fei to attend to them if necessary. But for now, the Panda Remnant stayed with Jin to assist him in making major decisions. What came as a surprise was that Jin expressed his intention in wanting to fight on the ground alongside his bellators. Those listening were forced to agree without much of a choice. He knew the commanders around the table were also itching to put up a fight. "I can stay here and watch the battlefield, you guys can enter and do the fighting if you want." "You serious?!" A resounding question came from the war table after Kraft teleported in to announce his own intentions. It''s not that they didn''t trust him for his commanding skills. In fact, he had proven himself to be quite formidable during the Goblin War when he assisted Jin with it. The devil Bellator merely nodded his head. "Don''t worry, I won''t be alone. Just think of me acting as a bodyguard for our Red Panda Cutie here. I want to watch her coordinate this fight and test if she is as interesting as she was during the random match she did with Jin." Kraft reassured the group and casually ''added'' that he would join in if he felt like it. "But Kraft had not been in for most of the meetings, is it okay for him to watch over the war room table without knowledge of the plans that we have?" General Nubwort brought up a genuine concern. "I will be assisting Kraft immediately once I unlock the dungeon core so do-" Moloch was later interrupted by Kraft who threw some popcorn into his puppet mouth and voluntarily dragged him away. "Alright then, let''s do it people." Jin reluctantly gave the final go-ahead which prompted Kraft to teleport Moloch into the room equipped with the Dungeon Core. It was hidden within the temporarily floating fortress platform which Jin had asked Qiu Yue to build. Up till now, Qiu Yue was still doing some final checks and demanding the goblins and orc workers to insert temporary machine gun emplacements where she deemed suitable. The brand new floating fortress was hailed by the Building Empire Sub System User as the best creation to date. Although the schedule to build it had been tight ("Tight? It WAS extremely tight, five days? Who gave five days to build a FLOATING fortress? Rome was not built in a day! So much having a more flexible working lifestyle working under Jin!" Qiu Yue had lots to complain.), she managed to obtain more input and reviews from the Royal Snake Battalions'' commanding officers. It forced her to make some drastic changes but with most of the workers free after the completed construction of the sea domes, they had enough manpower to make it happen before they called Peppers to add the permanent floatation magic into it. Unlike the others, this one was not a piece of land but a steel platform built from scratch. Due to the weight of the fortress, Industrial Sector 2 dipped sideways by 6 metres and Peppers needed to be called in to make temporary adjustments to the floating platform or else, items and furniture would be tilted sideways. "Qiu Yue." Moloch teleported to meet her first, informing her that Jin and the other generals were giving the go-ahead. "Huh, it''s finally here." Qiu Yue wiped her sweat from her forehead and with a switch on her phone, she was fully equipped with the same gear Jin had given her during the Goblin War. Having Moloch at her side, and a certain onlooker watching from behind with popcorn in his arm, she deactivated the concrete lock created by Sandy so as to allow Moloch to interact with the dungeon core to bring the shield down. This was it. The opening of their new city. Pandapolis! Chapter 705 Early Release of Dungeon Shield "My Liege! My Liege!" A hurried demon servant came crashing into King Baal''s bathing room, where he noticed that he had interrupted his majesty''s pleasure time. The demon maids screeched a little and hid behind King Baal''s legs, chest, and one even flew above his head. However, the King of Demons grabbed her as she attempted to glide over his head. "My lord! Please forgive me for my rude-" The maid realised her mistake a little too late, and before she could finish her sentence, her life was squashed out of her chest. And all that remained was a container of broken bones, organs and blood hanging over King Baal''s hand. As if the demon maid''s pitiful demise wasn''t enough to satisfy the King, he brought it near his face and sniffed it before taking a bite out of her thigh. "Hmm, not too bad. What is it you want, puny Imp?" Even though King Baal had a human face, there was always a split second where the Imp servant could see the facial silhouettes of an old frog or a grumpy cat appearing like a sort of transition, as if King Baal himself had two other souls residing within him. The servant hesitantly wiped his sweat away as understandably the sound of his Baal munching on demon meat was rather overbearing. But in order to avoid letting King Baal lose his patience again, the imp servant swallowed his saliva and announced the news he bore. "The traitorous Minotaur Lord Moloch has brought his shield down one day before the deadline! Our troops, ever ready, are in the process of organising themselves to follow your command." The imp servant did not speak a full lie, but a half truth was still a lie. The troops were indeed amassed for the fight, but their commanders had allowed them to take one final break. Even King Baal had assumed that the traitor would try to avoid his fate until the very last second and had hence decided to relax for the day. Clearly not even he expected the Demon Minotaur Lord to choose to bring his shield down early. But then again only a few had expected him to turn into a traitor. "So you''re telling me they are not ready for battle?" King Baal''s left eyebrow raised at his imp servant''s phrasing. He had been around all types of demons, so he understood them better than anyone and knew than someone tried to twist their words. "They are! They are!" The lowly Imp outright lied hoping to not join the demon maid in King Baal''s belly, but a snort came from his liege as he stood up. At roughly 5 metres tall, his stature might be lean and slender, but that did not mean the aura he radiated was not death defying. The imp servant continued to lie prostrated and prayed to the netherworld that he would still be there in the next minute or so. (Even though he would get resurrected just like the maid.) "What are you waiting for? Don''t you know what to do next without me telling you?!" King Baal questioned, and the imp servant shook his head violently. Without a moment of hesitation, he ran off to quickly inform the other imp servants and demon maids to prepare the King''s armour while he would send a messenger to get the generals to meet with him immediately. But before the Imp servant was done telling the others what to do, King Baal came out of the bathroom and shouted his first command. "Send the first wave in! Let''s see what made the cow toy dare to defy us." The Imps simultaneously acknowledged his orders as they continued to hurry in preparation for the start of the battle. After all, it would be a shame that the Demon Army did not strike any fear in the hearts of any would-be traitors of the King. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C As the ''newbie'' shield came down, there was a slight disturbance within the air. It made everyone tense up for the next few moments. Yet the first minute since the birth of Pandapolis passed without any incident, causing the demons under Lord Moloch to smirk. "Seems like our lord''s strategy worked." Sebastia who had returned from the Farming World for the fight was clearly happy about her chosen lord''s plan. Lord Moloch knew that every demon would be given a break before the big battle so they would be in an ideal condition for the first strike. King Baal hardly changed his strategy, always utilising the old plans without fail, but then again, they always worked. Considering it had been ages since the last traitor, it would be strange if anything had changed. Thus Moloch had gambled on this. In any case, the worst case scenario would have been that the Demon Army teleported into the area immediately after the shield dissipated, which was what they had been preparing for till date. (Although some bet to differ that the worst case scenario was the Demon Army not coming at all. This would definitely throw a blow to Jin''s time sensitive event, and the dungeon supplier was clearing not prepared for such a scenario.) But seeing that nothing of that sort happened, Lord Moloch and his minions knew that following the tradition, the first wave of the army would be hastily organised for the imminent attack. True, the first wave might still be formidable, but it at least meant that they would not be in full strength due to their disorganisation, giving the defenders a slight edge. Right now, it felt like a game of tower defence where reducing the number of attackers meant everything. At the same time, the cultivator''s crowd continued to gather around the shop instance and waited for the official start of the event. Usually, Jin would appear to give some nonsensical speech, but this time around, an informative video was brought up in all the auditoriums, allowing everyone to have a basic level of preparation. Depending on how well Moloch''s plan worked, they could even take a moment to decide on which front they wanted to be assigned. (Though they did not know was that ultimately, their placement was down to the strategists and tacticians in the dungeon world''s war room.) Even in case the plan failed, the first phase of defensive countermeasures did not concern the cultivators. Separately, Xiong Da and the rest of the Pandawans had been given a specially coded message from their app, asking them to step into the conference room instance. Trusting in Boss Jin they did just that, only to find Bear Cub One waving at them intensely. "Boss Jin is busy handling the last few adjustments of the raid, but the server has already started up. What we want from you is to act akin to the cultivators'' ''special forces''." Bear Cub One explained as he passed them the very same USB chip which Xiong Da and others had used previously for the Squads testing. "Does that mean we will all be able to officially use the squads'' function?" Xiong Da asked with excitement, and Bear Cub One inadvertently shook his head. "We still need more testing. This time around, we have limited it to all the Pandawans." The little bear announcer replied which made people like Yue Wen, the Healing Maiden Cultivator and Se Lang, the Wacky Wolf Cultivator have blank faces and question marks floating above their heads. "Don''t worry, we will fill you in. It''s going to be lots of fun!" Luo Bo smiled as she felt excited to use the Squad functions again. "Unfortunately, there were a few drastic changes to the squads due to the limitation of the server. All the changes are recorded in the USB drive, and a notice will be uploaded to your screen the moment you plug it in. Please read it carefully and use this place to get some practice using the new squad function. We will send you out when it is appropriate." Bear Cub One assured them that they would definitely receive more points than the cultivators who rushed in first. And if they were to rush first, it was mainly the decision of the ''server''s'' algorithm. "But do we even have the place to practice the squad function in this small cramp place?" Ruo Ying, the Esthetic Egret Cultivator, asked, and the Bear Cub One roared cutely in response, causing the conference room to widen in size. Without further ado, some of the Pandawans started to insert the USB drive into their phones and read the notes in amazement. Chapter 706 Orc Artillery Company "This is ridiculous. Who in the world would remove their shield one day early instead of taking all the time in the world to enjoy the last of your days for betraying King Baal?" Forcas, the Knight of Hell asked rhetorically as he assembled his troop of demon cavalry and foot soldiers, ready to be teleported and take down the traitorous Lord Moloch. The heavily armoured infernal Tiefling paced himself hastily as he checked up on his captains and everything else before the teleportation. Were it not for a mage who noticed the sudden change and reported on the status of the Dungeon Fortress Lord Moloch had stolen from the grasp of King Baal, they would still have been busy relaxing for the day. Yet continuing to do nothing would bring further disgrace to the Demon Army for not acting promptly against their traitors. "He must have gone insane with fear and prefer to accept his fate instead of cowering in fear." One of his squires concluded while the others chimed in that Lord Moloch might be vying for forgiveness, knowing that he''s unable to compete against King Baal''s mighty army. "I''d love to see the face of that arrogant cow puppet begging on his knees!" Forcas grinned while dreaming of the riches he could get from King Baal. It would be a dream come true if he could become the one to gain Moloch''s title of Lord before killing him, sending that cow puppet either into exile or to the rank of knights¡­ That is if King Baal was still willing to forgive him. "Mages! Teleport us the momen-" Forcas shouted, but the demon mages had already prepared the teleportation circle and activated it the moment they heard Knight Forcas utter the word ''teleport''. There was no time to waste, especially since one of their own had informed them that he felt the presence of King Baal coming towards them. If by that time Knight Forcas'' army wasn''t on the battlefield, their heads wouldn''t stay on their shoulders. *SAAZAM* "Bloody mages¡­" Knight Forcas grumbled as he suffered a slight headache, realising it was a forced teleportation. He suspected that the mages had skipped a few chants to get them to their destination even faster. "Regardless, we should be in the safe zone now. Assemble our troops! We need to get into format- ¡­what in the world?!" Forcas could not believe his eyes as he gazed upon the land''s horizon. There were no gates nor buildings right in front of him. Instead, it was littered with stone-cold clay statues except for the ''safe'' zone that they were in. Tens of floating islands right above them with bridges connecting each one made the demon army start to doubt if they hadn''t mistakenly been sent into a dungeon cave rather than the city. Further, beyond the shoreline, was just a massive body of water. Naturally, Knight Forcas assumed that there must be some magic in play. "The old cow must have spent his time drawing up a giant magic circle to show them this illusion hoping to get them to flee. How the bloody hell did the mages manage not to detect it? What were they even paid for?!" "Are they using any relics?" Forcas asked his senior Tiefling mage for information but their leisure chatting time was interrupted by a series of distant blasts from afar. While it took the commanding knight a moment to realise that it could be the enemies'' attack, a series of explosions happened simultaneously right in front of their eyes, causing disbelief. "I thought magical spells are disallowed in the safe zone!?" Knight Forcas changed the topic as he raised his shield and used a defensive magic spell to ensure his survival. He was fortunate to have done so, as he got hit by a blast the very next second. Somehow the impact had caused his magic shield to break. Even though Forcas was able to withstand the initial blast, the splash effect of the explosion caused him to be knocked backwards, indicating it was no ordinary fireball or magic spell. "That''s correct, but physical projectiles are still able to pass through! Therefore, I believe it must be some form of-" The senior mage was talking protected by a mana shield, yet was suddenly killed by subsequent blasts of whatever that traitorous cow had managed to acquire. The shell not only pierced through the senior mage''s defences but also exploded right in front of Forcas, making his ear start to ring and disoriented him. All there was left of where the other Tiefling had stood was fire and ''brimstone''. "What kind of sorcery projectile is this then?! Why can''t we see them!" Knight Forcas shouted in despair as he saw his troops getting decimated in a matter of seconds. They had no time to regroup, and he couldn''t even find any mages to relay the message back to the main demon metropolis to report about this strange situation. As the bombardment was sequentially released by the Orc Artillery Company, Nubwort was not giving them any chances to relax just yet. Even after they had rained down waves of artillery barrage into the safe zone, it was not enough unless the System informed them that it was absolutely clear of any enemies. A few of Que Er''s magpies were also on the lookout for the System to accurately adjust the barrage''s coordinates so that they were not wasting any ammunition. At the same time, General Hou Fei was pleased with the Orc Artillery Company''s display of continuous bombardment. Although they knew this was all a giant simulation, the Royal Snake soldiers in the artillery section felt itchy to use their own big guns. Unfortunately, the strongest they had were mortars and anti-tank guns they had rented from the Dungeons and Panda''s weapon section. It was mobile enough for them to be able to adapt for varying situations, but the soldiers wanted some big ''pow'' to blow off some steam. "Stop." General Nubwort commanded, and everyone understood that this meant there were no more enemies back there. Even the fabled Knight Forcas who had brought fear and terror to countless of King Baal''s enemies with his cavalries stood no chance against the overwhelming bombing. Still, this was the Dungeon World, so even if all of them would fall, given time they would definitely resurrect again¡­ Or that was what had Knight Forcas thought before he succumbed to the explosive power of Lord Moloch''s attacks. Chapter 707 Kraft’s Hidden Agenda It felt as if Knight Forcas and his army was just the warm-up practice as the subsequent waves of troops which entered afterwards were obliterated much more quickly than previously expected. After being among the few who had consistently ridden into battle with King Baal, Lord Wolte instinctively knew the composition of the armies that came in, especially since he had in designing some of these, giving Jin and the others a battle advantage. This was even truer since most strategists had to receive King Baal''s approval before being allowed to change any tactical plans. Thus, the Orc Artillery Company was able to amass a successful killstreak of over six hundred soldiers thanks to this obscene lack of feasibility. While some of the demon soldiers were able to move out of the area in time, mainly the ones with heavier constitutions, they were all later killed one by one, courtesy of the snipers from the Royal Snake Sniper Company. A series of them were taking encampment at the nearest floating platform, taking shots with heavy-duty Barret M82 sniper rifles. Their captain stated that this was a perfect time to train up their long-distance kills since there was little to no wind to be taken into account in this particular ''dungeon'' instance. However, the captain severely underestimated Jin''s weapons store as it had provided these snipers rifles with a little perk. The scope that was attached to it had been calibrated with an assistive AI system, giving minimalistic help functions to subtly direct the shots. This was merely a one-time offer because the System for once calculated that they could not afford any misses that would hit its precious clay statue defences. Thus, the mini AI system within the scope was built to avoid these clay statues and increased the chances of the snipers hitting their actual targets. Obviously, the captain did not know any of this, since the snipers were wise enough not to tell him, especially when he was already too busy coordinating where the snipers should go afterwards once the main bulk of the army would arrive. This made the snipers chuckled at the fact that they collectively manage to bluff their captain. Despite the assistive AI system, the Royal Snake snipers themselves had something more riding on this ''warm-up'' exercise. Priding themselves as the finest snipers in the Snake Clan, they had made a bet to count how many times their AI ''crap'' would appear to assist them, especially when there was a kill count statistics in their app. Within the statistics, there was a section for the kill count with assistance, and thus, the sniper with the highest kill count in that section would have to treat the entire Sniper company a celebration drink after this exercise. So far, all of them managed to hit on sight with at most one to two misses without any assisted kill. This subsequently prompted some to increase their bets with weird conditions such as sniping down two foot soldiers with a bullet. As for the clay statues, they remained deactivated until the battlefield would fill up, which seemed rather soon, considering how there was a sudden break in the intervals of army waves coming in. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Hmm, that took longer than expected." Lord Moloch pondered at the war table with Kraft after returning to unlock the dungeon core to bring the city shields down. "Isn''t that a good thing? It should mean that it''s chaotic back in your demon king''s city." Kraft questioned as he leaned back on the chair and tinkered with another Tact Tweak from the System, the technical device which enabled Jin to check the status of the monsters and equip them with items quickly. "Still, their response shouldn''t be this slow. Something must be way off, or they are preparing to give a huge push forward to find the dungeon core." Moloch stated worried as he looked at the war table and the statistics of the kill count. "But didn''t you say the first wave of army troops shouldn''t resurrect until maybe a day or two later?" Kraft asked before he ''realised'' something vital. "Ah yes, my bad, that capturing thing that Jin has is still affecting all of us, including the soldiers using our weapons. Oh ho ho. That means no resurrection of demons on their end. Do you think they found out?" "How could you forget such an important detail?" Moloch suddenly remembered, that he was talking to the fox bellator, and regretted to have bothered asking. Yet, to get 600 soldiers worth of disciplined, armed Tiefling soldiers would definitely prove to be a boon. Maybe they could utilise them at a later stage to cause mass confusion in the war. "After Jin had been so into rescuing the animal tribes I totally ''forgot'' he even had this cheat-like ability as a glorified and improved Necromancer. Well, at least that solved the problem of further reinforcements." Kraft chuckled as he drank a cup of blue mountain coffee at the side of the table. "Imagine if we capture King Baal. Wouldn''t that be absolutely hilarious? Not only would we probably outright end this war, but we would also most likely gain another huge-ass city and let''s not forget about singe-handily solving a heck lot of money and resources problems that Jin has." "Honestly, I did not think that far, even though I said King Baal will personally attack the place. Besides, we would have to kill him to manage that first. If what Wolte claimed about his power multiplying many times over, we will be happy he doesn''t annihilate us first." Moloch replied as he remembered how the little minotaur puppet submitted to Jin with just a knock of his phone. "Tsk, why are all of you Brainiacs always so uncreative? No ideas for any quick insertion team into your ''greatest'' demon metropolis in the dungeon world to make use of the probably once-a-century opportunity of your King''s absence? Shit man, and here I thought you are a shrewd person with far greater ambitions." Kraft leaned forward and shook his head disapprovingly. Even if Jin and his allies managed to capture King Baal, chances were the Demon Metropolis he owed would be transferred to the next in line King''s candidate. "I mean, I did think of it, but the feasibility is near zero. It would be simply sending out a suicide squad. Jin does not have the resources to waste to consider putting together a quick insertion team to get their dungeon core. Besides, I am sure the defending forces would prove to be a pain in the ass. Only a madman would even want to attempt to do that." Moloch replied and as soon as he did, a crude smile appeared on Kraft''s face. There were no two ways thinking about it. The Minotaur Lord only wished he could take his words back as the smile turned into a quiet, sinister smirk. Moloch didn''t doubt that Kraft had led him down this particular rabbit hole with his line of peculiar questioning, and he was sure that the devilman always had this agenda to be the solution to the aforementioned ''impossible'' problem. And so, three magical words came out from Kraft''s mouth. "Just do it." Chapter 708 Lost Communication "Sir! We have lost contact with Knight Forcas and the reinforcements that were supposed to rendezvous with him." The very same imp servant brought the unexpected news to his King, the ever great Baal who was being attended by other servants who were helping him don his armour. "What do you exactly mean you lost contact?" Baal may look indifferent to the cause, but deep inside, he was irritated that his imp servant had to report a simple case of miscommunication. "No, sire. We CANNOT contact them at all. Their signals disappear from our mages'' communication centre as soon as they enter the safe zone. And to add on, Knight Forca''s flame in the Halls of Ceremonial Titles has disappeared entirely." The imp servant emphasised the severity to his liege, hoping he got the message that Lord Moloch could be packing more firepower than expected. For the distinguished Knight of Hell, whose skills in jousting was nearly unmatched in the metropolis, King Baal could not believe Forcas would die in a duel with Lord Moloch, much less permanently. He was well aware of Sebastia, the hidden trump card of Moloch''s Battle Maid Minotaurs, yet even if she somehow had improved greatly, it should not be possible to best someone of Forca''s calibre before he could send back any news. Something was very suspicious about this whole situation. "What do you mean you cannot contact any of them at all? Are you implying that the death of Knight Forcas equates to the complete loss of demon foot soldiers? I''m very sure they are all dying to prove their glory." King Baal paused the donning of his pauldrons to get the full picture from his imp servant. "There was a single glimpse of imagery that managed to be sent back to the mage communication centre before they lost contact with the reinforcements. We have temporarily stopped the invasion following Duke Crocell''s advice. Awaiting at the audience hall is the senior mage who received the image before it went all black." The imp servant finally relayed the entire message he had been entrusted with. "Tell Duke Crocell to continue with the invasion and authorise him to use whatever forces he deems necessary to break through. Get Duke Vepar and Earl Furfur to assist him in the meantime. While I do not believe that cow has the brawns to win against Knight Forca given the state he is in, I trust in Crocell''s decision making. Also, have the senior mage enter this room, while I finish donning my armour." King Baal appeared to be calmer and more collected, though inside he was burning with rage that Moloch still wanted to resist against him. Perhaps he should have done more than reduce him into a plushie all those years ago¡­ "¡­ Your Majesty, Senior Mage Twice Eyes from the Mage Communication Centre at your service." The Tiefling mage went down on one knee and reported what he saw to King Baal. The imagery of smoke and fire all around the mage that took the image before he went down. "This is all the information we have collected. Judging from the otherwise complete lack of communication, we can only assume either the worst-case scenario that all of our soldiers perished soon after entering the fray or that Lord Moloch employed some sort of anti-magic field that blocks communication. Perhaps it also has an effect of breaking the mages'' ability to cast magic. There are some amongst us who deduced that the magic the mages cast may have backfired hence the smoke and- " "Enough." A word from King Baal was sufficient to render the Senior Mage silent. "If they are rendering us useless of magic or using explosive spells against our foot soldiers and cavalry, then send in the Horned Armoured Knights and be done with it. Duke Vepar should have some under his command." King Baal commanded and told the senior mage to relay the message. "But I am just a lowly mage, I do not think Duke Vepar, The Armoured One Winged Angel would listen to-" At that point, Twice Eyes could feel his neck tightening and was rendered breathless almost immediately. It felt as if a slippery rope was wrapped around not just his neck but his entire body too. Then, he saw a long reddish thread appearing out of King Baal''s palm. It was the infamous toad tongue whip which King Baal prefered to use to anyone talking back to him as it had the ability to allow the user to manipulate it in any way he wanted including the option to inject poison into it. "Don''t waste my time any longer." King Baal ordered as he left an unmistakable mark which only the toad tongue whip was able to inflict. It was as if King Baal branded the senior Tiefling mage with his mark so that Duke Vepar would have no doubts in believing what Twice Eyes was supposed to say. The succubus maidens who were helping Baal to don his armour immediately stepped backwards even though they needed to complete the procedure. However, they all recalled that one incident where their Liege had entered a small frenzy and swiped his toad tongue whip a little too wildly and killed two maidens in the process. Henceforth, they remained behind his other sets of armour, hoping they could provide some protection in case of a repeat scenario. And being the impatient King of Hell, Baal also sent a surge of magical energy into Twice Eyes, giving him the energy needed to make an instant teleport to where Duke Vepar was so he could relay the message as soon as possible. Yet, he did not notice, nor did he care that upon sending the message, Twice Eyes succumbed to the poison within King Baal''s toad tongue whip and perished. The One Wing Armoured Angel, Duke Vepar treated it as King Baal wanting to keep this as a secret from the rest of the army to keep the morale up and going. "Lord Moloch, is the reason why you have the guts to betray the King because you found some new powers or was it solely because of him?" Duke Vepar thought to himself as he shook his head and headed to the Mage Communication Centre where he met up with Duke Crocell and Earl Furfur. "Crocell, Furfur. I''ve received royal orders from his Majesty himself. Proceed with the invasion as arranged. We will send out our best men." Vepar said, and he could literally see the Demi Tiger Crocell wanting to open his mouth to rebut upon taking in the latest news. "No, Crocell. This is not up for discussion. I am sending my Horned Armoured Knights into the fray as well. This time around, let Lord Moloch feel the wrath of the Armoured Guards." Crocell remained speechless, and since Duke Vepar was sending his Elite Knights in without care for the ''traditional'' order of battle, he decided to resume the attack. "I hope it is as simple as you said." One of the senior mages injected his comment as he looked at the smoke and fire from the imagery that was left behind by the dead mage. "I''ve seen such a density of smoke and brightness in the fire. It doesn''t look like a magical explosion, more like a chemical one¡­" "Who cares? As long as that traitor Moloch is dead, we''ll get our glory in servicing the King." Duke Crocell replied as he continued ordering his mages to send the order to resume the attack. Chapter 709 Chemical Warfare "Incoming." The System stated loudly through the System Channel which prompted the Orc Artillery Company to ready their fingers on the trigger and shells to be discarded and reloaded. When there was no movement for about five minutes, Moloch had already informed Orc General Nubwort to change the type of artillery shells they had been using. What they had initially used was the smaller 75mm artillery calibre in order to save the better ammunition on their howitzers for the later fights. Now, Moloch had called on them to switch to the chemical shells as he predicted that the demon army would be sending in their armoured knights to counter the explosive rounds. "Use them before the mages appear and wipe the chemicals off," Moloch told them and the Orcs manning the howitzers had already equipped themselves with sufficient safety gear in case the chemical shells malfunctioned or backfired on them. The labs had made them in preparation against the rats in the Farming World, but they figured this could possibly work against the demons too. (Also, free guinea pigs in the System''s eyes.) Naturally, Ayse had used Jin''s world military history to recreate war chemicals which were banned in modern times for today''s use. It was not something Jin had condoned since all was fair in war and they needed every advantage they could get. Besides, the System stated that the Dungeon Core always clean up the battlefield mess at the end of it. So, there was not much to worry in terms of environmental damage. In the meantime, the Orcs had also adjusted their barrels and cleaned them up for a smoother firing experience. "Hmm. Chemical shells. The forbidden weaponry of our world, this will be an eye opener." Colonel Kan Jian mused as he was looking forward to actually witnessing the effectiveness of the chemicals on the monsters. Even if it was just a dungeon simulation to him, there was no harm seeing it happen. While a majority of the snakes dabbled on chemical weapons on a smaller scale such as poison for assassination purposes, to see the banned weapon in action was already worth the trip for this particular warm up exercises. True enough, the first batch of demon soldiers that entered were knights armoured to the teeth. Filled with anti-magic runes and steel that even swords and spears could barely scratch, they were the elites of Duke Vepar. Though the Knights had trouble understanding why they should be sent out first as the vanguard, they still followed the orders of their revered duke. Soon, they saw the very same scorched land their previous comrades had observed. Just as they arrived in full, a wheezing sound came from afar with a loud popping sound. Yellowish gas appeared right in front of them, and the Knights of Vepar scoffed at their enemies for creating a fog to stop them from advancing. They believed it to be merely a dirty ploy for an ambush, and thus they moved forward, ignoring the gas to get out of the ''safe'' zone area. What do they have to worry about? Even though the smell of the gas was so stifling that they could taste something bitter in their mouths, they soldiered on as a tight group formation out of the safe zone. Despite the chemical gas blocking their view, the Royal Snake Snipers had already anticipated this and switched their scopes to infrared sensors to continue firing at them. Their shots did manage to push back the heavily magical armour knights, but it was not enough to pierce their defences. Still, it certainly surprised the knights enough to hold their shields up for additional protection. Because of the little damage done and with only infrared to guide them, the snipers decided to hold their actions back and waited for more vulnerable targets. As a result of their actions, the demons moved even slower and became more cautious about whatever hit them. Even their legendary status for being the frontline stewards, those Barrett Sniper Rifles was able to put a hole through their armour easily. Thus, this made them even more susceptible to the gas that they had been inhaling. (If those snipers tried harder, they would have succeeded.) With the exception of the gas attack, the knights managed to send a communication response back, indicating that there was effectively no resistance except for a shady surprise attack. "It might be an over-exaggeration, but I believe Lord Moloch knew the explosive magic would be useless against us. Maybe that is why they decided to throw some gas to make us warier." The Knight Captain reported back. "We recommend sending overwhelming numbers to search and subdue Lord Moloch." "I still think we should continue to be careful. The old cow has already surprised us more than once, and I suspect that geezer has more nasty things prepared." Duke Crocell warned, but Earl Furfur ignored Crocell trying to caution them. Instead, he told the mages to continue with the original plan to send the other waves of foot soldiers in. "Since we have already delayed our attack, we should compensate by sending in an overwhelming number to break that fog and show them the might of King Baal''s army." Earl Furfur''s order was relayed immediately. As for the armies that were waiting after the initial alarm to assemble, they thought at first that Lord Moloch was already killed, especially since a yellow flare was shot from the mages and there was no response to continue with the fight for over ten minutes. But as soon as the mages communication centre shot a green flare up to indicate that the fight was still on, they cheered loudly and demanded their mages to teleport them in immediately. Yet soon after the communication, the Knight Captain started to cough as more of the yellow gas was shot from the sky. Due to their stout constitution, it did take a longer time for the gas to take effect, but ultimately it did its job. After all, the knights still needed to breathe and with a denser concentration of gas around the area, the knights finally succumbed to its effect. The Knight Captain then decided to give the command to charge forward so they would leave this area of strange gas. Unfortunately, they did not know that Moloch and the others had already prepared a trap for them when they were dozens of metres out of the safe zone. An explosive ditch trap deep enough to even prevent Ogres and the like from crawling out. The first few foot soldiers who managed to run past it did not trigger it. Their weight had been insufficient to activate it. While it was meant to slow down a large group of soldiers, Moloch guessed having a majority of Elite Knights from Duke Vepar in the trap was a good trade off as well. The explosive ditch activated with the aid of the System after determining the highest number of knights within the 10 metre wide trap before releasing the explosives to cause them to fall within it. *Ba da Ba da Ba daaaaa booom* A series of explosives went off consecutively, breaking the unstable ground and revealing the ditch. Some broke their foot from the fall while others injured their shoulders or hands. And because of their heavy armour, they had no way of getting out of it. Yet, that was not the main concern until a gas shell descended down into the ditch and filled it with even more poisonous substances. Without the chance to even fight a single enemy, the ditch became a mass graveyard for the company of Elite Horned Armoured Knights. Chapter 710 Kings Order The armies who received the go-ahead started to teleport in, and the moment they set foot on to the battlefield, they were greeted by the haze of yellow smoke. After taking their first breath, they irked from the smell and immediately started to cough from it. Within the next five seconds, their eyes got irritated, and they felt like someone had set their throats on fire. The more they desperately gasped for air, the more their situation worsened. Some ignored the previous orders of staying in formation and rushed forth in the hopes of leaving this highly hazardous zone. Alas, they did not know there was a 10-metre wide and 30-metres deep ditch surrounding the entire safe zone awaiting these stragglers. A number inadvertently fell to their death and the reinforcements none the wiser continued to act the same way, also craving the sweet release of death to alleviate the severe burning of their throats. As for the rest who managed to tolerate the burning sensations, the side effects develop further until they felt like their whole skin was on fire. The Tiefling Mages, on the other hand, were somewhat prepared for this sort of situation. In their repertoire, they had spells which could grant themselves and others magic resistance against all types of poisons. They began to cast a wind gust spell first to move the gas away, yet soon after they began chanting, they were taken down by the Royal Snake Snipers without any prejudice or mercy. Those not finding a bullet going through their brain who tried to continue chanting the spell were met with even more bullet holes that rendered them to the ground. Back at the Mages Communication Centre, Duke Crocell sighed at the loss of soldiers. They had severely underestimated the viciousness of this yellow gas their enemy had deployed. Earl Furfur who previously passed the order to press for the attack, knew it was ''partially'' his mistake to push forward. But his pride as a Demon Lord prevented him from apologising. "His Majesty has arrived!" An imp servant shouted to inform the rest of his presence, and Duke Crocell immediately moved away from his seat to allow King Baal to take over his rightful position as the Supreme Commander over the army. It became deadly silent in the room as all eyes were on the King of Hell. Without being briefed or questioning the progress of their campaign, he merely uttered two words after he had enjoyed the stifled down panic in the room. "Send more." It made sense to the demon mage communication operators and the rest of the lords in the room even though it sounded ruthless. Currently, they were being pinned down at the safe zone, but surely the concentration of gas would decrease once they managed to leave the area. It was plainly obvious that some sacrifices were needed to push on the attack. If they backed out now with King Baal present, it would be a major disgrace. "Looks like Lord Moloch is suited for more than just dressing up his underlings. We never expected the old cow to use actual tactics fighting against us." Earl Furfur tried to redeem himself in the situation by implying that it was basically Moloch''s fault that this happened. However, King Baal did not care much for these kinds of excuses. "Gather all my children, the Dukes, Counts and Marquis and get them to contribute. If Moloch wants to play a game of wits, we will show him that no matter what he may have come up with, all trickery shall fail in the face of overwhelming power." King Baal ordered, stood up and left the area. The instruction was vague but demanding, making Earl Furfur regret ever opening his damn mouth in the first place. All the Serpent Demon could say in response was a weak Yes. Reluctantly he headed out to search for the forty odds Sirs and Ladies to present them with the news, something the King could have done with but a single thought in his mind. It was evident that this was meant as a punishment for Earl Furfur, and he hated it. Not only was it a tedious task, but the more dire consequence was that this also meant King Baal''s impression of him had worsened. "I told you earlier not to be in a rush." Duke Crocell reminded him before the other set off. Furfur was clearly not taking it well. Nevertheless, he decided to swallow any complaints. This was neither the time nor the place to argue, not to mention that Crocell outranked him as a Duke. "Finding all the Sirs and Ladies sounds like a pain. If you can get ten of them, it could be a miracle, much less all of them." Crocell said solemnly. He was stating the fact, despite clearly being unwilling to aid his companion and Vepar laughed at the sight of the slithering snake. "He can be glad this was all. At least he didn''t have to also gather all the princes and princesses of Hell even though King Baal only mentions his ''children''. They would have given him a piece of their mind for disturbing them." "I think it is implied that he wants all of his children to be in the war. Heh, good luck on him for they will either kick him out of their premises or kill him depending on their mood before he would even have the chance to say that he bore the orders of their father." Duke Crocell gloated at Furfur''s situation. Truly, misery loves company as Vepar agreed heartily with Crocell''s comment to get his mind off losing his Armoured Knights. Seeing the Earl being punished had been indeed a welcomed medicine. "What do you suggest? We know that there is that ditch there. Should we send in our aerial units to eliminate the archers firing the gas into the area?" Duke Crocell asked Vepar who had given the go-ahead to the mages to send the mobilising message to his army. "Do what you need, I already transferred command over my army to you. All I have left are my personal guards." Vepar shrugged as he decided to return to his quarters. Those Horned Armoured Knights had a track record to uphold and Moloch would have to pay for breaking it just like that. The One-Winged Armoured Angel was not going to give it up lying down. He went to equip himself properly and move into the fray to collect his due. "Very well, I shall gladly take charge." Duke Crocell replied with a smile. For Vepar to throw his army away for a petty vengeance was unlike the usually stoic him, but Crocell was going to use it to his advantage. Why bring his troops to the fray when others could take the brunt of it first? Fortunately, Furfur had left his army here for him to command, too, so how could he say no? Thus, he decided to send the entirety of Vepar''s Armoured Gargoyles and Furfur''s Winged Hydras first. It may be glorious to die in the midst of battle, yet there was more glory to be earned in surviving the campaign, therefore Crocell planned to bring out his Flying Tigers to dish out the last strike. In the meantime, he shared the information about the yellow gas with remaining Horned Armoured Knights as well as the armies going in. He also ordered them to do their best in trying to ensure the mages would be able to cast their spells. They were going to break through this haze of death with numbers and send Moloch and his army into the abyss. Chapter 711 Wyvern Goblin Knights "Heh, now they are showing their true colours." Orc General Nubwort thought as he told the Orc Artillery Company to finish the last wave of chemical gas shells before switching them back to explosives. With the advance of more Armoured Knights and mages, it should not be long until it would lose its effectiveness. "Master Jin, they are sending in more and more of their troops. Feel free to start your event at any point now." Nubwort reported through the System Channel and Jin who had been playing with his phone, stopped his idling to verify the information with his binoculars. The Collective Demon Army of King Baal continuously threw bodies into the safe zone and pushed their foot soldiers out of the area. Only, it appeared that instead of letting their soldiers sacrifice themselves for nothing, they had come up with a creative way to try and solve the problem. Duke Crocell utilised Elephant type Monsters who had volunteered to work for the demon army to suck in as much yellow gas as possible. In the meantime, he had also stuck to his decision to send the air demon forces out of the yellow gas situation and eliminate the culprits casting or throwing them in. "Heads up, Wyrstriker. It''s time for your debut." Jin looked through the binoculars and told the System to continue taking videos of these demons and release some snippets of them on the Pandamonium forum to hype the customers up further. In the meantime, Wyrstriker had a wide grin on his face since his wyvern air force would actually be the first unit to engage the enemy directly. "Remember guys, we''ll employ a fast hit and kill tactic, then return for resupply. These are just the first of the many waves incoming, and we will need to conserve our energy as much as possible. We are the only air force Jin has, so it''s up to us to prevent the enemy from gaining air superiority." Wyrstriker''s encouraging speech was short and concise, yet he suddenly heard some giggling even though his pilots were scrambling on their wyverns. "You totally forgot about me, didn''t you?" Que Er asked. She did not appear angry, more amused as she sat there at the corner with Muninn and Huginn resting on her shoulders. "Not really, I just think that your explosive crows are better suited as a supplement to my air force," Wyrstriker replied. He had yet to see the crows in action and had only heard about their capabilities. Thus he severely underestimated Que Er''s powers. The Magpie Queen decided to keep quiet about it. After living for so long, she understood that the young ones, no matter the age or race, would always wish to prove themselves. Besides, she liked Wyrstriker quite a bit. He, just as his two best friends who he had been so close with, who could also be regarded as brothers, had been the first subordinates Jin had captured. At that time they had merely been ordinary goblins. Now, each one of them went through a hard and tedious journey to evolve. One had managed to become favoured by Death herself whilst the other similarly had encountered a godly being and entered a pact with it. Wyrstriker had also evolved thank to his synergy with Ivan the Wyvern, but his was considered a side evolution, which was inferior compared to his peers step up evolution. Someone else might have fallen into envy and jealousy but not him. Instead, Wyrstriker wished to prove to himself, his friends and Jin that he could evolve without the help of a higher external power. "So na?ve¡­ but such is the privilege of the young before one grows up. We shall meet later in the skies, little green flightless one." Que Er said as she walked to the edge of the airstrip beside the hanger to watch the Wyvern Goblin Knights take off with the aid of the Lost Tech Boosters. But what the Wyvern Goblin Knights did not know was that Que Er was also preparing her personal air force with the help of Odin''s ravens. And they were all sitting quietly at the dark corners of the ceilings, waiting for their turn to act. Even Que Er wants to be a heroine once in a while, its just a simple matter of when. ¡ª¨C The Armoured Gargoyles and Wing Hydras sped out of the yellow haze without too much trouble and just as ordered, they decided to look for the perpetrators of the chemical gas by following the constant distant booming sound. However, as they were cruising in the dungeon skies, they noticed the majesty of the city which Lord Moloch had built. Floating city platforms from afar with a body of water right below it, made them doubt if Moloch was actually the person who created all of this. Duke Crocell also received the transmitted images and came to the same conclusion. Lord Moloch should have neither the required resources to build such a magnificent looking floating city nor the knowledge on how to do so. Something like this would be a luxury not even King Baal could afford easily. Suddenly, black smokes popped out of nowhere in the skies, and the Demon Air Force instinctively tried to avoid it. Unfortunately, those at the forefront had become too engrossed with ogling the city, so that their initial inaction resulted in a few units killed by the black smoke. The anti-air Flak guns were working as intended, piercing the enemies with scattered pellets of steel. Before the Goblin Wyvern Knights engaged them, the company of Goblin Anti Air Defences had placed down some pressure to lower the enemies morale and ease the load for their ''one and only'' air force available. Naturally, the demon air force took some evasive measures. They were still flying towards the artillery albeit slower now worried that more of this black smoke could kill them. Some of them also got injured with bits of the metal shot into their skins. Unlike aeroplanes, these flying units were living, breathing organisms. Pain was still an inevitable fact to these air forces. A few Winged Hydras closed in to retaliate against the flak gunners, but the anti-air defences had their very own magical shield up courtesy of the panda''s science labs. The magical shield generator copied the very same concept of the dungeon core shield, with the biggest difference being that it used the same batteries as the Fortress Golems utilised. "To allow outgoing fire and block incoming attacks simultaneously while being portable? This remarkable contraption should be hailed as an invention of the year!" Ayse boasted as she saw her generators withstanding the brunt of the Winged Hydra''s toxic spit while the flak guns shredded it into pieces. Of course, it could only take so much before the batteries wore out, but since it was still the start of the battle, so more than enough supplies were on standby to replace them and keep the generators working. Logistics had been a nightmare for Qiu Yue, yet she had somehow managed to ensure that every team, squadron and company should not lack any supplies with the aid of her Empire Building System. As odd as it sounded, the Empire Building had used the Adventurer Savants who had better logical processing because of the way they were ''built'' to Qiu Yue''s advantage. They had mainly assisted her in creating a logistic protocol to sort the orders since there were no accountants or logistic officers to do the job for them. Fortunately, this could soon change with Claire as the possible candidate to help them combat this. (But that is for the future.) Those Savants would undoubtedly get transferred under her leadership in such a case, yet for now, the logistic battle was not as pressing as the new batch of Horned Armoured Knights rushing through the yellow haze and jumping over the ditches. Held in their arms were mages casting spells to remove the yellow haze and creating a temporary bridge to allow the troops to get over the ditch. They had learned from the mistakes of their predecessors, so the Armoured Knights blocked the front with their shield to stop the Royal Sniper from intervening. Alas, this only made it more of a challenge the Royal Snipers craved for. "It''s time to enter phase two," Kraft announced as he happily stared at the war room table with all the updates coming in. Chapter 712 Activation of Clay Statues After giving the crowd some teasers on the Pandamonium forums, the people demanded to see what else was happening, which enabled Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One happy to fulfil their wishes. They turned on the big screens and showed them curated bits and pieces of the current Dungeon World''s fight. From the continuous blast of artillery to the chemical gas attacks and subsequently the superior anti-air weapons the goblins had used. Kiyu had done a wonderful job choosing them as people got hyped up, more so than ever before, and eager to enter at any time. Too bad for them, it wasn''t their time to shine just yet. Still, many held onto the anticipation that they could enter soon enough. Their patience eventually paid off as the Demon Mages managed to blow the chemical gas away. Now it was light enough for the foot soldiers to breathe, and thus there would be room for the cultivators to battle without perishing in the gas through ''friendly fire''. (or gas) The demons had also created temporary bridges over the bodies of the fallen Horned Armoured Knights and other unfortunate demon soldiers who had attempted to cross the ditch. Just as the remaining Horned Armoured Knights were getting confident about the way things were proceeding, one of them felt a sting in his underbelly. Looking down, he realised while it was but a flesh wound to him, the mage that he had been holding on to with the cover of his shield was already dead from the sudden slit in his throat. "WHAT?! THESE STATUES CAN MO-" A short clay blade was thrust from beneath his helmet, causing him to choke on his blood. Yet, his quick shout had been sufficient to alarm the rest of the group. The clay statues which the goblin craftsman had painstakingly built were finally put to the test. Hespesta and the others were watching the scenes from the new Home Island Instance they were situated in. At last, they got to see the powers of Jespa''s terrifying rune magic. The Horned Armoured Knights were all furious that such non-living items had sneakily killed a comrade of theirs. Still, the mages they were carrying quickly understood the scary implications about these clay figures. Without a soul, without an organic body, they appeared to be fearless killing machines that could make it through the (dispersed) yellow haze without suffering from it. Worse, they were the perfect creatures to benefit from fighting inside of it, stopping at nothing to defeat the enemies in front of them. If they were all of one design, that would have been fine. After a bit of time, the demons could have discovered their strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, the clay statues seemed to have their own hierarchy. Some were designed to look like an assassin, others as a heavily staunched knight like themselves. All the clay craftsmen watching the show from the comfort of their homes were unable to do anything but root for their own inventions to wreck as much havoc as they could before the clay statues were disabled. The System even allowed them to bet with System Points on which one of their creations would wreak the most havoc, survive the longest, and take out the most creatures of a type. As if that was not enough, rains of arrows starting pouring in and since their clay statues were invulnerable to pain(and arrows), the goblin archers were not hesitant to fire indiscriminately onto the battlefield. Also, to make themselves stand out by contributing much more to the battle, the goblins engineers had crafted an improved version of crossbows, a minigun variant! The first iterations had been criticised as being a little too slow. And so the engineers had gone back to the drawing board and returned with a multi-tube variant. 20 by 20 tubes were stacked upon each other until they resemble a square worth of tubes. Arrows were inserted from the top of the stack like a large clip, and it was fired simultaneously. Thus, the rate of fire from these multitube arrow carts was enough to bring down an ogre in under 10 seconds. Generally, the number of arrows used was massive but considering how the Industrial Sector was able to manufacture them by the thousands of those in less than an hour, numbers were not an issue. While the Horned Knights were impervious to the heavy shower of arrows and their shield were quite massive they were unable to cover the whole army. The rest of the soldiers surrounding them had no choice but receive them with open arms or with reluctance. Some jumped into the ditch for cover only to begrudgingly discover that was where all the yellow gas had been pushed towards by the mages. With the arrows serving as a distraction against the knights, those mindless clay statues continue to seize the opportunity to take the lives from the living foot soldiers. Just when the situation became dire for the demon army, an enormous magical circle appeared in the safe zone. It quickly dispelled the chemical gas and protected the enemy from the arrow of showers, demonstrating its magical might with their arrival. The remaining Knights that were desperately trying to survive saw the glimpse of the shining beacon of light coming from the safe zone itself. It shone so brightly that they could only make out the silhouette of the army. Yet that greyish light was already an indicator of the commander who had come to their rescue. A cloaked figure with a pair of raven legs came forth and destroyed the clay statues that were plaguing the knights with multiple air blades, allowing the injured to fall back. Raven legs, grey lights, and with the power of wind in his grasp. Without a doubt that particular commander could only be one person. With his hood on, the iconic owl by his shoulder dispersed any doubt about his identity. A being which even their Duke, the One-Winged Armoured Angel would have to bend the knee to. It was none other than Prince Stolas. Earl Furfur had been very lucky in that he managed to catch him early in the Royal Palace. He had pleaded his help to fight against Moloch. However, it was not Furfur''s plea that spurred the Demon Prince to enter the battle. No, it was a personal vendetta against Moloch. Once his royal mentor, Prince Stolas quickly realised that studying under Lord Moloch would bring him to heights even his father could not reach. Yet, because of a certain incident, their time together was a brief one. Moloch had been reduced to a simple lord and cast out of the metropolis to handle some remote Dungeon Fortress. Making matters more mysterious was a Royal Decree which had been passed the same morning, announcing Moloch''s demotion as well as mandatory isolation from the rest of the Demon Court Nobles. What he hoped for from this fight was not revenge, but a serious man-to-man talk. With Moloch officially betraying the Demon King, it appeared that the only way he would get that talk would be by using his swords which he did not mind that. In addition, Stola''s army was not some ragtag army of poorly armed foot soldiers. With wealth equivalent about 10% of his father''s, Stola possessed one of the stronger, more reliable troops in the city. Highly trained soldiers that knew some levels of magic, including years of dungeon experience and had participated in several battle skirmishes too. Prince Stolas himself possessed such an elite group of people, was not only through wealth but achievements. He was not some spoiled prince under King Baal''s care and had personally gone through several battles, earning him the reputable name to keep this set of elite soldiers under his wing. Many also knew how logical his tactics were, (Courtesy to the teachings of Moloch) and being the few princes who do not have any specialised units in his army, many veteran soldiers wished to be headhunted by his commanders. That was why they were able to execute their arrival decisively which other Duke''s units could not. With a nod of his head, Stolas''s mages repaired the ditch by filling it with rocks right above the bodies of the fallen soldiers, allowing his troops and subsequent reinforcements to move unhindered. Though the Horned Armoured Knights were a little bitter the way their fallen comrades were treated, they knew there was no time to be picky with their allies. After all, they will resurrect again after the battle, right? Chapter 713 Jespas Dual Activation Runes "Prince Stolas¡­?" Moloch saw the image in the war room. This new batch of arrivals worried him slightly. "You know about him?" Qiu Yue had just entered a minute ago and was attempting to adjust herself to the current situation. "He''s erm¡­ you could say we shared a special bond¡­" Moloch did not know how to put the relationship between him and Stolas. Their interaction with each other had been brief before it was interrupted by that incident that made him lose it all. "Oh my god, did you and him¡­?" Kraft gave an exaggerated stunned expression as if Moloch had just admitted to doing something taboo. "What?! No!! He was my student!" Moloch tried to defend himself. "You taught him the ways of the ''cotton'' butt?" Qiu Yue decided to join in on the fun as well, and you could see a rare occasion of Moloch rolling his ''cotton'' eyes upwards. "Alright, alright, let''s stop with the teasing for now. Since you know him, how big of a threat does this Prince posed?" Kraft turned serious for a moment. "A major one. The soldiers he has are at least level 50 and over. Those foot soldiers we fought were roughly level 15 and below. Well, maybe the occasional level 20s but that did not make much of a difference." "Ah yes, I totally forgot that you guys have levels for your power system. If I remember correctly, 10 levels seem to correspond roughly to 1 Grade. In other words, we''ve been fighting Grade 1s and 2s, and now they are coming out with Grade 5s and above. This could be hard for most of our cultivators." Qiu Yue recalled that the Savants who helped her in the logistic supplies were high ranked elite adventurers too. "You shouldn''t be so sure about it. In the Dungeon World, levels are there solely for the purpose to segregate the population and make people feel that their hard work and efforts have paid off. Unlike with your cultivation system, you can also level up simply by grinding for long enough. But that is for another day. Suffice to say the will be very strong." Moloch nearly went into his tutoring mood and then refocused to check on the war table. "They will decimate the clay statues easily, but that does not mean they won''t be a hassle. After which, we can recommend to Jin to send the normal cultivators in for the fight. It''s best to use them as fodder to slow down the advancement of the elites. Our revival works far better than theirs." Moloch knew that Stolas had many more soldiers than the ones that were teleported. More would surely be coming, and the clay statues would prove to be rather useless against them. Might as well send the main force in so that the clay statues provide some sort of assistance. "What about the Giant Clay statues? It seems like a waste to activate them if they fall too quickly." Qiu Yue asked as she looked on the war table and saw the spanning long overarching clay dragon made similar to Dragoonball Y and their infamous Pandajilla fighting against it. "You''re correct. It''s best we let those statues remain for now until the giants come out to play. They should be among our most effective tools to deal with those." Moloch sounded like it was guaranteed that they would appear and it was just a matter of time. "Alright, then I shall also keep the option of the phantom soldiers open. Seems a little too early to reveal one of our trump cards." Qiu Yue replied, seeing that the battlefield had yet to be littered enough for Duke''s Wolte dungeon core to be efficiently used. They then send their recommendation to Jin, and he obliged all too willingly. The System had informed him that the crowd was getting way too restless and some selfish, impatient people were demanding to start now. "Well, you know the saying ''the customer is king''. Let''s grant them their wish!" Jin smiled as he happily pressed the button in his admin Pandamonium account to activate the event''s opening. In the meantime, the chemical gas attacks were over, and the Orc Artillery Company had fully switched to firing armour-piercing shells with the purpose of breaking the shield Stolas'' mages had conjured. They pressured the mages so that they would be unable to influence the battle, yet if that was not enough, each team had their very own Goblin and Orc mage duo that would enchant the shells with their very own spells. As a last resort option, they had some special inscriptions courtesy of Octofussy to maximise the penetration power of the artillery shells. A shame, they were very limited, and their captains had restricted their use since it was still too early in the battle. (Though some say it''s better to use now than not having the chance later if they were pushed back or need to retreat.) Still, Prince Stolas showed no hesitation in taking the opportunity to rush at the forefront over the main sky bridge that separated the empty beachhead and the multiple floating platforms. "Moloch! I''m sure you can hear me!! Come out and face me. You should know that such cheap tricks won''t stop my army from finding you!!!" Stolas bashed a clay statue''s head with his fist, however surprisingly the clay statue head didn''t crumble into dust bust exploded right in front of him. Thankfully his magical cloak provided him with defensive properties that allowed him to lessen the blow. They couldn''t have known that these clay statues had magic runes with dual effects in it. Moloch''s ''punishment'' had forced Jespa to try and come up with ways to combine her runes, and she had succeeded. (And became prouder than ever seeing it live from the telecast) Now her Animate Dead all had a random magical effect within them. From explosions to petrifying one into a stone, the amount of experimenting initially allowed Jespa to get rid of boredom. She had no idea that Moloch''s words were valid and regretted that she did not keep all the formulas she made. (Considering she had to make hundreds of them with no apprentices to aid her, it was too taxing to create and document.) Unless one obliterated the runes directly, those products that Jespa made would take effect. Some strengthened the corresponding clay soldiers while others gave them additional abilities, but most caused more random harm to the enemy army. "SHIT! Watch out. This one did not explode, but it sprayed out acid upon death!" One of his vanguards shouted out loud while another stated that his one left thorns wherever he was walking. Slowly Stolas realised that this entire battlefield was filled with moving booby traps. The only way to safely remove all of them was to use wide-area magic to wipe them out entirely. "No wonder they haven''t deployed any real soldiers for this battlefield. Rather smart, but not witty enough to defeat Prince Stolas." Duke Crocell thought to himself. He was relieved a Demon Prince was leading the way. "Fall back! The mages and I will eliminate them all with magic. Once we remove those nuisances it will be up to you al-" A two-handed club swung down right at him, causing him to instinctively evade. Then he noticed one more silhouette diving down with a sword attack. "Don''t fall back. Stay a bit and play with us." Xiong Da smirked as Yue Han readjusted his dive attack and locked swords with the Prince. The soldiers that were near Prince Stolas saw the situation and wanted to help out, but they were suddenly occupied by the various groups of masked humans that were holding the exact same club and sword as the Pandawans. That''s right, those groups of ''humans'' were the very new squadmates which were offered exclusively to the Pandawans. Qiu Yue was playing favourites by sending in a few Pandawans with their squads first. Their purpose should have been to engage the elite soldiers, but unknowingly this action managed to disrupt the Prince''s plans. It also inadvertently increased the morale of the cultivators, by showing them that their strongest were fighting along with them in the frontlines. Treating the war table like a gigantic tablet, she was able to drag and drop the Pandawans to an exact location as if it was some flash teleport skill. "Time to feel the might of the Pandarens." Qiu Yue laughed with absolute delight. Chapter 714 Fixes for an Improved Squad AI The Squads which Yue Han and Xiong Da had with them were the revamped version as introduced by Bear Cub One. Instead of having three individual squad members who provided versatility for the individual, it was simultaneously a slight downgrade but also quite the upgrade. Xiong Da, Yue Han and a few other Pandawans had been bestowed with five squad members and decided to take it upon themselves to lead the raid. Fortunately, Xiong Da recently became Grade 5 after finding the time to spend some intense training in Jin''s dungeon since the number of squadmates was now fixed to the cultivation level. After the Hungry Hippo''s last test, Jin had evaluated the feedback after receiving a series of analytical reports from the System which Jin shuddered upon opening the PDFs. He tweaked the AI helper''s weapons, and they would have default weapons which were also pegged to what the cultivators had been using. Should they change weapons, the default weapons would be changed as well. As Grade 5 cultivators, it meant that the Pandawans basically had five more identical masked cultivators that were similar to them. In terms of strength and other attributes, the System decided to bestow those AIs half the original stats of the cultivator leading them. Thus, it made the ones that Xiong Da and Yue Han used earlier against Prince Stolas and his guards at a power level of Grade 2 Peaks. This was to ensure that the squads would not be too much of an overpowered feature in the future. These ''nerfs'' in the AI fixes the wide versatility dilemma Jin had to make sure that it was balanced since the Pandawans were able to utilise them fully after learning how responsive they were when it came to battle. It was also indeed a pity that Jin had removed the option to outfit them with armour and the likes of it. Still, they roughly understood that it could be because the current technology might have limited the advancement of those squads on a massive scale. However, that did not mean they could not customise their squadmates at all. It was actually easier (and cheaper) to equip them since the cultivators could pass down old weapons that they had used as well as changing the weapons on the fly in case they needed to do so. For example, fighting an ice boss? Equip all five Squadmates with the very same fire lances if the cultivator could afford them. Another unfortunate setback was that the squad AI mates couldn''t use any cultivator techniques, which only made them act as extra hands in a fight. "Damn, can you imagine how effective it will be to have another 6 copies of Luo Bo in a fight? She will basically dominate the dungeon without breaking a sweat. That will be way too cheesy." Bu Dong had wondered out loud when they had used the USB to get access to this feature. Everyone smirked as they looked at the high school student since the same could be said about him. They had all seen how his rampaging ape was basically a cultivator on heavy steroids. "If you say anymore, I believe Boss Jin would also limit the number of squad mates based on the size of the dungeon too. Like those four men or eight men dungeon instances." Bin Yong commented randomly until Shi Zuo poked his friend on his arm and told him to scroll down. "Gah¡­he really did limit the squad mates¡­oh well, at least we can fully utilise these squads in raids like this?" Bin Yong replied, and Shi Zuo shook his head. "Stop jinxing it already¡­" Shi Zuo secretly hoped that Boss Jin was not listening into their conversation. (But the System is!) "Also can you imagine going into the Deep One Escape City with a full squad! We can show those fishes the true might of our strength!" Bin Yong said excitedly as he happily equipped each and every of his squad mates with the old swords and shields. For once, the closet hoarder finally felt that playing all Jin''s dungeons to get the various type of equipment was worth it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Humans?! Moloch, have you stooped so low to fight with humans?" Prince Stolas thought to himself, as he used his shield to block Xiong Da''s swing. Furthermore, the Prince could not believe that his blow was as hard or even harder than the training coaches ever gave. And yet the accompanying human was using some shadowy, dark arts to strike at the Prince whenever he managed to block Xiong Da''s attack. They were not giving him any chance to take a breather to counter-attack. If not for his wind affinity aiding his dodges, he believed he would be dead by now. His helpless situation made the lawyer snickered. "Is this all you got? C''mon even the slimy creepy Deep Ones proved to be more of a challenge than you." Xiong Da taunted out loud as he aimed towards Prince Stolas with his warclub, hoping to break his shield in the process. "Imbecile! You think this is the end?" Prince Stolas shamelessly used his magic to jump backwards and back into the safe zone where there was still a shield blocking the barrage of artillery. After which the two cultivators could see that Prince Stolas was readying his cavalry to trample over Yue Han and Xiong Da. "Heh, guess he''s one of the big bosses after all." Yue Han said as he swung his sword and bounced around a little to keep his momentum going before a massive group of a demon looking horses charged towards them. "Now, how about we test if the squads actually work as intended." Xiong Da had a smile on his face. He was trusting that Jin wouldn''t disappoint him, so he emitted his chi all around the area. Yue Han noticed this strange behaviour and saw that his other squadmates were all receiving the chi energy from Xiong Da himself. "What are you doing? Why''re you wasting your chi?" Yue Han had no idea what his Pandawan comrade was doing until Xiong Da laughed out loud daringly against the incoming cavalry who thought that those two were insane for continuing to stand their ground. The cavalry felt challenged, so their captain ordered them to charge forward even faster, ignoring the petty attacks from the animated clay statues. "The long ass explanations told us that the squadmates cannot use any cultivator techniques. Yet I do not believe they lack the data and knowledge on the skills themselves, especially when you think about how long we''ve been going to Jin''s dungeon. Even more so, if you consider that they use us and our stats as the guideline." Xiong Da explained before he took a deep breath and roared out with all his might, emitting even more chi than ever to ensure his AI squadmates all received their fair share. In the next moment, he lifted his war club, and the rest followed what he was doing as well. "War Club Art! Breaking Shockwaves of the Hippo!" The Hungry Hippo Cultivator smashed his warclub down on the ground, and out came ripples of chi waves which were further multiplied by his squadmates, enhancing his basic war club art technique to the next level of epicness. This was it. The ''loophole'' within the rules which the cunning lawyer had managed to discover (It was actually Jin messing up mentioning it because it was so last minute). When Xiong Da found out that the squad AI could absorb chi, he had the feeling something must be up. Believing that there was always a reason why Jin did things and the practice within the expanded conference room instance made him understand that it was not just a testing ground for them. "Boss Jin would never short change us when it comes to upgrading, and this was one of the situations when it looked like it was a downgrade with lesser versatility. But in actual fact, he basically made little mini-mes in the process." "He needed to place penalties to ensure that dungeons are still relatively balanced, but at the same time, he gave us the opportunity to ''cheese'' things if the conditions are right." Xiong Da was satisfied when he saw his efforts paid off. However, he did notice that all his squadmates were now looking worse for the wear. It appeared that Jin did not intend to allow them to use it all the time, but to force them to use it sparingly. And with this successful experiment, both Yue Han and Xiong Da learnt something new, particularly the former who wished to perform the same. As the ground was being split open, the shock waves sliced the cavalries just like a slab of meat going into the grinder. It was extremely gory with blood, organs and metal pieces flying along with the shock waves that subsequently dealt a great blow to the enemies'' magical shield. For once, Prince Stolas had to see his mages'' magic, which was deemed as one of the most revered in the demon metropolis, get cracked momentarily by both the shockwaves and perfect timing of the artillery blasts. Even though the cracks were patched only seconds later, Stolas'' mages gritted their teeth and exerted even more force to ensure the protection of their soldiers for they knew this was the only entrance that they had. They had never encountered such a fierce and dangerous combination of attacks that could so much as to dent their shields, especially given the vast amount of mages being part of the process. This made Prince Stolas extremely wary, and he began to vaguely understand why Moloch might have changed sides. Chapter 715 Floating Magical Portal When all hope seemed lost, the demon army''s reinforcements arrived right on time. Despite them not being on the same level as Prince Stolas'' prized elites, Duke Crocell had utilised the command he had been granted over Duke Vepar''s and Earl Furfur''s army for a coordinated attack. Since the whole army had originally treated this day as the last opportunity to gather their strengths before the conquest, it was still in a bit of disarray. Gradually the incoming troops were organised, but as they witnessed how the demon army had suffered one blow after the other, the military acknowledged that they sorely needed a breakthrough. Thus Duke Crocell had hastily reorganised the \"assembly schedule\", and now there was a mage alongside every twenty soldiers instead of the planned one mage for every fifty soldiers. Of course, Duke Crocell''s requirement had diluted significantly. As long as they wielded some sort of magical powers, they were being sent in to reinforce the frontline. Be it offensive, defensive or mere supportive magic, the Tiger Demon Duke did not differentiate. Anyone who was unable to provide Prince Stolas'' mages that extra help against the artillery barrage was assigned to a troop so that they could be arranged into a proper formation for the fight. \"That is their inherent weakness. Even after so many centuries, they are stuck in their ways. Too stubborn to get the idea out of their heads that formations are useless when you are pressured into one corner.\" Moloch smiled as he watched the demons take time to move into the ''best'' formation possible before they were sent into battle. After observing Jin''s cultivators, the goblins, orcs and the other monsters fight, his own ''controversial'' opinions that there was a need to change the way the demon army acted had only been strengthened further. He had always been ridiculed as the one to advocate for the reform in their military doctrine. But who would be the one to get the last laugh, now?! Of course, the demon army hardly ever gotten into a situation where they had been forced to one particular corner. Luckily, their inflexible thinking gave Moloch a tinge of hope that they could defend against them to the point of retreat before their army managed to get the dungeon core. Unfortunately, King Baal was obliged to prove Moloch wrong. Just as the new ground reinforcements came in, a new magical portal emerged roughly 40 metres above the shielded safe zone. The demon army could do that because the entire area beneath and above ground had already been demarcated by the dungeon core to be safe for teleportation. Just how Jin had been able to build the underwater Pand-Altantis city and floating citadels, the same rules now worked in their enemy''s favour. The magical portal above ground was so large, soldiers guarding the Flying Metal Fortress which housed Moloch''s dungeon core was able to see it clearly without any visual aid. Even the Royal Snake military commanders now understood why Jin had warned them about the unpredictability of this new algorithm and the real possibility of them losing if they did not give it their all. \"HEY MOLOCH!\" Wyrstriker shouted into the System channel while pulling back his forces from giving aerial support for the cultivators that teleported into the battlefield. \"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING? I thought you said the only threat would be the Dragon Devils!?\" \"While I did amuse the thought of it appearing, I totally did not expect for them to pull that out of his bag of tricks this early. Fall back immediately, you won''t be able to deal with that thing.\" Moloch warned the goblin, while Qiu Yue and Kraft were waiting for more information from the demon cow plushie with regards to that ¡­gigantic magical portal. When Jin saw the magical portal floating in the air, he could only imagine that a carrier ship of some sort would appear from the area, similar to the Lost Tech carriers he had encountered during the goblin war. At that point, he chuckled recalling how Mr Derpy tried to swallow the entire ship by himself. Though it could be useful to immediately call upon Mr Derpy for the very same purpose, Jin was holding back such a thought, since the Shadow Dagen was intentionally being kept as the third contingency plan. It would be wasteful to reveal him unless truly needed. As if he was prophesying the future (or just knew how these cliches worked), a giant flying turtle emerged from the magical portal and the soldiers from afar could see that it was also carrying plenty of soldiers into the battlefield. There must have been at least five battalions worth on its back. To make things worse, it was a dual military force, consisting of ground troops and aerial units. \"Prince Stolas! You look extremely pathetic!\" A loud booming female voice echoed from the top of the demonic turtle''s head which she had named¡­ Flashy. The name suits the turtle really well especially when Flashy was decorated with a myriad of flowers from the top of its head to its tail. On a quick glance, one would wonder if the turtle was made from flowers, some sort of plant guardian or grew flowers at the back as part of its traits \"Countess Dantalion.\" Prince Stolas looked up to see the haughty Lady General dressed in a loud floral dress with patches of armour at the right parts. He had never been the type to care too much about proper etiquette. Right now, he was just glad that her arrival on her mobile home base meant a shift in the overall situation. The Countess was laughing non-stop since a few of the Orc Artillery guns were aiming at the turtle. As they fired towards it, their shots were unable to hit the creature. The demon army might be slow and set in their ways, but they were still able to learn and copy a good tactic. Hence the magical barrier surrounding the turtle. It looked even a hell lot stronger than the one that Prince Stola''s mages had conjured. This was because on top of the turtle, a fortress had been constructed housing a standard dungeon core in it. Moloch explained to his companions that this turtle was part of the real living moving dungeon fortresses that King Baal had kept control of. \"Such pathetic attacks will not put a dent in Flashy''s shell, much less penetrate it! Go, my flowery knights! Show them the chaos a rose can inflict.\" Countess Dantalion laughed continuously without reservation. Her knights flew down with the aid of her magical petals that were being created at the side of Flashy. \"The fortress shields are top-notch because of the magic output it''s giving out.\" Moloch banged the war table in anger, hoping that such an opponent would not appear against this particular match. \"Her magic shield is not powered by some dozen elite mages, but instead Countess Dantalion is using the dungeon core and strengthening it further by keeping thousands of living mages in tubes, sucking the life and energy out of them. Even if they die, all she has to do is wait for them to resurrect, and the cycle continues.\" \"Thus, her magic shield is considered near-impenetrable. It will be impossible to wait it out as she has a sheer limitless supply of mages willing to serve her.\" Moloch lamented which Qiu Yue queried why the mages would give their lives so willingly. \"Because the tubes are infused with aphrodisiac drugs, made from a special concoction from her sweat¡­her love juices and some other magical properties. It brings them a never-ending pleasure while they are inside. Once they resurrect they practically beg her to get back inside. This way their never-ending servitude to Countess Dantalion is ensured.\" Moloch answered as he saw Qiu Yue hastily sending more cultivators to counter the descending flower knights. Their enemy also began to send flying flower wyverns to disrupt the Orc Artillery Company although the Goblin anti-air weapons were doing their best to distract them. In the meantime, Kraft was considering going out to ''stretch his legs''. Bringing back some of those tubes and dumping them on Ayse could lead Evon to learn how to produce such drugs along with Kiyu. (But why go out personally, when one had sla¡ª underlings.) \"Sir! The turtle- it is going to ram itself to the fighting platform we have created based on the trajectory it''s flying!\" The Goblin Comms Operator shouted as it reminded the group that the particular platform was filled with hills and forests as part of the plan to slow the horde invasion. \"Must we use the V2 rockets right now?\" Qiu Yue asked as she checked on the status of the rockets all around the other floating platforms. She was planning to save it for the main showman, King Baal, but this seemed more pressing to halt or at least slow the advances of Flashy. At the same time, she was just as tempted to use Mr Derpy to counterattack. All while calculating the damage of actually allowing the turtle to smash into the platform and turn this into fight ground fight against the knights. *Cough!* A short, sweet cough was heard from the side of the room, waiting for the moment to make her grand scene. Qiu Yue realised she had nearly forgotten about the existence of another one of their superweapons. \"Bring me some fried turtle meat, as soon as possible.\" Qiu Yue ordered loudly. \"With great pleasure!\" The little girl would finally be allowed to unleash some of her most powerful magic without restraint. Time to show the Demons why she was called the Fiery Demonic Sage Queen. Chapter 716 Mythra-Orichalcum \"Please don''t tell me you plan to let her bombard it with explosive magic until the shell breaks. That might work, but it will also cause significant damage to the entirety of the area, including the surrounding platforms. It''s gonna do more harm than good.\" Moloch logically reasoned with Qiu Yue since the little girl in high spirits had already left the area. But he too had forgotten something about Peppers. She continued to be the bearer of the absolute database for the System. The mage Bellator instantly realised that Jin''s arsenal and their monsters were not sufficient enough to break the shield without damaging the sidelines. And while granted she would love to explode things without restraint, there were strict orders coming from the System personally to provide maximum damage to the enemies with little to no casualties on their side. Otherwise, she''d get no system points for the next six months. This penalty would severely restrict her daily snack intake, so she took the order to heart. The best part? Qiu Yue knew about this because she had been the one who had previously requested her Sub System to implement such a demand whenever they planned to harness Peppers battle powers. Thus, Qiu Yue comforted Moloch, letting him know that everything would be fine. They would have someone else penetrate a hole in Countess Dantalion''s shield in order for Peppers to unleash her prowess from within. And who could be a better candidate for that job than Zeru? She had learned in her time coming up with a strategy that Jin''s master was not just a Sword Saint but a master of other weapons too, particularly those used in a conventional medieval war. While his cultivation, the Thousand Lotus of Hell Style was preferably used with a sword, nothing was stopping him from complementing it with other weapons. The only request Zeru had when asked to perform the task was to utilise Jin''s Bam and Boo They were not only able to change their shape to whatever he needed, but they were also the sturdiest weapons to withstand Zeru''s usage. They had been made from the closest material to a particularly divine ore, Mythra-Orichalcum, which his own sword was composed with. However, in terms of sharpness, strength and durability, it was akin to comparing a Grade F and Grade SSS item. There was no metal in Jin''s world that could triumph against Zeru''s sword and with good reason. This was a material which the System had managed to obtain by luck through its years buying and selling in the Inter World Black Market. Even Vulcan, the creator of the sword, had no idea about the divine ore being inside the sword until the System performed an analysis after the sword was completed. It was a lucky break for Zeru who had demanded a sword that would never be destroyed the moment he was recruited by the System. The System back then did not believe that there would be a sword which would never break, so it had used what it could find to make it as sturdy as possible. The result, however, was everything Zeru dreamt it. Naturally, after making this revelation, the System had also attempted to create copies of Zeru''s sword. Still, the lack of Mythra-Orichalcum ore made every other replica obsolete and absolutely inferior. Two of those more successful failures had resulted in Jin''s Bam and Boo. The dungeon supplier had no idea he was holding onto a replica of Zeru''s sword, especially since the System had imbued it with the ability to change to other possible shapes to compensate for its inferiority. ¡ª¡ª- \"Peppers, are you ready?\" Zeru held on to Jin''s Bam and Boo as he inserted chi into the two swords for it to change into a bow and arrow. \"You sure, you can penetrate a hole through that thick magical shield?\" Peppers asked as she not only held onto one staff but two of them. In order to shape her magical attack into a blast that could slip through the defences, she had to use a second staff to modulate and cast her magical attack. \"It will definitely be more than enough for a skilled person like you,\" Zeru answered without reserve and it filled Peppers with much elation. \"Then I shall hold you to your word.\" The mage bellator stabbed her two wooden staffs onto the ground before a magical rainbow string wrapped around the two. It was strung up so high, that the little mage had to jump and use all her weight to pull it to her waist. But even when she was doing it, her mouth was already busy chanting the incantations of her revised explosive spell. The System''s restraint orders had prompted her to refine the highest level of explosive spell so that the magical density per square meter was higher than usual. At the same time, Zeru pulled the bowstring of BamBoo while he quietly inserted an absurd amount of chi into it. If any other weapon were to receive such an enormous amount of chi, it would most probably break upon absorption. Though BamBoo was able to hold the chi, there were already telltale signs of damage occurring to it already with minor cracks at the edge of the bow. \"Hold it in Bam and Boo. I know you can handle far worse.\" Zeru whispered as he tightened his grip on the bow handle to aim for a probable spot where Peppers could synchronise her shot with his too. And with one deep breath in, the Sword Saint hardened his leg stance to prevent any blowback affecting the shot. \"FIRE!\" Peppers shouted. Her orb of intense magic was released from the makeshift ''rubberband'' catapult using her wooden staffs. It was released with such force that Peppers fell backwards and her second wooden staff splintered from the impact. If not for Ayse''s new and improved magic absorption crystal jacket which Peppers could now hide under her baggy ''Sage'' clothes, the backlash from the Universal Mana Pool would have rendered her unconscious and thus unfit for combat for the rest of the battle. Sadly, Peppers had once again broken a track record, and her jacket packed with crystals broke as the gems could not handle the density of mana Peppers had portrayed. In the meantime, Zeru exhaled his breath upon her command and so did the arrow that was previously nocked on BamBoo. Countess Dantalion? Flower Knights? So what if she had a legion of Flower Wyverns? When it came to flowers, never joke with the Sword Saint. For he was the one and only true Lotus Flower Cultivator. Chapter 717 Shell Turned Hell Both the arrow and the magical orb shot were deadly silent. With the flak cannons disrupting the view of the Countess Dantalion, she did not notice them coming a single bit. Even though they were released at the same time, the arrow flew faster thanks to Zeru''s innate strength as well as the massive amount of chi infused into the arrow''s shaft. Once the arrow impacted onto the magical shield, it swiftly penetrated through the defences like a cockroach crawling through a slit. Initially, Peppers believed that her magical orb would partially explode on Countess Dantalion''s defensive energy shield given the nature of the arrow, but what Peppers hadn''t expected was that Zeru''s arrow had further infused it with a technique. \"Epic Bow Art, Watching the Lotus Flower Bloom,\" Zeru whispered as he returned Bam and Boo into their original state and requested System to send the weapons over to Vulcan for a quick maintenance session before returning it to his disciple. As the technique name implied, after the arrow slipped into the energy shield, its energy dispersion counteracted the magical shell around the turtle and created an opening that was shaped like a Lotus blooming in early spring. This allowed Peppers'' magical orb to pass through without any incident and head straight for the fortress sitting on the flying turtle''s back. Countess Dantalion was so focused on Zeru''s devastating attack that she did not see the condensed little sphere zooming past it. A massive explosion ensued at the fortress, and the area around the blast became overpressurised, resulting in energised shock waves passing through the entire region. Rock fragments of the medieval fortress'' walls flew all over the place and caused secondary casualties. The blast impact did not only damage the outer surface of the fort, but it inflicted a disastrous amount of fatalities within the fortress itself. Peppers had learnt much after her fight with Ice Father Porkcupine¡­ for which she still remained sour to this date. There were even rumours circulating of her wanting to attack and heal Father Porkcupine until she managed to one-shot kill the massive beast. (The System was not going to allow her to do anything of the sort as it had to preserve its precious resources.) Her new and improved (restrained) spell had been modelled similar to a hydrogen bomb but with the piercing bursts of a bunker buster. While there were no metal pieces or smart technology to enable that, the mage bellator had sufficient grasp of her magic to allow her skills to detonate as such. If Jin''s world mages were to rate her manipulation of explosive power, she would definitely be nominated for the Nobel prize for the creation of a new form of offensive magic. As soon as the explosive forces reached the basement of the Countess Dantalion''s fortress, it had violently annihilated the entire batch of ''energiser bunnies'' that were kept in the tubes laced with the aphrodisiac mixture. As if things were not exciting enough, those mixtures happened to be quite volatile in nature, causing secondary explosions which ensured the complete decimation of the fortress and to some extent, damaged Flashy''s hardshell too. The entire magical energy shield dissipated gradually and Peppers high fived with Zeru for a job well done. The Flying Turtle also wailed in pain from the effects of Peppers'' explosion but the worst had yet to come for the Flower Legion. The entire Orc Artillery Company and Flak guns had been aiming at the turtle waiting for this moment and shot out everything for maximum effect. As some of the Artillery gun barrels had an insufficient angle to hit the turtle, the goblin mage lifted the ground with their magic creating an upward slope to aid the artillery gunners. In the meantime, Wyrstriker''s forces renewed their strikes against the Flowery Wyverns in order to elevate some pressure away from the Goblin Anti Air Company. Now, the Goblin Anti Air revealed their latest weaponry, the Bofors 40mm autocannon. Used in World War 2, the autocannons provided better accuracy against the bigger targets while the flak guns were concentrating on the Flying Turtle. Even the Royal Snake Soldiers were getting a little restless and decided to follow the Orc Artillery Company''s actions by angling their anti-tank guns to allow for optimal positioning. The barrage was endless, and it was evident that the Flying Turtle Flashy had not been expecting to suffer through so much pain. Still, it did its best to tolerate. It even retaliated by breathing out a burst of cold wind mixed with some sort of solid debris to counter the rain of shells. But with its efforts, Flashy gave the demon ground troops some time to recover from the constant shelling. That bit of respite enabled them to charge forth recklessly since their only concern was the army of human ''adventurers'' who they assumed Moloch had allied with. Separately, Countess Dantalion was in a state of shock and still recovering from the attack. She subsequently realised that the remaining troops on Flashy''s surface were all the soldiers she had left. Her fortress, her home which had housed the council of elite flower knights waiting for her command had clearly been obliterated from that one attack. There was nothing but specks of dust along with a ruined crumbling castle. And if that wasn''t enough, her remaining soldiers on top of Flashy were continuously getting bombarded turning her grand entrance into nothing but a joke. She would never be able to live this down. Just where did Moloch gain command over such powerful creatures or beings with such ruinous powers? \"Milady! Be careful!\" A distant voice could be heard despite the severe ringing of her ears from the continuous bombardment, and when she turned her head, she saw a surviving Elite Flower knight emerge from the ashes and rocks. \"Dame Rose! I am glad to see-\" A shell exploded right behind her, and the Countess Dantalion was fragmented into pieces from the attack as her knight witnessed the death of her beloved Lady. \"No!\" Dame Rose banged her fists hard on the ground as tears, which were initially reserved for the relief she had upon seeing her Countess, continued to fall as they were to accommodate the despair that was overflowing out from her heart. For the Elite Knight of Dantalion had failed her duty to protect the Countess. \"Damn it! Damn it! I am going to kill all of you! You shall regret this Moloch! All your troops will end up as fertiliser for Countess Dantalion''s garden!\" Dame Rose exclaimed, but her hoarse voice fell on deaf ears as everyone was selfishly trying to survive this new hell they were in. Chapter 718 Flashys Escape Countess Dantalion''s grand entrance may have been turned around, but without a doubt, she had bought enough time for Prince Stolas'' troops to push to the frontline. The mages had also used this break to patch their shields for the next impact. They ensured that the safe zone was stable enough for formation organisation and for the commanders to take control over the battlefield. The cultivators, while useful in delaying the advance, knew that it was inevitable that they could not hold down the enemy army. Otherwise, what kind of dungeon would this be if they could defeat the enemy at the first line? The cultivators were actually looking forward to getting beaten back and becoming more desperate before ultimately achieving a hard-earned victory. Although they were unaware that this was not just one of Jin''s normal dungeons, the dungeon supplier himself also planned around the fact that the demon army would eventually forge forward. Due to their increasingly massive numbers in the protected safe zone, this was becoming more and more true. The cultivators who participated in the first wave of attack experienced it first hand. More demons, led by commanders, proved to be more than Jin''s customers could handle, once most of the clay soldiers had been dealt with. At some point, Qiu Yue stopped assigning cultivators to the beachhead and instead started placing them along the enormous sky bridge. It was to become the next battlefield before the demon army reached the first defensive platform. To say that the sky bridge was just a wide sturdy bridge would be a complete understatement. The entire sky bridge was as big as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and had been filled with defensive guard posts manned by the Fortress Golems who were itching for some action. The new, improved Sherman Tanks had also been stationed there with the Dark Templars while Lord Wolte was guarding the very end of the bridge to provide support fire whenever needed. As for the start of the bridge, anti-infantry and anti-tank mines had been specially placed along the main road and cultivators had been informed not to traverse that area. Their half masks gave them the directions and warnings as to their surroundings so they should know how to avoid the mines as they retreated. While Prince Stolas received a clearer picture of Lord Moloch''s created city, he realised that the bridge was a vital structure which could not be allowed to get destroyed. It was their only way upwards since most of the cities seemed to be floating in the ''sky''. Moloch''s army had already prevented them from using Countess Dantalion''s Turtle as a possible flying platform. Thus, if they were unable to seize the sky bridge completely, it would definitely be a hassle to push forward in search for the dungeon core or Moloch himself. \"This Moloch really knows how to make things difficult for us.\" Prince Stolas spat the sentence out of spite but also with a hint of admiration. For decades if not centuries, there was virtually no one who had dared to fight or betray King Baal. Betrayal would mean eternal humiliation most often by getting scorned to the very depths of poverty. Some were even subjected to constant death sentences to deter others from ever attempting it. But Moloch¡­the former Viscount Moloch, renowned for his calmness and logical ideas, had made the most illogical decision possible for a Demon Noble. This made Prince Stolas wonder if he had really found a holy grail that could potentially bring King Baal down to his knees. Would Stolas live long enough to see that happen or was surviving this entire battle so far merely luck? He had no fucking idea. Either way, he was there, intending to clear the air with regards to the incident that happened between Moloch and King Baal. There was so much secrecy between Moloch''s demotion that even as a prince, Stolas was unable to learn any information from his spies. Once they had gone beyond the boundaries and the next day King Baal personally threw the freshly cut-off head of Stolas'' spy right into his arms, warning him to never interfere again. ¡ª¡ª \"For being rather inexperienced in the trade of war, you did rather well holding the defensive lines.\" Princess Gaap praised as she teleported in with the next wave of elite troops. \"Earl Furfur told me the details, and I too am looking forward to battle against a force that could annihilate Duke Vepar''s famed Horned Armoured Knights and our Jousting Elite Knight Forcas.\" She bundled her long hair to cover the right side of her face. Prince Stolas had never interacted much with his elder sister Gaap, but he knew there was a battle scar which she always kept out of view from people during battle. While it could be regarded as merely a small battle scar, to her, it seemed to be a matter of pride. As a daughter of the Demon King, she could have easily let someone heal it, but she had decided to keep it. Still, Stolas chose to reserve his comments about such a controversial action and updated her about the current situation. \"Hmm? Oh is that why that flying turtle went crashing down into the sea?\" Gaap wondered, making Prince Stolas turn around and watch how the turtle was attempting to find refuge from the attacks within the deep sea. \"That pet of Dantalion. I guess it''s smart enough to pretend that it''s too injured to fight. Going underwater will let it recover to take revenge later.\" Stolas was surprised that Gaap knew a thing or two about Flashy and only nodded in response. What they did not know was the true horrors waiting under the water ready to consume anything that entered the sea. While Flashy made the right deduction for a tactical retreat off the battlefield, it never expected someone else to be down there. Multiple high powered harpoons were thrown at the unsuspecting injured turtle. (Courtesy of Weslie for her water-resistant steampunk harpoon gun.) Realising that it was in danger, Flashy tried to swim upwards, but even more harpoons penetrated its skin and continued to drag the poor turtle further down into the sea. Although the magical energy shield had already dissipated, Flashy was still able to protect Countess Dantalion soldiers even if it went underwater by conjuring large breathable bubbles around its shell. The bubbles had light restorative effects, but it was negligible for the soldiers who were severely injured. However, with Flashy being dragged to the bottom of the sea, the increasing sea pressure caused those bubbles to burst, and its pain stopped the flying turtle from producing any more of these breathable bubbles. Thus, the flower demon soldiers once again became mere helpless prey for the Deep Ones lurking around to kill and feast on them. Even with the mages trying to counter-attack, they were no match against the Deep Ones, especially in their native element. Those creatures may be ferocious but they also possessed the intelligence to target the higher priority targets and focused on the magical light the mages produced during chanting. The Deep Ones were all very delighted that they received a surprise warm-up/food before the actual contingency plan that Qiu Yue and Derek had prepared. And¡­as for the flying turtle, well¡­ if it knew that it was mostly ignored to be a sacrifice for the patron of these creatures, it would have already lost consciousness than to anticipate the awaiting horror further down the seafloor. Chapter 719 Assassination Snipe As the sea under the floating city platform''s turned murkier and murkier red, Princess Gaap and her soldiers were pushing forward with impunity. They did not care to show any mercy to any of the cultivators who fumbled, lost track of the main group or ended up injured. The Wights, or as the other demon soldiers called them, Soldiers of Gem, were the main speciality of Princess Gaap''s army. While Prince Stolas'' soldiers consisted mainly of Tiefling elites, they were not even close in terms of strength compared to the Wights. If one were to compare armies, the Wights were a bunch of inhuman killers who would stop at nothing to complete their objective. Each and every one of the Wights might have looked like a human, but their eyes consisted of gems, giving them powers corresponding to their type. Those with Sapphire gems exhibited the ability to inflict cold damage regardless of the weapon they were holding. For Soldiers of Rubies, it was the strength to burn their enemies with their bare hands. However, because of the uniqueness of the Wight''s talents, their army was comparatively smaller compared to one such as Prince Stolas. Maybe that was why Princess Gaap decided to come in late, to steal the show from her younger brother Prince Stolas'' whose army was gaining considerable ground. Duke Crocell has finally managed to properly reinforce Prince Stolas''s army and sent forth even more amateur foot soldiers and mercenaries who wished to prove their mettle. In the meantime, the Soldiers of Gem alongside the remaining Flower Knights showed the remaining and retreating cultivators hell. Alas, these fresh troops were too overconfident in their abilities. Earl Furfur''s Demon Army Battalion ended up becoming the next bunch of foolish soldiers to believe that they were seriously winning at this point in time. The moment the frontline troops entered the start of the bridge, Furfur''s battalion encountered a series of anti-infantry mines which shredded and maimed the demons into mincemeat. However, after the explosive ditch trap incident, the demons had already learnt their lesson. Duke Crocell relayed messages to the Prince and Princess that he would send his own troops forward first in case Moloch prepared even more dirty traps to stop them. This choice turned out to be the correct one as the weak demons carelessly continued to charge forward and sacrifice themselves in order for their elites to enter without a problem. But that was where they were wrong. While Xiong Da and Yue Han had retreated based on experience (and in the face of an armada of demons), they were already preparing an ambush of their own behind the multitude of physical barriers scattered all over the sky bridge. Varying levels of road barricades riddled the sky bridge and made it impossible for the entirety of the demon army to go through at once. Instead, they would have to worry about getting pounced every few metres. Something which the duo and every other Pandaren was counting on. Princess Gaap was riding along with the Wights and saw the sorry pathetic mess of a bridge. She wanted to command her mages to blow them all away but being a demon princess who had never been on a modern battlefield, she was committing a fatal mistake¡­ She was out in the open without protection. \"Ahh ahh, isn''t that Jin making it too easy for us to spot who the commander is?\" One of the Royal Snake Snipers had his sights on the stylish Princess riding on her stead. \"Maybe she has some of those invisible shields? Or perhaps it''s a decoy?\" His spotter theorised, but even with his enhanced binoculars and spotting equipment, the spotter could only scarcely believe the Princess was unprotected. \"Penetration spell cast, Lacerating spell cast. Bring your magic level to seven, then take the shot. If she is protected, we will see it. But if she isn''t, we can''t let some of the other guys get the credit. I want to stay in that pandastic hotel room again.\" The spotter said as he finished prepping the bullet for the Royal Snake Sniper to use. Holding his deep breath, the sniper adjusted his sights, loaded the bullet in a flash and took the shot. Despite the loud bang from his sniper rifle, the battlefield was too chaotic for Princess Gaap to hear the sound from so far away. In an instant, the bullet ripped a hole through her chest. The penetration spell broke right through her magical armour and chainmail easily, maintaining the trajectory of the shot. Once the bullet went further in, the laceration spell caused the projectile to turn into a party of metal shrapnel, spreading in various directions before the core of the bullet calibre came out from the back. The metal shrapnel lodged into her throat, heart and even her carina, disabling her from so much as breathing properly. What''s more, the hole through the chest made her bleed out fast. Without the ability to react, Gaap could not believe she would be killed this quickly before even really getting on the battlefield. She had full trust in her magical armour and believed that it would be able to stop any arrows that came her way. Heck, once it had even stood up to a catapult sized rock. And thus, she could not comprehend how something so small could have pierced through her heart and defeated her just like that. Without her being able to make any noise, the Mages of Jade Gem proceeded with their last order, the clearing of the physical barricades with their wind powers. Yet they too were being targeted from afar by the Orc Artillery Company with the aid of Qiu Yue providing the troops with the coordinates of their new targets. By now, the orcs had already fired enough shells to result in a heap of their height. This was before the spider robot crawlers could take them away for recycling and clear enough space for the orcs to throw more of their wasted shells away. The barrels were also refitted, and at times the entire cannon since their firing pin had been blunted by all the shooting. (After all, an artillery cannon is basically a larger version of a gun.) At the same time, the first batch of Sherman Tanks EX closest to the front gates of the sky bridge fired upon their enemies. Filled with anti-infantry shells, the frontline soldiers had no defences other than the measly wooden or metal shields in their possession. Neither was anything enough to stop the incoming onslaught. The flower knights, however, managed to use their magic to create a series of energised flower shields to block the attack. The wall of petals scattered the shells, making them explode before being able to touch any of the soldiers, giving them some space to move forward. (And yet to be blown away by the mines.). Blocking a shot was fine and dandy, but having to stop a series of them simultaneously naturally caused the wall of flowers to dissipate quickly. It inadvertently cost the life of the flower knight as this signature skill requires sacrificing their own blood to maintain it. And for the cultivators who survived the first wave? They chuckled at the scene of demons getting some payback. Some even cheered behind the barricades as they healed up and got ready for the battle for the sky bridge. Chapter 720 Crossbreed A random glance to the backlines by a single mage finally noticed Princess Gaap gasping for air on her black demon stallion. However, before he could react, she had lost all consciousness and landed head first on the ground, causing a neck fracture due to the weight of the armour, aggravating her injuries further. The Mage of Jade Gem shouted for a healer despite his disbelief that their almighty commander could fall and it prompted several of them to quickly rush to her aid. \"There is no use trying to save her. She is too far gone.\" One of the senior Mages of Jade Gem assessed her condition. There was no way she could survive a bloody hole in her chest and a neck fracture, so all they could do was to wait for her to resurrect in a few days time. The second in command under Princess Gaap immediately sent his messenger to Prince Stolas who had remained at the backlines observing the situation. \"What?! Gaap was killed? But didn''t she ride with you all a few minutes ago?! Fuck!\" Prince Stolas kicked a stone nearby to vent his anger. It was evident Moloch''s soldiers knew who to target and the floating platform was giving their ranged troops an added advantage. Usually, the Demon flying units would be sufficient to mow such troops down with a hit and run. But right now, those ranged troops were doing more damage to both the front lines as well as the back end. To make matters worse, their flying units had been forced to retreat because of the overwhelming aerial defences Moloch had placed. Perhaps, he should send an emergency letter to Marquis Forneus and request for him to participate in this war and deploy the most well known veteran air force in the entire Demon Metropolis. The Dragon Devils. They were the one particular demonic air force which Moloch feared the most. It was to the point he specifically had prepared the Wyvern Goblin Knights to fight them. Marquis Forneus not only had the Dragon Devils in his possession but an army of draco-humanoid troops that could swoop into any position to disrupt the formation of the defending army. Dragonlites were a breed of half-dragon half-humans that aligned themselves to the demons because of the crude, twisted perception of crossbreds amongst adventurers. The general population of humans despised any adventurers who fell in love with monsters but fortunately, there were havens, sanctuaries and monster towns that existed to allow these two distinct races to cohabit together. Hence, the crossbred population of dragonlites preferred to be with the demons and monsters who had a system of meritocracy which rewarded people for their strength and power instead of their birth and race. In fact, for a tyrant King, Baal had shown to be extraordinarily merciful towards these discriminated races and provided them with a place to live readily as compared to other monsters. This was most definitely because Baal could sympathise with them. He had been conceived from a frog monster who had crossbred with his mother, who herself was a crossbreed between a human and a cat humanoid. As a child, Baal had to scrimp and save every dungeon penny he could obtain through legal and illegal means. He was not as lucky as his children now who had the ability to live in luxury. And unfortunately for his parents, they were not able to live long enough to see the success of their child as they had been killed in the advent of the Dungeon World''s Harbingers. Those creatures which represented living natural catastrophes in the Dungeon World could forcefully remove the resurrection ''blessing'' from this world''s inhabitants. That incident had also become a significant turning point for Baal inciting him to grow stronger, braver and even more ruthless. It wouldn''t be wrong to say that it had formed him into what he is now. ¡ª- \"Shit, man! This dungeon is tough, but god damn, it''s exhilarating! Best dungeon yet!\" Yue Han praised Boss Jin as he took a breather and took a chi bottle from his storage ring to have a drink. \"Hippo, any idea where the rest of the Pandawans are? So far, it''s only been the two of us together.\" \"That''s not too surprising, considering we are in the centre. I advised Bu Dong and Luo Bo to head to the far east to aid a group of Pandarens. Given this pressing situation, we seem to have entered the next phase of this dungeon, so I assume they should have retreated by now or be in the midst of doing just that. But damn, all the blasting of artillery guns, cannons and tank shots are making things way too hard to concentrate properly!\" Xiong Da answered. As always Jin had taken his instance a couple of notches above any other dungeon supplier store. It really felt like they were in the middle of a warzone. The lawyer hid behind a barricade and took his phone to check his score for a moment before turning his Pandamonium map app on to search for the other Pandawans'' location. As the most hardcore fan and veteran among the Pandawans, Bear Cub One had assigned Xiong Da the temporary title of a military company leader and provided him with the tools to monitor the entirety of Pandawans in the battle. It made the Pandawans more competent in responding to immediate threats, allowing them to quickly help the Pandarens if necessary. (In essence, it was meant to help out Qiu Yue.) Leading the squads of Pandawans while fighting at the same time was tiresome, yet Xiong Da enjoyed this new role granting him such a dominant position. It was something different compared to his usual job where most of his colleagues were merely obeying his commands just for the sake of doing so. While both the Pandawans and Pandarens were aware that there would be system text messages going across their half-mask every once in a while to inform the customers of the battle, the cultivators still lacked a general sense of direction. That was where Qiu Yue, Jin''s appointed strategist for the day, stepped in while Xiong Da handled Pandawans. Before the start of this event, Jin had created a Pandamonium forum post informing the masses that there would be ''one tactician'' who would contact the Pandarens after certain developments of the war to make sure there was some coordination aside from the regular system text messages. Qiu Yue was already quite busy handling the overall tactical decision, so she could not personally whisper for varying groups of Pandarens to move in accordance with her strategy. Predicting such problems in advance, Jin had recommended letting the cultivators use their mini pets to allow Qiu Yue to send her commands through instead of using the usual magpies from Que Er. (After all, she was now considered as a major offensive war asset after her deeds in the Giant World.) This provided a middleman for Qiu Yue and the Pandarens as a platform to question and clarify orders too. (Although the Goblins Telecomms Operators were doing the clarification in disguise as that ''one'' tactician which Jin mentioned.) Despite the limited mini pet''s responses, Jin and the System needed to save processing space for other more critical procedures. Nevertheless, it gave them a better grasp of the situation as the Armies full of Wights and Flowers pressed on along with Duke Vepar''s and Earl Furfur towards the Sky Bridge. Chapter 721 Promoting The Dungeon Instance In hindsight, calling the fight at the sky bridge, a battle against the humans and demons would be a gross understatement. The attrition for the sky bridge between demon armies and cultivators would eventually become a lesson to remember for future demon history books as both parties were held in this major chokehold point. Jin had never expected it to last for more than an hour, let alone four. Initially, the cultivators were holding their ground until more demon reinforcements appeared from the safe zone and marched quickly towards the sky bridge. And when larger sized monsters emerged from the Demon Metropolis similar to the Horned Armoured Knights, the cultivators had to fall back for the Orc Artillery Company and the Royal Snake Mortar Squads to lay a barrage in order to allow for some breathing space. Even a ten-second break had become precious to the cultivators. While Jin felt it was oddly weird that Qiu Yue had yet to ask any of his other monsters like the Orcs to come out and help the cultivators, he realised why the Empire Building Sub System User must have done so after pondering over it for a minute or two. The sky bridge could only hold so many defenders against the seemingly never-ending invaders. Thus, Qiu Yue felt it was vital to use the cultivators first while the hype for this battle was still present and the morale, as well as the general situation, was on their side. As much as the cultivators might enjoy this new kind of sensation, it was ultimately a dungeon run to them. Admittedly it was more realistic than anything else they had ever experienced, but they still would have to continue with their life once their revivals ran out. (Jin was naturally hoping they would buy more, but his cultivators'' money wasn''t infinite.) Therefore it was a wise decision for the Red Panda Cultivator to delay sending out their own monsters to reinforce the defence line. Qiu Yue could have assembled ''flash strike'' teams to interrupt the stream of invaders coming in, but the effect would be minuscule in the grand scheme of the whole battle and potentially waste the cultivator''s money because each teleport cost money to enter. After all, they had to somehow make a profit to regain the losses from overconsumption of resources in building these defences, the fortress city and subsequently the resurrection of the monsters in the future. Thus, Moloch and Qiu Yue agreed to activate Lord Wolte''s broken graveyard dungeon core to summon the phantom soldiers from the dead. The only problem with this method was that the System would then be unable to capture them as its own. The dungeon core would utilise the dead bodies and convert them into souls. Basically, the System would be left with a batch of souls instead of proper foot soldiers and demons in its arsenal. (And the demon army would be resurrected as per normal back to their respective churches. Its was a weird out of the loop rule which the System was unable to overwrite.) Yet, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Despite how ''almighty'' the System appeared to be, it was far from its past peak performance, and it did have its limits. For example, it could not possibly hold that many demon soldiers without suffering any consequences. While it was true that the System wished to hoard every single soldier for Jin''s future use like the retrieval of the Mecha Brain or the fight to recapture the Northern Region in the Farming World, it had to act rationally. Thus it had used a strict selection method about which monster to keep with its ''limited'' capacity by highlighting to Qiu Yue the types of monsters to be converted into Phantom Soldiers. Although this would not be such an issue if Jin were to be more decisive and use the monster merger function, the System respected its user''s choice upon seeing the current results of his monsters. Nevertheless, it continued to influence him to give it a try every once in a while. ¡ª¡ª The demon army suddenly faced an attrition battle at the sky bridge and also surprise ambushes from the phantoms of the fallen soldiers who charged into their own flanks. It startled the soldiers fighting against their own kind, yet this bought precious time for the defending frontline. The cultivators felt the intensity on varying levels. Most enjoyed this particular raid scene a lot, and since this was supposed to be a one-time event, they decided to buy a few more tickets to continue. Of course, Jin wouldn''t just sit there doing nothing. He had to make some immediate changes on the spot to entice the public to buy as many as possible of these tickets. He had to find a delicate balance between earning some cash to make up for the one they used for the defences and not overcharging his customers since they badly needed them to continue the fight. In the end, he chose to offer substantial discounts to returning customers in a discrete way after seeing how fierce the fighting was on the bridge. Upon spending two hundred over Yuan, Jin had programmed the System to give out a ''secret'' individual discount code to their Pandamonium app''s inbox allowing them to buy their tickets by using the promo codes. And this repeated with every 100 Yuan spent, hopefully ensuring he could aggressively promote the current dungeon raid. However, he did not know there were other forces at work, aiding him directly for this particular event. Ever since the emergence of the Tree Mall, a number of dungeon supplier reviewers had been keeping an eye on Jin wishing to see for themselves what kind of dungeons he produced. Thus, with Jin hyping this event so hard for the past few days, those reviewers had decided to enter on their own accord to experience if the raid was living up to the hype. Even though it was not uncommon for dungeon suppliers to ''buy'' or be sponsored a review, Jin''s store was different. He rejected every single ''influencer'' who wanted a free pass to see the dungeons since he claimed that his dungeons were already cheap enough for them to review and worth every penny. Some threatened with a negative review, but Jin shrugged them off at every encounter and even challenged them to write badly (A certain fox was quick witted enough to send a few anonymous emails containing undeniable data about their person. The message seemed to be clear enough to know not to mess with Jin.) So, to this date, reviewers who came to visit only had praises for Jin and these new arrivals were not an exception. The battle on the sky bridge had been so intense that the dungeon reviewers could not help praising them in their Meibo and blogs despite their defeat. Some even daringly made Tock Tik videos during the dungeon scenes, writing hashtags to talk about their experience in Jin''s dungeon raid and it raised the level of awareness that this particular raid was a limited event. In addition, Kraft was smart enough to anticipate all these things. He had asked Kiyu to send their own snippets of the battle to the dungeon supplier reviewers who had written a positive post for no charge and allowed them to do whatever they wanted with it. Ultimately, Jin and his colleagues were not expecting this rise in numbers in the short run, but the reality was quite the opposite. By the end of lunchtime, the System detected a drastic increase of first-time customers coming to check out this limited time defence raid since it was suddenly trending in the region''s social media for quite a bit. Jin could not believe that the drastic increase of customers was due to the effects of his sideline promotions and wondered if there were other forces behind the scenes working to push his promotion hard. Was it the Tigers? The Snakes? or maybe even the Tiger Triad whose leader was undoubtedly capable with computers. Whatever the case, it would have to wait for another time to reflect over it. Right now, they needed to concentrate on the current situation as battle reports were coming in that the cultivators managed to recapture and push the demon armies away from the middle of the sky bridge thanks to the increased participation of the new blood. Chapter 722 Nervous \"Damn it!\" Duke Crocell slammed his fist on the stone tablet with enough force to break it along with the table holding it. The senior mages knew how expensive those monitoring stone tablets were, but all of them were too afraid to say something. They were all aware that Crocell was furious with the current situation that they were facing and getting on his nerves now would be signing their own death sentence. It was no surprise. They''ve sent in batches of foot soldiers¡­ but to what end? Moloch seemed able to easily counter anything they used against him. It was as if that traitor had managed to acquire all he needed to defeat the Allied Demon Army all on his own. Just where the hell did he even manage to get a broken graveyard dungeon core from? It was simply absurd given the number of graveyard dungeon cores available in the Dungeon World only amounted to a few hundred, compared to the tens of thousands ''regular'' dungeon caves and regions. But not only that, he had somehow managed to acquire one that was capable of summoning those phantom soldiers? Yet, Crocell continued to be wary. His understanding of the graveyard dungeon cores was too limited. Heck, even the world''s leading expert on dungeon cores had admitted that those graveyard cores were still considered as mysterious elements and completely out of the norm, so how was a Duke who handled governmental issues on a daily basis supposed to know anything about them. In essence, he had no risk free way to defeat them but to use the soldiers to block their advance and yet, that was not sufficient since those phantoms soldiers were ethereal in nature. That particular element allowed them to hit soldiers whenever the phantom soldiers wanted while simultaneously allowing them to dodge physical damage, to a certain degree, because of their body ever transiting between the real and the spiritual plane. The only enemies that could deal substantial damage to them turned out to be the mages and the Soldiers of Gem. As soon as they made the discovery that they were weak to magical damage, after paying roughly half a battalion of foot soldiers for it, the Wight Commander had proceeded to divert his troops to halt the advance of the phantom soldiers. At the same time, he called for a regroup since they had lost their lead commander, Princess Gaap from the assassination attack. Also, that assassination alone had made Prince Stolas'' own guards even warier about his safety, and they told him to continue to stay at the backlines for protection. The Orc Artillery Company had stopped firing at them for some time already, and they were getting overly suspicious. \"Huh! To see the Fifth Prince known for his quick execution of our enemies have so much trouble with his previous teacher. Are you perhaps one of the conspirators as well?\" Duke Vepar made a joke in poor taste, but Prince Stolas reserved his comment despite being annoyed from this baseless accusation. Duke Vepar was anything but anxious at the moment. The only way he could keep calm was to insult and joke about others to hide his fear of the unknown that had taken all of his Horned Knights. True, he might have been a mighty champion back in his youth, but that did not mean he had maintained his skills. On the contrary, he had grown accustomed to a nice and cushy job. At one point, he had completely exchanged his constant training for the allude of fine goods and luxury comfort. The only safety net he had left was his brand new armour which he had ordered a couple of weeks ago for this event. And yet the Duke continued to feel unsafe after news reaches them about of Princess Gaap getting assassinated in the middle of the battle despite the top-notch magical runes she possessed. He had no disillusion about his armour faring any better. Still, he had to show a strong front as a Duke of King Baal. He just prayed that by killing a few of Moloch''s henchmen it would trigger all the forgotten training he had endured in his younger days. \"I suggest you stay at the back yourself. The winds of fear are blowing hard around you.\" Prince Stolas, who noticed the slight twitch in Vepar''s hands and strained shoulders, decided to offer the Duke some reprise, despite the disrespect he had shown so far. Upon seeing his reaction, it seemed as if he hit the mark. \"If Princess Gaap could get killed just by standing afar from the wave of soldiers, it also means that neither one of us has a guaranteed chance of surviving unless we are cautious the whole time. But being fearful and being cautious are-\" \"Shut your trap!\" Duke Vepar ignored Stolas'' royal titles and shouted back at him aggressively before equipping his helmet and spread his one wing out in defiance. Prince Stolas obeyed amusingly, and even his guards were whispering whether to bet on Duke Vepar''s survival chances on the battlefield. Especially how ''long'' he could last. \"They might have anti-air defences, but I wish to see how they plan to fight back if we fly from here and wreck their defences at the sky bridge.\" Vepar spoke to his own regiment of Winged Armoured Gargoyles who roared in sync. \"Let me add to the pool to fatten the bet as well,\" Prince Stolas said and threw 500 dungeon dollars to his nearest guard, and they all chuckled happily. The Owl Prince with Raven Legs figured this was a good time to observe if those guard watchtowers which had been constructed at fixed intervals could be destroyed by Vepar or if they needed something stronger to defeat them. \"By the way, how long until the siege weaponry arrives? It appears we desperately need them to at least inflict some damage on those watchtowers if Duke Vepar fails in his endeavour.\" \"See, even our prince believes that Duke Vepar will perish.\" One of the guards tried to whisper to his companion, but nothing could escape their prince''s ears. He only chose to pretend not to hear it as his advisor reported the situation back at the metropolis. \"They are underway, but we need a bit more time to gather the necessary mages and materials to prepare them. Otherwise, they could get destroyed the moment they leave the shield from the safe zone.\" His advisor reported and Prince Stolas sighed. \"So much for it being a safe zone. That teacher of mine sure knows how to beat us at every corner.\" Stolas nodded his head and quickly turned it to hear the lot of the army cheering upon seeing the arrival of Duke Vepar and his personal regiment of aerial force. Qiu Yue was too busy coordinating the defence at the sky bridge, so she did not notice that a group of flyers had been mixed in between the army, allowing Vepar to succeed in a surprise ambush by flying straight to the first few watchtowers. Despite conducting this kind of mistake, she smirked as soon as she got the report. She even decided to lay back a little to watch how the Fortress Golems stationed in those watchtowers would handle them. \"Sub System, this will become a fabulous scene for future playback. Please start recording and send the footage to Kiyu. It should serve as a perfect advertisement or a good memory to keep.\" Chapter 723 Reactive Explosive Shield Duke Vepar was not about to give the defenders any quarters as he brought out his prized possession. A gauntlet capable of crushing any foe into pieces. It was his family heirloom, passed down to him from his great-grandfather after proving himself worthy. His ancestor had conducted a trial of sorts where his descendants were required to solve something similar to a Rubik''s cube while fending off the enemies in the dark. For centuries, his grandfather and father had been unable to complete the trial no matter how many times they had attempted it. (Granted, Vepar''s great-grandfather had limited the trial tryouts to once every six months but given their near-infinite lifespan, it was something they had spent countless years on only to fail.) Vepar, on the other hand, had proven himself to be a rarely seen genius. He had managed to complete the trial within a year after reaching adulthood, but as a result, he had lost one of his wings to an enemy whose death evoked a lifelong curse rotting half of Vepar''s body. Fortunately, healers had managed to isolate it to one of his wings, which then had to be permanently amputated, and ever since, he had been living with that consequence. Even upon resurrection, his wing was lost forever, but for the price to be paid, it was a worthwhile deal especially when he used it on multiple occasions allowing him to ascend to Dukehood with relative ease. (Although there was no doubt, his father had pulled some strings to gain such political clout to get where they are right now.) Upon granting his great-grandchild his prized possession, Vepar''s great-grandfather finally decided to pass on to the afterlife by submitting his will to the Church of the Afterlife, indicating that he had lived long enough. Despite its name, the Church of the Afterlife was responsible for all the resurrections and remained indiscriminate to every single monster or human. As long as enough money was given, the Church would serve anyone and everyone regardless of affinity to good or evil. Despite its name, it regulated itself more like a company for profit. So when Vepar''s great grandfather sent his will, the Church would reimburse 5% of the resurrections it charged as a thank you gift for using their services back to their families. Such reimbursements were also a small way to keep the Dungeon World from being overpopulated despite it ever-growing in size. They might not be responsible for the inhabitants, but they did care for the Dungeon World''s health. The founder of the Church of the Afterlife, one of the earliest Gravemancers, believed a little good would definitely make the world a better place. (As well as providing the Church with a bit of some renown for their reputation.) Centuries later, the Church was considered as the largest and most likely also the most powerful company ever to be created in the Dungeon World. It allowed them to have their very own Dungeon Country, and the only one ever created in the entirety of the Dungeon World. What about King Baal and his Demon Metropolis? That was like comparing provinces to a county. ¡ª¡ª- Duke Vepar smashed through the magical energy barrier set up around the watchtower with ease and the One-Winged Fallen Angel discovered that inside the guard post was merely a couple of mechanical constructs shooting its projectiles down at the enemies. \"Hah! Easy game.\" Duke Vepar thought himself as he recoiled his fist for a full punch. Seeing how bulky and slow the mechanical constructs looked, the One-Winged Fallen Angel thought this would pose no problem. The Fortress Golem, on the other hand, had crushed his expectations with one fell swoop as it raised its shield that had been left at the side of the watchtower. Duke Vepar''s punch impacted hard with the Fortress Golem''s shield but he was shocked when the shield endured it, only to explode right in front of him. Using the technology of explosive reactive armour was quite common in modern tanks, and the Fortress Golem''s shields were packed full with it. Its design structure was meant to be heavy-duty and bulky, so the goblin pilot knew exactly how much hurt it could take before its destruction. Hence, protecting the golem was of the utmost priority. And considering the battle had already stretched for more than four hours, it was even more vital to keep every golem alive as long as possible. Vepar quickly flew backwards but not without suffering some external injuries and spitting out some blood from the explosive reaction. Before the smoke was cleared, a hail of bullets emerged from it, aiming specifically at the Duke''s vitals. If not for Vepar''s sharp battle instincts leading him to bring out the magical shield inherent to his gauntlet, he would have been pierced multiple times by the incoming metal pieces. While his instincts were present, his body was no longer used to following them. He wasn''t quite fast enough, enabling a few bullets to go through and had damaged the side of his torso despite the new expensive armour he had donned. Vepar could fathom what would have happened if his reaction had been delayed by just one additional second. \"What is up with these projectiles? And how was Moloch able to obtain such responsive constructs?!\" Vepar thought to himself as he heard a few agonizing shouts from the surrounding watchtowers. His personal regiment of Fallen Angels literally fell from the sky after taking similar actions against the other constructs. \"We have to find the mages controlling the constructs!\" Duke Vepar cried out as he once again rushed in by flying straight into the tower yet this time taking extra precaution not to strike against the construct''s shield. Unfortunately, Vepar did not know that the Fortress Golems possessed more than one pair of arms. A third arm which was meant for reloading purposes had since been outfitted with a spear which the goblin pilot used to stab Duke Vepar in his injured side. That itself it would not be enough to cause any damage at all, but because of the initial wound Vepar received, he was way too cautious, and his reflex caused him to move sidewards, accidentally hitting another Fortress Golem appearing from the side of the watchtower that was carrying yet another reactive explosive shield. The impact from the reflex dodge caused the reactive shield to activate, but Duke Vepar was able to use his wing to block the explosive before it could severely damage his face. \"Damn it, I should have worn a better helmet.\" He cursed with a pant while holding on to his gauntlet for the impromptu magical shield. \"Yeah, he should totally wear a helmet.\" One of the pilots chuckled within the Golem intercoms and the other three within the watchtower could not help but laugh along too. According to Moloch''s prior information, the pilots had a hard time believing that a Duke who was famed after earning multiple accolades from past results could easily be overpowered by their Fortress Golems. If King Sol had these kinds of Golems en masse¡­ the Goblin Kingdom would be able to take over the world! \"Alright, let''s not waste any more time and kill him before his reinforcements come in.\" The most senior one among the pilots spoke out, and the rest acknowledged his decision. They readied their shotguns and aimed towards Vepar. In a moment they would learn that the Duke still had a trick under his sleeve. It was just too bad that he had to reveal his trump card so quickly. As the Fortress Golems sprayed their shotgun pellets towards Vepar, the One-Winged Angel unlocked his gauntlet, and with a grinding click noise, the gauntlet enlarged rapidly to the extent it nearly pushed the Fortress Golems out of the watchtower. It suddenly made it look like Duke Vepar was a tiny figure with a colossal gauntlet on his arm. With a swing, those Fortress Golems could have been thrown out of the watchtower except they held on tight with deployable spikes from their golem''s soles. Yet, the scene from the perspective of others was horrifying and perhaps jaw-dropping too. The rest of his regiment let out a series of war cries seeing how their Duke had unleashed his trump card. (Too bad, they had ignored the fact they were in enemy territory, and the other Goblin pilots took the awe of their lord to gain the advantage.) \"Don''t think we will be easily taken out!\" The Goblin Pilot of Fortress Golem #045 said as he continued to cling onto the gauntlet. \"Heh, and here I thought I was the only one clinging on to it.\" Goblin Pilot of Fortress Golem #046 replied as he pressed a button and the backpack of the Fortress Golem released a bag of C4. They were meant to be used for self-detonation in case they were massively swarmed by enemies, but this seemed like a decent situation to use them too. \"Ignore that stupid fist thing! Continue firing at your position! Do not stop applying pressure against the enemy!\" The Orc Captain for the Orc Artillery Company relayed the information. \"Wyvern Goblin Knight, Tomas! Going in to annihilate the target!\" Tomas, who had experienced the Orc Goblin War as a fresh knight, had been wanting to prove himself and this seemed like an opportune chance to do so. \"Tomas! Don''t be foolish!\" Wyrstriker warned but the foolhardy knight ignored direct orders and overburst his air boosters to combat Duke Vepar before he could inflict serious damage to the sky bridge or the surroundings. Chapter 724 Suggesting A Strike Force Should I interfere as well?\" Jin asked but Qiu Yue, Moloch and Kraft simultaneously and vehemently shot down the suggestion of the dungeon supplier. \"You might be more powerful than your customers, but you are not all mighty. Don''t forget you will be up against an entire army. If you start to interfere they might get pressured too much and it will be more likely for King Baal to appear on the battlefield. Let''s also not forget your symbolic value. Watching you get defeated will plummet the morale. It would be equivalent to checkmate in our eyes.\" Moloch explained to him why it would be better for Jin to wait for the right time. \"Let your customers have some fun. Duke Vepar knows not to destroy the sky bridge. It will make things harder for his troops and the rest of the demons that have yet to appear. He is probably aiming for the watchtowers to reduce the number of defences that we have.\" \"Hmm, that seems strange. Shouldn''t they be able to create something like a sky bridge with magic?\" Kraft argued, and Moloch was quite stumped. The plushie was unsure about whether to answer truthfully or create an excuse. \"Technically¡­they can, but just believe me when I say they will only do it if there is a need to. I know it sounds tactically stupid, but sometimes that is just how us demons work. We really prefer to let the underlings do the job and claim the glory so that afterwards we can gloat about how much our guys contributed. I''d think someone like you could appreciate that line of thought.\" Moloch tried to reason, but Kraft easily countered. \"Sure, sure. However, it''s one thing to send your people to accomplish something, yet it seems there is more glory to be had if one leads them directly. Haven''t we deployed the Royal Snake troops on standby at every single floating island platform for that particular scenario?\" Kraft pushed, and Moloch gave up. \"Yes! But they didn''t do that yet! And I have no idea why that is! The only person off the top of my head that could do this without a problem would actually be Princess Gaap herself. And yet, for some reason, she did not do so before getting shot in the chest. I mean, she sure had plenty of time before she got killed. So, stop asking me about this!\" Moloch suddenly lost his temper and yelled. \"Woah, woah. Chill down, little cotton butt. I was just thinking about other possibilities. Besi-\" Kraft was suddenly slapped in the face with a duct tape courtesy of Qiu Yue before he could make the situation any worse. \"Moloch, take five and cool down. I do not need a hothead on the war table. If I see any irrational decisions, I am sending you out to the battlefield.\" Qiu Yue ordered, and Moloch sighed. Nodding his puppet''s head in silence, he walked out of the room for a breather. \"Now that our little friend is gone, may I be so frank to tell you that we are probably gonna get fucked by these demons?\" Kraft bluntly stated after ripping the tape off, which made Qiu Yue and Jin on the line, perplexed. All seemed well so far, so the crafty fox sighed at their blissful ignorance. \"I can understand Jin since he wasn''t part of the planning process, but you disappoint me, cutie. You have started focusing too much on our own plans without imagining yourself walking in your enemy''s shoes. We''ve been fighting over this chokepoint for more than four hours. Since the start of the battle, our side has defeated their soldiers ranging in the thousands¡­ and yet, there is no sign of relenting at all. Instead, more elites are coming in, and even more foot soldiers are trying their luck to have a piece of us.\" \"For once, you are rather pessimistic of the situation.\" Jin was a little wary. The Original Bellator had a point but knowing Kraft, there''s got to be some angle in this. \"No, I''m just being realistic and probably taking more things into consideration than you two due to experience. In this instance, it would be their reputation. From what I have learned talking with our cotton friend and that metal slug, they really are a prideful bunch, and they care about their image.\" \"¡­Maybe a little too much. So don''t you think it would be strange if they were sending their soldiers to be slaughtered for so long if they did not have any ulterior motives or were planning something else?\" Kraft continued to babble on without allowing the others to interrupt his line of thoughts. He was dead set of keeping the conversation in his favour. \"Oh and speaking about alternate plans¡­ Before they began their attack, Moloch had suggested a very ''interesting'' idea. Suffice to say he briefly told me how we could infiltrate the Demon Metropolis and get to their dungeon core. That is of course, barring changes from his knowledge of the city.\" Kraft replied with his trademarked slight grin. Somehow he actually managed to lead their conversation into a direction where he offered them a solution to their problem. (Was all of this interaction planned by Moloch and Kraft?!) \"So, you are suggesting that we should send a strike force into the Demon Metropolis. You already stated that we have our hands full here, how are we supposed to assign a strike squad in? If we are going in, we will be going in fully blind unless Moloch enters with you¡­which you know that is clearly insane.\" Jin asked, and Kraft shook his index finger. \"Uh uh, my dear master. I am suggesting that yours truly should go instead. I''ve looked through cutie''s plans, and my little foxes nor I have any essential role to play in her plans. But I''ll need the whole crew including the one that is locked up by the System just for¡­you know as a guarantee that we will win this.\" Kraft deviously requested from Jin, but a quick shout from the dungeon supplier''s bracelet denied the plan wholeheartedly. \"Nope, not me. I''m definitely not following you.\" Pei materialised from the bracelet and looked through the video call on Jin''s phone. \"Aww, seriously? I mean¡­it''s rare for the foxes to come together as a group, assuming we can get Rex out to play.\" Kraft attempted to persuade Pei playfully, and it was obviously not going to work. It might also be his lone presence which only served to make Pei even angrier. \"How much bad blood do you guys have for each other?\" Jin shook his head. How could it be that those ancie- ''experienced'' bellators behaved like kids when put together? \"LOTS\" Pei replied with a fit of anger, readying her fan and threw it through a portal. \"NONE.\" Kraft happily declared while dodging the weapon. \"THE TWO OF YOU STOP THAT! ¡­ Alright, let''s put it this way. Kraft, if Pei does not come along, will you be able to succeed with your objective in getting near their dungeon core? All I am looking for is just a pure distraction to alleviate the situation. Reaching the dungeon core will not be necessary.\" Jin asked, and Kraft took a bit of time to ponder. \"Should be possible. But without her, the possibility of us actually reaching the core falls hard. It will definitely be best if I have her since she is kind of our only healer. The rest of the foxes are all combat offensive in nature.\" Kraft tried to reason professionally, but it only inadvertently made Pei roll her eyes. That guy was lying¡­ she only did not know why exactly. \"Yeah right, Evon''s drugs are enough to keep you guys going,\" Pei replied. \"Jin needs me more than you guys.\" \"Come on, just one run for old time sake?\" Kraft asked rather nicely. \"Okay, fine how about I throw in 1000 System points in as-\" \"Make it 3000 System points then I am in.\" Pei changed her tune so fast that Jin was absolutely stunned for a moment. \"You drive a hard bargain. 2000 points.\" Kraft shook his head furiously. \"3500 points.\" Pei raised the price further instead of negotiating. \"Goddamnit woman, are you trying to rob me blind?¡­ Fine. I can give you 2000 points, and as a little extra incentive, you''ll get to play around with your signature weapon just for this fight.\" Kraft lowered his head and adjusted his trench coat. \"Deal. I will be there when the System teleports me.\" Pei returned back to her bracelet with a happy glee. \"But you guys are not going in until King Baal appears. Else it will end up being a big waste of time since the dungeon core owner is the strongest when his core is in danger. We need him to at least waste his time and keep him occupied here for your team to get to the dungeon core.\" Moloch came in at an opportune moment to interject his opinion. \"Then¡­I guess I will authorise your strike team assuming you do as Moloch said. And it''ll be only you and your foxes. NOT your Night Foxes. We need them on standby for future fights.\" Jin allowed the strike and Kraft secretly cheered especially since he got to have Rex by his side after such a long while. \"Buddy, you will be out in no time, and we will show this world, how terrifying the foxes can be.\" Kraft thought to himself as he sent a private telepathy message to all the members of his skulk. Chapter 725 The Reckless Wyvern Goblin Knigh As the giant flying gauntlet grabbed the watchtower like a kid taking a piece of lego brick, the defenders reacted by attempting to annihilate the source of trouble, Duke Vepar. However, knowing that their commander was now in a vulnerable state because of the size of the gauntlet, Vepar''s personal regiment of Fallen Angels proceeded to protect him at all costs. Royal Snake Snipers attempted to remove Duke Vepar from a distance, but those pesky Fallen Angels were always blocking the view to the target. Furthermore, killing one only exacerbated the situation as more and more Fallen Angels grouped together. Alone, they were like a one-man army, but that title was quickly stripped off after a hail of bullets lead them to either a watery grave or bleed to death from the fall into the barricades. (If unlucky, the cultivators would take the chance to accelerate the fate of those Fallen Angels who landed near them.) As a group, their odds increased thanks to their innate trait of chain healing. It allowed them to improve their healing potential exponentially the more of them there were. Even Duke Vepar''s previous injuries were slowly being healed, making him healthy enough to wreak further damage on to the sky bridge while making sure the demon army was able to pass. \"You think you could give it a shot?\" Yue Han asked after they managed to regroup with Bin Yong and Luo Bo as the giant flying ''gauntlet'' was moving to break the watchtower it had grabbed and break it in half. \"I''d love, but I fear I do not have the energy! Half of my squadmate AIs have been killed trying to block the attacks for me.\" Luo Bo answered. She took a deep breath and exhaled quickly just to have a chug of chi potion. \"I''m no better. I also lost all my squadmates to delay the enemy''s advance as best I could. Without their sacrifice, we would have been unable to retreat safely.\" Bin Yong recalled how dangerous the Wights were, especially the Soldiers of Ruby who possessed the fire affinity. Their heated swords cut down his squad mate''s buckler into two and proceeded to kill them. Needless to say, his squadmates were still able to inflict some form of payback before death since their tolerance to pain was almost non-existent as an AI. Suddenly a loud sonic boom came from above, and one of the Fallen Angels got stabbed through so furiously that it was dragged along. Together with his Wyvern, Wyvern Goblin Knight Tomas had pierced a Fallen Angel through its chest while his buddy bit down on his torso, not allowing him to move as they sped away from the main group. Without the chain healing from his comrades, the bitten Fallen Angel lost blood quickly, but Tomas had to ensure that his enemy died, thus with a command in goblin language, his long spear changed into a shotgun. He aimed and lodged his barrel at the Fallen Angel''s neck which fit tightly, Tomas pulled the trigger. Its head was blown off and pieces of its brain mixed with a lot of its blood splattered on all him due to the speed they were travelling in the air. Even his wyvern crunched the armour of the Fallen Angel before letting go and dropping it into the sea. After which, the Wyvern Goblin Knight turned and tried to make another pass against the group once again. The Fallen Angels had watched how their comrade got eliminated, and they did not plan to allow Tomas to succeed another time. Some of them angrily aimed their spears towards the incoming threat, shooting energised beams at Tomas as his wyvern evaded as many beams as possible. However, they seem to have forgotten that Tomas was not the only threat in the air. While their concentration had been on him, another Fallen Angel bit the dust through the very same method that Tomas had just used and a second later, there was the third casualty. Wyrstriker and a few brave Wyvern Goblin Knights zoomed past Duke Vepar''s gauntlet to hit the Fallen Angels while their backs had been facing them. \"You think you will get praised for doing something this reckless?!\" Wyrstriker shouted in the System subchannel dedicated to their command unit. \"Sir! No! Sir!\" Tomas replied as he and the other Wyvern Goblin Knights intersected and flew past each other. With the decrease of fallen angels, their healing output was not as powerful as before, giving Luo Bo a chance to shoot back while lying on the ground. She was directly beneath them after attempting to hide from magical energy attacks and arrows with the barricade in front of her. Her shot spiralled upwards with chi, hitting one of the Fallen Angels from below, causing them to fall straight to the ground. Duke Vepar somehow managed to see one of his regiment troops killed and since the enemy was within his radius of attack, he spun his large gauntlet and aimed at the cultivators on the sky bridge. \"Holy shittttt!! Incoming!!\" Yue Han shouted as he and his other squadmates AI tried to grab anyone near them and jump out of the area before the place got flattened. However, even as he tried to grab Luo Bo, the girl was surprisingly reluctant to move because she had literally expended the last of her chi on the shot to kill. \"So heavy!!!\" Yue Han complained as he attempted to maintain his hold by her armpits and moved out with a shadow phasing technique with his Blind Bat style. \"EXCUSE ME! So RUDE!\" Luo Bo retaliated by hanging her bow over Yue Han''s neck and used her strength to pull. \"Oh my god!\" Yue Han exclaimed and held his other comments. He now only cared about coming out of the attack area in time before the gauntlet fell on them, but they were too late. They had underestimated the incoming speed of the attack, crushing the two Pandawans and a few other Pandarens with them as well. The barricades were also destroyed by the impact, and the rest of the cultivator could feel that the sky bridge shook a little from the impact. \"Huh, Duke Vepar''s gauntlet attack should have no problem flattening an entire village with one punch, and yet our sky bridge is still holding with relative ease.\" Moloch wondered out loud as he tried to quickly assess the damage. \"Because most of the concrete we used came from Sandy''s almighty sand products. I doubt there will be anything that could destroy the sky bridge. As for the construction of watchtowers, not so much. After all, Sandy can only do that much.\" Qiu Yue revealed. \"Seriously, we could make a killing in the construction business if we ever used her magic sand, but Jin forbids it. He even ordered the System not to do it at all cost.\" She sighed as she threw in the next batch of Pandarens into the fray straight after Duke Vepar released his gauntlet in order to prevent the demon army from taking advantage of the gap. Lord Moloch could see where this was going and understood the possible negative implications of selling such sturdy material. \"No wonder you did not hesitate to throw that much defences into that sky bridge.\" Chapter 726 The Gauntle \"Support Duke Vepar!\" One of the commanders shouted at the frontlines to rally the troops. To them, it was now or never as they climbed over the debris of the broken barricades. Some of them even picked up pieces of broken metal to serve as impromptu shields and to strengthen the armour that they had. \"All Pandarens at the bridge, fall back!\" Qiu Yue relayed the orders before she quickly changed her channel to Lord Wolte''s Company of Tanks. \"Wolte, it''s time for your debut. Have two of your most competent tank squads fire at the gauntlet while the rest should focus on providing supportive fire to slow the horde down.\" \"Gladly.\" Lord Wolte said as he forwarded the commands down to his Dark Templars subordinates. \"I will go to the front. Shermie 2 and 3 follow me.\" Zieg, Leader of the Dark Templars, volunteered with pride as his tank zipped through the barricades with ease. \"If that''s the case, leave it to me to take care of that naughty little Vepar. S-4 and S-5 provide long distance support while the rest fire at will and defend Zieg.\" Wolte commanded, and the rest willingly obeyed his instructions. The sky bridge was a gentle slope up to the first defensive platform, so most of the Sherman Tanks were not able to fire at a high angle due to the curvature of the sky bridge. Thus, defensive platforms had been erected just to allow them to handle their tasks. Even the watchtowers further back had an adjustable landing platform that could elevate itself, so the tanks were able to fire at a suitable angle. But for Wolte, his tank was essentially his body. All he needed to do was a little bit of stretching, and he would be able to angle his barrel without the need for a levelled platform. And unlike the Dark Templars who needed to manually aim and shoot, Wolte could easily do that with a twitch of his barrel. He was one with the tank. Everything a Sherman could do, he could do better. \"Wyrstriker, retreat along with your Wyvern Goblin Knights. You are overexposing yourself and we don''t want the enemy to realise that you are the only aerial force that we have.\" Qiu Yue warned, and Wyrstriker acknowledged those orders, calling back the others while also making sure Tomas returned. \"Enough playing hero, Tomas! It''s time to fall back. Don''t force me to ban you from flying via the System if you refuse to comply.\" Wyrstriker threatened in their System Sub Channel. \"Yeah, Tomas! Don''t be stupid. You will have enough chances to be a hero, but only if you listen to Commander Wyrstriker.\" His comrades replied open, and Tomas reluctantly agreed since most of the Fallen Angels had disappeared. \"You think I''ll let you all go after destroying my regiment of Fallen Angels?!\" Duke Vepar looked more sullen than ever. He was not instructed in the ways of the gauntlet by his great-grandfather before the latter''s passing and was instead forced to learn about it himself. One of the first lessons he learned about the gauntlet was that it was going to take his life away bit by bit. After all, life force is seen as a cheap bargaining resource for extra power, and it was no surprise nearly every demon dealt or utilised their special skills with blood sacrifice. Still, exchanging his life force to get revenge against these meddling dragonflies would be a worthy exchange for him. Thus, he brought his gauntlet up and started to offer up his lifeforce further to charge up the gauntlet for a tracking energy beam that would be able to hit each and every one of the Wyvern Goblin Knights. \"Oh no, you don''t, Little Vepar! Not until you taste my iron fist of fury¡­or erm iron bullet of fu- nevermind. FIREEEEE!\" Lord Wolte mumbled as he shot an explosive round out of his barrel and a couple of surface-to-air missiles from the sides of his tank. Smoke was seen at the back of the launchers and at the same time, the launchers were reloaded automatically from the belly of Lord Wolte, ready for the next barrage. Separately, cultivators in the vicinity had to cover their ears in an attempt to block the noise from the loud screeching missiles, but it proved very much futile. Especially since the Half Mask they were wearing already had a module that would transmit a particular frequency to counter or mask the loud noise, making it not too painful for the cultivators in the area. A special Lost Tech technology yet again embedded for the convenience of the cultivators. The sound of missiles being fired caught Duke Vepar''s attention and he ordered the remnants of his Fallen Angels to protect him. There was no need for that. His guards had already prepared to lay their lives to allow him to unleash one of his mightiest attacks without the need of telling them to do so. Despite the missiles being aimed at Duke Vepar, the Fallen Angels took the initiative to use their body and whatever magic they had to protect their Duke. One by one, the explosions ensued with a cloud of smoke as the Fallen Angels popped like balloons with their bodily contents raining down the sky bridge. Their valiant self-sacrifice managed to buy enough time for Duke Vepar to charge his gauntlet. \"Shit! It''s not enough?! Quick someone do something, we can''t allow him to use that attack!\" Wolte cursed as the smoke dissipated but suddenly they heard a sonic boom before Duke Vepar was able to release the energy in the gauntlet. While the Goblin Wyvern Knights had been retreating, Wyrstriker was the only one who had done a 180 degrees flip with Iwen and charged back. Fortunately, the clouds of smoke had acted as the perfect distraction while Wyrstriker activated his secondary boosters, something which was unique to him as the commander of the Goblin Wyvern Knights. Ayse had emphasised many times that it was just a prototype and was only to be used in a true emergency. \"Well, I bet even Ayse will count this as a type of emergency. Either I kill him now, or he potentially makes a giant hole in one of the floating platforms with that gauntlet of his.\" Wyrstriker thought to himself as his speed punctured through Duke Vepar''s head when the One-Winged Fallen Angel attempted to move away from the Wyvern Goblin Knight Commander. Moments later, Duke Vepar''s pathetic head flew off from Wyrstriker''s shield and into the sea while the Spear Goblin retreated back with the boosters in an orderly fashion with his unit. Tomas and the other knights knew this feat was not as easy as their leader made it look. Considering the speed those secondary boosters could achieve when it burst to top speed, it would be hard enough to keep their balance let alone strike accurately. They could only strive to become like their commander in the future. Now, without its user, the colossal gauntlet dropped down to the ground and squashed the ongoing demon army as it deeply caved in the first quarter of the sky bridge. So much for bringing down the barricades. Now the gauntlet itself had become a major obstacle for the incoming invaders. Chapter 727 Extra: Chucka and Chucky The colossal gauntlet fell down, blocking the way for the incoming demon army. The impact also destroyed nearly all of the Fortress Golems that had previously been holding on to it. Yet their deaths were not in vain with all the C4 that had been stuck on the gauntlet. Only a single Fortress Golem had survived the toppling of the gauntlet because of the angle it was hanging on. Thus, it climbed up to the top of the gauntlet to make its last stand there aware that retreating now was the dumbest option he could choose. The Fortress Golems had never been designed with speed as their main focus, merely their joints were responsive for quick minor movements. Running away would just be losing the advantage of halting the demons even though the pilot was aware that it would be impossible to hold them for more than a couple minutes at best. However, to the defenders, every second was a precious commodity. Qiu Yue was finally able to take a breather and reorganise the cultivators that were left slightly stranded from the attacks. The same was true for Xiong Da, who needed this time to tend to his own wounds. Stray debris had cut into his arm when the gauntlet fell onto the sky bridge. In a way, the other goblin pilots were a little envious of the situation for the one stranded right on top of the gauntlet. They had been ordered to remain in their respective watchtower picking off targets one by one while his demise was inevitable. According to the protocol, he was now authorised to use up every tool he had available before his inevitable demise. Luckily, there was still the ongoing artillery barrage to aid him, so why not use that to its maximum effect? \"Maybe the System might reward me with extra points for being so courageously stupid to stand here on my own.\" The goblin pilot wondered as he checked on the remaining arsenal he had in the golem''s backpack. Four fully loaded sixteen gauge shotguns. There were extra shotgun shells to spare, but he knew there was no time to reload. A two hundred fifty clip heavy machine gun packed at the side of the metal backpack. A heavy calibre customised pistol at the back of the golem''s hip. An emergency reactive explosive buckler ejectable via the side of the backpack as well as a foldable axe. Oh, and a total of nine minutes of operational time before the battery wore out¡­ Chucka smiled as he watched the battery tick off second by second. \"Better not waste any more time.\" He quickly unloaded his machine gun and relocked his golem''s soles onto the fallen gauntlet with its long steel nails. Surely he would be receiving a shit ton of attacks but Chucka, the Goblin pilot of Fortress Golem #046, or as he nicknamed it ''Chucky'', believed it could- no, it WOULD weather the worst of all of the attacks until his power runs out. If not, Chucka would definitely complain to the Goblin mechanics and Orc engineers for slacking too much. Before Chucka could even pull out the heavy machine gun, the Wight Mages of Rubies had already started sending fireballs in his direction. In the meantime, foot soldiers were climbing up the gauntlet to reach and destroy his construct, hoping it would fall and grant them glory for tearing it apart. Unfortunately, they had forgotten that Chucka was not alone as other watchtowers were still operational. \"You lucky son of a bitch, you better kill a hundred before you fall. I do not care if your golem drops dead or you are limping, just KILL THEM. You have no rights to return unless you complete my order!\" A duty goblin officer from the watchtower shouted through the System subchannel, and the rest of the golem pilots laughed and added further insult. \"Aye aye, sir!\" Chucka had already deployed his emergency buckler to protect the primary sensors at the head area while arming his heavy machine gun to spray at the crowd. A digital counter specifically came out when his duty officer relayed the order to him. Once he saw the numbers climbing up rather rapidly, Chuka could have sworn his duty officer asked for a thousand instead. \"Don''t push your luck, Chucka.\" The golem pilot felt a sudden chill as if the golem itself was talking back to him. But there was no time to be distracted, so he continued his incessant slaughter. With the aiming assistance provided by the console, the Fortress Golem was doing considerably well, targeting the Wights. However, their shields were more than decent, and only the foot soldiers died from the attack. Chucka stopped trying to go for them, instead, he concentrated on the foot soldiers to lower the overall numbers. Suddenly, his heavy machine gun got stuck. His training instinct kicked in to check the chamber quickly instead of panicking, and Chucka realised he had yet to shoot out even half a clip of ammo. \"Fuck, fuck!\" Chucka used his third arm to reach for the reloading mechanism to clear his jammed gun and simultaneously take out a shotgun from the automated backpack of the golem. However, it seemed like the Wights had been waiting precisely for this moment and a high-intensity fireball coincidentally impacted with the Fortress Golem''s third arm, taking it out almost immediately because of the lack of a magical shield. Fortress Golem Chucky did have a magical energy shield module installed, similar to the ones used for the Anti-Air Defences, but it took way too much energy out of the battery pack. Thus Chucka did not bother using it. Seeing how the third arm got obliterated, Chucka inserted strength into its fist to destroy the handle and held the heavy machine gun like a makeshift blunt weapon, hitting on any potential enemies that came too close to him as Chucka handled the enemies in mid-range with his sixteen gauges, oops now twelve-gauge shotgun. The goblin pilot was able to stay alive up till now mostly due to skill and with a fair bit of luck, the situation he was in right now was certainly a testament to that. Chucka was just an ordinary pilot, and unlike Tomas who wished to prove his worth, the goblin pilot had considered the bigger picture, which was why he stayed behind to hold the line. Besides, Ayse and the rest of the engineers had spent hundreds or thousands of dungeon dollars on this piece of metal. Some of the enemies managed to slip through the cracks of Chucka''s buddies support fire and tried to pierce the golem with their weapons. Unfortunately for them, the steel armour it wore was not something to be underestimated. Inscribed with defensive inscriptions beneath each plate of armour, the golem had increased resistances against slashing, piercing as well as magical attacks, making it quite a terrifying defender, if not for its limited mobility and single battery pack system. \"Only three more minutes!\" Chucka gritted his teeth and kept moving the controls to defend his primary sensors while dealing damage to the surrounding enemies. The shotgun subsequently got turned into a blunt weapon too since the heavy machine gun had already broken into pieces after considerable smashing. The second and third shotguns were used the same way as well until he was left with the heavy calibre pistol. But unlike the shotguns or heavy machine gun, the heavy calibre pistol was an invention from the Mecha World. It had a smart chip inserted into it, and the bullets could fly like mini-missiles towards their targets. Was there a particular type of target that Chucka was aiming for? The C4s his comrades and him had previously planted. A quick shift in programming with voice control from Chucka, enabled Chucky to make the necessary changes to the targets the smart gun was aiming at. Yet at the time, he was flailing his retractable axe to pretend that it was out of options. And that enabled the demon army commanders to press for an advance while keeping the golem occupied enough. \"Idiots.\" Chucka smiled as he raised Chucky''s arm and shot the bullets upwards, causing them to fly upwards and subsequently to their targets. Meanwhile, he too pressed the self destruct button three times, indicating to quicken the destruction time sequence to the minimum time as he retracted the handle to eject his pod. In short, the series of explosions seen happening on the gauntlet was a magnificent display of fireworks too. (Oh and Peppers rated it a 3.5/10. The 0.5 for the blood spattering. Such a harsh critic she was.) Chapter 728 Arrival of the Mad Gian The gauntlet remained intact despite the detonation of multiple C4s and the Fortress Golems. The valiant Fortress Golem, who had been left with very little battery, exploded itself guaranteeing that it was useful all the way to the end. The detonation sequence of the Fortress Golem was also meant to break the golem into small unusable parts since there was a decomposition inscription hidden within the destruction ignitor. By forcefully activating the decomposition inscription, it ensured that upon self-destruction, all the metal parts would rust and likely disintegrate. A sophisticated but surefire way to ensure that enemies would not get the schematics or reverse engineer any particular component. These precautions had to be built in, in lieu of the Mecha World where their enemies would be smart enough to accomplish such a feat to learn more about their enemies. Jin and Qiu Yue agreed this was a necessary step until they found a cheap way to transport items back to the System''s grasp without wasting too many resources. The explosions did clear some of the debris away causing the colossal gauntlet sank further in, and the height to climb over it was lessened by a little. It wasn''t much, in fact, it made it only slightly less tedious for the soldiers to climb over it. Still, after the honourable death of Chucka, the Fortress Golems in the watchtowers were finally allowed to unleash hell on any soldiers that were climbing over the gauntlet. This forced the Wights to be creative in their defences so that the foot soldiers stood an actual chance in being able to push through. At the same time, the cultivators had already dug in for the next round of defensive fighting, with some of them also shooting with their bows and guns against any of the foot soldiers. Qiu Yue had also prepared a few surprises in the barricades for those melee cultivators. A variety of handguns and bolt action rifles were hidden behind the ''makeshift'' defence barriers allowing the melee cultivators to take part in these shooting exercises with the foot soldiers as target practice. While most of them missed because of the lack of training, it nevertheless applied pressure to the demon foot soldiers, causing them to be reckless and making them rather predictable in their ways. (Extra munition was sold through the Pandamonium App and would arrive by Spider Crawlers.) Suddenly, distant loud trumpet noises came from the safe zone. A few soldiers in the backline turned to take a look, only to realise that Prince Stolas'' reinforcements had arrived fashionably late. Trebuchets, Catapults and even mobile ballistae were coming out from the magical portal. The demon army finally had their very own long-range weapons in the midst of battle. \"Hahahahahah! Yeah, I guess that evens the playing field a little.\" Qiu Yue laughed sarcastically at the sudden turn of events as she noticed that the siege weapons themselves were filled with mages. Standing at the edge of the equipment, they were providing a spherical shield at each point, culminating in a four-layer magical defensive shield which was able to withstand the barrage of artillery strikes. Not only that, but there was also a staggering amount of mages behind those siege weapons, ready to further the protection whenever needed. That was not all. Along with the siege weapons, Giants and Demon Trolls had begun coming out of the magical portal with a very special person which Moloch recognised almost immediately. A respected tutor himself and well versed in the art of war, Earl Barbatos, the Mad Giant, along with his army of monsters entered the fray. The demon army whose morale had been dropping ever since the fall of Duke Vepar cheered intensely with the arrival of Earl Barbatos and his Giants. \"Hahaha! Oh, Prince Stolas! Of all the commanders, you are the only one here? Do you think this is a sign of Moloch giving you a chance to live? You should not waste it and return to the palace. This is not a place to earn any glory.\" Earl Barbatos had been earnestly following the development of the situation in the invasion of Moloch''s city, Pandapolis. A weird name to choose considering there were other things he could have chosen, but the problem did not lie with that. Instead, it was those humans which Barbatos saw that made him think Moloch was still hiding his trump cards. ¡ª¡ª \"I guess that''s the queue to release the Dragon and Pandjilla?\" Qiu Yue asked when she saw the giants and Moloch shook his head. \"As menacing as they look, those giant statues only have high constitutions going for them. Otherwise, they have average defence and a rather average attack power¡­well power is quite debatable depending on who they are fighting with. Against regular troops, they spell disaster but to Pandawans like Bu Dong? It would definitely be a walk in the park for him given that he now has access to squads too.\" Moloch stated further that those giants were just foot soldiers in the eyes of Barbatos. In his ranks, he still had more agile, smaller versions of giants and trolls that he had not taken out yet. Not even the armoured ones were present in the field yet. \"So, should we just use the artillery on them?\" Kraft asked without looking up. The crafty fox seemed to be strangely occupied with his personal laptop. \"No, they will continue to strike the soldiers at the gauntlet. We need to lower their numbers, shell shock as many as possible.\" Qiu Yue replied as she glanced through her options. To deal with siege weapons, she ended up calling Hou Fei, asking him to send in one of the Royal Snakes companies. To get through their thick shields, she gave Weslie''s prototype vehicle even though it was still in the testing stage. The so-called speedy land hover which was capable of hovering above land with the aid of a Lost Tech engine. It has been modelled after the steampunk motorcycle and helicopter the Farming Demon Rats had used. As much as Qiu Yue liked to control the cultivators to keep them for further use, there had to be a balance for them to see some action. Thus, she had decided to send an unorthodox group into the fray to deal with the giants since regular Pandarens were not capable to stop them. The Venus Four. Chapter 729 Venus Fours Grand Arrival "About damn time!" Yue Wen, the Cultivator of the Healing Maiden style, grumbled full of impatience once she finally received the notification on her Pandamonium app that she was chosen to enter the dungeon raid instance. "You were the one who said that you would wait for us." Shi Hui, the Shadow Swan Cultivator, replied as she closed her war fan, with the rest of her squad AI following suit. "Well, I had to. There hasn''t been much of a chance for us to play together ever since we started working at that bubble tea store. And when we are not working, SOME PEOPLE have to have their urges filled by SOME WOLF." Yue Wen emphasised and Jing Ru, the Gunning Giraffe giggled at the side of the conference briefing room. "Play nice Yue Wen, we agreed not to be too critical about their relationship." Jing Ru reminded her, and Yue Wen faced her with an angry pouting expression as well. "You too! Ever since you got along with your father in Jin''s store, you have been running along with him and his buddies a lot! Leaving me behind!" Yue Wen pointed sternly to the Sniper Cultivator, rendering her slightly speechless. Somehow she decided to explode at the wrong time when everyone should be getting along for the upcoming battle. Instead of arguing back, Jia Ying, the Sanguine Stag Cultivator merely went in front of Yue Wen and looked through her eyes. "Calm down. Set your mind straight. Don''t forget you are still our healer for this round. Shouldn''t you be the most level-headed given your occupation?" Jia Ying stated objectively, and Yue Wen sighed after staring into her for a moment. "My bad. Perhaps, I just really miss the four of us coming together." Yue Wen replied meekly and subsequently, the Pandamonium App asked for their confirmation to teleport. Shi Hui patted Yue Wen''s shoulder and squeezed it a little as a sign of encouragement before they simultaneously pressed the confirmation button. In an instant, they got teleported into the battlefield flying down from the skies. The first thing they noticed was the Giants they had seen on the projector in the conference room. The Venus Four immediately knew who their targets were as they readied their weapons while they were swooping down from the skies. Without any parachutes to guide them, Shi Hui released her chi into the surroundings, and illusionary animals of their cultivation were seen diving down towards individual Giants. Proud and majestic in its appearance, the Sanguine Stag could be seen diving towards one of the Giants who was holding a large shield. With the aura of nature emanating out into the skies, the stag''s horns were growing and trailing along as the illusion descended. Plants and flowers of various species were popping out from the horns creating a scene as if the Sanguine Stag was akin to a major Guardian of the Forest. And right beside it was Jia Ying, prepping her spear technique while her AI squadmates were close behind her. It was one of the larger illusions that Shi Hui had created and it immediately attracted the attention of not just the Giants but everyone in the vicinity. People were mesmerised by it especially since there was an illusionary aura of a blindfolded maiden in hood and cape descending with a bright shining light. It appeared as if it was radiating the path for the Sanguine Stag to walk upon. The Healing Maiden was like a bastion of hope for the cultivators who saw it when the Giants emerged from the portal. In the meantime, Yue Wen timed the release of the shining light with her release of a wide area technique with the aid of her squadmates AI to provide the cultivators at the sky bridge a slight regeneration of chi accumulation. However, being at Grade 4P, Yue Wen''s technique was still too weak for it to be very effective for a battle of this magnitude. The duration was cut short due to her lack of understanding of the skill along with her lack of high-grade cultivation. Nonetheless, it was quite a pretty show to watch, and the warmth from the illusion did increase the morale of the Pandarens. Likewise, the Sanguine Stag cultivator Jia Ying descended elegantly whilst overcoming the shield that the Giant had been holding up. She pierced through the Giant''s neck without him being able to stop her. With a hole the size of a tree trunk in between the Giant''s trachea, it gasped for air and struggled by flailing its weapons around, only to succumb on the ground and suffocate to its death. "Urgh, I guess I should not do such a thing again." Jia Ying coughed as she was covered with the innards of the Giant all over her body. So much for the look of ''nature'' after one was filled with Giant''s blood from head to toe. (Perhaps, that IS nature. Survival of the strongest prevails within every one of us.) Unlike the Healing Maiden and Sanguine Stag''s grand entrance, Jing Ru did not portray her Gunning Giraffe, instead, she and her squad used grappling guns to reach their targeted Giants earlier and set a thermite C4 explosive on the body part they managed to land on before jumping down to the ground. To prevent the Giants from suspecting too much, they had been ''wasting'' their bullets by spraying the large creatures to distract their attention, and it worked effectively. But at the same time, the Giants were rather unsuspecting having one or two humans trying to come too close to them since they treated them as trash insects. What was one or two needle pins poking them when they had tolerated years of war against other monsters and demons? Sadly, that underestimation was their downfall. Once the thermite C4 explosives were ignited, the Giants suffered burning pains which caused severe bleeding at various parts of the body. There were also a few instant kills because of a well-placed C4 at the neck area, yet most sustained only minor injuries. Still, the burn and bleeding had hindered their movement, allowing Jing Ru as well as Jia Ying''s squad to disrupt them. Shi Hui descended down with her chi powers (and grace) as she too had begun to use her chi powers to hold the injured Giants down with shadow grabbing techniques. Earl Barbatos had never seen a small group of humans able to contend so aggressively against his Giants and at such a lightning pace as well. There was something about them that seemed to separate them from ordinary adventurers. Even the spells they cast or the techniques they performed were out of this world. Thus, Barbatos decided to do something drastic to cope with them. There was no point in being considerate if his opponents had the upper hand in terms of brilliant soldiers. "All Giants. Regroup and charge towards the bridge. All restrictions are off. Do not care if it is friend or foe in your way. Break their defences so that we can reach one of the floating platforms. Proceed to secure a safe teleportation space for our brethren." Earl Barbatos commanded as he looked at his pocket watch. "We will show them the true order of nature." Chapter 730 Land Hovers "Holy shit! You sure this is the same vehicle we did the test drive in?!" Meng Ruo shouted as the Royal Snake Corporal accidentally throttled the land hovers that they had been loaned as part of the Dungeon Instance experience. "I heard they made some adjustments afterwards! But you''re right, THIS IS AWESOME!" Zhang Min added as he smashed his land hover onto an unsuspecting Tiefling soldier before it sped off towards the siege weapons. "Squad, Focus!" Sarge Rocher shouted through their intercoms, and his soldiers gave a resounding Yes, Sir. However, he could not deny that it was fun. When they had been tasked to fly off the floating platforms, they thought the commands from the upper management had been a bad joke. No one dared to do that as the test run had shown a completely different result. Yet, their orders were to jump off the cliff and straight into intervening the siege weapons. Looking at them from afar, the soldiers understood that the shields had already been strengthened by their enemies, a testimony to the adaptable algorithm Jin was using (at least that''s what they thought). Their monster allies appeared to have come to the same conclusion. Instead of targeting those shields, they had switched to the vulnerable army at the front. The Royal Snakes who saw this knew that they had to contribute some form of help too. So, being the leader of their squad, Sarge Rocher had determined that since this was all a giant dungeon instance and given how the situation was developing, they might as well follow those seemingly crazy orders and see if these land hovers could take them. Modelled similar to a motorcycle out of the movie Tron, the head of a land hover was reinforced to act as a battering ram so it could keep the rider safe. At the same time, it also bashed the enemy out of existence which was a hell lot of fun. The land hover featured two internal machine guns which could be triggered with a tight squeeze of the handles, and the hover engine was similar to the Lost Tech Air Boosters that the Air Wyverns had used. Only unlike the wyverns, it only had one engine booster, but it was the revised version, allowing it to be rather durable too. A complicated and only half visible Epic Floating Inscription along with Peppers'' magic also ensured that these land hovers could not get replicated. These precautions were the reason the System did not mind that the commanders openly took photos of it, in hopes they could make something similar even though most of them believed it was fiction only possible to achieve in a dungeon instance setting. (Oh, if only they knew they could use it in the real world too.) Prince Stolas didn''t doubt for a single moment that the siege weapons were the prime targets for the defenders right now. What he didn''t expect was that they could perform such outlandish yet drastic measures to go after them. He had already ordered his very own personal guards to protect the siege weapons. The old adage was true if you wanted something accomplished. "You had to do it yourself." Alongside his troops, he went forth while taking necessary preparations to ensure that he would not share the fate of his elder sister being gifted a surprise hole in his head. It was a deadly gamble but seeing how the defenders had released a new form of cavalry that were speeding through to the Siege Weapons at speeds he could not fathom, it was a sign that Stolas was doing something right. His guards who had been with him throughout the whole battle were also worried about the dangers he might face and had already raised their energy shields as high as possible to ensure no harm would come to their prince. As for the land hovers, they too realised something was amiss after they escaped the frontlines by jumping over the floating island platforms. Upon charging through the fields of dead bodies from the Demon Army and clay statues, Sarge Rocher felt that the winds were behaving abnormally. With the speedometer sensing a change in altitude meter, there was no doubt that wind magic was being used or prepared. If they were to move as they had, it was possible the squad of land hovers might get cut in half by a sudden attack. "All units, split up! Move along Perimeter C and go backwards! I suspect some mass wind magic is at play! We shall confuse the enemies by going after the back of their frontlines!" Sarge Rocher ordered them to do a diversionary attack and his soldiers obeyed. True enough, a massive wind draft appeared about 10 metres away from where the land hovers had split up. Were it not for their Sarge''s keen intuition, half of the land hovers might have been destroyed. Now they used the full squad to deploy hit and run tactics to disturb the back end of the frontline, in hopes that the wind magic will die down with time. Yet because of this delay, the siege weapons had enough time to finish charging up and fired their very first volley shots towards the sky bridge. The rocks thrown by the Trebuchets and Catapults were laden with oil, and thus when fired, the shots were lit up. But because it was their first shot, most of the rocks missed the sky bridges vital defences and instead went into the sea or the side of the sky bridge. Some lucky shots though managed to hit the physical barricades and even destroyed a Sherman Tank. "Fortress Golems, concentrate on smashing the incoming projectiles." Qiu Yue commanded and relayed orders for General Hou Fei to get the land hovers to try again. Suddenly there was an incoming message from the sky bridge''s watchtower. "Mdm, the Giants¡­they seem to be congregating towards the sky bridge!" One of the Fortress Golems had noticed that even as the Giants were moving separately, their general direction was still towards the sky bridge." "That should be rather obvious since there is only one way to enter the floating platforms. So what''s the worry?" Qiu Yue said as she zoomed out the map and observed the patterns. There was nothing wrong with the enemies'' tactics. In fact, it was evident that the Giants were first spread out to avoid concentrated fire on them. This was rather apparent with the emergence of Venus Four assaulting them head on, taking out one giant at a time. Qiu Yue allowed the deployment of Venus Four mainly because of Earl Barbato''s loose formation of the Giants. Else, she would not dare to waste the Pandawans'' chance in the field. "No Mdm, he had also noticed that they were moving without care for their fellow comrades and stomping many in the process." The Goblin operator replied. It made Qiu Yue hesitate whether she should divert the land hovers to stop the Giants first or continue to allow the Venus Four to wreak havoc to the Giant Horde. And then she saw on her war table that the Dragon Clay Statue and Pandjilla were still near the shores away from the sky bridge waiting to get activated. Chapter 731 Murder of Crows "I know that you are truly eyeing for the two clay statues we have left but trust me. This is not the right time to use them!" Moloch beseeched Qiu Yue to stay calm in her tactician work. She just did not know that there were other types of monsters that would perfectly counter the size and strength of those two clay statues. Using them now would be a disservice to their powers hidden within those runes that Jespa had specifically created. (Although she was outright complaining why those human idiots at the top of the food chain still had not used them by now.) "Urgh, fine let''s use our V2 rockets to stall the gian-" Qiu Yue was subsequently interrupted by an urgent shout from a Goblin telecoms operator. "Mdm! Another magical portal appeared right above the safe zone, and unlike the previous time, there are thousands of different signature readings coming out of it right now!" The operator said with much anxiety in his tone. Qiu Yue quickly zoomed into the safe zone area using whatever surveillance devices they had left there as well as the birds from Que Er. "Damn, they are here." Moloch cursed as he shook his head. The aerial nightmare he had dreaded for so long, had indeed arrived. Marquis Forneus, Commander of the Dragon Devils with his army of Dragonlites had finally joined the fray. As expected from his regiment of aerial units, the Dragon Devils consisted of Dragons that were as large as Boeing 747 planes and Forneus had hundreds of them coming onto the scene. With battalions of Dragonlites'' armed to the teeth, Marquis Forneus was not going to pull any punches after hearing the commotion back in the Demon Metropolis. "About damn time." Earl Barbatos smirked as he saw his own reinforcements come at the same time as Marquis Forneus'' troops. His Elite Giants were armed with full-body armour, along with crossbows and two-handed halberds which made the siege weapons look like miniature items in comparison. Kraft had been right all along. That battle of attrition at the sky bridge had been nothing but time stalled for the heavy hitters to arrive. It would have arguably a smarter choice to wait for them to arrive, yet fortunately for Jin''s side, their demon pride forbade them from just sitting around when faced with what should be a weak enemy. Seeing that his father''s subjects had complied to the request he sent out earlier and the immediate threat to his siege weapons being averted, Prince Stolas quickly retreated back to the safe zone where the mana shield was being upheld. "Heh, here I feared we''d be just on guard duty. Looks like we do have some things to play with." Colonel Kan Jian sent on the radio channel to his fellow comrade Chen Lai. "And of all scenarios, they had to give us the worst one." Chen Lai chuckled as he watched the Dragonlites and the Dragon Devils approaching the floating platforms from the comfort of his temporary guard tower. "Well, hard times make strong men." Major Boon Tiong replied as he stood at the edge of the Agriculture Sector 1 with the instructions to release something rather ominous once the Dragonlites managed to touch the ground. For now, the Goblin Anti Air Company were stocking on the ammunition and had their target reticule dead set on the incoming boogies. "Goblin Wyvern Knights, you are barred from flying. I repeat. You are barred from flying! Any offenders to this will get sent to personal reeducation by Kraft." Qiu Yue threatened through the loudspeakers, surprising the Wyrstriker and the rest of the knights who rushed to refill their ammunition while the goblin mages healed their wounds as well as the wyverns. The crafty fox meanwhile gave her a thumbs up, while his attention remained glued to his laptop. "Why? We are still operational!" Wyrstriker walked towards a temporary communication post built at the side of the hangar and asked if the telecoms operator knew anything before going to the System Channel to complain. "Because it seems that it is time for my debut!" Que Er answered as she gracefully floated down from the ceiling of the hangar and shortly after her touchdown, hundreds of ruby eyes glowed simultaneously. "You heal up and prepare for the actual fight against these Dragon Devils which Moloch warned us about. That is if I leave some of them for you to kill." She teased with a slightly protective mother look on her. As much as she wanted Wyrstriker to grow, this definitely proved too much for him and his guys to handle. A company of knights against a full-fledged army of aerial units? They were not like those couple hundred Spartans who had the advantage of surrounding mountains to reduce the number of enemies coming at them nor did they have any lightning storm or fated winds to aid them in their battle. This truly boiled down to being a numbers game. And unfortunately, numbers were just what Wyrstriker lacked on his side. "So let me be his mountains in the sky so his spear can concentrate on the prize alone." Que Er thought as Huginn and Muninn left her shoulders and took off into the skies, followed by a massive murder of crows cawing behind them as they momentarily darkened the hangars to support the two ravens of Odin. "Fine, if you want us to rest, then so be it." Wyrstriker guessed this was a good time for a proper refit of his Wyvern. "Knights! Since we have the time, we might as well equip properly for the showdown against those Dragon Devils!" He shouted, and the rest acknowledged his orders fervently. (Even the Wyverns growl with approval!) ¡ª¨C "FIRE!" The Goblin Captain shouted, and every member of the Goblin Anti Air Company was eager to bring down as many Dragonlites as possible, delaying the inevitable scenario of them landing on to the floating platforms. Black smoke filled with pellets burst into the sky, hurting the Dragonlites and killing some unlucky ones in the process. Still, it did not stop the overall Dragonlite Horde from moving systematically towards each individual platform. Those Anti Air fires were nothing to the frontliners until the Dragonlite scouts caught with their keen eye a large black blob with glowing red sparkles emerging from one of the platforms towards them. Thinking it was some magical spell, the captains ordered a magical defensive shield to be placed in front of them. In unison, the Dragonlites performed it impressively fast, and the mages from the Dragon Devils were also supplying mana to the existing energy shield to stop whatever was coming towards them to reduce their burden. However, the shield was of a single direction instead of a spherical one like the one Countess Dantalion had on Flashy. So, the Anti Air Gunners were still able to inflict some damage but the retaliation was something it did not expect as well. During the protection from the black blob, some of the Dragonlites were ordered to throw magical Harpoons infused with a high amount of mana towards the Anti Air Gunners. And when thrown, those harpoons acted like missiles in the context of the modern world. It was devastating enough to pierce through the Lost Tech Shield that the Gunners used for safety and damaged the Flak guns. Yet, in hindsight, the Dragonlites should have kept it for the incoming murder of crows. Chapter 732 Collective Raid Objective When this blob of night approached the Dragonlites, they realised it was just a bunch of crows. They did not take them seriously, opting to wait for them to get close enough to get turned into roasted chicken¡­erm bird. Many in the frontlines laughed when those suicidal crows voluntarily splat themselves onto their shields as they instantly evaporated from the heat. They had mistakenly believed that their enemy was resorting to such a tactic to waste their mana so that they would have less for the later fights. Because of this lapse in judgement, some of the mages slacked, and part of the shield became less reinforced, allowing the crows to penetrate through the shield. After the sacrifice of their predecessors and the cackling crows zoomed through and caused significant damage to the frontlines. However, any Dragonlites that had been hit were quickly replaced by the following row of their comrades as Marquis Forneus bellowed out commands to take control of the situation. He demanded the second batch of Dragonlites to put up another shield to keep the flying horde moving forward. Yet the crows were not some dumb birds, especially under the influence of Odin''s Ravens. After learning that the direct assault was futile, they quickly retracted and attacked from the sides instead, seeing that it was just a shield at the front. In the skies, the horde was vulnerable from any direction, and thus Marquis Forneus ordered for a swift landing to prevent the murderous crows from hurting them anymore. In the meantime, he ordered a few of his Dragon Devils to prepare a counter-attack should the crows come too close to them. After all, the rest of the prized warriors needed to carry their weight for the rest of the ''show''. ¡ª¡ª- Meanwhile, the Pandarens realised what was coming would be a hell of a battle considering the Giants were rushing towards them without any hesitation. The land hovers and Venus Four Pandawans were doing their best to delay the Giants, but they could only do so much against their sizes and massive numbers. Despite their lack of firepower, Sarge Rocher and the others had devised a method they had seen in the first movie trilogy of a galaxy far far away. They used the land hovers with grappling hooks and went around the Giants, binding them on their legs and tripping them. Unfortunately, unlike the AT-Ts in Galaxy Wars, these Giants were sentinel in nature, and they had the ability to untie those ropes themselves after they fall. "Unless you bash them hard on their head¡­or nose." Sarge Rocher shouted with glee as he sped up fast enough for a quick impact against the nostrils of the crouching Giants and sprayed a rain of bullets into their nose. (If not for his safety gears attached to the seat, he would have flown forward.) With the armour piercing shots, some of the bullets went through to their brains and killed them instantly. For those who were fortunate to survive, other Royal Snake soldiers slammed the land hovers again with the usage of the boosters into their eye sockets and shot through them too. It was extraordinarily bloody yet highly effective. Still, Earl Barbatos was not relenting with his charge of Giants. Right now, he knew that the overall advantage was on his side. Those minor annoyances may take out a couple of Giants, but it was a drop in the bucket against their numbers. Sometimes, no strategy was also a viable strategy, especially against Moloch''s trickeries. The foot soldiers at the front continued to apply pressure, preventing the Pandarens and Pandawans from helping out the Venus Four and others any further. Because of the importance of the sky bridge, there was no need for Qiu Yue to send any more Pandarens as excessiveness would reduce the effectiveness of the troops too. Nevertheless, the Pandarens were not prepared for another little tweeny surprise that suddenly popped up at the side of their vision. "Collective Raid Objective: Annihilate a total of 3,000 enemies with thy powers. Currently slain: 057/3,000 Rewards: Special support from Yun." Some were too busy to look at it while others wondered a little about the objective why it showed so little until they eventually came to the conclusion that what Jin meant was to kill 3,000 demons without their monster allies'' support. "Ehhhh, why did you decide to use me after all? I thought that was just an optional idea?" Yun questioned Jin on the System channel once she saw the impromptu message on her phone. Jin didn''t inform her before he decided to apply the alternative plan given the current situation they were in. "Yeah, mainly because I thought it would be great for the Pandarens morale. After seeing the huge and powerful Giants and Dragons, the System notified me, that it calculated that we need something big and flashy to make up for it on our own side. So I thought since every single Pandaren knows and loves you dearly¡­ Besides! I know you like some special attention once in a while." Jin urged Yun to continue with the plan. "Fine, what can I do since you silver-tongued devil has already established the objective before consulting me?" Yun replied with a sigh. However, a small little curl involuntarily appeared at the side of her lips, and her heart was beating faster than usual. The ''mother'' figure for Jin knew what he had planned for her in this particular situation, and she started to check her phone to see if there were any final adjustments needed for the special costume she would come out in. ¡ª¡ª- "What the hell is this collective raid objective? Is Yun really that powerful that she can change the tide of battle? " Jing Ru thought to herself, trying to recall if she ever saw Yun in action before. As she reloaded her shotgun, she saw a land hover from a distance and waved at it to pick her up. Meng Ruo was within the vicinity and did not hesitate to rescue the damsel in distress. "Ah, you are that brave female gun cultivator that we saw jumping around hitting the Giants." Meng Ruo greeted her as he extended his arms out after an impromptu stop to let Jing Ru upon it. The soldiers had been briefed about this joint exercise and were therefore aware that among Jin''s customer base, there were veterans who had earned the nickname of Pandawans. And the one Meng Ruo picked up was a member of the Venus Four, which was its own group within the Pandawans. "Army?!" Jing Ru was a little shocked when she saw a soldier in his military fatigues despite his Half Snake Mask. "Yep, we are doing a bit of exercise, courtesy of Boss Jin." Meng Ruo knew this was a piece of information the soldiers were allowed to say to the civilians as he quickly started the engine and moved forward to another Giant. "Could you distract the Giant, that way I will be able to shoot my grapple gun up to its waist." Jing Ru suggested, but Meng Ruo felt his masculine instincts were taking over, wanting to show off in front of the girl. "How about I use this land hover and trip the giant down, and you can grapple on his ass to place a C4 or two?" "Don''t be dumb. We do not have enough time, and two more Giants are closing in. By the time you are done tripping it, we will be in some hot mess. My friends will tease me to death if I am the first one to get eliminated in such a shameful way." Jing Ru stated as a matter of fact after bringing down a few Giants until she had no more AI squadmates around her. "If you''re here to play some form of hero, do it with some other girl, not me. Either you listen to me, and we can both survive this or I can jump out of the-" Suddenly the land hover swerved, and it made Jing Ru grab the rails of land hover tightly as she saw a giant war mace barely swinging away from the area. "You were saying?" Meng Ruo shouted back since the wind draft was starting to pick up and Jing Ru did not know whether to be mad at him. "Stick to the plan as I asked. Please!" She shouted back, and Meng Ruo reluctantly acknowledged. "If only I could show my cultivation out!" Meng Ruo grumbled to himself as he amped up the speed to reach the giant further in front of them. In the meantime, 101 demons had been killed, 2899 left for the collective Raid Objective. Chapter 733 Meng Ruo & Jing Ru As the murder of crows were keeping the Dragonlites busy, a few platoons managed to avoid them and penetrated through the Anti Air defences handled by the Goblins. They became the very first demons who managed to enter the floating platforms. "Now!" One of the Royal Snake officers issued the command to fire. Immediately a spray of bullets mercilessly tore them down. With Agriculture Sector 1 filled with natural fauna, the Royal Snakes soldiers had the element of surprise on their side. The Dragonlites had been caught off guard, and the first wave that entered was killed, as the snakes left no survivors alive. To make things worse, the Snakes themselves hadn''t been lazy. They had taken the time to plant mines and traps turning Agriculture Sector 1 into a terribly dangerous area to cross if one was unaware about where those were hidden. (Luckily, the System showed them to the cultivators through the half mask as well.) After learning that Agriculture Sector 1 was fully guarded, some squads of Dragonlites attempted to move on to other islands, only to discover similar Anti Air Goblin Companies waiting for them. The tactics employed were identical to what they had encountered earlier. Regrettably, this revelation cost their lives, but it provided Marquis Forneus with a basic understanding of the current defences of his enemies. "Guess Moloch really does have a sponsor not just with lots of gold in hand to entice the adventurers to work with him but also power and technology at their side." Marquis Forenus thought before he shouted to pep talk his demons further. "What we are facing is not a conventional army. This might possibly be one of the toughest fights you will ever experience! But do not falter as the Dragon Devils will always prevail. The stronger the enemy, the more glory shall we gain for defeating. Let''s show those bastards what Dragonlites can do!" "Wow, they even have rallying sessions. Boss Jin''s work is really above top-notch. Proceed with Plan Broccoli when required, we need to follow up after the crows dispersed!" Commander Boon Tiong ordered as he observed the Dragonlite leader through the binoculars. They were giving their own subordinates orders even as the murder of crows attempted to destroy them. Eventually, Que Er did tell the crows telepathically to stop trying and instead go for another target as the cultivators were achieving their collective raid objective rather quickly and that should deal with the rest of the Dragonlites. With the increase of Giants already amassing at the front of the bridge, Que Er believed it was now the Giants'' turn to be harassed since the Venus Four and most of the land hovers had already retreated except for Meng Ruo and Jing Ru who were still hitting the stragglers ignoring the commands given. "Playing hero won''t do you any good, CPL Meng Ruo!" Sarge Rocher warned through the intercom of the land hover. "Sarge, I know! Just one more, and we will come back. It''s too convenient a target to ignore!" Meng Ruo argued as he quickly shut his intercom and concentrated on the task at hand by sending his land hover as close to the Giant. After seeing Jing Ru personally deal with the previous few giants, Meng Ruo decided to keep quiet about her tactics and allow her to kill off the threats. However, this current Giant was different from the others. It was smaller in size and had donned heavy plates of armour as well as a crossbow that was the size of a ballista. Upon seeing the land hover coming towards it, the Armoured Giant did not hesitate to take out its crossbow and start shooting at it. Meng Ruo managed to dodge the first shot with ease but realised with fear that the land hover had been nearly hit on the second try. The third was a close shave with death as well, causing Meng Ruo to reevaluate the intelligence of this Armoured Giant. It seemed he was not as dumb or stupid as he looked. Suddenly, he saw the Armoured Giant taking out two bolts and loading them together firmly. Meng Ruo instantly understood that he would be courting death no matter whatever direction he''d try to swerve his land hover. "Sorry, Giraffe. I think I am taking the reins for this one, you just sit tight and-" Jing Ru shared his realisation. The land hover''s odds of surviving plummeted the moment the Armoured Giant had placed two bolts into his crossbow. Thus, she had begun shooting with her Winter Wolf Sniper Rifle instead of trying the same method of bombing the Giant with several C4s. (Besides, she only had a handful left, and they might need it on the way back.) Alas, it was in vain. The Giant had also been smart enough to place his hand near his face before he encountered the first shot from Jing Ru and she cursed loudly but still continued to fire towards the Giant''s face. The shots did make the Giant bled a little, but thanks to his thick plated gauntlet, it felt more of a needle prick. "SIT DOWN!" Meng Ruo shouted sternly, his voice leaving no doubt that he expected the haughty girl to obey. Although she did not take it too kindly, Jing Ru held her shot and sat down behind Meng Ruo. "Thank you." Meng Ruo replied, and he activated his chi that subsequently covered the entire land hover. Soon enough, a large silhouette of a snakehead became visible encasing the land hover while Meng Ruo continued to increase his speed while reminding Jing Ru to stay. When the Armoured Giant felt no more shots and the land hover became the danger, he immediately shot out the two bolts from his crossbow. Meng Ruo could vaguely see that the Giant was intelligent enough to predict the escape routes of Meng Ruo''s instinctive dodging to the right. Still, he had no way to account for Meng Ruo being a reasonably capable Snake Cultivator. When the shots came, instead of dodging, the land hover jumped upwards with Meng Ruo''s excellent manoeuvring. During that moment, it looked as if a yellowish snake slithered through the two huge bolts with ease and went straight towards the Giant''s head. While the Armoured Giant instinctively block it with his hand once more, Meng Ruo finally gave the go-ahead for Jing Ru. "Give it your best shot, we might not be able to escape fro-" Yet again, Jing Ru acted before Meng Ruo finished his sentence by brandishing the very same infamous triple barrel rocket launcher that was available on the Shop App. She shot all three missiles out and threw the launcher to the ground while taking out her Winter Wolf Rifle once again. Empowering the weapon with her Giraffe Cultivation, she released a shot of energy beam without hesitation the moment the missiles impacted the blocking arm. A hole appeared through the palm of the Giant as well as in front of his face. As if that was not enough to confirm his death, Meng Ruo''s land hover bashed through the hand leaving an indentation on the face while releasing the very last clip of his armour piercing bullets on the land hover. The lone Armoured Giant was deader than dead. It was finally time to retreat. Chapter 734 Clay Dragon Marquis Forneus noticed how the murder of exploding crows had started heading in the direction of the Giants, so he chose to send over two Dragon Devils to intercept the murderous birds after what they had done to them. Judging by the size of those crows and their ability to fly fast, they would be perfect for harassing the Giants who could provide a big push towards capturing the sky bridge. Although the foot soldiers were slowly gaining ground after they had managed to overcome the gauntlet obstacle where Duke Vepar had fallen, it would take them many hours to manage it by themselves. The only silver lining for the Demon Army was that the number of Pandarens might seem constant, but the quality had dropped due to the influx of first-time customers coming in. Usually, Jin would have dealt with this by assigning his monsters as overseers, but here they needed to conserve their forces. His Pandawans and Veteran Pandarens could only do so much to coordinate or help with the defences. It was nonetheless frustrating for some to die because they happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time or simply be unlucky enough to get hit by a random attack from the demons despite Qiu Yue''s flash teleporting. (It would be a lie if the System did not help since a human could only process so much.) Still, most accepted this as a realistic depiction of war and a selling point of this dungeon instance raid. (The System did, however, gave a discount coupon to encourage them to join again.) Before the murder of exploding crows could take advantage of the situation and kill many Giants by going into their orifices and self detonate, the pair of Dragon Devils had already swooped down and spewed flames into the blob to destroy them as soon as possible. To deal with this, Odin''s Ravens quickly split the group as far as possible to reduce casualties to the rest of the murder. Que Er also gave the command to inflict as much damage before dying or else their lives would be wasted. Hence, the exploding crows hastened their pace and hit anything in sight, slowing the Giants down as much as possible. This incidentally provided Meng Ruo and Jin Ru with the opportunity to dash away. Going one step beyond, Que Er had also commanded a small murder of crows to clear a path for them. "Take it as thanks for doing your best in the backlines." Que Er thought to herself as she watched the land hover use the dead bodies and the gauntlet as a ramp to return back to the defensive lines and relative safety. Separately, Qiu Yue was finally given the permission by Moloch to activate the Clay Dragon and Pandajilla as the horde of Giants were encroaching towards the Sky Bridge. The Clay Dragon which had been hanging in front of the Sky Bridge had surprisingly suffered relatively little damage from the ongoing exchange of fire. Only when it started to shake and come alive, did the demon soldiers realise that it was not part of the architecture of the city, but instead the very same kind of clay soldier that had killed hundreds or even thousands of their soldiers. Wights, under the previous command of Princess Gaap, began to hurl magic towards the Clay Dragon along with the mages within the army. Even Prince Stolas started to switch targets and called for the siege weapons to target the Clay Dragon the moment they saw its movement. "I thought that thing was just some art piece decoration! Well played Moloch! Well played! A shame I will have to destroy this piece of art!" Earl Barbatos praised internally as he instinctively grabbed a ballista along with the series of siege weapons and started to demand the siege engine workers supply him with more ammunition. He was personally going to shoot the clay dragon down. The more he shoots at the Clay Dragon, the higher it was flying upwards towards the Dragonlite Horde. Understanding that such clay statue was a possible threat to his aerial units, Marquis Forneus began ordering a platoon of Dragonlites to cut its head off, but that would be easier said than done. The Clay Dragon was a masterpiece created by the collaboration of the most talented craftsmen with Jespa as part of their team. They had done way more than putting just one animate dead rune alongside another within its body. Due to its size and serpentine length, the Clay Chinese Dragon had been packed with dozens of runes. Jespa made the discovery that putting such a combination of runes together had inadvertently created new unexpected but positive side effects strengthening it into a sort of superweapon. Though the secrets were not shared among the craftsmen, they respected Jespa well enough to not bother her much. Once the System analysed this, it had ordered the Orc Engineers to place an AI Chip within the dragon''s head to connect all the runes together. The AI Chip enabled the Clay Dragon to gain some form of basic sentience and when it first awoke, the Clay Dragon quickly made the Dragonlites out as the main threat. It roared and proceeded nearer to them with the full might after being forcefully awoken from its ''slumber''. The Dragonlites did not expect the kind of speed the Clay Dragon was moving at, and a few were too slow to react before they met their demise at its crushing bite. A breath of brownish-yellow fire followed up and burnt the first wave of Dragonlites that were approaching towards him. At that point, the two Dragon Devils who had been assigned to kill the murder of crows recognised that the Clay Dragon had become the most pertinent menace to their fellow comrades. So, the armoured riders switched targets and led their Horned Dragons to engage the Clay Dragon in a dogfight. However, as the Horned Dragons threw their breaths of fire towards the Clay Dragon, they noticed it was also covered by an energised shield courtesy of the runes in place. Upon closer look, the Dragon Devils also identified some sort of empty emplacements along the long body of the Clay Dragon. But in an instant after its discovery, those emplacements were filled with some small critter-like being armed with the very same projectile device that had released those deadly metal pellets. That''s right, The Clay Dragon was not alone. Sentry guns had been grafted onto the Clay Dragon for the Mousefolks to operate and allow it to double as an effective anti-air flyer. Each metre of its body had been utilised to the fullest. As for Pandjilla, it had awoken from his slumbers in the seas. It featured the very same sentry mounts for a platoon of Mousefolks ride it. The main difference being that Pandjilla had more space along its back, which allowed for heavier armaments to get placed and it could also hide those within its plates. Yet for now, Qiu Yue chose not to have it make its appearance. Instead, it would remain to lurk within the sea, waiting for the correct chance to ambush the Giants. Marquis Forneus perceived this as a make-or-break moment. The Clay Dragon was wiping out his platoon quickly despite their constant magical attacks. The Dragonlites'' fiery breaths and even those magical harpoons they had used to defeat the Goblin Anti Air Company were practically ineffective against it. It was equally frustrating that they kept missing because of Clay Dragon''s agile movements and with the mousefolks accurately gunning his troops down. He needed to send the Dragonlites down quickly to the floating platforms and get a hold of a clearing. If they could only gain a firm footing on the floating platform, they could create another temporary safe zone for their other demons to teleport to. It was the very same for Earl Barbatos too, and whoever was able to do it first would create a notable milestone for the Demon Army''s advance. If this one gigantic Clay Dragon could be out terrorising the rest of the army, there was a chance other such ''creatures'' might appear. He had to push his Giants fast to the end of the sky bridge despite them gathering at the start of it for a major push. It was a waste to step on the foot soldiers, but it would be more of a waste not to charge right now. Unfortunately, Marquis Forneus and Earl Barbatos chose the wrong timing to proceed as the Pandarens incidentally defeated their 3000th demon. The Collective Raid Objective got completed, and as a reward, Yun arrived at the top of the sky bridge''s highest watchtower as a clocktower bell tolled loudly in the background. Chapter 735 Collective Raid Objective Completed "Collective Raid Objective Completed. All Pandarens and Pandawans receive an additional 10 Battle Points to their current point accumulation. 100 Panda Medals are awarded. Please stay safe and enjoy seeing the special support in action." Each and every mini digital pet announced the same thing at every customer''s side. As Yun stood at the top of the highest watchtower of the sky bridge, clouds started to form within the premise of the Dungeon City Fortress. It resembled a phenomenon that should not happen unless it was some sort of spell. At this point, every Pandaren''s half mask visor had a small box dedicated to showing off Yun at the optimal angle. For the first time, they saw Yun in an outfit different to her usual white collar and black office skirt. Right now, she has donned something similar to a Royal Empress Outfit. Using magenta coloured silk sheets with gold-wrapped metal trims as part of her dress, there was an aura of magnificence exuding out from her. Her neckline was decorated with an ornament made out of gold filaments to match the black outer robe she was wearing. In her hands lay a crystal ball, glimmering with energy as she raised it up and began filling it with chi. It started to glow until it resembled a bright rising star. Its light was enough to catch the attention of even Prince Stolas back in the safe zone area who coordinated the incoming troops on the ground. Each and every demon commander on the field acknowledged that it was someone preparing something that would definitely pose a danger to all of them. Alas, because of the distance between them and the probable source of danger, they were unable to intervene. The demon commanders could only resort to ordering their troops to hasten their work. Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck into the crystal ball, yet Yun did not so much as blink upon receiving the energy from the clouds. Instead, she did an embarrassingly twirl around the peak of the watchtower with her awfully cramp outfit after the bolt struck and lifted it even higher. The Pandawans who knew her chuckled at the scene, and Yun could sense it. She was unable to do anything about it, but she intended to hold this grudge and repay them in the future. (The System had noted the ''offenders'' identities) "A flash of light." Yun''s words echoed throughout the Dungeon City Fortress that even the demons could hear it. "HURRY! CHARGE! GET HER!!!" Earl Barbatos shouted at his Giants to charge through the defences of the sky bridge without any care. "A break in the winds." Another phrase was spoken by Yun. "Dragon Devils! Keep the snake-like dragon busy, so the Dragonlites can move forth! Do not let this imposter and abomination stay alive for long! Dragonlites occupy the place immediately!" Marquis Forneus commanded. "He who sees it¡­" Yun crashed the Crystal Ball, and both sides of the war could see a gushing flow of chi energy mixed with thunder rising into the clouds. "HOLD THE DAMN LINES! Do not let the Giants pass through any further!" Lord Wolte roared as he continued his volley of missiles towards the horde of Giants that had already gathered and smashed the cultivators left, right and centre. One of the Watchtowers even got destroyed by a Skullcrasher Giant when he continued to use his big skull to break it. However, the Fortress Golems retaliated. They didn''t plan to let him leave as they pounced on him and inserted slugs and bullets into its body, disabling it. Those Fortress Golems, in turn, were not able to retreat as they fought. Limited to whatever weaponry they had in their bags, they struggled to the very end before slowly ending up ripped apart by the Giants. Sadly, the Giants realised too late that they had the same ability to explode as Chucky. Imitating him, they chose to end their lives after being depleted of ammunition and battery life. "¡­awaken from your restful grave." Yun finally finished her ''incantation'', and with a deep breath, she exclaimed. "Keyrin! Come forth and bring down the hammers of judgement against these heathens!" The clouds turned extremely black as it crackled with loud thunder. Immediately, bolts of lightning could be seen flying down to strike the Dragonlites who were attempting to land on the edge of the platform. As if inspired by the illusion of the Sanguine Stag and Healing Maiden Shi Hui had created earlier, Keyrin had been supersized by Hamatarou''s Totem of Reverse Atem. It allowed the proud Thunder Ram Demon to finally unleash his full powers without any reservation. Like in some popular role-playing games, the Pandarens could vaguely hear a choir orchestra sing accompanied by a piece of fierce sounding music in the background. The arrival of Keyrin to assist them briefly excited the entire crowd, not only in the warzone but also in the shop instance and even the Luxury Recovery instance. Everyone was cheering crazily that the nonchalant looking Yun took part in the war and summoned a sick looking guardian to save them in their time of need. Its dramatic entrance was further amplified in the shop instance when the orchestra piece was blasted in the speakers, and the various angles of Keyrin were shown in the auditoriums. Thunder and lightning visual and audio effects were also added into the mix, giving a surreal feeling for the people waiting at the shop instance. Bear Cub One and Mr Patsu did not stop in hyping the success of the Collective Raid Objective to keep the interest up. Jin and the System also done their part to make the warring cultivators feel that they completed a major objective by bestowing them an achievement status. "I was wondering what kind of surprise you and Yun had planned, but boy, that''s a great entrance!" Kraft praised as he gave a series of claps when he saw the Thunder Ram Demon neigh to quickly charge his horns. The lightning energy further infused through Yun''s chi had greatly enhanced his combat abilities, enabling him to rain down multiple bolts of lightning in succession against the invading Dragonlites. However, that was not his full ability. Just a nice little warm-up as well as a warning sign for the other Dragonlites to stop advancing. Unfortunately, they did not have the luxury to heed the warnings and thus gave Keyrin the ''permission'' to execute all of them. While it galloped up high with steps of lightning trailing behind, Marquis Forneus had already demanded his Dragon Devils to chase after it. "Foolish." Keyrin''s voice boomed through the skies as he discharged the lightning power within his horns onto one of the incoming Dragon Devils. The bolt of lightning struck the Dragon Devil, temporarily paralysing it before the lightning chained to the following Dragon Devil. And while the lightning chain continued to move down the ranks, the Dragon Devils evaluated this particular demon under Moloch to be anything but a pushover. "Hahahah! Those Dragon Devils are indeed foolish." Qiu Yue laughed as she watched the lightning chain continue down the battalion of the Dragonlites. This was yet another epic scene she would not hesitate to record down. Chapter 736 Sher Slimes "All aerial units have been tagged with your Chain Lightning. Thunder Ram Demon Keyrin, please proceed with the next stage of your attack before you retreat to rest." The System noted as Keyrin dodged around the ranged attacks from the combination of Dragon Devils and Dragonlites. Simultaneously, the Clay Dragon, as well as the Mousefolks on top of it, took the opportunity to take down as many enemies while they were distracted by Keyrin''s appearance and they were rather successful. This made the Horde needing to spread their offensive powers into two despite having a majority in numbers. Unfortunately, the Giants continued their rampaging charge thereby destroying quite a number of barricades including some of the Sherman Tanks EX. Nevertheless, the Dark Templars within them were not waiting around to perish by being squashed from the Giants'' assault. With the Sherman Tank EX''s new and improved ejection seats, the Dark Templars were able to exit from the side of the tanks, more often than not, in the nick of time before getting pulverised from the Giants'' smashes. And that was not the end of their tanks. "Even in death, our Shermies will still serve the greater good!" Dark Templar Commander Zieg shouted, giving the Dark Templars the signal for the next step in shoring up their defence against the raging Giants. "Hear me, oh vessel of destruction! You who have served and protected us in times of need! We request thy service a final time!" Squad Leader for Tank S-4 exclaimed as he cut his wrist with a sacrificial dagger and threw blood on the destroyed tank debris while his dark templar mates were distracting the Giants as best they could. The blood served as a conduit of the Dark Templar''s demonic beliefs and powers to the shattered tank pieces. Instead of summoning a demon with just a blood sacrifice, they were using the broken tank parts as the catalyst. A purplish red ritual circle shone beneath the tank debris, and from a distance, the same phenomenon appeared on several other destroyed tanks. The other squad leaders were also doing the same. A violent vibration occurred beneath the tanks, and soon, all of the parts were consumed by the ritual circle. The Giants were neither blind nor stupid, they recognised those ritual circles could prove a major threat and knew the caster should be annihilated as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the remaining Sherman Tanks had to protect their brethren until they were finished with the ritual. With the increasing threat of the giants crushing their clubs and swords, there was no need to fire long-distance shots anymore due to the threats coming ever closer. So, Lord Wolte took the opportunity to spit his current tank cannon barrel onto the road and forcefully emerged a double-barrel from within him. "FEEL THE PAIN!" Lord Wolte shouted as he fired at the nearest Giant who seemed too keen on intercepting his minion''s ritual summoning. The all new cannon barrels were shorter yet bigger, allowing him to shoot out bigger rounds at a faster rate. It also gave him the satisfaction to be a badass, and in turn, increased the morale of the surrounding troops too. Having the support of a rapid fire tank was surely comforting. Before the Giant could react, he had been gifted two large holes in his chest from the impact and fell to the ground gasping for air, unable to move and bleeding to death. "We shall bless thine name Lord Wolte for granting us this sacrificial lamb to test out your powers! Shermie, the Fourth, go forth and consume the Giant!" The Squad leader hailed his creation as the tank parts reemerged as broken as before but with one distinct difference. The debris was moving as a whole towards the wounded Giant. Only demons with vast amounts of knowledge would be able to discern what kind of monsters hid under the appearance of this debris. They were slimes hiding under the crevices of the tank part or as Lord Wolte had nicknamed them, Sher Slimes. These Sher Slimes were not the ordinary kind of slimes at all. It would have been pointless to summon the sort that even Level 1 Adventurers could kill to gain experience or harvest their slime cores to sell for money. No, these were particularly special kinds of slimes. Upon contacting the wounded Giant, the Sher Slimes consumed the Giant''s psyche by entering its orifices and wounds. The more complicated the species was, the easier it was for the Sher Slimes to infiltrate as it feasted on fear and other emotions. Eventually, it took control of the Giant and equipped it with Tank Parts too. What could be more dubious than a Giant turned Cyborg with Tank parts assimilated into its body? A Dark Templar having direct control over the slime''s movement. As long as the Squad Leader continued to stand and survive, these Sher Slimes would be the new line of defence against the Giants. And the more Giants they felled, the more there would be for other slimes. (But that was a rare probability since the Dark Templar Squad Leaders did a hasty summon.) Using the blood of the Giant as ammunition, shots mixed with blood and slime were released out of the tank''s broken barrel killing the other Giants too. The other Giants were shocked by the transformation, as there should not be many things able to possess them due to their innate magical resistance. But they failed to understand that this was no magic brainwashing them. Rather, it was a parasitic monster taking over their central nerve system. Earl Barbatos saw the dreadful transformation of his soldiers and demanded the rest to take them down before they were taken out. This new development provided some breathing space for Qiu Yue as it allowed the Red Panda to move her hand away from the brooding Pandjilla. Ironically, this scenario enabled the Pandjilla to gather more energy from the surroundings. As demons (both land and flying) fell into the sea, the Deep Ones had started to feed the Pandjilla with everything they caught. Since their Lord and Saviour, Shadow Dagen was currently full thanks to feasting on the giant flowery turtle, it was a perfect time to cultivate the Pandjilla to an even scarier force to reckon with. If one would go down to the bottom of the ocean, he might also hear some light snoring. Although Pandjilla was just a clay monster per se, its magical runes allowed it to slowly disintegrate every demon unlucky enough to enter the deadly sea and those ''nutrients'' were stored in its clay-like plates for later use. In the meantime, Keyrin was running around the skies along with the Clay Dragon despite the System''s notice that he should proceed to the next attack. This was mainly because he was desperately trying to search for the commander hiding in all of these aerial units. Keyrin wanted to make sure that Marquis Forenus died from the attack because once the Thunder Ram Demon proceeded with his attack, he ''had'' to retreat according to the ''summon'' support that Yun had made for the cultivators'' accomplishment of the objective. "There! I finally found you!" Keyrin dodged yet another attack while he made eye contact with a stout Dragonlite armoured figure with two pairs of dark orange wings. The System had also pinged, confirming that it was Marquis Forenus based on Moloch''s previous memory. It was finally time to unleash the hammering flashes of judgement against these trespassers. Judgement Storm. Chapter 737 Wyrstriker Strikes Back The clouds sparkled with blue, purple and even yellow lights. The lightning bolts split, hurting each and every Dragonlite that had been rubbed with the chain of lightning. All who had been tagged by Keyrin felt the fury from the sky. To the cultivator on the ground, it did not look like a storm. Instead, it resembled an inverted tree sprouting instantly from the clouds, trying to reach the ground. With the difference in electrical potential, many of the Dragonlites were burnt to crisp, causing them to drop like flies who had flown too close to the heater. Though right now, it was more like the ''heater'' came for the flies. The Dragon Devils took heavy hits as well, but most were able to bear through the brunt of the attack. They were not unfamiliar with having to resist lightning attacks, so their armour provided lightning resistance. Even the Devil Horned Dragons were oiled, and the ink of a distinctive tattoo had been painted on their bodies that allowed them to resist some electrical damage. (They never knew that in modern science, they were merely insulators based.) Yet the Judgement Storm which literally annihilated 90% of the Dragonlites was horrifying to behold for Prince Stolas. To him, he had never seen such wide-area thunder magic in his life before, and he was very sure Mother Nature could never replicate such a terrifying storm. He quickly attempted to contact Marquis Forneus for an update just to make sure that he was still alive, but he failed to get a response. "I hope this is only because of the lightning storm¡­ Hold steadfast Marquis." Prince Stolas silently prayed as he continued to demand reinforcements from the Demon Metropolis. "The Marquis is dead. I will make sure of it." Keyrin announced to the War Room as he conjured and shot dozens of piercing lightning spears towards the Marquis who was paralysed by his Judgement Storm. It was a cruel sight as the first few spears broke his lightning resistance armour while the next three were covered by his right-hand man who had chosen to sacrifice himself for his lord. As for the last four spears? Keyrin had made sure he had condensed every little bit of magic he had converted from Yun''s chi to zap Marquis Forneus out of existence. Corpse? Hah! Keyrin ensured no such thing remained when he synchronised his shots with the Clay Dragon as it swept through the ''shocked'' army. It smashed the body of their lord with its maw before it threw his body towards Keyrin who pulverised the corpse. The Mousefolks on its back wore gas masks to ensure they had enough oxygen to resist the G force variation due to the Clay Dragon''s manoeuvres. Some nearly flew out of their machine gun emplacements if not for the tiny seatbelts that were attached to them. Granted, they had parachutes and ejector seats too, but they knew it would not make much a difference, just the illusion of safety. The masks also helped them avoid inhaling any discharge from the aftermath of Judgement Storm. With all the safety gadgets, it did give the Mousefolks a peace of mind to fire indiscriminately. The sound of their little rifles (or mini guns) was non-stop as they aimed at the surviving Dragonlites when the Clay Dragon cruised the skies. As for the remaining Dragon Devils left, their only option was to redeem whatever glory they could obtain without their leaders so that their lord could preserve his honour after the battle. The highest-ranked commanding officer quickly took over the lead and proposed a charge towards the panting Keyrin. "Too bad for you, I am retreating." The Thunder Ram Demon gave them a challenging smile before he reverted back to his normal size. The effects of the Reverse Atem had ended, and he subsequently disappeared into thin air with a bright flash of light. As his last parting gift, he left them a booming thunderclap that momentarily stunned and stopped the army in their tracks. "NOW!" Wyrstriker ordered as he saw the Dragon Devils were paralysed by the deafening sounds. From Moloch''s information, he knew that the Dragon Devils were the toughest and strongest bunch of units alive in the Demon Army. Were it not for Keyrin''s Judgement Storm to slightly weaken them, the Goblin Wyvern Knights might not stand a chance against it. Yet this was the perfect opportunity to take out as many as they could. With the amount of time granted from Que Er''s assault, the Wyvern Goblin Knights had collectively reequipped their weapons for the dogfight against the Dragon Devils. Their Air Boosters were also swapped out and replaced with the ones that Wyrstriker was using. Oxygen tanks and masks were also retrofitted for them to withstand the G forces although most of the knights already had magical abilities that would withstand such gravitational forces. At the same time, Ayse had also prepared something a little special for Wyrstriker, allowing him to stand out from his unit. How could you improve a Wyvern Goblin Knight when you have already attached air boosters? Perhaps the answer to this was inspired by Ayse''s frenemy, Peppers. She had developed special missiles for the goblin. But unlike the missiles that most cultivators were used to, these were actually an improvement of Derek''s former experiment of combining living things into inanimate items or vice versa. Que Er''s crows had been fused with the lost tech missile, removing the need for a guidance system. What''s more, was that the missile used the very same Lost Tech air booster technology to fly them. The only difference was the amount of ''pow'' within it. "I''ve been waiting long enough to try these out!" Wyrstriker had lightly caressed them before he had jumped onto Iwen. But right now, he is concentrating on his prey. The missiles had a crow''s head for that was where the ''soul'' of the crow was. Guiding the attack with its own sentience, it boosted itself towards the said enemy before using its innards to explode the contents of the missile. By using the Air Booster Technology, Wyrstriker could actually control the kind of explosion he wished for. The Air Booster in the missiles were built with the intention of blowing up, so most of its safety features had been removed. In place of them was actually a closed-circuit system that enabled an implosion of air within the missile. Wyrstriker used his magic to telepathically open the valves of the rocket, allowing a possible timer control and adjustment of the strength of the air implosion. Naturally, he cranked it up to the max. When the crow missile impacted, the Dragon Devil felt like there was a mini gravitational hole that sucked him and soon afterwards an explosion due to air pressure caused the Two Horned Dragon to lose one of its wings. The Dragonlite rider tried to maintain flight by using magic but it was futile. Another Wyvern Goblin Knight attacked and released a bracket of bullets from above, killing the rider. Without magical support, that particular Dragon Devil slowly fell to the ground and braced for impact. Needless to say, it failed rather terribly since the remaining Anti-Air companies had their sights on the dragon, making sure it would have no chance to get up. Chapter 738 Giants Gain The Giants and the foot soldiers were lucky they did not experience the terrible magic at work. Earl Barbatos who had been a little further from the frontlines couldn''t help but curse at this sudden reversal. They knew their Dragon Devil allies would have survived the massive magical assault since they were among the toughest he ever knew. This made it even worse seeing them get slaughtered after Keyrin''s attack left them vulnerable. Yet, their loss was the Giants'' gain. The Armoured Giants finally made it to the front of actual defensive lines since their enemy''s heavy hitters had been busy in the skies. Once there they quickly managed to capture three-quarters of the sky bridge. Qiu Yue''s decision wasn''t wrong. Through the wars in human history, Air superiority was not just necessary. It was deemed as the most essential. The 7 Day War between Israel and her neighbours, the prelude of Normandy, the invasion of Pearl Harbour and many others had shown that whoever controls the sky controls the battlefield. Thus the demons didn''t realise how critical it was for Moloch and the cultivators to achieve that. On the other hand, Earl Barbatos was confident the cultivators were in a losing battle. It had been quite the uphill battle with all the trickery that Moloch had employed so far. From poison gases, traps, clay statues and now a cramped battlefield, the Demon Horde managed to overcome them with tenacity. However, something about their current advantage still ticked him off. His instincts told him that he was missing something crucial. Despite the struggle the Demon Horde had to endure for his Giants to gain that much land, their triumph on the sky bridge seemed¡­ too good to be true. Given Moloch''s resourcefulness, or more accurately the one of whoever it was backing him, the Earl doubted that they had seen it all. Unfortunately, there was only one way forward, and Earl Barbatos had no choice but to press forth. Even if he was worried it would be right into the next trap. More foot soldiers had finally appeared due to Earl Furfur''s desperate attempts to get more help, and the word had also spread about how Moloch was putting up such a formidable defence against the Nobles of Demon Metropolis. Several other Lords and Ladies were getting ready to enter, and they were dying to rush towards the sky bridge, yet most of them were being held back by the Central Command. The Royal Prince who kept asking for more aid did not understand why the Command felt they were confident that Earl Barbatos could carve a path to the top and put the next teleportation checkpoint for the army at the safe zone so they could proceed further safely. This was a feature of all Dungeons in the Dungeon World. Whenever two parties became locked in a standstill for an extended period of time, the Dungeon Cores would interfere with the battle. It allowed the invading army to place a temporary teleportation checkpoint down. At the same time, the defenders received something to even the odds as well. Jin''s side was granted an emergency dungeon shield similar to the World Magic Shattering type of shield that Moloch had been bestowed with upon releasing the ''Newbie Protection'' shield one day before it expired. It acted as an ultimate barrier for the defenders to regroup and recoup losses. Unlike the other shield, the Dungeon Core allowed the defenders to have a final stand by resurrecting their dead thereby increasing the number of defenders (although not every single fallen one). The attackers would have to wait for their members to resurrect as per normal; After the battle was done. Otherwise, it would be waves of relentless invasion against the Dungeon Core and the rules of the Dungeon World did not allow for such a thing. This gave the defenders a fighting chance, but in case you had numbers like the Demon Metropolis, quantity and quality was no longer an issue. Still, the Demons were unaware that they were fighting an entity that was totally out of their world and thanks to its own powers, quantity and quality did not matter that much either. (Well, to a certain extent. Even though the System prefered to portray itself as almighty.) Everything relied on the Mad Giant''s advance with his army. If he succeeded, the demons were guaranteed to catch their second wind and the attackers would have a renewed chance to terrorise Moloch''s troops. Without Marquis Forenus and his Dragonlites to relay the information they had discovered about the floating islands, Prince Stolas and the others falsely assumed that reaching the platform would more or less award them victory. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Lord Wolte shot so many shells out that he coughed violently and gasped for air (also petroleum oil). As an old war dog, he was able to judge the limits of a defensive battle. He could see they were about to reach that point with the sky bridge. The cultivators had been trying their best to overcome the Giants. Some of them had even gone for suicidal attacks to stop the Giants, but without something similar to Keyrin''s appearance, there was no way the current defence team could hold out. Just as Lord Wolte was wondering whether he and his Dark Templars should retreat or provide a cover for the cultivators to fall back, he received an incoming call. "Wolte, we need you guys to hold them as long as you can. I have discussed it with Moloch, and we want the Mad Giant to be on the centre of the sky bridge before we fall back. We''ve been at it for hours, and the customers might get bored soon." Qiu Yue personally gave the orders to Lord Wolte. Seeing that ''little'' Barbatos was still at the start of the sky bridge, it was more or less a laughable command by the higher-ups. "I can''t believe we make decisions like that based on the wishes of some mortals. Are you really the rumoured great tactician Jin trusted you to be?" Lord Wolte argued back in the System Channel while firing his shells out against the Giants. "To be honest, you are actually an important piece of the puzzle. If we want to lure Earl Barbatos to the centre, we won''t be able to do it without you." Qiu Yue replied, ignoring the sarcastic remark. "¡­You know, you could provide the ideal ''platform'' for the Mad Giant to be attracted to." "You don''t say¡­" Lord Wolte squinted his eyes as he fired another barrage of shots without any aim, hoping it would hit something since he was concentrating on talking to Qiu Yue. "Yeap. You didn''t think you could really hide it, did you? You should understand that I have the System with me." The Red Panda Tactician teased him. "Pfft, you got me. I was actually hoping to keep that as a dirty little secret, an ultimate trick under my sleeve." Lord Wolte scoffed unhappily, and Qiu Yue rolled her eyes. This was war. They did not have the time to hold their punches. "Unless we visit the Fishing World I don''t think you will be able to use it. So, I see no reason why you should not show off your so-called ultimate form to us right now. Save the cultivators and us some trouble." Qiu Yue requested, and Lord Wolte was contemplating whether to act on Qiu Yue''s proposal. "You will be the shining star if you do!" Flattery usually worked wonders on those older fellows. "So, if I really get his attention, what would you do?" "If you can keep him occupied, maybe our Pandjilla will go all out against his Giants, and then we retreat to the hills." Qiu Yue''s reply was firm, and if there was a hand for Lord Wolte to scratch his head at the particular dilemma, he would already have done so. "Fine, fine. In return, I wish for- " "At least 1,000 demons worshipping you so they can handle your operations? Consider that done." Qiu Yue quickly promised, and that gave Lord Wolte the go-ahead. "YOU BRATS! HOLD AND COVER THE LINES! If I see any of you slacking from afar at sea, I will not hesitate to shoot you myself!" Lord Wolte ordered, and the Dark Templars all grinned upon acknowledging their patron''s Command. Finally, it would be time for the Metal Slug''s ultimate* form! (Obviously, he believed it was not the end of evolutions if he had more worshippers.) Chapter 739 Transformation of Wolte Lord Wolte drove backwards from the guard emplacement he was in and took a turn. As if someone had pressed on his accelerator pedal, heavily dense smoke came out of his exhaust. The back of his ''butt'' transformed into a pair of supercharger turbine engines, the ones generally used for aeroplanes. The moment he released his clutch, his threads burst out from the front and his metal wheels slid across the side of the bridge as he smashed himself into the sea. All of this and he still had continued to fire at the Giants to let them think it was some accident. As the only one to break the emplacement, Lord Wolte was briefly considered to be the most vulnerable. The Giants did not miss his abnormal behaviour and quickly sent a giant ballista his way which nearly hit him on his sides but in the end, only managed to break one of his back wheels. (Evidently, the ballista almost caused him to lose his balance if not for the fact that he was able to shift his own weight.) "Tsk! Pesky Giants! You shall pay for this soon enough!" Wolte gritted his teeth and continued his dive into the treacherous sea right under the sky bridge. He became the butt of the jokes as the Giants praised him as ''the only defender with half a brain realising that protecting this bridge was futile''. "Everyone should just jump down into the sea and save yourselves! We might not even hurt you!" The Giants taunted the cultivators as the morale of the demons inadvertently increased. Yet, the rest of Dark Templars knew that their Lord was not suicidal. They kept their mouths shut and took the opportunity to attack when they were distracted. Oh, but they relished the wait for the last laugh once their saviour would appear once again to punish all of them. As Lord Wolte submerged himself into the Deep Sea, he was not prepared for what he saw with his eyes. The Deep Ones including a somewhat drowsy Mr Derpy were having fun redecorating the Pandjilla. It was to the point that the bored Mr Derpy even started to grant some magical energy to the waiting Pandjilla, strengthening him until one of his subordinates made him aware that Lord Wolte was sinking down. "Wolte! Have you come to visit me?!" Mr Derpy asked as he flapped his fins a little too enthusiastically, causing some disturbance on the sea''s surface. (The same Deep Ones Mage cautiously requested him to quieten down to prevent any further suspicion.) "Hahaha, Dagen! It''s always a joy to see you! I''d love to stay and chat, but sadly things up there are a bit more hectic than down here. I have come to conduct some business with you." Wolte ''spoke'' with bubbles coming out of his mouth. "Oh, oh! How about I connect a live line to you like how we did before this stupid skirmish? I assume you are transforming, right?" Mr Derpy immediately suggested, and Wolte agreed without the slightest hesitation. In fact, he knew how gullible Derpy was and had always tried to use him as much as the old man could. (Why would he say no to a living magic battery willing to provide him with the energy to maintain his ultimate form?!) "Dagen, for your generosity, I shall share my line of sight as well as a cannon for you to control!" The submerging tank agreed, and Derpy was over the top. He did not expect the old Duke to be kind enough to let him see this time around, let alone control one of his cannons. Wolte quickly used this excuse to increase his consumption of the living breathing magical battery. There was no way he would leave Derpy alone after tasting his magical energies. (Besides, Mr Derpy was a little restless after consuming an entire island sized turtle. So, this after-meal entertainment became a win-win situation for both parties.) "All right! Here goes! Witness the Grand Wolte transform right in front of your eyes!" The Demon Patron of Dark Templars announced with much fanfare to a clapping Derpy and his subordinates as tank parts started to fall out as if his skin was peeling away. All that was left was a wrapped cocoon which was continuously rotating and growing larger in size. Slowly but surely, the cocoon began to rise to the surface of the sea, and when it stopped spinning, Derpy sent a tentacle of some sort and pierced into the cocoon. Soon, the shell broke and dissipated in the water as a metal pointed shape appeared protruding out of it. With a large splash that was visible from the far end of their sight, A bulk of the demon armies temporarily stopped their fight to see what was happening. (The demons could not believe there were so many disruptions in a single battle.) Eventually, the entire vessel became visible from the sky bridge. "Is¡­that a ship?" Earl Barbatos asked no one in particular as he heard a loud, long honking sound beyond the shoreline. He was just as surprised as his allies and enemies by the emergence of a metal ship. Those from Jin''s world could vaguely tell it was not just a regular ship. Its size, its magnitude and the ferocity of its cannons lay along with the platform. Its was one hella big battlecruiser! The more astute Royal Snake soldiers who had been in the navy nearly had their jaws drop when they took a closer look at the battlecruiser through their binoculars. Some were just amazed that Jin could replicate it. "DID YOU HE SERIOUSLY REPLICATE THE WHOLE THING?!" One of the soldiers with Navy experience had his mouth left open aghast. "Holy shit, I think he did. Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!" His pal joined in with the fanboying, but their companions around them had no idea what it was. Sure it was awesome to look at, but was it seriously this impressive that the two of them nearly drooled? "What is it? Why are you all so amazed by it?" Someone finally asked them, awakening them from their stupor. "You might not know this, but Russia''s leader during the Cold War loved battlecruisers. One day he demanded the military to build one that would put all others to shame. His engineers followed this order to the letter, yet the resulting blueprint was simply absurdly impossible to create from a nautical engineering standpoint. All they ever managed to build had been the platform, yet they subsequently scrapped it. Still among us, sea dogs all who had seen the blueprint as part of our education could never forget it. THAT is the rumoured ship that was once abandoned by the Russians." The Stalingrad. "What''s so special about that?" His pals asked with more interest incited within them. They explained how it was heavily inspired by the heavy battlecruisers Yamato and Musashi which had been considered the Legends of Battlecruisers back during World War Two. Powered with nuclear energy, its design was supposedly able to hold even more main cannons, and their anti-air would have been top-notch. There were also rumours that in an actual creation there would be anti-submarine technology built within the ship, allowing it to transcend to become the Emperor of the seas. "From what we heard and read previously after the war was over, some enthusiastic engineers had made another iteration of the initial blueprint designs where they designed an internal hangar within the ship''s cargo hold. It would allow it to operate similar to an aircraft carrier. Personally, I believe the idea was scrapped since it was more likely once the pilot took off, it could never come back again due to the lack of space." "Shouldn''t be a problem if you have those Land Hover kind of technology! Hahaha!" "Man, that would be a fantasy come true. I wish I could board the ship! It would be a dream come true!" "Perhaps, that is already happening right now!" The soldiers exclaimed with excitement as they anticipated what the Stalingrad would do. Obviously, Lord Wolte did not know his appearance had already granted him some fanboys. (unknowingly increasing his numbers of casual worshippers) What would those two say, if they knew that all Lord Wolte had cared about was that his final form would be a majestic ship. He had found this massive ship as part of his transformation and merely copied the design the System had extracted from the Abyss Web. Perhaps they would not care about the reason how it came to be¡­ as long as they could fire some shots on this baby! Chapter 740 Stalingrad "Woah, are you for real?" Hou Fei laughed as he saw the live-feed of Lord Wolte emerging out of the waters as a heavy battlecruiser. Although he hardly used it since he was busy with real-life commitments, Hou Fei still had a phone with System capabilities on it. Jin had recently assisted him with installing it as he was long since considered a part of their family. Moreover, it would be easier for the System to teleport him around this way when needed. (Him being the General of the Royal Snakes provided the perfect excuse for the control type that was the System.) Thus, with a simple voice command, within seconds, Hou Fei was sitting down beside Qiu Yue and started querying her about the Stalingrad. She quickly pulled the blueprints out for the General to preview them. "Does Lord Wolte need help operating the controls or something? Because it would be a great help if my boys could have some naval refresher too." Hou Fei asked bluntly. He figured Qiu Yue should be smart enough to see through his intentions anyway, so there was no need to pretend he did not want to join in. "You''ll have to ask Lord Wolte himself. As long as you allow him to still call the shots, I don''t see any reason he might be against it. We can disguise him as the Ship''s advanced AI if required so your guys won''t question much of his commands." Moloch suggested, and Hou Fei agreed. In the meantime, Kraft had established a secure channel to Wolte, and Hou Fei began his rapid-fire round of questions. Fortunately, Lord Wolte was still happy basking in the glory of his ultimate form. Did Kraft decide to connect to him when Wolte was at his pinnacle of happiness? Was the world going under that this crafty fox did something for someone else?! "Sure, why not? I am still not used to handling this many weapons so the extra help will be appreciated. It should allow us to increase the efficiency of my firing output." Lord Wolte gleefully accepted the proposition. "Alright, if that is the case, I will gather and inform them. System, please teleport me over to my men and then teleport us on to Lord Wolte." Hou Fei requested as he personally entered the fray, getting his troops ready. Many were shocked when they saw their General, assuming it was some sort of audit to make sure that they were still on guard with the current battle and didn''t slack off just because it was an exercise in a dungeon. The ones he selected couldn''t thank their lucky stars enough for the new task their General entrusted them with. A lot, in fact, all of them who were handpicked knew the legend of the Stalingrad and could not hold their expectations in when they found out Hou Fei was taking them there. As soon as the soldiers with naval experience were teleported onto the ship, they were greeted by Wolte. The voice was crusty and dense, a stark contrast to the robotic sound used by the mini snake pets they had with them. This ''advanced AI'' was informing them about which stations needed to be manned while at the same time adjusting its guns towards the siege weapons as a test. Lord Wolte figured they were a good first target to practice on since they were quite the nuisance when he had been defending the bridge. Most importantly, the siege weapons were stationary and hence allowed him to perform a quick configuration of his guns. Unlike the siege weapons, whose demon engineers needed more time and shots to confirm their distance, Wolte had the System to rely on, which only required to consider all the external factors that could be affecting the trajectory. The System was sure that its calibration for Lord Wolte was more than sufficient since the seas were artificially calm and there was no wind in the skies¡­unless Prince Stolas'' wind magic would interfere. Some of the soldiers that were on the upper deck watched the firing of the cannons and regretted not being able to record it. Most of them felt nostalgic as the sound of the main cannons was like music to their ears. One even quickly took his binoculars out to see where the shots were going to land and holy shit. He could not believe the power of the gun when he saw the explosion from afar. As a soldier with much naval and land experience, Gan Yang could easily differentiate what a cannon shot looked like compared against the old fashion artillery their monster allies were using. "This is a great ship. No, that doesn''t do it justice. It''s a supreme ship." Gan Yang praised under his breath as he took a glance around the consoles as well as the blueprint design that hung on the wall. After which, being the highest-ranking soldier among their group, he quickly took over command and started to dispatch troops to their respective stations. All the sailors within the vicinity also acknowledged his experience in the naval scene since he was one of the only few guys in the Royal Snake Battalions that had more than ten sorties to the Somalia Bays for peacekeeping efforts. Despite copying a Cold War design, the consoles were modernized and with the AI, it was easy to control the ship. Lord Wolte did not mind these humans interacting with his consoles (it did tickle him though) as he observed them himself. He got more information about how the soldiers communicated with each other and the things to monitor for a ship. Useful knowledge he planned to apply to instruct his loyal followers. (After all, the only types of ships he ever sailed on were solely from the Dungeon World.) "All weapon systems nominal, main engines operational, targeting systems are online and working fine! Captain Gan Yang, awaiting your instructions!" A sailor reported with a slight hint of joke which made Gan Yang feel embarrassed. He knew the responsibility of a Captain and had no intention of becoming one. But it doesn''t hurt to pretend as Captain for a day, right? "Alright, the AI named Wolte has determined the Giant''s leader, Barbatos, to be the most important threat that needs to be eliminated. And so, we will be firing at him until he retaliates or when the AI said so. Reports have it that he could be strong enough to jump on board, so get those anti-gia- erm¡­" Gan Yang stuttered, and the sailors around him chuckled. There was definitely no anti-giant defences back in their world, so it was natural, they didn''t have any term against such monsters. "Prepare weapons with armour piercing rounds. We have to protect this ship as if it was real. If this sinks all of you will have to stay on board! Let''s pay them back for everything they did to the cultivators protecting the bridge!" Gan Yang cleared his throat and gave his briefing. The sailors acknowledged and began sending communications to the crew in the munitions storage to start reloading the next round of shells to be fired. "Ahhh, I feel so alive having people working under me again!" Lord Wolte happily thought to himself. The sailors used the System''s data to continue their fire on the Siege Weapons before the ''AI'' recommended to start pointing them at Earl Barbatos. Chapter 741 Desperation In Barbatos Prince Stolas had no idea what was happening. One moment it was a giant creature being summoned disabling their air forces, then quickly disappearing. Then a series of barrages had incidentally damaged the safe zone shields, costing the lives of several mages due to the strain of shielding the wide area. Subsequently, another barrage ensured the destruction of nearly half the siege weapons deployed. Stolas was very sure that the mages had calibrated sufficiently to reduce the artillery attacks into a mere nudge on the shields. Yet, reality showed that they had been mistaken. Before him, he saw the broken shield with a large hole in the middle and the surviving mages were scrambling to fix it. Unfortunately, they did not realise that amongst this barrage, one of the shells had not detonated yet. Lord Wolte had sneakily thrown a special kind of armour piercing shell when he fired his three triple barrel 305mm guns towards the siege weapons as part of his calibration. Disguised as an armour piercing round, it actually had an internal timer which would explode after a time delay set by either Wolte or alternatively the Captain of the battlecruiser. So when the attack went through, all of the mages were hastily repairing the shield in case of another attack and overlooking the shell ticking off like an egg timer. (Considering with all the noise from injured people in the area, or people shouting for help, there was too little of a chance to notice it.) As such, when the timer hit zero, a congregation of medics was unfortunately in the midst of aiding the ailing mages. The explosion wiped out every single help that had come in and caused further damage within the shield, resulting in the complete shattering of it. It appeared that Prince Stolas'' guardian angel was working overtime. Like last time, he now had another close shave with death. Stolas ended up surviving as he was instructing the medics outside the safe zone and coordinating the remaining siege weapons. Even as the shell exploded within the energy shield, the Raven Prince could feel the shockwave emanating out to him. In an instant, their entire temporary communication cum headquarters had once again been eradicated with a single blast and their pillar of protection had been dismantled. "Fuck! How the hell does Moloch have access to all this technology, or magic or whatever shit!" Prince Stolas threw his cape down in anger as he gathered his magic to produce an updraft of the flames, hoping it would burn out as soon as possible. There was no guarantee that a second bombardment wouldn''t arrive to finish the job but rescuing the remaining demons was his priority. If too many mages were killed, there would be no shield to protect the safe zone from getting more reinforcements. But thankfully, it was a single strike, and its devastation continued towards the direction of the frontlines. Stolas felt as if he had enough. He wanted nothing more than to personally rip his mentor in tiny pieces. Why were his elder brothers and sisters still not here? Were they perhaps afraid after what had happened to Princess Gaap? Where was the King when they needed him the most. Sure, Stolas might have proved to be a capable tactician, but the odds were completely against him right now. Moloch and his allies proved too capable and were too much to handle for him. Was it because Baal knew that he could be outwitted and outplayed by Moloch, so he had instead banished him with as little resources as possible? If that''s the case, Stolas could understand the goal of revenge and yet it had been Baal who initiated the attack. Not Moloch. Still, that did not stop the Prince from wondering how long the Demon Metropolis could hold if the situation would be flipped with Moloch the one to proceed with an attack. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "Most of the siege weapons were hit. Target now set onto the Mad Giant. The package is ready to deliver." The sailor reported as he received word that the munition teams were locked and loaded. "Don''t waste any time. Strike when it''s hot." Gan Yang ordered and his second in command did not hesitate to give the signal to deliver the next barrage of attack towards the sky bridge. A series of far-reaching booms travelled to the sky bridge, and the cultivators instinctively took cover. Despite the battlecruiser being so far, it still threatened to shatter their hearing. A blanket of smoke emerged around the Mad Giant had been standing on, and the blasts did catch his attention, especially since he lost an arm trying to protect himself from the cannon shot. "What the hell is that?!" Earl Barbatos was surprised by the long-distance strike, and when he recovered from the shock, everything around him was burning. Hundreds of foot soldiers, regardless of their status and strength, had been obliterated instantly. "If the Giants further front were to be targeted, the invasion will become a complete loss." He cautioned himself as he tore a piece of his undershirt to create a quick tourniquet in order to stop the bleeding. "Any surviving Wights?!" Earl Barbatos shouted, and a dozen of them managed to respond. "Buff me! Buff me until you lose all your willpower, your mana, whatever lifeforce you have left. If we are going to win, I need your strength!" He demanded, and the Wights complied. Individually, they knew they did not stand a chance to win this overpowering amount of strength. They clearly needed superior numbers which they lacked if they continued to fight on this bridge. Twice, they had believed they had the ability to outshine and break their defences down. Still, the constant events clearly demonstrated that the Demons needed to create the secondary checkpoint so a more substantial number could overwhelm the defender''s technological advances or else this would be a failed invasion. Judging from the situation, the Mad Giant believed Moloch wanted to lure him into hitting the ship since he knew he had the ability to do so. But this seemed to be a trap designed for Barbatos. Without him, the Giants would not have a leader. They might not be the dumbest, but their effectiveness severely decreased without the Earl, resulting in confusion in their ranks. With such destructive powers on their hands, Barbatos deduced they would not use it near the defenders, and thus hitting the mid-portion of the army for maximum effect. So, technically, the Mad Giant should be able to avoid getting bombarded if he was to run into the frontlines. Although there was a chance the metal ship would annihilate the defenders alongside the Giants, Barbatos was willing to take this bet based on his knowledge on Moloch''s attitude given their previous friendship. "He might be a great tactician, but he is a softy at heart. He won''t sacrifice that many of his forces to deal with me! Come on Wights, don''t hold anything back!!!" All the remaining Wights continued to pour their powers into Barbatos as he prepared himself for the push for the end of the sky bridge. Indeed they did not hold back, and soon they began fainting one after the other. Noticing that his stance was slightly different from afar and the lack of swift retaliation, Wolte deduced that Barbatos wouldn''t come. He was probably planning to actually go berserk by charging into the frontlines. (After all, he too was a crazed warring demon and knew that logic didn''t apply to them.) "Not good. If little Barbatos were to charge forward, this ruse becomes useless." Wolte thought to himself and sent the news to Qiu Yue. "He might be trying his luck to get a checkpoint open at the end of the sky bridge." Moloch agreed with Wolte, and so far, Qiu Yue and Kraft also concurred. "His sacrifice would not be in vain if he manages to reach that far. Although we are planning to allow their troops to do that, I believe we have not reached critical mass in terms of the cultivators coming in." Moloch added in consideration of the profit for Jin''s shop. (Evidently, he was crystal clear about the shocking amount of money they had spent which they needed to recuperate from.) "But if we don''t stop him now, he will find that something is afoot. And once he is up at the platform, Wolte will no longer be able to target him easily and the Giants are too much a hassle for the cultivators to handle." Qiu Yue replied, and Kraft provided them with a possible solution. "Oh, for God''s sake, it''s the moment you''ve been waiting for. Just release the Krak- I meant. Release the Pandjila! " Kraft pointed at the slumbering large clay monster in the sea on the war table. Chapter 742 Magic Gian Barbatos had finished absorbing the charges from the remaining Wights on the battlefield. Almost every single one of them had burnt their life power to transmit their energies and concentrate it on to Earl Babartos. It looked as if it was some sacrificial ritual that was happening right at the centre of the battlefield but surprisingly, the Stalingrad was not aiming at them. The Mad Giant had predicted that with the Stalingrad''s power to shoot nine shells the size of a mini car, their next goal was to stop the frontlines as much as possible without hitting their own forces. However, they did not know that it was not the defending tacticians'' intention. Lord Wolte had not expected to be this powerful when he had turned into this ultimate form. Maybe because of a well eaten Mr Derpy, Lord Wolte''s powers have accidentally been enhanced multiple folds, and thus he had severely underestimated his own capabilities. (While taken aback, Wolte was elated to fulfil the dream of his former slug self to finally evolve into a force to be reckoned with. Though he was never satisfied and believed he could grow more.) Thus, he was instructed by Qiu Yue to attack the group of giants furthest from the current frontline to entice Barbatos into action a little more. After roughly grasping the Mad Giant''s intention, the war room tacticians was sure that Barbatos wouldn''t take the bait of advancing towards Stalingrad. But in the off chance he would change his target, the tacticians just had to try to get the Mad Giant''s attention. To Jin''s side, this war was a delicate balance of profit, fun and adequately defending the dungeon core. To the tacticians personally, this was merely them getting ready to enter Phase 2 of their defence plan. They still had so many things in store for the demons (and cultivators to play with). It would be a pity if they would call this off and accept their defeat though Moloch had no doubts King Baal would take this as a matter of principle. The demons could hardly stop at this point, and he definitely would figure something out if they need to prolong this war arises. He would ensure that everything would go as per their plan. For now, the evil tacticians ensured that the Demons would play at their pace. Having complete control over the battlefield was the ultimate wet dream of every tactician. The volley of turret cannon attacks had undoubtedly crippled the Giants forces, leaving scores of dead bodies on the ground without any medical help in sight. Many were left there moaning and crying for help since it was always a do or die situation for them all. Not wanting them to suffer, the defenders were ''kind'' enough to offer them a quick death with a swift counterattack and killing them before returning back to their barricades for safety. Led by the Wobbling Wombat Cultivator Hong Deng Long and the Wacky Wolf Cultivator Da Se Lang, a number of Pandarens joined the Pandawan''s raiding party by jumping over the fallen foot soldiers and sliding through the several Giants to reach the injured Giants. However, this was not an easy task since the ones who suffered the brunt of the attack were at the back of the frontlines. The Giants at the front weren''t too keen to allow the cultivators to do as they pleased and they tried to stomp those pesky humans. Nevertheless, they underestimated how fast these cultivators were able to move. Using their chi to boost their speed, many were like cockroaches scrambling for cover, and it was virtually impossible to stop them. This was further aggravated once Deng Long slammed his batons with ice elemental chi against the Giant''s feet, slowing them further and allowing the more inexperienced Pandarens to escape the Giant''s attacks. Se Lang was relentless in his attacks. Up until now, he had been forced to hide behind the barricades because he had arrived later than his companions to join the battle late. Deng Long, was just glad his partner was able to actually make up some time after his double shift to play with him. While he was not complaining that his partner was working hard, he did miss the casual hangouts with his buddy. As of late, he only saw him briefly at work, and whenever he wasn''t doing overtime, he was spending it with either one or both of his girlfriends. Even as the ambush party took the opportunity to strike the fallen Giants to ensure their death, both Deng Long and Se Lang were running on a timer for the Pandarens. The idea had been brought up by Mad Monkey cultivator Meng Ruo. They had to return back to the barricades within 40 seconds after a bout of open fighting. This was to ensure the Pandarens could safely retreat without suffering too many casualties and it allowed the next round of Pandarens to harass the troops and Giants. It was tough in terms of coordination, but the communication using the half mask visors had been vital in making groups. They also had their mini digital pets to relay them orders from the higher-ups, so there was a decent communication network between the groups. Unlike the demons who required a more primitive method of using the mages telecommunication, a major reason for why Pandarens could hold so well despite their lack of war experience was mainly due to their access to fast information exchange. The one who controlled the most information in a war most often would be the one to control the battlefield too. This war was no exception, and it was apparent that the demons'' disadvantage in this area caused their casualty numbers to grow exponentially. Yet the show was far from over. The Mad Giant finally had adjusted to his newfound strength and had decided to rush through. While his left hand had been regenerated, it was far too weak to carry a shield again. But the powers temporarily granted upon him by the Wights would make every Giant in the Dungeon World somewhat jealous. He had gained the ability to cast magic. No Giants could ever cast magic and maybe it was the Dungeon World''s way to ensure balance. Else, wouldn''t magic-wielding Giants be able to easily subjugate the world and appoint themselves as the Gods of the Dungeon World? Barbatos did not hesitate to show off the magic he had been blessed with. The first one was Jade magic. It granted him the ability to jump high with the powers of the Wind, the Mad Giant soared up to the sky bridge and leapt over the frontlines, into the barricades of the Pandarens. His landing flattened dozens of Pandarens who were entrenched in the sandbags and other physical obstacles. To Barbatos, it felt like he was stepping on some pins and needles. It was satisfying to crush those humans, and he followed this up by releasing the powers of Ruby. The fire blew straight in front of him. However, the elation of hurting his enemies had taken him off guard since his new temporary powers gave him the feeling of being invincible. For the Mad Giant absolutely had no idea someone from his past had come to haunt him. Chapter 743 Murdering Presence "Did you just say that there is a formidable opponent in the seas of the Dungeon they are raiding now?" Lord Focalor asked as he switched on the broadcast from the seaport he was stationed at. With the help of his mages, he watched the ''show'' as he continued to listen to the reports they had received intently. He and his navy were mighty seafarers, yet the exhausted Earl Furfur under the King orders, still came by to enlist them for their help not too long ago. Focalor had not agreed to anything on the spot since his expertise was after all the sea. There was no way he would willingly send his troops to a meaningless death. There were more than enough Demon Nobles with their own armies better suited to fight on land. "Indeed they have confirmed that the enemy has a naval presence. That is a real treat we can''t miss out on." Captain Kenway, one of Lord Focalor''s trusted aides, pointed out. "True, though you surely saw their firepower. One hit was all that was needed to make those useless toys of Stolas disappear. Do you want to fight against that?" Focalor questioned his aide. "For the most renowned demon pirate of the oceans to show such caution¡­ did you wake up with the wrong foot today, my lord?" Captain Edward teased. Unlike other nobles, Focalor was the only Demon Noble who had refused to take any position in the Demon Metropolis. However, his ferocity and tenacity, as well as the ability to take on any Ocean-based dungeons with ease, had made King Baal recognise his exploits. His title might have been granted merely for show, though Lord Focalor''s reputation preceded even some of the Dukes. He was similar to Marquis Forneus who preferred to rule the sky with military might than to dabble in some outlandish city politics. The King had showered these two individuals with gifts, lands and power more than any higher-ranking nobles since their service was undeniably beneficial to their King. "Hah, doesn''t it just means I can finally go all out?! You two always seem to deny me such opportunities. Besides, if some boats become casualties in the fight, we might as well use the opportunity to get some new ones from the King." Lord Focalor replied, and his two aides laughed. "HAHAHA! Just one simple request from you and the King will literally throw twenty more ships at us! Why wait till they get destroyed?!" Kenway mentioned as he slammed his drink on the table. "Idiot, it''s that stupid old sailor myth where we cannot just abandon our ships till then end after serving us for long." Edward interrupted Kenway''s laughing with his rationale. "Who cares anyway? Even if we meet with bad luck and drown, we get resurrected. There is nothing wrong with that. I have the money to pay for my crew and the other ships a hundred times over. There''s no way some stupid sailor myth will get me." Captain Kenway challenged back. "Enough! Kenway, Edward. Prepare the men for battle. We''ll bring everything, the whole armada! The sea there seems wide enough for the whole lot. Let''s heed the King''s call and perhaps give that Prince some sorely needed help. Since I myself am looking forward to testing that metal ship''s durability. We shall see if it can withstand the might of the Leviathan." Focalor ordered and the two of them nodded their heads. (While the two were called captain in status, the both of them are equivalent to Rear Admirals with Lord Focalor holding the rank of Admiral in the Demon Fleet Leviathan.) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C As Barbatos was charging to the frontlines, his Giants instinctively picked up on their leader''s decision. They immediately formed a barrier facing the Stalingrad in case the ship decided to intercept their leader. As for the rest, they maintained a spearhead formation and attacked not caring for their lives. If their Lord was ready for death, they would follow him through hell and back. The Mad Giant acknowledged his troops'' sacrifice and swore to himself that he would make sure it would be worth it as he charged further forward. However, he suddenly was met with a small yet sharp bloodlust intent emanating from the barricades beyond. While his giants were still making a mess at the frontlines, Barbatos could feel that the murderous intent was directed exclusively towards him. "Well, well, well. I thought this aura seemed familiar!" Barbartos grinned widely. The presence disappeared from the distance and emerged from a small portal directly in front of Barbatos. A scythe was aimed straight at his face, yet the magically enhanced Barbato shielded himself with the power of Granite. His face changed to stone, and the scythe failed to leave behind a single scratch. "It''s been a long time, Baphomet. And here I wondered why there was such a murderous intent within the group of adventurers. You should have stayed out of the Dungeon World!" ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Kraft was surprised and stared at Moloch and Qiu Yue when he saw the goat demon was sent to face Barbatos. "Isn''t that suicide? And how come I, the person who should have all the intelligence on every goddamn monster, did not know that he hated Barbatos?" "Who knows, maybe you missed it?" Moloch gave a lazy smile. For the first time, Kraft saw that this sneaky cotton butt had some tricks of his own. The fox decided to play it cool and shrugged shoulders, pretending not to care and returning to face his laptop. "Still, what can that goat demon do? Buy a few seconds of time?" Kraft scoffed that they didn''t use Pandjilla. Even if he missed out on some personal history of one of Jin''s monsters, the intelligence officer was sure he knew exactly the capabilities of all of Jin''s monsters on their own. "That''s why I said. Maybe you missed out." Moloch teased once more as he took a card out and sent it flying out of the room. The King of Clubs continued to fly swiftly out of the room and towards the battlefield. "Watch it¡­ Otherwise, I might get tempted to investigate what else I might have ''missed out'' on, starting with you." Came the not so subtle threat from the Bellator. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C The blow on his face sent Baphomet flying backwards, yet Barbatos wasn''t done yet. He followed up grabbing the former with his one remaining hand by the throat and suplex him on the floor. (The Giants thought that their boss was hitting some nuisance fly.) The Goat Demon spat out blood from the attack as his opponent left him injured on the ground since he had more important things to care about. As Kraft predicted, this exchange had only lasted a couple of seconds. To Barbatos, that trifling issue of him accidentally eating some of Baphomet''s offspring should have long since been resolved. They were, after all, ''hiding'' inside his food when he had swallowed them whole, and the Mad Giant had already apologised by paying adequate monetary compensation for Baphomet''s loss. "Why would he care so much to waste his life on a useless head-on attack when he can make more of those things with his dick?" Barbatos thought to himself as he shook his head and moved forth. Were the circumstances any different, he would have finished him off, but his giants and the success of his attack were his primary concern. The petty person trying to take revenge against him would live to see another day, another try. Meanwhile, Moloch''s card came out of another barely visible portal and landed on Baphomet''s chest where it embedded itself into the Goat Demon''s body. Chapter 744 Sins Of The Father Baphomet trembled as he rose up, holding on to the King of Clubs and watched the cannibal who ate his kids walk away. Earl Barbatos was certain the other demon was no longer a threat and had brushed him aside. After all, it was the same outcome as before. The Mad Giant couldn''t remember. Had the last time been decades ago? Perhaps it was centuries? While he forgot, the Goat Demon clearly remembered each and every time he had challenged the Earl over those many years. The rage inside him boiled whenever he thought back to that incident. His kids might have been resurrected, but the experience had emotionally scarred them, and it would most likely stick with them for the rest of their lives. There was no such thing as psychological aid or therapy in the Dungeon World, and the only solution their father could think of was to teach them how to get revenge via the path of violence. He did not know how else to help his kids nor his spouses. Everyone had advised him to abandon them and remove them from this world. Why be tied down to a burden when he could mate again? It was the very same mentality Barbatos had, but to Baphomet, it was different. Those had been the very first batch of kids he ever had, and no matter how he saw it, he was sure it was an intentional foul act. At that time he had been working as a chef to serve goat meat in a family restaurant. The younger self of the Mad Giant had always behaved like a tyrant at any food place he went to. Whenever Barbatos, be it alone or in the company of his Giants, had been unable to fit inside a restaurant, they would have simply sat down, right outside in the open and demanded the restaurant''s owner to serve them everything. If this would leave the other patrons with nothing to eat, who cared? The Giants certainly didn''t. Not all things were bad, though. The money was undoubtedly good considering that the Giants could clear the entire stock of food and the Mad Giant was a heavy tipper. Still, the pressure was intense. Lacking enough food for all of them or being unable to cook fast enough meant the Giants would get pissed and destroy the entire place, leaving the owner with nothing but debris. It was a do-or-die kind of situation and Baphomet with his family had determined to ride this out since the Giants just so happened to come to the rural side of the Demon Metropolis with them being the most popular restaurant around. Baphomet had worked his magic in the kitchen to get as much cooking done as possible while his spouses went to different stores to procure more livestock for food. It had been a gruesome battle by itself, and his kids unquestionably chipped in to help their father. They had never seen any Giants in their lives up until now, nor had they had this much business. Perhaps it was due to the negligence of their parents or them just underestimating the natural curiosity of the children that had led to the incident. If he hadn''t been there to witness it with his own eyes, Baphomet would have only suspected Barbatos and the other giants taking his kids. Yet, when the Goat Demon went out to personally serve one of his signature dishes, he heard a loud cry as he caught a glimpse of a leg sticking out from Barbatos'' mouth. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Baphomet shouted. Alas, it was too late as he heard a CRUNCH. Powerless before the Giants, the crunches multiplied and Baphomet realised it wasn''t just one, the other Giants were all feasting on his kids. Subsequently, Barbatos swallowed a few kegs of beer at the same time, even eating the wooden barrel as part of the meal and looked at the helpless father. "Have you brought more food? ¡­ Why are you looking at me like this?" The Mad Giant asked with a slightly drunken grin, and the others chuckled alongside. "You¡­How could¡­ YOU ATE MY KIDS?!" Barbatos shouted with tears running down his face. Barbatos took a bit to process what was just said. He merely scratched the back of his head. "Really?! Oh, my bad! No wonder the meat in the bread felt a little too special. Here''s the money for the food and a little more for their resurrection. Don''t worry, I am sure they will come back to you safe and sound from the Church of the Afterlife. Now please bring us another round of the meat we had earlier. Oh and leave that food in your hands right over there. Cheers!" Barbatos grinned as he first picked up his club and the rest of his band stood up with menace. There was no way Baphomet could beat the entire group thus he quietly accepted the money. Horrified, he was forced to continue feeding the murderers of his kids for what felt like an eternity. To him, it was hell on Earth. (Well, Dungeon World to be exact.) Once they were gone, he immediately left for the Church to resurrect his kids. He would never forget the terror in their eyes. He had tried talking to them, wanting to find out what exactly happened, but they have ever since remained in a waking state of fear. It was so bad to the point where they treated their father as if he was one of those Giants too. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Unlike the past, I¡­hahhhhhh. I now have the backing of others! I had trained hard, especially with the help from the benevolent Duke Wolte and Lord Moloch. They showed me that not all lords were as despicable as you and I am glad to be under Duke Wolte''s service once again." Baphomet pushed the card even deeper into his body until there was nothing left. The Sher Slimes who had been fighting against the Giants suddenly turned and looked at Baphomet. The King of Clubs somehow attracted their attention. They became like moths who flew towards the light. They prioritised this above all else, even releasing their grasp on the injured Giants and headed for Baphomet instead. The injured giants, while glad to be out of their control, turned to look at where the Sher Slimes were moving to. Soon, those slimes were encircling Baphomet and the remaining Dark Templar Squad Leaders had been informed about what was happening. Instead of trying to take back control of the slimes, those squad leaders quickly released their leash on those slimes and retreated backwards to relative safety. Barbatos had felt that the irritating bloodlust presence had not entirely disappeared but instead grew more potent. His instincts warned him that something was about to happen so he looked back, intent on wasting some energy to finish off Baphomet. But when he turned around, he was shocked at what he saw. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- "User, an unexpected voluntary monster merger is happening with Goat Demon Baphomet. Permission to allow the monster merger to occur?" The System requested as it knew Jin was watching how the Sky Bridge situation was unfolding. "So this is the monster merger function you kept talking about? Does that mean we will lose the slimes for good?" Jin queried even though he knew the answer. "Affirmative. In return, Baphomet should gain the powers of the multiple Sher Slimes. Unexpected side effects might occur as the monster merger ritual they are using is primitive. User can enhance the ritual by spending additional souls on it." The System replied. "We have a shit ton of souls from the deaths of our Phantom Soldiers anyway. Utilise them as much as possible since we are already monster merging." Jin ordered, and he could feel that the System was a little more than happy for things to unfold in this way. "Wise choice." With the permission of Jin, the slimes that encircled him immediately took the opportunity to force themselves into every orifice Baphomet had. But unlike how they were controlling the giants'' bodies, Baphomet still retained his sanity and furthermore, he was growing significantly bigger until he stopped at a size matching that of the watchtowers. But what about those tank debris? Yeah, they merged with the towering Baphomet, assimilating the tank armour onto his body as Baphomet endured the pain of his skin tearing apart. At the same time, the demons noticed that a broad ray of energy suddenly blasted down onto Baphomet itself. "What is this power that is surging in me?!" Baphomet asked as he felt enriched from the huge ray of energy. "Goat Demon Baphomet has successfully been strengthened into Sin Baphomet." The System stated. Chapter 745 Revenge Was Swee "Now this is getting interesting!" Kraft stopped whatever he was doing on his laptop. Instead, he looked up at the screen, watching the transformation of Baphomet happening in real-time. Even the cultivators could not believe their eyes as they saw the monster evolution in front of them. Many wondered whether he was a new bad guy until they noticed the blue monster ally tag in their mask''s visor. "Man, and here I thought all monsters are bad!" A member of the audience in the shop instance commented. "Definitely not! Our dungeons are meant to provide a comprehensive experience, and we aim to dispel the notion that storylines in dungeons are always boring." Mr Patsu explained, and many of the repeat customers concurred. They had been through many of Jin''s dungeons, and there certainly was a theme of cooperation with monsters they had fought against in previous dungeon instances. It provided the Pandarens with a somewhat strange relationship. The random dungeon arena was solid proof as to how far this could evolve. Some of the dungeon monsters they fought often learned to adapt to the Pandarens'' style of fighting. Most started treating them as temporary rivals. Whenever they clashed, the monsters took the time to give them pointers, offering them a chance to improve themselves. This had always been the goal of dungeon instances. Fight. Improve oneself, cooperate and most importantly have fun doing all of that. It did not matter if some other cultivator was better than you. In Jin''s dungeons, if you obeyed certain rules and were able to afford them, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Sin Baphomet''s awakening came at the perfect time, and many assumed it had been planned for it to become the enticing highlight for the cultivators willing to join after dinner. The number of people buying tickets to enter the dungeon was at a record high, confirming that delaying Barbatos was the right move from a financial perspective at least. (If the System could show emotions, it would probably be giving the quiet tsundere kind of grin.) While the cultivators enjoyed gaining a super powerful-looking ally, Qiu Yue could only hope Sin Baphomet''s awakening would not be hindered by his bloodlust. After all, they still wanted Barbatos to actually end up putting the temporary raid checkpoint down so that more demon reinforcements could come in. Fortunately, it seemed like the Mad Giant had the very same idea running through his head when he tried to overcome the oddity of seeing a power-up happening right in front of his eyes. With the major loss of ground troops from Stalingrad''s bombardment, the Giants were the sole deterrent against the defenders and with Sin Baphomet at their backs, they only had one choice. "FOR GLORY!!!!" Barbatos shouted. The giants complied, turning around to hold down Sin Baphomet to buy Barbatos the time he needed. The Earl heavily utilised the Wights'' buff to speed forward as fast as possible. In his new form, Sin Baphomet had grown wings, not of organic nature but consisting of tank debris. The tank gun barrels acted as the bone structure for his wings while the wheels became the joints and thin sheets of armour were the membrane of the wings. Hence, after a little adjustment to their angle, Sin Baphomet could literally use his wings as cannons. Shells blasted out of the wings, aimed towards the incoming Giants, but they had already been prepared. Armoured Giants unhesitatingly came forward to block the attacks. Some were experienced enough to use skills like adventurers and utilised them to make their skin even tougher so they could withstand the brunt of the attack without being pushed back. Meanwhile, Baphomet rushed forward and the Dark Templar Tanks pretended to stop him. They ''accidentally'' left out a not-so-obvious path for him to move forward. Some of the cultivators were foolishly brave and tried to cut-off his legs but because of the Wights'' buff, many were run over before they could do anything. Thus, Barbatos managed to reach near the end of the Sky Bridge without too much trouble, regretting that he hadn''t done this way earlier¡­ If only he knew he was dancing in the palm of Jin''s tacticians. Upon reaching the end of the Sky Bridge, he finally caught a glimpse of the floating platform in front of him. "How could Moloch even manage to gather this many¡­" Before he could even finish his thought, he felt a hefty yet clean slice through his newly generated arm, and the perpetrator was none other than Sin Baphomet himself. "Surprise! I can fly now." Sin Baphomet mocked him with the very same glee that Barbatos had shown him decades ago as he slammed the Mad Giant onto the ground. Knowing his duty to complete the task given to him, Barbatos immediately headbutted Sin Baphomet for pinning him down as he gathered all the powers in him to materialise a magic hand which he placed on the ground. "By my authority as a Demon Earl, Dungeon Core, I hereby declare this place as Sanctuary to my people!!" Barbatos announced. A wide round magic rainbow circle appeared and Barbatos finally laughed. "You should have gone for the head! I kept telling you that your emotions always get the better of you. You will be responsible for the life of all who help that traitor due to your irrational wish for revenge! Now it''s too late! The checkpoint is set and with the overwhelming might of the Demon Army, I swear King Baal will bring you and that trickster Moloch down to your knees!" Barbatos shouted. Despite the headbutt, Sin Baphomet was still holding on to him and subsequently brought his wings to various parts of the Mad Giant''s body and shot it. Yet the Mad Giant continued to laugh in madness. "It''s useless! It''s all useless! You can have your pitiful revenge. I have already activated the checkpoint! In less than five minutes, you will all be gone! It''s too bad I cannot see to it personally. But I promise to watch the replays from the mages as you are being torn to pieces. For my meritorious deed, I shall request gaining you as my personal slave! I am looking forward to you being forced to serve me your kids each and every single day!" It was at that moment Sin Baphomet could not hold it anymore and sliced off both of Barbatos'' legs and his remaining arm. Then he started giggling as he released the dying Giant. "Mission Complete. The checkpoint has been firmly established. Proceed with the next phase of the plan, Miss Sandy." Sin Baphomet spoke out loud so Barbatos wouldn''t have the last laugh. "What are you talking about? What mission?!" Barbatos had a sudden pang of worry and it exacerbated as he felt a little shake on the Sky Bridge. "Didn''t you think things were too easy? Didn''t you realise that our attempts at intercepting you were a bit too shallow? Letting you through was just part of the plan to get you to initiate your checkpoint. At the ''end'' of the Sky Bridge." Sin Baphomet revealed enjoying his fill of fun and revenge. "What do you mean?!" Barbatos tried to move, but after all the injuries inflicted on him, he was currently a Giant quadriplegic. All he had left was the magically created hand which was also slowly fading after he had used it for the temporary checkpoint. "You will see." Sin Baphomet smirked as he flew above him and lifted Barbatos'' head. Then he started to shoot his cannons from a distance. It was all part of one of many plans Moloch and Qiu Yue had made to deal with the demons. According to their predictions, one of the more likely scenarios had been the Giants being used for the assault on the Sky Bridge. However, it wasn''t one big overall plan. No, it consisted of countless hours of hard work. With his intricate knowledge of the Demons, Moloch had set up hundreds of ''what if'' scenarios. All of them had been stored within Qiu Yue''s Sub System and they were pulled out by the recommendation of the Sub System whenever it was needed. That was why despite some disagreements on the table at one moment, they could perfectly act in unison on the next. The clearer the situation became, the more precise the demons acted along the ''what if'' scenarios, the easier it was for them to choose the corresponding course of action. Still, it wasn''t all that simple. After all, this was not some video game where the enemies behaved just as they wanted them to. The same could be said about their own allies who also didn''t listen to them with complete obedience. Qiu Yue had to adapt to those scenarios as well. Since a Demon Lord had managed to place down the checkpoint on the end of the Sky Bridge, it was time for Sandy''s grand debut. The Sand Witch materialised at the edge of the floating platform and started to cast her magic. The Sky Bridge was mainly her creation so she still had authority and knowledge over it. Both the demon soldiers and Pandarens could not believe their eyes as they saw two parts of the Sky Bridge suddenly break apart from each other. "What are you all doing? What kind of insane sorcery is this?!" Barbatos vomited blood from sheer shock. "You know, even the odds a little. We can''t have a hundred thousand troops marching all at once, right? We got to inflict some damage so that you guys really have to die trying." Sin Baphomet answered as Barbatos came to realise that he had indeed been played. After all he had done, he could forget any kind of praise. He should be thankful if King Baal wouldn''t blame him for failing. "It''s a trap within a trap¡­ You baited me to go for the Sky Bridge because you knew that I would realise that going for the ship would be a trap too? Damn it!" Barbatos complained with a weak sounding voice. His remaining lifeforce was like a candle which would go out at the slightest gust of wind. Sandy was moving the Sky Bridge as if it was some lego piece. The Sky Bridge had originally been five parts joined together so she could easily reshuffle the bridge in whatever way she liked. In this instance, she placed the end of the Sky Bridge to the middle and the middle occupied the end. Instead of a glorious charge, the demons would have to look out for a flanking attack. "You have seen enough. Time for you to disappear from this act." Sin Baphomet said as he brought out his scythe and chopped off Barbatos'' head. He took it with him and asked the System for leave. There were some people out there waiting for him, who would appreciate this spoil of war. Chapter 746 Arrival of the Demon Horde The demon''s temporary checkpoint had shifted to the middle of the road and the defenders, except for the Sherman Tanks EX, were following Qiu Yue''s instructions to retreat to the outer portion of the area. As for the Demon Army, they had temporarily halted, mostly confused by the drastic moving of the bridge. With no higher-ups coordinating them, they were unsure whether to charge towards the fleeing cultivators or to wait in one of the safe zones. Sin Baphomet had literally taken care of the remaining Giants, and there were no additional reinforcements coming out from the safe zone since Prince Stolas had stopped it as soon as the checkpoint had been deployed. "They had total control of the whole battlefield from the start of the invasion." Prince Stolas whispered as he dropped to his knees, powerless. While the amount of distance they needed to cover had been lessened significantly, they were still very much exposed to artillery from the cultivators in front of them, the suicidal crows and wyverns above them as well as the sea. The last one, the Stalingrad, was more than a menace. It acted as the true gatekeeper of the whole show. With Mr Derpy providing the magical energy, Lord Wolte had no problems maintaining his heavy battlecruiser to wreak more havoc. His live battery would also not run out of juice any time soon. There were still remnants of the turtle that Derpy could feast upon, and one shouldn''t forget that the cylinders underneath Flashy''s shell. It had been filled with another source of energy, namely the caged up mages who had chosen to be batteries of magic energy for Countess Dantalion. (Mr Derpy greatly appreciated the crunchiness of it.) ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Prince, do you think it is wise to retreat?" One of his guards'' asked as he assisted his Prince in standing back up. "Don''t even think about it, unless you want to be branded as traitors." A loud screeching voice was heard from behind them. Prince Stolas immediately recognised that wicked voice before he even stepped out of the magical circle and showed himself. "The rest of the Demon Horde is coming, and I''m pretty certain they are all dying to return the grudges Moloch had incurred. The loss of Marquis Forneus and Earl Barbatos has proven that this battle is far more dangerous than we initially believed it to be." "Kiva." Prince Stolas uttered the name with a deep-seated hatred. "Ah Ah~! That is ARCHDUKE Kiva. But as a prince, I shall overlook this breach of etiquette. Try not to repeat that." The wretched voice turned humble in front of the Prince''s face for a moment. Kiva bowed down with his short raven legs while adjusting his vibrant bright red cape and grinned at the Prince with his two canine fangs out in the open. Seeing him, Prince Stolas came to a realisation as to why the reinforcements had been coming uncharacteristically slow for the Demon Horde. Sure they had been caught off guard by Moloch''s unexpected choice of dropping his shields one day early, but after so many hours of battle to get so little help? In fact, only specific requests had come through. Thus, the Prince''s suspicion that someone must have manipulated those events behind the scenes were confirmed with the Archduke''s appearance. Accompanying Archduke Kiva were not hundreds but thousands of soldiers and mages all armed to the teeth, dying to sink them into Moloch and his troops. The temporary checkpoint was spilling over with hundreds of soldiers, to the extent some had to fall back to accommodate it the bridge. Many wondered how come the Mad Giant had placed the checkpoint at the centre of the bridge where it was the most vulnerable and only through the words of the surviving few soldiers did the news got out. Simultaneously, the Demon Fleet Leviathan also emerged from the temporary checkpoint with a separate magical portal and dozens of ships followed suit beneath the Sky Bridge. All of them came splashing into the waters, and a large magical shield had been immediately erected at both sides of the Sky Bridge. Prince Stolas had never seen such a large deployment before, and even the safe zone was populated with a horde of mages in the blink of the eye. Why had they suffered through all those losses when such forces could have appeared previously? It definitely was not because the demons were limited. To see so many suddenly appear, felt like a slap in his face. "What? You look like you''ve never seen a large scale deployment before, pitiful Prince. Now, we shall show you the might of your other siblings'' armies. It''s too bad your sister Gaap perished so early. She should have listened to me rather than rushing to aid her favourite brother into battle." "If these are all their troops, where are my siblings?!" Prince Stolas questioned with a heavy tone. "They have been stationed at home." King Baal suddenly emerged from the magical portal with his Royal Guards right beside him. This alone sent out multiple alerts throughout the entire war room and eventually to all defenders. "F-¡­ather." Prince Stolas immediately bent his knee right in front of his Majesty. The surrounding demons, unless they had essential duties to keep the shields up, followed the gesture. The only exception to this was Archduke Kiva himself. He was merely bowing his head slightly with an evil grin. "Arise." King Baal demanded, and the rest returned to their duties. A quiet stare was more than enough of punishment, but the words King Baal said hurts Stolas deeply. "I am quite disappointed in you, Stolas. You might have been outmatched, but given the resources you had on hand, the result is simply terrible." The Raven Prince merely kept quiet and tolerated the insult. He knew nothing good would happen if he retorted back. Besides, it wasn''t that much of a secret that he wasn''t the most favoured Prince in his father''s books. "I should send you back to ponder over your mistakes, but I agree with Kiva. If you stay, you might actually learn something." "My Liege. The Demon Fleet Leviathan have engaged that metal ship. Some of our aerial units have begun reinforcing the remainders of the Dragon Devils. Their commands will be passed over so that they can be led by our air force. In the meantime, we have wasted no time in employing a full-scale invasion after Duke Crocell had managed to get the rough coordinates of where the Dragonlite scouts have died. I suggest a brute force against the-" "The King has his own way of doing things, Kiva." Prince Stolas interrupted, but King Baal slammed Prince Stolas down to the ground with yet another stare. "Do not interrupt when someone is talking!" King Baal ordered as he turned to Kiva and gave a gentle smile. "Kiva, I apologise for the bad upbringing my son had. Do continue. And as for you, Stolas, I repeat one final time, your presence here is merely tolerated." "You honour me, my liege. But I do not deserve to talk after hearing the Prince''s valid argument!" Kiva replied as he prostrated right in front of the Prince rather than the King. Stolas was already holding his anger back, and it got even worse when he saw Kiva''s shrewd face. "That guy will be the end of our rule!" Stolas thought to himself as he recalled that on the day of Moloch''s demotion, the ruthless bat demon had been there and seemed happier than most at hearing the news. "Do not worry, continue on. I appreciate your insights." King Baal replied as he helped Kiva up instead of his son. In the meantime, King Baal''s servants had already prepared a throne for him to sit on, and his tent was truly worthy of a king to view the battles from afar. They even started to manage the mages'' broadcast and showed the status of their troops. "Coming back to your first question which had been overtly obvious. This is a battle that not even your eldest brother could manage, so I told him and the rest of your siblings to stand down at home. Who knows which idiot would dare go into our kingdom when we are at war." King Baal explained with a side stare towards his son, demanding him to stand at a corner and watch how his father dealt with the traitor. A certain someone suddenly sneezed, as he closed his laptop and vanished from Jin''s war room¡­ Chapter 747 Demon Fleet Leviathan "Oof. It''s so much smaller than the last time we saw it." Captain Kenway complained through the communications channel courtesy of their mages. Captain Edwards, on the other side, merely laughed at this. "Duh, it''s from a crystal ball. What did you expect?" Edwards asked sarcastically as he commanded his fleet forward. "It''s beautiful." Was the only thing Lord Focalor said. There was no way the demons or humans could build such a magnificent ship. Did Moloch get it from the dwarves? Or was it the gnomes? Whatever the case, Focalor did not care who it came from. The only thing that mattered was that soon it would be his. The moment he had first seen the ship up close after coming out the portal, he was dumbstruck and fascinated by it. It was a case of love at first sight. "Try not to destroy that beauty. It will be a great asset if we can capture it." Lord Focalor ordered yet his two other captains were a bit hesitant. "But Captain, if we hold back and the enemies shoot at us, it will be a disaster. You''ve seen how devastating those cannons can be." Captain Kenway replied cautiously, and he could already hear Edwards laughing even more loudly. "Haha! Kenway, Kenway. Are you just pretending or are you actually this na?ve?" Edwards questioned. The communication they used was limited to only their voices to limit the strain on the mages, otherwise Edward would see how Kenway rolled his eyes at his taunt. "If the Captain has decided to use that ability so early in the game, it will be our responsibility to use that time he grants us to capture it," Kenway argued since they knew the limitations of Lord Focalor''s greatest ability, the Fog that Steals. For the duration of the ability, they would turn from ordinary Tiefling demons into undead Tiefling pirates, making them invulnerable to pain and doubling their strength and dexterity. Not to mention the fog was so dense that all navigation tools were rendered useless, making it impossible to pinpoint their exact location. With this ability, the Demon Fleet Leviathan had repeatedly proven themselves as one of the most renowned pirates that should not be trifled with. Oh, and did the two captains mention how strong their Lord''s command ship was? The Leviathan boasted approximately two hundred cannons at each side of the vessel, allowing for never ending volleys of attack or even worse, an all-out attack. Having two hundred cannonballs hurling at you was no joke. There were only a handful of encounters where so many cannons were insufficient to finish the job. However, in such cases, the Leviathan could always add up to another fifty cannons on each side, barring the need to carry any food storages. And that was precisely what they had done today since it would be a skirmish and not a trip around the oceans to steal and plunder. Even the two captains had ships with over a hundred cannons on board, and they each had over twenty other smaller pirate ships combined. Focalor was not going to take any chances by pulling his punches. He had seen the magnitude of Wolte''s cannons. He had to bring the entire fleet out to make sure that they had enough filler targets before they could board the metal ship. "That is exactly what I am going to do. We are too close to each other and yet it''s a welcome surprise that the ship hasn''t fired ever since it targeted the giants in the frontlines." Focalor observed. "With a high-density magic crystal granted by Archduke Kiva, I should be able to hold the ability for another ten minutes, twenty tops." "Ah, then it should be enough considering the distance," Edwards concluded, and Kenway had to agree. "Then we jump onto their ship and slaughter them. Judging by the size, there should be at least a hundred on the ship, manning it." Kenway suggested, but Focalar disagreed. "From the moment we arrived, I kept a close look at the ship. I''ve failed to see anyone on either deck or starboard. No movement except for their barrels aiming at the bridge. There might be traps or illusions on it. I want your mages to attack first to dispel any illusion and to fire another salvo before you guys get ready to board." Focalor warned. "Haha! You worry too much. It''s known that when you activate your ability, there is nothing to worry about. Victory will already be at hand." Edward scorned at Focalor''s sudden timidness. "If you believe in those superstitions then trust in my bones. Whenever we find ourselves in a tricky situation, I get that strange feeling. And ever since we got here, I feel itchy all over. Sometimes, even pirates need some caution, or else the sea will consume you for disrespecting it." Focalor rebutted, and Edward became speechless. "You''ve already lost when you engaged in a talking battle with Focalor." Kenyway didn''t miss the opportunity to laugh heartily as his smartass companion before he relayed the information to his sailors. ¡ª- In the meantime, Lord Wolte clearly knew who they were dealing with and was already pumping with excitement. "I''ve always adored Demon Pirate King Focalor. He''s quite a legend back in the city." Lord Wolte shared with Mr Derpy since he knew the humans would have no idea what he was talking about. "Oh, those ships, can we eat them?" Mr Derpy asked, and Lord Wolte sighed. "Dagen, you still have some unfinished leftovers. Why would you want more?" "That contingency plan has made me nervous. I am forced to sit still, wait for the eventuality of my turn to come and then everything will be up to me. I''ll be largely responsible whether we win or lose. What do you expect me to do?" Mr Derpy revealed his fears and Wolte understood that this was the first time Jin and Qiu Yue had entrusted him to do such an important job. "Binge eating won''t help you, though. Oh whatever, I know how you must feel. The first time I was at war and was bestowed a huge responsibility, I nearly freaked out too. However, that is perfectly normal. When the time comes to act, you will know what to do. Don''t forget, you are not alone. You have me, your Deep Ones, and the System will also guide you." Lord Wolte tried to console Mr Derpy. "Speaking of your Deep Ones, they aren''t that needed for the contingency plan. Only you are. Why not let them be useful and start tagging those ships." "That means they get to play and I can''t! How is that fair?" Mr Derpy argued with a pouting face. "If you benevolently allow them to go out and play, won''t they return that gratitude by bringing you more food?" Lord Wolte offered his large friend a new perspective. "Ah, yes. Why didn''t I think of that? Wolte, my greatest friend, your constant help will not go unanswered in the future. I shall get my Deep Ones to track under the ships." Mr Derpy immediately agreed to it at the potential promise of more stress eating. "Aww, that''s kind of you, Dagen. Look, I will aim to sink, or at least make a hole, in those ships, so you can get the Deep Ones to rush in, hunt and bring the food to you too. They wouldn''t have to wait all day until those pirates jump overboard." "You certainly are a genius Wolte. I will tell them to get ready!" "Good. Now I have a perfect counter against Focalor''s Fog That Steals when he decides to use it." Wolte thought to himself as he informed the human sailors about the ''trackers'' that had been employed. Chapter 748 Operation Fire Glass "Holy shit, how is this possible?!" Meng Ruo wondered as he saw the immense crowd of new demon soldiers popping left, right and centre. "No wonder the cultivators are running away." "Look sharp. If there are this many, I believe the Demon Horde will be attacking all the island platforms simultaneously." Sarge Rocher warned them to not lose focus. The others on the Land Hover squad agreed that such a possibility sounded quite likely given the intelligence level of their enemies. "Sarge, there are magic signals incoming. It looks like they are indeed preparing for an enormous mass attack." CPL Zhang Min, who was manning the radios reported to Rocher. "Then let''s buckle up, it will be one hell of a ride in the Industry Sector." Sarge Rocher said as he checked his rifle chamber once more before moving out. ¡ª¡ª¨C Meanwhile, the same scenario was happening to the other platforms which the Dragonlites had previously scouted. Duke Crocell had been able to use the Mages Telecommunication Centre to report his findings to Kiva who in turn had managed to isolate and pinpoint approximate coordinates of the island platforms. "It is truly remarkable how that traitor has managed to find such a powerful sponsor. If their defences were any tighter, we might not be able to achieve any of this at all." Kiva whispered to his King and Baal merely acknowledged that a multiple prong attack was necessary to overwhelm the enemy. "Get the Royal Mages to teleport those troops in. I want to see our flags waving at each of their highest towers. Burn everything else down. Record the scenes so we can show everyone what awaits those who stand against us." King Baal said, and Kiva hurried to relay the orders. What King Baal wanted was total annihilation. The search for the Dungeon Core? That already seemed secondary compared to what he was going to do to Moloch. For what that Cotton Minotaur had done to his nobles and precious daughter, he was already fantasising the most painful of tortures he would do to Moloch. "As soon as you find him, tell me. I will personally go out and collect his head." "Yes, my sire." Kiva bowed back and continued to give orders as per his liege''s will. ¡ª¡ª¨C The Royal Snake soldiers equipped with magic detectors had already begun shoring up their defences by returning to the posts they were given. Fortress Golems on every floating island platform had also been reactivated from standby mode and were ready for action, and the island''s defences had been switched on too. As for the Orc Artillery Company, they had stopped firing after the Royal Mages had placed a high-density shield on their new temporary teleportation checkpoint. While it did some damage, it was not very effective in the long run, and most importantly, it just wasted their precious ammo. Prince Stolas must have sent back the data from the hours of barrage against the safe zone allowing the Royal Mages to learn how much shielding was needed to protect them. Thus, even as they suffered from this disadvantage of being set in the middle of the bridge, the only real threat for the time being seemed to be the Stalingrad. Fortunately, the Demon Fleet Leviathan was going to take care of it. (Or so they thought) So perhaps the mages believed all they had to do was to tolerate the first shot, and the infamous Demon Fleet Leviathan will handle the rest. Well, Wolte planned to act in a way they expected him to¡­ with a little exception. ¡ª¡ª¨C "Mdm, the defenders have successfully retreated to the defensive floating island. The Sherman Tanks have also placed down their mines as they moved back. Our only casualties were two Sherman Tanks that were rendered incapable of timely evading the mages'' attacks." The goblin telecom operator reported. He added that the tanks were still doing a fair bit of damage from afar. "Mdm, the Fortress Golems in the left behind watchtowers have ceased to function as expected. Thus they were set to detonate the moment any demon soldiers tried to take control of the watchtowers. The pilots inside already retreated with the aid of the System." "Other than that, the Stalingrad reported that the ship is ready for a full-on assault on the bridge and is awaiting further instructions." "Lord Wolte intends to not move just yet. He is waiting for the magic portals to be cast on every island before the soldiers on the bridge will move." The goblin telecoms operators were rambling on and on even though they were talking in a sequential manner and not interrupting each other at all. Qiu Yue managed to catch all of those, and the Sub System further helped her by listing them as bullet points in order of importance. "Send the V2 Rockets out and tell Que Er that we are initiating phase two of the operation. After that, get Wolte to fire in unison with the impact of the V2 rockets." Qiu Yue said, and the telecom operators relayed the information. "Sandy, are you ready as well?" Qiu Yue asked, and Sandy, who was hiding near the end of the Sky Bridge chuckled. "The Penguins have arrived and are more than ready to help me. So yeap, I am ready." Sandy replied. "Very good, let''s commence Operation Fire Glass." Qiu Yue announced, and the entire telecoms crew knew what to do. While it might be more worthwhile to use it later in the day to reduce the influx of demon troops, Qiu Yue believed if Operation Fire Glass was used now, it would be a great shock and awe kind of tactic. Moloch also concurred as this might potentially be impactful enough to lower the morale of the troops since the advent of their King must have made them feel invulnerable. Hence he gave the green light for the operation. However, the most crucial part of the operation would not be the mass destruction of the temporary checkpoint nor about bringing their barriers down. It was to buy time. Precious time which both tacticians needed to sort things out for the next phase. Doing it on the run was an option as well, but right now they need a sort of breather which might be hard to gain later. So, as the V2 Rockets were being prepared for launch from the military base floating islands, Que Er already had multiple crows carrying a number of big fat looking bombs towards the Sky Bridge. And to protect these bombs, more crows were employed along with Odin''s ravens to ensure the safety of those bombs. "Now!" The Red Panda Cultivator ordered when she saw the minimum distance left for the crows to reach the Sky Bridge and the V2 rockets were shot out into the skies, heading straight for the energy shield brought up by the mages. The demon soldiers heard booming noises and thought it was coming from the metal ship, but there was no movement from that end. "Artilleries, fire now!" Qiu Yue added, and the Orc Artillery Companies did as commanded and the demon soldiers got even more nervous. Though this time, there was a visible impact on one side of the barrier and the mages urged them to calm down. With the distraction of the artillery, the V2 rockets were able to fly from above with much success. Before the Dragon Devils, who were still in a lengthy dogfight against the Wyvern Goblin Knights, could report their findings, the rockets were already on their way to hitting the barrier. With precision timing, Wolte had also fired all his main turrets at the bridge, and that was ironically the signal for the Lord Focalor to use his ability, The Fog that Steals. Yet, what they did not know was that the simultaneous shots from the Stalingrad and the V2 rockets had an impact and broke the shields with unprecedented effect. That was where the almighty Royal Mages tried to scramble to rebuild the barriers with the second wave of mages, but the timing of the crows to come in was impeccable. The bombs were not released, and instead, the crows followed the bombs for the impact as they crashed landed at specific equal distances of the Sky Bridge for it to explode. Also, those were no ordinary bombs. Qiu Yue had purchased napalm bombs, causing soldiers to incinerate in a moment''s notice. The crows added the explosive powers to the bombs, causing massive destruction to the bridge''s integrity. And as if that was not enough, Sandy was at the end of the Sky Bridge conjuring a tidal wave of sand filled with oil and water courtesy of the Penguin Ninjas as she unleashed it downwards to the bottom of the Sky Bridge. With the napalm burning, the sand mixed with oil and water caused the fire to burn even fiercer and longer, bringing the temperature up by a ton, to the point where the sand was melting to become glass. Hence the name Operation Fire Glass. There was literally no hope for the soldiers on the bridge as another massacre occurred, dropping the numbers down. In the meantime, Qiu Yue took this solely needed time the fire had brought to reorganise the cultivators as planned into the defensive island platform. She believed it would yet again be another protracted fight against all fronts. And this time once most or all of the cultivators were gone, they would have to rely on the monsters to take over their posts since it was already evening time in their world. Chapter 749 Monitor Him Closely "Tsk." King Baal got slightly irritated at the events on the Sky Bridge. The demons next to him, on the other hand, were mortified when they witnessed the combined powers of their Royal Mages fail to hold the fort against Moloch''s assault. While sand was supposed to be a fire retardant, the mix of oil and water within it had made the ongoing napalm fire grow fierce. The sand covered the area delicately so that the fire could not spread out. It had been a slightly complicated process that needed finesse, but Sandy had been able to further improve her control ever since she started to work with the Orcs and Goblins to create concrete. To the onlookers, they thought that Moloch/Jin had another monster use some sort of wide-area magic like the Judgement Storm by Keyrin. The field of molten sand had burnt the army in the thousands, leaving nothing but debris from all the metal armour they had been wearing. Yet, King Baal had seen it all from a distance. He had sensed zero magical energy until the end of the attack when the tidal sands had come in. This meant that Moloch had reached out to races with great technological advances for their weapons and destructive powers. "Usually, those races all require a pricey sacrifice, and he must have paid dearly to obtain such technology." King Baal thought to himself as he ignored what was happening on the Sky Bridge. "Kiva, get the other mages to cool down the Sky Bridge so we can use the temporary teleportation checkpoint again. Continue with the simultaneous assault as per plan. We won''t let one attack pull us down." "As decisive as ever!" Kiva replied with glee and went to over to his cronies to pass the message down. Meanwhile, Prince Stolas had been fully reduced to just a wallflower with the arrival of his father. Still, to be honest, he was quite relieved at the shift in responsibility, despite there being mixed feelings of dread and anger towards Kiva. "Guards, keep a note of Kiva''s whereabouts at all times," Stolas whispered, and the guards roughly knew what he wanted to do. "Before this battle is over, I expect his head to come down his shoulders. About time that he learns he is not as almighty as he pretends." "Do not act too harshly, my Prince. He might act like a sissy, but he is still a formidable opponent to fight against." His guards panicked and whispered back, advising their Prince to stay his blade. "Worry not. We are at war against one of the smartest tacticians in our Dungeon World, right? He surely has a way to defeat him, if not through brute force. We will just have to be there to be the ones to deal him the final blow." "Will that not affect your status as Prince?" The captain of his guards asked, and Stolas shook his head. "If banishment can release me from this chained up suffering, I will gladly accept it. But at least, I will do it with some dignity intact. I know what that weasel has been doing behind our backs, and it should be satisfying if I can leave knowing I at least cut him down once." "While I do not think it''s a wise idea and recommend you to cool your head, we will still follow as per your orders." The guard captain bowed slightly with his clenched hand placed it on his chest, as a sign of deep respect. "¡­I will take your words into consideration. Just monitor him for now." Stolas was taken aback by the sudden pledge of loyalty and started thinking things through logically¡­ but even that did not stop his feelings of rage within him. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Despite all the court drama behind the frontlines, King Baal''s orders were implemented just as ordered. Hundreds of soldiers that were at the safe zone who has seen their comrades get burnt into nothingness were all ready to take revenge. They howled a series of warcries and banged their weapons on the ground to increase their morale. The teleportation spells were cast, and there was little to no interference because of the additional shields brought up in advance before the spell was cast. The Stalingrad was also being occupied with the Demon Fleet Leviathan while the Wyvern Goblin Knights had a bout of renewed dogfights against the Dragon Devils and their reinforcements. And as the soldiers teleported into each and every island platform the Dragonlites had been able to scout, they were faced with the very same situation that had plagued the start of invasion. Bombardments. The Royal Snakes who had been waiting for the longest time ever were finally put into action. Being one of the decisive strike forces in China that had a reputation of being able to respond to any threat, they relished the fight against overwhelming numbers. Because to be honest, they had been trained mostly for tactical insertions and lacked sufficient experience in defending against a horde. And that was precisely what Hou Fei wanted them to learn before holding the actual fort in the real world. While most of the commanders initially had doubts about this particular exercise, they had quickly changed their mind upon seeing the sheer size King Baal brought with him. This was definitely what they needed, and a ''simulation'' in this quantity allowed the commanders to learn first hand about any problems their soldiers might encounter in their standard formations so they could improve it before the actual defence in Dongguan-Huizhou. "Continue the barrage! Shell shock as many as possible!" Sarge Rocher, who was handling a squad in the Industry Sector, instructed his team handling the mortars. Despite the bombardment, the soldiers were still fearless enough to move through as a group, and he could see the difference between them and the first sortie. He came to the conclusion that they had been magically buffed before teleporting, allowing them to be enraged, which would explain the frenzy charges. However, he knew that enrage spells would make them more vulnerable to damage since they had no care for their lives. As long as his side was relentless too, the ultimate winner would definitely be the defenders. But even with the barrage, the soldiers were moving at a fast pace which the mortar adjustments could not accommodate, and that was where the Fortress Golems from afar had decided to step in and pick up the pace. "Oh man, I love those golems and their grenade launchers." CPL Wei Yi said as he hid behind the trench and reloaded his rifle. He recalled the sheer details on the Fortress Golem he saw and the mechanical movement brought chills to his body. "Haha! You have yet to see the best of them." CPL Zhang Min replied as he recalled seeing a few special weapons being stowed to the guard posts in the industry sector. "The Goblins were all snickering at how it could fry an entire roadblock in front of them with a push of the trigger." "Shut your traps, reload your damn guns and concentrate!" Sarge Rocher shouted, and the two corporals acknowledged as they remained vigilant to stop the demon''s advance. Chapter 750 Defending the Various Sectors The Demons Horde was unrelenting, moving forward at breakneck speed with no regards to their own well being. This strategy would prove especially effective in Agriculture Sector 1. Major Boon Tiong who was coordinating the defence had seen through the weakness of Agriculture Sector 1 early on. Since it was crop-based, their vast land area made it hard for the defenders to cover everything without redeploying the number of soldiers from other sectors. Yet, they could not do so without it creating weaknesses on other fronts. However, there was a silver lining in this situation. Most of the crops had been harvested, yet the System had purposely grown tall plants to increase the survivability of the soldiers defending the area. It allowed the Royal Snakes to create makeshift traps and even hidden tunnels to hide in as they ambushed the demon troops. As Master Ambushers, the Royal Snake soldiers reinvented the meaning of fear so that even the demons under the rage enchantment had begun questioning the safety of every step they made. "Heh, there is no such thing as ''safe'' when you are in our playground." Major Boon Tiong chuckled as he quickly took out one soldier by surprise, and subsequently slaughtered the rest of their group. Afterwards, he disappeared back into the tall grass, leaving no tracks behind as if he were a ghost. With this hands-on approach of the soldiers, the mortar strikes were more sparse than in other locations unless they were sure it was a heavyweight like a troll or a squad of cavalry trying to rush in. The rest of the soldiers were all split into smaller groups as they tackled Demon Horde who thought forward was the only way to go. What''s more, they were assisted by the baby Broccoli Porkcupines as part of the surprise bestowed by Jin. Half Ghoul Lord Derek had successfully managed to reduce their size so that they were as large as a Rottweiler by instilling some canine DNA into them as well, making them more responsive to humans and a little more loyal. (Actually, Derek merely used genes from Silver, Gold and the rest of the werejackals) And those modifications significantly increased their agility without losing the strength they possessed¡­as well as their unique ability to shoot broccoli projectiles out of their backs. If one were to think that the modified projectiles were a joke, they were solely mistaken as it had the same penetrating ability as their spikes. (Imagine a piece of broccoli was thrust into a demon''s body and going through it like a bullet, the amount of force needed was so much more) The Royal Snakes had discovered that the demon troops had designated their teleportation spell at the edge of the island. In theory, this was a smart choice allowing their enemies to send in reinforcement if the first wave of demon troops were to perish. They knew it would be only a question of time until some demons with the ability to burn down the grass would come in robbing them of their ambush advantage. Fortunately, this was where the Broccoli Porkcupines came in. After annihilating the incoming first wave, they quickly positioned these pigs near the tall grasses where the teleportation spell would bring in the troops. As soon as this next batch of demon troops appeared, Major Boon Tiong ordered a full offensive charge against the troops. These soldiers who had yet to acclimatize themselves from the teleportation spell were suddenly being sprung by a wave of pig monsters hitting them. As if that was not enough, the Broccoli Porkcupines shot their projectiles out, further weakening the front line they were pushing. These incidentally caused the demon troops to move backwards despite the backlines demanding for a forward charge. The more the Porkcupines charged and stormed the front, the more they were pushed back, with new ones arriving, occupying the already limited space. And just like a domino effect after the first one fell, many more followed as they were pushed off the edge of the island. However, Major Boon Tiong knew this shock tactic had its limits, and with a loud whistle, the Baby Broccoli Porkcupines went scurrying into the tall grass. At the same time, the Royal Snakes took care of the still shocked stragglers, mercilessly spraying their bullets out in the open. Within that interval, the other Royal Snake Soldiers returned to fix the traps for the subsequent wave of Demon Horde and the cycle continued. Some of the soldiers even began doing stock checks to ensure the farmhouses they fortified had sufficient ammunition for the protracted fight or even a possible escape road if their safe houses were overwhelmed. Still, that was not the end for them as professional soldiers like themselves had a few tricks up their sleeves, especially when they were currently fighting with a restricted cultivation grade as ordered. As for the other sectors, things were slightly different. The portion of the Demon Horde which had teleported into the Military Sector basically got slaughtered the moment they stepped into the territory. In less than a minute, the entire group had been mercilessly killed again and again. Nothing was left and for good reason. The military base was where many of the ''surprises'' for the various phases of the defensive plans were kept. That was why multiple miniguns emplacements had long since been erected by the System to cope with the possible teleportation portals of their enemies. While the Royal Snake Soldiers had anti-magic fields, they knew that the first few waves of demon troops would be too insignificant to waste such expensive equipment. And that was the same for Qiu Yue and Moloch though they were keener on this being more an offensive defence than a total defence. Jin took a peek at the expenditure list, and he was shocked when he found out the number of items they had bought. "Some are just experimental." Qiu Yue tried to play innocent when Jin queried about it, but he sometimes knew how terrible she was at lying. However, all possible contentions went down the drain against the golden argument of ''they might help against King Baal''. Unlike the Military Sector, the Industry Sectors may not claim the title of having the biggest firepower, but they were second to none when it came to defences. With a pair of Fortress Golems at every corner, every nook, it was impossible for anyone to slip through to escape the murder machines. (Not to mention, the Royal Snake Soldiers hiding in every possible loophole they found in the Industry Sector''s defence layout.) It was just as crucial as the Military Sector and could not be allowed to get breached, because the System had production ongoing such as ammunition to replenish the output which Jin''s monsters used rather haphazardly. As for the Agriculture Sector 2? Hah. That was the only place where Jin had demanded only the most elite of Royal Snake Soldiers be placed as both Jin and even Qiu Yue guaranteed that was the most dangerous place to be stationed at. Why? Because all of the Giant Monsters that had been defeated had been placed there for breeding purposes except for one particular entity. Ice Father Porkcupine. The rest were roaming rather happily in their new environment the System had created for them. Hence, when it came to defence, what could be better than to unleash all of them against the Demon Horde with the System partially controlling them? The Royal Snakes were mostly there for taking out any particularly dangerous individuals the monsters were unable to. From the One Horned Chicken to the Four Clawed Scorpion¡­ the area was basically a nightmare for any demon troops as their fate would be to become unhealthy after-dinner snacks. Chapter 751 Fog That Steals With all the ruckus at the floating island platforms, there was another fierce battle in the seas of Pandapolis which no one could see. Even with the aid of high level magic, the Royal Mages could not accurately detect anything to make a proper assessment of the situation. The Fog that Steals was something similar to an Anti-Magic Field, which was created to overload the mages'' senses. The more sensitive one was to magic, the harder it was for them to do anything within it. So, with no magic acuity special visual senses to guide them, the Demon Fleet Leviathan relied solely on their seafaring instincts and years of experiences to bring them to victory. For this reason, Captain Edward and Kenway were very adamant that this particular skirmish would end up to be an easy battle despite the destructive firepower the metal ship possessed. Unfortunately, they had no idea about the technological advances in Jin''s world and with a speckle of System''s guidance, it had basically triumphed over the difficulties of navigating in a fog. It was like putting a blindfold on a person with X-ray vision when the humans on the Stalingrad turned the sonar radar system on. The Stalingrad could have tracked every single ship''s position without the Deep Ones'' as trackers though Gan Yang, the temporary captain of Stalingrad, agreed with the AI that having the trackers was a good alternative. Wolte had done this partly as a precaution in case the technology might have had problems against he ability, but more importantly for the Deep Ones to act when needed. The Captain initially thought that he needed to use the magic descramblers to get the positions of the ships but never knew it was just a ''basic'' level of fog magic. Yet, even though he knew where the ships were at and how fast they were coming in, the seas of Pandapolis were not exactly large enough for a battlecruiser of this size to move around freely. Gan Yang had termed the Stalingrad as a sea fortress that could barely move. Then again was there a need to move a fortress, especially when the enemies were closing in? All they needed was to readjust their guns and get ready to fire at any threats to deter or kill their enemies. Besides, the AI had told them that they actually had monster allies under the sea waiting to strike when the Stalingrad put a hole in their enemy''s ships. "So this is what the AI Wolte meant with moving trackers in the sea, huh." Gan Yang thought to himself as he checked the arsenal of weapons Stalingrad had. Upon learning that there was an army of undersea troops ready to ambush the ships, Gan Yang sent a series of orders for his deck to position guns to aim at the nearest incoming threats as well as forming solutions on what to hit. "Sir, Torpedoes One to Ten are ready. Energy Shields are up, and all the turrets are hot with Type-3 Timer Control munitions." His second in command reported. Those shells were the very same type that had rained down on the safe zone, and Gan Yang was not going to hold any punches. "Do not let them get any closer if possible for now. A fleet this size might not be much for this new girl and its paternal AI but their crew members might be aquatic in nature and may attempt to hijack the ship. We have to do as much damage as possible to ensure the loss of lives so we can defend this ship without too much hassle. Reduce their numbers, and we can do a proper counterattack." Gan Yang ordered only to realise¡­. he talked too much. "Fire!" The subsequent simple order suddenly lit the ship up like a huge firework within the fog. And similar to fireworks, Stalingrad''s ''sparks'' flew in various directions targeting all the vessels that thought they had the upper advantage. Some of the sailors in the Demon Fleet Leviathan laughed when they saw the Stalingrad light up. It was obviously the very same mistake every ship had made when they first encountered Focalor''s Fog that Steals ability. They believed that by shooting whatever they got, they would have the probability of hitting something. However, the ships of the Demon Fleet Leviathan had noticed that the ship had not moved a single inch ever since the inception of the fog, so its direction was still the same. And despite Kenway, Edward and Focalor having a brief visualisation of how the cannons worked, they all assumed that the ship''s position equated to where the large barrels were placed, much less their minions and lower ranked soldiers. Thus, they had falsely assumed moving out of their range of fire was sufficient enough not to get hit as per their medieval way of fighting in the seas. They. Were. So. Wrong. As with every modern battlecruiser, all of their main cannon turrets could be moved with ease, and the Stalingrad''s guns were aimed based on the ship''s size as tracked by Wolte''s allies. (Bigger, meaner guns reserved for bigger targets.) The Deep Ones gave a visual report of how large the ships were from beneath the seas, and it was later easy for the AI to ''recommend'' the targets to Gan Yang and the rest of his crew. Hence when the Stalingrad fired, the demons had no idea that each and every shot would be accurate to the centimetre. A couple of the ships had been so sure that they were safe that they even had their magic shields down in order to conserve magic. Needless to say, even with protection, Wolte''s explosive shells could have penetrated their defences easily, and many of them were a direct hit to the centre of their ship. But to their surprise, the damage done was not as significant as they had feared. Compared to what the demon sailors had been told, they were afraid when they saw it pierced into their cargo hold. But nothing happened for a moment. And because of that, many laughed it off that it was just a lucky shot and even guessed that their enemy might be out of powerful ammo. What they didn''t expect was that in the next minute, the Type-3 shells exploded suddenly. And with their supplies of gunpowder in the cargo hold, the ship turned from a capable fighting beast into a prison on fire. (The demons should clearly revamp where they store their munitions.) The same happened for command ships for all three demon captains, but because of their sheer size, the shells missed their cargo hold and only exploded a part of the ship. With capable mages on deck, they were able to extinguish the fire better compared to the rest of their counterparts, and that was enough for Wolte to distinguish what threats were worth facing. As for the ships that caught on fire? Their misery merely began as the Deep Ones happily emerged their heads out of the water. The Fog was the perfect cover for them to perform some exercise without revealing the trump card of Qiu Yue''s last contingency plan. Chapter 752 Terror of The Deep "Put the damn fire out!" The Demon sailors shouted as they tried to salvage the situation as best they could. No one was dumb enough to jump overboard the ship after going through many hardships together as a group, a team or to some, as a family. "Get close to Ship Iceman, the damage done to their ship should hopefully not be as severe. We might be able to get some help from the mages on their ship!" "Sir, the cargo hold is burning way too much! Many have died, and several are injured from the explosive attack. They are unable to move by themselves!" "The Ship is tipping!" "C''mon man, you got to survive! We can make those bastards pay twice the pain!" Every single ship had their very own commotion, and things were not looking too good for the entire fleet. Things only worsened for the unlucky souls as the Deep Ones started climbing on the ships looking for more tributes to gather for their lord. Most of the Demon Sailors were too preoccupied with the damages to their ships and did not notice the new visitors onboard taking the opportunity to sneak up on them when they were least prepared. Only one or two ships out of the many had been able to ring the alarm to alert the whole crew, but most noticed them when it was already too late. As bloodthirsty as the Deep Ones were, they were also predators by nature. They wouldn''t confront their prey head on, not if there was a need to. Firstly, they would quietly climb up the edges of the ship and grab anyone that happened to be too close to the railings. Else, they would try to fit into the cannon portholes or stab their spears into the portholes to ensure the death of their victims. The Deep One Mages who accompanied the melee fighters were also instrumental in the ambushes. They cast silence spells as soon as they had eye contact with any of the sailors. Oh, the fear in their eyes as they saw their fellow comrades grinning with jagged teeth to drag them into the sea. ''The sea consumes all'' had never been more appropriate until now. "What are those?! INTRUDERS! INTRU-" The sailor who had noticed something amiss managed to alert the rest, but a harpoon went through his throat, and the inhuman tug that pulled him to the Deep Ones made sure he died before he hit the ground. The Deep Ones, now equipped with ranged weapons like harpoon guns, became even deadlier on their path towards the upper deck to encroach on the rest of the crew. After being discovered, the Deep Ones did not hesitate to change their tactics to a full-on assault. They hastily pounced towards any sailors in sight and slaughtered them before they could pull out their weapons. The side effects of the Fog that Steals ability may have made the demon sailors less vulnerable to pain, yet it did not mean that it could cheat death. Some managed to retaliate with their primitive matchlocks powered with specks of magic dust, but in the grand scheme of things, the loss of a couple of Deep Ones did not help them as they had severely underestimated the fight they picked with Stalingrad. These fish-men had been constantly trained by the finest cultivators that Jin had in his store. The Pandarens'' relentless determination to clear the Escape City Dungeon only improved the intellect of the Deep Ones as well as their combat awareness. For them, it was a mark of pride that their dungeon instance remained unconquered even now. Behind the scenes, Shadow Dagen had also been giving out blessings of the Fish Lord for all the tributes they delivered. All things considered, some of the Fish Men were as capable as Grade 4 to Grade 5 cultivators. So what if the sailors had improved tolerance to pain? Could they truly handle the Terrors of the Deep? With the Fog that Steals ability, it was as if everyone inside was in a separate dimension. While it seemed like a double edged sword, the demon troops had years of training and plundering under their belt, unlike their enemies. They even regarded it as a sort of competition. The fog would aid in isolating the noises which the entrapped enemies made, and the Demon Fleet coordinated to burn and plunder their enemies ships. Focalor''s hearing was further boosted as the one to control this ability. Incidentally, Captain Edward and Kenway had earned the trust from Focalor as they had lasted against him for a very long time, proving themselves as overly competent pirates. However, right now, from the shouts and cries from afar, Lord Focalor understood that it was actually his fleet that was in trouble, not the enemy. Regrettably, he was unable to give any aid to them since this was how their team worked. They might be working under the same team, but the plundered riches would only go to the strongest. Whoever needed to be resurrected would lose most of their share to cover the costs. It was not really an issue since the sailors knew the risks of the tricky sea when they signed up. Focalor did not shed a single tear for the suffering crew member and instead adjusted his ship''s starboard to face the Stalingrad''s port and stern. The previous attack on his Leviathan Mothership might not have been devastating, but it was concerning. He had already seen how those cannons worked and how deadly their firepower was before going into battle. The last attack merely proved their ferocity and prowess that made Focalor yearn for the ship further. Casualties were to be expected and his ship had gotten off lightly because of a quick decision to steer the hull when Focalor''s astute hearing and senses believed there was an incoming attack. He was initially surprised by how fast Stalingrad''s cannon could shoot after seeing it in action. But Focalor completely did not expect such a quick reload time as another shot of the cannons came forth towards it. The shields that the Leviathan mothership had put up was insufficient to stop the second wave of attacks as it broke instantly upon impact, allowing two other shots to go through. However, the almighty Focalor of the Seas was not going to let another devastating blow like this hurt them. Thus, he used his sword imbued with magical inscriptions, to summon a spiritual serpent to serve as his ship''s guardian. The pirates always regarded this particular magical summon as the Leviathan herself in spirit to protect the ship when the magical serpent graced her majestic form, wrapping her serpentine body around the sea vessel. The spiritual sea serpent attempted to block the remaining two shots, and yet it suffered the same fate as the energy shield. Not even a minute out in the open and the spiritual serpent faded away upon impact. At least its sacrifice was not in vain as it absorbed a shot while the remaining one hit the stern of the Mothership. The sailors who saw it were in a state of disbelief that Focalor''s ship guardian could be down that easily just from a cannon shot, causing them to be fearful of Stalingrad''s might. "Quickly isolate the damage, and the rest of you get moving! Aim your cannons into the fog! You all saw where the shot came from, so shoot indiscriminately!" Focalor shouted to wake his men up and the sailors complied to the order without any hesitation. Every single available cannon porthole that was open was aimed towards the direction of the Stalingrad and shot simultaneously as soon as the sailors recovered. The cannons moved to position as if the mothership was conducting a mass execution by cannon fire with hundreds of cannonballs flying towards the location of Stalingrad. Yet Lord Wolte only grinned internally at this! Chapter 753 Hijack Ever since the Demon Fleet Leviathan teleported into the seas of Pandapolis, Stalingrad had been tracking the movements of the ships and getting information via the Deep Ones. It all served to provide Lord Wolte and the cultivators with the bigger picture of what was actually happening in the fog, helping them make decisions. It was easy enough to predict that Focalor''s ship was going to retaliate, so Wolte had already started its engine and moved away straight after attacking. Using the loud blast of his main cannons, Wolte had been able to mask the nuclear engine''s ignition as he moved away from the spot. So by the time Focalor actually fired his cannons, it was already too late. Instead, those cannons ended up shredding one of their own ships that had been unlucky enough to be chasing after it. Gan Yang and the sailors were all chuckling upon seeing it on the radar. Though they were initially worried about the fog attack, they did not expect it to be this simple to overcome. However, this was all thanks to Wolte already knowing about the ability''s uses and its flaws from the time he had previously travelled with Focalor on a raiding mission. The former Duke had shown his admiration for their tactics throughout the mission, so Focalor and his aides boasted about its effectiveness and explained how they proceed with their usual tactics. Thus, it would be just a matter of time until the fog dissipated, and Stalingrad continued its bombardment. There was nothing much to worry about, especially with the Stalingrad''s firepower being directly linked to Derpy''s magical supply. And speaking about the Shadow Dagen, Mr Derpy had fun controlling one of Wolte''s smaller cannons, and he took the opportunity to fire whenever he was given the permission by Wolte to do so. Most of his shots landed in the water, but Wolte just encouraged him to do better and tried giving him pointers. Still, Focalor was not one to crumble under this adversity. To him, it was a challenge, one he had craved for a very long time. He couldn''t see the cannons hitting another ship, but he heard the attack connect, only that it sounded more like they were hitting wood rather than metal. Therefore, he immediately understood that the Stalingrad had already moved from its previous location. "So, not only can the metal ship hit correctly, her crew can steer her away from danger in time. It seems like our fog is more of a boon rather than a burden to the metal ship." Focalor believed that there was no need to put his crew in any more danger, so he instantly removed the fog with a snap of his finger. When the fog was lifted, Focalor could not believe his eyes as the Stalingrad was sailing straight for a head on collision into the Leviathan''s hull from the portside. There was no time thinking how such a big ship could navigate so silently behind multiple vessels within the fog with such precision. "Ready the portside guns and fire now! The rest brace for impact!" Focalor shouted, and everyone tried to hold onto something as the sailors sought to act as ordered to deliver a volley of attacks in order to damage and slow the Stalingrad from hitting straight on. "Fire the Main Cannons!" Gan Yang shouted. He had already instructed the turrets to be aiming at the stern of the Leviathan where the quarters of the ship would be according to the designs of most medieval colossal ships. (And based on Wolte''s extremely vague recollection.) At the same time, he did not divert his course and planned for a straight on collision. Unlike the pirates, the Royal Snakes were already prepared for a crash impact operation with hijacking the ship as their main objective. In Wolte''s opinion, it was simply too audacious of a plan, yet, he loved how confident the Royal Snake Sailors sounded and with how much enthusiasm they acted upon it. "Brace for impact AI Wolte, you have your allies with you, and I have no doubt that you will call them for such a big party." Gan Yang commented, and he could barely hear a slight chuckle in the AI''s voice. "Now Dagen will think I am patronising his minions too much. Oh well, more favours from him would be a good thing too." The Stalingrad had no sympathy when her bow crashed into the Leviathan''s hull, causing a huge crack in its hull. Some of the cannons which shot late backfired or recoiled from the impact, creating several mini-explosions within their stations. With the gunpowder placed haphazardly for efficiency, it had become a hotbed of accidents for the Leviathan. As for the Stalingrad? Heh, Wolte felt that they were like putting his head in a bubble wrap. It was fun and painless! In the meantime, most of the smaller turrets and automated gun placements were given for the Shadow Dagen to control as he saw fit. The human crew had decided to carry on with their plan of hijacking the largest ship in the Demon Fleet. "Let''s go and do some raiding. I always wondered how it would feel to be a pirate." Gan Yang said, and the entire crew joined in with wide grins on their mouth. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C As for the Sky Bridge, the molten fire had finally cooled down through the combined work of the new mages arriving on cavalry from the safe zone by throwing whatever ice and water magic they could harness. Once there was confirmation that the temporary checkpoint was clear, King Baal sent orders to resume bringing in the reinforcements. In no time, more mages attended to the Sky Bridge''s clearance, and King Baal began sending the first batch of soldiers to the defensive island platform. Sadly, the Demon Horde was unable to make any progress in capturing any of the floating island platforms due to the limited number of troops the mages could teleport at a time. By the time they sent in a second group, the Royal Snake Soldiers had already eliminated the first. However, King Baal, who was now the overall in charge of this particular side of the battlefield, continued to send soldiers because he knew that he had a sheer limitless quantity at his end. He was confident that there was a limit to Moloch''s annoying box of tricks. There had been no news of him acquiring a massive organisation or being recruited by one. His top spies had been monitoring him, and the only information they ever found was that Moloch''s minotaurs had done some scouting to several old dungeons sites that were not worthy of mentioning. Aside from such an ''insignificant'' report, there were actually no other movements from Moloch or his minions. This led King Baal to deduce that Moloch couldn''t have acquired cooperation from large organisations after he betrayed them. "Sir, we can push the reinforcement through the Sky Bridge at your command. Duke Crocell had assembled rather quickly for this regiment." Archduke Kiva reported, and King Baal nodded his head. "Get the Dragon Devils to ignore those annoying flies and assist the reinforcement. They should be doing proper work rather than play with insects." King Baal demanded, and Archduke instantly understood what he meant. "Yes, my Liege, I will get the Bat Bottleflies to deal with those insects." Kiva acknowledged as he was finally able to have his own troops deployed. Chapter 754 Bat Head, Raven Head "I assure you they take no prisoners alive and they will make them pay for what they did to Marquis Forneus." Archduke Kiva sent the command for his Bat Bottleflies to be teleported into the safe zone. "Don''t be so sure, Archduke. If they were that easy to kill, the Dragon Devils would have already taken care of them two or maybe threefolds." Stolas argued as he walked behind the Archduke, not willing to take his eyes away from him. "Say all you want little prince, but don''t forget that I am the one which the King favours." The Bat Head Archduke suddenly did something similar to a magical act with the use of his silky red cloak and his head turned into a raven. Similar to Stolas who had the legs of a raven and an owl head, Kiva was also one of the crossbreeds like King Baal. With the powers of the raven, he was able to see clearly how the Wyvern Goblin Knights were fighting against the Dragon Devils. After witnessing the Judgement Storm by Keyrin and the annihilation of almost every Dragonlite, the Ravenous Archduke of Hunger hungered to win more praise from his King when he saw how fast those pesky Goblin knights were winning against the Dragon Devils. "Those mage broadcast images were not too helpful in showing off the enemy, but now¡­ Ho ho ho. Those items on the little wyverns. They look like artefacts that should be retrieved for further research!" Archduke Kiva thought to himself when he had a clearer look at the Wyvern Knights. "But if we match speed to speed, the Bat Bottleflies will probably lose. I should further buff them to increase their chances too." Kiva said to himself as he saw the squadron of Bat Bottleflies coming out from the magical portal. This was no crossbreed as Kiva had personally created a chimaera monster. He had infused the traits of a bat into a bottlefly, giving it a hideous look deserving to be called as a demon. With the body of a bat enlarged to human size, the bottleflies'' grotesque eyes were merged with the bat and their wings were semi-translucent, giving it an eerily buzzing sound whenever the bat moved. Not to mention, the insect''s carapace was merged with the back of the bat''s body alongside with some hideous thorns growing out of them. "You guys, kill the wyverns and bring back those pieces of equipment they are wearing. I expect nothing less but success from you all." Kiva commanded as he chanted in a foreign language which Stolas had never heard before. It emitted a foul smelling aura which the mages and soldiers could not stand as Kiva cast the magic on his soldiers. "Go forth and bring me victory," Kiva said. Then he turned his raven head back into a bat and smiled innocently at Stolas. "It''s nothing unusual. You do not have to give me that look." The bat replied as he returned back to his liege''s side. At that point, Stolas could not help but unconsciously root for the defenders to crush those Bat Bottleflies and show that Kiva''s soldiers were fallible. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C As the Stalingrad clashed into the Leviathan, the demons thought that they were seeing illusions of multiple coloured snakes gushing out of the metal ship and onto theirs. The Royal Snake Soldiers used their cultivation to jump onto the different parts of the ship instead of rushing from the bow of the ship. Instead of fear and worry, Focalor was deviously excited when he saw the humans coming out of their ships to raid him. "It has been so long since someone dared to fight against us! COME! Show me your steel!" Focalor shouted as he deflected a cannon shot that came towards him with his scimitar. "Heh. If a demon can do that, then I guess it''s worthy of some exercise." Gan Yang thought to himself as he charged forth towards the large Tiefling who was over 2 metres tall, dwarfing the other members of his race. Focalor immediately clashed blades with Gan Yang and could already feel his heart beating way faster than usual. Both of them grinned so widely that it was evident for any onlooker that they relished the opportunity to cross swords. Gan Yang twisted his arm and hoped to give an uppercut with his sword, but Focalor could already see it coming by preemptively raising his right hand to hit the hilt of Gan Yang''s sword. Yet, the reveal of Gan Yang''s handgun from his left hand made the Horned Tiefling adjust his core so he could dodge sidewards and kick Gan Yang''s gun away. A continuous exchange of blows ensued against the close combat fight between the two leaders while everything was going to hell around Focalor''s ship. In order to fight against the human cultivators, Focalor had released his Fog that Steals again but condensed it to a smaller radius that covered only his ship. His demon Tieflings believed they had the upper hand to beat the humans since they were able to wield unholy strength from the undead attribute by the Focalor''s fog. By condensing the size of the fog down further, their prowess increased in proportion. The Royal Snake Soldiers were of course surprised by it when they realised their guns were not working as intended. However, it only meant that they had to utilise their cultivation against these demons and started to appreciate just how useful this particular dungeon instance was. With the Stalingrad''s bow stuck onto the hull of Leviathan, Edward and Kenway wasted no time to ram their ships onto the sides of the Stalingrad. But with the turrets targeting them, it was a delicate manoeuvre to reach intact and crash against it. Still, they did not retreat in their endeavour and continued to press their charge. They knew this was the best time with the Stalingrad being relatively empty due to their sailors raiding against the Leviathan. "Heh! Come at us if you dare! I will show you the strength of this almighty ship!" Mr Derpy taunted as he controlled the guns with Wolte''s permission and started to empty the turrets haphazardly towards the incoming threats. (Except no one in the deep sea was there to hear his shouts.) Chapter 755 Fox Reunion - Part 1 "Looks like ''everyone'' is assembled." Kraft snickered as he sat down comfortably at the end of the table of Jin''s dining room. The Original Bellator was too used to having discussions at Jin''s dining table, and he did not see anything wrong reusing it for his own gathering. He had called for the meeting the moment he had been notified about King Baal''s appearance on the battlefield. For the first time in an eternity, nearly all the Foxes had finally come together. Tsu and Kai in their human form sat at Kraft''s right as they took off their battle leather jackets and revealed only wearing a singlet. They both had matching wolf emblem tattoos that indicated their previous affiliation with their clan. As for the Clan members from the Grizzly Bear, they sat at the left of the table in their smaller fox forms. Even when Kraft gave them a nod of approval to transform, they were hesitant to return to their human forms. "I know what you are afraid about, but you do not have to worry about exuding your aura here. There is no one around but us. If they can''t handle it, he or she is most likely an imposter fox, hahaha! " Kraft smiled, and the three of them looked at each other for a moment before releasing their fox forms. Ixel, the oldest of the three siblings, was the first to transform back to his human form. His slightly long but spiky orange hair was probably reminiscent of why he was the fox whose colour matches the natural colour of the fox. Compared to the Wolves, Ixel''s entire body hosted a riot of muscles bulging out, and they were accompanied with a series of scars and bear tattoos. Even as Ixel took a seat, veins were already popping as if the muscles within were dying to be released from the prison called skin. Seeing that her brother took the initiative to transform back, the red fox Ixa did the same and sat next to her brother. Following her fur colour, Ixa''s boyish haircut did not undermine her charm as she possessed the muscles and build following her brother, albeit a little smaller. One might think she had a resemblance to a legendary Russian bodybuilder who dropped her weights to join the military force for the country. Itori, on the other hand, the youngest among them was the total opposite of her two siblings. In their youth, even their clan members used to ask them if she was really their blood-related sister. She was smaller, thinner in build no matter how much food her parents forced her to eat. More meek and quieter than the entire village but her punches and kicks were as explosive or maybe even more potent than her eldest brother. Her white bob hairstyle and round rimmed glasses did not portray the ferocity she had shown all this time. Kraft knew her well enough not to cross nor exploit her passive attitude. Still, this did not stop Kraft from using her and could possibly be the reason why Kraft was more comfortable commanding her over the other two ''Bear'' foxes. Pei, previously from the Crane Clan, naturally sat at the far left end of the table. For once she too was in ''uniform''. But in less than a minute, she kind of regretted it and placed the leather jacket on the chair and tilted sidewards so she wouldn''t be facing Kraft anytime soon. Alas, it was too late. Kraft and Pei both knew she had already lost when she first stepped into the room for the meeting, but they would hold that thought on a day with less pressing issues. Evon, was sitting right opposite of Pei while checking his notes and his tablet with regards to the current battlefield once more. The champagne pink fox was considered as the most studious guy in the group, but one wondered if he pretended to be scholarly or if he was actually the real deal. Mainly because of his champagne pink hair, people did not take him seriously and instead, assumed he was a delinquent rather than a genius. Regardless, his drugs and high support effectiveness undoubtedly made him the go-to guy to turn the battlefield with his chemicals. Kiyu, the last to arrive, sat beside Kai and Evon. When she walked in, her serious turned happy look was not a surprise to all since she always kept her ''pretty'' demeanour around everyone no matter who it was. It had been initially irritating upon learning her true nature, but the foxes had gotten accustomed to it and never bothered trying to change her because that was just how she was. She did become even more honest in her words between them while leaving her expression this way. In a way, their ignorance increased her acting and further improved her dramatics in battle too. Kraft believed the video advertising of Jin''s dungeon instance was taking a toll on her and hoped the upcoming heist would cheer her up. It was part of the reason (a very teeny weeny small part) why he gathered everyone. "You cleared everything already?" Kraft asked Kiyu, and she nodded her head with glee. "Yeap. I even prepared some extra scenes for the System to play around to hype the crowd for the time being if necessary. I believe ''they'' know what to do without my assistance." Kiyu replied as she stretched her hands a little and gave a slap on Evon''s back. "Oven, stop reading already. Any more and your brain might heat bust with all that information." Kiyu berated him while Evon rolled his eyes. "It''s EVON! My name''s NOT some kitchen appliance. And if I do not read this, how will the rest of you know where to attack the Dungeon Metropolis?" Evon countered angrily. "Obviously, the King''s Palace. Where else will the demons put it?" Ixel said it first, and Evon sighed and shook his head. (Even the rest could not save the thick-headed brawler.) "That''s where you are wrong. Very wrong. So wrong that the moon turned into a sun after laughing too much. It''s plain obvious that you do not have any clue about the location of the core." Evon responded. "Brother, I know you do not like briefings but do not make yourself a fool." Ixa consoled Ixel''s confusion by showing him the briefings notes prepared by Kraft. "It''s at a maximum-security prison." "Which idiot would place their precious Dungeon Core in a maximum-security prison?! You sure Moloch gave you the right details about it?" Ixel laughed at the absurdity of the location where they kept the Dungeon Core. "Believe it or not, Lord Moloch was the designer for this facility." Kraft pointed out as he pulled out a file filled with a stack of blueprints and notes on the table. "I was just appalled by it as you, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that the idea made sense." "Because you literally can have the most vicious, murderous sort of people dying to kill your enemies for their freedom. And not to mention those self proclaimed defenders of Justice that were on par with these men to keep them in check." Pei added, and everyone started grinning. Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What were they waiting for? Chapter 756 Fox Reunion - Part 2 "We have limited System support which should be rather obvious due to its reduced processing capacity and it being occupied with Jin''s dungeon raid." Kraft briefed them as he popped the half fox masks from his personal storage ring and threw it on the table. "The System had already uploaded the schematics of the prison blueprint into¡­erm, the system. Anyway, it will help us track each other''s movement so that we won''t be stuck in there for too long. Although I don''t have any doubt that we all can handle ourselves-" "Are you kidding me?!" Pei shouted as she reviewed the schematics with a quick glance. "I understand the meaning of maximum security but having over 100 basement levels isn''t cutting it to be a ''just a quick heist''." Pei pointed out, and Kraft chuckled. "To be exact, 109 levels of basement." Evon tried to be factually accurate. "Shut it, Oven." Pei continued the insult from Kiyu''s remarks, and Evon was already showing his teeth out. "Huh." Itori, who was usually quiet, suddenly spoke out. "I can see where this is going even without Kraft opening his mouth." "Same here." Ixa nodded her head as she believed she had the same conclusion as her younger sister. "Bash through to the lowest levels!" Ixel concluded with a grin and his sisters snickered. "For once, your tendency towards simplicity is not too off the mark," Kraft confirmed and clapped his hands once. Suddenly, they heard someone walking down the stairs with the sound of heavy chains. Everyone with the exception of Kraft bowed their heads towards the newcomer''s direction. Even Pei who never liked protocols was sincerely bowing her head. "Lift up your heads. I am not the same Rex as before. Neither should you all be bowing your heads to me." The ''oldest'' member of this special skulk stated in a solemn manner. Everyone was shocked at how calm Rex was compared to the last time they had seen him and how they personally witnessed the System chaining him up after going haywire. The heavy metal chains were still evident on his legs, but it never hinders Rex''s movement at all. As the rest sat down, Kraft subsequently stood up and offered the chair for him to sit. "Big Brother," Kraft said in a genuinely courteous voice. "Thank you, Kraft," Rex replied as he unzipped the very same battle leather jacket the rest were wearing. That patch emblem of a Panda with a Fox made everyone recall all the bitter memories they went through to get where they were right now. "I dare not say that it was worth all those sacrifices our comrades had made¡­but I am still glad he is a part of us again." Pei thought to herself as she adjusted her seat properly at the table. Meanwhile, Kraft assisted Rex and released the leg chains as he placed the jacket at the back of his chair. It still had the new leather smell. After all, it was a recent gift from Kraft for him to wear it after his long imprisonment. The others did not care for this technicality and were simply delighted and honoured that Rex still treated this skulk as his family by donning it. Kraft walked to the other side of the table and sat on the other end as he phoned for someone. "Chef! Yes, it''s Kraft. Everyone is here. Do you mind serving some food for us right now? Thanks. Sure, sure no problem. We have a bit of catching up to do so you do not have to worry. Besides, Jin''s raid is not going to end in a day''s time or two. What difference will fifteen minutes or so make?" When he ended the phone call, everyone except for Rex was looking at Kraft with wide puppy (well, fox in this context) eyes as they knew who he was talking to. For all that he was, Kraft blushed a little and mumbled that it was for Rex''s temporary return to this world. "Why are you all looking at Kraft that way?" Rex asked, and everyone decided not to say a single word to allow the surprise to speak for itself. "Nevermind that¡­ say your scent is quite familiar. Did you use my shampoo!?" Kiyu asked, and Kraft burst into chuckles. "My bad, my bad, I wanted him to enjoy a good shower before our reunion. Your bathroom was my first choice, given it is the best equipped one among the rest of us within my room." Kraft revealed, and Kiyu pouted. Unlike the other bellators who only had a spacious room to themselves, Kraft''s room was more than special. He had requested the System to stretch his place until he had a total of ten rooms to house the foxes. Most did not notice as those who entered into Kraft''s room would immediately find themselves in a room filled with black void before reaching the door to the corridor that led to anyone of the foxes'' place. "If it was not for Rex, I would have personally killed you over and over again until the System gave me enough points to buy that scented shampoo again!" Kiyu threatened the Original Bellator uncharacteristically. It was a strange sight, given their usually harmonious relationship, which only served to prove how seriously she took this breach of privacy. "To be honest, I was shocked that a shower room¡­ looked so different from our time. I only chose the soap that was closest to me. I had no idea it was soap until Kraft told me they now made soap in liquid form." "Ah! I see. In that case, I don''t mind. When we come back from the heist, I can introduce you to a combination of shampoo and conditioner so you can retain your sparkling golden hair for all eternity." Kiyu said happily. Kraft rolled his eyes upon hearing her change of tone. Kiyu had been ready to grind his corpse, yet Rex was so easily forgiven. "Are you implying that Big Brother Rex is going to get bald?" Pei gave a sarcastic reply, and it cracked the slightly tense atmosphere when Rex was the first to laugh, leading the others to join in. "Oh Pei, you are as sarcastic as I recall. I am glad some things don''t seem to have changed." Rex said. Evon was the only one that still felt a bit tense and felt he had to point out the obvious. "Are you going to be okay, Big Brother Rex? Or will you be-ouch! Why did you both hit my feet at the same time?" Evon shouted, and the rest were already giving death stares of varying levels, especially Pei who had just managed to break the tense situation. "Hahahah! Don''t worry, Evon. I assure you I have managed to contain my anger¡­ to a certain extent." Rex admitted as he casually picked up the notes on the table. "When Kraft had come to me for my help to infiltrate that Abyss Web, it had taken out a considerable amount of energy from me. And¡­ I don''t know¡­ perhaps it was seeing Little Kraft again after all that time kind of simmered me down further. Maybe it was hearing him call me Big Brother again. I can''t quite point to what exactly the reason was. I just know that the System has finally started viewing me as a cautionary hostile and one which can be used in more productive ways than a mere rabid fox." The former member of the original Panda Clan explained. "Fortunately, I already know a place where I can vent my frustrations without hurting anyone that I cherish," Rex said as he pointed at the blueprint and the foxes smiled with much relief¡­ And delight. Chapter 757 Fox Reunion - Part 3 After discussing for over twenty minutes on all the other strategies that Kraft had drafted during his stay in the War Room, they had come to the conclusion that the brute force way was indeed the most efficient way to clear this. There were some complicated plans suggested by Evon, but the Grizzly Bear Clan members disapproved, stating that there were too many variables to consider. "Even with the blueprints, we still do not know the kind of guards and felony convicts that will be on each level. We just know from Moloch that the deeper we go, the harder it will be. We might be the legendary foxes that rebelled, but our powers and stamina have a limit." Tsu backed up the Grizzly Bears. "There is also no guarantee that we can somehow manage to sneak down 109 levels and make our way back up without getting caught. It is a maximum-security prison for goodness sake! You expect us to enter under the assumption that your drugs will be effective against everyone, which isn''t the case. Remind me, was it a Whale Cultivator or a Turtle Cultivator who had reached a level that he only needed to breathe once every few days, making all your tricks pointless against them?" Pei questioned, and Evon was stuck without any answers. "So yeah, especially given their different physiology, someone out there will definitely be immune to your psychedelic drugs and what can we do after that?" Kiyu reinforced the point. "You should at least give Evon some credit for thinking up such a ludicrous plan. I liked some of his ideas." Rex consoled Evon, and the Frog Clan member thanked him with a silent nod. Suddenly, there was a shift in the winds within the room and Rex instinctively went for his waist only to realise that there was no sword there as the portal opened. However, his chi aura was immensely dense, and Kraft stood up and instantly teleported to place his hand on his shoulder asking his big brother to lower his guard. "Please calm down, Big Brother. It''s just the surprise that I ordered so I hope you can lower your killing intent." Kraft saw the disappointment in Rex''s face that his beloved sword, the only relic from his past linked to his ''father'', was not with him and rightly so. Although the System had cleared him as a potential threat, at least for the time being, he wasn''t too different from someone on probation. Kraft might vouch for him, but giving him a weapon was still too much of a flight risk. "Ah! I see. My bad." Rex smiled to clear his embarrassment, and then he smelt a familiar scent. "Wait¡­is this smell?! My lips are already wet!" He thought to himself. What came in was a series of dishes that was served personally by the Head Chef in Jin''s dungeon store, Lynn. "We thought that a good decent meal would serve its part by boosting our strength a little before going into battle," Kraft said, and the rest were already eager to dig in. "Lynn, I hope you won''t hold this against him. Just being freed, he will take time to get used to his newfound freedom." "No harm done. Now dig in. A soldier with a filled stomach is a soldier that can fight to his fullest." Lynn said and placed the dishes on the table. She looked over the foxes, surprised at their alternate forms. "Feel free to take a picture." Kiyu winked at her with a charismatic smile. "Not even Jin has seen most of us in our human forms. It used to be hard to take on this form, but thanks to the System, it is now easy to do so. Nevertheless, most of us prefer our fox forms." "Mainly because our cultivated auras are still too strong to handle for a normal person after we recovered from the black sludge experiment that broke us out from Kraft''s idiotic ''bullet''- erm cage. And at this point, we have already suppressed most of our cultivation." Pei explained but realised Lynn might not have known that the foxes were once held as permanent bullets in Kraft''s gun. Only after the System''s successful experiment to use Jin''s black sludge to release Pei, Kraft proceeded to release the rest in the same way too. Knowing that it was not the right time and place to talk about this, Pei quickly changed the subject by assisting Lynn with the placement of the dishes. (Of course, pushing the meat dishes towards Rex and the vegetables to Kraft''s side of the table.) "Royal Peking Duck Meat, Nine Rainbow Vegetable, Steamed Egg Custard, Hangzhou Steamed Fish and Sichuan Mapo Tofu with seafood to go with it. I have also prepared and placed some sauces, cabbage, and even toasted buns to go with your food. As for the carbs, my penguins will bring it in but any preference over rice? Noodles?" Lynn introduced the current cuisine in front of them, and everyone immediately asked for noodles instead. They knew Lynn''s noodles were top tier and capable of winning awards even without any cultivation. "You do know they taste better with rice." Lynn giggled as she looked at the group as if they were wagging their tails in front of her. "May I be so shameless to ask for both?" Rex asked, and Lynn returned the answer with a gentle smile. "No problems with that. Ask the peggies to give you a refill if you need." Lynn agreed, and the moment she gave permission to eat, everyone thanked her loudly. However, to her surprise, no one started yet. At first, Lynn thought it was odd, but she realised that everyone was waiting for the main lead to begin picking his food first. It had been so long, way too long for Rex to enjoy a proper meal time with the entire group. The last time he remembered eating with them was already too vague for recollection. All this time in solitary confinement, Rex only reminisced about the war and the rebellion against his ''father''. He had way too many things to think about other than eating peacefully. As he picked up his chopsticks, he eyed the steamed fish first since it had always been a favourite whenever he returned from the Western Kingdoms after the tiresome diplomatic trips. Rex pinched a little and dipped it into the soup beneath it. With a slight whiff, his nose was filled with a rich scent of aroma, and the bite was equally appetising. Yet, the moment Rex placed it in his mouth, chaos ensued. Everyone rushed to take a piece of the food with the goal to give it to Rex. As a form of Chinese tradition, the younger ones would always give a small portion of their food to the eldest as a sign of respect and concern. But in this particular situation, everyone was dying to put that little piece of meat on Rex''s rice bowl. Even the meek Itori did not hesitate in attempting to put her portion of meat onto Rex''s bowl. "¡­ You guys! Be respectful of my food!" Lynn warned in a stern voice as she saw the chaos in its purest form but the foxes immediately obliged. "Good, now take turns to give the food to your senior and then proceed to eat the rest." "Mdm, yes Mdm!" The foxes responded in unison and followed Lynn''s instruction. "Good. I will be leaving and bringing you desserts in ten. And Rex?" "Yes, Mdm Chef?" Rex accidentally blurted out his formalities. "Welcome back to their family. Please enjoy this meal." Lynn said with a smile that made Rex heart skip a beat as it evoked long lost memories. Chapter 758 Fox Reunion - Final Just like Lynn had promised ten minutes later, they were being served some delicious ice cream. All of the foxes soon requested seconds since they felt that one portion was not enough. Rex was baffled the most that such a soft creamy texture could be so delicious. "Big Brother, you missed out on so much of what life has to offer. After this heist, I will take some time off and show you around. Let you experience for yourself how the world you had protected turned out to be after all those years." Kraft promised, and Rex grinned with a quiet nod. "System, give us a breakdown concerning this ''dungeon raid instance''." Kraft asked so Rex could be brought up to speed with the current situation his new master was in. "It has been 7 hours and 43 mins since the inception of the dungeon raid defence. The Pandapolis Air Force has taken a major hit with the new arrival of chimaera type demons which have been identified as part bat and part insect. Further analysis of the captured beasts has revealed that both were genetically modified into a demon instead of a mere fusion." The System started its reporting. "We don''t have the time for such a detailed breakdown. Just give us a general overview of any significant changes, a summary of sorts." Kraft rolled his eyes a little. "System strongly believes that Original Bellator Kraft will not grasp the magnitude of the situation without hearing all the details. System is also merely following the prerogative set up for the intelligence officer to stay informed about all ongoing matters." The System retorted. "Fine, but at least add some pictures or better yet a video coverage for the scenes as we continue enjoying our ice cream. Otherwise, Rex will have no context for your rambling. Or did YOU already forget that you peeps locked him in solitary confinement for centuries with no entertainment at all?" Kraft tried to bargain while not missing the chance to annoy the System at the same time. Yet there was no need for that. The System conformed to his request surprisingly easy this time around. With some imagery fresh from the scene itself, Rex and the others who hadn''t been paying too close attention to the whole affair were mildly taken aback by the scale of it. "This feels entirely like a mini warzone by itself," Rex concluded, and Kraft scoffed. "Of course, it''s a war zone. And both sides haven''t even revealed their whole hand yet. You see that guy sitting all so nonchalantly there? King Baal is responsible for this whole siege situation. Just because he has some beef with our little cotton butt Moloch, he came with his whole entourage to take away what we have built. Remind you of someone conceited who we know?" Kraft asked, and Rex nodded his head quietly as he placed the ice cream into his mouth, savouring its sweetness. "Continuing from the previous analysis: The Wyvern Goblin Knights have barely won against the new type of enemy and have requested for Pandawans help, mainly the Illusive Rabbit Cultivator Luo Bo, and the Gunning Giraffe Cultivator Jing Ru. They are on their third and fourth attempt respectively in this dungeon raid and had their squads piggyback on the Wyverns along with the Goblins." The System stated. "Ah, so Qiu Yue finally took my advice to combine the ranged Pandawans with the Goblins. I told them the wyverns could easily handle the weight." "This combination has indeed proven useful. There has been an increase in combat effectiveness by more than 50%, pushing the Bat Bottleflies capture rate to 75.40%. Wyrstriker has already been ordered to lead the retreat once they finish capturing the rest of the Bat Bottleflies." "As for Pandapolis'' only available naval ship, the Stalingrad is still standing strong. It has survived being bombarded with multiple cannon shots, suffering 346 hits in total. Lord Wolte''s resilience has surpassed the estimated analysis. A possible reason for this error in judgement is most likely that the magical connection between Lord Wolte and Shadow Dagen has made it possible for the Stalingrad to stay afloat for so long. More tests will be required to determine how much the prior meal of the Shadow Dagen played a role in this." "That''s rather amazing." Kai blurted out as the System changed the camera angle and showed the intense fighting on the decks. Dark Templars who had been killed earlier were redeployed again within the ship''s perimeters, and Kraft smirked. The System''s ability was completely a cheat in this kind of fight. While the Dungeon World also had the concept of resurrection, the Dungeon Core naturally would not allow any attackers or defenders to resurrect as normal until the matter was resolved, else the fights would never end. The stunted resurrection time could be hastened with the use of magic, but it required multiple high-level mages that were proficient in this matter to outright revive an ordinary soldier on the battlefield and required much more for those Demon Lords. Mana is also a precious resource on the battlefield, and even those mages could perform resurrection, there are hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the battlefield to take care of. It was just impossible to take care of these many soldiers. And why waste mana when offence is the best defence? Hence, most of the attackers would hardly consider the option of reviving their soldiers during the siege. But for the System? Reviving monsters had basically become its second nature, and since the System acted outside the realm of the Dungeon World, it was not bound by its strict rules. Nevertheless, it wasn''t free, and it had to pay for it as well. (Too large a cost for the stingy System, despite being a lot cheaper than the complicated resurrection procedure in Jin''s world.) "The Dark Templars have proven themselves able to hold the fort on the Stalingrad with the aid of Shadow Dagen controlling some of Stalingrad''s turrets." The System stated, and Rex began to wonder. "So¡­all these monsters belong to our new master?" Rex queried, and everyone nodded their heads simultaneously. "Yup, once we kill them, they get revived. Jin is basically a next level Necromancer." Kraft joked. "If not for the dungeon supplier profession, he is probably slated to be an upcoming major villain in our world." "Don''t listen to that dumb fox. Jin is not that bad of a person. If you talk with him, it becomes apparent that he still needs more experience under his belt and has quite a bit of growing up to do. Though so far, I''ve seen him adapt to the situation and change for the better despite the constant influence from the System." Pei immediately spoke out in Jin''s defence since she was the closest person who had constant surveillance on Jin. "If our objective-driven Pei gives such a fair analysis for our new master, I will trust her on that," Rex said as he placed his spoon down, secretly thanking the chef for the delicious meal and grabbed his jacket from behind. "Panda Remnant Rex, the briefing is not done yet." The System cautioned, and that comment stopped Rex in his steps for a moment. "Heh, not Panda Ex Master, Ex Panda Clan Member and also not Bellator¡­ but Panda Remnant. How strange but also familiar and fitting¡­" Rex whispered to himself absentmindedly though everyone on the table had been able to hear what he said with their acute hearing senses. Yet, for appearance sake, they all pretended they hadn''t heard anything except for one. "Don''t worry about all those things, Big Brother. That just means you are free from your obligations and trust me, our new master is rather flexible about our movements. He doesn''t tie us down unless there is a valid reason for it." Kraft also stood up to wear his coat, and the rest followed suit by gulping down their remaining portion of the ice cream and took their jackets. "Well, you could say that I am a little angry that I cannot catch up with all the changes, but let''s just go to that King Baal''s prison. Little Kraft, I trust you enough to guide us all to steal that treasure you scoundrels were talking about. Let''s go, guys, let''s whack some heads like in the good old times!" Rex slammed his fists together and the rest resonated with a loud acknowledgement. Chapter 759 Royal Snake Sailors During the conversation between the foxes, the constant skirmishes between Jin''s forces against the demon army hadn''t stopped. They had continued until they entered into a solid stalemate. Gan Yang was baffled that the seafaring crew somehow retained such a devastating defence against their raid as their numbers seemed constant despite the Royal Snake Sailors'' best attempt at dwindling them down. They eventually realised that there must be reinforcements coming from the port of the ship, as the Fog that Steals blocked their sight. It was currently only covering the surroundings of the damaged Leviathan. Focalor was able to maintain it even longer than usual with the aid of the high-density magic crystal Kiva had gifted him beforehand. Previously, he had only been using his abilities to elude them, knowing that the Stalingrad might pose a challenge even with the aid of the fog. He had been totally right about the ship as it surpassed Focalor''s wildest imagination making him yearn to become its captain all the more. However, he first would have to get rid of the current crew altogether. Since they were the first party who raided the Leviathan in years, his crew had to get used to fighting on the defending side. If only Focalor knew that the Royal Snake Sailors were keeping their cultivation to the minimum as ordered by their commanding officers. However, the more the situation unfolded, the more the Royal Snake Sailors were pressured into defying the order using the power of at least an advanced grade cultivation to overturn the tide. "Requesting permission to use our normal cultivation!" Gan Yang asked through the visor as he panted from the flurry of blows exchanged with Focalor. Yet, the huge Tiefling felt that he was only getting started and he would be vastly disappointed if the enemies'' so-called raid leader would be killed within an instant. But at the same time, Focalor already felt bored from the attacks and did not wish to hold back his strength any further. The allure of the Stalingrad was making him a little impatient as he wanted to get hold of the ship as soon as possible. "Granted. Clear it as soon as possible. We need to provide support fire at a few coordinates with the Stalingrad." Hou Fei sent back through the half mask''s visor of every sailor on deck, and Gan Yang appreciated the permission. Just as Focalor thought that his enemy had expended all his energy and decided to cut him down with his scimitar, he suddenly found his own hand flying off. "Ha! Now you show your true colours?" Focalor questioned as he quickly adjusted to the scenario and managed to parry the next attack with his off-hand. But to his surprise, the only thing he stopped was just an after image, and before he could do anything else, he saw a blade come out of his chest. "I would have loved to play around a bit more, but those were the General''s personal orders to clear the deck." Gan Yang apologised. Focalor could not even turn his neck despite his undead attributes because of the stab by the Stalingrad''s current Captain. It made Focalor''s body slowly turn to stone with the initial attack and that one stab solidified the petrification process, rendering the leader of the Demon Fleet Leviathan unmovable. Without turning his head, Focalor could already feel the sensation of a nest of snakes crawling from behind him. The aura he exuded felt like death had walked into Focalor''s life without knocking on the door. "This is totally a different level of power! How could this human hide his strength that much?!" With the ability controller becoming petrified, the Fog that Steals vanished and Focalor who was still able to see, saw the exact same scene right in front of him and noticed that all the other humans were as competent as his opponent. His entire crew was either petrified or lying on the ground vomiting their guts out. As the stone started to reach his face, his last thought was about Kenway and Edward, hoping the two of them could succeed in getting on the Stalingrad and take revenge. Sadly, that was not the case. The Dark Templars had slain them as with the aid of the Deep Ones and their master, Shadow Dagen, controlling the turrets. The mini gun emplacements alone had managed to annihilate most of the incoming pirates while the rest fought against overwhelming numbers armed with modern weapons. It was definitely a slaughter. Despite the initial attempts at an ambush led by their Captains Edward and Kenway, they did not expect the Dark Templars they encountered to be at least twice as strong as them. They were slammed down to the ground and methodically axed by them. "Hahahah! You think they are just knights with some metal plates on them? Please. They have been through many trials and failures to reach this point. All the Demon Rats that they fought against were nothing compared to this, especially when they are free from the cultivators'' eyes." Wolte praised his Dark Templars openly in the System channel. His minions were delighted that their patron was happy with their work, but they did not know it was Wolte that was unconsciously helping them too. Jin, who was monitoring the battle from afar, noticed that the stats of the Dark Templars were abnormal and decided to check them via his monster app. Only then, did he realise that there was a buff on them that made them this strong. He dug further for more information and found out that Stalingrad itself was actually providing an aura on deck, boosting his allies like the Zither Mistress Ke Mi who supported their partners in a fight. Compared to the aerial scene which ended in a disaster, the naval war theatre had become a tremendous success, and Wolte believed that they could be providing fire support in no time. Speaking of the Zither Mistress, she finally made her debut in the defensive floating platform that connected with the Sky Bridge. As odd as it sounded, she and the entire group from the Musical Theatre Dungeon Instance were preparing live on a concert stage at the centre of the defensive floating platform. With such an absurd concert setting on the defensive floating platform, the demon soldiers were initially stunned by the bright, colourful lights and loudspeakers coming from the centre of the platform. As Sandy took the stage, a group of Orcs were standing in front of it, every single one of them wrapped their heads with a bandana of a cartoon face of Sandy printed on it. It was Sandy''s hardcore fan club. Chapter 760 The Demon Hordes Push The leaders of each individual demon platoon were baffled at the sight of many Orc crying for some Princess of the Dunes, to the point they decided that it was too overwhelming to confront them head-on. Instead, they decided on a pincer formation with the number of troops they had. The Demon Troops knew that there might be some enemies hiding within forested areas, but the bright lights and the sounds were extremely annoying and distracting. However, the cultivators that were hiding behind the bushes had become used to it. Unlike the demon soldiers who saw this kind of scene for the first time in their life, these kinds of concerts were too common of a thing for the Pandarens and many even had a side panel screen open to watch or at least listen to the show while performing their kills. It was essentially killing two birds with one stone for enjoying the show and racking up points to get rewards (It also made them feel like they were the protagonist of a show with their very own musical background). As the demon soldiers tried to charge forth to disrupt the concert, they were intercepted by Sandy''s Fan Club with the Orcs manhandling them by grabbing their weapons and breaking their skulls for disturbing the concert. After which, they broke into an intense fan club cheer which was in sync during the song''s instrumentals. The Orcs could not have done that without Ke Mi''s strengthened magical buff accompanied by Sandy''s enchanting vocals. Thanks to it, they reached a heightened state of both euphoria and strength. To the onlooking cultivators, they estimated that upon hearing the music, the Orcs became as strong as the Demon Trolls but Jin who had the exact numbers knew that their strength and constitution was actually equivalent to a single Giant. Seeing how the frontal assault was really a dead end, the demon troops proceeded with the pincer assault. However, they did not know that all sides were riddled with traps and ambushes awaiting the Demon Horde, making their only option would be to thin their numbers until the defenders were forced to retreat further. Also, they would soon learn that all the trees within this defensive platform were offshoots of Shu, the magical Treant, which he commanded them like a private army. Unlike the situation at the Sky Bridge where the System had to spend processing power to provide real-time monitoring, Shu''s offshoots were already transmitting the information to the System and the War Room Tacticians, giving them the full situation amidst the concert. This information was also transmitted to the Pandarens on the ground, and that was how they were able to continuously ambush the Demon Troops at every turn, lure them into a trap where the System would activate it and remove them from the battle. (The teams leading them were naturally awarded points for acting as bait) Aside from the ambushes, Shu was also using his offshoots to capture isolated groups of demon soldiers by grabbing on their legs and tripping them. After which, the offshoots would drag their bodies to their trunks and wrap them up further for consumption. Some of the Demon Soldiers tried to cut the roots, but their attempts were futile as Shu had passed on his own physical resistance against normal weapons. The leaders or higher-tiered soldiers were the only ones in possession of magical weapons who would be able to break free. Yet even if they did, his offshoots were everywhere, and there was no way to escape, especially when the trees marked any such particular individual as being a threat to the entire forest. Hence, more effort (and roots) were used to make sure mages, or talented soldiers were enrobed into the trunks. Similar to Mr Derpy, all these consumed Demons were subsequently transformed into magical energy to be absorbed into Shu as he prepared the very same spell where walls of trees would emerge to protect the Pandarens. Afterwards, he was strengthening the mini-castle fortresses that were built as defensive emplacements against the Demon Horde. However, as the first wave were nothing but pitiful bugs and insects in Shu''s eyes, he continued to eat as many as he could before the need arose. On the other hand, The Wyvern Goblin Knights finally retreated with heavy casualties on their side. Many were heavily injured, with some even killed, despite the Pandawans'' saving grace. The dogfight with the Dragon Devils and subsequent Bat Bottleflies had incurred a sense of weariness among the Goblin Knights, and even their Wyverns had been pushed to near exhaustion. If not for Ayse''s Lost Tech, they believed they would have lost a long time ago. The only thing that was stopping the Demon Aerial Forces to go after them was the still surviving Clay Dragon and the Mousefolks. The Clay Dragon had a regenerative rune which ran parallel to his other runes. As long as the damage was not that extensive, the Clay Dragon would be able to continue moving. The Magpies of Que Er had also assisted in the recovery of the Clay Dragon as they carried some ready-made clay and placed it on the Dragon''s body, allowing the rune to recover the Clay Dragon''s body even faster. In addition, the Mousefolks played a pivotal role in its survival as many of the Bat Bottleflies attempted to break it down by spewing poison balls at it. Some of the Bat Bottlflies even ledged on the Clay Dragon and broke its clay to the extent of nearly breaking the Dragon into two. Yet, those Mousefolks came out of their machine gun emplacements and with just a rope as their lifeline, they battled with the Bat Bottleflies at the top of the moving Clay Dragon. Kiva''s air units regarded those Mousefolks as a bad joke, an opinion which quickly changed, upon contact with these small warriors. To them, the Bat Bottleflies became merely extra practice training for their swordplay. As disciples of Zeru, the Mousefolks swiftly dispatched the Bat Bottleflies from lodging on the Clay Dragon and allowed it to remain as the reigning King of the Skies. Separately, the injured Dragon Devils were diverted from the dog fight and proceeded to terrorise the other platforms where they encountered similarly serious resistance from the defenders. The Anti-Air Companies were relentless in their attacks, and it got even worse when the Dragon Devils attempted to swoop down to destroy them. Heavy anchor bolts bound their wings and pulled the Dragon Devil down as the Anti Air continued their volley of attacks. Yet, that did not pull the spirit of the Dragon Devils as they spew fire to burn whatever they could despite their dying breath. Most of the Anti Air Companies in the various platforms had been reduced by at least half their strength. And if the Demon King continued to push for more aerial forces, it would be possible that they would have reign air superiority. However, the remaining Dragon Devils who struggled were at their last straw as the Fortress Golems within the vicinity sprayed anti-air missiles from their guard posts, ensuring that the Dragon Devils became nothing but a poor paper kite caught in a hurricane of pain. It was safe to assume that the mightiest air force the Demons could muster had been brought down by well-placed defences and a bit of luck on the defender''s side. Still, the tacticians were scrambling to reorganise the air defences to shore up what was lost or else the Demon Horde might have the upper hand later on. But for the Naval War Theatre, the Stalingrad had without a doubt assumed superiority of the sea once more. Chapter 761 The Wretched Crown King Baal was quite disgruntled watching how his troops were failing so terribly. It appeared they had not taken heed of the previous mistakes the Lords and Ladies had made beforehand. Yet, Baal refused to believe that with their number superiority, this situation wouldn''t change. This had always been the way they fought, so as always it was only a matter of time until the defenders would exhaust their resources and their manpower. Archduke Kiva concurred with that particular line of thought, yet Prince Stolas would beg to differ. "If Moloch has managed to build all these high-end technological gadgets and weapons, he surely must have a way to reproduce them again. Considering the sheer scale of everything, I can only theorise that as long as he has the manpower, his technological edge will definitely pull him through this protracted war." Stolas thought to himself and felt restless. For some reason, he was beginning to put his hopes into Moloch initiating the counterattack rather than merely holding the defence line. Alas, from a strategic point of view, it was rather evident that this would only bring further losses for him. How was Stolas supposed to know that on the defenders'' side, this was actually the most productive dungeon raid ever for the defenders? Jin had already earnt close to 500,000 Yuan in a single day, the highest profit he had ever made from just customers alone. Though the sales were extraordinarily high, it was mainly because the cultivators were doing repeat runs at discounted prices throughout the day to rake up their points so that they could get better prizes. Not only that, their purchases from the online Pandamonium store were numerous despite Pandarens knowing that it was expensive. That convenience they enjoyed through paying the extra money was undisputable. Let''s not forget that the offline stores were bringing in money as the Pandarens stocked themselves up with weapons, armour, potions and other accessories for the next run. Also, the Tree Mall itself was earning a ton lot as a whole because of Jin''s current dungeon event. Every shop owner was pitching in to promote Jin''s dungeon instance and telling their customers that if they bought a dungeon ticket, certain discounts to their shops would be available. It was the same for Jin''s store too as Yun had a list of promos for the customers who had purchased items from the Tree Mall too. This did create a slew of new customers just to test out the dungeon event that everyone was talking about even though it inadvertently placed a strain on the System''s processing capability. The System had also captured so many demon soldiers that it needed to reorganise its spatial ''inventory space'' to keep all those soldiers for processing. If not for the Phantom Soldiers which the Graveyard Core created, it was possible that the System might have an overflow of demons which needed to be sold immediately for the sorely needed space. Of course, it did inform Jin about the numbers and the Dungeon Supplier was already choosing which demon soldiers to use for conversion by the Graveyard Core, waiting for the right opportunity to mount a second counterattack to temporarily reduce the numbers in the System and the battlefield. It was all part of Qiu Yue''s plan in case the battle got dragged way longer than expected. It was plainly obvious that sheer brute force was not going to work when Jin''s tacticians had already thought of all the various scenarios to counter most of the brute force tactics that King Baal and his other generals were keen to use. However, there was one thing that Moloch feared despite all the planning, and that was actually Archduke Kiva. After the dogfight between the Wyvern Goblin Knights and the Bat Bottleflies, Moloch was somewhat concerned that the cunning Archduke was going to throw similar platoons out in the field. Of course, he was confident that Jin''s monsters were more than capable of winning against them, but at what cost? Also, there was the issue of King Baal''s high-grade artefact, which Archduke Kiva had ''made'' for him. It was also one of the reasons why Moloch had been demoted into a useless lord, covering a dungeon cave that held onto some crappy quality gold ore. It was the Crown of Beyond Depravity. The one and only artefact which was created using leftover defunct dungeon cores via some forbidden magical technique. Such a method which even the Church of Afterlife was adamantly condemned publicly about. However, King Baal had not been using its powers at all as ''humbly'' suggested by Kiva since it would create suspicions and might cause the elite agents from the Church of Afterlife to come after him. Yet King Baal requested for such an artefact to be made solely because of the Harbinger threat as he had never forgotten how it had taken away his parents as well as the lives of uncountable others. Still, it was not until Kiva introduced his family''s sacred jewel to complete the crown, making the person who used it, turn into a power-hungry tyrant. Not many people could handle the ''completed'' Crown of Beyond Depravity and for good reason. Those cores had once been the property of other owners, and most of the dungeon cores had been robbed through severe bloodshed. By not going through the proper method of requisitioning the dungeon cores, those metal balls were haunted by the souls imbued by the previous owners. Without Kiva''s family jewel to act as a conduit between the souls and the wearer, it merely acted as an attribute increasing artefact. The user who wore the crown literally had to pass a ''sanity'' check each and every day to assert control on the artefact. Even when Kiva first modified the enhanced Crown of Beyond Depravity, he had troubles controlling it and nearly lost his life permanently from attempting to use its powers as the voices kept telling him to kill himself to appease their grief. At the time Kiva had actually considered it to be a good way to kill the reigning King and also designed an overtly ridiculous excuse to make him sign a complicated invoice, but in actual fact, it was a contract disguised with a lot of hidden clauses. Stating vaguely that if King Baal was ever gone, Kiva would take over the Demon Metropolis and Moloch who at the time had been one of the few advisors King Baal actually trusted had managed to notice it. Unfortunately, it had been a little too late. As when the Minotaur Lord entered the royal chamber, King Baal had already donned the crown before Moloch ever had the chance to caution him against it. The powers the crown granted immediately captivated Baal''s attention, and he treated Moloch''s advice as a sign of jealousy. The yearning for strength had made Baal go for a series of reckless conquests and slowly it caused the once logical and fair tempered King to turn for the worse. Eventually, Moloch saw no other choice but to steal the Crown of Beyond Depravity. He devised a devious plan, hoping that his King would wake up from that unending nightmarish journey for power once it was gone. Unfortunately, the Minotaur Lord was unaware that the crown had grown into a living parasite, calling out for its master when Moloch thought that he had successfully tricked Baal into releasing the artefact. And guess where it happened? At the max security prison which Moloch designed specifically to steal the crown away. Moloch thought that the highly dangerous prisoners he released would have an effect against King Baal, but he later found out that the crown still transmitted power to its master. In a series of unfortunate events, it allowed King Baal to catch Moloch red-handed running away with the crown. Ironically Archduke Kiva took the chance to remove the most scheming and yet loyal advisor, branding him a traitor for wanting the crown to himself. The only saving grace was that King Baal''s heart was not yet fully corrupted by the Ravenous Lord of Hunger. He was lenient enough to transform and demote Moloch for his act of treason. However, with Moloch out of the picture and forbidden from ever leaving his dungeon, Kiva took the time to pour ideas and deceitful words of hatred in hopes of removing Moloch permanently. For he knew that the cotton minotaur would one day rise and wake his King up from the bad dream. Chapter 762 Kivas Masterplan As midnight approached, so did the decline of cultivators attending the dungeon instance. They had been wise enough to coincide the event on a weekend which maximised the odds of cultivators justifying spending just a little bit more time there. The youths especially took him up on that godsent opportunity, yet Jin was most surprised at the number of young workers who came in late to blow off some steam. Yet even with the underestimated customer numbers, which neither Jin nor the System had calculated, there was no doubt that Qiu Yue and Moloch needed to adjust and adapt the strategy for their defences to cope with the current situation. Up until now, the defenders had managed to hold most of the demon soldiers at bay, but it was inevitable that the demons would notice the defending lines getting thinner before they reported their observation to the higher-ups possibly leading to a mad rush of reinforcement. Upon learning the weakening of the defence lines, Archduke Kiva immediately requested King Baal to allow his subject to send another batch of his chimaera troops into battle, one which he believed would break through the frontlines and give them the chance to move further in to find Moloch or the Dungeon Core. "You think one platoon is enough?" King Baal laid his head back and tapped his finger hard on the arm of the ''makeshift'' throne chair. "Ah¡­Apologies, my Sire, I can only send in one squad at a time. My powers are not as bottomless as yours." Kiva was directly hinting to King Baal to use the crown''s powers instead of just using it to acquire strength. By using the excuse of the deadlock in their battle, Kiva hoped that his King would use the powers to not only eliminate that irritating thorn (or horn) in his skin but also to take the opportunity to attract the attention from the Church of the Afterlife. That way, upon annihilating Moloch, the agents from the Church of the Afterlife would undoubtedly come after King Baal for using the forbidden powers of the combined Dungeon Cores. Hence, in Kiva''s mind, two major scenarios could potentially occur. One would be the defeat of King Baal by the agents of the Church of the Afterlife. In that case, he would secretly cooperate with their agents to eradicate the Royal Family, banishing them out of Demon Metropolis and reign as King. This might lead to him acting as a puppet of the Church of Afterlife, but he was sure given enough time he could find ways to lessen or outright remove their interference, allowing him to become the true ruler of the place. The alternate scenario was that King Baal manages to defeat the Church of the Afterlife''s agents by using his artefact to further improve his demons, firmly establishing them as a force to be reckoned with. Admittedly, it would be a difficult fight, but defeating their agents would reveal that the Church was fallible, allowing rebellions to rise and eventually break them apart. Of course, it sounded a bit far fetched especially when they would send even more capable agents. But if things don''t go well, Kiva could simply be a conspirator against his King and assist the agents in removing the King out of his power. Then, he would still be able to reign as King of the Demon Metropolis too. This would be a hard road to walk, but one that he had prepared for. He had long since started gathering data and information about the crown so that he would be able to create a better product which would make others fear him. Of course no matter the scenario, they all required the death of Moloch first. He needed him and his city to become the sacrificial lamb. So far the disgraced Minotaur Lord had performed exceedingly well. Surely, the unexpectedly tough resistance, as well as the usage of highly technological weapons, came as a bit of surprise. But it still fit into his scheme. Even better, there was nothing connecting it to him, so his treacherous ideas would not get revealed. He did not know that there were far more factors than he could imagine behind the scenes able to utterly crush his ambition. After all, Moloch wasn''t lazy during his banishment¡­ "Very well, I see this as a necessary need to win. I shall aid you in your endeavour. So far they have bested our elite troops again and again and it is starting to take a toll on the troops." King Baal opened a small magical portal to retrieve the crown with his bare hands. "As well as pissing me off." He thought to himself, even though his facial expression said it all. When he took out the Crown of Beyond Depravity publicly, blood was already spilling from his hands as the crown bit into his skin like the flesh-eating parasite it was. However, the aura it emitted was menacing enough that some of the nearby guards had trouble standing straight without shaking and losing consciousness. Only a handful like Stolas, Kiva and the Royal Guards were able to barely withstand its frightening aura. Kiva quickly kneeled down and presented a crystal right in front of his liege while keeping his head down. He did not want to admit that the haunts from the dungeon cores could be heard even when he was not holding it. King Baal raised the crown and the devilish purple jewel affixed at the front shone brightly and shot a beam of energy into the crystal Kiva was holding until the holder urgently requested King Baal to stop. Once the transmission of energy was done, King Baal immediately placed the crown back into the magical storage portal and closed it up. The terrible aura quickly dissipated from their current location. Right now, the full energised crystal was gleaming with so much power that even Kiva himself was a little tempted to absorb some of such energy to test it out. Yet, he as a researcher and a person privy of all the crown''s knowledge knew that it would be suicide. The bat-faced Archduke thanked his majesty with a graceful bow and hastily called out his squad of chimaera soldiers to appear. Fused with lions and praying mantis, the Tieflings who were standing right in front of Kiva had magnificent lion manes as if they were wearing a furred scarf. Their Mantis features were kept hidden for the moment since there were no enemies around for them to bare their fangs and blades. They stood in full attention when Kiva ordered them. With a platoon of 30 Lion Mantis reporting for duty, Kiva changed into his raven face again and started chanting, allowing the crystal''s powers to seep into each and every chimaera soldier. Artha, the leader of the Lion Mantis, was the first to receive the powers and the bulk of it as well. He started to feel strange heart palpitations inside him as if a second heart was being forcefully pushed into him in the midst of the transference of the crown''s energy. In an instant, he and his platoon could feel the effects of the crown''s powers. "Happy hunting." Kiva sent them off as he clasped his hands and added a bit of his own unique chant, buffing the chimaera soldiers even further before they spread their insectoid wings and burst straight onto the battlefield. Chapter 763 Lion Mantis And just as the Pandarens and monsters were having the time of their life beating the demon soldiers out of the face of this world, everything changed when the Lion Mantises attacked. Imbued with the crown''s energy, they arrived at their destination with insane speed, killing several Pandarens that were hiding in the forested area in one go. The offshoots of Shu fared no better, getting obliterated upon their landing. The Pandarens, as well as Jin''s monsters, immediately recognised them for the real threat they posed. The pairs of Lion Mantises scanned their surroundings to gain a briefing understanding of the situation before commencing with their subsequent assaults. Low-grade cultivators stood no chance of reacting or even fighting against the Lion Mantises. Even the Orcs who had the towering strength of a giant were cut down effortlessly, without the opportunity to defend themselves properly. Sandy and the rest saw what was happening and eventually stopped their hour-long concert. Before the Lion Mantises could strike the concert stage, Sandy had already materialised a dome of sand to protect all music members, especially the Zither Mistress. She felt confident that the only person who could subvert this particular situation would be her alone. Shu who was hiding at the back of the island had also strengthened the sand dome with its own barrier of sentient roots so that Sandy could refine her sand dome and make it even harder for the chimaera soldiers to penetrate. She too did not forget to reinforce the ground to prevent any ambushes from below. Understanding the current situation, Ke Mi changed her genre of music. It was a drastic shift from pop music to her own magical tunes. Immediately, the Lion Mantises who were on a rampage experienced a sudden decrease in their speed, allowing the Orcs to finally counterattack. Unfortunately, the Lion Mantises quickly revealed their true weapons, the mantis blades that were grown from their hands and proved their lethality as weapons. With the crown''s energy, their blades'' sharpness were enhanced multi-fold, allowing them to cut through the Orcs'' weapons easily and bisecting them in the process. With such a gamechanger on the defensive battlefield, Qiu Yue who had been having her dinner in the middle of the night had been alerted by the Goblin telecoms operator to check out the situation. Simultaneously a rough analysis by the System warned the tactician that their current defences were definitely inadequate to hold the line. "Shit." Qiu Yue, still with a spoon in her mouth, quickly opened the list of monsters available for deployment on the war room table. "Dread Reaver, Flame Ripper. I believe it''s your debut. Currently, Ke Mi is slowing their advances, but there is no guarantee that her music can hold them for long. Even so, its a matter of time the Lion Mantises overcome and remove the slowness debuff. Be careful, the Orcs which had been equipped with enhanced inscription weapons had their swords and axes sliced through like a hot knife through butter. I entrust the two of you who have unique weapons to be the ones to remove the new intruders from the current equation." Qiu Yue sent them the orders, and the System immediately teleported the two General Goblin''s sons onto the battlefield, right above a pair of Lion Mantises. A chop from the top and a clean slice diagonally removed the Lion heads from the pair of chimaera soldiers, and that act itself were sufficient to catch the attention for the rest of the Lion Mantises. "Heh, different aura from the normal demons. They''ve obviously been strengthened way too quickly." Dread Reaver stated as he held his black sword up and pointed at another Lion Mantises. "Must be the crown that Moloch was talking about." Flame Ripper held his dagger at the ready on his side as he pulled his bow, conjuring a flame arrow. The others including the demon soldiers somehow gave space for the Goblins and Lion Mantises to fight as both sides instinctively knew that interfering or getting too close to them would more or less mean death on their part. "You all handle those two¡­ odd-looking Goblins. Afterwards, take care of the rest of the group. I shall personally destroy that metal ship." Artha, the leader of the Lion Mantises chimaera platoon, had just received those orders from the Ravenous Archduke. The demons had made it a priority to handle the Stalingrad as its bombardment had been causing a lot of trouble for the temporary checkpoint. With so much energy whirling inside him, Artha simply wanted to get that power out as soon as possible. (Or maybe, he just wanted to use the power that was raging within.) As the chimaera Platoon acknowledged their leader, Artha took flight out of the combat zone and headed towards the Stalingrad while the rest rushed towards the two Goblins who currently posed the biggest threat against them. With Ke Mi''s musical aura that caused a slowing debuff on the demons, Dread Reaver held his black sword up high, and illusions of the hooded reaper with long hair came out while the ground got filled with nothing but an abyssal void. Not one but six of them were hovering right above him in all cardinal directions as they simultaneously faced the rushing chimaeras and chopped their heads off into two. "Death''s Domain." Dread Reaver whispered as another Lion Mantises tried to move in furiously with a burst of speed, but the moment he entered the black void zone, his body was cut in half with no other action taken from Dread Reaver. "Tsk, sometimes, I am jealous of your powers." Flame Ripper complained via the System Channel, so as to not reveal any secrets to the Lion Mantises. "You do know that I can only use this once a day? Besides, the range is extremely limited. Not to mention the amount of mana it consumes." Dread Reaver argued back as the void faded away when he finished talking and the Goblin of Death sheathed his sword, waiting to fight the next opponent brave or stupid enough to come forth. "Hah, compared to you, my powers need coercing to come out. Unless Ifrit feel bored enough or the opponent proved to be a challenge, he won''t come out." Flame Ripper said as he lit his bow and fired an arrow. The Lion Mantis who took the shot was confident of its armour, but when the arrow hit it, the chimaera soldier suddenly went into flames and burnt into crisp, causing the others to be wary. "I won''t pity you on that. Still, these Chimaera soldiers are learning our tactics way too fast for comfort." The Death Knight replied as he attempted to perform a killing blow, but his sword got deflected. "At least, your initial attack reduced the numbers we are fighting by nearly half." Flame Ripper acknowledged as he took another shot. Surprisingly the Lion Mantises he had been aiming at, had managed to barely dodge. Were it not for Ke Mi''s slow debuff, it would have definitely been an easy feat for the Lion Mantises. The Avatar of Ifrit then threw his bow back into his storage ring and lit his daggers on fire. The two Goblins were sure that speed and finesse would be the crucial factors to win this fight. They were clueless that the chimaera soldiers themselves were beginning a second evolution triggered by their dwindling numbers and the real threat of their entire group being wiped out from existence. Chapter 764 Artha Artha did not hesitate to complete his objective, but he had made a mistake by communicating it out loud that he was going for the Stalingrad. The System had also picked up the information, so it ordered Lord Wolte to put up a magical shield. While Artha might be lying and possibly a deviation tactic, it did not hurt to put a shield up in case the Stalingrad was besieged by the leader of the Lion Mantises. After the hijacking raid on the Leviathan, the Stalingrad had been pulled back into the open seas and was currently firing a few flammable incendiary rounds to burn the surrounding ships to kingdom come. So, when it received the command, Wolte had no difficulty putting the shields up. The only downside of the shields was that Wolte had to stop all bombardments to the seas. He would have to put his trust in the Deep Ones to make sure none survived. The only weapons that were still available were the anti-air mini cannons which were already aiming towards Artha when the sea crew spotted a mysterious flying bug coming their way. Looking back, Lord Wolte was extremely thankful that he did place the shield up as ordered by the System as the leader of Lion Mantises, Artha smashed his entire weight onto it. His flight left a loud shrieking noise, and when Artha struck the shield, the impact felt as if the energy shield was about to burst from it. Ironically, it was Lord Wolte''s turn to experience the bombardment as his ship shook violently in the seas from the shockwaves produced by the impact. Fortunately, the shield was still holding thanks to the living magical battery Lord Wolte was extracting from. If not for Shadow Dagen''s magical powers, his protection would already have been shattered at that point of time. (Mr Derpy did complain though since it had taken more than a bit of a toll on him.) Learning that his straight-up attack had been useless, Artha did not try again. He quickly switched to the best solution in his mind by first releasing a loud roar. The crew noticed interference on the magical shield and assumed that it was some magic desynchronisation ability where Artha would attempt to slip into the shield-like how an atom passes through time and space in quantum physics. However, that was not the case, and instead, it was something less exciting. Nevertheless, it was pretty much an ''oh shit'' kind of situation for both Stalingrad and the sailors onboard. As Artha roared with all his might, he appeared to grow exponentially larger with each passing second. His two hearts accelerated and pushed the muscles to pump in more blood to make him grow bigger. With the aid of the crown''s energy stored within him, it enabled him to multiply his cells explosively which subsequently turned him as large as a giant. Artha did not know how deep the sea went, but he wasn''t going to risk anything. With the help of his now enormous mantis wings buzzing around, they allowed him to hover over the Stalingrad. King Baal saw the development that was going over the sea and smirked as he watched the Lion Mantis grow in size that put Earl Barbatos to shame. Archduke Kiva was also quite happy with the results of the crown energy and was excitedly staring at it with intense curiosity. The scene of success had been deeply burnt into his brain when he heard Artha''s roar getting louder with each interval, and to the point, he was simply a massive version of his former self. "And in one swoop, that metal ship will be cut into two, and that will solve all our naval problems! Too bad Focalor had to suffer the brunt of its attack. Still, it will be exciting to excavate it after the battle to study its cannons. Ooh, this is so exciting!" Archduke Kiva thought to himself. He knew that no matter how powerfully strong a magical shield was, it would not last without sacrifices and mana. It was just a matter of time when it comes down, and Kiva deduced that Stalingrad was probably the only naval ship Moloch have on deck even though it magically appeared out of nowhere. When Lord Wolte saw the transformation in front of him, he knew that even if he tried to shoot the overgrown Lion Mantis, that would be no way Artha would stay still to receive the shot. There was no need to try, as he knew how slowly the cannons moved as compared to the Lion Mantis. "But one thing is for sure." Lord Wolte swore to himself with a slight glee. (His andromorphous mouth was right under the ship.) ¡ª¡ª¡ª- "GODDAMN FINALLY!!! It''s time for the appearance of our ultimate product!" Jespa screamed loudly as she raised her can of root beer and the craftsman all cheered in unison when they saw the live System camera shift its video recording deep into the sea. A pair of red eyes were glowing with carnivorous intent towards its newfound prey as multiple soft glowing ruby lights behind those eyes continued to light up in succession. For the prey''s cry had awakened the predator from the deep. With unmatched confidence, the Colossal Artha believed that using his Mantis Blade was sufficient to deliver a swift execution to the people on the metal ship and later move back to the defensive platform to finish the rest of the job with his chimaera soldiers. However, as he was about to swing his Mantis Blade, he caught a glimpse of bubbles emerging from the side of the ship. Suddenly, a blast of intense red energy beam was aimed directly towards Artha, destroying his Mantis Blade in the process as he barely dodged the rest of the attack. Lord Wolte didn''t hesitate to take this opportunity to fire his triple barrel cannons at Artha as assistance. However, doing so made him lowered his shields in the process. Artha was unaware about what was hiding under the sea or whether this had been a special attack part of the Metal Ship. It did not matter as the shields were down and the Stalingrad was completely vulnerable because of this. "How stupidly foolish but your attempt had not been in vain," Artha said as he readjusted his body and pushed himself to destroy the ship before it could do any damage to him again. Yet, when the Colossal Lion Mantis came too close to the Stalingrad, an enormous shadow emerged out of the waters and managed to bite on to Artha''s leg. The Lion Mantis was shocked and reactively tried to cut the thing that bit his leg with his remaining Mantis Blade. To his surprise, the blade got stuck, and in return, two paws appeared, grabbing Artha''s waist and pulling him into the waters. By bringing the Lion Mantis to his territory, the newly emerged predator had secured his home field advantage while the prey lost his aerial capabilities. Artha tried hard to struggle by attempting to claw the monstrous ''cute'' face since his final Mantis Blade remained stuck. He even tried to blow purplish fire which still had an effect despite him plunged into the deep sea. Yet, the predator did not flinch a single bit as his fin plates started to light up with an eerie reddish glow for the second time. Pandjilla was merciless. Chapter 765 Pandjilla Reborn Artha could not believe it. Bestowed with the powers from the King himself and given personally through the Archduke of the Demon Metropolis, there was no greater honour for a demon soldier. However, even if Artha wanted to serve the King and Archduke, he was now feebly powerless against a monster that was slightly smaller in build than him. It was an utter disgrace to them and to his platoon should he not be able to get out of this situation. But when Artha saw the eerie reddish fins behind the Pandjilla, he could already sense that he had to act quickly to free himself out of the stranglehold he was currently in. Alas, with the increasing pressure of the sea and Pandjilla''s grapple, there was really nothing he could do. The giant chimaera had never been designed to fight in underwater battles. His next move would essentially be a do-or-die kind of manoeuvre as he grabbed the mantis blade that was stuck on Pandjilla''s rock hard shoulder and sliced himself into two. While this might have looked like a suicidal move, it allowed Artha to get out of the grapple hold and escape the incoming beam of death that was spat out from Pandjilla''s mouth. Despite his self inflicted fatal injuries, Artha continued to ascend further up by flapping his wings intensely to get a breath of air as surviving was his number one priority right now. At first, the Pandjilla thought that he had successfully killed his prey. He had already looked forward to devouring it, but upon noticing that he was only holding half the body, his ''brain'' internalised the information, and the Pandjilla turned furious. For his own meal to cut itself into two in order to escape from his energy beam was unacceptable for the Clay Panda-Fish Abomination since he was aiming to get a good wholly crunch on the insect-fused beast. To have such a basic instinct for food was not a coincidence resulting from the multitude of runes placed within him, but instead, the Pandjilla had finally gained a proper brain. When activated by Qiu Yue, the Pandjilla had simply been a lump of water-resistant clay holding itself together, waiting for the next command to be given to him, especially with the chip installed along with his runes. However, the boredom of waiting for it to be called for an assault brought the clay Pandjilla to be in the same situation as Mr Derpy. Thus as mentioned, Mr Derpy had ordered his minions to feed Pandjilla with demon bodies to power him up. Never did the Shadow Fish God realise that it was actually feeding him magically enhanced sailors from the Demon Fleet Leviathan. Those sailors affected by the Fog that Steals had undead attributes in them, hence causing Pandjilla to actually gain some ''life'' from it. Learning that the Panda-Fish abomination that Jin requested the goblin craftsman to create for the fun of having a panda-themed Godzilla, the System could not have predicted that the runes, chips and eventually the undead essence would evolve the Pandjilla to become something more alive. Naturally curious, the System decided to try and see how much further it could go by setting up an experiment. It had asked Mr Derpy to hand over the Dungeon Core that had been within Flashy for Pandjilla to consume. Shadow Dagen thought that it was an order rather than a request, and in the hopes of gaining more favours with the System, preferably in the form of piggy (porkcupine) nuggets, it obediently allowed Pandjilla to consume it. The System, as well as Mr Derpy and the Deep Ones around the beast, were all equally surprised when they saw the Dungeon Core being attracted to Pandjilla and subsequently assimilate itself into the lump of the clay. Only through Moloch''s insight did the System learn that this Dungeon Core was like a parasite kind of core that leeches on giant monsters. With Flashy the flying turtle becoming just another stress eating meal for Mr Derpy, its option had been limited to leech on the Shadow Dagen. But the power the Dungeon Core offered had been so minuscule in comparison to the living shadow of a mighty Fish God, Mr Derpy naturally rejected it. (He had no idea that the Dungeon Core even had such a condition.) Thus, when it came in contact with the Clay Pandjilla, the undead essence it had consumed made the sentient core believe that the Giant Monster was suitable and weak enough for it to become its new host. (Compared to Mr Derpy, it was definitely a better choice.) So, when it assimilated within the Pandjilla, it actually became the heart of the panda-themed monster and gave it something the clay monster had sorely lacked before. Intelligence. A brain had been manifested along with the chip and the dozens of layers of runes, allowing it to be sentient enough to make its own decisions. Thus, when Qiu Yue wanted to give a command to the Clay Pandjilla, she noticed that it was already moving on its own to counter the threat that the Stalingrad was facing. And its actions to bring the chimaera soldier down was evidence that in time, it would become a fearsome monster to be reckoned with. Artha tried to move as fast as he could, but his wings weren''t flappers, and his arms could only aid him that much on his attempt to reach the surface of the sea. However, for the time being, the poor soul was still in the home ground of the newly reborn Pandjilla. In a moment''s notice, the Panda Godjilla had already caught up to the bleeding chimaera soldier. However, it was apparent that he was already recovering his torso thanks to the Crown''s immense power. And the Pandjilla meant business when it set its mind to eat the Colossal Lion Mantis as his next meal. So, he quickly grabbed onto the healing torso and tried to bite through it. That was when Artha counterattacked knowing that all Pandjilla wanted was him. So he threw his Mantis Blade into its mouth, hoping it would penetrate his throat and kill him in the process. Unfortunately, the Lion Mantis did not know that the new Sea Guardian of Pandapolis was made out of premium clay which was incapable of bleeding. In addition, the Dungeon Core utilised the undead essence it had previously collected and used alongside the recovery runes to regenerate the simple clay structure. Compared to humans, demons and other living beings, the parasitic Dungeon believed it had found the most comfortable host to live in because of its simplistic ''DNA'' structure. The System allowed it to do as it pleased for the time being before it would enforce the second seal of loyalty on it. The Pandjilla continued to ignore the Mantis Blade within its mouth and bit Artha with his might. This time, there was nowhere else, nothing he could do to escape. Artha was once again facing the eerie reddish glow of his fin indicating that he would be toast meat within the next few seconds. "I am sorry, my lord, for disappointing you." Artha apologised with his lungs filled with saltwater and his end torso, feeling the burn emanating from beneath. He had accepted that no matter how much he tried, it was useless to struggle this time around. Long live Pandjilla. Long live the newest Sea Guardian of Pandapolis. Chapter 766 Infected Energy "Gosh! How many surprises can they keep?" Kiva wondered as he shook his head at the loss of the Lion Mantises. There was still some crown energy left within the crystal, and his mana had recovered, so he decided to order the next batch of Lion Mantises onto the scene. "Artha Two, it looks like your good pal Artha One has disappointed me greatly. I strongly suggest that you take up the slack by eliminating the current threat on the defensive island platforms. Or else, do not ever think of reviving back." Kiva said as he sent the remaining crown energy mixed with his own magic into the next batch of Lion Mantises. "Understood, my Liege. My soldiers and I will clear the shame of the 1st Lion Mantis Platoon." Artha Two hastily replied as he kneeled down to receive the remaining King''s ''blessing'' from Kiva. He felt the same kind of power pulsating in his veins as his predecessor. Yet his portion was not potent enough to enable him to grow into a colossal form like how Artha One had been able to. Kiva could have shamelessly asked for more, but he wanted to achieve some results first, before requesting the second dose of crown energy into his crystal¡­even though he suspected by now, the King would give it to him without much thought. "How many of those abominations do you have?" Stolas folded his arms as he watched Kiva turn his Raven Head back to a Bat head once again. "Not very princely of you to eavesdrop on my conversation with my subjects." Kiva made double meaning pun to poke fun at Stolas. "But since I am in a rather happy mood¡­ maybe another 300 more? Perhaps by the end of this year, I will have a total of 600¡­ish? The Dungeon Core that I was given by King Baal can only do so much. " Kiva flaunted his power openly towards Stolas, knowing he could do nothing about it. "But perhaps, Moloch''s core could be a great supplement to my research lab. I should consider that." He thought to himself, and now, he started to feel Stolas''s presence to be a little more than an annoyance. "With your curiosity appeased, I suggest you stay in your tent, or better yet, you should return back to the Demon Metropolis. Who knows how long his Majesty''s patience will last with you snooping around?" Kiva taunted Stolas, knowing full well that retreating back to their city would be a disgrace. The Prince kept quiet as sometimes doing nothing would be best. The Lion Mantises took their leave by bursting into the skies, going for the defensive platform. However, Qiu Yue and Moloch had learnt their lesson about keeping the skies a little too empty. Though the Clay Dragon was still around to clear some minor aerial threats, it was definitely not fast enough to catch up to each individual Lion Mantis if they split up. Thus, Que Er''s Crows were used to fill the gaps while the medics and healers were busy patching the Wyvern Goblin Knights and their rides in the floating military platform. Since the crows were not able to catch up to them, they got placed at specific areas, so that they could at least become a nuisance to the Lion Mantises. It did slow them down a little, but the time bought was still not enough for Dread Reaver and Flame Ripper to catch up. The existing Lion Mantises that had survived the culling, transformed right in front of the two goblin heroes. Some of them grew a pair of arms, giving them four Mantis Blades per Lion Mantis while others grew a new pair of wings, allowing them to be more agile in their fight. The Goblin Heroes also noticed that their carapace armour seemed much sturdier and their bulging muscles had grown two-fold. With Dread Reaver unable to use the same skill again, the Lion Mantises'' caution wore off, and they began to start preying on the two Goblins as well as their surrounding allies. Even the Avatar of Ifrit who was supposed to have one of the most prominent speed attributes compared to the rest of the monsters in Jin''s army was barely able to keep up with the newly transformed dual-winged Lion Mantises. The Orcs and cultivators worked together to fight against this new menace, but their efforts proved to be futile. Their swords were not cutting them deep enough, or they were too slow to react despite Ke Mi''s slow debuff music. Everyone believed that if not for the Zither Mistress, they would have lost their lives in the blink of an eye, perhaps even without realising how. Yet, the two Goblin heroes were doing their best to prevent as much loss as possible. Unfortunately, the two of them were experiencing difficulties against the newly transformed Lion Mantises. As for Dread Reaver, he nearly lost his arm when fighting against two four-bladed Lion Mantises at once and eventually his head. An Orc had come to interfere against a third one who had nearly succeeded in ambushing. Too bad the brave Orc lost his life in the process. "How dare you!" Dread Reaver shouted as he twisted his sword, bringing it into a gridlock against the Lion Mantis who killed the Orc and placed his palm on the Lion''s head. "HOW DARE YOU!" Dread Reaver shouted from his deathly looking mask and in his rage, he had forgotten the other two Lion Mantises just right beside him. Eight Mantis Blades pierced through Dread Reaver''s armour, and yet it did not stop the life and rage burning inside the Death Knight. Flame Ripper had seen what was happening, but there was no way he could help his pal right now. He was too busy trying not to meet the same fate. The third Lion Mantis was able to get out of the gridlock, but the moment he did that, he suddenly felt that he lost his grip on the blades even though they were attached to him. At this point, the other two Lion Mantises saw what was happening that made the third one feel so restless. The Death Knight was pulling the soul essence of the third Lion Mantis manually out of his body. At the same time, he was consuming it and ignoring the other two. That, of course, prompted the two Lion Mantises to retract their blades and go for a second wave of stabbing, however at that point, Dread Reaver was able to parry the other two''s attacks with his sword. "Did no one teach you not to disturb somebody during their meal?!" The Death Knight bellowed, his eyes were burning red with anger while his helmet moved as if it was crunching on the soul of the Lion Mantis. He felt his pain from the stabs he received was dulling as he consumed more of the soul. The Lion Mantis, which got his soul taken out now became an empty husk and started to decay right in front of them. Now Dread Reaver understood why the Lion Mantises could be moving so quickly or hold four blades. He got a taste of the crown''s energy that was embedded in the soul of that Lion Mantis he had absorbed and the energy pulsating through him was intoxicating. "Alert! The System has detected major interference with Death Knight Dread Reaver''s sanity. Urging Death Knight to stop consuming the infected soul." The System kept popping up in front of Dread Reaver as well as the multiple alerts. "Shut up! I know what I am getting into. I just need more power right now." Dread Reaver waved the annoying message away. Then he pointed his sword at the two Lion Mantises, and his black blade was shimmering with murderous energy. "System will provide souls to Death Knight Dread Reaver for free in this current battle, in exchange for him stopping the infected soul consumption. Failure to comply will result in the System imprisoning the Death Knight." The System stated with a severe warning. "Tsk, and here I thought I can feast on the rest of the Lion Mantises here. Fine, I accept your proposal. You better serve me enough souls to stop the endless slaughter of our allies." Dread Reaver replied in the System Channel as he discarded the last bit of the soul and took the initiative to strike. "Understood." The System agreed but did not stop at that. Because of the sudden change which the System did not understand, it did a quick analysis of Dread Reaver. Only then did it learn that the interference signature was similar to the energy pulse from the Dungeon Core. Thus, it could only conclude that those chimaera soldiers had been infected by the rumoured Crown of Beyond Depravity. Suddenly, a mission appeared on Jin''s phone, which took him by surprise. It had been a long time since the System had created a task for him. "Destroy the Crown of Beyond Depravity at all cost. Rewards: Dungeon Supplier Rank Up to 5." Jin read and realised it was a nearly a two rank upgrade from his current Dungeon Supplier Rank. He vaguely recalled certain permissions were lifted when he reached rank 3 but had no idea what was waiting for him at Rank 5. "Why the sudden mission?" Jin asked, and the System was direct. "Bring the remains to the System for isolation, containment and subsequent conversion to aid with increasing the processing capabilities. It should be usable as an alternative to the Titan Brain." The System stated, but only in hindsight did Jin realise this was a tall order to accomplish. Chapter 767 Counterattack Discussion Jin could see where this was going and understood where the System was coming from. Though he was surprised that the System issued an impromptu mission, the System explained how it had been closely monitoring the artefact since its activation when King Baal had taken it out in the Dungeon City. It also stated how the Crown''s energy had nearly corrupted Death Knight''s sanity. "Although a thorough analysis would be recommended, the System had classified the wielder of the Crown, Demon King Baal, and the artefact itself as extremely dangerous. Both needed to be taken down as soon as possible. Otherwise, the losses that User stands to face might be sufficient to not only negate the profits earned over the day but put us even more in the red." "He really must be damn powerful if it is as you said. It makes more sense moneywise to end it sooner rather than later." Jin guessed, and the System naturally concurred. The Crown had always been anticipated as a highly variable factor which could change the tide, but the System did not expect it to be this disruptive for Jin''s dungeon raid. If the cultivators were killed easily, it would definitely discourage them from coming back, especially when the amount they paid for more valuable tickets were relatively high compared to the usual dungeon instance ticket. Jin and the System had already put their plan into action to give the cultivators a second shot at the dungeon raid, mainly known as the redemption ticket, but they could not do this too many times, else they would lose the cultivators'' trust. There needed to be a balance like the Escape City Instance. It was tough, to the point that anyone has yet to actually complete it, but that did not mean the dungeon was overly punishing. Jin still gave them sufficient rewards for their hard work too. This was true as a blanket statement, especially in regards to the younger generation since Jin himself, knew that they were too reliant on incentives and gifts to prompt them to cultivate further. "In addition, Original Bellator Kraft and his team of Bellators had been sent to infiltrate the location given by Lord Moloch in an attempt to retrieve the enemy''s Dungeon Core. System has calculated that this would be the best time for a counterattack instead of just defending." The System stated and listed the possible options for Jin to consider. Upon reading the options, he believed it would be best to look for a second opinion and went to the Pandapolis War Room for some advice. He was surprised to see that Hou Fei was with Moloch, both of them were having a late dinner together. On the other hand, Qiu Yue was busy arranging the troops and cultivators, sending them orders to comply so they would not be too overwhelmed by the second wave of Lion Mantises that had come in. "I suggest you not to disturb her as she is in her zone right now," Moloch whispered as he took a sip from a straw while his man puppet held a coffee cup high for him to drink. "It''s fine, I have things to discuss with you instead," Jin explained how the System had issued him an impromptu mission and showed them that the Lion Mantises were actually enhanced by the Crown''s energy. "I see, no wonder Dread Reaver and Flame Ripper were having trouble holding them at bay. Still, sending in more of our minions might only increase the aggressiveness of the Lion Mantises. We''ve seen how they managed to adapt to the situation a bit too quickly for my comfort. Sending another comrade might only complicate things." Moloch said that this was the reason why Qiu Yue was so flustered, moving all the troops around. She wanted to give some ranged support to distract the Lion Mantises while at the same time, giving the two Goblin Heroes some room to breathe. "In any case, you will need to lure King Baal out of the safe zone permanently if you want to challenge him and destroy the crown." Hou Fei added as he had learned how the safe zone worked through Moloch''s teachings. All defender''s magic would have half the effectiveness within the safe zone while the attackers have their effectiveness doubled within the radius. If the attackers'' magical projectile was shot out of the safe zone, it would return back to its original effectiveness. Vice versa for the defenders as well so because of this dungeon cave rule, the defenders would never dare to go into the safe zone to fight as they knew that it would be a significant disadvantage against them. It was also the reason why the demons had not expected the initial bombardment to be so devastating. After all, who in the Dungeon World had heard about projectiles being so deadly without being infused with magic? "You will need to prove your worth if you wish to make him come out of it. That or you will have to lure him with a good enough bait." Hou Fei said and used his head to point at Moloch. Even the cotton minotaur lord understood that he was the best bait to get King Baal to act. "Still, having a good bait is useless if you do not know how to reel the fish into your hands. Don''t forget once the fish bites into the hook, it still has enough strength to fight and run away with it. In this scenario, the satisfaction of destroying Moloch and causing the rights of the Dungeon Core to return to him." "Not exactly the case, since our core is jointly ruled with two users. The System and Me. So even if I fall, King Baal will have to remove the existence of the System from the city first before the city can be captured." Moloch said, and the others were a little perplexed. How could one defeat the System? Does that mean the whole city had to be incinerated first, removing all traces that had System''s interference for it to cease its existence? "Heh, looking at your faces, I can already see what you guys are thinking. So yes, it will be very difficult for an ordinary fighter to remove the System away from the Dungeon Core. However, the latest impromptu mission that was given by the System sheds a different light in this particular case. It is now scared. Very scared of the crown-." Moloch was saying but as there seemed to be a sudden onset of heaviness in the air he stopped. "System, stop it! If you want us to help you, you should cooperate with us fully just this once." Jin complained as he knew how the System did not like to get challenged, preferring to keep up the facade of not showing any weaknesses. The air returned back to normal, and the guys could rest easy, but for Qiu Yue, she merely took a deep breath in before returning to handle the war table. "I will assist in this endeavour as well." Hou Fei said and started to lay his plan out for the other two to hear. "We need to attract the King''s attention and Jin, I suggest you take some monsters or cultivators and charge down the Sky Bridge, making your presence known." "When that happens, I believe Kiva will send in some soldiers to stop you, probably of the same calibre as the Lion Mantis or maybe even higher. Allocate some troops to stop them and then continue pushing forward." Moloch added, and Hou Fei agreed to it. "I assume you still have the Graveyard Core active for you, right?" Hou Fei asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Great, once you have fully descended to the ground, command your phantom soldiers to clear the demon horde that is stationed there." "You sure know as much as Moloch in this matter." Jin passed a casual remark which Hou Fei laughed at. "I have to know everything to plan my soldiers'' actions properly. Information is key in any war." The Royal Snake General said, and Moloch chimed with regards to the counterattack. "Hmm, if that''s the case, I will liaise with the Artillery Orcs and the Stalingrad to give you support if you can force the mages to lower their shields." Moloch suggested, and Jin was listening intently to what the tacticians were telling him. They gave him the overall picture but warned him that things might not go as planned, especially with Kiva around. "Do not worry. I know what to do. Besides, I am your master, got to show my face once in a while. Can''t let my minions do all the work, right?" Jin asked, and suddenly the System pinged an alert to Jin. "System shall aid in your endeavour for this particular mission by sending User the following rewards for completing a particular task weeks ago." A box appeared in front of the three guys, and Jin did not waste any time to open it. "Is this¡­" Moloch''s eyes were wide open for a long time as he saw the present bestowed by the System. When Jin saw the item''s description on his phone, he could not help but laughed. "Shit, this is a really long time. I never expected it to be ready when our scientists are all constantly working overtime." "Take it as the System''s initiative to balance the odds against King Baal." The System reported with much pride in the amount of effort within the present. "Great, then let''s do the counterattack, but we should coordinate it with the Foxes, so they can perform theirs too," Jin said as he placed the gift into his storage watch and proceeded outside with the System''s teleportation. Chapter 768 Fun Ride "What a weird place to put a maximum security prison," Kiyu stated. She, like the rest of the skulk, was in their fox forms surrounding Kraft as the only ''human'' to stakeout right outside the ''prison''. With Kraft using his abilities, no one should be able to see them before they acted. Still, it was effective enough to not catch any attention from the tower guards around the prison. "Only Moloch could think of such a ridiculous place to put a maximum security prison." Pei shook her head as she looked over the railings and surveyed the surroundings. It looked as if it was at the busiest street intersection of the Demon Metropolis and only a fair distance away from the Royal Palace. Guards were everywhere, and it served as a warning to the others who would dare commit crimes in the Demon Metropolis. At the same time, it was also a testament to Moloch''s intricate design and the portrayed image of the prison being unbreakable. Even if someone dared to try and break out, or yet even crazier, try to break in, the Royal Palace was on the watch, and many in the Royal Guards were dying to prove their worth so they could get promoted into the inner Royal Guards to serve the Demon King directly. Even if not for the Royal Guards, the demon adventurers themselves wished to prove their strength and hopefully gain some recognition to be a noble. The prison enticed people to catch the prisoners as if it had tremendous rewards to do so, but they did not know it was a ploy by the royalty and King Baal only gave such exemplary rewards twice. Still, that was enough for propaganda services to take effect. "I think it''s meant to attract this huge crowd so that people can see what the Demon King was doing when Moloch executed his long term plan. Sadly, that cotton minotaur couldn''t have predicted that his plan would potentially backfire this badly when he tried to prove to everyone King Baal was going insane." Evon commented, and the rest felt a tinge of pity for Moloch. "To be honest, I find that Moloch you guys are talking about, rather refreshing. In my opinion, its advantages of his construction outweigh the disadvantages by a lot, especially when you take into consideration how the demons can resurrect after a certain time frame, just by paying some money. If there was ever a prison break, there are too many witnesses around to catch the prisoners in action. Police in the vicinity is able to come and reinforce in time. Remember how hard it was to capture that one Weasel Cultivator back in the day because we enclosed him deep in the mountains, thinking he would not break out from his prison cage created by¡­Zhou Lin?" Rex took some difficulty to say the last name but nevertheless did so without any emotion. "Ah, that rascal weasel cultivator¡­He really was a major pain in the ass." Tsu reminisced as he climbed up onto Kraft''s head for a better view of the area. "If we are going the brute force way, I suggest we do it swiftly or else, the Royal Palace guards will come storming in less than twenty minutes." "So, we got to be out in less than twenty? Sounds eas-" Suddenly a large paper fan flew onto Kraft''s face and stopped him from talking. Pei held the paper fan with her mouth since she too was in fox form and subsequently took it out to shout at Kraft. "DO. NOT. CURSE. OUR. RUN!" Pei practically screamed each word with such ferocity that she really meant business and the others would not even dare to oppose her on that. Because of that unlucky running mouth of Kraft, things were bound to happen in the opposite way, and they had to work extra hard to overcome those unexpected adversities. Worst of all, they all knew Kraft was doing it intentionally, craving the extra chaos as it made things ''interesting'' as he would justify his actions. "I think his curse had already been activated." Itori pointed with her paw at the roadside beside the maximum security prison. An entourage of carriages with bright exquisite designs indicative of ''Royalty'' had been spotted right beside the gate of the prison. "Come to think of it, Moloch did say that only a small part of the Royal Family actually appeared on the battlefield. There were Prince Stolas and Princess Gaap with the latter being dead. Probably a few more siblings who had not answered the call for arms or perhaps they''ve been stationed here on standby?" Ixa queried, and suddenly a message was pinged on Kraft''s phone. "Oooh! Looks like there''s some interesting development. Jin is going for a counter-attack, and the System wants us to create a ruckus so the King will go after the ruckus to clear the raid to protect his Dungeon Core." "So¡­we are not caring about the royalty that came by?" Ixa asked once more since she had been ignored by the whole skulk. "What are you talking about sis? Of course, we care! We always care about the royalties!" Ixel answered in a sarcastic way, and Itori caught wind that her brother was implying on the Royal Zodiac clans. "Then, what are we waiting for?" Rex turned into a human and gave an upward nod along with a grin which everyone followed suit. Ixel placed his leg on the railing and using it as a support, he jumped up to the skies and looked down at the maximum security prison. Suddenly, Ixel landed on something in mid-air proving Kraft''s hypothesis to be true. There was yet another invisible energy shield that was protecting the prison, and the moment he stepped on it, the entire prison went on alert. Bells rang loudly, and deafening sirens were blaring throughout the whole prison. Spotlights started to illuminate, and Ixel continued to climb upwards despite the spherical curvature of the energy shield. The spotlights managed to gather on him, given that they used magic to direct the coordinates of the intrusion. With a few sprints, Ixel reached the pinnacle of the energy shield and jumped up once more. Separately, the guards quickly strengthened the shield to the maximum concentrating on the top part and started to sortie a few aerial sentry Dragonlites to the scene in order to stop the threat. The Royal Entourage that came to visit the prison hastened their steps into the prison, assuming command of the entire area. Currently, they did not know what the objectives of the intruder were but seeing that there only seemed to be one person, they assumed it could either be an accomplice trying to break out their friend out of prison or someone insane enough not to get captured by the toughest police in the city. Whatever the case, they would find out once they caught him. Kraft chuckled as he saw Ixel soar up to the sky and the feeble resistance meant to stop him. He saw the cultivation of the large Grizzly bear appearing above Ixel. "Oh, it will be a fun ride. A very fun ride, indeed!" Chapter 769 Yawn of the Hibernated Bear As Ixel jumped to the top, he was surprised that there was so little space for him within the dungeon cave provided by the Demon Metropolis. Hence he had to stop short before he crashed into the ceiling of the dungeon cave. With more than sufficient strength, Ixel clawed and stuck himself to the ceiling and placed one hand downwards, facing the maximum security prison. The Dragonlite sentries were a bit wary when they saw this attempted lawbreaker manage to reach the top of the Demon Metropolis without even breaking a sweat. For some reason, the strange stature and the fact that he was up there gave them a very bad feeling. The air pressure was getting thinner the higher they went up, and one of the Dragonlites already felt faint when they were approaching where Ixel had positioned himself. "Sorry guys, it''s nothing personal. Just business and pleasure." Ixel muttered as a ball of energy spiralled and generated around his palm. As one of the more promising Clan Head candidates of the Grizzly Bear Clan, Ixel had improved and mastered an Epic Grade Technique which already bordered on the Legendary Grade. It was the "Yawn of the Hibernated Bear." As the name suggested, it was similar to Jin''s Panda Yawning Chi Beam, and if anyone saw the two in action, it would be crystal clear that Ming had used this technique from the Grizzly Bear Clan as his inspiration. However, unlike Panda Yawning which could be activated almost in an instant, the ''Yawn of the Hibernated Bear'' required at least five seconds to charge even at the Epic Grade. (At Basic Grade, that particular technique required 20 seconds to charge.) Hence, the reason why Ixel had decided to jump upwards was to begin preparing for that spell. Comparatively, the technique Yawn of the Hibernated Bear, possessed an immense amount of power unless Jin decided to fully utilise his version by yawning longer. Ixel brought the miniature ball of spiral energy near his mouth so he could consume it and subsequently began to yawn naturally. To the Dragonlite sentries, there was a disturbance in the air, but they did not notice anything thinking it could be the air pressure, and when a beam of bright yellowish energy suddenly flew downwards, it came as a surprise. Ixel''s yawn burnt them into leaving nothing behind, not even ashes as the raging beam continued to descend towards the maximum security prison. Through Ixel''s visor, he noticed that the System had already adjusted his aim for him and automatically focused his beam so that he could concentrate on maintaining the output of the beam to the maximum. The rest of the skulk saw the beam moving rapidly down the skies and hitting the tip of the spherical energy shield. Even with enhanced layers being inserted to reinforce it, the shield barely held for a second, causing it to shatter completely. The seemingly unstoppable beam then drilled its way through the multiple levels of the maximum prison. All those metal, wood, concrete and special alloys melted as soon as they came in contact with Ixel''s beam and it the beam did not seem to have any intentions of stopping for quite some time. First, it reached the tenth floor, then it pierced through the twentieth floor, subsequently the fiftieth floor and only when it reached the ninety-eighth floor, did the beam finally lose enough power on the way to go on. Prince Paimon, the Second Prince to the throne, was flabbergasted. For a prison invader to do this much damage, just by himself, has been unheard of. He had never seen a magical attack this devastating that could penetrate these many floors in his life. One shouldn''t forget that each floor was more reinforced the lower one went, yet Ixel''s technique couldn''t care less about all the expensive materials the demons'' had used for construction. The Guards were in a dire pinch. There was nothing in their handbook that described such an unexpected situation to occur. Usually, prison invaders would be apprehended long before they could even pass the tenth floor, but this time around, the level of damage was just too outrageous. The poor guards even peered through the burnt hole to see how far it went, but all they could make out was darkness. However, as the half quoted saying went, curiosity killed the cat. Only in this instance, the ones killing the guards were the rest of the foxes when they took the opportunity to jump into the hole, biting off the heads of any poor onlookers. Except for Kraft, he had decidedly chosen to kick down the main door and was having his share of fun by eliminating any guards that he encountered. (The System was unsure whether to be happy or unhappy by this sudden influx of more souls) After his magnificent gate crashing performance, Ixel enjoyed the descent down into the depths as he returned back to a fox form and skydived to the 98th floor to meet with the rest of the skulk. Alas, by the time he reached there, all the demon guards and prisoners lay in a comatose state. They had all been bested by Evon who had long since released his psychedelic drugs into the surrounding atmosphere. The killing ensued so there was no resistance in their path to search for the staircase down and to not miss out any survivors who were mentally awake enough to see the skulk of foxes scurrying around to find the exit. Of course, with the blueprints uploaded into the System, it was only a matter of time before they found the door for Ixa to bash it through with a body slam. So they descended to the 99th where they repeated this process before eventually arriving at 100th floor. The guards were definitely more armed, but no one could escape the handle the strength of Evon''s drugs, making him think his initial plan could have worked. (Still, he decided to keep quiet, not wanting to incur the same kind of jinx that Kraft had.) "I believe it''s the elevator similar to what was drawn on the blueprint," Kai said as he saw the elevator gates open widely with no guards handling them. "Now, here comes the real challenge. The last nine floors are what Moloch described as the 9 levels to hell." Pei reminded them of the minotaur''s warning stated in Kraft''s memo, but she could see that it did nothing in the eyes of those battle-hungry foxes. All of them were already dying to have a proper fight that. Even Ixel who had just fired a death beam complained that it had merely been a warm-up for him. "You guys definitely have to give me the first boss, I am itching for some proper combat!" Rex demanded out loud as they all stepped into the elevator despite his initial claim to take the last floor but the entire skulk gave their objection simultaneously. "Why?! If I kill the first boss, you guys can go on ahead and handle the rest. I will catch up soon." Rex defended himself, but Kiyu spoke out. "No! If we allow you to do that, there won''t be anyone left for us to fight with!" "What are you talking about? If I fight the first¡­oh. You guys think that I will one-shot the first and continue with the rest as I descend down?" Rex gave a tease of his theory why they were objecting him so adamantly, and to his (not so) surprise, the entire skulk nodded their heads in unison. Even Pei who did not wish to fight that much felt it would be unfair. "Fineeeee. I will take the last level boss as usual. Just gather the keys to unlock the corridor to the dungeon core." The newly joined Panda Remnant reluctantly gave them the go-ahead with their plans. The elevator had brought them down to the 101st floor, and Pei walked out of the lift. "Since I am the weakest. I will take this." Pei decided, and no one disagreed. After all, she was the doctor, and it was best she cleared something easy so she could assist the others later on. As Pei waved goodbye to the skulk, blue flames lit up the corridor, directing her to the ''boss ''room. She decided to stay in her fox form and continued to walk with her senses heightened, ensuring there weren''t any traps around. "There is nothing to fear." She encouraged herself as she continued forward. Chapter 770 Paradiso As she walked into the corridor, the blue flames flickered slowly and suddenly became brighter, revealing the extent of the corridor hallway. Pei, still in her fox form, did not walk through the centre of the pathway and instead quietly ran through from one pillar to another of the extended corridor hallway. At the same time, she marvelled at the artwork along the corridor. It depicted a queue of cloaked humans cuffed by their chains awaiting the judgement of the executioner right at the end of the painting. "Heh. I wonder if Moloch is aware that he seems to have copied the Divine Comedy, Dante''s Inferno into his maximum security prison. Could it be that the writer was possibly a demon from Moloch''s time as well? Nah, that seems too far fetched. It would be more likely that the writer had just come in contact with a demon¡­ Hmmm." Pei thought to herself as she used her tail to shift the fox mask onto her face and take another look at the prison blueprints. Whether the first 100 floors had anything or anyone special to pit against the foxes, it would not have mattered since Ixel managed to break through with his technique. However, the final nine floors were ''special'' and the reason Kraft had assembled them all before venturing forth. Moloch''s blueprints indicated that the final floors were meant to create the true meaning of hell for the demons, humans or even half breeds who had committed sins in the Demon Metropolis. Unlike Jin''s world which required resources and money to revive, the Church of Afterlife who held onto the souls of the fallen was able to give anyone who had died a choice to resurrect again even if they did not have the money to pay for it. When they returned back to the living, they would then have to pay for the procedure with interest attached to it. (In essence, they worked like a bank, or maybe one might liken them to loan sharks.) Given their infinite lifespan, it was not really an issue but more of a meddlesome affair that would stick. The only problem with that was the Church of the Afterlife would not allow someone to die permanently. Whoever had agreed to the deal, they would be revived again and again, as many times as necessary, forced to work off the entire debt, no matter how long it would take. That was where Moloch''s infamous prison came into the picture. The Demon Metropolis did not gain its fame, power and riches because of the wise rule of King Baal nor the accumulation of efforts by the previous generations of Demons. Instead, the city only bloomed after the creation of such prisons like Moloch had built as the Church of the Afterlife suggested cooperation to regain their debts. Those who died while they were still indebted without the financial ability to pay back the Church of the Afterlife, were sent to these prisons for reforms. They would toll their lives in the hundred floors to make goods and products which would subsequently be sold and the proceeds, after the demons took their cut, were used to repay their debtors. It was a win-win situation for the Church. They would not have to bother with every creditor who owed them money, but every debt would be paid regardless of the methods. Even if the prisoners escaped, it was no longer the Church''s problem to deal with, since the responsibility would fall on the guards the Demon Metropolis had employed. All the Church had to do was pay enough taxes and money to the Demon Metropolis to make their problems go away. Hence, the rulers of these final floors were the prison supervisors, reformers and guards, which enforced the punishment to the prisoners who escaped. Though these ''prisons'' could be found in almost every major metropolis nowadays, none could compare to the unique design Moloch had used for the first of its kind, the maximum-security prison Paradiso. (It was #17 on the list of must-see tourist spots of the Dungeon World!) However, Paradiso hadn''t always been designed to work off the debtors of the Church. Initially, it was only made to imprison the worst of the worst offenders of the Demon Metropolis. Moloch would also be the only one to be crazy/ingenious enough to put the Demon Metropolis''s Dungeon Core at the last hidden sub room on the 109th floor of Paradiso. This was mainly because Moloch had created a so-called pity system for the prisoners in Paradiso. If they could win or kill the supervisors of the last nine floors, they would be replaced as the new reigning supervisors until their jail terms ended. Luxurious food, a place to stay, a flow of steady income as well as the lust of power, had effectively satisfied those criminals to live while upholding the status quo. In years, Paradiso''s final nine floors had seen so many challengers that the essence of the dead resulted in forming Dungeon Cores for each level. These Dungeon Cores then evolved to become the Dungeon World''s first prison cores and allowed those who lost to be shackled onto the core until a new owner came along. Whether the new reigning owner wished to unleash all the tormented souls or kept them for their dungeon would be up to them to decide. Thus, Moloch used these new concept cores to protect the keys used to unlock the room which housed the Metropolis'' Dungeon Core as part of the Metropolis defence against invaders. Only the absolute royalty like King Baal had access to the room without the need of those keys, and that was the authority of the owner of the Dungeon Core. Else, the invaders had to fight each and every level to get the keys to open the deadliest of defenders to acquire the dungeon core. It was, however, a trap made by Moloch and King Baal since no one had ever beaten all nine floors altogether. And even if they did, King Baal would have been notified as soon as the first one fell into the wrong hands, which would give him ample time to protect his Dungeon Core. Because of the achievement of creating such a wonderful defence system against invaders and his service to the throne, King Baal did not send Moloch into prison even after he betrayed him for taking his crown away. ¡­ After all, he was still sane at that point and understood what Moloch had been talking about. King Baal wanted to take action by sending Moloch to a secluded place and hoped he could create a countermeasure of the crown he was wearing. Moloch knew the King wanted to keep such power in his hands (and in check), but through the years, things changed. The crown had overpowered his mental will, and there were days he lost his ''sanity'' check, causing him to crumble and suffer through the pain until the next sanity check where the crown would leave him alone should he pass. Kiva had slowly taken over him and further imbued the crown with his own magic whenever possible. It was only a year after Moloch''s betrayal that Kiva took over Paradiso as the overall supervisor in charge and introduced such an insane recommendation to put not only the Church of Afterlife debtors inside, but anyone breaking the law for the smallest infringement since most of the cells had been empty and unused. By now, Baal had lost all reason to listen to sensible logic, allowing Kiva to do whatever he wished. Though it inadvertently became a moneymaker for the Metropolis, Paradiso turned into a defence system with capitalistic intentions, corrupting the very purpose of what the prison had once been created for. Yet Kiva thought nothing of it. He believed no one would be such an idiot to invade Paradiso or more so, the Demon Metropolis. Thus, it eventually became a thing of the past, and only fools and debtors who wished to get out of the prison attempted this new ''myth'' of Paradiso prison. However, the Ravenous Lord had totally overlooked that the Guard supervisors were still serving their King and city. Money and food were also sent based on a cut from Baal''s personal treasury. Even the King, throughout the years, had neglected this trivial issue because it had all been previously arranged by Moloch. Speaking of Moloch, over the years the Minotaur Lord tried to come up with various plans in his seclusion, but they all had too many variables, and the more promising ones would need an amount of strength neither he nor his minotaurs had possessed. That was why when Kraft proposed on getting the Dungeon Core, Moloch took some time to think about it. And the more he pondered about the idea, it made sense for Kraft and his skulk to capture the demon city. By taking the Dungeon Core away from King Baal, he would lose his stat bonuses as King of the Metropolis. That should weaken him enough for the rest of Jin''s group to defeat him and bring him to the System''s side, regaining his former self. Hence with this, he agreed to Kraft''s strike plan and gave him the details of Paradiso to the best of his knowledge. From blueprints to the possible weakest points of the prison, he put it into memory stick with the System''s help and that was why Kraft was busy typing away on his laptop during the entirety of the first invasion phase. He might have sworn allegiance to Jin, but in his heart, the wish to help King Baal return to his former self, had never faded. Chapter 771 Limbo - Part 1 "Listen up, the last nine floors have the keys we need to carry out our mission. The name might be familiar for anyone who''s heard about the Divine Comedy. Though in my opinion, the naming is pure coincidence." Kraft had explained when they first teleported to the building''s roof for surveillance. "Who cares? We have 18 levels of hell, sounds like this will only take half as long compared to that. Hahaha!" Ixel stated with such bluntness, the rest couldn''t help but laugh at his comment bitterly. "Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, Treachery. Those are the names of each floor, and according to Moloch all of the floors are themed in that manner too. Any prisoner gets to try and challenge any supervisor of those floors to their advantage." "Can you elaborate on that?" Pei asked, and Kraft smirked. "The themes must have to do with the personality of the corresponding guard supervisor. A person with more greedy traits would be more suited to be a supervisor in the Gluttony post as compared to getting a post in Lust." Evon imagined, and Pei nodded at that explanation. "Unfortunately the system continued to evolve after Moloch''s time, so his information on that is limited. Nevertheless, we are not here to challenge them to become the next guard supervisor. Feel free to get the keys for the Dungeon Core any way you like. But, looking at you guys, none of you seems willing enough to walk away from a good fight. " "Anyway, there is no reason why we should go through each floor one at a time. Time is a luxury we don''t have, so I expect you to NOT play around with your enemies. Nine foxes for nine levels¡­ I do not see why we shouldn''t break up and get each key." Kraft continued. "Well if you want, we can make it more interesting to see who among us will get their key the fastest. Also, whoever needs a helping hand will have to pay for it with one of Lynn''s desserts!" "Sounds like I am going to the last floor," Rex said with a nonchalant face. "Treachery sounds right up my alley." Even as he tried to stop thinking about the betrayal he had faced from his father, there was this dull burning ache in his heart. "Going by normal logic, the first floor should have the weakest supervisor, so I should take that one then." Pei decided as she raised her hand. Kraft somehow gave her a cold face though it later turned into a verily slight grin which none of them except the watchful Pei had noticed. She understood why he did that. The theme ''Limbo'' suited her quite nicely. She had not been the most faithful among the foxes in Kraft''s skulk despite her fulfilling her obligation by keeping a watchful eye at Jin''s every moment since he was the newest master. ¡ª¡ª- Though not as poetic as one could imagine, the further Pei moved forth, the more the beautiful and mesmerising corridor hallway became until she found out that the four walls started to split. At some point, it turned into something akin to a shattered mirror revealing the ugliness of this prison core. Pei was unsure if that was a normal illusion. Her high resistance should have allowed her to not fall under any such spells, but right in front of her, the scene turned into something grimmer. It appeared as if she was standing on the edge of a barren mountain cliff, void of life and the only way forward seemed to be the series of stairs that eventually spiralled into various paths into the abyss. Cold winds started to blow from below, and Pei could finally see some enemies approaching. Shaped like babies, they were moving as fast as Jin''s robot crawlers. Not only that, but their faces were also all distorted, leaving their eyes crossed out with a bleeding scar and horns growing abnormally throughout their bodies. Pei did not know which path to take, but instead of thinking too long on the issue, she took out a special paper fan. Unlike her regular paper fan, which she used to regularly beat Jin or sometimes Kraft with, this one was considered as one of the many heirlooms from the Crane Clan. It was golden with a beautiful scene of cranes flying to the east, and more importantly, it was imbued with the chi of herself. "Since all the paths lead to the bottom, I shall take the quickest one down." Pei thought to herself, assuming that diving into the cliff was the fastest way. But the moment she stepped over the cliff, the entire mountain turned upside down and both her and the disgusting baby abominations fell due to gravity. Those baby abominations quickly adapted to the situation by growing wings to get closer to their target. With Pei free falling, all she could do was to defend herself. While still in her fox form, she was agile enough to whack any incoming abominations with her large paper fan and evaded their assaults whenever needed. Nevertheless, their numbers did not seem to be dropping at all, instead rather increasing, forcing Pei to transform to her human form and releasing her cultivation aura. The burst of aura burnt any incoming baby abominations giving Pei space to fully utilise her paper fan. "Advanced Fan Art, The Crane Descends into The Lake," Pei announced her fan technique, causing the paper fan to split into two and a subsequent burst of energy was released as she used the two fans like the crane''s wings open widely to glide into a lake. That twin burst of energy cleared the surrounding of all the baby abominations, and soon enough, Pei realised that she was able to touch on some ''ground'' in the air even though the mountain and spiralling stairs were still upside down. "Ah¡­please do not tell me that the spiralling stairs leading to heaven are some stupid metaphor." Pei criticised out loudly, and she heard a loud laugh. "HEAVEN?! HAHAHAHAH!" The booming low voice echoed all around her. The sky shattered once more like a mirror and Pei returned back to the very same momentous hallway she had been at a few minutes ago. Only this time, there was a throne chair at the very end of the hallway. The person on the throne chair beckoned her to come closer. She followed the request cautiously and the closer she got, the more confused she was. The ''person'' on the throne resembled ¡­Moloch? "Huh, a minotaur. And here I thought I won''t see any of you around." Pei wondered as she combined both of her paper fans into one large weapon again. "WHY IS THAT?" The big faced Black Minotaur abruptly shouted with curiosity. "Woah, I''m right in front of you, is there really a need to shout, big guy? It''s just¡­erm ever since the invasion, I''ve never seen a single minotaur on the demons'' side. So I thought that all of them were under Moloch''s care." Pei explained her thought process. "did you just say Moloch?! you saw him? where is he now?" The Black Minotaur''s expression turned into delight, but the more Pei spoke with him, the more she felt that there was something seriously wrong with this particular minotaur. "So you do know him? Currently, he is defending a city we made together. Well, I didn''t do much per se¡­but he created the city for our new master." "MASTER? NEW MASTER?" The Black Minotaur questioned once more with an earth-shattering volume, but this time Pei got a scrutinising look at him. His face would shift, but the voice wasn''t emitted from his mouth. Instead, the two pauldrons on his shoulders, one on each, would light up. "did Moloch really betray king baal and go for another person? we have been trying to search for him for so long. we even killed someone to go into this prison to look for him. even when we became paradiso prison supervisors, we still did not see him. why hasn''t he come looking for us? did he abandon us as well?" "We? Us?" Pei could only see one minotaur on the throne, and she could sense no one else in the area. "Who are you to him? He didn''t mention anyone of his people being down he-" "MOLOCH FORGOT US? WHO ARE YOU? WHY MOLOCH FIGHT WITH HUMAN?" Now Pei could clearly see. The loud voice was emitted by the right red pauldron while the other gentler one was from the left yellow pauldron. "looks like our invader has more information about him that we know. let''s subdue her and get information out of her." "THAT WE SHALL, BROTHER." Chapter 772 Limbo - Part 2 The Black Minotaur stood up, and this action finally made Pei realise why it reminded her of Moloch. More accurately speaking, it had reminded her of Moloch''s man puppet. Like the Minotaur Lord, Pei believed that her opponent must also have been reduced from their former self into a set of pauldrons who were now controlling that Black Minotaur like a puppet. "Is that why they are in a state of limbo? Unable to find their master and having doubts about serving the new one?" Pei wondered to herself as she readied her weapon. There should be no need to pull punches for she knew that delaying time here would only cause more problems. Besides, killing them should allow the Black Minotaur to reunite with Moloch, and he could explain the situation from there. No use babbling at an enemy who refused to listen. Surprising her less and less with each time, the ''reality'' in front of her shattered once more and in the next moment, the Black Minotaur appeared behind her, attempting to strike her back with one fell swoop. It was only through instinctive reflex that Pei was able to block it with her reinforced paper fan. Following up on it, she redirected the force energy as part of her counterattack. "THIS HUMAN STRONG!" The red pauldron lit up, giving his opinion while the emotionless Black Minotaur merely complied to its puppeteer''s orders. "i agree. usually most people are already dead by this time. we should be more careful with this opponent, brother." "System, do you think killing will work against these pauldrons? They are ¡­non living entities." Pei recalled that the System should be unable to get anything that was not alive and breathing. "Unable to confirm. The capture of Moloch was based on his renewed fealty to our User and not because of User''s blade. However, other instances in the Dungeon World have proven that System has also been able to capture robotic beings despite them not being a form of natural life. Former Crane Bellator Pei should experiment." In short, all the System stated was to just give it a try. If she killed the Minotaur Lord''s subjects, and they were not able to be captured, they could only curse their wretched fate. "What? And if they die?!" Pei did have time to reply as she had already restrained her strength allowing the Black Minotaur to have the upper hand for now. "Former Crane Bellator Pei, it is best you concentrate on the battle. This is the Dungeon World. Death here is nothing permanent. Remove all thoughts and get the key to the Dungeon Core. User has already begun his counterattack. No failures allowed." The System emphasised the need for victory and Pei began to recall why she was in such a dilemma. She had been like that for most of her life, unable to make her own decisions. She had wandered through life following her parents'' instructions to train to become the next clan head¡­ until the rebellion. Some of her clan people believed that Pei''s insistence of interfering was because she had been roped in due to her innocence and naivety, making her think in ''righting the injustice''. In contrast, others assumed that it was because of the enhanced coercion by Kraft of the Fox Clan. Nobody believed it was her path nor her own decision to follow through the rebellion. Ironically her actions, along with the others ''foxes'' who had all acted according to what they each thought would be for the greater good of their clan, had inevitably caused their clans'' rapid decline. After the most promising candidates for the next chiefs of their respective clans were gone, the ones left behind had resulted to infighting. Despite the rebellion going well in the first stages, the fallout of the involved clans had led them to their rapid decline. And once Panda Clan Head Zhou Lin had been taken out by them, with no one else to obstruct the annexation of the Royal Zodiacs, most of these clans were decimated by the Royal Clans as part of the revenge for the damage their ''leaders'' had caused. It might have been their victory to stop the frenzied Zhou Lin¡­ but ultimately was it worth the cost? They had partially gone out to spare their clans the exact fate, their actions had brought upon them¡­ Kraft, as the first Original Bellator, had been the one to suffer this realisation. To spare his weakened comrades from feeling the same, he had decided to place his ''foxes'' into bullets, partly to help them recover, but mostly in order to shield them from all these unwarranted hate from the remnants of their clans. Yet, they were not oblivious to it since the System had revived them as part of a deal. Even if it was in the initially unstable form of foxes, they were privy to listen to the hearsays and rumours as Kraft forged ahead alone into the future. Pei was the one most affected by it and her uncaring attitude when she came out of the ''fox'' bullet was due to the unseen consequences she could not bear the burden with. She had once looked up to Kraft as a mentor, a leader, and possibly a person who she could trust with her life. That had been her faith for him until the end of the rebellion. ¡ª¨C "AN OPENING!" The red pauldron shouted once more, but it awoke Pei up from her needless thinking. Still, there was sufficient time for her to react, and she transformed into a fox, preventing the Black Minotaur''s axe from slicing her into two. "Ahhh¡­why am I bothered with so many thoughts all of a sudden? Is this one of the functions of this floor? SHIT, Moloch could have mentioned that!" Pei cursed under her breath before she did a backflip in her fox form and landed on the throne chair. "Do you wish to see Moloch?" Pei shouted from the throne, and the Black Minotaur lowered his guard for a moment. "how can we know that you are his ally and not someone who has manipulated him to go against our king?" The Yellow Pauldron asked. "And that is your reply after what the King did to you? Tell me, wasn''t your King the one to have reduced you two brothers into this pathetic state? Wasn''t he the one to banish Moloch in the first place? Yet, you still have loyalty to your King?" Pei questioned. "YES. KING BAAL FOREVER OUR KING. MOLOCH MADE PRISON TO SAVE KING BAAL. MOLOCH NEVER BETRAYS." "Then, there you have it. Right now, Moloch is fighting against King Baal to save him. If you don''t trust my word, maybe you will trust his. Take this mask and look through it. System patch them through to Moloch." Pei demanded as she felt there was no need for slaughter, the more she thought about it. Not everything needed to be solved with violence. The Black Minotaur picked up the mask and did not smash it, throwing the System''s expectation out of the window. Thus, the System complied to Pei''s whims and connected it to Moloch''s private channel. "Pei? Is that you? Do you need help with Paradiso''s defences? Be quick, I do not have much time to talk with you. Jin''s already riding halfway through the sky bridge wreaking havoc amongst the enemy frontlines to fight against Baal. If possible, you guys should clear it even faster to help Jin. Otherwise, I don''t know if we have enough powers to stop Baal''s rampage." The constant yapping of Moloch suddenly broke the spirits of that pair of Pauldrons on the Black Minotaur. "milord!" "MILORD!" Chapter 773 Limbo - Final Suddenly a change in tone could be heard through the intercom of the fox mask visor. "Ani?! Ototo!? Is that you?! I''ve sent out Sebastia countless times, but she couldn''t find you! How did you two end up in Paradiso?! Wait, does that mean the two of you defeated Pei?!" "I am still here, you dumbass cotton butt!" Pei shouted as she transformed back into her human form and sat on the throne chair comfortably. "How did you find-?! No, there is no time for that now. Ani, Ototo. I beseech the both of you to help Pei with her quest. We need to get the keys of the Demon Metropolis'' Dungeon Core to weaken King Baal. I promise to have a long talk with the two of you about what has happened after we separated." "BUT THAT FOX¡­LADY SAID U HAVE NEW MASTER!" "Sorry Ototo, I do. In order to save King Baal, I had to switch sides. That is all I can reveal for now. If you do not trust me, I believe Pei can convince you enough with her strength. Ani, continue to protect your brother. ¨C FIREBALL INCOMING!" Moloch was interrupted, and the voice channel got cut off. "What are you going to do now? Continue to fight me?" Pei asked as she rested on the throne, only to realise how comfortable it was. Was that the reason why so many kings and queens loved their throne chairs that much? "If not, hand me the keys, swear an oath to protect Moloch and I will teleport you to him immediately." "FOX LADY CAN DO THAT?!" "careful. she might be using magic to deceive us. like how we were constantly being deceived by this place''s illusion." "BROTHER, YOU MEAN THIS IS ANOTHER TEST FOR US?" "i can''t say for sure. but what if we trust her and this happens to be another test?" "Seriously? I cannot believe I went through all that effort to try convincing you guys! I thought you were Moloch''s subjects, comrades, friends or whatever else you might call yourself. Sigh, fine¡­ brute force it is, then." Pei said as she stood up with her paper fan, and decidedly walked towards the Black Minotaur puppet. Their guard was still down, and they continued to treat her as a being with little to no threat. "rules dictate that we cannot easily give up the prison supervisor role or else they- ow!" the yellow pauldron was hit by the Pei''s paper fan that swooped in and whacked him from the side nearly sending him flying. "Please, just stop wasting my time and give me the key! I promise I''ll send you to Moloch right now if you do!" Pei bargained while continuing to whack the yellow pauldron forcing the Black Minotaur on the defensive. "SMALL SIS, STOP HITTING MY BROTHER!" "SMALL SIS?!?!" Pei looked at the red pauldron with fiery eyes, and Ototo feared that he had said something terribly wrong. To his surprise, Pei went towards the red pauldron and gave it a little pet at the edge of it. "Good boy. Looks like at least one of you brothers knows their manners well. But call me pretty sister next time, okay?" "SEE BROTHER ANI? PRETTY SIS IS GOOD PERSON! SHE NEVER HIT ME!" "gosh, ototo. that is why lord moloch wanted me to protect you." The yellow pauldron sighed at the situation. He understood by the way she had easily attacked that they wouldn''t be her match and judging by the way she showed kindness to his brother she also wasn''t a bad person per se. "lady- i erm mean pretty sis. please wear us on your shoulders. we will open the Prison Core for you to get the dungeon core key. but if we sense any deceit on you, we will not hesitate to cut you down." Ani offered with a bit of trust in her. "I will gladly take that blow." Pei nodded her head as she picked up the pair of pauldrons from the Black Minotaur and to her surprise, it turned into dust the moment she removed the pauldrons from its shoulders. Even the axe it was carrying dissipated like yet another figment of reality. "Huh, I wondered if that Man Puppet Moloch had been holding to, would also disintegrate this way if I forcefully pull him out like that?" She thought to herself. "Also, don''t tell me that was how Moloch looked like before he turned into a cotton butt?" Pei asked, and the other two had no idea what she meant by ''cotton butt''. They thought it was some magical artefact. "NO, LORD MOLOCH MORE HANDSOME. HE HOLDS NO AXE!" Ototo replied though Ani decided to keep his comments to himself. Pei did as instructed and placed the pauldrons on her shoulders, and suddenly the pauldrons took over the control of her arms and got a shock. "OH MY GOD, SHE COULD HAVE KILLED US INSTANTLY!?!?" "i ¨C i ¡­i guess you are right. we are sorry to have doubted you." Ani said in an apologetic voice. How much had she held back when attacking the Black Minotaur just now?! "Hmm? I did not sense any release of memory and information or any psychological attack on me. What did the two of you do just now?" Pei started to check if this place had left any holes in her psychic barriers allowing the two of them to take over her body,. "no, there is no need for us to do that. the moment we came into contact with your body, it has already told us you''ve been through more battles than us. that your duels were much fiercer than us. there was no need to ¨C urgh why are you hitting us so hard?!" "PERVERTS?! YOU GUYS ARE PERVERTS?! WHO ALLOWED YOU TO ANALYSE MY BODY?!" Pei screamed as she kept whacking the two pauldrons. "SHE CAN TALK LIKE ME?!" Ototo was happy for the wrong reasons. "please calm down, pretty sis! we don''t have any choice in this form, we learn the prowess of anything we touch! we were only relieved that you did not kill us and instead gave us the opportunity to assist our lord! i will show you the key right now! " Ani surrendered in a hurried manner as the beating did not seem to stop and for some reason, she appeared to prioritise beating him over his brother. He really started to feel as if he was going to die. Not soon after, when Pei finally calmed down, the pauldrons opened the throne chair and revealed the Prison Core. With a few mumblings coming from Ani, the core released the key which by itself looked rather unique. The key was not made of any crystal but instead covered with a layer of reflective mirror all around it, reflecting whatever Pei saw. "Seems fitting of ''Limbo'' stage," Pei whispered as she kept the key and took off that disgusting pair of pauldrons. "Now repeat after me by swearing an oath, and then I can send you off to Moloch," Pei instructed the Pauldron Brother who did as instructed before being sent off to meet their long-awaited Minotaur Lord. One key down¡­ Eight more to go? Chapter 774 Pandawans Regroup "FIREBALL INCOMING!" Moloch shouted as he tightly held on to Jin''s head. The dungeon supplier pulled the reins of his black sludge panda mount to evade the incoming projectile by jumping over it. For once, Jin''s tactician had decided to come out and act as the bait, luring the enemies to work with newfound vigour. Jin wasn''t alone in his counterattack assault. He had followed the advice of Hou Fei to recruit the cultivators into his cavalry team to rush through the sky bridge infested with Demons. ¡ª¨C "Any Pandawans still around at this time?" Jin asked in the open pandemonium voice channel. "Boss Jin?" It was a familiar and somewhat nostalgic sound to the Pandawans who had toiled for the past few hours. Slowly, more of the Pandawans reported their presence and Jin could not believe it. Almost all of them were still around for the raid despite it being this late. "You can''t actually blame us since our generous donor here had decided to sponsor all of our expenses just this once. Although, I don''t think anyone of us would mind being there next time." Blind Bat Cultivator Yue Han not so subtly hinted at Xiong Da contributions. "Only if everyone in the Pandawan chat group appears. Otherwise no free rides!" Hungry Hippo Cultivator Xiong Da imposed on that condition very strictly since he wanted there to be unity among the Pandawans. "He just wants to spend money after work hours. And here I keep telling him not to spend that much. Boss Jin had already warned him that if he doesn''t watch it, the ''unlimited'' fund for his help back then will eventually run out." Esthetic Egret Cultivator Ruo Ying shook her head in dismay, knowing that she could not stop him from using his money to ''help'' his friends. "You can spend more on me!" Luo Bo, the Illusive Rabbit Cultivator, said in the new temporary Pandawan only channel. "Please Xiong Da, save me from eventual debt. Please! ow-!" Shi Zuo pleaded honestly in the channel, and they could infer that Luo Bo was the one that cut him off the voice chat. "Ya, I am totally busted just from defending, it really sucks. Boss, to be honest, can''t we have an easy win for once? Oh shit! Bin Yong! On your right! Lion Mantis!!" Yue Wen shouted as most of them were still in combat, mostly trying to delay the attacks coming from the Lion Mantis so Dread Reaver and Flame Ripper could kill them. "Pandawans, that''s why I have a proposition for you guys. Let''s counterattack, and I will lead the charge." Jin''s short and simple statement suddenly lit up the eyes of all the Pandawans. They had always wanted to see their Boss in action, and this was the first time that Jin proactively volunteered to let them feast their eyes on his actual strength. "YES!" All the Pandawans felt as if their strength had returned and they did not hesitate to rush down any Demons that they were facing before moving to the coordinates Jin gave them to meet up with him. The Orcs who were in the field quickly filled their gaps to prevent the Demons from taking advantage of the gap they had. The first to arrive were Angry Ape Cultivator Bu Dong and Towering Tortoise Cultivator Kong Xian. They were surprised to see that Jin wasn''t there yet. Instead, it was a group of people they did not instantly recognise, but as they approached them, realisation suddenly struck Bu Dong. "Ah! Aren''t you guys the bosses from the various instances in the Tree Mall?" He asked, and they all chuckled. "Looks like I am not inferior to Boss Jin when it comes to being famous." Owner of Lele Castle Tower Instance and Cultivator of the Hunting Hog Si Fang boasted as he nodded his head. "Boy! Catch!" Owner of Offshore Sea Store Instance and Cultivator of the Shimmering Shark, Lai Fu threw a vitality drink towards Bu Dong. "For the first one to recognise us, it''s a small gift. Hahahah!" "Who would not recognise you? You always shout from the second floor in the morning to promote your goods." Manager of Panda Burger Instance and Cultivator of the Hunting Hog, Ke Ru scoffed at him. "Guys, chill. We are here to have fun. It''s quite rare we can allocate some time to spend together." Co-Owner of the Panda Arcade Store and Cultivator of the Hunting Hog, He Rong tried to appease his friends. "This is amazing! I''ve always lauded and admired Landlord Jin for his brilliance in creating the Food Pyramid Instance, but I''ve never expected him to get this crazy for his dungeon instances! Is it always like this?!" Owner of the Mixed Rice Stall in the Food Pyramid Instance and Cultivator of the Waking Wok, San Sun exclaimed. "It''s not always that crazy. I frequented enough to know that this is indeed an epic raid event. He must have prepared it for a long time as something truly special for the start of the new year." Owner of the Meow Meow Karaoke Instance and Cultivator of the Cacophonic Cat Mang Tang reasoned. "Heh, you guys will get lucky to see Boss Jin in action tonight. We cultivators have frequented his dungeon store for so long, and yet this is the first time he promised to appear and lead us." Bu Dong informed them. Not long after, the rest of the Pandawan arrived and exchanged greetings. "How about giving them a small discount if they do well?" Jin was the last to arrive. He had dressed in a black and white jacket with an emblem at the side of his sleeve, with the words "BOSS" in English with a fierce Panda face affixed at the top of it. All of them chuckled at Jin''s way to show off his position as the leader. Given his personality, he was usually not that kind of person, which made the strange getup even more amusing. There was no need for him to reinforce his position. After he had bested the Triad Boss and established the Tree Mall, no one would doubt that he was the real boss of the Tian Gong Shopping District. "So Boss, what is your counterattack proposal?" Xiong Da asked, and Jin took out a few Black Sludge Crystals from his storage watch. With a bit of chi manipulation, those crystals glimmered a little before transforming into a cloud of black sludge above the group''s head. "We are going to strike hard and fast, catching the attention of the server''s main boss. According to my developers'' kit program, he is undoubtedly one of the strongest monsters that the server has ever created, and even I may have some problem fighting against it alone. I hope I can count on your help for this once in a lifetime opportunity." Jin explained while asking for their help. He showed them the picture of King Baal with the aid of some hologram. Many were aware of the capabilities of Jin''s instances to create such a simple hologram, but cultivators like San Sun were surprised to see such futuristic graphics. Yet the Pandawans on site, they were all grinning hard that they could finally hit back against the Demon Horde. Chapter 775 Deaths Grasp The hologram then changed to show them the most straightforward and shortest route towards their target. Most of the cultivators immediately understood the meaning of the various flaring red dots in between themselves and the big X representing their goal. It only made sense that the instance would throw more obstacles in their way if they pushed back hard. "So, it''s like escorting our King Panda to checkmate their King?" Bombardier Beetle Cultivator Bin Yong summarised the entire ''activity'' laid out to them. "I don''t think you can checkmate a King with a King in chess. Also, King Panda sounds rather ¡­" Jin wanted to continue, but the Pandawans were not giving him any chance to recover after Bin Yong''s comment. "By the way, Boss, what''s the black ¡­eh liquid above us?" Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivator Jia Le questioned. "Hahaha. That is a magic trick by itself." Jin laughed as he raised his hands up once more, and the Black Sludge started to whirl around each of the cultivators. Without touching them, Jin requested all of them to distance themselves apart until each black sludge only surrounded themselves without touching anyone else. "Now, please emit your cultivation aura." Jin gave the next set of instructions, and the rest followed. Soon enough, the black sludge absorbed their chi from the cultivation aura the group had emitted and created a mount based on each of their animals. The Pandawans were genuinely impressed by it as they familiarised themselves with their own animal mounts. For those Pandawans who did not have animals as their cultivation, the black sludge created item based mounts related to their cultivation. So, Jia Le received a floating Bellflower, Yue Wen got a winged angel looking maiden statue while San Sun''s was a flying wok. To Jin''s surprise, the Black Sludge actually accommodated the colours and perception of the Pandawans, unlike his own totally Black Panda with varying shades of grey. It was a discovery that even the System started to take note of it. However, the reason for the differing results was a question for another time since time was limited, and they still had to take down the Big Boss of this particular dungeon instance. "Say, since you are the creator of this instance, then can''t you just teleport to the boss and fight him directly? Or better yet teleport all of us?" Man Tang slowly got up on her upsized cat mount, but Xiong Da answered her in the form of a question of his own. "Where is the fun in that?" The rest of the group nodded solemnly as they all saddled up on their mounts. In the meantime, Jin briefly checked the situation concerning the Lion Mantises. They were currently further back on the defensive platform to prepare the group. "I need to dash out of the defensive platform without any of the Lion Mantises catching up to us. Do you think you two can do that?" "I have a skill that should be able to stop them in their tracks for ten seconds. However, that is all the time I can buy, despite System''s promise to give me unlimited souls. I am sorry, Master, for not being more capable." Dread Reaver apologised as he parried another Lion Mantis. "You sure you can catch all of them?" Flame Ripper could not help doubting the ability of his sworn brother since he knew it would be a challenge to do so. "No worries, Bro. I can do it. Trust me." Dread Reaver replied as his black sword glimmered with a bit of blue aura, preparing for the skill. "Master! I¡­ will power up my ¡­music." It took a bit for the Zither Mistress the speak out, but it was evident from her tone and voice that she was already panting and could possibly be reaching her limits. "I will assist you with the restrain! You just need to catch them Dread, Reaver." Sandy encouraged the Death Knight, as she could not stand around doing anything when Ke Mi was playing so violently and yet meticulously on her zither to slow down the corrupted Lion Mantis. "Hmph, I need to pick up the slack as well. Ifrit, I implore you to share with me your powers to burn these insects to a crisp!" Flame Ripper thought to himself, and the only reply he got was a deep ancient voice which apparently smirked at his resolve. "Alright, everyone! Get ready!" Jin said simultaneously to his monsters as well as Pandapolis first-ever ''Militia Cavalry''. Some of the Pandarens on-site who witnessed the next scene could not believe the unison between Jin''s monsters and his cultivator cavalry. Suddenly the sound of a war horn was heard blowing out loudly, and that was the System''s prompt to start the counterattack assault as Dread Reaver revealed his skill. "This time around, all of you are not getting from me! Death''s Grasp!" Dread Reaver shouted as he swung his sword to parry a blade and kicked the Lion Mantis away as far as he could. Then, the Death Knight plunged his sword into the ground, and a small void domain appeared with shadowy black arms emerging to target the Lion Mantises with the assistance of the System. Although the arms were moving relatively fast, the Lion Mantises were certain that those would not be able to pinpoint and catch them. However, they were dead wrong. It had been Dread Reaver''s intention to catch all of them ever since the evolved goblin consumed one of their souls. It was not his primary objective but eating just a speck of their soul had allowed Dread Reaver to keep track of all of them with his eyes imbued by the power of death. He could clearly trace the souls of the Lion Mantises, and this extended to his ability Death''s Grasp. No matter how they tried to evade, the shadowy arms were all chasing after them. Just as the cocky Lion Mantises tried to escape Death''s Grasp at the very last moment, they suddenly realised their speed had further decreased. This was solely Ke Mi''s contribution. The Zither Mistress had summoned out a second zither on the stage, and she played both simultaneously. Using her magic to control the strings'' pitch and tone, her fingers were the only thing left to play the musical instrument. Her multi-tasking ended up further amplifying the slow debuff magic by two-fold and helped those Lion Mantises to be caught. "Not as fancy as Dread Reaver''s but taste this ''Sandy''s Grasp''." Sandy invoked her magic as she looked at a hologram presented to her by the System since the sand dome blocked all vision. With Death''s Grasp inhibiting any movements on their part, the System was able to share the specific coordinates for Sandy to project her magic and further solidify the restraint created by the Death Knight. "A little something special since my cute Ke Mi is working so hard," Shu spoke out of place as root spikes appeared and impaled straight through each and every Lion Mantises'' mouth. "That''s a bit unnecessary, but we''re grateful for the assist, Grandpa Shu!" Flame Ripper shouted as he brandished his red-hot flaming daggers towards the restrained Lion Mantises. "Destruction Dagger Dash!!" Chapter 776 Descending Down The Sky Bridge Flame Ripper''s attack literally ripped through all the restraints that had been placed on the Lion Mantises, including their ties to life. Ifrit had answered Flame Ripper''s call for more power and blessed him with another increase in terms of his speed, allowing him to reach a high enough velocity to pierce through the Lion Mantises armour. However, speed was nothing when there was no precision. Were it not for the combined teamwork of Jin''s minions, Flame Ripper could not have steadily aimed for the necks of the Lion Mantises. By the end of his Destruction Dagger Dash, the cultivators around him would remember him as a monster not to mess around with in the future when they saw all the decapitated heads slowly sliding off Shu''s spikes. Instead of consuming the bodies, as usual, he now grew more roots to cover the rest of the bodies and even secreted some corrosive poison from his root spikes. This caused the Lion Mantises to melt to prevent them from have the slightest chance of regenerating. At that moment, Jin had already led the charge forward with his band of cultivators towards the sky bridge while Qiu Yue ordered the rest to divert their fights aside to create a path for the Pandapolis Cavalry to push on. However, the Demon Horde was not about to give any quarters for this newly formed band of humans to charge through their hard-earned progress. In record speed, they had already formed a defensive formation at the edge of the sky bridge awaiting Jin''s group. "Those insolent demons." Sandy cursed as she unveiled the Sand Dome for Ke Mi to take in some fresh air. In the meantime, she also used the materials from the Sand Dome to create an upward gradient over the Demon Horde''s defences, allowing Jin''s Cavalry to charge forward without any impedance. "Guys, I don''t see any ground after that point?! ARE WE JUMPING OFF THE SLOPE?!!" Yue Han questioned even though his Bat mount was already hovering along with the rest of the group. They all felt that they could exert control on the mount with some chi manipulation, but that particular idea did not really register to Yue Han as anxiety got the better of him first. "YES, WE ARE!" Jin shouted as he placed more Maqi into his Black Sludge Panda while preparing Green Panda Wind energy to allow the entire cavalry to safely land further on the sky bridge. "Stalingrad, commence bombardment on the sky bridge! Take note of our allies!" Hou Fei ordered as he watched the progress of Jin and Captain Gan Yang quickly acknowledged, relaying the command given by his general. "Wyrstriker, prepare to sortie a flyby to clear any pesky remnants from the bridge!" Qiu Yue complemented Hou Fei''s tactics with aerial units so that the threat on the sky bridge could be minimised when Jin''s Cavalry moved through it. Wyrstriker and his knights gladly took the mission with pleasure. He had already been worried that they would be out of commission after returning from their fight against the Dragon Devils and Bat Bottleflies. Though the Goblin Clerics and Mages complained about needing a rest, some nearly vomited out the mana potions they had been drinking like water. All just so they could heal Wyrstriker and his knights in time. Mostly because they were very adamant about going back to the field because they believed that the situation could change with their presence. "On my command¡­ JUMP!!!" Jin shouted as he released his Green Panda Wind energy to his whole group, allowing the cavalry unit to soar into the skies as well as giving them an easier time to manipulate their chi onto their mounts. From their elevated position, they had the perfect view of the last wave of Stalingrad''s punishing bombardment clearing the masses of demons off the bridge. And as if that was not enough for, the Wyvern Goblin Knights were swooping in from their sides not a moment later, blowing wyvern fire into any remaining survivors. "Holy shit, if this is not a massacre, I do not know what is." Mad Monkey Cultivator Shi Zuo said as he looked down from his soaring mount. "Stay sharp! We are landing soon, so convert some of your chi into a forward point barrier." Jin reminded them and then realised some of the lower grade cultivators like Si Fang and Ke Ru might not catch on to this rapid development. Even the seasoned Pandawans were confused about hearing such a term for the very first time. Noticing the strange silence, Jin finally recalled that he was only able to do such a thing because his chi had combined with magic. The same, however, could not be said about his group. "It''s alright, don''t mind what I''ve said. Just stay behind me. We are going to charge without stopping. We''ll only halt when we are in front of the final boss!" Jin then looked back at his shoulder. Right inside the hoodie of the jacket, Moloch popped out of it and was already aware of what Jin wanted. "I will assist with the barrier, but it will be flashy. King Baal or Kiva will immediately realise that it would be my doing." Moloch said, making Jin grin. "Isn''t that the whole point of this counterattack assault?" "Depends on whether or not you mind getting greeted with a giant fireball for sheltering your enemies'' greatest enemy. Fine then, since we aren''t going to hold back, I will also prepare some off-hand offensive spells to hurl at enemies while reinforcing your shields." Moloch agreed as he checked his ''seat belt'' on Jin''s hoodie to ensure that he was still appropriately secured. "You sure you want to waste your strength on these rascals?" "No worries about that. I left my puppet behind, which basically frees up my mana, so I should have more than enough to go by." Moloch said as he magically popped out his deck of cards (the look of the minotaur plushie with a mini-sized deck of cards was so cute, it gave Jin the idea for a celebratory plushie if they came out alive) "Besides, I believe more help is coming in, so I should be fine." "If you say so- Oh Shit!" Jin barely landed on the sky bridge, he suddenly saw a giant fireball coming his way and he quickly put up a Maqi Barrier to stop the attack (Did Moloch jinx them or was he just aware of his former king''s characteristics?). "Maintain position!" Jin shouted as the fireball splattered itself onto his barrier and subsequently spilt over to the sides of the barrier. The System detected that it was coming from the Safe Zone and specifically from their VIP. There was no need for Moloch to show off his magic tricks. It appeared as if he had already managed to grab the attention of King Baal. The Pandawans were impressed that Jin was able to stop a fireball head-on when all of them would have just attempted to evade it with fear in them. "Oh gosh, Boss. You are awesome!" Luo Bo sang him praises as she took out her bow and arrow. "But I think you should not waste too much of your chi protecting us. You are, after all our lead!" She commented as she nocked her bow and this time there were three equally large fireballs incoming. Jia Le and Jing Ru also took out their weapons and prepared to intercept the attack. "Thank you," Jin said as he concentrated on leading and protecting the front. Chapter 777 Lus "Seriously, what was Kiyu thinking sending me to this Circle of Hell?" Evon sighed as he recalled getting kicked out of the elevator nearly as soon as the doors opened. They had initially decided to let Kiyu enter since she had once been a manipulator of lust who had used that to her benefit to assassinate prime targets of the Royal Zodiac Clans. She should, therefore, be the ideal candidate to handle whatever this floor could hold and yet¡­ "Oven, I don''t feel like it, you do it! You better hurry up! Although it should be hilarious if Pei comes to find you instead and sees that you are not done yet¡­ or worse, finds you caught up in this place. Hehehe!" Kiyu had even made fun of him as she refused Evon entry back to the elevator. The Bear and Wolf Clan Foxes did not seem to care which one of them went, and Rex only gave him a sorry look, so now the champagne pink fox lied on the floor already defeated before he even faced any ''lustful'' enemy. "Damn where did Kraft go off again? He is the only one who can somewhat reign her in¡­ Who am I kidding, he sure as hell is out having fun wreaking havoc. ¡­whatever." Evon sighed even deeper before he got back up after staring onto the ceiling for a while. After all, he really did not want Pei to make fun of him as well. Just what had he ever done to those two, that they picked on him constantly? As he walked further into the corridor, it was evident that the Prison Core was already changing the environment around Evon to suit the theme of lust. Starting from a simple corridor hallway, it slowly transformed into a corridor of sexual parlours tempting Evon to indulge into his fantasies. With a glance, he observed that there were various types of girls ranging from the girl next door, over the highschool sweetheart up to the exotic foreign exchange student¡­ but also a variety of monsters that were synonymous to Jin''s minions. "What the hell?!" Evon exclaimed when he saw some distinctly female versions of Werejackals, Orcs, Goblins and even other members of the animal tribes. "Does this Prison Core have the ability to access my memory and change them into physical hologram forms? I believe my psychological defences shouldn''t be that far off, if not be on par with Pei¡­" Evon mumbled to himself as he moved further in. The projections, illusions or whatever they were only sent him enticing glances, tempting him to come over by his own accord. He continued going further in until he stopped in his tracks when he saw a very familiar person right in front of him. The female shadow slowly turned into someone he knew¡­Kiyu. Evon was shocked to see how the Prison Core was able to flawlessly replicate Kiyu from his memory. Interestingly it wasn''t the Kiyu who had just kicked him out. Instead, it was an image from their younger days right around the time he first met her and the rest of the skulk. "Ah¡­ could it be that this core is just like a programme accessing some innate desires? If so it must be taking out memories that have some sort of ''Oh my god, this girl looks good'' tag¡­ Wait, that does not make sense! I don''t have any such desires for werejackals, orcs or goblins!" Evon mumbled to himself. "Perhaps, you craved for them unknowingly when your eyes set upon them." The fake Kiyu suggested as she started to walk closer, but suddenly she felt a cut on her face. She did not even see when it happened and the fox in front of her seemed to be still pondering on the situation. "Is the concoction not working?" The fake Kiyu thought to herself, pretending that nothing had happened. She decided to ooze a more potent mixture out into the atmosphere. However, that champagne pink fox had resumed walking around again, ignoring the fake Kiyu. "Why is it not working?!" The fake Kiyu decided to maintain her fa?ade and moved closer. To her dismay, she felt another cut, this time it was deeper and closer to her neck. Seeing that her enemy appeared to have seen through her, she decided to drop the act and materialised a scythe to swing at the fox. "Oh. So it was you, after all. Mind telling me how you created all these fake monsters? I don''t recall ever seeing a female werejackal up till now. Although those seemed to like how I would picture them. So is that it, you accessed my memories and just recreated what I thought of them?" Evon was still as calm as ever as the fake Kiyu tried to cut him down. Yet for the fraudulent person, she found herself strung up with multiple strings all around her like a butterfly caught in a web. "WHAT!? HOW?! How is the concoction not working on you?" The fake Kiyu finally revealed her form, which resembled a female Lich. "Oh my. Didn''t expect you to be a Lich. Or should it be Lichness? You seem to have specialised in performing illusions rather than summoning undead? Yet you don''t seem to be a Banshee¡­ this is very interesting." Evon spoke as he transformed into his human form and started taking notes down. "What is your name, Lichness?" "Why must I answer you?!" The Lichness shouted as she released a swarm of murder hornets from her mouth but to her surprise, each and every hornet was cut down with the emergence of even more strings. "You don''t have to, but you should know that I can just kill you now if you don''t cooperate with me here. Perhaps that would be for the better. Kraft did ask us not to play around. We can have a proper conversation on how you conjure that at a later time, I guess. Still, you should tell me where the key is, so I won''t waste time searching for it." Since the moment he had entered the floor, he had been playing with the now bound Lichness. Despite their strange relationship, Evon knew that Kiyu wouldn''t just swap places in a serious situation unless there was some reason for it. Kiyu, who was a frequent handler of Evon''s drugs, had noticed a faint scent of some illicit drugs lingering from the floor of lust when the elevator doors opened. At the time, Evon hadn''t noticed it since he was too engrossed with his notes at the back of the elevator. Only after Evon had been kicked out of the elevator did he realise it as well. With Kiyu providing him with the perfect excuse, he had decided to bide his time, by playing the part of a sulking person abandoned by his teammates. In that duration, Evon had already begun analysing and breaking down the components used via the lingering scent alone. Although there were some disparities due to the difference in their worlds, he found that the senses and nerves triggered were the same so he created an immune response to block against the scent with his cultivation. Only when he felt ready, did Evon decide to take a stroll along the corridor. Had the Lichness struck Evon while he was lying there weakened, she would have stood a fighting chance against the Psychedelic Fox, but now the Lichness found herself in quite the predicament. The Lichness herself did not realise, that ironically, she was the one to have fallen under the influence of her opponent''s drugs. Those strings, she was ''bound'' by were mere illusions and not Evon''s true weapons. "One''s perception of reality varies." Evon thought as he watched the struggling Lichness who ''experienced'' the strings getting even tighter. Though it was part of his ancient cultivation techniques, he honestly did not expect it to work on an undead. "So does that mean that you are not entirely an undead creature, but a mixture?" Evon continued to further cross examine his specimen, but after cursing him for a while, leading to more cuts on her body, she decided to keep silent. (Or perhaps it was just too tight for her?) "Huh. The truth serum doesn''t seem to be working on you. A shame. Fine, I''ll just ask Peppers or Moloch about it, later." The Psychedelic Fox decided to strangle her with his string illusions as he took his notes. Chapter 778 White Fox Itori Gluttony. The youngest of the Grizzly Bear siblings walked out of the elevator to confront the Prison Supervisor within the third circle of hell. Ixel and Ixa both bid her good luck, which she acknowledged with just a slight turn of her head. The strength in her side stare was enough to invoke confidence that she would win without a doubt. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Itori could hear the sound of monsters rushing towards her. "As expected from the circle''s name. Everyone seems to be quite hungry¡­ to kill me," Itori thought to herself as she transformed into her human persona and conjured out her weapons. Power Fists. After seeing several cultivators from the modern age wield such beastly monstrosities on their hands, Itori had demanded an upgrade for herself. And since she was the fox Kraft most often utilised, that sly devil had immediately agreed to increase her fighting capabilities and gladly did so for free. Her ancient gauntlets were handed over to Vulcan and redesigned in a way that they could not only withstand Itori''s strength but also amplified it further. However, Kraft was not sure whether if it was the materials, the work Vulcan had done of them or a mix of the above had resulted in the modifications being far too potent. During the testing phase alone, Itori had managed to decimate a twenty-floor building with just a single tap of her power fist. For once even Kraft had been at a loss for words, and they had to cut the testing short until Kraft would find something better to test it out. Itori might have agreed as she always did for Kraft, but she too wanted more samples to test the full extent of her new toy and yearned for enemies strong enough so that she could use it to its fullest potential. One might ask, what about the Demon Horde? Kraft deduced that with her absolute new strength, the White Fox could have easily wiped out the entirety of them in a matter of seconds but she refused to do it. She would instead let other people annihilate the demons so that they could get stronger and possibly challenge her in the future even though it was just wishful thinking. (Though in reality, she was just too lazy to do it.) With a swipe of her hand, she produced a shockwave that cleared the monsters so fast and from such a distance that she hadn''t even been able to clearly make out their appearances. Yet whoever or whatever was behind the monsters did not seem to care for this display of might. Reinforcements were emerging from the burrows and coming towards her not caring for the fate of their predecessors. The appearance of the hallway had also changed into a field of barren wasteland littered with gnawed bones of whoever came before. (Possibly the monsters stationed here could have feasted on them so cleanly, only bones were left.) "You guys are irritating, call your boss out now." Itori sighed as she extended her palm and swiftly slammed it flat to the ground, causing a catastrophic collapse of the area in front of her. The ground did not shake, but instead soil and sand burst out to the ground from the impact. Those four-legged monsters that had been attempting to emerge out of their burrows were instantly splattered into blood and crushed bones. Soon, new monsters rushed out of the large cracks Itori had created, these ones even larger in size. "Isn''t this supposed to be gluttony? So why am I fighting more and more monster hordes? Is it appeasing my appetite for battle? If so, why not? Bring it on! Just make sure to send someone worthy!" Itori cried out her challenge. She turned her left hand into a fist and threw a punch in the air. The shockwave impact was enough to turn the front few canine looking monsters into bloody smithereens, and the subsequent ones were filled with cuts. "Great! You guys are not dead yet! Come and stay for a while to play with me!" Itori began to grin as she started walking towards them with excitement in her fists and anticipation in her heart. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Above the circles of hell, there was another slaughter taking place. Kraft had been toying with the unfortunate guards as if they were some child''s unwanted belongings. With the System''s cooperation, Kraft had successfully recreated a series of guns which he had stolen from his little stint on the Abyss Web. While Hou Fei had given Jin old gun models, Kraft didn''t much care for the old stuff. Instead, he had filled his head with the latest blueprints, ones he was not willing to share with his master. (Perhaps if he''d asked veeery very nicely) After all, he agreed with the System that Jin needed a power gradient in order to get stronger. Unlike the System assigned Bellators, he and his skulk were in no way bound by Jin''s cultivation levels, so if they were to solve all of their master''s problems, he might eventually get complacent and stop growing. Perhaps Kraft would one day bestow the Vulcan with all the new blueprints once he got the hang of them. But right now, he was having the time of his life trying out all of his new toys. From shotguns to pistols and even top-secret, classified experimental weapons from the militaries of various countries that were not out in the market. Oh, did he mention that the weapon maniacs in the Abyss Web also seemingly had too much time on hand, creating a ton of ''what if'' blueprints? Although no one on Earth should have the capability to create them, it didn''t hurt to share ideas. Who knows, perhaps it would inspire someone to create similar versions? It would be too crazy to think, someone might actually accomplish the ideas, mainly because if such weapons were made, most humans using them would most definitely die in the process of using them. Guess what? Kraft had the System with him, and a speck of the System magic enabled those crazy sci-fi weapons to get created rather effortlessly. Of course, there was some external help to make it feasible.(scientifically speaking, correcting the maths and physics on those blueprints) But right now, Kraft feels that all the honour should go to him for even thinking about this. As for the possible strain on his body, Kraft believed his body was durable enough after hundreds of years'' worth of cultivation. There was no way they could hurt him so much even if the weapon backfired. The first weapon he had used to break open the prison front gates was the Thermite Blaster. An insect looking projectile, which was actually a grenade, flew out of the rifle''s barrel and it latched onto the gates before burning the thick metal door down and exploding afterwards. What an entrance. He got naughty and decided to use it on some of the incoming guards, who were ''iron''-ically the same calibre as the Armoured Horned Knights that had suffered the brunt of the Orc''s Artillery. Given their large sizes, it was nigh impossible for Kraft to miss any of those big wonkers. At first, the Knights were all ignorant of the projectile that had latched onto their suit of armour, thinking it was a botched attempt to kill them. But when the thermite started to activate, it was already too late as they felt the intense heat emitted through their so-called impenetrable suits of iron. Soon enough, the grenade exploded, causing them to suffer internal bleeding due to the large gaping hole in their body left by the explosive impact. "Have fun bleeding!" Kraft laughed at their misery as he clicked on a button which caused the thermite blaster to slowly turn into a large thermite charge. "A little Kraft special for you guys. Boy, I wonder if it will create a large enough explosion for Peppers to judge." Kraft thought to himself as he leapt backwards after activating it on the Prison''s main entrance. With a phone in one hand and a separate new weapon on the other, he began filming the process. "Ah damn! Those pesky Dragonlites sentries have come way too soon. I hope their fall won''t interrupt my explosion effect. Then again, maybe they could become my supporting actors." Kraft grinned as he held another weapon up towards the sky, already in anticipation of the Dragonlites intervention. Chapter 779 Krafts New Toys The Dragonlites saw the destruction of the only intruder who hadn''t jumped down the giant hole, and they were already starting to cast spells or used crossbow weapons against him. However, before they could even touch the trigger, their hands were cut off and suddenly their wings too. They howled and screamed in horror as they fell to their deaths. Only a few managed to glimpse what had happened to their comrades before meeting the same fate as them. Kraft had released boomerangs of sorts that were all controlled by him with a little bit of chi manipulation. The mini boomerangs'' edges were sharpened to the point they could easily cut iron and steel with some chi enhancement. Yet that was not all, Kraft recalled all of them back as they combined into one large boomerang by itself. "Phew! If I gave this kind of weapons to my Dark Elves¡­ they would be unstoppable!" Kraft thought to himself as he looked up to see if any remaining Dragonlites were hovering in the skies. But not long after, he could already hear the sirens from afar. "Gotta hand it to them, the response team is fast." Kraft praised them internally as he casually opened his laptop and accessed the cameras he had previously placed on top of the roof they were on. "Five¡­Ten¡­ damn that must be the whole city¡­ I feel honoured! All of them rushing here to their own demise. But, oh ho ho! To use Raptor Demons to pull the police carriages. Maybe I should kill them for my Dark Elves as mounts." Kraft thought to himself, and eventually, the System had to interrupt. "Original Bellator Kraft, please stay focused on the mission." The System demanded, and Kraft closed his laptop, returning it into his storage ring. "What are you talking about? I am more focused than ever!" Kraft grinned as he exchanged the human-sized boomerang with another weapon he was here to test. "System''s analysis is that Original Bellator Kraft is taking this opportunity to experiment with his new weapons and prioritising finding ancillary support for his Night Foxes rather than focusing on obtaining the keys." The System pointed out blatantly, and Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, that''s called multi-tasking. You know, killing two birds with a stone." Kraft argued as he suddenly stopped on his tracks. "Huh, speaking about killing two birds with a stone¡­ I think I have just the right thing to welcome those hard-working policemen." Kraft returned the weapon he had taken out just now and ravaged through his storage ring for the new one that he thought of. "Ah! There you are." Kraft triumphantly held the weapon above his head and walked to the main gate of the prison where he could hear the shoutings from the Demon Police to get the heck out of the way. "Honestly, this weapon suits Sandy way more than my Night Foxes. Next time I visit her, I should ask for her opinion on how to further improve this. But first, let''s see how many birds I can kill with this little thing." Kraft chuckled as he took out what literally looked to be a stone that he tossed around lightly with his hand. "Can''t believe those peeps in the Abyss Web have thought up all these crazy things. Perhaps I should go and meet some of them and show them how brilliantly their inventions actually work. Maybe I should recruit them or at least introduce them to Jin''s dungeon instance." Kraft had this random thought as he infused the stone with his chi and threw it at the direction of the impending entourage of police carriages. Naturally, it only looked like a normal stone, but behind this unspectacular appearance was actually a gravity manipulator unit wrapped with Metaquartzite. Metaquartzite is a type of sandstone composed primarily of quartz and cemented with silica cement. Because of its metamorphic form of quartz sandstone, it was harder than granite which had a general score of seven on the Mohs Hardness Scale. For some reason, the metaquartzite was needed to attenuate some of the unwanted beta energy waves the gravity manipulator created as a byproduct and at the same time acting as a shell to protect the device. When Kraft activated the gravity manipulator with his chi, the metaquartzite also acted as a sort of buffer in emitting the chi into the gravity manipulator device to start up. Else, Kraft would have become the very first victim of his own weapon of mass destruction. The front police carriage thought it was hilarious that the man in a long coat was throwing a stone at them. They mistook him for some protestor that hated the Demon Police or the Royalty, and so there was not a moment of care for him at all. "Stupid protestors, can''t they see that we are working right now." The carriage rider rolled his eyes as he prepared to evade the stone projectile that was coming towards him. However, his stomach felt weird and rather upsetting as if it was telling him that something terrible was going to happen. True enough, when the ball zipped past him, not only the carriage but the demon police were all being sucked and dragged towards the gravity manipulator, wrapping them like a ball. However, the throwing force was so strong that the stone continued along the street, grabbing everything around it. The Police Carriages, the Demon Raptors, the stony pathways on the roads and even part of the building themselves. "Damn! It''s that powerful?! Hahahaha! I should have used it for the prison break. It might have possibly sucked the Dungeon Core from its hiding!" Kraft laughed while holding on his stomach as he watched a giant ball of demons both dead and alive being stuck under a huge pile of debris rolling down the street. He sat on the ground, filming the ball of destruction growing larger with even more debris and Demon police as well as some unlucky passerby it collected. "No wonder, the System said it is a one time use." He checked his watch and figured it was time for the second review pending from Peppers. With a timer set by Kraft with his chi, the Gravity Manipulator finally released the energy it stored from its dynamo engine after travelling a considerable distance. The counter gravity energy exploded, and it sent everyone and everything it collected within 50-metre diameter flying. "Ayse and Rei will definitely like all this new data." Kraft thanked the miracle workers that had come up with all these crazy experimental weapons. Chapter 780 Firestorm "My Liege! What is the matter?" Kiva suddenly noticed King Baal''s irritation was on another level. After being with him for so long, he knew for a fact that this particular expression was one that meant serious business instead of wimps. "Someone''s invaded Paradiso and stole the first key. I assumed it was Moloch since he was the one to have designed the place." King Baal said as he stood up. "But to that assumption, I am clearly mistaken." He could clearly sense the presence of Moloch in this city, and the scent of him was getting stronger and stronger. "He must have sensed his lackeys to do so." "Do you need me to retreat and deal with the threat at Paradiso?" Kiva was hoping he could get out and survey the battlefield at his more luxurious comfort than this place." "No need. The guards in Paradiso should suffice. Besides, I did order Paimon to visit the place for regular inspection. He should be there, and I trust him enough to be able to deal with the threat." "Wonderful thinking, my Liege. To send one of your sons to protect the Dungeon Core should be his honour too! "Kiva, stay by my side. I might need you to deal with the small flies while I deal with Moloch." "I¡­understood!" Kiva replied so reluctantly that Prince Stolas, who had overheard the whole thing could not help but snicker at the direction of Kiva. "What are you servants waiting for?! Dress your King for battle immediately!" Kiva, now irritated by an unwarranted giggle, shouted at the imp servants who were behind the throne, kneeling and waiting for commands. "Mages! Continue blasting your attacks against the incoming cavalry!" "There is no need to. I will handle them." King Baal pushed the imps who were trying to don him his cape and instead he took one of the imps by its neck. "Thank you for your service." At that point, Kiva was already slowly grinning as he saw King Baal take his crown out and sucked the life energy of the imp. "My Liege¡­!" The imp struggled pathetically in King Baal''s hands as it withered into skins and bones before turning into dust. King Baal ignored his subject''s suffering as he raised his palm right in front of the sky bridge. "Firestorm." A single word from the King of Demon Metropolis suddenly caused the skies to darken in a similar way as earlier when Keyrin, the Thunder Ram Demon, had used his technique. Just that this time around, it was more ominous orange than the usual black clouds. "Oh shit." Moloch looked at the clouds and could already sense his King''s magic at work. "Jin, this is not good. King Baal seems to be using world-class magic on the city." The Minotaur Lord warned as he gazed over the skies. "Do we have to use the shield protection that we have been saving up?" Jin asked as they finally reached the descending end of the sky bridge. "Wait, I think I am wrong¡­ It is actually aiming for us rather than the city itself.??? Moloch gulped as he did some calculations with the aid of the System and noticed the concentration of mana was indeed aimed at their position. "So?!" Jin had no time to think as he was bashing through the demon''s frontline with his BamBoo combined spear, attacking any that placed themselves on their collision course. "We''re slightly out of the range of what our Dungeon Core would consider our territory, so we won''t be able to use it effectively. Even so, using it for us alone is kind of a waste too. I suggest that we split the Pandawans up, while we go straight ahead to confront my King alone! That way, the odds of survival for us will be better." "But not so much for the Pandawans?" "That is the fate of reusable pawns, Master. Right now, we are the King piece that the enemies want, but first, we need to survive this." Moloch explained, pointing at the ominous sky and Jin sighed at the current situation. "Then lets at least even the odds a little so we can increase the chances to meet your King," Jin said to Moloch before looking backwards to the Pandawans. "There will be a massive AOE spell directed at us! We need to split up as much as possible! At the same time, cover as much ground as we can!" "You want us to fight hundreds over demons by ourselves?!" Yue Han exclaimed loudly at the back. "Isn''t that normal for us all? Hahahah!" Xiong Da went close enough towards Yue Han''s mount and gave that Blind Bat Cultivator a slap on the back as a confidence booster. "Normal for you, maybe." Yue Han replied with a pouting expression, recalling how devastating his warclub techniques and Hippo styles worked in sync to kill dozens of goblins. But the Hungry Hippo Cultivator did not pay it any heed for he was dying to put some pain into those demons'' bodies. "Alright so split up, survive the onslaught of magic and demons and then converge to fight against the main boss! I will go ahead and deal some damage to him first!??? Jin shouted, and the rest acknowledged it. "Qiu Yue, I need to request for fire support and give it to me whenever possible! We are rushing here at full speed!" Jin reported in the System Channel as he saw King Baal''s World Class Magic, Firestorm begin to loom over them and activate. Tornadoes started to descend from the clouds towards the ground, and it suddenly lit up on fire, chasing after the cavalry the moment they split up. As if breaking through the front was not hard enough, there''s a fiery tornado chasing after them from the back, giving them pressure to work harder. "Frost Echo, mind giving us a bit of assistance?" Jin asked as this was his way of evening the odds. "Aye, I get your predicament, but I still need some time to counter this wide AOE magic spell. Shiva isn''t as cooperative as I want her to be for some reason." Frost Echo apologised, and Flame Ripper concurred. "Same thing here. I thought Ifrit would be equally excited to fight in this battle. He barely granted me a boost to kill those Lion Mantises." "Maybe they still need to recuperate their powers after fighting out in the open against Queen Mab and Maeve?" Frost Echo theorised as the Orc King appeared at the cliff at Agriculture Sector 1 to look over the intensity of the Firestorm. "You know them better than I do. Perhaps they just don''t want to get ordered around by us inferior beings?" Flame Ripper questioned as he decided to move towards Frost Echo to see if he might be able to assist with the subjugation of the Firestorm. "Alright then aid the Pandawans as soon as you can. I will deal with my side." Jin ordered as he looked at Moloch. "Heh, you don''t need to say anything else. I know what you are thinking." Moloch nodded as he revealed a card with a graveyard picture on it. It was time for the second wave of Phantom Soldiers to show its might. Chapter 781 Mass Teleportation "This is a good challenge!" Lai Fu praised despite sweating from the heat coming off the fiery tornado behind him and the pressure of needing to breakthrough. His Shimmering Shark Mount was able to bite off any incoming demons who came too close to the entourage of shopkeepers. "You are kidding me!!" San Sun yelled as he did a flip with his Wok mount and used it to smack the daylight out of the demons from his side. With his cultivation, San Sun instantly heats up his own Wok (not his mount!) via his chi. Using the Wok as a ranged weapon, he threw it to a bunch of incoming enemies. Demons who were hit by the burning Wok were inflicted with a raging fire on their heads. (Their heads were literally on fire!) Some of them screamed, running helter-skelter, trying to extinguish them while San Sun''s kitchen instrument returned to him safely. "Shut up, you two! We have it worse!" Shen Si Fang screamed as he and the other Hunting Hog cultivators spearheaded the shopkeeper squad to relative safety. Compared to them, the Pandawans were having a better time dissecting the frontlines into two with their prearranged groups. The Venus Four stuck together with the two policemen while the working adults like Xiong Da and Bin Yong had also grouped up. The highschool students meanwhile chose to go on their own following behind Bu Dong who was as reckless as ever. Even as they split up into smaller groups, they were disruptive to the Demon Horde who was assembled right outside of the safe zone. King Baal initially wanted to use those demon soldiers for continuous waves of offence on the islands via teleportation, but with the impending counterattack, he decided otherwise. He was curious to find out if the counterattacking team would be impressive enough to break through the ranks. Seeing that they only had a relatively small team, it was highly likely that they were the enemies elites aiming for him. Yet, as he observed each one of them and their actions, Jin was the only one who had managed to leave a deep impression on King Baal. He noticed the human had Moloch''s aura around him, indicating that he was hiding the cotton Minotaur Lord on him¡­ or that he had somehow absorbed Moloch and perhaps fused into one. All that mattered was that Moloch was still alive in some form and needed to be punished for his insolence¡­ as that was what Kiva had been drilling into his brain for decades. The Minotaur Lord held firmly onto Jin''s hoodie as he placed some mana into the graveyard card that he was holding and when Moloch believed there was enough energy within it, he threw it up to the sky, causing the card to grow larger. The graveyard card started to glow, and suddenly brownish projectiles were shooting out of the card. Those projectiles were predominantly aimed against larger targets like trolls and giants that were not in the service of the Mad Giant Barbatos. And while the Demon Troops thought the projectiles were merely rocks shot at a high velocity, it took a bit for them to realise that they were actually the same type of Clay Statues that their former comrades had fought earlier in the invasion. Not only that, but their combat prowess was also equivalent to theirs. The clay statues were slightly more agile and had more perception than mere narrow-minded berserkers whose objective was to only kill. As if being hit by the clay statues were not enough for the larger size soldiers, these clay soldiers with greenish-blue eyes ledged onto them and continued to assault them with their phantom weapons. That''s right, the phantom soldiers which the graveyard core had accumulated, had been successfully awakened inside the Clay Statues as previously planned. This allowed them to gain a shell, giving the phantom soldiers some form of protection, enabling them to last longer in battle. Unable to parry any of these projectiles, they could only ''kill'' the ones they were able to reach with their hands. The demon trolls fell almost immediately, allowing the clay soldiers to continue their onslaught with the enemies around them. And for those who lost their clay shells, the phantom soldiers emerged from them in their ethereal form and continued with the slaughter. "Useless demon soldiers. Since when our quality of troops had become so terrible?" King Baal started to get enraged as he saw the human on a black animal mount still charging towards his direction. "If they want to attack me so badly, then so be it." Once again, King Baal took out the crown, feeling as if the ominous headgear was biting into his head. "What is the rush, my liege? There are-" For the first time in a long while, Kiva was pushed aside by his King who did not wait for his advisor to even finish his sentence as he held his hand up once more. The crown vibrated a little as if it was emitting powers to its user. "Mass Teleportation!" King Baal shouted and right in front of him, all his troops including the Pandawans and Pandarens in the vicinity were all violently teleported into the various islands above them¡­ All except for one. Jin. "What the hell?!" Jin asked as he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around the entire battlefield that had turned empty right in front of him. Even the clay statue soldiers that were with him had disappeared. In turn, the ruckus now extended all around the islands including the floating fortress where Jin had kept his Dungeon Core. The Stalingrad was also not spared as groups of demon soldiers had been randomly teleported onto the ship as well as the waters around them. Some unfortunately drowned while others were instantly devoured by the hungry Deep Ones but this phenomenon was happening everywhere on the island. The Demon Troops were teleported randomly, causing the primary defence line to be rendered useless. All hell went loose, and the Royal Snake soldiers who had been stationed in those islands scrambled to counter the unexpected demon soldiers. On the other hand, the Demon Horde finally received the opening they yielded forever since the start of the current battle. They basically went on a murder spree running at various directions hitting and destroying anything that moved. Although it was at the expense of their lives, they were still doing significant damage against the formerly organised defence. Qiu Yue literally screamed for a moment when she saw how King Baal had inadvertently destroyed her defences by randomly teleporting a massive amount of troops all over the place. "Fuck this shit! ALL TROOPS DEPLOY! Activate all defences! Occupy and suppress the invaders!" Qiu Yue shouted towards the System as she picked up her own sword and wore her jacket that was now filled with many new inscriptions. "Oh and do remember to deploy our newly captured Valgs. They were a massive nuisance in the Salamander Lord Keep, might as well let them be useful against these annoying critters too." Qiu Yue reminded the System. If the System had the capability to do so, it would have grinned like Kraft. Chapter 782 Ordered to Attack The situation flipped so fast that suddenly things turned to the Demon Horde''s favour. Despite his affected mentality under the Crown''s influence, King Baal wasn''t stupid. As soon as the news had reached him that Moloch had released the barrier one day before the deadline, he had recognised what his former tactician was up to. As a Dungeon Core owner himself, he knew about the city-wide magical barrier that could be activated. He had used his magic outside what could be covered by the barrier to make the enemy less wary, and once all attention was on him, he had used mass teleportation as a loophole. What use would the giant shield be now, where his troops were already inside? Counterattacking this late also meant that the enemy could not afford to hold out much longer. Their situation must be getting bleak if they had gambled on assembling their elites for a last-ditch counterattack assault. With Moloch among the few leading the charge, it was pretty obvious they wanted to end all of this as quickly as possible. That was why King Baal did what he initially wanted to do despite knowing that using the Crown even just for a while would definitely weaken him for an ultimate fight against Moloch and his new subjects. Coincidentally, this ended up in his favour for those ''new subjects''¡­ the cultivators that were supposed to assist Jin had to adapt to the current situation after being teleported and kill as many enemies in order to just survive. The Shopkeeper squad found itself in the middle of the Agriculture Sector 2 where all of Jin''s giant livestock were living. Bu Dong and his classmates were teleported back to the defensive platform while the Venus Four could be seen on the military base. As for Xiong Da and the other working adults, they noticed they were situated on the mysterious black floating fortress with scores of demons to settle as well. Only when each and every group started to stabilise themselves from the chaotic situation, did things begin to clear up. There were actually elites hidden within the Demon Troops, and they were destroying the defences faster than the ordinary enemies could. Normally they would have been focused by the Royal Snipers, but right now with chaos ensuing everywhere it was hard to find an opportunity without missing the mark. In the meantime, the Firestorm tornadoes were not stopping despite the sudden disappearance of their enemies. They now converged towards Jin and only him since he was the only one left on the current battlefield. And yet while he was out of helpers, the demons in the safe zone right in front of them were still intact, along with the VIPs. "Kiva, you go." King Baal ordered out of the blue, and the Ravenous Lord nearly choked. "Sire? Me? I am hardly a combatant¡­" Kiva tried to change his lord''s mind while he was screaming and shouting vulgarities from within. "How about sending Prince Stolas up?" "Does a King need to justify his orders? You have your bag of tricks, don''t you? Show them to me, entertain me a little." King Baal''s eyes had murderous intent, and his tone left no doubt that if he refused, he would either end him or throw his subject into the fray himself. The frightened Kiva nodded his head with reluctant compliance while his King returned back to his seat. "Aren''t you going to do something about these massive fire tornadoes? Otherwise, we both might get fried." Jin shouted towards his new opponent that came out of the safe zone. This made Kiva panic even more as his fear had made him narrow-minded that he had forgotten about the magic left by his King. "What are you waiting for? Begin the fight." King Baal ordered as he took off his Crown and placed it back into his magical storage. His head started to bleed a little, and he was developing some headache after using it. Kiva also understood that his involvement right now was a way to buy some time for King Baal to heal up¡­ but why did he have to choose him as the sacrificial lamb when there were so many other pawns around?! Also, to put him with an enemy along with the impending doom of those fire tornadoes? Did King Baal regain some sanity? Had he learned about Kiva''s plans after the attack?! "Hey, are you listening?" Jin asked the Archduke. He had already sheathed his swords as he held on to his Black Sludge Panda Mount. He could have attacked immediately, but he was similarly biding his time for Frost Echo and Flame Ripper to get rid of the magic surrounding them. "Shut up! Shut up!" Throughout his life as a noble Kiva had never revealed any combat theatrics, instead preferring to let his creations do the work for him. This time, he was going to do the same. After all, King Baal directly stated that he could use his ''bag of tricks''. He wasn''t some hotheaded adventurer seeking glory, so why should he stoop down to head-on with the unknown human adventurer? He literally pulled out an onyx coloured bag and grabbed something from inside. He sprinkled what seemed to be dust on the ground, and a Sand Golem emerged from it while Kiva attempted to quickly return to the safe zone. To his surprise, there was a sort of windy barrier that blocked his entrance, and he realised that it was none other than Prince Stolas himself that created it. "PRINCE! What are you doing! Let me in!" Kiva shouted as he tried to bang on the barrier, only resulting in his hand being repulsed by the air barrier. "The fire tornadoes are coming, and I need to strengthen the safe zone barrier in case it reaches here! Don''t you have your bag of tricks with you?" Prince Stolas explained in a haughty voice, and King Baal found it rather amusing. "Stolas, it appears that you DO have a sense of humour, after all." King Baal praised his son for the first in decades as he stared at the panicking Kiva. "Now Kiva, do as you''ve been told. I recall your head being that of a bat, NOT a chicken!" King Baal added while he looked at Jin for comparison. Stoic and uncaring about the impending doom the two were going to experience. "You must be jesting, my Liege!" The Sand Golem finished forming, and since Kiva felt that there was no way to escape the fiery disaster. Despite his desperate thinking, his only way out would be to literally weather the storm. "Sand Golem, protect me!" Kiva ordered as he lied down prone and got the Sand Golem to cover him while he changed his head to a raven and started chanting protective spells over him and the golem. "Urgh, Kiva reeled his ugly head that quickly?" Moloch took a peek out of Jin''s hoodie and witnessed how low Kiva could stoop just to save his own life. "Don''t tell me you would not do the same?" Jin questioned in a sarcastic manner, and Moloch scoffed at him. "All nobles know that the first thing to do is to protect the King. If Kiva had demonstrated the least bit of chivalry proving he was willing to exchange his life to protect the safe zone just like Stolas did, Baal would probably save him from this World Class magical attack, seeing as he was the caster." Moloch explained as he started to feel the heat from the fire tornadoes. "So maybe now''s the time you can get one extra point for protecting your previous king?" Jin teasing Moloch helped him calm his own nerves a little. "What help would that make? We should save ourselves instead." Moloch complained and started to regret coming out of the war room with Jin. "I could have easily created a copy to¡­" Then apparently, the idea had struck a chord with the Minotaur Lord. "Hmmm. Yeah, you are right. This could possibly be a test for me too," Moloch muttered to himself in thought, but Jin overheard it crystal clear and also realised this could be the only attention grabbing opportunity to get King Baal out of the safe zone too. "Then what are you waiting for?" Jin took the cotton Minotaur Lord out from his hoodie and placed it on his shoulder. "Impress your king and fellow demon mates with your ''wonder magic''." "You bet!" Chapter 783 Molochs Theatrics While the scared Kiva was busy hiding in his own shell, everyone within the safe zone looked at the entity that was responsible for causing so much trouble to the entire Demon Horde. The Minotaur Lord did not falter at their stares and instead stood proudly as if he was the only righteous person around. Without a word, Moloch took out a blank card as he performed a simple magic trick, and suddenly his card turned blue with an ice symbol on it. As the Firestorm approached within 50 meter radius, both Jin and Moloch did not flinch. (Although it was a different story on the System Channel.) "WHERE THE HELL IS THE ICE, FROST ECHO?!" Jin shouted in his mind as he knew it was getting too close for comfort while Moloch was doing the same. "MY TAIL IS GONNA BURN OFF IF IT GETS ANY CLOSER! HURRY IT UP!!!" Moloch yelled as he pointed the card towards the demons in the safe zone, hoping that his ''wonder magic'' would work as timed. Yet to his dismay, Frost Echo was having difficulties conjuring anything since he had been disturbed by the sudden appearance of the Demon Horde as well. "SHUT IT! I HAVE DEMONS ON MY ASS, AND THE TWO OF YOU SCREAMING IS ONLY MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO CONCENTRATE!" Frost Echo grumbled back as he decided to hasten the process by sacrificing some blood of the demons which Flame Ripper had annihilated. Were it not for the Avatar of Ifrit acting as his bodyguard, the process of conjuring a magic equivalent to stop a world tier class spell would be even slower since Frost Echo had to contend for his life while prepping his magic for Jin. It did not help that Shiva was not particularly supportive in this current phase. At the same time, King Baal was looking at Moloch with much curiosity ever since he had emerged from the human''s clothing. However, the closer the Firestorm came, the more he became disappointed since it would seemingly finish the work for him. Prince Stolas, on the other hand, was having an internal struggle on whether or not he should aid his seemingly troubled mentor. As his former student, he had learnt to pick up on some of his mentor''s¡­distress. He clearly recognised the nervous twitch of his Moloch''s left ear, indicating that he was outside his comfort zone. A quick scan using his magical eyes further revealed this to be the case. Stolas couldn''t see any aura or sense the smallest traces of magic being emitted out of the card despite all of Moloch''s entertaining theatrics. "ALRIGHT! IT''S READY!" Frost Echo celebrated as he tore the head of an incoming demon soldier and smashed it with his bare hands. Even he was frustrated by the lack of assistance from his ice patron and wanted to see if his current powers could match up with the Firestorm that was summoned by King Baal. At that moment, Moloch, who had his ice card pointed at his audience, immediately enlarged it with magic and threw it behind him. The giant ice card flew towards the fiery tornadoes and was thoroughly burnt by it. Realising that it was all a joke to waste time, some of the mages who saw it laughed and criticised how Moloch had fallen ¡­Until they saw several wide block-shaped pillars of ice dropping behind Jin and Moloch, defending them from the impending Firestorm of doom. At first, they were bewildered by it but some of them with more acute perceptions, especially Stolas, saw that the ice was being melted by the intensely heated tornadoes. "Shit!" Frost Echo cursed to himself as he wondered if there was not enough sacrifice to power up the pillars. "I did get the size correct but not the strength!" "With that kind of measly sacrifice? You are already lucky that the ice had not vanished right at the start!" Shiva suddenly spoke out in Frost Echo''s mind, and before he could ask any questions, she had taken over his body. "If people were to know that I reside in a body that cast such poorly done ice spells¡­ Nevermind, I shall show you how this Queen does it!" Shiva confidently raised her fingers, and with a snap, those melting ice blocks turned solid once more. Not only that, but they also started growing again until they became as large as the tornado itself and began to fall towards the direction. As if the Firestorm was a physical entity, the block pillars literally consumed the fiery tornadoes in one fell swoop. However, the moment the pillars consumed the Firestorm spell, it disappeared as allowing it to fall to the ground would be equivalent of sending the pillar to crash onto the islands. Especially when the ice pillars were stretched to the skies to consume the tornadoes. "Still, you got to admit, the spell wasn''t that bad." Ifrit who had similarly possessed Flame Ripper, appearing simultaneously as Shiva, commented on the World Class Magic that King Baal had cast. Without Frost Echo knowing, Ifrit had also lent them a helping hand by absorbing a portion of the fire tornado and converting it into fire chaos energy. Unlike Dread Reaver who did not know how to handle the corrupted energy, Ifrit was very well versed in converting that corrupted energy into his very own without any sign of affection. Flame Ripper who was merely a consciousness in his own body, queried how Ifrit was able to do that and his only answer was that they were Shaitans. "We were born from corruption before turning into masters of elementals." Ifrit explained as he turned and looked at the massive amount of demon soldiers roaming around. Without caring to check for friendlies and defenders, he hurled the fire chaos energy haphazardly towards the largest concentration of demons before returning the body back to the Flame Ripper. Shiva did the same as if they had completed an objective of sorts and left their Avatars to their own devices. "I hope that was enough!" Frost Echo panted as he turned and helped Flame Ripper up after punching one of the demon soldiers away. "Come on, buddy, let''s hunt some demons. If we cannot keep it up now, how will we defeat those rats?" "Urgh, don''t remind me about them. I had enough sorties at the outskirts of Wecha. Those rats were a pain in the ass." Flame Ripper sighed as he pulled his bow out from his storage ring. "Hah! You think my Orcs will be satisfied with just one war? Maybe you Goblins should exercise more." Frost Echo playfully used the race card on Flame Ripper, rendering him to roll his eyes. (Though that did not stop him from successfully hitting one of the demon soldiers right between its eyes.) Separately, the demons in the safe zone were slightly stunned. They did not expect Moloch to have the capability to stop a World Class Magic, especially one cast by their King. Only a few fell for his theatrics, yet even the doubters understood that someone on his side certainly had the capabilities to achieve such a feat. The Demons subsequently heard a slow clap coming from the front¡­ the one clapping was none other than the King himself. "Rather entertaining. Now proceed with the main show. Only one of you will leave alive. If it isn''t you, it will be Kiva." Kiva who eventually realised that the storm somehow had passed stuck his head out of the Sand Golem and started to stare at the cotton toy with intense hate. "Molo¡­ch!" "Ah, if that is the case, then I shall get my ''subjects'' to fight instead. As an owner of a Dungeon Core yourself, I sincerely hope that you do not mind." Moloch suggested, but even before his request could be answered by King Baal, two shadows teleported right in front of Jin. "So, it''s a ''scientists vs scientist'' fight?" Ayse confirmed as she stretched her hands a bit. "Its seems a little unfair, though." Weslie emerged while slapping the dust away from her casual long sleeve coat. Despite the hot weather, she had insisted on wearing it which baffled a number of them who were watching this. "Since when have we ever fought fair? Isn''t our whole job to ensure that we have the advantage over the other side?" Ayse replied with a raised eyebrow. "She''s right. There''s no such thing as fair in war. Besides, your enemy never played fair too." Moloch agreed as Jin stepped backwards, allowing the scientists to battle against each other while beckoning King Baal to make his move too. Chapter 784 Boss Figh Although Moloch and Jin tried to provoke King Baal into action, they really did not expect their opponent to respond to it. King Baal felt that they knew this was their only chance to fight him when he was not in his tip-top form. Alas, as a King in the midst of battle, he could not ask for the opponent to come back tomorrow after he had a good night''s sleep. Hence, in order to at least bid some time, he purposely put on a grandiose manner by telling his imps to don his extra armour on while taking the spare time to recover. On the flip side, Jin was actually a little flustered now that it worked too well. "You have something up your sleeve against him, right?" Jin asked Moloch who had already returned to Jin''s hoodie. "What?! I thought you provoked him because you had some sort of edge against him!" Moloch retorted in the System''s channel. "Huh?! I thought you had something in mind as well! Isn''t that partially the reason why we came to confront him?!" "NO! I came with you because you needed a bait! That''s all! Otherwise, I would not have stuck myself out for this!" "What the hell? Weren''t you the one who kept telling me that we would have to eventually go against King Baal?! We''ve been building defences all those weeks, but you had YEARS to come up with stuff!" "Well, I DID, but only against King Baal''s army! If I had the power to take him out by myself, don''t you think I would have done so before you capture me? Besides, I thought that Master, you would be capable of fighting him¡­ isn''t that why you wanted to go for this counterattack assault?!" "My whole plan revolved around us beating him down like adventurers do against a Final Boss. Do you see any Pandawans around? How was I supposed to know he could just teleport them all away, leaving us alone!" "Hey, this is the battlefield. You cannot blame me that things go south, but at least the System gave you that particular gift. Just use it!" "That''s called a trump card for a reason! I can''t be using a trump card so quickly!" "The Mass Teleportation cast earlier appears to have affected those send away. For the time being, it is not possible to bring the Pandawans back as reinforcement. System recommends User to use your so called ''Trump card'' immediately. Statistically, there is no way User is able to defeat King Baal with his current Cultivation Grade." "And whose fault is it, that I keep having other things to do instead of cultivating?! Besides, someone once said I am growing a little too fast?" "System has no recollection of saying such things." "What¡­" Jin suddenly felt an immense stare and he ''woke'' up from their little game of shifting the blame. "It seems like you are courting your death, human. Give me Moloch, and I will make it a painless one. Beg for your life, and I might even let you keep it." King Baal laid out his demands as he pointed at the cotton toy hiding within Jin''s hoodie cap. "That request does not sound very kingly. From your past actions, you have been rather dominant and assertive. What happened?" Jin questioned, and Moloch felt like killing him. He trusted Jin enough not hand him over, but did he have to provoke King Baal even more?! "You mad?! What are you thinking about goading him further?" "Would you prefer me to give you to him instead? We got to buy some time, and since he hasn''t attacked yet, a conversation seems to be our best choice, right?" "Who the hell taught you this was any way to hold a conversation?!" Moloch felt the urge to hit his master with something for being so incompetent in speech. "No wonder, you still don''t have any girlfriends at all despite being surrounded by girls around you!" "Since when is this about me?!" Jin''s expression darkened in an instant because of his conversation with Moloch instead of King Baal, making the latter instinctively reach for his frog tongue-whip sword at his waist. The rest of the Royal Guards knew how powerful their King was, but when Baal did that one small action, they suddenly picked their arms as well, as if they really needed to protect their King from Moloch and his human companion. Only when Baal realised his actions, he turned his head to the side and told the rest of the guards to stand down. "This will be purely my fight. No one is to interfere! I will personally defeat the two of them and end this invasion." He shouted, and the rest quietly acknowledged it. "Oh boy. Now if we call others out to help, it will be considered as a dishonourable fight." Moloch sighed in the System Channel. "Since when does that matter? We already have Ayse and Weslie fighting against Kiva in a two on one match. I was ready to group against him, so if he decides to take on a handicap, I won''t mind." Jin said until he caught a glimpse of the battlefield at his left. He was right about the fight having developed into an unfair situation¡­ only the advantage now lay with Kiva. The Archduke had been busy summoning more of his chimaera soldiers to pit against Jin''s scientists. The Sand Golem had merely been a defensive summon to protect him while his true powers came from his chimaeras. "See! Even the enemy is fighting unfairly!" "Normally, I''d agree. But this is different, Master. If we engage in a fight with the owner of the invading Dungeon Core, our own Dungeon Core will create a special engagement arena between the involved parties. If the System already had problems teleporting back the Pandawans, I doubt it will be able to circumvent that sacred arena. Nevertheless, even if we do manage to win against him, we can get him to back off." Moloch explained while Jin placed his hand on Bam''s hilt. "Involved parties, you said? Then so be it." Jin smiled as he now looked directly at King Baal''s eyes. "We accept your challenge." Only then Moloch realised what Jin was talking about and gave a heavy sigh. "I hope the Dungeon Core recognises what you mean by the ''involved parties''." "Why not?" Jin asked as he squatted a little and went into a battle stance as taught by Zeru. "Very well." King Baal relished hearing those few words from that human companion of Moloch. He believed it was all words and no strength to back up his talk, especially when there was no menacing aura coming from him. With enough experience in the Dungeon World, he believed sometimes judging the book by its cover was more than sufficient. Even with his injury from the crown''s power, he mentally calculated that he would need less than 30 seconds fighting at his best to take him down and subsequently subdue Moloch. "Alright, let''s do it," Moloch said as he shouted a command aloud. "Dungeon Core of Pandapolis. Both parties have accepted the duel!" Suddenly, a magical counter appeared right between King Baal and Jin, causing the ground to shake a little. Jin realised that the Dungeon Core was demarcating the fight area by lifting a piece of land up from the ground. "Rules of engagement: To win, kill or force your opponent into submission. If your opponent is out of the ring for more than 10 seconds, you win. Ready? In 5, 4 , 3¡­" Chapter 785 Drill Rhino "Its been a long time since I had the chance to battle myself." Ayse stretched her hands and legs while Weslie was busy taking notes of the chimaera soldiers that were Kiva literally pulled out of his bag. They were neither the Lion Mantis nor Bat Bottleflies but instead a series of new monster which Jin''s scientists hadn''t encountered before. Bipedal in nature the purplish-blue monster had narrow eyes, fluffy ears with leather-ish tufts and a short neck filled with jagged teeth. Yes, there was a mouth on its neck. Two large venomous horns were on its forehead and a ridge of spiky spines down its back. Metallic plates covered the entirety of its chest, and stony spine edges were on each side of the elbow. Each palm had three variable drill looking claws, and the feet had triple hoof-like nails. Not to mention its tail should be a terribly potent weapon in Weslie''s opinion. Given her knowledge of animals and plants, with this kind of length and size, the tail would be capable of smashing, constricting and even breaking the bones of any creature smaller than it. There was no doubt that if either one of them got caught, there was a good chance they could die from it almost instantly. So what could be worse than one such monstrosity¡­ naturally, it would be two. Soon enough, the second entered the scene from Kiva''s bag of ''tricks''. He laughed as he watched his two female opponents take a few steps after his Drill Rhinos simultaneously let out an ear-splitting howl. (Truth be told, he hadn''t reacted any better when he gave ''birth'' to them.) "I am honestly quite curious how he was able to keep two such monsters in his bag. Void magic? Bag of bottomless storage? But if so, how could the monsters survive?" Ayse queried towards the direction of Weslie. "Oh my, I didn''t believe my opponent was someone so knowledgeable. This is something I would actually like to brag about. You see, I managed to find a way that allows me to sew a magic circle and incantations of a separate dimensional space onto this particular bag." Kiva boasted from behind the safety of his Sand Golem. "So you managed to export air and ground space into this dimensional space allowing them to live inside? Then how do you maintain the mana consumption of the dimensional space?" Ayse nodded as she wrote down his answer while he shook his head. "That is where you are wrong. This is merely a gateway to that dimensional space." "OH! So, you have more than one entry and exit! Or perhaps this is just your exit, and thus you do not need to keep up the mana consumption and just use it as and when." "You aren''t entirely correct, but not too far off." Kiva for once felt happy that someone understood him in a short amount of time. "That is rather unique. A similar concept to the dimensional dungeon instance but probably without any time delay. Anyway, don''t spoil it all. I am looking forward to discovering the rest on my own. I call dibs on his bag!" Ayse declared as she conjured a lightning fused fireball and threw it towards Kiva. As expected, the Drill Rhinos were smart enough to block to the projectile for their master and stopped the lightning fireball in the nick of time. Kiva, who was cowering in fear because of the close shave, quickly ordered the Drill Rhinos to attack the two ladies. Ayse quickly clapped her fingers, and a wave of electricity move straight towards the two Drill Rhinos, paralysing them so that Weslie could follow up. The Scholar of the West used her storage ring to grab a steampunk pneumatic rifle. "What are you guys staring into space for? Stop acting and protect me properly!" Kiva shouted as he kicked the closest one in his butt. The Drill Rhinos shook its paralysation off and started to stomp at the direction of the armed Weslie. "Here''s hoping I''ve properly calibrated it to account for the backlash." Weslie thought as she pulled onto a lever underneath the rifle while magically inserting air into the pneumatic cylinder. Without even aiming, she shot the rifle, and a crossbow bolt flew out of the barrel of the pneumatic rifle''s barrel instead of a metal pellet. Because of her initial configuration to high power, the bolt was shot out with a loud screeching blast of air and pierced through the first Drill Rhino that was charging towards her. Even with its heavy-duty natural metal plate, the crossbow bolt had managed to penetrate through the Drill Rhino''s defences and even had enough force to fly towards the second Drill Rhino behind it. But after going through that ton of meat mass, the arrow had lost all velocity, and it merely made a cling sound upon contact with the second Drill Rhino''s metal plates. However, for the former Drill Rhino, the shot incidentally pierced a couple major arteries near its heart, causing massive internal bleeding from within. Hence, it dropped its speed within seconds and died nearly on the spot after a few seconds. But within that few seconds, the latter Drill Rhino did not stop at his comrade''s demise and continued to charge towards Weslie who had kneeled to fire the Pneumatic Rifle. "Don''t worry, girl. I got you covered." Ayse said as she too had whipped out a two-handed rifle which had construction rails at the side of the barrel. Electricity was seen being generated from her hands and subsequently stored into a battery component of the gun before it discharged out and zapped the Drill Rhino. Yet, this was her first time using the Arc Induction Lance Rifle, a prototype weapon which Ayse had been developing as a side project during her ''I build my own stuff for my own benefit'' time. And the results turned out to¡­ exceptionally stunning. While it did not paralyse the Drill Rhino like her thunderclap magic, the Arc Induction Lance Rifle managed to successfully discharge an intense beam of photon-based lightning and practically burnt off the Drill Rhino''s leg, causing it to disappear within an instant. The Drill Rhino fell before it ever managed to come close enough to either scientist. Ayse was extremely thrilled with the results of her new prototype weapon against a living target. "Huh, I kind of expected some resistance from them. But not this deadly¡­ Very well, you force my hand too." Kiva transformed his head into the Raven form and started chanting inexplicable sentences which the two scientists were unable to comprehend. Suddenly the bodies of the two Drill Rhinos that were in front of them started to vibrate and moved like two magnets attracting each other. "This should be a fair amount of challenge that renders you incapable of incapacitating me!." "You sound confident. What''s your estimated survival rate?" Ayse questioned in a haughty tone. "I''d say 100% but judging by how easily you managed to defeat these two Drill Rhinos, I will give a pessimistic rate of 80-85%." Kiva conjured as the two Drill Rhinos began merging together. "You should redo your math. The answer should be zero." Ayse retorted as she started to induce more charge into her Arc Induction Lance Rifle while Weslie powered her Pneumatic Rifle further, reloading it with another crossbow bolt. "Hahah! I assure you, I made no such mistake. Anyways, it''s been fun interacting with you all too!" Kiva laughed as he turned his head back into a Bat and instinctively tried to return to the safe zone¡­ only to run straight into Stolas'' barrier once more. "Damn that Owl Head Prince!" Chapter 786 Gluttony Itori looked over the mountain of corpses that lay in front of her. From mindless demons to seemingly strong ones, they were all hungry to eat her up. But even before they could do anything, Itori had already killed anything that came close to her. Without any allowance to have a break, it somehow caused her to lose the sense of time in the circle of Gluttony. Yet the moment she realised that she was done clearing the enemies, Itori continued to be restless and disappointed that the Circle of Gluttony was underwhelming. The White Fox was still hungry for stronger opponents, and this prison was a lie to her when the dungeon core key was left in the open in a sparkling golden chest. Was there nothing that could provide her with a sufficient amount of challenge to sate her appetite? Even her older sister and brother were proving to be less than effective sparring partners with the advent of her new weapon, and she could not help but yearn for stronger enemies. "Then perhaps, you should defeat yourself." The chest snapped back hard as she tried to pick up the dungeon core key from inside it. "A mimic¡­" Itori said to herself, and even though it only wounded her a little when the gold chest bit her hand tightly, it ultimately still hurt. No teeth were seen at first glance, but the moment the trunk closed, she could feel dozen jagged edges poking her arm. (It would not be a problem if Itori did not remove the power fist to pick the key up, but she was afraid she would break it accidentally.) Therefore, Itori smashed the chest with her left power fist and caused it to break open instantly. But when she took a closer look at the dungeon core key, it turned to dust, and Itori panicked a little. Did she accidentally break the key when she brute forced opened the golden chest?! "Well¡­guess I''ll have to move to the lowest floor and break open the door for them¡­" Itori thought to herself until she heard a maniacal laugh. "You think you got the key?! Hahahahah!" Apparently, the chest had just disappeared only to reappear approximately 10 metres away from her. It then revealed its true form¡­ "Ew. You are disgusting¡­" Itori pointed at the chest mimic that had bitten her. In its true form, three heads in the shape of the very same golden treasure chests emerged from the main torso of the monster as it roared its almighty name out for Itori to hear. (Even though she didn''t really give two toots about the monster''s name.) "I am Chestberus! The Mighty Guard Supervisor for the Gluttony Level. No matter how many monsters you''ve defeated, you will never win against me!" The Three Chest Head Monster yelled as he opened his mouth and coins started to pour out of it. After which, the coins slowly stacked together, as if they were fusing as one entity. Only when the form became more concrete, did Itori notice that it was actually mimicking her own form. "After a quick bite, I am able to replicate the form of my opponent! So, no matter what, you won''t be able to defeat your very own doppelganger! Prepare to die miserably in my -WHAT?!" As Chestberus was in the midst of goading about this ability, Itori had sent the coin infused form of herself into oblivion with a single kick. The coin creature shattered into its individual parts and flew as indirect scatter projectiles hurting the Chestberus. "Impossibru! There is no way!" Chestberus now opened all three of his chest mouths and recreated the very same doppelganger three times more. He also made sure that he had inserted more than the number of required coins to make these doppelgangers and strengthened them further. Yet once again, Itori didn''t wait for them to finish as she decimated the three doppelgangers in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, she did not hesitate to punch and destroy one of Chestberus heads. "Give me the dungeon core key, and I''ll let you get away with your life still intact. Might not be the entirety of it but still something." Itori had enough playing around with weaklings for the day. "No! I am the Gluttony Guard who has served this prison ever since its inception! I will not hand the key over witho-" And with that, Itori had had enough of the odd-looking three-headed chest dog and punched him out of existence. With his disappearance, the real treasure chest lined with intricate golden linings and patterns emerged from all bloodied coins on the ground. "Should have done that a minute ago instead of yapping about." Itori berated her late opponent as she ripped open the treasure chest and picked the dungeon core key. "CHANCE!" A voice echoed in the depths of the Gluttony Level, and a new treasure chest tried to bite her from the back. The very last resort of Chestberus but Itori was faster. She grabbed the chest''s top as soon as he had let out a noise and met it with a furious punch. The blow was so immense that the Dungeon Core for the Gluttony level was unable to sustain its infrastructure and the impact of Itori''s fist led to a giant hole, revealing the Prison Core of the lower basement level. Her actions had been on a purely instinctive level and had been further strengthened by her innate hatred for ambushes. The White Fox''s punch impact had inadvertently killed off the Guard Supervisor for the level of Greed as well. "No way¡­how did you even realise that I had a copy in Greed''s level?!" The leftover golden chest debris of Chestberus coughed as he did not expect for his opponent to be able to figure out that he was actually the Guard Supervisor of two levels. If the two copies were not killed within a span of five minutes, Chestberus would be able to regenerate indefinitely as he had made a link with the heaps of food and coins stockpiles on both levels. No one in decades had been able to defeat these two levels since they never knew they were intertwined. Chestberus was considered as the ultimate gatekeeper for Paradiso because of his hidden ability to regenerate and ambush their challengers so long that one of the two copies existed. "Seriously, Itori. AGAIN?! Do you find it funny to killsteal my prey?!" Ixa complained loudly from below when she realised that the Prison Core had released the key on her end before she even met the guardian. "¡­." "¡­It''s just a coincidence. Really!" Itori shouted back as she crossed her fingers at her back. She honestly hoped that her elder sister wasn''t too mad. At least this time around it really reaalllyy wasn''t done on purpose. "Argh~! Whatever, I will just clear the remaining monsters here." Ixa replied with a shake of her head before returning to clean up the remnants of the Prison Core. Meanwhile, Itori looked at the leftover piece of Chestberus. "Don''t ever try to ambush me! I hate it when people do that. Fight me face to face if you wish to challenge me again!" She berated it as she squeezed her hand. Slowly but surely, Chestberus turned into splinters and subsequently dust. (As if he wanted to challenge such a fearsome foe once more.) With the Gluttony and Greed Keys now in their possession, there were still five more keys for the remaining foxes to get. Chapter 787 The Ultimate Chimaera - Part 1 "No, No, No! Noooo!!!!" Kiva repeatedly shouted after a sudden explosion had nearly hit him. "How could this be?!" The two other scientists who were ready to take him on were unsure what exactly was going on. One moment Kiva had been combining the two nearly dead Drill Rhinos into one so that it could ''pulverise'' them into submission, yet the very next after surviving a blast Kiva was screaming as if it had hit him. Yet Kiva was more worried about the consequences of this distraction than his near-death encounter. The magical combination of the two Drill Rhinos required a set amount of mana to succeed. Any more or less would reduce the optimal abilities of the newly fused monsters. What had happened was that a shot from Stalingrad might have failed to get Kiva, but it had perfectly hit the not yet fully formed monster. Kiva had imbued it with a shield strong enough to deflect any attacks the two scientists in front of him should have been able to use, but the shield had not been enough to counter the explosive force. In fact, the shell nearly killed not only Kiva but also the two scientists in its vicinity. Ayse did shout back at Wolte in the System Channel for not being careful enough. In essence, that explosive form of energy had affected the quality and quantity of mana given during fusion, resulting in a definite deformity of the Drill Rhinos. Usually, Kiva would not care for failures as he treated most of his specimens as dirt anyway. But right now, it was crucial for his survival and pride when the entirety of the Royal Guards (Not to mention Stolas) was looking at him. Since his perfectly fused Drill Rhinos was no longer achievable, he decided to mix up the whole combination to make up for any possible defects it might have. The Ravenous Lord continued to chant magical words furiously in his Raven Head form as he opened his bag and threw various other specimens into the mix like the Bat Bottleflies and Lion Mantis. "Now he is just mashing all the various monsters into one. There''s no elegance in his current chimaera¡­" Weslie commented, and Kiva stared at her angrily. "SHUT UP! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO TELL ME THAT! If not for your friend! You would have seen the masterpiece of my creation!!" Kiva shouted as he feared that even the new abomination might not be able to win against the two scientists, especially after he had seen what power their personal arsenal held. "Unless¡­ Unless¡­" Kiva was a little hesitant but knowing that if he lost this battle, King Baal could possibly remove him from his position permanently. Then all his future plans would remain dreams. There was no way for redemption when since his units had failed repeatedly. The very same units that had brought victory after victory since their inception. Maybe the enemies got lucky in the first try since the Bat Bottleflies were not complete products. However, Moloch and his team of rag tags not only defeated his batches of Lion Mantis but annihilated them with ease despite the enhancement given by the crown. He started to feel that the crown was not as omnipotent as he conceived it to be. Thus, his only way out was to redeem the failures by winning against the enemy¡­ or the very least die valiantly trying. "Screw this!" Kiva thought to himself and loudly chanted a forbidden verse of magic which added himself into the fusion process. Weslie tried to intervene by shooting at him, but somehow, even the monster abomination that was being fused was sentient enough to block the attack for his master. A shade of overwhelming darkness temporarily blinded the people at the scene, and suddenly the fused monster alongside Kiva had disappeared. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The System''s alert popped up and stated that an unknown object was flying towards the direction of Stalingrad. "What, so I am the target?" Wolte squinted his eyes as he automatically aimed his guns towards the flying object and shot everything he had towards it. To his surprise, the flying abomination was agile enough to dodge all projectiles. "You¡­ This ship¡­! This ship has been a source of annoyance ever since I saw you emerging out of the waters!" Kiva shouted. He had completely fused with the various chimaeras to become the possibly ultimate monster he had ever created. His fear of fighting was now overpowered by the multiple aggressive instincts inhabited within the abomination. He had been unaware whether it could work and even if it did Kiva had been worried if he could maintain his sanity with the minds of the various monsters getting connected to him. Still, he was left with no other chance and decided to take that gamble. However, he did not know that he merely got lucky. The residual crown energy within him was actually the critical key factor that had allowed him to fuse his entire body together with the rest. Without that, the foregone conclusion would have been him and the rest of his creations dying because of the rejection of too many foreign cells, leaving him to die miserably. "Pfft! Not as if you were here when I emerged out of the waters." Wolte said in loudspeaker mode and that stunned Kiva for a moment, providing the old man boat with an attack of opportunity to hurt it. One of the shots splattered his left arm off, and Wolte imagined he scored a good hit. But the annoying abomination still flew steadily towards the ship¡­with a new arm replacing the old one in a matter of seconds. "You can''t be serious. That kind of injury and he could regrow that quickly?" Wolte thought to himself as he maintained his firing while telling the Royal Snakes to prepare for a hijack. "I''ve always wondered where you''ve hidden, you old fool! I cannot believe you stuck your old arse helping Moloch! By finishing you off, King Baal is bound to reward me heavily!" Kiva laughed as he increased his speed and zoomed towards the ship. "Now come out and face me, old man!" In less than a few seconds, he hovered right above the ship and smirked. Most of Wolte''s heavy cannons were unable to operate at that distance, and the anti air and anti infantry shots suddenly proved to be useless against the Kiva''s new form. With the fusion of the Bottlefly and Praying Mantis'' wings, he was finally able to adjust to the speed of the shots and evaded them speedily. "Hahaha! Try as you will, but your new toy is no threat to me. You''ve always boasted about being accepting any duels. Now come out and let me show you MY powers!" "You have to remember that humans might not be as straightforward as those shells and bullets." Gan Yang''s voice appeared right behind the boasting Kiva, and he stabbed his dagger into Kiva''s neck despite the metal plates all over his body. Without a doubt, the Ravenous Lord panicked a little seeing how some human had managed to appear this high into the air and had been able to remain undetected thus far. Ignoring the surprise attack the human made, Kiva quickly turned and slashed him with his Mantis Blade. Knowing it was a suicide attack, Gan Yang fell to the ground with his body split into two. Nevertheless, knowing that his knife had submerged into the enemy''s body, he was certain he had completed his mission. Chapter 788 The Ultimate Chimaera - Part 2 "Hahahah! Didn''t you puny humans claimed that power was everything and such trickery was a sign of weakness?!" Kiva could already feel his body parts slowing down a little, and that was enough for Wolte''s gun systems to place a shot at him, making Kiva fall to the ground. Gan Yang''s suicide attack was to ensure he petrified Kiva so that he could stop dodging their attack. Since the Ravenous Lord had yet to acclimate himself to his new body, it was relatively easy for Gan Yang to get onto him without Kiva noticing. The rest of Gan Yang''s crew decidedly tried to finish up their Captain''s job after Wolte had pierced Kiva''s wings. They were sure they could ''avenge'' their captain as Gan Yang''s petrification poison was working its way through Kiva''s entire body. However, the short laughter Kiva let out caused Wolte to have some unsuspecting concerns. True enough, like any type of evolved boss, Kiva was not done yet. The petrification poison had worked initially but as they soon found out Kiva merely shed off the affected part of the abomination body and grew an entirely new one. The petrified pieces of his previous body became the protection it needed to counter against the deadly poisonous strikes of the Royal Snake soldiers. After which, he brandished his Mantis Blades and cut off the Royal Snake soldiers while shaking the rest of the petrified body parts away, revealing a brand new body. How were they supposed to know that as long as he had his ''bag of tricks'' on him, he could indefinitely summon new chimaeras to replace his body, allowing him to become pseudo immortal. Kiva took the chance to take flight and was once more fast enough to make Wolte''s guns appear as nothing but decoration. The Ravenous Lord sheathed the Mantis Blades and revealed a massive spinning drill by putting both of his arms together, allowing it to merge as one. With a bit of chanting, he imbued his large drill and did a flyover before aiming at the ship''s stern. "Traitor Wolte! Accept your undeniable fate! I do not know where you are hiding in this ship but may this be the last time we meet!" Kiva yelled as he pushed all his strength into his insectoid wings and hoped to pierce the entire ship. His once timid demeanour seemed to have disappeared with the ascension of his new powers as he attempted to destroy the most powerful weapon in Moloch''s disposal. "Nope, you don''t!" Wolte replied and in an instant like a bubble that had burst, the ship disappeared into thin air, leaving only the dead and injured bodies of the Royal Snake Army floating in the sea. Wolte had reverted into his slug form and his buddy Mr Derpy provided him with a magical foam that allowed him to breathe underwater. Seeing that the ship suddenly disappeared, Kiva was unsure what to do for a moment. Then he looked back to the scientists who were still at the front for the safe zone. To his surprise, no Royal Guards or demon soldiers were keeping them occupied. It was as if they were all friends and foes watching what was happening to King Baal and Jin. Apparently, the human and Moloch were somehow still able to hold their weight against King Baal, keeping him a little entertained. "Tsk! And here I thought I was making a brilliant show for them to watch! Damn it! Baal, even if you succeed¡­ Just you wait till the Agents from the Church of the Afterlife come for you!" Kiva grumbled to himself as he flew back at top speed planning to ambush the researchers that had made him into a laughing stock previously. "Oh, here he comes," Weslie said as the System had alerted them of his incoming assault and Ayse casually looked back. "He''s really grown to become a nuisance. Not only did he remove one of our (surprisingly) greatest assets on the battlefield, but now he wants to take revenge against us? He should deserve punishment and learn his place." Ayse commented. "Ah, but you cannot deny his art in transmutation. I believe Derek would love to have a discussion about that with him. Who knows, perhaps it might lead to some improvement in our giant monster''s ability to grow more crops." "That is true. If Derek learns how to effectively fuse animals with non-living stuff like metal, it might be possible he could help Rei create the organic robot cockpit interface which we''ve talked about." Ayse agreed as she prepared a bolt of lightning to shoot at Kiva. "You cannot be serious!" Weslie was shocked but kept her pneumatic rifle and brought out a steampunk tower shield. "Why not? If that stupid bat could assist Derek and Rei to make the cockpit, it would be akin to moving our bodies in a clunky metal body easily. Without all those stupid controls. It will be pretty helpful against an armada of space robots and ships to get that Titan Brain. -Huh, I wonder if we can also modify the Stalingrad into a spaceship¡­" Ayse immediately lost herself in thought, and Weslie quickly moved to her front and blocked the incoming dive assault from Kiva. The tower shield immediately ledged itself to the ground and an energy battery activated the energy shield to protect the two researchers. It was using the very same shield generator concept they had used for the protection of the anti air companies just that it was a smaller build. In fact, this was the first prototype Ayse had created with Weslie only that this steampunk tower shield had lived through many iterations. Abomination Kiva tried to break the defence of the tower shield, but hot air was sprayed out against the assaulter, scalding his face and arms. A function which was slightly unconventional since the air exhaust pipes were meant solely to cool down the heat emitted from the shield generator. Weslie had only thought of the pipes to face upwards, but one of Ayse''s comments during the creation process had led to it facing the enemies. "If you can scald them or even distract them from your shield, it will allow you to attack. Then it will actually serve the purpose of defending oneself too." It was effective. Kiva stopped the attack and flew backwards because the hot air had gotten not only on his face but also in his mouth, throat and lungs as he tried to breathe. "Now!" Weslie called as she unhinged the tower shield and kicked it at the bottom right corner, causing it to topple backwards. Weslie kneeled down to support the rest of the tower shield''s weight. With a weight differentiation sensor, the tower shield immediately popped up two hinges from the middle edges of the shield and in turn, assisted Weslie from bearing the full weight of the shield. At the same time, the falling of the tower shield revealed to Kiva that Ayse was preparing a fully charged arc lance with the thunderbolt she had cast on her hand previously. "With pleasure!" Ayse shouted as she already pushed the trigger on her arc induction lance rifle towards the distracted abomination. "Oh Shit!" Chapter 789 The Ultimate Chimaera - Final Kiva was not the one to have cursed, but instead, it was actually Ayse and Weslie who were now in trouble. When Weslie had lowered the tower shield for Ayse to shoot her Arc Induction Lance Rifle, Kiva, in turn, had ready a long spinning drill at the tip of his tail. The Lightning Arc from the Lance Rifle did not damage Kiva in any single way. Rather, the drill acted like a potent lightning rod, as well as storing all the electrical potential in its spinning tail. "I''ve already predicted that you were going to hit me with that electrical fluff gadget you have. Too bad for you, I knew a way to store it for my own use! Now have a taste of your own medicine!" The previous two Drill Rhino could have also deflected the attack¡­ if their drill was at the receiving point of the electrical energy. But too bad for the Chimaeras, the Arc Lance was a little too unwieldy for Ayse despite her fairly stout build. So, the lightning arc moved sideways and damaged other areas instead, causing them to fall. Still, it was a mystery as to how Kiva''s long drill tail had managed to store all that electrical energy, spinning while not being hurt by it. Unfortunately, there was no time for the researchers to analyse it as Kiva decided to go into the offensive by plucking its tail and turning it into a flail with the drill spinning furiously with electrical pulses emitted at different intervals. Weslie quickly propped up the tower shield again to defend against the attack, and while Kiva knew that he could easily move to the side and destroy them, he decided to entertain them further. The feeling of dominance over these two ladies of science somehow was a tad too intoxicating to just let go, and it was an excellent opportunity not to break their inventions. It was as if he had to prove a point that his craft was far too strong for them to handle. However, to his surprise, the spinning flail of a drill tail did not manage to put a single scratch or dent on Weslie''s tower shield. Ayse, now aware that her Arc Induction Lance Rifle was useless, decided to use the very same weapon that Kraft had employed against the Dragonlite sentries. "Behold! The Edged Boomerangs!" Ayse grinned widely when she took it out from her storage ring and started to induce them with magic. Even without line of sight, Ayse threw them with ease as they magically aimed for the target beyond the tower shield and they struck the enemy with precision. However, to her dismay, the attack did not seem to be as powerful as recorded in the System''s database. "Did Kraft lie to the System?" Ayse thought to herself as Kiva dismissed the feeble attempts of the Edged Boomerangs. "Negative. Original Bellator Kraft merely used chi manipulation to make the attacks stronger. The weapon was still working as intended. Regrettably, your power output cannot compare to his." The System replied all of a sudden, and it made the situation for the two ladies even more desperate. Frustrated that his weapon did not work as intended, Kiva decided to perform a sidestep to defeat the defender and proceed to cut Ayse''s head off. However, he did not expect that the moment he moved, the tower shield was moving at the same speed as him. "How could this be?!" Kiva thought to himself as he now tried to pass and hit Ayse with his flailing drill from a distance, but the tower shield kept intervening just as the drill left Kiva''s proximity. "Surprised? Don''t be. Your drill eating electricity is equally a mystery to us. Thought we''d return the favour." Weslie smirked as she managed to counterattack when Kiva had a slight opening after his weapon was deflected by her shield. "You impudent human!" Kiva shouted as he continued to underestimated Weslie by trying to move faster and attempted to get rid of Ayse by flying over. (Especially when he deemed Weslie too weak to even bring up the tower shield.) "Hah! Try harder!" Weslie taunted behind the safety of the tower shield. She lifted it upwards with ease and protected Ayse from being hit. Yet, all of this was merely a distraction. Kiva was actually aiming for their concentration to focus on him. He mumbled a few magical words and the flail turned into the very same drill that Kiva had attempted to use against the Stalingrad. "Since, I lost the opportunity to use it about minutes ago¡­ Then you will have to become my target board!" Kiva declared. He flew away from the two researchers and used that distance to gain speed. Again, he mumbled a few more taboo words and the drill spun even more rapidly, to the point that its sound became irritating enough to cause Jin and King Baal to stop for a moment to see what Kiva was about to do. ¡ª¨C "Stop. How about a temporary truce. I''d like to see what my advisor is capable of doing." King Baal suggested that with a prideful and unyielding tone. It was as if he was rewarding Jin for even managing to entertain him until now. Nevertheless, Jin gladly agreed, making use of the time to catch his breath and at the same time relieved that King Baal curiosity gave him the break he needed. It was definitely clear that the King of Demon Metropolis was merely toying or buying time for his subjects. For what reason, Jin did not know as he trusted that his monsters and remaining cultivators were equally capable of stopping the Demon Horde in their tracks despite the chaos from the Mass Teleportation spell. And that wasn''t even accounting for Kraft''s group who apparently was making great progress. ¡ª¨C "DIE!" Kiva shouted and went for a pinpoint charge as his wings fluttered at the speed of sound, heading towards Weslie with all he got. The Scholar of the West also realised that there was nothing that could be done but to wear the abomination down while Ayse or she came up with a plan to defeat it. ¡­ However, things didn''t go as predicted. To everyone''s surprise, Kiva''s enchanted drill penetrated the energy shield with ease. The impact from the weapon was enough to create a hole in the tower shield, inadvertently piercing Weslie''s abdomen with such force that her innards and even bits of her spine and lower ribcage flew in every direction possible. And that was not the end as the electrical charges from the drill were being discharged, causing bolts of lightning to spear towards Ayse and injuring her severely. From mere burns to loss of limbs, Ayse fell to the ground alongside Weslie. Jin saw the entire incident from the floating platform and his fists banged onto the invisible walls that the Dungeon Core had created to prevent any disturbances from the outside (and ironically the inside) "What''s with your reaction? Not used to seeing your comrades die such a horrible death?" King Baal scoffed at Jin''s whimpering scream. In a certain sadistic way, he was jovial that he had graciously granted his opponent a small break. But now it was time to finish the duel and call it a day! Chapter 790 Dramatic Rescue "Haa¡­ Haaa¡­I know I''ll get resurrected by the System¡­ so there should be nothing much to worry about." Ayse tried to convince herself as she stared at the blurry enemy who felt triumphant over managing to finish the both of them. "But that bastard¡­ for some reason, I don''t want to lose against him!" Ayse thought to herself as her consciousness began to fade away. Despite her attempts, the Head Researcher found it hard to stay awake and watched as the uglier side of Kiva emerged. Abomination Kiva lifted the bludgeoning tower shield and kicked the piece of metal away before he picked Weslie''s corpse up as if she was some dead animal. The only thing was, she wasn''t completely gone. Like Ayse, she continued struggling and refused to believe that she was on her final few breaths despite the large gaping hole in her stomach that was draining her life out. It was a desperate attempt to cling onto life while she fought to heal herself with her own magic. "What can you do in this particular state?" Kiva asked her out loud, but at the same time, Ayse heard a familiar voice that echoed the very same words in her mind. "Weslie¡­" Ayse tried to call out, but only a coughing murmur escaped her mouth since her lungs prioritised her life. The Orc Researcher attempted to raise her hand out to her colleague, but she barely had the power to move, let alone lift. Nevertheless, Weslie, who was barely conscious, could only grin with one side of the mouth. "DON''T YOU DARE DIE ON ME!" A roar reverberated throughout the battlefield and simultaneously, the very same initial voice said the same thing in her mind again. Kiva turned to look, but before he could respond, the arm that was holding Weslie was cut down, and she disappeared from the corner of his eye. Only when Kiva returned his gaze at the broken Ayse, did he find a new challenger. "Gold¡­" Weslie smiled faintly as she tearfully extended a hand towards his face. It pained the Werejackal Leader to see her in this state, and his heart got even emptier when she used her strengths to put her hands up. He hastily picked her palm up and tried to heal her wounds with all the powers he had in his disposal. Although he knew that the System could revive her easily, he couldn''t just watch and do nothing. Were they all supposed to become emotionless as their comrades died over and over, ignoring the struggle for their lives? What bullshit! "Shh. Hush my love. Sorry, I''m late." Gold apologised gently despite his rage-filled eyes staring intently at Kiva. Ayse, who witnessed the beautiful scene from the side, was relieved and at the same time, jealous that Gold had come to rescue Weslie while risking his own life for her''s. "What are you looking at with such jealousy? You have me with you. Always, my darling." The voice continued to interrupt Ayse at Death''s door. "Don''t you think it''s rude of you to interrupt me. I am in the midst of dying, yet here you are babbling away as usual." Ayse sent her thoughts to the voice within her mind, demanding it to go away. "That is why I am here. I''m always here for you. You just have to stop ignoring me. <3 " "You just want to get out." "Ooo, you got me! Well, you can''t blame me entirely. You are having so much fun right now! Honestly, I think the turn of events back then was an exciting one, indeed. We have more toys to play with than ever!" "Heh, bitch." Ayse coughed out blood, and Kiva suddenly interrupted the lonely conversation in her mind by laughing mindlessly once more. "Hahaha! What a loving couple. I''ve always been a supporter of true love. Let me bring both of you two to hell! Oops, I mean three. Oh wait, if I kill you, you''re just going to get resurrected here all fine and dandy. Then perhaps, I should just keep you three in stasis and let you all suffer by showing the defeat your leader would suffer!" Kiva monologued like a classic villain as he rushed towards Gold. Meanwhile, the Werejackal Leader placed Weslie down, and with the absolute determination of not moving a single step away from the two severely injured comrades, he decided to take the blow from Kiva''s dual Mantis Blade with his sword. "Good reflex! Now keep up!" Kiva yelled as he started to speed up. "Are you really content just sitting there and letting him cover for you? So shameless! I can already foresee that he''s going to lose." The voice started to fill Ayse''s mind even more. "Then, what else am I going to do?" Ayse rebutted. "Why are you so adamant about not letting me out, no matter what? You should remember how I helped you previously¡­" "How can I trust you after what you did? Leaving me behind and only coming when you felt like it?" Ayse used all her strength to pull Weslie away from the fight, hoping to give Gold a little more breathing space to move about. "Alright, how about a trade? I will lend you my full powers this time, so you can kill that deadbeat pompous scientist into smithereens. And then you let me back into your life." The voice negotiated. "Besides, it''s not like you haven''t been using my origins to dial up your magic. If you have me permanently, it will greatly benefit your current master too." "On one condition. Come at my behest in the future. If I catch you running away like you did previously, I would not acknowledge you further." Ayse knew this sly voice way too well. "And here I thought, I am the one in charge!! Fine¡­I am pleased with the change of events and its fun to watch them unfold. In exchange for your condition, you got to give me good battles like this every once in a while." The voice rebutted, refusing to apologise for her past mistakes though Ayse agreed to it. Gold''s sword broke from the swift constant attacks, but he managed to counter with a quick fireball which he had been chanting while parrying the blades. Yet from behind the smoke, the twin blades came down as if they were the scythes from the death reaper. Gold was not able to recover fast enough to shoot another fireball to deflect the blades, nor was he able to change to werejackal form and block the attacks with his claws. So, he instinctively placed his body in front of the attack, ensuring that it will hit him instead. Suddenly two loud clink sounds were heard, and the flashes that came with the sound caused him to close his eyes instinctively. As Gold opened his eyes, he saw Ayse who had somehow managed to stand back up and used her Arc Induction Lance Rifle as the object to block the attacks. However, the Mantis Blades easily cut down the Lance Rifle, and the components within it had exploded due to the contact impact. The Werejackal Leader noticed it and quickly grabbed Ayse by her collar. He turned her around, using his back as the meat shield against the explosion. "Hahaha! That''s a decent surprise right there. Got to give you that." Kiva shook off the explosion and shed the burnt body as he moved into a new one. With his hundreds of chimaeras in his bag of tricks fused along with the rest of the current abomination body, he believed their respite was short-lived, and the attempt to retaliate was meaningless and futile. Chapter 791 The Purple Thunder "No wonder Weslie likes you so much, you truly are a gentleman from the way you carry her." Ayse teased Gold as she coughed out more blood and saliva. Her panting was hurried, and the coarse voice could clearly show her injuries had worsened to the next stage. "What are you thinking!!" Gold asked as he put her down. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" "What''s it look like? I was saving your arse so Weslie would own me one¡­ but it looks like the favour was returned immediately." Ayse joked once again via the System Channel as she tried to stand up defiantly. "System, why have you not teleported these two out of the way?!" Gold harshly reprimanded it in the System Channel for its inaction as he returned to a defensive stance against the unpredictable Kiva. The problem wasn''t that Kiva was a competent fighter making him hard to read, it was more the opposite. He fought like an amateur, yet his strength and versatility were so absurdly high, making him unpredictable for Gold. "Affirmative." The System stated, and it immediately teleported Weslie and Gold into the military base where the goblin clerics had been on standby, ready to aid them. "What? Why did you teleport me instead of Ayse? Get me back there this instant! Ayse needs more help than me!!" Gold complained as he shouted into empty space, but the clerics were already attempting to restrain him and healing the moderate wounds that he had sustained from trying to block the two Mantis Blades. "Ehhh¡­ This is no fun. Totally forgot you guys can teleport. Also, I meant to say this, but you guys must have met an ancient monster if he''s able to teleport you whenever you want. I am dying to meet him." Kiva spoke while trying to track the scent of Weslie and Gold only to come with the result that it had just vanished. He deduced it was a long-range teleportation skill/spell. "Too bad for you they were unable to get all of you out. You must have pissed off that old fart if he did not bother with you over the new guy!" Kiva taunted her. "System has issued a mandatory order to Head Orc Researcher Ayse: Kill the enemy without prejudice for his insult against the System. System is willing to reward you with a generous lump sum of System points. The more miserable the demise, the better the reward." The System stated, and Ayse began to laugh out loud slowly. "Haha¡­Hahah! Thank you for your generous reward, I will gladly take them all!" Ayse laughed even louder, and Kiva thought that the injured orc must be going crazy. "You want me to torture him after I kill him? Do you mind if I ask Kraft for his expertise? Something like that should be right up his alley." "Possible remuneration will be given by the System if Ayse is able to give out a satisfactory punishment to the offender. Feel free to get Original Bellator Kraft involved." In short, the System was all too willing to see the insolent bat suffer. "My pleasure." Ayse acknowledged her mission even as she struggled to keep herself steady. "Who the hell are you talking to?! I see no one and sense no magical connection. Are you out of your mind?!" Kiva was now sure that the loss of blood had gotten into Ayse''s head for her to be delusional. "You know, just the many voices in my head. All of them want me to do something for them because I am magnificently brilliant and capable." Ayse replied as she held feebly onto the broken piece of Induction Arc Lance as support. "Pfft. If you are smart enough, you should know that statistically, your death is imminent." Kiva argued as he ground his Mantis Blades by rubbing them together. "Unless you are deluding yourself that I might pity you and give you mercy¡­ Though as a scientist I was taught to never say never, I can guarantee you that the chances of you surviving is a flat 0%." "Heh. Aren''t those my odds for your survival." Ayse countered back. Her breath became even more rugged. "Enough bluffing." Kiva had had enough. He took flight once more and headed straight towards her. "Slydra. Come." Ayse whispered with bated breath, and a flash of thunder and lightning struck Ayse as Kiva was about to enter a range to decapitate her in one go. The abomination was struck down to the floor from the large radius of purple lightning. "Fuck¡­!" Kiva coughed after suffering the electrocution. He tried to regain control over the body, but the numbing sensation from the thunderbolt overwhelmed him. However, as he was about to assume control, he suddenly felt a leg stepping on his head, and then it stomped hard with another bolt of thunder. "Huh, this body, although terribly broken, is still quite silky and youthful," Slydra commented as Ayse had already allowed her to descend into her. Like Shiva, Slydra had a slender body that was comparable to hers although she''d boast that her butt was more¡­ Cushy. Her dull light magenta skin with several strings of violet scales was covering her sexual parts, making the demon bystanders dumbstruck by her luscious form of beauty. Oh, and speaking about those bystanders, a wink from Slydra immediately electrocuted the weaker willed guards while the rest had a numbing sensation pulsating through them. Even Prince Stolas had difficulty overcoming her irresistible electrifying charm. "How did it even pass through my magical barrier?!" Stolas thought as he nearly passed out from the electric wink spell. As for Kiva¡­ Every time the abomination chimaera scavenged the power to move a little, Slydra merely sent another wrap of purplish lightning into his disgustingly fused body. (And at the same time, reinforcing her stomp via her heels which eventually seeped into his burnt muscles.) "While your vision of science is hardly laudable, I should give you an E for effort," Slydra stated as she released her heels and kicked him, causing him to roll away from her. Then, every single step that the Shaitan of Thunder took, Lightning Bolts continuously blasted the ever regenerating Kiva, taking away any sort of opportunity for him to stand back up. "Now do you vaguely understand why we were hesitant to appear?" Shiva asked Frost Echo as he smashed the frozen skulls of the demons from afar as he sensed the appearance of another Shaitan. "Heh, so you all predicted this?" Frost Echo questioned back as he froze yet another wave of demons and rushed through them. "You may call it premonition and giving our ¡­ ''friend''. She seemed awfully excited about the chance to have some fun." Shiva answered as she was happy watching the show from her realm. "Got to say, must be real nice to have friends that give each other the chance to blow some steam¡­or in this case, lightning." Frost Echo grinned as he broke all the demons into ice dust. Meanwhile, Slydra quickly got bored after zapping the defenceless scientist a few more times. Eventually, she somehow turned it into an automated process by sending bolts of thunder to fry Kiva every three seconds. "Got to make you turn into ashes seeing how you can regenerate that quickly. It is a little boring, so I put it as a backend process." Slydra pondered as she hovered to watch the one-sided duel of King Baal, smashing his sword onto Jin''s. "But on the other hand, breaking this would be quite fun." She noticed how the human was weakly defending himself against the multiple blows. If not for Bam''s sturdiness, Jin''s weapon would have broken many times by now. "Oh, my dear Ayse. You submitted yourself to such a weak master?" Slydra was surprised, yet the Head Researcher rolled her eyes with her mental image intact. "Do not interfere! If you wish to create havoc, do it somewhere else!" Jin shouted as he saw an unknown creature through the Half Panda''s mask that he was wearing, indicating that it was a friendly unit by the System. "Huh¡­not bad. At least he''s got balls, I give you that. King Hamu and Diabolos would have wanted us to contribute to the fight. Oh well, if that''s the case, let''s do a flyover and kill anything that moves." "ANYTHING THAT IS NOT ON OUR SIDE! You have the freaking System with you to know who is friend or foe!" Ayse shouted, and Slydra chuckled. "Did not realise you turned a little more caring, though hardly ladylike. Fine." Slydra sighed as she first flew and assisted the Clay Dragon with the aerial units harassing it. In the meantime, Ayse was worried that the System might potentially deduct points from their rewards if they haphazardly zap friendlies. Left behind the scenes was poor Kiva. He was in a repeating loop of being struck by thunderbolts in continuous intervals. His drill was not strong enough to store nor deflect the intensity of the Shaitan''s lightning attacks. And because of the nature of his abomination, he had to suffer until all his chimaeras were used up. If that was not enough, Slydra had also placed a magic trap spell on the ground. Should Kiva find a way to withstand the thunderbolts, the trap would encase him in a lightning web where several lightning bolts would be struck with increased intensity. And like Ayse, Slydra was meticulous enough that she had already inserted more of those electric trap spells with increasing severity in the freak event Kiva managed to break out of the first one. By then, Slydra should be able to return to the scene to engage with him once again. In short, Kiva was learning through his body that being pseudo-immortal wasn''t really all that great. Chapter 792 That Mandatory Talk between Fights "That idiot," Jin grumbled with a weak smile, even though he was a little proud that Ayse had been able to survive the unexpected Abomination Kiva. The System had also informed him that Weslie, as well as Gold, had been teleported for some emergency treatment. As much as Jin was thrilled about how things had turned out, his opponent was not pleased about the sudden turn of circumstances, and his strikes were reflecting this, becoming heavier as if he was finally getting more serious. The latest stab was the worst of them all so far. Jin was barely able to hold his sword as the opponent''s weapon brushed through his steel. To the Astral Panda cultivator, he felt like he was holding against a rushing train. Jin''s adrenaline was already wearing off from the initial bout and with King Baal no longer holding his punches, there was no reason to hold back too much as well. Meanwhile, Moloch who had been in his master''s hoodie continued to hold on tight and protected Jin at crucial times when it was obvious that Jin would be unable to dodge or defend the attack properly. Alas, Moloch''s intervention only led to King Baal getting more irritated, and his next few attacks were always harder to predict. But with the eventual defeat of his royal advisor, King Baal started to remove all the restraints, and his tongue-whip sword began to show its true colours. Thankfully with the help of his Inverse Eyes, Jin was still able to see through some of the attacks but there had not been any chance for a counter-attack. Despite knowing Moloch could cover him, solely focusing on defence was getting somewhat tiresome and demoralising. Suddenly the whip turned in an unexpected way that even Jin''s Inverse Eyes were unable to catch and Moloch failed to protect him as well, causing him to fall backwards after getting stabbed at the right shoulder. "Shit!" Jin shouted, and King Baal smirked as his attack finally connected after so long. "Fairly commendable defence. But it looks like this is the end for your champion. Final chance to give up, Moloch. I''d rather not piece your shredded remains back together." King Baal said as he sheathed his sword. He could see the poison from his sword was already working on Jin''s body as the shoulder turned slightly gangrene. "Sadly for you, my Liege, but I have anticipated this," Moloch replied as he took a new card out and a triangle energy barrier appeared right in front of him and Jin. King Baal snickered at the feeble attempts of his past advisor as Moloch quickly climbed over to Jin''s right shoulder and placed a blank card over it. Slowly but surely, the card was reversing the effect of the poison as Jin assisted by slowing his heart rate with his Maqi. It took less than ten seconds for Moloch to remove the poison, yet his former King was not impressed. "Such futile attempts when both the barrier and poison removal are only delaying the inevitable. You should know full well about this Moloch. Why are you still resisting?" "Has Kiva''s nonsense really caused you to lose all reason and logic?" Moloch asked as he went back to Jin''s hoodie. "I''ve always retained my reason and logic. While I had some hopes that you might be able to create something with the amount of attention diverted away from you, all you did was waste your life away. You dressed up your Minotaurs and have proven to be a lucrative spot for those pesky adventurers to dungeoneer¡­ And now?" Baal snorted with disgust before he continued talking. "Of all your options, you''ve joined up with the humans, giving away our land to them and betraying the king that you''ve sworn to serve." King Baal argued, and Moloch did not retaliate. He allowed his king to speak freely while simultaneously using the time to enable Jin to recuperate too. "You are right. From your point of view, I''ve turned into the worst of the worst traitors. I''ve forsaken the crown as well as everything your Demon Metropolis stands for. Mainly because you''re no longer the king that I was willing to sacrifice my all for." Moloch spoke as he climbed out of Jin''s hoodie and jumped out in front of his previous King. (So that he could buy even more time for Jin.) "After centuries of my service for you, you''ve ignored my advice and allowed a new lord with no status to present you a tribute that had ultimately changed your life for the worst. Now, you are prisoned to that very same stupid piece of metal which cursed you with endless days of torment. Furthermore, if your will to live falters just a little, your entire day would be in a sorrier state than the pits of the astral hell." "I''ve tried to stop you from using it, but I was too late. To this day, I blame myself for not seeing through it earlier. You''ve become completely addicted to the powers despite the major repercussions you suffered." Lord Moloch did not wish to play tit for tat. But right now, he could only buy that few seconds of time for Jin to recover while defending the unjust accusation from his former king. "During my exile, many metropolis Dungeon Core owners had wished to cut ties with you and yet I had secretly amended most of them when it was supposedly the job of your incumbent advisor. But as the years passed and news trickled in about you becoming more aggressive in your approaches as well as grabbing other metropolis rights to raids, there was only this much an exiled advisor could do." "And sure, I might have been alluded by the powers this particular human possesses, yet I''ve never forgotten my duty for my former King. KICKING YOUR ARSE, so that you can wake up from this nightmare! Master Jin is actually my best shot in doing this." Moloch explained as he took a deck of cards out and threw it to his newly beloved master. "You''ve always been a great storyteller and good with speeches. Still, nothing can change the fundamental truth that you''ve betrayed me. And after all these years you should know your fate!" King Baal was insistent of his previous advisor''s mistake and dismissed all the reasoning Moloch had given. "Then all the more I am glad that I''ve betrayed you since you don''t care to see reason. Master! It took me some painstaking time to create this ever since the System asked me. However, this deck of cards should- nay will potentially change the way you fight in the future. The only reason I did not give you sooner was that I''m afraid that you may fall down from grace like the way King Baal has." "If that''s the case, why did you give it to me?!" Jin asked as he felt the emotional weight of the cards despite it being just a normal looking deck of cards. "Because time after time, I could see that you placed your faith in your minions, and treated your subjects as friends. There were instances where you could have gone astray, but you still heeded our advice and worked closely with us. Had you been any different, I too would have plotted an uprising against the System like what Kraft did." "That sounds harsh." Jin slowly stood up as he stabbed his blade on the ground. He took out a belt with a complicated looking device out and wore it. "Just a forewarning in case, you might end up like him¡­ especially when Kiva is going to be in your service from now onwards." Moloch stated with a mix of seriousness and amusement as he could see the confusion in King Baal''s eyes. "Heh. You do not have to worry about that. I trust Kraft to be a capable watchdog¡­or should I say watchfox." Jin grinned as he realised that the belt had a slot for the deck of cards for him to attach on. "Ahhh¡­I always wanted to try this. Qiu Yue will be so jealous that I''ll be able do this for real." "As usual, you will be our experimental subject. If it is really as useful as we hope, System and I can always build more of this." Moloch now stepped back to the side as his Master had finally recuperated enough to fight on a possibly equal stage with his old King. "Can you please not ruin this moment for me?" Jin asked as he pulled out his phone while pressing a button on the device, causing it to light up. "For he who desires but act not, breeds pestilence." Moloch reminded Jin. He crossed his arms and placed a barrier up at the corner to watch how the remaining match would unfold. "Enough talk then¡­" Jin took a deep breath and shouted as he hovered his phone near the device in front of his belt. "HENSHIN!" Chapter 793 System Driver The device on the belt Jin wore was called the ''System Driver'', (for lack of a better name from Jin). It had been personally named like this by the System as it had created it instead of waiting for Jin''s researchers to build it. It was basically a replica similar to what all the various masked heroes used in TV shows to gain additional powers, only that the System was able to do the same for Jin without resorting to cinematic tricks. (Perhaps, the System itself wanted to copyright such a design and enhance such powers for its own benefit?) Unlike those TV shows, the System Driver was authentic and not some dungeon instance magic fabricated by digital ones and zeroes. Yet the design and concept worked the same. Jin had an activation device to transform, and his phone acted as the key for this. The System would transmit the data and pieces of armour it had stored within the device to equip Jin almost immediately. Those pieces of armour were naturally the Living Armour which Ke Mi, Shu and the other werejackals had painstakingly cultivated for the past few months. However, the concept of transforming into a masked warrior with a full plate armour had not been conceivable despite the ''System magic''¡­ Until Peppers found a game-changing property from these newly grown metal plates. She had experimented and discovered that if given enough data to the metal plate by any means such as hitting, burning, freezing, electrocuting it, the armour would temporarily shape in a way the users wanted it to be. That was when the System realised its immense potential and decided to ask Peppers to hit it with a tremendous amount of electromagnetic waves jam packed with data accumulated by the System. To their surprise, it did conform to the way the data was presented, and from there, they tried ways to retain the data within the living armour for use in combat. Else, the living armour would be too ''malleable'' in nature. And if that''s the case, it would not be protecting the user at all. ¡ª¡ª- "¡­ In short, we need the armour to retain its data else any other thing that hits it will cause it to transform based on that. For example, a fire-based attack on the living armour will make its temperature increase and potentially burn the user inside." Ayse, who collaborated with Peppers, shared her conclusion. "Then it does not protect the user a single bit." Peppers lamented. "Think of it as the young living armour deflecting the hurt away by replicating the way it was hurt. That is why we need to control its new properties if we ever want to make a proper suit of armour for Jin." Ayse replied. "Now you will understand when I initially asked for the various demon parts like the eyes of the Transforming Spiders or Keyrin''s¡­ Erm body parts." Gold who had been the initiator of this armour project spoke out to the two of them. "Those properties are not really new to the living armour. I recall reading something like this, and I believe this could possibly be a variant since we grew it too fast. Though perhaps we have too little knowledge about them since they were so rare to find in the first place." Then out of the blue, the System who had been lurking suddenly decided to take on the project with great interest. It graciously used some of its celestial magic with all the materials that had been gathered (or donated) to create the System Driver. Thus, the new System Driver was born from the System''s magic. But despite it being created from the Heavens'' mandated entity, such a creation should still need to undergo a series of trials and tests before it was used in action. Sadly, there was no time for it until now. When Jin transformed, he felt like the living armour fit him like a good glove. Apparently, there was an initial suit of nano living armour enveloping his entire body. And after which, additional plates of living metal covered him. From bracers, pauldrons and a full helmet to waist armour, knee guards and even armoured boots which covered the front and back. And most importantly, the armour was featured in a black and white scheme that suited Jin''s cultivation and the uniqueness of it. While the helmet was still human-shaped, it was the panda mask that brought out the distinct look of the masked hero. (Had it been the System''s master plan all along to actually create this full armour with the introduction of half-mask?!) But this time, the half panda mask was enlarged a little bit more, and its ceramic appearance had been changed considering the System had opted for a more carbon fibre metal style to the Half Panda Mask. "System Rider Panda!" Jin announced out loud and struck an odd bearish¡­ pose. Moloch could not help but laugh at the name! Even King Baal, who was in awe with the sudden transformation, broke into a bit of a giggle when he heard the name. "What?! I have no choice but to say it! That was written and demonstrated on the screen!??? Jin explained but as soon as he had said it, realisation struck that it must have been the System''s way of getting back at him in a subtle way. "Ahhh! Whatever!" Jin pulled out his Bam Sword from the ground and realised that the living armour was also moving to cover the hilt and crossguard of the sword. "Neat." Jin thought to himself as he started to charge towards King Baal. "A suit of flashy armour will not help you in any way, it might actually impede you." King Baal told him as he pulled his sword out and faced Jin upfront. "That''s what the enemy believes." The System voice was coming from within the helmet, and Jin suddenly felt that his Maqi was forcefully output to various parts of his body without him concentrating. "The System finally found a way to contribute to the User''s fight even outside of the dungeon instances or shop. Through this suit, the System can now directly influence and regulate the output of Maqi and send them wherever needed in your body for the most optimal defence or offence." "This is especially crucial when User has to put time into managing the store instead of fighting, causing User to be suboptimal in his fighting abilities despite his above average current grade." "You can''t blame me! You always set high standards to achieve for the shop!" Jin shot back as he sent a slash forward and this time around, King Baal could instantly feel that the sword strike was immensely different from the previous bout. It was harder, faster and the attacks had direction. For once, ever since its inception, the System finally felt it was useful in a battle where it could actually contribute to a fight directly. Jin later figured that its influence could potentially become a double edge sword in the future, but there was no time to think about that right now. Because he needed to prove that Moloch was right in choosing Jin as the new master to save his old King from his self-destructive path. Chapter 794 Anger "I will finish this quickly!" Ixel promised as he turned into his human form straight away and pounded his fist together while walking straight into the hallway of Anger. "We are all betting on it." Rex gave him an approving nod as he closed the elevator with four more foxes inside it. The moment the door lift closed, the entire backdrop of the hallway immediately went into flames, changing the environment of the Prison Core to how a burning rioted place was usually portrayed. Ixel casually tried to touch the wall and true enough, it was burning his fingertips away before he even touched the surface. But to the strong willed Ixel, it was nothing but a small scratch to his current mental and physical constitution. "So, you are my opponent for this stage? I did not expect the person who blasted an entire hole through ninety-eight floors would come to this stage." A rather small build figure talked to Ixel. He couldn''t see what the person looked like underneath because the hooded cape was blocking any distinct features. "Neither did I expect a scrawny boss for the floor of Anger. I pictured you looking more green, muscular and probably always angry. I am standing right in front you, yet I do not feel your anger at all. If someone were to see us, they could mistake me for the boss of this stage." Ixel pointed out as he took out his leather jacket and flexed his arms to show off his muscles like they were his prized items. "Heh! Well, I guess that''s one less thing to be angry about. You must be the first to actually acknowledge me as the boss of this stage. Most people just assume that I am merely some kind of pawn for another boss." The hooded cape figure replied, and Ixel shook his head. "Then they were all fools! Despite the lack of anger, I can already size you up to be quite a capable fighter. The sad reality is just that I am better than you, especially when it comes to strength and anger. My sisters never like me when I become angry because I do not think straight." "Do continue, I would like to hear more of it." The figure finally unveiled a hooded cape. It was actually a girl dressed in a grey sports singlet and short black elastic pants. Her arms were already bandaged up, and there was dried blood all over it. She was also wearing nothing but bandages on her legs, indicating that she used her whole body as her weapon of choice. "I doubt you could comprehend it. Being born into a clan of muscles, I was supposed to become the next chief for the clan. Only to be outdone by my sisters, I could rely on nothing but anger to go through life. Angry at how weak I am regardless of the amount of time I train." "Especially the youngest one always managed to overwhelm me easily. For example, I took four weeks to break and cut a hundred-year-old tree in half. After I''d been gone for nearly a month, she visited me to check on me based on my parent''s orders. Seeing what I had become, she considered it to be interesting and tried it herself. Unlike me, she managed to get it down¡­ in 40 seconds." Recalling those past events made Ixel slightly irritated, and he quickly went into a fighting stance. "Oh but do not mistake this, I loved them and cherished them with all my heart, but I am angry-" Ixel realised the opponent was already yawning with all his self monologue. "Sorry. I''d love to continue this conversation but looks like you are not interested despite your initial interest. Oh well, I did promise our boss I would finish this quickly. Don''t be frustrated if I win against you." Ixel apologised, but the girl tied her long hair and readied her stance as well. "Don''t worry, I am confident that my skills can win against you. You will actually become the one that turns angry again after the fight is done. Just like how you were outdone by your sister" The girl lifted her palm out, and Ixel thought he was seeing things. Her stance was quite familiar. It belonged to a certain eastern martial art, Wing Chun. He vaguely recalled that a Minotaur under Moloch''s command also had utilised such martial arts¡­ Maybe they came from the same master? "Ixel is my name. A pleasure to meet you." "Nameless." The girl ''introduced herself'' as she nodded her head back to Ixel. It''s been an eternity since someone had entered the Circle of Anger who actually still had any sense of manners. Nameless had only ever fought against senseless demons, pouring their rage without any control, thinking that they could win over her with blind anger. That was why she courteously returned the respect to Ixel. Immediately, the two flew towards each other and exchanged their blows. Without a doubt, Ixel could already feel the similarity to Wing Chun as his mighty blows were easily deflected with agile techniques, and Nameless counterattacked with much ease. Although Ixel managed to block her attacks, she managed to slip in a few more blows in total compared to him. That brief exchange of punches allowed both duelists to learn more about each other and they stepped back after they finally found themselves at an impasse. "Not bad, you are the first in many decades who has managed to hold on for more than ten seconds." "I just needed some warm-up." Ixel said. Until now he too was using some basic moves from Wing Chun in his fight to gauge the level of skill of Nameless. Now it begged the question whether the duelist was a seasoned martial artist or if Nameless was just at the level of an advanced practitioner of that particular martial art. Ixel might have studied the Grizzly Bear Style, but to be worthy of becoming the leader of his clan, he had been forced to learn a myriad of skills because the elders of the clan knew that strength was nothing without skill and technique. One could cultivate strength easily but to polish a technique? It might possibly take a lifetime to do so. Between the trio, he might be considered to be the weakest in terms of strength and always got angry easily. But his devotion to martial techniques was second to none among his siblings. If Itori and Ixa fought at the same strength level as their brother, they would be out of the ring in a matter of seconds. "Let''s do it!" Nameless, who was now pumped up that her new opponent not only possessed manners but also managed to withstand her flurry of punches. But this adrenaline rush proved to be a double edged sword as Nameless began to show some slight openings in her attacks. The more they exchanged blows, the more she found that Ixel''s attacks were even harsher than before and her defences were unable to withstand his attacks. "This is impossible!" She thought to herself as she desperately tried to withdraw her offence and return back to counter his strikes, only to get surprised by Ixel lowering his body and rushing in with a bull charge to pin her down. Nameless was subsequently grappled, causing her to panic. This was the first time someone had mercilessly pinned her to the ground despite fierce resistance from her end. "Heh! One''s grappling skill is proportional to one''s effort. An amateur boxer might land a lucky punch against a pro, but there is no such thing as luck when it comes to grappling! This is the only thing I know that Itori could never win me against!" Ixel grinned as he talked while performing an armbar on Nameless when she was on the ground, causing her to lose her ability to even fight properly. "WHY?! How could this happen?!" Nameless'' thoughts were flying all over the place, and her anger continued to accumulate, providing her strength while she raged. Thus, her increased frustration somehow managed to allow her to get out of the current grapple situation she was in. But, Ixel was not done with her. He simply changed his technique and switched to a scarf hold and locked her back. Ixel sighed as he had discovered the current zenith of his opponent''s ability. "You are no fun anymore, join Jin and learn more about martial arts before challenging me again," Ixel told her while squeezing the life out of her neck from his grapple. For the first time, Nameless locked into submission, learnt how helpless she was despite her ever increasing strength from anger and the numerous victories against demons for the past decade. For a short while, she perhaps understood what Ixel meant when he was frustrated in himself for working so hard and got trounced by a new challenger. Her legs were kicking, trying to push herself out of the grapple but it got even tighter instead. Her hands were flailing around to the point she resorted to scratching Ixel, but he was not letting go a single bit. Soon, she could feel her consciousness fading out. With mixed martial arts experience he accumulated through gruesome training, Ixel believed most, if not every true blue martial artist, would not be able to win him. Thousands of years worth of original martial arts lay in his brain and body. After ensuring that her life was properly snuffed out, Ixel proceeded to find the important puzzle piece in the circle of burning anger. Chapter 795 Fraud "Fraud, huh." Tsu looked around. "Do I still qualify for this stage even though I got frauded by Kiyu?" He chuckled to himself as this would have been Evon''s stage. Kiyu was the one who had pressed on the fraud button elevator, skipping the circles of Heresy and Violence. She had been curious to see if the elevator systematically brought the lift to every level or if they could actually choose whichever level they wished to fight on. Surprisingly, the elevator really did move to Fraud¡­ after which Kiyu had kicked the distracted Tsu, who''s checking out the Pandamonium App Stream on his phone, out of the lift. While both Tsu and Evon could have fought back and got Kiyu to let them both back on, they were easy going enough to take on any stage. They just knew it wasn''t worth it to fight Kiyu since there were a few stakes on this mission. (Unlike Kraft who took this chance to have fun all by himself, distracting any armed forces away from their raid.) "Are you a victim of someone framing you too?" A voice sounded with concern, and a child''s head stuck out from one of the pillars. "Hahaha, such an old uncle got cheated as well!" Another child''s voice could be heard, and soon Tsu sensed that in the current hallway, a child was hiding behind each pillar. "And of all kinds of people, they just had to put me against the hardest type of opponents for me," Tsu smirked as he recalled why he could possibly be one of the best candidates for this particular circle. He and Kai had always cheated their elders when they were younger so they could have a little more rest time, take a bit more food for each other, and most importantly, they had lied and deceived to cover each other''s mistake. The two brothers had been through thick and thin together that even when pitted against each other, they rather die together then taking each other''s life. As for this stage, there was no one better at lying than a child, and that personated opinion would never change for Tsu. He understood that behind every pillar, these children must have had to beg, lie, fight and win to get this particular position. When he learnt that the Church of the Afterlife used Paradiso as a factory to regain back their losses, Tsu had suspected as much that the debtors could have sought out to try their luck in these circles. But it never occurred to him that the children were possibly imprisoned to repay the debts of their parents as well. The previous guard supervisors might have thought they were harmless beings which were why they might have lost to this group of children. While a lying child on their own would be one thing, it turned into something far scarier when there was someone to lead the herd of sheep. He should know since he and his brother had been the ringleaders for their own group of kids¡­ and every single one of them would become the wolves in sheep''s clothing to portray as the herd of harmless, weak sheep in the eyes of the adults around them. Still, Tsu decided to observe them for a little while longer before going for the kill. From further inspection, it turned out that they were beast-men. (or more accurately beast children) These kids had been born with physical bestial traits such as horns, feline cat ears and tails. Tsu might not know much about the Dungeon World, but if a group of them ended up in prison and eventually took over the guard supervisor post could most likely mean that they were discriminated against too. It wasn''t too surprising though when he thought about their own world, where half breeds between monsters and humans had also been criticised for the ''sin of existing''. Unless this was a professional group of delinquents who just happened to consist of beast children, they must belong to the same category. "If they were beast children, would not be surprised if they were under the debts of the Church of Afterlife too. Guess the Dungeon World has its pains too." Although his initial assessment was that they were the guard supervisors because of the nature of this particular circle, his experience told him that there should be a leader handling all these children. It was quite a conundrum for Tsu. Most people believed that the right thing to do would be to intervene and give those troubled kids a second chance at life. And while it was a praiseworthy goal to wish to save them from their ''misery'', that was only looking at it from one perspective. To the children, any sort of interference onto the hierarchy they had established for themselves would be met with stern resistance, so Tsu already predicted that the kids would backstab him if he tried to go the samaritan route. "Ahhh¡­so troublesome. Do I go along with their fraud, or should I just kill every single kid here? No, I better come up with something better. Otherwise, the rest will think I''m no smarter than Ixel." Tsu thought to himself and laughed at the comparison. "Uncle, why are you laughing to yourself? Is it really funny to see kids here?" A wolf eared child asked as she approached the Wolf Clan''s Fox. "Teras! Don''t go near him! He might attack you!" Lapp, with similar features but in white, shouted as she pulled her friend away from him. She even showed her teeth as a show of aggression. "Oh gosh, these people are good in their acting." Tsu noticed in the corner of his eye that instantaneous grin Lapp had shown when she thought she was out of his view while pulling Teras behind the pillar. All of the foxes knew this mischievous type of grin as it was practically synonymous with Kraft. "But you all saw him get kicked out of the elevator by his friends!" Sola, a feline cat girl who was holding onto a separate pillar, tried to continue the acting. "All they demanded from me was to get the puzzle key for the dungeon core. If you would kindly hand it over, I''ll be on my way again." Tsu asked them nicely in a gentlemen''s tone, and suddenly, an older looking girl with the horns of a dragon came out from hiding as if blind courage suddenly took over her heart and actions. "No! We cannot give you that!" She shouted, and Tsu could hear the not-so-quiet frustration and disappointment from the rest of the girl group in the area. "Don''t listen to this dragon girl! We can give you that!" A girl with tiger ears and tail quickly dismissed the dragon girl as she placed her hand on Shen''s mouth. "Swee, why are you stopping me! I have had enough of lying!" Shen eventually overpowered Swee the tiger girl and yet another wave of sigh was emitted through the pillars. In the meantime, Tsu who saw this considered it either to be an utter failure in their group dynamics or a superb masterclass act by the entire troupe of beast girls. (He had yet to see any boys in the group.) Regardless, he decided to go along with their act for the time being and see where they were telling the truth or not. "Mister, I know this is a bit too much, but we need you to drop your weapons here if you wish to proceed further into the Prison Core. Only true sincerity can open the core''s inside." Sola offered as she came over and pulled his hand to guide him to the place. The cat girl decided to improvise on the ongoing drama and to reinforce Swee''s claim that the key could be given out. "Then why are you all still here? If all you need is sincerity, you all would not need to be imprisoned here." Tsu thought to himself as he allowed himself to be dragged around. She brought him to the end of the hallway first where she kindly requested Tsu to drop his weapons. Tsu pondered over the scenario of an ''Honesty Dungeon Core'' with an environment setting full of frauds. Was it possible the Prison Core demanded pure honesty since all the frauds who entered this circle would tend to try and swindle their way out. "The Truth will set you free?" Tsu whispered to himself, but none of them was listening, his words drowned by the children''s loud ''whispers'' in the background. Without Tsu turning his head, he could already feel the eyes in the room were all looking at Shen for attempting to expose them. "But then again, the Prison Core could cheat since it is reigning over the entire circle¡­ah so troublesome. Kiyu, why did you do this to me, you are so much better at manipulating people." Tsu scratched the back of his head as the doors opened and it revealed a statue kneeling down with its head in reverence to something more mythical in nature. "¡­ Ok now, this is just too over the top¡­ who is supposed to fall for that?! Enough of mind games!" Tsu questioned in the direction of the Prison Core that was right above the kneeling statue. The beast girls had already moved his weapons away and were silently brandishing their knives to stab him¡­only to realise the entire room and hallway had suddenly been enveloped in darkness. None of them was able to move, and the devouring abyss started to slowly creep up their legs and eventually their whole body. They were all paralysed and could feel that their bodies were being eaten by the darkness. Can one still breathe when one thinks that their lungs were missing? Can one feel fear when there were no hearts to beat? That was how the children were experiencing right now. Nothing but void. Only the two wolf girls had somehow managed to grasp the vague situation and escaped Tsu''s darkness in time. "Should I say, as expected from the wolf children? Well, it''s a wolf style technique, so perhaps I should not be particularly surprised." Tsu concluded as he raised his next palm and an invisible force caught the two stragglers within the darkness. "After living in this place for so long, it will be hard for you to trust others. Nevertheless, I believe Jin and his other minions can provide you with a better life. So, please take this death as a passage to a new life. Please, do not deceive both yourselves and the people around you anymore." Tsu said as he closed his palm and all of the beast girls were killed instantly. "As for the main culprit." Tsu eyed the statue as he raised his palm once more and his weapon flew towards him. "You do not deserve mercy from me. Die painfully for making those kids work for you!" Tsu stabbed the statue and blood emerged out of it. "How?! How did you recognise that it was me?!" The Statue tried to move, but he had been pierced through and was unable to move. "Your scent alone disgusts me. You are not even worthy of Jin''s attention. Just rot here for all eternity." Tsu beheaded the statue and picked up the dungeon core key. Naturally, the fraud statue hadn''t been the real body of the perpetrator, but he realised that he was still experiencing the very same kind of pain as the statue. Then did the Statue notice the darkness that had already enveloped the kids crept on him too. "Impossible! How did his magic reach me?!" Only this time, it would be eternal as Tsu promised. He had used a forbidden wolf art to basically turn him brain dead. Even if he would get resurrected, his mind would no longer recover. "Encroaching Darkness. No matter where your dreams wished to take you, blank space will follow suit." Tsu put his hands together like a prayer due to habit, but he later turned it into a middle finger. The actual guard supervisor did not deserve peace, and he also did not care to see how his enemy looked. The children were saved, and the key was more important than anything else. Chapter 796 Violence "First Evon, then my brother and now me?" Kai looked back at Kiyu who had just kicked him out into the circle of Violence. "At this rate, I think she is going to the circle of Treachery instead of me." Rex added with a hint of amusement as he was still ''allowed'' on the elevator. "Oh, Rex, I would not dare!" Kiyu defended herself with a sexy smile, but somehow it did not appeal to the two remaining men. "Without a doubt, she is going to betray you, Rex. You better take the chance to kick her out when you reached the circle of Heresy." Kai advised before the door had closed. Right before it went shut he saw Kiyu stuck her tongue out in defiance. "Seriously, that girl." Kai shook his head and later turned to see that this stage was clearly not meant for her. "Then I guess it was a good choice that Kiyu let me out here. She would not stand all this meaningless bloodshed." Kai thought as he saw dead rotting corpses all over the place. A broken down knight was sitting on the highest pile of bodies and looked at his latest challenger condescendingly. "You did this all by yourself?" Kai asked, but the knight did not say a word. He merely picked a random weapon from the pile of dead people and charged forward. "Huh, a berserker?" Kai managed to dodge the first attack but was surprised his enemy was skilful enough to make a follow-up attack that scraped the surface of his skin. "This guy is no simple berserker!" Kai thought to himself as he quickly took his sword to cross blades with the raging knight. "Shouldn''t you be in the circle of Anger rather than Violence?!" "RAHHHHHHHH" That''s all the knight answered in return. He smashed around his sword even harder than before. "System would like to point out that anger and violence are two different things. Anger is a psychological state of mind, while violence is the physical manifestation of the ill controlled emotions of anger and aggression." "Since when does the almighty System deigned it worthy to call us lowly foxes?" Kai asked out loud sarcastically since it did not matter to the aggressive knight right in front of him. "System likes to give a timely reminder to every fox that Jin is now engaged in fighting against King Baal, and the System wishes to have every advantage in its disposal. Please hurry to capture the Dungeon Core to reduce the power of King Baal." "Hah. No wonder." Kai replied as he assumed that the System was merely addressing his concerns so he could fight without any distractions on his mind. The Black Wolf decided to listen to the System and used a relatively simple Intermediate Sword Art, Dual Cross Slash to break the knight''s sword. However, to his surprise, the Broken Knight was able to follow and counter the Cross slash until the third slash where his sword was unable to hold against the impact and broke from the chi pressure. It resulted in the Broken Knight''s armour getting cut, leaving a rather deep slash on his shoulder. What''s even more surprising was that the wound closed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Usually, going berserk was a double-edged sword which provided one with a boost in terms of their attacking prowess at the cost of their defence, yet apparently the one in front of him had a way to negate that. "Regeneration is a pain in the ass." Kai cursed as he angled his sword. "But not entirely uncommon in this current age and the past. Advanced Sword Art. Triple Star Slash." Just like the name implied, Kai was slashing the knight five times as if he was drawing a star from all the hits. Once he connected all slashes into a star shape, his sword art amplified its attack as if it was a combo finisher. The strength of the attack got stronger by six-fold if he managed to connect all three-star slashes in one period. That was why it was an advanced sword art despite its simplicity. If one of the sword slashes were parried, the ''combo finisher'' would not be activated. Before the Broken Knight could even retaliate by picking up another weapon, Kai had already thrown in fifteen slashes all aimed against his vital points. His legs, arms, hands, phalanges and neck were cut into pieces. Blood rushed out from all the openings available as his body parts were like lego bricks disassembled. It was then Kai realised something when he looked around the pile of dead bodies. There were not many ''varieties'' of corpses, and most of them appeared to be the same. It later struck Kai that they all wore the same type armour as the Broken Knight he just fought. "Do not tell me he can split himself even after being cut?" Kai held onto the sword firmly as he discovered the phalanges was the origin point of regenerating an entire body out of it. More of the Broken Knights were formed, and each of them shouted senselessly. "I see¡­as long an atom of him still resides in this space, he will never die. But still, won''t that make an infinite amount of Broken Knights instead of dead ones?" Kai thought to himself as the original Broken Knight regenerated fully and charged towards the Black Wolf. "So¡­if he killed every single opponent and yet he was left with one when I appeared, that could mean a few things." Kai deduced as he began to analyse the Broken Knight while parrying and dodging the blows in order to stop the knight from making even more copies. "The copies will die out eventually¡­ Or¡­" It struck Kai that this was the circle of violence. "They fight and kill each other until the last one remains. If that is the case, the only way to kill him is for him to kill himself." Kai believed that was the theory behind this, particularly unique monster. "Man, if I capture him, we could literally make a dummy bag out of this monster." In order to prove his theory, Kai swiftly went behind the Broken Knight and used his sword to stab his arm and hand from the side. It looked as if the knight had an ingrown sword from afar. Despite the roaring of pain or anger, Kai ignored them and used his free left hand to grab the Broken Knight''s. Like an amateur puppet master, he used the sword as the handle to move the Broken Knight''s right arm and pierced the incoming broken knight. Fortunately, it worked just as Kai had theorised. The Wolf Clan Fox was unsure whether it was the forced act performed by the knight that killed all its clones or if it was the Broken Knight''s blood that had any effect against it. Either way, he continued without the intention to experiment and eventually every clone was turned to dust, and only the main one was left. "Is this considered self-suicide? Or assisted suicide? Whatever. I just need the Key." Kai physically broke the knight''s arm and pushed the sword with his arm and plunged it into his neck. Of course, there was resistance throughout the whole puppetry, but Kai felt satisfied after having killed the most unique opponent in his life. "Thank goodness, he could not think much," Kai said as he went in search of the dungeon core key. Chapter 797 System Rider Panda "What in the world¡­" King Baal was pushed back a few times as he tried to attack Jin who had equipped the System Rider Panda. The Panda Cultivator was proving to be able to fight him on par at the moment. "Don''t get cocky because this suit of armour is providing you power!" King Baal warned his opponent. After a few rounds of ''sparring'', he seemingly had enough and dropped his sword, to reveal a new weapon. Cat paws. His overall form had also changed accordingly. In total King Baal had three forms. Human, Cat and Frog. While many would choose one form over the others, the king had never forgotten his origins as a crossbreed and had learned to embrace his heritage. With centuries at his disposal, he had learned how to efficiently use his inner traits, yet Baal was also able to use magic to enhance the performance of each form so he could further improve on the best of each trait. As mentioned, Baal summoned a pair of large paws, and they were able to parry Jin''s sword easily, causing System Rider Panda to be disarmed almost immediately. "Be careful Jin! While in Cat Form, he is formidable in close combat and-" Before Moloch could continue his sentence, he already saw Jin fighting with his fist as well. However, the Dungeon Supplier could not hold a candle to his opponent. With each attempt to punch, King Baal had already returned the favour. The few hits Jin managed to get in were rewarded with even more devastating counters from King Baal. Moloch pressed his cotton hoofs on to his face. "Why are you challenging him at something you are incredibly terrible at?!" He questioned his Master in the System Channel, so King Baal did not hear it. Otherwise, he might get even more confident in his assaults. "Don''t you think I know that? What do you expect me to do?! He''s disarmed my sword with just a flick of his paw. Even if I picked it up again, I don''t see how the situation wouldn''t repeat itself!" Jin argued back as he tried to kick Baal in order to have some breathing space but Baal held onto his legs and used his momentum to reverse somersault him. His claws were unable to do any real damage to the armour, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t hurt the one inside through indirect ways. "That suit is really his saving grace¡­ After I kill him, I should get the best blacksmiths to take a look and make me new armour from it." Baal had already started to think about what to do after his imminent victory. Although his head was still radiating with the most awful migraine imaginable after the use of that wretched crown, his challenger was, fortunately, proving to be easy pickings. So, despite his opponent''s new power, King Baal believed he did not need to strain himself any further. Reality soon proved him to be very wrong. "Master! Use the deck of cards that I prepared for you!" Moloch advised through the System Channel as Jin was slammed flat onto the ground from the reverse somersault. If not for the System''s automated distribution of Maqi, Jin''s neck would have snapped into two, and King Baal would only have needed to finish off the defenceless Moloch. "What¡­.?" Jin tried to shake out the blurring blackout he had from the slam while his System was continuously churning the Maqi into his heart and brain to regulate his circulatory system to keep him conscious. "The cards! They are imbued with the power of your minions! This is similar to the System''s artificial fusion of your Astral Panda form and your bellators! You now have your System Rider suit, so now you can use the cards to fuse with them for a minute." Moloch explained as he used his magic to choose a card from the deck and sent it into Jin''s hands. "Shit, I could have used a primer before this duel. Anyway, all I need to do is scan the card, right?" Jin asked as his head was still pounding from the slam. He used the card''s image as a way to stabilise his vision and was thankful that King Baal was content standing there as if he was graciously giving Jin a chance to stand back up. Moloch did have his suspicions to what degree the crown had taken a toll on him, and the pause in the fight was a confirmation that it was more severe than he thought. King Baal was known to be merciless when he entered the fray personally. Allowing someone a break mid-combat would have never been his style. So the fact that Jin had been granted a break once more could only be seen as a blessing in disguise. (Though given the benefit of the doubt, King Baal might have been thinking of a way to defeat the suit of armour Jin was wearing.) Still, he understood that Jin was still recovering from the attack as well, and there was no way his master could withstand another hit by King Baal before using the card. "Ahh! Fuck this!" Moloch cried as he broke the shield he was hiding behind and used his powers against Baal. He decided to interfere just to give Jin enough time to move, knowing that this risky tactic was most likely a sure-fire way to get himself killed. Magic cards flew out of Moloch''s cotton hoofs, and the volley of sharp projectiles was enough for King Baal to change direction and aim his punch towards his former subject. "Since you are out of your hiding corner, I might as well handle you first! It will spare me the time to go looking for you!" "Chance!" Moloch thought to himself as a card suddenly emerged from the ground and trapped King Baal momentarily inside of it, turning him into a picture card from the deck of poker cards. "Since when did I ever fight without an attempt to protect myself first?!" Moloch taunted his King who was already in the midst of breaking free. He tried to run away from the corner to another while hoping the card entrapment was long enough for him to escape and create another shield¡­ until he saw Jin still barely standing. Then, Moloch realised that Jin was taking way too long to recover from that reverse somersault. "Can it be?!" Moloch realised that King Baal must have used his frog''s ability in-between forms to cast a daze spell. "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" Moloch shouted as he infused his cotton horns with ''cure ailments'' magic and smashed himself behind Jin. At the same time, King Baal managed to break out from the trap and tried to grab Moloch after he hit Jin with his spell. "Oh shit!" Moloch thought that this was the end for him until Jin sidestepped to block King Baal''s advances. "Get out of the way, kid! I''ll deal with you in a moment!" King Baal''s grab turned into a claw aimed straight at Jin''s helmet. "No fucking way!" Jin refused. He hovered the card over his belt, and the System Driver lit up, emitting an intense wave of energy out, causing Baal to get knocked back. Yet, the King did not lose his balance as he landed. As he wanted to attack once more, he first had to overcome the shining bright light from Jin. "Card activated, Meomi Form." Chapter 798 System Rider Meomi The plates on the living armour shifted as the System Driver activated the card. The flash of deafening white light was simply the System''s way of throwing a flashbang against the enemy hoping they would be stopped in their tracks, so the Living Armour Plates had enough time to rearrange themselves. And for good reason. With the card''s activation, the System was giving permission to fuse Meomi soul''s with Jin''s body temporarily, causing him to take the backseat while Meomi forcefully entered. Thus, as odd as it sounded, Jin was now harbouring two souls in his body with Meomi acting as the dominant one. The new living armour also portrayed this temporary change to match Meomi''s exterior appearance. The plates turned orange in colour and from a Panda Half Mask, it turned to become a Cat Half Mask. (A rather stylish version of the werecat''s appearance.) "Meeeeoww. Master, your body is all creaky and stiff! No wonder you stood no chance to defeat him." Meomi said playfully as she bent down and stretched their entire body akin to a cat waking up from its nap. "You should do some of that yoga thingy with Lynn and Qiu Yue once in a while. It would help you with your mobility a little bit." "Thank goodness, I am currently not connected to any nerves¡­I''ll probably feel the muscles aching from Meomi''s stretch afterwards, though." Jin thought to himself as Meomi performed a backflip without even jumping. He noticed there was now a tail created from the nano suit of living armour. "All good now! System Rider Meomi has arrived!" The werecat announced as Meomi posed more elegantly than what Jin did. "How can she have a better pose than me! System, you are obviously biased!" Jin shouted from the backseats while Meomi giggled delightfully. "System can only remember how lazy User was. Always sitting down and drinking coffee or tea to do work. There is no pose for System to analyse. Unless User wished to have a chair as part of the props for the pose." The System rebutted, and Moloch laughed hysterically. "Hahaha! Good one System! Master! You should really learn how Meomi does things." Moloch advised sheepishly as he happily caged himself to a corner once more. "You think changing yourself into a cat will make you like a cat? And what''s with that female tone? Are you insulting me now?" King Baal questioned as he pounced forward and decided to test whether this new change in suit''s appearance would hamper his chances of victory. Though in all honesty, he did not give a damn. True enough, Meomi was able to dodge the incoming attack easily and slashed back with her own claws. With Meomi possessing the System Rider suit, the System had also made adequate changes in a way that would closely match the monster Jin had decided to use against his opponent. This way, Jin would literally have the backing of his monsters to aid him in his fights even if he was in the real world. Whether he wished to show the world the System Rider¡­would be another issue by itself. All the System knew was that it had done its job rewarding Jin for the mission he had done. Partially because the System knew it owed him too many rewards. Jin might not have been pressing for it, but the System prided itself on staying true to its word. Perhaps, part of the reasoning was that lately, Jin seemed unwilling to take on any missions with all the backlogs he had accumulated. Maybe, he should learn how to say no a little more though "Heh, let me show you who the better cat is!" Meomi taunted back, pretending to be Jin since he couldn''t really talk out with her at the front. She proceeded to jump and gave Baal a kick to his chin. The King managed to block it, but Meomi was faster as she changed her posture and sent a swift back kick at the side, causing him to be knocked to the side of the ''duelling cage'' that they were in. "Meomi!" Jin did shout his frustration for her imitation of him. "Master! Even though your body is stiff as a rock, the powers within you are so addicting!" Meomi totally ignored her master''s dissatisfaction at the way she tried to talk. "Just continue to press him! Moloch did say he still got the frog form he only uses when things turn bad. Knowing that he is dealt with by his own hand, he will-" "Master, he is already changing." Meomi interrupted as King Baal had indeed changed into his frog form and used his whip sword with skill. "Can I continue to fight some more or do you want to swap out, too?" Meomi charged forth despite her polite request. "User, if you deem the monster you''ve selected to be acting overboard, you can use your authority to retake the body by forcibly cancelling the fusion. It will, however, exhaust you if the monster in question decides to resist." The System explained, and Jin sighed. "Even though it''s my own body they are using?" "It is precisely because it is your body that such an option is available to you." "Yeah~! Don''t mind me, Master!'' Meomi playfully shared her thoughts as she zoomed in, evading the whip sword and tried to close the gap. "Stupid human." King Baal cursed as he lifted his other hand. Following his gesture, continuous pillar of rocks abruptly emerged from the ground blocking Meomi''s advance. But, thanks to her innate ability to soften her landing, Meomi was able to avoid crashing into the pillar. However, Meomi did not realise that the whip sword could be controlled with magic as well and it turned to aim at the System Rider. "Ehhh, I did not know whip swords could do this. Too bad my magic control is terrible." Meomi considered using her own whip sword she had while avoiding the attack. However, she was interrupted when a hand broke through the pillar and grabbed Meomi by the neck. "What the-?" Meomi tried to struggle as she saw the whip sword swerved over the pillar and aimed towards her. "You are pissing me off! I had quietly promised to give Master his body back without any damage." She cursed as the Half Werecat Mask suddenly turned animated and a hidden low jaw appeared. With the mask''s mouth, she managed to stop the whip sword from slicing her head into half and subsequently broke the tip. In the meantime, she used Jin''s Maqi enhanced body to overcome Baal''s hold on her neck by plunging her claws into his frog-looking hands. It eventually caused him to release the chokehold, and Meomi took a leap backwards. "This frog is more than I can handle, and my time is unfortunately ending. Master, I''m sorry I can''t offer you an extension. Do you wish to call that Froggie for aid?" Meomi suggested as she already took a card out. "Heh, I think he would be so glad to fight a formidable foe. Do -" "Card Activated. Gaeru Form." The System Driver stated, and Meomi stuck her tongue to the side of her mouth as her soul disintegrated, making room for Gaeru to enter. Chapter 799 Hell Knight King - Part 1 "This is the King that you have problems killing? Wait, who do you think I am?! A Kingslayer?!" Gaeru questioned as he took a quick look at Jin''s body as well as the armour he was currently wearing. With his arrival, it has changed into turquoise green armour plates with a Frog Half Mask as well as the broken cape he continued to wear despite the System''s insistence to change it to a new one. With the compilation of the System''s data inscribed into the cards created by Moloch, Bam and Boo were hosting Masamune within its core, the two swords wrapped around Gaeru''s living weapon to make it easy for Jin''s body to hold. As Masamune had powers unique to itself, all Bam and Boo did was to fuse with it in order to make it bigger. This was only possible with the aid of the Black Sludge Crystals that Jin incidentally created while cultivating. "You failed to kill the Salamander King back then, so I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to try again with a real King." Jin reasoned, making Gaeru roll Jin''s eyes. "Just be careful, he is not just any ordinary swordsman." "Well, this King Baal seems like a worthy opponent for Masamune to feast on. It should be happy." Gaeru pointed his newly fused Masamune at King Baal who had already embraced all three forms yet appeared to look different once more. A feat which neither the Royal Guards nor Moloch had seen before. If anything, he began to look similar to the Chimaeras that Kiva had created. Whether the already charcoal fried Ravenous Lord had any interference or contribution to Baal''s current form was something Jin would have to ask the bat after he defeated this iteration of King Baal. "No one has made me take them this seriously for an eternity. You should be honoured, you will be the second to see this form." King Baal announced as he adjusted his grip on his Frog-tongue whip sword and inserted mana into it. The sword started to twist and turned into a black two-handed bastard sword with gold edges. " ¡­Before Baal became the King, he held onto the elusive class of Hell Knight which is considered unique in the Dungeon World, only accessible to direct descendants of Hell." Moloch shared the details of his past while Baal revealed the sword. "If I am not wrong, he should be somewhat similar to the Death Knight Class, which Dread Reaver holds. He might not have a direct connection to Lady Death herself, but as we are descendants of the Hell plane, Baal might be able to pull something dangerous out from there." "Heh, it appears that you have yet to forget our roots from Hell. We might have been reborn into bodies not of our choosing, but we were still the selected few. Aren''t you ashamed of yourself to side with a lowly human?" King Baal berated the little cow puppet at the side. "And human, you are not the only one to have a fanciful plate of armour." King Baal addressed Jin this time as he slammed the bastard sword down and a circle of flames was summoned beneath him, with the flames enveloping his whole being. He could have continued to use his the three fused forms to fight with System Rider Gaeru, yet King Baal had determined that it would be an endless cycle of power struggle and ultimately a waste of time. Might as well eliminate the threat as soon as possible for he was informed that Paradiso was in danger with the enemies able to clear six floors in less than fifteen minutes. He realised that Moloch''s champion might not be his ultimate card. In his mind, Jin must be the most durable one out of those available, just there to stall for time when they accepted the sacred duel between two Dungeon Core owners. Dragging it out any longer meant his Metropolis might potentially disappear from his grasp. He was already receiving pleas from his own dungeon core to return to fulfil his duties, and if he didn''t follow them, the consequences would turn dire. "Master, we have to strike now when he has his weapon down. While it is dishonourable, this is probably the only opportunity we might have." Gaeru advised and just like Meomi, Jin''s body was already moving to intercept whatever magic Baal was conjuring. "Such impatience!" Baal saw that his opponent was attempting to disrupt his transformation just as he had tried to do earlier. Alas, the System Rider''s outcome wasn''t any different. Baal had defences in place to prevent any interruption of his secret transformation. He quickly took out the crown from his magical void and held it with his left frog arm. Instantaneously, Baal managed to conjure out a wide spray of fire which engulfed System Rider Gaeru and subsequently blew him back to where he came from. "I am not giving up!" Gaeru cried out his challenge as he performed a cover roll on the ground before recovering and running via the side. "User, providing System Rider Gaeru with an additional Black Sludge Crystal could potentially increase his attack power for the Sludge itself contains traces of your blood." The System suggested since dashing in without any defences would be plain foolish. "Alright!" Gaeru happily grabbed the crystal, suddenly floating in front of him. Even the System had decided to act first despite the obligatory etiquette request to Jin. "Why are you even asking me when all of you are acting on your own?!" Jin questioned in a foul mood. He could not stand Gaeru''s brainless dashing. "Urgh! Let me help out!" When Baal spewed another flamethrower attack towards System Rider Gaeru, Jin''s consciousness made his body use a Panda Swipe infused with Green Panda Wind Energy, to cause the flames to temporarily move aside for Gaeru to rush forward. "Hahahah! I cannot believe his minions made him participate in the fight as well. Here I was worried it would take at least a week of training to get Jin to learn that he could do that. It seems like pissing him off worked wonders. Good job Meomi, Gaeru." Moloch analysed as he strengthened his shield to prevent the aftereffects of the flames despite having a distance away. "Oof, the crown really did make the flames rather potent though." Now, with Masamune having ingested the Black Sludge Crystal, it howled with terror moving towards the near completely transformed King Baal. However, both Jin and Gaeru had underestimated the crown as Baal now placed it on his head where Hell''s living fire engulf his head, acting as the helmet for the Hell Knight. In a flash, a burst of dark flames caused System Rider Gaeru to get knocked back into a distant corner with a loud bang. If not for the armour and System''s regulation of Maqi to strengthen Jin''s back, they would have lost the fight immediately with Jin suffering a severe, potentially fatal back injury. "Damn it!" Gaeru cursed as he saw King Baal fully transformed into a Hell Knight. "No¡­a Hell Knight does not look like this. ¡­ I fear this is something far worse." Moloch informed Jin with a good amount of panic in his voice. The aura emanating from King Baal was stifling to him even at such a distance. "That is right. Thanks to the crown, I am now Hell Knight King." Baal said an arbitrary name which was never heard even in the plane of Hell and that made Moloch growled. "You can be a King in this Dungeon World, and I am willing to follow you as such. But our almighty King in Hell can never be replaced. Renounce yourself or face the wrath of Solomon himself!" Moloch shouted yet the self-proclaimed Hell Knight King laughed. "You think you can defeat me by barking?! Sure, Solomon might have stripped us of our powers and subsequently sent us to various Worlds to learn and atone of our sins¡­ But did he ever care for us?!" Baal questioned. As he walked towards the trembling Moloch who was valiantly staring at Baal''s eyes, he snickered at the poor fate of System Rider Gaeru when he tried to withstand the dark flames that were enveloping him. Despite the living armour''s protection, Jin could feel the flames burning him inside. And even if he tried to use White Panda Ice energy to lessen the effects, it did not help that Gaeru was a frog and with the System Rider now embodying him, it provided a poor resistance against the flames. "Disengage!" Jin shouted as he forcefully separated the union with Gaeru, so he would not suffer with him. "Do not open the deck of cards. The System Driver belt as a whole has an innate resistance against elements due to the materials used. Endure it." The System cautioned, and Jin could only scream vulgarities to withstand the pain. "See, your human is dying, and here you are reminiscing about the ancient past," Baal said as he used his sword to poke the corner shield that protected Moloch and it simply disappeared. "Despite your betrayal against me, siding with the human, in the end, you will still die a beggar''s death. I thought all the demons from Hell should stick up for one another, but no, you have killed your brethrens again and again in this particular invasion." "Do not give me such bullshit such as justice! You know very well that we lie, betray and kill each other purely for our own satisfaction. I promised I would aid you, but I did not say I would not betray you in doing so." Moloch snapped back. "Besides, talking about treachery, you continue to use that damned crown despite knowing the ill effects that it brought you. Why? Is it because you want to gain back powers of your former self again?! Do not give me that ''I want to protect people from the Harbinger'' bullshit!" "Yes! Yes! Yes! I solely missed the powers I had back in Hell! To be so powerless in this Dungeon World and even if I die, I get reincarnated back in this lowly body! Solomon does not want me back in Hell yet, and I have grown too powerful to leave for any other world!" Baal said as he raised his arm towards System Rider Panda and sent another wave of flames for him to suffer. "Wiggle and squirm like how my beloved minions did," Baal demanded with twisted glee as he watched Jin struggling against the flames in a vain attempt to resist them consuming him. "And there is no way your pal Moloch would be able to help you," Baal added while he ignored the Minotaur Lord and forcefully created a portal. "Note to the Dungeon Owner of Demon Metropolis. Escaping now will cause you to lose!" The Dungeon Core spoke out. "My place is being invaded by them. Metropolis'' Dungeon Core should be able to inform you of at least that. Besides, your champion is incapacitated and unable to move. Give me ten minutes, and I will come back to finish the fight. Heal him or not, I do not care. If by the end of ten minutes, I am not back, I will relinquish half of my treasury to you and consider myself defeated." King Baal asked for a compromise since his dungeon core kept howling him to return even though it was actually more beneficial for him to stay. But before the Pandapolis Dungeon Core could give an answer, the portal in front was cut off with a white card. "The fight is not over!" Moloch interrupted even though he knew that the chances to win against a crowned Baal was close to nil. Sure, getting Kraft and his skulk of foxes to fight with Baal would definitely even the odds in their favour¡­Heck, no. He was sure they can obliterate him. But right now, it was a matter of pride if the Minotaur Lord did nothing and let others do the job even though he had a way to help out. "I am sorry Jin, but you have to endure my selfishness a little more." The supposedly blank card flew towards Jin''s System Driver, and a voice emerged from the device. "Card Activated, Moloch Form!" Chapter 800 Hell Knight King - Final "Card Activated, Moloch Form!" "What?!" When Baal heard the name, he quickly tried to stab the cotton toy but little did he realise Moloch''s soul had already transitioned into Jin''s body. A wave of light emerged from the System Driver, which indicated that it was going to transform once more. "I will not allow you to complete it!" Baal declared as he dashed towards Jin, but the Hell Knight King was being parried. "Heh. Your flames¡­they hurt you know." Jin said as he held onto the large sword in his hands. Even though Gaeru had left, he had allowed Jin to hold onto Masamune for a while longer. "One of the many debts had been repaid to my Master," Gaeru said as he remembered Jin bestowing him his sword for the fight against the Valgs. "Masamune, you are annoyed that you didn''t even have a taste of this delicious creature, right?" Jin asked as he could feel the shifting of living armour is near to completion despite still being engulfed in dark flames. The sword howled a little as if he acknowledged the temporary wielder and at the opponent who was denying him the chance to feed. "You insolent fool!" King Baal pushed his sword further and used the impact to retract his sword up so that he could go for another strike. "I do not usually like to do this but!" Jin strenuously opened his eyes, allowing his Inverse Eyes to activate. "Zeru!" Jin shouted out in his mind and only then did the System realise the loophole that Jin seemingly discovered. As the living armour plates were shifting, it was actually Moloch attempting to acclimate to Jin''s Astral Body before he could take over Jin''s body. But what Jin did was to call upon Zeru to fuse with his soul for a split second before Moloch took it over completely. Jin''s sensei did not hesitate, knowing that time itself was both the strictest and opportunistic in nature. If humans can dissect time further, Zeru basically zoomed into the most crucial moment and delivered a cut towards the weakest point of Baal''s armour. The strike that was seemingly faster than the speed of light caused the demon''s armour pierced and King to bleed. The Sword Saint immediately left with a wide satisfied smile and at the same time hoped he did not cause even more damage to Jin''s body and soul. "What?!" Baal did not even see that split second strike and Masamune was already howling with excitement since it finally tasted the blood of a demon infused with the energy from Hell and the wretched crown. "Ah shit, I forgot the crown was on him. Ah whatever, Moloch, the stage is yours. Try to live as long as possible." Jin said as he felt his consciousness damped after Zeru''s forceful takeover, rescinding to the back. As the plates formed correctly, Moloch stood there, finally feeling the flames which burnt his master''s life bit by bit away. Thanks to his own demon attribute, he had some fire resistance attribute enhanced onto the black and red living armour plates, but it was not enough to counter the dark flames from Baal. "Ani! Ototo! At my behest! Come!" Moloch shouted, and suddenly two coloured pauldron plates came flying from the System Driver and attached themselves to Moloch''s existing shoulder armour. After learning that Pei had managed to recruit them, he was dying to try out this combination, and he was delighted when it worked out as perfectly as he imagined it to. The Living Armour proceeded to cover them and swiftly, the flames were dying out from their appearance. "MILORD! THAT HURTS YOU KNOW!" "i cannot deny and only concur that my brother is right. that really hurts. please hurry with whatever you want to do as we won''t be able to endure this for long." "At the very least, you two stopped it." Moloch praised the Pauldrons as he swung the berserk sword a little, noticing that it became heavier and oppressive than Jin''s body was aware of. As the other two monsters were considered as ''leeching parasitic'' armour, it fused with Jin nicely. His body armour also did feel very comfortable to be in. (Also, the plate armour on the System Rider was so stylish that Moloch was proud and envied Jin for having such a fantastic device with him.) "WE CAN ONLY DO IT ONCE! HURRY!" Ototo reminded Moloch where he was, and the Minotaur Lord nervously chuckled. The two brothers had been part of his bodyguard entourage, and they were famous for their combination technique that could create an anti-magic field to remove any spell no matter how strong it was. This technique was also the reason why the Minotaur brothers had been feared and later on why they were permanently polymorphed by King Baal previously. King Baal did not know whether the human had discovered the weakness of his armour or if it was just a desperate but very lucky strike. But one thing was for sure, no more mistakes could be allowed especially against Moloch who had now seemingly fused with the human. "You are not even a sword user, to begin with!" Baal shouted as his bastard sword was burning with flames, and as Moloch clashed against the Hell Knight King, he felt the weight of the impact from the bastard sword. It was intense enough to cause the ground to crack from every blow and gave way to the rider''s boots. Not only that, the enchanted flames instantly burnt him. Even though Ani and Ototo were covering his flaw of being incompetent with swords by simultaneously controlling his arms, they did not expect such overwhelming odds from Baal himself. Moloch also believed that if it was a normal high grade sword, it should have broken or at least got chipped long ago, allowing Baal to slice him into two despite being armoured. "Hard work eh, Masamune?" Moloch asked as he started chanting and cards subsequently appeared behind Baal. Yet the Hell Knight King was not oblivious about his former advisor''s way of fighting and swung his free hand around to shoot at the cards. "Too bad, I have decades of magical power imbued into this crown. You do not have a chance at all Moloch. Just lose this place to me, and your death will be swift!" Baal ordered. "Heh, to think you would show me mercy after what we had revealed between each other? Is it on the account that we used to be friends in Hell? Or are you just desperately in need of returning back home?!" Moloch then shouted a magical word and those cards that had seemingly been burnt by Baal''s magic swiftly reappeared and flew towards the wound he had incurred from Jin previously. Upon impact, it exploded, again and again, using his own magic against him. King Baal had no choice but to move backwards and tried to reorganise his thoughts from the sudden attack. "You are not the only one to have picked up a few new tricks, ''old friend''!" Moloch taunted as he tried to remain afoot after the immense pressure and burns he received from Baal. Those cards were actually absorption cards meant to take in the enemy''s magic and deflect them whenever at will. However, Baal''s infected hell magic was too strong to contain for long despite the strengthening of the cards via Maqi. And thus System Rider Moloch quickly took the opportunity to hit Baal''s weak spot. For the second time, he was bleeding visibly, and Masamune cried louder than ever. Without any permission, it slipped out of Moloch''s hand and went straight for the wound. "Shit! I think it is addicted to the crown''s energy!" Moloch thought, but there was no way he could stop an insane sword from moving its own. "Impudent for a sword to have a will of its own!" Baal shouted as he wanted to deflect the sword away, but in a split moment, the blunt sword managed to cut through his bastard sword and stab him through the side of the waist where the most profound bleeding was. "What!" Moloch could not help but feel aghast at the situation. Did King Baal lose to a living hungry sword? Masamune continued to stick on him, refusing to move at all. "Weird, this is the first time I see Masamune look so worked up," Gaeru informed him through the System Channel as he was not able to teleport into the sacred arena. Moloch grinned for a moment before he conjured a card up with a broad axe picture in it. "Impossible! How is this sword taking my powers away?!" King Baal raged as he tried to pull Masamune out of his body. He even self immolated, hoping the sword would burn in the thousands degrees heat. Still, the sword was not budging a single bit continuing its feast. With Baal distracted, Moloch proceeded to move towards the Hell Knight King with his axe, Armads, the Axe of Hell''s Thunder. Unfortunately, it was not real as the axe was conjured similar to what he had possessed in Hell with the aid of Bam and Boo. The authentic relic was still kept within the Hell Plane, and thus Moloch could only settle for this. Without the System''s aid and Living Armour, the Minotaur Lord might not have been able to create this. "If you want to have my blood, then allow me to command you!" Baal shouted as he conjured even more strength out from the crown and placed it on the hilt. To Moloch''s surprise, the sword compiled to its hunger for more power as it allowed Baal to draw it out of his wound and defend the miraculous thunder strike from Moloch''s replica weapon. Baal laughed as he saw how easily the sword changed owners and defended him. At the same time, he used the time to close the side deep wound he incurred from the sword. Moloch had no chance to win against the power-hungry sword, and Gaeru became extremely quiet throughout the change of owners. "This is really an unexpected turn of events." Jin had regained some consciousness from the short little rest he got. "I honestly can not keep up with who betrayed who at this rate." "Ha Ha. Very funny master. At this rate, we are the ones who are going to lose!" Moloch reminded Jin as he held tightly on Armads. King Baal realised how much of an advantage he had right now. With his new sword, wretched crown and the infused three form he had embraced to take advantage of all the traits of his crossbreed nature, he felt all powerful. "There is a brilliant sword. I will finish you once and for all!" King Baal announced as he dashed forward and with the power hungry Masamune, he fed even more energy to it and saw the blade itself shimmer with bluish heat. He had never seen such a high concentration of energy being stored in the blade as if this was the perfect blade for him bestowed to him. "Begone! and thank you for the sword!" King Baal shouted as he burst dash, closing the distance between System Rider Moloch and him. Moloch saw the incoming attack and knew there was no way it was able to defend it. "Sorry Master, you''ll have to continue this fight yourself¡­ Disengage!" The Minotaur Lord shouted as his half mask popped out of the System Rider Helmet and a manifestation of his cotton toy appeared along with the Minotaur half mask. "Break Polymorph!" Moloch shouted as he already had a card at his side. King Baal''s so-called permanent polymorph was something Moloch had already broken in the early days when he was exiled, but he never used it, as it was a way to conserve energy for himself too. He knew one day, he had to fight against Baal and his ridiculous amount of magic preserved in that crown. However, he did not know that he was going to use it as defence rather than offence. "MILORD!" Ototo shouted and immediately disengaged himself from the System Rider. Ani also knew that this was the time to serve his lord. Moloch grew from the cotton toy he was trapped in into a bona fide minotaur. Both Ototo and Ani instantly appeared in front of Moloch, not as pauldrons but two red and yellow tower shields. Despite their staunchest defence, Masamune cut the two of them easily, but it gave Moloch enough time to accumulate his strength as he held his clasped hands and slammed it forward. Baal smirked as he knew that the attack would be useless with his brand new sword. True enough, Masamune sliced Moloch''s arms cleanly, but the Minotaur Lord was not done. In fact, the arm slam was a feint for his real attack coming from his bull charge via his horns. Bustling his muscles with thunder, he slammed Baal right in the chest and lightning struck his metal plates. Unknown to Moloch, Slydra who was bored conquering the floating islands with her zaps of thunder, had felt the sensation of a lightning user. "Playing cheat does feel good once in a while." Slydra and Ayse grinned as they were to ones to secretly support Moloch, increasing the strength of this thunder strike by three-fold. Baal was none the wiser and received a blow strong enough to cause him to be knocked back. Moloch, on the other hand, realised that Masamune was stuck in his heart. "¡­This greedy sword. I am taking you with me so you will not interfere." Moloch coughed as he magically took a card out and entrapped the bloodthirsty sword inside it. But before he could pick the card up from the ground, he started to turn into fragment pieces from the overuse of his magic. "This should atone for my mistake of handing it over, Master." In the meantime, Jin got hold of his body, and the living armour plates shifted back to Panda form. There was no time to feel lost despite Moloch''s sacrifice. It was important to press on though Jin''s legs were not moving. The System also indicated that the living armour most likely could only hold one last transformation before the System Driver ran out of juice. "Can''t we just feed more black sludge crystals?" Jin barely held together his form and realised he too was at his limit. "We have to stall him as long as possible so the others could take hold of the dungeon keys." "Negative. Unfortunately, the System Driver is near its breaking point. It is still a prototype and not some indestructible device. Excess usage will cause the device to disintegrate. Not to mention the toll on User has already surpassed the worst-case scenarios. Once this is done, you will have to rest until your vitals are checked, and we can be sure no long term damage has occurred." "I cannot believe this fight dragged so long." Baal placed his left feet proper to stand up, but he realised the strain from using the crown was starting to get too much. Suddenly, the wretched crown started to light up, and Kiva''s family jewel vibrated. "Shit, no!" Baal didn''t know that the invasion had been so long that it was a new day for the demons. As for Baal, he had to go through a ''sanity check'' by the crown, and he knew he was in no condition to survive it. His mental will and physical body were severely beaten since he had been relying on the crown''s energy to regenerate. As if the crown was waiting for this chance, it took the opportunity to consume Baal in his latest form, and his entire brain suddenly blacked out. "Warning, a sudden surge of energy arising from King Baal." The System noted, and Jin saw that the crown shone a purplish light that made him feel like he had seen the face of true evil for the first time. The metal crown subsequently merged with the helmet as it tightened its grip over Baal''s head and his body stiffened. Suddenly, his legs changed shape, and stuff suddenly grew out of the armour greaves and boots Baal was wearing. Three Spider Legs emerged from the original pair of legs, and his hands morphed into webbed hands along with the armour. Not to mention those hands had cat claws emerging from them. Baal''s armour slowly popped cat, human and frog eyes surrounding the entire armour. The worse of all, the crown was emanating cries, weeps, and even screams. Those pleas of help got into Jin''s head and he too felt his mind became heavier. It felt like ¡­the victims who King Baal had taken his energy from was asking for mercy. They were shouting desperately to be out of the crown and that itself was trying to take over the Hell Knight King. "What is happening to me?!" Three slightly various shouts came out from his mouth simultaneously, and the helmet grew a mouth as if it merged with the human face Baal once had. Teeth were shown out when he shouted, and double drooling frog tongues were seen hanging out. As if it was not scary enough of an appearance, his entire armour had been imprinted with scared faces from the people entrapped within the jewel. "It seems that the crown had infected him further, causing him to mutate beyond recognition. Truly a monster." Jin gave his interpretation as he could feel the wretched crown energy overflowing out. "Is there a Bellator Peppers card that I can draw from the deck?" Jin asked the System, trying his luck. "Negative. Moloch did not have the power to draw it. The System too believed it is too dangerous for Jin''s current grade. The current infusion via the Astral Body is the only way." The System said, and Jin shook his head slightly. "Well, yeah. Just asking. In any case, there is no way eight seconds of Pepper''s explosion could work on this guy without it taking me out as well in this relatively small arena." Jin said. "8.5 seconds as User is currently at Grade 8 Peak. Still, System also predict that is insufficient-" "I know, idiot!" Jin said as he stepped forward as he called out Bam and Boo which were in a way damaged after Masamune went crazy and broke out from their temporary combination. "Sorry about that, Bam and Boo. Did not mean to have it broken." Jin apologised as he combined them both together to have one Katana out. It seemed as if he had no way out but to defeat it as the creature in front of him spasmed. Suddenly spikes in the shape of cat claws came flying from above and beneath the ground, piercing Jin without any notice. There were no portals or anything as if they materialised from thin air. "What the fuck?!" The spikes pierced through Jin''s living armour defences, into his thighs, arms and even torso, causing Jin to cough out blood internally as the impact was great enough for it to happen. There was a spike that was aimed for his head, but somehow Jin managed to evade it partially(whether by luck or innate instinct, causing it to only destroy a portion of the helmet and missing the face entirely. The cat claw spikes suddenly disappeared once it did its job and Jin was left on the ground bleeding. "Y¡ªou wait! I¨C will finish you after I clear your comrades!" The long slurring from Baal made it seem as if he had trouble controlling his own speech, but if the System were to categorise it, it was infused with three different sounds as heard from his previous sentence. Despite losing the sanity check, Baal was still conscious enough to put his Dungeon Core as a priority. Concerned about losing it, he immediately opened the portal, and the Pandapolis Dungeon Core reluctantly granted Baal the initial deal. Since Jin was still breathing desperately and without intervention was most likely going to die, making it lose either way. Fortunately, despite the several injuries, Jin still had the legendary inscription from his general storekeeper, Octofussy to keep him alive. Not to mention his body had been tempered, granting him vampiric traits resulting in a boost of vitality without the urge to bite anyone. Baal who was busy keeping his remaining sanity in check, did not notice any of this and only wanted to pass through the gate. However, instead of him passing through the gate. There were ten figures coming out of it instead. "Woah, what kind of fucking ugly creature is this?" Kraft asked as he was taken aback for a moment before walking with a bloodied sack over his shoulders. "Eh? Isn''t this the System''s portal? Why were we teleported to this wasteland?" Kiyu asked as she walked through it while twirling the ring that held the key from the circle of Heresy. "Kiyu, be careful with the key. You aren''t the most graceful of all foxes." Kai pointed out, and Kiyu merely turned her head to stick her tongue at him. "Is that Jin?!" Pei, who came out, felt the person''s aura lying in a pool of blood to be very familiar. She quickly ran to him, ignoring the monster in front of her. The monster felt offended and decided to pierce her, but it suddenly stopped moving as it noticed a strange smell in the air, temporarily making him lose function over his muscles. "Do not tell me this monster is Baal?" Evon took a step back, as he noticed that the aura it oozed was not delectable a single bit. "Wow, the wounds on Jin are really terrible. It''s kind of a miracle he is surviving." Ixa was quite blunt about their master''s current state as the rest of the foxes in their human forms started to surround Jin. "This is not how I expected my first encounter with our new master to be." Rex sighed as he supported Pei in healing Jin despite his innate healing abilities. Baal eventually managed to break out of Evon''s paralysing drug effect and noticed that each and almost every one of them who came out were holding the keys to his Dungeon Core, except for the one sole key from the circle of Treachery. "Ew, Baal who the hell gave you this ugly makeover?" Kraft received the confirmation from the System that it was the King itself, corrupted with the energy he had accumulated. "Anyways, here is the head of your kid, Paleman, I believe. I am surprised that despite you trusting him so much, he had no knowledge of bypassing your stupid key system!" "I still think you should have let me blast the door with my fist, Kraft." Itori complained, but Tsu just shook his head. "If you did that, you would have more than likely destroyed the Dungeon Core alongside your blast. In that case, all our endeavours would have been pointless!" "Yeah, it''s rather a wasted effort after I found out that the real Circle of Treachery''s Guard Supervisor wasn''t even present." Rex agreed as he could hear Jin''s breathing started to stabilise. "Is this like the reinforcements?" Jin asked through his broken helmet with a weak muffled voice. "Nah, not really. Maybe the spectators?" Kraft grinned as he squatted down and whistled at the new suit Jin had donned on. "I believe this was a great suit before it got battered. Yo, System, I hope you plan to let me play around with one of these as well!" "So, Rex. What are you waiting for? Kill the King so we can get the key¡­or to have access to the Dungeon Core or whatever." Ixel was getting a little impatient but so was Baal. He could not believe the individuals in front of him had managed to clear the guard supervisors which no other demons had done in the past few decades. Still, that also meant that they were the perfect specimens to test his new powers after he had been degraded into a monster of power. "Yeah, Big Brother. This is supposed to be your official comeback. What better way to establish yourself than to claim the juiciest piece of meat of this whole conquest. Speaking of that, once you are done, we can finally eat, drink and celebrate." Kraft said, and he tapped firmly on Rex''s shoulder. "There''s still a part 2 of my comeback?" Rex laughed bitterly as he knew Kraft just wanted to get even for the drinking bet they had centuries ago. "Haha, but still isn''t this ¨C" Suddenly a barrage of magic lasers came from Baal''s eyes on the armour and Rex had already put up a barrier against it. "This monster needs to learn some manners." Rex eyed Baal who now opened his mouth, and a beam of wretched purple energy was shot against his barrier. "Itori, hold your fist! This is my fight!" Rex ordered as he noticed the White Fox was dying for a counterattack when Baal shot into the barrier. Itori quietly obeyed the new Panda Remnant as he walked forward. "Master Jin¡­Do you mind if I kill him? I will make short work of him." Rex asked as he saw Baal desperately trying to break the invisible magical barrier that Rex had put up. No matter how much magical energy from the crown was dispensed against Rex''s barrier, it was like a fly hitting on a closed glass window. "Be my guest. We need to finish him off anyways to end the war. Thanks in advance." Jin answered as he was held up by Pei. "Kiyu, do you want to have the honours of filming him?" Kraft suggested to Rex as he got permission from his new master. "I am already on it," Kiyu said, equipped with a selfie stick and a GoPro on. Rex merely smiled as the rest of his skulk stood behind watching him. "Guess I got to do something flashy. How about I show one of the ancient Panda Techniques?" Rex smiled as he went to a stance¡­and realised the sword he had already been destroyed from killing the fake bosses in the Circle of Treachery. "Ah¡­can someone lend me a sword?" Rex asked embarrassingly, and the foxes tried their best to hold their laughter in. Kraft too looked down in order not to laugh at his brother, then noticed that there was a card with a sword picture on the ground. "Isn''t this Masamune? Why is it in Moloch''s card?" Kraft thought to himself as he broke the card''s spell by inserting his own chi and Masamune popped out of it. "Ahh¡­now I understand why." Kraft smiled as he took in all of the oozing chaos energy from Masamune, and allowed it to not go berserk. "Come on Masamune, there is tastier energy than that," Kraft whispered to it as he subsequently called out to his brother. Rex received the sword that Kraft threw at him, ignoring Baal''s constant all out barrages. "This sword¡­it''s a bloodthirsty living weapon?" "It''s one of Jin''s minion''s prized items. I doubt he will mind you using it and I believe this weapon suits you well since you are still raging from within." Kraft assumed this could be the outlet that Rex needed while keeping control of his powers. "Most importantly, I do not think it will break." "Haha, I bet that sword will feel satisfied for some time before it gets hungry again," Ixel interjected, and Rex smiled lightly. "Alright, then. Judging from this monster''s attack power, he is most probably Grade 14 Peak or perhaps an inch away from Grade 15. No wonder Master had a lot of problems fighting it when he''s only a Grade 8 Peak. Without the strange chaos energy, he should fall between Grade 11 to 13." Rex calmly analysed the situation while pondering which Sword Art he should show based on the monster''s grade as he held onto the sword and adjusted his stance once more. "Epic Sword Art, Fatal Crescent Circle of the Umbral Panda!" Rex said in a calm voice as he zoomed past Baal and Jin could see a faint image of the moon cycle with a Panda rolling within it as the New Moon turned into a crescent and eventually a full moon. It later went back to a new moon once more, completing the moon cycle. With each transition of the moon''s holographic image, Baal was slashed multiple times in the shape of said moon period. Blood spewed everywhere when the Sword Art ended, but at some point, Rex had put up a barrier to prevent any of Baal''s stained blood from dirtying his clothes. It was also relief that he did that too since the blood itself was acidic enough to burn the ground when it landed. The crown Baal wore finally broke from Rex''s sword art, and Baal fell from the attack. It was later revealed that the ravenous lord''s jewel was hiding the final prison core from within it and it cracked when the crown was undone. "How the hell can the prison core be sustained outside of its own instance?" Kraft who had some knowledge on the Dungeon Core felt mystified by it. "Who knows, maybe that is why he is suffering in his own prison cage." Pei offered a plausible explanation as Rex opened the prison core to reveal the last dungeon key. "At the very least, he should return to normal once the System resurrects him, right?" Rex asked when he returned Masamune back to Kraft. While it was easy to handle, it did not feel right for him to use it. Kraft could only feel for the weapon, knowing that it had to settle for an imperfect master. Suddenly, the barriers between the sacred arena were lowered, and the Dungeon Core had determined that the initial deal Baal made had been completed. Ten minutes had passed since the opening of the portal, and he had not crossed any swords against Jin. "Wow, this Dungeon Core sure is scheming. It used this time out as a loophole to let the Foxes fight him." Jin thought since he was the only one who knew the whole picture. "Isn''t that great? We do not need a stupid Dungeon Core to run our city! A scheming city means a prosperous one!" Kraft laughed, and the rest only smiled half-heartedly from it. "Go, all of you, back to the Dungeon Core. Unlock it and take the Demon Metropolis by force. We need to recoup our losses from this fight." Jin told them, and the whole fox skulk agreed to it. With Baal''s portal still opened, all of them immediately went in while an area wide announcement was projected throughout the city. "Owner of Demon Metropolis, King Baal has officially lost the duel. All Demon Horde personnel shall be teleported out of the Pandapolis in ten seconds." The Pandapolis Dungeon Core announced, and the entire Demon Horde who had to fight with their lives could not believe it¡­except for the spectators at the safe zone who had seen everything first hand. (If they had survived Syldra''s electrifying wink spell.) The monsters under Jin and Pandarens then realised this was the final sprint to kill everything in their path. More demons killed equated to better rewards for the Pandarens while the monsters might potentially be awarded more System points. The adrenaline was real as the monsters were using their best skills to finish any demons within their vicinity. Some of the Fortress Golems even started to jump out of their posts and squashed some Demons while emptying their clips of ammo. The Wyvern Knights leapt down from their wyverns and fought independently to get double kills. Pandjilla climbed onto the indestructible sky bridge and sent out an astonishing breath of energy, burning rows of demon soldiers to their death. Many more crazy stunts were done to make that remaining ten seconds count. Meanwhile, when the foxes took the portal, they tried to drag Jin along with them too. While it was tempting for the foxes, especially Kraft, to own an entire city for himself¡­ it was too much of a hassle in the long run. They were free-spirited troublemakers, not city overseers. However, Pei stopped him adamantly, and Kraft decided to go for the next best alternative. Moloch. He was not spared from it as the System teleported the newly resurrected cotton toy right into Kraft''s hands. Chapter 801 Claiming Demon Metropolis "Can''t you at least let me rest a little bit longer? You know getting killed is not exactly pleasant, and the System''s way of reviving is no vacation either. I believe I''ve done some major lifting in the defeat of my King," Moloch grumbled as he was being ''cuddled'' by Kraft and did not like it a single bit. "There will be more than enough time for you to sit on your butt after we resolve the ownership problem of the city." Kraft rebutted. The rest of the foxed placed their keys on the hidden door, according to Moloch''s previous instruction. The door only had a single keyhole, and according to the grumpy cotton toy, they had to first place the keys in descending order starting from Limbo. Slowly, the door opened and revealed the next door that was protecting the ''vault''. "You know in games they usually give you some sort of chest or some other reward for opening a secret door. Like a treasure room or something before proceeding to the next door." Kraft said as he blankly stared at the second door. "Too bad, this is not a game but real life in the Dungeon World," Moloch argued with his eyes turning lazy, but he had forgotten that he was now in the mercy of the fox handler. Kraft pinched the top of his head and pulled his cotton ''skin'', causing Moloch to suffer some rather annoying agony. "Should we just call King Baal to quicken the process?" Kiyu suggested as she was waiting for her turn to open the door. "He has been defeated by Rex, so the Metropolis Dungeon Core does not recognise him as the ruler anymore." Moloch briefly explained to Kiyu since she might not know how the Dungeon Core ownership worked. "Yeah, you could have told me your king was the last boss. Would have saved a lot of time." Rex sighed, recalling how stupid he was to question each and every monster he fought against in the Circle of Treachery while attempting to find out who was speaking the real truth. "It has been some time since I walked on the roads of the Demon Metropolis, let alone the roster of these bosses. Though I had my suspicions that King Baal might have decided to be the reigning champion of the last circle since he is technically the defender for the Dungeon Core¡­" "Judging by his impatience to get back to the Dungeon Core during our fight, it must have desperately called him back in fear you had a way to just fight your way through without using the keys." "I didn''t mind the chance to cause some havoc, but was there any point in us invading here if we ultimately ended up fighting King Baal anyway?" Ixel brought up an interesting point, and all eyes turned to the cotton toy. "As I said, I didn''t know. Not like this kind of information is openly available. But no your work wasn''t entirely useless. The more havoc you created, the more panicked the Dungeon Core must have gotten leading to it calling King Baal back and him getting distracted. If he refused the summons of his Dungeon Core for too long, it could have selected a different impromptu ruler, so it wouldn''t be wrong to call your work extremely helpful." "Still, here I thought we were going in to steal the Dungeon Core under his nose. No fun at all." Kiyu complained as it finally became her turn to activate the key she had gotten from the Heresy stage. Similar to Pei, she did not have to really fight. Somehow her untimely appearance to a particular unrelated event being held in the Circle of Heresy caused a huge commotion. And with a bit of charm, she literally convinced an entire cult to follow her without any resistance. When the foxes heard about it, they wondered if Kiyu had used her clan''s secret technique the ''Butterfly Effect'' to change the outcome of her particular endeavour. The Butterfly Effect worked as the concept containing time travel terms and chaos theory. The sensitive dependence on the initial conditions in which a small change would bring about a large scale and possibly unpredictable variation in the future. It was a mystery how the Butterfly Clan, who did not have the mathematical and scientific concept of their secret technique, had been able to create such a technique. However, playing with time was a dangerous concept so much so that Kiyu herself had once claimed she would rather not use the skill if at all possible. Yet, on the other hand, despite how convenient everything turned out for her, to use the technique literally required Kiyu to sacrifice something very significant in return. Be it physical or emotional, it would put a toll on Kiyu''s overall well-being. Thus, they doubted she had used the technique. Maybe it was her womanly instinct that led her to kick out most of her male fox counterparts? (Or so they at least chose to believe for her sake.) "There we go!" Kiyu said as she stepped backwards and allowed Tsu to place his key in. Eventually, it came to Rex'' turn, and the simple concrete room revealed an exposed Dungeon Core, waiting for input before the timer ran out and destroy the Demon Metropolis in an instant. "As much as I would enjoy having all those Demon Nobles looking up to me, I have my hands rather full with Pandapolis. I suggest we should let King Baal continue running it. That way there''s normalcy in the demon city." Moloch offered his opinion. "Meh, that is not fun at all." This comment coming from Itori surprised everyone, but Moloch shook his head. "We can do something similar to what Jin did by putting the System and me together. This way, the System has a say, and with King Baal at the helm, it would just be a dent in their city''s combat record." Moloch argued as he considered that too many changes to the city might bring forth unwanted guests. Right now, the Demon Metropolis was a city that churned a decent amount of revenue as well as resources which could potentially aid Jin in his future battles and projects. They needed the money if they wished to expand rapidly in Jin''s world, or others for this matter, without outside help. "Yes, it makes sense." Rex, who had a diplomatic mind, understood Moloch''s logic. To some extent, the foxes all were familiar with some form of governance as they were initially groomed to be their clan''s leaders. "But unfortunately, what Itori said is true too. This is no fun." Rex started to grin in a way that made Kraft laugh. "Oh, you don''t mean¡­ Are you willing to take up such a large responsibility that quickly?" "Why not? Would you prefer for me to always stay mad at the past? I had enough time to think over everything in there, and I am not looking forward to returning there anytime soon. Besides, I might not have been out for long, but I''m dying to do some work." Rex argued. "If it helps to keep Rex calm while working, it would be a definite plus. That way, the System can use its processing capability for better use than trapping him." Pei reasoned and the System, aka the ultimate eavesdropper, concurred with her. "It will free 5% of System processing capabilities and taking partial control of the Demon Metropolis only requires 0.5%." "However, Moloch is also right. The change cannot be too drastic. Demons live here in this city and having too much law and order as well as knowing a human is controlling them would only breed chaos." Pei added. "Oh. You do not have to worry about that." Kraft announced as he grabbed Rex''s hand and placed it on the Dungeon Core user''s interface along with Moloch''s. "There we go!" Kraft threw his phone which was his connection to the System on the user interface as well. Instead of a two way, the Dungeon Core finally accepted that three entities would be the new rulers of Demon Metropolis by playing the core''s standard welcoming theme. "It''s a brand new day~! Brand new day~! A brand new morning has come~! Be Happy ~! Be Happy~! The wind of happiness continues to blow as we start our day~! One, Two, Three, Let''s Go~!" "Urgh. No matter how many times I hear that¡­" Moloch moaned as he grudgingly accepted the added responsibility. Chapter 802 Royalty in Retaliation If anyone else had forced his hand, Moloch would have cut their fingers off or even their heads (or more likely gotten Sebestia to do it for him) since it was something he really did not want to do. However, this was Kraft that made Moloch sign up for the partial control of the Demon Metropolis. "Don''t worry you will just be like a puppet leader¡­for familiarity''s sake. After all, everyone still thinks that you are the true leader of Pandapolis." Kraft informed the unhappy-looking Moloch as the interface changed a little and he inspected it curiously since it was the first time he was checking one out. "Well, technically¡­I am ONE of the leaders of Pandapolis. ''True'' is not wrong since the demons do not know that the core can choose more than one¡­ erm ruler." Moloch agreed and tried to run through various scenarios in his head. However, he did not know whether it was resurrection fatigue, but the Minotaur Lord''s mind got cut off after a short while. "Anyway, I can vouch that Rex here will make an outstanding lawmaker and a respectable ''Demon'' to rule this land," Kraft said, and the rest unanimously supported their Panda Remnant. "If you cannot trust anyone, you can at least trust me." Pei stepped forward and grabbed the Minotaur Lord away from Kraft''s embrace and placed it on Rex''s head. "I can already hear some footsteps coming our way, so we should hurry the process a little." "I can punch them away if you want." Itori offered, and Rex laughed. "There is no need to. So, what are these options here, little Minotaur?" Rex asked. "I guess you must be as old as Kraft so stop calling me little. Despite my current form, I am way older than any of you. I am in my golden age as a demon, though!" Moloch mumbled a little before releasing out a heavy sigh. "They are the same options given to Master and me when he first conquered the Dungeon Fortress." "Then, I am assuming we are going to preserve the integrity of the city?" Rex questioned, and the cotton toy nodded his head. "Just for your information, most conquerors do not like this option since it gives the least amount of reward. Mainly because the Dungeon Core will usually destroy the entire city and kicks everyone out, giving the conqueror the ultimate right to the place. Raiders also prefer the ''raze it to the ground option'' since it will give them the most resources." "Then what rewards do we have if we preserve the Demon Metropolis?" Tsu asked. "Not much really. Aside from some extra cash and resources, we get an entire city. Although it will be exactly in the condition as the previous ruler has left it. Well, triple the rewards since we won the defence game against them too." Moloch added, and suddenly he heard a weird whistling sound. Rex did not waste any time and selected the preserve option, and they were officially crowned the new rulers of Demon Metropolis by the dungeon core. The whistling sound screeched with each second and Kiyu stood at the front and stopped a projectile. The rest of the foxes walked out and noticed a group of beautifully armoured demons waiting at the middle of the Circle of Treachery. "Since you are the new rulers, we might as well challenge you now. I am Prince Agares of the -" Without any warning, Kraft cut them off by shooting near their foot, missing by merely a centimetre. The rest of the group immediately picked up arms, but Rex came forward and tried to calm them down. "Can they really challenge the new rulers this quickly? Don''t the Dungeon Cores have some cooldown period or something?" Pei asked, and Moloch nodded his head as he tried to slide down from Rex''s head, but the Panda Remnant kept him up. "Something like that¡­ the defeated side still has the option to take back their Dungeon Core within 24 hours kind of thing. That is why most winners would usually take the plunder or conquer everything route." Moloch explained in the System Channel so as to not let the royalty suspect that they are amateurs to this. "Doesn''t that mean all we have to do is to kill anyone who comes at us within that period?" Ixa came forward as she was displeased at how Itori had grabbed the Boss of Greed away from her despite her younger sister''s insistence that it was an accident. "Look, I am sorry that my little brother has offended you all. Please allow me to explain the current situation." Rex continued to try calming the royal family down even though someone decided to throw a seemingly high-level fireball at Rex. "Like hell, we will! We have battalions of troops waiting outside for you if you try to escape!" One of them shouted from the group. Unfortunately, the fireball bounced off from Rex because of his barrier, and the rest got cautious immediately. "Look, if I want my guys to finish you off, it won''t take more than a few seconds. A minute tops, so let''s be rational for a moment. You saw that hole that just one of us made to jump in here. We killed each and every one of your guard supervisors as well as fending off the invasion you all initiated." Rex tried to be civil. "Oh, shucks. I left that prince''s Pailmon at Pandapolis." Kraft blurted out ''accidentally'' as he felt like bragging, but one of the group members started to be angsty. "You are the one who beheaded my husband?!" A middle-aged demon lady shouted, but a few of the guards were restraining her since they knew how strong Paimon was. For someone to behead Paimon without any resistance as indicated from his cleanly dismembered body showed that the monsters in front of them were leagues above their pay grade. "My husband''s name it PAIMON not PAILMON!" The lady shouted despite being pushed back by the guards. Even Prince Agares, the eldest of all the royalty, started to have a sense of fear welling up in him. He finally grasped their aura and realised the difference between him and them was too huge. It''s akin to heaven and earth. Yet, he still had to maintain a strong front. "Give us back our Dungeon Core, and we will give you a hefty reward in return. Considering that you have yet to destroy the city means you had intentions of using it." Agares reasoned, and Rex nodded his head. "Yes, but I like hefty rewards in the long run too and I see potential in this Demon Metropolis. Which is why I have yet to destroy it. So, how about trusting me as your new lord and ruler?" "NEVER!!" The group shouted unanimously, and Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "I think your communication skills seem to have gotten a bit rusty. You''ve spent too much in the System." Evon tried to defend Rex who gave him a resigned look. "No problem that should all come back in due time. As for those before us. You haven''t forgotten how to quell a rebellion, right? Besides, the demons only answer to true strength. How about we show them that since seeing is beliving." Kraft commented, and Rex reluctantly nodded his head as he asked the Grizzly Bears to clear the lines. "With pleasure!" The siblings cried out with joy simultaneously rushing forth. Chapter 803 Demon Home Guards "Stay at the ready!" The Demon Captains handling their platoons shouted as they heard movement coming out of the prison. Even though they were quite confident that the Royal Family would be able to handle whatever threat was in there, they still had to act their part. Besides, they had been active enough to catch any possible prison escapees that resulted from the Foxes'' reckless actions. The Demon Home Guards entrenched themselves deeply near the gates of the prison by deploying mobile barricades while mages and archers took the high ground on the nearby buildings (Or whatever was left of that in the aftermath of Kraft''s Gravity Manipulator device.) "And here I thought the royalty would put up a fight. It''s such a disgrace." Ixa complained as she walked behind Rex. "I held back just as I promised. It''s not my fault they were this weak that you didn''t get a good sweat in." Itori hoped that her actions would at least appease her frustrated sister. "Nah, I do not hold any grudge against you," Ixa said as she pulled Itori closer to her and rubbed the head of her younger sister. "Looks like the royalty wasn''t making empty threats" Kai pointed out as the foxes walked boldly out of the front door of the prison. What seemed to be the General of the Demon Home Guards stood in front of the foxes. He stared at them for a while and noticed that there was not so much as a scratch on their physical bodies. "No signs of fatigue as well¡­" The general thought to himself as he removed his helmet and revealed his face beyond the metal plates. "Vual. General of the Demon Home Guards." A demon with a camel face came forward and introduced himself as he extended his arm for a handshake. "Rex. The new ruler of the Demon Metropolis." The Panda Remnant came forward happy that at least someone had some common decency. "I assume you have subdued the entire royalty?" Vual asked, and Rex nodded his head. "Not really me, my comrades did most of the work." Rex smiled as he looked back, and the rest were ready for a second round. "I see, then we will step down." Vual nodded his head as he put his helmet back. "No fights?" Ixel asked. It wasn''t meant as a provocation, more the realisation of impending disappointment. "Since you managed to kill part of the most powerful noble elites in less than the span of half an hour, there is no use to waste my troops against you. Besides, the fact that you came out here of Paradiso without any signs of the Demon Metropolis in ruins indicates that you have far bigger ambitions than simply raiding us." Vual answered and then pointed at Rex''s head. "Also, because of him." "I am glad you still place reason and logic above emotions." Moloch praised the other party, and Vual chuckled for a bit. "The Home Guards knows how bad the corruption between the nobles was. While some might be disappointed they never got the chance to fight against ''that traitor Moloch'', it is good to see that the Demon Metropolis will be in a pair of better hands, especially if Lord Moloch will act as their advisor." "I am surprised King Baal had someone this perceptive on his side. Shall I say it was our good fortune you stayed home~? But unlike you, most of the Demon Metropolis might suspect that you are in cahoots with us, if you let us go just like this." Kraft butted into the conversation, as he too hadn''t had his fill of carnage. There were still some weapons he could try out. "And if the Demons lose the respect of their Defence team, it will be hard for you guys to enforce the city despite our common interest of helping turn the Demon Metropolis even grander." "I hate having to admit that you make sense sometimes." Pei sighed as she digested what Kraft had said. "Although the underlying tone is¡­ never mind." "General Vual, I do agree with the demihumans here." Moloch decided to use the term demihumans to make it seem that they were also part of the demon community despite their human features. With their ability to change between fox and human form at will, it wouldn''t be hard to convince the demons. General Vual was quite surprised about his ruler''s new identity and decided to hear more from the revered Moloch. "We can cover the cost of resurrection for the Home Guards, so do not worry about that." "What we need right now is an impactful yet civil enough fight so that the people are aware of the strength and ferocity of their new ruler. Killing those royalties without any witnesses would bring bad rumours which will undermine the authority of the new crown." Moloch reasoned. "Sire, I agree with Lord Moloch''s opinion. There would be dissent in the ranks if you just let them go like this. Unlike you, the troops do not have enough war experience to tell the difference between mercy and knowing when to retreat." One of his advisors agreed with Moloch''s proposal. "Very well, it does bring up a good point, especially with the rumours flying around that Lord Moloch was using some forbidden methods to defeat our king." Vual commented. "¡­I won''t deny that I have made new friends and gained some new powers." Moloch whispered to himself and Rex, who''s the only one who had heard it, patted the cotton toy''s head and handed him over to Pei. "As the upcoming King, I have to show who''s boss. Can''t let you guys have all the fun. Otherwise, they will think of me as just another pencil pusher." Rex stated and told the rest to step back. "You against the entire Demon Home Guards? You cannot be serious." Vual was in disbelief though the rest were already too excited to see Rex in action once more. "Wooo! Rex is getting serious! Can''t wait to see his real form." Evon was getting excited as he turned into a fox and climbed onto Ixel''s broad shoulders. Kiyu followed Evon and did the same by sitting on the other shoulder and cheered for Rex. "Say, you think he will use his Panda form or his Fox form?" Pei asked Tsu about his opinion. "If I were him I''d go with the fox form. The Panda is not menacing enough. He won''t like getting a nickname such as King of the ''cute killer white bear with black spots'' form will he?" Tsu answered as Vual returned to his troops and readied them to attack the group. The Home Guard General had major doubts that one person alone would have the power to fight against the whole battalion of Demon Home Guards. But considering that he said his comrades had taken care of the royalty, implied that Rex should be stronger than them. In his life, no one would follow a weaker person than themselves. Thus, he decided to take extra precautions and started sending orders to his officers. "Listen up! Demons of the Metropolis'' Home Guards!" Rex''s voice was imbued with chi enabling him to reach every single demon in the vicinity. "I have struck a deal with your General! It will be you lot against me alone. If I win, I expect you to offer me your loyalty to serve without question. If I lose, I hereby solemnly swear to abdicate myself from the throne and never disturb the peace of Demon Metropolis." "This will also be a match for the entire city to learn that the once exiled Lord Moloch has returned! He came back to retake the city so that his King can wake up from his nightmare! When I win, the ugly truth shall be exposed, and we will move on to improve the Demon Metropolis!" Rex said, and many assumed that the demihuman was only saying words that would bring him down. Some laughed at his absurd condition of one versus many. Yet, the General was calm enough to get his troops under control and ordered them to get ready once more. The troops obey fiercely, and Kraft could see that the defensive formation was rock solid¡­.to invaders other than the foxes. "Huh, if only they brought this General to the battlefield, then perhaps their losses would not be that significant." Kraft thought to himself as he appreciated and pitied the entire battalion for ending up as Rex'' stepping stones. Chapter 804 Angry Pandawans Jin stared into space for a moment. The ringing sound of the Demons retreating was music to his ears, especially since he knew that the fight was finally over. The cheers heard from afar also confirmed that particular fact as he felt like the boss battle took a significant toll on him. "If Panda Remnant Rex had not intervened along with¡­Original Bellator Kraft and his companions, User would have lost the fight." The System stated the obvious, but Jin was too tired to argue. "Was it a coincidence that they arrived on time? Or has it always been possible for them to interfere with the fight." Jin questioned the System. "Negative. The System has run through the rules for the fight. Normally, no one would be able to do such a thing, but because Pandapolis'' Dungeon Core was willing to make an exception for King Baal to settle his local threat, the loophole was there for the System to exploit." The System explained. "In essence, it was an unprecedented situation agreed upon by two Dungeon Cores themselves." "Huh, but shouldn''t their Dungeon Core know that the last key was with Baal? Why would it not tell Baal to stay away from them, instead of asking Baal to defend the core." "The Dungeon Cores are not as sentient as the System. It appears to be an instinctive call to action when feeling threatened. Would User take any chances if he felt his life was in danger? According to System''s analysis of our own Dungeon Core, they appear to have basic AI functions that are leagues ahead in terms of technology for the current Dungeon World." "System suspects that the Dungeon Cores may have originated from other worlds or they might truly be relics left by high tech civilisation similar to how the Dwarves left Lost Tech to the Goblin and Orcs." The System analysed. "Shhh¡­I do not need a boatload of explanation right now. It just makes my head hurt at the moment." Jin said as he tried to sit up. The pain was dull despite the recovery from his ''vampire bones'' and legendary inscription working overtime. If not for Pei and Rex aid, Jin would already have passed out from the pain from his speedy recovery. "Sometimes, I do not know why I am putting myself in danger." Jin chuckled to himself. With a bit of Green Panda Wind Energy, he managed to scoop up the remnants of the wretched crown and brought it close. Then he took an empty container and placed the broken contents into it. The System immediately took everything that was within the box and Jin was slightly amused since it behaved like a small child who couldn''t wait to open his Christmas gift. All this for some processing capabilities¡­ at least Jin was looking forward to his own reward. "The broken pieces of the crown definitely contain traces of defunct Dungeon Cores which are now highly reactive because of the magic inside. Decades of hard work by King Baal has turned the defunct Dungeon Cores into valuable resources capable of enhancing the System''s work-frame." "I keep thinking you are some sort of server room, but at the same time, you guys are not. What are you actually?" Jin asked as he tried to stand up and started to see some silhouettes afar. It seemed like the Pandawans and the shopkeepers were moving towards Jin. (Conveniently the System was taking this opportunity to keep silent.) "Oh shit. I did promise them that I would show some of my skills, didn''t I? Haha¡­ They''re probably gonna scold me for this." Jin sighed with a light smile. "BOSS! YOU ASSHOLE!" Xiong Da shouted as he jumped off of his hippo mount and allowed it to dash towards Jin. Thankfully, the dungeon supplier was still nimble enough to move away from an angry hippo charging towards it. Alternatively, he could have easily disintegrated the black sludge since it was originally part of his chi. "Ya, Boss! You lied to us! We thought we were going to fight side by side! In the end, I had to fight along with this Fat Hippo!!" Luo Bo complained, and Shi Zuo allowed her to do so. It was best to let his fianc¨¦e-to-be rant it all out. "More like Boss ran away before he could reveal his skills to us. He tricked us again, I am not going to believe his words anymore!" Yue Wen snarled. "Boss, I cannot help you this time. You are really in the wrong." Bu Dong agreed with the rest. "Not to mention, there is no footage of you fighting against the big bad monster. The streams only showed us. I do not need to know how well this move could be improved¡­" Bin Yong commented and suddenly thought of ways to do so. "Didn''t I guys tell you that the AI that runs this is highly advanced and that I left the actions to it? I was just as surprised as you guys that he had such a move. Besides, technically I did show you guys my powers quite a fair bit during the charge down the bridge." Jin tried to rebut yet the crowd jeered. "Landlord, you gotta keep your promise somewhat. Else it is not fair to these loyal customers of yours." San Sun wasn''t happy with this technicality as he too was curious of his Landlord''s powers. "Fine, fine!" Jin sighed as he started to think what would be a cool way to impress them, and the only thing that came to mind was the System Rider thing. Still, he felt that ''surprise'' should be kept away from them (not to mention it was currently busted). Who knows whether the masked hero gimmick could be useful in the future if he needed to intervene in something. "System wishes to remind User that masked vigilantes are probable causes for the police to catch you. They do not like surprises¡­although the System also recommends not to disclose one of your trump cards so openly." "But what can I show?" Jin asked as he turned away from the crowd and pretended to fiddle with his watch. He did entertain the thought of fighting all of them, but it would be too much of a pain, especially when his body was still recovering. "¡­User is hopeless." The System said as it transmitted a bunch of tickets in Jin''s hand. "Hahaha¡­seriously, are we playing this card?" Jin looked at the black striped tickets with a polar bear symbol on them. "We''ve been luring them with that idea for a long while. Could not hurt to use them as beta testers for that ''dungeon'' you have painstakingly designed." "I am glad you recognise that fact." Jin chuckled as he turned his head with a smirk. Xiong Da could already see that Jin was plotting something bad but before he could say anything somehow a smoke bomb was thrown right in front of him and the Pandawans thought that Jin was going to attack them. Only when the smoke subsided, they found each of their weapons were pasted with the very same black ticket that the System had handed to Jin. "That Boss¡­as sly as ever." Xiong Da grinned. He knew Jin was strong but for him to paste a ticket so quickly when the smoke bomb was deployed? That was some skill too. As for the ticket¡­ It was the privilege ticket to the elusive Polar Phantom Gentlebear Instance. "Come after Chinese New Year!" The Boss sent each and every one of them a personal text message while thanking them for their efforts. Chapter 805 Post Battle Supper The entire defensive operation was a tremendous success thanks to the teamwork of everyone¡­well perhaps with the exception for Derpy as usual. As he was meant to be used for the last effort emergency backup plan, the Shadow Dagen had to be kept hidden and therefore did not get to do much. Nevertheless, it wasn''t as if Derpy got the short end of the stick. He got an unexpected snack in the form of the flying turtle, indirectly helped bring a clay Pandajilla to real life and also enjoyed the opportunity to play around with his friend Wolte making him more than satisfied despite the lack of his appearance. Jin who had escaped the wrath of his Pandawans returned to his Dungeon Maker instance and officially sent a message that the Pandapolis Defence Raid was completed. "A big thank you to all the fellow Pandarens who have taken part in this raid. In appreciation for your participation up until the end, I am giving everyone additional points to the ladder prizes you''ve obtained. Each one of you will be able to reach the next tier of rewards!" That message alone quickly received likes in the Pandamonium Forum and gave cheers to the shop owner''s generosity. While some requested for even more free stuff, the rest shared their thoughts for the Dungeon Raid. Many claimed it felt a bit too real for them, but the experience was an eye-opener. They could feel the intensity of the battles and the death from both the demons and their own fellow cultivators left a great impact on their minds. However, many did realise that the recovery process during their stay in the Luxury Recovery Instance helped them come to terms with the incidents and experiences. In turn, a number of new customers were able to reach their next cultivation grade rather easily with the understanding and appreciation for life and death as their breakthrough. While breakthroughs were common enough occurrences in dungeon supplier stores, most of the Pandarens knew how difficult it was to get it done in one particular setting. Many had tried dungeon runs in other supplier stores for days, yet none could have provided such a breakthrough as quickly as Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas. At the same time, many of the customers also queried what kind of place they had been protecting. There was not much of a background of the city they protected compared to other stories where the dungeon instances were filled with hidden lore. Even though a number of Pandarens managed to catch a glimpse of it due to the mass teleportation incident, the bulk of his customers were clueless. Also, it was not possible for the Pandarens could not have a closer look when their life depended on their fighting skills against the horde of demons rampaging around. That was when Jin had written as a reply post that the raid was a prequel to the opening of a brand new Major ''Service'' Instance. More information would be given to the cultivators in due time, and Jin was looking at the chance of possibly creating the very first "medal to real cash" conversion method in the world. That reply post alone caused a lot of ruckuses even though it was in the middle of the night for most of his entire customer base. "Am I revealing a little too much or too fast?" Jin wondered to himself, and that was when Lynn and Qiu Yue came in together to the Dungeon Maker to rest. While it was technically Jin''s office, the Sub System Users had learned how to create furniture out of thin air and used them as they pleased before removing them when they were about to leave. "What are you planning to reveal?" Qiu Yue asked as she managed to catch his self-talk. "Oh, I was telling the forum users that I might implement a "medal to real" cash conversion. Is that really such a big thing? I recall seeing something like that in Europe¡­ or at least in the United States." Jin answered, and while Qiu Yue tried to search for such a thing on the internet, Lynn took out an after battle meal for Jin to replenish. "You should take some proper rest after that fight. I''ve seen the stream¡­ I was really worried for you, you know." Lynn admitted as Jin left his ''office'' desk and approached the small table where the three sat together to enjoy the supper. "Speaking about that battle. How dare you?!" Qiu Yue had one hand scrolling through the searches while another pulled Jin''s ear. "Ya, how dare you to fight alone?!" Lynn pulled the other ear as a continuation of Qiu Yue''s joke, thinking that her anger resulted from Jin not calling on his two Sub System users to assist him in the fight. "Actually¡­ Lynn, I think I was pulling his ear for a different reason than that." Qiu Yue admitted and later reconsidered by pulling his ear harder. "But since you added that, how dare you?!" "Ow ow ow! Okay! I sincerely apologise to both of you. I''ve clearly overestimated myself, and when it came time for the fight, my thoughts were occupied with fending him off. But I do think I know why Qiu Yue was so angry." Jin admitted his wrongdoing as he pulled the System Driver out of his storage watch and placed it for Lynn to see. "Oh my god¡­it is true. You are literally a Masked Rider¡­.hmm, but we cannot use that in public. Imagine Japan representatives coming down to sue you for copyrighting them." Qiu Yue talked about the superheroes children show that they had watched when they were younger. "Maybe that is why the System named it after itself. System Rider." Jin said as he savoured Lynn''s fried white noodles. "Gosh, Lynn. I swear I would never get sick eating this if you gave it to me every day." "That would be troublesome. You might not get sick of eating them, but I would get sick of cooking the same thing for you every day. Hehe. Thanks, Jin!" Lynn appreciated the praise as she took a bite as well and already started forming self-critiques in her mind. "Hey, System, do you think I can be a System Rider too?" Qiu Yue asked, and the System affirmed to it. "There is currently only one driver, and it requires Jin''s Astral Form ability to fully utilise the System Driver. System will look into making secondary drivers that could be compatible with the Sub System Users." "Aww yes!" Qiu Yue jumped up and down with glee and told Jin to watch out. "Original Bellator Kraft has also voiced his interest though System is wary of the powers he could possess." "You''re scared he will overpower you too much, eh?" Jin gave a casual comment, and the System sent an empty cupboard box falling to hit its user''s head. "Ouch! What is that for?! I am eating!" "Even though I may feel like the secondary character here, there will definitely be a battle where I will shine above you!" Qiu Yue slapped Jin''s back as he resumed eating his noodles again, causing him to choke slightly. "Qiu Yue!" Lynn cautioned her with a stern voice, and she apologised as the trio dug in for the supper while giving Lynn a summary of their experiences from the battlefield. Chapter 806 Post Battle Discussion "Jin, you better add me to your roster for the next fight!" Lynn insisted with a pouty face when she heard about his take on the fight against King Baal. There were System playback streams exclusive for the few to watch, and the Penguin Cultivator was envious. She knew that she had her very own battlefield at the kitchen, serving the hungry cultivators before and after the fight. However, she too yearned to fight alongside Jin to become someone equal. "Haha, you should not request for him too much. He might ignore you and get another girl to accompany him. Speaking of which, how''s that Tiger Princess? Hu Yang Ling." Qiu Yue asked teasingly, and Jin''s face went blank as his hand with the chopsticks stopped moving. "I ¡­haven''t kept in touch with her recently. Too many things for me to deal with." Jin stated bluntly. He tried to recall if made any promises until he remembered about the issue where the Royal Snakes would go after this particular war. He was still unhappy about having been strong-armed into the Joint Exercise which should have merely been a cover-up for the portals. "The Royal Snake Soldiers are helping to clean the battlefield and doing sweeps around the Pandapolis Islands even though the System had informed Panda Remnant Hou Fei that there were no more monsters around." The System reported the status out of nowhere, and it startled the group for a moment. "It''s just standard procedure. Got to make those buggers work a bit more before allowing them to relax for the entire day, right?" Hou Fei entered and greeted the young adults. Lynn created another chair and offered him a seat which he denied politely. "Let me have a smoke first." Hou Fei said as he stood further away from them and lit his cigarette. "How are the soldiers'' reactions to the fight? I hope they weren''t too bored waiting for their turns." Qiu Yue asked, and Hou Fei shook his head vehemently. "That mass teleportation did a number on the soldiers. But most of them performed within expectations. We have discovered a few kinks that we will sort out, especially communication and group orders. My Colonels and Majors generally liked the experience and will convene tomorrow to express their thoughts out. Care to join, Mr Dungeon Supplier?" Hou Fei asked, and Jin pondered for a moment. "I guess so. As long as I am being respected as a civilian and not treated as military personnel." Jin demanded, and Hou Fei laughed. "I will make sure to emphasise on that. Though I''d like to know, any problems with military-related criticism?" The Royal Snake General queried. "I''ve watched enough shows and read books to know that quite a number of civilians were being pressured to suit the military. If, we were in martial law¡­ Sure, I will do as you ask. However, if they ask me to produce weapons or to hand over my minion''s research for your own use, I will reject wholeheartedly and even disappear from this world if needed. The portal thing has already given me enough problems as it is." "I thought you sent a few of your Demon Exorcists to the northern border?" Hou Fei asked, and Jin squinted his eyes at the general. He did not remember telling him any specifics, and Hou Fei realised that he made a mistake. (Or did he?) "There is no need to lie since we are all part of the System. Since you already have some info¡­ Yes, I sent them to take a look at the situation. The System informed me that their situation was not very favourable. Even Milk had to do some legwork to protect them." Jin disclosed and sent the information report to Hou Fei by asking the System to open it on his display. "Hmm¡­those Demon Exorcists might be young, but they are talented warriors. To be able to have their special training done with Grandma Yuan had already proved that they were the cream of the crop." Hou Fei explanation made Jin realised once more that Grandma Yuan was no simple instructor. "If those exorcists had problems fending off the attacks, I can''t imagine how bad the situation might be if the Monster Horde breaks through the border walls." Hou Fei looked at the video clips that the System had caught with Milk''s help, but he too did not recognise the monsters. "Previous System User Yuan had been notified of the monsters, and she too had never seen such a variant before." "You have a way to contact her? Wait, why am I not surprised¡­" Jin rubbed his temples as he shook his milkshake and sipped slowly. "Are we going to fight against these bone spirit demons?" Lynn could already feel the chills going down her spine when she saw the Demon Exorcists desperately trying to fight against them. Even though one could say that they were only lightly armed, for an elite team to come barely alive was a cautionary tale. "No, we will not!" Jin stated decidedly. The tone of his voice left no room for arguments. "We already have enough on our plate. As long as we deliver the Portal Gates to that area and ensure they are in working condition, our job is done. The Military, Police and Border Guards will have to take care of them. And Hou Fei. I ask that you keep this to yourself. If JODE knows that I sent provisional demon exorcists to such a battlefield, they might have my head on a chopping board." "But if your reports are right¡­that means the private contractors are not going to be able to subdue them entirely. We will need to depart as soon as possible and reinforce the borders." Hou Fei said, ignoring Jin''s request as the Pandapolis Victory celebration for him was short-lived like the cigarette on his hand. "I shall liaise Ke Loong to get it done, first thing in the morning," Jin replied. "It''s already morning though." Qiu Yue pointed as she looked at her watch. "Let me get some sleep in¡­ The previous battle was really tough." Jin complained with a sour face. "Haha, just kidding. If you want, I can help you get in touch with Ke Loong after my shower. Besides, I am your store''s assistant, right?" Qiu Yue offered as she stood up and stretched a little. "A shower sounds like a lovely thing right now¡­ Anyways, if you really do not mind, ask the System for more details. Most of the stuff should be ready by now." Jin thanked Qiu Yue, and she winked at him. "Why are you winking?" Lynn caught her red-handed. "Jin said he wanted a shower. He could use a backrub¡­you know." Qiu Yue answered as she made a towel appear instantly. "I am going to keep putting barriers up against any intrusion, including the System!" "Ouch, that''s harsh Master. You should know I am right here, jealous that there are two young sprightful girls wanting to give you a comfortable shower. And yet you are rejecting them outright. System, I think you should start looking for a new master. This one isn''t gonna give you any babies any time soon." Hou Fei teased, and suddenly he heard a particular device activating. Jin had his System Driver nearby, ready to throw them out the door. Chapter 807 Morning Debrief Aside from the fact that Jin had indeed placed down barriers in case the System or the Sub System Users decided to do something funny while he was in the showers, he did have the chance to enjoy a good nap considering the circumstances for the duration of the night. His bones and muscles did not ache as much though the Black Sludge Crystals that emerged out of him¡­ seemed to be shinier compared to the dull, murky condensed appearance it once had. (However, he still found it disturbing that he could produce these crystals as if he was some magical clam making pearls.) "System, what will happen if I do not produce any more of these Black Sludge Crystals, are you able to perform some of your procedures without it?" Jin asked casually while he changed his clothes. "System already has multiple backup plans for such procedures but considering that User has created an excess quantity and the quality of the crystals keeps improving, System should have enough time to replace the procedures in the future." "Well, at least it does not stink up the room nor creates a mess like that time in the Hot Spring Instance." Jin picked up the crystal and took a whiff of it. The crystal no doubt had a scent of his Maqi, but it was faint compared to the older ones. "Any progress with the Metropolis? I recalled you saying that the foxes, especially the newest¡­oldest member has confronted a battalion on his own?" Jin asked as he performed his daily morning routine. "Panda Remnant Rex had successfully subdued the entire battalion in less than 10 mins after he turned into a giant fox demon. To put it into perspective, he was as tall as Pandjilla and flattened the whole battalion with a blast of his chi." The System immediately put out a display screen and showed Jin the battle. "No wonder, you said there was nothing to worry about," Jin said as he stuffed the toothbrush in his mouth. "His giant form had also caused some disgruntled demons to challenge him. And Rex further declared to revise his conditions that if anyone was able to defeat him in 24 hours, he would renounce his position and give all the loot they had accumulated to the winner." "Then I guess, demons are still raging in the Metropolis to fight with him?" Jin accidentally spoke out via the System Channel, and it got connected to the foxes. "If you are talking about me. Yeah, I am still sitting right beside Paradiso to wait for challengers until the period for the demons to get their Dungeon Core back is over." Rex greeted Jin via the System Channel. "Meanwhile, the rest are shopping and doing some sightseeing in the Demon Metropolis¡­" Pei grumbled as she was seen sitting on one of the nearby rooftops. "Do you need some dungeon dollars? I can send you some." Jin offered as he gargled his mouth. "That''s not the point. Kraft wanted to make sure that the foxes stayed through the whole endeavour as support for Rex. He''s also filming the fights. He seems to be planning to use the footage for something." "You know, you really do not have to." Rex yawned a little in his Giant Fox form. Expending his power via the Giant Form did make him feel more relaxed, especially with all the pent up energy for the past centuries still circulating within him. Rex could not send all the chi energy out as it could potentially wipe up the entire Metropolis and then some. "It''s fine, I am interested in what Moloch is doing with the System. He seems to be busy looking through the data of the Demon Metropolis." Pei informed their master as she placed her head near the cotton toy and took a sniff of it as if he was her stuff toy. "Stop that, I know I smell good." Moloch boasted as he reported to Jin something out of the norm. "I did briefly tell you about the resurrection process and the organisation in charge of it, right?" "Yeah, some church handles it on your end and they are also the biggest ruling organisation for the Dungeon World or something." "Mmhmm. Not long after the fight with the Demon Home Guards, some of them came right here to Demon Metropolis wanting to pay me a visit apparently. Pei nearly wrecked them mistaking them for demon challengers until I noticed their badges." "Why would they come to visit you? I recall you saying they hardly bother Dungeon Core owners." Jin asked as he sat at the toilet bowl and scrolled his newsfeed. "You seem to underestimate the significance of us defeating Baal. Technically, we did defeat one of the larger Metropolis Dungeon Core owners by successfully defending and attacking at the same time. No one has ever accomplished something like this before." Pei had initially thought that to be the reason why the Church of the Afterlife came to see Rex until the agents asked for a private conversation with Moloch. "Well, that and something else. The Church Agents wanted that wretched crown. I told them that we destroyed it completely and even presented the broken jewel and a few unwanted parts of the crown." Moloch added with a slight grin. The words ''unwanted parts'' had already confirmed that the System already assimilated the essential portion of the crown into the System. "The Agents were more than a bit suspicious about that, but my poker toy face allowed them to confirm that those were indeed the remnants after the fight." "Hey, you got to give Kiyu and me some credit too," Pei demanded as she squeezed the cotton toy a bit. "Argh! Fine fine! The girls did some tinkering to their minds. I do not know how, but they managed to make sure that even their top mages would not be able to see a trace of her -ARGH their meddling." "They did, however, insist on learning where Moloch found our group of humans. I think Demon Metropolis and Pandapolis will be under their watchful eye from today onwards." Pei analysed, and Jin sighed a little. "Not the first time we have eyes all around us. Don''t think it will be the last." Jin then asked the System whether Qiu Yue assisted in liaising with Ke Loong. "Yes, System had noted that the trucks have been procured, and Panda Remnant Hou Fei was willing to provide security details for us as thanks for the defensive training exercise. Qiu Yue has also contacted the Royal Tigers administration team based on your previous brief call with Yuan Ba. They will be providing us with the list of their bases shortly." "In conclusion, the portal machines would be on their way to their respective bases. User does not have anything to do with it anymore and can focus on other tasks." The System gave the report, and Jin was surprised to recall how efficient Qiu Yue was in such tasks. "Sub System User Qiu Yue did ask for a backrub bath in return. System believes that would be the most optimal reward for a job which User dreaded to be a part of." "After learning about the consequences of the job," Jin emphasised as he thanked the System for it. After his morning routine, he headed back to Pandapolis, towards the Pandastic Hotel for the feedback session that Hou Fei asked the Dungeon Supplier to join. (Yeap, he is totally going to ignore Qiu Yue''s playful advances.) Chapter 808 Breakfast with the Snakes - Part 1 "Master, have you decided on your breakfast? We have toasted bread with bacon and eggs. Or would you prefer an assortment of dumplings?" A crocodile waiter asked Jin for his preference as he was the first to arrive in the private room of Pandastic Hotel''s main restaurant. "I shall go with the first option, ah but can I have some Xiao Long Bao? I have a sudden craving for it." Jin placed the order, and the waiter nodded his head and was on his way. "Sorry to bother you again, Master. Any drinks to accompany your breakfast?" The waiter stopped in his tracks and quickly turned to ask. After all, he was extremely nervous about serving Jin for the very first time. "Ehh¡­Give me one Pu''er Tea," Jin said as he patted the waiter''s shoulders. "Don''t worry, you are doing a great job. Keep it up." "Thank you, Master!" The crocodile waiter bowed briefly as he hastily returned to the kitchen to report the order. "It''s as if you are treating your dungeon AI creations with respect." Major Boon Tiong said as he came inside together with his buddies and nodded his head in approval. "Treat a person well, and they will remember the favour, treating you back better. It''s a give or take world. What if one day my minions suddenly became sentient? I cannot bear the consequences of being bad to them. Hahaha!" Jin joked as the bigwigs sat down with him for breakfast. Now it was his turn to be a little nervous, although the atmosphere was less strenuous compared to the first time they had met. One of the main reasons for this might be because all of them wore casual clothes, and they were having fun talking to each other sharing their experiences. "That''s good to hear. You can always tell a lot about a person depending on how they treat those around him who aren''t necessarily their equals. I would not forgive someone just because they excused their poor behaviour because the one they were talking to was digital." Colonel Kan Jian took an apple from the centre table and passed it to Jin as a sign of courtesy. "Thank you, Colonel." "I am not in my uniform, just call me Kan Jian. No need to worry too much about formalities right now." Kan told him with a smile on his face. "Ah, but the VIP is here. As fashionably late as ever." Colonel Chen Lai spoke up just as Hou Fei came in sporting a Hawaii shirt looking like an old man enjoying his retirement in a fancy holiday hotel. "The view outside is just too terrific. Can''t blame me for taking a nice walk to refresh myself." Hou Fei replied with glee as a new waiter came bringing in some refreshments. "Firstly, let''s thank the dungeon supplier for a good fight." Hou Fei picked up his glass even though there was only tea in it and asked the group for a round of cheers. The rest chuckled at the absurdity of it but were willing to entertain their General. "Cheers!" "Yes, thank you for the fight. That last part where all the demons came in was chaotic. It really tested the limits of our soldiers and our current operating procedures. Though I have to admit, this was one of the most real dungeon experiences I''ve ever had. The money spent on the battalion was truly worth it." Colonel Kan Jian told him bluntly, and the rest agreed. "Now I understand why you decided to keep this monster creation engine secret and your reasons for staying as the sole proprietor. Over 30 years going into various dungeon supplier stores, and this has to be the one that made me reminisce the first time I''ve ever entered one. The Demons that we fought were not some useless cannon fodder as I had anticipated them to be as well. They had that realism in them, almost making me feel that I was truly fighting against a live demon soldier." Chen Lai added. "Remember guys, do not ask Jin about any secrets he does not want to share. He has the rights for it, after all." Hou Fei stressed, and everyone laughed bitterly, including Jin who knew the underlying tone beneath his words. "Still, you got to admit. If we had those things in real life, it would definitely help us a hell lot. Not to mention the firepower we could obtain. It feels oddly realistic enough when I saw the Industry Sector. Wait a minute¡­" Major Boon Tiong picked up his phone and checked the Pandamonium Forums. "Is that what you were implying when you posted that you could possibly create a medal to money conversation method? You can really build things in your dungeon instance like how the food here ¡­is erm all here?" Boon Tiong questioned, and it suddenly struck all the other Colonels while startling Jin quite a fair bit. "Looks like the cat is out of the bag." Hou Fei had no choice but to side with his brothers in arms for this case. He too knew that eventually, people would find out about Jin''s capability in dimension instances. It was all up to Jin to create an explanation for this right now. The only question was whether he could give them a good half-truth or not. "Yeah, looks like you caught me," Jin admitted truthfully, surprising them all. "I can indeed create things from raw resources to proper items in my dungeon instances." That one sentence alone blew their minds and left the entire group''s mouths agape. "I am not surprised that you are flabbergasted by the truth. Because for dimensional instances, people had been using technology to replace it ever since. Most either don''t know or don''t seem to care about the actual origins of these types of stores. Although not for the same purpose, the dimensional instances I create today are similar to the ancient times where they were an extension of the plane to live in." "That is somewhat true. I can attest to that." Chen Lai, who was the most knowledgeable about Dungeon Instances concurred. "So, I have looked into some ancient ways of remaking the dungeon instances alongside some of my trusted colleagues who have decided to remain anonymous and allowed me to act as the public face. We''ve managed to discover a method that allowed us to create a substantial reality with virtual assistance via technological means. That is why I am able to create some stuff from scratch because they are real." "I assume there is a limit? Like I understand food farms and perhaps even creating simple tools. But production lines?" Chen Lai asked as everyone did not know how to reply. "There is such a possibility, but I have not reached that level of sophiscation. All those weaponry and futuristic items are still virtual items that could not be taken out of the dungeon instance. Still, I am looking forward every day to my colleagues and the researchers under us coming up with new ideas to broaden our horizon." Jin did not want to admit that he already could produce anything and everything as this kind of leaked knowledge could have catastrophic consequences. "And here we thought General Ming''s kid was just a nobody. We''ve always known that Ming was the secretive type. Seems like his grandkid inherited the same traits as him." Kan Jian said to Hou Fei as he laughed loudly. "I wonder how those government honchos would react if they ever found out the truth¡­" Hou Fei thought to himself as he could see Jin was coming out of his comfort zone. For good or for bad, only time would tell. Chapter 809 Breakfast With The Snakes - Part 2 "You knew my grandpa?" Jin asked, and the entire group nodded their heads, and their smiles did not betray the memories they had with him. "Not as well as our big boss here, but we also had the pleasure of being under his wings before he officially retired." Chen Lai explained and already recall all the old times which Ming whipped him and the others up to shape. "We knew he had a grandson, but he wasn''t one to share too much about his personal life. We never knew the whole story until Hou Fei told us about it. Looks like you did not have it easy when you are young too." Kan Jian said, but the dungeon supplier could only smile, withholding any comments he had about his childhood. "Still, this is quite a surprise. I never thought to see a dungeon supplier embracing those old ancient ways. Even the Royal Dungeon Suppliers are all about the latest technology and gadgets to increase the realism of dungeon instances." Chen Lai tried to change the topic to a more positive one. "Yet we experienced first hand how intense it can be with Jin''s. Those Royal Dungeon Suppliers could not hold a candle to him if they were to meet up in the National Dungeon Symposium." Boon Tiong commented, and the other colonels voiced agreement. "That is assuming we can keep the peace here by succeeding with our assignment, else you can kiss goodbye to any major conventions." Hou Fei emphasised, and his brothers in arms turned more solemn. "Jin, I have already relayed your report to my men. Still, they would like more information if possible." "Heh, to think our new friend here is also a Demon Exorcist, let alone the upcoming Branch Manager of Shenzhen still continues to blow my mind. Sorry, General for not picking up this particular information. Our team should be reprimanded." Boon Tiong who was in charge of information collecting apologised publicly to the entire group for not getting the intelligence that Jin had collected. "It is not entirely your fault. Dongguan and Huizhou are not exactly our jurisdiction anymore, and the Border Guards like to play punk because of that, saying we have no rights to interfere with their defences anymore. The Tigers are also a rather prideful bunch of people, but hey they at least bowed their heads just enough to let us come in to assist them." Hou Fei told Boon Tiong to hold his head up. "I am honestly confused with all these¡­it''s yours and mine thing." Jin blurted out, and the rest chuckled. For a moment they had forgotten that despite all of his accomplishments, he was technically just a civilian. "Even though our clans hold a few territories and guard them fiercely, the government puts the Royal Clan''s Military branches in rotation to protect each and every region equally. This is to ensure fairness among the clans and also to cross audit each other in case they are doing something nefarious like corruption or planning an uprising." Kan Jian explained. "We rotate about every three years or so, and for our battalion, the last position we''ve been stationed in was Dongguan. From this year onwards, we will be in Shenzhen. The Tigers'' military recently moved out of here and will be going into Huizhou." Boon Tiong added. "You okay with me knowing all this?" Jin asked and Boon Tiong shrugged his shoulders. "As an upcoming Branch Manager, I am sure it''s fine for you to know. It''s rather common knowledge despite it being classified to the public." Boon Tiong exclaimed. "So, does that mean the Border Guards are in a way blaming you guys for not taking responsibility, and that is why you got called to go into battle?" Jin asked for confirmation on what he had just learnt. "Not quite. We know the lay of the land better compared to the Border Guards because we actually trained in the forests and mountains. They are only responsible for wall patrols to ensure no dangerous monsters emerge out of them. If one tries, they would subdue and call the military to go in and find the source of mutation." Hou Fei explained. "The situation was not as bad when we began moving our bases in November. We nearly lost a few troops, but they were able to locate a nest and destroy it. We thought the ruckus was over. Yet during the transition in December, we received reports that there were more of those nests." Chen Lai revealed. "Yeah, and because of the transition, we hired some private contractors to get the job done and informed the Border Guards to increase the security until we were done moving the bases. Only later in the middle of December, at the request of the Royal Horse Battalion, did they demand the Snake Battalion to come and finish up the job." Kan Jian grumbled. "They are the ones stationed in Dongguan now?" "Mmhmm. The Royal Horse clan always used its position to exert influences on all other Royal Clans because of their economic output and overall property value. But when it comes to combat, the Royal Horse Battalion is a joke. It''s where all the softy, useless, snorty officers have assembled and their troops are such asses." Hou Fei cursed as he munched on his food, albeit a little angrily. "Someone offended him before?" Jin asked, and the rest nodded their heads with a sigh. "A lance corporal had the guts to badmouth our General here in public. Instead of receiving some form of disciplinary action from their officers, the Royal Horse General concurred to his soldier and let him off. If you were to do that such a thing in any other battalion, the offending party would receive punishment immediately because we respect rank rather than clan." Boon Tiong stated as he drank some juice to wash off the bad taste of that particular incident. "Then why help them?" Jin asked as if he was thinking if they were giving the battalion some favour. "We aren''t." Hou Fei replied with a stern voice. "We are helping the Tigers instead. If the Royal Horses are so great, they can defend that place with the dirty money they have." "But not everyone in the Royal Horse Clan is horse shit, Uncle Hou Fei." A female voice intervened in the current conversation when she opened the door to their private room. "Sorry to tell you all this late, but I invited her as well since she was the one who wrote the report." Hou Fei''s expression changed when Su Zhen came into the room while giving a quick wink at Jin. He had secretly turned to the System channel and told Jin that the System allowed him to bring her in. The rest of the army officers casually greeted the Great White Snake Demon Exorcist, and she waved at them¡­ except for Jin. She bowed slightly in front of the dungeon supplier before sitting right beside him. "Heyyy¡­ why the sudden courtesy towards me." Jin felt very awkward, and the others laughed. "Because you are her big boss, you idiot." Hou Fei pointed out as he called for the waiter to bring in more pancakes. Chapter 810 Breakfast With The Snakes - Part 3 "I know it''s ironic to say this since we are talking about your report, but we are off work¡­ So, you do not need to be so formal." Jin did not know how to react to Su Zhen''s overtly polite manners, especially when all of them had been rebellious towards him up until now. "We are all her uncles in the Royal Snake Clan. Unlike you, the upcoming Branch Manager of JODE, she had been taught to respect you more than us. Her mother demanded it so." Kan Jian was gleeful over Jin''s helplessness. "One day they were rebellious and the next, they were too well mannered. The situation stinks." Jin thought to himself. "Sorry, Branch Manager." Su Zhen once again apologised politely for her ''proper'' etiquette, but Jin vaguely suspected that it was actually sarcasm, and she was taking this opportunity to make fun of him. "Ah, whatever. Just tell us what exactly you saw." Jin told her, and Su Zhen proceeded to tell everyone at the table about her experience. Although her food was served quite promptly, she never touched anything and continued until her report was completed. "I personally believe this is not the time for politics, and both provinces should be aided equally." Su Zhen said, and the rest kept quiet for a while. Even Jin who barely got into this business knew that this was wishful thinking from her part. Upon experiencing the Rat Triad himself, he knew that it was everyone for themselves and the ''good guys'' could only do so much while the rest fought amongst themselves about whoever got a bigger piece of the pie. "We will do what we can. Su Zhen, please eat your breakfast. It''s getting cold." Hou Fei reassured the Snake Clan''s newest Demon Exorcist. "It''s okay, I do not wish to burden you at the big men table for too long. Please continue your discussions without me." Su Zhen prepared to take her leave, and Jin did not stop her. He knew how uncomfortable it would be to sit beside someone you had to respect out of courtesy than be respectable at someone you admire. "She is not an easy person to work with, but she''s a nice lass. That is if you get to know her more." Chen Lai praised her to Jin as if he was doing some matchmaking procedure rather than for work purposes. "Gah, why is everyone introducing me to someone as if I have to get married quickly so that I won''t die alone by the end of the year?" Jin thought to himself. "Probably because integrating User in the Royal Snake Family will certainly boost their reputation. They have recognised your abilities and believe it would be beneficial for them in the long run. System would like User to be cautious so as to not get influenced by them." "Yet if User really does like Demon Exorcist Su Zhen, System takes back the advice. As long as there is a baby at the end, it''s Users choice who to end up with." "¡­. You just want someone to inherit the System and continue my work." If Jin ever found out that the System had a physical entity, he was itching to beat the crap out of it. "Affirmative. Thus far, User''s work has led to positive growth in the System''s capabilities. According to the numbers, a 2nd generation should be able to even further increase this positive trend. Naturally, the more potential candidates there are, the better. Nevertheless System is somewhat grateful." "Somewhat. Wow. After all I''ve done, you are just ''somewhat'' grateful." "System believes User would prefer words more than statistical percentages to the amount of gratitude the System has in you." "Whatever¡­" "Jin, you listening? Or you are in your mind thinking about our Su Zhen already?" Boon Tiong snapped his fingers rudely at Jin when he was having a conversation with the System and staring into blank space and the others enjoyed teasing the little boy in the room. "Oh! Sorry! No. I was just thinking about the Bone Spirit Monkey Demons that Su Zhen mentioned." Jin was quick enough to come up with an excuse. "Tsk, you are not being honest to yourself. Hahahah!" Hou Fei teased as he realised that the System must have been having a chat with Jin. "Any idea to quell such demons? They sound to be more difficult than the Demon Army you created." Chen Lai asked for conversation sake and to move that sensitive topic away from Jin. "Not really. Besides, my advice would be useless since you guys are the true experts in the field of annihilating large threats. I will, however, send a report to Grandma Yuan and see what she says about it. Maybe, I can convince her to send some people to assist against the incoming Monster Horde." Jin said even though he already knew that Grandma Yuan does not have any idea about those Bone Spirit Demons. It was just a way to get them off his back for the moment. "Actually, I already did that with Su Zhen''s mother. Sorry to bypass the chain of command in your area of expertise but this is an emergency." Hou Fei stated that this was not a joking matter to him nor the people of Huizhou and Dongguan. Since Su Zhen''s mother was the COO of the JODE organisation, the report should be able to reach the Chancellor faster than via Jin or his alleged mentor. "Oh and eh, don''t worry. I did say you were with the young ones when she queried why Su Zhen was fighting in the enemy lines¡­ Also told Su Zhen to collaborate for that lie and she felt a little guilty upon learning that you were covering them for their¡­ let''s say initiative and curiosity to find out more about the truth." Hou Fei informed him via the System Channel since it was still a secret between the two of them. "But hey, they all came back safe and sound, and that''s what''s important!." "Sigh¡­ no wonder she was unable to look me in the eyes, unlike the previous times. I understand. I will take responsibility for my ''words'' and actions." "Attaboy. Sorry to put you in such a predicament." Hou Fei apologised to him via the System Channel. "So, if things go well, the Demon Exorcists might be reinforcing the Royal Horse arses since JODE''s chancellor is their clan''s puppet and we can focus on cooperation with the Tigers." "Hahah, this is the General Hou Fei we know and love. Even though you hate your enemy, you still send them aid." Kan Jian smiled at the news. "We cannot allow ourselves to steep as low as the Royal Horse Clan, right? Besides Su Zhen''s right, not all the Horses are black horses." Boon Tiong agreed that this was the best course of action to avoid conflict while keeping the peace between different battalions. "Then if the Royal Battalions are in, will the normal part of the erm China Armed Forces come in to help?" Jin was a bit confused since he had always viewed them as one big organisation." "After learning this much, we will probably not be using the people''s army for battle, especially if the Monster Horde could be so dangerous. I believe the governors of Huizhou and Dongguan will use the local troops to evacuate the city if necessary." Kan Jian theorised, and the rest seem to agree to it. "Yea, Tiger Head Yuan Ba also said that he would deploy police forces on that day to expedite the evacuation if necessary, from Shenzhen and Huizhou." Hou Fei added and realised Jin could not keep up. "The police¡­is yet another field of politics. Let''s just say that Yuan Ba is one of the co leaders for our local day to day protection services." "I am more surprised that your Snake Clan''s Head seems to leave everything to you to settle." Jin wondered, and the rest chuckled. "Yet another layer of politics within the Snake Clan. Our Head dislikes getting out in the public too much, so that is why it feels as if Hou Fei is handling almost everything. And most of the public knows why¡­hopefully you too." Boon Tiong said, and Jin laughed bitterly. "How can I not know? After all, snakes are infamous for their intelligence services." Jin replied. "Yes, intelligence ''services''." Hou Fei said with an annoyed face although his mouth betrayed him as it was showing a smirk. Chapter 811 Breakfast With The Snakes - Part 4 "Any worst-case scenarios in mind? What if those Bone Spirit Monkey Demon were just the goons?" Jin asked, and the military officers shook their head simultaneously and deemed it impossible. "If that were true, then we would have a large-scale catastrophe on our hands. There''s no way those were goons. We had eliminated their nest before, and they are neither that intelligent nor strong." Boon Tiong replied. "Well, I am just presenting the options from the perspective of an outsider and a person who makes dungeons for a living. What if the nests were diversions? Those Bone Spirit Monkey Demons were apparently at least smart enough to ambush our group when they were resting. Subsequently, they separated the demon exorcists and entrapped them so they could remove each of them individually." The rest became quiet for a while instead of being dismissive of the facts. "And there are apparently other Bone Spirit Demons waiting to finish the job based on Su Zhen''s report, right? Isn''t this your standard divide and conquer rather than a monster horde rushing aimlessly?" Jin questioned, and the rest stopped eating their food for a moment. "Boon Tiong, any correlations with the recent emergence of Monster Hordes in other cities that have nearly been pulverised?" Hou Fei said in a rather authoritative tone. "There were some comments from various science commissions that it might not be a common natural occurrence. Though they did not specify anything about Bone Spirit Demons. Those monsters were still part of their surrounding habitat." Boon Tiong quickly checked his phone for the required information. "Are you implying that this could, in fact, be international terrorism disguised as a natural disaster?" Chen Lai suddenly brought that topic up. "Perhaps. I will have to check with the Clan Head to see if there are any possible causations and relations. If Jin did not point this out, I might have overlooked such a possibility." Hou Fei admitted as his head suddenly got heavier. "I think we might need to prepare more than we thought if those accursed speculations out Jin''s mouth turn out to be true." Hou Fei said with a cruel smile and the others chuckled for a moment. "Hey! I did not jinx anything! I merely pointed out what seemed obvious to me. Usually, elite troops during peace times ultimately always get their ass kicked in because they''ve grown too used to the ''threats and warnings'' around them. I also didn''t think that you would not take me seriously enough to warrant such a heavy atmosphere right now. Hopefully, this would be just baseless conjecture." Jin tried to defend himself. "Haha, it is not your fault, Jin. Though I must say, having a backup plan will indeed prove to be useful." Chen Lai agreed, and the others began to slowly look at Jin. "What?" Jin could literally feel a cold chill running down his spine. The suspicions of them wanting a favour from him was extremely obvious. "Guys, do not bother the Boss this time around. I promise him at least that much." Hou Fei quickly intervened, yet the officers were already giving conflicting expressions on their faces. "But we all saw him battle. Both Boss Jin''s colleagues and their fighting abilities had repeatedly shown that they are capable individuals who could make a huge difference in our fights. Plus, this Pandapolis¡­ Especially when he said that his dungeon instances are an extension of the real world. This means that if we include him in our worst-case scenario, it will help to mitigate a lot of losses." Chen Lai spoke out bluntly for the officers. "I support Chen Lai. Though renting this place is a horrible idea in terms of budget, we cannot deny that it might save a ton of people. And since we have the portal devices to send them here. The Tigers can be roped into the plan as well." Kan Jian suggested. "And you are assuming Dongguan area won''t get hit as badly with the Royal Horse Shits and the Demon Exorcists aiding them? Then what if the monster horde spilt into Huizhou or even worse, Shenzhen?" Boon Tiong added fuel to the burning fire of pessimism. "We can only do that much. Stretching our forces thin would not do any good." Hou Fei replied. "At the very most, we can relay this information to the Tigers and get them to at least set up temporary roadblocks." "You sure? The last time I heard from them, they wanted as much normalcy as possible with the upcoming new year preparations." Boon Tiong reiterated the need to be somewhat discreet. "Fuck discretion. If the Demon Exorcists have trouble handling them as per the report and the constant requests from the Border Guards to get rid of the threat are not getting anywhere, it is an issue that the government should be getting even more battalions to come in. If there is no proper, timely evacuation, we won''t have people to celebrate Chinese New Year." Kan Jian proposed. "Sigh. The government is certain to side with the Tigers on this. Every industry is currently ramping production, working 24 hours overtime before the pending holidays. That is why they wish to clear it a few weeks before the official holiday in case there''s a mess up. We will then have some leeway to clean the situation. Also, the partial reason why we are there to help even though it is no longer our jurisdiction." Hou Fei shook his head in dismay. "This is not going well as we thought it would be." Kan Jian reinforced when the conversation turned grimmer. "Too many factors to consider and absurd limitations." Chen Lai sighed as he emptied his cup and accidentally slammed it too loud. "There is only this much I can do as a Dungeon Supplier. If you need my services in times of need, I might consider helping. But if you ask me to fight, I am sorry, I refuse!" Jin apologised, but suddenly Hou Fei unknowingly realised a loophole in Jin''s commitment. "You know¡­even if you do not fight with us as a Dungeon Supplier, you are technically a Demon Exorcist¡­ So they might have to send you to Dongguan." Hou Fei leaned forward as he said it. As much as he wanted to keep his promise to Jin, this was the only way he could think of to benefit his battalion, fulfilling his duty to the people and helping Jin out further. Also, the moment when Hou Fei said the word Demon Exorcist, the eyes of the military officers lit up. They knew where their General was heading and as cunning as it sounded, it could actually be a win-win situation for both parties. "We are willing to officially recruit you and can set up a new contract with us. We will then use your Pandapolis as a refugee camp if the need arises. Either way, you won''t need to fulfil your duty as a Demon Exorcist since you will be working for us on this particular mission. I can even put a word to Su Zhen''s mother to exempt you from working at Dongguan." Hou Fei suggested, and Jin realised how shrewd his Panda Remnant was. It was too lucrative of an offer to refuse. Chapter 812 Breakfast With The Snakes - Final "Hou Fei, can I have a private talk with you?" Jin asked as if he was considering the lucrative proposal that Hou Fei had thought out of the blue. "It''s fine, we''re already done with our food and had planned to leave anyway. There are some post-battle debriefings we need to do with our respective platoons." Kan Jian said, and the rest nodded their heads, giving their General and the Dungeon Supplier some time to sort things out. "Thanks, guys." Hou Fei said as he waved goodbye to his men and asked Jin if he could light another cigarette. "You know, even if you are a high-grade cultivator, it doesn''t mean you should smoke that much. You haven''t forgotten that Grandpa Ming died from cancer, have you? ¡­Speaking of, I do not remember seeing you at his funeral." Jin suddenly realised. Aside from a few of his past neighbours and friends from other provinces, Jin did not recall seeing Hou Fei at the funeral procession. "I was in an overseas conference¡­discussing on- Never mind. Not something you should worry about. Still, that doesn''t mean it came as a surprise. Before his passing, Ming called and told me that his time was soon to be up. That he was going to leave soon without giving you any notice and asked me to look after you when possible. We had a great dinner talking all about the old times we ever had." Hou Fei somehow stopped abruptly and took a deep breath from his lit cigarette. "In any case, why would you like to talk to me in person? Not because of this issue, right?" Hou Fei asked, and Jin shook his head even though he had a number of questions pertaining to Ming and especially in regards to Grandma Yuan. It''s just that he did not know where to start. "When I asked about the worst-case scenario, your expression turned for the worse and eventually got so serious. I doubt that you had some sudden epiphany that led the whole conversation this way." Jin questioned, and Hou Fei returned a puzzled look. "Aren''t you the one who gave me the System report? I thought that was what you were hinting at when we all thought it would not be a big deal. You know the one where the System reported that it had captured the monkey but not the Bone Spirit Demon infused with it?" Hou Fei answered, and Jin gave a blank look at that point of time. "Ah. That I did not know it was an issue for contention. I thought the System could not capture it in time or something." "Nonsense. System''s capturing rates had always been 100%. If System is unable to fully control or convert someone or something, it will store the monsters just like was done for Diabolos, King Hamu and Fae Princess Maeve." "Says the one who could not catch the Demon Rats¡­ Hahaha- Wait a minute, why didn''t you list King Baal?" Jin was curious what happened to him. "He has come to his senses, and the information flow between the System and him caused Baal to acknowledge that he had really been blinded by the lies Kiva had fed him over the years. However, he does not wish to be disturbed as of right now and had asked for some solitary time out." The System reported, and Jin was surprised. He thought that King Baal would be stored the same way as the other villains they had met. "System likes to iterate once more, Demon Rats are not the same living entity." The System emphasised that the monkey had signs of being possessed and its DNA strain slightly altered after infusion. However, there was nothing that would impede the livelihood of the said monkeys. "So, there you go. I thought you were hinting to me, which brought me to believe this was not just a monster horde. It could be international terrorism in the works. Or well, domestic terrorism¡­ Either way, if the System was unable to capture it, means that the Bone Spirit Demon was not exactly a demon but possibly an enchantment of some sort." Hou Fei deduced. "Sorry, that''s out of my hands for now. I am not going to interfere with what you guys are fighting but saving people would be a different issue. I initially thought the Demon Exorcists will get some pretty nifty demon monsters, but I guess it was a waste of effort." Jin shrugged his shoulders. "Nah. At least the System''s report and Su Zhen''s report helped a lot in our preparations though we have less than a week or so¡­" "Yeah, it sure helped a lot when I asked you specifically to NOT spread the message to other people. And of all people, Su Zhen''s mother! The COO of the JODE organisation!" "It''s my responsibility. You cannot override the fact that protecting this nation is my duty and calling. Aside from serving you that is. Heh!" Hou Fei argued as he flicked the ashes of his cigarette into the ashtray and coughed a bit. "So, what is the bright idea you have in mind, General." Jin asked since he honestly did not want to be sent to Dongguan. "Since Pandapolis has yet to be announced, we can use the hotels and those classy yet empty condominiums your minions have built as a place for any refugees if things really go south. Heh, no pun intended. I have yet to properly check the infrastructure in Huizhou, but I believe the city doesn''t have any proper bunkers against this kind of natural disaster." Hou Fei explained. "And if those Bone Spirit ''Demons'' ever overflow into the dungeon instances, your monsters can be the guards to protect the people. This will give me peace of mind when we fight." "You are already expecting that things will go bad very quickly?" "The private contractors, who we had hired, were previously Special State Agents. Usually, they would have accomplished the job almost immediately. But to think that there was no news except for occasional reports worries me. At first, I thought that it was because they got the whole mountains to track and stuff, but this additional report has confirmed otherwise." "You know, I thought you guys should already have scouted with air surveillance or something," Jin asked as if he was stating an obvious fact. "Hah! As if we did not think of that. Our support drones reported no further movement of any sorts after our elimination of their nests. Even with infrared, we were not able to spot anything. Otherwise, we would not have needed eyes on the ground to check this discrepancy. The funny thing is we had been receiving reports that the Borders Guards were still getting hit despite the contractors'' reports that the coast was clear." Hou Fei told him, and suddenly it started to make no sense to him when he pieced all the information together. "I am not on the scene, but I can already smell something fishy," Jin said and Hou Fei snorted. "So, this is really not a monster horde but indeed an attack on our sovereignty¡­" Hou Fei whispered to himself. "In any case, are you willing to accept my proposal? I promise the Tigers and Snakes will pay you handsomely." "Like I said, I''m not going to do any fighting for you. As for saving people? Sure. However, you gotta protect the trucks and portal devices within it! There is only so much I can do if the portal devices get damaged¡­or stolen." Jin mumbled the last part before ignoring it for a moment and shook hands with Hou Fei. For once, fate had allowed him to take the backseat¡­ (For now?) Chapter 813 A Glimpse of the Church "If things really go south, we need a contingency plan to keep our business up while keeping our promise to Hou Fei," Jin said out loud to the System as he returned to the Dungeon Maker. "What happened to the ''we are going to ignore the pleas of the people who decided to abuse you for their own benefit'' kind of deal?" Kraft had coincidentally returned to the Dungeon Maker to pick up some stuff. "What are you doing here? I thought Pei said that you foxes needed to stay together?" Jin asked, and Kraft gave a short grin. "Just changing the video cams'' memory sticks for Kiyu. Since she wanted to shop and take more videos around." Kraft answered as he switched the memory sticks in front of Jin''s interface while casually opening one of them. Suddenly a bodycam like a video was streaming right in front of Jin. "What''s this?" Jin asked as he had never seen such a white pristine-looking hallway before. "We planted a mini camera on one of the Church of the Afterlife agents. Seeing that their Dungeon World is focused on magic rather than technology, we are able to do this without them detecting any magical signal." "I am more surprised you can get a stream out of this. We have no satellite or communication towers to even transmit this data." "Damn it, you got me. And here I thought I could bluff you on this." Kraft snickered, and Jin looked at the crafty fox who would never commit such a basic mistake. In other words, he ''accidentally'' revealed it just so could boast about doing something stupid but effective¡­ "You followed them, didn''t you?" "More like, Kiyu transformed into a piece of dull decorative accessory that was camouflaged with the rest of their odd white suits and they carried her inside. Just something we used to do way back in the old days of infiltration. Perks of being an oldie. Heheh." "¡­ Unbelievable." Jin shook his head. He had already guessed that Kraft wouldn''t just let the Church of Afterlife agents get back to where they came from without stalking them from a distance. The sound was slightly muffled, but the picture was crystal clear. "So how are you switching memory cards for Kiyu?" "You know, make ''em invisible and use chi to manipulate the object towards the accessory for Kiyu to switch it on the fly. Nothing too complicated." "Shouldn''t they have magic detectors all around the place?" "Unlike your Maqi, which had a trace of magic in it, my chi is rather peaceful and has a tranquil kind of aura. People won''t suspect much." Kraft was incredibly proud to say it. "More like hiding behind the pillars, being a wallflower and striking them with overwhelmingly murderous intent when time presents the opportunity to do so." "Meh, same thing." Kraft shook off Jin''s analogy as he switched the files on the Dungeon Maker interface and Jin saw the conversation of the agents reporting to their superior. ¡ª¨C "Yes, this is indeed the crown. The readings matched with what our mages had discovered. Have you managed to salvage any of the broken Dungeon Cores inside it?" The superior asked, and the agent shook his head. "Sir, we checked with our labs, and the mages confirmed that while there are remnants of the cores, the most important component we were looking for has been destroyed or is now missing. They concluded that Hell''s Plane could have been too much and burnt the cores within the crown." "Damn it. Fine, I will report to the council that we acted too late. In any case, continue to monitor the Pandapolis and Demon Metropolis. I do not know where that Bull Toy Moloch was able to find those humans, but they pose a possible threat." The superior said, and before he left with the remnants of the crown, he gave one last additional order. "When their city is officially open, send in undercover agents to make sure that they blend in well and learn their state of technology. I will prepare the budget to provide a merchant cover in case they restrict travel. We hardly got any coverage with all the magical interference from the battle, and we need to gather more information on them." "Sir, are we going there to steal information or get them to be our partner?" "Agent 5843, that is not for me to understand. Just get your job done." "Sir, yes sir." Agent 5843 nodded his head and got out of the office. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Kiyu will still be hanging around for a while to see if this guy has any more secrets we can hold on to. As for me, I shall do some scouting. Oh and their base..or should I say Dungeon Core is basically like the Vatican City." "Beautifully holy?" "Exclusive dominion with full ownership to the Church of the Afterlife and no one but them. No Demons, no monsters, no poor adventurers, not even middle class peeps." Kraft revealed, and Jin stared blankly at him. "Anyways, Rex will have full ownership of Demon Metropolis in another 10 hours or so. Do remember to check back with Moloch on how to deal with those agents when we are done." Kraft said as he waved goodbye to Jin and disappeared without a trace nor System portal. "Even if we place that issue at the backburner, I honestly do not feel like making anything after hearing about that conspiracy Hou Fei had," Jin complained out loud to the System. "Then like the situation in Pandapolis, System suggests making contingency plans to aid Panda Remnant Hou Fei. Besides, he has already given an advance to the System in case we required some more cash to prepare for the place of refuge." The System stated. "How many empty undersea domes do we still have left?" Jin questioned, and the System indicated that there were at least two of them that was entirely empty. The other two were partially built for a massive shopping centre and a racing grand prix stadium. "More entertainment venues can be inserted within the racing grand prix, and it could potentially fit the Cyberpunk setting of a racetrack." The System replied, and Jin queried how much was built. "Hmm, If it is only the foundation, can we change it to buildings temporarily?" Jin asked once more. "The current occupation of hotels and condominiums will hold approximately 100,000 people." "Then, we need more. Roughly enough space to hold an additional million." Jin stated without any crack on his facial expression as he typed the number on the interface. "System is unable to compile. System is unable to comprehend." "What''s so hard to understand? We need space for over 1 million people. We still have a few floating islands, too right? Build as many fabricated buildings as we can. As fast as we can." Jin explained and then the System stopped responding for a moment. "System. I am not joking. If the unnatural monster hordes were any indication about what ravaged the overseas cities, we would likely face the same. There is no way the citizens will be left unharmed." Instead of arguing with Jin, the System used a slightly more efficient technique and called real people out to talk it out with the now ''cracked under pressure'' master before using any System based techniques to reform him. Chapter 814 Counter Proposal "YOU DID WHAT?!" Qiu Yue tried to pull her cheeks in case she was in a dream. The System had called Grandma Yuan, Claire, Yun, Lynn and Qiu Yue into the conference room instance whereas the System had forcefully thrown Jin into the fray. When the Dungeon Supplier told them about Hou Fei''s issue and his proposal to hold one million over people. Even the experienced Demon Exorcist Instructor could not believe that Jin made such an outrageous proposal towards the System. "No wonder the System wanted us to check if you caught some insanity fever after your fight." Claire scoffed at the idea too. "I am not being unrealistic! The total population of Dongguan and Huizhou is roughly 12 million. I am only asking for the funds to accommodate one million people worth of space. Besides, if we want to run the Pandapolis with full efficiency, we need that many people anyway, right? The monsters under my care cannot do all the jobs. There is definitely a limit to how many monsters the System can hold despite the increased processing capabilities." "I understand you have far-reaching goals, but this is simply ludicrous. Jin, we do not have the potential to feed 1 million people! Even if we were able to, the capacity to do so in the long run is not viable. When we built this city, we looked to cater to approximately 200 000 citizens, customers or tourists and perhaps move our way up from that SLOWLY. One million is five times that number. Our sanitation, our infrastructure, our utilities¡­ nothing is prepared for that!" Qiu Yue argued with reason but her head was already filled with the word impossible. "This child needs a good wake up slap on the head." Yun did not hesitate to go towards Jin but a word from Grandma Yuan and strangely, she obeyed and stopped. "Son, are you doubting the capabilities of our soldiers or of our demon exorcists?" Grandma Yuan asked, and Jin kept his mouth shut. He knew whatever he said, be it yes or no, would be countered almost immediately. "No reply? Then listen to me carefully. First of all, calm yourself down. You have just been through a major battle from what I''ve heard, and you should take some time to rest, not jump straight into the next battle without thinking it over." Grandma Yuan said as she gently banged her stick on the ground to keep his attention. "As a war veteran myself, I can only give you one piece of advice. Do what you can. Prepare the infrastructures as much as you deem possible, but do not overstretch yourself. You are no god. No one is expecting you to be one. You are just a person who so happens to have a special ability and can use such power for them. I am glad you are willing to help other people, but there is only this much you can do." Yuan sighed as she took a glass of water to drink and continued. "You also have to remember that people will eventually envy you for that power and seek that power that you hold for themselves. It is partially why the System does not wish to make any noise. Don''t forget what you are about to do isn''t a small commitment. Basically, you agree to house them for as long as it takes. Are you sure you can handle that for that many?" Yuan commented as she saw the troubled look on Jin. "I¡­" Jin laid back on his chair and took a deep breath. There were words within him wanting to argue back, but Grandma Yuan was right on the money. There was only so much he could realistically do. His food storage could only last that long. His space was limited. How long before the government stepped in to aid the troubled citizens? What if the Monster Horde were indeed the same as the ones as seen all over the world recently? That could possibly mean that exterminating them would be a hassle since they would be secretly hiding in those cities. And what if the situation was beyond their means? Would they have to kick out the refugees? Then he wouldn''t be a hero but become the bad guy in this scenario. When Jin was considering all these, Lynn came towards him and placed a warm towel over his face she took out from her storage ring. "Grandma Yuan is right, calm down," Lynn spoke in a relaxing tone. She too had seen the numbers on the screen projected by the System to justify that its User had gone crazy. Despite the many outrageously impossible plans, both User and System had always overcome them barely up till now, yet this time the System was claiming it was too much of an obstacle. "Say, after the fight with King Baal the System has increased its processing capabilities, right?" Lynn asked, and Jin took the face towel down to look at her. "What are you implying, Lynn?" Qiu Yue gave Lynn the chance to voice out since she was usually the most reasonable person out of the three of them. "I know you would like to sit this one out, but how about we prepare a counter offence?" Lynn questioned, and the rest were drawing blanks from her question. "¡­What do you mean?" Jin probed for more information. "According to all the information we''ve gathered¡­ we are assuming that the Monster Horde might be under control, possession, or something of that level? What we are doing right now is relying on the Royal Battalions to do a sweep through the forested mountains and still catch all of them and maybe whoever is behind them. Either way, their last defensive line would be the Border Guards with the wall fortifications, correct?" Lynn started to sum up everything, and everyone slowly nodded their heads. "So if the problem comes about when the Monster Horde reaches the wall, why don''t we teleport in the midst of the Monster Horde and disrupt them so they would not overflow the wall when that happens? Maybe we can find the perpetrators of the act as well. Sure, we will still take Hou Fei''s job to take people in for emergency evacuation but at least that way, even if we fail, they''ll only have to remove the people from those districts around the border wall and not the entirety of Huizhou or Dongguan." Lynn explained. "I was partially reminded of Jin''s previous plan. He once planned to use a lure to get the Demon Rats sucked into a dungeon instance so that they couldn''t escape. After which, we had planned to utilise the Demon Rats as the product for the joint training exercise between the Tigers and Snakes." Lynn revealed and that caused Qiu Yue and Yun to whisper among each other while Grandma Yuan and Claire were absolutely clueless. "Here I thought we would not need to be too involved in this other than rescuing people." Jin thought to himself and sighed. Nevertheless, he had to agree that Lynn''s solution would potentially enable them to either prevent the situation or limit the damages. It would be great if they could supplement the defending soldiers without being seen. This was also the first time Lynn had actively decided to take reins and control the operation. (Just shows how serious she was in wanting to fight side by side with Jin.) "A counter attack against the monster is considered as a way to rescue people too. System can generate an EMP charge blackout disguised as the enemy''s attack to reduce chances of detection if User wishes to keep the whole situation at a low profile. However, the probability to appear as the perpetrator with User and his monsters would be a cause of concern too." The System spoke only to Jin as it would decrease the chances of its existence being discovered, yet simultaneously it pointed out the dangers of proceeding with this plan. "Do we have any lures for the demons?" Jin finally caved in and asked the System openly. "With User''s unique aura, it should be enough as a lure to get the Monster Horde to chase after you instead." "What if I use the Black Sludge Crystals to amplify my aura? Do you think it will work even better? We can use that to attract the demons into the System portal and trapping them in a dungeon instance." Jin asked, and the System replied with a resounding yes. "But are you sure you are okay with this? You previously said you do not want to get involved with these. Now you are actively putting two feet into the deep waters." Qiu Yue wished to confirm his intentions. "I feel too restless when I know that the lucrative business will disappear ¡­and people cannot celebrate Chinese New Year in peace." "Heh, that kid." Grandma Yuan was reminded of a certain someone who, when he was younger, also could never admit of just wanting to help everyone. Chapter 815 New Task for Jin "Alright, it seems that''s settled then. Claire, I heard from the System that you''ve been scouted as a possibly Sub System User. Take this period as an extension of the internship. Organise Jin''s finances, get the exact amount we need and while you are at it, use the practice you''ve accumulated and earn some extra money for the relief fund." Grandma Yuan commanded. Then she looked at Qiu Yue. "Start building the prefabricated buildings for evacuees to stay for the moment. Try to make as many as possible just to be safe while ensuring the basic standards of living is met. As for Lynn. You are the one who proposed this counter-attack plan, so I expect you to follow through it with the rest of the group. Do not forget your responsibilities too, for you are now going to be responsible for the stomachs of over 200,000 people." "And as for you, Jin, Yun will bring you somewhere you are needed right now. I will go to the Dungeon Maker and talk to the System in regards to that variant Bone Spirit Demon." Grandma Yuan commanded, and the rest acknowledged their jobs. "Where do I need to go? Training?" Jin asked as Yun opened the portal without making any noise. "Just enter, and you will understand. Don''t even think about leaving until you are through with the whole situation! Else, I will forcefully teleport you back." Yun ''threatened'' with a jaunty smile on her face as she nodded into the direction of the portal. ¡ª¡ª¨C "AH! Master is here!!!" Wyrstriker shouted, and everyone suddenly looked upwards, which shocked Jin who had just come through the portal. He realised that he was in the Adventurer''s Guild Tavern and all the bigshot monster had come together to celebrate here. From the three goblins testing their ability to gorge ale against General Nubwort to Ke Mi at the side drinking her favourite cherry peach juice alongside Sandy. The entire atmosphere was the complete opposite from the conversation he had all morning that made him forget that their major defence had actually succeeded after months of planning. Everyone was partying crazily since they achieved the impossible. "Master! Sorry, we did not invite you! The System told us you were sleeping when we wanted to send the invitation. That was why we went ahead with the victory party." Zhi Nu apologised on the monster''s behalf. Ayse had taken the initiative to create the party since she was starving for good food and decided to splurge the System points she had accumulated so far. (Not to mention she had a windfall for eliminating Kiva.) The one and only General Nubwort who had been at the sidelines ''quietly'' commanding and coordinating troop efforts had also decided to chip into the System Points which he got for the orcs who had worked hard. When asked whether this was the only group of monsters celebrating, Zhi Nu told Jin that the Adventurer''s Guild Tavern was only one of the places. "The stadium that we''ve used for the Christmas party is currently being utilised as a mess hall for the rest of the army. Knowing the Orcs, they are probably drinking their butts off. Some of the penguins had offered their time to make food for us and seeing that we took the initiative to create this party on our own, the System decided to bestow us some free System points to spend." "System believes that User''s minions have done a tremendous job and acknowledges that they indeed deserved such a reward." The System spoke out to Jin since it probably felt that he was about to question why the stingy System had decided to give out System points for free. "You guys really did work hard for it, and I agree that you should have a party befitting of your achievements. Do not let me be the sour one here." Jin thought that he was merely getting the way of their parties being the only uninvited guest around. Then he remembered that Yun forced him here, so he was thinking of passing the time by travelling around the new Adventurer''s Town to check out the infrastructure. "What are you talking about, Master? You were vital in getting the boss down! You should not talk as if you were not part of it all! Come join us. Try this out. This drink is a Goblin speciality!" Flame Ripper drunkenly joined them as he slammed a cup of drink in front of him. "Heh, Master. No need to even try that watered down piss. Take a gulp of this Orc Ale, instead! Even our King used to drink this on a regular basis!" Nubwort interrupted and that caused the two monsters to quarrel between each other. To Jin''s surprise, a smoothing instrumental was heard which caused both Flame Ripper and Nubwort to slowly fall to the ground asleep before the situation escalated further. "Is that how this place has not been trashed yet?" Jin asked Ke Mi as she giggled while waving back at her master. "Zhi Nu has long since introduced a tavern refurnishing fund paid by the adventurers'' tips in case they destroy the whole place. But as for today''s party, we have Ke Mi around because the manager cannot have our own goons destroy the place repeatedly." Niu Lang, the cowherd boy explained to Jin while offering him a glass of iced ginger ale with a pinch of lemon. "Are you still keeping score?" Sandy asked Zhi Nu which she nodded her head while carrying the two sleeping monsters away from the scene. "14 to 9. I am still in the lead betting that General Nubwort will wake up first to drink even more." Zhi Nu smiled towards Sandy while Ayse from afar shouted for more ale. "Zhi Nu! Faster, we need more ale! Else, Weslie''s going to leave again!" Ayse demanded as she was basically pinning Weslie down to make her drink and divert more secrets about Gold. "Then let her leave! She just recovered from her wounds. YOU just recovered from your wounds. What is your problem?" Zhi Nu shouted back but still sent an ale down the tavern using her thread magic to carry a pair of ale to Ayse''s table. She knew the Orc would say that the ale was her magical healing potion. Jin could literally see that there was chaos among the monsters, but nevertheless, they were having fun chatting and enjoying the company of each other. He also saw a difference when compared to the Christmas party. The party was milder in terms of their attitude partially because there had still been a strict hierarchy at each table while this was pure chaos and fun which made Jin recall how his high school classes had also been divided into a variety of groups. "Hmm, I can''t help but feel a little distanced since I am their master and not their equal. Still, this did bring up an incredible insight and-" Jin was suddenly pushed to the centre of the crowd by Zhi Nu. "Master! What are you doing? Stop thinking so much, and go have fun! They want you to teach them some more ridiculous party games like at Christmas!" Zhi Nu prompted him as she noticed how Jin had been standing still and looking around the tavern. He sighed but seeing as the atmosphere had suddenly turned still, with all eyes on him, he decided to entertain them. "There''s a game I learnt back in school. Its called Beer Pong¡­well you can call it Ale Pong." Jin started to explain, but in the end, got pushed to demonstrate instead. "Mission Complete, Yun!" Zhi Nu giggled seeing how Jin slowly integrated himself into the party. "Thanks, Zhi Nu." Yun replied as she continued to serve the customers in the shop instance diligently. Chapter 816 As The Heavens Mandate Since Jin had interpreted his ''mission'' was to ensure that everyone was dead drunk before he was allowed to return back to the Dungeon Maker, he made the best out of his time there. For the next couple of hours, he forgot about the upcoming problems of his world and enjoyed the party hard. As promised, He taught them a couple of drinking games and even accompanied General Nubwort who had returned within half an hour to continue drinking for another round. At one point he also sang some Karaoke accompanied by Ke Mi and all the monsters cheered. (Luckily a certain someone wasn''t there to film him.) When the sun came up again, Zhi Nu and the System teleported all of them back to their own home instances. Niu Lang cleaned the whole place up, and Jin had stayed behind to perform some improvements on the adventurer''s tavern. He spent some dungeon dollars in the System''s black market and added a few more decoration points to it as well as seemingly cheap destructibles for the adventurers to break during a brawl. Of course, this allowed Zhi Nu to charge them even more if they inevitably destroyed them. "Thanks, Master for staying back with us. It''s a pity you do not get drunk easily because of your cultivation, but I hope you still had fun with us! And at the very least, we can sleep a bit longer since you helped us to clean the place up" Niu Lang said with a wink and Zhi Nu beat his shoulder for playing naughty in front of their Master. "Hahaha, no worries. You two have an enjoyable night." Jin teased back as the couple disappeared and Jin continued to refurbish the place with the help of the System. While it might not be like his shop where he has total absolute authority, this land was still under the control of the System, thus giving Jin the right to buy and change things in whatever way he liked. Of course, it would be best to consult the real boss of the tavern, but Zhi Nu allowed Jin to go wild. "The things you place will only be temporary anyway. This is partly why I like this adventurer''s tavern. I can renovate it almost every week, and I am sure the adventurers who return enjoy seeing it change every time." Zhi Nu told him about the time when Wyrstriker and Dread Reaver got into a drunk fight because Wyrstriker had refused to get evolved to the next level with the System''s help despite his brother in arms telling him that he was more than qualified. Throughout the renovation process, he felt at peace as his brain was focused on finding the ideal place to place that flower pot. It was something that came naturally when he was deep in his thoughts, and perhaps that was why Yun had insisted on him joining the party as he failed to achieve such clarity especially with those current troubles he had in his mind. Suddenly a thought struck him. "Say, System. How do you control the land around here? I mean we did buy this piece of land and placed it under your control, and the same goes for our shop, too. But it''s a sort of lease so does that mean the infinite control within that small space is limited to that time period as well?" Jin asked as he sat on a newly bought table. "The System needs to have an agreement with the land itself. The lease isn''t so much with any form of government that User interacted with. It has more to do with the compromise between the System and the spirit of the land, not to mention the acceptance usually varies from world to world." The System described but noticing how Jin''s face was incredibly deadpan, it proceeded to explain further. "For example, the spirit of the land in User''s World currently prefers wheat and wine for some reason the System is unable to comprehend. Upon placing it on a custom made Altar which only the System is able to create, the tributes are offered in exchange for the land''s agreement." The System revealed. "Thus, the System would use part of the money earnt and purchase large quantities of wheat and high quality to appease the dominant spirit of the land. That way, the land is satisfied and allows the System to control it. If the System controls the land without appeasing the spirit of the land beforehand, it will punish us with significant backlash at every action of the System. There is no better way to describe this pact with the land." "I assume the Dungeon World prefers souls?" Jin asked as he wished to know more about this new aspect which the System didn''t share about. "Negative. The Dungeon Core already had absolute control over the land. All the System had to do was to assume control of the core to manipulate the land as required." "Then, for example, if I wished to conquer the Dark Elves'' forest with the land''s blessing, can you assume control over it once you have done the transaction?" Jin was curious about the extent of this ability and offered the System a scenario to learn more about it. "Yes and No. The System can affect the forest with its powers, but the effects are only temporary and not permanent depending on the transaction. This is because the System is merely the tenant, and the spirit of land is the landlord, so it can recover without the System''s help. However, that also means the landlord might increase the tribute if too much damage was done." "Then why are you not using it to help me during my fights outside the shop? I mean you could have done something during my fight against the Rat Triad Boss." "It will mainly bring suspicions to User if used excessively. Also, it relies on System''s processing capabilities even though we have the land''s agreement to operate." "It sounds like the ground is one selfish living entity." "That is not entirely wrong. Manipulation of the land takes up significant resources and processing capabilities. Which is why the System prefers to limit the control over the land for surveillance purposes. Without any floating magic eyes for better observation angles, the System could still identify and trace targets. Which is why some portals could be created instantly without coordinates and were based on previously seen areas." "Assuming you regain 100% processing capability and sufficient resources, can you change this adventurer''s town into a second Pandapolis?" Jin asked, and recalled how the System had been able to create a Dungeon Cave out of the middle of nowhere. Subsequently, the System told him that the Goblin World''s land preferred gold in its purest form and all the System needed was to melt the gold coins and offer monthly tribute. That was why it was a no brainer for the System to push the dungeon supplier to invest in the Goblin World since it was cheap enough to do so. (In terms of dungeon dollars exchange to goblin gold coins.) While the New Adventurer Town was still somewhat a deficit in his books because of the ongoing construction work, the System believed that given enough time it would be a budding town full of profit. "And to answer your question in landscaping the town instantly into a city¡­ Yes, but that would also permanently consume System''s processing capability, and System would be left with a minimal set amount of processing capability to serve the User. The creation of the Dungeon Cave only took 0.0055% of the System''s processing capabilities and can be replenished with sufficient upgrades via the Black Market." The System reported, and Jin realised he never knew how to use the System properly. "So, anything and everything is possible through you so long you have ammunition to do stuff?" "As the Heavens mandate." The System stated. "Well, at least I know that you can restore your processing capabilities even though it''s currently tough for you to do so," Jin said as he recalled having his Dungeon Supplier Level upgraded to the fifth rank. "Speaking of which, what perks do I gain as a Level 5 Dungeon Supplier aside from this duty free tax I got from purchasing items in the System''s Market ¡­and the Black Market?" Jin remembered that at Dungeon Supplier Level 4, he got to enjoy a duty free tax on the items that he bought via the System regardless of the marketplaces. "As for Level 5, your commission from sales increased to 50% although, upon User learning that the System requires a lot of resources to maintain the land, the System encouraged the User to readjust his commission sales, so the System is able to keep better control over the variety of property the User has in his possession. However, the User can withdraw funds for personal use for free from the System if needed. Of course, to a certain limit." "Ah, alright. Just keep it as it used to be for now then. I do not need the money that badly for myself since you provide me with practically everything anyway. The improvement of our business is more important." Jin said as he performed the finishing touch of the tavern. "Well, it was fun while it lasted and at least this party and renovation calmed me down a little. I can now focus a little better." He commented as the dungeon supplier was ready to work on his business again instead of worrying too much about the upcoming Monster Horde. For the growth of his business was equally vital in ensuring that he and the community were strong enough to fend off such hordes. If not for the upcoming one, then certainly future ones! Chapter 817 Extra: Pandawans Dinner "Ahhh what a bummer." Yue Han yawned a little after ordering food at the Restaurant Train instance. "Here I thought we could finally see Boss Jin''s true fighting skills. He is avoiding us as usual and his schemes are getting more cunning with each passing day." "Hahaha! Don''t be that upset. That''s our boss and why we like and hate him that much at the same time. At the very least the dungeon raid was mega awesome, and at the rate we are going, I might probably need the adrenaline rush for exams in the future. And don''t forget all the juicy rewards!" Bu Dong tried to encourage his best friend as he looked at his own Pandawan Shirt once more and felt a little proud of this achievement. Despite the muddy fights at the defensive platform, he had been able to enjoy a good shower at the Luxury Recovery Instance. The feeling of gushing hot water running down his entire body after a battle was extremely satisfying and the soap was surprisingly soft and comfy. Not too feminine either which made Bu Dong secretly hope Jin could sell that in the future. The other Pandawans had also rested up in the Luxury Recovery Instance before meeting up for a celebration dinner. The Shopkeepers, on the other hand, had decided to stay at the Luxury Recovery Instance for some rest before they proceeded back to prepare to open their shops for the next day. "By the way, Xiong Da, are you planning to buy the Gentlebear tickets from the shopkeepers?" Luo Bo asked as they occupied a private room of the Restaurant Train Instance courtesy of Xiong Da''s generosity. Since Jin had paid him back with free credits to spend after his generous donation, he saw no reason not to treat his comrades. "Hmmm, not really. Remember how we gathered a bunch of keys from the various dungeon instances and raids? I''m pretty sure the ticket would serve its purpose only with the keys, and they might disappear after using them once. No point collecting more tickets when we have to farm all the various keys once more." Xiong Da said. "This is definitely an evil plot to make us go through all the past dungeons again to get those keys!" Yue Wen complained as she opened her storage ring and took out all the keys while they were waiting for their orders to get served. "Oh, so we are comparing keys to see which ones we are missing?" Jing Ru asked while she was cleaning her rifle waiting for time to pass and her friend nodded. "We''ve been a little busy with our part-time job to get some money so we might have missed some keys. Here I thought Xiong Da should have the full compilation of keys." Yue Wen deduced. "Hahah. If the rumours are true, we could possibly earn a lot of money from converting the medals we might get in the Gentlebear instance into real money. Though I do not see how this would be profitable for us. Could be just a cashback scheme to retain even more customers." Shi Hui said as she walked around the private room and checked out the decoration pieces and the interior design. "Can you imagine if there was a true blue way to earn a decent salary just from fighting? I would quit school and do just that in a heartbeat." Bu Dong stated nonchalantly, and Se Lang shook his head. "If the real world was that forgiving, I would not have worked so hard." The wolf claimed as he leaned back and checked his message logs for any shift openings for the subsequent days. "Blame yourself for having two girls to manage. I, on the other hand, can spend my extra money after my personal expenses on Supa Robot Wars." Deng Long teased his buddy and even smacked his friend''s back (totally not super jelly). "Actually, we could do that if Boss Jin sponsored us to become a guild." Shi Zuo pointed out as he too spread his keys out on the table to compare. "Guild? Don''t you mean clan? I thought we were all already in some sort of clan based on the roots of our families?" Kong Xian interjected as he munched on the complimentary peanuts that had been served on the table to keep his mouth busy. "Nah. Some major Dungeon Suppliers have their own guilds which they use to fight in competitions." "Ah, those interstate or even international Dungeon Sparring Competitions?" Bu Dong asked as he had watched some of those before. He might have been a local bigshot in terms of conquering dungeon supplier stores, but he would not even dare to think of competing in those when he was merely a Grade 2 back then. "Oh! Oh! That reminds me, I''ve heard that this year''s National Dungeon Symposium would be held in Shenzhen. Isn''t that the place where a variety of dungeon suppliers come together to exhibit their dungeons for people to try out." Ruo Ying recalled seeing an advertisement on it. "Yes, that Symposium determines which dungeon supplier would have the honours of getting their store to compete in the interstate Dungeon Sparring Competition." Shi Zuo added, and Bin Yong looked at them. "If Boss has the intention of joining, we can actually ask if we Pandawans could form his guild." "But I remember there are a lot of high-grade cultivators joining it. Do we even have a chance?" Bu Dong asked as he recalled how spectacular some of the matches are. "There are some mid-grade level competitions as well if I am not wrong." Ruo Ying wasn''t quite sure, so she grabbed her cellphone and tried to look it up on the web. "Haha, that sounds fun, but that would consume a lot of time from us. Doing full-time plus a competitive guild already sounds exhausting. I do not know if Bin Yong and my schedule could even fit something like that it. We already have a hard time trying to meet deadlines so we can play at this place." Jia Le shared their troubles, and Bin Yong nodded in agreement. "Well, the improvement of cultivation did help us become more productive at work, so they gave us more leeway as long as we complete the work." Bin Yong shared since he and his dungeoneering colleagues had been working approximately 21-23 hours a day during a crunch when the rest could only manage 14 to 16 hours at most. The improvement in cultivation clearly showed that they have acquired better concentration and lesser fatigue accumulation which started to make some of their own colleagues envious. (but most importantly, clocking overtime hours meant additional pay.) "Well, we can ask Jin about it. Though I can already picture him claiming that ''it''s too soon to be in the National Dungeon Symposium!''." Xiong Da mimicked Jin''s voice, and the others all laughed. "Then after a while, he should change his mind and train us worse than commandos to reach the top." "If you are aiming for something, might as well aim for the top." Ruo Ying chuckled, and the whole group could imagine Boss Jin saying such things. "His earnestness would betray him." Bin Yong shook his head. "More like his innate greed. He could actually be a tsundere towards business." Luo Bo added, and the Pandawans couldn''t agree more. Chapter 818 Exploiting the Intern For the next few days, Jin stuck himself within the Dungeon Maker and was working on multiple projects, yet he made sure to take the time for their daily dinners. As directed by Grandma Yuan, Lynn had further fleshed out the counter attack proposal for Jin to look over while Qiu Yue had begun constructing prefabricated buildings in the open spaces of Pandapolis. Meanwhile, Claire had finally looked over Jin''s accounts with the help of the Sub System and realised that his money and spending was all over the place. Thankfully, the System had all the records of expenses, and all she had to do was to organise them properly and accurately. With the aid of the Sub System which Claire had been loaned once more, she was able to create a database. But this time, she ensured that even without her help, the System would be able to track the data in a streamlined fashion and could show it to Jin and his Sub System User so they might immediately notice any discrepancies. "System feels the organisation of expenses is useless. As long as there are records of the expenses, the System will know how much User is earning." The System stated to Claire as she had received an office in the Pandapolis Business Sector to do her job. "Whatever. It might not matter to you, but we humans just cannot process data like that. Also, I have been wondering. Am I the only one here in this Business Sector?" Claire asked, and the System acknowledged her by showing a celebration emote on her screen. "¡­" "You are the first to use the Business Sector. It will eventually be used to house the banking, logistics and other administrative purposes. User and Sub System User Qiu Yue planned to make an internal stock market for the Pandarens to play with. But right now, it is closed because there are no tenants." The System explained. "No, I wanted to what those digital poppers were for?" Claire asked as she adjusted her spectacles. "System has given Sub System Intern Claire the honours of being the first person in operation in this desolated business sector." System answered, and Claire felt pressing her head on the table. She did not expect the System to be this cold in its jokes. "Argghh. System, if this is your sense of humour, please keep it to yourself. It is very dry." "Or so they say in a cold setting." The System stated, and Claire ignored it to her best of the ability although it seemed to be getting on her nerves. "Anyways, I realised what you were up to when you gave me the app to practice. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction." "Glad to be of assistance. System also determined that Intern Claire had improved by 12.7% when she subtly purchased potential stocks that would greatly assist the relief fund." "We just need to wait a day or two before we sell them. They are volatile enough to flip while earning enough profit." Claire was happy with the purchase as the Sub System provided her sufficient information and analysis on those particular units. "Since you have finished the work, System recommends creating accounts for the New Adventurer''s Town and the Demon Metropolis. The New Adventurer''s Town needs a new bank that will moderate the gold coming in from the three major cities." "If I am not mistaken, their currency is rather standard, right?" "Affirmative. Despite their differences, the three races are using the same kind of currency. While the gold coins have a variety of imprints depending on the cities they were made from, the coin makes no discrimination when it is being used." "So, are we making our very own coin? Or continue as per standard as the major trading town for the New Adventurer''s Town?" Claire asked. "System recommends the following suit, but their financing system is primitive. System''s opinion is to start introducing loans, interest rates, as well as insurance to the public to increase our profitability. Eventually, when the town grows sufficiently large, System would be bold enough to recommend User for the town''s bank to issue our very own currency." "But we do not have a banker''s knowledge or the agreements the insurance agents made. It''s best if we consult oh- wait¡­ Okay. Now I understand why it is called the Sub System." As soon as Claire was pointing out the flaw in this plan, screens popped in front of her showcasing the protocols and even rules for the banking system as well as insurance agents operating all over the world. The various models of operation were clearly there for Claire to choose and research them. "Also, if Intern Claire is interested, System would like to recommend expanding the current delivery company that User has created." "Ah! The Pandafull Delivery? I''ve ordered from there, and gosh it was good and fast." Claire had only praise for it. The System shared the details of how pathetic the delivery system was in the current Goblin World. "I see¡­if we were to make Pandafull a complete logistic company and use it in other worlds, we might be able to make a lot more from it." "Not only that, but the Dungeon World delivery system is nearly as desolate as the Goblin World when it comes to logistics." "Wait a minute. Isn''t this far outside the scope of an accountant? Why are you suddenly giving me this many jobs to do? Aren''t I just an intern for the Financing Sub System?" "System has discovered that Intern Claire had a flair in understanding terms the User had trouble recongising. Also, your organisation skills are superb, and System wishes to utilise (=exploit) more of it whenever possible. In return, System will give an admirable testimony for User to consider hiring her." "Tsk, you are using me so blatantly and do not even bother hiding it! Are you just basing it on the fact that I can reorganise Jin''s accounts nicely? Because of that, you want me to set up a variety of side businesses? And those businesses are substantial businesses which need constant monitoring after their creation." "With Intern Claire''s talent and the Financing Sub System capabilities, System believes that the tasks could ultimately be automated once the foundations are created. There are also a lot of monsters that can take on those jobs if needed." "Speaking of monsters, what about those demons you defeated from Demon Metropolis? From my understanding, it will be hard to pretend that those demons are gone from the Demon Metropolis forever. Resurrection should still take place. If they don''t return, they should discover that you have ways to temper with their resurrection system, making you public enemy number one." Claire displayed her knowledge of the current situation after her few days of internship with the System. Even when organising the accounts, there were long waiting times that bored Claire. Thus, she had used that amount of time to learn more about Jin and his current predicament to have a better understanding of his shop. "That itself is a long explanation." The System replied hesitantly, yet Claire shrugged her shoulders as she stood up with a cup of Blue Mountain Coffee (one of the best perks of the job) in one hand. "I have all day to listen while I wait for the stocks to move." She stressed as the Financial Sub System Intern admired the empty business buildings outside her wide panel window. Chapter 819 Counter Offence Discussion "No matter what I try to come up with, the probability of Jin and the others getting seen is just too high." Lynn shared as she chewed on the thick fat yet succulent drumstick. "It''s not your fault, that Pandas aren''t exactly known for being stealthy and sticking out." Kraft comforted Lynn as he used his lips to tear the fried chicken skin off the meat and kept it on his plate. "Since we all seem to be in agreement, why are you all not just letting me or the other foxes come with you guys for the counter offence? I mean we did a great job in the previous ambush, right?" "That is exactly why! You guys already had the chance to have some fun in the Demon Metropolis. Don''t be selfish! Let me go boom boom once in a while! Besides your job wasn''t much of a heist, more like you came in guns blazing. You in particular, though I loved the explosions, you caused. A solid 7.5/10, lacked a bit in the colour department¡­ OIIII!!! Who took the last piece?!" Peppers pouted as she noticed there were no more wings on the table. "You!" Everyone answered in unison. Their eyes practically drew an arrow towards Peppers'' hand holding the last eaten piece of chicken wing. They all enjoyed the bliss from the unforgettable taste of Lynn''s Barbequed chicken wings, yet after a few pieces, Peppers had fried some to change the flavours up a little. She blushed for a while, not having noticed that during the talk about the videos with Kraft''s explosion, she had seemingly eaten it without realising it was the last one. "Peppers, remember, no Boom Boom this time around! We are trying to limit our presence as well as the damage done to the environment. Else people would come looking for Jin, and even the System can do so much against them." Lynn took the opportunity to stress that point while giving one of her wings as bribery. "Ehhhh But I can''t call myself a competent mage if I don''t let things explode." Peppers motivation visibly deflated but not her mouth. "Besides, it would be boring¡­" "Shouldn''t a competent mage be able to adapt to any kind of circumstance?" Milk questioned her as she held on to a chicken wing she had previously kept hidden in her pile of leftover bones to avoid Peppers from stealing it. "Outrageous! I had dibs on ALL the wings!" Peppers claimed (she did not) and was about to cast a spell to get it, but Milk snapped up the whole piece of meat right into her mouth. She gleed with the tip of the wing inside her mouth and Peppers whined with dread, forced to admit defeat. "See. If you were competent enough with your other magic, you could have taken this already." Milk teased her slowly with her mouth partially chewing the chicken wing. "Back to topic, in other words, no monsters are coming to aid us?" Qiu Yue clarified as she tore a piece of breast meat and dipped it with salted egg sauce. "Even with cosmetic inscriptions, chances are too high that something might go wrong and could reveal their true form, so we should avoid using them. Instead, we will be using the Dark Sludge Crystals installed onto a fake Portal Device structure to cover our real System portal. Meanwhile, we got the System''s approval to Lynn''s proposal to use the bellators in case we are seen by others." Jin said as he poured the mushroom sauce over his barbequed chicken. "You mean by the private contractors?" Qiu Yue asked, and Lynn nodded her head. "With Jin''s status as a Demon Exorcist Branch Manager, even if it''s technically an upcoming one, there is no problem with him having his own bodyguards. If those contractors were to ask us we could avoid any further suspicion that way." Lynn pointed upwards where the System had listed pages with the responsibilities and right of a Demon Exorcist Branch Manager. "The System has also acquired a security business licence and listed the Bellators as bodyguards¡­ excluding Original Bellator Kraft." The System stated, and everyone could hear Kraft complaining about this injustice despite having his mouth full of meat. Yet he was obviously not bothered by it since he knew how the System acted. They were also all aware that if he wanted to participate, there was not really anything or anyone of them could do against him. "But will the private contractors actually believe you? I guess the only saving grace will be to have Jin show off his Demon Exorcist badge." Qiu Yue shrugged at such a feeble defence, but it was better than nothing. "Nah. By then, the soldiers would already have met with the private contractors since they are attacking them at head-on. If the horde starts to move towards the border wall, the chances of the private contractors staying in the forest should be low, especially since they were previous state agents. They probably have to stay to help out with the defences." Jin deduced. "Heh, you are underestimating them. It is precisely because they are former state agents, that they will be more likely to search for the cause of this and stop it at its roots. With you all as the only humans around, you will undoubtedly get treated as suspects for this case." Kraft gave his opinion as an ex-spy. "What if they see us fighting against the Monster Horde?" Jin tried to counter, and Kraft shook his head. "If you were to chance upon some strange people fighting a Monster Horde in the middle of an attack, would your first thought be, that those are allies? No, the normal case is that you guys lost control over the monsters and they are about to overpower you as a way to get back against their masters. You will have to find someone incredibly naive if they talk to you instead. Out there in such a situation, it''s shoot first, talk later!" "That is why we are only letting Bellators and Jin fight for this round. As much as I''d like to help out, I feel that I might become a burden even though it would definitely be a good fighting experience." Lynn sighed, and Qiu Yue whined like Peppers. "Ehhhhhh! Doesn''t that mean I''ll have to stay behind with you, Lynn?" Qiu Yue tried to confirm Lynn''s counter attack proposal. "Yeah, but we have loads of monsters to fight alongside our minions once they enter the portal." Lynn answered. "Then, I guess I will be in my System Rider form while fighting," Jin said, but Lynn was in a dilemma. "Do you think that''s a good idea? I mean it will protect your identity, but I doubt Demon Exorcists have such flashy outfits." "Actually they do. Well maybe not as flashy as mine, but I learnt from Su Zhen that higher ranked exorcists do have full defence armour inscription as part of their repertoire. To be honest, I actually only gave them those dual inscription charms thinking it would be cool to look like they control and possess their demons until they told me about it. I had no idea, so I went pretending that it was always part of the plan. Hahaha!" "Ah, then that means they will believe you further if you claim to be the Branch Manager since only higher-ranked exorcists have such armour." Qiu Yue nodded her head to agree with that idea. "Actually, I do not think Branch Managers have that¡­it is an administrative post, not a combat one. Though I doubt anyone will question it if I claim it was a perk or gift from Grandma Yuan or something. Hahaha¡­Just need to tell her to collaborate with the lie in case anyone does ask." "Alright, that settles it. Sorry, I am leaving first. Have some errands to do first. Please rest up well and prepare for tomorrow''s big day." Zeru excused as he thanked Lynn for the food and left with the aid of the System portal. Kraft was a bit intrigued as to what kind of plans Zeru would have. He should know about most if not all of the stuff going on, yet nothing came to mind. Then again, seeing as no one seemed to be bothered about it, he shrugged to himself and savoured the best food he had kept for last. The chicken skin. Chapter 820 Follow Up Meeting "You worked throughout the whole night again, didn''t you?" Lynn asked with some worry in her tone as she found the lights of the Dungeon Maker were still on after six in the morning. "Had to make sure the trucks went to the right military and police bases. Besides, I can''t really afford to sleep when such a big event is happening in our world for once. Especially seeing as we have been dragged into it¡­ So we''re also at least partially responsible for it." Jin argued as he pointed on the screen while stifling a yawn. There was only one convoy left, reaching Shanghai outskirts where one of the Royal Snake clan''s bases was situated. "That''s really far. I had kinda assumed the bases would all be in Shenzhen or at least from Dongguan since they had transferred their belongings from there." Lynn commented as she saw the portal manifest on the dungeon maker''s interface and about 85% were already active. "Hmm, I thought they needed a ¡­..erm, your portal key to activate them?" "Yeah, they still do. That''s why I sent a portion of the Pandafull delivery team alongside the Royal Snakes. Only instead of the ''Farming'' Humans, I''ve sent the Night Foxes in with advanced cosmetic inscriptions for a worst-case scenario of ''someone'' trying to steal our technology. So far nothing has happened, and I hope it will stay that way. You know, better safe than sorry." Jin explained the procedure. "Anyways, they are the ones who activate the portals and return them via the portal coordinates. After which, the rest of the trucks have a two-way function. From their base and to the Huzhou border walls."Jin added. "So what about the deal with Hou Fei. The one in which they require you to house the evacuated citizens when push comes to shove?" Lynn questioned as she created a chair in the Dungeon Maker and started to sit beside Jin to listen to him talk. The Dungeon Supplier did not suspect anything as he assumed she was doing her job as the person in charge of this counter offence operation and wanted more details. "Hou Fei told me that they intend to use the portal devices to their bases first since Shenzhen should be relatively safe from the Monster Horde. However, should their military bases near max capacity, they can send an SOS signal via the portal''s interface, and that is when they will connect the truck to our area." Jin explained as he showed her images and some simple chart on how the teleporting business would work. "Ah, so we are actually only being used as the very last resort?" Lynn could easily understand Jin''s explanation. "Yeah, the military still has to use their bases as places of refuge in order to show the public that they are doing their job. Only when they are flooded with people, will they proceed to publicly enlist us as a third party contractor for serving aid." Jin narrated though his facial expression showed that his thoughts were elsewhere. "However, I feel it''s more like Hou Fei wants to boost my earnings by using my Pandapolis as the backup plan. The deal we''ve struck clearly favours us. In case everything goes well with the Monster Horde, I will only have to return the emergency supplies I had purchased to their bases for future use. Whatever I''ve built in preparation to house the refugees, I can legally keep them since it''s already done and only the leftover budget would be returned to them. Not to mention, I got to retain a commission of 10%, which is already quite a lump sum of money." "That is assuming everything does go well," Lynn emphasised with a smile, and Jin laughed since he shared her feeling that was not possible at all. "Yeah, if they really need to start the evacuation but do not use our facilities, those emergency supplies that we''ve stocked up on would be sent to those bases via the portal trucks. It will give them instant access to medical care and food supplies as needed." "Not to mention, they can use your store as a gateway to send them to Shenzhen and use the ''hotels and motels'' here as temporary accommodation for their evacuations," Lynn commented as that was what her government had previously done during natural disasters. "Ah, Hou Fei did not tell me about that. So we are in the hotel and motel services now apparently." Jin laughed, and Lynn chuckled along with him. "By the way, have you checked how far along Qiu Yue is with the temporary lodgings? During our dinners, she only told us that she would get it done." Jin asked Lynn, and she nodded with glee. "As expected from her and our workers, they''ve done a fantastic job so far. My peggies have also prepared multiple days worth of rations with the help of the new tribes since the hotels were temporarily brought offline. They might not be as agile as the penguins, but they are able to assist with the preparations." "Also, the Demons from the Metropolis came at the perfect time. They turned out to be extremely useful in making sure the logistics would be going smoothly since a lot of them have gone through long distance dungeon raids in their world. A number of them are well versed in logistical supplies which sped up a lot of stuff. I let Moloch handle that part since he should know how to handle them. But apparently, he forwarded the job to another guy. According to him, he had pledged loyalty to him and in turn, the System and you." Lynn picked up her phone and showed Jin the picture as she couldn''t remember the name. "Prince Stolas? Ah, I vaguely remember him from the War Room Table discussion. He was apparently the one and only royalty who had managed to survive the entire war without much of a scratch. If I am not wrong, he even tolerated the bewitching spell from Syldra, Ayse''s Shaitan." Jin thought back to ensure that his memory served him correctly. "He is doing a great job so far. He also roped in those Demon Nobles¡­or is it military commanders? You know, the ones you guys had killed since they were rather apt with administrative issues." "Good thing they are like the Orcs and are helpful at more than fighting. Having some people who know how to do some administrative work is as important to fighting a war." Jin smiled at Lynn, and she couldn''t help but nod along childishly. "The System believes those Demon Nobles should carry on with said administrative duties especially since their battle capabilities are not as great as they had advertised for the Pandapolis defensive battle." "Does that include that bat guy, Kiva, too? How is he handling Ayse?" Jin was curious about the fate of the bat/raven head scientist. "At this point, he is totally smitten by Head Orc Researcher Ayse." The System answered and provided no further details. "I wonder if that is meant literally?" Lynn commented, and the duo laughed together for a moment before they continued with their discussion for the upcoming evacuation plan. At the very least, Jin did not feel as stressed as before and was thankful that his colleagues had spoken out to provide their help. Chapter 821 Metropolis Justice - Part 1 "General Vual, please get up." Rex smiled when he saw General Vual kneeling right in front of him, pledging his fealty towards the new king. Ever since Rex had full control over the Demon Metropolis, he had been busy looking through the policies that had been made by King Baal and his predecessors. Without anyone disturbing him, he had delved deep into all the paperwork in the office and only got out for occasional mails which he placed at the door for his servants to deliver. This was the first time that Vual finally had a physical face to face contact with his King and thus his kneel. "This is my office, not the throne hall. You don''t have to abide by some sort of protocol when you are in here." Rex quickly dismissed the need for Vual to reassure his fealty. "Thank you, my King." The General who had presented calmness and logic above all had been appointed as the right-hand man for Rex after the Panda Remnant had declared himself the city''s new ruler. (Of course, the System had a hand in changing his allegiance as well.) During the 24-hours recapture period, the Demon Nobles who hadn''t participated in the assault against the Pandapolis had decided to band together all for the sole purpose to challenge him. (Even though he had warned all of them that he and his colleagues had defeated the entire Royal family, they kept coming at him as if that warning does not matter at all.) "Now I understand why Moloch was extremely concerned about the state of the city," Rex concluded after he went over the current laws and decrees as well as the leftover letters and envelopes. The number of complaints from various advisors had been left ignored in a corner, and Rex was shocked to discover that this city was nearly at the brink of collapse were it not for its predatory way of conducting dungeon raids to keep it alive. "But with your reign, I hope that these flawed issues can finally be righted." Vual bowed a little when he stated his wish. "Hahaha! I certainly plan on doing exactly that. For now, we shall clean up the mess left by the previous administration. Assemble all of the officials in charge of the various ministries to meet up in the Grand Meeting Hall." Rex ordered. "Understood." Vual immediately went to fulfil his objective while Rex called up Evon via the System Channel. "I''m getting Vual to bring the ministers and advisors to the Grand Meeting Hall. Are you ready with your drugs?" Rex asked, and Evon was already grinning from ear to ear. "I have prepared the truth serum and a bunch of other stuff in case we need it. I aim to please my King. " Evon teased Rex with his new title which the latter rolled his eyes away, but Kiyu supported Evon''s teasing fully. "My King, do you require some additional performance to quell your need for entertainment during the minister bashing party? If so, this humble butterfly is willing to dance for your sake~!" Kiyu offered with ''grace''. "I heard bashing. I am willing to bash those corrupt ministers until their bones turn to dust." Ixel volunteered enthusiastically. "Ah, let me have some fun with them as well! I suggest we should live stream it all and put it on national TV for everyone to see. Once they see what kind of fate awaits corrupt guys, no one will want to risk it. At least they''ll learn that we are going to reform the city." Kraft added on, and Rex snapped back at all of them. "You guys! I love you all but NO! This is meant to portray as the good guys, not some evil goons! I want to show the Demons that the future for them will be bright¡­well erm bright enough, hehe. Though I agree that broadcasting it citywide should be great entertainment and prove educational." Rex stated in a domineering tone. "Tsu, Kai, mind doing the honours?" "Definitely. We''ve rebelled for righteousness and justice. If this Metropolis is a step to do so for our real world, I do not mind." Tsu said, and his brother agreed to it by proceeding to the Mages Broadcast station and started to use Rex''s name to prep the national telecast. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "No, Sir! We cannot do that even though the King has the absolute right to our city!" The broadcast director refused to comply and was ready to defend the schedule that was placed on their current broadcast station. "How about this?" Kai asked again as he dropped a bag on the table and when the director saw wads of dungeon dollars in it, he coughed and changed his tune almost immediately. "Well, if you all insist. I should be able to squeeze a slot out for the new King to address his people." The Director ''graciously'' allowed the twin brothers request and suddenly Tsu disappeared from his sight and slammed the director''s head on the ground, causing a few Demon Guards who had been standing outside the room to rush in. "As of 1040hrs, Director Gutelamo, you are hereby arrested for accepting bribery and shall be persecuted under the new anti-corruption decree which King Rex had signed this morning. Guards! Bring him to the New Central Police Station for questioning!" Kai shouted as Tsu grinned quietly while holding the broadcast director down. His palm had also generated enough chi to burn the director''s head away if he decided to do something nonsensical. "Wow, you guys are fast." Rex was a bit taken aback when he learned that Tsu and Kai had spared no effort in enforcing the law that he had placed about an hour ago. "Swift justice and free the oppressed. That''s the whole point of getting this Demon Metropolis, right?" Kai asked with an audible grin via the System Channel. "Are you not afraid that the Metropolis people will rebel against us?" Pei, who had been on the sidelines, had listened in on the conversation. "Not everyone will like it." "That''s the rich minority. As long as we have the majority on our side, we can change this Metropolis into a better place. If it succeeds, we can possibly recruit other monsters and maybe humans to join us too." Rex defended the action of the brothers before he told Tsu and Kai to hurry the broadcast since most of the advisors had already arrived. "General Vual reporting via the System Channel. Sorry to interrupt this channel, but as instructed, I have placed guards around the Grand Meeting Hall to ensure none of these advisors escaped. Some of our officers have also managed to convince a few of the richer nobles to participate in this meeting, stating that it concerned the state of the New Metropolis." "Excellent work, General Vual. I look forward to our future work together!" Rex clipped a grey overcoat over his formal business suit and started to walk with modern grandiose towards the Grand Meeting Hall. "For a better Metropolis. For a better life. For the poor and discriminated." General Vual renewed his vows in the System Channel, and the foxes cheered. (Even Pei unknowingly hoped for it too.) "Exactly, time for the much needed culling. Let''s prove that our resolve from the past has remained resolute to this day!" Rex said as he walked down the stairs. Chapter 822 Metropolis Justice - Part 2 "What are we waiting for? I have urgent meetings to attend to today!" Shouted a noble dressed in all expensive silk clothes and an exquisite fur coat exuding his wealth status. "Calm down there, Litr. There is no way your anger will quicken the current situation." Minister Phaspho tried to talk the other party down even though he was equally frustrated that they were kept waiting for quite some time now. The advisors, ministers and nobles who were on the scene did not realise that Evon had purposely leaked a minute amount of a rage inducing drug into the surrounding atmosphere that led them to be a bit on the edge. The Guards were oblivious to it as they had already also taken a pill of Evon''s antidote so that they would not be affected. This enabled the Guards to stay rational and sane enough to keep the place in order. As for the nobles and ministers, Angry people do not talk rationally, and that would eventually tip the scales further in Rex'' favour. It wasn''t that Rex was unable to beat them in an intelligent conversation but rather, if they were shown like this on a national broadcast, the general public would sympathise with the new king over their existing cabinet of ministers. "Attention! Court is now in session!" General Vual shouted as his guards opened the doors for King Rex to enter the Grand Meeting Hall. "Court session?" Phaspho looked around, and many of the other ministers and advisors were just as confused. Did someone mess up? Was this not a get together meeting to greet the king and learn more about his agenda for the Demon Metropolis? What kind of court session was he talking about? Suddenly with a clap of Rex''s fingers, everyone who had been sitting around the Grand Meeting table found themselves cuffed. Even some of the bystanders got magically bound, and the Demon Home Guards swarmed in from the various entrances and held them down. With another clap, the furniture in the Grand Meeting Hall had been deliberately shifted, and the Demon Home Guards were carrying benches and even lock bars to hold the ministers in chains. In the meantime, the Grand Meeting Table had been teleported out by the System, providing the home guards with space to set everything up. "What is the meaning of this!? Stop this nonsense immediately! It is not funny at all!" Litr shouted out with blazing fury. This was the first time he had been chained down, let alone by the authority of the Home Guards. Instead of being ridden with guilt for shoving someone of Litr''s standing down on the ground, the Home Guards who performed the act were elated. They knew how much evil he had done with his business and connections, yet he had escaped countless times from the Demon Metropolis Central Police''s investigation department. Many times, the leading investigator who had accumulated sufficient criminating evidence against Litr, had been abducted and the case against him must be dropped. Those investigators weren''t killed since resurrection was available. Rather, they got captured, tortured and their life had been made miserable than death itself. Rumours had it that some of the victims were left rotting in an isolated cell after being chained up with a limbless body. Some had it ''lucky'' with their bodies cryo-freezing for eternity. (Sounds better? Actually, that meant they were thrown into an ice based dungeon core, and the place became their graveyard.) Those were initially rumours¡­ But when people started to go missing one after another and subsequently having entire investigative teams to suddenly disappear, it was not a mystery that they were taken care of to ensure the rich and corrupt were able to continue with their business. (Some even joke that being in the Major Crimes department for the Central Police was putting one foot into the grave.) "Don''t you think because you are the new king, I have to listen to you! My connections are far and wide. Enough to bring you down if you do not listen to me!" Litr cried in defiance but was abruptly interrupted by the Demon Guards with their batons. "After you have seen what I could do? Nevermind, I guess there are some people who are that oblivious. Oh, and you don''t have to listen to me talk that much. In fact, I am here today to listen to you. You, as well as everyone else who has been invited, will get the chance to give their testimony." Rex announced to the nobles, ministers and advisors that had been chained up within the meeting room. The Home Guard then rearranged them in an orderly manner and forced them to their knees. In a matter of minutes, the entire place had been renovated into an impromptu courthouse for the first hearing under King Rex'' ruling with the mages'' broadcast being shown publicly without the knowledge of the ones accused. While General Vual believed this method of rooting out corrupt officials was extremely brutal and unconventional, this was the first time in the history of Demon Metropolis that the ruling owner had used such a course of action. He always considered corruption to be something normal even though Vual tried his best to avoid it. There were times, it was too sweet of a deal, especially when it would help his department of Home Guards to grow. Yet, when confronted by Rex, Vual admitted to everything without the intervention of the System. "That is why I was not wrong choosing you. From now on, you shall act as my right hand." Rex had praised the man and instead of punishing him, provided him with the opportunity to change the bleak reality they had been living in. Still, it wouldn''t be so easy. This being a court case, had instantly made the corrupted officials decide to keep their mouth shut. They had been interrogated before. They had been threatened before and yet all those did not matter as long there was money on the table. Just by buttering a few fingers, those corrupted officials had been able to make all the problem go away. Not to mention, Kiva was previously at the top of their hierarchy, allowing the abuse of power and money to go unchecked as long as he received a cut from it. Alas, with him now gone, it had left a power gap that had made each official hungry to become the next Kiva. One might say that demons were born this way, and unfortunately, that was how the majority were discriminated as such by the rest of the Dungeon World even though there were plenty of honest, peace loving demons. It was similar to the situations where monsters were stereotyped to treat humans badly and vice versa because of how the Dungeon Cores worked. But there were also many instances of monsters and humans cohabiting together. Thus, Rex decided to change all of this in a progressive manner despite being in office just for a few days. He had learnt enough of this city''s plight from Moloch as well the collective data from the System''s ability to tap into everyone''s mind after their capture. In a glance, Rex knew what was wrong with their system and their way of life. But only through the System, it made him realise that those hard-working honest demons had been repeatedly ripped off by their richer counterparts. Seeing that they were being dominated in a fashion like how the Royal Zodiacs flaunted their power and wealth, Rex could not help but decide to use his power against these nobles. He was now King. There were things a proper King should do to get the people''s trust, and this opening act of his was one of them. "Order! Order!" King Rex, now acting as judge, jury and executioner slammed his hammer demanding silence from the group. However, the officials were not willing to listen. They defied Rex''s command with even more shouting. Yet, the Home Guards were quick to silence them with the officials having no knowledge that the broadcast had already been airing throughout the whole city. "I will be questioning each and every one of you to prove not only your subsequent loyalty to me but also to root out any officials, advisors or nobles who have wronged this particular city during the rule of King Baal," Rex announced, and that alone stunned every single person in the room. (As well as those watching.) Chapter 823 Metropolis Justice - Part 3 "First, let me show you the evidence we have collected, incriminating most of you here," Rex stated as he enlarged photos, documents for the whole court to see. Although the officials continued to be ignorant and kept mum despite their names and faces shown on those documents, the citizens of Demon Metropolis were taken back by the revelation. Many were so appalled that a number stopped work just to watch where this court session was going. On the other hand, pockets of demons in various parts of the city started to break down and cry. Their muted call for justice seems to finally get answered today. "Gosh, the corruption in this country is really terrible." Rex sighed and asked Moloch if he had any knowledge about it in the System channel. "I do not remember it being this bad when I was the Royal Advisor. King Baal was quite a proponent in stemming out such illicit activities from the society. Because of our policies, a number of companies had decided to invest. Whether they did turn to the other side of the law and return back all depends on your performance." Moloch answered as he was actually the one projecting the event to the Broadcast Station for Tsu and Kai to manage the stream. Where had that little bull toy been hiding in this Grand Meeting Hall? Actually, he was right in the Dungeon Maker alongside Jin! He had previously set up surveillance cameras which had the capability to project whatever that was going on to the Broadcast station. With the variety of angles as well as zooming functions, it made the broadcast less of a deadpan and they were able to jump different scenes. That was why the public initially mistook it for some new show rather than an actual trial. But it was also thanks to these functions which were not a constant stream of one particular angle that attracted more and more people to watch it. "Urgh, this city entertainment industry has much to learn from Jin''s world," Moloch mumbled even though he too had been absorbed by the TV programmes in Jin''s world. "Any objections to this evidence?" Rex asked, and while Litr''s instinctive reaction would be to deny everything, his entire body reacted preemptively forcing him to answer truthfully. He did not know what was happening. He felt as if the truth was stuck right in between his throat, and he had to vomit it out no matter what. "Fuck fuck fuck! No, it''s all true! I did those!" Litr shouted with excruciating agony as he felt himself unable to lie or pretend his way out. "Very well. Now we shall bring in the witness to testify against you." Rex announced and told the System to prepare them. "What are you talking about?! I already admitted to doing that? Why would you need to bring in witnesses?" Litr did not understand the whole trial procedure. "Oh, it''s just to solidify the case so that we can crush you completely. According to the reports you aren''t usually this compliant¡­ although that does not seem to be an issue right now." Rex turned his head to Evon, and he quietly and slightly nodded with pride. Not many of the officials who were at the scene caught that short exchange of nods, and even if they did, they were already too enraged and fearful of their own upcoming trials. They did not know that the truth serum was being used and so effective that it would permanently change their brain physiology forcing them to speak the truth and nothing but the truth. Of course, that would inadvertently help Rex if the officials were to continue to be his ministers and advisors for the city. (But he didn''t have high hopes for the majority of the officials after they were done with them.) As ordered by King Rex, a few beast children started to walk in with the aid of the Demon Home Guards. They were none other than Teras, Lapp, Sola, Shen and Swee. The kids who had been in the Circle of Fraud which Tsu had rescued. Litr saw the kids who he recognised in an instant because of their unique traits and started to panic. "No way¡­how could those kids be here?! I sent them to Paradiso to rot for all eternity?" Litr blurted out his thoughts without even realising it. When Lapp saw that ugly rich noble, she immediately rushed towards him and kicked him in the face. The rest of the children were also filled with wrath, and it did not stop until the Demon Home Guards intervened to stop them. (They didn''t halt them immediately on purpose as it was just too satisfying to watch Litr get what he deserved) "Oops, maybe the rage drug in the room affected them a bit too much." Evon apologised on the System Channel, but the rest were delighted that the beast children had been able to get some physical revenge against the perpetrator who had placed them in Paradiso. He was the one who had exploited them and even pulled strings to make up some ridiculous charges against them. Then he also bribed detectives and police officers ensuring they would be sent to Paradiso after finding out that they were responsible for providing information on him to the Central Police Investigation Department. He never realised those kids were determined enough to challenge the Circle of Fraud. But a twist of fate brought the kids to the very same person who they had supplied information to. The lead investigator had been turned into a statue as punishment from the Litr Corporation, and was the one who taught them to kill and how to survive the Circle of Fraud. The beast children had initially thought that it was karma for partially being responsible that he got turned into this statue. But over time, he had started to exploit their abilities and act in the same way Litr had done to maintain superiority in the Circle of Fraud. It was not until Tsu came to rescue them from living their life of misery and oppression. After learning the connection, Rex had decided to take this matter to hand and use it as the precedent case to display what kind of ruler he would be. He might have cared about the discriminated demons in due time anyway, but none of the foxes had expected him to take such a drastic measure against the corruption until those children appeared on the scene. With each and every testimony from the beast children, they accused Demon Noble Litr of way more than just Minor abuse. Paedophilia, child trafficking, and even renting the children to businessmen and women for their own twisted desires had come to light. The public was once again horrified by the staggering evidence against one of their more well-known philanthropists, and Litr was unable to deny any of those accusations from the beast children testimonies. In fact, thanks to Evon''s drug, he added things that the children hadn''t even been aware of. While the trial was going on, General Vual was dispatching more and more of the Demon Home Guard to raid the corporation offices and people that Litr named. Ever since the inception of King Rex, it was a task that Vual and his officers had trained for, prepared to throw down the swift hammer of justice on that scum. This first part of the trial alone had already solidified the people''s trust for the king and placed fear into the hearts of evildoers. Chapter 824 Metropolis Justice - Final "¡­Noble Litr will be stripped of all of his assets in the coming days. He will assist the Home Guards to dismantle his entire wealth and help unveil any hidden operations that have been going on away from the public''s eye." King Rex announced the verdict, yet he could literally hear the crowd outside. Apparently, the public wasn''t satisfied with such scum getting off easy, and demanded more justice. "Don''t you think you''re relieved a bit early, Litr? I have yet to bang my hammer. " Rex smirked as he drank from a cup of water to quench his thirst. "Because of all the atrocious crimes you''ve committed, especially against all these poor children, I hereby also sentence you to life imprisonment in Paradiso as soon as it is rebuilt. For the moment, you will be kept in the maximum cell security prison under the Central Police Station. We''ve prepared a cell for you which cannot be unlocked unless I personally come over to fetch you." Rex added. "All of your statuses is hereby erased, and your entire household will be placed under arrest until investigations have cleared their names. Until then, they will be treated guilty until proven innocent. All of their assets would also be freezed. There is no way out for you no matter how you see it. You are not allowed to appeal nor request for bail. The sentence I give would be absolute." "Lastly, you will be receiving five strokes of the cane on a daily basis and be kept alive for eternity. Don''t you worry. I won''t let you die that easily. We will butter your ass up with lots of medicinal oil if we need to." Rex said with a gentle smile, but it spoke volumes of terror which Litr could not comprehend at that moment. Litr stared at the absurdity of the sentence, and tears started to leak out of his eyes pleading for leniency. "Please my liege! I have admitted to all my crimes! I have even voluntarily given you the names of those involved. Don''t I deserve a lighter sentence for my cooperation?" "No, you do not. For decades you have been involved in shady business. You did not care about the well being of others. You have sent children into Paradiso because they ''betrayed'' you as you claim, ignoring the circumstances they had to live in. You confessed because you did not want to bear with the pain as you saw the guillotine upon your neck already coming down. Such behaviour does not deserve any sort of lighter punishment. That''s all." Rex replied firmly. Soon enough, those officials would all discover that there was actually a second part to Evon''s truth serum. If someone tried to keep the truth by not saying anything, it would come along with more and more excruciating pain. However, as to not waste any time, all Evon had to do was to activate the truth serum via his own chi and the accused would be forced to speak the truth while at the same time still suffering the pain. The Fox of Drugs did not have to worry about death since they would either die and disappear forever or resurrect at the church and continue with the trial. It was a lose-lose situation for them, considering the resurrection point couldn''t be changed. "Now, you''ve wasted enough of my time. Guards, bring him away and get the next official or noble to the podium." King Rex ordered, and the Home Guards were delighted to comply with their new King''s commands. As the next official came, it was ironically Minister Phaspho who had assured Litr that this was just a show of power. "Ah¡­ Minister Phaspho, I heard much about you too. You''ve witnessed how I shall conduct these trials, so let''s proceed quickly, shall we? We have wasted too much time exposing Noble ¨C oops I meant Litr." Rex''s grin at that moment wasn''t any less evil than Kraft''s, and the foxes could never imagine how happy Kraft was when Rex enforced such cruel justice. Phaspho was under the impression that touching the book of ''truth'' would cause him to spill out his secrets, and with defiance, he tried to avoid it as much as possible. But refusing the ''book of truth'' did not change anything as long as Evon was there. All Evon had to do was to increase the dosage or activate his chi for it to spill his entire life''s story. Thus his resistance to swear an oath was futile for Minister Phaspho, and Rex began his line of questioning without further ado. (After all, there was a line of ''criminal'' ministers waiting to be judged.) Similar to Litr, multiple crimes got exposed to the public, and by now almost the entire population of Demon Metropolis was earnestly watching the entire broadcast. Many were angry that the people who were supposed to act for the common good were so corrupt when they promised things to get done. After each accusation against the culprits, King Rex''s sentences ended up based on the offences they admitted to having committed and soon after, it was the next official. Only after 74 hours of non-stop interrogation, the longest trial ever to be held did Rex let the hammer fall for the last of the officials. The Home Guards had already scheduled rotations so that they would not get overworked but for the accused officials and nobles¡­ They were not allowed any rest except for toilet breaks which were also supervised in case they tried to make a run for it. No food or beddings were provided, and they had to kneel until the end of the trial session. Naturally, most of them ended up sleeping in that position, but what surprised even the Home Guards was King Rex being around for the entire time without breaks. (Although there were slight stretching during intervals.) For that period of 74 hours, Rex had not eaten a single piece of food nor taken a wink of rest. His focus actually got sharper as the hours went by, and even Evon had shown his ability to stand all day, by his side. The entire Demon Metropolis was in a way moved by the dedication of their new King, but at the same time couldn''t help but question his purpose. For the past 74 hours, the Home Guard had been busy raiding the accused houses for jewels, treasures and money. Yet, all that ill-gotten money was technically still taxpayers'' income. What was Rex intending to do with it? Was this trial just a way to amass all the wealth or would he be distributing it back to the people, or at least use it for the people''s wellbeing? The critics were still sceptical about it even though Rex had conducted a brilliant job clearing the current administration. The second problem the critics in the news industry pointed out would be getting new officials to take over for their jailed predecessors. Those ex-officials might have been corrupt, but at least they had been somewhat competent in their work. By arresting them all, it left a big gap, which might actually prove to be disadvantageous to the new King. Yet, the King who after slamming the hammer to conclude the trial session had no qualms with that especially when he had the System and the foxes by his side. In no time, Pei got assigned to be partially in control over the health ministry department. Although Kraft teasingly told Pei that she did not need to be with them any longer, she refused adamantly yet demanded Rex to allow her to work remotely. Tsu and Kai had been assigned to deal with internal affairs, and mainly the coordination of departments. Ixa was assigned to the transportation department while Itori the education department. As for their brother, Ixel decided to head the police department while General Vual became the sole defensive force after the Demon Metropolis'' defeat against Pandapolis. Even though Kiyu was currently working for her mission, her position in the Metropolis would be foreign affairs as Rex knew how that girl could sweet talk anyone. Evon had been appointed to head the science and research department while Kraft¡­ was given nothing. "Big Brother. I am so hurt. I''ve been nothing but good to you, and this is how you repay me?" Kraft asked overly dramatic via the System Channel. "Knowing you, I believe it''s best not to give you any position," Rex admitted, and the group could hear a relatively quiet snort from Pei. "But because of that, you will not have to report to anyone, not even me. Feel free to probe at everyone''s stuff." "That''s equivalent to the King''s position¡­" Kai pointed out, and Kraft literally jumped with joy. "BIG BROTHER KNOWS ME BEST!" Kraft shouted as he instantly disappeared from the chat. "You sure it''s a good idea, King Rex?" Pei asked, mentioning his title with some lofty sarcasm. "It''s not like you do not know him. If I were to give him something official, he would just get bored after a while. After all, he hates having someone tell him what he can and cannot do. Besides, despite his devilish ways, he always gets the job done and often he is going the extra mile." Rex tried to defend his proposition. "More like childish ways¡­" Pei resigned to that fact and looked up the Demon Metropolis health policies and related items. Even though all these jobs were temporary until a suitable official could be found, it was still a good time killer for Pei while protecting Jin. The reform of Demon Metropolis might have started, but the toughest part has yet to come. Chapter 825 Stalking Tiger, Hissing Snake "Finally, some rest!" Hou Fei sighed as he sat down in a corner stacked with supply boxes and took out a cigarette for a smoke. He had been coordinating all morning with the Border Guards for the first wave of forest sweep. The Border Guards were initially confused as to why the Royal Snake General were to bring such heavy machinery and even lending them some of it. But even without any exchange of words, they knew it was better to over prepare than not having anything. Thus, the Captains of the various Border Wall Sections and a select group of guards went through a quick induction course with some of the heavier weaponry like rocket propelled grenades and even heavy machine guns. "You sure make it hard for people to find you. Were it not for your rank, I would have reprimanded you already." A man in combat fatigues noted as he casually waved at Hou Fei which he had caught smoking. "Tsk, are you sure you''re a tiger and not one of the dogs? How hard did you sniff to find me?" Hou Fei replied, but despite his harsh tone, he offered the man his box of cigarettes. "To chase a slippery snake like you? I had no other choice." He answered with a laugh and accepted the box of cigarettes. Hou Fei even lent him a light. "Still, it''s a surprise to see the almighty Royal Tiger Battalion General in the field. I was sure you would be fiddling with your computer from your triad basement or remain on the sidelines." Hou Fei teased as he pointed his cigarette at the laptop that the general was holding on to. "Someone else is temporarily coordinating the Triad members for me. Else, how could the police ensure its 90% catch rate of bad people without the direct influence from the Royal Tiger Family?" The Royal Tiger Battalion''s general was none other than San Ya Bai, who was simultaneously the Three Eyed Tiger Triad Leader. "Don''t pretend you know everything about the bad guys. You did not foresee the Ruby Rat Triad Boss going for Jin, did you?" Hou Fei asked, and Ya Bai chuckled with a puff. "That, I cannot deny. I was aware of the tensions, and at most, I predicted some Rat Triad resistance or skirmishes around Tiangong district. But for the boss himself to go out and deal with that Jin? I have to admit that decision of his continues to baffle me even now. At least, now I know where the loyalty of the police chief in Tiangong district lies. He will go far as long as Jin grows in prosperity." Ya Bai admitted as he sat on a box and enjoyed the puff of smoke. "Looks like Tiger Head Yuan Ba has good foresight to make Jin into an honorary Royal Tiger Clan Member then." Hou Fei said with a bit of spite. "There is nothing stopping the Royal Snake Clan to bestow him with the same honorary status too, you know? Although it would be the first time for a person to receive honorary status from two different Royal Zodiac clans." Ya Bai mentioned. "Is it really necessary to use Jin as a political tool?" Hou Fei questioned, and Ya Bai was a bit surprised. "I did not know you cared for that kid that much. Is it because he''s Ming''s grandson?" "Yes. Ming specifically asked me to take care of him. Shelter him from all this nonsense if possible." "Sad to say, but in the current era, no business can grow rich and famous without any meddling from the political scene. Even if one managed to steer away from politics, he or she would still get affected by the indirect influences of it." "That is why it''s best to get Jin now, eh?" Hou Fei could not deny Ya Bai''s reasoning. "That''s one of the reasons. Although, perhaps more importantly is that our Tiger Princess seems to have taken a liking to Jin. Let''s not forget that the kid also saved our Clan Head. All the more for us to interfere with Jin''s life." Ya Bai vaguely reminded Hou Fei that the Snakes did not have anything like that could keep Jin at their side except for Hou Fei''s relation with Ming. "You might be surprised to learn how close Jin and I have become." Hou Fei raised his eyebrows for a moment as if he got another secret to keep and a warning that the Snakes can be as protective. "Besides, last I remember was that your clan kinda forced your status on him to use the Portal devices." "Heh, he had to prove his usefulness. That''s all I can say." Ya Bai replied before a short awkward silence filled the air. "¡­Is he coming to fight in this Monster Horde incident?" Ya Bai changed the topic a little as if they would be expecting him. "We both know that I''ve contracted him to be our backup plan for the evacuation. As for whether he does anything more than that¡­ well, that''s up to him." Hou Fei answered even though he knew a bit of the counter offense plan that Lynn had prepared if things went wrong via the System. It was insurance by the System in case any unexpected clash were to happen between him and other troops. "Heh, that alone is enough information." Ya Bai sneered as he handed a Royal Tiger Battalion Badge Pass to Hou Fei. "Give this to him once you see him. It should prove useful if he comes into contact with any of the private contractors." "You make it sound as if it''s a sure thing I will meet him." "Doesn''t seem impossible since we all have the portal devices now." Ya Bai grinned as he put out his cigarette and he waved goodbye to Hou Fei without looking at him. "Nice private chat. Once this is all over, feel free to come and pay us a visit. I''ll let my wife prepare your favourite meal again." "Does the System need to subdue that particular General?" The System asked, and Hou Fei smirked. "Nah, he is just as resourceful as the Snake''s Head. No wonder they sometimes say that competent Tigers are good stalkers." Hou Fei answered the System, and the badge immediately disappeared from his hand. "Ah, Sir!" A Royal Snake Soldier finally found his General. "Damn it, so much for taking a nap." Hou Fei complained, and the Royal Snake Soldier saluted and apologised. "Apologies, General. Colonel Chen Lai needs you at the frontline as soon as possible. They''ve are going to commence the sweep at 1100hrs." The Royal Snake Soldier reported. "I thought Colonel Kan Jian was getting a few APCs (Armoured Personnel Carrier) and an Apache helicopter from Shanghai before we start?" Hou Fei threw his cigarette butt on the floor and squashed it. "General, there are new and sudden activities being caught on the radar. They are approaching fast. Approximately moving at 50km/hr. That is why Colonel Chen Lai decided to proceed with the sweep." The Royal Snake Soldier reported. "That is weird. Way too weird. God damn it. Is it really true that this is an intentional act?!" Hou Fei gripped his hands as those thoughts went through his head. The Royal Snake Soldier merely stood there waiting for his General. "Did Major Boon Tiong contact the Horse Clan in Dongguan about it already?" "Sorry General, I''m not aware. I will pass the message after I complete my current orders." "It''s fine, belay that order. Lead the way." Hou Fei ordered as he took his phone and called the General of the Royal Horse Battalion. Chapter 826 Evacuation Plan Ready! "The Military Sweep has started on Huizhou and Dongguan." The System informed Jin just when he was replacing Yun for her lunchtime break. In comparison to the supposed tension, the customers in the shop were utterly oblivious to the soldiers that were risking their lives to protect them. Jin never felt that way until today, and he once again learnt that ignorance was indeed a disguised blessing. "I see¡­" Jin said as he took his phone out and requested the System to check if there were any news about it. He was expecting news blackout on the situation, but with the System''s advance search, it might be able to search for some gossips. "Negative. After checking all news outlets in this country, the information closest to the truth was a short article about an exercise being conducted around the borders of Dongguan and Huizhou. Private forums required more time, but a quick search resulted in zero hits on User''s query." The System reported back. "So, just another training exercise, huh." Jin began to wonder how many times when he had seen the words "training exercise" in the papers it was merely an excuse to actually cover something up, just like what Hou Fei and the others were currently doing. "User, your heart rate has elevated. There is not much you can do at the moment. System would like to advise you to focus on the business for the time being. Even if there is a war right outside your doorstep, User has to remain calm and carry on with his work." The System stated that protecting his shop was the most important thing for a businessman. "As if the past wars we got ourselves into were not enough to realise that." Jin chuckled a little as he stared at the audience from the bar table that the shop had ever since its inception. Nevertheless, he felt a difference now that it was his own world that was at stake. Was this how the Goblin Trio, peggies, Minotaurs and even the Jacks had felt? "Sigh, it''s only been a few months, but it already feels like forever." "If the System were to put the time compression and dilation into perspective of User''s current lifespan working on Dungeon Instances, it would approximately be close to two years." "In this case, I am definitely gonna die sooner than Gramps." Jin bitterly laughed at the impromptu analysis of the System. "Anyways, I was thinking of changing-" Suddenly they heard Qiu Yue screaming on the System Channel. "FINALLY DONE!!!" She happily reported to Jin that the prefabricated buildings had completed. "Thank you Qiu Yue, go enjoy a nice bath (without any Jin massage) or eat some good food to relax. The sweep has just started, so we do not have much time to rest in case we proceed with the counter offence." Jin thanked the Red Panda Cultivator for her job. "Seriously, you are already assuming the worst?" Qiu Yue questioned as she took a picture of the buildings she had built. Yes, with the Empire Building Sub System, she had spearheaded the building process by utilising its powers without the aid of the monsters. Although it was more efficient to set up herself, the constant use of the Empire Sub System is rather draining and the extra money needed to be spent to make those construction materials was way more than when she used the Orc Workforce to build it from scratch. Besides, even if Qiu Yue could have asked the Orcs to do it along with her, they were busy performing maintenance of Pandapolis after the offensive raid. The defence plans she had in store for Pandapolis were meant to reduce the amount of maintenance needed while keeping the cost low. However, King Baal''s mass teleportation spell had single-handedly overturned any plans they had designed, and while Pandapolis did not end up in ruins (their worst case scenario), major repair works were still needed to ensure that it could be operating smoothly for the real opening of the city. With her Empire Building Sub System, she was able to control simple blocks of prefabricated concrete levels as if she was in a video game. Her phone turned into a pair of Control Gloves as if she possessed high-level telekinetic powers to move the blocks into place. Her Red Panda mask, which was connected to the Sub System, also reminded her of the pieces that needed to be placed to ensure that the building was ready for use. Metal pipes and electrical wiring were done with a swipe of her control gloves while the levels of concrete snapped into position like lego building blocks with locking mechanisms. This was to ensure that those prefabricated buildings could be removed in a jiffy as well. "Hahah, as a businessman, I have to assume the worst, right? Besides, we cannot disappoint the customer who rented our instance space for this much money." Jin said, and Qiu Yue giggled. "You sure are exploiting them for charging such a high price. No matter how I see it, the dungeon instance space and materials do not cost that much." Qiu Yue, who knew exactly how much the material cost was for all this preparation, retorted. "Got to factor in my workers'' wages, right?" Jin asked with a smirk, and Qiu Yue''s eyes brightened up. "Does that mean what I think it does? A FAAAATTTTTT bonus for the incoming red packet?" Qiu Yue asked with excitement. "Who knows?" Jin tried to be mysterious, but his voice betrayed his words, and Qiu Yue was once again screaming at the top of her lungs. Some of the monsters who were doing some minor works near her had been shocked by it but laughed it off. "By the way, what happens to all these buildings if they don''t end up being used? Or after they were to be removed after this evacuation is over?" Qiu Yue finally calmed down as she teleported back to her room. "I was gonna hand them over to Rex. He is reforming their city. Did you recently watch how he basically accumulated a massive amount of funds from bagging a number of corrupted officials and is forcing those corrupt officials to reveal other scum bags." Jin answered. He had followed the Litr Corporation Trial and was wow-ed by the performance. Now Jin roughly understood why Kraft looked up to Rex as an older brother. "Yup, I saw that trial too, though I only watched the first part. He is really one amazing person. You should work towards becoming like him." Qiu Yue teased him, but was also half-serious. "Hahaha. Perhaps if I had a thousand years or more on my belt? Anyways, he did say that he wanted to bring down the slums and create proper housing for them. So, these prefabricated buildings could be the perfect answer for that situation. If we have the time, maybe you can construct more of it for him." Jin suggested, and Qiu Yue realised that the Dungeon Supplier was shrewd too. "Nice. These prefabricated buildings are sturdy enough to last for at least 50 years. With some maintenance and a bit of improvement work on them, they can definitely become decent housing for the poor. Also, if they get targeted by other Dungeon Core invasions, the buildings are cheap enough to replace. Definitely a good means to replace those slum settlements." Qiu Yue wholeheartedly agreed to that proposal. "If they can raise the poor out of their poverty or at least improve their quality of life, we should be able to benefit from it as well," Jin said as he could see that his source of money would finally be enlarged by a huge jump. "User will then finally be able to return the money you owe the System." The System suddenly interrupted, and the two System Users burst into laughter. Chapter 827 Worst Possible Momen Just as Jin and Qiu Yue were laughing away at the System''s impromptu comment, the situation took a sudden change. "Emergency. EMERGENCY!" The System was blaring out through the channel. Nearly every monster who was working suddenly stopped in their tracks. "What is happening?!" Jin quickly took a look at his phone and realised the screen display had already been switched to a view of the Farming World. "System has detected a significantly large magical presence right above the town Wecha." The System stated as it had already taken the initiative to teleport Peppers into the field. Although Pandapolis had been a clear priority for Jin and his monsters because of the imminent attack from King Baal, they had not left the last remaining major trade centre of the Northern region completely defenceless. Silver and the rest of the Jacks had been reinforcing the town as well as they could, taking care of the refugee population in the area. Gold and his cousin took turns to train the refugees from various towns and taught them basic fighting skills. They might not account for much in the grand scheme of things, but at the very least they would be able to do their part in defending the (second to) last remaining sanctuary for humans. "Is it some mass wide offensive magic?" Jin also asked if the town had already been equipped with Ayse''s shield generator. "Affirmative. The shield generator has already been booted up by Silver. However, the System is unable to recognise the pattern as it has been shrouded with some form of unknown magic. Bellator Peppers has been teleported to the scene to investigate while enhancing its magic defence systems." "Shit, of all times this had to happen now! Just what kind of twisted fate do I have with rats?" Jin cursed as he called back Yun to take over the counter as soon as she was done with her break. Meanwhile, his astral form allowed Jin Two to temporarily hold the fort in the shop instance as he checked out the situation in the Dungeon Maker. "Right now is not the worst possible moment. If the Demon Rats from the Farming World had launched an offensive during our defensive battle against the Demon Metropolis, it would have been far more devastating for the town of Wecha." The System reasoned, but Jin was looking for someone else. His one and only spy who had been monitoring the Rats ever since she had managed to get into the Northern''s Region Capital. Sure enough, the magic signals by the System were not a lie as Sebastia''s constant scouting immediately noticed something was off with the current capital occupied by the rats. "Master, it seems that-" "Holy mother of ¨C JIN, THERE IS A FREAKING FLYING FORTRESS¡­above me!" Peppers excitedly reported. She had wanted to blow it into pieces the moment she laid her eyes on the piece of land that had a variety of engines and machines installed at the bottom of the island to keep it afloat. The only thing stopping Peppers from attempting exactly that were the consequences of blasting it right over the Town of Wecha. The resulting debris meteor shower would rain down, unquestionably killing many citizens and refugees residing in Wecha. While she could conjure a wide energy barrier after an explosion massive enough to take it out, she knew all too well that her strongest ''spear'' would defeat the strongest ''shield'' in her arsenal. Thus, Peppers unwillingly followed the System''s orders to create a large enough energy barrier, surrounding the town of Wecha. "Cough! As I was trying to say. Master, it seems that a portion of the Northern capital where I''ve been hiding has somehow emerged over Wecha. I can see the view from where I am spying has turned into an endless ocean of blue skies. No wonder the rats have sent all the human slaves into the castle. They might be used to boot up the steam engine." Sebastia finished her report by stating that she would continue to go deeper into the floating fortress to gain a better grasp of the situation. "Looks like the fortress hovering is mainly due to the steampunk technology Weslie had invented¡­" Jin took a look at the steampunk floating fortress as it seemed to be descending towards the town itself. Suddenly, giant pillar supports emerged out of the fortress and sank into the ground around Wecha''s enhanced shield barrier. "Damn, I had hoped they''d be stupid enough to force itself through my barrier." Peppers pouted as she saw the pillars avoiding the shield. She thought they would be stupid to do just that. "I have a very bad feeling about this." Silver said in the System channel, and the others shared his bleak outlook. "What are you guys staring into space for?!" Qiu Yue shouted in the System Channel. "Aren''t we supposed to protect the remaining Northerners and get rid of those pesky rats? If the rats are gonna rain down now, are we going to allow the rats to dominate?!" "Well said. Orcs, stop the maintenance work, go to your battle stations and get ready to be teleported into battle! Orc Artillery Company Alpha, Bravo and Charlie, prep as many High Explosives rounds you can into the storage trucks for teleportation! Remember we can only carry that much for the fight!" General Nubwort sent the command, and every Orc dropped their tools to sortie quickly. "Gobs! You heard General Nubwort! Will we allow ourselves to be outdone by them?! Activate any usable Fortress Golems and standby for teleportation! Wyvern Goblin Knights, sortie in five!" Wyrstriker shouted through his command''s sub channel as well. "We might be a smaller group compared to the Orcs and Goblins but let''s not forget this is our home, Jacks! Make sure every able citizen militia has retrieved their weapon from the armoury and remember to give out the basic protection for them! Silver, Brown, Yellow bring the elderly to the Militia headquarters basement!" Gold ordered, and Jin found it weird. "What about the women and children?" "What are you talking about? They are fighting along with us." Gold answered as he shut the main communication channel out and tuned into the Jack''s sub channels. Jin might not be fighting in his real-world, but he had made a commitment to save the Northern Region in the Farming World. This was one fight he wouldn''t back away from¡­ even if it meant skipping out on the counter offence. Chapter 828 Militia Defence The cylindrical metal pillars descending around Wecha were like open floodgates for the rats to swarm out from. And unlike the Demons from Metropolis, these Demon Rats were armed to the teeth (literally). Hundreds of these monstrous steampunk infused machinery rats were dangerously strong just from the looks of it. From heavy armoured steampunk suits to large cannons on their backs, a majority of the Demon rats were upgraded at least once more for this particular assault to remove the last few bastions of humanity. Even Silver believed that standard swords and shields would be indefinitely useless against them. However, the rats hadn''t yet realised that their enemy was also quite the unconventional bunch of soldiers. Similar to the Orcs'' arsenal, the militia had infused inscription charm weaponry that allowed them to change their swords into rifles. Unfortunately, there was a drawback to the militia''s weaponry. In order to prevent the rat from taking away the weapons after defeating their owner, the System and Jin had decided that those weapons needed to be imprinted on their users. In essence, this meant that they had to sacrifice a portion of their lifeline to activate the inscription charms for the weapons to change into modern rifles capable of fighting evenly with the steampunk rats. In short, sacrificing their blood and body to activate the charms for a shot at fighting against the rats. It was harsh and cruel but because barely any humans in the Farming World were trained in the ways of magic, resorting to this type of blood magic had been deemed the easiest implementation. Initially there was resistance in getting them to use those until Gold had convinced them with a demonstration of their firepower. Able to easily pierce into the cast iron used by Demon Rats'' steampunk armour, the townsfolk realised they finally had a fighting chance against them. The inscription charms were also numbered and indexed by the system, enabling it to track the citizens on a grand scale and deactivating those weapons upon their death. In addition, there was a surprise waiting for the rats who thought it would be a good idea to pick up the militia''s weapon for their own use. Upon illegal usage of the weapons, the System was able to self detonate the weapons, causing damage to the rats who held onto them. Meanwhile, Ayse had devised an even more sinister way of exploiting this looting issue. She had proposed to place an additional inscription which would possess such a rat and brainwash it to fight for Jin momentarily. Unfortunately, the project could not be completed in time because of this unexpected invasion. There was, however, a sort of saving grace from the blood magic. By sacrificing a portion of their life, the System had added their identities into its database in case some of them were not able to sign a contract with the System in time. This meant that the militia would not die in vain as the System had acquired their DNAs and souls through the weapons. This was actually in lieu with Jin and his monsters plans for a full-on offence against the rats once they discovered all of their many hiding areas with the help of Peppers'' legendary Scan magic. Regrettably, he had never expected that the rats would have the first blood by attacking Wechat so quickly despite what they had deemed sufficient surveillance through the help of his monsters. The citizens who had collected their weaponry and basic armour from the various provisional armoury camps quickly mounted the nearest defensive walls. Usually, chaos would ensue with this kind of sortie, but all the officers in command were the Jacks who had been the ones to train them. With the aid of the System, it was easier to coordinate the sortie, and the militias were able to get deployed in time. Meanwhile, the Demon Rats began banging themselves against the energy shield until they realised that each touch of the shield would result in a minute explosion, blasting them away from the shield. Demon Rats who being mechanised to have battering rams tried their luck too but to their surprise, those battering rams broke down from the knock back explosion. Ranged projectiles also proved to be rather futile as well but some officers knowing that no shield is perfect, commanded its warriors to keep the pressure up. Just as anyone might expect from Peppers, even her shield had an explosive blowback feature, and all those previous bursts of high intensity magic in the various wars allowed her to better control the mana output to the shield. She had dubbed it the Living Barrier of Explosions as she could instantly detect the coordinates where the contact read and release an explosion accordingly. Nevertheless, her body was still itching to blast that big fat juicy target dangling above her despite knowing it would be detrimental for the entire town. "Arghhh why do I have to be stuck with guard duty!" Peppers grumbled since offence was always the best defence in her books. It seemed as if Wecha was not the only target the Rats had in mind as guards from Wecha''s watchtowers reported that a sizeable force of rats was assembling towards the direction of the remaining seaport where the bulk of the Northern Bulwark Army was stationed at. "We will definitely incur some losses, but at least we should have time to shore up the defences at the seaport. Admiral Focalor, I hope we can count on your expertise in handling a harbour defence." Jin said through the System Channel and the Tiefling noble immediately obliged. "Less than a month and we have our debut fight? Master, I am already liking you!" Focalor replied with excitement ringing in his heart. "Unfortunately, I do not have any ships to spare at the moment. Wolte, can you lend a hand for this?" Jin questioned, but to his surprise, the slug had already taken the initiative to be on his way to the Northern Seas. "On it, although I might not be as powerful as I was in Pandapolis since I am currently not connected to Shadow Dagen," Wolte answered after he transformed into Stalingrad while sounding his horn as an arriving signal to the seaport. "I could possibly get a ship or two from Northern Bulwark General Matt, but they are definitely not as well equipped as Leviathan or her counterparts." Due to the advance warning, Gold had also teleported to the harbour town to inform General Matt Umiterus about the incoming attack. With the information on hand, General Matt immediately began evacuating the elderly into a ship so that they could be shipped out. "No problem, we are pirates at heart. Any ship in our possession will become a beast." Captain Kenway boasted with pride as he rallied his demon sailors with him. "Can we hurry it up? My men are dying to try out your weapons after experiencing their fearsome firepower first hand." Captain Edwards asked with equally pounding enthusiasm. "Boss, am I going to be left out again?" Mr Derpy asked despite getting involved in the previous raid yet he never truly got a chance to shine. "You kidding me? Right now, I think you are the best candidate for an assault against the floating fortress! Pepper''s shield won''t last forever, and since they are desperate to clear us off the Northern Region, we shall entertain them as much." Jin replied as he was worried that the rats might try to crash into it as a desperate attempt to finish the rebels. "You mean you want me to assault the fortress?" Mr Derpy was finally elated that he had an important job to do. "Not only that, but I might also want you to carry an important individual or two for them to invade their flying capital," Jin added and Derpy was all pumped out. "Boss, now might be a good time to inform you that my team and I have refitted a couple of the C130s as part of a research project for our own homegrown spaceships. They should be good enough to get used as attack crafts for artillery support, but I''ll need to have One Orc Artillery Company to fill the numbers and man the equipment." Rei suddenly spoke out, and Jin was delighted to hear that. The dungeon supplier could have used the Clay Dragon again, but apparently, the rune stone powers had dried up from the constant use, and Jespa had yet to refill the runestone since she was ensuring Pandjilla, the first clay statue to become sentient, continued to work perfectly fine. "That''s great to hear, Rei. I will get back to you if I need to use them. Qiu Yue, how''s the preparation of the ground troops?" Jin asked as he opened several interfaces and noted the possible choke points that could be created to block the rats once the energy shield was down. "Waiting for your command." Qiu Yue reported as she too was anticipating to be teleported. Chapter 829 The Tacticians Rampage "All right, go!" Jin ordered as he enabled the mass portal via his Dungeon Maker interface. With the newly increased processing capabilities from assimilating the Dungeon Core crown, the System was able to teleport a massive number of minions in for a fight. That''s to say, it was one of the most unconventional teleportation moves that Jin had made up to now. After the enemies realised that bashing through the shield was not an option, they were reassembling their troops and had requested siege weapons from the floating fortress. With no retaliation from the defensive side, most of the rats were taking it easy. That gave Jin''s minions the upper edge when the portal appeared a few metres right above the rats, and all of them got surprised to see Veteran Orcs and Goblins diving out of their portals to hit them where it hurts. "This is what I call an ambush! We still have the element of surprise! Keep at it!" Qiu Yue shouted as she drove her katana into the crevices of a rat with a large steampunk suit. Blood mixed with other fluid was spilt throughout the floor while the Red Panda Cultivator started her rampage. When her katana was not in some poor rat''s body, her uzi was blazing bullets out of the barrel, distracting and wounding the rats. The short bursts from her sub machine gun in a crowded area made her equipment amazing for close combat. It didn''t take long for the rats to notice that Qiu Yue was unlike those normal soldiers that had been dispatched. Instead, she was akin to an officer in command despite her ''status'' as a human. Amidst her slaughtering, she still found the time to order the fighting Orcs around and telling the goblins to move to corner certain groups of rats deemed dangerous. Unlike the normal Orcs who needed more time to get through the rats'' powered up steampunk suits, Qiu Yue was slicing the large mechanical rats with ease. The only strange thing was, that whenever she faced the standard rank and file rats, it took her a bit of time to dispatch them. Whereas whenever a Giant Rat entered her range, they would die almost instantly as if she had some mysterious technique that will kill those large Demon Rats. The Rats had already reported back to the higher-ups, dubbing her the ''Giant'' Killer, and the numbers of her casualties started to pile up. They did not know that her Sub System allowed her to use money to strengthen her blade temporarily. Naturally, she wouldn''t choose to use it for the regular ones, so she only resorted to abusing it to slice down her larger size opponents quickly. "Mdm, looks like the rats are very attracted to you!" An Orc praised her as he covered Qiu Yue''s back with a large swing, cutting a Demon Rat''s body into two before transforming his weapon into a rifle to help cover Goblin who was about to be attacked. Even with the ambush tactic, the Orcs and Goblins were still outnumbered 1 to 300. And yet, none of them succumbed at these odds. Each and every monster on the field was fiercely fighting to bring down as many rats as they could. They knew that every kill would award them with precious System points which would ensure them a better quality of life. Since they knew that they had nothing to lose thanks to the System, most stopped being afraid of death. They simply tried to postpone the inevitable for the chance of getting more points. Not to mention, the constant fights along cultivators had ignited something within them. Jin also noticed a phenomenon which was something similar to the Goblin Trio. Even without formal training, the Orcs and Goblins were slowly gaining some form of chi as if a partial dantian nucleus had formed upon constant exposure to his cultivator customer base. He was unsure if they had noticed it themselves since the System had been the one to point it out to him, but the majority of the monsters were able to unleash a faint amount of chi while fighting, making them tougher than the rats had expected. Some even had applied chi unknowingly when transforming their weapons, strengthening them to provide it with some extra boom. "Heh! They do not know their place! Sorry but I think I need you to cover me a little more! Got a good surprise for all of them in store." Qiu Yue said as she tapped on the Orc''s shoulder. He acknowledged it by turning his back, and with the chi he accidentally inserted, the rifle was shooting continuously, stopping the rats in their tracks momentarily. "Red Panda Arts, Icy Wind of the Umbral Winter." Qiu Yue shouted, and her katana immediately glittered with a transparent look, as if she was holding on to a beautifully lit icy stalactite. A swing of her blade caused the air in the area to drop below zero degrees Celsius, and the steampunk rats were unable to move their suits at all as their primary source of power, steam, had been frozen into ice. Unfortunately, as this was a dense battlefield, the icy winds could not differentiate between friend and foe. Qiu Yue did not seem to care and continued to slaughter those rats entrapped in their deactivated steam suits. The Orcs and Goblins, especially the ones who prayed to Shiva, they just sneered at this level of ice. All of them had undergone specialised training from King Frost Echo as a guest invited by General Nubwort to suffer and survive in terrible cold conditions during their camp sessions. Naturally, as a tactician Qiu Yue had been, was aware of that special training course, so she did not waste a moment to apologise, nor did she take any particular precautions to limit her skill. Each and every one of those battle-hardened monsters shook the cold off and mercilessly preyed on the helpless rats stuck in their suits. "That was a brilliant strategy, Qiu Yue!" Jin exclaimed as he watched the events unfold and released the second wave of his minions down to fight against them. "Heh, Weslie did tell me about the weakness of her steam technology. They might be strong against weak and powerless humans, but they are awfully fragile against mages and cultivators like us." Qiu Yue was happy about the praise. "Too bad, they make up that shortcoming by being cunning¡­ Shit." Jin cursed as he noticed something albeit a little too late. A large fountain at the centre of Wecha suddenly cracked and later exploded, causing pieces of stone and wood to fly all over the place. What came after that was shocking for the militia defending at the walls. They were already fighting a sheer endless number of rats, but their reinforcement didn''t look any less numerous. They were coming out of the aftermath and began filling the streets with their verminous bodies. "AMBUSH!!!" Silver shouted as he witnessed the whole thing from one of the watchtowers. One of the trademark skills of their vermin type enemies was that they could create tunnels. Most, if not all of the militia had been stationed at the walls, leaving the inner cities nearly defenceless. "Good thing we have the knowledge to manage such cunning foes," Jin smirked as he quickly opened a folder on the Dungeon Maker interface marked with a crossed out rat symbol. Chapter 830 Covering The Sewers While it did not include one fool-proof plan, it still had notes inside about how each and every able person in Wecha had a role to play. They had been prepared for the rats to play dirty. While not as numerous as Moloch fabulous playbook against the Demon Horde, Gold still had formulated dozens of what if scenarios which he submitted to the System based on the current information they had on them. Naturally, one of them had always been an underground invasion. After all, they know those rats were capable diggers long before they got access to Weslie''s steam technology. Thus the sewers had been rigged with explosives, all meticulously covered and camouflaged with mud, dirt and smelly garbage. The foul-smelling job had not prevented the citizens from earning extra coin which the System had an abundance of in the weeks before this ambush. Technically it was not intended to be used as a defensive measure, but instead, they had planned to use the very same trick that had lured the rats into the various empty towns to blow them up into pieces with the help of Peppers. However, that would have been a last resort only after the people of Wecha had evacuated the area and moved to the seaport. After all, exploding each and every explosive could possibly obliterate not just the sewer systems but cause existing buildings on the surface to crumble from the loss of their underground foundation. Yet, the System had determined that detonating a few could increase the number of chokepoints and buy more time for the humans fighting against the threat while preventing the entire town from becoming a quicksand pit of death. And the most obvious choke points were undoubtedly the ones closest to the fountain as the townsfolk could feel the intense rumbling coming from the centre of Wecha. The centre collapsed inwards, and it halted the incoming onslaught of the Demon Rats through the makeshift tunnel entrance. At the same time, women all armed with rifles or bows were shooting as best they could from the rooftops at those Demon Rats who were scurrying into the complex slums of Wecha. While many missed because of the Demon Rats'' agility and the townsfolk'' inexperience at hitting moving targets, the rest were actually killed by either the shots or the surrounding traps made by the children in town. From hidden spikes to simple grease tricks, the traps enabled the women on the rooftops and upper floors to have a better chance to finish them off. It was a combination tactic which was unprecedented in their history books. Upon the Demon Rats'' death, the children reset the traps while the women made sure that the rat was deader than dead before looting their corpse for any valuables or weapons. As for the elderlies, they were not useless at all in their contribution to the war effort. They had started to inject odourless rat poison courtesy of System into the food and water in case the place got taken over. This was in case the rats decided to cripple the town by stealing the food supplies for their own war efforts. That was what had happened during the initial phase of the invasion, causing the humans to starve. These made the subsequent fights easier and made the humans more subvertable to their demands. At the same time, they had also prepared rations and got the children to transport them to the men and women of the militia. Gold had also repeatedly ensured that they all had sufficient supplies and did not have to worry about getting food if they survived. But the elderlies knew that that was something akin to a wonderful dream to survive the onslaught of the Demon Rat horde. So the only way to persist dreaming was to have a chance in fighting for it. Most if not all of the elders were also equipped with a hunting shotgun for the worst case possible. Unlike the weapons that the militia were holding, they were not imbued with any conversion inscription charms. Instead, Octofussy had inserted basic lesser recoil and easier reloading inscriptions, so the elders could contribute if necessary. Armed with only two shotgun shells, and a couple more of them in a side bag. The elders were also given reloading kits, enabling them to have an easier time to dish out a hell of pain. Escaping from the enslaved towns had already been a miracle but now entrapped at all fronts, most of the elderlies were already glad they could do something to contribute to the death of those Demon Rats before their inevitable demise. ¡ª¡ª "¡­ Actually, won''t it be worse after we explode that area?" Jin realised after he had already pressed the button to detonate the explosives. "Those rats will eventually find the other exits too." "System assures User that it was only a matter of time for those rats to pop up everywhere. System merely recommended exploding those points as a way to frustrate the rats underground while delaying the inevitable so that User finds a way to execute his plan." The System stated. "Send us. We are small enough and a decent deterrent against the rats in the sewer systems." A meek voice spoke out in the System Channel, and it was none other than Poppy, one of the vice leaders of the mousefolks. "Ya, and at the same time, detonate all the exits or entrances to the sewage system." A yawn from Meomi interrupted the conversation. "We will take it from there and clear the sewers out to their entrance." "As seen from the dead Demon Rats on the streets, most of the rats should not be as geared up as the ones outside the gates. They are likely to be armed with just the essentials to fight us with overwhelming numbers instead." Pippy, his brother in arms, examined the current situation. "Are you guys sure about this? It is bound to be a suicide mission. Even though you can be reborn again, dying isn''t the most pleasant of all experiences." Jin warned as he checked the Dungeon Maker interfaces to see where the locations of all the explosives were. "Heh, that''s the same thing Qiu Yue told us before we manned the machine guns on the flying dragon statue. Gosh, that was insane but awfully fun." Poppy recalled how much Pippy was nearly shitting his pants from the sudden dives and rise with the dragon''s constant evasive movement. "I''d rather die a few more times than ride that dragon statue again¡­" Pippy swore that was the first and last time he was flying on that statue. (Don''t be so sure, Pippy¡­) "Then that settles it. Chop chop. Nyanmi, remember to bring short weapons like daggers, our whipswords can''t do shit in the sewers." Meomi ordered as she clapped to hurry the execution of the plan from Jin. "We can always rely on our claws and jaws." Nyanmi replied, and Meomi was already salivating to tear the life out of those rats. "I wish you guys all the best." Jin sent them off. Then he took a page out of the rat''s book and used their own means against them. He made sure he exploded part of the sewers which would not break the foundations and teleported the mouse folks and the werecats into battle, making it appear as if they had broken through. With a smaller stature than the Demon Rats, the mousefolks used the smoke and dust from the explosion to perform their opening volley before switching back to the mini blades and rushed off to cut the vermin''s throats. Needless to say, their performance was stellar enough to not tarnish the name of their teacher bellator. Chapter 831 JODE Backup "Grandma Yuan!" Su Zhen waved at the older woman before bowing for a moment out of respect. She even rearranged her clothes a little before walking forth to her instructor. "Teacher Yuan, I did not know you would be here in the frontlines as well." Rong, who came together with the rest, greeted her as the Demon Exorcists had been gathered in a building affiliated with JODE. "Just as insurance. Although the Chancellor has already sent me messages telling me to go back to Shenzhen. There are enough people here, he says." Grandma Yuan shook her head as the amount of people gathered before her was barely a handful. "They are taking the threat a bit too lightly?" Lein questioned as he saw that most of the Demon Exorcists who had gathered were like them. The attendance list somehow confirmed his suspicion as it listed the point in time when they got their badges. Only when he saw it with his eyes, did the reality set in rather harshly how JODE think that they are really just the reserves. With a sweeping glance, the group could recognise that a few of them only had more than a couple months worth of experience under their belt, the rest were recently promoted exorcists or provisional ones. "Perhaps JODE assumed that our report has been over-exaggerated because we are new?" Lian tried to reason why there were so little people around. "But if Milk was not around that day, we could have died on the spot!" "Unfortunately, I had to edit the details of the report." Su Zhen whispered to them. "In order to have some credibility for our secret trip, I told them that Jin followed us instead. By right, we should have turned away when the Border Guards stopped us." "Aw man, alright. What''s done is done. I am just having a bad feeling churning in my stomach, and I cannot shake it off." Lian replied. "It shouldn''t be the case. I did stress the credibility of your report to Chancellor Ma Ge too, but it is ultimately his decision to send the number and quality of exorcists here." Grandma Yuan said after having overheard them. "I, however, believe that the Royal Horse Battalion report might have overwritten the urgency of this particular sortie." "I happened to have an acquaintance in the Royal Horse Battalion and asked him to keep an eye for me. He privately messaged me about five minutes ago that they are already doing a sortie for the sweep." Lein added, and suddenly they heard a loud explosion from the direction of the border. All of the Demon Exorcists quickly went to the window to get a better look, and since they were on the top few floors, they managed to catch a glimpse of the aftermath of the explosion. Instead of smoke and flames, they saw trees, dirt and gravel flying from afar. And then another explosion was heard, this one closer. Some thought that it was some Royal Horse soldier brandishing his techniques against the Monster Horde. However, this time, those Exorcists with keen eyes noticed that the bodies flying up in the air weren''t monsters but rather humans. Not live human cultivators trying to escape from the blast, but corpses with their body parts blown away along with the trees and soil. "Hmph." Grandma Yuan''s face turned serious, and the scene did not bode well for present Demon Exorcists. Most of these newly graduated Demon Exorcists were roughly Grade 5 or so, which paled in comparison to Yuan''s ex-students. This was because the training Yuan gave was extraordinary, and the so-called career progression for Su Zhen and the others would be fast-tracked after four to five years of field experience. Maybe less if they did amicably well in their initial two years. In the Royal Horse Battalion, most rank and file soldiers didn''t go above grade 5 to 6 unless they were ranked 2nd Sergeant and above. That was why when Su Zhen wrote the battle report, she hoped that would lead the defenders to prepare better. If Demon Exorcists with Grade 10 cultivation were having problems with the issue, they should handle the situation with quality instead of quantity. "Mdm! Instructor Yuan! We have orders to sortie. The bus is waiting for us downstairs as we speak." One of the Demon Exorcists'' senior admin shouted through the hall. "But isn''t it way too early for us? Some of the Exorcists on the list have yet to arrive!" Su Zhen argued and to add oil into the flames, Rong pointed out that only half of the list had reported for duty since it was expected for the Demon Exorcists to sortie later in the evening. "System, any idea what is going on?" Yuan, who had the ring on her, contacted the System. While she was not reinstated as a Sub System User, the System remained content to keep her under surveillance with a way to communicate it. As the circumstances got more apparent, Yuan clearly knew that this would be suicide for even experienced Demon Exorcists, not to mention those who had just graduated. Even with full attendance, there was still no way they would be able to make a dent. "Mdm?" The senior admin asked once more and everyone now looked at the renowned veteran with worried eyes. Yet, she stood at her current position and continued to stare at the forest. To the Demon Exorcists, it was as she was pondering at something before they heard her letting out a heavy sigh. "Contact the local officials. Let them know we will prepare to evacuate this city and the ones along the borders of Dongguan. Also, contact the surrounding senior Demon Exorcists and tell them to be on standby. This current situation has turned to Danger Level 4, with it dangerously creeping to Level 5. As usual, use my name." Grandma Yuan ordered, and everyone was flabbergasted. JODE had their own system to judge the threat level of any given situation, and Danger Level 4 already suggested the entire province was in danger. And yet, according to Grandma Yuan, it might turn to 5, which meant the entire country could be in danger. "Are you serious? I understand you can invoke a Danger Level 4 scenario given your status, Instructor Yuan, but we''ve only seen an explosion or two. Does that really warrant a Level 4 alarm? Perhaps a Level 3 alarm should suffice? After all, only the Chancellor has the rights to declare Level 5¡­" Even the admin had a hard time taking just Grandma Yuan''s words to sound such a heavy alarm after the fight had just broken out. Suddenly, the entire room was filled with a menacing aura. A silhouette of a gleaming Gold Griffin could be seen emanating out of Grandma Yuan. It was so bad that almost everyone in the room except for her own students dropped the floor, dying to get a grasp of breath. "Do I look like I am joking to you?" Grandma Yuan spoke each word slowly, and that aura alone was enough to show that she was dead serious. The senior admin understood and quickly ran back to tell his team to act under the protocol of setting the Danger Level 4 Alarm. "Whew, it''s been a while since I saw Teacher Yuan portray her cultivation out," Lein remembered the days when their instructor had constantly sent out her aura to suppress and discipline the initially unruly kids to do her bidding. "That''s not something I really want to remember," Lian whispered as she suddenly saw Grandma Yuan''s eyes looking at her. "Lian, Lein, Su Zhen and Rong. Go towards the frontlines and help people evacuate. By the time you reach there, the sirens should have blared. Do not overstretch yourselves and defend the citizens at all cost." Grandma Yuan ordered, and she subsequently looked at the rest. "You, grab me a map of the city, right now. I will be dispatching all of you to various locations to assist with the evacuation, and all of you will work in teams of two." Grandma Yuan announced. As to prove how bad the situation was, just as she finished speaking, they heard yet another explosion. This time in triple succession. The threat was approaching them, and all the Demon Exorcists'' hearts were already pumping hard. Yet, for some reason, the choking aura had cleared their mind, and while nervous, they were still able to listen intently to Grandma Yuan''s instructions. And this was sadly just the start¡­ Chapter 832 Uphold the Oath to Protec There had been a long silence during the decision making. It had seemed like an eternity to Grandma Yuan while it had been only a few seconds off her life, waiting for the System to share its information with her. The System had not been idle with the Monster Horde situation despite the abrupt problem that the Farming World was currently facing. Que Er, the Magpie Queen, had been sending out her crows and magpies into the forest for surveillance purposes as suggested by Lynn. However, for once the System deduced that it would be for the best if its User did not interfere with such a dangerous situation. At least not unless they had gathered enough information and it would be deemed optimal for the dungeon supplier to perform the counter offence operation they had been working on. It should be simple enough. Slip in, make a big bang with the help of his bellators to attract as many Demons as possible and hold them up in an dungeon instance. Then it would be either up to Jin''s minions to finish them off, or they could sell the monsters the trapped creatures as a seasonal dungeon for the cultivators. Of course, they could also use those same Demons as training products for the advanced training centre for the Demon Exorcists. No doubt, it was a win win situation for Jin and the people involved in it. However, the development of this issue had been too quick. Even the magpies which had recorded it with their magic eyes were shocked by the sudden change in pace. The moment the Royal Horse soldiers had entered into the forest, the Bone Spirit Demons began springing out from the depths of the mountainous forests. While the soldiers had been initially happy about no longer having to search for hours for any signs of the monsters, the Royal Horses quickly changed their opinion. They had not expected the frontline of the horde to display such terrifying power, eliminating nearly 10% of their forces almost immediately upon contact. The Royal Horse Soldiers never even had the chance to fight back properly, and the first ten minutes had turned into a massacre. It wasn''t until their higher-ranked officers like the Royal Horse Captains and Majors stepped in, that the battle started to turn in their favour. Yet, the soldiers weren''t the only ones to have reinforcements. Soon stronger monsters joined the fray, making the Majors and Captain''s firepower seem like nothing but a joke. The Royal Horse General Xi Le Ma had never seen such ferocity being displayed by a Monster Horde let alone the sheer number of monsters that could take out his highly reputable military officers half an hour into the sweep. However, highly reputable did not translate to being capable enough, and deep down in the General''s heart, he knew that his battalion wasn''t one to have the most combat-hardened soldiers among the Zodiac Clans. Instead, most of their officer ranks received the titles to appease the Royal Horse Clan family members. That was one of the few reasons why Le Ma had wanted to use this Monster Horde as a training session to get their soldiers beaten into shape. Money was not an issue for the Royal Horse Clan, and resurrection could be done as long as the number of casualties was not substantial. Yet, this Monster Horde happened to be beyond his expectations. "Where are the Demon Exorcists?! Didn''t I request them to assist us half an hour ago?!" General Le Ma shouted at his base camp near the border walls as he saw his soldiers'' morale visibly dropping after getting reports of how their soldiers were faring, and there was a lot of confusion in the temporary headquarters. "I have contacted them, yet they refuse to heed our call! Instead, they are evacuating the cities right now!" His aide replied in a panic. Amidst all the chaos, Le Ma had actually forgotten that there was a living breathing city right behind him and further beyond, an entire province. "General! Border Guard Captain Ding Huo is right outside demanding for orders to retreat!" Another officer came to report in a hurry. "What are you talking about?! If we retreat now, the monsters will bash through the walls!" "But a single battalion is unable to hold off this size of a horde!" The officer screamed back with increasing anxiety dwelling in his heart. "We will have our backs against the wall!" "THEN SO BE IT!" General Le Ma shouted so loudly that everyone was shocked by his temper. "We are the elite soldiers of the China Armed Forces. ACT LIKE ONE, GODDAMNIT!" "Sir, yes sir!" The officer saluted, despite knowing his entire body was trembling. He then turned and ordered the Border Guard Captain to bunker down. All those inside could hear the other party screaming that it was insane to die just like that right outside the camp. The guards had to pull him away as the captain punched the officer for giving a death order to the rest of his men, and yet the officer stood there motionless. Yet, deep down his heart, the officer was already crying. He had hoped to see his family once more. Praying that this was all just a bad dream he could wake up from. But the harsh reality was, that the chances of him getting resurrected after this entire ordeal was infinitely small. "I feel you, Captain, but this is to defend our motherland from this horde! Do you want those citizens to share the same fate as us?! Or do we stop the horde here at all cost?! " The officer replied back with a strong front. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Ding Huo knew that they swore an oath to protect the citizens from monsters when he first signed up for the Border Guard Defence, but he never imagined in his ten-year career that such a situation would actually rise. That they would have to face something this ¡­catastrophic. "It does not change the fact that you guys fucked up and brought a lightly armed battalion! I heard from the peeps at Huizhou borders that the other two Royal Battalions came with far better armaments and even fucking tanks and helicopters to this shitshow!" He later calmed his nerves a little and returned to the border wall while showing a middle finger at the Royal Horse officer. At that moment, everyone near the border walls started to hear the sirens going off and somehow that pissed off Le Ma even though he knew that it was best for the city. "General! The local officials are trying to contact you!" One of his aides said that he had the mayor on the line. "Reject that phone call. We have more important things to do now than to please some bureaucrats." Le Ma said decidedly as he too shut his phone after he noticed 28 missed calls and dozens of messages waiting to be read. Whether it was pride or the feeling of guilt for that inaction to pick up the phone, the Royal Horse General ordered the soldiers to fall back to the wall where they would have better cover against the deadly Monster Horde. Even though he knew that this would only quicken the inevitable¡­ Chapter 833 Why Cant I Return to Normal? "User, System noted that the sweep for the Monster Horde has turned for the worse." The System reported as it popped a side screen in the Dungeon Maker for Jin to view while not distracting him too much from the actual job. "I understand, but like I said that is not our priority at the moment. As much as the lives of my world matter, without our intervention the people in the farming world don''t have a fighting chance against them. At least the civilians in those regions have the Royal Zodiacs to protect them. These Farming People will only get slaughtered if they are left unprotected." Jin argued to the System (or was it for himself?) as he was replicating a few dungeon instances for the cultivators. He had considered about calling for yet another Emergency Raid Event to deal with the Demon Rats of the Farming World, so he could concentrate on the Monster Horde. But Jin believed he had stretched that a little too thin already after having had two consecutive raids. Even normal Dungeon Suppliers would not recommend cramming so much content in unless they really had a crazy amount of customers. That was why he was making another ''normal'' dungeon instance. As normal as it could be called seeing as it would trap these Demon Rats inside now that the System had a higher processing capability. "While System agrees with that decision, the bulk of User''s business currently stems from your own world. If the crisis were to extend to your province, it would definitely affect User''s incoming profit." The System stated blatantly. "But we have already mitigated that with the Pandapolis and New Adventurer''s Town, right? Heck, we can theoretically move to another province or country if the need arises. We do not necessarily have to stay in Shenzhen." Jin reasoned that there was not much to worry about. Besides, he strongly believed his country was resilient enough that it could recover in a matter of weeks from a bit of destruction. Maybe that would potentially revitalise and boost the economy as well. While it seemed as if Jin was not taking it so seriously as compared to when he first started out, the System understood that Jin wasn''t exactly wrong. It could have complied to its User and moved on, taking care of the business in the Farming World and subsequently establishing a foothold in their Northern Region. And when the time was right, they could still send in Jin and the bellators to reduce the horde size. It was theoretically a win-win proposal for the System and Jin. However, that was no longer the case. "User, the System has found evidence that agents of the Banned Emperor factions are within the Monster Horde operating them. The situation is as Panda Remnant Hou Fei has feared. This is a case of domestic terrorism." The two words Banned Emperor were enough for Jin to break his usual concentration and looked at the screen at the side of his interface. "Agents of the Banned Emperor¡­?" Jin asked and the System affirmed by throwing out a picture which one of Que Er''s magpie had taken with its magic eye surveillance. The picture was clear despite having tree branches in the way and blocking some of his features. However, his face was definitely uncanny to Jin. "Why does that person look so familiar¡­" "There is a 99.87% probability that this is the very same assassin that has nearly succeeded in taking the life of Royal Zodiac Tiger Head Yuan Ba." The System reported as it projected another picture which it had taken in the Stadium during the assassination attempt against the Tiger Lord and put it next to the first one. "But I thought the police had arrested him? How did he manage to? Huh?" Jin was confused though he could see that the assassin''s face was even more distorted now. He had a few new scars on his face and neck, which had yet to heal compared to his old picture. "System has a few theories, the most likely cause being that he might have broken free with help from the inside and escaped. It is impossible for someone to get out on bail for nearly taking the life of someone of Yuan Ba''s position." The System stated, and now Jin understood how this would concern him on a more personal level. "So, you are showing me this because¡­" Jin wanted to ensure that he was on the same page as the System. "Because the System has much reason to believe that the assassin will not leave your life intact after the ordeal he had been through. If the Monster Horde could potentially shred half the Royal Horse Battalion in less than two hours, the System predicts that the Monster Horde could run through Dongguan and Huizhou and head for Shenzhen." "And that would also fulfil their objective of ruining the cities, eh?" Jin asked as he slammed his head on the table. "Wonderful." "System has detected sarcasm in the last word spoken." "Why am I involved in this Banned Emperor nonsense?! You are supposed to be just a System that would help me become the number one dungeon supplier in this world." Jin grumbled a little. "With great power comes great responsibility." The System retorted. "Hah! More like signing a contract without getting a chance to read the terms and conditions. Can I call Xiong Da to get you out of my life right now?" "And lose all this power, prestige, comfort and luxury?" The System questioned. "Hmmm, why not? Get a normal job with standard working hours and hopefully find a nice, caring wife too." Jin literally did not want to continue. What were the odds of a Monster Horde breaking out and being controlled by a faction which he never wanted to get involved with?! "Your lineage forbids you from doing that." "ARGGGHH!!" Jin scratched his head and fumbled his hair up in frustration, somehow hoping that it would help him get out of this nightmare. "How long do we have?" Jin asked as he felt like he was on a time-sensitive mission once more. "Dongguan''s walls might break soon because of the Royal Horse Battalion incompetence. However, the Demon Exorcists, including Grandma Yuan are on-site, assisting people with evacuation. Unlike Huizhou which the Tigers and Snakes have prepared sufficiently, Dongguan is the weakest link of this whole equation." "Yun." Jin immediately called the System''s assistant into the Dungeon Maker the moment he heard Yuan was there. "Protect Grandma Yuan with your life. Knowing her, she is definitely too stubborn to run away and is going to fight the enemy to the best of her ability. However, since we know that there are Banned Emperor Assassins out there, their dantian corruption poison could prove fatal to her. I don''t want to risk her life. Teleport her away to the Dungeon Maker if need be. We cannot let the Banned Emperor terrorists take away our prized grandmother''s life!" "But the way you say it¡­ Seems like you just activated her death flag." Yun frowned with her arms folded. "Then plug that flag out of her. It''s an absolute order." Jin pleaded. "I will deal with the Farming World as fast as I can and return to assist." Chapter 834 Extra: Interrogation of the Banned Emperors Assassin "Heh, for an assassin, you have quite a durable body." The Royal Tiger Police interrogator said as he whipped the Banned Emperor''s lackey with a spiked whip and yet the assassin continued to keep quiet. Despite the highly advanced surveillance technology which China was proud to possess, there was no ID match on this particular assassin. He didn''t have any type of fingerprints they could check, no DNA match could be found, and the house which they raided was perfectly clean. Aside from the failed attempt on Royal Tiger Head Bai Hu, there was no other evidence that pointed towards the Banned Emperor terror group or faction. Even Criminal Forensics with Mage assistance had been unable to find any traces of magic in the house they had raided. The Investigation department had dug deep into his past movements. Surveillance cameras were scoured throughout the past week thoroughly, and the Tigers used their exclusive rights to obtain footage from restricted or limited access cameras for any criminating evidence. And yet, he had merely been acting as a sales representative to bid for the Gearbox that Yang Ling was introducing. Thus, with no physical evidence at hand, the Royal Tiger Interrogators only had one way to get information out of him. The hard way. It''s rare for the Royal Tigers to even consider such an anarchic method as torture since they usually were able to gather enough incriminating evidence to indict a prosecution. As for this case, the attempted assassination was not just on anyone but their own Royal Zodiac Tiger Head. It was enough to put the nameless Banned Emperor assassin behind bars for some time before compiling a case for execution. The police''s upper hierarchy had been dealing with this particular elusive group for far too long without achieving any results. Since there was one in their custody, they might as well resort to underhanded tactics to finally retrieve as much information out of him as possible before the assassin was taken away by the Special State agents. (The police did request for some ''personal'' time with the perpetrator from the State Agents since they nearly killed their head.) Alas, all the Banned Emperor assassin offered them was a muffled laugh at the interrogator, as if there was nothing that could be done to get any information out of him. "You fuck, you think we won''t be able to extract information out of your head?" The interrogator cursed as he decided to change his tactics a little. He called upon his colleagues, who wore masks to prevent identification by the assassin, to uncuff him from the prone position where he had been whipping the half-naked assassin. Now they grappled him and ensured that his fists were locked in titanium cuffs mixed with granite to ensure he was unable to manipulate his techniques. After which, they placed him on a chair with a seat that had a large gaping hole at the bottom. They didn''t even hesitate a moment when they removed his pants, and his genitals were hanging right below the chair as they fully secured him on the seat. The assassin knew what was going to happen the moment he sat stark naked while the interrogator tied the ends of his whip into a heavy knot with spikes on it. "Spare me the brave front and tell me about the workings of your organisation. Give me the leader of the organisation and don''t you fucking dare to tell me it''s the Banned Emperor!" The interrogator demanded as he tightened the knot and already started swinging his whip gently. "Banned Emperor." The assassin continued to smile, and his answer already prompted the interrogator to gently swing the knot to the assassin''s genitals. The pain. The sensation. That odd ecstasy. "Sometimes, the simplest of torture is the best way to get information from people." The interrogator mumbled as he started shaking his knotted whip once more and the assassin was breathing heavily, anticipating the swing to his genitals once more. Despite the slight bleeding from his thighs and intense pain imaginable from the initial one, the assassin continued to keep his mouth shut. "Don''t worry, I have all day." The interrogator said with pleasure, but there was a knock on the door, which prompted him to stop. "Sir, the State Agents are here." The masked officer who sent the message had left the door slightly ajar, and the interrogator panicked. "Already? I thought that they would only be here later in the night." "Nothing we can do to stop them. You might want to talk to them and request for additional time." The officer replied which made the interrogator drop his weapon at the torture table and open the door to find that all his colleagues murdered in cold blood. Before that horrid scene was able to etch itself into the interrogator''s mind, that brain of his exploded into smithereens by the masked officer who stood there with his literal hand ''gun'' pointing at the body. "Bang." The officer said as he unveiled his mask and blew imaginary smoke off his finger. "Took you long enough." The assassin said with bated breath. "Well, I always thought that you deserved a nice hit to your balls for being an arse." The imposter officer shrugged as he grinned from ear to ear. "Fucker. They really did a number on me. You could have left him half dead, so I could give him a taste of his own medicine." The assassin heaved a sigh of relief as the officer pointed his finger on the titanium and granite cuff. He pushed his thumb down like he was priming his finger gun and the action of receiving a gun recoil caused his chi to ignite and explode the cuffs off the assassin. But oddly enough, the assassin''s hands were undamaged after the mini-explosion. "You could have used the keys on the interrogator, you arsehole."The assassin complained as he checked the movement of his wrist before catching the bag of new clothes which the imposter officer threw his way. "Shut up. I don''t wish to touch him with all that blood on him." The imposter officer argued as he hurried the assassin to change. "So now that I failed to kill the Royal Tiger Head, has anything changed?" The assassin asked as he put on the clothes. "Yung, the plan was never going to change. The assassination was optional, and we knew there were risks involved. If you could have killed him, it would be one less problem in the future. Still, you could have at least fled so I wouldn''t have to save your sorry ass. Anyway, right now, we have to focus on our objective to rescue the Elder." The imposter officer said. "Yeah, my bad, Huan. Nevertheless, this will definitely be a big blow to the Royal Tigers. Wonder, how the headlines will read." Yung spat at the dead interrogator. "What do you think? Probably something completely normal. They will keep it quiet from the public, and the State Agents will be looking for us desperately." Huan answered while he waved goodbye to the dead bodies as the two ''officers'' pretended to walk out of the interrogation room as if everything was as per normal. Chapter 835 Uprooting The Problem "So, do you both understand all of this? Especially you, Derpy?!" Jin asked through the System Channel, and the Shadow Dagen was already getting restless after all that information. "In short, just smash myself into the fortress, right?" Derpy reiterated, and Jin felt like placing his palm on his face. "Yes¡­ ultimately it boils down to that so you can put it that way." Jin said with gritted teeth. Just as he was about to tap on the interface for the System to begin teleporting his monsters into action, Peppers interrupted the conversation. "Jin, it''s just as you expected. The fortress is opening up its bottom. There are signs of increasing levels of magical energy and heat accumulation underneath it." "Can your shield hold?" Jin asked, and Peppers replied with a resounding yes. "Ayse came by to fix the improved vest on me. I should be able to fix the shield to withstand the damage. She even gave me a prototype amplifier unit to allow me to cast two spells at once." Peppers boasted with glee on her face. "DON''T TWIST MY WORDS! This unit merely allows you to continue channelling your shield spell without breaking concentration and thus gives you the leeway to start prepping your mana for an explosion spell. That way you won''t go crazy by the influx of mana going into you like a black hole." Ayse corrected her in the System Channel. "Basically, two spells at once." Jin and Peppers said simultaneously, and it baffled Ayse that her master was of the same mindset as Peppers. "Whatever, Master. Just don''t let Peppers shoot until the amplifier unit gives her the green light. Otherwise, both shield and explosion spell are likely to backfire on her instead. Worst case scenario, the entire town you are protecting will disappear." "¡­at least that means the threat we are fighting will be gone, and those humans will be in the System''s command." Peppers mumbled after a bit. "Sure, if you don''t mind turning into a LITERAL black hole which will suck all mana and life into it, and possibly cause this world to crack and disappear from existence. It would be scientifically interesting to see if the System could still revive you then." Ayse threatened with the theoretical possibility, but she knew that the chance of such a thing happening was barely above zero. "Urgh. Then why did you even let Peppers have that amplifier unit." Jin asked with much more worry about the situation. However, before he could get an answer, Peppers suddenly shouted when she saw that a beam of high intensity energy had dropped onto the apex of her shield. "ALRIGHT, LESS TALK ,MORE ACTION!" Peppers screamed, and Jin pressed a button on the interface that allowed his initial plan to be put into action. While Jin believed that the masterminds of the fortress were rooting for a successful beam attack, he sent Derpy about one kilometre away from the fortress to allow them to witness the impending doom they were about to experience. (Actually, it''s more like enabling Derpy to fly at top speed and adjusting his angle in case the portal coordinates were off since the System had to teleport such a large figure.) Upon exit, Derpy was already swimming in the air at full speed, and the fortress did not have any means to defend against such an enormous target. Most of its turrets were beneath the hovering fortress, and they were occupied with hitting the shield which protected the humans, hoping for it to crack under pressure. By the time, the masterminds of the flying fortress decided to send out flying units, Derpy had already come too close to the fortress. There and then, one of the newest members of Jin''s army of misfits stood proudly on the nose of the Shadow Dagen. "Duke Vepar, at your service!" The One-Winged Armoured Angel introduced himself with a wide smile as he pointed his gauntlet in front of the fortress and enlarged it. (After capture, the System had allowed him to return to the bridge where he lost his giant gauntlet though it was mainly to help the monster maintenance team to properly repair the bridge.) Vepar had not actually been able to precisely control the size he could enlarge other than the standard colossal gauntlet he showed during the Demon Invasion. However, the System had measured the size of the flying fortress and helped extend the size of his gauntlet accordingly, enabling him to grab the entire fortress within. Along with the speed that Derpy was moving, the gauntlet was not only able to grab hold of the entire fortress but also uproot the pillars it had entrenched itself around the town. Of course, not all the pillars remained intact upon experiencing such force. Many were broken, but the collision still forced the fortress to move away from the town of Wecha. Normally, physics would not have allowed the one-winged angel to survive the uprooting, but thanks to the innate powers of his ''flying mount'', Vepar had temporarily merged with the Shadow Dagen. So, the impact of his gauntlet was absorbed by the entire giant whale of a monster as it continued to dash and break the fortress away from the attack. (Nevertheless, the strain felt by Vepar was absolutely wrenching. He felt like death would be a better option.) Along with the fortress, the continuous beam of energy which went haywire ended up killing a massive number of Demon Rats. Unfortunately, it also resulted in some Orc and Goblin casualties. The System had been smart enough to quickly teleport a majority of them outside beam trajectory in time, all in the name of saving cost, resulting in an overall higher death toll to the rats. The flying fortress was unable to maintain its aptitude and balance after being grabbed by the giant gauntlet, and the whale monster suddenly disappeared from the collision. However, that was not the end as Derpy did not return via the portal and instead had already flown upwards once again to achieve enough speed for a terminal velocity drop. "Boy, this is fun!" Vepar laughed as he readied his gauntlet once more. This time, he switched hands since the left one he had just used to grab it became powerless and broken. "I like your attitude! Are all Demons like you and Wolte?!" Derpy exclaimed along with a loud wail. "Nah! I doubt so!" Vepar answered as he clenched his fist, ready to enlarge it and bash the fortress to the ground. "They don''t make us like they used to!" Chapter 836 Gauntlet Smash Despite the tremendous backlash he endured from the previous attack which resulted in a broken left arm, Vepar managed to keep his enlarged gauntlet steady enough on his right hand for the punch to hit the unstable floating fortress. By dropping the fortress to the ground, Jin hoped that it would disable most of the features in it. Weslie mentioned that the steam technology systems she recalled creating were not as sturdy as she had liked them to be. This was mainly because she had been forced on a very strict timeline for some reason. At that time, she was only given enough resources to make the floating mechanism. Weslie initially thought that it would be used as a foundation for some major floating platform or a gigantic airship, yet she never expected that the North and South Scholars would decide to put her system to power up an entire castle. Despite the improvements to the floating system they had added, she assumed that the core floating steam system should still be the same. Hence, giving the castle a good hefty impact should definitely render the fortress''s hovering mechanism useless. Worst case scenario, they would be displacing it further away from the town of Wecha, so the dungeon supplier could employ the heavy hitters without any need to hold back. Peppers alone would be enough to wreak havoc at the fortress. (Although the monsters would surely disapprove letting her have all the fun.) Nevertheless, like every prepared villain, they did not just lay there and wait for Vepar and Derpy''s combination attack. Even though the enemy mainly consisted of Demon Rats, the masterminds of this attack revealed the ability to cast a crude but functionally similar multi-layer shield to block the attack. At the same time, they had managed to sortie their own versions of air force against the unlikely duo. Steampunk helicopters and even steampunk planes that were still functioning had been sent out from the unstable hangar in a hurry to counter the giant threat. However, the gauntlet smashed straight into the shield, causing an impact great enough to knock the steampunk helicopters away. Thankfully, Vepar did not lose out as he inserted more magic into the gauntlet (courtesy of Derpy) to maintain the punch''s strength. The Shadow Dagen himself was not being idle too. Unlike the time when he acted as a battery and was confined underneath Wolte, Derpy worked properly this time around and assisted Vepar to the best of his abilities. He used his mighty teeth and began biting the magical shield. If one didn''t know any better, they might mistake him having an impromptu snack time in the middle of a fight. "Is there anything he does not eat?" Jin chuckled at the brilliance of Derpy slowly biting away on the shield, resupplying that magical energy back for Vepar to use. He looked at another screen where the Wyvern Goblin Knights had heeded his command to fight against the steampunk attack helicopters and planes. The dogfight quickly turned in the favour of the Goblins, who appeared to have a much easier time fighting these Demon Rats than the Demons'' air forces. The attack helicopters were less agile and did not have the speed to catch up with the Wyvern Goblin Knights, making them nothing but easy pickings. Though they could not say that it wasn''t a novel experience since the helicopters were able to shoot steel pellets and even a cannonball in the midst of battle. But it was not until the fortress sent out steam planes that looked like the ones used in World War 1 that provided the Wyvern Goblin Knights with a bit more of a challenge. Yet, with a bit of acclimatisation, the knights had no problem stopping them in their tracks. ¡ª¡ª- "Still holding on there, buddy?!" Derpy asked as he made one bigger munch closing in on the last layer of shield away. "Couldn''t feel any bet- What the hell is that?!" Vepar saw an abnormality within the fortress itself. It looked as if a hole was artificially opened in the town area, and a cannon was already aiming at them. "Looks like the very same laser cannon that had been used against Wecha! Derpy, quick move out of the way!" Jin cautioned, but Vepar refused. "After all this struggle, you expect us to move away?! Fat chance! Master, you might mean well, but you clearly do not know me well enough!" Vepar disagreed as he slowly pulled himself out of Derpy''s fusion and spread his wing. "It''s all yours!" Derpy shouted while he pulled the last remaining shred of the layered shield and swiped his body, enabling him to use his tail to hit Vepar''s back. "Thanks for the assist!" Vepar yelled as he could feel that the backtail slap was not as damaging as he thought it would be. Instead Derpy had used it to send a big burst of magical energy into him, slinging him to propel forward. Instead of aiming at the palace within the fortress, Vepar decided to destroy that laser cannon before it could cause further harm to either Jin''s minions or the town. *BOOM!* All that was left in the scene was Vepar''s Giant Gauntlet stuck in between the floating fortress'' laser cannon. It resulted in multiple secondary explosions within the fortress and guaranteed that it would not fly anywhere anymore. Still, for some reason, it did not stop the influx of Demon Rats pouring out of the place. "Heh! Finally, I can get a bit creative!" Peppers squealed with satisfaction until Jin reminded her something important. "If you shoot now, you might not have the strength to fight against the Demons in my world. Are you willing to do that?" And that question alone was sufficient to hold her firepower back for once. "But it''s a castle! FILLED WITH RATS! FILTHY, DISGUSTING-" "Some are quite cute actually if you take a look at them properly." Weslie interrupted. "Despite their hideous looks (from a rational standpoint) they had not all been the same, and some of the Demon Rats had gratitude in them." "Well, true for your case. But still RATS!" Peppers shouted once more in the System channel even though she had already lowered her staff. "Sigh, and here I thought I could end things with a big bang¡­" "Argh, fine. Let''s do it. We do not have a better chance than now. Peppers go-" "Master! Please wait! I found that there are still a large number of human slaves inside the floating fortress. I have managed to locate and free a number of them, but there should be more!" Sebastia informed them as she continued to run towards the next block of cells and attempted to free more of them. "There are kids and elderlies as well." "Damn it! Why did they bring those slaves in the fortress?" Jin banged the table and gritted his teeth to control his anger. Peppers might have no problems burning the entire castle down, but the perception itself would bring hate and disgust to Gold''s allies. So what if Jin could resurrect them? Capturing kids and elderlies would not profit the System, and it would only recommend to kick them out as to not waste resources. There might be the consideration of a long term investment for the kids, but sadly not so much for the elders. In short, the System was not a charitable organisation, and even if it performed good deeds for Jin, it could only tolerate so much if it saw only detriments coming its way. "Peppers, lower the strength of your explosive burst and aim it at the tower instead. That should hinder the mages in there, particularly the scholars. We should give Sebastia more time before rat reinforcements interfere with the rescue." Jin ordered as he switched to another channel. "Penguins, sorry to trouble you guys once more. You all have more experience rescuing people than others." "Heh, no problem, Master. Queen Lynn should not oppose us doing this too." Kido, the latest penguin ninja leader agreed. "You won''t see my complaining. Jin, I am tagging along with them and learning a trick or two from my peggies." Lynn reported as she had volunteered to be part of the rescue team. Kido nodded with pride that his Queen had decided to accompany them despite the danger she might encounter. "Thank you, and godspeed to all of you," Jin said as he temporarily diverted his attention from both attacking and defending against the Demon Rats. Chapter 837 Luring Them In While Qiu Yue was supposedly the tactician for Jin''s skirmishes, she had argued that she would need to gain some fighting experience before turning into a full-fledged strategist. Inspired by her rival''s enthusiasm, Lynn had also decided to join the battle and allowed Jin to direct the battle since he had sufficient power-ups under his belt. (Or on his belt.) "Tough fight, huh." Moloch came in at just the right moment when Jin had to coordinate between two separate different groups. "Let me handle the one at the crashed fortress. You should settle your dungeon instances and the defence of Wecha so we can earn money too." "Thanks, Moloch. You know me the best." Jin giggled and raised his hand for a high five before both of them started their work. "Weslie, how''s that luring device? Is it operational yet?" Jin asked as that was the most important equipment needed before he could start his dungeon instances. "Yeap, I did a quick trial run after making some impromptu improvements. The device can now attract a fair number of them, but it is not exactly very effective after a certain range." Weslie said as the System had already teleported the device away from her hands and placed it in the Lost Tech Counterfeiter for quick product purposes. "User, the System has already produced five of those luring devices. Feel free to start with your plan." The System prompted its User as it magically sent those five devices on to Jin''s table. "Nice. Now to attract those rats into the portals. We have to make it slightly subtle so that they will unconsciously jump towards it without realising what we are doing." Jin said as he looked at Peppers. "Ready to let go of the shield spell. Be quick about it, our monster force is losing rather badly already." "Also, think you can open just several portions of your shield instead of bringing down the entire magic spell?" Jin asked to see if he can refine the use of the luring device too. "You kidding me? That''s like basic stuff I learned during my first month of mage training!" Peppers boasted as she asked where Jin wished to have the shield partially opened. The dungeon supplier responded by pointing at certain locations of the barrier on the Dungeon Maker interface, and the System made it simple for Peppers. In an instant, a few portions of the shield disappeared which shocked some of the rats thinking it was a trap. Portals suddenly appear right between the crevices and a pair of defenders appear right in front of the portal. They were none other than the Savants. Semi-autonomous humanoids which contained top adventurer souls that Jin and his minions had collected in the Dungeon World. Their menacing presence alone had proven to be a few notches above the ''average'' Orc and Goblins within Jin''s army, and the Demon Rats were looking at them with spite. With the Shaolin Football instance as a hotbed of trials for the cultivators to test their strength, the Savants too had become one of the most formidable monsters. Their difficulty ramped up to a level that the cultivators had yet to defeat them in Jin''s shop. Yet to the rats, the defenders weren''t as interesting as that open partition in the energy shield which hadn''t closed with the Savant''s arrival. After all, their objective was to slaughter down every single civilian within the Town of Wecha, and they would be handsomely rewarded if they accomplished it. "Go go go!" The Rat Officers shouted as rats in bulky steampunk suits attempted to brute force their way through, underestimating the defenders. Without making a sound, the Lord Knight Savant raised his sword and crystal lights pierced through time and space in order to imprison themselves on the hands and limbs of the Demon Rats. With their movement restricted, the Archer Savant released a volley of homing arrows that went straight for their eyes, barely missing the heavily reinforced helmet they had difficulty wearing. As for the other pairs of Savants, they also started their fight. The Savant Warlock summoned tentacles to strangle and entrap the rats while the Savant Lancer proceeded to eliminate all those constrained by penetrating their armour with his spear, aiming precisely for their hearts. Having similar abilities as Ke Mi, the Bard Savant plucked a few strings on his guitar, and it was sufficient to immobilise a bulk of the Demon Rats for his partner, the Assassin Savant to finish the job. This opening act was enough to enrage the Demon Rats and rush to overwhelm the defenders all around them. Yet, they did not know that it was actually the luring device which was placed at the top of the portal that had already been activated and started to attract the rats. Naturally, the Savants did their best stopping as many Demon Rats as possible, but somehow that made their primal instincts even more rabid, causing them to fight even harder. Jin did not mind the Savants actions as long as there were still rats left at the end of the day for the latest installation to his repertoire of dungeons. The Spiralling Sewers Instance. Since there was no chance for him to resurrect the Demon Rats, he had decided to make this yet another limited dungeon run. Only this time, it would be a little different from the usual dungeon instances or raid instances. As most of his dungeons were team-based, he realised that there was little emphasis on individual dungeon instances. The only real thing he offered individuals was the option to fight in the battle arenas. This was because he had always kept to the notion where dungeons were meant to be team-based so they can have the most fun out of it. That was why they developed the Squad AI teammates for future dungeon instances. Yet, he had neglected that there were cultivators that wished to improve themselves without the need to play with other people. And since Jin did not know when exactly he would implement the Squad AI feature, he believed this particular dungeon instance should be the ideal stopgap measure to allow individual cultivators to play by themselves. "Keep getting more of them! We need as many as possible!" Jin said as the System started to chunk out more of those luring devices so they could be used to catch the rats at the crashed fortress site, the actual sewers of Wecha and the impending horde that headed for the North Bulwark''s last bastion. Chapter 838 The Spiralling Sewers Instance The Spiralling Sewers Instance. Inspired by roguelike games, a subgenre of role-playing games which emphasised on procedurally generated levels and permanent death of the player character, Jin had used a few ideas from them to create this particularly new dungeon instance. While the Demon Rats would eventually disappear after enough cultivators had culled their numbers playing this particular new instance, it would give Jin a good amount of data to see if he should continue to expand this instance in the future as well. As for now, this instance would work by allowing only one cultivator per dungeon instance. They would start from the top where they would find a porthole to descend down into the next, they would encounter those Demon Rats which would be roaming around the sewers. Each time the individual cultivator defeats a Demon Rat, Jin expected the rat to drop some loot corresponding to whatever crop they were born from. That loot would then be collected by the cultivator and could be exchanged for Panda Medals at certain checkpoints where they would find a shady looking trash raccoon selling potions, accessories and even weapons. (Some cultivators who later played it felt that it looked like Thomas "Trash" Hook from a certain famous leisure game.) That being said, the cultivator going in would be limited by the dungeon server aka the System to hold onto two items to help them with their dungeon run. Aside from those two items, the server would lock all items from being used. Therefore, this particular Spiralling Sewers Instance would be a progressive run which was a variant of the Dungeon Cave that the adventurers in the Goblin World experienced. Compared to the Dungeon Cave, which focused on exploiting the adventurers as much as possible to prepare them for any possible threat within the lower levels, the Spiralling Sewers was the direct opposite. The cultivator had to earn their medicinal potions, weapons and ammunition to continue travelling down the sewers. However, there was an additional catch to the latest dungeon instance. Jin predicted that there might be a few cultivators who would try to explore each and every corner of the sewer before proceeding to a checkpoint in the sewers. Sure, there would definitely be a few goodies hiding in every alternate corner of the complex sewer system, but he needed to stop them from taking too much stuff since this was still a business model. Thus, he added a gem light mechanism in the instance. The gem light mechanism would not only light up the sewers but also act as the checkpoints for a safe resting point, allowing them to quit the dungeon instance and return again whenever they felt like it. As time passed, the gem light would dim and if not replenished, the System would actually increase the strength of the Rats by blessing them with temporary magic buffs. Only with a bright gem light, there would be no penalty. As for the resting point, it could only be used as long as there was light in the gems. That, however, would incur an additional 10% charge of the ticket fee or they could forfeit 50% of their collective resources to return back to that level. This would invoke the benefit and loss mechanisms in their brain making them choose whether it was worthy to pay that extra 10% or lose half of the panda medals collected within the sewer instance. Else, the cultivators would only ''respawn'' back at the nearest stairway or ladder that descended to the sewer level if they died or escaped without a gem light. Naturally, the savepoints in the sewers would be littered with ''fuel'' to increase the brightness of their gem light, but whether the System would intentionally impede the cultivator''s progress was another issue by itself¡­ As for the ticket price, it was the same as every other dungeon instance in Jin''s dungeon as he promised to his customers previously that his dungeons were affordable and fun. If someone were to tell that to Jin from a few months ago, he would only see that as making a big loss. But with the Dungeon World cities as his new source of funds, Jin did not have to worry too much about money for the moment. Not to mention, his current customer base was growing too so quantity would no doubt triumph the low price. Claire had also been making some good and sound investments which allowed the dungeon supplier to go a little wild in his dungeon making process. However, aside from the price point, he put up a basic guide to help the customers. For example, it not only contained the types of rats they could encounter in the first 10 floors (more would be added upon encounter) but also made recommendations for Grade 1 Cultivators to not proceed any further than the 5th level of the sewers instance, telling them that they should exit upon reaching the sixth level checkpoint. Otherwise, they ran the risk of losing every single reward they got up until that point. This dungeon would feature a ''permanent'' death for the players if the cultivators got killed during their descent into the sewers. The only consolation was that during their next playthrough they would have the chance to recover all of those rewards. First, they would have to reach the point where they got defeated, and they only got their items back if they were to win against the doppelganger that was hoarding their items. It was an initiative by the System to replicate the data it had gathered so far about the cultivator to use it against them. If they managed to win against their doppelganger, that meant they were ready to proceed further into the Sewer Instance and be deserving of their rewards. Otherwise, the doppelganger would gather whatever the cultivator had earnt on its way until they managed to proceed forward. (And of course, deducting some minor rewards in the due process.) This allowed Jin to earn a little more from the players who persisted as compared to getting money upfront for more sewers while keeping to his objective of improving the cultivators. And if they managed to reach specific checkpoints and exit, the remaining panda medals they had would be transferred into their Pandamonium Wallet. The only catch was that the items the cultivators had bought within the instance would not be transferable into their actual account except for the personal things they had brought in less the consumables used. (Of course, if their weapon they brought into the dungeon run had zero durability, it would remain broken after the fight too.) The surprise announcement of a new permanent dungeon instance ¨C despite it being limited in nature because of the number of Demon Rats Jin could catch ¨C was a welcomed surprise for the cultivators. Instead of making it a limited-time dungeon instance, he wrote in his advertisement that the monsters appearing would be seasonal. For this particular season, he would reward anyone who tried it out with the loot of those monsters worth double the Panda Medals and this would explain the disappearance of this perk once the Demon Rats had been annihilated. After all, this dungeon supplier had sufficient monsters in his repertoire to replace the Demon Rats and would think of other perks when it was time to change it. While ecstatic for this permanent dungeon instance into Jin''s Shop, cultivators in the forum queried if Jin also planned to bring out an exclusive Chinese New Year dungeon instance. The Boss only replied to that concerning line of questions with the following. "Trade Secret." Chapter 839 Situational Report of the Farming World "Alright, I''m back. Any drastic changes?" Jin questioned Moloch, who was already yawning. "Compared to the defence of Pandapolis, this is absolute child''s play. I have already cornered most of the possible entrances with the newly acquired Demons. Even send Princess Gapp and her Battalion of Wights into the fray. They are instrumental against the steampunk suits, especially the Soldiers of Sapphire. Ever since Qiu Yue demonstrated how effective ice magic is against the steam equipment, we have been utilising that to our advantage." Moloch explained as he gave Jin the overall battlefield report. "Eh, but isn''t it completely useless against rats that are partially infused with those steam tech, as they can detach their equipment and charge against us with melee weapons? According to the System, there is an overwhelming number of those." Jin stated the obvious. "Duh. That just means our ice wielders have become their top priority while we take chances to disable their big guys if possible¡­and that is if they appear." "So, they are already starting to adapt to our strategy¡­ Welp, at least if we can keep up the pressure against the rats. They will eventually have to send a large platoon of those armoured fellows out then we can use our heavy hitters to finish them all at once." Jin suggested, and Moloch told him that he was counting on Frost Echo and his Shaitan. "That is assuming Shiva is not throwing her usual tantrums and will be willing to come out and play," Moloch recalled how much of a close call it was last time. "Also, the System had informed me that the significant magic signals at the top of the castle have disappeared. Welihelm and Olgret, the North and South Scholars respectively, have disappeared. According to Weslie and Gold assumption, they most likely have returned to the capital." "It probably looked like they felt the raid was a failure and fell back. Quite a tactical move." Jin believed that those scholars might not be the same as the big bad bosses he had encountered before. Unlike the Goblin King, King Baal or even Maeve they were more cautious to failures and didn''t hesitate to retreat when the situation turned sour. With the revelation of Jin''s troops as well as a major weakness in their steam technology, the scholars were probably pulling back to perform a few adjustments to their plans before coming back once they felt ready. "Meh, I think they are just wussies who knew how to run away in the nick of time. Speaking of time, aren''t you going to assist the crisis in your world? I heard things are getting worse." Moloch questioned. "Since the System has yet to inform me of something drastic happening or pressure me into joining the frontlines, I assume it is still all good?" Jin said and was waiting for the System''s response. "The situation in Huizhou is still stable. Both the Snakes and Tigers have managed to suppress the Monster Horde with their combined forces. However, they are not taking any chances. Huizhou Police and its civil defence forces have already been called in to help evacuate the people living near the borders should the worst-case scenario arise." The System reported. "Then what about Dongguan?" Jin felt that the System was actually keeping the bad news as the last. "A portion of their border wall broke down about 4 minutes and 34 seconds ago¡­the Royal Horse Battalion has managed to scramble and fill the gap as soon as possible, but a few of the Demons slipped through. Ironically, the Demon Exorcists under User''s care are contending against them as we speak. Past Sub System User Yuan has also called for the evacuation early enough, so most of the destroyed buildings were empty, enabling the Demon Exorcists to go all out against those Demons." The System gave a simplified report. "Most huh? So there are some who were unwilling to evacuate." Jin pondered on the report for a moment. "It happens. Not everyone has the guts to put everything down and run away when all they have is just that roof under your head." Moloch chimed in as if he knew what those people were thinking of. "Will the government at least repay them or something? Surely we have some Monster Damage Act or something like that?" Jin asked the System. "There is the Disaster Repatriation Act. Not everyone is eligible to that act, and even if the poorer class of citizens were to take full advantage of its benefits, it would not be sufficient to buy back an apartment or room." The System answered, and Jin sighed heavily as he could not do much for them. He was not a politician who had the power to rewrite those laws, nor was he a philanthropist rich enough to save them from poverty. But there was something he could do which might indirectly affect them and get them through safely. The counter offensive plan aimed to lure those monsters away and reduce the horde''s size. That should not only lower the battle strain in favour of the Royal Horse Battalion and Border Guards but also fill up his Spiraling Sewers Instance helping him earn a living. However, the System had recommended not to proceed with the counter offence plan because of the new variable that appeared within the equation. The Banned Emperor Assassins. The System had managed to photograph a second person controlling the Demons before the passing magpie was discovered and strangled to death by his summons. The surrounding magpies had noticed that the revelation of the second person caused the Demons to act even more impulsive and their attacks were noticeably potent against the defending Royal Horse Battalion. By now, the Royal Horse General Xi Le Ma had long since abandoned his prideful attitude and requested help from the Royal Tigers and Royal Snakes battalion. He even urgently asked for more reinforcements from the main headquarters of the China Armed Forces, begging them to send in air support. Be it bombs or additional personnel, he did not care as long as he could suppress the Monster Horde before it crossed through the border once more. Of course, the Border Guards were not very optimistic about any sort of reinforcements reaching in time ever since the first crack appeared on their walls. The very same wall which had stood firm for centuries imbued with inscriptions that could not be authentically recreated in the modern world. Those walls were said to be sacred shields to protect the people, and they had done their job with valour for all those years. A few of those Bone Infused Spirit Demons were able to blast a crater in the forest landscape and yet their attacks were deflected multiple times by the border wall before it started to show weakness, showcasing that the inscriptions were doing their jobs. Unfortunately, the firepower on the Border Walls had drastically been reduced since the local budget had prioritised economic aspects which had been deemed more important than a few monsters pouncing onto the walls every so often. The guards still had sufficient strength to subdue minor incidents, but throughout the years, it has become a dead-end job or for people who did not worry much about career progression. That was why the Border Guards were having as much trouble as the Royal Horse Battalion. Some of them even had to resort to picking up rifles from the dead Royal Horse soldiers to continue their fight against the Monster Horde. But despite the fears for the loss of life and the wounds they suffered, the soldiers were unwavering in their determination to protect the city, which was right behind them. They knew it was a losing battle. They knew that their tears were running down their face and yet both battalions were buying as much time as possible for people to run away. For it is the duty of a soldier to serve and protect. Chapter 840 Tables Turned "In addition to the assassination threat User might face, the System has picked up chatter that the military will be sending bombs to burn the area. They are currently not being subtle about it since the cities along the borders have already made the evacuation a compulsory thing. Thus, System still recommends for the User to focus on the Farming World until the System deems it opportunistic to strike." The System stated. As if the world itself found it taboo for Jin to stay calm and take a step back, the System had detected the emergence of numerous groups of Bone Spirit Infused Demons. They suddenly appeared further away from the current battlefield that the Border Guards and Royal Horse Battalion were concentrating on. For the past few hours or so, the horde had mainly focused on one particular section of the wall, and this allowed the Royal Horse to stand a fighting chance against them. But this development had literally turned the tables. Once the Border Guards in other sections of the wall detected movement on their radars, scouts reported a series of intrusions on multiple parts of the wall. As stretched as they could have been, the remaining few Border Guards knew that death was inevitable. Coincidentally, the same was happening at Huizhou where new Bone Spirit Infused Demons popped up on their radar and started to head towards the border walls, ignoring the portion where the Royal Tigers and Royal Snakes were situated. Fortunately, because of the detailed preparations by those two battalions, the Border Guards in Huizhou were equipped with better weapons, and there were even light armour tanks being stationed on the walls that contributed with their great firepower against the Monster Horde. Because of the sudden slew of monsters, one might even liken the border wall as the latest ''great'' wall of China to slow down the invasion. Attack Helicopters were also deployed to provide quick air support within the dense forests as Hou Fei, and Ya Bai called for the retreat. The two generals had thought they were making progress, but that sudden arrival of overwhelming creatures was too much for even their elite soldiers. However, with three Royal Battalions signalling for help to the main headquarters, it definitely rang the alarm for the upper echelons. The Joint Chiefs in the China Armed Forces immediately convened and took the current matter seriously. While they received observation reports consistently from their own intelligence office with regards to the issue at hand, they had not taken it too seriously mainly because the government had prioritised their economic benefits before the Chinese New Year Holidays. For this reason, the headquarters had sent out a couple of the Royal Battalions to quell the horde before it got too messy. But this current turn of developments shocked the entire headquarters and even the political offices in Beijing began to respond to this unprecedented Monster Horde. JODE Chancellor Ma Ge had also been notified of the recent developments and did not hesitate to recommend to take actions in accordance to a Level 5 Danger Alert to the Joint Chiefs ever since he received news of Instructor Yuan, a District Guardian categorising it as a Level 4 Danger Alert bordering on Level 5. This also prompted him to arrange a quick meeting with the heads of various Demon Exorcist offices to put up an emergency defence plan. But unlike the Joint Chief Office, they had no such plans in the first place. After all, each office enjoyed some anonymity and had their own ways of dealing with the problems. They however unanimously agreed to send out a number of their elites to Huizhou and Dongguan immediately. Without a doubt, the various ministerial offices also began drawing emergency plans to deal with the worst case scenarios. At the same time, the Armed Forces Headquarters sent out deployment orders to increase the guards in the other territories in case similar Monster Hordes appeared out of nowhere in other provinces. From procurement of food and supplies and to the placement of troops, the backend finally made a move. Still, the urgent deployment of troops and equipment required time and there was literally none to spare for the soldiers that were currently fighting on scene. There was nothing stopping those monsters from pouring into the cities despite the declaration of a nation wide emergency. Jin, who saw the development first hand, felt equally powerless until he received an urgent call from Hou Fei. "Boss! Master! We need your help desperately! Fuck secrecy! Do whatever is necessary! I will convince my Clan Head to cover your presence as much as needed no matter what you do!" Hou Fei pleaded, and Jin knew how risky this call of help would be. As much as he wanted to arrive with grandiose like a superhero, there were untold consequences upon doing that. The System might get revealed to the higher authorities and to the Royal Zodiac Clans further. It would be more than a hassle, especially after Jin already had ''enjoyed'' some first hand experience on how they used their authority to put pressure on him after learning about his portals. Yet if he did not appear, many of the soldiers might die, and many cities would potentially be ruined. His deployment might not fully stop the Monster Horde, but he and his monsters could definitely influence the degree of the aftermath. "I¡­" Jin bit on his tongue. He could not make up his mind with so much at risk. "User, if you are too worried about involving yourself, System will support reallocating to another world if needed as per your recommendations. The Tree Mall can still operate without your presence here. Upon repeated revision of resources, we are currently self sufficient enough to not worry about this." The System interjected its opinion while also hoping that Jin could do the right thing. "Damn it, JIN! This is no time to be concerned about politics, secrecy or whatever shit! If we have the power to help someone, we do it!" Hou Fei shouted, and that sentence woke him up violently. That was because his grandfather used to say the exact same thing to him when he was still alive and kicking. "Screw it! You are right, let''s do this! Hou Fei, get ready to cover EVERYTHING up. I will be ready in five minutes!" Jin said as he started to change the program on his interface. "Like hell if I have fucking five minutes to spare!" Hou Fei cursed before he sighed once more and changed his tune. "Fine, five minutes! But that''s all we can give you. Every minute equals the lives of soldiers, so if you can, please hurry." Hou Fei turned off the System Channel and gave the good news to his officers. "User, what are you doing?" The System asked as Jin was coding something quick. "Moloch, you can handle the stuff here, right?" Jin asked as he typed furiously on the interface. "No problem. You can trust me on that. I''ll get all the Demon Rats for your dungeon than you will ever need. Besides, if anything goes weirdly wrong, Kraft still owes me a favour for pulling that Demon Metropolis nonsense on me so you can rampage however you like. I will get his help when needed." "I heard that." Kraft''s voice appeared behind them before the man himself exited from the shadows. "Funny thing, here I thought attacking Paradiso WAS a favour to you. Then again, who am I to say no to have a bit more fun." "Shouldn''t you be still stalking nuns and priests?" Moloch raised his eyebrow. "Well, Kiyu can manage without me for a while, besides the current situation is way more fun. Do you really have to put me with Cotton Butt here? I could help you tremendously. You could use the terrifying firepower of my foxes." Kraft commented towards the duo in the Dungeon Maker. "You are my last resort, till then please assist Moloch." Jin did not say much but that however changed Kraft''s smile. "Oh Master, how I like that you thrust me into such a precarious situation so readily! Fine. Cottony bosoms, I will assist you for now." Kraft said as he disappeared into thin air once again and made his appearance known at the Crashed Fortress. "Thank you." Jin typed finished the command prompt on the System interface, and the System realised what its User was doing all this while. "Understood. User will receive the desired effect upon teleportation." The System replied. If anything, it believed that was an ingenious move for a cover up. Chapter 841 Dungeon Supplier Enters The Fray While most would assume that the position of General was being held by the cultivator with the strongest grade, that was not how it worked in most Royal Battalions. After all, being a General in the Royal Battalion required special affiliations and connections to get things done. That person would have to be a brilliant strategist for his men, one who kept his sound mind during high-pressure moments. While being the strongest within the battalion would definitely be a nice bonus, it was not necessarily needed since the General usually did not go into the frontline to fight. Yet despite being a General, Hou Fei was in the midst of battle. He was currently fighting at the front alongside his other officers since they needed every capable man on deck to stop this new Monster Horde wave from passing through the Border Walls. Admittedly, the Royal Snakes and Tigers were able to manage their circumstances far better than their counterpart. Yet, Hou Fei had a gut feeling that they would eventually break down and end up in the same situation as the Horses. Instead of asking Jin to reinforce the Royal Horses, he had requested the dungeon supplier''s presence in their own region. It wasn''t that he feared for his own life or that of his soldiers, but the Panda Remnant prefered for one wall to break rather than jeopardise all the walls alongside the Dongguan-Huizhou border. If they managed to keep their portion of walls intact, the military could concentrate on containing the fight only in Dongguan. Plus, his soldiers were already familiar with Jin and the Royal Tiger General Ya Bai knew of his existence, promising an easier time to cover everything up especially when they knew all about the existence of the portal trucks and how ''special'' Jin could potentially be. Not to mention, the District Guardian of Tiangong was at the borders of Dongguan along with a group of Demon Exorcists and more should already be on their way at the behest of JODE Chancellor Ma Ge. As much as Hou Fei did not want to admit this, Grandma Yuan was far stronger than him not just in terms of Cultivation Grades but also in conducting Demon Warfare. Being one of the very few veterans still alive after the Second World War, Grandma Yuan had experienced enough to deal with something like the present situation. Else, she would not have remained as the District Guardian, a title that only a few held to this day. (Peace times surely degraded the number of ''war'' based cultivators) "Sorry I am late." Jin apologised when a portal suddenly appeared right in front of Hou Fei as he smashed one of the skulls of a Bone Spirit Boar Demon. "Finally! I was worried you wouldn''t show up!" Hou Fei said as he noticed that Jin was wearing a black hood and a half Panda Mask. "Only you?!" Hou Fei questioned since it appeared as if Jin was not taking the current situation seriously. "You should know that I''m never alone anymore. Just get your troops to fall back and regroup. I will take it from here. Tell them not to hit anything that has a bluish-black aura. Those are allies." Jin answered as he took out his System Driver. "Need me to cover you a little? I can make a mini-explosion plus a smokescreen. Not as vibrant as Peppers though." Hou Fei offered as they saw another Bone Spirit Boar Demon charging towards them. "Please do." Jin accepted as he placed the System Driver on his waist and a belt automatically appeared. "Get ready" Hou Fei warned as he threw a grenade and a smokescreen grenade simultaneously while putting up a temporary shield barrier for his own master. "You call that ¨C nevermind." Jin was expecting something more spectacular, thinking that his Panda Remnant was just being ''humble''. Still, that distraction had allowed him to transform into System Rider Panda with the black hood intact. (The extra light from the System Rider did help quite a bit too!) "It is what it is." Hou Fei dragged his voice, but there was a slight grin that he had successfully bluffed his Master. The Bone Spirit Boar Demon was unfazed by the explosion though it did slow down enough for the System Rider to grab it by its tusks. Enraged as it was, the Bone Spirit Boar Demon hunkered down ready to give a tremendous shove. "Oh, you remind me of our very own piglet. He definitely trained me enough for this moment!" Jin said as he reminisced Mr Oink in his first form. After which, the metallic panda steel mask on Jin''s helmet opened its lower jaw, and a beam of Panda Yawning was shot out from it, obliterating the Demon. "User, take note to conserve Maqi even though you have your crystals as a backup. System foresees you having many ''boss'' fights soon." The System reminded Jin. "I thought those Banned Emperor chums were in Dongguan?" After which, Jin took out a Black Sludge Crystal and placed it at the right side of his waist before activating it with his Maqi. Sure enough, a few of the Demons who had been charging forward suddenly changed direction and headed towards him instead. "The System believes a group of at least 20 are controlling these Demons. Else they should not be able to coordinate such a wide-scale attack." The System informed him as it regulated the System User''s Maqi output via the System Rider suit by using the crystals to conserve enough energy while ensuring it still works. "Glad to see I do not have to pour that much into it to ensure it keeps working," Jin said as he nodded to Hou Fei as if he was ready to proceed. "Nice. Let''s do this then. Time is sorta of the essence." Hou Fei replied as he cleared his throat and shot a red flare upwards, indicating a retreat. "Fall back and regroup!" "Don''t drop this. It''s an identifier." Hou Fei said as he placed his hand on Jin''s shoulder and attached the badge which the Royal Tiger General, San Ya Bai had given him. "Also, please don''t die, Master. I don''t want to have to answer to Ming for having his grandson go before me." "Same goes to you. I would not know how to explain it to Grandpa if you died under my watch." Jin replied as his hand started to glow with Maqi. "You, what?" Hou Fei was a bit confused about Jin''s reply, but he had already moved deeper into the jungle. "Zeru, Milk. Ready?" Jin asked as he slammed his hand into a Bone Spirit Snake Demon and performed a Lazy Panda Swipe. "Ya bet!" Milk answered as she appeared out of the portal with the very same cape that Jin was wearing, causing her to glow with a bluish-black aura. "Same with me." Zeru emerged out of the portal next and did a sweeping slash, killing anything that tried to creep up on them. "Good. Now go find those Banned Emperor bastards and stop the source of this. I will lure out the rest." Jin ordered, and the two bellators nodded their heads and left a trail of carnage on their way to fulfil their objective. As for Jin¡­ Chapter 842 Demon Trapper "You think you can win against me when it comes to monster summoning? How about I show you that you aren''t as special as you might think." Jin monologued to himself while he grinned and raised both of his arms. (Maybe he thinks that the Banned Emperor Assassins could be eavesdropping him from a distance, hehe!) A dozen portals instantly appeared next to him, in the shape of a circle. Like a sundial gnomon, the 12 portals surrounded Jin as if he was the centre of a clock. Out of those portals came the Valgs. Those horrendous outer world monsters that had once been controlled by Maeve, the daughter of Winter Court Queen. Similar to Milk and Zeru, the Valgs that appeared also featured a bluish-black aura around them. That aura was actually a part anonymity inscription charm infused with by the powers of the Black Sludge Crystals. The high concentration of that aura should hopefully result in the Demons coming towards them instead of fighting the Royal Soldiers. The System theorised that there was no way the Banned Emperor assassins could actually control this many Demons in the same way it did for the monsters. Instead it believed that they had opened a netherworld gate or maybe a direct connection to the Hell Plane which Moloch and Baal had come from, allowing these Bone Spirit Demons to appear in masses in Jin''s world. That would certainly explain why the System had been unable to capture any of those Bone Spirit Demons. After all, if they left their realm without permission and their actual essence continued to reside in the astral planes they were not really there for it to capture them. Jin did not really get the System''s explanation for this complex situation until the System used the analogy of someone killing Jin Number Two. "How would I know what happens if he dies? I have never been through that before." Jin answered as he started to power the gates with Black Sludge Crystals, the latest kind which was transparent clear instead of the old muddy ones after he had reached Grade 8 Peak. "Nothing would happen to the User, since Jin Number Two is merely a form of energy created from your astral energies. The System might be able to catch ethereal beings such as ghosts and such but not beings whose essence core lies outside the present realm of existence." "But surely Newton''s law of every action having a reaction still applies?" "The animal which got infused will no doubt end up stronger afterwards and perhaps even turn more intelligent. That is the System''s analysis report according to the few that have been captured. More studies need to be conducted to confirm whether that is always the case or the captured individuals are outliers. System asks User to provide a larger sample size." As for the infused monsters or animals, the System knew how rich and lush the forests could be but the number of monsters rushing to destroy the border walls definitely outnumbered their current population which led the System believe that a separate dimensional gate similar to a long term portal got used. And beyond that portal lay thousands of clone animals which were probably genetically modified with enhanced cultivation in them. Because those were the type of animals the System had been catching. What''s more, there were also species that were not native to the Dongguan Huizhou natural environment such as the Bone Spirit Elephant Demon that Jin had to fight as it jumped over the portal and dived towards him. "On the plus side, these animals could potentially be used for the Cultivation Zoo that User plans to create alongside with the incoming delivery. Intern Claire has promised that the animals that Grandma Yuan imported should be arriving after the Chinese New Year holidays." "Heh, that is assuming we can survive until New Year!" Jin said as he slammed the Elephant Demon down after performing a Panda Tumbling technique and following that up with Lazy Swipe into the portal. Meanwhile, the Valgs were dragging the various Bone Spirit Demons into the portals. The System did assist a little by enabling some sort of vacuum which sort of pulled the Demons into the portal as soon as they entered into close vicinity. But most of the time, the Valgs were working hand in hand to bring down larger creatures before they had the chance to retaliate. Some of the Demons were way too dangerous and needed to be taken down as soon as possible. Nevertheless, the tactic which Lynn had thought up was quite useful despite it not going as planned. By putting Jin in the middle to attract the Demons, some were mindless enough to get sucked into the portals while the rest tried to jump or circumvent them to get to Jin. Yet, even those Demons with limited intelligence were in for a surprise as the portals worked on both sides, allowing Jin to throw and kick those Demons into the portals. Thus, it was basically a large catching net with Jin akin to being the Demon trapper by throwing all the Demons he could find into the portals. The System also theorised that was the most efficient way to stop the Demons since the Bone Spirits would dissipate once they went through the portal mainly because they could not live or maintain their form and shape when they entered the System''s domain. But the System could not confirm all these until Jin started the ''operation''. "Heh! So this is actually easier than I thou-" Before Jin could complete his sentence, he felt an abrupt knock on his head. "Baka! Look at that!" Peppers appeared right beside him after hitting him with her staff and told her master to look up. "You must be kidding me!" Jin uttered as he did not notice what Peppers was pointed at, with how focused he had been capturing the Bone Spirits. "And why are you here?!" "Because Ayse already installed the necessary shield generators, so she told me my work was done. Besides, I was not happy that I had to dial down my explosion on the crashed castle tower. Now, since I held back earlier, it''s time to finally unleash-" "Jin, are you seeing what I am seeing?" Hou Fei interrupted Peppers''s speech as he contacted his master via the System Channel. "If you are referring to that giant thing, then yeah, but it seems like there are some people attacking it right now," Jin answered as he adjusted his zoom function and saw two cultivators doing their best to damage the Colossal Bone Spirit Demon Aberration. He did not know whether they were brave or pure foolish as the Bone Spirit Aberration attempted to sweep them away with the use of its gigantic tentacle looking hands. If he were to make a comparison, the Aberration was as large as the Giant Chickens he had fought in the Giant World. But to see something of that size in his own world was simply jaw-dropping because this could possibly be the first colossal monster the world had seen in decades. "This cannot be¡­" Moloch, who happened to watch at the sidelines, recognised the monster. "That is a manifestation of Loopa Ooofpa! The Unceasing Hunger!" Moloch claimed as he called Baal to verify. "That is, without a doubt¡­ Loopa Ooofpa. How did it get summoned in Jin''s world?" Baal wondered since the Unceasing Hunger was a menace not to be trifled with. "Who cares how it got here? It will cease to exist to satiate my own hunger for explosions!!" Peppers announced as she prepared her magic chant. Chapter 843 Hand Tentacles "Actually, I remember seeing that ugly smut during the Second World War, and that one had been artificially created. Not sure about this one. Could be the same." Kraft chimed as he had his own means to watch the broadcast the System was streaming. One hand on the trigger of his gun and the other holding his phone. "Oh man, Jin''s stunned body expression is as good as his stunned face." Kraft grinned as he took a phone screenshot of the stream while shooting a rat''s face off. The bullets from his signature gun No Mercy did not stop there and continued to pierce some other rats'' armours before they came back and joined the other bullets which were hovering around Kraft. The crafty fox used his chi to manipulate the shot bullets, and he turned it into some ''protective'' offensive barrier with the projectiles circling around him while he watched the following broadcast. "What do you mean artificially created?!" Jin asked as he continued to grapple the Bone Spirit Infused Demons with Bam and Boo, now transformed into enormous power gauntlets. He needed the extra pow so they would punch the Demons into the portals as the System Rider protected the oblivious chanter standing right in the middle of his net. However, he did not quite expect Bam and Boo''s transformation. Instead of awesome looking mechanical power gauntlets like Itori''s, his gloves actually appeared¡­ as a pair of panda faces! The one on his right had the appearance of an angry (yet cute?!) panda face while the other had a cheeky (and also cute!) panda face. Unfortunately, he had no time to comment as the Bone Spirit Infused Demons were actually coming too close for comfort to maim Pepper. Yet, there was one that slipped past him, and all Jin could do was warn Peppers to dodge. With a smirk, Peppers stared at the Bone Spirit Crocodile Demon and pointed at it before releasing a blast of telekinetic power which caused the crocodile to flinch for a moment. Yet the flinching was only the first part of the spell as the crocodile turned its back towards his ''comrades'' and shot out a breath of flame. "Huh?! How come the flame had traces of Pepper''s magic?" Jin was amazed by Peppers'' control of magic, and the System explained that Peppers had used a series of quick cast spells to manipulate the monster to turn it into an extension of her. "So, she does actually know spells other than ¨C Woah!" The possessed crocodile swiped its tail in Jin''s direction, but the dungeon supplier''s senses were quick enough to dodge the backstabbing. "I thought you said she could control it?" Jin questioned the System as he evaded and headed to punch another Demon into the net. "Doesn''t mean I will tolerate being insulted. My title as a Sage isn''t just for show! Of course, I know spells other than explosions!" Peppers had already finished her spell incantation, and the staff was holding a charge of Explosion, waiting to be released at a moment''s notice. ??Could you tell those two cultivators or soldiers to get out of the way? I won''t take responsibility if they end up in the blast''s radius." "You just don''t want them to take your kill, right? Maybe it''s best we withhold your ¨C Wait, are those hand tentacles coming towards us?!" Jin saw that four large hands moving towards them, ignoring the onslaught of attacks by the other two cultivators. "Well, Loopa Ooofpa''s title is the Unceasing Hunger for a good reason. He always craves more power and Peppers vast amount of mana makes her a very juicy target, especially now that she has all that energy accumulated." Moloch replied through the System Channel. "Ah, found it. I was already worried I lost that photo, as it was taken decades ago." Kraft suddenly and finally answered Jin''s question by letting the System upload the picture on a screen of the System Rider Suit. "See! Taking random pictures is a good habit, after all!" (Kids, please don''t emulate Kraft!) ???Now is not the time!" Jin said as he concentrated his Maqi into his Bam and Boo panda faces. "Since they are faces, they should at least be able to do ''that'', right?" Jin thought to himself as he could not think of any other methods to prevent Peppers from wasting her explosion magic charge on these hand tentacles. (What''s more, he would be blown back, and the net he created would be useless with all the Bone Spirit Demons scattered throughout the forest once more.) "Double Panda Yawning!" Jin shouted as he aimed his two gauntlets at them and the panda mouths immediately opened, allowing Jin to shoot two beams of chi towards the nearest hand tentacles that were approaching them. It obliterated the end of the first tentacle causing it to retract, but there were now two hand tentacles which approached him like a pincer claw. Thus, he divided the power of the two beams separately in order to counter them, but he did not notice the third hand tentacle that was hiding within the forest bushes attempting to strike him head-on. "Ah, Damnnit!" Jin cursed as he quickly prepared his very own Panda Yawning beam from his mouth and managed to discharge the beam in time to counter the third one. "Master! Behind you!" Peppers shouted as she used the crocodile under her command to block the one that was attacking her. Unfortunately, with Jin occupied with all his hands and mouth full, there was no way to counter the one that emerged from the ground right behind him. Not to mention, his Maqi enhanced beams were not strong enough to destroy the hand tentacles when separated. He could only delay the tentacles that much. Multiple scenarios were flashing within his mind such as transforming Bam and Boo quickly to counter the attack or summoning a few of his monsters to counter the hit. But none of that mattered when he suddenly saw a lady with an umbrella appear right in front of him, dangerously close to the beam he was shooting from his mouth. She immediately took out an inscription charm and activated it with her chi. Suddenly a Panda silhouette appeared and shot out the very same Panda Yawning beam. It burnt the overarching hand tentacle right above Jin before the Panda silhouette disappeared. Next, with a quick turn of her umbrella, the three hand tentacles that were plaguing Jin were immediately cut down, causing all of the hands to retract, allowing the System Rider to rescind his beams. It was only then that he noticed that the Maqi from the inscription was similar to his own. While he had his suspicion that it could be a limited item he sold, the surrounding aura should not be plagued with a dense aura of Maqi. Especially where the lady had cut the hand tentacles down. "For you to use the very same chi as this particular inscription charm¡­ Tell me where your Master is!" The lady demanded from afar as if she did not care about what was happening around them, only interested in learning the truth right there right now. Meanwhile, Jin had no freaking idea what she was talking about. Chapter 844 Real Awkward Situation She did not care about the current circumstances around her. Even as the Bone Spirit Demon approached her, there was a sort of barrier to protect her. A dragon silhouette emerged out from thin air and bit the Demons'' head off. Jin did not understand a single thing that was happening right in front of him. What did she mean about having the same chi as the inscription charm? Was she a customer? Jin clearly recognised the inscription charm as his piece of work. That particular Panda Energy Beam inscription charm had been a limited stock during Christmas Day last year. And he knew that only the Pandawans and a few other regular customers had purchased it because Jin had personally sold each and every one of them. Overall they had just sold twenty of those after Jin had collaborated with Octofussy who got the idea to try and make inscriptions of Jin''s fighting style. For her to hold possession of one of those charms could only mean someone either gifted it to her or she stole it. It was unlikely that it was the latter when she was this powerful even without the charm''s help. "Well I am done on my side. Since you seemed busy I thought I could alleviate your load while I tell you about artificial Loopa Ooofpa." Kraft suddenly appeared, making the matters even more complicated. Ryuli immediately exuded her chi into the atmosphere, shocking everyone, including the System on scene. They all recognised that the aura had the very same trace of chi signature Jin possessed and Kraft quickly turned his head. "She''s really that KID, isn''t she?! And here I thought my satellite search was wrong or something." Kraft asked, and Jin equally dumbfounded. "I must say, you either turned into a master in lying that I did not notice or someone altered your memories about her. Because she is clearly not a little child. Last I remember, a child is at least this short and not that powerful when it comes to chi manipulation, well unless the kid is some prodigal kid genius that would eventually terrorise the world." "Not helping!" Jin said as he saw Ryuli visibly get even more irritated. The long-coated gentlemen with a fox half mask who had appeared out of nowhere was talking about a kid, whichonly confirmed that the masked suit with a black hood knew something about her. "You are obviously using the Panda Arts, according to the ridiculous suit you are wearing or holding. Just tell me who your master is, and we can continue to defeat this monster! Is that such a difficult question to answer?" Ryuli shouted irritated as she had been spending years trying to find the person who both blessed and cursed her with this particular power. "That, my lady is actually a very complicated question to answer." Kraft bowed with some manners, but Ryuli felt insulted instead. "Woah woah woah, what is with all this ruckus?" A familiar voice was heard coming out from the side of the forest and noticed that Ryuli was in contact with a group of strangers. "Are they the enemy, L?" "Wait a minute, isn''t that Mr Know-It-All?" Jin blurted out loud, and Agent K was mildly surprised. "Boss Jin? Is that you in that suit of armour?" Mr Know-It-All chuckled at the absurdity of this situation. "Okay, now I can connect some of the dots together." He stopped his chuckling and snapped his finger, and a couple of Bone Spirit Demons died right behind him while ignoring the Valgs. "Holy shit. I told you that he was definitely hiding something big." Kraft reminded Jin about his suspicions with glee and Mr Know-It-All just nodded his head. "Should I say as expected from Boss Jin to have someone behind him, who could see through me?" Mr Know-It-All replied, and Kraft smiled in return. It felt like Kraft had just made a new worthy frenemy, one he would have fun playing against in the shadows of information warfare. "But before that, protocol demands that I need to see some confirmation that you are not our enemy. I know that you are in the good books of the Snakes and Tigers, but I still need some proof you are here to help. Else, as a private contractor, I am obliged to treat you as an enemy." "Here." Jin quickly pointed to the badge that Hou Fei had given him at the very last minute and also took out the one the Tiger General had given them. "Very well, Agent L. Cease and desist your aggression towards him and his group. He is a private contractor too. Approved by not one but two authentic badges. There is no need to hurry in finding your master. If you think he is the key to your Master, I will bring you to his shop after all this is over." Mr Know-It-All said after acknowledging their authenticity, and Ryuli stopped as commanded. "You sure he won''t disappear?" Ryuli asked while glaring at Jin. "That dungeon supplier shop in Shenzhen is his livelihood and pride. I trust that he won''t be going anywhere soon. At worst, I will spend some money to resurrect him if he ever dies in this skirmish." Mr Know-It-All replied before turning his head towards Jin. "Also, Boss. Please go all out. I do not believe those monsters that you have summoned was the best of your ability." "How did you know?" Jin was surprised that his regular customer who never bothered to actually try out his dungeons would know so much about him, despite him never demonstrating his powers. "I did not get the title of Mr Know-It-All for nothing, you know? Admittedly I pretend to know it all at times, and this was just another of those half bluffs. Still, we really need a miracle once in a while. So please Boss, do your miracle. I assure you that the Ministry of State Security (MSS) will cover your tracks and not bother you unnecessarily after this." "You know, I could just remove all traces of this current situation if you want to," Kraft suggested as he shot a Bone Spirit Demon who did not understand the delicate situation they were in. "Don''t. It will be nice to have the Ministry of State Security owe us a favour or two. Especially after their apparent misstep for not being able to detain the Banned Emperor assassin we sent them." Jin said after recalling that seeing the Banned Emperor Assassin in the flesh at the forest. "How did you¡­" Ryuli was surprised that Jin knew about the escape of the Banned Emperor, but Mr Know-It-All was mildly amused. "Heh, let''s just say we did our very own investigation before handing him over to the ''professionals''. But in order to not trouble Boss Jin, I have kept it under wraps because honestly, it was none of his business up until now." Kraft commented as he tapped on Jin''s shoulders and his helmet display finally showed a number of stuff on the investigation he had extracted. "Holy shit. It''s that grand?! Wait, doesn''t that mean you knew about this Monster Horde all along?" Jin was thankful for the helmet he was wearing since he could not think that he would be able to hold his expression away from them. "Yes and no. They were smart enough to use a technique which deleted any relevant memories, but it''s not like his subconscious didn''t still have some puzzle pieces here and there. The things you saw from his ''memories'' were the ones I managed to recreate after digging deep enough and combining them. Believe me when I say it was a pain in the ass." Kraft spoke secretly in an exclusive System channel which he was sure the private contractors could not even detect. "All I knew was that this Monster Horde was going to happen one way or the other. Had I intervened any earlier they would have just switched locations and one of their backup locations was Shenzhen''s coast. I am sure as hell you wouldn''t want them so close to your backyard, right?" Jin could literally hear Kraft grin with pride for not interfering. "Anyways the ones to actually summon these creatures must have only arrived here recently. To be honest, according to what I found in his memories they must rank above him, so he didn''t have much on them. Fortunately, we should be able to capture quite a few of them this time around that is if you let them live. As I said, you were not ready to deal with stuff at such a level back then and frankly, you shouldn''t have gotten involved in it. But since you bravely chose to accept the burden, I am here to make sure I won''t have to start to address Hou Fei or someone else as Master in the near future." Kraft turned to his boss and stuck out his tongue a bit. "Besides, you are too gullible and fun to work with." "And here I thought you did not have anything on them back then," Jin replied as the Demons were once again converging despite the fact he had subtly commanded his Valgs to keep them out when they were having this really awkward conversation. "Don''t make me laugh. You did not ask because you were too busy for almost everything else." Kraft pointed out, as he looked at the two State Agents. "Though I guess you guys already found out some stuff. Like how all of this practically stems from domestic terrorism." "I am starting to like you and more, Sir Fox." Mr Know-It-All smiled as he tipped his boonie hat towards him. "Am I correct in assuming you are the reason why Boss Jin was able to survive this long despite having so much interference from the Royal Families?" "I can neither confirm nor deny that part without the boss''s approval." His only follow up to the reply was a wider grin which Mr Know-It-All just took it for what it was. "Agent L, new orders from your superior. We are to cooperate with them as best we can. Make sure you survive this so you can find out what you were looking for. Also, keep this conversation out from your subsequent operation report." Mr Know It All commanded. "I thought you said we ''retired'' already upon taking this job? In any case, I will not die until I learn the truth about my Master." Ryuli took a deep breath and turned to look at her boss and nodded her head. "Retirement? Since when? State Agents never retire until they are banished from this world. They merely go on paid vacation." Mr Know-It-All responded as he used his sword sheath and tapped on the ground. Suddenly the surrounding air veered slightly, and Jin could see a barely visible silhouette of a Chinese Serpent Dragon circling around them and the forest. It immediately vanquished every single Bone Spirit Demons in the area, giving Jin the space to breathe and work his magic. "I cannot believe I am falling deeper into this world''s complex web of politics," Jin complained as he took a card out from his deck. "As you always do." System commented. Chapter 845 Chaos in Dongguan The borders along Dongguan Province were in worse shape than ever before as the Demon Exorcists from Jin''s store desperately tried to stop the second breach. This time, the Border Guards and Royal Horse had been utterly defeated despite their desperate attempts. Unlike in Huizhou where Jin had activated the Portals and enhanced them with Black Sludge Crystals to interrupt the Bone Spirit Demons instincts to destroy the city, Dongguan had no such luxury. The portal trucks in Huizhou had also been actively utilised not only by the evacuation but also the military after Royal Snake General Hou Fei told the Central Headquarters to deploy the troops from Shanghai to Huizhou. This extensively expedited the supply run and it did bring in soldiers to reinforce the border walls around the Huizhou province. A number of high ranking officers were shocked by the leap in technology but did not question it at the time as the defence for the province was more important. As for Dongguan, the only saving grace was that JODE Chancellor Ma Ge had authorised a few private planes to fetch the Demon Exorcists from surrounding provinces and airdrop them into the cities along the walls. Because of the flight restrictions beyond the border walls, a couple of the planes were forced to make a large detour in case there were flying creatures within that vicinity. But most importantly, it was mainly due to the Air Force sending a fly by sortie to that area. With the horde increasing in size and appearing unstoppable as compared to the situation in Huizhou, the Chinese Air Force had sent a couple of J-30 fighter planes, the latest multi-role fighter aircraft and one of the proud achievements for the Chinese Air Forces. Equipped with high-intensity napalm bombs inscribed with Demon Slaying attributes, courtesy of JODE for just such an occasion, the aircrafts dropped those bombs dangerously close to the border walls, igniting the forest repeatedly with layers of strikes. They risked burning the forest entirely but forests, like all the other things natural in Jin''s world, had certain grade to them. A few of the trees still stood tall despite the impactful destruction and unfortunately the same was true for the Bone Spirit Demons. Anything weaker than Grade 8 was incinerated due to the fire and the special inscriptions attached to the explosive. However, for the higher grades, they were only injured to various degrees but all retained their ability to continue rampaging. Still, that did not mean the napalm bombs were useless as the heat and fire affected their defences, slowing them down for the remaining troops to take a breather. Also, the Bone Spirit Infused Demons were still animals at their core. The Bone Spirit Demons might have possessed them in order to have a body to run around in the forest, but the animals need to breathe to survive. Heavy smoke and haze from the burning of the forests managed to choke some of the animals that were Grade 8 and higher. And even if the Demons could survive the smoke and fire, there were incidental infighting because of the animals'' instinct took over the possession momentarily because of primal fear of fire. That caused some minor casualties in the grand scale of the scheme, but it was still worth noting that the rumoured Banned Emperor''s assassins do not have full control over them. Unfortunately, not all soldiers used that breather the same way. Some of the Royal Horse Battalion Soldiers tried to desert upon seeing the mass destruction was not entirely effective, but the Border Guards prevented their exit. "If you call yourself a soldier! Fight!" The Border Guards punched and later aimed the guns on them, creating unnecessary tension between the two scared and fearful factions. The Royal Horses had just been stationed here because of their job, but to the Border Guards, their homes and families were at stake. When the second breach occurred, it would mean that they had already failed their job twice, and it would be the lives of their friends and families on their hands. They''d rather face death than the shame they brought to their city. "Let them go!" A voice echoed as the side doors to the border wall Gates were opened. "You ass, why did you let an elderly through this dangerous place?!" One of the senior Guard shouted until Grandma Yuan presented her unique Demon Exorcist. For the Border Guards to not know the JODE badges would be a sin, let alone the badge of the Gleaming Griffin. "You are the infamous District Guardian of Tiangong?!" The Border Guard said as he let go of the Royal Horse soldier who he had just punched. "Sadly, Yes. I am that District Guardian. Reinforcements are coming, but they will take a while. According to the Chancellor, the cities bordering Dongguan Province have most likely been deemed a lost cause by the higher-ups. Now retreat before the Air Force sends in another airstrike. Pass the message." Grandma Yuan told him, yet the Border Guard spit right in front of her even though she was of a higher authority. "This is my home. I will not abandon it. If I have to die in the fire, I will use that fire and fight the remaining horde!" The Border Guard claimed which resonated with the rest of his fellow colleagues while the Royal Horses shamelessly ran out of the city. This attitude of honour inevitably made Grandma Yuan laugh. "Hahahahah! It seems no matter the time and age, there will always be young ones recklessly trying to throw away their lives for the country. I like your guts, and truth be told, I was the same at your age. Still, if you continue to stay here, you will just die meaninglessly." Grandma Yuan said as she walked further. "If you want to help the city, you should better use the time to help with evacuations." Unfortunately, they were unwilling to budge despite the repeated warnings. As she reached the top of the wall, the stench of death assaulted her nose. Bodies of Bone Spirit Infused Demons were lying all over the place with human bodies beneath or over them. The remaining Guards were patching up the injured as much as they could. Some proceeded to grab the equipment from the dead bodies because of their own lack of firepower. The situation was beyond dire, and it reminded Grandma Yuan about the grim gloomy days during the Second World War. Right now, they were fighting against insurmountable odds against actual Demons rather than monsters disguised as humans. "Even with time, things never change." Grandma Yuan sighed as she saw the eyes of desperation, all staring at her as if she was the only saviour in this place as the flame rages in the forest beyond. "Warning, System has detected a possible manifestation of yet another Loopa Ooofpa in the outskirts of Dongguan Province. System recommends past Sub System User Yuan to evacuate as soon as possible." The System suddenly spoke out through the ring that it had given her. "Another?" Yuan asked with her eyes squinted to see beyond the endless flames burning the forest. "Affirmative. User is currently fighting one with Peppers as well as two particular State Agents. Codenames: Mr Know-It-All and Ryuli." The System replied, and that response surprised Grandma Yuan. "Of all the State Agents in the country, Jin had to meet the notorious two." Grandma Yuan did not know whether this was fate punishing Jin for having the System or there was something else in the grand scheme of destiny. "Still, that is a lot of firepower gathered in Huizhou. That brat should have at least send someone capable here to keep things in check rather than this rascal here." Yuan complained as she eyed Yun who came up the stairs subsequently with a Demon Exorcist badge which Yuan considered to be a bad joke. "For a System clone to wear that Demon Exorcist badge is an utter disgrace to my previous disciple," Yuan stated, and Yun just looked away without saying a word. She might not like it, but it was her job to protect Yuan as designated by Jin. "Your hatred towards me is unwarranted. Believe me, I enjoy being here with you as much as you enjoy my presence." Yun countered in defiance and Yuan snorted. "To think she has the same attitude as the previous Yun¡­ Whatever." Yuan thought as she cleared her throat and portrayed her cultivation aura with her eyes staring at a particular emerging silhouette far within the forest. Chapter 846 Media Blackou Even though it was the latter half of the day, heavy smoke from the flames made it almost impossible to make out whether the sun was setting. News media outlets have long since been broadcasting about the massive evacuations at the borders near Dongguan and Huizhou after an hour of national media blackout so that the Ministry of Defence would be able to release a statement first. Yet, pictures and videos of the devastation beyond the border walls had already been broadcast all over social media. Still, within that hour of media blackout, people from behind the scenes had been busy scrambling to send out revised heightened alerts to not just the military but also a call for civil defences and hospitals for them to receive the injured. That hour of media blackout had also been to allow the stock market to close in time before any damage was done to their market, making the Ministry of Finance extremely concerned about any consequences if the Monster Horde attack would drag on to the next day. Fiscal reserves were quickly being prepared in order to hold the market if necessary. Surrounding provinces were put high alert and reserve soldiers had been sent to the border walls for defence although the Ministry of State Security was doing the opposite. According to Mr Know-It-All''s urgent report, the Monster Horde could be held within the cities with more reinforcement and yet they decided to place this unnatural phenomenal assault via the mountains. His superintendent understood the implications of a possible diversion and had already dispatched local State Agents within the province''s classified locations in case of a possible infiltration or assaults on important points of interest. Cultivators of high grades and other private contractors were also roped on short notice to perform protection details for essential services like the power stations and water plants. Thus everyone was extremely vested to make sure this horde did not go further than expected. To help make this a reality, Grandma Yuan had decided to face the manifestation of Loopa Ooofpa for the second time in her life. Coincidentally that first encounter had been the famous incident which had led to her becoming the current District Guardian of Tiangong. "To face this monster again¡­ is like facing my fears once more. Although, I must say it''s true origin name is so much funnier than the one given by the military." Grandma Yuan thought to herself when the System queried about it. "While the current System has knowledge that past Sub System User Yuan had a fight with a colossal monster based on your memories, it is unable to analyse and compare its power level since the Sub System was not contracted at that point of time. Please give a rough estimation for the System to understand whether Jin''s temporary combat alliance is overkill." "No. It is not." Grandma Yuan stated decidedly with a shake on her head as she vividly remembered the horrors and atrocities that the particular manifestation of Loopa Ooofpa had done during the Second World War. As she powered up her cultivation to gather as much chi as she could, Grandma Yuan couldn''t help reminisce the past where her comrades died fighting such a monster. As controversial as it may be, the Banned Emperor faction did participate in the Second World War in defence for their motherland. However, they had joined under a false name as the State Agents later on discovered. Once their origin became known, they quickly started to dismantle that faction''s name and reassume their old identity. That was also why she had found these Bone Spirit Demons oddly familiar even though she could not identify them with the current database of monsters. Any records were removed right after the war, and she was going through PTSD and depression to even recall about the enemies. The Loopa Ooofpa was later used against the Chinese after the Banned Emperor faction found out that the invading opponents were targeting highly valued VIPs. Somehow the information about an undisclosed meeting of the Royal Zodiac Clan Heads as well as the resistance factions had been discovered. That leak of information had brought about a much heated discussion within the faction itself, but the majority demanded that they should remove the Clan Heads and be the ones controlling the remnants of the clans if they were to stand a change in this war. Thus, the Banned Emperor faction had gone ahead with their coup d''etat by unleashing such a monster. Ironically the allies mistook this action as the Banned Emperor faction trying to defend the Clan Heads via a summon techniques from their ambush attack. Sadly, it did turn uncontrollable and aimed for everyone, including their own masters after dealing with the foreign invaders. Hence the cleanup crew involved Yuan and her comrades who only graduated recently from the special Demon Exorcist training. (Yup the very same Grandma Yuan was heeding in this age.) "So there is much pressure for the ex Sub System User to succeed again." With her permission, the System briefly scanned through her memories to check whether it could get an estimation of the Loopa Ooofpa strength, but unfortunately, human memories were somewhat deceptive and unreliable. Especially after they had been tinkered with. "Told you, it''s useless. Unless you wish to bestow me a Sub System again." Grandma Yuan joked as she knew that was not possible as her module was the very thing that rescued Ming from his predicament, yet it broke after being used. "Apologies, System cannot adhere to such requests. Giving past Sub System User Yuan to permission to contact the current User''s System is already a break in System''s standard protocol." The System replied as if it was giving much leeway for her only to honour her previous occupation. "Fortunately it''s Jin wish to see you safe, so that is why I am here to ensure your survival," Yun said, but instead of gratitude, Yuan just gave her a menacing glare. "I''d rather die than allow you to save me." Grandma Yuan pouted as she finally reached the peak of the chi gathering, but things got grimmer as the Loopa Ooofpa emerged fully from a distance. Its faceless head roared with the urge to consume. Its hand tentacles were spreading like wings stretching after a long slumber. There was nothing on its body but a pile of flesh covered with streaks of bones around it. Only with a pair of binoculars could one see how the Bone Spirit Demons were coming out from its abdomen. At that point, the second wave of J30 fighter jets who were initially planning for a second fly by through the mountainous forests had decided to change their target to the large colossal manifestation. "It''s useless¡­" Grandma Yuan knew that those napalm bombs would be ineffective against the giant leader that emerged from the Banned Emperor''s Ritual. If those bombs could only eradicate Grade 8 and lower Demons, they would merely tickle the monster''s skin, and their only utility would be in eradicating those newly emerged weak Demons. If anything, that was a new unique trait of the current Loopa Ooofpa which Grandma Yuan didn''t encounter in the past. (That fight had been hard enough without such a trait) "Instructor Yuan!" Lein and his group of Demon Exorcists returned to their teacher''s side after completing the objective of removing the Demons who leaked out from the second breach. "There are some remnants running around, but the others are chasing them after the second breach of the wall had been mended by the Border Guards." Su Zhen reported. "But more importantly, we are concerned the moment we all felt your chi aura kilometres away!" Lian spoke out the truth which made Grandma Yuan grin a little. "Your other disciples are already airdropping into the town. They abandoned everything the moment they heard that you sounded the alarm for a Danger Level 4 Alert in Dongguan." Claire appeared from nowhere and surprised the Young Demon Exorcists. "Wow, doesn''t that mean a portion of the elite Demon Exorcists is joining the fight?" Rong exclaimed when he heard Claire''s remarks and the rest of the Demon Exorcists were excited to see their senior disciples under Grandma Yuan. "Heh, Claire you sneaky little¡­ Nevermind, that means I can fully concentrate on the big guy, huh?" Grandma Yuan showed a rare wide genuine smile before taking one more look at her latest batch of graduated students. "Will it be time to let the younger generation take over¡­" She whispered as she executed a technique which had not been used since the last Loopa Ooofpa fight. Chapter 847 Rebirth of the Golden Griffin The cultivation aura which was initially intense and oppressive but it suddenly turned soothingly warm and light on the body. Faintly visible golden sparks of energy were seen being emitted out of Grandma Yuan''s body as she breathed in and out. "Epic Gleaming Griffin Arts, Rebirth of Golden Griffin," Yuan spoke as a silhouette of a massive Griffin slowly climbed out of her body and took shape. The winds within the borders became unsettling as if to show its aggressive emergence into this world, and it even imitated the way Loopa Ooofpa emerged from the forest by letting out a loud wailing screech. Subsequently like Grandma Yuan''s chi, the Griffin calmed down when it lowered its claws as they grabbed the ledge of the border wall. But the most unexpected thing to the Border Guards and Demon Exorcists was seeing that silhouette of the Gleaming Griffin materialised. They were all in shock as this was the first time seeing someone materialising their animal cultivation into a living and breathing creature. "Heh, this is nothing compared to the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan''s technique. Mine is just a rip off of theirs." Grandma Yuan explained to the students watching her from behind while taking heavier breaths as a way to stabilise her chi circuits. While this particular technique had never been used against any enemy for decades, it did not mean she lacked any practice on it. In fact, it was actually part of her recovery therapy, allowing her to master the intricacies of it with the help of a Royal Zodiac Dragon clansman. It was mainly because she had used this Rebirth of Golden Griffin technique as a last resort against the rampaging Loopa Ooofpa at the expense of her comrades'' chi and ¡­life. The chi ''payment'' for the technique had been so tremendous back in the day that her comrades sacrificed their blood and flesh to convert the remaining chi needed for the summoning. To this day Yuan blamed herself for her incompetence to hold the materialisation at that point. Even though it was not fully her fault for not comprehending the technique well enough as her cultivation manual only had theories for such a technique, it technically bordered a miracle that she had been able to materalise it from just that alone. Only through the help of the Royal Zodiac Dragon clan did she find out that there were so many missing components with the ''summoning'' and the optimisation of her chi could have improved. Although she would have prefered to keep the memories of that fateful day where it all happened suppressed, she stared at the Unceasing Hunger as if this was what she had been waiting for all her life. A chance to redeem herself. Even though there were also regrets with Ming and his System, this particular grievance in her heart was heavier than the others as there was no possible reconciliation between her dead comrades who had overtaxed their Dantian cores to allow for the maximum amount of chi transferred into her. "Everything ends with a full circle, eh?" Grandma Yuan thought to herself as the Gleaming Golden Griffin lowered its body. Yuan could feel the softness of its feathery neck while it glittered and glowed with radiance. The Griffin also rubbed onto Yuan as a sign of affection and later allowed her to jump onto it before extending its wings again to signal the others to move away from it. The Border Guards were taken aback that such a weakly looking old grandmother had the strength and finesse to jump so easily, but the Demon Exorcists knew better how that look was merely a fa?ade. "I can still remember how she whooped our asses on the first day of her intensive camp training." Lein said when he saw her jump so elegantly. The days where they underestimated their demanding elderly instructor felt like it was just yesterday. "I can hear you." Grandma Yuan said without turning her head back. "Teacher! I am coming with you!" Su Zhen shouted, asking for permission to fight along with her. This prompted the rest to want to follow her as well. "NO!" Grandma Yuan told them sternly as she activated her cultivation once more, pushing them away with a chi burst. At this moment, the Griffin had also started flapping its wings, further disabling them from moving forward. "Let it go." Lein decided to hold back Su Zhen. "If we follow her, we will just hold her back." "But it''s impossible for her to fight alone! Claire, say something to stop her!" Su Zhen shouted as the Griffin began to take off. However, even her long-time assistant was standing at the back, subtly waving back at her. "You still owe me my bonus red packet for the upcoming new year. Please remember to return." Claire said via the System Channel which made her boss smirk. "Just get it from your new Boss. You two-timer." Grandma Yuan snapped back at her. "You were the one who approved it. Don''t pretend to go senile on me now. Besides, it feels more appropriate to get it from an elderly figure." Claire remarked as she started to type a few things on the System''s phone. "System, you better have a way to save her¡­" Claire thought to herself. "This rascal¡­ I never regretted hiring you to be my assistant." Grandma Yuan replied as she looked forward. The Loopa Ooofpa had never been so ready to consume the incoming large golden Griffin as it could sense the intense amount of chi residing within it. Hand tentacles had already started to crawl out of the forest and zoomed into the skies just to grab the prize that was like an inch out of reach. "Gleaming Griffin Arts, Rainbow Feather Storm." Grandma Yuan announced as she lightly held on to the nape of her Griffin and continued to channel chi within it. The Golden Griffin glimmered despite the looming dark skies, and out of its wings, feathers with homing capabilities soared through the darkness with streaks of bright rainbow trails following it. Like a beacon of bright light that continued to shine and illuminate, it destroyed the hand tentacles and lit the hopes of the Guards along the wall, bringing cheers. "Don''t be so happy!" Claire shouted at the Border Guards. "The waves of enemies are not stopping! Use that renewed strength you uncovered and stop those monstrous Demons! You four! What are you staring at? Since you are at the wall, do your job as Demon Exorcists!" Claire commanded as she placed an artefact on the ground and suddenly the section of the wall lit up with greenish hues. "Ms Claire, you are using that?!" Su Zhen lit up further when she saw the greenish hues glowed with a hum along the edges of the border wall and slowly spread to the other sections of the border walls. "Duh, how else are we going to survive with these little numbers the guards are left with?" Claire answered as she used her head to prod the Demon Exorcists to get a move on. "We have to stall them until other demon exorcists reach here." "Besides, I need to see if Jin''s System was not lying to me about my new ''intern'' powers," Claire added in her head. Chapter 848 Magpie Form "I get to boom it, right? Right?" Peppers squinted when Mr Know-It-All literally gave the go-ahead that the Ministry of State Security would cover their tracks no matter what they did. His Dragon Wave Barrier had also eliminated the small fry (to the System''s dismay) and provided Jin with some breathing space to prepare for his ''all-out attack''. "Not yet. Just give me a minute" Jin told her as he held up a monster card with the picture of Que Er, the Magpie Queen and used the System Driver to activate it. "Card Activated, Magpie Form." His Rider Suit once again changed with a flash. After its transformation, it featured a magpie head as his mask, and there were some other obvious changes to his suit too. A pair of Raven Wings was growing from his back, metallic in form because of the living armour nano suit''s ability. And out of a portal, both of Odin''s Ravens landed on his shoulders cawing at the current situation. "You got to excuse their¡­ initiative to erm ''claim'' your shoulders." "Well, that just means they love you enough to not be separated from you." Jin teased Que Er who he had fused with. (Of course, the others could not hear their talks unless they were in the same System''s channel.) "Oh please, they keep complaining how Odin did not work them as hard as I do." "And yet, they continue to work for you. Perhaps they preferred to be with a pretty queen than a grumpy old man?" Jin commented with a proverbial wink. "Since when did you become such a smooth talker? Should I be worried that older women are your preference? Is that why you haven''t been paying attention to your Sub System User?s I honestly don''t mind if Master wants a piece of me." Que Er teased Jin back. "Please. Imagine having thousands of crows and magpies and two talkative Ravens secretly peeking at us. You must be insane if you think I have such a voyeuristic nature." "That is true. Especially those lecherous Ravens. I have a feeling they keep peeking into my attire when I am not looking. Perhaps why they love to stay on my shoulders. Not sure if they transmit anything to Odin though." Que Er agreed as she pinched both of the Ravens on their necks which made them caw even harder. "We swear we would never do such a thing! Never!" Muninn screamed via the System channel. "Your denial makes it even more suspicious!" Que Er said as she now grabbed the two by their necks. By now all the scouting magpies and crows were hovering above the group in circles. From afar, the Border Guards and Royal Battalions might have mistaken it as a slow-moving hurricane given their numbers. "Ah¡­I get it. Not a bad idea to be honest." Peppers who saw the circling birds chirping away now understood what Jin was aiming at. She took her staff and swung it a few times to show her finesse of using a staff and pointed it to the sky. Subsequently, the magic within the staff was dispersed. All the magpies and crows absorbed it and started to glow with a bluish-black light. She did not forget to imbue her magic transfer with the Black Sludge Inscription Charm so that those birds would inadvertently attract the Bone Spirit Demons. (And ensuring those monsters ate the ''bombs'' instead of evading it.) "Man, I was expecting a more spectacular kaboom, but this is an interesting variant I''ve been wanting to try ever since their inception." Peppers shared in the System channel while she sent the remaining portion of the magic into the two Odin Ravens. "Que Er, send half of them to Dongguan. Grandma Yuan might need all the help she can get before we settle this." Jin requested and Que We obliged. "Sure thing! Muninn, Huginn lead the way. MAKE SURE these birds reach there safely." Que Er ordered as she squeezed the Ravens once more before sending them off. A flock of them immediately left the area with the remaining half now spreading themselves out in the wild. Que Er took the opportunity to fly up and size her opponent up. "Actually with Peppers magic now strengthening the explosive power of each of my children, I do not see a need to increase it any further. However, I figure that Loopa Ooofpa won''t go down that easily. Who knows? Maybe he will eat the explosion." Que Er analysed. "Quite an astute observation! Now if anyone at all is still interested, I would love to explain how the artificially created Loopa Ooofpa appeared in the Second World War." Kraft offered. While he would usually use Itori to fly around, this time he did not use any tricks or wings but to hover beside the System Rider Magpie. Apparently, all he needed was just chi which made Mr Know-It-All all the more curious about the cultivation grade of the newcomer. "Not really the time for a history lesson. More importantly, does that thing have any weak points?" Que Er could literally feel Jin''s anxiety in wanting to finish this monster quickly before it got any worse. "If one explosion is not enough, make it two. I still have a whole bag of things I never got the chance to try out which might prove useful. Actually, Peppers made the right choice by breaking her magic into hundreds or thousands of them. That monster would have literally absorbed the first shot and used it as his own energy source. Basically like an enemy Derpy." Kraft stated as he checked his storage ring at the side. "Well, duh. Why do you think I was so willing to forsake my chance of a grand explosion? Of course, I had read it up the moment you said that you knew about it. Though I have to admit, it''s equally nice to be able to see a series of fireworks¡­" "Ah, the System must have Grandma Yuan''s entry of the Loopa Ooofpa she fought." Kraft deduced since there was no way the System had access to his database of naughty secrets. "Eh really? I merely used the birds because they could be as highly deadly as a piece of missile." Jin said in the System Channel, attempting to bluff Kraft but to no avail. "Don''t white lie or play dumb with me, Boss. You are not of that level yet." With his head down, Kraft shook it slowly. He then unveiled the triple-barreled, triple-cylindered revolver ornamented with detailed golden fox designs and pointed at the messy blob of tentacles. His all precious ''No Mercy''. "But I shall play along with you just this one. We will divert its attention by allowing it to feed on one large enough explosion and you can attack him with the rest of your birds. At least, we got to show that we are so SO much stronger than those State Agents, right?" Kraft added as he already loaded a trio of steel bullets into No Mercy. "I don''t really understand your intentions, but let''s do it." Jin allowed Que Er to take over the combat, and with a hand wave, the birds started to glow brightly as the magic churning inside them was dying to come out of them. "Nice, Nice, Nice." Kraft grinned as he aimed his gun, all ready to press the trigger. Chapter 849 Loopa Ooofpas Weakness "Don''t. Stay back and watch their backs in case they will require us to intervene. I can sense that the other monsters are all actually converging to our location and leaving the soldiers to regroup." Mr Know-It-All said as he raised his hand to stop Ryuli from intervening in their fight. "You honestly think that they can win? No matter how I sense it, that guy in the weird suit is only Grade 8 Peak for goodness sake." Ryuli argued, and Mr Know-It-All laughed. "That''s what I thought too. But if you are sensitive enough to detect his chi, you should understand that his power level is ¡­for the lack of a better word, fucked up." Mr Know-It-All explained as he lowered the Dragon Wave Barrier and noticed the monsters under Jin''s command continue to pull those Bone Spirit Infused Demons towards the portals. "Is that how he collects monsters and learns how to reconstruct them? Under controlled circumstances? If yes, he is one tenacious fellow with a high level of creativity." He thought to himself. He was already looking forward to the next dungeon instance and expected it to be filled with those creatures. "Erm, yeah. I did notice an abrupt spike in power after he used that card to transform and gain wings for his suit. Some of the talented mages in Europe''s Circus also possess such abilities, what is so special about that?" Ryuli asked as she pointed out that the spies in the European countries had better transformation abilities than him. Only when she said that she realised something was off. "¡­He uses magic and chi circuits simultaneously and with the same efficiency too," Ryuli whispered to herself and noticed this was unprecedented. "Mmhm. You used to think that you were the only few in the world who could use magic to supplement your chi, right? It seems that he is one step further than you by utilising both circuits allowing him to cast spells too. So, at least int theory, he is actually as strong or maybe even stronger than you." Mr Know-It-All reasoned. "All the more reason for him to be your so-called ''elder disciple''." Ryuli heard it and was unsure how to process that information. She could only listen to her superior ramble on as she watched the two start the fight. *BAM!* Kraft had fired his first volley of shots, and the three steel bullets were immediately imbued with his chi, breaking each and every hand tentacle that tried to stop it. Needless to say, the Loopa Ooofpa relished such a ''mighty'' meal as it opened its mouth to slow its descent by absorbing the chi that was within the steel bullets. But the moment those bullets stopped to a halt, they immediately released a gaseous substance that caused it to choke. Oddly enough, the bullets were releasing more gas than it should have contained in terms of standard physics. That was because it was actually a steel bullet encased with Evon''s inscription. The chi Kraft had imbued was like a bottle cap, keeping the bottle from overspilling. Only when the chi got taken away, would the inscription self activate courtesy of the bullet. "Jespa really wished to pin me hard on the wall after I told her that I needed to make a bullet out of runic metals and of all metals. Steel fused with mithril alloy. Despite all her arguing, she sure did a great job. Hehehe!" Kraft was not one to waste any monster talents in Jin''s disposal, and the rune bullet itself provided enough power for Evon''s inscription to work beyond its inscription limits. The gas eventually spread around the Loopa Ooofpa, and Kraft subsequently shot out standard incineration bullets to ignite the gas. "Though it was meant to be a choking gas bullet, it''s quite flammable in nature." Kraft boasted as the bullets were visible with the tracers on them and instantly, the surrounding area exploded. "Huh. Not bad. 1/10." Peppers graded the explosion after helping the Valgs by magically chaining the monsters up with magic. She had used her staff as the anchor to pull all the surrounding Demons towards her. Only when the Valgs brought the Demons near the portal did she release the chains and the portal sucked them in. As for those Bone Spirit Infused Demons who were too close for comfort, a knockback explosion was sufficient to push it away and sometimes into the portals too. "I am totally ignoring you, Peps." Kraft declared nonchalantly. (Though Jin believed that he only did so because he was pouting. Everyone always looked up to Pepper''s review rating as if it was the international standard for explosions.) "Go, my birds!" Que Er, who had actually used Jin''s Maqi to further juice up her birds'' offensive power, finally gave the order to attack the Loopa Ooofpa. With their small physique and their body frame for speed, the magpies and crows easily evaded the Loopa Oofpa''s hand tentacles by skidding along it and dived towards the body. But what Que Er did not expect was that the hand tentacles began to evolve as soon as Kraft''s attack had started. The hand tentacles immediately released pores that could explode as quickly as one of Que Er''s birds entered within its proximity. As a result, a secondary blast happened since the magpies were basically flying timebombs too. (At least, it took out the hand tentacles too.) "Do you see now what I told you about the Loopa Ooofpa? They will use your magic against you after eating it. If you throw a nuclear bomb at it, chances are it will become a walking nuclear disaster and irradiate the regions it does through." Kraft pointed at it as if he was proud that the monster was proving his point. "So, then how are we supposed to kill it?" Jin, who was at the sideline, saw it. "Constantly interrupting its eating time," Kraft replied. "Whenever it attempts to consume an attack, you break it. But of course, different types of attacks means different types of consumption methods, and that means it will make it harder to kill." "So that is why we are merely concentrating on explosions right now instead of a variety of attacks?" Que Er reasoned as the System Rider''s mask gave her a more advanced display interface on the visor so she and the System could fully control the movements of each and every bird as if they were living breathing homing missiles. With the evolution of Loopa Ooofpa in mind and the losses it incurred seconds ago, the System had already adjusted the birds'' trajectory and aimed for the parts of the body where it was producing the Bone Spirit Demons from. "Yeap, that is why when it is attempting to eat the explosions, it is also taking damage from the constant release of choking gas turning into explosions. The fire from the after-effects will ignite those gases and cause the explosions to continue for some time." Kraft informed them as he fired a few more incineration bullets. "At the same time, we target its body which had residual crevices after the Demons get ''born''. Even if it could regenerate and evolve, there is no such thing as an immortal creature." Que Er remarked. "How sure are you?" Jin queried thinking of the worst possible scenario. "Trust me, I am an immortal at your service." The magpie queen giggled as a result of her birds'' attack and her honest comment to Jin. "Sometimes, we got to fight smart, right? Brute force isn''t always the way." Kraft winked at System Rider Magpie while grinning when he thought how the Banned Emperor Assassins must be tearing their hair out to see their Loopa Ooofpa in trouble. Especially when Loopa Oofpa should be deemed as their trump card in this Monster Horde attack. Chapter 850 Command Headquarters True enough, the State Agents were baffled when they saw the Loopa Ooofpa getting damaged. Their initial attacks when fighting against the colossal manifestation had been useless as it continuously regenerated and threw their strikes back in their very raw essence. They literally could feel their own strength and chi being used against themselves and were only thankful that they had not used any higher advanced techniques. That was also one of the reasons why Mr Know-It-All decided to step back and see if the dungeon supplier had any ways to damage the monster (Especially when they are supposedly the monster experts.) "Seems like this won''t be a futile alliance!" He thought to himself as he saw how the monster wriggled in pain and turned even more aggressive. With the attacks on its "birthing" crevices, it somehow stopped the Monster Horde temporarily from growing, and this gave them confidence that it could be defeated. "Master! Air Command is sending reinforcements to fight against the creature, do you want me to belay that order?" General Hou Fei finally checked into the System Channel. "I am leading this battle for now. Tell them to aim for the crevices. I will send you some digital pictures shortly via the System." Kraft answered, and Hou Fei rolled his eyes. "As if those pilots in the air have a telepathy System Channel in their heads for me to transpose that information!" Hou Fei cursed under his breath as he saw the pictures had already been sent via an email. "I have a few choppers ready to fly. They should be able to airlift a few of my artillery scouts, and I shall order them to laser paint the targets for them to hit." "Great, just make sure to set their explosion delays to intervals of three seconds. That or hit it with precise timing of at least three seconds apart. We need double impacts for it to be effective!" Kraft replied as he reloaded his No Mercy and switched to a combination ratio of one Evon Special Choking Gas bullet to two incineration bullets. "I will try to relay that information but cannot guarantee whether those pilots can be competent or listen to us." Hou Fei yelped back at Kraft. "Ehh? Don''t tell me¡­ aren''t those exclusive to the Royal Zodiac Rooster''s Air Force?" Instead of the standard J30s, Kraft distinguished with his keen eye that those were, in fact, the J30-Rs. One of the two special variants custom made to suit the Royal Zodiac''s privileged group of pilots. "Hmm yeah." Hou Fei scratched his head, thinking of a way to send that instruction without making it sound as if he was undermining their authority. "Ah, fuck it!" Hou Fei opened the secure channel and just repeated the information he got from Kraft to Central Command. "Roger that, we will relay the planes to do a quick roundabout before sending them your way, so you have time to paint the targets." A familiar voice was heard by Hou Fei, and it was none other than his Royal Zodiac Snake Clan''s head, Mong Tse. "Sir! I did not expect you to be part of the command staff for this current operation." Hou Fei was glad to hear his voice in this chaos. "Hehe, did you think I would stay idle during a national crisis? I have been monitoring your progress since the start. As much as we want to be quiet with our development, we have to plan for pessimistic scenarios. Why else would those lazy Roosters get to sortie this quickly?" "That''s true. Despite their namesake, being early isn''t really one of their specialities." Hou Fei jest for a moment, but he knew this wasn''t the time for idle chatter and his Snake Clan Head informed him that the field artillery would be in soon via the portals. "Your decision to bring one of the portal trucks to Shanghai was a good one." Mong Tse commended his General, and subsequently, Hou Fei asked about the situation at Dongguan. "Tiangong District Guardian certainly lives up to her name. Satellite feed shows that she is damaging the manifestation the same way your group of private contractors are doing. However, she seems to be waning in power. Alas, time is a deadly enemy nobody can escape. I will liaise and get the Royal Dragon Air Force to send their planes there as soon as possible." And suddenly from the corner of the voice call, someone was already shouting. "They are already on their way!" Royal Zodiac Dragon General, You Wan Long, shouted over the many shoulders within the command meeting room. A number of officers saluted as he stomped into the room and literally threw classified documents on the table. "This is everything we have on the target ''Sundew'' from the National Secret Archives. As we speak, the J30-D''s have already been equipped with the latest gravity implosions bombs, which we believe should be enough to decimate it." "It might actually make things worse unless you-" General Mong Tse tried to explain, but the Dragon Zodiac General didn''t even let him finish before he rebutted. "On whose information are you relying on? We have records about killing target ''Sundew'', and Demon Exorcist Instructor Yuan was the one to write that particular report. Also, the information has surprisingly been updated in recent years during the revision audits from Monsterology experts." He stated matter of factly. "I do not wish to argue that. However, the latest intel on the ground has shown results proving that their technique works. Are we going to rely on paper or results from the ground?" Mong Tse knew that Wan Long was a little impulsive to show off that the Dragons were superior to the rest of the Zodiac clans. All he needed to do was switch the way he phrased things so that he would listen. "By following this method, it will guarantee the Dragon Air Force''s success in injuring target ''Sundew'' and also show off its superior finesse and accuracy. Should that not work, please feel free to go back to your way of handling things." "Very well. I am listening." Royal Dragon General Wan Long nodded after he caught the ''correct keywords'' and Mong Tse easily explained the tactics that Hou Fei had relayed to him. "That''s it? Of course, my pilots can do that!" Wang Long quickly told his telecommunication officers to send in these orders. "Very good, I will send the message to the Border Guards, and hopefully they can at least help in aiding with the laser painting procedure." Mong Tse took a quick heave of relief before forgetting that he had his General on hold. "I actually heard everything." Hou Fei admitted, and Mong Tse chuckled. "To see the Snake subdue a Dragon is always satisfying." "Then do me proud." Mong Tse answered. "No worries. I actually should have a way to contact Instructor Yuan and the Demon Exorcists in Dongguan immediately. Although to be sure, please send a formal communication telegram order." Hou Fei replied, and his Snake Head Clan was smiling. "You sure you do not want to take the chief position of our Military Intelligence Branch?" Mong Tse asked once more. "Trust me, you do not want me to hold on to state secrets. They might slip out of my hands." Hou Fei refused the offer once more and officially closed the communication channel before giving the latest information to his soldiers as well as Claire who was holding the fort at the Dongguan border walls. Chapter 851 System Interns Powers Even as the Golden Griffin flew and fought on a less favourable footing, Grandma Yuan was still able to evade and counter while dishing out damage on the colossal manifestation. It was also because all her techniques were solely for demon exorcising and thus its potency against this big bad boss was far higher than an ordinary cultivator''s technique or the ones possessed by the Border Guards and Royal Horse Battalion. However, the only thing that she was unable to do was to halt the waves of monsters constantly coming out of the belly of Loopa Ooofpa. She had already tried her best stopping the manifestation from moving forward, but with only one person on the scene, there was only so much the district guardian could do. That was why she had asked her students and assistant to stay at the border walls. The low glowing green hues that crept on the wall via Claire''s technique got even brighter, and she pumped in even more chi into it. "Advanced Trap Formation: Slime Scarecrows!" She called out the name of the technique in order to fully stabilise the formation she created along varying sections of the border wall. As the name depicted, the glowing green hues that seeped through the crevices of the damaged concrete border wall immediately grew slimes in the shape of scarecrows. The remaining Bone Spirit Infused Demons that tried to climb over or bash the wall had been met with significantly high resistance as the Slime Scarecrows shot slimy projectiles to slow and if possible, kill them. For those who got too close were instead entrapped by them and subsequently strangled. Slowly with no air or oxygen, the infused demon died from asphyxiation as the slime entered into their airway and filled their lungs with nothing but semi-viscous fluid. This trap formation had also brought the much needed relief to other sections of the border wall in Dongguan especially with the flames in the forest starting to die down near the border walls after the deadly napalm strike. The firestorm was still spreading at a significant pace further from the wall, but there''s nothing left in front of the wall for the flames to burn, giving way for the Bone Spirit Infused Demons to dash through the smoke for safety. And without the flames to slow the demons, the border walls only had barebone defences against the horde until Claire summoned her Slime Scarecrows. "This is amazing! We can at least wait for some reinforcements because of that!" Lian said as she saw Claire''s trap formation techniques in action. "It''s not even the start of it. I have successfully modified it in the past month or so. Besides, when it comes to Trap Formations, I have to show my powers once in a while, right? Else I cannot be teaching any more students on such a topic." Claire lied through her teeth as she actually used the Sub System''s power to modify her current technique. The other monsters or bellators might have thought that she possessed the same powers as Qiu Yue. To use money to boost her offensive strength since Claire had the Financing Sub System with her. But that was not exactly the case for the intern. Instead, any monster that she killed got converted into valuable metals or gems. (With of course heavy taxing by the System.) And with the properties of those valuable resources, Claire was able to power up her techniques. The killing of Bone Infused Demons enabled her to earn a bag full of topaz which she immediately utilised to enhance her current trap formation. Due to this the Slime Scarecrows eventually evolved into Slime Topaz Scarecrows, allowing them to possess the ability to fire energy beams from afar or burn the demons when caught inside the slimes. As the Slime Topaz Scarecrows were similar to a carnivorous flytrap, many of the Border Guards also made use of them by luring the Bone Spirit Infused Demons towards them for better offensive options. ¡ª¡ª "Claire, I have information to pass to Grandma Yuan. But seeing that she is busy fighting, the System prevents me talking to her." Hou Fei informed the young woman via the System Channel. "Shoot." Claire said as she held onto a topaz and used its energy to create a sunburst effect, blinding the demons in front of her. It allowed the Demon Exorcists to finish them up in a jiffy. Hou Fei then explained the situation to her, and she understood the current state of the problem they were in. "I understand. Basically, we just need something to aim at those eerie-looking holes so the Royal Zodiac Dragon Air Force can blast them to kingdom come?" Claire summed it up. "Yeah, preferably doing some damage to them at the same time but they are using some sort of gravity like bomb to take the target out. So I have no idea what could be used to complement it." Hou Fei replied, but suddenly it clicked on Claire. "Hey, Lein! You remember when you did that electro ball trick which nearly devastated the entire place and created a crater?" Claire queried as she went to Lein''s side. "Ehhh, yeah. What''s up with it?" Lein had a blank look on his face as he was not expecting such a random question out of the blue. "Can you replicate that and shoot them towards those genitalia looking holes?" "You mean the monster''s vaginas?" It was obvious Lein was holding his giggle back. "Language!" Claire beat his head but at the same time, instinctively stifled a short chuckle. "It doesn''t have to be at full power, just something enough to wound it." "It will be hard to do so at this distance. If I try, I can''t guarantee that I will have much control especially when this is a technique I have yet to master. Why do you need it??" Lein asked as he continued to stake a lookout for more demons. "Because the Royal Dragon Air Force is coming down to beat the shit out of that thing and your electro orb seems like the best marker we can use to guide their bombs," Claire replied. "Sounds like an adventure that Grandma Yuan will kill us for!" Lian was nearby and overheard the conversation, wanting to be in. "I am only asking Lein about his assessment for this task. If it is too risky, I am just gonna need a lightning trace towards those holes." "As defiant as this sounds, that electro orb thing is probably the best way to help Grandma Yuan." Su Zhen agreed as she wanted in. "Why are you all here when I was talking to Lein only a few seconds ago?!" "Call it team telepathy!" Rong exposed their trick and got knocked by Lian''s fist. "Don''t worry. I believe we already have a plan to accomplish that. Besides, it should be safer if we do it together." Lein looked at the others, and they winked back at him with a complimentary thumbs up. "Just don''t make things too worrying for Grandma Yuan¡­" Claire warned as she let them go since it was her fault to overlook that they were a close knitted team. Chapter 852 Electrical Markers The moment they were given permission by Claire to move forth, Rong stayed on the walls while the others jumped into the burnt clearing and continued into the forest. The reason why Rong stayed back was mainly because of his unique cultivation that allowed him to pull them back to the walls if the situation turned dire. This extra precaution was sorely needed with the firestorm within the forest still raging on. The team of newbie Demon Exorcists might be high grade cultivators with the ability to hold their breath for an extended period of time, but should they get stuck, there was a need for an escape route. Hence, Rong came into the picture by enabling his cultivation of the Ox Demon Ao Ye. "Advanced Ao Ye Technique, Hair Tracking Ropes!" Rong shouted. Despite the name, the hair ropes actually emerged from his hammer and they were like an extension of the hammer because of the particular technique. (Not his hair!) It might sound weird at a glance but the folklore in which Ox Demon Ao Ye appeared, truly depicted Ao Ye as an ox with human features on its head. Instead of leather skin or fur, the body was filled with human hair, and it grew so long that it looked as if it was covered from head to toe with it. (Or one could say, from head to tail.) Hence, Rong''s cultivation allowed the hammer to grow long extending hair which each and every one of his teammates utilised by tying themselves with a tight knot around their body. Not only that, but Rong also served as their eyes and ears because the hair ropes had sensory components on them, serving as the team''s backup support. And because he was up on the border walls, he could also use the bird eye''s view on the ever-changing situation to his advantage. (Of course, the burning forest was a hindrance, but the information from the hair ropes helped complemented it.) Meanwhile, Lian, the Nine Tail Fox Demon Cultivator led the charge into the forest as a forward scout, finding the most suitable path for the team to move forth. With a few tails extending from her back, they acted as a balance component during her scouting as well as a chi absorber. Whenever they encountered a Bone Spirit Infused Demon in front of them, she would use the accumulated chi in one of her tails to kill the enemy in one shot and push forward. Thus, allowing Lein and Su Zhen to save their chi. Time was definitely of the essence for them since Claire had warned them that the Royal Zodiac Dragon Air Force was coming in three minutes time. However, even with her charged up chi tails, the number of Demons was increasing the further they got into the burning forest. "Guess, it''s time to use the present Boss Jin got us!" Lian said as she took out the dual inscription charm from her storage ring and activated it. In an instant, her appearance immediately changed into a set of kunoichi ninja clothes. This allowed her tails to move freely at the back without any hindrance to her movement. (Although she would admit that Jin''s design was a little sexy, it was very practical and made with functional use in mind.) A design of a nine tailed fox was being embroidered on the black ninja clothes with gold and orange threads. With the use of the inscription charm, it heightened her power abilities, allowing her to grow one extra tail and get a better grasp of her senses. (If anything, it was similar to Jin''s inverse eyes, but something extremely basic to the feeling of a sixth sense.) Upon transformation, she took in the surrounding fire as her own chi and shot it directly at the Bone Spirit Infused Demons, allowing her to create a clear path big enough for her two teammates to follow. They were successful until they encountered the very first hand tentacles which Claire had told them to either avoid or destroy with one clean shot! If they were on the fence or hesitated too much, they would suffer the consequences. "Then let''s see how much pain this hand tentacle can take!" Lian said as she slashed down with her dagger infused with the fire chi, utilising up to two tails worth of chi storage. Naturally, she succeeded. Yet, this also meant that Lian could only bring them this far. Any closer would mean they would encounter even more hand tentacles and underestimating it would bring death to the team. "My turn then!" Su Zhen said as she clasped her hands together in the direction of Lein and immediately four snakes appeared from beneath her and slithered towards the Qilin Cultivator. "You sure your snakes can hold it out?" Lein asked as he already started to discharge the chi to create the electro orbs. "I will be here to defend you, so rest easy and concentrate. No use overthinking stuff now." Su Zhen nodded her head, and soon the snakes lowered their heads for Lein to step on them. After which, they calmly lifted him upwards, out of the smoky forest and into the open skies. It was almost half the distance away between the border wall and the Loopa Ooofpa. Obviously, Grandma Yuan noticed him from her Griffin and immediately questioned Claire for an explanation which her assistant gladly provided. "No wonder. Fine, I will do my best to distract the Monster, but I cannot promise their survival." Yuan cut off her communication and started to summon even more chi, and this time, taking it straight from the System Ring. "In the end, I still have to rely on you," Yuan said with a bitter smile as the ring glittered a little with a small input of chi. She then continued to stalk Loopa Ooofpa''s actions and preempt the counter attack. "You sure, you want to use your stored chi that quickly?" Yun said as she sat quietly behind the Golden Griffin despite Yuan''s disgust. "And see my little kids get killed in the process?" "You said you did not care about their survival." Yun replied. "I say I cannot promise their survival. I did not say I didn''t care about them." Yuan answered while her Golden Griffin blew out golden electrical breaths to destroy the hand tentacles that were coming close towards Su Zhen''s snake defences. "Epic Qilin Technique! Electro Orbs of the Thunder Unicorn!" Lein shouted after he too changed into his Demon Exorcist uniform bestowed by Jin. The chi from the dual inscription charm somehow managed to stabilise the forms of the Electro Orbs and Lein quickly sent them flying toward the colossal manifestation''s damnable genitals. Why Claire suggested using Lein''s attack was simple. The electromagnetic force from the electro orbs could potentially be the precursor attack for the gravity implosion bombs that were being sent by the Royal Zodiac Dragon Air Force. And true enough, multiple screeching sounds were heard zooming past the skies the moment Lein shot out the Electro Orbs to the monster''s belly. "Visible Markers found. Chi projection adjusted. Weapons free, I repeat Weapons free!" The Royal Zodiac Dragon Pilot Leader commanded through the intercom, and the staff within the headquarter''s office were watching through the radar and satellite feeds. Chapter 853 Gravity Implosion Missiles The gravity implosion missiles flew rather silently compared to the conventional rockets as they were being sent down to their markers via a chi projection technique by the Royal Dragons Pilots. Upon impact, the gravity missiles appeared like a standard explosion, but soon, the explosion got sucked into a pinpoint location centred around the tip of the missile and started to suck in any matter around it. That naturally included the intact flesh on the Loopa Ooofpa. While it was a gamble, Claire with her limited high school science knowledge believed that the electro orb could act as a precursor attack that enabled the gravity bomb to serve as the second layer of repeated attack. This also prevented the introduction of a new fresh element for the Loopa Ooofpa for it to absorb. After all, Lein''s Electro Orb consisted of electromagnetic force, the second strongest fundamental force in the world which could definitely invoke the disruption of the gravitational waves depending on the calculations applied. While it might not work precisely how Claire''s mind had intended, it did prove to be rather effective in practice. Even better, the Royal Dragon Air Force managed to pull off the manoeuvre according to Hou Fei''s recommendation. (*cough* Actually it was Kraft''s idea and later the System refining it for the simpletons.) Thus, the ''technical'' third hit on the same spot was the one that did the most damage to the Loopa Ooofpa. Yet, all the behind the scenes planning did not matter to the guys at the border walls since they could see the colossal manifestation wailing in pain. (It did inadvertently boost their morale which was critical when they suffered such heavy losses.) With an effective hit, the Royal Dragon Air Force was confident to proceed with a second sortie and that fortunately applied to the Royal Rooster Air Force too. They might not have the same kind of weaponry as the Royal Dragons, but most importantly, their attacks hurt the creature. ¡ª¡ª¨C "I can perfectly imagine those Banned Emperor Assassins or terrorists currently panicking, thinking something along the lines of ''how is this possible''!?" Kraft pretended to express the horrid face to Jin, and it no doubt made Jin laugh. "Told you, it''s best to leave it to them for a solution." Mr Know-It-All chuckled as they now know how to defeat the colossal monster. "Let''s go. We have been idle for far too long." "Yes, sir." Ryuli said as she portrayed her cultivation. With the aid of the System, Kraft could vaguely see that the cultivation style was partially similar to the form of the Dancing Dragon. But at the same time, it felt way too similar to a certain someone''s cultivation. "Isn''t that a little bit too much reminiscent of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Pandas cultivation style? Even the chi she exudes is almost the same as yours!" Kraft pointed out in the System Channel. "Then she is really Ryuli?! How is that possible? She was a kid when I met her in that boxed up basement." Jin replied. He did not have any confirmation when she utilised the limited edition Panda Energy Beam Inscription charm but right now when she portrayed her dragon cultivation out, it was nothing but Jin''s type of Maqi. "While it is impossible for another cultivation user to have the same type of chi as User, the fact is indisputable when the System sees it with its own ''eyes''. Colour the System interested. Original Bellator Kraft, is there a second child that Ming took care which the System is unaware of?" The System questioned upon seeing the same thing. "Illicit relationship? Hahaha, Ming would be too afraid to do that! Anyways you said boxed up basement¡­say where was that cellar you were held in again? I didn''t get to see the exterior part of the area." Kraft commented, stating that he blindly followed the portal to where Jin was previously when he was stuck in a basement cell. "Grandma''s Yuan training camp? I don''t really know. I merely followed the directions given by them previously and reached a broken down old temple before I got attacked by the Demon Exorcist trainees- well technically they are exorcists now." Jin answered as they fell back for the two State Agents to showcase their own offensive powers. "Why does this address sound a bit familiar? System, do you have a picture of that place?" Kraft queried. "System does not wish to waste precious resources on meaningless revelations when the battle is at hand." The System stated even though it did portray interest in the current situation. (It just did not want to entertain Kraft like how the fox dodged its initial questions.) "I agree too. Even though the two agents are flying around brandishing their chi and powers, we should clear it as soon as possible." Que Er chimed in as she summoned out more birds. Her transformation had been extended with use of the Dark Sludge Crystals by Jin. "I just want to boom stuff. :(" Peppers pouted as she sat on a Valg, already doing a few blasting mine spells to knock the Bone Spirit Infused Demons into Jin''s portals. "Target found and eliminated." Zeru suddenly interrupted the System Channel. "Unfortunately the group we''ve encountered did not have the summoners though." Milk interjected. "They are merely offering their chi to maintain the Loopa Ooofpa¡­ I think. Teehee." "The main group could be at Dongguan. I can move now if you wish and we will leave a trace so the Snakes and Tigers can follow up from this later." Zeru reported as he made sure he plucked the dantian out of those assassins to prevent resurrection. Milk knew Zeru was an insanely powerful sword saint but to see his powers at its full glory was terrifying. The Banned Emperor''s Assassins never stood a chance the moment he turned dead serious. This made Milk wonder why Zeru had been holding back so much when he could simply cut down all of Jin''s enemies. "A few of my scouting birds are at Dongguan, you can use them to have the System set up their last seen location. Be careful though. Unlike here where the forest is largely intact, Dongguan had been decimated to the ground with napalm, and they used some weird bomb that caused the ground to get deformed a little." Que Er suggested. "Put us in the mountains instead. They are probably hiding within it." Zeru replied, and Que Er complied. "Please update us for any possible changes and help take a look at Grandma Yuan too!" Jin requested which both bellators willingly agreed to it. "Welp, that was an unexpected but fortunate turn of events. I was hoping to torture the Banned Emperor Assassins." Kraft commented as he looked at the creature failing with desperation, all in the hopes to stop the minuscule cultivators from killing it. If anything, the Banned Emperor had miscalculated that Jin and Grandma Yuan could get involved in this particular Monster Horde defence. It was Yuan''s knowledge and Jin''s army of misfits that brought the quick demise of their trump card. In Dongguan, the elimination of the Loopa Ooofpa was proceeding well. Although Grandma Yuan was surprised to see the electro orbs and the plea to retreat from Claire, she was proud that they were able to make a difference and assisted her in defence of the border wall. But that did not mean she was going to overlook her students acting against her orders. (Although she knew long all along they were doing something beneficial.) With a quick glance, she found Lein and stared at him and subsequently the others with a menacing look. Her menacing aura was only strengthened by her griffin steed. The Demon Exorcists instantly knew that they were in deep trouble after the situation blew over. Chapter 854 Silver Wings "Rong! Pull us out now! Grandma Yuan is looking straight at-" and before Lein could finish his sentence, the hair rope tied around his waist already started reeling him in at an increasingly fast speed. "I know! I too can already feel her beady eyes staring at me! Hold onto your nape in case of whiplash!" Rong warned with his chi telepathy back at the group "Those rascals!" Grandma Yuan chuckled a little more as she stood on her Golden Griffin, awaiting the right chance to finish the Loopa Ooofpa in one fell swoop after the Dragon''s second attack according to their flying pattern. But things never happened one sided in real life. The villains struggled to complete their own objective too. Grandma Yuan noticed that two human cultivators were running towards her, and their chi was being expelled into the surroundings. "So, they showed themselves instead of running away, huh?" Grandma Yuan tapped on her Griffin and immediately, several Rainbow Feathers underneath the golden wings flew towards the location where she detected the chi. "Huan, careful." Yung warned as he took his blade out and deflected the razor sharp feather projectiles. But to their surprise, instead of flying to another direction, the feather changed its course and proceeded to attack the Banned Emperor Assassin. "Remember to keep your distance, Big Sister Yuan. We have no idea what foul tricks they have under their sleeves, especially when they have that dantian corruption poison." Hou Fei reminded Yuan as he relayed that information to Zeru who actually found the band of assassins rather quickly after Jin transported Peppers to his side too. While it is not as legendary as the Scan spell that Peppers had, the magpies and crows'' hard work finding the remnants of the Banned Emperor terror group made the subsequent kills easy. Zeru quickly searched and eliminated them. There was no mercy in his strikes, and the birds did pick up two assassins who had run away from the area and were heading towards Grandma Yuan. Without any hesitation, the System (even though it looked reluctant initially) had immediately teleported Zeru and Milk to deal with those assassins that were coming for Grandma Yuan. After all, it deduced that its User would not forgive the System for making such a blunder under its watch. But to the bellators'' surprise, Yun actually intervened when one of the assassins, Huan, came close enough despite Yuan putting a distance away from them by flying higher. He had used the Loopa Ooofpa hand tentacles as a support to jump even as the Golden Griffin tried to fly and evade away from the damaged colossal manifestation. "Do not think you can run away from me once I locked on to you!" Huan shouted as he picked a pistol up and aimed towards the Tiangong District Guardian. Upon pulling the trigger, several black hydra silhouettes burst out of the gun, aiming for Yuan. It was then that Yun came between the hydra silhouettes and Grandma Yuan, deflecting most of the attacks with just a wide long blade. Silverish wings soared through the sky on top of the Golden Bird. A Griffin silhouette appeared behind Yun and Yuan somehow felt that cultivation style Yun selected was meant to spite her further. "You think using his cultivation style would make me delighted?" Yuan shouted, but it did not bother Yun a single bit as she released a technique yet again similar to Yuan''s Rainbow Feather Storm. "Advanced Silver Griffin Art, The Feathery Silver Cross Wave!" Yun shouted as she swung her blade and fully pushed back the Black Hydra silhouettes away with the first wave of silver chi energy. Only when the silhouettes dissipated, then she followed it up with the second and final wave of silver chi. Huan tried to evade upon losing the fight of chi attrition, but Milk was behind him, giving him a sneaky shadow kick before conjuring chains made of light to pin him down. "Bon Voyage to the netherworld!" Milk said as she leapt backwards for the silver wave of chi to eliminate him. Separately, Yung saw the opportunity to run even further away since he saw how absurd his teammate had decided to challenge someone who was leagues above him. "The dantian corruption poison may be strong enough if you manage to get it into their body, you idiot!" Yung said as he tried to run until he suddenly felt that he hit a stick on the ground, which caused him to trip. Only when he recovered from the attack did he realise Zeru was already there with his katana ready. However, even before Yung could move a muscle, Zeru cut his head away while holding onto his arm. "Not too late, nor too early." Zeru said as he took the precaution to cut the left arm and kicked it away even though it was dangling lifelessly at the side when he beheaded the Banned Emperor Assassin. At the tip of Yung''s fingers was the Dantian Corruption Poison which the late assassin hoped to use against Zeru. Instead, the sword saint collected it in a sterile box and sent it to Evon for processing since he was the ultimate chemist in Jin''s science team. As for Yuan, she kept quiet for a moment upon seeing tears appearing on Yun''s face despite it being expressionless after the fight. "You still remember him, don''t you? You do not have to act dumb in front of me. I too am a woman and mother." Yuan said as she lowered her Griffin, making it easier for her to ride on. "There is still the Loopa Ooofpa. We got to-" Yun ignored Grandma Yuan''s attempt in consoling, and she looked away to wipe her tears, but for the first time in a long while, the almighty District Guardian showed her softer side. "Up, we are moving." Grandma Yuan cleared her throat and told her to climb up the Griffin. She did not know how much Yun remembered about her son and her, but that was something to resolve later, not when the Loopa Ooofpa still alive and kicking. Yet, despite the dangers that the hand tentacles presented, the Golden Griffin was not moving anywhere else until Yun does. It lowered its wings, and the Griffin used his body to cover the two cultivators while hovering in the middle of the battlefield. Even Yuan''s manifested chi knew this was one of the times it had to protect its master at all cost during this indirect act of kindness. For this small tiny opportunity to reconcile might never come again. Chapter 855 Months of Planning "This¡­ IMPOSSIBLE!!! How could months of planning have been thwarted so easily?!" Banned Emperor Elder Wang Ba Tan couldn''t believe the reality of the situation as he controlled the Loopa Ooofpa''s hand tentacles to intercept the incoming attacks. He was not hiding in the mountains nor in some other remote location. No, he was actually inside the monster, offering up his blood, sweat and chi to the best of his ability to keep the colossal monstrosity alive. His only hope was that his brother, Wang Ji Tan in Dongguan was faring better than him right now. After having been locked up in the Royal Tigers'' special security prison for a long time, they had been freed by their companions and the brothers were finally able to exact revenge on the public. Initially, things had gone smoothly with the destruction of several smaller cities around the world as part of their experiment and diversion. Confident about their odds, they had returned to China so they could unleash one of the largest Monster Hordes in China to put the Royal Zodiacs to shame. All according to the will of their Emperor! They could not tolerate seeing those traitors dominate the current world. The Elders wanted them out of society''s equation and start a new regime with the Banned Emperor returning and rightfully reclaiming his rule over China. Although Ba Tan knew that his age was getting up there, he believed that he still had it in him to lead this Monster Horde which would serve as the perfect opening declaration of war against the traitors. However, things didn''t go as expected. The resistance turned out to be far stronger than they had scouted, and the cultivators on-site were seemingly aware of the weakness of the Loopa Ooofpa. He couldn''t understand how this was possible. The archive reports should have been adjusted by an ''expert'' in monsterology about five years ago. The army was meant to attack the target ''Sundew'' with a variety of attacks all of them as mighty as possible. By absorbing the attacks, the Unceasing Hunger would have grown in strength and become unstoppable. The army would have contributed to it evolving and becoming capable of throwing out even more dangerous moves that could hopefully decimate cities in a matter of minutes. The Elders had made preparations to counter various famous cultivators from the Royal Zodiac Clans and those affiliated with them, including Grandma Yuan, the last surviving Demon Exorcists from the first appearance of the Loopa Ooofpa. And yet, there he was, stuck fighting a bunch of unnamed cultivators he had never heard of or seen before. Meanwhile, his brother was faring no better. It appeared as if he had sorely underestimated the powers of Grandma Yuan, despite all the simulations and projections from their best analysts. Then again, how could anyone of those have taken into account that Grandma Yuan was getting access to the System and its copious amounts of chi? Given her advanced age, she should have been straining herself to maintain the enormous chi consumption the Golden Griffin needed to retain its physical form unless she relied on blood sacrifices. Yet, they were sure that was something she would never do to avoid repeating the fate of her fallen companions. To merely call it months of planning was too humble of their grand plans. The Banned Emperor faction had long since infiltrated all corners of the government while keeping a low profile. While this Monster Horde was one of the first major attacks in years, one shouldn''t ignore the decades of misinformation and misdirection that preceded this incident. The main reason why Chancellor Ma He did not send out a bigger force of Demon Exorcists in the first place was that the report did not reach him. It was actually the Vice Chancellor who reviewed it based on a quick summary by his aides. Even Grandma Yuan''s recommendation had been toned down by his aides. But whether the aides were part of the Banned Emperor faction or someone who had forwarded the report, that would be entirely another issue by itself. Although the Banned Emperor had many plans in mind, the Monster Horde was undoubtedly one that had used up a considerable amount of their resources. Elder Wang was naturally aware of all of it, making him so distraught that the defenders were able to cope so well. Their Loopa Ooofpa manifestation had been damaged to the point that it would be hard to make any groundbreaking changes in the current situation. Not long ago, one of his charms broke, indicating that a foreign person had entered their secret hideout in the mountain. A quick localised scan via his chi found informed him that they had all been slaughtered mercilessly. Body parts all around the place and their solidified Dantian cores had been extracted with precision, ignoring all the charms, trap formations and competency of his comrades which should have been able to contend with even State Agents. Everything had changed once that "Panda Man" and his teammates came in. At first, they had not seemed any different from the two Dragon cultivators or the annoying private contractors who had been disturbing his horde expansion for months. He had even looked forward to the short girl charging up her energy which she was about to unleash on the Loopa Ooofpa. With that kind of energy, his Loopa Ooofpa could have been invincible¡­ Until a man in a trenchcoat had appeared, making the girl actually divided up the energy and imbued it into birds the Panda Man had summoned after growing wings¡­ It became worse when the Royal Rooster Air Force, infamous for their bright red planes swooped in and used the same tactic with their missiles as seen as the newly arrived trio. This indicated to Wang Ba Tan that those people might actually be affiliated to the military, especially to the Royal Zodiac¡­ And that made Ba Tan''s blood boil. "I cannot let myself be beaten by these lowly beings that are despised by our mighty Emperor! If they think they are so clever, then I shall show them a world of pain even if part of this monster has to be sacrificed for it! From the looks of it, they are of high cultivation and eliminating them will prove to be beneficial for the faction''s future!" Ba Tan thought as he suffered another blow from Ryuli''s energy blast from her war umbrella. "Show me how you will survive the trials of our punishment¡­Hahahaha!!! FOR THE EMPEROR!!!" Ba Tan said as he pulled his hand out of Loopa Ooofpa''s flesh and started to beat his chest and chant. Immediately, Jin and the others felt that something was seriously off even when the Loopa Ooofpa was evidently wounded from their barrage of attack. The colossal manifestation did not stop and actually started to rampage further, forcing Jin to take out a new card from his deck and transformed once more. "Card Activated, Dark Templar Form." The System stated as the armour lost its wings and turned into a cape instead. Jin'' suit had transformed into a standard Dark Templar armour in appearance. As for the strength and durability of the armour, it was definitely tougher than the ones the demon worshippers used. However, the only thing Jin really cared about at that moment was the ability to call upon Demons. Jin and the System figured that if Loopa Ooofpa was from the Hell Plane, it should be possible to banish it back to Hell once more. Of course, Kraft and Peppers would be aiding in the procedure since there was no way a single cultivator would be able to banish such a colossal manifestation like Loopa Ooofpa. However, things took a drastic turn when the monster howled loudly as if it was in pain and it''s hand tentacles started to vibrate. "This does not look good! Zieg, can''t you do it faster? Surely there should be something like an emergency banish in your repertoire?!" Jin questioned the Dark Templar Commander on his magical ritual which had already been accelerated by Jin''s Maqi. "This is already as fast as I can do without breaking the integrity of the ritual, Master! Banishing a named hell creature even though it''s just a manifestation of it, is equally hard because of the rules involved in it! If I do a poor job, it will either not work or worse cause serious backlash to your body!" Zieg warned as he slammed the rider''s gloves deep into the ground. Now it was a race to see who would be first to kill the other. Chapter 856 Turn of the Tide "Not good!" Kraft shouted as he pulled out a gun similar to No Mercy. ''''Just Business'', a 12 gauge short barrel shotgun, with the same miniature fox cravings on the wood handle itself, had been brought out magically from the depths of Kraft''s coat. Each time he fired Just Business, fox silhouettes would appear on the handle to temporarily break open the shotgun and aid Kraft with reloading the gun. The foxes on No Mercy had started doing the same thing, holding onto bullets at the side, waiting for the right time to reload them. It made Kraft look as if he had a platoon of foxes hovering around his arms playing with bullets and shotgun shells, to enable his insane trigger happy fingers. He was firing at a rate much faster than any gunmen ever lived, except for specialised magic casters transmuting their mana into bullets. If he wanted to, he could have used his chi to transmute it into bullets, but he was not in favour of wasting it. Why bother using chi when there were other ways to stop an enemy? The modern world had enough inventions to kill stuff. Might as well make use of it instead of straining oneself. While one man was casually wreaking havoc, the same could not be said about Jin who was pouring all of his Maqi into the ritual circle where the ground started to draw lines by itself. The ritual circle clearly needed more than just one person to complete it, and Jin was absolutely pushing the limits to create the Banishment Circle. Still, the five ''private'' contractors on site had nearly forgotten that this was technically a collaborative effort between them and the Royal Battalions. Royal Snake General Hou Fei and Royal Tiger General Ya Bai knew the moment the hand tentacles started to multiply that it was now their job to assist the ones on the frontline to the best of their abilities. Attack Helicopters fired their remaining missiles from a distance and sprayed their bullets while light artillery from the border wall emplacements was discharged to intercept the hand tentacles. It did provide a small reprieve, but the pressure to succeed was mounting from within the Loopa Ooofpa. Elder Ba Tan had thrown caution out of the window and used taboo magic by offering part of his body as sacrifices for the Loopa Ooofpa to reach the highest pinnacle it could achieve. As the hand tentacles multiplied, so did the Bone Spirit Infused Demons coming out from Loopa Ooofpa. "What the hell?" Mr Know-It-All could literally feel the earth trembling at the colossal manifestation, and they knew that even if they could remove the Loopa Ooofpa in time, the massive tsunami of demons could not be stopped by the border walls. They literally needed something with the might of a nuclear missile to stop the horde from flowing into the cities. "Hahahahah! You think we will be beaten by you Royal Zodiacs?! DIE!!!!" Elder Ba Tan happily cried out within the monstrosity as he felt his dantian core invaded by the hungry sentient flesh. "All hail the Banned Emperor and his magnificence! May he be reborn once more!" Ba Tan shouted with his increasingly coarse voice as Loopa Ooofpa consumed him slowly by pushing its flesh into his airways and orifices. That caused the Unceasing Hunger to once again explode its production and in a matter of minutes, things turned for the worst. As soon as the hand tentacles were damaged, they instantly grew back their palms and started to retaliate back against the aggressors while still aiming to kill the five highly-skilled private contractors. The hand tentacles aimlessly picked up the ground soil, trees, and even Bone Spirit Infused Demons and later throwing at whatever that was shooting at them. There was no discrimination to what they were throwing. Whatever was in their vicinity, the hand tentacles would use it. This inevitably caused some of the Bone Spirit Infused Demons to loop over the border walls. While there was an invisible defensive barrier to prevent aerial demons from passing through, the projectile''s force was strong enough to penetrate it, thereby causing a number of demons to land in the evacuated city. Both the Royal Zodiac Generals were cursing madly when they saw the demons being flung over them. However, the only consolation was that the situation behind the border walls was well taken care of. The provincial police, along with the Royal Tiger SWAT teams had assembled to intercept the incoming monster projectiles. Some of the firefighters as well as their elites, the Royal Rabbits'' Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) also joined the fray, in case of casualties and were ready to support the SWAT with manpower if needed. Yet, all these were just band-aid solutions to the current situation when the final huge wave of demons was still approaching them. "System! Remember what you told me about having a contract with the land?" Jin asked as he was still pouring his precious Maqi into the Banishment Circle as it grew larger. Now the dungeon supplier had resorted to using his Dark Sludge crystals as a supplement to avoid potentially fainting from the over usage. "Is User suggesting to take control over the land temporarily?" The System asked. "Yes!!! Let that thing drop into the ground or build a bigger wall in front of the border walls. Heck, teleporting all these monsters into our vicinity would also be a good idea! We just need to stop them before they hit the cities! Do it, no matter the cost!" Jin panted as he looked at the Loopa Ooofpa still relentless in its production of monsters. "If they asked, we could use this Banishment Circle as an excuse," Zieg suggested, knowing his master would not get away if the System started a large scale teleportation. "I could also just wipe their memories away with a snap of a finger¡­" Kraft felt that he was being ignored once more. "When it comes to that, we will settle it somehow. So, is it possible or not!?" Jin asked under duress. "System does not disappoint." Chapter 857 Communicating with the Spirits of the Land "Brrrr¡­Beeeep. Beep Diii Booop." Oddly, weird nostalgic sounds of an internet modem connecting to the internet resounded through the System''s intercom as the System tried to communicate with the Spirits of the Land. However, that was all Jin could hear. He was unaware that the System was already chatting with them in their own special way. "Query: Cultivation World''s Spirit of the Land No. 769 and No. 052, System wishes to bargain for temporary total control over your land." The System stated in a digital telegram which no human would ever see. "Acknowledging Cultivation World''s Super Entity No. 002''s request for communication. Please stand by¡­ Connecting." The digital telegram subsequently turned into an invitation for channel communication. "Connected. Involved parties received Query. Please stand by for a reply." "Reply: Cultivation World''s Spirit of the Land No. 769 and No. 052 both have noticed the amount of damage inflicted on their property. Cultivation World''s Super Entity No. 002 request has been acknowledged, and they are willing to provide free reign over the mountainous forest area on certain conditions." The Channel that the System was connected to had started to send its demands. "Acknowledged. Requests received. Reading the conditions to the agreement as per confirmation. Condition 1: Total annihilation of the Demons/Monster Horde in the affected area. Condition 2: Recultivate the forest to its former state. Condition 2-1: Restoration of wildlife to at least 25% of the initial state before the damage of this attack. Any amount above is not necessary but appreciated. Upon accepting these conditions, Spirit of the Land No.769 and No.052 are willing to waive off the tribute fee." The System reported. "Reconfirmation of the conditions acknowledged. Any questions?" The Channel sent the digital telegram back. "Negative. Cultivation World''s Super Entity No. 002 accepts the agreement and generosity of the Spirits of the Land." "Acknowledged. Likewise, Spirits of the Land thank Super Entity for the helping." After that last reply, the Channel ceased to exist, and a temporary authorisation certificate had been sent to the System''s possession, giving it the control that it needed. "User, the System has received the confirmation. However, there were conditions attac-" The System was about to list the conditions for Jin who was already edging from falling into unconsciousness. "Just do it¡­ Fuck all the conditions." Jin slurred and the System acknowledged its User''s request. "Affirmative. Please wait for a moment. Preparing for mass teleportation of all Bone Infused Demons into User''s Open World Island instances as a holding area. In the meantime, it would be best for User to remove the Loopa Ooofpa before the mass teleportation activates." The System said as it newfound the lay of the land thanks to the authorisation certificate. Without the need of a satellite like in the Goblin World, the complete unfettered control of the land gave the System an unparalleled amount of information to locate each, and every Bone Spirit Infused Demons. Its authorisation had also spread to the forests connecting to Dongguan Borders. But to its surprise, the Loopa Ooofpa manifestation in Dongguan Borders was brought to a halt with the aid of Que Er''s murder of crows and magpies. While the birds were distracting the hand tentacles from killing the District Guardian, it also formed a physical wall around the Golden Griffin, granting Grandma Yuan the time to execute her technique. Not just any technique but the strongest in her arsenal. The Golden Thunder of the Gleaming Griffin complimented with the gravity implosion bomb aftermath. Its frightening boom in the dark night skies temporarily lit up the skies and even made the Qilin Cultivator Lein who specialised in lightning afraid of the ferocity of her power. If anything, Lein believed that the art itself was particularly close to a Legendary Art, were it not for his teacher''s grade, which should not allow for such a thing. Nevertheless, Grandma Yuan was not the MVP of that fight. That role would go to Yun who hammered in the proverbial nail that caused the death of the Loopa Ooofpa before it could do anything else. The imitation of her late husband Epic Silver Griffin Art, Raging Thunder of the Silver Griffin complemented Grandma Yuan''s technique, causing it to inadvertently electrocute the other Elder Wang before he could copy his older brother into sacrificing himself to summon a massive Monster Horde. Even as the ''heart'' of the colossal manifestation in Dongguan was killed, the horde it was producing dropped in terms of quantity but did not fully stop. However, it did not matter much because the elite Demon Exorcists once trained by Grandma Yuan had finally arrived. "Hmm, a possible gathering for the funeral?" Yun asked after she sat down on the Golden Griffin behind the older woman as if nothing had happened. "Your mouth is as bad as the first time I met you." Yuan snapped at her and yet at the same time, smirked ever so slightly. She might not be the same Yun but the fact that the System had always been copying stuff since the day of its inception, there was no doubt that the clone was still somewhat Yun even though her Dantian had been corrupted. "Whatever. Just go back soon, my air barrier will not keep you safe much longer from all this forest smoke." Yun said while she was tapping something on her phone. "No wonder, I did not have any breathing difficulties despite fighting above the forest fire. And here I thought Griffy had to do something about that." Yuan commented without actually thanking the other woman. Instead, she rubbed the feathers of her chi manifestation, and it cawed softly at the back scratch. "And if Griffy had allowed you to sit this long behind me without making any fuss, means that there''s still a part of old Yun inside you." Grandma Yuan thought to herself. She had already noticed it earlier as her Golden Griffin had obediently allowed Yun right before the start of the flight. Usually, it would kick a fuss or even bully the pillion rider with its tail since the proud Griffin usually never allowed more than one person riding it. "System is very pleased to see both of you safe. With this being the case, System will leave Dongguan alone. Please clean up." The System analysed that it would be cumbersome if it interfered with the Demon Exorcists reinforcements. However, that did not mean it missed the chance to secretly teleport away some Bone Spirit Infused Demons for its own keeping. It was wise enough to only choose those out of the sight from the humans and left the rest for the elite Demon Exorcists to handle. After all, half of the forest was still burning strongly from the napalm attack, and visibility was a problem. "We are finally done¡­" Jin and Zieg said out in the System Channel simultaneously as the power suit he had on, immediately deactivated from the lack of Maqi holding it into place. Jin panting with beads of sweat dripping from his head, bit his tongue and spit at the ritual circle as the last ceremonial step. "Good job." Kraft did not mince his words as he could feel the Maqi emanating from the enlarged Banishment Circle which had been spread around the forest. Chapter 858 Banishment Ritual Circle One might wonder why Jin had not used the forest itself to power the Banishment Ritual. Cultivators from the ancient times did not have any shame in using the chi around them to power their techniques up after all. Even Grandma Yuan who had executed her Gleaming Thunder of the Golden Griffin utilised the ambient chi particles around her to do so. Of course, she also abused the System''s ring for the majority of the actual execution but taking from the surroundings was equally important. The amount of chi she and her Golden Griffin exuded was excessive, and it did not hurt to take some back as part of a ''recycle'' process. However, in Jin''s case, that was different. His Maqi was particularly unique because it contained both chi and magic essence within it. Before he could take back the Maqi he emitted from the air to ''recycle'', it had already assimilated perfectly into the surroundings. The trees and ground around him already took in his aura as part of their cultivation process and gave out their chi in return. Jin could not take in any of those chi energies since the Banishment Ritual was created with both chi and mana. Too much of one property would definitely cause an imbalance in the Banishment Ritual''s power. Sure, there were mana emissions from certain trees, but it was insufficient to turn over since the land was predominantly chi energy-related, not to mention Jin had never received any training in manipulating those mana channels. Without the suit, Jin would have long since bled out to the death. Not even offering up his Dantian core would have been enough for this Banishment Circle because of the control he needed from spamming the Dark Sludge Crystals. Being barely alive was quite an accomplishment for a Grade 8 Peak, and as Jin fell to the ground after completing the Banishment Circle, Kraft took over. "While it is slightly shameful for me to use something you so painstakingly created, I have no choice. Peppers, I''ll need your help too." Kraft said as Peppers smacked yet another Bone Spirit Infused Demon into the portal. "Can''t you see I am busy?! Unless you are telling me that I finally get to Boom Boom now?!" Peppers shouted excitedly. "Something like that. Insert your boom magic, but delay it until it gets banished back to its own realm. That way, we can be sure that it will not come back to bite us in the future." Kraft explained that he wanted to use Peppers'' magic as insurance. With a title such as the Unceasing Hunger, there was no saying what the manifestation would do after it met up with its original body. Best case scenario? It would either meet its demise within Hell''s Plane. Worst case scenario? It would manage to strengthen itself, crossing over the borders once more and disrupt the peace in Jin''s world with an even stronger army while it was out for revenge. "Awww yes. One Super Duper Mega Booomz coming right up!" Peppers immediately set her defences by taking control of three Bone Spirits Infused Demons and dominated their minds to defend her at all cost. "I actually have something prepared since I had to dial down the previous two attempts in explosions. But since it''s for insurance, I would like some time to juice it up. Should be up before it gets banished!" "Hurry up. The rest of the Horde does not seem in the mood to be waiting patiently." Kraft hurried her along as he hadn''t missed that Mr Know-It-All had secretly protected them with his Dragon Wave Barrier. Unfortunately, there were way too many monsters rushing through so it was unavoidable that a number of them slipped through the ''cracks'' of the barrier rather easily. Kraft aimed his Just Business and No Mercy to the ground and immediately fired a round each from his respective guns, causing the Banishment Ritual circle to light up even further. At that moment, the monster producing factory got dragged towards the circle despite its resistance. Even with its colossal size, there seemed to be an invisible force that continued to pull it towards the centre of the Banishment Circle, running over multiple monsters that it had just produced. The irony was that it did not stop creating those monsters out of its orifices because of the last command that the late Banned Emperor Summoner had given it. Without a mastermind controlling its action, the manifestation could only act on instinct. It was grabbing random monsters to eat and replenish its strength, causing it to slowly evolve because of the resistance the monsters put up. Yet, it was still helpless against the unstoppable pull from the Banishment Circle. As the name suggested, the circle was meant to banish the colossal manifestation Loopa Ooofpa out of this world. It was a technique Dark Templar Leader Zieg had perfected after a failure he previously suffered in pursuit for more power. At the time, the young Zieg had nearly killed the entire squad under him because of the insufficient control he had over the demon he attempted to summon. Similar to Grandma Yuan, he regreted the incident very much but unlike her, he did not have the luxury of being able to suffer in shock. His organisation''s hierarchy did not give him any time to mourn not recover. All he could do was to focus his energy into righting the wrong he had done. Since then, Zieg vowed not to have it happen ever again and he had achieved it by studying up on how to banish those demons back to the nether realms in case such a situation would occur again. He never expected it to be used as a combat skill since it took a long period of time to prepare the ritual. For System Rider Dark Templar Form to complete it in under 15 minutes was a significant accomplishment in Zieg''s eyes since he usually took hours to make it. And even with its completion, he later had to lure the demon to it without making it suspect anything else. But make no mistake, the Banishment Ritual had to be specific to that particular demon alone. Else they would be pulling every single Bone Spirit Demon into it as well, and that would take a hell lot of prepared resources especially the Maqi Jin placed,rendering the ritual to be useless against the Loopa Ooofpa. Thus, they were fortunate enough to have learned the true name of the demon. The Bone Spirit Infused Demons that were captured earlier also had some of Loopa Ooofpa''s cells and residue on it, making it even easier for the System to enhance the Banishment Circle''s power level. Once the Banishment Circle had been activated, there was no way of dispelling it unless the caster stopped it¡­ or perished. But with luck on their side, their Banned Emperor Summoner had self-sacrificed himself for one final push. It''s too bad that he did not know there was a person with a System that would stand in their way even after his death. Soon, the Loopa Ooofpa had been pulled to the centre of the Banishment Circle, desperately trying to get even more power by consuming the Monster Horde around it and could only hope that it would break free from it. Sadly it would not be that simple with Kraft at the helm of the situation. Chapter 859 Show Off and Tell "This is no attack but just a little tussle. And since my little master is knocked out, I might as well show those State Agents guys why they should not come near him for the time being." Kraft smiled as he stopped suppressing his chi and activated it fully for once. A burst of black aura immediately filled the forest with dread and misery. State Agent Mr Know-It-All overheard what Kraft had mumbled before he showed his aura (Did he want him to hear it?) and already prepared counter chi aura defences for himself, but he was not fast enough to do the same for Ryuli. Yet, when Kraft released his abyssal black chi into the surroundings, Mr Know-It-All was surprised by the strength of Kraft''s overflowing chi. Ryuli simply did not stand a chance and fell to the ground unconscious. Were it not for her grade, she would have been choked to death, or that was what she thought. "My bad, I should have maybe warned you." Kraft ''apologised'' with a smirk on his face as he watched two State Agents unable to effectively withstand the aura. At this moment, behind his long coat, a black flurry tail appeared, and it subsequently separated itself into nine tails. Those nine tails eventually grew more prominent with the chi he put in, stretched, and aimed for the Loopa Ooofpa. "Your stupid hand tentacles were a pain in the ass. Come and have a taste of your own medicine." Kraft spoke as the tails were only restraining him and pulling him nearer to the Banishment Circle. "Ew, I always knew you were a foxy person, but your tail is seriously fugly. Do you need me to burn some of the fur and trim it?" Peppers teased as she was the only person not affected by Kraft''s chi which indicated to State Agents that she was either a monster at Kraft''s level or that he was in perfect control over his own chi. That itself would be a feat because not every person that exuded their aura would be able to control the strength of its dispersion. By showing Kraft could do that easily while attacking the colossal manifestation meant that he does have the skills to back his cheap threats. However, the State Agents were currently being suppressed by Kraft''s chi, and they could not see the overall picture. The Original Bellator did not perform what was mentioned, his chi aura literally slowed the entire horde from moving forward during that duration. The only ones from the audience who were not affected by this were the Royal Zodiac soldiers and Border Guards who were outside his range and still frantically throwing whatever they got from the border walls to ensure that the Horde did not overpower them. "Do you want me to wrap one of these tails around you instead, Munchkin?" Peppers knew Kraft long enough. Whenever he changed her form of address to Munchkin, it was better to not push him further on a point. Apparently, the colouration of his tails fell under that category. (Was there perhaps an underlying reason for it?) "Is the spell ready?" "I would not be talking to you right now if it weren''t." Peppers stuck out her tongue (her quiet form of revenge) and aimed her staff at the Loopa Ooofpa. A series of magic circles started to pop out all around the Unceasing Hunger. "Good job. Now the moment I remove my tails, I will activate the second part of the Banishment Circle, my very own revision." Kraft ''warned'' her but he already let his tails off and let off a smirk. He did not want to be part of Peppers'' delayed explosion (Oh Karma would be such a bitch, if Peppers pulled it off.) and he also had to prevent the Loopa Ooofpa from eating any of his tails. "Why, you!" Peppers triggered the spell activation, and the magic circles immediately turned into silhouettes of syringes. The Loopa Ooofpa instantly saw the needles as a threat and stopped eating any more of its ''children''. Instead, it began to form a barrier, but the multiple syringes around him merely proceeded forward and stabbed the Unceasing Hunger. It wailed in pain as the syringes pushed its long needle into the main body as Peppers magically squeezed every single plunger and caused her own specially prepared magical content in liquid form into the Loopa Ooofpa. "Dayum! This will certainly be one hell of an explosion when it gets banished!" Kraft thought to himself as he now directed the chi around the forest to create a replica of Jin''s Banishment Circle right above the Loopa Ooofpa. He had tried to fiddle with his master''s ritual circle but realised that there was only so much chi he could insert into it without breaking the balance within the spell. Therefore, he recreated the circle based on the design itself. While it would prove to be only half as effective or even 25% of the strength because of its haphazard replication of the symbols on it, it would still be a deterrent without knowing the chant Zieg had spoken to handle the intricacies of the Banishment Circle. True enough, the makeshift Banishment Circle started to affect the Loopa Ooofpa''s movement while the real Banishment Circle turned into a large metaphysical gate of Hell that spread around the forest and started to pull the Unceasing Hunger back to where it belonged. Technically, because it was a manifestation, it should not exist the moment it reached Hell, but like what Kraft had said, he was not taking any chances to make sure there were no two Loopa Ooofpa or a variant of it existing simultaneously. (It was as if he knew such an incident had happened and bit him back before.) But to the people around the metaphysical gate, they were amazed to see such an extraordinary sight of the Loopa Ooofpa struggling to pull itself out of the gate. "No, you don''t. We have put in a shit ton of stuff to ensure you aren''t coming back." Kraft declared as he used his tails to gather the surrounding chi to form a ball of black energy which he used to provide an extra push. The Monster Horde, now unhindered by Kraft''s chains, started to move forward. Unfortunately, they did not know that the System had already locked all of them in its sights the moment Kraft had managed to slow them down. Whether that was a coincidence or Kraft indirectly helping the System didn''t matter as each, and every Bone Spirit Infused Demons were teleported into various island instances in Jin''s prototype Open World concept for safekeeping. While the Unceasing Hunger did its best to resist, Kraft looked at the two crippled State Agents who were still under the influence of his chi. "Now, just for a quick little experiment to see if it works for human beings too." Kraft thought as he rubbed his fingers a little and two minuscule foxes appeared on his palm. "Go, Foxy Version 2. Let''s see if you can assimilate with their chi and collect information from the notorious State Agents." Kraft squeezed his hand with more chi, causing his latest trick to ''disappear'' as he walked towards the two and extended a hand to help them up. The menace was no more and ''assumed'' to be exploded into oblivion. Chapter 860 Recovery Efforts "You help us first before aiding your own Boss?" Mr Know-It-All felt a little suspicious of Kraft''s current behaviour. "Heh, you do not have to worry about him. Let him lie there for a while longer. He hardly has time to sleep properly these days." Kraft replied as he assisted Mr Know-It-All to stand straight for a moment and later extended his help to Ryuli who was just a few metres away and immobile because of him. She initially refused to be assisted, but Kraft insisted he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "What kind of spell was that? A combination spell?!" Ryuli asked as she quickly moved away from Kraft and instead used a tree for support before stabilising herself. "How is it possible to remove that large berserk colossal manifestation and that huge Monster Horde, all in one go?!" Her mind could not wrap around the fact that three unknown people had been able to basically single-handedly stop the entire Monster Horde. Even though the military was supporting them from behind and having two State Agents on the scene, she felt that they could handle this crisis on their own without any of their help at all. What''s more, this fox gentleman was not sweating after all that effort. Did that mean that what he had shown wasn''t even the entirety of his true powers?! Oddly enough, his chi did not give out an ''evil'' vibe which she had encountered so often when fighting against enemies of the state. If she had to describe it, it felt more like Chaos. As strange as it sounded, it felt as if someone had taken Chaos and tamed it. "Now, now. I can''t give up secrets just like that, right?" Kraft grinned at Ryuli before giving her a formal bow. Then he went over to pick up Jin''s body from the ground. "Peppers, let''s return back to the shop." "You gotta be kidding me. Do you seriously think I have the strength to move after performing that magic spell?" Peppers questioned as she was lying flat on the ground with her large witch hat as a cushion. Even while disabled, she had to feel comfortable. "In that case, allow me to help you out, little girl!" Kraft''s smile got wider. "Policeman! Policewoman! Arrest this lecher! This paedophiliac! KYAAAAA! Ahahahhah~!" Peppers screamed as she was being pulled up via her abdomen and put over Kraft''s shoulder just as Jin currently was. (He did not hesitate to tickle her waist while doing so.) "I honestly do not know whether that was a real scream for help or that''s just their way of bonding." Ryuli, now finally able to stabilise herself, whispered to Mr Know-It-All. "Well, like it or not, they are certainly the heroes of this particular event." Mr Know-It-All replied. "Oh yeah. Do remember your deal. Feel free to claim the credit for this. Just make sure to keep our involvement out of the media. Or I will find you and crush you both!" Kraft winked. After which he slapped Peppers'' butt, and a portal appeared right in front of them while the remaining portals which had been used by the Valgs to catch the Bone Spirit Infused Demons were closed. "Did you see that?! Sexual harassment! You caught him in action! Arrest HIM!!!!!!!" The unmovable Peppers cried out loud as Kraft entered the portal and the entire forest suddenly turned dead quiet. At that point, soldiers started to move in already, doing a sweep in case there were any remnant Bone Spirit Infused Demons around. "Looks like our work here is done." Mr Know-It-All said as he pulled his badge out to show the first wave of soldiers that they were private contractors. "You sure, we can keep this out of the report? How are we going to answer the higher-ups properly?" Ryuli questioned as she too showed her badge to the soldiers. They thanked them for their service and continued to walk through the area, making sure the dead bodies around were truly dead. "Let me worry about that. But I have an inkling, they are going to keep things under wrap, too. You heard the fox gentleman. They don''t want to be involved, and I bet the higher-ups would love to use this event as propaganda. Agent L, go back to the hotel and rest. When I have settled the stuff, I will bring you to that shop." "Can''t you just give me the address?" "Heh, indulge your supervisor''s whims once in a while." Mr Know-It-All denied her request as he started to walk towards the border wall. "Maybe, just maybe. I will get to witness something very special. Besides, I am looking forward to seeing that master of yours myself." "Please, I will not call him master after abandoning me at that place. Besides, you are the only one I will ever acknowledge as my master." Ryuli declared as she followed him side by side. "Heh, we will see." Mr Know-It-All felt that things were not that simple. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª As of 2056hrs, the Monster Horde had officially been stopped along Huizhou borders. The casualties and damage to infrastructure were devastating, but considering the eventual scale of the attack, it was minor. As for Dongguan, the elite Demon Exorcists were still hunting the remaining Bone Spirit Infused Demons. While it was a little more difficult to fight in the night since the Demons were more aggressive with nightfall, the elite Demon Exorcists were able to clear them rather quickly within two hours after their arrival. The only problem was hunting each and every one of them which was eventually assigned to Claire and Grandma Yuan''s latest batch of graduates. With the System''s control of the area, it was able to point out to Claire where the remaining Bone Spirit Infused Demons had been hiding. As much as it wanted to keep those demons for itself, the System believed it would be better to have the Demon Exorcists under Jin receive their official emblem. This particular situation would definitely get Lein, Lian and Rong out of their provisional status. (It just did not want to admit that the current horde the System teleported caused it to be near full capacity once more.) With the alert dropping, the citizens were able to return to their homes and the provincial officials had already started to send in construction teams late in the night to fix the damage done to the cities. In the meantime, fresh batches of soldiers were sent beyond the border walls to make sure none of those Bone Spirit Infused Demons survived. (They were mostly sent out to make the citizens feel safer) The forest fire in Dongguan had also been put out with rescue planes and helicopters water bombing the area along with the aid of several water mages and capable cultivators. After which, the Demon Exorcists who took care of Dongguan''s remaining horde were also seen patrolling the burnt forest to assist the soldiers doing the sweep. The only real setback was that the Royal Horse Army Battalion had effectively been wiped out by the horde and their General had been reported dead after they found his body during the cleanup. It might be a victory for the cities but not to the military force who had taken a blow from this domestic terrorism. Chapter 861 Wecha Defence Continues On Even though the Monster Horde had come to a stop in Jin''s world, the assault on the town of Wecha had yet to conclude. While the shield generator was no longer under Peppers'' control, its automated processes were doing an outstanding job against the Demon Rats'' final push for the town. Many of the militia were able to fight and hold the walls despite a few minor breaches. Any rats who broke through were handled by the Jacks. The rats in the sewers system were doing their best to dig a way out, yet whenever they managed to breach the surface, the women and children handled them in the same manner as they had done since the first wave. Meanwhile, Sandy was rushing wherever she was needed to seal the entrance and put a stop to the flow of rats appearing. (At the same time temporarily strengthening the foundation so that when the System set off a blast, it would not break the entirety of the town.) The Mousefolks were not to blame for the escaping rats underground. There were just too many of them crawling around, and they could only handle so many at a time. Their sword and gun fighting could already put some of the Royal Zodiac soldiers in Jin''s world to shame. Poppy and Pippy were literally jumping from one rat to another, executing them by stabbing their necks or shooting their brains out. For such a small body, they were packing a lot of punch and stamina. Even Meomi and Nyanmi, who were veteran fighters in Jin''s army, had begun to feel the fatigue. Their claws were starting to get blunt from all the slashing and scratching they had done whenever they had to wait for their busy weapons to cool down. At this point, Meomi''s personal agenda to kill all rats was the only thing that kept her going through the fight. There were times Nyanmi fell behind, but Meomi still managed to cover her back when things got too tough. Aside from the defences within Wecha itself, the Savants had done their best to gather as many Demon Rats as possible outside the walls. Though the shield generator had been changed to a mechanical device and did not have the same properties as Peppers'' explosive knockback barrier, the Savants stood their ground, keeping the frenzied rats in check. Sadly, even the ''unstoppable'' Savants could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers. All of them were killed a few times because of the rampage those Demon Rats caused during their final push. But with each death, the almighty System resurrected them without delay and even restored them back stronger and fiercer to exact revenge for their deaths. At some point, the rats had fallen in a state of frenzy and were getting even more agitated due to unexpected severe losses rather than the guaranteed win they had been promised. (Moloch had concluded there were no superior leadership around, making them fending for themselves.) Both Nubwort and Qiu Yue gathered their troops into a sort of tortoise formation to deal with them. Their shields were forming a circle, the Goblins came in between the Orc Defenders and shot at their enemies. Some of the Orc platoons even piled up the rat bodies and used them as a makeshift hill to create a height advantage for the goblins to fire from. There were also Orcs complementing their shields by tying rats in front of it to soak up projectile damage. It was an extremely bloody scene in which most if not all of the defenders were soaked in Rats'' blood. If not for the distinct features among them, they could already hit each other since everyone was dark red in colour. With the System temporarily freed from its obligations in the Cultivation World, it was finally able to focus a little more on the Farming World. As its first course of action, it widened the current portals that had been deployed, increasing the number of fodder for Jin''s latest dungeon. Moloch had also used a few more luring devices at Wecha as well as the crashed flying fortress. Speaking of the latter, the castle rescue had proceeded rather smoothly. The penguins, along with Lynn, had managed to rescue about two hundred humans. The only odd thing was that all of them very relatively young¡­ until Lynn discovered a hidden door when one of the corridor''s stench was overbearing for her nose. Kido opened the hidden door with brute force and found that there was a pile of deceased humans waiting to be burned for the Demon Rats steam engine technology to work. "Is that why they decided to gather that many humans from the town for this particular assault?!" Lynn felt disgusted that they had apparently used their human slaves as biofuel. Some of the humans that had been following them along vomited at the sight and Lynn could not blame them. She would have done the same were it not for the experiences of handling animal and monster meat on a daily basis. "Not just the humans, even those rats who were killed had been brought here." After spending time amongst the rats, Sebastia had learned to discern between their features. One of the bodies was the very same Rat Captain who had brought Kraft and her to the capital. Only now he was lying right in front of her, all tortured and crippled before being thrown here awaiting his incineration. "Looks like they managed to trace the rat who brought in the enemy that stole their precious steam tech creator away." Sebastia thought to herself. "The rat empire did not even spare the body after torturing the captain. I wonder if this is called efficiency." "Lynn, what do you want us to do with them?" Kido questioned. "While they deserve a proper burial, we do not know when this castle will collapse from the previous explosion by Peppers. Let''s find more of the survivors before the rats find them and lead these people away from such an undesirable demise." However, the longer they stayed in the castle, the stronger the rat resistance got. Eventually, Lynn was forced to make the call to fall back. "Mistress, a few of us will stay and continue to search for survivors. Please lead those we have rescued out of this hell hole." Kido told Lynn who quickly agreed. She had no doubts that her peggies were capable of finding the remaining humans with their abilities. Unlike other monsters, she knew her penguins were better suited for moving in smaller groups. "Understood, go forth and be careful. If the rats'' retaliation is this strong, it means that they are either hiding something within the castle or that''s where their main barracks are located. Send me a message when you need a portal to be dropped even if it''s just one survivor." Lynn said that she would not mind covering the cost of any extra portals if necessary. Yet, as time went by, the elite ninja penguins found no other survivors after combing the area twice and decided to call the operation off. "There are no survivors left. It''s all yours, Moloch." Kido reported through the System Channel. "Alright, but do you guys mind rampaging around a little longer? Let me conclude the situation at the seaport first." Moloch replied as he rubbed his two cotton hoofs together. Chapter 862 Fending off Rats at Port Bulwark Everyone at the seaport walls was worried when Gold told them a hovering castle dropped a massive amount of rats to Wecha. As many of the soldiers were veteran survivors, they knew how terrifying the Rat Horde could be. Thus, when the first wave of rats reached towards the defences of the seaport, renamed Port Bulwark as a sign of appreciation for the Northern Army''s contribution, the defenders were befuddled by the number of rats running towards them. The numbers were underwhelmingly less than expected. Nevertheless, trained with the very same weapons used by Wecha''s Militia, the Northern Bulwark Soldiers started to fire at the rats without discrimination. The small number of rats had also allowed the soldiers to adjust their formation further since it was the first live firing ''exercise'' in which they used these weapons. Even the Western Skies and Southern Stars who had been stationed in Port Bulwark had only received the chance to use these weapons under strict supervision. Obviously, the System had placed tracking inscriptions on them in case they would attempt to smuggle them out of the Northern Region. While it should be absolutely impossible to replicate them with the world''s magic and technology, the same could not be said about possibly creating an alternate version following the designs via reserve engineering. Ayse who had managed to recreate certain Steam Tech was living proof that it was definitely possible for great geniuses in other worlds to do the same as well. "This is too weird. Why are the rats having such a frantic expression on themselves?" General Umiterus questioned Gold once the second wave of rats came through with even lesser numbers. All scattered before coming in the range of their weapons. "They usually pride themselves on attacking with large numbers and if not stick together to show their ferocity of a horde in order to scare the defenders¡­ Yet, they are defying all standard fighting protocols." "Did you hear distant booming sounds minutes ago?" Gold smirked when he saw the actual results right at their measly stone wall. "You mean the one behind us or the one above us?" General Umiterus pointed at his back and later at the skies. "Hahaha, both. They are actually doing their job to reduce the horde size. I have received reports that my comrades managed to block the source of the horde at Town Wecha, so the numbers coming in are smaller than we might have expected and most importantly finite." Gold replied as he oversaw the current defensive battle at Port Bulwark. That''s right, Moloch was coordinating the attacks between Stalingrad''s ship artillery bombardment and the ones from the skies. With Rei''s brand new modified C-130 Artillery Planes, they were able to severely reduce the numbers from the skies and sea. (Well, Moloch was supposed to only do coordination since Kraft ''promised'' to look after the counter assault demon forces at the castle. Needless to say, the Kraft teleported to Jin''s side after learning he would have more fun there and told Cotton Butt to postpone the favour.) The route from Town Wecha to Port Bulwark was mostly wide rolling plains with a few hills and a small desolated ruined village. This made it easy for the C-130 Artillery Planes to track the rats from high above. Of course with the help of the radar technology which Rei had installed based on the blueprints from himself and using the ones they received from Hou Fei as a guideline, they were able to predict the rats'' movement. The System would then set the projectile course for each and every artillery weapon on deck (or on the plane), so all the minions had to do was to press the fire button. The Demon Rats were massacred without putting up a fight without even knowing how. Some of them had managed to spot the planes, but all the Rats could do was to scatter as much as possible rather than follow their instincts and keep moving in a group. And when Demon Rats thought that the artillery attacks were not able to have sufficient impact against the scattered groups, the big guns came in as if to prove that they were not out in the danger zone. Stalingrad''s bombardments caused massive hurt to the Demon Rat groups when Lord Wolte and his new Demon Crew used scattered explosive shells against the rats. While they were not able to witness it first hand, the camera footage from the C-130 Artillery Planes transmitted to the televisions on the ship was sufficient entertainment to keep them excited. They had dreaded the power Wolte held when the Demons were on the opposing side, yet now when it was their turn to control the oversized ''toy'' it was a completely new experience for them. Also, they hoped this would be the first but not the last opportunity to be on Wolte''s deck. (Jin did say that he would be creating ships for them in the near future now that Demon Metropolis is under his control.) Moloch''s task was more or less complete after another hour or so. Still, there was a number of surviving Demon Rats who had scurried off to other far sides of the plains, escaping from the defensive chokepoints and Gold was not going to let them off. He got the aid of the Dark Templars on standby to ride on Hover Bikes and chase after their prey. After all, most of them knew the plains well enough to chase after the surviving rats. Some of them even brought the Southern Stars Assassins with them which Gold allowed since they had better surveillance ability than most on the search and kill missions. All in all, Port Bulwark was safe from the attacks, and it seemed Jin once again had over prepared on a few matters when he clearly had the upper hand. (Or maybe he was getting used to defending.) As soon as Moloch was free from his responsibility in Port Bulwark, he refocused his efforts on the remaining forces at the crashed fortress site. Even without Peppers'' legendary Scan, the System and Jin''s minions had also detected an increasing large energy signal emanating from the castle within. It could not be the laser cannon since Peppers had made sure to destroy it thoroughly without much of an effort. There was no way they prepared the same two laser cannons when Weslie deduced the engine systems would be terribly burdened by one, let alone two of it. Hence, everyone was deducing it was either some large mechanical rat or a self destruct mechanism which would destroy every single lifeform in the area. However, given the nature of the latter, it should have already blown to pieces by now, and the System also detected that the energy was spread out in a large area compared to a concentrated area. "No way! It cannot be! They completed it?! That''s impossible! How did they find a way to connect the steam engine and the neuro interfaces together?!" Suddenly Weslie realised where this surge of energy was becoming after seeing traces of the spike from System''s basic scan. "Wait, so it really is a large mechanical steampunk rat?" Moloch asked, but Weslie shook her head when she appeared in the Dungeon Maker. "No¡­It''s the castle itself." Chapter 863 Mechanical Castle Arm "How much have you been slaving for the Rats?!" Moloch exclaimed at Weslie after he heard that the castle was able to still move and of all things, assume a humanoid form. "Ehh heheh. I had tried to resist at first, but they had ways to make me comply. Eventually, I discovered that as long as I had results ready for whenever they came to collect it, they would leave me alone with lots of demands. This one is actually originating from some thought experiments I did to relieve my boredom." Weslie gave a forced out smile. "You lay the groundworks for it when you were bored?!¡­ This is one freaking mechanical bot if what you say is true! And here I thought we could just reroute the C-130 Artillery Planes and bombard the castle to kingdom come." Moloch felt like hitting Weslie''s head for being way too hard-working for the enemy. "I never meant for it to be used. As I said, it was just some doodling¡­ Since we have already damaged the fortress beforehand, it might not be as dangerous as it should be¡­ probably¡­ I THINK!" Weslie emphasised that the large laser cannon was ruined and the flying fortress had been damaged at multiple areas which should prevent it from making effective use of its humanoid form. Just like the Scholar of the West had said, the castle suddenly revealed a large mechanical arm with steam venting out at its joints from a portion of the fortress. With an impending slap to the ground, the Demon Rats and Demon Soldiers had started fleeing from the scene. A number of Wights, particularly the Soldiers of Jade had mass cast wind-related spells on the run to boost their allies soldiers to escape the attack. Others even got on their comrade''s horses, hoping to survive while a minority gave up and went into the castle instead. They were too close to the castle and might as well try their luck hiding within the castle grounds. (But if they had to fight with overwhelming rats than so be it.) Many managed to escape the ''slap'' attack, but the live arm was not done as it retracted itself and attempted to pick up the Gauntlet Vepar had left stuck within the castle. "Geh, the enemy is trying to use that Gauntlet as a possible projectile. System, some help would be much appreciated right now." Moloch wanted it removed as soon as possible. "Request denied. System is currently swarmed with requests for teleportation and unable to process that particular demand. Please wait or have User overwrite System''s priority queue. In addition, the owner of the Gauntlet, Duke Vepar is currently out of commission which would hinder the teleportation of the Gauntlet." The System stated. "Then where is Jin?" Moloch yelled at the invisible entity. He couldn''t fathom why the System clearly would want to see the Gauntlet used against them by the large Mechanical Castle Arm. "User is currently unconscious after the fight in his world." The System replied before adding an extra clause out of nowhere. "Sub System Users cannot override priority queue." "In short, the minions do not have too much of a say, huh?" Moloch grumbled as he knew that the minions were indeed at the mercy of the System. The only reason the System was saving them via teleportation was because of the cost they incurred would be more than the profit they earn. Other than that, the hierarchy still remained. The only redeeming factor was that Jin was benevolent enough to treat his minions as near equals instead of reigning over them as a controlling master. The same was true for the Sub System. Moloch didn''t even want to imagine how bad his life would be if any of them would act tyrannically¡­ the world didn''t need any more King Baals. "System will review the situation as needed." The System answered, making it sounds like it would compromise for Moloch but he knew all the better it wasn''t. However, to Moloch''s relief, the Mechanical Castle Arm had difficulty removing the Gauntlet that was etched deep into the ground after Vepar''s magnificent glorious impact preventing the laser cannon from firing. "Well, at the very least, the legends hold some speck of truth about Vepar''s family heirloom." Moloch took a breather and started to reroute nine C-130 Artillery Planes back to the Town of Wecha in order to aid the destruction of the large Mechanical Castle Arm. However, instead of continuously attempting to take the Gauntlet out of the ground, the Mechanical Castle Arm seemed to have had enough and instead shifted to target Wecha''s shield barrier by opening its palm and revealing a hidden weapon from within. "Another freaking laser?" Moloch hoofpalmed his head and looked at Weslie, who tried to look the other way and whistle innocently. (But failed terribly at it.) "Then I have no other choice. Here I thought we could keep this as a surprise from the Users. Well, at least Jin is knocked unconscious¡­" Moloch sighed as he picked up the phone in the Dungeon Maker. "Niu Lang, are you there?" "Ah! Lord Moloch! How are you? I heard there''s some crazy commotion happening in the Farming World." It took a long time for Niu Lang to pick the phone up because he was fixing something. With that amount of time lost, the Mechanical Castle Arm had already fired its first laser beam at Wecha''s Shield Barrier. Thankfully, Ayse''s products were top notch, and they were able to withstand the first attack with ease. However, judging by the cracks in the shield, it would not stay that way for long. Thankfully, with it being a part of the Steam Technology, the laser cannon needed some time to cool down and that caused the arm to remain stationary. The Wyvern Goblin Knights who had dealt with the steampunk helicopters and planes began trying their luck to damage the arm during this time. At a closer look, they found out that the entire arm was filled with rats hastily trying to fix the internal machinery so it could fire the next round of energy beams at the town once more. "Yes, we need you to get ready. Is he already operational?" Moloch asked directly without any greetings. "Ehh, Teacher Rei said that it should be able to work, but the energy battery pack still needs to be revised after all the improvements we made." Niu Lang replied as he took a look at the chalkboard which Rei had left behind for him with all the information scattered. "Yeah, there''s enough juice for fifteen minutes or so but if you want me to be operating him at max performance, I think two to three minutes are more of a conservative estimate." Niu Lang calculated within his head. "Two to three minutes is all I need. Get it up and running, I will get the System to teleport you soon. And I need you to hit it as hard as possible and make sure it goes down." Moloch said as he quickly gave orders to the C-130 Artillery Planes to attack Mechanical Castle Arm before it had any chance to recover, hoping to weaken it so that his old pal could make his renewed debut. Mechataur. Chapter 864 Mechataur Reborn "All Systems Online, Taurus Interface activated." Niu Lang flipped the switches within his cockpit and placed a replica of Mechataur''s head at the side of a placeholder near his shoulder. The Minotaur head immediately lit up upon receiving electrical power and turned alive. Its first reaction was yawning as if it had awoken from a very long slumber. "How long have I been ¨C whaddafuck is this?! What happened to me?! Where is the rest of my body?! Why am I in the cockpit?! NIU LANG, what the hell did you do to me?!!" Mechataur started shouting and couldn''t accept the reality around him. "Woah, woah, hold your horns! I just made it easier for you to move about without the large body¡­well that is if you are connected to an electrical pack¡­" "What bullshit are you talking about?! After that fight with the giant Titan Knight and sacrificing myself for that human master, this is what I have become?!" Mechataur continued yapping yet Niu Lang believed it was best to let actions speak for themselves. He flipped another switch and turned the switch knob which caused the robotic bull head to power down. The bull head was actually a soul containment unit and what Niu Lang did was transfer the soul back to his large body which he actually continued to complain about. "Now I am stuck I''m this- woah wait a minute. This is¡­ this is¡­ woahhhhhhhh!!" Mechataur started to survey his new body and realised there were so many changes to it. He no longer had a bulging metallic abdomen and instead, a proper body chassis. After which, he started to move his hands and legs to test the joints. "I feel lighter and more flexible! Can I do a somersault with this body?" "If you want to continue to stay in that metal head for another three more months, sure go ahead and try that." Niu Lang rolled his eyes. "Aww man, thanks buddy!" Mechataur tried to stand up but realised there were a ton of tubes being stuck on him. "Pfft all these annoying wires!" Mechataur started tearing and plucking each and every one of them. "Urgh be gentle! Each of them cost thousands of dungeon dollars!" Niu Lang exclaimed as he had no choice but to turn the knob back and Mechataur returned back to his head. "Hey! What is the meaning of this! Get me back to my body! You have no rights to stop me and contain me! I have my constitutional right to my own body!" Mechataur said "Where did you even learn that phrase¡­" Niu Lang sighed as he clicked a few buttons and those tubes and wires automatically released themselves. "Hey! Why are you ignoring me?! Respond back!" "I have no choice but to transfer your soul to this containment unit else fixing you previously might kill you off permanently since I have to dissect and replace each and every part there is while maintaining and improving the core body." Niu Lang believed everything was in order and told Moloch that they were ready to sortie. "Erm..yeah I appreciate your efforts, but that doesn''t mean you can keep me to this small robotic head!" "Would you prefer being inside the previous iteration? That one was a jar which Kraft gave me, without any outlet to speak out your will freely?" Niu Lang questioned, and Mechataur kept quiet for a moment. "Good. Now, I know you are a little frustrated about this situation. So in return, we are going into battle. I give you full reign while I provide support within the cockpit." Niu Lang said as he could hear the portal opening above them. He quickly closed the cockpit doors and wore his helmet. "Mechataur, Pilot Niu Lang. Departing!" Niu Lang announced and immediately they found themselves performing a free fall at a few hundred metres above the supposed target. Niu Lang knew that they would be free-falling and already had a jet booster attached. "Unit''s control has been transferred to you." Niu Lang said as he turned the switch knot again and Mechataur could literally feel the winds against his entire body. Even without any commands, the metal bull robot had already activated his jet boosters to counter the descend. With a bit of fiddling, a rifle appeared from the jet booster as well, giving Mechataur the means to shoot at their target. Naturally, Niu Lang was inside the cockpit doing all the aiming assist as it had been a long time since Mechataur got to hold a rifle. In addition, the knockback and recoil from the rifle were tremendous because of the large calibre rounds it was using so Niu Lang''s aiming assist was useful, especially when he purposely went for the joints. As for the Mechanical Castle Arm, the rats operating it were able to withstand the attacks done by the Wyvern Goblin Knights, and there was some damage from the artillery attacks, but those were not as deadly as rifle rounds from Mechataur. One shot was all it took to damage a portion of the joint and hit a steam pipe that supplied energy to the arm''s laser cannon. That one shot alone had managed to disable the Mechanical Castle Arm and caused it to topple a little. Emergency repairs were on its way, but the next few rounds targeted the very same place too, causing the mechanical joint to dislodge. The entire arm fell without the support, but Mechataur was not done with it. It now started to shoot randomly at the castle, ignoring Niu Lang''s complaints about wasting ammunition (well, those bullets were really quite expensive) and subsequently began opening his chest plates to shoot the missiles¡­ only to realise there were none in there. "Where did all my missiles go?!" Mechataur asked Niu Lang with a streak of panic going through his circuits. "Moloch asked for an emergency sortie¡­that is why I did not pack those stuff in. I figured we had enough firepower in the jet boosters. There''s an enlarged RPG launcher in it which should finish the job." "What do ya mean we have enough firepower?! There''s no such thing as enough firepower. Firepower is a never-ending pursuit for greatness! I hold you responsible for not getting the job done this time around!" Mechataur complained. "And that is why I invented the switch knob. Ayse''s researchers say that there might be a drastic application of your current personality because you had been detached in a soul containment unit for too long. You need to chill and rationalise." "I ain''''t doing that kind of shit! All I need to do is to kill the enemy right in front of me, and I lack the means to do so!" Mechataur unequipped his jet boosters and fell straight into the castle, crashing into it while taking out the RPG launcher. Without thinking, Mechataur threw the rifle and fired every single rocket within the launcher towards the Mechanical Castle Arm¡­only to find another arm suddenly appear behind him. However, this arm was not as complete as the initial one and Mechataur''s crashing actually released the arm from its deadlock of debris. "Holy shit!" Mechataur exclaimed as it stopped the right broken arm with its own and faced it while shooting AP rounds from his robotic cheeks. It did not stop there as it tried to charge its horns and fire a blast of electrical energy towards it. "Holy shit, indeed!" Niu Lang agreed as he saw Mechataur''s energy level had dropped so significantly in less than a minute! Chapter 865 A Risky Paradrop "I am sorry, my Friend. Although I know you want to rampage after hibernating for so long, you are not well equipped to do so right now." Niu Lang sighed as he turned the switch knob again, causing Mechataur to return to his soul containment unit. The Robotic Bull Head was metaphorically jumping up and down, throwing tantrums from Niu Lang''s mistreatment, yet the mecha pilot finally regained full control over his robot body. "It''s my body! How can you just kick me out of my own body?!" Mechataur raged, but Niu Lang ignored him for the moment since there were other pressing things to take care of. He quickly moved out of the castle by moving backwards and used his leg thrusters to get out of the pinch. Unfortunately, that took another five percent of energy from the battery pack, and Niu Lang wasn''t left with much. However, thanks to Mechataur''s reckless use of his weapons, one of the Mechanical Castle Arms appeared to be permanently out of commission. Even the rats had stopped trying to repair it and focused on the one with the intact cannon arm, which was currently aiming at the duo. Suddenly, explosions were seen on the castle arm, and Niu Lang recognised that the cause was artillery fire rather than internal explosions. "Orc Artillery Beta Company Leader to Mechataur Pilot. We thought that you might need some assistance since you backed off with no visible weapons at hand." "Thank you for the assist. You came in at the right moment. I really have no more weapons because of the emergency sortie." Niu Lang decided to keep Mechataur''s wasteful actions quiet. (Surprisingly, the Robotic Bull Head did not make a noise when Niu Lang was communicating back.) "We can fire off another round, but it would not provide you sufficient precision because of distance." Beta Company Leader reported back. "Say, are the artillery guns detachable?" Niu Lang asked as he raised Mecahtaur''s arms and activated a pair of spiked gauntlets. It was an inbuilt feature in case there was a need for some close-quarter combat. "Yes, Chief Engineer Rei had made some adjustments so we can attach the guns for emergency deployment via paradrops." The Orc Leader replied. "Then can you send two down along with your men?" Niu Lang requested as it punched the arm and it likewise did the same thing. "You want what?" "Parachute them down. I will align them to the back of my shoulders. I have attachment platforms ready to lock the artillery guns down." "That''s insane! Predicting projectile shots can be achieved with the System, but I do not think it can predict where it would land to the centimetre! Especially when your Mechataur platform is moving! Also, my orcs have to land in there! That is impossible!" "Trust in my partner!" Mechataur suddenly shouted out even when Niu Lang started to think that his unorthodox idea was way too challenging to perform. "If he can refix me into what I am now, I am sure his idea has some merit!" "Still..- " Before Beta Company Orc Leader could say anything more, the System interjected. "The System believes such a manoeuvre can be achieved if the predictive analysis pattern were to be implemented on both sides." "Then hurry up. My battery pack will be dead if we do not take down this mechanical arm." Niu Lang encouraged them. The Beta Company Orc Leader had no reason to argue against it after the System had already given its assurance. Besides, the artillery gun was also the System''s property. If the landing failed, that would be its responsibility and not the Orc Leader''s. "Fine. Beta Squad 4 \u0026 5, reload those guns and unlock them. We are throwing them with a pair of personnel! Choose who wants to be the first daredevil to do an artillery gun landing on a freaking bull robot!" the leader shouted, and the Orcs quickly volunteered themselves for the action. "Eh thank you Mechataur. I thought you would make the situation worse." Niu Lang said as the Mechataur was grappling with the Mechanical Castle Arm. "Just don''t forget you owe me more upgrades for this." Mechataur laughed loudly and oddly enough, Niu Lang did not care about the bull''s disruption as he focused on the screens as well as the System''s solutions. In the meantime, the Beta Company''s C-130 Artillery Plane had its back opened and was cruising at a slower speed than usual. "Go Go Go!" The Artillery Company Leader spurred them on, and the Orcs around the guns assisted the push out of the planes. Unlike usual paradrops, only the weapons had the parachutes, and the pair of Orc personnel merely hitched onto the ride. "It''s coming!" Mechataur said as it saw on the top screen of the cockpit two artillery guns coming down. However, the unexpected happened once more as the Mechanical Castle Arm had decided to turn on its laser cannon. "Fuck! It is trying to kill us at point-blank!" Niu Lang shouted. He grappled and stood his ground because it was the best position for the paradrop to land with the highest chance of success. But if he did not move in time, he could be fried into molten metal. And if he did, then it would be the artillery guns and the orcs who would be burnt instead. Seeing how Niu Lang was struggling, Mechataur could not bear to watch this further. "Leave this to me!" The Robotic Bull Head said as he jumped (by using his chin!) and aimed for the switch knob. Even though the Robotic Head was connected with a few charging wires, the distance away from the switch knob might cause the wire to be plugged out. Still, Mechataur took the risk and did it as he knew Niu Lang cannot leave his hands away from the controls. "You cannot do this without me!" The Mechataur''s soul managed to be retransferred back before the last connecting wire was unplugged forcibly because of the distance and gravity. Rendered speechless by its actions, Niu Lang watched Mechataur use up even more battery to push the palm downwards while moving into position to receive the artillery guns based on the System''s data. "ZAAMMMMMM" The laser cannon was activated at the very last minute when the guns were about to touch down. The Mechanical Castle Arm burned Mechataur''s feet as it tried to hold on to the palm. The artillery guns managed to touch down despite the intense rocking and heat emanated from the downwards laser cannon. "ARRGGGHHH!" Mechataur shouted as he continued to pin down the palm while the orc personnel quickly locked the artillery guns'' leg spikes into the Mechataur''s shoulder. Immediately upon locking, the artillery guns fired their first shot after landing which managed to disrupt the laser cannon. And without any further instructions, the personnel already started to unload the used shell and placed a new one in. "FIRE FIRE FIRE!" Niu Lang shouted in his cockpit as he continued to cheer for Mechataur and the artillery gunners. The Demon War had made the gunners an expert in reloading with a minimum amount of people operating them. This particular performance of continuous shooting was nonetheless showing off their incredible skill as the other C-130 Artillery Planes were also joining in to bring the Mechanical Castle Arm down from afar. Chapter 866 The Final Blow Despite the barrage of artillery fire from C130 Artillery Planes and Mechataur''s shoulders, the final blow that brought the Mechanical Castle Arm down did not come from them. Perhaps not unexpectedly the killing blow actually came from the almighty Stalingrad. Moloch had long noticed that his old pal Mechataur was having a difficult time to finish the last Mechanical Arm. He did ask for their immediate deployment, and it was no surprise the current situation was more than they could handle. The all out attacks by Mechataur had somehow managed to uncover the existence of the second Mechanical Castle Arm, and after it appeared, it only spelt further trouble. As much as he wished to believe that Mechataur was able to destroy the last Mechanical Castle Arm, he was in charge of this operation and was not willing to leave it to luck. The victory he obtained from the Demon War might have been attributed to some sort of lucky fluke, but it was also because he and Qiu Yue made it happen. The number of preparations he slogged through many nights to get it done was countless and that had allowed them to win that meaningless war. (Well, not so meaningless for the System since it got an unexpected reward from Baal''s crown.) Moloch had commanded the Stalingrad to sail further south and requested the System to prepare a shot analysis that would disable the Mechanical Castle Arm instantly. "Amazing. I never knew that you could shoot that far." Captain Focalor praised Wolte as he saw the shot imbued with some magic for visualisation being flown far into the endless skies. "The System said we are taking into account the gravity and the world''s curvature into account. Not sure what that means but it''s science stuff like this modern cannon. If not for the imagery designs, I too would not have been able to create this ship." Wolte admitted that his ship was not his intellectual copyrighted property though he did make some changes to it to suit his uses. (and tastes!) The armour-piercing shell was also used instead of the explosive shell to avoid Mechataur becoming a part of the collateral damage due to its proximity. When it came close enough, Niu Lang took over the Mechataur body to hold the Mechanical Castle Arm high enough to shield himself from the hit. "Whew~! The battery pack lasted just long enough. I thought I was a goner if not for that surprise shot from Stalingrad." Niu Lang breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw the cockpit''s light turn red and change into emergency battery mode. The backup battery could power the Mechataur for another five minutes but if Niu Lang did that, he would not be able to open the cockpit at all and lose 24 hours of power on the oxygen converter. That would be dangerous for space though considering they had the System''s ability to teleport, Niu Lang sometimes thought that was a little overkill. All he could see from the monitor was that the Mechanical Castle Arm had been broken and now had a massive gaping hole in the middle of it. The remainders of the AP shell were right behind the Mechataur, grinding into the ground creating smoke by-products until it stopped moving. "That was a close shave. Where did that thing even come from?" Mechataur asked in his robotic head form again. "Moloch orchestrated it from Wolte. You''ve missed it, but he is currently a ship. Or to be more precise, he now has a ship form on top of just being a slug." Niu Lang let down the arm and requested for teleportation. Meanwhile, he could see that the Demon Soldiers from Dungeon World started to advance towards the castle again. "Moloch, I guess you do not want to leave any rats to be left alive? Haha. I will be returning now and repairing Mechataur. Sorry that I can''t be more of assistance." Niu Lang reported as he started to turn and walked forward into a large portal prepared for him. "No worries about it, you already did more than expected. Besides, we are just trying to capture the rats like Jin asked us to. But more importantly, I want the castle!" Moloch answered which nearly made Niu Lang slip his controls. "You WHAT?!" Niu Lang and Weslie who was right beside Moloch exclaimed. "Hmm? Why are you so surprised? Isn''t it normal for the winner to collect some spoils of war? This might be a broken mess right now, but with enough resources, we can repair it, enhance it and use it against them down the line. An eye for an eye. Well, a castle attack for another castle attack. Same thing." "Hmmm¡­ You are right. I can''t wait to see what nonsense they had replaced to make it move." Weslie quickly changed her tone and even sounded excited. "If you are bringing it in, I would like to take a look at what those bastards North and South had done to the place. Hope you did not trash the place too much." Gold interjected in the System Channel. "Oh, my dear. I fear you might be disappointed if you have that kind of mindset." Weslie replied with a chuckle. "Don''t worry. With my Empire Building Sub System, there is no castle I cannot refurnish. Besides, who doesn''t want a floating fortress? That sounds like a great dungeon instance idea for Jin too." Qiu Yue joined their conversation amidst huffing and puffing after killing the last few rats who were putting up a resistance. The rest of the Demon Rats were already attempting to run away but had forgotten that there were militias carrying rifles that could target far and wide. Granted, they might not be able to hit with every shot, but at least they suppressed the rats, which made it easy for the Savants who went from defending mode to hunting mode. Once an adventurer, always an adventurer. These Savants had their instincts awaken when the System posted a special little reward for those who were able to kill the last few Demon Rats. The Warlock Savant alone had already created some floating balls of sentience with tentacles that were able to track the Demon Rats while the Archer Savant sniped each and every one of those who were in his sights. "Speaking of Jin, where is he? How come I can''t connect with him? Kraft? Yun?" Lynn concerningly asked for Jin via the main System Channel. "Ah. We cleared the counter-attack operation already. Boy, there''s lots to share, but right now, Jin overworked himself and fainted. Once you are done on your end, feel free to check in on him. I have Pei looking after him." Kraft said through the System Channel. "What? No? You never said anything to me." Pei entered the System Channel upon her name being pinged by the System as it replayed the last line of the conversation to her. "What do you mean? You just heard it from me, didn''t you?" Kraft grinned, and Pei rolled her eyes. She stopped typing her notes on the Demon Metropolis''s Health System and saved it. "Jin, I told you not to work so hard when I am not there!" Pei grumbled, but the System had teleported to the Luxury Recovery instance to pick up some necessary supplies to aid in Jin''s recovery. Chapter 867 No Sign of Improvemen "Why is there still no sign of improvement?" Pei thought to herself as she continued to monitor Jin''s vitals and inside the Luxury Recovery Instance for a proper investigation. "Call in Milk, please. Perhaps she has some idea of what is happening." Pei requested the System after she brought him into the intensive care unit of the instance and started to shout for the nurses to give Jin some hydration. The senior Panda nurses who were more advanced in their AI and were partially controlled by the System immediately brought in the intravenous fluid bags which Pei injected via Jin''s arm. She subsequently imbued the fluid bags with some of her chi, hoping that some of her chi transferred into him might lead to some improvement. Milk came in at a short notice, dressed skimpily looking like she was about to go for a long sleep after that counter offence operation against the Banned Emperor Assassins. "What''s the matter? Why do you look so panicked? It''s rare for you to call me in the first pla-." Milk asked until she saw that the person Pei was treating was none other than Jin. She quickly changed from lazy mode to serious priest mode. She conjured a long jacket to cover herself and used a spell to check Jin''s vitals. "He has fainted hard a few times before, but this is the first time his Maqi output is close to zero. If Kraft had informed me any later, Jin might have died from chi exhaustion." Pei informed her. She was in fact quite angry that Kraft did not notice the seriousness of his condition any sooner. Yet, at the same time, she could not bring herself to fully blame Kraft for not recognising his condition. Extreme Chi Exhaustion was fairly common to cultivators who wished to push themselves to the limit. Unfortunately what Jin was experiencing right now was a more severe form of Extreme Chi Exhaustion. It was Chi Death Syndrome. The chi circuits of a person were similar to muscles in a sense. Both could be willingly strained, and they would both heal over time and get stronger as a result. However, no matter if it was muscles or chi circuits once either was completely torn apart, there was no way for the body to repair it by itself. (Well unless with magic or chi.) That was why Pei had called Milk over because in Jin''s case, not only did his chi circuits rupture but his mana circuits too. It was odd that his body was still fully intact and his blood circulation system was still working, and the physician believed that it was the System''s workings. If the System had not been controlling the flow of Maqi, both of his circuits could have been overwhelmed, and Jin would have gone into shock immediately rather than the current delayed reaction. "His Dantian Core is still alive and working, but his twelve primary meridians are showing severe weakening." "I saw. His mana circuits are in a similar state. The Cloud Gate in his lungs and Moon Gate in his stomach are severely broken. Even if I can repair them with my magic, this transfusion will take days. How the hell did he manage to practically cripple himself with just one Banishment Circle?" Milk remarked while tapping her fingers on Jin''s body to check on mana circuit''s reaction. "A what?! Banishment Circle?!" Pei, who had not followed the chain of events, was surprised when she heard that. "Yeah, Jin got into System Rider Dark Templar Form to banish the big bad boss back to the nether realm." Milk recounted what had happened as she started to ask the Panda Nurses to bring blood transfusion kits over. IV hydration might be the standard in transferring chi quickly into the circuits but to cure the mana circuits, blood was a far better medium. It also had the practical benefit that they could infuse chi and mana at the same time into Jin. "Any normal cultivator, would be dead by now." Pei did not waste time by putting a tourniquet on her arm and wiped it with an alcohol swab to clean the area. She was preparing for the blood transfusion since her chi was already in the process of repairing the circuits via the IV hydration fluids. Besides repairing one circuit at a time was simpler than doing two at once, so it would be easier to use her imbued chi blood rather than Milk''s for now. "Thank the System for his cultivation. When he is asleep, he will always be generating chi¡­. I honestly envy him sometimes for such a convenient way to cultivate. If he did not have this cultivation, he would definitely be dead by now." Milk shook her head as she started the checklist for the blood transfusion. And even after inserting the needle through Jin and Pei, Milk was still frantic. She was contacting Ayse for Peppers'' mana crystals which she had collected over time from all the experiments and fights when she had her jacket on. Because it was clear that there was no way she could hold out that long giving mana to Jin. With the Mana Crystals, Milk could at least repair the major circuit intersections by putting them close to proximity. However, she also had to take note not to interfere with Jin''s Chi circuit. When contacted, it honestly did not dawn to Ayse that they could be used for such a medical situation and she began rummaging for all the mana crystals she had secretly kept in case of an emergency. "Pfft. You should be thankful that my blood is suitable to yours." Pei grumbled as she lightly flicked Jin''s head for being this reckless. After which, she called on the Panda Nurses to request from the System to obtain more blood packs as Pei initiated the first round. At the same time, the System''s only licensed doctor was also wondering why the Legendary Inscription Charm had not been activated with their chi and mana combined. "Is it because it''s too attuned to Jin''s Maqi so it won''t activate from our chi and mana combined?" Pei questioned herself. Yet, the whole situation turned even more tense when Kraft came into the room surprised by the entire scene, and it is solely because Pei was staring at him with much anticipated angst. "How could you allow this to happen to him? You should be the one protecting him and not making him suffer until this kind of state! How are the others going to react when they learn that he is suffering from Chi Death Syndrome?!" "Then, don''t tell them. Restrict the place and limit access only to the bellators or something. Maybe just leave it at us three and the panda nurses." Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "I was busy protecting him from the riff raff and allowing ''Hero Jin to save the day'', while the System was with him the entire time controlling the flow of Maqi." "System was overwhelmed with multiple things happening at the same time." The System retorted, not wanting to apologise but instead choosing to explain its rationale. "During the drawing of the Banishment Circle the chances of the User suffering from Chi Death Syndrome were less than 1%, and the risk of perishing from it was at 0.03% especially when taking into account his highly regenerative Dantian Core." "Well, if he is still generating some chi it means he is cultivating even while unconscious. That''s a beast move itself. Maybe he can experience a breakthrough in cultivation and automatically bring himself to the next grade? That would very likely fix all our concerns in one go." Kraft replied though the rest felt that was being overly optimistic. Chapter 868 Odd Conversation - Part 1 "Is this like some save point?" Jin wondered to himself as he saw the familiar blue clear sky and felt that chilly wind blowing through his clothes. The wood that creaked whenever he leaned back on the bench and that slightly rusted screw knob which he had secretly fiddled with whenever Grandpa Ming was talking to him. The mountainous scene was still a sight to behold even though he knew that underneath awaited a challenge he had already postponed a number of times. "I had a short glimpse of what happened before you passed out. You''ve really outdone yourself." Ming''s voice appeared next to Jin who was admiring the scenery. "I was holding on really hard, like REALLLLLY hard at that last moment. I can still feel my entire body clinching each and every muscle to get it done." Jin recalled the last few minutes before he went unconscious. Although they were inside his subconscious, he still was able to feel the physical pain when he thought about it. "I was actually referring to those Banned Emperor Assassins. When they tried to assassinate the Tiger Head in your shop, I honestly hoped that encounter with them would be a one-time thing. But now this? I am starting to think that even if you become a normal working person, your fate would still end up intertwined with theirs." Ming sighed as he slowly sat down and the wood creaked just a little more under the weight of two men. "Oh those. I don''t know. Maybe third time''s the charm?" Jin tried to lighten the mood since he felt that it would be a heavy topic. "Heh, I had my share clashing against them when I was in the army," Ming revealed as he breathed in the cold dry air and exhaled slowly. "As much as I''d like you to do some monster hunting, especially that turtle down below, given their reemergence, I think we should go up a notch." "You want me to go up a notch? Are you serious? I haven''t even managed to make a dent on that monstrous turtle, and you want me to go even higher? Hang on a moment, before I forget, there is something serious I need to ask you. Do you know who Ryuli is? Mr Know-It-All? Have you come into contact with them before?" Jin didn''t really want to fight. The fight against King Baal not too long ago has already been above what he was comfortable with, not to mention the huge abomination before he passed out. It was just way too ridiculous even for his inner state of mind. Whatever happened to those simple times when his opponents used to be something manageable like Goblins or Minotaurs¡­ "Can''t say that I know them. Although that nickname Mr Know-It-All does ring a bell." Ming shook his head while trying to remember where he had heard that name before. "Maybe you know them under their Codename? State Agent L and State Agent K from the Ministry of State Security? They were the ones in the last battle." Jin questioned and suddenly Ming laughed out loudly. "Hahahahah! Oh, you mean those two notorious agents of chaos?!" Ming could not stop laughing, and the mountains started to echo along with it. "Notorious?" Jin suddenly felt it was a bad choice to mix with them. "Well, erm¡­ To the army that is. They are actually very loyal to the state. Loyal to a fault I''d even say." Ming seemingly decided to entertain Jin a little seeing that his grandson was in an really exhausted state. "While the Joint Military Intelligence department ¨C meaning Air, Sea and Ground combined ¨C is always held by the Royal Snakes, the Royal Dragons are actually the ones who should be feared the most. If you become intermingled with those proud sky lizards you should quickly learn about the fact that they are the ones who control the Ministry of State Security and rumours have it that Agent K''s grandfather is the head of that ministry." Ming explained. "Yet another layer of Zodiac politics that I would rather not have to know" Jin sighed and Ming beat his head, something that he doesn''t usually do unless it''s quite a severe mistake. "Be grateful for the information. Not everyone knows about this and I am giving it to you for free. In any case, ''incompetent'' Royal Dragons, by their standard that is, get transferred to the Royal Dragon Battalion. As for the best of the best¡­ those will automatically serve in the State Security in a heartbeat." "So it''s worse than a nest of snakes. It''s a lair of dragons in there." Jin commented. "Technically, not all of them. The Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan tried to be diverse in their selection by recruiting the best of every other Royal Zodiac Clan and a few outsiders to be their so-called counter check. But we all know that''s bullshit. Oh, by outsiders I mean anyone inside the country without any direct relation to the Royal Zodiacs. There is even a special institution where those outsiders are groomed, and from a very young age, I hear." Grandpa Ming said as if he had some grudges with that particular system. "Meh, I can pretty much guess that type of exclusivity. You don''t have to tell me about it." Jin had experienced it himself during his high school days. Some students from the Royal Zodiac clans had received preferential treatment from their teachers, despite being the so-called lowest scum in their own social circle. Sometimes, the other students felt it was just so unfair that they received all the privileges despite their school''s pledges for ''equality'' to all. "Haha yeah. Anyways, the bulk of them should still be the Dragons, and because it''s basically a family clan, they have continued to pass and maintain top classified secrets about China''s internal and external dealings. Honestly, I would not be too surprised if they had some sort of records about the System and decided to keep quiet about it." Ming shrugged his shoulders when he discussed it openly. "Why did you say that?" Jin started to have suspicions that Mr Know-It-All might have known a bit of the System after he purposely implied he knew about it. Whether it was only a bluff, it remained to be seen. "Because I had a friend in there, and he said that there were State Agents that were looking around for some super metaphysical entity as if someone ''requested'' for it. They were aware that there was something unexplainable backing me and wanted me to pass it on to them for you know, research purposes." Ming laid his bitter history out. "Entity, huh?" Jin nodded his head slowly. "Yea, the System, what else? They were unaware that at the time the Original System entered a sort of hibernation to recuperate. If not for my awesome skills in erasing information, they could have gotten every detail about it, or worse, I would have most likely spilt out everything to them." Ming recalled as he leaned forward with his head heavy. "How did they even find out about it?" Jin started to think it might be a bad idea to have shown himself and his powers to Agent K, but at the same time, he felt there was a need to purposely rephrase his question a little to Ming. "Apparently, there was a family member of theirs who remembered every single detail despite the time reversal because she was a unique cultivator with the power to control time. In my stint of being a General for the China Armed Forces, the people had nicknamed her as the Grand Dragon Archivist or the Royal Dragon Historian. She might not be active anymore, but I doubt she''s kicked the bucket like me." "So if you had not messed your brain up, you might have accidentally revealed the System to them and also allowed them to use it?" "Possible. That is why I''d advise you to tread carefully with this Agent K. If the rumours that he is to be the next director for the Ministry of State Security are true, there is a good chance he might want to use you." Ming said as he heaved a heavy sigh out of his mouth. "On the other hand, if you were to use the System to control him before he controls you, it might be the reversal you need to actually change this country." "Because I will be holding onto one of the few powerful men under the mercy of the System?" Jin queried. "No, because you get to control one of the upcoming most powerful heirs in this country and change the world for the better!" Ming answered with hopeful grandiose. Chapter 869 Odd Conversation - Part 2 "Control the most powerful heir in the country?! Hahahaha! Last I remember, the System wasn''t going to capture any cultivators because the hassle wasn''t worth it. It would be oddly funny if they were, though. Instead of customers, they would be like ''employees'' who were sending tributes to me." Jin replied as he laughed hysterically and shook his head at that possibility. "Are you sure that isn''t already happening?" Ming asked in a quiet, tame voice. He went forward towards Jin and his body language indicated that there was something deeper, something more sinister at work. "No, no¡­ that can''t be." Jin would lie if he pretended he had never considered the possibility. It would be quite convenient to have Xiong Da and the others at his beck and call similar to Claire as their latest addition. "The System told me it''s part of its law to not enslave people from our world¡­" However, the more Jin said it out loud, the more doubts started to flow in Ming''s words. Was the ''hassle'' really the only thing limiting it? Was there actually a ''law'' that prevented the System from using the capture system on the cultivators of his world? These thoughts that were once locked away because he believed that the law of the System was absolute started to crumble. Acting just and moral might be nice for a human, but despite its origins, the System did not behave like one anymore. Unless that method happened to result in the best efficiency the System would not hesitate to resort to more dubious means. It prioritised its own growth and subsequently fulfilled its own desires. In essence, Jin was just the current generation''s User, a person who the System decided to compromise with to have the best manageable outcome in long term benefits rather than straight out efficiency as it had done previously, like the harvesting of souls from the Dungeon World''s adventurers. "So does that mean¡­most of my customers are in a way part of the System, part of the minions that I could control? They are there because of it and not because they liked my dungeon instances?" Jin suddenly felt like there was an existential crisis ongoing in his life if it''s true. "Hahahahha! That issue woke you up real good, right? You think the System had the best intentions for you? If anything, it is self-serving. Who was behind all of these? None other than the System itself. It took me some time to realise it by myself, so I thought it would be best to save you all the troubles." Ming grinned widely at Jin. Out of a sudden, a blade was placed at Ming''s neck without any hesitation. "Who are you?" Jin questioned as he started to apply some pressure on Ming''s neck, demanding an answer. "Ah Jin, you disappoint me¡­ Were you not ready for this truth? Are you content staying a puppet of the System? I do not remember raising you to raise a blade against me. Put this bla-" Before Ming could finish his sentence, Jin used his other hand to stab Boo into Ming''s stomach, but his ''grandfather'' was already holding onto the wakizashi''s blade with his bare hands. Ming kicked him away and put some distance between them before Jin could slash his neck off. Nonetheless, it had grazed Ming, and there was some blood coming out. "Tsk, and here I thought that I could control you. A magnificent subject like you with the powers of the System is worthy to receive the glory of the Banned Emperor." ''Ming'' revealed as he believed it was useless to retain the form he was portraying. "You killing my precious Loopa Ooofpa was certainly outside our expectations, but for you to have this unique plane of subconsciousness and that power backing you might make it a worthwhile trade." Elder Wang Ba Tan greeted Jin formally by calling his name out. Jin, however, remained on alert and held his weapons tightly. "How did you even manage to come in here?" Jin asked calmly. "Well, since we will be sharing much of our time together from now on, I might as well tell you. I would much rather have you as a companion to our cause than our enemy. Think about it. The thing your System wants and what we want is not so different. We both want justice for what those traitorous Zodiacs have done!" Elder Wang explained. With a snap, suddenly everything within the plane of Jin''s subconsciousness started to collapse and subsequently reconstruct itself to a dead quiet inner hall filled with black concrete. The only light source was plates of oil lit with candles on top of them. They were placed all over the area and their illumination brought out the abyss within the dark corners of the inner hall instead of hope and visibility. "Since I plan to be honest with you, I hope you can extend the same courtesy to me. How exactly did you discover that my impersonation of your Grandpa was fake?" Elder Wang Ba Tan asked courteously. He was dying to know the reason why this young chap without mental barriers was able to see through his disguise. He also did not expect the lie he made up about the System using the customers could be caught that quickly after looking through Jin''s memories. While waiting for Jin''s answer, Wang Ba Tan remembered his last moments when the Loopa Ooofpa was getting banished and managed to have the control of his consciousness returned to him. There was still a small part of him surviving within the colossal manifestation. It was then he noticed an unconscious body nearby, one that his spirit could enter with ease before the ritual threw him and his manifestation to wherever it came from. While he had never heard about a Banishment Spell powerful enough to get rid of such a monster, it was a lucky break for him to be able to jump from one body to another. In fact, it was how he had been surviving for a long time and learnt about the forbidden creation of the Unceasing Hunger. With his Epic Arts, Soul Jump of the Parasitic Worm, he had been through many bodies to learn of their secrets and Jin would merely be his latest victim. Should he choose to cooperate, it would only be a matter of time until he would dominate Jin''s spirit and take control over his body. While it was unfortunate that he had failed in quietly manipulating Jin from behind the scenes, he had learnt a lot about this ''System'' and the other worlds by browsing through his host''s memories. If anything, Wang Ba Tan believed he had found the holy grail which could revive the Banned Emperor faction. What''s more he could use Jin as the vessel for the rise of their almighty Banned Emperor. All these memories of Jin having such powerful allies¡­ If he could get this System entity into his hands. The whole world would kneel before him in no time! Then, his ambitions grew even stronger. Why limit himself to conquering just this one pathetic world when there were others out there? The eternal glory of him serving the Banned Emperor was overwhelming! His urges to get his hands on this System entity caused Wang Ba Tan to speed through the memories and grab whatever he deemed important to fake Jin''s closest relative. It was a total coincidence that he decided to use Ming since he had seen vague repetitions of the elderly man in this particular plane. And since he could get Jin to talk so easily, he continued to use whatever knowledge he had acquired from his position as a Banned Emperor Elder to coerce Jin into his command. This was not his usual modus operandi, but the prize of the System was too tempting, and the flashbacks showed that Jin might have allies which could be trouble for him if he did not control Jin from within quick enough. But for the real host to find out that Elder Wang was an invader was truly an unforeseen surprise. Had he been a tad too hasty that he messed up somewhere? Yet there was no time to worry about it. As long as he could subjugate Jin right here and now, he too could have the whole body to himself. It would only be a little more challenging to control with his subconscious constantly rebelling as Wang Ba Tan took over, but it was nothing new to him. "I had my doubts from the start. If you think your acting was superb, think again!" Jin did not need to know anything right now. When Wang Ba Tan revealed his true form, Jin had affirmed that this was not just another of Ming''s test or anything. It was truly an intruder¡­ no matter how ''friendly'' they suddenly pretended to be. "Of all the times for someone to launch an attack on my mind, it just had to be when Pei is busy with the health policies reformation of the Demon Metropolis!" Jin thought to himself as he tried to exert some Maqi. It was not strong, but he would have to do with it. At the same time, there were too many questions in his head. While he was aware that this fake had tried to unsettle him, he did manage to conjure some doubts which Jin had buried. And yet the Astral Panda Cultivator would have to ignore them for now as Jin did not doubt that he was facing a formidable foe. "Perhaps, Gramps was preparing me for this day in case of an intrusion of the mind." Jin thought to himself as the black-robed elder Wang Ba Tan started to laugh hysterically. Chapter 870 Odd Conversation - Part 3 "So, you don''t seem to want to cooperate with us? I cannot totally blame you for not trusting me unconditionally. Still, you should be aware that if I wanted to be your enemy, I could have attacked you outright. Are you sure you wish to point your blades at me instead of talking things out?" Wang Ba Tan continued l pretending to be amicable, but in fact, he was trying to open Jin up with his chi persuasion tactics. After all, words were also part of his repertoire of weapons, just that they were imbued with chi to weaken Jin''s mental defences. After scanning through Jin''s memories, he believed he would be able to influence the young man. Yet, unexpectedly he had encountered spots of blackness when browsing through with many of them always leading back to a room with a single lightbulb which was seen hanging from the ceiling. Wang Ba Tan knew that certain spots of blackness within the string of memories could stem from mental trauma like PTSD. That small room indicated that he might have been tortured there at one point in time, yet there were way too many spots in Jin''s ''string'' that he started to think that perhaps someone had tempered with it externally to make him forget about it. Still, he found it odd that while there was an intentional removal of memories, he had encountered no mental barriers whatsoever. Jin did not answer, merely smiled as he listened to those chi imbued words. They were nostalgic music to his ears as he recalled how Kraft had made him listen to his chi imbued words to the point that he nearly went mad. "Breaking your psyche and rebuilding one''s mental defences is important. Never ever rely on barriers! They are about as useful as you sitting at home defenceless with a burglar outside. If that person wants something from you bad enough, they WILL find a way to either bypass your mental lock or simply smash their way through using brute force. In both scenarios, if you don''t have a weapon to defend yourself, your fate will be up to the intruder''s mercy!" Kraft had said when he attacked Jin out of the blue and started this involuntary training for his master. And true to his words, this torturing chamber exercise eventually became part of Jin''s weekly routine where Kraft would be that ''burglar'' always barging in uninvited into Jin''s mind at ungodly hours to test his psyche defences. Later on it was also to check if Pei''s barriers were still on par to her capabilities and help her reinforce them. And whenever Kraft managed to force his way in, the crafty fox would bring Jin back to that dark room with a single lightbulb and force him to fight. (even though to Jin it felt more like abuse) "And yet, here I am back in this lousy imitation of that black room." Jin thought to himself as he kept his breathing stable and subsequently went to attack Wang Ba Tan with a straight stab. "You think you can defeat me in here? Just because you have enough willpower to fight doesn''t mean anything. As you can see, you have no control over your ''realm'' here. I can do whatever I like!" Wang Ba Tan gave up on his sneaky way of doing things and decided to beat Jin into submission. He raised a pillar in front of Jin, hitting him from the bottom which caused him to trip and fall. However, being a veteran cultivator also meant that the Dungeon Supplier had the finesse to recover from it quickly and continued his attack. Subsequently, Wang Ba Tan sent even more pillars up from not just the ground but the sides and the ceilings in an attempt to slow and stop Jin. As Jin proceeded further, those pillars became spikes while some of the spikes branched out and turned into more pillars obstructing Jin''s way. To make matters worse, the room continued to expand as if he was running on a never-ending treadmill which did not allow Jin to catch up. However, the Astral Panda Cultivator did not stop in his tracks. Without using any extra tricks, he continued to focus on reaching his opponent and kept running straight at him without any distractions. The Maqi he had was concentrated inside his lungs and body movements rather than on his sword, enabling him to dodge rather effortlessly. Though he suffered some superficial cuts, they were non consequential to him. "What the hell? How is he still unfazed by all this?!" Wang Ba Tan thought to himself as he now started to wield his chi and caused those pillars to turn into multiple infernos being hurled at Jin while the blocks of rock continued to emerge from every corner of the room. Yet all Jin did was to run and even use the blocks and pillars to evade the trailing fire blast. Only as time went by did Wang Ba Tan have to admit that Jin''s defences were nearly impenetrable. Whatever attacks came his way, he would either evade or walk ''em off. There was nothing stopping him from continuously running towards Wang Ba Tan as if the elder''s control over this reality meant nothing to him. And at the same time, Jin also started to realise why his Gramps did not teach him to manipulate this current plane of subconsciousness and even stripped him off most of his powers. Control comes from within and not from external factors. To add on, Kraft''s punishing tuition lessons enabled him to withstand most, if not all of the mind persuasion tactics. (He did guarantee that no one could ever break Jin''s mind as much as Kraft had.) "And most mind users do not necessarily have a resilient physique against martial arts? And here I thought that training was all useless. Guess my teachers really did eat more salt than the amount of rice I ate." Jin grinned as he placed his katana on his waist for balance and continued to run forth. Soon enough, Wang Ba Tan ran out of his own personal chi with the uninterrupted bursts of chi attacks, causing his metaphysical body to weaken in Jin''s personal plane. He never expected Jin to be able to withstand his chi persuasion tactics and manipulation of the realm. "It''s fine, I can utilise the surrounding chi even through his realm. That should teach him who is the real boss around here!" Elder Wang thought as he tried to absorb the chi around him, yet discovered was extremely difficult to absorb. It was too dense and felt more like mana rather than chi. In the first place, he could not fathom why there was mana in the plane of a cultivator. Even though it was a little tiring, Jin did not exert anything other than his stamina. And with his Maqi strengthening his body, he had plenty of strength left to catch up to the Banned Emperor Elder. Obviously, the Astral Panda Cultivator could see that Wang Ba Tan was getting desperate, and he seemed to be gathering the strength to use one last line of defence as Jin got too close for comfort. That was when Jin felt elated that he could finally use his hidden trump card behind his sleeve. "Now!" Jin shouted as loud as possible, momentarily scaring Wang Ba Tan after minutes of being silent throughout the whole fight. During that scare, a majestic white tiger popped out from the back of Wang Ba Tan and bit his neck while plunging his claws on the front of his chest. It gave him an absolute shock which was one that he would not recover from. The weight of the tiger after its pounce caused him to fall to the ground as Jin raced towards him and stabbed his sword through Wang Ba Tan''s other side of the neck which inadvertently went to his heart. "Cough! You think that this will kill me? All you did was remove *cough* my metaphysical form! I will haunt you in your dreams! Next time it won''t be so easy for you to recognise me! You will live in fear for eternity, knowing that I will corrupt your mind and take over your body!" Wang Ba Tan cursed until he felt an intense white electric shock throughout his body. Not only that, he realised the spiritual hold or link which he had latched on to Jin''s plane of subconsciousness was not as strong as it should be. "Got to thank you for showing me where you were hiding." An old harsh tone was heard from the back of the White Tiger. "Gramps!" Jin''s face was delighted when he saw Ming rubbing the White Tiger''s head while the repeated new revelations shocked the imposter. He had no doubts that this was his true grandfather, reigning control over the place. Chapter 871 Odd Conversation - Final "What?! This cannot be! How can there be another entity here? *cough* I made sure to seal us up?!" Wang Ba Tan was losing consciousness after losing out in this particular match, mainly due to the strange properties of Jin''s subconsciousness. Wang Ba Tan started to realise that he was about to get killed by Jin once the White Tiger pounced on him. With his experience, he had begun to activate his spiritual version of the Dantian Core so that he could remain hidden inside Jin. Wang Ba Tan had no idea that his Dantian Core was being tracked and taken out from its ''hiding'' place. Gramps Ming fiddled with the spiritual Dantian Core as Wang Ba Tan was still being pinned down by the White Tiger and his face turned to one of sheer shock. "Not just another entity. The one you boldly chose to impersonate! All this time you have been here, I allowed you to play along with Jin. So be grateful that I gave you such a chance." Ming said as the White Tiger took the opportunity to bite even harder and more blood spilt onto the black concrete tiles. "You mean¡­the reason this kid has no mental barrier around him is because of you?! You are actually the master of his unconscious plane?!" Wang Ba Tan shouted coarsely, not satisfied with dying in ignorance. "I wouldn''t go so far as calling myself the master of this place. If anything, I am more of an occupant. I got to switch off the viewing camera when he wants to have his alone time, right?" Ming joked, and Jin facepalmed while taking his sword out of Wang Ba Tan. "I have enough people peeking into my life, I honestly do not need you to do the same," Jin complained. "Well, what''s one more?! Besides, you have to check out on this particular AV star. Last I saw her before I succumbed to my illness, she was totally breathtaking. I am convinced by now she should have realised her potential! I can give you her actress name and the name of the video I was talking about. Though you have to use a VPN to watch it. You probably cannot -" "Gramps! SERIOUSLY?!?! Not in front of the enemy!" Jin was starting to get embarrassed. "What does it matter? His life is basically over. Maybe in his next life, he will repent and instead of following a crazy ideology, he will actually enjoy his life more by watching some lustful videos as side entertainment." Ming countered with a smirk on his face, and that insult alone was enough to garner the last remaining strength within Wang Ba Tan. "Don''t be so cocky just because you have my Dantian Core! I am still the best dream manipulator around! I am the Parasitic Worm Cultivator of the Banned Emperor!! I WILL-" Before he could finish his sentence and set his remaining chi up to explode, the White Tiger of the West, smashed his head into the ground without mercy and released a thunderous shock that blew Jin away. Ming was barely standing straight after its attack, but at least he was able to withstand it. "Woah. This feisty tiger here is not taking any chances." Ming said as he realised the orb he was holding had been obliterated into dust. Even as he withstood the thunder shock, the spiritual Dantian Core was not able to face the terrifying destructive backlash by the White Tiger. "I honestly did not expect it to be this strong. Does it mean that the White Tiger was holding back when I was fighting against it?" Jin asked as he could still feel his entire body pulsating with electricity and decided to stay on the ground and concentrate on his breathing. "Well, duh. It is one of the Legendary Cardinal Demons. Like you, it had been stripped down of its powers, and even its strength got nerfed to oblivion to match your measly little cultivation." Ming teased as he scratched the back of the White Tiger while generating some chi water to wash its mouth away from all that terrible meat. "Still, it recognised your determination and diligence. Not every cultivator would dare to face it a second time, let alone multiple times like a madman that came out from a cave after seclusion." Ming said as he and the White Tiger walked towards Jin. "Also, you remembered what I said about it, huh?" Ming added as the White Tiger took the chance to lick Jin over his face while he pondered over his grandfather''s words. "Gosh, his tongue feels like needles coming out, touching all over my cheek area. It''s a little spiky and yet oddly soothing." "You find poking needles smoothing? Hahahahha! Spoken like someone who would have one?" Ming made such a cold sex joke onto Jin that he could not help but roll his eyes. "What do you know, stupid jeezer?!" "Oh, you want to compare, do you? You want to be demoralised to the point that you won''t be able to face reality? I can pull my pants down anytime." Ming dared Jin to do the same. "Someone please get me out of this plane!" "Sorry, but I can''t let you do that. Not when your body is in such dire shape. You are lucky I managed to secretly pull you into this area. Else your mind would be dead too, and then the System would have to try resurrecting you." Ming denied his plea as he snapped his finger and the entire imagery of the inner black hall sanctum collapsed. They returned to where they were before, and this time Jin felt extremely cold being stuck in the snow. The White Tiger was not helping when it decided to snudge itself around Jin, disabling him from moving away from it. Perhaps payback? Jin did not want to speculate any further and allowed it to do as it pleased. "By the way, I am also quite curious about how you realised that Wang Ba Tan was a fake? Am I that easy to read?" Ming stroked his beard a little as he sat down on the bench and watched Jin stuck in the snow as the White Tiger yawned. "See. The bench did not creak when you sat down on it. Never. Even at such an awkward position, you are still somehow able to avoid letting out a single noise." Jin explained as the White Tiger started to feel more relaxed with the petting. "It was one of your habits while alive. There was never a moment where you made a sound when sitting, and your footsteps were silent. Sometimes I wondered whether you were trained by a ninja boss. I tried emulating that when I was younger, but never managed it." "That''s all? Damn, grandson. Picking up such weird things to symbolise your grandfather." Ming smirked as he conjured a femur bone for the White Tiger to chew on. "I could go on, but nevermind that, what did you mean by the System would ''try'' to resurrect me? What''s the matter with that? My Dantian Core data should be with the System at all times." Jin asked as he started to pick his courage and pet the tiger. "Haven''t you picked up on it? You should have heard stories from me, Kraft, Yun and probably the System as well. Didn''t you ever wonder why the System Users always struggled and why there was no prosperity even when we had such an enormous super entity supporting us?" "I ¡­No." Jin initially did not understand what Ming was saying until he started to think back. "Never questioned why the System grants you Bellators who are all-powerful to a point that you do not even actually need to raise a finger?" Ming hinted strongly until it somehow clicked. "I ¡­cannot be resurrected?" Chapter 872 Untold Revelations "¡­ Probably!" Grandpa Ming shrugged as he sat down properly and breathed in the air. "Did you not ask the System directly before?" Jin questioned as the White Tiger had relaxed and released his body even further. "Of course, I did. However, the System was not willing to give me a direct answer. It would always divert the issue by claiming that ''User should rather train instead of worrying about blah blah blah''. It was super frustrating to hear that, but nothing I could do to make it spill the beans." Ming replied while rubbing his nose and cleared his throat. The memory associated with those words was not something the grandfather would like to remember much. "Well, I can give it a try when I have the chance to ask the System about it," Jin commented as if he was not too worried about it for some reason. "And if what you say is true¡­ Then I guess it cannot be helped. I mean it would make sense that there had to be a trade-off for having something as powerful as a System. And now I think about it, I realised how the System never spoke of past users joining the collective form of entities. Would like to know how their past actions nearly sent the System into demise." "Heh! Are you indirectly insulting that I am incompetent? Gah that I will admit there were things I was not proud of when I was young. Still, I am surprised you took this message so easily. I was expecting you to be shaking or filled with anxiety. Knowing that unlike those around you, if something were to happen to you might actually die." "Hmm, I mean no one can escape Death forever. Maybe I am less shocked because I had way too many near-death experiences ever since I inherited the System. I don''t really want to think about it. Besides, I place my trust in my comrades and believe they will come to save me no matter what." Jin replied while thinking of all the times where he nearly got killed. "Is that why you wholeheartedly tried to save their worlds when it''s not your responsibility?" Ming was also curious why he would do such a thing when he had no real obligations to do so. "Wouldn''t you have done the same in my shoes? ''If you have the power to save someone, you should do it with all your strength. If not, it''s not worth living'', right? Though¡­ I have to admit that it did not click until Hou Fei told it to me so blatantly." Jin remarked, and suddenly the White Tiger growled softly at the spot Jin was scratching. "''And the things you''ve invested and given to the people will be returned multi-folds.'' Hahah! Glad to see, that you did actually learn some useful things from me before I was gone." Grandpa Ming appeared as if he had something else on his chest after all this. What followed was a sudden silence. Jin could see that his Gramps was struggling about whether to tell him something important or not, so he just waited for Ming to gather his resolve. "There is something you should know about the time reversal. It was not really me who had initiated it. After I had rampaged against the Zodiacs, all the System did was blare out alerts like an annoying cock screaming its lungs out before someone chopped its head off. Knowing that I could not be saved, Yuan she¡­ sacrificed her Sub System module to ensure that I survived. After the System had learned about the Banned Emperor''s involvement, it was ready to change the world''s current history and allowed us to return back a few hours." "A few hours? And that itself caused the System to go so haywire?" Jin questioned and Ming gave out a slight chuckle. "I understand it might sound minuscule to you. But you have to understand it wasn''t just a local time reversal for one particular area. Everything which happened in our universe had been turned back exactly 3 hours, 44 minutes and 59 seconds. The placement of the sun, the birth of a new child, the minutes before completion of an exam. Even something as grand as the true death of a star. Everything was pushed back. Memories were unwritten, and things that were supposed to happen did not happen. The scale of the things that had been reversed cannot be taken into account." "But only you, the System and a few others should have memories with regards to that, right? Or are the things Wang Ba Tan said actually true? Does the Royal Dragon Clan have a person with the ability to have recorded that time reversal? The Royal Dragon Historian was it? Have people come to you and asked you about it?" "For a Banned Emperor lackey, it is terrifying to learn that he is right." Ming sighed and nodded his head. Even when Wang Ba Tan was actively searching into Jin''s memories, Ming was not just hiding. Like Kraft, he had used what the fox had taught him and extracted information whenever possible. When the Banned Emperor Elder thought he had the upper hand, Ming''s smirk became wider. "Well, the part about someone coming for it was something he made up. Still, a person with that moniker does exist and she might be someone who would know about the System or at least have an inkling of the existence of such a Super Entity. Also, that last part of his advice should be false. When the System states that there is a rule, then it doesn''t lie. It seems to take those very seriously without breaking them¡­ Even that time reversal had some very stringent conditions which needed to be fulfilled before it acted." "But it is possible for the System to take control of the cultivators and treat them as moneybags?" "If you asked me about it a few months ago, I would have answered that it would be highly likely that it might do so via a loophole. But now that Kraft told me about your interaction with it, the System seems to have mellowed down and is actively trying to work with you. There shouldn''t be any real benefit for it to betray your trust again. Still, this is just the ramblings of an old man. If you want to clarify things, you will have to ask the source. Just be prepared the answer might not be to your liking." Ming commented. "Whew. This is a lot to take in. I might have to reconsider the way I do things in this world then. First off, my cultivation isn''t great enough and even if I can hit a high grade like I don''t know¡­ Grade 15 or 16? I alone cannot fight against the political forces brewing like an active volcano waiting for the right chance to explode." "Are you going to abandon all your work?" "Impossible. There is so much I have already done and still so much more that I want to do. I have been thinking for some time on how to expand. I just know that I won''t allow myself to be used as a pawn by others. The teleportation device is way too dangerous to reveal to the public seeing how they could bring in troops and supplies so quickly to reinforce the borders of Huizhou. It might be useful, but if something like that falls into the Banned Emperor''s hands we might have monsters popping out everywhere¡­" "Every action has a reaction. That law does not apply only to physics but everything else in this world. Items are never at fault. It''s the people who use it." Ming preached. "And for an ambitious dream to be the World''s Number One Dungeon Supplier, I have been thinking that my steps were too small. Mainly because my capital had been restricted. Now that I have a certain reputation and the resources in place to earn money, I believe I should start to make bigger strides. That is why when I wake up, I am going to change how to deal with all this." Jin stated with some resolution. "That is if you wake up. From what I know, your body is currently in no condition to do anything grand." Ming shook his head for having to be the one to bear the bad news. "That bad?" "You think I am just keeping you here because I miss my precious grandson so much? Believe me, I have ways to entertain myself in here. Hehehe." "Please spare me the details. But yeah, I thought you wanted to share things with me after that sudden Banned Emperor Elder surprise bash." "If you really mean what you claim and you do want to change the way you are doing things, you still need the appropriate cultivation to do so," Ming stated as he clapped twice and the White Tiger sat back up sluggishly as if Jin had been a perfect plushie for him to snooze on top of. "You might have had the Sword Saint drill you for the basics, but I am going to train you in my own Panda Sword Arts. Once you learn them, you will understand why I wrote that Astral Panda Cultivation Manual in a certain way." Ming spoke mysteriously as he summoned out a black and a white scimitar. "Only when you truly grasp and master the concepts here and that manual, will you have the ability to make your own Sword Arts." Ming''s chi started to emanate through the mountains. A spiral of black and white chi burnt through his body and melted the snow around him. Jin knew that his Gramps meant business. Chapter 873 Training A Panda Just as the chi flowed out of Ming, it gradually returned back to him as well. The two weapons that he was holding combined into one black and white plastic-looking scimitar. "Get up. We do not have time to waste." Ming ordered as he swirled the newly formed blade around. "Your objective is to make me use my ultimate form. Pressure me with what you have learned so far and don''t hold back!" "I won''t be giving you any concession. If you die by my plastic scimitar then you only have yourself to blame. You should be ashamed till you beat me to clear those sins." Ming stated as the winter winds on top of the mountain began to whistle into their ears. Jin stood up and prepared his stance by transmuting Bam and Boo to his waist. Yet, his sword was still within his scabbard and ready to be pulled out in a moment''s notice. The very same technique as Iaido, a quick sword draw, responding to a sudden attack. Jin did not learn this smooth controlled movement without difficulty. Zeru had pushed him to his limits to get it right. From the speed of his draw, the placement of his feet to the correct push from his muscles. A lot of it came with muscle memory and extremely rigid rote memory to boot. Even now, Jin could feel Zeru staring at Jin''s back checking for the slightest mistake. "Oh, I see. Iaido. The Sword Saint has taught you enough for my training to be two times more effective." Ming praised his grandson as he raised his plastic toy looking scimitar. "But it will also be two times more difficult for you to pass," Gramps added before starting to run towards Jin. "Seriously? Just a straight on attack? Is he copying my method? Is it a feint or is thinking that way the diversion?" Jin thought to himself as he activated his Inverse Eyes. For some reason ever since Wang Ba Tan''s assault, his Inverse Eyes started to act a little weird. Fortunately, they behaved weirdly in a good way. It could predict the way his opponent moved, and that was how Jin had been able to evade most of the attacks. There was a slight change in the atmosphere which he could detect where it was coming from and thus allowing him to adjust his action. Even when Wang Ba Tan was about to hit him, there were future apparitions that would hint ever so slightly where the attack was coming from. However, when used on Ming, Jin could not even see a trace of it. He wondered if it was because it was a one-time thing with Wang Ba Tan, a restricted use which refreshed after a certain period of time or if Ming was simply on a different level compared to the Banned Emperor Elder. Without the assistance of his newly improved power, Jin decided to rely on his training that Zeru had drilled into him as he tightened his form and waited for the right time to strike Ming down. Maybe, just maybe Ming was testing how strong he was with this first strike and would handle him depending on his level. Whatever the case, Jin was not going to let his grandfather down. Once Ming entered the range of his Iaido strike, Jin flashed his sword and realised Ming clumsily fell down in the direction where it was out of the range from Iaido''s strike. Jin was surprised and wanted to follow up a second strike instead of returning his sword back to scabbard. But instead of hitting Ming, a blade slash suddenly hit his shoulder and ran down to his chest. "How did¡­?" Jin, stunned by the slash, decided to move backwards. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the power behind the attack. The slash was deep and strong enough to break his vampiric bones and spill his guts out. Now all Jin could do was lie on the ground and wait for his eventual death and reset. "Bad choice. You should not overextend your attacks. Had you returned back to your original Iaido stance, you would have received a lighter wound." Ming lectured Jin as he recovered himself from the ground, patting away the snow on his body. Yet, Jin was there breathing in pain and simultaneously feeling scared. His partially detached heart from the attack was pumping blood furiously out in the open, dying the snow with dark red colour. When Jin thought about it, there was not even any time for him to activate his ''Perfectly Normal'' parry slash, which was one of his most-used skills in a close combat fight. There were many a time, he managed to stop Zeru''s fast blade with that skill during their training. This time, Jin had been unable to see that plastic toy scimitar coming forth but just a slight tinge of chi in the air. "This feeling of death¡­ can''t say I''ve missed it!" Jin thought to himself as he tried to use his Maqi to recover himself. The Astral Panda Cultivator knew that he could reset his life in this plane of subconsciousness without any problem. But if he relied too much on that, he might get careless in the future when outside. And carelessness was not something he could afford if his life was at stake. Thus, Jin placed all his Maqi that he could muster into the legendary recovery inscription charm knowing even more hurt and pain would grip his mind and body in this particular metaphysical plane. "I see. So, you have a way to recover yourself even from such a severe wound. Do you want me to wait for you to recover or do you want to continue in this state?" Ming questioned as he rested the plastic-looking scimitar on his shoulders and swayed his body. "Just a second¡­" Jin asked for a ''break'' when his training had barely begun. For the first time, he finally saw how the legendary recovery inscription charm worked with the covering of his skin. There were literal worms- nay, leeches that started to crawl out of the inscription charm and started to cover Jin. Only instead of sucking blood away from Jin, they were actually providing Jin with blood, and some of them were even grouping together tightly. To his surprise, he could see that the leeches were metamorphosing into blood vessels and even organs. The old vampiric bones infused with his own were also doing their magic working in tandem with the leeches, regrowing and heal the fractures together. "No wonder it''s always this painful." Jin was curious why the inscription charm and bones had also been replicated in this particular plane of subconsciousness. Unlike his sword, these were supposedly added on traits into his body and not something he should have been born with. "Ah, whatever¡­ I can''t think with all this pain. Just focus on handling it." Jin thought to himself as he finally could stifle the pain from within and shouted at the top of his (damaged) lungs. "At this rate, there is no way you will die if you have enough time to hide. Heck, you do not even need to worry about sickness." Ming remarked as he squatted down and observed the recovery process in real time. Chapter 874 Clumsiness Is a Form of Ar "How the hell were you able to do that slash without me realising it? You were faster than my Iaido! Even my Inverse Eyes were not able to catch a glimpse of your attack." Jin asked while healing. All that pain he suffered caused him to sweat profusely despite the cold weather. Not to mention his shirt was stained with blood and a gaping hole in the middle of it, making him colder (and to a certain degree, painful) with the winds blowing through his wounds. "Panda Sword Arts. Although, to be more precise, what I showed you was the actual essence of being a Panda User." Ming explained after he sat down and occasionally poked at Jin''s wounds to see if the leeches would react to it. To his surprise, the leeches did by starting to suck his blood to use as nourishment to help their host recover. He decided to entertain them by allowing the leeches to do whatever they pleased. (Especially since those leeches would not stop until they have enough of his blood.) "Have you ever seen a Panda ¡­be rigid in its life?" Ming asked, and Jin carefully shook his head without causing pain to his closing wounds. "It''s always lazy, clumsy and wants to play whenever possible, right? Like heck, I remembered a guy got taken down with a grapple by a Panda smaller than his size because he intruded his enclosure. And that Panda merely slept on him, thinking he was some pillow." Ming recounted an incident, waiting for the nod from Jin with regards to his initial question. "So as Panda Cultivators, we naturally have to be like this too." "You being lazy? Please, I think you''d rather die than be lazy. Whenever you came home from work, you always were busy with something. Mowing the lawn, repairing stuff around the house or simply cultivating. Anything you could find, to avoid sitting around and watch TV like a normal person! The only exception was on weekends, and even then you only did so as some sort of reward after training me." Jin reminded him, and Ming laughed. "Hahahah! You are not wrong. I did not mean your way of life in general, but just how you fight against your enemy." Ming specified as he stood up and started to show a few martial moves without his scimitar. When Jin watched his grandfather''s demonstration, it was obvious that the way he moved was strikingly similar to the Drunken Fist martial style. "Don''t tell me the Drunken Fist originated from Panda Cultivators?" Jin could not have made that connection since most of these cultivators were from the Shaolin Temple. "Not exactly. From what I discovered the roots of those Drunken Fist Styles were actually from a Shaolin Monk who observed a Panda after it accidentally drank wine. That stupid Panda had noticed the bamboo wine container and assuming it was more food, it greedily grabbed from the monk and ate the entirety of it all. Afterwards it started fighting other creatures and that monk emulated what he saw¡­ well, the rest is history." Ming explained. "Eh¡­I do not think that really answers the original question." Jin said as he tried to sit up slowly. "Just a fair fun tidbit, but not entirely out of topic. Just like the Drunken Fist utilises unusual body movements to catch their opponents off guard, the true essence of Panda Sword Arts utilise the characteristics of the Panda. We deliberately get clumsy to fight, and you can say we are basically the antithesis of the Sword Saint." Ming told Jin as he finished his martial art demonstration. "Zeru aims for precision and perfection as you would expect from a Sword Saint, but we should be clumsy to throw the opponent''s conventional prediction out of the fighting ring and win the fight. They are bound by rules, but we set the rules with our own fighting style." His Gramps said as he kicked up his scimitar and repeated the very same demonstration with his blade. This time, Jin could vaguely see silhouettes of a Panda all around Ming''s body as he executed the moves with his scimitar. "That is why I told you that this training would be two times more effective because you''ve been taught perfect basics from the Sword Saint. And two times more difficult for you to learn since you will essentially relearn most of it, to be able to deliberately behave clumsy." After performing the very same attack which he hit Jin with, he fell to the ground as part of the demonstration. There was actually another vague silhouette left behind to perform the strike making the Astral Panda Cultivator aware of how he had been injured. It was as if Ming''s body was the diversion, making his chi and sword art the actual deal. "If you manage to master this, you will finally get to use your Astral Form to its utmost potential. It will be extremely useful." Even without Ming''s remark, Jin could already predict how useful it would be. "Haha¡­ just ''complement'' well? This is the real deal." Jin thought to himself as he watched Ming come up from the floor effortlessly. There was no wasted movement despite how clunky he seemed. He later proceeded to sway his body and trip even though there was nothing there that would cause him to fall at all. Now, Jin has a grasp of what Ming meant by deliberate falling. "You cannot act clumsy. You cannot preempt clumsy. You have to BE clumsy. Not only do you have to learn how to break the falls, but also learning to read the opponent''s actions so that it would counteract against their conventional thinking and reflexes." Ming stressed as he showed how there were no bruises or cuts despite the falls he had made, and this made Jin understand that it was easier than done. "It might be easier if you have an actual panda to mimic, but right now, you have to settle for me," Ming added. "Hahaha, maybe if we put some black spots on the White Tiger, he might be of some use." Jin joked, and Ming laughed as he went towards the tiger and pulled its face. "This guy has been so lazy he might even put pandas to shame, but clumsy? He probably would have to put in way more effort than all of us combined to do what a panda does." Ming got in on the joke as he rubbed the tiger''s head who merely let out a light growl of protest before moving its resting spot to the wooden bench. At this point, Jin started to get up as the wound closing was more or less bearable. He suddenly felt that he understood his cultivation more than just refining his abilities. Maybe that was why even repeated reading of the cultivation manual, continuous meditation in his spare time and going through near-death encounters had not increased his current Grade. With a better clarity of mind, Jin picked his sword up and decided to face Ming. He knew that his grandfather was a person who did not teach with grace and patience. Everything he wished to learn would have to be gained on the field itself and from there, his grandfather would give the necessary advice allowing him to improve. If anything, Jin was aware that overcoming this particular huddle could be one of the hardest portions of his cultivation journey. Chapter 875 Not Waking Up "Why is he still not awake? I know for sure that I have helped you transfer a shit load of mana into his circuits! I have better things to do with my time, you know?!" Peppers threw her manga book down and complained as she was stuck on a more advanced blood transfusion machine which Qiu Yue had bought after learning of their leader''s situation. She and Lynn had gathered funds from their individual Sub Systems and invested in specialised medical equipment for the Luxury Recovery Instance''s ICU (Intensive Care Unit.) Initially, Jin and Pei had agreed on creating a series of ICU rooms in case of fatal chi injuries, but the equipment was still pretty basic since no one was using them after the System''s proper calibration of the Dungeon instance. Later, the instance had swiftly been designated as a temporary medical outpost, and Jin had even ordered boxes of basic medical supplies and equipment for the Huizhou evacuation in case of trouble. It was meant for patients to get admitted before they would be assessed and triaged. With the System as part of the medical analysis team, the Panda Nurses would have judged whether they could be treated on the spot or be sent to hospitals for specialised treatment. That was why Pei and Milk initially used basic blood transfusion kits because they were part of the medical supplies that Jin had bought beforehand. "Is there any progress in his diagnosis?" Lynn asked as Pei was still at the side of his bed, looking extremely haggard. She was notably reluctant to bring him to see a proper doctor specialist mainly because it was her fault that she had left him alone with the System. Not to mention how she predicted that most doctors would say it would be better to pull the ''plug'' and let him off. Because if it was up to her, she would have done the same if not for Jin being the System''s User. What''s more, the hospital doctors were bound to discover the abnormalities in his physique that she placed into Jin were more valuable than any current medical equipment available on the market. The Dungeon Supplier could have easily been turned into a guinea pig for the government in his current state. "Both of his chi and mana circuits have mostly been repaired. It turned out to be a good thing that I had strengthened his body a while ago. However, it is weird that Jin continues to be in an unconscious state. I did feel some weird fluctuations in the brain waves during the first day as if he was panicking from something¡­but since then¡­ It had remained normal." Pei filled her in as she was dying to do something more to ensure that Jin had not been reduced to a vegetative state. However, it was Kraft who had explicitly ordered that no one was to touch him after checking up on him for a moment. Instead, they should just continue to rotate around the chi and mana insertion and ensure that his circuits would be well repaired. "Trust me on this. He will wake up, it''s just a matter of time." And unlike Kraft who could wander around without any worries, people with high social status had been coming to the shop to ask for Jin. Naturally, Yun rejected all of them no matter how important they claimed to be. She also ignored all sorts of threats they hurled her way (the System noted down any offenders). In fact, Hou Fei and Grandma Yuan were also protecting Jin by denying their fellow ''colleagues'' from looking further into Jin. They all repeated that Jin was busy recovering after the battle and had disappeared to his secret hideout to create dungeon instances for his shop. After all, the Chinese New Year holidays were coming. Alas, the constant harassment from the Demon Exorcists and Military officials had continued to a point where Yun had entertained the idea of letting Kraft go deal with them (as non violent as he saw fit). Among the ''repeat offenders'' were Ke Loong, his business partner and the State Agents. Sadly, Ryuli left almost immediately upon learning that Jin was not available. She was not interested in experiencing any of the dungeons even though Mr Know-It-All wholeheartedly recommended them. (Especially the Deep One Escape City Dungeon Instance) However, before she left, she did call Mr Know-It-All a liar since he promised that Jin would be at the shop after the Monster Horde Defence. After a week of nothing but rejections, people finally believed that Jin had really disappeared to make some special dungeon instance and with promises to come back later, the Sub System Users could only buy that much time for their Boss. "Isn''t it weird that there are still no new Dark Sludge Crystals coming from him? Usually, Jin would have filled this whole room with Sludge Crystals." Milk tried to lighten the mood as she sat on a cushion at the side of the ICU, recuperating from the donation of mana. "I was wondering the same, and that is why I am worried." Lynn acknowledged the observation Milk brought up and was hoping that Pei knew anything about it. "The more unusual thing is the creation of them in the first place. We have all been through cultivation, and we know that there might be times where we would shed a layer of skin like a snake. Or grow slightly prettier because our chi circuits became cleaner. However, for him to throw out this much ''dirty chi'' is pretty much abnormal behaviour." Pei tried to discern the nature of that. "Maybe because he had been throwing out a ton of dirty chi also means that his storage might actually be way more than a regular person''s ability to handle chi. That could be the reason why we felt that the chi and mana that we were pouring in seemed to be going to an abyssal pit." Pei theorised as she started to stand up and walk around the room for a moment. "Then perhaps¡­he''s also using this period of unconscious time to regain what he lost." The Crane Cultivator added as she picked up the phone and started to dial for the Panda Nurses. "Yes, it''s me. Mind bringing a box of chi potions here? No, the new ones that the researcher made." "That researcher?" Qiu Yue did not understand who Pei was talking about until she saw the wooden crate of specially stored chi potions. "Oh, so you meant Yu Xiang, the researcher that Jin hired to replicate the System''s chi potions?" "Yes, she came in a day ago, wanting to show Jin her results as part of a Chinese New Year surprise but we told her the same convenient excuse as everyone. She had actually managed to make a chi potion similar to the System''s demands." Pei explained. "As I recall, it was a project meant for us to mass-produce them in the future to avoid relying on the System''s reliance on the Black Market. From what I have learnt, the prices started to increase rather drastically ever since Jin requested the System to buy a ton of them." Qiu Yue reasoned. "Exactly. That Yu Xiang is truly a genius lass. I personally tried one bottle since she had already brought them over. The quality might be the same as the ones the System bought, but the chi effects are longer lasting than the System''s inferior goods. It actually prompts the Dantian Core to produce chi. I plan to put this on a hydration cycle for Jin and dilute it with some basic mana potion. Let''s hope this will fill his bottomless pit and get him back up for work." Pei told them as she already started to take one of the potions out. "Does that mean that I can get this needle out of my arm?" Peppers felt left out by the conversation. "What? No. You are connected to the universe pool of Mana. There is no way you are coming out of that seat until Jin wakes up. Milk has already overdone it, and I don''t want to have to treat her as well!" Pei stressed as she wore a pair of gloves and set up a drip stand with the chi potion on hand. "But you just said that you are using basic mana pots." Peppers argued, feeling frustrated. "What are you talking about? You are the basic mana potion!" Both Milk and Qiu Yue said at the same time which made Lynn and Pei laugh, causing Peppers to roll her eyes and heaved a ''brrrrrr'' sound out. Chapter 876 Falling, Failing Time was not a factor in Jin''s plane of subconsciousness as Ming and the White Tiger alternated training Jin in his inelegant swordplay. At first, he was embarrassed trying to behave clunkily, but that made him suffer even more wounds from Ming. Only after he started to grasp the movements did Ming decide to take a break and let the White Tiger train with him. Unlike humans, the White Tiger was able to ''play'' with Jin using grapples, knockdowns and tussles which made it harder for Jin to execute his fakeout attacks and he had to be more creative in actively avoiding them while performing the clumsy rolls. What Ming had told him turned out to be true. Zeru''s teaching about posture made it all the harder for him to forget since it was trained deep into his muscle memory. Thus, to speed Jin''s learning process, Ming had secretly manipulated the plane to put in stones and sticks within the snow. This would make the falling and trips slightly easier for Jin while he learned how to utilise his Maqi to project his Astral Form out for an attack. "Trust me, you have it WAYYYYYY easier than me. Like I did not even have an Astral Form to project my attacks much less anyone to guide me. I had to cultivate my chi to do it by myself. Me giving you that perfected Panda Cultivation Manual is already providing a handicap." "Yeah, but you had years to come up with and practice it while I only have what? Hours? Days? At most a week or two! I am worried the System and the others are already facing the backlash of the Monster Horde without me at the helm." Jin complained as the White Tiger pounced forward. Jin was able to gracelessly fall to the ground and perform an Astral Projection Attack, but the White Tiger used its tail to slap Jin on his balls before evading the Projection attack too. By now the West Cardinal Demon had adapted to him and started to feint his own attacks better than Jin which made his training even harder. "Oooh. That hurts just watching it." Ming giggled while ignoring Jin''s worries as he saw his grandson trying to breathe through the pain. The Tiger had no human sympathy for a person being hit in the balls. As long as it saw an opportunity, it would take it and strike mercilessly. And as expected, neither Ming nor the White Tiger gave Jin any breaks in between, causing him to train ceaselessly. The only time he was allowed to take a breather was when the wounds he suffered from were major and required much time to regenerate. In one instance, the White Tiger nearly decapitated Jin''s head, and it was barely hanging with the left side of the skin intact. Ming had to use his chi to keep Jin''s heart pumping and ensure there was a blood vessel connection to his brain while he healed. He could have let him and resurrect but Jin''s pleading gaze had made it clear that the dungeon supplier would rather suffer now than take the easy path. All this intense training and punishing pain brutally strengthened Jin''s mental concept of physical toughness while he got the hang of the Panda Style. His Astral Form got even more potent as time went by. Considering there was no night and day unless Ming deemed it appropriate for training, Jin had lost sense of all time. (Usually, it''s the System that reminded him of things.) For night training, Jin fought with Ming in absolute darkness as his current mentor changed the landscape to a snowy forested area. Unlike daytime training where Ming would help Jin with obstacles, the forested area his grandpa had created was ever-changing. The rocks, trees and slippery snow was more of a hindrance to Jin, forcing Jin to finetune his movements so that whenever he moved, it would be gracefully clunky. To make matters worse, Ming also added traps which he would intentionally lure Jin into, further increasing the difficulty for his grandson. And as if that was not bad enough, his grandfather also blindfolded after he seemingly got used to the advanced training. Naturally more cuts, bruises and bite wounds from the White Tiger helped turn Jin into a deadly combat specialist. However, all these appeared like child''s play compared to his final test. Ming teleported Jin to the very same black concrete inner hall where he had fought against Wang Ba Tan. With a quick glance, Jin already saw his final exam question staring right in front of him. The silhouette was more than enough to discern who he was. "You must be kidding me. How did you get him here?" "It wasn''t that hard. This version is based on your memories, and I asked Kraft for some samples of his stats and attributes some time ago. This representation is not as powerful as the real deal, but it''s more than enough for you to have a hard time against." Ming explained as he lit up the whole black hall and they found Zeru replica with his long yellow hair intact. "I suppose that means his strength is above the one he used to drill me last time?" Jin asked, but before he could get a reply, a slashing shockwave zipped by him without any warning. To this particular Zeru''s replica, his opponent was right in front of him, and there was no obligation to wait. Ming clearly did not need to answer that question anymore as he stepped backwards and summoned the very same wooden bench he had used in the mountains. The White Tiger also sat on it while staring at the impending fight. "Welp. Here goes nothing!" After days and days of training his whole body was filled with superficial scars. Not to mention, he was left half-naked with bloodstained tattered pants since he had been wounded time and time again throughout the training. As a consolation, he had full access to his Inverse Eyes in this fight. He decided to run straight towards Zeru, just like how Ming had done against him. With their roles seemingly reversed, he noticed that Zeru similarly took on the Iaido stance Jin had previously performed. The Sword Saint''s chi coursed through his body and Jin knew how powerful Zeru was¡­ it would be instant death if he got so much as grazed by this replica''s attack. However, with all the Panda training Jin had done with Ming and the White Tiger, he now had confidence that his cultivation style was indeed an antithesis to all weapon specialists. Chapter 877 Astral Panda Projections Replica Zeru performed his Iaido slash, yet Jin was able to dodge it in time since he remembered his sensei''s timing by heart and the replica behaved true to its name. At that moment he dodged, Jin performed a fall which indeed prompted Zeru to overextend his attack range, and that was when Jin initiated the Astral Form Slash after his fall. The projection of his Maqi appeared almost instantly doing a straight cut right after Zeru missed his target by a few centimetres. Alas, it would have been too easy if that was the end of it. The replica managed to block the surprise Astral attack, but that was when Jin decided to push for a follow up strike. However, Replica Zeru had not dismissed Jin despite the diversion of a second opponent. The replica was merely slightly confused that he had to block a sudden strike from a black and white sparkling silhouette that disappeared momentarily after that. A stab from the bottom caused Replica Zeru to move aside and use his scabbard to block the attack but somehow Jin "accidentally" dropped his weapon. This greatly threw off Zeru''s reflexes as a different black and white astral silhouette stabbed Zeru from a slightly different position. Possibly only a change in a five-degree angle from where Jin dropped his sword. While Zeru once again managed to move away from the attack, he did not get out unharmed. That stab managed to scrape his elbow, causing a light wound which hindered his arm movements a little. "Nice, +1 point for aiming at the nerves. If he moved the other way around, your silhouette would have gone for his armpit, and that would have been worse for him." Ming commented from the side and accompanied it with a clap. The tiger even gave a low happy growl as if to approve his training partner''s efforts. "You are taking points for this?!" Jin didn''t think his grandfather was serious on a ''final exam'' duel. And yet that moment of distraction was what Zeru needed to throw his scabbard into Jin''s face. But thankfully, after fighting blindfolded and in the dark, Jin placed some Maqi in his hands that made him slip intentionally rather than dodging outright, and this gave the Astral Panda Cultivator the opportunity to project another Astral form to attack. (As if Jin needed to fulfil a requirement to project the Astral images but no, it was to complement his attacks.) And yet all of his attacks were actually part of the basic Panda Sword Styles. Technically speaking, as long as a cultivator was using chi with his weapon to attack, it''s already considered as a basic Weapon Style. (Even if it was just imbuing the weapon as that itself requires basic knowledge of transferring chi energy into it.) So for each Astral Projection that popped up, it''s basically Jin utilising a basic Panda Sword Style mainly because the silhouette that appeared looked exactly like a Panda holding onto a sword. If any of his regulars were to see him, they might think that Captain Hei had been fused with Jin or even believe that those Panda Captains were incidentally part of Jin. The Replica Zeru might not be affected by the Panda Astral Silhouette since it''s reconstructed for battle, but against other cultivators, both Ming and Jin believed that its size (and to a certain extent it''s cuteness) would be adequate enough distraction to gain an advantage over the opponent. And that was important since a moment of diversion was all a fighter needs to have the upper hand to win the fights. And as Jin continued his duel with Zeru, he did not feel as pressured as the time he duelled against Zeru for one last time before the underground boxed up cellar was officially opened by Claire. Jin utilised all he had learnt fighting against a Cardinal Beast as well as Ming who had comparable years of experience. Though he would not be thanking them for all the near-death experiences, it was definitely helpful to learn how to overcome them. Not forgetting what Zeru had taught him, Jin had also utilised his skills and projected them via the Astral Panda silhouettes. And sometimes the fight they were in made it look like Zeru was fighting with a cultivator with his pet Panda instead. "Advanced Panda Sword Art, Bamboo Sword Rain!" Jin shouted as he slammed his sword on Zeru''s wooden sword and immediately put his weight on the other side of his body causing him to roll to his enemy''s back with the aid of Panda Tumbling. At that point, Replica Zeru was prepared to defend himself from an aerial attack since the Astral Panda Cultivator called out Bamboo Rain. But to his surprise, Bamboos were shot out from the ground and pierced his left foot without warning. Zeru managed to evade for the second one that aimed for his intact foot and immediately unleashed a large chi slash on the ground to counter Jim''s Bamboo Sword Rain. ¡­Only to realise that the Astral projection of Pandas holding swords started to rain from above and aimed for Zeru. Even as Zeru blocked one of the Astral Panda projections, another one came too close for comfort. It was to the point where the replica had to remove the wooden shaft and pull out his real sword. Once shifted to dual wielding, he could block and dissipate every single metaphysical Astral projection, but he did not realise that there was a second part to the attack. The Bamboo shoots that grew eventually were rooted out and held by more Panda Astral Projections and this time. It was Jin sending the Maqi into them. Each of them imbued with some form of element, they charged towards the replica at lightning speeds. Immediately, a whirlwind of lotus flowers emerged from the centre of the conflict, and it pushed all of the Astral Pandas away. For Zeru to resort to using a Sword Art meant that Jin had managed to push the replica to a certain limit. Still, that was what Jin was waiting for. "PANDA YAWNING!" Jin yawned really loudly, releasing a large amount of Maqi which he had accumulated over time. For some reason, he felt that his Maqi generation got better as his training days passed. Ming believed that his body had been healing rather well and his caretakers were already taking into consideration his mana and chi consumption such that they pumped enough for Jin to perform his Panda Yawning technique. In the meantime, with all that trickery, Zeru decided to not bother evading and take the blast head-on. Jin did not expect this course of action but was delighted that his mentor had done so. Mainly because the Panda Yawning technique he used was not the usual energy beam. Instead, it was actually a series of Astral Projections being compressed into a single beam. Jin had initially planned for Zeru to evade, allowing the Panda Astral Projections to make a roundabout and return to attack from his back. But since he was taking the hit, the Panda Astral Projections were damaging him consecutively. For Replica Zeru, Jin believed there was no way he could withstand such an attack head-on. But he was dead wrong. Zeru blew it all away with yet another slash filled with lotus flowers spreading across the air and looked angrily at Jin. In the next moment, more lotus flower petals started to appear around Zeru, and the radius widened. "Okay, that''s enough." Ming clapped once and suddenly the replica dissipated into thin air. "Huh, why?" Jin asked as he was still able to fight since he had yet to suffer any serious injury. "You will die if I let him continue. Trust me, you don''t ever want to be on the receiving end of what he was about to do. Come to think of it, he might not have been the best enemy to be reconstructed for your test." Ming meant that Jin managed to pass Zeru''s threshold, which caused him to move to the next level. "Does that mean I pass?" Jin asked and Ming nodded his head with a smile. "No rewards though. Just permission to leave this place for now. I believe I held you hostage long enough for it to be an interesting scene when you reach back." Ming''s grin started to resemble Kraft''s. "Wait, what?! What about that ultimate form promise?!" Before Jin could get an answer, he was flung back to the real world. "Nah! Was kidding about that, hehe! Don''t forget to check out the video I was talking about!" Ming''s voice turned into an echo for Jin who felt his subconscious plane fading away. Chapter 878 Time Lost Can Never Be Returned His eyes were heavy with the rheum that had accumulated throughout his sleep. His arms were aching when he tried to remove the dried up mucus and Jin felt as if he had been chained down for a very long time. Only after rubbing his eyes did Jin start to realise that his body was incredibly dull and ¡­damp?! "Oh shit¡­" Jin thought to himself as he noticed that it was not just him but the entire place which had been flooded with the dark sludge liquid. It was even more viscous compared to his original iteration, but it was obvious that it was leaking not just around his bed, but it actually broke the door and glass of the room that he was residing in. "JIN!" Peppers shouted angrily as she popped her head out of the room''s window. "THAT HURTS!" The little girl Bellator shouted as she wiped the dark sludge away from her face. "Oh but this is comedy gold!" Peppers laughed while pointing downwards. As the Dungeon Supplier was strapped to his bed, he could not clearly see what was happening. "Shut up!" Milk argued in a disgusted voice as she stood up all drenched in her sleepwear. "Who asked you to change into your sleepwear? You are totally translucent now. So baggy! Ahhahaha!" Peppers continued making fun of her, but Milk showed no mercy and grabbed her. "Sheeesh! Better than the flat slopes that you have!" Milk replied while grinding her fist on top of Peppers'' head. "That was really unexpected¡­" Pei started to remove the formerly white (but now dark chocolate colour) coat and threw it on the floor. "Oh hey¡­ Ladies?" Jin felt something similar to an impending doom when Pei walked closer to him as she folded her shirt sleeves up. But instead of a punch or slap, she actually performed her role as a physician and merely checked his vitals and some other parameters. "Everything seems to be in order," Pei concluded after the last step of the checkup in which she shone light into Jin''s eyes. "Looks like you finally returned. Well, it''s been long enough." Pei heaved out a sigh of relief while trying to remove some of the stains. Not before long, Panda Cleaners started to come in and whiff away all the sludge out of the room while Peppers and Milk decided to return back to their respective rooms for a much needed change of clothes, leaving Pei with Jin alone. "How long have I been out?" Jin asked as he felt his body was stuck on the bed mainly because of the dark sludge overflow. "It''s been decades. At first, the girls stayed at your site, but eventually they had to move on with your life. It took Lynn about 15 years, whereas Qiu Yue stayed here by your side for 4. Nevertheless, both managed to live comparatively happy lives afterwards. Unfortunately, they are no longer with us." Pei answered nonchalantly, but Jin had his jaw dropped. "No way! You are kidding, right? I don''t think that I passed out that long." Jin refused to believe what he had just heard and tried to look around for his phone, but it was nowhere to be found. "We have kept your store going, but after around two years, the customers stopped coming. They could somehow tell that the new instances we introduced lacked the charm of previous versions. Without you, the monsters could not give it their all, so it had to be closed down. Similarly it felt wrong to open up Pandapolis without you, so it hasn''t been used. The only relief you have is the Demon Metropolis. Although that place has been repeatedly invaded because of the new tech we had introduced. So not much left there either." Pei listed everything while checking her nails. The Panda Cleaner picked her coat up, (now all white again thanks to Panda System Magic) and Pei stuck her hand into one of the pockets, picking out his phone. Jin was sitting in the sick bed in awe and could not believe the date on his phone. The timestamp was eighty years from now, and he did not know whether to tear from the fact. "Then the System kept me alive here for these eighty years?" Jin asked. "You''ve achieved a miracle by allowing the System to improve its processing capabilities for the first time in centuries. There was barely anyone that had ever done something like that, and the System believes that you could continue to do so as long as you are kept alive. Speaking of, there''s also the problem, that you are now the only original Panda Clan Member remaining. All the more reason for it to keep you around." Pei shared while she began to unbutton her clothes when the Panda Cleaner gave her a new set of fresh clothes. "Before they left, the System convinced the Sub System Users to part with some of their eggs in a cryofreeze compartment. I, however, recommend you to fertilise them all. Especially since they possessed Sub Systems of their own. Who knows what special genes they might have once the System modified their body to take on the Sub System modules." Pei suggested as she went to a corner and pulled the curtains so that she could change. "I¡­" Jin was at a loss of words, and he ignored the Panda Cleaner''s presence. The cleaners had to pull him out of the bed because of his sudden shock and changed everything except for the monitoring wires that were still on him. "Any preferences on who I should start with? Unfortunately, the System was unable to get the genes of the Tiger Princes. No, it would be more appropriate to call her Ex Tiger Queen. It''s too bad because her firstborn daughter had led the Royal Tigers to another Golden Age, even more so than herself." Pei literally threw her dirty clothes out of the way and wore new ones. "I am not choosing! If anything, I will continue with my work." Jin stated as he leaned on the wall for support. "You sure? It might be best to try to have offspring before it''s too late. Not sure how much your body can handle. This room has been set to dilate time, but that doesn''t mean your body hasn''t aged at all." Pei asked for a confirmation, but Jin shook his head. "I am sure. Just give me some time to process all this information." Jin pleaded. He didn''t know how long it would take him to adjust to the new norm. ¡­ fortunately, he wouldn''t have to find out. "See? I told you, that''s how he would react! Even up until the end, he prioritises work!" A familiar voice was overheard from the broken windows and then a mix of giggling and sighs. "Well, if you had let this play out for a day or two, he might have changed his mind." Pei shrugged her shoulders when she came out from the curtains. "Wait¡­wait, wait! Wait a minute! So, it was ALL a prank? Pei played a prank on me?" Jin''s brain was unable to understand this change. He could only conclude that he had been bamboozled once Qiu Yue and Lynn emerged from their hiding spot, waving their hands even though they were equally drenched in Jin''s dark sludge. "Pei decided to have some revenge on you for making us all worry." Qiu Yue confessed with a smirk. "Welcome back." Lynn bowed a little with a tinge of happiness in her heart and a small tear in the corner of her eye. Chapter 879 Imposter?! "Wait, so you were all in on this? OIII, System is that why you have kept quiet all this while?" Jin questioned in annoyance but got no answer. He waited for the girls to also change clothes before continuing their conversation. "They thought it would fun to make you go cray cray once in a while." Qiu Yue apologised as she quietly checked if she still had any odour from the sludge on her. "Cray Cray?" Pei did not know what that was and could only assume the meaning behind it. "Crazy. A slight slang." Lynn explained as she typed a message for her penguins to bring some food to Jin''s usual dinner table. That table was left empty in their house for a very long time. (Definitely not eighty years long!) "System agreed to Bellator Pei''s idea since there was a 54.79% chance that faced with his own mortality and the passage of time, the User would start to be more proactive in procuring the next generation. Any attempts to wake User had been unsuccessful, even the non subtle ones." The System spoke out while the whole group teleported to Jin''s house. Everything was the same as it is as if there was no change. "What do you mean with non subtle ones?!" Jin asked as he started to check on his body. All he knew there were still needle wounds all over his arms, and that was where it ached the most. "Nothing much to be honest." Pei answered as she was the first to pull the chair out and sat down as if her burdens were lifted away from her. "I first tried to make you regain by inserting chi in specific points of your body. After it failed, I tried the same with accupuncture, and even an aromatherapy hoping that certain smells would wake you up. Without any progress, we tried a more modern version by electrocuting you a few times, hoping to excite your brain waves while not short circuiting your heart." "And you dare to say it so calmly!" Jin could not believe what he heard and decided to dismiss it since he knew there was no use pondering over it. "So how long was I really out? It honestly feels like it was yesterday to me, but it might just as well have been more than a month." "Your timing is impeccable. You sure, you didn''t plan this out? Today''s actually Chinese New Year''s Eve. Well, just the start that is." Qiu Yue pulled her phone out, and it showed 00:23. Jin quickly checked his phone, and the timing had been synchronised properly. "Gosh. That means I was out for nearly two weeks or so." Jin realised as he sat at the end of the table. Soon the penguins arrived, all delighted to see their master was well once more. They had no idea that he was out cold for such a long time and believed what Kraft and the others had said about him being wounded and resting. Only after the penguins had left, Lynn decided to fill him in and not reveal the truth of the matter to his minions. "¡­ So, we inadvertently told them that you were hidden away in some secluded place to recuperate and create the new dungeon instances for this upcoming Chinese New Year Holiday." "Should the System inform Panda Remnant Hou Fei and past Sub System User Yuan about your recovery or does the User prefer being the bearer of good news?" The System asked as it knew that there were a lot of things Jin had to do because of their white lies. While they knew about Jin''s condition, the System felt Jin would need some time to adjust. "Let''s leave that matter for later. Jin is finally awake, and we should use the time together to have the mini celebration for Jin''s recovery first. Besides, I am really hungry now that I know Jin''s okay. Not to mention Jin, who hasn''t had enough to eat for all that time." Qiu Yue commented, and the rest felt the same way too. They all felt as if a heavy load had been lifted off their shoulders since all the signs of Jin being unresponsive had been way too abnormal. "Don''t count us out!" Peppers suddenly chimed in as she came running down the stairs, nearly tumbling over one missed step. Milk had to hold onto the back of her shirt to prevent her from falling flat on her face. "Same here, after giving Jin so much of my blood, I need some food here. But hehe, at least I know I am now one with Jin." Milk said with a blush until she got kicked by Peppers in the stomach. Though it was not that painful, it was surprising that Peppers had learned a trick or two from the Monk class Bellator. "You little rascal! Is this how you repay me after saving you from falling flat on the ground?! Yo- Ooof!" Now another kick to her face which nearly made Milk react with a punch/slap but Jin intervened in time by dragging Peppers away. "My blood is equally as much as yours in him. It disgusts me knowing that! For the Demonic Sag- Mmhmmm." Peppers'' mouth was stuffed with a drumstick which immediately pacified her. "Milk, be a good elder sister. Forgive and forget. She helped you too when you nearly fainted after throwing too much mana into Jin, right?" Pei reminded her and Milk had no choice but to let the little rascal get away with it this time. Fortunately, that anger simmered down the moment a piece of food went into her mouth, and she fell into the laps of heavenly bliss. "So, what is all this blood thing that you guys talked about?" Jin asked, and Pei informed him that he had been suffering from Chi Death Syndrome, which was why he had been unconscious. Moreover, Jin was able to preserve his life because of his unique cultivation. "Sounds bad enough. Sorry to have made you guys worry so much. Also, got to tell you guys something. Remember how¡­erm with regards to the Loopa Ooofpa, we couldn''t find the summoner?" "Yeah, we killed all the Banned Emperor lackeys, yet the monster still rampaged on. We looked everywhere but no mastermind who we could have missed." Milk remembered'' about the incident. "Not your fault. Apparently, he was controlling the monster from within." Jin revealed, and the rest looked at him confused. Even the System had certain queries on how he got such a piece of information. "Oh. Eh fun fact. He fled into me when his life was about to be over. Had to fight him off. Well, I didn''t really exactly best him or anything. Things in my subconscious or unconscious¡­pssh I dun even know which is which. But anyways, they beat them." Jin said, and the rest had problems responding. "Are you okay Jin? Pei, do you wish to check his psych?" Qiu Yue asked as if she did not know whether Jin was blabbering the truth or still suffering from some unknown side effects from the blood transfusion aftermath. "I ¡­am actually a little apprehensive about the situation. Kraft did tell me that Jin had some special plane of subconsciousness which he used to train himself, but I do not exactly know the details. Unlike him, I had mainly focused on defensive psychic usage, so I can''t really dive into someone''s consciousness. You will have to ask him to do that." "Why can''t you just ask the source?" Jin questioned, and Pei shook her head. "Trust my patient who came back from a near death experience?" "More like trusting your boss? Just this once?" "¡­" Pei sighed heavily and nodded her head slowly. (Perhaps with good food, her mood has been alleviated just like with the other female bellators?) "Fine, let''s assume that it is true. So what actually happened?" "He invaded my head because there were no psychic or mental defence barriers, thinking that it would be very easy to go through." "Welp, that''s partially my fault," Pei interjected. "Nah, it''s not your fault. I was the one to agree to your request. No one could have known they had a psychic user amongst them." Jin emphasised. " In any case, he thought he could control my body and pretend to be me-" and suddenly everyone went into battle mode. Even Peppers was holding a drumstick as a wand. "Wait, wait listen. I am myself!" Jin tried to calm the group down, but they were not letting up. "Kraft. We need you." Pei said as she was unsure whether this was really a ruse or not since there were some things she could not detect. "For the beautiful and enchanting Pei to call upon me, there must be some ¨C oh, Master you are back." Kraft said and bowed towards Jin. "Had a good time training?" "That''s not the point, he said there was a Banned Emperor Summoner that was inside his psych. We are not sure whether it''s him or that Banned Emperor Summoner." ""Seriously guys, if I were a fake, would I be stupid enough to share this story with you all?!" Jin questioned with a stone face. "How can we believe you? What if you suddenly call out hand tentacles against us?!" Peppers asked and added that maybe Milk might be delighted. "What?! No! Don''t group me like that!" Milk countered. Kraft immediately walked towards him to size him up and yet Jin was not afraid. He sat back down and ate his supper while Kraft took slow steps and even released a concentrated amount of chi. Suddenly Jin was back to a dark room with a lightbulb, with a gun pointing at him. "What has this period of darkness taught you?" "Thanks to this darkness, it showed me the beauty of light?" Jin joked a little. The next moment he was back in the kitchen and continued with the meal. The rest hadn''t even noticed him disappearing. "How boring. The Jin you talked to is undoubtedly genuine¡­ though I have to say, you''ve changed a lot." Kraft stated with a slight relaxed smirk. Chapter 880 User To System Talk - Part 1 "You noticed?" Jin asked with a weak smile. "Who do you think I am?" Kraft responded, but the rest had no idea what was going on. "So, do you wish the share with the others?" "Maybe later? I''ve kinda been through a lot and would prefer to relax." Jin answered as he continued to munch on some bite-sized snack. "What is he keeping? What is he keeping?" Peppers asked excitedly with her mouth full of food. "I DEMAND ANSWERS, after everything I''ve endured for your sake!" "I also cannot deny that I''m curious." Lynn chuckled. "Peppers at least swallow before speaking, otherwise don''t blame me for denying you seconds!" Lynn remarked as she gave the little magician girl a glass of water so she could swallow her food faster. "Yeah, Jin. You''re basically indebted to all of us." Qiu Yue nodded her head towards Pei, who kept quiet and simply chewed her food. "Talk is cheap, how about a bit of performance instead?" Kraft asked with an even wider smile. He even placed his fingers near No Mercy and Just Business, which indicated to the group that he was serious. "What? Against you? Forget it. There is no way I am able to defeat you, much less spar with you for more than five seconds." Jin vehemently shook his head. "Aww, not even if I limit my powers to your level?" Kraft coaxed as he let go off his hand from Just Business and put it up in the air and yet Jin still sternly refused. He knew how crazy strong his bellators were, and it was basically suicide to think of fighting against any of them. At least with Zeru, he had confidence that his master would hold back¡­ "Jin, no fun! Boo!" Peppers showed a thumbs down and yet that did not incite any feelings inside her master. "The System is also interested to learn what changes have happened with its User. However, that will have to wait. In User''s absence, an outstanding number of issues have piled up and are awaiting input." The System remarked, and Jin was giddily happy inside. Finally, an excuse to keep his newly trained powers a secret a while longer, so he could show them off some other appropriate time. The rest stopped pestering Jin any further and they continued their mini supper until Jin dismissed himself from the table and returned into the Dungeon Maker. "Thank you for your help, System. Since we are alone, I wish to have a heart to heart conversation with you." Jin announced as he sipped some Blue Mountain Coffee and laid lazily on his reclining chair. "While the System does not have a heart per se, System understands the meaning. What does User wish to talk about?" The System queried. "I wish to close down the store in our world." Jin started his conversation with a shocking revelation, yet instead of arguing the System was quietly computing all sorts of solutions with regards to Jin''s decision. "System predicts such a course of action will result in a profit loss of approximately 27% for this month assuming it will be a gradual decline of business closure instead of an abrupt one." "I was intending to close it down after a good night''s rest as soon as everything was done. Preferably by the end of today instead of tomorrow. Only the dungeon supplier store that is. The rest of the shop instances would remain open." Jin emphasised. "Does that mean User would like to move the establishment over to the Dungeon World or Goblin World? Perhaps doing a risky move and moving to the Farming World instead?" The System asked, intending to reduce the number of permutations for its solutions. "Nope. Just a full-on closure." Jin stated, and the System stopped calculating. "Has User given up on his dream of becoming the Number One Dungeon Supplier?" System asked. "Not really, but judging from the current situation, it appears that the shop and I have been tangled into loads of unwanted political stuff. To resolve that, I suggest we cut off as many ties to this world as possible." "While it is User''s dungeon supplier shop, what does User intend to do with regards to the upcoming Cultivation Zoo and JODE advanced training centre?" The System questioned. "You promised Ex Sub System User Yuan and such a promise should not be broken." "I will have to talk to Grandma Yuan about it. Judging from our performance at Huizhou, I believe we can bargain for a better deal under our conditions. As for the Zoo¡­ I still plan to create it, but I have some other ideas in mind." "Speak freely." The System asked of Jin, since it was unable to comprehend Jin''s sudden decisions and its predictive analysis were hitting a wall. "I am concerned about the future if we continue as we did. While it is nice to increase the cultivation of our customers, this might ultimately lead to our downfall. Whatever the customer do with their strength might inadvertently relate to us." "But that is what Dungeon Suppliers are meant to do." The System rebutted. "What other dungeon supplier store can boast about the efficiency we do? Let''s just take a look at the Pandawans. Xiong Da had been at Grade 1 when he came to me and yet he is now at Grade 5 in a matter of months. While that is still acceptable given his age, the high schoolers are not that far off with their cultivation. If this trend continues, they might actually get as strong as our Generals and could rival the Heads, perhaps even by the end of the year." Jin reasoned. "A reasonable concern-" The System agreed, but Jin interrupted it. "You might be thinking that it might not be our responsibility. After all, we are merely providing the means, but seeing how this world continuously tangles us into its politics, its factions and people¡­ I don''t doubt that there will come a time when we will have to acknowledge that we had played a role in whatever happens." Jin continued. While the System understood Jin''s point of view, it was still unsure what Jin intended to do. There was no easy way to prevent cultivators from increasing their grades because that was how the System''s dungeon instances had been designed. They could make the minions and monsters more difficult for the cultivators to kill, thereby limiting the amount of spirit power taken in, yet that would definitely turn off a lot of customers. "How does User intend to fix that?" The System asked. "Remember how Ke Loong- wait, speaking about Ke Loong, I plan to stop that whole portal thing too. It was necessary to deal with the Monster Horde, but I fear it''s too convenient and it might tip the scales of the economy as well as unbalance society way too much. Sea Mesh is not ready for such fortune and possible backlash despite them being a fairly successful company." "Then what does User suggest?" The System repeated its question. "We got Ke Loong''s promise to help us start Panda Inc. Instead of relying on them, I am suggesting we build a virtual reality network." "System does not comprehend." "A Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Game." Jin said, and if the System had a mouth, its jaw would have dropped. Chapter 881 User To System Talk - Final "The prospects in this endeavour might be grand, yet System feels the need point out that the amount of work that is required to fulfil User''s plan is enormous and the accumulated work so far might be rendered somewhat useless." The System analysed after a moment of silence. "I thought you might say that. However, if we make the very first VRMMORPG in this world, we can instantly reach hundreds of thousands of people and allow them to play our dungeons. There will be no need to solely confine everything to this store." Jin argued while he shared his thoughts from the reclining chair. "On top of that, nothing is stopping us from exporting these virtual reality machines to other worlds and increase the customer base that way. They will be able to play and interact with the cultivators from our world or the demons from the Dungeon World. Connecting people''s lives and bringing them together? Isn''t that part of the purpose of a Dungeon Supplier as well?" "This also ties to the main reason for slowing down the rate of growth of our cultivators. I intend to work on some proper reward achievements, but it will at least include a voucher allowing customers to attend our ''secret'' shop where they can really practice their cultivation." "So, the VRMMORPG will actually be like a grinding mechanism for them to earn the rights to get to User''s real shop with the current dungeon instances intact?" The System questioned. "Exactly! That way, we can cut contact with most people and allow people through invitations or by the meritocracy of their hard work. At the same time, we can continue to create dungeons and supply them. Our upcoming Island Instances can pretty much be used as a template for the starting locations for the players. As for the dungeon content and such, we can pretty much use the dungeons from the Dungeon World and copy-paste them over, perhaps with some changes. We can also try out experimental builds for the dungeons for the secret shop in reality." "Honestly, System feels that is a very loose interpretation of being a Dungeon Supplier but still not an invalid one." The System concluded. "Our dungeon instances have been bordering to a virtual reality simulation, so will it be that much different?" Jin questioned, and now with new answers and explanations, the System created a permutation of scenarios. "User seems to underestimate the difficulty of his request. It was one thing to allow cultivators to enter the dungeon who all come to a place under the System''s jurisdiction. Judging on User''s vision of our new business route, we need Virtual Simulators to be portable and compact, and most importantly they need to be able to connect to a space even if they are on the other side of the world, or potentially from a different world entirely. At the very least System is able to search for products in the Black Market with these specifications but there are only a few models available. Just like with the potions or any other products they will rise in cost if the sellers notice System starting to buy batches of them." "I vaguely remember Ayse had some lost tech on it so I can ask her about it. Also, Rei is from the Mecha World. They are more advanced than us, so they should have some VR technology on his planet, right? And that is excluding worlds that have such technology as their main staple for gaming or life. Surely we can travel to such worlds to get it." Jin retorted. "While the System has no qualms about letting User enter a new world, System would like to remind User about his history of poking his nose into every major conflict situation of the worlds he had visited, with the only exception being the one the Shadow Dagen originated from. Until User has dealt with the problems of those worlds at hand, System will not entertain such a request." "Just another good reason to close the shop for now." Jin agreed, yet the System begged to differ. "On the contrary, with such a grand endeavour, System cannot recommend User to close his shop. We will require the customers'' aid before everything is set up." "But we have Claire to help us win stocks that are worth thousands of dungeon dollars, right? We can use that money for investment. Even without factoring in Claire, we still have Demon Metropolis and Pandapolis too." "That is assuming User wishes to proceed with the opening of Pandapolis and allow the Church of the Afterlife''s agents to infiltrate." System reminded Jin. "Urgh, yet another set of politics¡­" Jin grumbled and started to see where the System was coming from when he said he handled all the current worlds first before moving ahead. "Exactly. The money that Intern Claire might have gotten us is only a temporary measure as well. It will not sustain us in the long run, especially when we have another upcoming war." The System warned. "Unlike governments, the System does not have any bonds to sell to keep the production afloat. System and User have to use our own pocket money to purchase items. And most of our wars and battles are for good causes. Please remember that the cultivators are the ones footing some of the bills to offload our expenses." "But earlier you claimed they only made up 27% profit or somewhere around that line¡­" "For this particular month and perhaps the next since we received major rewards for getting the Demon Metropolis. There are expenses attached to them as well. Therefore, the System asks User to please reconsider his decision to close the shop." The System emphasised, and Jin repeatedly brought up the concern that the cultivators might get too strong in the future. "Then all the User has to do is to create the Virtual Reality as soon as possible so he can keep his shop as a secret reward for them to enter." The System countered, and Jin felt this would be another overwhelming task he imposed on himself. "However, while System is a multitude of beings all with the same goal to revive the Panda Clan, System shall give its un-humbled opinion to not forgo the links User made so far. While they may be troublesome, System''s analysis proves that they will be worth the trouble in the future." "Even though it will come as exposing them to the truth? We might get exploited, you know? Unlike those Royal Clans, we do not have the prestige preventing others from doing. Power maybe and perhaps we have some connections to rely on especially our links with other worlds, but without a doubt, if they come together they can crush us." Jin finally revealed the real reason why he insisted on this VR component. "Not just my world but others too. None will take kindly to a superpower even if it helps them when they can use the superpower to dominate others. I''ve finally come to understand your point of view of wanting to stay hidden, but now you are rejecting me? That''s honestly something new." "Make no mistake. System was doubtful about the idea, but that does not mean System does not assess the risk consistently." The System rebutted. "System does not outright reject User''s proposal. In fact, System is supportive and only wishes to point out the flaws of the current plan. If anything, System sees the potential the User has in making use of his current connections and achieving better immunity against his potential enemies. In short, System believed the trouble to glory will be worth it¡­ though it has to follow a proper procedure first." "Heh for you to think further than me. That''s more like the System." Jin thought about it a moment and smiled. "Naturally. All for the glory of the Panda Clan." Chapter 882 A Dinner Reques After that serious discussion, Jin took some consideration of what the System had said and decided to continue on with the shop (not that he could close it without the System''s approval in the first place). When he was training with Ming, he had thought a lot about how his actions would have repercussions and even discussed some of them at length with Ming during his grandfather''s break. (Yeah, Jin was not given any breather unless he was near death. Like literally near death. Alas, that was not as seldom as he would have liked) While Ming did provide some insight, he too did not explicitly have any biased opinions and wished for Jin to forge a path himself. It was mainly because he knew the System had its own agenda, but hearing Jin talk about the System in recent times, gave him hope that the System would at least consider the concerns of the last living Panda Clan member. Thus, Jin continued to slog throughout the night, refining the new shop instance which he had put off for quite some time so that it could coincide with the Chinese New Year. In the meantime, he promised himself that his priority was to get the Virtual Reality platform up and running so that they could dominate the world''s gaming market. The Dungeon Supplier had already used the System to check on his world''s development on Virtual Reality, and unsurprisingly, they were nowhere near a full-body dive experience like it was portrayed in certain novels. He figured it was because of the existence of dungeon suppliers that most people do not think it was worth it to develop a working virtual simulation, let alone a full scale virtual reality network. Now that he have the capital to work things out, as well as possible tools with the advent of Pandapolis to do so, there is a high chance he could steamroll the process. Unfortunately, he might not have the expertise. "But I should not worry about that for now." Jin thought to himself as the System presented him a checklist of things to complete. They were sorted in order of priority and on the top of the list was informing Grandma Yuan and Hou Fei about his wellbeing. True enough, when he opened his System channel and gave them a morning call, both of them hurriedly teleported into the Dungeon Maker to see Jin in the flesh. "Seriously, if you go off earlier than Grandma Yuan, Ming will undoubtedly haunt me in this and the afterlife." Hou Fei rebuked Jin, unaware that Grandma Yuan had teleported in right after him. "I hear you. Hou Fei." Grandma Yuan replied with a mild angry tone. "Oops." Hou Fei made an ''Oh shit'' face in front of Jin before turning behind and humbly greeting ''Big Sister'' Yuan with a hasty bow. Even Jin could feel the guilt of Hou Fei being caught talking about her. However, the anger accumulated within her right now was not aimed at the Panda Remnant but instead to Jin. Her Gleaming Griffin Cultivation flared up, and Jin quickly knelt down on both knees and pulled his ears as if he was willing to accept his punishment since he understood where he went wrong. "As if I will believe you!" Grandma Yuan spoke, and her metaphysical Griffin silhouette flew towards Jin and pulled him upwards. With this metaphysical chi form, her Golden Griffin was still able to materialise without using too much chi. "Did Ming never teach you about something called restraint?!" Grandma Yuan''s temper was off the roof, and Hou Fei tried to calm her down. "Big Sis Yuan, it''s best to calm down especially so early in the morning¡­" "Tomorrow is the New Year, if I do not vent my anger out now, I might carry it forward to the next year. That is ominous and bad for luck, so don''t stop me!" Grandma Yuan replied, and Jin just kept quiet and continued to apologise. Were it not for his knowledge that he might really die because that was seemingly part of the deal upon inheriting the System, Jin would have shrugged Grandma Yuan''s shouting off as an angry rant. Grandma Yuan should be aware of that serious drawback, making her genuinely concerned about him, so he quietly accepted the scolding that Grandma Yuan had for him. "I am really, really sorry. I will take more care for my actions next time and will do my best to not make you worry like before." Jin apologised profusely, and somehow Grandma Yuan felt that he was indeed truly apologetic for his actions. She sighed heavily and turned away from him. However, the Golden Griffin was not as compassionate as its master. Even with just a metaphysical form, it pecked its beak onto Jin''s head after releasing him. As if signalling him not to do anything too rash in the future. Before it dissipated into nothingness, the Golden Griffin also stared at Hou Fei since he was the one responsible for calling Jin into action in this particular incident. And despite the heavy atmosphere, Jin broke the awkward silence with a request. "I was wondering if you two are willing to come to join us for reunion dinner? I know Hou Fei might be busy since he has a family, but Grandma Yuan, if you have the time¡­" "Hahaha. I can come for a while since my wife recently went for her business trip again, making me stuck with an empty house. But my soldiers would want me to join them for a feast too, so I might have to leave a bit earlier." Hou Fei agreed as he knew that he had obligations to show his face since he was after all a Panda Remnant. "¡­I will come. Tell Claire the details." Grandma Yuan said with her back facing away from them, but she secretly had a small grin in her face. The System teleported her away upon her request, leaving Hou Fei with Jin. "Master! I seriously thought you were a goner for a minute!" Hou Fei sighed as he grabbed Jin by his shoulders and rubbed his head quite a bit. Hou Fei was relieved that the period of intensity was finally over. "Hahah. I also thought that I was gonna get chewed inside out by that Golden Griffin." Jin could literally feel his legs shaking. "Honestly, there are so many things I want to ask, but most importantly, how are you?" Hou Fei asked. "Actually, I never felt better. My body feels renewed, and I am touched that my friends and comrades selflessly sacrificed their time and blood trying to save me." Jin responded as he let Hou Fei sit at the side of the table in the Dungeon Maker. "I see¡­ So, have you seen the news for the aftermath?" Hou Fei queried and Jin shook his head. "There were a few things I needed to prepare since I woke up way too late. If it isn''t too much of a problem, mind giving me a quick breakdown of events?" "Well¡­where should I even start?" Hou Fei stifled a chuckle and later asked the System if it could provide images or videos to help explain the current situation to Jin. Chapter 883 No Thank You. "First off, thank you. What you did for the community is greatly appreciated. On behalf of the Royal Tiger and Snake Battalion, we wish to reward your bravery with -" "Stop right there. I don''t need anything other than what was contracted. Sorry, if it sounds heartless, but I do not want to have any more ''rewards'' that might entail further strings attached." Jin stated bluntly, and Hou Fei laughed. "I guess you are right. For an outsider, we had been too reliant on your powers but understand that you alone have brought a wave of massive relief to our community. Even if those higher-ups don''t acknowledge that, I do. That is why I really want you to accept the reward because I know what it feels like to be unappreciated." Hou Fei explained. "No, I think you misunderstand my intentions. You are right that I should help people because I have the power to do so. Still, I am also a human and have to look out for my own interest. If I intervene as I did during that Monster Horde, people are bound to find out about the System. That is my main concern." Jin emphasised. "I can bluff only so much, and I know if someone is interested in something, they can go extraordinary lengths to achieve it." "Well¡­ you are definitely not wrong. The System is an omnipotent device." Hou Fei nodded and was immediately interrupted by the System. "The System is not a device and has the power to reject people from using it." "But it does not have the power to prevent me from dying if they kill me." Jin thought to himself, yet he kept quiet about it. Even though Hou Fei is a Panda Remnant, the less people knew about that truth, the safer it would be for Jin. "Then you do not have to worry that much, right? You already have my backing even though it doesn''t account for much when compared with Grandma Yuan''s. And let''s assume that we are not there for you, you still have unparalleled bellators watching over your back. The previous incident has proven sufficiently that you have enough firepower to win against most people." Hou Fei reassured him. "Admit it, you''ve been quietly holding your powers back a hell lot despite that show of strength. And when push comes to shove, you technically have an army of minions at your command. Honestly, if I were to put you in the middle of a Triad Gang War right now, you would dominate each and every one of them. Heck, you probably can win against a Royal Zodiac Clan Turf War if you play your cards right." "Perhaps¡­ but not without putting the System in the limelight." Jin said even though he knew what Hou Fei implying was the worst-case scenario. "Actually, you might be wrong about it. I have put in some time to research how to make a cover for you in case shit hits the fan and apparently, you already have everything to play the role." Hou Fei held his phone and showed Jin a picture of an ancient manuscript. "In ancient China, there was this Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard who travelled alongside the infamous Lu Guan Yu, the one who changed the laws of nature and made the world into what it is right now. According to these old scripts, he had the power to create monsters out of nothing and protected Guan Yu from his enemies." "Hmm? I don''t remember Guan Yu having such a comrade alongside him." Jin said as he asked the System if it was true especially since the super-entity should have lived through that particular era. "System does not have the full story. During that period of time System''s Users had gone into hiding. However, there should be some truth to Hou Fei''s story. In fact, some might call this Grandmaster as the one who invented the job of Dungeon Supplier." The System stated. "Then why is this the first time I am hearing about him?" Jin asked, and Hou Fei can only deduce the reason. "Because he literally aided Guan Yu to reach Grade 20. By letting him fight monsters that he could never imagine before, hence allowing him to reach the pinnacle and unfathomable Grade 20." Hou Fei theorised. "At least that should be the case according to that diary of one of Guan Yu''s companions." "Panda Remnant Hou Fei might not be wrong. It would make sense for that Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard to not want other cultivators hounding him day and night if they managed to learn of Guan Yu''s method of reaching Grade 20. System recalls hearing hearsays about a Grandmaster who remained unbeatable at that period of time. Without such convenient external help, it would also explain why there was never another reported Grade 20 Cultivator." The System explained. "Oh really? Here it says that Guan Yu eventually had to hunt his friend for ''betraying'' him. Those monsters that were used to safeguard mankind turned against them. Some at first thought it was a temporary loss of control, but the writer of that diary indicated that the Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard might have been gone senile with mental disease. Thus, the loss of control of the Guardian Monsters." Hou Fei shared what he had learned. "And by summoning despicable monsters known to mankind, it ultimately boiled down to Guan Yu having a fight against his old friend. However, instead of gathering an army to defeat him, Guan Yu went to fight against him alone as repayment for his friend''s help. The diary doesn''t go in-depth, but after a week he had returned and asked his companions to forget about the Grand Summoner." Hou Fei added that the diary still wished to honour the memory of that person. "System does find some plausibility in that ancient manuscript''s content. Rumours and gossip from that era coincide with Guan Yu ''losing'' a friend. Maybe that was the way Guan Yu had chosen to keep his friend''s powers anonymous." The System remarked. "Heh, and can you guess the name of that Grand Summoner?" Hou Fei smiled when he asked Jin. "How would I know? As I said, this was literally the first time I heard about him." Jin did not exactly understand why Hou Fei was smiling. "Mo Lo Jin." Chapter 884 Lots of Catching Up "No shit!" Jin shook his head in disbelief. "It must be just an oddly wrapped coincidence that you have the same name as the Grandmaster Summoner that walked alongside Guan Yu. Unless Ming had found that manuscript as well and convinced your parents to name you as such. And erm that sounds like quite the stretch seeing as Jin is too common a name." Hou Fei shrugged his shoulders. "Although it''s quite ironic how we not only share being ''Grandmaster Summoners'' but both of us wish to keep our monster summoning skills a secret to the point of wishing to escape reality." Jin pointed out the obvious and Hou Fei realised he shot himself in the foot. For wanting to prove to Jin that he should not be afraid of his powers, he eventually solidified his point. "However, unlike my namesake, I have different plans on how I want to deal with matters at hand." Jin changed the topic a little and presented Hou Fei with the Virtual Reality concept that he told the System about. "You want¡­to create a Virtual Reality Console so that people can pay and enjoy your dungeons?" Hou Fei asked as confirmation. "It might work for the younger generation, but I doubt many who are working will be interested. As for retirees¡­ can you imagine someone like Ming playing video games? At least with your dungeons, people had more of an incentive to come and play since they could increase their cultivation." "Hehe, I have already thought about it. True on its own, it would be just a ''game'', but what if one of the benefits of playing such a Virtual Reality MMORPG would be that by earning enough points one could have the chance to play my actual dungeons in the real world. That way, I will have customers from all over the world too. After all, I want to be the Number One Dungeon Supplier fast and not like in 20+ years. According to the pathetic ranking that the System had given me, I am still in the six digits ranking." Jin said and explained his rationale to Hou Fei. "I see¡­ if you put it that way, even I might be tempted to try it out. You are right, if people perceive the opportunity to improve their cultivation at a very fast pace as something of a hidden bonus, they might mistake it as something like a gimmick to get them hooked into playing the game. I see your point that if things continue not just the Royal Clans but the entire world would seek after you." Hou Fei also started to consider things from a military perspective. Not only would Jin be highly sought after, but the State Agents would also have a handful keeping him in check in order to make sure that other national intelligence agencies could not get to him and win him over¡­ or simply abduct him. "So, you have started worrying about the big picture after all this time. And here I thought you meant you are just afraid to mingle with the Royal Zodiac Clans." "I believe I told you that I do not necessarily treat the Royal Zodiac Clan with disdain. As long as they don''t try to control me that is. I can''t deny that they prove to be a convenient tool to rise in society. Even the System started to see it that way and has kept its grudge of destroying them aside for the moment. Not entirely, but it''s a start. Also, that whole Monster Horde incident stemmed from Banned Emperor lackeys. I doubt we have seen the last of them, so befriending the Royal Zodiac Clans should be better in the long run. Besides, our ancestors banded together to fight against him, right?" "And have the others been notified of this grand plan of yours?" Hou Fei asked and Jin shook his head. "I was planning to tell them tonight at the reunion dinner. Thought I''d run the whole idea through you and check if you have any inputs. Especially since you have a wider view of the world and military experience. But based on our conversation, you merely reinforced my stance of needing to create a ''buffer''. Not just against this country but towards the entire world before they gain a taste of real levelling." Jin chuckled, and Hou Fei smiled with a nod. "Speaking of this country, it looks like I got sidetracked a little on the matters I wished to inform you about." Hou Fei remarked. "Even if you do not wish to take the rewards that I had prepared, people are still looking for you." "The State Agents?" Jin asked as he recalled that Mr Know-It-All had promised to bring Ryuli to his shop who wished to learn the truth about their encounter, even though she suspected that the one she had met wasn''t Jin but someone she perceived as his master. "Well, I did have a bit of talk with Agent K. He managed to find out that the two of us share some connection, so he asked me whether I knew when you would be back. Looks like he really wants to talk to you." "That particular State Agent has been staying inside the shop for long periods of time ever since User''s disappearance. It appears he has made your shop into his ''hangout'' area. Other State Agents of similar calibre have been moving in and out of the shop to meet him for reports in the Restaurant Train Instance. System does not mind such a customer per se, but whether he is aware of us watching him is another issue entirely." The System spoke out. "Has Kraft tried to probe him?" Jin asked, knowing that his Director of Extreme Spying had a penchant of taking matters into his own hands. "Not that System is aware of. Original Bellator Kraft might have gathered enough information just like how he did in regards to the Banned Emperor Assassin and deemed it unnecessary to act." The System replied. "As for the female individual State Agent called Ryuli, so far she had only entered the shop premise once and hasn''t come back since. Enhanced audio playback revealed that the female agent was disappointed in Agent K for failing to uphold his promise. Her information in the national database had been locked, but Original Bellator Kraft somehow managed to pull her data out. While System had not received any updates on the information, User can ask him, since he had also shown a vast interest in investigating Ryuli''s past." "Nevermind, I will ask him about it during the reunion dinner when I have the chance." "State Agents aside, the Tiger General wished to thank you personally for sending help. He had previously extended an invitation to dinner at his home to me and requested you to join us at your earliest convenience. I had also spoken to Ke Loong since the military had to return the portals. He was very happy with your product¡­ but not very happy once he realised the portal devices had been deactivated after the entire incident. Your people reportedly told them that it was your prerogative to do so." "Ah yea, I do remember giving them the instructions to turn it off unless I said otherwise. And since I was out cold for a long time, they just followed protocol." Jin replied and hoped that Ke Loong had kept the dungeon supplier''s condition in mind to not create any more portal devices until they had sufficient data on the portal devices. Realistically, Jin already anticipated Ke Loong to have ignored him. Still, knowing that businessman, he would have taken the initiative to do up a plan to sweeten the deal for Jin so he could sell those portals en mass. "I will speak to the Sea Mesh CEO when I have the chance. For now, it won''t hurt him to believe I am absent a while longer. I will consider that dinner invitation, but I make no promises." Jin said, and Hou Fei later showed Jin the aftermath of the city. The damage in the cities along the Dongguan-Huizhou Border Walls had already been taken care of. Most of the Border Walls had also been repaired and strengthened. Veteran Border Guards had also been deployed from all over the country to fill in the ranks until their local platoons had their numbers increased again. But more importantly, the forest was in a mess, especially in Dongguan where entire acres of forests had been burnt to the ground. And that was also the time when the System interrupted and told Jin about the deal it made with the Spirits of the Land. Chapter 885 First Step Into The New Direction "Your deal with the Spirits of the Land?" Jin asked, and Hou Fei thought he should better leave. After all, he had already accomplished what he came here for and didn''t want to intrude on any of the System''s secrets. "Panda Remnant Hou Fei, please stay. User will need your cooperation to fulfil the obligation from the deal that had been struck." The System pointed out. "Geh! Should have run away faster¡­ Fine, what is it?" Hou Fei reluctantly but quietly accepted and listened to the System telling its User about the iteration of the conditions which the Spirits of the Land had placed. "We have to repopulate the forest? Well, that should be easy enough but getting back the wildlife might pose a problem¡­" Jin put his hand to his chin and thought about how to tackle this issue. "The System is in possession of many specimens of wildlife after the Bone Spirit Demons had left their bodies. System believes they could be released in a timely manner to the wild to repopulate the area. After some more analysis that is." "Ah, I think I see what the System is getting at. Since you have Sandy, the Sand Witch and Shu, that grumpy treant, we should be easily able to revive the forests along the borders of Dongguan and Huizhou. Still, if you do it overnight, it will cause yet another newsworthy phenomenon like your giant tree¡­ unless my battalion is involved. Am I right?" Hou Fei concluded. "Affirmative, Panda Remnant Hou Fei catches on the topic at hand fast." The System sent an applauding emoji through the Dungeon Maker interface. "Doing it overnight is way too insane. One single tree is one thing, but an entire forest will lead to all the mages around the world coming to investigate what kind of magic we are hiding especially since our country has a cultivator centric society." Hou Fei considered. "I suggest we do it in stages, that way we can have guards protecting your Sand Witch who I will hire as an external contractor alongside her ''pet'' treant while they do their magic." "Animals wise, I will see if Grandma Yuan can play a part and ''acquire'' the wildlife we captured. I think we can use the same trick and as long as she claims to have acquired it via her sources, nobody should look into the matter too much. Especially since she is part of the Cultivation Zoo stakeholders, it should not prove to be much of a problem." Jin suggested. "That is assuming you get her to agree after making her worry that much." Hou Fei chuckled. "Well, you can help me play the pity card since the destruction of the forest is also partially her fault." Jin shrugged while giving his opinion and Hou Fei shook his finger. "Dangerous card to play but hmmm¡­ since you are my master, and you did aid me when I needed you the most, I shall be the sacrificial lamb for this matter." Hou Fei sighed before looking at the time. "Sorry I got to go. System, please keep me updated when you want me to get Sandy and Shu to come out." Hou Fei requested for a teleport back to his house. "Now that he is gone, I would like to ask you something. When you said to release the animals to the forest, I am assuming that you plan to merely let them walk around or something, right? Or are you really releasing them out of our control?" "Till now, the System has not released any captured monsters or minions. If the System deems that it is nearing capacity, it will selectively reject or accept monsters into System''s control." "In short, you are basically a massive hoarder until you really have no space?" Jin tried to rephrase its explanation to get a confirmation. "¡­ System reserves any comments on User''s statement." "Then what about the Demons we captured in Demon Metropolis? Have you also released them back to their ''living habitat'' or are they still under captivity?" Jin queried while continuously used air quotes on words that he deemed too sensitive. "System shall overlook User''s way of speaking and answer his question. Panda Remnant Rex had forged a fake deal with Moloch. As part of the agreement, those who lost will have to work for Pandapolis. This was just a tiny clause in the huge cooperation deal between the two major cities. They have been allowed to go back to their families, but when duty calls, they will be activated to serve the needs for both Demon Metropolis and Pandapolis." The System stated. "That is quite a nifty deal. Didn''t expect Rex to think of such things. Wait, how come you call him Panda Remnant and not Bellator?" "Panda Remnant Rex proves more useful in an administrative role. He used to be a successful diplomat back when he was in service of Panda Lord Zhou Lin. System had expected nothing less from him and felt the need to reward his contribution." "Well, at least this morning has been productive enough." Jin leaned back on his chair and thought about a few matters moving forward before starting the day. "The new shop instance is done. I can put it out soon enough for the upcoming New Year celebration as well as the new dungeon instance. The Spiralling Sewers Instance is a sleeper hit but we should keep an eye on the data to see if we need to tweak the difficulty a little more. Resources wise, we are still in the green¡­ So that''s manageable¡­ And the Adventurer Town in Goblin World is self-sufficient enough to close an eye. Please tell Zhi Nu that she is managing it well and maybe give her a bonus in the near future. Hmm, Pandapolis maintenance repairs are still ongoing, but it should be done within a week or so. Ah, ¨C nearly forgot I need to start increasing the Adventurers'' Town Dungeon Cave''s difficulty." Jin mumbled to himself continuously that the System had to interject its opinion at times in case he forgot something vital. "Do remember that increasing difficulty will result in their deaths and subsequently the service to the System." The System reminded promptly. "Hahah, I know that. And right now, I think we need some manpower too. If we are to create that Virtual Reality MMORPG, we need to get our Open World Instance well developed. We can perhaps use those adventurers as our Alpha Testers. How about we start selling special charms which will allow them to not die when going into the lower levels? Those who pay for it will get transported into the Virtual Reality network and get kicked out if they die. Those who don''t¡­ oh well, more diverse minions I guess." Jin suggested. "While King Baal''s Crown has increased the System''s processing capability substantially, it will not be enough for the User''s plans on its own. Therefore, it would be best for User to get the Mecha World Titan''s Brain too. It will improve the System''s operation in maintaining the Open World Instance." The System gave its very biased recommendations. "Figures you would use that opportunity to strengthen yourself. Well, I am asking something major from you, so I can''t deny that request. According to your data, we might handle a few thousand people, but if we go live with the VR network, we will need more than that by a hundred times at the very least." Jin sighed as he sat straight up from his chair and started to note down the things he should do in terms of urgency. "If System recovers to at least 40% processing power, the output would be exponential enough to handle a China based server." The System said, and Jin got curious instantly. "You can handle at least hundreds of thousands of people with 40% processing power? Then what''s another few hundred thousand from overseas?" Jin asked. "The System''s ''roots'' are in China. In order to spread to other countries it would require the System to create nodes similar to the Dungeon Cores. Only with Sub System Server Nodes can the System move to countries further than our current borders without excessively stretching its processing powers. What''s more, the System can place its existing processing capabilities into those server nodes, and technically that will allow the System to have more than 100% processing power." "Probably that means your cap limit can be raised further. Interesting¡­" Jin commented. "Exactly. System shall look forward to the day that User helps it overcome the initial limit System had." That was a long term goal to keep in mind but and of all the pending matters, the first agenda on his list was the Chinese New Year''s Eve reunion dinner. He was not just preparing to enjoy it with his family of bellators and Sub System Users but also wished to include his minions. After the stark epiphany he had during his party time in the Adventurer''s town pub, he had decided to make this reunion dinner a little different from the Christmas Bash they previously held. Chapter 886 Changing of Personal Priorities "Is this enough?" Lynn asked Qiu Yue as they were getting ready for the reunion dinner. They were aware that they would just go down to their usual dinner place inside the house, but it was a rare chance to wear traditional dresses for the occasion. "Hmm, it''s still a bit too bland. Hold on, let me try something." Qiu Yue answered as she helped the Lady Chef, who was ignorant in such matters apply some more makeup. She grabbed the foundation brush and gently took some mild pink rose makeup and started to puff Lynn''s cheeks up a bit. "Lipstick wise, I think these natural colours will bring out your natural charm." Qiu Yue advised as she opened her cabinet stash and took a couple of sticks out for Lynn to choose from. "But those won''t give me a bombastic and loud look like yours¡­" Lynn pouted, as she was a bit jealous that she could not pull off such a bright and bold tone. "Don''t worry, I will make you as pretty as me in your own way. Treat it as my thank you for helping me pick this lovely cheongsam dress. " Qiu Yue snickered as she pointed to the black long cheongsam dress with red panda tinted designs on the cloth. Lynn was similarly wearing a floral sakura kimono in respect to her nationality, and with small, cute penguins hiding behind the sakura flowers. But compared to the traditional ones, she had it easy because of the quick wear mechanism which her Sub System developed as a side perk for its user. Once Lynn had applied the lipstick, the Penguin Queen took the initiative to help the Red Panda Tactician do up her hair into a cute, neat bun while Qiu Yue continued with her makeup process. "It might sound weird to say it now but¡­ honestly, the more I work with Jin, the more I feel at peace rather than in love¡­" Qiu Yue suddenly blurted out after Lynn had barely started to work on her hair. "Mhmm." Lynn did not know how to reply. To make things worse, the table mirror in front of them betrayed Lynn''s not so subtle expression to Qiu Yue. "Here I thought you would be more relieved after hearing this." Qiu Yue laughed at Lynn''s stunned expression. "I am telling you that I am retiring from that meaningless competition for Jin''s affection." "This must be another trick of yours, isn''t it?" Lynn said the first thing that came to her mind. She had never expected that just aiding each other with their clothes would turn so serious. "I just figured a new year, a new me. Haha. Maybe it was Pei''s little trick on Jin that opened my eyes, but I do not want to be a burden to him. You know that we used to be a couple, right? I''ve known him long enough to see that he really does not seem to be in the mood of getting into a relationship¡­ at least not back with me. Perhaps a tiny part of him still blames me for dumping him back then¡­ Anyway, I just decided that I would rather concentrate on getting some achievement for myself." Qiu Yue explained as she closed her lips and checked the brightness of her own lipstick. "Unlike you, Ms. Prodigy Cook, who has already trained to be a professional cook, I have yet to find a niche." "Please, you''ve worked for the government before you joined Jin. You took control over the economy of the Goblin and Orc Kingdom and single-handedly oversaw the construction plans of Pandapolis. Don''t those count as amazing achievements under your belt? Not to mention, you aided in the defence of Pandapolis by leading hundreds of minions under your command. What more could you want?" After Lynn tied Qiu Yue''s hair into a bun, she inserted a red panda hairpin at the side. "Heh, I feel like I should have done more. In the end, wasn''t it Jin and Kraft''s troupe who handled the Big Bad Boss? I''ve even asked my Sub System how my odds would have been in his shoes. It told me it was 0%. It might be able to boost my but not to such a level. Not unless my base strength improves by a lot. Don''t tell Jin, but in recent weeks, I''ve been training with Tsu and Kai." Qiu Yue shared as she placed her index finger on her mouth while facing the mirror. "Oh¡­ no wonder there were some days I could not contact you. I erm¡­thought you did not want to talk to me when I visited Jin in his ward." Lynn decided to also be open with her, saying some things she had dared to say before. "True I was worried about him. Especially the first few days, but I saw the bellators were taking great care of him, so I decided that I would trust them and instead of moping around I would take this time off from Jin''s constant blabbering of requests to improve myself." Qiu Yue replied as she had felt inadequate after the fight against the Demon Rats. While she did amicably well, there had been many times that she got rescued by the Orcs and Goblins around her, some of them paying for it with their lives. Though one could say that she had developed good teamwork to overcome the mounting odds, she felt that she could have done better. Acknowledging her own lack of power, the Red Panda Cultivator had personally decided to look for mentors to help improve on her combat skills. Naturally, Tsu and Kai were quite surprised when the Sub System User approached them for training, but they were nevertheless happy to help. She had chosen a perfect time, as the twin brothers were also giving martial art classes to the beast kids of the Paradiso Prison. However, the only condition that Tsu and Kai gave to Qiu Yue was that she had to unlearn all the knowledge she accumulated and follow the same training pattern that the Wolf brothers had given the beast kids. "Then what about the cultivation manual that the System has given you?" Lynn asked, and Qiu Yue smiled. "They told me not to worry about it. While I would learn their basics first, Tsu would subsequently follow up with the cultivation manual given to me. I don''t know about Zeru, but those two are seriously demanding teachers." Qiu Yue sighed when thinking about it. Seeing as she was done, she swapped places with Lynn. "Now it''s my turn to do your hair a little." Similar to Qiu Yue''s red panda accessory hairpin, Lynn also had a penguin hairpin. Still, instead of a bun, Qiu Yue tied a simple ponytail for her fellow Sub System User. "So, don''t worry about me and go for Jin. Just don''t blame me if my inactivity still attracts him to me. Perhaps he really is becoming like a Panda and had just suppressed his desire for me, hehe!" Qiu Yue teased Lynn a bit. "Also, you should get him before that mysterious female State Agent officially enters his life. I have a feeling like she could spell trouble for you." The Penguin Queen decided at that moment that in the new year, it''s time to up her game a little. (Or at least she tries.) Chapter 887 Minions Reunion Just as Jin had promised, he announced his sponsorship of everyone''s meal for Chinese New Year''s Eve through the System Channel. He had even prepared a temporary service instance where the minions would be served hotpot. There was no limit to each hotpot room within the service instance, so it could accommodate any number of them. But to avoid straining the System''s resources, the minions were required to define how many people were entering it in the first place. Therefore, every minion had to register their names into a group so they would be given their own room in the Hotpot Service Instance. Furthermore, this was the first time the penguins were able to sit back and relax as the System had already collected enough data on how the little aquatic birds worked. Jin had used that data to simulate something similar to the Panda Nurses'' artificial intelligence and had created Panda Waiter equivalents. At first, the penguins were apprehensive about Jin''s decision until they learned that the Panda Waiters'' only job was to prepare the food items to serve to the minions. Just a bit of cutting and washing of the food supplies before those premium raw items would be delivered to each and every room''s hungry customers. While it was supposed to be hotpot, Jin had actually included metal grills beside the hotpot too, allowing them to barbeque their meat if they didn''t wish to have it steamed. And unsurprisingly, all minions were happy to go with the latter option since barbequed meat was an expensive System point purchase and not something for everyday consumption to the average minion. Naturally, most minions did not hold back on their appetite after they learned it was free for all. Only the more recent additions were a little apprehensive of their master''s offer. It seemed too good to be true if it was indeed without a catch, but the older minions encouraged them to take it as it was a rare opportunity. "It''s not every day that the Boss treats us, but when he does, he does not hold back. So eat up, my dear student! Trust me, after taking one bite, you will look forward to these events, as you won''t have to worry about any cost." Moloch said to Prince Stolas, who had voluntarily joined the System''s command after he had witnessed what an amazing job Moloch and his human- Nay, his master had done to defeat his father. Only a select few forces should have stood a chance against the Demon Metropolis. Still, even amongst them, the young prince doubted any could have achieved such an overwhelming victory against the Demon Metropolis. Perhaps the Church of the Afterlife, but they usually kept to themselves. "Yea, little prince, eat! Eat until you burst, for tomorrow he might swarm you to death with work!" Wolte added in as he placed a large piece of medium-rare cow steak into his slug body. "MMMMMMM! The taste is heavenly." Wolte shook his body with joy. "True, Jin does expect a lot from us minions, but you do get rewarded in kind," Moloch admitted as he placed a plate full of meat on Baal''s side of the table. "I would advise you to start grilling a ste- HEY WOLTE! Get your fingers off my meat, you stupid metal slug!" Moloch defended his food by throwing a magical card towards the slug which stunned him momentarily. Long enough for the plush minotaur to recover his plate. "Bah, no need for your little tricks. You could have just taken some from me later. It''s free flow until the morning after all! The Master was even nice enough to set a time dilation instance for us to eat until we could not move! Waiter! More beer please!" Wolte shouted, and the rest on the table laughed, but Baal was a little more serious as he lowered his head to his old friend. "Thank you, Moloch. I thought you would still be mad at me." Baal said in an apologising tone to the surprise of his children. Princess Gaap and Prince Stolas had never seen such a side of their father before. "Nah, it''s over already. We''ve beat you fair and square¡­ well mostly fair. So why make a big fuss about it now? Besides, I won you over. To me, that means my job is done. Also, I get to enjoy watching Kiva being used as a guinea pig for lots of research work. I hope Ayse will at least give him some time off for this." Moloch chuckled. Not only did Jin enable smaller groups to have their own reunion with each other, but he had also granted his monsters some time off to check on their real families as part of the reunion dinner agreement. The Goblins, Orcs and even Demons from the Demon Metropolis were all able to return their individual worlds. And because time passed differently in each and every world, the System only dictates a four hour grace period to visit their loved ones. But this kindness had a price, and Jin knew about it. There could be potential backlash upon doing this act, and thus the Dungeon supplier warned each and every one of them that this was only a temporary visit and the System would not just let them go that easily. He also relayed them the consequences of contacting their loved ones again for certain monsters, and if their work progress deteriorates because of this, the System might have to intervene. However, he did promise them one thing. If his next large scale project succeeded, the implementation of the Virtual Reality network, and with enough resources on his side, he might be able to allow their families to stay with them (in a virtual way at least). Else, he could come up with a system that would allow them to return on a regular basis based on their work performance. Knowing that their master had no obligation to do any of this because he owned them, they were already thankful that they received a chance to reunite with their family members. Of course, explaining why they were gone would be hard for many of them, especially the Orcs who would have to see their family, friends or loved ones from a distance. Some even learnt a few tricks from the Orc Traders in the Adventurer Town and or do so under a different appearance and name. The Demons did not have any such limitation since their world revolved around the concept of resurrection and the deal brokered between King Rex and Moloch of Pandapolis City allowed the Demons to return almost anytime. As for the Goblins, many of them were elated to return to their loved ones but they also noticed how long they had been away. With the time differences between worlds, a small number, unfortunately, had to visit graveyards because of the time they were away. But the majority were excited to be back. (And with lots of money to boot.) The Farming Humans, on the other hand, had already formed a community between themselves as they knew most, if not all of their family members had already been killed by the Demon Rats. Some even took this chance to ask Jin if it was possible for them to take part in the fight against the Demon Rats. Jin did not hesitate to grant their request, but on the condition that they had to be trained under someone more senior. Thus, most of the Farming Humans if not all went to the Mousefolks for apprenticeships. As for the rest, they went to the Jacks, but that is a story for later. Because right now, it''s all about reunion and enjoying their ''employment benefits''. Chapter 888 Prosperity to the Panda Clan Just like the minions, Jin and his dungeon family were enjoying the same bountiful dinner. It had been hard on them as the dungeon supplier had to convince Lynn not to get involved in the food process at all. For the first time, Lynn had felt ever so restless as she was being forced to relax. (The Queen and Penguins were just too hardworking when it comes to food.) However, upon learning that it would just be hotpot and barbecued meat, she had decided to leave it to Jin. (Even though she could not help herself and prepare some Porkcupine meat ''just in case'' they would need it.) Grandma Yuan and Hou Fei had both turned up. The old woman was accompanied by Claire, who had quickly become a favourite guest in the System''s eyes (or sensors). The Panda Waiter had prepared a mini hotpot special for Grandma Yuan so it would be nutritional and tasty but more importantly, premium looking. "Heh, guess you brats know how to please the elderly." Grandma Yuan said but little did she know it was Yun who had suggested that specific assortment of food for Jin to procure. She had made him promise that he would not say a word about her involvement, as she would deny everything, but the Dungeon Supplier knew that credit should go where it was due. Thus, he slipped a video file to Claire and hinted that it might be interesting for Grandma Yuan to see. However, he never knew that it was because they were related in some way and thought it was just a method to close the gap between them. (In hindsight, this small gesture by Jin helped propel the mending of their relationship, but that is for a later story.) Even before digging in, the bellators'' mouth were already drooling from looking at Grandma Yuan''s hotpot. When their personal hotpot was served, they feasted on it as if they had been starving for weeks. Side dishes were gone, and the Panda Waiters had to come in multiple times to fill the plates. Even Zeru decided to eat more than usual and laughed with a relaxed posture. As a good disciple, Jin had also prepared a special something for his Sword Saint teacher. He beckoned him to a corner, where he gave Zeru a bottle during the midst of the reunion hotpot dinner. A bottle of fermented lavender flower wine. Zeru was curious as to why he would give something like that to him away from the others until he saw Jin pull out an antique Chinese tea set as well as a bottle of sludge. "This day is meant to be celebrated with the people closest to us. I thank you for all that you have done, but there is still someone else you should spend time with. I think your wife will be thrilled to learn that you can be with her during this day. This bottle is filled with my latest dark sludge, so it is choke full of my Maqi, allowing you to manifest her spirit for some time." Jin explained and Zeru could not help but stifle his reaction. "Boss Jin. I¡­ Thank you for your generosity." Zeru said as he nearly wanted to kneel, but Jin stopped him almost instantly. "Stop it. I might be your boss, but I am also your disciple. Now please stop or the others will think up something suspicious!" Jin panicked as he tried to stabilise the Sword Saint. "Agreed, but as your teacher, allow me to honour my precious disciple with a toast from this wine he got for me." Zeru insisted. He effortlessly opened the bottle and used his chi to grab his glass from the table, making everyone''s attention shift to the duo. They watched Zeru pour a cup full of wine and drank wholeheartedly not before shouting "Prosperity to the Panda Clan!" which caused chuckles from the table afar. After which he nodded his head with gratitude and left the room early. "Was that the wine you asked me to get?" Lynn asked in a hushed tone, and Jin smiled widely. "Yes, and his mouth was wide open when he saw that I took out that bottle." Jin whispered back. Not too long ago, Zeru had been asked by Lynn for his opinion for a wine which might accompany a particular dish. At the time, she had presented him with many choices. He had expertly analysed each one of them, but that one in particular had made him halt for a moment. Jin only came to learn of this by sheer coincidence as he had asked his Sub System Users what had happened while he was unconscious. "Speaking of Prosperity¡­ isn''t it time for our boss to give us some *cough* pieces of paper?" Qiu Yue mischievously asked as she pointed at the clock. It was about three minutes to midnight, and Jin shook his head with dreaded anticipation. "Damn, time really flies, eh? Shouldn''t we wait until morning?" Jin chuckled with a bitter smile. "No wonder Grandma Yuan left a little early, citing the need for rest. She must have suspected you guys would be shameless enough to ask for some Hong Bao (red packets)." Claire stated as she laid back on her chair and drank a bottle of beer. Although she was not expecting much since she was the ''intern'' in the family, she would still like a red packet from Boss Jin too. "Heh, and you cannot forget about Hou Fei. He flew off the fastest after the first round of meat. Besides, we worked damn hard to fulfil your impossible deadlines, so it is only natural to ask for some good bonus. Besides, who knows what this Boss of ours got to do in the morning. Perhaps we will have to save yet another world from being taken over¡­ or at least some Royal Zodiacs might be knocking on his door after they learn that he is still alive and kicking." Qiu Yue argued as she looked at the time and kept tapping on the table. "That you are not wrong. But on the side note, I cannot believe there are still people playing those dungeons at this time. Shouldn''t they be with their parents or something?" Claire wondered, and eventually, all the Sub System Users were staring at each other. "I ate with my father in the afternoon, because I told him I was eating with you guys in the evening." Lynn defended herself first and gave a peace symbol with a wide grin, as if she knew she had done her ''familial duties'' then the eyes slowly shifted to Qiu Yue. "My parents are still overseas because of their business obligations. I had a video call after Lynn said she was looking for her father for lunch." Qiu Yue even showed the logs that she called her mom in the afternoon, which allowed her to grin the same as Lynn. And lastly, the eyes went to Claire. "The only ''family'' I had was previously Grandma Yuan and to a lesser degree her students. So, I''d like to formally thank you all for inviting me to this reunion dinner." Claire even bowed with delight and gratitude too. "Let me formally welcome you to our family, Claire. No matter what happens, you are now one of us after what you have been through. And of course, what you have seen. Besides I am sure that pesky System will change your status from intern to-" "HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!!" The System suddenly declared and imaginary fireworks lit up the whole terrace, causing Jin to realise that three minutes had already passed. Both the Bellators and Sub System Users together wished Jin a very happy new year by raising their glasses to drink up. Jin chuckled a little and picked his glass up to toast. "Happy Chinese New Year, everyone. Let''s hope that we will continue to prosper for the upcoming year and continue to strive towards our goal of being the Number One Dungeon Supplier Store in the World!" Jin said, and everybody stood up to clink their glasses together. "Ready¡­1, 2, 3- YAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" Jin started the toasting chant, and the rest followed up, including Yun and Kraft who had told the System to record the moment. All of them continued to yell for a considerable amount of time for as long as possible as it was a tradition to do so. "SENGGGG!" The glasses all collided with each other once more, and everyone drank up. After which, the Panda Waiter came in time with a large giant plate of Yu Sheng, a premium platter of raw fish and vegetables. Everyone knew that the dish was served to usher in good luck and wealth for the new year. There were eighteen phrases when one added the ingredients into their Yu Sheng, and the Panda Waiter looked eerily familiar. (It turned out to be a replica of Captain Hei.) He came in with a waiter costume and started to open the extra ingredients that needed to be added into the platter to signify good luck. "Nian Nian You Yu! May every year be filled with prosperity!" Hei said as he opened the first pack filled with raw slices of fish. "Da Ji Da Li! For more good luck and prosperity!" Hei proceeded to add dried orange peels into the Yu Sheng platter. "Zhao Cai Jin Bao! Welcoming wealth into our household!" Hei added the peppers and a variety of seasoning powders. "Yi Ben Wan Li! May Boss make a thousandfold profit from investment!" Hei shouted out loudly when he poured a packet of oil. "Cai Yuan Guang Jin! May the money pour in all directions!" Hei said as he sprinkled the last bits of oil in the packet. "Hong Yun Dang Tou! May fortune greet you at your door!" Hei announced as he threw thin strips of carrots into the platter. "Bu Bu Gao Sheng! May Boss rise higher with every step!" Hei threw in the shredded white raddish. "Feng Sheng Shui Qi! May everyone have success and promotion at work!" Hei later placed the shredded cabbage in, and there was a slight cheer from Qiu Yue. "Qing Chun Chang Zhu! May everyone retain their youthful looks!" Now more cheers came in when Hei threw in the shredded green raddish. "Jing Ying Man Wu! May our house be full of gold and silver!" Hei sprinkled chopped peanuts into the Yu Sheng mixed platter. "Sheng Yi Xing Long! May Boss''s business prosper forevermore!" Hei used a little more strength to sprinkle the sesame seeds, and Jin personally added some cheering in. "Man Di Huang Jing! May your floor be covered in gold!" Hei said as he opened not one but three packets of golden looking crackers and scattered them throughout the whole platter. "Jin Yu Man Tang! May your hall be filled with gold and jade!" Hei added when he scattered the last packet of golden crackers. "Tian Tian Mi Mi! May your life be blessed with sweetness." Hei now opened a small container filled with plum sauce and poured it over the platter. That was when Hei stepped back, and everyone took a pair of chopsticks. They knew that there were a few phrases left, but they were only to be said when everyone started tossing the Yu Sheng platter. To mix everything up was a symbolic gesture of putting all the wishes together. They allowed Jin to be the first to start by tossing the vegetables and fish platter in the large red plate. Only when he initiated, the others began to follow, and that was when Hei shouted the last few phrases. "Wan Shi Ru Yi! May everything be good and smooth sailing!" "Shen Ti Jian Kang! May everyone''s body stay strong and healthy!" "Gong Xi Fa Cai! Wishing everyone great wealth!" And lastly, everyone was competing to be the one to toss the vegetables as high as possible as that was the point where everyone had to shout the most auspicious phrase. "HUAT AH!" Huat, Huat, Huat Ah! To Prosperity, to Victory and most importantly, to his Family. Chapter 889 Red Packets Even after the tossing of Yu Sheng, the dinner did not stop there. All of them near the table took a portion of it to partake in the well wishes that had been said by NPC Panda Hei. Jin thought it was a nice touch for the System to participate in this reunion dinner in some way or another. And for it to control Hei''s personality and NPC settings was a small little secret that only Jin and the System were aware of. After all, just as Ming had said, the System took its rules seriously and would not break them unless there was either a consensus between the two parties involved or they were in danger. But in order to not create any further suspicion, ''Hei'' had already retreated back into his quarters after serving Yu Sheng and taking a portion of it to eat. As for the rest, Qiu Yue had already shamelessly extended her hand out with her mouth full of food, but Lynn sternly told her not to be rude. "What''s wrong? I thought we should be rewarded for our efforts?" Peppers asked as she too followed Qiu Yue and smiled widely while awaiting the red packet. "You guys¡­ At least treat me as a proper boss! Otherwise, no red packets for you lot!" Jin stated in a fit of playful anger while he folded his arms. "Hahaha! Fine, fine!" Qiu Yue wiped her mouth and hands with a few pieces of tissue and adjusted her black cheongsam dress. After which, she clasped her hands together and wished her Chinese New Year greetings to her boss. "Boss Jin, Gong Xi Fa Cai! Hope you get rich and famous in the coming year!" Qiu Yue said that part with respect, and now it was Jin''s turn to control his giggles as he did not expect them to really comply with his request. "I am willing to accept rich, but famous? Maybe not too soon." Jin replied as he too adjusted his clothes and accepted Qiu Yue''s well wishes for the new year. And as promised, he took out a red packet from his storage watch and used two hands to pass the Hong Bao to Qiu Yue. "Thank you for your service, Qiu Yue. Let''s make Dungeons and Pandas the best it can ever be." Jin said as he prepared the next red packet for the little one queuing behind Qiu Yue. Meanwhile, the Red Panda Cultivator realised that even the red packet was specifically designed to suit their cultivation styles. Instead of showing the current zodiac animal, they were celebrating for this year as the norm, Jin had purposely printed a Panda alongside a Red Panda playing in a Bamboo forest with both animals wearing traditional chinese costumes on it. However, the red packet design was just a teaser to what''s inside it (still, she planned to treasure it, instead of throwing it away). As shameless as the Red Panda Tactician may be, Qiu Yue knew it was way too rude to open the red packet in front of her boss. So, she purposely went to the backyard where she slowly and carefully opened the package without destroying it. However, she did try to guess how much was inside by shaking it, pressing it and bending the red packet while trying to determine its weight. Unfortunately, no matter how she tried, it was a little too thin for comfort and Qiu Yue worried if Jin went back on his promise about giving her a ''hefty good bonus'' for the work she had done. All those worries disappeared once she opened the red packet. Inside was a single piece of paper. Slowly, she pulled it out and got giddily excited. It was a bank cheque written with quite a number of zeroes on it. "Woohooo! THANKS BOSS!" Qiu Yue shouted from the backyard and into the dining room. Meanwhile, Peppers shamelessly opened the red packet in front of Jin. Peppers then pulled out a card. Only upon closer inspection, did it turn out to be a gift card with the words ''System Points''. "Oh. My. GOD." Peppers squealed as she flipped the gift card to show that Jin had given Peppers 30,000 System points. That was equal to roughly six months of work. Milk also received the same amount, and they were jumping with joy since it was very difficult to earn this much unless they worked extremely hard for the System or by miracle, they did something deserving of that much points. "Wow, then I guess I better get my rewards too. Hehe!" Kraft chuckled as he joined the small queue upon seeing the many happy faces around him. "Are you serious, Boss?" Lynn suddenly screeched out in joy when she saw exactly the same number of zeros after opening it in the backyard. Qiu Yue and her were all excited when they thought of the things they could buy. Qiu Yue thought of getting a car with that money while Lynn was still thinking about how to improve her kitchen apparatus with that amount of money. "Do I kid with money??" Jin smiled as he turned his focus on Pei, the only ''fox'' he was close enough to invite to this gathering apart from Kraft and thanked her for saving him time and time again. "Please note that the money that User gives is from his own pocket. So, the money you spend is not part of the current budget. Spend Wisely." The Sub Systems stated simultaneously as if to prove a point not to waste their new year bonus. "Shhh! System I thought I told you not to say it out!" Jin asked the System as it finally came to Kraft. "Sub Systems did not make any such promise." The System stated as it noticed how even Pei could crack a genuine smile once in a while upon receiving the very same gift card as Milk and Peppers. "You know that I don''t need any of these gift cards, right?" Kraft raised his hands and clasped his hands together to wish his boss prosperity for the new year. "Yeah, I know you well enough. But I think you will be happy with the red packet. Happy New Year to you as well, Kraft." Jin passed a packet with Foxes and Pandas imprinted on it. "Heh! Thank you, Boss. Do you mind if I open it right here and now?" Kraft asked as Jin gave him the go-ahead. When he opened it, he found out it was also a piece of paper, but he realised it was more than that. It was an inscription charm. One that looked quite similar to the ones the Demon Exorcist Trainees had received for Christmas. "I do not know how much power it can give you, but I hope it''s still a minor upgrade," Jin said, and that made Kraft sniggered. "Even if it''s not, I am sure I can convince Octofussy to help me tinker with it further. Now I am more interested in what kind of outfit you are giving me. Hahahah!" Kraft replied as he noticed it was not a dual inscription charm but rather, a triple inscription charm. It was a literal upgrade to the dual inscription charm which Jin could not have fiddled even with the help of the System because of his current Cultivation Grade of Eighth Peak. Unless¡­ He was beyond that. Chapter 890 More Red Packets?! Everyone was messy and noisy but equally excited by the amount of goodwill Jin had shown them. They decided to prolong dinner for a bit more. Being a cultivator allowed one to control their food consumption. While it was generally used to slow it down, it was also possible to quicken it. That way, the stored energy could later be used for long periods of cultivation if needed. Thus, every one of them enhanced their speed of digestion to make room for a ''second'' round of servings. (Jin had lost count on how many times they had repeated this process and although the System had that exact number, he would rather not know.) With this latest round of dinner, Jin chose to share his vision for the future of Dungeons and Pandas. Most of them were astounded by Jin''s new approach, but Pei did appreciate that her master understood the concerns of how the dungeons could lead to unforeseen consequences in their current society. This was especially true since cultivation was not easily obtained especially in peace times, making it an indicator for position and power within the country. An extraordinary catalyst like Jin''s dungeons meant he would be targeted by every powerful organisation, whether they are good or evil. While it''s true that the dungeon supplier cannot take sides and is supposed to be treated as a neutral ground, it''s not necessarily true if he goes out of the store. His encounter with the Ruby Rat had shown as much. It wasn''t surprising why most dungeon supplier stores were part of a larger group. (Though most parts of the reason were due to the cost of maintaining the dungeon instance servers.) That was why Jin owning the entire Tiangong shopping district allowed him some flexibility when it came to store management and future expansion. For example, he could use the land of his old store to create the new upcoming Panda Inc to support the Virtual Reality Network on a long term basis. "This sounds like a big endeavour to take on¡­but if you do it right, we will no doubt prosper and eventually even enter into Forbes Top 3." Qiu Yue shared her thoughts on the matter, and Jin laughed. "You are clearly joking, right? I do not think that is entirely possible." Jin had never considered the consequences to that degree. "You see, if we play our cards right, this VR network could be used as more than a game. You already plan to create a virtual reality, but it could also be used to conduct business meetings, encrypted ones for sure and even used for education. Not just in terms of cultivation but literally anything from learning how to cook fried rice to learning how to kill someone." "That, I got to agree. And with the power to create within their own VR space, which I assume that''s one of the eventualities, this will allow humanity to have an online living community. With exclusive rights to your own technology¡­ Trust me, that equals shit loads of potential markets that could come out of this. Those VR goggles? Man, those are crap stuff. I believe Boss Jin will create something akin to an alternate reality." Claire also voiced her approving opinion. "And unlike an authentic ''virtual'' reality, ours seems more to be intended as augmented virtual reality, right? Just transferring the souls in and they are digitally physical enough to do stuff and experience with their given senses, correct?" Lynn asked for clarification. "Hopefully. Because that should guarantee that no spiritual powers will influence them. What they fight will still be real because of the digital to physical conversion by our dungeon instance technology. That is why I said their participation in our dungeon instances is already akin to that. What we are selling will be merely the permission key to enter our doors while maintaining their physical body in place. That way, they cannot take in the spiritual power because of the loophole in dungeon instance technology but still have a wonderful experience." "And we can maintain the illusion that we are doing a virtual reality stunt. That''s awfully deceptive while making sure to keep the System hidden. Didn''t think you could come up with such a clever scheme. I am looking forward to you having more of those in the future." Kraft gave a thumbs up for the entirely new direction Jin was taking. "Still, there is much to do." Jin sighed and consciously stopped himself. He was afraid that the casual announcement would become a business discussion meeting. "¡­Let''s get back to it, after this." Jin pulled out more red packets. "More red packets for us?" Peppers'' eyes widened up, and Milk told her to continue dreaming. "Hahaha! The ones I hold are technically for Zeru¡­and since I am the Master of the Panda Clan, I have obligations to give Hou Fei. As for those Demon Exorcist kids, they did a great job so as the boss, I need to give them too¡­assuming they completed their assignments in designing the advanced training centre for me. But in any case, I will have to give it to them later in the day. As for now, I was actually going to visit each and every room in the Hotpot Service Instance to personally convey my thanks to all the hard-working minions." Jin remarked, and everyone pretended to be bewildered by Jin''s deeds to the point the Dungeon Supplier was getting annoyed that they were so sarcastic in their response. "I think that''s an excellent idea. Everyone will be happy if the Boss comes to meet them personally to give them their red packet bonuses like you did for us, only¡­ do you plan to do that every time from now on?" Pei cautioned whether he would be able to continue to do that in the future. "I agree, have you taken a look at how large their numbers have grown? Don''t you think it''s more efficient to ask your minions to come to you instead? I mean, of course, there''s sincerity for you to personally give your red packets, but that will take a heck lot of time." Qiu Yue added. "Although it might seem a little insincere, at the very least you will set a precedence on how you give out your red packets in the future. Imagine if you have another ten of thousands of ''employees'' under you or let''s think big, a hundred thousand employees. Are you still going to have time to give each and every one of them?" Claire concurred with Qiu Yue. "Actually, User did consider such circumstances and had already created something to aid in the distribution. However, User eventually felt embarrassed and decided against using it. System once more recommends to use it rather than waste its resources and time teleporting around to give his employees their profits." The System stated, and everyone could feel that Jin was dying for a hole in the ground to disappear in. "Alright, fine! I shall use that. But¡­don''t you dare laugh at me! Or¡­ or next year there will be NO BONUS!" Jin threatened as he kept the red packets and told the System to make the announcement to everyone while requesting for a teleport to yet another temporary service. The Instant Lottery Instance. Chapter 891 Instant Lottery Instance "HAHAHAHAHAH WHAT THE HECK IS THIS!?" Qiu Yue laughed hysterically when they were teleported right into the instance and saw a giant panda figure in front of her. Claire, Lynn and even Pei burst into laughter despite the threat and immediately understood why Jin had been too embarrassed to show that creation to his monsters. It was not just any giant panda statue sitting casually in the middle of an empty service instance but one whose pose was reminiscent of a Maneki-neko or Zhao Cao Mao. With the posture of a sitting beckoning cat, the lifelike Panda Statue too held its right hand up and started to beckon money continuously while making a slightly low pitch screech during an interval. On its left paw, the beckoning panda held onto a large coin that resembled a Panda Medal with the only difference being that it was diamond minted instead of the standard gold medal. To suit the Chinese New Year Theme, Jin had already dressed up the panda in a traditional red Chinese costume and even gave it a pair of round sunglasses to complete the style of a fussy, money minded panda. "I honestly do not believe you only created this in such an empty service instance. This is not how you usually create your instances." Qiu Yue pointed out, and the System took the initiative to activate the instance. True enough, the blank white background that they were standing on started to dissemble as if the spatial space itself came alive from a long slumber of inactivity. Stage lights began to appear above them, and rows of seats like an indoor stadium theatre rose from a distance as if the instance can be calibrated to suit the size of the stage. If anything, Jin made sure that the indoor stadium can be adjusted to suit even more people while ensuring that everyone can have a brilliant view no matter where they were seated. "Now this is the Jin that I know of!" Qiu Yue exclaimed, but Lynn was curious as to why the Instant Lottery Service instance would be like an indoor stadium theatre. "User was worried that minions waiting for their turn to receive their red packets would get very bored, especially at their current capacity. This indoor theatre was meant as entertainment for the people who were waiting for their turn." The System explained, and the Sub System Users nodded their heads. "Because, to make it fair, I created a huge lottery ball drawing machine where they would have to turn the wheel themselves, and only luck would allow them to get the highest red packet value," Jin added as he showed the lottery machine at the side of the stage. "Well, the odds are actually out of their favour since all lottery machines are rigged¡­still it will give them a decent amount of System points as rewards, since I placed the minimum to be at least 300 points." "I see, then you can also announce those super prize winners on stage and let everyone get jealous about their System points." Kraft saw through the scheme while scratching his chin, most definitely considering ways on how to rig the lottery machine even further. "I swear that was not my intent, but yes, announcing them as winners were part of my plan," Jin replied. "For this new year, I had to prepare over 8000 red packets, and it was only possible because of Claire''s investment, so I thank you for that." "No wonder you gave me a little more than Lynn and Qiu Yue¡­" Claire said out loud, and the Sub System Users stared at Jin. He had been prepared for that matter to eventually come to light, but to his surprise, that stare had only been momentary. Both Sub System Users were of the same mindset as Jin, and agreed that credit had to be given when credit was due. Besides, their own bonus was extremely generous, and it was more than the total sum they would have earned in five years of leading their normal lives. "So, what kind of entertainment are you showing the monsters when they arrive?" Kraft asked, and Jin scratched his head. "It''s a bit dumb, but I had been considering something similar to a talent show, where Bear Cub One and Mr Patsu would be the announcers. However, since I wanted to scrap the whole because of how odd it was, I really have nothing planned. Perhaps, we can just do some anticipated 1 vs 1 fights or maybe team-based fights, obviously with some restrictions as the entertainment." Jin suggested. "You should let the winner take part of the points of the loser, that way you will have more than enough volunteers. How about some betting? That would make it even more interesting for those looking at it, and I mean people do have to spend their System points somewhere. After all, there''s a need to regulate System Points. Otherwise, our internal economy might be due for inflation." Kraft questioned with a mischievous smile. "That sounds more like a colosseum idea rather than an indoor theatre stadium idea¡­" Claire remarked though she could not deny that from an economic point, what the Bellator said was true. "Nobody is gonna fight Peppers though. She would just bomb the whole indoor stadium into kingdom come. Haahha!!" Milk teased the small bellator, who she saw was still eating a packet of chips without sharing with her. (How did she even bring that bag of chips into the scene?!) "Please, if you were to fight, you would win, simply because of your large saggy mountains. Those monsters would be too distracted to concentrate." Peppers tried to spite Milk, but instead, she turned it into a compliment. "Beauty itself is also a weapon. If I can use that to my advantage, why not? If you are lucky, perhaps there might actually be someone who would bow down to that flat chest of yours.- ARGH! Why are you spitting out your half-eaten chips onto me! Disgusting! My wonderful white cheongsam dress will get ruined by you!" Milk cried out as she tried to evade the next barrage of Peppers'' spit attack. Meanwhile, the others ignored their shenanigans that had become quite frequent in recent time. Given their interaction, it might be better to avoid physical (or magical) fights and instead turn it into game show fights. Immediately Qiu Yue and Lynn put their hands up as they had some ideas for entertainment purposes. Thus, they immediately brought out some quick play ideas that they believed would be simple enough for group team games. One of them was to reuse the dodgeball game as the monsters had really enjoyed it, and many would love to have a rematch. "I guess that can really be a time waster while they wait for their turns for me to distribute the red packets." Jin was happy to leave it to them, as he looked at the time. "Prize wise, it is simple enough, I can just pass them another set of red packets. Obviously not on the lottery again." "It would be real funny if someone struck the top prize twice," Kraft said out loud, prompting Jin to quietly inform System to take note of any hampering of the lottery machine. *Cough* "Can we make it in an hour''s time? I did set the announcement thinking that it would just be a simple red packet giveaway." "An hour? Please, Jin. You''ve tortured us with way less time." Qiu Yue winked at him, and she held onto Lynn''s hand while teleporting to an undisclosed location to prepare the entertainment for the minions. Chapter 892 Preparations for the Lottery Even Jin''s minions gathered following the announcement, and many were already giggling at the sight of the Giant Beckoning Panda holding onto the Diamond Panda Medal. For those who had visited their loved ones in the various worlds, they had been given an additional hour grace period before they had to report to the Instant Lottery Service Instance. Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One were already checking their mikes while some of the Panda NPCs were used as the backstage crew that coordinated with them to ensure that everything went as per their impromptu plans. "What are we here for?" Rex yawned as he teleported into the instance the moment he had received the message from the System. He assumed it would be some sort of emergency, so he was surprised to see that it was merely a gathering. "Ah¡­ Chinese New Year. My, my, it''s been a long time since I had the chance to celebrate it." Rex thought nostalgically as he saw Pei waving him to take a seat at the front rows. "Wow, what is happening? Why gather these many people?" Rex asked as he saw the incoming crowd was quickly reaching massive numbers. "Jin is giving away System Points in the form of a lottery, and there are more System Points to be earned if you participate in the games that Lynn and Qiu Yue are creati ¨C ahem have created." "Ah, if I''m not wrong, Lynn''s the girl that cooked for me, right?" Rex''s mood suddenly perked up quite a bit. "Aren''t you a bit too old for love, Rex?" Pei teased him as she sniggered. "She just reminds me of my step sister¡­ that''s all." Rex replied quickly, and suddenly he could feel a familiar vibe behind him. "Yes, Kraft, my brother. That step sister. Don''t you put any funny ideas into Pei''s head! You''ve caused enough trouble all those centuries back then." Rex reminded him, and Kraft grabbed his brother by his shoulders. "As you said, it''s been centuries. Have you still not forgiven me for that incident?" Kraft asked with a low apologetic voice. "Forgive? You nearly made my step mother go into fits! Everyone around her nearly panicked because of you! Because of you, I had to rush back from the western kingdoms to properly explain to Mother." Rex exclaimed, and Kraft let go of his Bro''s shoulders and jumped to sit right beside him. "Surely, it does not help when your step sister was giving mixed signals when you arrived." Kraft teased his brother once more. "YES! And who''s fault is that? For putting some of Evon''s experimental ''medicine''? " Rex rolled his eyes and somehow reminisced the Chinese New Year gatherings with his old family. "You know, you don''t really have to stay behind for this gathering thing. I heard from Kiyu that you''ve worked nonstop to reform Demopolis ever since becoming King." Kraft expressed concern while acknowledging that Rex had changed the Demon Metropolis name into something a little catchy while signifying that they had a new owner. "I appreciate your concern, but I am fine. If you are so worried about my well being, feel free to help me with some administrative tasks after this is over. For now, allow me to learn what kind of man our master is." Rex said as this was the best time to observe Jin. As a diplomat, he had learned that reading non-verbal language was a skill that''s honest to a fault. It could not fool an experienced observer such as him. However, he already gave Jin a plus point when he created this indoor theatre. With thousands of monsters coming happily and amidst the wide smiles and loud laughter spoke volumes of their master. Rex had already seen Jin''s minions fight bitterly for his cause no matter how small it was, but now he observed how laid-back they had become. There was no argument that the monsters'' treatment also portrayed Jin''s attitude. "Ehh, testing mike one, two, three. Good, it seems to be working fine. *Ahem* Welcome everyone, please take the seat allocated to you by the system. You are free to change between your pals if you want. Just make sure the exchange is mutual. There is no strict seating for this particular event, except for big guys like Derpy and Mechataur. Your seats are fixed. Also welcome back, Mechataur, glad to see you lively up and running again." Jin addressed his audience. Obviously, he was surprised by its appearance and the incidents that had happened during his recovery period. The most notable of them all was when the System reported that Ayse, Weslie and even Rei were combing through the castle which Moloch ordered to transport back to the System''s embrace. And without a doubt, the System had done a deep scan to ensure that there were no more rats hiding in the castle''s hidden crevices before allowing the science team to take a look at it. And yeah, the Mousefolks were sent in to exterminate the hiding remnants which had even surprised the System, causing it to perform extra scans to ensure that it was entirely clear of rats before they started investigating the ruined castle. (There was no time to capture them for the Spiralling Sewers Instance, since they want to make sure the castle did not crumble any further.) Nonetheless, Jin felt that Moloch had made the right choice. By taking the floating castle into custody, the science team could not only salvage the Castle Mecha but also thoroughly check whether the rat leaders had left some clue behind. While Gold felt that the Scholars of the North and South might have left fake evidence, Jin believed it was better to have something than nothing to work on. "What bullshit? What do you mean I have to sit at one location and not move? That is a violation of my-!" Mechataur was about to shout his usual line of protest, but before he could continue to ramble, Niu Lang had already powered it down and had popped it out of the cockpit, apologising to Jin for his partner''s outrage. (The Bull Head was still yapping and complaining non stop that Niu Lang had tied his mouth with a metal chain.) But the noise did not die down. Soon, the random chatters in the theatre got more boisterous and louder until it was as per the time set by the announcement. "Alright, guys it''s time for our very first Chinese New Year giveaway! Is anybody excited for it? There will be loads of System Points for the taking and not to mention, some exclusive prizes which our Master, Jin has managed to convince the System to give out. So, are you all ready for this?!" Mr Patsu started his welcome message, and everyone in the indoor theatre began to cheer with anticipation. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s officially welcome our one and only Master, Xie Jin!" Bear Cub One shouted and another round of furious applause heated up the atmosphere. Even Jin could feel a warm feeling of fuzziness within his heart when he came out of the stage again, now all dressed so formally for the occasion. Only his formal attire¡­ was yet another panda suit. (as usual) Chapter 893 The First Lottery Participan Everyone immediately recognised that the panda in a traditional red costume was their Master. He had been ''Panda Claus'' on Christmas, and now he had become the ''Panda'' of Fortune which lugged around two golden sycee ingots on his two paws, and a few red packets stuck on top of it. The monsters were immediately looking forward to yet another wondrous giveaway when sounds of drums and horns were played in the background. "Happy Chinese New Year to all my fellow colleagues! While I am up here, please allow me to share what is to come for this new year. I think it''s important to update each and every one of you about the current direction this particular small shop is taking." Jin started his speech, and everyone especially the older minions, were already holding in their laughter. Small shop? More like an Empire in the making! From the budding Adventurer Town to the epic proportion of the soon to be opened Pandapolis¡­ Calling it a ''small shop'' was nothing but an understatement. "He reminds me of my former big wig bosses giving a pep talk to all his workers. Thankfully, his is one I would like to stand behind." Qiu Yue whispered to Lynn wholeheartedly agreed as they watched the Panda of Fortune talk from backstage. "First, let me thank all of you once more for your efforts in the Pandapolis Defence Raid and let us also welcome the new comrades who joined after the war. Thank you, and Welcome!" Jin bowed a little, which signalled for a round of cheers and applause from everyone around the indoor stadium. Even Mr Derpy was giving out a long wail to show its appreciation for Jin. "I too know that we had encountered the rats way earlier than expected. For them to ambush us even though we set up sufficient surveillance shows that we have much room to improve and should warn us not to underestimate their shrewd leaders." "However, we prevailed, and I like to thank Moloch in particular for acting as the overseer for not just the Pandapolis Defence but the defence against the Rat''s ambush!" Suddenly a lonely shout came from the crowd asking when they were going to counter-attack to show the Demon rats what Jim''s army of misfits was made of. "Hahha, that''s a very good question¡­ so I shall answer that immediately! Your leaders and I will be meeting after this event to plan an all-out attack against those rats. The details will be shared with you after that!" Jin replied, and the crowd cheered madly. The Orcs beat their chest with pride, the goblins were clapping, and the Tiefling Demons howled their approval. Even the Proud Dark Elves smiled with satisfaction. As for the Farming World Inhabitants, they couldn''t wait for Jin to help them have the chance to gain back their land and were ready to everything in their power to make it happen. "But make no mistake, it will be a tough fight! It will be unlike any of the wars we have ever fought! The Demon Rats are a cowardly bunch of fighters. And yet we should never underestimate their cowardice. It had enabled them to be cautious and prepare for various scenarios. For example, the near-simultaneous overground and underground attack. It is something that could have entirely overpowered any normal army." "But not us!" Jin shouted, and the defenders who took part in the fight cheered with elation. "Since when is he able to come out with such rousing speeches?" Moloch asked Kraft as he was slurping on a large ice slushie with his fake human puppet. "Don''t look at me. I am just as surprised as you are. Maybe he just never had the courage or audacity to do so until now." Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "At the very least, he is quite honest in his speeches and even acknowledges his shortcomings," Rex commented, but his reply was drowned in the series of cheers. "So, if you have any ideas on how to fight with these kinds of enemies, do not hesitate to send your opinion and feedback to the System. We will collate your replies and have our leaders take a look at it. Rest assured that the System values efficiency in battle and so if you think you have what it takes to win the war, any information you provided is much appreciated!" "Now, THAT''s the Jin I know." Kraft pointed out snickering, as he felt that part of the speech to be somewhat of a downer. "In any case, let''s get on to our main event! Today, as part of a long term tradition I plan to establish, assuming our business does not suffer any major groundbreaking setbacks, I shall be giving out System points as part of the lottery draw to every single minion here in this Instance. Don''t worry, those who are absent, or come in late due to their reunion will have their chance to spin the wheel." Jin said as the stage lights shifted to the inconspicuous lottery ball draw machine which would decide the fate of the 8000 over minions that Jin housed. (Except for a few certain beings like Maeve who were locked for safe handling.) "Now let''s see which will be the first group gaining the chance to have a go at the lottery!" Jin said as he called out the System to randomly pull the race of monster that would first get their pick. Even the Ant Wyrms like Mr Hot and Miss Cold were considered as one race itself. So, it was down to computer-generated picking. The screen behind him shook drastically like a casino jackpot machine where the names rolled down continuously until it stopped. ''Valgs''. Immediately, Jin raised his eyebrows and did not know how to proceed. Fortunately for him, a somewhat familiar silhouette raised his hands. "We Valgs do not have any proper representatives other than Maeve, who is understandably uncontrollable at this particular point of time, I will be taking the honour to roll for the entire group." "Ah, Salamander K¨C ahem, Dorian." Jin ''corrected'' himself just in time, as he did not wish to offend the Salamander Clan that had come into his service as well. "Master, you do not have to worry about them. I have made peace with my family, and they know my desire to repent by serving the Valgs. You may call me just Dorian. Or if you prefer, please call by my System''s appointed title, Elder Valg Dorian." With the power of Valgs, he had returned into his human form and was dressed in a formal Victorian gentleman style, yet with a bowler hat instead of a top hat. There were still some scales left on his neck as if it was a reminder of his past. Jin just watched him walk towards the lottery ball draw machine. "So does that mean each leader pulls for all of their people. Will we watch Dorian turn the lottery over hundreds of times?" Lynn asked Qiu Yue, and surely all others who were watching were thinking the same, including the Elder Valg, who stood in front of the lottery ball draw machine''s console. Chapter 894 Lottery Draw Prize! Right in front of Dorian, the console had a fingerprint scanner which the System used to confirm its identity so that the lottery draw participant did not cheat. It''s not that the System suspected that the minions would try to cheat, but it was more meant for the future lottery ticket holders if Jin decided to go ahead and include it to his repertoire of service instances. (Meanwhile, monsters like Mr Derpy and Mechataur would have to send proxies as the scanner was unable to read their signs) As Dorian placed his hand on the scanner, the lottery draw ball machine suddenly grew in size right in front of him. As the leader of one of the largest factions, the System had to flush out the current ball samples and replace them with different sets of balls that were meant for those quantities. More colourful marble balls were added into the mix and started to spin as if they were in a washing machine. The digital screen fizzled right beside him for a moment before a revised chart of the lottery rewards revealed his odds of success and the updated prize pool. As Dorian was the first lottery draw participant, the Magic Eye cameras automated by the System zoomed onto him with anticipation, and everyone was looking at it on the big screen. Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One were also giving side comments to bide time and hype the crowd up a little more. Amidst the sounds of the rotating marbles, one of them finally appeared out of the drawing machine as it quickly spiralled out of the tube and landed on a soft landing tray laced with cushions. "Let''s see what it is¡­ It''s a red spiral marble! Those are worth 2,000 System points for each Valg and let''s see what else the System put in!" Mr Patsu announced as he went to the revised rewards chart and read the fine print while the magic eye camera panned its angle and filmed a portion of the chart. "Ooo! The extra prize, in this case, is 20 Draw cards for Dorian to use. With them, he can grant an exclusive power boost to up the Valgs!" Mr Patsu exclaimed and Jin in his Panda Suit was confused. "System had taken the initiative to recreate the monster fusion procedures since User refused to use it to its fullest potential. Thus, it added another function that would permanently boost the monster''s abilities. However, that process does require User''s Black Sludge Crystals." "But you do know they are rather limited, right?" Jin queried, and the System merely stated that the newest form of Sludge Liquid that poured out of Jin''s body had been collected. A mere 100ml of it alone had been enough to boost the monster''s stats by a few notches up. "However, despite this power up procedure which the System had tested on animals as part of the experiment, the power boosts dilutes upon reaching a certain limit. So far, it has not been possible to raise their power above User''s grade." "So, what you are saying is that I can theoretically boost all my minions to my current Grade while you subsequently downgrade them to meet the cultivators'' standard in the dungeon instance?" Jin asked, and Mr Patsu was explaining the same thing to the audience in a more dramatic way. "Affirmative. However, to give your sludge crystals to 8000 over minions and growing would be an arduous task. That is why the System is giving it out as part of the lottery rewards." "And some lucky minion could be powered to my current grade?" "While the System wished for such a case, those kinds of situations should be reserved for desperate situations. Drastically increasing the power stats of a minion might seem useful, but they are likely to suffer from training deficit, where the lack of training could not allow the minion to fully utilise their new found strength. It might also promote torpidity and inactivity despite being in a controlled environment. Not to mention System is unsure about any other long term negative effects it might have." "I see¡­ Guess you are just giving them something like a step up power boost? Even though you are seemingly using them as more guinea pigs¡­" "Affirmative. That way, they can have an extra boost in their stats and be able to train further since they all currently will suffer a lack of contact with cultivator training until your Virtual Reality Network is up and running." "And the cultivators will never know that despite their soul turning into data, they are actually fighting with real monsters all the way," Jin smirked as he stepped forward. "Thank you, Dorian, for being the first draw participant! Now, let us see who is the next participant and while you all wait for your turns, we have prepared some games for you to participate in. Of course, that means there are more prizes to be earned." Jin said as he pulled the microphone out of the stand and beckoned his two game masters (or mistresses) out to explain more. "Oh, and one more thing. Each of you will have a chance to press on the lottery draw machine. Unless the System deems otherwise!" Jin emphasised before giving the mike to his Sub System Users to take the stage. "Happy Chinese New Year to all! Firstly, let''s congratulate the Dark Elves as the second group of minions to get to draw the lottery. Do not worry, everyone will have an equal chance of winning the grand prize of 100,000 System points! And yes, there can be up to three of such winners. But if you do not get such a prize, I assure you the minimum points are still worthy of your wait." Qiu Yue grabbed the mike and Jin in his Panda costume skipped happily into the backstage. His role now was to only appear and congratulate the three grand prize winners for picking the lottery as well as presenting a large gift pack filled with alcohol, snacks and other kinds of goodies. Other than that, he took out his panda head and checked his phone. Even while waiting, there were a few things he could do. This is especially so when the System had also recently upgraded his phone capabilities and allowed him to have remote access to his dungeon maker console after achieving better processing capabilities. But first, an email to Ke Loong for a meeting in the morning. Chapter 895 Blackbeard Cannon "Firstly, let me start by saying something that must be on the minds of all of us present here. JIN! STOP GIVING US SUCH SHORT NOTICE, DAMN IT!" Qiu Yue suddenly shouted out her frustration which made the dungeon supplier topple from the chair he was sitting on. His Panda Head rolled out of the backstage. The monsters vaguely understood what Qiu Yue was implying and laughed along with it that someone finally said it out loud. Jin chuckled when he fell to the ground revealing himself at the side of the stage as he placed the chair back properly and bow himself out once more. However, only Lynn noticed that Jin''s fall was quite strange. (Qiu Yue was too busy addressing the minions and he was backstage, hiding behind the curtains.) The way he fell seemed a little too natural as if it had become second nature to him to react in such a way and at the same time, she could feel a slight change in his chi from afar. Even though he was smiling at Qiu Yue''s outburst and came to retrieve the rolling Panda Head, Lynn sensed a heavily masked killing atmosphere. Focusing on it, the Penguin Chef noticed that there was no murder intent in it. This reminded her of the time working for the Yakuzas when her Sensei accidentally leaked his own strength out despite the constant suppression he taught her and his other students in the kitchen. "So Jin really did have an increase in his cultivation grade despite being out cold," Lynn mumbled to herself disappointed. She had been busy training herself to close the gap while Jin was unconscious, but it seemed that the dungeon supplier had somehow found a way to widen the distance yet again. "Earth to Lynn. Are you still with us?" Qiu Yue joked as everyone could see that Lynn was staring at Jin blindly while she was in fact, lost in her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, sorry!" Lynn quickly bowed and apologised to the entire crowd and with her beautiful kimono directly under the spotlight, she was the picture of a classic beauty that captured all the hearts of the male minions. At that point, unbeknownst to the minions, the penguins had started scanning through the crowd to find potential troublemakers in case anyone got any funny ideas in regards to their Queen. (Talk about overprotective comrades.) "With no further ado, let us start with the first game we have prepared for all of you!" Lynn announced, and suddenly the stage started to rumble a little, revealing a tall gigantic wooden barrel with multiple and yet systematic holes on it. "The first game is called ''Blackbeard''! It''s a game where it will be up to you minions to stick swords into the barrel, and if you get lucky enough to score a hit, the person inside will fly out of the barrel!" Qiu Yue explained. "Because of the space constraint, we have set it in such a way that the barrel is facing towards the audience. But have no fear! The barrel is similar to an air cannon, so when someone manages to hit the right spot, the one inside will shoot over the crowd and to that safety net there!" Lynn took over, and the spotlight quickly shifted to a safety net being set up at the far end of the stadium which was being manned by Panda Helpers. "So, to make things extra interesting, we have decided that the ones inside¡­ shall be the upper management and monster leaders! That''s right if any of you ever had any grievances with your superiors now''s the chance to send them flying! If you hit the right hole, that is. But no worries, we have prepared a little something for everyone who plans to participate!" Qiu Yue added as both the girls simultaneously ran to the backstage to hold onto their Boss''s hands. "Wait, what?!" Jin, who thought his previous appearance would be sufficient, had been to busy writing the email to Ke Long to even pay any attention to the game explanation. The girls did not give him a break, and so he became the first victim of the Blackbeard Cannon mini game. The minions cheered as they saw Jin''s reluctant and stunned face inside the battle and the monsters were intensely holding their hands up wanting to try the game. Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One took turns to choose the volunteers from the crowd of 8000 over monsters, and the System aided them to choose rather impartially, in accordance to race and their numbers. And for the first time, Mr Derpy was chosen immediately which shocked the Shadow Dagen significantly. However, Qiu Yue apologised that given his size, it would be impossible for him to personally go up to the stage. Thankfully, Mr Derpy did not mind. Mind controlling his Deep One was a walk in the park for him, and the crowd could see how happy and light footed the Deep One Mage he blessed was when going on stage. It was then that Mr Derpy could choose which hole to put a plastic sword into the wooden barrel. Only with so many sword holes for him to choose from, he understood that the odds to get the right one were not in his favour. So for a moment he freed the Deep One Mage from his control and asked for his subordinate''s opinion. "Let''s just stick it in the hole right in front of us." The Deep One Mage offered, and Mr Derpy was fine with that idea. Being able to participate and play in a game was more than enough for him, especially since he was the first one this time around. "Hahha, won''t it be funny if Jin flies off because we happened to choose the right one?" Mr Derpy wondered as he resumed the mind control and forced it to parade around the platform for a moment before he aimed the plastic sword in the hole he picked up and shafted it in. There was a large click sound, and for a moment everyone expected their Panda Boss to fly in the air¡­ but unfortunately, there was no other movement coming from the barrel. The crowd as a whole pitied Mr Derpy for a moment before the next few monsters tried continuously. Everyone understood that the odds were low, but with every failed attempt their wish to be the lucky one increased. Besides, who would not want to be able to boast about achieving such a feat, not to mention the prize that would await them? In the meantime, Jin had access to a console monitor purposely built inside for the victim to see the number of slots left before they would inevitably be sent blasting out of the Blackbeard barrel. (It was as if the console was telling him how much closer he was being blasted off) And true enough, on the 43rd attempt, someone managed to succeed. "Congratulations to our first winner for this game! Let us all give Zither Mistress Ke Mi a big round of applause!" When Qiu Yue announced the name, a loud burst of air emanated from the cannon hole, and Jin was sent flying without any safety gear towards the only flimsy net the Panda Helpers were supposed to catch him with. (Ke Mi was totally embarrassed but still, she let out a cute little chuckle when she saw Jin flying away in his panda suit.) Chapter 896 Grand Prize Winner While everyone initially worried it would be a long process, the lottery draw machine was able to spill out the lottery balls fast enough to not cause any long queues. It was constantly spinning and only stopped whenever the tube gate was opened upon using the fingerprint scan. As for the Blackbeard game, the monsters were immensely enjoying the chance to bully their beloved leaders and eventually, after each leader got fired off once, the two game masters presented other games to catch the minions'' attention while they waited for their turn. Mini-games like dancing and even karaoke followed in which Sandy was obviously the winner once she came on stage by popular demand. Her die-hard fans, the Orcs being the most fanatic among them, sang along with Sandy to the point that they requested more than just one encore. Soon, it turned into an impromptu fan concert when nearly the entire audience joined in with the sing-along (only monsters like the Valgs and the Deep Ones abstained as their voice was more disturbing than melodic), nearly overshadowing the grand prize winner when Wyrstriker got it while his eyes were on stage. Still, the System was considerate enough to not disturb the songs and only announced the Grand Prize Winner after the applause. That also allowed Jin to prepare his large gift basket and present it to Wyrstriker while the goblin raked in the System points. "Congratulations Wyrstriker! You are our first Grand Prize Winner!" Jin bowed in respect and from the distance, the Wyvern Goblin Knight Battalion were howling with pride. With that many System Points, it was possible to buy better aerial fighting equipment and continue to improve themselves so that they can continue to stand as the first and best airborne force that Jin had. This was especially important for the Wyvern Goblin Knight Battalion since the Dragon Devils were now under the System''s control. However, this also meant that their friendly competition for improvement would be endless, pushing Jin''s air superiority to another level. Yet, as time went by, the minions finished drawing their lottery lots, but there were no second and third Grand Prize Winners as advertised by Jin. However, that was not the end for them as Jin came in after the last minion got his prize despite the hype that Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One were creating. "While it is unfortunate that there was no second and third Grand Prize Winner this year, that does not mean no one gets it. In my world, when no one wins the lottery, the prize usually goes to charity. So for those wondering, we are not going for another round of lottery runs, but instead, we are going to follow my world''s practices. These two Grand Prizes will be converted into money, food and supplies, and we will be sending it to your home worlds to help the poor." Jin explained, and there was a short silence and subsequently murmurs between the monsters. It was an unexpected reaction for Jin, as most of them never knew about charity. It was usually a dog eat dog world where only the strongest survived. Sure, once in a while there would be a helping hand for the lucky but it took more than a miracle for that to happen. "But we are not going to give the money and supplies blindly. To efficiently do that, I would like to recruit a group of willing volunteers with sufficient combat skills to scout the cities and areas for us to give aid." "Why can''t we have the money to ourselves and improve? That way, we would be better equipped to fight against our enemies?" Jespa, their local runesmith suddenly shouted out from afar. "Yea, it''s not as if we do not need the funds and there won''t be tax deduction from our additional income." Qiu Yue chipped in her opinion, which caused the chatters to be a little more intense. "Because." Jin stressed the first word, which made everyone keep their mouths quiet for a moment. "Because there are people out in those worlds that need our help. They have suffered from neglect and possibly an unfortunate streak of bad luck. Meanwhile, there are some who struggle to have their ends meet. I am sure more than a few of you have either personally experienced it in your family or at least seen it in those around you. Families who had suffered and thus went to war, hoping to not just get a few mentions of glory but those few gold coins to feed their family." "But! And hear me out on this one! We are not giving anything away for free! Even though I stated that it''s for charity! No, I am not contradicting myself, but it is more important to help those in need by providing them with a chance to do better and not just with a one time relief. For the incoming Virtual Reality Network, I need more than just our current 8000 over minions workforce. I need chefs, jewel makers, barbers, scribers, astrologers, farmers and many more!" "I need you to find those people in need and query whether they wish to learn a new skill. Only upon their agreement, shall we give them food, supplies and money but they have to show results too. It does not matter if they have potential or not. The most important is that they have the determination to pull themselves out of that poverty circle!" Jin said, and suddenly an Orc put their hand out. "Is this your way to let us recruit our family members into the System so we can be with them? I figure that''s what was why you allowed us to return to our home world, not as part of your tradition but to learn that family is still important." The Orc asked so bluntly that everyone came to realise the impact of Jin''s words. "I did not expect my charity move had been found out that easily." Jin chuckled, and everyone began chattering among each other once more. "Ahhhh, now my kingdom will have even fewer Orcs if Master keeps poaching them away for your own instances!" Frost Echo ''complained'' out loud, and the Orcs around him laughed. "Do not worry, I will keep sending coins to improve your infrastructure and the Goblin Kingdom. " Jin replied back. "Besides, you Orcs have such frightening birth rates that it would put many races to shame. And I am sure with enough ''taxes'' from me to you, the kingdom will do just fine." "That is assuming our King finds a wife. He is stuck with pen and paper the whole day. Stop infecting him so much with your personality, Master Jin." The one and only Goblin Spymaster of the Orc Kingdom, Cross remarked, and Jin rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore that personal attack. "Wow, Jin. I honestly never expected that move from you." Qiu Yue replied as Lynn gave a thumbs up too and it was apparent the atmosphere among the crowd turned a lot livelier than usual. The aim of getting their family into the System would not remain as just a dream but an attainable goal that most orcs, goblins and demons could achieve quickly. Chapter 897 The Darker Side of Demopolis Jin emphasised that he did not intend to exploit the poor, but instead aiming to give them the chance to turn their lives around for the better. His minions didn''t doubt his sincerity and were already satisfied that they would be able to bring their family into the picture as long as they were productive. And the unexpected twist in his clause caused many of the Orcs to volunteer before he could even leave the stage which prompted Jin to tell them to sign their participation with the System once it produced the appropriate forms out. Finally, the last announcement which he gave was that the hotpot they were having had also been extended to the end of the day. That meant that barring any unforeseen circumstances, everyone would be able to eat, drink and get drunk for an entire day before it was back to business as usual. The moment everyone heard it, they cheered once more and returned to their respective hotpot instances and had fun. "Is this wise, User?" The System asked Jin when he stood at the stage waving goodbye to the minions. "Which one? The charity part or family part?" Jin asked as he saw that the bellators had remained seated at the front row, and that included the Foxes. He had also asked a few monster leaders which he had trusted implicitly to stay back for a further debrief. "Both, and also the free flow of food for the rest of the day." The System replied. "If they bring out some really talented people, I say it will be a worthy investment. That being said, it doesn''t harm if we have some mediocre talents in the Virtual Reality Network. Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn''t it help lighten your workload if we use them to fill up our Virtual Reality Network? They can just go about their business, and the players will think of them as life-like NPCs so you won''t have to have AI helpers to that job." "And besides, everyone has to start from somewhere, right? I mean look at me. If you did not put that slight trust in me to change after defying you, would we be where we are now?" Jin slowly sat down at the edge of the stage since he wished to give them a briefing. "System reserves its comments for the moment." The System answered and gave Jin the opportunity to address his employees. Lynn, Qiu Yue and Claire had also joined in as per his request. "First of all, Happy New Year to you Foxes once again. Thank you for not only allowing us to gain Demopolis but also putting your efforts into governing it." Jin said and bowed as a sign of his gratitude. "As the new King, let me provide you with a breakdown of the current situation," Rex spoke as he adjusted his seat. "First things first, I hope you know about our crackdown of the bad guys in the area?" "Well, I recall that you locked up a lot of nobles and raided their stuff. After I woke up the System did not inform me that there were any issues, so I don''t know much more than that." "It is nice to know that you and the System trust me in that task, but as the one overall in charge, you should still know about all the things going on under you. So, for the two weeks that you were gone, we had been busy making those ministers confess to their crimes. It didn''t take long for the major shadow criminal triads that to come into the open after we had apprehended their backers." Rex explained and with the help of the System pulled up pictures with all the information they had gathered up until now. "I assume you need more manpower to deal with them?" Jin went straight to what he assumed Rex would want from him, which made the latter smirk. "Exactly, while the Home Guards are decently strong, they are unable to match the firepower which the demons are carrying." Rex remarked. "They can''t be carrying that much punch, right?" Jin asked, and Rex looked at Ixel who immediately produced photographs and threw an envelope full of incriminating evidence in front of Jin. He obviously caught it but nearly fell from the edge of the stage. That was when everyone, including Lynn could feel the change of aura on Jin and it further solidified Lynn''s suspicions. Kraft was sitting there and already grinning by the side, as if satisfied to see his master''s progress and unsubtle revelation of his new grade. "Oops. Sorry, nearly dropped that parcel." Jin apologised as he opened the envelope to find the Demopolis'' Triads were holding onto advanced weaponry that could outmatch the Demon Army''s arsenal of weapons. "You know any of these weapons, Lord Focalor? As a Pirate Captain, you must have seen some of these before?" Jin asked as he passed the photographs to the Sea Tiefling. "Hmm, my crew are using something similar, but ours seems to be an older variant. I heard the King wanted to procure a series of such advanced weaponry for us since raiding in the sea requires dexterity and accuracy. Killing our enemies before they can do anything is the surest way to get our treasures too." "But this is definitely something that even the King would have trouble getting," Focalor stated as he pulled out his old pin-lock pistols and showed the difference. "Yea, what they are using is some kind of Wheelock rifles. These types of rifles improved the rifle''s stock contour for ease of handling and improved the accuracy of the longer barrels. System, what kind of gunpowder are they using?" Jin queried. "It is akin to serpentine gunpowder. They should be easy to refine, but they lack the firepower of modern conventional gunpowder." The System replied, and Jin nodded his head. "In essence, jailing the ministers was just the first step in cleaning up. The biggest vermin are still hiding inside the city and will still cause it to rot if left unchecked. That is where I would like you to come in if possible." King Rex said as if he wanted to see more of Jin in action. "You want me to catch these mafias or triads so that we can control Demopolis'' dark side too?" Jin asked once more for confirmation. "There''s no doubt about that. Given your array of monster soldiers at your disposal, it should be an easy job, no?" Rex asked, and Jin chuckled. "This will be good practice for the soldiers to learn a bit of urban combat as well as getting them prepared for the Demon Rat extermination. I agree to do it, but not in the near future." Jin said, and Rex raised up three fingers. "Three weeks. We have heard rumours that they are planning something big and whatever it is can''t be good for us. I can get the Demon Home Guard to apply occasional pressure with simple tactics as a diversion to your raid." Rex said, but before Jin agreed, he requested for something else. "But in return, I need something back. Is that okay?" "I am part of your Panda Remnant and to some extent, a bellator of yours, I cannot say no. But depending on how you do your job in coordinating this Mafia clean up, I will return the favour appropriately," Rex replied, and Jin knew that the oldest and most powerful fox was blatantly testing him. "It''s a very simple request. Lend me Kraft." Jin pointed at the devil in human skin, causing each and every Fox Bellator turned around to their de facto leader. Chapter 898 Krafts Agreemen "You seem to pick the easy way out huh, Master?" Kraft mentioned as he grinned widely upon hearing that Jin wanted him for this raid. "Information gathering is your expertise, and you can kill without prejudice. Or can you recommend someone better suited for such a job? Besides, don''t you think you can keep from me that you have secretly been training your ''Night Foxes'' for such an event?" Jin asked as he took his phone out and showed some pictures which he had snapped. "How did you get that picture?" Kraft let out a stifled chuckle but continued to stare at his master. "I asked Zhi Nu for permission to redecorate the tavern after their party. I just happened to see all those weapons and training plans within the System''s records." "You do know that saying ''curiosity kills the cat'', right?" Kraft asked as he leaned forward. "Last I heard there is no update of the phrasing that showed that the Panda will die from being curious." Jin countered, and Kraft raised his eyebrow and then started laughing. "Hmph! I was actually preparing them for something more glorious but considering it''s Big Brother''s city, and if it''s at the request of the Panda Master then fine, I shall entertain you all with a performance of my Night Foxes. Show you guys that they are a force that will put all commando teams to shame." Kraft boasted as if he was bringing them for a live firing demonstration exercise rather than a mission. "My gosh, Brother Kraft, if you had such a force ready under you, I would not have involved Boss Jin in such a simple task," Rex remarked shaking his head. "Wasn''t it you who allowed me to probe at everyone''s stuff without any need to report to you? This is, unfortunately, your loss Brother Rex as you never asked me and his win to reveal a hand. You have to acknowledge that at least he played his cards decent enough. Like I said, I was keeping this a secret until Jin was seriously in need of a rescue. That way he could owe me one." Kraft replied with a shrug. "Well, you can still make him owe you one." Rex wondered what was stopping Kraft to do that. "Nah, I did technically left him out to die in the previous battle against the Loompa Ooofpa. Pei was seriously angry so I will let this request slide." Kraft spoke not for Jin''s sake, but rather to appease Pei who had diligently tried her best to save Jin with all her might. The Dungeon Supplier might not see it, but everyone else knew how worried she was to keep their master alive. Jin could vaguely read the atmosphere and decided to close the issue on that by telling Kraft he had that three weeks to do any last minute preparations for his Night Foxes. "Wow, three whole weeks. I honestly thought that you would want me to raid them right now. Even better. This way, I can assure you that the Night Foxes will perform the cleanest extermination of those vermins any of you have ever seen." Kraft added a thumbs up as Jin continued to the next issue. "Thank you, so aside from the Mafia problem, how are the other stuff going forth?" Jin queried knowing the Foxes themselves had taken major positions of the city. Rex had made them do so because he wanted them to revise their leadership before they gave it back to the demons. "Once we clear the ones making trouble, we are ready to remove the slums and place those prefabricated buildings created by Qiu Yue. She has also promised to assist us in revamping the city blueprint." Tsu shared, and Qiu Yue nodded her head in agreement. Both the Red Panda Tactician and the Wolf Twin Bellators knowingly used this opportunity to utilise each other''s strengths. Qiu Yue would be trained by Tsu and Kai while the Wolf Bellators would take the chance to improve the Demopolis. "Once that is done, we shall begin using the Orc Construction Crew to rebuild the roads and subsequently the infrastructure too. Although we have also considered the possibility of using the Pandapolis as a temporary shelter for them to stay until we fully revamp Demopolis for it to be like a second Pandapolis." Ixa said, and Jin thought that sounded like quite a refreshing idea. "So, instead of opening Pandapolis, we use Pandapolis as a training centre? A temporary shelter and possibly a conversion camp or well in this case a conversion city while we capture other cities?" Jin joked but Ixa nodded her head. "That was what Itori and I had been thinking. That way, we can monitor each and every one of them, and if there are any detractors like any spies hidden there which belonged to the criminal organisations or agents from the Church of the Afterlife, we are able to have an upper hand." Ixa added. "Not to mention, taking control of those agents and feeding them with fake information while we procure theirs," Itori interjected her opinion. "Obviously, conversion wise ¨C for the lack of a better word right now, we can influence them the ways of how we work in Pandapolis. Influencing them with our current quality of life will undoubtedly make them automatic slaves under our systems." Rex explained. "You mean, just one System." Ixel pointed out, and the rest chuckled a little. "But in the long run, we will not be able to stop the infiltration of the Church Agents. They might haunt us even more. Are we going to create a secret police or something along those lines to stop them?" General Nubwort said and was waiting for the big wigs like Rex or Jin to comment but Ayse interrupted before any of those two could speak. "Master! Master! You know, when I thought about this Church of the Afterlife. I had a rather radical idea in mind if you allow me to say it out." "Shoot." Jin gave her the attention needed. "Why don''t we create our own ''religion'' to counter theirs?" Just one line alone from Ayse had already enabled the entire group to start to think about the possibilities of such an idea. They had the System which worked exactly in the same way as the Church of the Afterlife. Being the only company that had a monopoly on the resurrection business, its prices had become inflated, and its power could be overbearing for some. Sure, there might be some who might be trained in resurrection magic, but they could never do something large scale like the Church of the Afterlife. The fact that Kraft and Kiyu had found out that they were wary about the new powers from Jin''s faction showed that the Church wanted to stay at the top by whatever means necessary. If a new rising power would come to contest such a superpower, it might also mean there was a large piece of the cake to take from the business and ultimately the consumers would momentarily benefit from the competition. "Hahahahahahah! How could I have not thought of this before!" Jin wondered to himself as he laughed till he lied down from his sitting position. Chapter 899 Creating A Religion "That''s indeed a very interesting line of thought." Moloch agreed as everyone could imagine the feasibility of it in the long term. Not just the creation of a religion but the ability to finally compete with the Church of the Afterlife. Moloch felt that they were holding onto that particular power of position for way too long and reports of wanting to stop Pandapolis was unheard of. Were they also doing it in Demon Metropolis? Was Kiva a part of their scheme or an unknowing participant? Perhaps when he had the time, the cotton Minotaur Lord talk to the fallen Crow Demon. "Panda Temple anyone?" Qiu Yue babbled her thoughts out, and Lynn suggested that maybe the Penguins and Red Pandas could be the side gods. "Then the foxes would be the accompanying major gods alongside the Panda God." Gold stated as if it was a fact. "Sure, but let''s find some preachers and priests to do our work." Jin sat back up and jokingly gave his opinion. "Sigh, where can we even find such devout priests?" Pei asked with a tinge of sarcasm as everyone in the group was already looking at someone in particular even though the one in question was partially sleeping through the entire meeting. "Oei, Saggy Mountains. Wake up!" Peppers pinched Milk''s arm really hard, which caused her a shock before focusing her attention to look at Jin. "Just say yes!" Peppers hinted at the side. "Yes!" Milk shouted still too sleepy to register that Peppers had been the one to tell her what. Once her brain started up, she just hoped she would not get into trouble upon listening to her little sister Bellator. "Wonderful, thank you, Milk. Your preaching services will be much appreciated." Jin teased Milk who heard the word ''preaching'', immediately realised it was some sort of trap she got herself into. "What did you make me say yes to?!" Milk questioned with her eyes burning with rage, demanding answers from Peppers. "They asked where to find some preachers or priests to create a new religion. The obvious answer is you, right? You were part of some god damn megachurch organisation after all." Peppers responded. "That was YEARS ago. And I was only trained to do so, I barely have any experience under me what so ever. Besides, I only pretended to be a proper priestess until Jin said we could be ourselves. There is no way I want to go back to be a priestess. It''s awfully boring!" Milk complained openly so as to reject the notion of becoming a priestess. "What if I allow you to do whatever you want with that title? Well, almost. Would you agree if I let build your very own religion the way you like it?" Jin suggested, but Pei gave a squinted look at her master. "That sounds way too irresponsible. A religion of such recklessness will only promote dire consequences." Milk''s serious tone brought forth a new side which Jin and the others hardly see. Even Pei was surprised by her honest comeback. "Wow and no, Milk. We do not need to create a religion strictly per se. You might want to check out how it works in our own world. We just need an influencer to gather a massive following. Once we have a figurehead that represents the ideology that we have, we can ultimately recruit these followers into our Virtual Reality Network. We are not going to make a good to honest cult following. Remember, we are just ''selling'' our resurrection abilities." "So, you want her to set precedence for the Panda Clan''s objectives?" Pei asked for a clarification and Jin affirmed to it. "Instead of a priestess, we can promote her into our Goddess. Throw in some Angel Pandas and Devil Foxes as part of her entourage, saying how she encompasses both good and evil, and we can attract both monsters and humans." "Nah! I doubt that it will work well. There are very race opinionated humans and monsters, and unfortunately it was something they had been taught since they were little." Itori said. As the one responsible for the education deparment, she was the most knowledgeable about the current textbooks of Demopolis. "Even if we change the way they are being taught, it might work for the children, but the roots inside of the grown ups run too deep. Maybe we can do that in the future when we are in control of more human adventurers and monsters. But it is suicide if you attempt that at the moment." "Then why don''t we split that concept into two?" Kraft tilted his head sidewards and pointed in the direction of the Bellator sitting beside Milk. Jin quickly realised what his crafty fox was talking about. "Ah¡­I get what you mean now." Milk looked at Peppers who was busy yawning and pinched her back. "Ow! What?!" Peppers shouted back, but she knew it was her own fault she lowered her guard. "Since you dragged me into this mess. I am not going to let you go. If I am to become the Goddess, you are going to truly perform the opposite role of Demonic Queen Sage or Little Ms Explosion whatever!" Milk said as she grabbed Peppers by the waist and pinch her fats. (Oooof! Ever wonder what kind of fat?) As the two continued their bickering, Jin could already see where this was going. Instead of a single figurehead, the two bellators with him could play the role of the Sisters of Order and Chaos. The Angelic Pandas with Milk against the Devilish Foxes with Peppers. And since the inhabitants in this country loved to fight or had to fight for their survival, putting them under their service should exponentially work. All they had to do was follow a similar concept as it had been done in novels and fiction stories. Bless a few adventurers and guide them with the power of Priestess Goddess Milk. Do the same for monsters under the guidance of the Demonic Sage Queen Peppers, and they could incite a full scale war which profits Pandapolis and Demopolis. Jin explained the possible idea he had to the whole group, and even the two felt it should be feasibly possible. "Not just that, if we are really able to create a huge following with you two at the helm, this can be ported to the Virtual Reality Network as part of the Grand Lore storyline," Jin said excitedly, and people could see where this was going. Not everyone would like player versus player content but those who do, should love a full scale battle along with the monsters as companions. And that alone could rake in a shit ton of money for Jin''s company. And with the real dungeons instances as rewards, Jin believed it would definitely entice cultivators to play. Who knows? Maybe commoners could achieve the impossible and gain a cultivation of their own too. At the very least they would get to chance to obtain it while playing. But ideas aside, the work needed to prepare all these would be staggering, and a fair amount of planning was needed to ensure things would go well. And with issues with Demopolis done, Jin now diverted the attention to the Farming World. Assuming that the Demon Rats had already recovered from the failed ambush, it was imperative for Jin and his army to act quickly. "But before you go into that, shouldn''t you publish your new dungeon instance and Shop Instance?" Yun shouted from the side of the stadium and reminded Jin that he should not forget his primary duties as the boss of Dungeons and Pandas. Chapter 900 Off Site Discussion "Ah yes, sorry my bad." Jin stood up and walked towards Yun who had opened a portal ready to transport Jin back to the Dungeon Maker. "Seriously, I have waited quite some time for it ever since you made the timed published post. And now everyone''s asking where the new dungeon instance is." Yun sighed as she knew that Jin must have been swiped away by this impromptu event. "And here I was wondering where you went after the Yu Sheng. Thank you for the assist." Jin placed his two palms together as a sign of apology to Yun. "To work, duh. Someone had to man the post until you put up that new shop instance of yours. Now, hurry." Yun rushed Jin in a hasty tone with her arms folded. She knew what exciting mess Jin had in store for the Pandarens but more importantly, Yun could potentially work lesser if what Jin implemented were operating as intended. "Are we going to disperse this meeting too?" Qiu Yue shouted out loud as Jin was about to enter the portal. "No, you guys should discuss that fantasy religion thingy or just do some small talk. If there are any good ideas, the System will just pen them down and send it to me for consideration. I will be back soon! Promise!" Jin said as he entered the portal before Yun followed behind him. "Sometimes, Master reminds me of my senior colleagues when I used to be working for a physician clinic," Pei grumbled when her eyes trailed Jin going into the portal, followed by Yun. "How so?" Lynn asked as she brought out a few finger snacks from her storage ring and shared it with everyone. She knew eating while discussing was the best way to get the ideas flowing as compared to staring at everyone. "They always used to do things halfway and later get called for more important stuff. Before they left, they promised they would return but ultimately left us dangling to fend for ourselves." Pei caught a cheese ring snack from Lynn and opened it up. "Isn''t that applicable to all the super busy senior colleagues in every kind of work setting?" Claire commented as she thanked Lynn for the snacks. "I might be guilty of that, even more nowadays." Ayse raised her hand to catch the snack pack and nearly missed it. "But you got to give him credit. He always does return." "Oh, you are definitely guilty of that. My girl keeps sending me System messages to tell me how bored she is waiting for your approval." Gold sniggered as he started munching on some seaweed flavoured chips. "Please, Weslie is more than capable of tinkering on her own inventions without needing my approval. She could just go ahead with me looking at it." Ayse shrugged her shoulders. "True, she used to do that in the past. However, after all the time she had been in servitude, your validation is one of the most encouraging things for her. It certainly spurs her on to greater heights. Sigh, you are definitely the thing we talk about most often¡­" Gold suddenly started munching a little faster than usual. "Hahaha! Do I detect some jealousy? Aren''t you a Scholar as well? Perhaps you should start creating some inventions to have some common ground with her." Ayse snorted, and the rest were enjoying this mini-drama. "My focus as a Scholar is not really transferable to make some inventions¡­ Anyways, do you guys have any ideas about that religion?" Gold tried to steer back the conversation, but everyone understood that he was just running away from the previous discussion. "I am not really a religion fanatic even though I do pray to our Shaitans at times. I would like to suggest that we should expand on the lore on how these two ''sisters'' became angry at each other." General Nubwort inadvertently stared at the Avatar of Slydra leisurely eating chips. "Are we really going with what Jin suggested? Isn''t that taking the joke a bit too far?" Milk looked at Nubwort with a death stare and pouty face full of snacks within. "Even if it may sound like a joke, it seems rather valid. Pardon my rudeness, but you are tremendously beautiful, Ms Milk. For you to act as a Goddess of ''Good'' will definitely attract many followers." Nubwort looked back into her eyes, revealing that he was not afraid as he enjoyed his spicy Mala flavoured chips. "And as for little Peppers, she has her own unique traits that should make her quite an attraction to us monsters." Nubwort tried to please the mage before he got blown to pieces. "What do you mean by unique traits? Are you implying that all monsters are paedophiles?!" Peppers showed her teeth as a sign of aggression at Nubwort, but the people at her direction noticed there were some cheese bits stuck between her teeth. (She was, in terms of physical appearance a kid after all) "I haven''t met any monsters who would not admire a Goddess boasting such destructive powers." Wolte chimed in. He himself would also patronise a God of Destruction if there was one under Jin. "We actually could make their origin story really fun since Peppers and Milk always tend to fight over the most petty thing ever." Qiu Yue added. "Like a plushie?" Lynn chuckled, and everyone seemed to be nodding their head with approval upon hearing her idea. It was definitely something they could picture those two fight over. (maybe even die for?) "Not just any plushie. Perhaps a platinum animal Plushie. One that smells of gummy candies or something along that line. Those two are always fighting over those gummy bears anyways." Qiu Yue decided, and Lynn added how sparkling it could be. "Or maybe, a sparkling platinum Gummy Panda plushie! " Lynn took the chance to bring out two bags of gummy bears and threw it to the hungry looking hyenas. "Are the two of you tempting us?" Milk chewing on her gum burst candy had actually been imagining a plushie that looked like Jin in Panda Suit with an overhead Panda head, so it did not cover his face. Smelling of candies and sparkling whenever she hugged it. What a fantastic idea. (And she could finally stuff her face into the plushie and imagine Jin hugging her all day.) "Is there even such a plushie that I do not know of?!" Peppers imagined her plushie to be a ginormous Panda plushie that had many pockets to put her snacks in and maybe even fly her around like a magic carpet. When she would be cold, the plushie would be able to cuddle her to sleep or maybe blow her cool with magical wind if she was too hot. As the two were imagining their ideal plushies, the thought of each other taking it away suddenly snapped them out of their dreamworld simultaneously. They accidentally made eye contact with each other, and the onlookers could practically see the lightning between their eyes meeting. Even without saying a word, the group understood that the plushie idea could be a viable bait for them to work their roles. (And perhaps without acting and with real emotions invested in it!) ???But jokes aside¡­ If I can add on to the validity of the idea, what Jin proposed is extremely radical but in my opinion, quite plausible. Only now do I realise that there is no such thing as Gods and religion in our Dungeon World context as compared to Master''s world. Sure, we have the Church of the Afterlife, but they only preach how one should live their ways. After all, they are responsible for something everyone needs. They are not spiritual leaders or people who guide the lost. Compared to Jin''s world, even though they have the power of resurrection at their disposal, they still believed in superstition and gods." Moloch added. "Where I come from we use the concept of Gods to gather their powers. After all, we generate our mana and chi from within our bodies or from the surroundings. It''s not like a universal mana pool like Peppers. That is why the stronger our belief in something, it somehow clicked and we can conjure a stronger spell." Lynn replied and hopefully explained to Moloch why their world needed gods. "For us, our powers are from the blessing of the Shaitans. Even the goblins'' magic comes mostly from them or well, the astral plane that our Shaitans are residing in." Ayse said as she stuffed more chips into her mouth. "But my powers are not from Shaitans at all." Dread Reaver commented as he and his two other brothers were also part of the group that had been called to stay back to represent the goblins. "Still, your powers are coming from Lady Death herself. It''s a magical plane nonetheless and not from the universal mana pool." Ayse added. "From what we know, this universal mana pool concept exists in the Farming World, Dungeon World and whatever world which Peppers was from," Moloch said to confirm the facts and the monsters in those worlds nodded their heads. "Definitely not for my world. Unless we had some sort of shadow organisation which ran everything in the background like some had theorised, we should not have had access to magic. Even our technology can only be called mediocre if compared with Master Jin''s world¡­well since we are from a world that based solely on technology." Half Ghoul Lord Derek spoke out after he chewed and finished a biscuit. "Nevertheless, we believed in Gods and their bullshit before they came into our world and annihilated us." "Speaking of Derek''s world. I heard that you''ve been trying to concoct a remedy to reverse the zombie virus? How has that been going?" Ayse wondered since there was never a good time to talk to him. "I have done quite a number of tests, and while not conclusive, the cure could actually just be in the System''s possession. Somehow the System allowed the zombies to gain intelligence and strength. One of my zombies has even successfully evolved into a ghoul, and she retained her previous memories too." Derek shared with the group. "Any differences between a ghoul and a half ghoul lord like you?" Claire queried. "In terms of evolution, I believed she has surpassed me in all attributes since I am just a half ghoul except for intelligence. For some reason, my current state gives me more clarity and insight. I am afraid if I were to evolve into a full ghoul, I might lose that intelligence." Derek spilt out his worries. "System will assure Half Ghoul Lord Derek, there is no need for worrying. Evolutions always enhance you and will not become a disadvantage. System further wants to point out that the Evolution would be at least to a Ghoul Lord which is a higher being than a ghoul." The System suddenly stated its assurances but also reminded the group that the System was hearing them. "Heh, thanks for the vote of confidence. Anyways, while painfully slow, it is indeed possible to return the zombies to their ''normal'' state." Derek said with air quotes since they will never return to normal because even he knew that also as a human, he could never have the strength to carry a vehicle that he had now. In fact, being a zombie allowed Derek to continuously evolve to a superhuman than returning back to normal. "But I assume that you are not satisfied with the result?" Rex expressed his concerns since he knew how revenge can consume someone upon secretly receiving a crash course from the System on Derek''s situation. But until the act was done, they too could never find peace. "You read my mind. Jin only captured a few hundreds of us. Compared to the millions back in my world, we were the lucky ones to get out of that mindless loop of hunger and instinct." Derek said. "How come you never really asked Master Jin about saving your people''s life at all?" Wyrstriker exclaimed, and Derek scoffed at his remark. "Why should I? It''s not like my world is ending. In fact, it practically already has ended. I am not that compassionate. Perhaps it''s because I have just been a small cog in the machine while alive so I do not see it as my responsibility. Instead of curing humanity as a whole, I am more interested in the people who inflicted this damage to us. Those Gods." Derek replied. "In fact, I am very certain that if Jin were to fight with those gods, the System might obtain some goodies that will significantly increase its processing capabilities and thus making the Virtual Network much easier." "If I am not wrong, those Gods that you speak should be from the Gods Realm. And if that''s true, we might have trouble fighting with them." Baal who had been listening quietly finally spoke out. He was forced by Moloch to stay with the ''upper management'' crowd even though he still considered himself as an outsider. But right now since he had some inside information on them, Baal hoped it could provide some insight. "Unlike the Demons, the Gods are highly reverted and worshipped because of the philanthropic actions they partake. Thus they are more powerful in terms of strength and numbers. Look at Wolte, ever since there were Dark Templars worshipping him as their new saviour, he had been growing leaps and bounds." Moloch explained and using Wolte allowed them to visualise how absurdly strong the gods could be. "But everyone in the Demon Realm knows that they can be as evil as the perceived demons. Or maybe even worse than us. And what''s more, they use our perceived stereotype to shift all the blame to us. And while hate and blasphemy is also a form of worship, they do not give as much as the favoured gods." "Because their love for their gods is the main product while hating you is the byproduct?" Evon asked, and Baal nodded his head. "Unless it''s pure hatred for us, the powers we can receive are subpar." "Is that why you became a power greedy King despite the fact that you have a decent base of followers from doing your job right?" Wolte questioned, and Baal kept quiet for a moment. "System believes that the User requires more time to stabilise himself before he should even attempt fighting against such celestial beings. User has too many things on his list of agendas and adding one major objective would less likely to benefit the System." The System spoke out. "However, with the incoming Virtual Reality Network, more zombies will need to be captured, and when there are sufficient amounts of evolved zombies, Half Ghoul Lord Derek can suggest under the recommendation of the System to build a base camp in the Zombie World." The System elaborated which shocked everyone. "Woah, this is the first time I heard the System being so nice to a monster''s plight," Pei mentioned sarcastically. "System believes that the Zombie World has a lot of untapped potential and possible scavenging could help enhance the processing capability even without fighting against the gods." "But our technology is equivalent if not lower than Master''s world." Derek wondered. "That''s where you are wrong." Moloch shook his head. "Now I know why System is suggesting that." "Hahaha, yea there is no way the System is charitable. I am seeing where this is going." Kraft laughed. Because it was a world that immediately turned every single person into zombies, there were money, gold, and raw natural resources which could be pillaged to enhance the System''s capabilities. In short, it was a ''gold mine'' world for the System to tap into when Jin was strong enough. Chapter 901 Revamping the Shop Instance Chapter 901 Revamping the Shop Instance Ever since Christmas, Jin had wanted to renovate the Shop Instance so his new customers would have a better first impression while his repeating customers would have a more inclusive experience using it. He had been experimenting with new interior designs inside the Dungeon Maker and felt that the ones he found had been extremely inadequate. It did not feel right when he tried to balance the needs of the masses while trying to do a makeover to give a better aesthetic to the whole Shop Instance. There was no sense of closeness or familiarity if something was too grand in his designs. It was only after the Demon War Defence that it clicked inside of him that there was actually no reason to create an interior design. If it was an instance like all others, so why should he restrain it as part of a building? With more resources in his hands, Jin could create something quite different from his past designs. And with the Chinese New Year, he had also repurposed and recreated the Shop Instance to fit the holiday''s theme so they could experience with the Chinese New Year thematic designs as well. "Hi, everyone. Happy Chinese New Year! There will be an update to the current Shop Instance in five minutes, but it should not affect your current activities. However, we will ask you to move out of the old Shop Instance once I have pushed the data into the server. So if you wish, take as many pictures as you want of the old Shop Instance before it is taken down." Jin said through a microphone via the Dungeon Maker Instance. "Hopefully, they will appreciate this version just as much as they did the previous one." Jin thought as he waited the five minutes. He could have done it instantly if he wanted to, but he chose not to. Then he clicked on the ''Load'' button on his Dungeon Maker Interface as it created the new Dungeon Instance. And soon after he pushed the data into the System''s servers, he went in first to have a quick look of the area. When he saw that everything was to his liking, he allowed the System to open it for everyone. Not even a second after, his customers started to teleport into the new Shop Instance to see what Jin had changed. To their surprise, they found themselves back in time. It wasn''t back to the initial version when Jin had just started out, but back in historical time. There was an extensive row of old shophouses similar to the ones which were popular in the 1930s to 1950s. Jin had taken his inspiration from Hong Kong''s Queen Road which the British first built it in the 1940s. The row of shophouses gave a nostalgic jump to the past where everything was less modern and more face to face interaction. At the centre of it all was a two way street with a train platform in between them. Jin had incorporated Lynn''s Restaurant Train into his Shop Instance, so people did not have to go into a new instance, breaking the immersion. And that was Jin''s main idea for his new Shop Instance. He wished to incorporate all the current Service Instances he had into one gigantic Shop Instance and hoped this would make people make use of his Service Instances. At the same time, have fun travelling around the new ''shop'' instance rather than merely teleporting for the sake of convenience. Naturally, he did not remove such an option, but he did rename it into ''fast travel'', and they could only do it by going to a shop houses that specialised in such services. That was none other than the ''Tourist'' Information Centre. The Dungeon Supplier had supplied Panda NPC Employees to take charge of the shophouses in order to relieve the load of the other NPCs and his employees within the Shop Instance. Naturally, Yun could take over whenever she wanted, but she was no longer needed to man the counter twenty four hours round the clock. As for his Service Instances, they could also be accessed without the fast travel via the train, by foot or even by flying which Jin monetised a little on. For those who are at low grades and wished to fly around with Qing Gong (Light Martial Arts), Jin sells temporary flying inscription charms at his tourist information centre which would temporarily boost their chi. This allowed them the ability to fly to the service instances with their Qing Gong. The Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance as the name suggested, had been placed at the mountains where the cultivators would have to make an effort to reach there. The same goes to Deep Fishing Reservoir and the Wunderpanda Theme Park, which could be seen from the top of the mountains. However, sensitive service instances like the Emerald Mountain Hot Springs were all adjusted to show Pandas and Red Pandas using the hot spring pools whenever any cultivator flew over them. The cultivators would still be able to enter a separate service instance and use the services as previously intended. As for open service instances like the Wunderpanda Theme Park, they had been placed with a distance detecting feature. Once someone entered the area above it, they would be asked to get out or pay for it. Failure to comply within the time limit would warn them, that the cash would get subtracted from their cash wallet. And after which, they would still be allowed to enter the theme park. Other than that, Jin did place some minor discounts to encourage people to take the train but made sure everything was also reachable by foot. Similar to aeroplane miles, Jin had made an experimental Panda Miles programme which would keep track how much the cultivators had walked. If they travelled sufficiently, they would be given rewards like a one time discount which had a maximum cap of 5% or even used to redeem Panda medals. With the creation of the new Shop Instance, Jin had not intended to make it so wide and vast, but the System stated that with this new instance format, it would collect sufficient data for Jin''s new Virtual Reality Network platform. Initially, the System needed even more processing capability to power such a large instance since it had used to collect even more monsters and animals. But because of how Jin had closed and combined various instances into this particular Shop Instance, it eventually became feasible creating this new possibility. Panda Street Instance. Chapter 902 Panda Street Shophouses Chapter 902 Panda Street Shophouses The Panda Street Instance had everything that the old Shop Instance had, only more compartmentalised since they had been broken into shophouses for people to mingle around. Jin had utilised the very same concept he first used when he opened his shop. While it might look like small shophouses from afar, it was a different experience once they walked into the store as the area widened within the shophouses. This allowed groups of people to come in without an issue and would expand accordingly. For example, the Bai Twin''s Weaponry and Armoury Store Instances had been incorporated into multiple shophouses. Bai Wan had separated his shop based on the type of weapons being sold. Melee weapons had one store dedicated to them while the ranged items were another. He later further separated them based on the types sold. With swords as the most popular of them all, Bai Wan had put them on the first floor and subsequently the axes and spears on the second. Blunt weapons and niche weapons had the third floor for themselves because he wanted people to at least look at them and do some window shopping so that they could have some love for the community obsessed with swords. And speaking of swords, the range was absurdly wide. So much that Bai Wan had been given a separate shophouse to accommodate the higher grade swords and the varieties. The same went for magic weapons where Jin started to sell staffs, wands and books as part of the store expansion. Jin knew that there might not be that many mages according to System statistics but at least by offering such an option, it could prompt mages to at least try his dungeons. On the other hand, Bai Xin''s Armoury Shophouses was even more frightening because of the number of clothes she had in her possession. From traditional armour to reinforced defensive clothes with inscriptions, she literally owned half the row of shophouses in the Panda Street. Jin felt that this would be a better choice than an ever-expanding department store which would make the cultivators feel as if there was no end when window shopping. With the genres compartmentalised by the shophouses, it should give the shoppers a set of specific choices. What''s more, Bai Xin could now open a shophouse that solely sold her own personal wares. This gave her more control of the products she wished to market and promote her items without it being bogged down by the wide variety of choices the cultivators once had with the department style instance. But because of the large catalogue they had, Jin had collaborated with Bai Xin and Bai Wan to create a submodule in his Pandamonium App that would give them partial control of the items they wished to showcase. Based on their inputs, Jin had also revamped the shopping sub-app that should see an increased uptake in the number of people browsing it. And with the items in weekly rotation, several obscure items could be showcased and entice people to buy it. Not only that, but he had also started to incorporate the Pandafull Delivery Team to send wares in Shenzhen for. (Since his team got a little bigger after the defence against the Demon Rats Ambush.) It was also to see the response of the customers to see if they could catch on getting stuff from his store. After all, Pandafull was just a minor delivery service as compared to the other big names out there. Regardless, Jin had been thinking of making people like Bai Xin and Bai Wan as official Panda Clan Associates and allowing them to have access to a small part of the System without them knowing that it was the System. And not only them, but the advent of the newly concocted chi potion by Yu Xiang, the potion researcher had also prompted Jin to create this Panda Clan Associates position. This would not only enhance their current skills but enable them to move faster and further in creating higher grade products at mass quantity too. Speaking of Yu Xiang, Jin had already rewarded her team plenty by allowing her to open her very own potion shophouse in his Panda Street Instance. With the ability to create whatever shop interior with no budget limits like the Bai Twins, this gave her the ability to build her dream shop. However, what she desired most was better equipment for producing even higher quality potions, and that was when Jin told her that doing it in his Shop Instance would be the only choice. Unlike the Chinese medicinal Shop Instance which Jin created for them to do their makeshift research, the System had actually allocated very, very little resources to those instances so that they could be standalone without the System''s interference. After all, the System prefered to spend as little as possible while taking as much rent from the tenants. (Of course, Jin did regulate it so that the shopkeepers had a fair price.) So with the allure of having a more complete lab within the Shop Instance Yu Xiang ended up agreeing to create that shophouse. However, Jin emphasised that only quality items could be sold in the potion store, and she would still be fighting with Octofussy''s General shophouse for profit until she proved her worth. Yu Xiang did not care about all that as all she wanted was to create even better potions. Which is also why Jin had delegated her potion-making into the first official manufacturing job to the Pandapolis Industrial Sector. So, she did not have to worry about making said potions as part of her job and concentrate on researching better ones. Furthermore, a new lab department was officially created for Yu Xiang and her team in Ayse''s Research Lab Instance, although clearance wise, the humans had very restricted access to most of the lab. All the lab machines were teleported into the new department, and Jin hoped that Yu Xiang and her team could mingle with his minions and they would give each other insight into what they knew. (The Cosmetic Inscription were a good excuse why the minions sometimes did not look human.) Of course, that would also mean more secrets would be spilt out. But there was no need to worry as the dungeon supplier had the Director of ''Secret Keeping" by his side and he knew how to keep a tight leash around when it came to the System''s existence. Chapter 903 More Shop Revamps Chapter 903 More Shop Revamps Of course, that was not all for the new Panda Street Instance. Scrapping the tabletop bar that Jin had been using for what felt like an eternity would have been a shame, so it merely moved elsewhere. (Where it went, was still a mystery to the cultivators and only Jin knew where it was.) The food that the System had provided previously had actually been turned into side stalls manned by the new Animal folks from the Giant World. The System had chosen the animal folks who excelled in cooking from the various races such as Salamanders, Crocodiles to operate the street-side stalls, each selling one specific item from the System¡¯s menu. From the random onigiris, the tonkatsu curry rice to the triple cheese pizza, each belonged to their new animal folks owners so that the System did not have to waste time creating them. And to the animal folks, they felt it was an honour to have such an important job as they were given full complete knowledge on how to create these dishes. Thus, the streets were actually slightly wider than most perceived in order to accommodate the street side stalls and their tables. It brought back a little bit of nostalgic feeling especially to the older cultivators, and that was exactly what Jin was aiming for. A sense of familiarity and feeling of closeness among the NPCs, shopkeepers and also the cultivators. Wouldn¡¯t they be in direct competition with the current Shop Instances? Perhaps, but that was not Jin¡¯s concern as this happened to coincide Jin¡¯s objective to gather data ultimately for his Virtual Reality Network. And their current focus was on the crowd size of his customers and its interaction with his minions and his NPCs. This is because with the Virtual Reality Network, crowds would be inevitable, and he needs to know whether the System can control the workload without breaking down. While Jin created the Open Island Instances with the System¡¯s workload handling in mind, the islands would still be filled with activities once launched. So, this particular Service Instance would serve as the fundamental foundation of the Virtual Reality Network. As for the other shophouses, Vulcan, the master blacksmith had his very own two shophouses joined together. The services he provided were the same, but because of his metal smelting, Jin made sure his shophouses were soundproofed correctly, and the smoke did not affect the air quality of the instance despite it being strictly handled by the System. The Panda Muscles had three shophouses joined together, so there was enough place for all the equipment. Jin started to incorporate a few other sporting exercises inside such as Yoga, Dancing and even Kickboxing. As for the pools and running tracks, they were placed further away into the wilderness. And one would realise, the end of the shophouses was actually a gate to the wilderness where the Restaurant Train would also depart to the various service instances within the Panda Street Instance. As for the other end, it was actually facing a wide neverending ocean where Jin had placed a seaport and an airport further at the side of the Panda Street Instance. That was how the cultivators would be travelling to their various dungeon instances. This was a gimmick which also allowed Jin to do some events that could take place from the sea or via the aeroplanes. It would provide enough loading time for subsequent events, especially those emergency ¡®raid¡¯ instances when Jin might need help. But for now, the cultivators who had teleported in along with Jin found out there was already a giant ship with bright festive lights hanging around it. Pandas in old sailor uniforms were banging their gongs, blowing their trumpets and shooting firecrackers from the ship itself. Evidently, it was the highlight of the current Panda Street Instance despite people being shocked as if they were being teleported into a new world. Once again, Jin had released a new limited dungeon instance to coincide with the Chinese New Year Festival, and this one was called the Nian Dungeon Instance. Most if not all the cultivators knew immediately what kind of dungeon instance it was since the monster, Nian had practically been a staple in all dungeon suppliers stores when it came to the New Year because of its significance of ushering the holidays in. However, most of Jin¡¯s customers trusted that Jin¡¯s Nian would be different from other dungeon suppliers, especially after what they had seen and experienced from the Christmas Limited Dungeon Instance. The ¡®Devil Klaus¡¯ had been a major hit that even the influential Dungeon Supplier blogs and websites were talking about promising to check out what this promising dungeon supplier shop would come up with. ¡°Come come! Buy a ticket, and we will send you to the Dungeon where Nian has supposedly fled away to!¡± Mr Patsu now dressed in all traditional Chinese clothes did his job of advertising their latest dungeon. But to everyone who had transported into this new fantasy Shop Instance, they were torn between going to the ship to try the new dungeon instance and seeing what kind of secrets the new Panda Street Instance might have to offer. Obviously to those who wanted to watch the dungeons first before venturing forth, the large screen cinemas were still available, and they were in a major cinema theatre right at the centre of the Panda Street Instance before the road and railways split into two. (Since it was basically a roundabout ride around the entire instance before returning back to the main station.) With the new revamp, the cultivators started to explore the whole place with much excitement. Jin also took this time to walk through the streets to make sure his NPC employees were working without any hitches since there were no ¡®human¡¯ workers around because of the Chinese New Year holiday. He believed he might be one of the few non-essential shops that still remained open, giving rise to the number of customers coming in the morning for their usual routine. (Of course, they would be pleasantly shocked to see the new changes, or that is what Jin hoped.) Chapter 904 Collection of Seeds Chapter 904 Collection of Seeds ¡°Apologies for the long wait. I hope your discussion has been going on well.¡± Jin said as he returned to the Instant Lottery Instance. Instead of maintaining the indoor stadium, the System had already reduced the place to several rows of chairs and a half-broken stage to save on resources. The only thing left was the lottery draw machine and the Fortune Panda waving its paw slowly. ¡°We may have strayed off topic a bit, but we did bring up some points of discussion.¡± Qiu Yue told Jin and decided to jump down the stage when she noticed the stage disappearing. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the conference briefing room since the System seems to be closing this instance down. That way you guys can also have a glimpse of the new Shop Instance I created too.¡± Jin suggested with a hint of pride as he beckoned his minions, bellators and Sub System Users to come to the teleport portal. When teleported, they found themselves in a meeting room that was vastly different from the one they had gotten used to. The room and furniture looked so old fashioned that there was a little bit of retro-modern feel to the whole conference room. There were windows attached which could allow the minions to peek through outside without interrupting the air conditioning and the quality of the sound-proofing the System had created the room with. ¡°Wow, is this why you asked me for permission to edit the Restaurant Train Instance?¡± Lynn asked, and Jin nodded his head with a wide smile. He opened up a hologram on the conference table and vaguely explained to everyone the new design of his Shop Instance. ¡°Not bad. This way, you don¡¯t have to take care of your shop so closely leaving you with more time to clear all the nonsense you have stuck your nose into.¡± Kraft stated bluntly as if wanting to keep things on track. ¡°Don¡¯t let Yun hear that. She insists that taking care of the dungeon supplier business as my main priority.¡± Jin chuckled as he asked everyone to sit down. The System immediately conjured a few more chairs for the minions to sit at the side of the conference room as it did not expand the conference room any bigger. Jin sat at the end and started to pull a few files out of nowhere, and the people near him noticed the big fat rat head on the file¡¯s cover. ¡°We shall now be discussing a little on the Demon Rats¡¯ incursion and how we are going to stop them once and for all. The number of reports that have been constantly sent to the System for evaluation has piled up, from enemy numbers to geological surveys of the place¡­ It is high time we strike back. We have a chance to make it right for the Northerners as well as creating a source of major farming for us if we succeed properly.¡± Jin started as he pulled out a few glass bottles from nowhere once more, but upon closer inspection, Gold noticed that they were seeds from his world. Only he was more concerned about the unique glass bottles they were in. ¡°When you guys raided the castle, the cleaning team found quite a number of interesting things. Among them were these seeds hidden at the very bottom of the castle. If not for a crack behind a fake wall, the cleaning crew might have overlooked it. There is apparently an entire archive of seeds in those hidden rooms, and it is well preserved. Gold, I assume you should be able to tell us something about this?¡± ¡°With pleasure. Each and every royal castle has a safe room that protects the seeds used to produce their items. It¡¯s a procedure in case of a catastrophe like a great famine or drought, and these seeds are the salvation of the kingdom in those times. They also act as a library of sorts, and the Northern Regions happens to have the most complete collection. The ones you are currently holding ar-¡° ¡°Stop pretending it¡¯s the first time you see it when you were the one who helped the Northern Region fill it up.¡± Weslie who came in late with a few other stacks of files via the side door chided her companion. ¡°Oho, so Gold was merely boasting about his collection to Jin?¡± Kraft remarked and Gold inadvertently got tongue-tied. He turned a little embarrassed and nodded his head. ¡°Weslie, why did you tell them about it?!¡± Gold asked via the System Channel trying to recover his pride. ¡°Because I know how crazy you can get when talking about it. Or do you want me to believe you were not about to ask for permission to see the library collection since you had ¡®some knowledge¡¯ about it? And then proceed quickly and check if your entire collection is intact.¡± Weslie answered out loud as she placed the files in front Jin. ¡°That sounds exactly like what Gold would do. He is always too shy to admit his own stuff.¡± Ayse agreed with Weslie as she knew Gold¡¯s working style. ¡°People won¡¯t fault you for being in love with seeds and dirt, my friend.¡± Moloch came to his defence, and the minions who knew how difficult farming was who had an in-depth knowledge of the lay of land also believed that such people should be recognised. ¡°According to the System, we recovered everything they had on there. Gold, if you want to check up on it, you are welcome to do so afterwards. We are lucky that we have an expert of your calibre with us. In fact, after we have defeated the rats, I shall grant you the opportunity to regrow them all and even compile a larger library.¡± Jin found this as a lucky break for the team. From the System¡¯s reports, there were thousands of glass bottles filled to the brink with seeds that needed identifying. With Gold being the one previously in charge of that, it should not pose a problem. ¡°But if it¡¯s so precious, why did you not sound it out and tell us to find them?¡± Lynn queried Gold who felt relieved to hear such good news. ¡°I had assumed the rats would have used them to increase their numbers. I did not have much hope when I heard the castle had been mechanised and destroyed rather brutally by our attempts to stop their assault. After all, saving the human slaves and the humans at the town were more important than those seeds. I couldn¡¯t exactly ask anyone to hold back for the chance of them still being in there.¡± Gold answered as he took the glass bottles and took a closer look at their condition. Despite their frail appearance, the glass bottles had actually been enhanced to make sure that they could withstand shocks and earthquakes while also ensuring that the seeds would be kept in a cool condition. However, all those enhancements required magical sources that needed to be replaced after a certain period of time. Only later did he find out that the System had purposely stored them in optimal conditions upon discovering them. It knew how precious seeds could be when its body of entities also consisted of former farmers. ¡°With the seeds in such a good condition, Master Jin, I guarantee you that upon retaking our lands, our farms will be one of the best, if not the very best in the multiverse especially with the help of the System!¡± Gold claimed with such confidence that everyone could feel the money-making vibe coming from him. The objective to take back the Northern Region from the Demon Rats had just become juicier in the System¡¯s eyes (or sensors). Chapter 905 Demon Rats Elimination Proposal - Part 1 Chapter 905 Demon Rats¡° Elimination Proposal ¨C Part 1 "Ahem. Master, these are all the files you asked about in regards to the castle remnants. We have yet to compile everything since it''s the rats left behind a huge mess. There was literally shit all around the place, and they have no sense of cleanliness at all." Weslie sighed as she wiped her sweat away. "I cannot possibly read while you guys wait for me to be done with that," Jin said as he took one of the files and flipped through the pages. "Sure, you can!" Qiu Yue injected. "In fact, I insist you do, so we can get on with the agenda. Especially since you are their masters, it wouldn''t be right if you are the only one unaware. But you will definitely piss off your Sub System Users and bellators if you don''t hurry it along." "Qiu Yue!" Lynn frowned her eyebrows as if to stop her incessant remarks. "Relax, it''s fine. He is used to my stark remarks." Qiu Yue pointed at Jin who had already gone back and was seemingly engrossed with the file right in front of him. Weslie had purposely created a summary of the castle''s investigations that could enhance his current knowledge and placed it on top of the pile. "He may not look like it, but when it comes to reading, his mind turns one track, and Jin will absorb whatever he reads. Though I think the process became more pronounced with the powers of the System." The Red Panda Tactician was spot-on as Jin was using his Inverse Eyes to skim through the entire document and subconsciously picking up the important points. While he was not some boy wonder who merely needed to flip the pages being able to retain all the information, it was considerably fast enough. "I think I got the gist of it. Weslie, thank you for compiling it. I will read it more in-depth later." Jin said as he closed the file after about five minutes and got to the next agenda. The discussion of their plan to eliminate the Demon Rats. "We have previously done a series of full deep scans of the Northern Region courtesy of Peppers. While it has yet to be updated with the latest scan since she was busy aiding me, the data had been given to the System and Qiu Yue for analysis. They have come up with a plan that''s viable now that we know the devices are working even better than ever. I shall give the stage to our tactician to explain more." Jin told them and took a set, while Qiu Yue came forward. "First of all, I would like you all to give a round of applause to Weslie. Her completion of the Demon Rat lure device has proven very useful during Wecha''s defence, and she has already managed to further improve the lure''s range. According to the System''s analysis, it should be at least two times more effective now. We have already recycled the older model and replicated a number of the newer ones, so they will prove useful in our elimination plan." "After going through all the data about their number, their behaviour and their reproduction rate, we can safely say that they are nowhere close to their potential maximum growth. Unfortunately, we believe that with us proving to be quite the nuisance for them, they are likely to come back in even larger numbers." "Don''t they have like one place we can strike to interrupt their growth?" Ixel asked when he heard Qiu Yue''s analysis results. He was thinking of using pure brute strength to wipe the Demon Rats away. "The danger their hideouts pose will increase drastically based on their growth. While we did kill quite a fair bit of rats in the area, we estimate that they have already repopulated that number to continue as it is." Qiu Yue continued. "Fortunately, what they lack now are resources. The Northern Region was said to be the lushest of all the regions with the most fertile grounds. However, the rats had rampaged to the point where they killed almost every single farmer that had the knowledge on how to cultivate such lands." "If I may add based on Weslie''s reports. They are using technology to grow their food based on the tools and samples they found within the castle. She suspected the North and South Scholars are helping the rats to a certain extent, but their limited knowledge on farming made it an obstacle to their progress rather than a boon. It''s almost a miracle that we found the seeds safe room intact since they are desperate to get food supplies up." Jin, who continued to read the reports that interested him, said it out loud. "Hah! That''s great. I guess our raids on their towns'' warehouses have been beneficial." Dread Reaver interrupted out. "Not to mention, we took the human prisoners to safety. Or well, relative safety." Flame Ripper added. "Wouldn''t it be better if we just teleport those humans to our instances?" "The System never liked that. It still preferred talents because of the limited catching space." Jin replied as he shuffled another page of the reports. "Hahaha! The System having a limited catching space? That sounds almost impossible." Wyrstriker said as he knew how much stronger Jin''s army was compared to the first time they met. "But in any case, I think by cutting their supplies, we might have actually been aggravating their methods to be even more desperate in regards to those they still hold in captivity," Wyrstriker added. "It''s not like it was wrong to raid their warehouses." Jin voiced his opinion out. "After all, if I might be so bold to say, but we gained excellent quality food supplies for our shop and to feed those Farming Humans and the other minions. The gold didn''t hurt either, even if we gave out a good portion of it to support the Resistance. However, it is certainly true that in return, they slaved the humans in their capital even harder based on Sebastia''s reports. That was also why she was quite concerned about saving the humans from the floating castle. After this major setback, I can''t imagine it getting any better. But we couldn''t really help it¡­" Jin had forgotten to thank Sebastia properly for continuing to spy despite the risks she had to go through after the Rats learn of their counterpart''s mistake for letting the likes of her into the capital. "This is a war, Master Jin. No war can be fought without both sides incurring any losses." Nubwort stated while looking at Jin. "I know that. I have been thinking hard on this issue for some time now, and no matter what I try to come up with, there will be death involved. Nonetheless, I had accepted such a consequence, and while I can''t always emotionally and physically mourn their loss, I sometimes wonder if there is a better way to do things." Jin said as he knew there was blood on his hands, be it direct or indirect. "Still, I can''t help but wish it would be different. Reality has proven that there will always be consequences from our actions, and I have been trying too hard to prevent and mitigate these¡­ Deaths and misdeeds that I sometimes lost sight of the bigger picture. And it''s because of these occasions that the grumpy old System did give fairly sound advice." Jin emphasised that he was not delusional. Kill one to save many? Sure, he would love to do it, but the rats had already proven that they did not have any honour and would fight in any way necessary. If it looked bad, they would simply retreat instead of risking extermination. With some experience and expertise under his belt, Jin would do whatever he could¡­ as long as it was not at the expense of his new ''family'' of monsters. As selfish as this statement could be, he was still just one human. Chapter 906 Demon Rats Elimination Proposal - Final Chapter 906 Demon Rats¡° Elimination Proposal ¨C Final "I will do my best to help whenever possible and try to minimise the casualties. I am part summoner, part necromancer so we can at least try to help those who survive by offering them a second chance¡­ even if it is under the System. I can only do so much." Jin said out, and his minions nodded their heads in agreement. They knew that his control could be even more authoritarian, but he chose not to enforce it. There might still be some subtle influencing and indirect brainwashing from the System, but most of them could see that Jin was doing for the betterment of their lives. His actions spoke enough to allow Rex to regard this new master of his in a better light. It did remind him when Panda Lord Zhou Lin ruled over the Panda Clan way before his resurrection and subsequent insurrection. But his former master had it easy. The Panda Clan had still been intact, and he had wealth and power to boot. Unlike Zhou Lin, Jin literally started from scratch. The System he inherited had been in shambles, and yet somehow the dungeon supplier had managed to persuade the old relics to follow him rather than to control him. While he had received some financial support from it, especially in the form of loans whenever he expanded, it amounted to nothing compared to the almighty trove of wealth that the Panda Conglomerate was famous for. Other Users who had a better System capability squandered it needlessly and subsequently gave up or died because of selfish reasons. "So what are you going to do?" Rex asked. "I will do my best¡­ to follow the plan Qiu Yue has designed." Jin apologised for interrupting. "Ahem, where was I? Oh yes. As I was about to say to counter their explosive growth, my Sub System has built up a multipronged approach to this delicate matter." Qiu Yue continued as she fiddled with her phone a little and a hologram of the Northern Region emerged in the middle of the conference table. Minion Leaders sitting at the side of the room immediately stood up so they could have a view of the hologram while the rest at the table squeezed a little to have a better view of it. "Based on a predictive analysis of their supposed growth and building patterns of the hideouts, we have determined that there are over a hundred caves and camps that we need to raid." Qiu Yue said. "Normally, doing that should be impossible. Even if we had enough soldiers to cover the ground, the enemies would suspect something amiss." General Nubwort voiced some concern, and everyone who possessed some experience in military leadership agreed on this point. "But we aren''t some normal army, right?" Wyrstriker smirked, and everyone knew they were going to depend heavily on teleportation and sudden strikes against the camps and caves. "Yeah, you all got the idea. This plan is a little bit outdated since the Sub System only took into account of our forces prior to the Demon War. With the fresh troops that boosted our numbers by more than half, it will definitely ease up on certain restrictions." Qiu Yue nodded as she quickly amended the numbers, hoping the Sub System could give them a rough overview. The hologram changed a little, and the percentage of success increased substantially on certain locations because of a blanket increase of numbers. "Now, this is where I need your help. Although not all the military leaders are here, there is enough expertise in this room to give me some recommendations." "The Night Foxes and me won''t be participating since we have already agreed to help with the Demopolis Raid against the Triads." Kraft raised his hand to speak out his objection. "Though, I don''t mind coming in personally to wreak some havoc if Jin asks nicely." "You have the gall to make demands? The last time you said you would help out, that foxy ass of yours suddenly disappeared." Moloch reminded him not so subtly. "Hmm? Was I supposed to let our precious Master suicide? Besides, didn''t a certain Cotton Butt boasted that it was so easy peasy for him?" Kraft slowly leaned forward over the table and stretched out his arm to grab the unruly plush minotaur. "Enough you two. We are here to give input. Do not make this meeting a waste of time." Rex chided his brother-in-arms and Kraft tsked before he quietly returned to his chair where he resumed being lackadaisical to the discussion. Everyone except the Foxes was flabbergasted to witness that there actually was a person around who could hold the crafty fox''s leash. "Are you going to bring cultivators into the fight?" Lynn questioned both her Boss and fellow Sub System User, which caused them to look at each other. However, Qiu Yue let Jin take the stage to answer that question. "I was planning to do that. However, the ''dungeon'' setting will be focused on them attacking the capital instead of the caves and hideouts. I initially wanted them to do the reverse and have our minions attack Rat''s city instead¡­ but I realised the coordination would be too much of a hassle for not just me but the overall coordinating group and tacticians handling them." Jin replied. "I agree with that course of action. To put it frankly, I think we have been holding their hands a bit too much during the Demon War Defence too." Qiu Yue added. "Nevertheless, it is partially our fault since the Pandapolis was at stake, which is why we had to be a little uppity on controlling their battle movements." "They did put up a manageable fight against the free for all, especially the Pandawans." General Nubwort commented. "Though I do admit that their standard was really terrible if we had not stepped in to help them. Especially in the latter parts." "Fortunately there were a lot of them, and they are definitely better than the average humans from our world and the Farming World''s." Flame Ripper said which annoyed Gold a little. "Hey, it can''t be helped. Most of our humans are not soldiers to begin with. We have been forced to fight because of these rats. Before this infestation started, all the fighting had been handled by the soldiers like the guys from Northern Bulwark. And we only had the showing force to deter and not experience to back it up." Gold spoke with some temper in his words, and Weslie attempted to calm him down. "Oh, sorry about that." Flame Ripper apologised quickly. "Alright, calm down people. After this meeting, I will be creating an event to suit the Capital attack. With us now on the offensive, our customer''s objective will be to bring down as many rats as possible, wearing them down while we occupy ourselves by freeing the smaller towns that are still under the control of the Demon Rats. This way, the capital should not be able to respond to our skirmishes while we have the chance to cut off supplies to and from their main capital." Jin decided, and everyone agreed that it was a viable plan. After which, the entire group of minions crowded around the hologram and started to give their input on their monster group''s capabilities, and Qiu Yue began assigning the workload based on the All-Out Attack Plan that they were making. Finally, after multiple counts of defending the Farming World inhabitants, it was really time to get the plan up to go on the offensive so they could make preparations for a swift and impactful strike against the Demon Rats. Chapter 907 Promoting Pandarens Chapter 907 Promoting Pandarens While the minions continued to discuss what to add onto the current battle plan, Jin had requested the System to place a few large hotpots at the side of the hologram so that the group could continue to enjoy the same perks as their comrades. Although it has been designated a holiday for the monsters and bellators, they did not mind doing work this way too. Even Rex and the other Foxes shared their own pot with the minions but they left earlier since they still had matters to attend to in the Dungeon World. With their group gone, Jin also used that opportunity to walk away since he would like to check up on how his new limited Nian Dungeon instance had been doing. "System, how are the people''s reaction to the new Panda Street Instance as well as the new dungeon instance?" Jin asked as he brought out a bowl of soup filled with piping hot ingredients he stole from the hotpot before running to the Dungeon Maker. "As User had expected, there was an increasing number of people coming around 3am to 4am to play the new dungeon instance." The System stated as it was not expecting that many people to come, especially the younger ones. "Well, I remember using the first night of Chinese New Year as an excuse to stay up as late as possible while younger with Gramps. So I figured that tradition was unlikely to change even now." Jin retorted as he was implying ''Shou Sui'' or the tradition to stay awake in the night to be vigilant after the dinner of New Year''s Eve. Chinese folklore had it that people are afraid to sleep during the New Year because of a monster called Sui, which is coincidentally the monster known as Nian too. So, in order to let their parents be at ease, their children would stay awake to keep watch. Nowadays, it was only known as a myth where enforcing Shou Sui would increase their parents'' longevity. Most kids didn''t care about the origin of this and were just happy about the convenient excuse to stay up late without any scoldings and accompany their family and friends till early in the morning. "That must be why the Nian Dungeon theme concept is always so well received in many dungeon suppliers!" Jin noted as he checked on the customers who had already tempted the fights. "Wow, I guess not only teens but our elders are up early as well." Jin thought to himself as he found Zi Dan, Jing Yu and Xia Mao being part of the few who recently bought the tickets for the limited Nian Instance. The System had marked them as noteworthy, ever since the Salamander Keep Dungeon Instance where they led a number of cultivators out from a bind. They had also shown up on Jin''s radar since they already attempted almost every sort of instance he offered. While their dungeon instance clear rate was not as fabulous as the Pandawans, they were clearly above average. "System predicts that their main routine is unlikely to change after discovering User''s Dungeons and Pandas. The trio has been included in their own set of constant participants. While they separated at times to indulge their friends, they always appear without fail to at least attempt a dungeon instance even if their fellow members are not present. There were only three occasions where they on an individual basis to dine with their friends." "So, you think they are worthy enough to become new upcoming Pandawans?" Jin asked the System for its opinion. "User''s customer base only includes a few individuals who have received this title so far. Most of them have earned that title, even though some of them just happened to be part of the main clearers for our dungeons. People such as the Tortoise Cultivator who had accompanied the Ape Pandawan and the Swan and Stag Cultivator that had to accompany the Healing Maiden Pandawan." The System answered with a feeble attempt to mask their identity while making its point obvious. Jin understood that the worthiness seemed to mostly focus about their presence and spendibility inside his shop, and he had to agree that those mentioned, their dungeon records were not as stellar. However, he had no intention of revoking that Pandawan status especially since they were among the first few regulars he ever had. "System feels the need to remind User about the conditions for accepting new Pandawans he himself has set. User had promised to make any team who managed a true first clear into Pandawans or alternatively one could obtain the position by clearing all normal story dungeons not counting whatever the latest one is. Many customers have launched a complaint that the second option is too hard due to the Deep Ones Dungeon." The System argued. "Fair point. So lets put it this way. As long as they manage to clear this dungeon, there should be no problem if we grant them such status, right?" Jin concluded, but both the System and Jin were aware that the difficulty of this particular dungeon instance was similar to Demon Santa Claus. Unless they could think outside the box within their first try, they would be annihilated swiftly. "Hnmm well, I am feeling very VERY generous today, so I shall give them a helping hand this time around. They did spend quite a fair bit on my dungeons, and having a new set of Pandawans will show to customers that getting the Pandawan title is not flawed." Jin decided. "System is amazed how coveted the title is despite User not offering any tangible benefits." The System remarked. "Well, that might be the power of bragging rights at worse. Also, it''s not like they get nothing in return. ¡­the chance to try my dungeon instances earlier than others? Sometimes some insider tips?" Jin tried to think of something right on the spot, and the System was literally speechless. Jin was referring to the Phantom Gentlebear Dungeon Instance, something which some have already ridiculed as a joke instance on the forums and the main reason he had secretly handed the tickets out was to appease his Pandawans for being unable to watch him fight after the disaster of being teleported to various part of Pandapolis. "Fine, you are right. It might be time to make that a permanent feature from this dungeon instance onwards. We could give them a special 50% discount for the early dungeon instance try. Or¡­something along the lines. I will try to think of some other perks to make it lucrative for others to join as well." Jin surrendered when he could feel the chills of the System''s deafening silence in the air. "System will review such benefits to ensure that the Pandawans have adequate recognition. Terms and conditions will be applied as well." The System stated as Jin hurried to switch the screen on the console to watch the progress of the Elderly Trio. Even if he wished to give them a helping hand, he had no intention to make it too obvious, so he had to time it right to make it look like it was an apparent handicap. "I wonder why the System is so insistent of making more Pandawans¡­could he be recruiting people to be part of the new Panda Clan?" Jin thought to himself but decided to postpone that thought as he concentrated on his soon-to-be Pandawans. Chapter 908 Boarding The Ship Chapter 908 Boarding The Ship "Are you three registered as a group?" A Panda Sailor who was drinking on some bamboo juice asked the trio. "Yeah. I''m Zi Dan, the Bullet Cheetah Cultivator. This is-" Zi Dan was about to introduce the rest of his team, but before he had a chance Xia Mao and Jing Yu merely pulled their Pandamonium Apps up to show their tickets. "Well, go right in! We will be departing soon!" The Panda Sailor told them as he ignored Zi Dan''s introduction since there was already enough ''proof'' that they bought the tickets and registered as a group. "OIII, didn''t we agree that we were going for a more inclusive kind of experience?" Zi Dan complained with his eyes squinted at them with a tinge of despise. "Showing the ticket is plenty inclusive enough already." Xia Mao retorted as he stepped onto the boat and saw there were many Pandarens all in their groups and waiting for the ship to depart. With the new revamp of the Shop Instance, they all felt that Jin was going for a more authentic and realistic experience of his dungeons. The waiting time for the ships to depart and arrive on the port was also made quite realistic, and everything was moving like clockwork. Depending on the number of Pandarens in the vicinity wanting to try the dungeon instance, the ships also differed in size. All three of them had seen how the crowd was when they first came in after dawn. Given the early hours, it wasn''t a considerable amount, but Jing Yu figured it had to have been at least a few dozen. Thus when the ship came, there was nothing much to notice about except for the flashiness of the vessels. However, when they were waiting for their turn, more and more Pandarens had joined them by the bay, enforced by the Panda Sailors and Panda Ticketmasters to keep them in line. (Obviously, a snake line queue was created with the aid of System''s queue control.) And when the next ship was seen from the horizon, they did not expect a colossal ship, akin to the size of Titanic docking right next to them. The blasting of the ship''s horns, the seagulls following at the side of the giant vessel and the rushing of the sea waves had physically excited the cultivators. However, the most exceptional part of the ship was the exquisite decoration and the large paintings on the boat''s side, which wowed almost every cultivator on the docks. The docking was fast and swift for a ship that size, and the Panda Sailors who were ushering them in began to allow them to board on. Soon, everyone who had the Nian dungeon instance ticket was able to board while the others who had bought a different set of dungeon tickets had been directed to the avenues of the Great Panda Transport. "Alright, last call! Last boarding call! The ship will depart in exactly one minute! Anyone not on board will have to wait for the next one!" the Panda Sailor shouted while an announcement was also broadcast through push notifications. Whether they could make it on time or wait for the next ship arrival would be entirely up to the customer''s choice. While it was tempting to let the Pandarens have access to the teleporting system once again, Jin felt that he should slowly phase it out and allow them to get used of the inconvenience. He was not sure how much it would affect the customers as not everyone had the time in the world to do things, and accessibility would definitely be appreciated. However, he felt that there was a need to cut out certain things so that they could understand the beauty of the shop instance he created. (Of course, the System did help with the environment and pavement settings but it was still quite a bit of effort putting them together.) Thus, he created a compromise which evidently disadvantaged those who decided to not follow the new set of ''instance behaviour''. He allowed those who were not queuing to have an instant teleport to the dungeon instance of their choice once the timer for the ships was up. However, they would not receive the major incentive for those who did the ''proper'' way and waited for their turn. After all, on the ship, the dungeon groups were not only given a feast spread worthy of praise, they were also allowed to hire Panda Mercenaries of their choice by speaking with the crew to hire. Jin had collected enough data to know how unbalanced the groups in terms of team fights could be. Most if not everyone in the modern world wanted to go for the most offensive, most stylish way of fighting. This was because the current working model was to use the cultivation as a way to improve their quality of life, and cultivation became a hobby rather than a way of life. Jin wanted to change that and thus created this Panda Mercenary Board where Panda NPCs could be hired for their expertise. The System had collected the necessary data from the Savants and thousands of fights to create a varied set of basic NPCs worthy to be used for dungeon instances. As a nice bonus, this would not only block transmission of spiritual power from monsters to Pandarens but also allow the System to gather even more data on how the teams worked with NPCs. Of course, this could not have been done without the creation of squadmates, the feature that Jin had exclusively allowed the Pandawans to test out. This was basically the third iteration of it where Jin tried to innovate and tweak it so it would be balanced. For the upcoming newer dungeon instances, the dungeon supplier had decided to place more emphasis on the ''holy trinity'' party, where it was essential to have a balance of a healer, tank and attackers. That way, Jin would be able to create more fun dungeons and ultimately pave the road for the Virtual Reality Network. With the exception of the new Spiralling Sewers Instance, the Pandamonium App would recommend for cultivators to hire at least a healer, and a tank for their group (unless their group had those bases covered) and each dungeon group could not exceed more than six people and needed a minimum of four for fights. Naturally, the difficulty of the dungeon would be scaled up as well with the increased number of Pandarens participating in the fight, so it would actually be harder for a bigger group to win. While this was strictly enforced in the Nian Limited Dungeon Instance, Jin had decided to be more lenient for older dungeon instances and the cultivators, for now, were allowed to choose between ''old-school'' and ''new mode''. The rewards for the latter would be more enticing, even if the difficulty was also adjusted. The Three Elder Pandarens had no idea how the new dungeon instance format would be like since there were no large cinema screens to watch on the fly while waiting for their turn. And with the need to have a dedicated healer and tank also gave them the chills that Jin''s dungeon instances might have gone up another notch. "But let''s not think ahead of ourselves and choose a good mercenary before the rest are taken." Xia Mao suggested as they were reading the new set of instructions in their cabins as the ship prepared to depart. Chapter 909 Personal Rooms Chapter 909 Personal Rooms The cabin they were in was something new too. Instead of a single bedroom which they all expected, it actually had split into three different rooms converting to a main common room within the cabin. Jing Yu happened to see that the other Pandarens'' rooms were the same as every single one of them was shouting from their main cabin doors how crazy spacious it looked. Only through some interaction between the Pandarens did they realise that the cabins were actually split up based on the number of party members one would have, excluding the common room. Only through further inspection, did they all discover that the room was actually meant to be used as their very own personal private room. The Elder Pandarens found how all their weapons, armour, clothes and miscellaneous items that they had stored previously in a separate locker had been transferred over. There was a little note where it stated that the room they were in would henceforth be their personal locker room. No one would be able to enter without the owner''s permission, and they could decorate the room in any way they liked. There were no fees to it and could always be accessed before a dungeon raid. The same service was extended to include the plane rides, and in the future train rides too. To top it all off, Jin had already cunningly added an entire shophouse dedicated to customising one''s hideout. It was operated solely by Red Pandas instead of the usual Pandas because it fell under the premise of Empire Building. Qiu Yue initially wanted full customisation options to be available to the customers but Jin rejected the idea vehemently. "If we can monetise something, we should." Jin insisted as this personal room expansion was meant to provide more avenues to ''exploit'' the Pandarens even more. To get the shophouse rolling, Jin and Qiu Yue released the New Year Theme Set, and it would be an exclusive item reward for anyone who participated in his dungeon. To top it off, it would not be sold again in the future. He knew how games and various dungeon supplies companies had given in to removing the exclusivity on time-limited products and released more in the future, but it spoiled the collector''s value. That was why he would remain adamant those would be of a limited quantity. Claire had also created plans for starting an auction house in the future but seeing how Jin was creating the Virtual Reality Network she held back that thought for the future. "No wonder Jin insisted cultivators to board the ship. From a free meal to hiring dedicated mercenaries in case we do not have the party members present to fulfil a certain role." Zi Dan said as he came out of his room and sat down in the common area. "But this role thing is eating up quite a fair bit of panda medals and to an extent, real money too." Xia Mao placed his phone on the table, activating an app on the TV in front of them, which allowed them to choose who they wanted their Panda Mercenaries to be. "Well¡­ We could always go for the free one and increase its stats by feeding him a little more Panda Medals." Jing Yu was rereading everything again as she felt that this whole Panda Street Instance appeared to be a reboot of Jin''s dungeons and how he was moving forward. "Heh! There is also a service where they bring you the weapons and armour we missed to buy from the stores." Xia Mao said as he believed the catalogue was still the same. "Does it charge more? It must be the case, else the shophouses would be kinda obsolete." Zi Dan came to the conclusion to his own question as he opened their mini-fridge and there were explicit items that said FREE and $$$ on different levels. "Yeah, roughly another twenty percent but that also includes the delivery charge. It seems to work like a pre-order too, so the price is normal if we do not collect it immediately and head to the store and get it later." Xia Mao vaguely remembered the price of a sword he was looking at and knew that what he was seeing through the screen was more expensive. And unlike some shops, the app screen showed that there were additional charges on it. "Welp, looks like Boss has more money traps to his dungeons." Zi Dan sighed, but they all believed there was still a balance in all the options he featured, especially if on budget. However, they too know that this experience they were having was way too real that no other dungeon suppliers could have replicated such an amazing thing, so it was hard for them to fault Jin entirely given his price point for the ticket itself. "I feel that if Boss Jin emphasises that there is a need for a Tank and Healer in this dungeon instance, that means the fights should be more intense than previously. We can''t just be chugging potions endlessly even though they are more potent than most stuff out there." Jing Yu added as she checked her blades "Yeah, and too bad those awesome potions are locked out with a spell and turned invalid if we try to bring them outside his dungeon instances. I would love to use it during my fishing trips to revigorate me." Xia Mao was seriously browsing through the mercenaries to see who had better stats and cheapest options. "I understand that he does so in regards to the weapons but don''t you find it kind of funny that he is applying such a powerful seal on simple chi potions? I mean there are dungeon suppliers out there that have their very own blacksmiths and alchemists who create customised stuff. They do not even put such restrictions on their own products as much as Boss Jin does." Zi Dan queried. "They really must not want people to come and copy their stuff. I mean, come on, the new potions that the young researcher girl was selling are fantastic. We experienced first hand how the wounds closed faster than any other options available." Xia Mao replied while thanking Jing Yu again for demonstrating a wound cut in Yu Xiang''s new Alchemist Store. "Hmm¡­if that is true, shouldn''t he export it out? He could be earning more money." Zi Dan casually commented but later on realised how impractical it would be in the long run. "OH.. Oh¡­ I see. my bad." "That actually saves some explaining. And here we thought you had forgotten about your trading roots." Xia Mao sniggered, and Jing Yu shook her head with a smile. "Yeah but no matter what, people will try to reverse engineer his stuff, after it becomes common knowledge how good it can potentially be." Zi Dan revised his statement, and the other two chuckled. "All the more reason for him to try and make it as hard as possible to copy and prove that he is able to keep ahead of the competition." Jing Yu said as she heard a loud horn from the ship. The Pandamonium App had also pushed a notification that they had to rendezvous at the ship''s basement for their departure to the Nian Dungeon Instance. Chapter 910 Panda Mercenaries Chapter 910 Panda Mercenaries "Ah, so you are my employers this time around?" A stout looking Panda with armour plates on his chest waved his arm as the three Elder Pandarens came down via the stairs. "As expected from Boss Jin, his NPCs are truly lively." Xia Mao said as he raised his hand and shook the Panda''s paws before the others did the same. The feeling was somewhat extraordinary and Jing Yu being an old lady requested if it was okay to hug the Guardian Panda. "I don''t mind, but you might want to hug my comrade instead, she has less armour on her." The Guardian Panda chuckled upon Jing Yu''s request as another Panda came out. Slightly smaller in build but they could obviously see that she was the healer of the team. "Heala at your service." The Panda Cleric introduced herself with a small bow. "Ah, my bad. Tanke at your service too. Nice to meet you guys." The Guardian Panda noticed that he forgot to state his name. "It''s funny how the names should be the same throughout the teams, but the experience would be vastly different." Zi Dan had a small smile on his face as he shook Heala''s paw too. "Boss Jin is probably too lazy to make up new and unique names for each one. That or maybe he is truly hoping the names would stick with the cultivators." Xia Mao replied. "Heh, and he probably does not want people to think these NPCs are useless in a fight. If all the NPCs with the same name are basically clones, then it''s probably up to us cultivators to discover how to use the NPCs properly in a pinch. Then again I''ve read that you can customise the free one and even name him or her once we ''bonded'' enough, so maybe he wants us to lead us down that road." Zi Dan added as they saw a Panda Sailor beckoning them. Upon closer inspection, the Pandarens found out there was a boat awaiting them at the side of the basement. The ship subsequently opened its side hangar door, and water started to flow in. However, the flow was controlled, and there was a barrier that prevented any more seawater from entering. "Hop on! There is a navigator compass on the motorboat that will point you to your destination. We are not able to move in any closer because of the possible risk of the Nian that has been sighted knowing of our location." The Panda Sailor told them as he passed a flare gun as well as a few firecrackers. "Take these items. The flare gun should only be used if you clear the dungeon instance. That way, we will be able to come and fetch you back to the ship. As for the firecrackers, take them as a bonus. A part of the ticket fare and they might prove useful." The Panda Sailor subsequently winked at them and helped them get onto the motorised boat. He also gave a quick crash course on how to operate the boat to Xia Mao before telling his mates to lower the boat. "Do you really know how to operate that thing?! I do not wish to get stuck in the middle of the sea!" Zi Dan questioned, and Xia Mao shook his head. "There is always the option of rowing the boat." Xia Mao said as he pointed at the oars. "If you are so scared of me ''commandeering'' this boat, then row the damn boat yourself." "Enough yapping and start the motor already." Jing Yu said as she knocked Xia Mao''s head for being so childish despite being so old. "Argh, yes Mdm¡­" Xia Mao said as he started the motor, but they had no idea that the motorboat had such high horsepower that the boat nearly flew upon taking off. Tanke immediately held onto Jing Yu and Zi Dan as he could see they got almost blown off by the powerful start of the motorboat. "I AM SORRRRRRY! I HAVE NO IDEA IT''S THAT STRONG!?" Xia Mao shouted as loud as possible to overcome the overwhelming buzz noises from the motorboat. At the same time, he was freaking out to check if there was a way to control the power of the motor. However, no matter how he tried to pull, push or even turn the handle, the motorboat was not slowing down at all. Hence, he told the rest to continue to hold tight while he focused on getting them to the shore. Yet, the navigator compass was pointing right, as if blatantly telling Xia Mao that it was wrong to head straight. "Should I trust the compass?!" Xia Mao asked as he already had trouble manoeuvring the boat with such high speeds and pulling a sharp right might potentially cause the boat to overturn. "Damn it! Screw the compass!" Xia Mao decided as he tried to hold steady as the motorboat sped through the waves. Yet when they came closer to the island, they saw a beast already waiting for them at the shores. With a ferocious body of an ox, menacing head of a lion, red bloody scales of the dragon, there was no doubt what the creature awaiting them was. Nian. "WHAT?! We are fighting the boss straight up?!" Zi Dan asked loudly, but Xia Mao was too much in a panic to do anything else. The only way was to sail straight up because why not? They literally had a speeding battering ram that should be able to do significant damage if that proud beast did not move out of the way. And if it did, they should be able to come to shore. Yet, Nian roared to welcome its prey, but the Pandarens did not expect the waves to start moving more violently. It was as if the waves were under its commands to the point that the speeding motorboat was slowing down from its speedy advance. "Since when are Nians able to control the seas?!" Xia Mao complained as he tried to wipe his face from all the seawater splashing at him. "I thought they lived in the mountains or something?!" "I remembered there was a part of the legend where Nian lived under the sea before it got hungry and ravaged the villages!" Jing Yu answered as she was desperately trying to hold onto the boat with the raging waves. If not for Tanke''s help, she might have already been swallowed by the sea itself. "Then how are we going to reach it if we are getting pulled away by the waves?" Zi Dan asked. "Maybe that''s why the compass was telling me to go right! Just before this beast appeared from nowhere!" Xia Mao admitted as he now tried to look at the compass¡­ only to discover that it was spinning crazily as if it was being affected by Nian''s tidal wave powers. "I will provide a path!" Heala shouted as she had just finished chanting her support spell, Protect. But instead of casting Protect on the Pandarens, she placed it on the boat allowing it to cut through the waves and finally gain some speed once more. "If we can''t go right¡­then we go straight in!" Xia Mao announced as he held onto the motorboat''s engine handle, hoping that it could push them further and straight into the island. As long as they manage to land safely, there might be a chance to come out of the situation alive without being suppressed by the tidal waves. Chapter 911 BeaChapter Landing Chapter 911 Beach Landing The System noted an anomaly within one of the Nian Dungeon Instance and immediately checked up on the Elder Pandarens. It discovered that they happened to be the first group to encounter the Nian Boss despite many of the others still struggling to find it in their own dungeon instance. "System wishes to query. Is that anomaly User''s way of helping the Pandarens promote into Pandawans?" The System asked blatantly. "You wanted them to rise, right?" Jin smirked as if he did not do much to their dungeons. "Obviously, I cannot do anything too direct since people are watching the live streams in the Cinema theatre shophouse. So I figured I''d just give their motorboat engine a nice little boost." "Too bad that the axle to turn the handle was a little faulty because of seawater, you know? Probably the reason why it broke when the speed became too immense, leaving them no other choice but to move straight or wherever the boat brought them. Fortunately, their NPC was clever enough to put up a barrier, not bad for an AI, eh System." Jin narrated the event as he knew that it was not the usual protocol for the AIs to be creative enough and handle environmental objects. (Or at least not yet.) A look into their settings had revealed to Jin that the Artificial Intelligences for those two individuals had been tweaked so that they would be more aware of the scenario they were in. (Was a certain crafty fox''s behaviour be rubbing off on the two?) While the three Elder Pandarens found themselves in direct confrontation with the boss of the dungeon, other cultivators were still fighting against the mini-bosses and minions within this Nian Dungeon Instance. The story of this particular dungeon instance was surprisingly simple when compared to the rest of Jin''s dungeon instances. Following the compass, the cultivators should have reached an island village ravaged by Nian and its underlings. On arrival, they would have to fend off the current attack against the village''s remaining guards. Afterwards, the surviving guards would offer them side quests which would help them take on the main quest provided by the Village Leader which revolved around killing the Nian. This was the first even for dungeon instances as cultivators and dungeon suppliers knew how hard it was to create a main questline within an instance. Much less the expectations of side quests accompanying the main questline. However, Jin had the System taking care of the heavy work, so with his accumulated experience in creating dungeons, he was finally able to create the very first set of side quests. It entailed a fairly interesting story that would also explain the origins of Nian itself. And if the cultivators managed to pass the side quests, they had the chance to fight the Nian during these occasions, allowing them to injure the New Year Beast a little, before they would have a final showdown. This would be the proper way one was expected to clear the dungeon instance though The Elder Trio had been ''guided by the hand of fate'' and was rushed straight to the big finale. However, Jin and the System did not leave them in a lurch. Their ''combi'' cheating allowed the motorboat to move at fast speeds and it was possible to damage it significantly right from the start. As long as they managed to crash it against Nian head-on with their boat which Jin believe that would be their current course of action, the damage they raked in on the boss would be comparable to the average amount of damage done in that series of side quests. While Jing Yu was not privy of such understanding about the situation, she and her friends also understood that letting their boat crash into Nian might be their safest and best chance to score the first strike. After all, if they were to be left entrenched on the shore, the Nian might take the opportunity to hit them first when they were not even in a basic formation at all. Still, if their plan succeeded, they might even have a chance to spread out and follow up on the attack. Nevertheless, it was a gamble as they had no idea of. The Pandarens had thoughts running through their head such as the NPC Guardian having problems fighting Nian on the unstable footing of the washed up beach. And it would be even worse if they were to lose any one of their members before the dungeon actually started. Thus, with quick thinking, the Hungry Condor cultivator used her blades that were tied with high-quality fabrics. Those fabrics were capable of withstanding the strength of dozens of cultivators by utilising her chi. She then threw them towards Nian, but instead of flying straight towards it, they appeared to each miss their mark. However, just like a boomerang those cloth tied blades ended up returning, allowing Tanke and Zi Dan to grab hold of them. The NPC Panda Guardian used its mouth to hold onto the cloth firmly while Zi Dan stabbed the blade into the boat. "No matter what! This boat is going to smash into you- You little fat ugly cat!" Xia Mao taunted it. The trio could see that Nian tried to remove the cloth that had surrounded its torso while being dragged closer to the shoreline. Just like the Devil Santa, the Nian was a Boss monster designed with the capability of learning. When the cultivators would inevitably find one tactic and try to abuse it, it would only take a matter of time until the Nian would adapt to it forcing the cultivators to think of something else if they wanted a relatively ease clear. On the flip side, it meant that thinking out of the box would help the cultivators immensely. The Nian had no concept of the physics of the boat speeding towards it. In fact, the Demon Lion mistook it for something similar to a living thing flying towards it skirting on the water''s surface at top speeds. Jing Yu''s cloth continued to shrink in size, preventing the Nian from dodging out of the vehicle''s path. Nian kept on roaring and producing soundwaves that would interrupt the dungeoneers'' sense of hearing, but the boat continued to approach it like some sort of homing missile. Although the trio was distraught by the deafening attack, they continued to hold until the boat finally got out of the sea and onto the beach. Now, Jing Yu pulled the cloth that wrapped around Nian towards her. She did not care if it broke during the process. As long as it could buy them a few precious seconds so that the boat could have a direct impact against Nian, it would be worth it. *BAM!* Not just the pointed edge, but the entire length of the boat smashed into Nian as it tried to escape from the wrapped cloth around it. At that point, Zi Dan, who was sent flying out of the boat, unsheathed his chain ball mace and used his chi to send it flying, aiming for one of its eyes. After the boat had smashed onto Nian, it flinched for a moment, causing it to lower its guard and that allowed Zi Dan''s attack to critically hit. The loss of an eye bought the rest of the team some additional time as they were sent flying all around the beachhead to regroup. "Stay behind me! I will taunt the beast!" Tanke announced as he took his shield from his back and started to screech at Nian while banging his shield with a one-handed warhammer. The beast was furious after the injury it had just received and was out for revenge, but with a successful first hit, the trio picked themselves up and readied their weapons once more for the next part of the battle. Chapter 912 Tanke, The Panda Guardian Chapter 912 Tanke, The Panda Guardian When Tanke said he would taunt the infamous beast, the cultivators did not expect him to do it in such a stunning manner. The Panda Guardian never hesitated despite fighting against a beast of such a large stature as he rushed onto the stumbling Nian with a shield charge. Tanke''s chi accumulated towards his shield, staring down the Nian and with each step, he shouted to attract as much as possible. Even as Nian tried to stabilise itself, it knew that the Panda Guardian was racing towards it and thus remained in a defensive position. However, it did not anticipate Tanke to shift his body weight and performed an uppercut with his shield, utilising the opening the Pandarens created to strike. The Demon Lion Beast being slammed on its face head on, subconsciously stepped backwards as it still needed some time to recover from the blunt smash on its chin and get used to its loss of vision. Yet, the Elder Pandarens had no intentions of giving it such an opportunity. Jing Yu aimed for the limbs while Xia Mao went for its sides. Zi Dan, with his cultivation managed to move towards the back of Nian to attack it. He nimbly sped through the sides (although he nearly fall because of the beach sand) and zoomed towards its butt. Despite the three-pronged attack, the Nian was still powerful enough to retaliate whereas their damage was sharply negated. The scales on the body were absorbing the damage rather well and Jing Yu''s stabs could only reveal a crack on Nian''s dragon-like scales while the torso slash was not much more effective. Even Zi Dan''s back attack had been instinctively repelled by Nian''s tail. The same could not be said about the counterattack by Nian nearly which nearly obliterated Jing Yu when she tried to repeat the attack for the second time. Its battled honed reflexes went for the blades as if it learnt how those blades moved and subsequently went forward to strike the ''caster''. Thankfully, Tanke''s reaction as a Guardian was fast enough to block the attack by putting himself at the middle to intervene the strike. But this partially caused him and Jing Yu to fly backwards. Nian himself was an altered monster boss based on the Burning Lion''s data, one of Weslie''s Four Cardinal Guardians who had protected the Farming World. Jin had experimented on making it a little more predictable while creating new moves for the monster so there would be exciting mechanics for the cultivators to weather through. There was actually a threat meter that had been implemented by Jin yet it was not visible for the cultivators for now. The purpose of the tank in the party was to maintain the highest threat meter so that their offensive players could continue to dish out damage. That was why those Guardian type NPCs were programmed in such a way to generate as much of the threat meter as possible. Without any prior explanations about this concept, it was mostly the younger generation parties who utilised their knowledge from games. After everything Jin had done to give this team an advantage over his other customers, he still felt that they might not be able to clear the dungeon instance if they did not catch on to the passive mechanics of the Holy Trinity. "Are you alright?" Heala asked as she rushed towards Jing Yu and Tanke with her staff shining with magical powers. "Heal our tank first! He took the brunt of the damage!" The Hungry Condor Cultivator told their healer as she grabbed a potion from her side waist pouch and drank it. "This is way harder than I had expected!" Zi Dan sighed as he stood up, trying to shake off the experience of the tail whacking him. "That must be why Boss Jin insisted that we would need a dedicated guardian and healer to go into this dungeon instance. There''s got to be an underlying meaning to his actions!" Xia Mao thought out loud as he picked his scimitars up. "Anyone else has the feeling that the Nian is still pulling its punches? You saw how it managed to control the tide waves when we tried to sail towards it." "Are you suggesting we should try to lure it away from the beach and go further inland before we enter into a more difficult phase?" Xiao Mao asked as he could see Nian had already recovered from the stun and was observing the prey that had pissed it off so much. "Damn, this monster is intelligent as well!" Zi Dan could feel the menacing gaze from Nian as he tried to move a step forward. "Have no fear! TANKE WILL PROTECT YOU!" The Panda Guardian shouted as he bashed his warhammer on his circular shield like a gong attracting Nian''s attention. Given that there were no orders from the Pandarens, Tanke proceeded with his initial setting, which was to taunt the Demon Beast away from them, so the cultivators could attempt to attack. Xia Mao was observing the fight and contemplated their options. Staying at the shores might prove to be a dangerous endeavour to fight the monstrous Nian. The beach was open with no covers to take advantage of, and its manipulation of the tidal waves might prove to be a hassle for the group later on. Then again going inland might not be much better either. He had no idea what awaited them, but after participating in many of Jin''s dungeons, he expected that there should at least be something inside that could change the balance of the battle. Still, things could go south if this wasn''t the actual Boss and more appeared inland, but it also meant that there might be some good spots they could utilise to fight such a monster. Perhaps if they were lucky, they could chance upon a few extra weapons to help them overcome it. "Surely we can buy some instant items from the shop to get a bonus rocket launcher, but damn, I''m not rich to that extent!" Xia Mao thought to himself as he even considered trying to overcome the situation by pouring more money into the current problem. "Stupid! That is only for raid instances! Remember how we try to buy a few items and they only gave us a box of potions?!" Zi Dan shouted, forcing Xia Mao to recalled that Boss Jin had previously promised to only allow such a brute force method for his raids. "So team leader, what is your plan?!" Zi Dan asked as the Nian was getting only more difficult to fight. "Fuck it! Let''s run further in. It is definitely better than staying stuck here with the unstable ground because of the sand." Xia Mao decided as the current situation didn''t look good. Without Heala, their Panda Guardian would have long since been totally overwhelmed. "Understood!" Jing Yu said as she conjured even more blades from her storage ring. She agreed to the choice as Heala definitely could use the break. If she ran out of mana, it would not take long for their Panda Guardian to fall and subsequently the rest of the team. With the manipulation of the blades via her long strips of cloth, it allowed Tanke to move while holding Nian''s attention. In the meantime, Zi Dan, with his speedy cultivation, moved further into the island to scout for a safe place to fight. They might not be aware that the current dungeon doubled as their proving grounds to get the Pandawan Status, but as always, they would give it their best shot to win. For this was their hobby, and the thrill of the hunt had never been better than what they were feeling right now. Chapter 913 Bad Scouting Chapter 913 Bad Scouting Moving further inland, Zi Dan quickly realised that Xia Mao''s decision was not as great as they hoped it to be. There was indeed a small forested area, but as he went further in, he found that the place was mostly filled with nothing but swamps. "Shit! Shit! This is worse than the beach!" Zi Dan cursed to himself when he accidentally stepped into a seemingly stable ground, only to find himself stuck in between the mud and water. He quickly used his chain ball mace to grab onto a branch and pulled himself up. His current direction was a no go, but the party members were already pulling Nian towards the swamp. Even worse, he felt other creatures were lurking within the swamp after spreading his chi around to check on the surroundings. While Nian might be enough to scare them off away for a while, he would not count on that happening since this was a dungeon instance. It was far more likely that the party would be ambushed while they were fighting Nian. And if the monsters were to attack now, they might be caught in a bad predicament. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation for the entire group, and Zi Dan had to make the decision fast. Allow his team to slow fight their way back to the sparsely forested area for the showdown or continue pushing into the swampy areas and hope to find some better grounds further into the island. With Zi Dan leaving the party to scout, the pressure on the Nian had lessened, enabling the monster to start bullying the party members by picking on Jing Yu or Xia Mao as they fled further inland. Heala was shooting crossbow bolts at regular intervals to distract the monster as her healing would require her to stand still, which was impossible at the moment. The mercenary healer did have instant cast spells for emergency heals, yet those were precious and limited in number. After all, Jin had designed Heala similar to their world''s mages way of healing instead of how Peppers or other mage minions he had in possession. That way, the cultivators and subsequently mages of his world could get used to the dungeon raids if they were to be together. (Especially with his dream of going worldwide.) "Damn it! Our mobility will be limited if we cross this swamp area without some proper strategy, and this fight is proving to be way harder than we thought!" Zi Dan thought to himself as he could see the rest of his group approaching fast with the Demon Beast right behind their backs. The forested area, however, gave Jing Yu the opportunity to hit Nian unexpectedly, just that her blades were still not strong enough to pierce it no matter how much she hit it. Xia Mao was the same as he tried to backstab Nian with the trees as his support and for some reason, Nian was perceptive enough to escape the ambush strikes and could even counter-attack with its paws the moment Xia Mao entered its field of vision. (The only fortunate thing was that they could at least still see its health being chipped downwards though it was marginal in terms of progress.) The Blind Cat cultivator might have been able to hide its actions from the Demon Beast for a while, but it was not enough when his strikes were not decisive enough or lacked the speed to counter its perception. Not to mention, they were on the move, and Xia Mao had to adjust accordingly by moving further into the forested area to create such an ambush. The most troubling thing was that their formation lacked their Panda Guardian who had been scattered from the group. Tanke had the endurance to hold down the Demon Beast, but because of its armour, the Panda Guardian did not have enough stamina to catch up with the party''s main offensive attackers. Furthermore, Nian had been aiming at Tanke so much that their injured mercenary was not moving fast enough, which caused Xia Mao and Jing Yu to take the matter into their hands and thus their current situation. If they lose Tanke while finding a more suitable ground to fight Nian, there is a possibility they would fail the dungeon instance because of the loss of their Guardian. That was why the Pandarens spammed their offensive skills to attract Nian and the more they did that, the more they had to move continuously so they could evade while dishing out attacks. With the Nian approaching fast towards Zi Dan and fast losing of options to stay alive, he suddenly remembered that the Panda Sailors had given them some souvenirs before their departure. The Firecrackers. "He should be scared of these loud sounds, right? Please don''t tell me the firecrackers are just for fun! We need the legends to be true now!" Zi Dan prayed as he took his portion of firecrackers out and started to light them with a lighter. "What the heck are you doing!?!?" Jing Yu screamed towards Zi Dan when she saw him standing still, attempting to light a few firecrackers. The Bullet Cheetah Cultivator ignored the shout as he already had a hard time keeping his hands from shaking violently with the incoming Nian racing through the forested areas and towards him. (He literally felt the stare emanated towards him.) Zi Dan''s eyes widened as he saw the fuse light up, but when he looked up the Nian was merely a metre away and already pouncing towards him. With all the training and experience within his body, Zi Dan instinctively squatted and performed a low jump so that he would glide in the opposite direction from where Nian pounced. His brain was not thinking, and the only thing that reacted were his muscles and the chi he emanated naturally allowed him to flee from his current position and away from danger. "As expected from the Bullet Cheetah!" Xia Mao heaved a momentary sigh of relief when he saw how Zi Dan dashed out of trouble and not only that, he took that opportunity to hook the firecracker on Nian''s tail. "Run back to the forest!" Zi Dan cried as he manoeuvred his body to throw his chain ball mace towards Nian''s face violently hitting the beast''s nose. At that moment, the fuse for the firecrackers had reached its end, and the fire had ignited the explosives, causing it to produce a tremendous amount of noise which inadvertently scared Nian out of its wit. All that ''in-game'' aggression against the party had disappeared as the Demon Beast fled east towards the mountainous area of the island with the popping noise right behind its tail. "Wow, okay that is some quick thinking there, my friend." Jing Yu tried to catch her breath as her ears were ringing. She never had such an experience being chased by something so ominous. Usually, she''s the one doing the hunting and not the other way round. "I guess the Visual HUD interface wasn''t kidding when it wrote that it was the boss. I thought it was some monster attempting to disguise itself as it is." Xia Mao said as he saw Tanke finally catching up to them. Seeing how the threat was gone for now, the Panda Guardian was so tired from running that it decided to lie and roll slowly instead. "Let''s take a breather and take a look at the island. Boss Jin wouldn''t have designed a dungeon so straightforward. We should be able to find something that should prove as helpful as that firecracker move at the least." Jing Yu commented. "Or maybe just more firecrackers. Hahahaha¡­" Zi Dan looked into the swamp area where he last saw his chain ball mace after it hit Nian''s nose. "Should I even attempt to search for it¡­?" Chapter 914 Dragon Slaying Sword Chapter 914 Dragon Slaying Sword "Seems like, despite the handicap I provided them, they were unable to defeat the Nian. And here I thought I could hope for a miracle fight but perhaps I am overestimating them a little too much. I guess when it comes to them, they err on the side of caution as compared to the brash young Pandawans. But at least they are alive in all one piece." Jin mumbled as he checked on the progress of other groups besides the Elder Trio. Some had already completed a few side quests and tried to advance by fighting Nian. While he also saw Bu Dong and a few other Pandawans coming in a little later for the dungeon instance, he believed the Elder Pandarens could be able to catch up. "User should have known that the Nian Boss cannot be defeated with brute force alone. The System has collected adequate data to ensure that the final Boss would pose a sufficient challenge based on the cultivators'' grade. Unlike the previous dungeon instances, the System finally achieved a formula that takes into consideration the offensive and defensive capabilities of the cultivators." The System stated. "I understand that you might have sufficient data on repeating customers like but how can you do that for newcomers? How can you know it will end up useful instead of detrimental if you do not have information on them?" Jin queried. "This new formula takes into account both old and new customers. It may be possible for anomalies to appear, like the one User caused, but the System is able to detect and change the Monster''s ability to suit them." The System replied with confidence. "So you mean to say that there will be no heroes in this dungeon supplier store?" Jin sniggered at the System''s reply. "Never! For the System is forever monitoring the dungeons. That is the Dungeon Supplier''s main job, and so it will be for the System." The System said. "Not even when someone who could possibly isekai like Rei, our dear engineer from the Mecha World? And maybe the next time we meet such a person, he or she could possibly possess some absurdly crazy powers?" Jin fancied such a thought to the System. "User is underestimating the System. If System had managed to put Panda Remnant Rex into submission, there is nothing the System cannot do." "Strange, I somehow recall that it was Kraft who beat Rex. And isn''t Kraft running around causing havoc whenever he pleases without you ever doing anything about it?" Jin returned with a poignant point which caused the System to flinch a little in its reply, a rare reaction which Jin got to see. "System merely refuses to deal with Original Bellator Kraft since he has not harmed the System ever since. System has therefore allowed him to do as he pleases and tolerates such behaviour." "I might not have an ability allowing me to sniff out lies, but that was a little too obvious." Jin teased the System which was obviously trying to keep its pride. "System only wishes to reinforce to User that System can be relied on." The System reinforced before pointing out that the Elder Pandarens were moving out after their rest. "In any case, the former anomaly will be treated as if the Elder Pandarens have fought the Nian after finishing a side quest and all damage will be kept. The village starting scenario for them will have to be adjusted. Does User wish to provide some navigation for the Elder Pandarens?" The System showed concern and Jin understood why. They were currently in this particular situation because of the Dungeon Supplier''s meddling. And now that the Elder Pandarens had failed to use their first opportunity to fulfil his expectations for defeating Nian quickly, Jin should at least be responsible for the situation they were in. "I suppose that is fair," Jin replied as he immediately installed a navigation module within Heala and Tanke so they could bring the three Pandarens back to the island''s village where they would have more information on defeating the Demon Beast. ¡ª¨C "Follow me, I''ve been through this island a couple of times so I recognise the scent of their village," Heala commented when they were done discussing on where to go next. "I believe that is the best course of action. We should visit that village since they most probably know more about that beast and how to defeat those hard dragon scales." Tanke added. "I should have brought a demon-slaying scimitar¡­or at least a dragon-slaying scimitar. BUT ARGGGH they were freaking expensive!" Xia Mao complained, and the rest giggled. "Probably because other people are more cautious than you and have already invested in those weapons before the price hike due to high demand and limited supply. Imagine what the prices will be like by noon." Zi Dan chuckled and made Xia Mao''s regrets even worse. "You never know. It might not even work even though the forums are suggesting it. Nian is after all a chimaera of beasts fused into one." Jing Yu interjected as they followed the two NPCs walking at the outskirts of the swamp area. "At least it should hurt the dragon scales, right? Even though it could be ineffective against other parts of the body." Xiao Mao tried to justify the reason for buying a dragon-slaying sword even though he did not get one prior to the dungeon. "Hmm, you could try looking at the spoilers part of the forum and see if it works." Zi Dan suggested since there was no use arguing now. Xia Mao could still get one now via the Pandamonium Shop Interface although it would be priced significantly higher even if he was out of combat. Zi Dan continued to coerce Xia Mao to get it, stating that the prices would be worse. "You know we can''t get into the spoiler part of the forums until after we have attempted one dungeon run. You want me to spoil my chance here and now just to see if it''s worth buying a dragon-slaying sword?!" Xia Mao argued, and both of his friends merely shrugged their shoulders. "No matter how we see it, it seemed that you still want to buy that sword." Zi Dan replied. In the meantime, Jin was listening in on their conversation and contemplated if he should tell them not to buy it. Mainly because they were going back to the village and there were quests that would specifically help them defeat Nian. Jin understood that if Xia Mao bought the sword with Dragon Slaying properties, he could still earn some money from them. This was after all a business and not some charity dungeon instance. Thus, Jin kept his mouth shut and let Xia Mao''s friends influence his decision. Ultimately, the Blind Cat Cultivator ended up caving in, mainly because they happened to encounter Mini Nians but with more of a dragon looking appearance. Upon hearing their conversation, the System simply tweaked the navigation a little for them to cover a stretch of land where it would be faster to reach the village. However, there''s a catch as the Pandarens would have a high chance of encountering mob monsters, which should not have been the case if they had stuck to Jin''s route. But hey, it''s just business. Chapter 915 Side Quest Line Chapter 915 Side Quest Line That one slash from Xia Mao''s latest Dragon Slaying Scimitar was enough to bring each and every single Dragon Headed Nian down when they ambushed them. Though in Zi Dan and Jing Yu''s perspective, it was quite a bit of exaggeration. Unfortunately, it was indeed something like this when the scene replayed through Xia Mao''s head. Heala had buffed Xia Mao before the start of the battle, giving him speed comparable to Zi Dan even though it lasted for less than half a minute. The boost in speed gave the Blind Cat Cultivator a significant rush of adrenaline, allowing him to pick off the Dragon Headed Nians as many as possible before the boost dissipated into nothingness. While the feeling of immense satisfaction drunk his mind to cloud nine, Xia Mao also felt the pain emanating from his digital wallet. The number of Panda Medals he had left was close to zero. Yet, they made quick work of this variant of the Nian, the small Dragon Headed Nians since the original one they had fought had a lion head instead. "I suggest we bring back these bodies to the village. The last time I was here, they offered some reward for these." Tanke advised as he tied two of the dead ones together and carried them over his shoulder. Obviously, this was part of the dungeon side quest line, and the System was using the opportunity to cheat Xia Mao while allowing them to clear the quest lines quicker. It explicitly wanted the Elder Pandarens to be among the few who stay in line and get the first clear since the System knew Pandawans like Bu Dong and his friends were already prepping for the limited dungeon instance. "Let''s try putting them inside our storage rings." Zi Dan suggested as he tried to register them as items, but the storage ring refused to take them in. "You probably need a monster storage ring like those people who go hunting." Jing Yu pointed out as she too used her cloth to tie three of them together and carried them behind her backs. While it seemed like an amazing sight, their cultivation grades allowed them to move such heavy creatures with ease. For this very same reason and a side note, Jin wanted to expand the Pandafull delivery service because he knew that the longer-serving employees that were with the ''company'' since the start had gathered enough cultivation strength and stamina to do more tedious deliveries. "I can''t allow myself to be outmatched by Lady Jing Yu!" Tanke announced as he tied yet another two more dead Nians and placed it on his shield while he dragged it with a rope. This way, his shield acted like a metal plate that kept the Nian monsters intact while transporting them. "Aren''t you afraid that your shield will be damaged from the friction and all that pulling?" Zi Dan asked as he too tied four of those Nians and carried it behind him. "If the shield breaks because of some simple dragging, then it''s a useless shield in the first place. Hahahah! But don''t you worry. This shield has been with me since birth, and it has protected me for as long as I can remember. A bit of transportation won''t hurt it." Tanke answered with pride as he started to pull the load of Nians forward. "The village should not be far from here! Just over the rocks and we will be able to see a clearing!" Heala cheered the others on while carrying just two Nians on her back and she started to walk on fours for better support. Soon, the entire party managed to reach their destination without any problems, and the villagers were surprised to see a cultivator group bringing corpses of their dreaded enemy. "Pandarens! I thought you would not be arriving when I saw the storm brewing at the far end of the island. And when there were no signs of you people, we feared the worse!" The oldest and wisest man came to greet them. "Ah, apologies for my poor manners! Song Erming, Chief of Song Chew Village at your service!" "Such good kills¡­" Another elder came forth to check the goods that the cultivators had bought. "Most of them were killed with a single stab from the back, leaving quite a lot of the meat and organs intact!" "Ah! Yiming, you should thank the heavens that the cultivators have managed to eliminate Nian''s babies before they feast on ours!" Erming said, and his older brother nodded his head. "Yes, yes. Thank you, cultivators. May I have your names?" Yiming later introduced himself as the Head Hunter for the village and told them the predicament that they were in. Similar to the stories and legends of Nian in real life, what the Elder Pandarens heard was identical with a twist. The Boss Nian they had faced turned out to be the Mother Nian who had led her children on this island for feeding. The ''attacks'' were supposed to be triggered when the cultivators arrived in Song Chew Village, but because of the change Jin had secretly forced upon them, they literally changed how the usual events were triggered. Mr Know-It-All, who happened to be in the cinema theatres, had witnessed the change and was documenting everything in his forum posts. (Does that guy ever sleep?) That alone already alerted Jin that he was around and questioned the System why he was not informed of his presence. "Why is User so surprised? System clearly stated that Mr Know-It-All has been behaving as if it was his personal hideout. There was no need for the System to report anything because nothing has changed and he continues to await User meeting him." The System said, and Jin smiled bitterly. "The fact that I have changed the shop instance and he was here waiting patiently only proves his tenacity, I guess?" Jin commented, but the System denied such a statement. "No, Mr Know-It-All has been staying here as if it was his working hours. Only today, he decided to stay here through the night. System believes that he might have predicted User would release your new dungeon instance. However, as System does not read the minds of the customers, User will have to ask Mr Know-It-All yourself." "Fine, fine. I shall pay him a visit then. Please tell me when the Elder Pandarens have finished their side quests and are ready to fight the Boss battle. It doesn''t seem like their contenders have too high of a chance of clearing the dungeon on their current attempt ¡­well except for Bu Dong, so I would like to personally watch their fight when it is their turn. That way I can at least commend them if they received their new title." Jin said as he started to pick his phone up and got ready to enter the Panda Street Instance to check on Mr Know-It-All. He felt as if the post was basically meant to tell Jin ''Hey I''m around, come find me, you stupid boss! I have been patiently waiting for a heck of a long time.'' (At least that was the way Jin interpreted it.) True enough, when Jin teleported into the cinema theatre where a number of cultivators were happily watching the cultivators trying their beast, Mr Know-It-All yawned and tapped on the seat beside him, beckoning Jin to sit with him. Chapter 916 Being Elusive Chapter 916 Being Elusive "Jin! Nice to see that you are alive and well! From what I heard from Yun, your injuries seemed to be quite severe to the point that you had to take some time off from everyone. And here I thought you were a superman or something after seeing that stunt of yours to remove the Loopa Ooofpa." Mr Know-It-All said, and Jin got a little conscious when he heard it. He quickly looked around to check if anyone was listening into their conversation then immediately gave Mr Know-It-All a nod to follow him. "Wow, you seriously do not want to take credit for something you did tremendously for the country? People would be vying to get glory." Mr Know-It-All said as he saw Jin continue to keep quiet and lead the way. Being ignored to such a point, Special Agent K understood the message as he kept his notebook and packed up his items. Only then did people start to notice that the ''Walkthrough Master'' had decided to leave halfway. They wondered if he had gathered enough information or just needed to take a toilet break. However, it did not bother them that much as they continued to watch the show for they knew Mr Know-It-All would post a guide to help the others as somehow he was the only one who could post in the spoiler section of the forums without entering the dungeon instance even once. Jin waited for Mr Know-It-All for a moment at the main entrance of the cinema theatre before they quietly walked along the noisy Panda Street instances and took the Restaurant Train. But unlike the other times where Jin would reserve a private cabin where he discussed business with whoever was involved with him, he sat at the economic class of the Restaurant Train. Agent K sat beside him, but neither of them spoke a single word even after the train departed from the Panda Street Stop. Mr Know-It-All browsed around the economic class cabin and noticed there were people around chatting happily while taking videos of the new Shop Instance when the train started to move. This was obviously not the best place to make a serious conversation, and with Jin looking outside of the train without care, Mr Know-It-All predicted that he was bringing him to a place to talk privately. While Mr Know-It-All knew that Jin was the master of the dungeon instance, he could have directly brought him to a quiet room for their conversation. Yet, it appeared like Jin had another agenda in taking this particular train ride, so the State Agent continued to keep calm and waited for Jin to open his mouth. He had already patiently waited for 2 weeks, what was another hour of silence? (Although he did feel a bit disturbed that he had to come out of the cinema theatres. Fortunately, there was always the Pandaflix where he could rewatch the fights and create the guide for Jin''s customers.) After a few stops, the Restaurant Train gave out an announcement saying that they were reaching the next stop, the Bamboo Forest Trail. That was where Jin turned towards Mr Know-It-All and told him that they were getting off here. Mr Know-It-All complied and found himself in another part of the Shop Instance where he marvelled at the beauty of the tall overarching bamboo covering the skies. If there was anything special, it was how precisely each and every Bamboo tree was separated. This was nothing but perfection especially for couple Pandarens in the evening and night when the walkway would be lit up by mini bamboo lamps and benches far apart enough for the couples to have their own time. "I hope you haven''t brought me here for some time on those benches?" Mr Know-It-All joked, hoping to get some reaction from Jin and to his surprise, the dungeon supplier finally reacted by shaking his head with a smile. "No worries, we just have to pass through here so I can show you something even more fantastic," Jin explained as he picked his pace up. Naturally, Mr Know-It-All was able to keep up with him easily and soon, they had left the Bamboo Forest Trail and gone into a sidepath that was barely visible. The more the ventured, the denser the forest of bamboo became. Large Rocks were seen as if they were some sort of guiding marks where Jin would tap them and a faint light symbol would appear on the rocks. Soon, they reached a dead-end where there was a vertical wall of high rocks blocking the path. Jin then beckoned Mr Know-It-All to continue on, and it was only then that the State Agent realised that the wall was an illusion they could walk through them. On the other side was a bar setting where he discovered the infamous Bar Island which Jin had used since the inception of his shop. There was an extraordinary large Panda that was acting as the bartender, sitting down cleaning the glasses. It noticed Jin and greeted him as the Boss just as every other NPCs would. "This is the hidden bar which I kept as a secret for now. I would ask you to not reveal its location until you have seen what the new dungeon rewards are. If my customers turn out to be adventurous enough, they should be able to find it in due time." Jin requested as he welcomed Mr Know-It-All to the Bamboozled Bar Instance. While the ceilings and walls were covered with a smooth kind of rock surface, the tables and chairs were separated by well-placed bamboo trees so that there was some privacy. There was a Red Panda who instantly came out from a small hole via the rocks and went to the piano and started to play a lovely soothing tune. A few Baby Pandas came along as well and picked up the instruments. Imagine three Baby Pandas trying to get the cello upright while one stood at the top to play the strings and the other moved the cello bow. That was happening to the other instruments too. The saxophone was held on the ground but the Baby Panda blowing it was playing with such ''ungracefulness'' that it was way too cute even for Mr Know-It-All. "Whiskey on the rocks, please. Also, some chicken wings. My mouth feels a little pecky." Mr Know-It-All ordered after Jin assured him that he had locked this bar instance so no one else would come and interfere with him. Now it''s time for them to have a much-awaited conversation. Chapter 917 Agent Ks Offer Chapter 917 Agent K¡°s Offer The big Panda Bartender brought in their drinks, and Mr Know-It-All put a few silver Panda Medals on the table. Then he took out a bottle from his leather suitcase and uncapped it. The smell of oolong tea was evidently strong, and he poured that mild lukewarm oolong tea into the whiskey. "Oh, I''m sorry, I hope you don''t mind?" Mr Know-It-All recalled that this was not the same bar he had frequented. "You paid for the drink even though I was ready to treat you, so why would I complain about it? I just wonder if it actually tastes any good. Won''t the warm oolong tea dilute the whiskey even further or possibly spoil the taste?" Jin asked as the combination seemed a little bit weird. "Hmm, I can''t claim that it is something everyone might enjoy, but it tastes nice to me no matter what." Mr Know-It-All replied before he took a little sip and judging by his expression, he greatly enjoyed the taste. The mild bittersweet taste along with the slight dryness after sipping the whiskey was fantastic. "Ah¡­ Boss Jin, your whiskey is definitely top-notch. Very few bottles of quality whiskey are able to bring out the hidden taste of my wife''s oolong tea, and yours was considerably good! Have you brought me here to make me a regular at this Bamboozled Bar?" Mr Know-It-All jested as he thought about how his friend would feel if he stopped coming to his bar. (Probably elated given his status and the company he usually brings in.) "Now let''s get down to business. First of all, I want to sign a blood pact with you. What I''m about to reveal to you might turn you into a potential threat to national security." Mr Know-It-All started their real conversation as he took another sip while he smelled the wonderful odour of the fried chicken wings at the back of the bar. "I feel honoured to have the full trust of a State Agent such as yourself, but if it''s really that important, perhaps I shouldn''t hear it. I might not look like it, but I have enough on my platter as is. My actions should have proven that I am not any sort of threat to national security, right?" Jin really did not want to get dragged into another sort of problem if it was avoidable, yet somehow they always found a way to haunt him, even in his own world. It felt like the problems had a scent detector that would allow them to always go for Jin to solve them. "That is true, and I was prepared to say something like that. However, I''m aware that you were trying to find out more about Ryuli so if you accept the blood pact, I''m willing to answer any questions you might have about her. Likewise, it will guarantee that any secrets you accidentally may reveal to me won''t be leaked out, too." Mr Know-It-All said, and suddenly both of them heard a clinking sound of the ice hitting a glass cup from the far end of the bar. "Geez, Boss. I am extremely disheartened that you did not tell me about this meeting. Did you know that you are seeing one of the strongest and arguably the second most influential State Agent in this nation and you left me in that boring meeting room." Kraft complained as his footsteps echoed through the bar with his drink in hand. "Well, granted I love to see those ''associates'' of yours bickered and take notes of their quirks so I can use them against them, but this is more interesting!" "If I brought you here on my own, do you think he would tell me anything? You don''t exactly exude a trustworthy aura with your trenchcoat!" Jin retorted as he was talking about being upfront honest. Kraft merely smirked at that comment, and with a snap of his fingers, his outfit changed to a neat black business suit. Tailor made to the centimetre detail, the suit''s quality was exquisitely brilliant. The use of silk, leather and even some animal fabric hinted that it was one damn expensive set of clothes. His buttons and cuffs were also custom made to the point, he was emanating the embodiment of stylishly formal. And the watch Kraft wore was a piece of beauty too which made Agent K slightly jealous since he knew a solid watch piece from afar. However, for once, the crafty fox did not even bother to hide his gunbelt even though he still kept No Mercy and Just Business holstered. "He is trained to speak half lies and has been doing it so naturally that it might trick even spiritual judges overlooking the blood pact. Face it, he''s way out of your league, and you need me to back you up." Kraft insisted as he shamelessly yoinked a chicken wing from the Panda Bartender before he could even serve it. To the three men''s collective surprise, the Panda didn''t even hesitate as he bashed Kraft''s head when he tried to take a bite and forcefully placed the wings on his side of Kraft''s table. "Customer, please wait for a little while for a new batch of wings." The Panda Bartender said nonchalantly, and even he apologised for the rude behaviour of Kraft before he returned to the kitchen. "Wow, Boss. So much for the customer being king. That''s a harsh bartender." Kraft looked a little stunned from the paw swipe, but without a care, he bit on the wing. "So shall I assume you''ve gathered information privy about me that might render me useless in this particular trade of secrets?" Mr Know-It-All''s calm expression slowly turned slightly serious. "In a way, yes. Don''t underestimate the power of information gathering from little ol'' me. In fact, why don''t I share the secrets here and now? That way Jin gets to hear it, and you get to verify it? Any objections, Long Kong Rong." Kraft pronounced his name word by word, as slowly as possible as if to irritate him to the maximum. "Well, I would LOVE to learn more about you too, Mr Fox." Kong Rong said as his eyes were quietly burning with a challenge to the point that his chi aura was leaking out to show his superiority. Kraft merely grinned as if he was about to do the same thing until¡­ "Kraft!" Jin banged the bartender table, and suddenly the concentration between the two broke. "I planted a sort of information gathering bug on him. It transferred quite a lot of information about him and Ryuli. You honestly do not have to do this with him." Kraft told him via the System Channel. The Foxy Version 2 that Kraft secretly passed to them had been able to infiltrate their headquarters when the State Agent was trying to find out more about Jin. However, in doing so, he allowed Kraft to retrieve a bountiful load of classified information. Compared to the first Foxy Virus, the 2nd iteration was a nano bug courtesy of Rei''s expertise that allowed them to hack into the database with Kong Rong''s credentials intact. (Of course, it took some time for Kraft to execute it but the Foxy Virus was able to work.) Once connected to their computers, the nano bug physical form dissipated and the V2 virus took way less time for Kraft to find what he needed compared to V1 where it was constantly trying to run away from the firewall. "It''s your call, so you should know that he isn''t a threat as you might expect." "That''s great and all, but the most important thing I need to know is whether he knows about the System!" Jin asked via the System channel while Kraft continued to put on a performance. Kraft merely shook his head, while looking straight at Kong Rong who had noticed that they were using some sort of high-level telepathy communication. He had tried to listen in on it, but he quickly realised that there was no way to break into it. It was rare for him to be unable to do so, but he had briefly forgotten who he was dealing with. "Fine, I do not need a blood pact, but I will at least need your word, that nothing can get out of this room no matter what." Kong Rong sighed in defeat as he received the chicken wings from the Panda Bartender. As for the Panda, he went out of the island bar with a bottle of apple wine and walked his way to a corner of the bar with headphones on. His NPC''s actions somehow further strengthened his faith in Jin while Kong Rong took another sip of his whiskey once more as if he wanted the drink to be responsible for him leaking out the information. Especially since to learn more, one had to give something in return. "I''ve come here today to learn what the last heir of the supposed Royal Panda Clan plans for the future." Chapter 918 Dragon Ley Lines Chapter 918 Dragon Ley Lines Jin was unsure if he should feel relieved about the State Agent''s ignorance on the matter, but he decided to play along to learn the extent of how much Kong Rong actually knew. Perhaps, he might not know of the existence of the System at all, and that itself would be a great relief for Jin. "I did not expect the Royal Zodiacs or even the Ministry of State Security to even know- hmm no, you surely know of our existence. More like wasting resources and allocating manpower to track our existence, if what Kraft said is true about you. We are basically dead in your eyes since we have no strength nor power to fight you guys. Why do you bother to look us -erm me up?" Jin queried even though he initially wanted to play dumb. Yet, knowing Kong Rong, it was useless to do so and might actually be counterproductive. Thus, Jin decided to acknowledge the fact that he was indeed part of the rumoured Royal Panda Clan. "Hah! You useless? Have you forgotten you have single handedly brought down an aberration of horror that no one actually knew how to kill aside from Senior Demon Exorcists Instructor Yuan? And in retrospective, even our records were proven to be useless otherwise." Kong Rong retorted. "You do know that those records had been edited by the Banned Emperor faction, right?" Kraft asked as a casual question. "Well, yes and no. We did not know of their meddling until this particular incident happened especially after Instructor Yuan vouched that those reports had been edited by showing us her own copy which she had kept. Since then, we had started to trace these moles, especially in the defence sector, and we are in the works to do a massive raid in each and every department, including other sectors." Kong Rong responded cautiously. "Still, the Royal Panda Clan has always been an elusive group of members, one that I could not help but wonder why history had not acknowledged them. No matter which library or database I look upon, there were traces of information erased about them. The only place where I could find evidence of this clan was the Royal Zodiac Archives. But more importantly, I wanted to learn why my grandmother constantly considered them traitors when everyone had forgotten about them. Most if not everyone I know, do not recognise the existence of such a clan. They all believed it was just folklore similar to how those Banned Emperor terrorists got their name from it." Kong Rong stated his reason for being here to learn more about the Royal Panda Clan. "Your grandmother?" Jin asked with curiosity as he bent over the island bar and picked up the whiskey left by the Panda Bartender to refill Kong Rong''s bottle. Kong Rong thanked him as this time, he decided to drink the shot without adding any of his wife''s oolong tea. "Indeed, I am the grandson of the Lead Royal Zodiac Archivist. She''s the only one in the country, heck maybe in the whole world that has the power to tap into the Dragon Ley lines." Kong Rong revealed, but Jin merely gave him a blank look when he heard about the dragon ley lines. Kraft decided to step in so he could fill in some knowledge for his master and at the same time flaunted his expertise in front of Kong Rong. "It isn''t too surprising that a modern person like you would not have any ideas about them unless you studied the occult or cared much about ancient history. The concept of these Dragon Ley lines stems from the belief that the Earth is a giant living organism and would have something resembling the chi and mana circuits in one''s body. The Dragon Ley lines are the most prominent for humans to obverse and thus taken advantage of." "According to rumours, they are currently dormant since many cultivators of old travelled far and wide to find these Ley lines. There are records of those cultivators stating how they were blessed by the Heavens¡­ a nice way to refer to exploiting them for their own purposes. Absorbing the Earth''s spiritual energy allowed them to jump cultivation grades. Of course, those were mainly rumours since I believe those people who jumped grade just needed that extra push from their current state. But still, there were many who tried finding them for the sake of power, but only very few succeeded." Kraft explained as he felt peckish and stole another chicken wing since the Panda Bartender was not there to stop him. Jin shook his head and actually revealed another plate that the Panda Bartender had been hiding it when he took the whiskey bottle out. With his mouth filled with tender, juicy meat, Kraft added that the ultimate price of this treasure hunt was actually Dragon Ley lines crossing each other, which are called Dragon Ley Nodes. In those places, the power spirals so intensely that it becomes a massive vortex of spiritual energy. This was not discovered only by the cultivators but mages too. One such place is in Old England where at least twelve Dragon Ley lines intersected before diverging into the core of the Earth. That was one of the reasons why the Stonehenge was erected to contain its power after a mage stumbled upon the excessive spiritual energy which spilt out as a method for Earth to stabilise itself. Those monolithic stones have been put up not only to hold the spiritual power but also as a method to transfer said spiritual energy into a person. Stonehenge has basically become the coveted prize for most mages to attain possible perfection. To avoid such a power falling into the wrong hands, the government protects it so fiercely since its inception. But to everyone''s surprise, even the founding mage did not attain a perfect Grade 20 in their supposed magic levels. Some even thought that the only Grade 20 Cultivator, Guan Yu, had found one, if not more of these Dragon Ley Nodes that allowed him to reach his godly attainment. Some even deduced that he had walked and visited every possible Ley Node in the world and even discovered some hidden Ley Nodes underground that enabled him to hit that Grade 20. However, as modernisation set in, so did the disappearance of these Dragon Ley lines. This was mainly because when Guan Yu changed the laws of nature, more people were able to fight against the domain monsters usually lurking around the Ley lines. The laws of nature might have changed, but humanity''s greedy nature has not. Many exploited the Ley lines to the point that various governments had to step in because of the unexpected consequences of taking in this spiritual energy too frequently. Earth was supposed to release spiritual energy periodically to stabilise oneself, but the constant exploitation caused spiritual energy to be sucked out of Earth itself instead of naturally releasing excess energy. This inadvertently created natural disasters of massive scale due to the imbalance in the spiritual energy which the researchers at the time were unable to explain as anything but Heaven''s Wrath. Ironically, the one to propose the theory that by extracting spiritual energy from the surface Dragon Ley lines, it interrupted the entire meridian system within Earth, causing the imbalance of spiritual energy to certain parts of the world and thus these natural disasters, had been branded a heretic. "Most attributed it to the change in the laws of nature. It must have been convenient to just pin the blame on someone else. In the end, only decades later did a joint team of mages and cultivators manage to find the reason why all these were happening, led by one of the successors of that ''heretic''s'' idea. They were the first to become known as China''s Royal Zodiac Archivists." Kraft munched happily on his chicken wings as he showed a peace sign towards Kong Rong. "As expected from a person of your sinister calibre." Kong Rong sighed after listening to the explanations from Kraft. Surprisingly he learnt quite a few things that he had not been taught by his grandmother¡ª especially the natural disasters portion. The State Agent tried again to use his chi enhanced senses to check if Kraft was lying, but there was no scent of lies, no unusual panic aversion of his eyes and the body language was too relaxed. If Kraft was a con artist, he was extremely good at his job. "Tsk, so much having your grandmother being the ''archive'' and protector of history," Kraft noted sarcastically while grabbing the whiskey bottle and pouring himself a drink. Jin knew this thousand year fox could not be beaten if you compete him with history lessons. At the same time, all those explanations caused Jin to wonder about the state of the Farming World''s condition. From Kraft''s impromptu history lesson, Litoride, the precious miracle ore responsible for the rats'' Steampunk technology, sounded quite similar to the concept of Dragon Ley lines. "Could it be, that they are digging so many caves and hideouts under the ground because¡­" Jin considered the possibility that the underground network of the Demon Rats might be far more dangerous than anticipated. It might actually be because they were digging deeper for a better quality Litoride¡­ Or maybe something more sinister. Chapter 919 Digging For Freedom Chapter 919 Digging For Freedom "System, please get Peppers to do a deep scan of the northern region! I want her to repeat it until we have a clear picture to see to the core of the Farming World." Jin ordered as he remembered that the scan Peppers made were only a few dozen metres into the ground. He was initially unsure if it was the limitation of her scan, especially since they were only looking for activities of the Demon Rats. "What''s with the sudden concern?" The System asked as Jin picked his phone up and told them he had an urgent phone call to make. After which Kraft quickly placed his hand over Kong Rong''s shoulder to distract him and hustled him for another drink. "A phone call this early in the morning around?" Kong Rong thought to himself, and he felt like Kraft was buying him some time. Just one sentence on the revelations of him being the last member of the Panda Clan had made him so anxious? However, if that was true, he would have been startled when Kong Rong revealed the fact. But Jin was calm and collected and even admitted that he was indeed part of the Panda Clan. "Nah, it seems that my explanation just now suddenly triggered an idea about something that needs to be done." Kraft saw through the facial expression on Kong Rong and immediately said it out as if to calm him down. "Ah¡­ I deduce as much. Is he thinking of getting to a Dragon Ley Node by himself? Hahahah!" Kong Rong replied, but to the State Agent, it seemed as if it was a direct challenge as Kraft could read his nonverbal expressions easily and had grasped his train of thought. Unaware that he had been seen through, Jin continued to pretend he was on the phone while relaying information with the System. In reality, he shared his concerns that it might be possible that they had been taking a certain matter a little too lightly. "Remember how fast the Scholars ran away after their castle ambush had failed? I am starting to believe that attack was not just some simple failure. In actual fact, I think that their ''Plan B'' was to use it as potential bait for us." Jin explained as he felt that it was not the rats underestimating them, but they were the ones looking down at the rats. "I read the reports briefly, Weslie and some of the researchers had concluded that the castle mechanics were done in a haphazard way. It was as if they just wanted to get this done as soon as possible and throw the attack on us. But at the same time, you saw how sturdy the Demon Rats'' armour has become. Compared to the older models, Weslie pointed out there were improvements made getting rid of the most severe weak point." Jin continued and went behind the Panda Bartender, who was quietly drinking his apple wine to lean on him. (A privilege of being his master) Even though the Panda Bartender was being controlled by the System, its AI knew that it did not want ears to be prying into the conversation even though Kraft was keeping Kong Rong busy. Thus, he shifted himself a little and eyed at the little Pandas to play something more upbeat. Once their song ended, the tunes became more jazz oriented, and when possible, they purposely directed their instruments towards Kong Rong. This would not only catch his attention but also divert it away from Jin now that he was out of his sight. "On the other hand, Weslie pointed out the offensive laser cannon was working as intended and to some extent, she felt the rats or maybe the Scholars had managed to improve on it a lot on her previous design. Yet, she felt it was lacking something¡­ Argh, what was it in her report¡­?" Jin suddenly forgot the wording in her report and starting snapping his fingers while unconsciously rubbing his head behind the Panda Bartender''s back. (It was incredibly soft and fluffy though!) "It was initially part of a device before it was used in this castle superstructure. As if it was actually meant to be for a piece of heavy machinery compared to just being used as an offensive weapon." The System literally quoted word by word from Weslie''s analysis report. "Yes! That''s it! The laser cannon was being retrofitted last minute, and its condition seemed worn out aside from the damage taken from our attacks." Jin''s memory finally clicked after the System''s prompting. "User''s point being?" While the System had already begun calculating and predicting the type of answers Jin could have contemplated, the System allowed him to finish his sudden epiphany. "What I am saying is that we might be focusing on the wrong objective. We seem to be very sure that they are regrouping and holding their fort in the Northern Region''s capital but¡­ They might actually be running away." Jin said as if his hunch on it would definitely hit the nail on the head. "Assuming they do not have portal magic, they are actually doing their best to run away from this Northern Region. However, I suspect it''s neither by sea nor by air¡­ but by digging!" Jin said with emphasis that even the Panda Bartender raised his eyebrow and turned his head a little before returning to being nonchalant. "Peppers showed that they had multiple caverns to dig for Litoride to fuel their military might. But what if they are digging deeper for better quality of Litoride and also a way out of the Northern Region?" "In that case, the use of heavy machinery would make a ton of sense! Dig big and deep to create not just an underground city but to connect them to possibly other regions and take them by surprise. Ultimately they have the last laugh because they might not have just one undercity but a real one somewhere else!" "As long as they block the entrances to their real undercity, those Demon Rats could live in seclusion for the ultimate takeover when everyone is living seemingly in peace and thinking that the threat was all over," Jin stressed as he could not believe he did not realise this sooner. "Fair point of contention." The System agreed. "And we are also assuming the rats are going underground only. However, what if they have developed the idea and technology to make submarines? Fortress submarines and diving suits with oxygen? We have already seen them come up with the idea for aircraft, so who is to say they might not have found a way to accomplish underwater travel. Damn it, speculating like that makes me want to have them as part of my team." Jin sighed as he felt the rats were way too cunning. Maybe that was why the dungeon supplier felt they only sent a small company of Demon Rats to the Bulwark Port to review its resistance. Though thankfully, the System also ensured all of them were killed to prevent any reports from being sent back but could the System be sure that the Scholars had not attached them with high level magical seeing spells? If Kiva had managed to bide his time to change the kingdom so that the crown would be under his control, Jin would also believe that the rats under the scheming Scholars could do the same. "User''s worries are warranted, System will assist Bellator Peppers with the scan." The System replied, now satisfied with such an analysis. While it had thought of it before previously, the Super Entity had not believed the Rats were capable of doing such a feat. In fact, Weslie had allowed the System to do a thorough scan of her memories, giving it an idea about how capable the Demon Rats were supposed to be. Yet, the new incoming reports from salvaging the castle ruins had already proven that she might have been mistaken about their capabilities and ignorant to their intellectual growth. Armed with substantial facts from its host, the System finally bumped the priority to eradicate the rats up to one of its highest importance. It was mainly because of the Farming World''s extensive potential to provide Jin and his subsequent virtual network a limitless quantity of high-quality goods that lead the System to allow more than some compromise. "But not today, let Pepps enjoy her day off tonight." Jin requested as he stopped pretending to whisper on the phone. (Even though the System had already erected an acoustic barrier using the Panda Bartender as a proxy from the start.) "Would User rather risk to fight the Rats outside the Northern Region for the sake of the peace of his bellator?" The System questioned since every second, every minute still mattered as they meant progress for the Demon Rats. In the meantime, the System was already formulating plans within its processing unit and simultaneously creating recommendations on the minion''s new revised strategies so as to improve the next raid on the Farming World. "If they are already that far along in their plans, then I doubt a couple of hours will make that much of a difference. And even if it does, it will just mean that it is our loss for not realising it sooner. I rather have a rested army with high morale than an army who felt that the master''s promises was empty and hollow." Jin apologised as he closed his phone and stood up. Only to see the smiling duo at the bar table been fighting without words nor physical contact. (And to Jin, that was downright scary.) Chapter 920 Chi Execution Promise Chapter 920 Chi Execution Promise "Settled your stuff already?" Kong Rong asked and Jin nodded his head, but he knew he was still waiting for Jin to either confirm or deny his earlier statement. "My bad, I erm¡­ Don''t you laugh at me! I just thought of something about ley lines explanation and needed to record some of my thoughts quickly. I thought I can perhaps use that as part of my plans for a new ''dungeon raid'' if you get my drift. hahahah!" Jin replied, adding that he was too embarrassed to be seen recording his sudden pangs of inspiration as weird, so he decided to go around a corner and record his plans. However, Jin was never great at lying, and Kong Rong could immediately pick up that the Dungeon Supplier was not telling the entire truth. But decided not to bother to pursue. At the very least, based on the State Agent''s experience, Jin was not lying straight at his face, and that still retained the respect he had for the little Royal Panda Clan Member. "As for my plans¡­ Well, you can see it for yourself. I have quite the unique dungeon supplier store. And I wish to grow it out at a national and then international scale. It would be a lie that I would not want to have the Panda Clan to regain its old former glory, but right now, I would rather focus on my shop. If the clan growth comes in the same direction as my shop''s expansion, then I will gladly embrace it." Jin truthfully admitted and Kong Rong finally gave a relaxed smile. "Then all your crazy dungeon instances finally make some sense. It would definitely be a pity for you to stay in Shenzhen and not spread your wings or in this case, dungeon instances to the rest of the country. And if possible internationally." Kong Rong happily replied as he cleaned his fingers from all the leftover chicken wing oil. He noticed that Jin had left out the word ''Royal'' indicating that he saw the Panda Clan as something else. "However, I must ask. Have you ever hated the name Royal Panda Clan? Or do you feel resentful that being born in such a clan?" The State Agent questions were out of the norm for Jin but the dungeon supplier understood where he was coming from. History had always been written by the strongest and unlike the Royal Zodiacs, Jin had the whole story from the bitter old System. So, instead of bitterness and anger that was expected from the last surviving Royal Panda Clan member, Kong Rong sensed something much more. "It''s more like it just sounds so odd to me. Heck, I only found out recently after the death of my Grandpa that I apparently belonged to a Clan with ancient roots which no one ever knew about. Growing up, he never revealed those things to me, and he just left me his inheritance, assuming that I would like to take it as it is. He just shoved that kind of deadweight responsibility to me, telling me to get revenge for our ancestors." Jin replied as he sat beside the duo and poured himself a shot from the bottle of whiskey too. Even though he never liked the taste nor the notion of drinking, Jin picked the cup up and drank it with all his might. The bitterness and dryness of the alcohol were terrible as if he was putting cardboard into his mouth and swallowing it whole. "I do not wish to speak ill of the dead, but he''s an idiot," Jin said out, but both men could still see the clarity in his eyes when he proclaimed that. In fact, those pair of eyes got even more decisive when Jin opened his mouth. "Following the footsteps of my grandfather or the ancestors that came before me¡­ it just sounds unnecessary. I don''t plan to fight them if that is what you were worried about. Instead, I plan to honour my heritage by creating a Panda Clan that is worthy of my respect and that of the public. So, if you plan to treat me as an enemy of the state on that grounds, you better prepare because I will fight against you with all my might!" Jin firmly declared, and Kong Rong understood why he took that shot of whiskey. Doing so must have just been to ease his nerves, so he could send the declaration of challenge to him, a Lawman of the Country, a respected person standing at the top with power, privilege and money. Thereafter, Jin already poured himself another shot of whiskey and downed it in order to hide the shame of uttering something normally so out of character for him. "Hahahah!" Kong Rong loosened his shoulders and just laughed. "You kidding me? Do you really think you have the power to take on the Royal Zodiacs? Have you forgotten what happened to your grandfather?" Kong Rong''s words had confirmed that there was indeed someone who actually remembered the actions of Ming despite the System''s time reversal. "Looks like the Royal Archivist can manage to retain her memory after all¡­" Jin mumbled as his resigned look changed to that of a cornered animal. Ironically this time it was Kraft who broke the tension, by ''accidentally'' using too much force when he downed his whiskey shot, breaking the glass. He broke out in laughter over his clumsiness and excused himself as he went to get a replacement. "To manipulate time and space, storing historical information was vital in order to make sure that the caster could retain her sanity. Thus, the System believes, the Royal Archivist must have stored her memories in a secured position within the Dragon Ley Lines or a Dragon Ley Node so that in case of any change in time, she would be able to retrieve her memories from the original timeline. But that''s to say the original timeline¡­" As the System attempted to babble on in an attempt to calm Jin further down, Kong Rong raised his hand and showed his palm towards the Panda Cultivator, as if signalling him to halt his actions. "I assume that was the sort of reaction you have expected from me, right? However, I believe that you are someone worthy of my trust, so I wish to help you." Kong Rong told him, and Jin was unable to sense any malice from him. At that moment, that palm immediately turned to the ceiling while he pointed upwards. Suddenly chi was gathered within his index finger while he drew an imaginary circle with his chi. That was when Jin realised that Kong Rong was about to do something unthinkable, there was no way he could believe it. "As these two gentlemen my witness, I hereby invoke the oath that my actions, be they direct or indirect, will ultimately not harm Jin''s livelihood and his way of living." Kong Rong spoke as Kraft gritted his teeth for he too understood what the State Agent was doing. "That''s an Oath that invoked the Heavenly Five Element Tribulations." Jin thought to himself. He knew the implications of the Heavenly Five Element Tribulations, and so did Kraft. Yet, both knew that those Element tribulations would only be effective on ''average'' ordinary folks. To people like Kong Rong, who was a State Agent, he probably went through torture both physical and mentally that would put him way above average citizens. However, Kong Rong suddenly changed his oath invocation a little which was new to both the Panda and Fox. The Royal Dragon Zodiac Cultivator put his other hand out, and it started forming a dragon silhouette in front of him. The bloody dragon silhouette circled around Kong Rong as it bit him on his neck causing more blood to emerge and forming even more dragon silhouettes which continued to encircle him and bite at every portion of his body. Just when Jin worried that Kong Rong might die of blood loss the oath invocation was suddenly over, and Kong Rong sat on the high chair with wounds all over him. Jin immediately took out a potion and quietly offered it to Kong Rong, yet the State Agent refused and told him that he would be fine after a quick breather. True enough, his wounds suddenly healed by itself and Kong Rong appeared fine and dandy, as if nothing had happened. Jin then noticed that there were no bloodstains on the ground nor on his clothes. "You¡­ Did you just strengthen Heavenly Five Element Tribulation Oath with a Chi Execution Promise?" Kraft asked with a grim face. "Heh. For you to even know this taboo oath making, you are definitely not someone I should underestimate." Kong Rong answered Kraft''s query with a smirk. "Now you wish to revise your impression of me? That is a little tad too late, isn''t it?" Kraft replied solemnly. Still, the reason for making such a Taboo Oath boggled Jin''s mind whereas Kraft already had his own thoughts on the matter. Chapter 921 Leader of Kill Squad Chapter 921 Leader of Kill Squad Seeing the blank face on his master especially when this was a rather obscure technique, there was no need to ask as Kraft spoke out on the issue at hand. "A Chi Execution Promise is considered a taboo oath in which one party uses their own chi to basically ''program'' it so it would kill them if they end up breaking their promise. It''s basically the same as a death wish, and once it activates, the Dantian Core immediately shuts down." "And if you think shutting the Dantian Core would bring you eternal death, you are so wrong. So dead wrong. If you have read about radiation poisoning from Chernobyl accidents, that is roughly what you are going to expect from it. You would feel fine at first, thinking that you just lost control of your chi. This is because there are other ''secondary'' Dantian cores to generate chi during an emergency." "However, you have to understand. The chi within the body had been programmed as such that it would attack those secondary cores by clouding and prevent them from making fresh chi. Instead, it would turn those fresh chi as part of the programmed chi, which eventually shut the secondary cores down because of the strain." "After which, the chi would be acting like foreign objects which would cause the bodies'' immune system to continuously attack them while the chi disrupts the organs from within. Your organs would start to feel the pressure and eventually fail. Your skin will melt gradually, and your breathing will be difficult. If you try to expel that chi or even attempt chi infusion, it will further exacerbate the problem." "It''s ultimately the kind of oath where the body and the entirety of one''s soul judges the actions of the person who will be consistently monitored from that point onward. After all, the brain might be able to lie to oneself, but not the heart. Some might say that nurturing and bad experience could train a human to be extremely heartless, but no one is forever black nor always white." Kraft explained for Jin to understand the severity of what Kong Rong had just done. "I am a Special Agent of the State, the First Son of the Royal Dragon Zodiac Clan Leader and of all things, your perceived enemy. All the more reason I have to do this to gain your immediate trust because of my personal agendas." Kong Rong iterated why he made such a dangerous move. "For once, you are not very cryptic." Kraft sneered derisively. "Well, I wanted a blood pact because I thought I had leverage in regards to my information. It pains me to admit, but you somehow clearly beat me to it." Kong Rong replied as to give one of the reasons why he performed this dangerous oath. "I am actually surprised that you know that I know your stuff." Kraft did not act surprised at all despite his claim. "Heh, I am a State Agent, so please don''t underestimate me." Kong Rong added as he raised his half-drunk glass shot and Kraft joined him. "But it seems that your all-seeing capability has a limit since you didn''t seem to have predicted I would do something like that." "I won''t deny that your actions caught me off guard. After all, I figured you for the cautious intellectual type¡­ What you just did was just hot-headed!" Kraft shook his head at Kong Rong''s actions. "Seriously, I might never understand what the big deal is about such an archaic oath. You should go with the times, we have much better things at our disposal nowadays!" "But sure, I will admit that I''m unable to read your thoughts freely. Whoever was the one to train you, I commend them for their efforts." Kraft acknowledged as he drank his shot. "However, it''s just that I''m too lazy to do that. Too much of a hassle to bypass your defences without you realising it, plus I am a little more forgiving during the New Year." Kraft was not lying when he said he could not pass through Kong Rong''s mental barriers with the usual subtle way as the barriers were unique enough that a ''subtle intrusion'' was not possible. The Foxy V2 Virus might be able to get access to information from a database like the State Agent''s, but the lock on the mind was an entirely separate challenge. "Hah! Still¡­ Damn! For you to dig so far without me noticing is still quite a feat." Kong Rong said before looking at Jin. "But compared to this panda guy, I was unable to go through anything at all. He might look empty in terms of defence, but there are actually plenty of layers of mental barriers up. Each time I tried to subtly go into his mind to look for a thought, I got bounced out of it." Kong Rong shrugged his shoulders in defeat and drank his glass only for Kraft to refill it. "Erm, I got to ask. Why did you suddenly go all bad at me? Somehow, I got a little bit of d¨¦j¨¤ vu when you turned bad at me. Ke Loong did the same thing to me." Jin interrupted the whole conversation with an innocent thought. "Hahahahaha!" Kong Rong suddenly laughed while holding on his stomach. "Ke Loong really did that? And here I thought he was lying when he told me that he tried to actually strongarm you into becoming his partner." The State Agent subsequently took out his notebook and started to strike something out from one of the pages. "Please pardon us. To be honest, it''s a silly game that both of us used to play when we were little, and neither one of us seems to have outgrown. Basically every so often we challenge each other to random dares." Kong Rong embarrassingly revealed to Jin. He even turned the notebook and faced it towards Jin. ''Threaten or frighten the Dungeon Supplier before making a deal, else pay 250 yuan. Confirm with Dungeon Supplier about the other''s attitude'' was being struck out from the book. There were other stupid dares such as ''Give Father a lollipop and make him eat it. Can be observed from afar, need a screenshot to confirm, else pay 600 Yuan.'' It seemed as if Ke Loong and Kong Rong were actually willing to work hand in hand with Jin rather than being a threat, even if their hobby seemed quite peculiar. "Trust me, if anything, he wants you to succeed, too. Even if Mr Kraft disagrees about my method, I hope that after making this taboo oath you won''t see me as an enemy either." Kong Rong asked for confirmation as he closed his notebook. "Why are you so intent to help the sole surviving Royal Panda Member so much? Shouldn''t your clans'' objective be to eliminate them?" Kraft questioned, and Kong Rong''s face turned serious. "With the permission of my grandmother, I have gone through the records. I read through the memories of my ancestors and am therefore aware that it was actually the Jade Emperor''s fault for being too greedy and craving absolute power." Kong Rong answered, and it made Jin recall back what the System had said about the origins of the Royal Panda Clan. Perhaps, he had the wrong impression that Kong Rong had no knowledge of the full story. "According to the Heavens, all elders had been removed, yet somehow it made the Royal Panda an enemy to be reckoned with. Since then they seem to have been blessed with some sort of special power. From amazing martial arts to even drawing the most beautiful art one could ever behold. Yet ironically, from what I could gather, the Heavens seem to limit it, so that only one particular person each generation would gain that power, no matter how large their clan was." "And the last official Royal Panda Clan Member, your grandfather Ming, made the greatest impression on my grandmother. She used to think that she was at the forefront of time manipulation. If not for that incident where the Banned Emperor Assassin killed your mother, there might have been a good chance for your grandfather to work alongside granny." Kong Rong implied that he knew about the time reversal without giving out the facts. When Jin heard his version, he knew that it was not true, and it was Grandma Yuan''s Sub System Module that allowed time to be reversed for just that one particular time. However, he did not interrupt Kong Rong and allowed him to continue. "After Ming passed away, the only generation left for the Royal Panda Clan was Jin. With his parents killed, you could only assume that he had to inherit no matter the circumstances. There was no clearer target since he was the last surviving Royal Clan Panda Member. In other words, an easy target which might guarantee that you would never ever have to worry about it again?" Kraft interrupted his conversation with Jin. "Yes, and I shall be upfront about it. We have indeed assembled a kill squad within the State Agents to eliminate the last Royal Panda Clan Member." Kong Rong did not mince his words. "All because of the possibility that your grandpa''s powers might have been passed down to you." "So why haven''t you taken action yet¡­ Mr Leader of the Kill Squad?" Kraft interjected which inadvertently irritated Kong Rong, but it also showed the State Agent that Jin''s comrade was indeed capable of reading him like an open book if he so wished. (Perhaps he should have thought twice about allowing Kraft to pour him a drink) Chapter 922 Chuckling Together Chapter 922 Chuckling Together "Did you really have to point that out to him? I was about to tell him that later anyway¡­" The more Kong Rong spoke with Kraft, the more he got the feeling that the State Agents would need to have a major overhaul of their database''s security. What was even more irritating was that this particular employee of Jin was too elusive. After their help against the Loopa Ooofpa, Kong Rong had naturally been curious to find out more about him, yet to his shock, there were no records of him, no fingerprints, nor any pictures of Kraft in any CCTVs. It was impossible for a person to not exist in a world full of cameras pointing at the public 24 hours a day. But through some effort, Kraft was able to evade them as if he did not exist to the cameras at all. With his rights and powers, Kong Rong could bring Kraft in for questioning, but after seeing Jin''s powers and the extent of what that guy was able to do, the State Agent strongly felt that it would have been counterproductive to do so. (But perhaps, now that they are in ''good'' terms, he could probably catch him and see how he escapes. That way, Kong Rong might be able to improve on the compound''s security.) "I believe it''s a little fair that my boss knows your true identity and understands that the underlying reason for you to perform that taboo oath was because of your job. Perhaps then, he would appreciate your sacrifice even more. But honestly, in hindsight, I believe you would think that it was such a foolish move once Jin decides to open up." Kraft sniggered, and Kong Rong did not know whether this fox was genuinely helping him or just being a little sarcastic. "Then, what is the real reason for you helping me then? If you are out to kill me, I understand why you need to collect intelligence in the shop before striking." Jin asked with a wary expression to the dismay of Kong Rong. Kong Rong had initially thought of ways to try to explain and perhaps disguise his intentions quite a number of times before meeting Jin for a face to face conversation. But eventually, he guessed telling the truth does not hurt either. (Especially when that fox was looking over his shoulders.) "I didn''t lie when I said that I was interested in the last surviving member of the Royal Panda Clan and wanting to know what he would do. It might be my job to ''clean up'', but I am against killing someone for the off-chance they might do something bad in the future. When I checked you out, your record was less than stellar. Your performance in school was slightly above average and even your choice of university, as well as module, was nothing extraordinary. You never committed any crimes, and you had no achievements at all either. Yet, the archives had shown that for some reason the ''chosen'' Royal Panda Clan members gained superpowers only once the previous generation of selected Royal Panda Clan members had passed away." Kong Rong started to explain. "So, when you created that dungeon supplier store, we decided to close an eye despite the perfect forging of that licence. We even questioned the people who reviewed and issued that dungeon supplier license for you and they said you met all the requirements, stating you had sufficient ability that the aptitude tests were not needed to be a dungeon supplier." "That is because he had alibis, duh. How can you close an eye if he did the paperwork properly?" Kraft yawned at Kong Rong''s reasoning, and Jin felt that Kraft must actually have had a hand in this. He just did not know when his fox comrade did it since Jin knew that the System had created the licence without manipulating anything but the database from the start. (Perhaps, Kraft found out certain loopholes and closed them when he was ''recruited'' by Jin.) "I was sceptical, yet after my colleagues tried the dungeons while I watched from afar, all of them reported that it was indeed top-notch quality. I trusted them since some of them were intensively trained in such dungeon instances. Even though they purposely suppressed their levels for the dungeons, there were times they really felt they should increase their levels to work out properly." "So if your colleagues did that, there was a good chance that your surveillance operation might get detected¡­" Jin pointed, and Kong Rong nodded his head. "Is that the reason why you never once participated in the dungeons, so that your identity as a State Agent as well as your powers wouldn''t be revealed?" "Erm, well. Yeah, it''s something like that. Still, I had tons of fun looking for optimal ways to beat your dungeons. Who knows, maybe I will actually go through them one of these days." Kong Rong said as he coughed a little and returned to the topic. "After watching you for a while, we noticed that you managed to handle trouble by yourself. It all culminated in that fight of yours against the Rat Triad Boss. A few colleagues and I happened to be in the area watching out, and I admit that I ordered them to hang back. At that point, we were certain that the Rat Triad Boss could kill you. In that case, our mission would be completed, and we only would have to worry about the cleaning up." "It''s a bit far fetched but are you the people who pushed the Rat Triads against us?" Jin questioned, and Kong Rong shook his head. "I swear that we did not have anything to do with it. All we did was to observe you, and check if you would show any signs of wanting to succeed your grandfather. You just happened to have occupied the exact area they had taken a liking to. In other words, plain economic forces. Still, I think that it would be a great idea for the future." Kong Rong answered half-jokingly. "You managed to exceed expectations when you defeated Wo De Tian. Granted the Triad nowadays mostly uses their faction''s power to intimidate others instead of fighting them, yet his grade was still something not to be sniffed at." "For you to go against authority while utilising friends in high places wisely revealed to us that you might be a little more cunning than we had estimated you to be. Anyway, the real deal-breaker for us was the creation of the Tree Mall and most importantly, your willingness to retain the shopkeepers from the district." "How is that a deal-breaker?" Jin did not understand the rationale. "He is basically calling you a goody-two-shoes. Most businessmen would never even inherit failing business. And from a business perspective, they were bound to fail within the next decade or two. Their food was mediocre at best, the products they sold were so-so, and some of the services they provided were just meh until you came in to change it all." Kraft shook his head, at his master''s cluelessness. "Yes, my team and I saw how you managed to change their circumstances almost instantly, and we started to think that your ability to create dungeons was making an impact on people. Also in the previous situation where you had those portal machines, we managed to keep it under wraps, even though certain countries are still enquiring about it because of the impression it made in easing transport. That rapid response allowed us to transport supplies in very quickly, saving a lot of time and people." Kong Rong said before looking right into Jin''s eyes. "So, with all that good you did, would it be ridiculous of a reason to see the rise of a fallen clan worthy to fight not just one but all twelve Royal Zodiac Clans? And by fight, I mean beating them at their game and rising up to the top. Break the notion that the Royal Zodiacs should always be the superior one." Kong Rong replied, and when Jin and Kraft heard it, they looked at each other and chuckled together. Kong Rong just looked at the two who were laughing so heartily at his lofty goal and waited for an explanation. He expected them to be more surprised or even just curious why he as a State Agent would do that. "Should we?" Jin asked Kraft blatantly after he stopped chuckling. "I do not see a reason not to. He did make that dubious but beneficial oath for you. At least at the moment, we can be sure that he is an ally. He could have killed you early on, but that did not happen so I guess we should respond to his ¡­hmm supposed mercy with appropriate gratitude." Kraft shrugged with a wide smile. Being able to recruit Kong Rong into the System would not just add a powerful cultivator to their midst, but provide a network of high levelled expertise that Jin solely needed if he wished to continue on his way to become the number one dungeon supplier. Chapter 923 Senior Panda Associate Chapter 923 Senior Panda Associate "If you really mean what you said, read this piece of the contract carefully. You''ve already made an Oath to not hurt me, so what is another contract on top of that?" Jin slowly pushed the piece of paper towards Kong Rong and brightened the lights so he could read clearly. "That''s not really necessary, but thanks." The State Agent said as he picked up the contract and noticed there was a low grade spell of persuasion on it. A quick glance towards Jin''s eager impression showed that he had no idea what was in that contract piece until someone intervened between their conversation. "Oh just ignore that, we use it when we really are interested in the talent. Helps hurry along those who are a bit on the fence." Kraft waved his hands to dispel the spell immediately, and Kong Rong continued to read the contract. Jin did stare back at Kraft, and they were making serious eye contacts between each other. Naturally, the old fox did not give a damn at all and continued to check on Kong Rong''s non verbal expressions. ''By accepting this particular piece of contract, you are thereby being promoted to a senior associate of the Panda Clan¡­'' Kong Rong read on and noticed that there were conditions that certain orders from Jin would be absolute as the Master of the Panda Clan. The State Agent thought it was weird that Jin would try to poach him, especially when he was affiliated to the Royal Dragon Zodiac Clan. It''s like asking someone to go from a number one clan in the country to a group much less a clan, with no name attached to it. "In short, you are recruiting me to be part of your clan? Don''t I need to disavow my clan and go through the Heavenly Five Element Tribulations by default? What would you be able to provide me in return?" Kong Rong asked, but Jin shook his head, knowing that he would be mistaken with the wording in the contract. After all, Xiong Da did create the legality of it while the System reworded it via his style into the System''s contract. "I wouldn''t have asked you to take the oath if that was the case. You would only have had to sign the contract. Once you do, you will become a senior associate and the very first one at that. The way we work is slightly different from other people, but it will be easier to see if for yourself once you sign. I know it sounds a little counterintuitive but trust me in this. In essence, you will have additional responsibilities and secrets to keep. Otherwise, you can keep to your current lifestyle, and it might not even affect or make a difference to it if you wish to be inactive." Jin tried to explain without offending the guest in the bar. "Very first? You never recruited others? I was sure that Hou Fei would be one of these panda associates." The State Agent asked with curiosity. It did not seem to match his collected data of the place. But at the same time, he could not detect any panic or anxiety from Jin, doubting he might not be lying, and more like he''s thinking of a good reason to explain the situation. "It''s a bit complicated, he is technically a part of the official Panda Clan. But in terms of rank and work he has done, he would probably be ranked as a Senior Panda Associate as well. Erm, perhaps a little higher." Jin did not know how to phrase Panda Remnant until Kong Rong joined him officially into the System. "And what are those ''opportunities'' that await me?" Kong Rong queried. "You will understand as soon as you sign. Also, just believe me when I say it will broaden your horizons. Hehehe, can''t wait to see your face when you realise that your current knowledge is just a drop in the oceans of mystery." Kraft answered mischievously which annoyed Kong Rong, but he knew that even though the fox guy could not be trusted, his words had some weight to it. "Fine. As a sign of trust and moving forward, I will sign it. But buck up on your persuasion without using any spells to get people to sign it. They need a heck lot of work." Kong Rong reluctantly agreed as he bit his finger and released a bit of blood as a binding signature for the contract. Suddenly, he felt his body start to ache as if a low current of electricity was pulsating through his body. "Senior Panda Associate Long Kong Rong acknowledged. Assigning Codename: Tiny Dragon. The System welcomes you, SPA Kong Rong." A voice sounded out within his head, and the stunned face caused the Panda and Fox to laugh out loud once more. (Perhaps, the influence of alcohol caused all this commotion?) Subsequently, Jin started to explain about the System and the rest of the other stuff. He even created a portal introducing him to the Pandapolis in the Dungeon World. "Hahahah. You are shitting me. So, all along you have been teleporting your customers to other worlds to aid you in defending or attacking other alien lives?! I mean I''ve always felt that your monsters seemed alive, but it never even crossed my mind that you could have been abducting them from other worlds??!" Kong Rong could not wrap his head around it. "Told you it would expand your horizons. Stop living in that well, and be happy you got a chance to jump out of it and work with Jin. He has great ambitions for a fairly useless baby panda." Kraft snorted. "This is just way too much to handle, but I can now see the link between the System and the rest of the previous Panda Users. Gosh, this certainly is an eye-opener." Kong Rong admitted as he enjoyed the grand sight of Pandapolis from one of the skyscrapers. "Heh, that expression¡­ You plan to make a safe house here?" Kraft, who was closely observing Kong Rong facial expression commented. "More than that. But I believe a dungeon instance will already suffice for me and my squad, Ryuli included. I do not think they should learn that there are other worlds out there so soon. People are greedy, after all." Kong Rong replied, and Jin laughed. "As a Senior Panda Associate, I think that is the least I should grant you." Jin agreed and told Kong Rong to prepare a list of things he wanted it to include so he could start working on something to his liking. "It will be best if you allow me to handle the construction personally. I have certain designs and stuff I would like to get hold of if it''s possible." Kong Rong insisted. "If that is the case, I will get Qiu Yue to entertain you. She is one of the Sub System Users who have access to room customisation as well." "Ah, that Red Panda girl is part of this too? And a Sub System to boot? How do I even get to such a rank?" Kong Rong asked, but Kraft schooled his finger. "When you proved yourself to be very valuable to Jin, then perhaps he might bestow you such a post," Kraft answered, and Kong Rong questioned what exactly Fox''s position was. "That my friend, you have no idea at all." Kraft pulled a name card out that looked like a golden plaque with all his supposed titles on it. "It''s a joke, he is one of my partners in the System." Jin rolled his eyes, but on the contrary, Kraft''s eyes brightened up. "For Jin to call me his partner! Ooof! My heart shimmers and melt!" Kraft exaggerated, but Jin was more interested in what Kong Rong had just mentioned. There were so many other issues to discuss, although more importantly, he needed to know more about how the State Agent found Ryuli and what had actually become of her. "Oh yeah, she did come earlier, wanting to know if you were around, so she could confront you about her master. Unfortunately, you had already retreated, and it was impossible to find you. As expected, she did leave in a fit¡­ She usually isn''t like this, but whenever it concerns anything about her past, she has a tendency to become a¡­ Ehh what do those Japanese people call them? Tsundere?" Kong Rong tried to recall the last word. "Couldn''t you just text her that I''m not around, rather than her wasting a trip here?" Jin queried but Kong Rong shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted her to at least enjoy herself a bit after the last mission, but she didn''t even listen to me. Besides wouldn''t it be a nice miracle for the fates of two disciples to meet announced?" Kong Rong tried to tease Jin. "Ehh.. actually I think you might have it all wrong, it is possible that I am actually her master." Jin pointed out, leaving Kong Rong with a blank face. (Yet, Kraft was smiling nonstop and even took a sneaky picture of Kong Rong at that moment.) Chapter 924 Chi Spiral Symptom Chapter 924 Chi Spiral Symptom "You''re her Master?!" Kong Rong felt like today''s surprises just kept popping up one after the other. Jin recounted the sequence of events how he managed to meet young Ryuli to see if there would be any correlation with the State Agent''s story. Still, he could only confirm that he felt the presence of only one person within the locked basement. Kong Rong was only able to tell Jin that it was a loud bang which prompted him to search for the source of the disturbance. "With regards to the basement cell, I have some extra news about it," Kraft told Jin via the System Channel since he still deemed this information a little too sensitive. "I''ll tell you later after Kong Rong leaves the place." "Alright." Jin did not even bat an eye back at Kraft, and they continued the conversation. In the meantime, Kong Rong theorised with his limited knowledge of time manipulation that he could have entered into an accidental black hole left by someone there. "The only way it might be possible is if you happened to enter that room during a sudden eruption of spiritual force within the Dragon Ley Lines underneath it. This could be due to various factors, for example, excessive mining in one particular place which would put stress on the Earth''s regulated ecosystem. It also happens naturally due to tectonic plate movements, but recently the disruption in the Dragon Ley Lines have been getting more frequent." Kong Rong explained. "You probably heard those stories about the infamous Bermuda Triangle transporting people away." Kraft chimed in to keep his appearance up of being all-knowing. "While there were reports of such people missing, we actually have confidential reports of people returning to the same location where they were lost. Surveillance was scarce in those areas, but there were researchers that looked into this occasionally, and we got the data from them. However, most are brutally scarred by the experience that they could only get bits of details from those survivors." Kong Rong added and said those reports were not published for security reasons as they did not want people to have the intention to attempt time and space manipulations. Kong Rong then returned and told them as much about Ryuli as possible. Though he admitted that he considered himself to be her real master when it came down to training and recruiting her to become one of the finest and youngest State Agents, there were a few things that he was ashamed of. "I only really started caring about her, roughly a year after we rescued her. When we found her through the ruins of the burnt temple, we realised that her chi had been forcefully activated. While it was uncommon for children at such an early age to have their chi activated, the amount she was giving out was way off the charts." "My supervisor at the time believed that it would be better for her to go into a school of special care so that we could monitor her behaviour and interaction with chi in case she, you know¡­ explodes." "Ah, you mean she was suffering from a Chi Spiral Symptom? Because of an overactive Dantian Core, it produces way more chi than the body could handle." Kraft once again won the guessing terminology contest. "Yes, while the body does have the ability to expel excess chi to the surroundings naturally, it still requires the cultivator to do so actively. However, in Ryuli''s case, the amount of chi expelled was ten times the size of her body, causing pain and torture." "The doctors tried to suppress the symptom by using chi drain techniques, but the odd thing was, the more they drained, the more the Dantian Core ended up producing." "Really does sound like someone in particular when he is in a pinch." Kraft looked at Jin as he said via the System Channel. "Eventually, they decided to isolate her completely and stop wasting too many resources on her. She got branded as a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any given time if the symptom worsened." Kong Rong continued. "They placed her in a bunker similar to the basement cell, and she was denied any care and concern except for basic food, being transported by remote-controlled trays where she had to pick the food and leave the door." "No one even dared to keep in contact with her ever since she had a ''minor'' eruption of the Chi Spiral Symptom which destroyed one of the labs with a lot of sensitive equipment and injured many people working there. Fortunately, there were no deaths." Kong Rong emphasised much on the minor "As I said, I was blissfully unaware about all of this, and only learned about it after I paid her a visit. That visit had also been delayed for about three months because of a prior assignment I had. I felt bad for her after I learned what happened. In fact, I would even describe it as cruel what happened to her. She got sealed down there, only to be rescued, but when it turned out that she was a handful, she got sealed once more¡­ I somehow felt obligated to save her." Kong Rong explained. "Is that why she hates the master that granted her those powers? I only gave it to her because she needed help back then. I never intended for her to suffer as a consequence." Despite the explanation, he told Kong Rong, Jin was also feeling really responsible for Ryuli''s plight. "My father was 120% against such an idea of adopting her as part of the clan. My other siblings, on the other hand, went so far as trying to convince him. After all, if she ended up exploding and taking me with her, the position of leader in the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan would be up for grabs." "Luckily, I was old enough to make my own decision, and if I managed to get her under control, she would turn into a wonderful asset for the clan and country. I admit that I might have acted because I had lofty ambitions even back then. That''s probably also why I wanted to support you so that you might break the hierarchy placed by the Royal Zodiacs." "Easier said than done, but that is for another day," Jin replied as Kong Rong mentioned how he tried to suppress the Chi Spiral Symptom by teaching her how to cultivate her strength. That way, she could assist her body to expel the excess chi and later on control it. "Did you nearly die from teaching her cultivation?" Jin queried, and Kong Rong nodded his head. "I promised myself no never take on any more disciples after that little brat. I wasn''t a natural when it comes to teaching at all, but eventually, we started to bond, and it got better." Kong Rong rolled his eyes, but he unconsciously let out a smile as he remembered back the days when Ryuli and him trained together. "And now I get why Ryuli was dying to find this irresponsible master of hers." "It''s your choice what you want to tell her. You can bluff your way out and even tell her where ''your'' master currently is. If you pretend that you''ve also been abandoned by that jerk, I''m sure you will get along great. Perhaps you could find someone to portray as ''your'' master and fight with her. That way, she could find closure." Kong Rong suggested since he found the truth to be a messy business, especially since it involved time and space travel. "Closure? There is no such thing as closure. It would just have the opposite effect and open up old wounds." Kraft folded his hands and disagreed with the idea. "So you want to tell her the truth and let her defeat Jin? Fine with me, as long as you can guarantee he won''t end up worse than after fighting that monster. I still need him for the reformation of society you know." "What Grade is she currently?" Jin questioned, and Kong Rong used his fingers to show him. "What?! She''s this young, and she achieved such a high level?!" Jin was shocked by the revelation. "I told you she would be an asset to the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan and I meant what I said." Kong Rong said as he chuckled for revealing such a fact. Chapter 925 Reform Chapter 925 Reform "Mind telling me what sort of reformation you have in mind?" Jin, who vaguely now knew how to deal with Ryuli, decided to ask Kong Rong his ultimate objective. "Sure, but first, I would prefer hearing what you have in mind. Now that I have joined the Royal- Opps I mean, your Panda Clan, surely you will be able to tell me what you really plan to do. I can tell that you already have a set of goals and it should be better that I compromise with yours than you suiting mine." Kong Rong said with a smile as he would also gauge the lofty goals of this particular Dungeon Supplier. "Liesss. I can smell lies from that stinky mouth of yours. It''s more like, your goals will align to mine eventually." Kraft sneered at Kong Rong as he downed another cup of whiskey. The bottle was getting empty, and yet they were nowhere near drunk at all because of their cultivation despite the high alcohol content. "Do you have to be so forward? I wanted to appear genuinely interested in Jin''s objectives." Kong Rong retorted, and the Dungeon Supplier already believed these two are going to be besties. Jin then briefly told Kong Rong about his current objective of creating a Virtual Reality Network which could potentially upset and change the course of this world''s way of working. "If I manage to accomplish it, it will improve globalisation on a world wide scale. This and the portal engines would make the world an even more accessible place, and not to mention environmentally friendly. Lynn also told me that in times of mass pandemic like the SARS virus that we once had, it would allow companies to continue to work remotely without much contact. Schools can teach without students having to physically go to their location and risk spreading it. The visualisation of teaching would be so much easier, well of course that also means I have to create a developer kit¡­ but that is an issue for some other day." Jin stated with a hint of pride. "He thought up all of this because he felt the dungeons he created were too potent for cultivators. Especially our regulars have been growing way too fast, and this might eventually prove to be a threat to other people and perhaps to other countries as well. I''m sure as a State Agent who hangs around all the time in our shop, you also must have noticed that." Kraft added without the sugar coating, and Kong Rong smiled before he became serious. "I see, I''m glad you are sensible enough to notice that. One of the reasons why I would like to work with you was also because of the dungeon instances as well as making something similar to that Virtual Reality Network so it would benefit the society as a whole. But I see that you had already thought up of a goal one with your creativity could only imagine. However, I trust that the work to be done is enormous?" Kong Rong queried. "Yes, the System still needs more processing capabilities to handle such a big scale project. I do not really know how to describe this as, but anyways we also need capital and resources. Because it is just virtual only in name, whereas in reality, it will be a mix of real and fake stuff put together so I will need a heck lot of stuff to do things. But well, I always wanted to be a game developer with my engineering background if the dungeon supplier didn''t work out, but guess I am going to be one after all and it''s becoming a large headache." Jin snickered. "That is why User has the System. Your headache will only be partial compared to the System''s who will have to be the one to realise the scope of User''s project." Jin''s phone spoke out, and the System was greatly emphasising the amount of work it had to do. "I see, so I assume you are unable to simply buy those processing capabilities in our world?" Kong Rong questioned. "At the moment, no. We managed to locate a source or two in other worlds, but all of them are safely guarded, so we are not yet ready to get any of those." Jin remembered that he had to talk to Rei about the remaking of the spaceship from all the junk he salvaged. "I see, let me just remind you to proceed carefully. Remember the last trade war, it involved the Tarots Guilds in the US fighting over the rights to build 5G? Thankfully, our country''s establishments had made it easy to proceed without too much of a hassle." Kong Rong warned. "So, you are saying I should proceed with caution and not tell people about this?" Jin asked for clarification. "Yeah, keep it as low of a profile if possible. And I''d advise you to get Ke Loong to be a part of your Senior Panda Associates as well. I''m sure he has contacts that could further the advancement of your goal." Kong Rong said as he remembered he had a few contacts that could help Jin too, but he needed to check on them first. "Other than that, I am quite satisfied that you are in line with my expectations. I will see if I can convince the right people to join your side and make your job a little easier." Kong Rong added, but Jin told the State Agent to hold back for now. "Don''t worry, I will think of a suitable cover story for your current plight. After all, I am a State Agent, I have some reliable sources you can depend upon. And trust me, you need the expertise given the scope. If anything, I can always just slap a top secret label on our topic. Hahahah!" Kong Rong wrote a few sentences in his notebook until Jin recalled a System request. (More like the System nudged him for it.) "The recovery of the forest along the border walls? Oh? Okay. I believe I can help arrange that with Hou Fei, so that should not be a problem at all. Speaking about that situation, I need to inform you about the Banned Emperor, which I nearly forgot after all your shocking revelations." Kong Rong took something out from his bag. "What is this?" Jin asked as he saw the crystal floral piece shimmered on Kong Rong''s palm. "This is merely a replica, but we had been tracking these sacrilegious mongrels who were going for it for quite some time. During their attack against the border walls, we had the feeling that it might possibly be a distraction. So, we had agents deployed to certain places to ensure that certain relics remained safeguarded and we believe this is one of those that they were aiming for." "What kind of powers are inside that floral piece?" Jin received the replica, and Kong Rong allowed him to keep it. "I don''t exactly know the details, but I can look it up in the archives when I have the time. From what I recall, this flower relic that we have is one of the last few entry keys to enter the ancient flower city and is said to allow access to one of their inner vaults. However, we all know that the city does not exactly exist anymore, but seeing how these mongrels were trying to obtain the relic meant that they might have an inkling of an idea where to find the city or maybe a lost vault." Kong Rong answered, but Kraft gave a quick glance towards Jin. "No, the ancient flower city still exists, and it is well hidden from the likes of modern man. If the Banned Emperor Assassins do know of such a place, that means -" Kraft said via the System Channel which was cut short by Jin. "Zeru must be notified immediately," Jin announced and the System had already sent a message to Zeru since the Panda Boss had allowed him to visit his wife''s spirit in Japan to celebrate the new year. "Yes, that lotus loving guy will protect that ancient city even more than defending his honour or even previous master. I am not sure how he really feels about you, but you are probably not an exception at all. However, System, hold your horses. Let that samurai guy have a good chat with his ghosty flower waifu. The State Agents did stop the sinister plot, remember?" Kraft gave a quiet chuckle as Kong Rong continued to ramble on. (No wonder, he was given the nickname Mr Know-It-All.) But there was actually a silver lining to all of these long draggy explanations. Kong Rong once again fiddled with the pockets of his bag and took a red packet out for Jin. "Happy New Year to you, and may we prosper and change the world to be a better place." Kong Rong smiled as he felt this was the most successful visit he had ever made to Jin''s shop. (He could say some effort had been paid off.) Jin knew that Kong Rong gave him a red packet as a formality since he was a married man. Giving to the young was part of the New Year tradition wishing them health and prosperity. But to be able to receive one had also shown that also showed that Kong Rong wanted to share his blessings with Jin. Thus, he did the same and gave the newly appointed Senior Panda Associate a red packet as part of his responsibility as his new ''Boss''. Chapter 926 Less Talk! More Fight! Chapter 926 Less Talk! More Fight! "Looks like there are side quests to this as well? Knowing Boss Jin if we don''t do at least some of them it will probably be next to impossible to defeat the Nian!" Bu Dong yawned as he reached the village and talked to Erming and Yiming about the quest to find Nian. "Can we hurry it up? I agreed to do this because you said we could earn a quick win! Last I checked in the cinema waiting for you guys, there was already a group fighting the Boss!" Yue Wen complained since it turned out they were not as lucky as the Elder Pandaren Trio. After rescuing the village, it appeared it would potentially take longer than expected with all the side quests. While it was necessary to do all of them, Bu Dong believed there would be a suitable reward as compensation. When she agreed to help out since Bu Dong ''sponsored'' the run, Yue Wen had not realised that this would include a slew of side quests though the Pandamonium App guaranteed that they could return anytime with their progress saved so long as they were out of battle. This new save and load feature had people very excited. This meant that cultivators can try, try and try again until they completed the dungeon and despite the need to pay per every entry, it at least showed that they could save their progress. Also, Jin was not going to eat their money outright. By reaching a certain checkpoint as determined by the System, the price needed to enter would be reduced. However, the maximum reduction of price would only be 50%. (After all, he was providing a service, not charity.) "Yeah, we better get back before Mom notices that we have snuck out. She explicitly told us that we had to prepare to receive visitors and relatives by 8am." Yue Han yawned as he stared back at their mercenaries. Their Tanke was surprisingly well armoured mainly because Bu Dong did not spare any change, upgrading him to at least medium armour proficiency. This allowed Tanke to wear heavier armour and carry a larger shield compared to the one currently accompanying Jing Yu and her Elder Pandarens, who only carried a buckler and wore essential armour plates to cover vital areas. Of course, there would be a decrease in mobility, but Bu Dong''s Tanke'' defence rating was not to be scoffed at. Unlike the Elder Pandarens, they did not hire Heala since they had Yue Wen in their party. Instead, they decided to go for a ranged mercenary, and their fifth member went by the name of Archy. To their surprise, there was a slight attitude to Archy who, unlike Tanke, was extremely lazy. Whenever they were not moving, he would already be sitting on the floor yawning widely as if he was preparing to go to sleep at any moment. "Our mission is to search and if possible rescue the villagers captured by Nian''s underlings. They might be hurt from the attacks since the villagers saw a number of them getting dragged off into the forest of the island before we arrived. So we should stock up on a few more potions at least." "Urgh, with my sister here I don''t think we have that many potions with us. We need more than recommended." Yue Han grumbled at his friend. "I''ve read some posts that Heala was especially effective on this particular side quest because of her continuous healing capabilities and her wide AOE heals." "But look at it this way, we have a healer and sub attacker at the same time. It might be useful for this particular quest, but we could possibly rush through the entire dungeon faster because of an extra attacker. It can''t hurt to have extra potions so that your sister can help us fight and she won''t have to overtax herself." Bu Dong replied. "Heh, I do not know how you can continue to be so optimistic when we experienced all the unimaginable pitfalls that Boss Jin always set up in a dungeon instance. How long has it been since he added that Escape City Dungeon? You know the one nobody was able to beat yet?" Yue Han sniggered as they waited for Yue Wen to check her potion stocks. After which, they went to the village shop which was ironically handled by a Panda with a straw hat biting on a bamboo made pipe. Being a frugal person in nature, Yue Han noticed that the items sold in the shop were the same as outside, and the only difference was the amount they could buy because of limited stocks. The Panda Shopkeeper had a small, varied stock compared to the Panda Street Instance. "It really is just the essentials and nothing more." Yue Han sighed as she regretted, not getting a little more supplies beforehand. He could have gotten more via the online Panda Store, but almost everyone knew that on the spot shopping was a sort of scam unless they really needed the item badly. (Fortunately for Jin, there were indeed people who fell for it either because they really needed the items or they just had the extra money to spend.) "Alright, let''s get going otherwise Archy will fall asleep in the middle of the streets." Bu Dong urged Yue Han to be faster so he could smack some monsters. Soon, they left the village and followed the compass that had been enchanted by Chief Hunter Yiming. (As for the Elder Pandarens in a separate instance, they were given a new compass since theirs got destroyed during their first encounter with Nian.) "The compass is pointing into the cave. Should we rush in or lure the Nian''s underlings out?" Yue Han asked. "I have no idea. They could be sentient and might not take out bait. I mean the villagers told us that those captured by them were dragged and not killed. Doesn''t that mean they are smart enough to not eat them immediately and collect food for long term survival." Bu Dong judged the situation, but suddenly the always tired Panda raised his nose and requested the Pandawans to be quiet for a moment. The rest immediately squatted and went to hide among the flora where they saw a Nian Underling walking out of the cave for a breather. Unlike the ones the Elder Pandarens fought, this particular one looked more like a Lion mainly due to the lack of the dragon scales. "I suggest we grab one of these and when it cries for help, more should appear to aid it. At the very least that might reduce the number of monsters we have to fight in the cave. Besides, we do not know how wide or narrow the cave is. We might be restricted." Yue Wen analysed, and the other two agreed. "If that is the case, I will go into the cave when I see an opening." Yue Han volunteered since he had the cultivation of a Blind Bat, allowing him to walk in the dark without too much of a hassle. "Fine, then I will-" Before Bu Dong could continue, he heard the sound of a bow being nocked and released instantly. An arrow lodged into one of Nian''s Underling, and surprisingly there was a rope attached to it. "Less talk, more fight!" Archy demanded as and pulled on the rope stuck in Nian''s underling. Chapter 927 Sui Lions Chapter 927 Sui Lions Archy''s arrows were coated with a layer of his chi which not only sharpened his projectiles but also had the effect of slightly paralysing the target. Furthermore, the rope arrow had a mechanism which opened up the moment it ledged into the flesh, causing more pain for the underling since its spikes were entrenched into the muscles. Compared to the Nian itself, the underling did not have dragon scales, thus allowing the Panda Archer to easily penetrate its flesh. Once hit, Bu Dong and Yue Han quickly tried to pull the ''Sui Lion'' as it was called on their interface towards themselves while it cried out for help. While most animals would naturally lie on the ground after being shot with such a sharp piercing arrow, the Sui Lion did not. It tried to move run away from while shouting for help. However, it did not realise that the arrow was attached to a rope and eventually, it got strung like a fish when the line tightened. And thus, its howls were getting louder and harsher when he saw movement from a distance near the trees. "Gosh, my ears hurt, and it feels like someone''s hitting my brain! How can the cries of that stupid thing have such an annoying effect!" Yue Wen complained as she tried her best to ignore the persistent roaring from the Sui Lion. Its resistance was commendable as it not only continued to struggle against the rope arrow and even attempted to pull it out. Only when it found out that it was useless, it tried to gnarl on the rope and pull it instead so that the tension would not be present and caused it pain. However, Archy seemed confident that it would not be able to do so. Still, he pulled out another arrow to make sure of it. The stun arrow was supposed to completely paralyse the lion monster by sending a shockwave of electricity through it. As the arrow flew towards Sui Lion, it immediately tried to evade it, but Bu Dong and Yue Han were not going to let Archy waste his ammunition. They pulled the rope arrow as hard as they could, causing it to trip sidewards and the stun arrow barely impacted on its hind legs. It immediately released a loud electrical clap as if a thousand birds were chirping simultaneously forcing the Sui Lion to stay down on the ground. Fortunately, the rope was insulated, which allowed the Pandawans to continue to pull the Sui Lion towards them. However, to the Pandawan''s dismay, the captured Sui Lion only got further enraged by it despite the brief paralysation, indicating that it actually possessed a resistance against stun effects or electricity in general. In the meantime, Tanke had positioned himself to intercept any reinforcement which might come from the cave. True enough, more of those Sui Lions ran out in a pack to save their brethren in pain. Perhaps it was the environment and the light setting, but Yue Han could see the multitude of eyes emanating through the dark cave and out into the open. While individually, they might seem like a prideful group of creatures, the Sui Lions possessed better teamwork than expected and those who tried methods of luring similar to Bu Dong''s party had already been bested by these beasts. Some of the Pandarens were even quick to complain about it on the forums with regards to this, hoping others will take it as a warning. True enough, it only took a moment for Tanke to get surrounded by the pack of Lion Monsters, all eager to add the Panda Guardian to their next meal. "Hah! If you think you have what it takes to eat me, fine! Go and take a bite! Fortress of Stone!" Tanke taunted them with his combat skill as his body slowly turned rock solid while fending off the first few strikes. This particular skill significantly increased the threat meter and caused all the Sui Lions to rush him first. Bu Dong and Yue Han went into action the moment they heard Tanke announcing his skill. They might not have learned about all the Panda Guardian''s skills, but they had sufficient time to learn about the ones he most commonly used during the motorboat trip towards the village''s harbour. This was because they believed it was best to learn how their Panda Mercenaries worked in order to make full use of them (And get their money''s worth). In the case of the Fortress of Stone, it allowed Tanke to enter an invulnerable statue in which he would receive no damage, allowing his companion to proceed to kill off the distracted enemies. The downside of the skill was that it lasted for about 30 seconds in which he was unable to do anything else, and it had a very long cooldown before he could use it again. As the two Pandawans jumped into the fray, the first Sui Lion they tried to slaughter was no doubt the one closest to them who had called for reinforcements. With it visibly wounded from the initial attacks, they sent their blades flying into its chest. However, they had forgotten that Yue Wen was also around and the university student stole their kill by sending an arrow towards the head of the struggling Sui Lion. Obviously, even a chi enhanced arrow was not enough to defeat it, but Yue Wen had something better. An arrow with a stick of dynamite attached to it. "Holy shit! TELL US EARLIER!" Bu Dong said as he quickly retracted his step and turned around, pulling his friend away with him. The two close combat Pandawans immediately fled from the lion by desperately dashing ahead towards the Archy and Yue Wen, understanding that if they stayed around, they would be taken out along with the captured Sui Lion. The fuse went off a little late because Yue Wen purposely pulled the fuse wire out a bit further to buy some time for the Pandawans to get out promptly. One could say she trusted their ability to stay away from the blast radius, but the two Pandawans could not help but wonder if it was some sort of revenge for all the little things they had done to annoy her in recent times. (Only Yue Wen knew and she found it rather pleasing.) A Sui Lion somehow noticed that the arrow its brethren had been pierced with was different than usual and tried to remove it. Unfortunately, it was too late as the captured Sui Lion''s head exploded the same way the dynamite did, sending all its brain matter into various directions. Archy let go of the rope and took out the crossbow from his back and laid down on his stomach. While he supposedly was advertised to use a longbow, Yue Wen had borrowed the weapon for a moment to fire off that dynamite attack. Archy didn''t mind the opportunity to use his favourite crossbow since he could place it on his stomach and shoot, showing off the epitome of the laziness of a panda. Despite his posture, the Panda Archer was able to shoot accurately against the targets, providing support fire for Bu Dong and Yue Han while Yue Wen shoo off the Lions that came too close with more of Archy''s dynamite arrows. Some went off a little too close for comfort, but the Panda Archer did not seem to have any care, as if it knew whether the blasts would hurt them. Meanwhile, the two Pandawans simultaneously launched their offensive techniques against the distracted Sui Lions, allowing them to ambush them from the back. But like every other new monster the Pandawans had encountered, it did not take long for the Sui Lions to move away and refocus their attention on the attackers. The threat meter had shifted towards the Pandawans, but thankfully, it coincided with Tanke''s Fortress of Stone skill duration. Now that the Sui Lions had been ignoring him, the Guardian was free to act how he wanted. Ten seconds after breaking out of its stone skin status, Tanke unleashed a wide area of effect skill by bashing the ground and causing rocks to erupt out of it. (The Pandawans would agree that it was frighteningly similar to Xiong Da'' Hungry Hippo techniques.) The ground shook because of the Quake Wave skill and in response, the Sui Lions were scattered around the place allowing the Pandawan group of fighters to pick them off one by one. Oh the look on the Pandawan faces, they were simply ecstatic from this succession of skills. Chapter 928 Shadow Panda Medal Chapter 928 Shadow Panda Medal "Using an emergency defence skill and subsequently an area of effect skill to scatter their group into individuals? That is actually one way of doing the side questlines, which I never considered the cultivators could think of." Jin chuckled to himself as he knew how tough those monsters he created were. By breaking the Sui Lions up with Panda Guardian''s Quake Technique, it gave the Pandawans a bit more breathing space, allowing them to fight one on one for each of them. This also unintentionally broke one of the hidden trait bonuses that Jin had for the pack of Lions. By splitting the pack apart, they lost a secondary trait which actually empowered their strength by 5%. The trait, Number In Packs, could not be shown on the Pandawan''s visor unless they have a Panda Explorer in their party. It was a mercenary class that focused less on combat monsters but searching for treasures. However, the Sui Lions themselves were not something easy to be dealt on a one to one basis, but the party currently have two ranged supports that would aid them in their offence too. Archy kept shooting a variety of arrows like stun arrows, sticky arrows and even poison arrows to keep the other Sui Lions at bay while the other melee focused Pandawans fought by releasing their intermediate or advanced techniques. Yet, the ''proper'' way to win this particular side quest: ''Rescue the Kidnapped Villagers of Song Chew'' was to enter the caves and fight them in their respective ''sections'' within the cave. The first Sui Lion was meant to give a warning to the rest as all of them were sleeping after their afternoon ''snack''. Jin tried to create an experience that would allow for a chaotic battle or alternatively a sort of silent gameplay. If the cultivators had managed to sneak past the first Sui Lion, which was very unlikely unless they killed it in time, they would still have to find a way past the enhanced smelling senses of the lion. And even the wording, ''in time'' was a difficult thing to achieve as the cultivators had to utilise the environment such as ambushing it from top of the caves and support from ranged cultivators to kill it in one single stroke. Naturally, Jin had purposely adjusted the data to the Sui Lions that they would be more prone to Beast Slaying inscribed weapons just as how Xia Mao utilised his Dragon Slaying Scimitar against the Dragon Headed Nians. (Which had been named as Sui Dragons). That way, the cultivators would have an easier time to complete the side quests despite their styles of playing. Jin did, however, rewarded the silent gameplay a little more since it was harder to achieve, and he also knew that the cultivators had a tendency to be impatient and always rush forth. If they managed to kill approximately half of the monsters within a particular side quest line with stealth, they would earn the hidden stealth bonus added to the end of their rewards. The Pandarens who first failed the dungeon instances noticed that their progress statistic stated the amount of stealth gameplay achieved. They were rewarded with a different sort of currency which showed a Panda with its mouth and head wrapped like a ninja. When some of the cultivators queried via the Pandamonium support section, on where to redeem the Shadow Panda Medals, the support only stated that the redemption shop was within the Panda Street Instance. Thus, this was the way Jin chose to include the Bamboozled Bar Service Instance into the gameplay. When found, the Bamboozled Bar Service Instance would require 1 Shadow Panda Medal to go in (or ten Bronze Panda Medals as the current exchange rate). That was also partially the reason why Jin introduced the Bar earlier to Kong Rong so he could talk about it even though it was meant to be an ''open secret''. Jin only asked Kong Rong that he wouldn''t talk about the Bamboozled Bar Service Instance for a day, as it would actually change its location every single day and it would not stay in the same spot unless the rotation was done. As its name had suggested, it was meant to bamboozle the cultivators from finding it. Surely, things within the Bar Service Instance could be bought with the normal Panda Medals because Jin felt it was still too early to lock out certain features within his shop, but the Shadow Panda Medals provided a higher value compared to the normal Panda Medals. While Jin did emphasise that he did not wish to create too many different currencies, he realised why various games had purposely made different currencies to incentivise and reward players who played differently or challenged themselves further. For this reason, he had maintained the main currency of Panda Medals while quietly increasing the amount given to the cultivators. With a currency exchange in mind, he could slowly gear his customers towards various challenges and reward them with different types of Panda Medals so that they could still at least attain his future prizes. In the meantime, Jin was also considering creating a sort of currency exchange with a basic stock market function by utilising said Panda Medals and real-life money. This was one of the ways Jin had thought of allowing people to use their in-game currency to exchange for real money and vice versa. However, the dungeon supplier believed that the rates would be abysmally low because of supply and demand. The more people exchanged for real money, the more Panda Medals would be infinitely useless to exchange. Nevertheless, it would provide the cultivators with an avenue to earn some cashback, but the main purpose of the currency exchange would be for the medals. People could exchange the main Panda medals currency for other exclusive Panda medals. Jin wanted his stock market to work to allow customers to have access to exclusive items and medals in the future even if they did not have the time to get it. As long as they had money, they could exchange for the normal Panda Medals in order to get the exclusive Panda Medals as Jin would mandate that the exclusive medals could only be exchanged via the Panda Medals. For example, if one would like to have a Shadow Panda Medal in the future and had nothing on hand, they could either earn some Panda Medals via the Dungeon Instances to exchange them in the stock market. Else, they could directly exchange for Panda Medals with real cash money and subsequently use that amount of Panda Medals to get the Shadow Panda Medal. In return, Jin would earn more from doing this, and it would also be lowering the market rates slightly for people wanting to exchange Panda Medals into real cash for that period of time. Yet, in some cases, Jin was also a little afraid of the backlash that could occur since history had already shown how greedy some people were in manipulating the stock market of their world. But no venture, no gain. He had no idea how this stock market feature would play out until he gave it a try. As for now, he was testing the waters by accumulating feedback on the reception of the Shadow Panda Medals first before dishing out the stock market feature. Who knows? If the stock market works out, Jin could also subsequently introduce it to the other worlds when he provided the Virtual Reality Network. That way, he would not only provide his dungeon supplying services to his own world but to the other worlds and subtly connect different worlds and bring them together. At the very worst, Jin could intervene in the stock market with Claire''s knowledge and get it stabilised. However, despite all the talk about stealth, Jin did not forsake the chaos and beautiful dungeon play. The System was always monitoring the fights and checked if there were any creative methods that could be utilised and taught to Jin''s monsters. Since there were many monsters not featured in Jin''s dungeons yet, it was impertinent to keep them training for future fights. While Jin had been lucky to be involved in fights that had up to this point been medieval based, he could not say the same for fights in the Mecha World. (And who knew how often he would have to interfere with such advanced worlds?) The dungeon supplier was glad that he had allowed Hou Fei and his Royal Snakes to have their ''training exercise'' as the System took records of their tactics and the way they handled monsters. This data would be used to show the monsters how modern combat worked. All these recordings had also benefited Jin in mimicking certain moves like how Tanke managed to copy Xiong Da''s Seismic Quake technique. So for brilliant moves and certain exemplary team tactics which the System never saw before, it will give the players a high Chaos score and rewards them more Panda Medals. Jin wanted to create one more type of medals to complement the Shadow Panda Medal, which was more in line with the Chaos portion but he guessed holding that thought could be ideal. Only when he felt that the Shadow Panda Medals had been revised and hotfixed, then he would create the next medal type if the customers didn''t mind the first one. If the Shadow Panda Medals were well received, Jin could also create specific weapon skins that can only be bought with such medals. And if customers could not obtain such medals, that would be where the currency market is as explained. And if anything, Claire also believed that employing this medal exchange market would be a bold move and gave him some tips on how to maintain it. (The System nearly wanted the Intern to take it over, but Jin prevented the System from doing so until she became a full official member for the team.) Aside from that, Jin continued to watch how Bu Dong fought with each and every Sui Lions with skill. For the first time, the dungeon supplier noticed that he was not using any fanciful skills and used basic and intermediate techniques to relinquish his foes. Compared to Yue Han, who was trying his best to eliminate the Sui Lions as fast as he could, Bu Dong had been eyeing for weak points instead. "It seems he has learned to control himself rather than brandishing his high-grade techniques all the time." Jin thought as he previously had time to review the Pandawan''s performance during the Pandapolis Defence Raid. The records revealed how he nearly lost his life because the young Pandawan had overexerted his chi fighting minions leaving him with barely any chi to fight off the elite mobs. "System believes that is the whole point of dungeon fighting. If one does not improve himself and learn from his mistakes, Angry Ape Cultivator Bu Dong would be forever stuck in his current grade." "But if they improve, doesn''t that mean I have to create even harder dungeons?" Jin moaned. "That is your problem User." The System replied with a '':p'' emoji, causing Jin to scratch his head and sigh. Chapter 929 Extra - Life Potion Chapter 929 Extra ¨C Life Potion After defeating the last of the Sui Lions, Bu Dong and his team agreed to take a short break. Even though they defeated quite a number of Nian underlings that appeared to strike them, Yue Wen believed that there should still be a few more inside guarding the villagers. Thus, the entire party did their best to recover their stamina and drank chi potions to heal themselves up. As advertised by the Pandamonium App, the Pandawans had opted to try the new potions concocted by Yu Xiang, the new local Alchemist of Jin''s service instances as the opening week discount had been a great incentive to do so. Just like all the customers before them, they were instantly surprised that the effects of the new potion were more soothing to the mind and body compared to the chi potions they had used previously. Ignoring the fact that the Pandawans would never buy and consume any potions from outside of Jin''s store ever again, Yue Wen had the most experience in regards to healing and even compared this version of the potion with the ones they used to buy at Octofussy''s General Store. She ultimately liked Yu Xiang''s chi new concoction not because it was advertised to have a 33% increased efficiency compared the other chi potions, but because she could feel that the effects of the potion rejuvenated her entire body. This was an effect not found in the ones the System bought from the black market at absurdly low prices, and it was a result of Yu Xiang incorporating her parent''s knowledge about Chinese herbs into her potion recipe. Add that with the list which the System gave after vaguely identifying similar components used in the chi potions, Yu Xiang and her team of researchers had managed to crack the recipe and enhanced it further. Initially, the prodigal alchemist was bewildered as to why Jin did not give her the full recipe list, but she later assumed that it was because he wanted to challenge her further and create her very own concoction instead of merely improving on the original. The result was groundbreaking to the researchers themselves to the point that some of them desperately wished to publish the work and receive international recognition for it. However, all of them knew how Yu Xiang, who was their leader despite the difference in age, felt about it. They had promised to follow her because of the allure of freedom to work, and the reasonably good money Jin paid them. Not many places would grant them as much freedom to pursue their very own projects as long they managed to create something for the shop. However, the researchers were also baffled as to how a mere shopkeeper had been able to purchase such expensive high-grade processing machines for them to perform their research. That equipment alone would need millions of yuan to acquire, and some of them could only be bought with a special licence from the manufacturer. Even Yu Xiang had her suspicions and attempted to search Jin up on the internet, only to be disappointed as she had found nothing about but apart from being a young aspiring dungeon supplier. He was not some millionaire''s son or whatsoever. But despite always being inside the lab, she too had heard of rumours of Jin being associated with high-level Royal Zodiac Members, and she knew about him defeating the Rat Triad Boss who would be impossible as a normal person. His miracles were not short of being surprising, and that was why even the level headed young researcher had decided to gamble on Jin. Initially, she was just lazing around in her bed, getting some well-earned rest from the Chinese New Year holiday, but her research team had been telling her to look at the forums. She did and was baffled by it. People were commenting in the forums about how this new life potion had been so effective in battle they would not hesitate to stock up a lot more since the discount only lasted for a week. It was to the point, Yu Xiang decided to take a trip in the middle of the night to see the crowd herself. Lo and behold, her assigned shophouse had a long queue with people standing outside wanting to buy just that specific potion. Her mind could not process such a thought because it was just one particular potion that she was selling and according to the Pandamonium Store App statistics, her potions were already out of stock and people were waiting for the next batch of stocks to arrive in the shop. Indeed, because of Pandarens had been pre-ordering online, most of the physical stock had already been allocated to them, and those who were on scene had to wait for the shop to replenish properly first. It was one thing Jin had not foreseen with regards to this significant demand. Thankfully, being the overcautious System, it at least kept batches of the potion ingredients in one of the Pandapolis warehouse. The only unfortunate thing was that the Goblins and Orcs responsible for the production had to be activated even though Jin did declare a rest day. However, the minions were willing to work because they knew more money for Jin also meant more points for them and they all had already experienced what those precious points could do to their quality of living for themselves. (Not to mention they were able to be paid with 2.5 times the System points during declared holidays within their contract, making it enticing for them to work.) Hence, instead of the minimum amount of workers going to work, the System was moderately astonished that the factory was in full force and some other minions not within that factory''s allocation came to aid them too. (Luckily, the System was not so stingy that it would not pay those extra hands as long as they were productive enough.) This enabled a fairly quick turnover for the supplies, allowing them to meet the demand in a reasonable amount of time, yet, the System did not stop upon meeting the hour''s demand and had already produced more. With such an overwhelming demand in the first few hours, its predictive analysis had already determined it would only get worse in the next few days after word of mouth spread about the effectiveness. And even if they have extra left, the System had sufficiently well-equipped storage to handle the extra products. Chapter 930 Sidearm Chapter 930 Sidearm "Let''s enter the cave now!" Bu Dong said after he checked his weapons a final time. Apart from the sword he usually used, the Angry Ape Cultivator had added a Glock automatic pistol to his repertoire of weapons. While he still needed more practice to get the hang of it, Bu Dong carried it in case of an emergency. He had learned the painful lesson that having a secondary weapon might prove very useful in Jin''s dungeons. There had been times when his sword was being flunked out of the way, leaving him with nothing but his fists to fight his way out. He naturally had other swords in his storage ring, but there would always be a delay activating the storage and removing said item out of it. And also, putting them out as a secondary sword hindered his movement. Having two scabbards usually would interrupt his footwork if he placed it on the waist and if he put it behind his back, there were sometimes trouble drawing it out in time. Unsurprisingly none of Jin''s monsters was nice enough to wait that long in the midst of battle. Other customers had opted to use quick storage rings to solve that problem, but they were hella expensive. Even though Bu Dong had the money to get it, the durability of these rings was a problem too. Also, as a long time customer who wholeheartedly believed in Jin''s items, the Pandawan had decided to wait for the dungeon supplier to release his own version of quick activation storage rings. The most prominent reason for the change in this Pandawan''s behaviour was the Pandapolis Defence Raid. After King Baal had used his magic, everyone had been transported to various parts of the city. So, Bu Dong, as well as the others, had been stranded to fend on their own. Even though reinforcements eventually came in to help them, many of them by that point in time had been barely holding on to their teeth and knuckles. (Well, figuratively.) Their weapons broke from the constant clashing, due to the wear and tear to set in even faster. The blood from killing the demons made their grip on their weapons to slip, causing them to lose possession of their weapons at times too. Some of the Pandawans were agile enough to steal weapons from the fallen demons to continue with their fight, but to Bu Dong, the biggest issue had been the ranged fighters. Most if not all the Pandawans suffered near-death experiences because the ranged fighters had a clear shot on them. Bu Dong had a very close shave when an arrow zipped past the crowd in front of the Demon Archers and shot him in the back. At that point of time, he was too tired to even throw a melee weapon towards the Demon Archer and could only be wary for the next shot. The other Pandawans had found themselves in similar situations, and all of them shared one thought: ''If only I had a gun with me.'' They all wished for a quick way to retaliate since those single arrows from the archers would have killed them instantly as long as they hit their heads. Surely if it had been a one-on-one fight, the Pandawans would win hands down, but the demons had suffered too many losses to care about the opinion of Jin''s customers. Afterwards, all of the Pandawans reviewed their fights during dinner and collectively requested Jing Ru to give them some lessons on gun handling. The Gunning Giraffe Pandawan didn''t mind, but after two weeks of training, she all found them to be sorely lacking in every aspect. While it was to be expected, that did not stop any of them from carrying their pistol into battle. ¡ª¡ª "You think we can ever one-shot these Sui Lions?" Bu Dong asked as he touched the sidearm and ensured the safety was off so he could fire away at a moment''s notice. "I remember Jing Ru telling me that so far Boss Jin had always secretly placed a sure kill spot on all his monsters. If we manage to find such a spot, they could theoretically be killed instantly. Apparently, it isn''t always the head, and those sure kill spots can vary with each and every monster we encounter despite being the ''same species.'' But if we are repeating the dungeons and memorising the monsters'' sure kill spots, it would be easy as cake." Yue Wen answered as she too checked her pistol. Xiong Da had graciously sponsored the whole group after their dinner discussion and made a bulk purchase of the same Glock pistol (to not make it too obvious that they were not for him) and even got them gun belts and holsters as part of his welfare package to the group. (He was really utilising the free credit that Jin had bestowed him.) "Well that sounds good in theory, but that means we would have to repeat the dungeons by always making the very same decision and moved to the very same places like clockwork." Yue Han complained that it was impossible to search for a sure kill point for each and every monster, especially when it was not visible. "Chances are that at our skill level the only way to hit it, would be from a lucky shot and even then we won''t be able to necessarily pinpoint exactly where we hit it since the monster splatters. " Yue Wen explained how Jing Ru had found out about the sure kill points and identified it by the monsters spitting its guts out instantly as if the shot had turned explosive in nature. Soon after she had made a post on the forum and someone had gone through other similar posts to make a guide of known sure kill spots for cultivators who used ranged weapons. "So what about bosses? Can bosses also die from those sure kill points yet?" Bu Dong asked as their group carefully entered into the cave. "She managed to get a lucky hit once, and it dropped the boss'' health by a third at the time. Jing Ru tried hitting the very same spot, but after the first time, it did not activate. Her theory is that either there are other sure kill points on the boss or the sure kill point change after one has been activated. Of course, it could also be the case, that Boss Jin made it so that you only get the damage once and it''s up to the cultivator to use it early or later." "Sounds like being a gunner has its perks." Yue Han commented as he actively concentrated his chi into his eyes and ears. Being a Blind Bat Cultivator, he had better senses in searching for monsters within a cave. "True, but you saw how Jing Ru has to cover herself with various traps and tricks when fighting whenever she can''t get a shot in. Unlike us who have defensive and offensive skills, her only advantage is sniping from afar. Other than that, she''s a normal gunman against a slew of monsters with various defences and armour." His sister replied since she had seen her friend in battle quite a number of times. "Shhh." Yue Han immediately halted the group and stopped them from talking any further as he detected movement within the cave. "I sense two coming from the front and one lurking at the side over there. Prepare for battle." He whispered as Tanke who had been quiet the whole time paced himself forward while the others retreated a few steps back. If possible, the group wanted to ambush the remaining monster. Chapter 931 The Fight in a Cave - Part 1 Chapter 931 The Fight in a Cave ¨C Part 1 The first pair of Sui Lions rushed through the cave tunnels, but the rumbling of the cave felt fairly abnormal. Apart from being able to tell his team that they were coming from the front, even Yue Han''s senses were unable to pinpoint their exact location. Only thanks to the light lamps Tanke was holding at the side of his waist did they manage to realise that the incoming Sui Lion on the ground was purposely creating a distraction so that the Pandawans would not pay attention to the second one above him who was actually using the surrounding walls to try and attack them from above. "Holy shit, they can run upside down as well?! What kind of monster are we facing?! Are we sure they''re the same ones as outside and not some kind of Sui Spiders?!" Yue Han complained even as Tanke held on to his shield and prepared to intercept both of them. However, Bu Dong doubted that both Sui Lions would clash with their Panda Guardian upfront. Given their intelligence, it was far more likely that the one above was aiming at the backlines and even if it wasn''t, it would at least backstab Tanke while he would be busy dealing with the one on the ground. Yue Han was still shocked by the abomination running upside, and Bu Dong''s contemplation caused the young Pandawan to act slowly. The only person who reacted in time to this shocking development in their fight was Yue Wen. The young woman aimed her pistol at the charging beasts and started to shoot. Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of the shots reverberated throughout the entire cave, and it caused a slight reaction delay to Tanke''s actions. Yue Han, with his enhanced senses, was severely harmed by it as he knelt down covering his ears. Bu Dong was also affected, and the eerie ringing within his ears made it hard to fight. "Sis! What the fuck are you doing?! Shooting so close to us without any warning?!" Yue Han shouted since his ears seemed to have been temporarily crippled by the loud sounds. To make things worse, none of the shots actually connected and the Sui Lions, although slightly agitated by it, did not stop in their charge. In fact, they further increased their speed after their prey had noticed their failed ambush. This caused Yue Wen to continue shooting, now with two hands, hoping to get a lucky headshot. However, only the final bullet scrapped the ear of the ground Sui Lion, barely reducing its health bar. Unlike the Elder Pandarens, Bu Dong and the others had not realised that the Sui Lions, and in fact all of the Nian variants were susceptible to loud sound and flashes of light. The pistols they used were coincidentally doing a great job providing both, especially when in a tunnel cave where the sound reverberation was enhanced, and the relative darkness of the cave caused the flashes to be more poignant. However, the occasional flashes and bangs of sounds were still not as deadly as a firecracker which had successive loud booming sounds and bright lights, so the Sui Lions were not badly affected. Nevertheless, amidst Yue Wen''s unsuccessful attempts, Archy had used the opportunity to fire a crossbow bolt and hit the front paw of the Sui Lion running on the ceiling. The pain caused the Sui Lion to lost not only it''s footing but momentum, forcing the Lion to fall off from its position. Archy did not hesitate to fire yet another bolt as he utilised his skill to reload quickly to fire another shot in succession. By releasing another stun arrow and able to hit with such accuracy on the falling Sui Lion ensured that it would not be able to recover when it touched the ground. And with some luck on their side, the Sui Lion dropped on its brethren''s back, causing them to collide. Tanke took the chance to move a step forward and slammed its Warhammer on both of them. A direct hit on the head caused the Sui Lion to concuss. Thankfully, the Panda Guardian AI was smart enough to hit the Sui Lion that was on the top, causing the one at the bottom to struggle continuously from the dead weight of his fellow stunned brother. Bu Dong who managed to shake himself off from the shock of the gunfire quickly went forth to slash the struggling Sui Lion''s neck. Obviously, the Sui Lion did not allow itself to die like that, and thus, it managed to gather its strength to throw its concussed brother into the Angry Ape cultivator''s path as it thought that it had already been killed. Bu Dong was surprised by the Sui Lion''s willingness to sacrifice its comrade as the ones outside the cave had not showcased such a behaviour. "Careful! They could be veteran versions of the Sui Lions we fought!" Tanke warned as he quickly stepped to the side and tried to flank the still active Sui Lion. The Sui Lion did not bother escaping and decided to go for the smaller human since Tanke was blocking their back. However, with a taunting screech from Tanke, the Sui Lion somehow stopped its track and turned towards the Panda Guardian. "Woah! So an enmity meter really does exist! No wonder Boss Jin insisted on a Tank party member!" Bu Dong relaxed from a defensive stance and quickly switched to the offensive. "I''m starting to understand a little more about this new dungeon format! Now, this is more interesting!" Bu Dong thought to himself as he lit up his sword with chi. Fire from his chi started to envelop his sword as he too threatens the provoked Sui Lion. With the darkness of the cave and the support of just some measly lantern light, Bu Dong also believed it would be best to light up the cave a little so that Archy or Yue Wen could be able to see him further and aid with the long range attacks. However, to Yue Wen''s surprise, she saw Archy retract his crossbow and take the time to wrap a few bolts with linen. She now vaguely understood why Archy liked to sit and shoot upon seeing a mini-workshop right in front of her. The Panda Archer had a small table right in front of him with tools that allowed him to rework his arrows. Upon wrapping the linen, he doused it with some oil and lit it up with a lighter on his mini table. After which he placed a bolt on his crossbow and aimed at the Sui Lion his party members were fighting against. While waiting for a good shot, Archy passed Yue Wen a few arrows doused with oil in a quiver too. "You need to be a bit careful with those. Longbows are not really suited to be used inside caves. Use them when you''re sure it''s safe." Archy advised as his eyes never left the target in front of him. Yue Wen thanked him, and she carried the quiver. She decided not to interfere as her aim was not as good as Archy''s and she was worried that her carelessness could result in a case of literal friendly fire after the frantic firing of her pistol. Unfortunately, the party appeared to have forgotten about the remaining Sui Lion, which Yue Han had detected previously. With Yue Han still recovering from, the party had placed all its attention on the Sui Lion in front of them, allowing the third Sui Lion to silently stalk the party from the shadows awaiting the right time to strike. Chapter 932 The Fight in a Cave - Part 2 Chapter 932 The Fight in a Cave ¨C Part 2 When Tanke used his flanking position to try and hit the Sui Lion with its Warhammer from the back, the Nian underling worked its hind legs to kick the Panda Guardian away. Tanke thought that merely blocking would suffice, but surprisingly the Panda Guardian got knocked backwards from the impact and even fell on his back from the attack. The others had also not expected this kind of strength only strengthening their belief that this one must be some veteran version, Sui Lion. Bu Dong took the opportunity to dash forth and attack its side. However, the Sui Lion once again reacted in time and turned around to use its front paw to block the attack. The fire from Bu Dong''s chi technique hurt, yet it was better than getting slashed by the side. Despite its reaction speed, the Sui Lion was fully occupied with the close quarter combatants missing the incoming fire bolt shot by Archy''s crossbow. "Bullseye." Archy proclaimed as he reloaded his weapon. As soon as the coast seemed to be safe Yue Wen proceeded to heal her brother. "Let''s not take any chances!" Bu Dong thought and smashed his fist onto the Sui Lion''s face while adjusting himself for a stab at the monster''s neck. Tanke rolled on the ground like any Panda would, and while holding on his Warhammer, he used the rolling momentum to stand up. It would probably take too much time to stand up if Tanke did the ''normal'' way and even more to cover the same amount of distance. The Panda Guardian then used his newly recovered strength to hurl his Warhammer at the monster''s legs, attempting to cripple it so that it would be unable to defend itself any longer. Despite the struggle of either getting bitten by the Sui Lion or being mawed by its paw, Bu Dong successfully plunged his sword into the Sui Lion''s neck. He then tried to block the Sui Lion''s mouth with his hand by pushing it away during its attempt to bite, but its giant paw inadvertently swiped hard towards Bu Dong. "Fuck! His paw attack hurts so fucking bad! URGH!" Bu Dong cursed as he retracted his left arm to block against the paw while ensuring that its claws did not plunge into his flesh. The Angry Ape Cultivator even went sidewards to prevent the Sui Lion''s series of angry biting. Meanwhile, Yue Han had healed to a point where he could sit upright, and as soon as he came to his senses, he immediately noticed the third one and shouted out a grim reminder: "THERE ARE THREE OF THEM!!!" It startled the party for a moment, but not the Sui Lion who had been hiding within the side cave and took this scream as his sign to attack. Yue Wen instinctively reached for the pistol at her side waist, but she recalled that she had yet to reload the near-empty pistol, causing her to hesitate about whether to use the longbow or not. It was rare for the Pandawans to react so slowly, but the System deduced it was most likely because of the environment and their lack of spatial awareness. Cave fighting was not as easy as one might think, especially for someone without any prior experience in that regard. The Pandawan group had no idea where the cave crevices were and had been unprepared how significant the influence of little light would be in the way they had to fight. A loud screech was heard, this time from Archy who uncharacteristically stood up from his lazy sitting position and countered the Sui Lion with raw strength. His mini workshop of tools and arrows were flung away along with his crossbow just to intercept the third Sui Lion. Those two animals tousled and grappled furiously while the party members tried to regain their pace in combat. For the whole trip, this was the first time Archy was seen being so aggressive as it tried to counter pin the Sui Lion but, unlike Tanke, it barely had the strength to match the Sui Lion on equal grounds. However, thanks to his quick and decisive direct interference, Archy saved his other party members from certain death. Seeing how powerless she was, Yue Wen decided to step up her game and ditch her pistol as well as the longbow she borrowed from Archy and reached for her sword crane along her waist. The Healing Maiden Cultivator initially wanted to help out as a long-range supporter since the group did not want her to get injured when she was the only capable person able to perform emergency heals. But in these circumstances, when their secondary fighter was incapacitated, it was better to work on something she was proficient with. She pulled her sword crane out and aimed the Sui Lion''s neck as it continued to suppress Archy, but when it detected the threat coming towards it, the Sui Lion looked up and roared at her. It did stagger her momentarily, but Yue Wen knew she needed to do something to turn the tide or else Archy''s intervention might turn into his sacrifice. "Take this! Intermediate Sword Art, Maiden''s Mirroring Stab!" Yue Wen shouted back as she closed one of her ears to prevent too much pain and moved forward in a zig-zag motion. At that point, Archy decided to fight back since the Sui Lion was currently not breathing down on him. Despite being pinned down with the beast''s claws plunged into his arms, he bit down towards the Sui Lion right shoulder. The Sui Lion squirmed a little, and that caused its claws to dig deeper into Archy, and in turn, the Panda could not help but release his bite due to the pain. However, that was sufficient time for Yue Wen''s attack to proceed without interference as the zig-zag motion caused multiple images of her to appear, and they simultaneously jumped to attack the Sui Lion. While they might just be mirror images of Yue Wen, her chi energy existed in all of them, providing them 1/3rd of piercing strength of her usual attacks. So, with the mirror images attacking at all sides, the Sui Lion got injured to the point it let go of the Panda Mercenary. The blinding flashing lights from the mirror images of the Healing Maiden''s cultivation style was also troublesome for the Sui Lion, causing it to abandon the fight and retreat. "Oh no, you are not going anywhere." Yue Han announced as he emerged from the shadows and jumped from the cave''s ceiling and stabbed the Lion''s head from above. He then used his chi energy to push the blade further down, causing blood and brain matter to be pouring out from the wound. As for Tanke and Bu Dong, they too had cleared their share of monsters, and they regrouped with the others to heal their wounds. "Damn it, Sis. That was freaking dangerous!" Yue Han complained after he made sure the beast underneath him was killed. "How could I''ve known that a pistol would be that deafening loud within a tunnel? I''m sorry about that. I swear I didn''t do it on purpose." Yue Wen apologised as she retracted her hands from Archy seeing that the wound had already close. With one of the new life potions, the Panda Archer was able to move again in no time. "While, I''d like to stay here and complain about our mistakes in the battle, its best we quickly find the hostages before more of them show up and take their food stock back." Bu Dong warned as he impatiently waited for the healing to be done. He suddenly felt his confidence from earlier had been hampered by the previous encounter with these veteran Sui Lions. If they were already that difficult, didn''t that mean their Boss would be even more demanding? "Just give them a little more time. I can''t sniff any more of Nian underlings in the cave. Besides, it''s better to have a competent party than an injured one." Tanke said as he checked his armour to ensure it was secured properly. "I am actually more afraid of another possibility. According to what I heard other Pandarens say there''s a chance that Nian might appear after each side quest." Bu Dong replied, and Tanke snorted. "All the more reason for us to be mending our wounds before moving forth." Tanke insisted and calmed Bu Dong down to the best of its AI capabilities. Chapter 933 Deviants Chapter 933 Deviants Jin continued to monitor the various groups going through the Nian Event. Many of them appeared to be like the Pandawans, stuck with their current side questline, which turned out to be more challenging than they had expected. Some of the Pandaren groups had decided to ignore the side quest line upon seeing some non-spoiler reviews telling them it was optional, so they had searched for the Nian to fight against it. It was not incredibly hard to find the Boss, yet the battle was overwhelming because it was meant to be handled after doing the side quests to weaken it. Once defeated, those groups diligently started the side quests and they would have discovered that if they were to come back, the Nian Boss would wait for them in the same state before their defeat. This meant that its hit points did not recover and thus allow them to wear it down bit by bit if they chose the brute route again even though it would cost them. Thanks to the System filtering the forum posts for special updates, Jin saw that less than an hour ago people started to spread this information in the spoiler sections of the forums. However, even they were unaware that once a dungeon would be completed by a group, it could be replayed without having to do the side quest lines. Jin had added a mini New Game+ mode that placed one-shot equipment that would directly modify the Nian''s health as if they had completed the dungeon at least once. It would allow them to fight Nian as if the side quests were done. Redoing the side quest lines was also possible and came with its own set of perks. Completing the side quest line again would deal double the damage to the Boss Nian before the final showdown against it. Not only that, but both normal and Shadow Panda Medals could also be earned from the side quests, increasing the replayability of the quest lines¡­ at least in theory. Only time would tell how many would choose that option as his customers so far have agreed that the side quests were quite standard in terms of storytelling. Jin himself would admit that most of what he has placed was rather routine stuff such as rescuing the villagers or collecting x amount of items. Yet, none of them really complained too much since the fights to get those were equally tough as fighting against the Nian itself. Not to mention the ones possessing the right equipment like Xia Mao''s dragon-slaying scimitar immensely enjoyed the feeling of being overpowered when fighting the right monsters. In the meantime, there was one group which eventually caught Jin''s eyes. It was neither the Elder Pandaren team nor the Pandawans wandering into the cave, but actually a relatively new group of cultivators who had decided to do things a little different from the rest of the parties, pushing the limits of Jin''s dungeon instance''s AIs and NPCs to the next level in terms of reaction. After completing a few side quests, they had understood that they could receive more of these firecrackers which Nian was vulnerable to. Only thing was that the group were attempting to steal the firecrackers from the villagers without completing any extra side quests, in order to increase their chances against the Nian and to possibly claim the first clear. When the System flagged them up as potential deviants, Jin started to listen in on the conversations between the group members. Their plan was to build a large firecracker bomb with the firecrackers they stole and use against Nian. In case they get caught by the villagers, which they highly doubted since the AIs on NPCs appeared to be dumb, they planned to escape and just lure Nian to the village instead. That way, the group could still try and devise the firecracker bomb amidst the chaos to defeat Nian. "Huh, the way of doing things is certainly outside the box. Still, I don''t think I want to reward such behaviour that much." Jin thought. He felt dissatisfied with the way they wanted to exploit his NPCs. "System could penalise them by turning down the helpfulness of that particular group''s NPC''s AI or make them intervene." The System suggested as it would merely need to tweak some parameters for their mercenaries in that particular dungeon instance. "Possible¡­ But then people might get the wrong idea about the Panda Mercenaries experiencing bugs. We should still have that NPC punishment system active, right?" Jin questioned as he recalled using Captain Hei as the protector of NPCs in a rare few cases when cultivators abused his NPCs by turning them into punching bags in some previous instances. "Yes, but it is currently outdated. System recommends User to use the opportunity to revamp the NPC punishment system if you wish to use it on that group." The System replied while activating the NPC punishment protocol onto Jin''s console. "Fine, let''s continue to use Captain Hei though. I remember one of the ''hidden rules'' in that forum section had an addendum not to anger Hei in particular even though he is a reasonably friendly NPC. Perhaps we should use that opportunity to elevate him in rank, and turn him into a sort of Guardian God for the NPCs whenever anyone tries anything such as killing the innocents." Jin suggested as he tweaked Captain Hei''s stats even further, making him a force to reckon. "I will let them have the glory of using their unorthodox method and broadcast it to the other Pandarens. Let''s also highlight their record on Pandaflix for the next week at least. This is, after all, what we are pursuing, a limitless degree freedom in completing the Dungeon Instance. If this group manages to steal the firecrackers without hurting any NPCs, I will allow them to proceed with their plan. But if they kill any villagers NPCs, then we shall release the fury of the panda." Jin stated as he started to create an Iron Hulk suit for Captain Hei, just like the dungeon supplier had used in the Giant World in case for high grade cultivators. In fact, he placed even more weapons and defence resistance into Captain Hei to show off that if you do bad things in the dungeon instances, you would be punished appropriately for it. Once such a video/stream had been broadcast, everyone would know that there would be consequences for killing the NPCs. However, as Jin creates the all-new almighty NPC, he was contemplating whether he should create a time limit in eradicating any evildoers and ultimately give them a chance for such deviant Pandarens to escape imminent death should they survive the wrath of Captain Hei. "That could be a possible solution since some Pandarens could accidentally kill the NPCs during a fight, or unknowingly use them as a body shield. However, the code injected within the NPC punishment system will detect that as an anomaly and chase after them. If a time limit were to be placed and they could survive the newly made Captain Hei, it should be worthy of commendation." The System suggested. "Then we shall do that for now. I will update the code when I have the time. Please put up a reminder for me to adjust them, or else the victims in those accidents might cry foul. At least, this shows that we condone the use of such deviant methods while not limiting the creativity of the Pandarens." Jin nodded and quickly implemented the new Captain Hei. Now it was just a matter of time to see if the group would succeed or trigger the newly implemented feature. Chapter 934 Kong Rongs Afterthoughts Chapter 934 Kong Rong¡°s Afterthoughts Mr Know-It-All, aka Kong Rong had returned to his seat in the movie theatres within the Panda Street Instance. Every regular seemed to know the spot that Kong Rong loves to sit, and they always reserved it for him. And now that he is in service with Jin, the in house announcers Mr Patsu and Bear Cub One would now officially reserved a seat for him even though it was free seating for everyone. However, none of the regulars complained, and the newcomers believed it was for some VIP. Also, despite all the alcohol he had consumed with Jin, he actually felt rather lively. The State Agent was not sure whether this was testimony to the high quality of the Bamboozled Bar''s goods or the animated conversation he had which had allowed him to learn much about the ''real'' Jin. This knowledge gave him a renewed purpose in his life. His intentions of helping Jin were genuine, yet they were also driven by his desire to change his own family, which was none other than the Royal Dragon Zodiac Clan. Their strict adherence to tradition and the agency''s protocol had made him feel like a caged dragon for many years. When he was younger, he had tried to rebel against his family, unfortunately, a privileged child that he was, the resistance had also quickly died down once he was not allowed access to a lot of things. Not to mention the punishment that had come afterwards had been excruciating enough to periodically haunt him in his nightmares to this day. He had been forced to stay in an ancient giant cauldron forced to endure varying degrees of temperature which were primarily used to temper chi pills in the past. From drying heat to stinging cold, Kong Rong had suffered it all until his father felt his son had enough and eventually come to put an end to it. The young Kong Rong had indeed stopped openly defying them, but this did not mean that his ideals had been snuffed out. Kong Rong had bided his time by learning more about the internal structure of his clan. Unfortunately, he soon realised that a change from the grounds up was next to impossible if he were to attempt it alone. Just like the other Royal Zodiac Clans, they were not inherently bad but rather, the State Agent felt that there was too much internal corruption and politics involved, which made the country''s inner workings inefficient. Alas, even if he ever became the leader of the Royal Dragon Zodiac Clan, there were way too many obstacles which required the approval of many others. The multiple checks and severe red tapes placed within the political system guaranteed that any competent leader who tried to pass something revolutionary or beneficial for the country would take ages. (That was assuming he did not grease anyone''s palms with cash and titles.) Fortunately, when it came to Jin, it felt different. He had watched the dungeon supplier''s growth and potential as a person who had often gone against the norm. Kong Rong knew that there was something special about the last surviving member of the (Royal) Panda Clan, but after seeing it with his own two eyes, he had indeed felt like a frog in the well. Pandapolis city and the army Jin actually held was something no one in this world would be prepared. And yet, Jin was ¡­plainly speaking, dull and normal. Instead of trying to flaunt his assets, he kept quiet and handled national scale situations across worlds. As Kong Rong requested more and more data from the System with regards to Jin''s actions, he started to see a leader in the making. It was not the kind of leader that was cold-hearted, calculative with an iron fist but people who might be willing to follow him. (However, when the State Agent thought about it, he was wondering if the System had any influence on the following.) If anything, Jin had every right to call himself a powerhouse that could demand to influence the country''s path even if the other Royal Zodiac Clans did not like it. And with the dungeon supplier as a part of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan (even though it was not officiated in public), he had the chance to be in the government and change things. "Hah! Just imagine if he invoked the old rule of honour and forced the Royal Zodiac clans into a battle for the government positions. Not only that, if Jin wins, he also gets to control the geezers in the parliament via the System. That would be a dictatorship of unparalleled power. A lot of things can be done assuming he does not fall into himself in the grips of greed. The greed for more power." Kong Rong thought to himself. "I think it is far more likely he would bankrupt the nation''s coffer in an attempt to build a better place for the people." Kraft chuckled as he practically popped into existence beside the State Agent. "But rest assured, I am not just his ally, but also his inspector in chief. If he ever diverts his path of righteousness, you can be sure I am there to correct him¡­ harshly." "How long have you been eavesdropping on my thoughts, you nasty old fox?" Kong Rong was not as surprised as before merely annoyed that his inebriated state had allowed the other party to rummage through his brain without him noticing it (again). "But please, elaborate. Shall I interpret it as you playing a fool is just your way to destress yourself while maintaining vigilance on Jin?" "Just evaluating our very new Senior Panda Associate. And hmm, you could put it that way if you like. I personally feel that the ''occasional'' little bit of mischief allows a person to maintain his ¡­erm drive to do good. At the same time, challenging his moral compass every so often to check how steadfast his goals are. Oh and as for your idea, you can pretty much forget him taking on any governmental position unless you literally push the responsibility to him. Just some advice from a colleague, that''s all." Kraft chuckled while he sat down even more comfortably in the chair next to Kong Rong. "Besides, I overheard some System chatter that a particular newbie group within the Nian Event has done something to make Jin implement something very fun. I am here to watch it." Kraft had pulled out a small box of popcorn from his coat and extended the offer to Kong Rong. "If you don''t mind, thanks." Kong Rong took a few pieces in one go so he won''t have to disturb Kraft for some time. Also, he used his chi to grab more popcorn than anyone would normally do, just so he could annoy the old-timer fox. "So, what exactly did Jin do? I thought he usually won''t interfere with the dungeon instances?" Kong Rong now questioned while crunching the large fluffed popcorns. "This naughty panda boy has been meddling with this current event. Maybe he too wanted to have fun once in a while since it''s the Chinese New Year and the System allowed him to do so within reason." Kraft answered within the System Channel which now made Kong Rong realise why he could never pick up some of the telepathic talks. "But it will be fun to watch, trust me. Get your pens ready for some good juicy post for the forums." Kraft slurped loudly on his Slurpee and fixed his eyes on the screen. Chapter 935 NPC Punishment System- Part 1 Chapter 935 NPC Punishment System- Part 1 "We noticed a particular group is attempting to take a vastly different path to achieve victory. Let us all watch and see if their plans unfold as they expect!" Bear Cub One announced in the Cinema Hall as all the theatre screens changed to the Pandaren Weasel, Raccoon and Cockatrice to keep the anonymity of their group. Jin felt that certain anonymity would be best for the group and the cultivation style each Pandaren used was already much of a giveaway on who was who for those who knew them. This kind of system had been implemented not long after the introduction of the Half Masks. While the Pandawans had a more prominent stage presence and their names would be repeated occasionally, it was mainly because they all had some sort of minor celebrity status in Jin''s dungeon supplier shop. Such a system also allowed some of the Pandarens to shine in one way or the other, allowing people to take notice of them. The standard Half Masks were nothing unique barring the animal designs, and this is a plus, allowing the Pandarens to customise them in any way they wish it to be. For Pandarens who played anonymously, their masks'' simple design also meant that those who had been seen as acting incompetent could just change their mask colour and join another team without having to endure ridicule. As for some, they took this chance to make themselves stand out of the crowd. It''s a double-edged sword as people would tend to flock to more successful cultivators while not wanting to join the ''losers'' whenever possible. Fortunately, it was not much of a big issue in Jin''s dungeons at the moment, but who knew how widespread it would be in the future? And in order to curb any hazing, Jin had already reduced the number of failed showings in the cinema theatres to keep the hype up for the dungeon instance watchings, and the announcers focused on the successful teams which could teach the viewers how to beat an instance. However, he would still put up a compilation of failures with the permission of the Pandarens to ensure that there was a variety in content. Of course, the System was the one to actually curate those as the dungeon supplier already had a limited amount of time on his hands. It rewarded them a few Panda Medals for agreeing to become featured as entertainment but also offered an option of blurring the faces further and tweaking their voices. It was also only recently that the System had also started offering Panda Medals for successful or highly unusual dungeon plays that could be featured which were meant to encourage the Pandarens to play well. Perhaps the deviant Pandaren group had decided to try out such an aggressive tactic in the hopes of getting featured? Still, Jin had made up his mind. If they could steal the firecrackers without harming the NPCs he would tolerate them ''cheating'' his dungeon. In fact, the System would award them Stealth gameplay points for being successful. However, in the case that they ultimately did harm the NPCs, Jin would not hesitate to let them experience the wrath of Captain Hei. Both Kong Rong and Kraft had no idea what to expect as everything was an impromptu thing that Jin had created. Even Kraft did not have the full picture because the System had not yet finalised the executable module for the NPC punishment system. "Oh? That''s interesting. They are attempting to steal from the village?" Kong Rong deduced based on the current movement of the cultivators. The Cockatrice Cultivator was in the midst of climbing the highest tree within the vicinity of the Village warehouse, and the Raccoon was stalking as lookout around the back. As for the Weasel, he was proudly sauntering towards the Song Chew Village Guard NPCs at the front of the warehouse they were guarding. The guards appeared to be strict in their demeanour, but when they saw the Pandaren who had already helped their village by doing their side quest, they lowered their guards and greeted him joyfully. At this point, the Weasel Cultivator was trying to bribe the NPC guards, hoping that they would just let them pass through without the need for their complicated process to steal the firecrackers. Unfortunately, adamant to their AI code, the village guards declined the Weasel. They were even willing to close an eye for such an intrusion and forget about the Weasel attempting to bribe them as long as the Pandaren moved along and continued with their quest. That was when the Weasel pretended to be courteous and apologised for the attempt which the guards gullible took in. Yet the audience in the theatres could already sense his intentions, and they looked forward to what would happen next. True to their desire to get the large hoard of firecrackers, the Weasel bowed to ''apologise'' once more¡­ Yet when he returned into a standing posture, the two guards had already fallen over as their heads were cut off. It was a basic feint move by the Weasel Cultivation Styles which had been executed beautifully and brutally. That was when the entire audience was shouting at the audacity of the Weasel, and Kong Rong could already predict where this was going. "This does not seem like a presentation of a new strategy¡­ I assume Boss Jin plans to give us a demonstration of his newest penalty system in this dungeon." Kong Rong deduced as he started to pen down notes. "What makes you think that way?" A bespectacled Pandaren who was obviously a fan of Mr Know-It-All questioned him directly. "Boss Jin has never tolerated people bullying his NPCs. He has always made a clear distinction between monsters and NPCs. The former ones can be safely killed if one manages to. But at the same time, they can be charmed and befriended to fight aside you¡­." Kong Rong explained half way and he realised Jin purposely prepared this particular highlight as if he already knew what those Pandarens were about to do. Chapter 936 NPC Punishment System - Part 2 Chapter 936 NPC Punishment System ¨C Part 2 "¡­And for the latter, whenever NPCs appear they are only there to help out the cultivators or to get help from them. Ah! There was this instance which he even used them to teach people some manners. Have you ever heard of the Captain Bai incident?" Kong Rong questioned, and the bespectacled cultivator roughly understood what was going on. He recalled how the Panda Captain roughed up the cultivator for hitting the NPCs. "So, do you think the Panda Captains will appear again to beat these people up?" Another bespectacled cultivator within the audience questioned, but Kong Rong could only shrug his shoulders hard. However, he knew that Jin would not let such behaviour go unpunished. As the two guards fell to the ground without their heads attached, the Weasel immediately blew a whistle with his fingers, indicating to his teammates that the coast was clear. The Raccoon returned the whistle, and the Weasel promptly searched for the keys to the warehouse while the Cockatrice jumped to the roof and entered through a secluded half-open window at the end of the building. "Found it." The Weasel said as he unlocked the doors and checked the surroundings once more before pulling the bodies inside the warehouse. (And their heads by kicking them in) He hoped that the other villager NPCs would not come by to check on their location anytime soon, else they might notice the blood on the ground. But in any case, the Weasel already prepared a trap at the front door to alert him, if someone else planned to come into the warehouse to check on the mess he left. After all, he needed time to help himself to the stockpile of all the villager''s food supplies within. "How can they be so stingy when it comes to handing out rewards?! They obviously have more than enough to feed the whole village for months!" The Weasel badmouthed them as he began pocketing certain food items for himself. Meanwhile, the Cockatrice had already picked up the scent of the gunpowder and started to point to his pal to where to find it. "Go search for Panda Medals or other pricey looking stuff! They might have something that could make us rich with medals!" The Raccoon exclaimed, seeing that the Weasel was successful in killing the guards and managed to enter via the back. "Heh! Don''t expect much! This is just a storehouse for their supplies. There is no way they are stupid enough to put money in here. If anything, we are better off trying to steal from the village chief hut, maybe he has something-" the Weasel was suggesting his ideas, but stopped as they heard his trap being activated. A loud snap from the metallic jaws of the bear trap which he placed could be picked up with his astute hearing, as well as the cries of the villager in pain. "Ah, shit! I forgot to keep the door closed!" The Weasel cursed as he recalled the door was left ajar. No wonder the villagers had managed to find the scene of the crime this quickly. "God damn it! You had ONE job! Quickly go get the firecrackers. I should be able to hinder them for a moment. I''ll see you at the meeting point." The Raccoon ordered as he rushed forward to the main door and silenced the noisy villager with his weapon. As soon as he managed to deal with the villager caught within the bear trap, one problem leads to another. This time it was the NPCs from the village. Knowing he needed to buy some time for his friends to steal the firecrackers, he started smearing some blood on his hands and even slash himself with his weapon to make it real. The pain was temporary, but it needed to be obvious enough to be convincing. He was not sure how real those AI''s could be but being in Jin''s dungeons a few times, he believed that they were advanced enough to take pity on him. And thus, the Raccoon began his fake act in order to show that he was innocent. "Help! Help!" The Raccoon Pandaren cried out with crocodile tears, as every NPC of the village came out of their homes armed to the teeth to search for the culprit. He then lied to them that it was the work of a Nian underling that came rushing in and had killed the villagers. Despite incurring injuries, he tried to rescue the villager that was dead on his arms and his friends were now chasing after the culprit. "Oof, that is one terrible lie, and the acting is only satisfactory." Kraft joked as he saw those fake tears going down. "Still, got to give him credit for bringing those tears out. hahaha!" The villagers started to discuss among each other while the village chief called reinforcements to be sent to secure the perimeter. But just as he thought that he was able to convince them, the aura around the village suddenly turned heavy when one of the guards went to check on the pile of blood at the warehouse''s entrance. At that point, a shake from the guard''s head made the mob of villagers hold on to their weapons tightly. Soon, the Raccoon Pandaren realised that they were not buying his lie. All of the villagers had their eyes staring at the Raccoon with disgust as if they had already discerned who had actually killed their fellow member. Nevertheless, the Raccoon tried to push for his ''innocence'' further, attempting to justify his lies. "I am really sorry that I could not save- huh?" Before the Raccoon could say anything else, he suddenly felt that his eyes were blurry and numbness overcame his entire body. Only then, did he notice that a sword had pierced through his chest. All this time, he had a dagger prepared and was aware of his surroundings, but he did not even hear anyone snuck upon him. "You piece of trash." A low husky voice was heard from behind the Raccoon as the field of view in the theatre slowly turned towards the back. ¡­ And everyone in the theatre cheered loudly. Chapter 937 NPC Punishment System - Final Chapter 937 NPC Punishment System ¨C Final When the Raccoon turned his head, he couldn''t believe his eyes. Behind him stood Captain Hei in his iconic bulletproof SWAT vest, yet he also had a traditional Chinese robe underneath. The panda made for a strange sight in his get up, but his appearance here signified to the viewers that something important was about to happen. "Do not think for a moment that you can fool me, the Guardian of Many Islands, Protector of the People. I can smell the stench of your blade in this poor soul''s body." Captain Hei berated the trembling cultivator. His heart rate was pumping super fast in the face of incoming death. The Raccoon''s feeble attempts of pulling the sword out only worsened the wound, and Captain Hei''s hand went to his gun belt as he unholstered his trusty pistol. "You had no right to kill this innocent man shouting for help! But don''t you worry a single bit, you won''t be lonely for long, I shall send your friend over as well once I am done with you." Captain Hei promised as he pulled the trigger, and the entire villager crowd resonated with this judgement. In the meantime, the cinema hall audience clapped loudly to see that the Raccoon had justice done to him except for Kong Rong who thought about what Captain Hei had said. "Hmm, so does that mean he is not going to kill the Cockatrice?" Kong Rong asked Kraft, but the old fox could only shrug his shoulders. "Technically the Cockatrice was not directly involved with the killing of any NPC, so let''s wait and see if Captain Hei will still go after that one," Kraft replied while observing the audience''s expression. "It will be interesting to see if he will get away scot-free for only coming along. There are a lot of complications if the Cockatrice can escape unscathed, assuming he does not touch any other NPCs." Kong Rong commented while writing notes on the new job scope of Captain Hei in this instance. "How so? Aren''t their actions a testimony that they abandoned the sidequests to steal firecrackers and perhaps even Panda Medals? Shouldn''t they get punished for circumventing the intended gameplay this much?" The very same bespectacled spectator overheard their conversation and queried about it. "Well if the Cockatrice comes out alive, it means that this particular dungeon instance allows for a lot more flexibility than one would think a dungeon instance could ever have. People have long since assumed that Boss Jin''s Dungeon Instances were somewhat linear when compared with other dungeons." "Aren''t you partly to blame for that? Whenever you publish one of your walkthroughs for the dungeons, your fans speak as if you have ''solved'' it. Admittedly, your way is the easiest to follow for the majority of cultivators¡­ still doesn''t mean it''s the only way." Kraft couldn''t help but snarkily remark. "Ahem, it just shows that as long as people think outside the box, it is possible for them to find alternative routes for the completion of the dungeon." Kong Rong added slightly embarrassed as the audience watched how Panda Hei unceremoniously removed his sword from the Racoon''s corpse and adjusted his black rimmed sunglasses. At the same in the warehouse, the Weasel was trying his best to hoard as many firecrackers into a haversack. Unfortunately, like real life, the items they stole could not just be inserted into the storage ring because they already belonged to ''someone else'' due to a certain RFID mismatch of the items. The items belonged to the dungeon instance and like in real life, they had a specific code which denied the Weasel from stealing it outright. "Damn, I heard that the dungeon instances in this shop were supposed to be realistic, but couldn''t they have at least made collecting loot a bit more like a game?!" The Weasel complained as he shouted for the Cockatrice to do his portion of the heist. "You kidding me?! I only accompanied you because you said it would be a sure way to get the first dungeon completion! I did warn you about the NPCs coming, and in case you haven''t noticed, Captain Hei came out of nowhere, turned your brother into a shish kebab before he put a bullet into his head!" The Cockatrice shook his head and refused to get any more involved. Unlike his two companions who had come here today for the first time, the Cockatrice had been an avid watcher of the dungeons in the past. As a regular, he still remembered that one incident with Captain Bai. The cultivator who had tried to shame and abuse the NPC was placed in a hall of shame post for nearly a month before his name had been removed. "Then all we have to do is kill that panda, right? My brother probably did not notice him. Besides, I''m far stronger than him. I bet I can take out that stupid bear in one hit." The Weasel replied as he tried to zip another large sling bag full of explosive firecrackers while walking hastily towards the backdoor. "Then try dodging this first!" Suddenly, Captain Hei''s paw connected with the Weasel''s face from the side of the warehouse, creating a hole with his punch in the process. The impact force was powerful enough to send him flying through the warehouse, breaking all the supplies in between and subsequently out of the storage area and into open space. The Cockatrice was once again forced to watch his teammate get violently assaulted by the Super NPC. And with one stare from Captain Hei, the Cockatrice immediately had goosebumps and did not hesitate to flee from the warehouse at that instant. He even used his chi techniques to run away from the crime scene in the hopes of not getting implicated any further. "Clever bird." Kraft snorted at the actions of the scared cultivator, yet it was exactly that cowardice that allowed him to avoid execution by Captain Hei. Meanwhile, Captain Hei''s violent punch had caused smoke and dust to appear, and the angry villagers surrounded the culprit in case he might attempt to escape Captain Hei''s wrath. But there was no need for that. The Weasel was coughing blood as the dust around him settled down. His legs turned to jelly, and his stomach was severely upset. He felt his vision becoming blank, and his head was pounding hard from all the impact while his ears, bleeding from the aftermath. "How do you like that?" Captain Hei asked loudly as he placed his foot on the Weasel''s chest, causing him to have even more difficulty breathing. (Not to mention his ribs cracked a little further.) "Let this be a lesson for you. If you ever come back and intend to hurt them, I will find you before you can so much as to touch a strain of the hair of these good people. I will hunt you down like a monster, and I will make sure you will not have the luxury to enjoy the dungeon instance in the future." Captain Hei threatened as he pressed his foot further down while taking his pistol of judgement. Executed in cold blood, the System believed this act will undoubtedly make the audience to spread the word not to kill any NPCs. Chapter 938 The Cockatrice Chapter 938 The Cockatrice After showcasing the death of the Weasel and Raccoon, there wasn''t anything else worthwhile for the spectators to see. Hence Bear Cub One switched the cinema screens to another group attempting Nian''s dungeon instance. The Cockatrice ended up as the only survivor of their particular group and a screen popped up in front of him. He was asked whether he wished to use the ''Emergency Mercenary System''. Jin had inserted that feature for this limited time event since he was aware of how hard the special dungeon was. At the time, it had been designed for those cases where only one person survived a hard fight and not exactly this kind of situation. Of course, as the name implied, the mercenaries that were sent through this emergency deployment required even more Panda Medals than the ones on the ship, and there were no free Panda Mercenaries to choose from here. Alternatively, the Cockatrice had the option of soloing whatever side quest he wanted to or even the boss if he thought he would be to handle it. Any kill he managed to make would subsequently be collated as part of his score. Of course, the final option would be to voluntarily abandon the current run and start over with a clean slate. (or run with the same group with the current save state.) The Cockatrice hesitated whether he should just call it quits for the day. Super NPC Captain Hei had given him quite the scare. Still, he ultimately decided to just spend the Panda Medals as part of his guilt trip, and he ended up hiring the maximum amount of four Panda Mercenaries to protect him. However, the System never forgets, and the expression on the Mercenaries were not very pleasing either. Nevertheless, since they had been paid the coin for his deployment, the Panda Mercs followed the Cockatrice''s orders and continued the dungeon while making their dissatisfaction of working for someone like him audibly known. As for the employer, he could only hope he would earn back some panda medals to cover the extensive amount of medals he spent (and to some extent, money.) Since the "special" scene had died down and the audience''s attention shifting to the new group, Kong Rong finally had some time to think consider the consequences that Jin might have prepared for the two offending cultivators. He even questioned Kraft, but that crafty old Fox merely told him to ask Jin directly. "You have access to the System Channel now, don''t you? You''re already working with him, might as well ask, you stupid Senior Associate. Here, let me open it up for you." Kraft said as he instantly opened a telepathic System channel between the trio again. "Yo, Jin, Mr Walkthrough wants to know what happens to the two dipshits you just punished. Nice one by the way, though you could have made them suffer a bit more for my taste." "Ah, Jin! Sorry, to bother you. That old Fox seems to like shoving people into slight awkward situations for his amusement, and this is one of them. Anyways, I was actually hoping to write an opinion piece on what happens to the two offenders in the aftermath." Kong Rong apologised for suddenly barging in on him again. "All the more reason to hear it from the source. That way you can write something better." Kraft grumbled. "Sometimes, just knowing a little is enough to spark my inquiring mind. Getting told the answer without reaching the conclusion yourself has its perks and cons." Kong Rong answered Kraft''s unspoken question about why he didn''t go to Jin directly, yet Kraft merely rolled his eyes at the ''inquiring'' portion. "So, do you want me to tell you? Or shall I continue to keep quiet and let the offenders experience it firsthand?" Jin asked as he was a little amused by the two old men interacting with each other. "Since this Fox already opened the channel, I shall take the opportunity to learn about it. Like I said, knowing has its perks and I personally think it would be best for this new punishing matter to be addressed clearly." The State Agent took his hobby about writing walkthroughs for Jin''s dungeon quite seriously. "You are right. I guess you''re the perfect person to inform the masses, even better than me at times. It''s actually annoying that some think that I am purposely being cryptic because of the way I write things or even suggest that my words had some underlying meaning in them." Jin rolled his eyes in the Dungeon Maker instance and sipped some water to clear his throat. "Well, you are the developer of these dungeons. Most people can''t take things at face value with the creators, and besides, you always leave a small trail of tidbit to keep the people excited. Not to mention there are times where you just surprise people without any prior warning like with the new raids, especially the emergency ones. I''m already taken aback that quite a number of people do actually come back for those emergency raids. Hmmm, with the revelation of the System, it makes me wonder¡­ have you put us under some unknown ancient suggestion spell so that we always come back for more?" "Can''t you just say that my dungeons are awesome?" Jin moaned a little, hoping for better compliments, especially from someone of such high status in society. "Your dungeons can be better." Kong Rong chortled with some laughter. Eventually, the talk returned to the new punishment system Jin had placed (in a rather impromptu manner). For any Pandarens who had been targeted by the Super NPC Captain Hei, the villagers would treat them differently, ranging from slight distrust to mild disgust. The attitude wasn''t the only thing affected, but they would give them fewer tips or guidance and things sold by the NPCs would have their cost increased by 10% for first time offenders. Repeat offenders would get more and more severe penalties. Mercenaries would at times actively ignore their commands, and this could potentially discourage gameplay. They would even have a red skull on their status, to indicate to other players that the person had intentionally killed an NPC in the dungeon instance. Initially, Kong Rong wondered if these cultivators would even return given the harsh treatment that awaits them, but Jin believed his reasoning was fair and square. He did not need to earn money from anyone who disrespected his NPCs because he was there to create cohesive and conducive gameplay for everyone. Some rules had to be placed with strict adherence, otherwise, when the time came for Jin to create the Virtual Reality Network, there would be chaos. Naturally, Jin was looking into other features that could liven the NPCs too and perhaps tweak the NPC punishment system by introducing something like a redemption system. However, for now, Jin prefered being too strict over too lax in regards to the NPC killers. "Then what about Player killers? I remember there was some form of friendly fire? Like in the Pandapolis Defence Raids, some of the Pandarens were killed accidentally because they could not recognise friend or foe." Kong Rong questioned whether some of the Pandarens were intentionally killed from stray fire. "Obviously, now you know that they were being situated in another world, you will understand why that was unavoidable. The System did review the friendly fire incidents with its exceptional data collecting and found that most if not all of them were accidental. For my dungeon instances, I put a limit in. Even if a teammate hits you, you only suffer 10% of the actual damage. This is just to give them the reality of being in their teammate''s line of fire." "Hmm, yeah. That might make for some great training, although the military might have a better use for. If Hou Fei comes back, then I would suggest resetting the limit back to 100% because they have handled more serious situations than cultivators." Kong Rong remarked as he closed his notebook and coincidentally the featured dungeon on the cinema screens ended as well. (They died from the ambush in the caves) "Alright, I have enough information for now, so I shall call it a day. Need to do some visiting the next day too. Dragon Clan duties. Goodbye Jin, have a good new year holiday." Kong Rong sighed a little as he teleported out of the Panda Street Instance. There were too many things to consider on his way back home. Separately, to Jin''s dismay, both the Elder Pandarens and Pandawans had similarly failed to fight against the Nian limited dungeon event. Nevertheless, it was to be expected as a dungeon completion on the night when it launched would put Jin to shame. Aside from that, Jin requested the System to inform him if there were any other significant developments. Otherwise, Jin was intending to do some hotpot hopping to mingle around with his minions before the sunrise. Now that a few key people already knew that he was alive and kicking, others would also be coming around to kick his ''door'' down to find him. Chapter 939 Teaming Up With A New Group Chapter 939 Teaming Up With A New Group "Ahh.. here I thought we would have a serious chance against the Nian Boss." Xia Mao yawned as he found himself in one of the beds of the Luxury Recovery Instance. The fluffy pillows and cushy beds were the best and most comforting way to relax after a defeat. (They also made the taste of victory feel even sweeter) "Come on, let''s get going. We should be able to put in one more game before I have to go back to prepare for the new year. Maybe, I too can slip in a short nap when I reach home and hopefully before my children visit me later in the morning." Jing Yu said as she felt revitalised. After her quick shower, she was ready to go for one more round. "Sorry, but I don''t feel like it. That previous one was way too strenuous for my liking. Besides, it''s a new dungeon, it will take some time until people find a way to defeat it quickly." Xia Mao grumbled while putting the blanket over his head. Despite already having a grandkid, this grandfather sometimes still acted like one big baby. "Did you forget that we can resume where we stopped now?" Zi Dan asked as he reentered the room. He had gone out for a moment and came back with a cup of coffee from the vending machine. "By the way, when I was out, I overheard some people talking about Bu Dong being in one of the recovery rooms. I hastily checked his stream on Pandaflix, and his group was defeated before being able to damage the Nian." "I don''t know about the others, but it seems he might be leading the only Pandawan group that is competing in the dungeon right now. It looks like we have the advantage since our group managed to damage the Boss with the boat in the beginning. We even have more of those firecrackers at hand, so if we give it our best shot perhaps we can beat their group to it!" Zi Dan added excitedly. "I mean, I wouldn''t mind getting the first clear, but this bed feels too heavenly. It would be a sin to leave it." Xia Mao yawned loudly. After which he slowly grabbed another pillow from the bottom of the trolley bed like a cat reaching for its toy and pulled it up as if his strength waned with every second away from the bed. "Hmmm¡­ Actually, he is right, why are we pushing ourselves so much? Didn''t we originally come here as part of our retirement exercise? Sure, getting the first dungeon clear would be nice, but we should not strain ourselves that much. Perhaps I should just visit the dungeon supplier store that is close to my house." Knowing their friend long enough, Jing Yu decided to use some psychology tricks on him. "Heh, the dungeon instances at other places can''t hold a candle to Boss Jin''s dungeons. They are absolutely boring, unable to design a worthy opponent. I don''t think I will patronise them ever again." Xia Mao mentioned as he continued to slack in his bed. "Then what about the money and Panda Medals you spent getting that Dragon Slaying Scimitar? Don''t you want to retrieve what you lost?" Zi Dan joined Jing Yu''s attempt to motivate their lazy friend. "Can''t we just try again tomorrow? If it''s that important to you, why don''t you just team up with Bu Dong? Is Kong Xian there with him?" Xia Mao proposed, and Zi Dan shook his head, telling him that the team consisted of Bu Dong, the Yue siblings and two Panda Mercenaries. The Pandawan Kong Xian which they drank together in the Salamander Lord''s Keep Raid was not with him. "Well, isn''t that perfect? I recall Kong Xian mentioning that Bu Dong doesn''t mind making new friends, so as long as you tell him we are friends with his friend, it should be alright." Xia Mao elaborated and suddenly, speaking of the Devil himself, Bu Dong came in. He had heard his name coming from the recovery room when he was opposite of their ward buying some Panda Soda via the vending machine. "Were you guys talking about me?" Bu Dong asked, and his eyes squirted momentarily. "Wait¡­ aren''t you the guys who fought with us at the forefront of the Salamander Lord''s Keep? I remember seeing you. You must be the uncles that helped Kong Xian with his part of the fight, right? I personally watched that raid a few times since it was a limited fight. It''s a shame Jin hasn''t brought it back in its original form. I would have loved to try out your portion of the fight, too." "I feel you. His first iteration of raids is always completely unique." Zi Dan agreed as he greeted the teenage prodigy. "They might be harder in nature, but it feels satisfying being able to clear it. The toned-down version for the masses just doesn''t have the same feel if you know what you''re missing. Not to mention, the rewards we''ve earned from that original emergency raid was way better too." Bu Dong was quickly welcomed into their recovery room, and they talked a bit in regards to the current Nian Dungeon. "What?! You can do that? I thought those sea waves were unapproachable, and we had to follow the compass to reach the island safely. But did you really manage to hurt the Boss with it? The Nian seemed pretty tough when we encountered it." "To be honest, we didn''t do it on purpose. For some reason, my handle was spoiled or something. Maybe it had been mishandled or sabotaged, but we had a lucky break because of it, reaching the Boss and damaging it. We''ve been facing an injured Nian ever since, making it easier to deal with her at the end of our side quests." Jing Yu replied. "Only it seems that Boss Jin is not planning to let us finish him, I erm mean her quickly. Keep forgetting the lore states that Nian was a mother¡­ Anyways, I think he wants us to go to where the main quest is if we want to face off with her. Despite his injuries, the beast was always healthy enough to run off." Xia Mao added to the discussion from the bed. "Say, my friends here would like to join your team in the dungeon if you plan to continue after resting up that is." "Oh, eh okay. My pals had to go back home to prepare for the Chinese New Year visit, as such, I am by myself at the moment. So sure, I would love to join you guys. I''d much rather let someone new get the first dungeon clear than letting Xiong Da get another one under his belt." Bu Dong muttered the last sentence and the Elders believed it was some internal competition between the Pandawans. Yet, it was just Bu Dong and Xiong Da''s mini face-off. "We would be honoured to. Let''s join forces! It will be easier to fight with Bu Dong around." Zi Dan looked at the rest of the group, but Xia Mao just retracted back under his blanket. "With the four of us, there won''t be enough space for a healer and tank since the recommended party size is five. So count me out and go have fun." Xia Mao argued, but Zi Dan did not want to leave his pal alone. It would be a shame if they actually completed the dungeon and he wouldn''t be part of it. "How about I fill in as the healer? I did learn some basic healing chi techniques when I was younger, and with my cultivation now, it should be equivalent to an advanced chi heal. I can also sponsor the potions for this round!" "Oh my, so generous? What''s gotten into you, Zi Dan? You are usually at odds with Xia Mao, and now you are patronising him." Jing Yu questioned, and the Blind Cheetah merely shook his head. "I just want to get a first clear of a dungeon once. I mean we finally have a Pandawan with us, won''t it be better if we go together and possibly stand a much better chance against Nian?" Zi Dan responded, slightly embarrassed that he is actively trying to coerce the whole group. The others in the room believed it was his desire to earn such an achievement, but Jing Yu was sensing something more. Like Xia Mao, Zi Dan always want to keep things easy and simple. From the dungeon runs, she knew that he was not the kind who likes to do much hard work. Thus, for him wanting to do a dungeon so desperately showed that there was something up. Even Xia Mao also find it very odd but kept quiet for the moment as he let it linger at the back of his mind. "Urgh, fine, let''s do it together. But we take it slow! The last time you rushed, we got swarmed by the monsters. And you take orders from me, little boy!" Xia Mao scratched his head and stretched a little while giving out his conditions to join the raid. "Hah! In terms of Boss Jin''s dungeon experience, I probably know more than you." Bu Dong rose to the challenge, hoping to raise the competitiveness of the group a little. He was previously sulking that he did not have the chance to complete the dungeon since his circle of friends were usually from the Pandawans group. But seeing that he got lucky to team up with the Pandarens that Kong Xian talked highly about, he believed this group combination might have a chance to win this. (with his help.) Chapter 940 Save State Chapter 940 Save State Once the Elder Pandarens had teamed up with Bu Dong to give the Dungeon Instance another try, the Pandamonium app questioned them on whether they wished to use their own ''save state'' or to use the one of the Pandawan group. They did not think that the Pandamonium App would take into account their new party member, making it the first time they encountered such a thing, proving that Jin''s new dungeon instance provided quite an impressive save system. Before confirming their choice, the app did warn Bu Dong that by clicking the option of using a different save state, he would lose his previous progress. This new party''s composition would be his new save state, and he could only change his party two more times after that. Jin had chosen to limit the number of party changes to prevent any abuse by other Pandarens who might plan to sell off their progress. Anyone who just wanted to fight only the Nian to clear the dungeon quicker could theoretically do that by joining another team who had already completed all the side quests. Any player who achieved their personal first clear (not counting the shop wide''s first clear) of a dungeon, would get a decent reward. Generally, repeated clears would not provide such an incentive so as to prevent abuse of the dungeons. While the System was of the opinion that they should curb down on the rewards, Jin insisted that they should stay as they are. With the increasing number of features in the shop, it would be best to have something to entice the new customers. They require some pull and push factors, or else the customers think that this is entirely a cash grab venture. (Which technically it is, just that Jin needs to make sure they do not feel it''s too absurd.) These free Panda medals the cultivators could earn from their personal first clear would allow them to gear themselves up for new and upcoming raids and provide a sort of enticement for veteran customers to spend on his older dungeons. (Assuming Jin decided to implement the save state into his other dungeons, but for the moment he kept it to the Nian Dungeon as its exclusive all-new feature.) The more features the cultivators discovered in this limited dungeon instance, the more they started to suspect that this might be the start of an overall quality of life improvement patch and that the new event dungeon might just be the start of it. Of course, Jin required feedback for each and every feature they encountered. After the Pandarens left the shop, they would receive an email and a notification on the app asking them to help improve the shop by filling out Jin''s survey. As long as they filled it out earnestly, the System would reward them a base amount of 20 Bronze Panda Medals. In cases where it felt the feedback was valid and productive, it would give out an extra bonus. It didn''t take long for people to share that information on the forums and learn that their surveys were all being read and judged, some requested to do it again. Obviously, they would not receive the 20 Bronze Panda Medals a second time, but depending on their extensive feedback, the System did pay out the bonus. After confirming the selection of the Elder Pandarens save state, the tickets were bought and promptly printed out at the Information Counter. Now they only had to wait their turn for the massive ship to bring them to the Nian Island again. On the way, Bu Dong and the Elders had been talking about the type of Panda Guardian they should bring along for the second dungeon run. "We should go with Tanke and give him two sets of armour. That could help him withstand the onslaught of Nian Underlings and subsequently the Nian itself. I''m thinking of getting a high-grade pickaxe so I can at least help pierce Nian''s armour." Bu Dong reasoned, yet before he could continue, the Hungry Condor Cultivator interrupted him. "Alright, then we should hurry to get the things we need while we still have time. Let''s go buy the stuff while one of us waits in the queue for the ship." Jing Yu suggested, and Xia Mao immediately volunteered himself for it. "You guys go hit the shops and buy the stuff we need. I will wait here for the ship." Xia Mao yawned once more as he leaned on a railing and chased them away. "Come, little Bu Dong, climb on my back. I will get you to the main Panda Street Instance in a split second." Zi Dan bent his knees and shamelessly offered Bu Dong a piggyback ride. "Ehh, Uncle Zi Dan, don''t you think I am a bit too old and heavy for this?!" Bu Dong adamantly refused and instead typed furiously on the Pandamonium Chat and sent him a message. (The Angry Ape Cultivator was too embarrassed to ask for a favour after replying to him.) "You''re the fastest of the group, so please get these miscellaneous items first? We might need more than a couple of them. If you don''t have enough medals, I can-" "Ah, no worries! Uncle Zi Dan will purchase it all in a jiffy!" He nodded his head, and before Bu Dong could say anything else, the Bullet Cheetah had already run off. Jing Yu finally had time alone with Xia Mao to speak on the situation with regards to Zi Dan. "Is it just me, or is he acting a little weird ever since the last dungeon run." She remarked while Xia Mao looked past Zi Dan''s afterimage at the corner of his eye. "You finally noticed it? He does not usually care so much if we clear the dungeon or not as long as we give it our best. For some reason, he desperately wants to get a first clear with us this time. Not to mention, his performance isn''t as stellar in the dungeon as it was in the past. He made mistakes that a rookie would not have done¡­ His mind is definitely occupied with something else." Xia Mao commented as he yawned a little, leaning on the railing. "Do I need to be concerned about this? I¡­ erm mean from a tactical point of view for the dungeon clearing?" Bu Dong knew it was not his business to butt into people''s affairs especially when they just met, but he couldn''t help but ask. "Hahaha, don''t worry, kid. Thanks for receiving my message and getting him out of the way for us to talk personally. Anyways, my instinct is telling me he has something he wants to get off his chest. After he does, he should be back to normal." Xia Mao said "I see if I can probe him in any way during the purchases but you know I am not that subtle. So, if I fail, I need to rely on you, Xia Mao." Jing Yu said as she beckoned Bu Dong to follow her to the shops. Once they were gone, Xia Mao took out his cellphone and started browsing his social media account, hoping he might learn the reason about Zi Dan''s sudden change in attitude from it. The Blind Cat Cultivator did have a hunch, yet he was not completely sure, even though the likelihood was high enough. During their daily breakfast chats, he had often spoken about his son and how well he did. Usually, he and Jing Yu had just shrugged it off as him bragging about his family, but perhaps he had made up his mind this time. "Oh¡­? Maybe this is going to be a problem after all¡­." Xia Mao thought as he looked through Zi Dan''s social media account. There were indeed posts of him indicating how he felt regrets in life and wanted to make them up whenever possible. It was as if Zi Dan had gained some enlightenment and pondered about life. However, Xia Mao knows that was just the tip of the iceberg, so he looked through his comments and found out about a comment he posted onto his son''s picture. "That guy¡­ Can''t he just say it properly?!" Xia Mao felt a bit frustrated upon seemingly having figured out what Zi Dan was hiding from them. It seemed as if his dear dungeoneering friend was finally leaving Shenzhen to move to Australia to live with his son and his new family. Chapter 941 Leaving for Australia Chapter 941 Leaving for Australia Not even half an hour later, Xia Mao was greeted by a strange sight. He was baffled by the sheer number of bags his comrades were carrying around. Apart from haversacks to hold the extra armour for Tanke, they were also dragging along plastic bags full of emergency food supplies allowing their Panda Mercenary to recover on the go without the need for any healing spells. "You know you guys could have just stored everything inside your storage rings, right?" Xia Mao questioned them, wondering if they were doing this on purpose to show off how massive their shopping spree had been. Before he got an answer, a Panda Sailor was announcing that the boarding of the ship would now begin. Xia Mao was in no rush since there were many other Pandarens next to them and he knew they would all gain a notification shortly before it would leave. "Bu Dong said it would be best if we have the items out. This way it will be easy for us to sort them out on the ship and give it to our Panda Mercenary." Zi Dan answered and quickly followed Xia Mao, who was holding the tickets. Once they entered their previously allocated cabin, Jing Yu noticed a change in the cabin''s layout. Just as they had suspected, a new room had been made available for Bu Dong, and all his items had been transferred to it. They were surprised by the staggering number of items in his personal hideout, and he blushed. "Well¡­ it''s a bit embarrassing. My parents know that I''ve been dungeoneering a lot and they are happy about the increase in my grade. In fact, they were so happy that I found a hobby that might potentially be useful for my future, that they even gave me some extra money to invest into Boss Jin''s shop. However, I might have used part of that money to purchase some things they might not approve of, if I brought them back¡­" Bu Dong was fidgeting with his hands as he explained his situation with some awkwardness. The Elder Pandarens concurred with his logic. Apart from useful things like weapons, armors and inscriptions, the room was filled with plushies, figurines and other miscellaneous goodies that Jin was selling to promote his dungeons. If anything, Bu Dong''s collection of items might actually be the only one on the level of Xiong Da''s. And yet, the lawyer often ''complained'' that so far he had only managed to collect a bulk of the items that Jin had released to the public. Each went to their respective personal rooms for a moment to check on certain supplies for the next round. Bu Dong was the first to be done with the task, and soon Zi Dan joined him in the living room. There Xia Mao encountered them sorting through their purchases. "Zi Dan, I have something to ask you. Could it be that you plan to leave for Australia soon and have avoided telling us so far?" Xia Mao, who had always been a brutally honest companion, shocked his friend with his deduction. The old man did not hesitate to be upfront in order to clear any misunderstanding. While it was confirmed that Zi Dan had sometimes talked about his wish to move closer to his son, there were many other problems old age could bring and if the reason for his strange behaviour was some type of illness, it might be best not to continue with the dungeon. "I¡­ Ah.. so you managed to guess why I had been so jittering for the past few hours." Zi Dan lowered his head and sighed, thinking of a way to say it without hurting his friends'' feelings. Bu Dong quickly excused himself and returned to his room since he just remembered something ''very important'' that he had to check up on right now. Both of them realised that for a young guy, Bu Dong sure knew how to keep his manners, wishing that their own grandkids could also grow up to act in the same way. Meanwhile, Jing Yu, who had overheard the conversation, stood at her room''s door waiting for the men talk it out between themselves first. "I didn''t want to lie to the two of you. I just didn''t know how to tell you. I figured we should at least make the best out of the remaining time we have left together. I might be able to return to Shenzhen once in a while, like during the holidays, but I doubt we will be seeing each other that much in the future. That is why I wanted to clear this dungeon and maybe even achieve a first clear so you won''t forget me that easily. It''s because I''ve really come to like you guys even though we only met recently. The fun we had in these dungeons was extraordinary." "So to get a Pandawan on our side to ease our dungeon clearing ability, I was ready to lower my head or even beg for Bu Dong to come to join us. I just wanted to have the best experience with you guys before leaving after the Chinese New Year holidays." Zi Dan explained himself, and towards the end, his eyes began to swell up. "Geez, it''s not like you leaving is the end of the world or anything. It''s totally different from when we were young. The world is very connected nowadays, and all we need to do is simply click a button, and we can see each other again." Xia Mao shook his head while pointing to his phone. At the same time, he was relieved that the reason behind Zi Dan''s excessive initiative was indeed merely because he was leaving and not because he had gotten ill or caught a disease like cancer. "We are all adults, so we know that we each have our own individual lives, and the only time we get together is during these morning dungeon exercises. But thank you for thinking of us as part of your life." "Yes, we appreciate the thoughts." Jing Yu added as she opened her arms up, beckoning Zi Dan to come over for a friendly hug. "Well, I guess I have to work a little harder than usual. Gotta earn the privilege of returning to my heavenly bed." Xia Mao joked as he walked towards Bu Dong''s room and knocked. "Is everything okay?" Bu Dong questioned as he felt like he had come in at the wrong time to join the group. "Yeah, everything should be fine now. Sorry about that. When you are our age, it''s best to clear things up as soon as possible. Otherwise, you might not have the chance to do so." Xia Mao apologised as he called the boy out of his room. "C''mon, we are not that old according to society''s standards." Jing Yu insisted with a slur. "Please, to Bu Dong and the others, we are like basically old pigs and cows" Xia Mao replied as they all cleared their differences and started to plan for the dungeon clear. Bu Dong had not listened in on their conversation, so he was unaware of what exactly had occurred. However, from what he could see the issue seemed resolved and Xia Mao appeared to be much more eager to actively participate. Taking their newfound motivation into account, the young Pandawan decided to propose a change of plans to further increase their chances of obtaining the shop''s first dungeon clear in this limited Nian Event. Chapter 942 Second Round! Chapter 942 Second Round! The bells rang as a last call for the cultivators to set out on their boats. Bu Dong was in the midst of a heated discussion with Zi Dan and Xia Mao about what they had to do next when they came down the stairs from their cabin. Behind them was Jing Yu who was holding their Panda Mercenary¡­ Heala. After Bu Dong had heard about their experiences within the dungeon instance and how successful they had been by utilising the holy trinity (although they did not name it as such), he felt dumb that he did not realise it sooner especially since the recommendation emphasised the need for a tank and a healer to clear this dungeon instance. During the time they had to prepare for the second run, the Angry Ape Cultivator had discovered that the holy trinity might not have been fully integrated into the whole system yet. The whole RPG mechanic still seemed "lite" enough to allow an offensive composition to stand a chance against Nian and her underlings as long as they dodged enough. For example, the HP bar they had in their visor was an indicator of their health, but many Pandarens knew that it was not perfect but more of an estimate. Even if they received substantial damage from the monsters and were down to zero hit points, they could actually still fight on by pushing their limit. It was not a computational sequence of numbers but a battle of will against the monsters. (Of course only to a certain extent. Near-death, limbless humans can''t do much after all but who knows? ) Bu Dong was confident that with Zi Dan''s hidden healing skills and Heala''s recovery magic, they might be able to pull through. Thus the group had decided to follow Bu Dong''s advice and gamble their potential first clear on his new strategy. However, Xia Mao was still sceptical since they had yet to see Nian release any significant death-defying moves considering her health was barely a quarter down. "Do you think we can ram the boat into her again like you did on your first run?" Bu Dong questioned, hoping to do some extra damage against Nian before the showdown. Every little bit might make the difference between a first clear and another defeat. "I doubt that. Besides, if we ever encounter her in a similar situation, I''d probably just jump overboard. Once was more than enough and if possible, I want to avoid a repeat for sanity''s sake." Xia Mao grumbled as he turned on the engine. "The Nian shouldn''t be in these parts anymore. The Village Chief gave us the information that she should be residing within the Volcanic Caverns now." Jing Yu added. "Let''s just hope the fire resistance charms will be enough for us to deal with her. Without Tanke around, we are going to need every little bit of protection we can get." Zi Dan slightly regretted the change since he had paid for two sets of extra armour. Thankfully those sets of armour could be refitted to fit anyone with the aid of Jin''s cosmetic inscription. Something too bulky? Just use cosmetic inscription to tighten it! It was a revolutionary idea from Bu Dong who had done something similar in the past. The only downside was that the cosmetic inscription did not last forever. The moment the armour left Jin''s store, it would turn back to its normal bulky form. With everyone being well equipped after their shopping spree, Xia Mao cautiously navigated the motorboat towards the village harbour. The inhabitants cheerfully welcomed them back again. (Meanwhile in a separate dungeon instance, those returning offenders had been treated with disgust and spite. Some of the villagers even threw rocks at their boat.) Chief Erming of the Song Chew Village queried whether they were well enough, revealing his knowledge about the fact that the cultivators were able to ''revive''. "There is one last favour I''d personally like to ask of you before you embark towards finding the Nian." Erming requested and Xia Mao turned his head towards Bu Dong. The Pandawan''s stare was all the Blind Cat Cultivator needed to confirm the young boy''s intention. "Apologies, Chief. We will try to accommodate your request, but we cannot make any promises. Perhaps after we have defeated the beast." "Ah, that is a valid response. I''d like you to get some flowers for my daughter." Chief Erming was understanding and did not force them. He still gave them the side quest, allowing their Pandamonium App to update their logs. "The Rainbow Flower is native to our island. The flower exists in seven different varieties, each one a colour of the rainbow hence their name. They were a favourite of my late wife, and my daughter has inherited her love for these flowers. If you manage to gather all seven of them, I will give you a bonus." Bu Dong had already checked in the ever-busy forums with regards to the last quest left for the Elder Pandarens. It was a simple fetch quest that allowed the Chief to reward some Panda Medals to the group. The flowers themselves were not too difficult to find, but they were all over the place, meaning that one would have to backtrack unless they got the side quest early on. Chief Erming went into his hut and came out with a unique piece of firecracker that looked completely different from the others they had given out before. "Everyone in our village has contributed something to help craft this particular firecracker. We''ve harvested the materials from the Nian underlings you''ve slain and hoped that this item will help you in the fight against their mother." The firecracker was gleaming even when it was not yet lighted. The really special thing about this particular firecracker was that it was shaped like a halberd. There was a hardened wooden shaft that held onto the firecracker, and they had even added an axe blade. Upon closer inspection, the cultivators saw small engravings of each and every villager the Elder Panderens had helped during the side quests. Village Chief Erming brought out a metal pen. "Please inscribe your names on the firecracker as well. This would have been impossible without your effort. Ah, Mr Bu Dong, please do not hesitate to write your name on it as well. Although this might be the first time we meet, your eyes and expression show me your resolution of wanting to bring the Nian down. That is all we need of you." "When it is my turn, I will be honoured to add my name to it with pride. For now, this source of achievement should be given solely to the Pandarens who aided you here." Bu Dong understood that based on the Elder Pandaren party''s ''save'' state, he seemed to be treated as a ''visitor'' who was either benefitting from the trio''s good reputation or from his own actions in the previous save. "Uncle Xia Mao please let me take a photo of it! I suspect we might be among the first few parties who have managed to get this unique firecracker weapon!" "So¡­ Anyone capable of carrying a spear?" Bu Dong asked after taking a few pictures of the weapon which he decided to upload on behalf of their group into the spoiler section of the Nian Event subforum. "Not too sure about Zi Dan and Xia Mao, but I have handled spears before as part of the training for my cloth blades." Jing Yu volunteered, and the two old men already placed their palms out to point at the Hungry Condor Cultivator, indicating she should have the honour. "Remember, this is a one-time weapon. Once you light the fuse, you only have that amount of time to use it!" Erming warned them as he pointed into the direction of the Volcanic Caverns. "Also, please grant my brother the honour to escort your group inside the caverns. It''s his sincere wish to face Nian on an equal footing and going along with your group will give him the greatest chance to survive such an encounter." "Please allow me to join you in battle!" Yiming, the Village Head Hunter kowtowed before them, and the Elder Pandarens who previously accompanied him to battle, knew that he could hold himself in a fight and understood when to retreat as well. Bu Dong had not reached that particular side quest yet and just trusted the Pandarens in their judgement. Chapter 943 Bu Dong Haggles Chapter 943 Bu Dong Haggles "This is as far as the horses will bring you." Chief Erming said as he stopped the carriage wagon. With his brother joining their team, he had decided to transport them as close as possible to Nian''s current location. "Apologies for the bumpy ride." "No worries, you have our thanks for graciously bringing us all the way to the cavern''s opening. Coming so close to the beast''s hideout is very brave of you." Jing Yu thanked Chief Erming and voluntarily took out a few panda medals to reward the Chief for his time and effort. "This is the first time someone gave me something back." Erming looked very surprised but humbly accepted them. "Hmmm, now that I''m here, I''ve recalled something about this place. The legends speak that this cavern is not exactly Nian''s home. Rather, it is the hunting ground of the abomination." "Many of the brave villagers who tried to fight against Nian have died here." Head Hunter Yiming added on, and suddenly Bu Dong could not help but smile widely. This meant that Nian was not going to run, and this would be the battleground for the final battle. "I ¡­ sincerely thank you for that information." Bu Dong said as he took out more than just a few panda medals. "If possible, I would like to buy this wagon of yours." "But then how will our chieftain return? Unlike me, he is no fighter. Without a horse, he won''t be able to outrun Nian''s underlings if they catch him on the way back." Yiming argued, worried about his younger brother. "I just need the wagon. You can keep the horses. Maybe leave one here for Yiming later." Bu Dong replied which caused the Village Chief to ponder for a moment. "Alright, but it will require more than just these few medals to buy the wagon." Erming agreed, and they immediately went into haggling mode. While Xia Mao would have been willing to pay the whole price if it meant increasing their chances (and their time), Bu Dong, who was known to be a rich kid and big spender, insisted on paying a low price. Zi Dan and Jing Yu shook their heads as they found this scene all too familiar. When they had gone to buy the items from the shophouses, all the shopkeepers familiar with Bu Dong had already pre-empted the haggling and the numbers that came out from their mouths were like bullets from a machine gun. "100 Medals is the lowest I can go." Chief Erming started his bid, and even though the System was the one ultimately controlling the AIs and knew Bu Dong''s behaviour, it was not about to relent to him that easily. "30 Medals." Bu Dong did not bother to compromise even by a little. "Outrageous! 80 Medals, and that is ignoring the bunch of items we''ve already given you so far." "What?! Aren''t those rewards? Basically the payment for the quests we do for you? Also, when you gave us the ride here, I felt that the wagon isn''t in the best of conditions. 35 Medals." Bu Dong complaint. "75 Medals then. Take it or leave it." "Then we shall not subdue Nian for you. Let''s go guys. Let''s just pick his precious flowers and be gone from the island." Bu Dong said as he took his sword and returned them into his storage ring, subsequently walking away. "Wait, wait! 65 Medals. Final price. That''s the lowest I can go since I need at least that much money to pay for the materials to rebuild the wagon!" Chief Erming tried to accommodate him, yet Bu Dong moved off and started looking around for any signs of one of the Rainbow Flowers while the rest of the group was left speechless. With Bu Dong giving him the silent treatment and using the walking away tactic, Erming was hesitant whether he should drop the price any lower or not. His indecision, however, was quickly cured when a roar could be heard from the direction of the Volcanic Caverns. "Fine, you win! 50 Medals!" Erming had his head down and raised his palm wide open while shouting for Bu Dong to come back. "50 Medals and one set of extra firecrackers that you have on you." Bu Dong smirked as he pointed at the pouch bag that Chief Erming was holding on to. "I cannot believe you would even ¡­ Haven''t we sold you a bunch of firecrackers when you came? In fact, I''m certain that you bought all of them! Leaving us barely any to fend off any Nian underlings who might come to attack us." Chief Erming very reluctantly agreed to it. "Well, the fact is that you still have some with you indicating that your village must have some stock remaining." Bu Dong criticised, and Chief Erming was speechless for the moment. And when Bu Dong was being handed to the extra set of firecrackers, he managed to peek into the Chief''s pouch, eyeing for more. However, Jing Yu stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulders. "Don''t. Leave those for him to scare away the Nian underlings when travelling back to the village." "But isn''t it just a game? Just a dungeon instance?" Bu Dong''s expression clearly reflected this thought. "This is Boss Jin''s Dungeon instance. He has made this as real as it could be while maintaining some elements of magical realism. We''ve already seen there are consequences being built into this dungeon ''game'' engine that he uses. It''s best not to let him go empty-handed. It''s quite likely that we will have to pay a big price if anything happens to Chief Erming. Worst-case scenario we might fail or be unable to complete the mission on this run." Xia Mao helped Jing Yu in stopping Bu Dong to be too greedy. "Fine¡­" Bu Dong sighed as he paid 55 Medals instead of the agreed 50 Medals. Chief Erming thanked him for the extra ''tip'' despite the excessive haggling with a forced smile. He quickly released the horses from the wagon to leave before Bu Dong could change his mind. "Now mind telling us why exactly you purchased this bulky thing? You can''t possibly want to use this in our fight?!" Xia Mao asked since the wagon had never been part of any of their plans. Unlike him, both Jing Yu and Zi Dan who realised what Bu Dong might have planned. "Why not? It was crazy haggling for that item. If it potentially saves our strength while we move forward, I''d say it''s already worth it! Also just think about how cool we must look when we watch our run later on." Bu Dong chuckled. "I like that thought of yours! If the subsequent dungeons get harder because of our little trick here, blame him, okay Jing Yu?" Zi Dan commented as he knew he would not be around to see the aftermath himself. "It''s too expensive for others to casually recreate it." Jing Yu also felt that the stunt Bu Dong was going to show was not for the average cultivators, but it certainly would be flashy. "That is why I''ve always been Boss Jin''s favourite Pandawan!" Bu Dong gleed as he proclaimed himself to be Jin''s number one best cultivator/customer. Chapter 944 Volcanic Cavern - Part 1 Chapter 944 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Part 1 "Ready?" Bu Dong asked as he cocked the bolt and clicked the safety to ''off''. "Ready!" Heala smiled with a gentle expression on her face that even made Xia Mao''s heart melt. "Gosh these Panda NPCs, how can you not love them all?" Xia Mao wondered out loud as he stayed near the side of the wagon. "They are both huggable and useful in battle. Boss Jin has truly created the perfect NPC ally." Jing Yu joked as she stood behind Heala, acting as backup support. With the gathered experience from previous cave fights, they were not taking any chances. By now the monsters in the Volcanic Caverns were ''impatiently'' waiting for the Pandarens'' move, and they became active the moment they stepped into the cavern. Without much care for their own brethren, Sui Lions and Sui Dragons rushed through the cavern with the sole objective of being the first one to rip the invaders to shreds. It was a scary sight no doubt¡­ but only if one was utterly unprepared for it. Fortunately, the group had figured out that something like this might happen. While sharing their comparing their experiences, both the Pandaren and Pandawan group had encountered one particular NPC in the village that reported seeing hundreds of Nian underling coming on to the shore. However, no one had believed him because they knew that if the one could see the Nians, the monster would have gone and eaten him up. Most people had treated him like a fool in the village, but Bu Dong had taken him at face value. Seeing as the Elder Pandarens had completed all but the flower side quest without encountering such a large size of Nian underlings, there was only one place left for them to be at¡­ the Volcanic Caverns. Yet, this was just his intuition at play, and the Angry Ape Pandawan left it all to luck (or in this case, Jin''s programmed dungeon instance.) Worst case scenario, he could still use the weapon he was holding to fight against Nian. He had his doubts about how much damage it could do, but at the very least, it would be a unique and fun experience which was ultimately the most important thing in a dungeon instance. As it appeared, his intuition had been spot on, and he faced it towards the Nian Horde and held down the trigger. The cold metal barrels started to roll, and the tubes of metal began to heat up. The gatling gun he had bought in the fiercest haggle against the weapon shophouse owner Bai Wan, was about to do the heavy lifting in this particular phase of the Volcanic Caverns. "It seems Boss Jin probably used this with the intent to wear anyone down before they can fight the main Boss after this point?" Zi Dan shouted his question over the sound of the weapon, before he remembered that he could have just used the communication channel provided by the visors. (Especially since all of them were wearing earplugs on Bu Dong''s recommendation.) "Probably. Each of them has died with just a few bullets in their bodies. He must have toned them down compared to the ones we''ve been fighting, so they seem scary with their huge numbers but are still defeatable. Anyways, we need to keep moving or else the pile of bodies might block the wagon''s path." Xia Mao said as he kicked a dead Nian out of the way so the wagon could continue further down the cavern while Bu Dong continued gun blazing. The spent bullet casings were flying after each shot burst out of the gun barrel and Zi Dan regretted that had not bought the ammo bag to store them in one place. Still, it was just a minor nuisance, and it was quite satisfying to watch the Nian underlings fall to the might of steel rain. Head Hunter Yiming could not believe his eyes as he helped pull the wagon. Even as he was raring to have a go against those Nian Underlings (or as programmed to do so), there was not a chance for him to even shoot an arrow out. Eventually, the Nian Horde started to include bigger Sui Lions and Sui Dragons, yet the bullets were also sufficient to bring them to their knees as Bu Dong aimed the gatling gun onto their face. (He even shouted ''EAT LEAD'' when doing so.) However, the gatling gun had its limits, and since Bu Dong had set it at the highest rotation speed, the barrels had quickly heated up, forcing him to stop or risk that gun would jam. The Nian Horde must have collectively breathed out a sigh of relief when that happened, giving them an opportunity to bring down these six trespassers. Still, the Elder Pandarens and Yiming had already prepared for that interval. They were each holding a firecracker with a small incendiary bomb attached to them. The moment they lighted the firecrackers up, the four of them threw them forward. The bombs immediately went off, and the fire started spreading on the ground while the explosion of the firecrackers caused the Nian underlings to be stunned on the spot. This allowed the fire bombs to do their work and burn the Nian underlings to death. As if that was not enough, Bu Dong had switched to his pistol and was holding it with two hands for better accuracy when he started to fire at the burning Sui monsters. Heala actually moved back a little, pulling the wagon along with her so as to prevent the wagon accidentally catch on fire. Jing Yu acted accordingly and made sure there were no other Nian underlings that ambushed them from the back. As soon as the gatling gun had cooled down, Bu Dong lowered the rotation speed and started firing haphazardly when the next wave of Nian underlings came at them. This process repeated a total of five times. Each time the gun was heated up, they would use whatever ranged projectiles or explosive materials so that there was always a gap between them. The audience thought it was a waste to use it on them since they could save it for the big cat boss. Yet, they seem to have forgotten sometimes being a big spender in Jin''s dungeons does have its perks. Once the coast was clear and no more reinforcements were coming in, Xia Mao and Zi Dan went around stabbing the Nian underlings to make sure they were all dead. Some had indeed pretended to stay dead, and those were the times where Zi Dan used his quick lightning reflexes to stop them. Meanwhile, Yiming and Jing Yu were busy moving the bodies out of the way to create a path for the wagon to move through. Bu Dong had started to fill the wagon with firecrackers while gathering as many bullet cases as he could and placed them in wooden boxes which came with the firecrackers. As they reached the end of the tunnel, the Pandawan pulled out a new box with ammunition only this time they were of the armour-piercing variety. "Let''s fight that Nian head-on and show Boss Jin that we can clear this particular dungeon." Bu Dong said, and all the members of his group nodded in agreement. Chapter 945 Volcanic Cavern - Part 2 Chapter 945 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Part 2 The boss monster was sitting in the middle of a rather particular circle surrounded by hot burning lava. The Pandarens felt that the moment they stepped outside of the caves and into that stone circle, they would be trapped in a do or die battle. But for the time being the beast was licking her hind legs and even looked bored from waiting so long for for the Pandarens to appear. They would have arrived sooner, but with the frightening amount of ''explosives'' on the wagon, Heala and Yiming had taken it slowly, ensuring there were not many hiccups while pushing the wagon. Thankfully, Zi Dan and Xia Mao were always there to help support the wagon from the sides and assured them that as long as nobody played around with fire, they were perfectly safe. "Guess, this is it. The point of no return." Zi Dan said as he wiped his sweat away. He felt the temperature of the cavern rising higher and the lava seeping around the circle was definitely not a good sign. "You think we should have brought Tanke for this instead?" Xia Mao questioned if it was wise to rush in like that. "Zi Dan did purchase some rather expensive inscription charms. Let''s trust in the quality of Boss Jin''s items." Bu Dong chuckled slowly and bitterly. "Well, no use regretting anything now. Let''s just go and hope for the best. Though, got to say, it was fun to see you use that gatling gun. I remembered you used for the Christmas Event too, right?" Jing Yu said as she walked towards the front of the wagon and held onto the Firecracker Spear. As long as the fuse was not lit, it acted as a normal spear and without any quick activation storage rings, it was best to carry it around. Meanwhile, Bu Dong did not say a word as it was precisely because of the Christmas event that he adored the gatling gun. That expensive piece of heavy equipment was not worth the price but the kick to kill those Nian Underlings was god damn satisfying. "Alright, then. Let us succeed for the safety of the villagers of this island!" Head Hunter Yiming gave the wagon a good push from behind moving towards the edge of the stone circle, and the rest followed suit. Ironically, before he could follow behind the group, a magical barrier appeared barring him entrance. "Guess this is as far as I could go!" Yi Ming said as he tried to force himself through the barrier once more but to no avail. "All the best then I will go back to the caverns to make sure that no Nian Underlings venture into this area!!" The Head Hunter encouraged them once more and disappeared from they come from. "No wonder Chief Erming said this was her hunting ground. She could do whatever she likes, and it also looks like there''s absolutely no way Nian is going to stop until all of us become her dinner. Too bad we''re already down a man before the fight even started." Zi Dan sighed as he repeatedly banged on the wagon, signalling Bu Dong to fire off the opening volley. "He might have been an extra helper against the Nian Horde only, or perhaps he was meant as a replacement if one of us got defeated before the final showdown. Whatever the case, let''s just focus on the fight!" Bu Dong stated as he pressed on the trigger and the barrel started to spin. The Nian was not so stupid to stay idle and hurled herself towards the wagon. Meeting her advance was Xia Mao who had already lit up a piece of firecracker which was tied to his dragon-slaying scimitar. He dashed forward to intercept Nian so that he could buy Bu Dong some time for the gatling gun to warm up and shoot the lion abomination. It was a dangerous move since Xia Mao ran the risk of getting caught in the crossfire, but the Blind Cat Cultivator was willing to take the risk. He was confident that Bu Dong had the finesse to aim at the monster instead of him. Thankfully, Bu Dong aimed at where Xia Mao would slam himself onto Nian and had overcompensated the gatling gun''s aim so that when it released the rain of bullets, it would definitely shot the Monster Boss. (Nevertheless, there was some luck in play too, and he could only hope the best. In addition, the firecracker on Xia Mao''s scimitar was effective in startling the Nian, causing her to move to the side, giving the Blind Cat Cultivator some extra space from the hail of bullets. Yet, the Nian was confident in her armoured scales, so she did not really care about the bullets and focused her attention back on the Blind Cat Cultivator who had startled her. However, she was wrong to face Xia Mao as the bullets aimed at her torso and began to tear through her armoured dragon-like scales. The sudden unexpected pain caused her to fall back, and Bu Dong did not stop the gatling gun at her, keeping it in the same position as much as possible. Xia Mao also took the chance to slash at Nian''s face as she tried to squirm herself away from the bullets. Her armoured scales were sturdy but face with continuous impact from pieces of fast penetrating metal, there was little she could do too. "No use! No use! We''ve spent our time preparing, and we will be sure to defeat you as fast as possible!'' Bu Dong shouted confidently as he continued to hold the gatling gun steady. They all could see Nian''s hit points drop sharply on their visor closing in on the half way point. There were only a few vital points on Nian that could give her a critical wound but instead of using finesse or the ''proper'' way to handle the beast, the Pandawan had chosen to go with this brute force method. It continued to shatter the armoured scales and exposed much of Nian''s flesh. Bu Dong was over the moon with this change of development. After having spent over half of his current medal amount on this weapon and ammo needed to make it work, it was indeed an exclusive item to a select few. They wholeheartedly believed that if this method did not work, Boss Jin must have purposely created an unkillable event and in that case, Bu Dong would have every right to complain. Unfortunately, the entire party knew that this method would not guarantee their victory, especially with the gatling gun overheating and the bullets being limited in number. Once they either ran out of ammunition or when the gatling gun had to cool down, that was the Elder Pandarens'' cue to start the battle proper. The moment they heard the gatling gun sizzle from afar, indicating that it was about to overheat, Zi Dan and Jing Yu who had been preparing their chi went forth flanking the Nian, as Bu Dong pushed the weapon even further. He could see the barrels getting red orange hot, and smoke started to come out from the chambers of the gun barrels. What was worse was that he was standing on the wagon full of explosives and the situation he was in, clearly warrants immediate death. Yet, he still kept his nerves steady by activating his chi. Because¡­How can you be scared if you are angry? And by being constantly angry with his Angry Ape cultivation style, his fear disappeared, and his nerves remained hard as steel. However, they seemingly forgot that according to legends the Nian was not just a monster of strength but a monster of magic as well. The moment her hit points had been reduced to half, a wave of psychic energy burst out from her. That sudden aftershock caused the wagon to flip around, including everything they had packed within. (And Bu Dong on top) "Do not worry!" Heala shouted as she banged her staff on the ground and immediately, an energy capsule enveloped the entire wagon with Bu Dong in it, and the items within it remained mostly intact with only a few firecrackers getting thrown outside. On the other hand, Bu Dong felt the piping hot gatling gun on his torso as it was burning him. "HOT, HOT, HOT" He shouted, yet refused to let go of it. He even raised it upwards since he knew that that overheated piece of weaponry could potentially set off a chain reaction within the energy capsule if it touched the firecrackers and bombs he prepared. (Fortunately, his heat resistance inscription charms were working and the energy barrier also seemed to numb the pain.) "Great job Heala, without you we might have been blown to smithereens!" Bu Dong thanked their Panda Mercenaries as he watched the two Elder Pandarens attack the beast. "A pleasure! Now hold still and let me tend to your wound. We will need you soon enough!" Heala ordered as she quickly went forth to make sure the other party members were also within her healing range. Chapter 946 Volcanic Cavern - Part 3 Chapter 946 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Part 3 "We have exciting news, everyone! The first group has made it all the way through the Volcanic Caverns. Everyone should remember the group of seniors who smashed their boat into Nian earlier! They have just begun their fight against the Final Boss Nian and accompanying them is none other than our very own Pandawan Bu Dong!!!" Bear Cub One exclaimed. After the introduction of Super NPC Captain Hei, nothing too interesting had happened in the Cinema Hall. Some of the featured live streams used creative, out of the box tricks, but it was nothing exciting enough to get the blood of the spectators boiling. Just as many in the group of spectators were about to leave, the in house announcers pulled their attention back and played the highlights of Bu Dong and the Elder Pandarens fight against the Nian Horde. The System even used the chance to advertise the fight by putting it onto the front page of Pandaflix. Any Pandarens who used the app or clicked on the promotional link on the forum was able to watch everything in real-time. It was the System''s way to somewhat fix the ''problem'' with their current streaming service. The customers had put in complaints about Pandaflix being too cluttered due to an abundance of streams without any easy options to sort it by their own preferences. In fact, Jin had some ideas how to improve on it, like creating a section for award-winning streams of the Pandarens or Pandawans that cleared the dungeons with style or perhaps people that gave simple walkthrough guides on how to clear it. But for now, everyone was more interested to see if Bu Dong would be able to pull the first dungeon clear with his new team composition. Jin''s new improved system of clearing dungeons gave people an additional opportunity to earn a place in the Hall of Fame. (Which was now an official shophouse near the top of the mountains in the Panda Street Instance.) People could make it either by clearing it in one shot or by clearing it with multiple attempts like Bu Dong was doing right now. ¡ª¡ª "Holy shit!? He brought a gatling gun into the battle?!" A middle-aged Pandaren who was walking around in Panda Street Instance cried out in amazement. He could hardly believe that something like that was so easily available for purchase. "Don''t get too overly excited. I just checked and while that gatling gun was on sale, don''t forget that such a weapon eats through ammo! Not to mention even on sale it''s freaking expensive, and such a weapon is difficult to set up in the middle of the battle. Unless one is very skilled in setting it up, it should be impossible for those Nian monster to not notice it." Another middle-aged Pandaren, who was also watching it on his phone, gave his opinion. "That''s just the start of the highlight, mister!" A relatively young Pandaren pointed at his cellphone screen and fast-forwarded to the appropriate time before showing it to the middle-aged Pandarens. "Here, you can clearly see that he set it up before going into the cavern and using that wagon to keep mobile." "Holy Mother of- How is this not cheating?!" The middle-aged Pandaren asked as he shook his head in disbelief. "Hahahah! I guess this is what you would call ''the power of medals''. If you use that new market to change your money to medals, you can gain enough spending power to even buy a gatling gun!" The first Pandaren theorised. "I''m certain that he saved enough medals to buy that gun. No matter how you see it, this is the first time he is splurging this much!" The young Pandaren was obviously a fan of Bu Dong. He was quite apparently proud to be one of the few to know such details of the Pandwan from all the streams he had watched about the Angry Ape cultivator. "Ah, sorry! Is my boy being erm¡­too enthusiastic?" The young Pandaren''s father came to stop him from flaunting, but the middle-aged Pandarens were both shaking their heads. "It''s nice seeing someone this young be so interested in cultivation and dungeon instances. Before coming to this shop, I thought the old ways of dungeoneering were dead. Thanks to Boss Jin, I see it being revived and all I can say is this is indeed one of the better dungeon supplier shops out in Shenzhen at least." The middle-aged man smiled at the young boy. "But you see those firecrackers on the wagon, he is basically courting death -oh my God! That Nian was vicious!" The father wanted to give his opinion of the highlight when they all watched the boss flip the wagon around. Both middle-aged Pandarens smirked after discovering where the boy got his energy and enthusiasm from. Meanwhile, the teenager could only giggle and being giddy on Bu Dong''s usage of the gatling gun. He even told them tidbits how the Angry Ape Pandawan had used them in the previous dungeon events too, and the boasting subsequently spurred the spectators to watch the current stream together despite them being total strangers. ¡ª¡ª "You are not going anywhere you beast!" Zi Dan shouted as he took out his chain ball mace. He used his chi to extend the chains by executing the intermediate technique, Ball Chain Prison. The Bullet Cheetah Cultivator threw the mace over the Nian''s legs trying to immobilise the beast. Once he managed to hook it, Zi Dan began sliding and circling around Nian''s torso. Nian realised what he was doing and tried to get out, but Xia Mao was holding it in place. He slashed his dragon-slaying scimitar right into the open wound that Bu Dong''s rain of bullets had caused. Nian, in turn, yelled out in pain. But it did not end there. Jing Yu sent her blades to further aggravate the wound. This series of quick attacks gave Zi Dan sufficient time to bind its legs and forced Nian to drop on the ground. At the same time, she activated the firecracker halberd, and with each slash, the spear blade would explode upon contact. However, the attacks might have been effective if it was at the start of their battle. Now, Nian had turned into an angry state from losing 50% of her hit points and had entered the second phase of the fight. Soon after Zi Dan had completed his chain binding technique, she roared out anger, causing molten lava to harden and become part of its defences. The firecracker halberd Jing Yu used was the only thing that was able to destroy those hardened floating lava shields. But Nian was not completely happy that she was binded by Zi Dan, but she had not given up attacking them. Those Molten Lava Shields which had been broken down from the firecracker spear''s explosion had a secondary effect, causing them to explode towards their enemies upon destruction, counteracting against Jing Yu''s offensive streak. And that caused the hardened lava turned into projectiles, piercing straight to the Elder Pandarens. If not for their fire resistance charms and cosmetically inscribed fire resistance armour, they might have been burned and suffered even more damage. Yet, Zi Dan finally thought that was his turn to shine by spreading his chi into the atmosphere and started to heal the party members. They were surprised how fast and wide the healing chi could be distributed since most healing chi required closer contact, and they assumed it was partially due to his cultivation. And only those with astute observation among the audience noticed that Nian, in turn, had also used the lava to heal herself. However, she used that opportunity to throw in another roar, and the Elder Pandarens expected another attack pattern to soon emerge. The roar itself was not frightening, but the magically imbued Nian used it to further control the lava that surrounded them without the Elder Pandarens knowledge. Only Heala had noticed that the temperature of the dungeon was rapidly rising and the lava was starting to churn like sea waves about to hit the harbour. She initially wanted to heal the rest, but with Zi Dan''s emergency healing in play, her programming was able to allow her to be more aware of the surroundings. Thus, aiding her to sense the incoming danger to the entire party. She then quickly raised her staff and started to cast a spell to save her companions. "Advanced Healing Arts! Wide Panda Barriers!" Heala exclaimed as she released magic into her staff. A horde of Panda silhouettes appeared and flew to the edge of the stone circle they were currently entrapped in. As the magical Lava Waves tried to come ashore, the Panda Silhouettes immediately form a barrier stopping it in its tracks. There the Panda silhouettes began to slurp the lava as if they were drinking from a lake until the lava waves subsided. Upon fulfilling their command, the Elder Pandarens realised how devastating the lava overflow would have been if not for Heala. All of them were suddenly very happy about choosing her instead of Tanke. (Or perhaps, Tanke had a different way of saving them?) Chapter 947 Volcanic Cavern - Part 4 Chapter 947 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Part 4 "That was close! If not for those Panda silhouettes, we would have ended up as charcoaled Pandarens!" Bu Dong breathed out a sigh of relief. He thought he would be done for after his barrier suddenly disappeared in the midst of him sorting the explosives out. However, this had heightened his concentration, allowing him to have a clearer picture of the overall fight. Nian was getting agitated, and she started to use her newfound powers more frequently and more destructively. There was not much time to be flustered by the lava attack. The Elder Pandarens had been momentarily stunned by the dangerous use of lava magic by Nian, but thanks to Heala''s interference, they made it out in one piece and decided to match a tit for tat. After charging their chi, the Pandarens continued to take turns to face Nian. Yet, Nian had also similarly changed up her tactic. She no longer relied on using just her paws and jaws, but she focused on using the ample amount of lava around her. Bolts of molten lava shot out of the surrounding stream and headed towards Jing Yu. "Watch out!" Zi Dan cried out as he ran to the Hungry Condor Cultivator and pulled her a step away, making her narrowly escape the bolts of lava at the last moment. It merely scrapped her clothes, and the fire-resistant inscription charm prevented any damage to her body. Still, they understood that luck could only last that long and the burning lava was starting to melt the stone floor, leaving a crevice in the middle of it all. "Shit, I really wouldn''t mind having Tanke to distract her!" Zi Dan grumbled as he used his chi once again to extend the chains on his mace ball and swung it towards Nian. However, Nian pulled another fast trick on them, revealing a lava barrier that negated the mace ball. The attack bounced off its wall like a basketball. That was when it became clear to the Elder Pandarens that they had to utilise her weakness to get over her strengths in this second phase. Since it was better to use the secret weapon the village gave to them on a later timing, all three Pandarens took out the firecracker that was hanging on their waist and lit them up. Xia Mao quickly threw his towards the barrier while Nian was not looking at him. The lava barrier dissipated momentarily as the firecracker exploded, breaking Nian''s concentration in conjuring it. That was also the cue for Jing Yu and Zi Dan to rush forward with their firecracker fused lit up. They wrapped the firecrackers unsafely on their weapons and used it as part of the attack, causing Nian to step backwards. "Do not give her any time to stabilise herself!" Xia Mao ordered over the visors as he took out a firework starter from his storage ring and started to light it up. With the fuses lit, he also placed some of his chi into the projectiles so that they would travel further and hit the target faster. "Firing the fireworks!" Xia Mao announced as he ran to the back of Nian and aimed behind her. The fireworks shot out of the starter, and once it impacted Nian''s dragon scales, the fireworks changed into a rainbow colour, and the scales exploded. Everyone who was watching was stunned and subsequently realised that this must be the way to defeat Nian. Xia Mao was also surprised by this discovery and quickly let out another shot to test the theory that was on his and everyone else''s mind. By inserting another bout of chi into the firework starter, the subsequent fireworks flew, aiming for Nian''s upper torso. Meanwhile, Zi Dan turned his chain mace ball into a large metal ball and kept his attacks on the Nian to divert her attention. This allowed the firework bolt to collide with the Nian''s dragon looking scales once more and true enough, the scales exploded in an instant with a loud bang and flashy colours. "Looks like we found your weakness you little ¨C" Zi Dan was swinging his enlarged mace ball onto the exposed region where Nian''s scales were broken, but he was interrupted by a large giant paw emerging out of the pool. It was made entirely out of lava, and Nian sent the paw flying towards the metal ball, slamming it hard to the other side of the cavern. With the initial magical barrier that Nian had erected to prevent the cultivators from running away still in place, Zi Dan was slammed into it and eventually fell straight down after impact. "Zi Dan!!! Shit! He is dropping into the stream of lava!" Jing Yu watched the whole scene unfold, but she had her hands full evading Nian''s aggressive style as it pounced straight towards her. The firecracker spear that she had was beginning to dissipate, but she still had her blades as her backup to defend herself when she was slammed into the ground because of Nian''s pounce. Yet, instead of a struggling expression, she yelled angrily at Nian and activated her chi which she stored for this moment. "Intermediate Sword Arts! Flying Condor Blade Barrage!" Jing Yu shouted, and her blades vibrated instantly, causing mirror images of her sword to emerge from the sword itself and soon, those chi blades started to pierce Nian at her underbelly. She knew it would not do much damage compared to the firecracker spear that the Hungry Condor Cultivator was holding on, but she hoped it would force the great beast to move away. Sadly, her attack was rather underwhelming, and the Mother Lion continued to attempt to bite her head off despite her desperate struggles defending. If not for the spear, Jing Yu believed the Nian would have been more aggressive in her offence. *SLAM!!!* Suddenly Nian disappeared from her line of sight as Jing Yu saw a large metal ball zooming past her face. "You might be some mythical lion! But I am a freaking Cheetah that matches the speed of a bullet!" Zi Dan shouted as he tried to catch his breath. Jing Yu turned her head to see it was coming from, and she saw Xia Mao waving at her. "Can you believe him? Doesn''t even mention that he needed a blind cat to save his ass from that fiery pit of hell!" Xia Mao pointed out as he thanked Heala for coming forth to heal them. "Then I am not wasting the chance for that stupid lion to stand up!" Jing Yu said as she took her portion of firecrackers and placed it on the cloth wrapped blades. Lighting it up with her chi, she immediately sent her blades to pierce the Mother Lion. At the same time, Jing Yu attempted to stand up using the Firecracker spear as her support. Nian conjured out whips of lava to prevent the blades from attacking her, especially since the cultivators knew her exact weakness. However, the monster had forgotten that they were fighting as a team and Zi Dan had already taken the spear from Jing Yu, dashing to strike Nian with a decisive stab. The Mother Lion tried to counterattack with another loud deafening roar, but Xia Mao was pressuring her not to stay in one place with his firework starter shooting out fireworks at her direction. This bought time for Zi Dan to dash forth as he tried to stab her. But being the boss, Nian was not going to go down that easily. However, the audience who had learned something new and Nian who was busy handling the Elder Trio seemingly forgot that the fight was merely a distraction. With another 10% of her health gone, Nian stopped paying attention to the real threat from the party. Bu Dong. Chapter 948 Volcanic Cavern - Part 5 Chapter 948 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Part 5 "I''m surprised the Elder Pandarens don''t seem to be affected by the firecrackers. They didn''t even flinch when those went off.." One of the spectators, a young teenager, wondered out loud. "There are different types of firecrackers on sale in the village. The ones they used are smaller in size, and therefore there is also less of the explosive compound within them." A young woman in her twenties who had done the dungeon once offered her insight. "Most importantly, they''ve come prepared and are using earplugs. Their communication so far seems to revolve around the visors'' teamspeak option. Still, I gotta say they have guts to wield their firecrackers around like this. I would hesitate even if had the same fire-resistance inscription charms as them." A middle-aged man chimed in as well. "I see! But if that''s the case, why did the firecrackers not cause the dragon-like scales on Nian to break?" The teenager asked the two of them. "I''m not too sure about that. Maybe only fireworks can make that happen?" The young woman seemed unsure. "There''s a difference between the firecrackers and the firework?" The middle-aged man was surprised about such a revelation. "Fireworks contain some gunpowder, but they also have the components to let it spark flashes in a variety of colours. Firecrackers might be essentially the same thing, but they are primarily designed to cause a loud bang." The young woman explained. "I think the Nian knows that those fire bolts can destroy her scales, making her vulnerable. That is why she tried to run away from it every time they get lit up. It could be the same for the fireworks too, just that Blind Cat Cultivator managed to aim with the use of his chi and scored a lucky direct hit." An astute observer next to them shared his theory. Everyone who had fought the Nian would agree that her sturdy dragon scales was the only thing preventing the cultivators from doing massive damage to her. But now with the real weakness exposed, she could be defeated relatively easily. The Pandarens in the Cinema Hall who knew about it realised that Jin had included the myth of Nian being afraid of firecrackers as part of his dungeon mechanism. All of them had been fooled into thinking that Nian was merely afraid of the loud sounds, but when in reality, it was the underlying mechanism that would allow them to break her high defence scales. All along, she was agile enough to prevent any direct contact with the firecrackers. Similar to the Christmas Devil Event, the audience quickly spread the word on how to fight Nian in the spoiler portion of the forum. After which, the crowd went wild when they witnessed a scene where one of the firecrackers the party had used managed to touch Nian''s scale. The Elder Panderens were desperately trying to score a hit so they could prove that the firecrackers were equally effective. True enough, when it impacted, it immediately exploded with a different kind of loud bang and a portion of the scales disappeared. However, in terms of damage, Nian didn''t even lose a single HP. But it was not the Elder Pandarens who managed to score that firecracker hit. Only when the screen panned its camera to the side, did everyone see the culprit who threw the firecracker and it was none other than Bu Dong, the Angry Ape Pandawan. And right behind him was the bunch of explosives along with the firecrackers he was holding to. "I heard you like these, you stupid beast! Here, I brought even more of them just for you!" Bu Dong taunted the Nian as he lifted them up. He had tied the explosives and firecrackers up with the most basic binding agents one could ever rely on. Duct tape. With lots of duct tape, he efficiently carried the mixed load of firecrackers and explosives with chi while bouncing it up and down. Nian saw the impending threat and summoned the entire stream of lava to surround the stone circle they were in. Without any further warning, the lava spread high and wide as if it was a tsunami wave waiting to be dropped into the circle and engulf the entire stone circle. Despite being aware of the danger the Nian placed them in, the entire party were still going for the kill. Since the Nian had enclosed them in a kill box, there was nothing to do other than fight to the bitter end. In such a high-stress situation, Bu Dong turned that fear into more anger as his chi enveloped the firecracker bombs. His fiery chi set the fuses alight, and he charged towards Nian as if he was carrying two large boulders on his shoulders. The rest of the Pandarens also did their part with Zi Dan executing his Chain Ball Prison while Xia Mao kept control of Nian''s movements with the adept use of his fireworks shooter. At the same time, Jing Yu conjured up her chi once more, and her clothed blades pulled down Nian while reinforcing Zi Dan''s Ball Chain Prison. The firecracker spear was wearing down from its prolonged use, and she too rather be using something she was proficient at. Nian tried to get out of the imprisonment she was caught in, but after utilising her magic to call upon the tsunami wave of lava, her body had barely any energy left to resist, so she succumbed to the chains and blades. At that point, the waves were already crashing down, and Nian gambled on the lava destroying the explosives before it would reach her. However, all of them had underestimated Bu Dong. The young Pandawan threw the ball of mixed firecracker bomb like some athlete during the Olympics. Once both explosive boulders were in midair, the firecrackers started to pop and exploded on impact with the Nian. The resulting explosion might even track on the Pepper''s scale (although at only 1/10) and was enough to deflect the falling lava. As valiant as his effort was, it couldn''t help the team who was consumed by the incoming lava. Only instead of a black or ''Game Over'', the spectators were greeted to the sight of five stone pillars emerging out of the pool of molten mess. Chapter 949 Volcanic Cavern - Final Chapter 949 Volcanic Cavern ¨C Final There was a bright green barrier at the top of each of the stone pillars. "HAHAHHA, we are still alive!" Zi Dan triumphantly shouted after confirming that he wasn''t dreaming. There weren''t even any burn marks on him, in fact, he actually felt so rejuvenated as if he was a whole decade younger. Everyone else also felt the surge in power, and they all realised that only one person could be responsible for this¡ª their beloved Panda Mercendary Heala. The tsunami lava wave was Nian''s way to try and turn the fight around if she ever found herself in a bad situation (or if her HP dropped to 10%). As long as they hired a NPC healer, the party had a good chance to survive this devastating effect. However, it was not an automatic guarantee. Should their NPC healer get battered by the constant need to heal throughout the boss fight, or in the case, they had failed to protect her it could mean an instant party wipe. One also needed to account that this large barrier would leave Heala exhausted, so she might not have enough mana or emergency heals for the last part of the fight. Of course the above only applied in a ''normal'' dungeon run. Bu Dong''s party had done anything but comply to the ''script'' Jin had planned ever since the Volcanic Caverns, so everyone had been able to scrape through the fight without incurring too much damage. Not to mention, Heala had been able to conserve enough mana to concentrate for a large area of effect heal with a defensive barrier. Then what about the parties who had gone in without Heala? Jin didn''t want to force his recommendations on anyone, so instead, he had created a special side quest. It would only pop up for those groups who lacked any sort of healer, and after the Pandarens completed it would be able to utilise a one time use inscription just for this dungeon. (Something similar to the dark talisman that the Pandawans had used in the Great Wall of China Dungeon Instance.) In those cases that the groups had one dedicated healer which was not the Panda Mercenary, the healers'' visor would show them that there was already a formation on the bottom of the hunting grounds which would help them defend against the tsunami. That, however, would definitely cripple and exhaust their healer for the rest of the fight, which would lead to its own problems. No matter what, Jin had set it up in a way that the parties would continue to the final stage where they would fight an enraged and cornered Nian. Alas, Bu Dong had ''gifted'' two large boulders of explosives that had taken care of the existence of the Mother Nian before she ever had the chance to enter that phase. And thus, they miraculously completed the dungeon instance, making them the first party in the entire shop to do so. "Gosh, it''s been a long time since I heard that announcement. Gee, Boss Jin. Why are your dungeons getting harder!" Bu Dong complained as he sat down on the ground and heaved out loudly. "So this is how it feels to get a first clear for a dungeon, eh? I have to say, I don''t feel very accomplished¡­more like just relieved it''s over." Xia Mao sighed through the teamspeak channel. "Hahah, don''t worry that feeling will come soon enough after you watch your own dungeon replay. Nothing beats seeing yourself pulling off a dangerous move, barely escaping in the face of certain doom and the realisation that you were to one who achieved that." Bu Dong shared his thoughts based on his personal experience. "So doesn''t that mean we will become Pandawans now?" Zi Dan asked casually. "Heh! Do you really care about that? If so, you would be the first Pandawan who retired as soon as he gets the title." Xia Mao teased his friend while the lava beneath subsided. "You never know! I might come back just to play with you guys!" Zi Dan smiled as he had made a lasting memory none of them would ever forget. "We need to celebrate our titles tonight. Allow me to treat you guys to some good quality steamboat!" "You sure your son won''t mind us?" Jing Yu questioned. "Bah, I dare him to have the gall to complain about me enjoying my last days here, when he''s the one who practically forced me to follow him! And don''t worry about expenses! I will pay for everything!" "Great, I have the bill for the gatling gun and its ammunition and the other stuff in my storage ring." Bu Dong exclaimed, and that was enough to keep Zi Dan mouth shut for a moment. "I''m kidding, kidding! Those are my own expenses that I''ve already accounted for before I bought them." Bu Dong teased Zi Dan as he did some stretches. "Then erm what are we waiting for? Do we have to go back to the village to report or something?" Xia Mao yawned as he felt that he had enough excitement for one day. "The Nian must have been here a long while. Surely she must have hoarded some types of treasures. Let''s wait for the lava to subside, then we might be able to retrieve whatever is still here." Heala suddenly commented, and the rest took it as a reminder that they still had to pick up their reward chest. And true enough, once the lava dissipated, there was a large blackened chest on the bottom just waiting to be looted. The entire party went down to check it out and saw there were five palm imprints (one of which was obviously that of a panda) on the giant chest. They did not hesitate to put their hands on it, and they heard a click sound. Medal coins burst out from the chest like an erupting geyser and threatened to bury them underneath. Even new equipment could be found hidden in the sea of coins within the chest. It was the first time the Pandarens were showered with this much reward and partially understood why Bu Dong loved to get the first dungeon clear. It was not just the fame or title but also the satisfaction of being (so heavily) rewarded after a difficult battle. And upon closer inspection of the equipment, they noticed that it was actually exclusive Nian Costumes and accessories. A full set for each and everyone (including Heala as her alternate skin)! Not only that, there was a mini Nian plushie with various poses for all four of them. Bu Dong had never seen any Nian plushies available for sale indicating it was limited stock. (He was looking forward to rubbing that in Xiong Da''s face) "This is honestly my first plushie¡­and now I get why people are so crazy about them. The feeling¡­ it''s just inexplicably good." Jing Yu said as she unconsciously hugged it tightly. "Don''t get too used to it, or you might develop a craving for more. I don''t even know when it started, but I suddenly found myself a proponent of getting all of these plushies. People thought I was weird at first, but if you collect enough of them, you will discover that there are some subtle differences between each and every one of these plushies." "The way you make it sound, it does indeed sound crazy weird. Hahahah!" Xia Mao laughed as the group slowly gathered their loot and exited the dungeon instance to enjoy their rest in the Luxury Recovery Instance. Chapter 950 New Pandawans Chapter 950 New Pandawans Under normal circumstances, Jin would have personally come out to congratulate anyone who achieved a first clear. However, his minion hotpot jumping has led to a rather¡­ predictable outcome. As a cultivator who had reached a high cultivation level, he was able to dispel any alcohol with ease given time. Yet each group had greeted him with different types of quality alcohol, and they had all been extremely generous when it came to filling his cup. The dungeon supplier didn''t want to seem ungrateful, so he accepted every shot as a sign of respect for his minions until he became too inebriated to use that technique and eventually passed out. To make up for his lack of presence, the System awarded the newly promoted Pandawans with more medals than it would have otherwise done. It also created a post titled "Congratulations to the new Pandawans!" under Jin''s name, which instantly got upvoted by all his customers. (It also included a link for their adventure on Pandaflix) As part of their promotion, the three new Pandarens naturally got invited to join the exclusive Pandwan group chat. Bu Dong instantly introduced them and heavily complimented their efforts in the Nian Dungeon Instance. "He gives us too much credit. If not for his planning and guts in battle, we might not have beat Nian, let alone achieved a first clear." Jing Yu stated humbly, but Xia Mao was already sending friendly emojis replying to Bu Dong''s messages. However, there was little activity within the Pandawan group at this late hour(or early wee hours in the morning). The only exceptions were Yue Han and Yue Wen who had returned home and were now preparing for a trip up north to visit their grandparents. They were (mildly) shocked that Bu Dong was able to complete the dungeon this quickly after their earlier failure, but listening to Bu Dong''s highly unorthodox plan, it made sense how they succeeded. Yue Han and his sister congratulated the new Pandawans and wondered if more would follow. "With Boss Jin adding an extra first clear for this instance, he might indeed plan to increase the number of us. Assuming we stop taking all the first clears that is. I look forward to it. About time for some new blood to come on. Welcome to the group chat!" Xiong Da greeted them later in the morning, and the newly ascended Pandawans were quite honoured to meet the legendary Pandawan, which Boss Jin promotes all the time. "Why do you all behave like he is some sort of superstar? I''m actually as good as him, if not better! " Bu Dong complained while eating with the group in the Restaurant Train Instance. Since Zi Dan was about to leave in a couple of days, he didn''t see the need to hold on to his Panda Medals and had invited all of them to this feast. (They were all eventually too embarrassed to accept the invitation for the steamboat dinner and so Zi Dan decided to do this since it was the company that matters.) "You sure you don''t wish to come for a few more games before you leave?" Xia Mao asked. "Well, this is the new year. I planned to visit some old friends before I move and one should leave on a high note, right? I doubt we''ll be able to one-up such a victorious dungeon run." Zi Dan reasoned which Xia Mao could not deny. "Heh, then I guess this will be our last meeting then. A shame, I won''t be able to make it for tonight." Jing Yu sighed since she had agreed to attend a family reunion dinner with her relatives. "It will be awkward that I go to your house alone. As you said, after such a win, and with the yummy food, this is a great way to say goodbye." Xia Mao said as he shook his friend''s hand, thanking him for the dungeon runs and his friendship. "You never know, perhaps when Boss Jin dominates the world with his dungeon instances, you guys will just be able to meet again in a shop instance." Bu Dong remarked casually, and the elders laughed. "Sure, as long as it''s Boss Jin''s dungeon, I will gladly come and play." Zi Dan replied with a chuckle. "He just needs to implement something like that before I bite the dust. With me having to look out for my grandkid who knows how long that is! Hahaha." "Then you better tell Boss Jin, that he has to hurry. There''s a personal message where we can give him feedback, mostly about how we liked his dungeons, but we are also free to put in suggestions and such." Bu Dong replied. "Oh really? " Zi Dan asked with a light tone. "Hard to believe that something like an overseas dungeon instance connection or that sort of thing is possible." "True, it''s not possible¡­ yet. But I have a feeling Boss Jin could find a way to make it feasible. Judging by his actions, he must have plans for expansion as well. In any case, he can''t exactly ignore the wishes of his veteran Pandawans no matter how far fetched it is. Although he will surely say that we are crazy or something! Hahah!" Bu Dong said in return. "Sure sounds far fetched. Still, it''s a nice thought that someone could connect the world through dungeon instances!" Xia Mao envisioned how connected the world would be. "Anyways, thank you for the wonderful meal. I shall be going off first." Bu Dong excused himself as he felt the elders might have some more things to say to each other. He finally had the time to explore the Panda Street Instance, and he already had a few agendas in his head such as checking out the hidden Mecha store that the sub forums of the Supa Robot Wars were talking about. If he could not find it, there was always the Bamboozled Bar Instance which people were raving on. And last but not least, he needed to redecorate his hideout with his new Nian event medal. Overall, he and the Elder Pandawans literally had a blast of a time with this new format of dungeon instance. Chapter 951 Lai Fus Investmen Chapter 951 Lai Fu¡°s Investmen Everyone knew that the main attraction was the Dungeons and Pandas dungeon supplier shop at the top, but the lower floors satisfied the locals sufficiently. From their local fast food restaurant to an arcade, to a general store, there was more than enough variety for anyone to find something worthwhile. Lai Fu had at first just purchased the normal expansion which Jin and Qiu Yue had packaged for the current store owners which lead to the creation of his Offshore Sea Store. However, after experimenting a bit with it, and finding tremendous success, he had decided to put his faith in Jin and invested in the landlord''s dungeon expansion package because of the generous insurance he finally received. From a mini-mart that sold a variety of food supplies and essential household hardware, his shop had turned into a mega general store that could handle all the needs of the people. As his store instance featured something like a harbour port, ships similar to the size of aircraft carriers came to dock right beside the port to sell his goods. (With the new event that featured the heavily decorated ship which Jin used, Lai Fu wanted to purchase such a skin for his shop instance.) That''s not all! Boss Lai Fu even subscribed to the Pandafull Delivery which featured same day delivery for the local province if they decided to order via the Pandamonium App. With Pandarens'' exclusive access and occasional discounts at intervals managed by the System, Lai Fu was guaranteed to sell his stock away without any trouble, allowing him to bring in a variety of items. Though he did think of expanding to existing delivery services and online shopping platforms, Jin''s Pandamonium App had made it all too lazy for him and the other Instance Owners. He had no idea how the delivery men and women managed it all, but Lai Fu knew that not a single customer complained about it. All he had were five star reviews about the delivery system, and it was so much so that it made it seemed as if bots were spamming it. The delivery service subscription and instance expansion had been one of the best things he''d ever invested in. And with growth, it was only natural that he had to hire more NPCs to help him, especially the Deep Ones who sailed ships of supplies and handled the cargo. Tip them once in a while with some real Yuan, and they immediately go bonkers, assisting Lai Fu and his human employees with even mundane tasks. Lai Fu certainly wasn''t the only case though. The same applied to the other shop owner in the Tree Mall. All store owners had purchased NPCs and Jin''s minions to handle their stores, even asking for extra for the Chinese New Year Holiday. (They did have to come back and settle certain administrative issues like managing the day''s profit.) Some food store owners had even completely handed the reins of the stalls to Jin''s minions. This was a welcomed opportunity for the ''less competent'' penguins and other Giant World Tribe minions to try their luck and skills in handling a store. With the increase of worker, the criteria for directly working in Lynn''s kitchen had gotten stricter and stricter with each passing day. They saw it as a way to polish their skills for the monthly competition that Lynn was hosting to check the next month''s rotation of workers. Jin was okay with the owners taking a break during the holidays, but he wanted them to know that this was the exception and not the norm. The dungeon supplier had therefore added an amendment to the contract stating that after a certain number of days of absence, excluding the proof of medical leave, he would take an increasing amount of commission from the profits they earned which only increased for every day they didn''t show up. It served as a good reminder for them as well as the other Instance Owners that it was ''their'' store to handle. If Jin''s minions were the only ones doing all the work, then why should he allow them to continue existing? ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "To think that I have to personally come to get him to see father¡­ Argh, Jin sometimes you really get on my nerves!" Tiger Princess Yang Ling thought to herself as she entered that infamously popular Tree Mall. She did not bother to take the elevator or stairs and instead opted to use her ''qigong'' to jump to the top. While real qi gong required even more finesse in Chi, the Tree Mall was designed in such a way that jumping with high strides along the Giant Panda Statue in the middle of it all make it easy to practice for it. She had always wanted to do this after improving her Gearbox Tech into something more of a simple attachment than a clumpy suit of metal. Her Gearbox Tech had been highly sought after by various robotics companies from other countries, including Japan, US and the European Union after the initial round of promotion that showed them the potential of her product. The product she was currently wearing was the result of all the brains that had come together. Using the prototype Jin had gifted Yang Ling as the basis of their study they had managed to create their own improved prototype model from it. Initially, they had planned to reverse engineer Jin''s model and replicate it. However, after dozens of tests, they could not determine all the materials Jin''s version has used. It seemed as if he was using some unknown materials, so their best guess was that it was some sort of manufacturing secret created by mixing some items in certain combination resulting in such a strong, sturdy product. Unable to go with Option A, they had adapted their plan and put their focus on increasing the efficiency and reducing the bulky size. With her long coat, it was impossible to tell that Yang Ling wasn''t using her own legs to walk and jump around. Yang Ling''s agenda for today was not just to fulfil her father''s request but to also learn more of this secret combination that the dungeon supplier had used for his prototype. Because of this ''minor'' obstacle, they were unable to mass-produce the Gearbox Tech in huge quantities since the cost of the materials required to emulate them was too expensive for the average consumer. Still, due to this endeavour, Yang Ling was looked upon once more, and it had led to a more favourable relationship with her father. (Though she believed it was mainly because of the generous grant money that started to pour in because of the development of her Gearbox technology) But besides all the business issues, there was one thing that still lingered in her head. She wanted to earn Jin''s acknowledgement. Yang Ling had made it this far because of him, and for some reason, she wanted him to be proud of her. If not for Jin, it might have taken decades before she would be able to walk to this degree. If not for him, Yang Ling would not have gained so much attention that even brought international companies to their door front. Her gratitude towards him was boundless¡­ unfortunately the Panda Boss did not seem quite as appreciative of her. The Tiger Princess was in for a challenge if she wanted to get him to pay a visit to her father. Chapter 952 Reports of the Loopa Ooofpa Chapter 952 Reports of the Loopa Ooofpa "He is currently not available. Sorry, dear." Yun politely declined Yang Ling''s request to see Jin. "How come? My spaw- ¡­ erm colleagues happened to see him walking around the Panda Street Instances talking with somebody else earlier. They were even nice enough to send me some pictures as evidence. Are you telling me that Jin is just a body double? Part of the dungeon instance? If so, where is the real one now?" Yang Ling asked as she opened her phone and showed it to Yun. There were numerous pictures of Jin taken by the Tiger Triad with his face visible and in different locations. With so much assurance at hand, Yang Ling had made time in her usually busy day to invite the young dungeon supplier for a private lunch meeting herself even though her father could have easily sent out his administrative team to do so. While her father Tiger Lord Hu Yuan Ba wanted to deepen their cordial relationship, Yang Ling had her own reasons to meet Jin. Both political and personal reasons. Only a few in the upper echelons knew that a small-time dungeon supplier had significantly contributed to the defence of the border wall by sharing his portal technology. Still, even fewer knew that the very same Jin had personally gone out to defeat the Loopa Ooofpa with the State Agent''s ''help''. Especially when the State Agents concerned were one of the top agents the State Agency ever had. Having to rely on external help was quite the humiliation for the Royal Zodiac Tiger and Snake Platoons who on top of that had a difficult time holding the wall. Their only saving grace was that considering the fate of the Royal Horse Army Battalion, they could still be deemed lucky. In the aftermath, Grandma Yuan had filed her report stating the Loopa Ooofpa she fought had been many times tougher than the one she had encountered during the World War. The Banned Emperor Faction had clearly placed quite a lot of emphasis mutating it and caused it to be nearly indestructible. The Royal Zodiac Monkey Clan, as the only clan allowed to research the so-called forbidden techniques (with lots of restraints and red tapes of course), used the new samples and compared them with ones they had left from the first monster. With compelling evidences, they reluctantly concurred with Grandma Yuan that they indeed had it easy losing just a Royal Platoon. However, it would require additional research to find out how exactly the Banned Emperor Faction had managed to further strengthen their summon. The Royal Monkey Researchers'' official report read that it was nothing short of a miracle that the army managed to defeat those two Loopa Ooofpas in record time with the minimum military manpower. Simulation upon simulations had been run based on the numbers of forces in close proximity that could have been deployed, and the result was devatstating. It was analysed that Loopa Ooofpas would have easily destroyed the entire Shenzhen province and Hong Kong before they could have been stopped. (And that''s just the best case scenario.) The collective simulations dictated that they would have needed to respond to the threat with at least half of the nation''s military power while losing certain cities to ensure they would have enough time to set up the attacks as explained by Grandma Yuan. And to make things worse, the last surge of evolution where the Loopa Ooofpa had fused with the human summoner was something that the Royal Monkey Researchers had been unable to ''solve'' in the simulation. It kept giving an error stating that there was no way the nation would survive. One of the researchers tried to key in numbers for the sake of it, and he declared that the forces needed will require a massive joint operation that could endanger not only China but the surrounding nations too. The researchers were baffled that the Banned Emperor''s terrorist faction had gone beyond the word forbidden and create such a harbinger. No matter how they calculated, it all led to the very same conclusion. To create a magical gate similar to Jin''s and banish the monster to abyssal oblivion. Still, that was easier said than done. Even when contacted with the esteemed mages of the Western equivalent of Grade 18 and 19s, they had no idea how someone could teleport the Loopa Ooofpa into somewhere foreign. Some even theorised it might have been sent to space and there might be a chance it will return to have its revenge. Even by deploying nuclear bombs, the simulation gave an error that it lacked the necessary data to determine if it would have been enough or if the Loopa Ooofpa could have been immune to it, especially the enhanced version. This only further solidified the fact that without Jin and his team of extraordinary cultivators, they would not have brought it down. Nevertheless, the State Agents had placed down a gag order to ensure that Jin was not harassed on a daily basis. Kong Rong had done his best to ensure that Jin''s whereabouts were kept out of the database for a period of time, but there was only so much he could do. There had been other people snooping in the database right before he could place the gag order in. Not to mention with the portals being linked to Jin, it was impossible to remove him entirely from the data. However, it was all for nought when they realised that Jin was nowhere to be found. But this time, there wasn''t an excuse for him to run away since Jin had been seen in public in his very own dungeon instance. "I can bring you to him, but you have to understand that he really is in no shape for any discussion." Yun sighed as she shook her head in dismay after she saw all the ''incriminating'' pictures of Jin on the Tiger Princess'' phone. "Yes, please! I insist on speaking to him. I will do anything I can to make sure that he will talk to me!" Yang Ling was adamant about bringing Jin to see her father. Whatever Jin needed, be it money, power or privilege, she would find a way to fulfil his wishes. Now that it was just a matter of time that it became common knowledge that Jin was a secret powerhouse to the point that even the State Agents gave him special treatment, it was best to get him on the Tiger Clan''s side before the other clans could wrap him around their little fingers. Alas, if her sources were to be trusted, it might already be a bit late for that. Apart from the photos of Jin being out in public, she had been informed that the Royal Snake General, as well as Grandma Yuan, had come to his shop on Chinese New Year Eve¡­ and that was hours before the emergence of Jin''s public appearance. Yang Ling could only imply that these two VIPs had visited Jin on a personal tie basis and even ate reunion dinner with him. She was not even invited to eat with him! (Imagine how hurt she felt when she heard about it!) Yang Ling believed they could have done better in keeping close ties with this extraordinary dungeon supplier, especially after she had found out how Jin had been pressured into using his portal technology for the common good. Still, one of the major mistakes they made in the Tiger Princess'' opinion was to not allow their police to collaborate with the Snakes for the latest Raid Instance. They thought it would be a waste of time, but the Snakes had boasted about how extremely useful they found it. There were quite a number of tactical moves they had managed to try on a large scale basis which they successfully used in the defence against the Loopa Ooofpa''s Bone Spirit infused demons. Even San Ya Bai, the Tiger General, who saw it first hand could not deny that. It was of the utmost importance that Yang Ling would regain Jin''s trust to work with them in spite of all the prideful mistakes they had made before realising his importance. She had personally vowed to get Jin to have dinner with them at the very least. This would no doubt boost the Tiger''s relationship with the dungeon supplier before any other clans. For now, they were unaware that Jin had just recruited the Dragon Clan''s heir into his service so, the Dragons and Snakes already had a head start. "Alright, but only because you can be called his acquaintance. Don''t blame me if you fail to make him respond to you though." Yun sighed, but Yang Ling believed Jin would not be so cold-hearted to ignore her¡­ She was about to find out how wrong she was. Chapter 953 Off The Rails Chapter 953 Off The Rails Since the Tiger Princess had yet to be appointed as an ''associate'' by Jin like Ke Loong and she obviously wasn''t part of the System, Yun did not use a portal to bring her to him in a matter of seconds. Instead, she gently told one of the Pandas to keep the place in check while she brought her "esteemed" guest to meet Jin. It surprised Yang Ling that she was led out of the Shop Instance, but she merely thought they would go somewhere more secretive. Perhaps a secret instance within the Tree Mall or a hidden physical room. But no. When they were out of Dungeons and Pandas, Yun thoroughly inspected Yang Ling for a moment and her surroundings. "Cough! Please call off the guards who are on standby further away. We do not want any more disturbance since people are already looking at us." Yun requested since people were indeed looking at them. After all, the sight of two beautiful ladies was quite eye-catching. Everyone who had visited the dungeon supplier shop knew who Yun was, and she had her own fanbase amongst customers. While Yang Ling had used some make-up to make it less obvious who she was, it still didn''t hide her beauty. "We attract enough attention as it is." Yun pointed out as her eyes scanned intrusively at the Tiger Princess'' entire outfit, and Yang Ling blushed a bit. "It''s the new year! Of course, I have to wear new clothes!" Yang Ling tried to justify her change of attire. Her long coat was to hide her Gearbox, but her dress beneath was a piece of work that was screaming to be revealed. "Heh. But it is not just new clothes that you are wearing" Yun commented as she stared further down and looked at her chest. "What?! Erm no?!" Yang Ling quickly tightened her long coat to cover herself, thinking that Yun was implying something more sensitive. "Hmm? I was referring to your new Gearbox. You are able to hide it seamlessly without any budge or protruding pieces. Not only that, but your movements seem more refined. I assume you did not just improve the attachments, but you had intensive physiotherapy as well. You must have put a lot of effort into it. Well done, girl. Not many have the will to survive after what had happened to you." Yun clarified as she folded her arms but nodded her head in approval. "I ¡­yeah. Thank you for noticing." Yang Ling felt even more embarrassed. "So is it safe to assume you''ve also regained some of your cultivation grade back?" Yun questioned, and she nodded her head profusely. The Tiger Princess willingly portrayed her cultivation in a short radius to ensure that the others did not get hurt by the imposing aura. Without the appearance of the tiger silhouettes, Yun could already gauge what grade she was. However, compared to Kraft, she had much to learn when that old fox could literally smell one''s cultivation grade out with a long sniff. The System had been trying to emulate that kind of ability with its own circuit systems, but when Jin was out of the shop, its capabilities still dropped significantly. "Congratulations. I hope your health continues to improve." Yun nodded her head gently once again as she grabbed onto Yang Ling''s hand. "With this being the case, let''s have some fun." Her actions caused the guards monitoring Yang Ling to panic momentarily. Yet, before they could react, Yun and Yang Ling were already running towards the edge of the garden. The Tiger Princess'' heart was pumping furiously because they were closing in on to the glass railings. Yun had taken a stance indicating she was ready to jump and Yang Ling was too perplexed to react. She had the same look as her guards practically screaming. "Is she kidding?!" Right as she jumped, Yun turned and held the Tiger Princess by her thighs. Yang Ling was excessively dazed to resist when she suddenly found herself soaring through the skies along with Yun. "Hiiiiiii!" Yang Ling grabbed on to Yun tightly in fear of falling even when she realised what the most beautiful employee under Jin had done. Yun''s actions were too sudden for the Tiger Princess to mentally prepare herself, making her forget that she could use her Qigong and land with the aid of her Gearbox Tech. Yun had a wide grin painted on her face as they were falling down. "That is how you run away from your personal guards," Yun whispered to the screaming girl in her embrace, since she found the extras very annoying. She trusted Yang Ling to not share the location, but the same could not be said about her guards. (However, Yun also knew that they could still find where Jin lives with just a bit of digging through his records. Or maybe they already knew since they did stalk him previously. Nevertheless, she will do whatever it takes to keep his place secret as much as possible.) "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I could have just waved them away!" Yang Ling replied angrily when she finally opened her eyes and saw where they were headed. Yun didn''t stop. She landed on an outlying tree branch before using her momentum to jump again. It was as if that landing was practised for some time, and she always wanted to use it. Soon, they were jumping over rooftops and heading through alleyways to lose the guards, all while Yun continued to hold on to the Tiger Princess. Only after they lost sight of the guards did she let Yang Ling down and they ran towards Jin''s terrace house. Eventually, Yang Ling started panting, and Yun asked if she had fun. "You do know that they can track my phone and come to me in a matter of minutes, right? I honestly did not expect that from you, Yun!" Yun had her back towards Yang Ling and subsequently replied. "Because I am Jin." That voice was sufficient for the Tiger Princess to be stunned once more until Yun turned her head and snickered softly with her phone out and there was an audio clip paused. "Fooled you again." "Hah! Very funny! I honestly did not expect you to be this relaxed! You have always been someone very strict and demure." Yang Ling said. She took her phone out and messaged her Lead Bodyguard to stand down and stop the search. Immediately, the phone rang, and Yang Ling explained her situation that the company she was with could be trusted. "There is no need to worry. Just give me 10 minutes and do not crowd the neighbourhood." Yang Ling ordered and hung the phone up. "It would be a miracle if 10 minutes is all you need." Yun giggled, as she opened the front gates with her phone as well as a thumbprint for the front gate. "What do you mean?" Yang Ling was getting more and more suspicious about Yun''s behaviour. But the System''s assistant was stating the truth all along. "Oh? Hey Yun! Why did you use the ¨C Is that Yang Ling?" Lynn heard the front door opening, which was a rare commotion to happen in a house where everyone always appeared out of thin air. "Happy Chinese New Year to you!" Yang Ling said as she took out a few items from her storage ring. She had prepared entire bags filled with Chinese New Year snack goodies. "Happy New Year to you too! What brings you here this early in the morning?" Lynn asked as she told the Tiger Princess to give her a moment to wash her hands before she gave her a proper handshake as a greeting. "I was actually looking for Jin. Yun kept saying he is currently unavailable, but she agreed to lead me to him." Yang Ling replied as she passed the goodies to Lynn. "Oh¡­ You will understand once you see him. It would be great if you can talk with him, but if that''s not possible, I can prepare a light breakfast snack for you. I was cooking some pancakes just now. You''re more than welcome to try a few. It never hurts getting a different opinion on my cooking." Lynn offered as she wanted to thank Yang Ling for the gifts. "Are you sure we should allow her to go up to Jin''s room? That''s awfully kind of you." Yun communicated to Lynn through the system channel. "I trust you will be there to stop her if she does anything pesky. Your breakfast is at stake." Lynn answered with a serious face. "Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if Jin had not taken you in." Yun nodded with a resigned grin and beckoned the Tiger Princess up the stairs once again. Chapter 954 Contamination?! Chapter 954 Contamination?! Yang Ling followed Yun to the second floor. There were customised signs on each door they passed through, giving her a sort of idea who was staying in which room. While she was not very familiar with Jin''s employees, she considered it kind of him to offer his house to them as their lodging. However, she did notice that there was something that seemed off about the place. "Ah, that look on your face. I can roughly guess what it is." Yun said as they stopped in front of the room with a small panda sign. "Our house is instance-based. That is how we have been living for the past few months ever since Jin started to get serious with his Dungeon Supplying skills. You could call it our test version of the dungeon supplier store." "Mmm yeah, I noticed that there were way too many rooms squeezed in the second floor when the first floor was not as spacious. It now makes more sense to know that he has been using dimensional instances to live in it. But won''t it be taxing on the electrical bills? I know the server maintenance is rather expensive." "True it would be quite expensive if we would have used conventional electricity as the only power source. Did you know that Dungeon Supplying in the olden days relied on chi by using relics as a sort of predecessor to modern batteries?" Yun asked as they continued to talk in the walkway instead of entering Jin''s room. Yang Ling found it weird, but it would have been impolite to barge into Jin''s room, especially without knocking, so she humoured Yun. "In other words, you have found one of those relics and made it work for you? Wait, does that mean you''re also using a relic for your shop?" "Hmmm, in a way, yes. I hope we can trust you to go babble this out to people. Of course, that includes the location of this house and anything you will see in here. After all, you are the first visitor we have allowed here in recent months." Yun stressed the need for secrecy. However, no matter how sincere Yun made it sound, Yang Ling''s knew based on her sources that the Royal Snake Army''s General had been visiting Jin in the past. The real question was whether Yun tried to hide the fact¡­ or if he was not considered a visitor but a close friend as she feared? "¡­ I understand." Yang Ling nodded her head, and that was when Yun smiled a little before she turned and opened a cupboard that was right beside Jin''s room. From the cupboard, she took out a rather large suitcase and passed it to the Tiger Princess. "What is this for?" Yang Ling questioned, and with a light kick from Yun, the suitcase opened up and revealed a series of sealed ziplock bags. "Wear this before you go in. It''s for your own safety." Yun explained as she took another suitcase out from the cupboard before closing it. She did the same by kicking it and later ripped open the ziplock bags to unveil a black and yellow contamination suit. Yang Ling was stunned beyond belief. Why would she need a contamination suit to meet Jin? Was he undergoing some chemical treatment or something that was dangerous for anyone to come in? She remembered him getting injured in the battle to defend the Border Walls but if he has yet to recover then why would he go around meeting other people? Could it be the Jin her sources saw was just an illusion or indeed a body double? After all, the Dungeon Instances Jin had made had always been very convincing to people. He could have previously set a timer to push this update before the defence raid, and if he was still injured, he could have time to recover slowly. "Well, if you want to go in without a suit, it''s your choice. But I really recommend you wear it. The suit is made so that you do not need to take off your clothing at all. Just erm¡­ perhaps a little tight at the crotch area for you since you are wearing a dress." Yun said as she was already halfway into the suit before zipping it up. "Alternatively I can offer to put you into contamination bubble ball instead. You will practically be like a hamster in a plastic toy ball. You won''t have to wear any of this at all." As she described it, the thought of seeing the Tiger Princess like that seemed hilarious. She recalled Peppers and Milk testing the product out, and they used it to fight against each other. (Although from her perspective it was clear the two of them had a lot of fun.) "Why do I have to do this? Is he sick or injured in some way?" Yang Ling questioned as she felt that perhaps today might not be the perfect time to invite him. No doubt she would be scolded by her parents but at least that would better option than endangering Jin in any way because of her presence. Not to mention if they forced him to visit them it would only serve to put further strain on the rocky relationship between the two parties. ¡­ Unless Jin was doing all of this in preparation to avoid her. "No no no. He would not do so many silly things just to push me away." Yang Ling believed she was overthinking things. "On second thought, let''s just go with the contamination ball. I expect you to not stay there long anyway." Yun wanted her curiosity to be sated and see how the ever so formal Tiger Princess handled the situation. She placed the contamination helmet down for a while and took back the suitcase which Yang Ling had barely touched. Then, she retrieved another suitcase from the cupboard beside her and requested Yang Ling to hold it. "It will open the moment you pass the door. Don''t worry. I will give you a push if you start." Yun said as she now placed the contamination helmet on her and with a click, it sealed the suit up ensuring nothing could go through. A button was pressed right beside her left shoulder, and the air ventilator machine attached to her suit was started to whizz to life. Yun quickly beckoned Yang Ling to stay at the front of the door, and the Tiger Princess'' heart began to pump faster. Despite her repeated question about what awaited her, Yun insisted that it would be easier to see for herself. She had no choice but to continue as it is. "Here we go," Yun warned her as she placed her palm on the door and Yang Ling stared with much intensity. It looked as if it was somewhat difficult to be pushed open as Yun continued to press forward. Eventually, she saw some liquid oozing out of the sides of the room, and that was when Yun reached over Yang Ling''s suitcase and pressed a button, causing it to vibrate. "Hold tight!" Yun advised and pushed the door harder while internally calling the System to raise the barriers in case of an overflow. (Though judging by the oozing of liquid from the side, it was already overflowing.) With a quick burst of chi, the door swirled open, and all the Tiger Princess could see was a wave of darkness coming towards her. Chapter 955 Sludge Overflow Chapter 955 Sludge Overflow A sudden gush of liquid sludge flowed out of the room and as if the suitcase that Yang Ling was holding on immediately sensed the incoming danger. To protect its owner, the suitcase instantly activated and it inflated outwards, slowing enveloping the Tiger Princess as she was too surprised by the turn of events that she stood there motionlessly. All she could do was to hold the sides of the suitcase while the plastic sheets wrapped around her and injecting air with a kind of reverse osmosis technique. Thus the sheets slowly got rounder, and automatically sealing the edges, turning it into a plastic air bubble ball that shielded her before any bit of Jin''s sludge touched her beautiful dress beneath her long coat. In the meantime, the System had already erected barriers to stop the sludge from dirtying the rest of the second floor. "What is this?!" This was the first time Yang Ling saw the black slimy liquid. On the other hand, all of Jin''s colleagues had grown accustomed to it. Yun kept quiet and pushed the air bubble ball. It was compressible to a certain extent allowing Yun to move the ball into the room as the System had already created bigger vents to drain the sludge away. From the looks of it, Jin had no immediate plans to stop with the production of dark sludge. And because he was drunk, the sludge was even more watery than usual. Yun grumbled in her mind that she''d prefer collecting those crystals sludges rather than this current version. Yun prayed that introducing a new stimulus like Yang Ling could hopefully wake him up. However, the System did not share Yun''s point of view. It was delighted that the quality of sludge had increased once more and the viscous state made it even easier to manipulate compared to the previous iteration. It did not interfere with Yun''s attempt to wake Jin up because based on the current sludge generation, it was impossible. "Where is all this dirty water coming from?" Yang Ling complained as she was shocked to see that Jin''s room was practically empty and he was in the middle of it all, strapped tight on the floor unable to move. "Our dear Panda Boss man is producing it. This is basically a by-product of his particular cultivation." Yun said as she continued to push the ball into the room and placed her at the corner where she could watch Jin continuously produce the sludge from his body. It was not crystal clear, but it was obvious enough. "By-product?! I mean I heard of people releasing by-products to remove the waste in their body but isn''t this a bit too much for a by-product?!" Yang Ling asked and noticed that Jin was sleeping extremely soundly. "Usually it''s not as bad, but I''ve also never seen him come home so dead drunk like after yesterday''s bout of drinking." Yun chuckled as she waddled into the middle and kicked him at the side. The reverberation of her kick showed Yang Ling that this ''love tap'' had a lot of power in it, yet the watery sludge seemed to absorb it, protecting Jin''s sleep. Looking at the situation, it was clear that there was nothing Yang Ling could do to wake him up, so she resigned to her fate. "You could have just told me he was dead drunk!" "Did you forget that I told you he ''really is in no shape for any discussion''? Besides if I''ve told you, he was dead drunk, would you have believed me? You followed me all the way here because you needed to see it for yourself. I bet you thought he was just avoiding you like the others¡­" Yun replied. "I¡­ You are right." Yang Ling sighed in defeat. Yun had hit the nail on the head. Even up until they were right before his room, she entertained the thought that this was some kind of ruse to get rid of her. Only after seeing Jin''s state for herself did she acknowledge that there really was nothing she could do to wake him up. "So, showing you his drunken state was the best option. I can leave you two alone, but he showed no reactions when any of us tried to talk with him." Yun offered her. Yang Ling tried her luck, but unsurprisingly to no avail. Yun then grabbed a plastic handle of the air bubble ball and started pulling her out of the room. The System eventually shut Jin''s door from the inside and the vents slowly drained out the remaining sludge in the second floor corridor. With another press of a button, showerheads appeared, and strong blasts of water sprayed the two of them, cleaning them as much as possible. After which, a gust of warm air blew the corridor drying the area almost immediately like magic. (All Yang Ling had to do was to stay in the bubble ball until the contamination suit were That was when Yun removed her decontamination suit and assisted Yang Ling out of the plastic air bubble ball. "Breakfast is ready!" Lynn shouted from below and beckoned Yang Ling to join them. "You knew that this would happen?" Yang Ling queried as she sat at the dining table and took a whiff of the magnificent food made out of high-quality fresh produce. "More or less." Lynn smiled without saying more. "Enjoy your meal. Don''t worry, we will forward the message that the Tiger Princess was looking for Boss man." "Urgh, you don''t understand. I''ve promised my father I''d bring him no matter what. He will kill me if I come back empty handed." Yang Ling shuddered for a moment when Lynn proposed to help. "Lynn, how about at least you come. I bet my family clan would not mind if I at least show up with some of Jin''s people. I think that would entice him to come to my place." "You just do not want the misunderstanding of your family that you might like Jin?" Lynn questioned as she knew that this Tiger Princess could possibly be a hidden factor for her chase to get Jin for herself. "What? No! Though I admit I ''ve been smitten once or twice by Jin¡­ but that is because I did not expect someone to be so magnanimous! I''m used to people either fearing me or trying to exploit my position. He''s been the only one who really did not seem to care and treated me like a normal person and not just ''the crippled Tiger Princess'' " Yang Ling retorted. "I only want to reach some mutual understanding about work with him. I feel he deserves that much at least." "But your father does not seem to have that intention. And you are rejecting it outright." Yun argued back, and Yang Ling''s ears suddenly turned red as she nearly choked on her food. "I mean¡­ I do not mind trying him ¨C I erm mean I do not mind having a closer friendship with him!" Yang Ling rebutted quickly. "There are a lot of things that we can do -erm as in a working relationship capacity." She flustered once more, and the words were not coming out right. Lynn chuckled at Yang Ling''s dishonest honesty and sometimes wondered if Jin knew that the way he helped people might actually have an effect on them. "Although I believe now that we are in this terrace house instance, I am not surprised that the System tried to influence her." Lynn thought to herself as she vowed once again to up her game this year. But for now, having enemies closer than friends was one way to learn what Jin could potentially like. Chapter 956 Dead Drunk Chapter 956 Dead Drunk "Bloop Bloop BNSADJNSAJIODNASODGAAA~!" "What is User doing?" The System questioned as it opened the vents within Jin''s room once more to slowly drain the massive amount of sludge which has accumulated. "GAHHH!!! I thought I was gonna die for a second there!" Jin, who had just woken up in a panic, panted and spit out some of the sludge that had gotten in his mouth. He coughed some more and just hoped that he didn''t swallow any of it while asleep¡­ or in case he did, that it might get it out of his system naturally. He looked around and noticed that it was his room. He had purposely refurbished it such that there were two sets of dimensional instances. One was his own room with his personal effects and the other with proper vents and drains so that the System was able to clear the space as quickly as possible when needed after his ''cultivation''. "User was doing just fine breathing through the sludge the entire time he''s been unconscious. System has taken the liberty to lock User into time compression for a speedier recovery." The System brought him up to speed. "How long was I out? Officially and unofficially." Jin asked. No matter how often he was told that time was mendable by the System it was still hard to believe. Not to mention, it also messed with his sense of time, and he sometimes had to rely on his storage watch, which was now synchronised with his phone to get the timing. In a way, his living armour plates which made up a bulk of his storage watch had been revitalised after being in contact with the new plates when transformed into System Rider. This gave the older plates better durability and malleability to change while powering the mini device that the System recreated to suit the functionality of a smartwatch. "On the outside, only 3 hours had passed. However, in here User has been snoring for the last 72 hours and 23 minutes." The System answered. "Ok, in that case, good job. It would have led to many headaches if I was out for so long. Wait for a second, how come you used it to help me get sober, but not when I was recovering for the past two weeks?" Jin wondered. He could feel the restraints on him loosen, and he was able to move his body a little. However, unsurprisingly after ''three days'' of not moving, his body ached quite a bit. "Pei and the others had been transfusing blood to User on a bi-hourly basis to replenish your chi and mana. Such a delicate process should not be hastened as it might cause unforeseen problems. Most people would not be able to handle time compression and dilation well, presenting side effects. In fact, User is starting to form a sort of resistance to this method. Fortunately, this means that your body has developed an affinity to time magic. To a certain extent, at least." The System remarked. "Then what about those giant creatures we ''caught'' from the Giant World. We also use time compression on them, right?" Jin questioned as he went to his bathroom to wash his face and subsequently took out a water bottle from his storage watch to quench his thirst. "The ones used as food products are being closely watched. However, given the purpose of us rearing them, the most important factor is not their quality of life, but the quality and quantity of meat they provide User''s customers. Still, Ayse''s Research Team has a researcher look into the side effects of time compression to determine if the compression of time could be resisted by giving them a sort of anti-ageing food to slow the degeneration of the cells." "There is also another experimental project centred around Zither Mistress Ke Mi. Her music has proven to accelerate time in a natural way when taking care of the seeds in the Jack''s instance. Another research team is looking into the effects of providing the food nurtured by her music to the animals." The System reported. "Then what about the time compression with Ke Mi''s music?" "Magical Treant Shu, as well as the Great White Snake, have been the ones most affected by being near Ke Mi for the past few months. Their stats are considerably higher, and their growth potential had to be revised twice already. Of course, given that their races get strong with age, they might be the exception and not the rule." "For example, some extra fine-tuning was required to ensure that the plants grew correctly. At first, some of them grew too fast, and the produce was not up to expectation, but generally, the results were satisfactory and have been in use ever since." The System remarked. "So what was that about me having an affinity with time magic?" Jin, who decided to shower, started to think about it. What if his encounter with Ryuli had something to do with him unconsciously using time magic which he had not known about. (Somehow, that thought came naturally.) Could it be some hidden power within the Astral Panda Cultivation which he did not know about? There was no mentioning of the time magic within the cultivation manual that Ming gave him but when had that dumb manual ever really helped him? It had always been Ming spoon-feeding him his training through his cultivation dreaming. "Oh yea, speaking of-" Suddenly the Old Fox appeared in his bathroom, and Jin let out a scream like a little girl who had noticed a peeping tom while taking a bath. "KYAAAAA~! WHY ARE U IN HERE?!" Jin shouted as he suddenly cringed into a ball like state. "Have you ever heard of something called PRIVACY?!" "What do you make such a fuss about? I''ve already seen your everything back in the hot springs. And Pei naturally saw you naked while performing your surgery. What is wrong with you? Besides, YOU HAVE A SHOWER CURTAIN." Kraft argued while pulling the curtain away, demonstrating his point. "Get out! Get out!" Jin''s cultivation activated in a panic, and a large Astral panda silhouette emerged from Jin. It pushed Kraft out of his bathroom even though the old Fox could have resisted it. He immediately pulled the curtain back and showered with anger while Kraft decided to entertain himself with the Astral Panda silhouette that Jin had produced. "Not bad. You can handle an astral projection similar to a chi summon like what Grandma Yuan did at your new grade." Kraft said as he scratched the Panda behind his ears and it gradually laid its head on his lap. "What did you want to say? It better be important enough for you to appear in person instead of using the System channel." Jin was still pissed, not sure whether it was the slight headache he had from all the heavy drinking or Kraft''s intolerable need to surprise his master. "As I was about to say, ''speaking of time magic'', I might have found a bit of clue why the Ryuli you met could possibly be the same Ryuli you met in your dreams," Kraft explained. "But?" Jin wore a towel around his waist and folded his arm, waiting for Kraft''s request. "You always have a condition attached to your answers, so spit it out!" "Hahaha! That I cannot deny and it makes me feel proud that I''ve managed to groom such a very understanding master." Kraft sniggered happily. "But no. In the spirit of the Chinese New Year, I shall hand you this information for free." "Impossible. If you don''t want anything from me, it must mean that this new information is going to make me squirm trying to explain to Ryuli how I got to know her. Just thinking about how she is my ''disciple'' from years back is starting to give me a headache¡­.assuming that your theory is true." Jin said with difficulty as he knew that time magic was something not to be tampered with especially after the time reversal that the System did. "You know me well enough, Master. Meh, even if you figured out my intentions, the good show is bound to happen, and I am looking forward to it. Speaking of a good show, your little Tigress came by earlier to see you." Kraft injected to see his reaction as part of his ''punishment'' of knowing him too well. "So what? I was dead drunk." Jin queried. "That didn''t stop Yun from showing her your body," Kraft said as he opened the Panda''s mouth and put his head in. The big Panda tried to bite down, but it didn''t work and yawned instead. "THEY WHAT?! Why will Yun even do that?" Jin started to feel embarrassed rather than concerned about how his cultivation stance had been exposed. Kraft rejoiced in that reaction and gave him selected bits and pieces of the story, knowing that either Lynn or Yun would provide the whole story eventually. But for now a bit of teasing before telling the Dungeon Supplier his theory on Jin''s encounter with young Ryuli. Chapter 957 Time Magic Chapter 957 Time Magic Regardless of the verbal assaults, Jin finally calmed down and questioned Kraft seriously on the matter. "What do you really know about the place? Or the connection between Ryuli and myself?" Jin asked as his bedroom had transformed back to its normal appearance replacing the locking cell that made Jin look as if he was entrapped to produce sludge. He was still embarrassed that Yun had allowed Yang Ling to see him in his most terrible state. (Perhaps, he should request the System to put a lock in case people would come in and infiltrate the area. However, the System said that was unneccessary since it could have already locked people out of the dimensional instance) "Honestly, there really is not much connection between Ryuli and you. No ''fated bond'' or anything like that like some reincarnated Romeo and Juliet. If you guys hadn''t met each other in that locked basement cell, you would probably have been like two strangers who passed each other on the street. Also, in hindsight, you could have just opened that locked basement with your chi and not give on anything to that child." "I erm¡­ in my defence, I assumed I was in a dream at that point of time. Without the System at my behest, it seemed like I was in a dreamscape like the one Grandpa put me in. For all I knew, it could have been one of his strange tests." Jin reasoned hoping that would excuse him for the folly he did. Kraft, however, sat on his chair, leaned back and extended his legs out without a care for his reasoning. "I see. Well, can''t fully blame you, Old Ming does have a tendency to do what he wants. So you really were unable to call upon the System? Well, it would explain why the System did not have any information on her, no matter how I tried to probe it. And I tried hard. I thought it was some super secret weapon that the System was cultivating or maybe sending as a spy Bellator. But no, that was not the case. Also, this is just my conclusion- Erm, the reason you did not have access to it, would be that at that point in time, Ming should have been the System User." Kraft theorised. "The System kept reassuring me that it knew nothing, and even felt weird that I kept trying to ask about someone that it could not be found in the national database based on the information and description I gave- Huh?! HUH?!" Jin tried to recall how the System extracted information of the girl''s appearance without there being a match at all until Kraft gave his theory. "I don''t have a basis to prove it, just some Fox ramblings. In any case, it was a long stretch when I found her in the State Agent''s database. In fact, I managed to find her because of her blue hair since it stuck out in her portfolio. The database criteria are quite strict, so they won''t put a blue hair girl as part of their data if it does not match their actual origins if you get what I mean." "No¡­not really. Do you mean they need to have the original picture of the agent as a reference?" "Hmm, yeah something like that. Sometimes those agents go deep undercover for long periods of time by assuming a new identity. The database has to have some sort of system to ensure that only their actual person gets the original identity back, and not a spy from another country." Kraft explained. "Anyways, I''ve come to tell you that I found out the abandoned temple that Old Birdy is using belonged to the Butterfly Clan, one that they used to practice their techniques and skills." Kraft finally revealed the information he was hiding for some time, stating that the temple Grandma Yuan used was no ordinary one. "So, what does that have to do with me and Ryuli?" Jin queried. "Have you already forgotten that our dear Kiyu was supposed to be the next clan head of the Butterfly Clan? To put it simply, she uses chi to activate time magic. Not much on her end, since she didn''t exactly finish her training though enough to call her an adept. The Butterfly Clan was one of the few secret clans that held time magic as part of their skill repertoire." "Only time magic isn''t something so easily available in this world. Although I suppose the same goes for other worlds." Kraft said and knocked on the table as if demanding an answer from somebody. "Time, in reality, is something that sentient beings invented to keep track of each passing day. It''s a concept rather than an element. But a concept also means that it can be repurposed into an element provided certain criteria were met. Thus time magic was created." The System commented, neither confirming nor denying the previous statement. "However, because it''s not just a concept that can be explained and recreated using ''mere science'', time is akin to a natural force of a higher tier. There are consequences for using it, which are impossible to predict and it could range from nothing to an apocalyptic catastrophe. Otherwise, the Black Market would be selling time magic as a product too." "Does everything have to do with money?" Jin asked with a sorry grin on his face. "Unfortunately it is. Last I checked, the Inter World Black Market was selling anything and everything. There are worlds, and even entire solar systems up for sale. Heck, there was even once a bidding war to own a universe. There was this one buyer who was selling the right to be a god. It''s really fucking scary. But as you can imagine the price itself is very outrageous. Not everything can be gained by mere Dungeon Dollars. The higher tiered stuff uses the bartering system. I''m just warning you, in case you had any dream about becoming a Panda God." Kraft smirked. "Unlike the official Interworld Market which is governed by a group of Grand Arch Wizards, the state of the Black Market is far more chaotic. You are very lucky to have not pissed off anyone to come to look after you because you purchased the last product of someone. And I honestly hope nothing like that will ever happen. Just a flick of a finger and you would be thrown into an abyss, and all your effort and experience won''t be able to save you." "Well, I have you and the System to save me, right?" Jin asked, and Kraft for once turned serious. "Do not ask something this ridiculous. Do you really expect an ant to stand up to a mammoth?" Kraft questioned in a dark deep tone. "If that ever happens, you are on your own. I will take this System for myself and shall pray for your soul." But just as Jin was about to absorb that piece of information, Kraft relaxed in his seat and stretched backwards on the chair. "Though I don''t think you have much to worry about. Those types of people won''t even bother interfering with small fries like us. All the problems you encountered are nothing but mere child''s play in their eyes. Hell, they might even think we are just small pieces on a giant chessboard, that they would just play around with and go ''awww shucks'' if they ever lose. Just concentrate being the number one dungeon supplier, heh." "Haha¡­ alright." Jin gave him an awkward smile as he considered how powerful those people must be if even Kraft compared himself to an ant. Then again, might Kraft just be humble and actually be one of those superpowered entities he thought about?! (But of course, knowing his backstory, there was no way he was one of those people he described.) "Let''s get back to the topic at hand. In short, you might have been affected by the temple''s residual magic. Birdy must know how special this place is. Why else do you think she chose to train her kiddos there. The occasional slowing of time or even experiencing time magic will push those exorcist powers since Kiyu''s clan used demon sacrifices as the source of their magic." "What¡­?" Jin was taken aback by what Kraft said, and he never knew it was that dark. "Is that the reason why Kiyu never likes to use her powers?" Jin thought about it. He never really saw Kiyu as much of a fighter. "Find out yourself. You have an eternity to learn about us." Kraft smirked, and in the blink of an eye, just as he had appeared, he was gone, leaving Jin with more questions than answers. Chapter 958 Dish Washing Chapter 958 Dish Washing When Jin came down from the second floor, he noticed that there was some food left on the table. He could also sense the residue of Yang Ling''s chi within the room. "System, why is Yang Ling''s chi density so heavy in the house? Did Yang Ling have a fight with someone?" Jin asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Kraft had only told him that the Tiger Princess had come to see him, but nothing about her staying in the house. (A certain fox would argue, he also had not said anything about her not staying afterwards) "System had asked Chef Lynn to have a quick spar with Royal Zodiac Tiger Cultivator Yang Ling in order to showcase her new Gearbox suit. With the terrace house being under System''s control, it was a good opportunity to analyse the improved Gearbox suit." The System replied and opened up a screen console with a playback of the fight. "It certainly lived up to the expectation of her being a potential associate to increase our engineering capabilities. Even Rei had some difficulty improving the Gearbox Technology when System represented it to him." "It looks slicker than the prototype that we gave her. Did she manage to improve it even further than what you expected?" Jin questioned as he observed the two only engaging in hand to hand combat. Still, that was quite the improvement for her physical state considering the Tiger Princess had been unable to walk previously. (Well, she did manage to have a stroll with Jin in his theme park, but he thought that the recovery was a little way too fast. The System could only assume she did high intensive therapies for recovery.) "I assume she must have come to talk with me about further finetuning it, so she can sell and armed their military dudes to improve their chances in combat. After the fight against the Banned Emperor Faction, I bet you can make good money with such an innovative upgrade." Jin surmised as the back of his mind, he wondered how the State Agents could benefit from this proposal. "Even if all Royal Zodiac Battalions would be outfitted with a Gearbox suit, they would still not be able to match cultivators with peak cultivation grades. All the major civilised countries have their very own special squad of Grade 18s and 19s as a deterrent factor and negotiation chip when it comes to offensive powers." The System stated, indicating that the high grades had a major jump in offensive powers such as how a Grade 10 was vastly different from a Grade 9. Jin, on the other hand, did not feel much of a difference, saying that his opponents were always tough. (The System did poke him to make him realise that the bosses he fought were already a few grades higher than him which was normally impossible for standard cultivators to go against.) "But one man could only be able to do so much against a whole army. Even Peppers¡­though now that I mention it if given enough time she could likely just blast an entire small country away and survive the tale." Jin added, recalling how Peppers literally attempted to blast the entire region with her powers in the Giant World. Even if it was broken into several simultaneous blasts, the area she had covered was undoubtedly impressive, and there was no need to second guess the destructiveness. As long as Ayse continued to help Peppers in her journey to find the best explosion, obliterating a country of increasing size was merely just a stepping stone. "Even if it might not help them per se, if those peak cultivators were complemented with their highly strengthened colleagues, it will help in their cause too,"Jin argued. "Though I''d love to see them fight an army of Gunndams from the Mecha World. Speaking of which, remind me to ask Rei about the spaceship salvaging progress." While watching the close combat spar between Lynn and Yang Ling, Jin helped himself to the leftover food on the table. After which, he helped clean the area and washed the dishes even though they had an automated system dishwasher. Lynn treated cleaning as a sort of ''spiritual'' training, and she had infected everyone else in the house with her mindset. No matter how busy they were, they had to at least wash the dishes at home. (It''s not the same in the restaurant as she compromised, knowing the workload her penguins had to go through.) After one incident when Qiu Yue had just placed her dirty dishes in the dishwasher due to sheer laziness and Lynn had about it, she literally threw the plates onto the Red Panda''s bed. Of course, the fight that ensued would have been worthy to be featured on the front page of Pandaflix. Ever since Lynn continued to insist that the entire family washed their plates. It was a reminder that they were blessed to have the System and should not take everything for granted. Meanwhile, Pei believed that it was a ''give and take'' kind of situation. The Chef had painstakingly prepared the food and cooked it. Since Lynn was the only person capable of producing such magnificent food on the table every night without fail, the rest, even Kraft had succumbed to the Chef''s wimps and washed the dishes. She did not care whether they used chi or some technique to wash it, the most important thing was they cleaned it themselves. Only to make things ''worse'', the System had introduced a cleanliness meter to detect how good a job they did. It activated as soon as they hung it on the dish rack. It was hilarious and frustrating to watch Zeru who seemed to be perfect in everything being unable to get a perfect 10/10 mark from the System. Jin recalled these small little details as he cleaned and appreciated the new life the System had granted him. Without the System, he would have never become a Dungeon Supplier and instead would have pursued a different career. Could have just taken some administrative job in a bank dealing with software analysis and work overtime just to have a better meal at times. What''s more, he could be stuck all lonely in this large terrace house all by himself. "Or maybe, I could have just rented out the terrace house out and gotten myself a small apartment to stay in. That way I would earn extra cash while also working a 9-5 job¡­" Jin thought to himself as he was waiting for the System dish rack cleanliness rating to appear. "Why does User once again waste his time with these thoughts?" The System queried and yet again reminding Jin how the System could be intrusive to his thoughts. "I am glad that I have you, but I just wanted to have a Plan B if you should ever disappear?" "Is User trying to come up with ways to get rid of the System? If User wishes, the System could instantly detach itself from User, and everything would cease." The System said. "EHhhhhhh." Jin was left speechless for a moment at the System''s ''threat''. What''s worse was that System was unresponsive for a moment¡­ but the very next there was a loud ''ting'' sound from the dish rack stating that the dishes were sufficiently clean. (6/10 on the scale, acceptable.) "System has been joking. User shall continue in his position since he is the best host." The System replied, and Jin shook his head. "No matter what User does, he is stuck with the System until the end." "Then I might as well marry you, and you can have my babies instead." Jin noted sarcastically. "Technically speaking, the System can attempt to create given that there are sufficient DNA samples and soul resources." The reply from the System worried Jin. "However, the System still requires additional data such as attitude, behaviours and habits to complete a fully functional clone. Based on its centuries of interaction System has concluded that a clone without flaws is impossible as of now. Please recruit even more minions or associates to aid in the clone''s creation." The System said, and Jin quickly sighed. "Come on, I was clearly joking." Jin sighed and pleaded with the System to not even try to entertain that idea. At that point, he could hear someone unlocking the main door and saw that Lynn and Yun were returning with laughter in the air. Chapter 959 Going for New Year Visiting Chapter 959 Going for New Year Visiting When Jin looked at a laughing Yun, he involuntarily thought of the clone comment that the System had just made. "Isn''t Yun considered a clone in some way?" Jin questioned via his thoughts to the System. "System needed someone to act as User''s mentor to teach you the ways of the System at the start. Subject Yun was the ideal candidate since she was your mother. She does not really fit the definition of a clone. System would classify her as a resurrection that went wrong." "This world had deemed it impossible to reconstruct anything with her Dantian Core. Before being passed on to User, System has been doing its utmost to recover as much from the Dantian Core as possible in the 19 over years it has been dormant. If successful, System would have gained a countermeasure against the Banned Emperor faction. Ultimately the experiment has been deemed a partial success since there were some defects." "Subject Yun did not remember clearly about her past and had no recollection of having any direct relation with current User. Since the time Subject Yun had spent with the User was relatively short, this was to be expected with a corrupted core. System has fed her the information from its database to make up for it. Naturally, those can''t really be called her own ''memories''." "Surprisingly, User and past Sub System User Yuan have managed to trigger memories she did not seem to possess when resurrected. While she remains stoic in her attitude and emotions, the revelation of the System''s history to User has awakened some specific string of memories in her. It has caused her to be mad at that point of time although she seems to have regretted betraying your trust leading to the kind of distance between the two of you." "What do you mean?" "The System developed the hypothesis that Subject Yun had been coping with her feelings and memories since she must have felt that they were not hers. There was a dissonance between the soul and the body. Suffice to say, the System had modified her to make up for the corruption of the Dantian Core, which made her compatible with various souls so she could turn into the ultimate bodyguard for User in case he was ever betrayed by anyone in the real world. A sort of last measure. She was designed such a way that no matter how you hated her, she would stand by you no matter what." "System had hoped that she would imprint on the User and that some motherly instinct would emerge through prolonged contact. Unfortunately, that method seems to have backfired dramatically. System wished to take this opportunity to apologise once again, but in the System''s defence, it was a viable plan that had beneficial remunerations for such a risk." "Well, from what I can see, your idea worked only the other way around. She seems happier ever since she managed to reconcile with Grandma Yuan a little." Jin commented, but the moment Yun saw Jin, her grinning face turned astutely serious. "Jin, Yang Ling has come to visit not too long ago, demanding that you meet her father for lunch. You can refuse, but she told us the Tiger Triad would likely come around to fetch your body to see to your arrival right in front of their Clan Head. So best get changing." Yun spoke in a clear, definitive manner. "She has extended her invitation to us, though. My peggies should be able to deal with the kitchen on their own, so it''s okay for me to go visiting people!" Lynn raised her hand as if to volunteer to go and ensure that Jin did not make any fuss. "If you don''t mind that is. By the way, thanks for clearing the area. I was actually going to do that after we sent Yang Ling off." "What about your own dad? I would rather visit him than meet up with Tiger Lord Yuan Ba. They gave me nothing but trouble recently." Jin grumbled as he checked the fridge in search of anything to drink for the three of them. "Well¡­if you could come to visit him, that would be for the best¡­" Lynn''s ears turned red momentarily as she was delighted that Jin was the one to mention it. She had planned to invite him, but with his drunken condition, she was unsure if he would recover in time. "I would really appreciate if you could do that. My dad would surely love it too." Lynn said with a wide smile as she involuntarily bowed towards Jin. "Awesome! I have been wanting to talk to your dad for some time and catch up with him a little. Then let''s go and visit him first. Yang Ling should have reported that I''m still ''ill'', so can''t blame me for being late." Jin grinned as he pulled out a drink and asked if any of them wanted some. "I will be heading back to work." Yun declared, yet Jin suddenly grabbed Yun''s hand. "Huh?" She did not know how to respond as that was a first for Jin to stop her from the work he himself had no time to attend to anymore. (Granted, with the revamp of the new Panda Street Instance, Yun did not need to be there, but having her around does boost sales to a certain percentage according to the System.) "Don''t you want to come with us?" Jin started to sweat a little and wondered what had prompted him to take such an unconscious action. "And bring your mother to your prospective in-laws'' family? Isn''t that a bit too hasty coming for someone who kept insisting he doesn''t want to get attached or even entertain the thought of marriage?" Yun retorted which caused Jin to be stumped. "No, I thought we could just ¡­erm do a chain of visits and get it done all at once. Like you know, go to Grandma Yuan after paying a visit with Lynn''s father? I actually have something I wanted to talk with her about." Jin tried to make up a reasonable excuse. "Hmm¡­ That makes sense. It would be weird if I do not see Instructor Yuan. In fact, I bet she will be angry if I don''t come and give her a red packet. Fine, I will follow you, but in the capacity of a colleague. I''m not going to pretend to be your mother anymore." "You don''t have to. I do not have such intentions. With your youthful look, it would just lead to all kinds of confusion. Let''s just stick with you being like an elder sister or older cousin of mine if anyone asks. Anyways, Lynn can you get Qiu Yue?" Jin asked as he started to go up the stairs to change. "Ah! She said not to disturb her. She wanted to get some sleep in. She did not want to reveal this, but I know you will probe me endlessly for it so please don''t say that you heard it from me. Tsu and Kai have prepared an intensive training course for the beast kids and her, for the entire week, if not longer. If you need anything in regards to her Sub System, just get Moloch to handle it." Lynn said and Yun concurred. "Couldn''t she have given me a warning at least?" Jin asked, and both girls sighed before simultaneously chiding him. "Check your emails!!!" Jin opened his phone to see a flood of emails, most of which belonged to Ke Loong. The CEO of Sea Mesh had sent a plethora of chain mails requesting Jin to meet with him to discuss some things honestly. Now that he knew Kong Rong''s true intent and his wish to make his friend Ke Loong into a Panda Associates, there were a lot of things to discuss. Just the talks in regards to his ideas of the virtual reality system would likely take quite a while. "Looks like I have to meet with Ke Loong too." Jin thought to himself and decided to send a message about whether he was free this evening. And if so, he asked for an address where they could meet. Before he had a chance to put down the cell phone, there was an immediate "YES" reply from Ke Loong. "He sounds pretty desperate¡­ for my attention" Jin sighed as he believed the subsequent email would come with his address. It was a grim reminder of why he disliked opening his emails. "Let''s meet each other in half an hour." Jin suggested, giving the girls (and himself) some time to prepare. Chapter 960 Lynns Home Visi Chapter 960 Lynn¡°s Home Visi "Dad! Happy New Year!" Lynn greeted her father Zheng Hui with such a wide grin that he was taken aback as he sleepily opened the door early in the afternoon. "Lynn¡­? But you told me you would be busy at work?" Zheng Hui had not expected to see his daughter. It took him a moment to realise that she was not alone and that a short distance away were none other than Jin and Yun. "I am not dressed well!" Zheng Hui immediately shut the door until only a small slit was left open so. "Are you really going to leave your daughter and our guests outside in this chilly weather?" Lynn pouted with her arms folded. "I gave you the key to this place weeks ago! You should have come in to wake me up, so I could change to receive your friends!" Zheng Hui argued in a hushed tone. (Jin and Yun could still hear him, but pretended not to.) "And risk seeing you possibly naked in your room? No thanks!! Just get changed quickly! I will give you a minute before we come in!" Lynn retorted as she closed the door and faced Jin. "Erm. At least he is not leaking sludge throughout his entire room?" Jin tried to lighten the mood while they waited¡­ but he failed terribly at it. Lynn and Yun merely sighed at the cold joke, and as he was about to say something else to recover the conversation, Yun stopped him. "Just don''t talk. It won''t kill you." Yun chided him as she grabbed her cellphone from her handbag and started to browse on it casually. Lynn heard a distant slam of a door which she took as a cue for them to go in, to at least have a seat while waiting. When Jin came in, he was surprised to see how much the place had changed compared to the last time he had been at her house. For a start, there was now proper heating in the rooms, and the walls had a clean coat of paint. The rusty broken windows had been replaced with newer ones, and there were new white tiles in the living room. "Is this what you''ve been doing with your money?" Jin asked as he noticed the other mini renovations that had been done and most of the old furniture had been replaced with new ones. However, the most prominent part of the room was the lack of alcohol bottles which used to be all over the place. Now, there was only one lone bottle on the coffee table, and Jin believed there was no way to escape the addiction. But at least Lynn''s father started to be more disciplined as compared to the last time he saw him. "I figured if I could provide a decent home for my father to stay in, he would be a little more motivated to do something productive," Lynn explained while she went into the kitchen and got some tea for her friends. "Sorry, it doesn''t taste as great as the ones back at your home." Lynn apologised in advance as she placed the cups on the coffee table. She picked up the half-full bottle of alcohol and contemplated throwing it away as she had done with the ones before it, but Lynn had seen that her father was doing his best to keep it together. Thus, she decided to be lenient for today. She left it in the refrigerator so he could continue drinking for the rest of the new year holidays. "Just this once," Lynn muttered to herself, choosing to put her trust into her father. "Hi! Hi! Happy New Year to you guys!" Zheng Hui came out wearing a formal shirt and pants while holding onto something that the group did not expect. Red Packets. "Sir! We are just here to pay your a courtesy visit! We can''t possibly accept any red packets." Jin quickly refused. He had not forgotten about the financial situation of Lynn''s father since it had been part of the reason they had gotten in trouble in the first place. "Boss Jin, what are you talking about?! You are our benefactor. You gave my daughter a place to work at, you gave me the slap that I needed to wake up and most importantly, you literally saved both of our lives. We shall forever be in your debt for that. So please, I insist that you at least allow me to hand you these red packets as a sign of our gratitude." "Jin, just take it. I can always earn back that amount." Lynn chuckled, and Jin sighed in defeat. He understood that Zheng Hui wanted to earnestly thank him, and the look in his eyes made it clear he would not accept ''No'' for an answer. "Happy New Year Uncle Zheng Hui, I wish you great health and everlasting prosperity," Jin said as he offered the two oranges to Lynn''s father. Zheng Hui placed the red packet at one side and wished Jin the very same thing. (Oranges offered during the exchange of New Year greetings are a symbol of good luck and their bright, vibrant colour is associated with a happy future.) "I also wish that you may find a good wife- " He winked at him as he tilted his head a little to point at his daughter. "- as well as a prosperous and ever-expanding business. I saw how your tiny shop turned into the landmark of Shenzhen, and I believe you have more in store. Please continue to surprise us. Perhaps one day, I might end up working for you!" Zheng Hui said as he received the oranges and handed the red packet to Jin. Zheng Hui then embarrassingly looked towards Yun, but her usual response was to immediately pull her hand out in the open and use just her ''eye power'' to point at the ring. Lynn''s father was somewhat awestruck by her beauty for a moment. That dark red one-piece slenderly portrayed her figure, and her dominating pose showed confidence and a tinge of arrogance that made any man feel jealous of her extremely lucky spouse. He quickly nodded his head and smiled in return while keeping his other red packet back into his back pocket. "Thank you for the red packet. Did you mean what you said about wanting to work under me? I plan to expand in the future, and an extra pair of hands wouldn''t hurt." Jin offered as he kept the red packet. "It''s okay, I don''t really have any special skills, and besides, I managed to find myself some extra odd jobs that should be able to tide me over the months." Zheng Hui said embarrassedly. He had not expected that Jin would offer him a job right away, but he also wouldn''t want to be known as a person who got employed through nepotism. "Why don''t you just accept the Boss'' favour? Or are you too proud to work under someone? Would you prefer to open your own store? I can loan you some money to build one. I believe Jin could provide some discount for his favourite employee''s father." Lynn suggested as she passed a cup of tea to her father. "¡­A store?" Zheng Hui''s mind went blank for a moment as he considered the possibility. Chapter 961 Everyone Wants A Piece of Jin Chapter 961 Everyone Wants A Piece of Jin "You think I go to anyone and give charity to them?" Jin questioned harshly. Not long after the Tree Mall had been revealed to the world, major MNCs and even worldwide famous food chains had started harassing him about their desire to work with the dungeon supplier. (Yet another reason why Jin dreaded checking his emails.) With the advent of dimensional instances and his Tree Mall being the first of its kind, not only in the nation but in the whole world, the potential was endless, and all of them wanted a piece of that pie. Being able to create an entirely new building for a fraction of the usual cost by embracing the latest technology was a dream come true for these super companies. The allure of money from these mega-corporations could significantly offset the war cost they had accrued and even bring in profit with which Jin could channel into changing Shenzhen''s landscape forever. So what was holding Jin back? Nothing. Initially, he would have said it was the System since even with an increase in processing powers from King Baal''s crown, the uptake of processes had already increased. But the System did reply to Jin that all it needed was more money to buy even more chips to fuse, but the dungeon supplier refused to do so because the cost for getting more chips were expensive. And in addition, he was already overwhelmed with much of the work at that point in time, and there was no time to entertain them. Still, he was wise enough to not outright refuse them. The usual answer he gave (technically the System was the one forced to take on these kinds of secretary duties) was that the Tree Mall was still in an experimental stage and that he needed to monitor his technology performance before he might come around to accept more proposals in a few months. Thus, they kept in touch by periodically sending him emails, reminding him to tell them when he was ready to go all out. The more influential ones even dropped hints in their replies that in case he wished to expand overseas with his tech, the megacorps were already courting some favour to get their government''s approval fairly quickly if things went well. So the implication of Jin making an exception for Zheng Hui would not just be a slap in the face of all the megacorps but also hurting (if not destroy) his chances to continue to wiggle the carrot above their heads. Lynn and Zheng Hui naturally had no idea about the kind of pressure Jin was under, so Lynn thought it to be quite rude for Jin to refuse it so directly. Zheng Hui was a little furious as well, yet although they were under his roof, he decided to control his temper. No matter what, that dungeon supplier had saved his life after all, and he was the owner of the Tree Mall so he had the right to refuse. "However, I can actually offer him a position in a shop within my Panda Street Instance, making him into my employee. Functionally he will have the same rights as any other owner would, including being able to sell his speciality while selling my items too. That way, he will be able to command a higher salary if his profits are good for the month." Jin clarified, and Lynn took it as a sign of him not to pressure her father into making a new store. While the renovation cost and store rent would not be an issue with the advancement of the dimensional instance, he still had to deal with outside sources for supplies, and they might not necessarily sell. Even if Jin would act as his supplier in terms of the goods he needed, there was a possibility he might not be able to provide everything and anything at the moment. (Making it all the more imperative that they had to win back the Farming World.) "I think that sounds like a great choice." Zheng Hui said after swallowing down his disdain from just a moment ago. Meanwhile, Lynn was just relieved that Jin was not being an asshole towards her father anymore. (Later, she thought that Jin might have pulled a fast one as an act of petty revenge against her father who had put him in quite a pinch against the Japanese Yakuzas on their first meeting.) "Well I''ve agreed, but what exactly would I be selling?" Zheng Hui asked as he was now invested. "Anything on Lynn''s mind and her workers''. If you can cook at a level Lynn deems trustworthy, you can add to the menu as well." Jin answered, and the two of them were confused. On the other hand, Yun understood what Jin was talking about immediately. "You want to sell Lynn''s and the peggies personal creations, right? I mean if the other Giant Beast Tribes were to be of that level of competency, you would sell theirs too." Yun asked, and Jin nodded his head. "Yes. I''ve pictured with the Pyramid Foor Court already being a thing, a mystery store might be something interesting for our customers. Of course, we''d have to put warning signs that our foods may contain certain ingredients which might cause allergic reactions. But other than that, the people who try the store would never know what they will get until they pay for the food." "Wouldn''t it be a risk selling something unknown?" Zheng Hui asked which caused Jin and Yun to laugh. "When was the last time you complained about Lynn''s cooking?" "Must have been many years ago, before she graduated culinary school. Ever since she took that job at your place, her cooking has improved by leaps and bounds. Each time it feels like I''m not eating something home-cooked, but from a fancy restaurant." Zheng Hui praised his daughter openly that Lynn did not know how to cope with it. This was the few times she really appreciated the compliments given to her. "As her father, you should know about her tendency to create new stuff, if only to see which cooking is good. But also her high expectations." Jin sighed as he eyed Lynn. "I don''t waste it! If it''s bad, it''s given to the recycler, and if it''s passable I give it to my peggies!" Lynn threw her poutings at Jin via the System Chat. (Zheng Hui kept thinking the word Peggies was a nickname for her chefs and assistants.) "I concur with Jin. Even her experimental stages are usually good enough to be given to the public. Alas, with Lynn being a perfectionist, she thinks differently. Still, we can even charge extra for them this way too." Yun said out loud, and Zheng Hui began to see the appeal of such an idea. "I see¡­ so people won''t be able to complain about what mystery food they get, and it allows my daughter and her other colleagues to showcase what they can do. That sounds like a fun concept to work on." "Yes and all I need you to do will be to sell them out. As well as shoo-ing away the customers when we are out of stock." Jin added. "Don''t worry about that last part. If you have trouble, I can send you help for that but it will cause you." "Hah! You are underestimating me when it comes to shoving people off." Zheng Hui said with pride until he saw Lynn''s glare. "I erm mean, I will restraint them not to complain too much." "You sure it''s okay? I mean I am not sure whether some of the combinations will work. That is more of a medical and ethical issue than giving out this kind of combination of food trials." "Erm perhaps we can get Xiong Da to look into it and see if it''s okay or not," Jin suggested and Yun gave him a long stare. "Even though Xiong Da might be a fantastic lawyer, it doesn''t mean he knows all the laws about everything. There is a limit to the things he knows." Yun pointed out. "I mean we can put a ''Do not blame us if you have a tummy ache'' warning before they pay for the food? Maybe have them sign a consent to waiver their right to sue us?" Jin tried to reason, and Zheng Hui stood up. "Let me deal with that question. I am confident in my daughter''s ability in cooking. So I will find a way to make this mystery food shop succeed it." Zheng Hui declared full of conviction. This new year he was willing to take up a new job and become a better person. (Part of the reason was obviously because he had seen how profitable it could be if he were to join Jin. Just look at the renovation that Lynn could afford in a span of a few months!) "Then that settles it. After the new year holidays find me or Yun to talk about the detail. In case we are busy, Lynn might show you around." Jin said as he sealed the deal with a solid handshake. Chapter 962 Intra Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan LunChapter Mee Chapter 962 Intra Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Lunch Mee Zheng Hui was nice enough to offer them a ride to their next destination, but the group refused and just bid Lynn''s father goodbye. The trio walked into a secluded corner within the apartment flat. They checked around, and this area did not seem to have any CCTV cameras around, so the System opened a portal leading them into some quiet yet well-maintained garden park. "Master Jin." A voice could be heard from behind them, and there was some rustling of the leaves near the bushes. Jin assumed the person had to be one of the Farming World Humans that was under the employment of Pandafull Delivery. "Ah, no wonder the System knew where to teleport us without having to worry about anyone seeing it." Jin thought and thanked the delivery man for his efforts. He had expected him to get teleported away, or go do something else, but instead, he came forward. As they emerged from the corners and shadows of the Garden Park, all of them appeared to dress suitably well, making Jin question the reason behind their gathering here. "You think we are letting you go into such a place without reinforcements?" Yun asked as she saw the confusion in his eyes. "What? Why would I need an army of bodyguards to go meet Yang Ling and her father?" Jin questioned. He understood this to be a simple Chinese New Year visiting, perhaps accompanied with lunch. He had planned to go in, greet Yang Ling''s father and be gone within an hour if possible less. "You said Kraft told you the details?" Lynn wondered as she looked around the garden, and some of those humans were waving at her delightfully. "Yea, Kraft mentioned that Yang Ling came to visit, planning to ask me to visit her Dad. You showed her my unconscious body, and she begged you to come in my stead in case I was still out. Was that not the case?" Jin queried and started to notice that there were some humans he had not seen before. Still, they were all happy to see him once again, making him a little suspicious of this current arrangement to visit the Tiger. He originally planned to meet Grandma Yuan first but seeing how Yun had strongly insisted on going to the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan''s for a new year visit, he decided to follow suit. "You have heard the gist of it¡­ if we ignore the fact of something vitally important missing." Yun shook her head and took a card out from her handbag, showing it to Jin. "I should have known Kraft would have some fun with you, by sending you in uninformed. Honestly, it''s my own fault for allowing him to help when he even volunteered to do it while we accompanied Yang Ling. Why did I bother to trust him that much." "¡­ What is this? Intra Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Lunch Meet?" Jin read through it. Yang Ling had included a summary of what this whole event was about. According to the card, it was the time when various Tiger Clans met up to greet the Tiger Clan''s Head and wish him well for the upcoming year. Since Jin was treated as an Honorary Tiger Clan Member, he was obligated to attend as well. Failing to do so would make him lose his status. "So? Why do we need to bring so many people with us? Also, who exactly are these people? I don''t believe my memory is that bad, but I''m unable to recognise meeting any of them." Similar to the visor for the Pandarens, the System had recently created a pair of permanent contact lenses to automatically showcase names, stats and other information of the minions serving under Jin. (A perfect product so that Jin could recognise his work force with indirect System help.) "Haha, do you know why?" A familiar voice was heard from the side, and when Jin turned around, he finally saw someone who he was familiar with. "Ayse? What are you doing here?" With a snap from the Head Researcher, Jin''s contact lenses started to work, allowing him to see through that all the various ''new'' faces were actually his minions in cosmetic inscriptions. "Those excessive Peppers Mana which I turned to crystals had allowed us to experiment a lot. We finally found a way to use her magic and fuse it with the cosmetic inscriptions." Ayse started to flaunt her research team''s achievements, but Weslie came out from the side and knocked her head. (She was probably the only one that would dare to act this way towards Ayse.) "Do you think now is a good time to give a lecture? *cough* Sorry, Master. To put it simply, we''ve improved the cosmetic inscription so that it stays on for a period of time even when outside the System''s influence and it prevents people from using magic to sense or remove them from us." "You could call it a perfect way to show our strength while appearing human. Your world does not have Orcs or other Beastman, and we can imagine what would happen if we showed off our real form." Orc General Nubwort added. "I will tolerate this necessary evil to hide our identities and protect our master. Else, I would not even wear this disgraceful skin." Drex, the Dark Elves'' Leader complained. "On behalf of Lord Kraft, I wish to inform you that he is busy preparing us for the city raid mission you assigned him. That is why he told me to accompany you for this Meet instead of my usual fighters. But worry not, I am as capable as the others despite my old age. Lord Kraft saw to it." "I don''t know what your problem is with these cosmetic inscription charms. I finally get the chance to experience what it''s like to be tall." Dread Reaver said as he started to jump around. Wyrstriker and Flame Ripper were also by his side, and they were testing how high they could jump. "Okay, now I know what you are doing here. However, is it necessary for us to bring such a force?" "Of course," Lynn stated plainly as the rest all smirked. "The Intra Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Lunch Meet -urgh such a mouthful, anyway the part about paying respect to Hu Yuan Ba is just the official appearance. In reality, you should picture it more as a Battle Royale deciding who may keep their membership as an affiliated sect of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan and most importantly how much backing they get for the new year." Yun added. "The Tiger Lord is going to pay up to five million Yuan for whoever comes on top of that event. Just participating will net us a hundred thousand Yuan. The better we do in the fight among the clans, be it solo, duo, trio or team fights, the more we can earn. Yang Ling even provided some videos from the last few years. Most importantly, the Tiger Clan Head has a lot of expectations for you." "However, before we get to join the fun, he wants you to create a simple dungeon instance for the fight. Naturally, that yields us a quick buck too." Yun explained as she took out a black formal suit with a white shirt matching the rest of the group who was busy fixing their clothing which had a black and white theme in common. After all, they were the Pandas. Chapter 963 New Year, Lets move forward Chapter 963 New Year, Let¡°s move forward "And you agreed to all of this without asking me?" Jin changed in the middle of the garden with all his minions surrounding him in a circle. The minions, especially the female ones, could not help but take peeks at Jin''s body. They all saw the healed battle scars that he had gotten over the past few months. They were testimony to his actions of tirelessly saving and rescuing the various worlds despite his ''normal'' life as an ''ordinary'' dungeon supplier. Lynn was amongst those eyeing up his body. His physique caused her to skip a beat or two. "It seemed the cold did not bother him anyway." She thought to herself as she rubbed her hands when the winter winds blew through the garden. Meanwhile, Yun continued her lecture incessantly. "Our coffers might be full for the moment but knowing your horrendous spending habits, it will be a wonder if anything will be left at the end of next month," Yun complained. "That''s the whole point of money. If you don''t spend and invest in the business, we will be unable to gain better equipment or a better quality of life!" Jin justified his habits as he adjusted his belt and picked the black jacket up. "Stop using that as an excuse. It''s only true to a certain extent. Claire has advised us to branch out and find alternate sources of income as a quick fix for our leaking accounts. This is one of them." "Look, I am not complaining about it. In fact, I was going to praise you for making that choice. Otherwise, I would not be changing my clothes right in the middle of this desolate garden." Jin argued back. "I ¨C Hmm. I apologise then. I always thought you would be adverse to me making choices for you." Yun said. "Considering how your initiative has brought me down to my knees and eyes swell with tears more than once, I wonder why," Jin noted sarcastically but eventually changed his tune a little. "Look, I feel that things have been awkward between us for quite a while. I don''t think it will be possible to simply return to the way it was when I just started out and it was only just the two of us. But I would be happy to work towards such a relationship. I want to take this opportunity to make things right with you." "So, then what would you treat me as? A System''s assistant?" Yun questioned. "Probably? I mean to be fair, I treated the System quite cordially after we settled our differences. It''s the new year, let''s forget about our mistakes and move forward. That''s all I''m saying." Jin adjusted his coat and added one more sentence. "Just be yourself. Be that obsessive protective System Assistant that worries about me for not doing well in the eyes of the System." Jin clarified, and suddenly there was a bit of wooing from the minions even though most of them were facing outward. "Way to go Jin!" Lynn teased him for trying his best to mend the rocky relationship between him and Yun. But suddenly she felt a pull from her right ear, and as she turned her head, it was Yun that was doing the act. "And you know what you should do." The System Assistant lectured her as if she had already started to care for Jin in the capacity of the System. "Ooowwooo. Yes, Mdm." Lynn quickly nodded her head. "Are the two of you not changing?" Jin asked as he finally had his black and white formal suit combination that was the same with his minions. "Well, the lead girls have to look different so they will be staring at us, right?" Lynn chuckled as she held onto Yun. "More of a power play. One might think that Master Jin is capable of having these two independent powerful yet beautiful looking girls beside him but in actual fact, those who really know him, it''s actually showing that Master isn''t exactly the boss and instead it''s them." Ayse commented, and some of the minions couldn''t help but snicker. "Sad to say, I have to agree with Ayse on this. Even if you are our master, sometimes Lynn and Yun seem to hold more power than you." Weslie nodded her head as she held onto Gold''s arm. The rest of the minions giggled, and Jin was speechless. It was arguing the truth of the matter. "So, where are we actually?" He asked in an attempt to change the subject. "All of this is actually part of the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s property and we are at the distant edge of their district. We are actually early since we have asked to rendezvous with Yang Ling here. She says she will give us the official invitation personally to the meet." Lynn said. "Don''t worry. You will not be charged with public indecency. Despite our bodyguards circling you, we have also put up a barrier around the area so no one can come in. It''s a bit bothersome, but it also shows people not to trifle with you." Yun said as she snapped her finger and Ayse immediately pulled the barrier down. Suddenly, there were tons of annoyed people that glared in their direction. Jin''s minion immediately took up position and just stared back at them behind their sunglasses. "For once I would enjoy just going to a normal event," Jin mumbled and suddenly Lynn held on to his arm as if it was a given. Yun, on the other hand, stood a step behind them and started scanning around him as if she was his lead bodyguard. "What are you doing?!" Jin asked in a private System channel. "We talked about it with Yun. For this event, it would be best if I pretend to be your girlfriend. That way, you should not get bothered by Yang Ling or others." Lynn shared her thoughts through the system channel were firm and decisive. The only thing she ''forgot'' to mention was that it was in fact her idea. "I¡­ thank you. I am in your care." Jin nodded at her and straightened his posture before starting to observe his surroundings. He did not know why Yun and the others had decided to play and act as if they were a power group. The System usually preferred to not stand out, so this was way out of the norm, and he believed there was a reason for it. Chapter 964 Fashionably Late Chapter 964 Fashionably Late The garden they were in was within the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan''s mansion, and it was supposed to be a gathering place for the minor clans who had pledged their allegiance to the clan and wished to gain a chance to shine on this day. Unfortunately for them, what little hopes they might have had, it was bound to be crushed this year. During their breakfast together, Lynn and Yun had promised the Tiger Princess that they would arrive with Jin, and that they would be fashionable late. Yang Ling could only hope they kept their promise and thus reserved a place for them. However, she had underestimated Jin''s group as a bunch of his minions had immediately followed her entourage back to their house and erected a barrier in place, keeping any onlooker on the outside. Initially, there was a ruckus, especially from the older minor clans who demanded an explanation from Yang Ling. It was unclear whether it was coincidence or pure intent, but the barrier happened to be on the spot which had been reserved for the oldest of these minor clans. The Tiger Princess, while acting all friendly with Jin''s employees, turned her attitude 180 degrees when confronted with the Minor Clan Leaders complaining. Some had started to suspect that the barrier might have been erected for a surprise later down the line, but when it was time for the Clan''s Lunch Meet to begin, it did not change. All of them were curious about how the Tiger Lord would react to this. Hu Yuan Ba was known as a person who regarded punctuality in high regards. Would he really be so forgiving to a person that came late? If not, was the Tiger Head waiting so that he could give a lesson to whoever was behind the barrier? All the constant chatter became meaningless when the barrier was lifted, and they suddenly saw a group of people in formal suits protecting a young guy, who had to be the Clan Leader of them with a beautiful, cute lady by his side. "All this waiting and anticipation and its not some present or prize from Tiger Master Yuan Ba? Just a freaking kid with a bunch of his bodyguards?!" The Minor Clan Leaders started to hurl vulgarities towards Jin and his group of minions. "Welp, now I understand the need for a show of power. If not, I would have been swamped by these people." Jin thought to himself. Now was not the time to hide. He started to understand the current situation the Royal Zodiac Tigers might have put him in. (Or in this case, how the girls and the System had inadvertently put him in.) "Who the hell does this young punk think he is?! I, Buay Hao Pai, Leader of my Roaring Tigers Clan demand an explanation from the Main Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan organisation. We, the Roaring Tiger Clan, have served diligently and loyally for decades and that place has unilaterally been accepted as our spot. Every other minor clan knows of our existence and shows us the courtesy and respect to not assemble on our spot on the annual clan Meet!" "Oh my god, is this the advent of an arrogant cultivator dispute?" Jin wondered out loud in the System Channel. "You know, you are just really lucky you have been meeting nice folks. There are idiots like him almost everywhere." Lynn whispered her experience that she had been bullied quite a number of times back when she was selling her black pepper pork buns out in the streets. "And I suppose you gave in because you were powerless to do anything?" Jin questioned as he quietly looked at Lynn. Her look showed that she was annoyed by this kind of people that deserve a slap in the face. "Well, duh. And when I first met you, I thought you were one of those creepy cultivators too." Lynn commented and it felt like a dagger had been struck at the front of Jin''s chest. "I promised to be better than that." Jin apologised. "You already did. Now continue to act the part." Lynn whispered back. On the other hand, Buay Hao Pai noticed that silence from Jin''s group as he merely communicated with his ''girlfriend''. Being ignored by a spoiled brat made his blood boil even further. Despite the Royal Zodiac Tiger house servants requesting the Roaring Tiger to wait for the arrival of the main family for a proper answer, Buay Hao Pai decided to take things into his own hands. Even his clan members were roused by their leader''s wrath and started to make a mountain out of a molehill. ¡ª¡ª "Are you not going to show yourself and deal with the situation? It was actually very hard to convince him to come here today." Tiger Princess Yang Ling asked her father, who was staring at the whole commotion. "Take it as punishment for Jin who had arrived so late. It has been 18 minutes past the appointed time." Yuan Ba replied, and Yang Ling''s two elder brothers both snickered. "Why are you so afraid of your little panda boyfriend ¨C oh oops?! Looks like he already had a bitch with him! Should I rephrase it? You afraid your little panda crush cannot handle the pressure?" Yang Rong, the second brother, ridiculed his sister with an arrogant tone. Yang Ling kept her mouth quiet as she knew that her two brothers had no idea about Jin''s accomplishments. She also knew that her second brother''s loud mouth was second to none. Arguing with him would only stress her out even further. This thought, however, made her realise that her father must be putting a facade. He must not want to openly show any favouritism to the new kid in the block. Everyone in the family knew that one of Jin''s associates managed to save the Tiger Head''s life and in turn, Jin was given an honorary membership as thanks. But there were certain rules in the Tiger Clan and not being punctual for such an important event had to be punished. Still, while Yuan Ba continued to keep a strong nonchalant front, he was hoping that he did not piss off Jin too much. They had done little to gain his favour and even berated him by utilising their powers to force him to do things he did not want (according to the Police Chief who had informed him about what was expected of him), namely bringing out the portals for military use even though it was just that one time. The Tiger Head had treated him like just an above-average cultivator who happened to have excellent dimensional instance manipulation skills. If possible, he would have kicked his past self''s butt for failing to see Jin''s worth. How could he have possibly predicted that the young guy he tried to take advantage of, would become a national war hero in the eyes of the upper level of the society who were now vying to get him for their own purpose? And even now, they had discovered various Royal Zodiac Scouts from the different clans watching his garden from afar. If Yuan Ba did not act fast enough to secure Jin or at least gain some form of leverage, there might not be another chance. "Perhaps, I should intervene when the time is right." Yuan Ba planned since he strongly believed Jin''s group could easily overpower the Roaring Tigers. Chapter 965 Disrespecting the Roaring Tigers Chapter 965 Disrespecting the Roaring Tigers "Not a minute in and we are already going into a fight?" Jin shook his head in disbelief, and the Roaring Tiger Clan yelled back with even more ferocity mistaking Jin''s statement as an attempt to taunt them. "No use staying here. Let''s leave these savages since they seem to desperately want that participation gift. Just leave let them be." Jin ordered as he scanned around to check for an exit. "We shall protect you." Nubwort, who had been large as an Orc already, had an equally huge build with his cosmetic inscription on, he started to lead the group to the side. "Who says you are free to leave after disrespecting us?" One of the Roaring Tiger Clan veteran mates shouted in response to their cowardly behaviour. "Yeah! If you wish to leave peacefully, all of you kowtow to our master right now, and leave your beauty here if you want to leave without any bruises!" Another clan veteran shouted. One of them cleared his throat, which silenced the others. It was clear that he had enough clout to hold these tigers on the leash: "Why don''t we make a compromise? We let ten of our best fight against your master, and if he survives the onslaught, we will let you all go as if nothing happened?" "I do not have time for these stupid games. Everyone, let''s go, we have better things to do. Tell your master we said hi." Jin scoffed at the suggestion as he told Nubwort to continue ignoring them. And yet, since the prey could not be provoked, the Roaring Tigers cultivators immediately stood in their way. "Aren''t you lot too old to use such highschool level bully tactics?" Jin questioned rhetorically before he told the rest to go back to the spot they were at even though it was a dead-end with a long wall. Unsurprisingly, the Roaring Tigers Cultivators had already stood at the top of the wall blocking their advance. "Other minor clans! Look at this coward! Not only did he arrogantly take our place, but he also does not even apologise for his offence. And yet, he tried to run away! Should we punish them for their insolence?" Hao Pai asked theatrically, and Jin sighed once again. Just as he was about to request the System to create a smokescreen so everyone could be teleported and vanish from this ridiculous Clan Meet, he received a phone call from a blocked phone number. "The call stemmed from the Tiger Clan Head personal phone." The System notified him as it had traced down the origin in less than a few rings. Jin sighed and picked the phone up. "I know what you are capable of. While I dislike people being late, I did request for your presence, unlike that of this minor trash. Feel free to teach them a lesson they will never forget, and I shall immediately send you a thousand Yuan per head." Yuan Ba said from the other line. "You already cutting your losses? From what I heard, you organise some tournament for your annual Clan Meet. If I put all of them down, there will be no one to fight with. No fighters, means no tournament, saving yourself quite a bit of money. I''m not interested." "But it''s better than leaving empty-handed right?" "Then handle them yourselves. I see no reason to waste our strength for something I should have no connection to. If you think you can still put us under your thumb, think again. I have come here because Yang Ling personally came and asked to meet you. While I am not ashamed to admit that I''ve planned to stay for the money, it does not mean I cannot earn such a sum by myself. It will just take me a little longer than a day. That''s all. Since you are not interested to keep me here, giving me the stick and a shitty carrot as bait, I rather not play your game." Jin said not caring for things like the common courtesy of calling him Tiger Lord. He was about to end the phone call when the Tiger Clan Head stopped him. "Wait." "What?" "The current offer still stands. Let me extend it, however. If you eliminate each and every one of them, I will pay you one million Yuan extra on top of the current Meet rewards ." "¡­ fine, but those clans'' resurrection costs won''t be cheap." Jin hesitated to agree. "That is their own matter to resolve. They brought only their strongest members to the Clan Meet. They must have prepared to resurrect already. Otherwise, they would lose their standings in this Royal Zodiac Family or risk getting kicked out." "In short, you want to pay me and my guys as a cleaner and remove them so that you are able to get rid of undesirables that had been leeching of you?" "Take what you will. For a cleaning job, I feel that the compensation is more than adequate." Yuan Ba told him as he heard a knock at the door and cut short the conversation. "Dad, are you seriously not going to intervene in this current misunderstanding?" Yang Ling shouted so loud that Jin was able to hear through the phone. "Don''t worry about it. It will resolve by itself. Let me settle some work in the meantime." Yuan Ba replied without blocking the speaker, surely wanting for Jin to hear his daughter''s worry for him. "So no cops or other nasty surprises who might stop us?" Jin continued his conversation, but all he heard was a smirk, and the other end dropped the call. "Well, I assume that''s the case. So, it''s a free for all." Jin announced as he turned off his phone and gave his minions a quick summary over the System channel. "1,000 Yuan per head will be tallied up and will be converted into System points with each one of you gaining their fair share." "Damn. Then I should have brought more people here." Ayse cursed as her electrical senses were tingling with excitement. "I can not believe I''m part of this entourage," Moloch complained as he finally revealed himself from the bag and his man puppet placed him on its head. (he did look like a walking plushie) "And here I thought this would be just a simple guard mission." Sandy yawned as she stepped forward. "Just when I thought I can enjoy a day of peace in your world." Derek, who rarely goes out, actually came out to see to if this world''s Chinese New Year was the same as his. (He was naive to think as such.) "At the very least, you can move those bones of yours a little." Dread Reaver said as he summoned a sword out while his two other goblin brothers were doing small talk. "Oh ho, brother. You think they would prove much of a challenge? I am betting the Pandawans could actually beat these elites." Wyrstriker said. "The only way to know is to hold back. But I do not feel like holding back when System points are at stake. You know, I am eyeing for that massage chair. Maybe I should get it for my dad." Flame Ripper said. "More System points! Ke Mi enjoys this very much. I can hear my heart beating!" A small girl revealed while sitting on the shoulder of a rather stout large build man with sunglasses. (She too has her set of sunglasses and adjusted with some coolness.) His skin was undoubtedly hard and dry like bark despite the cosmetic inscription. "Oh, I am so pumped up that I can finally use this control form on my minor treant. I wonder how much I can fight with it." Shu shared his thoughts through the tree puppet he was using. With a myriad of cosmetic builds the minions took upon, their magical and strength aura still burst out without holding back and it shocked the Roaring Tigers. Jin slowly turned his head towards the leader of the Roaring Tigers, and with a slight impersonation of Kraft, his face darkened and turned dead serious. There was no bloodlust, but the intent of murder was malicious enough to make Hao Pai take a step back involuntarily. "You claim I''ve disrespected you? I''ve given you face more than once by letting you walk away. You can only blame yourself for pissing off the wrong person." Jin declared as he raised his chin up. "Go." Chapter 966 Disrespecting the Panda Clan Chapter 966 Disrespecting the Panda Clan The Roaring Tigers believed they would have the upper hand. Their veterans were nothing to trifle within their world, and they had experienced a few major scuffles and inter-clan fights. Some even went through military training and had been deployed for overseas operations. Even the newer ''elites'' who came to have a feel of the Clan Meet had been training hard over the years just for this day. Their internal clan criteria were strict enough since winning the prize money from the Tiger Clan was one of the main attraction for coming to the Meet. And now this new minor clan which supposedly came to pay ''respect'' to the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan had defiled the sanctity of their order and therefore rightfully deserved to be taught more than just a lesson! For goodness'' sake, who brings little kids and teenagers to a Clan Meet? Does that group really think this was some Chinese New Year Visit? And worse of all, they were dressed as part of the bodyguards. However, Hao Pai, who had years of experience, knew better than to underestimate his enemies. He already sent a chi transmission to his clan members to disable the teenagers first. If Hao Pai was not wrong, they must be employed as mages, and if they were given a job at this early age, it could only mean they were nothing to scoff at. Some of the veterans within their own telepathic chat thought the young master was despicable for using teenagers as part of his entourage of bodyguards and decided to teach him a lesson he would not forget. If the kids happened to die in battle, that was their fault, and they would have no one to blame but their young master. (While they could be resurrected, the younger ones generally developed post traumatic stress disorders as opposed to adults. That was the harsh reality of life that any veteran needed to accept when accepting to go on a combat operation as it always had the risk of dirtying their hands doing so. As for the newer elites, they were tasked to fight with the strongest looking guards and teach them that muscle was not everything. A balance in the manipulation of chi and body strength was most important. And what if the bodyguards were exceptional? Hao Pai did not rouse a speech at the start for nothing. When he saw the new competing clan that came into the Clan Meet, he had already started coordinating with the other minor Tiger Clans to work with him behind the scenes. All of them knew what was at stake in the Clan Meet and it was better to send those new clans packing home and fight among themselves. Thus, those minor clans would do their best to eliminate the new upcoming clan and kick them out of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan''s care as soon as possible, preventing them from getting any favour from the Tiger Head. Such collaboration had been ongoing for decades, which was why there was no new blood in the Tiger Clan for a long time. Hu Yuan Ba also knew about the situation and the stagnant situation also meant that the Tiger Clan did not have any growth potential for a long time. However, his was not the only clan which suffered from this kind of problem. The Old Guard didn''t wish to be replaced after all in many other Royal Zodiac Clans. The only exception was the Dragon Clan who faithfully based their achievements on meritocracy. This was because they were the guardians of the country, and they only needed the best. Yuan Ba''s intention had always been multifold, and the inclusion of Jin into this clan Meet was no exception. He might look decent natured, but one always keeps their claws sharpened to threaten, and their fangs were hidden to the enemy. That was why he easily predicted that the minor clans would once again collude against this new enemy and only watched on, despite Yang Ling''s pleas. The Tiger Princess herself understood her father''s ill intentions and where he was coming from, so she just followed the flow. She was not as innocent as Jin assumed her to be and it was a good decision for him to keep her an arm''s length away from these royal ''nobles'' despite the System desire to recruit them. It believed that with the inclusion of these Royal Zodiacs into the fray, the System could not only get confidential information not privy in databases but also subsequently influence them to help make the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan a reality. Unlike Kong Rong who had openly revealed most of his intentions to the point that he had made a vow to not harm Jin, the Dungeon Supplier would not necessarily agree with the System''s way of doing things. However, he was willing to give it a try since it was better than its original agenda to defeat the clans with raw power. (Well, at least part of its wish was getting fulfilled right now.) Going back to Hao Pai, he had already informed the other minor clan leaders to rush in when they started to engage with the arrogant young master. Some even laughed and already started to think of ways to punish the young master. After all, being a police-related clan, they had access to all kinds of torturing equipment. However, the reality was often disappointing. Once Jin''s bodyguards were finally given the go-ahead, the initial outburst of aura they had suppressed beforehand almost crippled everyone on site. It was indiscriminate, and the veterans of the Roaring Tiger immediately changed the assessment of Jin''s bodyguards. "The killing intent¡­this kind of stifling aura. There is no way these people are normal bodyguards. They have been to battle dozens of times." One of the Veterans gasped while trying to breathe properly. "No¡­ they were not just battle-hardened. This kind of killing intent could only be sensed in battle-hungry monsters who only want nothing but victory!" Another veteran added as fear started to creep up to his throat. These bodyguards were here to protect, and they would not hesitate to kill and slaughter to achieve their goal. The Roaring Tigers had only been thinking of teaching a lesson, but they were about to get taught life''s final lesson. Hao Pai recognised at that moment he had made a fatal mistake angering them. That young master was not kidding when he claimed he was giving them face. Being able to turn their killing intent on like a switch, they could not be some battle-hungry monsters. They were professionals. Veteran professionals who had been at the boundary of life and death countless times, making it seem like a stroll in the park. It would still be manageable if it had only been one on one or two of these bodyguards, but no. Every single one of them had the very same killing intent. Even the young master who had seemed ignorant and lazy a moment ago had the very same aura. Hao Pai could clearly feel it. It was not as obvious initially because of the shock, but he could immediately sense there was something different about their master. His aura was not as malicious, and his killing intent was not very apparent, but Hao Pai could feel that he had complete control over these bodyguards as if they all dedicated their lives to him and only him. Despite their young age, the teenage bodyguards were the same too, all had the very same blind trust to their current master they were willing to fight to the death for him. But while he was so engrossed with this new clan, he did not notice that these overflowing auras had already crippled their younger elite cultivators who had no experienced war or war-like battles. Some of them were choking, only to get saved at the edge of their final breath. Others had the fear taken over their whole body that they urinated or defecated themselves. The Roaring Tiger Clan who was next to Jin''s group, suffered the most mental damage but the clans within the garden who could feel the aura especially the veterans already took their arms up in an attempt to protect themselves rather than aiming to fight and win. Even the Royal Zodiac Tiger Family could feel a tinge of the aura from their mansion which made the two Tiger Brothers shut up and finally interested in the current affair. And as if the intimidating aura was not enough to prove it, that single command word from Jin frightened everyone in the garden. Chapter 967 Bodyguards Chapter 967 Bodyguards The only mercy Jin''s minions would show the likes of these people who had collaborated to insult their master was the mercy of death. Their master had always been a shining beacon for a better future, a second chance for some of the monsters even though most had been initially forced to swear fealty. Nubwort, who was at the very front, was the first to have the pleasure of beating the shit out of these pissy pants cultivators. He took a standard grade six spear out instead of his personal one and stabbed the very first Roaring Tiger in sight. The spear went through his throat smoothly like a pen penetrating a lump of playdough. Blood immediately clogged in the Roaring Tiger Cultivator''s lungs and started to flow out of the hole created from the spear. All the cultivator could do was to desperately move his hands towards the spear. As if that was not enough for a show of power, Nubwort raised the spear with one arm in an angle and shoved his spear deeper, piercing through another cultivator''s heart before the weapon tip hit the ground. And that was just the opening scene. Behind him, the ''goblin teenagers'' came out and using standard grade weapons they began their assault against the defenceless cultivators. The daggers ripped through the tendons of Flame Ripper''s opponents while Dread Reaver chopped some of their heads off when they were responding to the hurt from his brother. Wyrstriker accompanied Nubwort and followed up with his attack as he jumped over the Orc General''s shoulders and stabbed two cultivators with his dual-wielding spears. As he witnessed the onslaught of deaths, Hao Pai snapped out of his fear and started to command his clan members to move forth as one and try to save the injured ones. Alas, that second command was too tall an order for most veterans to follow. Heads were chopped off, bodies filled with holes and those cultivators who had their tendons ripped out would be rendered useless their entire lives, making death a more desirable option. That way, if they got resurrected, they would at least leave with their body intact. Still, Jin and his minions pressed on with their attacks. Hu Yuan Ba did not want to dirty his own hands, and the compensation was more than sufficient for Jin''s reputation to get smeared. Of course, a bit of revenge was an added bonus, especially when he couldn''t stand this sort of people in their world. Whatever the consequences might be, Jin was sure he had enough powerful contacts to make certain things go away if necessary. He did not stop his minions and allowed them to act freely as long as the damage was contained within the garden. (Jin had a weird hunch that Yuan Ba might be petty enough to ask Jin to pay for damages outside the garden or maybe twist his words in their verbal agreements.) In the meantime, Ayse released her lightning magic on the cultivators that were standing on the walls. Some of them managed to evade the first strike, but they did not suspect it would be a tracking magic attack where the bolt of lightning would continuously move to strike the cultivators last position until they were out of Ayse''s range of attack. But for those who did not evade, they were hit with a bolt of lightning so strong, it vaporises their skins instantly. To be able to stand after that was considered a miracle. On the other hand, Sandy and Shu started to tag team and used the ground and plant elements within the garden to slow and impede the other Minor Clans as they attempted to rush in for an all-out attack. Vines and quicksand pit magic were used in conjunction, causing them to suffer the next barrage of attack from Weslie who had brought a steam tech gun out. (The tech gun, however, had been made to look like a normal assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment. Only with a closer inspection, one could see steam coming out of the chambers whenever Weslie fires them.) The vines wrapped around the cultivators'' legs and dragged them towards the quicksand where it would sink their enemies in. It was then, the vines would do its job by strangling the cultivators while preventing them from climbing out. Along with Gold, her grenade shot was energised with magic and eventually the shot was dispersed into various mini bolts when it reached an optimal height out in the open, hitting the various clan members stuck in Shu and Sandy''s offensive support combination. She had dubbed their combination attack "Mini Meteor Shower" (If this was a mini shower of grenades shots, Gold could not fathom the ''normal'' shower or even bigger ones. One thing was for sure, he was happy she didn''t name the attack a Golden Shower.) With those four dealing with the weaklings, Drex had begun fighting with the supposed clan leaders. It was easy to tell them apart since their arms had bands showing their individual clan affiliation as an easy identification within the Clan Meet. Being the Dark Elf leader, he had been specially picked by Kraft to do training more intense than the other younger elves. When Drex begged for mercy because of his age, Kraft made him worked even harder to the point the old fox had to resort to memory wipes in order to keep him sane. Yet, these memory wipes were short term wipes. Eventually, Drex still could remember the training and suffering he went through. Thus, killing these leaders were not an issue, but rather keeping the impression intact of a bodyguard and restraining himself to not be stronger than Jin. (The Dungeon Supplier did not know the measure of his strength and already thought that Drex was amazing enough.) Drex thought these clan leaders would offer some sort of resistance, but it looked like he had underestimated their capabilities. With a single glance, he was able to tell that all of them were beneath Jin''s Cultivation Grade, only strengthening his resolve to remove them from the battlefield instead of burdening Jin to battle and waste his time. His quick punches without the need to wield a weapon scared most of the onlooking clan veterans, and they started to avoid him like the plague whenever possible as death was inevitable for whoever faced him. Ke Mi was not idle either. Her zither music was a welcomed addition to the group''s morale. A short, powerful high strung instrumental offered the group a strength buff that allowed them to handle more hits than previously. (In short, a boost in their constitution) Jin felt that it was not just an increase in the toughness of his minions but that the music also had a slight regenerative effect on one''s health and stamina. As a person who still had to cope with a slight headache from a hangover, it was indeed a soothing music piece. It didn''t take long for people to notice that Ke Mi was boosting the strength of her guards and they mistook her for the real culprit of their overall might. Thus, she was constantly targeted until an unlikely ally came to help. "Frost Echo? Why are you here?" Jin asked as he saw the Orc King, who was under the influence of his cosmetic inscription. "What do you mean why I am here?! To freaking protect you! Shiva kept complaining about Ifrit and Slydra''s teasing her about their avatars having fun killing wimps. She ordered me to be here as well!" Frost Echo explained as he erected a thin transparent barrier of ice around Ke Mi while ensuring she does not freeze from his ice. The cultivators who tried to attack Ke Mi was immediately frozen within the vicinity. "He probably felt left out. You remember how he could not come on the steamboat on time because of his Royal court work? Probably he needed something to vent upon." Moloch shared his theory via the System Channel while his puppet skillfully evaded slashes and strikes and used his cards to cast reflect magic to avoid the barrage of chi techniques. The attacks bounced back and struck the cultivators themselves. The stronger the reflected skill, the more deadly the retaliatory attack was. He was unable to use this type of magic against high-level opponents yet, but against these groups of mid-low-grade cultivators? It was basically child''s play. And while Jin''s side was having fun fighting against such weak opponents even with some restraints on their side, there was one who remained ¡­or at least tried to stay stoic. "I, Buay Hao Pai, challenge you to a single duel!" He shouted in the midst of this messy fight, and his pointing finger point did not deviate. It was for Jin to decide whether he wanted to enter the fray or not. Even Drex left the challenger alone. In fact, they all wanted to see if their master would reveal his new tricks instead of keeping them in the dark. Chapter 968 No More Pushovers Chapter 968 No More Pushovers "What kind of powers do these people have?!" Hao Pai wondered as he stared down at Jin. His pride and honour was at stake and to make things worse, he saw a glimpse of the Clan Head Hu Yuan Ba just standing there at the mansion''s balcony. It was apparent that Yuan Ba had noticed the transgression of that young master, yet he was apparently not going to do a single thing about it. In fact, it almost felt as if he was encouraging this massacre. That was when he suddenly had a terrible thought. ''What if Yuan Ba was the one who had initiated this fight?!'' It wasn''t hard to come up with a reason for such a course of action. Deep down, Hao Pai knew what he had been doing and so far Yuan Ba had closed his eyes when they had ganged up on newcomers. Perhaps that was the reason why he refused to act now as well. There was no reason for the Tiger Lord to defend the Roaring Tigers if they could all be beaten down by this new challenger. It would be especially dishonourable since this particular challenger was daring and ruthless enough to take on the entirety of the Minor Tiger Clans. Initially, Hao Pai had believed that their numbers would be sufficient to defeat Jin''s group. It was just that the challenger clan had the element of surprise by their side. That was why the Roaring Tiger Leader continued to coordinate the fight even though his attention was fixated at the master. But the more he multi-tasked while keeping a watchful eye on Jin, the more he felt that the young master himself was less of a threat compared to his bodyguards despite the initial assessment of his chi aura. Various cultivators had attempted to murder him, but the one defending him was the beautiful lady in the red dress. Her sword skills were swift and precise that many who tried to evade and still got hit with a fatal wound. ¡ª¡ª- "He seems to think that you are an easy target." Yun teased as she could see the change in expression and the false confidence in his face. "Do I have anything to fear from him, when he has to go through the Ultimate Bodyguard first?" Jin replied in a joking manner. He ignored the challenge for now and continued to observe the fights of his minions. It was surprised how certain monsters were able to fight together without much coordination involved. "There is still me, you know!" Lynn chimed in as she was assigned guard duty for Jin as well. For Lynn, all she needs to do would be just picking her cellphone to summon an army of peggies. One order from the Penguin Queen and those Ninja Penguins would obliterate her enemies, assuming things turn for the worst. However, she too had been holding on to her chi at the ready to fire off any ninjutsu spells at the sign of danger coming towards her, but Jin kept emphasising for her not to worry too much. "Sometimes, being stoic is the best way to hold the enemies at bay. They do not know what you are planning, and they might overthink about it." Jin insisted as he continued to remain calm despite multiple attempts at his life, which were all being foiled by Yun on her own. "At the very least, this is a decent workout compared to sitting in the store all day. You have my thanks, Jin." Yun said as she flipped her hair to one side. "You are taking way too easy. Don''t you think they have any tricks under their sleeves?" Lynn questioned since she knew Jin was always the cautious one. "Why? I have everyone on deck today. Besides, we have been through way worse, so this is basically just a show of power. This time I have to concur with the System, if I remain meek with my powers, people will just try to push us over. I''ll have to thank the Tiger Lord, this is the perfect venue for us to establish how powerful we are!" Jin declared with confidence and somehow it was overheard by most of his minions. "Master you give us too much credit." Nubwort shared in the System Channel as he used his bare hands to crush a cultivator''s skull. It was not an easy feat considering that the elite cultivator was struggling, and the Orc was surrounded by more enemies. Fortunately, he had the backing of Wyrstriker who kept them occupied while Nubwort enjoyed the luxury of painfully killing his enemy. He was one of the few cultivators who had bad mouthed their master when they were taunting him. That was why Nubwort had marked this elite and was going the extra mile to give this guy a lecture to make sure that he would never sprout any nonsense like that ever again. "Besides, we need some workout after all that steamboat buffet we had last night." Drex chuckled as he killed another Minor Clan Leader, inciting more fear among the masses. Hao Pai did his best to keep them together, but the dwindling morale made it hard for him to sustain his efforts. The more he observed, the more he realised that Jin''s bodyguards were intentionally ignoring him, not even attempting to come near him. In an attempt to raise morale he went in personally and crossed swords with Dread Reaver, and yet the Knight of Lady Death merely pushed him away by tripping him and kicking him to the side, allowing his subordinates to aid and rescue him. Not long after, there was mass desertion from all the Minor Clan members after a series of bloodbath and the assassinations of their leaders. They could see that staying to fight spelt doom. Therefore retreating, while dishonourable, would at least have a chance of them staying alive, leaving Hao Pai and his remaining Roaring Tiger cultivators in the fray. Any of the Roaring Tigers who tried to do the same were actually the first to be gunned down by the young master''s mages. Some were even pulled back to the garden by Sandy and Shu with their sand and plant magicks. They were then rounded up and thrown towards Hao Pai. "To run away in the midst of a crowd despite taunting us, isn''t that a little discourteous?" Jin shouted from afar. In reality, his minions were not letting those deserters run off that easily. While Jin was okay with not getting all the money, his top researcher begged to differ. There were many research topics that Ayse wanted to pursue, and there was no such thing as ''too much money'' for a researcher. She wanted to know if she could use Lost Tech Engines to power Engineer Rei''s Mechas designs and that would require a significant amount of investment into raw materials and other resources. So with the help of the other Avatar of Shaitans, they had already laid a plan to trap the cultivators who decided to ditch the fight and run beyond the gardens. This was to ensure that nobody would get out of the Tiger''s territory. (For some reason, Flame Ripper had done his homework while waiting for Jin to come by checking out the surroundings. Perhaps he knew something like this was going to happen? Or was it just his habit?) "I think this is a good idea to use on the Demon Rats too." Ayse concluded as she hovered above the garden walls and watched her plan unfold. Chapter 969 Shameless Kneeling Chapter 969 Shameless Kneeling As the remaining Minor Tiger Clan cultivators tried to run, giant ice shards began to appear from the bottom of the ground and magically from the top. Some of them tried to bash through them, hoping the ice shards would break upon impact. But instead, they felt a freezing sensation on contact, only to realise that the ice spread on their arms as if it was eating them up. It was not a slow process either. The ice was like oil catching on fire, spreading and taking over the bodies who had made contact with the shards. At the same time, it also slowly drains the chi out of the cultivators immobilising them in place¡­for the next set of attacks. And without a doubt, they were Ayse''s lightning bolts coming straight from the skies even though the weather was dry and shiny. The booming blasts scared the running cultivators even more as they tried to cower from them, but it was useless. Most cultivators were instantly fried from the attack since it was a direct hit and only a few veterans managed to withstand it. Lightning Magic was somewhat a tier of superior magic in Jin''s world because of its speed and not many cultivators even these elites had seen enough to evade or have tricks to defend against it. However, these cultivators should have died at the spot instead of struggling. Flame Ripper was next in line as he conjured multiple fire dagger projectiles and with the System''s assistance, it targeted each and every cultivator that was still breathing after surviving the lightning attacks. As the flaming daggers flew, they slowly turned into a massive fireball which incinerated them upon impact. The only thing left was their frozen parts of their body which subtly indicated that the flames were not strong enough to melt the ice. (But at a closer look, there was some evaporation from the ice, and that itself was enough to allow Ifrit to have a little smirk, knowing his powers were not as inferior as Shiva thought it would be. Some sibling rivalry.) With the distant screams, the Roaring Tigers knew that this massacre would not be done until all of them were killed. The rest of the cultivators already had their knees shaking ¨C in fact, they were already on their knees with all hopes gone. However, Hao Pai did not go down to his knees hopelessly. Instead, he faced the mansion and placed his head down to the Tiger Clan''s Family. "Please Big Boss Yuan Ba save us from this predicament! Boss Yang Rong! Boss Yang Hui!" Hao Pai shamelessly kept prostrating and banging his head on the ground. He does not want to die despite all the boasting he did previously. "I will pay! I will pay for your services! Boss Yang Hui!! Boss Yang Rong!! Please lend me your strength!!" He shouted desperately when he could hear his subordinates got killed in cold blood without much resistance. "Hah! My fees won''t be cheap!" Yang Rong said as he landed right beside Hao Pai and pushed a few of the Farming World Humans who had accompanied the big names minions to this fight. (After all, they needed some experience in fighting to join their world''s war in the future.) "You have to pay twice the standard fees for this impromptu contract." Yang Hui followed suit as he tried to kick Drex from coming near Hao Pai. The Dark Elf Leader had already predicted where Yang Hui would land and thought he could quickly annihilate one of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Brothers before they joined forces, but it seemed Yang Hui had the upper hand in terms of power. (Drex could have increased his strength at that time but he suddenly heard a sly whisper to withdraw while keeping the act up and leave the rest to Jin.) The impact itself was explosive enough that it caused wind, dust and even some of the nearby corpses to fly away. "Heh. For an older looking body guard like you to still have the strength to withstand me, you are no ordinary assassin." Yang Hui said as he saw his legs were blocked with Drex''s palms. "You over compliment this old man. I am just trying my best to serve my master." Drex said as he moved his body inward without lifting his legs. Yang Hui instantly did a roundhouse kick in order to turn his body and avoid the incoming attack that Drex was doing. He then released an advanced technique of the Royal Tiger Cultivation, Tiger Quartet Blast, sending four massive silhouettes of Tiger Heads in fiery orange chi towards Drex as he backed away. Yang Hui later smirked knowing that even a master in martial arts would have no chance winning this if their chi and body were not strong enough to handle the attack. Unfortunately, the Tiger Head Silhouettes continued to move forth to the distance and dissipate when it hit upon one of the Garden''s wall, breaking them into pieces. That was when Yang Hui returned towards his 2nd brother''s side and noticed that the old man was still well and alive. And all he did was to adjust his coat because a loose string was burnt from the attack. "Ahh, I have to tell Zhi Nu to weave a little tighter for my coat. I guess she did not expect me to move this much." Drex said to himself as he slowly walked back to behind Jin, seeing that he had to comply to that whisper no matter what. "I guess I have to triple my standard fees, Mr Hao Pai." Yang Rong noticed the fight his elder brother was in and could already judge the standard this particular group of black suits were on. They initially thought that the group was easy picking like Hao Pai did but seeing how they massacre almost everyone with ease, they felt it was the minor clans just being a too weak a group. But now with his underling able to dodge Yang Hui''s advanced grade technique showed that they are more than just trained professional bodyguards. Unlike the clan veterans who been through war and military jobs, these two tiger brothers lived a life of training and fixed match brawls. They could not measure or feel the fear these veterans did, and that was their downfall. Surely, the minor clan veterans wanted the Royal Tiger brothers to win these, but to some extent, they could not help but to root the black suits too. After all, they basically extorted them in the face of immense danger their leader was facing, and it was downright despicable. "Father!" Yang Ling shouted at Yuan Ba to do something to the current situation or else, her brothers might be killed. She knew the cycle of hate this family had accumulated and even though she disliked her brothers, having Jin being hated by them could only cause more chaos and obstacles to build an amicable relationship with the dungeon supplier which everyone was dying to get their hands on. "They always wanted to prove themselves. So why not let them?" Yuan Ba said as he spread his hands over the railings and now watched whether Jin was going to make a move. For he knew how his sons would demand a 1 to 1 duel against the Panda master himself¡­ that is if they are honourable enough. Chapter 970 The Tiger Brothers Chapter 970 The Tiger Brothers "Stop hiding behind your guards and fight me! One on one and I shall forgive your transgressions to this massacre." Yang Rong came forward. The young master of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan was ready to see for himself how great this Jin actually was¡­ unfortunately the other party was unwilling. "No thanks. I don''t wish to waste my strength." Jin even crossed his arms to stress that he refused to take any such offers. He sure as hell would not allow himself to be bullied into a stupid fight when he was surrounded by his allies. After all, not every general had to necessarily command from the front. "Fine, then you leave me no choice but to call the police on you! This area has camera surveillance, so there will be no problem to arrest you on charges of manslaughter¡­ and trust me, you won''t like it under the police custody, especially when you get me as your torturer." Yang Rong threatened the dungeon supplier, hoping that would get him to change his mind. "You honestly believe I''m scared of the police?" Jin sneered back. There were far too many possibilities Jin had at his disposal to make sure he would not stay long in custody. Not counting brute force methods like getting Kraft or the System involved, Jin could easily call in a favour from Xiong Da or Grandma Yuan. (Although that will entail some scoldings) Getting Kong Rong involved would also guarantee that he would be bailed in within five minutes. Even if there was a magical barrier over them, it was possible for his minions to get him out. And worst come to worst, Jin now understood that a bargain with the spirits of the land could give the System full authority of the place, making the escape out of police custody a stroll in the park. With the two of them bickering the entire garden appeared to have frozen in time. The remnant cultivators continued to stay on their knees happy for each passing second while Jin''s minion still hoped to see their big boss in action. Even the elder brother who had previously been brandishing his skills took a step back and observed the situation between his younger brother and the guy his younger sister had a crush on. "The younger brother seems to be the impulsive type, whereas the elder one seems to be more on the thinking side¡­ Argh, I knew I should have made up an excuse and just gotten to Grandma Yuan instead." Jin thought to himself and massaged his temples. "Big words for an HONORARY member of OUR Tiger Clan. The atrocity you''ve committed is reason enough to revoke your membership today." Yang Rong stated his new threat. "I might feel more threatened if those words came from your dad. From you? Not so much!" Jin said though he could not care less for the honourary membership. They could revoke it for all he cared. "He still owes me. I could easily call in those favours, and he would have no choice but to do it. He already repaid his debt by making you an honorary tiger member. It would be your own fault for losing that status!" Yang Rong argued. "Really? I didn''t feel that anything changed ever since I got that title."Jin shrugged his shoulders. "Unless you want to count that dumb badge and those extra responsibilities I never asked for. Feels rather empty for a repayment. Then again, perhaps that is how much he valued his life. Rather useless." From the corner of his eye, he could see Yuan Ba with a strained smile. The expression he harboured made it clear that saying anything else would cross his bottom line. Unfortunately, Jin had merely stated the ugly truth. The dungeon supplier had found out about his worth from Kong Rong and with the heir to the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan as his backing, he did not see any reason to pretend to be at the mercy of these tigers. They might be a major Royal Zodiac Clan, yet as long as they wanted to control him from behind the scenes, Jin would not tolerate it. All he wanted to do was to create dungeons and supply them to his customers. (getting rich in the process wouldn''t hurt.) With experience, power and knowledge on his side, nothing was stopping Jin to reciprocate the way they had treated him. Sure it might mean he would lose certain privileges like the protection from the Tiger Triad members and such, but now that his minions had access to this improved cosmetic inscriptions this issue could be easily fixed. Albeit not as massive as the network from a Royal Zodiac Clan, his manpower rivalled that of a large clan, and in terms of firepower, his faction was like a nation with access to nuclear weapons. (Even the Royal Zodiac would not have this kind of firepower accessed to them!) Today he would use this event to display his stance to all powers interested in him. ''I can be your friend, but if you try to mess with me, then I won''t give you any face.'' "Look, to be honest, I have no qualms with your clan members." Jin made a genuine attempt to de-escalate the situation somewhat. "However, surely you''ve seen that they were rather rude from the moment I''ve shown myself. It was clear to see that they were not going to listen to a word I said. Do you want to tell me I was not courteous by trying times to avoid a direct confrontation, only for them to block my way and ridicule my companions and me?" "Still, YOU were the first one who raised the sword against the Minor Clans. You''ve obviously proven your superiority to our members!" Hao Pei chimed in now. "You even had traps in place to prevent our people from getting away. Do you not think that to be overkill? " "You are not wrong," Jin admitted freely. "Yet for some reason, I doubt any of you would have granted us such a treatment if my side had not been stronger." Hao Pei was left speechless since arguing otherwise would just be lying. "Then let''s put it this way. I, Hu Yang Hui, hereby issue a Royal Zodiac Clan Duel Challenge towards you, Xie Jin." His elder brother finally stepped forward while taking out a wooden tiger statue piece and threw it right on the floor. "I''m sorry, I don''t know the rules for such a duel and thus will no-." Jin spoke, but before he could fully refuse, the System interrupted him in a rather jumpy manner. "User NEEDS to accept the duel! System will be behind you all the way for this match." And that sentence alone made Jin assume that there were things at stake that would fully benefit the System. And he was absolutely right. Yang Rong saw what his brother did and started laughing. "My god, Big Brother. For you to do this out openly. I shall invoke my right to participate in this challenge. If you accept the challenge from both of us together, we will double the stakes. Give us all you got! Use whatever weapons you have! However, only you can participate!" Yang Rong shouted as he threw his own wooden tiger statue piece out on the floor too. In the meantime, Yuan Ba held on the railings even harder and mumbled with an evil grin. "Stupid kids. I swear you will be the death of me." Chapter 971 Royal Zodiac Clan Duel Challenge. Chapter 971 Royal Zodiac Clan Duel Challenge. Royal Zodiac Clan Duel Challenge. A name dull enough that it was easily forgotten. Yet, the simplicity in its name was also a testimony to the straightforwardness of the challenge. A ceremonial duel without any tricks or facades and its sole purpose were to facilitate one condition. Granting the winner the territory of the loser. The rules were just as simple as the name implied. The challenger would throw in their animal statue chess piece as a sign of declaration, and the targeted party would have to accept unless they had the backing of another Royal Zodiac Clan willing to block the declaration. As one of the first ground rules set by the Jade Emperor following the betrayal of the Panda Clan, it was a privilege reserved for direct family members of the Royal Zodiac Clans serving as a sort of legal justification to seize the property of others by betting their own. With the mass disappearance of the Panda Elders, the Panda Conglomerate had been absorbed bit by bit on a day to day basis. It would not be wrong to claim that the Royal Zodiac Clans influence of today was all based on seizing the Panda Clan''s solid foundation. Thus, the System had a vested interest in righting this wrong, by taking things back now that such an opportunity had presented itself. The Tiger Brothers each had a wooden version of the official Royal Zodiac Statue Piece, which displayed them holding partial territories or industries belonging to the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan. These official duel pieces had been sanctified in the exact manner that the Jade Emperor had ordained, so the challenge was considered as a type of Heaven''s Will. It took many centuries for the Royal Zodiac Clans to come together once more and sign a treaty agreeing that it was more ''honourable'' to negotiate over these regions rather than continue with the ''barbaric'' ways of fighting like in the olden days. (They basically were sick of the disorganised mess of acquiring one territory only to lose it the very next week) Once a challenge was issued, any outside interference was forbidden. Only the challenged party was allowed to change the terms of the duel. Without the backing of a Royal Zodiac Clan, surrender and immediately accept the loss of the duel or fight back and keep their property intact. But those with a Royal Zodiac Clan backing, they not only have the ability to fight back but win the challenger''s territory too. In fact, Yang Rong''s action of throwing in his wooden piece was merely an act. As long as Jin refused the younger brother''s wish to participate, the fight would become one on one. (Something the younger brother assumed Jin was unaware of) One might want to pity this poor tiger''s father¡­ since he had tried to clean his minor clans and now his children were fighting this dungeon supplier whose powers seem to be a mystery despite constant surveillance¡­ But what Jin did not know was that Yuan Ba had been the one to pull the strings which had led to the current situation! Jin''s new elevated status made it impossible to acquire the Tree Mall through force alone. Any Royal Zodiac Clan that might attempt such a foolish thing out in the open would experience a concentrated strike from the other clans in retaliation¡­ and yet the Tiger Lord had schemed a possible way around it. And that was despite portraying the intention to protect it by having the Tiger Triad flexing its muscles to prevent other underworld triads from being in Jin''s territory. (In hindsight toward his scheme, it was as if he was prowling, wanting to keep this Tian Gong district as his own.) The leading Minor Clan had always showered the Tiger Brothers with gifts and tributes to stay in their favour while paying a reasonable amount of tax, making them one of the regular funders of the Clan. Were it not for them bullying any new blood, they would have been the ideal Minor Clan. During this year''s Clan Meet, Yuan Ba had therefore presented Jin with the opportunity to teach them a lesson in his stead. But given his sons'' characters, it had been a given that they would not take it lightly. With his sons agitated enough to protect the Roaring Tigers, it gave the Tiger Clan''s Head a justification for their rash actions in front of Jin as well as the other Royal Zodiac Clans. This way he could continue to play both sides. Should Jin win, there was no loss on his side since he had no Royal Zodiac Clan backing him, taking his property away (Especially more so when he was the honorary member of the Tiger Clan in his point of view.) At the very most, Yuan Ba would stay impressed and pretend to punish his kids for being insolent trying to fight with the Dungeon Supplier. In some way, it was a twisted kind of bonding session Yuan Ba had presented to his family to get to learn about the dungeon supplier while trying to learn more of Jin''s powers. And in case the Tiger Brothers would win, he would gain possession of the Tree Mall. He would pretend not to keep it and exchange the life debt he owed Jin by offering him a similar deal where he would pay them tribute, only he was more interested in Jin''s technology over any amount of cash! That way, he could subtly squeeze Jin even more despite the kindness he shows. Oh, what joy, it''s a win win situation. ¡ª¡ª "Do you need my help?" Suddenly Jin heard the question from the open System channel. He recognised the voice immediately as Kong Rong''s. "The System just briefed me about the details of being challenged to a Royal Zodiac Clan Duel Challenge¡­ so I''m guessing you''re offering to use your Dragon Clan Statue Chesspiece to help me block the challenge?" Jin queried. "That''s the jist of it. Hu Yuan Ba is not as simple as he may look. The current Tiger Lord is one of the most cunning Tiger Clan Heads that even my grandmother acknowledges. I believe you''ve been dancing on the palm of his hand ever since you have accepted to massacre his own people." Kong Rong replied. "While I appreciate the help, if you block it for me, wouldn''t you reveal that you''ve compromised your mission of removing me out of the equation?" Jin questioned. "Don''t worry, I have long since prepared certain contingency plans of my own for such a case. You think I would leave myself vulnerable upon being subjected to such a truth?" Kong Rong answered. "Actually, Tiny Dragon''s help is not required for the fight itself. What the System is about to do might cause trouble for Tiny Dragon more than his current plan." The System suddenly interjected its opinion. "What do you mean exactly?" Both of them asked continuously, yet while Jin continued to talk in his mind, the two Tiger Brothers had had enough about being ignored. While the elder brother remained calm, the younger brother''s temper kicked in. "Oei! Give us a damn answer. Either fight us now or surrender! I''d suggest you better surrender since you seem to be worried about the incoming hurt and embarrassment! Hahaha!" Yang Rong taunted him into action. If one of his bodyguards would attack them, it would be even better since they would win by default. "Forgive me, I was just considering whether both your territories would actually be worth it," Jin stated to buy some time while trying to remain calm upon listening to the System''s explanation that made Kong Rong go nuts. "Worth it?! What the hell are you talking about?!" Yang Rong exploded and started to collect his chi into his inner core. In the meantime, Yang Ling watched all the commotion and decided that the situation would be unfair to Jin. She wanted to throw her own statue piece into the ring to even the odds out, however, when she took a few steps back and prepared for a huge jump, the surrounding bodyguards suddenly tapped on her shoulders and restrained her down. That was when she saw her father''s face. With a glance, she knew that twisted display of cunningness under that stonewalled face. "You! You PROMISED you would NEVER trick me again! How dare you USE ME LIKE THAT?! How can you do that to your life saviour?! Just like a leopard doesn''t change his spots, your stripes never change too!" Yang Ling cried out in defiance. "JIN GET OUT!!!" "Sorry my little Tigress, but while that guy saved my life and yours indirectly, I cannot allow you to interfere right now." Yuan Ba said solemnly. Chapter 972 A Chess Piece Chapter 972 A Chess Piece "JIN!!! IT''S A TR-" The Tiger Clan''s bodyguards knocked her out by blocking a chi point near her neck as she tried to scream again. Yuan Ba was impressed that his daughter seemed to have seen through what he was plotting. "It''s for the greater good of our clan, my dearest daughter. You might not like it, but one day you should understand that this was my way of taking care of you three." Yuan Ba thought to himself as he stared down the garden once more. The shout had made everyone in the garden look up to see the angry face of the Tiger Clan Head turn into one long smirk. Yang Hui who had been the only one in the know similarly did not hide his grin anymore while his brother looked shocked as the realisation hit him that everything must have been part of their father''s plot. He had never liked being played by their father and his schemes, but right now he was fully focused on dealing with the dungeon supplier who finally seemed to take action¡­ by searching his pockets for something? "You sure about this? There is no going back if you reveal yourselves this way." Kong Rong warned Jin through the System Channel. "I''ve done a bit of thinking, and I believe I should be able to handle the pressures of society now. I''m definitely far from being fully prepared, but whatever happens, I have something to fall back on. My minions and family will stay by my side. Not to mention, I have you too. Heh." "You make it sound like I am your guardian angel." Kong Rong chuckled and sighed while he looked at his monitor that was receiving the live feed from a drone. "Very well, do as you like. Let me make some arrangements on my side to ensure that you get some backing for the aftermath." "Thank you, my Senior," Jin said through the System with a quick snicker before looking up towards Yang Rong and Yang Hui, who were still very confident that Jin had no way out of the trap that they created for him. "Very well, if you so desperately want to bet your territories for a fight with me instead of going against my guards, I shall play along. An eye for an eye." Jin addressed the Tiger Brothers and pulled out a storage ring. In an instant, he summoned out a platinum looking statue in the shape of a Panda. Like the others, it looked as if it was a chess piece and all of them stared at it. The cuteness of a Panda yawning while having its paws on a bamboo shoot, crystalised with platinum metal. Unlike the wooden tiger chess pieces, even the fur on the Panda was heavily detailed, and a simple form of shading had been applied to give the Panda that sense of realism. Jin later employed some Maqi onto it, and the Panda Statue chess piece could even move its mouth, closing it for a while before it returned to a wide yawning mouth. Yuan Ba focused his chi into his eyes to see what Jin was holding. A platinum statue piece? It looked to be made from the same material as his own platinum tiger statue piece, yet that was something only Clan Heads were eligible to use. And when he saw Jin applying some chi to make its mouth move, he could not believe it at all. "What? Impossible! It has to be fake!" Yuan Ba uttered as he leaned forward and grabbed the railing. However, before he could do anything to stop the duel, he saw his two sons had already used their chi to bring up the wooden tiger statues and call upon the heavens to invoke the challenge. Immediately, two large tiger silhouettes appeared from the statues and burst wide into the skies as if they were going to oversee the match. Jin did the same, and surprisingly a colossal panda silhouette filled the sky. After which, it started fighting the two tigers upon its emergence. Although it was a two on one, the Panda was three times bigger than the two tigers, and it was already overpowering them with its size alone. "Preposterous!" Yuan Ba''s mouth was left wide open when he watched the Panda silhouette suppress the two tigers and call upon the Will of the Heavens, the match had been set between the Royal Zodiac Tiger clans and the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. This became all the more clear when an actual representative from the Gods Realm came down to oversee the match between the clans as had been officiated since the olden days. Derek, who had remained at the sidelines, became quite lively when he saw the large celestial being. He recognised him as one of the gods that had taken his world away. "It appears they do intervene in your world too, master." Derek pointed out, and Jin took extra notice of their judge. "From what I gather, he might be like a worker ant for the Gods. Then again, this is probably just like an automated clone body. Still, it does have some of the powers of a god, despite it being extremely limited. Probably only to oversee this match." Moloch reasoned as he was a Demon Lord and had a few clashes with such Gods when he was younger. "Don''t do anything rash. You''re free to collect data but nothing else. We do not need to complicate things with innocents in the picture." Jin cautioned, causing Derek and Moloch to continue to monitor from afar. The God that was standing in the middle of the three animal silhouettes was wearing ancient Chinese armour, resembling the depicted form of Er Lang Hu, the War God with three eyes. His black battle armour was adorned with layers of intricate patterns pertaining to the twelve Royal Zodiac. This Godly Representative had been depicted in the journals of previous Clan Heads. However, Yuan Ba noticed that unlike in those illustrations or descriptions the representative was now also holding onto a feathered fan with the image of bamboo forest and Pandas hiding within it as if indicating that the rumoured thirteenth Royal Zodiac did exist. "As per the Will of the Heavens, I have acknowledged the authenticity of both sides'' chess pieces. I shall bear witness and act as judge over this duel. The challenged Panda Clan has agreed to the addition of another challenger, and in case of his victory, he shall be compensated further due to his handicap." The Godly Representative announced in a booming voice. "All non-participants, move away this moment!" Jin''s minions jumped out of the way as a rectangular barrier rose from the ground. However, not all the Minor Clan cultivators managed to move out of the way in time, and thus the Godly Representative used his Feather Fan to magically move them out of the field. Granted, they did not have a nice landing, but it did the job. "You may now proceed." The Godly Representative was prompt to get the match started. "What the hell?! Father! This is not what we agreed on!" Yang Hui shouted when he finally realised the situation he was in. His calm demeanour completely gone, replaced by a scowl on his face. Yang Rong decided to not care and rushed forward. His chi was all focused, and he was ready to blast forth, but Jin had been waiting for his attack. Chapter 973 The Tiger Duellis Chapter 973 The Tiger Duellis Hu Yang Rong did not fully comprehend the implication of this dungeon supplier turning out to really be a Clan Head of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. After all, it was a mythical clan that supposedly had perished because of various reasons. While there were no official records withstanding, some nasty rumours claimed it was because the Jade Emperor had betrayed them. Others stated that the Panda Clan had chosen to split from the Royal Zodiacs to live on their own and over the years had simply declined into non-existence. There were also many similar rumours pointing in that direction, accusing the Panda Clan of going under as a result of inner strife at some point after the defeat of the Banned Emperor, although the exact date varied wildly. No one was able to learn the exact truth with the exception of the oldest person in each clan as one of the secrets that needed to be passed. Even so, the ''truth'' had been distorted quite a number of times throughout the centuries to the point that it had become a myth. Not to mention, the System''s time-reversal had also destroyed certain elements of the Panda Clan''s presence in this timeline. Only extraordinary existences like the Royal Zodiac Archivist who had the Dragon Ley Lines to keep her safe from the time manipulation had been exempt from it. The pressure of a supposedly skewed fight suddenly turning into a serious fight for territory had seemingly overwhelmed the elder brother, yet Yang Rong was less fazed. What mattered to him was that this haughty dungeon supplier had been crazy enough to act as if he owned the place and thereby injured his sponsor, the Roaring Tigers. "Intermediate Fist Arts, Flying Tiger Burn Strike!" Yang Rong shouted as he came straight for Jin with his fist burning with chi and to a certain extent, passion. Passion to kill this Panda Young Master in order to keep his property intact. His fist was enveloped in the shape of a Tiger Head moving forth with its open maw, ready to get a bite out of that juicy target. Still, Jin was not moving a single inch, seemingly prepared to take the hit straight on and thus Yang Rong was readying himself for the next move. That seemingly straightforward punch was just a combo starter where the subsequent hits would be even harder, leading to Advanced and Epic Arts. It had been the downfall of many who had underestimated the simplicity of the Flying Tiger Burn Strike, only to get destroyed in one fell swoop by the full Arts Combo earning him the nickname of Tiger Duellist. "Heh, this guy won''t even know what hit him." Hao Pai thought as he knew that Jin was not prepared to even block the attack. However, the dungeon supplier did ultimately step backwards. The only problem was that when Jin did, it seemed as if he tripped on to something and fell back, which surprised the Tiger Duellist. As a trained martial artist, he was able to keep sufficient momentum as he tilted his punch downwards before he missed the striking point of his punch. While the strength of the attack would be weakened, it still should not pose too much of a difficulty in maintaining the combo starter. Suddenly he felt a sharp jab at his nether regions even though there was no visible movement or attack intent coming from Jin. Still, that sharp jab was enough to throw him off balance, and the punch failed to connect. With a wide open opportunity available to him, Jin shamelessly took the chance to summon a gun out and shoot at the Tiger Duellist. Who says that he had to fight on equal terms with a martial arts artist? All the Godly Representative said was to fight until one surrendered or killed. Besides, the Tiger Brothers were the ones who provoked Jin to bring out whatever he had. (Which obviously, he didn''t. Why bother risking showing his enemies all his trump cards when he could hide them?) Yang Rong could not believe the shrewdness and trickery of the Panda Young Master when he felt the sharp pain through his nether regions. Yet, he barely managed to swirl to the right to avoid getting shot in his head. He then enveloped his body with chi as every other advanced chi Duellist would do when fighting against ranged projectiles. Yang Hui decided to accept the harsh reality of the current fight and moved into action when he saw Jin continue to fire his pistol nonchalantly at his brother. The dungeon supplier had noticed his efforts and promptly changed his target to Yang Hui instead, giving Yang Rong the respite needed to charge forward again. The knowledge that Jin was a gun user, made things easy for the Tiger Brothers as they knew most ranged users'' offensive powers relied on their weapon and its accuracy. All they had to do was cripple the user before the killing bullets could reach them. Yang Hui was also a close-quarter combatant, but he used katars to simulate the sweeping strikes of a tiger granting him better reach and more devastating killing power. Using an Advanced Royal Zodiac Tiger Technique, he boosted the strength in his legs for an increase in agility and speed so that the gunshots would not be an issue while moving towards Jin. With two close combat cultivators closing in on him, Jin merely brought out a second pistol, one that was smaller in size but still packed a punch and continued to shoot to distract the two brothers. For those who were in the know, they could clearly identify the two pistols he was holding as transformations of Bam and Boo. It was only a matter of time until he transformed those two back into swords to fight against them in a close quarters fight. "Take this, you scumbag!" Yang Rong shouted as he switched his starting attack into a version of the Intermediate Fist Arts, Flying Tiger Burn Strike that utilised his legs. The Tiger Duellist jumped and the chi he possessed turned into Tiger Head now enveloping his right leg. This time Yang Hui was coming in from the side with his own Katar Arts activated too. "Advanced Katar Arts, Bloody Tiger Fangs!" Yang Hui shouted, and his katars turned into red hot blades going straight for Jin''s vital organs. He utilised the way his brother attacked since a person could only evade his kick in a limited amount of ways. Not to mention, Jin had been cornered into the erected barrier set by the Godly Representative, and there was not much space to run away. Even Yuan Ba could not see any way how Jin could get out of that situation unless he had some way to teleport himself. However, the Panda Young Master continued to shatter their expectations. This time around, he did not evade Yang Rong and the kick impacted against his chest. Similarly, Yang Hui managed to pierce his katars into Jin''s chest. Yang Rong was so baffled that he did not even continue with his subsequent Arts Combo¡­ until the silhouette of Jin disappeared. The real Jin was right behind the silhouette they stabbed, and both of them found a gun aiming at their foreheads. With a quick smirk, Jin pulled the trigger on both guns. *BANG* *BANG* Chapter 974 Metamorph Chapter 974 Metamorph Both brothers, each only had a split second to try to evade. Yang Hui at least had the benefit of his agility having been boosted previously, but Yang Rong was not that lucky. The only form of protection he had was the chi he used as pseudo armour, yet the shot was nearly a point blank. He did his best to tilt his head slightly, leading to the bullet blasting his ear off instead of his head. The pain and buzzing sound from the pistol made him stumble backwards to maintain balance and regain a sense of the current situation. The echoing of the aftermath rang in his head, the searing pain of the bullet on his skin might be too much for an average person, but he was a seasoned fighter. Tolerating it was not an issue for him. The spectators were all bewildered and racked their brains, trying to figure out how Jin had managed to fool everyone. Even Yuan Ba had never seen such a high-level defensive trick before, despite being exposed to many styles during his life. He had thoroughly researched the Panda Styles to advise his eldest son on what to look out for, and this was never one in the books. (His youngest son had been left out for fear his impulsiveness would reveal the plan too early.) "Honestly, how did Jin do that? He literally broke off as if he was coming out of a husk and let them target him." Lynn questioned on the System Channel, and his minions all had their theories, yet nobody had a clear answer. The System appeared to have been waiting for anticipation to grow before it finally answered without disturbing Jin. "According to System''s deduction, this was a display of a high level of manipulation of Maqi. User must have created an Astral Projection that looked real enough to fool everyone. Not only that, he maintained the density of his Astral Projection while using his Maqi at the right moment to move away from the attacks." The System explained though Jin''s minions questioned how he was able to hold enough Maqi to create such a high-density Astral Projection without letting the opponents know about it. Yet, the System was a bit off the mark from its deduction. Jin had actually used the very same method he had used previously to create the sharp jab against Yang Rong. All he did was do a slight trip backwards, prompting him to activate his Maqi to create this Astral Projection. And with Green Wind Panda Maqi, he floated back with ease during the tripping, allowing him to hide behind after the attack. Jin did not stop shooting and with his Inverse Eyes activated, he was able to predict where they were going to land, making it even more difficult for both the Tiger Brothers to evade. It was then that Yang Rong decided that his conventional method of fighting against their opponent would not be sufficient. Jin had proven to be more than just a simple snobbish young master. He had the necessary skills to back him up, especially when he noticed how accurate his shots were. Yet, Yang Hui just felt humiliated by Jin. He was aware that from what they knew about Jin, these guns were not his main way of fighting. It was like he was indirectly taunting the Tiger Brothers and telling them that they were only worth bullet shots and not his actual skills. "I will show you that I am not messing around!" Yang Hui called out as he released his cultivation aura. Two Tigers silhouette like projectiles sprawling out of his body and they rushed towards their prey. Jin was able to move away quick enough and later saw behind the Eldest Brother was a massive Tiger silhouette to portray his Grade 10 and a smaller tiger silhouette beside it to show that he was Grade 11. Jin now focused on Yang Hui, who had started a metamorphosis process and was gaining stripes on his legs and hands. His teeth turned into fangs, and his eyes were filled with ferocity staring at Jin. Yang Rong was also sick of dealing with the way too accurate bullets and activated his own chi aura. Despite being the younger brother, he revealed a massive Tiger with two smaller tiger silhouettes, showing that he was actually a grade higher than his elder brother. "Epic Royal Zodiac Tiger Technique, Steel Fur Skin!" The Tiger Duellist shouted, and he turned all greyish with a shiny matte all over his body. There were faint stripes on him too, indicating that he had metamorphosed as well and with even better control compared to his sibling. "Steel skin and metamorph ability, huh? This is starting to feel nostalgic fighting with tigers. Let''s see if our experimental product is working as we hoped." Jin raised his watch, and a bullet clip was released out from the storage watch. Some of his minions were wondering why he needed to change his pistol clip when Bam and Boo worked via his chi. "Oooooh! Looks like we might get another twist in the fight!" Ayse said excitedly since she had recognised what he pulled out. After all, she was the one to create them. "Seriously, I was getting worried if he was too busy to try it out despite meeting such a good target! It''s no longer experimental in my eyes! He just failed to approve it!" The last part was said in a pouting voice. Yang Rong did not bother to evade the bullet shot that Jin shot and just took it straight on. His Epic Technique was enough to even resist machine guns with high penetrative power much less a chi indued bullet. But something unexpected occurred¡­ The bullet managed to pierce the Steel Fur Skin even though it was just the tip of it, making Yang Rong feel quite a bit of pain. Accompanied with it was a blast of fire yet it only scorched a portion of the armoured skin which was non-consequential. At that point, the Tiger Duellist thought that his Steel Fur Skin might not yet have been fully activated, yet Jin''s next shot proved otherwise. To make things worse, he had aimed at precisely the same place again, and this time Yang Rong could feel the pain of the bullet within his abdominal area. Not only that, the blast of fire ensued, this time causing the rest of his insides to burn as the Steel Fur Skin tried to close the hole that Jin had just created. Yang Rong toppled onto the floor, coughing blood, and to a certain degree, puffs of smoke emerged from his mouth too. But to show weakness immediately after showing his cultivation was truly an insult. The reminding minor clan members were all depending on him to win this fight. Not to mention, his territory was at stake¡ª one which he took great effort to earn it from his father as compared to his other siblings. However, as he tried to stand up, he felt the firey sensation pulsating through his entire body, as the fire boiled his circulatory systems, paralysing him for a moment. "Heh, I did not expect this to be so effective. Well done, Ayse. I definitely approve this for further developments." Jin praised her via the System and Ayse gleed very widely. "I am glad you like the weapon research team''s development. It was rather easy to replicate since you had the actual product. We''ve used your sludge to further improve the firepower. Therefore part of this achievement partially belongs to you as well, master." Ayse said as she saw the System bless her with additional System Points to put the other elemental bullets into development. The truth of these bullets was that they were Ayse''s recreation of the ones Ming had left behind when Jin unlocked the series of inheritance gifts. They had been in the same box as the Anti Demon Manual and given that Jin had used these Ruby Fire Bullets before against an imaginary tiger, he had figured it would be useful against a real metamorphosed tiger too. After all, the metamorphosis was not too different from demonising oneself to become stronger. Grandma Yuan would be proud if she saw Jin utilise his knowledge of Demon Exorcism in such a way. Naturally, that info came from his two week crash course with Ming when they had their random chats and lectures. But for now, it''s time to put the raging proud tigers down, one bullet at a time. Chapter 975 Tiger Fist Combo Arts Chapter 975 Tiger Fist Combo Arts With his younger brother at the mercy of Jin, Yang Hui jumped in front of his brother and ate the next bullet for him. His fully metamorphosed beast form, unfortunately, had an even higher level of demon affinity, causing him to take extra damage from this shot. The bullet went through his right chest and exited his body cleanly. And the bullet seemed to add insult to his feeble attempt of him protecting his brother even further by coursing out of his body and ricocheted on to hit Yang Rong''s shoulder. However, the brunt of the Ruby Fire explosion had been reserved for Yang Hui, and it had made a mess of his right lung. Unlike Yang Rong, who had Steel Fur Skin to soften the damage, the explosion was clear for everyone to see as his chest skin ruptured and blood burst out impactfully, causing him to asphyxiate from the gush of blood coming out of his throat. "Idiot, why did you do that?!" Yang Rong shouted as he desperately tried to use his chi to close his brother''s wounds instead of his own. The relationship between the brothers was complicated due to their father''s favouritism of his firstborn son. Still, they had gone through thick and thin together, especially during training sessions and there was still a sense of camaraderie instead of familial kinship. "Can''t let the better one of us two die that easily, right? We''ve barely shown this Panda our fangs, and you are already down on the floor. Father must be disappointed with us." Yang Hui uttered in a weak voice. Jin didn''t like to interrupt such a heartfelt moment, but he was not giving them any chance to recuperate. After all, his accumulated work was still at stake. "Sorry, but you will have to continue this conversation another time," Jin said as he ruthlessly shot another Ruby Fire Bullet aimed between Yang Hui''s eyes. Only instead of evading, Yang Rong punched the ground, causing a portion of the garden brick path to disperse and create a temporary distraction as he pulled his brother further back. Sadly, the arena was limited to prevent the contestants of a duel from running away. Although the Ruby Fire Bullet had been wasted exploding among the brick debris, Jin had more at his disposal. The dungeon supplier continued to fire from afar with Boo first while transforming Bam into a weapon he had seen being used in the Farming World. A Gunblade. With three more Ruby Fire Bullets in his Gunblade, he rushed forward the moment the bricks and explosion settled down¡­ only for the Tiger Brothers to have disappeared from his sight. "Invisibility technique?! Damn, I thought you tigers would fight me from the front after ganging up on me. Didn''t think you''d use these nasty tricks." Jin taunted them out loud. He quickly focused his chi into his Inverse Eyes to scan the area, hoping to have a sense where the tiger brothers could have hidden. Any delay in finding them will definitely give them an advantage. Thus, the System also assisted him and true enough, Yang Rong had come close to striking Jin while remaining camouflaged among the environment. Advanced Tiger Technique, Stalking Saunter of the Tiger was a skill that allowed the Tiger Brothers to blend into the environment for either a quick escape or more often to set up an ambush for their enemies. In this instance, Yang Rong had used it to perform both these actions though it did not take Jin by surprise. Instead, the muscle memory from Ming''s intensive training kicked in, and he tripped sidewards. His body somehow managed to ''sense'' the impending danger and acted as such to save Jin. The Tiger Duellist was irritated that he could not read Jin''s movement yet again as the fall had been too abrupt. "Who the fuck can be so clumsy in movement and yet still beat us into this state?! What kind of fucked up situation is this?!" Yang Rong wondered as he forcefully twisted his ankle and changed the angle of his punch once more. He was not sure whether Jin had found a way to see him coming despite the camouflage or if he had been just lucky to trip at that exact moment. All he needed was to get a hit onto Jin''s body, alas, there had been no chance to do so, making him extremely furious. Yet, as he missed Jin again, he suddenly felt a stinging cut rising up through his torso area. "What the -? How did I?!" And instantly, the same burning sensation enveloped his entire torso, burning him alive. This time, the fire was even stronger and more vibrant as he could feel his entire body wriggle in pain despite the Steel Fur enhancement and with valid reason. Jin had further enhanced the Ruby Fire Bullet with his Panda Black Fire and the cut from the Gunblade had made sure it would impact deeply. To make things worse, the Astral Projection that emerged from his tripping doubled the pain he suffered, allowing it to break the Steel Fur enhancement easily. Jin did not stop there and did a quick side step and stabbed his blade into Yang Rong. But he found it a little too convenient when he did so, and hence immediately found out that Yang Rong was still battle ready, extremely determined to win the fight. The Tiger Duellist grabbed on Jin''s black blazer despite being engulfed in flames and with his right hand still charged with Chi, he sent it flying towards Jin''s stomach. "Flying Tiger Burning Strike!!!!" Yang Rong Roared as he did not care of the pain he was enduring right. If he didn''t use this chance, he was unlikely to get another one. With his perseverance, the gods seemed to be smiling down upon him, perhaps rewarding his struggle. The Tiger Duellist felt that his punch hit onto something hard and was ready to finally execute his deadly Arts Combo. Now an explosive sound vibrated through the allocated arena, and Yang Rong did not stop for anything else. "Advanced Fist Arts! Triple Tiger Quartet Strikes!" Yang Rong exclaimed as he slammed his elbow towards Jin''s face and the arms now moved lightning fast to execute the Arts Combo. The multiple attacks switched between finger jabs, palm strikes and wholesome punches to ensure that he blocked Jin''s major chi points preventing him from any sort of retaliation. "Epic Fist Arts, Slashes of the White Moon Tiger!" Next, Yang Rong focused chi on his nails, metamorphosing them to claws that were as sharp as steel swords and grabbed Jin up and flipped him. After being tricked once when he hit a dense silhouette of Jin, he now ensured that the other party would not get any chance to substitute himself against the Tiger Duellist. Upon flipping, he sent out his slashes out to cause Jin to be flying to the skies, and because of the impact of the attack, the minor clan members started to cheer loudly. "Oof! that must hurt," Ayse said as they all saw Jin being pushed against gravity time and time again by the continuous number of slashes. With his last breath, Yang Rong shouted and temporarily, the sky turned black with a full moon out. The Moon slowly descended and cut Jin at the center, visibly causing him to split into two. "Epic Fist Arts, Moon Descends into the Night." Yang Rong grinned when after he uttered out the Fist Arts name and saw two pieces of Jin falling and bleeding. Seeing the entire chain of action scenes, his brother slowly came out of the camouflage and showed a victory fist to his brother. Yuan Ba, who had been watching from the sideline, was delighted by the results. Not to mention he was elated that they emerged relatively safely out of this unexpected fight for territory. Even the Roaring Tigers were clapping their hands, congratulating Yang Rong for having restored the Tiger''s honour. However, the Tiger Duellist noticed something was amiss. While his side of the field was jumping with joy, the other side of the arena was not sad in the least. In fact, it was filled with chuckles. (All of them seem to have been influenced by Kraft''s evil way of laughing0) Only then did he realise that the Godly Representative had yet to say anything about the match being over. He just continued to oversee the arena. It was too bad that by the time he realised it, it was too late. Chapter 976 Decisive Results Chapter 976 Decisive Results *Schwing Schwing* An energised black chi slash flew at breakneck speed across the arena, and Yang Rong barely managed to duck. Yang Hui, on the other hand, had been too injured to move about much. His head fell to the ground and rolled down the broken garden pavement, with a look of shock edged onto his face. His body slowly fell to the ground, and blood from his neck stained the garden soil and brick path. Meanwhile, the surviving brother placed his arms upwards in a blocking position while ensuring there was sufficient chi to break any follow up attack. However, the force of the next slash was so intense that it broke his chi barrier, causing him to be knocked back. He was thankful that the impact allowed him to break out from the slash¡­ until he found a sword pointing at his right eyeball. An inch? No, it was even closer. Probably less than a centimetre away. He felt that even blinking could cause him to lose his eyelid, forcing him to hold that involuntary movement. "How did you manage to survive all the attacks and remain unscathed?" Yang Rong questioned in a barely audible whisper while he was trembling from the fear, focusing his will to not blink at all. "The next words you utter from that prideful mouth of yours better be ''I surrender''. Anything else or any type of other movement and I will stab you before you can try anything funny." Jin declared decidedly. His tone made it clear that this was a non-negotiable ultimatum. "Do y- ARGHHH" Yang Rong couldn''t help his character and tried acting out in defiance. Alas, Jin had not been joking. There was not the least bit of hesitation when he pushed his sword into his eyes and the sword plunged through the skull and out of it. Everyone who was at the scene was terrified to see Jin act so cruel and Yuan Ba was holding on to his railings very tightly while enduring the gruesome scene. There was no way for him to interfere in the current fight unless he wished to throw in his platinum tiger chess piece as collateral. He wouldn''t do something so risky, at least not before he had figured out Jin''s way of fighting. It was just too risky to place a bet on and possibly his entire clan''s property. "I already gave you a chance. You refused it." Jin said to the Tiger Duellist as he took his Gunblade out and shot once more into the very same place he had injured Yang Rong previously. Immediately, the Ruby Fire explosion took effect and the Steel Fur Skin enchantment slowly dissipated. Just then, the Godly Representative raised his hand to pass judgement as if he had enough of the Panda''s master sudden cruelty. Still, to his minions and colleagues, they believed it was justifiable since his one and only territory was at stake. "The Panda Clan is victorious. The properties of Hu Yang Rong and Hu Yang Hui shall belong to Xie Jin with immediate effect. All profits and expenses shall be borne by the winner as of the coming hour. As the Heavens will it." The Godly Representative then slowly turned to Jin with a sly eye. "We will communicate with your super entity to transfer the deeds and accounts expenses. The rest of the documents that you need will be human formality and dealt with by the losing party. Extra compensation shall be arranged by the Tiger''s Clan Head as he fits and should you find it unsatisfactory, use your Super Entity to contact us. However, we doubt they would do that for they know the harsh punishment that followed through." The Godly Representative sent a transmission, fully implying that it knew about the existence of the System. "How does he know about you?!" Jin suddenly went on guard as the Godly Representative placed the feathered fan towards his face, and with the ring of a bell ring, the arena disappeared. (Just as he did.) The remaining Roaring Tigers quickly moved towards the severely injured Yang Rong to check his pulse. Unfortunately, he was already on his last breath, cursing Jin''s name and vowing for revenge. Meanwhile, the dungeon supplier picked up his phone once more and it auto dialled to Yuan Ba. "Shall I continue to clean up?" Jin asked. The question implied that Jin was ready to take on the Tiger Clan Head face to face if there were any more schemes waiting for him. "You''ve done enough. I will transfer the full amount of money according to the guest list. Each and every one of them even if you did not clean them up. On top of that, the prize money meant for the Clan Meet will be given to you as promised. By tomorrow." Yuan Ba answered in a straight tone, but Jin could hear a tinge of bitterness and reluctance within his voice. The Panda Clan Young Master strongly believed that the Tiger Lord might be scheming to get back on him someday. But at least not today. "Well then, I hope the next time we meet, it will be under better circumstances. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, but I wish you a good new year." Jin said as he ended the call and nodded towards Yuan Ba silently. The Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan Head returned to his office and made the arrangements to fulfil the Godly Representative''s directive. There were dire consequences when not following the duel''s proceedings and he''d rather lose those territories than suffer the wrath of the Godly Representative. "Apologies Sir, but do you wish for me to prepare everything to resurrect Young Masters Yang Hui and Yang Rong immediately?" One of his main servants questioned him on the way. "Later. Send them to the hospitals for checks first. I do not want them to come crying to me that they''ve become stupid or something like that. Do not disturb me for the rest of the day. Just put my dinner at the door when it is done." Yuan Ba replied with a resigned voice. "Understood Sir. As for that Panda Clan Young Master, do you need me to get the police to arrest them?" The main servant questioned. "On what grounds????? The Tiger Lord sounded a decade older. "He decided to play my game and revealed himself because he must have someone with high backing. Probably even much higher than me." Just as Yuan Ba opened the door, he saw someone sitting at his guest''s chair. "Good afternoon, Clan Head Yuan Ba." Kong Rong greeted him with a tip of his round hat. "Awfully rude to not come by the main door?" Yuan Ba asked, as if it was not enough headache for him to deal with the territory exchange, now he had to contend with one of the nation''s leading State Agents. "I tried, but everyone seemed too occupied, so I decided to go by the side gate. Thankfully, one of your servants recognised me and kindly offered me in to have a seat first." Kong Rong said as he removed his hat as a courteous move. The main servant was shocked to see the first son of the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan in the seat and quickly asked if he needed tea. Kong Rong kindly refused but thanked him for the offer, while Yuan Ba quietly closed his doors to begin the discussion with Kong Rong. As for Jin? Without a word, his bodyguards began walking behind him, and they quietly escorted him to the exit of the Tiger Clan''s bloodied garden path. The rest of the surviving Roaring Tiger Cultivators kept their heads down as they heard the clobbering of the Pandas'' footwear through the paths. There were no insults, no laughing or anything. Just silence and footsteps shuffling away into the distance. It was as if the massacre they had left behind was not out of spite, but rather just business. And as their aura diminished with distance, Hao Pai finally took a breather and broke down. He did not cry, but rather fell into despair after taking in the sights of his dead comrades. The people he had sent into their meaningless deaths just to show off. "I am sorry¡­I am sorry brothers." Hao Pai mumbled as he stared at a bloodied sword near him. After much consideration, he used his chi to lift the sword up and sent it towards him, stabbing himself. He knew there was no way of redeeming what had happened. Chapter 977 Protection Ac Chapter 977 Protection Ac The Tiger Clan Meet might have been primarily for the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan, but several scouts from the other Royal Zodiac Clans had watched them in case a new power would emerge in the fight between Minor Clans. It was business as usual for most of the scouts, and so was the Tiger Clan who had done the same for the other clan meets. Admittedly, this time around, they all had been keeping an eye on Jin. None of them had expected such a particular show of power from him nor his bodyguards which they were unable to find any information about. All of this had frightened most if not all of the scouts that had been watching. (Especially since they saw the bodyguards have the time of their life sending the cultivators of the Minor Clans to the netherworld.) To make things worse, those guards knew that they were being watched. Sometimes, minions like Nubwort and Drex would purposely put up a show for them to watch. "If I had known this would happen, I would have just called him to come to our lunch meet instead." Kong Rong mused out loud when he saw Yuan Ba''s dejected spirits who sat down on the other side of the office table. "Well, it''s too late for that now. Speak, what do you want?" Yuan Ba did not bother with formality as the paperwork he had to do was of utmost importance. If he didn''t clear it fast enough, the Godly Representative would punish him for not abiding by the current situation. "Fine, I shall be frank then. He might have been an honorary member of your Tiger Clan, but I doubt he wants to retain the title. From this moment onwards, Jin is under my protection. You should know what happens now that he finally revealed himself to be the head of the rumoured 13th Royal Zodiac Clan." Kong Rong clarified and pulled out a few documents, but Yuan Ba stopped him. "I''m perfectly aware that all Royal Zodiac Clans who are on the brink of failing fall under the Dragon Clan''s protection until they manage to stand on their own feet again." Yuan Ba interjected. "But the Royal Zodiac Clan Protection Act should only apply to the existing twelve Royal Zodiac Clans. For you to extend it to Jin¡­ Does that mean the Dragons are willing to accept this rumoured clan''s existence?" "Is there any doubt left after the Godly Representative has shown himself and acknowledged Jin and his clan''s existence?" Kong Rong questioned back, and Yuan Ba laid back on his chair stifling a scoff out. "Since when? How long have you State Agents known about his status before today''s revelation?" Yuan Ba tried to learn at least if he was the only one who had been kept in the dark. "I''m afraid that information is confidential." Kong Rong left the papers he had pulled out. "I will not keep you from doing your paperwork. Please make sure to fax me these papers at a more convenient time within the coming week. Well wishes to you for the new year. Just remember, we are watching." Kong Rong took his suitcase and walked out of the room. The courtesy call and show of power by Kong Rong was clear enough. At least for the foreseeable future, the Tiger Lord would not meddle with the dungeon supplier''s life or trouble him in any way. Even after the resurrection of his sons, it was his responsibility to stop them from facing him head-on, use their privileges as the Tigers to make his life more difficult or seek nefarious ways to take their revenge against Jin. After all, the State Agents and the Dragon Clan (or Kong Rong specifically) had invoked the Protection Act on Jin''s clan. (Unless they decided to wait until the protection act was over¡­then that is another issue for another day.) With the declaration by the Godly Representative, there was no room for doubt. The other clans would have to give up their chances of grabbing Jin for their own. Right now, they were forced to watch him grow as either an ally or an enemy that could power grab their territories since the Panda Clan was not included in any treaty or mutual agreement. That was why Kong Rong had decided to use his clan''s might to save Jin from too much trouble with the Protection Act. While Jin had known there would be consequences of revealing himself, he did not know the extent of Kong Rong''s power. A trustworthy ally gained over the night of alcohol? It was possibly the best thing that could happen over the new year! Kong Rong was technically not wrong to invoke the Protection Act as the Dragon Clan had vowed to keep the Royal Zodiac Clans intact without any one of them losing their privileges or powers. Their job was to maintain the balance between the clans and to act as an internal auditor. If one clan decided to use its wealth and power for the worst, the Dragon Clan would step in and stop them. (After all, they acted as the State Agents of the country and swore to lead it the betterment of their nation.) One might worry that the Dragon might have too much power in their hands, but most did know that the Jade Emperor had placed measures to ensure that would not happen. It fell to the Heavens to stop the Dragon Clan if they misbehaved badly. Yes, it was none other than the Godly Representatives. While they did rampage in Derek''s world, turning it into a place void of life and full of zombies, most of them had actual responsibilities to keep the worlds under their care in balance. (At least as much of a balance as the contracts they were bound by required.) It could also be known that those contracts were similar to a Devil''s contract, but their bad stereotypical reputation had made the Demons, be known as evil even though their bargain was the same as the Gods. (Which was not the case with Moloch and Baal once he calmed down.) It was how one would perceive the Demons and Gods, and in Jin''s eyes, he believed there were good and bad ones mixed in their races. In hindsight, it appeared as if this Godly Representative has deliberately made things easier for Jin. The revelation of the feathered fan with the pictures of a Panda had quickly become the topic between the scouts and the higher echelon of all of the Royal Zodiac Clans. This, in turn, helped make Kong Rong''s work easier who had started to visit the various Clan Heads to inform them that Jin was now under his protection. "No wonder, the System told me I''d have more work to do due to that stunt it pulled with Jin. To make me work on the first day of Chinese New Year. That boy¡­ seriously, I am starting to think I am making the right decision." Kong Rong thought to himself while grinning. At least the System was courteous enough to teleport him around. The moment he got out of the Monkey''s territory, he was immediately teleported to the next Royal Zodiac Clan''s mansion. "But I must say, that revelation was fun. It certainly seems like it was the right choice partnering with him rather than to be against him. After all, to him, this world is a dungeon instance in which he has the ability to mould it for the better¡­." His expression turned serious once more when he was greeted by the Clan Head of the Royal Zodiac Rats. Chapter 978 Higher Order of Gods and Demons Chapter 978 Higher Order of Gods and Demons "How did you manage that?!" Lynn asked as she was curious about the sudden turn in events when Yang Rong performed his combo technique against Jin. They were already back at the Tree Mall as the rest returned for the lunch meal provided by the System. Even the minions were curious as it was apparent to everyone that he was suffering the hits. "Ehh luck? Hahaha- Ow!" Jin lied so blatantly that Lynn hit his shoulder hard. Chi infused kind of hard. "Tell us properly! Or don''t tell us at all!" Lynn pouted as she removed the plate of delicious looking chicken rice in front of Jin. "Else, no lunch for you!" "Perhaps, I might have an inkling of the technique that he had done, but it seemed modified. So, there are certain portions of the technique which are not clear to me either." Yun said as she was already munching away on the chicken rice. "It had something to do with what Ming taught you, right? It was somebody''s substitution technique." "Okay, okay. I am sorry. I will say!" Jin apologised to Lynn, and he nodded at Yun''s conjecture. "But if it''s a body substitution technique, it requires a medium or an item to move away from¡­unless you used your unique Maqi to create an astral projection thick and sturdy enough to act as a body substitute." Yun deduced, and Jin yet again nodded his head. "I did not just use the astral projection. It is not that sturdy enough to suffer those hits. I had added a sludge crystal into the mix which was within my pocket, courtesy of the System and thus I used it as a defence mechanism. The System was dying to win this fight. Didn''t you guys see the first defence move I made? It was actually testing it out whether the body substitution with astral projection works." "Oooh! No wonder." Lynn said as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, the System was betting an all in to win this fight no matter what. Though I wonder if it was against the rules, which was why I turned a little afraid when the Godly Representative sent me a message that I have a super entity." Jin asked out loud and at the same time, querying the System. "No, the Godly Representative had already known of the System''s presence when User brought out the platinum Panda chess piece. It had been used before in fights way before this particular match. The only thing was that it had not been used for centuries. Also, it was the God Realm that created the System, and thus its acknowledgement of our existence was within reasonable means." The System said. "Does that mean there are other Super Entities around?" Lynn questioned, and the System acknowledged it. "As for the System to this particular world, we had been bestowed the number two, indicating that there was another super entity before us. Whether there are other similar Super Entities around, the System does not have any idea." "Can you be created that easily?" Derek asked as he was concerned if they were to challenge the creators of the System. "No. Upon the System''s knowledge, the System had not met any similar entities yet." The System said, and Moloch pulled up his hand. "I believe the peeps in the Demon Realm could do the same too, to create a super entity like the System, but to my understanding, there are many conditions to be met. It''s a once in a blue moon kind of thing." Moloch explained in a summarised form how a Super Entity could be created, and he said that only the higher order of the Demon Realm would be able to perform such a ritual. "So you mean, the System might have been created for a purpose?" Jin asked. "Yea, it''s possible. Unlike the normal Gods and Demons in their respective planes, the Higher God and Demons are subjected to a shit ton of responsibilities. Things like destiny and stuff are created by them. To them, good and evil is just a perspective and chaos was necessary to keep the balance and equilibrium among the universes. Have you heard from Kraft how people could buy and sell universes? Yeah, they allowed it but to a certain extent too. It is conceivable that we might play a part in their prophecies and such, but that''s wishful thinking on my end. It could also be possible that Jin''s success is just part of their prophecies, and he might be a prelude in the things to come." Moloch deduced. "You serious, bro?" Derek asked in a slightly bewildered manner. "In my opinion, the ones that attacked you are Gods with higher privileges. They are not necessarily Higher Gods. So you will still get your revenge if Jin decides to aid and abate your journey of vengeance. Besides, we have already fought with demons and came out victorious, right? What''s a god being to us?" Moloch chuckled. "You are lucky Baal did not take us as seriously as he liked to. And I believed the crown played a part too. I do not think I was able to win him if not for the crown that took his sanity away from him." Jin recalled how dangerous that fight was. "Heh, when the push comes to shove, I believe the System will intervene for you." Lynn chuckled, and the rest of his minions somehow nodded their head in agreement. If the System ever felt that Jin was in absolute danger, it would not hesitate to use all its powers to protect him. This was especially true when the System saw leaps and bounds of improvement to its own processes. As mentioned before, Jin was one of the few who had managed to gain enough capital to increase the System processing capability, allowing it to do more miraculous things. Thus, it would definitely not leave Jin in a lurch. "Do you think we will ever see these Higher Gods and demons?" Jin asked, and Moloch shrugged his shoulders. (Including his puppet.) "I have been living for so long that I lost count and I never saw them once in my life. Even when I had been reincarnated and sent to the Dungeon World, I only heard the orders." Moloch replied and teased Jin a little. "If you ever saw one, please give the demons a peek at how they looked!" "Heard? Orders?" Jin asked which immediately prompted Moloch to scratch his head since he did not know how to explain it without giving too much context. "Yeah¡­King Solomon is the part of the Higher Demons and one of the few that are in constant contact with the normal demons. To be able to even receive an order or request from him should be honoured as precious as life itself." Moloch explained and just as Jin was about to ask another question, Yun cleared her throat. "Jin." Yun suddenly interrupted, and her eyes were staring at the half eaten chicken rice on his plate. "Eat quickly. We still have to go visit Grandma Yuan." She said while tapping her watch as if to indicate they are on a tight schedule. (Which they are clearly not! Yun just wanted to get it over and done with!) Chapter 979 Its All About The Money Chapter 979 Its All About The Money Jin shut up and concentrated on clearing his plate of roasted chicken rice. Despite this being an easy (and very yummy) task, it felt a little too wasteful to finish it hastily. The aroma of the rice was soaked with the smell of chicken broth, and a tinge of ginger gave it a distinctive flavour which led to a mouthwatering reaction. The taste was not overbearing, and each bite was complemented with the roasted chicken meat bursting in his mouth. While the taste of food would plateau after a while, this particular dish did not. Infused with a bit of Penguin Queen''s chi cooking in it, each bite maintains its tastiness. (And this was Lynn''s leftover cooking for the penguins, which showed that she had improved a long way!) It was neither too oily nor too salty, and one bite led to another and another. Unfortunately, Yun insisted that they did not have the time to wait around for Jin to enjoy a second serving. As soon as he was done eating, she requested the System to open a portal and hurried Jin once more. Meanwhile, Lynn told them to go ahead first as she still owed Grandma Yuan a cup of brew roasted tea and she needed to make sure she had all the tea brewing items in her storage ring before coming to meet her. "See you later," Yun said as she got impatient and started to drag Jin into the portal and they reached Grandma Yuan''s Demon Exorcist Office. It was just as eerily quiet and empty as one would expect at the start of the new year¡­ except for one particular room from which they heard furious typing. The door was partially closed, and the lights to that particular office room were off. Yun did not hesitate to walk straight towards while dragging Jin with her. (She literally did not let him off the collar at all! Jin merely resigned to his fate being dragged by Yun.) When the door opened wide, and Jin recognised the one typing furiously was none other than Claire. The woman in question was yawning away as she nodded her head as an acknowledgement to the two''s presence. "Happy New Year." "Happy New Year to you too," Yun replied as she searched the side of the walls to locate the light switches. Claire plunged her head into the table as the lights turned on, but thanks to the illumination Jin could see that she was merely hiding within the desk cushion that she was holding on. "Dim the lights if you want them to be on!" Claire complained as her head was stuck into the cushion, like an ostrich hiding its head in the ground. Seeing that the System''s Assistant was refusing to comply, Jin sighed a little and turned the switch knobs so it would not be too glaring for their Sub System Intern. "Thanks¡­" Claire said as she slowly reared her head upwards and started sending Yun some angry stares. "It''s your fault to work in the dark, girl." Yun merely snickered not admitting to any wrong. Both of them sat down opposite of Claire''s desk. "Do you have what I want?" Yun questioned once more, and there was no reply for a moment but just typing. The silence ensued for the next minute, and Jin was already contemplating whether he should interfere in this bout of awkwardness. Then suddenly, a loud ping was heard, and more electrical noises ensued. At this point, Jin listened to the fax machine behind him starting to work overtime, printing several documents at once. "There you go, it''s right at the fax machine. Take them out yourselves." Claire answered still grumpy, but she finally heaved out a large sigh and rubbed her sore shoulders, hoping that the pain could be alleviated for the moment. "Great, all the documents seem to be in order." Yun took a quick glance at the documents and nodded her head. "Is Grandma Yuan at home?" "She hasn''t left the house, but she should be taking a nap. After that raid against the Loopa Ooofpa, she''s been taking more naps than usual in a week." Claire informed them. A nap sounded like a wonderful thing in her tired mind, and she would not mind going for one herself. She reached out to her System''s phone, but before she could unlock it, there was a ''thud'' sound at the left of her desk. Her nose started to tingle, and her body automatically turned to the other side of the desk. It was a cup of Blue Mountain Coffee, extra thick with two cubes of sugar at the side of the saucer and a mini condiment holder of raw honey beside it. Her body instantly ached for its consumption, but Claire knew this was her reward for getting it done. "Your favourite, right?" Yun asked, even though she knew the answer already. As the System''s assistant, she knew what Claire liked based on her consistent orders via the Sub System. "Surely, this can''t be my only reward." Claire grumbled, yet her expression changed immediately after the first sip of it. "I had done a shit load of work, even sacrificing my sleep for this." "This is just for you to not fall asleep. If Jin is ok with it, I would be happy to promote you to no longer being just the System Intern." Yun nodded her head, and Claire''s eyes were swift as a hawk''s when they glared at Jin as if he was a rabbit. He was utterly confused since he did not know what she had done to deserve the System''s acknowledgement. As if on cue, the System began to reveal that she finally completed the finances and budgeting for all the major projects that were ongoing. Not only that, she had secured significant finances from an anonymous investment source that was willing to fund their projects. "What? And you just accepted without learning who that investor was? Isn''t that a little too shady a deal?" Jin questioned, wondering if it would compromise them. "It''s actually a ''partner'' that I found when I was playing the Black Stock Market. He messaged me and queried why I was fighting so aggressively through the stocks. Oh, by the way, he was referring to my excessive flipping. I managed millions with the click of a button, but the preparation to do that was enormous." Claire explained with a tired smile. "He was impressed by the choices I made, although he also disagreed with others. The latter should be obvious after all those were his shadow companies'' stock. He was keeping them low and quiet since they were considered spoilt and useless, yet due to my investment flip, he unknowingly earned a bunch of money too." "So he honestly wanted to know how you flip them? Or did he want to learn from you?" Jin asked, and Claire lazily shook her head when she continued to stir her coffee. "He acknowledged that as my trade secret when I refused to reveal even though he offered a generous sum of money. It was his local currency but converted into dungeon dollars; it should easily be half a billion. He thought it would be a shame to just let me go, so he decided to invest in me instead. According to the System, the person can only be described as a major player, so I did not want to refuse his new offer. So technically, this investment source is half of the allowance he''s giving me. Meanwhile, the other half will be used in investing." Claire smiled weakly once more, but there was happiness in her eyes. "So, what Claire had been furiously typing was the budget write up for the System''s consideration. It was initially done earlier this afternoon, but when I told her that Jin had won the Tiger''s territories, she slammed her desk hard." Yun pointed at the table and showed Jin the indentation on both sides of the table. Luckily the table did not break under pressure and the System informed Jin that the table was made from pretty high grade wood. "Now that we have Yang Rong and Yang Hui''s industrial territories, it will significantly lift the burden of our own industries by a whole lot! You might not have known this, but the Tiger Brothers'' territory was home to a lot of refining and raw materials industries. With this acquisition, it''s very easy for us to gain a reliable source of natural resources. Refined ones too!" Claire said with a higher pitch tone, indicating she was excited for the future of Jin''s cities. (In the meantime, Jin was simply stunned with the amount of money he now has in his possession.) Chapter 980 Yuns Business Proposals Chapter 980 Yun¡°s Business Proposals "Hmmm, I see. Alright, I understand the need to retweak these proposals, but is it really necessary for you guys to get it done today when it''s New Years?" Jin browsed through the documents to get at least a superficial level of understanding (he could always ask the System for more in-depth information later on). He was surprised to find out that Yang Hui and Yang Rong had been bestowed such precious industries by their father. However, on second glance, it became obvious that although these were ''essential'' industries, it did not automatically make them profitable. The refining industries that the Tiger Brothers held were just a pebble on the road compared to major brands, but it was a different story for Jin. The addition of these new industries on Earth meant that neither Pandapolis nor Demonpolis would have to go to any lengths to create these industries. Still, if they needed it, they could always copy-paste the designs or even improve the refining process to create their very own. While a portion of the Industry Sector had been occupied for military production, Jin wanted to diversify his products for this now-closed city to be more self sufficient in the future. That meant, the automated production of food and refinery of basic raw materials. Thus, with the newly acquired territories, it gave Jin convenient access to such resources, reducing their reliance on the Black Market for primary resources such as precious metals, oils and even plastics. Of course, this might lead to a deficiency to this world''s balance since Jin would be taking a bunch of resources from his world and use it for other worlds, but in return, he would be using all this for the Virtual Reality Network which he wished to create in the end, so ultimately there should be an equilibrium. "I''ve been personally tasked to do it because certain projects have a tendency to lie around rotting when my *cough* boss *cough* was supposed to be the one who has to do it. Do you know? Like a certain advanced training centre?" Claire yawned despite the rich smell of the Blue Mountain Coffee filling the room. "Cough! As well as the Cultivation Zoo." Yun added shamelessly as she was holding those two documents and conveniently handed them to Jin. "Yun felt that you had too much work on your hands as is already. ''Someone'' had to help you out, because that stuff is rather urgent." Claire said while pointing to herself. "For example, the zoo animal imports can only be delayed for that long and Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo already has been complaining about ''temporarily'' holding them! I had to keep delaying for you because of the coma you fell into! Those animals need to get in suitable environments to stay active and sane, not just alive! Otherwise, they won''t be able to do much for the public when they are out in the open! Remember, these are fairly wild animals that have cultivation potential. They cannot stay in a caged environment for too long." Claire''s mood somehow got more energetic when it came to scolding Jin. She wondered if she accidentally caught the scolding behaviour from Grandma Yuan, but whatever it was, it certainly felt good to criticise Jin, perhaps because he was her boss. "Do you have any idea about how much work it involved getting them to you?! We had to pay hunters to catch them, pay massive tariffs for the imports to bring them in and also pay the annual licence in advance to keep them. And yet, all these costs had been handled by Grandma Yuan by herself without a single complaint! I was not allowed to complain despite seeing those costs and could only curse under my breath." Claire complained as she drank another gulp of the blue mountain coffee. "In addition, the JODE board had been pestering us for at least a basic proposal for the advanced training centre. They initially pressed Grandma Yuan for more details even though she declined it, on the ground that ''a good centre cannot be rushed''. The only silver lining was that thanks to your involvement in the National Defence Emergency event and your people defeating the Loopa Ooofpas, they decided to close an eye and gave you a grace extension. For once your disappearance was in your favour as they''re all impressed that you managed to win while suffering enormous injuries." "That is why Yun had volunteered to get it done in your stead. Within those two weeks you were out, she had been fiddling with the Dungeon Maker." Her final gup of the coffee allowed her to heave out a large sigh of relief as if all she said had been heavily weighed on her chest. "I had done the basic planning and allocation of the Zoo animals based on the basic design framework you had kept with the System when you made your dungeons. I merely followed it and assigned the creatures as such. Amenities and the required workplaces are all in the documented blueprints. Look through the proposal and see if you are satisfied with it." Yun said as she surprisingly did not dare to face Jin for the first time. Although the System''s Assistant had the upper hand in most matters, using the Dungeon Maker was entirely a separate issue. There were several settings that Jin specifically set so that it would facilitate his style of dungeon creation. Even the System had to ''save'' the templates in case Yun made a mess out of it. If that happened, it would be her fault. So, she was secretly hoping that she did not get such a huge scolding from Jin since he usually was very protective about being the only one to create any dungeon instances and no one is able to have a say in it. (Well, with the exception of customer feedback.) "Ah, I am not too sure about the Advanced Training Centre blueprint since I am not an expert when it comes to architecture. Claire, can send Qiu Yue the details and tell her it''s urgent? I will still take a look after checking on the Cultivation Zoo Proposal first." Jin said as he focused on the Cultivation Zoo since he had already created a foundation for that particular dimensional instance. It was supposed to be the biggest dimensional instance he had ever created at that point in time since it was meant to be a series of dimensional instances combined as one. But now with the increased processing capability from the System and the success of making the Panda Street Instance, he was considering whether he should change the Cultivation Zoo into one massive dimensional instance. Naturally, that would further push the boundaries of Dungeon Making for the System, but Jin was not the only one improving the way he did his instances. The System had never stopped fixing and patching itself up, optimising procedures whenever possible so that the dimensional instances would not take as much memory and processing capabilities as it would have three months ago. And now with the advent of the Virtual Reality Network, the System''s backend had been crunching numbers to ensure that even more processes could be shortened, optimised and thus ensuring its processing capabilities could be efficiently used. Fortunately, the Crown of Beyond Depravity did not just give the System additional processing capabilities. It actually sped up its calculations with the help of the Dungeon Cores that the Crown of Beyond Depravity had been created from. With time, the System managed to break down the Dungeon Cores and based on its analysis of the Pandapolis and Demonpolis Dungeon Cores, it was able to recreate the formerly broken Dungeon Cores as separate processing units and attempted to house the Sub Systems within them. The Users did not know of this ''hardware'' upgrade, but the migration of the Sub Systems into these Dungeon Cores had also relieved the System from these modules. Most importantly, by being housed in these the Dungeon Cores, the Sub Systems finally had the chance to grow on their own. Of course, they would require massive amounts of resources; however, it did mean that they were no longer being restrained by the System because of its limited processing capabilities. Thus, in the future, it is possible that the Sub System can fully support the Sub System Users as if they are a System User. (Although, it is still considered as an infant at the moment.) With the separation of the Sub Systems, the System could better support Jin''s projects and instances, and so it was a boon that they managed to get the Crown of Beyond Depravity. "The Cultivation Zoo layout is very systematic, and I see no problems in terms of convenience for a multi-layer dungeon instance. Only I think it would be even better if we put all the various environments together. Similar to what I did for the Panda Street Instance." Jin said as he could already envision what was left to do it. A robust transportation module within the Cultivation Zoo instance, possibly just by using the same as with Panda Street Instance. "But the various environments will clash, won''t they?" Yun asked, and Jin winked back as if not to worry much about it. He also wants to keep the various environments intact, letting the animals be in their natural surroundings so that when the cultivators could observe them, they would be more inspired. "Hmm, fine. Don''t take too long making those changes. I do not want Grandma Yuan to use the Zoo as an opportunity to bash you too." Yun warned Jin, and he nodded his head violently. He suddenly realised why Yun was so focused on these documents. This way, Jin could at least tell Grandma Yuan there was some progress to the projects he was handed by her. Perhaps to Yun, this would prove to be a better New Year greeting than going there with a couple of oranges and asking for a red packet in exchange. "No wonder you insisted on going to the Tiger''s Meet first. It''s to give more time for Claire to tidy everything up. Thanks¡­ Yun. You are already one hell of a System Assistant at the start of the New Year." Jin nodded his head once more with gratitude and Yun curled her lips a little and nodded in response too. "Hey! What about me!? I want to be acknowledged as a Sub System User!" Claire grumbled that she had done all the work and yet Yun got the credit instead. "What are you talking about? You are already one." Jin stifled his laugh and asked Claire to check her System phone, and when she opened it, there was already a ''congratulations'' sign floating at the centre of the screen. "Happy New Year once more." Jin smiled towards her as Yun stood aside and opened another portal courtesy of the System. This time, they''re ready to meet Grandma Yuan. Chapter 981 Afternoon Tea with Grandma Yuan Chapter 981 Afternoon Tea with Grandma Yuan "Jin, you are late!" Lynn stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes to express happiness in cheek. While Jin, Yun and Claire had been talking about settling the project proposals and the written documents for them, Lynn had teleported over. Grandma Yuan, who had just woken up from her afternoon nap, had stumbled upon the Chef in the kitchen as she felt thirsty. Despite grumbling about how the System was inconsiderate for teleporting Lynn into her house without prior notice, she was actually quite glad to see Lynn first. (especially with a hot drink in hand). If not for Lynn''s quick new year greeting, Grandma Yuan would already have thought that she was some intruder that came by and was prepared to blast the kitchen along with it. But now with the tea in her hand, the slight charcoal smell of the roasted tea leaves inside that one fresh cup that had been prepared to perfectly suit her taste pallet. She could feel her soul being at peace and to add on to that bliss, Grandma Yuan was delighted to enjoy the afternoon tea with a small plate of Matcha mochi (rice cake). Although Lynn had solely prepared it for Grandma Yuan, the elderly woman could not bear to eat without any company and thus asked Lynn to join her. The two women had enjoyed a short chat while waiting for the rest to come in, and they exchanged pieces of information that held dear to their hearts. It was to a point, Lynn could feel where it was leading to and felt a bit uncomfortable hearing it from Grandma Yuan. Yet, Jin and the others'' arrival brought her a chance to escape. However, the old veteran cultivator knew what she was thinking. "Don''t you dare use this opportunity run away from the conversation, Lynn darling." Grandma Yuan insisted as she used her chi to hold on to a teaspoon and knocked the fleeing girl''s forehead with it. "Oops!" Lynn said, and the two of them laughed heartily together. "Did we come at the wrong time?" Claire yawned once more. She would not mind drinking Lynn''s creation. The Blue Mountain Coffee had been fantastic, but that rich roasted smell from those Japanese tea leaves was enough to make all three of the newcomers crave some. "It''s not that bad. Are you okay, Claire? You look extremely tire, how are you even standing with those large eye bags under your eyes?" Lynn questioned as she stood up and started to pour some of the roasted tea for the rest of the group. "It''s not as great as the first batch of tea, but it should still taste good." "Maybe, this is why the System finally accepted me as part of you guys. I had to become a Panda first¡­ Hahaha." Claire joked as she thanked Lynn for the tea. "Woo! That''s great news! Congratulations!" Lynn even clapped softly with delight. "Happy New Year, Grandma Yuan," Jin said before taking the cup of tea while presenting a pair of oranges in front of her. "No other greetings? How typical of youngsters these days." Grandma Yuan lightly complained as she ignored Jin and continued to drink Lynn''s roasted tea. "I actually do have some news on the progress of the Cultivation Zoo and the JODE advanced training centre." Jin immediately brought out his trump cards because there was no use hiding them (Mostly when those were also the only tricks he had underneath his sleeve). "Oh?" Grandma Yuan lifted her eyebrows as she slowly placed the teacup down and decided to return the greeting to Jin. "Happy New Year to you, Instructor Yuan." Yun was the next in line with the new year greetings and similar to Jin, she did not have many fancy words to give to Grandma Yuan as she knew the other never liked them. Unlike Jin, Grandma Yuan quietly accepted the oranges and passed her a red packet. "Why don''t I get one as well?" Jin wondered but decided to keep that thought to himself. It''s best not to offend Grandma Yuan. She excused herself and returned to her room for a moment. When she came back, she was holding a small key which she passed to Yun once more instead of Jin. However, her body language was directed to the dungeon supplier as she spoke to Yun. "This key helps unlock one of the insurance boxes that Ming was supposed to keep in my name. This is not part of Ming''s collection but my own. Just open it when you think it''s time to do so." Yuan instructed as she placed the key onto Yun''s hand and grabbed her palms softly as if she was entrusting something precious to her. Yun slowly nodded her head in acknowledgement, and the entire group enjoyed a session of tea. The conversation on the table was at first merely an exchange of simple pleasantries, but it slowly turned towards Grandma Yuan''s projects and mainly her opinion on the matter. "Why should it matter what I think of it? All these projects are youngling stuff." Grandma Yuan declined the opportunity to get involved, but Jin insisted that her opinion was VERY important since she had a vast amount of experience. He even went so far to tell her that without her input, these two projects were bound to fail. She sighed at this blatant attempt of curring her favour and just reminded Jin to go to Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo once more to understand why they are that successful. "I bet you did not ask those guys under you about the results of the training centres, now did you?" "I mean I read all their reports¡­ but they felt too normal. Although I guess it couldn''t hurt hearing it from them personally." Jin replied back. "If only you wouldn''t be too busy you could actually talk to them ." Claire pointed out while yawning once more. "Alright, alright, System please put that on my agenda." Jin sighed in defeat, yet the System denied the request. "It has already been part of User''s agenda for more than five weeks. Please stop putting things on ''your agenda'' if you''re not periodically checking up on them. System would also like to remind User that it is NOT your secretary." The System answered rather vehemently despite its deaf tone reply. "Then I seem to have good news for you. I''ve planned to invite those four for a steamboat session today. You guys should just stay for dinner. "Grandma Yuan suggested, and Claire looked confused. "I thought you wanted to keep your night empty. Didn''t you tell me you did not want to entertain anyo- Ow!" Claire questioned Grandma Yuan before she got hit by the very same teaspoon. "At this rate, that teaspoon is going to come to m- ow..ow Ow!!!" Jin realised he should not open his mouth to tease the girls as the teaspoon turned and hit not just his forehead, but it flew towards his nose, and Grandma Yuan slammed it hard. "I did say I PLANNED to invite. However, this reminds me that just like you, they are technically no longer under my care. Jin, you shall therefore have the privilege to call them for tonight''s dinner." Grandma Yuan declared. "I don''t mind providing the steamboat dinner. We still have quite a bit of food remaining from yesterday''s massive buffets." Suddenly Lynn got red in her face because she realised that using leftover ingredients might be a bit of an insult to Grandma Yuan. Hence, she quickly covered her face (especially her nose for fear of the flying teaspoon) "Ehhh I will get new materials immediately!" "Hahahha! You don''t need to bother my dear Lynn." Grandma Yuan laughed as she looked cheerfully at the dungeon supplier''s chef. "Yesterday''s ingredients will do. Those brats who have such a luxury life will not know the difference when it comes to eating commoner''s food. In fact, I think they will be delighted to have a steamboat dinner." Grandma Yuan said, and the rest suddenly felt degraded by the comments. Steamboat dinner was considered commoner''s food?! What had they been eating that made the steamboat dinner feel cheap? "Are you serious? I do not think they are that much different from them! Besides, any food made by Lynn is no commoner''s food! Her food is fantastic that it could easily be served to Kings and Queens of the past!" Jin commented in defence of Lynn. (Well, she ''did'' serve Kings and Queens of other worlds.) His tone was for once quite aggressive, to the point that it stunned Grandma Yuan. She shook her head and let out a soft laugh. "My bad. It was a common saying during my time, but it seems to have been mostly forgotten in this day and age. Do forgive me for that, my dear Lynn. I did not want to insult your cooking." Grandma Yuan apologised, and for all of them, this was the first time to see the prideful instructor lower her head. Even Claire was wondering whether the lack of sleep was making her see things. "Allow me to rephrase my answer. They will learn what a fantastic chef they have in their midst." Grandma Yuan said, and this time it was Lynn who lowered her head with gratitude. "You are giving me too much credit, Grandma Yuan." She said and immediately stood up. "I will prepare the ingredients!" "I shall call the four of them then. After all, I have yet to congratulate them for a job well done during the Loopa Ooofpa fight. I heard they were instrumental in the battle." Jin said as he started to call them individually and each one of them who picked up instantly agreed to it the moment they heard they were going to Grandma Yuan''s place for dinner. (If it had been Jin that invited them, they might have been reluctant.) Chapter 982 Advanced Training Centre Discussion Chapter 982 Advanced Training Centre Discussion The four demon exorcists were more than punctual, and all of them had come bearing gifts for Grandma Yuan even though simple well wishes would have been fine. It was initially a little awkward at the table. After all, Jin had not really interacted much with them as their boss and given his personal situation, today was the first time he had the chance to congratulate the four for their promotion. The situation only got more complicated since they were supposed to study under him until all of them became Demon Exorcists, yet they were now an entire Rank above that. Rank 2 Demon Exorcists Such a rank customarily required at least five years of experience before being considered for such a promotion. To add on, it was a bit of an open secret, but Rank 2 Demon Exorcists were considered as the ''real'' juniors of JODE. That was why previously, the Demon Exorcist Organisation had deployed a handful of Rank 2 and 3s to the scene when being asked for reinforcement for the Loopa Ooofpa fight as they did not deem serious. It was only until as the situation unfolds, they rushed to send out the higher ranking Demon Exorcists. (Ultimately those Rank 2''s only got to clean up). It was a major embarrassment of the organisation if not for Grandma Yuan''s coverup of the entire situation. (Several administrators and coordinators had to take the blame for ignoring Grandma Yuan''s initial request and it was unfortunate for them since many a time the requests for help were over exaggerated.) Thus, awarding the four trainees were one of the hush benefits that Instructor Yuan received even though in her eyes, they were already as good as Rank 2 Exorcists. Considering that these former trainees had been the ones who had fended off a national emergency alongside Instructor Yuan, they had been awarded highly, and the message behind it was clear enough. Her students were to keep quiet on the matter and let Grandma Yuan earn the glory too, as that was how the JODE upper management was to handle it. While it had been all over the news for the weeks prior to Chinese New Year, only those who were really in the know knew about what had truly happened and how close the country had been to meeting its end. The dinner preparations were rather peaceful, and Claire had stayed for a bit, but not long after the greetings. She had excused herself, citing that she was utterly exhausted helping Jin and Yun with the proposals. (It also conveniently allowed her to leave this awkward situation). The System had teleported its newest (and currently favourite) addition into the Dungeon Maker for a very, very short nap. She got to use the very same sleeping pod Jin had used but on the lowest setting in order to not to damage her body through time magic. (Unlike the System who had total control of User, the Sub System modules do not offer sufficient resistance against the side effects of time magic.) Once she had recovered enough from the fatigue of preparing the documents Yun needed, she returned, and Claire had to rub her eyes to check if she was not still dreaming. Lynn''s unique steamboat broth had somehow successfully managed to unite everyone. In fact, the cook appeared more than happy to explain how all the ingredients had been specially curated just for today. Unlike the day before, where Jin and others had a mini steaming pot in front of them, all of them now shared a large wide pot in the middle of a round table. In addition, the broth had been separated into spicy and non-spicy. This was to accommodate Grandma Yuan, even though she insisted that she would have been okay eating a bit of spicy stuff. As the dinner passed and stomachs were partially filled, Jin finally brought up the issue of the advanced training centres and asked his employees in-depth about the reports they had handed him. They were pleasantly surprised that he was able to remember even minor details of their reports though, in actual fact, he just read them thoroughly for the first time while waiting for their arrival. "I see, but there does not seem to be anything special about your version of the advanced training centre? I thought there would be more¡­ I don''t know advanced facilities?" Rong, the Demon Bull Cultivator, questioned as he perused the documents that Yun had made. Although Jin had made some last-minute adjustments based on the reports he read, those improvements had just been minor. "I don''t think that is much of an issue. We should focus on where we can add value to the centre aside from equipment rather than criticising the structure of the centre. With this being a dimensional instance, it can be size adjusted to accommodate more people, right?" Su Zhen, the astute Demon Snake Cultivator, remarked. "Yeah, with Jin being a dungeon supplier the training programme can be whatever he wants. Just imagine if he places a replica Loopa Ooofpa as one of the training dummies! I think that basically could solve most problems we encountered at the other advanced training centres." Lian, the Demon Fox Cultivator, argued casually as she stole a bunch of meat from the spicy portion of the plate and handed some of it to Grandma Yuan with a sly smile. "That is honestly not a very bad idea. If we can get him the data, those hordes would really make for an ideal form of stamina training and proper regulation of chi. I nearly lost my breath fighting a bunch of them." Lein, the Qilin Cultivator, commented. "In my opinion, fighting those monsters yet again should be worse than surviving that so-called Hell Camp," Rong said as he stuffed a mouthful of Enokitake Mushrooms, those long thin-looking mushrooms. "Then we can just make that be our version of Hell Camp. It could even serve as the main attraction of Jin''s Advanced Training Centre. I mean, they want us to be the best of the best training centres, so we should create it as such. ''If you can survive our centre means, you''ll be prepared to fight a Loopa Ooofpa'' could be our slogan¡­ or something like that." Lian suggested that she could not help but find the Enokitake mushrooms to be delicious once soaked in the non-spicy portion of the steamboat broth. "Hah! pretty neat slogan, Lian." Jin praised and found it amusingly accurate. Although it might sound a bit elitist, the slogan would be perfect to act as an attraction for his dungeon instances too. "What about the need to go through other advanced classes or lessons?" Su Zhen asked. "Let the other advanced training centres handle that. I agree with Lian. We should get our centre to make the current Hell Camp look like a midnight stroll by the beach." Rong now excited about how he could contribute to making a Hell Camp. "You do know that by proposing that, we have to go through iterations of Jin''s Hell Camp to make sure it works properly right?" Su Zhen rebutted. "As long as it makes me stronger and more useful in battle, I do not mind. I would rather stay alive surviving through hell than go through the regrets those Border Guards suffered." Rong declared as he muttered a few inaudible words before eating another mouthful of mushrooms. Even though his heart was filled with instant guilt at that point of time, his stomach said otherwise. "Big Sis Lynn! More mushrooms please!" "Hahaha, this is the first time I heard someone ask for more vegetables instead of meat. Sure thing!" Lynn agreed as she went to the ''kitchen'' to take it. "Then it is settled, you''ll have to set up a new Hell Camp worthy of its name." Grandma Yuan decided. "But we won''t be replacing the ordinary one since that is already a trial of passage for most Demon Exorcists. Instead, we shall create one that will be open to amateur Demon Exorcists as well as the elites." "Won''t that be too harsh?" Lynn, who overheard it sounded concerned. "Like what Rong had said, the times have changed. If the Banned Emperor dares to pull such a terrorist stunt against us once more, we should better be ready. Besides, in Jin''s dungeons, there is always a restart. We cannot guarantee the same in this world." Grandma Yuan''s remark seemed to have an inkling of truth hidden within it, and everyone agreed to it. "Heh, and now with Grandma Yuan''s name all over JODE''s organisation for killing the Loopa Ooofpa, her backing of this centre would definitely have some credibility to this hell camp," Claire said as she felt a bit reinvigorated from eating Lynn''s food. As they always say, sufficient food and sleep are what a tired body needs. "And if you need ideas of how the Hell Camp was previously, I could give you my experience. Although they revised it every five years." "I swear it''s getting easier each time." Grandma Yuan chipped in. "That is why I rather have my students not undergo that." "Is it really that hard?" Jin asked, not knowing how the Hell Camp feels like, and Claire gave a rough explanation of how it was during her time. She explained how there was forced regimental training and regular punishment whenever the team did not work as one. "That sounds awfully easy compared to what we went through," Lian remarked, and Claire chuckled a little. "Of course. What Grandma Yuan and I had given you four is already a modified version of Hell Camp. Back then, I even dubbed it Hell Camp 2.0 but Grandma Yuan kept insisting it was still a bit too easy for you guys." Claire said, and the rest felt a moment of despair as they reminisced what they went through. "Very well, I will prepare a Hell Camp, eighteen levels deeper than the original one! Please give me your inputs, and I will make the amendments to our centre" Jin announced while nodding his head before banging the wooden table with his hand, and so did everyone else. (Since it is fairly inauspicious to say hell and death during the new year. Knocking on the wooden table was to avoid bad luck.) "Perhaps they should have renamed it as Yuan''s Hell." A certain foxy person said as he watched the group having a delightful dinner from the shadows. "Or perhaps¡­ I should simply interfere with the Hell Camp Dungeon Instance once in a while to show them what is true hell when it is truly up. Ooo like a special guest! This will be such a fun experience for me, and my Foxes and most importantly, our participants. Hehe." The Foxy person raised his wine cup and took a gulp before disappearing into the shadows. Chapter 983 Meeting With Ke Loong Chapter 983 Meeting With Ke Loong The group enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Grandma Yuan''s place before all of them returned to their abode with the exception of Jin. He stayed back for a while longer to settle the details for the cultivation zoo and the advanced training centre. Obviously, Grandma Yuan was complaining about Jin making her do work on the first day of the New Year. It felt an unending rant, but Jin kept quiet and tolerated it, knowing that she was doing so much for him behind his back. Nevertheless, she assisted Jin with some parts of the current proposal since she knew that time was rather precious for the dungeon supplier. Claire, on the other hand, decided to wash her hands off that proposal after having worked overtime to get it done. She did not want to even think about it for the next few days and would rather relax on a holiday break. To her, the meal was so satisfying that she decided to nap once more at Grandma Yuan''s massage chair. (She had been the one who bought it anyway.) The wisdom of the elderly woman allowed Jin to make some necessary adjustments, but at least he finally knew what to do for both projects to make them successful. (Though he would still like some opinion from Qiu Yue especially from an infrastructure point of view.) At that point, he decided to make a move before he got thrown out for staying too long. While Grandma Yuan usually wore a non-caring face, she still took the effort to smile at the dungeon supplier''s progress and even sent him off. As for Jin, instead of returning back to rest, he teleported to the Panda Street Instance and checked the progress of his store. Compared to earlier in the day, the night scene was teeming with people. Most of them were here for the experience since they heard Jin''s store had undergone another revamp, but the majority stayed for the food and to do some window shopping. "Hmm, I should start thinking of making an event for Valentine''s Day too¡­" Jin thought as he watched families and couples walk through the bamboo forests, checking out the various sculptures of different zodiacs along the path. This was part of the New Year Event where the twelve zodiac sculptures had horoscopes and Feng Shui advice inscribed at the side. It was a side attraction since people loved to check how their luck would be for the year, and there were interesting tidbits on what to take note of with regards to love, work and health. Of course, being part of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan, Jin did not miss the opportunity to put a Panda Sculpture out while placing the System''s self-generated Feng Shui and horoscope advice on it. Most of the Pandarens thought it was a nice touch to put a Panda Sculpture in the Store Instance and even took photos of that very same Yawning Panda which Jin had used for the Royal Zodiac Duel Challenge. And as Jin was admiring the Panda Sculpture and thought back to the things that had happened earlier in the day, he heard a voice shouting for his name with lots of heavy panting involved in it. (And people are letting way to let him move through.) "JINNNNNNNNNNN! I had no idea how to find this place! Couldn''t we just meet at the starting point of the Panda Street Instance?!" Ke Loong questioned as he tried to catch his breath as hard as he could. "But then you would not have had the chance to see the new Panda Streets, would you?" Jin replied with a small smile on his face. "Besides, do you think this place has a starting point?" "True. However, I ended up getting so distracted because I wanted to go into each and every store. Even the street food smells so good! I would have loved to buy something to eat, but the queues were really long, not to mention your the allocated time!" "Honestly, you could have just bought something. I''ve time to spare now and wouldn''t have minded waiting a bit for you." "Oh no, I was not about to take any chances! I''m the CEO of a modestly large company, and yet I have trouble contacting you, much less MEETING you!" Ke Loong made a fuss while Jin merely chuckled and beckoned him to the very same Bamboozled Bar that he brought Kong Rong to. This time, the path to the Bar Instance had been allocated right beside the Panda Sculpture, and after Jin walked outside the normal path, onlookers were watching him and checking if there was some sort of hidden course. Some tried to follow, but their attempts failed since Jin made a turn near a large rock and disappeared along with his friend. It made those onlookers try to see if they could find the remainder of the hidden path. Almost everyone gave up and returned to where they set foot after failing to find it. "Now this is more like it!" Ke Loong was astounded by the cosy bar with jazz music in the background played by the baby penguins and pandas at the side. The customers within the bar instantly took a look at the entrance since Ke Loong shouted. The Panda Bartender immediately gave a calm stare, and Ke Loong realised his mistake and nodded his head apologetically before walking in with Jin to an empty table further away from most of the customers. As if that was not enough, bamboo shoots started to grow around their table and created a barrier to prevent from people hearing what they were about to say, giving Jin and Ke Loong the privacy needed. "Since you told me you did not get the chance to eat anything, feel free to order anything you want here. It shall be my treat." Jin graciously offered as he pressed on the remote table bell and another Panda Waiter came in, holding onto a tray with a bottle of sparkling water and two glasses. "Hmm¡­ for a bar, you do serve quite the variety of finger food. Alright, I shall be so shameless to accept your offer. I''d like some steak fries and some fish nuggets then." Ke Loong said, and the Panda Waiter nodded his head while filling the glasses. It looked towards Jin, who just shook his head. "Water will be fine with me. I am still full from dinner. Thanks." Jin patted his tummy, and as soon as the Panda Waiter had left, the Bamboo Shoots grew back from the ground. "So, I heard from Kong Rong that you had started some business association thingy¡­.and the fact that you are the mysterious thirteenth Zodiac Clan Master is already making the rounds. No wonder that guy kept asking me to take care of you¡­ But in the end, I can''t feel that it was the other way around and you took care of me." Ke Loong sighed before he gulped down the glass of water. Feeling even more thirsty upon drinking, he took the bottle of sparkling water and poured more of it into his glass. Ke Loong had not expected that water could be this satisfying. Was it because he had been running around trying to find Jin? Or was this water could be simply this tasty?! "Ah, so you heard of it." Jin was surprised how fast the news had spread despite today being a holiday. "In this modern era, information is of utmost importance, especially when making big decisions. This is certainly one of them." Ke Loong spoke in a tone, a good-natured tone like a wise senior giving advise to a junior. He slowly placed the glass down and wiped his sweat away, and Jin could feel that he was still rather anxious. "Could you please calm down? You are making me nervous just looking at you. Please. Treat me normally as you would a simple boss of a Dungeon Supplier store. There is no need to make such a big fuss even if my secret identity is out." Jin sighed in exasperation, but somehow that prompted Ke Loong to stand up and subsequently kneel right in front of him. Despite his size and slightly unsteady gait, he placed two knees down and prostrated right in front of him. "Young Master of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. As unofficial as that name is or even if you do not acknowledge it, I wish to pledge my eternal allegiance to you. Should you ever accept, Sea Mesh and its other entities will belong to you and the clan." Ke Loong swore solemnly. Chapter 984 Ke Loongs Pledge Chapter 984 Ke Loong¡°s Pledge Jin had expected that Ke Loong would want to join his ''illustrious'' Panda Clan, especially since Kong Rong had tried to persuade him into accepting his friend. But the way this CEO was acting was too much for Jin to handle. If anyone had told him that a mighty man like Ke Loong would prostrate in front of him for the chance to work for him rather than demanding certain conditions, Jin would have never believed it. With all the scheming he had to endure from other Royal Zodiacs (especially the Tigers), Jin had nearly lost all faith in dealing with such people. "Ke Loong, get up, this is unseemly. Other people might not see you right now, but this is totally unnecessary." Jin gathered senses as he tried to bring the CEO up from his knees, which he managed with little effort. Ke Loong was quite that Jin could actually pick him up from his kneeling stance. To have the strength to pull him up and with technique showed Ke Loong he was indeed skilful. Jin was not wrong in mistrusting others, as the CEO of Sea Mesh was using an Advanced Martial Technique to keep him steady on the ground. While he was indeed genuinely asking to be in his clan, Ke Loong could not help to stay in character, and thus his kneeling had been a form of a test intended to tease his Young Master. (After all the Sea Mesh CEO still had some sense of twisted pride.) Perhaps it was a tit for tat for making him try to find Jin in his Panda Street Stance but generally, he performed this trick on most people he requested help from. For those businessmen who knew Ke Loong and his style, some would say this was a form of reverse psychology. If the person could not lift him up from his prostrating position, it could be seen as a sign that his request was too much for that person to deal with. But to Jin, all he had to do was to hold his shoulders and slowly pick the CEO up while maintaining some form of balance. He knew the Ke Loong was more towards the heavier spectrum, but he had no idea he was being tested. Eventually, the CEO slowly released his technique when he got up and saw that Jin did not bounce when he got a little lighter. Instead, Jin merely shifted his balance naturally to let him stand straight and subsequently poured a cup of water for Ke Loong to drink. The Sea Mesh CEO was very impressed by Jin''s handling since not many were able to carry him up, much less handle him smoothly. Even Kong Rong had difficulty bringing him up normally and required a few tries. This reinforced the fact that Jin was indeed a trained cultivator despite Kong Rong''s information on him. (After all, seeing is believing.) "Instead of prostrating, tell me the reason why you still wish to bet your entire company on me. I did send an email informing you about my decision to stop the portal devices, and my employees should have seen to their deactivation. I shall honour what I said in that mail, and I will pay for the cost of the production incurred already by the end of the month." Jin promised, even though he knew he could pay it even sooner thanks to the funds he would receive by the end of the week for what the Royal Zodiac Tigers had done earlier in the day. "I am not worried about that, and in fact, I''m okay with your choice of ditching that technology. However, let me also warn you that people will still try to reverse engineer them, especially after they''ve seen your products in action. Even though I ran a tight ship when it came to the blueprints and held my workers strictly on a need-to-know basis, one of them is bound to spill the beans since everyone wants a piece of your portal device. It''s next-level technology, ushering to the age of automation and convenience." Ke Loong turned serious. "Its too enticing for my employees when all they needed was a bag full of cash to open their mouths. There is no such thing as loyalty in this era." "I know that. It was part of the reason why I wanted things to be done locally, instead of being outsourced to some german factory." Jin said crudely which incidentally offended Ke Loong a little since he had great ties with that German manufacturer. But he understood that Jin might not know the relationship he had and thus Ke Loong explained why he had taken that ''risk''. "Your what?!" Jin exclaimed, and it nearly shocked the Panda Waiter enough to drop the food and assume a defensive position to guard his master. (And the food at the same time.) "Oh sorry, please just bring in the food." "Apologies too. Yes, right away master." The Panda Waiter returned its composure and placed the food on the table. Before leaving, it even helped refill their glasses. Ke Loong got a little frightened by the sudden action taken by the Waiter, but Jin reassured him that it is a defensive mechanism inbuilt into the NPCs to ensure the safety of customers in his Panda Street Instance. "Ah¡­I did hear something along that line of an advanced AI by Kong Rong. He was raving about it even though I tried to get more information about you¡­ Anyways, as I said, that german factory belongs to my stepbrother. He might be of a different mother, but our brotherhood is tight as fuck." Ke Loong boasted while clenching his fists and Jin was speechless. "In any case, I actually own nearly half the shares of the factory so by putting me under you, you would have control of that factory too." Ke Loong explained, his eyes were confident that there was nothing to worry about. "In any case, I have not come here to talk with you about the portals. I think that you are not concerned about the portal because of your new invention. Your upcoming Virtual Reality Network!" "Is that the reason why you''ve rushed to meet me?" "YES!!! When Kong Rong told me about it, my brain literally exploded with excitement! Can you imagine the amount of money we could earn by being the very first global distributor of a Virtual Reality Network? This is the stuff you only normally read about in those web novels, but I believe you will actually be able to turn such a fantasy into reality! We will kill all the competition in an instant. And seeing how Kong Rong insisted that he could not say more unless I became a Panda Associate, here I am, stripped of my pride to become yours truly." Ke Loong announced while his arms were wide open and it somehow irked Jin a little. "Most importantly! The realisation of being on board for making the very first working Virtual Reality Network in the world! That is a goal worth accomplishing in my lifetime! Our names will go down in history!" Even Jin could understand the indescribable urge of getting the Virtual Network done and with Ke Loong and his connections. This would be the breakthrough Jin needed to expand the network quickly too. Thus, without any further delay, he brought out the very same contract that they had used on Kong Rong. The only thing was the System made some amendments to it since the CEO had a variety of properties in his name. In the event, Sea Mesh turned bankrupt, there should be no implication of it to Jin. However, the wording was so shrewd that even Ke Loong who was experienced in looking at legal documents, did not pick it up. (The System must have learned a trick or two from analysing Xiong Da''s way of writing contracts.) To him, the CEO would do whatever it took to be rich, famous and accomplished, and Jin definitely had the means to allow him to achieve that. It was a win-win situation. Only once he had signed it, did Ke Loong learn that there was so much more waiting for him. His brain repeatedly exploded from the revelation of the System''s existence and Jin''s explanation during their snacks. (which they eventually called for more.) Ke Loong had already tried to overestimate the possible potential Jin had in his hands, but the System had blown all those out of the window. With proper backing by him, the Sea Mesh CEO already started to spit out ideas which could help Jin. The discussion subsequently became one of the longest nights that they could ever have with the System taking down all the notes. (Even though The System insisted it is not Jin''s secretary.) Chapter 985 Yuan Bas Sudden Visi Chapter 985 Yuan Ba¡°s Sudden Visi Eventually, the discussion dragged to a standstill as the plans they agreed on needed concrete implementation before they could move to the next phase. Thus, they ended their drinking session and returned to their abodes for rest. Jin was happy to call it a day finally. He did not doubt that tomorrow was more than enough to do (mainly because the System told him about the things on his agenda.) When early morning came, he was abruptly awoken by Yun, because of something he had not predicted. Hu Yuan Ba, had made time and was waiting in his store for the dungeon supplier. Yun would have gladly thrown him out or left him to rot for a long while, before entertaining him and his entourage after the stunt they had pulled. Still, the Royal Zodiac Tiger''s Clan Head had been smart enough to tell her that he had come today in regards to the transfer of territory to Jin. "What¡­ I thought the Godly Representative said that the territories had already been given out. Why would Yuan Ba come here and in person no less¡­" Jin yawned as the System automatically activated the showering system for him. (Since the sludge was everywhere in his room.) "No idea, just go and meet him. We are in your shop so whatever stunt he might want to pull it will be useless. I''ve already sent them to wait in the Panda Street''s Conference Room. Since he''s come to give us something, we should not make him wait too long. But since he also has not bothered to inform us beforehand, feel free to take a long shower. A very long one." Yun advised as she left him clothes she had picked for him on a higher shelf. ¡ª¡ª "Mr Xie." Yuan Ba had been starting to get a bit impatient, but she immediately turned courteous as he saw Jin come in from the door. His face was still haggard from yesterday''s activities, and he was definitely not in the mood to hold any proper meeting. Up till now, Yuan Ba continued to refuse Jin''s title of Panda Head Clan despite the Godly Representative''s show of approval. Thankfully, the Dungeon Supplier cared little on such formalities and went straight to the point. There was no need to dwell on these courtesies and waste people''s time although he has the right to do so, especially now that Yuan Ba was in his territory. "Morning Clan Head Hu. Apologies for the slight tardiness, what brings you here?" Jin literally took Yun''s advice and slept in the shower for some time before coming out to meet Yuan Ba. And now when the dungeon supplier greeted the Tiger Head, he realised that Yuan Ba was truly not the only one waiting for him as Jin took a look at the entourage of people behind Yuan Ba. (In some way, it did benefit Jin as the System reported his staff spent money on snacks and breakfast while waiting for Jin.) Also, this was the first time Jin saw him without any of his children around and for good reason. Yang Hui and Yang Rong were still recuperating after the overnight resurrection procedure, whereas Yang Ling refused to even see her father after all the work she had put in to try to make Jin have good faith in the Tigers. After her father had broken his promise once again, she had seen him act no better than the Rat Triads and thus refused to take any part of whatever he planned next. While still personally employed by Yuan Ba, she had immediately recluse herself into her company grounds and ignored any text that came from the family. "These are the major key people that are working in the territories previously owned by Hu Yang Hui and Hu Yang Rong, both of which you have defeated." Yuan Ba introduced them as they all took a bow as a sign of courtesy towards their new ''boss''. Most of the time, territories would be given a new slate once transferred. Buildings and equipment were maintained, but the workforce had to be reassigned since the employees were under the defeated clan''s payroll. Yuan Ba declared this to be the ''extra'' compensation that the Godly Representative demanded since he argued Jin might require this more than an extra monetary tribute. It did not break any rules, and the value the employees provided was indeed objectively the better compensation. "It is best you get acquainted with them for you will need their expertise to maintain the factories and industries." Yuan Ba advised, yet Jin could not help but feel that the other party was doing this as part of some schemes while pretending to be friendly. Who wouldn''t want exact revenge when they had to give up their territory unwillingly because their failsafe plan had been toppled by a seemingly impossible turn of events? "Indeed, especially for someone who does not have the knowledge of our field, it''s best you-" one of the older key personnel started to chime his opinion, yet stopped as Jin stood up in the conference room. If Jin refused this particular compensation, he would not have specific expertise to tap on and even with an all-knowing System, there were certain limitations to practical knowledge. (There are definitely some workplace connections which these people that the System would never have.) "Clan Head Hu, your kindness certainly knows no bounds. I''ll be more than happy to accept your generous gift." Jin announced as he walked around the table to show his dominance in the area. He had enough of the Tiger''s tricks, and although he was unsure whether the workers were supposed to be used as spies or just slack off when given the opportunity, Jin would not fall for any of them anytime too soon. Still, Yuan Ba did not expect the dungeon supplier to go with the flow and since JIn decided to play into his trap, Yuan Ba was all the more happier. (Especially when he knows that those buildings would be useless to Jin if he did not have the people to work for him.) Another reason for the usual change of personnel was that no one was stupid enough to allow potential spies to stay in their own territories. So the most Jin could do was to sell away those buildings and land and Yuan Ba had made sure that Jin was given only the most basic of items if he rejected the compensation since the Clan Head had bundled it all as part of the package. "But before we sign anything of that sort, I do have one minor condition," Jin added and Yuan Ba''s eyebrows stoked up. "Speak, and if it''s not absurd, I might consider it." The Tiger Clan Head offered cordially, and his brain was ready to work overtime, waiting to counter anything Jin was about to say. "Well as their new boss, I would like to have a one-on-one talk with them to see if they would really want to become my employees. At the same time, I''d also like to learn more about the industry from their perspective. Especially since they already have taken the time to come down here, might as well take the opportunity to familiarise ourselves." Jin stated as he continued to walk around to observe their dressing and their body language. "Ah." Yuan Ba heaved a sigh of relief and thought he was going to ask for an absurd ''minor'' condition like asking for extra monetary tribute. "That can be arranged since most of them are on their holiday breaks and have come here specifically just for you. While it might be a holiday, there is much to be done due to the transfer of ownership, so I''ll have to ask you to not spend too much time with them so they could handle the assist with the transfer documents. Besides, I''m sure most of them would prefer to spend some more time with their families as soon as possible." Yuan Ba grinned, and the rest were nodding their heads along. Their allegiance would still be to the Tigers, and it would not change with a pep talk with Jin. All of them had done brokered business deals and had handled a fair share of shrewd people in their line of work. Not to mention this Jin appeared to be somewhat naive with his friendliness, so those key personnel were basically handling an ant which they could step on. In fact, some were already thinking of ways to manipulate the dungeon supplier to hopefully gain more favour with the Tiger Clan Head. To them, It was indeed wishful thinking that Jin could convince them to work for him earnestly. If only they knew how ''convincing'' Jin''s headhunter could be¡­ Chapter 986 Just A Pep Talk Chapter 986 Just A Pep Talk "Please enjoy a great meal at our Restaurant Train in our Panda Street Instance while you wait. If you''re not feeling peckish the sights my Store Instance has to offer should also keep you busy in the meantime. I''ll have my NPCs find you and accompany you to meet me when it is your turn." Jin told his new personnel with a wide smile. Nobody refused, since it seemed a better alternative compared to just sitting around and doing nothing. "If that is the case, then let''s convene this meeting then." Tiger Clan Head Yuan Ba said as he extended his hand towards Jin. "To a more harmonious and memorable working relationship." "Thank you for being supportive and giving me such a huge crew to support me. I did not expect your generosity and appreciated it a lot." Jin replied as he returned the handshake and Yuan Ba could only scoff inside his heart. Jin was grinning happily too, not because he was naive, but he also had a plan in mind. They subsequently exchanged some small pleasantries before he got teleported out of the Conference Instance (courtesy of Jin''s ''creator rights'') and YuanBa left with a satisfied grin on his face as he drove off in his car. "Jin, Jin. You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. Maybe, I might be able to recoup my yesterday''s losses in the future." Yuan Ba thought to himself while he quietly drove back to his mansion. "Sorry to hold you up while I let the others go off first, Mr¡­?" Jin questioned the one who was the first and whose statement he had interrupted by standing up in the meeting previously. "My name is Fa Tai. I''m the overall in charge of the Tiger''s Refinery Industries." The middle aged bespectacled man introduced himself. Fa Tai had a small build with a dad body and matching that look he appeared to be balding too. Jin got the feeling that Fa Tai must have given his all to get into his current position and was very loyal to the Tiger''s no matter how one would see it. The fact that he called them the Tiger Refinery Industries with pride only strengthened his belief that this worker had no real intention to recede himself to work for the Pandas. The dungeon supplier had a small pep talk in mind, but it appeared that would be meaningless. "Then I assume you are the president of the company?" Jin asked, and Fa Tai did not mince his position. "Of course. I''ve made millions for Lord Yuan Ba, and if not for him magnanimously handing you the industries, I would not be here talking with you." Fa Tai admitted without holding back. He was sure whatever Jin had planned trying to convince him to change his mind would be a colossal waste of time, so he wanted to keep the conversation as short as possible. "So you are a man who values his time, Mr Fa Tai. Alright, it seems we do have certain things in common. Please, come to my office for a moment. I just want you to tell me a bit more about your work. A short summary will be fine while I offer you some of my hospitality too." "There is really no need too. I know about your store. You sure had it easy getting things done compared to us. To me." "I gave it my all every day and many nights, just to work my way up to the top and you merely had this tree in less than a few months. You honestly think you can handle us. Think again." Fa Tai started to become impatient and showed his true colours since the "compensation" package had surprisingly been accepted. There was no need for any much facade, if not for the condition for that one on one talk, he would have already flown back to his state and enjoyed his holiday break. "I''m afraid I INSIST that you do me this courtesy." Jin stressed as he still obligingly showed the way to another room, ignoring the harsh tone of the other since he knew that he would soon change his behaviour. "Fine. Fine." Mr Fa Tai sighed as he followed Jin through the corridors. The dungeon supplier opened one of the doors, and Fa Tai could see that the office had minimum renovation to it. Just a desk with two chairs at each side. Other than that, there was only one cabinet at the corner. "Have a seat first. I will get you some nice tea." Jin instructed him. "Please be quick. I have a flight to catch back." Fa Tai called with the ''nicest'' possible tone he could bring out before Jin left him at the office. "Is this a joke? This office doesn''t feel like what a boss would have. Only two possible reasons. He is berating me as well, or he does not have money to make a proper office. Well, maybe three. This is a makeshift office. Whatever it is, it is just a quick five minute talk, and I say I will get going." Just as he was mumbling to himself, he suddenly found that the lights went out. Fa Tai cursed under his breath after being stunned momentarily and tried to take out his phone for some light. "This is a dungeon instance, right? How can the lights be out?!" Fa Tai questioned out loud as he tried to find the exit. But as he got up, he felt the darkness was crushing him. His gait was unsteady, and the light from his phone merely made things worse. There was no wall in front of him despite knowing that there was supposed to be one just a few metres away. Thus he tried to move faster but the more he walked, the less certain he became since he had yet to touch any of the walls which should have been only mere meters away from him. Fa Tai could not find anything to grab on and fell to the ground. Furthermore, he accidentally dropped his phone, causing the only source of light that he had to disappear within the surmounting darkness. "What is this charade, Jin?! I''ll complain to Yuan Ba about this nonsense. Release me right now, or your compensation package will be voided! Null!" Fa Tai shouted as he tried to crawl around, looking for something to hold on but even now he felt like the darkness itself was a physical thing, holding onto him, making him very uncomfortable. It felt invasive to the point that he needed a way out of this. But even with his feeble attempt to portray his cultivation for a source of light energy, it seemed to be eaten, absorbed by the darkness almost immediately. "Okay! Okay! I am in the wrong! I will tell you what Clan Head Yuan Ba said to me! I promise not to betray you! Just let me out!" Fa Tai begged after he realised that his threats got ignored, but it seemed as if his voice was getting swallowed by the darkness too. "Oh¡­no. You''re not going anywhere, my little boy." The crude voice and the clinking of boots were heard from afar. "Please! Help me! I''m willing to pay you! Just tell me your price. All I ask is to let me out of here! I am not that good with darkness, and I have night blindness!" Fa Tai shouted, but a "tsk tsk tsk" reply echoed throughout the entire room as if repeating that particular sound over and over again. "Please, I''m not interested in your money. Now I''ve come back from a very long workout, so you, my boy, will be the perfect stress relief." Kraft said as he chuckled a little. It had been a long time since he could torture people and Jin gave him the perfect new year gift he could hope for. "In the spirit of the new year, allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine, who has been neglected for far too long." Fa Tai was still unable to see anything, but somehow the projection of an evil wide grin like a Cheshire Cat, began to appear in front of him. "You will give me everything that you have inside that jelly brain of yours. Spill every. Single. Secret. Out." Although only a couple of minutes had passed, to Fa Tai, it felt like years ¨C nay ¨C decades. And if not for the message that more people would come, Kraft would not have minded lengthening his stay to perceived centuries as he played as he infiltrated into the man''s brain and heart while playing with his feelings. And thus, the brainwashing session commences. Chapter 987 Brainwashing Session Chapter 987 Brainwashing Session Just like Fa Tai, each one of Kraft''s new victims had had haughty thoughts towards Jin, before Kraft ''convinced'' them to think otherwise. Jin, who had survived to tell the tale, knew what a terrible torture each one of them had to go through. Still, Kraft had merely shown Jin a fraction of the pain and anxiety the key personnel had gone through. He had not had such fun for a long time and took this as an opportunity to refresh his skills and try out new tactics to scare the key personnel. His methods had varied from plain boring overwhelming darkness to digging out their worst fears and portraying it out for them to relive it over and over again. However, that was just part one. The next phase of brainwashing them was to make them believe they still had hope in that everlasting darkness to cling on. And that was when he hung the carrot bait up high for them to reach out only to disappoint them by leaving it centimetres away from their maximum extent. "For the despair upon hoping had the greatest effect on their minds, thus making them extremely vulnerable to the effects of seducing the brain to our command" or so he quoted in one of his brainwashing sessions. "You are lucky that I was only strengthening your resolve back then, not brainwashing you to submit to my command," Kraft pointed from the sidelines to Jin as the dungeon supplier had seen enough for the moment. He left for a moment and came back with a bottle of water and a packet of piping hot waffles. "Too bad the System rules prevent insubordination of people from my world. If only we could kill and resurrect them, that would be so much easier. I''m sure they all would have preferred that compared to your treatment." Jin said as he folded his arms and saw one of the personnel squirming in the middle of the room. To Jin and Kraft, the room was just as Fa Tai had seen. That relatively empty room with a desk and two chairs and a guy flapping his body like a fish on the floor. But in the personnel''s perspective, all they could see was abyssal darkness waiting to swallow them. "Heh, if the System made it so easy, all you had to do would be to kill each and every one of them and make them our slaves¡­ Well there should be reasons why these rules exist. How lucky you are, that I can still recruit people for you. Besides, the way the System does it uses up its processing capability to handle all of them, so I''m sure it also appreciates my efforts." Kraft replied as he munched on the hot waffles. The blueberry jam inside suited the crispy edges of the waffles, and it melted inside his mouth. "But good on you to think about brainwashing them. I honestly did not expect you to call me to perform such a wonderful activity." "Meh. I needed the information in their head and making them double crossing the Tiger Head Clan will be so much more fun. I do not understand why Yuan Ba had to keep making schemes to take over me. Is that why the System hates those Zodiac clans so much?" Jin asked as he squatted and saw the man pissing on his pants while begging for mercy still in that fish stance. "Now you''re speaking my language!" Kraft laughed as he swallowed his food with joy. "He thinks you are gullible, a person with strength and possibly wealth, but no wits. To be fair, you DID fall for like ALL of his plots. Like the part where the police did not interfere with the Rat Triad until the very last minute? There''s no way an honest police force would be allowed to do that. They had pledged their service to help the common folks, and by fencing the place up for the Rat Triad to finish you, it was a dead giveaway. Someone high and mighty is controlling the ropes. Perhaps a deal between the upper echelons of the Rats and Tigers? Who knows. I did not bother to investigate. Luckily, there are still some good fools, sry I meant people, out there, like the police chief who still had some conscience and closed his eyes to let a few of his policemen assist you." Kraft began to wonder if these key personnel had some information of the said event. Highly unlikely but since he had his toys it was worth a shot to check. "Now that you say it, I felt that the Tiger Triad members came at such a convenient time. Too much of a coincidence, in my opinion." Jin started to think back to that incident. The way Ku Wai, the Tiger Princess personal bodyguard and vice leader of the Three Eyed Tiger Triad came in to save him felt like it was choreographed. However, it was a possibility that Ku Wai had been used the way Yang Ling had been taken advantage of. "Have you ever wondered why they gave you that honorary tiger membership? Perhaps, they had colluded, and if you fall, the Tigers will try to protect you as much as possible. So, in the end, you will owe them. You are in their debt because they not only gave you an honorary position but saved your life from the Rat Triad Leader." Kraft said so bluntly that it allowed Jin to ponder further. "And the Rat Triad could get the district with the Tiger''s help, then pay them some commission fee or something? While I felt that is plausible but isn''t it a bit too far fetch too?" Jin asked, and Kraft could only shrug his shoulders. "Your judgement call, mate. While I might be providing you with circumstantial evidence, you can only decide these things yourself. However, there''s one thing I might be able to add. The Tiger Princess? She is genuine." Kraft used the paper packet to wipe his mouth before drinking some water to clear his throat. "She might be ''in the schemes'', but generally, her father used her as a pawn as well. Also, I heard Yang Ling tried to warn you before she was taken down by her own people. That will give you an indication that she might be a worthy ally to consider. Heh! Imagine having her as the Tiger Clan Head while under your System''s influence! That would be quite an accomplishment!" Kraft added while grinning from one end to another. "And another girl to your harem of potential wives." Jin rolled his eyes and denied that possibility. "Please, if I recruit her, I would want her for her knowledge and expertise in nanomechanical engineering. Compared to what I studied in school, she''s a real deal engineer which could soar our in-house technological capabilities to the skies." He argued as he conjured a waste bin for Kraft to throw his items. After all, he did not like the office to be messy in any way. "Please! Stop giving excuses." Kraft snorted before snapping his fingers and the nightmare for the Tiger Refinery Industry Manager to fall to his knees. "Wake up. Who do you think you are? Lying on the floor in the presence of your true master?!" Kraft said as he kicked the guy awake as he did to Fa Tai and the rest before him. "Sorry! Sorry!" The manager said as he saw Jin and quickly prostrated. "I expect an audit report of the factories that are under you, do you understand?" Kraft shouted, and the manager nodded his head, banging it on the ground before running out of the room. "Isn''t that a bit too extreme?" Jin asked as he checked the whereabouts of the next participant of Kraft''s brainwashing. "Nah, you got to incite that fear and power abuse in them. You might not really understand it, but those boomer old folks'' mindset is totally different from you millennials. You got to work a different angle to get things done. Don''t worry, these brainwashes are as effective as they can be. Besides, they had already made a verbal pact to the System at the end of the brainwashing procedure." "So, no matter what, Original Bellator''s Kraft method would ensure loyalty to the Panda Clan compared to the Tiger Clan." The System chimed in. "And that means willing, productive management that would perform for the betterment of the Panda Clan." Kraft said as he was thinking of the next punishment procedure for the upcoming clueless key personnel. Chapter 988 Requesting Support From Other Regions Chapter 988 Requesting Support From Other Regions As Kraft continued to convert the Tigers to people loyal to the all new Panda Clan, Jin requested the System to check the situation in the Farming World. "Everything is all quiet; there are no interferences from the Demon Rats. However, the System has dragged Bellator Peppers to perform a higher Grade Deep Scan as suggested by User. And based on the results, what you were initially afraid of might be plausible based on the section that Peppers scanned." The System reported and stated that Jin''s hypothesis that the Rats were plotting something even more sinister by digging through the underground could be correct. "Then why did you not tell me earlier?" Jin questioned, and the System stated that it would rather have the full scan analysis before sending the report to Jin. What Peppers had scanned was merely a portion of the northern region, and because of the depth of the scan, she was unable to expand the search. Not to mention it took a considerable toll on her body considering this was a new sort of manipulation to her current magic spell. (She probably won''t complain if it was an explosion spell.) "The military leaders have been informed, and they are scrambling to change the plans as we speak. But without Qiu Yue to facilitate certain changes, they were unable to go through with it." The System said, and Jin queried what it had to do with her. "Sub System Qiu Yue had proposed creating mobile encampments to facilitate attack and defence strategies. While teleporting to and fro would be much easier, the System would not wish to waste resources unnecessarily." "I thought they wanted to do an all out attack, fighting against the Demon Rats on all fronts?" Jin asked, and the System reported that with the new findings, that would prove to be an insurmountable task. "We lack the military force, and not everyone is at a ''Nubwort'' kind of level. Each and every soldier have their individual level of fighting expertise, and some are better at logistics and crafting instead." The System said as he teleported Jin to the War Room and he saw the usual military leaders like Nubwort and Gold. "Master Jin." All of them nodded their heads in acknowledgement of his presence. "I heard from the System about the change in deployment developments, what do we do?" Jin asked as he glanced at the electronic documents on the table which the minions were now familiar in using. Every idea they have, the System would transcribe them and place it on the console for them. Sometimes, the System would even infiltrate their minds and draw or depict the picture/ plan they wished to portray to everyone. It was a little invasive in nature but rather useful in explaining especially those who were not good with words. "Master, we actually did not want to bother you since the System said you were busy. We planned to show you the plans once we have most of the things confirmed." Nubwort said with a tinge of anxiety despite being an almighty Orc General. But even the mightiest of generals found this task to be somewhat insurmountable when they used the predictive model and exponentiated the results . Yet, Jin raised his hands to calm him down. "No worries. I was casually asking the System about the progress of the Farming World military planning. Since I did question how the Rats might be pulling a fast one on us based on the recent choice of deployment they had beset us with." "As expected of our Master." Moloch complimented, but Jin felt it was a little bit of sarcasm solely because it was from Moloch even though his thoughts were really genuine. "Yeah, if they have underground sea routes to dig towards the other countries, we might be in deep trouble. We need to inform the other regions about it." Weslie, the Scholar of the West remarked. "Those people won''t listen to us. In fact, they might not believe us. It is too far fetched, and they have their own concerns to deal with." Zieg, the Commander of the Dark Templars said. Being a noble himself from the Eastern Region, he knew how stupid those people in power are and how they worked. Weslie, on the other hand, wanted to believe otherwise, but her past experience had also shown to her that it would take a lot of explanation and rock solid evidence to change their minds. Why bother to move when the threat is far from their regions? And for the rats to dig hundreds of miles from the Northern Region! That would be nigh impossible to those old fashioned noble minds to wrap around. In terms of technology, the Demon Rats had already outpaced everyone in the Farming World, and it was only Jin and his reinforcements that kept them in check. Should the Demon Rats proceeded forward with their invasion against the other regions, the War Room reckoned that they could easily bring down the capitals in less than a day. "Even if they believed it, they would say they need to have money to send supplies and soldiers through the Central Ocean and get to us. And if we managed to convince that the threat was real and coming soon, some might say they needed their troops to defend their people instead." Zieg chimed in more of his own opinion and saying what he would do if he had not seen the calamity himself. "Heh, then I believe they would send a token force instead? But hey, isn''t that better than nothing?" Gold asked, and Zieg shrugged his shoulders. "Not heard about the West and south but their token force probably consist of conscripts or worse, volunteers who sought to improve their lives for a feeble monetary sum from an impromptu recruitment", Zieg replied and with a second thought, shook his head. "Maybe the northern kids and elderlies proved to be a better soldier than those with their knowledge of using our own crafted weapons. If I say so myself, the Mousefolk that consisted of commoners from Meomi''s town had proven to be more formidable a force than any Eastern Knights contingent I knew of. Heck, they might be better than the elites the Eastern Region had in possession." Zieg added, and the rest of the group chuckled a little, knowing that for a fact it is true. "And If I may add, our war tactics are also unconventional, and it would be a burden to those Knights much less a token military force for them to follow our commands strictly. All they know is to fight in a straightforward battle¡­no wonder the Northern Troops lost so easily¡­" Zieg whispered to himself the last part and only knew the follies of his tactics until he joined with Jin''s army. "Maybe the Queen in the West could help! I know her personally. Her influence is definitely more than the nobles in the east and should be able to send us more than a token force. Even if they cannot fight effectively, they could help with the logistics and that should be able to lessen the burdens of the System" Weslie said, but Gold held her hand and shook his head. "She received news that you died. If you return to her this way, she might suspect foul play to your body or thinks that you are an imposter. That is impossible to gain her trust in a short amount of time. Until this incident is over, perhaps." Gold said, and Weslie had nearly forgotten what she had gone through. "Actually, we can contact the south to help us. My dear friend Nightingale is part of the Southern Stars Organisation. The leader of that organisation holds a high position among their hierarchy of rule. They had also been fighting with us for some time, and since they are more or less after mercenary money, I think it wouldn''t be a problem if we provide enough gold." Meomi said as she participated in this war room as a fighter who knew about the Farming World. "More importantly, I saw them how they fought. They clearly preferred our guerrilla tactics more than the usual bashing and the leader who came with this team and decided to compile our ways of fighting." "That is worth a shot and it seems like a better option than the rest had mentioned. Any objections from the impromptu council?" Jin said, and the rest all looked at Jin with curious eyes. "Ah, don''t worry about money. Tell the Southern Stars they will have it if they fulfil their end of the deal. But, bring Qiu Yue with you when you reach the Southern Region. If she cannot make a bargain profitable for us, I doubt anyone else could." Jin said as he now requested the System to open a communication channel to her. He knew she might be training hard with the Wolf Foxes, but this was equally important too. In the meantime, Meomi grumbled even though she knew that it was not possible to portal to the Southern Region given that the System hates strangers. Thankfully, the trip to the Southern Region would not be as painful as she thought it could potentially be. She thought that she had to sail for weeks while missing weeks worth of killing rats until Jin stepped in and bestowed a wondrous gift for her mission. He had commissioned a C130 to be flown via the Bulwark Port and subsequently parachute to the Southern Capital. "As I said, Once you reach there, call out for Qiu Yue or me. When the negotiations are done, load them up to the C130, and we have our first batch of mercenaries to do some rat termination." Jin said as he opened a portal for Meomi to past through while waiting for the System to send an urgent SMS to Qiu Yue. Chapter 989 Icy Chi Chapter 989 Icy Chi "THIS JIN!" Qiu Yue said as she squeezed her fist and chi oozed out naturally. The impact of her chi suddenly caused her surroundings to crack and freeze. If one breathed in the air, they could feel that their lungs were dried out and their throats ached for moisture. At that moment, Tsu walked to her and tapped her shoulders to keep her in check. Only then did the Red Panda Cultivator realise what she was doing and controlled her chi from spilling out of her body. "Sorry about that. It''s just that I wanted to have a full course of intensive training, but the Boss keeps breaking our momentum. It infuriates me quite a bit." Qiu Yue apologised, and Tsu merely nodded his head. "Your choice, the Farming World seems a big deal too. Especially when Jin''s sudden epiphany turned out to be very true. They are not mining for more litoride ore for their steam tech products but rather digging to reach out for other regions." Kai commented as he saw the missive sent by the System. (Technically it was just an SMS.) "I honestly think you should go help Jin. We can always train more. Besides, you did considerably well, especially for the time you had." Tsu added a compliment. "Guys, can you two stop it? Both of you are way too different outside of training. It scares me." Qiu Yue said, and the beast children who saw the scene from afar were already giggling. "What Qiu Yue Big Sis said is true!" Lapp, the grey wolf girl said out loud and Kai immediately sent a mini chi blast towards her. However, she managed to dodged it and in return, unsheathed her sword and released a greyish chi slash towards her mentor. But for Kai, he did not move and instead took the blast head on. There was no scratch or wound when it hit the Wolf Fox, and Lapp cursed under her breath. "Remember what we said about cursing?" Tsu reminded Lapp strongly. "Teacher, why is it Lapp''s fault? Qiu Yue Big Sis used it regularly." Tera, the black wolf girl said, and the Wolf Fox Twins immediately looked at Qiu Yue. "What?! It''s not entirely my fault they learned those!" Qiu Yue tried to defend herself from saying explicit curse words. Though it was natural for her to swear, in order to lessen the pain she was going through. Psychologically, it helped a lot and that was why the kids followed too. "Yea! It''s not her fault, damn it!" Lapp said casually without knowing the meaning, but it felt good. Tsu and Kai could only shake their heads and told Qiu Yue to get going. With a quick goodbye to the rest of the kids, the Red Panda Cultivator immediately teleported to Jin''s side with the aid of the System''s portal. "Welcome back, sorry that I ¨C woman what are you doing?!" Jin heard the sound of a portal opening, knowing it was Qiu Yue, but he did not expect a fury of icicle spears directed to his direction. While he could have dodged it, he was more concerned with the work stored in the dungeon console and thus similarly used a Panda White Ice wall magic to block the attacks. "What am I doing? More like why do you keep bugging me to appear when I''m in training!" Qiu Yue said as she retracted her chi. However, that show of power was enough to let Jin know that she definitely improved from the last time he saw her. And the jump in improvement was frightening. It felt like the chi she wields had the taste of cold winter winds. The chills of ice creeping forth were obvious even though it paled in comparison to Frost Echo, the Avatar of Shiva. Her cultivation of the Radiant Red Panda in the Umbral Snow allowed her to possess and control ice with her chi and the higher her grade, the more potent those ice chi powers could be. According to the cultivation manual, it might even be steady enough to use for building materials and withstand regular heat. While Qiu Yue was a predominantly ice user, it was the direct opposite of Lynn who cultivated the Perfectible Penguin Ruling The Kitchen Hell. However, the Penguin Cultivator had not been fighting in the front lines despite her grade ascensions. Instead, her strength lies in manipulating fire, and she was extremely good at it since her cooking needed it as if it was an essential ingredient. A difference in a degree of heat could drastically change the taste that she was aiming for. In fact, most chef cultivators were the same as Lynn, apt at controlling fire. But whether they have the strict discipline and talent to do so was another matter. Fire Control does not mean it was restricted to maintaining the fire at the stove but could be used for baking too. Unfortunately, most modern veteran chefs were unable to do that and relied on electric ovens instead. Lynn could not only control the heat in the oven but was able to cook simultaneously at the stove too. Her multi tasking and detailed control over multiple fires made her a top notch chef that not many had noticed yet. But unlike the kitchens, Lynn continued to rely on her ninja penguins in battle since she believed they were stronger than her. (Though our Dungeon Chef still has some tricks under her sleeve which she has yet to show.) "Alright, alright. I am sorry. Do not blame Lynn for this, I forced her to tell me because I needed your help urgently and somehow it just so happened I needed you to make it work." Jin lied about Lynn so he would not be accused of revealing where Qiu Yue went. "Hmmph, I supposed you needed my aid in the days to come, I just did not expect it to be so soon. But judging from the summarised report you sent me, it doesn''t bode well, and I guess it''s valid you called me urgently." Qiu Yue said, but she didn''t know how she could help with the Farming World. Thus she highlighted the advanced training centre until Jin stopped her before she could begin. The Dungeon Supplier also mentioned how she would be needed later for the negotiations with the Southern Stars, and all Qiu Yue could do was to roll her eyes. As usual, so much work and so little time. (At the very least, the compensation was more than sufficient, especially her red packet money. So, there was not much she could complain about when she had received this much money.) "While I read and appreciated the war plan that you and the minion leaders wrote up, I actually have something else in mind that I would like you all to consider. For that, I need your Sub System capabilities for the incoming plan that I thought up." Jin said as it has been a long time since he took the initiative to create a comprehensive war plan. "Now, I am intrigued! To see that you have a plan in mind, it''s like seeing a dungeon instance being created on the spot." Qiu Yue laughed. "What''s wrong with that? If not, I have no revenue from my customers and raid instances are the most profitable. Need the moolah to get the Virtual Reality Network working right?" Jin said as he unveiled the plan via the dungeon maker console and she stared blankly at it for a moment. Chapter 990 Real Time Strategy Chapter 990 Real Time Strategy "What are you going to do?" Qiu Yue readied her heart as she had no idea what Jin had in mind. The plans I''m in front of her was overwhelming, and she was not taking any information in. She doesn''t remember having any terrific powers with her Empire Building Sub System except for making buildings pop up if enough resources were available. "It might come at an awkward timing, and perhaps a bit old too, but I have yet to compliment you for the decoration you have done for the hotels that hosted the Royal Snake Soldiers. The System told me that you had created them along with the Goblin Clay Masons." Jin said, and Qiu Yue nodded her head, thinking where this communication conversation was going. "Eh yea, after a while, I learnt how they composed it and created them. Of course, it is a little difficult to get the details like the muscles and stuff. I also helped them create a production line for the defence raid." "We needed them to run fast, hit hard, and thus the balance of the creation needed me to crunch some numbers without wasting time making them. Still, the clay masons products were stronger because of the effort placed in them." Qiu Yue explained. "You saw how they were more effective against the Demon soldiers compared to the last line of defence we have where those were mass produced." "Those runes are the same, right? You were able to mass produce them." Jin asked once again, and she nodded her head. "That one was harder as Jespa was very insistent in making sure certain parameters of the rune stone manufacturing were achieved before she allowed me to produce them. But yes, even our favourite runesmith was stunned her work could be manufactured. It merely takes some ingenuity." "Which you did, Qiu Yue. And here I am acknowledging how important they were and will be for the upcoming fight." Jin said "Judging from the limited deep scans from the System and Peppers, their numbers are way over the top and they are still creating even more as we speak. What we need is to wither their numbers down for the fight, and we are going to do the same as before right now." Jin explained as he started to expand his dungeon console screen. "We are going to make havoc in their caves, disrupting their operations and proceed to their undercities. And we need those clay soldiers once more. But this time with some extra help not just from you but your old mates." Jin said, and she was confused. That was when Jin said that he was going to make a fake ''real time strategy'' game for Qiu Yue. He explained how he would want Qiu Yue to contact her old pals and even their contacts and try out this real time strategy game of controlling the Clay Soldiers. "In short, I am making a mind hive, a LAN gaming dungeon instance so that RTS geniuses like you and your friends can take control of. I briefly talked to Jespa via the System channel, and she said command runes were possible to create and use along with the animate clay runes, a more advanced animate dead, specific to clay models. The System will then pass that control to the Empire Building Sub System. After all, how can you build an empire if you have no control over certain subjects?" Jin smiled, and Qiu Yue was stunned for a moment before she ponders if there were any loopholes to it. "But how do you replicate the production of these clay soldiers like the way we manage soldiers in those RTS games? I mean we can''t exactly teleport clay soldiers one by one in, that will be a strain in the System along for just one player, not to mention a bunch of crazy ass micromanaging assholes and bitches." Qiu Yue said as she was concerned whether the System can take control of it. "Also, the fog of war, usually we have a constant overview of the fighting ground. Back then, in the Pandapolis fight, it was easy peasy because the city was ours to begin with. Now, amidst the spiralling caves, it is nigh impossible to have it done unless we create a satellite that does what Peppers do every sec, in fact, every mini second of constant deep scanning." Qiu Yue said and Jin was looking towards her without saying a word. "Wait, what?! You want me to create a satellite?! That is impossible! I don''t have the blueprints, and current satellite networks that we have are not cut out of ¡­oh wait. Did you already-" Qiu Yue squinted her eyes, and Jin was nodding his head at a slow pace. "You have the satellites and already improved them so that the satellites are possible to do such a feat like constant deep scanning?" Qiu Yue questioned, and he shrugged his shoulders. "Almost there. It was a project on the sidelines that I had asked the research team to do whenever they are free, which they are never free. Still, they inisisted on giving them more work. Anyways, I noticed how useful the satellite was for the Goblin World and the importance of having first hand information." Jin said as this was his plan. He must have something done before getting help from Qiu Yue. The only issue was how he did it so quickly, and that was because Jin had been using the time dilation room to the maximum, slowing time down drastically. He found out the dungeon supplier does have some innate resistance to the side effects of time magic as he levelled up in his cultivation grades. The System was surprised and increased the room''s dilation to its third highest setting. At that point, people would have slurring problems; the inertia to work was basically a constant. But to Jin, he worked as if there was no tomorrow. And so, he had managed to complete the plan in a short amount of time for Qiu Yue to take a look in. "However, the satellites are more to track above the ground movement. So in order to overcome that flaw, the System had made contact with the Farming World''s spirits of the land, and they were delighted to hear that a super entity could help with their ailing condition." Jin said, causing Qiu Yue to be amazed by the solution. "So real time tracking of the rats can come true¡­" "However, we will put some fog of war for you guys, to make it interesting unless the System deemed it otherwise," Jin explained. "Then, this production of clay soldiers?" "Similar to the satellites which are in the process of coming out their first prototype, I took the liberty to look at your clay factories and made a mobile version aka your Factory on wheels," Jin said and told her to improve on the designs if possible. "So like a command centre, we get troops out. Huh, I guess this RTS cum virtual controlling of the game is really becoming possible." "Told you so. I mean, we saw how the Pandawans tried to control the squads. They have no sense of leadership in commanding the AI as much as I hoped them to be. I tried reducing the scope by giving the customers a more advanced AI for the Nian Instance but based on statistics, it''s not up to my standard. So why bother giving them that many AI soldiers when all I need are those smart friends of yours to play it and control them effectively? I would probably need you to test play it as the alpha version before putting it out as the beta version. This way, the fights would be more organised and to some point, efficient. We can send the cultivators to fight their own wacky style in some other portion of the operation." Jin claimed which Qiu Yue agreed. While she now had a first hand in real commanding, she knew how hard it was compared to controlling a keyboard and mouse. But those clay soldiers that could move at command would be a better addition to Jin''s arsenal than a bunch of cultivators doing their way. "Then I guess the cultivators would be invading the capital?" Qiu Yue asked. "More like a distraction for our pros and help to thin the numbers whenever possible. Hahaha." Jin said as he passed Qiu Yue a USB drive and a key to the Mind Hive dungeon instance. If this goes well, Jin would have an autonomous fighting force to be reckoned. Chapter 991 Review For The New Operation Chapter 991 Review For The New Operation During the Goblin Orc War, Jin had few allies to defeat the Orcs. The Goblin Army had served as the backbone of that fight while his minions and the cultivators who had believed it to be a Raid Instance had acted as their support. With their combined powers and a bit of luck, they had managed to defeat the Orcs who had been empowered by their Lost Tech. It was the first major victory in Jin''s eyes compared to the minor skirmishes he had in the various worlds he travelled to gain companions. It not only makes him learn how gruesomely bloodly a war could be but also slowly emboldened him to help the oppressed. On the other hand, his escapade in the Giant World had primarily been a rescue operation despite it being a heavily coordinated effort among his minions and the cultivators. Nobody on Jin''s side had anticipated the sudden interference from the Goblin World''s Shaitans, but thanks to their interference they had managed to clear the operation as quickly as possible, saving almost everyone. As for the defence of Pandapolis, the Demon Army had grown complacent over the years and had wrongfully assumed that they could win everything with numbers alone. Jin''s side had benefited from the home ground advantage, and Qiu Yue and Moloch had prepared many nasty surprises, in case things would go wrong. If the Mad King had taken him seriously from the beginning, that battle would have likely had a different ending. Jin had also not forgotten that it was ultimately the arrival of Kraft''s entourage at the perfect time which had saved his butt. Alas, the Demon Rats from the Farming World feared neither men nor monsters. Under the North and South Scholars, they had raided, murdered, pillaged villages and towns and even exploited the human population. Fortunately, the Spirit of the Lands had agreed to aid the System in its war against the Demon Rats giving Jin a better picture of what was really happening underground. The dungeon supplier had been baffled by the sheer complexity of the Demon Rats'' ingenuity. He had been mentally prepared to find perhaps an outpost or fortress underground, but not various Mega Metropolises. The Demon Rats had sprawled under the seabed, and the tunnels were already half way through to the remaining three continents. Everyone was under the assumption that the Demon Rats were not ready to take that final step, but in reality¡­ they just could not be bothered under the grand scheme of things. Upon judging the serious fighting power of the remaining humans and the secret organisation that aided them, the Scholars had teleported the Northern Capital''s Floating Castle to the town of Wecha. Only instead of winning in one fell swoop with the Floating Castle, they lost against the otherworldly force that had been aiding the Northerners. It was something out of their prediction despite it taking a portion of their resources to do so. They initially wanted to eradicate the town of Wecha at the very least and leave Bulwark Port alone, but reality did not go as planned. So just like in previous occasions, the Demon Rats fled as best they could and returned to monitoring the Town of Wecha and Bulwark Port while continuing with their plans. "They have enough power to kill the Northern Region off, yet they purposely allowed a resistance to form which seemingly keeps their numbers in check. I believe they must be planning the same as us, a four way assault on all four regions, clearing out the entire Farming World of humans at once, so that the Demon Rats will reign as the superior race in this world." Jin expressed his opinions to the System as he prepared the additional strategies for Grand Operation Vermin Fall. While the War Room had been thinking how to beat the Demon Rats on a tactical level, Jin was thinking of the bigger picture. Some might say that it would be better to have the War Room Leaders to be in the picture, but Jin needed time and resources to confirm his operation plans before revealing it out especially when it involved creating new dungeon instances. Yet, he did not forgo the counsel of his minions and colleagues and continued to communicate with them for their help whenever needed. "That is entirely possible. However, if they split their forces, it''s good for User''s plan." The System stated in an attempt to encourage Jin. However, how could 8,000 Minions win against hundreds of thousands if not millions of rats? There would have been a chance if those pests were stupid and dumb following a zealous leader. However, each and every Demon Rats had demonstrated that they were perhaps cowardly, but smart enough to escape and retreat if they faced with overwhelming odds. They would survive, and once their masters came up with a new plan, they would come back and enact revenge. Maybe coward was not the word, but rather, opportunistic in nature. What''s more those Demon Rats were born from a variety of plants and possessed a variety of capabilities. Their knowledge of mining, carpentry, blacksmithing etc. gave them quite the edge. The only silver lining was that the Northern and Southern Scholars had been unable to find Gold''s hidden deposit of rare seeds. Otherwise, they might have been even more formidable than ever. Nevertheless, Gold was troubled and curious about why that was the case. Given the Rats'' abilities and above average keen senses, they should have been able to find it. Surely, they would have gone through every crook and nook of the place to look for treasures and yet, his deposit of seeds were left untouched. Mystery aside, the System found the plants to be of a wondrous find. Gold did not keep just seeds but soil samples too. The purest of forms in case a disaster befall the nation, and they could use the deposit to reestablish their nation. Thus, the System had been working hard to analyse them, trying its best to replicate the magic of the Farming World, but it was to no avail. Somehow, the trick to growing them still lied with the secrets of the Farming World. Not until the System had finally taken the initiative to contact this world''s Spirits of the Land. When presented the chance to do so, the System had added a clause in its negotiation with the Farming World''s Spirits of the Land for their knowledge in creating a seed to something in return for killing the rats. And that clause alone might have been the key factor needed to topple the current predicament that they had. With samples of the soil, seeds and the aid of their Lost Tech, it was finally possible for Jin to fight toe to toe with the Demon Rat''s overwhelming numbers. The only other few things he needed would be money and time. He had recently amassed plenty of the former, but he could not influence the latter. And thus that was when the ingenuity of Jin''s minions came into play. "Summon Gold, Weslie, Ayse, Rei. Oh and Kiyu if possible. We are going to do some test runs to make sure they work before we mass produce them." Jin ordered as he began to design some blueprints and notes for the incoming minions. Chapter 992 Exhibit 9S-2P Chapter 992 Exhibit 9S-2P In a matter of minutes, the minions Jin had called for assembled in the Dungeon Maker. He was patiently waiting for them at the head of the meeting table, where he was doing some finishing touches on some documents. "What''s the special occasion that needed me to be around?" Kiyu asked while yawning as she stretched a little. The foxy maiden had arrived later than the rest as she had still been sleeping in after a series of deep reconnaissance against the Church of the Afterlife in the Dungeon World. "Just needed your expertise on a certain topic. It should not take long." Jin answered as he handed out the papers as well as some samples. "Are those the seeds from Exhibit 9S-2P?" Gold asked since his nose began to start working overtime with a familiar scent in the air. "Wow, no wonder you are called the Garden Prince." Rei was amazed by Gold''s instant identification of the seeds that Jin was holding. To him as a layman, it appeared to be just some ordinary grey looking seeds. "Garden Prince¡­?" Gold looked towards Rei and was speechless for a moment. He did not know whether to take it in as a compliment. "Wait, don''t tell me you haven''t noticed?" Weslie turned towards Gold who now looked even more confused. "The Orcs and Goblins had been nicknaming all of us to easily identify us from the crowd." "Then, what are they calling you?" Gold questioned, intrigued and Weslie smiled playfully. "You''re sitting next to the ''Steamy Scientist''! I believed it suits me well!" Weslie answered while putting her tongue out and giving Gold a peace sign, which he literally and instantly placed his head on the table as part of his reply. It was a pun on a few levels, and he admitted that she was pretty enough to be steamy. "I wish the System would tell me who was the one who started with all those silly nicknames. Yours is so much better than mine." Ayse grumbled a little. "Seriously, would it be too much to ask, to come up with something more creative than "Lead Researcher''? It''s so dull and doesn''t place much of an impression on people." "Still sounds a million times better than ''THAT Golem Engineer from Another World''. Just because they could not handle the fact that I could build better mechs than them." Rei shrugged his shoulders and hoped that in due time someone might give him a better nickname. "That seems like a ton of fun. I should mingle with the Goblins more often, so I can earn myself a nickname tooooo!" Kiyu snickered since she wanted to join in the fun and the rest chuckled along until Jin cleared his throat. "You''re free to do as you wish in your free time, but I''ve called you guys here for a reason, remember?" Jin asked, and the rest kept quiet immediately, listening attentively to what Jin had to say. "Thanks. Gold has correctly guessed the contents of those samples, although they''re more commonly known as ''Blank State Seeds'' according to his notes. While the details are in the report, Gold, do you mind explaining it in your own words for now?" Jin requested, and Gold''s eyes lit up as he was more than happy to do so. "The Blank State Seeds have been named for their ability to take on any form the one who handles them wishes for. They are usually used by mages, and the most apt comparison might be to liken them to Master''s weapons Bam and Boo. However, they are unable to shapeshift once a form has been chosen, and it is a delicate process to form exactly what a mage had in mind." "With Gold being the Scholar of the East, he was naturally one of the top experts in manipulating these seeds to one''s desire." Weslie chipped in. "He and his other disciples have cultivated not just these blank state seeds but many other specialised seeds over the years to make them easier to use for the common folk. In short, they''ve been working their entire lives to create essential items for the various townsfolk." "But know that we regulated them so that there is no abuse! That is why we have the Royal Seeds Guild and have a Royal Seed Deposits in each and every castle. How do you think I got those Living Armour Seeds?" Gold stated, and Jin squinted his eyes. "Hang on, didn''t you tell me they were from a merchant or something previously? Those Living Armour Seeds were from that castle''s deposit?" Jin queried, and Gold flinched as he had already forgotten about that lie from so long ago. "Well¡­ I did technically get those living armour seeds from a ''merchant''. During the day he was an honest merchant, but in reality, he was a resistance member working deep undercover. He provided a lot of information being a secret info broker by occasionally giving inaccurate information to the enemy and selling us crucial information." Gold said that there were many a time that merchant was able to save their asses because of the last minute changes in the information he received. However, there were times he had to let it happen since the Rats could get suspicious, especially when the resistance barely managed to run away for quite a number of occasions. And when the opportunity presented himself, he broke into the castle and undid the seal of the seed deposits. Unfortunately, he got caught and had to fight his way out. He died from his injuries trying to get those seeds for me. This, I swear it''s the truth." "We''ve hoped to cultivate those Living Armour Seeds that you used for your System Rider and make them into part of our armour. Back then, we thought it would give us a good chance against the Demon Rats. Guess, we were quite lucky that Zeru stole them from us¡­" Gold sighed as he imagined what would have happened if they had never met Jin. So what if he had created the resistance group, the Jacks? Compared to their real numbers and grand plan, the Jack''s hard earnt little victories which were meaningless on the grand scale of things. They had likely just provided some sport for the military minded Demon Rats and the traitorous Scholars that sat at the top. But now, it would be different. He''s in the company of Jin and other worlds combined. With their help, they had liberated many towns or as Gold dubbed it in their words, Demon Rats Internment Camps. While the people had no idea what was going on or where Gold had managed to find such help, they finally had some hope that there was a real fighting chance against the Rats. Thus, he solemnly swore that he was not going to let the Demon Rats take over the Farming World. Therefore, whatever Jin had in mind, he would give his all to accomplish it. For that is the only sole hope that this Farming World has right now. "Thank you, Gold. So, returning to these Blank State Seeds. The System had managed to contact the Spirits of the Land in the Farming World. Many had ignored our call previously, but for some reason, that has changed. Perhaps, they did not think it could be that dire previously, and now those Demon Rats were more than just a pain in the ass. Anyway, what matters now is that we have a clearer picture of what the Demon Rats are planning." Jin stated. "We thought that by taking away Weslie, they would have been severely crippled with the loss of a lead scientist. However, our thoughts were a bit too optimistic. Although they had lost one Scholar, the other two are also intelligent enough to keep that circus lot of rats running. Now that we know what we are really up against, we are going to play their game by evening out the odds with these seeds." "What do you mean? We only have a certain number of these seeds? There is so much we can do with ¡­ Oh wait." Gold stopped as he remembered that Jin had something perfect for this situation. A machine that made the impossible possible. The Lost Tech Counterfeiter! "Ahh¡­ No wonder you asked me to see if I could improve that feisty machine." Ayse said as she nodded her head happily, giving the sign that it had already been done. "But it will be more furious with its demands after the improvement. I don''t know how to describe it, but I feel as if it is starting to have a mind of its own." "Come now, don''t tell me you are not expecting that. I mean you did use a piece of the leftover broken core and an advanced black market motherboard microchip that costs tens of thousands of dungeon dollars." Rei sighed in defeat when he remembered how Ayse dragged him to the Lost Tech Counterfeiter and forced him to fix an interface similar to Mechataur. Ayse had been surprised by the revamp Mechataur had received through the combined effort of Niu Lang and Rei, so she immediately put their latest scientist cum engineer to good use. (Rei''s free time had been severely cut ever since Ayse''s demanded improvements on not just the Lost Tech Counterfeiter but every other machine as well.) "It''s fine, we can just place a System Contract Inscription Charm on it, and it should more or less obey," Jin said and the rest looked at him with a surprised look. "Is there really such a thing?!" The minions queried and the System immediately took over. Chapter 993 Blank State Seeds Chapter 993 Blank State Seeds "That won''t work, although that is a uniquely interesting idea that the System might consider creating it. Especially for the likes of controlling non to semi sentient lifeforms. It might potentially help with future circumstances" The System stated, and it made Jin think about what it meant for a moment. "You mean like taking control of the mechas in Rei''s World?" "Affirmative. However, System''s Contract so far has been mostly either a ''Kill and Command'' or ''Sign and Accede''. There have not been any prior instances where the System was ''forced and ordered''. While such provisions can be accommodated, the System requires some time to make such a command available." "Do you think it will have an effect on the rats?" Gold questioned, but the System could not provide an accurate answer until they tried it. "Will there be issues of them resisting the command?" Kiyu started to ponder since she had been in the System the longest in this current group setting. She was aware of where the System Contracts had been coming from. Compared to the ancient times, Jin was the only System User who had been using this technique and relying upon it heavily because of the nature of his job. No one else in the System''s History had ever used this particular System Contract Technique to this degree and frequency. Then again, the System acted as an extension of the wishes of its User. Previous Users who had been familiar with the history of the Panda Clan usually wanted to get stronger to enact revenge, which did not really require travelling to different worlds. That coupled with the System''s policy of not enslaving humans of their world had made it more of a rarity. By resurrecting the opponent it meant that the soul owed a debt to the System, hence the Kill and Command Contract which Jin used in the battle. As for the Sign and Accede, the opponent had to be willing to submit their life over to the System, and the System would slowly win over the body by corrupting it with its constant privileges. Through Jin, it had successfully won over each and everyone who signed such a contract. Despite the constant hard work, the rewards were copious enough to keep the ''mind slaves'' satisfied. But for a "Forced and Ordered'' edict to be issued, Kiyu was afraid that the System would be unable to get the approval of the opponent assuming he/she/it had the willpower to resist it. That may mean consequences to the Kill and Command Contract and whether the System would actually have full control of the monster in the future. In Kiyu''s mind, she was worried that the System''s opponents might erode the full control slowly without the System noticing it. In the worst case scenario, they might eventually plot to kill Jin. "The System had no current data on it, but the System had assumption theories in case the edict fails and thus understands Bellator Kiyu''s concern." The System reported, and she nodded her head. "If we are that worried, I highly suggest we use it only on non-sentient lifeforms so that it will be just a form of highly advanced hacking?" Jin suggested, and the rest agreed right on the spot. "Anyways, back to the Lost Tech Counterfeiter, you''ve said it''d been improved so do you think we can at least double the production?" He asked the ''Lead Researcher'' and ''THAT Golem Engineer from Another World''. "Double? You wound me with your words, Master. I dare say it can produce things way quicker after absorbing that broken Dungeon Core. I have connected it to the Lost Tech Recycler too so that it could take things straight from it if needed. Obviously, there''s a drawback that you won''t receive any precious stuff from the recycler since the Counterfeiter will take almost everything. But hey, when we kill those rats, we get random resources anyway. Might as well use them to get the Counterfeiter working." "That Counterfeiter is a seriously cheat machine." Gold said as he shook his head in dismay. "What are you going to do with that many Blank State Seeds? If I am not wrong, you already have the capability to produce Black Sludge Crystals and create things like the Blank State Seeds, and maybe even more complex than a seed could do." "Obviously, grow out an army. One that is capable of fighting against the Demon Rats. We fight iron with iron. If this proves out to be effective, we might actually have a shot fighting in the Mecha World rather than just fighting them with sticks and stones." Jin snickered, but the rest could not catch his drift that well. "What I meant is¡­ forget it. How about I just go direct to the plan? Alright? Okay, so Rei and Weslie. I like you guys create a series of blueprints on semi autonomous machines that are able to fight. Be it a tank, a plane, heck even a mecha robot if the seeds can grow such a thing. Then you show them to Gold who will try to inscribe it into the Blank State Seed, and we grow them." "Even if that''s possible, we don''t have the time to grow those complicated structures! Remember how long it took to grow the Living Armour Seeds? In actual fact, it had taken years for the old tree and our Zither Mistress because of the time compression magic which the System used." Gold explained. "Doesn''t that dumb dumb tree get stronger with age? We are actually powering him up further the more we let him grow through the time compression" Ayse noted. "That may be the case, but the time compression magic has already taken a toll on our cute little girl. She seems to hail from a long living race, so she''s become stronger in the same manner as that treant, but I''ve noticed that her powers are unstable." Kiyu noted as she took a Blank State Seed and played around with it in her fingers. The Butterfly Fox had been checking on the minions periodically to in case the effects of time magic would affect them negatively ever since she found out that the System was abusing time magic a lot. (And with reason.) "Releasing that pent-up energy to help the plants grow has in turn helped her lessen the strain. Perhaps that is why your System Rider is so powerful. However, from what I''ve seen, she seems to be doing that unconsciously, and it''s not like it''s an effective countermeasure in the first place." Kiyu said that the side effect, while positive, might prove to be a bane in the future if left unchecked. "¡­Although, the Kraft in me would say, let her grow further and allow her to expend her powers all at once in the Grand Operation. That way, it might solve her problems and provide a huge boost to our overall battle efficacy. Still, you will also run into the risk of potentially killing her¡­ although meh. You could always resurrect her once more. All the more stronger and powerful. It just depends on how you want to use her." Kiyu couldn''t help but shrug her shoulders over this possible scenario. "Don''t talk about Ke Mi as if she was a thing!" Weslie complained, but Kiyu could not be bothered to argue back. Her years of fighting experience against all odds had taught her and the other foxes that they were mere pawns on a chessboard. Sure, they may be worth a rook or even a queen, but it did not matter when certain stakes were present. "I will take your advice into consideration. Thank you, Kiyu." Jin replied although he shared Weslie''s dismay. They might be his ''minions'', but Jin treated them like family after all. He eventually coughed to stir the conversation back. "It should not be a problem. This part of the preparations for our Grand Operation will only need Shu to handle them." "The System has been taught how to get these seeds to grow on foreign lands. It''s also thanks to Gold and the Jacks'' effort and data in creating that agriculture patch in their home instance." Jin added and stated to them that the System had initially tried to replicate the Farming World but failed to do so until it learnt the secrets from the Spirit of the Lands. "And you know what? That is not all. Those items which we collected from the Demon Rats will be of some use, and we can recycle their troops for ourselves." Jin said with a smirk. Chapter 994 An Unnamed Farming Instance Chapter 994 An Unnamed Farming Instance Jin opened up a new window to show off a brand new instance with literally nothing but layers of land floating from one corner to another. Not only that, the ground had already been tilted by Panda NPCs and automation to put even the current Pandapolis Farming Sectors, the Werejackal''s Mansion Farm and even the New Home Island Instance where the werejackals had an agricultural tower to shame. "The System had been keeping each and every single item ¨C basically a hoarder though it claims that it is for collection of data purposes- Anyways, the first of each and every single item that had been dropped were kept while the rest were used into the Recycler with the exception of those in our Spiraling Sewers Instance. The Pandarens who were grinding the dungeons would get to keep those items¡­ Although I have the feeling that the System is sneaky enough to at least copy the item before giving the Pandarens access." "And after our dealings with the Spirits of the Land, the System finally has gained the capability to regrow anything that was from the Farming World. The only caveat is that it''s limited to stuff from the Farming World." Jin said as if he was proud that the System gained a new skill but still disappointed that it could only work that much. (#asianparent) "You mind sharing it?" Gold asked as he too always had the conception that the farming had always worked in such a way until he went to other worlds to have an eye opener. "As much as the System wishes too, it is not something that could be explained or quantified without speaking potential System language gibberish. As the saying goes ''seeing is believing''." The System reported, and the group continued to browse through the new Farming Instance with awe (since the monitor featured something like Mooogle Street Map with 3D all around view.), Jin continued to explain. "Therefore, our priority lies in the absolute eradication of the Demon Rats. Once we have achieved that goal, we will have access to a multitude of resources to grow, reducing the reliance on the black market. In fact, we might be able to sell things in the future that could bring us massive profits." Jin told them with glee. "Like weapons?" Kiyu asked with her hand raised up. "Hopefully not." Jin did not outright reject that as a possibility after all military spending was always where most of the money could be made. "Oh¡­" Rei finally got the overall picture. "So, we create a lot of Blank State Seeds, find some military blueprint designs and let Gold work his magic to grow them in that Instance." "Ah¡­but as much as I like to brag that I am the best seed inscriber in the Farming World, I have not had a lot of practice for a while now ¡­so I''ll need some time to brush up. I hope it won''t pose too much of a problem since we can make more Blank State Seeds. However, I must warn that there are certain limitations to them. The seed is like a blank CD from your world. I can only add that much to the seed for it to grow. I mean have you seen the stuff the rats drop? There was nothing too complicated. From buckets, to tables and perhaps to a simple wooden house and the last one is pretty much as big as it can get." Gold iterated his concerns. "Hmm but oddly enough, the Demon Rats did drop ¡­you know erm your Farming World produces animals." Jin argued. "Because those seeds are animal seeds. Not Blank State Seeds. Did you not check the animal seeds in my deposit? They are at least four times bigger than the usual seeds?" Gold replied. "Then just find bigger Blank State Seeds, duh." Kiyu replied with a grin, and Gold shook his head. "Impossible. I''ve seen a Giant Blank State Seed only once, and harvesting them had nearly cost me my life. I had to travel far and wide to get them." Gold recounted those bad memories in his head and wondered how he lived so far. "I can assure you that is the truth. This idiot dragged me to an icy tundra that had a worm as large as Lynn''s Restaurant Train and forced me to fight with it until he came out of its belly with those seeds. Without Keyrin and the others helping me that day, we would have probably become worm food in the end." Weslie recalled how terribly one of the encounters was. "Come on, it wasn''t that bad, was it? Didn''t we have a lot of fun on the journey there and back?" Gold gleed a little but Weslie smacked his shoulders instead. "Hey! What''s that for? You were the one who brought it up." "Well if you had problems to keep it in check with Keyrin and the others we probably should not bother going that route. In any case, don''t worry about that. We''ll create blueprints and subsequently break it down once the prototype is working properly. That is where Pandapolis Industries will come into play. Without the need of creating those parts, we only need to wield and assembly it together. We should have enough time for that. I will get Qiu Yue to set up the factories once we have those blueprints ready. But the only issue is soil and fertilisers. We need lots of it so we can continuously push growth." Jin explained. "Why is that an issue? Aren''t we already producing it all with the Counterfeiter?" Ayse queried. "That problem lies with the System''s ability to grow in the spatial dungeon instance. While the Counterfeiter can produce seeds and soil, the Spirit of the Land reported that it required their blessing for optimal results. So, we need soil or at least fertiliser from the Farming World to make it work." The System reported. "That is where I have another task for you, Gold. While waiting for the prototypes of those semi-autonomous machines'' blueprints to work, I need you to travel back to the East to procure sand, soil, fertilisers and other things needed to make the plants grow faster. You are the expert anyways. Budget wise, just tell the System how much you need and it will grant you what you required. Also, remember to- " "Bargain. Yeah, yeah, Boss. We all know that." Gold cut him off and already teleported to the Farming World. Back at his head, he already had a few contacts in mind and already began pursuing them back in the Eastern Region. Weslie had actually been doodling out some plans which popped out in her mind, and upon hearing how Jin got those parts to assemble them, Rei made sure it was feasible to manufacture them on a large scale. Ayse returned to the Counterfeiter to check if it was working as intended while Kiyu held onto that Blank State Seed and told Jin she would borrow it for a bit before performing a disappearing act like Kraft. Jin did not think much into Kiyu''s actions as he wanted to return to Qiu Yue to check if she had any opinions about the Mind Hive Dungeon Instance until a thought struck him. "Oh yeah, I have yet to name this instance¡­ Never mind, its still in the works. Or maybe I should leave it to Shu since he would be the main caretaker of that instance." Jin left a mental note to himself before he disappeared from that meeting room. Chapter 995 The Makings of Mind Hive Dungeon Instance Chapter 995 The Makings of Mind Hive Dungeon Instance "How is it?" Jin questioned Qiu Yue, who was brooding over the Mind Hive Dungeon Instance. "All you did was give me a list of weapons with which to equip them! That''s all! We can hand them a lance and call them a lancer, but that doesn''t change the fact that they are still ultimately clay soldiers. They will still be vulnerable! I mean we can slap on some armour etc, for higher levels but there is no complexity to this ''game'' at all." Qiu Yue remarked with a slight fit of anger. "Isn''t there anything else at our disposal?" "That is why I have this." Jin showed her a Blank State Seed and gave her a brief summary of what had been discussed. (He sincerely hoped the conversation would pacify her temper a little.) "So we have tanks and planes which can be controlled by these clay soldiers?! Is that even possible??" Qiu Yue questioned, and Jin told her that it would not really be the clay soldiers commandeering them, but the vehicles would be semi autonomous or at least that was what he had proposed. With Rei on the team, they could create a semi AI which he featured in his Gunndam manga. "Shoot, I totally forgot about the movie thing. ¡­Then again, if there is no news of Rei complaining that should mean he is doing fine. Hopefully. Hahha! Oh well, I''ll just ask him after the whole Grand Operation is over." Jin thought to himself while Qiu Yue pondered on the semi autonomous machines that he had proposed. "If that is the case, then perhaps it is possible to make a game out of it. However, there is no collecting of resources or whatsoever." Qiu Yue criticised his plans once more. "Oops¡­ forgot about that too." Jin did not really think much about the plan nor put a lot of effort into it considering he had wanted Qiu Yue to take reins over the project. Upon laying the groundworks, Jin merely thrust the entire project to her. While flattered that he put so much trust in her, Qiu Yue was simultaneously pissed at how half baked Jin''s notes and plans had been for the game. No difference in stats, no special abilities or anything. With all the resources they had at their disposal, they could make something remarkably fun and powerful. Instead, Jin had scribbled some combinations like ''clay soldier + lance = lancer'' and had called it a day. During his short term absence, Qiu Yue had already put in as much effort into this ''game'' as Jin had done for his Nian Instance. At least Jin''s idea in regards to those semi autonomous machines sounded like a promising addition. "Though I have to say it''s rather funny. You rely on trees to grow your metal parts so that you can put them all together." Qiu Yue found it a bit ridiculous, but as long as it worked, she would be happy. "Well, now that we hcolourome variety with our ''units'' I have some ideas about the resource gathering part." "Get the System to make tickets. Digital Tickets. Earning them will require some effort such as killing the rats. Oh and make them give out varying amounts. It should be easy to color code some rats and give them some visual effects to make them into like higher-tier enemy units. The more rats they kill, the more tickets they can earn since there are no resource collection points. The players can then use those tickets to purchase stronger units like those machines you talked about." "How about doubling our mobile encampments as collection points too? That way, we can allow them to gain a stable but slow income of tickets to purchase those clay soldiers even though they are readily available. Maybe even add a 10% refund of tickets after their units die? So in the event that their force gets wiped from a surprise attack, at least they can still recover." Jin suggested. "Hmm, not a very bad idea. Considering we want them to keep going down and attack the cities, giving them an option to build more additional mobile encampments as defensive positions to protect the place will be good. Should we cap the amount of units they can have at any one time?" Qiu Yue asked. "Nah, we need all the help we can get. Besides, who knows how many million rats are down there? It''d be dumb to limit them to like 20 clay soldiers. The more the merrier." Jin replied. "Also, based on the number of rats and outposts they''ve cleared, they should earn reputation points, and we can use your ladder redemption reward again. Or we could go with a limited reward store." "Heh! And what if they still lose after all that? Should we add more monetary possibilities like pay to win units?" Qiu Yue asked. "Nah, that would make it seem like the other units are not worth it. However, we can easily offer cosmetics. We can colour their clay soldiers with paint, and we can also add stuff like Zodiac costumes. But we definitely will have to offer a Panda option. Just imagine a bunch of clay soldier in Panda outfits stomp through the rats. Hahah!" Jin suggested enthusiastically, and Qiu Yue believed it was a good idea. "However, I have to remind you that this is a beta version of sorts. Especially since I am not sure how are we going to charge them to play the game." "Hmm. Maybe charge the customers as to how those local LAN gaming shops charges? Or something similar to an Arcade game try? After all, they are commanding the troops and not going into battle with these stone soldiers." Qiu Yue suggested. "Then I suggest we go by Arcade tries more than charging a local LAN gaming fee. After all, the ''graphics'' would be so much more realistic." Jin replied. "Well, that finally sounds like a decent plan. I will iron out the details. By the way, are you planning to make this a Raid as well? If anyone asks, we can call it" "Why, of course! Similar to the Pandapolis Defence, I am going to advertise this very early. We can even promote it as a sort of cross play feature. Like a general could summon his friends as squad leaders for the clay soldiers. And will stick to a certain timeline. I was thinking of putting this in lieu with Valentine''s day." Jin thought it would grant those people who were single on that day a good activity. "That way, those singles and couples have a place to play. Hahaha. "You and your fantasies. What couple do you think would want to have where they fight in a war?!" This time around, Qiu Yue really smacked Jin''s head. "Love is war, isn''t it?!" Jin argued back as he rubbed his head to soothe it. "That''s meant as an expression, not reality!" Qiu Yue let out a sigh while shaking her head. "Alright, calm down. I was merely kidding. We can start before Valentine''s Day. Otherwise, people like Bing Yong and Xiong Da will likely complain." Jin gave in, but he wondered if that would really be the case. "How did I even get together with this guy in the first place?" Qiu Yue mumbled to herself before talking back to Jin. "You better have a romantic option for the actual couples other than the raid!" "Do you think Cupid costumes will do the trick?" Jin joked, but Qiu Yue gave him a strong glare. "Fine, fine. I''ve already planned something for Valentine''s Day, besides this Grand Operation will definitely not end in a day. I suspect it will at least last a couple of weeks. Or maybe months." "Well, I have some concepts in mind on how to make the mobile encampments, but I need you to finance them." Qiu Yue returned to the topic at hand. "I thought you needed resources too? Now it''s just money?" Jin queried while he checked his phone on the accounts which Claire had tidied. "Hmm, you could say that I''ve received a modest upgrade. I guess the System has learned a lot from your bargaining and has shared that kind of bargain ability with my Sub System. Now it''s able to get the stuff I need as long as I put money in. I don''t have to worry much about materials. It can choose the best ones available at the best price." Qiu Yue boasted with a grin. "We currently have enough to spend. Just have your Sub System hand over the receipt to the System or perhaps directly to Claire. By the way, I never got a chance to ask. How are the Wolf Foxes, Tsu and Kai as trainers?" "Not too bad, I guess. My only gripe would be that it''s scary how different they behave during and outside the training. So far the beast kids have managed to endure their strict training regiment, but that only means the Wolf Foxes are going to give them even more hell. Surely you didn''t just ask me because you were concerned?" "I admit I may have had another reason for doing it." Jin sat down properly beside her and asked Qiu Yue more about their training regime. It looked like he had found some trainers to get inspiration from for the Advanced Training Centre''s Hell Course. As if handling one job wasn''t tough enough, the inheritor of the Panda Clan had to manage many outlets, all while saving other worlds. Apparently, aiming for the number one dungeon supplier was not as easy as it sounded! Chapter 996 Negotiations With the Southern Stars Chapter 996 Negotiations With the Southern Stars Suddenly Qiu Yue''s watch started beeping. It was informing her that Meomi was calling via the System''s Channel. "Lady Boss Qiu! I have reached the Southern Region''s Capital with Nightingale and the others. She''s asked for some time to readjust back to the ground after that C130 flight and parachuting down! Hehehe! Are you free to meet us soon?" Meomi asked as she held her former housemaid Nightingale by the shoulders. The rest of her squad from Southern Star had enjoyed that novel experience and most of them were still high on the adrenaline rush. Some even said that they would not mind experiencing such a feeling again. "I shall report to the Grandmaster and inform him about your arrival. Enjoy the sights of our Southern Capital." Nightingale''s leader said as he waved them goodbye before disappearing into the shadows outside the gates of the Southern Capital which Meomi could feel their presence slowly fading away. Before she blinked they had seemingly fused with the shadows and when she had opened her eyes again, there was nothing but walls along the Southern Capital. She checked around the area in search of a trick door but was unable to find one. She scratched her head wondering if they really had a skill to blend with the shadows and escape. "You, your friends and your ninja-esque skills." She muttered to Nightingale but her former maid was unable to reply as she still felt like vomiting with every step. Meomi hoped that it wouldn''t leave a lasting trauma, especially since they could be flying back. (After all, it was cheaper to the System than teleporting a larger group.) "Meomi, I will join you in a little while. Jin just gave me a new task and I''m going to be a bit busy with it. Give me another call when you are about to meet their leader or if something urgent happens." Qiu Yue replied even though she saw Jin giving her the go ahead to help Meomi on the spot. It was after all Jin who had asked Meomi to get Qiu Yue to accompany her with the negotiations. "Sure Lady Boss Qiu! See you later, I shall accompany Nightingale for some sight seeing first before they contact us." Meomi said as she started dragging her friend to the gates of the Southern Capital. (The guards were a little wary but eventually, they got through with Nightingale''s credentials.) "You sure know how to make use of me when I''m gone. Perhaps I''ve been doing things wrong. Instead of chasing after you, I should have shown you the cold shoulder." Qiu Yue teased Jin and the dungeon supplier sighed with his eyes rolling upwards. "Please. If you don''t want to do that job, I can go instead. I just know that you are better at negotiating deals for me." Jin grumbled. "Oh if our mighty Boss puts it that way, I shall give it my best." She chuckled a little. "To be honest I''m more impressed with the Southern Stars compared to their western counterpart. What was their organisation called again? Western Skies or something. Their adventurers could only do jackshit, despite me being in command of the Farming World for a period of time. Some of them even actively chose to ignore some of my commands and rightfully suffered for it. Nightingale and her people on the other hand were observant, detailed and disciplined. Each one of them is as competent as their leader." Qiu Yue was promoting the Southern Region''s main guilds and with valid reasons. "They even had the balls to proactively clear a few poorly manned caves and mind you when I say poorly manned, I''m just referring to them being outnumbered 10 to 1 instead of 50 to 1. Meanwhile, the western guys could barely handle minor skirmish when they were outnumbered 5 to 1. Southern Skies seem to actually appreciate this golden opportunity to earn lots of cash while gaining experience not just for their veterans but fresh recruits too." Qiu Yue remarked. "We should be able to offer them 1,000 Gold Coins per week without placing any burden on ourselves. When we employed their group of four, we agreed on 49 gold coins per week for the next three months. So you can work out the math. At most I''m willing to pay them 2,500 Gold Coins per week and that is assuming they hand over their entire organisation numbers." Jin declared as he once again rechecked the sums on his phone app to make sure he did not allocate a wrong budget. Qiu Yue was a bit surprised why he suddenly acted so stingy. Given the current exchange rate of Dungeon Dollars to Farming World Coins, 1 DD equalled 125 bronze coins (=1.25 Gold coins). And to put things to perspective, 3 bronze coins was enough to purchase a decent meal. For Nightingale and her group, 7 gold coins per day meant each of them was earning about 175 coins per day. This generous payment was most likely also the reason why they dared to risk their lives so eagerly. Getting more than 100 bronze coins a day was considered a luxury or as they put it when being offered the deal they ''struck gold''. While the Southern Stars guild would take a commission fee since it was responsible for feeding all their numbers, especially in times when some of them were unable to get work, it was ultimately a lump sum leaving more than enough for the group. "Fine, I guess you have your own reasons why you want to limit it. Depending on the size of their organisation it might be difficult to get them all, but I will do my best." Qiu Yue and Jin nodded at each other. "Their current weaponry is unlikely to hold a candle against the main group of Demon Rats. I''ve received reports from Meomi that during one of the confrontations the Southern Star members'' weapons broke and they had to resort to fighting with the Demon Rats'' leftover weapons. Well, they only used those as blunt force weapons since they were unable to figure out how to operate them properly. Meomi was smart enough to allow the current group to keep these new weapons for now, so they could brandish it to their leader." "I see that you already laid the groundwork." Qiu Yue was happy since this would ease up the negotiations and with it, she would be able to squeeze the life out of the leader. "So basically we are limiting their pay, because we''ll be the ones to outfit them with our own weapons. Well, if nothing else works, a show of force should help sweeten the deal." "You sure you are stronger than their leader?" Jin doubted her for a moment before he got whacked on the head with an even more forceful impact. He could have dodged it easily given his rigorous training but he allowed himself to be hit to judge her strength. "Strong enough for you?" Qiu Yue asked as she did not hold back and infused her icy chi into the punch. "It''s definitely cooling," Jin answered as he tried to tolerate the pain, but it only got worse. He eventually realised it was the freezing ice that was more painful. It literally started to give him a brain freeze until he was forced to use Black Panda Fire to slowly remove the ice by warming the surroundings as well as channeling his chi towards his head. (Else he could be bald if he haphazardly tried to remove it!) Yet the casual remark nearly prompted Qiu Yue to give him another punch, only this time Jin did dodge. "I yield! You win! You win! Go do your brute force method!" Jin shouted as he furthered the distance upon dodging. Fortunately, Meomi''s call saved the dungeon supplier''s skin from being frozen once more. "Hmph! Consider yourself lucky that I did not use the full effect of my ice chi!" Qiu Yue harrumphed and stuck her tongue out before teleporting away. "Full effects?" Jin queried and the System informed him that there was actually a second part to the ice attack. It''s just that the Red Panda Cultivator did not use it. Jin shuddered at the thought of what might have happened next. "System, please record her fight for me if she started any. I wanna see if she turns any of them into ice cubes." Chapter 997 The Southern Capital Chapter 997 The Southern Capital The Southern Capital. Unlike the other three regions that had an abundance of sun and rain, the harsh environment did not allow the inhabitants to become farmers or build many fantastic looking cities. The South had extended periods of dry seasons for most of the year and instead of a winter, it merely got colder in the second half of the year. The winter desert season as they had dubbed it was just as harsh as winter and the winds blew along with the white sand all around them. There was little rain, so each Oasis became a precious hub for life around it. Ironically the skies were full with imposing grey clouds yet while it rarely rained, it often thundered. The Southerners had been forced to adapt and improvise a lot for their survival ever since the first group of people set foot into this abyssal sandpit of white death. It was practically a miracle that they had somehow persevered long enough to create a long lasting civilisation. Nevertheless, the completely hostile environment was surprisingly suitable for one thing: The growth of monsters. The rate of monsters growing in the South was considered to be the most rapid and problematic. The first wave of settlers who had tried to establish a foothold in this area, quickly got beset by waves of monsters that eventually wiped the entire group away. The next group of settlers found the ruins of their predecessors and learned about what had happened from a torn diary by the expedition leader. Their short stay had been enough to convince themselves about the reality of the monster plight. Luckily they had managed to fend off the first waves of monsters with few casualties before they sailed back to report to their respective homelands. The retrieved diary spoke about precious metals, gold and artefacts which had apparently been found not too far away from their original location. Thus, the third expedition had been manned by a company of soldiers to protect the new wave of settlers. With the prospects of getting rich, many had flocked to join the expedition, hoping to earn a good buck for their families back home. They also managed to last longer than the first group, but they had been unprepared for the harshness of winter in that new land. A number also succumbed to diseases unknown to them they caught from the cold while some died from the lack of proper medical care from frostbites and winter related injuries. Even those from the North who were more prepared for the cold than the others had trouble settling down. However, the greed of mankind would always be a big motivator, no matter the world especially when the torn diary entry turned true. It caused a significant ruckus among the other three regions and more people sailed to settle there. But the talk of gold also allured the unfavourable types with the majority being runaways, stowaways or even villains that needed to get out of the world''s view. That did not mean they were not One day, someone decided to make a proper kingdom in the Southern Region despite the perpetual dangers. That person was a charismatic military man, who had successfully convinced many groups to join in. With his training, he commanded his armies to handle the hordes of monsters. After killing the monsters these new southerners started to survive the harsh environment by striping them for their meat and using their materials to create more weapons, armour and even buildings. That was why there was a difference in terms of strength and abilities of the guilds between the Western Skies and the Southern Stars. To the latter, scouting and killing was part of their daily job and their long term survival depended on those skills. Even when they turned old and frail, the Southern elderlies were probably two to three times stronger than the average healthy men in the Eastern or Western regions. Qiu Yue teleported to a secluded corner after Meomi gave her the signal that nobody could see them. The Red Panda Cultivator found herself at awe by the design of the Southern Capital. Unlike the cold metal look which the Northern Capital had, the Southern Capital was an abomination of a city. For example, the Capital Walls were made from monster parts which Meomi told her came from the bones of the giant snake. Between the pillars (aka the bones), other monster parts were mixed, matched and subsequently defused to become something as hard as stone or maybe even stronger than that. But no matter what, they still looked like a white washed stone wall from afar until one decided to have a closer inspection on them. "Look over there. Nightingale told me she slew a golem with her squad and they decided it would be strong enough to put it on the wall. Around here it''s considered an honour if your kill can be used to protect the general populace." Meomi added that she had even seen Nightingale''s name inscribed on the stone of the golem. "But that''s not the best part of the Southern Capital''s wall. Do you see that particularly unique design at the front gates of the Southern Citadel? A Legendary Monster Beetle had invaded the Farming World in the past. It was a terror for all Four Regions. I was a kid, but I do remember the sounds of its wings when it had ravaged the Northern Region, after it came from the West¡­" "So I am guessing the Southerners were the only ones who managed to down it?" Qiu Yue asked as they walked towards the Citadel Gates. "According to my father, the Southerners had prepared an ambush for it since the beetle had ravaged the corps of the rest of the Farming World. Although the other three regions had sent elite troops as reinforcement for the Southern Region, they ultimately only got to enjoy the show." Meomi recalled vaguely and felt a bit nostalgic that it was a story her father told her. "I am surprised, your father did not sugar coat the truth and claimed that the Northern Region played a major role in the fight." "Hah! He was never the kind who would do such things. In fact, he was the one who made contact with the Southerners to warn them of this eventuality. He thought they would not treat his words seriously since he had just been a mere lordling in the Northern Region. To his surprise, they contacted him back, thanking him for the warning and asked if we could send some reinforcements just in case. Although the South is the hardest place to plant a crop, we are nearly the next in line to take that trophy title. And despite all the losses my father managed to convince the Northern King." "I guess he reasoned that it''s better to send the troops there and have a bloody battle with the Legendary Beetle than having it come here again and destroy your hard earned crops." Qiu Yue said and Meomi merely shrugged her shoulders. "I did not really care what his reasons were. To be honest, I was too small to even bother about it that much. I only remembered all of this because Nightingale had been reminiscing the past with me. Without her, I would probably not have thought about sort of information." Meomi commented as she showed the guards at the citadel gates the badge of the Southern Stars which Nightingale loaned her. "Come now! Do you really have to call it information? Can''t you just say they were your precious memories?" Qiu Yue tried to make a joke but Meomi got serious. "These ''memories'' ¡­have all been sullied by the Demon Rats. I don''t wish to recall them until each and every Demon Rat is dead." Meomi stated but they suddenly felt an imposing presence from a distance. As they raised their eyes up beyond the sight of steep stairs, they saw a group of well armoured men and women standing with their hands folded as if they were waiting for their arrival. "Well said, friend of Nightingale. I suppose the one beside you is the emissary for that secret organisation which Nightingale spoke of." The man spoke and Meomi nodded her head while for some reason, Qiu Yue noticed that her hands were turning into claws. "Don''t tell me a show of power will be necessary to even speak to them¡­" Qiu Yue sighed at such a possibility but with each passing second, it became more likely. Chapter 998 The Odd Trial of Royal Stairs Chapter 998 The Odd Trial of Royal Stairs "Hold your claws, little girl. I have no qualms with you." The one who seemed to be in charge spoke as he walked down the stairs with grandiose and strength. Even without chi, his figure was imposing enough for the rest of the guards around to bow down as a sign of respect. They then lifted their swords and shields in salute the moment he passed them. "Name''s Leopardo. I am the current Grandmaster of the Southern Stars and also the interim leader for the Southern Region at the moment." Qiu Yue noticed his physical features intently since they were unique compared to his counterparts. His braided hair was flowing down his shoulders and his unbelievably tanned dark skin showed that unlike the leader''s of their world he was not just sitting in some office all day. The apparent loss of his right arm and scars all over his body were testimony that he must have been a veteran warrior who had participated in multiple battles. But most importantly, it seemed as if he was able to walk with his eyes closed even though Qiu Yue had a hunch that he still had at least some of his eyesight left. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr Leopardo. You may call me Qiu Yue and I do indeed represent the boss of our secret organisation." Qiu Yue returned the greeting and Leopardo nodded his head. "Please excuse the behaviour of Meomi, I shall see that she does not insult you in any way in the future." The Red Panda Cultivator added as she placed her hand on Meomi''s head and forced her to bow apologetically. "So far, I heard many great things about your organisation, especially the recompensation that you have given our scouting party. Not to mention the amount of spectacular inventions which my comrades have brought back. I do understand that they were on loan?" Leopardo asked. "Yes, they are. It is just a taste of what your Southern Stars can obtain if they work with us. We have a myriad of items which can increase your fighting capabilities. You provide us with manpower and solid fighters, we will bestow them with weapons that can keep for life." Qiu Yue explained and Leopardo was intrigued enough that he beckoned them to climb the stairs and follow him to the meeting chambers. However, the moment the two tried to walk on the stairs, they felt as if someone had placed a heavy chain on their legs. They suddenly felt sluggish while being restraint without anything physical holding them on. Seeing as nobody attacked them, it didn''t appear to be a trap, but more a test of sorts. As she looked up top, she saw that the guards were holding their breaths to stop themselves from smirking at their situation. "I see. Apparently, we have not managed to leave a strong impression on the leader of this nation yet nor in the eyes of a grandmaster." Qiu Yue sighed and let go of Meomi as the latter transformed into her werecat form. Both girls began to traverse across the steps. However, with each step it felt as if the number of chains and their weight kept increasing. "Brute force does not solve everything, little girl." Leopardo offered one last piece of advice while waiting for the huge bronze Southern Citadel''s gates to open. "You have five minutes to reach the gates before my guards change their shifts and officially close them." "You are kidding me, right? ''Brute force does not solve everything''? Your entire nation was built upon brute force!" Meomi cursed as she used every ounce of strength to move to the next step. "But that does not mean you have to work at it alone, Baka Neko." Qiu Yue smiled as she stopped and took a deep breath. The next moment she walked on the steps as if nothing was affecting her. While passing her, she picked up the struggling werecat and dragged her along by pulling her tail. "Ow! What are you doing! Stop it!" Meomi complained but she realised she was being pulled up the stairs which finally made Leopardo turn and eyed them from the corner of his sights. "This is punishment for being a naughty cat. So bear with it until the top of the steps." Qiu Yue replied as she continued to pull Meomi''s tail while moving up the stairs. That was when the guards at the side of the long steep stairs immediately moved to block them from moving any higher. "What in the hell are you thinking right now, Leader of the Southern Region." Qiu Yue stopped before getting close to the first guard blocking their way. "Is this a test of some sort or your way of greeting your visitors after you complimented them." "That''s why I said we should have fought him at the start and not listen to his bull crap," Meomi said and Leopardo could only snicker. "Like I said, the gates are opened for five minutes," Leopardo said once more before descending into the depths of the Southern Citadel. "Then you know what, forget it. We don''t need their help." Qiu Yue decided it was a waste of time and shouted goodbye. The guards were baffled by her behaviour as they always thought that these guests were dying to ask for help. "Tell that arrogant boss of yours, we will get by without his help. He would only lose out on the amount of gold we are giving him and the thrill of hunting." Qiu Yue said as she walked downwards now without her chi activated. Compared to climbing up, it was so much easier to walk down the stairs. "Why are you doing this? Don''t we need the manpower against them?" Meomi asked while rubbing her tail. "Well, yeah. We do. But there is no need to bow our heads this low to get it. They already heard from the reports that we are awesome. They just want more proof to see such awesomeness from us. It''s their loss really." Qiu Yue replied but as the both of them tried to walk out of the Citadel Gates, only to be barred by the gate guards at the front with spears blocking their way. "No one disrespects our leader in this way. Get back to the stairs and climb or we will skewer you." "I am starting to notice a recurring theme. Is that how you and Master Jin gain attention? By walking away." Meomi grinned and her claws were wide and ready to strike. "Well, people somehow felt offended that we just walked away. You could say it''s some form of reverse psychology. Like you are not worth my time and thus they wanted to prove the opposite. However, Jin did not feel this way. He felt that such issues were really not worth his time at all. After all, you know how busy a panda he is despite being a lazy one." Qiu Yue said as she beckoned Meomi to come with her instead. "What? We are going to try the stairs again?!" Meomi questioned but instead, she saw Qiu Yue sitting at the middle of the stairs. "No. What are you talking about? We are going to have a tea break right here and now since they do not want to let us go. Or maybe until they got sick of us." Qiu Yue said as she conjured out a bottle of coke and two bags of photo chips. Chapter 999 A Variant Monster Chapter 999 A Variant Monster When Meomi saw the chips, she immediately chose the sweet and sour ones and her claws turned into hands. Judging by the way she opened the bag of chips with her hands, she might as well have used her claws. Thus, the two members of this secret organisation baffled the Citadel Guards by their audacity to have a snack break in the middle of their sacred stairs trial. No one in their right mind would have done that and quite likely these two were the first to be this shameless. Alas, the trial stated that unless the challengers of the trial came into physical contact with the guards, the challengers were not to be harmed during the trial period. Somehow Qiu Yue had a feeling things would go this way and so they took their time to eat the chips while also enjoying the sight of the grey skies and scenery the Inner Citadel had to offer. Even if they were to brandish their swords and spears, Qiu Yue believed that the two of them could them on all of them easily despite the odd difficulty of the Trial for Meomi. Although the guards were boiling inside that this group did not take their trial seriously, they were forced to tolerate this shameless behaviour. Once the five minutes were up, the inner gates were indeed shut off while the guards stance changed. "Looks like we failed your trial. Can we go now?!" Qiu Yue shouted at the front gates guards as they reluctantly opened the outer gates. "Do you think we will get assassinated?" Meomi asked as she licked her fingers. "What? For sitting right here? That would have to be the silliest reason to get assassinated. Death to you for sitting at the stairs!" Qiu Yue joked as she threw her own bag with half eaten chips into her storage ring while swiping her hands a little before standing up. "Meh, they are southerners. As long as money exchanges hands they would do it. And you never know how these guards might say things like ''I will kill you for disrespecting our leader! kind of stuff'', ya know?" Meomi argued before she asked whether she could finish that pack of chips. It appeared that munching on food kept the werecat''s temper in check. As they walked by the Citadel guards, both of the girls could clearly feel the anger emanating from the guards but Qiu Yue still cheekily waved goodbye to them. Just as they walked further into the streets and Qiu Yue informed Meomi about some of the plans that Jin had in store for the Grand Operation, until the werecat felt a familiar presence behind her. As she turned her head casually, she felt that familiar presence turns into a sharp pointed aura of bloodlust, aiming at her and only her. "Oh hey, Nightingale." Meomi waved at her with caution, only to realise that the crowd around them started to thin out slowly with people in black cloaks starting to close off their perimeter. "Guess you are spot on with the assassination part?" Qiu Yue sighed as she picked up Meomi''s bag of chips and took a bite out of the last piece. "But to send your housemaid to kill you, isn''t that a little too much a task for that little bird friend of yours? Also, was that intuition or did you know they would try to assassinate us?" "Hmph¡­ a mix of both? Nightingale did seem to mention something about their Stairs Trial being sacred. Sorry I wasn''t listening too carefully. From what I can recall it had to do something along the lines of losers will all eventually die. Still, she hoped I would clear the trial. But judging from the thinning of the crowd, she is not alone, probably sent to track us down instead. I have full confidence she won''t pull the blade on me. To you, not sure." "Heh, she might be commanded to do both! Then you won''t be in for a surprise since she can catch you off guards because of your relationship. Not to mention, we are foreigners and they expect the foreigners to complete the trial without giving any information on it? That''s kind of rude on their part. Considering how much we had taken care of them, that is outright insulting." Qiu Yue said as the crowd in that particular street finally disappeared. Only the Southern Stars Mercenaries were left as well as the offenders. It was as if they knew what would happen to them, so they immediately scattered. Even the shopkeepers and merchants in the vicinity walked away from their stores and left without seemingly caring for their wares. They''d rather keep their lives intact than getting implicated for a possible crime. "Leader Leopardo was amused by the way you handled the trial," Nightingale informed them with a disgruntled tone. She honestly thought that Meomi could clear the trial easily. "Is this supposed to be a way to entice us to try again? Because if it is, I''m totally not interested." Qiu Yue replied and suddenly there was a bit of chuckling at the back of a street alley. "I can see how ''slightly'' different they are from normal people. Especially the representative from this secret organisation you spoke of." He lowered his black cloak and showed himself. "Oh, you want to talk to me now? I thought you won''t bother since we''ve miserably failed your trial." Qiu Yue pointed out sharply. "So you''d rather fight this cripple instead of my guards?" Leonardo questioned which she nodded her head nonchalantly. "From what I gather from your culture, fighting seems to be part of your way of life. So, why should I bother myself with the weakest when I can directly fight with the strongest? Also please, let''s not pretend you are a cripple. You may have lost an arm, but you seem to still be quite active." Qiu Yue commented before using her chi to judge her opponent. "Probably need some warming up though." "Fine, I won''t pretend, however, if you think you can take me you might have overestimated yourself, Lady Qiu Yue. Aren''t you afraid of death?" Leopardo asked as he unsheathed his sword. Akin to his name, there was a leopard monster carved on his crossguard. "No, I don''t think so. Perhaps you should be afraid of me who isn''t afraid of death." Qiu Yue now picked up her Ice Katana from her storage ring and most of them were surprised that her sword magically appeared from thin air while not sensing any magic powers. "Hahaha! Such bravado. Now I am more interested in you. But apologies Lady Qiu Yue, it seems the trial I intend for you is more ¡­difficult than the fight against me. Especially now that I know you wish to fight the strongest of them all." Leopardo said while putting down his weapon. Qiu Yue noticed that suddenly more cloaked figures appeared through the shadows. "Infighting among yourselves?" Qiu Yue deduced and Leopardo burst out in laughter. "Your imagination is something else. No, but that was a good guess." Leopardo said as the winds in the air changed a little. The cold dry breeze slowly became warm. Not only that, there were distant screeches from afar and Qiu Yue sighed. "Oh¡­ You have some top class monsters coming your way." Qiu Yue asked and Leopardo nodded his way with a grin. "Is there any better way to learn about our allies? My reports have stated that you were able to defend the Town of Wecha within minutes." Leopardo was betting, hoping that this mysterious organisation would be able to help his people the same way they did for Wecha. "You seem awfully sure that we are going to help you? Do you think that we are philanthropic in nature?" Qiu Yue''s words, however, were different from her actions as she quickly jumped towards the high ground to check up on the incoming monsters. She immediately requested for the Sub System or the System to give her whatever information they had of whatever was causing these. All she knew was that she never really encountered any animalistic life forms other than the Demon Rats in the Northern Region. At that point, she also relayed the view to the Farming World Scholars in hopes that they knew something too but she did not expect for Gold to suddenly scream and shout through the System Intercoms. "Unbelievable!!!! Is that really- *cough*" Gold cleared his throat due to the excitement. "Is that really THE Phoenix!?! The Seven Oceans Phoenix?!!" Gold exclaimed and the System instantly verified that what Qiu Yue saw was indeed it. The Bird monster with the colour hue of seven oceans combined. Its majestic feathers were blooming with magic and it brought the taste of sea into the dry white desert. "Wait a minute¡­so that phoenix is the one whose dung you were so excited about previously?" Qiu Yue asked and Gold was beyond delight. "How dare you degrade such a miracle fertiliser? With enough of it, it would be a breeze to literally grow those plants that Jin wants me to inscribe! The plants, like the Phoenix, will rise up almost instantly!" Gold was giddied from the exhilarating sight of seeing the Phoenix¡­until the System apologised via the System Channel. "Upon closer inspection, what Sub System User Qiu Yue saw is not exactly the Seven Oceans Phoenix, but apparently a variant. The Seven Oceans Phoenix should only have seven tails, yet this particular individual has nine." The System corrected itself. "But judging from its magical powers, it is no doubt the signature energy of the Seven Oceans Phoenix although it is many times stronger. Thus, the System shall name it the Nine Oceans Phoenix for easier reference." "So what? It''s like a legendary class monster or something? I don''t even know the power grade of this particular monster. Is it normal for such a monster to appear in the Southern Capital? I recalled Gold saying that it''s aversion to humans makes it hard to find. Isn''t that the reason it''s crap is so rare?" Qiu Yue'''' questioned only then Meomi turned to Leopardo. "Did any of your men capture that monster''s chicks or something? Maybe an egg? Or did you kill any monster at all recently which might have had any relation to it?" Meomi shouted and that caused Leopardo to squint his eyes. "We do not keep track of most of the monster slain because it''s our daily source of food. I can, however, get my man to trace it, assuming we verified what monster that is. All we know is that my mages found a giant source of energy coming towards the capital. And we''ve already begun evacuating the citizens." Leopardo said. "With your help, we might be able to stop it." "So time is of the essence and you still opted to conduct that stupid trial thing before outright asking us for help? What are you? Sick in the head or something?" Qiu Yue shook her head. Her interrogating tone made the black cloaks take their weapons out immediately and they pointed them at Qiu Yue for saying something so offensive to their leader. "You are right, that''s my fault. It was meant as a measure of strength. You''ve passed the moment you managed to walk up the stairs with ease. While your companion Meomi did not satisfy such a condition, I would say that not many could even walk the first few steps up. So she''s considered above average and perhaps on par with our rookies in the Southern Stars." Leopardo exclaimed. "Nevertheless, it seems that the both of you know what sort of monster that is, judging by the way you''ve asked if we capture its younglings." Leopardo commented and Qiu Yue did not hesitate to tell them. "A variant of the Seven Oceans Phoenix? Nine Oceans Phoenix?" Leopardo repeated and his eyes left his usual look of confidence. it seemed as if he understood the actual severity of the problem at hand now that he had identified the monster. "That is our conjecture but until it releases its attacks, we won''t know whether it''s a variant or another creature entirely." Qiu Yue added. "Save our capital and I promise you, you shall gain the South''s favour. We shall consider your proposal to the best of our ability." Leopardo requested of her. "Huh? Just ''consider''? You''re asking us to help you take down a possibly Legendary creature and yet you still continue to be on the pedestal even when asking us for that kind of help, eh? That''s rather arrogant of you¡­ Sorry, but I believe we will manage just fine without your help. Who knows how many lives it might cost to help you. If that Nine Oceans Phoenix ever comes to disturb us in the North, we shall deal with it then." Qiu Yue answered as she requested a portal right in front of her, seeing that the black cloaks were ready to cut them into pieces. It was not until Leopardo lifted his hand up. "Please wait, you misunderstood me. I can only promise you that it will be ''consider'' because I am not the leader of the Southern Region for I am but an interim one. When our real leader is back from his expedition, only then can he make that choice. It''s not for me to decide but him." Leopardo explained. "But I can promise you at least this. As one of the biggest mercenary guilds in the Southern Region, should you be able to avert this crisis with us. We will lend you our aid and that I can guarantee." "For free?" Qiu Yue asked shamelessly and Leopardo felt a major dilemma. Bargaining even at death''s door? This Lady was a true blue businesswoman. "Forgive me, but I have many mouths to feed too. We can negotiate a favourable deal for your side, but only upon clearing this particular threat?" Leopardo was trying to be realistic as the coffers would definitely be drained from the extended campaign. They might be rich and have one of the largest networks of mercenaries but their families still needed to eat. "No, that doesn''t sound good enough.." Qiu Yue did not hesitate to move out into the portal whilst grabbing Meomi. They teleported away, leaving Leopardo and his Southern Star comrades in a lurch. Nightingale was shocked as she did not expect such an answer by Meomi and her superior. But seeing the negotiations had broken down, the Southerners could only do what had been trained their entire life for. To fight. Chapter 1000 Miracle Chapter 1000 Miracle Qiu Yue teleported back to the Dungeon Maker, where she was greeted by the sight of Jin who just stared at her through squinted eyes. Next to him was Gold who had hastily returned from his trip to the Eastern Region with bags of soil and fertiliser and the Scholar was sharing Jin''s expression when looking at Qiu Yue. "Am I that pretty that you all have to stare at me with such ferocious looking eyes as if you will devour me the moment I made a move forward?" Qiu Yue cracked a small joke and Meomi just sighed. "What were you thinking to abandon the Southerners just like that?!" Gold questioned the Red Panda Cultivator, making Jin focus his attention towards him. "Interesting, I thought your first reaction would be something more like, ''Let''s go find where that Nine Oceans Phoenix has been pooping! I want all that fertiliser for myself!'' " Jin''s impression of the Scholar lightened the mood. "Well, my heart is stirring and it would be a lie if I told you I don''t want that miracle dung, but-" "But just like Jin here, you care about the people of your world first and foremost. Don''t worry I still have plans to help them. However, I want to do it in a way that will guarantee that we can keep the Phoenix all to ourselves." Qiu Yue interrupted and they all could see Gold''s eyes practically scream ''WANT!!!''. This was the first time the Werejackal Leader had desired something so badly and coincidentally it would be for the betterment of Jin''s agriculture ecosystem in the future. Since the Phoenix equalled unlimited high quality shit all year round, it would have most likely been put on the System''s to-capture eventually, but since the one flying towards the Southern Capital had a variant mutation, it meant its value was far greater than an ordinary one. For all they knew this one''s poop could have the potential to be superior to the fertiliser Jin had gotten before as part of the System Rewards. The Panda Cultivator was not the kind of guy who would travel around different worlds specifically to catch a monster unless the System put out a mission for him. So far there had not been a specific need for it, but if they had to protect the Southerners, they might as well be getting the Phoenix out of it. "Fine, but was it really necessary to outright refuse them in such a manner? We could have used their help in capturing it." Gold argued as he placed all the soil and fertiliser bags down and swiped any possible dirt and dust from his body. The System assisted him with a cleansing magical spell so that Gold would not dirty the Dungeon Maker interior. (Otherwise, that would be even more of a waste of resources cleaning the place up.) "Perhaps, but our plan might have us clash with them. Besides that Phoenix is not the only one coming up to trash the Southern Capital. I had to return since we would not be able to deal with its company without reeinforcements." Qiu Yue informed him and the System pulled up a bird''s eye view imagery of the Southern Capital courtesy of the Orc Pilots who were currently flying the C-130 overhead. After which, pictures of the incoming Nine Oceans Phoenix popped out on the Dungeon Maker''s console. "Hahah¡­ this feels like another major d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡­" Jin muttered under his breath as he saw what Qiu Yue had meant. There was a giant flock of winged monsters coming towards the Southern Capital and the Nine Oceans Phoenix appeared to be their ringleader. The odd thing was that their group looked as if their ''creator'' had basically taken some land animals and slapped some wings on top of them. Among the variety of monsters, there were Winged Bears, Winged Elk, Winged Lions and even Winged Worms with lots of sharp and pointy teeth. Surrounding them there were smaller animals which the C130 imagery caught such as Winged Monkeys, Winged Racoons and even Winged Mutated Humans. "Oh¡­ that''s really bad. Instead of a land attack, the Southerners are facing an unprecedented series of flying monsters. And judging from their current fortifications, their defences are rather primitive when it comes to monsters with wings." Gold shared his knowledge about the South. Jin placed his hand on his chin and started to ponder on what to do. "Hmm¡­ I see. Correct me if I''m wrong, but our air strike force should, unfortunately, be our weakest link, correct? Let''s get Wyrstriker here for his opinion." "Also, I have to apologise. Initially, I thought you left because you were just a natural in tsundere-ing people." Jin bowed his head but his comment made Qiu Yue pout. "Tsundere-ing people? Only you could come up with such a term, Jin¡­ As your tactician, it''s a given that I know the composition of our forces! If it had been a simple monster horde, I wouldn''t have left, but stayed and negotiated for more in the first place. I would have upped the stakes just enough so they would have to agree, but end up regretting having promised us that much while we cleared the threat effortlessly." Qiu Yue clarified. "Master, you called?" Wyrstriker answered the summon and Jin was happy to conveniently excuse himself by giving the goblin leader a short debrief on the new situation. "Oh¡­ This is indeed a problem. While our aerial forces have significantly improved after the Pandapolis Defence, especially thanks to the addition of Marquis Forneus and his Dragon Devils, this might still be too much for us. We do not have enough anti-air defences against all of them. Even if we did, this is not an isolated dungeon where we can push them into one corner and annihilate them. They have the oceans and mountains to flee to when they feel threatened and we don''t have the manpower to chase after all of them." Wyrstriker gave his analysis. "I''m relieved you did not say that we did not have the strength and capability to chase them." Jin chuckled a little and Wyrstrike scoffed. "Of course! My Goblin Wyvern Knights have been utilising our best technology that Ayse had created to date! It''s impossible for us to fail to catch any monster at our speed! In fact, General Forneus had to bow down in front of Ayse when he requested his dragons to be outfitted with the same technology as us! However, the designs had to be modified and testing is currently underway to ensure that the dragons can handle the drag and inertia force." Wyrstriker informed Jin. Wyrstriker still vividly remembered how he and his wyvern had to get used to such a boost in speed, making both the pilot and rider vomit because they could not handle the G force. Fortunately, it had not taken long for him and his team to get accustomed and afterwards the natural instinct of the wyvern was able to make adjustments that no plane would be able to. That included emergency stopping and swift turns. Engineer Rei was in charge of collating all the data and it was his responsibility to check if he could use it to convert it into an AI data core for the golems too. (However, that project was a low priority and would only be completed at some point in the future.) "Any ideas on how to make up for it, Big Boss? I have a few things in mind, yet not a concrete plan on how to solve the overall problem. By the way, Meomi did bring up an interesting possibility during our exchange with the Southern Stars." Qiu Yue mentioned the prospect of the Southerners having abducted the Pheonix'' child. "That would certainly explain why such a creature would fly towards them and with an army no less. Since the Southerners do not have any arid land to farm properly, a tamed Seven Oceans Phoenix, or in this case, the offspring of that Nine Oceans Phoenix would be something they would definitely try to get their hands on. Who knows with all the magical properties it''s said to have, they could perhaps finally create their own farmlands." Jin theorised. This possibility was another reason why Qiu Yue had not offered to outright help the Southerners, since she would be abetting the Southern Stars'' kidnapping of the Phoenix''s child. "That sounds quite plausible. Did you happen to sense any minor changes in expressions or body language on Leopardo or his underlings when you''ve asked them about it?" Jin addressed Meomi who unfortunately could not fully remember. "System shall help you." Some consoles immediately appeared in front of the group. They activated and various screens replayed Meomi''s point of view of what happened mere minutes ago, allowing the System to use its terrifying analysis. From the few twitches in their facial expressions to unconscious movement of their feets and hands, it was able to pinpoint a few black cloaks who seemed to have some knowledge or understanding towards Meomi''s sudden outburst. "This is amazing¡­" Jin exclaimed as he was still in awe when he saw the System strike out many of the various cloaked men who appeared to be blissfully unaware about such a reality as it eliminated all but a select few. "Of course, the body language shows more truth than words could ever portray. It''s a matter of discerning." The System stated and further narrowed the suspect to two. "However, this method of prediction does have its flaws, yet the probability that they have some deeper understanding of the particular matter is at 96.74%." "Are we gonna bag them? And then at the same time try our best to help them?" Meomi asked, but Qiu Yue had something even more sinister in mind. "How about instead of releasing it we just capture the child of the Phoenix for ourselves and use it to bait the Nine Oceans Phoenix? That way we could probably easily divert them away from the Southern Capital and it should be easier to control the Phoenix if we can tame its child." Qiu Yue suggested and the rest were shocked by her methodology. "It''s logical enough, although it really is quite ruthless. In fact, will it make us any better than them if we act in such a way?" Jin wondered which made Qiu Yue shake her head and shrug her shoulders. "We are planning to make it submit to the System, right? Unless we can convince it to willingly do so, we might have to kill the Nine Oceans Phoenix first. It would be easier to slay its chick who could try to reason with its parent to willingly submit, thus sparing us from a difficult fight. Either way we would be able to allow parent and child to live together without any worries, right?" Qiu Yue argued and Jin was forced to admit she was right. "You know better than anyone that we aren''t running a charity here. There is always the chance that the Nine Oceans Phoenix'' poop won''t be able to act as a good fertiliser since it''s a variant. Getting its child will double our chances of getting something good out of this whole episode, although we can always use the parent for its fighting capabilities. In the best case scenario, we will end up with two sources of fertiliser. That way we could potentially even sell off some excess on the Black Market." "As much as I hate it, what Qiu Yue says makes sense." Gold sighed as he continued to look at the constant imagery from the C130''s live feed. "However all these assumptions are under the condition that the Southerners have actually captured it and it''s still alive. Even if we find its child, the chances of its parent just agreeing to submit are considerably low. I don''t think we will be able to avoid a fight to be honest. Our aerial troops are not sufficient against that horde. The Southerners may be able to hold it for a short time, but we do not know the full fighting potential of the Nine Oceans Phoenix, especially if it''s fighting to protect its young. Even if Jin and the System could manipulate the Spirit of the Land, given their names the skies might be outside of their jurisdiction entirely." "Scholar Gold is correct." The System confirmed that line of thought. Meanwhile, Jin who had been thinking overdrive suddenly had an epiphany which could help them. "System, remember you kept pestering me about that monster fusion function?" Jin queried and the System acknowledged the function''s presence. "However, System understands that User does not wish to use it?" "Is it possible to alter it and just make a temporary fusion? You know a sort of strengthening similar to the cards we use to equip our people?" Jin queried yet the System and the people around him could not make heads or tails to his line of questioning. "The Dragon Devils need bigger air boosters but we need to make them, right? I was thinking about expediting the process by putting a few air boosters together, add a few sludge crystals or sludge liquid and fuse all of them." "Does User wish to augment the monsters by fusing them with non sentient objects? The monster fusion function is primarily meant for fusing two sentient monsters together, yet the proposed concept would not be too far fetched and the System can give it a try. Given that User wishes for the end result to become a form of temporary augmentation, the sludge crystals used to power the fusion should not be too many. In fact, one sludge crystal or a vial of the sludge liquid should be able to power twenty over temporary augmentations. However, do note that those items will be destroyed in the process once the augmentation period passes." The System recomputed its calculations and tweaked the function for Jin''s idea to be plausible. After all, as an almighty super entity wasn''t it the System''s job to create miracles like that? "How long is the augmentation period?" Jin asked, hoping it would not be something absurdly small like five minutes, but something ranging multiple hours at least, in case the fight will end up prolonged. "Given the power of the sludge, at least a week. That is assuming the monster does not die before that. Any resurrection will return them to their former state." The System reported and it seemed there was hope. "Alright, we shall hold an emergency war council meeting, this time with all the aerial squadrons as well as any monsters who can fly, including our dear Mr Derpy. We don''t have time to dilly dally." Jin ordered and immediately a request to convene in the Indoor Stadium Instance for the briefing was sent to the various monsters. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Jin stood at the podium and started to address his minions as if he was a professor holding a lecture. "Sorry for the impromptu call, but we have an(other) urgent situation on our hands." The dungeon supplier briefed everyone about Qiu Yue''s visit to the Southern Capital and started to explain the rationale of this sudden mission that they had to go through. Although the primary objective was capturing the Phoenixes to increase their farming and combat prospects, all of the minions knew that Jin was interfering because he wanted to protect as many people in the Southern Capital as possible. On the surface, Jin did so to gain as much extra reinforcements as possible for the fight against the Demon Rats, yet it was not like he was overly reliant on the Southerners. Without his weaponry the Southern Region''s warriors would be unable to beat most of his monsters, unless they were at a grunt level like the zombies. According to the System they were also less valuable than his world''s cultivators who would be causing some havoc once he started his Grand Operation. In essence, Jin was not cruel enough to turn a blind eye to the Southerner''s plight. Otherwise he could just force teleport the Nine Oceans Phoenix into a dungeon instance and fight it with all his minion''s might, not caring for the level of destruction the flying monster horde would cause to the Southern Capital. "Thus, we are going to a batch experiment of fusion augmentation with the Lord Forneus and his Devil Dragons to see how effective the fusion is. If the experiment fails, we will compensate you." Jin announced but he could hear the minions chuckle away. "You can compensate us by simply bringing us back to life to fight again!" Forneus called out as he was excited for the aerial combat already. While it would not be the same as having a rematch with Wyrstriker, they had already thought of a system to compete against each other, by counting their kills (individually and with their groups). ''If that is successful, it could help in making our own Gunndams. Perhaps we could just strengthen our golems to achieve such a result. That would also mean more mobility for us, especially the monsters.'' Rei thought to himself as he listened in on the briefing. He had not realised how busy the days could be assisting the dungeon supplier. Suddenly being dragged in and out of meetings disrupting his daily routine appeared to be the norm under Jin. "First of all, we need more time to prepare our defensive operation. Ayse, Keyrin, I need both of you to stall their aerial force with your lightning strikes. Go wild." Jin instructed them. The Head Researcher took off her coat and started cracking her knuckles while Keyrin nodded in acknowledgement. "I believe this warrants some overtime pay! Don''t worry our research team accepts your sludge, be it in crystal or liquid form! Gold may have his miracle dung from that Phoenix but to us researchers your sludge is just as miraculous. It''s the goddamn holy grail! Or you could increase our budget to compensate them from leading me away from work." Ayse smiled before teleporting away. "From what I saw, your team will probably be glad to get a break from your bossy ways," Jin mumbled to himself before, but decided to humour her request. It was not like he lacked the sludge. He shifted his gaze upwards to the ceiling of the indoor stadium. "Spiky, I''d like you to also accompany them to the Southern Capital for me. If some of those flying monsters manage to outmanoeuvre the lightning strikes and come too close to the capital you could catch them in your web." "Mousefolks, please get those automated climbing gear from the Research Team''s Armoury and protect Spiky while slaughtering those winged monsters. Show them how deadly being small and flightless can be. Pippy, if you can, go with Meomi to inform the Southerners that we will reinforce their borders so that they won''t interfere or attack you." "Ooohh! You mean those automated gear like the ''Attack of the Giants'' Manga Peppers showed us?! I thought it was just gossip talk when Peppers boasted that the Weapons Research Team was doing it for fun." Pippy asked and Jin nodded his head and the Mousefolk brothers were extremely excited. "Yes, Master! We will follow your orders!" Pippy added as he called upon his brother and a few older Mousefolks to get the gear ready first. "HMmmmmMmMMmm." Spiky, the Altered Transforming Spider hounded with joy that he finally got to be deployed in a real battle. Its first major appearance was supposed to be during the Pandapolis Raid when it stayed on standby to protect the Iron Fortress housing the Dungeon Core. But no one went that close to it and even with the threat of the mass teleportation, Spiky was not called for the fight. "Spiky said he is delighted that he could finally be of use." Weslie translated for Jin since he had no idea what Spiky had said. "He also said not to worry, his web can be used as support for the Mousefolks as he can selectively insert magic in his web to make it sticky." "Nice. Okay but I need you to do something else too." Jin later elaborated to Spiky while the rest were listening in. Spiky was once even more joyous for being further involved in his new master''s plan since his powers could be put to good use. The plan Jin had shared with it, would challenge him to transform into something vastly more complicated than he would usually do. Even Weslie was awed at the scale of Jin''s thinking. "Qiu Yue. Do you still have those artillery and sentry guns blueprints?" Jin took a breather and drank some water. "Aye aye, Boss. With that kind of deployment in mind, I cannot disappoint you, can I?" Qiu Yue chuckled as she too teleported away back to her room to prepare her Sub System for the fight. "Finally, Narris, Tinda. I heard from Drex himself that you two are the stealthiest and erm¡­most discreet amongst you Dark Elves. He told me that your abilities improved further ever since your help during the Salamander Keep mission." Jin was about to compliment them more but Narris stopped him in his tracks. "Tell us our targets and we will get to it." Narris requested since both of them were supposed to be training for the Demopolis Police Raids before they got plucked out of the intensive training programme by Drex to meet Jin''s demands. As Jin told them their part in his plans, the two listened closely, but they were a little uncomfortable since they were missing out on Kraft''s training regime. They might be the best at the moment, but if they did not participate in the latest iteration of Hell Training by their foxy de facto leader, they would be easily replaced. However, Tinda took this break from the programme as a welcoming experience. There were certain things that she would like to try before heading back into the programme and this was the best opportunity to do so, especially when it came to extracting information. "Alright. Find those two dark cloaks. We only have limited information on them. Get them to reveal the location of the Nine Ocean Phoenix''s chick and retrieve it. With the incoming monsters, the heaviest defence should be focused around the caged Phoenix and the threat of its parent. You may take anything from the Research Team Armoury even the automated climbing gear. There are human sized ones aside from the ones we made for the Mousefolks." Jin replied and the both instantly disappeared from where they were sitting as if they were an illusion all along. "Alright, I''ve covered the important stuff. Wyrstiker, deploy as soon as your platoon gets ready to go. Forneus, please bring your entire company of dragons into the Dungeon Maker. The System has already enlarged it enough for all of your men to squeeze in and receive the augmentation under a controlled environment. In the meantime, prep the rest of your Dragonlites for battle." Jin instructed and the entire group started to leave. Eventually, he was left with only Mr Derpy and Duke Wolte who were sitting eagerly in their seats looking at him with ''teary'' eyes that he had overlooked them¡­ again¡­ "Oh stop it you two. I have a super duper perfect part for the both of you to play." Jin smirked as he checked his phone for a moment to make sure he had the materials ready. ¡ª¡ª After Jin talked to Derpy and Wolte, he opened a portal in order to return to his Dungeon Maker. However, before he could step into it, a deft hand came out of nowhere grabbing him by his shoulder and pulled him into another instance. He recognised that feeling instantly as his vision disappeared and turned into a sort of blindness. "Time for another dose of mind torture." Kraft announced pridefully. Although Jin was unable to see it, he could picture his jailer grinning devilishly. Judging by his tone the Original Bellator must have prepared something special for today''s session. "You know for as much ''fun'' these sessions are, it''s kind of a huge inconvenience right now¡­" Jin pointed out, yet he could feel that he was strapped onto a chair, only this time with chains that felt like a ton of iron balls pulling him down. "Have you ever met an enemy who cares for your opinion and postpones his attack to a time when it''s more convenient for you? In my experience right now when your mind is disturbed is the best time to launch a sneaky mind attack. Anyway, I naturally know that you''re firing up to go out there. However, you seem to have forgotten that time flows slowly in this instance. Hours in here are merely minutes out there. So I won''t keep you here for long¡­ objectively speaking that is." Kraft''s Cheshire cat grin got even wider. "Alright. Not like I can do much to change your mind in this position in the first place. Let''s just get this over with. Mind at least telling me what you''re going to put me through this time around?" Jin queried, but instead of answering him, Kraft placed his hand on Jin''s head. As a result, Jin started to feel omnipotent, seeing things in his mind that he would be unable to without any System assistance. "For today, I''ve decided to show you the effects your work has left throughout the realms or well, let''s just call them worlds. These ripples caused waves and if you are not careful they might turn into a huge tide which might bite you in your butt." Kraft told him as he placed his other hand on Jin''s head. The images in Jin''s mind got even more intense. "What you can see before you is all the information I''ve gathered which the System has collated without you knowing. It should show you that you have more people spying on you than you have realised." "Let''s start with the world you''ve interfered with the most." Kraft tuned the images in Jin''s head and it headed to Jin''s Home World. Earth. As an ''ignorant'' dungeon supplier who only cared about honing his craft by making fantastic dungeon instances (with a ''hobby'' of saving worlds), Jin had actually changed Shenzhen''s dungeon instance industry and it was starting to affect the whole nation. Various dungeon suppliers had come either openly or in secret to look into Jin''s dungeons and the suppliers with disposable profits had already begun to emulate his dungeons. However, they were unable to achieve the same realism he offered. To compensate they had to resort to putting more money into their dungeon servers. The suppliers had even requested their technicians to see if they could tweak it as much as possible to reach Jin''s standard. On the flipside, Sea Mesh was simultaneously pushing hard to research better servers even though they were supposedly partners with Jin. For the time being, Ayse fed them with ''wrong'' information periodically, so as to hinder their research efforts Next, Kraft concentrated on the cultivators'' side. Jin''s dungeons had rekindled a fairly good portion of Shenzhen''s people back into cultivation. Not too long ago it was treated mostly as a hobby for the younger crowd or as a necessity to further one''s work prospects but those who had experienced his dungeons realised that it could be gruesomely satisfying. It didn''t hurt that Jin served a little of everything, making dungeon running easier with all the things in one major hub. From clothes to weapons, Jin had covered all necessary aspects and as if that was not enough, there were mini games that involved the dungeon instance. From the Pet Card games to the Supa Robot Wars. Those were things he had just added to for fun and had planned to recommission once they were no longer actively played, but to his surprise it had become an instant hit and an increasing number of people played them (some even more than the dungeon instances, earning Jin a tiny steady profit). Naturally, the System would never ignore a potential cash cow for too long, so it had noted that it was about time for Jin to create a new expansion pack to keep the hype going. Alas, the problem was that Jin neither had the time nor necessary the brains to do so. It had been easy to create a solid foundation but it was not as easy to build on that foundation of content. Fortunately Jin had capable people under him, so he had given the Pet Card Game to his Arcade Instance Storekeepers to create the next expansion. As of now, they were in the midst of completing it and offering the proposal to Jin soon. "Ahh.. okay, I will take note of that." Other than that, the dungeon supplier had inadvertently increased the quality of life of at least those near his district. The Central Business District people and employees from Hua Wee Phone campuses always visited Jin''s Tree Mall for its food and free bus rides. These led them to eat not only healthier tasty food but allowed them to wait without any queue especially in Lynn''s restaurant. The only problem was the cost which Jin thought it would be an issue until Lynn presented him with the volumes of orders coming in via the Pandafull Delivery. The promise of hot food upon delivery at Lynn and her penguins'' quality had made it immensely popular and many major delivery services had begun inquiring about Jin''s delivery system. Yet, none of them was able to get any information despite generous bribes towards Jin''s Farming World employees. Some even got ambushed with the assailants planning to kidnap them, but with the Farming World Humans each armed with a Battle Horse cultivation style, such ambushes did not work well. (The System would mark them down, for Kraft and his minions to make them disappear in a way that did not create any suspicion.) Speaking of quality of life, the increase in cultivation inadvertently led them to work more efficiently, completing what they needed without feeling too tired despite the constant overtime they clocked. That led them to abuse of the active nightlife and what could be a better place to go to than a famous big store that''s open 24 hours with awesome food and activities? That''s right! Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas. "You see how your little wimps and wants to create new service and dungeon instances have changed people''s lives for the better? At the same time, you''ve made them dependent on us." Kraft chuckled. "This kind of subtle brainwashing is a masterclass project in progress. As expected of my student. Now let''s change the pace a little and move to the next world." "We are not going to watch how the Zodiac Clans react to Kong Rong''s declaration of protecting our Panda Clan?" Jin asked and Kraft flicked his ears. "That can wait for another day." Kraft answered with some annoyance. He was still a bit annoyed that the Top State Agent had beaten him to the punch when it came to protecting Jin. "That bastard¡­trying to one up me." He whispered to himself. In a split second, Kraft forcefully changed the imagery in Jin''s mind to the Goblin World. For the first time in decades, the three races who had been solitary in their ways had begun to change since they now had something in common. The Dungeon Cave in the New Adventurer''s Town was the talk of the many cities of their respective kingdoms. The town had never truly stopped growing and was on the cusp of becoming a city if only Jin allowed it. For the time being, he had instructed Zhi Nu, who had somehow been elected as the mayor of the New Adventurer''s Town, to stop any additional major construction. His rationale was that if the town were to grow into a city, proper foundation and sanitation was needed first and they currently had other priorities. Yet, this did not stop the growth of the New Adventurer''s Town since more and more aspiring adventurers started to flock in, each of them setting up tents since the taverns were full. These camps had developed into a minor slum, something Zhi Nu could not stand, so she had taken the initiative to take matters into her own hands. With some assistance from the System, she had forced the adventurers and experienced workers who had built the town to develop their own temporary houses with strict rules to guarantee proper sanitation. Recently, the Dark Foxes aka the Dark Elves had been forced to decrease the number of their usual patrols. Kraft had instructed all of them to attend his training camp, but that did not mean they didn''t whip up a certain trusting type of police force to keep the place enforced in their absence. At all times, there would at least be one Dark Fox available to split up the occasional tavern brawl between the adventurers. All of this could be attributed to the ''never ending caves''. As Jin lacked the time to properly manage this side project, the System had modelled the subsequent floors to behave to the dungeon model of the Spiral Sewers Instance. Loot became a little more sparse but the value and quantity per drop had increased, making it more dangerous for the adventurers to venture further down. The number of casualties had increased and the Dungeon Cave had spawned something like a memorial wall to those who had fallen. While they undoubtedly offered unimaginable riches, the risk of dying was too real. The profession of an adventurer which used to be regarded as someone who did odd jobs to get by, was nowadays respected. Those who had returned from lower levels of the dungeon were being treated like heroes. Yet, that did not deter the adventurers as the money was worth it. However, Zhi Nu couldn''t allow everyone under her to die left and right, other that would result in a lack of proper talents. So, she had posted ''employment bounties'' for gathering materials for crafters and agricultural experts too. Those were mostly found on the safer floors, allowing young adventurers to gather experience and they got rewarded with sufficient coin to survive. At the same time, she also ensured that the economy was not inflated with too much money, otherwise, not just the New Adventurer Town would suffer but their entire world. That was why she still allowed bartering and occasionally sent those bartered goods to the System to replicate them for the Dungeon Cave. And that was when she started to see a race that was rarely seen. The Elves. With the advent of the Dark Elves coming out to keep the peace, the Elves were actually shocked to see they managed to blend in well with the people around without any discrimination. And thus, the Elven Kingdom allowed a small group of adventurers wannabes to try living in that town. Zhi Nu had allowed them in, but only if they did not discriminate against the Dark Elves or any other races. That was the only condition they had to abide by or they would be immediately kicked out of the town. Should they refuse to leave, it would be death by sword. It was a weird condition, but the influential powers she held were surprisingly strong especially since the Goblin King and Orc King were often seen accompanying her for meals. Even the Human King who was known to be a recluse had started to send official letters to ask if Zhi Nu could accompany him for meals. Zhi Nu had taken the chance to get the three Kings to meet with each other to discuss various issues. "That should be enough about the Adventurer''s Town. Let''s look at the Orc and Goblin Kingdom for a change. Because you magnanimously allowed the monsters to return to their homes, despite the System''s recommendation, we''ve gathered a ton of information giving us greater insight about how these places have changed." Kraft said. The majority of the Orcs were reeling from the loss of the recent war, yet their new King had been working tirelessly to provide aid to the masses. Getting work and therefore coin through his efforts was the best way for him to earn their hearts and trust. To be able to do that, however, Frost Echo had been borrowing money from the System despite constant warnings from Cross, his Goblin Spymaster who insisted they had to make the Orc''s economy flourish on their own. In the course of this, the budget which had been prepared for the military was repurposed to improve the agriculture of the country, allowing them to grow their own crops, while the System sells them foodstuff to get through certain periods when needed. Some of the Orc Merchants who worked in the New Adventurer''s Town had also been providing massive discounts to their Orc counterparts, providing them with supplies needed to survive through famine or the deadly winters. Not only that, through the New Adventurer''s Town, Zhi Nu had been giving them work such as building roads from their orc cities to the new town. And that also allowed them to establish outposts to protect adventurers and merchants from the threats of wildlife. These slow but steady changes had gradually influenced the Orc''s perspective but that did not mean there were no dissenters. As the spymaster Cross was in charge of disposing them and subsequently putting them into the System''s care for some reeducation. Nevertheless, he did not do it himself for such risky operations. No, several Orcs and even Goblins like Flame Ripper had assisted with the culling of these ''potential terrorists''. Speaking of Goblins, the Goblin City flourished similarly through the trade with various other races. The Goblin Crafters who had been working for Jin brought back their knowledge which they shared in the city. Especially the need for mechanisation. Soon, those Goblin Crafters who returned for good built a guild named the Illuminati Ironworks or I.I for short to facilitate the modernisation of the city. (Obviously, ''someone'' had suggested that name for them for the laughs, yet the goblins loved it.) Some of the Orcs were also in the Illuminati Ironworks which they would do cross city assistance to rebuild their civilisation. If the Lost Tech were anything but an indication of an advanced society, they believed they could get there too. "I could go over the Giant World, but honestly, there is not much left there but a wasteland after Peppers'' explosive magic." Kraft decided to skip that part. "Still, I have to admit Mother Nature sure is scary. Despite Peppers'' magic, plants and animals have started growing back once more. The System had observed the area on an occasional basis and has noticed there are now more varied species in the area. It was as if the animals or monsters saw the big explosion and got curious about it. Now that area is like a jungle wasteland and it has become a survival of the fittest." "Wow¡­okay. I totally didn''t expect that." Jin admitted. "As for the Farming World¡­ I really cannot be bothered to even glimpse at it. We''ve been focusing on those stupid Rats for so long, that I''ve had enough of them. Skipping that part too." Kraft yawned during his ''torturing'' session. "How about the Mecha World and eh Zombie World?" Jin asked. "Oh nearly forgot Derpy''s home, the Fishing World." "Oh those? I did not look through them too much, because honestly, your effect on those worlds is minimal in the grand scheme of things for now. Everyone is still a zombie as far as I''m aware and there are treasures and resources to pick aplenty. We might get to raid them if we need some extra moolah. You''ve already experienced it first hand how crazy those hordes can be." "Well, yeah. If what Derek said was true and all of them have turned into zombies, we are talking about probably a couple of billions of zombies or at least hundreds of millions.." Jin managed to say out loud despite being chained down and paralysed from the body downwards. "However, aren''t you concerned that you might have overlooked some survivors in that area that might not have been turned?" "While I cannot outright strike out such a possibility, I also don''t plan to look into it. In case your guess is correct, then those survivors have somehow made it this far, so they won''t need your help. We are not obligated to save them in any way shape or form. If we show ourselves, they might just turn hostile or be all cunning, planning to backstab us, wanting everything for themselves." Kraft argued, sounding like someone who had watched enough zombie movies to know what might await them. "Should you create a base in that world, we can make them work for us. I have no qualms with that." "Moving on to more interesting stuff. Rei''s makeshift spaceship. The fact that he can make it work with the assistance of the Orcs and Goblins means he is quite a talented engineer despite him claiming otherwise. I''m quite tempted to get into his brain and see what else he has hidden in his nogging." "Come on, don''t do that¡­ although maybe you should. So far he has kept his part of the bargain. We should at least find his family and make sure they are fine." Jin commented. "You mean, check out if they''ve already become casualties in the ongoing war between the United Federation and Xeon Union? I still think providing them with a common enemy would be the best way to stop them from fighting each other." Kraft sighed, but agreed to look for Rei''s family''s location to the best of his abilities¡­that is after he probed his brain. "As for the Fishing World¡­ I would not recommend you to go there again. Although we call him Derpy, the Shadow Dagen is the manifestation of power from an actual God, who is quite pissed that someone stole what belonged to him. Although the loss of power probably is just minimal, it''s about the principal of things." "Anyway, last but not least we have the Dungeon World." Kraft giggled. "I was actually worried you might have forgotten about it. Especially since your entire skulk of foxes is handling the Demopolis." Jin teased and suddenly the images flashed a little faster. "I do not have to tell you much about Pandapolis since it''s still a ghost town despite your promises of opening it up." "I did not promise to open it up, alright? The shield came down and the Demons attacked us. That''s all. Besides, the repair works are still ongoing as far as I know. The only sectors that are active are the industry and agriculture sector." "Yeah, but the business sector is empty and so are the entertainment areas. Even your industry sector is not fully set up for the city. Almost half of it is for military purposes which kind of defeats the purpose of a diversified industrial sector." Kraft yawned as if he wanted to go to the Demopolis part as quickly as possible. "Your hotels are still closed too. It took a HELL of an effort constructing those series of aquatic domes and yet they gather dust." "Well, with most of the efforts concentrating towards the Farming World¡­ Alright, I will take note of it and will decrease the military portion when I open up Pandapolis. So, how''s the progress in Demopolis?" Jin questioned and yet another flash of images came into his mind. "Glad you asked! Big Brother Rex has been busy. Very very busy settling the Demopolis policies. I am glad that you set up a secret meeting between him and Xiong Da." Kraft nodded his head in acknowledgement. "I thought it would be fun for Xiong Da to make laws for a ''virtual'' kingdom. In fact, we are actually paying him quite a bit to do so, since it''s time he could spend otherwise. Sure most of it is just an increase in terms of his store credit (plus a custom made Hippo and Egret plushie), but still, I shudder when thinking about how much we would have to pay otherwise. Not to mention he is already giving us the deep friend discount. It surely helps that he seems to have had a wish to dabble in national policies but had found it too troublesome and not profitable enough to actually pursue that desire. He seems to have enjoyed talking with Rex about it." Jin said. "In any case, my other foxes all have problems piling on top of their heads and doing their best to deal with them. The healthcare was terribly under budget and education was a privilege reserved for the spawns of the rich demons. The transportation system was nearly nonexistent and people had to use magic to travel far distances or walk by foot. Supplies were scarce in certain parts of the cities because of it. All these problems led to crime lords which Tsu and Kai had been rotating to find out more about." "I thought they had the beast kids to take care of? That intensive training camp?" Jin queried. "Oh, that''s what the training camp is for. To get those kids to learn how to play detective and teach them to properly scout. They''ve used cosmetic inscriptions to make them look taller and older. Oh and trust me, those beast kids are good at acting. So good that they are naturals at extracting information. And when it comes to running away, boy were they excellent at it. Now the Wolf Twins only have to train their combat skills up and you have your first batch of next generation spies." Kraft nodded his head with approval. "Then I presume that the Demopolis police raids are coming closer and closer?" Jin asked and Kraft merely shrugged his shoulders. "The Drows have asked for better equipment. They were especially interested in the kind to increase their mobility, so I have implemented the latest Gearbox Suits into our training exercises, courtesy of Yang Ling who left a sample in the suitcase she was carrying on our table while visiting you. I took the liberty to copy its designs before putting it back. Lynn nearly scolded me for being this sneaky." "I doubt she would scold you for that. Be honest, you must have gotten caught stealing part of her breakfast too right?" "Tsk, how could I resist? Do you think YOU could have resisted? " Kraft fiddled with his fingers and Jin''s olfactory senses recalled Lynn''s cooking on that day and he inadvertently drooled. "As for the Church of the Afterlife, we''ve scouted them and came to the conclusion that the extent of their reach is rather creepy. If you think the Northern and Southern Scholars are a pain in the ass, dealing with an entire world religion is worse. I bet you would prefer straight forward enemies like Baal. In any case, for the time being, there is no reason to worry about them too much. Until we get our own Panda religion up and running, they''re merely keeping an eye on us." "Other than that. I say you did a good job growing up. A bit slow though. But you are doing a good job nevertheless." Kraft praised as he let go of Jin. "That did not feel very torturous. More like you send me on a tour down memory lane. I do admit the overload of information was slightly painful but after that, I could cope with it. You getting soft, Kraft?" Jin provoked. "Oh? Here I thought I would be nice for a change and give you some minor encouragement, but this is how you treat me? Are you turning a masochist? Is that why those girls in your harem are not satisfying you enough?" Kraft sent a wave of dark chi into Jin and immediately he started to struggle. "You see, this technique was merely part one. After showing someone all their good memories or all of their accomplishments from any point in their life, the real torture begins by showing them slight deviations of what they had just seen. ''What if'' scenarios in which certain things turn out differently. What if me and my skulk had not arrived just in time during your fight with King Baal? What if the Rat Triad Leader De Tian had bested you in combat? What if you had never gotten the System? It will bombard your brain until you will no longer be able to tell reality from fiction!" Kraft devilishly explained the ''real beauty'' of his technique. "And don''t worry. I won''t ruin your face or your mind that badly. After all, a certain somebody still needs you." Kraft peered into the self made darkness, grinning. Smirking. "I think a 1,000 of those scenarios sounds quite good." He whispered with a satisfied look on his face. Chapter 1001 Southern Capital Fortification Chapter 1001 Southern Capital Fortification Ayse and Keyrin were the first to arrive at the scene. The System had teleported them near a church like tower for cover, giving them a good look at the Southerner''s defensive line. "Manually cranked ballistas and trebuchets? Oh come on, how do you suppose those trebuchets will hit? They won''t do shit against flying creatures!" Ayse grumbled as they continued to observe from a distance. "At the very least use some sort of grapeshot projectiles instead of a piece of fiery rock, you dumbasses!" Unfortunately, those anti-siege weapons were the only type of defence the Southern Capital could deploy, so they had to make do with what they had. In a glance, Ayse could already see that the Black Cloaks were the ones who were commanding them. As much as they were just mercs, they seemed to have a higher status in the military. "Aren''t we supposed to help them now ¨C now?" Keyrin questioned as his massive size was a little conspicuous to be hiding properly. He was afraid he would be targeted by the defenders as one of the monsters that came invading the city. "I thought you are some Cardinal Guardian that Weslie made to protect the Four Regions or something? Shouldn''t they know your presence?" Ayse asked but Keyrin got a little agitated before calming down to answer her. "We are supposed to be. Until the occurrence of the Demon Rats, I had to flee deep into the mountains to prevent their capture. In addition, the news of the Demon Rats was more apparent compared to the rise of the new guardians. And that was also the time where Weslie was still grooming the power within us. You could say I would not have been stronger than I was a few years back. It was fun killing stray Demon Rats though." "I see¡­ Anyways, the System said that Meomi is teleporting towards the leader to make clear of our stance. You can fly into the skies and start prepping, I will follow suit when I hear enough. Perhaps, I too will make an appearance to spice things up." Ayse''s side winked Keyrin which he acknowledged by charging his hoofs with electricity and blasted out of the area. The defenders within the vicinity thought that the attacks were starting and many went into alert. "Well, that warning made them work faster so I guess that''s a boon." Ayse giggled as she swiftly jumped away from the church tower and moved nearer to the Southern Capital''s walls while staying hidden as much as possible. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- Leopardo noticed the very same portal that Qiu Yue had used and demanded the troops around him not to panic. There, Meomi appeared, now in her full battle gear, despite still being in human form. Like a battle cultivator, she had equipped herself with clothes suitable for her transformation like a tabard so that it would not break whenever she shapeshifted. The battle tabard she wore too were infused with inscriptions along with her gunblade which she requested be modified as more of a gun than a blade so she still had long range options available to her. Other than that, there were armour pieces on her shoulders and knees to soften blows to them as well as the automated climbing gear which the Mousefolks wore. With these many flying monsters, the automated climb gear would be a boon mainly because it does help the minions to climb in midair with a mini air jet booster attached to their lower backs. Propelled with magic crystals, they would be able to refill with crystals stashed in the belt of the climbing gear and those containers on their waist held guns or melee weapons each minion was accustomed with. Also, to other people, it looked like two rectangular suitcases but they had no idea that it was built with storage ring technology in mind, allowing them to carry ammo cartridges, more weapons and even a few goddamn mini RPG missiles. For the Mousefolks, the size does not matter as the missiles were inflicted with a minimised spell until they were activated. This meant that the Mousefolks still packed a punch despite their stature. However, each use of the air jet booster had a limited range of 20 metres unless they pushed the crystals to the maximum and thus the quick insertion of magic crystals was available right in front of their belts. For leaders, the Research Team Armoury had given them Jin''s Sludge Maqi Crystals which had twenty times more potency than a normal crystal as they knew that they would be the ones doing traversing. Thus, seeing how oddly equipped Meomi was, Leopardo had no idea on the efficacy of her lightly armoured defensive wear and odd contraptions on her body. "I hope you are here not to waste my time and reconsider my proposal," Leopardo said as Meomi was still emerging out of the portal. In the meantime, he was curious where such a portal would likely bring him if he tried to enter it. "Do not even think about entering. The portal will slice you into two." Meomi raised her opinion, seeing that Leopardo was looking at the magical transportation circle floating above the ground. "Answering your question. Yes and No." "What do you even mean?" Leopardo questioned as he heard thunder rumbling above him. It was unexpected especially when the atmosphere had already been fucked up by the presence of the Nine Oceans Phoenix with the temperature rising on a constant level. The only consolation they have right now was that the monsters'' leader was staying in a position far from them to gather her own league of winged abominations to fight. Else, they might have already been burnt by her or so they feared. But now with the skies rumbling with thunder and occasional flashes of lightning, they did not understand whether it was a monster or natural occurrence. "What she meant is that we will help you. But on our own terms." Ayse jumped to the top of the walls and everyone instantly pulled their weapons towards her as a sort of reflex. "I see that your soldiers are well trained. Much expected for a capital always besieged with monsters. But it seemed to me that you are lacking in the anti air department." "We will improvise if necessary," Leopardo replied as he could not phantom the company that Meomi was with. The soldiers were asked to put down their weapons even though she looked half monster with her orc features. "So, yes. Our organisation will help you but instead of you directing the battle, we will be the ones who do it." Meomi said and that made Leopardo laugh. "Don''t make me laugh too much. And as I said, do not waste my time. You might be a secret organisation filled with¡­people of unknown origins but so far, I see that you have a few comrades in your midst. How can you fulfil such a demand?" Leopardo replied and decided to ignore them to give the next set of orders. He had entertained these people enough and it was time for serious business. But before he could open his mouth, bolts of purplish lightning struck near him and Leopardo realised that it was hitting the Orc consistently. "This shows that you have much more to learn. Stop living in your well and witness powers that changed the tide of war." Ayse remarked as she turned into the Avatar of Syldra. Chapter 1002 Discrimination Against Monsters Chapter 1002 Discrimination Against Monsters The soldiers around Ayse were shocked to see such a beautifully elegant yet deadly monster right in front of them. "You¡­You work with monsters?!" Leopardo turned towards Nightingale, putting her in a bind. While The Southern Star scout did warn them beforehand that Meomi could turn into a Werecat, this was still acceptable as the Therianthropy spell had been widely recognised as a pseudo cure against the rat virus. However, Nightingale had not mentioned anything about the secret organisation being affiliated with actual humanoid monsters. "I did not know how to properly convey it in the reports because it just sounded unbelievable." Nightingale immediately knelt down admitting her mistakes. "Did Bison not know about it?" Leopardo questioned. The team leader should have warned him about it. "He''s also aware of their organisation working with monsters. I had assumed that he would have informed you about it before your meeting with them since you were more likely to believe it coming from him." Nightingale answered and Leopardo sighed. It appeared that it was his own fault. Bison had mentioned the need to talk privately with him, but given their dire situation the Grandmaster had sent him off to gather more soldiers from the surrounding smaller towns. As the Leader of Southern Stars, he had read through the reports briefly, yet it had been enough to convince him that Jin''s organisation was just amazing by itself. "Do you have a problem working with us monsters? If so, allow me to call off my comrade who is prepared to risk his life to protect you and we shall all leave your Southern Capital be." With that one sentence, Ayse had practically robbed them of any real choice on the matter. "By the way, don''t even think of backstabbing us. If one of your men dares to attack any of us, I will personally assist the Phoenix in obliterating your entire Southern Capita instead of helping you." Ayse threatened Leopardo, since his soldiers had immediately directed their spears towards her at the first mention of her being a monster. "Is that why you did not wish to work with us in the first place? Because you are a beast monster?" Leopardo asked her directly. "Then why do you fight against the Demon Rats instead of joining them?" "Have you ever considered that we ''beast'' monsters have our personal lives too? That not all of us are the same, just like not all of you humans are completely good or bad? It might surprise you, but we generally do not wish to get involved in your petty games." Ayse replied. "Phoenixes are supposed to be solitary creatures, known for avoiding mankind at all costs, yet now one is flying right here¡­ Do you really want us to believe that this one''s merely bored? Confess! What have you done that caused it to gather such a massive horde against your Capital City?!" "We have no -" Before he had a chance to deny anything, a thunderbolt from the sky struck him down, forcing him onto his knees. "I can do this all day. The more you try to deceit this pair of eyes, the more you will suffer. Although I''ve been told to avert the incoming disaster, I will not hesitate to strike you down." Ayse met the angry stares at the soldiers. "And that includes all of you." "I already have my own suspicions of what is really going on and if those are true it does not look good for you. Either you speak up now, admitting the real situation and we can try to remedy it by defending you bunch of pricks or I shall assist the Phoenix in its path of vengeance." Ayse stated with a sort of hardened temper in her, ready to strike Leopardo once more. "Enough! We don''t have time to waste. Fine, I admit that our leader, Saberteeth had stumbled across a pair of eggs during his last expedition to calm the volcanoes further south. With the loss of our Scholar, Saberteeth had been trying his best to fulfil that role to avert any major catastrophes. Those eggs had looked amazingly beautiful reminding him of pearls from the ocean. He had no idea what exactly they were but he imagined that whatever was inside of them, if we could tame one of those creatures, it might help us in the defence against possible threats. It was only once he returned to check the Grand Library did he realise that the eggs he had stolen belonged to a Seven Oceans Phoenix. All the more we found out that we struck gold because of its miraculous dung." Leopardo explained. "So, I am guessing the one flying towards us must be the mother who wants her eggs back." "Then where are the eggs being hidden?" Meomi now also turned aggressive and pointed her gunblade towards Leopardo''s throat. "I''ve already satisfied your curiosity more than enough. Either you can help us, or I ask you to get out of our way. That Phoenix might significantly destroy our capital but it won''t be able to exterminate our collective. Even my life is just a small price to pay for it. We will simply rebuild again with their bones and feathers as part of our foundation." Leopardo replied sounding like a man with nothing more to lose, despite Meomi pushing her gunblade closer on to Leopardo''s neck. "My my. Ladies, you do know that you just have to call me out, right? Killing him won''t be fun nor will it help our cause at all." A Shadow Portal appeared and a familiar voice sounded out. Kraft grabbed the fallen Interim Leader by the back and put his hand on top of his head. Only unlike with the dungeon supplier, the pulling of information from Leopardo was an extremely painful process. He struggled to pull Kraft''s hand away since he could feel the other party pull his mind apart like a person rapidly pulling the tapes out of a cassette and leaving it to dangle once the deed was done. "Heh. As expected. It seems his memory is incomplete, someone must have fizzled it via magic. I believe that leader he trusted so much also fuddled with his mind as a safety precaution. There are indeed at least two eggs. One of them appears to have been deliberately broken or maybe it had hatched, but had died a terrible death soon after." Kraft analysed. "I will get Tinda to follow the leads which might lead to that egg as a confirmation while Narris will pursue the possibility of there being another intact egg." "So does that mean that the second egg is a diversion to the egg they kept hidden?" Meomi questioned and Kraft could only say that was an assumption based on his memories. It made Meomi furious as she used the hilt of her gunblade and knocked him out. But Leopardo, still a veteran combatant stopped her movement and blocked the attack. The Devil Fox was however surprised he was still able to move despite having his mind torn and literally pushed him down with his chi. Some of the soldiers got a bit restless but Ayse''s glare and the thunderbolt raining down next to their feet were enough to keep them away for the moment except for two Black Cloaks who had enough of this charade and charged towards them. As brave as they were, a direct hit from a bolt of electricity, downed them immediately, paralysing before they could do any damage. Ayse''s electrical barrier blocked a salvo of incoming arrows and burned them into ashes. "You were going to let your entire capital die just for an egg?! Are you mad?!" Meomi asked and Leopardo bided his time to strike opportunistically when he felt that Meomi lowered her guard. However, he had not taken into account that Kraft the crafty fox was formidable in his own right and he shot his No Mercy at his legs. To Ayse and Meomi''s surprise, it was some sort of glue shot instead of a proper shot. They both looked up, hardly able to believe that Kraft could be this compassionate. "Why are you so simple minded? If I kill him, it defeats the purpose of this operation." Kraft shrugged his shoulders. "Because of a few rotten people, they will allow a massacre to take place between the monsters and humans. As much as I like bloodshed, I do not appreciate meaningless ones." "Well, thank goodness Qiu Yue did not agree to help this bastard," Meomi said as she stared at Nightingale for a moment before diverting her eyes away to the battlefield. "At the very least, we will be helping those monsters to find ''peace'' more than these humans." "That I can agree with." Ayse nodded her head and went towards Leopardo. She stepped on his chest and pushed it down so that it felt as if it was going to pierce through the chainmail armour he was wearing. "Listen you prick. We are going to save your people and once that is done, you are going to owe us one hell of a favour. Don''t think we will do this as charity work!" "That''s fucking blackmail!" Leopardo coughed. "That''s the whole fucking point." Kraft chuckled as he pulled out a piece of paper and brought it near Leopardo''s finger which he later pricked for blood to ooze out. The paper lit up before disappearing and Kraft thanked the two ladies before disappearing. "That was quite fun. Now I will leave the rest in your capable hand, ladies." "Thanks again." Ayse waved him goodbye and without warning, she jumped into the grey thunderous skies and disappeared. Meomi on the other hand demanded Leopardo to send an emergency missive to the entire wall, announcing their cooperation with Jin''s minions. Chapter 1003 Spiky Fall Chapter 1003 Spiky Fall "Sir, what shall we do? Can we trust them?" One of the higher ranking soldiers asked as he still had his spear aimed towards Meomi. The scene before their eyes did not really inspire confidence towards their new ''allies''. "Despite what they did to our Grandmaster, I can assure you that they have the best of intentions for our people! " Nightingale risked her life by putting herself between the spear and Meomi''s body even though she knew full well that Meomi was more than capable of dealing with the soldiers herself. After all, the Werecat was at least as or even more powerful than her. "I''ve seen them fight to the teeth against the Demon Rats and they came out victorious while ensuring that the citizens were not killed. They might be foul mouthed, yet they also have the necessary strength and capabilities to back up such arrogance!" "Heh! You are giving us too much credit, Nightingale. We just don''t want innocent people to suffer. Unlike your interim leader who is supposed to protect the masses, but instead hid the fact why you''re being attacked in the first place." Meomi said. "Your choice now, Leopardo. Ayse has already given you an ultimatum and you''ve felt how absurdly strong she is. She''s been going easy on you, yet it left you paralyzed up till now. We have plenty more such comrades on route and none of them will show any mercy once the word comes from our leader. We can be your temporary allies or your absolute devastation." "¡­Please help us. I was¡­ wrong. Wrong to behave in such a way that does not benefit the interim leader of our Southern Capital." Leopardo did not understand why such words were coming out of his mouth. Though they were coming from the bottom of his heart, he was doing his best to resist the urge to say even more due to his pride. No one had ever seen him, a champion who had saved the Southern Capital on more than one occasion, this pathetic before. For him to be bested so quickly and even toyed with by these agents indicated that their powers were of another level. (After all, most of the Farming World people did not have magic on their side and those who did got strictly controlled by the Scholars.) "That''s more like it." Meomi nodded as she opened up a System Channel to inform Jin. "I got the gist of the situation based on the System''s summarised update. Go ahead with the plan to protect the Southerners. Kraft has already ordered Tinda and Narris to search for the conspirators and their lackeys. Obviously, there''s no need to tell them to hold back but I did recommend condemnation before killing them outright." Jin replied. "You think the Southerners will empathise with us? They will probably think what Leopardo and Saberteeth did was right, given the harsh conditions that they were accustomed to." Meomi noted her opinion as she sheathed back her gunblade into the Climbing Gear Suitcase and picked up a sniper rifle. "Nah. I did not mean public condemnation. You will understand when it happens. But first, let''s concentrate on the giant flying army coming towards us. Let Spiky get settled in." Jin ordered. "Aye, Aye, Master!" Meomi jokingly saluted as she instructed Leopardo to tell his people not to attack the unfamiliar monsters which are going to appear unless they have some sort of wings and are flying towards the capital. "If you think every monster you meet is one to take your life, allow us to open your eyes open and show that it''s not the case." As she finished her sentence, a large portal appeared and the southerners who were not informed were immediately taken aback by the spikes coming out of the portal. Only then did Spiky, the Giant Altered Transforming Spider, came crashing down towards the Southern Capital with absolute delicacy. Before its ''fall'', Spiky had aimed his legs right outside the walls. The Southern Soldiers were scared stiff and could not help their instincts to point a weapon towards that monster despite repeated commands not to attack their new ally. After all, they had never seen a spider monster this humongous before. However, Spiky did not care about the Southerners'' reaction to him and he started to change by matching the sandy colour of the fortress walls. It turned its legs into stairs leading to defensive platforms high in the sky and the space around his legs began to create higher walls from thin air. At that moment the scared soldiers realised that the large spider had transformed into extension of the fortress walls. "What are you bugs waiting for? Quickly get up and take up defensive positions! Interim Leader Leopardo already told us that these monsters are helping us." One of the Southern Army Captains ordered his men to make use of higher ground when given the opportunity. It would be a great boon to have against the incoming army of winged creatures. A platoon of archers immediately picked up the caches of arrows and hurried to higher grounds, knowing that this would even the playing field a bit. Spiky had even created a gentle slope to allow the knights to push the ballistae up towards a larger defensive platform. They discovered that the floor where they had placed their defensive weapon could be turned 360 degrees with a pulley knob at the side so they would not have to consistently push the ballistae to reposition them. That was not all. Unbeknownst to them, Spiky had already spun webs between his legs so that any winged monsters that tried to attack them could be removed by the archers or the Mousefolks who were still gearing up for their sorties. When Jin saw the transformation, he was surprised how detailed it was. It appeared as if the spider had improved considerably compared to when it fought against the (at the time) Demon Exorcist trainees. When asked about it, the System informed the dungeon supplier that the fortress design has been created by the Super Entity on the fly and sent to Spiky to transform as such. "Wow, nice follow up. I did not expect the Transforming Spider could be used so creatively." "Of all the captured Elder Demons which make up the so-called ''Cardinal Guardians'', the Altered Transforming Spider has the most potential. System only tapped less than 5% of its current potential, thus the System does not deserve much praise." "Only 5%?! Are you kidding me? You mean this Transforming Spider¡­. Huh. Interesting. I will have to have a one-to-one talk with Spiky or well with Weslie as the translator. Come to think of it, I should probably make the whole tour and also get myself more acquainted with the Burning Lion Demon and Water Snake Demon. Perhaps I could make something exciting for the Pandarens in the future utilising all four of them." Jin thought out loud as he also saw that Spiky too had already achieved the secret air base at the top of its head. With its head high up into the clouds, Qiu Yue teleported to this improvised airbase with a small oxygen respirator attached to her waist in case she lacked oxygen. After which, she started to use her Empire Building Sub System to attach a portal regulator into it so that the System would not have to waste so much energy and resources to maintain a portal. That allowed Jin''s aerial squadrons to move into the makeshift warehouse which Qiu Yue had placed while setting up the ammunition and magic crystal stocks needed when they returned for a resupply. Wyrstiker came through the portal regulator last, walking in with his own oxygen respirator. While the Devil Dragons were going through the augmentation with Jin, it would be Wyrstriker''s duty to keep the skies above the Southern Capital clear. With all the technology placed on the Wyverns, an extra team of Goblins followed the soldiers. They were usually working on the Supplies and Technical front and were there to ensure that the Wyverns could be refitted properly if necessary. After a quick assessment, the Sub System deemed the access to healing magic as well as technical support satisfactory to ensure the Goblins and knowing that the Wyverns could go for a second run, it finally gave them the okay to head out. "Goblin Wyvern Knights, let''s show them who the masters of the skies really are!" Wyrstriker bellowed out through the System Channel and was met with a resounding affirmative cry from his platoon. Chapter 1004 Augmentation Process Chapter 1004 Augmentation Process As Wyrstriker''s Company of Goblin Wyvern Knights were sortied out into the airspace, Jin was in the Dungeon Maker to start with the augmentation process. Since this would be the first time they would experiment with this type of strengthening, a small portion of Goblin Technicians were also stationed nearby in case of sudden breakdowns of the equipment as a result of the process. To lead by example, Forneus volunteered to go up first. "Since you are the leader, I guess we''ve got to make you extremely flashy." Jin smiled and Forneus was remarkably delighted by his new Master''s comments. "If it is possible, I want some firey-" But Jin cut him off before he could continue. "When I said flashy, I meant the useful kind of flashy. We''ve got to be pragmatic first and foremost. If it turns out to be a success, you are free to choose your own cosmetic look for fun and decorations." Jin promised him as he used his phone as a remote control to activate some of the consoles. Forneus and his Devil Dragon were then surrounded by a multitude of screens as images of armour pieces were flashing around them resembling some gambling casino roulette (only lacking the lever). As for the last step, Jin placed an energised sludge crystal which he infused with more of his Maqi and the sludge liquid into the centre of the augmentation circle before it flashed in his eyes. There and then, the System started its ''magic'' and suddenly metallic tentacles appeared all over that particular portion of the Dungeon Maker, equipped with drills, pluckers and all sorts of mechanical attachments for all kinds of jobs. Forneus was picked up like a rag doll while his Devil Dragon was chained to the ground with flashes of light were seen repeatedly over and over again. (Only his legs!!) There was no screaming or whatsoever but somehow it reminded Jin of those magical girl transformation scenes. The fact that they were all oblivious about it, only made it funnier. Jin giggled to himself as he imagined the System''s magic rendering his minion ''naked'' with their important bits being protected by a shining light until new armour would magically be placed on them. Only then he realised that he might be in that same position with his System Rider belt and nearly wanted to transform to make sure that was not the case for him. Yet, the System reminded him to stay focus in case the augmentation process went weary. (Though Jin felt it was unnecessary since the whole procedure was managed entirely by the System and there was nothing much he could do.) Yet the reality was not that fantasy-ish and when the augmentation process was done, Jin was surprised at Forneus'' new look. Even his soldiers were shocked by the all new transformation. They all thought that the augmentation process would merely be something like fixing a new slab of armour on to their body but no, there was sadly zero to none magical girls vibe from them. Forneus'' Devil Dragon turned from a Beast of Nature to a Metal Killer Machine. It was apparent that the Devil Dragon turned robotic in nature, with its legs, neck and tail connected via multiple metallic joint parts and visible metal tubes running under its metal scales. The Devil Dragon tried to spread its wings, but instead of the usual wing membrane, something similar to a sheet of malleable carbon metal appeared. Each digit and fingers on its wings seemed to be attached with air boosters. While its tail had become something akin to a vertical stabiliser and rudder for the dragon. As for Forneus, he too grew metallic wings since he was part of the Dragonlite races and his horns doubled in size. His face was protected by an air resistance faceless helmet with holes to allow his horns through. (In fact, they were the only factor distinguishing him in this form). Most importantly, his left arm had been replaced with something awesome. At first, he thought the augmentation had caused him to lose an arm seeing that there was a hole in his wrist. But before he could panic, the System quickly explained that he should try focusing his magic to his left arm that he realised the magic energy subsequently turned into a blast of energy when it reached a critical mass. (Cough like a certain ''M'' man with a blue helmet on.) "Holy Shit, Boss. You sure, I cannot keep this augmentation? It feels great! Those Goblin Wyvern Knights are going to be so jealous that they will demand the same treatment!" Forneus was excited as he pet his Devil Dragon and the System allowed the Dragon to shoot a blast of energy out of his mouth. The hyper beam was intense and the size of circumference would depend on how much magic the Devil Dragon wished to use. "I was totally not expecting this too. This goes beyond my wildest imagination on how the augmentation process could go. Isn''t this already something akin to a type of evolution?" Jin queried. "The System underestimated the effectiveness of the mix between a sludge crystal with the inclusion of your Maqi and User''s latest type of sludge. We thought that the augmentation required more energy but it appears that System''s calculations were off by a huge margin. Needless to say, it''s a positive boon and System excitedly awaits the results, the period Forneus can stay in this form as well as the plausible side effects of the augmentation process, both during and after." "The only side effect I can think of is you not granting me this as a permanent upgrade!" Forneus noted as he took off first with his Devil Dragon to make sure the rest of the Dragonlites under him would be ready for combat. After all, who else was going to save the Goblin Wyvern Knights'' asses when the going gets tough? With the augmentation process confirmed, the System relayed a bulk of its computing resources to duplicate the augmentation process so that multiple Devil Dragons and its riders could be augmented at the same time. Jin, however, warned them that they might not have something as great as Forneus since lesser resources were used but most of them understood. They knew it was an emergency deployment and thus there were limitations if Jin was to mass augment the entire Devil Dragon Company in a very short period of time. But to their surprise, most of the Devil Dragons managed to come out similar to their leader except they were a mix of Biological and Metal parts together unlike Forneus''s Dragon who was completely metal clad. As for the Dragonlite riders, they did not gain any metal wings but their skins grow flexible metal platings which helped resist certain attacks. Yet, the System was not comfortable with the process seeing that the Phoenix or the horde under her might have lightning attacks which could disable the dragons. Thus it added a layer of special lacquered coating to reduce the electrical contact to all the Devil Dragons. Ironically, the only one who did not get that treatment was their leader and yet he would require it the most so the System tasked the Devil Dragon''s vice captain to bring a bottle of self developing coat to make sure Forneus would be protected as well. With this upgrade, the Devil Dragons were ready to bring a good fight against the Flying Horde! Chapter 1005 - Nine Oceans Phoenix Chapter 1005 ¨C Nine Oceans Phoenix The skies got darker, the flying monsters were growling with impatience. They had been promised a wondrous bounty if they were to work together as this never before seen horde. If not for the Nine Oceans Phoenix leading the way, most of the monsters would still be dwelling in their own territory and minding their personal business. Yet, instead of attacking the humans as soon as possible and getting things over with, they had been ordered to fly slowly and wait for a period of time which kind of defeated the purpose of their monster horde. ''Hm. This does not seem to bode well.'' The Nine Oceans Phoenix thought to herself. Although not old enough to be counted as an Elder Demon like Keyrin and the others, who had a will and mind of their own, the Nine Oceans Phoenix had similarly turned sentient after severe situational circ.u.mstances had forced her to mutate. The reason why she was holding the horde back was that she was giving the humans who had taken her eggs a chance to return them. However, she did not trust the humans, hence the gathering of the monster horde should they refuse or pretend like they had nothing to do with it. There had been a few encounters with humans in the Phoenix''s lifetime and most of them had been with nasty hunters that had wanted to either outright murder her for the feathers she adorned or capture her to gain a constant supply of her dung which she knew had miraculous powers. Nevertheless, she had never forgotten that it was a human who had saved her at the brink of her death enc.u.mbered with severe injuries. He had not cared how monstrous she was as a Phoenix nor bothered how she kept using her powers to frantically protect herself, injuring him in the rescue process. Nevertheless, he had not yielded and used his healing magic from afar to close her wounds. Healing magic had always been designed to be used in close proximity, yet that particular na?ve human had continued to strain himself to heal her from afar to the best of his abilities. It was to the point that he had even sacrificed a portion of his life force to keep the dire firebird from stepping into the grave. Once the Phoenix had finally realised that he was not harming her and in fact hurting himself, she had finally decided to lower her guard a little to see what the human would do. Seeing the opening, he had not even hesitated for a moment to rush towards her and had quickly applied his healing salves to soothe her pain and rescue her from the dire situation she was in. (Which she made it worst by straining herself to fend him off in the first place.) The whole time he had been talking to her in a soothing voice in an attempt to keep her calm and eventually, it worked. To his surprise, she purposely thanked the human in his language. Excited about her intelligence, he had started to ask her a mountain of questions ranging from how the Phoenix had lived her life, her eating habits, what kind of lands and oceans she had travelled and many more. Happy for the rare opportunity to have a conversation the Nine Oceans Phoenix had answered everything to the best of her abilities during her recovery period. She had not even realised that they had been talking non-stop and he even sacrificed his sleep and meal times just to listen to her until the 3rd day. The mage had just shrugged it off, saying that there were so many things he wanted to know about her, that his own physical needs were nothing compared to the knowledge he could bring back from speaking to a sentient Phoenix. And a variant one to boot. "I''d rather learn every single thing about you and the experiences you have than satisfy my measly needs. Sleep is for the weak! You will have all the time for it when you''re dead as my dad used to say! Hahahah!" The human mage joked. They had spent more than a week together and once the Phoenix''s health had improved enough, the mage told her to fly elsewhere, since she would not be able to return to where she lived. Mainly because the human mage could not hide the Phoenix''s scent after she got out from the sealed barrier he had placed around them and those pesky monster hunters would try to catch her again. And although all the encounters had been proven to her that the majority of humans were greedy and downright vicious to the core, that particular puny human mage somehow convinced the Phoenix that not all humans were like that. ''I am sorry, my dear friend. But now that these humans are holding on to my children, I have to think for myself. You did tell me to ''Think for yourself in this harsh world first, but be kind to those who have shown you kindness if possible''.'' The Nine Ocean Phoenix thought as she finally gave the signal for the Flying Horde to attack when she saw that a large spider like structure suddenly descended from the skies. The Phoenix knew that those humans were plotting something too and it would be best to act first before they could do whatever they planned to. After all, she was still a monster that followed her instinct. Thus, with a strong flap of her wings and a loud screech, magical energies burst out of her body coursing through the entire horde. It empowered them and even forcibly mutated a few weaker ones. While she honestly did not care about the monsters that were with her, she still needed a good push so that she could use the time to find her eggs. In addition, she felt that there was another force at work with them and if possible she wanted those monsters to push through that unusual force. The winged monsters now energised with magical energy screeched and roared simultaneously, which caused the white empty desert in front of the capital to rumble. Some of the humans thought it was some earthquake, only to realise swarms of monstrous looking deformed dogs and cats with tentacle claws were crawling out of the sandpits. And their destination was singular in nature. The Southern Capital. "SOUND THE ALARM! Zurglings! Zurglings! Among the Winged Monsters lies a Zurgling Queen!" The Gate Guards shouted as he reported the endless waves of Zurglings running towards them. It was at that point the Winged Monsters also started their descent towards the Southern Capital while the Nine Ocean Phoenix continued to stay in one spot, supplying magical powers to those higher class monsters, especially the Zurgling Queen that had agreed to follow her. While unrelated in blood, the Zurgling Queen too understood and empathised the Nine Ocean Phoenix which was why she was not hesitant to send her children out for battle even though she knew they were going to be battle fodder and be eventually gone with the winds. "My unborn children. Please wait for me. I am coming for you," the Nine Oceans Phoenix mumbled to herself as she once more released another surge of energy to empower the monsters. Chapter 1006 - Mousefolks Arrival Chapter 1006 ¨C Mousefolk¡¯s Arrival Jin watched the sudden turn of events take place from inside the Dungeon Maker and wondered if the Southern Soldiers would be able to at least defend against the first wave of these Zurglings, granting him enough time to organise a proper defensive ground force against this additional monster horde. "Nubwort, you seeing this?" Jin queried and the Orc Leader immediately teleported into the Dungeon Maker to assess the situation. "They are swarming us just like the Demon Rats and they appeared to be fiercer and faster than those pests, granting that they do not have any mechanical parts on them." Nubwort analysed as they viewed the imagery from the C-130. "We can call upon the C-130As that are still parked in Bulwark Port to sortie, but it will take some time to reach the Southern Capital unless the System assists with the travelling." Nubwort estimated that they would need at least half an hour to send his Artillery Orcs into the air and a few hours later to reach the Southern Region barring any weather problems. "Let''s send out the planes en route and in formation first instead of just teleporting straight ahead. This way, we can cramp a few of your troops inside of those planes and airdrop them into battle. The System also tells me that by teleporting in mass will be cheaper for us to use them as the gateway points." Jin decided as they watched the Southern Soldiers display their discipline. It was clear that this was not the first time they had experienced a ground battle and their defence formation was quite effective against the first wave of Zurglings. Spears had been laid out a few metres away from the edge of the wall, guaranteeing that any Zurgling who jumped over would be pierced to a sorry state. Shieldbearers were ready to push the dead Zurglings off the spears, but not before stabbing them a few times to ensure that they were really dead. This way the Spearman could stay in formation and not waste too much strength and energy swing their spears needlessly. (Not as if they have the space to do so since they were in such tight formations.) Under normal circ.u.mstances, Archers would assist from the back yet this time around they were keeping their ammunition intact for the flying hordes. Nevertheless, with the new high grounds, courtesy of Spiky, it enabled them to drop down firebombs from a safe distance instead of throwing them. That was the only support they could give at the moment. "Sorry Nubwort, give me a moment. Pippy, Poppy. Are you guys ready to intervene?" Jin called the Mousefolks via the System Channel. "Aye aye, Master! Just one last check and our platoons will be able to blast off at the speed of light." Pippy replied happily as he squeezed his automated climbing gear to ensure that the air boosters were working. "Slight change of plans. There are now enemy forces on the ground which are numerous enough to make up a monster horde on their own. I want you to assist the Southern Soldiers with their ground defence. Let the aerial squadrons worry about the flying mobs. Don''t worry about them, it appears that their power boost was more than we had anticipated." Jin informed them. "Assuming they know how to use their powers." Pippy chuckled. "As Master Zeru taught us before: ''Having power means nothing unless one can utilize its full potential.'' " "Oh, I totally get that feeling. I still feel some of my powers are underutilised." Jin lamented his own situation. "I will talk with some of the other minions to act as your reinforcement, but it will still take some time." "Don''t worry, we will buy as much time as possible for ya. For our dear elder disciple. Hehe." Poppy said as he requested the System to open the portal for his advance troops to proceed first. (Not before Pippy knocked Poppy''s head for teasing their master since Zeru''s was both Jin''s and the Mousefolks'' masters. Oh what a complicated relationship.) The Southern Soldiers were doing decently in their defence against the massive tidal wave of monsters until they found that their efficient defence was proving to be a bane. A few Zurglings managed to jump on top of the corpses of their brethren, thereby avoiding the spears and made it through. They then took the opportunity to move deeper into the Southerner''s defence lines where some of their support was working overtime to bring extra ammunition or tend to the wounded. Unfortunately, because of the strict formation, there was little those Southern Soldiers could do and only hope that the stray Zurglings could be killed by the guards responsible for protecting the backline. They understood that it would be foolish to break formation, as more monsters could potentially bypass them that way and that would result in more casualties. Noticing their situation, the System promptly changed the portal coordination and sent the Mousefolks towards the vulnerable backend. This time, the System was being a little creative with its teleportation and instead of opening a usual portal, a temporary beam of light was shone on the spot where the Mousefolks would land. (Hence the promise reaching there in the speed of light.) And this too stunned the monsters momentarily allowing the Mousefolks to join into the fray with a better advantage. At the same time, The Southern Guards did their best to deal with the stray Zurglings who had been focused more on destroying the supplies rather than kill anyone in sight. Suddenly a speedy creature moved through the crowd after that momentary flash of light and annihilated two Zurglings with just one slash to their necks each. "Impossible!" Cried out some of the guards, as they recognised the one responsible as Mouseman, who was significantly smaller than the Zurglings, yet had such an easy time dealing with them. "Oh, guess I used too much strength on that one." Poppy snickered as he checked whether his weapon had become blunt by the blow. The guards'' shock only increased when they saw that the other stray Zurglings within the vicinity were also killed in the exact same way and many Weremice were standing on the roofs, lamp posts and balconies of houses. They were literally everywhere and their eyes were fixated on the wall, checking for any Zurglings that managed to escape the tight formation. The moment they spotted one, thread needles could be seen flying out of their machine gear attached to their waist and they flew thanks to the magical wind coming from their back. It was more apparent with the attachment of a cape that they had and a one-eyed Panda embroiled into the red cape. Upon a closer look, some wondered how the Weremice were able to control those thread needles as they moved extremely smoothly, flying from one spot to another in a matter of seconds. But none of that mattered since there were more important things at hand such as the continuation of the tasks they currently were on. The Healers continued to tend to the wounded while the support team brought over more arrows for the Archers who patiently waited for their turn and bombs for the Knights. Meanwhile, some of the more talented chemists were creating firebombs in the midst of the chaos to keep the supply ongoing. The Archers on the high ground wanted to render some help to the ground troops but the situation of the flying horde coming closer made their commanders worry about the lack of ammunition¡­until they saw a few monsters flying off from the top of Spiky. Since they were not coming at them and instead, facing the incoming Flying Monster Horde, they could only assume that they were the allied monsters that Leopardo reluctantly accepted help from. Thus they were ordered not to hit any of such monsters as much as possible else, they too would not hesitate to kill their allies. (Or so they heard.) "Control your aim! Fire swift and true so your every arrow scores a hit! Remember, each strike has to be a killing blow or I will personally hound you even after death!" The Southern Commanders bellowed out commands as the Archers took their formation and nocked their arrows. But before the Flying Horde could come in range, those allied wyverns simply swooped from the skies and towards them, brandishing their lances and wyvern fire to the winged monsters, causing them to crash to the ground. Surprisingly, the Zurglings did not care whether it was a monster or human. As long there was meat right in front of it, the swarm would simply tear each and every limb to feed on. As the Zurglings munched on those monster''s stored energy, they mutated right at that instant, growing additional muscular limbs or even wings. Some of the deformed cat and dog faces even transformed, taking on more birdish features, most likely because of the Nine Ocean''s Phoenix''s magical energies. For those who had grown wings, they turned to the skies and started flapping their broken deformed wings in hopes that they could transverse the skies like the others at the top. While a little clumsy at first, most of them got the hang of it pretty quickly and headed towards the Southern Capital Walls. They might not be the most apt at flying but it represented a new target which the soldiers had to waste their precious amount of arrows. Such a transformation inadvertently increased the number of flying monsters as multiple monsters had fallen from the Goblin Wyvern Knights'' counter-attack. "Damn it!" Wyrstriker said as he knew that his counterattack could eventually give the Southern Capital more trouble. "What do we do, Captain?" His Vice-Captain asked as he too saw what their attacks were doing and suddenly they heard the crackling of thunder which gave the Lead Goblin Wyvern Knight an idea. "If we can''t crush them to the ground, we throw them up to the skies! Otherwise use sufficient firepower to obliterate them into ashes!" Wyrstriker answered and his trusty Vice-Captain immediately relayed the orders via the System Channel. Chapter 1007 - SwitChapter Guard Formation Chapter 1007 ¨C SwitChapter Guard Formation Most of the Goblin Wyvern Knights were a little confused in regards to their leader''s latest commands until he personally demonstrated what he expected from them. Wyrstriker flew towards the nearest Winged Lion and lodged his spear into its shoulder before he commanded his wyvern partner Iwen to distance themselves from it as quickly as possible. But how to go against a Winged Lion when it still had the strength and power to struggle against just one strike from the spear? The answer lies in the very next moment as the spear triggered an explosion by using the energy it had been charged with, however it did not originate from inscription charms but from Wyrstriker himself! With a great number of monsters exposed to cultivators, these minions of Jin had their chi points miraculously activated. For the misinformed, they believed they wielded magic though some were not wrong. Because of the closeness of mana and chi circuits, it was easy to misidentify until the System informed them so. Yet, the System also saw a small yet significant change among these monsters. It found out that the constant use of Jin''s Sludge around them caused the monsters to have a mixture of mana and chi points power activated, which should not happen in theory. Still, Jin''s sludge was a mystery even to the System that it had yet form proper theories on how to fully utilise it. Therefore, the System only informed the monsters what they had unlocked according to the majority of points they had activated. For example, Wyrstriker had 15 chi meridian points and 4 mana focal points opened so far and the System merely stated that Wyrstriker had the ability to manipulate chi. Even his wyvern had a few chi meridian points opened, although in his case, there was a greater amount of mana focal points in his circuit. That alone had already reinforced his body to withstand the constant struggling of the Winged Lion while he focused on sending the Winged Monster up towards the skies. Unconsciously, Iwen activated the air boosters with his chi and they zoomed higher to the thunder clouds which the wyvern sent an air blast to push the Winged Lion away from Wyrstriker''s spear. The Lion regrettably had been buffed by the Nine Ocean Phoenix''s magic and with the release from the clutches of Wyrstriker''s explosive spear, it wanted vengeance by swooping towards the Goblin Wyvern Knight Leader who was at least two times smaller than it. However, before it could reach Wyrstriker and enact his retaliation, a flash of blue and purple bolt flew hit the lion, disintegrating it before it could even wink for the last time. Wyrstriker blew out a small sigh of relief and quickly aimed for the next monster. The Goblin Wyvern Knights watched what Wyrstriker expected of them, yet it would undoubtedly be a dangerous task. Only a few of their wyverns had strength rivalling Iwen''s. (He was their leader for a reason after all.) Still, that did not mean they were unable to replicate it and in fact, the Goblin Wyvern Knights immediately stuck to a particular formation which had been practised in the Goblin Military. A formation which had been drilled into their brains. The Switch Guard Formation. The formation relied on two Goblin Wyvern knights that were intimately in synch with each other. Lacking the sufficient strength to compete against the aerial threat, the Goblin Wyvern Knights relied on the technology they had attached to their wyverns as they boosted their speeds while approaching a Winged Monster far larger than them. Once near enough for an attack, the lead Goblin Wyvern charged in with their air boosters at the maximum and his semi charged spear ready. Using the blast of wyvern fire acted as the opening volley, they swooped in and counter the Winged monster before it could do any thing to retaliate. Naturally, the Winged Monster was able to evade the blast of fire but in doing so, the Goblin Wyvern Knight had already tricked the beast into moving exactly where he wanted him to, so he pierced the Winged Ape with his might. However, it was still able to defend itself by bringing up its arms to prevent the strike from reaching his vital spots. To its surprise, the Goblin Wyvern Knight was not exactly looking to penetrate his vital spots and instead focused on breaking its defences by releasing its charged spear into a forceful air impact before flying away. This caused the Winged Ape to propel backwards and closer to the Thunder Clouds but not near enough for a decisive strike by Ayse and Keyrin. That was when the second Knight who had been building up its speed, swooped into the defenceless ape and slammed its spear right in the middle of the Winged Ape. The Wyvern''s air boosters were pushed to the max once more and even the spear which had been revamped to have its own mini air boosters for more penetrative powers were activated to push into the danger zone. The Winged Ape was unable to react to this quick switch of their attack formation and suddenly felt extremely numb. Upon closer inspection, the Winged Ape realised that the bolts were grabbing him like a bird''s claw only with it embodied with high voltages of electricity. That was also the signal for the Goblin Wyvern Knight to release himself away from its prey as the lightning blot claws clutched and squeeze the lift out of the Winged Ape by burning it into ashes. "So this is why you had been keeping your powers eh?" Wyrstriker caught a glimpse of the attack and spoke in the System Channel. "Got to give credit to that magical horse though." Ayse, now formless after merging with Keyrin in the thunderclouds, answered. She was impressed that Keyrin had not merely charged into the clouds and burst the flying horde. Instead, the Elder Demon has been busy electrifying the clouds to turn the entire airspace into his territory. That way any monsters flying too close to the clouds would be killed. "I AM A RAM FOR GOODNESS SAKE! *cough* While Master Jin did say to slow them down or perhaps strike the horde before they could hit, I am but one magical ram. A solitary ram king in the grand scheme of things. So, I thought of stuff only that one magical ram could probably do. Fortunately, Wyrstriker was able to figure my plans out on his own." "Not really. It''s just a coincidence that I thought of it when I remembered you two should be doing something." Wyrstriker chuckled as he once more brought another flying monster to the clouds for an electrifying execution. "But you have to worry no more! For the new and improved Forneus is here!" A large portal suddenly appeared right in front of Wyrstrike and Forneus'' Devil Dragon charged into their ranks, taking the lives off a couple of winged monsters with its claws and jaws. The Mecha Devil Dragon blast out an energy beam from the mouth and aimed directly at the Nine Oceans Phoenix. The Leader of the Winged Horde easily deflected the beam to the skies and stared at the newest threat. "Ho. This firebird is one feisty prey. It will be a worthy foe to test my skills against it!" Forneus shouted as he charged forward. Chapter 1008 - The Zurglings Chapter 1008 ¨C The Zurglings "Has he come here alone?!" Wyrstriker asked via the System Channel as he looked around and saw only the new and improved Forneus rampaging forward. "Affirmative, the others are being teleported via the airbase and will make their ascent to the skies from there." The System replied, implying that Forneus was a one-time exception, especially since it had taken quite a considerable amount of energy to teleport the large beast into the middle of the warzone. The major disruption of chi and magic in the air had caused the portal to be fairly unstable and the System had been required to apply extra resources and channel more processing capability to ensure that the portal would not break halfway during the teleport. That was one of the reasons why it did not usually portal monsters into the thick of battle (Another was that the cheapskate System lamented the loss of extra resources). "Hey System! We could use some help here at the ground level too!" Pippy shouted as he killed another pair of Zurglings with the techniques that Zeru had taught him and his brother right in front of the Southern Capital gates. Unfortunately, the rate of killing was meaningless since the Zurglings were able to replenish their numbers right in front of him. "Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!" A deep but yet bubbly sound came via the System Channel and suddenly Pippy heard a familiar falling noise from the distance. "Shit! All units fall back to the fortress post-haste!" Pippy ordered as he did a whirlwind slash to deter the Zurglings from coming close. His move also cut up any that were around him before he used his climbing gear to move back into the fortress. One of the soldiers nearly mistook him for one of the sieging monsters and sent his spear flying towards him, but the Mousefolk with enhanced senses merely took that as a support for him to climb and run towards the soldier''s head. "Watch who you are aiming your spear at!" Pippy berated him as he used the soldier''s helmet as another stepping stone (as payback) and descended further into the Southern Capital while covering his ears. At that point, that soldier was not only stunned by the kick from the one of the mousefollk but also the sights he was taking in right in front of him with the rumbling sounds of the ground and smoke emerging out in a series of shockwaves. The white deserts had been painted with fireworks, extremely loud ones that scared the frontline troops and the Zurglings, causing them to look back momentarily. Those were courtesy of none other than Wolte. His Explosive Shells rained down indiscriminately amidst the swarm of Zurglings. The Zurglings cried out in pain and agony as they were burnt in the white desert and their corpses let out a rotting, expunging smell that covered the entire battlefield. However, that did not deter the Zurglings from fulfilling the command of their Zurgling Queen. Through the fire, they jumped into the fray of battle even though their skin got torched and the flames were searing into their bones. All that matters was their fulfilment to the orders of their Queen Mother. As for the one responsible, she had been meaning to do attack the Souther Captial for a long time now but had lacked the courage to do so until the appearance of the Nine Ocean Phoenix''s and her beckon to raid the city. She knew that her Zurglings were numerous but against the well trained Southern Capital, they alone would not be enough to enact revenge. They had defiled her own grandmother''s place of birth and the filthy humans were now using it as their own nesting area. The settlers of the past had taken advantage of the situation when the then Zurgling Queen''s developed nesting area had been attacked by a legendary giant beetle. Aye, the history had been written by the victors. The current generation of Southerners believed that their ancestors had built this place brick by brick, a monster part at a time. Yet in truth, before the Legendary Giant Beetle had been slain, it had travelled from continent to continent to satisfy its neverending hunger. Around 150 years ago, when it had once again come to feed on the Zurglings, the settlers had taken that chance to side with the Giant Beetle and had killed off most of the Zurglings. After all, the Zurglings of the past had not just been a nuisance to them, but the general population of the Southern Region. Their meat while pungent had been the most nutritious meat they could ever find. Its blood not only aided with the recovery of injuries but the meat was filled with strengthening properties that allowed the Southerners to prosper to this date. Most if not all of the Southerners survived with Zurglings meat and while it was a cycle of prey and predator, the table had turned during that particular battle where the Beetle and the Settlers managed to topple the at the time Zurgling Queen. At that point of the time, the then Zurgling Princess had already fled deeper into the Southern Region with a batch of elite Zurglings by first escaping into the seas and later surfacing at the other end of the Southern Region. But unknown to the Beetle who actually thought of the humans as a new form of ally, found itself being betrayed the moment it killed the Zurgling Queen. The humans were after all settlers from the other three regions and some were reinforcements to fight against the Beetle who was said to arrive and ravage the ragtag settlement of the settlers. Only to their surprise, the beetle had returned to settle its score against the Zurgling Queen. That was when one of their leaders determined to use this chance as a moment of deception and created one of the best art of war in the history of the Farming World. When the injured beetle found that it had been betrayed by the humans, it was already too late. The fight against the Zurgling Queen had undoubtedly been one of the craziest giant battles the Southerners had ever seen and it had lasted for days on end until the beetle had already revealed most of its tricks and skills. That was how the Southern leader took notice of its noticeable flaws and utilised it against itself during its fight. While the beetle had a fighting chance against an army of battle-worn warriors, one which also took a heavy toll fighting against the Zurgling Queen, it did not expect that more reinforcements would come. Fresh troops from the three regions to put it down. And thus, with its corpse filled with highly valuable construction materials, the humans dissected and took the beetle apart to create the now Southern Capital. The current Zurgling Queen was not empathising the Nine Oceans Phoenix as the role of the mother but rather the child who had experienced the human''s brutality and knew the type of consequences the Phoenix might have to go through if she lost her child. Still, she did not understand why now there were monsters siding these humans especially when the call from the Nine Oceans Phoenix was extremely potent. Even the Phoenix herself was at a loss when she tried to contact the monsters that were fighting against the Zurglings through a telepathic mind possession technique but somehow there seemed to be a stronger entity that was controlling them. "Could the humans be that strong or is another Legendary Monster assisting them?" The Nine Oceans Phoenix feared for her kids even further. Chapter 1009 - A Glimpse Of The Phoenixs Power Chapter 1009 ¨C A Glimpse Of The Phoenix¡¯s Power "Holy Shit! That was awesome Wolte!" Meomi praised their companion as she slammed a Zurgling on the floor, before using her climbing gear''s anchor head to kill the downed Zurgling as she simultaneously chopped the head of another in mid air. "You shooting from the sea? That has to be one hell of a prediction!" "Hahaha! The System might have played a role in that but you are wrong in one particular aspect! I''m not in the sea!" Wolte boasted as they suddenly heard a loud wail from the back of the capital which faced the direction of the sea. Up in the air, they saw a whale-looking monster travelling forward with an enormous ship ledged on its top. "Brilliant, isn''t it?! Jin suggested this!" "Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!" Mr Derpy shouted as he wailed once more and another series of shots got fired off towards the white sand desert. "It''s the new year, baka derpy!" Ayse corrected him via the System Channel but Mr Derpy did not care. This was the secret plan Jin had promised this unlikely duo. In fact, a similar combination between Wolte and Derpy had been on his mind for quite some time. Back when Lord Wolte had evolved into a tank, the dungeon supplier had meant to deploy Mr Derpy like an airship transport, carrying tanks and an assortment of warriors into Demopolis as part of the counterassault. Lord Wolte would have acted as Derpy''s defence during the transport and later as one of the few commanders that would cause havoc in case the Demon Army would close in on Pandapolis'' Dungeon Core. He had hoped that such an attack would have forced the Demon Army to retreat or at least decrease the number of their elites. Never could he have expected the skulk of foxes under his employment to be as formidable as they had revealed themselves to be, and the scary thing was that they had not even been very serious in their fights so far. (That also made him wonder how absurdly strong they might have been during the resistance back in their days.) Thanks to Wolte''s ''ultimate transformation'' (at least he called it that) into a ship, the same idea had been used with a different twist. Because the Southern Capital was nowhere near the ocean nor sea, Jin had decided to bring the ''ocean'' for Wolte closer to the Southern Capital. To achieve that, Mr Derpy was to ferry the ship right on his back towards the Southern Capital. However, they were not the only ones in the area. The C130 Artillery Planes were also flying in sync with it, providing necessary cover for the Wolte''s titan battleship ''Stalingrad''. This was to ensure the winged monsters were taken out away from Stalingrad''s projectiles, else it would be rather embarrassing and hilarious if one of the Winged Monsters would manage to intercept the attacks, only to explode right in front of Mr Derpy''s face. In addition, this particular combination allowed Stalingrad to take in Mr Derpy''s magical powers, enhancing Wolte''s own firepower and gave him the ability to shoot even further. When the Nine Oceans'' Phoenix saw such a threat coming towards them, she did not panic and instead utilised her powers to conjure three similar silhouettes of herself. With a simple nod from her head, those Nine Ocean Phoenix silhouettes flew towards the burnt fields scattering its energy amongst the dead corpses. True to its name, the Phoenix not only had miraculous dung but also the power to resurrect the Zurglings. But its powers were a far cry from what Jin had predicted. Instead of a full resurrection, the Phoenix''s magical energy had merely simulated the remains, which caused them to move forward in their damaged state. Their minds were blank, apart from their base instinct to hunt down anything that was not related to the Zurglings. It felt as if the Phoenix herself was a necromancer kind of monster. "Are the portrayal of phoenixes skewed in my world?" Jin asked as he watched the Zurglings raise from the dead and begin charging forward. Some even started to bite the remainders who were not fortunate enough to move despite the phoenix''s resurrection ability to combine themselves together into a larger, more terrifying menace to storm the Southern Capital. It was to the point the Southern Soldiers were showing signs of weakness in their defences. "The phoenixes that User knows of in legends are indeed different. They do not have the capability to resurrect any monsters other than themselves and even so, there should be a limit to the times such a being can resurrect before they truly die." The System replied. In the meantime, Nubwort who was in the makeshift Dungeon Maker War Room queried whether Jin was going to send more of his soldiers to reinforce the Southern Capital. "I''m not sure. Do you think it will make much of a difference? It seems that we''ve clearly underestimated the power of this Nine Oceans Phoenix." Jin answered as he shrugged his shoulders a little. "It feels like we''re just delaying the inevitable. I wonder if that is how everyone felt when fighting against my forces. We might not know much of the relationship between the Southerners and the monsters residing in this region, but for all the various monsters to band together and unite in a coordinated effort against the humans¡­ These people must have done more awful stuff than we had imagined. After all, they treated those monsters as a means to survive." "So what are you proposing to do, Master Jin? Shall we fight a protracted battle until we find the real culprit? Because if your assumptions turn out to be true the citizens of that city might just be as guilty as the ones who made the monsters suffer." Nubwort argued. "And if you ask me, based on that short conversation our colleagues had with their leader, those Southerners deserve to die. If it was up to me, we should be helping the monster horde instead." "That is indeed a very tempting proposition. These monsters would probably fight fiercely against the Demon Rats to ensure that they could keep the land they have. Either way, finding the culprit continues to be one of our main objectives, which will hopefully allow us to learn more about the whole situation. But yes, given the choice, I''d rather make a contract with them then these scheming Southerners." "Seems like you can''t fight your nature, Master. You''d rather work with us monsters, who have a kind heart than a seemingly nice human who might betray you." Nubwort chuckled. "Hey! But you trust me with your lives!" Jin said in defence. "Not that we have much of a choice to begin with, do we?" Nubwort mimicked Jin''s very same shrug. "Nevertheless, I am glad that we''ve joined you." It was then Nubwort had some sort of epiphany unrelated to the current situation. "If you don''t mind me diverting from the situation a little, I''d like to ask your opinion on another matter. What would you say to employing Orcs from our country as mercenaries or maybe as guards and peacekeepers?" "Do you fear that eventually, the adventurer''s dungeon cave might not be enough to sate their l.u.s.t for battle? " Jin questioned. "Not exactly. The dungeon cave is a fantastic idea to keep the fighting urges in check for every race in the *cough* Goblin World, all while supplying them, as well as us, with a nice bit of money. No, I''ve been meaning to ask you for the opportunity for us Orcs to take on extra responsibilities since many of us would like something more stable in terms of jobs." "Oh, so not only could they earn dough and coin for their family, they could contribute to our fights?" Jin thought it over for a moment. "Indeed. Remember how you used your world''s Royal Snake Battalion for that ''training exercise''? I hope you could do the same not just for the Orcs but also the Goblins. That way, they could go all out and at least still keep their relationsh.i.p.s in check. With the System, the participants near death could be teleported away and get healed, thus earning you Frost Echo''s and the Goblin King''s coin. And if we ever go into war, we could ask for their assistance, whether they''re bound by the System would be another issue." "In essence, Orc General Nubwort is suggesting that since System and User are always in sticky situations, it could prove beneficial to let System act as a middleman and bring in those willing to fight for money and glory and give them a chance to prove their mettle." The System summed up the Black Orc''s request. "That way you could pick the talented ones too and those who died would have served their duties valiantly." Nubwort nodded and even wanted to add more to his proposal, but Pippy interrupted via the System Channel. "Master! The fights are getting more intense! I cannot let my team spread out too much or they might get overwhelmed!" Pippy reported as he zoomed past a Zurgling and used it as a jumping pad to one of Spiky''s towering legs. "I understand, focus your defences on those already wounded. The rest could not be that lucky. Most of the Devil Dragons are moving out soon so the Winged Monster Hordes should not pose too much a threat to the ground defences. I will see if -" "Master. Tinda reporting in." The dark elf''s voice sounded in the System Channel. The drow was currently holding on to a man''s decapitated head and the organs in the head were slowly sliding down. Chapter 1010 - Phoenix Chick Chapter 1010 ¨C Phoenix Chick "One moment please, Tinda. Wyrstriker, we need a tighter defence near the walls of the capital. Forneus, get a portion of your Devil Dragons to burn down any Zurglings who get too close to the fortress walls." Jin ordered and Forneus acknowledged it, forwarding the commands to four Devil Dragons to send them on a sort of ''bombing'' run along the Southern Walls. They were in fact dropping carpet bombs from their tails after the augmentation process. This caused a series of devastating explosions which shook the Southern Soldiers hard and some were left deafened by the sound while others were catching their balance, causing many to be off guard. The Zurglings did not miss this opportunity and pounced on the defenders but compared to the majority that had been burnt and exploded into pieces, they were the lucky few. Nevertheless, their assault was short lived, as the Wyvern Goblin Knights came to the Southerners'' rescue and swooped those Zurglings away before they had the chance to maim their prey into bits. "Sorry, Tinda. What''s the matter? Have you managed to find out what happened?" "Unfortunately the person killed himself under my interrogation." Tinda sighed as she threw the head away like it was some roadside trash. "However, I did get some information about the approximate location where the second egg is hidden and have already relayed that information to Narris." "But?" Jin somehow felt that it was the only good news she was providing. "The first egg has hatched a few days ago and they''ve not hesitated to start torturing the poor chick. It''s furthermore covered in shit stains and what I can only assume is barf." Tinda regretfully reported as she walked towards the injured, chained phoenix chick. "Healthwise, it appears as it has been given proper nutrition. Only it looks like it has been force fed and I''ve found traces of chemicals in the food which should be laxatives. From what I could see in their memories, they are planning to do the same for the second egg once it hatches. They are treating the first one as a guinea pig to find out what they have to feed them for the best dung efficiency." "What¡­" Jin could not believe how those people treated the monsters. "How is the bird faring right now?" "Alive, but not in a good shape. Some of them had been treating the baby bird with scorn because of its mother''s appearance. The one in charge had a mindset of making the chick suffer to get the most dung out of it before harvesting it and running off. Luckily, I''ve managed to find them in time. Still, there are certain memories within a few of the guards indicating they have plans to run because they believe the capital is doomed. Although I''m not too sure if those were rumours or fears." Tinda apologised that her memory searching abilities were not as great as Kraft''s, so she could only pluck the ones with the strongest emotions or attachments to it. "If I''m not wrong, the chick''s ability to resurrect should be stronger than the one of its mother. From what little we know about them, they are prone to being left in the wild by themselves for long periods of time while their parents might go out to hunt. Resurrection is their only survival mechanic to get out of danger. And resurrecting would allow them to regain all their bodily organs. Maybe that is why the Southerners were beating it slowly to death so that it would come back stronger and provide better dung." Gold surmised. "I''m ready to kill it to end its misery and allow it to be reborn via the System." Tinda offered as she picked her blade up and pointed it at the poor phoenix chick that panted for breath. With wounds festering all over its body, and heavy rusted chains bearing its weight, the bird was drowned in its own dung and vomit. Tinda thought she had discarded her empathy during Kraft''s training, but this was so downright cruel that she felt a desire to slaughter everyone involved in the treatment once more. "System strongly advises User to personally go out and use the capture app that System had installed in User''s phone. There is no telling how the Phoenix might be able to resurrect, potentially causing System''s capture code after death to become invalid." The System interrupted immediately, halting Tinda'' intention to grant it a merciful death. "The memories of these people interacting on their own has plainly shown me that these people are worse than savages. I''ve been informed that this Southern Continent lives by the laws of the jungle, but this¡­ they are the true monsters." Tinda held her blade for a moment while Jin hurriedly came into the scene. "I''m unable to forgive these Southerners a single bit, Master Jin!" Even though he was used to the stench of blood, the rancid smell that came from the Phoenix chick nearly made him vomit. He did not hesitate and pulled his phone out to activate the capture app. The nostalgic panda screen appeared and so he walked towards the little creature. Unsurprisingly, after suffering the constant torture the Phoenix chick (rightfully?) feared for its life and used all its feeble strength to let out one last screech towards Jin. Instead of the usual whip that came after such an act of defiance, followed by food being forced down its throat, Jin caressed the chick, before he gently tapped his phone on its head. "Don''t worry, the horror has ended. I promise you, that you won''t ever have to suffer like this. You will find yourself in a better place and understand that the world is not always against you." Jin explained as he pointed towards the dead human body corpse. The weakened chick followed his hand movement and saw how the dungeon supplier haphazardly conjured a Black Panda Fire in his palms. With a flick of his wrist, the fire was thrown towards those people that had tortured the chick and burnt it until only ashes were left. Even with fading consciousness, the chick somehow understood that Jin had helped it get its revenge and it felt that it could finally rest. At that moment the System''s capturing app started to work overtime. With no resistance against the capture, the Phoenix chick was quickly taken in the System''s bosoms. "System, ensure that the chick is doing well. Get the Panda Nurses and Milk to look at it." Jin ordered as he now held his nose and got out of the room along with Tinda. That was when they heard footsteps coming down hurriedly from afar. "They seem to have been alerted by the assassinations." Tinda shrugged her shoulders as she held her blade outwards and pushed Jin to the back as if protecting her ''master'' was the first priority. "Nah, let''s not push our luck. We got what we wanted." Jin refuted, he opened a portal and dragged Tinda along with him. Although she resisted, the System was able to suck the dark elf who was eager to mete out more justice alongside the dungeon supplier. "Why did you stop me? They deserve death, don''t they?" Tinda questioned as she relayed the found memories through the System and Jin was able to see them as a playback. Instead of killing the monsters outright, the entire city under the leadership Saberteeth was committing inhuman acts against the monsters. They did not treat them as prey from a hunt but rather abuse and tortured those monsters like how they had done to the Nine Oceans Phoenix''s chick to get the most out of the monsters. If it was one particular organisation, Jin would have hunted all of them down. But no. This was the culture in the Southern Capital. All in the name of survival of the fittest. However, Jin could not see how this could be called survival. They were doing this on a daily basis, hauling monsters in, cutting off their limbs and keeping them barely alive, so that they could get more parts once they had regenerated. And if that was not enough, they had fun bullying the monsters and some even committed take joy in burning them, seeing them squirm or putting them against one another in an arena when they stopped being useful. Jin clenched his fists as he now understood the rage Tinda felt. Even though they did not feel remorse because it was ingrained in their culture, this monster horde was basically karma accrued from torturing all those monsters. For the first time in the Panda cultivator''s history, Jin was about to do something very radical. Chapter 1011 - Retreating His Forces Chapter 1011 ¨C Retreating His Forces "Pull back. I want all troops to pull back right now." Jin announced via the System Channel in a solemn way. The humanoids inside the Dungeon Maker War Room were just mildly surprised after the scenes they had just watched. While Gold was a Scholar of the East who was meant to protect the people from the Farming World, he could not not condone the Southerners'' actions. As for the monsters on the field, they were completely shocked. Some monsters like the Devil Dragons were still preparing to sortie out while others like Mr Derpy and Lord Wolte had just been warming up so far. "I repeat. With immediate effect, every monster on the battlefield is to pull back. Those getting ready to join us, stay where you are. Wyrstriker, get your company of Goblin Wyvern Knights to protect the backline as they retreat. The System has set up one big portal for all of you to go through. Ayse and Keyrin focus your magic near the base and strike any flying monsters who come too close for the moment and await further orders. Forneus, return back to Spiky''s airbase at the top and rendezvous with me. I will need you and your mount to fly me over. I plan to personally have a chat with the Nine Ocean Phoenix." Jin elaborated and after some slight hesitation, they started to comply. Qiu Yue, who had not been present in the Dungeon Maker, was just as confused by the orders, but she did not question the Big Boss. She immediately assisted in opening a larger portal via the temporal regulator and the goblin support unit began packing their stuff to return to the Dungeon Instances. Wyrstriker also retreated back to the defensive lines and did not stretch any further than he was supposed to. As for Spiky, the Southerners could consider themselves lucky that the Altered Transforming Spider had been benevolent enough to shed off its long legs before he went away. Nevertheless, because it was merely a ditched part of the spider, the high ground became as flimsy as a dead skin and if the archers stayed there for too long, they would undoubtedly fall to their death when the flying monsters came to their vicinity and destroy it. Forneus, who had been raring for a good fight just sighed at the wasted opportunity. Fortunately, he knew that unlike the Demonopolis Army where he had to stay on standby on a regular basis, Jin would provide him the excitement with the upcoming fight with the Demon Rats. Besides, with the new augmentation, it seemed as if he might have strained himself a little too much magic and retreating would allow his mana circuits an opportunity for solace. But for now, the order only required him to bring Jin to the Nine Ocean''s Phoenix for a talk and that did not mean he could not ''defend'' himself. Thus, Forneus bent the rules a little and killed anything in his path back to the airbase and he did so by going a big round while waiting for the airbase to clear up. However, this retreat had a significant impact against the current tide of battle. The Zurgling Queen realised that the aerial forces were retreating and through the eyes of her scouts, she also noticed that the special combatants were moving away too for some reason. Blinded by her rage, she did not even question it and just took the opportunity to order her children to attack full force. On the other hand, the Nine Oceans Phoenix wondered if this was part of some scheme by those humans. Yet, she did not bother to voice her opinion in the matter since the Zurgling Queen''s kids'' rampage should reveal everything. In her opinion, it was better to have those monsters have the brunt of a major attack and instead of some of their more valuable allies. In the meantime, the Southern Soldiers were devastated by the change of attitude from their monstrous allies. That sudden retreat caused them to panic for a moment as they understood that without the weremice the gaps in their defence line would not be covered. And without the Wyvern Riders'' interference, the archers proved unable to deal with vast number of Winged Monsters who dove straight towards the Southern Capital''s fortress walls. "What is the meaning of this?! I thought we had a deal!" Leopardo questioned loudly, enraged that the special organisation had renegaded on their ''deal''. Meomi, who had stayed behind for a while longer, zoomed towards Leopardo with murderous intent. Her climbing gear allowed her to reach speeds she could not have achieved herself but Leopardo''s instincts kicked in and allowed him to block her attack with his shield. However, it was not without difficulty. For the first time in a while, there was someone smaller than him who had been able to knock himself backwards. And not only that, Meomi followed up the attack despite the knockback impact against the shield by using the climbing gear as an anchor with the wires attached to the ground. Her attacks turned out to be fiercer than Leopardo expected for someone who had failed to complete the Sacred Trial of the Citadel''s Stairs. He did not know that Meomi had a hidden trait which she had been keeping well even among her friends and Jin. Advanced Catzerker Fury. Because of the intense fight she was in with the Demon Rats, Meomi had somehow managed to break through the limits of the Catzerker Fury upgrade card and had managed to manifest it as a superior werecat ability. With it she became capable of fighting stronger, and faster as time went by. The only problem was that once she started it, she was not allowed to stop as the drawback since the drawback would cause her bones and muscle to be weary, exhausted and potentially break upon a moment''s rest. Since the activation of her Advanced Catzerker Fury trait she had been fighting both winged monsters and Zurglings simultaneously making her ascend beyond her base stats and fight with twice her capabilities she had possessed when she had entered the city. It was therefore only to be expected that her the current onslaught of attacks made it hard for even a competent veteran spearman like Leopardo to find an opening. The Southern Soldiers were used to quick decision, and it was not hard to tell that Meomi and the other monsters must have betrayed the Southerners, so they went forth to protect the interim leader of the capital. Yet, this only fuelled Meomi''s Catzerker Fury even further the moment they were killed by the werecat. "Our master might not have told us the reason for his decision, but my instincts are telling me that you must have done something awful to warrant such a drastic move! Calling us monsters? The only monster I see is you!" Meomi shouted as she slid her gunblade along the piercing spear strike from Leopardo. Compared to Wyrstriker and Nubwort''s training in spearmanship, Meomi scoffed at this Interim''s leader''s way of the spear. She too had asked for training against spears since the Demon Rats had been using it frequently as a means of attack though she did not expect to use it against a human so soon. (Without to her knowledge, the System had already upgraded some of her iterations in the Bank Heist Dungeon Instance with her improved knowledge against spear users.) "Meomi! What are you doing?!" Nightingale tried to block her crazed friend, but Meomi was too far gone to stop for her former housemaid. If she ended up getting in the way, all the werecat had to do was kill her, to explain later. After all, it was not the end for Nightingale if she died by her claws. For now, Meomi believed that if she did not bring down Leopardo now, the chance to do so in the future would be harder, if not impossible. Chapter 1012 - Parley Chapter 1012 ¨C Parley Jin hastily carried his System Rider Belt on his shoulder as he arrived at the air base. Around him, everyone was hurrying to return back to their Dungeon Home Instances before Spiky was transported out of the Southern Capital. Some queried why can''t the all mighty System could not teleport all of them at once including the altered transforming spider but not many know that the System still had its limitations at the moment. In the meantime, Qiu Yue saw Jin and gave him an upward head nod, her way of asking him what the hell happened. "The Southerners are borderline sc.u.ms. Let the wheel of fate continue as it has, especially since we''ve interfered quite a bit and anything more would not be proper justice for the mistreated monsters fighting to kill the Southerners." Jin briefly told her as he equipped his System Rider belt and beckoned Forneus to fetch him up. "What are you going to do? Force your way into the thick of that horde and try to talk to the Nine Ocean''s Phoenix? Do you think you can convince her? She might not even want to listen to you, since you''re a human." Qiu Yue replied. "We got to try first, right? Else we''ll never know if they are willing to listen. Besides, I think I have the charms of a being a monster person instead of a people person." Jin grinned as he saw Forneus flying towards the edge of Spiky''s Air Base. Jin then activated his Green Panda Wind energy and sped towards Forneus. By aligning himself to the edge of the base, Forneus was ready to receive his master who jumped on top of the large mechanised Devil Dragon. "Because almost every human you meet would like to either use you and kill you, less the few of us that are on your side." Qiu Yue shook her head and assisted with the evacuation. After which, the Devil Dragon Leader informed his mount to get ready to activate the boosters, allowing him to tear through the horde if necessary. In the meantime, the System relayed the message of Meomi disobeying the orders by fighting against Leopardo. "Let her have her share of fun for now. We can reprimand her later for it. Once the defensive line breaks and the Zurglings come pouring in, she won''t have any choice but to retreat." Jin said as he held tightly onto Forneus'' dragon. (There was surprisingly a solid metallic handle at the side of the dragon''s saddle.) The Winged Monster Horde had already experienced how strong the Metal Devil Dragon could be, so instead of facing it, most did their best to evade him as much as possible. Hence, this gave Forneus an easier time charging through the ranks of the Winged Horde and towards their actual target. Meanwhile, the Nine Ocean Phoenix was not staying idle. Although not happy about the cowardice of her fellow monsters, she understood that they were too afraid to die pointlessly, so she conjured a sphere of foaming water right in front of her, sparkling in pattern as if it was a reflection of the oceans. The Phoenix understood that she would be the primary target and thus, she released a stream of energised magical blast of the seas right towards Forneus. "Heh! I am raring to use this arm ever since I got it, and this seems to be the perfect time!" Forneus shouted as he raised that barrel arm of his and started to focus his magic into it. Simultaneously, his Devil Dragon was not moving an inch away from the blast zone and too prepared his own Dragon''s breath in case his master failed. (In actual fact, the Dragon was just as competitive as his master and was just itching to shoot at something strong instead of picking on weak minions.) While his dragon was acc.u.mulating for the blast of fire, Forneus already shot out his blast of energy beam towards the Phoenix to counter the water beam that it shot out. The Devil Dragon Leader thought he would have the upper hand in terms of elemental attribute, after all, his energy beam was a blast of energy, able to evaporate any conjured water. Unfortunately, it turned out that the water beam was a monstrosity of its own, able to withstand the blast of beam energy and continuously streamed towards the incoming Devil Dragon. That was when Forneus'' ride smirked and sent out its prepared dragon blast against the attack, proving to his rider that he had much more to learn. "Gah! Just because you''ve been augmented way more than me does not give you the right to- Urgh! FINE! You win this time, Carbon!" Forneus grumbled as he let go of his energy barrel arm and instead sent his mana to boost the Dragon''s power. In the meantime, Jin also did the same by using his Maqi to ensure that they would have the upper end. This caused the stream of dragon breath to be more deadly and destructive, allowing it to compete with the Nine Ocean Phoenix''s attack. Soon, an explosion ensued after both the Dragon''s Breath and Water Beam reached a certain threshold that caused the energy to disperse into the air because of its incompatibility. However, that gave the Devil Dragon the chance to swoop in. The Nine Ocean Phoenix was not able to react much after that extended use of her attack. She did not expect someone could be more formidable than her on the humans'' side. But instead of a charge, the Metallic Devil Dragon stopped right in front of the Phoenix even though its breath was still charging and its eyes were glaring at all the other winged monsters at her side including the Zurgling Queen. "Hold your claws and fangs! I''m not here to kill any of you, so please don''t give me a reason. My name is Jin and I''ve come here before you, because there are certain things I wish to discuss with you. All I ask is that you listen to me." Jin said as he raised up both his hands to show that he was not holding any weapons. (Even though the System Rider Driver Belt was technically a weapon.) "You''re more than welcome to send out your minions to attack the Southern Capital without any further interference from my side. As you might have already noticed, I''ve ordered my friends to retreat as a sign of goodwill before coming here. Since you all seem to be the leaders of the hordes, I''d like all of your attention, especially yours truly, Lady Phoenix." "What makes you think we are willing to parley with a human?! And even though you might not be holding a weapon, that strange dragon of yours is intimidating us with his attack as we speak!" The Zurgling Queen argued and she made a very valid point. Her Elite Zurglings under her command immediately formed a perimeter along the cliffs, armed with spiked projectiles, awaiting the order to strike if this ¡­emissary proved to be as dangerous and scheming as the Southerners. However, all the monsters in the vicinity knew that the humans do not usually have such magical powers except a minority. And even among those minority, even fewer were able to exert and portray such powers. After all, in their opinion, the wild had always been a constant struggle for monsters and only the strongest survive. Those monsters that had been tamed could not be as ferocious as those who bare their fangs on a daily basis. "Apologies. As another sign of trust, I will get him to stand down. Forneus, do you mind telling your body to not attack them?" Jin asked politely and even without Forneus'' approval, Carbon looked straight up and shot his dragon breath upwards, scaring a few of the winged monsters even as they tried to surround Jin from the back. They all believed that this was an olive branch of trust being handed to them to show that all Jin wanted to do was talk. But all of them did not know that Jin had previously requested the Devil Dragon to be on standby to act as the first bargaining chip in the negotiations to prove that they were really only here to negotiate. Seeing Jin as the ones protecting the Southerners had indeed abandoned them, and this human even allowed the others to continue with the assault against the Southern Capital, the Phoenix slowly nodded her head. "Speak, but none of us will promise to accede any of your demands. Also, who knows what you will do since you dared to betray them. What makes you think your words would be worthy." But even with Jin''s request being accepted, that prompted a few of the Winged Monsters to turn around and proceed towards the rather undefended capital. "Thank you, Lady Phoenix for your patience and hopefully your understanding after you hear my side of the story. First, I''d like you to know that originally my people had agreed to the Southerners because we needed their help and it seemed that your monster horde was about to attack them without just cause. ¡­until we found out that you are no ordinary Phoenix." Jin said as he placed his hands down. "And with however short amount of time we have to find out about the truth, we now know that you''re not just some savage monsters wanting to have a bite at the humans here as they have claimed. No, we''ve come to learn that you have an agenda, something more important than killing these humans for sport or food." Jin risked it all as he said the next sentence with zeal. "You''ve come here to take back your kids!" Chapter 1013: Deep Mistrust Chapter 1013: Deep Mistrust ¡°Do not bother listening to this human! Their kind are all perpetual liars . ¡± The Zurling Queen cried in defiance, advising the Nine Oceans Phoenix to not waste a moment of time listening to Jin . ¡°I do understand the mistrust you have towards us humans, and I do not deny that I have indirectly hurt you by commanding my monsters to kill your children, but let me show you that not all of us are the same,¡± Jin said as he opened a portal . ¡°I hope that they also believe in actions speaking louder than words . This might possibly be the only way to get their attention . ¡± When he finished his sentence, swarms of Zurglings started to sprout out of the large portal on the ground, surprising the Zurgling Queen . While they did not have names per se, she recognised each and every Zurgling as they all had her unique scent on them . Like little puppies, all of them began to wag their deformed tails in delight towards seeing their mother . And even though they still recognised her as their mother, her attempts at controlling them to come back failed . Her commands were not effective unlike her other children, it was as if they were all independent Zurglings . ¡®How . . . ? I saw them getting killed? I FELT it! Like a string spun from my own thread, I¡¯ve felt it snap! And yet they are standing here, all much happier than when they served me?!¡¯ The Zurgling Queen thought to herself as she saw a few of them take the initiative to climb on her and play on her back . By normal Zurgling standards, only the favoured few were able to gain that honour and yet all these Zurglings were doing it as if it was something natural, completely against their supposedly subservient nature . ¡°What did you do to them?¡± Zurgling Queen asked with a heightened alert since that human they were talking to was certainly not someone ordinary if he could change her children that much . ¡°Not much . I possess a sort of ¡®ability¡¯, allowing me to bring back those slain by me or my comrades . ¡± Jin said as he looked at the Nine Oceans Phoenix . ¡°However, I also have another ability allowing me to capture those who agree to come with me willingly . That includes your little chick too . ¡± He immediately raised his phone up and a holographic projector presented them images of the Nine Oceans Phoenix¡¯s little baby barely alive after the torture it went through . Seeing her child in such a miserable state had naturally enraged the Nine Oceans Phoenix until she saw another portal appearing, wide enough to allow her through . ¡°My reaction was the same as yours, Lady Phoenix, which is exactly why I¡¯ve broken all ties with those scheming bastards . One of my comrades managed to rescue him . . . or is it a her? Sorry, I¡¯ve yet to ask the gender of your baby, either way, it¡¯s in intensive care right now . My team of healers are doing their best to heal your baby as much as they can . Be my guest and come have a look for yourselves . ¡± Jin used his hand as if to direct the Nine Oceans Phoenix into the portal . Although her instincts cried for her to rush through the portal, she herself was still a bit hesitant whether it could be a trap . The human in front of her might have knowledge of the baby and utilised to coax her . For all she know, there were hundreds of hunters waiting to bring her down the moment she stepped into the portal . Or perhaps worse, the humans could be using the baby as a hostage to blackmail and threaten her . Therefore if she were to be wary, the Phoenix needed to have sufficient strength before going into such a portal . Since it all sounded too good to be true, the Nine Oceans Phoenix coated herself with magical energies that made any monsters around her feel completely intimidated by her powers . Aside from the Zurgling Queen they all distanced themselves from her and not wanting to get burnt by the water waves that produced an intense bout of heat . She looked down at the Zurgling Queen who had always been a strong proponent of her actions and started to break down as she noticed her confidante begin to embrace the independent Zurglings in her multiple pair of arms . She sensed no devious magical energies from the Zurglings that Jin had summoned and the Queen appeared genuinely relieved finding out that her children were still alive . ¡°I do not blame you if you do not trust me . Fire up as much as you want before going in, I assure you that this is not a trap . ¡± Jin said as he told Forneus to move away from the portal to give the Phoenix some space to move forth . ¡°Aye, I do not blame you for being suspicious about my master . But your kid is in good hands compared to those bastards that were the ones responsible for its current condition . ¡± Forneus saw the images on the holographic projector and already asked Jin via the System Channel whether the culprits had been served with justice . ¡°I burnt their corpses and the System did not even need my input . It had taken the initiative to throw their souls away like a dirtied sock into the trash bin . ¡± Jin replied via the System Channel and Forneus nodded his head with approval . ¡°It looks like both you and the System have some morals . I thought you would be catching every single soul regardless of good or bad . ¡± Forneus spoke via the System Channel as the both of them watched the Phoenix mother pluck her courage and venture into the unknown . ¡°System finds it a waste that the soul would be cast off instead of being reused . If recycled, it could be of some value to our ¡®secret organisation¡¯ . ¡± The System remarked casually as it made sure that the current Luxury Recovery Instance had been expanded wide enough for the Nine Oceans Phoenix to enter without any problems . (It was already making a big exception allowing it inside the instance, instead of isolating the big creature first . ) When the mother saw her baby chick in bandages, she was heartbroken, yet at the same time, she was relieved to see the Panda NPC Nurses extend their healing magical capabilities to keep the baby chick¡¯s vitals stable . She was especially thankful for Milk since the Priestess exuded the most potent healing magic . ¡°Forneus, hold the fort here while I speak with the mother . ¡± Jin ordered, then jumped into the portal before the System closed it . When he came in, the dungeon supplier came just in time to see the mother¡¯s beak lightly caressing the wounded chick . This was the first time that mother and child met since she had missed it hatching . Unfortunately, instead of a happy first meeting, the mother was forced to heal it to the best of her abilities too . Jin then requested the Panda Nurses and Milk to back off for the moment, to allow the Mother Phoenix to enjoy some alone time . As the healers moved out of the room, the Nine Oceans Phoenix stared at Jin with eyes of vengeance . ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten rid of the ones to torture your first chick . Right now one of my comrades is looking for the main perpetrator responsible for stealing your eggs in the first place . So far, he has not been found yet, but he seems to be holding your other egg . Once we catch him, I can allow you to get your revenge . ¡± ¡°Why are you going to such lengths? Helping my baby chick and even offering to sell out the one responsible? Aren¡¯t you a human too?¡± The Nine Oceans Phoenix asked and Jin found it difficult to answer that particular question . ¡°Indeed I¡¯m a human . I could have used a spell to make myself look like a monster, but I wanted to be honest with you . You¡¯re not the only one to mistrust other humans . I wanted to believe them that you were the bad ones, but I¡¯ve learned a valuable lesson that it¡¯s good to trust, but better to check . Besides, monster lives matter too, don¡¯t they? Well hmm, now that I said it out loud, it does sound a little hypocritical of me¡­¡± Jin mumbled the last sentence and the Nine Oceans Phoenix did not really understand until Jin requested the System to ¡®advertise¡¯ his friendliness to the monsters he had captured . However, that actually made the Nine Oceans Phoenix even more confused as she thought those images were about to pop out and harm her kid . She even used her wings to cover her chick which made Jin stop the flood of images . ¡°Look, I don¡¯t expect you to trust me blindly from one moment to the next, but I hope that I¡¯ve proven to you, that I at least don¡¯t mean you nor your chick any harm . In fact, I can help you right now . If you allow me to . ¡± Jin asked in a straightforward manner . ¡°You do seem nice, but you humans are always scheming! Surely, your ¡®help¡¯ is not for free and you will want something in return . Or do you claim you¡¯ve helped us from the goodness of your heart?¡± The Nine Oceans Phoenix asked and Jin nodded his head in silence . ¡°Indeed, I want to offer you the chance to lead a better life . Not just you, but all those monsters that you¡¯ve gathered shall gain that opportunity if they wish . ¡± Chapter 1014 - Peppers in Doubt Chapter 1014 ¨C Peppers in Doubt "We will undoubtedly refuse!" The Nine Oceans Phoenix declared without a moment''s hesitation. "Yeah, I expected as much." Jin sighed since the Phoenix had reacted just as he had feared. "I''d probably do the same if someone offered me something like this. It does sound too good to be true, doesn''t it. However, I just want you to fully hear me out while we rescue your other egg. And if you don''t mind, please pass that message on." Jin decided not to say anymore as he believed that it might be best to try again once he had reunited the entire family. Without any clues or direction to look at, she had no other choice but to pass all that frustration into protecting the one kid she had gotten back that was now right in front of her. "We will take care of your baby and make sure that it will recover. Meanwhile, you should return to the frontlines else the othe-" "Why should I leave my child with you?!" The Nine Oceans Phoenix spread her wings as a threat to Jin, agitated that he had asked her to leave her precious child. "After what you''ve just proposed, you might be as scheming as the person who holds my other egg! You may have put it in a nice way, but you just want to use us as well!" "Please be rational, Lady Phoenix! I''ve just asked you to come because you are the lead-" "I do not give a damn about that horde! All that matters is that my child is with me! I''ll stay here until she is awake again!" The Nine Oceans Phoenix screeched. "She huh¡­" Jin finally learned the identity of the Phoenix and maybe because it''s a female, she was more protective of it. Who knew what law of the jungle they had to obey if they birthed a female chick. Nevertheless, this Nine Ocean Phoenix was becoming a bother by making things overly complicated which caused Jin to literally scratch his head. If he went out, asking to lead the horde, the winged monsters and the Zurgling Queen would most likely assume that the Phoenix mother had been killed or captured. On the other hand, if he didn''t move out, the winged monsters and the humans would just have a bloody battle on each side. Alas, harmony would be the most preferable solution, since that would ensure the most allies gather to deal with the Demon Rats, yet it seemed that fate had decreed that for once Jin would have to settle for one side or the other. This was merely the capital and there were other Southerners in various towns, but he could most definitely forget hiring anyone from Southern Star. Manpower wise, the humans could be in the thousands which would be a boon fighting the semi mechanised demon rats. Still, Jin decided to clear his hand from the Southerners and fully assist the monsters from the monster horde. They were stronger, they hit harder and certainly the harder choice to endeavour. Jin could have killed all of them and made them his allies by capturing them. Then he could have easily gotten humans on board to his side, but he could not just turn off his consciousness. Although he was aware that not every single person there was guilty, the problem was the general mentality of the Southerners, that had allowed them to do such horrible things to the Nine Ocean Phoenix''s chicks and other monsters. "This is just a headache, you just have to make the hardest choice in life, eh Jin?" He thought to himself as he opened the portal once more and subsequently landed on Carbon. A number of the winged monsters were looking at him as if they were waiting for their leader to return. "Your Leader, the Nine Ocean Phoenix has seen the terrible state her child is in, and decided to stay with it until the chick recovers from the human''s brutality. I know some of you must have doubts or suspect that I am bluffing, so I am going to do something that I would never have thought possible to prove to you that I''m indeed on your side." Jin spoke as he called up Peppers by his side. "Yo, Boss. What do you want?" Peppers asked as she was raring for a fight when she came out of the portal. It had been quite some time since she was allowed to create havoc instead of having to play a supportive role. "You see that capital over there? I want you to blast it to kingdom come." Jin said and Peppers who instinctively said yes to anything containing the word blast, immediately jerked in her reactions and looked at Jin. "Could you please repeat that? You want me to¡­?" Peppers asked for another confirmation in case she had heard wrongly the first. "Gather your power and erase that city from the map. Whenever you''re ready." Jin spoke it out loudly and clearly so that the monsters could hear his orders too. "You''re aware that if I do that, the System might not have the capability to capture all of them, right? I mean perhaps 30-40% of whoever is still in there. Anything more would be lost due to the overflow of souls. This is not like the Giant World where those peeps were just mindless monsters wanting to fill their stomach with a meal of meaty animal folk." Peppers cautioned the dungeon supplier. "We might be forced to act as the bad guys in the future for certain worlds. It''s probably for the best to pick that act up as soon as we can to learn and acclimatise to it." Jin sighed and if they were not surrounded by monsters, he would have most likely also dropped his shoulders in defeat. "Those WORDS!" Kraft came out from nowhere once again and hugged Jin. "I''ve been longing for you to say those for a very long time!!!" "Huh, what?!" Jin did not expect Kraft to appear to intervene and turn such a delicate situation even worse. Did the crafty fox really have to appear when he was about to make a choice which would undoubtedly lead to many sleepless nights? (Yes, yes he DID!) "Alright, Peps! Since this is a historic moment, let us help lessen the guilt of our reborn Master. There''s no need to kill them all in one go. In succession would be fine as well, right? Then again they''re indeed human sc.u.m worse than trash, so nobody would blame you if you wanted to show us a 10 on the Pepper''s scale." Kraft suggested as he lifted Jin up and twirled him around the Devil Dragon''s back. Meanwhile the monsters (and Forneus) were speechless at the weird scene they were having to watch. "Well, if you say so." Peppers shrugged her shoulders upon Kraft''s comment and raised her staff. "Yo, Queen! Get your little kids out of the area or don''t blame me for turning them into!" The Zurgling Queen scoffed at that command, thinking she had to take orders from a human. "I shall merely do it because you are aiding us! But as soon as we see any indication that you might betray us, we will come after you no matter how powerful you are." "Hah! You can keep those words to yourself." Peppers did not really have much qualms now knowing that Jin gave that command with decisiveness despite it coming a little as a whim. She had already double checked since the mage bellator wanted to make sure Jin was aware of the potential consequences. "Then without further ado." Peppers waved her staff in a circular motion as Jin''s monsters were already in full retreat. Chapter 1015 Escaping From The Catzerker Chapter 1015 Escaping From The Catzerker "By the way, hope you do not mind me if I borrow some of that sizzling electrical energy!" Peppers merely informed Ayse and Keyrin via the System Channel as she absorbed the thundercloud''s mana into her staff. The roaring thunder got crackled louder whenever the lightning bolts zapped Pepper''s weapon but instead of being charred, its mana twirled around the staff as if it was dancing before it turned into a raw form of magic essence. The two Thunder Magic Users felt that there was no need to maintain the domination of the skies any longer, so they gave Peppers everything she wanted before retreating. This way, her cast time was also reduced significantly to prepare for the best skill in her repertoire. Also, with electrical energy to play with, she realised she could do another variation of her explosion as a wide magical circle once again hovered above the Southern Capital. The rainbow coloured circle slowly turned from purplish blue from all the mana absorbed from the clouds and the Southerners could already feel an ominous feeling emanating from it. While all of these were happening, most of Jin''s monsters had already retreated, leaving Meomi the only one within the capital still battling against Leopardo. Since she had failed to kill him with her initial attack, more and more soldiers had come in to protect their interim leader. With the mysterious organisation abandoning them to the inevitable monster horde attack, at the very least they had to buy their interim leader enough time to lead the elites into retreat. However, Meomi was unwilling to let her slippery prey escape. Each time the soldiers intervene and guard Leopardo to run away from the current situation, Meomi easily slashes them away because of her Catzerker Fury trait. This ensued a cat and mouse game with Leopardo running away from the walls of the Southern Capital and into the town where he thought he would have space to run and hide. Unfortunately, he had not accounted for Meomi being a werecat and his smell was extremely nauseating for Meomi making it impossible for her to lose him. With her automated climbing gear, she continued to chase Leopardo relentlessly and exchanged a few blows before his guards and mercenaries came in to intervene. "You are just wasting your time running away! And Nightingale, I did not expect you to protect such a wussy!" Meomi shouted as she saw her former maid running beside Leopardo. Nightingale was still bleeding from Meomi''s previous attack, yet she was bound by duty and had sworn an Oath when she enrolled into this particular mercenary organisation. There was some magic at play making it impossible for her to defy Leopardo''s orders to protect him. She could only hope Leopardo and his remaining few guards could outrun Meomi. Although that was a wish that would not come through given her mobility and even if they could, that ominous magical circle hovering above their heads would not give them a chance to leave properly. "Do not fall for her words." Leopardo smirked as he made a right turn and revealed a narrow back street alley with a mage maintaining a portal for their leader. "Nightingale, follow me! I have many questions about this secret organisation that you so eagerly vouched for. As for the rest, guard me with your lives! Your death won''t be forgotten, you honourable soldiers!" Leopardo shouted as he grabbed Nightingale''s cape and pulled her along forcefully. The guards obeyed their interim leader''s orders without question and felt prideful that they were given such a task to perform. Upon his orders, they formed a tight formation at the front while some parkoured and took to the roofs so that Meomi would not have any space to move forward easily even with her automated climbing gear. But they underestimated the werecat with her Catzerker Fury burning brightly through the past fights. As if her whole body was burning with red chi when the guards saw her, they realised their so called tight defence was nothing but a small little stone on the path. She screeched as she shot her climbing gear''s anchor head to the far end of the backstreet alley and with the boost of the air crystal, Meomi charged through the multiple defensive lines like a razor cutting the thick bushels. The mage realised that there was nothing stopping the attacker from coming through and decided to end the spell but a shot suddenly came through and burst his mouth before he could start the incantation to close the portal. Meomi''s gunblade was working as intended and she zoomed past the guards and into the portal. Just in time before it closed due to the lack of mana maintaining it with the mage''s death. On the other side of the portal, she found herself in a wide spacious hall with marble tiling and well decorated walls( And also many heavily armed guards pointing the weapons at her!) Yet despite all of those, she could still the familiar sounds of despair fighting from a distance. In order to prevent her Catzerker Fury from dissipating, her body already moved to the nearest guard and killed him effortlessly while trying to assimilate the information around her. It was only with the fourth kill did she realise she actually was in the heart of the Southern Capital''s Citadel. "So, it''s a diversion portal huh? Quite a clever method." Meomi mumbled as she concentrated on her nose, only to realise that the nauseating sense had disappeared in the far corner, indicating that there could be another mage that teleported him away. "Argh! So irritating!" Meomi cursed as she proceeded to fight against all the heavily armed guards as a way to cool herself down before the last call for the retreat was enforced by the System. Meanwhile, Leopardo was laughing to himself that his plan to escape had seemingly worked splendidly. He had indeed gone into another portal and was now lying low in an out of reach hideout in the Southern Region. ''To think there would be a group of sentient monsters willing to help us. How foolish I was to accept their help." He thought to himself. "But never again. The only good monster is a DEAD monster.'' Leopardo unceremoniously kicked Nightingale into her guts, causing her to throw up. "See what you did? What kind of help have you brought?! The whole capital is in shambles and perhaps gone! I cannot believe your leader Bison had na?ve enough to trust them. Guess my intentions to have him killed by the Demon Rats could not be achieved." Leopardo said as he delighted in Nightingale''s suffering. "Now tell me everything about them and their weakness." Leopardo ordered as he pulled a dagger out. "And do not even think of lying to me or I will cut your limbs off." That was when Nightingale saw the real Southern Stars leader right in front of her. That he was far from being as magnanimous as he had always seemed when she had grown up training in his organisation. Back when she had been recruited into Southern Stars because of the Demon Rat situation, she had believed that their leader had taken pity on them. Especially since, they had fed her, had clothed her and had provided her shelter. All she needed to do had been to learn and hone her fighting skills to the best of ability, so she could fulfil missions and bring back coins. And even with limited interactions with Leopardo, he had always portrayed himself as a reliable leader and not a man being induced by madness like the one she was facing right now. Could that be the reason why Meomi had so desperately tried to kill him? Because she had seen through him? "Ouf!" Another kick to the gut since she was not responding to her leader in time, followed a punch to the face while he pulled her by the hair. "SPEAK!" Leopardo shouted as he felt he had lost everything he had built and the anger in him could not be quelled even with the information the Nightingale was about to provide. He needed a punching bag to vent his anger and Nightingale as the former housemaid of the crazy cat lady seemed to be the perfect candidate. "Meomi¡­. Save me." Nightingale whispered as she suffered even more blows, unable to retaliate. She scorned the tattoo of the three stars that was disabling her from even trying to fight back. Each time she willed herself to defy the leader of the Southern Stars, her hands and legs instantly went numb. But just as she was about to black out, she heard a voice¡­ A very sinister one. Chapter 1016 Great Protector Extraordinaire Chapter 1016 Great Protector Extraordinaire "Dear me. Looks like you''re in quite the bind. Should I send over your BFF? But who knows how long that will take¡­ Well, I suppose I could lend you a helping hand if you so wish." The sinister voice whispered as he giggled without restraint. Nightingale was unaware who exactly was calling out to her but she believed it had something to do with the secret organisation that Meomi was part of. Feeling helpless, she did not hesitate a single moment to ask the sinister voice for help. "Please, I don''t know who, but make that monster stop!" Nightingale shouted loudly not caring about offending Leopardo. However, because of her defiance, Leopardo was even tougher in his abuse. He utilised more strength in his kicks which sent Nightingale flying to the side of the wall. The former maid spat out blood from the impact, feeling that something inside of her had snapped, most likely her ribs piercing into her lungs or her stomach rupturing from the strain. Her sight was getting hazy and she was barely at the edge of her consciousness. "You dare to liken me to those traitorous beasts, who YOU brought to us?! Oh don''t worry, it will all stop in a moment!" Leopardo yelled as he walked even closer to her and raised his right arm which he had used something similar to a magic spell to create. A parting gift from Saberteeth when he told Leopardo to ''take care'' of the capital and with his brand new temporary arm, he was about to smash her face in. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I may be an advocate of true gender equality who has no qualms battling a girl in a fair fight, but this? Forcing her to endure your abuse, preventing her from defending or retaliating? How would you like to be in such a situation?" The sinister voice was echoing around the hideout. While Nightingale could only recognise it as the voice who had spoken to her just now, Leopardo was far more familiar with it. He remembered that voice all too clear and to be honest, he had yet to overcome that trauma about his memories being ripped out forcibly. It was at that moment he suddenly heard a crack. In the next instant, he felt an excruciating pain in his arm, since it had been twisted to the point where an aspiring acrobat would feel jealous. As if that was not enough he found his legs suddenly sinking down as he was being swallowed by the ground. Some magical quicksand was biting into his armoured boots and binding him. "IMPOSSIBLE! How did you even find us? I should have sensed your presence! No matter how faint the magical aura was!" Leopardo asked as he tried to pull his dagger out with his remaining hand while tolerating his pain. Alas, Kraft was not leaving him with the smallest speck of hope. A black fox appeared on the interim leader''s shoulder and a second later, his entire left arm disappeared. There was no pain until he saw the fox jump out and away from the dark magical quicksand with his entire arm in its mouth. Leopardo suddenly experienced a series of phantom pain pulsating through his nerves as the fox started biting on the left arm and munching it away as if it was an afternoon tea snack. "Where should I begin to tell you about my awesomeness?" Kraft asked in an overly dramatic fashion as he came out of a portal, raising out his arms with confidence and style. "You see, you signed something quite important. A pact with me. Although the contents are vague, not to mention quite useless in this current situation because of your people''s wrongdoings, the important bit can be summed up as you basically signing over your life to me!" He pulled out a piece of paper with a tinge of blood at the bottom right corner of the contract and came close enough to show it to Leopardo. The interim leader realised that was the blood that Kraft had forced out of his finger. He was about to curse his captor for forcing him into signing it, but the crafty fox already continued his grand spiel. "But even without this fail safe, your little Southern Star Ninja could have easily led me to you. While she didn''t exactly sign a full claused contract, she is still considered a part time employee with all the benefits such a job entails. Most prominently getting rescued by a roguishly handsome fellow." Kraft sauntered towards the injured Nightingale and tended to her wounds. "A normal human without any magical power whatsoever and yet she was doing her best to ride the tide to survive. To die as a punching bag without any means of retaliating is worse than getting toyed with by a predator. At least prey gets a chance to bare their fangs out when cornered, no matter how blunt such an effort might be." The crafty fox spoke as he placed his hand underneath Nightingale''s chin to have a closer look at her while pushing her hair behind her ears. "But worry not. I, Great Protector Extraordinaire of all fair and good, shall save you from your imminent death." He winked at Nightingale who was struggling to keep her breath steady and was unsure if all of this was real or she was hallucinating due to blood loss. "Thankfully, you are not too stubborn for your own good. Jin should learn a little from you, though he is gradually changing to someone who understands that he cannot protect everyone and yet is selfless enough to protect people who matter." He smiled once more before turning his head towards Leopardo. "As for you," Kraft carefully placed her head down, turning it towards the sinking Leopardo. "O how enjoyable it is to see fools like you be. Unable to understand even the most basic things. Fine, as a parting gift I can answer your burning curiosity¡­" Without any hands to even resist what the sly fox was about to do, Kraft walked on top of the quicksand without any trouble and put his hand through the chain mail and picked up Leopardo''s pendant. "This useless crap can only detect magic up to a certain calibre." He then lowered his chi presence and suddenly the pendant started blinking and vibrating crazily. "However, once I get an output higher than what it could detect." The pendant started to vibrate so much that it stopped vibrating and darkness enveloped the entire crystal on the pendant. "It''s such a useless magical detector and the funny thing is I am not even using magic. Well, explaining the difference between magic is chi to you sounds too bothersome." He threw the pendant into the quicksand and it melted. "Instead, I shall show you a performance that you will never forget. Hmm, perhaps you will once you are dead." Kraft chuckled but Leopardo had no idea what the man in the long coat was saying. Even resisting was futile when he had no arms and his legs were trapped, not to mention the series of pain was starting to emit through his legs as well. "You see, I''m not much of a healer, so to save the little bird, I need some extra parts. In other words, I got to use you. And judging from the amount of battle experience your body went through, I would say you alone would suffice in saving her." Kraft explained as he walked away from the quicksand to have a glance at the dying Nightingale. "Though¡­ she might probably be disgusted that I used your body so let''s keep a secret, shall we?" Kraft winked at him as he once again raised his hands up and dark chi began to flow out and surround the entire hideout. "Good thing, dead men tell no tale¡­ unless you are Derek that is. Hahaha!" He smiled as he tried to imitate the very same spell Derek used to siphon and drain energy from his opponents. Chapter 1017 Vassel Chapter 1017 Vassel Before Leopardo was allowed to process the insane mumblings of the mad man that put him through all this pain, his head was grabbed once more. His heart immediately clenched tight as if it knew what was coming in the next few seconds. With a twirl of dark chi in the surroundings, the interim leader of the Southern Capital felt a tugging sensation throughout his body. At first, he thought his blood would be drained since the man in the long coat claimed he was going to heal Nightingale. But soon, he realised that it was more than just his blood, he felt his life force was being absorbed right into the palm of the devil. "Ah, such vitality. As much as you are a warrior, you knew how to enjoy life too. Compared to what your employees eat on a daily basis, you have outlived them by a hundred times more. Oh little Nightingale, you''ll be getting more than you deserve and trust me, you will need it for the days to come. Hehehe!" Kraft said as he used his chi to maintain the life force on his palm and slowly walked to the barely unconscious little ninja. "Infused will be memories, techniques, experience and so much more. Unfortunately, you''re getting the whole package, so there will also be undesirable things such as a distaste for monsters and the absolute discrimination against them. But have no worries, a little one on one session with me should ensure that you will be making friends with monsters in no time!" He giggled as he was looking forward to her contribution under him. The fox leader had wanted to get himself a secretary for some time now. Qui Yue, the little Red Panda Cutie, had been a promising candidate on his radar, but after getting to know her, he had decided against putting her in between himself and Jin. Ayse had been another one on his mind, especially with her feistiness, but as Jin''s Head Researcher she had more than enough on her plate. He could have easily chosen one of the Foxes like Kiyu for that role, given their capabilities, but they were neither pure and innocent. Not like this girl right in front of him. While her fighting skills needed some brushing up, she had the potential to do so much more especially when he browsed through her memories and saw that her brilliant current battle experience had been gathered in a short span of time. Now that the System and Jin had announced to the world that the Royal Panda Clan was still alive, it''s time for the Fox Clan as its trusty vassal to grow in strength too. "Only unlike that young Panda Master, who''s willing to take people randomly and sometimes incessantly just for his dungeon instance, I''m a little more refined. Although I got to say his batch of ''clan members'' has subsequently grown to be a fine group of people. Enemies turned friends? That''s like the classic going from black to white!" Kraft snickered as he inserted the lifeforce into Nightingale while putting in a bit of foxy chi in the mix to make her his. "Original Bellator Kraft, while it is commendable that you are building up your own clan once again. Please be sure to do so within reason. The System still does not have sufficient processing capabilities to keep everything together." "Yes, yes, now quickly go get that titan brain or something. It sucks that you''re giving us such a handicap. Like seriously, you should have done limitations like this for the past generations. That way, those Users wouldn''t have ended up too drunk in power, you dork." Kraft complained and that rendered the System speechless for a moment. "The Users under the System required that amount of power to stay alive during that period of time. It was a necessity for them." "You mean just as necessary as them going around, doing stupid things because they had an awesome power backing them up?" Kraft shook his head since he had more than a few faces popping up in his mind the moment he talked about it. "The System will take your suggestion into consideration and review its protocols upon the passing of the current User." The System stated and Kraft''s gave a sarcastic expression of being horrified. "You are putting a death flag in his life story! So evil of you! And to think I might be considered a bad person! Perhaps you are the antagonist this whole time!" Kraft exaggerated as he continued to treat Nightingale while Leopardo was convinced the person who was taking his life was completely insane. He could not believe his life would end just like this. "Oh no, no, no. You''re not allowed to leave us so fast! This time, I will have myself a fantastic time learning all about the insane stuff you guys have been doing behind the people''s back. The quick glimpse previously has already revealed that you are the hypocrite type who just acts like a goody-two-shoes." Kraft smirked as he wielded his dark chi with another hand and did a telekinetic chi slap at Leopardo. But as he did that, the entire hideout suddenly shook and the tremor did not stop until a few seconds later. Kraft knew that there was no way his slap could have done and there was only one other explanation for this unnatural tremor. "Peppers already got her spell out?" Kraft asked the System for the coordinates to this particular hideout. The System instantly showed the distance away from the Southern Capital in a holographic screen in front of Kraft which made him chuckle. "Oh, Peppers¡­ so much for holding back, eh?" "System is now processing all those who have been killed and putting them in various overflow stacks to ensure that User will eventually keep control of the Zurglings." The System stated. "Why the need for so much micromanaging? Just put the Queen under our control and let her handle the revived brood. Say, now that you mention it, I got quite curious when Jin told me his army numbered around eight thousand-odd? You see, cause last I recalled, the number of monsters we captured should be way much more than that." Kraft pointed out as he leisurely deciphered Leopardo''s brain while at the same time healing Nightingale. Although he had to multitask, the latter was already almost done and he just wanted to make sure she would make an awesome servant. "That number corresponds to the number of sentient monsters who are able to think for themselves and don''t need to be commanded by the System. Monsters and animals once possessed by the Bone Spirits and Zurglings were not counted in. So are the livestock which had been captured in the Giant World. Also, System has been starting to make sure that the quality of the monsters captured would be of a certain standard following the newly revised protocol. Anything that falls short of the revised standard will be thrown away." " HAHAHAHAH! ''Thrown away''? Haha! Please, you might be able to bluff Jin with the amount of trust you''ve regained in this short amount of time, but you don''t have to do that to me. I know what happens to those people that are killed and ''discarded''. Instead of buying more items that could expand your processing capabilities, you use them as vessels." Kraft snorted that the System did not deny such allegations. "And do not think I did not notice. While the official number for your processing capabilities still stays the same, you actually have a backup System that is crunching the numbers at the backend. And those monsters and people you discarded have been used for that particular backup System" Kraft pointed out. "The current User has worthy ambitions that are worth pursuing but System also realised that it will be impossible to achieve his dreams without any underhand methods. As the System has said before, this is the real chance to grow and return to former glory and thus we will do whatever it takes to make sure it will be possible if not in this then in the next generation." "As such, let the true burden of his glory be borne to the elders while at the same time correct the wrongs that we did." Kraft grinned gently. He had uncovered all the information he needed from Leopardo before sapping out the last of his lifeforce. His ''sacrifice'' would allow him to serve the System¡­in a different way. Chapter 1018 Forced Advertising Chapter 1018 Forced Advertising "HA HA HA!" Peppers was a hundred and ten percent satisfied with the results as she watched the entire Southern Capital go up in smoke. (More than just smoke actually, but she was laughing so hard at the end result, she could not notice anything else other than that.) Compared to her previous experience of destroying hectares of lands in the Giant World, this could merely be counted as a warm-up exercise of her magic. The Mage Bellator even felt that she had barely scratched the surface of her daily quota of explosions. ''She did really come a long way from vomiting rainbows on my shirt.'' Jin thought since this was the first time he saw her still standing and even able to jump around with joy without any fatigue after using her big spells. The dungeon supplier then eyed the monster hordes at the corner of his eyes to see a mix of expressions. The Zurgling Queen was surprised, yet felt satisfied that the Southern Capital had been demolished. Still, she couldn''t help but feel a bit regretful to see the home of her grandmother reduced to rubble, but it was better than allowing those pesky humans to stay in her ancestor''s abode. However one of the monsters with the ability to speak voiced out a rather intellectual concern. "Won''t this escalate the hunt against us?" Jin had been waiting for someone to raise such a concern and he was more than happy to address it. He was aware that despite his grand gesture, many could not help but mistrust him with the Phoenix gone, fearing this could just be some giant conspiracy, so he had to make his stand clear. The Panda Cultivator had to convince them that he was indeed there to provide them with an opportunity for a better life. (But of course, not everything was a bed of roses.) "Once again, my name is Xie Jin! Where I come from I''m a so-called dungeon supplier. You can think of me as a sort of Monster Master. This means that I govern over monsters who work for me. They earn their keep by doing hard work, but in return, I provide them with great food, a suitable shelter to stay and the opportunity to not only better themselves but also their living conditions even further. You''ve seen that I have many elite monsters during the unfortunate show of force against you guys. While I regret that our first meeting started out negatively because of that misunderstanding, I assure you that I fight for monsters and humans as long as they do good." "And before you raise any concerns, yes, I accept all kinds of monsters, not just ones as powerful as your leaders. As long as you are willing to fight or use your talents for the greater good, you''ll have a place in my dungeons. Not to mention, you''ll get a chance to kill as many humans as you want to the best of your ability in arena like battles, because they will be there trying to kill you too." Jin said and immediately realised that this was not exactly the best advertising quote he could have used. He coughed once in slight embarrassment before he changed his tone. "Now I''m sure all of you are asking yourself how exactly it will benefit you to join me if you''re going to lose all your benefits once you''re dead. So I am going to tell you a huge secret ¨C I have the powers to resurrect monsters. So if you end up killed, I''ll make sure that you''ll be alive and kicking in no time at all." "If you doubt my master and think he is bluffing, how about one of you come and kill me? I won''t lie and pretend that dying doesn''t hurt, but if it''s to dispel the doubts, I''ll happily endure that bit of pain. You should be aware after seeing that explosion or watching the power my buddy Carbon showed, that we could have just chosen to slaughter you and forced you to join us. However, Master Jin is not that kind of person. He''s allowed you to choose whether you want to continue your life or change it for the better." Forneus chimed in. He could see the monster hesitating about that offer, but he didn''t blame him. Jin and the System defied common sense like they had done during the Pandapolis Raid. It had been one of the best and worst fights Forneus had ever had. He had never expected such resistance from a new city and his firm belief that the Demon Army had been one of strongest armies in the Dungeon World had been deeply shaken. Fortunately, now that he had joined Jin, more fights were waiting for him like the one against the Demon Rats and a possible clash against the Church of the Afterlife in the near future. "Will my kids be free from my twisted tyranny? Just like how free these babies are?" The Zurgling Queen asked with an anxious heart. Zurgling Queens used powerful pheromones to keep full control over the Zurglings they''ve spawned, but her control was more than that. Her grandmother might have been doting on her granddaughter to let her go before she was caught in the crossfire, but her mother was not that kind. Her mother had tried to fight the humans on her own, but failing over and over again, turned her to be more and more desperate. Losing hope, she had eventually sacrificed herself to place an ancient curse on her daughter to make all the Zurglings obey her unconditionally. This had allowed the Zurgling Princess to control them like extensions of herself, instead of sending them out and hoping for the best. Alas, the price she had to pay was that she got burdened by hearing the thoughts of her Zurglings at all times. For example, in this battle alone, she had felt hundreds of them express their fear, felt their pain as well as the agony of dying. If not for her vengeance against the Southerners, she would not have tolerated all these whispers that were edging her close to insanity. However, Jin shook his head solemnly as part of his reply. "They happened to be like this because of the circumstances. I can only assure you that we will help you to the best of our abilities." Jin was not making any promises because he had no idea what the Zurgling Queen was suffering from. Still, the Zurglings that had been liberated from her control were telling her something else. They were encouraging her to join Jin and give it a try. Unbeknownst to the Queen, her desire for vengeance had similarly been plaguing them and they had never felt such relief when they were killed and reborn as Jin''s subordinates. She trusted the words of her children more than this human. The Zurgling Queen decided to be the first to openly join Jin without waiting for Forneus, demonstrating that Jin indeed had the power to ''resurrect'' monsters. Slowly but surely, more and more monsters voluntarily decided to join Jin too. After all, the law of the jungle compelled them to follow the strongest creature. Whoever could destroy the entire Southern Capital was not a person or monster to be trifled with. Whether his words and promises were true was another matter entirely. Jin opened a portal wide enough for those Winged Monsters to enter and felt that this could be the battalion he was searching for. With their capability to fly, everything else could be arranged especially after their discovery that the new System Augmentation Process could potentially make his life easier. The headache on how to fight the Mecha World was getting lesser and perhaps Kraft''s constant insistence to act as the ''evil'' party of that world so that the two major factions could set aside their differences and unite as one was getting more and more possible. Also, by defeating their Mechas, he could haul those damaged Mechas back for some reverse engineering and possibly come back to use it against them. As for the pilots that were captured, they could ultimately be used for the Supa Robo Wars and therefore expand that particular part of his dungeon instances. Not to mention, having Mechas would provide some nice and interesting end game content for the Virtual Reality Network he envisioned. But right now, all he was focusing on was to get as many of these Winged Monsters on his side as possible. His dungeon plans would come into fruition later. Chapter 1019 Nothings Ever The Right Choice Chapter 1019 Nothing¡°s Ever The Right Choice ''Did I really make the right choice?'' Jin thought to himself as he observed more and more monsters entering the portal after one of them struck down Forneus, who then got revived right in front of them. As happy as he was about the increase of his own flying monster horde, the sight of the Southern Capital in shambles weighed heavily on his mind. Although they might have evacuated most if not all of the civilians, there had been many innocents within the city, no matter how badly he tried to convince himself that they all deserved this punishment for their savage way. And yet, this also taught Jin that with just one word he could kill as easily as he could protect. The dungeon supplier had once thought that he could protect everyone given the sheer limitless capabilities of his System, but in the end he had to acknowledge that their powers were finite. No matter how hard he tried, death and destruction would follow his trails. However, he knew one thing. He would do whatever he needed to do to protect his new family (of monsters). As long as they worked hard for him, Jin would do what he could to allow them to live life to the fullest. While the System had tried to make him embrace this dog-eat-dog world mentality rather early in their budding relationship, which had led to a deep feud between the two parties, he now felt like he could slightly understand the System''s action, as it had done what it deemed necessary to ensure the survival of the declining Panda Clan for the next generation. This System that he possessed had blood on it since the time of its inception. Therefore, all Jin could do was to minimise the bloodshed while climbing to the top. And if he analysed it logically, he had technically saved the Southern Region from a protracted war by annihilating the humans quickly. The death toll would have undoubtedly been way higher on both sides and the fight between the monsters and humans would still go on, even if he had sided and saved the humans. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter was that the greed of humans was neverending unlike monsters who mostly just rampaged when they did not have enough food or someone threatened their territory. "Snap out of it, Jin. You did make the right choice. These monsters will serve you with more loyalty than these Southerners ever could." Jin told himself and slapped both of his cheeks to wake himself up. At that moment, he asked Forneus if he could do a fly by to the capital. "Why? Searching for survivors? You''ve seen it yourself. Even if she held back unless it was someone like King Baal, nobody else could survive such an explosion." Forneus wondered, but he merely shrugged his shoulders and told Carbon, his Metal Devil Dragon, to move forth. "No, I going to ask the System to take some pictures and make an analysis of this burnt area. It will provide a good reference if I ever want to feature a dungeon instance with a ruined capital. And if not, it could become its own area for the Virtual Network. We should be able to make it a big event and at the end of it the former capital would turn out like this. What do you think?" "Wow, Boss. You can be pretty sick in your brain at times, don''t you know that?" Forneus shook his head in disbelief. He never really looked back on any battlefields after he was done with them. This was the first time he heard someone wanting to revisit the war scene just because of some reference. "The deed is already done, might as well make the most of it¡­" Jin shrugged his shoulders as he requested the System to analyse the area while he made Peppers prepare to do a Deep Scan of the area. His Mage Bellator agreed rather readily since she was also interested in looking at the ruins. However, her interest was more regarding finding ways to improve the quality of her explosions. Checking out the epicentre was not enough in her opinion. Although she usually had the System to tell her how well she had done in the training room she had bought with her System points, there were discrepancies in this particular spell she had used. Not only would the current environment affected the explosion quality, Peppers had also borrowed lightning based mana via Keyrin and Ayse before mixing it with her own magical powers. "Heh¡­if we someday visit a world filled with magical combat idiots like her, she would most likely become the queen of those combat idiots in a heartbeat," Forneus remarked and although Peppers did not turn around, only staring at the far end of the ruined capital. "There are people with far more dangerous magic than me. Not just in my own world, but also the Gods and Demons that Jin has yet to encounter. Have you seen the images from the System, how arrogantly the Godly Representative held himself? With a flick of his wrist, he had conjured barriers that denied chi, mana and every other thing from the outside coming through." The Mage Bellator commented. "To the naked eye, not everyone could notice it but the more astute in magic or chi will recognise that no simple fellow could break that barrier apart¡­well perhaps Zeru could if he gave it his all. Maybe Kraft as well if he really wanted to or Rex." Peppers added and started to mumble more names in her list of exceptions as she started to take notes on the irregularities of the mana in the atmosphere because of her explosion. "You mean we should not go against them?" Jin asked, now interested in the conversation. "If you were to put them in your game, they would unquestionably be end game content. And I am not talking about you being able to beat them on your own but those World Bosses where multiple guilds would have to unite to take them on. Still, right now you are not on their radar, yet fate flickers like the candle''s light on a windy night. Who knows how things might change for you in the days to come. Maybe you''ll have to mingle with them soon enough."l "It sounds like you''ve clashed with them before." Forneus asked, continuing to feign ignorance even though he was a Demon from the Demon Plane, venturing out to the Dungeon World because of the prospects of a ''quieter'' life. "Let''s just say I got a chance to see them in action first hand, so I can safely say, they are definitely stronger than you, Demon. You would not stand the chance as you are now. Despite the upgrade we''ve given you, it should be a far cry from your former form as one of the Greater Demon Nobles, Forneus." Peppers answered and her words stung him bad. "Ouch. So you actually do know about me." Forneus but Jin was lost in the conversation and yet he did not wish to interrupt it. "Of course, they don''t call me the Fiery Demonic Queen Sage for nothing. I''ve acted as the encyclopaedia of the System for a reason. I even know quite a few things that the System does not know because of the Universal Mana Pool that I''m connected to. You may not know it but the worlds no matter how vastly different they are, are not much more than pieces of paper in a book. Well, one giant book." Peppers explained with pride. "But didn''t you admit that you''re still not all-knowing." Jin interrupted and Peppers felt like throwing a fireball at her master. "Because I could not be bothered to check. If I concentrate really hard, I could get to the bottom of things. And the System wanted me to do that for you initially, but that was just too boring. I only want to explode stuff!" "Is that why the System gave you to me as a Bellator so quickly?" Jin tried to remember back the days when he first got the bellators. "Maybe. Anyways, I am picking up a few heat signatures in the ruined capital. Do you wish to save them?" Peppers asked as she started to charge her magical staff as a way to kill them quickly as mercy. "Your magic was not strong enough to kill every single one of them?" Forneus could not help but tease the Mage Bellator, who just harrumphed and looked away, as if could not give two hoots about his opinion. "Go ahead. Let the System judge them and if they are worthy to be resurrected, the System would do as such." Jin believed that was the best way for these survivors who were stuck in the rubbles of this ruined capital. Chapter 1020 The Hatchery - Part 1 Chapter 1020 The Hatchery ¨C Part 1 While Peppers and the System were busy analysing the debris from the skies, (and bringing a swift death to the remaining survivors) Jin received a call from Narris, the Drow who had been investigating the location of the second and final egg that the Southern Leader Saberteeth had stolen. "Any updates?" Jin had learned to ditch the pleasantries when interacting with the Dark Elves since they did not like them and found them to be a waste of time, especially the younger ones. He suspected that it might be Kraft''s indoctrination at work, but he believed if he asked too many questions about it, Kraft might want to make him experience what the Dark Elves had gone through. "If the monthly mind torture was not enough, just say so!" Jin assumed that would be what Kraft would say if he was there. "Yes, the information from Tinda has proven to be useful. I''ve found the exact hideout location and discovered that the Nine Oceans Phoenix egg is not the only one there." Narris said that and that made Jin furrow his brows. "Elaborate." "Despite their seeming reliance on harvesting monster parts, they somehow have a highly advanced magic operated hatchery with lots of monster eggs and even pregnant monsters in the vicinity. However, it was not hard to find the Nine Oceans Phoenix''s egg because of its unnatural magic signature. Unsurprisingly they''ve hidden it at the deepest basement level of the building and it''s the most secured area." Narris replied as it was no brainer that the Southerners would want the best protection for their prized egg. "Can I assume you''ve rescued the egg already or are in the midst of doing so?" Jin asked but the dark elf''s tone indicated a negative. "There is one final barrier I''ll have to bypass if I want to reach that egg and it looks very complicated. It will require some time for me to crack the barrier. It looks to be the work of multiple mages who have overlaid protective spells, reinforcing this particular barrier. While each layer of the barrier should be easy enough to crack, the stacks simply make it cumbersome for a stealthy entry. Also, time is of the essence¡­" Narris reported as she continued to be aware of her surroundings in case more guards started to come down and query why there were no reports. (That would be because she had knocked the surrounding guards out cold.) "In other words, you want us to create a distraction? Or do you need more help in breaking the barriers down?" "Preferably both. I figure that if they have such a troublesome barrier, there has to be some very troublesome anti theft mechanism within the room to deter thieves from escaping with their most prized possession. Worst case, they might rather see the egg destroyed than it falling into someone else''s hands." "If that''s the case¡­ Narris, kill those two guards. We will replace them with our ''guards'' and perform an act." "I''m afraid that''s not possible. I''ve noticed that a lot of them have an explosive attached to their necks. Sick bastards. If their heart rate stops completely it will trigger the explosion and it will alert the mage leader in charge. Going in with a portal is not possible as well. There are sensory traps everywhere and triggering one will cause the same thing to happen." "What kind of facility is that? Isn''t it just a hatchery?! At that rate, I could also use that place as a reference for my Phantom Thief Gentlebear Dungeon Instance!" Jin could not fathom how paranoid their leader was to put up so many safeguards. At this time, Peppers started to listen into the conversation since she heard the word magic again and again. Even Jin was a little taken aback by the troubles the Night Fox have with removing the barrier. (She was after all the star student of Kraft''s and thus there''s a certain calibre attached to such a title.) "They probably had enough break-ins to warrant such an extensive array of traps and sensors." Narris knew how sensitive mother monsters could be for their young and all these security setups would deter anyone to brute force their way through. "If that''s the case¡­let me get our experts'' opinion," Jin said and invited Shu and Sandy into the conversation and gave them a brief summary of the area. "Even if we know all these, how can we help Narris?" Sandy queried. "Yeah, won''t it better to brute force the way through? Do a quick and yet forceful spatial opening into the room and grab the egg before going off." Shu commented and Sandy agreed. "As Narris said, we don''t know what sort of defensive protocol that would activate. A self destruct mechanism is possible and if we fail to retrieve the egg we can forget about Nine Oceans Phoenix coming to our side." Jin reiterated. "And must everything be brute force? If I wanted brute force, I would have called in the Mr Derpy instead." "Then? What do you want us to do?" Shu could not think of anything great. "According to Narris, it''s in the basement, so no matter how sophisticated their tunnels are, they should be prone to wear and tear¡­ which also means a way for both of you to get your act together." Peppers who observed the conversation, said and that plan alone made the three in the conversation curious. "Knowing Kraft, he taught you spycraft, right? Do you have the depths and location of where you are right now?" Peppers asked and Narris nodded her head which the System immediately extracted information from her head. "Come to think of it, isn''t this some telecommunication magic, how could she ever communicate with us without activating some trap?" Shu asked out of the blue which caused Narris to chuckle "Ask the System." Narris'' answer was short and sweet while stating the obvious. "Great, now that the System has the exact location, please teleport Shu at least a kilometre away from the hatchery and push the roots through. If you need Sandy to move the earth, you two can coordinate. Most importantly, once you reach the basement, use Sandy''s powers to slit an opening through the stones and with Narris'' detection skills, avoid the traps and take control of the two guards with your roots." Peppers was the first to propose the plan, and Jin allowed her to lead. "I see what you are getting at. You want me to use my roots as the puppet strings for those guards while Narris continues to decode the magic?" Shu concluded with delight. It had been some time since he performed something delicate. "I will do what I can to help him." Sandy got the rough picture of the whole situation and the Dark Elf nodded her head. A plan that has some tact in it which Narris did not expect the little girl whose head was only filled with explosions has more things to come up with. "Great. And if everything goes to plan, we might actually have a show to watch. But remember, securing the Nine Oceans Phoenix''s egg is the number one priority." Jin thanked them as the System had already teleported Shu and Sandy near the hideout. Chapter 1021 Giving Tinda A Cover Chapter 1021 Giving Tinda A Cover The System teleported Shu and Sandy a distance away from the supposed hideout. The two looked around, but there was seemingly nothing except for the white desert sand in the area. Sandy immediately created a makeshift shelter to cover Shu as he shrunk in size so that they would not be detected that easily through the enemies'' constant observation. "Thank you for the shelter, otherwise I would dread working in such ''sunny'' conditions." Shu thanked her as he started to sink his roots into the desert. While his roots burrowed into the desert, he quickly felt the magic pulsating through the hideout. He knew had to be careful now, else he might accidentally trigger one of the traps as he approached the basement of the hideout. For a kingdom with little to no mages, the monsters including Jin were taken aback by the amount of magical ''stuff'' happening in the hatchery. Thus, one would conclude that their leader Saberteeth had been concentrating all his kingdom''s mages into one particular area. Meanwhile Sandy sent her magic through Shu, increasing his affinity for sand, thus allowing his roots to become more invasive in nature, sliding through the thick layers of soil, granite and sand. Although it helped Shu, the Sand Witch was quite amazed at how efficient the treant was in manipulating his powers. When she transferred her magic into Shu, the elder treant was doing the same and she could clearly visualise how the roots were digging and zig zagging closer to the hideout''s basement within minutes. At that point, Shu informed Sandy that they were approaching the hideout and she started to use the split ends of the roots as magic detectors to sift through if there was any weakness in the construction of the tunnels so she could break open one of the walls without alerting their enemies. To their surprise, the basement was filled with holes, making them both hesitate as they presumed this to be some sort of trap. Nevertheless, even after double and triple checking, they found nothing. And that led them to the conclusion that the mages were not as skilled as Tinda was expecting them to be. Granted, the basement was filled with a variety of magic detectors and traps, but those were concentrated towards gates and intersections of the basement rather than filling up the entire place. In terms of trapcraft, they were rather primitive in their selection of spells. Regardless, the duo began to break one of the stone bricks and with a sleeve in between the walls, Shu''s roots finally reached towards the guards Tinda had knocked out. The feeler roots crawled through the legs and as unsightly as one could describe, penetrated through their rectum because it was the easiest route for invasive control. There the roots planted a seed closest to the cauda equina, one of the largest portions of the human''s nervous system before the feeler tree roots withdrew and grabbed hold of the guards'' waist. The seed was filled with magic, instantly grew to invade and infect the nervous system, propagating within its host, allowing Shu to control the entire body. There, Tinda who was still working on breaking the magic barrier saw the two guards moving unwieldy. However, she could see the roots attached at the back of their legs, indicating that Shu was already using his magic to control them. "To control someone from such a distance is a first for me as well. Normally, I only control those within my vicinity." Shu said over the System Channel as he continued to concentrate in regulating the mana while Sandy began picking up the white desert sand and analysing it with her powers. She thought it could be worthwhile to retrieve a few samples and check if there were any difference in terms of the quality and possibly adding it into her repertoire. At the same time, she was also getting a feel of the entire hatchery hideout. She was scouting the other eggs and the monsters. The Drow''s objective had been to get the egg, therefore she had ignored those as distractions. Sandy considered using the sand to place a few of her own traps to cause a distraction while also possibly grabbing a few eggs, especially since these humans regarded them as rather vital if they put them in such a highly secured area. A few minutes after they gained complete control over guards, her astute senses allowed Tinda to hear footsteps from afar and she quickly informed Shu. "Aye, don''t worry about it. You can leave the acting to me." Shu chuckled as he started talking through the guards using their original voices. "But what about you? Are you going to kneel there and be an eyesore? If yes, I will have to improvise the acting by bringing these two goons further forward." "You do not have to worry about me. If you do not know, we Drows are fantastic in making sure we won''t be detected." Tinda grinned with her lips curled. Her words were not empty as Shu could see her disappearing and blending into the hideout like a chameleon waiting for its prey. "Also, a little special bonus for you, since I knocked them out to find the egg." Tinda sent the information she had taken from the guards and passing it to Shu via the System. "I was thinking of making them shoot the guard leader but welp, that works too I guess," Shu said through Guard A before moving, getting the two guards to lock their swords and staff together as if they were in some fight. He then activated their mana circuits so it was as if they could channel their own mana although it was actually Shu prompting them to do so. "Hey! What''s the big idea of not reporting back! We have not heard from you two in the past two minutes! Have you forgotten what I said about reporting every five minutes?!" The Guard Leader shouted from afar while bringing a small squad of guards with him. They were armed to the teeth, ready to strike at the moment''s notice. Some even thought that there was fighting involved when they felt the violent mana circulating in the air. But it turns out that the two guards were merely having a spite against each other when they both acknowledged their Guard Leader immediately. "Ah! Sorry Boss! But nothing ever happens around here. I challenged him to see who could last the longest without fainting." Guard A spoke out as he leaned forward and discharge more magical powers out into his sword. "Don''t think of using the excuse that you talked to Boss if you lose! We''ve bet on the next meal, so if you lose you better pay up!" Guard B added and the Guard Leader just shook his head. He could feel the intensity of the mana flowing out through them and could not stop prematurely as it would release an unneeded explosion. Apparently, it was not the first time he had to deal with goons such as them but he knew that guarding a basement could be extremely boring. Every member of the guards behind him knew especially how terribly dull it was to guard the lowest of all basements. To be honest, the Guard Leader prefered seeing them engaged in some stupid betting activity over them being asleep. But still, Saberteeth had assigned him as the Guard Leader so he had to act tough. "Like hell if I care that any of you loses! What you do to pass your time is up to you. You can jerk off to each other for all I care, but if you miss out on reporting back to me, you both will have one whole month to compete on who can clean the latrines the best! This is the only warning for you two. Also if your stupid competition releases an accidental explosion, you are staying in this basement guard duty forever!" The Guard Leader shouted at them before walking off as the two guards apologised and continued to put their strengths between each other. "Heh. Nice save there." Tinda whispered. "You should thank the stars that the two guards disliked each other rather openly. I still feel it was a little disgusting to dig their memories a little further but that helped a lot." Shu sniggered as he continued the act but at the same time slowly siphoned their energies away. As for Tinda, she was very close to breaking through the magical barrier. Chapter 1022 Got the Egg! Chapter 1022 Got the Egg! "¡­I got it." Tinda whispered with a wide grin as she broke through the final layer of the magic barrier protecting the egg. With a quick puff, she loosened her neck muscles a little before reaching for the door, only to sense that the physical lock was also emitting a source of strange energy. It appeared that the lock was magically imbued to make sure that it could only be opened with the appropriate key. Shu controlling the guards noticed her hesitating and could not help but laugh at the drow. "I thought being Kraft''s number one student would mean that you could break into anything? And now a simple magic lock fumbles you? Hahahah!" "Shush, you big old tree. Why bother breaking the lock when you can go in without going through the lock?" Tinda retorted as she first placed her hand on the door to check for any other magical abnormalities or problems that could occur if she entered forcefully. To her fortuitous luck, there did not seem to be anything to worry about. Seeing that Shu and Sandy had analysed via the System Channel how the traps had been interlaced at certain points of the hatchery''s basement when Tinda pointed them out, she too had realised that the mages hadn''t been as scheming as she had initially expected them to be. (Perhaps the influence of a certain foxy had made her assume the worst case scenario in each and every situation.) Upon a second more thorough check, she confirmed that with the barriers gone, it should now be possible for the System to teleport her into the room to get the egg. However, before the Dark Elf could request the System to do so, the System informed her that the egg had already sent them into the most optimal environment ¨C the Farming Sectors of Pandapolis. "Haha, sorry dear Tinda. I was unable to restrain myself from competing against you." Sandy informed her in the System Channel. "I have found the properties of this world''s white sands to be rather fascinating and made some shocking discoveries upon pouring some magic into it." At that moment, Tinda could see specks of white sand seeping out of the stone walls and a thumbs up sign formed right in front of her. The Dark Elf presumed that since the Sand Witch was hovering her magic to control the sand, she must have been able to mould it into a shape where it could grab the egg to subsequently teleport it into the System''s embrace. "I thought it was a little strange how the sand managed to create the shelter when we first teleported here faster than I had expected and through a little bit of experimentation, I found out that this white sand is extremely sensitive to magic, allowing it to not just store magic per se, but more importanly help me to manipulate it very easily." "So, I guess this means the mission is complete?" Tinda scratched her head wondering if all her effort breaking these magical barriers had been rendered moot. It seemed that even without the lead fox''s training, Jin himself had gathered a variable set of monsters that could perform wonders for him. "You could say that. I''ve also taken the liberty to snatch all the other eggs from this hatchery. All of them have been swapped out with chicken eggs who had received cosmetic inscriptions in case the Guards checked up on them. Hehe!" Sandy boasted while the white sand in front of the Dark Elf returned back into the wall, leaving no trace of evidence behind. "Won''t they know that those eggs are fake? I am actually surprised they do not have observation magic to check on those eggs constantly." Tinda sighed as she shook her head looking at the far end of the basement tunnels. "Kraft made you too sensitive and overly paranoid. Relax, girl. Even if they notice, not like they can do much after the deed has already been done." Shu still controlled the guards as he verified the extent of how precise he could command them from his distance. After all, it''s not every day he got the opportunity to grab some random humans and turn them into his playthings. So before they went back to how they were, he made them perform more refined movements such as twirling the sword and doing quick step movements. Suddenly Jin chimed into their System Channel and congratulated them on a job well done. "You do not need to stay there any further. While confronting Saberteeth would be a boon for the Nine Oceans Phoenix, we should ¨C" "Boss, I think you should let Nine Oceans Phoenix have her revenge." Shu interrupted Jin know how his nature was to not be going around poking the hornet''s nest further. However, this had to be done from the monster''s perspective. "It''s true that we have achieved what we''ve come to do, but look at it this way. You''ve technically allowed their capital to be destroyed, robbing them of their livelihood. They are bound to come hunting any monsters relentlessly to make up for the loss and will likely try to hunt any other phoenixes without any prejudice." "Besides, now that we know that they are doing such evil stuff, all the more reason they should join us. If not, the repercussions might turn into a tidal wave down the line. You eventually plan to gain full control over the Northern Region, don''t you? Turning Saberteeth into our ally will allow us to have the chance to get against the Demon Rats and should allow you to unite the captured Southerners, making them work hand in hand with us, despite the destruction you''ve caused." Tinda added in. Jin was left speechless. Somehow Kraft had managed to indoctrinate his own beliefs into the Dark Elves. This was exactly what the dungeon supplier would have expected to come from the Original Bellator. "Especially when it comes to their leader. The fact that he seems to have congregated all the mages into this hatchery as his pet project, only serves to show further that he only keeps the elites of the elites in this place. Just think about how much it would help our own research lab if we take this place over. Not to mention, with the System''s control, they will do much better taking care of our own foody monsters with their explicit knowledge." "And you have a ton of Southerners being imported in by the System, well the more innocent ones. Even if the leader is a shitty leader, it''s best to have a leader that they are familiar with. That will improve their morale a whole lot. And if you influence their leader, the people would sway along with them. The Templars are a good example. We thought them to be a cult not to be trifled with but in the end, they did a hell lot of good for the Northerners~" Sandy commented and stated that Jin''s System had always been about second chances. "At the very worst, you could simply tell the System to get rid of their souls. It''s as simple as that." "And with the egg safely tucked in our possession, there are really not many risks involved in this revenge scheme Even better if you get to save the Nine Oceans Phoenix if it found itself incapable of fighting against Saberteeth." Tinda added as the System opened a portal for her to jump in when she found that the coast was clear. "Thus this gives you the leverage to let the Nine Oceans Phoenix join you¡­now that you have two of the kids in your possession." "You make it sound like I am an evil overlord who is blackmailing her." Jin smiled bitterly. "It''s all for the good of the rising Panda Empire." The Drow replied as she returned back to her training camp, cutting off any communications. "I can be around to deal with the killing blow since this white desert is my territory now that I learn how to use them more effectively," Sandy added and Jin sighed. There were no doubts that even if Jin did not let Sandy participate in the battle, the System would already implant the capturing module into the Nine Oceans Phoenix some way or the other considering that the Phoenix was in its instance. After all, considering the System aversion to outsiders, it let the mother monster to come in without any complaints. But as insurance, Jin nodded his head to the matter and decided to tell the Nine Oceans Phoenix about the whole ordeal. Chapter 1023 Calm Down! Chapter 1023 Calm Down! "Nine Oceans Phoenix, we found the culprit." Jin teleported back to the Luxury Recovery Instance to relay the good news. However, instead of being happy about it, the mother bird''s wings spread out wide in a threatening manner. To the dungeon supplier, it seemed like she was hurrying him to tell her everything or risk dying. Jin had tolerated her antics initially, because he understood that she must have been emotional about suddenly seeing her chick in such critical condition. Now that some time had passed, he expected his guest to show him the proper amount of respect, so with a far more authoritative voice, he told her to calm down. "TELL ME!" The Nine Oceans Phoenix screeched impatiently and began to release her magical aura. Ironically she had been unaware that all this time the one at the mercy of the other party had been none other than her. In an instant, she found herself pinned down by the giant Titan Knight and out of seemingly nowhere many monsters had emerged with their weapons out. She intended to increase the output of her magical powers, but discovered that they were being drained consistently. "As I said, calm yourself down! I''m treating you with courtesy, so I expect you to reciprocate. Do not make me use excessive force against you!" Jin chided her and the Lady Phoenix struggled a little more, before admitting that there was nothing else she could do. Only then did the Titan Knight release her from his palm hold and the rest of the monsters moved a step back away from her, but none sheathed their weapons. Honestly, Jin was quite surprised at the show of force from the System. Had it perhaps analysed the Nine Oceans Phoenix to be more of a threat than he himself had realised? In any case, he reminisced about the time when the Banned Emperor Assassin had come to make a mess in his dungeon supplier store during Yang Ling''s Gear Box demonstration and the System had not responded this fiercely. Could it be that the System did not imagine the assassin was a major threat as compared to this particular monster? "You may get up, but slowly." Death Knight Dread Reaver instructed the Nine Oceans Phoenix as he continued to point his sword at the bird while it did as she had been told. It was then she finally had the impression that Jin was really no simple human. "As I was about to tell you, we''ve managed to not only find, but also retrieve your other egg. It''s currently in one of our hatcheries, under the care of the best monster caretakers I have working for me." Jin stated confidently as he knew that the ones handling the eggs were the penguins and the animal people from the Giant World. He strongly believed that they were the best ones for the job. After all, Lynn had selected only the best of the best to be allowed to serve food to their customers under her name. (Of course, they were not going to cook the Phoenix Egg or else¡­the System would not be the only one who would be very pissed.) "If it''s already been done, why are you telling me all this? Are you blackmailing me like that guy who stole my egg?" The Nine Oceans Phoenix questioned, making Jin sigh. "I won''t pretend that I can completely understand how you feel, but I empathise with you not trusting every human who graciously extends their hands to you. I''ve decided to tell you that we found it because I promised you I would do that. I''ve expected you might want to take revenge but if you don''t want to do that, then I won''t force you to. I can leave that guy alone, but I''m sure sooner or later he will return with a vengeance." Jin explained and the Nine Oceans Phoenix was paralysed by his scolding. "After what we''ve done to his capital¡­ well if it was me in his shoes, there''s no way I wouldn''t take up arms and mercilessly hunt down every single monster responsible for that. As much as I want to believe in the good in people, that is wishful thinking. That''s why I ask for your help. Let''s end this cycle of hatred by exacting your vengeance against him and start anew. Help me for the greater good while we fulfil our needs and desires." Jin felt the last part was a little too excessive as ''encouragement'', but at the same time, he was just being realistic. Seeing that the monsters around him were nodding in silent agreement, the Nine Oceans Phoenix fluttered her feathers a little before nodding her head. "While I feel that you have a greater agenda than just taking my dung and children, your words have truth to them. Fine, I will do as my heart desires and after that, I will return the debt of you getting my children back safely." The Nine Oceans Phoenix agreed, but before that, she had a condition of her own. She wanted to see her unborn child before they left. Jin naturally acceded to the request and opened the portal to Pandapolis Farming Sectors where the Nine Oceans Phoenix saw how her little baby egg was being pampered with the latest advancement in hatching procedures. She instantly recognised that the egg was indeed the one which had been stolen by the Southern Capital Leader. She appeared elated that she did not miss the hatching of this one, but Jin could see the fury in her eyes about being separated from her children. "We will provide you with help against the Southern Mages if necessary. After all, you are going to be part of our family soon no matter how temporary that was. I''ll let you take care of everything else, but feel free to ask for help should you need it." Jin offered as he opened a portal. "Are you saying that I am no match to some feeble mages?" The Nine Oceans Phoenix asked. "I''m merely stating that it would be for the best if you don''t let your guard down. No matter what, their leader has taken the liberty to assemble probably every single mage the South had in that one area. It is possible that they are prepared to take you down with the assumption of destroying the hatchery too. For the time being, you should be safe knowing that they are unaware that we''ve taken back your egg." "You mean your monsters stole right under their noses?" "Yeah, and it was not an easy feat for them to do so. All of this was to ensure that you could fight with your full force without any fears that they might use your unborn child as a hostage." Jin bragged even though it was partially a lie since his minions did not have that much of an issue getting the egg back. "Very well. While I will accept your assistance, I honestly do not think I will need it." The Nine Oceans Phoenix could now feel that her magical powers were coming back. But before Jin allowed her to go, a portal suddenly appeared right beside him and he saw Lynn carrying a large plate of meat with two hands. "You''re not going anywhere until you eat up. I assure you that your strength will double the moment you clear this plate of meat." Lynn said as the animal people caretakers opened the hatchery doors and showed the bird a better view of the Farming Sector while having a spacious area to eat. They even told the Phoenix that the lake right beside the hatchery was drinkable and with a quiet thank you, the Nine Oceans partook in the meat. "While I will accrue this to your kindness and courtesy but there''s something more to the food too, right?" Jin whispered to Lynn. "How did you know?" Lynn was a bit shocked as she giggled a little to cover her innate expression. "You could say that my panda senses were tingling. Or rather my acquired foxy senses." Jin replied with glee and subsequently settled himself down. At the very least he knew that the System would have some control on the Phoenix if there were something to go down wrong during their duel. In the meantime, Sandy and Shu got a better grasp of the environment and numbers and had discussed a few ways to eliminate them should the majestic bird encounter problems. Having a Plan B never hurts. Chapter 1024 Attack of the Phoenix Chapter 1024 Attack of the Phoenix "That''s weird, why have I still not been informed about anything? Are they having too much fun with the bird? Well¡­ I did tell them to be as explicit in their torture as possible but having no news now¡­ I expect an excellent analysis report from their findings. Heh." Saberteeth wondered to himself as he watched the sunset sinking into the edges of the White Sands Desert. He had been expecting a report from the Southern Capital with regards to the torturing of the Nine Oceans Phoenix''s chick or any particularly new developments. While patterns had estimated that today it should have reached the point of exhaustion leading it to resurrect into a stronger form, it could be possible the report was delayed due to the chick''s resilience. He yawned, wondering if the new chick down in their basement would be like its sibling putting up some feeble resistance before it goes down. Still, its elder sister though young and had barely alive a few days after hatching, was afraid of death and probably unaware that its resurrecting abilities were its only form of defence without its parents around. "Heh, if only my father were to see that I, that ''useless bastard'' had managed to tame a phoenix¡­. And soon I will have two at our disposal, which shall become the turning point for us People of the South!'''' Saberteeth enjoyed his daydream of grandeur. He wandered around the room with a giant grin on his face as he enjoyed the quiet breeze of the White Desert until he suddenly felt a slight disturbance of the mana in the air. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" A screech so loud that he was able to hear from the small cottage situated a few kilometres away from the hatchery filled the air. Saberteeth immediately grabbed his cape and staff that was hanging at the perch as he went out where he saw the prominent flying figure fly towards the secret location. ''You''ve finally come, eh? Took you long enough, but don''t you worry, everything is ready for you to join your egg." Saberteeth thought to himself as he ran inside to grab a few ancient looking metal cubes from inside his basement. He believed that it would take the Nine Ocean''s Phoenix quite some time to reach the bottom of the hatchery, but he also did not want to leave his mages alone with the rampaging mother for too long. At the very most they would suffer a terrifying blow, but if Saberteeth played his cards right, he could capture and control the Phoenix and use her powers to resurrect them again. He would only have to find out how the Phoenix resurrected people, since none of the historical records and texts passed down from the previous generations of Southerners had any mention of that. Unfortunately, it was hard to tell what parts were accurate and which were heavily exaggerated. Still, more than one record attributed those abilities to the Phoenix, so all Saberteeth would have to do would be to find out how to properly utilise its powers and the full extent of it in time to come. "Ahhh just thinking about it makes my body get fired up!" Saberteeth muttered to himself as he unlocked the basement to grab the metal cubes. In the meantime, his mages were indeed having a tough time fending off the terrifying monster. Its appearance came at the worst possible moment, just when they were about to have a shift change. They had let down their guard since the hatchery had arguably more firepower than even the capital. The Nine Oceans Phoenix had emerged from the skies and had started blasting down torrents of water beams at them. Before they could shield themselves behind magic, some of them already found themselves drowning in burning waters and all that would be left of them would be bits of flesh and bones. It was the only surprise attack that the Nine Oceans Phoenix could muster as the magical barrier immediately went up to protect the hatchery and the building''s defences were initiated. All sorts of defensive spells like Slow, Weaken and Stupidify got used to hinder the Phoenix'' advances as the mages began to congregate to pull off a massive spell while still under the protection of the building''s magical barrier. "If such a barrier could stop me, I should stop living as a Nine Oceans Phoenix!" The bird screeched at them as she flew up and with a quick twirl into the skies, the mages saw that the clouds above eventually turned into something more solid. Without any magic circles, the Nine Oceans Phoenix had managed to change the properties of the clouds into orbs of water. With a flap of her wings, the large orbs of water descended towards the hatchery''s magical barrier. Reaching terminal velocity made the orbs of water fall as if they were mini comets crashing into the world''s atmospheric barrier. Indeed, the orbs created such a splash that the barriers instantly weakened by 40% and was barely able to hold up against the second wave. The Nine Oceans Phoenix was shocked that this attack was not enough to deal with the humans, but she felt that her magic powers were still in tip top condition after eating Lynn''s plates full with luxurious slabs of meat. She had no idea what it was that the cook had served her but the only word capable of describing the taste would be ''Delicious''. Her magic was flowing out without any delay, a vast difference compared to a few hours ago when she had needed to concentrate to bring the magic out. It was as if the food had not only turned her stronger temporarily but also allowed her to become a little more sensitive towards mana, which had enabled the Phoenix to use the magic in her surroundings. At that time, the Southern Mages were finishing the conjuration of a few large scale spells and started throwing it towards the Nine Oceans Phoenix. As the monster was a flying type which dealt with water, the mages believed it was best to use attributes that it was weak to. "Star Lightning Storm!!" The mages shouted as they pulled whatever they could simultaneously against their nemesis. Most of them knew what they had signed up for when Saberteeth had recruited them to guard this hatchery. Many of them had been captivated by their greed since their benevolent leader had offered to pay them very generously, while a minority had been genuinely interested in saving the nation upon learning about the Phoenix Egg. Yet, none of them had expected the Nine Oceans Phoenix to be this ridiculously strong. With Lynn''s buff the Nine Oceans Phoenix was agile enough to evade each and every attack the mages threw at it. Even a lightning based magic, which was considered to be the fastest attack possible in every Mages'' repertoire had been countered so easily. But instead of evading every one of the magic attacks, the Nine Ocean Phoenix soon understood that it was not enough to stop them from casting as some were seen to be sacrificing themselves to power the spells up. And since they were so willing to die, the Nine Oceans Phoenix decided to grant them swift deaths. She flew up higher into the skies and for once in this entire battle, she stood still momentarily to gain enough mana to decimate the entire hatchery. A spell which she had initially reserved to paralyse the Southern Capital. "Tidal Sky Wave!!!" Chapter 1025: Tidal Sky Wave Chapter 1025: Tidal Sky Wave Everyone in the vicinity looked up to the sky and stopped casting any other spells. The air was extremely still all around the Phoenix¡­ until she released her magic. A few of the mages wanted to escape, but their legs felt heavy, probably aware that no matter how fast they could run there was no way out. Even the more adept mages who had the capability to open portals to move vast distances felt that their spell casting would be far too slow to grant them any chance of escape, so they did not even bother trying, for the sky had been transformed into a massive ocean with no end in sight and the Nine Oceans Phoenix brought down the fury of the seas right in the middle of the white deserts. The torrents of waves gushed down with extreme speeds thanks to gravity and it seemed that the magical defensive barrier the hatchery had employed stood as much of a chance to hold out as a man single handedly trying to stop an oncoming train. And yet a man appeared at the centre of the hatchery¡¯s roof, looking unphased by the massive attack as he released his magical aura and held up a few metal cubes together. ¡°Have you no care for your own child, oh Mother Phoenix?!¡± Saberteeth shouted, hoping that the magical waves could be cancelled as they were about to destroy this very important building for his people. Alas, the Phoenix did not heed the words from the thief who was responsible for her children¡¯s disappearance and proceeded to watch the entire hatchery¡¯s barrier crumble, making way for the torrential amount of burning water to destroy everything in its path. No, not everything. The metal cubes Saberteeth held had started glowing brightly, as if in reaction to the monster¡¯s magic and created a protective barrier around himself. While the Southern Leader had the ability and knowledge to use these metal cubes to lessen the damage of the Tidal Sky Wave attack to limit the damage to the hatchery¡¯s magical defensive barrier, thereby potentially saving the lives of his men, he strangely chose not to do anything. The Tidal Sky Wave attack by the Nine Oceans Phoenix therefore literally obliterated his entire platoon of mages and the possibility of their survival was close to none. ¡°Woah, woah, woah! When I heard of your powers, I did not expect you to be this strong!¡± Saberteeth said as the cubes grew in intensity right in front of him. ¡°I have no idea how you managed to find this place, but how can you be so cruel as to kill off your unborn child?¡± ¡°That is none of your concern. I have seen what your people have done to one of my chicks!!! Even if you had yet to kill the other one, my attack should have granted it a swift death reuniting it with their sibling!¡± The Nine Oceans Phoenix acted in accordance to what Jin had suggested, pretending to believe that her second egg might have been already destroyed by Saberteeth. ¡°Wow, you managed to find your chick? How did she look? I hope you appreciate the ¡®care¡¯ we¡¯ve given her?¡± Saberteeth taunted the giant bird openly and at the same time with quite a bit of spite. He now understood why his city team had not been responding. If the Nine Oceans Phoenix had found out about the state of her chick, it could only mean that the Southern Capital must have suffered the same fate as their hatchery now or even worse. Yet, for the Phoenix to find her chick and now the egg, has she always been bidding her time to locate them in quick succession or someone was helping her? A human? ¡°But still¡­ to have not a single soul escape to send me a message, not even Leopardo¡­it¡¯s odd.¡± Saberteeth thought to himself. He could not help but feel that something did not add up. Even if the Nine Oceans Phoenix had eradicated the city, how exactly did she learn that she had to come here? Besides Leopardo only a handful of the interim leader¡¯s personal guards knew about the hatchery¡¯s existence, and none of them would ever reveal its location, not even under torture, instead they would all opt to kill themselves. Not that monsters were ever known for torturing people in the first place. No, his instincts were telling Saberteeth that there was something else going on in the shadows. And he did not like it. It was not particularly hard for the Nine Ocean Phoenix to act enraged. Whenever she remembered the state her firstborn had been in when Jin brought her to see her precious daughter, it was enough to ignite the fury within the phoenix and bring her magic powers forth once more. ¡°Good. Good. Be furious.¡± Saberteeth thought to himself as he raised the metal cubes right up high and pointed towards the Nine Oceans Phoenix. ¡°Shit. I have a very bad feeling about this.¡± Jin cursed as he was watching the whole scene play out from a far away dune hill while Sandy and Shu were standing by about a kilometre away from the fight zone. ¡°Do not move first, we need to find out what that cube does to her before we rush in,¡± Jin ordered his two minions to hold steady before acting, hoping that his gut was wrong and that the Nine Oceans Phoenix could withstand whatever treachery Saberteeth was about to do. From the look of it, he was doing nothing but raising those metal cubes up on his palms, floating and waiting for the Phoenix to make her next move. Another, even more deadly, Tidal Sky Wave was unleashed since it was the most powerful skill she had at her disposal. Only this time she circled the clouds around Saberteeth as if she was about to pour her waves into a cylindrical manner with the Southern Leader at the centre of it all. That way he had nowhere to run and considering he was standing still so confidently meant he must have something in his sleeve so it was better to unleash everything she got so that Saberteeth could be taken down indefinitely. But as the waves gushed towards him, the metal cubes shone even more brightly, seemingly intending to rival the sun as they began to absorb the entirety of the attack. Multiple black holes were created at the Southern Leader¡¯s fingertips and the Phoenix was forced to watch the magic being sucked into it. ¡°HAHAHAH! IT¡¯S WORKING! IT¡¯S ACTUALLY WORKING! YOUR MAGIC IS USELESS AGAINST ME NOW!¡± Saberteeth shouted hysterically since he had been gambling on this moment and from the joy in his voice his bet had paid off. ¡°The lives of your chicks were a small price to pay! Getting them for research purposes and using them for the benefit of my country was a nice boon to have. But THIS? THIS IS WHAT I WAS WAITING FOR!¡± Saberteeth used his own magic to float even higher as the waves were continuously absorbed into the metal cubes. He had found those cubes in a temple deep in the valleys of the Southern Region. He had roughly deciphered that those cubes were able to channel one¡¯s magic into another, although it was not permanent for a fixed duration, yet so far he had never been able to get it to work as described. Until the day he found the Nine Oceans Phoenix which allowed him to have an inspirational breakthrough in his findings. It could be possible that those metal cubes required a ton of magical energy for it to work and as expected, the first Tidal Sky Wave that hit the cubes had been the key to activate it. Seeing how her attack which was further strengthened by Lynn¡¯s food was easily sucked into oblivion by the metal cubes, the Nine Oceans Phoenix panicked a little and decided to send a third wave of magical attacks, only this time it was weaker than usual since she felt threatened and did not have the time to prepare as before. And yet, the cubes were able to take in that copious amount of magical energy while Saberteeth, in turn, took one of the cubes and tapped into its energy reserves. ¡°I told you it was USELESS! The amount of magical energy you have is so rich that I¡¯ve never felt so invigorated before!!¡± Saberteeth grinned widely and was about to launch his attack. Chapter 1026: Surpass Ones Limits Chapter 1026: Surpass One¡¯s Limits ¡°System, please tell me that I¡¯m just hallucinating and those are not black holes sucking all the magic away?¡± Jin begged despite his own eyes telling him that those tidal waves had literally disappeared into that abyssal crevice of that metal cube. ¡°From the System¡¯s perspective, those cubes have indeed taken the form of black holes and have successfully absorbed all of the Nine Oceans Phoenix¡¯s magical energy from its attack. System and User can only pray that the Southern Leader Saberteeth does not also have the capability to tap into those absorbed powers. Should such a turn of events occur, the enemy would become invincible not only against the Nine Oceans Phoenix but also turn into an unprecedented threat for all the monsters in the Southern Region.¡± ¡°Especially after what we did to his Capital, huh?¡± Jin continued to stay wary of the ongoing fight. Alas, it appeared that either the System had jinxed them or it had (unfortunately) just correctly listed the worst case scenario. The Southern Mage was hysterically laughing as he utilised the very same powers he had absorbed with the metal cubes and unleashed it against Nine Oceans Phoenix. With a twist. He had infused own speciality magic into the torrential tidal waves. Although the Mother Phoenix was still able to fly swiftly to evade those very same torrential waves that she had previously summoned, she quickly realised that the attack continued following her as if it was alive. This caused her to fly zig zag, up and down, avoiding the waves which tried to enclose her at each opportunity possible, but no matter what it kept following her and even shortened the distance. Because of her exhaustion from casting three Tidal Sky Waves, each with increasing intensity, all the Nine Oceans Phoenix was relying upon at the moment was her tenacity to pull her through and it was getting obvious to the observers that she would not be able to outrun it. ¡°You think those metal cubes are that game breaking?¡± Jin asked as he tried formulating a few ideas to tackle the existence of such artefacts. ¡°Considering how the Phoenix¡¯s phenomenal magic could be taken in like a vacuum cleaner, those items must be some sort of artefact left by the Higher Gods and Demons. However, System wishes to note that each item, no matter how strong they seem to be, should have a limit, even if said items were made by the higher beings.¡± The System stated with confidence that those metal cubes had some life span or limited usage. Even the ¡®almighty¡¯ System had a certain limit to its existence. ¡°So it¡¯s up to us to test out those limits, huh?¡± Jin thought as he requested the System to bring Peppers back to his side. ¡°What? Me again? Is it my birthday or something?¡± Peppers questioned sarcastically after being kicked out of her room and back in her Red Panda Pyjamas. She had been sure that her schedule would be free after Jin had told her to destroy the Southern Capital. ¡°Didn¡¯t you complain earlier that you didn¡¯t have enough explosions for the day?¡± Jin chuckled as he tilted his head towards the fight between the Nine Oceans Phoenix and Saberteeth. Peppers needed some time to understand the situation but the System quickly filled her on by feeding her the necessary information. ¡°Hmmm¡­so you basically want me to explode Saberteeth to pieces?¡± Peppers asked as she summoned her trusty wooden staff again and changed into a more appropriate attire. ¡°It would be great if it turns out to be that easy. I fear that his metal cubes will absorb your explosion. No, I want you to create an explosion so large that those black holes won¡¯t be able to keep up. Either that or create so many multiple explosions that the black holes are not able to absorb everything. Your choice really.¡± ¡°But that might destroy those metal cubes! Just imagine the magical applications we could do with such an artefact!¡± Peppers moaned as she saw the black cubes in action again as the Nine Oceans Phoenix threw a desperate counterattack against Saberteeth. ¡°Are you saying that your magic is so useless that you cannot overcome the black hole of some measly metal cubes?¡± Kraft, the crafty fox suddenly appeared from nowhere as he whistled at the intense fight between the man and Phoenix. At the same time, he saw the potential of the Southern Leader with his chain magic. ¡°What?! Of all the people who might demean me, you are the last one I will tolerate it from! I shall oppose you with all my strength!¡± Peppers yelled as she now swung her staff, hoping to hit Kraft but the Devil was agile enough to avoid the swing and slickly moved to the side. From Jin¡¯s perspective, it felt like a family gathering where the older brother had, once again, teasing his younger sister in front of their father who was trying to watch his TV show after a hard working day. It annoyed Jin greatly that he had to keep his calm and asked them to stay focus with the task at hand. ¡°Guys! Stop playing around! So, Peppers, can you do it?¡± Jin asked once more. If she was not going to try it out, he would have to think of something more¡­creative in nature. ¡°Meh. Why not? As you said, I did not have my fill of explosions for the day. Besides, I will show this crafty fox that my power is unparalleled to some flimsy artefact made by random nonsensical beings who left their things haphazardly for idiots like that Saberteeth to pick up.¡± Peppers proudly claimed as she readied her staff and started chanting. While Jin¡¯s one and only Mage Bellator could have done multiple explosions of epic proportions in an instant, this was one of those days where she hoped she could surpass her best record (And that was still the monstrous explosion in the Giant World.) Maybe that might be excessive in this instance, especially since if things went wrong she might end up wiping out the entirety of the Southern Region, however, Peppers had something else in mind. When she cast that spell, she traded the area of effect for the quality of the explosion. With that in mind, she concentrated the density of magic particles in her spell in one specific area aimed to blast Saberteeth¡¯s metal cubes into oblivion. Yet, in order to do this, Peppers needed time to cast. Unfortunately, the Phoenix¡¯ fatigue made it impossible for the bird to grant her that time. Saberteeth was getting more confident in his attacks, making them more aggressive as he saw weakness in the monster bird¡¯s movement. Thus, Jin tried to look for Kraft to play the part of a meatshield, but as a fleeting phantom, he was already out of sight, as if he had only shown up to incite and spur Peppers to accept the job. When that was done, he disappeared to complete what he needed to do¡­or rather, felt like doing. ¡°Gah! That unreliable fox!¡± Jin muttered to himself as he entered the System Channel to get the two other monsters who were watching the whole fight scene as well. Sandy, the Sand Witch and Shu, the Magical Treant. However, knowing that those black holes could suck any type of magic into it he asked once more whether they were up to the task to provide support for the Nine Oceans Phoenix so that Peppers have enough time to chant her magic. And all they responded was just two words. ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Chapter 1027 - Sandy and Shus Support Chapter 1027 ¨C Sandy and Shu¡¯s Support Sandy did not hesitate when Jin gave the command to assist the Nine Oceans Phoenix. Within an instant, the sand around the broken hatchery suddenly shifted and turned into spikes, moving towards Saberteeth with absolute speed. There were no signs of magic until the very last minute as if the entire backdrop was Sandy''s playground. However, because of the distance between the centre of the hatchery and surrounding sand, Saberteeth was still able to move away fast enough. For a lead mage, he seemed to be quite proficient in evading as well, indicating that the Southerners'' prioritised in outdoor survival more than any drowning themselves with old mushy books in libraries. While it had become obvious that the black hole created by the metal cube had the potential to absorb magic, she wondered what would happen if she merely threw her sand weapons as projectiles. The white sand did require magic to be manipulated and maintain its form, yet said projectiles should still be able to act as a distraction even when dispersed. The surroundings such as the hatchery had not been taken in at all even though they had been damaged by the initial Tidal Sky Wave. If her theory of the metal cubes absorbing only magic was right, her manipulated white sands could provide sufficient distraction against Saberteeth for the Phoenix to escape the iron jaws of death by the enemies'' chain magical power. In the meantime, Shu had been growing his roots at the hatchery''s surrounding. While he did use magic to grow his roots, they were still a part of him, and Shu was able to control the direction of where the roots were moving towards. However, because of the vast distance, it was a tad troublesome to maintain the same amount of strength he usually used to kill his enemies. Saberteeth was surprised by the sudden attack of weapons in sand form and magically imbued spikes coming towards him. Alas, because of the black holes from his metal cubes, the magic keeping the sand in weapon form weakened significantly before it ever hit him. Still, a few went through before he was able to erect a proper barrier up. At that moment, he realised that the Nine Oceans Phoenix had friends backing her up and immediately increased his magic output to scan the area. Unfortunately, the magical energies from the Tidal Sky Wave which he had stolen with the ancient metal cubes were disrupting his magic detection preventing him from properly locating the magical sources. More and more sand projectiles were proving to be an annoyance to Saberteeth as he broke his concentration in capturing the Nine Oceans Phoenix, giving the bird the chance to break out of his continuous pressure to capture her. She also saw a glimpse of the white sand being manipulated and understood that Jin had already sent her some support to go against Saberteeth. At that moment she became aware of how pathetic she must be, requiring the aid of a human to help in this endeavour. Not only had she failed to exact her revenge properly, but that proclaimed dungeon master who had many extremely powerful monsters on his side had also repeatedly shown her sufficient courtesy. He had saved both her kids and now he provided support to her when there was no need for him to do that. Jin had even thought about the backlash his actions would have to the monster population while he could have easily sided with his fellow human. Even this chance to eliminate the perpetrator who stole her eggs and exact justice were bestowed by him so that she could have some peace of mind. She suspected he had some personal agenda behind his actions, yet there was undoubtedly still kindness in his actions. "What are you staring into space?!" Jin shouted as he flew towards the Nine Ocean Phoenix with the aid of his Green Panda Wind Energy and told her to follow him. However, that shout alone was enough for Saberteeth to track Jin as the support that the Nine Oceans Phoenix was given. "WHAT? A HUMAN?! HOW CAN THIS BE? HOW DARE YOU HELP THEM AFTER ALL THE CRIMES HER KIND HAS COMMITTED?! THEIR BEASTLY INSTINCT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING IN SIGHT THAT WE HAVE PAINSTAKINGLY BUILT?!T" Saberteeth shouted fanatically as he now redirected his chains towards Jin. However, the dungeon supplier did not react, so the Southern Leader came to the conclusion that since Jin assisted a monster, he had to be a monster himself. A ''human'' who Saberteeth will happily rid the world off! Jin saw metal chains flying along with the Tidal Sky Wave towards him and he instantly engaged the inner Maqi within him. White Panda Ice Energy was released in succession to create gigantic glacier barriers that blocked the Tidal Sky Waves while the Nine Oceans Phoenix twirl and swirl in the skies towards Jin. Unfortunately, the chains were manipulated to move around the glacier barriers even as the Tidal Sky Waves crashed into them. Saberteeth laughed as he thought he had the upper hand in this current battle ¡­ until he saw his chains gradually frozen as they tried to move around the barriers. He did not realise that Jin had reached a higher level of control of his Maqi with his grade up and those glacier barriers were able to protrude a small icicle spike out poking the chains, stopping them from moving. And at the point of contact, the chain''s temperature went straight to below zero and further until it froze. The enemy''s Tidal Sky Waves initially burnt the barriers but eventually, it too froze up in the sky, creating a magnificent ice structure in view over the white sandy desert. Saberteeth realised the human aiding the monster might have noticed the weak point of his black holes. It might be an excellent defensive item but in terms of offense, it was undoubtedly his Achilles Heel. As long as the magic could be overpowered, and not within the range of the black hole, Saberteeth was not able to do anything about it. Yet, he could not believe this particular human was able to topple the intense magical energies of a Nine Ocean Phoenix since it was considered to be one of the mythical creatures in the Farming World. (Not to mention, it was already a variant!) Even the Phoenix was bewildered by the show of power even though it was just a defensive act from Jin. But the Dungeon Supplier was already snapping her out of her shock once again and telling her to move to him as soon as possible. "You are not going anywhere Phoenix!!!" Saberteeth yelled as he tried to levitate himself. But at that moment, roots suddenly appeared right beneath his feet and grabbed him, stopping him from running away. Saberteeth immediately reacted by bringing the black hole towards its roots to break it but he found out that it was not a magical attack. It was an actual living root that was holding him. While there is some form of magical energy being absorbed, it was too little to constitute a magical attack. "Hahaha! Suck it! I am using regrowth to keep the root from snapping, a talent of mine rather than a magical spell." Shu boasted loudly from afar even though Saberteeth was unable to hear it. Simultaneously, Sandy was not letting off her magic attacks and had also resorted in using as little mana as possible. They slowly discovered that maintaining the black hole required magic too and that mana the black hole absorbed was barely sufficient for the black hole to maintain its form and there was nothing for Saberteeth to manipulate. Still, with most of his minions filled with magic and chi, Jin felt that it was the correct decision to limit their numbers and let Peppers'' explosion deal with Saberteeth. If that wouldn''t work, he planned to make the Orc and Goblins mechanised platoons fight against the Souther Leader, but for now, it was time to test whether the most drastic solution would also be the best solution. (Though it was mainly because he did not wish to waste anymore resources on this fight and Peppers had yet to meet her quota for explosions.) And so with everyone acting as her diversions, Peppers finally had the time to finish casting her spell once the Nine Ocean Phoenix was out of the range. Chapter 1028: Peppers Latest Achievement Chapter 1028: Pepper¡¯s Latest Achievement ¡°Incoming!¡± Peppers warned her comrades via the System Channel once she finished preparing her spell. An instant cast incantation weaved together with her mega (-or perhaps already giga?) explosion spell was ready to be fired off at any second. The Mage Bellator was not stupid enough to give Saberteeth any time to react to it, for he could have some way to run away. Still, she had to give Jin and the Phoenix some time so they could slip into the System¡¯s portal when she unleashed her sure fire kill attack. She was quite surprised how Jin¡¯s magical powers had exponentially increased and Peppers could only deduce that he had kept it as a secret for quite a long time ever since he woke up from his two week long coma. Upon hearing Peppers¡¯ warning, Jin decided to speed up towards the Nine Oceans Phoenix and he grabbed hold on the side of her neck. Confused by this action, the monster bird croaked a little from the sudden chokehold, but Jin needed to come into physical contact with her so that he could quickly summon a portal. Within that split second of him giving Peppers the signal, both the explosion and portal appeared simultaneously and if not for the quick coordination from the System, Jin and the Nine Oceans Phoenix would be caught in the blast. Saberteeth, on the other hand, being bound by Shu¡¯s roots had nowhere to escape and the snap explosion robbed him of any chances to come up with some strategy. Unlike the usual explosions, Peppers did control the radius of this particular explosion, causing it to destruct within the vicinity of the hatchery, disintegrating not just the building above ground but obliterating the basements too. Although Saberteeth was caught unaware, the metal cubes had an emergency defensive mechanism which would protect their user from being struck by any magic attacks. If the Nine Oceans Phoenix spell strongest could be taken in like sipping water, Peppers was not going to give any concessions on her spell. However, neither the offensive nor defensive black holes could keep up the absorption of the sustained explosion. Yes, Peppers had not just cast her spell once, but three times! A triple instant cast spell which was already considered an overly complex spell had been cast in a concentrated form. If anything, she would mark it down in her diary as an achievement considering the complexity of the spell and that it was the first time she was doing a controlled explosion. The black holes tried to absorb as much of the spell as possible but the intensity and quality of the magical power were so dense that the metal cubes were not capable of holding the spell. What¡¯s more, they broke from the destructive powers of the spell that had been cast. Following the Southern Leader¡¯s body, those metal cubes melted and disappeared from the face of the world by the third explosion spell. ¡°Lol. Those cubes do not even stand a chance for my-¡± Peppers commented half way before the mana overload and drawback effects from tapping to the universal mana pool hit her. It caused her to vomit rainbows right at the spot and Jin who knew her condition immediately opened a portal right in front of her to pick her up. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. I will bring you to the Panda Nurses right now.¡± Jin remarked as he assisted Peppers up. ¡°You did brilliant. Absolutely stunning. Bravo.¡± He did not skimp out on the praises as he saw the explosion from the portal the System created. The former portal had not brought them back to the dungeon instances, but right beside Shu and Sandy. After all, Jin wanted to see the explosion with his eyes while showing the Nine Ocean Phoenix the capability of his bellators. Peppers on the other hand was breathing heavily but gave a peace sign with her hands. ¡°I know I am awesome.¡± In truth, the Mage Bellator had never felt more terrible. This was even worse than the Giant World explosion incident and yet she had also never felt as satisfied that she had accomplished something this complex before. Jin carried her up and quickly sent her to the nurses after the explosion subsided. This misadventure had certainly ended with a bang. The System sent Sandy and Shu back to their respective home instances, allowing them to rest while giving special concession for the Phoenix to return to see her hatchling and injured chick. Jin did not waste any time to see the Nine Oceans Phoenix and was a bit baffled that unlike last time the Phoenix greeted him with her head held low. Filled with gratitude, she had finally decided to join the team with the only condition that her children would be well taken care of. ¡°I was planning to do that from the start, so sure. What about your other children? I remember that you had more than two eggs.¡± Jin asked and the Phoenix shook her head. ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. I only lay two eggs. To prevent other monsters from taking my eggs, I took the liberty of caring for their eggs together with mine. They provided protection within the area that I chose to nest in, which allowed me to hide my presence from other predators. In return, their eggs benefit from my magical aura, which would have made them grow up more powerful than their peers. Unfortunately, that monstrous human you just defeated was downright lucky enough to find the nest at a time when I had gone out to hunt.¡± Jin looked at the colour of several oceans on the egg¡¯s surface. If one would take time to look at it closely, there was an illusion of the oceans ever moving on the egg¡¯s shell as if it was a magical pearl from the deep sea. ¡°All¡¯s well that ends well, though. In fact, you and him might be working together really well.¡± ¡°Sorry, What?!¡± The Nine Oceans Phoenix nearly cried out feeling like she got betrayed the moment she signed the agreement. ¡°How would that even be possible, NOBODY could survive that explosion?!¡± That was when Jin started to explain the workings of the System and how the people he killed had ¡®a chance¡¯ of becoming his minion. While still a little suspicious, the Nine Oceans Phoenix replied that she would only believe it when she saw Saberteeth in action. ¡°Speaking of Saberteeth, say now that you¡¯ve joined us, what should I call you?¡± Jin asked, telling her that to continue calling her ¡®Phoenix¡¯ seemed a little ¡­distant. ¡°Hmm.. Call me Jean then. That was a name given to me by someone I once knew.¡± Jean replied as she reminisced the days of that na?ve mage similar to Jin. ¡°Alright, Jean. Welcome to the family.¡± Jin raised his hand up, wanting to shake her feet but instead, Jean lowered her head below Jin¡¯s hand as if a pat would suffice. And with this, a case of monster and human grudge somewhat came to a close. It was downright comical, how Jin had only wanted to hire some help from a Southerners¡¯ mercenary group, which he believed he had sufficient money to pay them, yet given the chain of events he ended up recruiting nearly half a capital worth of mouths to feed due to the explosion Peppers made as well as a horde of flying monsters. ¡°Now this is the true headache¡­¡± Jin shook his head as he couldn¡¯t help but question his choice of intervening. Chapter 1029: Too Many Minions Chapter 1029: Too Many Minions Meanwhile, the System had placed their latest recruits in the Open World Home Instances on a new Island Instance. Normally, to have that many Southerners and monsters stay in one place would have resulted in a bloodshed and quite possibly the eradication of one of the two sides. Still, since all of them were now under the System¡¯s purview, they had no choice but to stay in harmony despite their prejudices against each other. However, Jin saw this as not necessarily a bad thing. After all, he needed more NPCs and monsters for the upcoming Virtual Network and these additions were very welcoming. If it was impossible to get them to work together, they could easily create a storyline where people would have to choose to side with one side or the other, just like he had done. ¡°I thought you said you do not have space to keep this many people? And now we have another few thousands in our midst.¡± Jin looked at the consoles of the Dungeon Maker to try and make sense of the current situation. Last he checked he had not done anything to increase his System¡¯s capabilities. ¡°System has ¨C to put it in User¡¯s terms ¨C done some New Year cleaning. By optimising some space it was possible to house the current group of monsters and humans captured. The System has already sieved through all those with unwanted behaviours, the extremists¡¯ group and put them in storage in case we needed¡­ more ruthless behaviour in our NPCs.¡± The System revealed some half truths in case Jin found out about the System using humans as its backup processing units to run the show. With this cover story, which was not entirely wrong, the System would be able to release them if Jin needed such unruly NPCs. But for now, their minds and bodies were utilised to the best for the System. ¡°Nevertheless, this is pretty much a makeshift solution. System is once again asking User for support. Please find more ways to increase the processing power to reduce the burden as well as to allow System to expand the servers, allowing us to realise the Virtual Network instance as swiftly as possible.¡± The System reiterated and yet Jin found it even more of a headache. Sure, he would love to get it done and over with but there were way too many pressing matters at hand. While this particular sidetrack had yielded him some benefits and manpower, the burden of keeping them would definitely backfire. With the new recruits in the thousands, Jin had unofficially become a Mayor with all the people and monsters under his rule. ¡°While I¡¯d like to rebuild the Southern Capital, the Demon Rats still pose too much of a problem. It seems unwise to invest into a new city when I have trouble brewing up North and the potential for them to come and disturb us.¡± Jin remarked. ¡°What do you think about us putting these people into Pandapolis for the time being?¡± Jin asked the System for its recommendations. ¡°This way, they would still be under your jurisdiction, but not require you to uphold this place. We would be able to get certain things working while they learn a new set of skills so that they could rebuild the Southern Capital way faster by themselves?¡± ¡°System understands User¡¯s rationale but does anticipate the fallout effects of leaving the Southern Capitals in ruins. Without their capital and their leader presumed dead, the Southerners might interpret it as a monster attack and the relationship between the Southerners and monsters might intensify as such. Especially with the explosion that Mage Bellator Peppers has done, it should be quite visible for the surrounding towns to learn about the nature of the attack.¡± ¡°¡­So? Why not keep it as is? The whole monster attack thing? Just need to use another strawman though.¡± Jin sat down and started to think that there could actually be a way to turn the situation around. ¡°What does User mean?¡± The System queried. ¡°Instead of placing the blame on the monsters from the South, we turn it into propaganda against the Demon Rats? We let loose a few Southerners who will spread the message that the Demon Rats are the ones responsible? Heck, we could even claim that the Southern Monsters were cooperating with the defence against the Southern Capital?¡± ¡°Sound a bit far fetched, don¡¯t you think?¡± Qiu Yue popped by as she overheard the last few conversational exchanges between Jin and the System. ¡°While the idea seems good, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit weird that the seaport had no sight nor contact with any Demon Rats?¡± ¡°That¡¯s under the assumption they would come here by boat. What do you think about those aircraft carriers? I mean, while the seaport towns and cities could not have seen any Demon Rats landings but the capital isn¡¯t exactly too far away from the coastal regions either. It would be believable that those rats did that. Besides¡­¡± Jin opened up his console. ¡°We have quite a few rats in our Spiral Sewers Instances, don¡¯t we?¡± Jin asked as the System replied to point out the quantity ¡®a few¡¯ was quite inappropriate. ¡°Oh, so we throw an act?¡± Qiu Yue questioned and Jin nodded his head. ¡°With the Monsters and Southerners working under us, it should be easy enough to set up a ¡­you could say a recovery camp, where some of the monsters are helping to clear the debris of the capital while we have Saberteeth as the de facto leader. Get my drift so far?¡± Jin said and both the System (figuratively) and Qiu Yue (literally) nodded her head. ¡°At the same time, we can prepare the construction of the Southern Capital by clearing the place up and reusing the salvage and debris. It couldn¡¯t hurt to feed our recycler to continue working non stop.¡± Jin grinned as he remembered the System had increased the Recycler¡¯s abilities. ¡°That is quite true. At the same time, we could influence the rest of the Southern Towns to get ready for war against the Demon Rats.¡± Qiu Yue suggested. ¡°Assuming they are able to produce the things we need. Else, it¡¯s better for them to use our weaponry instead.¡± Jin said but Qiu Yue shook her head. ¡°That will tip the balance of the Farming World way too much. The East and West will suffer and we might have a North-South alliance against the East and West after this whole Demon Rat thing is over.¡± Qiu Yue cautioned stating that it might be good to interfere with the Farming World as much as they did for the Goblin World. By introducing new technology it could potentially lead to political conflicts in the future. In the Goblin World such technologies had been introduced and then got taken away, before they came back as their very own Goblin¡¯s Illuminati Ironworks. Jin was lucky that the Goblin World was still peaceful as it is because of the Orc powerhouse and the Goblins acting as the intermediary between the Orcs and Humans but they could not say the same for the Farming World especially when the production of items are potentially different in their world. And unfortunately, that goes the same for the Dungeon World too so while it would be great for Jin to interfere with all the worlds, the headache he has would no doubt increase. However, the dungeon supplier was too lazy to think that far. ¡°¡®I¡¯d rather we just do it and get rid of the rats as soon as possible. On that note¡­we could always control the East and West in the future as well should they try to make an alliance and take out the North or South first. And if that happens, we could potentially have the Farming World at our fingertips and that would no doubt bring greater production to not just the other worlds but our dungeon supplying as an inter world business.¡± ¡°So as long as we have the end product, that will be fine?¡± Qiu Yue shrugged and shook her head. ¡°Guess, the ones supporting you just have to buck up then, but still I have to say that¡¯s a goal worth looking forward to.¡± ¡°That sounds awfully dandy to me. He he!¡± Jin nodded his head and started to coordinate for a recovery camp at the ruins of the Southern Capital. ¡°History would remember this as the first day on his rise to become the future Intergalactic Panda Emperor¡± ¨C Diary of a certain Fox. Chapter 1030: Disaster Rescue Camp Chapter 1030: Disaster Rescue Camp Qiu Yue spent the next few days placing camps similar to the ones they had set up for the New Adventurer¡¯s Town in its initial stages outside the ruins of the Southern Capital. The tactician did not have high hopes about this ¡®bluff¡¯ working effectively, yet the Red Panda Cultivator felt it was still worth a try. On the off-chance they could trick the Southerners to team up together with the monsters, they might actually gain even more powerful allies against the Demon Rats. Jin then released all of the ¡®innocent¡¯ Southerners within his System into the camps. While they were crushed to see the destruction of their homes, the System had explained the reasoning behind the total annihilation of the capital. It was not easy for the Southerners to swallow the truth but with the System controlling them to a certain degree, most of them accepted it unwillingly. Some were rather pleased that the entire capital was destroyed, since it meant they could create a new (and better) city. Issues such as discrimination against the weak and the survival of the strongest had always been the ongoing theme within the city and for good reasons. It had been the only way to live and survive in this harsh environment against all the monster onslaughts. With Jin having taken control of them and their leaders, they requested their master to use his capabilities (and deep pockets) to help them with that project. Yet first, they would have to defeat the Rat Demons, and that was the hard part. It was only a matter of time until the other Southern Cities would send out scouting parties to investigate the source of the large explosion where the Southern Capital used to be. The camps had been set up to show off that the monsters were actually helping the Southerners and Jin needed the two groups to play nice with each other. Theoretically, all of them were under the System¡¯s influence, so controlling them should be easy enough. However, forcing Jin¡¯s subjects to do something against their nature required a lot of focus (aka processing capabilities) on the System¡¯s part which could be used for more important issues. In addition, Jin only had so much time on his hands to make sure that the free willed Southerners would agree to come together as a team before he would have to take care of other problems which just kept piling. In a somewhat drastic choice, Jin appointed a person which nobody had expected to lead the entire group. Silver, cousin of Gold, as well as the current replacement leader of the Jacks by recommendation of the Scholar of the East himself. Although Silver¡¯s understanding of the Southern Region was limited to a few pages of the history books, he had the werejackals under him who were previously mages under the Four Scholars, especially notable people like Yellow, Brown and Grey. While they now understood the ¡®true¡¯ history for the feud between the Southerners and the Monsters residing in the Southern Region, Yellow and Brown had the capability to intervene in their culture because of the knowledge they once held. Still, the Jacks were well versed in Jin¡¯s way of working things out and thus, with their expertise, they assisted the two groups and made sure that they are working alongside each other. Silver took charge of the matters related to the reconstruction of the Southern Capital as well, assigning manpower (and monster power) to various sites of the former capital, arranging them to prepare for transportation into the System¡¯s Recycler. In the meantime, Yellow and Brown instructed some of the Southerners to go out and spread the propaganda messages as detailed by Jin¡¯s initial plan. All the mayors in the surrounding towns were initially sceptical regarding the content of the messages, even though they were mostly delivered by the same scouts that visited them frequently. But both the Werejackal Mages had another plan in mind. On the third day after the disaster rescue base camp was set up, the first mayors of the arrived. They were promptly welcomed by none other than Saberteeth for an informal meeting in one of the nearest biggest Southern Town, Banning. To ensure the willingness of the Southern Leader Jin had allowed a certain Dungeon Security Director with the help of his new assistant, Nightingale to ¡®convince¡¯ the Southern Mage that it was all for the good of his people. That meeting alone cleared many doubts and rumours for the mayors of the various towns, especially once Saberteeth presented them with a live Demon Rat they had captured and ¡®interrogated¡¯. In reality, Kraft had merely brainwashed one of their captured Demon Rat with more¡­ violent methods to make it more responsive to telling the ¡®truths¡¯ it had been fed during its session. No doubt the mayors made a huge ruckus seeing that their capital turning into ruins but all that empty noises were not going to make much progress. So with all that evidence the mayors ultimately pledged their support, since they understood they had to come together to deal with the danger of more rats attacking them. However, although the mayors were in favour of fighting against the Demon Rats, they were wary of the alliance between the monsters and the Southerners. The reformed Saberteeth had already warned Jin about the concerns any ¡®sane¡¯ Southerner would have, so with the help of Qiu Yue, they had come up with some contingency plans. That was where Gold, the Scholar of the East, the Farmer of all Farmers, or the Garden Prince as Weslie had dubbed him. He joined the meeting and promised the mayors that if they pledged help, he would assist them in their agriculture aspects. Even though the White Desert was not a suitable place to grow crops, it was nevertheless part of the Farming World and with the right fertilisers and seeds, the Southerners would be able to have a decent bounty from nature itself. Naturally, he took the chance to introduce the secret organisation which was now aiding the reconstruction of the capital, stating that they would provide the necessary food supplies. That brought a ton of relief to those mayors since they had actually been relying on the capital to feed their people. The little farming that their towns did, was barely enough to sustain themselves and would. Thus, they all followed their leader¡¯s example. Saberteeth was known for being cunning and ruthless in his behaviour and his weird hobbies of collecting eggs for experiments, yet he was still a leader who had improved their situation. Thanks to his ¡®out of the norms¡¯ ways he had brought innovation to the Southerners after the mysterious disappearance of their Southern Scholar. When they had needed him the most, he had disappeared, but the mayors had witnessed Saberteeth pulling them out of the rug before so there was a certain level of trust for him. Some even queried Gold why the Scholars did not approach or recommend him to be the next Southern Scholar when the old one had somewhat abandoned their duty. The only remark Gold could give them without revealing any details was that he would try his best to find out more about the old Southern Scholar. Chapter 1031: Recruitment for the Demon Rat Offensive Chapter 1031: Recruitment for the Demon Rat Offensive As Saberteeth worked out the details with the mayors to get their support for the relief effort at the capital, he was also writing contracts for them to draft manpower for the Demon Rat Offensive. Since Jin had been able to get the Southern Leader on his side, he might as well play bigger and mobilise the entire Southern Region. That way, not only would it make the Demon Rat Offensive slightly easier, it would drastically increase the production of the items he wanted to make in the future, if he had ended up with two major regions under his control. However, the mayors were a little skittish on the fact that Saberteeth was giving their recruited men off for training, islands away from the Southern Region. All these were once again orchestrated by this secret organisation, just called the ¡®P¡±. Yet, the reimbursement to the men as well as the mayors was astonishingly good, to the point that they could not believe it until Jin sent Claire, his new Sub System User that specialised in finances and accounting. She literally presented the mayors with treasure boxes worth of gold and even offered them straight up. While in the real world, it was considered to be bribery, Claire knew that these members of a ¡­backward society would prefer a valuable exchange immediately over contracts that would benefit them long term. Still, there were leaders with decent moral values as chosen by Saberteeth himself to govern the towns and these gold bars were merely seen as an incentive to spur them forward. Claire further sweetened the deal for those who accepted the call of the drafting of individuals and gave her organisation more people to train, she would even throw in perks like a free ton of food supplies. However, knowing the Demon Rat numbers, Claire added that women, children and even elderly with sufficient strength could participate in it too. When the mayors queried about the training conditions, they were surprised to find out that they would be given shelter and food as well as a stipend which they could use to spend on items they had on the island as well as bringing it back to their own country. As expected, the mayors were taken aback by the perks but Saberteeth lied by saying he had reviewed the training regime and stated that it was not easy but overall it would be mutually beneficial for the Organisation P to train their people. Once more, with the backing of Saberteeth, the mayors agreed to this win-win situation for them. They had quite a number of starving and lower income classes which plagued their streets. It could amount to sheer governing incompetence but the place they were in played a major role as well. Naturally, they did not mind this Organisation P taking these people away. It would allow them to finally rebuild a few of the slums to proper buildings while improving the condition of their towns overall. It was such a steal that the Organisation P was doing but Saberteeth said that they had been doing this for the rebellion in the Northern Region. If not for their help, the Northern Region would already have been overtaken by the Rats. Many of the mayors queried where the wealth of this organisation P came from or whether their sponsors were from the Eastern and Western Regions. But all Claire did was to smile at them, telling them not to worry about it. (All the more they worry!) With the military recruitment out of the way, the focus of the meeting shifted to routine issues which Saberteeth and the mayors would attend to. But as all these administrative matters were being sorted out, the real work was being done at the ruins of the Southern Capital. Since Jin wanted the Southerners and monsters to cooperate, Silver had to put them into various groups, mainly the debris clearing group as well as the salvaging group. The Zurglings, while small in size, were great for removing the smaller debris as well as picking up items that could be salvaged. Alas, most of the items had been melted or burned to the point it was impossible to tell what the original item was, yet there was still various metal and stone that could be reused. Thus, the Zurglings would prepare to bring whatever ¡®trash¡¯ they could find to a certain point and the humans would sieve out the trash for processing. In the meantime, the Southerners who knew how to cook, assisted the Animal Folk from the Giant World to make meals for the thousands of Southerners that had been left estranged. As for the other Southerners, a few Minotaurs were stationed in the camp to help with reconstruction efforts. While the Zurglings removed the smaller debris, the larger flying monsters would assist with the bigger ones and when a section of the Southern Capital was cleared, the Minotaurs sent in the already assigned Southerners to start digging to build a proper foundation. And of course, Jin provided them with modern tools like Construction Golems while the Orcs taught them how to use them. Jin did not want them to rely on their food supply too much, so Silver had sent out some of the mutated Zurglings, a few of their warriors and even kids to work together to gather food in the forest as well as the nearby coastline. Because of their size, some of the kids and teens sat on the Zurglings as they partnered with each other to find berries, herbs within the forest. Silver hoped that this forced pairing would slowly increase their relationship and teamwork with each other so that the System could release the mass enforcement orders, and their behaviour and attitudes would stay the same. Just a few days passed, but the disaster rescue camp was already bustling with activity. Initially, it had been chaotic with Silver and the Jacks having to shout out their orders to get things done, it didn¡¯t take long for a semblance of orderly work in the area to appear. Silver was younger than Gold and had lesser life experience, the days where Silver had secretly coordinated with the rebels against the Rats had allowed him to become a better leader than most would acknowledge him. Nevertheless, this particular situation where he had to coordinate thousands of humans who did not know a single thing about reconstruction or the monsters where they had been living from hunting only, had proven to be a significant challenge for the interim leader of the Jacks. Fortunately, when Saberteeth returned from the mayor meeting, he instantly helped Silver and improved the werejackals¡¯ processes by a whole lot. This in turn allowed Silver to take a breath of relief for a day or two and just when he thought he was able to take a break with Saberteeth leading the way, the Southern Leader suddenly disappeared because Jin summoned him for some other military related issue. Silver naturally complained to Jin, alas all the Dungeon Supplier said was that he was doing a good job on his own. He praised him and told him he was confident that Silver would be able to take over the lead once more. Even Gold chimed in, stating that he was doing well. But Silver thought otherwise. ¡°This pressure! GAHHHH!!¡± Silver grumbled as he looked at the construction plans in the disaster camp headquarters for Jin had something in mind with regards to the new Southern Capital. (But he did secretly liked the praises.) It was another of his grand plans to revitalise the region Chapter 1032 - Demonstration of Power Chapter 1032 ¨C Demonstration of Power While Silver was racking his brains about how to put Jin''s plans into action, the massive ''big brain'' System was simultaneously taking into account the possibility that the Southern Region could be turned into a prospective country under their rule. Since ''just a city'' such as Pandapolis was not enough, the System wanted Jin to have a ''mock country'' to rule. However, Jin did not care about all these plans for the future. His priorities were to ensure proper housing, sanitation and an overall better quality of life for the Southerners which he now felt responsible for. All those ancient feuds stemmed from humans and monsters fighting for the survival of their population. As long as the humans could be fed and sheltered properly, he believed that cooperation with their former enemies might be possible¡­ at least in theory. He was not naive enough to believe that everlasting peace could ever be realized so easily, otherwise others would have done so already. Alas, there were problems everywhere. Today, he had turned his attention to Demopolis. The Wolf Fox brothers had been gathering information for the upcoming Police Raids. Although Jin would have loved to create a new dungeon instance for the shop, the elimination of the Demopolis Triads and Mafias was an essential step to stem out the evil, repossess their wealth and improve the lives of the Demopolis Citizens. So far, the citizens had shown mixed responses about Rex''s way of rooting the weeds out of the corrupted political system in his first few days of office. The majority were just relieved that the takeover had been relatively peaceful to their lives, (since most of the damage had been done at the location of the prison which housed the dungeon core). They were still unsure whether this unknown new master could be a threat to their daily lifestyle or make it better. On the other hand, most Mafia Bosses understood the need to stay low for the time being since many had been implicated by the truth serum. They believed that Rex was merely putting up a show to gain the respect of the citizens because of the sudden takeover which many did not expect and it would only take time for him to reach out to them. Of course, there would always be outliers. One such minor mafia boss did not take heed of the King Rex''s public warnings and brazenly arrived in front of the Demopolis Palace with his men all in full glory. He wanted to reveal that Rex was just a mere puppet to the shadows of the Demopolis. As one might expect, things did not end well for him. His goons had brandished their weapons to intimidate the Demopolis Palace Guards, as well as the Demon Home Guards under General Vual, who had not shown any mercy to the trespassers. Hails of bullets had rained down on them, executing every one of them and a modified Sherman Tank had blocked off the Palace Gates to prevent them from escaping. It was a short and quick massacre, which only ended with the nameless Mafia Boss on his knees, panting for his breath while he held his bloodied sword. Instead of his enemies, the weapon he held were dripping with his own blood. Injured with multiple bullet shots to his legs and upper torso, it was nothing short of a miracle he was still alive. But given his endurance and physical attributes, he was barely hanging on to the thread of life. The boss looked back at the carnage done by the inc.u.mbent king. There had been no time for him or his elite bodyguards to create a magical barrier to protect themselves from the speedy metal projectiles shot from their gun barrels. He knew what a gun looked like since there were some in circulation but he had never seen such a fast-action rifle, shooting multiple bullets within a minute. Making his defeat even more depressing, not a single Palace nor Home Guards had even been injured from the supposed ''show'' of power. All their belongings, including their horse carriage, was later gathered in the middle of the palace, and burned right in the middle of the garden plaza. It was to ensure every single demon related to this mafia group was killed. Of course, they had been relieved of their weapons, armour and anything valuable though Vaul would claim that it was merely repossession so that such items could be sold for the common good of the Demopolis. And while the looting of the corpses and throwing them to the centre to burn each and every one of them, the mafia boss was being dragged into the palace with a team of eight Home Guards including a Dark Elf loaned from Kraft to the Palace Halls. As the instigator was about to seep into the darkness, he found Rex pulling him up and punch him in the gut, leaving quite the first impression on him. "My other associates will come and take revenge for me. They WILL kill you. You won''t have another day of proper sleep without assassins targeting you, waiting for the right moment to strike you down. And don''t forget, we can resurrect again and I have the sufficient resources to do so!" The Mafia Boss threatened one final time in a trembling voice because of the pain from his wounds but Rex merely laughed at his feeble threat. "That''s perfect! I welcome all of them to come to find me and it will certainly make my life a whole lot easier! But guess what? Reality isn''t as rosy as you thought it would be, little kid. Plus don''t me so sure that you can resurrect back without my permission." Rex pulled out his details from the database with the System help since it was in sync with the Demopolis'' Dungeon Core too. "You see, thanks to your act of violence, this will only further cement my perception as the killer of all evil." "What bullcrap. You are the same as us. The only difference is that you have a f.u.c.k.i.n.g crown on top of your head!" The Mafia Boss coughed as he could indeed feel he was going to be unconscious from the loss of blood, and probably die from it. (Un)Fortunately for him, Rex still had plans for him. He would not allow him to die just yet, so he got Pei to heal his wounds. Just enough so that he would not bite the dust right now. "I don''t care for crowns, or do you see one on my head right now? You know what? I''m feeling a little generous today. You''ve already played your part, but you can still be useful. All I need you to do is to give me some of your close friend''s names and you shall be allowed to survive this ordeal. Betray your friends and you shall have a golden crown for your head." Rex said with a smile and he could see that the Mafia Boss was wavering. After all, he did not become a Mafia Boss by being loyal to a certain someone. He had fought, stolen, lied and even betrayed a few friends to reach his current position. So if this new King was indeed foolish enough to not only release him but also pay him, why not? Especially when these ''close friends'' he had were not exactly very friendly when push came to shove. Thus, with Rex''s offer dandling right in front of the boss, he nodded his head slowly. In any case, he could simply inform his friends before the Home Guards could do anything. (And that was assuming he was able to get out of this situation in one piece.) "Well, what are we waiting for? Tsu, Kai!" Rex shouted and clapped his hands twice, for the brothers to magically appear right in front of him, first in fox form and subsequently transform into humans. "Take the statements of our friend here. If you find his information credible, return him to me. Oh and inform Kraft that I have promised the fellow a golden crown." "Yes, my King." Tsu nodded his head and a slight smirk appeared on his face for a brief moment. He then turned to the mafia boss knowing that the golden crown treatment was something of a torturous punishment by pouring hot melted gold onto the Mafia Boss''s head. At a whopping 1000 over degrees celsius, the melted gold treatment would surely kill. "You are one ''lucky'' fellow to be bestowed such an offer," Tsu said then extended his hand up with a smile while Kai exerted some of his chi to stop the bleeding. The Mafia Boss was sure that he could not miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. To forever wear a golden ''crown'' on his head when the interview was over. Chapter 1033: Discussion of Demopolis City Raids Chapter 1033: Discussion of Demopolis City Raids After the Mafia Boss had spilt the beans, a portal had opened up and he had been quickly yoinked away. The information he had given them was helpful, but it had not sufficed their coordinated city-wide attack. Tsu and Kai, along with their little spies in training, had been gathering information on the fly, which had also been complemented by several Home Guards. They were keeping the reconnaissance and information gathering to only a handful of people mainly because Tsu was convinced that there were moles in the Police department too. It would take time to purge the moles within the police department and doing so before the raid might scare the other Mafia Bosses away. Still, Rex believed that Jin had enough manpower in his hands to perform such a feat on his own. Especially with Night Foxes, the combat team under the direct command of Kraft, who had been tasked to do this raid, he was confident they could pull a strict operation that would execute all mafias and triads within the city premises. However, they were not going anywhere or doing any operation without the System¡¯s guidance. Even with the System being acknowledged into the Dungeon Core, the System had been jam-packed with all kinds of other priorities, which was why it had placed the complete integration of the cities surveillance at the back end. Demopolis was not like Pandapolis where security cameras and sensors had been placed all over the place. In order to aid the System, the Home Guards who were in sync with the System¡¯s command had been quietly acting as repairmen to rectify that, putting up security cameras on magic power points, (similar to electrical poles). Additionally, they had also installed a mini power dock as well as an ongoing magical circle that held the Magic Eyes which the System had been using for the Dungeon Instances. With the magic power points consistently supplying power, the Magic Eyes could be deployed at any time and this would give the operation a few more pairs of ¡®eyes¡¯ to monitor the situation around the Demopolis. That way, it was easier for the System to view the area and provide recommendations to the headquarters which was situated in the Royal Palace. Other than that, the Home Guards had also been receiving training along with the Night Foxes to make sure they were in sync when it came to orders and commands. By pushing their bodies to the limits so that they could perform better in operations. Additionally, they were taught how to use the newer specialised ranged weapons. Although educating a group of spearmen to hold guns and expect them to operate as a platoon of modern military soldiers would be too much to ask. Many of them felt ¡­exposed, for the lack of a better word. Instead of the bulky armour they had grown used to, they were given black military-grade coats with defence inscriptions imbued into them. It was hard for them to believe that the little fabric was indeed stronger than any sort of metal they could be wearing. To demonstrate the effectiveness, one of the Night Foxes fought barehanded with a platoon of Home Guards armed to the teeth. The Dark Elf in question was none other than Narris who had assisted Jin with the search of the Nine Oceans Phoenix. She managed to fend off most of the attacks and evaded a majority of them too but because of the squad¡¯s superiority in numbers and the restriction of only fighting barehanded without any use of magic, Narris got wounded quite a few times. However, those slashes and pierces had been softened by the defence inscription inbuilt into the military-grade overall. It was only then the Home Guards had started to trust what Rex and the other Foxes had been providing them. The day after the Mafia Boss¡¯s visit, all of the Foxes had gathered at a table in the palace to go over their plans on how to best upgrade the Demopolis to be as modern as Pandapolis. Chief on the agenda were the many revisions in the city plans that had been made. From removing the slums to a major revamp to their infrastructure. However, to do these major reworks required a lot of money and Demopolis was not exactly a city of trade. They had been relying on raiding others with the army that they once possessed and with nearly more than half of their elites in Jin¡¯s possession, it was simply not possible to do so. Thus, reeducation was a major factor in the plans of rebuilding Demopolis. Kraft did contemplate to simply perform a mass brainwashing session and give them the skills required for various jobs, but not only would it be straining for the Original Fox Bellator to do so, but more importantly¡­ he would get quickly bored of it. He might train one or two out of boredom but after that, Rex believed he would not bother to do so any more. If anything it would be better to convince the crafty fox into teaching some of the Night Foxed how to perform such a complex brainwash in case they would go with his plan. The Foxes had been shamelessly copying from Jin¡¯s World. From the various policies ranging from education to the way of transportation, the foxes had studied all things related to their job scope to assist Rex in governing the Demopolis. It might be awfully tedious to certain foxes but most of them knew from experience what it was like not to have a basic implementation of a modern city. ¡°It¡¯s easy to say we will change the lives of these people, but to do so will require a tremendous amount of work,¡± said Rex during their progress reports. ¡°It might not be perfect, but at the very least, we are doing this for the experience. That way, if things do improve, we can leave it to the locals and use our knowledge for the real world whenever Jin decides to take over the government.¡± Evon mused and the others chuckled a little. ¡°What? You guys don¡¯t think he would be part of it? He already revealed himself to be a legitimate clan as recognised by the world¡¯s Godly Representative. It¡¯s only a matter of time and we will reach there.¡± Evon insisted and Rex shook his head. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think he really needs to govern China. He already has a major ecosystem via the dungeon instances, these dungeon world cities under him and now the Southern Region as his puppet state. That is already way more than what any one of those 12 traitor clans could ever have.¡± Pei commented that he had much on his plate and there were so many things to do. From slowly improving each and every city and now even a state, he simply would not have time anymore to handle his store. ¡°I have a feeling that our master is unfortunately not too different from Brother Kraft. After a while, he might just pass that baton to other people and concentrate working on his dungeon supplier job. After all, he did reveal he wanted to do a Virtual Reality Network, no? All these cities, if they are truly established as strongholds, they would be providing money and resources to create the Virtual Reality Network.¡± Rex remarked. ¡°Nah! I think he would still accidentally stumble into something and end up being part of his possession. Even if he is trying hard to not get involved in the politics of China, I think he will just get dragged into, as if the fates would want him to be in that. Don¡¯t forget if we realise the Virtual Reality Network, he would become as big as the western companies Mooogle and Banana Inc.¡± Evon sighed. ¡°Enough chatter. Let¡¯s continue with the boring stuff and then we can get back to the raids. According to the System, Jin has more or less settled the stuff in the Southern Region and he has made time to put some focus on the City Raids. He wants to know if we think it¡¯s possible to integrate his customers in this particular raid.¡± Pei mentioned and Rex nodded his head. ¡°Yes, that might be useful. That blabbermouth told us that those mafias do have a stronger hold on this city than we had anticipated. Ever since that stupid bat had been controlling King Bael their control had increased. There will definitely be clashes and we might need to rescue the civilians on a massive scale.¡± Tsu said and told Pei to procure sufficient medical supplies for the hospitals for when the fighting started. Chapter 1034 - Relocating? -Part 1 Chapter 1034 ¨C Relocating? -Part 1 The Foxes had already started to discuss what needed to be done for the Demopolis Police Raids as the number one agenda on the list. From the manpower needed to do a proper cleanup to the possible destruction of the city. Yet many agreed that the raids to catch the mafia bosses would not root out the core problem of the Demopolis society. From infrastructure to their ways of life, it had been deteriorating ever since Kiva had been manipulating King Baal. The distribution of wealth among the people had been very skewed towards the nobles and unless they intervened the nobles would undoubtedly continue to do so even after the cleanup. In fact, a good part of the said nobles was sponsoring one or more of the mafias and they had relied on them for their protection. To the outsiders who did not know anything about the nitty-gritty of the plan, they thought it was King Rex''s way of managing the filth in the city. But to Rex and the other foxes, cleaning up the mafias was merely an excuse to take control of the underworld so that those proponents of ''evil'' could act as the guards, the middleman as well as the protector of the weak if needed. Ever since their fights against the Royal Zodiacs in ancient times, they had come to appreciate the benefits of having unruly factions of society working for them. From the numerous beggars to the street side peddlers, the minor factions of the Panda Clan had been utilising their street information to outwit the Royal Zodiacs and as such, they believed there would be similar advantages to this city if they could control the underworld. At first, it might sound like a silly plan, but because of the need to fortify their defences against the Royals for a possible attack after seeing the friend''s fate (in reality he had already been resurrected by the System), the gang activities from other mafia groups had quickly decreased significantly within a few hours, indicating that their shady network was vast enough to learn about King Rex''s possible motives. It also proved that there were indeed moles among them that had leaked the information. Unlike the other parts of the city, the System had complete control of the Royal Palace and it had been able to identify the moles within the Home Guards as well as in the Palace Guards. However, instead of exposing them, Rex had placed them under intensive surveillance since such moles would usually lead them to the bigger fish and that was what they wanted. Still, the moles had not been informed about what was going to happen, so they just thought that Rex was only hitting some Mafia affiliated locations as a show of power. Hence the Mafia Bosses though the same. Still, the increased activities gave the Night Foxes plenty of time to stalk their prey and monitor them while the Fox Bellators gathered for their meeting. As this was one of the more major meetings ever since the inception of the Demopolis, the foxes had started to point out all the flaws they found out about the city. And in short, there was nothing great about it. "How about we move the entire population to Pandapolis while we rebuild the city from bottom-up?" Evon asked as he felt the headache listing the number of flaws in the infrastructure and the progress of their society. "Now you are feeling the pressure of managing the city, eh?" Itori smiled as she knew that it had been one of Evon''s dreams back in the day to rule over a small town, or city. Back then he had felt that just becoming a clan leader would be boring, and thought of being a ruler had seemed ''cool''. Although he just was put in charge of the science and research department he had had enough things to deal with. In his opinion, there were too many things that relied on magic. If not for the constant army raids for magic crystals, this city''s heavy reliance on magic would most certainly shut down. Of course, some of the inventions had surprised him but many of the systems in place were very inefficient and replacing them step by step would be a headache too. "I too feel that is a good idea. A proper replanning of the city would be ideal especially when the dungeon core still allowed a reset, well that is if Rex allowed it." Ixa said as she pointed out the terrible transportation systems and again the overreliance of magic to transport oneself to another place. "We can ask Jin if that is possible since the Pandapolis is currently close and empty. That way we can be as destructive as possible so we can rebuild Demopolis so it can serve our needs better. Maintenance works in Pandapolis should be done soon too, I believe?" Ixel added since the workers had been interrupted a few times to aid in the defence of the Farming Worlds. "From what I know from the System, the repair of the city is more or less complete. Just a few part replacements in several buildings and they should be fine. But even so, wouldn''t reallocating be a hassle and a possible deviation from our plans?" Pei commented. "It might not exactly be such a bad idea." Kraft who had so far just been listening in from the side started to think of such a possibility. "We could like you know, claim we are doing some gang cleanup and those who do not want to be implicated be evacuated. Of course compensation blah blah blah." "Oh? That sounds like a decent idea. That way those who would stay should mostly be the ones guilty and well, old folks." Evon thought about it "And that will increase the gang activities when we announce it out loud so we can monitor them even more blatantly." "Then what about those who support the gangs, but are not part of them?" Ixa queried and the consensus was that they deserved what was coming. "Basically, it will be a warzone here. Anyone who would be caught in the crossfire will not be shown any mercy." Ixel replied. "Unlike in the old days, we don''t have to worry too much about it though. The System could revive them, or we can leave it to this world if that might be a problem. However, if the System does it, we can claim to have rescued them, thereby increasing our public relations." "Since when do you even think about public relations? That is so unlike you! Shouldn''t I be the one that is worried about that?" Kiyu chuckled at the Ixel''s unusual statement. "But you are not wrong. I believe the System can also release those ''people'' if needed, right? I mean it cannot capture infinitely because at the rate we are going, we are gonna have a world full of needs to worry about. I don''t even think Jin would even want that." "Hah! Maybe Jin wanted that. Remember how he raved about having a world of virtual reality. He might need some old NPCs for their knowledge and stories. Could make a good side quest thing." Itori commented and the rest started laughing. Why bother to a door to door fight against the Mafias when you can have an all out battle? Thus, the decision to relocate the people so they could rebuild Demopolis was starting to get a major consensus. Chapter 1035: Relocating? - Part 2 Chapter 1035: Relocating? ¨C Part 2 While most of the Foxes agreed to the relocation, they still needed Jin¡¯s permission for them to do so, thus Rex had summoned him. The dungeon supplier had just been working with Qiu Yue on the reconstruction of the Southern Capital. (Needless to say, he had dragged the Red Panda Cultivator into the conversation and she felt another streak of headaches coming in.) ¡°You know, Jin, when I first heard that my Sub-System was called the Empire Building System I had just thought it was just a flashy name. However, with all the fuss of rebuilding stuff right, left and centre, I¡¯m starting to think one day I might be able to create an entire city with a snap of a finger.¡± Qiu Yue complained while entering the portal. While she had slowly earnt the capability to create buildings via the Sub System, there was only so much she could do at a given set of time. ¡°Basically you plan to start a mini civil war in the city and make use of that opportunity for big change, huh?¡± Jin asked after scanning through the files, all thick with pages of reports from the foxes. He had never expected them to be this meticulous since the dungeon supplier had always thought of them as just fighters. Only through the limited interactions with Rex in the past few days did he come to learn that the foxes had all been leader candidates for their clans, making them excellent bureaucrats. ¡°You could say that. Think of it as a sort of spring cleaning to change the city in a way you want it to be.¡± Kraft chuckled from the side with a large grin on his face. ¡°That is actually a good idea in theory, but we don¡¯t know how they will react to going into Pandapolis. We can¡¯t exactly feed them for months on end, while we are rebuilding Demopolis. Even though we need data to replicate what their jobs were, this seems like a bad thing for us.¡± Jin said and Rex shook his head. ¡°Then make them work the way you need them to work. If they have to readapt, this is the best time to inculcate new values in them. With the power of technology by our side, we should be able to influence them to fall in love with the gadgets of the modern world and thus allow them to work better.¡± ¡°Besides, we will need people to rebuild the Demopolis. Qiu Yue¡¯s ability is handy, but costly and we cannot expect our minions to do everything, especially with the Farming World situation. Let¡¯s not forget it will be the future city for the Demon Citizens. It¡¯s best they work for their city and they would fight for their citizens. This will also give temporary work to those demons in the slums and will allow the craftsman to upgrade their skills. Their engineers and scientists could benefit from working with our Orc and Goblin engineering teams and they might be able to build their very own version of golems. As for the military side, they can be under the training of Nubwort or Zeru if he¡¯s not missing most of the time.¡± Evon stated. ¡°And if things go very well with the re-education programme, we can also adapt this to the Southerners and eventually the Northerners once we defeat the Demon Rats. As for the kids, they are currently not bound to our world¡¯s norm of giving them an education so they could work in the fields in the Farming Sector and receive some education materials as part of learning. Maybe the ones with deft hands could be assistants for the engineers and scientists. That would definitely spur them to read up more. After all, if we were to fight in the Mecha World, we need all the help we can get.¡± Itori explained. ¡°While I understand that all these are preparations when they are in Pandapolis, I am actually more interested in the current chaos we are about to make.¡± Jin queried if he was able to exploit the City Raids for his cultivators. ¡°From what I know, you all have been gathering intelligence on the Mafias and they are quite deep-rooted in this society. With the relocation, we can get the System to monitor all of them who go into Pandapolis and remove any possible threats. But the problem seems to be those that remain in Demopolis. If possible, I would like the cultivators to find them and if needed subdue them. Like a sort of city bounty hunt kind of dungeon instance.¡± ¡°That means the amount of effort we put in in the first place to get intel is kind of useless isn¡¯t it?¡± Kai asked as the coordination training between the Night Foxes, Home Guards and even some of the police units would be useless if Jin sent his customers into a rampage. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. If you think about it, we not only need to close the Demopolis borders but we got to assist with the movement from Demopolis and Pandapolis. I assume it should be done with the magical circles, just like the way the Demon Army first came in. If that¡¯s the case, the Home Guards as well as the police are needed to secure the area. If those Mafia goons try to do some reckless, we have to be there to protect the citizens. The Night Foxes on the other hand could chase after those assailants or maybe sieve out the baddies if the System managed to catch anybody suspicious within the crowds.¡± Tsu defended the proposal to move the citizens to Pandapolis so they could have a definite battle with lesser citizen casualties. ¡°You make them sound like terrorists in the making.¡± Qiu Yue commented which both Tsu and Kai nodded their heads. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the System is not the only one capable of resurrecting people. In the Dungeon World it¡¯s practically guaranteed, even if the duration differs, that is how they hold the values of their victim¡¯s lives and being destructively reckless could be said to be one of their modus operandi.¡± Kai sighed. ¡°If anything, we can always dispatch several patrol units both as bait and backup during the Demopolis lockdown. If the Pandarens need help, they could just shoot a flare up and the Home Guards can assist.¡± Tsu suggested. ¡°Oh my¡­ That is actually a delightful suggestion.¡± Jin thought to himself and already started to have a few ideas on the perks of maintaining a kill bonus. He remembered the uses of such perks in fast paced action games but if he could implement this, it might give the cultivators more reason to survive in a fight. ¡°Guys, as much as you all want to murder those mafias and squeeze some money from the cultivators, you have to remember there are some who will refuse to move out of their areas. To them, it¡¯s their livelihood or even a precious memory.¡± Pei pointed out, telling them that while it would be fun for the Pandarens to go all wild in a secluded city, this was still reality, despite what Jin¡¯s customers might think. ¡°If you really want to go through with this Bounty Hunt thing, I suggest you add a portion of rescuing the citizens or forcibly removing them into Pandapolis if needed. Or just do that when the System recreates this experience, and not during the live thing!¡± ¡°Pei my dear, if you say ¡®forcibly remove¡¯, people might have some misunderstandings.¡± Kraft chuckled and Pei threw a death stare at him, already reaching for her fan to forcibly remove that crafty fox, who had not really added anything substantial as of yet. ¡°I get what you mean Pei, I see to it that I add a rescue portion too and attached to it, would be a higher reward so that they would prioritise keeping them alive as much as possible.¡± ¡°Loot wise, might I suggest, that they do not go around stealing. If they just start taking the belongings of every individual that had left the place in a rush, we will have to shoulder the blame.¡± Ixel pointed, believing that the Pandarens would have the tendency to pick up anything that they deemed valuable. It would both be rude and Public Relations wise, hard to salvage when the citizens come back to a looted home. ¡°I think a tweak in the System visor programming should be sufficient since all the Pandarens wear the visor masks. We can just threaten them with the new NPC Punishment System.¡± Jin noted Demopolis Police Chief Ixel¡¯s concerns. ¡°Alternatively, we can make them have a lost and found portion where they also earn points picking items up. There will be some reprogramming done if I do that but it¡¯s doable.¡± ¡°So I assume I have to create some advertisement not only for the Demopolis Citizens to evacuate but also enticing advertisements of a new raid coming up?¡± Kiyu said with a reluctant drag in her tone. It was obviously more work for her since she had to come out with something that would spur the citizens to move out while pumping the excitement for the Pandarens to come in. ¡°The extra cash and increased numbers of customers from raids would be welcomed. So please do both sides. I have to settle Grandma Yuan¡¯s stuff before she comes hounding me.¡± Jin replied and Qiu Yue reminded him that the Tiger¡¯s Factories also needed his urgent attention too. ¡°Urgh. Sometimes, I feel that I should just reset everything and stick with a small store.¡± Jin added which somehow caused both Rex and Kraft to grin sidewards for the moment. He could think about the past as much as he wanted but there was no going back. Chapter 1036 - Utilising the Tiger Factories Chapter 1036 ¨C Utilising the Tiger Factories Getting a reminder, he put the Tiger Factories as more of a priority and quickly moved out of the Demopolis and into his store instance where the senior executive staff were waiting for him in one of the Restaurant Train cabins. "Boss Jin." The staff immediately stood up and bowed, greeting him as if he was the almighty. "Woah, seems that Kraft certainly did not hold back with the brain washing." Jin thought to himself and asked all of them to sit down. Their main agenda was talking about the products they were refining and in-depth analysis on moving forward. They could move on as per usual but with the workers coming back from their holidays soon, this would be the best time to change any production lines if deemed necessary. Of course, they still had contracts both incoming and current ones to fulfil, but there was still some space for adjustment if Jin wished to make a few changes. As a nice little bonus, Jin found out that the Royal Zodiac Tiger Lord Hu still believed that the people were loyal to him. However, Kraft had brainwashed all of them in such a way that the threat they posed would now be to the Royal Tigers themselves. They had been undercover for the sake of the Panda Clan and now that Jin had repossessed the factories, their cover was needed and thus Kraft had released them from their current farce. Unmistakably, a very far fetched story but the brainwashed staff were all very tuned into that particular plotline and would continue to work undercover while siphoning funds from the Royal Tiger if possible. Even if the Royal Tigers did suspect something, they had full confidence that Jin would save them from their current predicament. Hearing that, Jin wondered if it was truly needed to play both sides since this was already his factory, his land. If he wanted to, he could even cancel all the contracts, which might be seen as a bad move, but the fault would lie with the Tigers. Jin was free to rebuild the whole factory from scratch, but he agree with the System there was some benefit in keeping the refinery factories. The System''s previous pet project had allowed it to grow some oil plants and it had been acc.u.mulating oil for sale in the black market. With the demand for electrical products in Pandapolis as well as the upcoming mass relocation of the Demopolis Citizens, the System would require more petroleum for the production of electricity if it wishes to save on magic crystals and mana. (It did once consider putting Peppers on the grid and use her to power up the city in emergencies but that had been violently rejected by the Mage Bellator herself.) The System was also able to use oil and directly convert it into electricity but with the increasing strain on the System''s resources, it was best for Jin to utilise what he had until more resources were available for the System to crunch out. Also if things go well, the System might be able to sell petroleum to other ''cities'' Jin now owned, gaining more profit than in the future but for the moment, it knew that it had to keep some stock for the Virtual Reality Network. So with that, Jin told them about the plans and the possibility of overtime. Naturally, he was able to pay them according to the System after Claire tidied their records. The millions of dungeon dollars from the quick investment could be used too but he would rather have the senior executive staff handle it since they were all loyal to him right now. As for the executive staff, they were delighted by the extra work since that meant additional money in their pockets at the end of the financial year. So, knowing that Jin was able to get an oil supplier even though it was a small timer, it is still good money. Thus, they would agree to take a look at the current workload and make changes if necessary. Other than that, most of the meetings were about the transfer of ownership, especially the money portion. When everything was done, the executive senior staff once again bow before exiting, leaving Jin in the empty room alone. "Tired?" Lynn''s voice echoed behind him as she brought an ice cream parfait for him to savour. "I thought you would need some sugar to get your mood up." "Hahah, thanks Lynn. This is much appreciated. How''s the Disaster Rescue Camp been faring? I erm mean the food part." Jin thanked her and already started to dig in. Each scoop was sweet, creamy, and a bit crunchy as well. He realised there were corn flakes in it, with a bit of mochi mixed into the parfait. "I don''t remember seeing this in the menu," Jin said and Lynn chuckled. "You read my menu?" "It''s not that complicated and a welcome change compared to all those thick files. That is also why people liked it. Although I know the weekend menu is slightly longer." "It''s easier for my penguins to keep track of the orders while ensuring the quality of the food. As for the special food store you let my dad owe, that is entirely another issue." "Oh yea, how''s your dad faring? I believe the System should have helped you and him set it up?" Jin said as she took a seat at the side. "It''s going quite well. Most of the customers were actually surprised to see a new store come up. I thought the revamped store instance was still relatively fresh in their minds and they wouldn''t notice, but the subforum had been raving with theories of what it could have." "I did not really create that much at the start since I was helping with the food supplies in the Southern Region. However, my dad knows how to play the customers'' feelings and it''s by lottery." "Lottery?!" Jin questioned with his eyebrows furrowed. "Yea. It''s similar to the lottery instance. A customer buys a ticket and if they score the big prize, they will be able to get the food as part of the prize." "Oh, is it because it''s in little quantity? Then what about the other prizes? Since it''s a lottery." Jin asked, rather curious about it. "Food voucher equivalent to the prize of the lottery ticket. At higher tiers, the voucher is doubled. And yes, my father has been rationing the amount in case I did not have the time to do it." "Sounds like an overall decent idea. Is he having fun?" Jin questioned as he tried to scoop the remaining portions of it. "Oh he is, and he had been contemplating whether he could use some of the current shop stocks as part of the lottery to keep it exciting. Although he has yet to come up with a name for the shop." "Can''t he just call it Lynn''s Delight or something? Or perhaps Penguin Gacha and if he can afford some money, the System could make premium looking Gacha tickets. Ah, he could use some of the leftover promo items as part of the lottery too. I can get the System to pass it to you? That way you can have a bit more bonding time with him." Jin started to think maybe he could add more variety to that Gacha portion in the future when the store stabilised. (Of course, at a price since they were renting it from him.) It was sadly ironic how Jin thought about granting Lynn some bonding time with her father when she would have much rather prefered some with him¡­ Chapter 1037: Teaching Lynn - Part 1 Chapter 1037: Teaching Lynn ¨C Part 1 Number One Dungeon Supplier However, knowing Jin, he would still be ignorant of Lynn¡¯s advances. The Cook, therefore, decided to take some more drastic measures so that she could ensure that there would be some more time with just the two of them. ¡°I¡¯d like to help you, especially with Grandma Yuan¡¯s plans regarding the Cultivation Zoo. If possible, I would like to fiddle a little on Dungeon Making and subsequently create the Zoo,¡± Lynn requested boldly. Jin was quite taken aback by her initiative. Although she had previously expressed her interest in dungeon making, Jin had thought it had just been to coddle his mood. Still, the dungeon supplier had taught her some of the basics, allowing her to revamp the Restaurant Train, but nothing too advanced that required some finesse in the dungeon maker options. ¡°I.. erm you sure? Aren¡¯t you already overly busy with work with the penguins and creating even more dishes?¡± Jin wanted to avoid sounding chauvinistic, not wanting to sound as if he was claiming that women belonged in the kitchen. It was merely because that was her workroom given her specialisation. ¡°What happens if you get knocked out again like in the aftermath of the fight against King Baal? Who knows how long you will be unconscious the next time you get injured so badly?¡± Lynn stressed her point, now even more determined to learn his craft properly. ¡°Fine, you can refuse, but I will just pester the System until it gives me a chance to create a dungeon instance.¡± ¡°Well¡­ *sigh*, if you are so insistent about it, then fine. I mean I¡¯ve already taught you some basics, so might as well teach you some more. Still, you have to understand that there¡¯s a lot of trial and error involved. It will take time to get used to the Dungeon Maker options, although it is quite flexible in its options and settings, mostly limited to your own creativity.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve ever seen the source code normal dungeon suppliers are actually using, they have to have advanced programming knowledge as well as the know-hows of Dimensional Technology. Fortunately, we don¡¯t have to bother with that.¡± The more Jin started to explain to Lynn, the more he started to appreciate the idea of having a helper. He had been so swarmed with so many projects recently, that he had vowed not to take on any more requests until he cleared out a bulk of them. (Although his minions and even the System very much doubted the success of his approach.) ¡°And you think as a chef, I am not familiar with such a method? A majority of my chef¡¯s life had always been about trying out new things and taking out the wrong ones.¡± Lynn was clearly not delighted by the tone of his reply, but she knew that it was probably because he was more concerned about the shortage of time, or perhaps the quality of the cultivation zoo when it appeared. Jin was able to notice Lynn¡¯s displeasure (or maybe her aura of unhappiness was quietly oozing out of her.), so he quickly tried to salvage the situation. Unfortunately, he did not have any idea what she was annoyed about and decided to shoot in the dark, giving an answer generic enough, hoping that it could calm her mood now. ¡°Ehh! You do not have to worry much about it. If anything, you can simply ask the System for help, or me! Yes, me! I will come and assist you whenever I can as long as I am not stuck in some fight that I am unable to back out.¡± Jin replied hastily and somehow, that seemed to calm Lynn¡¯s mood a little. However, that dungeon supplier despite having a girlfriend once, thought it was not enough to soothe her mood and decided to add more to the initial reply. ¡°The basic foundations of the Zoo Instance have been done by Yun already, and I have approved her changes, so I believe it should be okay for you to create your own version. if there are some flaws in the Zoo creation, we can always review it again. If you feel that it is not up to standard, there is the option to create a clone of the instance, an alternate dungeon phase where you could dabble more into the ¡®what ifs¡¯ and the System could offer suggestions where to cut cost or which portion could be improved. If you like some of the ¡®what ifs¡¯, the System can then add them into the original instance and you discard the rest. It is a rather simple but tedious phase of the creation of a new dungeon instance.¡± Jin offered a more explicit explanation but it made Lynn stare at him with one side of her eyebrow up. ¡°Not up to standard? So you think I¡¯d give you some substandard results?¡± Lynn asked as a way to tease him since she felt that it was a good opportunity to bully Jin a little. After all, she honestly did not expect him to suddenly change his tune when she had subconsciously expressed her unhappiness. To a certain point, her heart had fluttered for a second to know that Jin picked up her slight change in emotions. ¡°I ¡­Ehhhhh. Sorry, I honestly did not mean that.¡± Jin at that point realised that he got trapped in this particular conversation. So, he surrendered to maintain the relationship they had. Lynn chuckled at his reply and took the chance to grab his shoulder. ¡°Then you better make sure you teach me properly or else, you will only have yourself to blame for substandard results.¡± Lynn smiled and the System instantly opened the portal for them. (Naturally, the System would want this high potential love line to continue. If they could be together, the likelihood of Jin getting hitched would be high. Indeed the System very much approved of the idea of its current User getting hooked as soon as possible!) But as Jin had said, the basic foundations of the Zoo had already been done up by him and subsequently by Yun. While Lynn was just a Sub System User and supposedly only to have permissions to things assigned to her, the System had decided to make an exception and gave her ¡®User¡¯ Rights to the Dungeon Maker console. Jin was surprised that the System would give Lynn such a vast array of options when she booted up the Dungeon Maker Console. He thought that the System would want another person to be well versed in the Dungeon Making portion in case he was too busy to deal with it. After all, the Dungeon Shop was still their priority business despite his ¡®side businesses¡¯ earning wayyyyy more money than the current one. To Jin, he found it a little ridiculous that he had powerful minions and vast cities under his belt just for the sake of a shop. But it also showed that when hard work produces results, the more you would want to do it because of the potentially favourable results in the far future, enabling you to put more energy into it. And that was where his passion for Dungeon Making started to bloom and take shape. While it was a little late to say this but this was barely the beginning for Jin and his dungeon family. Chapter 1038 - Teaching Lynn - Part 2 Chapter 1038 ¨C Teaching Lynn ¨C Part 2 "Alright, so you have to keep in mind to toggle that auto snap option, otherwise, the lamp post would end up floating in the sky," Jin demonstrated as he sat close to Lynn and closely went through the available advanced options one by one. At the same time, he tried to utilise the tutorial period to place items for the Cultivation Zoo. While there was only one Cultivation Zoo instance, it had already been split into various platforms accommodating to the weather, and environment that the animals could be in. Yun had named them as platforms, yet it was not completely accurate. In fact, they were more akin to mini instances like the ones that had been built for the Meow Meow Karaoke Instance. This was especially useful since it would take a lot fewer resources from the System and the mini instance settings had been locked into place, barring many edits if a person with the knowledge came to fiddle with it. Most of the animals had certain preferences for their environment and Claire, in Grandma Yuan''s stead, had sent Jin the requirements of each and every animal that they had managed to buy to be built. Most of the exotic animals had been placed into Chrono stasis with the use of magic as that was the best way to preserve them but long periods in such a condition would be bad for the animals, not to mention it was costly in terms of the high mana consumption and thus, a very huge sum in maintenance bill. Jin had no idea that Grandma Yuan had been spending a fortune to keep them in place but since her assistant Claire was doing the accounts, she could not bear to see such money being wasted. Although she understood Grandma Yuan''s decision to prolong the time for Jin to prepare the Cultivation Zoo Instance, it was simply too much in her opinion. But for certain exotic animals, it was certainly a ''buy now think later'' kind of situation as they were rare enough to be caught in the wild like the Siberian Black Tiger and the Silverback Harambe Gorilla. While one might think that it was cruel to capture these animals and keep them in captivity, the reality was that Jin''s world was still a world filled with monsters. There might be monsters and animals that coexist together but the eco cycle and the natural chain of survival ensured that these exotic animals were a rarity. By providing them with a place to stay and in an environment sheltered enough to not cause them distress, there could be a greater chance for them to mate and increase their population. Of course, that was under the condition they would have a mating partner. Oddly enough, in Jin''s world, the monsters and animals could potentially belong to the same family tree. That means that monsters might once have been an adorable kitty and the variation in their family species was due to the shift of magic and chi within them, causing them to mutate. That was why most monsters were of a higher grade while animals belonged to a lower grade. And yet, some animals maintained their purity and still achieve a high grade cultivation in the wild. Those were the exotic animals which Grandma Yuan had bought off an official zoo auction. What this also meant was that a Grade 1 generic house cat had the capability to become a Grade 10 Sabertooth Monster or a Grade 10 Siberian Black Tiger. And because of such a trait in Jin''s world, certain animal tamers would personally buy pets to rear and train them for sport. However, such occurrences were uncommon and there were a variety of factors required to push such mutation or evolution in animals. Jin did ask whether there were worlds out there that had the same kind of animals out of curiosity and the System did mention there were a few worlds that had such features in their world ecosystem. But one that made him very interested was a forced evolution when a user could use a mana crystal to accelerate the evolution for a certain period of time before they return to their pitiful young state. Still, the System reminded Jin to hold his horses and concentrate on what he had right now before searching into other worlds for projects that were still in the preparation phase. As for his current task, Lynn was attentively taking notes to make sure that she did not miss out on any tips that Jin had explained. The Dungeon Supplier assured Lynn not to worry about that too much as he had already instructed the System to record some of the examples as tutorial playback as well as past special methods he did to increase efficiency while making the dungeon instance. "So Yun has kindly separated most of the platforms and noted the type of animals that could be placed in those environments. As long it still matches, everything you do in there should be fine. Keep in mind that we want them to remain active. For example, if we just feed the predators their food, they might turn into house cats and laze around all day doing nothing. In the future, we could get humans to fight with them and that would increase their grades." Jin explained. "Won''t that caused them to suddenly mutate? You will certainly lose a precious exotic animal if you did that." Lynn queried. "If it was that easy for them to mutate, most of the animals in the world would have already become monsters and there would be no Cultivation zoos left to host them. Perhaps a monster farm? Hahaha." Jin replied with glee. "Still, the System would probably assign a minion expert in Zoology to look after them and see signs of mutation. And considering the omnipotent System is around, it can monitor the vitals and based on their behaviour patterns, we can determine whether they had too much fight for one day. Well, that is assuming if there is a minion expert on that topic. If there are none, I would probably have to buy one¡­" "I see, So when they fight, they could increase their grade without any possible death. I assume that''s the difference between our Zoo and the other Cultivation Zoos in the world?" Lynn questioned and Jin nodded his head with excitement. "We are going to be the very first Dungeon Instanced Cultivation Zoo, allowing people to try their skills against the animal they had been cultivating with. This should allow the animal as well as the cultivators to gain their grades in the future. However, we need to hold our reins or the animals might go too crazy on the cultivators. We still don''t want to risk those exotic animals turning into monsters if what you said could be true." "Is it possible those animals be beaten up very badly?" Lynn questioned as she was already multitasking putting certain species of trees on the snowy platform. "The System will stop them if necessary, like forcefully teleporting them out or at the very worst, resurrecting them. But don''t worry. We are after all a shop that specialised in dungeon fighting. The System will make sure there will be a fair percentage of win and losses." Jin smiled as he did an overview recap before giving Lynn some space to try out on the Dungeon Maker Console. Chapter 1039 - App Encryption Chapter 1039 ¨C App Encryption After he taught Lynn the ways of the Dungeon Maker Console, he left her to her own devices to try some things out. She too appreciated being left alone so she could try things out without getting embarrassed for doing it wrongly. Meanwhile, he figured it was a decent time to look at the reactions of the Nian Raid Instance as well as the revamped Store Instance through the forums. He read through the comments from users such as Tola, EuryEvans, Talzin, Dear_HeartMine, Suncust, crackedcacti, Yaximbahps and many others and they all shared a similar sentiment. (Editor''s Note; Congrats to the named readers, you are now canon in the NODS novel. ^^ To any other long-time reader, apologies for not including you all, but the list might have grown too long otherwise. Feel free to become more active, so you can make the next cut ???? ) Despite their initial praises, they pointed out that the dungeon raids were getting harder with each new one and that they took longer to complete. While they liked the story theme, quite a lot of them would prefer a return to shorter dungeons. To Jin''s surprise, the very first Goblin Dungeon Instance had lived through a renaissance of popularity. And when he checked the statistics as well as the population analysis, he learned that most of the repeat customers were salarymen (and women) who only had a limited amount of spare time during their lunch break and took a quick spin to the dungeon instance fight, seemingly preferring it over the monster arena battles. It appeared to be somewhat of a ''catch a break and release the stress'' dynamic for most of those salary workers. They needed just a quick workout before taking the busses Jin had employed to send them back to their respective districts. Incidentally, there were actually more demands for the buses in the nearby business districts as well as an unofficial petition from the Hua Wee Phone Company Campus. And speaking of Hua Wee, the company had also been trying to contact Jin with regards to his phone app programming, questioning him if they could partner up so they could cooperate with his app specialists. Apparently, his Pandamonium Phone App had not gone unnoticed and as all attempts to reverse engineer it so far had failed. They had even tried to crack the app code but they found out that the Pandamonium Phone App had been using some sort of special app engine and source code that they could not figure out. At first, they thought it was because of a strong encryption code which was why everything looked like gibberish when they tried to look at the workings of the app. This alone had been enough to attract the interest of various Hua Wee departments who specialised in engineering new cyber security methods. But as they tried to decode it, they found out that the encryption code got even harder to decrypt with each update. Although they could isolate the phone and the Pandamonium app from updating itself and tried every method to decode every version of it, they were still nowhere near cracking the first release version of the Pandamonium App. But despite the setbacks, it prompted them to think out of the box and allowed them to think of ways to increase the encryption in their very own phones. And as time passed since the first Pandamonium App had appeared, it had prompted Hua Wee Staff to visit the shop to learn more about it. While some of the shop options were mundane, there were quite a few quirky aspects that surprised them and enabled them to be interested in participating in the dungeons. Eventually, there was even a regular team that entered the shop for fun while others were there as part of a reconnaissance team to check out what new events and items were on. Because every time a new event or item was up, the Pandamonium App would have another feature that could potentially be on their list to crack. It was to the point that Hua Wee management had decided to open a special Pandamonium Department just to study it, and that was regardless of whether Jin would join them or not. As for those staff who were in that app department, they treated the team of engineers who created the app as saints and the app itself as the holy grail. Some of them were the brightest of minds in China, who had graduated with the highest of honours in various top universities. Nearly all of them had also gotten their post doctorate degrees in the shortest time possible. Yet, this particular Pandamonium App had left them speechless, clueless and befuddled. There had also been employees from their Human Resources stalking, to see if they could identify the said-engineers or any details about them so they could poach these miracle workers into their midst. Unfortunately, they had little luck getting into contact with any of them, as if there were ''ghost'' engineers working on the project, meaning that those engineers and cyber security specialists might not necessarily be stationed in the Tree Mall. So their only bet was getting the cooperation with Jin. Yet for several times, the Dungeon Supplier had ignored them with good reason on his side. (He had to come up with some believable stories, since he could not tell them he was busy conqu- *ahem* SAVING other worlds, right?) Still, they did not yield, knowing that Jin might be hooked into the offer. From trying to lure him with money to now giving him the rights to charter a bus from the campus and to his Tree Mall. Since there had been no reply on his side, the employees of Hua Wee were trying their best to create the perfect bait for Jin to pick up. Nevertheless, Jin was aware that the Pandamonium App was a delicious attraction to those big companies as the System has detected multiple intrusions to its application. Even though he was making waves in the Royal Zodiac scene, the spread of his infamous store had been propagated by the techies in Hua Wee Phone Company. Now even the major monopoly companies like Onepenny had tried getting their tech personnel to prod into the Pandamonium application. With the word of an unbreakable encryption code in this modern age, it might certainly spur the brilliant minds to give it a try. Some even rumoured that the Pandamonium App could be a living AI entity that evolved with the number of common decryption methods failing to open it up and it lived to its Pandamonium name for bringing the tech society in China into disarray. But they did not know there was a catch about all these decryption tries, which actually made Jin delighted that all these brute force methods were being revealed to the System so that the System could revise its code and update to prevent such decryption methods from ever working. If anything, the trip to the Abyss Web had enabled the System to learn that it was important to be tech relevant in this particular age to stay above his competitors. (Although such advice was not translated well in Jin''s current weaponry, he should be getting there soon.) Not to mention, the Pandamonium App was part of the System and no matter how they isolated the app from updates, the System was able to change and update it on the fly with its own unique frequency of Wifi. Unless the phone would get shielded from all the radiating frequencies, they were fated to fail. Of course, no one had ever considered going to such lengths. And even if someone did that, the System could update as long as there was another phone with the app within the vicinity of the isolated phone. It''s like tracing and always searching for its fellow app users to learn more about the users. It sounds invasive in nature and it truly is. And knowing that there were people trying to pick the app apart, the System only placed the security patches in those ''isolated'' apps and not changed the version number. (It irked the System to do that, but it was to fool the enemy.) Nevertheless, the System believed that its encryption code could be broken if it was not careful in updating itself. The System determined that more information was better than none! Chapter 1040 - Setting Up Telecomms Chapter 1040 ¨C Setting Up Telecomms "I wonder what Ke Loong would say about this deal that Hua Wee is offering me. They really seem to be getting desperate, eh?" Jin mused to himself as he wrote an email reply thanking Hua Wee for allowing him to send buses to all of their work campuses. From now his bus network would cover the entirety of the campus which spanned more than several districts worth of people. But of course, in terms of distance, the buses had a certain schedule to meet to accommodate their lunchtimes. But enough with Hua Wee, with Ke Loong now at his very side and behest, his CEO friend was already talking with various people to get the Virtual Reality Network set up. Because of the amount of information needed to be exchanged to and fro for the Virtual Reality Network to work properly, Ke Loong and the System had been working on getting a possible new generation of telecommunications up, specifically just for the Virtual Network. And this could not have come true if they did not have Rei on their team. The Mecha World''s technology was far more advanced compared to Jin''s world. And with an engineer from their world, Ke Loong and the System would be able to implement this exclusive network just for Virtual Reality. However, Rei was not some super engineer that remembered everything. In fact, there had already been reconnaissance and break-ins, courtesy of Jin''s minions, specifically Sebastia, the faithful right hand maiden of Moloch. Her information gathering from the Farming World had brought many advantages to the current tide of battle against them and now she was doing the same with the Mecha World, based on where Rei deemed to be the easiest way to obtain such information. Naturally, she had been using cosmetic inscription to keep her identity hidden and the ability to change her face had been extremely convenient for that task. Yet, the breach could not have been done so easily without the System''s help. With a bit of patience and luck at their side, Sebastia had been able to access to the Mecha World''s Databases and obtain information on how this particular super speed wireless telecommunications worked. Rei had told them that they were named as Laser Telecommunications because of the speed that was being transmitted but that was not the fantastic thing about it. The capability to have the end user communications act as a beacon and even as a relay was the reason why they had used it Since battle could be widespread, each end user''s telecommunications relay was able to broadcast almost infinitely to find the nearest relay and telecoms main servers to connect. And when that was established, distinct power telecommunication waves would be sent at high speeds for connection. That was also how they were able to connect to other worlds and space colonies they had conquered in a matter of minutes. (Which was awesome considering how many light years those packets of information could be pushed.) Sadly, the main servers required a tremendous amount of energy and that was the con of using these Laser Telecommunications technology. The System claimed they could only do so much if they did not clear such prerequisites. But there were some things they did not have in the Mecha World too. Magic and Chi in Jin''s world allowed the System to modify such a laser telecommunications system a little to enable to supplement the energy with Earth''s means. Amidst the schematics stolen by Sebastia and the System, Ke Loong started to exert his dominance to buy new lands to create such telecoms centres and establish them as soon as possible but such plans had changed when he found out that Jin was now owed a few lands he won from the Tiger family. This was good news for Ke Loong as whatever land he bought was still something similar to renting it from the official owners, the Royal Zodiacs. However, space was somewhat limited because of the protocols of the refinery factories. So, Jin told Ke Loong not to worry for the moment and instead plan with the entire land plot in mind. In an email reply, Ke Loong asked whether it was feasible to do that and Jin laughed. "Don''t underestimate the omnipotence of the System. Do not worry, just trust me on that." Jin said as he was planning to do something radical with the limited free space left in the factories. As his current goal was to set the Shenzhen population as his player base, all he needed was to concentrate all the information to one point. (Although Jin did mention he wanted to break it to the rest of China and subsequently the world.) And he would literally be creating just one particular point for the exchange of information with the aid of dungeon instances. With the Panda Territories in his hand, the Land was considered to be under the System''s control and so what Jin was going to do was to create the laser telecommunication headquarters for Shenzhen in a dungeon instance and relay that point through a powered portal and into the real world. This way, he would not only save space but optimise the efficiency of his land. After all, Dungeon Instances were a pocket dimension and if the connection between pocket dimension and real world existed permanently, it would be the very first space saving achievement in the world. (But whether such a feat could be revealed to the public was yet another issue.) "We will be breaking major barriers if this particular project works smoothly." Ke Loong replied in a live email chat with Jin, stating that this Virtual Network could potentially bring the rise of the Panda Clan to certainty. "And we will be making major competitors our enemies from all angles. From Tech companies dealing with those encryptions as I told you, to telecommunication companies and later land developers. We are offending the big players in the world." Jin sighed but he could hear Ke Loong snorting at the other side of the screen. "Your existence and that shop alone have already acted as the ripples of change. Whether it turns into a formidable tide will be based on your preparations and response when the others start moving." Ke Loong noted as he would start creating the telecommunication centre with the talented people he had contact with. "If we want to make it big, let''s do it with a loud splash." Chapter 1041 - Revisiting Nian Chapter 1041 ¨C Revisiting Nian A week had gone by with Jin busy on the sidelines and most of the seasoned Pandarens had already cleared the Nian Raid due to its all new progression system. When the first clear had been over, most of the Pandarens had decided to take it easy to explore and enjoy the view. There was even a ''Game Complete'' version where the Pandarens were able to revisit the Mysterious Nian Island where they could interact with the locals and buy the items over there. Unlike the start of the mission where they had to sail towards the location, afterwards, the island would require only a teleport confirmation from the Pandamonium App. It only took a moment for a portal to appear in front of the Pandarens within the Store Instance and they would be teleported in a jiffy. At that point, the Pandarens could visit the village with the villagers to complete whatever remaining side quests they had yet to do. They could take their time to explore the wonders of Nian Island and earn exploration achievement points. It was a time filler that Jin had blatantly copied from most games to keep the more active Pandarens occupied. In fact, if one were to clear all the side quests and complete all exploratory achievements, there would be a hidden reward that was created specifically for the Virtual Reality Network phase. There were enough completionists among his customers and eventually one had managed to explore all the nooks and cranks of the area, getting all the exploratory achievements and finishing all the sidequests. Unfortunately, what he earnt was a mere ticket voucher that was locked when he tried to access it in the Pandamonium App. Unable to access it, he posted it into the forums and people were starting to speculate whether this particular voucher was a precursor to the next upcoming raids. Even some of the Pandawans had shared their opinions since they too had received a voucher stating that it would be a ticket to the elusive Gentlebear Dungeon Instance, yet the colour and type of their rewarded ticket seemed totally different from his. The Pandaren who had completed everything had a symbol of Nian on the voucher and the paper was coated in glossy red. It was not until the developer of the dungeon instances chimed in, stating that it will be a fairly valuable item in the future. At the same time, because its feature had not yet been implemented, Jin decided to change the coding a little and provide the lucky explorer with a lump sum of 300 Panda Bronze Coins to those who had completed the achievements and got the voucher. However, he did indicate that when the feature had been implemented, that additional 300 Panda Coins reward would be removed from the achievement rewards. Upon hearing that there was a free 300 Panda Coins to be earnt, this news spread like wildfire. It was uncommon for Jin to be generous to give free coins since this was after all a business to be made. So most of the Pandarens agreed that such a feature had to be abused as quickly as possible. Even the Pandawans wanted the coins (although for the case for Xiong Da, he wanted the achievements.) and decided to band together to clear these exploratory achievements. What they did not expect was that the achievement actually differed for the groups that entered and there was a permutation of five different sets of tasks, ranging from assisting the NPCs in the Nian Island Village to the top of the volcano island without any chi. While the former might sound like minor side quests, they were actually a mini game to ''improve the relationship'' between the islanders and the Pandawans. It was like a dating simulation game where they had to earn the hearts of the NPCs so that they would gift them an item that would count for the exploratory achievement. So even as most people wished to quickly clear the achievements and get those 300 coins they ended up vastly underestimating the amount of hard work they had to put in. As for that completionist Pandaren, he had initially wanted to keep quiet about the requirement for achieving those exploratory achievements, but faced with the allure of a monetary donation from a well known Pandawan, he decided to put out all the information he could as best as he could. As people realised that the tasks were random to a certain portion, his input amounted to only one tenth of an actual completion guide. (Quite ironic for a completionist!) Still, some groups benefited since those advice that he wrote was useful to those who received the same tasks as him. And because of this particular revisit to this dungeon, Jin once again saw an increase in the number of Pandarens joining the Nian Islands, both new and old customers, buying him some time to prepare for the Demopolis City Raids. While he was going to break Demopolis City into pieces with a hard reset, it meant that it was a showdown against those who opposed the current government. Going forward, rumours had been spread by Tsu and Kai''s internal affairs department claiming that there would be a major crackdown against the mafias. This caused the mafia to hunker down further after the confirmation had been made that no one was allowed to leave the borders. This, unfortunately, caused panic to the entire city population until an official royal decree had been sent that the Demon Citizens who were clear of their ''sins'' would be moved to the Pandapolis as a temporary measure to avoid the fights. Shelters, food and even compensation would be given to those who would comply with the order. In addition, those who confessed their sins on the spot would be given two choices. To serve their time to make up for the sins they did and be compensated when they were done or return to the city for the ultimate showdown. As most of the citizens had already seen how the King had managed to get the truth out of his corrupted politicians, they knew better than to try and get away with anything and understood the severity of this deep cleansing of the city. To ensure they would be taken seriously Kraft had taken the initiative to construct a special statue and had placed it in the middle of the city. It was reminiscent of Atlas who was carrying the burden of the world on his shoulders, only that it looked awfully similar to a certain Mafia Boss. Additionally, the round sphere acted as a large countdown timer until the raid would start. Some of the Mafia Bosses had not bothered to wait and had already started terrorising the police stations, which in turn became a boon to the current government. The terror attacks were widely advertised and this instilled fear in the citizens as they saw the patrol officers had been shaped up to capture those mafia members who had caused trouble. This indeed spurred the good serving citizens to head for the border immigration where it was now the heaviest guarded area in case of surprise attacks. But with the System around, most of these wannabe perpetrators were captured before anything bad could happen. While Demopolis was spiralling down into chaos, other cities were cautiously looking at them and the biggest spectator of them all was the Church of the Afterlife. They were extremely curious and delighted that those people that could cause trouble to them were killing themselves inside out. They even cautioned the surrounding cities to not interfere with their meddling and once their Dungeon Core got switched to a new owner, they were welcome to feast upon it. However, those were merely some¡­ words of advice. Those cities could do whatever they want and some of the greedy city leaders mistook this for a perfect time to wipe the demon capital out from the face of their map. After the countless times Demopolis had raided the human cities for loot and resources, who could blame them for looking forward to their neighbours'' downfall?. Yet in hindsight, those Church Agents would realise that their actions were the snowball that would get out of control and bury everything underneath. For this turn of events could be the mark of the new Demopolis, and one of the cities that would cause the biggest threat to the Church in the near future¡­ Chapter 1042 - Extra- The Surge in Customers Chapter 1042 ¨C Extra- The Surge in Customers "The citizens are moving according to the schedule. 17.6% left to finish the reallocation of the Demon Citizens." The System reported to Jin as he yawned once again going over the finishing touches to the Demopolis City Raids. In the meantime, Kiyu had, as always, worked wonders in the PR department. She had strongly hinted to the Pandarens that there would be another Raid incoming. While the revisiting of the Nian Islands had everyone pumped up to get the free Panda Coins, Jin understood that there needed to be new content for him to continue to entice his Pandarens and their wallets. Because of the Chinese New Year Holidays, he had thought he would be seeing a drop in customers, but boy was he wrong. Visitors from other provinces and cities had heard about these miraculous Tree Mall and took the chance to visit it. Not to mention, it was one of the main attractions that the Shenzhen government had been advertising ever since a few officials realised that it was raking in money crazily during the Christmas period. With the advent of the Tree Mall, the Shenzhen Tourism Board had enjoyed an increase in hotel stays around the area and had decided to exploit that to the fullest. By advertising the Tree Mall, it inadvertently promoted Jin''s Dungeons since it was one of the main attractions of that mall. However, something was wrong. Despite the increased travels to the Tree Malls based on statistics and town wide camera monitoring was astoundingly high that the surrounding hotels'' stays remained just fully booked and not overbooked. The tourism officials did not understand the numbers since the people going into the Tree Mall and the people staying around the area were disproportionate. As such the officials decided to take a closer look by going to the Tree Mall itself to learn more about it. When they arrived, they noticed that the Tree Mall itself was fully occupied both inside and outside. Aside from the customary Chinese New Year decorations being placed on the Tree itself, it appeared that Jin had created mini treetop pavilions for cultivators to rest, eat and even study. The only requirement was to keep the place clean. Any acts of vandalism and those ignoring the only requirement would be harshly dealt with. This made the Tree Mall look as if it was an art of work with little tiny ''humans'' within the vicinity relaxing and chatting with friends. But this was not the main point for the officials as they searched the area to find there were no illegal squatters within these pavilions. Only after a foreign couple was wheeling their luggage out from the Dungeons and Panda did they find out the real reason for their missing numbers. (Obviously, those officials were undercover agents and they were posing as curious couples.) "Huh? Don''t you know about the Hotel Pandastic in the Dungeon Store?" The male foreigner asked them in fluent Chinese. "I never thought Dimension Technology could go this far and this totally blows my mind! Won''t hesitate to come here again, right dear?" "The food and shopping! And all the tax rebates are instant! If we have more time, we would stay here and try more than just one dungeon." His companion said as they gave more information to the undercover tourist officials. "I overheard you are looking for Hotel Pandastic?" Yun was behind them as she asked the question, giving them a slight shock. Those officials themselves were also cultivators but to have somebody emerging behind them without any noise was something they were not accustomed to. "Let me guess, officers?" Yun asked as she scanned them from top to toe with her eyes in a glance. The duo officers who were posing as a couple decided to feign their ignorance but Yun pointed at the bulge in the male''s pocket and there was a card there that was partially revealed. Seeing that Yun had noticed them, they showed their badges saying that they were merely tourism officers who had been tasked by their superiors to look around and hopefully discover the root of the problem. Yun chuckled lightly and told them that she had been expecting them causing the officers to be taken aback by such revelation. "Don''t you worry about it. Let''s just say you are not the first group to come here to check us out. There are other hotels and business spies who have come to take a peek at their competition. So, we figured that sooner or later, the official government agents would come to take a look too. Thus, I apologise for thinking that you were another group of our competitors and decided to confront you head on." Yun bowed her head with some courtesy. "But upon noticing that badge there, I figured you are officers," Yun explained to them the current predicament they were facing. While Jin had closed the entire Pandapolis, he had already opened Hotel Pandastic, the hotel which hosted the Royal Zodiac Snake soldiers before the big epic battle against the Demons. While this might sound a tad ironic given that the Demon Citizens were moving into Pandapolis, Jin needed more money to feed the Demon Citizens. Sure, he might have gotten some funds from Claire after her flip in Black Market stock investments but he still needed it as a sort of war fund against the rats. Thus, he had opened the series of hotel chains including Hotel Pandastic to get more moolah from his customers. It also provided an avenue for the Demon Citizens to work so long as they signed the System''s Contract. This enabled Jin to tap on skilled labour while allowing these Demon Citizens to learn more about the tourism industry. Naturally, the animal folks from the Giant World had been put in charge of serving the Pandarens, but honestly, they could not have done anything much without the assistance from the Demon Citizens who had settled early. Jin had purposely liaised with Rex to get the jobless Demons in first so that he could rope them into this opportunity. And some of the friendlier Demons with less or no prejudice against humans were able to serve the frontline. However, there was no doubt in Yun''s mind that these officers won''t believe their eyes when she shows them around and she was already looking forward to it. Chapter 1043 - Extra -The Surge In Customers -Part 2 Chapter 1043 ¨C Extra -The Surge In Customers -Part 2 When the Tourism Agency Officers were confronted with the potential of Hotel Pandastic and Jin''s other chains of hotels, they were flabbergasted. While there were matters of Dimensional Technology and the dangers of it, Yun was convincing enough in guaranteeing them that it would not cause any issues. "We''ve naturally already applied for Hotel licenses and it has been approved a week ago. Feel free to check in the database if you wish and get back to us if required." Yun offered. Despite it technically being a Dungeon Instance, Jin had made sure to acquire the certification to house people to avoid any problems. And while the Tourism Officers were a little sceptical, it was undoubtedly an opportunity for them to promote the Tree Mall even further, providing a unique point for their own campaign. While the Tourism Board should have known and been informed about such new hotels coming out, Yun apologised on Jin''s behalf. "After all, these dungeon instances are one of a kind and there was really no way you could have known unless you visited us personally or through our Pandamonium App." And what Yun said was true. Most of the advertising had been through word of mouth. While there was the ''Great Firewall'' in place to not allow foreigners to access their products, it did not mean that Jin kept his handy app to national borders. With the rising popularity of Kiyu, they had engineered a version of the Pandamonium App outside of China, leading to the arrival of a good portion of foreigners. While they could not enjoy the dungeon features outside of China (at least not yet), the Pandamonium App itself had quite a number of nifty features (like the message boards which automatically got translated to their respective languages, or more importantly Pandaflix with subtitles), it had managed to entice those Dungeon Instance Enthusiasts around the world. Despite the restrictions when it came to weapons, Jin''s shop had guaranteed that most of such weapons could not work unless they were in a dungeon instance. Immigration Customs Officials were nearly baffled when they found out that such weapons existed and confronted Jin''s employees. Unfortunately, they were indeed within their immigration guidelines and the System had ensured that the weapons and armour sold online followed the customer''s respective guidelines too. But because of the portability and availability, most of the prices ended up tripled or quadrupled. Some were even in a so-called Panda Auction house where certain grade 2 weapons were considered a rarity. It did not take long for people to appreciate the quality of weapons that Jin and the System were selling for the Dungeon Instances and the sales were hot enough to warrant interest by the international community to visit Jin. For example, the Fire Shamans from Germany had advertised their recommendations to their club members and through the word of mouth, a number of high school students were solely based on their recommendations to check this Dungeon Supplier out. And with the advent of the Hotel Pandastic which gave a 20% discount to those who had bought Jin''s items before, the bookings for the hotel had been selling like hotcakes. It was not precisely a well known travel location but to the Dungeon Instance enthusiasts, it had slowly become a name for itself. Even when Jin was not looking at his shop, the effort he had placed on it previously had started to take root. He, however, had overlooked that Yun had been actively looking after it ever since Jin got too busy handling the other world issues. While she disliked taking over his responsibilities, she understood that he was busy getting those worlds up just for his shop. So, as an employee, Yun had also utilised the Demon Exorcists once under Grandma Yuan to find contacts and introduce people to the shop. Also, an interesting tidbit on the delivery portion. Even though the Pandamonium App had been charging exorbitant shipping fees and immigration costs, only the first few weapons that went on sale had gone through the proper channels. Afterwards, the System had already analysed the immigration processes and went ahead to ''approve'' the sales themselves and quality checked before sending to their customers. Thus, the usual waiting time, stock availability and shipping time was based on how much they were willing to pay for it. If the User deemed to have taken the most luxurious option to purchase the item, the System ensured that its ''shipping time'' would be cut short extremely by sending out its Pandafull Delivery agents via a portal and to their place within 2-3 working days. But assuming customers chose free shipping options, the System would purposely backlog their orders until a delivery agent was available or if an express shipping customer were within the vicinity. In short, the power of money made the System produce faster. And one would wonder why the System always complained there was a lack of processing capabilities. This was one of the smaller details that the System had assimilated with Yun''s help. (Even though Yun was part of the System, she would obviously say that this was her idea and not the System''s.) Going back to the Tourism Officers, they subsequently realised that their Boss had immediately approved their tourist advertis.e.m.e.nt for the Tree Mall mainly because of the influence of one very special man. Kong Rong. While his unique team of special agents had already taken the responsibility to protect the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan with its inception during the New Year, they were not meant to take care of Jin from just the physical dangers of other clans, but economically as well. Yet, Jin and Yun had felt it was a tad unnecessary, Kong Rong would definitely give the excuse that he was doing it as a part of being a Senior Panda Executive. With the Dragon Clan influence stretching to all parts of China, it was no surprise that he was advocating the Tree Mall as part of the economic protection for the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. However, that did not mean he did not encounter resistance from his family or peers. The rise of the rumoured thirteenth Royal Zodiac Clan brought tensions up to an all time high as new alliances were forged behind the Dragon''s back. And even though all these foreshadowed backstabs were already taken into account by Kong Rong''s ''Panda Protection'' Team, Kong Rong knew that Jin would still ultimately come out as the victor if he played his cards right. Similar to the Dungeon World''s newbie protection barrier, there was a time limit to everything that Kong Rong could do. If he were to base his word of protection on ancient laws, Kong Rong''s grandmother said that the entirety of the Dragon Clan could only grudgingly assist the Panda Clan up to six months before they had to let go. To most clans and even the Royal Zodiacs, six months was a very short period of time. Kong Rong understood that six months was a luxury that even the Dragon Clan might not be able to afford with the current volatile situation of a budding new Royal Zodiac approved by the Godly Representative. Yet to Jin, each extra waking day counted until the end of his protection and he was already doing his best to do whatever he needed to not just protect himself, but to guarantee his shop would rise to become the number one dungeon supplier shop! Chapter 1044 - Extra- Raking Couples Money Chapter 1044 ¨C Extra- Raking Couples¡¯ Money "It''s done. It''s finally done¡­." Jin heaved out a heavy sigh of relief as he lied back on his chair, slouching as much as his body could possibly handle. His eyes were white and if one could detect spirits, they might see Jin''s spiritual form flying out of his own mouth. However, the System was not willing to let him go just yet. No matter how tired he was, the show still had to go on and the next thing on the agenda was the Demopolis City Raids. "Well done, Master. You did take quite a while with this one." Kraft berated him as he took the opportunity to spin Jin''s chair, causing him to slip out from it and nearly fall flat on the ground. "The System had too many backend processes that it took almost forever to make sure that it''s in sync with the Demopolis Dungeon Core," Jin said as he merely leaned onto the Dungeon Console Maker and started yawning, causing Kraft to instinctively move aside, in case Jin would try to take revenge by shooting Panda Yawning at him. "Even I have to be aware of your yawns. You can be a very dangerous cultivator, Jin." Kraft pointed out and this time Jin was the one smirking. "Somehow I feel like after suffering through all of this constant admin work, I might have gained enough experience to reach the next grade." Jin mentioned jokingly but Kraft took it at heart and started to check if there were any real gradual changes happening to Jin. At least for now, his aura still felt the same. "I bet you cannot see the difference, eh?" Jin smiled as if he was hiding yet another trump card from Kraft and the Devil Fox enjoyed the excitement. Be it just a bluff, Kraft wouldn''t mind a duel with Jin to fully explore the powers of his new grade. However, Jin was not lying. During this stretch of creating the Demopolis City Raids, he had to go through a series of super time compression sleeps in order to keep to the datelines he set for himself. In fact, it was actually Kiyu who had sabotaged him by releasing a random date at the end of February during the trailer for the Demopolis City Raids. And that caused a great frenzy for Jin mainly because of another event that most Dungeon Suppliers would have neglected because they felt it was not necessary for them to even participate. And that was Valentine''s Day. While Jin did not exactly create a brand new dungeon for Valentine''s day because of the lack of time, he did digress his usual work to catch this opportunity to earn some extra money. Furthermore, that required the help of Lynn since the food and beverage industry was one of the major business players when it comes to the festival of love. Even though Lynn had to juggle between the promise of improving the Cultivation Zoo and handling her daily work, she actually had adequate experience for this particular day from her past job. So much so that she did not mind being one of the lead planners to aid Jin in earning money. From creating a Pandastic Hotel Valentine Package to arranging a one-on-one date with your precious partner, she had already used all the shrewd techniques she had once learnt from her former sensei to take advantage of the current situation. As for her own love life, Lynn knew that it was a little hard to catch Jin''s attention at the moment since he was swarmed with self imposed deadlines and many other issues to handle. Still, that did not mean she had not attempted to hint to Jin at her own desire for a date with a certain dungeon supplier. Sadly, nothing happened between them as Jin was locked in a perpetual state of busyness which even the System could not deny the amount of workload to make sure that the Demopolis citizens were well taken care of while ensuring the eventual raid would have a high chance of success. Ultimately, Lynn managed to get Jin to reward her with a pricey dinner outside of the dungeon store because of the work she had done for him. (Which was actually quite tremendous, considering the amount of profits being raked in on that particular week.) Infamous Hippo Pandawan Xiong Da and Egret Pandawan Ruo Ying had taken the priciest of all packages and did not regret a single bit. They received a one night staycation which covered essentially everything which made Xiong Da feel like he was on a holiday without even thinking too much. (Well, that was the purpose of the itinerary.) Checking in from noon, they found out that the Store Instance had been heavily revamped to portray Valentine''s Day mood. From all sizes of Cupid Panda flying around the shop instance to a secluded panda couple getting lucky in the Bamboo Forests, it was tolerable for singles who still wanted to continue their dungeoneering experience. Not only that, Xiong Da and Ruo Ying had activities all day long such as a mini game roulette in the WunderPanda Theme Park and an exclusive Restaurant Train Trip around a few selected islands in the Open World Instance. (Although they had no idea it was going to be open to them in the future when the Virtual Reality Network comes online.) After which, a dinner within the Restaurant Train itself with the beauty of Aurora lights shining under them. Even though they knew it was just a Dungeon Instance, the realism of it was still something to behold. And not to mention, a special couple spa session by the Panda Masseur from the Emerald Mountain Hot Spring Instance before leaving them some privacy in Hotel Pandastic''s most luxurious suites. And to top it off, Xiong Da was bestowed with a bouquet of purple shaded roses with a unique set of Panda Cupid plushies to seal the deal for the night. Even though it might seem a little too simple, the amount of organisation the System and Lynn had to deal with was a nightmare. Moreover, Jin knew that too well so his promise to bring Lynn out for dinner had been a must. But for now, it had to deal with the Mafias. Chapter 1045 - The Shadow Kings Chapter 1045 ¨C The Shadow Kings "My Lord, The Home Guard are ready," Vaul reported as he entered the coveted Dungeon Maker War Room which once housed the War Room against the Demons. Rex nodded his head, but in reality, he was just here as a spectator or at most an advisor. After all, the coordinator for this particular raid was someone else. Kraft. (Also known as The Bubbling Social Media Director / Bodyguard / Most Awesome Original Bellator / Ultimate Fox Lover / Cyber Hacker / Counter Intelligence Agent ¨C at the rate his title was going, there would eventually be no space for a hand palm sized name card.) Apart from the usual suspects such as Moloch, Nubwort and Qiu Yue, the entirety of the Fox Bellators were also present in the War Room. Last but not least, Jin who was at the side sitting on a chair with his legs crossed was giving his Devil Bellator the limelight since he had asked the Devil Fox to help with the raid. To mark the occasion Kraft had even changed into an attire making him look eerily similar to a military dictator. (He even wanted Jin to call him El Presidente) While their initial plan had been to cleanse the internal menace within the City of Demopolis, the situation had changed after they had decided to use this opportunity to relocate the citizens into Pandapolis. In fact, it was a rather successful shift since Pandapolis had been unoccupied and now Demon Citizens of all classes enjoyed a comfortable place to rest. At the same time, the System also took the opportunity to deep scan each and every citizen that had immigrated into the Pandapolis. It did not take control of them directly but rather, scourged deep into their past memories invasively through a high level mind control spell. Most were unable to resist such a spell being cast onto them but there were a few who were wary about it and did attempt to fight against it. Whenever that had occurred, Pei had been summoned to handle such cases but those outliers had not even crossed into the triple digits, which indicated that their level of spell casting was not as mighty as Jin had thought them to be. Rather, they had relied a lot on brute strength and numbers to overcome their enemies. If not for Pandapolis intensive preparations to deal with their manpower in the first place, as well as their cheat-like ability to convert enemies into friends, Jin believed that they might not have won against them. During the immigration process, Demon Citizens who had confessed their affiliations with the Mafia and wished to start anew were given plenty of chances to make up for their mistakes. They were still given jobs like working under the Hotel Pandastic or the other entertainment chains under Jin and they received a roof under their heads for the night. Similar to the other citizens, they had been given a stable wage and food to eat. Unfortunately, not many were that honest during the process and the System was able to find all the hidden ''moles'' related to the Mafias. Unlike those who had confessed beforehand, they were punished for hiding the truth and were sent to the labour camps aka the Giant World under a heavy military escort to pick herbs and vegetables for Lynn''s Kitchen. Yet, they were still given a shared ''luxurious'' prison space within the Pandapolis as well as a hefty three meals and a short thirty minute break for the entire day. Compared to the eternal ''Paradise'' of Demopolis, some of those moles started to change and repent for the better when they learned how their fellow counterparts were doing in this new city. Separately, the rest of the Mafia groups had stayed behind and fortified their position. Since the normal goody two shoes citizens had left for Pandapolis, the Mafia groups quickly took over a large portion of the city in order to have more grounds against the military. They were surprised that the Home Guards did not swoop in and actually gave them time to raid the area and set up more defences. They had become daring enough to even bring out their weaponries and create makeshift barricades with whatever time they were granted. But as the Demopolis got emptier, the Mafia had started to boldly occupy the area. They began to bring up even more solid defences such as casting shapeshifting spells to create high walls and hijacking homes to create traps as such. Their scouts had seen how well defended the Royal Palace was, especially now that their soldiers were armed with ranged projectiles that could bring them down easily. A few groups of separate Mafia members tried their luck but none of them ever made it back to their bases. Instead, they were ridden with bullet holes and being hung right in front of the Royal Palace as a sign stating not to ''f.u.c.k with the King''. This enraged the Mafia groups even further and caused them to set up their own territory even further to the point that all the Mafia groups had agreed to have a temporary truce among each other and weathered the storm that was coming. Ironically, by doing just as he had expected they were all playing right in Kraft''s hands. Now that the districts outside the Royal Palace had been taken over by Mafia groups, the Shadow Kings within the depths of Demopolis had also entered the picture. Kraft and Rex had been waiting for the three Shadow Kings that controlled the major mafia groups within Demopolis to feel safe or greedy enough to attempt to take over. The Eld Enclave, The Atrocity and Tyr Gauntlets. Although each Mafia group might have a name of their own, at the end of the day, they would merely be a subsidiary of one of the top three factions. Each had a mix of fighters and mages, but all had their own specialities. The Eld Enclaves specialised in dark magic and in particular Old World Magic. The Atrocity relied on brute strength and their members never gave any thought about killing their opponents in cold blood. As for the Tyr Gauntlets, they were a little more special. One could say that the Tyr Gauntlets were something similar to the defender of the wicked. Ex soldiers, police and even rescue workers worked under Tyr Gauntlets because they had grown sick of the Nobility and their inability to serve the community. Their numbers were considerably smaller than the other two Mafia factions but one Tyr Gauntlet member could match to a couple of Eld Enclaves and Atrocity members. Their sense of justice was a little twisted, basically all vigilantes, and they were always against the other two Mafia groups. That was also the reason why they had gained traction and popularity especially among the poor. Years of infighting had caused them to harbour a deep feud against each other and the decadence of King Baal''s greed for power had made their fight even more intense. It was mainly because Kiva had funnelled a lot of money into them in order to control the public as well as the nobles for his own benefit. Not many Demopolis Citizens could survive on a decent honest job and it was because of Kiva''s fault. (But fear not, justice had been served ever since he had been placed under Ayse''s command.) With the arrival of the New King, the three Shadow Kings had been thinking how to win over Rex''s favour since their liaison with Kiva had disappeared. Unfortunately for them, ever since the act of executing and jailing the corrupted nobles, they knew that this king could be hard to deal with. Yet it was the death of a minor Mafia Boss, and subsequently Kraft turning him into a piece of art, that had confirmed the new King''s intention to annihilate them. So for the first time in history, all three Mafia had unanimously grouped up against a common threat. The Royal Crown. Chapter 1046 - Getting Hyped for the Demopolis Raids Chapter 1046 ¨C Getting Hyped for the Demopolis Raids While the Mafias had been shoring up defences in their territories, Jin''s side had been doing the same. Kiyu''s advertis.e.m.e.nt had been on point, garnering a high volume of responses by cleverly displaying how the new City Raid would work. Whereas Pandapolis had been all about defending the city to the very last man, Demopolis theme would be ''search and destroy''. Kiyu had hyped it up to be one of the most dynamic raids ever, only second to the Pandapolis raid. With an entire city as their battlefield to fight, the urban landscape was theirs to destroy as they pleased. However, the objectives remained distinctively clear. One ¨C Search the city for any Mafia members to apprehend them. Killing them was also a valid choice, yet capturing them alive would grant the Pandarens double the raid points. Escorting them to the police station might prove to be a hassle, yet the point difference was quite potent, especially for the higher value targets. (Mafia Boss Cold Stone had given them enough intel to make out the higher echelons of the three major Mafia factions.) Why Jin placed the capture first and kill later is mainly because capturing is a harder thing to do than killing. Hauling a demon alive would take a lot more work than letting them die on the floor meaninglessly. Two ¨C Save as many townsfolk as possible. Points wise, this offered most points for completing this task. One could render a person unconscious and capture someone, but escorting an innocent to the backlines safely? That would take more than just coordination from the team, the effort placed to rescue a kid or even an elderly was significantly more dangerous than capturing someone alive. Also with the tweak from the System the visors were now colour coded to display IFF (Identification friend or foe), the Mafia groups who had been openly fortifying their defences had provided the surveillance goblin tech team with the information needed to tag the enemies. Still, it was not entirely a foolproof system and if necessary, the System would state a question mark in the visors for those not within its database, hence why Jin advocated capture over kill on sight. The Pandarens praised this as just a part of the added realism of the raid. Unfortunately, saving townsfolk would not be an easy task as the Mafia members would be gunning down anyone not part of any of their factions. However, this could be overcome with the battle perks which would be explained later. Three ¨C Collect the rescued townsfolk possessions. Each of the Pandarens would be given a standard storage ring meant to collect the Demon Citizens'' valuables. From dungeon dollars to art decorations. With the exception of big furniture, everything could be collected even pets that were left behind as long as the storage ring had sufficient space in them. Else, they had to return to the police stations or outposts set up by the Demopolis Police to swap the rings for new ones. With the objectives of the City Raids being straightforward this time around, Kiyu had also announced the use of the Demopolis points to redeem items such as the latest iterations of exclusive plushies as well as all the new cosmetic weapon inscriptions that could be used as glamour for their dull looking weapons. As the theme was Demopolis, the cosmetic weapon inscriptions were slightly demonic and would remain exclusive for the moment. (Eventually, they would be added to the possible price pool in the shop of Lynn''s father) Not to mention, the Demopolis points could also now be used to redeem other items that were previously locked since Jin had decided to make the raids seasonal. Nevertheless, those past raid items had their prices increased in order to give those who had played before the feeling of achieving something. For Pandarens who had coins or points from the past raids, they could be used in conjunction with the Demopolis Raid Points, resulting in a slight discount compared to those who bought the past seasonal items with just Demopolis Raid Points. Else they could convert all of them into Demopolis Points. Naturally, the conversion would be subpar and Jin had also placed a disclaimer that the past raids could possibly return, rendering their current coins and points valid once again. The change in the redemption system brought many smiles to both new and old Pandarens as they started chatting while setting groups within the New Panda Airport. As the Nian Instances were still ongoing till the end of the month, Jin did not wish to crowd the area too much and had suggested using the New Panda Airport as the rendezvous point. On the plus side, it was easier and more cost effective to teleport the Pandarens via the planes than teleporting each and every one of them individually into Demopolis. Thus, Pandarens and Pandawans were recommended to create groups of eight and await further instructions via their Pandamonium App. Once they had formed into their respective groups and everyone had bought the Demopolis Pass, the app would give them their electronic ticket to participate in the raid. Like an electronic air ticket, a gate number was shown on their Pandamonium App where they were supposed to depart. "First come, first serve!" The Panda Attendant loudly announced before allowing the groups of eight to board the planes and choose their own rooms. Unlike a standard travel aeroplane, the modified C-130 planes had been revamped for the teams to have their own rooms so that they could convene for a group meeting before the major sortie. Once the previously agreed upon team leader enters, they would get to choose which ''room'' they wished to occupy. In reality, not only was it similar to the cruise ship of the Nian Island, all their room settings had been imported the moment they chose a section of the plane to convene with a slight alteration in theme. These compartmentalisations had been convenient not just for the users but for the System too. To top it off, the System was earning money for being cost effective in its partition of the rooms. To the System, it was merely coded data into physical items and the storing of the Pandarens'' belongings. But such ease of convenience became a necessity for the Pandarens and many started to realise that it was a goal to reach or get when they found out that their rooms could be imported before the raid as advertised. It became more important for the revered team of Pandawans who had started to find this store as their second home. (or third for some.) While it was true that this store was draining their money on a constant basis, there was this pull factor that would always make them come back for another fight even though they started to feel a sort of stagnation in their grades. Naturally, this raid had attracted some of the prominent Pandawans. Bin Yong, the Bombardier Beetle Cultivator who specialised in Sword and Buckler. Jia Le, the Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivator who used Kunai and used her magical cultivation. Shi Zuo, the Mad Monkey Cultivator who used Axes of various sizes. Luo Bo, the Illusive Rabbit Cultivator who has Bow Arts that wowed the crowd previously. Xiong Da, the Hungry Hippo Cultivator, the crowd''s favourite and his jaw breaking War Club was nothing to be scoffed at. Ruo Ying, the Esthetic Egret Cultivator who used her chains elegantly and had always kept up her support for Xiong Da''s daring attacks There were two other Pandarens that had joined them to form a team of eight because they finally had the time off from their busy work schedule. They were none other than Lee An, the Yondering Yak Cultivator that utilised Knuckle Knives and Xue Ping, the Prancing Puma Cultivator with her Power Fists. But of course, all of the members of this ''All Stars Team'' brought a number of weapons in their storage rings despite their weapon specialisations. After their experience fighting the Demon Army led by King Baal, they had acknowledged the need to get creative to survive and this had led them to over prepare for this raid. From emergency medical kits to snack sized chi potions that could refresh their chi on the fly. Not to mention, the entire group of eight had enjoyed a hearty breakfast in Lynn''s restaurant to buff themselves up before the raid. They were not taking any chances as they understood that this could be a protracted raid from the sounds of Kiyu''s advertising. They aimed to be the number one team in terms of points and get ALL THE PLUSHIES!!! Chapter 1047 - The Crowd! Chapter 1047 ¨C The Crowd! "It''s quite a surprise the police gave its top detectives some time off." Bin Yong said as he showed the Panda Flight Attendant his electronic ticket, verifying his participation for the Demopolis Raid as well as the appointed de facto team leader for this particular All Star team. "We''re merely here to spend our vouchers that Jin had offered us as part of the contract to keep us in shape. To be frank, this particular raid had raised quite a number of eyebrows fromthe policemen and women in the station." Xue Ping replied as she raised her phone with the Pandamonium app on for identification purposes. "Is it because the trailer mentioned we would be fighting against some demonic Mafia monsters?" Luo Bo questioned and Xue Ping nodded her head. "While we know that Jin''s dungeons are mostly fantasy based, there are still quite a fair bit of tactics the monsters deploy against cultivators that are rather original. Although it is a bit far fetched in the real world, it can''t hurt to learn something from it and draw inspiration from it." Xue Ping explained. "Bah, what nonsense. Although Police Captain Pai Huo might claim this could be a good exercise, you just wanted to fight and work off some steam by smacking some monsters." Lee An, her husband, waved off all the previously mentioned logic of his wife. Xue Ping did not hesitate to pull his ear and reminded him to concentrate for they were here to explore whether it would indeed be good for the rest of the police staff in the Tiangong Police Station to take part in this raid. "I guess it can''t hurt to try it out. We saw the trailers that this is set in the urban city. Compared to the Pandapolis raid, which happened to be at the outskirts of a city and later chaos within the city, this seemed to be really concentrated in an urban landscape." Shi Zuo remarked as he adjusted his bag and entered through the security gates after showing his identification. "Yeah. The Deep One Escape City is madness for a one team dungeon instance and this seems to be an improvement over it." Luo Bo still felt sour that so far they had been unable to complete the Deep One Escape City Dungeon Instance. In fact, so far nobody had managed to fully clear that dungeon and the Pandawans had come up with a theory that it could possibly be a ''marathon'' kind of dungeoneering rather than a find the objective and rush to it. Bin Yong and his team had tried a dozen more times but they had failed to replicate their first ''complete'' run. It was as if it had just been a fluke or the AI within the dungeon instance had gotten less complacent with their team at that point of time. When they heard that Demopolis Raid featured an entire city that is equivalent to three major districts worth of streets, they knew that this raid could not be finished in a single day. The previous Pandapolis Raid had already felt like a week long, so they imagined this one might turn into months long. In actual fact, the Pandapolis Raid had only lasted around two Dungeon World days and the System, as usual, had purposely recreated the scenes and played them on repeat for a week after the actual one. It was not so different from what it had done for the Goblin Wars as well as the Salamander Lord Castle Raid. Still, everyone who had been to Jin''s dungeon store long enough would know that the first iteration would always be the most unique one, as if it was to give the early bird cultivators the special privilege of testing it out, although some just claimed that it was to calibrate the difficulty level. Whatever the case, this was no exception with the fact that both Jin and his minions had indeed anticipated this fight to be a very protracted one in order to save System resources while earning money. However, the Foxes begged to differ. According to them it would last less than a week, seeing how the crowd for the new Demopolis raid had grown quite immense. There were estimated to be nearly two thousand cultivators within Jin''s store instance, all camping to try out the new fight. It was all thanks to the Shenzhen''s Tourism Board as well as his new ''pals'' from the Royal Zodiac Snake Battalion. But if the System were to analyse the crowd properly, it would be entirely another reason. While higher echelons of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan were at odds with Jin, it did not mean that everyone associated with their clans hated him. Some even admired his show of strength on the first day of the Chinese New Year. The news of him being the newest Royal Zodiac Panda Clan leader had reached to the ears of various leaders and had made them very curious about this unique dungeon supplier. From the Royal Zodiac Clans to minor clans as well as military and police leaders, all had sent out their lackeys to observe this particular event. They knew that Jin might not exactly be directly involved in the event but the rumours of a rising leader because of his dungeon store had made people interested in the features of his dungeon supplier store. Although the store instance was already a power blow to their current mindset about dungeon suppliers, the Demopolis Raid instance would be a whole new level and Jin welcomed these people to try their luck and strength in this raid. After all, the Mafia families controlling the city right now were no ignorant brutes. The fight for the Shadow King titles had been a constant struggle for control and that meant lots of bloodshed as well as the rise of veteran fighters. If the Demon Army was considered a menace that required Jin to use heavy ordnance to stop them, this would be far harder considering they wished to keep most of the stuff intact. As ironic as it sounded considering that King Rex and Jin were going for a restart in Demopolis City, there was another good reason for this. Kraft and Kiyu''s deep infiltration within the ranks of the Church of the Afterlife had not been for nought. Their ''enslaved'' tempered agents had already told them all about the Church''s desire in demolishing the Demopolis and this entire fight could possibly be a farce¡­ But for now, Jin kept his cool and watched on the sidelines as he allowed Kraft to take the stage. Chapter 1048 - Secret Vouchers in the Achievements Chapter 1048 ¨C Secret Vouchers in the Achievements "Welcome to the flight deck of our C130 Modified Plane Series P4ND4. We will be departing shortly to Demopolis and will reach our destination in roughly 30 minutes. In the meantime, please preview the information gathered by our trusty Panda Spy Associates and get ready for a rocky landing. You''re not required to put on your seatbelts for this flight as the planes'' gravity has been adjusted such that it would fly like a baby in a lullaby rocking bed. Do enjoy the flight and be ready to depart once the green light at your front door blinks." The Plane''s intercom clicked twice before deactivating and the sounds of the planes'' engine could be heard loudly for a moment before it got muffled by the sound barriers that the plane''s interior had raised. While there was the option of viewing the takeoff through their rooms'' miniature portholes room, most of the Pandarens and Pandawans chose not to do so. From previous experiences, it had become clear that they had to get as many points as possible from the start especially when they had the lead. However, that also meant that they would be prone to suffering a heavy blow at the start if they went in too reckless. What''s more, the first Demopolis Raid had been deemed to last at least a week, mainly because Jin had implemented a resurrection procedure for the enemies. He could have done that for all of his raids but this time around, he wanted a more persistent kind of battleground where it would be a battle of attrition more than conquering the territory. (Nobody told his customers that Demopolis was part of the Dungeon World and that resurrection was a fairly common thing even though it did cost money to accelerate the process) That is, however, only to the smaller fries of this entire raid fiasco and limited to locations where the System deemed that the Pandarens aren''t getting enough action. This meant that they had to capture high value targets or complete the objectives as set out by Jin and with the simplicity in the nature of the objectives, they believed there would be some sort of a ''combo'' which they could exploit. True enough, Jin did set perks and achievements for meeting the goals of the main objectives. From mere quantitative achievements such as killing 1000+ mafia demons to unique ones such as protecting your fellow teammates and other teams in a scuffle for 30+ minutes. As the Pandawan Team (which at the moment included the two Police detectives for inclusion''s sake) studied the ''research notes'', they found out more about the series of achievements that could yield them Panda Coins, Demopolis Points as well as a secret voucher similar to the one that had been given out in the full complete exploration of the Nian Island. Even though few Pandarens had managed to get the voucher, there was actually an NPC that had brought them to a discreet location to show them the details of said voucher. As much they would want to show it out to the Pandamonium Forums and display it out in full view for the rest to be jealous of, the Panda NPC re emphasised that this feature was not fully implemented and thus requested the Pandarens to sign a non disclosure agreement to ensure that such information was not leaked out prematurely. Still, each time a Pandaren obtained the voucher. The Panda NPC was able to publish a small portion of a photograph of the said item which made people guess crazily what it was. Some conjured it was a picture of Nian but there were Pandarens who painstakingly tried to compare every detail of Nian with the Dungeon model especially since the cultivators were able to take screenshots with their visors with a quick voice command. They found that while there were striking similarities, yet at the same time it seemed to be a different model. Some customers tried to find these completionists for an answer but it seemed that the System had enabled certain anti bullying and tracking measures to ensure that these customers were not harassed within the store instance. Aside from the few who publicly revealed to have vouchers, most of the other completionists were able to keep out of sight of this unique situation. And since there was another of such vouchers available for grabs in the achievement section of the Demopolis Raids, there was a high amount of interest on this particular voucher. The Nian Island completionist achievement secret voucher might have seemed hard, but this Demopolis Secret Voucher was even more demanding. And yet Boss Jin personally had claimed that it would be worth it because once the feature was released, it would be quite an exclusive item and a sort of keepsake for those who had worked hard for it. The research notes included not only notes about the rules and rewards, but also a physical map plus a digital map that could be accessed within the groups'' main meeting rooms. The map featured a total of 50+ districts of Demopolis and which gangs had occupied them. The Merchants District was being held by the Atrocity mafia, the Petal District was directly under the command of the Tyr Gauntlets and the Cosmo District was filled with the presence of the Eld Enclave Mafia Family. For the start of the raid, Jin had limited the choice of each team to one of these three districts, waiting for the first Pandarens and Pandawans to take over these districts before spreading out into the surrounding areas. The Pandawans decided to go to the Merchants District mainly because they believed the ''brawns'' faction were the easiest to deal with compared to the ''brain'' or the ''all-rounders''. Not to mention, they were melee cultivators who wanted a good fight too. The team did think of hitting the weaklings and working their way through while learning more about the battlefield when they saw the monstrosity of details in the map, but Xiong Da disagreed. "Fortune favours the brave and right now, we should set the example for the other Pandarens and set what we intended to do in the first place." With a sweet talker like him, he managed to cement the initial conviction for the rest to take on Atrocity. Hence, everyone within the Pandawan team agreed to hit hard fast and while finding a place for retreat as time goes by so there would be enough time to recuperate as Jin had now placed a mini cooldown timer for those who were killed in action as part of the new rules. (More would be explained further as the action unfolds but there was a way to get their teammates back and avoid the cooldown period.) All that was left to do now was to wait for the green light to appear at the top of their meeting room to battle the ''weakest'' of the three factions¡­ Chapter 1049 - Paradrop Chapter 1049 ¨C Paradrop "DENNGGGGGGG, DENNNGGGGGGGG" That long awaited light bulb finally blinked and sounds were blaring as they were discussing another possible route to run if they were surrounded. If not for the expertise of Lee An and Xue Ping, they would not have considered that many alternatives to their initial plan. "Yo Pandawans, you guys are up next." A harsh voice could be heard through the metal doors when the light bulb above it remained lit and the alarm had waned. It was then the figure who talked, opened their doors and revealed himself to be Captain Hei. "Since you are going into such a high risk territory as well as spending money to be in the priority first wave, Boss Jin wanted me to inform you that you will receive assistance for the first five minutes as well as during the paradrop." Captain Hei said as he shook his shoulders a little to release the slight itch of the battle combat vest that he was wearing. The rest of the group were happy to see him as he was a familiar friend and teammate that they could rely on easily. However, Captain Hei was still strict with his words even though he was merely an NPC. "What are you guys waiting for? Get dressed for the fight!" Captain Hei yelled and bang the door twice, causing everyone to instinctively reply with a ''Yes captain!'' while scuffling to their own rooms to get any gear that came to mind at the very last minute. "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Or else we will fly over the drop zone and you losers will end up fighting boring maggots!" Captain Hei clapped his paws to spur them on to take their things. Although they were not military trained, Captain Hei was imposing those restrictions mainly because their plane was approaching the edge of the Merchants District. Technically, they could always just fly one more round to accommodate the Pandawans but Jin had insisted that all the cultivators should be treated equally (even though some paid for the priority ticket such as the Pandawan Team.) It was also to ensure that the planes would keep to their schedules as they still needed to return to pick up the other teams. That way there would be a steady flow of reinforcements to keep the Mafia groups pressured. "Shi Zuo, let''s get going or else Captain Hei is going to leave you behind!" Luo Bo yelled at the door as she made sure that her parachute vest was fastened properly before walking to the unloading bay door. "Coming! Comingggg!" Shi Zuo called back as he quickly uploaded the details of the plan that the police officers duo had suggested into his Pandamonium App which would later be transmitted to the half mask visors within their team. This latest minor feature was quite impressive in Shi Zuo''s opinion. For a supposed store app to be as versatile as this, Shi Zuo had slowly begun to treat Pandamonium as a companion app that was an integral part of Dungeons and Pandas. Ironically, he had considered it to be quite redundant at first, thinking of it as just another store forcing their sub-par product on their customers, craving to gain some digital presence. He had downloaded it back then simply because it had been a requirement, but boy did he quickly change his mind. As the store grew within the few months since its inception, it had proven itself to be very responsive with little to no bugs despite Shi Zuo''s pet peeve (or rather work compulsion) to try to break it down consistently. In fact, the few bugs he had encountered had been quickly corrected within a day without any need for reporting. For an app to be this robust could only mean that Jin must have a highly sophisticated tech support. Since Shi Zuo had been there since week one of the store''s opening, he suspected that one of Jin''s friends or colleagues had to be a powerhouse not to be trifled with and he would love to meet the one in charge¡­ Yet none of that mattered at that moment, since Luo Bo was shouting rather angrily for her boyfriend to stop dilly dallying. "Go, Go, Go!" Captain Hei said as he started ushering people out of the plane, never giving any of the Pandawans the chance to catch their breath. The police officers had been the first to pretty much get booted off the plane, as they were trained in combat. (Though that did not mean they were well versed with being kicked out from the plane!) Luo Bo could not wait for Shi Zuo any longer as she took a bow gun out from her storage ring and used a rope arrow to bind Shi Zuo. Thankfully, there were no piercing arrow claws onto the rope arrow this time around but rather, a glue-like web that sticks to Shi Zuo''s hand temporarily. Infused with her chi, she shamelessly pulled Shi Zuo towards her through the corridor and to the end of the plane despite the onlookers peeking through their main rooms to see how Captain Hei treated the Pandawan ruthlessly. (Some even thought that they were like playthings to the Panda Captain!) And in order not to be late from the jump and with Hei already ensuring they had used up the maximum amount of delay, Luo Bo was picked up by him and being thrown out of the plane. But ruthless as he may be, it was also one of the reasons why Captain Hei hurried the rest to jump off first so that he could buy Luo Bo and Shi Zuo enough time before jumping out. Shi Zuo screamed like a little girl, but otherwise maintained most of his focus in adjusting the last few options in the Pandamonium App to ensure the plans and markers would get uploaded. In the meantime, Luo Bo pulled him closer knowing that he would be too busy minding his own business. Captain Hei was also right beside them and transmitting information to the rest of Team Pandawan. From above, the city beneath looked extremely vast and sophisticated with the number of low rise buildings. But for now, they seemed to be undetected as they realised that the C130s that brought them here had been covered with either a high tech camouflage capability or a magic spell that enabled stealth. As such, once they landed they would still have the element of surprise on their side! Chapter 1050 - A Successful Landing Chapter 1050 ¨C A Successful Landing The Pandawan team might still be complete amateurs when it came to paragliding, but thanks to the assistance of the System through their visors, they were told when to pull their parachutes out. Worst possible case scenario, they would drop flat to the ground if they could not handle the parachute instructions. (And restart all over again since they would be severely handicapped from the long fall if they did not have enough chi to soften their impact.) Despite the multiple times Bing Yong''s group had been paradropping for the raids, the Bombardier Beetle Cultivator never got the hang of it. He was baffled how his girlfriend could enjoy this thrill. He had always dreaded it to the point that one time he had decided to completely forgo the paradropping, instead opting to jump from the plane to kill monsters. That was especially true with the use of his trusty small little buckler infused with chi to make quite a big splash in previous raids (And of course provide entertainment for the other Pandarens watching them doing so.) But this time around, secrecy was of the utmost importance. If they were able to pull it off, they would have an edge in their upcoming fights. Even the usually loud Xiong Da had agreed that it was quite important this time around. Jin had provided them with some details on this particular raid like they knew that this particular Mafia faction had many fighters focused on melee combat. Still, the Pandawan team was unaware of how many members or the numbers exactly that awaited them in the Merchants District. Was it a huge gang with an unlimited number of lackeys or a group small but strong enough to topple the standard Pandaren parties. Hence, to them, stealth was of vital importance prior to scouting. The airdrop was mostly a success thanks to the stealth inscription they used to descend into a nearby garden. They were similar to the ones used by the C130 plane that brought them to this particular raid instance with the only difference being that the parachutes only benefited from it for a limited time before the inscription powers wore off. That was also the reason why they had agreed to land inside the garden. They could have chosen a higher vantage point to plan their attacks but that would require them to have better coordination as well as some skills to land where they wanted to. Not to mention, there were guards on certain rooftops and their unskilled landing could become the alarm needed to alert the rest of the Mafia group. The Pandarens might not know it but the Atrocity Mafia''s demon combatants were not to be trifled with when it came to their extra sensory perception. Their training and combat skills honed through daily struggles in their fights to survive in the underworld had made even the most average guards very perceptive, enough to see through stealthy spies landing near them. And since the Pandawans had no zero ideas or information on their target, the ever cautious officers had decided against risking anything. With the aid of the half mask visor''s instructions, they all were able to land safely in the garden''s field. Only Bin Yong was uncoordinated enough to land into a bush of flowers but Jia Le managed to help him out, though he did try to hide his embarrassment by taking a bunch of flowers to present to his girlfriend. To their surprise, there were no guards around the garden while Bin Yong had struggled to come out of the flower bush. Captain Hei ended up being the last to land, skillfully removing his parachute vest, he made it disappear in his storage ring before looking at the group. The Pandawans quickly followed suit as they understood it was best to leave no evidence. At that moment, Captain Hei raised his head as if to sniff his surroundings for a moment before beckoning them to follow him. With their training in urban police combat, the officers broke the team down further into groups of three with the officers and the Panda Captain in the lead. This made Captain Hei''s job easy as he gave quick, precise commands to the officers to delegate so they were able to keep their presence in the shadows hidden. Under the cover of darkness, they were headed towards a designated checkpoint. While the Demopolis City Raids were placed in the city itself, none of the Mafia members had any idea that the System was technically still in control of the place. If the System wanted to, it could easily destroy the entire city on a whim. The citizens would be kicked out of the city and be left stateless (or city-less) until the Demopolis had been rebuilt from scratch. However, since both Jin and Rex had sensed a golden opportunity (one to earn money, the other the goodwill of the people), they had utilised the System''s ability to arrange special places within the city via the Dungeon Core to create a sort of sanctuaries for the cultivators. As they had seen in thriller movies, Captain Hei was leading them to a safe house which the System had specifically designated where the Pandarens could rest and reorganise themselves. In addition, those safe houses would act as shops, allowing them to restock and save points for people who had decided they had had enough of the raid. By paying a fraction of the initial ticket, they would be able to return to the raid once again through those safe houses and even find parties to join if any teams were lacking in teammates and were unable to replenish their numbers. As a service, the System would portal them to the nearest available safe location (in short, out of sight from the Mafias) and allowed such Pandarens to rejoin back with their new teams. When they reached the safe house, which was in a bas.e.m.e.nt of a secluded alley, they found that the safe house had a checkpoint that Captain Hei emphasised to activate in case they were killed. "Unless you wish to experience the pleasure of going for another ride and parachute drop. Either way, it''s your choice. I am done helping you guys for now. At this point, it''s all up to you, Pandawans. Time is ticking. Three teams of Pandarens have already started fighting with minor Mafia groups in the outskirts of Demopolis and the most efficient one has gained 6 points." Captain Hei announced before he informally saluted them and went through a door with the sign "NO ENTRY." While Team Pandawan was a little disappointed that Captain Hei did not actually join them in a firefight, they were thankful that they had a place to gather their bearings and did a final restock of items within the safe house. It was quite a bit back breaking effort to reach the safe house but in doing so, Captain Hei had already pinpointed to them a few major locations that were swarming with Mafias. This was updated into the digital map Shi Zuo had loaded into their Pandamonium App group chat and into their visors. After which the restock, Lee An took the first step out of the bas.e.m.e.nt and started to lead the group, only this time they split into teams of four, ready to kill some Mafia demons! Chapter 1051 - Ambush Attack! Chapter 1051 ¨C Ambush Attack! "P1 in position." Lee An announced through the secured team chat channel. "P2 in position too. Get ready for your part." Bin Yong replied, his eyes on a group of Atrocity Mafia demons on the second floor of a derelict building. All of them seemed to be resting and enjoying their off duty status as they had just switched their shift with another group of demon guards who had barely left to patrol around the area. The Pandawans had been watching this particular guardhouse movement for a short period of time after their information had been verified from one of the goons they extracted information from. Before this, they had managed to subdue a series of small parties of Atrocity Mafia Demons but with quite a bit of difficulty. They noticed that no matter how they tried to cover themselves up with stealth, they still managed to catch onto their presence. (Xiong Da was unhappy he was being blamed for the cause of it all.) But eventually, the Pandawans found out that they were just that perceptive so they had regrouped and decided to hit one of the main guardhouses which Captain Hei had pointed to them previously. This was also because they hoped that the small groups they hit would not be noticed. After quietly subduing a guard on duty at the side gates of the opposite building across the guard house by using Jia Le''s magical kunais, Bin Yong''s team tried their best to enter it without attracting too much attention. Jia Le, Shi Zuo, Xue Ping who were in Bin Yong''s team took their positions behind the second floor windows and readied their guns. "Once Bin Yong''s group start, the other guards who had just departed for their guard route should return. Let''s make sure they won''t be able to interfere." Lee An reiterated their responsibilities as they were the primary strike team of the two groups. With two heavy hitters such as Xiong Da and Luo Bo in the group, his group would be engaging the patrol that had left the guardhouse a few moments ago. The flashy attack from Bin Yong''s team would be the distraction to ensure that there would be no other teams reinforcing the recently disembarked patrol when Lee An''s group ambushed them. "Let''s start!" Bin Yong pulled the pin of a grenade and threw it towards the window of the other building. As the metal mini pineapple flew into the room, one of the off duty Atrocity guards instinctively grabbed it since it was flying towards him. He had no idea what it was even though it clearly felt ominously dangerous. Despite his quick reaction to pick it up, that iron pineapple in his hand was already ticking down. The primer on the grenade had already caused the delayed chemical fuse to move, causing it to ignite the charge within the frag grenade. As it exploded, fragments of metal balls burst out of it lining the off duty Mafia guard with holes in his body. However, he wasn''t the only victim. Some nearby guards had approached him to get a better look at what exactly their companion had caught, resulting in them also being hurt by the explosion. The blast was deafening enough for the recently departed patrol to turn their heads. They saw the smoke coming out of the second floor of their guardhouse, which prompted their leader to move back to the base to check the situation out. It wasn''t until he saw a few more metal canisters being lobbed into the guardhouse from the opposite building that he ordered the rest of his team to follow after him. Those metal canisters had looked as if they were going to fall to the ground but somehow they suddenly started to speed up via a magical propulsion method in midair. They quickly rocketed into the second and third floor of the guardhouse resulting in even more explosions. To make matters worse, the on duty Atrocity guards were so caught up by the first explosion with their perception focused on the higher floors that they did not realise that a few of these canister projectiles were flying into them. Only the on duty guard captain recognised the threat, the rest barely had time to bring their shields up. As soon as he caught a glimpse of these projectiles, he quickly went ahead to intercept one by attempting to kick it away. However, that was the worst decision one could make as the canister exploded right when it impacted right beneath his leg, causing him to lose his entire right calf. The guard immediately fell to the ground screaming in pain as the loss of blood was immense right from the get go. The medic of the group tried to cast some healing magic but it would take some time to chant. In the meantime, his other comrades tried to stop the bleeding by tearing their shirts and using it as a tourniquet to stop the blood from gushing out while some tried to cover the exposed femur by pushing their stained cloth shirts onto it. Simultaneously, a few of the guards shifted their position forward with heavy shields at the front to block any more attacks. "So this is how a fully armed guard patrol looks like. They seem to have a mix of healers and defenders. Despite their rough look, they seem to be very organised." Lee An commented as he continued to observe the situation. It was very different from the small parties they killed initially. That opening volley had given the Pandawan primary strike team an insight into their makeup of groups, allowing them to learn that even a melee oriented organisation had balanced attack teams. He realised that those canisters had made a loud commotion which had lost them the chance for an ambush but with the Pandarens already actively fighting in the district, the guard had already been vigilant. Meanwhile, Bin Yong and the others who had used the canisters were satisfied with the last minute addition to their arsenal found in the safehouse. The rocket propelled grenades, although a cheaper version, were courtesy of Jin''s Science Department. The surprising part was that Kiva had created them as an attempt to curry favour with Ayse. Its intended use had been to save costs for the upcoming war against the Demon Rats in the Farming World, but Kraft who often visited the lady orc had coincidentally seen it and quickly incorporated it into ''his'' raid. (Jin rolled his eyes whenever Kraft said that this was his raid.) In order to create these makeshift RPG canisters, Kiva had first filled a metal can full of explosive powder and added a snippet of booster rocket inscription charm at the back of it. Of course, there had been many revisions until it resulted in the current version which allowed to stack and screw the canisters together for increased mobility or increased explosive power of the RPG canister. This ingenuity allowed Jin to earn quite a fair bit of profit because it was more or less impossible to recreate this particular booster rocket inscription charm except for Octofussy, Jin''s legendary charm inscriber. But without too much hesitation, Lee An signalled Xiong Da to move forth and intercept the group while Bin Yong and his group continued to throw more RPG canisters before running away deeper into the building they were residing. Chapter 1052 - Clash With the Guard Patrol Chapter 1052 ¨C Clash With the Guard Patrol "Chase after them!" A grumpy demon shouted from the highest floor of the guardhouse. The primary Pandawan Strike Team figured him to be the leader of the guards, so Lee An had signalled for Luo Bo and Ruo Ying to test the capabilities of the ''boss'' whereas he would follow up with Xiong Da after dealing with the guards outside. They might have lesser firepower but Xiong Da assured his current leader that they would be sufficient against those fools. While the women had left to go after the Guard Leader''s head, Xiong Da had already jumped out from his location and raced to the centre of the patrol team who were preparing themselves against the RPG canisters. Still, as expected from an elite group of Mafia demons, the defenders noticed Xiong Da''s presence shortly after he came out even though he did not make any loud blatant charging noise as he would usually do. Half of them quickly turned their back after slamming their shields to the ground. Since they were resolute enough to stay on the ground with the might exerted by the defenders, the patrol believed it was sufficient to stop the RPG canisters that came their way and rushed to intercept Xiong Da. However, they did not know that these canisters had been charged with not just explosives within the metal can but also chi to double the combustible strength. It caused their iron shields to burst into pieces when the RPG canisters impacted, injuring some of the healers and guards. This caused a split moment of hesitation for the defenders and that was all Xiong Da needed to intercept them with his large warclubs. Aye! Two warclubs, one in each hand, slamming through the group''s defenders from the front. However, to his surprise, the defenders were able to match the strength of his weapons'' slam and that further made him even more elated. "This is just the beginning!" Xiong Da hyped himself up as he used whatever momentum he had left to turn his body and to deal out another wide slam. Yet, the guards were not there for show as they instantly used the opening the lawyer gave them to counterattack, causing him to fall back from the blows. Fortunately, he was not alone. Lee An did not waste any more time as he came out with his pistol and began firing earnestly at the guards. While the guards were perceptive enough, all but one evaded Lee An''s support fire. A few perished from the headshots and the rest only sustained minor wounds as they shamelessly used their comrade''s fallen body as a meat shield to stop the attacks. Xiong Da quickly recovered from his fall and Lee An diverted his firing support to the edges of the patrol team so that they would not hit the Hippo Cultivator. Still, he noticed that the guards felt that his weapon could be disarmed or less effective at closer combat and thus a few attackers from the patrol team disembark from the main group and were already rushing towards him. "Tsk, you are just coming to a step closer to death each time you approach me." Lee An thought as he released his off hand to hover it above the knuckle knives he had slotted near his waist. Once the guards entered his range, he used a combination of punches and slashes while switching his pistol to full automatic, allowing him to fire off quick bursts at close quarters. This time around, the guards were unable to evade despite their extra sensory perception. They never saw it coming that his pistol could be fired in such short intervals. That knowledge came too late though, as they fell to the ground in pain from the direct shots to the chest. Though it was a fairly quick death in the eyes of the police officer, the demon guards felt their pain lasted for an eternity before taking their breath. In the meantime, Xiong Da had battled with the defenders and a few of their guards but both parties realised that the guards had an advantage in terms of agility. So the Pandawan was quick to forgo his war club for a more direct approach. As the guards rushed to attack him, he did not hesitate to grab them with his hands and grappled two of them to his chest. At that point, he exerted his chi onto his clothes, causing them to activate and instantly the two guards were killed on the spot. Once the Hippo Cultivator released them, the remaining defenders were shocked to see stab wounds all over their dead companion. They did not know how Xiong Da had done it, but it had become clear that getting too close to him was basically a death sentence. Sadly, things did not go their way as Xiong Da also activated his boots'' inscription charms and sped towards them grabbing another two defenders on each arm before using them as an alternative to war clubs. He held onto their legs and slammed the two defenders together in a manoeuvre that caused the bodies to splatter right in front of the healers. Seeing that most of their guards and defenders were killed, the healer demons took the right course of action to run away from them but Lee An had no intentions to allow them to regroup with those inside the building. "It''s a good thing these healers take time to work their magic. They thought that their team would be fast enough to kill us and they could focus on healing." Lee An thought to himself as he went towards them but like him, the healers were actually keeping their trump cards. Poison daggers were brandished at the very last minute but Lee An with the cultivation of the Yondering Yak, quickly activated his skill "Force Step of the Yak." That enabled him to forcefully leap backwards a few metres and avoid the ''surprise'' dagger strikes. As part of his counterattack, he raised his gun and dealt reactionary fire to the healers despite the inadequacy to coup with the inertia from his evasive manoeuvres. Even though the aim was off because of the leap, the distance between the two parties was close to considerably injure the healers, causing them to drop to the ground wrangling in pain. Once Lee An stabilised himself, he did not hesitate to drop another bullet to each of them, releasing them from their anguish. With this swift assault, nearly the entire on duty patrol team had been disabled. Chapter 1053 - Pandawans New Weapons Chapter 1053 ¨C Pandawans¡¯ New Weapons Although the alerted patrol guard had been annihilated, this battle was far from over. More Atrocity guards left the guard house before they split up. The bigger group went towards the opposite building where Bin Yong''s strike team had unleashed their improvised rockets from while the smaller group went after Xiong Da and Lee An. With the entire patrol decimated, there had been no one to report the ferocity of the two cultivators so their leader had merely sent a smaller group after them. They assumed that Bin Yong and the others had been the ones to kill off the patrol outside, leaving two of their comrades out in the streets. "Wow, I thought we were falling behind badly but it seems that these guards are actually worth quite a fair bit of points. Too bad we don''t have the time to apprehend them properly." Lee An lamented as he took a look at his Monkey Emporium brand digital watch which he showed off the scoring their team had earnt. Obviously, the watch manufacturers had not had Pandamonium App in mind but Jin''s shop instance featured a store that provided exclusive options to upgrade digital watches regardless of brand. They did however state that it would void the warranty of the watch, yet the perks of using it in the dungeon instances were so immense that many opted to use it. "You mean we are number one right now?" Xiong Da grabbed one of his warclubs and returned it to his storage ring while he continued to hold the other as a two handed weapon. "That would have been too easy. No, some other Pandaren team under the name of ''Mojo''s Villains League'' is holding that position at the moment, but we are gaining momentum. It was the right choice to hit a high value target." Lee An replied as he readied his stance after he reloaded his pistol and checked his wrists. In order to ensure a quick reload time during high intense fights, he had to make sure that his pistol clips were easy enough to reach. To do that he utilised a bracelet on each arm that acted as pistol clip holders, which could hold two clips, one on each side of his arm. In a way, it acted as a basic wrist protector too since the clip holders were made of heavy duty metal. It had been a little more expensive than the usual clip holders, since it could potentially hinder his movements. However, Lee An had seen the effectiveness of his pistol wielding abilities first hand against these demons making him trust in his decision to go with this one. On the other hand, Xiong Da was gleeing as he held his war club tight. With the (almost) unlimited amount of money on hand, he too had something that could change the tide of battle. His warclub had been heavily modified into something akin to a gunblade, although one would more than likely just call it a shotgun warclub. While it was not usable outside of Jin''s dungeons, this was potentially one of the most terrifying weapons made by Jin''s inhouse weaponsmith, Vulcan (Let''s not count Kraft''s constant ''experiments'' which gave Vulcan and Jin''s science team a bad headache). By using physics and chi, the blacksmith had created a war club for Xiong Da that utilised a kinetic energy modifier to stall the ''shotgun'' charges. The lawyer merely needed to exert a little bit of his chi to fire off a scatter shot of energy into his enemies. Still, that was not the only war club that had been modified. The one the Hippo Pandawan had returned into his storage ring had the same concept except that it had chambers for shotgun rounds and even alternatives such like dragonbreath shotgun shells in conjunction with the kinetic energy modifier war club. One might even argue that it was overkill no matter how much the number one customer of Jin''s had equipped himself with. The poor guards had no idea what was coming. The first demon Mafia guard who was about the same size as Xiong Da challenged him directly to a duel. He rushed towards the Hippo Cultivator, confident in his strength to bring down one of the culprits who had killed his friends. However, Xiong Da, who had been casually swinging his war club while waiting for his enemies to regroup, was all ready to plummet the Mafia demon into one big lump of meat. True enough, just as the Mafia demon came into range of Xiong Da, the war club smacked him from the bottom of his feet and up to the third floor. The Mafia demon crashed through the walls, resulting in multiple injuries. Xiong Da thought that to be enough to frighten quite a number of Atrocity Mafia demons, yet it ended up having the opposite effect. All of them were enraged and even felt excited that there was a strong enemy to fight against. They had been nearly bored stiff from the constant guard duty with no signs of the Demopolis Police despite the warnings from their higher ups. So when these unique human magic combatants with those half masks had started to appear, they had looked forward to this chance to wreak havoc. The Mafia demon immediately recognised them as the soldiers that King Rex must have employed mainly because of the weapons they used. From the fast draw pistol to the heavily modified war club which could not be manufactured with usual means. They understood that these humans were the special forces that had been rumoured to be dropping into the neighbourhood and they quietly infiltrated into the districts. While they did not have modern telecommunications, magic orbs and other magical items easily replaced those, allowing the various Mafias to send out transmission amongst each other. They understood that even though they had their differences, this particular "cleansing" wasn''t something they could stand on their own. This ''draining the swamp'' had bonded them to look out for each other¡­ at least on the surface. In reality, the three Shadow Kings merely wished to have as much information on their enemies, so they could be prepared for them. This particular ambush by the Pandawan Team was a daring attack that the Atrocity Mafia didn''t take kindly to. The top Guard Leader had already transmitted the information about these human special forces causing trouble, especially focusing on their new weapons, making all three Mafias enter into high alert. The upper brass had also immediately sent out reinforcements to the damaged guardhouse to take care of the offenders. Just as the guard leader was done forwarding that information, he sensed two humans in his vicinity, despite the awful burning smell from the aftermath of the explosions. And it seemed that they were very keen to take his head. Chapter 1054 - Commanding Guard Leaders Room Chapter 1054 ¨C Commanding Guard Leader¡¯s Room Luo Bo and Ruo Ying surrounded him. There was no need for him to query the two human invaders about their intention as they stood in front of his doorstep with dead bodies piling right behind them. He only saw their result, yet the spectators of this very exciting raid in Jin''s shop had seen the two women fight their way to this ''miniboss''. Being quite the adept bow user, Luo Bo had used a rope arrow to scale the walls pulling along Ruo Ying with her. During the commotion from the front gate, the two Pandawans had snuck to the back of the building. While Ruo Ying could have used her chains, Luo Bo had invested in a belt that had an automated axle that her rope could be attached to. Thanks to it, the two Pandawans had managed to reach the highest sixth floor without wasting their chi, all while keeping their presence hidden. It was all going well until a guard had happened to patrol right there, right then. Just when he had been about to sound the alarm, Ruo Ying''s thrown out her spiked chain which had penetrated the thick reinforced glass and into the guard''s chest. Luo Bo had similarly followed up by using a handheld mini crossbow, enhancing it with chi so that it could perform the final blow. While it had achieved the desired result, the sound of glass breaking was bound to attract unwanted attention to their floor and the two Pandawans had been aware that they had to act fast now before guards would come to investigate. As such, they had entered through that window with Ruo Ying in the lead since she could easily detach the chains which she had used to bind Luo Bo to herself like a rope for moving upwards. The moment they touched the ground, the Esthetical Egret Cultivator had mercilessly used her chains to find the nearest possible target it could strike. If not for the small corridors, the guard members could have easily evaded the chains, yet the current interior design had allowed Ruo Ying''s snake-like chains to mercilessly zoom and aim for the guard''s vital spots such as their necks and chest. Whenever a chain had missed its target, she had used the walls to make it rebound hitting the guards from unbelievable angles. Amidst the explosive commotion from the second and third floor, their own fight remained largely undetected, allowing them to enter the Guard Leader''s room. Still, to become a Commanding Guard Leader in the Atrocity Mafia was no easy feat. Even as the noise and fights in the streets had grabbed much of his attention, Ghimley had similarly sensed it in his bones that there was internal strife within the building. However, his first priority had been to inform their current headquarters about any new developments. "Thank you for waiting." Ghimley said as he placed the ''phone'' down with a sigh of relief. With his duty fulfilled he was ready to take revenge for the guards that these two humans had killed. He knew that his underling would eventually get resurrected but it was one thing to reincarnate outside of the city and another to do so in Demopolis. Unfortunately for the Mafia factions, the final say for anyone resurrecting within the city currently lays with King Rex. Such matters would be usually handled by the staff from the Church of the Afterlife within the city, yet the new king had actively scoured them even before the mass migration and a number of them had gone missing. The Mafia factions could only infer that King Rex had done so to control who was allowed to resurrect within the city. Without the Church of the Afterlife staff to facilitate the resurrection, it meant that the Mafia forces were bound to dwindle in due time. That was one of the reasons why the three Shadow Kings who had deep feuds among themselves had decided to put their hatred aside and assist one and another. For example, the Atrocity Mafia''s healers had been bestowed by the Eld Enclaves. However, one look and it would be obvious to anyone that they had been given a batch of healers who could barely be called as such. Most of them had been merely recruits of newly joined demons who knew way too little about healing. It had been a slap in the face despite the truce they had agreed to, especially since a previous clash between the Atrocity and the Eld Enclave Mafias had been one of the worst catastrophes in Demopolis City''s history. Both sides had never liked each other, yet the new king''s actions had forced their cooperation. Ghimley had believed that the King''s forces would have focused on eradicating the weaker Mafia groups first since they had been placed at the edge of their districts and closer to the Royal Palace as well as the main Police Headquarters. As such part of his reported intel had been about the current surprise ambush that defied the Mafias'' expectations, informing them that human commandos with half masks had been sent out to do as much damage as possible. He did not like it and counted himself unlucky that he had to fight them especially when he saw Xiong Da''s warclub smashing through his defenders despite them putting up quite a fight for him. And to make things even more unpleasant, two human magical commandos who had slaughtered his guards were right in front of him. Seeing that he might have a disadvantage fighting them in the room, he roared out loud while flipping his table right in front of him. It was no ordinary table flip as it flew straight towards Ruo Ying and Luo Bo, blocking their field of vision, giving Ghimley the opportunity to escape out into the open. He had mistaken those two as close quarter combatants that could annihilate his guards in minutes but he couldn''t be more wrong. Luo Bo and Ruo Ying rejoiced at the fact that their target refrained from engaging them in such close combat. Chapter 1055 - System Traders Chapter 1055 ¨C System Traders "To the left!" Bin Yong said through the intercom for the current squad he was commanding. Unlike the others who had prepped their arsenal of weapons to the brim in their storage ring, Bin Yong decided to have a more supportive role in this current battle mainly because he knew that he was a one to one duelist compared to his pal Shi Zuo who could go crazy and face multiple enemies at once. Those RPG canisters were part of his stash when he found out that they were on sale when they activated the safehouse''s save point. However, there were more than just explosive canisters and he bought at least a couple of every variant that was on sale, hoping they would prove useful in this particular raid. Everyone knew that this was a gimmick in Jin''s store to provide a variety but they could not deny the effectiveness when the situation arises. Still, the act of overconsumption was thoroughly encouraged by the NPC trader who gave major discounts. As if the System had reversed engineered Jin''s cheapskate behaviour and flipped the switch into their NPC traders, they could be rather persuasive in getting people to buy more than just what they needed. But that was not all, to make people serious about the third main objective of the Raid, which was to collect the Demon Citizen''s belongings, the System had developed an in-raid currency that could only be used within the period when the raid event was active. Each belonging returned would have an amount of currency attached to it. For example, a diamond ring has the value of 10 Demon Panda Emblems. (As much as it sounded evil, it was actually an emblem of a Baby Panda biting a tiefling plushie.) However, the System Traders had heavily emphasised not to be confused with the currency that the current Raid was giving. This particular set of emblems would automatically be exchanged to the latest set of Raid Tokens when the raid was done. (A period of two weeks would be given to the Pandarens should they wish to exchange any last minute items with the System Traders.) However, it would not be a 1 to 1 exchange and it depended on the currency market like the Panda Coins that Jin had implemented. This was because the items that the System Traders are selling were not limited redemption items but combat items that could be replenished. The only special stuff that was in that particular session was prototype weapons which Jin had stated that they needed more data before they could release for public use. (But still, those weapons are locked and restricted in Jin''s store, they could not be used in public at all.) These kinds of weapons and tech items were stored in their weapon closets and only be allowed access when they returned for dungeon instance. In a way, one could say that Jin had rights to hold those weapons and they were deemed too dangerous for cultivators to bring it out of the store. This applied to those warclubs that Xiong Da had been brandishing as well as the guns which the Pandawans were holding. If a Pandaren forgot to return those weapons or wished to bring them out of the store, permission to beam themselves out of the store instance would be denied. They can forcibly return those weapons with a tap in the Pandamonium App or be trapped in the store instance forever until they comply with the rules. This was something Jin had come up with recently as a way to control the weapons, not allowing them to use them out in society while at the same time continued to make fun for the dungeon players. One of the reasons was mainly because of his competitors. It was one thing to use dungeon instance weapons which is fun and wacky but it is another issue if those fun and wacky ways to kill a monster turned out to be above military grade. Previously, Jin sold high quality low Grades weapons, catered for the new cultivators and that alone had alerted the System that counterfeits were coming out into the market. Thankfully, the Night Foxes under Kraft had managed to keep the distribution under control and brought the black market distributors to justice. Oh, but it was not swift death but rather unlawful detainment while still being fed. Jin initially wanted to hold them until Kraft had the same idea to wash their brains from such ideas and the needless thought of revenge. However, with the advent of Kong Rong under the service of the Panda Clan, Jin merely allowed him to handle them. All of it a perk for being a Senior Panda Executive because those distributors were surprisingly veterans in their trade and their contacts were considered a massive trove of information. It was to the point Kong Rong used some of them as double spy agents and provided them with the promise of safety not only to them but their families. Oh but Kraft did not only take back those imitation products, he had collected all those black market weapons for the science lab to reverse engineer so that they could manufacture them for the Dungeon Raids. And thus the Emblems were used precisely for that. Weapons not seen on the actual market and were in fact illegal for use in the real world. The cultivators had no idea that they were on a borderline of committing a major crime should they escape the shop instance with those weapons. While Bin Yong did not have access to those weapons as of the current situation he was in, he sure had enough modern tech to make an average soldier envious. A beetle like spy drone flew out of his storage ring and with his visor, the Beetle Cultivator had commanded it to fly ahead to check the surroundings of any intruders. It also acted as a hi tech cartographer, plotting a new digital map on the maps that Shi Zuo previously uploaded into their team''s visors. "Coast clear! Let''s push forward and out of the building!" Bin Yong smiled as he looked at his Pandamonium App. The screen portrayed a little Panda carrying a bomb and the fuse was waiting to be lit with a "press and hold" button showing right at the bottom of his screen. Chapter 1056 - Thinning the Guards Chapter 1056 ¨C Thinning the Guards When a number of Atrocity Mafia guards had entered their derelict building, Xue Ping was there to stall them for as long as she could. The police officer was utilising her knowledge of urban warfare to create a buffer between her and the enemies. Fighting against someone with firearms had slowed the guards down considerably as they had to be extremely careful. A single hit from her guns would be enough to cripple their fighting capabilities by half. It was to the point the demons had trouble shielding their casters from her suppressive fire, especially after she started using her modified power fist on top of the submachine gun. Just like Xiong Da, she had decided to splurge a bit by modifying her power fist days before the raid. The complete overhaul of the entire power fist hadn''t been cheap, yet due to the deal Jin had with the police, most of it got subsidised. (She was lucky the police chief used the dirty money they had confiscated from the Rat Triad.) The newly modified power fist could periodically charge and shoot either waves of energy or in blast projectile forms. Xue Ping was using her power fist predominantly with the latter option to keep the Mafia demons at bay. The mix of bullets and the power projectiles had hindered the movement of the Atrocity guards long enough for Xue to run out of the building. "Come up now!" Bin Yong instructed her through the intercom after the rest had already evacuated to the higher floors of the building. Xue Ping quickly used her cultivation to sprint to the back end of the building and released one more scattershot of energy blast from her power fist before jumping out of the window. "I''m out!" Xue Ping replied through the intercom and Bin Yong instantly picked up his fuse detonator and pressed it. The explosive charges which he had placed before the engagement exploded sequentially from the window and into the building. While those charges were not strong enough to destroy the structure of the building as a whole, it would heavily damage the Mafia demons. The building shook rather violently as the Pandawans braced themselves against the shockwave. Although a little shaky on their toes, Xue Ping immediately urged her teammates to put on their respirators. Both Xue Ping and Lee An used to be part of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team before decided that they wanted a bit of desk work and thus the switch to inspectors, thus they knew how to perform in such an intense situation, something that their fellow Pandawans appreciated very much in this raid. Their half mask visors activated the extension respirators, turning into full masks which allowed them to breathe through the aftermath of the explosion without much trouble. The points on their wrist watches had told them that not all of those below had died in the explosion. True enough, many were dazed and severely injured from the attack, with those in the middle passed out, so Bin Yong and the rest quickly rushed in to finish up the guards. To their surprise, some of the Mafia guards were not giving up and attempted to put up a fight despite their injuries. As valiant as their last stand effort was, the Pandawan team quickly rushed in for a coup de grace in order to not waste any strength and regroup with the rest. Shi Zuo dragged his axe through the ground while acc.u.mulating chi as he was assigned to clear the enemies nearest to the window in case reinforcements were to appear. This allowed him to do a sweeping slash when he saw additional guards jump to the second floor. Any injured demons who had been caught in the attack were being thrown out of the window, ensuring their deaths through multiple dislocations. Jia Le used her Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivation Style to detect any vital life signs within her magical range to point out any demon trying to fake their death. When it became clear that faking was not an option, those individual guards would jump to their feet and retaliate to the best of their ability. Some even tried to stand as one and fought against Bin Yong but after all the dungeon instances they had fought in together, his girlfriend was familiar with his fighting style. She had already prepared a few support spells to aid him. A magical barrier spell appeared in front of him and magical Bellflowers would periodically appear to stop or at least soften the attacks, enabling the Beetle Pandawan to focus on defeating them one after the other. As for Xue Ping, her power fist was nothing to scoff at as a few were sent flying through the ceiling to the third floor with her trademark uppercuts. It was a strategic wipe against the guards but their explosive actions might probably attract more than they could chew. From the ground, Xiong Da and Lee An could see groups of Demon guards in large carriages coming towards them at high speed. Despite the initial upper hand in the situation, the Pandawans did not expect their reinforcements to come this quickly. Lee An could even detect a few strong magical signatures coming their way, indicating that they could be Atrocity''s elites in Atrocity. "We should retreat." Lee An said to the group, warning them about the impending danger. And the rest acknowledged except for Luo Bo and Ruo Ying who were chasing after their Guard Leader. Thankfully, they were heading south which was also the direction of the safehouse, so Lee An did not complain too much. He merely warned that it could be a trap, advising them to finish the Guard Leader quickly or retreat if they got too far from the meeting point. Luo Bo confirmed the order from their resident police officer and with the experience of the consequences of moving too far away from her previous raids and dungeon instances, she intended to adhere to this rather strictly. To ensure it was possible, it was best to immobilise the runaway before he could get any further! Chapter 1057 - Ghimleys Absolute Death Chapter 1057 ¨C Ghimley¡¯s Absolute Death Ghimley prided himself on being a fast runner, perhaps not the fastest of the Atrocity Mafia family, but definitely decent enough to be recognised as a capable Guard Leader. Yet, he did not expect the human soldiers to be chasing after him with much ease and even firing their ranged weapons at the same time, causing it to be quite a difficult race to run away from. So upon realising that jumping from roof to roof was not enough, he made use of his acute senses to foretell the nooks and cranks in the alleys up ahead. Since they were able to catch up with him, Ghimley intended to outpace his pursuers through the alleys, confusing them and eventually take them out when they were tired. Unfortunately for him, his plan had not accounted for the fact that the duo behind him was not only on par with him in terms of speed, their ranged projectiles also had the ability to stop him dead in his tracks. Never in his life, had he ever seen humans able to catch up to his speed this quickly when he noticed that they boasted themselves even further when the two female soldiers discerned that he was slowing down. There had been casters who could hasten themselves via spells, yet those would take time to chant while a guard would protect them. Normally, he would have plenty of time to kill a mage before they could land even a single offensive spell on him. The Tiefling had thought the same to be the case for this pair of soldiers but he had clearly underestimated them and their weapons. The ranged projectiles were way too accurate for his liking. Were it not for his extra peripheral senses, he would have been brought down the instant he had fled the guard house. "Was I wrong? Are they not mages, but specialised ranged operators?!" Ghimley thought to himself as fear started to creep into his heart for the first time in years. He changed his plan from confronting them to leading them to the next available guard house, hoping their reinforcements would be sufficient against these two elites. Alas, he never got a chance. The next alley was destined to become his grave. The moment Ruo Ying and Luo Bo had seen him attempt to outrun and hide within the subsequent alleys, they had recognised the need to act fast or risk losing such a valuable set of points. According to the Pandamonium App, the Guard Leader was worth as many points as his subordinates. Luo Bo couldn''t understand why the guards they had fought with previously were not as fast and agile as their leader in front of them. Her shots had already been infused with her chi and she was known to have a high rate of accuracy against moving targets. And yet this particular enemy seemed to have eyes on his back, allowing him to barely dodge the projectiles. They barely scr.a.p.ed his magically toughened skin which he activated at the very last second to avoid the brunt of the attack. Still, the hunt was nothing but satisfactory for Luo Bo, especially when she felt that it was the end of the line for the Guard Leader as soon as he entered the backwater alley. "Big Sis! Let''s clear this as soon as possible!" Luo Bo said to Ruo Ying, who nodded her head with a soft hum as acknowledgement. Similar to the encounter back at the guard house, Ruo Ying first charged her chains and propelled them into the alley chasing after him. It did not matter if those chained spikes missed Ghimley, all that mattered was that those chains were faster than him. When Ghimley saw the chains come in, he evaded them easily, thinking himself safe for a moment¡­ until he heard a series of multiple clinging sounds up ahead. It did not mean much to him at that point in time because he was busy watching out the trajectory of the chain spikes that were raining down on him. Ghimley strongly believed that salvation was just up ahead as he remembered there was an intersection straight ahead as well as a few smaller corridors which could prevent detection. But as he avoided the latest chain spike, he realised those chain spikes were just the start of the death trap he was being lured into. As he got closer to the intersection, he saw the horrors return in multiple folds. Chain spikes were moving at tremendous speeds as they blocked his path of escape because of the initial ricochets. In that instant, Ghimley understood he either had to bash through the spikes with brute force or go upwards. But the skies turned dark when he raised his eyes to check for a way out. He could not make out the shade of darkness initially until it came too close for comfort. It was a torrential rain of arrows that was unavoidable no matter where he moved and the only way out was probably the soon to come resurrection. Seeing that he would not have time to move out of the way, Ghimley resigned himself to his fate and stopped in his tracks. The chain spikes pierced through him and the rain of arrows fell with high speed velocity. His toughened skin was no match to the increased penetration power inscription that Ruo Ying had put on following Luo Bo''s advice. It could only be described as tragic, that the now dead Guard Leader had been thoroughly tricked by the duo. Most of the projectiles, as well as the chains, had been one elaborate illusion, the work of the ''Mirror Image'' instant magic scroll. Cultivators primarily used those as part of a defensive manoeuvre, yet Luo Bo and Ruo Ying had creatively utilised its properties as feints for their own attacks. Once it had become clear that the Guard Leader was more focused on running for his life and possibly leading them somewhere so he would be preoccupied to notice the mirror images, they had come up with this use. If he had not resigned himself to his fate, but risked his all, to evade or endure the non-existent attacks, he might have gained a second wind from seemingly surviving the near-death situation. "+65 Points" The Pandamonium App showed on the screen for both cultivators. And as the body started to dissipate into nothingness, Luo Bo contacted the rest, confirming that their next rendezvous would be back at the safehouse. Chapter 1058 - Aftermath of the Guard House Massacre Chapter 1058 ¨C Aftermath of the Guard House Massacre "Not bad, not bad. The Pandawan Team has taken down an entire guard house on their own." Nubwort rubbed his chin as he monitored the overall situation within the Demopolis. A portion of the Merchants District was in disarray after they found out that one of their guard houses had been taken down. As these guard houses were strategically placed to cover a wide range of the Merchants District, it was a hard blow for the Atrocity Mafia that their members could be subjugated within an hour''s time. The only thing the reinforcements had been able to do had been to watch and then report the destruction and end result of the massacre. Ghimley might not have been the strongest of the Guard Leaders but he had still commanded a fair bit of clout. The guards under him had been considered to be better than average. The upper echelons of the Mafia Family had the impression that he would at least be skillful to at least occupy the enemies until reinforcements came in. But now, with the entire guard house slaughtered, it could only mean that King Rex''s special forces were not a joke. News spread like wildfire and everyone under the Three Shadow Kings believed that this was a show of power, a statement to the rest of their factions that they could hit fast and hard whenever they wanted. It was a scary thought that a group of elites could be so effective when the rest of King Rex''s hired ''soldiers'' were already making their waves in the outer districts. The fights there were fairly violent when compared to the assault on the Atrocity''s guard house. But unlike the Pandawans who had acc.u.mulated a fair amount of Panda coins to spend rather frivolously when it came to weapons, it was not the same for the other Pandarens who had yet to find the safehouse. They were fighting with whatever inventory they had in their storage ring and the clash was basically about who had the guts to score more kills. That''s not to say that the Three Shadow King''s Mafia family were not actively participating in these attritions of war. That was also one of the reasons why reinforcements could not arrive as quickly as anticipated for the assault on the guard house. They thought it was a good idea to send their attackers to the frontline and leave their territory lightly guarded. They knew there might be possible assaults from the sky but they could not believe King Rex''s shock troopers were able to break through and into the districts. And because of this daring move from the Pandawan Team, it had subtly changed the course of battlefield. The Mafia demons who had been winning initially against the Pandarens had finally seen a stalemate in the last few hours. However, all these were solely the Pandaren''s efforts. The Round Table of Jin''s Minion Leaders had yet to reveal any of their trump cards. So far, they had merely assisted the cultivators by quietly providing caches of new weapons and medical kits for the Pandarens on the frontlines. With the System''s ability to manipulate the Demopolis Dungeon Core, it was able to slip in a few goodies towards the Pandarens and ensure that they would have an advantage over the Mafia demons. Nevertheless, whenever the Pandarens ended up killed, the loot would go over to the victor. As such, the Mafia demons were similarly able to get hold of Jin''s advanced weapons, which they then used against the Pandarens (after some initial figuring out how to operate them). However, the System and the people using the System were not stupid. Those items in the caches had been designed to only have a certain durability to them. Be it the Pandarens or Demons who used them, those items would break after a period of time. If a Pandaren User were to check it through the Pandamonium App, there was a tag within the weapons that stated that it was fragile, indicating it would break after a number of times. But in exchange, the weapon was more powerful than the usual they used and this was up to the Pandarens to use it sparingly or for the lucky Mafia demons that managed to pick them. Jin had not been too much a fan of that mechanism, but Kraft had reassured him that not only would it be more interesting this way, but there was also a failsafe inscription that would guarantee that they would break into pieces if the System noticed that they were used on him. (That is assuming that he was going into battle.) "Speaking off, why don''t you go into battle? You have been slogging your life away to make this, so it would be a pity for you to just sit back and relax." Kraft proposed when he saw the attackers from the infamous three Mafias returning back to their respective districts as per the System''s cameras and radars. "Yeah, I think it will be a good stretch and allow us to see what you are truly capable of." Rex agreed with the idea. He himself was also itching for a decent fight but he knew that these Mafias might not be even a proper warm up exercise session for him. "You know that if I did that, I would truly be blowing my own trumpet in front of experts like you guys, right? To display my pathetic skills before an expert would be a disgrace." Jin argued with his head shaking so hard to show his reluctance. "Oh come on now, Boss! We all know about your grade up! We''ve ascertained that it was entirely different from the normal you a few weeks back and it seems even more so from all those sleepless nights you''ve been forcing yourself into. Not to mention, the System also needs to update its defence component in case something major happens, right?" Kiyu made sure to rope the System in to nudge its unwilling User to perform for the foxes. "If Jin is going, would it be alright if I came with him?" Lynn volunteered as tribute. She had been watching the commotion from the side with the rest of them. Since she wanted to be part of the entire process ever since she started working on the rest of the Cultivation Zoo instance. She figured that fighting alongside with Jin might give her some insight or even inspiration for the Cultivation Zoo. (But everyone knows that was an excuse, even Jin who could see it so blatantly for once.) "You sure? This kind of battlefield is not something you are used to." Qiu Yue, who had been analysing the tactics various Pandarens had been using, some quite ingenious and recorded for posterity was worried for her colleague. She recalled the time she and Lynn had been out in the Giant World, but this would be an entirely different battlefield. "All the more reason I should give it a try. How else I will learn if I stay safe the whole time. In the event that I had to defend myself with or without Jin, I would be better prepared." Lynn said as she unconsciously touched her sword that was held on her waist. "I don''t mind. In fact, if you''re there maybe our lazy Panda Boss will have some motivation to show off." Kraft gave a one sided smirk and told Jin to make the move. The Dungeon Supplier sighed and knew that Lynn was doing her utmost to integrate. He was not as dense as some shonen protagonists, so he did appreciate the thoughts that she wanted to spend time to be with him. Jin too wanted to do the same and whether that was out of guilt for leaving her out most of the time, it did not matter now. "Don''t worry, Boss. If our Queen really gets into a pinch, the Sub System will call us out to save her." Kido, her most competent Ninja Penguin suddenly appeared right in front of him to assure him. "Alright, if that''s the case. Let''s go for a spin." Jin finally agreed as he asked Lynn to ''suit'' up. Chapter 1059 - Convincing Jin Chapter 1059 ¨C Convincing Jin With a snap of her fingers, Lynn''s equipment appeared on her as soon as Jin gave the go ahead. One would think that she would proceed with a sailor moon transformation given that Jin has his System Rider transformation sequence but it was not anything fanciful at all. A battle vest with pockets as well as a utility waist belt that could hold quite a number of mini accessories. Her sword on her waist had been moved to her back where there was a magnetic attachment along with a retractable belt that facilitated movement. This granted her better mobility and made sure she had sufficient reach to grab her sword. She had also been wearing the latest prototype of the Gearbox arms and legs attachment made by Ayse''s research team. Jin had emphasised to all those present that he would only allow the Kitchen Goddess or more particularly the Sub System Users in general to accompany him into battle if they were well equipped and the Gearbox System was one of those prerequisites. (The girls called him paranoid, but Ayse viewed it as caring and more importantly useful for her research -especially since all the usage could be seen as valuable data.) That quick ''costume'' change startled Jin for a moment before sighing with a gentle smile on his face, something Lynn was waiting for, for a long time. "Let''s get going then. Where do you want us to go, El Presidente?" Jin asked Kraft blatantly to make him happy for donning such a military suit. (He knew that fox was merely fishing for praise. Lots of praises.) "How about the Petal District where the Tyr Gauntlets are residing? They seem to be the strongest based on our intel but of course nothing too menacing for our Kitchen Goddess debut." Kraft suggested as he placed his hand on the war table and a hologram of the district appeared. "From what we know, the Shadow King for the Tyr Gauntlets should be residing somewhere around here." "Didn''t you brief us beforehand that we don''t know where exactly they are because they keep to the background?" Jin started to think back on the briefings even though he could not ascertain the facts properly since he had still been half asleep at that point of time. "True, we don''t know where EXACTLY they are, but judging by the strength of the guards around that area, it''s a safe bet he should be there. That''s why we get our trusty boss to go take a look and if possible annihilate him or her." Kraft replied with a glee in his face. "So I suppose I can call in reinforcements whenever I feel terribly outnumbered?" Jin questioned as if he was treating this as a trial for himself until he realised they merely wanted to see his powers unfold. "Or maybe I should just retreat." "Haha boss, you are such a funny guy. Obviously, you should annihilate the threat when he is right in front of you. Why bother wasting time retreating?" Ixel answered as he subconsciously flexed his muscles. "If anything unforeseen happens, my penguins could be the first to enter the fray. My Sub System is pretty much designed to make sure I can summon them in a pinch. The other big guys could come in later." Lynn replied. "See, nothing to be worried about. Just trust her and the peggies, since they are also a force to be reckoned with. You just don''t know yet." Kraft smirked and winked at dear little Lynn. The crafty fox understood that this was also a great opportunity for Lynn to finally show off her skills to Jin. Similar to Qiu Yue, she had been secretly working out in conjunction to her usual workload. One could argue that she put in more effort than any of the minions under the System''s care. The only thing she sorely needed right now was battle experience. "Heh, alright. But I will not hesitate to call on you guys if things get too tough. It''s not worth the risk of dying for no particular reason when the System controls most of the area, giving it near unlimited access like how it has for the store instance." Jin insisted. "It''s exactly because this fight is so much in our favour that you should not hold back and push your limits. If someday you don''t have the System with you for some particular reason, you''ll have to rely on yourself to settle matters." Rex argued with prudence. "It will be impossible. System and User are inseparable." The System stated vehemently in their fairly robotic voice. Those around the table shrugged it off, yet the Dungeon Supplier himself had already experienced times when he did not have the System with him and how powerless he had been without it. What about all the times when he met up with Ming? There was no System in his own unconscious plane. What if someone decided to use some high level manipulation mind games on him again? And then there was that incident with the young Ryuli that still plagued his thoughts to this day. In fact, he was surprised that she had strangely stopped harassing him after trying a few days. Jin had been busy with other things, so he had just figured she had her own work to take care off, or that it might have perhaps been a sort of courtesy from Kong Rong. Nevertheless, he was not going anywhere else with the Tree Mall intact, so Ryuli knew where to find him. Unfortunately, it was guaranteed that she would sooner or later come to him to find out the truth about her master when she was free¡­ "Ahem, Earth to Jin." Lynn waved her hand in front of Jin who had been clearly lost in a world of his own. "There''s no use overthinking things. Let''s just go out and do our best." "Ah sorry, I was just thinking about what Rex just said." Jin smiled as he asked the System to teleport them to Petal District, as close as possible to the supposed location of their Shadow King. It was better to strike fast and hard than waste their time on clearing the minions. Oddly enough, the System did not open a direct portal to the target location. Instead, they kind of disappeared into thin air, traversing through time and space to reach their place. Jin could only believe that the System was doing it to keep his teleport location nice and quiet. The super entity had performed a flash teleport bomb to catch their enemies off guard, but it was a different situation when Jin and Lynn felt their surroundings explode around them. Only once the dust started to dissipate a little, did Jin''s visor instantly identify groups of demons congregating around them. "What the hell¡­ the System sure knows how to pull my feet." Jin raised his sword offensively despite the need to adjust himself to the new surroundings. While Lynn was still coughing and trying to balance herself, the enemies were already on the move, happy to score a kill against their unknown opponents who had presented themselves to them on a silver platter. Chapter 1060 - Back To A Corner Chapter 1060 ¨C Back To A Corner "The heck?!" Jin shouted within the System''s Channel. "What kind of teleport was that?!" "As User had surmised, it is a mid tier spell, Flash Teleport Bomb. It is to provide ample surprise against your opponents while injuring them at the same time. Given the security level of the enemies, a normal portal might have alarmed them or even prompt them to enter it." The System replied. "Fine, I get what you did, but why did you teleport us into the midst of the enemy lines?!" Jin stressed as he saw a body moving towards him without reserve. The Dungeon Supplier did not hesitate to bring out his System Belt in case the enemy was way stronger than he expected them to be. But before he could even attach it to his waist, the bolstering figure emerged out of the smoke and into Jin''s front view, he was nearly 180cm tall cladded in full metallic armour and his double sided axe were cleaving through the dust, headed right towards Jin''s body. Thus, the Panda Cultivator did not hesitate to grab Lynn and using the smoke screen of debris to his advantage, he quickly performed his signature fake fall that allowed him to move out of the way, avoiding the chop. What he did not expect was that the axe chop was immensely impactful that the flooring broke and created a crate right where he had been standing just a moment ago, causing more debris scatter as well as dust clouds. Thus, Jin attempted to avoid it by rolling further away from the impact site. But then, a few arrows started to fly towards him and he could sense them to be highly charged with magical energy. His body was attuned to all sorts of punishment from Ming''s vigorous training, so he instinctively moved backwards. At the very same time, Jin threw Bam and Boo out, powered by his Green Panda Wind Energy, allowing it to accurately counter the charged magical arrows zooming through the smoke screen. Lynn, on the other hand, felt like she was a parcel being thrown around in a sorting centre with Jin being the courier. Despite his rough handling of her, there were no cuts or immediate bruises on the chef. It was as if Jin was holding her like a fragile packet despite the excessive tossing. The last magically charged arrow went too close for comfort but Jin managed to take it down with a projectile shot of White Panda Ice Energy. At that point, Jin and Lynn were pushed to a corner and the entire group of warriors took their offensive stance while surrounding the cornered humans, "For a shock squad, they are rather petite." A deep grunted voice came from the very same axe warrior who had tried to cleave Jin into two. "Still, for the guy in that weird black and white bear mask to deflect my arrows with some style, he isn''t too bad." A more husky voice emerged from the side. "You want to take him to our liege? Perhaps he can provide more information about that fake King." A lizard shaped man spoke but Jin could only see his silhouette. "You are giving these humans too much credit. For them to use such a half ass shock ambush, they must have come here by accident rather than on purpose." Another murmured to his colleagues. "In any case, they should be punished for destroying our valuable intel." The stout guy said as he readied his axe and prepared to attack. If they were too weak then they wouldn''t know much anyway. "That''s fine with me." Jin thought as he placed his clenched hand near his mouth and spewed a huge breath of Black Fire towards the crowd, using his hand as funnel. Afterall, a cornered Panda could still bite. The Black Panda Fire Breath startled the group of Tyr Gauntlets Elites, giving Lynn a chance to calm her nerves and grasp the situation. She quickly placed her hand in one of her utility belt pockets, revealing a black metallic dome shaped item which she stuck on the wall. (Which actually looked like a bowl.) The black metallic dome was imbued with a high grade "Melt" inscription which caused the wall to disintegrate slowly, unveiling a path for Jin and Lynn to escape from. "We can move out now!" Lynn spoke through the System Channel. Both of them quickly went into the other room and Jin sealed the hole with a barrier of White Ice. It was perfect timing since the armoured demon with the axe was pushing through despite the flames. He was blocking to keep his face intact but Jin''s Black Flames were not just a blast of heat. Damage over Time. Each second the Armoured Demon blocked the attack, the multiplying effect of the Black Flames were doubled and the Armoured Demon felt the heat searing through his plated armour. Jin believed that the only way for the Demon to stop taking damage was to stop the source itself. Plus the continuous flame itself was a source of distraction to prevent the rest from coming near. With the heat going up to more than 300 degrees Celsius, the other Tyr Elites kept their distance until the opponent was weary. However, the sudden fall of the ice barriers stopped them dead in their tracks with the exception of the Armoured Demon being encased halfway into the ice barrier. He could clearly see that they were not cornered anymore and ran out of the room. As he tried to utilise his brute force to unshackle himself from the ice barrier, Jin sent another few sharp blocks of White Ice right into his face, piercing through his skull and into his body. The ice continued to freeze his warm innards until they became a slab of ice mixed with mere bones and meat. "Sorry, but I''m not some naive anime protagonist that gives my enemies a chance. I''m not ashamed to take the kill when it presents itself." Jin mumbled to himself as he attempted to catch his breath before moving on while Lynn. "If you want to complain, do so once you''re under my service, after this ordeal." Chapter 1061 - Transposing The Elements Chapter 1061 ¨C Transposing The Elements "How did you do that?" Lynn asked as Jin led the front, searching for an exit. Be it a staircase or a door, he just wanted to regain his bearings since the System had decided not to report anything to him ever since the fight broke out. (Courtesy of their dear Kraft who claimed it would be good for Jin to be cut off, so he can simply focus on defeating the enemies. Guess it was no brainer to learn who was the culprit behind sending them directly in front of the Tyr Elites.) "Do what?!" Jin wondered as he could hear shouting from afar, believing that those Demons had already broken down the ice barrier. "That ice barrier thingy. The large guy Demon in full plate armour got heated up with your Black Fire, but then you managed to encase him in ice without any trouble." Lynn demanded to know, seemingly more concerned about Jin''s actions than the fact that they were in the middle of enemy territory. Serving as a grim reminder, a patrol showed up right in front of them. Luckily Jin was already on the offensive with the momentum he had. He leaped toward the wall and dived into the pair of patrols who had come to investigate the commotion, but had not been prepared from the ambush. Since the Dungeon Supplier had the high ground there was nothing they could do. Jin''s Bam and Boo had turned into long daggers and Jin imbued it with Black Fire. As if it was to answer Lynn''s question, the Black Fire enveloped the entire patrol once they got hit and slashed by the daggers. Within an instant, their scorching flames and screams were silenced as a block of White Ice encased them in it. "I merely transpose the elements of fire into ice. This way the intensity of the fire burning can become thick ice in an instant." Jin explained, yet Lynn had trouble comprehending it at all. If anything her former schooling education had taught her, it was virtually impossible to do that. "Erm¡­ I''m sorry, but I don''t know how else to explain it." Jin scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, before he beckoned for Lynn to continue moving. Although she still felt a bit unsatisfied with the answer, Lynn was aware enough not to make a scene and just him at a later point in time when they were not being pursued. "The System could give a possible explanation but it might further complicate your understanding." The System directly spoke to Lynn. "User''s ability to cast magic is based on both his chi and mana circuits. Aside from that, his cultivation of the Nineteen Lazy Astral Panda has him interchange the elements with the help of those panda silhouettes that he cultivates." "You mean those pandas in that style are actually meant for more than just serving as a display of his strength?!" Lynn was shocked to learn something new about Jin''s cultivation. "While it is not conclusive evidence, given that the pandas don''t appear unless User utilises the Panda Energies, it could be because User has not reached sufficient grade for them to appear and assist him." The System stated and Lynn took it as gospel truth since it was the System that bestowed the cultivation of the Astral Pandas to Jin. As she was contemplating, a loud explosion was heard right behind her, followed by many more. It was only through the side of her eye that she saw the very same magical arrows flying towards them again. If not for the change in direction by quickly entering a hallway to the left side of the station, the two of them could have been blown to pieces. (Although that would be Lynn underestimating Jin.) "They managed to chase behind us this quickly?" Jin thought to himself as he grabbed Lynn''s hand, channeling Green Panda Wind Energy through her entire body, allowing her to feel his Maqi pulsating through her veins. She instantly felt lighter and her steps were fleeting through the corridor. "Let''s go up." Jin said as he figured if they were against the Tyr Elites, they might as well finish the fight with their Shadow King. "You sure it is a good idea? Shouldn''t we clear his lackeys first before entering a fight against the big boss?" Lynn expressed her concerns as her heart was racing wildly. She herself was unsure if it was because this was the first time she was in an upcoming intensive fight with just Jin alone or whether she was just genuinely concerned about being able to put up a good first deep impression in Jin''s mind. "Does the order matter, as long as we win? That is the most important part of this particular showcase, right?" Jin smirked as he continued to hold on to Lynn''s hand as they went up the stairs. If anything, the couple noticed that what they were climbing seemed like a tower of endless stairs. However, because of this particular feature, Jin was able to narrow down which part of the Petal District he was in. The Petal lighthouse. Having an elusive cove to themselves, the demons in Petal District had erected a lighthouse to handle any possible derelict sh.i.p.s coming from their side. As odd as it might sound, Demopolis City was created akin to a peninsula because of its capability to do just that. There was not much explanation why it was shaped in such a way in the Dungeon Core''s records but it did bolster the strength of their navy forces and also allowed them to connect to other Dungeon Cities easily. This gave them access to the resources of Dungeon World''s oceans and provided a form of natural defence. But as Jin and Lynn climbed up the spiraling stairs of the Petal lighthouse, they could also see their pursuers rushing up to them in full force. Not only did more magical arrows come flying their way, there was a shadow silhouette which Lynn managed to sense while Jin was busy fending off the arrows. (Mainly due to her enhanced senses from cooking, she was able to pick up more minute changes in the surroundings without information overload.) Like what she did previously, she stuck a metal rice bowl on the wall but instead of the inscription ''Melt'', it was ''Simmer''. This particular inscription acted as a Trap Activation type of spell. "Activate!" Lynn ordered as she continued to be dragged up the stairs by Jin. Chapter 1062 - Lynns Debut - Part 1 Chapter 1062 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut ¨C Part 1 At the same time as Lynn said the trigger word, the metal bowl that she attached on the wall immediately activated and a gush of hot steam spewed out from it, causing the shadow silhouette to scream. Furthermore the shadowy figure was ejected from the wall and everyone could see the demon lizardman now reeling in pain on the floor. "Aww, damn! That''s a job well done!" Jin made a mental note to praise Lynn some more when after the mission was over. For now the Dungeon Supplier decided to stop moving. There was still quite a long way to go until they reached the top and it was uncertain whether they could make it before the pursuers would have caught up to them anyways. As such, it seemed a wiser choice to deal with them here and now. The spiraling stairs were wide enough for a proper showdown and they might have a chance to take the elites out. Jin would have prefered to conserve his energy and at least have a proper talk with the Shadow King to propose a one on one fight. This way, he could get the Tyr Elites to stand down in the best case scenario. However, he knew too little about the Shadow King to predict whether he would entertain his request.(Or Kraft knew too much and was not telling him anything.) There was really no reason for the Shadow King not to team up with his elites and bully them with numbers. And seeing how they were so insistent in bringing Jin and Lynn down before reaching the Shadow King it could mean several things. Perhaps their heads equalled an additional reward? Was their Shadow King particularly merciless towards his subordinates'' failures? Regardless, their persistence changed Jin''s mind to end their lives here. Surprisingly, Lynn merely needed a glance to be able to guess what was going through in Jin''s mind. "Boss, you go ahead. Let me and my Peggies handle this. If everything goes well, I''ll bring some reinforcements to your showdown." Lynn shouted as she took her sword out in a defensive stance position. Jin hesitated for only a moment. Hadn''t Lynn come here voluntarily to assist him? The dungeon supplier might not be as much a tactical genius as Qiu Yue, but even he understood the strategic value of her decision to occupy them, while he would proceed on ahead. Most importantly, staying here would only mean that he could not trust her enough¡­ "I leave it to you then. My only order for you as your boss is to stay alive no matter what it takes! Screw the System''s trial if necessary!" Jin insisted, as he didn''t know whether real death was applicable to them the same way it was to him. "Don''t worry about it." Lynn smiled as she stared at the incoming Tyr Elites. "I will make sure they do not survive my type of hell." Jin nodded his head and continued climbing the stairs without turning his back nor his head. He emptied his mind and forced himself not to turn around, no matter what he might hear from the fight. Lynn survived the initial barrage of arrows that came raining on her. But when the archer thought he had a direct hit, he discovered that there was a metal sheet protecting the little girl. That metal sheet was actually a big wide black wok which had slowly transformed back to the sword that Lynn was holding previously. "As expected from the Queen of Food." Kraft chuckled at the absurdity of the sword transforming into a kitchen equipment. Its utility was strikingly similar to Jin''s Bam and Boo but catered to Lynn''s way of cultivation. "I''m quite interested in her variety of equipment. That metal bowl inscription was indeed a sight to behold." Moloch commented as he had never seen such a cultivation yet. "She probably has an endless assortment of knives to use as projectiles." Nubwort added as a casual speculation and everyone in the War Room laughed¡­ until she brought them out. Using her sword as a wand (Or maybe it was a spatula upon closer inspection), it looked as if she made a cut in the fabric of time and space. Reaching into that dimensional tear, she grabbed on to something. The Archer who noticed that she was not dead continued to rain down more arrows from his position as his fellow teammates continued climbing the wide spiralling stairs. "No matter what you pull out, there''s nothing that can stop this next shot!" The Archer yelled as if his warning should be taken seriously by his opponent. Meanwhile, Lynn used her might to pull the handles that she was grabbing on to and the entire tower shook momentarily as the dimensional tear revealed an enormous metal grey cupboard on wheels. It had multiple cabinets but other than its square-like features and its size, there was nothing else impressive about it on first glance. The archer initially thought there was a huge threat from that magical move Lynn was doing but felt cheated as if she deceived him. Thus, he continued by nocking his bow and started to chant demonic words to enhance the offensive capability of the next arrow he was about to set loose. ''Hell''s Hook.'' Or so he had dubbed upon using it on several of his arch enemies in the past. The arrow started to absorb the surrounding magic in the air and multiple arrows subsequently emerged right beside it, mimicking the direction where the arrow was to be shot. These arrows were supercharged to the extent that it could penetrate high tier protection spells. The Tyr Elite Archer was banging on the opportunity to finish Lynn off before his other comrades got to her, and acquiring the kill for himself. Jin had been right on the money with his theory that they would get rewarded for killing them. Similarly to his way of assigning points to each demon, their Mafias had started assigning bounties on his ''soldiers''. Every head they brought to their respective Mafia Kings would earn them a sufficient amount of coin. "You are going to be mine. That weird cupboard of yours won''t be protecting you from any of my shots." The Archer claimed as he licked his lips but when he was about to let the string off, he noticed something strange emerging from the cold metal looking cupboard. The cupboard instantly opened wide from all sides with their covers dropping to the ground. All the cabinets revealed knives of various sizes and blades usually used for specific purposes in the kitchen were shining so brightly right in their holders within the cabinet. From cheap iron to bloody expensive adamantine, the knives still had their price tags on, indicating that Lynn had not used them yet. "You seem to be mistaking, you''re MINE." Lynn smirked as she slammed the cupboard, causing all the knives¡­ To drop. Chapter 1063 - Lynns Debut - Part 2 Chapter 1063 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut ¨C Part 2 Everyone in front of Lynn heard the knives drop to the ground like coins deliberately being thrown to the ground. Despite being the one furthest from her, the Tyr Elite Archer, received a big scare for a moment as he had suspected it to be a big attack. However, his momentary moment of relief was indeed fleeting. The knives started to tremble once they all hit the ground, vibrating so violently that the sounds of the hundred knives could be mistaken for a swarm of crickets gathering for the mating season. The Elite Archer had a bad premonition that this was the only chance to defeat the human soldier before she was able to get her attack spell up and running. "Release! Hell''s Hook!" The Archer yelled to unsettle his opponent while also giving his teammates a sign to take cover. As he released his main arrow, the rest of the duplicate arrows hovering beside it started flying in a non-sequential pattern. They were not going straight to the target, yet they also were not flying out of sync, swirling around in mid-air as if he had not aimed properly. However, Lynn had seen a variety of skills and attacks in the dungeon store. Additionally, Luo Bo, the Pandawan who specialised in Bows, had been a patron of her cuisine. In exchange for food, or rather to express the Rabbit''s deepest gratitude for Lynn''s impressive cooking, she would sometimes share a tidbit or two on her ranged fighting style. And the situation they were in was precisely one of the topics they had discussed before. "If an archer barely misses once, twice and three times over, you can be sure that he was testing you as you manage to evade his attack only by the breadth of your hair. Such attacks were calculated instead of a series of flukes. Thus, any fancy things or methods he uses later on, does not matter and should not be taken into consideration. The only thing you have to note is that he is out there to confuse you. To make you think that you might have a chance of being out alive after all that dangerous close runs you had with him." Luo Bo had lectured Lynn which resonated with her right at this moment. With a bit of help from the Sub System working furiously behind her half masked visor, she saw first hand that it was somewhat true. While it was a far shot prediction because of the messiness in the arrows'' trajectory, the System had assumed that the majority of the arrows were going to miss with the exception of four of them coming towards her with full force. That was sufficient information for her to perform her counter attack. As Lynn put her sword up ready to transform to the wide black wok once again, the knives had charged up sufficiently, by similarly absorbing the surrounding magic aura emitted from the bottom of the cupboard. Like the Archer, Lynn had decided to play his own game against him. The metal cupboard itself was not only a container for the knives, but also a magical battery charger, created by using the principals Ayse had used to control Peppers'' magic. Only instead of collecting Peppers'' excessive magic, this was doing the reverse by transferring magic into the items within the cupboard. However, it could also be used as a healing station or at this particular moment, a charging station for Lynn''s weapons. With her Perfectible Penguin Ruling the Kitchen Hell Cultivation Style, she had an affinity with those kitchen knives that she had bought on sale in the black market. Afterwards, she had added an engravement to indicate that she owned the knives before using it to establish a link between herself and the knife. The connection itself was weak, given just how many knives there were, not to mention that she had hardly ever used them (¡­ well used since they still had their price tags on!), yet it was sufficient for Lynn to perform her own trick against this group of Tyr Elites. As the arrows were nearing her, Lynn did not waste any time in protecting herself by kneeling and using the staircase and the cupboard as cover. At the same time, she used her Sub System to control the knives and with a one simple word command, a couple of those knives started to pick their ''targets'' and their interception. However, from the Elite Archer''s perspective, he was sure that he would have a sure kill. Hell''s Hook, as the name suggested, meant that one of the arrows was bound to hit, the rest merely serving as a form of distraction. Normally, those who saw the hail of arrows coming towards them, would try to run for cover and those secondary arrows which were moving erratically would then target the heat source and chase after it. This was how no one had ever escaped his signature attack. Thus, the Archer quietly applauded the female soldier''s bravery for standing her ground as those secondary arrows would not have a chance to be activated and could only hope they hit the target close enough. Yet, he was confident that the main arrows were sufficient in destroying her shield barrier and killing her directly. *KABOOM* *KABOOM* *KABOOM* The rest of the Tyr Elites knew the strength of their comrade''s offensive range attacks and held on to the walls of the lighthouse as support as smoke dissipated around the target. "Tsk, all that woman did was tough talk. In the end, that cupboard full of knives merely drops to the ground without any particular effect. Hahaha-" The Archer laughed momentarily until he realised something was not right. As he looked down, he discovered a knife right in the middle of his abdomen which he had not noticed before. Then suddenly, his back felt heavy and when he tried to look to the back, he could feel the pain starting to emanate from behind him. The knives were so sharp that it merely slipped through his chainmail armour and stabbed him from the back without any breakage. That was when he understood that the female commando was not kidding at all. Despite his enhanced perceptiveness, he had only noticed the multiple stab wounds that he had when it was far too late, causing him to fall to the ground bleeding without any possible aid from their team''s healer which was with the main group chasing after Lynn. "No way¡­ What kind of cheat is that?" His words were silent as his lungs ceased to function. And speaking of the main group, they too had been assaulted during the multiple explosions of the Elite Archer''s Hell Hook. Lynn''s knife attack had taken out one of their more perceptive team mates, especially the Demon Lizardman who had been injured from the initial simmer inscription attack. Nevertheless, thanks to his quick wittedness, he enveloped the rest of his team into the depth of his own shadow, protecting them from the rain of knives that were nowhere in sight when they took cover. "Arthur!" The Healer of the Tyr Elites shouted in agony as she grabbed hold of the falling lizardman when his shadow protection had dissipated. Behind the Demon Lizardman''s back were a chockfull of knives. "Take care of yourself. Don''t die until I come back." The Demon Lizardman smiled as he took in his last breath. Chapter 1064 - Lynns Debut - Part 3 Chapter 1064 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut ¨C Part 3 Lynn was panting heavily, giddy from the multiple explosions that happened right around her. Her ears were ringing so extensively that she needed some time to adjust her bearings. Still, she had survived the Elite Archer''s attack. On the other hand, the Elite Archer and Demon Lizardman had already passed on from the scene. The rest of the Tyr Elites were still reeling in from Lynn''s sudden counter attack. They did not understand how she had managed to do it except for the ones who were secretly watching her. "Did anyone of you know that our Lynn could send magically charged vibrating knives through multiple dimensional tears?" Pei was astounded by the Cook''s feat. The System was nice enough to play back her attack for those who might have missed it around the war table, even using different angles to highlight her as if she had just scored a goal. Watching it in slow motion, it was easily discernible how the knives had travelled through more one dimensional tears in split seconds, leaving the victims barely any time to react. The only drawback was that the charged knives required more than just mere magic but coordination from her Sub System too. Were it not for the valiant self-sacrifice of the Demon Lizardman, she could have annihilated the rest of the group in an instant. They all understood that terrified consequence they had barely avoided, unaware that this particular attack had been a sort of trump card for Lynn. If they were to continue battling with her, the Tyr Elites would have quickly realised that her attack was basically like that of a glass cannon with little battle experience. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, there were no ''what-ifs'' on the battlefield and only one side could come out victorious. One could even say that luck was also a part of the equation. Lucky for her, the scale of damage as well as the strange magical abilities she had displayed, made them extremely wary of her and took her seriously now. The Healer tried to save the Lizardman, not wishing to accept the reality that he could have been killed so easily from one attack. However, the Elite Lancer and Swordsman shouted at her to get a grip of herself. "Jigar, protect her!" The Elite Swordsman ordered the remaining member, a martial artist to keep their Healer protected, as he raised his shield and proceeded to move forward without any hesitation. "Don''t bullshit me! You saw how she could have wiped our entire group easily and you want to go with just the few of us?" Jigar the Monk shouted back but there was no response from the swordsman. "All the more you should understand why I am asking you to stay back." The swordsman smiled bitterly as he called upon his lancer companion to follow him upwards. "Shit¡­ I can hear footsteps coming up." Lynn cursed as she struggled to pull her wok shield up to the level of her chest. She had avoided showing herself, to recuperate as much as she could. She returned the shield to its original shape but the sword felt very heavy in her exhausted state. "Kido, your debut." Lynn was convinced that taking on the rest would be impossible for her. There was no reason to try and play the hero, so it was time for her personal bodyguard to protect the Ninja Queen. Alas, a certain fox would beg to differ. "I stopped your bodyguard from appearing." Kraft informed her through the System Channel. "You are better than this Lynn. You''ve volunteered to help Jin complete this mission! I can see that this last attack took its toll on you, but I know you can push yourself to do more! These few scalps were nothing compared to the diligence in your training. Have you worked this hard just so that Kido could take all the credit away from you?" "In my defence, I am not-" Kido tried to reply in the System Channel but before he could finish his sentence his connection got cut off. It was apparent that Kraft had only allowed him enough time to make it clear that he was the ''bad guy'' behind this decision.. Lynn chuckled and nodded her head quietly. "I know, Kido. I know." She replied softly and lifted the sword, assuming a battle stance that only the cultivators of the Perfectible Penguin in the Kitchen Hell could possess. She held her sword up and it slowly transformed into a chopper. Lynn stood up straight and had her eyes closed while she straightened her breathing cycle to a certain rhythm despite the fatigue in her muscles. The Swordsman and Lancer thought this was the best opportunity to attack since her stance had way too many openings for the duo to exploit. They were not those noisy cultivators who will shout as they charge but rather thinking of ways to counter Lynn and achieve the killing blow. But as the duo of Tyr Elites entered Lynn''s range, it instantly activated her next trump card. Kitchen Zone. Any intruder in this particular zone would be treated by the Penguin Cultivator not as enemies¡­ but as ingredients to be cut! Similar to dealing with a live animal, struggling for its life before the slaughter for the meal, Lynn was about to skin the two Tyr Elites as such. The Swordsman went for the first blow, by trying to slam his shield against Lynn, just as how Bin Yong performed his shield charge to stun his enemy before attacking them. This gave the Swordsman some blocking capability but its main purpose was for the enemy to redirect themselves away from the shield. By forcing the enemy to move back or to the side, the Tyr Swordsman would follow up to deal with her. However, Lynn continued to stay still, with her chopper raised up high, on a 45 degree angle. "No way, she intends to clash head on with me?" The Tyr Swordsman did not know whether it was a foolish move or something he should fear especially after what they had just witnessed. "Go Slaze!" The Tyr Lancer shouted behind him, as if giving him assurances that he would have his support and backup from him. This boasted the Swordsman''s confidence as he pressed his shield charge while increasing his magical output to make sure that his shield charge would be formidable enough to knock the opponent down for a wider opening. But as he went close to Lynn, he suddenly noticed that his shield cracked a little even before their weapons clashed. However, it was too late to move away due to his momentum and he could only watch in horror as the very same chopper Lynn had been holding effortlessly slid through his shield and towards his shoulder. At that point, Slaze had no choice but to force his body to turn to evade the attack, otherwise the chopper would head straight for his neck. The sudden turn caused the shield to be carved into two in an S shape, splitting it into two as he evaded to the side. Yet that was not the end as the Lancer pushed forward, about to learn the capability of Lynn''s Kitchen Zone. Chapter 1065 - Lynns Debut - Part 4 Chapter 1065 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut ¨C Part 4 Kitchen Zone was an offensive defence zone in Lynn''s repertoire. Although the Lancer''s pierce was fast, the rigid defensive manoeuvre has given her sufficient advantage to be able to deflect it. The only thing she regretted was choosing to evade instead of countering the attack. Due to the lack of experience she had given up the chance to break the Elite Lancer''s weapon as she had done with the Swordsman. Slaze, the Tyr Swordsman managed to pull his buddy away before the cook could rectify her mistake. Only after they had both put a considerable amount of distance away from Lynn, did they realise that she was not pursuing them or pressed for the next attack. This made Slaze believe that there was some limitation to the unbelievable chopping power she had presented just now. Since they lacked more ranged options now that the Elite Archer had been killed, Slaze gathered some of his magical powers to project a charged slash towards Lynn, to check whether she would evade it or cut the magical projectile away. "Ten Dungeon Dollars say she can cut it down in an instant. " The Elite Lancer chuckled quickly as he felt Slaze was being foolish to even try something so mediocre. "You''re on, Rai. I bet that she has to evade. You never know what kind of weakness someone''s technique could be hiding. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of trial and error to see the effect." Slaze replied as he shot out magical slash and as the projectile broke the stairs as it travelled upwards towards Lynn. However, Rai turned out to be right. "Hah, told you so. Please deduct ten bucks from the debt I owe you." The Elite Lancer said as he was smiling wildly that he was correct with a ''suck it up'' expression. "Whatever, it''s not like such a deduction will make a dent in the amount you owe me." Slaze complained as they both could clearly see how Lynn had cleanly cut the impending magical slash into two, avoiding her completely and damaging the Petal lighthouse walls behind her instead. "So, you guys are not going to give it another go now that you know she is nigh unkillable?" Jigar, the Monk, came forward alongside the Elite Healer. "Well, now we know why they only sent two human commandos to fight against us. This human woman who does not have the features of a defender is still able to block our entire team right here and now. Not to mention killing two of our best attackers." Slaze said as he checked his left arm. (In total three, if they counted Jin''s kill of their warrior.) He could have thrown away the broken shield he was carrying as part of his manliness behaviour but on second thought, any distraction against the female human would be better than nothing. "And someone laughed along the corridors saying their royal employer had made a huge mistake sending only two humans down to Petal District." Rai rolled his eyes while continuing to keep a distance away from Lynn. Like every hard hitting skill, they believed that there would be a sort of cooldown or at least a lapse in her concentration. Should Lynn try to provoke them to come nearer, it would confirm their theory. But as of right now, she was not moving an inch away and the Tyr Elites were befuddled how to deal with such an obstacle, forcing the entire situation into a standstill. "Rai, wait till you let our own cook see what this soldier could do and probably you might not go complaining how awfully boring those food selections are for yourselves. Else he might learn a trick or two from our enemy and use it especially against you." The Healer commented randomly upon seeing how they could not make any move and hoped to lighten the mood a little despite the grim scenario they were in. They were the elites and yet these human commandos had managed to pin them down. It felt like a disgrace to the positions bestowed by their Shadow King. At that moment, Rai bared his teeth in front of the female healer for her comments. "Stop it Rai, if you had not been so mean to our kitchen staff, perhaps Adora would not be snapping at you right now." Slaze said as he continued to stay watch on any movements Lynn could make. "You think she can still command those knives?" Rai queried, hoping to divert their attention away from the current subject and Jigar shook his head in response. "If she could, they would have long since been embedded into our backs, especially now when we are vulnerable. Looks like our defensive opponent has some limitations too." Jigar answered. "Good thing for us. Otherwise, she would be the perfect murder machine.. Makes you wonder why such a talented being would work for the crown. With her talents she can easily find money anywhere." Rai commented as he checked his armoured boots, while preparing his body for a skill which he had not used in ages. After all, this standstill was way too much of a hassle for them. It was their job to protect the Tyr Gauntlets Shadow King even though they had no doubt he was more than capable to defeat that lone soldier that ran up the stairs. Yet, seeing how the female defender was still keeping them at bay, it would be foolish to assume that the male masked soldier wouldn''t be equally if not more battle hardened than her. Meanwhile, Lynn remained in her stance. Unlike other times where she would have tried to run or at least attack, all she needed to do at the moment was to buy as much time as possible for Jin. She knew that he would be back eventually, but deep inside, Lynn wanted to clear this obstacle on her own and join him in his fight, instead of waiting for him to rescue her. Unfortunately, she was experiencing just how difficult it was to do that without any backup from Kido or the other Peggies. And from the looks of it, they were about to go in for the next attack soon. She relaxed her stiff shoulders as maintaining the Kitchen Zone was not easy as it seemed to be. If she were to handle two or more attackers at once she would probably have to take a hit or two before able to hunt one down. "Alright, alright, that much should suffice." Kraft suddenly informed her via the System channel. "Rex insists that making you fight on your own any longer would just be bullying, so here, enjoy your penguin knight¡­ well erm¡­penguin ninja." "My Queen, I am at your service once more! I await your call." Kido eagerly called out to her and behind him resonated the sounds of dozens of penguins. "Now hurry up and call them over. I had enough of your Peggies death glare for one day." Kraft added while shrugging his shoulders in the War Room. "Besides, it''s getting boring now that those Tyr Elites are playing the waiting game. So, go forth Chef! Grab your victory! Also while you''re at it, try to make it into a more entertaining show than on Jin''s side." Chapter 1066 - Lynns Debut - Part 5 Chapter 1066 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut ¨C Part 5 Now that they knew that the half masked Penguin Cultivator did not have any means to attack them from a distance, Rai, the Lancer Elite, had decided to try his luck with a special attack that he had been honing for some time. The rest of his party understood his intentions when he took a few steps back. Slaze even decided to help him out by trying to distract Lynn to raise the chances of Rai''s attack succeeding. In essence, their opponent had the capability to stop any attack and had even already proven that she could stop a few successive attacks at once. But they had seen how the ability worked and the possible limitations of it. While it might seem dangerous, they had to experiment in order to defeat this enemy. As of right now, they had tried follow-up attacks and ranged attacks, and had noticed that Lynn had not taken a single step from her spot. It was possible that her technique required her to stay in one particular spot without much movement. If she strayed from that spot, her stance might be off and she would then hopefully become as vulnerable as any other enemies they had encountered before. So, in order to force the Penguin Cultivator to move, Rai had decided to use his technique. It was not a very conducive area for performing it given that the name of his technique was Skyshatterer (Despite Slaze and the others calling it the Skyshitter because of the number of failures they had seen him fail (and fall) when practicing it.) As the name suggested, Rai needed sufficient space to soar to the sky and come diving down to hit an enemy. Considering that Lynn wasn''t going anywhere, he would have a stationary target, making it be easy for him to focus all his magical energy into one giant attack. (Not like he had ever been blessed with a lot of it.) Still, he was slightly afraid that his attack would be nullified when he''d come into contact with Lynn''s terrifying chopper and get chopped into two. In that case, the Elite Healer Adora, who was also their supporter would try her best to supplement them. She had already conjured a wind boost magic which would greatly increase Rai''s velocity for a more impactful landing. Elite Monk Jigar also tried to prepare himself, but Slaze stopped him. "Don''t. We need you to protect Adora as much as possible. I have a feeling this isn''t the end of her capabilities. There is no way someone with such a powerful ability wouldn''t have thought of a way to cover such an obvious weakness. This might all be a trap to lure us in and take us out at once. In the event we are injured, we still can at least fall back for some healing." Slaze''s perceptive comment was the only thing that held back Jigar from going against his command. But Slaze was indeed risking it all along with Rai to ensure that they could at least stop this person. That way, they could at least be sure that their Shadow King would have one less opponent to worry about if they succeeded. Also, if they were killed in the clash with the female human soldier, the healer would still be available for the fight they anticipated between their King and Jin. "Here I go!" Rai said as he started to climb at the edge of the stairs and jumped high up. Thankfully there were no obstacles in the middle of the lighthouse, and its hollowness gave Rai the sufficient space to jump. However, it was still rather difficult for him to make a proper jump because of the design of the stairs and location of where Lynn was standing. He noticed that she had finally returned her chopper back into the wok, meaning that she had sensed that he was going all out for the attack, especially when her attention was locked onto him regardless how Slaze tried to regain it with more magical slashes. The wok allowed her to ignore Slaze''s attacks rather easily, since she was blocking them with Kitchen Zone activated. Yet, Rai believed he still had a chance, as he soared up high and adjusted himself when he reached the required height for the Skyshatterer''s dive. "You got this!" Rai amped himself up and pointed his spear downwards, going for the dive. His spear was gleaming with so much magical energy that it looked like petals from a rainbow-coloured flower descending towards Lynn. The wind magic from Adora boosted the speed of his dive even further, causing winds to blow erratically when he made his dive. At that point Slaze also moved forth with his sword charged with all the mana he could bring out and performed a slash large enough to bring a cottage house down. To a bystander, there was no way Lynn could succeed in defending against the two pronged attack by herself. And even if she moved away, the collateral impact from the two attacks would definitely knock her out of the lighthouse. (The hole between the walls that Slaze made from his deflected magical slashes was rather inviting.) The slash slammed into Lynn and not a second later, Rai''s Skyshatterer followed through. As usual, dust ensued from the explosion and the sound was rather deafening but Rai was not a single bit confident when he landed. "F.u.c.k¡­" Rai cursed as he felt the very same chopper he had seen go through his chest armour. However, at the same time, he was sure that he had hit the wok. "Unless she had transmuted the very same chopper, it''s not impossible-" Rai then felt another slash through his chestplate. When the dust settled, he finally understood that they had indeed belittled Lynn. "My Queen, are you unhurt?" Kido asked as he lifted the choppers out of Rai''s corpse and kicked him away. His lance was stuck in the Wok Shield, as Lynn coughed a little and held onto her damaged shield for stability. "I''m fine." Lynn answered as she looked at Kido, who was jumping onto her shoulder after making sure that he had assassinated Rai properly. The scene was brutal as he chopped his head off cleanly and kicked it into the depths of the lighthouse. It did not take long for the rest of the Tyr Elites to be roused by such a provocation. "Let''s clear this mess and assist Jin as fast as possible." "Don''t worry about him. Take care of yourself first. Have a short rest before moving." Kido advised as he climbed down and lifted his chopper up against Slaze and the rest of the party, searing with unkempt anger. Chapter 1067 - Lynns Debut -Final Chapter 1067 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Debut -Final While this wasn''t the first they had witnessed the death of one of their party members, this time was unforgivable as the the penguin had kicked their party member''s head off the stairs, as a clear sign to provoke them. Jigar could not care anymore about orders of restraint. He instantly dashed towards Kido with the intention of grabbing that penguin and smashing his body until his innards appeared. However, before he could even make a proper sprint, he felt his legs being restrained by a tight rope, causing him to fall and injure his hands as he hit the edge of the staircase. Then the party realised that they were being surrounded by more penguins, each armed with dual choppers. "More killer penguins?" Slaze chuckled as if it was some bad joke and felt that this was a losing battle no matter how their party struggled. Adora on the other hand, raised her staff and magic started to acc.u.mulate rapidly through it. She might be just a support healer, but she was still a part of the Elites from Tyr Gauntlets, so she knew how to handle her portion of trouble. "Goddess of the Afterlife, I plead you. You are the light and dark. The beauty beyond the disaster. Grant your beloved children another chance and guide them to your light! Resurrection!" Adora shouted, clasping her staff even harder as she remembered the faces of those who were killed. "I am your shepherd. Come back to me for those who were lost!" Adora shouted as a massive amount of energy was whirling around her staff and the Peggies understood that if she was to succeed, they might have a lot of trouble handling them. Slaze also believed this was the only chance they might stand to fight against this Penguin Queen and her lackeys, but the spell itself required time to activate. It took some time to find the lost souls in the swirling abyss of the Dungeon World ''afterlife'' plane and the bodies needed to be reconstructed again with the surrounding magic. That was why most of them were resurrected in the churches, which were places of heavily condensed magic. Immediately after Adora''s incantation, Slaze slammed his sword on the ground and placed his broken shield right beside it, shouting. "Great Crusade COVER!" Two blinding flashes of light emerged from him and instantly connected to Adora and Jigar. As the Killer Peggies assaulted the rest of the party, they noticed that their attacks were being blocked by the lights. But instead of stopping, they tried again, and this time it was with greater force, a stronger motion. Their swings were wider as they tried to cut the magical light. Only when they heard a cry far out to the side. Swordsman Slaze was tanking all the hits that the Peggies were swinging at his party members. The light shining was the barrier to protect as well as transferring the damage to the swordsman instead. It was a simple but efficient defensive maneuver that Slaze possessed and it was usually accompanied with Adora''s healing. Alas, Adora already had her hands full with the resurrection procedure and Slaze thought that he could buy enough time for her to complete the spell before he went down. However, knowing that the light barrier had such an effect on Slaze, the Peggies violently smashed their choppers down repeatedly. Slaze could not tolerate the pain any further and he released a series of shouts as he held onto his sword for support. The pain subsequently became too excruciating to bear, destroying his magic buffer, making wounds appear all over his body. Seeing that Slaze was visibly wounded, it prompted the Killer Peggies to try even harder until the wounds started to fester and more blood oozed out from the wounds. "Argghhhhh!" Slaze gritted his teeth and continued to tremble until the Killer Peggies had decided to attack him too. While he was protected in that light barrier, the wall separating him and the choppers were dangerously thin. True enough, in a few chops, his barrier broke and the Killer Peggies were happily dipping their blades into his armour and flesh. "Resurrection!!" Adora shouted once more and three rays of light shone through the lighthouse and soon, three figures were apparent. It was the Axe Warrior which Jin had burnt and frozen, as well as the Tyr Archer and Demon Lizardman Arthur who had been killed in battle. Suddenly, another ray of light shone in front of them and Lynn saw the very same Lancer whom Kido had killed mere minutes ago emerging from the light. However,despite their reappearance, the Killer Peggies ignored them and kept whacking Slaze and Jigar who finally managed to untie the ever tightening restraints from his legs. (The Killer Peggies had used an inscription to tighten the ropes on a regular basis.) "What are you guys spacing out for?!" Jigar exclaimed as he now went out of the light barrier and started to clash with the Peggies. With a live target that could retaliate, the Peggies were livid and many tried to land their chopper blades into the monk. Seeing that Adora had completed the resurrection spell, Slaze released his spell and fell to the ground, helpless from the onslaught of attacks from the Killer Penguins. Their healer also held onto her staff, tired from the resurrection spell but her comrades were not moving and the Killer Penguins merely held their choppers in their flappers. In a state of confusion, Adora looked at them and called out to their names. None of them responded, even Arthur who had protected her so feverently previously from the knife attack. Had she made a mistake with the resurrection spell by rushing it? Impossible, this was not the first time she had performed this spell. The penguins inched closer to her, now that the light barrier had dissipated in a flashy blast. "Guys?! Guys?!" Adora''s voice trembled further as a Killer Peggie raised its chopper and slammed it downwards. With her reflexes, she managed to block the first hit with her staff but it was subsequently broken into two. Soon after, more and more Peggies moved closer and slashed their choppers into her. Despite her screams, Adora''s eyes continued to fill with dread as she saw Slaze get cut from a corner of her eye while Jigar was desperately trying to come to her rescue. Her other resurrected comrades were not doing a single thing to help her at all. "Why?" Adora''s face was sunken as she struggled to draw her last breath. Chapter 1068 - Tyr Gauntlets Shadow King -Part 1 Chapter 1068 ¨C Tyr Gauntlet¡¯s Shadow King -Part 1 "Gosh, that was awfully gory." Kiyu commented after watching the entire scene through the eyes of the System. "Good thing, this is not being shown in the dungeon supplier store." "Really? I find it fairly interesting. It just proves that Lynn is someone efficient on all kinds of battlefields." Kraft replied with a satisfied smile. "Sure, it might be a bit overkill to show it to the customers, but I''m pretty sure the Peggies will want to watch it again with their Queen later." "Still¡­ that resurrection spell¡­ allowing her to call upon her former teammates was pure evil." Kiyu commented while looking at the crafty fox. "What should I say? Lynn gave me a private call via the System Channel to ask if the resurrection would really go through. I told her that it was up to her and gave her some options. She was the one to allow the healer to have her wish." Kraft shrugged his shoulders happily, implying that he was merely following the instructions of the Sub System User. "What exactly did you tell her?" Pei queried, but she could roughly figure what the options must have been. "For one, there was the more obvious option of just letting the resurrection spell fail, but that would have been pretty boring. Instead, the System didn''t fight the call for resurrection and allowed her to resurrect those four Tyr Elites by using her own magical energy, thus saving on our resources. After that point, it was basically whether she wanted to supersede the System''s powers and cause the Tyr Elites to side with herself or the dying Elites for a more interesting match." Ultimately, she ordered them to just remain still, while the remaining party members put up a fight, thinking it would be a last stand. The quiet betrayal was more deadly in her opinion and¡­ well, the results speak for themselves." Kraft explained and nodded his head with glee. "That despair they felt, especially the healer seems rather heavy¡­.but I like it." Kiyu gave her a thumbs up and Pei shook her head, but did not deny that as well. "I think we should let this group stay with Lynn. They will undoubtedly become an excellent team of bodyguards in the future." Kraft suggested and the System agreed to it readily. "Doesn''t she have enough with her Peggies? You saw how her Killer Peggies wiped the entire floor, or, erm¡­ staircase with those elites. And isn''t it twisted for them to die and later serve under the person who killed them?" Qiu Yue felt a bit jealous that such an entourage was just bestowed upon Lynn. "Nah, it''s more like this was the first time she put a lot of effort into killing others to help Jin. In a way, it''s her actual debut kill, so we should reward her as such. As for that emotion of guilt, those people won''t remember much or even at all once they were deployed to their new Queen. But eventually, it would be up to Lynn whether she wants to accept the entourage." Kiyu replied and went towards Qiu Yue to cheer her up. "Don''t worry, you will get yours too. In the meantime, you could always ask Kraft nicely for some Night Foxes. I am sure he will part some of his toys for you to play." "No, what I meant is that¡­ this supposed to be Jin deciding?" Qiu Yue wanted to give an excuse. "Well, he said it was okay." Kraft smiled as he playback the System Channel''s communication between him and their master. "As if I would do anything without his permission." "Surely, you jest." Qiu Yue rolled her eyes at these blatant lies and returned to watching the live War Room Hologram that was running in the background on their grand table. Back at the Petal Lighthouse, Jin had reached the top floor and there was only one door separating him from his target¡­ However, instead of drawing his sword, Jin used one of the cosmetic inscriptions he had stored to change into a formal business suit. As he walked into the room, Tyr Gauntlets'' Shadow King didn''t even acknowledge his presence. The Demon remained sitting behind his desk, checking doc.u.ments and other miscellaneous administrative work. "So, you and your fellow comrades are the ones who have been destroying my precious lighthouse?" For a moment the one behind the desk looked up with his eyes staring at him intently, After sizing Jin up from top to bottom, he returned burying his attention in the paperwork he was holding to. "We''re willing to compensate you appropriately as long as our interests happen to align. Mind if I have a seat?" Jin asked as he pulled his Panda Mask out and the Shadow King nodded his head upwards as if telling Jin to do as he pleased. "So what are you proposing?" The Shadow King questioned as he placed his paperwork down after putting his signature on the doc.u.ment. "No proper greetings?" Jin queried since he did not know the Shadow King but he laid back on his chair. "Just get to the point." The Shadow King answered, clearly not wishing to waste a moment of his time on something as unnecessary as ''proper etiquette''. He believed he was already kind and tolerable enough to even entertain Jin. "Very well. Do you honestly believe that this is our intent? To root out all Mafia factions because our King believes in justice?" Jin queried and that made Shadow King stop his paperwork for a moment as he sighed. He took off his pair of spectacles and placed his hands on the table. "No. You would be foolish to believe you could ever truly wipe us out, no matter how hard you try." The Shadow King remarked with a stern voice. "You are wasting my time, either get out of my face right now or take me out." "I agree with that statement, so I will do neither if the situation allows. Instead, I want to offer you an alternative." Jin pulled out a stack of doc.u.ments. "This is what King Rex proposes." The Shadow King did not pick up the doc.u.ment and instead, he brushed it aside and continued with his own paperwork. "What if I tell you there is a bigger picture to all of this?" Jin asked but once again, there was no response from him. Jin sighed, knowing that the only languages that these people would talk were Violence and Money. While this entire fiasco was because Kraft wanted Jin to show off and Jin was itching towards the first option, the Astral Panda Cultivator felt he should conserve his strength whenever possible. Thus, he pulled out a suitcase from his storage ring and unlocked it right in front of the Shadow King. The piles of dungeon cash neatly placed side by side did cause the Shadow King to bat an eyelid towards Jin. "Not enough?" Jin immediately pulled another suitcase out and this time that particular suitcase was filled with cash of a higher denomination. "You honestly think that will interest me?" The Shadow King remarked as closed the two suitcases and he pulled his chair backwards. Jin could feel the aura within the Shadow King raising and burning brightly. "Well, why didn''t you start with that?!" The Shadow King raised his hand out even without giving any consideration on the deal that they were about to close. Chapter 1069 - Tyrs Gauntlet Shadow King -Part 2 Chapter 1069 ¨C Tyr¡¯s Gauntlet Shadow King -Part 2 Standing about 180cm metres tall, the Shadow King was a Red Tiefling with a trimmed beard, and a peculiar tattoo right beside his right eye. From far, it looked like a turned around cross, but upon closer inspection Jin saw that it was the hands of a clock that made the cross. The Shadow King continued to smile as he unreservedly asked Jin to sit down, before going over to the cabinet and taking out a black bottle of wine. However, after some consideration for his guest, he put back the glass bottle and went for a silver one. Jin, on the other hand, was surprised that the Shadow King became this amicable upon the allure of money, yet decided to follow the current development to see where it was going. In the meantime, Kraft was complaining that this was not the climactic battle they had been waiting for, whereas Rex complimented Jin for using his head. Still, he was also a bit disappointed that there would be no fight between the Shadow King. Eventually, everyone returned to their respective tasks within the War Room and Kraft began to yawn loudly, switching the channel back to Lynn. "Name''s Neil." The Shadow King introduced himself as he poured a drink of a somewhat watered-down version of their Demon''s liquor. Jin squinted his eyes as he saw the liquor changing colours the moment he placed some ice in. He thanked Neil and took a sip. The flavours were explosive and it was certainly unexpected. At first, it tasted like ice lemon tea and later there was a scent of hot chocolate even though it was supposed to be a higher level of vodka. Despite that, Jin already felt slightly lightheaded despite having endured all the forced drinking sessions with his minions. Fortunately, he had learned a trick how to handle his alcohol. He used his Maqi to regulate his body in case it was a trap by the Shadow King. "Oh, is it still too strong for you?" Neil chuckled seeing how Jin had lost his composure for a moment there. "Not a fan of drinking, that''s all. I only do this for business." Jin smiled back as Neil sat back and his attention towards the Astral Panda Cultivator. "I''ll be blunt with you, I didn''t really expect you to expect this fast. I was pretty sure that you would kinda reject my idea very readily and even the money." "Hah! Please, I run this Mafia group because of money and in fact, I''m planning to demand some more from you as compensation considering that you have disrupted our operations so severely. Still, this amount of money is a good start to repair the relationship between the current King and us." Neil explained while he started to calculate the estimated losses Tyr Gauntlets had incurred, to properly bill the King for it. "Actually, we can brute force our way if we wanted. My sources have informed me that we have already defeated your Elites." Jin commented. "Nevertheless, we want to be amicable too. If we can resolve it with money alone it would be great. Too much fighting will create a misunderstanding." "Tsk, you say that after defeating them?" Neil grumbled while he leaned backwards on his chair. "How else were we supposed to convince you that we are a force not to be trifled with. You would really ignore us if we tried to negotiate with you, right?" Jin chuckled as he took another sip of the weird alcohol. The more he drank it, the more he felt that it was oddly intoxicating and addictive but the accompanying lightheadedness was no joke. "Touche, so what are you proposing? Do you want us to bash up Eld Enclave or Atrocity? I heard that you did quite a number on the latter at the start of the day. Still, I''d like to remind you that whichever side it will be, it won''t be cheap, especially since we will have to revive those you''ve killed." Neil stood his ground that his Elites were still a valuable bunch of people despite their supposed defeat. He had seen most of it through the magical orb he possessed but he had a number of burning questions to ask especially since his magic orb conveiently broke during one of the clashes between his Elites and the sole enemy. He had seen how his warrior and archer got killed and was wholly convinced that it was possible his entire team of Elites were annihilated. Else, they would be storming through the front door and stop Jin from even communicating with their big boss. "There''s no need for you to attack either one of them. No, I want you to retreat with your group from this city and station yourselves in the outskirts. We have a secret outpost that was built recently which you can occupy for the time being¡­well assuming that your numbers aren''t much greater than our estimate." Jin answered and Neil felt perturbed by his request. "Not even asking us to join forces for bashing the other Shadow Kings down? You''re either very c.o.c.ky¡­ or more powerful than we had anticipated. What exactly are you plotting?" Neil questioned him but Jin refused to say a single word more which made the Shadow King start to ponder the dungeon supplier''s actions. The mass exodus of the Demopolis was a dangerously weird move while the current infighting between the Mafias and the Human Mercenaries was something that was out of the norm. Instead of a coordinated push to flush out the Mafias, it became more of a chaotic situation. It was as if this entire scenario was just a build-up for something else entirely. And that was when Neil believed he had figured it out. "Wait a minute¡­You are using this city as bait?" Neil queried as he remembered how the Demopolis had been conquered by surprise. Jin smiled widely and he nodded his head slowly. "We know that your group is smaller than the other two Mafia groups but had a stronger force. We''re hoping you could at least deal a huge blow to one of the invading cities'' armies when they arrived." Jin explained and Neil''s eyes dilated. "You mean you are baiting not just one but more than a few cities at a time?" Neil questioned with disbelief when he heard Jin''s answer. "But for the King to use the entire city as his playground, that''s rather ambitious. A bold but foolish plan." Neil replied that this was going to backfire quite badly. "Nah, not really. We honestly don''t need your help for this plan to work, but it never hurts having some extra help ready and available. All you need to do is to sign this set of doc.u.ments. I can already promise you that this will not only bring you untold fortunes from the cities but maybe I could even convince the King to bestow a city for you to control if you wish." Jin offered as he pulled the set of paper Neil left one side and waved it beside him. However, as he did that, the System was already rewriting the doc.u.ment clauses and preparing another set of doc.u.ments. The Dungeon Supplier purposely brought it close to him to adjust the papers but as he did that, Jin secretly swapped them with the brand new doc.u.ments. Those doc.u.ments were a series of contracts that when signed by Neil, the System would automatically assume control of each and every Mafia member under Tyr Gauntlets. At that particular point, the System was able to share valuable information and sufficient context for Neil to make further decisions. But for now, Jin had to lure him to sign it. "Not to mention, you will have the odds against you. Like insurmountable kinds of odds." Jin''s warning felt like an advertis.e.m.e.nt for the crazy. Oh but Neil was laughing hysterically when he heard it. "Money, a prospect for proper land and killing stuff? Where do I sign on that goddamn paper?" Chapter 1070 - Tyrs Gauntlet Shadow King -Final Chapter 1070 ¨C Tyr¡¯s Gauntlet Shadow King -Final Upon signing the contract, Jin finally relaxed and asked a question that had been bugging him for a while now. "Say, I thought you guys were supposed to be vigilantes. The kind to fight against the oppressive rich and give to the poor and such¡­ but here you are not even hesitating to take this deal so openly, to the point you openly showed your desire for money, land and even a thirst for massacre." Neil laughed at Jin''s comment as he grabbed the silver bottle and drank a gulp of it before replying to him. "Now isn''t that imposing your ideals on us? Besides you need money to help others, doesn''t matter if it has to be stolen by some pretentious noble guy or from some rich young master who has delivered himself in front of me." "Still, it''s true that we care about those with little means, but so does your side. As much as I hate the crown, I can''t help but admit that ''King'' Rex has been doing some nifty things to ensure the survival of those who had been abused. Oh don''t give me that look, you should be perfectly aware that we have rats and moles everywhere. So his deal with the Pandapolis Lord has been extremely beneficial to my fellow people that they have reported that they need to observe the situation a little longer." "Why? Afraid that there is no such thing as a pure good deed?" Jin chuckled which made Neil shrug his shoulders momentarily. "In a way. How can we not be wary? They are suddenly being provided with food, shelter and even a living daily wage to tide over the difficult times¡­ who would believe that nothing shady was going on in the background. A lot of them had a bad bout of scepticism because they suffered too much under the previous ruling of King Baal. Not to say he is a bad king, mind you. Just that, he had fallen from grace, which is why all of us had been dealing with his advisor instead." Neil revealed as he took in another mouthful of alcohol. "Say, now that I have you before me, Mr Lordling of Pandapolis, what''s your relationship with the usurped?" Neil asked as he placed the silver bottle down and smirked at him. Jin then realised that this must have been the reason why a Shadow King had so readily accepted the deal without any reason or excuse. "Firstly, how did you know it was me?" Jin questioned and sighed, not even trying to deny the truth. Neil blatantly laughed at him for his ignorance. "For starters, if you want to stay incognito you might switch to a different type of mask. Your feud against King Baal was possibly one of the most anticipated fights in Demopolis history. How could I not recognise you from that alone?" Neil stared at him for a moment to check for any reactions before explaining that the Mafias as usual had their ways and methods to get footage of the fight between Demopolis and Pandapolis. No doubt, they had also taken Moloch to be the main lead against Baal, so they had been just as surprised for a human with strong physical and magical abilities to appear and fight the previous King for so long. "And later we found out that the owner of the Pandapolis Core was not entirely by Moloch but a human too. That information was quite an expensive purchase but to have the Lordling to be right in front of me, offering me a deal that I cannot resist, this is just way too exciting to refuse." "I see¡­" Jin was unsure how to feel about his infamous status in the eyes of the Mafias. "Another thing I would like you to confirm is about an interesting rumour flying around. Apparently the true objective was never to take over, but to use Demopolis as bait to fight against the other cities. No need for false courtesies here. I for one am hoping this to be true. I would be looking forward to working alongside a Lordling with such a crazy mindset, as the world needs someone like that. Someone who could get rid of the discrimination between the rich and poor." Neil replied with a wide smile. "To be honest, that is not the only thing I am aiming to change." Jin felt a bit more talkative than usual and decided to tell Neil about his ultimate goal for the Dungeon World since now he and his entire Mafia had been officially registered to be under the System''s command. "The Church of the Afterlife?! The root of all evil in this world?! Are you kidding me? Hahahaha!" Neil laughed so hard, one might even worry he could fall off from his chair. "The root of all evil?" Jin queried and the Red Tiefling controlled his laughter for a little. "The might and deeds of us the three Shadow Kings pale in comparison to the Church of the Afterlife. They probably don''t even know themselves just how many people got ripped off by their piss poor agents. Their ruthlessness in achieving what they want is something our yolk can learn from." "Driven by their greed for power, they had crawled their way into the beds of politicians and royalties. If we had not seen you in action before, we''d think you to be insane proposing such a dangerous goal." Neil explained, making Jin believe that the Tiefling must have clashed against the Church of the Afterlife quite a few times to have such an experience. "That''s not all. We want to attack them where it will hurt them to most, by putting up our own religion against theirs." Jin revealed and with a snap of his fingers, the System started to load a summary of details into Neil''s head. He was instantly stunned by the overloading information. A while ago Jin and the System had requested Pei and Kiyu to create a spell that would allow fast transmission of information so that they would not not have to explain to each and every new recruit that joined under Jin''s banner what the end goal would be. This way was very effective and they could get on with what they needed to discuss without wasting any time. However, the one downside they had failed to get rid off, was a series of slight headaches for the recipient. When asked if the spell could be improved, Pei said, that it''s less a direct result of the spell and more an after effect of the brain getting that influx of information. The easiest remedy was to take paracetamol or any other suitable painkillers to aid with the headache. "Wow. Alright." Neil shook his head and tried to steady himself by taking another shot of his alcohol. It indeed relaxed him a fair bit before nodding to Jin with regards to his plan to create a religion so that they could go toe to toe with the Church of the Afterlife. "Ultimately, a Crusade War, huh." Neil felt it would be quite the befitting end for the Church of the Afterlife if Jin were to succeed. "If that''s the case then I might actually have an idea or two you could consider and possibly implement at the later stages of this current battle." Neil smiled in a way he usually only saw in Kraft. Chapter 1071 - Pretence Chapter 1071 ¨C Pretence "Boss!" Lynn ran up the stairs panting slightly with a group of Killer Peggies right behind her. Their choppers were sharpened and ready to cleave through any armour or any other type of resistance they might encounter. She even had the resurrected Tyr Elites follow quietly behind her, ready to act at a moment''s notice. It was plain obvious that they had already fallen as the System''s thralls and would act against their former Shadow King if necessary. However, when they opened the door¡­ they found Jin discussing a series of business deals with his supposed mission target, having a serious conversation until they both looked up, interrupted by the appearance of the newcomers. "I see that you have successfully enthralled all of my Elites," Neil sighed as he stood up and bowed. He introduced himself as Tyr Gauntlets'' Shadow King and Lynn was pleasantly surprised by them talking things over with their mouths instead of their fists. Noticing her gaze, Neil laughed. "If I were Atrocity''s or Eld Enclave''s Shadow King, I probably would have done that. Atrocity would use the excuse of passing out judgement against you, when in truth, they''d just want revenge. Eld Enclave, on the other hand, would love to get their hands on your bodies to study the secrets of your magical styles. Of course, both scenarios would need them to survive your onslaught first." Neil added as he courteously offered Lynn the seat beside Jin''s. "We have not even fought and you already think I could win?" Jin chuckled as he poured Lynn a glass of alcohol and asked the chef to give it a try. "Last time we fought, I was stronger than the other two Shadow Kings combined, yet I didn''t have to fight you to feel that if it came down to it, I would be at the losing end." Neil admitted as he stared at Jin for a moment before gazing upon the battle maiden who had bested nearly all his Elites on her own. Suffice to say, the Killer Peggies at the door were beaming at him, watching his every move in case he tried to do anything funny against their Queen. Regardless of whether he had already accepted the System''s contract, the peggies were a fanatic bunch of warriors that would do anything to keep their Queen safe under their protection. Meanwhile, Lynn was appreciating the strong flavour of the alcohol and wondering whether she could and should try to recreate it for her customers. Jin explained to her what they had discussed and it was the first time Lynn was hearing about the Church of the Afterlife having instigated other cities to attack them. Because of her primary job, she had hardly been part of the War Room and nobody else had bothered to tell her that this entire raid had changed recently into an elaborate plan to lure the Church of the Afterlife into fighting. "But we all believed it would not happen so soon. Given their cautious nature based on the information given to me by Kraft and Kiyu, I estimated that they would probably only attack after a week or two." Jin commented. "As I''ve said, I would still recommend you to announce the fall of me, the Tyr Gauntlets'' Shadow King. Not to toot my own horn too much, but my supposed demise would actually be quite the big news to the other two Shadow Kings. When the human cities learn that one entire Mafia faction has been defeated this fast, they would have no choice but to rush in. Waiting too long would have them risk losing the opportunity to ambush your side during the chaos." Neil remarked while he poured another glass of alcohol for Lynn. "As much as we might like to side the humans, the majority of them have sided with the Church without ever bothering to give us a chance. There is no denying that they will come based on the Church''s agents¡­erm persuasion. Even if they see my customers they will probably just treat them as demon worshippers or something." Jin added more context for Lynn to understand. "Why do you want to go to war again? Aren''t you preparing yourself for the Demon Rat Offensive in the Farming World? By doing this, aren''t you overstretching your troops to a huge extent that they might not have enough rest? What about the resources that you-" Lynn wanted to complain even further but then it struck her like a bolt of lightning. It finally dawned on her why Jin was doing such a complicated process by using Demopolis as excessive bait. "You want more men?" Lynn''s short and sweet analysis hit the spot and Jin nodded his head with a smile. "Where else can we get more manpower that has already been trained so wonderfully?" Jin chuckled as he was pleasantly amazed that Lynn was able to catch the underlying ploy by Kraft and him. This entire raid had already been turned into just a pretence to get more troops from the Dungeon World and use them against the Demon Rats. "The System has already verified that as long as we''re able to capture their Dungeon Core, it would be akin to holding their city ''hostage'' for the lack of a better word. We don''t need to control them ourselves. We can easily promise them to release the hostages as long as agree to come into the Farming World and cause some havoc there." "Of course, the System will still have to track each and every one of them down to ensure that those who belong in the Dungeon World return here, dead or alive. Best thing, we don''t even need to arm them as much as the minions on our side. Our batch will act as the elites, doing the tasks necessary to bring their entire Rat Empire down while the human armies can just act as the rank and file to disrupt the massive numbers that the Demon Rats have." Jin added and Lynn involuntarily shook her head. "But still, in order to earn those cities, you gotta fight for them. How are you proposing to do it? And in a quick manner too so that they won''t notice it?" Lynn questioned and suddenly a shadow appeared behind Jin. His hand was gently placed on Jin''s shoulders and he could already feel the weight of the many worlds resting on them. "Why of course, that job is up to me and my (Night) Foxes, who shall have the honour of performing this brilliant coordination capturing," Kraft stated and Lynn sighed. There was no denying that no one else was as powerful as those Foxes and if Kraft''s boasting was to be believed, they haven''t even displayed their true capabilities during the previous Demopolis City capture. That alone made Lynn ponder just how absurdly strong these ancestors were and their enemies had been to have fostered such overpowered fighters. "Don''t worry, our ¡­agents have already shown us that they''re not as guarded as Demopolis and don''t have such a complicated seal. The human cities have mostly concentrated on outer defence over protecting their core." Kraft grinned as he recalled how quick those Church agents had spilled the beans upon some ''persuasion''. Neil cleared his throat. "Looks like the conversation is getting out of my depth. Let''s end it here and you lot can talk in some other office, alright? Now if you''ll excuse me, I have orders from my new employer to station my guys at the outskirts of Demopolis." He picked up his suit and then he stopped for a moment to snap his fingers at Lynn. "Sorry there, Bossman and his lady, but I would appreciate having control over my Elites for the fight." Jin acknowledged the request and had the System summon the rest of the Tyr Elite party in front of him. The office was getting crowded, so Jin and the rest left via a portal while the Tyr Elites knelt right in front of their Shadow King. They roughly knew the current situation based on the flash memory overload that the System had forced upon them. "Well, guess we drew the short straw of being the good bad guys for once," Neil sighed as he wore his suit and raised his hands to the side cabinet of the table. With magic, the drawer opened and an embroidered pouch emerged from it, floating right towards his waist. "You guys better buck up, or else!" Neil''s expression darkened before taking out a jewel from the embroiled pouch and a teleport circle appeared as the jewel glowed. The entire team teleported out from the scenes and so did every underling under Tyr''s Gauntlet leader''s command. It was definitely a more powered up version of the System''s mass teleport. The super entity had shamelessly recorded it and was now attempting to copy it behind the scenes. Chapter 1072 - Overview of the Demopolis Raid -unedited Chapter 1072 ¨C Overview of the Demopolis Raid -unedited Just as Lynn learnt the truth of the raid, the raid was still progressing as per planned. The only difference was that Jin had announced that the entire Tyr Gauntlet Mafia had disappeared from the map. There was no explanation given and the System had already cordoned off the Petal District by putting up a power barrier which an ordinary Pandaren could bypass. In terms of gaming terminology, it had become restricted for any users to go in. Jin had also added that anyone who had attempted to trespass into the Petal District would be forcefully teleported out of the raid instance and that puzzled everyone that was in the raid. People started to create bizarre theories on the current situation. From a technical bug that had been found and Jin was repairing it in the midst of the dungeon runs to others thinking that Jin purposely increased the Raid difficulty since the Petal District was one of the few districts that were tantamount to an intersectional district that connects to the rest of the surrounding areas. No one would have known that it was because of Jin''s subjugation of the Mafia except for the major two families that were still alive. They realised that the communication between the Tyr Gauntlet and them had been cut off permanently with no possible way to restore any connections. And with the light barriers appearing over the Petal District, they could only assume that the Tyr Gauntlet Mafia had been estranged by the Demopolis Police forces or the human mercenaries which King Rex had hired. While the Shadow Kings had influence to not just their own families but to various minor gangs as well, the situation was not looking good for them. There were humans armed with both magical and technical expertise that were able to shred the defences that they had painstakingly built to protect themselves against the Demopolis Police. To make matters worse, some were being captured alive and brought to the Demopolis Police outposts and headquarters. However, the underworld was not to be underestimated. Even with the shock tactics done by the Pandarens, the Mafia gangsters had managed to decipher their formations and started to counter attack with overwhelming numbers. Some even use the same tricks that the Pandarens had played because of the constant exchange of information between mafias. Although fighting a few of the Pandarens would result in losses, they still knew their districts and the environment played a crucial role in securing a win. They might not win the war, but they sure know how to inflict major losses to King Rex. (Or that''s what the Mafia were supposed to believe.) And this was merely Day One of the raid where the tougher guys were still not out to play with the Pandarens. All the customers had been fighting against were merely the rank and file lackeys. But now with sufficient information in their hands, Atrocity and Eld Enclave had decided to go all out by sending their veterans to assist with the surviving minor gangs. Although it was true that the Team Pandawan had been making strides in their effort to thwart Atrocity, they too had underestimated the sheer numbers the Mafias have, hiding behind the scenes, waiting for their Shadow Kings to give the command. To add on, the lack of Demopolis Police in the streets and the odd looking light based barrier had caused the two remaining Shadow Kings to deduce that the Demopolis Police was concentrating their efforts to contain Tyr''s Gauntlet. And as if to support that theory, Ixel, the current chief of Demopolis Police Department and all things to do with internal security, had already pre-empted this by releasing fake telecommunications so that the Mafias could be misled by the false information. (The rest of the foxes were surprised that their muscle brain Ixel was able to think this out.) Telegrams and magical calls that requested for help had been intercepted by the Eld Enclave Mages and that prompted the Shadow Kings to be more aggressive in their fight. What they did not know was that their actions were all calculated within the parameters of the plan created by Kraft and his pals in the War Room. The arrival of their veterans had allowed the Goblin Telecoms Team to reverify the Mafia''s outposts and strongholds and update the Pandaren''s map as necessary. However, most of the Pandarens who continued this particular raid in the Dungeon World had amounted to nearly a day. Even Team Pandawan who thought that they only spend hours in it, was shocked that they were immersed in this warzone for at least a day in it. Lee An and Xue Ping had decided to return to the safehouse to check out of the raid instance safely, and to keep their progress of their current run. After which, they had a couple only dinner in the restaurant instance before beaming out from Jin''s store instance. (All in all, a very satisfied couple.) The rest of the team eventually did the same an hour later and all of them noticed how different it was when compared to the Pandapolis Raid. The intensity of the fights was less but the amount of effort to traverse from one corner to another was tiring. While they were glad that this particular raid was as advertised, they could not believe how real it was that the detective couple told them that was how soldiers lived in the war zone in their chat group. Some wondered how they could keep up on a daily basis and the detectives said that when they were stuck in that situation, all they thought was how to survive the next day. But as usual, satisfied customers come along the other end of the spectrum. There were armchair commentators stating how boring the entire raid was, compared to the exhilarating turn of events during the Pandapolis Raid. They even stated that the longevity of this particular raid was merely to squeeze more money from the customers. Naturally, Jin did not bother with them as his ultimate goal was to get the armies from the humans. The only things he did considered were the feedback to improve the current raid and some of the opinions given by his Pandaren customers were rather interesting. There were certain feedbacks to create a ''quick time event'' within the raid so that the scattered Pandarens within the vicinity could band together and fight against the threat. In return, more Emblems or Demopolis Raid Points to be given out for those who managed to complete the quick time event. It was a neat idea and Jin did ponder on how to implement it into the current Raid but at the same time, he was thinking of the situation that they were in to the System. "¡­ Nevertheless, what Neil said was true. The two other Shadow Kings are bolder right now and they had ramped up the difficulty of the fights for the Pandarens." Jin remarked as he sat beside his Dungeon Maker console, twirling around waiting for a response from the System but instead, he sensed an aura all too familiar emerging right beside him. "And to make things even sweeter, my scouts reported that the Human Cities had already embarked from their cities. They are riding to us as we speak and should be expecting them within another day or two." Kraft opened his digital tablet and Jin could see blips moving towards Demopolis. "You think they would make a coordinated effort to attack us?" Jin questioned but Kraft shook his shoulders. "Wait and see." The fox said and he smirked seeing the blips ever moving slowly towards his brother''s precious city before disappearing once again. Chapter 1073 - Active Response Events Chapter 1073 ¨C Active Response Events Following his customers'' wishes, Jin did indeed end up implementing several quick time events over the next few days, which would appear on their raid maps with a symbol of two Pandas wearing Viking helmets and raising their axes in unison. Each one would have a circular parameter around the location on the map and anyone inside would be able to receive participation points. Usually, the objective of these Active Response Events would be accompanied by a simple narrative, with some of them being pretty whacky considering they were all generated by the System. (It''s honest;y a side of the System which most users would never get to see.) Jin had allowed it mainly due to the fact that it had all the information about the current situation on the ground. Not to mention, the System seemed to have been having fun generating the narrative based on its info gathering. One such example was about a Pandaren who had become too greedy with hoarding the furniture to the point his assigned ring had been filled to the brim. Apparently unhappy about not being able to take back everything at once, he had decided to carry just a few more things manually. Alas, the mafia had spotted the hoarding Pandaren and rightfully believing he had valuable things on him they had annihilated him on his way to the nearest safe house. With the death of the ring holder, all items in the assigned storage ring had dispersed out in the open, filling the street. This had prompted the Mafia gangsters to grab the valuables before they had promptly returned to their own base. Fortunately, those lost items had been geotagged by the System, allowing it to track where they had gone. Instead of getting away, the thieves were unknowingly leading the way to their den. Such events prompted other Pandarens to join in the search. Not only were they able to take hold of the lost items for Raid Emblems but also earn extra Raid Points upon completion of these AREs. However, to remain true to the idea of an ''Active Response'', the System had also implemented timers attached to the events, causing customers to rush to the assigned location, thus indirectly ensuring a decent Pandaren presence within the current section of the battlefield. This also guaranteed that the fighting would be more intense and to a certain degree, memorable. To foster a healthy sense of competition, the amount of participation would result in the Panderen''s achieving a Bronze, Silver or Gold Tier rating, each one rewarding the participants a certain set of raid points and to make things easy for the System to track. (Especially when there were multiple AREs active within the Demopolis districts) In order to achieve a Gold Tier, Pandarens would have to very actively participate within the diameter of the ARE, which depended on the mission, be it collecting the majority of the lost items or subduing most mafia gangsters. As long as the Pandarens were performing something useful even by just aiding an injured Panadren to safety earns them points. These points would then be tabulated and the System would instantly create a list displaying who had scored the most number of points. Only once an event has concluded, would the System rank those Pandarens based on the Tier System. Initially, Jin had intended to implement a flat points system, meaning as long as the Pandarens reached a certain number of points, they would be rewarded with a Gold tier reward. However, the System had refused the idea, arguing that those raid points would eventually be used to purchase items, so it would hurt his bottom line in the long run if he was too generous. Ultimately, they compromised with a system that acted something like a bell curve. The top percentile would receive the Gold Tier, most people earning the middle Silver Tier, so only those who did the bare minimum got the Bronze Tier. Such tactics forced the Pandarens to take more initiative in their game and after the first day, some had already compiled a list of do''s and dont''s in order to achieve a Gold Tier. (Eventually, the ''analysts'' noticed that it was a bell curve and had placed a new disclaimer that the list only covered the basics.) Still, all of this was merely distractions for the actual agenda. Kraft''s foxes and a few minions under Jin''s command had stationed themselves outside of Demopolis to watch out for the real enemies. Without a doubt, the human armies were coming en mass and they were not hiding their firepower. As Demopolis was situated in a peninsula, the Deep Ones were monitoring the sh.i.p.s'' movements beneath the sea while Kraft''s Night Foxes had noted that armies under different city banners were moving in from the top too. If anything, it was plainly obvious that they were aiming for a pincer movement based on the speed they were travelling. "A pincer movement seems like an understatement." Moloch was standing at the side of the War Room Table and was taking note of the city banners that the scouts had reported. "It looks more like a ''You''re surrounded, surrender now and we might give you a quick death!'' " "You believe they will grant you a quick death after all the raiding during King Baal''s time?" Nubwort snorted and Moloch shrugged. "Besides, you guys can resurrect so if it was me, I would enslave you under the pretence of justice." "You''re not wrong on that. Lucky, we have a pair of new Goddesses who can protect us, right?" Moloch smiled as he looked at Jin. "While I like to say that they are changing into their costumes right now, but I''m not sure how easy it will be for Peppers to convince the Mafias to switch sides. And that is assuming if they were not too lazy to come out. To be frank, I am still contemplating to use Rex instead." Jin wondered if it wouldn''t have been wiser to use King Rex instead. "After what Rex supposedly did, you think the Mafias would listen to him?" Qiu Yue questioned as she was already clearing a few backend issues for the incoming fight. "I guess they''ll have to. No matter what, the Mafia gangs should still fight for the city." Jin argued. "What makes you so sure about this?" Qiu Yue stopped her work, curious for the answer. "The fact that they stood their ground and fought against King Rex''s hired soldiers shows that they still have loyalty towards this city. That alone should be enough to turn the tide later on. Besides, all we need is for them and the Pandarens to buy us some time." Jin remarked and suddenly he could hear the rumbling coming from the side of the War Room. A black and elegant ''throne'' emerged out of nowhere, decorated with foxes elaborately carved into the chair. It was clear that given its design it could only belong to a narcissistic certain someone, which caused everyone at the War Room table to collectively sigh. "What''s with this reaction? A little more respect to this El Presidente. After you all swear your allegiance, we''re going to take all those cities!" Kraft announced as he emerged from thin air and comfortably sat down on his new ''chair''. Nine magical tails shot out from the back of the throne and weaved around their local ''Usurper'', making him more ominous than usual. Chapter 1074 - Uniting the Shadow Kings Chapter 1074 ¨C Uniting the Shadow Kings "Sir! We finally have a signal!" The messenger slammed open the door only to realise that he had interrupted a meeting full of executives. All eyes were now glaring at him with scorn and he knew that unless he could give them a good reason for his action, it might actually be the end of his life. "Sire, we finally managed to receive a signal from Tyr Gauntlet." The messenger knelt at the doors, closing his eyes while beads of sweat rolled down his neck. His heart was accelerating and the only thing that kept him sane from this pressurising situation was the hope that his transgression would be overlooked in favour of the completion of the task assigned by Atrocity''s Shadow King himself. "You." Without even turning his neck, the corner of Satov''s eye was sufficient for the messenger to know that he was being called upon. "Place the communication ball on the table. Everyone else, dismissed!" With one command, the entire room was silenced and the only sound was that of the executives'' chairs being moved backwards. The executives stood right beside their seats before bowing simultaneously to Satov and walking away in unison. All of them clearly avoided the messenger and his precious crystal ball, not even sparing him a single glance. "Sire, the signal is weak and there were unfortunately only inconceivable replies coming from the ball. So far, we have yet to decipher them as there was quite a fair bit of mana disruption in the room. I just came here, because it was your command to inform you, no matter how weak the signal was¡­" The messenger slowly mumbled his words as he could suddenly feel a darkened pressure emitting from the Shadow King''s single eye. Indeed, Satov, Atrocity''s Shadow King, was a Cyclops, a race whose members were widely regarded as primitive monsters who only followed their base instincts. And yet the one before the Tiefling messenger not only had an abysmal amount of strength and endurance that could match a Giant''s, he also had intelligence far above the average man. For him to command one of the three large Mafia factions was a testimony of his abilities, rightfully earning him the respect and fear of everyone in the underworld. Although Neil had claimed that his abilities could rival the other two Shadow Kings combined, he would never deny that based on raw strength, the Red Tiefling would lose in an instant. "You may get out now," Satov said and the messenger immediately ran with his tail between his legs. The Cyclops would lie if he said he wasn''t disappointed with the messenger''s result. Merely getting a weak signal was as good as nothing, but it was not entirely the messenger''s fault. The Shadow Kings had purposely used something like an encryption code via magic to protect their messages and for the messenger to even get a signal was already a miracle considering the barrier in Petal District. While using his innate strengths to survive, Satov hadn''t wasted his years climbing to the top of the food chain and had come to learn some basic magic. With some mana gathered in his three fingered hand, the crystal ball started to glow eerily for a moment before he managed to get some footage within the ball. "Ah, Shadow King Satov, I finally managed to contact you." A voice came from the Crystal Ball, yet it wasn''t Neil''s nor anyone else he could recognise from Tyr Gauntlet. Satov quickly assumed the worst as the image formed into the one seen on magical screens all over the city. King Rex. "Speak." The Cyclops demanded with gritted teeth, making sure to hold himself back from immediately crushing the crystal ball. "Firstly, thank you for not breaking the conversation and thereby showing me where you are. There is a lot I wish to speak about with you. Surely you must wond-" "If you wish to waste my time, I shall end this call. If there is anything you want to say to me do it now, or we will speak on the battlefield." Satov interrupted him sternly as he tried to hold his anger, calling him out on the ''bluff''. Rex cleared his throat before he spoke with clarity. "Alright, I shall get directly to the point. Tyr Gauntlet has surrendered to me. Shadow King Neil is currently working to protect Demopolis." "So? Did you want to flaunt that you have gained another ally?" Satov questioned while trying to perceive any underlying meaning whether Neil had betrayed the alliance. "No, I wish to offer you a proposal. Before you reached out, I''ve already managed to contact the Eld Enclave and their Shadow ''King'' has already accepted the deal." Rex clarified and suddenly Satov saw a portal appear right in the middle of his table. It was none other than the King of Demopolis himself who walked out from it. Upon emerging from the portal, he activated his storage ring and a few suitcases drop in front of him. The King mildly kicked one of the suitcases towards the Cyclops and the lid popped open, revealing a stash of Adamantine bars. "I''ve been told gold bars are not to your liking, but these¡­ These will allow you to have suits of armour of unparalleled strength, which will complement that gauntlet you have right over there." Rex eyed the old rusted Adamantine gauntlet at the side of the Shadow King. Needless to say, Satov was just as intrigued as Neil from the allure of those Adamantine bars. He could only wager a guess who had told Rex about it, but they were spot on. Those dull greenish metal bars were more precious to him than everything else gold could allow him to buy. If anything, the Cyclops race treated Adamantine as their war trophies. It might just be a piece of rare metal to the other demon races but when a Cyclops wore such metal, it allowed them to harness more advanced magic because of their properties. And that was for a normal Cyclops, whereas Satov was considered to be the brightest of all his race combined. Unfortunately, despite his high intelligence, his ability to use magic was still hindered by his genetic markup. These Adamantine metals had the triggering properties to complement his genetics and were able to allow him to wield magic as mighty as the Shadow ''King'' of the Eld Enclave. Alas, although powerful, Adamantine would rust and disintegrate with each use of magic, preventing Satov to fully capitalise on them if he does not have sufficient Adamantine to even learn those said magic. Let''s not mention how Adamantine could not be found easily because of the humans'' rational fear of the magical wielding juggernauts. (The humans destroyed any sources they could find and even banned Dungeon Cores that created them.) "So, you wish to stop this war by buying us Shadow Kings under the table?" Satov questioned and Rex laughed loudly. "Stop this war? We have barely begun." The King smirked as he pulled out the very same contract that Jin had used on Neil previously. The time for war against the human armies was approaching with each tick of the clock, and the King had taken the spontaneous chance Jin had accidentally created to unite the Underworld under him. Chapter 1075 - Wide Active Response Event (WARE) Chapter 1075 ¨C Wide Active Response Event (WARE) King Rex had already met with the only female Shadow ''King'' of the Eld Enclave before having his conversation with Satov. While Rex and Satov sealed the deal, she was in the midst of preparing the spells to protect the remaining portion of Demopolis for the next phase. Honestly, he had not expected Jin''s rich resources to be so easily accepted by the Shadow Kings but it had proven that their intelligence gathering had been on point. Through the constant eavesdropping, the goblin communications team had successfully managed to figure out the desires of each head of the three major Mafia factions. It was not an easy feat but the completion of this particular task had further shown Jin''s War Council that information gathering and manipulation was indeed as important as the strength to fight off their enemies. The Eld Enclave had always needed more magical stones and the higher quality the better. So, with the System''s access to the Intergalactic Black Markets, Rex had been able to find a magical stone that the Eld Enclave had been unable to resist. The price to pay for it had been rather obscene but the System had believed it to be a decent recompense. After all, it couldn''t risk losing Demopolis because of the infighting between the Mafias and the Pandarens. Fortunately, the System had felt that it had earned sufficiently from the sales from the raid so far, so it had decided it was time to enter the next phase as quick as possible. Thus, an alert had been sent out via the Pandamonium App indicating a very important Active Response Event was about to be created. The warnings had not been restricted to one particular district, unlike the previous events, but more and more alerts had popped up in the outer districts. Eventually, it changed into a call to gather at the Royal Palace of Demopolis which would henceforth act as the stronghold for the Pandarens. Xiong Da, Ruo Ying, Xue Ping and Lee An were fighting in the raids as this large scale Active Response Event had been activated since it happened to coincide with the weekend. (And the inspectors for once wanted to finish this raid. For ''research purposes'' as Xue Ping claimed.) The Pandawans did not know what exactly was happening and all they could do was to follow the narrative of this current raid, as stated within the Pandamonium App. By adhering to the instructions of the ARE, the Pandarens were immediately rewarded with twenty raid points which already resulted in a boost to morale. They quickly realised that this was not just some ordinary Active Response Event as the panda symbols with Vikings helms had evolved into a Viking panda having its back leaning beside a plushie looking minotaur similar to Moloch while they were surrounded by sinister shadows. They were whispering between themselves, wondering if this could be like a starting signal for phase two of this particular Demopolis raid. And true enough, the Pandarens saw the narrative changed once the timer on the event expired. Multiple district events merged into a singular city wide event which was the Pandapolis called a Wide Active Response Event, or WARE. The narrative instantly changed within the Pandamonium App as King Rex broadcast a holographic image of himself at the top of the Royal Palace. It was huge enough so that everyone who wasn''t currently hiding in a bas.e.m.e.nt would see it. And even then, his booming voice reverberated from the palace to all over the city, to alert and inform everyone. "Citizens of Demopolis, while some may claim that a king should never bow to his subjects, today, I, King Rex, have come to ask you for your help." King Rex announced while publically lowering his head in front of them all. "Over the last few days, we have been fighting amongst ourselves for our personal beliefs, yet now outsiders have come to prey on us, wishing to make use of our own turmoil." "They are Purist Humans who have aligned themselves with the Church of the Afterlife, and intend to plunder while we are at our weakest. As I speak, they are coming closer to our lands and shores for a definitive attack. My scouts have reported to me that we will be contending not with one, not with two, but with the military of seven cities at once. Their numbers in strength alone could topple our city in a matter of hours." "Thus, I beseech each and every one of you, just as I have implored the Shadow Kings, stop the infighting and concentrate on the real enemy. Although we had our differences with the Shadow Kings, ultimately Demopolis is our home and WE ARE NOT GIVING IT UP WITHOUT A FIGHT!!!" Rex roared and the city shook once more, as the ones inside the palace joined their king in his declaration. As King Rex mentioned the Shadow Kings, three beacons, one in red, green and blue were emitted within their respective districts, showing holographic pictures of their families'' crest. The ones belonging to the Mafia recognised it as an affirmation of what the current King was saying and that they should stop the infighting. "With what little time we have left, we need to prepare against the horde of humans. I, therefore, ask all the various Mafia members who listen to my proclamation to move to those beacons and follow the instructions of your respective Shadow Kings. Together we shall save the entire Demopolis from becoming a ruin. Listen to me now and I promise to lead us to victory against the Seven Cities!!!" King Rex announced which subsequently led the Pandamonium app to start beeping again. The rules of the City Raid had changed and any Pandaren who were still fighting against the mafia would be eliminated from the current raid instance. To avoid such a fate the app recommended for them to rendezvous at the Royal Palace instead. The time limit was an hour and this led the Pandarens to wonder what they could do until a new objective started to appear in their app. "Rest and prepare for the next phase of the raid." This enabled people who were not in the current raid instance to have some time to make their way to Jin''s store as the alert had been sent out to every customer who had the Pandamonium App installed on their device. The Pandawans took the chance to call on their remaining team members to gather once more while they explored the current monument they were residing in, the palace itself. While it had been designated a forbidden place during the raid, the now opened Royal Palace of Demopolis offered the Pandarens a chance to explore the luxurious buildings built during King Baal''s reign. Not only that but there were also portals that allow them to return to their customised rooms to change their gears as well as a bunch of System Traders which the Pandarens could stock up at. Judging from King Rex''s message, they discerned that the upcoming fight would be a tough one. And that preparation alone was enough for Jin to open up a very special page in their app that would change the experience of the Pandarens that were playing this particular raid. Chapter 1076 - Xiong Das The Man! Chapter 1076 ¨C Xiong Da¡¯s The Man! When the objective ''to rest and prepare for the next raid'' appeared on the Pandamonium App, Xiong Da noticed that there was a mini panda notification blinking in his inbox. As a person who disliked notifications annoying him all day long, he tapped on it to check what it was. Actually, he just wanted to press on that cute panda icon that was carelessly fluttering around at the corner of the Pandamonium App while holding on to an email. (The mini Panda Icon carried more letters if the notifications were not cleared and there was once Xiong Da was so busy that the mini Panda was hidden by a stack of letters as if it was being drowned by it.) "Is it a new curated list?" Xiong Da thought to himself as the Pandamonium App would sometimes create specialised lists for Pandarens to buy based on their buying patterns and behaviours, which was hauntingly accurate for the most part. (It would be 100% accurate if the System did not throw in the occasional curveball to make the customers less vigilant about them being studied) Because of these lists, the Pandarens discovered the increasing multitudes of services that were being offered by Jin''s store. Xiong Da believed it to be the kind of notification informing him about some special deals which could prove useful for the next phase, as it coincided with the new task. From personal experience, he could say that they were strikingly close to search engines and wondered what new items they would have in store for him to try out. However, to his surprise, it was not a customised shopping advertis.e.m.e.nt, instead, it was a banner for help. "Assist in the war efforts against the Seven Cities! Contribute your Demopolis Raid Points, Raid Emblems or even Panda Coins to strengthen Demopolis'' defences!" The banner stated and Xiong Da was instantly intrigued by it. If anything, he could potentially turn the tide of this particular dungeon instance with the seemingly near infinite Panda Coins residing in his wallet. Did Boss Jin create this event to cater to the likes of him? As he clicked on the banner, he was linked to a special page in the Pandemonium App which was beautifully designed by none other than Kiyu. There was a large progress bar at the top of the page with various milestones being set by Jin. "Hey, guys. Check this out." Xiong Da said to his fellow Pandawan teammates via the app by sending them the link. "Looks like there is something that can give us an edge in the second phase of this ridiculously crazy raid." The rest quickly clicked on it, to check what Xiong Da was referring to. Upon reading the details, they realised that if they were to contribute their resources, they would have an easier time in the upcoming fight. After participating in the raid for a few days, they had seen how crumbled the entire place was thanks to the previous infighting and there were not many defensible areas left that they could make use of. Kiyu''s ''Call For Help'' page stated that if they were to collect 250,000 raid points, they could instantly change the city''s landscape to something suitable like a stronghold. And that was only the raid points'' portion. If they were to contribute emblems, military vehicles could be issued for ease of transport as well as an increase in mobility. Likewise, for Panda Coins, they could be converted into either temporary raid points or temporary emblems that could be used to contribute to the respective progress bars. However, it was heavily emphasised that none of those temporary points could be used to redeem items. Despite the versatility of the Panda Coins, they also had a separate progress bar and inserting money would result in additional support for the NPCs and even call some of the other dungeons minions that would fight alongside them upon hitting certain milestones. In summary, achieving the three different progress bars would bring extensive perks for their battle against the Seven Cities Armies. This was something similar to a collaborative effort where their hard earned points would be used for the entirety of the raid instance. And right below the banner page, Kiyu had prepared some expected ''frequently asked questions'' with the appropriate answers. Q: "Can I only donate Demopolis Raid Points, Raid Emblems or Panda Coins right now or is it possible to do so during the second phase?" A: All three currencies will be accepted at any time during the second phase. Kiyu''s tip: Pandarens might want to prioritise achieving the very first milestone of the Raid Point section before the battle as the current interval allows the city to change without much interference. Should the goal be hit during the "rest and prepare" mission the city would instantly receive basic foundation upgrades for the upcoming second phase. Q: "Can I get a refund if a milestone is not hit?" A: Refunds will automatically be processed in the respective currency at the end of the raid if a milestone has not been met. However, once the next milestone has been achieved within the progress bar the customer has donated to, that currency will be considered ''spent''. Any ''unspent'' currency will, as stated, be naturally returned. Q: "It was hard getting my raid points/emblems, Panda Coins, why should I donate them?" A: For the benefit of the entire raid! Boss Jin''s remark: I can assure everyone that the rewards for winning the entire instance will outweigh the charity we ask for. More FAQs were below these answers, but the Pandawans reading it had also noticed that there were bubble notifications for the people contributing at the side of their Pandamonium App. Many had doubts about just how many customers would be willing to give up their points as they were all earned with the Pandarens'' sweat and blood. Not to mention, the redemption store had quite a lot of items that were very enticing even for even the Pandawans. So, to see Pandarens actively give up their points for the raid was somewhat heartening. The bigger the contribution, the bigger the bubble mention. It was supposed to motivate his customers. Although the sum needed was large, if everyone chipped in a bit, it would be easy enough to reach¡­ However, their dear Sir Spendalot had decided to completely wreck this system by chipping in the largest portion into the fray. The Panda Coins which he had been rewarded for assisting in the construction of the Tree Mall were frivolously exchanged for Raid Points and then donated towards the progress bar, allowing the entire raid instance to achieve the first milestone of rebuilding the foundations of the city. "Heh, I knew he would do that." Both the Pandawan Team and Jin thought the same and chuckled to themselves. Still, the large celestial ''whale'' otherwise known as Xiong Da didn''t stop just there, as he liked to exceed people''s expectations, especially Jin''s. (In most games, people who spend a lot were called a ''Whale'', as they were known to be whaling for the game.) Not only the first milestone of the Raid Points Progress Bar had been fulfilled, but also the one for the Raid Emblems, as well as the Panda Coins'' initial milestone, providing the entire Pandarens team with the perks of having a brand new city defence foundation, a truckload of jeeps and motorcycles at their disposal as well as some experimental batch of guns for the current guards. The bubble mention instantly filled the entire screen indicating Xiong Da''s major contribution. To further thank him for his epic donation proportion, Jin, who had been watching all of this from the sidelines, had decided to project a holographic form of him, over the entire city, just as they had done for King Rex. Suddenly, everyone saw the innocent looking Xiong Da smiling down at his phone, before subsequently realising that he was being projected in holographic form for everyone to see their benefactor. The fl.u.s.tered look on his face caused Ruo Ying to laugh loudly and hug him from his back. The nearby inspectors also rushed and hugged him, thanking his generosity to the raid instance, allowing everyone to see the big hippo cultivator being loved by his friends dearly via the giant hologram. And because of Xiong Da achievement in hitting all three milestones, everyone who logs in for the second phase had been given a free defensive temporary inscription courtesy of the Dungeon Supplier. As was to be expected, everyone went bonkers. Chapter 1077 - New Empire Building Sub System Feature Chapter 1077 ¨C New Empire Building Sub System Feature Although Kraft oversaw the entire operation, he still allowed Jin to incorporate stuff to entertain his customers. As long as it didn''t interfere with the Devil Fox''s almighty master plan, he didn''t care what his master made his customers do. Even if it entailed something as drastic as an entire revamp of Demopolis, just in time for the attack of the Seven Cities. From a pragmatic standpoint, Kraft did not think that they needed to proceed with the fight. He and the other foxes could easily teleport to the enemies'' Dungeon Cores and steal them right under their noses. However, both Kiyu and Qiu Yue had vehemently disagreed with that kind of action. Not only because they wanted to continue profiting from the war by allowing the Pandarens who still thought of this as a Raid Instance to actively participate in it, but the main rationale was that if they were the first ones invaded, they would have a legitimate excuse to occupy the trespassing Seven Cities. Even without advertising the battle between Demopolis and Pandapolis, there were already rumours and whispers spreading around various cities about how a young city lord had managed to not only fend off Demon King Baal but had also managed to take his city by force and right under his nose too. While these rumours were left out that he had been assisted by King Baal''s ex-advisor, they eventually became hot news, leading the Church of the Afterlife to push its faithful allies to take over Demopolis from behind the scenes. Of course, the Church of the Afterlife had refrained from publicly promising their support. Instead, they had nudged the surrounding human cities to take revenge against Demopolis who should be in a state of turmoil as a result of their infighting. With the ''blessing'' of the Church, the armies of the Seven Cities expected that by the time they reached Demopolis, all they would need to do was to finish up the weakened forces and divide the rewards among themselves. Yet, that was the narrative in their society''s news, but everyone who had lived long enough would know that all these were just a pretence for a competition between the Seven Cities to grab Demopolis'' Dungeon Core. They would eventually defeat and slaughter each and every demon and Demopolis citizen they encountered, but as soon as their common enemy was defeated, it would become a battle to decide who was the strongest between the Seven Cities. However, what if Jin, Kraft and Rex could fend off the overwhelming assault as well as capture the Seven Cities'' Dungeon Cores? It would not only make the headlines but allow Jin to create an alliance of cities that would benefit him and ultimately Pandapolis too. (Not to mention it would be a perfect shield for Demopolis.) The others would fear him and some industry titans might even convert to his side for safety. The three had also learned from Moloch and Baal that they did not have to necessarily conquer and rule the Seven Cities like how they did for Demopolis and Pandapolis. Another option would be to turn those Seven Cities into their vassal states for a period of time as set by a contract between the victor''s Dungeon Core and the losing side''s Dungeon Core. Knowing that Jin had a sufficient amount of kingdom ruling between worlds, this was a delightful feature that he would love to utilise. He would be able to influence the way those Seven Cities worked while not having to deal with the administrative work that was beset by each city. At the time that Moloch had explained this feature inside the Dungeon Cores, the System had spoken out, suggesting that should Jin and his minions be successful in this endeavour, Qiu Yue would be the most important piece in his current arsenal. As much as the Empire Building Sub System was made to construct instant buildings as Qiu Yue levelled up her cultivation grade, more features such as automated governance could be given clearance by the Sub System for Jin and Qiu Yue to utilise. One of the requirements would be to get more Dungeon Cores into the System''s care as they inadvertently would increase its processing capabilities, in turn allowing it to allocate more resources to each of the Sub Systems, even though the Sub System modules were already partially independent from the main System. Speaking of the Empire Building Sub System, the current "Assistance in the War Efforts" had been a collaboration between Jin and Qiu Yue. Due to the Red Panda Cultivator''s diligent effort under the training of Tsu and Kai, her grade had gone exponentially to the point that it had frightened the System a little too. Although she kept her new skills a secret from everyone but the Wolf Foxes, she did not hesitate to show Jin the new features that the Empire Building Sub System had unlocked, which had allowed this "Assistance in War Efforts" to be possible and naturally the Dungeon Supplier wasn''t averse to make a profit in every possible turn of events that the Pandarens were in. Jin had thought that he and Rex would have to use the Dungeon Core''s basic functions to do a hard reset, clearing most of the city away and used Qiu Yue''s previous quick fabrication buildings to provide defensive strongholds for the city. However, with her new function, she was not only able to do that but by imaging what she wanted, the Empire Building Sub System was able to create a draft design of the area and fully replicate them immediately as soon as its user approved it. Both major and minor edits could be done so long as Qiu Yue had a digital tablet and pen with her, with which she would redraw and change the designs by hand. The Sub System would then take into account her edits and add the needed infrastructure to make it work. It would still require specific resources to build the buildings as detailed by the Empire Building System but if the Main System was in possession of those resources (from cement to pipes and wirings), everything would be automated through the powers of the Empire Building Sub System and this brought extreme new possibilities to the way Jin could fight his wars. Once Qiu Yue demonstrated it to him, they were both reminded of those real-time strategy games like "Black Alert" or "Command And Conquest" where buildings were built so long as they had sufficient resources at their disposal. The only problem was when Qiu Yue wanted the building to be completed within an instant. The Empire Building System stated that such a feature was not implemented and even if tried to research such a thing, it would be locked until she attained a much higher cultivation grade. Thus, the defensive stronghold foundations that Xiong Da had assisted the Raid Instance to those milestones were merely part of the plan that Qiu Yue had already designed and had merely been awaiting construction based on the customers'' progress. All the derelict buildings had already been deconstructed and removed, yet Rex had programmed the Dungeon Core to recycle the materials so they could be used for future construction. Bunkers were already installed in the bas.e.m.e.nt levels and roads were mended throughout the districts except for the Royal Palace and the Shadow King Districts. With the milestone rewards to entice the Pandarens, Jin would step in and intervene only when they felt the need to rush the constructions. For now, they just let those point and coin contributions come in, allowing Jin to save tons of money in redemption rewards while earning more via the side to fund the resources needed for the construction works. Chapter 1078 - Retaliation Against The Seven Cities Chapter 1078 ¨C Retaliation Against The Seven Cities As Jin was reinforcing the City with the ''aid'' of the Pandarens, the acclaimed fox overlords of all Overlords, was already on the move to prepare the defences of Demopolis for a simultaneous strike against the Seven Cities. He already had information on those seven cities and he was appalled that the Church of the Afterlife were using such weak pawns against the Demopolis. With the exception of one particular city, Kraft had determined that the rest were equivalent to warm up exercises. This was because Demopolis had previously dominated these cities during its prime. They had been defeated to a plum and had been raised with so many resources that Kraft who had checked the Dungeon Core''s directory of cities learned that they amounted to nothing. However, he was still wary of them mainly because of the Church''s support. He spent enough time within the organisation to learn that they had been doing illicit experiments to artificially strengthen soldiers for their fight. He even managed to procure one set for Ayse to study and she was shocked how ravenous the Church Agents could be when it came to sentient experiments. "Their serum will strip the user of every bit of intelligence they would have and rampage crazily. And the set you gave me seems to indicate they have catered the serums based on their elements. From basic ones like Wind, Fire, Earth, Water to advanced ones like Light and Darkness." Ayse said as she placed on the System''s replicator to reproduce the exact same serum for further testing. She was annoyed that the resources required were a little obscure and she had to spend money in the black market to duplicate the exact ingredients. (Even without showing it, the System was pleased Kraft was able to steal a sample set.) "With the Church of the Afterlife monopolising the deaths of billions of people and monsters, they no doubt have sufficient samples for those who were not able to pay the fee to resurrect. This is indeed a horrible organisation that these people had no idea how much crazy batshit these people are overcharging for a resurrection." Ayse said as she showed the results to Kraft. "Isn''t that why we are working to put up our own religion aka the most legitimate business? The bigger the competitors, the sweeter the victory when we bring it down. Oh when you think about it, Jin sure found a loophole of using Peppers and Milk as the goddess of saviours since they did not have to be around all the time to entertain their followers." Kraft chuckled to her as he read the results and prepared for such scenarios. And today''s the day he was able to show the result of his preparations. (Though to be honest, he never really prepared much against a rampaging horde of insentient monsters.) Kraft did however take the effort to place signs at the borders of Demopolis, including large floating billboards in his seas to tell the armies to back off or be killed mercilessly. The Seven Cities never heed the warnings and ignore them as empty threats as they trampled the signs or for the naval fleets invading, blasting the floating billboards away. Now that the Seven Cities were in their territory and had ignored the warnings of Kraft the kind gentle fox, they were ready to retaliate. "As per Dungeon World''s PROPER rules of engagement, we had warned our enemies to not step into our territory. Yet, they refused to heed our pleas of peace and even showed force on my terribly beautiful billboards. So, we now have the right to engage them in battle and chase them out of Demopolis." Kraft said as he sat on his oversized throne and played a jack in the box. A fox plushie came springing out of the box instead and that indicated to the War Room staff to start the retaliation process. "Try not to kill all of them or else I have a sparkling new Stronghold without any scars on it. Would not look nice in the resume of any Stronghold builder." Qiu Yue said as she started to coordinate for the north eastern and western part of Demopolis where there was sea and land to contend against the invaders, and also assuming Kraft failed to stop the sea invasion. And when that happened, this would be the hardest to contain if the commanders handling the north and south failed. "Please, it would be best the new Demopolis City was unaffected and we would save more money reconverting it back to a functioning city." Moloch replied as his focus was at the south against the incoming naval fleets. "We should send the Pandarens to battle rather than letting them stay in the cities. The Mafias and other remaining Demons would subsequently see them as allies for King Rex too." "You think too much Moloch. Just convert the entire city to a Military stronghold and naval base and we can use it to raid on a regular basis without other cities even thinking of attacking us. You had forgotten that we would be angering the largest and most advanced organisation in the entire world. You think they would give us a chance to rest and prosper when they could counter within a whim?" Nubwort commented while handling the northern lands and he was not wrong. "What do you have to worry about? We have always been the underdogs fighting against the big guys. From the Orcs to Rats and even my world''s Tigers. Even if we have to lose, we won''t lose with grace." Jin said. "We will be winning this battle and win even more in this war as long as we play our cards right." "That''s my boy!" Kraft said as he pointed to Jin and gave him a love sign with his two hands. Then his face turned dark as he turned on the multiple holographic screens right in front of him. "Don''t you worry, this fox will make sure the Panda Clan not only wins but have its name be heard across the various worlds," Kraft said as he fiddled his chair and a keyboard with a tablet attached, emerged from the sides. He then typed a few commands which he sent to his Night Foxes for them to commence with their current operations. It was a guarantee the Seven Cities were going to fall. It would be up to Kraft how hard they were going to do so. Chapter 1079 - Taris Army Setting Camp Up Chapter 1079 ¨C Taris Army Setting Camp Up "General. We are reaching their city outskirts soon. Should we set up our camp here to rest while sending out our scouts to inform us about their situation before embarking for the assault?" One of the leading Majors asked Yaega Nern, the attacking general from the City of Taris, as he looked back to see the fatigue in his soldiers after a long march from their city. They needed to take some long winding path in order to prevent their away army from being mistaken by other cities as an act of aggression and not incurring the wrath of other cities. "Aye, we should and set up a defence parameter as we make camp here," Yaega said as he took his stuffy iron helmet out after a long trip from his city. Unlike the Demopolis City who had immense magical powers to teleport their armies for a shock intensive raid, these human cities did not have such luxuries. The only thing they had in their possession were numbers. From the poor and impoverished to the middle class who wished to gain an achievement, all of these people were drafted into this particular army for the assault. But all these changes when the Church Agents had given them a small shot of a secret serum that gave even the weakest his ability to fight at least two people at once. After all, in Yaega''s mind, he knew that the Church wanted Demopolis out of the picture and all Taris wanted was a piece of the pie when the Church Agents suggested a coordinated attack. The Taris army would be moving out of Demopolis as soon as they got sufficient shares of Demopolis''s treasures, the other cities fight it out for the grand prize of owning it. "We would be coordinating with Bodek City and Merah City''s armies for the morning''s attack. According to our last communication, they should be able to rendezvous by nightfall. Other than that, this is proceeding way too smoothly than I expected. The infighting had indeed taken a toll on their defences." Yaega smiled as he could still see smoke coming from the city at the cliff view he was standing upon. "Yes, sir. Usually, we would have to meet up with such aggressive defence from the Demopolis forces that it would be impossible for us to step a hundred metres into their territory." The Major smiled as he pulled out a small bottle of wine from his bag and asked if the General of Taris City wished to have a gulp of it for a job well done leading their army here intact. "Drinking on the job?" Yaega questioned and the Major''s eyes were as thin as a slit of paper, smiling from one corner of his mouth to the other. "No, General. More like a good luck drink." The Major rephrased it and Yaega could not refuse when he put it that way. In the meantime, the General''s orders were being passed down to the rest and a platoon of guards had spread out as ordered so that the rest could have peace of mind to set their camp out. Thankfully, it was uneventful as the Taris Army set their camp up for the night. Even though they were in the enemy''s territory, they were still brazen enough to establish a full temporary base right in the enemies'' region. It was as if telling the other incoming city armies that the Demopolis'' defences were non-existent and that they could invade with a drink in their hand. The commanding officers even thought that this could be a tale to savour for time to come as they partnered with the other cities for the morning''s coordinated attack. However, Yaega did not wish to be complacent in his defence after coming a long way from home. So, he ordered a few more platoons of guards to keep watch of the new encampment and send his scouts to check ahead as the rest of the army were allowed to have a hearty meal and some winks of sleep before the morning''s assault. ¡ª¡ª¡ª "Are these humans really na?ve or what?" Tinda, one of the Night Fox Elites grumbled via the System Channel thinking that this was an insult to the defenders while passing the binoculars to her pal. "That''s the whole point of this retaliation. Tinda, take a chill pill." Narris said as she looked through the binoculars to confirm that there was little activity within the encampment even though the sun had yet to set. At that moment, Tinda already gave instructions to the rest of the Night Foxes to surround the encampment and the rest swiftly flew to their allocated positions with their gearbox suits. If they were going to massacre the entire encampment, they needed the element of surprise and those gearbox suits which the Mousefolks used previously during the Southern Region Battle were the right tool for the job. (Of course, they were equipped with gearbox suits which were bigger in size and not Mousefolk sizes.) Not to mention, the dark elves already excelled moving through the forested regions with ease even without the gearbox so the new suit merely accelerate their movements to be more fluid like a floating shadow, allowing Tinda to be able to execute an extremely precise ambush with a lesser number of elves in the team when they split up. And that was what they were waiting for the entire time. Massacring an entire army of two thousand troops with fifty odd Night Foxes was overkill in the eyes of Kraft when he knew that a small coordinated group could easily handle a number bigger than that. (He did oversee their training and expected them to perform an equivalent as a God of War in a medieval setting.) But he wanted these many people not because he wanted to send a show of force or create an explosive scene. This was because the rest of the incoming army would be wary of their firepower and perhaps indulge in the Church''s illegal experiments to succeed in this alliance attack on Demopolis. Instead, he sent this many Night Foxes for one reason. Sabotage. The Night Foxes whose subterfuge was second to none had been sent into the Taris Army to poison their food and water stocks with a rather nasty virus. A virus concocted none other by the Ravenous Lord Kiva. That bad Bat Lord was no doubt a competent scientist which could rival Ayse in their individual field of expertise. His poisons had earned him the privileges of being the right hand man of King Baal and this was no exception in the eyes of Kraft. If anything, Kiva had revitalised and produced a previous concoction of stomach flu virus that would be used to target a person''s life energy. Except now it was more refined, more elegant and undoubtedly top notched effective that give Kraft the idea for mass biological warfare. However, that was not the most impressive portion and rather, the ability to have a delay activation when the virus entered their body. Kiva had made sure that the activation would happen when the body arouses its adrenaline receptors, hence causing them to fall ill the moment they were anxious, excited or even felt fearful. In theory, the virus sounded fun for Kraft and decided to give Kiva an entire army as his experiment sample. As for the location of the food stocks, the Night Foxes had been there keeping an eye when the Taris Army set their entire encampment out in the open the entire time. From the moment they arrived up to now, their watchful eyes had seen where the food and water items were placed and allocated. Also, this was a true test of their subterfuge abilities as the sun had yet to set and they were poisoning the water and food supplies before their dinner started. While it might sound like a handicap, the Night Foxes even for the likes of elites, both Tinda and Narris relished this stealthy close encounter as they poisoned their enemies'' perishables. Their objective was not to kill anyone at all while making sure they were able to complete their mission. Even though it was a roundabout way to do this, chemical warfare was something that Kraft had been looking into for some time and with Kiva''s ''evil'' expertise at his disposal, this was one more way to defeat the enemies of the Panda Clan. Chapter 1080 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 1 Chapter 1080 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -Part 1 The night went by peacefully for the Taris Army with no incidents and that alone reinforced the fact that the Demopolis Police and even their Home Guards were too busy dealing with the internal strife to even know about them. Taris General Yaega had sent scouts ahead to check on the city''s situation for he felt something was still amiss. There was no way the Demopolis would not know about them given that they were blatantly out in the open. All that bustling for setting the camp up should have already given away their position and yet there was no retaliation on their side. However, the commanding officers under him reassured him further when the scouts returned safely to state that the infighting was still ongoing. Even though it was before the peak of dawn, the scouts reported there were sporadic infightings in each district and the place was basically torn down. This gave General Yaega a momentary peace of mind until the arrival of Bodek and Merah City''s legions came into view. Their Generals had also assembled in the temporary headquarters Taris had erected within the night. For the rest of the army, they were given a moment''s respite as well as a hearty breakfast before their assault. As the other two cities were further than Taris, they were unable to carry as many food supplies as they would like to and thus given that responsibility to Taris to handle. Surely it was not a wise decision from a strategic point of view since they would all be vying for the treasures and loot of Demopolis but the Church''s power to guarantee the cities participating, a fair compensation if they were to coordinate until the demise of Demopolis. With that contract enforced, the various City Generals were still protecting the best of their interests but at the same time cooperating between the cities whenever needed while a few Church Agents were made as overseers to make sure that their alliance was valid. And one of such overseers was Agent Ravis. Scrawny but not to be underestimated as he was also one of the few who had taken the prototype serum after the scientists'' countless attempts at refining it. Besides, his true identity was an elite agent employed by the Church of the Afterlife who accompanied Merah City''s Army to Demopolis outskirts. (Mainly because the agent happened to be around that area and it was easier to rendezvous with them.) And thus alongside him was General Ana, who was well known in their circles of cities as the War Angel of Fire. Bodek City''s general had also arrived as per stipulated time and the three generals were discussing the fine points of the battle plan created by the tacticians of the Seven Cities. The current war master plan was fairly simple. Taris, Merah and Bodek would attack from the north, attacking from three points. The middle point would be led by Taris Army but only a small force would be allocated for that position. A bulk of their troops would be separated to assist with Merah and Bodek attack points which were the North East and North West respectively. Eun City, Kemban City and Leba City would be commandeering naval fleets to attack from the south. These three cities, which had superior naval fleets compared to the rest, would be attacking at a later time as they would want the Demopolis Home Guards to focus on the north as their naval fleets swoop in from the south. As for the last city, Aljun City, they were the trump card of the Seven Cities alliance and the one Kraft was a little worried about. This was because they were not sea or land based but aerial. But unlike the Land and sea, the aerial forces would come in the last because their city did not wish to waste their precious expensive machinations to be destroyed by some magic ball wielding demons. They would however provide whatever fire support the other human cities would need against the Demopolis and should the demons put up a fierce fight, the rest of the armies could retreat and allow Aljun Cities Fleet Armada to burn the entire Dempolis to Kingdom Come. "General Ana, it''s nice to see you again and a good day to you to Church Agent Ravis, I have received your correspondence and sent my units to check out the parameters. Everything is in order and proceeding smoothly. Hope you all had a decent time travelling through the other cities without much disruption." Taris said as he pointed to them their seats on their war table. "There were some unpleasant encounters with a few groups of bandits who think that they could steal our supplies. Other than that it was nothing significant, just a bit of sport for our army." General Ana said as she sat down and placed her War Axe at the side. It nearly tipped the table to her side but she reacted quickly by picking it up and placing it on the ground. "Where is General Edgar? I thought you said everyone had arrived." Ravis said as he opened his pocket watch to check the time. "He knows that he had to be here by-" "Stop your nonsensical yapping, you bloody agent. I am already here." Edgar swiped the tent''s entrance flap away and sat at the remaining chair available around the war table. "Don''t you bastards already know that my city''s the furthest and you had to yap on being punctual when I am REQUIRED to take detours of unknown difficulties and to come on time as instructed as well? Well f.u.c.k you, you churchie." "Mind your words, Edgar. I can denounce you as a heretic and have you cut down even before the start of this assault." Ravis raised his finger at him but Edgar did not back down and instead, challenged him further. "Try me." Edgar raised his chest and looked down at the scrawny looking Church Agent. "Enough!" Ana was about to pick her war axe and stomped it to stop the commotion and Yaega placed himself in the middle to intervene them from even attempting to confront each other. "We can do all this after the assault, not in the middle of it. Let''s quickly review the plans and start the attack. The dawn is approaching soon and we should hit before the Demopolis Home Guards notice us." The three generals including the church agent once more went through with their plans while their armies ate their breakfast in the Taris temporary headquarters. Once the generals were out of their camp meeting, the orders to reorganise and sortie were given as Church Agent Ravis reported the army''s progress to his main headquarters. His main purpose was to liaise the information between the land, sea and air so that the war master plan could proceed with ease. But that was not their main concern for the Church as they themselves were actually preparing a special surprise for Demopolis in case the Seven Cities failed in their assault. After all, they saw the swift capture of Demopolis as well as the stout defences from Pandapolis. Therefore, they were taking no chances. ¡ª- "Ahh¡­ So, this is what they had been planning. Now I finally know why my senses had been tingling for some time. Naughty, naughty! My dear elves, please catch that Church Agent, I would like to know more about their surprise." Kraft smiled to himself as he received the very same information not soon after. Chapter 1081 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 2 Chapter 1081 ¨C Seven Cities¡¯ Assault -Part 2 "Let''s get moving!" General Edgar shouted as the Joint Armies of Bodek and Taris started to march to their allocated point. Merah City''s General Ana did the same too, but because her point of attack was nearer, she delayed her march a little later so that it would not be a mess. (Since three different armies were moving simultaneously would cause quite a big chaos.) Once the two City Armies had been dispatched, it was finally time for General Yaega to take a quick breather as he reorganised his troops for the eventual fight. Everything was smooth sailing as usual and it still bothered Yaega that it had been way too quiet. But despite his bad aching hunch, he still stuck to the war master plan and already sent his other troops to reinforce Bodek and Merah City''s Armies. In the meantime, Church Agent Ravis had decided to stay in the temporary headquarters Taris Army had erected. When asked why he did not join the fight, he merely stated that he was here to oversee the completion of the Joint Army''s task to defeat the soldiers in Demopolis. Yaega knew that there was something up in Ravis'' sleeve which he was not revealing and ordered two of his trusted aides Cak and Imin to keep an eye on him. While his aides protested that they should be on the battlefield with their general, Yaega emphasised that there could be a battle brewing behind the scenes and he would do anything needed to keep his men alive if necessary. His aides reluctantly agreed as Yaega went off to the battlefield. As they were merely the distraction and possibly the frontline fodder, Yaega only had three full battalions consisting of a heavy armoured cavalry, a light armoured cavalry and a battalion for siege support. Because of the ridiculous lack of mobility in the siege support battalion, they had already gone ahead when the other two armies had been dispatched as Yaega knew that both his heavy and light armoured cavalry could reach in time. Still, despite its name, the Siege Support Battalion was actually one of the best Taris City could offer. Cutting edge siege weapons such as magically powered catapults and trebuchets were part of the battalion. Not only that, the city''s best defenders wearing magical rune armours had been deployed to protect the mages that powered the siege weapons. This way, even when the sieges weapon teams had completed their objective in destroying a wall and creating a path for the army, the mages could easily abandon their siege weapons and join the fray against the Demopolis Home Guards. They even have seasoned spearmen, archers and backup mages in case Demopolis was able to send aerial units or their own cavalry against the Siege Support Battalion. It was a battalion that supposedly was able to revolutionise the way how battles were fought given its versatility. Many cities remained sceptical of Yaega''s new tactics since most battalions were focused on one function for easy commanding but the Taris General believed that a well sought victory against Demopolis was all that was needed for the Siege Support Battalion to spread the general''s ideology for the entire army. That was also the reason why he did not need such a big number against the centre. Ideally, once the Siege Support Battalion had done its job, Yaega and his cavalries should be able to rush and possibly create a pincer movement against the Demopolis defenders in the north east and northwest corners. But when the Taris General was about to arrive at the staging point for the assault, he noticed an injured soldier running towards him carrying a dead body right behind the horse. Yaega immediately stopped his entire battalion as he wanted to meet the injured soldier to know about the situation. Despite its name, the siege support battalions actually have one of the best soldiers protecting their siege weapons since they were vital in supporting the assault on Demopolis'' walls. "Soldier! What happened?" Yaega kicked his Horned Bear to move forward to meet with the injured soldier. "The information the scouts gave was wrong! The Demopolis stronghold is-" Before the soldier could even finish his sentence, his throat had been pierced by an unsuspecting arrow and his head immediately exploded right in front of Yaega. "AMBUSHHHHH!!" One of the officers shouted and the battalion officers echoed to the rest of the group to pick their shields up. Yeaga realised this particular forested area they were in was not the best place to protect oneself from an ambush. Even as his knights raised up his shields to protect themselves from arrows, they did not know where it was coming from. Some of the arrows sunk into their horses and horned bears, causing a few of the hors.e.m.e.n and armoured knights to fall from their mounts. "CHARGE! CHARGE! Do not retaliate!" Yaega knew that the longer they stayed in the forested area, the more vulnerable his soldiers were. His cavalry was not suited to fight in a forested area, and much less defend themselves in the situation where the ambushers could cripple the entire force. Thus, it would be better to get out of the forested area and into the open area near the Demopolis walls. At that point, he might have a better grasp of the current situation of what his fallen headless soldier had said. However, that also meant that he might have casualties before the official fight but he knew something like that was going to happen when he felt that their preparation phase went way too smoothly. Yet, he did not expect to have a coordinated ambush in the outskirts without triggering the magic alarms that his scouts had placed. Wait, did that mean his scouts had betrayed him? But how? Those questions were lingering in his mind as he tried to race out of the forest only to see a scene which he could not believe his eyes. A bright new shining wall staring right in front of him, with soldiers lining the outer walls of Demopolis, all ready to release their projectiles against the invading army. To make things worse, the Siege Support Battalion had been utterly destroyed. Large shielded defenders who were supposed to protect the siege weapons from incoming projectiles were riddled with holes in their bodies. Siege Weapons which were protected by anti siege magical spells were burning right in front of his eyes. The mages were also laid dead right beside the siege weapons and there were¡­ zombies gnawing at the mages'' corpses until they saw the incoming cavalry coming towards them. They instantly stood up and dashed towards the light cavalry and the battalion knew they had nowhere to go but only forward. This was not what Yeaga had envisioned and had no idea why his ideal battalion formations had gone so wrong. But like his soldiers, right now the only way out is moving forward. "Move! Move! Move!" Yaega shouted as he sheathed his sword and grabbed his lance that was hanging on the side of his horned bear. At that point, he suddenly heard a series of loud bangs emanating from the soldiers on top of the Demopolis'' Wall which caused each and every cavalryman to raise their shields up instinctively. Yet, no arrows were seen flying towards them. But a quick glance to the back made Taris General surprised that his heavily armoured horned bears battalion, which could handle dozens of arrows at once, had fallen to the ground. As if to finish the job, the very same explosives arrows from the forested area emerge from behind and annihilate any bears that were merely wounded. To Yaega, the current open battle area that they were in was a kill zone with no retreat. It was a massacre. Chapter 1082 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 3 Chapter 1082 ¨C Seven Cities¡¯ Assault -Part 3 "We are getting out of this no matter what!" Taris General refused to throw the towel down as he fiddled with his lance, feeding it power. Even if the Siege Weapons were not working as expected, he always had a backup plan in mind. His lance was not just some stabby little spear that he carried around on his armoured horned bear. It also has the ability to bring down a fortress wall. That was one of the reasons why General Yaega had continued his charge towards the fortress wall and his battalions religiously followed him through because they had witnessed the power of his siege tier lance in battles before. The Taris General tightened his grip on the all powerful lance, or as the others dubbed it as the Wallbreaker Lance. Yaega''s magical energy steadily acc.u.mulated within his lance but instead of him leading the charge, three hors.e.m.e.n sped ahead of him to protect his front. This was mainly because there could be anti personnel traps such as spike pits placed right below the fortified walls. The three hors.e.m.e.n who were in front were to ensure that their leading commander would not be hindered by these traps and he could pave the way right in front of him. To the hors.e.m.e.n''s surprise, no traps had been triggered as they reached the last few metres towards the fortified wall as if the enemies were so confident of their wall. Sure, it looked weird from the standpoint but it did not lower their confidence in their general''s attack. So, they quickly did a sharp turn in order to not clash themselves onto the walls and also run away from the possible residual debris of Yaega''s lance attack. But despite knowing the might of the Wallbreaker Lance, Yaega suddenly has doubts in his mind because he had never seen such a wall before. It was not made from the usual brick and mortar since he could not see any lines or crevices in this particular wall he was attempting to break. It looked way too smooth and white like a blank piece of canvas staring back at him. Other than that, this was the only way forward and the general could not think what else he can do in this current situation. "WALL BREAKER!" Yaega shouted as he raised his charged up lance and directed it to the wall. The Wallbreaker lance immediately acted as a large rotating drill with all the magic infused into it, directly impacting onto the wall. If everything goes fine, his Wallbreaker lance will reveal a hole large enough for the entire battalion to charge through into the inner city. However, the loud bang on the wall does not sound the same based on Taris General''s experience. It felt muffled and the debris that flew away from the impact was not as much as expected even though he knew that he had inserted even more energy than he ever had because of the adrenaline that was pulsating through his veins. True enough, the Wallbreaker attack only revealed a hole big enough for three battle bears to go through and there was no light at the other end of the wall but Yaega had to keep moving or else the momentum from the battalion behind him would crash the front few. The Wallbreaker Lance eventually lost its stored energy and as Yaega tried to move forward, he found himself in a tunnel like environment that was poorly lit with red light and the only paths available were either left or right. So, in order to reduce the possibility of an impending accident or jam from behind, Yaega sent the order to split up and go through the tunnels from both sides. "Kill anything that moves!" The Taris General orders literally echoed through the huge tunnels. However, because of the unsuccessful siege attempt, the two battalions were indeed attempting to squeeze through the hole that Yaega had created. In the process, a few hors.e.m.e.n were trampled and crushed because of the crash from the charging Horned Bears mixed in their army''s composition. And due to the accidents, some of the horses made a fuss by not moving forth and instead raised their forelegs to neigh. That alone amounted to a standstill, giving Demopolis soldiers to pick their targets off from their edge of the wall. They even have the time to push tubs of hot oil to the area the Taris Battalions were gathering and pouring the oil down at them. With the design of the fortified layered smooth walls like terraced farms, the oil was able to acc.u.mulate a little before flowing down. This build up caused a torrential wave of piping hot oil to crash down onto the battalion, melting anyone who was in its path. The rain of bullet projectiles and the flood of oil caused some of the heavily armoured horned bear knights to violently push their way into the tunnel hole for cover but eventually got killed when the oil gushed into the hole and melted the cavalry''s legs, causing their riders to fall. The hot oil was enough to burn the riders and their mounts, rendering them severely burnt. And while they might be comrades in arms but in the face of death where all were bound to lose in this catastrophe situation, the soldiers felt they had to fend for themselves especially when their general was out of sight. The rest of the knights and riders at the back of the battalions had determined that going back through the woods was their only way out of this shit show. To them, the choice they were left with was to either get shot down by these mysterious projectiles which they could not see or take their chances against the ambushers who have explosive arrows which they could blow their heads off. Obviously, the latter was more feasible for the rest of the battalion since the front was filled with a deadlock of cavalry trying to squeeze through and the hot oil flowing down the fortified white wall, killing the rest who were stuck in that position. If they could return back to their headquarters they might have a chance for a proper regroup against the ambushers. Thus, one of the commanding officers in the rear took charge of the retreat and ordered the rest to stay in a scatter formation so that the projectiles and arrows would have a difficult time hitting them. However, the remnants of the battalion were taking casualties as they tried to enter the forested area again. Still, the commanding officers were also not stupid to retreat from the same place they were from, and they split their troops again so that their ambushers had split their forces. This way, there should be fewer ambushers following each group and their chance of survival would technically be higher. The problem was that they had no idea who their ambushers were and they might go into a fit to know that they were none other than the Night Foxes. Furthermore, if the remnants retreating were to know that only ten Night Foxes were left handing them to the afterworld, it would be a complete disgrace to the battalion since they imagined that it was an entire platoon of ambushers attacking them. They had no idea that the fifty odd Night Foxes had split themselves equally based on the numbers they saw marching out from the camp. As for the temporary camp headquarters itself? The result was obvious enough. Chapter 1083 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 4 Chapter 1083 ¨C Seven Cities¡¯ Assault -Part 4 The temporary headquarters had been thoroughly entertained by a group of ten Night Foxes, personally led by Tinda, a talented Night Fox recognised by Kraft himself. While they could have waited for the virus that Kiva had created to take effect, the Night Foxes were just itching for a sport. Thus, it had been wiped clean by the Night Foxes except for one particular person. The Church Agent Ravis. He had been struggling to stay alive from the sudden ambush from the Night Foxes and that itself should give praise. That means that the title of an Elite Church Agent was no doubt given based on their abilities. For three Night Foxes had to gang up to fight against him and still alive was a feat. (Well, granted that the Night Foxes were currently playing a fool of their prey rather than to kill him quickly.) But Tinda believed that they should not waste their time. The more time is given to the Church Agent to live, the more blunder the foxes could make which the Church Agent might utilise in the future. Thus, she instantly walked to him and grabbed his throat and squeezed it. The other Night Foxes were disappointed that they did not have more time to play but they did not know that Kraft wanted the more detailed information of the Church''s backup plan and Tinda merely used the killing as an excuse. Their master had instructed Tinda to extract all the information from the agent himself before he whittled to a shrivelled corpse. However, as Tinda was about to access information with regards to the Church''s plan, she suddenly felt her mind being invaded, causing her to be lightheaded momentarily. Ravis himself was an Elite Church Agent because of his ability to manipulate thoughts with his mind. This was one of the reasons why he was being assigned as one of the Overseers for this particular Seven Cities Assault. To manipulate the generals to comply with the Church''s plan since they were the ones sponsoring this entire endeavour. Even during the last War Room briefing, Ravis was able to infiltrate General Edgar''s mind and plant thoughts, subtle thoughts for dissent between him and the Church. It was his way to make sure that if Edgar made any wrong move on the Church, Ravis could take legitimate actions against him and eventually the city itself. It was his way of revenge and wanted Edgar to take the consequences. Right now, when he had been beaten to a pulp, Ravis realised that he was no match against these ¡­long ears. He did not know where they came from or have any information from them but he knows one thing. When one was mainly brawns, they would hardly have the brains. So, he had decided to use his mental powers to insert betrayal thoughts into the current Night Fox that was squeezing his life away. His rage and the want for vengeance were also transmitted into Tinda, hoping to make her a crazy killing machine that would protect him and annihilate the rest of her comrades. Tinda loosened her grip on Agent Ravis upon the thought transmission and she stood in front of him as if protecting him from the rest of the Night Foxes. Church Agent Ravis believed he had succeeded in his manipulation as Tinda proceeded to attack her fellow Night foxes before returning to protect the injured Agent Ravis. More of the Night Foxes surrounded them and even aimed their weapons at them. They shoot out arrows without hesitation which Tinda deflected with a swirl of her cape and even have the dexterity to catch a few of the arrows. And at that point, Tinda grabbed Ravis and started to bring him away from the camp to somewhere within the forested area. "I will remember this, Demopolis. But for now, I am going to torture your long ear commando and ravage her to my utmost pleasure." Ravis coughed as he spoke out openly but that was enough to make Tinda stop in her tracks. Ravis thought that he had accidentally broken the connection to his possessed Night Fox and attempted to push more thoughts into her. This time, she did not obey his orders and threw him down to the floor while stomping her foot into his pelvic region. There was a loud crack that caused him to shout in agony. "Lol. Are you serious? You disgusting piece of shit." Tinda said and at that point in time, the trees were filled with the Night Foxes present in the previous engagement. "So what? Looks like you are going to die with me! And then when they resurrect you, they would imprison you for even siding the enemy for even just a second. That is assuming you are allowed to be resurrected. I have the power to stop your resurrection and even direct you to my church. Ms LINA." Ravis shouted and the rest of the night foxes were giggling. That was when Ravis could not fathom what was going on. "Well, I give you credit for catching me off guard since I did not expect a psychic attack from you. But other than that, you think giving me these simple uncomplicated thoughts of betrayal was enough to influence me?" Tinda said as she had indeed given a fake name and fake identity story the moment she noticed that Ravis was looking through her brain when he attacked her mentally. All those training by Kraft was not for nought and now Tinda understood why Kraft relished in this kind of powerplay situation. At the same time, she had also put a little more strength in her foot and that alone was sufficient to bring Ravis'' agony up to ten fold more. "Then your comrade''s retaliation¡­.? And how is it that you are able to defend yourself from my thoughts?" Ravis'' tears were already dropping voluntarily along his face. "The rest knew that I was feigning and they decided to play along with me. That''s all. But those words you said¡­was just disgusting. I can imagine how many girls you had tricked and r.a.p.ed because of your psychic powers." Tinda instantly stomped her leg once she finished commenting and blood slowly stained Ravis'' pants, leaving the church agent speechless from the pain. "ARGHHHHH!!! YOU think you will get away from this? I will make sure I will find you! *COUGH* You -you will tremble for making me your enemy-" Ravis could feel his body got had throw out all the adrenaline pangs they could find and caused him to lose his sense of pain. But somehow he felt his head was being controlled as Tinda''s eyes turned purple. His throat was tighter than before and his grasp for air became erratically frequent. "And for your last question. Do you think your psychic powers are that fantastic? Well, you will be in for a brand new experience. Now I appreciate Kraft''s tough love. " Tinda remarked as she released him from his physical misery and started to walk backwards. The church agent could visually see that he was being carried up and she showed him a trick that he would never forget. Ever. Chapter 1084 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 5 Chapter 1084 ¨C Seven Cities¡¯ Assault -Part 5 When the retreating battalions of Taris Army returned to their temporary headquarters, all they found were bodies lying in the ground, assassinated in cold blood. Most of them were devastated by the current situation but still put on an uncaring face. (or rather, they had learnt to fend for themselves as quickly as possible.) After all, everyone could be resurrected once more but that did not mean that it did not reduce the morale of the troops that were retreating. They were not aware whether the ambushers were able to catch up on them or the ambushers were merely waiting to see the reaction of the retreated battalion who returned to their headquarters. But the moment the Horned Bear Knights tried to dismount to search for any survivors, explosive arrows were sent flying across the trees and into the headquarters'' ground. This explosive barrage was sufficient to scare those who had yet to dismount and some decided to flee out of Demopolis territory completely since staying around had no other benefits especially when their headquarters had been decimated into nothingness. The rest were slaughtered or eventually bleed out to death when they lost their limbs or parts of their body from the explosions. With no healers around, many of the wounded resigned to their fate as they felt this was merely just a nightmare. In addition, this terrible scare within the remnants had already activated the virus that had been ingested during their breakfast. Even as they tried to run out of the territory, their fear and adrenaline rush caused the virus to sap them of their life energy. Most of them, if not all, were killed trying to flee not knowing the reason why. All they knew was they became weak almost instantaneously and had difficulty catching their breath. Without much knowledge of their deaths, they fell off their mounts and died as their lungs failed to move and their hearts refused to beat. As for the rest, their Horned Bears and horses could only move forward, some with their masters still on their backs, attempting to get out of the current predicament. Regardless, the System knew who was alive and who wasn''t since the entire Demopolis territory was under its control. And thus, based on the System''s intel, the Night Foxes proceeded to eliminate the ones that were still breathing to make sure that there were no survivors. Besides, this is a recruitment run for the System, it was best to take everyone into its embrace. As for Taris General Yaega and his faithful cavalries who managed to pass through the deadly ambush, they were still split up in this tunnel within the stronghold walls where they were hoping to find a way out of it. But the more grounds they covered, it felt even more endless. In his mind, he was wondering why the scouts had betrayed him and or did they give the wrong information. All of them would faithfully follow him to the depths of hell and back before and there was no doubt of that in Yaega''s mind. They never succ.u.mbed to tremendous torture from other enemy kingdoms as they all knew how their general never left anyone behind. Not to mention, they were well paid, very well paid compared to some of the junior knights because Yaega knew how the scouting job was a dangerous one especially when death in this world was a blessing and curse. In fact, if they were to die, the Taris Army were to benefit from it since their resurrection also meant that they would have the information in hand. (Though it still hugely depends on the resurrection process since some of the side effects included information loss.) But in this case, the Taris General did not know the powers of the lords controlling Demopolis. The Night Foxes had previously killed the scouts and the Dark Lord Almighty Kraft purposely resurrected them for this misinformation performance. After all, information war was something that the Dungeon World had little to no knowledge about and it was fun for Kraft to manipulate them into playing this kind of game. While he contemplates, the remaining cavalry galloped further through the tunnel until layers of heavy metal doors suddenly emerged from the top and bottom of the tunnels, cutting their paths and disabling them to proceed any further. As if these doors were a calculated move the moment they appeared, they squashed at least one to two armoured cavalry units, crashing and cutting them with the door''s weight. Some of the cavalry men were horrified by the attack but not for General Yaega''s whose priority was to create chaos as a source of distraction for the North East and North West deployments. They knew they were decoys but with the supposed betrayal from his scouts still in his mind, he believed that the enemies knew their intention and intended to trap them in this tunnel. Furthermore, he was in shock that his siege breaking lance had little effect on Demopolis Walls and how the information he obtained during the planning stages of the war plan was basically trash. He remembered that the Demopolis walls should be old and tattered, fortified only with magical barriers. The guards were nearly non essential since no one dared to wage war against a big name city like Demopolis. Yaega took the extra mile to confirm this intelligence information from the Church indicating the very same thing. The Church also provided unique magical runes for his siege engines, which could only mean that they did not know of this new development. So does this imply that these new cement walls were erected during their march to Demopolis? It would seem impossible in the General''s mind and yet they were within this towering white wall, trying to find a way out. "Argh, get yourself together Yaega!" The general thought to himself as he dismounted from his bear and decided to try breaking the walls from the inside. Perhaps if he used his magical lance from within, the damage would be greater? "Hmmm, that magical looking lance must mean that you are someone special." Yaega suddenly sensed a heavy looking item was being thrown his way and instead of inserting magic into his lance, he used it to block the projectile along with his lance. As it collided with the Wallbreaker Lance, Yaega had been pushed several metres back. He then noticed that there was some blood on the heavy bulk of metal and saw the bloodshed it made along the way. The metal piece slowly retracted back and Yaega saw a menacing huge figure wearing a sort of animal visor at the side of the tunnel. There was no way he could not have sensed such a big figure when they were trapped inside a section of the tunnel, so ¡­possibly teleport magic? "¡­And that huge thing is actually a retractable mace? No. It''s too huge to be a mace, it''s more like a war club." Yaega thought to himself as the rest of his cavalry men dismounted and went ahead to create a defensive formation around their general. As for the Horned Bears, they obviously knew who their enemy was instantly and three of them charged towards the towering figure, as if telling him who is truly in charge here. But even before the bears could even reach him, the hippo masked cultivator had already made his move once more with his war club. Chapter 1085 - Extra- Preparation Phase Against The Seven Cities Chapter 1085 ¨C Extra- Preparation Phase Against The Seven Cities "El Presidente, the Pandaren cultivators are actively engaging with the remnants of Taris Army," One of the goblins in the communication team replied to Kraft while using his made up title. He had been changing his titles so frequently that the goblins had no qualms following his whims. "Well done, Comrade. Tell them to clean up the place properly, alright? Don''t want any leftovers playing hide and seek in the tunnels." Kraft yawned as he swiped his tablet to check the other battlefields. "El Presidente, you still have the flush them out option available to you." Another communications goblin reminded the dictator of this current operation that Jin had fulfilled his bargain of putting a flood tunnel within the stronghold walls. And since the Demopolis was situated right beside the sea, there was no reason not to have the capability to flush enemies out into the sea. (After Kraft drowned them to their deaths first.) "That is true! I wonder if our hippo could survive the flooding¡­ I mean he is a hippo, right?" Kraft laughed as he tried to give some attention to the North East and North West regions of Demopolis. But even as he browsed them like television programmes, his mind was more on the plans to thwart the naval fleets. Mainly because he IS the head coordinator for the entire operation, he had had enough of land battles and decided to go for something which he didn''t have much experience in. But despite his wants to lead sea battles, that lazy fox ultimately left the seas to Wolte and his best friend Mr Derpy. Because of his achievements in the battle of Pandapolis, more demons, especially the Demopolis Navy (or to put it bluntly, highly distinguished pirates) had started to join Wolte''s fellowship of devouts. Most of the Demopolis Navy joined under him because they were in love with his battleship form, Stalingrad. They also knew that his powers primarily came from merely being under him or being part of his crazy worship and if his numbers were to grow, he might once again have the chance to evolve into something crazy. Even if he doesn''t, the System did promise that he would have some pretty nifty upgrades. Needless to say, Lord Focalor, the trusted navy admiral of the previous Demopolis Navy, was present and was appointed as the captain of the Stalingrad for this current fight, enabling him the luxury to sail in Wolte''s steed. While the Stalingrad could manage all by himself if he wanted to, he felt that having hands on deck would allow the ship to multitask better and maximise the abilities and new upgrades he was bestowed by the System. Also, with Mr Derpy on his side, Kraft barely had to worry about the incursion from the sea. Instead, he felt pity for the invaders. The Deep Ones had repeatedly proven to be the masters of the seas and no one had ever been able to win against them. However, that did not mean they did not upgrade themselves for the upcoming fight. With the System''s budget for Kraft to improve the defences of the Demopolis Stronghold, the sly fox did not hesitate to provide some budget for the underwater miscreants. Via the System''s interworld black market, they had managed to procure high powered submachine guns that shot nails repeatedly as well as torpedo propelled grenades that could sink sh.i.p.s easily. All this attention could be given to the Naval Fleet mainly because Moloch and Qiu Yue were handling the mainland skirmishes while Jin took care of the Demopolis stronghold defences. The ''assist the war'' event was a hit mainly because of Xiong Da pushing through the first set of milestones. Even though the other pandarens were not contributing as much as Xiong Da, they were still following in his footsteps making this initiative a big hit. This enabled Jin to recreate the new desired state of Demopolis with no loss on his part because of the extra money rolling in. The walls as seen in the fight against the Taris Army were erected throughout the entire Demon empire and defensive weapons such as artillery and machine guns emplacements were installed along the walls. With the terracing wall formation, multiple gun placements were also installed to improve the stronghold''s firepower especially in the North East and North West portions of the Demopolis City. Less were installed in the Northern Wall mainly because the Kraft and the System had already known the war plans beforehand. No use reinforcing when they already knew that they had sufficient firepower to get by. Additional placements of guns could be added later if necessary since the System and Qiu Yue were on a level that could modify stuff on the fly. As for the Demopolis Home Guards, General Vual had ensured that his troops were thoroughly trained in these defensive weapons when they were sent to Pandapolis boot camp to learn these new sets of skills. The Orc Artillery Team''s training regime was so fierce that the Home Guards now understood why the Demopolis Army were able to lose so terribly. The Orc''s strictness in firing and the speed to adhere to needed more than just focus. One would need the stamina to do so too and the Orcs could care less that the Home Guards were not as muscular or physically talented as the Orcs. So long they could not hit their minimum standards, their whole team was not allowed to return back home. And because of the completion of this strict training, the Home Guards were desperate to show it off to the incoming human armies the results they earned through sheer effort. The only thing stopping them now was the insufficient range of their cannons and the go ahead order from either Qiu Yue or Moloch. "Yawnn¡­ I guess they should be reaching soonish? They did promise for a coordinated hit." Kraft opened his mouth wide to yawn with no courtesy of using his hands to cover them. He lazily saw through the visors of his Night Foxes that Merah and Bodek Army had no clue as to what had happened to Taris Army. Those poor sods were still in a high mood that they were going to win this. But the Home Guards were not the only few defenders waiting for their arrival. The Three Shadow Kings were doing the same, with their own agenda, those mafia families were to hit and protect the city from those unsuspecting human armies. Chapter 1086 - Extra -Take The Gauntlets Off Chapter 1086 ¨C Extra -Take The Gauntlets Off "They are still not here yet? Can''t we just sleep a bit more?" Neil, The Tyr Gauntlet''s Shadow King, was also snoozing off in his bed waiting for the enemy to ambush. Technically, all of them could sleep through the entire fight after Kraft told them that there were some ''minor'' changes to their orders. But after the complete utter defeat of his Elites against Lynn, most of them wanted to prove to their King again that they were not that useless. "Boss, you know your men will give you a flat No, right?" Adora, the Tyr Elites'' only healer, had prepared a tray filled with wholesome food and placed it aside for her King to partake for breakfast. A cup of orange juice and a few slices of bread accompanied with a chunk of bacon. The outpost''s automated pantry was providing these meals so readily that all she needed to do was to bring the tray to her King''s side. "If you wake up now, you might enjoy some goodness before the fight. That cooked sliced meat was terrific." "Are you enticing me to go to war after a nice dandy breakfast?" Neil questioned as he rubbed his eyes and yawned out loud. It was after all near dawn and it had been a long time since he had to wake up this early to perform an assault. "If that would make you get out of your bed, why not?" Adora bowed and gave Neil some personal time to clear his breakfast. "Seriously, this Jin. So much for calling this place an outpost. This is basically an underground mansion with the facilities it provided and its god damn comfortable. Does that guy have no limits when it comes to modern technology?" Neil thought to himself as he got out of his bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face. Even though the walls were mere concrete with a layer of dull white silver paint, the room was awfully spacious outfitted with a dozen amenities which one would not expect in a military outpost. As he thought to himself the wonders of the outpost he was in, the bathroom mirror simultaneously portrayed the current war information and results of the recent battle. Aerial images had also popped up to show what the Mafia was fighting against and it affirmed Neil''s suspicions that they were overwhelming since Merah City''s army was about a few thousand strong. "Compared solely to just numbers, it looks like the odds are against us." Neil said as he enjoyed the warm tap water and facial soap which was rumoured by Adora to be one of the amazing features that this underground ''mansion'' has. "But from the flash memory overload by the System, it looks like the people handling Pandapolis had been winning with such odds way too many times. At the same time, a System Channel link emerged through his head and it was Slaze, his trusty swordsman to be calling him. "Boss, the rest of the Mafia had gathered and were ready to sortie. You want us to head out first?" Slaze was raring for a fight especially when he found out that this underground mansion was not for show. This was no doubt a military outpost and they have an armoury filled with lots of unusual weapons. However, because of the lack of time, the System had barred the Tyr Gauntlet mafia to have access to guns. Thus, the only few sections that were available to them was the melee portion as well as the archery department. Only a select few were able to enter the magic section of the armoury and only one time scrolls were accessible for use. Still, this had greatly improved the Tyr Gauntlet''s mafia group offensive capabilities. They might be small in number compared to Atrocity and Eld Enclave, with only hundred odd members but this underground military outpost was more than sufficient for the group. There was a training room where some of the mafias tested out their new weapons while the rest continued to gawk at their shiny new toys. Especially Tenov, their Elite archer who donned a mass produced basic gearbox suit which slightly strengthened his arms and legs while having carbon fibre armour platings protecting his vital organs. He still had to wear either a chainmail or a leather full suit to cover his body before wearing the gearbox but it was definitely lighter than his usual armour stuff. (mainly because of the gearbox tech actively reducing the weight) The same goes for the other elites though the rest of Tyr Gauntlet''s members did not have such a privilege. They instead have compatible low grade defensive inscriptions that strengthen their current armour and that was already equivalent to wearing heavy plate armour. (For those who were wearing heavy plate armours felt like they were impenetrable when they tested it out in the training room.) Thus, with all these new toys, it was no little surprise that Neil''s mafia family wanted to go out and score some blood. "As much as I like to take out the leash on you guys, the higher ups have not given the go ahead," Neil said as he slowly shaved his chin with the electric razor. "Even if we were to step out now, it will most probably be a death wish for you," Neil said through the System Channel, but this time, he took the advantage of it and broadcast it to the entire mafia family. At that point of time, the System chipped in and further cemented the warning Neil was giving by showing a large holographic screen in the hall where the mafia mobsters had gathered. It was the very same screen that Neil was currently watching where they saw Merah City''s army finally within the firing distance of the defensive artillery cannons. It was the exact situation on the other side of Demopolis Walls where Bodek City''s Army was coming too close for comfort. To the mafia mobsters, it might seem utterly hopeless for Demopolis since traditional battles had shown that there were way too little guys manning the walls and the advantage goes to the big numbers. But they had already seen the firepower being packed with their masked human soldiers and the battle of Pandapolis was still quite fresh in their minds. Neil was already smiling despite such odds. "This time, once the order comes down, you guys can take your gauntlets off and show them what it means to be part of my Mafia Family." Chapter 1087 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 6 Chapter 1087 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -Part 6 "Something is not right." Ana, Merah City''s General said to one of her officers. "I am unable to contact Yaega at all." She tried tapping on her magical ball charm to check on his status but there was no reply at all. As compared to General Edgar, Ana could feel some feedback emanating back even though there was no answer. But for Yaega, there was essentially no change in the colour of her magical ball charm and the only reason she could think of was an anti magic field even though it never happened before. This was mainly because the magical ball charm would blink of a different colour upon attempting to communicate through an anti magic field. But this time around, it seemed as if he entirely disappeared. Thus, she could only deduce that the charm was inadvertently be destroyed in a scuffle especially since there was no retreat flare indicating any defeat from Yaega''s direction. "Perhaps he is preoccupied fighting that he accidentally drop it or lose it? You know how those mounted cavalries usually lost things they carry when they charged like a mad man." Her officer suggested as he was more concerned with the current situation in front of him. The behemoth looking walls were bothering him to an extent that he felt paranoid with his general''s line of questioning. The wrong information was given to them by Taris General and the Church was something new to him and it proved to him that all of this could potentially be a trap. But since General Ana was his higher up, he could only think of simple excuses to answer her while he was vexed with the current situation. "Yaega is not that kind of person, he would at least send a transmission at least once and all the more if the situation is unfavourable," Ana remarked as Yaega and her had been battle pals for quite some time. From attacking each other till near destruction to cooperating against other cities, those two had gone way back. And Ana did attempt to send another transmission out with a scroll containing a specialised form of magical telecommunications. However, she did not know that the enemy Gobs Infocomms team were able to intercept it and blocked her message from going in. Kraft wanted to mess around with the message and relay the magical telegram that everything was proceeding all fine but he decided he was too lazy and let them be. (After all, he got way tired of messing up the messages during the Mafia fights.) Although Ana eventually felt something was amissed, seeing that she was unable to get through Yaega nor receive any message, she decided to stop the army from going any further. "Everyone, halt! I need a suicide squad to volunteer!" Ana shouted and instantly, a bunchful of hands emerged from the crowd of soldiers. "Alright, come out and assemble at this flag point! Officers, make sure those troops have their duties covered by the rest of their teams." Ana said and in less than a minute, those daredevil soldiers assembled right in front of her. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for covering this particular task. Report your names to Major Farou later so that you are duly compensated for the resurrection process. Now, to the task at hand, I am going to impart to you some of my powers and I would want you to charge to the wall and detonate my magical powers. Avoid any attacks and move forth when I give you the command." Ana explained and the suicide squad immediately acknowledged the glorious duty given by the War Angel of Fire. And without further ado, Major Farou took the names of the soldiers when Ana spoke a long prose of magical words. A mystic circle emerged on the ground and expanded to encompass the entire squad. Slowly, her powers were passed to the squad and they could feel that her fire magic was overwhelming. It felt like it was burning them from the inside and wanted to overtake them, to consume their innards and explode outwards. But for now, the only thing that was holding them together was their human sanity. Yes, what Ana did was not exactly transferring magic to the squad but instead, applying her magic and to make them into a deadly ticking human timebomb. To add on, she even commandeered the suicide squad to carry actual fire bombs to charge to the wall. Simultaneously, Major Farou had cast mass support magic on to the suicide squad, allowing them to be more agile and run faster. "At least with this, I should be able to recognise the trap if they were not dumb enough to place any." Ana thought to herself as she ordered the squad to move forth. With the timebomb magic cast on the soldiers, the suicide squad felt like they knew no boundaries in terms of stamina and ran as if their heels are on fire. Their only goal was to keep their sanity intact until they reach the wall. But the Demopolis Home Guards were not idle either. The System had managed to capture the commotion of making the suicide squad. And thus, the Home Guards were already zeroing into their squad through the sights of their sniper rifles. "Fire whenever you feel they are moving." Qiu Yue said through the System Channel and the Demopolis Home Guards were ready to shoot as soon as their General gave the call. "BOOM!" As the suicide squad was about to be given the command to run, they suddenly exploded right in front of the army, giving Merah City''s General a huge shock as she knew that they should not explode so haphazardly unless they die. She knew that the timebomb magic was a volatile one but Ana had been using such a tactic for ages. So much so that her army even acknowledged such a powerful tool at their disposal and it was one of the reasons why they dubbed her the War Angel of Fire. The last time it backfired on her was aeons ago and there never had been such an incident as bad as this. While she was lucky that she was able to shield herself from the damage, it was not the same for the rest of her army. Her entire frontline was either killed or heavily burnt. To make this worse, the fire bombs that they carried were extremely flammable, causing the entire forested area they were hiding from cannon fire to be caught on fire. Thus, they either retreat now or charge fully through the wall. Ana thought it was her fault that the human time bombs had backfired but they had no idea that the Home Guards were the ones who shot them. At that point of time, they had lacked the understanding that the deaths of those firebombs would be such a setback against the Merah City Army. The Home Guards merely performed their actions as per Qiu Yue''s orders and even the System''s tactician was unaware that the inferno that was happening could be realised and she even readied an alternative plan to blast them all bits and pieces once again. Now with the inferno brewing right in front of them, Qiu Yue did not have to think of other ways to reduce the amount of wham and bam while still being efficient in her methods of killing. Thus, the current change of winds had allowed Qiu Yue to keep Demopolis safe and withheld her trump cards for the next phase while ordered the Tyr Gauntlet to move out. Chapter 1088 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 7 Chapter 1088 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -Part 7 "Bloody hell¡­" Moloch grumbled when he realised that his side of battle was not as easy as Qiu Yue''s or the Northern portion of the Demopolis wall despite it being poorly coordinated by Kraft and overrun with Pandarens. He envied that the North Eastern portion of the Demopolis was under control when Tyr Gauntlet came smashing down on the army hard when they appeared with their flash mass teleport. The Tyr''s Elites gave a fantastic opener when they performed a pincer movement from the sides and the back of Merah City''s army. With the back of the army being filled with paramilitary support and siege weapons, Tyr''s Elite killed them down quickly with the brand new shining toys at their disposal. While it might just be a level one inscription weapon, it was akin to magical swords that might cost at least hundreds to thousands of dungeon dollars from a regular weaponsmith. The Tyr''s Elites'' access to better versions of those ''magical'' weapons were a boon and they raged through the backbone of the army. Contrary to Merah City''s Army, Bodek''s General Edgar was pushing through his army with a traditional and systematic assault towards the North Western portion of Demopolis. Moloch reacted with a continuous barrage of artillery fire but Edgar''s army was fearless to a fault. They did not care about the casualties they incurred and instead kept moving forward as if they were the tsunami tidal waves moving through the shores, relentless in their march to destroy things. Yet the Demon Guards in the North Western portion did not falter at all nor lost their morale despite the battle hardened army of Bodek steadily pacing through the forested areas and into the plains right in front of Demopolis Walls because of a particular group reinforcing them. The Atrocity Mafia who had recouped their losses after their One Eyed boss, Sakov had made a deal with the System after Rex''s enticing offer of a full adamantine armour set. Now that the city was in arms with the Shadow Kings, the rest of the minor mafia families had no choice but to confusingly follow the big groups after they acknowledged that enemies of Demopolis take priority. While it was true some of the minor mafias did not agree with this sudden change of arrangement, they saw how the Home Guards tolerated their presence and even generously provided them with supplies during the truce. Thus, with the drastic change of circ.u.mstances, they temporarily allied themselves with the big three or rather, the big two since Tyr Gauntlets decided to act alone as they usually do. And because of this, the Atrocity Alliance was at least a thousand people strong and all of them were waiting behind the walls with huge holographic televisions hovering above their heads, showing them the ferocity of the incoming enemy army. As there was only one particular gate at the North Western portion, Bodek General Edgar believed that pinning his hopes on destroying it would be pointless. He knew there were some tricks behind this Demopolis Wall and he was not going to follow the convention despite his brute force march. Those defensive cannons which kept pounding explosive fire on his troops were something out of this world and something that even the magical advanced cities were not capable of doing. That weapon was defying in nature and thus he had to bring out his trump card moves too. Bodek''s City was known for men with colossal strength and they were not mere hearsay when his army stormed through the plains with most of his soldiers able to withstand the explosive fire. Still, repeated artillery fire could bring those men down and that was what Demopolis Home Guards were doing. With the artillery guns that were deployed with the assistance of the Pandarens'' wallets, they rained down shells after shells which the Orcs would give a grade above passing. However, the Bodek City Army was not only marching through the plains for nothing. One would think that they were moving forth systematically but they were actually preparing to create an (in)human staircase where the toughest one would hold his ground and the rest would create a stack at the front with their shields, withstanding the explosive fire to the best of their limit. With pure brute strength, the soldiers eventually created a human like ramp where the backlines would dash and step on their comrade''s back to jump across and to reach Demopolis wall. Yet, the Demopolis Home Guards were not idle with their defensive manoeuvre as some took out their machine guns and fired at their opponents with solid lead. Nevertheless, the Bodek Human Ramp was so tediously resilient that they grit their teeth and bare through each and every bullet. It was as if they were given medicine or drugs that would turn their pain receptors off and those bullets did nothing but put merely holes into their staunch body. (The rumours of the Church''s Serum were reinforced into Kraft''s thoughts when they saw it working so well for the Bodek army.) It was only when the artillery guns used piercing anti tank shots upon the command of Moloch that they managed to destroy a portion of the human ramp. Nevertheless, General Edgar ensured that there were reserves at the side of the ramp that would replace the gaps in its human staircase so that it would remain steady for the assault. Simultaneously, the inhuman soldiers that managed to jump across the wall had begun to destroy the artillery guns that were causing damage to the human ramp plan. It was at this point the Atrocity Mafia had sortied to take on the brutes. And they were equally mercilessly as they dragged the humans over the wall and into the city where the rest of the Mafia members were waiting to assault it. This was because they did not want the Bodek soldiers to cause any further collateral damage to the wall. Some of the mafia members even sacrificed themselves to be part of the fall so that they could bring Bodek''s soldiers to the other side of the wall. Separately, the guns that were bunkered within the walls were destroyed as the enemies who did not manage to jump to the top of them slid down and took advantage of the situation to destroy some of the artillery guns stationed in the walls. But broken barrels aside, the enemy soldiers were unable to break the steel reinforced cement walls with their bare hands and the Home Guards stood at a distance and sprayed their bullets through the bunker windows. Most of them scored a headshot or dealt enough damage to cause them to fall completely. The situation was indeed a battle of attrition, seeing who could last the longest. "Should I get my foxys to act on the current situation? They are currently stationed right behind them." Kraft saw the increasing difficulty which Moloch was facing since part of Taris Army was with them and that very same wretched Siege Support Battalion was steadily preparing their offensive assault from afar. It would not be long for them to release their barrage of primitive yet possibly effective siege projectiles against the Demopolis walls. "Well, what are you waiting for?!" Moloch rolled his plushie looking eyes and immediately saw that he had command of the Night Foxes awaiting at the back of their army. Chapter 1089 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 8 Chapter 1089 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -Part 8 As the Northern Invasion of Demopolis progressed, the other three Cities had pushed their Naval Fleets from the southern borders. Eun City, Lebar City and Kemban City who specialised in their naval strength believed that they had sufficient firepower to storm the tip of the Demopolis peninsula and get the trophy of conquering the city. Their perceived position strengthened further as their naval scouts confirmed there was only one sole ship standing against the might of three naval fleets. A number of the captains and even their Admirals were laughing through the magical balls communication system, stating Demopolis'' audacity to send just one large ship against multiple fleets. "If they think size is the only thing that matters, those demons would be sorely mistaken. Our overwhelming numbers would crush them!" One of the infocomms goblins were mimicking the way the captains were talking as they type out the conversation they intercepted into their computers. "The Demopolis Home Guards must be too busy handling the infighting within their own city and could not provide sufficient numbers for a naval defence. Who knows? Maybe this ship could be practically empty! Just a mere show of force with its size!" The Naval Admirals of the three cities continued to exchange their insults over Demopolis ''lack of preparation'' and the infocomms teams merely transcribed whatever they said as part of their war report. While there was quite a lot of idle chattering within the channels of the magical balls, the goblins had managed to sieve through all the useless information and obtained their sh.i.p.s'' positions. Those positions were sent through the magical ball communication channel to coordinate with their Mothership, thus leaking the current speed and bearings of their sh.i.p.s and giving the infocomms goblin team to plot out the entire naval fleets without the capability of a satellite. The System might have an idea of their location because they were passing through Demopolis grounds but because it was covered in sea, the data was best correlated with the information the infocomms goblin picked up and performed adjustments to portray the most accurate data on the war table digital map. And with the updated information being constantly projected in the War Table''s holographic map, the System would send it to the relevant parties to keep them within the loop of the enemies'' position. That included Lord Wolte who had already transformed into Stalingrad and Mr Derpy who was swimming right beneath the infamous ship that protected the seas of Pandapolis. And with the simultaneous feed from the System, Lord Focalor who now''s the captain of Stalingrad used the updated coordinates to adjust Stalingrad''s cannons to the biggest fishes in the sea. The Mothersh.i.p.s of the three naval fleets. As for the rest of the smaller sh.i.p.s, Lord Focalor had already engaged Stalingrad''s newest targeting system which could smartly aim almost all of them. Those sh.i.p.s that were not targeted by the big cannons, had been allocated two surface to sea missiles from Stalingrad''s missile compartments. But because of the sheer numbers, only the back row had been currently targeted so the invading naval fleets could not retreat. "I finally understand how it feels to be in power. All these digital instruments might seem overly complicated but once we are able to target them, I feel a surge of adrenaline passing through me." Lord Focalor thought to himself, thinking how amazing it was to be able to pilot such an almighty vessel. He also ordered his sailors to prepare the launch as they awaited the three naval cities to shoot first. (After all, this was just for the pretence to subsequently attack their cities.) And with the inactivity from Stalingrad, it did not take long for Eun City''s Mothership to begin turning to its portside and readied her guns. The rest of the sh.i.p.s began to follow suit but as they turned, Eun City''s Mothership had decided to fire their first volley of cannon shots. It was as if they wanted first blood to be theirs since there was no use wasting time not destroying the chunk of metal looking ship. The Naval Admirals collectively thought it was pretty menacing to have a huge metal ship, but they all believed the clunkiness of the ship made it a white elephant in the sea. Not to mention the amount of manpower needed to create it and the materials utilised. One of them even deduced that the gigantic metallic ship could have potentially exhausted one entire iron mine. (or in their case, a dungeon filled with iron resources.) Also, being able to let it float was already an engineering miracle in their eyes and they wanted to have a sample of the ship once the war was over. And since their sh.i.p.s were made out of aged wood, they were faster and more agile. Hence, they believed that they should fire first and fast since the admirals deduced that Stalingrad would probably sink in their volleys of attack. A few thought the metal sheet might break with a few hits else it would be too heavy to float and the majority did deduce it wrongly causing them to miscalculate, requiring more time to bring it down. Regardless, the cities collectively believed that their overwhelming numbers would be sufficient to bring such a metal whale down. Lebar City was not lagging behind in terms of attack as they used their mages to summon meteors from the sky and dropped them right above the titan metal ship. Since they could not see the deck of the metal ship, they hoped that it would be made out of wood so their meteors would have a significant impact in damaging their ship. Their admiral assumed that there was no way the entire ship could be made out of metal. As for Kemban City, they merely waited at the sidelines since their expertise were their men. Similar to Bodek City, Kemban City''s naval fleet was based on raiding strength. This was because both of their cities shared borders and there was a close relationship among the two cities'' people. (and Church''s serums) Their objective was to charge through the fort, breaking them with their ram sh.i.p.s while their men charged in to slaughter those puny demons. Yet, all that sound of incoming fire was like a sweet song to Lord Focalor as he pushed the microphone button to tell the respective weapons department two words. "Weapons Free." Chapter 1090 - Seven Cities Assault -Part 9 Chapter 1090 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -Part 9 The exchange of fire was tremendously quick. Even as the Eun City''s Mothership volley of fire was like a battle orchestra riding on the thunder clouds with their sea crew screaming at each other, giving out the orders to fire from their higher ups. The tremendous series of firing was a spectacle to watch from the side sh.i.p.s as they systematically released the cannon balls. The volley consisted of at least twenty over cannon balls towards Stalingrad but even the most thunderous sounds were nothing without the strength of the lightning. Their cannonball hits did not even make a dent on Stalingrad at all. Their cannons literally bounced off from the metal platings of the battleship and dropped into the sea like a piece of useless paperweight. Lord Wolte thought that those cannon balls were mere nudging as it felt that it tickles a little with no significant damage done to him. He expected the human city''s naval fleets to be more challenging like the time he suffered under Lord Focalor''s assault during the Pandapolis War but it seems that he had severely underestimated them. The previous damage, while not extensive, had shown that the demons were using cannon balls infused with a high level of elemental magic. Thus, Lord Wolte believed that the humans with their cunningness would prepare something even more sinister than the demons since they always would like to find the weakness of their enemies. But it seemed like his current foe had not studied enough against his ship. To Wolte, the human armies'' cannon balls that were fired out were nothing spectacular and totally short of his expectations. It was simply just gunpowder and a heavy ball of iron flying out of it. There was no magic infused into the cannon balls and their supposed barrage of attacks did absolutely nothing to Stalingrad. It was to the point that Lord Wolte worried almost for nothing. The meteors, on the other hand, proved to be more of a threat. When they first emerged from the skies, Stalingrad was able to counter a few with its anti air capabilities and breaking the meteor rocks apart. However, as they began to grow in numbers because of the simultaneous casting from the mages, Lord Wolte had no choice but to call out magic dispellers within Lord Focalor''s crew of demon pirates. With the help of his online navigation systems, the magic dispellers made quick work of the meteors. After all, the Naval battles were more deadly than land battles. They needed to have the skill of sword and magic while fighting along with deadly cannon balls, sh.i.p.s crashing on another while fighting on an unstable platform and nasty sea weather to boot if they were unlucky. Their past experience raiding various armies had made Lord Focalor''s crew be well equipped with the necessary set of skills to defend a battleship. While some of the meteor strikes were able to hit the ship at first, the damage was almost negligible as the pirates quickly sortie out to not only repair but counter those magical meteors. But most of the dispelling required a significant amount of time because the mage needed to do some mental calculation to ensure that the dispel was able to cast directly on the magical projectile itself. It was no easy task for most of anti magic mages and many usually die before they could counter a spell properly. However, Anti Magic Mages'' combat prowess to stop a magic attack was nothing short of a lifesaver. Sh.i.p.s were after all a mechanical floating island that required the effort of everyone on it. Even if they could stop a magic attack, it was akin to proloning the life of the ship''s existence. Yet, Stalingrad was able to survive this long was also mainly due to the assistance of the System. With the System''s support, most of the anti magic mages could easily calculate the trajectory, the exact amount of mana needed to counter it and had miniscular details and information that could optimise the destruction of said offensive magic with the minimum amount of mana required. This incredible feat of dispelling magic caused Lebar City''s mages to be in disbelief. Unable to accept the fact that their magic could be dispelled this easily, they wanted to summon a larger meteor through group chanting to counter the mass dispel they had seen. But they did not have that luxury of time in their midst as the Mothersh.i.p.s of all three cities were being targeted by Stalingrad''s heavy cannon fire. Explosive shells were more than sufficient since most of the cities'' naval sh.i.p.s were made out of wood. As the shells impacted the sh.i.p.s, the explosion was sufficient to catch the ship on fire and that kept the naval crew busy, trying their best to stop the fire from spreading. However, the naval crews had no idea that Stalingrad''s shells were able to penetrate deep into their Mothership and exploded right in the middle of their sh.i.p.s, causing fires to be spread widely and blocking exits. (They probably have those emergency fire evacuation plans but when things went to shit, nobody would be bothered following them) As for Eun City''s Mothership, their damage was even more extensive due to the fact that one of the explosive shells incidentally reached the compartment where they kept their crates of gunpowder. (Also because they were nearer compared to the other two Mothersh.i.p.s and Lord Focalor personally devoted a few extra explosives shells towards such a nearby target.) This naturally caused secondary explosions which were probably why Eun City''s Mothership burst into flames that were worthy for Peppers to pass a sympathetic judgement. And with no chance to repair the mothership, the Eun City''s Naval Admiral had to promptly make the call to abandon ship. Lord Focalor also took this opportunity of shock and awe to send out the missiles that were previously targeting the fleet''s back when the other crews saw one of the Naval Fleet''s mothership destroyed right in their eyes. The roaring thunder that emerged out of Stalingrad sent waves of chills through the hardiest of sailors as they saw the trail of smoke flying up to the sky and passing through the front part of their fleet. The subsequent successive explosions of their fleet''s backline had scared the wits of their mind even further that many felt this assault had become a death wish. Stalingrad was no mere empty metal vessel that was unable to move, it was practically a sea fortress guarding the Demopolis walls. However, some of the sailors did not falter when they now knew that retreat was not an option. Thus, they began turning their sh.i.p.s to fire at Stalingrad in a desperate effort to sink it while Kemban City had decided to ram their siege sh.i.p.s against the Devil''s battleship in order to sink it. As for those who had abandoned their sh.i.p.s from the explosions, another level of terror awaits them as Mr Derpy, the Shadow Dagon sent out his Deep Ones to clean up the rest of the mess. The Deep One''s speed in swimming increased with the new gear that they were wearing and the humans were almost helpless against them. While the monsters liked to use their new shiny weapons, most of the Deep Ones merely used their traditional technique of grabbing a leg to drown the men. Only a few managed to fend for themselves within the water because of their magical abilities but most of them were mere mortals with no powers. Their meaningless struggle for air and survival was futile as the Deep Ones pulled them further into the oceans of Demopolis. Unfortunately, the magically inclined had a worse fate compared to the men that died in their watery grave. The Deep Ones'' appearance within the dark murky sea waters was nothing but dull yellow glowing eyes and rough green scales with their claws and teeth emerging out of it. Those men who drowned at least do not have much knowledge of their deaths but for the mages, they saw the nightmarish terror of an army of Deep Ones hunting down each and every human that had contact with the oceans. Fear was not the word, but rather pure despair. It made them panic and tried to cast spells underwater to break the hold of their grapple. But the Deep Ones gave no mercy. Chapter 1091 - Seven Cities Assault -FINAL -unedited Chapter 1091 ¨C Seven Cities Assault -FINAL -unedited "So¡­ North side, Check." Kraft was saying as he played with his digital tablet and browsed through the checklist he had created on a whim. "Oh triple checks since all the battles are proceeding rather smoothly." "Hey! Just because you sent me some of your dark elves to my side, doesn''t mean my side is all cleared, okay?" Moloch heavily reminded Kraft that the battle was not entirely over. "Anddd South Side, total annihilation check. So, when are the churches coming to seriously attack us?" Kraft pouted as he completely ignored Moloch''s side of the argument and started to be bored. With nothing on hand, he was at the point of moving on to the next phase of his perfect masterplan to conquer the seven cities. "Aren''t you forgetting about the aerial attack plans that the Church Agent had revealed to us?" Kiyu yawned while sitting right beside the devil fox''s throne, playing her portable game console. "Nah, they would not go through with that." Kraft stood up as he threw his tablet on his throne seat and started walking around the war table and subsequently ended up standing right beside Jin."You. Stop slacking around already. We need more money to be coming in for the incoming days." "What? Don''t you need my help in the upcoming fights or anything?" Jin said as suddenly two Night Foxes emerged from his sides and grabbed both of his arms. "AREN''T YOU THE ONE WHO''S SLACKING?" Jin immediately yelled as he could feel that the grip from the Night Foxes were getting tougher. He did not want to use any strength or commands against his own minions but this was a tad too disrespectful to their master. (While he was not wrong about the chain of command in the hierarchy, the Drows technically still have to obey Kraft who was their direct master.) "Shhhh. I was browsing my checklist and I noticed that you have a lot of incomplete stuff to do. The zoo, the advanced training centre blah blah blah." Kraft said as he knocked Jin on his head to shut him up a little. "What?! What does that have to do with you? Aren''t I helping with this whole Demopolis Defence thingy just so that we have enough people for the ¨C Ow!" "You entrusted me to do this, and I promised my brother Rex that I would do a good job. So, therefore. I do not need you anymore. Guards! Take this lazy master of ours and put him in a cage inside of the Dungeon Maker! He is not allowed to come out until he finishes all of his tasks!" Kraft shouted and the Night Foxes immediately started pulling Jin away from the current War Table Room. "This is part of the Dungeon Maker room! How would you even put me in a cage when I am already inside this room? Is it because I did not showcase my skills, that''s why you are being very angsty right now?" Jin shouted but before he could have a reply, the floor beneath him suddenly gave way and the Night Foxes that were holding him quickly threw him downwards, causing him to fall faster. "Perhaps." Kraft shrugged his shoulders and walked away, while the rest of the foxes who were at the scene smirked. "You are doing this just for your own self interest aren''t it?" Qiu Yue who was at one corner of the War Table commented while the North Eastern battle was starting to have a clear winner. The soldiers barely had a chance from the ambush from both the Night Foxes who came in later and Tyr''s Gauntlet. While General Ana was meant to be a power player in this particular wargame, Neil the Shadow King was no pushover either. The Night Foxes who came in late had managed to subdue most of the officers of Merah City and even began cooperating with Neil to take down Ana. "Sometimes, I wonder if you are innately kind," Lynn remarked too as she was at the sidelines resting from the fight she had with the Tyr Elites. "Though, I had to remind you that I am now in charge of the Zoo''s work." "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I just do not want Jin to see what we are going to do." Kraft said as he returned to his big funky throne. "And for you to include us, the Sub System Users? That''s something new in my book." Qiu Yue replied and started to move towards Moloch. With a nudge, the little Minotaur plushie instantly shared his command units with her and they both managed the North Western battle together. "You sure about this?" Moloch posed a question with two meanings in it. One of which was leaving her battlefield and assisting with his and the other was taking part in Kraft''s masterplan. "We got the money, the resources and even the necessary talent. But we do not have the troops. They are all easy picking right now because we have technology on our side. Unlike the Demon Rats, who would copy our tech stuff just by seeing it is terrifying. We need whatever advantage we could get. And that involves me helping you to clear this so we can quickly move to the next stage." Qiu Yue said while giving a stare at Kraft. "But I still think it''s too fast to move to the next stage when we have not resolved the aerial portion of this particular invasion." Qiu Yue added. "Blah! Come on. Give me some credit. I had already sent the Devil Dragons and our trusty Goblin Wyvern Knights to annihilate them long before you guys even started fighting with those hummies. When it comes to air battles, offense is the best defence." Kraft said as he flipped his digital tablet and showed everyone the current aerial battle that no one could have noticed. With the tablet screen being uncomfortably small to see, the System automatically projected it to the wider screens around the War Table Room and they could see that the Devil Dragons and Goblin Wyvern Knights were working in synchronicity. Their upgrades from the Southern Region battle in the Farming World had come in handy and Marquis Forneus even recommended that both forces should have a friendly match to speculate who could have the most kills. Naturally, Wyrstriker did not back down and had been competitively keeping up with the scores despite the fact that the Goblin Wyvern Knights were not meant to take apart big aerial airsh.i.p.s down. "No wonder, you pushed Jin away." Lynn nodded her head. "It cannot be helped, his idea of putting Milk and Peppers as the figurehead of our new religion is at best meagre in terms of influence. We had to be more ¡­what''s the word? Empathetic to get people to learn about our new godly Waifus for this dungeon world." Kraft commented as he dramatically raised his hand and pretended to look understanding towards the rest in the group. "And that cannot be done without a show of a miracle." And in his mind, it would be a good chance for Jin to finally be isolated and started to work on finishing all his incomplete projects for good. "A ''miracle'' that would dirty Demopolis and drain some money and resources away." Rex finally spoke in agreement with Kraft. "That''s right, we got to do it and you get to see it." Kraft said as he stared at the two Sub System Users. "Especially you Qiu Yue, you are our main star for the show to get our Panda Religion going." "We will see about that. Let''s see if the Church response in the way you predicted it to be." Qiu Yue kept quiet and continued to assist Moloch. "Don''t you worry. They will. I had already ensured their cooperation." Kraft leaned back with his legs crossed. And that sly pure evil smirk across his face. Chapter 1092 - Finishing The Job Chapter 1092 ¨C Finishing The Job "What is that Kraft thinking?" Jin grumbled to himself as he found his surroundings to be the same as a prison cell. Unlike a normal prison cell, this one had no door, no bars, no windows, just four walls. However, the biggest difference was that the statuses of his incomplete jobs were being displayed right in front of him. A holographic screen would follow his line of sight everywhere unless he was looking at the control console. "Is this another kind of psychology test I have to endure?" Jin thought to himself as he closed his eyes and suddenly alarms started to blare after a few moments of rest. That Kraft had purposely created a type of hell for Jin to go through. To make matters even more strict, Jin was not allowed to touch anything that was not related to Earth''s problem. From the Farming World to Goblin World, there was no access given to him and the System even gave him slight electrical shock feedback whenever he tried accessing those projects. "System, what is the meaning of this? Why are you collaborating with Kraft to do this to me?" Jin questioned and the System gave a straightforward answer. "Original Bellator Kraft, the System, and others have noticed that User tends to deviate from his current objective to focus on other projects whenever you are stressed. So far, this has always resulted in more new problems popping up compared to if you had just stayed focused." "System has made many simulations in that regard and the results were that if the User had completed everything as per schedule, the entire store would not be in this particular situation!" "What situation? Didn''t I create a new Dungeon Raid for the customers? And sometimes, even impromptu ones which actually serve as a money booster to our monthly reports?" Jin asked and the System acknowledged his efforts. "User did indeed, however, your diversion from certain projects has led even our most loyal customers to feel somewhat cheated. The System is always listening in on their phones and they have commented that while they are elated to have new items to play with, they''re unsure whether to throw certain key items away which you had once deemed valuable. As you might recall, you promised some a few certain types of dungeon instances, most prominently the Gentlebear instance, had been teased since the early stages of the shop, yet for nearly five months nothing came of it. It is imperative to keep your promise or to give compensation to the people affected by it." The System stated. "Another thing of note would be the National Dungeon Symposium which Mr Shen Si Fang, the owner of the Castle Tower Cafe Instance, had told you about. Given User''s future plans, System deems this to be the perfect opportunity to portray User''s prowess by introducing the world to his new augmented Virtual Reality System." The System stated. "So there''s indeed a hidden motive for you to perform this act of imprisonment." Jin sighed as he stared at the Dungeon Maker console for a while before another alarm started blaring a minute later. "But you should know that I have zero interest in doing that. Besides, I thought you want to keep it as low as possible?" Jin tried to make an excuse even though he already knew the System wouldn''t be convinced so easily to drop the issue. "Please do not kid yourself, User. You should know perfectly well what situation we are in right now." If the System could have emotions, it would show the very same agitation that Jin was feeling too. "After the proclamation of the Panda Clan during the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan meet, news has already spread like wildfire. Senior Associate Kong Rong has managed to douse the fire for the moment, but the time we have been granted is limited." "Even as we engage in the affairs of other worlds, the Royal Zodiac Clans are wary of us, financially and in terms of strength. The System has deduced that we might have sufficient financial capabilities and manpower but the feedback analytics have also suggested that we should chase for clout. Without influence, the Panda Clan''s status could be manipulated in the war of information and at worst we could be branded as enemies of the state." "So you are saying that now that we have enough hands on deck, I should just delegate certain duties like leaving the situation of the Dungeon World to Kraft and his Foxes and concentrate on building up our store proper on Earth?" Jin suddenly felt the responsibilities got even heavier as the System replied with a definite positive. It was true he owed the Pandarens certain instances and even personally promised a few of his Pandawans the realisation of certain dungeons, such as a mecha-based dungeon to Bu Dong and Deng Long. Jin could not deny he had been procrastinating with all the other world jobs since he had felt a higher potential of growth in those areas which could ultimately give him an upper edge in his store. Still, there was one particular thing he did not understand and it bothered him quite a lot. "Say, System, wasn''t it you who claimed you needed more processing power and resources? Wasn''t a major reason why we started to clear the Farming World of Demon Rats and planned to invade the Mecha World for those increased capability ch.i.p.s? If we do not have any of those, how are we going to switch to Augmented Virtual Reality?" Jin asked and since he was backed to a corner to do stuff, the System finally decided to reveal the dark truth of temporarily using captured lives'' to increase its processing capabilities. "Wait¡­a minute, so you keep them in ''hibernation'' but you are also using them as processing capabilities?" Jin stifled a laugh through his throat and somehow he did not feel as bad as he was supposed to. Was it because of Kraft''s constant influence or had he finally accepted that he was actually a modernised necromancer with a System and doing some bad things would pave the way for goodness? "As the System had stated, it would be a waste not to use their capabilities when they are in stasis. After all, the System has to use its processes for some high maintenance tasks like the case of keeping powerful individuals like Bellator Rex or Maeve, the daughter of Winter Court Queen in check. Freeing Rex has allowed the System to clear up a lot of processing capabilities and this gives the System the capability of controlling the others even further. That, the System will swear upon." The System stated and a digital contractual clause immediately emerged on the Dungeon Maker Console for Jin to read the amendments of the ''contract'' he had with the System. "I do not know whether I should feel relieved or not to know that, but I am assuming you are already doing the same for the current capture of Dungeon World Soldiers?" The System acknowledged it at once when Jin asked and he sighed while staring at the ceiling for a moment. "No way, even staring into blank space is not allowed?" Jin was agitated by the sudden aggressive behaviour from the System before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew that going against the System right now had no additional benefits, especially if both Kraft and the System had decided to collaborate to go against him, there was only one thing he could do to get out of the current situation he was in. Work. Chapter 1093 - Krafts New Master Plan Chapter 1093 ¨C Kraft¡¯s New Master Plan "So, now that my little revolution has imprisoned our ''government leader'' and placed him in his solitary confinement cell, let''s focus on the situation at heart!" Kraft announced, pulled out his tablet, walked towards the War Room Table and placed it at the side. The System instantly transmitted the information into the War Room Table and the War Hologram slowly zoomed out while keeping Demopolis right at the centre. At that moment, the Seven Cities that invaded Demopolis emerged on the massive hologram and the rest of the War Room Staff crowded around it. "The Night Foxes have allowed me to gain some crucial information after a pretty nifty mind torture session with that Elite Church Agent. Apparently, the Church of the Afterlife has long since determined that the Seven Cities would fail, mostly based on their army size. They also firmly believe that we will be invading the Seven Cities as retaliation to take them under the wing of Demopolis or Pandapolis. No matter how you see it, they are just waiting for us to take actions, so they can twist the facts around, giving them an official reason to step in and ''defend'' the seven cities." "Ah, their standard ''Let me protect you from the evil peeps'' move. Honestly, you would think they would be at least somewhat creative to not arouse suspicion after so many years, but no they still use that one story to much effect. I really wish they would create something fresh once in a while." Moloch commented as he finally enjoyed some peace. Since his side of the battle had stabilised, Nubwort alone was sufficient to order around the commanders in the North Western portion of Demopolis to handle the rest. Meanwhile, the plushie took the time to savour a cup of green tea which Lynn had prepared at the side for them while listening to the crafty devil elaborate on his altered master plan. "I guess, when something works rather well, there''s no real reason to change it." Qiu Yue sighed, since that new information meant their plan had indeed gone to waste. Initially, what they wanted was to annihilate the armies that came to invade Demopolis and subsequently send a specialized strike team to attack the Dungeon Core of each city. They could have performed this simultaneously, sending seven teams at once and grabbing them together so that there would be no chance for the cities'' guards to even retaliate. It would have been a quick snatch job, which would have boasted Demopolis reputation, earning them the fear and respect of others. Not to mention, it would have immediately added the productivity of seven new cities to their roster, which they could have turned into vassal states for either Pandapolis or Demopolis, allowing them to trade among themselves freely, thereby increasing their strength to fight against other worldly threats without much consideration. The idea of vassal states sprouted mainly because Jin had enough of managing various cities and wanted to concentrate on the stuff that mattered, particularly his Pandapolis. However, with the Church having directly involved themselves by moving their personal armies into those cities as a sort of protection, it would just be suicide. According to the information Kraft had gotten out Elite Church Agent Ravis the numbers they had were rather overwhelming, to say the least. It was to ensure their Dungeon Cores were not vulnerable to a major assault. And because of rumours that the Demopolis'' prison fortress had been destroyed rather easily despite its reputation to be unbreakable, the Church of the Afterlife took this as their excuse to send in masses into the Seven Cities. Knights armed to the teeth with the toughest armour and sharpest weapons had marched into each of the cities one day after their own armies had set out for the invasion. "In summary, the real enemy is patiently waiting for us to deal with the invading armies and is ready to spring the trap, adding themselves to the fight to reverse the tide of battle, with a scale large enough that it would make our Demopolis look like a small little dot. " Kraft said as he checked his nails and blew the dirt out of them. He obviously didn''t care too much about the Church''s plans and couldn''t wait to show off his own plan for his listeners to be amazed and praise him after this mandatory explanation. (Jin emphasised on sharing information and keeping everyone updated, so the Devil Fox figured he should do the minimum after having kicked the person who would yap the loudest in a hole.) "I think I get where Kraft is coming from. In essence, we can''t attack them otherwise they will just brand us as the enemy of this world since the Church literally controls everyone." Lynn concluded. "But shouldn''t things change now that we are in possession of the armies of those seven cities?" "Oh Lynn, my sweet dear. You are SO SO RIGHT!" Kraft was elated that someone appeared to have grasped an inkling of his plans before he spilt them out. "I see¡­ Based on your violent and yet sadistic behaviour in torturing people, I roughly understand why you sent Jin away." Lynn folded her arms and began to formulate possible scenarios in her head. "HMMM! Colour me interested! Come now, share with the rest of the group, tell me what you think I have in mind?" Kraft skipped his steps and went near Lynn, literally giving her both of his ears to listen to what she had to offer. "With the cities'' armies entirely gone from the equation, there is no plausible reason for the Church of the Afterlife to offer their assistance for the involvement to attack. All they can do now is guard their cities against threats and the potential assault from Demopolis." Lynn started to explain and that reasoning alone had indeed caused everyone to have all ears on her too. "Correct me if I''m wrong, but the Church of the Afterlife is supposed to be a neutral party, right? That is why they had to nudge certain cities. Well, in this case, the Seven Cities, to attack us so they could get involved, correct?" Lynn questioned and the Dungeon World minions nodded their heads, particularly Moloch. "Then, without further provocation, all the Church can do is to defend the place," Lynn commented and the rest were following suit. "So, what I think Kraft wanted to do is to not go in and save those people. That is one of the reasons why he had to put Jin away because knowing our boss, he would do rash stuff such as save everyone he sees." "Aww, our Queen Peggie knows me very well." Kraft clasped his hands together and swayed around with happiness, seeing that she knew what was going on. "But can you also figure out what I AM going to do?" "If you have decided to abstain from a direct invasion, I can only think of a few options. But I believe that my plans are shallow compared to the thinking of a sly fox." Lynn chuckled and yet Kraft continued to give Lynn the stage. After all, that was one of the reasons why he allowed the two Sub System Users to stay for the meeting aside from the need to use their abilities for the upcoming portion of his new master plan. Chapter 1094 - Lynns Theories Chapter 1094 ¨C Lynn¡¯s Theories "Hmm, if I were you, Kraft¡­" Lynn gladly took the grand stage and zoomed the hologram into Demopolis. Everyone was already interested as to what Lynn had to offer. "I would continue to hold their armies hostage but not in chains. Instead, I would lead them around, giving them a chance to enjoy what Demopolis and Pandapolis combined can offer them as an ally instead of an enemy. That way we could perhaps continue as planned and train them for the subsequent fight against the Demon Rats in the Farming World. After all, that is the whole objective of this particular defensive raid, right?" "That is not really how I would do it." Kraft summoned a plate with an ''X'' on it, and his mood visibly soured, but Qiu Yue took out some duct tape and slapped it on his mouth like in some gag comedy. Unlike the crafty fox, she and the others didn''t mind hearing Lynn out. (Even though she was already wrong from the start.) Qiu Yue gave Lynn a sign to continue. "And while we have direct control of them, the situation in those Seven Cities might potentially deteriorate. Their cities will wonder why their armies have not come back yet or why there continues to be no news of a Demopolis invasion. That is where information manipulation would come into play. The Church Agents could potentially play this to their advantage, and take the opportunity to usurp the current city''s management and take over as theirs. But we can also do the same if we act fast enough." Lynn commented and Kraft''s eyes finally twinkled. "We could use sabotage missions both in terms of information manipulation and some form of physical violence to obtain more knowledge of the situation they are in," Lynn added and she stated how she thought it would be very much Kraft''s style to use his Night Foxes to kidnap a few Church Knights and use them to spread misinformation by assuming their identities. "I do not exactly know what should be said but we could go along the lines like that Demopolis had already been conquered and the Church has been holding the Seven Cities as hostage by surrounding the Demopolis walls and are sieging them as we speak." "Why would you say that?" Moloch asked and Lynn replied that their goal was to get the treasures and resources of Demopolis. Since the Seven Cities were in possession of the ''resources'', the Church took advantage of the situation by holding the cities as their collateral. If the armies did not give the said resources to the Church, they would slaughter each and every one in their cities. "That is not a bad idea, but telling an outright lie isn''t going to help. Especially when none of the armies is being resurrected. It also only works under the assumption that the Church is going to play the bad guy when we know that they are playing the wolf in sheep''s clothing." Orc General Nubwort remarked on the proposal that Lynn gave. "Besides if they found out the truth later on that we were the ones who lied, it would indirectly benefit the Church instead of us. The idea however could be refined further, assuming we have time to do so." "Then what about if we mistreat them under the guise of the Church Agents and Church Knights? Burn their houses and unofficially declare that the Church is in control of the cities? That way, shouldn''t it create some form of hate to the Church?" Qiu Yue suggested and both Moloch and Nubwort shook their heads. "The Church would immediately cut them off, branding those few who committed the crimes as heretics. Heck, they would probably use that chance to build up their image some more, by performing some service recovery such as rebuilding new and better houses for those people. Doing that would only help the Church''s position, unfortunately, their influence is too big to cause hate in a short manner of time." Moloch explained. "Then what about pitting their armies against the church''s armies?" Kiyu asked and once again the military strategists shook their heads in unison. "The Church would just declare either the armies as converted demon worshippers or most likely go one step beyond that by claiming the Seven Cities have always been on their side. It would go against our goal of keeping them for ourselves." Nubwort replied and with so many failing opinions on what to do, they all looked at Kraft who felt disappointed by the lack of depth in their answers. "Well, then spit out your altered master plan. And we will judge whether it is worthy of praise." Qiu Yue said with her arms crossed since she wanted to hear a satisfying answer from the Devil himself as she removed the duct tape. "Well, you at least got the part about sabotage right. Still, I didn''t expect such shallowness from all of you." Kraft squeezed through the group and put himself at the centre again. "Honestly, all of you overthink the situation. You all know that we''re dealing with an enemy with lots of influence. The simpler the plan, the easier for us to execute it!" "Yes, yes, we all know that already. Please get to the point and tell us what you propose?" Qiu Yue started tapping her feet, as the suspense was not helping at all. "Easy, we just need to break their influence. Change people''s perspective. Make people get scared of them instead of worshiping them. Once the Seven Cities feel they are incapable of protecting their citizens they will be asked to get out." Kraft elaborated as he smiled wildly. "And then we convert them to our side with a bit of ''Panda Magic''. Simple as that." "Could you speak a bit more clearly? You still haven''t told us how you intend to achieve that effect!" Qiu Yue pointed out, yet Kraft shook his index finger. "That''s the best part of the plan. We won''t have to do anything ourselves. All we will need is just time¡­. and this." Kraft said as he pulled out a vial filled with some invisible substance. He shook it a bit and it continued to stay transparent despite the thought in the group''s head that something crazy would happen. (Because it''s Kraft!) "Biochemical warfare¡­?" Lynn guessed out loud and they all started to wonder what kind of effects that small vial would have. "In a way. You guys have already seen first hand how a majority of the soldiers died from the ''food'' poisoning that was dealt by my Night Foxes, right? That was just an experiment and it was undoubtedly a very successful one. So what do you think will happen once we contaminate their waters and food stocks with this kind of poison?" Kraft asked and the rest began to formulate potential scenarios. "So if the Church was there to only defend the place but not to give aid. Each city''s law and order would crumble¡­" Moloch concluded. "They are the Church, from everything you told us about them, they will definitely help, if only to keep up their image." Nubwort interrupted Moloch''s train of thought. "Then all we have to do is to steal those aid and supplies under the guise of citizen rebels or bandits." Qiu Yue suggested and the rest could see the repercussions of this¡­ man made plaque. "Now I can see why you did not want Jin to be involved. This is too dirty and he would have never approved it. You know how viruses work in general, right? They could mutate despite having the antidotes. This could spiral out of hand if we do not control this properly. I, for one, am against this idea." Lynn stood her ground and Kraft shook his head lightly. "Who said I would use a strain of an uncontrollable virus? Would you believe me if I told you that I have sent Rei to help Kiva engineer a nano technology that could control this pandemic at the palms of our hands? I can remotely activate it if we wish to!" Kraft said while raising his right palm up, acting as a God of Destruction and yet the entire group at the War Table continued to be against his plan. But that did not deter him until a specific individual sounded out her opinion. It was none other than Ayse! Chapter 1095 - The Virus Project Chapter 1095 ¨C The Virus Project "All projects and inventions have to go through me regardless of approval! This is the rule created between the System and me so I know for a FACT that you have not created such an item! Stop lying!" Ayse accused him as she went to the front of the War Room Table. "That being said, I will have to agree that Kraft''s is viable, mainly because this particular strain of virus is not as deadly as you all seem to think. It''s an isolated strain with no chances of mutation, though that is not the issue. To put it in simple terms without boring you with the details, the virus acts as a sponge that absorbs life energy. Through the data Kiva gathered from us from the death of those soldiers, we can roughly gauge the dosage needed to create a pandemic that won''t kill off the entire population." Ayse commented and Qiu Yue raised her hand almost immediately. "That doesn''t obey the laws of physics! Especially the rule of the conversion of energy. How can you absorb this much life energy and not create something out of it?" Qiu Yue queried and Ayse happily nodded her head, feeling like a teacher proud of a good student. "You''re right, but it does create something." Ayse took a crystal out of her pocket and presented it to the group. It was transparent in colour and it shone rather brightly when placed under bright light. "Does this look familiar to any of you?" "Looks just like a regular crystal bead." Qiu Yue shrugged her shoulders. "Don''t you think it kind of resembles a solidified Dan Tian bead?" Lynn squinted her eyes a little to inspect from afar and Ayse once again nodded her head. When she removed it from the bright light, the bead turned slightly translucent and the cultivators in the room could feel a strong aura of life energy emanating out of it in regular intervals. "Exactly. This little bead here, has enough life energy to resurrect a man. Shouldn''t be surprising seeing as it took it away from that man in the first place¡­ at least according to the math and theoretical bullcrap Kiva presented to me when I was so suddenly informed about a certain someone''s pet project." Ayse gave a smirking fox an evil glare. As for everyone else, they were amazed by the new invention. Had the System, science team and some involvement of Kraft really created the infamous legendary resurrection bead? That was lingering in Qiu Yue and Lynn''s mind until the System clarified. "The amount of life energy harvested in one bead is only sufficient to kickstart a person''s heart upon immediate death. According to the theories of eastern medicine, the body is the capsule while the Dantian is the core that provides the energy. This artificial bead, while capable of providing life energy if harnessed properly, could potentially be a life changing medicine, yet it is also a dead end to that particular solution. This is mainly because there are other factors than providing the body with life energies to wake a dead human." The System stated and started showing other facts of the crystal bead to provide circ.u.mstantial evidence for the entire group to study upon. However, everyone was more interested in Ayse''s answer since the System''s explanation, while accurate, was not exactly laymen friendly. "In short and simpler terms, it''s better to facilitate it as an energy crystal than a resurrection bead. We aren''t that omnipotent in terms of creation." Ayse summed it up. "It does however reduce the cost of resurrection for the System." "So does that mean that this ''virus'' is just an energy sucking ¡­erm creation that eventually forms a bead in the patient''s body. And there is no need for an antidote?" Pei finally broke her silence after watching the charade at the War Table for some time. "And it''s not some virus that could be mutated and be a deadly strain that potentially causes the deaths of millions of people?" "Hmm¡­something like that. Kiva even has a way of extracting it, freeing the person of its effects. It should be useful for our charade with the Goddesses later on, while also allowing us to harvest some beads for emergency medical purposes. Though¡­ we will probably give it to Jin since he always gets sucked into some sort of fight and can''t get his feet back up in time." "With all this nonsense explained, shall we proceed with the altered master plan? I do however like what Lynn proposed initially. Her decision to include the armies into our daily life will undoubtedly be a strain on the System''s resources, but that would definitely bring a smile to my face." Kraft said as he slammed the tables to conclude this meaningless meeting. After all, he was going through with his plan no matter who complained. "Then what do you need us for?" Lynn questioned and Qiu Yue placed her hand on the Chef''s shoulders while shaking her head. "There is no need to ask, Kraft already told us what we need to do based on his last sentence. Those armies are going to need a place to stay and with Jin currently grounded and out of the loop from all outsider world stuff, it boils down to us." "As the Empire Building Sub System User, I''ll build the required houses and you who now has the basic competency to make dungeon instances to create a temporary one. As well as your knowledge on how much food to feed them. It is going to be a busy few days to clear this particular request," Qiu Yue said and Kraft happily grinned in front of the two of them. However, that glee suddenly made Qiu Yue wonder if Kraft had indirectly manipulated Lynn or perhaps even the entire group to play to his tune. The nudging of Lynn to make her involved in a large meeting, the constant rejections from the military strategists, the appearance of Ayse to force out the truth about the virus and eventually getting a major consensus. Not to mention, kicking Jin out of the entire picture for ''valid'' reasons so he could enact his plan without much resistance. Was Kraft really that crafty?? "¡­Don''t give too much credit." Qiu Yue reminded herself as she dragged Lynn away to be teleported away to a new Dungeon Maker instance to create their stuff while Moloch and Nubwort took over the rest of the remainder of battle. And the battles all around Demopolis started to wind down as the soldiers became lifeless. The Generals were also eventually defeated after the various groups made their appearances. And speaking of appearances, the only Shadow King who hadn''t had the chance to make much of an impact was the Eld Enclave because they were the only ones who Kraft hadn''t stationed inside of Demopolis. Instead, he had ordered them to assist the Wyvern Goblin Knights and the Devil Dragons to ensure that the aerial force of Aljun City was decimated. But extermination was not the only task they were given. Kraft had his own devious plans for the Eld Enclave. (Or more like, squeeze them dry of their talents.) Chapter 1096 - Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -Part 1 Chapter 1096 ¨C Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -Part 1 The Airsh.i.p.s from Aljun City were their sole pride and the crown jewel of all their possessions. Their citizens were immensely proud of their air force. In particular, the constant creations of new airsh.i.p.s were considered to be one of the strongest feats that had allowed them to become a force to be reckoned with among the neighbouring cities. It had allowed them to attract both investors and talents into their city. However, as the saying goes, when they faced Demopolis and Pandapolis forces combined, pride came before the fall. The Air Force of Aljun City could have never imagined that their latest prototype of airsh.i.p.s could be defeated by a bunch of dragons and wyverns. Then again, they had never before regarded these flying worms a threat until they witnessed them move at the same speeds as their fighter airsh.i.p.s, which had the reputation of being the most agile air force in their regiment. Yet even those who had were having difficulty fighting toe to toe with them. In their experience, typical dragon riders should have already been decimated by the speed of Aljun City''s fighter airsh.i.p.s. Marquis Forneus, the esteemed leader of the Devil Dragons had also admitted that his Devil Dragons could barely win against them in a head on fight despite their overwhelming offensive powers. (Of course, that was before he and the rest of the Devil Dragons had been captured and upgraded by the System) At that point, speed and manoeuvrability would decide the outcome of a dogfight and those Fighter Airsh.i.p.s which were equipped with high density crystals had been able to outclass them. Thanks to the ingenuity in their airship design, many talented human engineers sought to join Aljun City for the sake of glory and fame, hoping to establish themselves by further improving their air force. With the City''s Lord loving his airsh.i.p.s to a fault, it was the easiest way for them to become rich. All they had to do was join the yearly design contests to see who could create the best prototype for the air force. This in turn promises a whole lot of rewards which would set them for life. Alas, all those did not matter in the face of the newly fused Devil Dragons whose speed had finally caught up to their prowess. The augmentation which Jin had granted them during the Southern War in the Farming World had become a boon they would forever thank him for. Especially since it had allowed them to finally retake their rightful ''King of the Skies'' status from the Goblin Wyvern Knights. In the current battle, they displayed overwhelming skills compared to the Goblin Wyvern Knights. Yet, this did not deter Wy Striker and the rest of his knights. They knew their limits without augmentation but never stopped improving themselves with minor tweaks to their equipment or their tactical formations. Even though the Devil Dragons dominated this particular fight, most of the Dragon Knights were fighting as individuals compared to the Goblin Wyvern Knights''s teamwork. While Marquis Forneus was delighted by his newfound powers, he was still a bit envious of the goblin team''s coordinated efforts. Hence, he understood that there was more to do in the future to make his troops bond further as one. However, the total destruction of Aljun City''s air force had never been the main concern to Kraft. He was more interested in the airsh.i.p.s themselves and that was where the Eld Enclave came into the picture. While the entire sky was in total chaos with magic and explosive projectiles flying around, there were some targets which Kraft warned the fighters to keep intact. One of them was the Aljun City''s main battlecruiser which Kraft and the War Room Council had codenamed ''Flying Fortress'', an airship that was as large as Stalingrad if not bigger. It was equipped with multiple air cannons which would bring any enemy down with their fires of judgement¡­(or that was what it was the City Lord had been advertised with when they were building it.) For its first maiden voyage, it had indeed provided the necessary support such as acting as the sole airship carrier for many fighter airsh.i.p.s as well as a plethora of services like refuelling, rearming and emergency maintenance. Unfortunately, this Flying Fortress happened to have the dumbest luck to meet Jin''s augmented aerial force. Both their conventional and magical cannons were not strong enough to destroy or render a Devil Dragon wounded and to put insult to injury, they noticed that for some reason the enemy was ignoring them completely. The entire enemy force was concentrating on reducing the rest of the fleet into scrap metal because of Kraft''s orders. (He had made sure to stress that just the slightest scratch would result in a private session with him) That was because the Eld Enclave was tasked to take over the Flying Fortress with the help of Wyrstriker after he had set up a coordinate for the System to mass teleport the mafia family into the battlecruiser. So why did the Eld Enclave cave into this particular order? It''s mainly due to the fact that they were interested in the dense magical crystals the Flying Fortress was using to power this particular ship. They did not need to possess it as long the Shadow King of Eld Enclave was allowed to touch it and learn more about it. She was interested in the crystal powering this entire chunk of metal to keep it afloat. Kraft didn''t mind entertaining her as long as she didn''t break anything. He just wanted it intact, for future expeditions. It might also prove to be useful for Rei, the Mecha World Engineer to use it as a basis to create more spacesh.i.p.s. Therefore, it was a win-win situation for both of them. The only obstacle they encountered was that half of Aljun City''s land army was still on board that ship. Fortunately, it did not pose much of a problem to the Shadow King as she had one very important person right beside her as part of the contract to fight alongside with the System. Rex. The King of Demopolis had agreed to accompany Eld Enclave''s Shadow King ''Starry Mood'' into battle (upon her request). As her name was a description of her demure and looks, Starry Mood was carrying an astrometer. It''s an instrument that she used to compare the relative amount of light in the stars shining over the Dungeon World. But if one would think that she received her powers from the light of the stars, they wouldn''t be entirely correct, but also not completely wrong. "Show me how you align the fate of your star." Starry Mood spoke softly and slowly that it could annoy almost anyone who was not used to her. Thankfully, Rex did not bother with such an issue as he raised his sword to a group of soldiers cladded in modern iron armour. It seemed as if the army of Aljun City should not be underestimated. They would have surely been able to fight valiantly if only their opponents were generic soldiers from a human city. Regrettably for them, they were confronting one of the most powerful members of the Fox bellators and a Shadow King of Demopolis. Death was inevitable! Chapter 1097 - Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -part 2 Chapter 1097 ¨C Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -part 2 "You know, it''s rather rare for the King to personally take action. The times King Baal had bothered to personally fight can be counted on two hands, and even then it was only when it was absolutely necessary. Us Shadow Kings were really taken aback when it reached our ears that he would do so in that attack against Pandapolis." Starry Mood said and with a point of her finger, her frontline battle mages went in to disable the soldiers of Aljun City within the hanger. Wyrstriker and his trusty wyvern did aid with the opening volley by shooting several fireballs at the entrances of the hangar as well as a few anti air defence installations before flying away. This allowed the Eld Enclave to enter into the battlefield without any casualties which allowed Rex to thank the Leader of Goblin Wyvern Knight and then looked at Starry Mood to answer her question. "King Baal is King Baal, and I''m me. If this helps to earn the trust of one of the Shadow Kings, I see no reason to remain in the castle. Besides, I have trusted allies and aides overseeing the fight. Consider this as a sort of routine exercise before going back to work." Rex smiled as he raised his sword up and the chi energies within him transferred into it. In a few seconds, the sword vibrated and multiple illusions of the sword emerged from the sword''s hilt. Whenever an enemy soldier tried to come near the Eld Enclave''s mages, his sword''s illusion would quickly swipe him or her away from the battlefield. "Still, you sure have created an interesting magic that I fail to comprehend. Heh, here I thought the new magical crystals of Aljun City were a mystery, yet I somehow stumbled into a bigger one." Starry Mood noted as she followed quietly behind Rex who he walked through the mages and into the frontline as if he was on a leisure walk and not surrounded by enemies. "You mean the System? It''s not exactly magic. More like a miracle from another world¡­ or perhaps it would help you to think of it as a sentient Super Dungeon Core?" Rex mused as he used his chi once more and the flames emanating from the earlier fireball attacks dissipated momentarily for Starry Mood and him to walk through. "It did give you the information you needed to aid us, did it not?" "Yes, but to have a compulsive kind of charm that forces the entire mafia under me to serve it, it is a world class magic in my opinion! Hmm, but for it to keep our minds and behaviour intact while merely limiting our freedom¡­perhaps world class is still a bit of an understatement. I think it could be an astral class tier magic instead." Starry Mood theorised. Another bunch of soldiers came to intercept the duo through the corridors when they exited the hangar. They were cladded with armour and armed with large heavy automated crossbows. Starry Mood believed Rex''s sword illusions would be rendered useless against the enemies'' armour and wanted to help by casting a spell of her own. However, she was once again amazed that Rex sauntered towards them with no protection spells or offensive magic at hand. Instead, she watched Rex raise his sword once more and simply point at them. The soldiers didn''t hesitate to fire off their arrows at him immediately once they saw him bring his sword up. They took him for a suicidal fool who had underestimated their arrows which were made from the same material as their armour. From the nock to the tip of the arrow, they had been tempered with iron alloy which could be used as the foundation of a brand new sword. So, in short, they were like Rex, shooting swords out from their weapons. Rex found this oddly fun as the sword illusions above him went ahead to counter each and every arrow. He was surprised when he discovered that the illusions were only sufficient in stopping the arrows, unable to pierce through them. It was then he noticed that those crossbows weren''t mere wood and iron. He could sense they were something similar to this particular ship. There was actually a crystal mechanism inside the crossbow which powered the limbs and wheels. It even provided magical energies via the flight groove of the crossbow, enabling it to be a magical shot. "Hooo. Looks like their crystal engineering is of a certain grade right now. And for them to implement a crystal within weapons means their engineers know a thing or two about crystal imbuing." Starry Mood commented as she snapped her fingers. "At the same time it means that if they were to fight with someone who has sufficient knowledge regarding those crystals, it will actually be a bane." At that moment, both their armour and weapons exploded. The armour suddenly became too heavy for the soldiers and they fell down since their body could not resist the weight. The crossbow weapons were broken and couldn''t be salvaged. "If you can do this, why not just break the crystal of this Flying Fortress?" Rex asked as he held his hand from attacking any further. After all, he had only been expending less than 1% of his chi energies to create those sword illusions. (Where was the fun in killing everyone before learning more of Starry Mood''s abilities?) "If they are indeed able to power this entire ship with just a single crystal, it would mean that they''ve found the motherlode of all crystals. To break that would be a pity. Also, my intuition is telling me that the crystal could be something else entirely." Starry Mood answered as she used her magic to raise the bits of crystals left from the devastation she created previously. The bits twinkled a little before Rex saw them flying into the crevices of the soldiers'' armour. The next moment, they started to wring in pain. But that was not the end as the armour started to move on its own despite the actions of the soldier inside them and Rex realised that Starry Mood''s Shadow King title wasn''t in vain. She had enabled the crystal centric armour to move with her own powers. "Why does it feel that you''re way too familiar with the insides of the armour design?" Rex asked as he watched the armours line up in a straight file to give way for Starry Mood and him to walk through. After which they followed her behind like a pack of thralls even though the soldiers in them were screaming from the excruciating pain. "I''m starting to feel that it was you who has secretly manipulated me and the System to assist you with some hidden revenge plot." Rex mused as he walked behind Starry Mood through the ship''s corridors who seemed to be heading down a certain road. "Would that be so bad? As long as our goals align, everything should be good, right? If not, you could call it a tit for a tat for all that commotion you cause earlier in Demopolis." Starry Mood smiled under her veil as she proceeded further into the Flying Fortress. Chapter 1098 - Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -Final Chapter 1098 ¨C Extra: Battle On The Flying Fortress -Final "You are letting yourself be seen more than you should. Could it be on purpose to show off your abilities in an attempt to impress me?" Rex asked Starry Mood as she used the soldiers she controlled to destroy any incoming enemies that were not cladded with armour. The incoming enemies had their weapons broken with a snap of her fingers, just like how she did it for the first wave of soldiers. Without any arms to bear against the ''enthralled crystal armours'', the soldiers which she took over, literally walked towards the unarmed and tore the enemy troops into pieces. They were stuck in a tunnelled corridor with no other place to go to. Their comrades were not going to open the doors for fear of giving the intruders the chance to access the next section of the Flying Fortress. The unarmed helpless soldiers had no choice but to beg for their mercy. Yet the armoured puppets of Starry Mood did not comply with the whims of the weak when their arms and legs were torn out of their body like tearing a piece of paper. Blood was spilt everywhere as part of the process and she subsequently walked through the pool of tattered soldiers treating them as stepping stones to her destination. The edges of her starry robe had been tainted with blood, yet she sauntered forward towards her enemies. "Perhaps. I would welcome you granting me some form of proper land. Maybe a place to research my magic in peace for me and my team of researchers. Of course, I''d be willing to share any breakthroughs we might encounter¡­ assuming you''re willing to fund it." Starry Mood turned around, her hands behind her bag as she looked at Rex who merely shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt. "As much as I would like to grant those wishes, I''m not the master of the System. I''m afraid you''re barking up the wrong tree." Rex explained and then Starry Mood stopped in her tracks and stared at him in confusion. "But aren''t you the¡­?" Before Starry Mood could finish her thoughts, Rex placed his finger right on her head, asking the System to give her the full version of the story. He initially did not want to do this when she signed the contract due to the situation they were in as well as the urgency of travelling into battle straight after so Rex had only asked the System to give her a short summary of the predicament she would be going into beforehand. Now, to avoid the issue of mistaken identity, he decided to give her the information she d.e.s.i.r.ed via the System. Most would probably faint from the overload of information and require some time to recuperate, hence why Rex initially hesitated to do this. However, given that she had already signed the contract and that her troops were onto the Flying Fortress, her task was more or less complete. He would prefer getting the exact location of the Crystal Engine from her in order to overtake the Flying Fortress with ease, but there were other ways to find it. Be that as it may, just at that moment Rex finally felt a certain energy emanating from the direction they were facing which he could not detect until he reached this close. With that, her presence was no longer needed and King Rex asked the System to get her out of the current battlefield, especially since he feared it could complicate things further based on her history. He assumed that she must have been one of the engineers who had worked on the Flying Fortress, either that or she had some personal relations with one of the more important crew members. "Bellator Rex is right, her memory reveals that she was indeed an employee of Aljun City before becoming the Shadow King of Demopolis." The System said as it had taken the opportunity of overloading her mind to take a (very thorough) ''peek'' of the information she was keeping. (After all, her actions puzzled Rex AND the System at the same time.) "So was I right in guessing that she has some vendetta against her previous employer?" Rex asked since Starry Mood had already fainted and the crystallised armour warriors escaped her control. This gave both relief and pain to the soldiers stuck within the armour as they came crashing down to the floor. Their wails and cries of help once again fell on deaf ears of the dead and Rex decided to give a helping hand since they were somewhat irritating for him, especially with the alarm wailing in the background. Hence, he once again raised his sword and emanated a particular chi throughout the corridor, causing the screams and cries to stop. Instead, the souls of soldiers slowly emerged out of the crevices of the armour and they floated around Rex''s sword. He also picked up Starry Mood before she fell to the pool of her enemies'' blood and he placed her on his shoulders, waiting for the System to create a portal. "Now that I can feel the magical vibrations of the crystal, I don''t really need her anyways." Rex thought as he pointed his sword towards a door barrier. For the past few barriers, the possessed crystallised soldiers had been the ones opening them, allowing the duo to move through rather easily. That also made the rest of the enemy soldiers terrified since those door barriers were mechanised with the strength to bisect an ogre. Obviously, Rex did not know that those mechanisms were powered by crystals and Starry Mood had been able to manipulate them easily. Still, the enemy soldiers expected the barriers to hold for now since they saw the possessed armours had fallen through their magical balls. Alas, Rex was a powerhouse on his own and those souls which he collected from the dead were going to play an important role in opening those barriers. Even without the possessed armours and Starry Mood''s help, Rex had ways to reach his goal. He was able to materialise the souls and commanded them to open the barriers. Those souls under the King''s orders fused themselves into one giant figure and collectively they were able to have sufficient strength to open them. As they created a small opening, a few of the souls broke off from the main body and slaughtered the rest of the soldiers hiding behind them (Well, a better word would be guarding but they were too frightened to even do that job properly.) For the next few barriers, the very same thing repeated itself and as the souls slaughtered Rex''s supposed enemies, he collected them as allied souls and they merged into the mountain figure, empowering it to break the barriers even easier. At the very end of the corridor, there was the Crystal Engine which Rex marvelled at for a moment before holding his sword right at it. With a light touch, the System immediately connected itself to the Crystal Engine and began to take over its power. While the deck possessing the controls to the entire ship, the System was able to infiltrate the Flying Fortress command through their main power source and got it under its command. "Mission accomplished. That was a nice warm-up, I should really go out more often. It''s so good to know that we have someone on our side who could potentially become our next air force chief engineer. Xie Jin, luck truly smiles at you in mysterious ways." Rex thought as he raised his sword once more and all the souls that had been out wandering about after killing their targets were recalled back into it. Now that his interim task was done, it was time to focus on fixing the Demopolis issues again while his Brother Kraft executed his true master plan. Chapter 1099 - The Final Phase of the Demopolis Raid Chapter 1099 ¨C The Final Phase of the Demopolis Raid With Jin stuck in his personal hellhole and Kraft free to enact his master plan, everyone had decided to focus on their own task to keep Jin''s assets afloat. Demopolis had indeed developed into a large military city thanks to the ''assist efforts'' that the Pandarens had put in (chief of all a certain Hippo). Speaking of the Pandarens, the fighting concluded as soon as they killed the last enemy soldier that had been alive within Demopolis. The Home Guards and Night Foxes had withdrawn their forces as soon as they had been informed that the situation had been under control, giving the Pandarens the chance to search and kill any enemies on sight. This also prompted the System to give extra Raid Points for those who were able to kill the remaining enemies. The fewer remained, the more valuable the targets became. It was not a very satisfying end for most of the Pandarens since they were all rushing to find the very last soldier and ultimately it came down more to luck than anything else. Still seeing their efforts being rewarded when they contributed Raid Points during the assist event, was another kind of satisfaction. Most importantly, their efforts were apparent for everyone to see. For example, the walls had initially been made from brick and mortar but with the Raid Point (and monetary) contribution, they got upgraded to cemented walls and later into reinforced steel cement walls before the Home Guards rushed in to fill up the defences. The construction was nearly instantaneous, making most of them feel as if they were witnessing some sort of real life magic trick. (The raising of the walls from the ground was truly a feat to behold, nearly everyone held their Pandamonium App camera to take pictures and video of it.) The military vehicle equipment such as the jeeps were also being deployed by the Pandarens to move around the cities quite smoothly and they saw tanks stationed in Demopolis military base. But as the situation unfolded, they realised that the enemies were not as powerful or intimidating as they should be, preventing the tank drivers from having any fun at all. As if to address their mood, King Rex had sent out a message that reassured them that the end was still before him, hinting that the progress of this instance would subsequently be brought over to future instances. In fact, the message had been created way back in the very beginning of the raid, at that point Kraft and co. had still been under the impression that the Churchies would come out with something amazing. Kraft, as the one in charge, felt quite cheated for once. Their side had overprepared, amassing a large army and even going so far as to reconstruct Demopolis as a centralised military base¡­ only to learn that the Church wouldn''t act until they came to get them, and if they did, it would end in a large scale battle, one in which the Pandarens would be reduced to sacrificial pawns. He had half a mind to just send the Pandarens into the Farming World and was considering rewriting the scenario and turn the last act into something of a playable teaser, preparing them for what''s to come in the future¡­ until the System notified him that Jin had actually prepared a monster instance specifically for an emergency, in case this particular dungeon raid did not offer his customers sufficient fun. "System, if we put this up as a Final Boss Fight for this Raid, how much will it cost us?" Kraft questioned as he felt partially responsible for the lack of monsters and soldiers for the Pandarens to kill. "Cheaper than resurrecting entire armies for the sake of replayability." The System noted and Kraft shrugged his shoulders, ordering the System to put it out for one last big bang for the Pandarens to have fun with. .However, the System advised Kraft to allow it to create a new separate dungeon instance with all identical assets since it would be even cheaper than producing it in the Dungeon World itself. (also less costly in terms of damage control) "What''s the drawback then?" Kraft asked since he knew that the System was a cheapskate and would have something that would spoil the players'' experience. "Since the features aren''t completely integrated yet, we will have to proceed with an intermittent wave of teleportations which are prone to cause some teleportation feedback into the new instance. The feeling would be something to a slight lag in their movements especially since it would be a replicated dungeon instance based on User''s past creations. Without test loading it, for which we lack the time, programming bugs are likely to appear." The System stated. "It''s not the first time you''re doing this, right? As I recall, something like this already happened during the Goblin World Raid too." Kraft questioned as he sat up straight and looked at the tablet that he was holding on to. "Fine, I shall deal with the programming bugs. Can''t have people accuse us that our Demopolis Raid''s ending was a bummer. Wouldn''t want them to tarnish my brothers'' new city name." Kraft stretched as he placed the tablet on the side of the throne and immediately a full computerised console with a few monitors emerged from the back of the throne''s chair and branched out right in front of him. The others were quite surprised to see the hardworking side of Kraft for a change. The troublemaker usually disappeared for long periods of time, only to appear to cause some mischief. Only the foxes knew him long enough to know that he was actually a workaholic by nature and him toiling about was his way of relaxing. (Not that it excused his behaviour in any way though.) "Very well. Creating a dungeon instance based on Demopolis territory. Initiating polygrams and setting aside the necessary processing space for said dungeon instance." The System stated and Kraft immediately requested his Big Brother to make another announcement, to lead the customers to the Royal Palace. Since there were too many Panderens the last step would need to be limited in numbers for balance reasons. (Aka a technical excuse.) As the King of Demopolis, Rex happily obliged and followed the script that Kiyu had made in tandem with the System. Via the very same hologram, they told every Pandaren that the ''real enemy'' who was behind the attacks is sending out their trump card. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Oh¡­ no wonder there was no Raid Complete sign coming out. Seems like this really is an interim event." Xiong Da thought to himself as he grouped back with his fellow Pandawans. At the same time, he carried back the very same lance he had picked up from the dead general whom he killed recently. It had not been an easygoing battle considering the fact that he fought the Taris General and his guards with little to no reinforcement. The Pandarens that had come in to assist him had been killed too quickly to be of use. The General''s guards had made short work of them, but at least they had served as sufficient distraction for Xiong Da to kill those, before duelling one on one against the general. Needless to say, it had indeed been an exhilarating experience and the Hippo Pandawan had come close to death twice. If not for the potent potions which he had bought from the main shop instance, he was sure to have kicked the bucket. "Yo, Xiong Da. How did your hunt go?" Bu Dong waved his hand at him, as he had arrived as quick as he could once he saw the ''Assist the War Efforts'' Events come about. As a hardcore player of Jin''s dungeons, there was no way he would miss out on contributing to clear the first instance of a Raid. He was already looking forward to some personal rewards. "Isn''t my bloody self enough to tell you just how much I must have suffered?" Xiong Da smirked as he threw the lance towards Bu Dong, allowing him to check out his trophy from his fight while he beckoned his girlfriend to meet him and Bu Dong. "I took the liberty to call most of the Pandawans since King Rex''s announcement sounded like we''ll be entering the last part of the Raid." Bu Dong informed him and Xiong Da felt the same. Everyone anticipated the abrupt teleportation as it would finally bring an end to this particular raid! Chapter 1100 - Raid Boss Appearance Chapter 1100 ¨C Raid Boss Appearance To ensure the customers were kept busy for some time as he changed the instances, Kraft had added ''resting places'' which functioned as a mix of the safe houses and the Pandaren''s personal rooms. (After all, the fighting was over and the use of safe houses were rendered useless.) Of course, he didn''t miss the chance to charge them for such luxury. There was the basic and free ''Tent'' option, which was literally a tent that would allow the Pandarens to get back to their rooms and outfit themselves accordingly. The amount of space was somewhat lesser compared to what they had rented since there was only a c.h.e.s.t and a basic mattress to rest momentarily. Otherwise, there was the ''Premium Tent'' option, which ''only'' cost a couple of Raid Points, Raid Emblems or Panda Coins to have available for themselves. On top of access to their rooms which would appear the moment they entered the tents, they also got some more comfortable furniture (albeit temporary) to relax before the last phase officially began as well as a lunch set from Lynn''s Restaurant Instance. And lastly, there was the ''Nobility''s Tent'' option, which cost a lot of currency of the Pandaren''s choice. It was designed for groups and could connect all of their rooms. (In a way, it''s priced slightly cheaper since the option was leaning towards a group setting.) And just like the namesake, it expanded the room into a Premium tent setting with everything that this choice had entailed. Since money wasn''t an issue for him, Xiong Da had booked the most expensive one. However, Xiong Da did not just change equipment, he even took a quick shower so he could feel refreshed for the next fight. While the lawyer had been busy in the bath, Bu Dong had taken the liberty to gather everyone. Unaware of the gathering, he was taken aback when he opened the door at the sound of the knock, only to be ogled at by the large group waving at him and chuckling at his half n.a.k.e.dness. "I''m rather surprised that you could really get the whole group here!" Xiong Da was utterly baffled. "Please, Dear! Go back in and put on some clothes!" Ruo Ying, red like a tomato, quickly pushed her boyfriend inside, telling him to change as quickly as possible. How could she stand to allow other women in the group to check out his manliness? "I merely came out to check what the commotion was all about! How was I supposed to know that- Ow, ow! Okay! Gimme a second to put on my b.r.i.e.f.s!" Xiong Da complained as Ruo Ying beat him back into the bathroom. A quick change of clothes later, he came out and saw that everyone was ready for the next round. "It''s quite odd to have such a long interim between the raid instances. That''s not exactly Boss Jin''s style to keep us in suspense." Bin Yong, the Beetle Pandawan noted as he sat on a log with his partner, Jia Le, staring at the makeshift campfire at the centre of the group. "He might just be waiting for more cultivators to join in for the final phase. This kind of major last boss fight will feel more epic if there are more people around." Shi Zuo yawned loudly. He had come here directly after pulling an all-nighter and he was sure he would regret it afterwards. His girlfriend Luo Bo was already snoring right beside him, using her boyfriend''s arm as her pillow, despite the crowd and noise. "All I know is that I am more than happy to experience this after multiple shifts." Se Lang, the Wolf Pandawan was checking out his phone, wondering if his current assortment of equipment would be sufficient for the upcoming fight. "Not as happy as me, seeing you WITHOUT your girlfriends for a change. Just us two FRIENDS like in the good old times. Hope you still haven''t forgotten me, you know, your old AFTER WORK PARTNER!" Deng Long, the W.o.m.bat Pandawan, emphasised the last part to guilt trip his old friend but it looked like he was not giving a damn except for the group who laughed at this outburst of manly jealousy. "The Venus Four said they would be a tad late. Apparently, they are doing some major shopping online in Jing Ru''s house." Bu Dong commented and heavily hinted that Deng Long''s alone time with his buddy was limited. "Oh yea, Inspector Xue Ping and Lee An apologise that they won''t be able to make it today and wish us the best. This final part of the raid has riled up the entire police station and many have put in requests for some urgent leave." Deng Long shared some inside information. "Then how were the two of you able to come?" Jia Le, the Bellflower Cultivator questioned. "We got really lucky with the lottery leave. It''s more or less become a norm for those who want to train at Boss Jin''s place to do it that way. Of course, our transponders must be active at all times, so if there is a situation that needs us, we''ll have to respond immediately with no questions asked. It''s a give and take situation." Se Lang commented and after their little chit chat, they noticed that the skies turned dark real fast. "Guess, it''s time. A night battle, huh?" Xiong Da picked his phone up and checked the Pandamonium App for any updates. Everyone else did the same and they kept refreshing their phones waiting for any changes. At that point, lightning struck and the thunder rumbled while the faces of the Pandawan group instantly melted into dread. "You are kidding me?" Bu Dong could not believe his eyes when he saw the update. "Well, this further cements the rumours that Boss Jin had a hand in that particular incident." Bin Yong scratched his head, not knowing how to respond to the latest update that appeared on their phones. "At least it states at the bottom that this is just a work of fiction." Jia Le laughed at the blatant statement trying to fool them. "That should make this easier¡­ right?" "In terms of legality, there is nothing wrong about copying famous monsters for dungeon fights. After all, it''s because of the possible recreation of these fights that we patronise dungeon supplier stores, isn''t it?" Xiong Da remarked as he could see that everyone had put on a defeated smile on their face. It was only natural that the wailing echoes in the background they heard from afar caused their blood to pump through their veins hard. It was a sound everyone had heard on the newsreels not too long ago. Even without seeing the monster first hand, they knew that the Final Raid Boss would be insanely hard to defeat. For the first time in Jin''s dungeons, it might be possible that they would experience an entire Raid Wipe. "You know, I am kind of glad now that I invested all those points in for the Demopolis City upgrades." Xiong Da gulped, clueless on what to do next. After the instance switch, all minions and NPCs had disappeared. The Home Guards and the occasional mysterious cloaked dark elves were nowhere to be seen. It was as if this entire raid was prepared solely for the Pandarens and their Final Boss. The Loopa Ooofpa. Chapter 1101 - That Artillery Shot Chapter 1101 ¨C That Artillery Shot The trembling noises of the Loopa Ooofpa were enough to scare every Panderen inside the instance and they finally understood why there had been a need for an interim to gather more people for this last part of the raid. (Though at the back end, Kraft was hastily fixing bugs and adding his shade of rainbow sparkles to make their fight against the latest boss AI programme one they wouldn''t forget anytime soon.) Without any help from Jin''s minions, it was solely up to the Pandarens to organise themselves and fight. However, despite the possibility of a Raid Wipe occurring, their Pandamonium App blinked once more, notifying them that their current playthrough of the raid instance had yielded them a special bonus. This particular bonus was given to everyone regardless of the amount of time they had spent in the raid instance or their contribution beforehand. It was sort of a ''congratulatory'' gift for the collective of Pandarens that they had reached this far into the raid instance. Strangely, the end of the doc.u.ment didn''t have Jin signing off but a fox paw. Most of the Pandarens did not really bother but the Pandawans who were perceptive to such minute changes began to suspect that the following boss might not be as ''simple'' as they had thought. (This ''Fox Paw/Difficulty'' later became synonymous to a Hardcore/Hell Mode) The gift came in the form of a raid specific inscription charm that would enable the users to create an invincible shield around them lasting for 10 seconds. After which there would be a cooldown of 10 minutes before they could use it again, for a total of 3 times. Most believed it should be saved for emergency uses but Bu Dong begged to differ given his vast experience in gaming. "Boss Jin would not give us something this powerful unless us not having this would make this Final Boss fight too difficult. However, since this letter isn''t signed off by him, it''s hard to say whether this is a friendly bonus or like a lifeline to allow us to win." Bu Dong stated his opinion, yet everyone was already in panic mode when the trembling noises turned to tremors that felt like an impending earthquake was about to set in. "There is no way we can defeat that thing!" Ruo Ying shrieked out as she nearly tripped from the constant tremors. "We have to do this no matter what! Just imagine the rewards we are bound to get if we can clear this!" Bu Dong tried to encourage them but the tremors were indeed not helping them at all. On the other hand, Xiong Da used his cultivation powers and jumped hastily towards one of the communication towers since that was the highest height available to check where the Ooofpa Loopa was coming from. "What the hell¡­ we have to deal with TWO of those monsters?!" Xiong Da could feel his balls shrinking. "WHAT?! TWO??!" Hong Deng Long felt like fainting at this instant and everyone within Demopolis felt the same dread overcoming them. Was this sense of helplessness the same as how the frontline had felt when they had encountered the very same monsters? Probably. Yet when hell turned loose, some of the Pandarens that had been gathered on the walls were not falling into despair. Instead, they picked up the artillery guns that had been installed and aimed at the Southern Ooofpa Loopa. "This is for all my friends you killed!" One of the Pandarens shouted as he pulled the trigger for the artillery gun and its shot exploded through the deafening aura of fear that surrounded the Demopolis City Instance. This initial shot became a beacon of hope for the Pandarens who had been stricken with dread as they watched the artillery fire fly miles across the sea and score a direct shot on the Ooofpa Loopa. The Artillery Gun immediately released the spent round and that sole Pandaren removed it. At that point, another Pandaren who was near him went towards the pile of explosive shells and picked a new one, passing it to the shooter. The former Pandaren thanked him and slowly placed that new shell into the barrel while the artillery gun automatically reloaded itself without much help. It even had an onboard navigation system to help the Pandarens readjust themselves. (The only thing was that the System left the aiming navigation to the Pandarens without much assistance.) Once again, the second shot was fired and its sound pierced through the silence as people started to feel invigorated by the sole actions of the Pandaren. Xiong Da then took a deep breath in to calm himself, before he picked up his Pandamonium App. There was an option within his visor that allowed him to make a full Raid Announcement which would be broadcast to everyone, although it was costly. However, since money was not an issue to him, the Hippo Cultivator gladly paid for it. "To all Pandarens, this is Hippo Pandawan Xiong Da speaking. That thundering roar of fire from that brave Pandaren has shown us that we DO have the ability to stop these monsters! All we need to do is remain calm and work together! So throw away all your doubts like how he did with those two shots of artillery fire! Guys, we can win this!" The lawyer''s impromptu speech did wonders for his fellow customer''s morale. "Operate all the artillery cannons you can find! If Boss Jin recreated this one from the original, there is no doubt that it will create some bad shit crazy swarm of offsprings to hunt us down! We have the entire Demopolis City at our disposal since there are no minions around to help us at all." Xiong Da shouted as he used the information at his disposal to give instructions to the masses. After all, there was no leader to order them around or any super defying high grade cultivator like Grandma Yuan who could solo fight one Ooofpa Loopa by themselves. "Imagine if we do not have our army, police or some secret clan and organisations to protect us. Should we let these kinds of fiends destroy our homes? If we cannot clear this, it will be a disgrace to all the Pandarens! So send out the ''call for arms''! Get your friends to come as soon as possible and join us! We will clear this no matter what and show Jin that we Pandarens as a collective are to be feared!! Should you ever falter, remember you''re not alone!! If you can''t do it for yourselves do it FOR THE PLUSHIES!!!''" Xiong Da shouted and his persuasion was not for nought. Even the joke-like declaration should help immensely to hype up some of the stronger fans. (Although Xiong Da didn''t know whether there would be plushies as rewards, he was sure with enough of them demanding them, they might convince Jin.) The Pandarens wore their Panda badge with pride and to withdraw because of the high level difficulty would be a disgrace. A disgrace to their past efforts, their time, sweat and blood. They were going to clear this and show the world that they''re the proud Pandarens of this unique dungeon supplier store! Chapter 1102 - Business Ac.u.men Chapter 1102 ¨C Business Ac.u.men After Xiong Da''s announcement, the Pandarens started to rush to the walls, arranging themselves in groups and manning the wall''s defences. They realised that for the past raids they had always depended on Jin''s minions and monsters to lead them into the battles. This was the first time that they were going to fight this on their own and this rude awakening accompanied with two Ooofpa Loopas would be the true test of their powers. One could say that all their hoards of previously won prizes, as well as their bought weapons, inscription charms and other battle accessories, would be put to full use in the fight. Aside from the disappearance of the minions, everything else such as the ''on the go'' battle shop features was still available to the Pandarens, which gave them some peace of mind. It should give them a slight advantage in the battle but this did not mean fighting against two Ooofpa Loopas would suddenly be a walk in the park. The news of the Ooofpa Loopa being the Demopolis City Raid Final Boss didn''t go unnoticed. Despite them being in a raid instance, the Pandarens were actively sending out requests for help to their friends and relatives to aid them in this particular fight via their Pandamonium App. Quite a few of the Pandarens were off duty soldiers, doing their due diligence to hone their skills even when they were on leave. (In actual fact, quite a lot actually believed that Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas was a far more effective measure in training their skills than the one''s the military currently offered them.) Once they learned that the raid boss was that very same abomination that nearly endangered their cities, these off duty soldiers instantly sent out mass invitations to their work colleagues, encouraging them to fight alongside them. Many, if not all, were shocked by this and did not hesitate to drop whatever they were doing (if at all possible) and headed to the store. Thus, as the current group of Pandarens were shoring up the defences of Demopolis, their reinforcements were on the way. All they had to do was to survive the raid and prevent a raid wipe before the next wave of Pandarens came in to assist them. The name Ooofpa Loopa alone was sufficient to send those that were wandering in Panda Shop Instance to at least take a look at the cinemas to check out the commotion. That also included journalists, influencers and even official online news reporters that were currently squeezing into the Shop Instance''s Cinema Hall to get a peek at the current situation. Their indirect advertis.e.m.e.nt furthered the interest for Dungeons and Pandas from onlookers through the net that prompted them to query whether they could have footage for the current raid instance. Kiyu had expected such a thing to happen and had collaborated with the System for the next move to entice more users for their service. For those who were not within the raid, the Pandamonium App instantly generated a new pop up and presented them with a limited time offer of a three month subscription of Pandaflix for the price of three Yuan. The targets of this new ad were first and foremost the social media influencers in and out of the Shop Instance and they did not hesitate to immediately accept. Streamers at home quickly downloaded the Pandamonium App and subscribed to it so that they could provide their audiences with live reaction to this current Ooofpa Loopa scenario. The one time subscription price was abysmally cheap, enticing even the most casual onlooker to give it a try and everyone was vastly interested to see how the Final Boss encounter would play out. They all had heard of the rumours of the Ooofa Loopa but because of the previous media blackout on it, Kraft and Kiyu could now take advantage of the hype surrounding it. Within 15 minutes, the System tabulated an 18% increase in subscriptions for the Pandaflix from new users and a staggering 60% increase in subscriptions from Pandarens who had yet to subscribe. "Does this prove that I am a genius in marketing?" Kraft laughed sharply like a rich lady overpowering the rest of her ''friends'' when he saw the cold hard figures. He even created the illusion of him swimming in the pile of cash they were earning behind him. Kiyu rolled her eyes but demanded El Presidente to praise her too. "What is there to praise? I always knew that you can do this if you want to. How do you like me taking over this Dungeon and Pandas endeavour? I could make it big fast." Kraft now raised both of his hands while sitting on his couch ¨C apologies, his throne as he was laughing hysterically, busy with his latest daydream. "No thank you, I''ll take my chances with Jin since he has more business foresight than you. If he had not set up all these options as part of the shop''s foundations, you wouldn''t be able to do this at all. You actually should thank him for giving you an opportunity to shine, especially when he is not around." Kiyu shrugged the crafty fox away. "You''ve basically just admitted that he is being too conservative in his actions for his shop. In this modern era, everything is about timing and I happened to take this opportunity to take advantage of that, which he would not. Also, you are not denying that I have a keen sense of business ac.u.men. Muhahaha~" Kraft smiled widely and Kiyu massaged her temples. Although the relationship between her and Kraft was not far from the level of Kraft and Rex''s, sometimes she forgot that she was dealing with a person who had ''narcissism'' written all over his chi aura. "Yes, yes, El Presidente. Without you, we wouldn''t have established such a great head start with the almost plateauing sales which Jin has if he is around." Kiyu decided to entertain him so that he would leave her alone for at least a moment to find some sense of respite. Yet, the fact that this particular event generated a lot of media presence had further reinforced the notion to those in the shadows watching quietly that Jin had indeed participated in the fight against Ooofpa Loopa. While it should be classified as a confidential secret, there was nothing in the law barring dungeon suppliers to recreate a factional scene. Some of the western dungeon suppliers had recreated the infamous ''11/9'' scene in their dungeons and the government wasn''t able to ban them in any way. While it was true that there were some changes like how they modified the terrorists to monsters infiltrating planes to keep it ''dungeon supplier friendly'', it was a blatant retelling of the incident. In fact, it had actually helped placate the citizens'' anger with the creation of these scenes and thus the government reacted with indifference to the issue. (There were even rumours that the government was actually the one who had sponsored some high levelled dungeon suppliers as well to run simulations of it too.) After all, cultivators and mages craved to experience the ''what ifs'' on their own. The scenes where they could kill the ''terrorists'' and pilot the plane away to safety or rescue the workers in the tower building before it could be destroyed. That alone was enough to evade a war in the Middle East while avoiding potential heavy backlash from the public. There were no doubt some discord against some of the vocal minority but the government was able to placate them from making too much noise. Surprisingly, this also allowed the government to proceed discreetly in carrying out specialised covert operations to find the culprits that did it and annihilate them. Hence, it was no different for El Presidente Kraft to utilise the hype train around the true Loopa Ooofpa. He believed it would incite the curiosity in the onlookers and crave Dungeons and Pandas name on the map. Besides, he also wanted to see who else was watching them intently. At times like these, friends as well as Jin''s enemies were prone to become way too prying about the major event, leading them to step out of their usual habits and allowing his Night Foxes to catch them unaware. After all, the incident regarding Jin''s fight with the Tiger Brothers had already caused turbulent waters to stir under the tranquil sea of China. Hiding was no longer an option for the Royal Panda Clan if they wanted to grow bigger, so they might as well show the world what it wanted to see! Chapter 1103 - The Ooofpa Loopa Finally Strikes Chapter 1103 ¨C The Ooofpa Loopa Finally Strikes While there was chaos initially, most of the Pandarens quickly took whatever role they needed to fill based on the available ''job'' slots in the Pandamonium App. (Like gunners, artillery shell assistants, lookouts, barricade builder, etc) Even without any minions to lead the way, they still had access to the Pandamonium App Map which at least provided them with an interactive map listing all defensive emplacements they could take up. Once they took the emplacement position, the Pandamonium App would not only display that their location was filled up but would also send them easy to understand work instructions on how to operate the machines. Their half mask visors even gave the user visual hints by highlighting certain parts of the machinery like the artillery gun they were operating. The System also sent out combined operational work instructions that allowed various cultivators to try and team up together as a whole. After all, this raid was about them working as one big group of strangers. There was bound to be some friction among Pandarens when working with members outside their usual group. Yet, Kraft and the System believed that there should still be some level of cooperation because this was not a life and death situation. Mistakes were permitted and the community of Pandarens progressed as a team no matter the differences. The usage of defensive emplacements such as artillery guns, anti air guns and even mobile mortars were picked up by them on the spot. Thanks to the assistance of the System it was easy enough (because it was dumbed down a lot), yet this enabled some form of confidence that they could deal with the incoming threat. For the time being, both Ooofpa Loopas remained stationary, giving the entire section of artillery freshman a few training shots against the big immovable target. It was programmed that way by Jin and reinforced by Kraft to instil fear in the monster. The interesting part was that Jin had purposely changed the way the Ooofpa Loopa would work while keeping the basic mechanics of the boss monster the same. He had purposely inverted the original name of the abomination from Loopa Ooofpa to Ooofpa Loopa to explicitly show that it was a basically ''different'' monster. (He was also betting that most of the Pandarens would not notice the difference since the monster looked the same and a flip of the name was nothing to people who were dyslexic.) The original Loopa Ooofpa abomination had the disgusting ability to consume energy be it chi or magic or other types, to later emit it out as part of its attack, causing pretty much devastation on a pretty epic scale. If Jin had kept the very same mechanic, he believed that the Pandarens would only experience raid wipe after raid wipe since most of them were relying on his dungeon environmental mechanics to support their strengths and powers. Thus, he had purposely revamped the Ooofpa Loopa, keeping the part about getting immune after the first attack that they were damaged with, primarily based on the type of element. For example, the artillery shell shots were mostly explosive in nature and therefore, fire element. Anything else with a fire element would subsequently not be effective against the big boss. They would have to start hitting it with a variety of different attacks as time goes by else the Ooofpa Loopas would simply bulldoze their way through the Demopolis City Defences. At least, the Pandarens had it easier despite not knowing the exact nature of the Boss''s attribute. This was solely because their visors displayed the Ooofpa Loopa''s health points right in front of them when they targeted it. All they needed to do was some major ''big brain'' thinking to realise that their artillery shells would only be effective if they constantly rotated in different elements. And that itself would be a surprisingly decent boss mechanic to deal with once they figured it out. Kraft sure had it easy, not needing to recreate anything special. All he needed to do was to ensure that the transfer and replication of all the assets would work as intended. (Of course just because he didn''t ''need'' to, didn''t mean he didn''t touch it¡­ ) However, not just any elemental attacks would do the trick since the Ooofpa Loopa also had a certain amount of base elemental resistance and defence (both magical and physical). The Pandarens would have to tear through before the change in the element could happen. And as if that wasn''t enough, they also had to deal with two of those monsters at once. Meanwhile, the Pandawans were temporarily taking up leadership roles to ensure smoother processes within Demopolis. But as they explored the Pandamonium App to check the facilities available to them inside Demopolis, they found out that the entire city was indeed a military base, filled with all sorts of equipment which they could use to fight against the Ooofpa Loopa and from the looks of it, many of those had already been taken up. From small arms like assault rifles and RPG to one man tanks and even a truck that held a barrage of rocket launchers. What surprised them the most was the variety of ammunition stored within the armoury. The Pandawans saw the stock inventory in Pandamonium App and they believed it was practically enough to start World War Three. "What are we your waiting for? Those Pandarens who are not at the North and South Defence installations, get your a.s.s over to the bas.e.m.e.nt four armoury and get those crates of guns transported out. Some of you carry those lightning element based artillery shells to the southern area. Maybe we can use the elements to our advantage since that dumbass monster is in the sea area!" Se Lang shouted when he brought a team of Pandarens to sort out the inventory. But as he did that, chatter within the Pandaren Channel, which was created similarly to the System Channel, increased multifold minutes after Se Lang gave the order to send the artillery ammunition to the south. (They really had to thank Xiong Da for buying the entire package to do raid wide coordinations.) Those chatters were coming from the Pandarens on the North and South Walls who had simultaneously spotted the Ooofpa Loopa giving birth to various odd shaped eggs from its orifices. However, the North still had it easy, at least their side''s eggs could be seen on the ground. As for the Southern Wall, the Pandarens reported that those eggs sank the moment they emerged out of those orifices and most of them assumed that the sea was hiding their presence. This presented an unprecedented challenge to the Pandawans and Pandarens but all of them decided to take it one step at a time. "Fire at those orifices and eggs! Reduce their numbers before those abominations give birth to more of them!" Bu Dong shouted through the Pandaren Channels and those manning the walls immediately pounced into action by readjusting their aim to the vulnerable orifices of the Ooofpa Loopa so they could destroy them. And this was barely the beginning! Chapter 1104 - Extra -The Workings of Bone Spirit Demons Chapter 1104 ¨C Extra -The Workings of Bone Spirit Demons "You sure know how to torture those poor little Pandarens, eh?" Pei commented as she watched Kraft furiously type on his tablet and keyboard from his throne. It was quite rare of him to work so hard out in the open for people to see. And yet he somehow had the time to display the expression of a bored sloth, as his hands typed in speeds that made it hard to follow their movements. "Sure, but half the credit should go to Jin. It was his initial idea, I just improved on it. Since I placed one stupid Loompa Oompa monster in the sea, I had to make sure that the underlings are sea to land compatible¡­or at least sea compatible. Otherwise, they would have just drowned or become easy pickings for Jin''s customers to kill. Where is the fun in that?" Kraft argued and Pei corrected him. "They are the Ooofpa Loopa, stop confusing me. It is already difficult to differentiate the real Loopa Ooofpa and now the customised dungeon monster Ooofpa Loopa." Pei said while folding her hands. "Again, blame Jin and not me. He was the one who switched the placement of words in the name away. I''m merely following him." Kraft yawned a little but his eyes were still squinted, staring at the miniature screen with utmost concentration. "What kind of monsters are you putting in to terrify our customers, anyway?" Pei questioned once more. "The Bone Spirit Demons are a very interesting set of specimens. While we did not technically capture them the traditional way, I did however have some of the Night Foxes take the liberty of sealing a few up during our time and been studying them during my downtime. Why of course, I had to give credit where it''s due since the bulk of the specimens were captured by the Valgs, you know those creepy looking four legged monsters of Maeve and Mab? The Feys of the Winter Court? Yes? No? I still remembered how impressive it was for Jin to call those parasites out to play. I mean, they were almost a tit for tat against the Bone Spirit Spirits. Being unnatural parasite themselves, they would not be latched upon by the Bone Spirits no matter how they try. It was as if Jin had the sense to bring out a swarm of parasites to pit it against another. But seriously though, those Night Foxes of mine did play a part catching them too, just out of sight of Jin''s. Anyways, I am blabbering too much. Where was I? Oh yes. With the main host gone, they would not have lasted long in any astral plane setting. Fortunately, this issue had been solved by tying it down to a new master." Kraft was speed talking that Pei knew that he did not have time to filter his words since he was concentrating on the raid instance bug fixes. "Anyways, the System, as usual, was very accommodating in providing them with the necessary requirements to keep them alive when I unsealed the bunch¡­ long story short, they turned out to be quite the exceptional spirits despite their abysmally low rank in the Hell Plane." Kraft continued to babble on without any care as his mind was in tune with what was on the screen while he multi-tasked and talked with Pei, to quench the latter''s curiosity. "So the time you asked to borrow my medical tool box back then¡­ Were they the reason why?" Pei realised it and connected the dots. "Did you even sterilise it after use?" "Duh. You always accuse me of being haphazard and somewhat irresponsible, but do you really think I want to give you a reason for me to suffer your wrath unnecessarily?" Kraft took a glance at Pei and returned to what he was doing. "The System can show Bellator Pei a record of Original Bellator Kraft sterilising the tools according to the standard protocol you''ve set." The System reported while intervening in their conversation so as to ensure that there was peace and understanding between the duo. Although he made it look easy, it was nonetheless a delicate time for Kraft to clear the Demopolis City Raid Final Boss Instance''s real time errors and bugs along with the help of the System before the Raid Dungeon Instance would enter Phase one of the fight in full force. "Fine, I shall believe you without the video. Still, since you ''borrowed'' it your usual way, can you tell me what exactly you are doing with those Bone Spirit Demons as compensation." Pei used the excuse of Kraft simply leaving an IOU on her table where the tool box had been to squeeze out more information about the current Raid. After all, she was a little worried that Kraft''s tendency to ''make things interesting'' might explode the raid''s difficulty into something that the Pandarens would be unable to handle and that was definitely not what Jin would have wanted. "Psssh. Fine. No need to come up with those excuses, I would have told you anyway, as long as you would have addressed me as your rightful El Presidente." Kraft teased her for a brief moment before he turned serious again. "As you know, the Bone Spirit Demons have the same astral plane alignment as Moloch, Wolte and King Baal. Only unlike those three big a.s.s lords, they are pretty much the lowest tiers of ''demons'' within their astral plane if you want to call them that. Calling them a byproduct of the Hell Plane''s energy wouldn''t be wrong after all. Point is, they lack the capability to live without a constant supply of Hell Plane''s energy to feed on. To them that energy would be the same as our oxygen¡­erm wait no. That is a little too far-fetched, maybe something like humans who would be unable to live without the sun." Kraft explained as he continued to type but suddenly noticed that he had overlooked an error. He stopped talking for a few minutes as he tapped his up arrow furiously to reach that error and held down his backspace button to clear it before replacing it from scratch with a new line. "Grrr. Should have just said oxygen and not broken my train of thoughts. Sigh, anyway. Yes, the Sun. Aside from all those theoretical bull crap we say about the sun, without its energy, mankind would feel kinda shitty, to put it mildly, right? Let''s not even mention how all plants and stuff would die without it and the other blah blah. It might not be the best analogy, but they have the same needs as us and without the energy of their plane, they would go bonkers." "To compensate they subordinate themselves to a higher tier entity like the Loopa Ooofpa. Since he is a manifestation of hunger, greed or whatever he represents, that one big oaf provides that energy to them, allowing them to move freely in another realm plane." Kraft continued as he pressed enter waiting for the debugging function to work, awaiting the System input if there were any other problems with it. "Isn''t that the same as oxygen. You should have just used the oxygen analogy." Pei squinted her eyes as she replied. "No, the sun is indeed better. Without oxygen, humans would die rather quickly, but without the sun they could actually survive, at least for a longer period of time. For them it''s the same, my experiments lead me to the conclusion that they should be able to survive in our worldly plane for more than a week or so without the powers of the higher entity as long as they latch themselves onto a creature for its bodily needs, and subsequently transforming the body it hitched on into part of its new identity." "In layman''s terms, they can survive by becoming parasites and possessing some other entity. But even so, the constant loss of Hell Energy makes them weak and due to the misalignment of this Plane''s energy and Hell Energy, it kind of makes them dissipate into thin air if left alone and no other external factors included." Kraft becoming so scholarly for a brief period of time made Pei reminisce all his rational arguments from when they were younger. It made her remember the days why she tolerated his behaviour and enjoyed his company. "If we are going that route-" Pei was about to continue questioning him until a sudden loud noise came out from his tablet. *Ping!* "System reports no other faults in the current raid instance." "Meh, that was easier than expected. Should have added a few more surprises. Oh well¡­" Kraft shrugged his shoulders as he quickly browsed the very last line as confirmation and pressed the enter button in a very satisfying manner. "There we go. Should be all done for now." He commented as he stretched on his throne before swiping the tablet away for a while. "You should stop worrying your pretty little head about this whole Bone Spirit Demons info dump. Just enjoy the fight and the surprises I have prepared for them. System, please make sure to send me a clip of everyone''s reaction. Time to do what really needs to be done. After all, those Dungeon World citizens aren''t going to poison themselves, right?" Kraft unbuttoned his El Presidente blazer and threw it at his throne to go out to work. "For you to actually go to work, you''re working yourself off to carry Jin''s burden, eh?" Pei noted with a bit of concern. "What can I say? I pity my master. He works so hard but yet still finds a way to bury himself in extra work. Besides, he did put me in charge for this Demopolis Raid. Finishing things with anything but an E for Excellent rating would bring shame to the name of us Foxes." Kraft said as he rolled up his black shirt''s sleeves and from his storage ring, his ever iconic coat emerged from it. "I also can''t leave out those two rascals. The way things have been going, made it seem that me and Zeru are the only ones working overtime." Kraft coughed while mentioning the Sword Saint himself. Before teleporting away, he tidied his coat and checked that he had his trusty phone with him even though he did not need it with all the System channels. "Come to think of it, System any updates on our Sword Master in the Flower City with all the Banned Emperor conspiracy nonsense? Wait, no. Don''t tell me yet. Or else I will be distracted to go into the Flower City myself to find out more." Kraft asked as he made a mental note to mess with him after they both completed their missions. (Oh but to trust the Fox to behave on his mission? That would be something out of the ordinary and very unlikely to happen.) Chapter 1105 - Setting Layers of Defences in Demopolis Chapter 1105 ¨C Setting Layers of Defences in Demopolis "FIRE!!" Bu Dong shouted as another barrage of artillery shots came raining down towards the direction of the Northern Ooofpa Loopa. This time around, they were focusing on the Bone Spirit Demons who had been able to escape the initial volley of attacks and were now running towards the Demopolis Walls. Sadly, the Pandarens were not yet ready to face them head on outside of the walls. They had wrongfully assumed that the interim period before the Boss encounter had been merely set up for them to rest and relax. Nobody had told them that they had been supposed to use that particular period to prepare some defences against the menacing hordes of monsters. Alas, that time had already passed and there was no use crying over spilt milk. All they could do now was to mitigate the further damage, hoping that the comrades they had called in would soon arrive. Right now, all the Pandarens were doing their best to either use the artillery to fight back or search for more defences as much as they could with whatever they were able to scour throughout the city. The Pandawans, with the help of some Pandarens, had realised that they could use the city landscape to their advantage, yet, the city itself was rather vast. There was actually a Suburban area near the outskirts of the Demopolis Walls to accommodate the residents if need be before it transits to a wide round field and later the military bases. The Suburban areas were filled with multistorey buildings which could be used to isolate the Bone Spirit Demon Horde if they brought them down with explosives. However, the barricade would only last a certain amount of time before the Bone Spirit Demons climb over them or even dig through them. Still, it was somewhat a last ditch defence solution to slow the monsters down if the walls were overwhelmed. The explosives were easy to place since the Pandamonium App had basic blueprints of each and every building in the Suburban area. But before exploding those buildings to dust piles, the Pandarens rushed to create defensive barricades just like how the Mafia Demon Families had done the same. Why come up with something new if an old plan should already be able to do the same job? So they found every piece of furniture they could salvage from the homes and built several makeshift barriers to stop the Bone Spirit Demon Horde from advancing. Some explosives and debuffing inscription charms were added into the mix of those barriers so that they could further reduce the advancement of the Bone Spirit Demon Horde from approaching the open fields. And speaking of the open fields, that was where the second major batch of Pandarens was present. Under the lead of Pandawan Se Lang and Deng Long, they had begun digging shallow trenches so that the cultivators had a place to fall back at each and every interval in their fight against the Bone Spirit Demon Horde. They had no idea how aggressive the Bone Spirits were but they took whatever possible method in their handbook to slow the horde down. However, they honestly hope the fighting would not take place that near to their base. Because if that was the case, the odds of winning would practically be close to zero too. The open field without proper support fire was equivalent to suicide and Se Lang believed they should rather surrender the raid instance. Still, they continued to do it because the objective of this raid was not just to kill the two boss monsters, it was the protection of the airfield runway. it was the one thing that the Pandarens had to protect at all costs, otherwise, there would be no more additional reinforcements coming in. Some of the Pandarens complained that this Final Boss Instance should have allowed for a more constant wave of reinforcements coming through by the means of magical teleportation but thematically, it did not make sense at all and it might break the raid. If the reinforcements were to stream in simultaneously, they would no doubt have sufficient manpower to fight against the Demon Hordes and the Boss Monsters. It wouldn''t be a suspense filled fight anymore, but more of a battle of attrition, with one side unable to lose. It would no longer be a question of IF they could win, but WHEN they would win. However, as the epic conclusion to the Demopolis City Raid this part was meant to be a fight for their lives, preparing them for the case should such a monster ever appear in the midst of their reality (again). It was a sort of training for both the civilians and the armed personnel of the country¡­or that was what many who were in the raid instance had come to believe. In reality, Kraft''s main goal was just to give the Pandarens a worthy fight to remember Jin''s dungeon instance, since it was indirectly his brother''s possible future legacy. (Although he also wanted to see them suffer for a change since he was of the opinion Jin always treated them too nicely. And sadly, some of the minions felt the same way as well.) The trenches were filled with another layer of artillery guns awaiting their time to be used while barbed wires, explosives and even mines were placed diligently by the Pandarens setting up the battlefield. And because they needed more time to dig the trenches and place the items, it was up to the Pandarens at the Demopolis Wall and Suburban areas to buy them time to settle their defences. However, one shouldn''t forget about the military equipment that was stored within the city''s bas.e.m.e.nts. Tanks, jeeps and rocket launcher trucks were slowly being brought out and they were placed in strategic areas where they could cover the most extensive area of attack. There were a few soldiers among the Pandarens and they immediately volunteered to give whatever advice they could to the Pandawans in order to speed things up. As for the naval portion, the Pandawans found out there were actually mini submarines as well as portable diving engines which could be used to manoeuvre within the sea without coming up for air. They were shaped like a torpedo without the explosives inside, allowing easy manipulation as long as the cultivators could tolerate the sea currents and even had huge oxygen tanks with which the Pandarens could replenish their oxygen. But because of their properties, they were vulnerable when those engines were damaged, so those who used them treated it as a one time trip against the wave of Bone Spirit Demons. Still, the Demopolis Armoury seemed to have no shortage of them. Destroying even a hundred of them would not dent their inventory stocks. Thus, with most portions of the defences covered, the Pandawans were only worried about the offensive part of this raid. Chapter 1106 - Ooofpa Loopa Weakness Chapter 1106 ¨C Ooofpa Loopa Weakness "The Bone Spirit Demons have crossed the 100 metre mark!" One of the self-assigned Pandaren leaders shouted within the Pandaren Group Channel, informing everyone that they were going to engage in close combat with them soon. "The Bone Spirit Sea Demons are already near the walls! We are proceeding to intercept them!" Another Pandaren leader reported in the Pandaren Group Channel as the sea creatures were more of a menace than their Northern counterparts mainly because of the cover of the sea. Some of the Pandarens had already used the diving engines to engage with the Bone Spirit Sea Demons but according to the shared intel, less than ten survived the confrontation when they had sent forty of them out to see how many were hiding in the seas. "The sea really is our Achilles heel." Xiong Da admitted in the Pandawans Group Channel and they all agreed that none of them had much knowledge on how to defeat creatures that were in the sea aside from waiting for them to come on shore. "At the very least we have a lengthy beach shore. I have asked Tank Platoon Charlie Leader to assist with the efforts against the engagement. Unlike the Northern portion, we have to send out some Pandarens to fight against the Bone Spirit Sea Demons to slow them down." Bu Dong who was aiding the coordination said. "So the Southern Walls are aiming most of their attacks at those Bone Spirit Demons that just come out of the shore?" Bin Yong questioned and Bu Dong nodded his head. "The shoreline has already been riddled with artillery shells and machine gun bullets and the current group of Pandarens is aware not to go too close to the shoreline. It''s the least they can do to injure and possibly kill any Bone Spirit Sea Demons coming ashore before the rest of the Pandarens engage them." Bu Dong replied. "Good thinking there, Bu Dong, but if you''ve sent the stronger group to the shorelines, that also means that the Northern portion is now lacking in that many high-grade Pandarens to guard the area." Bin Yong scratched his head and wondered what they could do. "We might have solved our immediate problem, but we still need to attack the Ooofpa Loopa. I''m afraid that until we defeat one of the two, their respective hordes will continue to swarm us. How is the research regarding that going on, Ruo Ying?" Xiong Da questioned as he could see his partner continuously scrolling her phone to research the monster. "We are currently experiencing what those City Guards must have been through. Apparently, the death toll on their end had been because of the lack of proper defences. The only good advantage is that we have these automated defensive weapons at our disposal. " Ruo Ying stated that the Bone Spirit Demon Horde was as expected. "But as you said if we are focusing solely on defence, it will just be a matter of time until we get defeated. It''s impossible to find any articles related to their pattern of attack. The embargo of information has been well managed for this particular incident. It seems like the only solution will be to move out to hit the Ooofpa Loopa and learn of its weakness the hard way." "However, we already know that conventional attacks don''t seem to work, right? I mean the explosive shells were effective for a moment but then his hit points suddenly stopped reducing." Bin Yong chimed in and as they were discussing out in the open fields, a group of Pandarens suddenly came to interrupt them. "Apologies, we understand that you are discussing your defences, but we might have some information that might help." The group leader of the three Pandarens said. "Please, any information would help. How may I address you?" Xiong Da asked as he extended his hand to shake his. "Zhang Min. And these are my friends Meng Ruo and Wei Yi. We are part of the Royal Snake Soldiers Battalion that fought directly against the Loopa Ooofpa." Zhang Min stated his work place to increase the credibility of his solution. "Is it okay to reveal restricted information out in the open? Won''t you get punished?" Ruo Ying questioned even though they knew that it was for the benefit of the entire raid instance. "It''s fine, we got the clearance from our General." Meng Ruo replied. "Actually, he''s the one who insisted that this particular information should be spread about that monster abomination we fought. Whether it will work or not for this particular dungeon instance, remains to be seen." "Yeah, since Boss Jin had purposely inverted the abomination''s name, it should be safe to assume he is not making his particular boss monster the same as the one we fought previously¡­according to our General at least." Wei Yi added. "He even said it''s high time for us to get our revenge against the Boss Monster for not having been able to do our part against it during the actual fight- Ow why did you hit me?" Meng Ruo looked at Zhang Min who stomped on his foot. "There''s no need to bring out the shameful past. We don''t want people to spread rumours that the Royal Snake Battalion had been unable to do a single thing to aid with the fight." Zhang Min stared at Meng Ruo angrily. "I am not getting involved. After telling the Pandawans what we need to say, I am getting out of here." Wei Yi said as he raised his hands, not wanting to speak out of tune. "Hmm, yea. Sorry about that. Back to the topic, you should try using a different elemental attack against the boss each time you attack it. Based on the thundering noises in the background, you guys already tried artillery fire against it." Zhang Min questioned and the Pandawans nodded their heads. "So yes. It should already be immune against the fire element. Using other elements to damage it should help. But remember, I suggest that you use one element at a time. Worst case scenario might make it immune to a plethora of elements and that could mean game over." Zhang Min stated and it suddenly clicked with Bu Dong and Bin Yong that they might have been doing it without noticing the solution right in their face. Chapter 1107 - Soldiers Warning Chapter 1107 ¨C Soldiers¡¯ Warning "Wait a minute. Is that why our armoury is filled with shit loads of different elemental shells?" Bu Dong brought up and it also dawned on Bin Yong that what the soldiers said must have a correlation to the damage dealt with the Ooofpa Loopa. "This would also explain why the Southern Ooofpa Loopa in the seas has taken more damage compared to the one in the North. I saw them take lightning-based artillery shells to hit it, thinking that it might be more effective since it is submerged in the seas." Bin Yong reported as he picked up his phone to check the status of both Ooofpa Loopa to see how much of a hit point difference they had. "Some of us theorised that the boss has entered a sort of invincible mode until we clear the Bone Spirit Hordes. So you''re saying that''s not the case?" Ruo Ying asked but the soldiers shook their heads. "Since Boss Jin has messed with it, we can''t completely eliminate the possibility that he wants us to fight them in phases. We''re just saying that based on our own experience, those Bone Spirit Demons were endless. We had been fighting against them the entire time when-" Zhang Min stopped since his buddy poked him in his ribs. He had nearly forgotten that they were not allowed to use the Dungeon Supplier''s name. That was one of the secrets that their General had explicitly stated that they must not reveal despite the fact that a number knew that Boss Jin had worked behind the scenes to aid them like with those portal trucks. Still it was not too hurt for them to figure out, seeing as they had the Sea Mesh official logo had a small panda next to it. Although it had not been an official logo, some people managed to connect it since there was a proper affiliation between Sea Mesh and ''Dungeons and Pandas''. "¡­when other State Agents came into the scenes." Zhang Min whispered, making it seem as if it was already a stretch to bring the Ministry of State Security into the picture and the Pandawans could see why they struggled to say it out loud. They instantly understood and decided not to ponder over their incident especially when they just met. "I just checked and numbers wise, we managed to damage the Southern Ooofpa Loopa down to 85% of its health while the Northern Ooofpa Loopa still has 90% of its health intact despite a fiercer barrage ongoing. We''ll have to check how much damage the next element will inflict on it." Bing Yong reported and the two other Pandawans beside him immediately got into action to tell the Pandarens responsible for the transfer of inventory in the armoury to start moving a water based elemental shell to the Northern borders next. "Hey, why did you not tell them about the explosive feedback when the abomination got immune to the attacks? Isn''t that more of a pressing concern?" Meng Ruo asked after the trio of soldiers had bid the Pandawans goodbye and proceeded towards the Northern Demopolis Walls. "The feedback should have already occurred based on the theoretical papers created by the Royal Zodiac Monkey Researchers. Maybe Boss Jin just decided to dial the monster down a fair bit? It would truly be unfair to the Pandarens if they encounter such a crazy a.s.s monster in their raid instance." Zhang Min answered as they started to leap with their qing gong, jumping from one trench site to another and all the Pandarens in the vicinity who saw the qin gong style recognised them as being part of the military. No Pandaren without proper training would be able to do what the Royal Snake Soldiers were doing. "Only real life is that unfair, giving us such a troublesome monster to deal with back then. Without Boss Jin''s intervention, I honestly doubt our battalions would have been able to defeat it. Also, I am secretly hoping that the Pandawan lady is right and once the Bone Spirit Horde has been defeated that those abominations become vulnerable to attacks again, since that immunity trick really sucks." Wei Yi remarked as he followed closely behind them. "I don''t believe that will be the case. It would be too easy, all we would have to do would be to keep shooting from afar. You think Boss Jin will give his cultivators such a comfortable route of cultivation? Did you already forget about the Pandapolis Raid Instance and how that massive fight was too damn real and chaotic at the end despite all the preparations that we had?" Meng Ruo commented. "All I remember is that someone tried to rescue a feisty ''damsel in distress." Wei Yi pointed out and they all laughed. "Alright, enough nonsense, you guys. We have a boss to take revenge on and we don''t know whether the mechanics still apply here." Zhang Min stressed as they climbed over the Suburban buildings and managed to reach the Northern Demopolis Walls. The horror of seeing those Bone Spirit Demons never left them and the view from the top of the Demopolis Wall had brought back some horrific memories that remained suppressed until now. "Gee, seeing them again isn''t the greatest feeling ever. It''s like we are going through some psychotherapy against traumatic events. We were really lucky that our battalion did not suffer as badly as the Royal Horse Battalion." Meng Ruo said as he took his sword and gun out. "Have you tried Jin''s inscriptions? They are pretty fun to use." Wei Yi tried to change the topic since it was getting way too heavy in the reminiscent part as he threw a pack of them towards Meng Ruo. "Use whatever you need. We are going to release hell and show these small-time Pandarens what it means to be a Soldier in the Royal Snake Battalion!" Zhang Min supported the diversion as he took his standard load out of a sword and gun. "Right, just make sure we won''t have to save you from another Bone Spirit Gorilla again!" Meng Ruo nudged Zhang Min with his elbow and Wei Yi got to laugh at their supposed leader. As much as they could not stand the Bone Spirits, the trio could gauge that the monsters were as deadly as the ones they had encountered before. The Pandarens who had charged in earlier than them were having difficulty staying on the offensive against them. A number had already lost while some used the invincible shield that was bestowed to them at the start of the fight to prolong their life. However, from the Royal Snake Soldiers'' perspective, the worst has yet to come. Those Bone Spirit Demons they encountered were the easier lot like the Bone Spirit Monkeys and Bone Spirit Dogs. Individually they were not too strong, but underestimating them as they hunted in groups or packs was foolish. Regardless, this was still a Raid Instance and those soldiers rushed in to save people, kill monsters and earn more points before the rest of their buddies came in to join the fight. As for the Ooofpa Loopa, it was up to the Pandawans'' coordination to ensure that they could reduce the health of the abominations using their elemental shells before they broke through Demopolis walls and started to wreak serious havoc. Chapter 1108 - The Battalions Backup Chapter 1108 ¨C The Battalion¡¯s Backup "The Bone Spirit Demons!!! The Bone Spirit Demons!!! More of them are coming out from the fog! They are getting bigger too! Run! Run! Run!!!!" Some of the Pandarens began to panic and retreat in a panic to the Demopolis Walls after encountering some variations of the Bone Spirit Demons in the midst of a fog. It was a defensive mechanism from the Ooofpa Loopa in an attempt to shield the eggs from the constant firing of artillery fire. "Hold your ground! Do not retreat any further! Remember that this is just a Raid Instance! It''s better to injure the monster in front of you than run! The rest behind you will finish it up! Trust in the teamwork of your fellow Pandarens! Do not falter against the enemies!!" Zhang Min shouted repeatedly to encourage the rest as he plunged his sword through the neck of a two-headed Bone Spirit Dog and wasted his bullets through its heads. The moment he heard a click sound, he immediately unloaded it while twisting his sword to ensure that the Bone Spirit Dog Demon stayed dead. "Reloading!" He shouted to let Wei Yi and Meng Ruo cover him in the process. He took out a new cartridge from his waist belt with the necessary clips for subsequent battles. His breath was starting to get a little strained but the adrenaline kept him sane while his comrades were shooting nearby Bone Spirit Demons to taunt them to charge towards the soldiers. This was also to relieve the pressure from the retreating Pandarens who had lost the will to fight. It was understandable since many of the soldiers themselves had not been prepared for the Bone Spirit Demons'' ferocity when they had first encountered those abominations on the field. "The variations are coming out from the fog, we should change our firepower." Wei Yi suggested as he too spent his current clip of bullets but was able to reload quick enough with the remaining cartridges on his waist belt. "Let''s properly clear this wave first. Do not make the same mistake again. The last time they left the small fry, they would wait for a chance to backstab us at the worst possible timing! If we can clear as many of the first wave Bone Spirit Demons, it should be easier for us to handle the second wave." Zhang Min declared as he finished reloading and took his sword out of the dead Bone Spirit Dog. "You are once again assuming Boss Jin is playing by the rules." Wei Yi said as he took two Bone Spirit Monkey Demons head on. When they jumped right in front of him, he instantly used a basic Snake Sword Technique, Whirling Curve which enabled him to swipe right through the monkeys bisecting them before they were able to touch him. "Stop jinxing us! So far, they are behaving exactly how they did in the real world, so let''s hope that the pattern continues without any nasty surprises!" Zhang Min nearly shouted at his buddy, when he suddenly heard a beep in his Pandamonium App. With his phone attached to his upper c.h.e.s.t for easy access, the Royal Snake soldier saw that they were indeed going with a coordinated elemental barrage against the Northern Ooofpa Loopa. No wonder the artillery shots had been greatly reduced in the past few minutes, making the unaware Pandarens on the frontline panic for a moment. He and the group also realised that the Ooofpa Loopa did not leave any opportunity unwasted and already sent the second wave out when the artillery fire had lessened. "Man, Boss Jin sure is ruthless with the programming of his boss monster." Zhang Min said to his group as he pointed towards the fog with his sword. His half masked visor was already sensing multiple groups coming about. "It is already as real as it could get with the raid instance. The rest of our Battalion coming in will be in for a treat." Meng Ruo remarked until he heard a familiar chatter in the Pandaren Channel. "Treat your a.s.s, Corporal!" And suddenly that harsh voice went to the public channel for the Pandarens in the Northern Walls to take cover. Without hesitation, the trio ducked for cover and a series of loud blasts was heard coming from the direction of the Demopolis walls. "Are those?!" Meng Ruo saw a few large tracer rounds zooming past them and headshotting the Bone Spirit Demons right in front of them. "Shit, those really are tanks! Hahahahah! However, these ones seem to be the american versions!" Zhang Min was very happy to see their reinforcements arrive in M60 Tanks from the bottom of the Demopolis Walls and to the battlefields. The M60 tanks were a series of second generation main battle tanks made by the Americans and were used in several wars throughout the years since its inception in the 1960s. Their reliability was commendable and their model had been revised and updated several times during its service in the US Military. "I''m more concerned about the one who talked to us¡­" Wei Yi pointed out a bit dejected and soon enough, they spotted their very familiar personnel. A person who they had a serious love/hate relationship with. A second father to them on duty and a brother off duty. Sarge Rocher. "What are you punks waiting for?! Get into the f.u.c.k.i.n.g tank and get some anti demon gear on! You think you can fight those Bone Spirits with whatever shit you have right now?!" Rocher started shouting in his work voice and the trio didn''t waste a second to lower their stance and run through the battlefield as the tanks roared loudly at the second wave of Bone Spirit Demons hiding in the fog. "Sarge!" Zhang Min and the rest exchanged greetings with Rocher with a quick bro handshake before picking up the equipment which their sergeant had already left right behind the tank. Looking around, they realised that a number of the tank commanders were also his comrades. "Geez, you guys got to play with the tanks while we had to get out into the fight and get dirty in the mud?" Meng Ruo complained to his platoon mate who was driving the opposite tank. "Sucks to be you! Should have explored your options when the Pandamonium App asked you to go in." His mate ridiculed him and gave him a friendly middle finger as a payback for calling him to join the raid instance so abruptly. "Asshole!" Meng Ruo returned the favour and Rocher hit his head directly which prompted Meng Ruo to apologise almost immediately. "Still, god damn it, to be able to lead and drive a tank like this, Boss Jin really isn''t your average Dungeon Supplier." Rocher praised as he touched the metal plates of the tank before looking at the enemies. "My only complaint that I have is that the controls are too f.u.c.k.i.n.g amateur! Where are my pedals and pulleys?!" "Sarge, this is a raid instance, not everyone is as learned as you to get into a tank and operate it immediately. Besides, you just want a tank under your name, right?" Zhang Min pointed out and Rocher scoffed at him. "Shhh. Do not even dare to bring up that incident in the previous military exercise or I will make sure to give you latrine duty for a week straight." "Sarge, as much as you like to warn people, we-" Before Zhang Min could finish his sentence, a volley of artillery were fired right behind them, and their coordinated attack was not a pleasant sound to their ears. On the other hand, the thunderous explosions of the artillery shots moving fast towards the Ooofpa Loopa were a sight to behold as they got to watch the Ooofpa Loopa squirm in pain when it received the water elemental shots and everyone could see that the hit points were going down. There was a series of approving screams and shouts as its HP dropped, increasing the morale of the Pandarens since it was proof that this was not a fruitless endeavour. However, the artillery crew had little time to celebrate as they were hastily preparing another volley of shots before the beast started to get immune against the water elemental shells. For now, there seemed to be a light glistening beyond the depths of a dark tunnel and the Pandarens were rallying to do the same for the Southern Ooofpa Loopa as well. Chapter 1109 - Extra- Dicey Moments -Part 1 Chapter 1109 ¨C Extra- Dicey Moments -Part 1 Just as the Pandarens were busy fighting against the Ooopa Loopa in the North and South of Demopolis, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo were currently fighting their own battle. A battle that could potentially change the course of the raid instance¡­or so they hoped. The Pandawan couple had been searching the depths of Demopolis for items, inscriptions or possibly legendary relics they could salvage for the fight. But instead of those, Luo Bo had accidentally found a passage as they had been scavenging through boxes and crates in the lowest bas.e.m.e.nt hoping for that special inscription or some form of weapon of mass destruction. Even though the Pandamonium App should have listed all the items they had in the online inventory, Luo Bo had quickly discovered that inside the raid instance there were actually secret stashes with items not listed. This had led her to believe that the armoury itself might be a sort of mini game and a way for the Pandarens/Pandawans to earn some points if they were not actively fighting. And given that they had deployed most of the Pandarens, and the Pandawans were technically their last line of defence, Shi Zuo and Luo Bo decided to use the downtime to find a potential trove of hidden treasures within the armoury. It was to their surprise that after they had moved one of the larger crates away that it had unveiled a crack in the walls from which one blast of cold air emanated from. She was able to go through the crack easily, but Shi Zuo wasn''t as thin. His girlfriend had to pull him in after he had held his breath. Apart from the area they got through, the couple ended up in a tunnel where there was no light. Fortunately, with their half-masks night vision mode, they managed to see that the caves were supported with several iron pillars and a few flashing light bulbs. Not what they expected from a revitalised military base but hey, what''s a military base without any hidden secret or ghostly portion of it? The duo also noticed that the Pandamonium App lacked a map in regards to this area, and two way communication from the bas.e.m.e.nt to the surface became patchy at best. Shi Zuo sent a text message to the group, hoping his phone''s sporadic signal would be sufficient to inform the rest that they were in a secret area. (Eventually, they received a surprising response from Xiong Da stating, ''Good job, please continue''.) They assumed the surface operations were too busy for the rest to give a damn about why two Pandawans had gone missing. However, the Rabbit Pandawan had her senses tingling that this place could potentially hold one of the secrets that might allow them to win the battle against the Ooofpa Loopas. True enough, as they walked further into the cave, they subsequently breached an opening and there was a guardian figure sitting right at the centre. With their presence being felt in the opening, the shadow stared back at them. Soon, the Pandawan couple found themselves trapped in a duelling ring surrounded by fire and they were finally able to notice the figure. It was none other than Panda Captain Hei and clearing his throat, there was Panda Captain Bai who appeared behind the duo to block their escape. "You finally found us." Hei said as he stood up and Shi Zuo noticed that he was not wearing his standard SWAT vest. Instead, he was wearing a Japanese Samurai Armour with a two handed Katana or an Odachi (also known in the western setting as a longsword). Meanwhile, Bai was in full Chinese Armour with a spear with a blade at that top, which the Pandawans'' identified as the Guan Dao, held by the infamous Lord Guan Yu. "Shit, did we just trigger some sort of secret duel? Do we have to win against you guys to get a special item? Does that mean there are actually NPCs in the instance, and we just have to find them or is it you guys hiding around?" Luo Bo asked a barrage of questions. "Maybe they will come to aid us if we beat up them very badly?" Shi Zuo theorised, even though he had a hard time believing it. "You know how to spoil someone''s fun. We''ve been waiting here since the start and now you even take our explanation away." Bai sighed as he pointed his Guan Dao towards the back. "To cut to the chase, it''s pretty much what you deduced. Finding us has improved your chances to survive this raid. That is, if you can win against us. If you do, you''ll obtain something that will be able to turn the tide in the defence of your city." "Ehhhhh, we have to fight again?" Luo Bo dragged her voice as if she knew that it would be tiring to have a fight against Hei and Bai. When she saw the armour they wore, the Rabbit Pandawan instantly assumed it would not be an easygoing fight. "Can we postpone it or something? We promise to come back and duel you guys after the boss fight!" "Do you honestly expect us to just give you the keys and access to the one possible thing that could cut short your war against the Ooofpa Loopa?" Hei questioned and Luo Bo fervently nodded her head, hoping the NPCs would agree. "Fine, if you did not suggest it, we would be fighting the hell out of your lives right now. However, there is something we want to do aside from fighting. And it is indeed the easier option." Hei revealed and came over to whisper with his brother, Bai. The two giggled like a bunch of naughty rascals and eyed Luo Bo who could suddenly feel the chills going up to her spine when she saw their gaze. Even Shi Zuo slowly inched himself forward to protect his girlfriend from any possible¡­ attempt on soliciting Luo Bo. The Pandas chuckled and waved their hands in laughter, rejecting any s.e.x.u.a.l notion as if it was a joke between them. "It was boring having to wait so long, so let''s play a game of dice. If you win, we''ll let you have access to the stuff hidden behind the door. If you lose¡­" "The chances of winning a dice game is rigged, don''t think that we know what you think -" before Shi Zuo could argue back, Luo Bo immediately shouted, "We accept!" "What? Are you crazy?! Playing a game of dice with them is worse than fighting both of them head on!" Shi Zuo wanted to retract the statement but the two Panda NPCs were already chuckling. "Don''t worry, Pandawan Shi Zuo. It is indeed a very simple game of dice. If you win, you get to go through." Hei said it once more but Shi Zuo wanted to know the consequences more than the win condition. Yet, they were not willing to reveal it and instead, moved on ahead to the dice game immediately. Instantly two large cube dice appeared in front of them and with Hei and Bai simultaneously swiping them in different directions, the dice began to spin furiously at the middle of the duelling ring. "All you have to do is to throw your axe and shoot your arrow at the respective dice. As long as you get exactly 10, we''ll let you pass." Bai explained. "If you get a 12, we''ll even throw in a bonus," Hei added. "And in case you fail, or worse, roll 2¡­ Hehehe! Just remember it was you who agreed to play the game." Bai and Hei finished in unison with a wide grin. "How many tries do we have?" Shi Zuo asked and the NPCs started to discuss before Hei threw his palm out. Shi Zuo was squinting his hand to count the number of fingers on him. "Hahaha, it''s six, my dear. Pandas have five fingers and a thumb." Luo Bo beat Shi Zuo''s back and laughed at her boyfriend''s attempt to figure it out. "That''s awfully a lot of tries." Shi Zuo thought to himself but he felt it was too easy and instead, he requested if he could have more. However, Luo Bo knocked his head and told him not to be greedy. "Besides, I have confidence in hitting my shot but¡­ It''s another issue for you." Luo Bo teased her boyfriend as she took her bow out and stared at the dice suddenly spinning furiously with the draw sound of her weapon. Chapter 1110 - Extra- Dicey Moments -Final Chapter 1110 ¨C Extra- Dicey Moments -Final Even as the dice spun like a washing machine gone out of control, Luo Bo calmly nocked her arrow and aimed at the left die before she took a deep breath in. Her Illusive Rabbit Cultivation emerged from her back and multiple rabbits were jumping around happy as if to encourage her to get this right. When she released her bowstring, the arrow flew with a quiet tugging sound and in a blink of an eye, it was already on one of the faces of the die. Slowly, the cube ceased its spinning and all those present could see that her result turned out to be a 6. While it was a little close to the edge, it did not change the fact that she had calculated the time, distance and strength of her shot to get it right on the first attempt. (The culmination of her training was shown here as not any archer type cultivator would be to get what they want on the first try unless it was pure luck) The two Panda NPCs clapped, but their faces did not show any signs of surprise, as if they had known beforehand that she would be able to get it right. However, the challenge now passed on to Shi Zuo. At least Luo Bo had increased the odds for him with her 6. Their objective was to get either a 10 or 12 so Shi Zuo could now aim for the face of a 4 or 6 to beat this dice game. Having to increase the odds from one sixth of a chance to one third to a win was a major improvement and he knew he had to make the best out of this opportunity before anything strange could happen with this game. Alas, he did not have the skill to predict a dice result and even if the Monkey Cultivator could even see the die faces, he did not have the kind of training Luo Bo have to throw it at the precise moment. Therefore, he was leaving it to pure luck and chance and threw his axe at it without even looking. (Shi Zuo even whispered a little prayer before sending it out) The axe swirled in a curved direction before hitting one of the faces of the die and when the Panda NPCs stopped the spinning of the cube, they found that the axe was stuck at the edge of 5 and 6! It was an unbelievable turn of events and they thought they could clear this ''simple'' event fast. However, the atmosphere changed almost instantaneously when the Panda NPCs stood at one side to deliberate the results causing the Pandawans to hope quietly that it would be a ''fair'' judgement. "Sorry to say, the axe edge is more towards the face of 5 than rest of the weapon," Hei declared that Shi Zuo had failed the dice roll combination. "In addition, the handle of the axe is towards the face of 5, so we shall count your result as 5, making your total score 11," Bai commented further and Luo Bo immediately jeered at the result. "What nonsense! The axe blade is clearly swinging towards the face of 6! And can''t you give us a break? We are in the middle of 10 and 12! We do not need any bonus items or whatever, just give us the pass to go through." Luo Bo argued and the two Panda NPCs shook their heads. "That is not what we agreed upon and we will not change the deal. For fairness'' sake, we can let Shi Zuo throw again this one time. We will ignore the previous throw and pretend as if this was his real one." Bai offered, yet this sort of pampering irritated Shi Zuo. What does the NPCs mean by the handle of the axe facing the direction of the face? What about the portion of the axe blade? If they were being calculative, he too could play that game. Thus, he removed the axe that was on the die and portrayed his monkey cultivation. "Since you have those ridiculous rules to decide on my axe throw, then let me show you what is called playing fair." Shi Zuo yelled as he gathered his energy and focused it on his axe. Luo Bo could even feel the axe was filled with intense chi which she never felt from him before. She decided to step back a little when she saw the cultivation portrayal of the monkeys above Shi Zuo to be screaming and shouting incessantly. They, just like him, were clearly unhappy with the Panda NPCs'' decision. Hei and Bai could have said it was a no go right from the beginning and Shi Zuo would have accepted it without any problems. But their absurd reasoning, despite giving him a chance to try again, was the trigger for his sudden flare up and he decided to play a tit for tat. When the die began spinning again, the Panda NPCs allowed Shi Zuo to throw his axe at any time. They all assumed that he was about to perform a more forceful throw so they decided to step back a little as well. And yes, when Shi Zuo was ready, he did throw with force¡­ but they were not expecting what he was aiming at. When he threw the axe, a burst of chi emerged out of him, as if giving the axe the needed push to do its best. In response, the axe suddenly imploded from within and subsequently transformed into a humongous axe. If one needed a comparison, it was about the size of a Humvee when the die was at best a standard medium sized cardboard box. And this time around there was no handle to the enlarged axe blade, just the metal edged portion swinging towards the die. The Panda NPCs were surprised by the humongous axe blade that they instinctively dodged away, thinking that the Pandawan had gone crazy and had aimed at them. Yet, to their astonishment, it did hit the die and the weight of the axe forced the die to be stuck on its edge while it made a loud bam sound upon touching the ground. "Due to inconclusive evidence, we have decided to reward you with the benefit of the doubt and count it as a 6 this time. However, because of the ambiguity, we are unable to reward you with the bonus. Regardless, congratulations to you. The two of you have passed the gamble." Bai announced and the two Panda NPCs clapped their hands while the backdoor creaked open slowly. Shi Zuo thanked the two Panda NPCs despite knowing that they would lose the bonus. (After all, the Pandwans were aware that Shi Zuo''s throw was a bit on the cheating side.) Thus the two of them quickly picked up their weapons once more and ran through the backdoor before the Panda duo might change their mind, eager to see what exactly had been hidden that could enable them to defeat the Ooofpa Loopa with ease. Chapter 1111 - The Big Shots Chapter 1111 ¨C The Big Shots "It''s still working! Continue to wither down its hit points before the next wave of Bone Spirit Demons comes forth! Mortar focus your attack on the Bone Spirit Demons and halt their advance as much as possible. Artillery Team focus on the Boss except for those assigned to aid the mortars and Pandarens below! Tanks, maintains your distance away from the Bone Spirit Demons and aim for the bigger ones!" Xiong Da ordered as he continued to coordinate the next batch of elemental artillery shells to wreck the Ooofpa Loopas. Despite the initial shabby coordination, it was rather surprising that they had managed to drop both of the Ooofpa Loopas'' health down to 55% and thankfully, there had yet to be any retaliation from the boss monsters from either side. However, the Pandarens had noticed that both were inching closer to the Demopolis walls and that they had started to spawn even stronger Bone Spirits to slaughter them. (Although they were unsure if they became stronger with them, or if it was because of the Boss Monster''s falling health pool) The average Pandaren had managed to handle between five to ten per encounter during the first initial wave. During the second wave, the same competent level of Pandarens had been able to stand against two Bone Spirit Demons and would struggle against a third. Starting with the third wave onwards, the tides had changed. The Bone Spirit Demons like the gorilla variant had emerged out in the open, causing the fight to be skewed towards the monsters. It took approximately three to five Pandarens to take down a Bone Spirit Gorilla. But because of the reinforcement of the Royal Snake Battalion and their tanks, the statistics were somewhat biased as the soldiers took on the harder demons based on their experience while the Pandarens cleared the remaining weaker Bone Spirit Demons. That being said, the soldiers did not have an easier time despite having some knowledge of them. Whenever they did not know how to defeat a certain Bone Spirit type, all they did was spam explosive shells with the help of the tanks against the demons. The constant bombardment barrage was sufficient to slow the Bone Spirits though they could see that it was getting less effective as newer waves of monsters emerged from the orifices of the Ooofpa Loopa. "Tank 1-3, move backwards for quick refuelling. Snake Alpha Company Platoon 1 will assist with the defence. Platoon 2-4 charge forward while Platoon 5 will assist you from your flanks until the next wave of reinforcements arrives." One of the Royal Snake Captains ordered and Sergeant Rochor acknowledged the orders along with the rest of the sergeants. "You heard the man, we have to rush forth." Sergeant Rochor repeated the order for his Platoon 2. "Sarge, can''t we use our official techniques?" Zhang Mon complained as he wanted to slay these monsters as fast as possible with the least amount of effort but with the orders restrained to not reveal their techniques, they were bound to withhold their true strength. This was because they were still one of the Royal Zodiac Military Battalions and showing their hand to the public would only undermine their capabilities, especially when there might be enemy eyes surveilling them. "If you want to do that, be my guest. Forward my greetings to the general when he calls you in for a ''coffee talk'', will you?" Sergeant Rochor replied through the channel and Zhang Min sighed. "Forget it, bro. I shall treat this as a handicap and learn to grow from it. Besides, we got all these funky inscriptions charms to help us." Meng Ruo sneered as he assisted his pal by grappling the Bone Spirit Demon, allowing Zhang Min to stab and slash it multiple times while seeing in burning up in smoke because of the charms. "Honestly speaking, you guys need more dungeon fighting. At this rate, the Pandarens will start to regard you as just some pathetic soldiers." The voice alone was able to strike a chord through the platoon''s channel since they immediately recognised who it belonged to. At that point, a high level intensive aura could be felt coming from the top of the Demopolis Wall and it was sufficient to stop the current wave of Bone Spirit Demons in their tracks. In a blink of an eye, that heavy aura could be felt moving down across the Demopolis Walls and crashing into the battlefield, killing a bunch of Bone Spirit Demons simultaneously. "Sir! It''s you who gave us that order to not to show our true skills!" Zhang Min shouted and the figure merely laughed. "That is true, but I did not say you could not use your grade''s brute strength, Corporal." The figure shook off the dust cloud from the initial impact. It was none other than Hou Fei, the Royal Zodiac Snake Battalion''s General. And that was not all, just as he was about to kill a Bone Spirit Demon with his hands, yet another powerful aura came about heading in his direction. His presence was not ignored by Hou Fei but instead of helping him, the figure took the opportunity to use Hou Fei''s head as a stepping stone. The kinetic waves from the impact were sufficient to paralyse the surrounding horde momentarily and that gave the rest an opening which they did not hesitate to utilise to the best of their abilities. "Act like a general, you dumbass." The figure''s fiery aura slowly dissipated and those in the upper echelons identified him as Royal Tiger General, San Ya Bai. At his behest, a new Tiger platoon came rushing down the Demopolis Walls and reinforced the current line against the Bone Spirit Demons. A few of the Royal Snake Platoons instantly recognised them and even shook hands for a moment before placing their focus back on the Bone Spirit Demons. Meanwhile, the remaining Pandarens were in awe to see two Royal Zodiac Generals working hand in hand since it was not a common sight for such a thing to happen, let alone for the average citizen to have a chance to fight beside them. (even if it was ''only'' in a dungeon instance.) To some military buffs, it was basically a dream come true. There were no rules in the military preventing the Royal Battalions'' soldiers (or their higher ranking officers for that matter) from participating in a dungeon instance so when it happened, the streamers all went nuts with their reactions. Their presence alone had basically increased the credibility of Jin''s Dungeon and Pandas store by at least two fold and that was enough to entice the prying eyes from both the public and the other Royal Zodiac Clans to tune in. "Yeah, yeah. I understand the situation that we need to control ourselves but it would be a shame if we failed to defeat this particular Boss Monster in a dungeon instance, right?" Hou Fei argued and Ya Bai sighed. Technically, Hou Fei hadn''t done anything wrong by merely using his cultivation strength since there was indeed an ambiguity in the rules set by the military council based on their military conduct in public. Thus, Ya Bai merely shook his reply off and joined him to punch the shit out of a Bone Spirit Demon into oblivion. "Wait, why don''t you go kill the one in the south? Why are you stealing my prey? I want to earn some raid points too!" Hou Fei complained and Ya Bai chuckled. "My entire battalion is still in the queue. They won''t be coming in that quickly. Besides, we Tigers know that you Snakes cannot do it without us." Ya Bai reasoned as he smashed a Bone Spirit Gorillas''s skull into pieces which the Royal Snake Soldiers had trouble fighting one on one. "Plus, we got to give the Pandarens participating some fighting chance, right? I heard they might have some special weapon incoming." "Alright then, then let''s see if we can clear this wave in record time and kill the stupid Ooof¨CGAH this fat a.s.s monster first!" Hou Fei accidentally bit on his tongue when he evaded a quick strike from Bone Spirit Elephant and somehow the entire battle eventually became all about them. The rest of the soldiers under them sighed but most of them understood that the Generals did not really have many opportunities to clear some steam, something they desperately needed after ''that'' incident. And since this was a dungeon instance, they were finally able to let loose and go crazy while their subordinates sympathetically supported them from the back. Chapter 1112 - The Fall of the Southern Wall Chapter 1112 ¨C The Fall of the Southern Wall With the advent of the two Royal Zodiac Battalions, dominated by their respective Royal Zodiac Generals, a majority of the Pandarens were subsequently redeployed to the Southern Walls since the Pandawans trusted the army to handle the situation in the North on their own. The Pandawans felt that the Royal Zodiac soldiers would function better with their own troops and that random cultivators with no military discipline might just hinder them. This also gave the inexperienced Pandawans leading the rest of the cultivators to focus on one area, lessening their burden, since the South so far had only been able to use its advantage of elemental ammunition and equipment they could find within Demopolis. Hence a major portion of the main Battle Tanks was also deployed to the Southern shores, leaving the Royal Zodiac soldiers with just a set number of tanks they felt would be sufficient for their own purposes. All these changes in the battle order worked wonders in aiding with the morale of the Pandarens while being used to slow the horde down. Those tanks'' interfaces were the same as what Xiong Da and the rest had used before in the Goblin War. As long as the Pandarens remained calm and had a sound mind, they were able to handle the controls of the tanks rather easily by following the instructions via their half masks. In addition, the System had dramatically increased the ease of interface, allowing simpler handling of the tanks comparable to the other military equipment that were in Demopolis. However, having good equipment was useless if the Pandarens were not able to handle the stress of the ever increasing difficulty of the Bone Spirit Sea Demon Horde. Thus, without the expertise of the Royal Zodiac soldiers, there were multiple situations where Pandarens had to retreat because the Demons started to overwhelm them, leaving the shoreline empty for the Horde to move forth. Thankfully, that did not mean the Horde had it easy. There were still Pandarens assigned on the Demopolis Walls who were tasked to remote denoting the partially destroyed tanks to further delay the advance of the Southern Horde whenever necessary. Unfortunately, they could only do so much before the Horde reached the Demopolis Walls, causing Pandawan Bin Yong and Bu Dong who were in charge of the Southern front to call for the retreat of the Southern Demopolis Wall. Nevertheless, that was not the end of the fight as mentioned earlier. The Pandarens as usual were able to arm their discarded equipment with explosives before they moved to their secondary line of defence. The Suburban areas. If the Bone Spirit Sea Demon Horde were going to advance, they were not going to make it easy for them at all. Sadly, this also meant that their primary way of attacking the Ooofpa Loopa was disrupted since their artillery guns had to be discarded as an accessory for the explosions to temporarily halt the Bone Spirit Sea Demon Horde climbing on the walls. Yet, Xiong Da had a fairly shrewd idea in his mind. He told the Pandarens to aim and load their artillery guns before abandoning them. Apparently, there was a Pandaren within their midst that was able to wire all the artillery guns to a remote control button, allowing the Southern Walls to give one last offensive volley against the Ooofpa Loopa before they destroyed the artillery guns. (Lest the few that had been trampled by the Bone Spirit Sea Demons.) Some of the Pandarens thought that the loss of their wall meant that they had lost the raid instance, and their despair almost drove them to have no hope. "Do not waver! The North is under control by the Royal Zodiac Battalions!! The best our country has to offer! All we need to do is to concentrate on the Southern side, reducing the collateral damage!" Xiong Da reinforced through the announcements and reiterated to them that the needed manpower is still coming in from the airstrip as well as the Pandarens from the North being redeployed to the South. All they had to do was to hold their ground until the Royal Zodiac Battalions managed to stop the Northern side. And just as the two Generals were plummeting the Bone Spirit Demon Horde in the North, they did not notice that there was something brewing within the fog at the base of the Northern Ooofpa Loopa. Neither did the Pandarens in the South notice anything as the two Boss Monsters were being held at bay with roughly the same amount of hit points. Still because of the forceful takeover of the Southern Demopolis Wall, it seemed that the Southern Ooofpa Loopa was about to cause more chaos compared to the Northern one. And with the sea no longer in check by the Pandarens, the Southern Ooofpa Loopa had full reign to do what it pleased without much counter¡­ or that was what it thought until it sensed multiple incoming missiles from the centre of the city heading towards it. Similar to the procurement of tanks, the Pandarens had invested enough in the war efforts that they had acquired rocket trucks. The fairly iconic Russian Katyusha rocket launchers were at their disposal and Xiong Da did not hesitate to bring what they could find in the Demopolis bas.e.m.e.nt to the battlefield. Once a centrepiece in the Russian military during the second world war, the ones the Pandarens possessed had been tuned with far better rocket navigation and aiming systems. The artillery guns might have been disposed of after the remote activation of the final volley of attacks but the Pandarens still had a way to fight back. The only problem was that the delay between each volley of missiles from the rocket trucks was rather immense due to the slow reloading of missiles done by a few Pandarens. It made it unviable for the rocket trucks to do as much damage as they had been able to do before the Southern Ooofpa Loopa got immune to the elemental attacks. Yet, every bit counted until the Pandawans on the surface got a mysterious transmission from Shi Zuo and Luo Bo that they might have potentially found a way to fight toe to toe with the Southern Ooofpa Loopa. Chapter 1113 - The Secret Weapon Chapter 1113 ¨C The Secret Weapon "Actuators normal. Engine valves patent, all limbs have power. Basic Weapon Systems are online. Just a little more stuff¡­" Shi Zuo was looking through the checklist thoroughly to ensure that they had activated everything in the c.o.c.kpit. "Are we done yet? Can''t we just fire off at the speed of light?" Luo Bo was yawning as she relaxed on the inclined seat, waiting for her dear boyfriend to finish looking through the manual. "Every second lost here means a more dire situation up on the surface. This is just a raid instance, you do not have to be too particular with all the specifics." "Way to ''not'' put me under pressure! Would you prefer that we just crash and burn the moment we lock on to the enemy?" Shi Zuo questioned her as he flipped a few switches on. "If we do not know what this baby can do, how are we going to win this? In case you forgot, there are TWO Raid Boss Monsters waiting for us up there! I, for one, don''t want to be remembered as ''that one Pandawan who ruined the secret weapon to succeed in the Demopolis City Raid Instance'' !" "Then why is this even more difficult than the tanks and artillery guns we previously operated? "Luo Bo questioned but Shi Zuo did not even bother replying as he was too occupied with the remaining items on the checklist but eventually gave in. Although he knew that if he ignored her, he could activate the c.o.c.kpit faster for operational use, but he was afraid a bored Luo Bo might do something rash. "You would have to ask Boss Jin. Maybe it had always been programmed like this? Maybe the bonus we missed out on, would have made things easier. Could even be some sort of penalty for us kinda cheating the dice game back then." Shi Zuo answered as he continued to keep his face buried deep in a physical manual book. That reply of course made Luo Bo even more bored since she was not exactly listening to the things he said. And thus, she decided to do it her own way, after all, this was really just a raid instance. There was no need to be so uptight in her opinion. (She lied. Luo Bo wanted to fight in the big giant robot as quickly as possible.) "AHHHHH WHATEVER, I AM TURNING IT ON!" Luo Bo commented as she sat properly at the front console and pressed the ignition button. The interfaces immediately lit up right in front of them and the dark metal surfaces in front of them instantly boot up to show the surroundings. The hangar outside of the c.o.c.kpit was poorly lit when they entered it previously but when the ignition button was pressed, the hangar bay automatically raised its alarm to red alert. Flash lights were lit up and various autonomous equipment started to move around them. "Arghhh!! Luo Bo, dear. Can you please be a bit more patient?! I''m not done with it!! If there is something to happen before we-'''' Shi Zuo tried to talk some sense into his girlfriend, but she was no longer listening. The Rabbit Pandawan was going to be selfish as she grabbed the joystick consoles towards her and put on her seatbelt. "I believe in you! No one else but you can find out along the way when we are fighting the boss monster." Luo Bo encouraged the Mad Monkey Cultivator as she pressed a button on the System interface indicating ''Launch''. Despite it being a flat panel with some interactive holographic buttons, there was actually some pressure feedback when she pressed the ''Launch'' button. Originally, Shi Zuo had wanted Bu Dong or Deng Long to pilot the Supa Robot as those two were veterans in the Supa Robot War mini game. However, Luo Bo did not care about Shi Zuo''s ''logic'' plus the sight of a Taurus Supa Robot felt awfully familiar to her that Luo Bo said she had to ride it no matter what. (She remembered seeing it somewhere but she could not recall it on the spot since she was preoccupied to know that they were vital in those fights or maybe there was just too much crazy stuff happening.) Most importantly, she wanted the raid points. Initially, she did not care about the Boss Monster as it had been pretty apparent that it was designed with team effort in mind. But right now, she saw the opportunity to not only earn raid points but be the best person to earn the raid points. How could she hand over such a precious fighting equipment to Bu Dong and Deng Long when it could potentially defeat not one but two Ooofpa Loopas?! That would definitely mean that she would be the MVP of the raid if she managed to pull it off and she would show that Hippo what it means to be the best raid cultivator in Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas. (Not to mention it could mean getting a special sort of PLUSHIE!!!) "F.u.c.k f.u.c.k f.u.c.k! Screw it! Why did I even bother to try and reason with her?!" Shi Zuo cursed their situation in his mind as he was forced to watch Luo Bo not giving a damn about his explanations. He quickly strapped on his seatbelt and began to ensure that all the robot''s parameters were within range for the launch. At that point, he could feel the Supa Robot was slowly being shifted around within the hangar, a corner where a large heavy metal door slowly rose up. As the front monitor was something similar to a panel with 270 degrees of vision, he was able to have a bird''s eye view of the hangar because of the connection between the robot and the hangar. "Luo Bo. Wear this. It should help you with the fight since you are piloting the robot. This will lighten the load for you while I provide the necessary support." Shi Zuo said as he threw a helmet towards her direction and she did not hesitate to wear it. This caused a series of brain shockwaves transmitting to her head and she could feel a phantom interaction between her and the robot. Lights also began to lit up the route of the launch tube as the movement came to a halt. The tubes that were initially stuck to the Supa Robot were finally disengaged after Shi Zuo cleared them via his own interface. "All Systems green. You are good to-" "MECHATAUR LAUNCHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Luo Bo shouted excitedly as she stepped on the throttle and slammed the accelerator joystick to the maximum. Chapter 1114 - The Royal Zodiac Battalions Need To Win Chapter 1114 ¨C The Royal Zodiac Battalions¡¯ Need To Win "HEEEEEEEEEE HIIIIIII YIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~!" The Southern Ooofpa Loopa''s screeches caused an incoming barrage of Katyusha elemental rockets to be diverted away from it and they exploded midway as the screeching sound waves were enough to cause an impact. The Pandarens who saw the sudden change of development started to feel extremely nervous since this was the first time that the Southern Ooofpa Loopa had directly taken any action. So far it had merely spent its time spawning the eggs from which the Bone Spirit Sea Demons would emergy to fight against the Pandarens and slowly approached their location. Despite the Big Boss starting its counterattack, the Bone Spirit Sea Demons were not letting up with their attacks too. A few of the Royal Tiger Soldiers who had been stationed at the Southern area to give their Tiger General Ya Bai constant updates met with pretty hefty resistance. "The Southern Ooofpa Loopa just sent out another wave and this time, it seems that we might not have enough firepower to match against." One of the Tiger Scouts reported. "Is it some Giant Squid or Octopus?" Ya Bai asked as they also saw several new additions to the Northern Bone Spirit Demon Horde which he had never seen during his fight against the real one weeks ago. Bone Spirit Velociraptors were emerging out of the fog and they were two times faster than the current wave of Demons, breaking the Royal Zodiac Battalions acc.u.mulated momentum. While the Pandarens manning the artillery guns on the Demopolis Wall were independent of the Royal Zodiac Battalions, Pandawans Deng Long and Se Lang were constantly exchanging information with the soldiers to provide necessary support on the ground. They had dedicated four to five artillery guns to aid as the ground support and the rest were used to combat against the Northern Ooofpa Loopa. As of now, they had managed to reduce the Northern Ooofpa Loopa down to 30% of its hit points but the Southern Ooofpa Loopa was still around the 50% mark. However, unlike its Southern cousin, the Northern Ooofpa Loopa had still not launched any counter attacks and merely continued to send out batches of stronger and stronger Bone Spirit Demons against the cultivators. It was still difficult but manageable for the Royal Zodiac Battalions to hold the ground in the open space. And yet the streamers who were watching the fight were finally able to see their Royal Zodiac Cultivators fight to the best of their ''public'' limits. Some might have incurred serious injuries but the inscriptions and potions which the Battalions poured their money tremendously into had allowed them to stay alive. Both of the Generals were aware that the public must be watching them through various streaming platforms and it would be pathetic if their Battalions were to fall in battle because they had ordered them to restrain themselves. They would also felt responsible if their actions would lead to the Pandarens failing in this raid instance. Thus, Hou Fei and Ya Bai had allowed the unlimited spending of the necessary raid supplies to ensure that they would survive and triumph against the Ooofpa Loopa. Yet, that was not all they had in mind. The newspapers had painted them as the saviours of the previous event despite it not being the case. Even though they were the ''scapegoats'', the two Royal Zodiac Battalions could not wash the shame that they were assisted by a small name Dungeon Supplier. Although there had been State Agents in the area, Kong Rong and Ryuli had admitted in their reports that they did not need to unleash their abilities since the Dungeon Supplier''s team had been able to clear the entire incident without their help. Initially, they had only wanted to test Jin''s strength but it had subsequently turned into his debut when both he and his people had banished the Loopa Ooofpa into oblivion. The two Generals, while relieved to know that they were only doing clean-ups and assisting with the redevelopment of the land once more (as requested by Jin since the Spirit of the Lands had a deal with the System), they were not satisfied with the reported outcome¡­ until now. They had never expected to ever see the Loopa Oofpa again. Even Hou Fei, who was one of the associates for the Dungeon Supplier store, had been completely baffled when he got news about the Final Boss being that accursed monster. So, since the opportunity to redeem their failures in the raid instance had appeared, they intended to not only reinforce to the public that they were indeed capable of clearing the raid instances, but they also wanted to let the public see that it was indeed the ''Royal Zodiac Battalions'' who had defeated the abomination and properly hide the rumours that it was some random cultivator that did it. To Hou Fei, it was all about damage control for his battalion while promoting Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas AND keeping Jin''s involvement with the real Loopa Ooofpa a low profile. ¡ª¨C "There''s a short interval where the Ooofpa Loopa changed its immunity by vibrating its entire body, as if he is shaking it off. We should use that time to hit as hard as possible." General Ya Bai pointed out as he grabbed one of the Bone Spirit Velociraptors and crushed its head like an orange squash. "So far, it''s all elemental projectiles, if we hit it with our fists with pure chi energy, it should be counted as a non elemental attack." General Hou Fei mentioned as he literally cooked the head of a raptor with pure chi while it was being pinned down. The Bone Spirit Velociraptor was unable to perform any counterattack despite trying to sway its body weight around away from Hou Fei. However as the two were discussing their next move which could potentially end the fight for the Northern Ooofpa Loopa, it suddenly started to screech the same way as its Southern counterpart. A large b.u.t.t was seen emerging out from the magical portal and everyone feared the worst. "A THIRD Ooofpa Loopa?! In the middle of the city?! You have to shitting me!!!" Xiong Da cursed as he could go insane from the absurdity of the current situation. However, they were unable to verify the monster emerging out of it since they had never seen the entirety of an Ooofpa Loopa before. (Maybe it had small little legs too¡­? Who knows!) At that point, Pandarens also reported a few Bone Spirit Demons dropping out of the magical portal, dropping from the sky. But because of the height, most of the Bone Spirits Demons merely fell to their death. Yet, that was enough to scare the Pandarens since it was akin to projectiles falling out of the sky, damaging their defence barriers and equipment. "Shit. We have to kill our Ooofpa Loopa fast before it summons another one!" Hou Fei shouted but Ya Bai stopped him for a moment to think. "Remember what the previous Ooofpa Loopa did? It screeched too but nothing happened. What if that screech was actually his summoning rather than the one we are fighting?" "You mean¡­" Hou Fei could understand the dilemma Ya Bai was facing. If Yai Bai was correct then it would mean they had to defeat the Southern one to stop its casting. However, if they stopped attacking the Northern boss, it might also summon a replacement¡­ But when all hope seemed to disappear, there was one thing they could count on. Flying through the air, was it a bird? Was it a plane? Nope, it was a Supa Robot to save the day! Chapter 1115 - The Arrival of Mechataur Chapter 1115 ¨C The Arrival of Mechataur Just as the Pandarens were feeling despair from the sudden emergence of the magical portal, they heard a loud booming sound from the north eastern direction of Demopolis. All of them assumed that there was something as sinister as the appearance of the third Ooofpa Loopa and even the Generals believed that it could be the summoning of a fourth Ooofpa Loopa. But it was not until the Royal Zodiac Battalions saw that the booming sound came into ''sight''. "Boombayah!!!!!" Luo Bo shouted in the loud speaker and everyone in the Northern Demopolis Wall was shocked to see a Supa Robot smash itself into the Northern Ooofpa Loopa. The Boss'' hit points drastically dropped by 10% making everyone stare in disbelief before cheering at the top of their voice. Ya Bai could not believe his eyes seeing a deus ex machina come in to save them from this seemingly futile fight. However, Hou Fei had seen Mechataur in action before so he smirked and slapped Ya Bai''s back. "Might as well finish the job before the Ooofpa Loopa gets immune to physical attack." Hou Fei advised as the slap woke Ya Bai out of his state of shock. Afterwards, he grabbed him to throw the Royal Snake General into the air. At the same time, he had transferred some of his chi into Ya Bai, allowing him to gather some momentum in Chi gathering when he was in mid air. "Is this revenge for stepping on you?!" Ya Bai shouted but Hou Fei merely shrugged his shoulders, before enveloping himself with even more chi to jump towards the Ooofpa Loopa too. Simultaneously, the Mechataur uncoiled his right arm so it could send a devastating punch right after smashing against the Big Boss. However, the Ooofpa Loopa was surprisingly agile and sent out a tentacle from its orifices to block the attack. It even shot out hardened spikes as tough as steel from its main c.h.e.s.t and into Mechataur''s torso, yet Co-Pilot Shi Zuo was able to detect the abnormalities quickly and told Luo Bo to take care of it. "Yes, Sir!" Luo Bo replied as she turned the joystick hard enough to swirl the body while using her thought to control the interface helmet she was wearing to deploy additional defensive platings at the torso area in case the spikes managed to hit her. Thankfully only two of those spikes ended up grazing the Mechataur due to the aid of the additional steel plates protecting it. However, the graze was sufficient for the System to alert Shi Zuo to purge those platings. He did not hesitate to follow the system''s control''s command and subsequently realised that the spikes were covered with some sort of corroding poison that was capable of burning through the defensive plating. Perhaps the system control was afraid that the poison and melted metal could damage Mechataur''s torso and recommended the purging of the metal plates. "Thank you for taking its attention off of us!" Ya Bai shouted as he sent a flying punch towards the Ooofpa Loopa and behind him, the embodiment of his Tiger aura was overflowing. At that point when the punch impacted the Ooofpa Loopa, the bright bluish tiger silhouette materialised into a metaphysical form as it widened its mouth to plunge its fangs into the Ooofpa Loopa. The metaphysical tiger''s attack continued as Tiger General Ya Bai continuously sent his punches towards the body of the Ooofpa Loopa, causing internal injury to its organs. In retaliation, the Ooofpa Loopa screeched in pain and the Bone Spirit Velociraptors that had been harassing the frontliners turned around to assault Ya Bai. However, it seems as if they had forgotten the second powerhouse on the battlefield. Hou Fei''s presence was not felt throughout the exchange of blows despite the fact that he had displayed an overwhelming aura at the start. By the time all the members in the fight remembered about his presence, Hou Fei was already standing at the top of the Ooofpa Loopa and exuded an aura that was suffocating not only to the monsters but the entire battlefield. A snake silhouette gracefully emerged in the open and its metaphysical form was already binding the Ooofpa Loopa despite its attempt to remove it with its tentacles. "This is a skill I can still show the public." Hou Fei mumbled to himself as he clasped his fingers and shouted his technique. "Advanced Snake Technique. Binding Burn of the Royal Snake." Hou Fei called out and the metaphysical snake chi energy turned even more blinding bright. Even those at the Southern portion of Demopolis could see it happening from afar. Yet when all this was happening, Ya Bai did not stop and also initiated his technique. Since Hou Fei was going with the light elemental chi energy, he decided to follow the same and even instructed the pilots of Mechataur to do the same if they had any. "Light?" Shi Zuo panicked for a moment, trying to search for the right attack option but Luo Bo did not think much and went ahead of him again. "Taurus Horn Beam!" Luo Bo shouted as the horns of Mechataur raised to temperature got enough to turn its energy into a pair of laser beams, blasting away any tentacles and heading towards the main body of the Ooofpa Loopa. Ya Bai also gathered his energy to the middle of his palms and sent them towards the main body of Ooofpa Loopa. The resultant blast caused a bright shining blue light to mix with the Mechataur and Hou Fei''s attack, causing the last blow to the Ooofpa Loopa to be a fantastic light show. The hit points drastically dropped and both the soldiers and Pandarens cheered on as the Northern Ooofpa Loopa''s health bar bottomed out. The System visually broke it to show off that it had lost, while sending out an area wide announcement that it had been defeated. All the Bone Spirit Demons that had been summoned by the Northern Ooofpa Loopa instantly dropped dead to the ground regardless of their variant and size. In fact, the latest variants were the first to fall out of action and the fighting on the northern side ceased immediately. Still, the people stationed on Northern Demopolis knew that they had won a battle, but they had yet to win the war! Chapter 1116 - Extra -Krafty Auditor Chapter 1116 ¨C Extra -Krafty Auditor "They aren''t doing too bad for a big group of low to mid grade cultivators. Didn''t expect Hou Fei to enter, but hey who am I to prevent anyone who can afford to spend a shitload of money from entering? With their presence, it should mean that there is a good chance they might be able to win this without too many casualties. ¡­ Well, I did program it in such a way that a couple of nasty surprises are only waiting to be activated if they don''t clear it anytime soon. Hmmm¡­ or should I tweak up the difficulty¡­.or should I leave them alone?" Kraft talked to ''himself'' as he watched the progress through his phone. He could feel both adrenaline and reluctance coursing through his veins at the same time. Regardless of the current outcome of the raid instance, it was of little concern to the fox as the operation to mobilise the stomach flu pandemic was currently underway. The Night Foxes had already been dispatched to the various cities and Kraft had decided to tag along to visit Aljun City, even though he claimed his direct interaction with the sabotage mission would be overkill. No, he had come for a different reason. He was intrigued by the crystal technology they had to offer after Rex and Starry Mood managed to procure the entire Flying Fortress. The preliminary analysis of the mothership had already been processed by the System and the report was eye catching not just to Kraft but to Jin''s research team as well. Ayse and particularly Rei were dying to get their hands on it after Rex had brought it back to Demopolis for processing. They found it being accompanied by the Devil Dragons and Goblin Wyvern Knights who had taken turns guarding the Flying Fortress on its way back since it got damaged during their dogfights in order to obtain it. (Despite Kraft''s earlier threats of damaging the Flying Fortress, the System ''absolved'' them of their ''crimes'' because it was unrealistic for it to come unharmed in an intensive bout of air to air combat.) "Anyways consider yourselves lucky, that I find my current predicament to be more fun than messing with you all in the raid instance. I can always watch the chaos in subsequent fights. Time to grab the Crystal Tech before the Churchies managed to do anything with it. Don''t want them to have an added advantage against us." Kraft ultimately decided to obtain the Cyrstal Tech but the System queried whether he was assuming too much that there were blueprints about the Crystal Tech in the first place. "Aljun City is considered to be the most advanced city around the neighbourhood, so the possibility of it having a stash of physical blueprints should be extremely low. Besides, with the Church of the Afterlife''s connections, the possibility of them obtaining them even after Original Bellator Kraft steals them is very high." The System stated the obvious that Kraft wondered if he should even reply back his opinion at such a dumb report. (Eventually, he caved in since his mouth was itchy.) "Well, duh. Since they have advanced their Crystal Tech, obviously their storage method would have to be something Crystal Tech-ish. I don''t believe they don''t have any copies of their stuff. We just gotta make it harder for the Church to find it or¡­ Hmmm, Hmmm, Hehehehehehe!" "Or better yet make them suffer by manipulating the backup blueprints and change them to have the wrong dimensions, adding a screw or something within the build that will create a weakness. Something like that Moon Wars Saga where the Death Moon could be destroyed entirely by simply destroying one of their pipelines. Hahahah!" "Oh, that will be a fun thing to do, sabotaging them without them realising it. For now, we have to find a person to get into the base for us." Kraft commented as he was already strolling around the outskirts of the city''s main air base compound, Geylan Air Base. And it so happened that someone had recently come out of the air base in a fairly modern motorized carriage powered by crystals. "This guy should work well enough." Kraft thought as he typed in his own group chat that the Dark Elves continued their pandemic operation while he went off to have a little fun. After which, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers, immediately casting a spell towards the direction of the carriage while he continued to stroll out of sight of the guards who were looking at him from a distance. Seeing a suspicious person wearing a trench coat, the on duty guard leader was getting a bad vibe and decided to confront him head on. Not long later, the carriage returned back to Kraft and the driver even lowered its window to speak to him. From afar, the guard leader noticed that the driver had gone all the way out to open the door for the mysterious person in that long trench coat. After which, the driver drove back to the Geylan Air Base front gates, prompting the Guard Leader to hurry back. "Why did you let him go back in without checking his credentials??" The Guard Leader questioned the guards that opened the gates for them to enter. "Sir, that person in the trench coat is THAT somebody." The guards replied in a very hushed tone, implying that was the reason why they opened the gates for him. "That somebody?" The Guard Leader took some time to understand until the guards added that the carriage was under Major Thicket. It then started to click in his brain. The person in the trench coat must be the rumoured mysterious Air Force auditor who had come today in for an inspection. (Of course, no one knew that Kraft had already altered the memories of everyone in the vicinity.) And with Kraft assuming that particular identity, upon brainwashing Major Thicket, he managed to enter without a hitch. "Oh, lucky me! To get the right person on the first try¡­ There must be some unseen force guiding the hand of my fate. Hehehe!" Kraft commented loudly, while Major Thicket nodded his head profusely as if Kraft had shared something very profound with him. (It was apparent the Major had been brainwashed.) As the carriage went further into the base''s compound, Kraft touched his face a couple of times, allowing him to change his facial features into someone that was totally unrecognisable to Jin and his minions. He even secretly transformed his shirt beneath his trenchcoat to suit the Air Force''s attire. All of these preparations were taken based on the memories of Major Thicket since he had to act as that mysterious auditor. "Since I am going around questioning everything that requires rigorous inspection, I might as well enjoy the grand tour of this place and check out everything I deem as essential for my ''audit''." Kraft smiled as he crossed his legs and enjoyed the rest of the ride as his driver was in extreme distress from the current situation. Chapter 1117 - Destruction Of The Air Strip Chapter 1117 ¨C Destruction Of The Air Strip There was no impact on the progression of the Southern Ooofpa Loopa when its Northern counterpart fell in battle. Without any continuous artillery to hold it back, the Southern Ooofpa Loopa continued to approach Demopolis through the seas slowly. The Bone Spirit Sea Demons started to seep through the defences of the Suburban area since there were as many leaks to its defences as the number of offensive opportunities to attack them. Urban warfare was not as easy as the Pandarens had initially thought it to be. Because of the strength of the monsters, the ability to defeat multiple Pandarens with just one swipe of their tentacle arms, the Bone Spirit Sea Demons were actually overpowering the Pandarens in the fight. Their makeshift barricades were not doing much in the way of stopping the rampaging Horde, rather it provided only a moment of respite for the Pandarens to regroup until they could no longer hold the place. Most, if not all of the Pandawans that were present in the raid dungeon had already stationed in the area to assist with the fight but since they were mere mid grade cultivators, there was only so much they could do. However, the Northern Ooofpa Loopa''s announced defeat was music to their ears, a message to boost the down-stricken morale of the current band of Pandarens to keep on fighting. Yet, there were still two issues to contend with. The first issue was the Southern Ooofpa Loopa coming forth inland. As much as they disliked it, the Pandawans believed it was a good opportunity to fight the giant abomination without worrying too much about the terrain. Thus, they had decided to take all possible cause of action to keep the Bone Spirit Sea Demons at bay until the Southern Ooofpa Loopa entered the Suburban area so they could use the explosives they had prepared to drop some high rise buildings on the fellow. The other issue was that the b.u.t.t of the third Ooofpa Loopa. The emergence of its posterior caused several severe logistical problems though the Pandawans'' only major concern was the runway strip that allowed their steady reinforcements to come in. Those Pandarens who were killed were forcefully teleported back to the Shop Instance as usual and if they wished to enter again, they needed to buy the ticket and wait for their turn on the plane. While Jin and the System had previously contemplated creating a premium ticket to allow people to skip the queue for a price, they believed it was unfair for the common folk who wanted to try their hands on the raid instance. There was no issue transporting the entire bunch of Pandarens into the raid instance but overcrowding would cause the blind to lead the blind. Also, this would create an artificial sense of demand and supply to the entire customer base, making them worry they would miss out on the raid points. That was why there were all these fanciful buffers of entry to prevent the Pandarens from spamming and rushing the raid instance. Unlike the past where they needed every single cultivator available for their raid instance, Dungeons and Pandas had seen its customer base to be growing at a rather terrifying pace. So, with the increasing popularity of the Dungeon Supplier store, limiting them was the only choice as much as they wanted to get more money from the cultivators. Still, they did not think it was a bad idea to implement the premium ticket as part of the raid points system. Upon reaching a certain amount of raid points, the Pandamonium App would give the Pandarens a free premium ticket to jump the queue as well as enter into the fray by teleporting into the safest zone of the raid instance. Thus, to some Pandarens, it did not really matter if the runway strip was destroyed. But in the grand scheme of things, the Pandawans believed that they needed to protect it as much as possible to prevent the loss of reinforcements. However, some Pandarens believed that Jin would not be so stupid to cut off the reinforcements entirely, and rather slow it down even further so that the Pandarens in the raid instance would be of a sufficient number. This inadvertently allowed the Bone Spirit Demons to destroy the runway landing strip and even damage the plane''s wings upon landing. In turn, this forced the NPC Panda pilot to make a crash landing on the runway strip rendering it to be useless. Thankfully, all of the cultivators within the plane had survived the experience and they proceeded outside with the help of the existing Pandarens who had been fighting the Demons. The overall in charge of the Pandawans, Xiong Da was informed of this particular change in development and he felt perplexed how the subsequent reinforcements were supposed to enter. Until a beep sound emerged from his phone and there was an announcement that the reinforcements would be arriving from the extreme North of Demopolis, beyond its walls since it was now clear from any large threats. "So¡­the new batch of cultivators will need much more time to come in to assist with the war effort." Xiong Da scratched his head as he managed to pulverise a falling Bone Spirit Demon before checking on his phone. "Hey yo!!!!" Luo Bo shouted as she carried two tanks in working condition with Mechataur''s palms for a quicker transport to the South. "We finally get to see the saviour of this raid instance, huh? Now I understand why you messaged us saying you found a special weapon and wanted to keep it a secret until you arrived!" Xiong Da said, which caused Luo Bo to giggle. Bu Dong who finally saw the special weapon in his two eyes, he was shouting in the Pandawan''s channel. "Can I ride it? Can I ride it?!" Deng Long who saw it also raised his voice and wanted to pilot it too. "Nahh! Not a chance!" Luo Bo replied as she slowly placed the tanks Mechataur had been holding onto the ground. "Pleeeeaaaasssse!!! I know how to operate it too! I saw its model in the Supa Robot Wars instance but I am still trying to progress to obtain it." Bu Dong pleaded in the channel. "Babe, let them have it. They probably know how to use this better than us." Shi Zuo remarked as he was already weary from the constant surveillance of the Supa Robot''s system parameters. "Alright, since I had my fun bashing the first boss, I''ll let you have it." Luo Bo was surprisingly amicable instead of her usual stubbornness. The Rabbit Cultivator could already hear the weariness in Shi Zuo''s voice and she didn''t want to strain her boyfriend even more. Bu Dong and Deng Long shouted in joy as they both looked forward to their chance to shine! Chapter 1118 - Boot Up, Mechataur! Chapter 1118 ¨C Boot Up, Mechataur! Even with all the commotion inside Demopolis, the exchange of pilots for the Mechataur had proceeded smoothly. Apart from Luo Bo having hesitated a bit when the time came to leave Mechatur, Shi Zuo had decidedly pulled her away, reminding her that enough was enough. "I''d rather fight with the Bone Spirit Sea Demons toe to toe than having to read all those vital parameters to keep the Mechataur working properly! That hasty boot up of Mechataur made me nearly go mad." Shi Zuo continued to distance Luo Bo away from the Mechataur while bidding the Supa Robot Veterans duo good luck. The two pilots nodded their heads in unison and chose their seats instinctively. It was as if this was not the first time they had been piloting a Supa Robot, but this was indeed their maiden voyage on the Mechataur. As the c.o.c.kpit closed, the duo immediately raised their storage rings up and a set of items immediately came out of it. The very same helmet that Luo Bo had been using to control the Mechataur with her thoughts, a key card that had been engraved with their name and rank used for the Supa Robot Wars as well as a cosmetic inscription charm. "Two Star Ensign Deng Long, signing in." Deng Long said as he finally found a suitable card slot on the seat where Shi Zuo was controlling the console. "Three Star Ensign Bu Dong, signing in." Bu Dong subsequently inserted his key card too after he wore his helmet. Unlike the one Luo Bo wore, Bu Dong had a customised helmet made out of carbon fibre and the aesthetic was more pleasant looking compared to the dull looking one Luo Bo had. However, his helmet and the current outfit he was wearing did not match at all and that was where the cosmetic charm came into play. With a quick chi activation, both Deng Long and Bu Dong changed their current battle outfit into tight skin suits made out of nanofiber material. They even had an insignia of an Astronaut Panda at their shoulder, displaying their affiliations to the Space Pandas, a Supa Robot Wars'' guild which Bu Dong and Deng Long had created exclusively for the most skilled space pilots. It was built in hopes to tackle the Supa Robot Wars'' future dungeon and raid contents when Jin would finally update the mini game. Unbeknownst to Shi Zuo, he had made the right decision to pass the piloting to the veteran space pilots mainly because of one thing. To inexperienced pilots like Shi Zuo and Luo Bo, they had to manually input their options to use Mechataur and that was the restriction that Jin had placed before he was caged into oblivion to do his work. But all of that changed when one had played Supa Robot Wars for a lengthy period of time. The key cards Bu Dong and Deng Long had, were a set of presets they had saved from the various fights they encountered in the Supa Robot Wars. So, when they inserted their key cards, the control consoles in front of them instantly changed to suit them rather than the pilots adjusting themselves to the control consoles. The buttons, pulleys and joysticks had been reconfigured to the setting that Deng Long and Bu Dong had been playing with. All the parameters of the Supa Robot were automatically regulated without any input from the pilots. What took Shi Zuo ages to boot up the Mechataur was merely seconds for the space pilot duo. And not only that, the key card had something special which Shi Zuo and Luo Bo would not have been able to utilise. The ability to summon various attachments and weapons for the Mechataur to use. And that was actually the bonus that Captain Hei and Bai had prepared to reward Shi Zuo and Luo Bo if they would have managed to get a 12 in their dice game. (Or you know, beat them up until both of them were rendered incapable of fighting if they had actually duelled.) Usually in the mini game, Bu Dong and Deng Long had to prepare the attachments and weapons in the hangar bay. Once they launched out of the hangar bay, they would either have to work with what they had or return back to the hangar bay for refuelling and reattachment of their weapons. But that caused time and delay, eating up precious seconds of their mission time and possibly their rewards too. Thus, when they saw the alert where the system control is allowing them to summon any attachments instantly for this entire raid, Bu Dong and Deng Long literally screamed in excitement. "This Mechataur Mk 3 is a heavy class Supa Robot. We should be able to field the extensive equipment!" Deng Long shouted in excitement as he was checking out all the possible options with lightning fast reflexes. He already knew what weapons both Bu Dong and he would love to use in this current situation and they were solely browsing for those particular options. "We saw how the missiles were useless when he screeched, lasers might be an option, but what is the battery capacity of Mechataur? How about its heat ventilation threshold?" Bu Dong asked as he did a prep warm up with all the pedals and joysticks to make sure the controls were the same as he was used to. "There is the railgun cannon option. But that is one of the few things we have yet to unlock. We would need to pay a lot more than usual to use it here." Deng Long mentioned and Bu Dong looked back at him. "THAT railgun?" Bu Dong queried with his eyes filled with stars. "Aye, the same one in the mission where we had to protect the base from those super carriers diving down from space and into the atmosphere." Deng Long''s comment made them simultaneously recall the one crazy mission. "How much is it? Do we have enough Supa Medals for it or do we need to top it up with Panda Coins?" Bu Dong asked and Deng Long took his phone out to calculate. "Seems like we can exchange our current Heavy Weapons discount voucher to top up the remainder without using any Panda Coins." "Hmmmm but those Heavy Weapon vouchers are hard to come by. We can either exchange it for 10,000 Supa Medals or unlock a new weapon." Bu Dong was in a dilemma since they were one Heavy Weapon voucher short of unlocking the railgun but Bu Dong knew the value of those vouchers since they did not have any expiry date on them. "Use my Panda Coins. We should save those vouchers for another time." Bu Dong made a snap decision to use his money. "If Jin had introduced a Supa Robot in this raid, I can imagine he will do so for the future raids and dungeon content, making our voucher even more valuable!" "Understood." Deng Long immediately cashed in the duo''s Supa Medals while topping up with Panda Coins. The purchase was made instantly and the current console unlocked that particular option for them. "Shall we use it now as an opening attack? Or later? Its specs say that we only have one shot since we do not have additional battery packs to spare." Deng Long asked and Bu Dong already knew what to do. "We will use it after we get close to it. For now, Weapon Set Delta." Bu Dong ordered and Deng Long acknowledged his higher ranked buddy. Chapter 1119 - Mechataur Barrage Chapter 1119 ¨C Mechataur Barrage As the Pandarens were doing their best to fend off the Bone Spirit Sea Demons in the Suburban area, the sound of the boosters from the Supa Robot had the effect of an indirect morale boost from the desperation of their endless fight. It was perfect as a sign that there was some actual hope to cling on. And that hope became even more reassuring when Mechataur''s imposing form hovered above the Suburban area holding on to two huge metal boxes on its back. "Before we deal with the boss, let''s give the Pandarens some time to regroup. Otherwise, they might get caught in the middle of our firefight." Bu Dong exclaimed as he used his helmet to the utmost capabilities it could exert. The control interface on Deng Long''s side suddenly emerged with alert pings on multiple Bone Spirit Sea Demon targets when Bu Dong scanned the Suburban area for enemies. While it would be ideal to catch every single Bone Spirit Sea Demon in its sight, the number of missiles on their giant toy was unfortunately limited despite their temporary ability to summon any weapon set that they owned. "64 targets locked on and ready to be obliterated." Deng Long informed Bu Dong that they had reached the maximum number of monsters they could hit. "Entering some chi for maximum effect!" Bu Dong confirmed as he portrayed his cultivation aura and the Mechataur in turn glowed slightly with an orange hue before it grabbed onto the two metal boxes on its shoulders and aimed it downwards. A few of the Pandarens noticed this and quickly called to their companions to retreat, hoping that the monsters they had engaged could be killed off by the Supa Robot''s fury. The Mechataur let out a stream of steam through its nostrils and its entire body vibrated a little from the knockback as the missiles from the two metal boxes flew out in a rush to annihilate its targets. The missile barrage was a sight to behold for everyone outside the zone of fire, especially Luo Bo who had been unaware that the Mechataur was even able to perform such a feat, despite having been in control of it. "Why are they able to do that? We were the ones who first found it, but I''m sure it wasn''t capable of that yet!" Luo Bo complained as she pulled Shi Zuo''s sleeve, trying to grab his attention. "Who knows? It just proves that it was the right choice to leave it to the experts! They are able to make it fly and shoot missiles whereas I could barely keep it operational! That is the difference between us and them." "If I were to take a guess, it must be that Supa Robot War mini game they''ve been playing that allowed them to pilot it. Make it give them some extra bonuses." Shi Zuo replied, unaware that he had forgotten to mute the Pandawan Channel, allowing the rest of the Pandawans to hear what he was saying as well. "Yep, the controls are exactly the same in Supa Robot Wars! That is why we can pilot this rather easily." Deng Long confirmed as he engaged Mechataur''s thrusters once more while throwing the leftover metal boxes against an injured Bone Spirit Demon to finish it off. "That display of force makes me seriously want to try out the Supa Robot minigame." Xiong Da commented, impressed by the fight. It might be every boy''s dream to pilot a giant mecha, and at least the lawyer was no exception to this. "Go forth, although I have to warn you, the start is kinda sucky with that useless basic robot that you''ll be given. But trust me, it gets better and will definitely be worth your time." Bu Dong didn''t miss the chance to promote this awesome mini game that most of the Pandawans had been ignoring. However, Bu Dong believed in Boss Jin and that the Dungeon Supplier always looked into the future, so the things that he had provided in his Dungeons and Panda should never be deemed useless. "Lol, does that mean our digital pets might be useful in future dungeon instances too?" Bin Yong questioned and Bu Dong commented that it might be a possible feature in the future. After all, hadn''t they already experienced riding on their cultivation styles as mounts? "Looks like we have more things to look forward to. For now, Bu Dong. You have a guest coming into the city that requires some of your¡­ welcomings." Xiong Da interrupted and both the Supa Robot Pilots focused back on their current predicament, only to realise a tentacle was flying straight towards them. "This is nothing!" Deng Long exclaimed as he pressed his finger on the control console and quickly swiped it upwards. As the tentacle approached the Mechataur, an energy shield immediately enveloped the Supa Robot, providing the required defence since it caught the pilots slightly off guard for them to dodge in time. But as much as Deng Long wanted to brag it was nothing, the tentacle was surprisingly tenacious, enough so to pierce through the energy shield damaging the upper c.h.e.s.t portion of the Mechataur. Thankfully, the energy shield lessened the impact pierce of the tentacle''s strike, causing only a hole through its armour without damaging any vital components that could affect the mobility of the Supa Robot. Still, that was enough to get Bu Dong angry. "Bloody Ooofpa Loopa! I will make sure that you are going down hard!" Bu Dong shouted as he controlled the robot to pull out the tentacle while crushing it so that it would not be returning back to the main body. Afterwards, Bu Dong resummoned Weapon Set Delta which was comprised of the two boxes of missiles that they had been handling previously. This time, it was aimed at the Ooofpa Loopa which had finally approached the shores with a bunch of Bone Spirit Sea Demons at its side. "Are you sure we should be using those missiles against the Ooofpa Loopa? It should already be immune to the fire element." Deng Long asked for a confirmation and it acted as a reminder to Bu Dong that the Ooofpa Loopa had its own boss mechanics that they had to handle. "Yeap. I am sure." Bu Dong replied and started to aim his sights at the Boss abomination. However, from Deng Long''s perspective, it seems as if Bu Dong was not attacking the boss but the air spaces around it. "What are you aiming at, bro?" Deng Long questioned but since Bu Dong was in charge of the fire control, he already released the missiles before replying to his co-pilot. Chapter 1120 - The Missiles Chapter 1120 ¨C The Missiles The missiles zoomed past the target as indicated on the control console Deng Long was commanding but he later realised what Bu Dong was actually doing and laughed at the current situation. "How did you come up with this idea? No, first tell me how did you manage to coordinate all of this?" Deng Long questioned as he saw the missiles explode in mid air, causing blue purplish smoke to appear all around the Ooofpa Loopa. "What do you mean? There''s the Pandaren Channel. I merely asked and they responded." Bu Dong answered as he let go of the emptied missile boxes once more and launched the Mechataur towards the Ooofpa Loopa. Some of the Pandarens and even the live stream spectators initially thought that Mechataur had missed all its shots against the Ooofpa Loopa and called it an enormous scale of blunder. However, some of the more observant live streamers noticed that those explosions were placed at almost equal distance away from each other and suspected there was something more to the attack. This was indeed not the ordinary explosions they had seen so far. "And here I thought I needed to run from one end of the map to another!" A punch filled with incredible chi slammed onto the Ooofpa Loopa when Royal Snake General Hou Fei emerged from the explosions, causing it to be knocked sideways and the impact could be seen vibrating on the abomination''s muscles. Those wiggly waves of kinetic energy spread outwards and eventually to the entire body, making the Ooofpa Loopa to have loped sideways. At that point, he regretted making that punch as he realised he could have used more strength against it since the abomination was caught off guard. Still, this was the first time he used this tactic proposed by Bu Dong and regardless of the regret, it was a very hefty punch to drop the Ooofpa Loopa''s hitpoint. "Must say, it sure is a rather convenient tactic despite it being unorthodox in nature," A slash strike was made from the opposite of the Ooofpa Loopa as Royal Tiger General Ya Bai came out of the explosions and a silhouette of a blue gigantic Tiger silhouette pounced onto the abomination, performing the very same attack it had done against its Northern counterpart, incidentally allowing it to return to its original position after Hou Fei''s punch. Although their chi combined were multi elemental, the boss'' immunity had yet to set in and the power they emanated was indeed sufficient to create a damage log in their visors, indicating a drop of hit points in the monster''s health bar. In the meantime, the biggest hitter of all was coming at max speed from the Suburban area with a spear in its hand. "YAAAAAAAAAAAAA'''' Bu Dong and Deng Long shouted as they attempted to crush the spear into the Ooofpa Loopa stomach. Because of the sudden teleportation missile attack that Bu Dong had made, the Ooofpa Loopa was not able to retaliate Mechataur''s flying lance charge, allowing it to pierce it right into its stomach. "THIS IS NOT THE END YET!" Bu Dong shouted as he pulled the joysticks upwards, enabling Mechataur to imitate Bu Dong''s actions by driving the spear in an angled position. It stuck further into the abomination which irritated the Ooofpa Loopa and finally forced it to send a load of tentacles spiralling out of the ground. Those tentacles pierced Mechataur''s legs and torso area and at the same time aimed at the cultivators like General Ya Bai, Hou Fei and their soldiers. The Generals did not have a problem dodging them mid air but the same could not be said about all of their underlings. A few of them shared the same fate as what the Ooofpa Loopa was suffering from, a hole in their stomach. Yet that did not deter the rest as they continued to attack the tentacles and the main body as much as possible. It should go without saying that Mechataur continued to do the same as well. "Purchase completed! Go rampage all you like!" Deng Long shouted as he had purchased a few cash shop items on the fly such as attack and repair drones. The attack drones were shooting out laser beams to break the tentacle''s grip from the Mechataur while the repair drones were performing emergency repairs on the vital components by spraying nanobots (Their costly equivalent to a health potion for the robots) to keep them operational. "Heh! Let''s show the streamers how powerful Supa Robot veterans like us can be in such a toy!" Bu Dong shouted as he once again pulled the joysticks on his console once more. The lance that was stuck within the body of Ooofpa Loopa suddenly clicked and released the outer layer of metal, revealing an inner layer of explosives hidden within it. Bu Dong triggered the explosives with the layer of metal as the shrapnel against the Ooofpa Loopa, damaging its innards and its ability to reproduce any more Bone Spirit Sea Demons. Incidentally, that also caused some of the already birthed Bone Spirits to suffer from a series of muscle spasms, allowing the Pandarens fighting with them to get an upper hand in the situation. That goes the same to the Bone Spirit Sea Demons on the shore along the Ooofpa Loopa. However, there were still many unaffected and they were ready to pounce on the remaining soldiers that had flash teleported into the area. "And now for our final trick!!" Bu Dong shouted as the Exploding Lance suddenly disappeared from Mechataur''s hand and a new weapon appeared to replace it. Mechataur handled the new weapon roughly as it tried to poke through the innards of Ooofpa Loopa even further before pressing on the trigger. "If you can survive this, I have no idea what else could actually kill you. So PLEASE DIE!" Bu Dong requested as Deng Long reported that the energy levels on the weapon had reached critical mass. The Southern Ooofpa Loopa seemed to understand that its life was in danger and even more tentacles shot out of the burning sand caused by Xiong Da''s barrage of missiles and all of them reached Mechataur instead. Deng Long erected an additional energy shield but they were repeatedly broken by the influx of tentacles piercing into them, causing extensive damage to the Mechataur. The Pandarens and live streamers could see the desperation the last Ooofpa Loopa was making since it was at its last stretch. But it eventually did not matter. Bu Dong still managed to send a command for the Mechataur to fire the trigger on its weapon. The Rail Gun. Chapter 1121 - Job Well Done Chapter 1121 ¨C Job Well Done As much as Bu Dong and Deng Long wanted the shot to be fanciful, it was in fact quite a placid and brutal scene when Mechataur squeezed the trigger on the Rail Gun. However, both of them could not deny the monstrous power of the weapon once they watched a piece of the metallic projectile visibly pierce through the Ooofpa Loopa''s mutated head, unveiling the sky behind it. Its hit points directly plummeted from twenty odd percent down to a single digit. Following the laws of nature, the abomination giant''s few remaining hit points also quickly dissipated as it bled to death, painting the sea underneath it green. An announcement resounded far and wide once the health reached the zero value, breaking the health bar. The Southern Ooofpa Loopa had finally been destroyed. Yet the Raid Instance did not put out a congratulations sign which indicated that the raid instance was far from over. "You are kidding, right? We still have to deal with the b.u.t.t a.s.s problem right above us?" Luo Bo questioned and the rest were similarly disappointed at that realisation. "At least it''s just a b.u.t.t, we should be able to clear it quickly." Xiong Da said as he ordered the trucks to re-equip the missiles so that they could use them to launch the missiles against the third and final Ooofpa Loopa. "Still, we cannot forget the boss'' mechanics if we want to fight against it." Bu Dong cautioned them through the Pandawan Channel as he had to kick the door of the c.o.c.kpit down in order to open it. Despite the death of the Southern Ooofpa Loopa, its tentacles remained intact and because they had penetrated through the essential wires that provided power into the c.o.c.kpit, the entire robot was shut down. Even the backup generator had been busted, leaving them to forcefully open the c.o.c.kpit with their legs. "I don''t know about you, but I''m so tired after the two consecutive fights. Can''t they throw us a bone and just call it a win?" Luo Bo complained but she still took a deep breath before gathering her chi once to try aiming at the Ooofpa Loopa''s b.u.t.t with her bow. "Well, we can either rest up now and wait for the descent of the b.u.t.t or we can destroy it before the ugly beast appears entirely on the raid." Xiong Da suggested, yet at that moment there was a crackle on the channel. "HAIIII GUYS!! Do not fear as your saviour is here!" Luo Bo had nearly released her energised bow due to shock as there was a cute little voice coming out from the centre of Demopolis City even though it later became a deafening echo going through their ears. Out from nowhere, a spiralling concrete emerged from the centre and had instantly captured the attention of the hundreds of Pandarens in the middle. "You mean your saviours, right?" Just as the concrete stopped rising after a suitable height, all of the Pandarens were able to see a bright enigmatic duo standing at the top of it with lights shining upon them. (They had no idea where the lights came from.) "Demon Queen of Explosions, Peppers!" The Mage Bellator struck a cutesy pose as she announced herself. "The Beautifully Angelic Goddess, Milk!" The Priest Bellator followed suit, but it was obvious from their performance that they lacked a certain synergy. "Dungeons and Pandas'' favourite employees are here to save you guys from devastation!" The duo spoke in tandem in such a cheesy manner that Hou Fei who was watching the scene from the Southern Walls could not help but laugh at the cringy combo. In the meantime, the rest of the Pandarens were staring at them awkwardly, especially because their appearance had shattered the serious weary atmosphere of the Raid Instance. Only then did they remember that Boss Jin''s store was famously filled with wacky stuff. "I told you this would not work." Peppers whispered to Milk upon looking at the baffled crowd of customers but she had forgotten that the communication channels were still open. "Shhh! We are still live on the channels!" Milk replied back in an annoyed manner and yet the Pandarens continued to hear their squabbles loud and clear. "What the hell was that stupid fox thinking making us do this now. This was a big mistake, a big STUPID! Argggh whatever!" Peppers complained as she raised her cosmetic staff up instead of her usual wooden one. (The kind where there was lots of black paint to make it all demon-y in the staff''s design and a purplish looking heart stone in the middle so that it''s still cutesy in nature- totally not Peppers'' liking.) "Ahh.. that rascal of a mage¡­ and Ms Milk is also up there." Xiong Da said out loud in a trance, smiling widely to himself that it somehow caught Ruo Ying''s attention. "Why are you smiling from one corner of your lip to the other so widely?" Ruo Ying questioned her hubby despite already having pulled his ear and he quickly explained that he was merely reminiscing the days when he had first joined Dungeons and Pandas and had the two of them as his instructors. Ruo Ying nearly did not buy it, especially when Milk managed to take a quick look at him and waved at him. In the meantime, the self proclaimed Demon Queen of Explosions did not waste any time unlike that Goddess Milk trying to curry more favour from the customers. She just wanted things to be over with and claim the reward Kraft had promised them for going into action. The Original Bellator had watched the Raid Instance play out and he agreed with the opinion of Luo Bo and others, the Mechataur VS the Southern Ooofpa Loopa fight had been the perfect climax. Anything else would just pale in comparison. Yet just ending things there would have been boring and logical, as such he had spontaneously decided to spice things up by introducing the Demon Queen and Angelic Goddess as a prelude to the next phase of Jin''s creation. Their upcoming religious organisation. While it sadly remained a work in progress, the crafty fox was using this opportunity to gauge the response of the Pandarens and allowing them to be familiar with the Bellators in case they were ever needed to be out in the real world. (If it was not well received, Kraft still found it funny to employ them out of their comfort zones wearing those odd looking yet stylish enough costumes.) And because this was a Raid Instance and the costumes had kind of sent the impression that these two employees were going to be more of a flashy addition than employing their true powers, the Pandarens did not take them seriously and even thought of them as pure entertainment. However, what Peppers was conjuring was her full strength even though they were currently acting as the Demonic Queen and Angelic Goddess. The Pandarens just could not accept the fact that she could conjure an awfully big ball of fiery mass that was capable of detecting the whole of Ooofpa Loopa. As such they were completely unprepared for when it happened, suddenly getting treated with a firework which Peppers judged as a mere 6/10. "Could be better if it had not just been the b.u.t.t. Meh¡­still looks good enough for an impromptu blast." What followed was the congratulations announcement from the System, but before they were sent out, Milk expanded her powers to heal all those that were still alive. (After all, she was presented as the angel, so she got to show the caring side rather than punching the shit out of people. Nevertheless, it was quite an impressive feat despite the fact that the Pandarens thought it was the ''dungeon instance'' that had healed them.) Everyone cheered loudly while some gave a sigh of relief that they had survived what was undoubtedly the hardest Raid Instance they had ever fought in. To make the scene more memorable, Panda Coins started raining from the aftermath of the explosions which also caused a frenzy among the Pandarens as they desperately tried to grab as many coins as they could. In addition, the System promised them through the Pandamonium App that the rewards would be more than that rain of coins and every cultivator in the Raid Instance could finally have a breather. Chapter 1122 - The Starting Line to Supremacy Chapter 1122 ¨C The Starting Line to Supremacy Once the Raid Instance had been deemed completed by the System, the live streamers and spectators were calling out this fight to be a revolutionary way of playing dungeon instances. In fact, this was the first time these live streamers had gathered such a large audience. For some reason, there had not been too many people interested in watching or hosting dungeon streams, despite it having been available for some time now. The main cause of that was that Jin''s dungeon supplier store had not been around for long enough yet, making it a relatively new sensation. Secondly, King''s Monster had been dominating the field of dungeon suppliers for some time in Shenzhen, and thus Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas had remained under the radar until recently. Third, there had been no way for live streamers and other media influencers to have known about the existence of Jin''s dungeon instances since they had gained their reputation mostly by word of mouth, with limited advertising to the public. But now, it is different. The situation had changed drastically. Jin had decided to go public with his status as a member of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan with his debut fight against the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan brothers. Although that was only known to the Royal Zodiacs, it was sufficient to shake the ground since they were the people that needed to be aware of his appearances. To make things worse for them, the Royal Zodiac Dragon had decided to keep the Panda Clan protected for the maximum amount of time possible, for them to gain enough strength to stand on their own. Such a declaration had never been seen in the past centuries especially when their ancestors had always advocated in favour of retaining the balance between the twelve Zodiacs. Right now, the emergence of a new power with unknown capabilities had rendered the rest quite wary of the new emerging clan. Even the Head of the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan was a bit sceptical of Kong Rong''s decision to protect the Pandas. However, things had quickly changed once Kong Rong''s grandmother, the keeper of the Royal Zodiac Archives had suddenly changed her tune and backed her grandson''s decision, causing possible internal strife to end abruptly within the Dragon Clan. To be frank, even Mr Know-It-All had not expected the old woman to change her tune this easily. Initially, she had been quite adamant in her efforts to prevent the rise of the Panda Clan. It was only after the defeat of the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan''s children that her sudden change came about. When asked about it, she had claimed that the Earth''s leyline divination had changed for the better after that particular fight, prompting Kong Rong''s snap decision to protect the Royal Zodiac Panda to be one of the best choices he had ever made in life. While Jin did not reveal to the public that he represented the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan as of now, Kraft had utilised this brief autonomy to the fullest potential. The protection by the Dragon Clan was pathetic, to say the least in Kraft''s eyes. With only three months of no interference from the other clans, every second of their time to expand was precious. One of the unspoken reasons why Kraft had demanded Jin to clear all his backlogs and promises all in one shot was so that they could this time to move forward. Notwithstanding, Kraft''s idea to use the current Raid instance to attract the masses was a brilliant one. By using Jin''s recreation of the original Loopa Ooofpa into a Raid Instance''s final boss even though it was supposedly just a backup plan, the fox had incited a high amount of interest in this particular Dungeon Supplier''s store. Live Streamers and media influencers finally had their hands on a potentially new trend of videos and it was something that would not fade in a short amount of time. With the government''s initiative to promote sports and cultivation, Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas'' store had been benefitting from the initiative and it was still growing with a decent number patronising it, allowing the new trend that Kraft employed to have growth. It proved that people were interested in increasing their cultivation and what''s more, the surprise appearance of the Royal Tigers and Snake Battalions in the Raid Instance had indeed pulled their weight of the store being reliable and useful. (Something similar to an indirect endors.e.m.e.nt.) While the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan were banging heads against the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan after their initial clash, the Royal Zodiac Tiger Battalion did not care about those political matters. To General Ya Bai, he might be taking orders from the Tiger Head but this had been a personal vendetta to defeat the Loopa Ooofpa even though it was a fake. Besides, he had the responsibility to grow his battalion stronger, so ignoring this chance to fight the abomination would have deprived his battalion of the experiences they needed to reach higher heights especially since he had seen the effects of it on the Snake''s battalion! Just one Pandapolis Raid fight had helped the Snakes improve the coordination above his own troops. It was as if the Snake''s army had been battle hardened with basic war experience. Ya Bai could see the apparent flaws of the Tiger Battalion when compared to the Snake''s during the fight against the Loopa Ooofpa and its Bone Spirits. And thus, with the endors.e.m.e.nt of Royal Zodiac Battalions as well as the battle of the fake Loopa Ooofpa, more people are genuinely interested in Dungeons and Pandas. This was the make or break session and whether Jin could bring out the best of his Dungeon Supplier store would be within these few months, especially the Symposium event where various Dungeon Suppliers both local and overseas would make their presence in this event. The System and Kraft did not wish to put any ''unwanted'' pressure on Jin''s work of art and thus the need for him to clear all his backlogs so that he could concentrate on the Symposium event even though he did not like to join it in the first place. While the topic was not announced as of yet, the System had already registered Jin for the global event. (At least it did report this to Jin rather than keeping quiet.) Chapter 1123 - Aftermath of the Demopolis Raid Instance Chapter 1123 ¨C Aftermath of the Demopolis Raid Instance Two weeks after the end of the first Demopolis Raid Instance, the focus had completely shifted on the best ways of defeating the Ooofpa Loopas. Once the mechanics had been figured out, the fights had mainly become about completing the raid to earn points. Most of such Raid Instances had been filled to the brim with people on an hourly basis and the mode of play had been made easier since the Demopolis City that they used was being upgraded consistently. In most raids, the instance would reset and the Pandarens would start from zero once more. But for this particular raid, the remnants of the previous fight had been deliberately left to show the consequences of the various instances before them. This included the broken walls and destroyed sub urban areas as well as the tanks. This was worsened whenever Kraft had decided to tune up the difficulty allowing the Bosses to overtake and win the Raid Instance. Although they did not trample the place, they did leave behind some very nasty Bone Spirit Demons. Thus, there was continuity in those Raid Instances where the Pandarens were tasked to retake Demopolis City to fight against the new wave of Ooofpa Loopas. And once they had won back Demopolis City by killing the Bone Spirit Demons residing in the area, the City would then magically refresh their ammunition, walls and defensive instalments for the incoming Pandarens to play properly. (Lest the other debris was the way.) The System even gave out raid points for clearing the debris and rubbish being left in the instance and they were designated to throw it into a Lost Tech Recycler which had been given a set of cosmetic inscriptions to look like the sludge monster in the Hot Springs Instances. Though the System had recommended throwing in the Sludge Monster to work with the collection of rubbish, Kraft did not bother approving it at all. Still, these instances were sufficient to generate some form of media influences for certain live streamers to comment and talk about. As a result, they had made their store''s cute little announcer Bear Cub One take the opportunity to create its own channel and comment on the raid instance on a daily basis. Kiyu was involved with the project and figured they should ride the current wave by making an official Vtube and Metube Channel to promote Dungeons and Pandas. They also created one on Twitcher, the overseas streaming channel so that they could exploit the money from the rest of the world too. To her surprise, Bear Cub One was doing rather decently and already had over forty thousand subscribers in the span of these two weeks. Banking on his success they started having giveaways with some special figurines and even opened merchandise stores for both local and overseas audiences. Meanwhile, Jin might have been away from the shop but he had made a lot of progress in clearing his backlogs. And the biggest success was that they had stepped into the realm of making Virtual Reality a possibility. He and Rei (who had been summoned by the System as the intermediary between Jin and the science team) had managed to create the very first working prototype of a headband that would allow their customers to bring their very own dungeon stores into their comfort of home. While of course, Jin did not have the expertise to create such a device, it was a piece of cake for Rei since such technology had been readily available in the Mecha World. Sebastia, the Battle Maid Minotaur, had already been scouting the Mecha World in secret and had been able to obtain it without much trouble. The only difference between the prototype and the VR playset from Mecha World was that the way the cultivators would be transported. Unlike the Mecha World where the players were transported into a server and go through out of body experiences, the cultivators in Jin''s world were to be teleported into the System''s database. This would allow Jin to guarantee his customers that his servers would be hackproof and always evolve to suit the needs of ''better'' hardware. But the hardware was just one aspect of the creation of Virtual Reality. Initially, Jin was worried that the System would not be able to handle the workload and that there were insufficient processing capabilities to hold the various instances. The System took this opportunity to reveal its brutish methods to its User, ensuring him that they would have sufficient processing capabilities. Since the System was insistent on improving the reputation of the Panda Clan, Jin decided it would be a waste of time bothering with ethics and arguing with the System at this stage. Might as well produce work that would earn him money and think about how they could go more ''eco-friendly'' later. While it''s true, it was still simple enough to create instances compared to the real world examples, there were many things to take note of. From a grand story plot to what would drive the economy of his Virtual Reality instances. Was he really going to create an entirely new world or should he just make several instances and patch them one by one? Either way, it would take considerable time and effort, neither one he had to spare, despite the luxury of the System''s ability to time compress. For example, NPCs might not be a problem but the stories and lives to make the place an experience not to forget was another thing and the System was not well versed to create a brand new fake life. That''s one of the reasons why Jin had communicated with Rei a lot. Aside from him being an engineer from the Mecha World, his reputation for creating stories was not something to scoff at. As such, Jin came to the conclusion that the best way to solve that issue was by ''employing'' a group of mangaka artists into his clan so that they could assist with making with the NPCs, and perhaps give him some inspiration with new areas as well. If possible, they might be in charge of creating sub stories and bringing in more life for the Virtual Reality instance. Besides, if Jin was going to dive into Virtual Reality, he needed the best of the best so that no one could beat him to it! Chapter 1124 - Reis Promises Getting Fulfilled Chapter 1124 ¨C Rei¡¯s Promises Getting Fulfilled "I have managed to reach a few of my ¡­erm contacts. They are kinda sceptical of the current offer but I have at least set up a time and date for them to meet with you." Rei said as he got into the mini claustrophobic box of confinement to meet Jin and tell him the results. At the same time, he brought the second revision of the VR head gear so that Jin could personally test it out. This time, it looked more like a bike helmet than a simple head band. "Thanks a lot, Rei. You helped a lot." Jin said as his eyes sparkled a little despite the weariness he acc.u.mulated on his face. "Nah, I should be thanking you¡­and the System," Rei said as lately because of the System''s insistence to clear the backlogs, he was relieved that he finally got his funding for his Gunndam movie production. However, there was more to that funding than he had expected which brought him a much needed smile too. Jin had previously contacted Pei and queried if she was able to do him a favour. As reluctant as Pei would be to do extra work, she agreed to assist only because she wanted to get out of Kraft''s meddling. But as to what Kraft was doing, she never spilt a single word to Jin about it. Even as Jin asked about the situation outside, both the System and Pei barely spoke a sentence out of it. It made the Dungeon Supplier suspicious as hell but since he had been put behind bars, there was only that much he could complain about. In any case, how Rei had benefited from Pei''s meddling was that Jin requested the mangaka artist to bring everyone in his movie production to the head office of Studio Mashi to hold a large scale conference. And that included all the assistants and other small fries that were involved in the project. During that large conference, Pei had ''inspired'' them to re-sign a new contract with Rei for obvious brainwashing reasons. For the big wrights, there was an additional clause where any newcomers they recruited would have to sign the very same contract too. On the outside, it might look like just another privacy concern contract but Rei knew that it was a way to induce the company into the System''s arm even though the System promised that it was more of monitoring rather than interference. When asked why during the meeting, Rei cited that Pei was part of the company that was planning to invest in the movie and they wanted to keep their presence unknown until the release of the movie. In return, they would provide necessary cash and funds for the movie though they expected the courtesy to be given in terms of profit. So, the rest had unquestionably signed it since they knew the film production was losing too much money from the constant change in the movie''s directive. Initially, they wanted the existing director to get out but it seemed after a one to one intensive pep talk with Pei, the current lead director seem to be amicable to changes and remained steadfast with the current directive that they were heading. It was a surprise but the staff took whatever change of heart the director had and pressed on with the movie release. But the most important portion was that they were going to be sent to China for the shoot which Rei indicated where they could have shots of big a.s.s giant mechatronics via the Supa Robot Wars mini instance. Thus, their contract to be in the System''s subtle surveillance was required. Eventually, they found out it had perks working under the System too. Rei would have instant updates of his movie production and they would be unquestioning in their zeal to work to the best of their abilities. Some of the workers who experienced first hand would call it a significant morale boost for their passion in the movie they were making. As both Rei and Jin were having this conversation, the Studio Mashi team was already in the process of moving their team into China while they were promised to have their apartments, equipment and even daily life essentials to be covered. The Pandafull delivery team had also sent a bus driver to bring them from the airport and back to Dungeon Supplier Store so that they would stay permanently until the movie production was done. Such activities consisted of liaising with freelancing artists, editors and voice acting. Those tasks that had been outsourced were also given the very same contract which Pei introduced. But unlike the Studio, they had no obligations to continue or sign the contract given the strict work timeline Rei outlined. So in order to compensate for that, they were also given a one off four month salary bonus if they signed it and literally everyone could not stave off the allure of cash. To top it off, there was a clause that stated that if the movie had done well, an additional form or monetary bonus would be given which further spurred them to sign on the spot and work for it. That being said, Rei was actually more concerned with another part of his deal. His family members. Hence, it was one of the reasons why Sebastia scouted the Mecha World. Even as much as Kraft and the other minions had advocated starting a proxy war between the two major military oriented factions, there was not much of a push factor to do so aside from stealing the Titan for the System''s use. However, the allure of highly advanced technology was worth the scouting and to Sebastia''s astonishment, finding Rei''s family was not as simple as it was. Apparently, the information that Rei gave was extremely outdated and they had moved away due to the dangers of the space colony they were previously staying to be attacked. Still, Sebastia had her pride as a scout of Moloch and vowed to continue to find Rei''s family. And that alone was enough to let Rei have peace of mind to give 110% to Jin''s creations. ¡ª- "Do I have to go to Japan again?" Jin asked Rei since the meeting was set up by him and those artists were quite a nuisance to handle according to the Mecha Engineer. "Nah, we are doing the online conference over Vroom so they have no excuse not to attend a short fifteen to twenty minutes talk," Rei said as he sent the Vroom app details to Jin. He re-emphasised Jin how irritating it was for them to leave their studio or apartments, citing them as permanent hikikomori despite their abilities and talents. "Isn''t that a great thing? We might be able to have them all by ourselves if we play this right." Jin smirked at Rei, implying to him that he had found a great group to exploit. "Good luck with that and also this. Put it on and give it a try. There should not be any more headaches." Rei said as he tuned the Pandamonium app to synchronise with the VR headgear, allowing Jin to finally catch some ''sleep'' that he had missed for ages while his mind wandered in the Virtual Reality. Chapter 1125 - Virtual Reality Headgear Chapter 1125 ¨C Virtual Reality Headgear As Jin entered the Virtual Reality Instance, his body flopped in real life since his consciousness had been uploaded into the System''s database. The first iteration of the VR headgear had been a little choppy in terms of transmission. One of the bugs had made the transmission so patchy that Jin had been losing parts of his body whenever he walked inside the Virtual Reality. The System thought it was funny to look at the sight of Jin panicking at the data packet losses of his body and even took some screenshots for posterity. For the second version of the VR headgear, Rei had been able to smooth out these kinks. But even though Rei was the overall engineer for the VR headgear, the one responsible for the much smoother uploading of consciousness was none other than Starry Mood. For the Mecha World''s version of virtual reality, their headgear induced a temporary comatose state by using low voltage induced shocks directly into the brain. The feeling was slightly unpleasant but when coupled with a specific set of flashing lights to trick the eyes, the pain somehow became inconsequential. A sequential show of flashing green lights halted the circadian rhythm and later slideshow of lights caused a temporary daze to the user, allowing them the low voltage shocks to not only induce the comatose state but also connect the brain to the VR interface, allowing them to play the Virtual Reality in an out of body experience. Those low voltage shocks also halted the nervous systems to stop them from moving the body in real life while the user was having an out of body experience. A similar concept was used for Jin''s Virtual reality world instance with a few exceptions. There was no light show or any low voltage shocks which could potentially damage the eyes and brain of the user. Instead, the Dungeon Research Team had gathered all their expertise and put together a product that required resources from other worlds. In return, they created a ''safe to use'' ''out of body'' experience for the cultivators. The System stepped in as well, tuning them to ensure that there would be no overloading brain problems and setting up the correct specifications. Of course, they were not going to create the ultimate VR headgear off the bat because that would be bad for business if the first model was already successful and everlasting. Like every major electronics business, they would be withholding the technology specs to ensure that after the first one there would be ver. 1.5, 2, etc. so that the sales of their hardware would continue to go strong. But before they could strip their VR headgear to the b.a.r.e minimum, the System and Dungeon Research Team would need to ensure it was working first and Jin had volunteered to be their test subject and specimen. (Was it just another way to get out of work?) After all, this gave Jin the chance to experience the player''s perspective when they would reach the first newbie town. "System, is it currently more popular to figure everything out on your own or to have a tutorial?" Jin asked as he checked his limbs and motor control to make sure they were moving correctly. Unlike the Mecha World''s VR headgear, the concept of using magic crystals had been used instead. Starry Mood had been able to easily create the prototype crystal that enabled the transference of the human consciousness in and out of the physical body without any damage to it. And once finalised, the mass production of the crystal creation method could be done by the Eld Enclave mafia and their other associates, giving them a lucrative job to do while practising crystal crafting and imbuing. The production of crystals was also given to the Eld Enclave now that they had the motherlode of all crystals from the Flying Fortress. All Starry Mood had to do was carve a piece of it out of the Motherlode crystal and treat it like a tree, growing it with magic and reaping the fruits of labour when it had grown again. The only problem was that it needed time to grow, yet that was not an issue since the System had a dedicated Agriculture Team consisting of the Werejackals. Compared to their experience with the living armour plants this crystal growing was a piece of cake and that startled Starry Mood who had believed this endeavour to be a fruitless one. With time compression farming techniques created from the Zither Mistress and her caretaker Treant, crystal farming had suddenly become priority number one in Pandapolis Agriculture. While Jin was satisfied with the current progress of the second prototype, he was actually more concerned about the safety of his users using the headgear. After all, they would be paralysed and comatose for the entire trip into the virtual realm. It needed an emergency escape button to ensure that their users would be safe when they are back to their bodies. The Mecha World VR headgear merely had a temporary induced comatose which the users could be awakened from if the headgear was forcefully taken out. But that was not the same with Jin''s headgear. The uploading and downloading of the human consciousness, or one could say soul, back into the body required some time. Although the System could assist with the ejection by giving priority to the exit route, it would be expected to handle traffic worth hundreds of thousands of souls in and out from the System in the future. So, Jin had requested the Dungeon Research Team to create something akin to a surveillance mode for the end users too. While it was ideal to have a barrier over the end user when they are unconscious, there would never be a barrier that cannot be broken. Therefore, Jin asked for something similar to a camera sensor that would allow the end users to be notified that in case there would be unknown people in their surroundings. (It would also provide video evidence in case anything ever would go wrong) An image would pop up should the user''s body be approached and they would be able to perform a full emergency exit if necessary. That way, they would still be conscious of their surroundings. As for other concerns, Jin had already thought of them as accessories to the VR headgear set, giving the potential quality of life improvements to it. But for now, he had to make sure the Virtual Reality town was good enough for presentation in the Dungeon Supplier Symposium as they found out in a letter of acceptance upon application that the current topic for this year''s event was¡­ Village. Chapter 1126 - Creating the Virtual Reality -Part 1 Chapter 1126 ¨C Creating the Virtual Reality -Part 1 "All vitals are within range. Do you feel any side effects on your side? Any more loss of limbs?" Rei chuckled as he oversaw Jin''s testing of the new prototype. "Thankfully, no. Movement is all good and natural. Next, please turn off the Game Master mode for me and give me a level one player template." Jin immediately went to the next agenda after affirming that his body was still intact and working as intended. For better or worse, the daily grind of working nonstop had somehow influenced his mindset, a clockwork of objectives kept going through his head. He did not doubt that the System (probably with the help of a mischievous fox) had a hand in brainwashing him to have such an attitude, but for now, it worked in his favour, allowing him to clear all the tasks he needed to do. "Game Master mode off, player level one new adventurer template on. Do you need me to activate the environment settings?" Rei questioned which Jin responded with a firm no. "Let''s do one thing at a time, we are not trying instance server loading right now. It''s better to ensure the individual form is working as per schedule." Jin stated and a basic holographic UI immediately popped up right in front of him, indicating his current status and the equipment he was wearing. A plain t-shirt and shorts. The very same set of clothes he had been wearing before he had been teleported into the Virtual Instance and they were identical to the very last detail. The concept was to collect information and portray it correctly within the Virtual Instance. While some would eventually query whether it was the doing of the camera sensor and thus invading their personal space, it was not really how it worked. The camera sensor could certainly inspect the surroundings but its input was meant to monitor the proximity of the user instead of peeking at the body. Rather, the clothes were a part of the subconscious preconceptions of the end users. How they conceived themselves would then be portrayed to the Virtual Instance. (However, the System did not deny that it was collecting information from the end users the moment they were plugged into the machine. After all, they never knew that they were currently within the workspace of a sentient celestial being, or to be exact, a collective of celestial beings.) "Clothes check. User interface seems a little laggy, let''s try to speed up the changing of the overlays by half a second or so. Other than that, everything seems fine. System, have you set the kind of statistical parameters you wanted for the adventurers? Or are we sticking to what we have discussed?" Jin questioned as he did a bit of stretching on the spot before he started to run as fast as he could. The holographic user interface disappeared once he ignored it. While he was running in a straight up line, the Heads Up Display (HUD) appeared right in his peripheral vision. Jin had purposely created it similar to the design he had used in half masked visors so that his customers would be able to familiarise themselves easily with the movement. The only difference now was that there was a stamina bar right beside their own health bar. The decision to include stamina was no doubt a huge one since it would somewhat limit the way the adventurers could handle themselves. Jin had ultimately decided on a low fantasy kind of Virtual Reality Instance. Only once they had played long enough would the customers be able to use high level skills or magic. That way it would feel rewarding to learn those techniques, skills and magic. Nevertheless, he also intended to include machines so that there was a mix of tech and magic in it. This way, Supa Robot War players would not feel too out of place and Jin had also remembered to include Digital Pet Card Players as well as the Top Spinners into the group of classes. Thus, with that direction to include such players, Jin had decided to go a skill based levelling system instead of a specific set of jobs like knight, mage and archer. Unlike most games which needed a ton of coding to allow the character to move the way they want, having to deal with damage formulas and clashes with incompatibility, Jin did not have to worry about any of this at all. He had the System by his side and that meant he could do whatever he wanted since the System controls the ''codes''. (Although in reality, he was planning to explain it as the work of his exclusive proprietary dungeon instance engine, the Panda Engine.) For example, if an adventurer wished to hold a pencil and use it as his primary weapon of choice, the skill to use a pencil would be created and increase accordingly. If the adventurer continued to train in the ways of a pencil (in short, lots of grinding), eventually he would reach a certain level of proficiency to wield the pencil and be able to one shot kill his enemies. It was there and then that the System would generate a sort of class based on the adventurer''s way of fighting and subsequently create gear for said adventurer. All gamers wished to have a path of limitless choices to their gameplay and Jin had created based on that selfish wish. Of course, that would mean there would be a hundred over classes available and definitely not the most ideal solution. Thus, Jin was still thinking about what to do to overcome such a hurdle. Perhaps, he would let the players invent their own way of fighting and the System would create skills based on their way of fighting. However, even with such a broad way of levelling, the System did not seem to worry that much. "Since the players will be the humans of your world, it is safe to assume that they will try and make use of their already learned cultivation. At most, they will use this chance to try out someone else''s cultivation. In view of that, the scrolls and manuals that your grandfather Ming had left would prove valuable in teaching them such skills." "Aside from the proficiency based skill levelling, System has determined that specific attributes such as Strength, Dexterity and Constitution will have to be included as part of their levelling than the core set." The System replied as Jin was running around the Virtual instance''s newbie village. "For anything new, System will base their way of fighting and pick the closest available techniques to improve their skill set." "Speaking of that, we have not opened any new boxes since my Grade up." Jin remembered as his Stamina Bar had dipped to zero, forcing him to rest on the spot until it reached a certain value. "Once this set of tasks is done, please transmit those boxes for me to open ¨C Ah yes, get Yun to unlock them first please. It will be stupid if you get me those boxes and I have to go to Yun to unlock it." Jin said as reached a mushroom looking house with a shop name right on top of it. The Tricky Shop of Magic. Chapter 1127 - Creating the Virtual Reality -Part 2 Chapter 1127 ¨C Creating the Virtual Reality -Part 2 Although Jin was not forcing anyone into the stereotypical jobs, he also was not going to stop anyone from playing as such. If anyone wanted to equip a shield and sword and wear heavy armour, so be it. However, magic related jobs would be a tough choice at the start of the virtual reality instance. Compared to the Stamina Bar which the adventurers would have at the start of the Virtual Reality Instance, the Mana Bar would have to be unlocked and then trained from scratch. That was where the Tricky Shop Of Magic would come into play. They specifically sold an essential item that would trigger the magical essence of the adventurers. Jin had dubbed it as the ''Magic Unlocker'' and it was a key that would unlock their doorway to the Universal Pool of Magic. This magic theory has no doubt been plagiarised by the real Universal Pool of Magic which Peppers had been talking about for the whole of her life, but Jin felt there was no need to reinvent the wheel when this particular pool of magic could be subsequently used as a potential plotline for future events. For the time being, this troublesome way of unlocking would allow both real life mages and cultivators to start at the very same footing and learn the basics properly. It also gave the mages a chance to try out the skill based job set before going back into the field of magic. However, casting spells would not be as simple as their real world. In the real world, the mages utilised their mana circuits to store the type of magics they remembered for the rest of the day, with very little free play in their way of fighting. If they chose the wrong spell set for the day, they would have to find a way to circ.u.mvent it with brute strength or scrolls. In the Virtual Instance, it would be slightly different and possibly more tedious than usual. This was because the number of possibilities was limitless for the melee counterpart and if they were to augment with magic power, most magicians would definitely opt to be a Battle Magus, a person who could wield both a weapon and magic at the same time, augmenting their battle strength if they grinded the Virtual Reality Instance. So, in order to limit that, the casting of spells would always require a medium. An item that would act as the intermediary between the universal pool of magic and their current Virtual Reality Instance. The power of their spells would be based on the medium of their choice. Going back to the previous example, if that pencil wielder had decided to use magic, they could use their pencil as the medium to cast their magic. Upon doing so, the pencil would act as the item needed to activate their magic and would give a set amount of durability to do so before it would break. In return, the magic cast would always be 1.25 times the amount of attack power of the item stats being used and that number increases with the proficiency level of the user. So if the user had a fire elemental proficiency level of five using the standard pencil as the medium, the amount of damage the user could inflict would definitely be more than a user with a fire elemental proficiency level of zero. All these were created so that magic would not be the most prevalent form of usage and yet people would still use them because their damage potential would be higher with better items. And when it comes to spells, it would be kinda free for all too. The Tricky Shop of Magic would be able to sell certain basic spells but whether the adventurers would eventually be able to turn their fireball into a homing fireball would be based on their imagination and willpower. After all, the ''Panda Engine'' was designed to make the Virtual Reality Instance a very suitable place for users to explore and as long as they had enough time to grind their skills out, their effort would pay off. As Jin browsed through the Tricky Shop Of Magic and tried the Magic Unlocker, a Panda Paw stopped him from even activating it. His entire body froze for a moment while the Panda that stared at him immediately sent a warning to his HUD to not steal anything. "Son, I suggest you go to the front counter to update your licence plate after you PAID for the item!" The Panda grumbled at him, before he unfroze Jin, giving him free rein again. "If you think you are capable of stealing this right under my nose, then be my guest." "Great, the NPCs and the security system are working as intended! But gosh, the village will be packed full at the start if people are going to enter in one go." It suddenly struck Jin that there would be chaos in the villages given the realism. Unlike the shop instance which he had now, the number of people could be overwhelming if he opened the Virtual Reality instance worldwide. "The System proposed creating separate instances as has been done for your current dungeon instances. That way, the processes in an instance could be optimised while accommodating a large number." The System reminded him and Rei added that''s what they had done back home for the Virtual Reality games as well. All they had to do was create more servers and allow people to transfer to other servers if their friends were not in the same place. Alas, that was easier said than done. There was not enough data to justify whether his current scale of a village was big enough. Too small and rural would restrict the population of adventurers coming in and the System would have to create way too many instances for it. Too big of a village and the place would be deserted once the bulk of the gaming population would leave for the bigger cities. Jin had also considered implementing a sort of progress system, so the village could grow with time. It could even receive more features, making it easier for future incoming players to catch up to the veteran players. With so much to consider, Jin decided to just pause such thoughts and focus on something even more basic than the village. The character creation and makeover. Chapter 1128 - Creating The Virtual Reality -Part 3 Chapter 1128 ¨C Creating The Virtual Reality -Part 3 While Jin would have loved to focus a little more on a low fantasy world for his Virtual Reality Instance, he understood that it might be somewhat limiting to force everyone to remain a human. As such, he had decided to sell a fantastic fantasy makeover kit in the Tricky Shop of Magic. Initially, the makeover kit had merely been created to allow the adventurers to remodel their body size in any way they wanted. The only exception had been a gender makeover. According to the System, the gender makeover would just mess with the players due to the way their cognitive preconception worked once their souls got uploaded into the System''s servers. The only ones who would be able to change their gender were those whose cognitive preconceptions were that they had been born into the ''wrong body''. Aside from that, seeing how his minions were all intellectual and able to converse without any discrimination, Jin came to the decision to add humanoids and other races into the makeover kit like werewolves, dark elves, orcs, dwarves, halflings and so on. (This way, his minions would also be able to blend in as NPCs more easily and help enrich the Virtual Reality Instance.) However, to make people consider what they wanted to be, he would impose certain requirements to allow the adventurers to race change into them. For example, if one would want to be a werewolf, there was a proficiency requirement of using claw related weapons. Buying the makeover kit did not mean they would have access to every function. There was the basic makeover kit which allowed them to change their facial appearances, an advanced makeover kit that allowed one to change their entire body size and height and the ultimate makeover kit which did everything as well as changing the race. Naturally, the cost for all those kits differed but he had purposely made the basic makeover set cheap in order to entice his player base to use them on a constant basis. This was because the kit was required to access the special haircut styles which he intended to add in the near and far future. "The System still believes that User should set the prices higher or even use real life currency to purchase them." The System stated as Jin was trying out the features on a full ultimate makeup kit. He purposely spent more time on it, more than the System had allocated but he argued it was a very important feature for every gamer. Therefore, Jin did allow the adjustments of every part of the body. From cheeks, nose and toes and even Adam''s apples for the guys. As for the female counterpart, he had already requested Qiu Yue and Lynn to take charge of it. (And they knew they had to accommodate all sizes¡­) However, he was aware that many would care less about their outer appearance and more about what they could do in the Virtual Reality Instance. For those players, Jin had the System create a few standard templates for each and every race. He also implemented a ''smart'' randomise which allowed the System to choose the kind of makeover that most people would prefer to look like. All of those were based on science itself and with a big enough sample size, the System would be able to offer those choices based on the adventurer''s ethnicities. "Seems like the makeover feature is working well and dandy. Let''s call it a day then." Jin said and used his HUD in his vision to log out. Rei was right beside him when he woke up, busy jotting down the vitals on a digital clipboard and he noted that everything seemed to have been proceeding fine. "Boss, the test run was successful. Do you want to test combat on the next trial run?" Rei questioned as he requested the System to compile the rest of the results. "Not so soon. Let me create a proper village first before going into the combat phase." Jin answered as he pulled out the prototype gear. "Though I must say, this is rather heavy equipment. My neck feels sore now." "Do you want us to deal with the comfort of the player now on top of our technological advances?" Rei asked as he scratched his head. This was one particular section which he had no idea how to deal with. To him, the beauty was already in the current prototype. Those ch.i.p.s and circuit sequences were as perfect as they could get. The electrical circuitry was minimum and the cooling system was perfect with the exception of the main motherboard. While there were smaller motherboards out there, this particular motherboard had been bought off the black market for its robustness in serving the needs of the Virtual Reality headgear. Rei might be an engineer but he was not much of a microchip expert and he could only ensure the motherboard was working well with the rest of the other components. He felt that it was already a miracle he could fit it in a big a.s.s helmet for Jin to be teleported into the System''s servers, so Jin asking for a smaller build felt a little bit of an insult. Jin seemed to be able to sense his dismay and decided to change his tune a little. "Don''t get me wrong, the prototype is as perfect as it could get! Hard to think that just two weeks ago we had and in a short span of a week you managed to mish mash random things together and get them to work for the previous version." "This was nothing short of a miracle and I really feel you were not appreciated enough in your previous work." Jin gave him a pat on the back while emphasising how much of a job well done it was until Rei felt a little too uncomfortable. The praise felt a bit empty but for Jin to sense the dismay was already good enough for the Mecha Engineer. "Nah, it''s just that it''s hard to get the job you want in a space colony." Rei sighed, stating that he preferred to create things rather than teach lectures. Although there were resources for him to do so, it had to be within the curriculum rather than something out of the box since in the end, it was all about serving for the war. "Ah, I am sorry to hear that. I will take that more into consideration in the future." Jin agreed as he felt a little embarrassed that he had forced Rei to perform war related tasks for the expansion of his army. And when he said in the future, Rei also understood that there were some military related tasks that he had to clear for Jin before they could move forward. Besides, a deal is a deal. The dungeon supplier seems to be the only one who was able to transverse between worlds and it was already a miracle that he was able to meet up with him. So for now, he understood his responsibilities and pledged Jin that he would try to reach his expectations. "Hahah! It''s okay Rei. I just realised I have the perfect person to lay this thing on. Besides, their engineering group has already touched one of our gadgets before. Doesn''t hurt to contact them again. Not to mention, I know that CEO would be in for another wave of shocking surprise when we show him this." Jin said and Rei immediately understood who he was talking about. "Indeed. With him being part of your Panda Clan, you could start moving mountains without being discovered." Rei chuckled and told Jin that he would look forward to meeting up with their ''very supportive'' CEO. Chapter 1129 - Creating the Virtual Reality -Final Chapter 1129 ¨C Creating the Virtual Reality -Final "Before the User goes to contact Ke Loong, System has determined that you have to at least improve your cultivation once more." The System noted when Jin seemed to be ready to contact the CEO of Sea Mesh. "Hehehe! Then does that mean my work here is finally done?" Jin asked with a smirk, looking forward to finally being able to enjoy some proper sleep. "Huh, didn''t Jin attain a Grade Up recently? ¡­At least that is what I heard. Is it even possible for him to gain another one so easily? I might not be a person of this world but I''ve lived here long enough to know that it''s supposed to take a long time. Are you saying Jin can do so easily?! That is basically cheating in this world!" Rei ranted, but neither the System nor Jin bothered to reply. Wasn''t Jin having the System already too much of a cheat? Was being able to ''quickly'' breakthrough even worth mentioning when compared with that? "User''s work has indeed been satisfactory during his stay in this special ''concentration room''. Not only you have completed the Cultivation Zoo, the Advanced Training Centre for the Demon Exorcists, the Gentlebear Instance as well as the prototype of a first instance for the Virtual Reality World as the System has dubbed it, User has also taken the opportunity to reorganise plans for the overtaking of the Farming World." "While the plans do require some refinement from the war table veterans, System believes you have come up with a sound plan and we will start producing equipment for the troops given the set budget." The System declared. "Of course, you literally gave me hell and I have to walk through it barefooted!" Jin was happy about the praise, but the circ.u.mstances that had led to it were not something he ever wished to repeat. "Do not forget about the Southerners'' City. If my layout is okay, send the details to Qiu Yue and we can start rebuilding after we have purged the Farming World''s menace." Jin added and the System could humbly admit that it liked this commanding User more than the one it had to chase all day long. "Since isolation has proven to increase productivity, please note that System will not hesitate to send User back here if you revert to your underperforming ways." "Underperforming is such an understatement¡­seeing how Jin had to handle so many things at one go, it is pretty much a given that he would be swamped with work unless you go through that many time dilations!" Rei intervened on the Dungeon Supplier''s behalf. "Aye. These 2 weeks appeared to have been equivalent to 20 years of my life. Seriously System, are you completely sure the time dilations does not affect my lifespan at all?" Jin queried with much concern for the state of his health. "Fear Not! System puts the utmost priority on the health of its User. As stated before, the User has proven competent enough to be among the top 1% of the Users that System had attended to. If System does not care about its top performing user, System too would not be able to reach 100% peak performance." "Oh please, your ''100%'' is such a lie! Here I was under the impression that you were oh so weak, but turn out you were basically crying about being poor, because you used to be a former trillionaire, who was down to billions¡­ With that brain s.u.c.k.i.n.g skill that you have kept hidden alone, you can grow infinitely as we transverse through more worlds!" Jin shook his head and looked at Rei. As much as the Dungeon Supplier had way too many things on his hands, Rei''s Mecha World was something that was a mystery to him. It was unlike the other worlds he had been to according to Sebastia''s reports. This was because most of the worlds he and his minions had travelled through had mostly been contained to one particular region. But for Rei''s Mecha World, Sebastia had already travelled through multiple space colonies and was forced to travel through galaxies to find information. To say the word World was a bit far fetched as it was technically a universe that they had been travelling through. However, that thought of the Mecha World being a universe suddenly gave Jin a possible solution to the problem he had stumbled on previously. The one in which he had trouble accommodating the rest of the population into the Virtual Instance when they popped in. "System, before I leave this hellhole and perform my cultivation, can I ask a question?" "Permission granted!" "Hypothetically, what would happen if the entire population of six billion people would attempt to connect into your server, all at the same time? Would you be able to hold all of them at 100% peak performance?" "Hypothetically yes, but realistically even if the System reached 100%, there would be no way to handle all six billion people at once. The resource management would require such an astronomical number of tasks that would have to be done, that it would be out of System''s control. We might even need to go into excessive server overflow due to the ginormous calculations." "Then realistically speaking, how many people could you handle? I mean due to the time difference alone, there should always be some sort of limit with how many people would be free to play. However, I''m convinced that people would definitely stay and sleep in this Virtual Reality Instance, grinding the shit out of our game." Jin wondered and the System reinforced that a definite amount of processing ability would be dedicated to it without giving a proper number. "Then what if we were to have proper physical land instead of creating a totally new alternate dimension?" Jin asked, making Virtual Reality not as virtual as one had envisioned it to be. "Please elaborate more." The System requested. "But before you do, System does agree that having a physical land would indeed offload a lot of our burden." "What are you getting into?" Rei questioned Jin, not knowing his current line of thought. "When the System suddenly dubbed it the Virtual Reality World, it got me thinking. Rei, I recalled how you were from the Mecha World UNIVERSE." Jin tried to hint to both of them where his train of thoughts was going and yet neither man nor supernatural entity could see through his supposed logic. "Geez, what I am proposing is creating a world of our own!" Jin spilt it out and Rei''s jaw dropped. If the System had been a corporeal entity, it too would be doing the same. "Hahaha! Are you proposing to create a space colony on a large scale?! All that while keeping the players in the dark about it?" Rei asked and Jin nodded his head furiously. "And since the System is in full control of the server, full of the players'' consciousness, they are merely being projected into the physical area, reducing the workload for the System. Please correct me if I am wrong." Jin answered. "That is an oversimplification of how the System transmits the players'' consciousness but the gist of the solution is correct. Having proper land and buildings as stated by User''s clarification to create a space colony would no doubt reduce the System''s burden, increasing the System''s ability to perform other tasks with ease." The System noted that the space colony could also be powered by solar and cosmic radiation, reducing the reliance on the System''s resources even further and creating an entire dimensional instance and maintaining it. "Imagine a person with no understanding of space colonies suddenly entering it and would think that the place is haunted. All buildings and no people around" Rei understood that Jin could potentially use the Dimension Creator, similar to his phone''s ability to create a pocket of dimensional space, to project the player''s consciousness. "What are you talking about? In the first place, why would a person even enter that space colony? In any case, the ''real'' factor would be multiplied within the Virtual Reality instance because it is REAL!" Jin laughed at the end but as reasonable as the solution was, the amount of preparation would be insane. This also meant that there was more excuse for the System and Jin to go into the Mecha World to steal more of their technology and possibly an entire space colony for research purposes. But as of now, the System would power the Virtual Reality World for the purpose of the Symposium and if successful, the long term goal to acquire a space colony would be worthwhile. Chapter 1130 - Sleeping Cultivation Stance Chapter 1130 ¨C Sleeping Cultivation Stance "Alrighty, good night folks." Jin waved goodbye to Rei and the System as he started to yawn even though his cultivation would allow him to stay awake for another week or so before he would just pass out. "So Jin, care to tell me what your current cultivation grade actually is?" Rei questioned as he started to pick up the headgear, ensuring that it was turned off before he returned to the research labs. The other party didn''t answer and when Rei looked over he found the Dungeon Supplier having fallen asleep on the same chair he had been bound to, with no form or stance of cultivation at all. "¡­ Can he cultivate at this particular position?" Rei now turned to the System for answers. "As long as he is able to fall asleep, his cultivation style allows him to grow stronger. System also believes that User had advanced to the stage where he could fall asleep at will to further cultivate himself." "So, you mean, he could actually cultivate when he is resting in a taxi or train ride too?" Rei was shocked how Jin could do that so effortlessly. If the Mecha World Engineer was not wrong, cultivation of oneself should not be that easy at all! It required mental preparation, mindfulness of the body and in some cases, strict mediation procedures to clear the mind and body for them to cultivate. That was the main reason why cultivators used to seclude themselves in caves and isolated areas in the past. Those were the best places for them to cleanse their mind, soul and body before preparing for a long cultivation process so they could achieve enlightenment and reach the next grade. While there were many instances where cultivators could instantly increase their grade to the next level through fighting or a change in thought process during their fights, it was not as easy as one would think once one left the Advanced levels (6-9). It was as if the human bodies were acclimated to reach a certain grade and stay that way. Maybe it was due to the minor change in genetics where the past generations of cultivators had always broken through their cultivation, allowing the current modern generation of humans to have a simpler time reaching a certain Grade. Or perhaps, the current generation was doing activities that they unknowingly knew could aid them in their cultivation process. (After all, the people in modern society had way too many things on their agenda to clear.) But that ''easy cultivation grade up'' came with a cost too. As society had progressed, the spots for cultivation had reduced drastically, making cultivation in isolation almost impossible. And to top it off, there were increasingly more distractions for the modern cultivators to stay focused, as well as laws to prevent actual cultivators from fighting monsters. (With how much humanity had multiplied, monsters and animals would go extinct if every human had decided to strive for the maximum cultivation grade.) This made Dungeon Supplier stores the next best method to get their fill of cultivation and even that had been modernised to accommodate the cultivators. In doing so, the product had been less than stellar with the exception of Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas. The rumours and word of mouth did not fail when they found out that Jin''s Dungeon Supplier store was able to allow the cultivators to break through their stagnant grade 2 and 3 cultivation, moving them up the ladder. It had proved to be exceptionally useful for many of the modern cultivators since their breakthroughs allowed them to last longer in their work, completing what they need without getting tired. But the concerns of a growing cultivator population could possibly work against Jin''s favour and he had already been padding the dungeon instances even when he knew that the exponential growth of the cultivators would gradually plateau when they reached higher grades. He continued to make it harder for them to grow further by increasing their accessibility with better weapons and accessories. As ironic as it sounded, those weapons and accessories like offensive inscription charms were reducing their potential in growth because of their assistance in fighting the monsters. The cultivators were not ''dying'' as much as they should be because the content was technically made easier by the means he provided them with. There was little to no growth for them compared to Jin who had access to fighting even stronger monsters from other worlds and the absurd cultivation stance that he had. People would fight to get that particular manual of his to try and achieve his cultivation stance (If he was living in a more archaic world, female cultivators might even throw their bodies to him in hopes that their children would be able to achieve the very same ability too.) This was made worse when those cultivation areas or commonly known as power spots had been coveted by only the rich and powerful. One good example would be the Royal Zodiac Dragon family that had established the main branch clan''s location under a network of leylines, giving them almost unlimited power when it came to cultivation. Jin had no idea how powerful his cultivation method was and the System kept everything quiet to keep him as ignorant as possible. Aside from that, it also seemed that the sleeping cultivation method had somehow evolved and been integrated into his fighting stance too. The System noticed every time Jin fell purposely to evade an attack, his cultivation stance would kick in momentarily before he activated his astral abilities to counter attack. However, given that Jin was still holding back his powers in the previous fights, there was no way to calculate the true extent of his enhanced fighting capabilities. The momentary kick in of the cultivation stance got even more apparent in these two weeks where he tried to slip in a snooze or two before the default alarm went off. It was to the point, Jin was practically cultivating as he performed his work duties and it frightened the System since it had no information on this considering such a possibility had never been mentioned in the manual. It could only deduce that the Ming which Jin spoke of was helping him tremendously in the subconscious training of his cultivation. That being said, when Jin said twenty years had passed in the last two weeks, it was no doubt an exaggeration but not entirely an understatement. The time dilation would have been equivalent to two years. In short, Jin had technically been cultivating on and off for two years and that was why the System demanded Jin go into full cultivation mode to consolidate his chi and power. So that he could potentially Grade Up once more to face the real world with confidence and strength. Chapter 1131 - Genbu, the Turtle of the North -unedited Chapter 1131 ¨C Genbu, the Turtle of the North -unedited "Up." That word alone caused Jin to wake up despite the heavy eyelids and groggy state of mind. The surroundings were as cold as ever and the strain from waking up caused his neck to feel very uncomfortable. He tried to push his muscles to move but they seemed weary and numb. "Come now, don''t waste any more time. Or your trial will only get harder." Jin tried to comply by pulling his arms to rub his eyes. All the rheum or eye booger was being removed from the slow but continuous movement. There he saw that it was not the person who he thought would be talking to him. It was the Turtle of the North, Genbu staring right in front of him despite Jin knowing that he was currently at the top of the mountain because of the surrounding view and the bench he was sitting on. Yet, this turtle''s head was now as large- no, possibly bigger than he could ever recall. It stared at him above the top of the mountain and its presence was so immense that his body might go numb further from the fright he got. "Did you climb out of that valley? I do not remember your head being this big." Jin spoke while trying to remain calm. There was no way he could defeat such a turtle with his sword or current chi capability. At the same time, he felt the aura was somewhat similar to Ming though Jin could eventually feel the slight alterations in its presence until a gigantic serpent head emerged from the side of the cliff to where he was sitting. "We did not climb out of the valley. Hisss Hissss. We merely outgrew that space." The serpent said as it twirls around the tip of the mountain as if blocking Jin''s from ever descending from the only path down the mountain. "How did you even get so big?" Jin asked as he discerned it was no longer plausible to fight it on par that he might as well try to talk to it. "Who knows? Your ever growing achievements?" The turtle replied with a slow smile. "You mean his ever growing procrastinations." The serpent hissed while drawing its tongue out close enough to Jin to threaten him. "Or his ever growing workload." Both turtle and serpent chuckled at their own speech leaving Jin rather speechless. "Might I add his growing audacity to take on the whole world?" Ming suddenly emerged from the blocked path and waved at Genbu. "But despite him growing, something continued to hinder him." "His lack of motivation." The serpent answered. "His attitude." The turtle added. "His impatience." Once again they both said at the same time and Jin could not deny any of it. As much as he wanted things to go well for the Dungeon Supplier store, those were the issues he had with himself. But because every day is a busy day, he always used that as an excuse to ignore them. "Sometimes, I honestly hoped you had changed for the better. But it seems that you had lost your purpose, your drive. Have you forgotten what the System did to you? To us?" Ming questioned and Jin sighed for a moment. "There is no issue with the System at all. It can be quite accommodating if you pressed the right buttons." Jin said as he placed his hand at the side of the bench and found that his sword Bam was still right beside him. He picked it up and raised Bam right in front of his grandfather. "You said people change, and yet you who were quite supportive of the idea of the System suddenly want to turn it against me. Are you even the real Ming or is this the real you?" "Internal strife." The serpent hissed. "Like his heart." The Turtle bellowed. "And yet, he finally knows what''s best for himself." Both of them echoed and suddenly Ming who was in front of Jin disintegrated into a pool of sludge. The serpent uncoiled itself from the mountain and Jin could feel the cold wind gushing right into his face. "His fate, broken." The Serpent''s voice got softer with the sound of the cold winds. "His reality, harsh." The Turtle''s head retracted as well and the winds got even stronger. Yet, Jin stood on his ground with whatever chi he could gather. "But he remained unwavering. A change which we both wished to see more." They both echoed again and that was when Jin realised that the mountain itself was the shell of the turtle. He could not believe it at first but when he finally saw a glimpse of the turtle''s head facing forward and the serpent''s entire body at the back. Jin knew that he was on Genbu itself. That theory was further cemented when the mountain started to rumble and with each step (or waddle) the turtle took, it felt like an earthquake tremor. Using a fake Ming to get to provoke Jin could also be one of its tactics since Genbu could be associated with yin energy, the origin of darkness. "Do I have to defeat you to move on? I feel like I have gained some insight through you. Even though you seemed unbeatable since the first time I saw you." "Young boy wishes to yield." The serpent laughed and the winter winds got even harsher. "Wisdom gained through defeat." The turtle chuckled as the snow got heavier and the atmosphere. "But fight you must. So that the mountain would be yours truly." Once more both spoke in unison. "Just as how the West had pledged its allegiance to you through trial of battle." "Damn. If you said it that way¡­" Jin could feel the cold winter winds get even more piercing than ever as Genbu continued to move forth. But like what the Turtle of the North said, Jin was not alone as a bolt of blue lightning struck at a spot right beside the bench and Byakko emerged right from it, waiting for Jin to give him his orders. "Are you willing to pin your hopes on this useless Dungeon Supplier?" Jin asked once more and the Tiger sneered at him before charging his fur with electricity. His roar was nonetheless electrifying and somehow provided a barrier where the snow and wind could not enter. While Jin continued to feel terribly cold, it at least gave him a breather to think better. "Hahaha, less talk, more action? Fine!" Jin said as he let go of Bam and released the chi that allowed him to secure his footing. Instead of staying in the comfortable barrier that Byakko created, he charged out of it and allowed the icy cold winds to blow him off the mountain. "If old man Genbu wants me to fight, then I will gladly give him one! This time around, you better watch out!" Jin said but the winds were not giving a chance to do anything. Instead, it started to whirl like a hurricane causing him to be moving in circles around the top of the mountain. His hands and legs were also getting frostbites but Jin continued to let the Turtle of the North have his way. For Jin knows that this is his subconsciousness at work and he would not allow it to beat him up this easily. It''s time for the master of his own subconscious realm to throw some payback. Chapter 1132 - Expanding His Chi and Mana -unedited Chapter 1132 ¨C Expanding His Chi and Mana -unedited Remember what the System said that it noticed Jin activating his cultivation stance? He was actually going in and out to test his chi output despite always being placed in the very same icy mountain top. The scene he saw today was exceptionally different and it was no doubt a declaration of war from the Turtle of the North. For the past two weeks, there was barely any disturbance from the turtle, especially since Jin had believed it was residing in the mountain valleys. Thus, he had been practising his hourly chi output because he knew that this was also considered as one of his backlogs from the past few months. Sooner or later, the System would demand the Dungeon Supplier to perform his cultivation in order to grade up and he had to face Genbu in order to proceed So, it was not accidental that he entered his cultivation stance but instead, it was a conscious effort to do so. With a wink of sleep, he was able to enter his subconscious realm to practice his output. That few seconds of sleep was equivalent to a couple of minutes in his subconscious but as he practised on an interval basis, he was able to extend that couple of minutes to tens of minutes, to a point he was able to last an hour in the subconscious realm while it was barely three seconds. While he did not have a probable answer to the current situation, Jin theorised that the constant time dilation which the System subjected him to had changed his perception of time, allowing him to practice more in his subconscious realm too. And he did not waste any time doing it. From trying to channel the chi from his dantian to his entire body, he noticed that there was a very noticeable lag coming out from his body instead of the usual instant the Astral Panda Cultivator had when he was in reality. Thus to improve his cultivation, he had been reading up on the chi circuits during the two week hell when he was building the advanced training centre for the Demon Exorcists. Apparently, he found that chi circuits were part of the beginner course to be a Demon Exorcist and they had been trained to use their circuits to the ultimate effect. He did question previously whether he had been doing it wrong to summon chi directly from his dantian. Unfortunately, not only the System explained that it was the most inefficient way, several cultivators and bellators even said the same thing. He even got the same answer from Zeru, his supposed master when it comes to sword training and he was mildly shocked that Jin had been summoning chi directly from his dantian core. "It does not seem that way when I assessed you, the usage of chi from the dantian core had a more erratic movement but your Maqi had always been quite steady," Zeru said before cutting the connection once more, citing that he needed to concentrate on the task at hand in the Hidden Flower City. He did however promise that he would give more information to Jin once everything had settled. Upon knowing that he had been training wrongly, he did try to ask for Ming in the subconscious realm but for the past two weeks in confinement, there was no sight of him. It felt like the Tiger of the West trial all over again in which Jin had to rely on himself to get the answer. So without much advice, Jin tried to figure it out by attempting to spread the chi in his subconscious realm. It was at that point he noticed that the chi output he had was not the same as the instances where he pulled out his Maqi in the subconscious realm. As irritating as it might sound, the chi was pure chi, lacking the mana he felt in the Maqi. That being said when he relaxed, Maqi was released but only in small amounts that were sufficient to bring out his Astral body, thanks to the intensive training he had with Ming. Still, he found it weird that he was practising advanced techniques when his basic foundation of spreading his chi throughout his body was not complete. So, Jin had to work backwards for the past two weeks, not only to spread his chi but also to activate his magic circuits. He did send a query to the Demonic Sage Queen for any advice in mana acc.u.mulation and all that Explosion Specialist stated was to create explosions. "You might think my advice is for nought but explosion spells are the fastest way to call forth vast amounts of mana. Thus, the result is in direct correlation to the amount of mana you have. If you could only poop a 5cm diameter of explosion, it means you suck. Suck so bad I will tell you to either quit right now or train your explosion spells until you increase the size of the explosion." Jin quickly understood that Peppers did explosive spells to remove the excess mana that was stored within her and she made sense. If he were to manage his Maqi in his subconscious realm, he had to conjure mana by casting spells. Peppers did send him an incantation of an explosion spell and told him to practice when he had the time. She was at first curious why he needed it since his Maqi was able to cast fiery explosions without much aid of an incantation spell. But since Jin had cut her off upon learning the spell, she did not bother much. The Mage Bellator had no idea that Jin was doing this for his subconsciousness. Little did he know that the training in his subconscious realm had exponential effects on his Maqi in real life. Two weeks? Two years? Twenty Years? The refinement of his Maqi in the subconscious realm did not matter compared to the colossal task of defeating Genbu right now. Chapter 1133 - A Tussle With The Serpent -unedited Chapter 1133 ¨C A Tussle With The Serpent -unedited As he was stuck in the hurricane of cold icy death, Jin was gathering his chi and magic within his body, fusing them together so that he could output Maqi. Oddly enough, the gathering of his Maqi has the side effect of warming himself up for this fight. He did not feel as cold as before and therefore was able to think rationally. (The cold doesn''t bother him anyways~!) He felt that despite knowing the Serpent and Genbu being one entity, it made Jin feel like he was fighting against two monstrosities. Although Jin was swirling around in that blasted hurricane of icy doom, the serpent did not hesitate to strike the Astral Panda Cultivator and it was quite accurate in its attack. But Jin did block or evade the attack. Instead, he did the most predictable move in every anime and movie. By pushing himself through into the serpent''s mouth. While as iconic as the move would be, he was also to evade the serpent''s fangs which seemed to be coated with poison. Jin was able to guess correctly when part of his winter jacket had been corroded upon contact with the poison. Thus, the Astral Panda Cultivator''s idea to envelope his entire body with Maqi before sliding through the Serpent''s throat was a decent decision. Yet, the serpent was not stupid to allow the cultivator to do what he likes. (Probably slicing its innards and organs when he has the chance.) It instantly vibrates its entire body, causing the internal organs to secrete a certain lubricant which would prevent Jin from cutting it up. "Too bad for you, my sword is right outside! I am not gonna cut you or anything so your liquid based defences would not stop me¡­.or erm eat me!" Jin thought to himself as he felt the liquid was merely part one of the serpent''s defences as its internal muscles were closing in. But the Maqi that Jin enveloped around him was not only used to protect him, it was a precursor of his spell. His self detontating explosion spell. (Obviously without hurting himself in the process.) *Kaboom!* The sound of the explosion caused the white tiger to look with interest. It too thought it was the end for Jin since he got eaten by the serpent. Unlike Jin, Byakko did know what Genbu''s serpent was capable of and there was hardly any chance for Jin to get out alive if he did not prepare anything against it. However, his initial thoughts were proven wrong when he heard the explosive sounds and smoke emanated from the Serpent''s mouth. Eventually, even more explosions ensued and the Serpent had no way to counter it. The tiger chuckled for a moment and decided to help his fellow master a bit. "Whether he can come out unscathed, that would be another issue," Byakko smirked as he summoned his very own Maqi and called out for a thunderbolt to strike the serpent. But even before the thunderbolt could hit its target, it suddenly dissipated mid air, as if the bonds of the electrons holding the bolt together had dispersed throughout the winter space. That was when Byakko''s smirk turned into an irritated expression. "To think the White Tiger could still fall for this trick. It sure made my old cracking bones shivered with a little joy." Genbu giggled and Byakko eventually concluded that there was nothing he could do to aid his master. "At least my master is stupid enough to perform the trick of going into the Serpent''s body." Byakko yawned a little before he comfortably sat at the side of the old bench. "Yes, that rash stupidity would help, but for how long?" Genbu''s words echoed and Byakko sat at the side, ignoring the old man turtle as he watched its serpent struggle with the multiple explosions. "I won''t say he is the best master I have, but he is hardworking enough to get out of this situation you placed him¡­ despite him being a lazy panda." Byakko had to add the last part to show so that Genbu would not think he went soft from being a prideful animal. While the thunderbolt had fizzled out, the White Tiger of the West could have broken Genbu''s magical barrier if he had placed more Maqi into his spell, but it seems Genbu wanted Jin to clear this by himself as much as possible before the tiger could interfere. After all, as much as Byakko was able to break this magical barrier, Genbu could likewise do the same and strengthened the barrier even further. There was no use fighting in a petty match whether whose little tricks could triumph the other. Though the above was merely inference based on Genbu''s words, Byakko still chose to take the easy way out and let Jin settle it. Besides, it was quite a sight to see the Astral Panda Cultivator struggle so hard and it had been some time since the Tiger of the West saw old man Genbu''s serpent struggle this much even though he knew it was merely a part of his powers. The next few explosions got even louder just as Byakko stifled a yawn and finally saw the serpent drop to the side of the mountain. Another explosion was seen at the mouth of the serpent and Jin desperately crawled out of it, all drenched in the semi transparent liquid while gasping for air. "Is this how all the snakes suffocate their prey when they bite them??!" Jin complained as he tried to get as far from the serpent as much as possible. He knew there was no time to rest if the serpent could have black out momentarily. At the same time, he tried to push himself to reach near a large rock as support and cover. "Relax, the serpent is dead." Byakko''s voice echoed from the top of the mountain. "For now that is¡­ But I am not sure whether -" At that moment, the serpent''s tongue suddenly twitched and Jin was way too tired to react after casting that many spells. (Not to mention, the initial sentence Byakko spoke of, caused him to lower his guard.) The mouth of the serpent instantly reacted and moved towards Jin at frightening speeds that Jin believed he had to restart the instance once more. However, as clumsy as a panda could be in real life, Jin managed to slip from the rock that was behind his back and accidentally activated his astral double to counterattack the incoming serpent. Perhaps it was because he knew his life was in danger and the hopelessness he suffered got washed away from the unintentional slip, enabling him to activate an Astral Panda instead of his personal astral doppelganger. The Panda itself was powerful enough to not only stop the Serpent''s strike but held both upper and lower jaws of the snake before it forcefully closed them together. That impact caused the fangs in its upper jaws to pierce through its lower jaw, systematically bleeding itself to death once more. "Guess¡­that was a lucky break for me. Thank goodness for the lubricant then¡­Ha ha ha¡­" Jin saw the entire scene up front and he could only count his blessings that his astral abilities could be this useful in a scene like this. Chapter 1134 - Genbus ItChapter to Fight -unedited Chapter 1134 ¨C Genbu¡¯s ItChapter to Fight -unedited "Hahahahaha!!" Byakko was laughing at the top of his voice when he saw the commotion that happened before he could warn Jin about it. "All I was about to say was that the serpent under Genbu''s control is kinda like an undead. Did not expect him to pull a fast one on you. Old man Genbu, you are getting a little too impatient for your age." ''But kind of like an undead'' seemed to be an understatement as the corpse of the serpent retracted slowly. There was no way a corpse could move by itself and the only rationale was that Genbu was moving it away from Jin. However, instead of allowing Genbu to pull it away, Byakko leapt from the top and roared as he descended towards the serpent''s corpse. With lightning at his behest, he slammed the head of the serpent with a series of thunderbolts which Genbu''s magical barrier could not disperse in time. Byakko''s dive was strong enough to tear the serpent''s head off the corpse as it electrocuted the rest of the snake''s body. It also did not hesitate to bite its head and summon forth even more jolts to burn it into crisp. "Old man! I might have made fun of you but aren''t you being overly enthusiastic about this particular fight?! I know what you are thinking when you pull the serpent''s head away." Byakko shouted and Genbu''s chuckle could be felt as tremors on his mountainous shell. "It has been a long time since I had the opportunity to fight toe to toe with you, little tiger cub. I bet the other two would do the same since this is the only place they could do so without any consequences." Genbu said as his head emerged from his shell and the mountain continued to rumble. He stared towards the Tiger of the West which was now standing at the front of his exhausted master. "Have you forgotten that this is a trial for the young master? It''s very rare for you to put your d.e.s.i.r.es first. For a mythical legend depicting wisdom, you are nothing of that sort right now." Byakko said as his fur started to tingle along with the electricity produced around him. "Live by thy title or by thy self? There''s no one around other than you and the youngling so I do not have to pretend. And if Ming was insistent in protecting his youngling, he would have interfered by now since the Trial is considered to be completed." What Genbu said made no sense to Jin and he could not believe the trial was considered completed with just the killing of one serpent. "You do not know, huh." Byakko could sense the confusion behind him. "What do you mean? The trial ended just like this? I thought I had to break an entire mountain to win his trust."Jin answered as he used his hard earned Maqi to remove the lubricant away from him. The feeling was similar to the black sludge that he got as the by product of his cultivation. True enough, that lubricant from the serpent immediately turned its colour and it eventually looked like the black sludge he encountered. "Since the start of your subconscious cultivation, your chi circuits and mana circuits had been blocked by Genbu right from the start. Way before your encounter with me." Byakko said and suddenly the mountain started to rumble once more. This time it was more than a minor tremor and only Byakko had an idea what Genbu was getting at. "While it would be nice to tell Jin the whole story, you are currently on my back and always have been. I appreciate it if you guests entertain the host. After this, I assure you that this old man will tell the entire story." Genbu''s voice got even more shallow and Byakko gritted his teeth. The Tiger of the West himself had a chance to stand against all of Genbu''s might but he could not do so while protecting the young master. Jin too tried to push his Maqi to quickly remove all the black sludge on his body so that he could be ready for the next round of battle. But, he realised that his Maqi output was increasing more than usual. There should be some sort of difficulty to activate his circuits at first but it somehow seemed easier with every second passed. "Release the lock and let the box manifest to reveal its true self." Genbu''s smirk was hidden from his guests but without a doubt, both of them could feel the delight in his words as if there was a double meaning in his speech. At that point, the rumbling turned into multiple eruptions of the ground which enabled Jin to see Genbu''s true form while eight serpent heads emerged from the depths of his ''mountain'' shell. "The eight headed hydra or as the folklore in oriental east dubbed it, Yamata no Orochi." Byakko said as his hunch was right. When Jin saw its presence, he could not help but laugh at the absurdity of the reality he was seeing. The Turtle of the North had always been depicted with a serpent fighting with it. Never did he imagine that it was the home of the body of eight serpents. "However, White Tiger Cub is right. It would not be a fun fight if I go all out against both of you, especially when your master could not perform at peak performance." Genbu remarked and Byakko once again understood the underlying meaning of his previous sentence when he felt Jin''s aura got stronger. "No time for explanations. Your circuits have been unblocked by Genbu. You should feel your original strength and powers flowing back to you." Byakko said and Jin''s aura flourished to a point that it made Byakko confident that he did not have to do any babysitting. "Original strength? This is way more than I had felt in my original body. It was the first time I could feel the intricateness of my Maqi. The cross weaving of chi and mana throughout my circuits. I did not even feel this power coursing through my veins when I am conscious and awake." Jin exclaimed and the serpents snickered. "And that means we have succeeded." The serpents and Genbu answered in unison. "So, in return for your success, fight us with all your might!" they exclaimed with anticipation. (At this point if Kraft was around, he would have cued for an epic cinematic flyabout of Genbu, Byakko and Jin for the starting boss battle cutscene.) Chapter 1135 - Yamata No Orochi -unedited Chapter 1135 ¨C Yamata No Orochi -unedited Yamata no Orochi. As the name depicts in eastern oriental has eight heads and each is capable of something magical. Legend has it that the serpent originally only had one head. However, its shrewd tactics to tell lies had enabled it to extort both gods and goddesses to sacrifice their daughters to keep it in check. And each time the god and goddess sacrificed their daughters, the serpent itself grew a head because of their daughter''s abilities. And thus according to the lore, the serpent was killed in the eighth year before the eighth daughter of the minor gods was taken away. The existence of its corpse had been kept a secret so that no one would be able to resurrect such a horrific creature back alive again. But the Gods never know that the one that had been defeated was merely a shadow of its former self and its true form had always been manifest under a giant celestial turtle. Thus, this evil serpent versus hero story only depicted one side of the story since the God Realms had always been full of themselves. As usual, the lore had been twisted to glorify the God Realms as those minor god families were actually bad news for their own daughters. Their family allowed their daughters to be abused, tortured and they even forced them to do despicable things that would give most gods a bad rep for their names. Yet, every realm had its underworld dealings and such pleas for help were always ignored. And that was where the story of the serpent story began. The upstanding society of the God Realm did not know the full story and assumed that these abused daughters went ''missing'' after the appearance of the serpent when they were in fact driven to the corner to be offered to the higher ranking gods as tribute in order to gain favour for their minor god families. But such tributes didn''t happen because of the deed of the first woman and a serpent she found. Remained unnamed in the lore, Ichigo was desperate to run away from the abuse and torture of the higher gods. She had not heard of these in public but personally witnessed the physical and mental abuse of the tributes done by the higher gods since she worked as a servant for them. Ichigo remained oblivious to the situation because she knew that meddling in the situation the tributes were in would result in severely harsh punishments. But it did not take long for her turn to emerge as the son of this particular Higher God''s family she worked for finally to took notice of how Ichigo was becoming a beauty despite her constant efforts to make up herself as an ugly downcasted maiden. When found out, Ichigo was demanded to be brought into his room, and requested Ichigo to attend to the young master''s bodily d.e.s.i.r.e. That was when she realised that this must be the acc.u.mulation of karma for ignoring the past tributes. However, that did not mean she was going to submit to him. She might be ignorant of the plights of the tributes but that did not mean she was unaware. Unlike the rest who were helpless in their situation, Ichigo knew the insides and out of the house she was serving. She knew that they have a room filled with exotic animal species and one which she had many affiliations to was the baby serpent rumoured to be the pet of Demonic Headless Knight, Dullahan. As much as the Gods hated the demons, black market trades of their trophies were quite the rage so having a demon pet was nothing blasphemous in the Gods'' eyes. That particular serpent was a nobody, it was nothing special but it had the ability to turn invisible once in a while. Ichigo did not know about its capabilities until she chanced upon it when she was assigned to feed the animals. And it was then she started to have interest in the invisible serpent as it had caused trouble for her a few times, running away, causing her to panic for the loss of their trophy demon pet. But as time went by, Ichigo also learnt the traits and quirks of the invisible serpent, allowing her to deal with it and at times, play with it. The limbless reptile had also taken a liking for Ichigo for accommodating to its slyness. Thus when Ichigo found out she was being requested into the young master''s room, Ichigo used the excuse to clean herself up except she was grabbing the serpent as part of her defence against any potential assault on her. The serpent, while incapable of intellectual speech, no doubt understood the sense of fear Ichigo was emitting and accompanied her quietly into the young master room. Unfortunately, she was right that the young master wanted her body. Apparently, the young master used a spell to bind her, rendering her immobile and the ability to fight back. She could not even make a noise but all that commotion allowed the serpent to cleverly hide itself and eventually defended her at the apex of the situation when the young master was at its most vulnerable. It was then the serpent gained sentience when it killed the young master and gave the suggestion that the duo should escape from the house as soon as possible before the guards discovered the young master''s rotten poisoned corpse. Ichigo tried to return to her family, explaining the situation and asked of them to aid her in her time of need. But to her dismay, her family did not protect her and instead only reprimanded her for doing such a disgraceful act. They even wanted to offer her back as a tribute to save their skins. Soon, Ichigo realised the ugliness of her family. She was so disgusted by their behaviour that she requested the serpent to kill them too. But since the serpent had already done her a favour as well as relishing for more powers of a god, it made its demands too boldy. It told Ichigo that it would be able to do that if she parted her godly powers and transferred them entirely to him. In return, it will continue to save her and bring her somewhere safe while continuing to save people who were ''in need'' as well. Ichigo did not hesitate and immediately agreed to the serpent''s plan despite knowing that upon doing so, she would be a regular human with no immortality. Thus, the duo once again managed to escape from the jaws of death from the Higher God Family as well as murdering her parents. But the surprising thing was that the serpent was happy to take all the blame by himself, which was why Orochi became infamous as the years went by. Although it was not required, Orochi, who gained godly powers, took the responsibility of ferrying Ichigo from the Gods Realm to one of the human worlds where she could start afresh. And since then, it continued its new ''mission'' to save any despondent girls from their fate by offering the very same deal it gave to Ichigo. Not soon after, the legend of the serpent took ground and incurred the wrath of the majority of the Higher Gods because it stole precious tributes and killed their family members. And thus, they assigned a God Hero to kill it without knowing the deeds it did. But little did the God Hero Susanoo know that all he killed was merely a shadow of the serpent who ate the godly powers of every girl it saved. And now Orochi was going to use that very same godly powers against its current opponent. Chapter 1136 - Eight Heads -unedited Chapter 1136 ¨C Eight Heads -unedited The first serpent''s head struck Jin''s location with a headbutt and the Astral Panda Cultivator was able to dodge it easily even without the use of his Maqi. It did, however, stop him from acc.u.mulating even more Maqi on a stationary spot and that was adequate for Orochi to follow up with the attack. The head of the first serpent did not stop upon crashing into the ground and retracting itself back to its original position. Instead, it continued to chase after Jin and its speed increased dramatically like a homing missile set to kill its target. "Don''t these serpents have a limit on how much they stretch?" Jin queried as he now used qing gong to jump from one icy cliff to another and yet the serpent continued to chase after it. He also managed to pull off some accidental slips, allowing his Astral Double to appear in an attempt to slow the serpent down. In the meantime, he continued to move towards a second serpent head, hoping to entangle the two heads together but he can''t seem to reach the rest of the seven heads at all no matter how fast he moved. "You think I know what it is capable of?! Get on me!" Byakko shouted as he managed to catch up with Jin and the Astral Panda Cultivator did not hesitate to mount on the White Tiger to gain even more speed. "I thought you knew everything about your old pal?!" Jin said and the Tiger shook his head. "When we fought, he was the only one casting spells and hardly used the serpents on his back to do the fighting for him," Byakko replied. "Besides, our petty feuds ended quite quickly with one devastating blow to the other. We did not exactly drag and prolong each other''s misery." "Then why don''t you do that with him now?" Jin asked and Byakko used his tail to smack him from the back "I am not the one fighting in this round! I am merely helping you, don''t expect me to go full force just for you even though Ming had made me swear to protect you!" Byakko said as he jumped and climbed further back to the centre of the mountain. At that point, several other serpent heads began spewing elemental projectile shots toward the white tiger in order to slow it down for the first serpent to catch up with them. Fortunately, Byakko was a nimble predator and he was able to evade most. For the rest, he tried to counter the near miss with magical bolts of thunder. Sadly, Genbu''s magical presence was stronger than his and the thunderbolts dispersed mid way since they were not as powerful as Byakko hoped for a full counter attack. Nevertheless, it did block the serpents'' elemental attacks but the current stalemate would be skewed towards the serpents given the pressure they had been exerting against the White Tiger and his Astral Panda Master. But, as Byakko and Jin evaded the constant chase, they did not know that they were being boxed in by the serpents. With the eight of them systematically pushing and diverting their shots of magic breath towards Byakko, they indirectly influenced the pair to move to the centre of the mountain. "Hey, Genbu! Aren''t those serpents hurting you with their missed shots?!" Jin''s pathetic attempt to split and divide the enemies from within was unsuccessful "If they were a nuisance, I would have admonished them from my shell. Besides, those shots are quite comforting, giving me the opportunity to regrow and strengthen my shell even further." Genbu explained that it was not a big deal to him "And just how big is his shell?!" Jin thought about it momentarily before deflecting one of the fire shots from the serpent "Big enough. So, stop complaining and start working." Byakko said as he finally reached the top of the mountain again, the spot where their faithful old bench was. There, Jin was able to see that despite the serpents coming out of Genbu''s shell like the arcade game ''whack a mole'', they were able to move unhindered. There were no holes or crevices left from the movement and it was as if Yamata no Orochi was metaphysical in nature, able to move without damaging the shell in any way. And yet, the damage caused by the first serpent when chasing after Jin defied all of that. The Astral Panda Cultivator stumbled, having no idea how the serpents were moving and to make things worse, Byakko and him have yet to do any damage to the serpents. "No wonder they were able to move away so quickly despite me trying to catch them," Jin said the serpents continued to encircle the duo. Byakko was already charging his electric Maqi ready to detonate when Jin made his move. "Release that Maqi on my mark instead, Byakko. You disrupt Genbu''s magical barrier and I go all out against each and every serpent head on." Jin telepathically said to the Tiger of the West. "You sure? Your attacks might not be successful against them. When I fought with Genbu previously, my electric Maqi could only hold them temporarily." Although Byakko presented his doubts, he continued to acc.u.mulate his Maqi as per Jin''s orders. "Don''t worry, let me handle this. Judging from the serpents, all of them were shooting a particular element when they were trying to box us in. I managed to memorise who was firing which element so I got this correctly, we might have a short and quick battle instead." Jin said as he continued to gather his chi and started to visualise the elements needed to fight simultaneously against the eight serpents. "I could help you if you want. Even if Genbu had unlocked your supply of Maqi, dividing your chi into eight portions would be detrimental to your spirit body. Especially so when your body suddenly receives a large influx of chi and mana from your dantian." Byakko advised Jin to overstrain himself. "Heh, I know without you telling me. That is why I wanted this fight to end as soon as possible. Very well, I will take up on your offer. This way, I should be able to produce more strength for the remaining seven portions." Jin nodded his head and began to redivert his strength. Eight Targets, One Shot. Can the duo scratch the itch of Genbu by simultaneously defeating the heads of Yamata no Orochi? Chapter 1137 - Astral Alter -unedited Chapter 1137 ¨C Astral Alter -unedited "Earth, Water, Thunder, Fire, Wind, Light, Dark, Metal and lastly Physical," Jin mumbled to himself but it seemed that Orochi had caught wind of their plans when Jin started to emit a tremendous amount of Maqi that would naturally make any monster or enemy be on guard. He needed more time to deploy the seven other different elements and Orochi knew that he would be vulnerable. Even Genbu had begun to interfere by intensifying his own Maqi to reinforce the magical barrier around his serpent partner. In addition to that, his Maqi had an ominous presence of Yin Energy that hindered the gathering of Jin''s Maqi. While Byakko''s personal electrical energy barrier was nullifying Genbu''s magic shield, it started to become ineffective and Byakko could literally see his barrier fizzling and breaking apart. He had to focus on regenerating while keeping sufficient Maqi for the simultaneous attack with Jin. Orochi had decided to strike as well, knowing that idling would bring forth its imminent demise. Thus, from all cardinal and sub cardinal directions, the serpents zoomed into the peak of the mountain, hoping to disrupt their gathering of Maqi. Yet when Jin and Byakko seemed to be at the doorstep of death, a sludge-like creature suddenly emerged from the back of Jin and instantly prevented the coordinated assault from the serpents themselves. As the serpents impacted against the sludge creature, they felt their energies being s.u.c.k.e.d out and thus caused them to retreat away from it. Soon, the sludge creature began to form up and slowly they realised that it took the shape of a half body armour suit. "You have forgotten something Genbu, Orochi! I am still the master of this subconscious realm. It seems that you did not only unlock my chi and mana circuits! My link with my abilities in the real world is also available to me too!" Jin shouted as he called forth the Titan Knight to protect them from the relentless assault of the serpent. "Hahahah! Stupid fool!" Genbu laughed heartily that Jin and Byakko had to keep their footing stable. "Have you not seen the clue I gave you when you came out of the serpent''s mouth?" "What do you mean?!" Jin questioned while he continued to try his best concentrating the essence of Maqi into his palms. "The by-product from the innards of the serpent you felt was my creation. It''s my product to block your chi and mana circuits. Thus, these so-called sludge you created from your body was all because of me. And since it is my property, I am able to control them." Genbu scoffed and pushed his Yin energy into the sludge in order to take charge of it again. This would enable the Turtle of the North to take full control of the Titan Knight and obliterate Jin and Byakko immediately before it could inflict any hurt on Orochi''s serpents. But for some reason, the sludge did not seem to be responding to Genbu''s command. The Titan Knight remained stationary and never moved a single inch away from Jin and Byakko. "Come on, I am still waiting for your counter move, what are you waiting for?" Jin smirked widely as his Maqi essence was getting more concrete. "What? What is happening? What did you do to the sludge?" Now it was Genbu''s turn to get to the bottom of the situation. There was no way his Yin Energy was not able to control a humanoid sludge creation. For its size, the turtle even inserted more Yin Energy than he should assert its dominance. "Why should I tell you? When you did not even explain to me when I asked for answers! It''s a tit for tat!" Jin said but he was lucky that his gamble paid off. When he first saw the sludge by product, there was no way it was a case of a lucky coincidence. The Astral Panda Cultivator knew that the sludge he created had to be part of either Genbu or Orochi. Also, there was no way his enemies for this ''friendly'' match would allow him to do what he liked while he gathered his Maqi. He embodied the Titan Knight with his Astral Body. By doing so, the Sludge would be a part of Jin instead of being a separate entity. In fact, if one were to look closely, the Titan Knight while body-less from the bottom half, there was a fabric like portion that was attached to Jin. It was a new technique that Jin had created on the spot and Jin would eventually name it Astral Alter since the minion sludge was still a part of him. And thus, his gamble paid off with Genbu revealing that the sludge was a by-product of his, confirming Jin''s suspicion and began to infuse Yin Energy into it, confident that he would control it. But because the Yin Energy was not invasive or ''offensive'' in nature, Jin was able to absorb the Yin Energy to make it part of him. While the conversion was not entirely a 1:1 rate, the energy output was enough to strengthen his circuits and aided him to have sufficient Maqi for the one shot. "Impossible! I do not believe you are able to control it. Are you using some freeze technique or spatial time lock?!" For a turtle of his age, Genbu got a tad more irritated than usual which made Byakko quite surprised that the old man could still have anger as part of his repertoire of emotions. Yet, Jin refused to answer him and used the delay to further cement his Maqi powers. However, Genbu''s anger was not to be underestimated. With the entire atmosphere choke full of his Yin Energy and the ground they were on was on his shell, he and Orochi had the home ground advantage and they were going to use it to thwart Jin''s plan as much as possible. Chapter 1138 - Eight Shots, One Kill -unedited Chapter 1138 ¨C Eight Shots, One Kill -unedited Knowing that it could be in danger, Orochi had finally pulled all its moves to fight against the Titan Knight. Stopping Jin from releasing his Maqi was the most important task at hand and Orochi did not hesitate to go full force. Even though it was connected as one particular body, Yamata no Orochi had the capability to split his serpent heads equally into eight pieces. The lore stated that Orochi could be seen with eight heads and tails was not a lie as that was his form when all eight separate serpents emerged as one. It was one of the reasons why no one suspected how Genbu was hiding the eight headed serpent for so long and how the serpent always seemed undying in nature, providing the turtle with the ultimate offence and defensive capabilities one could ever wish for. So, with the help of Genbu who manipulated his Yin Energy to create spatial distortions, Orochi used those distortions to jump through time and space so as to ambush Jin''s Titan Knight. "If you think my Titan Knight is just a chunk of metal waiting to be destroyed then it means you did not see the improvements my team had made for it!" Jin said as the Titan Knight pulled a two handed sword from the shadowy depths of its half body. It was ready to slice any of the serpents that approached it into half. But Genbu''s use of his spatial distortions and Orochi''s ambush attacks was a work of beauty from a third party''s perspective. They had been together for so long that the turtle and serpent had mastered the ideal combination of attacks that would put any team combi Jin ever saw to shame. Orochi''s serpents restrained the Titan Knight from moving its arms and begun to spew their elemental attacks against the huge chunk of metal although their targets were mainly Jin and Byakko. However, as the protector of his creator, its duty to keep Jin from harm had forced the Titan Knight to move its entire half body right under the duo to shelter them from the barrage of elemental attacks. At the same time, it pressed a trigger on its two handed giant sword, causing a compartment to appear within the core of the sword. A series of missiles emerged from the giant sword and haphazardly targeted the serpents restraining the Titan Knight despite knowing that it would also damage itself. Yet that was not the only surprise that the snakes received. They initially thought those missiles would be the only threat they would be encountering and thus tightened their restraints against the Titan Knight. Little did they know that Byakko had sent out a terrifying amount of electricity from the bottom of the Titan Knight, shocking all eight serpents trying to penetrate through the defences of the duo''s protector. "Jin! You better hang in there and hurry as well!" Byakko exclaimed as it seemed Jin was taking some damage too since the Titan Knight was connected to him. However, the Astral Panda Cultivator did not mind at all since this counterattack was the perfect opportunity to retaliate. Previously, he was worried since the one shot he had against all of the eight serpents was indeed the one and only the chance he possessed. Even if he could shoot them out simultaneously, the serpents might have the chance to evade them entirely. But right now, they have estranged themselves onto the broken Titan Knight, paralysed from the surprise thunderbolt attack from Byakko. Not to mention, his Astral Alter was somewhat an extension of him and he could sense which particular elemental based serpent was coiling the Titan Knight. And thus, a split second after Byakko''s comment, Jin released all he had within him, countering every single serpent that was on sight. Six shots of elemental Maqi were shot out furiously from the insides of the Titan Knight while Byakko intensified his electric Maqi and refocused it against the water elemental serpent after Jin pointed to him where it was situated. And as those seven serpents decimated from their countering elements, the Titan Knight was finally free from its restraints and grabbed the final one that was lingering from the shock on his helmet. His pull was so strong that even knight''s helmet fell off from the sudden strike. Although that did not stop the knight''s movement since Jin was partially controlling it with his will. The headless Titan Knight then picked his sword up and the serpent could finally see its demise in slow motion. "Hahaha¡­what a change of events and the irony at play. I am going to serve from one Headless Demon Master to another." Orochi thought to himself as flashbacks of Dullahan flew past his eyes when he saw the headless Titan Knight sending its blade towards its throat. However, at that moment, a spatial distortion emerged right in front of the serpent and the upper portion of the sword disappeared. It instead popped right behind the Titan Knight and before it could perform any evasive manoeuvres, the upper half of the sword had already sunk its blade right into the Titan Knight''s armoured torso. "We can stop here." Genbu''s tone was harsh and ordered Jin to let go of Orochi. As much as he thought it might be a threat, Byakko echoed Genbu''s request to Jin, telling him to do as he said. The Titan Knight, while broken, was still capable of receiving commands and thus followed Jin''s word to release the serpent. Orochi fell to the ground, momentarily gasping for air before giving a brief eye contact with Jin and disappeared into the shell of Genbu. "So, have I passed the test?" Jin asked as he released his Astral Alter and the shape of the Titan Knight dispersed in midair and Genbu''s shell vibrated a little to pull Orochi into his core. "Old Man, I am surprised you did not pull out everything in your arsenal." Byakko snickered and they heard Genbu give out a stifled laugh. "If I did, you would not be around the second we start the battle. Have you forgotten that you are standing on my shell?"Genbu replied like a spiteful old man. "I do not care about any of that¡­ for now. Thank you for the trial but right now, all I want to know is if I passed the test since I would like to understand what the hell is going on. The number of questions in my head increased as the trial went on." Jin asked while he caught his breath. His legs were trembling and the Maqi particles around him were rather messy. Byakko quickly cast a healing spell to stabilise Jin since it was quite the norm when someone had been exposed to a large amount of Maqi and release that much at the same time as well. Most would have fainted but Jin managed to stay conscious. Genbu sighed and while slightly irritated, he does have an obligation to answer them since Jin passed the trials. But as he was about to open his mouth, Byakko and Jin heard heavy footsteps behind, walking through the heavy snowy path. "I shall do the answering as usual. Genbu, mind sending us back to my lovely adobe?" Ming mysteriously appeared and Genbu obliged his request instantly by creating a spatial distortion. Chapter 1139 - Circuit Adjustments -unedited Chapter 1139 ¨C Circuit Adjustments -unedited However, instead of a portal, the entire landscape changed right in front of them. The mountain peak was flattened and the trees started to grow right around them. The temperature continued to rise and snow melted to make way for the flowers and other flora in the area. The very wooden cabin in which Ming and Jin had shared a couple of meals together was raised from the ground the same way Orochi moved around Genbu''s shell. First ethereal in nature and it later materialised properly right in front of them. The sounds of spring were heard with birds chirping and the footsteps of other hoofed animals. If anything, Genbu was similar to a dungeon dimension instance but instead of a store, the so-called instance was its shell. There was nothing Genbu could not create with his shell and it proved to the Astral Panda Cultivator that the old turtle was hiding way more tricks under his proverbial sleeve than expected. "I thought you wanted to go all out against me?" Jin queried Genbu and there was a defying sneer. "Like I said, I only wished to play a little since crushing you will be all too easy. Get to my age and ask me for the rematch again." Genbu grumbled as his turtle head soon returned back into his shell to recuperate. (As if Jin could reach that old!!) "Do not fall to that old turtle''s provocation, I will explain to you while you cultivate. Do not waste your time and start consolidating all that unblocked circuits or else they would get blocked again and that will be your undoing," Ming said as he picked his walking stick and smacked Jin''s legs. Even if the Astral Panda Cultivator did not want to, his smack was right on point, causing him to kneel down and with a few additional pokes from Ming''s stick, Jin began to close his eyes and concentrate cooling down from the aftermath of the major while he consolidated his Maqi. With Genbu unlocking his circuits, Jin had a major influx of Maqi emerging from the blocked circuits which could potentially destroy him if he did not have the capability to adjust it on time. It was like pushing air into an already inflated balloon and subsequently continued to insert air to its maximum capacity. While it might have looked like a request to self indulge himself, Genbu initiated the battle to aid Jin in removing all the excess Maqi in his body. As the sole objective of the old turtle disguised, Genbu honestly did not bother whether he would win or lose. But perhaps, Jin did ignite some form of fire in him later in the fight, and Genbu felt that making Jin lose was a lesson he could have taught. (In hindsight, that old turtle was glad he did not reveal his hand since he believed he probably could not bother to control himself if he were to went all out.) Still, he had to admit that it was quite a neat trick by creating the Astral Alter. Since it was not part of the cultivation manual, Genbu agreed that Jin does have the potential to grow further if he could create his very own Maqi techniques. In the meantime, as Jin was checking his chi and mana circuits, Ming grabbed a chair from the cabin and started to talk Jin about the trial he went through. "Initially, we thought that the manual I painstakingly created would be sufficient for you. First, it would let you grow a little, and then teach you a few techniques and use them in battle. Subsequently, we will release the next volume of manual when you reach a higher grade which it''s tucked nicely into the lockboxes that I entrusted to Grandma Yuan although I believed you have yet to open the last few." Ming began his explanation and Jin who was adjusting his circuits was finally able to reply with a few words when a major configuration was done. "I see. Yea, I have not opened the latest boxes," he replied as he took another deep breath in. "I figured. Because if you did, you would probably question me a long time ago when you had your major grade milestone. Thus, the whole thing is supposed to be very standard stuff and it should subsequently lead you on a straightforward road to success. This was because we wanted you to concentrate on your dungeon store and not worry about the cultivation. Also, did you know that the Astral Panda Manual had been curated by Genbu? Without him, I would not have been able to create a basic manual for you to follow." Ming tried to add Genbu into the picture but the turtle did not bother to reply. "We figured that based on your past personality, and the attitude of the System, you would have purely focused on the dungeon supplier store alone. Of course, back then, we had no idea how the Dungeon Supplier Store would be since the System that I experienced was pretty much a combat oriented System. So when you unlocked your cultivation, it also gave us access to your memories and we realised that the route we set up for you was pretty much f.u.c.k.e.d." Ming continued his explanation and Jin had to interrupt. "We. The ''We'' you were talking about. Are they the Four Legend Cardinals and you?" Jin asked and Ming smiled quietly. If Jin had noticed his smile, he would have suspected something was off but for now, he was entirely occupied with the circuit consolidation. "Well, yeah. I guess you could say that. But things changed when we noticed that you went to other worlds. Suddenly, it was major hard mode for you. Your exposure to the other worlds means that you need your cultivation to be higher as fast as possible¡­ Or you will die." Ming hoped Jin took the last portion of his sentence seriously. "I already deduced that one out." Jin''s eyes stared at Ming for a moment before he closed them again. "Guess he really does know that he will die." Byakko, who was lying at the side of the chair, could notice that Jin was not speaking for the fun of it. He truly knew that the consequences of having the System. "Did the System tell you about it? Because the System did not tell me anything about it until much later. We thought that you might keep a low profile and death would be the last thing you would need to worry about." Ming questioned and Jin shook his head. "That is why I tried my best to beat this trial. Because I know I need to pass this trial to further my cultivation. I am guessing when Genbu said that my trial had been completed because I had met the requirements for unlocking my circuits?" Jin asked and Ming nodded slowly. "For so long, you wondered why the sludge was coming out of you. Your circuits were blocked by purpose so that you learn how to utilise all of them. In the past 2 weeks, your constant push to clear those circuits was the key to pass the trial. Orochi was there to spite you so you can open the very last few circuit nodes." Ming explained the rationale of the trial Jin passed. "Upon doing so, Genbu released the ''curse'' on you and therefore unblocked everything for you to use. By the time you wake up, you should have absolute control of your Maqi. Fast and efficient, not the slow charging kind of bullshit." "Welcome to the real world. Jin. Things will continue to get tough." Ming remarked as Jin''s circuits glowed a little as a sign of completion. Chapter 1140 - Circuit Adjustments -Part 2 -unedited Chapter 1140 ¨C Circuit Adjustments -Part 2 -unedited "Considering there are the four cardinal legends, then I guessed my next trial would be to fight either Suzaku or Seiryuu?" Jin stood up to stretch as he tried to imagine how the Vermillion Bird of the South and Azure Dragon of the East looked like. "Probably Suzaku I think¡­ Given how the Dragons are always the last to be fought." "You are one thousand years too soon to even fight them." Genbu bellowed under his shell. "One thousand years is a little too far-fetched." Ming chuckled and beckoned Jin to enter his cabin. "But you are not the right grade to start the trial." "From what I know from the previous trials, I need to hit at least a multiple of five milestones before I could clear the tests¡­So I am guessing once I reach Grade 15 or 16?" Jin said as he relaxed his muscles and went into the room with Ming. "Technically, you could say that." Ming shrugged his shoulders but Jin deduced based on his grandfather''s expression that he was more or less correct. "How did you even know these cardinal legends? From their conversation, they needed your permission in some way or another." Jin changed the topic as Ming brought out a frying wok from the cabinet. "I like to say you are not ready for the truth and you would probably press me for more information. However, it is the fact I cannot tell you anything else. In return, shall I reward the passing of this arduous trial with a plate of fried rice?" Ming commented and Jin''s eyes perked up. "I would love to. It''s been far too long." Jin said solemnly and Ming smiled softly. "It''s not even a year in and you said it''s too long?" Ming remarked and it baffled Jin. "Considering all that time dilation¡­" Jin did not complete his sentence but Ming sneered. "Fine, you win this time. Go cultivate a little more, and adjust your circuits while I cook you the fried rice." "If you can add-" "Yes I know, fried chicken skin and bacon bits, right? Do not worry, I have the ingredients here too." Ming said as he opened the refrigerator and showed Jin his favourite add ons before shoo-ing him away. But they both knew that what Jin was going to eat was somewhat fake. Everything within the subconscious realm was constructed. Yet, this small request of selfish indulgence made Jin reminiscent of the days where he enjoyed a quiet evening with his grandfather. There was no need for small talk since all they wanted was each other''s company. Ming might have been strict in his ways of raising his grandson but he continued to pamper Jin in whatever ways he could when the opportunity arose. And this current act of small love was no doubt something Jin relished. The fried rice did not take long to make and Jin could barely concentrate when the cooking was done. However, he was already doing what Ming asked him to do. The Astral Panda Cultivator did not fully understand the meaning behind adjusting his circuits until he went into cultivation mode. Previously when Jin consolidated his circuits, he was just making sure they did not suddenly erupt. So, the moment he entered this time around, he found out that the circuits were all in a mess, something similar to the entanglement of wires behind a cabinet full of computer server hardware. But since he could finally feel the fibre of every single ''wire'' going through his body, he decided to allocate them properly. As weird as that sounds, his body did physically untangle any possible knots and placed the circuits alongside his blood vessels. At first, Jin had no idea how to approach this problem but when he recalled the scene of Orochi''s serpent moving its muscles internally to squeeze him to death, the Panda Cultivator tried to do the same. Slowly but surely, he sought to move his muscles with chi and they slowly moved the circuits into ''place''. The entanglement did make him squirm in discomfort since he was moving his muscles and blood vessels to accommodate for a smoother transition of chi and mana flow. "Jin, the fried rice is ready, you can come eat whenever you are ready to- Ah, I see¡­ While I did request you to perform adjustment of your chi circuits, I did not expect you were able to achieve such a degree." Ming said as he walked towards Jin and saw the flow of the Maqi coming out of him to be more fluid. He honestly only wanted Jin to clear any remaining sludge within his body but it seems he was going the extra mile without knowing. "However, Jin. Moving your muscles internally would not be sufficient in the long run because the circuits would slowly return to the very same spots." Ming remarked as he went behind his grandson and placed his palms on his shoulders. The Astral Panda Cultivator was already way beyond what he expected in terms of adjustment, so Ming believed it was best to get it done properly. "You need an external force to keep them in place." The Grandfather immediately pumped out a massive force of chi into Jin''s body which suddenly caused him to vomit blood instantly. Not only that, his entire body was oozing with blood especially where the joints were supposed to be. "Tolerate it. I am barely done. You still have your mana circuits which I need to fix in place too." Ming said as he released his palms and sat right behind Jin. This time around, he drew a magical circle in the air and slowly pushed it into Jin''s body. The magic circle immersed itself into the body and suddenly Jin released a very loud and long fart. Not long after, Jin instinctively burped as well, removing as much waste gas from his body. "Heh!" Ming chuckled as he let go of the circle and repeated his hand movements to garner some chi within his palms before placing them behind Jin. This old method of transferring chi was indeed an iconic scene like any old wuxia drama shows but the most important thing was that it works perfectly well. In the meantime¡­ A white hungry tiger was already staring at the huge plate of fried rice that was left on the table. Chapter 1141 - Circuit Adjustment -Final -unedited Chapter 1141 ¨C Circuit Adjustment -Final -unedited When the process was done, Jin gasped for air as he vomited the remaining volume of blood in his lungs. "The f.u.c.k¡­" Jin said as he coughed continuously for a few seconds or so before Ming brought him a glass of water. "Well, at least your body is all tuned up. I even make sure that there is space for your body to grow even more complex chi circuits if needed." Ming said as he rubbed the sweat off his forehead. "If that does not comfort you, we have the fried rice to replenish our-" Ming pointed backwards with his thumb but as he turned his head, the huge plate of fried rice was all cleaned up. All that was left were scattered rice pieces on the table and a very bloated white tiger yawning. "BYAKKKO!" Jin shouted as his chi aura suddenly went to top gear and his anger was directed towards the Tiger of the West. "What? What?!" Byakko who was about to sleep from a filling meal suddenly felt an overflowing menace from Jin. "MY FRIED -COUGH FRIED RICE!" Jin shouted and Byakko stood at his four paws ready for a counterattack as well. "It''s too AWESOME to not resist! Heh! If you wish to fight for just a plate of fried rice. BE. MY. GUEST." Byakko fired up his electric Maqi and the cabin they were in was vibrating from the competing auras. There was no need to prepare for any consequences for he did not mind the exercise to burn off the excessive calories. "Enough the both of you." Ming said and a tap from his shoe instantly caused the two auras to vanish, causing them to be breathless. This was because the aura Ming emanated was way stronger than the two of them were portraying. "Jin, I am sorry but it looks like you are fated to that fried rice today. Why don''t you go back to your world? Perhaps, someone out there would be willing to cook for you the very same thing too. Meanwhile, let me teach our housecat some table manners." Ming smiled weakly at Jin before he waved his hand, causing the Astral Panda Cultivator to fly out of the cabin and back into his conscious world. No doubt it jolted Jin out of his subconscious realm and left him gasping for air once more. However, for the first time, he realised that there was no sludge around him or oozing out of him at all. The System immediately queried if Jin was fine even though its system analytics had determined his vitals were normal. "Yea, yea I am fine." He touched his body a little and noticed that he did feel lighter than usual and requested for the System to do a quick analysis on his chi and mana circuits. The System did as requested and was shocked to find that his circuits were optimal for battle. "Your chi and mana plexus are well organised and the System estimated that the flow of Maqi output will increase by at least twice fold. However, given the multiplier effect from the combination of chi and mana, there is a possibility that hitting four fold was not too far fetched. Congratulations User, for a supposed grade up." "That''s¡­good to hear. And can I ask, did I produce any sludge?" Jin wanted to know since if his circuits are unblocked, he should not be producing any more sludge. "Negative. No sludge production which also prompted the System to be curious if the User had encountered any problem with his cultivation. But given the reorganisation of your chi and mana circuits, it should be a decent trade off for not having any more sludge by-products." The System said and Jin could feel that it was disappointed. The sludge was a precious new type of resource which the System felt was an omnipotent item that could be utilised in various fields. And thus, Jin decided to try producing the very same sludge during his waking hours. "Technically, Genbu should be under my control now¡­so I should be able to do so without being in cultivation mode." Jin said as he opened his palm and concentrated to visualise the formation of sludge. Hence, Jin continued to imagine the sludge formation, further refining it with his thoughts in order to make it denser so that it would be more useful for the System. Soon, it solidified right in front of him and produced a pearl bead. However, the moment he relaxed his thoughts and tried to hold the pearl bead with his fingers, the bead suddenly erupted with its shape changed into something similar to a bed of spiky looking crystals, as if there was an explosion right inside the bead itself that caused its deformation. "Ehhhh hahaa¡­ Sorry, System, guess I am not able to control the creation of the sludge yet." Jin said as he put the Sludge crystal rock right in front of the System allowing it to determine its quality. "User¡­" The System called out. "Not good? I apologised once more, this is after all my first time creating this." Jin scratched his head, thinking about how to improve the formation of the sludge. "No, User. This particular sludge crystal rock that you created is so concentrated that once refined, its quality itself provides more energy than the quantity we had kept in our storage." The System stated and Jin was taken aback. "What¡­what do you mean?" Jin asked and the System reported that if the crystal were to be used as part of its use for energy consumption, it could theoretically cover what they had acc.u.mulated throughout the entire few months. "This is no longer a by-product, but an actual product of your Maqi. If applied correctly, you can even use this for your battles. Being a dungeon supplier to create minions on the spot does not sound an impossibility with your new powers." The System said and Jin wondered if his latest grade up was way too overpowered. But all things considered, especially being the same grade as Grandma Yuan, Jin should not be that surprised. Chapter 1142 - Bringing the Animals -Part 1 -unedited Chapter 1142 ¨C Bringing the Animals -Part 1 -unedited With his cultivation out of the way, it was time to roll out the tasks he had completed in the past two weeks. It was not necessary to showcase them immediately but at the very least, the Dungeon Supplier already had content available for his customers if he was busy with the Outer Worlds or the symposium. The Virtual Reality Instance needed a lot of coordination so those new instances would probably free up more time for Jin to attend to it. But right now, most of the matters pertaining to the Virtual Reality Instance can only be resolved after his meeting with Ke Loong. As of now, he wished to clear a task that had been placed in the backlogs for the longest time ever. The Cultivation Zoo. As much had he wanted Lynn to complete it for him, somehow he felt that it was his responsibility to finish it and tell Grandma Yuan it was a done deal. At the very most, he could let Lynn continue improving the Cultivation Zoo Instance now that he had integrated it with his shop instance. He called to inform Claire, Grandma Yuan''s assistant as well as his Sub System accountant that the Cultivation Zoo was ready to receive the animals unless Grandma Yuan wished to have a review of the compound before sending them here. "What nonsense are you talking about? Why should Grandma Yuan have to walk around the Zoo when we both know that it''s under the System? That annoying group of perfectionists who keeps thinking that it is the best of us when we all know they were merely a bunch of old ancient uncles and maybe a few aunts being trapped in there that cannot keep up with the modern society and bear centuries old grudges?" Claire rolled her eyes and obviously, Jin somehow caught her at a bad time. (And somehow the System did not fight back either) "You alright, Claire? Need any assistance in any issue?" Jin asked out of the concern and Claire complained that the Joint Organisation of Demon Exorcists, JODE, had decided to revoke Grandma Yuan''s instructorship all of a sudden. "And then she would be given a hefty pension for her contributions. What bullshit?! Grandma Yuan merely needed more rest from the previous fight against those Loopa Ooofpas. Why are they retiring her because of her injuries? In fact, they should need her more than usual! Training a new batch of competent demon exorcists is more than vital knowing that the threat from Demons has never been more real than ever!" Claire vented her anger through the phone and Jin continued to listen to her rants. "If it helps, the advanced training centre is up as well. Even though I am named as the manager, I probably need an experienced hand to guide with the ways of the training centre. Will that help aid the case of keeping Grandma Yuan as an instructor?" Jin asked since he had no doubts that Claire would have petitioned the higher ups to rescind Grandma Yuan''s instructorship. "What, you serious? I never thought that would ever be done in a lifetime given your busy schedule." Claire''s voice sounded less vexing but Jin could feel the knives in her voice poking him. "Yeah, and I want the Demon Exorcists under my employment to be helpers in that advanced training centre. Surely, they could aid with the logistics and training course management. This will also give them the opportunity to learn from the experienced Exorcists too." "You should just send them to those Outer Worlds for battle, they would gain way more experience than most high grade Demon Exorcists I ever knew." Claire suggested and later pondered why Jin never did that in the first place. "Eh¡­to be honest, I never really thought about it. I have way too many things in my agenda that letting those kids roam around was not on my list at all." Jin replied and started to think about what would be a good time to introduce them. "They have tried a few of your dungeons if I remembered correctly and managed to clear them too," Claire added and Jin instantly looked towards the System Console. The System did not dally and gave the requested results of the Demon Exorcists right in front of him. "Oh¡­ so they actually cleared most of them as a team with the exception of our infamous Deep One''s Escape City Instance." Jin chuckled. "Obviously because the User had already indicated the difficulty to always be higher than the customers'' grade. Despite their training and wit, they have yet to be able to clear through the ferocity within the Escape City Instance. However, the System noted that they were working towards it at a steady pace despite the amount of variety we had placed in the instance." The System stated that it too would add in difficult phases to batter the young Demon Exorcists. "No wonder my Deep Ones had been asking for more stuff. I thought they were just being greedy but it is because they want to improve themselves¡­ I see." Jin finally saw a correlation which bothered him for some time. "See, even if you are not looking at them, they are growing too and they have proven to be quite a sturdy batch of Demon Exorcists. In fact, you should let them be the first batch of the Advanced Training Centre and there is a chance they can request Grandma Yuan to be back as an instructor." Claire smirked and it was pretty obvious despite it being just a voice call. "After all, they were known to be the batch that no one ever wanted to handle. The Accursed Batch." Claire spoke as if she had calmed herself down and she had a plan in mind along with it. "While I didn''t need specifics, I guessed you would like to brag about them a little so I can understand their situation better?" Jin felt this phone call would not be put down any time soon. "Do you want that or more ranting?" Claire folded her arm and seemed to have her Boss play right under her fingertips. "How about none? I stayed on the line long enough. I would just like to know about the animals in captivity since they are putting a strain on Grandma Yuan''s coffers and getting them out as soon as possible would reduce her burden." Jin answered as he was tapping his fingers on the System Console. "Oh, that? Consider it already done. They will be there by midnight since we obviously can''t have that many people see us transporting truckloads of animals. I assume your underground car park is big enough for the storage trucks to enter? They are at least 4.5m tall¡­. Since we have giraffes as well." "Don''t you worry about that. The System can make incremental changes to ensure that those storage trucks fit and we would make a storage space big enough to accommodate that as well." Jin reassured Claire and she was glad that everything would be smooth. "Very well, I will be there at midnight to ensure those animals are in properly. And also, the list of Zookeepers that should be able to help you in your Cultivation Zoo instance." Claire added. "And that one special gift that you are waiting for." And in Jin''s heart, he hoped that it was not more ranting. Chapter 1143 - Bringing In The Animals -Part 2 -unedited Chapter 1143 ¨C Bringing In The Animals -Part 2 -unedited By midnight, Jin had used the System to transform a portion of the underground car park as a storage area. And to prevent any late night visitors going into the underground car park unannounced, he had set up a blockade to the third lowest level of the underground car park. This was to make sure that when the storage trucks arrived, they could not only descend with ease but also unload the animals to the lowest floor while the second lowest floor was designated for a buffer area in case there were more trucks than expected or any uninvited ''guests''. Considering how Jin''s underground car park was limitless, the lowest level continued to change as per the amount of vehicles Jin''s car park was holding. This was because Jin''s Tree Mall boasted one of the lowest car park charges within the district and almost everyone in the vicinity had decided to park there to save cost. Since Jin owns not only the land but also the entire mall. The technology and features used were basically the System''s magic and its operating costs were nothing compared to the power grubber dimension instances. So, it was a tremendously popular car park spot for those drivers who were in the know. Not to mention, the car park technology was incredibly amazing that all the drivers had to do was to be laid back and let the car park do the entire work for them. There was no need to parallel park or worry about getting a slot. Also, security wise, there had been zero incidents since its inception and that tremendously increased the popularity of the Tree Mall car park. Jin had always felt car parks are a waste of space, and the System''s magic in solving this particular problem was raking in a fair bit of money for the Tree Mall. Therefore, even with the car park''s automated parking technology, Jin had to ensure there was no snooping by the Tree Mall customers or people who wish to see how low the car park can go. But all those worries went to the next level when he finally saw the storage trucks arrive in several batches. Claire and Grandma Yuan were not kidding when they wanted Jin to make a full fledged Cultivation Zoo; the storage level he prepared was not enough and he had to either expand sidewards or downwards. Thus, Jin purposely placed a brand new blockade at the supposed lowest floor in case there were more trucks coming in. "If only Claire gave me a clear indication of the number of trucks coming in¡­ I do not have to worry so much!!!" Jin thought to himself as he told the truck driver leader that he was the person receiving the animals. "What? Only you? Where are your zoo staff?" The transportation lead queried and suddenly he had a bad feeling that these animals they transported were to be auctioned in some way or another. The hunch was so bad, he was about to reach his phone to call his higher ups until a female voice echoed through the underground car park. "Yes, only him. You guys can place the animal cages and exhibits at the side of this car park. His staff will handle the rest when you are gone." "Ms Claire, I understand we have been company partners for quite some time, but this is breaking protocol to the extreme. Surely, you know that we have to bring the cages and exhibits right into the animal compound or any transport insurance would be considered nullified." The transportation lead reconfirmed her orders. "And some of the animal exhibits had to be in the right temperature and sufficient forestation. Judging from the shipping manifest, I see that these animals should not be kept-" "Yea. I understand completely and you know this is not the first time we did this. Just place them there, he and I will settle the rest. Don''t worry, I am not going to sell them or let them die here. Grandma Yuan spent way too much money keeping them under YOUR company''s care to do something that silly." Claire interrupted him so that he does not have any other say in the matter. "Fine, consider the transport insurance nullified. I will tell the rest to at least place them carefully." The transportation lead said before picking up his walkie talkie and gave further instructions. "Sounds like they are very concerned with how we handle the animals." Jin folded his arms and saw the well kept pristine cages and glass exhibits being transported out of the storage trucks. "Duh, as I said previously. Grandma Yuan really spent a fortune. You better not screw this up. Make sure that you not only have the best cultivation zoo instance but something that would go into the UNESCO heritage site or something in the future." Claire amped up her expectations of the Zoo which Jin had created. "Don''t you worry. I have seen the list of animals and the System ensured that they would be kept healthy, well fed and given lots of exercises." Jin replied as he heard a System ping, indicating that another batch of storage trucks was coming in. To his surprise, the coordination between each wave of trucks was very well coordinated even though Jin had his ''car park technology'' on. "So, what is this surprise you are talking about? And yeah, the zoo team too." Jin asked as he continued to watch the transport team handle the exhibits professionally. "Oh, what a coincidence. The last storage truck is here." Claire said as she beckoned Jin to come forth. "Madam." The transport driver somehow knew Claire intimately and immediately unlocked the storage doors when she approached. Jin hurried towards her side and when they opened the doors, a large black shadow dashed towards Jin without any fear of crushing him to bits. "XIN!" Jin shouted and the mischievous panda playfully rubbed its cheeks and placed its entire weight on Jin happily. As it screeched with happiness, Jin scratched his underbelly and pulled its cheeks a little. A normal person would have suffocated to death but Jin, being a high grade cultivator, treated the panda like a small little puppy and returned its affection. While suspicious of Jin initially, the remaining transport team saw how Xin played with their supposed client made them realise that perhaps this was not a shady deal at all. Chapter 1144 - Bringing In the Animals -Part 3 -unedited Chapter 1144 ¨C Bringing In the Animals -Part 3 -unedited "As much as I like this reunion to go on, the other animals need to be put in place before any danger happens," Claire said although she was happily rubbing Xin''s fur as well. "Alright, I understand," Jin replied and beckoned the Panda to come with him. The transportation team were quite surprised since Xin was one of the more burdensome creatures for them to transport. Despite some coercing with treats and tricks to get it up into the truck, the team ultimately had to use seduction drugs to get it into the storage container. Ironically, the Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo was relieved that Xin had been taken out of the equation since their zoo team believed that Panda Xin had been influencing the rest with its nonchalant yet ignorant attitude. But with Jin around, Xin automatically listened to him with just a few hand signals and it flabbergasted the entire transportation team with the exception of Claire. Since she knew that Jin had a Spiritual Union with Xin, allow him and Xin to have an understanding beyond words. However, she was curious how he did it in the first place. "Maybe because I am the true Panda Clan ancestor? Teehee~!" Jin shrugged and let his tongue out, making Claire shake her head continuously for a few seconds. While it was a plain and simple answer, it was nothing further away than it being the truth. Once the transportation team had completed their tasks, they promptly left the area and Jin could finally do his magic peacefully and without distraction. The System instantly analysed the type of animals, reptiles, and even insects and had data coded them so that the Cultivation Zoo instance would not only have the most suitable environment for them but also the type of food needed to procure for them to live a life of longevity. (Not to mention, eternally binding them into the System''s service.) Panda Xin was included as well but it seems it was not going anywhere away from Jin for quite a while. As Jin was using his handphone to check the progress, Xin was already hugging him from behind and leaning onto Jin lazily. "Seriously this panda knows no manners at all." Claire smiled as she saw how Xin finally let go of its grumpy attitude when it was near Jin. "By the way, is Xin a him or her?" Jin questioned as he did not really notice its gender. "This very animal has performed a spiritual union with you and yet you have no idea at all. I am in some ways rather baffled by the way you do things Jin." Claire replied, adding that Xin is a male. "Well, I''d rather you be baffled by this!" Jin immediately pressed a button on his Pandamonium App and all the animals that were in storage had been teleported by the System and into the Cultivation Zoo. In the meantime, the System also created a portal for Claire and Jin to enter so they could see the supposed wonders that Jin had created. "Eh. It''s bland. You sure you have made the right adjustments¡­" Claire said as they stood right in the middle of a grassland. Sure, it did simulate the Africa Savanah plains but there was nothing across the horizon. "Well yeah?!" Jin pointed at the distance and they noticed a lion and his mates exploring the grasslands. Jin had purposely replicated the size of territory based on the animal''s well doc.u.mented behaviour on the internet and research papers so while it might look empty, this was ideal for each of the animals within Jin''s cultivation zoo. But at the same time Jin pointed to them, Xin suddenly let out a screech as if provoking the lion and lioness pack. "I thought he teleported away?" Jin asked and the System replied saying that Xin wanted to spend more with his long lost partner. "But I was just away for a few weeks¡­ I even did a quick trip to the zoo once after the Chinese new year period to check on him!" Jin said as he pouted at Xin and pulled his ear. "Perhaps, it wanted to look awesome trying to fight against a lion?" Claire commented while being at the sideline. She obviously wanted to create more trouble for Jin and Xin. "Bah. Xin. If you want to fight, you better make sure you are on par with them! Don''t you dare lose!" Jin said as he slapped Xin at the side of his torso. At the same time, he cheated by inserting a bit of his own Maqi into Xin, so he could handle the lion pack all by himself. However, Jin did dilute his Maqi since he believed his cultivation grade was way more than the Panda''s natural cultivation grade. That small boost of Maqi was sufficient to raise the capabilities of Xin tremendously as well as his confidence to take down the lion pack. Without much hesitation, Xin was already charging recklessly towards the alpha male but his faithful lionesses went to the front to protect their king. Sadly, their sacrifices were in vain as Xin''s blind charge slammed through their defences, leaving the lion to fend for himself. At that point, the Panda''s screech got louder as Xin confronted the lion with his teeth and claw barred out. They immediately went into a tussle as the tiger attempted to bite Xin''s neck but the Panda''s paw swiped through his opponent''s torso, knocking the lion down to the ground. The lionesses which were brushed aside from the initial charge began to jump towards Xin but the Panda suddenly released a blast of black and white energy beam from its mouth, similar to Jin''s Panda Yawning technique. Jin was thoroughly surprised by the change in circ.u.mstances, thinking that Xin was merely muscle headed Panda that yearns to fight. But right in front of him, Xin was elated with his overwhelming opponents. "User and Sub System User Claire, what you both are looking at is the ancient ritual for the strongest in the animal kingdom. This was made entirely impossible with modernisation but with the System''s capability to separate animals and heal them back to the pink of health, this could essentially be the pushing factor for this Cultivation Zoo Instance to succeed tremendously." The System stated as the Panda screeched loudly at the remaining lioness for them to step back as he continued his fight with the King of the grasslands. "This way, the animals would have a chance to grow stronger in a constant environment of strife and struggle, allowing cultivators and mages to flock and learn from them when available. Upon reaching a certain level, the System would also recommend the battle of humans against animals while ensuring that the animals do not mutate to be a monster." The System stated and this caused Claire to glee with bewilderment. "Grandma Yuan did not waste her money keeping these animals, this will definitely be a hit when done right!! And if what the System said is true, I propose we have an animal arena once the animals reach a certain grade!" Claire commented while clenching her fists to see which animal was winning the tussle. "We can call it the fight for the Animal Emperor!!" Chapter 1145 - Bringing In The Animals -Final -unedited Chapter 1145 ¨C Bringing In The Animals -Final -unedited "Geh. You totally ripped off that name from the arcade game, didn''t you?" Jin stared at her with a dull expression. "That Animal Kazier game where the players used unique animal cards to fight one another." "Geh. How did you know about that game? You do not even look like the type who goes to the arcade that much." Claire''s excitement got reduced to a plum just like the lion behind them. Xin was totally wrecking it by giving the Lion its fair taste of pain. Jin believed he had given Xin a little too much Maqi. "There was a whole row of them in Shenzhen''s Cultivation Zoo, do not tell me that''s your doing? And also, the fight between Xin and that lion seems to be concluding." Jin said as he could see his Panda was already about to assert his dominance against the Lion by sitting on it. "Still, it''s quite a surprise for me to see that he was able to use the skills in the cultivation manual." "This is because of the Spiritual Union User and Panda Xin had entered previously. The recent contact between both of you played a part in that fight, as unfair as it would seem." The System stated. "But I just gave him a little Maqi to boost his attack temporarily. Surely, it cannot be that significant, right?" Jin beckoned Xin to come towards him since the battle was far over. There was no need to insult the lion and his pack any further. "Unfortunately, User''s Maqi had drastically changed in quality from the recent cultivation grade up, causing your Maqi to be denser and of higher intensity despite your efforts to reduce it." The System added. "Hence, what you gave Panda Xin was not just a ''little'' boost in his attack power, User had enabled it to grade up with the Maqi you gave and the Spiritual Union connection both of you possessed. The System did not expect this as all we wanted was a show of force from the Panda, learning what the Panda could be capable of." "Oh¡­ Oops. Sorry about that." Jin said and guessed what Ming and Genbu had told him was true. His Maqi output had increased tremendously after he woke up from his supposed slumber. "No matter, with the forced grade up, the trust between Panda Xin and you should have increased and that bore well for User since the Panda himself could teach you new tricks as it grows in strength too." The System added before teleporting the Lion and its pack of lioness away from the grassland instance for immediate recuperation. "Ah, speaking of recuperation. Do you still need a trained staff from the Zoo? I almost forgot that the System was around to do all the analysis crap that would render an experienced zoo team useless." Claire scratched her head, unsure what to tell the members whom she had recruited. "Its okay, let them in. As per usual, indict them into the System''s junior executive programme." Jin said as he pats Xin on his head before opening a teleportation portal for it to return to its assigned Zoo Plot. "You sure? I thought you were previously adverse with more people knowing about the System. And furthermore, allowing them to be junior executives?" Claire wondered if Jin had too much Panda for a day that he was not thinking straight. It was rare for him not to use NPCs instead which he can trust without any problems. "It''s fine, the System had proven to be an unbreakable contract. Besides, it would be great to have a team of passionate members handling the Cultivation Zoo. They probably know what best for these animals and have contacts that would ensure that the exotic species could survive." "The System is capable of doing that and even increasing their population." The System interrupted as if it would not allow itself to be beaten by a bunch of humans. "Hahaha, you mean to let them mate? I guess with an everlasting loyalty contract even on the animals, they might as well listen to the System and get into the mood to have more babies." Claire approved of that idea. "System, I am not saying you are bad or anything. You sometimes lack the humane touch despite you guys being humans centuries ago." Jin seems to strike a nerve and the System had decided to let its user take the win this time around. "Very well. The System will ensure that they will know of their duties upon agreeing to the terms and conditions of a junior executive. The System however estimated that it would require only two zookeepers for its premise, preferably a male and female." The System placed its demands for the first time, probably acting as the sore loser against Jin. "Four. Two female and two male staff." Claire gave a chi telepathy instead of using the System''s channel and Jin decided to back her up. The System thought about it for a moment and decided to give in as it did not seem much harm taking in an additional two staff. (Since it was not much a dent to its expenses!) However, the System subsequently found out that Claire was not going to hire a team of fifty odd zoo keepers given the scope and extend of the Cultivation Zoo. Only that four which she suggested to Jin. "Wait. Wait. Wait. When you said four. Did you mean our four Demon Exorcists?" Jin questioned since that was the only four he could think of. "What? No. You think they are omnipotent in their knowledge? Rong would rather kill that lion and eat it for breakfast than feeding it meat." Claire laughed and told him not to worry about the Zookeepers for she would definitely introduce the four to him. "But speaking of the four Demon Exorcists. I am serious, you should get them to fight the battles with you. It will benefit you in the future." Claire requested Jin once again and he reluctantly agreed on the spot. "Fine, fine. Let''s take a look at the Advanced Training Centre now that we finally deal with the Zoo." Jin said as he once more opened his portal so that the both of them could explore the new JODE advanced training centre. Chapter 1146 - JODE New Training Instance -unedited Chapter 1146 ¨C JODE New Training Instance -unedited The Advanced Training Centre. As much as the name sounds to be one particular building in an instance, Jin actually took the effort to create an entire school campus instead of that one building. From all the feedback that he received from the Demon Exorcists, he figured that if he were to attract the best of the best Demon Exorcist cadets for training, he should create proper schooling facilities for it. There was no better way to attract the best than to build extensive world class facilities. From classrooms, lecture halls to Olympic sized swimming pools & gymnasiums, Jin even created a fighting arena stadium for them to have their duels against themselves and of course, against demons. "While I kinda expected more from the Cultivation Zoo other than regulated environments, this one totally kicked me out of my boots." Claire had her jaws down when she saw the size of campus from the school''s one and only watchtower which Jin specially created for the principal and their staff. "I did take a few notes from the Demon Exorcists but Lein and the others stated that it''s still a place of education. And you know how you initially proposed Grandma Yuan to continue with her instructorship, how about we create a post higher than that? Let her be the principal of this new campus. Her recent endeavours and past accolades should give her more than enough credentials to be one." Jin walked around the top of the watch tower and even sat on the principal''s seat for a moment to have the feel of power and prestige. "Besides, it''s better for Grandma Yuan to be under the System''s influence. It can take care of her in terms of health and also protect her when needed." Jin said and naturally prompted the System for a response. "Affirmative. While Ex Sub System User Yuan had relinquished her powers to aid with the past User, her recent contributing efforts to aid User had been more than sufficient to allow her back into the Panda Clan, assuming User allows." The System stated. "Yea, duh. Definitely. By the way, does that mean she reclaims her powers?" Jin questioned but the System rejects such a notion. "No, the previous contract had already nullified her from any possible form of powers. However, because of the User''s decision, the System now allows Yuan to have access to chi reserves should she be within the vicinity." The System stated and that was more than sufficient in both of their books. "That''s fine with me. As long as she has access to a large amount of chi, there is nothing that she is incapable of. But seriously¡­ This Advanced Training Centre is way too much of an overkill." "To be honest, I did not want it to be just the advanced training centre. If we want to make a name for our branch, it would be best to have an entire Demon Exorcist Academy right under our noses. From the trainees, fresh recruits, and Demon Exorcists wannabes to the veterans who wished to upskill themselves." Jin commented. "Also, I have recently looked at the boxes that Grandma Yuan left behind, and one of them had a bunch of Demon Encyclopaedias which the System had already uploaded into its database," Jin remarked as he pulled out his phone and showed it to Claire who was at the opposite of the principal''s table. "Ah¡­all these are really old demons. Some of them are not even in the current catalogues." Claire scrolls quickly as she knows most of the demons'' names by heart. "Hmm, she sure is meticulous, giving you the western and oriental versions as well. For some reason, perhaps with globalisation or something, the demons from those lores had been appearing in our territory too. This is no doubt a good reference to lean on to." "If only she knew that it was Grandpa Ming that collected all this instead of Grandma Yuan, she might think otherwise¡­ Or is it that Grandpa Ming collaborated with Grandma Yuan to get all this?" Jin thought to himself and requested for Claire to return the phone. "I see, with the System''s capability to create NPCs and monsters with this demon list, I think this would no doubt bring a high level of difficulty even for the advanced Demon Exorcists." Claire nodded her head. "I will see if I have access to the latest batch of demons so they can practice on them as well." "That will be great, and this way, the System would also be able to compile the different kinds of Demon Exorcists'' techniques. If we are lucky and there are foreign exchange students, we will be able to get more out of it too." Jin wanted more data from all the various experts to further improve his Virtual Reality Instance as well as his minions. "Sounds feasible if we are able to kickstart the curriculum. But I believe Grandma Yuan would be complaining that this is too much work." Claire chuckled and imagined Yuan demanding to get out of the situation for more time off. "Please, despite her complaining, she would rather work than rest around at home doing nothing," Jin commented and Claire could not agree more. "Alright then, I will write the proposal to JODE and see how they respond. After all, your Demon Exorcists owed me some favours back before they met you. Could not hurt to tap into their familial contacts to make this a reality." Claire replied, wanting to go all out for Grandma Yuan. She then waved to Jin goodbye and left him sitting on the principal''s chair. "Hey, System. You think it''s a good idea?" Jin questioned whether the stuff he did was ideal. "What we are doing is no longer just Dungeon Supplier work." "That was why Senior Executive Ke Loong had requested that we changed our name to Panda Inc. There is no reason to stay purely as a Dungeon store." The System replied back. "Bleargh, you liar. You just want to take control of the economy again as you guys previously used to." Jin said as he picked a pen up and started twirling it around. "The System would not deny that." "Meh, even so, we are still using Dimensional instances to create all of this. We should be considered pioneers doing such innovative use of instances." "The System would not deny that too. In fact, it would eventually help with the dungeon supplier ranking that we once talked about." "Heh, I am not that interested in that anymore. Tell me when we hit Top 100 or something." Jin still remembered he had this ranking list as well as a Supplier Level. But upon trading so many favours with the System that the System ultimately decided that it owed Jin way more than it could reward him. Thus, it rewarded him with the maximum dungeon supplier level and provided massive discounts to the international black market. After all, Claire and the "Fake" Jins had been producing quite a bit of economic impact on the black market and in turn, slowly became one of the more prominent ''minor names'' and had given the System a boost in reputation and discounts for trading that many materials and resources. If anything, there were already making waves in the Interworld economy and that would already count as something impossible done. Chapter 1147 - Morning System Updates -unedited Chapter 1147 ¨C Morning System Updates -unedited "JINNNNNNN!!!!" A very familiar voice came on the channel when Jin thought that he could have a decent amount of sleep after finalising the Cultivation Zoo Instance. "JINNNNNNN!!!" His door was slammed wide open from and Jin could not bother to open his eyes properly to see who was coming in. But the reality was just as cruel as he was being picked up like a ragdoll and shook violently. "WAKKKKEE UPPPPPPP!!" True to his Panda cultivation, Jin did not care a single bit especially since he was not able to get a proper wink of sleep. However, the shaking did not stop and that somehow had irritated him to a point that he had to answer. "Yes, yes what is it Mr CEO that you have to personally barge into my room and wake me up?" Jin said and Ke Loong finally had his attention fixated on him. "The System said this was the only way to wake you up. I even prepared myself a diving suit since I heard you produce some sort of oil or sludge that would make it difficult for me to enter." Ke Loong said and he was indeed in a diving suit with an oxygen tank right behind him. "System¡­did you not update him with the latest news¡­" Jin asked and the System replied that it had no idea that Jin would not produce any sludge until it had visual confirmation. Till then, it would be right to have the necessary precautions equipped. "Does that mean I can take this out right now?" Ke Loong placed the oxygen tank down and tried to unzip the diving suit since it was extremely stuffy to wear it indoors. If not for the air conditioner, he would have been a roasted pig with the humid weather outside. "Do you even have something to wear aside from that, or are you trying to b.a.r.e yourself n.a.k.e.d in front of me!" Jin squirmed at the sight of Ke Loong stripping his diving suit and he was insistent on removing the entire thing. "Hahahahah! Gotcha!" Ke Loong laughed as he zipped back partially and told him to wait as he returned to the first floor to get his change of clothes. "Jin! The breakfast is ready!" Lynn shouted from the first floor and Jin acknowledged reluctantly. (He really wanted to sleep more but the sound of breakfast was no doubt alluding to him.) "Alright¡­ Give me a minute to wash up," Jin replied and in the meantime, he questioned System what was his agenda for today. "We are waiting for Sub System User Claire to give us an update on the Advanced Training Centre. The Virtual Reality Instance could be finalised once the meeting with Senior Executive Ke Loong had been completed and subsequent tasks would emerge upon the discussion. Other than that, the Virtual Reality instance required additional testing before it could be revealed for the Symposium. And one last agenda for the day, the Tree Mall Store Owners wished to discuss a few things with you if you are available, the request had been pending for three days and Yun had said that User was on a business trip. The System had also determined that it is best to have a bi monthly meeting with the store owners to see what issues they might have." The System summarised what Jin needed to do. "Sounds like a busy day, I see what I can do though I can''t promise on that bi monthly meeting. Other than that, what''s the news about the outer worlds? Especially the Dungeon World. You seem to be keeping information from me with regards to that." "The situation in the Dungeon World would be thoroughly explained during the breakfast session. Original Bellator Kraft had agreed to sit in for the session to discuss the outcomes for the Dungeon World. Aside from that, the reconstruction of the Farming World''s Southern Capital is on track and they are steadily building their forces in the outskirt islands of the Southern Region. The North had been very quiet although the Bulwark Army did perform a few raids to ensure the rats were not too busy with their own agendas. Defences had improved significantly in Town Wecha once the repairs were done. While the System determined that our forces required more time, it is best to strike when they least expected." "Or else, they would have already reached the Eastern and Western islands. Gah! So far, the Rats are a pain in the a.s.s. Would be a different story if those Demon Rats can be converted to our cause." Jin said as he cleaned his face and checked his phone. "JINNNNNNNN. You coming? I am hungry already!" Peppers shouted in a bid to get Jin to come to the table as soon as possible. "If you are hungry, go ahead! I just need to perform my number two!" Jin said but obviously, on the table, Lynn did not allow Peppers to go ahead and the rest were indeed waiting patiently despite Jin''s go ahead. (There were echoes from Peppers that Jin was giving too much information about his toilet business.) But for Jin, he was merely creating an excuse so that he could sit at the toilet bowl and check the circ.u.mstances in the Farming World. While there were other pressing matters to take care of, Jin had been gearing up for the fight in the Farming World especially with the previous Dungeon World event. Even though the System did not explain the current situation of the Dungeon World to Jin, it did assure him that the army forces he wanted had already been recruited. Lynn and Qiu Yue had been taking care of their basic needs with adequate housing and food for the time being. They were not situated in one of the Pandapolis Domes where prefabricated houses and retro modern technology had left the troops living there in aghast. "System, give me an estimate on the completion of the rat tunnels to the Eastern and Western regions." Jin requested as he sat on the toilet bowl. "Based on the information from the Spirits of the Land, the System estimated we have at least a month before they reach the other side. If User were to be optimistic, presumably a month and a half at the very most. However, the System had to warn User that our fighting might cause the project to accelerate and thus recommend not to dally too long before the actual assault." "Yeah, we need time to dismantle them too. I understand." Jin said before thanking the System for the quick update. Chapter 1148 - Tension During Breakfast -Part 1 -unedited Chapter 1148 ¨C Tension During Breakfast -Part 1 -unedited "Wow¡­ You guys have not touched your food yet?" Jin said as he came down the stairs, seeing a bunch of grumpy faces looking at him with the exception of Ke Loong and Lynn. "He is here, I do not care anymore!!! And I am eating Milk''s portion as well!" Peppers said as she picked her utensils up and wanted to gorge on the food but Yun knocked her head from the side with a miniature aerial chi blast that caused her to stop in her tracks. (From afar, it looked like a spatial flick of a finger on her forehead.)?? "Where did she go?" Jin questioned as he headed towards the kitchen to wash his hands once more before sitting at the end of the table. "Zeru requested for her to do some errands and she did not want me to go with her. Saying that I am a mere hindrance. In return, I guess I could eat her portion." Peppers replied and when Jin checked his phone, the System indicated that there was no way to contact both of them. "Zeru is still handling the flower city issue?" Jin questioned about the missing bellators while allowing everyone to eat and finally, Peppers gobbled the entire sandwich into her mouth. Still, there was plenty on the table and Lynn mentioned that second servings were available back in the kitchen. "Yes, he said when he settled what he needed to do, he will give us a report." Yun answered as she casually placed the pork bacon strips closer to Peppers, knowing that she eyed for that for a long time. "By the way what''s with the occasion of this grand feast? Why so much food. Oh¡­wait, please don''t tell me it''s because of me. That would be a little unfair." Jin said as he took a bite on the perfectly made sandwich right in front of him. Without any consideration to his table manners, the sauce from the chicken ham and beef patty sandwich were dripping all over his plate. "Of course, it''s about you! Everything is about you. What else would Lynn even provide us with such a sumptuous meal? Baka Jin." Peppers said proudly and then there were multiple air flicks hitting her consecutively at her forehead. It was not just from Yun but also everyone at the table that knew her on a personal level gave her a quick hit on her forehead. "Hey! Old folk tales say that hitting on the head will make you stupid! Stop hitting my head!" Peppers pouted as she continued her munching and grabbed more bacon strips. (If she was not some magical being, the amount she took would be of an unhealthy level.) "Obviously, it''s for Jin. The System did not allow me to send any food to him at all, it kinda worries me that he is not eating properly." Lynn said, blatantly attacking the System. "The System does not wish to prompt the User from breaking his thoughts. Besides, by being a cultivator of a high grade, he should be able to last longer without food. User should be grateful that food was given at regular intervals." "And lesser breaks for me? Have you forgotten that you initiated time dilation and stretched time almost infinitely that I had forgotten how the flow of time works? I''m practically hungry almost every hour!" Jin complained and a few at the table gave a slight chuckle. "Hahaha, does Jin always go into isolation this often? Because, to me, it seems like a normal occurrence. Sometimes, it''s really hard to contact him when I need him." Ke Loong interjected his opinion. (Although everyone knows that back then, Jin was purposely avoiding Ke Loong for a reason.) "And gosh. The food is really amazing. I thought your restaurant delicacies was top notch, but this homecooked meal seems a hundred times better than the things you offered. I am truly honoured to partake in this." "Dumb dumb. This is because Lynn personally managed this entire breakfast while the food you ate at her restaurant was prepared by her subordinates. Naturally, there will be a huge difference. And don''t go thinking that you are able to enjoy this on a daily basis. It is entirely based on Jin''s availability." Peppers said proudly as if she was a hardcore follower of the breakfast club. (And all the flicks started coming in again but this time around, she prepared a miniature force field to protect herself from all the incoming ''attacks''.) "Lol Peppers, you sounded like you are chasing some idol. If only you are as diligent for all the tasks that you were assigned with." Jin chuckled and he began sharing news to Ke Loong as well as those who were at the table. From the Virtual Reality Instance to the Cultivation Zoo instances as well as the Advanced Training Centre. All of them were delighted to hear that Jin was able to complete some of the tasks that had been plaguing him for a long time ¡­especially a certain fox. "Ah. So, you finally had some progress. Aren''t you happy that I kicked you into isolation and got lots of work done?" Kraft smiled. "You made me like a slave. I know I was already a slave of the System and probably the shop, but that insistent push? That was way over the line in my opinion." Jin said as he stared at Kraft with a bit of defiance in his voice. "I see. Our little panda cub now wants to brandish his fangs at the old fox just after he thinks that he can walk. But don''t you think you are way too young for it?" Kraft replied with a smile. "That does not mean I should always follow you. I am still awaiting the aftermath of the dungeon world''s fight. Something tells me that you are hiding a lot of stuff from me that I would disapprove of." "What makes you think that way?" Kraft placed his knife and fork down from eating his bacon and beans. "The System would always report to me, but this time around, it requested that I get the full picture from you." "What if I say that it doesn''t matter at all? Just go with the flow?" "Is it because I said that I leave you in charge of the whole operation?" "Aye." "Fine. System, give me a quick breakdown of the Dungeon World''s aftermath." "The System believed that reporting you the facts would only reinforce your skewed perspective against Original Bellator Kraft''s intention." The System replied. "I will see how it goes," Jin said and continued to eat his sandwich while the atmosphere turned a little too tense for a normal breakfast. "A written report would be a better option for User''s perusal. That way, the facts are presented and there will be no bias as per report." Although everyone present was within the System''s purview, it did not want Ke Loong to hear anything that would misalign his trust in the entire group. On the other hand, Ke Loong tried to break the tension by asking Jin about the Virtual Reality Instance which he talked about in the first place. After all, a change of subject would be a better course to take than having such heavy air at the breakfast table. "Since the System had made me Senior Executive, I had personally revised the contracts with all my people, telling them it was an overhaul review that needed to be done." "You mean, you single handedly talked to everyone in your company so you can contract everyone into the System?" Jin queried that Ke Loong took such a personal approach to the matter. "Yeah, I figured it was great to hear the thoughts from everyone, even the cleaners and interns. Obviously, I had help from Pei as she kind of like ¡­erm did a massive mind read of the whole company and the problems that each and every one had with the company. We found out that I am not running a tight ship as I thought I was, kind of an eye opener in my opinion." "Ah¡­ I am sorry to hear that." Jin said with a slight nod. "No matter. Some of the problems they addressed are systematic problems of a huge company. I will see what I can do to help them since I got the System help with me. But other than that, I can assure you that you do not need to worry about any information leakage from us, especially since the System now has the whole view of the entire company." Ke Loong said and added that reworking the Virtual Reality Head Gear would not be an issue that he had to worry about. "If you would allow me to work on the schematics, I will let my engineers improve the quality design of the headgear and get back to you as soon as possible." Ke Loong said as he continued to savour the food Lynn had made for him and the rest continued to eat with some silence at the table. Chapter 1149 - Tension During Breakfast -Final -unedited Chapter 1149 ¨C Tension During Breakfast -Final -unedited "While you are busy building your stuff, Dungeons and Pandas has never been this successful. In fact, the sales that the new raid had brought in by me was one of the most discussed topics in Webo." Despite Ke Loong''s effort to divert the subject, Kraft had insisted on bringing it up again. "What raid?" Jin looked at Kraft suspiciously since he did not authorise any new raids other than the Demopolis raid. The last he saw in the Pandamonium updates was also with regards to that particular instance.?? "Duh, obviously the second part of the raid which you were not in. If not for my decision to bring in it, you would not have been able to sit here peacefully eating your breakfast." Kraft pointed the butterknife at Jin as if telling him that without the old Fox, nothing in the Dungeon Supplier store could be accomplished. "Ya, I like to complain that-" Peppers wanted to say her terribly boring role of destroying the final boss in the Raid instance but Yun slapped a few bacon strips into her mouth and she kept quiet munching. (Although everyone on the table could sense that a telepathy link had been established between them, with Yun pressuring the Mage Bellator to make the matters on the table even worse.) "Speaking of complaints, I do wish to bring up the point of making even more boss battles. We had been through quite a number of big boss fights, can''t you just create more of that and dish them out to the public like hotcakes? We would be earning wads of cash in no time." Kraft suggested. "In fact, if you need my help to improve the boss'' mechanics, I would be willing to do so with a bat of my eye. However, my services aren''t cheap considering the amount of attention I have brought to your shop. You should be paying me more than what I own right now. Perhaps, a small street named after me since you basically own Tiangong Shopping District." Kraft rumbled carelessly. "What did you do during the Demopolis raid?" Jin started to feel a little ticked off but Kraft kept avoiding the issue by blowing his own trumpet. Although it was his natural behaviour, Jin did not want to hear any of this. He wanted to know what exactly happened. "Blah! You want to know what happened, just read the report that the System generated. You should have done that before even coming to this breakfast table." Kraft waved off Jin''s question and continued with his breakfast in delight. After all, he achieved what he wanted from this discussion. Thus, instead of a slow and peaceful discussion over breakfast, it ended rather abruptly as Jin decided that he would like to read the report by the System in his room. "Thanks, Lynn. The breakfast was awesome, something I did miss. Ke Loong, I will get the System to send you the necessary doc.u.ments. If there is anything that you need, just ask. You have the special Pandamonium App in your phone anyways." Jin reminded him as he brought the plates to the kitchen and took a bottle of water with him back to his room. Lynn stared at Kraft and questioned why he would behave in such a passive aggressive manner. "You have put in a lot of work to create all this food and I did not wish to sully the taste with our meaningless arguments." Kraft wiped his mouth and thanked Lynn as well for the food. "You could have just postponed the issue to a later date. Did you really have to spite him this much?" Lynn cleared the remaining plates on the table and surprisingly, Kraft insisted on helping. "This does not absolve you from the mistake you made. After all, you did push him into isolation against his will even though he did gain more than he should from those two weeks of hard work." Lynn added as she placed the dishes into the dishwasher while the System did its magic. "If he cannot get over people pushing him around, he should not be our boss. Plain and simple." Kraft shrugged and Lynn shook her head. "You and your weird antics," Lynn said and could only hope for the best. "Sigh, if you want me to go apologise to him, I can." Kraft shrugged his shoulders, not understanding why there was a need to dig a mountain out of a molehill. "Lynn, I''m going back to my office. Send my regards to Jin. And thanks for the hearty breakfast. I really hope I can partake in it again in the future." Ke Loong said as he bid goodbye. "You''re welcome!" Lynn shouted through the kitchen and when she wanted to send her guest out to the door, Yun insisted on doing so on her behalf. "Do come back again. I apologise that you had to be part of such a tense situation earlier. I can assure you that this was not really something any of us had expected." Yun smiled and Ke Loong gleed right back at her. "Don''t worry about it. It''s a small issue. If I were to be in the same shoes as Jin, I would have already erupted right at the table. Give him some credit for enduring the crazy workload and that fox''s attitude." Ke Loong thanked Yun and a magic portal courtesy of the System emerged from right behind him, allowing the CEO to return to his office without the need to travel the busy roads. Meanwhile, Jinn was in his room as he read the detailed report that the System had prepared and understood the System''s rationale to not reveal the situation of the Dungeon world right away. "Sigh, I knew something like this would happen." Jin''s brows furrowed and his stress levels went up dramatically. While it made sense from a military point of view, since this was made to conquer upon weakening the troops, Jin felt that the civilians should not be involved in this at all. What if the Seven City armies which he obtained knew what was happening outside, would they be happy serving for Jin? Definitely not. "Has the virus been activated?" Jin questioned and the System stated that the stomach virus nanobots had not yet invaded everyone, so the plan had yet to commence. "Do not activate any of them without my direct permission. That is an absolute order." Jin instructed and Kraft happened to hear it when he was walking along the corridor. "What are you doing?" Kraft questioned, his hands folded. "I am doing something to stop you from creating havoc in the Dungeon World. We have enough trouble as it is. We do not need thousands of citizens'' suffering under our regime." Jin replied with a stern voice. Kraft sighed as he rubbed his temples. "See, this is EXACTLY why I did not want to get you involved. Anyway, you cannot stop me even if you are the System''s user. Don''t forget, the bond we entered puts us as equals!" "So what? All I need to do is to let the army we obtained return home." Jin insisted, speaking slowly to keep his temper in check. "Just to spite me, you are willing to abandon MY plan that will have us gain sufficient reinforcement for YOUR fight against the Farming World? Wasn''t that YOUR agenda the entire time?" "When did I ever agree to make the population of seven cities suffer for that? And only to heal them afterwards with Peppers and Milk? That is such a bad plan execution. I cannot believe nobody stopped you. Don''t they have brains to think?" "On the contrary, it is YOU right now, who is not using your brain! Do you have any idea how many people are suffering in your world alone on a daily basis? This will be no different! So what if some of them might die? Don''t forget that resurrection is something natural in the Dungeon World, so ultimately they will simply blame the churchies for failing to help them!" "Nobody needs to know that it was us who was responsible! This entire operation was done solely by my Night Foxes and they very well know how to keep their mouth shut. Like it or not, but this is the best way to gain support for our cause without any real sacrifices, in the shortest amount of time, as well as establish the religion that you so damn wanted!" "Enough!!!" Jin nearly shouted as he demanded the System to execute the return order immediately. "I am returning the armies to where they belong. They are NOT needed for the Farming World!" "So you want to do this the hard way?" Kraft questioned with a deadly stare. "System, Executive Order: Coup D''Etat!" The System suddenly halted its order to send the armies back. "Come and earn it," Kraft whispered each word right beside Jin''s ear. In the next instant, both Kraft and Jin were teleported into a dimensional instance with nothing but empty space right around them. The ceilings were covered with rows of lamps and the floor was made out of smooth concrete. No other minions or cultivators were there to stop them. It was just Jin and Kraft right in the middle of it all. Chapter 1150 - Provocation -Unedited Chapter 1150 ¨C Provocation -Unedited "Is this some test again? If it is, I am in no mood to have one." Jin said as he took in the sights of the concrete room. The lights were so bright that it was mildly hurting his eyes to some degree for a moment before he got accustomed to it. In the meantime, he turned his back away from Kraft and tried to find the exit by fiddling with his phone. Now that the plan to obtain the Seven Cities Armies had backfired, he probably had to think of a new way to counter the Farming World''s Demon Rats. It was true he did not think of the consequences to get the armies. He did not realise that the Church of the Afterlife would be so daring to put their own armies in replacement of the ones he captured that quickly and on such a scale.?? If he were to challenge the Church themselves, Jin had to prepare to fight at least a scale larger than the Demon Rats. Not to mention, when compared to the Church of the Afterlife, the Demon Rats were considered easy mode since the Demon Rats were a pest while the Church was integrated into people''s lives. If Jin could not handle one continent worth of fight in the Farming World, then he should not even start a fight that he could possibly lose in the first place. Perhaps, he should make peace with the Church of the Afterlife and be their ally. Only once the Dungeon Supplier had ascertained the might of their enemy then he would break out a coup. But that itself would take years, not to mention the possibility that the Church could find out that Jin had resurrection powers as well. (With that resurrection power comes compliance, a tool that every major organisation would like to have.) "Why? Getting cold feet now?" Kraft questioned in an authoritative tone as he saw Jin trying to walk away from him. "Never dare to fight against your master even after barking ferociously at him?" "Sure, whatever you say. System, teleport me back to my room. There are many things I have to do." Jin exclaimed loudly, thinking that Kraft was having his ''time of the month''. If Kraft would like to torture him as usual, Jin would insist on getting out of that sticky situation since he had a lot of things in his mind. He believed that Kraft would back out eventually after teasing him sufficiently. Besides, with the plate of trouble served right in of him, he rather clear it all up before it comes to bite him back but suddenly, the System stated that it was unable to comply with Jin''s orders. "Sincere apologies, User. Original Bellator Kraft has disabled the System''s ability to assist you upon executing his customised executive function. While the System both approves and disapproves of both of your methods, we are truly unable to do anything at all at the moment." The System reported to Jin with a low, apologetic tone which hardly occurred for the Dungeon Supplier. "Executive function? What are you talking about? Are you not THE System? Why is Kraft able to stop you in your tracks? Did you let him modify you in some way that it can nitpick you? I thought you would not allow him to do that." Jin heaved out a troubled sigh but Kraft could sense that he was not afraid. No. There was not a single tinge of fear in Jin, he was simply not interested in this particular fight at all. "Of course, the System is not able to do anything. Have you forgotten that I am the antithesis of the System? I can do what I please, whenever I want." Kraft walked close to Jin and he was pleased that Jin was not flinching a single bit. "The System regrettably acknowledged that we had allowed Original Bellator Kraft to create such a function because of the help he rendered to improve the defences. This was an essential exchange to ensure that I stay up to date with any form of attack, including cyber connection to the worldwide web." "See, there you go. The System once gave part of itself to me, and thus I am part of the System too. So, you are not the System but the end user that utilised the System. Therefore, you have no control of the System unlike me." "While the System reluctantly agrees to Original Bellator Kraft''s argument, we are currently performing countermeasures against Original Bellator Kraft''s hacking." The System said and Kraft raised his eyebrows. "OH? So, the Almighty System has decided to fight back? After such a long time of inactivity, you finally have the guts to do so?" Kraft smirked as he placed his hands in his pockets. "But do you even have the capability to do that while I fight your precious User?" "Why are you raring for a fight? What is your angle for this entire argument?" Jin asked and suddenly he felt a burst of chi from Kraft, as if he was giving Jin''s his final warning to follow through his master plans. "You are the one who played with fire, and now that the fire burns you, you wish to retract yourself. This is all your fault entirely." "Has it always been this way for the rest of the System Users too? To Ming as well? You had been threatening them to let them go your way while you had your fun?" Jin asked while he continued to stand steady. "Perhaps? Because I have the power to do so? Money and fortune do not stay. Power, on the other hand, is liberating and everlasting." Kraft said while he picked up No Mercy from his storage ring. "Besides, I did ask for you to show me your powers and you have yet to fulfil my request.". "Ahh¡­ Ahhh. Kraft is having itchy fingers once again." A feminine echo was heard through the empty ''bas.e.m.e.nt'' room. Jin''s bracelet lit up and Pei emerged from it while yawning from all the meaningless passive aggressive talks. "Seriously Pei? I just want a good fight with Jin. There is little to no action these days and I need something to scratch the itch." Kraft said as Pei had seen through his ruse. "Jin, good job on resisting his provocations." Pei took out her sword and stood right in front of her master. "But Kraft, if you want a fight, you should have just asked from us." "Pssssh, forget about such thoughts. Do you think you guys will entertain me after so long? Besides, you guys probably get scared since you have not had enough training and exposure after such a slumber period." "Oh? Are you saying that you are raring to go for an 8 versus 1 or should I call your sworn brother Rex to join the fight against you too?" Pei tapped her sword, now her turn provoking Kraft to enter a fight that he should not be able to win. "Have you guys forgotten that I have whoop your asses once? You are my bullets to my gun." Kraft said as he pointed at his triple barrel No Mercy. At this point, it seems that Pei had the upper hand to avoid a conflict for Jin but the Dungeon Supplier had other things in mind. "Pei, it''s fine. I will give him the fight he wants. Even if you foxes stood up for me, that old fox would still tease me to no end for staying behind the backs of the other bellators. Besides, we had a blood pact that we never really told anyone about. No matter whatever trouble he does, he would not ultimately harm the User and the System." "Ah¡­no wonder. That last sentence merely ensured that you would not die but that does not avoid any trouble he makes." Pei understood the situation a little more and decided to take a step back. "Oh ho~ Looks like someone finally has the balls to stand and ''walk the talk''. I am not going to hold back since this is a System regulated dimensional instance. You won''t die, Jin but it will be painful for you¡­ assuming you can even last one of my blows. Hehehe!" Kraft''s aura began to acc.u.mulate and it got denser. "And trust me, I have blocked the System''s capability to send you back. As long as I am not satisfied or until the System manages to bypass my hack, you are not leaving this place unless I deem so." Kraft said. At that moment, the rest of the foxes appeared right beside Pei as she had appraised them of the situation. Rex took the opportunity to shoot a glance at Jin and smiled before declaring that the rest of the foxes will abstain from this particular fight. "Heh, don''t worry, brother. I do not need you or the other foxes to accomplish my itch¡­ so COME JIN! Let''s have a fight to see if you are still worthy of the foxes help!" Kraft yelled as he shot his gun, prompting the start of the one on one duel. Chapter 1151 - Panda VS Fox -Part 1 -unedited Chapter 1151 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Part 1 -unedited The shot was slow moving in Jin''s eyes but it suddenly sped up when it reached closer to him, splitting itself into several projectiles and attempting to hit him from various angles. "Inverse Eyes!" Jin said to himself as his eyes glowed with Maqi. Time seemed to slow down significantly with the powers of his mystical pair of eyes, allowing him to prepare for the attack. Both his Chi and Mana circuits pumped through his entire body and his muscles were energised thoroughly. As his Inverse Eyes was somehow able to predict the future, his body instinctively found the safest route away from all the projectiles with the exception that the projectiles continued to stay the same. (If they were split up again, then it is possible Jin would be terribly injured from it.)?? "One by one!" Jin said to himself as he sidestepped for the very first projectile while taking out his trusty sword, Bam to block the second. The Third subsequently came by his blind spot but his living armour instantly shifted to protect its master. The fourth was a troublesome one as Jin could sense the fifth hiding right behind it. Hence, he utilised his chi to trip himself, allowing his body to fall backwards while an Astral Image appeared to block the attack. All in all, the Astral Panda Cultivator was able to dodge the very first volley of attack from the start with his ''natural'' instinct to evade. "Bah! I expected that much from you, considering how many times you saw me fired No Mercy. Still, if only your evading was as good as your attacks then perhaps, you could end this particular duel immediately!" Kraft commented as he rushed towards Jin shooting No Mercy multiple times. "But that is assuming you can evade all of these right now!" "Wow. It''s been ages since I last saw Kraft taking a fight so seriously. Guess, he really wants to punch Jin to oblivion¡­or he''s just too bored trying to command the Dungeon World. Hmmm¡­ maybe both? Still, it was no doubt a meddlesome situation to be in and I kind of understand their perspectives. If only those Churchies are not such bastards, things might not be that complicated." Kiyu commented as she offered some popcorn to the rest of the skulk who had already created a bench where they could sit and watch the action. With their powers combined, they believed that they had a barrier sufficient to prevent Kraft''s attack from going through. So, all they had to do was stay stationary and watch how it unfolds. "Humans are always the one that make every situation complicated. As long as there''s power involved, they bound to scheme something up. Oh by the way, do you guys want to move this bench around so that we can have a better view? Or request the System to hook us up for better viewing entertainment?" Evon subsequently suggested that they should make the bench move along with the action to get the best scenes. "With the System busy to eject Jin, I honestly don''t think you able to get decent footage out of it. But¡­ lucky you, I have some on those flying video drones with me." Kiyu rejected Evon''s suggestion of moving the benches by sending out the invisible ''Magic Eyes'' out to view the battlefield. Everyone agreed to Kiyu''s alternative as most of them were curious to see Jin in action. They had missed his big showdown against King Baal back in Pandapolis and watching the recording from the System just wasn''t the same as experiencing it live. He changed his No Mercy from a triple gun barrel into a giant scythe and slashed it in the direction of Jin. Just as the Dungeon Supplier was about to evade the attack, he realised that he was about to underestimate the length of the attack. Nay, Jin''s mystical eyes had predicted the attack correctly but his hunch instinctively told him that there was something more to the simple swing of the scythe. It was only then his eyes suddenly changed its prediction when Jin''s body moved backwards voluntarily. Thus, he lowered his body even further and Kiyu giggled how Jin could make an excellent gymnast himself. Kraft uttered a quick tsk, not happy that Jin was able to see through the attack. He was sure that it should have been enough to grant him first blood in this fight and he had already prepared a speech to brag about it when he was revived back into the dimensional instance. Hence, he continued his attack by nimbly twirling the scythe with the momentum and going for the next attack. At this point, Jin had decided to slip, and an astral panda emerged from his body, blocking the attack and at the same time, attempting to hit Kraft. However, the old fox punched the astral image with his chi, dissipating it in an instant. That was not all, the chi from his hand converted into a blast that knocked back Jin. Kraft used this opportunity to rush forward again to bisect him while Jin was unbalanced from the attack but to his surprise just as he was about to drop the scythe onto him, another Astral Panda came out and swayed his scythe to the other side, causing him to barely miss the dungeon supplier. At that moment, Jin had decided to use his Maqi to cast a pillar of Astral Ice to push him out of the way. However, he too was surprised when he saw that his ice was crystal blue in colour than the usual white pale ice he was used to. Naturally, Kraft was able to block it but it annoyed him that the ice somehow was able to change its direction at the very last moment, hitting his scythe when he thought he already evaded it. "For an ice block, it sure hit hard." Kraft stepped two feet back to once again sprint towards Jin. This time, Jin attempted to conjure his Astral Fire to confirm his suspicions of the change in his powers and it was pure orangey yellow in colour. He felt the Astral Fire was even stronger than he had ever experienced before. Upon seeing the astral fire lit up his opponent''s hand, Kraft boosted his chi even more and went for a straight dive. "Kraft sure is giving Jin some slack despite claiming he is going full power," Tsu mentioned as he requested Kiyu to change the view of the Magic Eye Drones to provide them with an alternative view from the side of the bench so that they could see the action from all angles. "He is probably testing Jin a little more before being serious. Isn''t that part of his mantra when fighting? ''Let the enemy think that they are winning before you obliterate them in one shot''." Kai theorised. "Nah, he already went for the kill shot a few seconds back." Rex remarked. "While it was a simple swing, the chi imbued would have been enough to cut Jin''s head away from his body. But the Panda had managed to evade it quite a few times despite seeing his No Mercy Scythe for the first time." "Even I was stabbed a few times the first time I fought against him. His ability with the Scythe to slow it down, only for all of that momentum to spring forth in the last moment is just too evil. Kraft is even able to extend the range at any time he likes. Truly a weapon that seems to defy physics." Ixel rolled his eyes, remembering the times he got stabbed in practice. "For a cultivator of the panda styles which are generally known for their power than evasion, he sure understands how to escape most of the attacks," Ixa said as she too decided to take a small pack of ch.i.p.s to eat. Seeing that the fight had moved past 10 seconds, she believed it was worth something bingeing for. "I would have just destroyed the entire area to stop him from moving." "He has his inverse eyes to aid him with his dodging but seeing and fighting at the same time are two different matters especially when Kraft''s scythe had the ability to distort time and space at the very last moment," Itori commented while quietly taking some popcorn from Kiyu''s back. "Yeah, Kraft would possibly start using his chi to stop all those evading," Evon added as he reinforced the shield on his side while Kraft used his Scythe to grab a few debris and threw it in Jin''s direction. However, the ice block which he had ignored started to sprout icy spiky offshoots that hindered Kraft''s movement too and the old fox had to slice them up before moving forward, allowing Jin to conjure his Astral Fire. "If hurling basic elements to me is all you got, you better make sure that basic stuff hurt!" Kraft shouted as he had enough of the icy offshoots and used his chi to dismantle the entire block. Playtime was over. Chapter 1152 - Panda VS Fox -Part 2 -unedited Chapter 1152 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Part 2 -unedited "Damn, note to self. Please test out your powers first when you first obtain them." Jin thought to himself when he found himself surprised that the ice pillar and the fire he was conjuring right now was different from what he was used to. When Jin conjured his Astral Fire, he figured it had something to do with the readjustment of his chi and mana circuits because the quality of the element seemed so much different from usual. From the combustion of the plasma rapidly emitting both heat and light at the same time to the amount of energy that was used to produce this intensity, Jin was wholly in awe with his own magic that it was a pity he could not enjoy admiring it at this current moment. If the past training within his subconscious had shown any results, the new placement of his circuits had finally allowed him to produce the elements he wanted precisely. ?? No fancy black, white or whatever colour staining his elemental energy. Just pure chi and magical power coursing through his veins and into his palm without any difficulties conjuring it out. The rigorous training from the past two weeks to utilise his entire chi and mana circuit to create his particular fire energy had paid off. Even the Ice Pillar he shot out was done in a breath''s cycle which was a feat to behold if it was made known by manipulators of ice from both schools of cultivation and magic. After Kraft destroyed Jin''s living block of ice pillar, he continued to hold the Astral Fire energy by his hand while waiting for the opportunity to have a good close up hit before dishing the damage out. Given how each of them was high grade cultivators, Jin reckoned that Kraft would simply avoid it if he were to throw it out like a fireball. Of course, he might be able to control and manipulate the energy he threw but this was a fight where a slight mistake could cause the battle to tip the enemies'' favour. This was no place for any trial and error, and the only thing he could do was take actions that had the highest probability to injure the opponent. Hence, it was best to keep the hit close and clean so that Kraft could feel the pain of his newly obtained powers. But Kraft had no idea of Jin''s drastic change even though he did sense the increase of Maqi from his current foe. So, even as the Old Fox moved towards Jin at a steady pace, he did not bother much since he believed Jin''s Maqi amounted to nothing especially when he had seen all the fights his master had been in before. However as he was about to rush, he saw a shimmer of the broken ice pillar right beside him and that prompted him to have a quick thought. "Hmm, even as I do not wish to admit it, that change in colour of his elemental fire does pose a bit of concern if I were to take into account his previous ice pillar manoeuvre even though I had blocked it with my weapon. The strength was considerable compared to the previous bouts I remembered and he is not letting his guard down at all¡­" Kraft could see that Thus, he rushed in once more but this time, with a bit of trick. He switched his No Mercy back to gun mode and sprayed chi energy blasts with his gun. Once he got closer to Jin, it transformed back into the scythe springing towards the Panda. And as usual, the scythe was beaming with Kraft''s ominous powers that forced Jin to reevaluate the necessity for a counterattack. This caused Jin to hold his fire literally and converted his Astral Fire energy into Astral Rock Energy, allowing him to create a slab of rock to block all the incoming attacks. Unfortunately, the shots penetrated through the rock walls and Kraft quickly inserted more of his chi into his Scythe to perform multiple cuts at once. It was pretty obvious that Jin had cornered himself in the worst possible way and the Foxes who were spectating believed Kraft would claim first blood in this fight. But the System did not indicate any deaths or injuries and when the dust settled, it revealed there was no blood there on sight, forcing Kraft to stay on his toes. "Oh did Jin burrow his way out of danger?!" Kiyu squeaked excitedly as she was surprised Jin found a way to escape. The slight rumbling everyone eventually felt confirmed that something was coming out right from Kraft''s feet given their keen senses. And then as the ground erupted, the spikes zoomed right into the target without mercy, causing Kraft to smirk a little¡­until he felt a stab at the side of his shoulders. It was an astral energy projection of a knife and Jin was panting with a peace symbol behind the slab of broken walls. The Foxes at the bench were bewildered by the change in battle. "Ohohoho! First blood goes Jin! This is quite unexpected!" Pei clapped and the others were discussing what happened. The only deduction they could make was that Jin dug his way through the ground upon evading the series of attacks and subsequently returned to his original position without portraying any Maqi. Or perhaps he had spread his Maqi underground to confuse Kraft while he crawled his way back to the surface. "That eruption was most probably a delayed Maqi Explosion. But to keep Kraft from even detecting his whereabouts¡­ that''s surely a feat to be proud of." Kai nodded with approval. "Yeah, but it wasn''t as easy as you made it out to be," Tsu pointed at the panting Jin. "The important bit is that he injured him first. That would surely infuriate Kraft." Pei smirked and was happy Jin was able to do something to get that high and mighty fox off of his high horse. "Yeah, but won''t that just mean that Jin''s end will be far more miserable?" Evon shook his head and immediately pitied Jin for trying so hard to score a hit. While Kraft had indeed been treating this fight as a sort of spar, suffering this first strike changed everything. "You¡­" Kraft dropped his lackadaisical attitude. Using his chi to destroy the astral projection of the knife, he just stared at Jin for a bit, a mix of emotions in his eyes. Eventually, he took a deep breath and started to unbuckle his long coat, only to throw it aside. While he still looked professional with a grey office shirt and black tie, he was ready to hunt Jin until he apologised. The lights began to flicker a little and suddenly the entire room was filled with Kraft''s chi. A low grade cultivator would have instantly fainted if exposed to this much power, with the possibility of death imminent since the Old Fox''s chi practically condensed the air, making it hard to breathe. A middle grade cultivator on the other hand would be gasping for air and whether they could resist the atmosphere would totally depend on their own chi manipulation capability. As for Jin, who would have to be considered a middle to high grade cultivator, he did not have any problems with the change within the room. While he might be panting hard, it was because he had exhausted his new powers to cover his tracks to the point he became invisible. Now that he did not have to do it, the shortness of breath subsided and he was ready for round two. Noticing that his chi aura did not do anything to Jin''s constitution, Kraft emitted his emotions into his chi aura, turning it even darker purplish in colour and unsightly in some way. That itself was vexatious to those who were s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to chi and made the dungeon supplier even more aware that he was not to be trifled with. However, Jin was barely affected by the fox''s taunt and he decided to attack Kraft straight on. He believed that his only option would have been to endure the fight until the System was able to overcome the hack. For the longest time, there had been no way for the Astral Panda Cultivator to even leave a dent against his sadistic opponent. Frankly, Jin had thrown the astral projection of a knife more out of pure instinct and curiosity but knowing that the Fox could be injured changed the Panda''s plan substantially. Sure, the System User clearly understood that each and every fox he had contact with were powerful beings, especially when he had watched the replay of the destruction of the Paradise Prison in Demopolis but¡­ If they could bleed, then they could die!!! Chapter 1153 - Panda VS Fox -Part 3 -unedited Chapter 1153 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Part 3 -unedited "JINNNNNNN" Kraft shouted as he raised his hand up. The Chi within his hand caused the black purple aura he emitted to solidify right in front of him. Multiple spirals of the black aura spun around Kraft and Jin could sense a consolidation of Kraft''s powers taking shape. Teeth and later the shape of a mouth could be seen until the multiple chi spirals began to grow a body out of the chaos. As expected, silhouettes of foxes were conceived out of the chi spirals and they squeaked before instinctively zooming towards Jin. Their movements were incoherent as they swooped past Jin and later attacked him from the back. The Astral Panda Cultivator tried to evade them but unlike normal bullets and chi projectiles, they did not seem to stop. Whenever Jin moved away from them, they would merely swirl to the side and continue to follow their target.?? It appeared as if they were to possess some level of ''intelligence'', at least enough to follow up with the attack and the only way Jin could stop the attack was to either block it or dispel the purple fox silhouettes entirely. To make things worse, the aura that Kraft emitted around Jin seemed to thicken and more of those fox silhouettes emerged whenever the Panda tried to put one down to rest. "Ahhh¡­ good luck to Jin. Of all the attacks and techniques, Kraft had decided to use his signature technique against him. Our young little Panda is in a terrible mess right now." Kiyu pointed out as she recognised the technique that Kraft had pulled out as he smiled happily at the side. Black Mist of the Fox Graveyard. One might say that he named the technique by harnessing his sadness and loneliness he had once experienced. As the name suggested, Kraft had created it as a sort of tribute after he became the last remaining true Fox Clan descendant. As long as the Chi generated mist around Jin was around, the creation of those fox silhouettes was only the start. It was the foundation for a series of techniques that he had coined as the ''Graveyard Combo''. Remembering the origins of this technique, Kiyu couldn''t help but compare the two combatants'' history. One had been blessed with the luxury of companions on his journey to fulfil his personal goal of becoming the Number One Dungeon Supplier whereas the other¡­ his path had been riddled with difficulties, pain and the loss of companions which had ultimately led him to a great sacrifice. The Panda had an ever growing companionship while the other kept losing his allies until he trusted almost no one. Sure, things changed with time and Kraft could have grown a little more wiser but as long as this technique existed, it would serve as a grim reminder of the sufferings the Original Bellator had endured during his prime. Perhaps the chance to fight Jin had not stemmed out of sheer boredom or an ''itch'' to fight, but from a long suppressed jealousy towards the good luck he had never been privy to in his own youth. There was a sort of bitterness within him that had never been resolved and the only way to keep it in check had been to ''entertain'' himself, to get what he wanted through any means possible. "Behind that mask of mischievous smiles, Kraft probably just wanted someone to resonate with him and have a friend with equal standing," Rex spoke solemnly and almost every single fox turned towards Kraft''s ''brother'', hoping he could provide some clarification. Rex had always been one with little words, and small talk about Kraft did not come by easily even after he became king of Demopolis. Despite the fact that everything else with regards to him seemed to have calmed down and his rage for the System had subsided, Rex still broods several scars that were kept even from his fellow foxes. Hence, this revelation of Kraft was so that they could understand their ''keeper'' a little better and not hate him for the things he did previously to them, like making them part of his arsenal. "I will not deny that I too felt that I might be the closest to him considering the deadly battles we went through. The thick and thin, blood and sweat, the mountains and seas. We hid and ambushed, claiming both victories and losses but in the end, I had just been a comrade in arms, a means to an end for him. To defeat my Father, the Panda Lord." Rex explained. "After all, the two of us had been resurrected to provide the Panda Clan with a chance to get revenge and return it to its previous glory. Instead, by breaking this taboo the System of that time had created far more internal strife and had forced all of you to get involved. It was at that point, the System was uncontrollable in my opinion. So keep this in mind. No matter the outcome of this particular duel. Life goes on, the System will continue to grow in strength with Jin and make sure that we keep it in check once in a while." "We understand." The foxes said that two words in unity, something which had never occurred for a very long time. Rex nodded his head with a gentle smile and looked at the broken expression Kraft was showing when he fought with Jin. "In my heart, all I had felt had been anger and rage for having been betrayed while he had struggled with loss and grief. It pains me to admit that at those times I did not think of Kraft as a brother as much as he considered me to be his, because each of us had been focused on our agendas. Still, I would reminisce that the things we did were nothing short of memorable." Rex nodded his head while he momentarily thought about the past even more and the rest watched the battle in anticipation. Sadly, recollecting the past was meaningless to both Kraft and Rex as the battle had taken a sharp turn towards Kraft''s advantage. The consistent harassment of the fox silhouettes eventually wore Jin''s senses down a little partially due to the exposure of Kraft''s chi despite the Panda Cultivator''s ability to shrug it off initially. Some of the fox silhouette''s attacks connected and wounded Jin by grabbing hold of him. The Panda Cultivator realised that if he were to stop even for just a moment to remove them away, he would be bitten by another two more fox silhouettes. Thus, his only way to stop this was to do something similar to what he had done in the innards of Orochi''s body. By exploding himself with an acc.u.mulation of Maqi. The only difference from now and then was that he had full control of his Maqi compared to the limited quantities he had been able to summon forth in the subconscious plane. Hence, with a quick breath in, he discharged his Maqi throughout his entire body while causing an explosion to occur by mixing a bit of explosion magic, astral fire and lighting Maqi into it. The entire room shook as if there was an earthquake within their midst but they could clearly see that Jin was able to dispel the mist for a while. "Do you really believe that my mist would dissipate so easily?!" Kraft questioned with a sadistic grin as he powered the Black Mist of the Fox Graveyard technique into the next stage of his Graveyard Combo. The Black Hurricane of the Fox Graveyard. The dark purplish mist around Jin instantly swooped towards him, catching him in the chi technique and Jin could already feel multiple bites gnawing at him as he tried to withstand the attack. At the same time, he could feel his body getting weaker not because of the lack of Maqi but rather the debuff the second stage of the Graveyard Combo was inflicting. "Not many could handle this but even if they could, can they handle me attacking them as well?!" Kraft smiled widely as he once again shot his No Mercy before turning it into a scythe, heading towards Jin with no mercy in thought. The situation was entirely skewed to Kraft''s benefit and the foxes also agreed unless Jin decided to not just use his Maqi. But this was a fight to the ''death'', right? And that means Jin had other items at his disposal to ensure the fight would continue until one of them dropped dead. Another explosive burst of Maqi was sent out to stop the projectiles from reaching Jin while dispelling the black hurricane for a moment. Jin did know that it would not stop Kraft from charging him but he needed just a second to do what was needed. To equip his System Rider Belt on and fight with his might. "I hardly use you but I guess, it''s time to show that fox who is actually the master of Graveyards, Half Ghoul Lord Derek!" Jin shouted as he performed a sleight of hand and shoved a card into his System Rider Belt, calling forth the Zombie Lord to merge with him. System Rider Zombie. Chapter 1154 - Panda VS Fox -Part 4 -unedited Chapter 1154 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Part 4 -unedited "Hahahahha! So much for it being a one on one fight!" Kraft ''complained'' as he watched the transformation of the System Rider. He was aware that technically this was still ''just'' Jin he would be fighting since the System Rider merely allowed the Dungeon Supplier to borrow powers from his minions. But even though he felt a bit unfair for Jin to change into System Rider Zombie, the Original Bellator allowed the transformation to proceed without any interference. After all, he was curious how the new Rider would look and it would give Kraft a bit of insight on what to expect from his challenger. ?? For the Zombie version, the System Rider''s armour was similar to the original design of System Rider Panda but there were purposeful cracks within the armour with signs of the nano suit being greenish and mouldy in nature. The Mask that Jin was wearing had a red eye on his left instead of the usual black eyes and the chin was dyed with blood. It was as if the System Rider Panda itself turned insane and deteriorated into a Zombified Panda. Unbeknownst to Jin, even the posture of System Rider Zombie was somewhat hunched as if he became feral from the possession of the Half Ghoul Lord Derek. Derek stormed the front when it finally completed its transformation and slammed Kraft who accidentally kept his guard down when he watched the transformation scene in its full glory. "That was not very nice when I gave you my full attention, Derek." Kraft said as he tried to shake System Rider Zombie away when Derek managed to catch Kraft''s left arm and bit it. Nevertheless, that annoyed him and forced the old Fox to increase the intensity of the Black Hurricane of the Fox Graveyard even further by emitting even more chi, causing System Rider Zombie to be blown away. As the hurricane winds continued to exist, it started to rot the walls and caused the lights to be flickering and it was to the point that one would wonder how much chi Kraft was able to dish out a room wide damage and debuff technique for so long. (Even scarier was that this was just barely the second stage of his Graveyard Combo!) In the meantime, the Fox merely healed his wound before it festered and brought more problems which made the System Rider Zombie even more cautious of a more powered up Kraft. "Now I can see why you summoned me." Derek smiled as he unsheathed Jin''s twin swords with a hardened grip. He even poured some of his own magic to make sure that the swords had a bleeding effect if they happened to cut the fox''s flesh. But before the System Rider Zombie was able to complete its enchantment, Kraft did not hesitate to emerge right at the side of the System Rider to engage with him in a close combat melee. Thankfully, with the Half Ghoul Lord''s natural endurance as a zombie, the constant debuff Jin had started to suffer from became a minor issue and this would have enabled his master to withstand Kraft''s onslaught. Even as the Zombie wielding two swords were rather unwieldy due to its feral stance, the Rider''s movement was relatively unhindered by the black hurricane, allowing him to stay on par with Kraft''s combat prowess. "Sorry to drag you into this, but you are the only one who will help me resist his debuff magic and rot powers," Jin explained as he came to the front of his consciousness to take control over the System Rider while Derek was pushed to the back momentarily. He had already analysed that the Black Mist of the Fox Graveyard was not just reducing his capabilities magically but he could physically feel the deterioration of his body when exposed to Kraft''s chi. "Now I understand why Kraft kept coming to me and talking about necromancy and its other counterparts. It seems that he had dabbled quite a fair bit of it himself. Thanks for taking over, I was not much of a frontline fighter to begin with." Derek did not mind the back seat and in fact was relieved to hand Jin back the reins over his body when Kraft came in contact. To the Panda Cultivator''s dismay, the swap of consciousness came at the nick of time, forcing him to experience the pain of receiving Kraft''s Scythe attack. He could feel his arms dislodged momentarily and had it not been for the Vampire Bones in his body, as well as the aid of the System Rider, he was certain his arms would have been cut off instantly from the blow. Suddenly the hurricane turned menacing as more fox silhouettes emerged to hit Jin as well while he exchanged blows with Kraft. Seeing how Jin was covered from top to bottom with living armour, the old fox became even more relentless with his strikes. Each time his scythe attacks did not connect, it gathered more chi energy from the surroundings, enabling the next attack to be even more destructive against his victim. Jin''s only saving grace was that Bam and Boo were swords made by the System. Although it considered them to be failed products, any other weapon would have snapped into two by now. It was pretty obvious that the entire situation was to the advantage of the fox no matter how one would look at it. But as things were starting to get grim for Jin and Kraft getting more c.o.c.ky with every slice stripping bits of living armour away from Jin''s System Rider suit, the Astral Panda Cultivator went back to the basics. He used his Panda Swipe against the No Mercy Scythe using the back of his sword''s hilt to knock Kraft away from him. Kraft smiled knowingly, his gaze telling Jin that he had expected this scenario. The next moment a skulk of fox silhouettes flew from behind Kraft''s back in the opening that Jin had intended to use and struck him hard. The System Rider was severely knocked back until he crashed into the wall. The skulk of foxes immediately merged into one giant fox head and bit Jin on his torso. Its fangs bit through the Living Armour and into the sides of Jin''s body. As the Panda Cultivator was in shock from the knockback, he could not retaliate immediately against the Giant Fox''s bite. To make things worse, Kraft closed the gap and emerged from his side, swinging the Scythe right towards his immobilised master. All of the other foxes were ironically on the edges of their seats, hoping Jin could get out of the situation even though their gut feeling told them that Kraft''s revenge for losing first blood to Jin was complete elimination. "It would take a miracle to save Jin now," Evon said about what was on the mind of every fox. Kraft swung his scythe, already looking forward to the sight of Jin''s lobbed off head, yet contrary to his expectation his weapon got stuck in the wall, something that should be impossible. Unable to slice through it, there was only one explanation for it. "F.u.c.k you, System! How DARE YOU intervene now?!" The Old Fox shouted with rage as he looked towards the ceiling, his eyes glowing with a dangerous glint, the chi aura in the surroundings took on a darker hue, getting closer to black. This was because this particular dimensional instance was made by the System and while the System should be impartial in every fight and argument, this was the first time in a long time that it had intervened for the sake of its user. Still, seeing how Kraft had played a fast one by activating an executive command and overwriting the User''s orders, payback was in order, it was a matter of when. "Wow, you really managed to jinx-" Before Kiyu could finish her sentence, Evon grabbed the popcorn from her bowl and stuffed it into her mouth, preventing her from saying anything else. The rest chuckled a little but subsequently turned their attention back to the fight. These were the only few chances Jin could get and he better make use of it or else, what the System had done was for nought. "Thanks¡­" Jin placed his hands on the Giant Fox silhouette which continued to ''nibble'' on his torso and a streak of Astral Lightning blasted the silhouette into nothingness. However, Kraft was not going to let Jin go that easily especially after he finally got him immobilised. Just like Jin, he wasn''t limited to just his primary weapon. He materialised a 12 gauge short barrel shotgun, with miniature fox cravings on the wood handle and instantly fired it off. Instead of pellets, this time it was a string of laser beams flying towards Jin''s head. Kraft figured that even if Jin wanted to counter it with his Panda Yawning Beam, there was no time for him to even activate it. As much as Kraft would like to finish Jin with No Mercy, the final strike would be Just Business. Chapter 1155 - Panda VS Fox -Part 5 -unedited Chapter 1155 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Part 5 -unedited The continuous barrage of attacks, the revealing of the second weapon, and the huge difference in power. No matter how one look at it, there was really no way for Jin to win. He should have savoured the first blood as a win and called it quits. But if he continued to struggle any further, it would be pointless¡­or that was what went through most of the Foxes'' minds. Just as it seemed hopeless for Jin as spectated by the rest of the Foxes, the Astral Panda Cultivator pulled a stunt that caused Kraft to wipe his smirk off his face and leave the foxes to learn not to underestimate the fusion between Jin''s and his minions.?? The System Rider Zombie did not only have the capability to resist debuff magic and rot, the Half Ghoul Lord Derek who was in the backseat of Jin''s subconsciousness the entire time was keeping a trump card to aid Jin in a predicament like this. The ability to regenerate. Nope, it was not that overpowered for Jin to regrow his brains once again. when his head got blown off. Instead, the zombie within him used its power to grow a head in replacement of his by pushing his neck forward and sprouting an entirely new brainless head, allowing Jin to ''evade'' the beam attack from Just Business. By sacrificing Derek''s newly grown head out of the System Rider suit, it was able to give Jin some time to recover his consciousness. "Hahahahha!" Kiyu laughed while holding onto her stomach, seeing how Jin managed to escape death once more with the aid of Derek. The foxes were surprised that the System Rider pulled such a whacky cheap trick against Kraft. "It takes a trickster to outplay another one," Tsu said as he nodded approvingly for Jin to keep his cards close to his c.h.e.s.t until the right moment. However, it did look extremely grotesque for having two heads on the System Rider''s head, especially when the new grown head was a zombie. Still, regardless of the looks, it was effective in keeping Jin alive and that was what matters in the fight. Those extra seconds that Derek bought for Jin gave him the time to stabilise himself and Jin took a deep breath to push himself out from the wall. (After all, he was stuck in it initially after the knockback.) Kraft remained vexed by the entire situation as he conjured another skulk of Fox silhouettes from his side and commanded them to assault him once more. But this time, the skulk seem way deadlier than before and the number of spirits lurking within the skulk made it looked as if it was an infestation of fox heads in one lump of chi aura. Perhaps, Kraft did not matter on the looks any further and wanted a quick shot against Jin before he could perform any other counterattacks. But since Jin now learns this new ability from Derek, he instantly placed his hands together as if he were praying but in fact, he was concentrating his Maqi to his back where the living armour separated from each other allowing Jin''s Maqi to take shape. Soon, he summoned forth a series of zombie hands from his back like some zombified thousand hands Buddha. As Jin stayed in place to keep himself steady, those zombie hands grew continously from his back and started to stretch out to counter the incoming lump of fox silhouettes. Jin even prepared another batch of zombified hands to grow from his c.h.e.s.t in case the first batch was unable to stop the silhouettes in their tracks. This was especially vital since evading was not an option with the nature of those fox silhouettes and Jin had to stop this while he prepared his counterattack. And that was by powering the multiple zombified hands with Maqi, hoping they could penetrate through the fox silhouettes. Thinking that those hands were merely an extension of his body, his Maqi burnt through the zombified hands and released continuous waves of energy to stop the fox silhouettes. However as strong as it sounds, it was only destroying a few of those fox minions under Kraft''s control before it had been thoroughly obliterated by the strength of the Old Fox''s chi. To make things worse, Jin seemed to forget that he was in Kraft''s black hurricane technique and when the old Fox thinks that his skulk of fox silhouettes was not working, all he did was perform a swipe of his hand into the air and the piercing black winds that were surrounding Jin instantly ''carried'' him to the centre of the dimensional instance where his audience was hanging about. At the same time, Kraft was able to destroy the conjuring of those zombified hands and took the opportunity to summon yet another skulk of fox silhouettes from the other side of the room and sent them to Jin as he was in midair. "Gah! This wind is just ridiculous. I had enough of this!" Jin thought to himself as he once again immersed himself with a large amount of Maqi and allowed himself to blow up again. While the explosion happened, zombified hands flew out of the explosions impeding the swarm of silhouettes going towards him as a source of distraction. Even as the crowd could not see what was happening after the explosion of Maqi, the magic eye drones which Kiyu had employed rushed to see what Jin was up to especially when it was equipped with X-ray vision, infrared sensors, and other motion sensors to keep track of Jin''s movements. Unfortunately, some of the nearby magic drones were also being blown back by the Maqi explosions and Kiyu required time to relocate the nearby drones to follow up with the development of the battle. "Bahh! So sorry for the bad image quality. Could be because of Jin''s high intensity Maqi and Kraft''s stupid graveyard chi that resulted in quite a fair bit of distortion in the uploading of information. Usually those magic eye drones shouldnt be affected by anything but if I were in that chaotic aura, I think I might breakdown too" Kiyu apologised when the footage the fox spectators were looking lost connection for a moment. Hence, she tried to adjust the magic drones with her Pandamonium App but it did not seem to work very well. (It felt a little intentional in her opinion but it was just a hunch.) "Its fine, the imagery is back up again. Oh ho. It seems like ¡­another minion is going in our little Panda." Ixa commented, interested to see which transformation Jin was about to handle since his movements indicated the disengagement of the System Rider belt, allowing him to insert a new card in. "You think I am gonna let you do what you want? I had enough playing around, especially all those misses. Your fighting style irritates me to no end." Kraft suddenly whispered at Jin''s ears and the belt broke into two mainly because the Fox''s scythe pierced through Jin from the back. As awkward as it sounds, he literally sliced Jin''s b.u.t.t into two by piercing his scythe''s blade right in the middle. And as soon as Kraft was done talking to Jin, he pulled the scythe''s handle upwards and cut Jin into two. The Panda Cultivator''s body fell to the ground lifeless, his organs working overtime from the rush of adrenaline were splattered everywhere and Kraft swung his scythe once more to remove all the blood that was on it. He was waiting for Jin to disengage from the System Rider Belt so that his slice could be a clean one. The living armour would no doubt make his attack a little harder to perform such a brute force but ultimately Kraft felt satisfied that it was a fatality scene. All he had to do now was to wait for Jin to respawn once more since he programmed the dungeon instance this way and inflicted punishment on him again. "Booo! Booo!" Kiyu shouted from the bubble of comfort. "You played cheat!" "What do you mean I play cheat? I played by the rules, didn''t I?" Kraft laughed while raising his hands up. "You know that most cultivators would not be able to win against that Shade Teleport." Kiyu threw a thumbs down towards Kraft. "He used his System Rider Belt to the maximum effect, why can''t I use my skills? Shade Teleport is after all an essential tool of mine to move around anyways. How else could I scare people without it?" Kraft continued to act arrogant in the face of victory. "And were you that ignorant that I have seen this move way too many times to not create a counter for it?" Kraft could not believe his ears when he heard Jin whisper right beside him. But even as he tried to move, it felt like there was something restricting him. Chi powered Spider Webs. That alone was enough to jolt Kraft''s memory that Jin had a transforming spider in his possession but still it was not possible. There was no System''s voiceover of him transforming and the chi aura was indeed Jin''s when the fox stabbed him with No Mercy. "Impossible!" Kraft said as he could see the tip of Jin''s katana at the side of his stomach. Chapter 1156 - Panda VS Fox -Final Chapter 1156 ¨C Panda VS Fox -Final Kraft''s mind went into hyperspeed for a moment, forcing itself to look into the System''s logs without checking the Pandamonium App and noted that Jin was indeed still alive and there was no death for this particular round at all. The old fox himself would be lying if he did not say that he panicked a little especially all the devastation that he did to crush Jin with all his might.?? "Grow!" Jin shouted and his sword was like the ice pillar previously, sprouting miniature metallic branches and spreading out to Kraft at multiple spots immediately. The Astral Panda Cultivator wanted to expand its Maqi to aim for all the major chi points so that the Fox would be unable to continue producing such a high volume of chi. But even if Jin was unable to pierce and choke the major acupoints, his sword was still enchanted by Derek''s magic and it was able to inflict an abnormal bleeding status that the Old Fox should not be able to clear with the usual cleansing chi methods. On the other hand, Kraft still had no idea how Jin survived but the process ultimately did not matter since he only cared for the end result. Thus, he decided to bring his Graveyard Combo to the third stage. "Fox Graveyard Domain: The Land of the Scars" As soon as he did that, the concrete ground suddenly sullen and cracked, pieces of tombstones emerged from the abyss and were raised into existence with the might of Kraft. This was not his final stage of his combo but it was deadly enough to send a mid-high range cultivator to and back from hell. The tombstones were eerily poignant and yet they did not seem to be a decoration prop for this particular stage of Kraft''s Graveyard Combo. Kraft exclaimed as he held on to Jin''s Bam and his sword started to vibrate as if it was scared of Kraft. The Astral Cultivator somehow could feel the sword''s fear and instead turned Bam into a knuckle to avoid Kraft from messing it up but that was enough for the Fox to swing its elbow backwards, hitting Jin at his mastoid and causing him to be slammed back once more. Furthermore, Kraft was no longer playing nice. He knew that the System could possibly interfere once again in this particular situation and so it was time to suit the flow of the battle to the Original Bellator''s way. A graveyard tombstone shaped in an obelisk suddenly emerged from the wall in the direction of Jin''s knockback, with the intention of piercing Jin into the tip of the tombstone. There was no other way to block the attacks than to eat it upfront and to top it off, the sheer pressure from the piercing rendered Jin helpless. If that was the end, Jin could have regenerated with his vampire bones and legendary inscription within him regardless of the pain he was suffering but Kraft believed he knew all the powers up the Panda had and decided not to let chance play its part in this battle. Additional Graveyard tombstones appeared and each of them had inscriptions on them. From simple curses to extreme death magic, the inscriptions lit up as they were activated by Kraft''s chi powers. (Or rather the fox silhouettes which he summoned and commanded possessed those tombstones, to activate them.) At that point, whatever magic that one would have experienced from a simple fire ball to an abyssal meteor, all of those inscriptions were on Kraft''s Graveyard and the Old Fox activated every one of them, turn by turn, making sure that Jin was killed thoroughly. As if Kraft was killing a vampire with infinite regeneration, the old Fox did not allow any delay in the attacks and they impacted continuously, aiming from the top of his body to the bottom. The Obelisk also s.u.c.k.e.d the Maqi out of Jin to make sure that there was no way he could retaliate. He did not care whether he was being cut into pieces, lost a pinky and left a toenail. Kraft made sure that he was destroyed to the end of times and asserted his dominance that he was the Original Bellator, one that should not be trifled with. But even with all these forms of magic attacks, Kraft was unable to stop the bleeding done by Jin and despite the terrific powers of the Graveyard, there was no magic that could assist in his healing. He did think of putting a healing inscription or two in his third stage of the graveyard combo but he felt that it defeated the purpose of his Graveyard theme. So, he shrugged the thought and waited for his magic to wither every visible component of Jin off from this dungeon instance until he felt the unspeakable once more whispering to him again. "Are you sure that you are killing me right?" This time the sword was not in his stomach but a slit through his neck with the help of his sword Boo. After which, Jin did the very same trick with Bam. "Grow." The sword once more sprouted metallic branches in a chaotic manner, piercing the Old Fox''s wounds once again. However if one were as observant as a few of the foxes, they saw that the metallic branches were not attacking randomly but instead at the very same spots which Bam had wounded before. Boo too had the enchantment from Derek''s magic and the wounds festered even more which caused Kraft to finally succ.u.mb to his injuries. It seemed there was no way his standard chi healing methods were working and thus he decided to reabsorb the Graveyard technique to make sure he had enough chi in him to expel Half Ghoul''s Lord bleeding effect. "There can be no way, a bleeding effect can be that potent! How did you even appear right here? I am still killing you as we speak!" Kraft coughed out even more blood as he panted heavily trying to see where that Jin had appeared from. "No. No! I will not lose to some cultivator just like this!" Kraft thought to himself as he held onto No Mercy and inserted whatever chi he could gather to make a final area blast. With this attack, No Mercy would trace for any chi different from Kraft''s and attack instinctively with the scythe flying head on, piercing the origins of those chi signature. This was the only thing the Old Fox could think of in order to find the missing link. But as the chi area blast subsided, his scythe did not move an inch and Kraft fell to the ground panting, bleeding to his untimely death. In the meantime, the foxes in the spectator area were dumbfounded that Kraft, the self proclaimed high and almighty cultivator could lose¡­ Making the score from the duel an inconclusive draw. Chapter 1157 - Jins Lucky Break -unedited Chapter 1157 ¨C Jin¡¯s Lucky Break -unedited As the dust settled, Rex removed the barrier to allow the skulk of foxes to check the battlefield. There might be energy remnants of Kraft''s Graveyard Combo but the foxes were strong enough to bear the brunt of combo. In fact, if there were any other minions or even the Sub System Users in the area, the Foxes believed that they would have been eliminated almost immediately. The odd thing was Jin was not ''that strong'' even with a supposed grade up and they wondered how he could survive the third stage of Kraft''s Graveyard Combo which would pose a problem even to the Foxes themselves. Rex instantly disposed the rest of the residue energy with his own chi, purifying the dimensional instance so that the other foxes could breathe easy too. "This is indeed a surprise. To have a draw with that old fox was not an easy feat at all even though we know that he was still pulling his punches against him." Pei said and the rest agreed when the two of the competitors remerged back into the dimensional instance, brimming full with life and lots of questions in their minds. "How the hell did you even manage to survive my attacks!" Kraft shouted as Rex placed his arms through the old fox''s armpit and restrained him from moving towards Jin. "Why should I even tell you about it when you never mention to me about this Graveyard combo technique that you have?" Jin said but honestly, he felt lucky the plan he created on the spot had worked miraculously well. When Jin was surrounded by the ominous chi aura that Kraft produced, the chi explosion that he made was to give him time to disengage Derek from the System Rider to get a new minion into the System Rider Belt so he could deal with the pesky aura but he figured that it was the Rider System that was protecting him all this time. Even though the Living Metal armour which was embedded through Jin''s body was not of a consequence to Kraft''s attacks and strikes, it was still an obstacle for Kraft to overcome should he wish to chop Jin''s head into one. So, Jin believed that if he were to trick Kraft and get an attack in if he were to play his cards correctly. The trump card he had was the powers he acquired with the grade up that he recently obtained upon diving into his subconsciousness. However, the only problem was that Jin does not know how to use it properly because he never tried it before even though his mind, his soul and body know of the technique. Orochi''s Substitution Many had known that the eight headed serpent had the ability to grow back its head was no brainer but Jin was able to use it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe Ming might have known that Jin would need more than tougher bones and innate healing to survive since he only had one chance in life. Unlike the rest who could be killed and resurrected, there was no such option for the current System User and this was one of the ways to compensate for it. Naturally, as the skill''s name had implied, this was merely a substitution, a clone of his body where he would hide in the makeshift body. So long as Jin''s dantian core is up and running along with the required amount of Maqi to produce it, he should be able to get it up as many times as possible. The only problem Jin had was the activation of the skill and the limitations of it. He tried to use it when he had the System Rider on but it was not working as intended so he believed that the only way to do so was through disengaging it. And thus Jin had decided to use the chi explosion as a cover up so he could allow the technique to take over his body before Kraft attacks him again. After all, there had not been once the old Fox used his shadow step strike that he always used to creep up on Jin so there was a possibility he could have kept the move until the most crucial moment. So just as Jin disengaged the System Rider, he activated Orochi''s Substitution and snakes literally came out from his orifices (Let''s not imagine the one that came out from his b_u_t_t hole¡­) and immediately wrapped around his entire body, substituting it with a fake body with the same amount of details on it. The only difference was that Jin''s soul was hiding in the dantian core and thus had to display even more Maqi to control the body. That was how unbelievable it was, to trick Kraft into thinking that Jin survived the attack. However, the battle was still a draw mainly because of what Kraft had pulled out from his Graveyard Combo. The Third Stage, the Land of Scars. As the technique had proven itself to be one of the deadliest in the world and possibly the multiverse, there was no way for Jin at his current grade able to survive the continuous barrage of chi induced magic abilities. But because his substitution was based on the amount of Maqi he had, Jin was able to tolerate some hits before going dark. And hence, he activated his Astral Alter, an exact version of himself to finish the job on Kraft, sneaking behind his back and slitting his throat, as just how the old fox would have done to Jin if he had the chance to do so. But upon doing so, Jin exhausted his Maqi reserves and got obliterated by the punishing damage from Kraft''s extreme magic. Perhaps, to Jin, it was payback as well, a tit for tat of all the torturous training he had gone through and for the Panda to get an inconclusive draw with the fox? In Jin''s opinion, he had won the fight. Not to mention, seeing the irk on Kraft''s face was quite a pleasurable sight. Chapter 1158 - Quick PatChapter Up -Unedited Chapter 1158 ¨C Quick PatChapter Up -Unedited As Rex tried to restrain Kraft from doing anything funny, the old fox decided to shadow step away and wanted to continue the duel. But the moment he emerged from the side of Jin, he suddenly felt an immense force that could only belong to his sworn brother, forcing him to be pinned down. Suddenly weapons from all the other foxes were aimed towards Kraft as he was being restrained on the ground by Rex and they were pointed to him without any reservation of their strength. Their chi forces were fully activated and ready to slaughter Kraft if he were to continue. "What are you all doing? Aren''t we all foxes?" Kraft said he tried to expand his chi but was subsequently suppressed by Rex''s and the rest. "When we said enough, it is enough," Rex said as he slammed the tip of his sword right in front of Kraft. The sword''s edge was close to slicing Kraft''s nose into two and with that, Rex summoned picked up No Mercy from the old Fox''s holster and held it down to his ear. "It''s a draw. As much as the System would lie to side with the User, it does not lie with the results." Evon reiterated so you had to stand down, considering that you already created the mess for Jin to clear up. "Yea. We know you meant well for Jin and the rest of us while being yourself. Just that erm¡­ keep it down a notch for the friendlies and bystanders? They do not deserve your wrath especially when they are innocent to it. And bring it up when we are dealing with our enemies?" Kiyu said as her weaponised fan tapped on Kraft''s cheek. At the same time, she placed a calming spell on Kraft, hoping that it would quell his unusual rage. "Then the jury spoke. Even though it is a draw, we should follow Jin''s method and stop this madness from going any further. We can deal with religion thingy in some other way." Kai said and the rest agreed to it. "Thank you, guys." Jin said as he immediately summoned the System to order the entire seven city armies to return to their own cities but with a compromise. As much as he despised Kraft''s methods, he did not want Kraft''s operation to go to waste. Before teleporting them near their own cities, they were all given a shipment of vitamin Cs as placebo medication to aid with the stomach flu virus that their citizens were experiencing. As for how the armies, citizens and subsequently the Church of the Afterlife would react, that would be a matter which the people had to solve the mystery themselves. When Jin told the System about it, the foxes no doubt eavesdropped on the entire conversation and everyone had a little smile on their face, knowing that the fruit did not drop too far from the tree it was grown from. Upon hearing the orders, Kraft understood where Jin was going. As the flu was already ongoing, the armies returning with the antidotes would have many questions to answer but at the very least, the suspicion would be turned towards the Church of the Afterlife instead of the armies. But that came with suspicion of how the army was able to return full force without losing any troops since any death would be resurrected back into their cities'' cathedral, that was where Jin''s latest plan came about. It was then the System had told Jin previously that the armies were informed how they were defeated and resurrected into Pandapolis City domes. And they would stay in the domes, quarantined from the rest of the world until their purpose was to be served in the Farming World. However, in exchange for their obedience, they were to be given access to the modern lifestyle which the rest of the Demopolis population were experiencing within Pandapolis'' main city. While it was not all fun and games, the entire seven cities army realised they were dealing with a force clearly larger than them and it was certainly unwise to fight against them. From the technology Jin''s counterparts possessed to the work done to create the buildings. (Qiu Yue did give a demonstration of how her Empire Building skills worked and the soldiers were going insane with the speed of construction. And to sweeten the pot, Lynn''s food was a clear favourite with every soldier, even with the pickest eater.) Even if they did wish to invade again, they expected a fight something similar to Demopolis and the System had guaranteed them that the previous battle was of minimum effort on the System''s part. "Wow, you sure know how to coerce them¡­" Jin said and realised that the System was doing its own propaganda since it had predicted that Jin would do something like this. "To give credit, Original Bellator Kraft did suggest internalising the armies without putting them in our direct command especially since it takes a heavy toll on the System''s ''official'' processing unit." The System was trying to ?ssist in bridging the relationship between Jin and Kraft since it would be harmful if both were to be at odds constantly. Especially when there are too many major things to take care of, it was critical that the both of them were to patch up as soon as possible. "System, you do not have to worry about me and Kraft. This fight kinda sorts out a lot of stuff we had internally. In fact, for you to try to patch stuff, it brings a tear that you have concern for us." As much as Jin was being sarcastic, he was well aware of its intentions and Kraft too when he calmed down. "Obviously, I need a backup plan for our ''master''. I actually wanted to finish this stomach flu virus operation before he comes out but it looks like he got the right to call it off as the matter unfolds." Kraft released his hand upwards, surrendering and telling the rest that he was sane enough to not do anything stupid. "Then, all we can hope is that the armies will succeed in their endeavour to join us when the time comes in the future." Jin hoped that this entire ?ssault against the Demopolis had thwarted the Church of the Afterlife''s effort to send discord and not bother them for the moment. "My gosh, after so long and still that na?ve thinking? I mean who are we to kid? If Kraft suggested this, that means those generals would have been under the command of the System." Kiyu laughed at Jin''s stupidity and walked off along with the rest of the Foxes now that the show was officially over. "Then, let''s focus on other agendas, particularly the fight for Farming World," Jin said and Kraft shook his finger. "As much as we have the upper hand in the situation. The Seven Cities situation isn''t done. We got to hit back hard when they least expected." Kraft said opened the Dungeon World map. If anything, the calming spell had done to him, it was to delay the inevitable for the release of his anger. And he was precisely going to do so by aiming at a major city owned by the Church of the Afterlife. Chapter 1159 - The Real PatChapter Up - unedited Chapter 1159 ¨C The Real PatChapter Up ¨C unedited "I am not going to have another city under my control. There are too many things on my plate to take note of. Even if I can give one to the competent minions, that would also mean I have one more minion on administrative duties. Until we have the System with sufficient processing abilities capable of handling the cities, I suggest we stop taking any more cities in." Jin sighed as he knew that he could not control the old fox misbehaving again. "I know. So, all I am going to do is to raid them big time. A tit for tat for the shit they throw at us." Kraft said as he immediately raised his hand, summoning out his tablet and stylus pen started to look at the Dungeon World''s map to check which city was worthy of an attack. "Who are you going to use? Most of the minions are preoccupied with their own stuff. The Goblin and Orcs are aiding with the repairs for the Southern City since a bulk of the Southerners are training in the ''distant islands'' to get ready for the fight against the Farming World. Can we really afford an attack right now?" "My boy. We have the resources to take over your world if needed and also as long as we have booze and money, we will have soldiers to call upon." Kraft said and Jin shook his head vigorously. "Of course! We have the resources to probably take over the world! And let''s bring out all of the crazy minions to play! Allow every Original Bellators to rampage! Let the entire world burn around us!" Jin exclaimed and Kraft clapped his hands with joy even though he knew that Jin was being sarcastic. "No seriously, what is your plan to attack a major city if you really want to." Jin decided to entertain the Old Fox so that he could be worry free. (Although Jin felt that he was merely playing into his hand once again.) "We got the Aljun City''s mothership, the System and our research team had been analysing it. Even Rei said that we could use their schematics to create our very own air planes." Kraft said and Jin looked confused. "Don''t we already have air planes of our own? Those C-130s Artillery and such." Jin asked and Kraft snickered while shaking his hand. "No no no my little panda. I am looking at planes that are similar to the Flying Fortress we stole from Aljun City. The science fiction- fantasy kind of airships. You know? Those WarHammah kinds of space ships?" Kraft said as he showed a picture to let Jin familiarise himself with the concept. "THOSE AREN''T AIRSHIPS OR AIRPLANES! THOSE ARE BATTLE FLEETS!" Jin shouted with dread, confusion mixed with excitement while also feeling faint. He could not believe Kraft could even think of this up. "I also stole a few schematics so that we can modify and build our own mother ships without the burden of reverse engineering it. We will then show this world what is meant to be called the flying fortress." Kraft remembered how he enjoyed being the fake auditor of the base and everyone literally bowed to him because of his astute criticisms and praises. (Without a doubt, he stole quite a lot of secrets without them knowing.) "Do we need such a motherlode of a crystal to get it done?" Jin questioned since he remembered reading how the Flying Fortress of Aljun City had a giant ?ss crystal to power everything. "What are you talking about. We have Lost Tech experts in our midsts and they always wanted to use one particular item, the Lost Tech engines. It''s basically like a nuclear reactor that powers on up with magic¡­.and erm your sludge from what I last heard." "Huh¡­?" Jin was taken aback for a moment and Kraft had to say what he mumbled once more. "Yes! YOUR SLUDGE! YOUR SLUDGE! We need your sludge to power it up. Somehow it is the substituted ignition factor they had been missing for all this time!" Kraft said and Jin understood why the old fox bothered to take his time to explain everything to him when he would usually leave when the time was right. "I see. So I am guessing that you have enough sludge for now given the current supply within System but if things go well, you will need more of my sludge to get the whole operation to run?" "I am not taking a no. With just one flying battleship, all I need is the Demon Army from Demopolis to operate it and voila." "Why¡­don''t you just take Stalingrad- erm I mean Lord Wolte with you? Isn''t that much simpler? Last I recalled, he now has the ability to hover over the sea and dive into it too." "Well, that''s my backup plan if you continued planning to be an ?ss with me and discordant enough to not provide me the sludge after we fought," Kraft grumbled and Jin could see that he was a sucker at apologising and making up despite the age he now is. "And I do not want to owe him anything, I much preferred to have my own battle fleet under my own name." "You just want to be a captain of your own¡­ How greedy can you be." "Says the person who wants to take over the world with virtual reality dimensional instance." "That is -urgh never mind. Fine, I guess I can provide some provided that you follow my conditions. Else, I am telling the System to confiscate the rest of the sludge production." Jin decided to compromise and use this opportunity to patch up with the Old Fox. "What conditions?" "Hit the largest resource hub they ever have and hit hard. Take every possible resource and soldier you can find. Now that we released the seven city armies, we have to prepare for the worst should the bulk of them decided not to return to us. Thus, we need to be aggressive with our solution as much as I hate this idea. But since they are our enemy, this will also reduce their chance to counterattack when we steal soldiers away. But leave the civilians alone if possible." "Do not worry User, the Dungeon World had always had a rule that the civilians were to be teleported away from the city f?r??b?? by their dungeon core unless they wished to fight." The System said and Jin looked at Kraft with him trying to control his smile. "But you know we do need manpower if we were to fight with the Farming World. A city worth of defence forces isn''t cut out for it. Maybe if we add the civilians, they could do the support that we need to¡­" Kraft tried to hint at Jin that he could do something about that particular rule the System had spoken and Jin stared at him for a moment. "Nope. My conditions are absolute. Resources and combat manpower. You take the citizens, and that would be an excuse of war which the Church of the Afterlife would go after us forever." Jin was strict in his request and Kraft decided to take up the offer. After all, the conditions were more than enough for him to rampage. Chapter 1160 - Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Part 1 -unedited Chapter 1160 ¨C Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Part 1 -unedited Since Kraft was finally happy with his new agenda, Jin can finally concentrate on the business side of his job. People were still elated with the store''s current event as the Demopolis raids were continuously raking money for Jin not to worry about the health of his store. Instead, he was rather concerned with the current Tree Mall owners and how they cope with the influx of people coming into the area. But more importantly, the thought of bringing in more revenue into his wallet. Even though he rejected major brand and retail companies, they were relentless in their offers and even up their quotations just to have a piece of Jin''s Tree Mall, specifically because of the crowd he brought in. Apparently, it all started because an owner within the Tree Mall Owners had leaked the details about the amount of rent they were paying for and it was one of the cheapest within the district. And even with the constant rejections, the major retail companies were pushing for more incentives just to have a presence in this upcoming new major shopping location or possibly hub. Jin''s Pandapolis Hotels, which were separated away from the actual Pandapolis Domes and the main city, were also flooding with cash compared to the hotels within the vicinity and because of that, the rest of the hotels had to compete more creatively to get their customers. However, it eventually became a non issue when Jin commenced his huge raid events because it was instantly heavily advertised by the various hotels to attract people to try out the dungeon instances by giving substantial promotions. But this was also sufficient for major chain hotels like Hillton and Shangria hotels to started applying leases in the area. Yet, the more surprising thing was that these hotels were looking into getting a patch of land not within the Tiangong District, but inside the Tree Mall. Aye, their scouts and business spies had individually seen and experienced the wonders of the Tree Mall and being an iconic business location, they could see how the Tree Mall might eventually be the centrepiece in boosting Shenzhen''s economy to the next stage. That was also one of the reasons why the Tree Mall owners were a little jittery since all these major brands could potentially break their business if Jin was too engrossed in earning profit and hence the meeting for Jin to calm them down. ¡ª¡ª¡ª All of the Tree Owners were around for the meeting as invited by the System and they were all present within the Conference Room Instance because they had the capability to employ Jin''s penguins and other ''copied'' minions to do their jobs efficiently without much supervision. When Jin came in, the rest of them greeted him simultaneously as if he was the big boss in the room and that caused Jin to be taken aback for a moment before sitting right at the centre of them all. Yes, he finally get to have a big boss moment when the rest of the store owners sat along the sides of the long conference table. It was a little scary at first but the constant minion meetings which he had (and the dinner meetings with his bellators and Sub System Users) kind of got him to fit right in almost too quickly that some of the store owners who were eyeing him thought he was a natural at it. "Thank you for taking time to have this first ever Tree Mall Owner meeting. Let''s firm up the agenda and have this meeting done as quick as possible so we can carry on with our businesses." Jin said but the mixed rice stall owner, San Sun immediately raised his hand and objected to Jin''s way of handling the meeting. "Boss Jin. I understand that you are busy in your own store too, especially the volume of customers coming in but I believed today''s meeting will be touching on a few delicate issues that should not be overwritten quickly with just minutes and notes. A fairly thorough discussion should be put out for the owners." San Sun said and the other food stall owners hastily nodded their heads in agreement as if they were threatened by the rumours and gossips that were floating around the Tree Mall for some time. "Basically, we heard rumours that major brands and super giant retailers are aiming for the spots in Tree Mall. From food franchises to major shop franchises. They all want a piece of this Tree Mall because of the booming dungeon supplier store that you have." Lai Fu, the Boss of Fresh Price said bluntly that everyone has been wanting to say. But as blunt as his words are, they were the truth even though they knew that ultimately the Landlord was Jin and he could do whatever he likes with his Mall. Besides, he was the one who had decided to cover most of the expenses for their shops and while they wished to be grateful for the hand that feeds, they were all business people who always wished to stretch and grab every opportunity there were given. But Jin was no longer that young innocent boy he once was. Upon going through many encounters with devious schemes and cunning people, the only people he would trust are the people under him and his System. It was a flawed way of thinking since those minions were under the control of the System but that was why he put that much faith in them than these business people who were willing to bite the hand that feeds if it benefits them. "And so?" Jin leaned backwards and sat similarly to how Kraft usually does. Furthermore, his demeanour in his newly changed business shirt and pants gave the impression of power to the entire group. The rolled up sleeves, his new rimless sliver spectacles, the gel up hairstyle and that white t-shirt complemented his office wear. (After all the fight with Kraft nearly made him shirtless!) It instantly reminded them that he was in charge of the Tree Mall while not being very overpowering about it. Plus, if he wants to, all Jin needed to do was kick them out and bring in the major brands, making what they feared come true. In any case, Jin had also checked that the shops had already earn sufficiently within the past few months that was equivalent to what they could have got if they were to remain status quo in the old Tiangong Shopping District for ten years. So, if Jin were to kick them out, he did not have to do it with a heavy heart since they already earnt more would have. Also, Jin had the upper hand in this particular situation. Upon allowing them to rely on the dungeon dimensional instances and copied minions like the penguin NPCs who were considered to all rounder staff, it made them very complacent. (Moreover, they would lose the connection of the Pandafull delivery system which were bringing in a hefty sum of profits into their coffers.) As much as Jin does them things with his own goodwill, he had purposely tied the convenience perks into the whole shopping ecosystem and made the owners dependent on his help, allowing the Landlord of the Tree Mall to have an upper hand in any negotiations if there was one. Chapter 1161 - Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Part 2 -unedited Chapter 1161 ¨C Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Part 2 -unedited "And?" Jin questioned with a stare that only made everyone contemplate the worst case scenario. The store owners, who knew him a few months ago, thought that he changed into someone greedy for more money. They worried that he was no longer the same Jin who wanted to protect the local store businesses anymore. But the change was natural since maintaining this Tree Mall should not be an easy feat and there was indeed so much space in the mall for more tenants to enter and open their business. This way, the customers in Jin''s Dungeons and Pandas could possibly spend more time in the tree mall. In fact, the current Demopolis raid event had seen more tourists, in particular, cultivators from all over China during the weekend to spend time and try out the dungeon raids. It was no doubt still the main star attraction of the Tree Mall that allowed the rest to prosper and now that Jin appeared to be using his influence to steer the meeting, the business owners decided to change their tune a little. However, San Sun was a little too dense to notice the changes and demanded more information on the future of the Tree Mall. Jin''s stare subsequently got imbued with a bit of Maqi but he had forgotten that most of them were low level cultivators and that bit of Maqi was enough to bring shivers in their pants. "Scared for a moment?" Jin''s stare eventually turns to a slight smile towards Shen Si Fang, the supposed chairman of the Tiangong Shopping District Committee and owner of Lele Tower Caf¨¦ Instance. Because of the possible changes, the store owners once again revived the committee to ensure fairness had been struck among the store keepers. He initially wanted to calm Jin down and tried to mediate between the headstrong San Sun (Although he was shaking a bit from his seat) but the smile gave Si Fang a huge relief. "Yeah. I thought you would go evil for a moment and cut San Sun where he was standing." Si Fang replied and Jin laughed at that prospect. "Alright. Here''s the rationale from my side. There is no denying that having those major companies would be a big boost to our finances." Jin wanted to communicate with the owners so that there was some form of understanding between the landlord and the store owners. Thus his starting sentence had already sent the rest of the store owners to the edge of their seats. "With the dimensional technology on my side being stable, the Tree Mall is now capable of holding a seemingly infinite amount of stores if I were to do it. If possible, I would like the Tree Mall to cover the needs of the customers. Anything and everything. From furniture, cars, banking to daily essential needs. Heck, I can even introduce supply warehouse facilities as dimensional instances so that this could be a hub to procure items." "So, just by renting a space to the major brand companies would drastically increase the popularity of this area and we can have even more sales than usual because dungeon cultivators are statistically mainly males while the females could perform their shopping." Jin continued his rationale. "While this is just a generalisation, there is still some truth to it and you store owners have frontline experience about it." "Boss Jin. I have a question to ask." Yu Xiang, who was at the conference even though her parents were the ones who opened the Chinese Medicinal store, posed a question for Jin. Despite the conflict of interest of her being Jin''s researcher, Yu Xiang''s parents rather have their daughter attend the meeting since they were quite content with the current status quo. (But many did not know about it, even the store owners) Still, Jin allowed her to interrupt his talk. "At this age, there is no denying that the increase in online spending would affect the popularity and presence of this Tree Mall. What are you going to do with that?" "That is where Pandafull Delivery comes into play. I am sure the store owners have already seen how their orders are slowly increasing with the Pandafull Delivery and how it is very easy to make the transactions because everything has been done in the back end. My elite team of technicians and software programmers had been working hard to create a new version of Pandamonium App that would integrate the shopping app portion the moment we push for more tenants to enter the Tree Mall. When the tenants are confirmed, the new version of Pandamonium will go online as well to include them." "What do you mean?" Yu Xiang continued to ask for more clarification. "While it is true that the market is saturated with online delivery apps and such, this app is specifically to cater for the stores in Tree Mall. As I said, we are going to own the entire supply chain of certain products if possible. From the supply logistics to be stationed into the dimensional instances to the frontline sales like merchandises and food. If we are able to do that, we have the supply for any demand and it would allow us to be a possible major contender against the big apps¡­ well at least for the local provincial market. We can go national when we can sort out everything else." "You do not sound like a Dungeon Supplier at all, more like a business leader. From what we are hearing, you are going to make a Tree Mall into a Business District, capable of rivalling the central business district." Yu Xiang smirked but Jin remained serious. "As much as this is out of my depth, I need to expand the facilities of the Tree Mall for some personal reasons. Also, let''s just say that if I can attract supplies and logistics companies to my mall, it would directly benefit my dungeons too since I do need resources, especially cash¡­ and those workers would also get to have time to play my dungeons too, which is a plus. Just like how you guys do so once in a while." "Well¡­ I cannot deny that. I might not be a cultivator per se, but being able to increase my cultivation through your dungeons has improved my work life cycle." Yu Xiang responded with a slight blush. "But you have yet to answer the crux of the subject. What is going to happen to us?" San Sun interrupted, feeling impatient that his -their concerns were not answered. "I guess, it''s a yes, we are going to be sidestepped now that you are going to bring those major brands in?" "Before I say anything that will put that question''s answers to confirmation, I am going to clear the air in this room. I am not going to just add major brand companies to the Tree Mall. You guys have shown that there are still entrepreneurs in this time and age. I will continue to help new, aspiring business owners since rent is practically the lowest compared to everywhere else. Also, that includes those in the food pyramid who wished to have a restaurant instance open, be my guest. I am not going to stop you but be forewarned that the rent would be higher since it''s an individual instance." "Then how would that be-" San Sun was subsequently interrupted by Jin. "The rent price would be the same as Boss Lai Fu and Si Fang''s instances and they are already discounted because all of you are the original generation of this Tree Mall and that is the perk that you will receive. Other than that, do remember that this is still a business. Even though I bought this land, I got salaries and bills to pay behind the scenes to keep the dimensional instances running." "So I am ?ssuming that you are charging more to the new owners?" Lai Fu asked and Jin nodded his head. "Yeap, and trust me. This is going to be a major big project for the Tree Mall no matter how one looks at it. That is why I allowed you guys to have the head start on this competition. Other than that, it''s all based on your skills, creativity to survive. After all, it''s just the market forces at play." Jin said as he believed that the revamped Tree Mall would be the next big thing coming for Shenzhen province. Chapter 1162 - Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Final -unedited Chapter 1162 ¨C Tree Mall Owner Meeting -Final -unedited "Oh and one more thing." With the possibility of introducing other stores into the Tree Mall, Jin did warn the current owners that they would not have the same spots as they used to have. Instead, all of them would be squeezed into a one single corridor dimensional instance which the customers can walk through and discover other stores with them. This somehow brought distress to the entire group of owners since they know that exposure was an important factor to bring customers into their store instances and if Jin were to do that, it would essentially cause them to compete against the rest of the newer stores and the competition would amount to a near impossibility for them to earn a steady profit. The sudden announcement caused everyone to sound their displeasure almost immediately and even Si Fang who was the calmest person in the conference instance felt they had to argue with Jin about it. "Is that a problem with all of you?" Jin asked once more and everyone stood up, arguing that it was unfair to them. "The new owners would definitely have better dimensional instances than us, more ''over the top designs'' and customers always go for new stuff. If you were to do this, the customers would not come into our stores at all!" "If that''s the case, I''d rather pay more rent and get a front line store!" The food store owners complained but Jin did not budge. Instead, he asked him with a very simple question "Are you saying that your food is so bad that you need a front line store to compensate for it?" "You try having other dungeon suppliers to stand beside you and see how you fare!" The food store owner said as if it was a direct challenge to Jin. "I will," Jin said as he folded his arm in his seat, staring at the disgruntled store owner and that caused everyone to stare at him for a moment. "I am joining the Dungeon Supplier Symposium which Si Fang recommended to me to get in to test my dungeon making prowess." And that sentence alone sent waves of silence throughout the entire room. While it is something out of their sphere of knowledge, most of the store owners knew how the Dungeon Supplier Symposium was considered to be a clash of stores. Major Dungeon Supplier franchises and individual stores would come together to pit against who has the best Dungeon. Not to mention, those Dungeon Suppliers themselves are the participants and the judges were guests of honour with high importance. Although it is a national level event, there is technically no skill requirement to join because the people usually filter themselves out due to the participating fee. It was a whopping 100,000 Yuan to enter and with such a high barrier of entry from the fees itself caused not many dungeon suppliers to participate. That was why those who managed to enter the Symposium were still a force to beckon while some joined because they wished to be noticed. The Frontline Games. The Frontline Games had been split into international and national levels where the winners of the nationals would subsequently participate for the international level. The Fortress Games as the name states is a series of game modes that had been prevalent in most multiplayer games. Conquest, Domination, Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch. All these modes would be furnished by the Dungeon Suppliers who ''won'' events of the National Symposium. Even honorary special mentions and runner ups could be called to make the modes of Frontline games. And even just by creating a mini portion of the overall dungeon, the commission fees from creating them was tremendous because of the major sponsors endorsing the games. "The Dungeon Supplier Symposium! You finally decided to participate in it!" Si Fang could not keep the excitement that Jin was entering the event as he turned from an angry chairman to the most supportive chairman one could ever have. His vibes of elation no doubt influenced the rest of the store owners and they started to discuss among themselves. Especially when they learnt how tough the Symposium could possibly be and Jin was going to pit himself against the best of the best, the mood changed for the better. They subsequently realised he needed more tenants to fuel his dungeon supplier''s dream as the popularity of the Tree Mall was also directly tied to creating a name for his store. The more people know about his dungeon supplier store, he would not be just a no name in the dungeon supplier scene and the odds of winning the Symposium might increase. And that does not count the amount of money he could collect and pump it into making a better dungeon instance. (Also, the practice in making those new shop dimensional instances for the upcoming Symposium might be valuable when he accepts the new tenants.) After all, making himself a name in the line of a saturated profession was a task of diligence and determination. "So, for now. We will close the current instances and place you guys at the centre of the first floor. It might still be a dimensional corridor instance but at the very least, the crowd would be concentrated on you guys as they get used to the new layout of the Tree Mall. For those who want to upgrade their stores to restaurants, please give me the heads up or else, it would take longer for your restaurants to be up. Is that agreeable with everyone?" Jin queried and while there were mumbles of disgruntled store owners, they reluctantly agreed to it. Because they all know that if Jin were to win the Symposium and host the Frontline Games, the Tree Mall would no doubt be the centre of this and they would be part of it. Worry about customers? Hell nah! It would be bustling with so many of them that the only way to stop was to close their shops! Chapter 1163 - Meeting Of The Zoo Staff -unedited Chapter 1163 ¨C Meeting Of The Zoo Staff -unedited As Jin dismissed the fellow owners, the System was already up and running his mailbox, notifying the major sales companies to have a meeting with him as soon as possible. The System had already allocated a day free from any disturbance and those were the days the sales representatives would appear to discuss with Jin on the tenant proposal to own a store in Jin''s Tree Mall. As much as the Dungeon Supplier wished to do this on his own, the System insisted that this was its speciality and somehow empowered even further by creating another Yun clone to facilitate the management of all the emails. "Can''t you just summon up some other guy or girl? Why Yun again for all people?" Jin asked as the new fake Yun was already sitting at the conference table with a brand new ??ptop and smashing all the keys to reply to the companies who were prompt with their answers. "This is because Yun has a symmetrical body figure, a well sought face and the perfect pitch tone to put the guard of most males down. Also, the System initially figured that since the User already knew that Yun was an NPC created by the System, he would not mind. However, based on your last response, the System does recognise the User''s limitation to spot the difference and did not wish to confuse the User. Thus, the System will make some adjustments." The System stated and immediately cut the hair of the current Yun clone and even placed her mole on a different part of the face while keeping it alluring for most males. Her hair was later dyed brown and her demeanour was more subtle compared to the previous Yun. "The System shall dub her as Yun Er (Yun Two in literal Chinese) to avoid further confusion." The System said and Jin felt that the System was missing the point. Perhaps, it just wanted to concentrate on the current task then waste its time performing things that were currently temporary. "Speaking of another Yun, how are the Another Jins doing?" Jin said as he had made the System to aid him in separating himself so they could handle other stuff such as the handling of the Cultivation Zoo and the Demon Exorcists'' Advanced Training Centre. For the Cultivation Zoo, his Another Jin had already created the arena where the animals could fight against each other as well as a simple challenge course for them to run about when the System detects low levels of exercise in their body. "Other than the procurement of specific animal foodstuff for the animal''s recommended diets, the Zoo members which Claire recommended had been waiting in the Store Instance for some time now. The System recommends Jin to get them into the fray rather than allowing them to waste their time dilly dallying our shop instance." The System said and Jin sighed. "At the very least they should be having more fun looking through the Store Instance than waiting in some room for the ''boss'' to arrive and interview them¡­" Jin said and gave Claire a message that he was ready to receive the new Zoo Staff. "Okay, I will send them a text message and inform them to meet you at the Restaurant Train Stop?" Claire queried through the System Channel and Jin agreed with the plan. In no time, the zoo members came as there were two who were wearing the Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo uniform, allowing Jin to recognise them easily. "Hi! Sorry to keep you waiting! There''s one more who is on her way here. Apparently, she got too caught up with the souvenir store. We already informed her to rush to the train stop, double time." The female uniformed staff said and somehow Jin squinted his eyes, thinking he had seen her before. "No problems about that, I did not set a time for you guys to be here. And also, sorry but you¡­ look kind of familiar." Jin said bluntly as if it was some pick up line but thankfully the female zoo staff chuckled it off. "That''s because we did meet once." The uniformed zoo staff raised her hand out. "Name''s Tong Wu. I was the medic who ?ssisted you after your fight with the tiger gangster. That day happened to be my duty as the day medic for the Zoo but my primary duty is to care for the animals." "Well¡­humans are animals too. Thank you for the help back then." Jin said as he shook her hand firmly and even though it was a lame joke, it did help ease the tension between the two of them. And as Jin overlooked her shoulders, he too recognised that the other uniformed staff was the guard that was at the Panda enclosure. "I am Jiang Song and this is my partner as well as blood kin, Jiang Bo." The Zoo Guard said as he extended his greetings for a firm handshake along with Jiang Bo. "I ?ssumed that you are like her? Guard Duty but actually a zookeeper too?" JIn queried and Jiang Song nodded his head. "I have been with the Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo for about 8 years or so. Like Tong Wu we have to take up other duties because we know the animals and it''s easier to control them if they recognise a familiar face. Besides, we are paid well enough to do double and sometimes triple jobs." "Not for me. Unlike my brother, I am a full fledged zoology researcher so you can trust me on making sure the behaviours of those animals are well documented." Jiang Bos said and then they could see a lady panting heavily while holding onto bags filled with gifts. "Sorry I am late!" The lady said and Jiang Bo introduced her as his partner in research as well as his wife, Kristin. "Believe it or not, she is one of the best zoology researchers in Europe. And being able to work with her is honestly an experience that I hope to cherish." Tong Wu said and Kristin laughed. "You got to be the first zoo keeper that is way interested in me." Kristin''s mandarin was top notch perfect, with just a tinge of western accent in it. Her appearance was no doubt cast her to be of an eastern European descent and Jin believed that Claire had taken in quite a few very reliable Zoo Staff for his Cultivation Zoo. "Why don''t we all grab a quick bite and discuss the things that needed to be done?" Jin asked and they all agreed as they heard a train emerging from afar to pick the passengers up from the train stop. Chapter 1164 - Zoo Staff Contracts -unedited Chapter 1164 ¨C Zoo Staff Contracts -unedited With a hearty meal prepared by Lynn¡¯s penguins, Jin had discussed with them as to what he would have done to all the other minions. First by showing the contract and subsequently telling them about the System once they have signed it. But even in the process of getting them to sign the contract, Jin was shocked by their expected salary. (Despite Claire giving him a heads up that they might be expensive.) ¡°User, you are indeed getting a good deal considering their skills and experience as well as the knowledge they possessed.¡± The System said even though it knows that the Dungeon Supplier has the resources to buy them thrice over. And when they learnt that the exotic animals Jin had were not just numerous but distinct, Kristin nearly went nuts. ¡°I thought Claire would have given you the heads up for the types of animals in the zoo,¡± Jin said as he finally had them sign all the additional clauses upon them learning the existence of the System. He took the cup of Chinese Pu Er Tea (Fermented Tea) and gulped it down to clear his throat. ¡°Nope, she said you would give an infinite amount of grant as long as I demand it. ¨C¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not forget the equipment needed.¡± Jiang Bo added to his wife¡¯s reply but Kristin ignored him and continued. ¡°As long as I demand it for the longest time ever. Considering that this is a brand new field because you are putting real life animals into artificially while seemingly real environment into their lives.¡± ¡°A prison actually.¡± Jiang Song added as he continued his bowl of noodles. ¡°If I might interject the environment, they are constantly shifting. There is no ¡®Hey I found a wall¡¯ kind of moment. As we speak, my colleagues (aka Another Jins) are getting other herbivores as recommended by the System to populate the area so that they won¡¯t feel that lonely per se.¡± Jin replied. ¡°Then what about the cultivation zoo part, where the cultivators come in?¡± Tong Wu asked as what Jin had been emphasising the pristine condition of the animals to not be disturbed and not the main problem of having human interaction. ¡°They will be like the Zurassic Zoo movie. In those moveable motorised capsules, less the diesel engines and powered by magic crystals so they make absolutely no sounds. Most importantly, those cultivators would not be able to come out.¡± Jin said as he asked the System to show the pictures of those moving human sized hamster capsules for them to see. ¡°Otherwise, the bulk of the customers would be in invisible hovercrafts right above the environment and in case you are worried that birds might crash into them, the flying hovercrafts would be equipped with magic wind crystal to divert the airflow to prevent any crashes. If you like, I can show them to you after this meal.¡± Jin answered. ¡°So basically no human interactions? Will those capsules move too close to the animals or you know accidentally crush any of those exotic and nearly extinct specimens?¡± Jiang Bo had to ask even though he believed he already had the answer considering that Jin is in possession of an incredible tool at his disposal. ¡°Nope. There is a System module that manages the routes and prevents any accidental kills. Like motion sensors etc. We will be putting some bugs and insects to manage the flora too but erm there¡¯s a high chance we won¡¯t be able to save those. The System nevertheless will put up a casualty report if necessary. And should the animals be curious about these capsules, the System will force the capsules to a halt and allow the animal to interact with them until it is bored. Worst case scenario, the humans are teleported out of the capsules.¡± ¡°So the animals would just have to adjust to this mysterious stuff coming in once in a while until they are used to it,¡± Kristin said as she wrote a note on her handphone. ¡°But in any case, this will no doubt be a first in the world of animal studies and trust me, if this works in the long term, that infinite grant you give me would be put to good use.¡± ¡°Please stop saying infinite grant. My funds are still limited somewhat.¡± ¡°Judging by the store instance that you have, I beg to differ.¡± Kristin teased Jin a little more before agreeing that it is time to see the Cultivation Zoo first hand. The rest had also finished their meal and were raring to see this dimensional instanced cultivation zoo. ¡°I shall bring you guys to see a special somebody first,¡± Jin said as he created a portal out but before he could go in, a fast moving creature suddenly came rushing over and out of the portal. Jiang Song immediately reacted by taking his baton out but Jin stood in front of them and halted the creature. ¡°Xin!¡± Tong Wu said as she saw the big giant panda putting its weight on Jin by hugging it. The moment the Panda saw Tong Wu and Jiang Song, it screeched a little with happiness and let go of Jin to receive pats from the two former workers of Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo. Unlike Jin, Xin was very well behaved right in front of them and Tong Wu even took out a piece of bamboo shoot out from her storage ring for the Panda to eat. ¡°Yes, you little boy, it¡¯s one of your favourites. Bamboo from Shunan.¡± ¡°Shunan?¡± Jin questioned and Tong Wu answered that the bamboo shoots came from one of the famous bamboo forests in China, known for cultivating high quality bamboo picky pandas like Xin to eat. In the meantime, Kristin was observing the relationship between Jin and Xin ¡°I see. A Spiritual Union had been done. No wonder this panda is so friendly towards you and Shenzhen Province even allows you to take it out of its hands and to your new zoo¡± Kristin said and Jin looked at her surprised. ¡°She can see these unions rather easily. It¡¯s one of her abilities upon achieving a union herself too.¡± Jiang Bo said and Kristin added that Jin b?r?ly even scratches the concept of Spiritual Union. ¡°Since you are my new boss, and with the goodwill you bestowed upon me, I will take some time to help you increase the level of your Spiritual Union with Xin.¡± Kristin said and Jin nodded with delight, obviously could not wait to look forward to such a session. But for now, they would take a look at the Cultivation Zoo Instance. Chapter 1165 - Cultivation Zoo Instance -unedited Chapter 1165 ¨C Cultivation Zoo Instance -unedited When they first entered the Cultivation Zoo entrance, the Zoo Staff were flabbergasted by an enormous billboard right in front of them. In order to see the full thing, they not only have to tilt their head upwards but also take a few steps backwards to have the whole picture. The imagery of the entire zoo was like a work of art where there were layers upon layers of information. Where the toilets are, the road paths to animal enclosures, how to access watchtowers to see the animals from afar, designated rest areas and mini food stops. All these were curated by the System to ensure that the cultivators had sufficient pit stops (as well as additional opportunities to earn extra cash.) ¡°This is information overload. Way too much stuff to digest in one go.¡± Jiang Song said as he could not fathom how many ¡®enclosures¡¯ Jin had installed in his Cultivation Zoo instances. ¡°That¡¯s precisely the point. This Zoo is not meant to be done in one visit. I already planned a few packages to make this one of Dungeons and Pandas¡¯ main attractions as well as an annual pass¡­ well with the System¡¯s help of course.¡± Jin said as he felt proud that he finally managed to clear this. ¡°Although I have to say, there are some parts that needed some erm quality of life improvements and my colleague Lynn would be working on it.¡± ¡°Still¡­you want the four of us to watch this entire cultivation zoo instance?¡± Tong Wu could feel the crushing pressure coming down upon her when she now realised the scope of the job. ¡°Ehhh, I know I asked this before but once again, I thought you guys were briefed by Claire about this?¡± Jin suddenly felt suspicious how Claire was able to recruit them so blindly. Or in fact, had they been so allured by the wages that they believed the job was worth taking? After all, it was indeed rather lucrative especially for Tong Wu and Jiang Song, getting at least five times more than the current wage they were getting as well as a performance bonus as determined by the System. Jin later believed it was a make or break decision and they decided to do it because of the money in addition to the exposure they would receive from taking care of fairly exotic animals. But as the scope of their work laid upon them at this moment, there was no way to back out after they knew the existence of the System and signing the contracts. ¡°We were briefed that this was a job that requires some secrecy and other than that, we trusted Claire since she was Chairwoman Yuan¡¯s ?ssistant.¡± Jiang Song also scratched his head, thinking he was doing something more than he could chew. ¡°Also the money. I cannot lie about that. With that salary, I can finally clear my university debts within a year.¡± Tong Wu said and everyone looked at her with some suspicion. With a considerable number of years of experience under her belt and she was unable to clear her debt, it kind of made them worry about the kind of lifestyle she was living. ¡°¡­If you want, I can help clear your debt immediately but I would remove a part of your annual salary as compensation. The only benefit is that there is no interest rate for me to take.¡± Jin said and Tong Wu¡¯s eyes sparkled while the others instinctively knew that there would be an addendum to her contract to make her stay longer, a strategy everyone rest grasped immediately that Jin¡¯s enticement was a booty trap. But it was not their place to judge a person¡¯s lifestyle and now all they wanted to see was at least a part of the zoo as a start. Thus, Jin brought them to the starting point where the hovercrafts and human sized hamster ball capsules were. Like curious cats, the Zoo Staff instantly went ahead to inspect the interior of both types of vehicles. As Jin had described, the human sized hamster ball capsules gave the person inside the ability to see everything 360 degrees without any hindrance. It looked as if there were no mechanism inside the capsule but everything had been inscription based. So, in order to move the capsule, all the user had to do was to walk normally. And the ball capsule would activate and adjust according to the user walking speed. Eventually, the user would feel like they were walking on air as there was a complex mix of high level levitation inscriptions and movement inscriptions imbued into the ball capsule. This allowed the ball capsules to move at high speeds when the user felt like running but in actual fact, there was an invisible set of course the ball capsules could move until they reached their selected enclosure destination. This was to prevent any possible collusion with other ball capsules as well as the hovercrafts. Talking about the hovercrafts, as they are to be floating above the animal¡¯s environment, it is an alternative where educational tours could be given to the public as well as allowing the cultivators to have picture sessions from afar. There are multiple windows where the cultivators could station themselves and get pictures. However, there was also a hovercraft where no cameras were allowed and everyone could only sit to enjoy the scenery. Also, to prevent any excessive amount of people entering the enclosures, the System and Jin had already devised a waiting area where they were parked out of sight from the selected animal¡¯s environment setting. In return, they were given the Magic Eye¡¯s view of the animals. If they were not satisfied with the magic eye¡¯s capability, they could purchase or rent telescopic cameras from the Cultivation Zoo store and they could partake in the scenes themselves. Thus, those avid animal and bird watchers would have the chance to score a sight for themselves while taking those pictures in order to keep them as souvenirs. As for the cultivators, they have the chance to view them and a teleport control was installed to each capsule so they could instantly move to a training hall where they practice their renewed enlightenment. It goes the same for the very new Zoo Arena which Another Jin had created. While he did not like the Animal Emperor theme which Claire had suggested, it was one of the few ways that the cultivators saw the animals in action and that was the whole point of this particular Cultivation Zoo instance. Naturally, the arena was also insulated in a way from the animal¡¯s point of view, they were only fighting against their opponent and nothing else. The fighters themselves would not be able to see the supposed overwhelming crowd that saw them fight each other. The animals would be oblivious to their ¡®surroundings¡¯ and this would provide the cultivators what they needed to see to learn their cultivation. ¡°Hmm¡­ While I condone some of your methods, they are still tolerable since all of the stuff you implemented is to ensure that the animals have their own peace of mind. But how are you going to initiate the fights? They do not usually fight unless threatened by their territory.¡± Jiang Bo questioned as he finished inspecting the hovercraft. ¡°Well, I can show it to you when you guys are done trying out the transportation.¡± Jin smiled as he too entered a ball capsule and the System automatically activated it. Chapter 1166 - Cultivation Zoo Arena -unedited Chapter 1166 ¨C Cultivation Zoo Arena -unedited When they reached the Cultivation Zoo¡¯s Arena. They noticed that the rows of seats were also floating as if they were there to accommodate the fight scene. Jin indicated to them that the arena should not be restricted to one particular zone. Rather, when the fight starts, the audience would be teleported to them. ¡°This way they can fight in their own territory and they might be more aggressive in protecting their home. It¡¯s like Home and Away teams for football.¡± Jin said but it did not answer the Zoo Staff¡¯s questions until it dawned upon them that there was this celestial supercomputer that does things for him. ¡°So, the System enrages them?¡± Tong Wu asked and now she understands why they needed a medic to take care when there was already a supercomputer doing all this ¡®behind the scenes¡¯ stuff. ¡°The System does not enrage them per se and instead sends a subtle message to indicate that a fight is coming for both animals and the System teleports one of them into the other¡¯s territory.¡± The System replied promptly to remove any accusations or ill impressions of itself. ¡°That is also why the audience booth is floating,¡± Jin added but the Zoo Staff were confused. ¡°You mean, these rows and rows of spectators would be teleported to the said environment for viewing purposes?¡± Jiang Bo believed that was a crazy feature if it was true but Jin shook his head. ¡°Nah, the audience does not move. It¡¯s too much wastage of resources to do that, moving hundreds of human spectators and the floating booths to the environment. It would also cause possible collisions with the current hovercrafts and ball capsules that are in the area.¡± ¡°So¡­you moved the animals instead?¡± Tong Wu tried her luck in guessing and Jin nodded his head with p???sur?. ¡°Even though the System said that only one of the animals teleports, it¡¯s actually the both of them being transferred to the Cultivation Zoo Arena. The only difference is that the animal that teleports in is the visible one. The rest of the territory including the animal had already been transferred to the arena beforehand. So it looks as if the stage had already been set for an aggressor to come in to fight against the animal in his home grounds.¡± Jin said as he gave an example and beckoned the group to look over the rails of the spectator booth. It was an empty white piece of concrete at first and in the next instant, the ground started to turn yellow and a few trees grew in place of it. Despite Jin saying that it¡¯s just a copy of data, the shifting landscape was too real for the rest of them to believe it was purely 1s and 0s. Only then the animal was transferred along when the background of the arena had been completed. And even the transition of the lion was smooth with it emerging out of the tall dry yellow grass of the Africa flatlands. Yes, the Zoo staff might not know this but the current arena battle that would be shown as a live demonstration was a rematch between the King of Animals and the King of Laziness. Lion Vs Xin once more and while this time there were no pack of lionesses to protect their king, he was ready after a hefty meal and some training which he did as part of his recovery programme. It does sound weird but since all of the animals were more or less under the System¡¯s command, the System was able to spur the Lion from beating up itself to motivating it for the next revenge match. Jin had a bit of inkling to this particular news and though it would be nice to use this match as the opener for the Cultivation Zoo Instance, he believed it was better to let this revenge match be done as early as possible. In a way, he also needed footage of a proper fight between two animals and this should serve as decent footage for Kiyu to manipulate and send it out to the public for viewing. After all, now that Bear Cub One has its own stream (Even though people kept thinking it was some person hiding behind Bear Cub One to perform it) and Kiyu being the guest of Bear Cub One which consistently boost its ratings and views, Jin believes it¡¯s a good platform to advertise. And once that is done, he would go for mainstream advertisement too as he believed the Tree Mall has room for improvement when it comes to advertising. And as the Lion prepared itself for the fight, Xin was already yawning when a portal appeared at the centre of the arena grounds. The panda knew who he was fighting with and did not change its stance, as if it was looking down at the Lion whom he had defeated previously. No doubt the Lion took offence at Xin¡¯s behaviour and roared loudly in defiance as if declaring that the revenge match would be a swift one. It portrayed some form of chi as lunged towards the Panda without any care for the surroundings. Xin instantly sidesteps and gives a swipe of its claws against the Lion while it was landing but to its surprise, the Lion was able to turn in mid air, allowing it to evade the attack rather easily. Xin then believed there was no easy way to do this and finally decided to go into battle mode as he screeches at the Lion. And as the fight progresses, Jin explained to them why the both of them were being so mad at each other was due to the previous unofficial match they had. The Zoo Staff understood and while unconventional in real life, it would be surprisingly effective in a cultivation zoo. ¡°This would no doubt increase the cultivation grade of every animal drastically and they might actually be one of the strongest few animals in the world if we do it right.¡± Jiang Bo commented and the rest of the Zoo Staff agreed as well. ¡°We just have to make sure that the fight combinations are suitable and not of an overwhelming advantage,¡± Kristin added. ¡°Great, then I shall leave it to you guys to settle that while collaborating with the System for it. I will show you your office once this fight is done and we can call it a day.¡± Jin was delighted that the staff had joined his ranks. Chapter 1167 - The Failed Fight -unedited Chapter 1167 ¨C The Failed Fight -unedited Just when he was done with the Zoo Staff and left them to their own devices, he heard his name being called when the Dungeon Supplier was strolling through the ever busy store instance of his. At first, he had the illusion that some of his dungeon fans recognised him but he thought otherwise and ignored it. After all, Jin was quite a common name and most of the newer cultivators did not know who was the creator of this dungeon supplier, but rather what this store provides. ¡°Hahaha¡­unless I am some recognised billionaire like Jackie Ma,¡± Jin said to himself and then for the second time, he heard his name being called out again. So, he decided to entertain the thought and looked back only to be suddenly jumped on. However, his training habit kicked in and instantly evaded the attack by pretending to trip from the other side. But the moment he saw that it was Rong, one of the Demon Exorcists that were employed under him. He held back his Astral Maqi and asked what¡¯s wrong. Still, instead of replying, Rong continued to try to attack Jin and it created a commotion in the store instance. Some of the customers thought it was a new event while others who were around long enough knew that someone was about to start a fight they would regret. Not because of Jin but rather the enforcement Panda NPC coming in to stop any nuisance behaviour in the dimensional instance. As much as it was heavily surveyed with rules enforced, the cultivators did not mind the strict conditions of play because some even felt safer than being in the streets. Not many knew that Jin had a continuous and beneficial contract with the Tiangong District Police station so any crimes committed in the store instance would be first punished by the Panda NPCs and subsequently the district police would take over the case almost instantly. It helps that he managed to strike a deal with the police chief to get a pair of police officers to patrol the store instance in return for additional perks for the officers in training. This was also because the number of people using Jin¡¯s store instance was gradually increasing and the station could finally not ignore the fact that there were possible crimes being committed inside the instance. On average, there were at least one to two attempted thievery per week but all these monitoring by the System had enabled those evildoers to be stemmed out of the instance swiftly. In turn, it boosted the reliability and positivity of the dungeon supplier store as some of the users wrote some amazing feedback in the Pandamonium forums. Sometimes, the System on behalf of Jin also sent a mail to every customer not to perform any insidious activities. It also took the opportunity to bring up these feedbacks to not just inform everyone but send a warning to users with potential motives in order to deter them from making such mistakes ¡°Stop moving! And let me hit you at least once!¡± Rong shouted with some agitation and the Panda NPC Enforcers had already emerged in the crowd¡¯s midst. However, Jin halted the NPC Enforcers and decided to take things into his own hands by stopping Rong¡¯s punch with his palm and immediately subduing him to the ground without mercy. ¡°Try harder next time. You could learn how to hide your presence better.¡± Jin said and he could see the other three Demon Exorcists rushing to his side with an ¡°I told you so¡± kind of expression on their face. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Rong coughed as he split to remove the dirt from his mouth. ¡°We told you so.¡± The girls said in unison and Jin let go of Rong and told them to follow him back to the conference briefing room instance. Upon reaching the conference room, the System instantly refreshes Rong¡¯s attire and they were sparkling new when the Demon Bull cultivator walked in. However, he was too angry to be surprised by the fresh set of clothes and sat quietly at the back of the conference room. ¡°What is he angry about?¡± Jin queried and Su Zhen, the White Snake Demon Cultivator replied that they had no work for a couple of weeks and were pretty aimless. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys have any Demon Exorcist work to perform?¡± Jin queried and Lian, the Qilin Demon Cultivator explained that after the Demon Horde incident, the rest of the demons had been executed by senior members in order to not risk losing any more Demon Exorcists. ¡°We tried telling them we had participated in it but they emphasized on the fact that we need some rest.¡± Su Zhen added and the other three nodded their heads simultaneously. ¡°Looks to me there is some cover up going on since I heard that Grandma Yuan had been scheduled for retirement,¡± Jin commented and Rong instantly stood up. ¡°That is what I had been saying all along, but these people right here are too scared to even investigate. In fact, they are the best people to do so considering the kind of ties they have with the upper echelon of the organisation. Guess, they do not have balls after all.¡± Rong¡¯s outburst was a little terrifying but Jin stared at him. ¡°Then what does that have to do with ?ssaulting me?¡± Jin queried and hoped to change the subject since it was clear that the other three were not taking Rong¡¯s remarks too kindly. ¡°Because you as our supposed manager of the branch should have some knowledge behind the scenes.¡± ¡°In fact I have none.¡± Jin quickly interjected. ¡°I am a manager by name, and until I completed the Demon Exorcists Advanced Training Centre, I was practically cut off from any communications.¡± ¡°Then, what are you waiting for? Why isn¡¯t the centre done by now? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be some talented dungeon supplier to create all these? And shouldn¡¯t you be giving us some job to do?¡± ¡°Obviously, he is busy. Can¡¯t you see that his main priority is still his shop?¡± Lian, the Nine Tailed Fox Demon Cultivator tried to protect Jin not because of his supposed rank as the manager but as someone being shafted with that responsibility. But it seems Rong had a lot of more in his mind until Jin snapped his finger and a portal appeared right beside him. He signaled the rest to enter including Rong without saying another word. The Demon Exorcists were reluctant to comply at first but given the current situation, the dungeon supplier might have something in store to keep Rong¡¯s mouth shut. True enough, when they reached the other side of the portal, the Demon Exorcists were blown away by the scale and magnitude of the new dimensional instance. ¡°This is¡­¡± Rong, who was frustrated, suddenly had his mouth hanging in awe and all that anger in him gradually dissipated. ¡°That¡¯s right. All your feedback and hard work for going to each and every branch of JODE was not in vain. All those begging and insistence for more information to make the advanced training centre a better place have turned into reality.¡± Jin said as he teleported them to the top of the Principal¡¯s Tower. ¡°This is not just an advanced training centre. This will be the latest JODE Academy.¡± Chapter 1168 - Official Employees -unedited Chapter 1168 ¨C Official Employees -unedited ¡°Holy damn¡­¡± Rong said to himself as he climbed further up and hung on to the antenna of the Principal¡¯s Office Tower to have a better view of the JODE Academy which Jin had created. Even if he did not see the interior of the buildings, the campus itself was already something not to be scoffed at. ¡°Jin, you did this all by yourself?¡± Su Zhen asked and the Dungeon Supplier nodded his head. ¡°Well? Surprised? This is the might of the Boss of the Dungeons and Pandas.¡± Jin said and the rest continued to quietly view the scenery. ¡°The buildings might be up but I needed more information on how each room and hall can be customised. From what I remembered, you guys have a variety of subjects that you guys need to learn.¡± ¡°Yes, Traps, Team Formations, Demon Speciality, Chi Magic Formulae¡± Su Zhen was reciting the subjects that needed to be covered, Lian and Lien took the opportunity to jump away from the tower and started to explore the space. Even Rong followed them and Su Zhen quickly stopped her mumbling to join them. Even though the corridors and rooms were empty, the Demon Exorcists were excited by the possibilities that could happen in this Dimensional Instance. Demon Exorcists had always been secluded from one and the other because of the lack of facilities. They did not make many friends and most of their comrades were mostly political acquaintances. Even under the training of Grandma Yuan, it was mostly done in a restricted area to ensure that there were no commotions. With this academy, more Demon Exorcists could finally be inundated into the programme and the dimensional instance might potentially bring a sense of belonging for the group. Not only that, if there were enough space, this particular JODE Academy might even be used for course conversion programmes, allowing junior ranked Demon Exorcists to reach higher heights. When the squad had finally surveyed the area, they were all rushing to Jin to give their ideas on how the JODE Academy should be implemented. Jin quietly smiled at their idealistic expressions, knowing how they wish to bring change to the place. ¡°Of course, of course. I will take into consideration all of your opinions but I still have to consult your seniors and most importantly the head council that runs JODE. Without their approval, I cannot even start this place properly.¡± ¡°Ah! Is that why Claire asked my mom to come?¡± Su Zhen remarked and the rest turned to her with a curious look. ¡°Erm, Instructor Claire had invited my mom and Grandma Yuan for a Hot Pot stew, dinner at Lynn¡¯s Restaurant.¡± ¡°Oh¡­is that why you guys decided to pop by here?¡± Jin queried and the rest of them pointed at Su Zhen. ¡°Heheh. In a way, yes. Since my mom was coming, she decided to take this opportunity to officially congratulate me for getting into the official ranks of the Demon Exorcists. I figured that I take this chance to splurge my mom¡¯s money to treat the rest.¡± Su Zhen blushed as she blurted out the truth. ¡°Oh gee. Here I thought, you guys are here for the Academy.¡± Jin sighed, thinking that either the System or Claire had other motives to get Jin to talk to the kids. ¡°But since you guys are here, I guess I owe you all an explanation too.¡± He then told the rest to get back to the principal¡¯s office where he took the opportunity to sit behind the large desk. The rest had no clue what this impromptu gathering was about and they were telepathetically exchanging information to see if they could guess what Jin was going to tell them. ¡ª¡ª¡ª- ¡°¡­You what?¡± Rong was still in disbelief upon hearing Jin¡¯s explanation of the System and revealing the entity to them. ¡°So¡­does that mean, we could have won against you if you had not cheated?¡± Lian crossed her arms and pouted. ¡°Have you forgotten what he said? The System only manages his shop and the rest of the stuff that deals with money. When it comes to cultivation, all that effort belongs to him. We lost to him fair and square.¡± Lein, the Qilin Cultivator, replied to comfort Lian but he was still uneasy knowing the truth. The fact that the four of them had already signed their lives to this System of Jin without knowing the entire situation. Now he understood why there were times he felt that there was some hidden force monitoring him and to a certain extent, prompted him to go for certain decisions. ¡°So? What¡¯s your endgame? Why tell us now?¡± Su Zhen asked, now a little distrustful of Jin, creating the opposite effect which Jin initially wanted. ¡°I heard from Claire that you guys are not the usual Demon Exorcists because of your cultivation. I did not ask her much information on it but it looks like most of the other Demon Exorcists would prefer not to work with you guys.¡± Jin explained. ¡°And if I am not wrong, that is also one of the reasons why all of you are advised to stand down for the time being even though you guys did not explicitly show it.¡± ¡°So?¡± Su Zhen answered with a question. ¡°Simple. Join me for fights. In fact, you guys can go for recon missions for me which the System would provide more information about. And trust me, this is not the usual stuff that you are doing. There will be fighting involved if you all are not careful¡­or well even if you are careful enough.¡± Jin raised his eyebrows and changed his phrases a little to tell nothing but the truth. ¡°And in return, you will be paid well for each successful mission and once we feel that you are up for it, we will give you harder stuff so that you all will continue to hone your skills.¡± ¡°So, either stay on standby forever or do what the official employees of Dungeons and Pandas should be doing while earning some experience and cash. What do you all say?¡± There was a moment of silence before Rong stood up and portrayed his aura. ¡°I do not care what lies you said before but I know that you are telling the truth and instead of doing nothing, I am fu?k?n? in.¡± Chapter 1169 - Hotpot with the JODEs -unedited Chapter 1169 ¨C Hotpot with the JODEs -unedited The rest looked how eager Rong was and they could not help but chuckle. One moment he was angry as the bull chased after the red cloth and the moment he was willing to travel to the depths of hell with Jin. Even as the others felt opinionated to the current situation, they decided to stick with Rong as they always have. Even though he was not the leader, what he said made sense. There was nothing the Demon Exorcist could do at the moment with the current stand down orders. However, it was a different thing if what Jin said was true. If they could travel to other worlds and they were as dangerous as what Jin had mentioned, it might be the opportunity they were looking for to improve their skills and garner more experience under their belt. What¡¯s more, their batch had been ostracised by most because their cultivation requires constant fighting to gain better understanding of their powers and for the cultivators to nuture them to higher heights. Grandma Yuan was able to provide guidance mainly because she went through the second world war as a young ?du?t and she knew the terrors of war to replicate the kind of training these kinds of Demon Cultivators had to go through to move up the ranks. In hindsight, Jin also felt that Grandma Yuan had purposely ?ssigned them to him because she knew that he was the only one that could further their cultivation in his kind of environment. It might not be the most ideal but it was better than the current demon exorcist scene that the organisation is currently displaying. Especially with the recent incident, the demon exorcists were not as trained as the public thought they would be and there had been feedback with much concern despite the JODE organisation resurrecting the Demon Exorcists they could find. (Yes, they could find. Some of the Dan Tian had been broken by the clashes against the Bone Spirits that the organisation merely gave a compensation package to the affected families.) So, with the latest JODE Academy, Jin hoped to improve the image of Demon Exorcists while keeping Grandma Yuan under the employment of JODE. But in order to do that, he needed the approval of Lee Na, the COO of JODE and Su Zhen¡¯s mother. So as he wanted to send the four of them to a mission as soon as possible, they should at least wait till tomorrow since he needed them to be at his side for the negotiations to be smooth sailing. ¡°Awww¡­fine. At the very least, there is something to look forward to.¡± Rong said as he pouted thinking he could go on a mission right here and now. ¡°Think about it this way, have a good dinner tonight and start the mission tomorrow with strength. You all knew how nutritiously potent Lynn¡¯s food is, right?¡± Jin said and the rest all agreed to it. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ¡°Apologies for the self invitation.¡± Jin said as he entered the room filled with the Demon Exorcists. However, to his surprise, he even saw the Chancellor of JODE within the chambers of Lynn¡¯s Train Restaurant Instance. ¡°Ah! Chancellor Ma Ge¡­it¡¯s a pleasant surprise to see you here.¡± Jin said and Ma Ge shook his head. ¡°Lein took the chance to invite me here, saying that Lee Na and the rest of the newly officiated Demon Exorcists are having their celebration dinner. I thought I would join in for a moment if they were to allow it. To be able to see you here is an extra bonus.¡± Ma Ge smiled wide as he moved aside and asked whether Jin would like to sit beside him. ¡°Its my honour.¡± Jin pretended since he was after all the top dog of the upper echelon ranks in JODE. Of course, he would play cordial to gain his favour as this was the best opportunity to discuss with Ma Ge about the current JODE Academy. However, he had a hunch that the feeling was mutual. To his surprise, the Demon Exorcists were not exactly very uptight with their behaviour and ate as they would usually do despite having the ¡®adults¡¯ in their midst but everything changed when there was a knock at the door. Claire came in and she brought along Grandma Yuan which caused the kids to suddenly behave prim and proper. Grandma Yuan told them to relax and she sat at the opposite end of the table away from Ma Ge. The rest of the kids were relieved and they continued their hotpot dinner while already saving some of the best ingredients for Grandma Yuan to partake. ¡°Su Zhen! You gave Grandma Yuan that and not your mother?¡± Even Lee Na was a tad jealous by the behaviour of her child. ¡°This is because they also treat their teacher as their own parent. (A Chinese proverb)¡± Ma Ge said but the mood turned a little more serious when Grandma Yuan opened her mouth. Even though she was lower rank in JODE, her seniority still meant something to the upper echelon. ¡°I am actually here to talk about the JODE Academy which Jin had created. I was late because I went to take a look myself before coming here.¡± Grandma Yuan said. ¡°Ah yes, I heard from Su Zhen about it and she even took some pictures for me that I felt was surreal. To finally have a full fledged academy of our own in this modern age is not just a feat, but an achievement that will be remembered in the future.¡± Lee Na commented. ¡°I believed there is more to that since I could not help but discuss a few things with Lein privately beforehand.¡± Ma Ge remarked and it seems they did not wish to beat the bush around Grandma Yuan. ¡°I will take the spot as the first principal regardless of your approval.¡± Grandma Yuan stated while she placed a piece of meat in her mouth. She ?ssumed that there would be resistance but as she looked up to see the faces of the other two JODE executives, all they had was approval in their expression. ¡°Yes, we like you to be.¡± Ma Ge said with a gradual nod. Chapter 1170 - Yuan Is The Principal -unedited Chapter 1170 ¨C Yuan Is The Principal -unedited "Isn''t that agreement a bit way too easygoing?" Rong asked in the System Channel chat now they officially have access to it. "OOOOOOOO! Hi Guys!" Claire said in a very cheerful manner even though her expression was stoic right in front of them. "You all finally have access to the System! Congrats!" "What? You mean this System Channel thingy is not filtered and everyone can listen in?" Rong nearly spit his food out when he heard Claire talking through the channel. Lian and Lein tried to cover up Rong''s expression by asking him to eat slower and even gave a cup of water for him to drink. "Not exactly, you can have specific people to listen into your channel but you have to tweak it a little. If you don''t know how, I can show it to you later." Claire said as she stared at Rong with a weak smile, also telling him to ease with the food intake. "There is enough food for everyone, you don''t have to rush." Claire commented while putting a piece of boiled pork into Rong''s bowl. "But yes, I did think Ma Ge answered way too conveniently, any kind of hidden agenda, some conspiracy?" Lian decided to try out the System Channel too. "Eh¡­ Banzai to the System?" Jin replied while he too was able to remain engaged with the current discussion between the JODE Executive Officers. "Holy shit, you mean the System managed to influence him and Su Zhen''s mother?" Rong was shocked once more and this time he accidentally knocked his knee to the table which prompted all eyes on him again. "I am sorry, I am sorry." Rong said and decided he should just keep quiet for the moment since he was not able to keep a straight face with all the developments behind the scenes. "Don''t worry. I am sure you are equally excited to hear that Instructor Yuan is able to take the post of the First Principal for the newest JODE Academy." Ma Ge laughed and the rest followed suit even though it''s a little forced. "Does that mean I am able to choose my own teachers and lecturers?" Grandma Yuan asked and the officers nodded their heads in unison once more. "No one else is more qualified than you are and with this ''promotion'', I believe it is a suitable compensation for your so called early retirement as instructor." Lee Na added and later they found out from Claire through the System Channel that although Grandma Yuan is the hero for saving hundreds and thousands of lives, it was not her call to use the young Demon Exorcists to fight the Bone Spirits despite her being an overall in charge. It was ironic but it was mainly because in technical terms, Grandma Yuan was supposed to be there as an overseer and not someone who commands the frontlines. Instead, she overstepped her authority as the overseer of the current mission and went forth with the defence of the border cities. Hence, the organisation required a scapegoat to appease the families for removing her instructorship and requesting her for an early retirement since there were no other available posts for the Heroine of the Border Cities. But now that that JODE Academy dimensional instance is going to be up and running, the organisation finally has the chance to use this excuse albeit a risky one depending on how the public relations department was going to handle it. Also, Chancellor Ma Ge is someone who did not like to take unnecessary risks and preferred to handle his term of Chancellorship with as little controversy as possible. Yet, things changed when he entered the System. Both Lee Na and Ma Ge had been partially influenced by the System without them knowing. A classic trick in the Dungeon Supplier''s books but a very effective one. It was to the point that Jin even named the current room they were in as "Fortune Changes with the Wind". Most people assumed that these named rooms were just for Feng Shui purposes but many did not know that whenever Jin conducted his bargains and negotiations in this particular room, it had always been in his favour. "This particular compensation is not sufficient until the Academy has what it takes to provide the best for each and every student. And that includes the likes of my batch of students here in this room. No more discrimination and everyone and the same opportunity to learn no matter what." Grandma Yuan said. "Instructor Yuan, if you can provide me with a list of items that need to be procured, I should be able to work out the numbers and give you a possible estimation for your budget." Jin said and Lee Na looked at him with great interest. "You sure? From what I believed, our suppliers have been giving us rather competitive prices. Also, I do not believe some of the items that Instructor- no I am sorry, Principal Yuan needs are available in the current market." Lee Na said and Jin smiled gently. "If there is not much of a problem for you, we can compare prices and perhaps, I can procure some of the stuff. But if it is because it''s a wholesale offer with restricted items to boot, then I would leave it in your capable hands." Jin replied, "Lee Na, give him a sample of the restricted items. I saw his supplies before and the supplier that procure the stuff for him might just be able to get it at a cheaper price. Trust me on this." Yuan interjected and subsequently smirked a little that only those who saw her often like Jin, appreciated the gesture. After all, this current arrangement was somewhat like a partnership between Yuan and Jin. So, if Yuan could scratch Jin''s back by allowing him to access the items in JODE not just for storage and production, but also to use in his war and dungeon instances, it would definitely be a great boost in both firepower and defensive capabilities. (Of course, a little tweak here and there to ensure that it still did not violate their rules.) In return, the prices would be so much cheaper and of a higher quality because it is the product of the System, allowing the Demon Exorcists to have a better arsenal for any threats they had to deal with. And now, this is what they call a business meeting in their favour. Chapter 1171 - In The Face Of Money Chapter 1171 ¨C In The Face Of Money Once the major issues of the JODE Academy had been sorted out, Chancellor Ma Ge took the opportunity to leave the group early while informing Grandma Yuan to find him at her earliest convenient time to sort the minor details. "After all, we can''t exactly discuss such stuff to potential students for the advanced classes, right?" Ma Ge said and Grandma Yuan agreed to it. "I will set a date with your secretary and please be on time as well. I do not have that much to spare to begin with." Yuan replied and Ma Ge chuckled, nodding his head to promise Yuan he would try his best. "By the way, Jin. Can I speak to you for a moment?" Ma Ge asked and Jin readily agreed and told the rest he would be back again. Once they were out of the room, Ma Ge took an envelope out of his storage ring and passed it to him. "You might not be the principal of the latest JODE Academy but you built it as the capacity of the interim manager for Shenzhen''s branch. I know that you have your own business to attend to and other hmm¡­side hustles." "Side hustles?" Jin turned cautious a little as he did not exactly know what Ma Ge was referring to. (Mainly because he had countless of them at the sidelines, churning revenue and losses for himself.) "Ah, I apologise for the improper term and should get straight to the point. What I meant is the rebuilding of your Panda Clan. If rumours are true, Grandma Yuan is going to join you as well, right?" Ma Ge questioned and Jin still did not get what Ma Ge was driving across. "That expression¡­ Sigh." Ma Ge was wondering if he should even say it straight to his face or let him figure it out for himself. "Alright, I am asking you to reconsider admitting Yuan into your clan for the sake of JODE''s future." "Why? Are you afraid that the other Royal Zodiac families would have some opinions of having a Royal Panda Clan member holding the principal post?" Jin shot back without warning and it placed Ma Ge in a predicament once more. "If you phrase it that way then by putting me as the interim manager of Shenzhen Branch and the builder of this JODE Academy, you are also putting yourself in harm''s way from the potential backlash of those families. And trust me, no amount of money would be able to buy this particular dimensional instance off my hands because this is my property. If you wish to, you could have the other dungeon suppliers to try but I could tell you, they would not be able to achieve what I do in a short span of time. My team is that unique." "Besides, isn''t JODE supposed to be a neutral organisation?" Jin shot Ma Ge once more but he too knew that the world is black and white. The political ramifications behind every organisation''s backing are complicated and this applied to JODE as well. Ma Ge simply kept his silence before Jin turned his back away for a second as a sign to cool his head before returning the conversation. "How much are they sponsoring JODE?" Jin questioned and Ma Ge felt the discussion had diverted a little too much. "I believe I am not under any obligation to say anything. The money they provide are from their foundations in believing to keep the world a safer place from possible demon incursions." Ma Ge gave a politically correct response but Jin was not buying it. "I will double the amount of your biggest major sponsor." Jin said and caused Ma Ge to scoff unwittingly before apologising to Jin for the unruly behaviour. "As much as I like to think you have a decent business in your hands, you cannot possibly expect me to ¨C I would not be treated like an idiot even if you are the current Head of the Royal Panda Clan, Mr Xie." Ma Ge said and Jin''s eyes were dead serious, "How much?" Jin reiterated with his arms folded and unwavering. "Sigh, fine. At least 10 million yuan (~1.5million USD) per quarterly annum. If you do not believe me, you can ask Lee Na. She has the accounts and considering you are still the interim manager; I can give you temporary rights to view what I say is certified true." Ma Ge did not know where the topic was going and then Jin instantly took out a cheque book from his storage watch. He beckoned one of Lynn''s penguins NPC to loan him a table and they quickly brought it out in a matter of seconds. "Alright then, here''s a cheque of 20 million. If it bounced, then come find me. I can get my guys to provide you cold hard cash if needed." Jin said and Ma Ge dropped his jaw. What kind of business allowed him to have this amount of cash to spare? If he had that much, why was he stopping with just a Tree Mall? Suddenly, there were a ton of questions in Ma Ge''s head that he was unable to comprehend the current situation. It was not bribery per se but rather, flexing to show that the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan is not just some copycat clan, aiming to reach its former self. With this kind of money to throw around, this is the true and actual power of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan! Legends said that they were the economic powerhouse among the rest of the Royal Zodiacs and that the fortunes of the Horse Royal Zodiac would pale in comparison. And this act of throwing money to the JODE organisation was basically Jin''s way of telling Ma Ge not to bloody disrespect the authority of the Royal Zodiac Pandas. "I¡­understand. Once we verify your contribution, we will proceed to get the JODE Academy up and running as soon as possible. I will get my men to get in touch with you with regards to the supplies we talked about recently." Ma Ge''s heart was racing and he was not as composed as he should be despite the title of JODE Chancellor. (In fact, he even thought the supplies thing was just a discussion point which he thought he could ignore. But now things have changed drastically.) Jin always knew in the face of money, people would bow but he did not expect it to be this potent. Now he understood the true value of the dough the System, Claire and the other minions had been rolling in for the past few months. Chapter 1172 - Recuperating Losses Chapter 1172 ¨C Recuperating Losses As Jin went back into the room, he saw Lee Na decided to leave early as well. "Thank you, Boss Jin for accompanying us. I received a text message from Chancellor Ma Ge that required me to do some last minute work." Lee Na said and waved to her daughter goodbye. "Claire, get the bill. I will make sure you are compensated for it. Don''t forget the receipt like last time." "Yes, Mdm. And don''t you worry. Jin will provide ALL the receipts that you need if I ever lose any of them." Claire said and somehow Jin felt some sarcasm from her. When Lee Na felt the room, Claire immediately stood up and did not hesitate to have a staring contest with Jin. "Tell me. Just tell me. What was that about?" Claire asked and the entire group was confused by her actions. "I¡­" Jin had clearly forgotten that the Sub System Accountant was in the same dining room as him and now she had some major questions to ask. But instead of repeating the question once more, she took out a stack of yuan, a very fat stack of yuan and showed it to Jin. "See this money? How much time do you think you would need to earn this back via your stall? And if I might ask, how much do you think this particular stack of cash is worth?" "Erm-" Before Jin could even have a proper reply, Claire already took that stack of cash and slapped Jin in his face with it. "Do NOT! EVER! Use the company''s money without discussing it with me." Claire said and Jin immediately went down to his knees and prostrated right in front of her. "I am sorry. I thought I would like to show Ma Ge that the Royal Pandas should not be messed with. They wanted to stop Grandma Yuan from becoming our Royal Panda clan member. They said there will be consequences for allowing her to take up our membership and thus, I decided to throw that stack of money at him and made him listen to us instead." Jin finally explained and Claire released a puff of air from her mouth. "Fine. If it''s for Grandma Yuan, then I would let you go for wasting that amount of money." The Sub System Accountant said and the rest did not expect Claire to be this fierce. "That money could be used for the Farming World but it looks like we need to find another way to fund it." "I thought you had investment accounts in the Black Stock Market?" "I am waiting for several prices to rise and drop before I could do anything else. It''s a waiting game for me and there''s no guarantee I can earn back that amount before our fight against the Farming World. Not especially when Kraft had decided to use our funds to have his revenge match in the Dungeon World." "Erm¡­ Is there anything we can help with?" Su Zhen asked, hoping to break the tension in the air between Jin and Claire. "You guys?" Claire thought for a moment and then it clicked. "Come to think of it, I believe there is something which you all could do which might alleviate the current crisis created by Jin." "What can we do? Is it some raiding mission?" Rong asked excitedly since he would rather do something that could bring some Moolah on the table than some boring scouting mission which Jin initially wanted them to do. "Hmm¡­ You could say something like that." Claire thought to herself and sat beside Jin. "But this is a mission which would need Jin to approve." "Why would you say that?" Jin asked and looked curiously at Claire. "Sources tell me that the Farming World has a gold mine in the Eastern Region. The thing is, the place is well guarded. And it is solely because that gold mine has unique gold seeds which would allow the mining town to prosper. I asked Gold well as ironically as it sounds to show me a gold seed. He told me that he did not have a sample because it would endanger his entire stash of seeds if that ever happened." Claire said and the Demon Exorcists somehow got a little too excited about their upcoming mission. "Is that why the Eastern Region had decided to keep their hands off the current matter? They believed they had enough wealth to prevent the Rat Demon Invasion?" Jin questioned and he knew money could only buy that much. "Hmm, on the contrary, their nobles have been living luxurious lives because of that gold mine and do not give two hoots about current world affairs or the people''s quality of living. They assumed that their private army would be sufficient to stop any incoming threats and so far it had been working quite well. Especially for the Duke of the Eastern Region. Gold had once said that it was because of the Duke''s generosity that allowed him to put seed stash in every region just for political leverage. This shows the amount of power and wealth he has although we know that is insufficient if the Rat Demons come onshore or underground." Claire explained. "And considering that we lack money, having just one gold seed would be sufficient for the System to duplicate it and start growing them. We might need a few samples of their gold product and then we can even improve the purity of the gold before we sell it into the black market." Jin thought for a while and knew that this was his fault to begin with. Thus, he volunteered to go for the mission instead. "Aww man, let us go instead! If not, with you too. Besides, I think you have better things to settle than hitting a gold mine." Lian said as she wanted to prove herself like how Rong had the itch to scratch. "No," Jin said and both Lian and Rong whined while the other two was visibly disappointed. Even Claire had her eyebrows up until she saw Jin continuing his sentence. "Scout the Eastern Region first. Prove to me you can blend in easily and learn there are any counter forces. Talk to the Farming Minions and familiarise yourself with their culture, or at least the basic one. Only after that when you guys have a viable plan, then I will allow you guys to raid all you want. Is that acceptable?" Jin said and it was pretty obvious to Claire and Grandma Yuan that the JODE Branch Manager was teaching them an impromptu lesson as well. "Yes!" The four of them agreed with Jin''s conditions willingly. Chapter 1173 - Expansion Of The Tree Mall Chapter 1173 ¨C Expansion Of The Tree Mall After that steamboat dinner, all the wants and needs of Jin were coming together. The Tree Mall was accepting new occupants through batches and they were currently assigned to the first and second floors. Small and medium enterprises had set up offices at the far end of the second floor and access was restricted to their workers and visitors. For a cheaper rent, and the possibility to change their office interior without much money was a boon. So much so that Jin even allowed an interior design company to come in, taking over the job of designing the interior view for most of the customers. And for a small fee, the offices could change their theme anytime they want. Once the interior designers had done their job in agreeing with the office managements, Jin would then proceed to create as what they had desired. This eliminated Jin as the middleman, allowing him to create the end product without too much hassle. He even made it so that once the interior designers were done creating the layout, there can never be any further changes unless it affects the office that would be detrimental to their workers. Else, any changes would be charged as a second makeover. It reduced the time needed for Jin to get those office themes up since the System was able to replicate what the designers had already envisioned. And it was a win win for Jin, the middleman and the offices. Because of Jin''s sudden openness to allow companies to work in the tree mall, MNCs had started applying as well and Jin ''believed'' that they wanted to tap into the potential of the various small and medium enterprises as well as the service sectors in the Tree Mall. This was because Jin allowed those major multinational companies to enter into his Tree Mall on one condition, they had to aid the small and medium enterprises within the Tree Mall to grow as well. Not by giving them a lump sum of money but a sub contract or else, the rental on those spaces would be significantly higher than the usual. He had also revealed to each of the MNC representatives that he was the new upcoming leader of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan and by having a foothold in the Tree Mall meant that they understood the consequences of that particular branch to be part of the Panda Clan''s property. Most if not all were shocked to hear this and while most of them needed more time to discuss, a couple quickly acknowledged. This was because the companies had heard rumours that the Dungeons and Pandas store owner had invested a huge sum of money in JODE. Not just that, JODE was well recognised to be something akin to a private military organisation despite their mission to serve the people in ridding the demons and their outward ''neutral'' allegiance to no one had always been used as a strong political statement. However, everyone in their higher hierarchy knew that they would serve whoever was paying them the most. Initially, most spectators thought Dungeons and Pandas paid them because of the new upcoming JODE academy which they had announced but when the MNC representatives realised that Jin was their newest biggest benefactor because of his status as the Panda Lord, they immediately knew that he has strong enough of a backing to lean on. Thus, those MNCs had decided to place a branch in his Tree Mall. One of them even decided to move their central headquarters into Jin''s Tree Mall and it was none other than Hua Wee. The nearby factory campus had created enough buzz about the Tree Mall that the management decided to place the headquarters in Jin''s business building because of the confidence from their employees. It was also a perfect move since they had been wanting to push their headquarters closer to their main production campus for some time but never had the chance to do so. Now that the management had decided to put the new headquarters in Jin''s Tree Mall, the ripple effect of this major move had drastically increased the land value around the Tree Mall. However, the Panda Lord was ahead of any other property investors. Because of his newly minted status as the Panda Lord, he had been in talks with Shenzhen''s mayor as well as the land owners within his Tree Mall''s vicinity. One could say that he managed to flex his wealth and status to bargain for the surrounding lands in a hush hush meeting. However, the MVP was not Jin who decided to swoop the lands around the Tree Mall but Xiong Da, his newly appointed lawyer who was present for almost all of the meetings and settled all the paperwork. (After all, he managed to convince those people to take up the offer with the allure of money and charisma. He also did not deny that the cultivation training under Jin worked wonders for his line of work as well.) Property investors did not catch wind of it because the transaction was almost immediate with Jin providing cold hard cash on the spot for them in the millions (of Yuan). Thus, a five kilometre radius around the Tree Mall was now under Jin''s jurisdiction before he started to take in batches of occupants. As for the development of the five kilometre radius, Jin placed it on halt first since he needed to take care of his Tree Mall before moving on to bigger, loftier goals. But because of the transactions he made, Jin believed he would be able to see returns in less than a year and the profit margin would be high enough to possibly attract foreign investors to develop the Tree Mall even further. But for now, he was focusing on getting his Tree Mall occupied with both famous brands and local entrepreneurs who wished to have a shot in business. Besides, Jin had the supplies for everything for them to try out, and thus all the new businesses needed was demand. If they do grow big, Jin would like to tap into their business and earn some dividends from them too. "Help others and ultimately, they will help you." Jin smiled as everything was going smoothly with the aid of the System. Chapter 1174 - New Jins Chapter 1174 ¨C New Jins And even though he appeared to be extremely busy with his occupants, most people had forgotten that he was able to create ''Another Jins'' to assist with his work. And now that he had Grade Up considerably, the strain on him to produce Another Jins was not as difficult as before. However, the restrictions still played a significant part where he could not exit the Dungeons and Panda Store without releasing them. What''s more was that the newly minted Another Jins were less stupid to say figuratively. Previously, they could only do one task at a time, and the System had to guide them closely to make sure that they knew what to do. If needed, the System would merely merge two Another Jins so they could perform the task with ease before splitting them again. Still, it was sufficient enough for the Original Jin since what he needed them to do were very specific tasks such as bargaining in the black market along with the buy and sell of goods. But now that Jin had grade up in his cultivation, the other Jins were like exact copies of him, with his current knowledge and skills all combined into the copy. So effectively, the System did not need to closely handle the Another Jins and they could still do the work that he needed to do. Once the original user knew the capabilities of his cloning via astral projections, he immediately sped up his workflow. He basically became an army of ''one'' by splitting his jobs throughout the store and even the minions were unusually happy with the change. This was because they usually have quite a load of requests and suggestions that needed to be attended to. Some were very minor requests like the scientists asking Jin to test out some new equipment but some were priority one such as the training regiment of the Southerners and the Farming World war plans updates. Even the latest mission given by Jin to his personal Demon Exorcists was also dealt by Another Jin. Furthermore, with the System''s capability to connect and relay information from one Jin to another, the flawless communication between each clone had enabled the original one to have the latest intel and updates of everything. Suddenly, everything was coming together nice and quick because of the System User''s ability to handle and this made his end users, minions and even Sub System Users to be happy with the current dealings of the situation. Thus, the Cultivation Zoo Instance was able to accelerate its timeline nearer to its official opening ceremony, no doubt with the help of the latest Zoo Team and JODE Academy had already begun enrolling students while the interior infrastructure as well as the curriculum were being reviewed. The only time the Jins were not available was when he was forced by the System to take a quick nap. As much as Jin wished to have a clone to be working on stuff as he sleeps, the System forbade Jin to do so. "Even as the User had the capability to do it, one has to look out for his mental health. The splitting of clones might be perfect iterations of yourself but they remained to be Astral projections. Your body still needs time to rest and consolidate itself before User continues with his usual work." Jin could only assume there might be untold side effects if he was not careful and thus, he listened to what the System said and took his nap. Also the nap Jin took would usually be in a capsule but ever since the Panda Cultivator had been able to control his sludge, the System had finally approved him to sleep in his own room. (Obviously it had been renovated to accommodate time compression and dilation so he could take this time.) It even teased Jin that he could finally find a proper girlfriend and sleep with her without any issues. As much as Jin rolled his eyes, he honestly believed at this certain point of his life, it was not the right time to settle down. He needed to assert himself as the Panda Lord to stay competitive against the other Royal Zodiac families. Not to mention, the time grace which he had was about to end within a month or so. Clearly, he was too busy to think of it since there were other things in his mind. And by busy, he meant the continuous creation of the Virtual Reality Dimensional Instance. Even though he has a prototype ready for the Symposium, he was already two steps ahead thinking of the mass production. With the help of Ke Loong, Sea Mesh CEO, he was finally able to get some finetuning done as well as procuring an elite team of tech engineers through the System contracts. Rei continued to work closely with the selected engineers and they provided input in order to make it viable for mass production. It was a huge step forward and Jin (with the Another Jins) had begun procuring those materials en masse to ensure that if it was approved in the Symposium, they would continue on with the global sales. But regardless of approval or not, both Jin and the System were ready to push forward. With the advice of the Sea Mesh tech engineers, they had also started procuring the required safety certifications for the prototype. Naturally, the System was already ahead of Jin in manipulating the certifications since everyone knew how long and tedious the extensive safety review could be. It was doing just how the System had done for Jin''s dungeon supplier licensing since most of these ''official'' records are in major databases rather than hardcopies. And with that in mind, Jin had started assembling the factories Pandapolis for the production of the Virtual Headset. There was no time to hear whether the Symposium approves it or not, Jin was going to proceed with the production. This was because he only wanted to use the Symposium as a platform to flex his work as well as his store''s name. After all, social exposure was important especially when he noticed how influential Kraft''s actions were during the Demopolis Raids. Also, speaking of Kraft, that old crafty fox was indeed going to attack one of the biggest cities owned by the Church of the Afterlife. Chapter 1175 - Military Coup Chapter 1175 ¨C Military Coup "Why do you even have to bring me with you?" Pei said with some reluctance as she was squatting at the top of a cathedral alongside her nasty coworker. "I figured you needed the exercise. Like Jin had not been working out much lately. All those business models, earning profits and creating some pathetic alternate reality probably tired you out, no?" Kraft said as he took in a deep breath when a breeze blew through them. "I thought you wanted to have some fanciful invasion against the city? Like with the latest airships and stuff." Pei did not want to answer Kraft since either way, he would ultimately coerce her to his bidding. "Hmm, yea. I thought about it. It''s more fun to create havoc by myself." Kraft said with a nod of his head as if he had gone through a phase of enlightenment. "But myself would be truly boring. Having a competitor always spices things up." "More likely, you already knew Jin had no money to spare since he had been investing more on his business. Also, the upcoming war with the Farming World has been ramping up rapidly and you are now penniless, without an army." "What? Penniless? Please! My coffers are with Demopolis, and Rex is taking hold of it very well! I told him to invest in the Seven Cities'' infrastructure and soon enough, I would have sufficient pocket change to build an army of my own." Kraft shrugged off Pei''s accusation. "Well, who was the one who resolved the Seven Cities bullshit?" Pei rolled her eyes. "You mean who was the brilliant one who started the chain of reactions that lead to this day?" Kraft twisted her words while Pei waved off Kraft''s bullshit. Indeed, that Seven Cities ''bullshit'' turned out to be a miracle which Jin and Kraft had not expected. (with the help of some celestial intervention.) Upon learning the existence of Pandapolis and a new ''god'' who was able to resurrect them without charging a single cent. The Army Generals were shocked and understood why the Church of the Afterlife had their suspicion in the leader of Pandapolis. Perhaps, there had always been someone or an organisation who were able to have the same powers as the Church themselves all along. Yet, the incumbent had always done what was necessary to root out the competition. But this time around, they did not expect their new adversary would be able to literally hold its fort against them. Not to mention, the armies were not only being resurrected for free but kindness was paid doubly so by giving them accommodation and warm food while their new ''god'' prophesied their return should not be too prompt. Because of Kraft''s devious plan to spread the ''stomach flu'' virus in all the cities simultaneously, the armies had concluded that the Church of the Afterlife had either branded them as enemies or wanted to take the opportunity to grab the cities when they were defenceless. (Not to mention some misinformation from the Night Foxes.) The generals who were given the gift of telepathy by their new god, saw the real truth behind the Church of the Afterlife''s intentions. Furthermore, their god had even prompted his servants to provide the army sufficient antidotes for the particular virus, portraying benediction and salvation for their small and humble cities. It was as if it was preordained by the god''s oversight to show them the way to the real truth. Thus, when the armies had decided to make the grievous decision to perform a military coup to take control of their cities back from the Church of the Afterlife, they found out they were not abandoned by their new gods even when they were outmatched against the Church''s Knights'' armies. In fact, they were resurrected at a safer location near to their fight zone and continued the skirmish against the Church''s Knights. Even more, they realised that some of the new god''s servants were in the mix against the Church, allowing them to subsequently have an upper hand in the fight. As the servant''s assistance was minimal and the coup was mostly their efforts, the military somehow felt liberated from the Church''s embrace and claimed their city as rightfully theirs. (Because in name, it was their city but in essence, the majority portion of the dungeon core''s rights belonged to the Church.) And as they heard the words of their new God through their ears when the armies turned victorious, they cried in joy as all their God wanted the exact opposite from the church. They can have full reign of their own city. But because these cities'' cultures were predominantly about honour, all of them instinctively became servant states for Pandapolis, in hopes that their cities would have the same benefits as Pandapolis does. And now, Pandapolis and Demopolis were taking swift action to establish a foothold in those cities the moment their protection bubbles came up. "I am surprised that the System had been talking to them behind our backs without consulting any of us. In fact, I AM surprised I was not the new god they all had been raving about." "If you have a voice telling you stuff and everyone hears the same thing, there is no doubt about it being a higher power." Pei shrugged her shoulders. "In fact, by establishing the System as the one true god made even more sense than making Milk and Peppers their new goddesses. They are too lazy and irresponsible to do such a thing. But as servants of the true god? That makes more sense and freedom." "Bleargh. Fine, I agree that the System handling the god component is way better. None of us, even me, would have bothered with each and every petty request to be fulfilled in the near future." Kraft surrendering the thought of being a god. "Besides, it''s time for the System to do some work of its own. It had been relying on us way too much." "There you go. Glad to hear that you have sorted out your problems with my consultation. Besides, you don''t need to be a god when you still have your own group of followers which brings back to the point. WHY. DO. YOU. NEED. ME?" Pei asked once more as the Night Foxes could be seen emerging in every roof in the vicinity and that made Kraft chuckled hard. "I said it once, and I will say it again. Stop being a poor sport and have some fun!" Kraft said as a wave of his fingers and the Night Foxes disappeared, merging themselves with the shadows of the night. He then stood up and extended his hand to Pei. "The series of military coups which the System single handedly prompted had made history in the Dungeon World but also incurred some serious deficits in the numbers. Care to earn some profit? Loser got to buy the winner a week''s worth of dinner." Chapter 1176 - Extra -The Ivory Tower Chapter 1176 ¨C Extra -The Ivory Tower Pei stared at Kraft for a while but instead of agreeing to it, she queried what he was about to do. "Nothing much really. My foxes and I are going to hit their vaults as anonymous raiders. This place is essentially their bank. Many armies and adventurers had always challenged it." "Doesn''t that mean their security would be as tight as that Paradise whatever prison in Demopolis?" Pei asked but she did not want to use her powers that much if possible. Just a warm up exercise would have been fine. "Hmm yeah. From what I heard; they are quite infamous for creating a labyrinth that spirals underground too. Remember what some of the Demons said? The Church of the Afterlife introduced that concept to build that prison." Kraft said as he took Pei''s hand without her permission, forcing her to move along with him. "Wait- a minute!" Pei startled for a moment before she stabilised herself from Kraft''s quick leaps before forcing him to release his hand and followed unwillingly behind his back. "Then, what is that tower right in front of us? It seemed to spiral endlessly to the sky." The white ivory tower looked similar to one of Jin''s buildings in the Islands Instance which he later hoped to implement in the Virtual Reality Instance. "Oh. You have to go through the underground first before going up that tower. It''s kind of like you reached the bottom level and then you go up. And as usual, greedy people tried to skip and wanted to crash gate into the higher portions of the tower. The funny thing is, those adventurers merely dissipated into thin air." Kraft explained. "Shouldn''t we be at better position to enter from the top? I mean those adventurer''s power level could not match with us a single b-" "A few of the Night Foxes gave it a try but paid with their lives. They even used some of the extreme magic that I wielded in the Graveyard Technique and it did not work for some reason. It''s like a law of nature protecting the ivory tower from intruders. Perhaps, it''s the working of a unique Dungeon Core just like those Moloch had mentioned before. Those bastards got lucky to receive it and utilise the core to its maximum potential." "Then, why bother raiding?" Pei asked the obvious which Kraft found it totally unncessary. "Why not? They opened their bank for all to try because they were confident that adventurers or even city armies were not able to clear the entire tower." Kraft said as he stood at a rather tall building and beckoned Pei to have a look at the horizons. She then understood the problem immediately. Even though the city had been fortified with walls and guards, the Ivory Tower itself had its own set of walls¡­ No, Multiple sets of walls each with their army protecting the area. That was for other rival cities to give it a try against them but for the groups of adventurers attempting to win some money, all they had to do was to register at the front gate with a condition attached. By surrendering all the gold in their possession before they could proceed. And considering the Church of the Afterlife was in each major city, they too control the financial situation of each and every adventurer. So should the adventurers lose a fight, 20% of their entire wealth would be confiscated by the Church of the Afterlife. However, Kraft was not going into the dungeon as adventurers or city armies. They were going in as raiders. The term raiders were given to adventurers who decided not to follow the norm and fight their way through. As long as they could make it to the Ivory Tower''s entrance, the guards would harass them no further as dictated in their rules. They would then be able to fight against the challenges stored for them within the tower. That''s not all for raiders as the fun part of it is that any guard they killed before going into the dungeon would also yield them some Dungeon Dollars by the Dungeon Core itself. It was part of their Dungeon Core System which they had to oblige and thus, the Church of the Afterlife tried to mitigate their losses by installing one of their few strongest available guard companies in the region as the Ivory Tower''s defence. Naturally, there were more heinous creatures and guards that protected each and every level of the Ivory Tower and rumours stated that the lowest number of floors any selected group of army soldiers or adventurers could only pass the 5th basement level. Thus the Ivory Tower was known throughout the Dungeon World as the Tower of Blood Money and only desperate people would attempt their fates against it, just to have a quick turnover. Moreover, despite all these risks and dangers, the number of adventurers and cities that attempted these Ivory Tower were numerous to count. So much so that cities had to pick a date to invade or adventurers had to wait for their queue to enter. Naturally, as a team of raiders, none of those matter to Kraft and the rest of his Night Foxes. If they were as menacing as the rumours had said, Kraft would then admit defeat and send a proposal to Jin as well as the Nine Foxes to petition an assault against the Ivory Tower. That way, they did not have to worry about money for quite some time. But for now, it was for Kraft, Pei and the rest of the Night Foxes to give it a try. "Even if you do not want to compete, I could use a competent healer for the raid," Kraft said and Pei sighed heavily as she saw the Night Foxes were fully geared. Once again, they were equipped with newly improved Gearbox suits as well as a magic amplifier mod that somehow looked like Jin''s System Rider''s belt. "Don''t you worry, even as we wanted to copy the original, those Living Armour plates are a pain in the ass to grow, so we improvised by using the System''s Fusion powers which were previously performed on the Dragon Devils. You know, those metal looking dragon fusions? The System and the Science Research Team were able to create a mass production prototype that temporarily allowed power armour fusion." Kraft got way excited explaining as he passed one to Pei. As much as he knows she was an all powerful cultivator, it doesn''t hurt to let her ''power up'' a little more. Not to mention, it sealed the deal of her going into the Ivory Tower alongside the Night Foxes when she accepted Kraft''s gift. Chapter 1177 - Vassal States Chapter 1177 ¨C Vassal States Even as Pei, Kraft and his minions were trying to gain money from the Ivory Tower, Rex was in his office more concerned about the state of the Seven Cities. Reluctant to get any help from Jin, he decided to take things into his own hands. Although Jin knew the state of the Dungeon World through his System, he was more focused on completing his Virtual Reality Instance as well as the preparation of the Farming World invasion. It might not look like much but the System and Jin were concurrently preparing for the big fight against the Demon Rats. Every single day the System had been communicating with various spirits of the land to get as much information on the Demon Rats as possible. They learned that they were indeed digging tunnels beneath sea beds to get to the other regions. And from what the System had learnt, it seemed as if they were going to coordinate a three way invasion at once. Thus, even with the System at Jin''s side, the counter invasion would require more resources and manpower, unlike any other wars or battles that Jin had been through. While Kraft and some of his war masters gave their opinion that they should let the Demon Rats invade the East and West regions in order to thin their numbers for the counter invasion, Jin felt it would be way too messy. It was mainly because as long as a few rats survived the attacks, they could repopulate again and fight back. Jin had already seen several nesting areas of those Demon Rats and knew how his minions were consistently ambushing those nests to drop their numbers. But it merely dented their war force. So, it was more important to contain if possible before the fight was let loose. That was also why the System kept getting information from the Spirits of the Land to ensure that they knew the progress of the Demon Rat''s digging projection. And from that information alone, it was not some minor mini tunnel that they were building but a transportation network system similar to transporting heavy cargo under the ground to the other three regions under the sea. Jin and the System had no idea how they were able to produce that much metal and other resources needed to reinforce the tunnels. So they could only deduce that it was the by products of the Farming World that they had somehow taken advantage of. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "Is that why you decide to burden yourself with the responsibility of the Seven Cities?" A familiar voice could be heard when Rex''s doors opened as he buried himself in several mountains of paperwork. "Jin? I thought you were busy. Did not expect you to come to Demopolis to pay me a personal visit." Rex replied. "Sad to say, I am not Jin." The voice turned and Rex looked upwards to have a better look. "But it sounded much like him, didn''t it?" "Moloch¡­ Why does your puppet look so¡­" Rex could not describe whether it was such a foolish idea to use their master as his puppet''s new glamour. "Meh, it tricked quite a number of people and that includes you now that you know that it''s not Jin. It was fun using his face as my new puppet but obviously, I have to make a few adjustments since the System said that having an exact replica would only confuse people. So, I have to add a mole at the side of Jin''s cheeks." Moloch commented. "I mean yeah, I totally agree with the System. If those newer minions had yet to see Jin personally, it would only confuse them further especially when I heard that he is starting to use Astral Clones to speed up his work." Rex said as he kept his fountain pen aside and gently pushed the paperwork aside to give Moloch the attention he needed. "So, what can I do for you?" "While I understand that those Seven Cities were to be vassal states under the Pandapolis Banner, I think it''s too soon. Even though they have the Dungeon Core protection right now and the System has been injected into each and every core, I honestly do not think it''s a great idea especially when Pandapolis is like wayyyy in the East." "Mass Transportation Magic should not be an issue once we install the Gates under the benefit of the Vassal States Programmes," Rex recommended but Moloch was still not satisfied "Well, yeah. But it''s mainly because they are vassal states, they are more vulnerable to attacks in the coming days once the Dungeon Core Protection is over." "You know that we do not have men to spare at the moment. Most of the Orc and Goblin Engineers are prepping the weapon production here in Demopolis while most of the Demon Citizens who were now situated in Pandapolis were getting the miscellaneous items up. Besides, we already sent quite a fair bit of resources into their cities. It should weather them through the difficult period." "Duh, I know the situation we are having right now. Everything is tied down for the Farming World but that is also the point. Because we are too focused on the Farming World, we might lose the Dungeon World''s spoils if we are not careful. These Seven Cities while considered as third class cities- well, not all. Like Aljun City is a first class city. Anyways, they are producing quite a lot of products, produces and even military hardware initially, but the coup against the Churches had brought nearly everything to a halt." Moloch voiced his concerns. "If we do not do something soon, those cities might plunge into chaos when the Dungeon Core protection is over." "Moloch, my friend." Rex sighed as his expression to voice something suddenly became clear for the cotton butt minotaur to view. Did Moloch speak too much too soon? "That is why I am writing to all the City Council members of those Seven Cities to have a meeting at Demopolis tomorrow." "Well! That''s brilliant, why did you not say it earlier¡­ oh oops." Moloch chuckled a little and stopped talking, allowing Rex to finish what he wanted to say. "Doesn''t matter. But I would need you to do something for me since you have decided to take an interest in this matter. Get me Qiu Yue to be free the entire day tomorrow." Rex asked and they both knew that the Empire Building Sub System User was the key to get this mess sorted. Chapter 1178 - Requests And Demands Chapter 1178 ¨C Requests And Demands "Yo, Rex. What''s up. I heard the situation from Moloch." Qiu Yue waved casually at Rex as she entered the meeting set up by him. The rest of the council members were surprised how casual this lady came into this important meeting, calling King Rex just by his name. This was also because most of the Military Generals that entered the room greeted him with respect. When asked by their fellow politicians, the Generals told them that there was a drastic difference in power level between him and the rest of the Generals combined together. If they knew that he was the King of Demopolis, they would not have bothered fighting against such a strong opponent in the first place. However, considering the circumstances, most of the generals were happy that they did at least attempt to invade Demopolis or else, they would not have known the truth that the Church of the Afterlife was hiding all these times. Now they understood how Pandapolis withstood the might of the former Demopolis''s armies combined. However, as Rex saw Qiu Yue, he was delighted by her presence and at the same time relieved. "Lady Qiu Yue. It''s fantastic that you are able to make time for us." "Nah, when I heard about your planned meeting, I instinctively knew you would need me. Besides, it''s great to see that the rest of them are here to join us too." Qiu Yue eyed the generals and they too smiled with pleasure. "Who is she?" One of the politicians questioned the military general''s aides. "Lady Qiu Yue? If I am not wrong, she is the one that will revitalise our cities, gaining the very same might that allowed Demopolis to withstand the combined military power of the Seven Cities. She showed the wonders of the True God which was why the generals had decided to rebel against that obnoxious church." The military aide said with much positivity that it was kind of scary. Obviously, the council members who never went to war had no idea what to expect from her but those who were defeated by Demopolis'' army understood her prowess. (Obviously, the aide was wrong since Jin was the one who aided with the creation of the Demopolis fortress.) "So, we are doing all of them a huge favour?" Qiu Yue sat close to Rex and started to look at the additional requests by each and every city upon pledging their vassal states to Pandapolis. "Surely, you jest. Lady Qiu Yue. You know how your ability in creating new infrastructures would be vital in getting our cities out of the current pinch. In return, we pledge manpower for your ''expeditions'' as well." General Yaega from the City of Taris said. "Ho ho¡­ You got the news about my expeditions that quickly?" Qiu Yue looked at him with sly eyes. "We merely heard of it from King Rex." Yaega responded instantly, hoping not to offend Qiu Yue. "I told them the gist of it when we were waiting for you," Rex replied. "You are so sure that I will come for the meeting?" Qiu Yue questioned as she flipped the pages of requests. They might look simple but the Empire Building Sub System User was not going to agree that easily until she saw the layout of their city. Unlike the Southern Region''s Capital in the Farming World, the recreation of that particular Southern City allowed Qiu Yue to start from scratch since everything was turned into debris. But for these cities, she needed to consider their existing infrastructure before building their supposed requests. While she could take the lazy way out and merely build what was requested, it would hurt her dignity and pride as the Empire Building Sub System User for doing such a subpar job. And also, she needed to consider the future of these vassal states. If Jin was willing to invest in them, the half baked infrastructures had to be taken down again and it would ultimately waste time and resources. So, it was best to plan carefully before proceeding ahead. "I need to talk to each and every city builder or planner you guys had so that they could help me with the latest layouts." "City Planners? City Builders? Layouts? If you mean the castle layouts to improve our defences, we have those but I am afraid we do not have any other layouts on paper nor those city planners you talked about." One of Taris'' council members said and it hit Qiu Yue that they were not as advanced as she was. "Then, the Sewers System? Your Housing? Gosh, you know what. Give me access to your Dungeon Cores and let me communicate with it to have a better idea of your city." Qiu Yue demanded if they wanted a revamp of their cities. There and then, the various cities'' council members were mumbling to themselves, asking the military generals if it would be safe. That was when Rex stepped in and announced to the entire group his opinion. "You wanted to improve your lives which was the reason why you raised hell against the Church of the Afterlife. And now you are contemplating as if your lives are depending on it when we asked a very simple request to look at your dungeon core." Rex said. "But it''s because we do not know what Lady Qiu Yue could do to our Dungeon Cores-'''' One of the city council members from Aljun said and Rex cut in once more. "But you guys already put your faith in the one True God. Right?" Rex said and the military generals interrupted the conversation. "By my name and title, Yaega, the City of Taris would accept your demands," Yaega said and soon the rest of the other generals accepted her conditions as well, causing the council members to have their opinions mooted. "That''s settled then. We will go city by city. Yaega, let''s get the work started." Qiu Yue said and a teleport portal appeared right beside them. The rest were surprised when they saw the opposite end of the portal was their dungeon core despite the security they had laid upon it. The Military Generals then reiterated that there was little use hiding things against them, especially when Qiu Yue was a direct disciple of the True God. And this action alone proved to the other council members that the people in charge of the current Demopolis and Pandapolis could be the newest driving force in the Dungeon World. Chapter 1179 - Trouble At The Ivory Tower Chapter 1179 ¨C Trouble At The Ivory Tower As Qiu Yue settled the matters of the Dungeon World, Rex decided to give Jin a courtesy update. "Ah, I see. Thanks Rex. Really appreciate what you are doing. I would have personally advised on the matter but it looks like my clones could only do so much." "A pleasure. So, how is your endeavour in the Virtual Reality Instance? Making much progress?" Rex queried for the sake of getting the conversation going a little but also hoping that it would not be too much of a drag. Besides, both of them clearly had agendas to fulfil for the day. "The Symposium is in less than two weeks time but the Virtual Reality Instance is ready, including the accessories needed like the Virtual Reality Headset to access it," Jin said as he was extremely relieved how fast and efficiently the engineers at Sea Mesh were able to smoothen out the kinks in the Virtual Reality Headset. The only problem was settling on a name for it. Some wanted to call it simply VR Gear, but a few of the engineers felt it needed a more fanciful name. There was even one who proposed to make a limited edition Panda version of the Headgear to promote Dungeons and Panda even further. While it was not a bad idea, Jin felt it should be placed on hold temporarily as he wanted to be seen as practical rather than the possibility of it being a cash grab. (Even though the systems in place would eventually be a cash grab.) "Also, I heard your sworn brother had already gone off fighting to his delight." Jin questioned since he only received a message from Pei that she would be busy dealing with a ''crafty'' situation. "Speaking of him, I do not have much information since he said he was hitting the Church of the Afterlife''s Bank. An Ivory Tower of some sort." Rex commented and the System instinctively connected Kraft into the whole conversation. "What''s up?" The Old Fox said as there were lots of background commotion at his end. "Brother Kraft, how''s the raid going?" Rex asked but all they heard was his laughter. "Excellent! In fact, we have yet to breach into the Ivory Tower itself despite a day of fighting. Looks like we had been subjected to mere insects from the Church of the Afterlife. System, give them a glimpse of my situation." Kraft requested and immediately the System pulled out live footage via Kraft''s vision. Surprisingly, there was a bit of lag in the transmission and the System attributed to Kraft''s peripheral vision to be wider than normal. When Rex and Jin saw the battlefield, they were stunned by the number of enemies in the area as well as how strong they looked. Not only there were Church Knights that had been documented into the System''s Database through the military coup but variant versions of them in stronger armour and weapons. Items that are considered to be ''mythical grade and above" or that was how the captured Church Knights had dubbed them. "It''s irritating because the moment you thought you killed them, they would revive back again. I thought the System just did not bother to catch them but it seems like each and every one of them have some relic item that allows them to instantly resurrect the moment their heart stops beating despite being slashed into pieces." Kraft said as he gave a first person perspective of crushing the skull of a Church Knight and letting him go. In less than a few seconds later, he was able to walk again with a crushed skull. "Zombies?" Jin questioned and Kraft shook his head. "I pulled their limbs apart to check whether they were androids as well but they were still able to move after replacing their displaced parts into their original position. It is some magic I could not identify. But hey, from what I see on the Ivory Tower''s counter, we are earning quite a fair bit of gold." "I suggest we just head straight into the Ivory Tower and earn better money." Pei interrupted the conversation and Kraft beckoned Pei to say hi to Rex and Jin. Naturally, she ignored and continued to slice things apart. "But it would not be satisfying, in fact, it would leave me wanting to know what the hell is going on with these buggers." Kraft pouted. "Should I connect this to Moloch and see if he knows anything?" Jin asked and the System once again took the initiative to get Moloch on board the conversation. Upon seeing the works of the Church Knights, he already deduced that they were at the Ivory Tower. "If Kraft had already noticed, the Ivory Tower has its own unique Dungeon Core and they had designated that area outside the Ivory Tower with a very special spell that only this particular Church has. After all, it''s their money warehouse, they have to be more protective with it." "What is it?" Jin pressed for the answer since Moloch was going round and round. "Immortal Domain. The Church Knights in that area are affected by the curse of immortality. They sacrifice their sanity for the defence of the Ivory Tower. You might think only hardcore cultists would protect it like crazy but trust me, I heard rumours that they used criminals, brainwash them and subsequently stripped them of their rights. Since execution is technically useless in the world full of resurrection, the Church of the Afterlife turned them this way." Moloch explained. "As for how some of the boy parts returning together, those are the works of the items and accessories they possessed," Moloch said and suddenly that gave Kraft a wonderful idea. "Guys, change of plans. Once you bring down a Church Knight. Confiscate their armour, items and whatever shit they had on them. If this is a battlefield, the spoils belong to us no matter what.. The dungeon dollars are just the tip of the iceberg!" Kraft said and the people in the conversation understood his meaning. Chapter 1180 - State Of The Dungeon World Cities Chapter 1180 ¨C State Of The Dungeon World Cities "This Kraft¡­ When it comes to devious plans, he really knows how to put things into action." Jin said and Rex could not help to have a devious smile on his face. "That is how we were able to survive long as sworn brothers," Rex said and asked if Jin wanted to send more people into the fray. "Nah, let him have his fun. I had a feeling he was already giving me a lot of chances when I duelled with him but it allowed me to see a fraction of his powers. So, I am guessing that this current raid was a way to let him blow his top a little." "You are not wrong but you are not right either if you think that he has only shown you a fraction of his powers," Rex remarked and Jin raised his eyebrows. "What? No way. If I can handle some of that, it is definitely because he has not been trying hard enough." Jin found Rex''s comments somewhat odd. "Nope. I am not kidding you. While it was true he was not using his fullest extent of his powers, there were certain moments during that battle that his bloodlust was on point. He was raging hard against you without leaving any quarters. Perhaps it was his rage that blinded him but nonetheless, it would be an insult to say that he did not fully immerse himself in the fight." Rex explained. "Jin, As a System User, you have grown relatively strong and without a doubt, there are still a lot more ways to grow." "I assume there is a but." Jin cheekily added in and Rex nodded his head seriously. "But, as you already know, there is no way you can do things all by yourself. Even my management of the Demopolis is subpar without the System''s aid. I would not say by the power of friendship, you will triumph against all because that''s bullshit. However, by the power of an elite group of talented people and friendship, would do well against what the multiverse prepared for us." Rex said as he laid back a little and looked at Jin to his eyes. "Keep growing Jin. You will make new enemies which would ultimately be your greatest allies." Rex stated and suddenly that made Jin remember something very important. "System. If Rex praised me a little, is it okay to release one of those ''forbidden'' minions that we had captured previously?" Jin queried and the System proceeded in analysing the possibilities. "Diabolos is not available despite your new cultivation grade but for Maeve, the fae princess. That might be a possibility. Unfortunately, the System is currently too swarmed with processes to even have the time to properly disengage the locks." The System said and Jin''s face turned sour. "Is it because you are currently using her as part of your processing capabilities," Jin questioned and the System did not answer¡­which meant it was a yes. Thus, the Dungeon Supplier decided to switch the subject and thank Rex for his aged advice. In the meantime, he also procured certain information from Rex since Demopolis had Pandapolis'' military stronghold. And by stronghold, what Jin actually meant was that it had become a place where factories, research and production of military goods were coming from Demopolis after the huge revamp. Some of the demon workers who had basic work experience in Pandapolis were slowly returning to their homes and found out that their places had been upgraded much. There were no more slums and high rise buildings were in every street and corner. As for the richer noble demons, they were allowed a slightly bigger house to themselves but it was limited to how much they were going to contribute back to society. (Either in terms of personal wealth or expertise.) Those who were previously relying only on titles and inherited wealth were forced to rethink their way of life. Either they start picking up managerial skills or off they go to the frontlines where they have to stand side by side with the workers to get the job done. This was because Rex had no need for that many useless nobles lazing around in Jin''s new empire. Thus most of them had decided to take up educational courses so that they could be of certain help to assist the rest of the foxes who were revamping the city''s policies now that Jin had ensured that this city focuses solely on military stuff. As for Pandapolis, some of the factories were already in use for the Virtual Reality Headsets while the rest were used for contracts taken in Jin''s world. Also, the production of processed food required factory space as well so it took quite a chunk of space but other than that, the rest of the industrial area was allocated to the research and development team where Jin''s orcs and goblins were reverse engineering stuff. It could have been done in Demopolis but production mattered more in that area since the research done in Demopolis was more of the practical application like live firing exercises as such because of the vast areas the city once possessed. Pandapolis on the other hand did the delicate building and invention of items. For example, the Flying Fortress which Rex had captured had been analysed by Rei and was reverse engineered in Pandapolis. They were going to that as a base to create those spaceships which would be used to transverse the Mecha World''s universe. (Also, it was mainly because some of Jin''s Science and Research Team felt that the space allocated to them had already been bogged down by too many projects from Ayse and Weslie.) Not to mention, the Orcs and Goblins were still continuously improving their Golems to the point that Jin somehow felt that they were like mechanised robots which could be viable as a limited event in the Supa Robot Wars. (Those demihumans were also snatching ideas from the cultivators who played the Supa Robot Wars and shamelessly applying the players'' designs to their current golems.) Only when Jin confirmed with Rex the state of Demopolis, he returned to his Dungeon Maker to make a few more chances before officially opening up the Cultivation Zoo Instance to the public. Chapter 1181 - Extra- Responsibility Of A Lord Chapter 1181 ¨C Extra- Responsibility Of A Lord For the past few days prior to the opening of the Cultivation Zoo Instance, Jin had no doubt tapped into the resources he possessed to promote the latest dimensional instance with much aggression. Thus, his rising virtual video tuber on the internet personally groomed by Kiyu, Bear Cub One had been used to raise awareness of the zoo. While it might seem to be in direct competition with Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo, it was actually lifting the burden of the zoo park because of the increased population in Shenzhen and the tourists. It was to the point some of the animals were facing stress from the constant interaction with the park''s visitors. Also, with the opening of Jin''s Cultivation Zoo Instance, it might finally give Shenzhen Cultivation Zoo a chance to close its parks for a major renovation. Ever since its inception in the 70s, there was not much chance for the Zoo to have significant closure because of the visitor''s requests. Not to mention, the possible closure allowed those animals under the care of Shenzhen''s Zoo to be sent to Jin''s instance as a temporary moving measure if it proved to be beneficial for the major overhaul. While Grandma Yuan did not explicitly say all these in the beginning, she did reveal such plans to Jin during their dinner meeting now that he is finally able to get the cultivation zoo instance open. Naturally, Jin would be glad to take on those animals as it would aid the current animals in his captivity to go up with veterans. That''s right, the Animal Kaizer is now one of the major selling points where customers would be able to see the animals fight among each other and gain knowledge. This would no doubt help Cultivation Grandmasters to refine their manuals as well as budding cultivators to learn one or two tricks from the animals even if they were from another style. Who knows? Maybe the cultivators could also achieve enlightenment upon spectating which would prove to be beneficial for them. Other than that, Jin had requested Bear Cub One to provide an informative and yet entertaining online sneak peek preview on his Cultivation Zoo Instance which mostly included Kiyu''s videography of the area as well as the animals in their own resting habitats. And while the interest was high throughout the live stream, Jin did not forget traditional ways of advertising and that included promoting in the papers as well as influential digital news platforms. There were some costs involved but Jin felt that his mall needed that kind of promotion. Especially now when he coincided with the opening of his Cultivation Zoo along with the new ''streets'' of stores hidden in his revamped Tree Mall. That''s right, alongside the original generation of Tree Mall Owners, Jin had finally approved and opened the first level of his Tree Mall to new tenants once he settled the small and medium enterprises. He thought that the response would be low but boy was he dead wrong. The requests flooded in within a day and many fresh entrepreneurs, as well as veteran store owners, were pitching in their proposals, hoping they could get a shot in the Tree Mall. It was then Jin realised how famous or infamous his Tree Mall was. The pleas to have their store be opened was so intense that there were physical visits looking for Jin asking for a slot. It was to the point where there was even a very old couple who personally came to the Tree Mall asking whether they could open a store despite not knowing how. They just knew they had to and as Jin did not even have an office per se, it was Si Fang who managed to aid them to meet up with Jin for a quick talk. If not for Si Fang, Jin would have rejected them outright since he had way too many visitors coming for a slot. But upon hearing that their speciality was duck noodles, Jin had to find the delicate moment to courteously reject them since he had enough food stores in his hands. But it was the System who denied Jin from doing so as the System quickly identified them as a remnant of the old Panda Clan. The news shook Jin for a moment and requested the couple to relax for a moment before he discussed with the System. It was only then the System said that they were able to come here because of their connection with the Royal Panda Clan. "Unbeknown to User, old members have the tendency to return to their leader whether it''s a conscious effort or not. As if there was a thread running through the members and leaders, connecting them regardless of time and space. Also, it''s worthy to note that some of the current tenants the User had accepted, contained traces of the Royal Panda Clan bloodline within them. However, this particular couple happened to be the rare coincidence where two of the previous Panda Clan families came together as one." "If you put it that way, there is no way I can reject them¡­ But I do not know whether they are able to handle the workload, especially given the popularity of the place." Jin said. "Regardless, User has to take care of his own clan members." The System said and Jin understood, giving the couple a slot when others could not. At that moment when they shook hands, Jin''s palm lit up as did the elderly couple''s, only for them to realise that they shook hands with the new Lord of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. Only when that realisation hits them, Jin verbally acknowledges his clan remnants and they immediately went to their knees to pay respect to the new lord of the Panda Clan. Their hearts were filled with gratitude and delight to know that the Clan did not die out and instead in the capable hands of a young lord which they had renewed their vows. Unknowingly, it was at that point Jin felt the responsibility of being a Royal Zodiac Panda Clan Lord for the very first time. And in some ways, he secretly created a new mission for himself where he hoped to reunite all the rest of the Panda clan remnants. But for now, it''s the opening time for both the new tenants of the Tree Mall as well as the Cultivation Zoo. Chapter 1182 - Cultivation Zoo Opening! Chapter 1182 ¨C Cultivation Zoo Opening! In the wee early morning of a mundane Monday, Jin asked his group of Zoo staff whether everything was ready for the official opening. The Zoo Guard, Jiang Song, reported that the System''s NPC guards programme were up and running properly in the case where the visitors and cultivators started to be rough against each other. Zoo Medic Tong Wu had also reported that the connection to Luxury Recovery Instance was stable and there were a few wards and a surgical room ready to receive any casualties including the animals if they were to be severely injured in the Animal Kaizer event. "Also, Xin had his fill of bamboo so he would be disturbing any animals too soon." "Looks like our king of this zoo is not the lion or gorilla but instead a panda." Jiang Bo chuckled before reporting that the System had already served all the enclosures with food and food stocks were sufficient for at least a month. "Xin is able to be the incumbent king because the owner is around. He dared to mess with the rest of the animals because he wanted to show Jin that he is capable too." Kristin said as her current monitoring systems were all online and in sync with the System. All the vitals of the animals in their set environment were stable and their current habitats were also in equilibrium. "Honestly, I never saw him portraying such aggressiveness at all except to a few of the alpha males in the enclosure. The only time he got really rough was when Jin was in the neighbourhood. Aside from that, he had been docile and obedient after attaining spiritual union with Bossman." Tong Wu said and the rest laughed within their System Channel. "Guess, that Xin had been ''polishing'' his fangs and claws for some time, knowing that Jin would come back and pick him up," Kristin added not to underestimate the established links of a spiritual union. "But for now, he is not the main star until tonight so keep him rested until then." Kristin said as she looked forward to the data among the animals. Even though this might sound like some illegal animal ring fight, the Zoo research team had backed up that the fights would keep them on their toes and the constant threat from other animals teleporting into their habitats was simulating the injection of monsters into the environment. However, since they were animals against animals, Kristin was also anticipating a few unusual rivalry friendships to bond but that would come in much later when the animals had recognised the strength of their foes. This was because Jin had planned to add some of his minions in the fray to spice up the Animal Kaizer events to keep it within the recommendations of Kristin who said that the growth among the animals must not be stagnant so that the cultivators who watched them would continue to receive clues and inspiration for the cultivation growth. "Sounds like everything is ready. Good luck Zoo Team. It''s only the four of you for the long run, so if anyone wants a quick breakfast, I can permit it." Jin said but his CCTV monitors had already shown that his store instance had been filling up in anticipation of the new service dimensional instance. As Jin had previously placed the entrance of the Cultivation Zoo Instance right beside his theme park, his customers already knew the existence of a pending dimensional instance. It''s just that they never expected it to be a true blue Cultivation Zoo for they had been speculating an extension of the theme park like a water sports park of some sort. Some even wished Jin could even make a skate park or a scenic bike trail like how he did for the Restaurant Train going to various sceneries. Needless to say, Jin had been taking all this into account since he knew the lack of facilities in the real world allowed these niched sports to be quite limited. It was also because if Jin had prepared the Virtual Reality dimensional instance, his store might possibly lack the growth of physical customers. While dungeons would still be a thing, he predicted that most people would be lazy and go for the Virtual Reality dimensional instance. While it was true, he could host several rooms of Virtual Reality dimensional instances in his store instance and people take advantage of the array of services he provides, he wished to continue to stay competitive. So, he was thinking of getting the list of sporting activities where they needed space to perform their craft and that could mean a huge revitalisation of the store instance, making it a mini hub for various groups of interests coming together and interacting. If he was being ambitious, he wanted to have festivals and events to be done in his dungeon instance (especially since he had the open field music instance where raves and clubbing could be done in that area too.) "Everyone is ready! Boss, you can treat us to dinner if the day goes smoothly," Jiang Song commented and Jin chuckled, agreeing to his proposal as well as opening the floodgates to the Cultivation Zoo instance. At the same time, he had also coordinated the grand opening of the new Tree Mall''s tenants, causing a horde of people to rush into the Tree Mall as well the Zoo instance simultaneously. At that moment, Jin could once again feel the adrenaline rush from the accomplishment he did. It was not too long ago he felt the Cultivation Zoo was a hassle and he did not like the creation of the instance because he did not realise the amount of research effort needed to recreate the animals'' habitat areas. (Although without the System, it would have been even harsher.) For now, all he could hope is that this particular investment into the animals would be worth it for the long haul while he now concentrates on the Virtual Reality instance as well as the invasion of the Farming World. "I only hope the rats don''t do anything too stupid during my time in the Symposium¡­" Jin thought to himself, subsequently regretting that it could be a red flag for that particular event.. After all, fate had not been too kind in making his journey to be the number one dungeon supplier to be a peaceful ride. Chapter 1183 - Queue Cutter Chapter 1183 ¨C Queue Cutter "Wow¡­the queue." Blind Cat Cultivator, Xia Mao exclaimed when he saw the long line despite them coming at their usual time which was approximately six in the morning. "To think everyone is waiting for Jin''s new instance is mind boggling." Jing Yu hopped onto the last in line, only to find out there were several others already waiting right behind her. "It had been widely advertised. From social media to traditional newspapers. Even my next door neighbour, that reclusive hoard-a-lot, had heard about the opening of a new Cultivation Zoo. Obviously, she does not know that it is a dungeon instance but news of a new Cultivation Zoo is no joke." Xia Mao said. "Well duh, like in this country, there''s probably only a handful of them." Jing Yu said before doing a quick search on the internet to find that there were approximately a hundred or so Cultivation Zoos. "Not surprised. I remembered there was a period where a lot of the parks had to close down because of the animal''s rampages. And the poor Zoo Guards were not high level enough to stop them. Not to mention the poorly maintained enclosures were only asking for trouble. Thankfully our zoo in Shenzhen is a little more proactive than reactive but there were telltale signs of it breaking down too." Xia Mao said as Jing Yu wondered how he got all this information. "Ahh, I just had a few friends here and there. I even heard rumours that with this cultivation zoo, Shenzhen can close its zoo and do the necessary repairs and upgrades. A major renovation to entice the younger people too." Xia Mao added and Jing Yu shook her head. Not wanting to know whether it was a rumour or the truth. "Anyways, do you want me to get some quick bites? The queue is this long anyways." Jing Yu said as she believed it''s a waste of time staying around. However, just as she asked the question, there was an announcement not to leave their queues as queue cutting or reserving would not be tolerated. This was because a couple of them decided to push through since a friend of theirs had managed to reserve an earlier part of the queue. In an instant, the infamous SWAT Pandas came out and pulled them to the back of the line, with no questions asked or arguments tolerated. If they were unhappy, they would be kicked out of the store instance. Naturally, those who were in Jin''s store for the longest time were already taking their phone cameras out to film the humiliation of the new customers who did not know the spoken rules and regulations. (Yet, none of them left their line despite being a busybody.) It was so bad at the front that it even caused Xia Mao and Jing Yu to see the commotion far from their line. "If that was Zi Dan, I would not be surprised." Jing Yu smiled, reminiscing about her old friend who had already moved to Australia to accompany his family. "Yea, he is those few who would cut people''s queue and even gnaw back at those who threatened him. But I am surprised he can be that obedient in Jin''s store." Xia Mao remembering the times when Zi Dan was an asshole. "Were you not here? He tried to do it once, but got whooped so badly by those SWAT Pandas that he never dared to do it again." Jing Yu said and then the commotion got even bigger as the cultivator announced his grade out loud for the entire group to spectate. "I am Tang Lao Ku! Loud Lion Cultivator Grade 12! And you measly computer generated animals dared to drag me out of my position?" Lao Ku shouted as he broke off the grapple from the panda''s grip. "I am a customer and this is my friend! He is coming out of the queue for me to enter, what''s wrong with that?" "It is wrong because no swapping, cutting nor buying queue is allowed. If he is out of the queue, he has to queue once more. Simple as that. These are the rules of this store instance and you have to obey it." One of the SWAT Pandas said and the cultivators in the queue immediately confirmed this guy was a new first timer in Jin''s dungeons despite his grade. He was probably interested in the new cultivation Zoo but did not bother even trying to queue for it. The only good thing was almost everyone was already keeping quiet, awaiting the show to start even though some of them were already taunting at him to start queuing all over again. "I do not have to be obliged to it once I beat you down!" Lao Ku shouted as he instantly portrayed his cultivation to show that he was not joking about his grade and threatening the guards to back off for one last time. "Hey, even if we can''t get out of the queue, at least there is some entertainment." Xia Mao said and Jing Yu was glad that the reminder announcement came by in time so she did not leave the queue. The cultivators beside him subtly agreed with him and they already took their phones out to watch the beatdown given by the Pandas. Also, it is not every day they get to see a Grade 12 Cultivator in action so they were wondering if the SWAT Pandas were able to live up to their reputation. "Be my guest. Initiating Guard Protocol ''Beat the sense out of ignorant people''. SWAT P-1 and P-2, erect the barriers." The SWAT Panda Leader said the provocation from Lao Ku was seen as a declaration for not following the rules. Thus, the SWAT Pandas immediately erected a barrier among them and Lao Ku in order not to let the rest of the cultivators be collateral damage. Seeing how the guards had no visible chi within them, Lao Ku thought this would be one hell of an easy fight, breaking them and showing them that ultimately, the higher the grade, the more they should listen to. Especially when winning this ''officiated'' duel would equate to the ability to ignore the rules set by the dungeon supplier. But he had forgotten that there would always be a mountain taller than the ''tallest'' mountain. Chapter 1184 - Out Of This World Chapter 1184 ¨C Out Of This World Once Lao Ku portrayed his cultivation, he proceeded to gather an intense amount of chi and wanted to show the audience that he was all powerful by crushing these panda puppets into pieces. In actual fact, he already knew about Dungeons and Panda''s procedures and their strict policy and zero tolerance of cultivators breaking the rules. Before coming to this store, he previously noticed that those who broke the rules were cultivation grades significantly lower than him and he felt those cultivators definitely deserve it for going against someone who they were not prepared for. But for Lao Ku, who had recently broken into the realm of Grade 12, believed that he had the upper hand for this particular situation. And if he were to be successful against this Dungeon and Pandas store, he would be able to gain some popularity, notoriety¡­and most importantly money. Aye, he was employed by Jin''s competitors who wanted to bring his increasing popularity down to the gutters. It seemed as if his competitors had researched sufficiently on Jin''s supposed grade level since he had managed to take down the Rat Triad''s Boss who was rumoured to be Grade 13. "But because of budget constraints, this said competitor could only manage to employ a grade 12 cultivator to harass the User." The System said once it had accessed the memories of Lao Ku at the sidelines, since analysing each and every cultivator entering Jin''s store had been a mandatory process after the assassination incident. In the meantime, Jin had already prepared to open the Cultivation Zoo in his Dungeon Maker but seeing the entire commotion from behind the scenes, he decided to delay it a little before its grand official opening. After all, this was his store, and everyone''s focus was on the Lion. It did however give him extra time to perform a quick check through the parameters of the Zoo once more. "Does not matter much. Those SWAT Pandas were only fodder for him to gain confidence, Captain Hei or Bai could easily finish him." Jin did not bother much since he had defeated foes way stronger than a Grade 12 and with his current cultivation, the System had already unlocked or in this case, increased the potential of his NPCs to match Jin''s strength and a little more. In the System''s opinion, it was a miracle that not many competitors tried to bring him down and it theorised it was partially attributed to the fact that Jin had managed to take down the Rat Triad Boss. Knowing that there was a new Dungeon Supplier able to beat a Triad Boss, not many of his potential foes tried to do anything foolish. In addition, he was under the protection of the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clans so it was safe to cross the clans out and attribute this harassment from one of his dungeon supplier competitors, presumably because Jin had entered the Symposium. "The System feels that User should enter the fray and teach a lesson against the cultivator not because it was the right thing to do but as part of a warning against other competitors watching from the sidelines. Also, this would reinforce the fact that you are the owner since the new cultivators entering the stores might not have an idea that you are THE Dungeon Supplier." "In short, make my appearance as a booster for popularity''s sake," Jin said and the System acknowledged. "Competency and popularity is the way to being the number one dungeon supplier." The System replied. "Then, tell me who is exactly the top number one? I mean we have not been focusing on them since we are busy climbing up the ranks. But with all these developments from the past few months, I should have shot up through the ranks like a rocket. It''s time to know who true competitors are. Is it RedStacks in Europe? :DPlayer in Japan? or the American''s WoW Supplier?" Jin queried while zooming into the Lion Cultivator. "Unfortunately, the Number One Ranking for the Dungeon Supplier is not from this world." The System said and Jin furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you exactly mean?" Jin said as he stopped looking at the screen where the Lion Cultivator had successfully defeated two of the SWAT Pandas, evaporating into dust. One of the SWAT Pandas had already contacted the Captains as backup and the rest of the Pandas were fighting defensively to ensure that their Captain could come in time. (Obviously, it was a ruse to get the crowd to hype up since the Captain NPCs could teleport at any time.) "The ability to supply dungeons does not stop at dimension instances." The System said it in a fairly cryptic way but Jin gradually understood that there were people who were able to create dungeons without the use of dimensional instances. "Demons like Baal? Gods?" Jin queried and the System did not wish to even pop a name up, reinforcing Jin''s doubts even further that there were forces stronger than him that were at play if he were to wish to get the Number One title. "Then I guess with my luck, these ¡­competitors of mine would appear sooner or later," Jin said and the System nodded its proverbial head. "Our interaction across worlds as well as the intensive use of the interworld black market had certainly raised some eyebrows. But for now, the System believed that they were not taking any actions, simply because it would be fun for them to see a challenger offering a fight against them. Or they were too ignorant to see us as a threat." The System explained and Jin nearly choked on his laughter. "You make us sound like this lion cultivator, flaunting his powers around, thinking that he is better than everyone else in the room," Jin said as he stared idly at the screen. "But you know we do not do just that. We are way more than this lion cultivator." Jin said as he finally pressed a button to accelerate the process of Captain Hei''s appearance. "We will do whatever it takes to make sure that our competitor is like this Lion cultivator. Fooled. Superior. And thinks that he has the upper hand but we have been hiding our trump card all this time just so we can have the last laugh." Jin said as he saw Lao Ku slammed the third SWAT Panda to the ground, exhilarated by the recent success of destroying the security guards, believing that was all the Dungeons and Pandas had to offer. It was not until a loud wave of cheers suddenly emerged not for him but for a being that had been known for crushing evil-doers. "Captain Hei. At the scene." The Panda clicked his walkie talkie back to his vest and he walked proudly towards the offender. Unlike the other SWAT Pandas, his muscles were bustling with chi and each walk he takes commanded pride, power and most importantly. Authority. "You are that evil-doer who wished to break the rules?" Hei said as he lifted his black sunglasses up to have a look at the runt. "So, you are the rumour Super NPC that supposedly protects the place? Well, time to protect your own ass from my attacks!" Lao Ku said as he once again portrayed his cultivation out wide with a gigantic lion roaring and two other smaller ones at its side. "Stop yapping and come at me. You runt.." Hei commented and the crowd instantly yelled with excitement. Chapter 1185 - This Idiot Chapter 1185 ¨C This Idiot Lao Ku literally took Captain Hei''s provoke and dash to him, going with him a fist full of chi. There was no denying there a straight punch would prove to the entire group of disillusioned cultivators that the law here was merely a line to be crossed. "Amateur." Hei snickered as he continued to stare down at him. The punch soon came and the impact was large enough to send the barrier previously erected by his fellow SWAT Pandas to ripple. It did manage to contain the shockwave but instead of the cultivators running away from the scene, they stood there with their hands clutched onto the queue barriers, and their toes tipped to have a better view of the fight. Lao Ku was shocked by the fact that Captain Hei merely stood there with his signature cigar, staring mercilessly at him the moment their eyes met since the Loud Lion Cultivator could not believe that there was a drastic jump in power compared to the SWAT Pandas he fought against. Nevertheless, this also meant that he could finally have a good fight especially when the stronger the challenger, the more rewarding the end would be once he emerged victorious from the fight. So, he decided to step backwards in order to execute his specalised technique but suddenly a paw stretched out and slammed him to the ground. The ground cracked from the impact and the rest watching could already feel that the cultivator''s ribs were equally in the same situation as the floor he was resting on. "You think I am that lenient last boss to let you have another shot?" Captain Hei said as he grabbed Lao Ku by his shirt and pulled him up. Yet, it seems that the paw slam was not enough to deter the criminal to amend his ways. Instead, he became even more brazen and attempted to shoot an uppercut the moment Captain Hei tried to pull him up. "Rising Loud Lion Fist!" Lao Ku shouted as his fist had the chi appearance of a Lion with his mouth wide open, rushing to gnaw against the Panda Peacekeeper. The hit once again connected against Captain Hei''s chin and the crowd cheered not because the Loud Lion Cultivator was winning. The acclaimed Super NPC was not budging a single bit from the attack and subsequently threw another slam for the offending cultivator. Blood was visibly coming out from Lao Ku''s mouth and everyone in the queue knew that the Loud Lion Cultivator should just admit his mistake and call it a day. Resisting any further would not bore well for him at all. "Are you done? Because I would need you to come with me to pay the damages incurred from this fight including the penalty of your crimes. Obstruction of justice, damage to store property, grievous assault to my fellow colleagues. If you cannot pay, I would send you to the local police post within the store instance and settle an instalment plan." "I do not know why but those charges sounded like a continuous combo attack that would not just break my wallet but my sanity too." One of the cultivators at the queue line said. "Mind and body damage. This is instant brutality!" His friend replied and some cheered at how Lao Ku deserved the excessive charges for being such a prick. "¡­You think I am done?!!" Lao Ku''s rage increased further as he heard all those nonsensical babblings from the Panda and immediately exuded an extensive amount of chi aura. Some of the cultivators choked from the aura and Captain Hei sighed. "Yes, I believe you are going to be done." Hei exuded his personal chi as well, overpowering Lao Ku but for some reason when the cultivators felt the aura, it was like a tsunami wave of gentle wind filled with flowery petals in the air. The overwhelming calm coming from the Super NPC was totally unexpected but it relieved the cultivators from the suffocating dread that Loud Lion Cultivator had portrayed. "And it looks like another charge would be against you. Attempt manslaughter against customers." Captain Hei said as his paw pressed onto Lao Ku''s body even further, causing his bones to produce a cracking pop sound. At this point, Tiangong Police officers were already running to the current scene as it happened that the commotion was done exactly during the switch of duties. It was as if Lao Ku had indeed planned the entire incident during this crucial time. "Ah. Officer Deng Long. Good to see a friendly face." Captain Hei said as he changed his paw press into a butt press. The customers at the side could already imagine the agonising pain Lao Ku was feeling even though he thoroughly deserved it. "Captain Hei¡­ " When Deng Long and his fellow officer colleague saw the mess and the crowd of cameras now on him, he understood that he was late. Extraordinarily late. It was to the point, he could imagine the number of stark remarks about how the police always ''come on time'' to collect credit. "What is the situation here?" He tried to ask as professionally as he could and the Panda explained the entire commotion with two words. "This idiot." Captain Hei pointed downwards and some of the customers laughed. "Alright, understood." Deng Long sighed and requested Captain Hei to move away so he could cuff him up. And at that point, the police duo along with the Super NPC quietly left the area as the Zoo Entrance finally lit up. "That was one hell of an entertainment if we found out this was some way to occupy our time." Xia Mao said as he was satisfied watching the entire incident. "You are weird to think that way, who would want to break their bones just to waste time? I believed Jin would have better ideas than that." Jing Yu shook her head as she impatiently tapped her feet while waiting for the queue to move. After all, she could not wait for what lies beyond that entrance and how Jin shamelessly promoted his Zoo as the ''biggest zoo one could ever see''. Chapter 1186 - The Opening Of The Cultivation Zoo Chapter 1186 ¨C The Opening Of The Cultivation Zoo As the Cultivation Zoo gates lit up, various sounds of animals were heard at the series of loudspeakers as if it was a welcoming horde to rave up the crowd. To make things even more interesting, Jin had also played a mixed rendition of Jurassic Park when the gates opened. It made the experience more surreal since the gates were as huge as castle gates, similar to the movie''s scene. And when the doors opened, the first batch of customers was already taken aback by the beautiful landscape right in front of them. The fusion of forests, grasslands, savannahs and the distant icy mountains was a sight to behold. Even as they were the generation of camera users, the background was enough for them to startle them for a while before they whipped out their phones. Unlike most zoos where they kept what was to come with lots of plant foliage and a big booth to collect their tickets, the customers were treated to a sky view area of the entire cultivation zoo which allowed them to believe that this would indeed be the largest cultivation zoo that ever been created. When Xia Mao and Jing Yu walked into the park, they were blasted with wows and bewilderment despite the crowd trying to get their fullest to get a wide panorama shot of the entire zoo. "Sometimes you wonder if Boss Jin could ever surpass his current creations and it seems like this is one of those days." Xia Mao said as he picked up his phone to try and capture the beautiful background despite the pushing from various customers. The SWAT Pandas who were on duty within the park wore a special Zoo Helmet to differentiate themselves from the regular SWAT Pandas and reminded the visitors to stay as civil as possible. "The advertisement did this place quite a fair bit of injustice." Jing Yu commented as she hurried Xia Mao to go explore the area. While the entrance and viewing bay was free for all to enter, the rest of the Zoo was not and required an electronic ticket to pass through. Because of Jin''s Pandamonium App, almost everyone had already bought their tickets beforehand and they were going through the ticket gates with their handphones. And speaking of the ticket gates, Jing Yu found it cute that they were suitably themed instead of the usual boring metal machines. It was as if they were carved from aged wood and the barrier was a bunch of vines. When the duo was granted access to the zoo, those vines would retract and allow them to pass. But if anyone tried to cheat through the ticket gates, the vines would grab them and report to the SWAT Pandas. It was surprising that such a scene did happen right before their eyes, thinking that they could trick into the Cultivation Zoo without a valid pass. And most of the customers who were there laughed, believing that these people were new visitors who did not know that Jin''s store was akin to a simulation of a highly advanced artificial intelligence store in real life. The visitors had no idea who Jin had partnered with to achieve such ''realistic'' fantasy dimensional instances but the fun and ease of access of what that matters. "Let''s go try the hamster balls!" Xia Mao shouted to Jing Yu like a curious kid in the park while the Condor Cultivator was browsing through her Pandamonium App to see what kind of enclosures were available. "Lol. There is even a Jurassic Park enclosure but it''s still under renovation. This Boss Jin is practically teasing us to come back for a second time." Jing Yu said until she realised he was out of her sight. Thankfully, they had already partied with each other and she was able to see where he was with the Pandamonium Map App tracker. At first, she thought it was useless to be used within the store instance since it usually broadcast a general location of where their party member was. But to her surprise, it became even more specific in this Cultivation Zoo instance and thus, she assumed when they were in the same service instance, the maps would be more specific. "Xia Mao. Where. Are. You." Jing Yu furrowed her eyebrows as she gave him a call while walking towards the direction in which the Pandamonium App pointed. (She knew where he was, it was merely a rhetorical question to portray her frustration.) "I am just looking at the Hamster Balls Selection. The Zoo Pass that we bought said we have a chance to ride them once for an hour, right?" Xia Mao said as he was contemplating whether to take the guided Hamster Ball tour or not. "They even have a dual seat Hamster Ball and a Family one. Although the family one is more of a guided tour due to its size." "Is there a queue? I bet there is a queue." Jing Yu questioned as she tried to squeeze through the initial crowd to get to the pathways. "Yeah, duh. I do not want a repeat of that Loud Lion Cultivator so I am merely standing at the side. Hey, they even have an opening event of this ¡­animal duel¡­Animal Kaizer at the Cultivation Stadium" Xia Mao noted as he saw a flashy holographic banner right beside the Hamster Ball. "I bet it would already be filled with people." Jing Yu said, judging by the crowd running around the place until she saw something similar to a huge aircraft hangar although it looked like a giant cavern from afar with all the flora and the waterfall. "Want to try getting a seat? Besides, I have yet to eat anything. We could reserve seats and grab some food while waiting." Xia Mao said and Jing Yu was already tapping his shoulder from the back. "Yeah, sure. Assuming there are still seats left." Jing Yu said and then a Red Panda popped right in front of them while riding on a mini flying hoverjet. "Lol! A Red Panda in a Zookeeper costume on a hoverjet." Xia Mao found it cute and tried to take a picture with his phone. (And so did the other visitors around them.) "Pandawans! It''s a pleasure to serve the both of you. The Animal Stadium could be accessed by that section right over there! You would then ride on a hovercraft which would not only take you to the Animal Stadium but also act as your seat for the current event!" The Red Panda said as it flew off in its mini hoverjet to assist other customers as well. "Looks like we have our answer." Xia Mao remarked as they went to queue for the hovercrafts. Chapter 1187 - Boarding The Hovercraft Chapter 1187 ¨C Boarding The Hovercraft As Xia Mao and Jing Yu entered the queue to enter the hovercraft, they noticed that it was rather sleek, something out of those ''Marvellous'' movies. There were air turbine engines that stuck out at the side of the wings and despite its size, the craft looked extremely stable when it hovered quietly at the side for the Red Pandas to board the visitors onto the craft. And when the duo entered the high tech looking hovercraft, they noticed that there were no standard series of seats as they had imagined. (They probably thought it was something similar to a plane.) Instead, it was similar to the restaurant train where the seats and tables were allocated to the sides of the craft. There were even more floors up the hovercraft and they had the very same floor plan according to the Pandamonium App. When Xia Mao and Jing Yu gave their tickets to the Red Panda attendants, they quickly directed them to the second floor of the hovercraft until a special Red Panda Captain (judging by its hat) came to greet the two Pandawans. "Greetings! Because of your Pandawan status, we can offer you a limited time premium seating at the basement of the hovercraft for just 59 Yuan per person! Food and drinks are provided as well! Offer stands for only five minutes!" The Red Panda said as it had noted their newly minted status as Pandawans. "Shouldn''t it be the higher the floor, the better?" Xia Mao queried and the Red Panda shook its head. "The hovercraft viewing had been designed in such a way that the basement had the best possible view." The Red Panda said and they believed Jin would not have programmed the NPC to cheat their money. So, for a one time viewing experience, they had decided to pay 59 Yuan each to have the premium seats. The Red Panda Captain approved the transaction on the spot and requested the attendants to guide them to the basement where they saw the entire area had already been packed to the brim with the exception of the table at the far northern side of the hovercraft. "Now I do feel cheated." Xia Mao said, now understanding why no one wanted the corner seat. "But judging from the price on the Pandamonium App, we are merely paying one quarter of the price on the opening day. As much as you felt cheated, we did have a hefty discount for this place¡­considering how the place had already been filled up with people." Jing Yu commented even though she felt terribly lucky seeing that the queue for the hovercrafts was already not as intense as the ones at the Hamster Ball area. As the duo sat at their allocated table, they noticed that there was a guide cum menu right in front of them, specifically for the Animal Kaizer event that they were going to host in half an hour''s time. "Hmm, you can use your own binoculars or long distance cameras for both the event and the animal cultivation zoo tour. If you do not have any, you can request for one¡­" Xia Mao read out loud for Jing Yu to hear since there was only one guide pamphlet. "Oh yea¡­I remember seeing on the app that the premium seating had some exclusive viewing equipment available to them." Jing Yu recalled seeing such a benefit in the App when she purchased the ticket but did not initially understand it until she saw the guide on the table. "I am more interested in this." Xia Mao pointed at the third page of the guide where there was an array of food listed. While a huge portion of them had no price tag on them, the ones on the fourth page were decorated with numbers that Xia Mao vowed to not even look at the names. Even though he had retired and earned some income from side investments on a regular basis, it does not mean he could splurge his money so freely. "So, this is something like a viewing bay with a restaurant on board the hovercraft?" Xia Mao said as he quickly returned to the third page and rather ordered something that was on that particular menu. "Looks like it, and we can have our food while waiting for the hovercraft to leave." Jing Yu was relieved that there was at least a place for them to rest their legs after seeing the number of people rushing into the cultivation zoo. "Imagine Jin have some Christmas Sales for his Tree Mall and his store instance. This place will riot. Now I understand why there is a need for police to be stationed in his store." Xia Mao said as he placed his food order in the Pandamonium App section and still felt that it was one of the most comprehensive app he had ever used in his life. Even those major communications app were nothing compared to this app. If anything, he really hoped that the app could have a broader coverage to take on his daily life so that he could fully rely on it despite having a seamless connection between the current apps he was using in conjunction with the Pandamonium App. "I would honestly swear and even knock some of the cultivators down just to get the item I want. Hahaha!" Jing Yu said and Xia Mao chuckled as well. "That is assuming there is no Captain Hei to come looking for you. Imagine having Captain Hei right at your back, chasing after you while you hold on to the goods that you snatched from the other customers. And the only point where you are considered safe is at the cashier." Xia Mao imagined but his pal shrugged it off as the food came almost as instantaneously as the service in Restaurant Train. "Here is your food. I hope you enjoy your breakfast. A little complimentary item from us as a thank you for purchasing the Premium seating." The penguin waiter brought their breakfast items. Xia Mao had Pancakes with sausage and bacon with a plate of fruits while Jing Yu ordered a western breakfast with waffles at the side. For the complimentary item, it was a plate of pudding for each of them and it looked awfully sweet. Upon seeing and smelling the food right in front of them, the Pandawan Duo instantly understood that this restaurant service was an extension of the Restaurant Train Instance. Thus, they thanked the waiter and started their meal with their stomachs growling for the food to enter. Coincidentally, the loud speaker came on and the announcement for the hovercraft to leave for the Animal Kazier would proceed shortly. Chapter 1188 - Animal KAZIER -Part 1 Chapter 1188 ¨C Animal KAZIER -Part 1 "80% of the Hovercrafts are parked, do we have the show ready?" Jiang Song, the Zoo Staff asked through the System channel as he already started to present some simple advertisements at the top of the stadium as the rest of the hovercrafts were arriving. "Alex the Gorilla seems to be doing fine and the System had mentally prepped him for his first fight. Are you sure this will go well? We have yet to do any rehearsals for this." Tong Wu, the Zoo Medic replied but the rest could only exactly answer her question. "Last I checked, the Silverback Gorilla had been raring for a fight for some time. We can only direct it in a way that fate allows things to go smoothly." Kristin commented while she was taking in the vitals through her monitor screens. "I cannot believe you would believe such a thing as fate." Tong Wu remarked casually but Kristin reminded her that if it was not fate, would they have come together to work on something so magical? "That is quite true. While I cannot really tell my parents or colleagues about the experience nor my job here, this is just way too amazing. I did not regret leaving my old job for this.." Tong Wu replied. "Same here. When Claire told us there''s a new job offer even though it might not pay well, I honestly did not expect this." Jiang Song said and Tong Wu chipped in. "Lol. She told me the same thing and the only thing she assured me was that promotion was guaranteed within a year which would allow me to earn more than usual." "Really? For me and Kristin, she offered us what we wanted. And when I found out Jiang Song was in this as well, I thought it was a good time to have some reunion." Jiang Bo interrupted. "Oh yeah. I heard the two of you were children of a zookeeper?" Tong Wu asked as she had already prepped what was needed for the show. "Hmm. You could put it that way. Our father was very passionate in embarking us on the same journey as he had gone through¡­but I am not exactly the smartest fellow in the family." Jiang Song sighed a little, feeling that inferiority complex when compared to his brother. "It''s fine. In the end, we are here doing jobs that needed to be done. Besides, a Zoo Guard is not a simple feat. You need to learn about the animal''s habits, keeping them in control as well as the visitors. I simply could not do that." Jiang Bo said and Jiang Song felt it was a jab that he was suited for more menial work. "Ah Ah ah. No time for family drama right now. I will be sending Bear Cub One into the stream." Jin suddenly interrupted their System Channel''s communications and they quickly returned to their supposed posts. While most of the Hovercrafts were around the selected area, Jiang Song had already begun raising the System barriers around the habitat of Alex''s home. It also gave Alex the Silverback Gorilla some time to condition himself that an opponent was coming to invade his area. With the help of System, Kristin managed to send basic messages to some of the animals in Jin''s zoo. Although they were initially shocked by the communication method, most of them had roughly understood that the place they lived in was not exactly their home. It might have looked like it but many of them knew that they were in a brand new environment where they were no longer masters of their place. However, the constant subtle interaction from the Zoo Staff, especially Kristin had somehow managed to coerce them that this is their new home and they have to make do with it. After all, most of them were of decent grades when they were caught and the animals themselves possessed some form of intelligence. So, when they felt their home suddenly shrunk from the raising of the System''s barriers, they knew that they had to fight for their homes. And this applies especially to Alex where he started to beat his chest and snort loudly. In the meantime, his opponent had been given messages that they had to attack the moment they teleported into the habitat. It was a do or die situation even though the Zoo Staff ensured that everything had been strictly regulated. But the animals do not have that kind of sensing at the moment. Perhaps, further into the growth of Jin''s Cultivation Zoo, the animals would learn about the format of Animal Kaize and would not be so afraid. For now, Lizzy, the East Siberian Brown Bear was scratching her claws at the bark of a tree to not just sharpen them but also prepare herself for the fight against an unknown opponent. Both animals had fought against animals higher grades than them based on the System''s scan analysis and thus was used for the opening fight for the Animal Kaizer. Not to mention, both of these animals had also fought against wild monsters which made them formidable opponents for the opening match which Jin might consider throwing in a minion or two to battle against them if an opportunity arises. But for now, all the Hovercrafts had arrived and parked at their allocated positions. Xia Mao and Jing Yu were surprised and amazed that the basement floor of the hovercraft they were onboard suddenly turned transparent. This allowed the people to have a full view of their habitat right beneath them and made the Pandawans understand why the basement was considered the premium seating area. At their request, tables and chairs could be removed in an instant and their viewing equipment could be used to watch the entire fight from their allocated viewing area. In the meantime, some of the people who had money to spare, forked out more cash to rent the magic eyes installed in the starting match. Screens emerged at their allocated slots and a slightly visible veil surrounded them to ensure that the rest would not be able to disturb them during their viewing. (As well as to prevent ''leeches'' from watching the live broadcast.) However, the standard equipment provided along with the Premium Seating arrangement was more than enough as Xia Mao and Jing Yu happily enjoyed the view of the opening match. Chapter 1189 - Animal KAIZER -Part 2 Chapter 1189 ¨C Animal KAIZER -Part 2 "Greetings everyone! Welcome to the first ever Animal Kaizer in Dungeons and Pandas Cultivation Zoo Instance! My name is Bear Cub One and I will be your host for today!" Bear Cub One nodded his head humbly within the stream as the Hovercrafts focused their eyes on the big screen in front of them. As it was the opening of Cultivation Zoo Instance, Jin had decided to open his zoo to online streams in order to garner views as well as exposure for his instance. He believed that other streamers within the instance would be doing the very same thing and he might as well allow Bear Cub One to be the official stream for his Dungeons and Pandas. "And with me is my old friend Mr Patsu! A Virtual Streamer like me! In fact, he is kind of like my senpai in this. So please welcome him kindly!" Bear Cub One announced as a penguin came up to the screen and thanked Bear Cub One for his introduction. "Thank you, Bear Cub One! You have grown so much that it humbled me to be your senior in this field of expertise." Mr Patsu said and some people at the Hovercrafts cheered as they knew the duo was the ''original generation'' aka the OG gang of announcers in the dungeon supplier store. To their surprise, Mr Patsu thanked them in the stream again and it made the visitors feel that they were still interacting with the announcers even though they were currently separated through multiple screens. Needless to say, Jin had incorporated serious hardware into his speakers in the Hovercrafts to ensure that the crowd still had that live stadium feel without disturbing the animals in the wild. That was one thing the Zoo Staff appreciated a lot by separating the audience away from the animals. There had been many cases of animal anxiety and were also one of the potential causes why the animals were to rampage through the zoos. And despite the experiment like feeling where the animals might feel in this animal fighting, Kristin believed that it would also alleviate feelings of loneliness. Even by having a predator or an opponent to tough out against, it gave the animals something to look forward to, allowing them to forget about the current environment they were living in. Not to mention, with Jin''s technology to replicate almost anything to even live food stock for the predators, it would not take long for the animals to acclimate to their perfect environment. "For the first match, we would have Lizzie Vs Alex! An East Siberian Brown Bear against the Silverback Gorilla!" Bear Cub One said as pictures of the animals appeared on the screen. "Any Gorilla or Bear Cultivators, please take this match in mind as both of the animals seemed pumped to have an epic fight!" "Wow, are they really using real animals for this fight?" Xia Mao asked and his question seemed to be resonating with the rest in the basement of the hovercraft. "I heard they are 100% the real deal." One of the cultivators said out loud back to him. "Really? But isn''t this a dungeon instance? How did Jin even get all those animals if they are real." Another cultivator questioned. "Any Bear or Gorilla Cultivators around to verify the authenticity of the animals?" Another guy shouted and slowly, a hand raised up. The female cultivator meekly showed her cultivator and two small little bears appeared right above her. "Hey, nice! Tell us if it''s true when the match starts!" Xia Mao called out and the rest agreed as well when Bear Cub One continued the introduction of the Siberian Bear and the Silverback Gorilla. "Let''s not bore our visitors too much about the facts. They can search it up on the Internet if need be." Mr Patsu subsequently stopped Bear Cub One not because he was being too dry in his explanation but because the Hovercrafts had all been accounted for and parked. This means the show can start! "Yes! Yes! Thank you, Mr Patsu! Sorry, everyone. Without further ado, let''s get the very first Animal Kaizer to begin!" Bear Cub One said as the big screen was suddenly split into two and they were dedicated each to the Siberian Bear and Silverback Gorilla. Unlike a standard match, where two people face straight against each other, the Siberian Bear was teleported to the edge of the Silverback''s jungle. This was to give some time for the ''invading'' animal to adjust itself to the new environment. At the same time, it helps to get the ball rolling as both animals had already caught the scent of each other and they were already rushing to one another. "It''s ¡­real." The female Bear Cultivator said as she suddenly felt her blood boiling when she stared at the movement of the bear with her binoculars. Even though it was a forested area and the animals were deep in the jungle, the provided equipment within the basement had been imbued with a customised spell "See Through Foliage", allowing them to see the movement of the animals rushing towards each other. "The movement of the bear¡­ Its breathing pattern and even its expression. It''s the real thing. I cannot say for the Gorilla but the bear is 100% authentic. No doubts about that at all." The female cultivators replied and the people around her could see that her cultivation was shining fairly brightly as if it was near to a breakthrough. Still, that comment alone startled everyone in the basement and they started to have a closer look at the fight. What the customers initially thought was that the animal Kaizer was something similar to NPCs fighting against NPCs but now that they knew it was real, they could not help but root for either one of them. Furthermore, the hovercrafts were not the only ones going high in adrenaline. The Siberian Bear and the Silverback Gorilla finally locked eyes against each other and their animal aura was burning bright as if they finally met a worthy rival. Chapter 1190 - Animal KAIZER -Part 3 Chapter 1190 ¨C Animal KAIZER -Part 3 "Lizzie is going for the kill instantly?!" Bear Cub One shouted, as his voice intensified as the charge against two animals became extremely deadly. Even the little bear NPC did not expect an intense clash the moment they locked their eyes together. Lizzie, the East Siberian Brown Bear, slammed all her strength on the Alex the Silverback Gorilla with so much strength that the impact had knocked back almost everything except for the gorilla himself. The trees, stones and even soil within a five metre radius blasted away and yet the Silverback Gorilla was able to withstand the attack. "What the heck is that?!" Not just the audience was surprised to see such a powerful blow from the start but even Jin who was watching at the sidelines were shocked by the opening clash. "Even the lion was not as strong when he versus Xin. Are these two some powerhouses?" "No. The System had previously analysed their power levels and they were of similar grades." The System replied. "Well? What grade are they?" Jin queried and the System indicated that they were only Grade 4s. Jin could not imagine that two Grade 4 animals could be able to produce such a powerful impact and decided to ask the Zoo Staff if they had any knowledge of this.. "Yeah. Both Jiang Bo and I had a hand in this." Kristin felt as if she was happy with her achievements now that it was plain for all to see. "We had been feeding them some nutritious feeds and a bit of a power booster ¡­erm solutions to allow them to fight more fiercely." "Is this even allowed?" Jin questioned and Kristin acknowledged that the concoction could be a little too much for the animals. "Those drugs are a natural adrenaline booster and they would wear off within a day or two. Do not need to be alarmed. Even animals in their own habitat had kept stock of these boosters in the wild especially those higher grades ones to ensure that they had the upper advantage against monsters and other invading animals. We are merely replicating the behaviour of few to the animals participating in the KAIZER event." Jiang Bo told the truth to Jin despite it being a tad late. "Hmm¡­ what''s done is done," Jin said as he looked at the natural adrenaline booster as a potential strengthening item not just for animals but for his minions as well if they were in a pinch. He then asked if they could liaise with the science team to get the more potent product together. "See, dear. I told you, he would not be averse to the effect. In fact, he is more interested in it." Kristin said while she herself had worries of her own since it was out of protocol. "You know, if we told him earlier, it would not be too heavy on my heart." Jiang Bo said as he finally felt a burden being lifted from him. In replacement of that burden was another shock when the Silverback Gorilla grappled Lizzie and slammed her through the trees. The crowd went wild as they saw the Gorilla beating his own chest and rushing towards the Siberian Brown Bear. (Sadly, no screams or shouts could be heard by the animals and they were focused on defeating their opponent right in front of them.) "Oh my god, this is madness. Why didn''t Shenzhen Zoo do this?" One of the cultivators said as he really wished to go nearer to the fight scene and it progressed in real time. His only consolation was that his wallet was able to buy the optional Magic Eye live view where he selected the best option where he could watch it up close as well as the different camera views placed side by side. "This totally could be an illegal event where they bet which of the animals would win with no biases involved." Xia Mao said as he too could not help purchasing the mid tier option to watch the Magic Eye view. "With Jin''s brilliant mind of business, he would probably only allow betting in Panda Coins or some token form that would circumvent the gambling laws. Remember that Spinning Top Event in the Theme park?" Jing Yu spoke but Xia Mao did not reply as it was the first time he saw a Brown Bear held onto the ground and lifting a portion of it to throw towards the Silverback Gorilla. It was a magic spell by a Grade 4 Animal! Sightings of animals using magic were uncommon since humans are very detached from the natural world and Cultivation Zoos do not show much of this feat since they used it only for survival. So when the slab of ground was thrown towards the Silverback Gorilla, the crowd nearly went nuts once more. Even the Female Bear Cultivator went giddy from just viewing her cultivation animal from performing a magic attack with no chanting at all. "I see¡­so with the combination of the System''s hypnotic messages The Silverback Gorilla on the other hand grabbed one of the fallen trees as a bat and slammed the slab of ground away. Alex subsequently threw it towards Lizzie but everyone could see that it was merely a distraction while he jumped high up. Naturally, the Brown Bear evaded the speeding log spear and she moved the way the Silverback Gorilla wanted, allowing Alex to slam Lizzie at her side. The punch was so great that the magic eye camera could even capture the ripples of the impact on her torso. "Oooof! That punch must have hurt a lot!" Mr Patsu commented but Lizzie did not shirk from the fight as her paw slapped the Gorilla''s face once more and threw him down to the ground. The Gorilla lost his balance for a moment and that was what the Brown Bear needed to start its continuous attack of gnawing and clawing. And each time the Gorilla wanted to counter attack, the bear banged his head with her chi charged paw instead of blocking the grapple. "Now we are talking! This sudden reversal from Lizzie was what she needed to get back on Alex!" Bear Cub One, obviously taking the side of his ''kin'', began giving praise to the Brown Bear, hoping for her to win the match. And as the match went further, it was pretty obvious who was the winner. Chapter 1191 - Animal KAIZER -Final Chapter 1191 ¨C Animal KAIZER -Final As Lizzie was about to give the killing blow to the Silverback gorilla, Jiang Song instantly teleported in between them and stopped the attack. "Alright, Lizzie. That''s enough for today. You won the match and here''s your reward." The Zoo Guard said as he took out a slab of juicy meat, possibly beef and tangled it in front of the Brown Bear. Obviously, Lizzie isn''t a human who can make rational choices but since Jiang Song was dangling a piece of delicious smelling cooked meat right in front of her, she could not resist it. Thus, she walked away from the Silverback Gorilla and started consuming the meat in peace. And just as she was about to finish chewing the first one, a portal emerged right in front of her and Jiang Song threw another large slab of meat through it, hinting her to return to her environment. At the same time, the Zoo Guard picked the injured Silverback Gorilla through another portal where the Panda Nurses were waiting with their tools all ready to nurse the Gorilla back to health. "There, there buddy. Do not be discouraged, there will always be time for revenge." Jiang Song whispered to the defeated animal and told him to learn from today''s mistake so that he could emerge stronger from the match. The gorilla subtlety nodded his head as he received treatment from the Panda Nurses.. "Thank you everyone for the show. If anyone was disappointed by my interruption, then I would like to reemphasize that this is a Cultivation Zoo and not a death murder match organised by us. As much as the animals would like to reign supreme against each other, we still have to care for them since they are not here just for our entertainment, but for the betterment of our cultivation." Jiang Song said and Bear Cub One immediately took over. "Yes, yes. This is our Zoo Guard Jiang Song. Some might know him as the Gatekeeper of Shenzhen''s Cultivation Zoo, known for kicking errant guests from doing stupid acts in the Zoo. He is now employed under Jin to make sure that the animals and visitors alike would behave in the appropriate manner. So, please give him your warm welcome!" The Bear Cub One said but the crowd was not exactly pleased since the fight was done so quickly. "If you guys think that the match is done, you are mistaken as we have two more in line for you so please hang on tight while we make the necessary changes to the field and ensure that both of our competitors are ready for the fight!" Mr Patsu added and instantly the Animal Kaizer Stadium was filled with pitch black shade as the System changed the background. ¡ª¡ª "To be honest, I am half expecting Xin would emerge out of nowhere to target the Bear and Gorilla''s fight," Jin said as he opened a teleportation portal right beside him. He took a few documents with him and walked through it. "The System enforced procedures in place to ensure that Xin would not be allowed to make any interruptions. For some reason, Xin had acquired the ability to teleport without the System''s help and it could possibly stem from the spiritual union with User." "But isn''t that your ability? Why has it become his?" Jin said when he emerged out of the portal and double checked his current attire was decent enough for a meeting. "Unconfirmed. Perhaps, in conjunction with the User''s contract with the System and its yearning to come near you, it somehow managed to learn such an ability." The System said and at the same time opened the door for Jin as he was met with a delegation of old men in suits waiting for him in the Conference Room Instance. "Apologies for the lateness, I had to ensure what you all had been watching was going smoothly," Jin said as the screen featuring the Animal Kazier was turned off and he sat at the centre of the long table. "And I believe you all have also seen the medical treatment given to the Silverback Gorilla, a highlight which was not shown to the public to alleviate your fears," Jin added and the rest of the group seems stoic about it. "I see. For the group known to be handling animals, you all are still the same as everyone else. Profit." Jin furrowed his eyebrows as he opened his documents. With a double knock on the table, documents emerged from the sides of the tables and he requested the delegation to pick them up for a look. There was lots of flipping and reading for a few minutes before a few whispers were going through the room. Naturally, Jin could hear each and every one of them, given his enhanced hearing ability and even if he could not, the System was already recording each and every conversation, transcribing them real time onto Jin''s side document without anyone noticing and he could read them off the sides. "The figures I believed are very reasonable, given that you need to do a major renovation. You had already been given a private tour by our Zoo Staff and saw how the animals are doing." Jin said as he saw some disgruntled expression. "First thing first, how are you controlling those animals for the Kaizer-" One of the personnel requested and Jin stared at him hard. "Trade Secret. All I can say is this is a method that has been thoroughly researched and been approved by the Ethics community. You may choose to duplicate it but I will not guarantee your success. But let''s stay focused on the current agenda." "Your numbers are a little unreasonable." Another old man in his suit said, obviously wanted a cut in the rental prices. "We had been aiding other zoos to hold their animals at less than half the price." "We are feeding them quality feed, excellent health care and most importantly, the ability to roam freely. Are you saying those things do not require money?" Jin queried and a few of them cut in, saying that Shenzhen''s zoo does not need such treatment. A space to hold their animals out of the sight of the customers would be fine too. "I totally disagree. In fact, for your disgusting behaviour, I am doubling the price tag right here and now." Jin said straight to their faces and a number of them started to stand up, demanding why does he have the right to do such a thing. "Because of this." Jin picked up a remote control under the desk and then pressed a button. The screen that was behind him, turned on once more and clips of animal abuse within the Cultivation Zoo had been shown right in front of them. It was not just personal abuse but also direct torture of the animals in front of VIPs with a few of the delegation''s faces being shown right in there. Some who were not in the known were flabbergasted by the clips while the victims demanded how he got the clips. "Let''s say a certain Samaritan had gifted us this because they trusted us to do right for the animals. Also, for this answer. The price now has tripled." Jin said and a knock came from the door. Jin allowed her to come in and Grandma Yuan, along with Claire, walked through it. "Do not think I am an old woman that I can be side blinded by some of you. Pay now and those in the video clips resign." Grandma Yuan said as if she knew the situation beforehand. Even though as the chairwoman, she had little control since it was just a title for being the biggest donor. But with this change of events, even the zoo delegation has no way of coming out unscathed. And right now because of this forced deal, Jin had become the Animal Kaiser of Shenzhen. Chapter 1192 - A Rather Foolish Decision Chapter 1192 ¨C A ¡®Rat¡¯her Foolish Decision When the Zoo delegation was deliberating whether to take into Jin''s offer with serious consideration, Claire questioned how Jin got hold of that footage and had been planning this impromptu meeting for some time. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had to keep it a secret that it came out of the blue. The video materials were sensitive in nature and the fewer people who knew about it, the better." Jin said through the System Channel with Claire and Grandma Yuan in it. "You still did not answer the question," Claire said as she took a chair for Grandma Yuan to sit right beside Jin while she stood at the side. "Honestly I thought it was you who orchestrated all these in the first place. It''s Jiang Song, our new Zoo Guard. He had pals in the security department that had been hashed with threats rather than bribes to keep everything under the wraps. It just so happened that when his pals heard Jiang Song was going for a new Zoo, they were wondering if he could expose them for their sake." Jin said and Grandma Yuan quietly raised an eyebrow towards Jin. "Oh¡­ Hmm yea. Jiang Song was like their big bro in almost everything in the security department. I guess, he too already knew it and had to keep his eyes closed about the management. Would not be surprised if he decided to use you to try leveraging it against them." "All I knew from their end was that their higher ups would force them off the cameras for certain nights but one was curious and tech savvy enough that he created a backup device that would record the camera footage to see what was exactly going on. Needless to say, he found himself a pot of scandals but he was not that tech savvy to spread it into the net without implicating himself." Jin explained. "So yeah. When Jiang Song came here, he was wondering if I could take advantage of it since he saw how big I have become and having possession of the System. Initially, I thought it would be a gamble and prepared a few more threats but this was way easier than I thought." Jin said through the System Channel but reminded the Zoo Delegation to quickly make their decision. However, it seems like he had spoken too soon. "Are you very sure that you will delete them? Or is there more to this?" One of the Zoo Investors asked and Jin placed hands on the table to try and intimidate them further. "Why? Are there even more incidents I am not aware of? Perhaps bestiality?" Jin queried and the zoo investor got a little too defensive in his line of answering. "I do not care. Just delete them when the deal is done!" The Zoo Investor said and Jin shrugged his shoulders. "You are in no position to bargain and it is not in the legal documents which stated I have to do just that," Jin replied. "Then we are under no obligation to pay you this much too!" Another one of them shouted. "That''s true. You can reject the offer, and we will merely send this to the police as well as the internet. Oh and feel free to send any cultivators to my end as well. My colleagues and I would love some exercise." Jin realised that the investors are finally trying to bark and bring him down so he merely used the simplest tactic in bargaining. To stand up and leave the bargaining table. As they saw Jin trying to leave the area until someone decided to show their ''rank''. A man in his late sixties stood up and declared that he was with the Royal Zodiac Rat Clan. Not just a member but a distant uncle of the direct family. It no doubt stopped Jin in his tracks and that Royal Zodiac Rat Clan Member thought he had the upper hand until Jin opened his mouth. "Seriously? You are going to play rank and title right here and now?" Jin questioned and the Royal Zodiac Rat Clan Member replied with a resounding yes. Both Claire and Grandma Yuan merely smirked at the mistake he was about to make. "One last chance. Have you forgotten that I decimated your Rat Triad Leader? Are you sure you want to go against me?" Jin queried. "That leader can be replaced anytime. You offend us and you will get your just rewards. Don''t think that you would be let go just because you have a big tree in Shenzhen!" The Royal Zodiac Rat Clan Member answered and Jin laughed. "Come at me, I do not care. The deal is off so be prepared to handle the consequences." "Hah! You think I- we would be scared of your threats? The entire Royal Zodiac Rat Clan will come after you." "Oh, by the way. What''s your name again? I did not catch it the first time when you were rat-tling off your title." Jin suddenly stopped in his tracks. "My name is Ben Lao Shu! People call me Big Ben!" Big Ben said and Jin chuckled a little without any effort in hiding it. "Very well Big Ben, I look forward to your counterattack. Just be sure. It''s you, your clan against me, alright? Any attack on my customers would result in severe consequences." Jin said as he waved his hands and the current zoo deal was off. However, the moment he left the meeting table, that prideful behaviour turned 180 degrees as a number of Zoo Investors went towards Grandma Yuan asking her if it could be salvaged. Some were even deciding whether they could utilise her connection with him to not let that evidence be leaked out. There were some who would want to pay money to have their own footage be erased. Grandma Yuan, on the other hand, merely stomped her stick and walked off, signalling to them that she was disappointed in them. She had no idea that the scandals were that sick and thought the worse was merely siphoning funds from the Zoo itself. It then makes her realise how terrible humans could be and sometimes not worth saving. "You guys should have taken the olive branch even though it was at a high price. But now, it looks like the gutter would have been a better place to hide in." Claire walked away with Grandma Yuan. Chapter 1193 - Grandma Yuans Wealth Chapter 1193 ¨C Grandma Yuan¡¯s Wealth "Another fight with the Rats. Don''t you have enough on your plate already?" Grandma Yuan saw Jin waiting for her at the side while he was tapping on his phone. "Now that I am officially the Panda Lord, it does not hurt to have some competition. Or else, I would not be able to gain territory." Jin shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, if they attack me, they are probably going to assault the store since I can hardly move myself away from it. And even if they do it outside of the store, I still have my minions to come to me at my behest. Not much of an issue." "If I have to say it again, it was quite out of the blue to pull that trick out. Most of the delegation are still in panic mode after you guys left. Also, that red flag you pulled is just erm¡­ quite expected." Claire said to Jin, implying that his big mouth was about to ruin the entire situation considering how things were proceeding rather smoothly. "Hahah yeah. I did some research with the aid of the System when the delegation came in. A bit of digging into each and every individual personal background that was available on the net. And seeing how a few of them were in the Royal Zodiac clans, I would be more surprised if they did not show their haughty behaviour against me." Jin said as this was one of the ways to bait them to come after him especially now that he knows about the Heavenly Duels, it would be so much easier to win against them. Also, if anything goes badly, he still got the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan to back him up since he was still in the protection phase. "And according to their attitude, it seems like they do not know who I am yet, so a sneak attack would be the best way to win things right now," Jin concluded. "Just hope that you do not bite more than you could chew." Grandma Yuan shook her head. "I might not be there to aid you if the pinch gets real." "Heh. Thank you for your concern. Grandma Yuan. But I think with the combined might of all my army, I believed I should be able to fight against a Clan Head." Jin said and the System suddenly chipped in its opinion. "Based on the fight against Original Bellator Kraft, the System had sufficient analytical evidence that User should indeed be able to hold against a Clan Head. Even if he does not, he still has his bellators with him." "I guess you learnt your lesson too eh?" Grandma Yuan was speaking to the System directly and shockingly, the System acknowledged Grandma Yuan''s remarks. "Indeed. With the previous encounter as a base analysis, the System would not dare to underestimate its opponent." "Good. Because this is seriously your last shot too since Jin is one and only to possess the original bloodline of the Panda Clan." Grandma Yuan nodded her head. "Anyways, enough of me. How is the JODE treating you? Are you able to open for the April intake? Or well, I assumed that''s the time for intake since most high schools and even military recruitment start roughly that month." Jin queried and Grandma Yuan sighed. "Yes. Yes. They suddenly treated me as if I were some empress rather than some fool who just wanted the principal''s seat. If I had known that money can work wonders, I would have already invested something into the JODE." Grandma Yuan said. "Your wealth is not that almighty." Claire was quick to tell her. "But didn''t you all say that she spent loads and loads of money on the maintenance of those exotic animals? And even donated a heck lot to the cultivation zoo? Is it because of a conflict of interest that you are unable to put money into JODE?" Jin asked which caused Claire to start giggling. "It''s not anything so unreal. My father was the one that is the millionaire. And one of the assets he invested heavily in was the Cultivation Zoo as well as that Animal Storage company you encountered. So, it was natural for me to invest his inheritance into the Zoo, allowing me to hold onto the Chairman''s post." Grandma Yuan replied. "So, there are some people I knew that gave me a major discount into holding those animals for you. I assumed Claire had put in a lot of effort into bluffing you that I spent a ton of money into it." "Yeap¡­ She did." Jin stared at Claire and this time around she burst out laughing now that the cat is out of the bag. "But that major discount came with a condition and it is also why it would be nice to talk to you about it too." Grandma Yuan''s expression turned a little cheeky, a face that Jin rarely sees. "I told them that the new Zoo Boss has connections to people who had the unique ability to ''freeze time'' and they were extremely interested to see you with regards to that." "Oh¡­OHHHH." Jin seemed to vaguely understand why they would want a ''static time'' user to keep or improve their animal storage capabilities. "They need us to catch some animals for them?" "Something like that. Even though their storage had already been enhanced with inscriptions and magic, there were some animals that were temperature specific or too stressed. Most High Grade Magicians could also freeze time but they had a time limit because it was too much of a strain on their mana. On the other hand, you have a mage that does not have such restraints. Do five jobs for them and they would seal the deal, else I told them to hand the remaining bill to the Zoo Boss." Grandma Yuan said and Claire instantly produced the receipt invoice for Jin to see. Without a doubt, he could have fainted on the spot seeing the number of numbers on the invoice and thus, he commanded the System to get Peppers to get in touch with Grandma Yuan. Chapter 1194 - Art Exhibition Chapter 1194 ¨C Art Exhibition The Cultivation Zoo Instance was a major hit for being a new instance and the fact that there was an entire array of new stores in the Tree Mall brought more life to the place. Jin was initially afraid that the consumption of digital apps and laziness of humans would cause shopping malls to die down but it seems that with the right set of attractions such as his dungeon supplier store and other entertainment stores, there was not much to worry about. (Although, it does seem like he had forgotten it was because of the speciality that allowed him to be this way!) From his own personal hotels in the Dungeon Supplier store to the increased tenants, while ensuring the stores would also have an ''uncapped'' capacity, the customers who visited Jin''s Tree Mall could safely say that there was so much potential that Jin had yet to tap on to. With the reshuffle of shops to the first floor and nothing else, at the subsequent levels, there was an odd feeling of emptiness despite the crowd. That was why Jin had temporarily remodelled the Tree Mall making the next few levels as a temporary exhibition as well as a resting place for customers and passersby alike. What exhibition? Since Jin wants variety to his Tree Mall, he too wanted to support the arts industry of China. And thus, the second level had temporarily been allocated to budding artistic entrepreneurs to show their artwork as well as a rating system to let the artists gauge from behind the scenes how their work had been viewed. It was also because with Jin''s increasing workload, there was no way he could take care of everything despite the amount of time he had even with compression and dilation of time itself. Also, the System''s artistic assets were fairly limited and to be frank, Jin had to do his own personal research to ensure that the dungeons he created were fantastical in nature while ensuring some realism to it. Later, it was up to the System to beautify the place a little further. It might not seem to be much of a problem for most dungeon instances but it would be a different scenario with the Virtual Reality System.. As much as Jin could copy and paste certain environments, he felt that he could not bring enough life or the full potential of the backgrounds. By using this temporary exhibition call to get artists of various styles to come together, he would be able to judge and possibly hire someone young and talented to bring his Virtual Reality instance to the next level. Background artists, Graphic Artists, Character Creation Artists and many more would be needed. The System did ask why Jin could not just acquire an established art studio to do all this work but his reasoning was very simple. "The hungrier an artist''s ambition is, the more work he could produce and it''s best to catch such golden egg hatchlings before they have their feathers peeled and be a normal industry chicken." However, the System did argue that there are many reputable artists to merely convert and Jin returned the argument. "I too could not have been a Dungeon Supplier, without your aid. And that was my childhood dream. We are doing this partially because we all dreamed to be something better, right? All those saving we did in the other worlds was also because of that same reason. Those reputable artists had already achieved theirs, I would rather help someone who was in the same shoes as me." And thus, the exhibition on physical and digital art had been placed on the subsequent levels of the Tree Mall with Jin promoting the artwork from students to adults. With regards to the rating system, there was only ''thumbs up'' option and each of these thumbs up visitors could only press it if they wished to spend a panda coin on it. In doing so, based on the number of likes they received, the System would then pay out a definite amount of money to these artists for showcasing their work at the end of the day. This then spurred each of these artists to pour out their best works, in hopes that someone pressed that like button. Not only that, but Jin had also created a mini silent auction where the visitors could also buy the artists'' artwork if they did like it. Since there was a deadline for each art exhibition, that would also be the time where the customer who paid the most could receive the artwork. If one thinks that was applied to only physical artwork, they were absolutely wrong about it. Jin was not oblivious to the bitcoin scene and had also developed his very own NFTs, Non-Fungible Tokens through the power of the System. (Although he did not know the process, the System said it was just some manipulation of data code to create it.) These NFTs are digital assets that are encoded with the very same underlying software as many cryptocurrencies so it creates a digital scarcity and no one could steal it once it''s under them. However, unlike the standard NFTs that are being paid with bitcoins, the System had purposely created its own encryption software based on Kraft''s previous exploits to the Deep Web such that it could only be payable with Panda Coins. And since the System was intelligent and powerful enough to manipulate behind the scenes, it maintained the value of these NFTs to the current currency market rather than the bitcoin market, making it extremely accessible to the public. To make things sound simpler, those digital assets could not be stolen once bought and the System guaranteed it. But all this selling could not have happened if there was no enticement. Thus, Jin brought out his ultimate weapon. A lottery to earn a unique Artist Panda plushie. Those who were in the know comprehended that the plushies were of a certain quality and some even said that the ultimate art was plushie themselves. Chapter 1195 Relic Hunting Chapter 1195: Relic Hunting While it had been a long day for Jin with the opening of the Cultivation Zoo and the expansion of his stores in the Tree Mall, he decided to take the remaining time of the day to wind down. First by checking on Kraft since he was supposedly dancing mad in the Church of the Afterlife''s Ivory Tower of cold hard cash. "What?! It has already been a day?" Kraft laughed as he never felt better crushing people''s skulls and stealing their relics to the point they started to be warier about him. The troops had finally understood that the devil in a trench coat had a different purpose than most other ''participants''. But since the guards were on defensive rather than on offensive as usual, Kraft and his Night Foxes decided to go against them full force. The Drows were no doubt tired from the constant fighting but they realised it was also a form of training to see how far they could stretch while maintaining their form. Some of the guards even shouted at them to just go into the Ivory Tower where there was more gold and lost treasures to be found but Kraft simply refused. To him, he felt that he could not bear to leave any stone unturned especially when these treasures had one basic function aside from the various enhancing magic capabilities. The ability to resurrect on the spot. If it was not for that particular ability, most of those ''relics'' that Kraft had plundered from them would have been classified as plain junk to him. But the instant resurrection was something that would benefit one particular person if he was in a tight spot. And that was none other than Jin. Still, these relics only had a number of magic uses in them, and like an Aladdin wishing lamp, the moment those uses were spent, the relic would certainly be a trash item. So, he and the Night Foxes were collecting them whenever they saw a guard wearing them. As much as Kraft treated Jin quite harshly, the Old Fox still had some feelings for this young master of his especially when he learnt the hard way that he could somewhat match his skills. (Obviously, he treated him as a person of interest to be his rival, Kraft still had his obligation to keep his master alive so long he did not break his promise for using the System abusively.) "Are you planning to continue to stay there? Now that I have officially cleared my Cultivation Zoo instance, I am looking into probing the defences of the Rats. The reports of them attacking the resistance towns are getting lesser day by day. We need to survey their defensive response as a feint." Jin said. "Nah. Don''t do it. The moment you touch those rats, they will drill full force for their objective and you will have less time on your end. I suggest you continue to build your Virtual Instance while gathering the required resources for the Rat War. Besides, didn''t you say the Symposium is like -I don''t know erm, soonish?" Kraft replied honestly for the first time in a long while as he smacked one of the guards at their butt before ripping the armour off them like some magician''s act. "Fine. I guess you are right. After all, the symposium was supposed to be the start of the expansion of Panda Inc." Jin nodded his head. "So yeah. Don''t you worry about me? Even though we are all tired from stripping guards naked, we would retreat when it is getting bothersome. Hehe." Kraft replied before cutting the communication. "Does that mean I really do have some off duty time to myself?" Jin felt weird not working on an issue so intently to clear it. "Not exactly. If the System were to establish a list of outstanding issues to be fixed, there would be at least a dozen of problems in your current agenda. From the testing of Ayse''s new weapons to looking into the investments of certain products which we had procured from a set of black market traders." "Huh, what? I can''t hear you. All I hear is the sound of sleep." Jin said as he touched his bed for the first time in a long while. The System stopped its rambling for a moment before deciding that Jin did deserve a rest. "Good night User even though it is now a little too early to certify-" "Good night System." Jin said as he cuddled himself under the blanket and slept. The System immediately dimmed the lights and closed the curtains in his room while ensuring the temperature was regulated so that it was optimal for a good sleep. After all, it was beneficial for the System to do some side tasks without Jin''s meddling with it as well as allowing him to enter into cultivation mode. At the same time, the System also ensured that the room was prepared for time compression and dilation. After all, everyone knew that there were times where Jin could somehow fall into a deep sleep and would not wake up until the time was right. Regardless of the noise or alarm reminders, they were useless to wake the Panda Cultivator up unless the System took drastic measures to force him out of his cultivation stance. Thus, it informed everyone, especially the Leader Minions and Sub System Users that Jin had decided to go into Cultivation mode. As for Jin, he dived into the state of subconsciousness to find himself in the middle of nowhere with loud explosive noises in the background and dead bodies around him. He tried to orient himself since it was the first time he saw such a scene. No traces of the mountain that he was in, nor the remnants of the forest where he stayed with Ming. It was a war ridden wasteland with the smell of charred soil and decomposed bodies. Soon enough, a group of horsemen with spears and axes emerged from the bloody landscape charging right in front of him with the aim of not just killing him but against the opposing group of armed horsemen from the other side. "Fuck. I wanted a break or a simple tea session with Gramps. Why am I in this kind of life or death situation?!" Jin said as he unsheathed Bam and Boo with his Inverse Eyes activated. Chapter 1196 - The Endless Battlefield - Part 1 Chapter 1196 ¨C The Endless Battlefield ¨C Part 1 Each slash to the enemy, and it would drop the ground and bleed. The slaughter as senseless as it was, all he could was to grit his teeth and defend himself. Jin literally lost count of the number of foes he defeated as well as the time he was on that battlefield but there was one thing that was certain. Each time he defeated a foe, they would return at least twice the number. It was to the point he would have been overwhelmed no matter how much Astral Arts he had utilised to defeat the enemies. Yet, his legs were still rooted to the ground, stepping on each enemy he defeated to have a proper footing against his next foe. His eyes continued to predict the next attack of his foe, hoping he would not get hit. His lungs were exchanging air as fast as he could exchange his blows. His arms were moving instinctively to protect its user from certain death. His body was continuously preparing itself while he handled the pain of the worms from the legendary inscription to heal himself. Every part of his body was working overtime to ensure that Jin was still alive. The foes that emerged started to vary as well. From horsemen to foot soldiers and subsequently faceless archers to guys carrying a mobile ballista over its back. Everything and anything in his sight was out to slaughter him and after roughly a day of fighting, Jin finally had a fatal wound through his stomach. The faceless warrior roared in excitement as he pushed the sword further into his gut. That caused Jin to finally stop and accept his fate. The rest of the soldiers that were surrounding him also pierced their weapon into his body as long as they could find a space to squeeze through. Only when Jin was on the ground, riddled with swords, spears and daggers. The soldiers were finally withdrawing and left him alone to rot in that wasteland he helped create. "Told you, he could last at least a day." That familiar voice echoed through Jin''s voice as his consciousness started to fade. "To be exact, it was only 23 hours and 43 minutes." Another voice echoed through. "But you gotta hand it to him. The first time I tried this, I could only manage an hour." This time around, he was very sure that it was Ming talking and Jin confirmed his suspicions that this was also a test, something like the one he had against Genbu and Orochi. However, before he could even think for another second, he lay flat on the ground bleeding profusely. Not long after that supposed test, he woke up again finding himself sitting on the very same bench on the mountainous shell of Genbu. Even without waking up fully, he could feel the hardness of the bench and the slight creaking of the wood. "Ah, you are awake," Ming said as he scratched the head of Byakko who was lying at the side of the bench. "Is this another test of yours? Suzaku or something like that?" Jin queried as his body felt extremely heavy from the marathon. "Something like that. Unlike Genbu and Byakko, you could say that this is a test of stamina." Ming did not hide any information from his grandson. "We were initially betting how long you were able to last as this wasteland is Suzaku''s paradise." "Each and every warrior you fought was someone who had sought for Suzaku''s power. For her allure to resurrect the very person they truly loved would come true if she found them worthy." Ming explained and Jin could only keep his silence longer. "Heh, I bet you are thinking you do not have anyone who you wish to resurrect back, am I right?" Ming said and Jin returned a difficult smile. "And you would also be thinking, why would anyone want Suzaku''s powers when there is already a process of resurrection?" "That is because¡­the real authentic process requires the feather of Suzaku to properly resurrect. And that had always been the way even before our Almighty Guan Yu overwrote the law of nature and redefined this particular world''s way of life. Might I add even the western mages could have never understood how Guan Yu was able to attain that holy ''Grade 20'' grail and was jealous that an eastern cultivator was able to change the rules in such a way." Ming explained and Jin stared at the rotten wasteland. "Anyways, I digressed. *Cough* So even up till now, the process of resurrection that had been replicated used replacements of Suzaku''s feathers to get it working. That was why there were so many precious high grade resources being used to get as close as the effects of Suzaku''s feather to get the full result of a resurrection." "But even judging by your explanation, it seems like you have tried Suzaku feathers once too," Jin said as a casual reply¡­until he realised, he might have been spot on. "Wait¡­ you tried to search one for Mom?" Ming did not say a single word and continued to stare at the endless wasteland that laid right in front of them. "Hmmm¡­ mmph." Ming nodded his head slowly and ever so lightly. Yet, Jin could see that the nod was something of an admission of truth, something which he did not reveal all these years. The death of his parents had always been kept a secret and even though he had learnt more when he had the System with him, it was never the full picture. As much as he wished to probe more information on it, Jin knew his grandpa isn''t always the kind of love to share things about himself. "The number of bodies I dropped to find your mother''s culprit. The number of resources I used to find Suzaku''s feathers¡­ All of those were numerous and if I were to be alive, I would have continued to do so." Ming said with his head down. "But it''s time to let go of all those grudges and focus on you. You might not be much like your mother or the one that the System had been holding on to, but you still have that burning albeit lazy look in your eyes." Ming said as he stared at Jin and rubbed his head, shuffling his hair as if he was a little kid. "After all, she gave birth to you, and you are part of her." Chapter 1197 - Endless Battlefield -Part 2 Chapter 1197 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 2 "But unlike the rest of the trials which was more of a journey of self realisation, Suzaku does not appear whimsically like the others did." Ming said to Jin as he relaxed on the wooden bench. "It took me quite some time to find her and even more to get her to talk to me." Ming said as he tried to recollect how long it took but he had trouble remembering. "She was something like the transcendent phoenix, coming when you really need it rather than when you want it." "All these people who tried to find her, risked their lives and even died in the name of finding this mystical bird. But not everyone had the privilege to meet her. You could say that even asking her to leave a partial part of her presence in this subconscious was considered to be an achievement." "So, The Four Cardinal Lords in my subconsciousness is something like Mr Derpy? Being plucked by a little from the main body to stay inside me?" Jin asked and Ming thought for a while, thinking the right way to describe it. "Hmm, I could only describe it that they are omnipotent enough to transverse through your subconsciousness and their domain to entertain my request," Ming replied and Jin wondered what his grandfather did that allowed them to be indebted to him. "Hahaha, from the looks of your expression, you are wondering how I managed to coerce them? Am I right?" Ming queried and Jin acted like the curious grandson, nodding his head furiously for an answer. "For that, you got to thank Kraft. He was the one to who they were indebted. I do not have the rights to say his part of the story and he probably would downplay his deeds for them, but you can be sure, they are here as a trial to get you up to shape." Ming said as he slapped Jin''s back, telling him he had enough rest for the moment. "Stamina! You need more stamina! No rest until you hit a week of continuous fighting!" Ming said as he snapped his finger and Jin disappeared right in front of him, emerging right beside his former dead body as his resurrection point. "Any deaths in under a week would cause you to spawn right at the same spot you died immediately, with no breaks or anything!" Before Jin could even react to Ming''s condition to have the next talk, he was greeted with a large gigantic sword diving to his position from the top of his head. There was no time to think of a comeback either when Jin realised that the fight was already multiple times harder when he first started. The animated soldiers were not throwing blows at him slowly and their defences were tighter. Each slash Jin did was met with a feint and sometimes a counter parry. It made Jin feel that the difficulty of the fight had ramped up significantly and he had to be on his toes to fight against them. Still, in hindsight, Jin felt grateful for it since he believed that he truly needed this amidst the current situation he was in. Unlike his previous fights, he always had the luxury to have his minions fight for him. Once they died, they could spawn again at the minor cost of some resources to bring them back. But the fight with King Baal made him rethink the fights. The System was somehow unable to interfere with the demonic magic cast by King Baal, forcing Jin to fight almost alone. The only loophole was through the System Rider where Jin drew his powers from his various minions. While it had been fortuitous that the System Rider had worked well, Jin now knew that his powers had their limits too. It was more obvious against the Loopa Oofpas where he fainted and if he did not have any other comrades around, it would have already been the death of him. So, there were indeed limitations to how much his minions could achieve alongside him and Jin got to buck up as well. At the same time, he believed it was the best time to polish his techniques. Although Ming had taught him Panda related skills, most of Jin''s sword work was from Zeru. Through the System''s capability, Jin was able to review footage of how Zeru does his swordplay but there was never enough time to practice. Even as Zeru was not around at the moment, both in reality and in the subconsciousness area, Jin tried his best to remember a few of the basic ones. However, the more he fought with the soldiers around him, he realised that these soldiers were also rather formidable in their sword work. (Especially since they were able to injure Jin before he was able to attack them back.) It was then it struck him that he could also learn from them. Not just sword work since there were axe brigands, spearmen, archers and even some exotic weapon users in the mix as well. If anything, the battlefield itself was filled with teachers of unknown origin. As someone who did not have a specific way of fighting, and preferred a versatile array of weapons at his disposal, Jin understood that this was a treasure trove to learn. "Damn it! If only I had the System with me, I would be able to review some of the animal styles along with the weapon attacks!" Jin thought to himself as he was being struck by a shuriken from the side. The pain was sharp and dull at the same time and yet Jin continued to preserve his attacks. He continued to use his Inverse Eyes to predict the attacks as well as learning how the fights unfold, what he believed was the optimal time to attack. After which, he attempted to take any opportunity to practice what he saw. Although that caused him to have an additional lag in his movements, allowing his opponents to have an upper hand at times, he took it in stride. A cheap payment for the lessons he learnt from these animated soldiers. An endless battlefield but an endless bout of experience too. Chapter 1198 - Endless Battlefield -Part 3 Chapter 1198 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 3 "Ah damn it." Byakko sighed as Orochi and Genbu laughed as the trio watched the entire scene from afar. Jin was killed by one of the side swipes of a spear by the animated soldiers. It was not those fancy techniques but a sneak poke and swipe. "Hahahah! Pay up, pay up! If you believed Jin was able to clear the one week streak challenge that easily, I would have already bet big bucks on it." Genbu said and Orochi went towards Byakko with its mouth open. The white tiger grumbled as he took out a mysterious box sealed with a dangerous charm and placed it in the snake''s mouth. "He was close enough. Going five days straight was no simple feat while learning the skills of those animated soldiers."Byakko grumbled, saying that he should have made a stricter bet. "It was your problem for not predicting that he would take this opportunity to learn from those animated soldiers." Genbu chuckled as he was delighted the mysterious box was within his possession.. "Relic betting again?" Ming walked towards them while patting Genbu''s head. Even though he was initially the size of a mountain, the black tortoise was able to change his size to his liking. "How is that young boy doing?" "The fight had been getting harder with some of the animated soldiers showing more than just weapon flaying," Genbu said. "As instructed, I had quietly inserted a few animated soldiers of our own so that he could learn from those manuals you had collated over the years." "Yeah. Thanks, Gen chan. I figured that he did not have much time to even open those manuals that I gave him in the real world, well judging from his recent memories. He had been stuck to work for almost every day, this was probably the only time he would take training seriously." Ming glee with joy as he felt his plan to teach Jin was successful. While it was true that the soldiers within Suzaku Undying Battlefield were filled with cultivators of different grades, greed and desire. Ming thought that it would be opportunistic of him to throw in a few of his to teach Jin and made him aware of the different fighting techniques that he could have encountered in the real world. It might be a rehash of all the manuals that the System had collated thus far but Ming also had his own personal collection which he did not give the System or Grandma Yuan. Though he initially wanted to use his personal collection into the fray, he saw how Jin was earnestly trying to learn from Suzaku''s phantoms that he believed it would be best to start from the basics. With the aid of Genbu, he had thrown almost every basic cultivation grade manual for these past five days and Jin was able to catch up quite easily with the aid of his Inverse Eyes. He even took the chance to practice a number of those basic techniques whenever he had the chance against those animated soldiers, increasing his repertoire of weapon knowledge. However, Genbu had decided to up the game a little by throwing a few advanced techniques towards Jin since he was partially confident that Jin was able to catch up. (Although Byakko believed he was afraid that Jin was able to pass through the week''s challenge with relative ease. But with Genbu''s ever stoic face, he could only assume that was his motive.) In any case, with Jin''s past ability to mish mash skills, he slowly tried to integrate those techniques into his Panda Style. In most cases where someone had chosen a style to cultivate, they would not be able to copy any other style''s techniques. However, the Astral Panda Style was more unique than most. Jin''s previous background to be able to use various techniques from other animal styles had allowed his Dan Tian to be a little more flexible, able to portray the cultivation style he was copying. It might sound like the ultimate copying skill in the world since he is not just able to copy eastern cultivator''s techniques but the western mages with the affinity for elements. But there were drawbacks to his copying. It was limited to his learning ability which was directly proportionate to his use of Inverse Eyes. Even if he could remember and copy the technique, the copied technique would not have the full might of the said technique. And unlike in reality where he might have the System to aid him, he might potentially forget the skills he had copied from the fight during his stint in the subconscious. But even so, Ming would like to have him exposed to as many techniques as possible. This was because the subconsciousness controls up to 90% of a human''s action. There could come a time where Jin might accidentally trigger his memories and utilise such techniques. But that would be an extreme case as Ming believed it would be more helpful if Jin were to use it to review the manuals in reality. That way, he would be able to get the technique he wanted as soon as possible. However, that was not the worst part of his drawback of copying the technique. Jin could feel that the copied technique was inferior in terms of power even though he used his inverse eyes to copy each and every movement. He could only believe it was because he did not master them properly. Still, that was not the issue. The issue was his Panda silhouette¡­when copying the style he was imitating. For example, he could not concentrate on creating the Lightning Spear of the Serious Stag when he accidentally saw his Panda Silhouette imitating a stag by stuffing two makeshift branches on its head and copying the knock of its hoofs. Or like the Triple Assault Punch of the Tenacious Tiger where other Panda Silhouettes painted more stripes on its main Panda Silhouette and even put fake teeth to show that it was imitating a tiger. At that point, he wondered if his opponent would laugh to death first or be killed by the technique he copied. Chapter 1199 - A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 1 Chapter 1199 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 1 "ARGHHHH!!" Jin shouted as he was once again killed because of a blind spot when he was raking up his days of kills. It was his fourth continuous day of fighting but this was already his fifth attempt to survive for seven days straight. In total, he had actually been fighting for 21 days without any breaks and the onlookers could already see that Jin was near his breaking point in terms of his sanity. Ming had begun throwing animated soldiers unleashing advanced techniques and there was no doubt that it was getting harder the more times he died. Thus, instead of letting him continue on with the fights, Ming decided to give him a timeout by throwing him out back to reality, forcing him to wake up screaming at his defeat. When Jin shouted, both Lynn and Qiu Yue happened to be in their rooms and came teleporting to his room to see what was happening, only to find out Jin was panting heavily. "You alright?" Lynn questioned while Qiu Yue was already holding on to her weapon, thinking there was a threat somewhere.. But the threat was the two girls as they were wearing skimpily when they rushed into Jin''s room. "I¡­ I am fine." Jin''s anger somehow diverted for a moment and decided to regulate his chi through his body. It was then he told them that he should be able to cool off with a shower and thanked them for their concern. "You sure?" Lynn asked once more but Jin nodded his head, thanking them for their concern, asking them what time and date, hoping to know how much time he had skipped. "It''s currently Tuesday evening, 930pm. You have been out for only two days." Qiu Yue said as she withdrew her weapon and sighed. "Actually, it''s a good thing you are back early. There were people from the Symposium looking for you, wanting to talk to you about your entry. I told them that you were in lockdown mode, not wanting to be disturbed. But they insisted that you contact them or else there is a chance for you to entirely miss out on the entire event." "Qiu Yue!" Lynn communicated through System Channel while expressing a pouty face in front of her but behind Jin when he was in the bathroom. She was the one who received the messages and only told her fellow Sub System User as an update. Lynn did not expect Qiu Yue to jump the gun. "Hehe, you just wanted more interaction with him, right?" Qiu Yue teased Lynn and waved at her goodbye. "Perhaps you should lose the jacket you are wearing and you might stand a chance with that big baggy singlet you are wearing inside." "The System believes that is a good idea too." The System had to interject in the conversation but Lynn smacked Qiu Yue forcefully at her side for making fun of her. She also stared at the ceiling and pulled her tongue out at the System for reinforcing Qiu Yue''s suggestion. At that time Jin came out, looked surprised by the weird expression Lynn was making and asked if everything was okay. Qiu Yue chuckled hard and Lynn somehow embarrassed herself right in front of him. "In any case, thanks to you two. I will take a look at the emails they sent me. But since you said its night time, there''s no way they would reply promptly even if I write to them now. Might as well do something productive." Jin said as he had a face which the two girls had seen before. If there was an issue that bugged him, he would continue to do think about it until it was a done deal. Thus, the two girls immediately questioned him and asked if there was anything they could help. "I do not think so, it''s a problem that I had faced when I was cultivating within my subconsciousness." "Lol, you merely looked like you were sleeping all night long." Qiu Yue replied and Lynn felt dejected that there was really nothing she could help except her speciality. "Would you like a hot meal before you attempt your cultivation once more? A full stomach might allow you to think better." Lynn asked with concern. "More like it would let him sleep better." Qiu Yue said but Jin thought for a moment and decided to take up Lynn''s offer. "But this time, let me help a little. I feel bad that you are always doing all the cooking." Jin said, thinking it might be a good distraction to cool himself down before going in for another try. "I would like to help too then! Besides, I am feeling peckish from all the reviews of the construction from the Dungeon World AND Farming World." Qiu Yue emphasised the last part to let Jin know that she was working very hard too for her paycheck. "Hmmm. I think I could think of a very simple meal which would be easy for the both of you to do and not screw it up." Lynn snapped her finger and her attire turned into a set of clothes with an apron on. "Awww, no naked apron in front of Jin?" Qiu Yue once again teased the poor Lynn in the System Channel and she hoped that it would introduce some ideas for the girl to take action when opportunity strikes. "Well! You never gave me any chance to do so!" Lynn answered which shocked Qiu Yue for a moment but thankfully Jin did not notice at all. "Heh. Too bad for you, I am really feeling hungry. Please feed me, Lynn. I promise I will help you get him." Qiu Yue''s face turned all puppy eyes at Lynn and she sighed as they walked out of Jin''s room. In the meantime, Jin was busy putting his face to his phone''s screen since the downtime allowed him to read the news with regards to the Symposium. "Hmm¡­ a backup site?" Jin read and thought to himself why the Symposium committee would like his Tree Mall to be a secondary site to host the area. Chapter 1200 - A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 2 Chapter 1200 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 2 "Can we have something flavoury?" Qiu Yue asked as the trio walked down the stairs together. "That will disturb your sleep if you are too full," Lynn asked and Qiu Yue waved it off. "With the amount of work that Jin and his other minions put me on, I might have a long night ahead. So please, entertain me with some junk food." Qiu Yue turned back to look at Jin and he too agreed that it would be nice to have something crappy once in a while. "And I do not mean your food is crappy! I mean junk food!" Jin suddenly realised he might have offended Lynn and she chuckled a little. "None taken. Then let''s get some quick bites. I think there is still some leftover meat from morning''s chicken porridge stew. We can make do with that and that will allow me to fully utilise the chicken." Lynn said while she requested the Sub System to start up the kitchen. Her Sub System acknowledged and booted up the lights, turned the oven up to warm it, prepared the knives and other cooking utensils as well as rearranged the kitchen cabinets to ensure that Lynn had everything she needed. That was one of the reasons why almost everyone has an unspoken rule to not touch the kitchen items unless they wished to cook something to clear their hunger. (However, that was usually not needed as they could just jump to the store''s Restaurant Instance and have the penguins to prepare them something fast, nutritious and delicious.) Also, because the Sub System was in sync with Lynn, whatever Lynn was thinking of, the Sub System would do its best to prepare it beforehand. If the items were available in the Restaurant Instance or their home kitchen, the Sub System would bring them out to the forefront of the cabinets so that Lynn would have easy access to them. To her, the kitchen was like a surgery table and the Sub System was the assistant where it would hand her the item needed to create the dish. But for today, the Sub System was ready for battle because of the potential mess Jin and Qiu Yue might create since they were amateurs when it comes to cooking. If the Sub System had to rate between the two of them, it would keep an eye on Qiu Yue more than Jin since the Sub System had noticed the User had some basic experience in cooking, probably because of his previous family situation where he would be cooped alone. But Qiu Yue? She was blessed with a family that was able to not just feed her but have a caring mother who would handle the home affairs. The Sub System had encountered Qiu Yue making a mess without concern especially when she knew that there was a Sub System who would be there to clean up everything. Still, most of the mess she made could be avoided if she was more focused on the cooking than following the cooking videos on the internet. "I will wash and prep the meat. Qiu Yue, you follow the instructions on the digital console and take out the sauces and dressings for the food. Jin, you could start taking out the dishes and utensils. Make sure the deep fryer is ready and then cook the fries." "Ayeee! Aw yes, fries." Jin gleed as he went to the freezer to pick up the fries. They were cold washed cut potatoes as if they were prepared just for this occasion. "Why am I stuck with such a boring task?" Qiu Yue asked and Lynn looked at her with a death stare. She then remembered that Lynn was the commander in this current situation and she nodded her head slowly while taking out the sauces as well as the necessary ingredients like onions, cheese and garlic. She assumed was tasked to cut it since it looked like Lynn was going to make some sandwich. "Not some sandwich. Cuban Sandwich. With lots of meat." Lynn said as she requested Qiu Yue to open the cabinet below and take the plancha grill out. It was similar to a portable George Foreman grill but because it was more heavy duty. At the same time, Jin started to test the oil heat by hovering his hand above it for a moment and dropping the cut potato into it. The way it frizzled was something so satisfying even though he had done it a few times. It was not a lie if he would say he wished to work in a fast food restaurant to do the very same thing. However, as Jin was done with his task, he requested the System to look up past Symposium events asking if the Symposium had ever needed to use a secondary location. But before the System could give a reply, Lynn was already telling Jin to focus and start up the frying pan in order to cook some sausages. "Sizzle them with onions and beer and then throw them on the plancha grill for a while to let the flavour out. Sub System, please liaise them so they know the timing." Lynn said as she was rubbing the meat with a special type of marinade and dipping half of them into some flour and breadcrumbs. While most Cuban sandwiches do not have a fried meat component, she wanted to test out if it would change the taste if there was something crunchy in the middle too. That was why she was handling the major meat portion while Qiu Yue and Jin covered the rest of the kitchen. With the strict instructions of the Sub System, both of them were able to follow the tasks reasonably within the time limit, allowing Lynn to concentrate on the meat. Still, there was some banter around and it was not an entirely stressful situation as they thought it would be with the Queen of the Kitchen. (Of course, they all knew that Lynn purposely chose something more fun and interactive and easy to cook so that everyone would have some fun.) But all in all, it was an off the job activity that the three somehow relished they have more of this. Chapter 1201 - A MuChapter Needed Interval - Part 3 Chapter 1201 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval ¨C Part 3 "Hmm¡­the smell is fantastic!" Qiu Yue said as she saw how Lynn pressed the metal grills together like how one would make a waffle. But instead of flour mixture, the ingredients that were pressed was the complete sandwich, filled with marinated fried meat which Lynn had prepared seconds ago. The smell was permeating through the house with its savoury fragrance that somehow got the ''wolves'' to come down from their rooms. "Peppers. Milk. If you want them, you know what you got to do." Lynn said without turning her head and the two bellators were salivating like dogs, nodding their heads with a fiery passion. They instantly burst into the kitchen and started to do all the miscellaneous stuff. From putting the dirty items into the dishwasher, to preparing the dining table with fresh sets of plates. They even instinctively took the juice that Qiu Yue had made based on Lynn''s direction and started to lay it out on the table like clockwork. And while all those were happening, Jin and Qiu Yue could hear the sound of the vacuum cleaner and see it moving by itself while several cleaning cloths were flying around the house to wipe the area down. "Your rooms as well. And Peppers don''t be selfish and clear up Milk''s room as well." Lynn said as she placed the cooked sandwich on a plate. "Buttttttt" Peppers was pouting a little and Lynn merely cleared her throat to assert her dominance. That was enough to get Peppers moving and Milk''s room as well. "Thanks Lynn!" Milk was extremely pleased with Lynn''s ''use'' of Peppers. However, the silence between them was somewhat unsettling and Milk''s expression suddenly grew the same as Peppers. She instantly opened a portal and told them to wait for her to come back for the food. "Where is she going?" Jin did not expect Lynn to have the two rascals under her thumb so easily. "She had promised to do some errands for me. I was just communicating with her in her own language that she had to get things done before this meal." Lynn said while she smiled back at Jin. Without him knowing, Lynn might possibly already be the Mistress of this house and that title could never be more accurate with the simultaneous arrival of Zeru and Kraft, both fatigued from their own situations. "Wow, Lynn. Milk was way more aggressive than usual. What''s the occasio¡ª Oh. Okay, get it." Kraft instantly opened two portals right in front of him once more when he smelled the alluring fragrance of the fried sandwich. Even Zeru understood the meaning of Milk''s action and without a word, walked into the portal which Kraft had created. The moment they disappeared, Peppers was cursing how she had already cleaned that portion of the house and used her magic to get the vacuum cleaner as well as the mop to wipe the area clean. "Jin, you can unfreeze the static time on the fries, they need to be cooled down a little before serving. Qiu Yue, get the cereal flakes in the third cabinet and sprinkle them on the fries." Lynn said as she placed temporary time stasis on the sandwich she made and proceeded to make the other. The time stasis was why the food could always be piping hot and ready to eat for the rest of them. But despite the power to freeze time, the entire ''family'' was still rushing to do what they needed to do in order to fill their mouths with the ultimate joy. Soon enough, all the bellators were sitting patiently at their seats while Jin and Qiu Yue served the food for all of them. Lynn brought the last sandwich for herself to the table and only when Jin gave the go ahead, the rest had dug into their food with the exception of Zeru who called out to Jin personally. "Yea, Zeru?" Jin took a few pieces of fries and stuffed them into his mouth. "I apologise for disappearing so frequently for these few weeks. I sincerely hoped I had not caused too much trouble" Zeru bowed a little. "Nothing we cannot handle. Besides, you are chasing an important lead, right? But you should have returned to report once in a while." "He did return for some rest and a change of clothes though. He even made a mess of my kitchen once¡­" Lynn said and Zeru apologised once more. "I was famished and needed a quick bite. But I had forgotten how Lynn''s kitchen was ever changing." Zeru replied. "So in return, I told him that he were to return the favour by coming by for a meal if Milk called him out, well assuming the situation permits." Lynn commented. "Did not expect him to really pop up for this." "Ah¡­ Is it because I am the only one who could call him without any consequences?" "Something like that. System, correct me if I am wrong." Lynn said and the System acknowledged. "Unless the Sub System User is in imminent danger and the supporting Bellators were willing to help, the System would then allow the Bellator to respond." "You know we would come in a heartbeat for you." Peppers said with a big smile. "It''s just the way how the rules are placed. Do not put too much focus on them. Call us when you need it." Milk nodded her head in agreement with Peppers. "But my friend. It looks to me that the situation is far from over for you." Kraft asked with his mouth full of the sandwich. "The Banned Emperor lackeys did find the location of the last Flower City. But because of the nature of the Flower City, they were unable to find it again with me interfering." Zeru gave a short summary of what had happened, indicating that the Flower City teleports randomly to various locations in China every time a certain series of flower blooms. It just so happened that the Banned Emperor was able to narrow down the flower that was currently blooming. However, with Zeru''s interference, he managed to delay the Banned Emperor faction from coming into the last ancient Flower City, allowing them to teleport away in time. But like the Banned Emperor faction, Zeru was clueless where the city had teleported to. For the past few weeks, he had been on a wild goose chase for it and at the same time, realised that every location he went to, there were bound to have few Banned Emperor lackeys stationed in the area. "Their organisation is bigger than I thought and it felt as if we are dealing with just one particular faction of theirs. They know that I had been chasing them and thus, been chasing after me too. I honestly hope not to bring them here so that was one of the reasons why I had been rarely seen in this area too." "Hmm¡­ This is indeed a problem." And that was when Jin realised there might be a connection why the Symposium might need a backup site. Could it be that there was someone in the Symposium who knew about him? Or perhaps Zeru? Not likely but since he had killed several Banned Emperor members before, it would not be surprising to use the Symposium as a point of action. Or perhaps he was just thinking too much? Chapter 1202 - A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 4 Chapter 1202 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 4 "I believed they had too many secret members around. They are like¡­what''s the marvellous comic, the one with the hail something something." Kraft didn''t say much with his mouth and brain occupied by the fantastic meat sandwich. "Hydrus? That evil organisation that subsequently overturned B.U.C.K.L.E.R?" Jin answered as he remembered that scene when Captain Merrica faced the resurfaced Hydrus agents. The movie was part of the famous chain of franchise movies which marvellous comics had created. "Ah yeah, yeah that. The best we can do on our part is to rely on the System since it does a minor quick brain scan on people with potential threats. Other than that, we are on our own in the wild." Kraft added while taking a napkin to wipe the dripping sauce from his mouth since he talked a little too much with his mouth full. "The only thing we can do is train ourselves so that we would not be implicated. Besides, even if the agents come to attack us, I have managed to get the System to procure the highest of the highest insurance premiums." "No wonder¡­so that was you all along. I thought to myself why there was a sudden deduction of my funds at a certain point to various insurance companies. I assumed it was the System who did it." Jin replied. "But Zeru, you don''t have to worry for this little kid. His phantom grandfather had been working hard to whip him up to shape. He even managed to stave off the third stage of my graveyard combo. So, meh. He should be able to stay alive quite well against Hydu- I erm mean Banned Emperor agents." Kraft had a slip of tongue, once again due to the deliciously made sandwich. Everyone could see he was enjoying it way too much and definitely wanted more. (Which Lynn had prepared sufficiently after hearing how the Fox had been working hard in the Dungeon World.) "Is it? Then perhaps it is time I test your skills a little." Zeru said as he too enjoyed the sandwich but with much restraint. "I would like to spar you to know the extent of my skills too." Jin nodded his head with agreement, especially since he was about to go back to the Endless Battlefield to fulfil Ming''s request of getting a week straight of fighting. "But before that, I like to ask. Why is it so difficult to access the last Flower City and what''s so special about it? I get it that it was your erm finance''s hometown? And since you said it''s the last, there are many others?" "Hmm¡­ Yes. I guess it''s more or less time to tell you about ¨C" "STOP! No!" Lynn suddenly interrupted and refused to let Zeru continue his sentence. "He has more than enough on his plate. If you give him your backstory, he would not hesitate to assist you and even want to interfere with it. If it is something you can handle your own, I wholeheartedly suggest that you continue to keep it to yourself." Lynn said her sentences in quick successions without any pause and that made everyone on the dining table stunned for a second or two. After which, they all laughed simultaneously at how pure Lynn was, which even made Jin chuckle at Lynn''s concern for him. "But you know, if this is some game. This is basically Jin''s way of getting Zeru''s trust and possibly a level up or two in their techniques." Qiu Yue continued to giggle. "You are basically stopping Jin from progressing his ''relationship'' with Zeru." "Well, he can continue his relationship progress with me first." Lynn accidentally blurted out her own desires and suddenly blushed at her slip of the tongue. The entire group started to whistle and woo at her openness which also prompted Jin to answer in kind. "Ahahah. You guys." Jin did not know how to reply since he wanted to be that Mr nice guy until Qiu Yue who was sitting beside him slapped his back. She probably felt it was dragging way too long so enough was enough. "XIE JIN. Be a man. You do not have to worry about me. If I wanted you, I would have eaten you a long time ago. I saw you had been trying to be concern with her cautiously for some time already. I think this is the most appropriate situation to tell your feelings out." Qiu Yue winked at him. "Also, I do appreciate the fact that you were a little concerned about my feelings. However, all these Sub Systems and the money earning is more -" "System suggests that User takes the two Sub System Users as his mates so that-" And immediately Jin shouted with a definite no. "Wow. This is the rare time I see Jin take a tough stance on an issue." Kraft noted. "And to not go for polygamy is quite a surprise. I thought most leaders would love to have a couple of wives to show their superiority." "Yeah, there is nothing wrong with taking the two of them at once." Milk tried to stir the fire within the chaos with her attempt of an air kiss. "A no means a no. And Lynn, I would like to reciprocate your feelings right now. I really want to. But I am currently bogged down with way too many issues that it is unfair to you and selfishly to me. I know all the things you did for me and I can feel your earnest feelings. All I can ask is you to give me some time- Argh! " Jin said before he got pinched on the cheeks by Qiu Yue. "Stop beating around the bush and say your true feelings right here and now. A yes or no. I remembered you were like this with me and that is why no other girls get to understand you. Don''t be a wuss." Qiu Yue tells firmly Jin to stop playing hard to get. "Fine! Fine!" Jin said as he stood up and took a deep breath in. Everyone including Lynn felt like time had stopped for a moment as they awaited Jin his answer. "Yes. I really do like you Lynn ever since I saw you selling your wares. I want to spend more time with you but I do not know how to do that. I will try my best if you are willing to accept me." Jin said bashfully with an unexpected confession out of nowhere that made Lynn blushed. "I know we all have our differences and history. But please-" Before he could finish his sentence, everyone was cheering crazily, even Zeru who was usually reserved, started clapping at the resolution that Jin had taken. Peppers threw a few small magical flares and Milk hugged Lynn, congratulating her. "Took you way too long, idiot." Qiu Yue pulled Jin''s hand and brought him towards Lynn who was at the other side of the table. She then purposely got them to hold hands together and the crowd at the table went wild a little. But surely, even if she had initiated it, the Red Panda Cultivator could not help herself to feel a tinge of jealousy despite the happiness she felt when both of her friends finally got together. Chapter 1203 - A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 5 Chapter 1203 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval -Part 5 "Okay, now that we have established that those two are awkwardly together, should we give them some space?" Qiu Yue said since the rest had more or less finished their supper as well. "I actually have a few other things I would like to- ow" Jin got interrupted by Qiu Yue and via the System Channel, she ordered him to spend some time with Lynn instead. "The System also approved of Qiu Yue''s idea. Please take your time with your new partner or else the System forbids User to perform any other functions." The System said in the private System Channel as well. "Whew whew. Did not expect that from the System. Good on you." Qiu Yue smiled a little on the outside before grabbing Kraft and Zeru by their shoulders and told them to move their conversation to the backyard. When they were in the backyard, Kraft had the itch to ask Qiu Yue that burning question. "Why? Why put yourself in that kind of position. I thought you would be fine having it status quo." "Lynn tried too hard for her own good and to see her efforts not being reciprocated is just a little wasted if you get what I mean. Besides, I had my run with Jin and I left him initially because I thought he was going to be a useless guy¡­ Well, technically, he is still a useless guy in my eyes in certain areas but he is no longer the same person I know." Qiu Yue took a few cans of beer out and asked if the two of them wanted any. "I understand your frustration. Before I met my wife, I too had someone I truly admired and adored. It was too bad that there were some misunderstandings which caused us to drift apart." Zeru grabbed a few stools and placed them around them like a circle as they enjoyed the opening sounds of the beer cans. "Ahhh, now this is a story I wanted to listen to. Not all those troubles that I have been hearing all day long." Qiu Yue''s mood perked up and even Kraft was listening intently. "What? Noooo. It was something I regretted not chasing wholeheartedly. That''s all to it. Nothing much." Zeru tried to divert the topic but the rest knew there was definitely more to the story which Kraft could not resist poking the hornet''s nest "Does that mean you still like that person if not for your dearly departed wife?" Kraft questioned and he pointed his finger at him. "Be frank about it, your wife had already gone peacefully and you did your utmost to be with her. Now there is no reason to lie to us." "¡­Her cousin." Zeru immediately took a huge gulp of his beer the moment he said it. As much he was fearless in battle, his heart and hands were faltering the moment he blurted out those two words. "It was because of her duty to be the next leader of the Sakura Clan that we had to cut ties. My wife¡­ she probably knew of the circumstances and took the opportunity to take me instead even though the two of them were as thick as blood." "Wow, even though it sounds like a typical theatre drama, it still hurts to hear it in real life." Qiu Yue said and Kraft furrowed his eyebrows. "Your meaning of typical drama is a bit screwed up," Kraft said and Qiu Yue shook her finger. "I will recommend a few shows for you to watch in your spare time." The Red Panda Cultivator said as she looked at the two men right in front of her quietly. "What are your motivations to stay alive right now? Is it to just serve Jin as per contract?" Qiu Yue asked, wondering how two superiorly strong men. "Hmmph. If we were to riot early on, we probably could have defeat Jin. And with Zeru by my side? It''s more like world domination." Kraft chuckled as he switched the stool into an arching chair, allowing him to relax. "But it''s a different world right now. True, might and power can bring you to places but without proper usage, it will merely land us with the wrong opponents. Because of Jin''s FAIRLY cautious ways of doing business, we can still exert strength whenever needed. But mindless killing? It would just be our downfall. Perhaps in the Goblin World or Dungeon World, it might be an entirely new ball game but our hearts are still here." Kraft blabbered. "In short, what he meant is we have unfinished business. For example, the eradication of the banned emperor for me while he wished the Panda Clan back to its former glory so he could get his fox clan back too." Zeru replied and explained to Qiu Yue. "Surely, if I would work for it, I could get the Royal Fox Clan up and running too." Kraft was annoyed how Zeru spoiled his attempt at being philosophically deep. "Everyone knows that only the anointed Heavenly Emperor is able to do that. You need the blessing of the heavens to be recognised as the Royal Fox Clan." Zeru stated. "Don''t you find it weird? With the ability to transverse worlds, we had already defeated bad demons and found good ones too. In no time, we probably would be able to face bad heavenly beings and we will see if your theory still holds water. Remember how those Greek Gods destroyed Derek''s world and turned it into a zombie apocalypse?" "There will definitely be some bad eggs, I would not deny that. Unless we go to the heavenly planes and earn ourselves a place in there, your wish to be a Royal Fox Lord would never happen." Zeru said and Qiu Yue placed her hand on her forehead. "Zeru¡­why are you giving him ideas? I can already feel his sinister aura vibrating through me already" Qiu Yue remarked and Kraft laughed. "That would be a nifty goal to work on. But pardon me, my friends. Before I can even do that, I would like to raid the Church of the Afterlife even more." Kraft felt it was more than enough break for him and he DID feel a little bad for his lackeys who were working hard in the Dungeon World. "We are going to try the first floor, test the water and return for a good rest. So perhaps we can talk again¡­assuming Zeru does not disappear for too long once more." Kraft waved his hand and a teleport gate appeared in front of him with noises of soldiers dying. "That was a good break for me too. Perhaps, I shall proceed to my next hunting area to find those Banned Emperors lackeys." Zeru said as he stood up but Qiu Yue stopped him for a moment. "Before you go, can I have a sparring session with you? I do not wish to lose against Jin and Lynn if possible. I have a feeling that they might grow tighter as a couple and potentially increase their fighting capabilities." Qiu Yue explained and Zeru paused for a moment. "Filling your solitude with training?" Zeru said to himself. "Reminds me of my former self. I would not say it''s a bad idea but it''s indeed one of the better ways to cope. Come. Follow me to the battlefield. Besides, you might have a new perspective which could help me¡­just erm one condition." "Anything." Qiu Yue perks up. "I cannot teleport as much as I want to since what I am doing is my own selfish quest. The System does not reward me with many System points unless I defeat a Banned Emperor lackey. Even so, the food and teleportation takes-" "I understand, Zeru. The System is one stingy bitch. I will help you with that. Of course, you have to understand I got my own job to do as well" Qiu Yue said which Zeru recognised her condition as well. And as per the agreement, she requested Zeru to share the coordinates as they opened a teleport portal, allowing them to transverse to the previous area where Zeru had been scouting. Perhaps, it was a blessing in disguise for Qiu Yue to have several masters, allowing her to work on her cultivation grade as well as the possibility to fight on equal grounds with Jin.. Even if she had purposely lost Jin to Lynn, it also meant that she could finally focus on improving herself to be the super career lady she aimed to be. Chapter 1204 - A MuChapter Needed Interval - Final Chapter 1204 ¨C A MuChapter Needed Interval ¨C Final When left alone, the newest couple in the block looked at each other awkwardly. "Erm, I guessed they ran away as fast as they could when the cat was out of the bag¡­ You want me to help you clear the dishes?" Jin asked as he did not know what else to do. It was not as if it was his first girlfriend experience, but this confession and acceptance were way too sudden. "Hmm yeah sure." Lynn also felt that clearing the dishes might help them settle their awkwardness for a moment before they do anything else with regards to their new relationship status. In the meantime, the System had already broadcast to everyone under Jin''s command of this latest gossip. (After all, the System did not want to harshly push the couple to a corner that it would cause them to break up.) A lot of the minions were thinking it was about time, given how the both of them were acting pretty obvious to each other with the exception of Jin. He had been trying to avoid getting anything that might derail his work and plans but to the System, it was a meaningful distraction since that would at least provide a shot for an offspring. (As if Pandas themselves do not have a hard time trying to create a baby¡­ and somehow that applied to Jin as well.) In any case, the silent dishwashing activity allowed Jin to calm himself down and decided to speak first. However, he did not expect Lynn to start the conversation at the same time as him, prompting them to return to their troubled quiet state for a moment. "You go first," Lynn said as she received the washed dish from Jin to dry it up. (They actually have a dishwasher but given the situation, Jin somehow decided to manually wash the dishes.) "Do you want to take this slow? Like real slow? As I had said previously and you probably have known, I am currently filled to the brim that I could hardly breathe. With that being said, it would be unfair of me to have any expectations of you as well." "I would love to say anything goes, but we should have a serious talk on our expectations in this relationship if you ask me," Lynn replied honestly after being in one sided relationship with her master. While she knew that the broken relationship was over, the scars of a failed love somehow made her all the wiser. "I too think that would be a good idea." Jin gave her the very last plate to dry before washing his hands. Lynn then proceeded to take two cups out of the cabinet and asked Jin whether he would like some coffee. "Hmm, tea would be fine. The supper was quite heavy." Jin said and Lynn nodded while taking two satchels of green tea which could aid with the digestion. They then sat at the very same dining table and began looking at each other. "I¡­ I would like to have more responsibility to the store if that''s okay with you." "I thought the Kitchen instance was already busy enough for you? And not just that, I had seen numerous reports of you providing food and aid to the refugees in the worlds that we had our hands in. Oh and for that, thanks for keeping them well fed and alive." Jin said as he sipped the green tea slowly. "That is nothing, it''s part of my job. And yes while the kitchen can be busy, I had learnt how to let go most of my tasks to the penguins. At first, I thought they might not be competent to take up such tasks but as months go by, they started to be way better than me in almost all aspects that I had to train myself harder to move to higher heights." Lynn said. "And I feel that I need to widen my perspective and one would be taking some job of yours. And perhaps through that, I could get the inspiration I need for my work as well." Lynn answered. "System believed that what she meant was that she wanted to learn the ropes by spending some time with you so that she could have better inspiration." The System secretly whispered to Jin in a very very private chat channel. "Since when are you a love expert?" Jin tried to control his expression as much as possible to prevent him from leaking his thoughts out for Lynn to catch notice of. "Ever since the System wants to have offspring to continue the Royal Panda Clan heritage." The System did not mince its words and Jin nearly wanted to vomit blood at that point in time and instead coughed abruptly. "Sorry, could be the tea went in a little too quickly," Jin said but inside him, he was cursing the System. First, it wanted the User to be attached, now it demands a baby. "But with regards to your request. Yeah, sure. Pop by anytime you want and take a look. Even if I do not have the time to teach properly, I am sure the System would-" At that point, Jin suddenly felt that saying the System would assist felt like a red flag at the start of the relationship and thus he changed his tune a bit. "Cough. I mean the System would provide you with the necessary equipment so I can be there to aid you with the teaching." Jin answered and Lynn chuckled a little. "You do not have to accommodate me that much. I know sometimes, you would need some me-time to get things done. So, please, by all means, do what you need to do." Lynn replied but wondered how his cultivation had been going. "Why did you ask?" Jin queried and Lynn said that it was the first time she saw him visibly frustrated when he woke up. "It was as if you left things undone, hmmm being forced to wake up? I am just plain guessing." Lynn explained and Jin nodded his head while sighing away. "How do I start explaining to you¡­" Chapter 1205 - Astral Imitation Style Chapter 1205 ¨C Astral Imitation Style When Lynn heard about the current state of Jin''s cultivation, she was surprised herself that he was able to hold that long with so many soldiers with various skills. "Yeah, I am surprised that a weapon had a heck of a lot of ways to hold them. But I can only vaguely remember a few of them." "The System is curious with regards to this situation that User had placed himself in." The System said as it was the first time Jin had ever talked about his cultivation within his subconsciousness. For the past few runs, the System was unable to gauge Jin''s power increase because it had always been kept as a secret. The Astral Panda Cultivator had been so swarmed with work that the System did not bother asking, so long that he was able to grade up, it satisfied the System''s requirements. "Lol, what do you want? Try a battle in real life? Do you have enough dummies to even do that? I do not fight with mere dozens, I fight against hundreds, thousands perhaps." Jin said with an uncaring tone until the System acknowledged that it would require time to set it up. "But even without fighting against a thousand soldiers, the System would wish to see the User''s skills in actions." The System said while opening a portal right beside the two. "Please enter. Upon completing a sequence of trials, the System shall provide minor compensation for sating our curiosities as well as the User''s time." "If you put it that way, I guess there''s no harm trying it," Jin said as he shrugged his shoulders and drank his teacup empty before entering the portal. Lynn had decided to enter as well to see Jin in action and wondered if she could learn a thing or two. "Fine, System. What are you going to throw against me?" Jin asked as he stretched his body a little by doing a few body twists. "The System shall first throw a middle grade Rat Cultivator as a test." "Any cultivation style in particular? The Royal Zodiac Rat clan series? Or something more exotic? I remember seeing a few in action but not exactly very common." Jin said as he instantly called out his Bam and Boo and changed them into a Katana with Bam and a dedicated customised sheath with Boo. "I thought you have your very own sheath that came along with each sword, why make Boo into a sheath?" Lynn asked and Jin smiled. "Wait and see." The moment he spoke, he placed Bam into Boo while lowering his stance that one believed it was extremely awkward to stand right up. His legs were right apart with one straightened and the other bent. When he achieved his stance, his right hand was mere centimetres away from the sheath and closed his eyes to concentrate. "The System would not provide any further information and wished to see how the User deals with subsequent numbers. The Rat Cultivator Clone would further multiply and use various rat styles to face the User. All the System asks is that the User survives for a minute." The System stated that it was about to do something similar to what Jin had experienced but at a smaller scale. Yet, it ensured Jin that the quality of the cultivators would definitely be more than what Jin experienced. According to Jin, most of the cultivator soldiers in his subconscious used only one skill but against the System''s clone, the rat cultivator would be able to utilise the full repertoire of its style and would not hesitate to cut Jin down. "To further narrow the gap, the System had forced the User''s grade to drop Grade 6 as a fair comparison." The System added the previous line at the very last minute but it still did not break Jin''s concentration. Lynn did not see Jin this serious before and decided to take a few steps back to see what Jin was able to do. And since there was no reply from the Astral Panda Cultivator, the System believed his silence was the consent for the Rat Cultivator Clone to move forth. Without further ado, it was basically a clone of Wo De Tian, the Rat Triad Boss which Jin had defeated before. Based on the System''s information on the Ruby Rat Cultivation as well as the manuals available to it, the System had created a near perfect replica of the Ruby Rat Cultivation and placed the info into the Rat Cultivator Clone. In terms of appearance, it was basically the same but this ''Wo De Tian'' would be more deadly and unforgiving as compared to the one Jin had encountered. This was because Jin was able to win due to his opponent''s arrogance for underestimating Jin. Thus the System''s clone was different since it was able to act logically based on the System''s commands and even if Jin was able to win against this particular clone, two more clones would take their place with countermeasures against Jin''s mode of attack. Theoretically, to win the match, the Astral Panda Cultivator had to utilise all the skills he had learnt since the System would use numbers as well as an analytical review to defeat Jin. However, as soon as the clone Wo De Tian stepped forward, Jin''s cultivation was portrayed right above him and Lynn was taken aback by it. Not due to fear but rather to hold her breath so that she would not laugh at the Pandas. A large Panda at the centre was dressed in a costume full of feathers as the smaller four pandas were blowing right behind it to imitate the wind direction in which the Panda in this feathery costume was diving. Not only that, it had purposely worn a headdress with two yellow beady eyes and its feather ear tufts to imitate an owl''s head. Regardless, it did not cause the clone cultivator to back down since it was controlled by the System but the moment Wo De Tian stepped into Jin''s range, a series of swift stabs crossed through his body, causing him to bleed right at the spot before it was even able to make a move. His heart, lungs and abdomen had been stabbed cleanly and the clone fell flat to the ground bleeding to his death. "Astral Imitation Style: Observant Owl," Jin mumbled as he raised his stance a little to return the sword back into his sheath. Chapter 1206 - The Systems Quick Bout Chapter 1206 ¨C The System¡¯s Quick Bout When Jin performed the Astral Imitation Style, both the System and Lynn were astonished how he managed to copy the attacks. This was because the skills are associated with a certain animal style and most cultivators had been restricted to use based on the animal they had been affiliated to. While there had been cultivators who were able to change cultivation styles mid life, many did not succeed because they could not find most of the manuals out in the open to be compatible with their chi. That''s why most cultivators followed their familial cultivation styles because that particular style already had the best compatibility with their chi. Only certain talented cultivators would take up a double cultivation style should their chi allow such compatibility and that was how the Royal Zodiac Clans managed to stay in power for so long. Those royal clans would not compromise their styles and only allow cultivators who could practice their style to be welcomed if they were inundated into their clan because of love or business related relationships. Thus those who joined usually had practised two cultivation styles to earn their status as a royal clan member. But in Jin''s case, his chi was not limited to his Panda Style mainly because of the infusion of Mana, resulting in the capability to produce Maqi. That not only dilutes his distinctive chi features but also increases the quality of it, enabling him to easily copy a particular cultivation style. In addition to the full activation of his Maqi production which he had learnt previously under the guidance of Genbu and Orochi, there was no doubt he could imitate other styles without too much of a trouble. The only problem was that weird depiction of the style through his pandas and a slightly inferior attacking power compared to the original. (Of course, for the latter, it can be compensated with additional training and chi output.) Still, this was a new discovery for the System and it did not hesitate to turn the dial on the trial so that it could get more information on Jin''s newest skill. If what Jin had performed was consistent, the System now understood the reason why Ming had collected all those books and cultivation manuals in advance. It was all planned to not make a school out of Jin''s business but to increase the skill sets for Jin. Not to mention, the combination of the System and Jin would greatly increase with this particular method. While it initially thought the System Rider feature would have been a major boon, this new realisation of aiding user through the bountiful collection of manuals would be even more terrifying for Jin''s opponents. This was because the System could simply collate and compile the manuals before hand and analyse which would be the most effective style against a certain cultivator. With its extensive database, it would not be an issue for the System to pull up a few manuals and upload them into Jin''s head through a series of quick thought injection spells. (Like how Kraft pushes his thoughts to force a person to do his bidding.) And that would enable Jin to fight with newly enhanced knowledge against his opponent¡­ assuming the System had enough data with regards to their opponent. But given the trove of manuals that Ming had prepared for his grandson''s benefit, including the ones Jin had yet to unlock from Grandma Yuan, the System believed that it was poised to be in an advantageous position to assist Jin in combat despite its severe limitations outside the store. Now it had teleported two new Wo De Tians to Jin to partake as promised. The more he defeats an enemy, the more they would multiple to add on to the challenge. However, instead of using another style, the Astral Panda Cultivator continued to use Observant Owl with the addition of inserting his own Maqi. As the Observant Owl Style was mainly focused on wind or air type of chi, Jin had utilised his Maqi to call forth a gust of wind based Maqi that served as duplicated wind blades to enhance his attack. The two Wo De Tian clones did spend more ''fight'' time as compared to the first one by performing their first basic technique but eventually were taken down when Jin unleashed three stabs into each of their bodies like how an owl caught its prey and pierced it to death. The subsequent round had four Wo De Tian clones and this time it was even more exciting as Jin finally used a separate technique even though he continued to use the Observant Owl style. The wind blades which he conjured forced the clones to split apart and when Jin was about to use the very same stabs against the clones, one of them managed to evade the attack, giving him the opportunity to jump Jin while he was on the offensive. However, his customised sheath came right up, blocking the slash to his face and allowing Jin to retaliate with a quick uppercut, causing the clone to split into two from the defensive strike. It was then Lynn realised the sheath that Boo transformed to, was actually a sword in disguise. Yet, that was not the end as the remaining three did a simultaneous team attack that forced Jin to step backwards. Still, the unsuspecting clones got sliced into multiple pieces because of a wind magic trap attack that Jin had used when he left the spot. The wind trap spell triggered, causing several wind blades to burst out of the ground, cleanly cutting the rest of the clones into sashimi. But as the remaining three were killed, another eight emerged and took over their place. It was now Jin changed his Astral Imitation Style and Lynn could see the panda silhouette above Jin started to tear the owl costume away and the remaining smaller pandas went behind it while cloaking themselves under a piece of leather. It was then Lynn was able to discern that they were imitating a snake with the big panda silhouette putting his tongue out while pasting two triangle shaped pieces of paper at the edge of its tongue and wearing two long fake fangs. But the most prominent part of the entire getup? All the pandas were wearing slippers. "Astral Imitation Style: Slipper Snake!" Jin shouted as he sheathed his sword into Boo and immediately whipped it out, causing the sword to extend widely. It was no longer a katana and rather, a sword whip. With blades infused with wind Maqi, the sword moved like a slipper through a soapy glass tile, zipping past the enemy and hitting each and every clone at their vital points before it retracts back. All the clones fell to the ground, struggling to stay alive but the System terminated them so that it could send the next batch of clones towards Jin. Needless to say most of them were not a match to Jin even though he had already been restricted in terms of grade. The System eventually terminated the bout since a minute was about to be up, with a few seconds remaining and based on the data, there was no way those clones could fight toe to toe against Jin. So instead of wasting resources, the System promised and rewarded Jin what he deserved.. The entire library of manuals compiled into an app for him to browse. Chapter 1207 - Copying Jins Experience Chapter 1207 ¨C Copying Jin¡¯s Experience "What do I need this for? It''s quite a useless reward if you ask me about it." Jin said as he barely lost his breath from that current fight. Compared to the ruthless faceless soldiers in Suzaku''s endless battlefield, the trial from the System was like a walk in the park. "Incorrect. The System believed it would prove to be very useful to you." The System replied. "User knows how the System is intricately connected to the User, correct?" "Yeah. But what does¡­Hmm." Jin was not very sure where the System was going with that route of explanation and decided to let it finish its sentence. At the same time, he was already thinking that there might be something else. "Maybe it could help you with the problem you had?" Lynn, who was watching from the sidelines, offered her deduction which was in this case, similar to what Jin had thought. "Affirmative. The System might not be able to enter the User''s subconscious but the User''s phone had been used to store any information you had encountered. It is like a monitoring device to ensure that the User has a stable connection with the System. Thus, we believed that even though you had fallen into the realm of your subconscious, the phone is able to record what you had experienced before." "Isn''t that a more pervasive form of stalking?" Jin sighed and scratched his head, wondering if this was a good thing. "The System hoped that the User would think it is more of a help rather than an invasive procedure." "Actually, Jin. Why worry so much? The System had already crept into your life and read your activities like an open book. What''s another level of intrusion of privacy matters to you? As much as you are frustrated by it, you are benefitting from its stalking behaviour." Lynn said as she had already given up. "Listen to your new girlfriend." The System supported Lynn''s argument. "Besides, if what the System said is true, you might actually be able to compile what you had seen through your cultivation process. It might be even more useful for you." Lynn added. "The problem is, what if it does not? The System would then try something even more invasive." Jin shrugged. "Maybe one day it would involve putting a chip in my brain or something." "The System does not need to rely on that. As the System had already discovered that during your cultivation process, there was an intensive amount of information exchange within your brain. Thus, what the System is doing now is creating an app that would monitor based on the electrical signal movements in your brain circuit. With that information, the System would be able to distinguish whether those electrical signals were signalling the movement of your muscles or certain information to your brain." "If not, the System merely probes the electrical signal and checks what kind of information has been stored inside you. After all, the User is connected to the System and has been accustomed to Kraft''s monthly sanity checks. You would not feel a single thing during your cultivation." "Hmm yea, so what do I get out of it?" Jin felt the System was merely compiling information for its own good until he found out that the System was going to implement what it had thought during the trial. "Oh..okay. Then I guess that is really worth a shot. To be able to receive information not just on the style but having a supercomputer to know which cultivation style could possibly be more effective against my opponent would no doubt benefit me." Jin said and then paused for a moment. "But wait. Does that not only apply to this world? I mean the rest of the multiverse had no such cultivation nonsense in their worlds." "Having an edge in your homeworld is a sufficient advantage. Who knows if one were to traverse to another separate world, they might be handy?" The System stated and then Lynn raised her hand. "Is there any way I can follow Jin, copying other people''s style?" "Negative. The User is able to do so because of his distinct infusion of Chi and Mana. However, the cultivation manual that Sub System User Lynn has been using is more than sufficient against most opponents if you had cultivated sufficiently." "But cultivation does not mean shit if I do not have experience. I nearly lost the previous round in the dungeon world because of that inexperience. If I can''t copy Jin''s style, I would like to at least fight on a constant basis to get my skills right." "If what the User said was true, perhaps the System might be able to get a glimpse of the information of the enemies User had encountered with a deep brain scan the moment he gets out of his subconscious. The System would then attempt to replicate what User went through and utilise the post processing as a simulation for Lynn if you are willing." "Welp, if you can do that, that would not just help me but the minions too. Especially if we are focusing on this world. While they might get some training from fighting against cultivators from my shop, some were deliberately losing to even out the customer''s experience or hide their true strength from being showcased. But if you are really able to bring it out, they should have the opportunity to gain more exposure and shed more light on how different cultivators fight." Jin said and Lynn agreed. "Then if everyone is agreeable, the System would then advise User to enter his cultivation mode as quickly as possible. With regards to the Symposium, the System would recommend Lynn to settle it." "What? Me?" Lynn was astonished by the sudden command from the System." "The System noted previously that you wished to have more responsibility. Since the User is now busy, the System would slowly push the business aspect for you to handle." "Wow. That''s quick. Well, I do not mind Lynn, but if you do that, be sure to follow the System''s recommendation. I feel that it''s not as simple as it looks, especially after Zeru''s explanation. I might want to believe it''s over thinking on my end but it''s better to be prepared than never." Jin said as the System teleported him back to his own room. "Hmm, then System. Please show me the way." Lynn said as she waved to Jin goodbye¡­ but the User decided to step forward and gave her a gentle hug, causing her to blush a little. While it was indeed awkward, she did appreciate the effort he made. "Be sure to come back safely." "Haha, I definitely will. But do try to wake me up if its near the Symposium deadline. It would be such an embarrassment if I planned all these and could even make it for that." Jin said with a smile. "User should be more concern on the changes in the Farming World. There were some major movement from the Rats according to the scouts." The System reported "Why are you telling me this right now. Are we going to have a situation where I had to handle my own world''s event and the farming world simultaneously once more?" Jin questioned and the System said it is inevitable considering the worlds wait for no one. "Ah, we will manage it one thing at a time. So, here goes nothing.. Time for round two," Jin said as he sat on his bed and somehow, he managed to fall into his sleep almost as soon as he touched his pillow. Chapter 1208 - Still Dreaming Chapter 1208 ¨C Still Dreaming As Jin continued his eternal struggle against the ghosts of his own, Lynn decided to pick up what Jin had left her. She initially wanted to have a nice little supper, tease Jin for not accepting her and go to sleep. Plain as that. Little did she know just a simple supper and some additional teasing caused the entire situation to escalate so quickly into a relationship. Even she felt that this was a dream and believed falling asleep instantly might possibly cause it to disappear. Neither did she want to pinch herself to know it was true. That gentle hug at the end of the conversation was sweet of Jin, warming her weary heart now that she knows he was finally hers. "I would be lying if I could sleep properly later." Lynn thought to herself as she felt that she had finally completed a long term goal. However, she too understood that the start of the relationship was merely the end of a ''single'' race and the start of another with Jin. Whether she could keep him or not was another issue entirely. But for Jin to immediately give Lynn one of his responsibilities before popping into cultivation was a little rude of him. "Just a hug and you give me such an important task?" Lynn said to herself with a bit of pouting. However, at the same time, she could not help that it was his way of showing his trust since he had always been doing his things all by himself despite the amount of help available around him. "Perhaps I will do it this one time and if he wants me to do something this important in the future, I would probably ask for something selfish too!" Lynn said to herself, psyching herself up for the task. "The System believed this would be a good time killer so that it would tire you for the night. Currently, the System has detected extremely high levels of adrenaline presumably due to the influx of your current emotions. And this task has a high chance of stabilising said levels." The System reported and Lynn merely rolled her eyes at the System''s poor excuse. Regardless, she was also curious whether Jin was correct despite his overly cautious attitude. The Banned Emperor had frequently been in the highlights for quite some time and Jin clashing with them somehow did not feel like it was just a coincidence. Yet, she was no expert in any of this and thus the next best thing she could do was to contact a very special somebody which she knew would be greatly indebted to her. Kong Rong. Mr Know It All. A text message asking for help was more than enough to get the special agent to instantly call within the minute, questioning Lynn whether she was in danger. "No, Kong Rong. I am not but I will be if you do not help me." Lynn said in such a serious tone that it almost caught Kong Rong into sending agents to her location immediately. After all, the protection bubble of the Royal Panda Clan was in effect and the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan, particularly the people under Kong Rong and his grandmother, would enact this rule earnestly. Lynn subsequently explained the situation to the special agent and he was actually elated that Jin took a serious stance on the issue of a backup site. "I will get my agents to take a look at it. I trust the System will do its own analytics as well? Then perhaps in the morning, we would be able to compare and exchange notes?" "You get your employees to assess stuff this late in the night- or erm early morning?" Lynn felt concerned that she was giving more work to the special agents'' lackeys. "Nah, do not worry about it. They are trained to work 24 hours round the clock and are adequately compensated for their duties." Kong Rong calmed Lynn down. "Hmm nono. That''s unfair to them if they have such a workload. How about this? Those who are able to find something, I treat them to a meal of their choice?" Lynn said and Kong Rong laughed out loud. "Guys, did you get to hear my conversation with Lynn? From the famous restaurant instance in Jin''s supplier store?" Kong Rong asked and suddenly Lynn heard a massive crowd shouting and cheering at the Chef''s generosity. "I guess, a morning deadline would be way too much slack for these guys." Kong Rong chuckled and said he would send a text to her once the deed was done. Lynn thanked him profusely before heading to the Dungeon Maker to do her research too. The System had already laid out the necessary groundwork for Lynn to explore but reinforced that making connections right now with the available material would be mere speculations. "The System now thinks that Sub System User Lynn should leave this to the experts while the System would try to dig a bit more if there are any possible Banned Emperor involvements." "Then what can I do?" Lynn questioned thinking that she accidentally pushed the duty she received from Jin to other people. "User had taught you how to use the Dungeon Maker and you even did adjustments for the Cultivation Zoo before the User took it over entirely due to time constraint. Thus, the System would leave you the responsibility of creating an instance in the event that the backup site would indeed be needed for the Symposium." The System stated and clarified Lynn''s thinking that there was nothing else to be done. "Should I erm¡­ add defence back up in the event that the Symposium is still a go-ahead and we encounter trouble?" Lynn questioned while praying that she did not trigger some sort of fortune telling checkpoint for it to come true. "Focus on the basics. The additional situational support systems can be added at a later date when the foundation of the instance has been put in place." The System told Lynn not to worry and go ahead with the creation of the backup site.. "Make the User proud with your personal design." Chapter 1209 - Endless Battlefield -Part 4 Chapter 1209 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 4 As Jin returned to the endless battlefield of the burning phoenix, he thought that he would immediately encounter a series of enemies to contend with. But as the Astral Panda Cultivator opened his eyes, Jin saw a lady waiting for him at the bench where Ming and he used to sit. It was only then he realised it was because she was strikingly beautiful compared to the rest of the background which was littered with dead bodies and faceless soldiers staying their blades against Jin. "Come, grandchild of Ming. Have a seat and have a short chat." Suzaku said as her burning bright red hair was the main allure of her physical features. Jin believed that this was one of the rare opportunities where he could converse with the Four Cardinals Lords, just as how he was given the chance to talk to Genbu before he took action against the examinee. Thus, Jin sheathed his blade and walked slowly to the bench as Suzaku looked at him with a peculiar stare. As much as the Panda Cultivator tried to activate his inverse eyes, he was not able to discern anything from her, not even her power level. He did not know if it was her overwhelming ability or Suzaku had blocked his ''third'' sight from even scanning her. "Not very gentlemanly of you to do that," Suzaku said with much indifference that Jin did not know whether it was a threat or a casual remark. "I apologise. After being backstabbed too many times, I tend to err at the cautious side." Jin said and he could see that Suzaku broke her stoic expression ever so slightly to accommodate his apology. As Jin sat beside her, he could feel that her hair was not much of a danger as he thought it would be. Sure, it was burning with sparks of fire flying out of it but there was nothing burning, especially the old wooden bench that they were sitting on. "Tell me. What prompts you to return to this weary battlefield. What are you fighting for?" Suzaku asked without looking at the Astral Panda Cultivator and instead continued to stare at the broken endless battlefield that was right in front of her. "I heard of the tales that my grandfather had said about you. How people wished to have a piece of you ¨C erm a feather from you." "You are not exactly answering that question." Suzaku interrupted Jin''s explanation and he stumbled a little and sighs for a moment. "I think without explanation, you will find my reason to do so to be ridiculously simple. It is to train myself up." "By passing the trial that your grandfather imposed on you?" Suzaku questioned. "You could say that. I have no other ill intentions against you nor I wished to harm you a single bit just for some rumoured feather." "Even with the fact that you might die in the real world as compared to the others who have a chance of resurrecting back?" "And then chase a goal for the rest of my life that might be intangible in its results?" Jin returned the question with his own. "What do you exactly mean?" Suzaku still did not turn her head towards him. "Your feathers, do they honestly have resurrective powers? And even if they do, can it really resurrect me when I am cursed by heaven''s decree?" "You are taunting me to show my ability to you so that you can have desires fulfilled?" Suzaku questioned once more and Jin shook his head. "That is not what I meant." Jin was wondering whether Suzaku had been betrayed by many in the past for her to say such remarks. "I am saying I do not need your feathers at all. I am fine with my current life and I will accept the consequences should death befall me. Heck, sure I might invest some money and resources to find out if I could be resurrected but surely not at the expense of you if you are not willing to assist." At that point, Suzaku turned her head slowly and gave a blank look at Jin, unsure of what he had said previously. "In simple terms, I am training myself in your battlefield and wish to be just your friend. Not because I want your feather for my selfish purpose but it seems you have been trapped in your world for far too long, not trusting anyone. I would merely want to let you know, not all humans are like this. Although if you feel that I am worthy of your friendship and comradery, and you would like to gift me a feather of yours, I would not say no to it." "Sounds like you are using me after I used you." "If you wish to put it that way, then I am fine with it. After all, I am a businessman so bantering is my middle name." Jin shrugged off Suzaku''s concerns as if it was not much of a big deal. "Besides, you are not the only phoenix like creature I know. I have a phoenix under my care too so you could be friends with her if you like. Oh, but that is assuming I am able to let you guys out of this hellhole." At that point, Suzaku pondered for a moment before breaking a small smile out from her face. "That would indeed be nice. To have a friend similar to me." "Yeah, better than friending some humans. Trust me, when you are this high up the ladder of power, the lesser friends you have. So, it''s good to know that most of my minions take me as a friend rather than someone who they have to obey. In any case, I should get going. Got a trick in my sleeve I got to try. Thanks for the battlefield in advance!" Jin said as he gave a gentle pat on Suzaku''s back before walking into the battlefield. "As what Ming had said. He is different from the other people I meet.." Suzaku whispered as she continued to stay for a while longer to see Jin struggled against the faceless soldiers that were once her enemies. Chapter 1210 - Endless Battlefield - Part 5 Chapter 1210 ¨C Endless Battlefield ¨C Part 5 Even as Jin continued to battle against the faceless soldiers, he could feel there was a difference. Not in terms of power, strength or technique against his enemies but rather, he could finally sense something was watching over him checking his movements and the way he moved about. "Looks like the System''s invasive stalking 2.0 is working as intended. Oh well, if it does increase my repertoire of techniques, I guess I can hardly say no to it." Jin said to himself as he mindlessly and yet mindfully defeats the enemies that were in his path. But even as he thinks about the System, he was not able to contact it regardless of the method, leaving him to believe that the System was right about monitoring the brain signals while Jin was cultivating and nothing more. Right now, the faceless soldiers in the field were a mix of both weak and strong soldiers which allowed Jin to pace himself. Because of the inverse eyes, he was able to take note of those soldiers'' chi portrayal. He finally was able to discern whether a soldier was going to throw out a basic technique or an advanced technique based on the chi aura surrounding the soldier. This allowed him to take out the weaker ones quickly while keeping the stronger soldiers at bay as he continued to observe the fight. However, at the same time, he felt that this endeavour of learning by watching became a little of a chore. This was mainly because some of the faceless soldiers that emerged were the ones he had seen the technique before. Initially, Jin thought that he was about to reach the end of the ''endless'' supply that Suzaku had encountered before but he was dead wrong. In the mix of those soldiers, there were a few soldiers that started to portray their techniques which he had never seen before so he deduced that Suzaku purposely dilute the pool of soldiers in her endless battlefield to keep him occupied. "Is this some gacha where I have to find soldiers whose techniques I have yet to collect?" Jin said to himself as he gritted his teeth to kill another by transforming Bam and Boo into a great axe, smashing the ground and causing a few rocks to splinter out of the ground. Still, he continued to fight them in case they had more to offer but it was getting tedious¡­.until he realised he might have been able to use his Maqi. After giving himself sufficient space by executing the soldiers within the great axe''s vicinity, he tried to exude out his Maqi aura to create astral clones of himself. Not only was he successful, but Jin was also able to share his Inverse Eyes powers with the clones as well. It was at that point which he felt like beating himself up. "Argh! I forgot that I could use my Maqi to the fullest extent! I keep thinking I was not able to use it since I had been restricted ever since my inception in this dream." Jin said to himself and as the clones began to clash with the soldiers. On the other hand, Suzaku had a small curl at the side of her lips as if she already knew that Jin was capable of doing such a feat but did not reveal anything to him. "Well, now this changes everything." Jin said to himself as he went ahead to slam the Great Axe towards a shield user to bring him down. With the clones by his side, Jin realised he was finally able to learn five times as much and clear the endless battlefield with ease. While clear was not the exact word since it was indeed endless, it meant he could remove the trash and fight against the faceless soldiers which he never faced before, absorbing as much information as he could. The only drawback was that the Inverse Eye functions did not exactly work for the clones. Even as Jin was able to transmit the ability to share his transverse eyes'' ability to his clones, it was his first time doing so. They were able to detect the soldiers he had fought before but collecting information was not one of the functions, forcing them to only delay the faceless soldiers until Jin was free to go against them. Regardless, the six against many was still a hectic fight as everyone rushed to consume the challengers with their techniques and overwhelming number. But as hard as the challenge was, everything continued to proceed rather smoothly considering the fact that Jin was still alive while Suzaku quietly sat at the bench to watch him suffer. "Keep it up, other Jins! We are making good progress. Let''s live through the challenge!" Jin said and the rest of the clones quietly nodded their heads simultaneously. "Such thinking would be detrimental to you if you believed you would be making out alive." Suzaku whispered as she placed her elbow on her knees and used her palm as support for her head as she observed the fight. With a sigh emanating out at the end of her sentence, a brand new faceless soldier emerged from the side of the battlefield with chi as black as the starless night sky. Jin could suddenly feel the change in the chaotic atmosphere within the endless battlefield, believing that the newest faceless soldier could be the challenge he was looking for. But instead of finding him, he continued to concentrate against the current mob as if telling the newcomer to wait for his turn if he wishes to fight the challenger. Unfortunately, things were not as easy as one might think as the newest faceless soldier''s chi suddenly exploded and a shot of his energy went right through the entire crowd, even forcing Jin to move away to not get hit. "That is not some advanced technique. That''s literally an epic technique or above!" Jin said to himself as he stabilised with the Great Axe chopping another faceless soldier. It was then he realised the chi was kind of familiar and the more he got exposed to it, beads of sweat rolled through his neck. "I cannot believe it. Even you¡­master?" Jin said to himself as the soldier''s stance was undoubtedly recognisable. He was facing the one and only. Zeru. Chapter 1211 - Endless Battlefield -Part 6 Chapter 1211 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 6 Even though the soldier standing in front of him was mute, faceless like a blank piece of paper, the remaining features of the body were reminiscent of Zeru. Sure, Jin might not have been under the intense tutelage of his master for quite some time but for the days that he was under his supervision, Jin remembered how his master''s stance was more than just unique. It was efficient. Each step and movement were not wasted compared to some of the techniques and even the flashy strong ones. In fact, there was no need for comparison when one were to understand that his stance had incorporated the strengths of various techniques combined together. The only problem was that Jin did not have the time to learn much from his master mainly because he had to run his business to prosperity. But as days, weeks and subsequently months passed by, he took the easier route of blasting his Maqi whenever he felt like it and relied on brute chi force to overwhelm his enemies. When it comes to techniques, Jin could only perform the few basic ones which Zeru taught him. There was a chance that the WereMouses had better in depth training than Jin considering the amount of time that Zeru had spent training those peasants that had been marginalised. "No excuse now not to train, is that it?" Jin said to himself as the Zeru clone went at him at full force, just as Jin was about to change his axe into a sword to have a fighting chance against the clone. And as he parried, the great axe split its transformation allowing Jin to have a Boo to be the customised sheath once again while Bam was still in axe form. It allowed Jin to parry one additional blow against Zeru before Bam swapped entirely into a sword. However, in the process of switching weapons, Boo which had been used to defend had been smacked out of the Panda Cultivator''s hands because of the force that Zeru had used. Jin''s clones managed to get it but Jin specifically told the clones to focus on pushing the rest of the faceless soldiers back away from them so he could concentrate on fighting Zeru. "Why does this faceless Zeru have more moves than the usual soldiers?" Jin thought to himself as he had to use a variety of defence techniques concurrently to block the onslaught of attacks from Zeru. "You must be wondering, why is this faceless soldier giving you so much trouble as compared to the others." Suzaku spoke out as if she knew exactly what Jin was thinking. "It''s because he was a friend that turned into a foe." "A friend?!" Jin nearly got stabbed in his neck just because the information he received caused him to focus for a second. Because of Jin''s experience in switching and moulding Bam into any particular weapon, the sword Bam had transformed now had the capability to switch on faster than before. This allowed Bam to grow wider in size, saving Jin within a hair''s breadth. "Oh, you managed to listen even though you are afar? Shouldn''t you be concentrating?" Suzaku said nonchalantly and Jin did not have the time to reply. If the previous close shave was anything of an expensive lesson, it was not to break concentration from this particular Zeru as well even though it was a mere clone. "This wretched bastard tricked my beloved friend into marrying him. To be his lifelong partner and forever. Sure, he was strong, stronger than anyone within the city that no one was a match against him. Even I admired him at some point." Suzaku talked about Zeru not knowing that Jin had a connection with him. She merely thought that he knew a thing or two about the infamous swordsman. "But things changed when an assassin targeted me for the want of my feathers and my friend used her life to protect me." Suzaku''s eyes wandered into the distance as she monologues. "I tried to save her with my own powers. Feathers? They are just residue portions of my powers for I personally gave her my blood." Suzaku said as she stared at her wrist and still touched the scar which she refused to heal till this day. "My blood has the restorative power beyond comprehension according to the fellow commoners and yet she did not live through it." Suzaku''s words were getting shaky. "That bastard said that he was some Banned Emperor assassin and they dealt with spiritual damage instead of the flesh. The wound she received could not be cured by any ordinary means, as if there was a hole in the soul and her spiritual being was leaking away into the abyss." "And yet as the bird of resurrection, I was not able to save her. What kind of phoenix am I if I can''t save even a friend of mine?" Suzaku began to tear and for some reason, it resonated with the faceless soldiers, causing them to be more rampant with their attacks. The clones had to fight harder than before, with some of them utilising the astral powers stored within them to shoot out area magic spells in order to keep them at bay. As for Jin, the Zeru that he was fighting against had started portraying his Lotus Cultivation which Jin had witnessed them to be sure kill techniques regardless of their potency level. "I would not let you defeat me this easily! I am not the same Jin as you fought months ago!" Jin said as his transverse eye''s pupils glowed brighter even though it was obvious that he was straining them to the limits. The Maqi within Jin shot out of his body and started to glow and the Pandas above began to change shape. From the usual cute little Pandas they were, the silhouettes began to throw away the current costume set they were wearing to don on a very familiar coat which was iconic to one particular person. "I did not expect to follow you but honestly, you are the only person whose cultivation that I know could rival against Zeru''s powers." Jin said to himself as he used a Panda Swipe to create a bit of distance so that he could activate the technique. "I have no freaking idea what kind of style you use, but I am definitely copying your technique, Kraft." He took one deep breath before shouting out the words that could potentially save his skin against the enraged fake Zeru.. "Extreme Magic! Graveyard Combo Third Stage! The Land of Scars!" As the words came out of his mouth, Jin slammed the sword on the ground to activate the technique around him. Chapter 1212 - Endless Battlefield -Part 7 Chapter 1212 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 7 Tombstones raised from the ground, erupting from the depths of both fresh and decomposed bodies as Jin revealed his trump card against the faceless Zeru. But his opponent was not giving him any time to breathe, much alone to retaliate against him. The first Lotus technique was something Jin had never seen before and since none of them ever shout their techniques out, he could only use his inverse eyes to predict the possible feints and attack pattern coming to him. Unfortunately, Jin had decided not to evade the attack because of the long casting time for the Land Of Scars extreme magic spell. If he were to break his concentration right now, the magic would backfire against him and there was nothing he was able to do to match against Zeru. Petals of the darkest lotus flew around Jin momentarily as if they were finding their position to target him. And since he was stationary throughout the entire time, it seemed as the lotus petals found their optimal spots before it swiftly pierce into Jin''s body. Needless to say, the Astral Panda Cultivator had already erected a mana barrier in hopes to delay the inevitable attack and it was successful in preventing the flurry of petal strikes ¡­for a few seconds. The mana barrier broke among the onslaught of the energised petals, only to encounter another layer of barrier once more. "I am not that dumb to put one thick barrier to block your attacks! I remember seeing a pattern that your lower grade skills consisted of layered attacks to overwhelm the enemy." Jin smiled to himself, happy that he had guessed right. Yet that confidence was also short lived as the storm of petals revealed Zeru personally rushing to strike the barrier down. With one slash, the series of layer barriers broke simultaneously, only allowing Jin a minute of a second to stop the slash with his left arm. With Maqi infused to channel the extreme spell, Jin used his left hand as a shield to stop the attack as he continued to unleash his Maqi into the spell activation so that the Land Of Scars could be cast. The only problem (well, one of the few problems.) was that he had no idea how much Maqi he had to put out in order for the spell to work properly. And since he had already been delayed by Faceless Zeru''s attack, Jin had no idea how the extreme spell would work. The only consolidation was that his left hand was holding firmly into the Faceless Zeru''s sword, preventing the fake master from executing his entire combo of strikes. Yet again, he did not expect the Faceless Zeru to be reactive against his rash action. Compared to the other faceless soldiers he had encountered, Faceless Zeru felt as if he was living right inside this battlefield, fighting against Jin with all his might and wit. Does that mean Suzaku had always been holding back with her other soldiers in this particular aspect or it was just that Faceless Zeru was one of her trump cards to prevent Jin from completing the challenge that he had embarked on. Still, Suzaku did not make a sound after her self declared pity story and continued to watch the duel in the endless battlefield. And just as Zeru emerged a wakizashi from the back of his palm, Jin''s heart raced and unconsciously sent a rush of Maqi into the channelling circle beneath him, causing the extreme magic to finally activate. The tombstones that were erected throughout the endless battlefield rumbled loudly and all the rotting corpses surrounding started to vibrate and resonate with the Maqi being poured out of the tombstones. Unknowingly, Jin had used the Land of Scars spell to form an army of faceless armed zombies against Suzaku''s faceless soldiers. Some of the zombies that had woken up instantly threw themselves towards Zeru, causing him to evade and retaliate, allowing Jin to have a quick breather. Suzaku''s stoic smile turned to a moment of shock as she saw the waves of zombies turning against the faceless soldiers. And to top it off, those zombies retained their ability and techniques which they had used previously against Jin and his clones. This meant that they were no ordinary undead that were meat fodders but a meat shield that could bite back (literally). The new development somehow angered Suzaku and her hand lit up with chi as bright as the sun but suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist, stopping her from doing what she intended to perform. "As per contract. No interference from you yourself for this trial. I already gave some leeway to you to send your champion in for the fight. But if you were to interfere with Jin''s fight with Zeru, I would not hesitate to -" "Those zombies! Those undead! You never told me he is a necromancer too! How dare you let a necromancer defile my battlefield!" Suzaku shouted at Ming who was obviously restraining her from entering the battle. "You remember that of all the people I hated, necromancers were at the top of the list for their insolence towards life." "You saw that it was not him that did it but the technique he copied. Those zombies were just a byproduct of the magic he imitated. If you looked carefully, they were filled with his Maqi and being animated rather than given independence of their actions. They are puppets rather than the living dead." Ming said as he used his own chi to calm Suzaku down and cast a scan spell to show her what was going on with the soldiers. "You did not state in the contract that there could not be any puppets for the fight. It just so happened he did have the power and ability to do so on a wide scale." Ming said he slowly pushed Suzaku back to the bench and asked her to watch the end. "And trust me, despite his show of force, I believe your champion would emerge victorious." Ming remarked as he too sat beside her to watch the chaotic battlefield unfold even further as the animated faceless soldiers clashed with the ones under Suzaku''s command. Chapter 1213 - Endless Battlefield -Part 8 Chapter 1213 ¨C Endless Battlefield -Part 8 "You are trolling her, aren''t you?" Byakko sent a telepathic message to Ming as he too walked up right towards him and sat right beside the bench. "What you said about necromancy and the magic spell which Jin did is basically the same concept." "She was in rage, her mind would not be able to process everything. The most important issue was that she kept calm in this current fight. Won''t want her to enter the ring because of some silly past she had." Ming placed his hand on Bakkyo and stroked his back. The fur released a tingle of electricity as his hand clawed down his fur. "Well, that was one of the major turning points why she never trusted humans ever again." Byakko said and side eyed Ming for a moment before focusing back at the match right in front of them. "With the exception of you I guess." "What can I say? I am quite a charmer with girls of exceptional powers." Ming tried to contain his laughter but it caused Byakko to snort immediately at the reply. "More like if you did not have me and the rest of the gang, you probably won''t be able to convince her. You have much to be thankful for." "The one who should be thanking all of you is Jin since he would be the one that would be inheriting your help." Ming said as he saw a misstep from Jin that nearly caused his life but a ''zombie'' charged forward to mitigate the blow for him. "Hence there''s a saying that is as old as time. Parents will sacrifice anything and everything for their offspring but not the other way around." Byakko said as he was surprised how Jin was actually doing a follow up combo attack with one of the cultivator zombies to stop Faceless Zeru from activating his Lotus technique. Unfortunately, he did not prevail as Faceless Zeru was not only able to kill the zombie cultivator who charged in but also initiated his Advanced Lotus Technique which sprouted a series of vines with lotus blooming throughout the room. This time around the Faceless Zeru did not care for friend or foe as his Advanced Lotus Technique exploded throughout his vicinity, killing a majority of the zombie cultivators as well as the faceless soldiers. Jin, on the other hand, hid behind one of the tombstones for cover while transferring more of his chi into it, forcing it to change its magic from zombie raising to a fire spewing cannon. The wave of flames emerged from the tombstone in an attempt to burn the lotus flowers and while its effect was effective at the start, Faceless Zeru already had began his counter by sending out more of the lotus vines right towards Jin''s location swiftly. The high velocity that the vines were moving was able to overcome the flames the tombstone was spewing and it went straight for Jin. "Looks like it''s the end for Jin. Once those vines grabbed him, the lotus blooming on the vines would cause him to die a thousand times." Suzaku relished his death for the ''sins'' of defiling her endless battlefield regardless of Ming''s explanation. "I would not bet on that if I were you." Ming continued to keep Suzaku in check as he conjured a bottle of water and quietly drank a few sips before passing to Suzaku. She unknowingly picked it up and drank the entire bottle before burning it. "She''s literally burning with rage." Byakko saw the scene as though it was a warning to act when Ming gave the heads up but to his surprise, Jin''s grandfather was rather calm about the current situation. "Do you want me to get Genbu to cool her down?" "No worries about it. Let''s enjoy the fight for now." Ming said as the climax came the vines swarming towards Jin suddenly got repelled. The tombstone that was initially spewing fire suddenly changed its element to wind. It caused an accidental tornado inferno but the most important thing of all was that the vines were not able to reach Jin before anything bad could happen. At the same time, Faceless Zeru flew right into the scene since he was sure that Jin was still within that tornado inferno until he found out that vines of the very same nature were shot out from the tornado too. "Have you forgotten that I can copy skills?!" Jin said as the tornado dissipated and his sword had indeed came a bunch of vines going towards him and the panda silhouettes above him portrayed themselves sleeping in a flower bed of lotus with the exception of one of the smaller pandas playing at the top of the giant panda. "Hah! You think Zeru would lose to an inferior copy of his skills?" Suzaku exclaimed, believing the end is nigh. However, as the vines approached Zeru, the portrayal of panda silhouettes somehow changed midway as the active smaller panda dived into the flowerbed causing a change in scene to be a bed of bellflowers instead. Suzaku was vaguely confused at that point since she did not remember sending any faceless soldier with such a technique but Ming chuckled at Jin''s creativity. He vaguely recalled from the constant probing of his memories that he had an active customer with the bellflower cultivation style. "Even without seeing with his transverse, does not mean he cannot replicate based on memories now that he learnt how to imitate styles with his Astral Pandas." The technique which Jin released was ironic as the name attached to the bellflowers. The vines had a series of bells attached when the flowers bloomed when approaching Zeru. The systematic ringing of the bells somehow incapacitated Faceless Zeru disabling his movements and hence allowing the vines to pierce through Zeru. Or..that was what Jin thought it was able to do. The faceless Zeru somehow managed to break the stun at the very last moment, forcing Jin to change his Maqi to command two of the vines to grab hold of his legs while the third to puncture it.. The rest were cut down mercilessly by the master swordsman but to be able to injure the Faceless Zeru was already a win in Jin''s eyes as he charged forward, hoping to have a better chance against his current opponent. Chapter 1214 - Endless Battlefield - Final (unedited) Chapter 1214 ¨C Endless Battlefield ¨C Final (unedited) "Ah, it''s over already." Ming was secretly hoping that Jin was able to do more than injure the faceless Zeru in combat but it seems like his grandson was a tad too overconfident or perhaps tired that he made the mistake of charging towards Zeru. In less than a blink of an eye, Zeru cut Jin up with another advanced lotus technique by summoning a storm of White lotus petals. They seemed harmless to begin with and Jin once again prepared a multilayer shield to prevent the attack but he did not know that the white lotus petal storm was a feint. The Faceless champion swordsman had once again tricked Jin by inserting a trick within the white lotus petal storm as arrows of imbued chi pierced through the shields easily and straight in Jin''s heart. The battle instantly ended with the death of Jin with the chance of retaliation. Even his regeneration ability was able to kick in since the Faceless Zeru stabbed his sword right in the middle of Jin and a flurry of lotus petals rushed into the wound, cutting him up from inside out. It''s like a bloated rotting whale exploding once it reaches the shore. Once Suzaku confirmed the death of Jin, she smirked knowing that even though he was different initially, he was the same as every other soldier she had encountered in her lifespan. Liars. Including the faceless master swordsman. "I have seen enough and shall take my rest. Wake me up when he has passed all your challenges¡­" Suzaku said as her presence gradually disappeared from the wooden bench and Ming purposely sat aside to let Jin ''resurrect'' back at his usual resting spot. "So how? What was it like to fight against your master''s younger self?" Ming said as he saw Jin gasping for breath the moment he came back to life. "What the hell was that last move?! It''s disgustingly crazy but a sure kill method." Jin said as he touched his entire body as if to make sure they were still intact from that advanced technique. "Surely, he told you that he had fought against many assassins, assailants and many other cultivators to reach where he is right now. The System did not pick some lousy candidate to be your bellator." Ming chuckled when he saw Jin panicking for a moment. "Yeah and he did say his lotus moves were stuff he copied and modified to suit his own style." Jin replied and Ming nodded his head, citing that Jin was on his way to be the same as him. "Your previous technique where you use the bellflowers and lotus techniques to combine them into one new move already indicated to me that you could be something like Zeru¡­ although each of us have our own opinions." Ming slowly turned his head towards Byakko and the white tiger lazily nodded his head. "Yeah, if you leave it to Genbu, he would grudgingly say that you are centuries behind Zeru." Byakko said as he noticed how the battlefield died down to an eerie quiet decomposing wasteland. "I probably say a century or two if you work hard on it." "Are you kidding me? How can I even live that long? Just because I have been empowered by the System does not mean that I am some celestial being." Jin said as he arched his back a little to stretch. "Yea, I concur too. You do not have such a luxury in terms of time but still, it''s already a miracle you can get Byakko and Genbu by yourself this quickly. I honestly thought you would take years or even decades to have them join you. But it seems my plans have derailed so much because of your unexpected potential." Ming said, surprising Jin that this was supposed to be a long ass endeavour for him to grow. "But right now, even with your enhanced cultivation as well as potential, you are still no way near Zeru''s mastery and fervent dedication to his style." Ming shook his head, wondering if he had made the right choice to expose him to Suzaku. "Why? Are you thinking of allowing him to postpone Suzaku''s trial and head for Seiryu''s?" Byakko queried. "Well, it''s not exactly the best idea but it''s better to skip this and come back to it later. Right now at his level, there is no way he can win this even if he were to become a Grade 20 cultivator." Ming answered and Jin was there, merely listening to their monotonous discussion on what they should do for him. "I am guessing if I return to the battlefield, I would be facing Zeru again? Is that why you brought me here for some debrief or to have a time out?" Jin decided to make them stay on topic. "More or less. He won''t become out until you defeat a bunch of those soldiers once more. I believed Suzaku had purposely made it in such a way that you cannot pass my trial until you defeat Zeru." Ming told Jin about the dead end he would encounter. "Ideally, it is for you to learn more of Zeru''s technique so that you could counter him but from what I have known¡­ that''s nearly impossible." "Because he can swiftly change the flow of battle to his favour because of the experience he accumulated throughout the years?" Jin asked and Ming nodded his head. "No one is ever more serious against that champion of hers. Even I had to cheat a little with the aid of the other cardinal beasts to clear the trial. Previously, I had to fight for a year continuously." "Oh is that why I did not see you for a year and you passed me to Uncle Fred?" Jin started to connect the dots to his old past. "Erm¡­hmm yeah. You could say that. I thought you were too young to remember that." Ming said with furrowed eyebrows. "In any case, you could give it a try and learn the rest of the faceless soldiers but I doubt it would be any better until you solve this high wall. Else, we would just switch the trials a little ¡­though having Suzaku by yourself would make things a tad easier for the rest of the trials." "Yeah, and it''s possible that you can break the grade 14 barrier into 15 much easily if you clear Suzaku''s trial." Byakko remarked and it dawned upon Jin that he had forgotten about the infamous Grade 15 was considered as the starting line to be the strongest cultivators within the country. "I will just give it a few more times before I see if I should give up.." Jin said as he stood up slowly and took a deep breath before entering the fray again. Chapter 1215 - Data Collection Chapter 1215 ¨C Data Collection As Ming had predicted, the faceless Zeru did emerge when Jin was closer to the end of the challenge. That one week survival challenge had somewhat become a recurring nightmare as Jin faced the younger Zeru in his prime. Even as he wondered about his connection to Suzaku, there was no denying that Zeru was not a foe he could contend with at the current moment. All the copying and imitation of skills from other faceless soldiers might have helped to mitigate the bulk of the problem but when push comes to shove, the faceless Zeru always prevail. Thus, Jin had decided to take a timeout by forcing himself out of his subconscious and return back to the real world. He was slightly groggy from the forced re entry but nothing he could not handle. Yet, as time went by, he started to feel that his muscles were feeling sore and it was not particularly normal for him to experience such soreness. "System, mind doing a quick body check on me? I''m feeling under the weather for some reason." Jin requested the System, to which it replied that everything was normal. "The System had been monitoring you since the start of your cultivation cycle and the reason you were sore was that the System had thoroughly captured each and every electrical pulse from your brain and to the rest of your body." The System answered with an almost chirpy tone to its monotonous dialogue. "A proper short rest interval should be more than sufficient once the regeneration inscription on your body kicks in." The System added. "So I am guessing you are able to collect, collate and compile all the nonsensical stuff that I did when I was in my dreamy state?" Jin asked as he reached out to his phone to check the app that the System had installed previously. Previously, it was rather empty with the exception of his Astral Panda Cultivation Style as part of the collection. But when Jin opened the app, he was pleasantly surprised by the list of cultivation styles being added into the fray. "Wow, and these are detailed ¡­way too much information with regards to the cultivation style. Is this even real?" He was gawking through the list as he could vaguely remember using them against his opponents. But everything changed when he selected one of the cultivation styles and the technique was broadcast with a digital panda doing those movements. At that moment, Jin knew exactly what the technique was and could even recall the feeling of that particular technique. "Has User ever wondered how you were able to say the names of the cultivation styles if what the User said is true about his challengers were faceless?" The System poised the question to Jin and obviously, he was oblivious to it as the System rambled on stating that Jin had previously touched on those manuals before and his inverse eyes had pulled out that information from the cobwebs of his brain ''cabinet'' for Jin to dictate the names out. "Therefore, User should be grateful for the System to push you to read or at least glance through the cultivation materials at least once." The System was touting its own capabilities to the user as if it was selling something to him. "Yeah, yeah. How is the thing we gave Lynn to do?" Jin yawned at the System''s own self praise and wanted to know how Lynn was doing with the task he gave her. "Sub System User Lynn has proven to be rather proficient in the said task." The System continued to reply to Jin regardless of his attitude towards it. "Oh? How so?" Jin changed the app in his phone, allowing the phone to open a holographic screen for the System to portray its information out. "She had enlisted the help of Senior Panda Executive Kong Rong and his agency for aid and ever since they met three days ago, the duo were chasing after a few possible leads on the current predicament." "You mean what I mentioned could be true? That the Banned Emperor might be involved in the current symposium? But if that''s the case, what is their end goal?" Jin queried as the System kept flashing new information on the holographic screen. "The national symposium for Dungeon Suppliers usually draws quite a crowd mainly because they showcased prototypes in the scenes of Dungeon Suppliers. And with regards to that, people had been very, and the System must emphasize, very curious about the hardware used for User''s store." The System started without answering Jin''s question and keeping him in suspense. "So much so that the committee had decided to put you as the backup site so that they could use that as an excuse to bring the crowd to your shop." "Wait¡­ a minute. So, no Banned Emperor or whatsoever? It''s more like an inspection and getting more details about my hardware and how I operate them?" Jin asked and the System acknowledged. User had previously given an answer to allow the store to be the backup site but the System and Lynn had already sent them a letter recommending a change in location." "Oh¡­that''s a bummer," Jin answered, knowing that the System did not wish to be probed by anybody and having a celestial entity controlling the shop would just be one shit show to another. "But I believed they would say no if what you said to you was true. They would be dying to check out our tech." "Correct." Lynn entered the conversation by coming into Jin''s room with a stack of papers right in her hands. "In normal circumstances, nobody would be able to overturn the Symposium committee''s decision because a couple of them are high ranking people with a reasonable amount of economic power in their hands but they did not know about one particular thing." "We are the newest emerging Royal Zodiac Clan and Kong Rong''s protection scheme has come in handy in rejecting one of the biggest committees in China." Lynn smiled as she showed the papers to Jin, stating that the rejection of the backup site was approved. The Royal Zodiac''s Dragon Clan''s stamp was there as well along with a stamp that Jin never saw before. It had two chinese words ''Panda'' in a black and white fusion ink which felt oddly unique. "That is the ancient stamp of the Panda Clan. To be able to use it once more brings much joy to the System." The collective entity said but Lynn''s face turned bitter. "However, there''s some bad news along with this." Lynn did not mince her words as she said while having direct eye contact.. "The Symposium had requested us to be out of it." Chapter 1216 - F**k The Committee Chapter 1216 ¨C F**k The Committee "What?" Jin stared blankly at Lynn as she revealed how petty the Dungeon Supplier Symposium Committee was. "They allowed the rejection of the backup site and in return, they requested us not to show our faces in the event." Lynn repeated once more and Jin was exasperated. Did that mean all those efforts creating the Virtual Reality Instance had been meaningless? "I did say that it was unfair and there was nothing in the terms and conditions that made us unable to continue with the participation even after rejecting to be the secondary site of the Symposium. They obviously wanted to perform a power play against us and Kong Rong said it''s either to join them up again or leave. He did recommend leaving though since he reminded me how he had gone through all those trouble coordinating and ensuring there was a way out for us." Lynn could visibly see Jin''s frustration but there was nothing much she could do either. "I get what Kong Rong''s underlying recommendation meant as well. If we were to enter the Symposium, it''s not just wasting his efforts to get us out but it also meant a victory for the committee for the ability to oppose the almighty Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan. To them, it was a double win and we would be at the losing end." Jin nodded his head with defeat for a moment but Lynn sat beside him and tried to cheer him up. "Then, let''s do the obvious. We create our own Symposium!" Lynn remarked and Jin stared at Lynn momentarily before stifling his laughter. "We do not have time for that! We still have to fight against the Demon Rats and there is not enough time to compete with the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium against them. Not to mention, we do not have sufficient content for a proper symposium. There''s no people joining-" Jin suddenly stopped at his tracks and forgot he had a business partner. A major player in the field. "Yeap. I can already see that your head is churning ideas. You must be thinking of Ke Loong, right?" Lynn started to grin and Jin could never notice Lynn could be cunning in her own special way too. "I give Ke Loong a call and- What time is it right now?" Jin said as he checked his time and subsequently tried his luck in contacting Ke Loong. "Yo, Mr Panda Boss. What''s up? Oh wait before that, is the rumour true? I heard from a few of my contacts in the Symposium that you are leaving the event right before it started." Ke Loong said, which caused Jin to be surprised that news spread fast. "Yeah. Sadly." Jin eventually laid out the story to Ke Loong and he too sighed at the bad news. "Hmm yea. This is not the first time the committee has used its powers to force people to do their own way. I mean it could be beneficial for the smaller shops who used this particular platform to showcase their instances and gimmicks so that more people would not only patronise them but hopefully be able to join the National Dungeon Supplier Associations to get more contacts, discounts and perks. Obviously, those participating required money to join and the Association fees are getting more and more atrocious." "Ah¡­ so it''s something like a business group, a whole bunch of companies under one umbrella, that kind of stuff?" "Yeah, I think they are hoping to coerce you to join them so that they can get you to share your tech, which is a natural no no. Most stores and dungeon suppliers are unable to get out of that vicious erm¡­predatory business tactics once they attend the Symposium. You were lucky you could be out of it." Ke Loong said Jin heard that he was talking to his secretary as well. "That is why, I am asking you if you are able to make it for my Symposium instead. Well, maybe not a full Symposium but a series of events and with a festival kind of vibes. But I understand if you have obligations to fulfil for the National Symposium-" "I AM IN!" Ke Loong suddenly shouted and was excited for Jin''s own personal expo. Even his secretary was caught aback by his reaction but Ke Loong did not care. "What are you exactly planning? I can totally pull out of the Symposium if you want me to." "Are you serious? Sea Mesh is a major player in the Dungeon Supplier Community. If you pull out, there will be waves of questions, backlash as well as ¡­ohh." Jin too realised what Ke Loong was aiming for. "Yeap, if you are thinking the same as I was. The media coverage would be rather extensive and let''s just say it''s fun to flip a middle finger at the National Symposium Committee." Ke Loong said as he never had such fun for a long time. "And the media will be curious to see how the up and coming major player in Dungeon Supplier Tech supports one of Shenzhen''s latest dungeon supplier players who had been in the news for some time." "Also, I will suggest fully implementing your Panda Inc company and showcase all the stuff you have in full force to make your app go nationwide. Your food delivery services, your comprehensive dungeon related goods etc. From what I know, you have quite a few decent companies living in your ''treehouse''. It''s time to make use of their connections and push Panda Inc out." "I see¡­ And if I can time it right, I might be able to obtain some leverage in terms of money and influence before Kong Rong''s protection bubble ceases." Jin considered Ke Loong''s opinions for the future of his store too. "Yeap. And we can start popping up additional stores once we are financially stable and create a chain franchise. I can aid you with that and show those rascals that we do not need to be part of some lame association to prosper." Ke Loong said and Jin could see where the CEO was coming from. Not to mention, it was a win win for Sea Mesh too. The sales of Virtual Reality Headsets would be coming from this and from what Jin said, there would be a subscription service and thus an extension of Sea Mesh workers would be part of this major opportunity, allowing them to grow too. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s get together soon and start planning.." Jin smiled as he thanked Ke Loong for his impromptu advice. Chapter 1217 - Departing From The Symposium Chapter 1217 ¨C Departing From The Symposium As soon as the conversation (well, not THAT soon.), Sea Mesh had made a public statement announcing that it would be stepping out of the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium, causing a series of media blowouts that prompted the community to find out what was happening. Some spectators and critics who were more perceptive noticed that the Sea Mesh left the Symposium at the same time when Dungeons and Pandas ''involuntarily'' left the event. Seeing how the store had been garnering attention steadily for the past few months especially with its latest dungeon instance streaming, people were anticipating there would be some hype in the latest Symposium event when it agrees to participate. Thus, sales to the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium had reached a new high. Tickets were sold at record breaking pace after Dungeons and Pandas had announced that they were joining the Symposium but sadly the Committee did not attribute the high sales because of Jin''s store. They were sitting on their high horse thinking that people had renewed interest in the dungeon instance scene. Neither did they know about the connections Jin had with Sea Mesh so when they kicked Jin out of the Symposium, they did not expect such a backlash of having the popular company that dealt with Dungeon Supplier tech walk out through the front door with Jin. Not only that, but Ke Loong had also managed to pull a few strings and caused two minor sponsors to break their contract with the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium, provoking even more heat for the Symposium committee to be in the spotlight. Later, it did not take long for insider info to emerge that Dungeons and Pandas had been forcibly coerced to be their backup site. And as the insiders had stated, upon knowing the true objectives of the Symposium, the said Dungeon Supplier immediately wanted out. That was when the ''great walk out'' of the Symposium started but people were suspicious why Dungeons and Pandas was so secretive of their technology until more breaking news came out through the net and other media streams. "While we were unable to reach the store owner, multiple unnamed sources had indeed confirmed that Xie Jin, Dungeon Supplier for Dungeons and Pandas is the descendent of the long lost Royal Zodiac line of the Panda Clan." The anchorman said in the mainstream media during the evening news. It was minutes after the broadcast, Jin had sent an official announcement through the Pandamonium that he was indeed the last descendent of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan. Instead of fear, wrath or even distrust which Jin had anticipated, the internet was bustling with a load of questions for him and some were forming conspiracy theories about how the last remaining Royal Zodiac Clan suddenly decided to show his face. Yet one thing was for sure. With that announcement, nobody could deny that his technology was something special and hiding behind the title of a Royal Zodiac would force people to blatantly ignore it. After all, each Royal Zodiac has its own secrets which allowed them to be the powers they are now in China. Jin, however, reiterated that leaving Symposium was the only choice left for him with all roads of compromise closed. Thus, with a heavy heart, he left the Symposium and decided to create a major event to showcase the things he intended to release during the Symposium. He also added that Sea Mesh would be joining in the event which instantly prompted a series of refunds for the Symposium. Naturally, the Symposium support team was not able to answer the massive influx of queries as well as the demands for refunds. Shortly after Jin''s announcement, the Symposium committee eventually stood their ground and stated that no refunds would be given out since the event was approaching and the money in those ticket sales had already been used to fund the event. Obviously, they were burning the bridges between their customers even more by standing their ground but because of that, Lynn had already come out with a manipulative PR move which even Jin was amazed by. They decided to lowball the Symposium even further by stating in their upcoming event that those who had bought the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium tickets were eligible for a free entry into Jin''s latest major event. "In addition, I would like to add that you can upgrade your free entry to a high tier ticket at a cheaper price so that it would be more of a bargain because of the goodies that were prepared along with it. If you are a patron of Dungeons and Pandas, you surely understand the value of the higher tier tickets that I had always offered. Thus, for those who I had offered free entry, please do consider supporting when the tier list is officially out!" Jin wrote in a tweet in his social network system which had led to a series of praise and criticism. However, Jin did not care too much about what the people had criticised since most of it were from hardcore supporters of the Symposium, stating that how Jin had used his departure as bait for attention for his own personal event. And for Jin''s supporters, they argued that he had every right to do so since the Symposium was the one that pulled a fast one at Jin despite already knowing that he was part of the new Royal Zodiac Clan. Initially, some were doubtful whether Jin could even survive after the public announcement of him being the newest Royal Zodiac Clan but most of those doubts were crushed when leaks came out with people posting how Jin had annihilated the Tiger Clan''s subsidiaries with just a handful of people during the Chinese New Year. And those leaks even stated that Jin was not even showing out his full strength against the Royal Zodiac Tiger Clan. With this series of announcements, more eyes were looking at Jin and while the Dungeon Supplier did not fully expect such a scenario, he was at least well equipped to handle any sort of repercussion.. Surely, from this moment on, it would be tough and the Astral Panda Cultivator would not have it any other way. Chapter 1218 - PandaVerse Chapter 1218 ¨C PandaVerse "Hey Jin, looks like you are finally out of the closet." Kong Rong said as he personally paid a visit to Jin''s store. He was invited to one of the premium carriages of the Restaurant Train Instance. "You could say you have a hand in this matter too." Ke Loong commented as he poured a glass of beer to Kong Rong. "Hey Bro. You know I cannot drink during work time." Kong Rong said as he frowned a little towards his buddy. "Loosen up a bit. You can always drink your beloved wife''s tea back in the car. Just one with us to celebrate the occasion. Besides, you and I know this is one of your favourites. I purposely went all the way to a nearby supermarket to get it!" Ke Loong said as he pat Kong Rong''s back. "Well, that nearby supermarket is merely a few floors down. And the NPC assistants could even get it for you free of charge." Kong Rong remarked as he picked up the glass and chugged it down. "Thanks for coming to this fairly impromptu meeting. And once again, thank you Kong Rong. If not for you, I probably might not be able to come out of the Symposium alive." Jin nodded his head and drank along with them. "You got to thank your new pretty girlfriend. She was the one who was pulling all the strings from the back. If not for her, I probably would not be of much use." Kong Rong said as he raised his glass towards Lynn. "Please, Kong Rong. Your team has been such a great help. If not for them, I would not be able to make heads or tails of the situation." Lynn refused the compliment as she asked her peggies to serve the meal. "Welp, they are next door having the blast of their life eating the premium choices for an unlimited time tonight. If none of them are drunk, none of them are going home. That is more to thank for the encouragement and reward you had given to my team." Kong Rong said and Jin instantly looked at Lynn. "You are footing the bill for pushing all the work to us." Lynn poked Jin when their eyes locked and the boyfriend nodded his head reluctantly. "Now that the exchange of gratitudes is out of the way. Jin, your plans?" Kong Rong asked since he needed to keep a closer eye on Jin''s actions especially after the entire few days'' worth of media fiasco. Various clans not excluding the Royal Zodiacs were asking the Dragon Clan for more information on Jin and his Royal Zodiac roots. Some even asked if he was even the original descendant but most of the questions were taken care of swiftly with Kong Rong''s grandmother making an official statement. People can doubt the truth, half truths and fabricated truths in the media but no one can deny the reputation, prestige and most importantly the standing of the record keeper in the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan. With her announcement stating that Jin''s was indeed the last descendent of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan, it quickly solidified his position to be the official clan leader of the 13th Royal Zodiac. Obviously, some people in fact, a large number of people were unhappy with the emergence of a new Royal Zodiac Clan. Twelve of such clans had already taken the bulk of China''s economy under their control after a long exhausting political tussle among themselves. And now with Jin''s clan popping out of nowhere, they were not willing to excuse themselves to give the newcomer any space. But with Jin''s track record of beating the Royal Zodiac Rat Clan''s triad boss, and even causing the sons of the Tiger Clan to be in hospital for two whole weeks, the other clans knew the Panda Clan came out in the open prepared. Still, being prepared to be in the open and lasting long enough through the years would be a different issue. And that was what they were about to discuss today. Jin''s creation of Panda Inc would be the most ideal way of standing up against the major clans and their corporations. Naturally, he would like to have everything concentrated on the Tree Mall since he could make nearly an unlimited amount of instances, housing people and companies all at the same time, and thus enabling the Tree Mall to be an ecosystem that can survive by itself without relying on any external sources. Even though he had the Virtual Reality business all set up, he was thinking of expanding what he had in Pandapolis like the farming sector to complement it. This was because he wanted technology and entrepreneurs to grow under his wing like how Yu Xiang, the daughter of the local Chinese Medicine store recreating potions the System had bought in the black market. Right now, with her formula and the subsequent refined versions were selling like hotcakes within Jin''s dungeon store as well as in the black market. Obviously, the production had gone large scale with Pandapolis'' industrial sector at hand. So, it was the same concept he wished to apply for other sectors, hoping they could create something unique or special, giving Jin the edge over his competitors. However, Ke Loong had told JIn to stay grounded and not to be too ambitious. "Even if you have all those ideals, those things would not work without talents, manpower, resources and time." "Technically, he has already had all of those. But what Ke Loong says is true. Timing is important, if you show all your cards in one go and at the wrong time, you won''t make much." "That''s why the event that you are going to show is important. Continue to focus on your dungeon supplier job. I remember you told us about the Farming World or something like that, right? You are going to do some big invasion. Do that and in the sidelines, promote your virtual reality as a prototype. My company would then hype it up from there. By the way, any name for the event yet? If not, I would like to recommend some ideas." Ke Loong rambled on as he munched on the delicious food the moment the peggies placed it down on the table. "I do. Sweet and easy. It''s PandaVerse 1..0" Jin said and the rest looked as if they were stifling their giggles with food. Chapter 1219 - Extra: Dangerous Small Talk Chapter 1219 ¨C Extra: Dangerous Small Talk "Drop that 1.0, once we do have a second year anniversary then we might be consider PandaVerse 2.0." Kong Rong commented which Ke Loong wholeheartedly agreed to. "Hmm, alright. It does sound premature to add a number to it and that will make people think that otherwise." Jin nodded his head while thoughts were already gushing through his mind. "Don''t you think that PandaVerse is a better name for that Virtual Reality instance you created?" Ke Loong said and Kong Rong suddenly perked up, asking about the progress of the Virtual Reality instance. "Why? I did not expect you to be a fan of this kind of stuff." Ke Loong remarked but Kong Rong shook his head and his index finger shaking towards him. "If what Jin did was as what he had explained to me previously, I might want to employ it as training for my agents." Kong Rong replied. "You sure it''s just training?" Jin smirked as if he knew the military application of using the Virtual Reality Instance. "Fine. You got me there. If Jin can make a miniaturised encrypted version of the headset, I might be able to use it for secret communications. Obviously, there would be some drawbacks such as paralysing the agent to send the information. But if my agent is in a secure location and what Jin had said about the security and responsiveness of the headset was true, it would still be a fairly reliable gadget to be used in the field." "Welp, goes to show that whatever you create, the military and internal affairs still have a way to militarise it for their own sake. Do you still wish to continue with that portal project? I had managed to salvage all of them and none of the parts were missing or tampered. Most of them believed the previous operation that used those portal gates was a coordinated usage of portal magic." Ke Loong said as he too had dabbled in military contracts to keep Jin''s portal gadgets as a secret for now. "The System had indeed retrieved back all of the portal machines and they are currently in storage. All of them had been analysed and there was no misuse or tampering done." The System stated and Ke Loong shook his head. "That is exactly what I said." "The System believed its authority was superior to Senior Panda Executive Ke Loong. Thus, the repetition of the sentence carried its weight." The System replied and Jin merely told Ke Loong to shake it off and not let the matter linger. "Anyways, yes. While the mass production of the Virtual Reality Headset has already started, we are still making some adjustments to ensure that the gadget can work in a heavy traffic setting. If you want, I can get those headsets and let your agents give it a try. After all, you brought your entire department here." Jin said with a sour tune in his words. "Not everyone, Ryuli isn''t here and it seems she was complaining on the phone about it as well." Kong Rong chuckled as if they always had such bad timing with each other. "How so?" Jin questioned and Kong Rong only stated that there was some overseas matter in North Korea which she had to attend to. "North Korea?" Jin and Ke Loong had their mouths wide open as they heard that the place was in eternal lockdown with no information nor people coming in or out of the area. The lockdown was mainly due to a bad mix of nuclear power and magic causing a major cataclysm that caused the entire North Korea to be some wasted Badlands. But to the observers'' surprise, the country itself had somehow managed to create a next generation high tech barrier which was capable of housing that cataclysm within their own country. The only drawback was that nobody could go in nor out to the area¡­but that was the official report, the lies which the media had to feed the masses. China, Russia and South Korea all had secret route access to North Korea which none of their western allies or counterparts had known. After all, creating such a barrier with no in or out would be self destructing for the country too. China itself sent aid on a regular basis to their underground city in exchange for experimenting in the cataclysmic wasteland. "Experiments?" Jin asked and Kong Rong explained that there were monsters within North Korea''s vicinity which were extremely dangerous. The radiation from the nuclear cataclysm changed their forms and build, allowing them to survive in that wasteland. Due to the drastic changes in their DNA, it allowed them to take in the constant wild magic that had been generated from the cataclysm. And that also meant a good experimental ground for the military to conduct exercises that were illegal in the eyes of the public. "Being one of Dragon Clan''s best agents, Ryuli was selected ¡­.a better word would be handpicked to be part of the experiment. After all, the Banned Emperor incident not only shook you guys but forced the government to look at alternative weapons against demons." "Shouldn''t JODE take care of this instead? I mean, they are THE Demon Exorcists." Ke Loong said and Jin also nodded in agreement. "You already saw how the demons tore apart not only the guards, but the Royal Zodiac Horse Military Platoon into shreds. If our government does not find any other ways to defeat such threats, the other countries will get it done first and we might not have an edge should our adversaries decide to employ the very same terror method against us." "Sounds way too complicated. You make it feel as if the Banned Emperor had been backed by military organisations from other countries." Jin said but it caused Kong Rong to stare hard and long at Jin before he decided to open his mouth. "The world is not as simple as you think, my dear Panda Lord. Trust me, when I said you had protection. I did not mean just physical protection but external influences too. Politics is a game that everyone loses except for the one who can prepare and counter anybody in all sorts of scenarios." Kong Rong said and in confidence, the Dragon Clan Internal Affairs Agent shared a tidbit which would normally get his head chopped off if found out. However, this was who he had pledged to and served for.. The Panda Lord deserves to know some rotten truth of the world he was living in. Chapter 1220: PandaVerse Discussion Chapter 1220: PandaVerse Discussion ¡°Enough of that, any more of these leaks and we will really be potential targets for the internal affairs to look at us.¡± Ke Loong said as he stopped Kong Rong from saying too much. ¡°Not to worry. The System is capable of washing your memories to a clean slate. If the User or Senior Executive Ke Loong requires the information, the System would provide the necessary data back for review.¡± ¡°Are you really sure you want to let the System hear all your ¡®encrypted¡¯ information?¡± Jin emphasised how the System was a stalker who will always deploy extreme means to eavesdrop. ¡°Honestly, that would be the most ideal. If we ever lost any agents in the process, the System would definitely pick it up for us to follow up. It¡¯s a win-win situation for me if the System could also provide backup immediately to the site or even extract my agent out of the sticky problem they would be in.¡± Kong Rong replied, stating that it was a small price to pay for the System¡¯s assistance. ¡°That would definitely cost a fair sum of compensation depending on the situation.¡± The System did not seem to reject the idea, knowing that it was the best way to earn money and learning the volatile situation outside of this store. ¡°Ah whatever. you know the risk using the System, so it¡¯s your call. Anyways, do you want to give it a try? The Virtual Reality Instance? I believe I have a sufficient number of sets for your entire department to try it out. Just don¡¯t stay too long in the avatar customisation menu.¡± Jin asked Kong Rong but he kindly rejected the offer. ¡°Nah, I¡¯d rather keep the surprise when your PandaVerse festival arrives.¡± Kong Rong remarked until a hand wrapped around his shoulders. ¡°Bro. When was the last time you and your crew had some fun together?¡± Ke Loong asked and Kong Rong tried to think hard but it seems there was no answer to that question. ¡°Besides, don¡¯t tell me that your entire department would have this kind of free time with all the cases that you are handling.¡± ¡°That is true. They all had always wanted to try Jin¡¯s dungeon store and never had the chance until now.¡± Kong Rong nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Am I right? Jin, just boot it up and we will give them a tour they will never forget!¡± Ke Loong said which caused Jin to chuckle. ¡°What happened to discussing about our new Panda Inc and the upcoming PandaVerse festival preparations?¡± Jin queried and Ke Loong immediately brushed it off and stated that they could do all those on the Virtual Reality Instance too. ¡°Alright. System, you heard our executives.¡± Jin wanted to give the System a few strings of orders but the System interrupted and said everything had already been prepared for them. ¡°The System had also the Restaurant Train to run through an underground tunnel with Yun assigned at the station waiting to escort them to the said instance for them to try out the Virtual Reality instance.¡± The System stated that this would then allow the trio to talk more over the issue at hand and give everyone the time to finish up their food or else, Lynn would not be too pleased with leftovers. (Kong Rong even told his colleagues beforehand to clear the dishes or ask for the remaining food to be packed as takeaways.) ¡°Well, if the System had planned our night¡¯s itinerary, there is no reason to reject it. Let¡¯s finish what we began.¡± Kong Rong commented and he restarted the conversation asking how Jin was with the Farming World. ¡°Behind the scenes, we have bought sufficient equipment and also trained men for this fight. We have a fairly capable militia from the Southern Region as well as some soldiers from the Dungeon World.¡± Jin reported. ¡°Some? From what I heard from you before, the Farming World¡¯s Northern Region was infested with thousands of rats.¡± Kong Rong was concerned whether Jin was indeed ready. ¡°We are in the process of getting more to join with the allure of money and some prestige but they have their own problems to tend to.¡± Jin told them how the Seven Cities were trying to get their independence from the Church of the Afterlife as well as the internal strife after the military rebelled against their local government. When Kong Rong listened to Jin¡¯s short summary, he immediately understood since Earth¡¯s political history was way more brutal and harsh than what was happening in the Dungeon World. ¡°Qiu Yue also managed to gather a few of her friends and we are testing out a telecommunications command outpost. They would think it¡¯s a new sort of game but they are actually commanding my minions and monsters in real time.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that complicate your commands even further?¡± Ke Loong asked and Jin could not give a straight answer. ¡°There are too many hideouts where the Demon Rats are hiding and I do not think the System is advanced enough to provide strategic advice to my monsters. Besides, it¡¯s not total command and control. The minions are sentient enough to know if it is a bad strategy or not.¡± Jin replied while picking up his drink to quench his thirst. ¡°Ah, so deployment of these ¡®strategic advisors¡¯ is just to increase efficiency. If that¡¯s the case, do you want some of my men? It will no doubt give them some experience in commanding for future operations.¡± ¡°Lol, so you want to see whether the gamer peeps would fare better than your trained officers?¡± Ke Loong asked which Kong Rong nodded with some excitement in his tone. ¡°Hahah, I could look into that and the more people, the better. We might have a basic picture of how the rats are operating but without eyes on the ground, there is no way we can compensate without a cool head and wit.¡± Jin liked the idea as well while they continued to discuss how to integrate the Farming World¡¯s situation as a major event for the PandaVerse Festival. Chapter 1221: Hall Of Massage Chairs Chapter 1221: Hall Of Massage Chairs As the discussion drifted through the time, the System informed them that they had reached the underground tunnel station where Kong Rong¡¯s department full of support team and agents were allowed to step off. There were some customers who noticed this particular station as something out of the unusual and wanted to get off to explore. However, the System did not allow any other customers to get off by using the penguins NPC to reinforce the orders. But just as the customers were about to complain, Jin purposely used the loudspeakers on the train and announced to the customers on the train that this particular stop was for a group of private guests waiting who had booked and paid for a special custom instance. The customers on board did not realise they could do that and shrugged it off as a stop that they had no choice but to wonder what kind of money the people had to spend so that they could buy a private instance with Jin. Aside from that, given the sensitivity of the group¡¯s work, the System also ensured that Kong Rong¡¯s group were out of sight and nobody was able to take any pictures of them walking through the platforms. The customers who saw them could only see shadow silhouettes moving through the platform. (However, because of this minor impromptu excuse created by Jin stating that it was only for a private event, it later cascaded into a series of requests by the rich in the future.) ¡°Boss, where are we going? Those penguins kept reminding us that we have to clear our food as soon as possible. Most of us thought that we were going to drink till the night fades away.¡± Tai Yang, one of Kong Rong¡¯s subordinates asked. ¡°To be honest with you, I have no idea as well since Boss Jin specifically told me that this is something special just for us. Just follow blindly for now.¡± Kong Rong pretended to be oblivious to the entire situation, hoping that his colleagues would have a good surprise. ¡°We have reached. I would like to ask everyone to ensure that they all have their Pandamonium Accounts created.¡± Yun also added that internet wifi had also been activated for those who had not created any. ¡°Without the accounts, you would not be able to have full functionality as well as experience of this current event which was catered just for you all.¡± ¡°Yeah, guys. Please listen to her. Your data is safe with us, Sea Mesh.¡± Ke Loong who was in the crowd reiterated since some of them were worried if their personal data could be compromised. Among them, there were some individuals who handled sensitive data on a regular basis and had decided to use a guest account upon logging into Jin¡¯s dungeon instance. It was a new feature which Jin had implemented to cater to people who merely wanted to have a quick look at the shop without providing any details while also reducing the hassle of entering into their shop instance. Naturally, the System had other ways to identify these guests without them registering properly but the techniques and secrets were kept a mystery even to Jin. ¡®The less he knows, the better it will be.¡¯ The System once answered to Lynn with regards to the implementation of this particular guest ID system. Once everyone had reluctantly downloaded and created a new Pandamonium Account within the application, Yun finally opened the doors showing them a hall filled with rows of massage chairs. Or that was what they thought. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that there was a headset on top of a side cabinet beside each chair. ¡°You guys can freely choose where you wish to sit and it does not matter at all.¡± Jin said while he stood at the centre and a console appeared in front of him. He immediately typed furiously on the console as if to activate certain parameters before finally blabbering out the reveal for this particular place once everyone was seated. ¡°Welcome to the prototype -well, more like beta testing of the Virtual Reality Instance.¡± Jin immediately pressed a button and the chairs they were on began to start shifting away from their position. The rows of ¡®massage¡¯ chairs were eventually rearranged in such a way that Jin was the centrepiece in the hall while the rest encircled around him. And because of the number of people within the hall, a portion of the floor had also been raised so that everyone could see Jin at the very centre. Ke Loong who was supposed to be a creepy onlooker had decided to join in the fun since he was excited about what Jin had in mind with regards to the improvements he made within the Virtual Reality Instance. The crowd within the hall was already talking among each other, all of them could not believe they would be the first batch of people trying out the rumoured Virtual Reality Instance. ¡°Yeap, some of you might have seen the itinerary in the Symposium, seeing how there was a section where I would be presenting the future of Dungeon Suppliers by creating an immersive Virtual Reality with the aid of Dimensional Instance. In actual fact, I had already prepared this as a huge surprise for the Symposium rather than just talking about the possibilities. But since the Symposium had kicked me out of it, it¡¯s their loss and a big win for me with all that media scrutinising us.¡± Jin commented as he booted up the System¡¯s server for the Virtual Reality Instance. ¡°Remember, this is still in beta testing and if you found any possible bugs, do send a report when you enter. But first! How to enter.¡± Jin quickly pulled out a digital poster and broadcast it at the centre of the hall showing the group how easy it was to enter it. ¡°Put on the Virtual Reality headset and when it synchronises with you, indicating to you they are ready, just say Okay or Dive In.¡± Jin explained. And with that, the entire group within the Hall instantly entered Virtual Reality with their bodies in this physical plane while their souls and mind had been transferred into the System¡¯s server. Chapter 1222: Virtual Reality Instance Challenges Chapter 1222: Virtual Reality Instance Challenges Jin pressed a few more buttons and strobes of lights were shone throughout the hall to create a mystifying effect though it was just aesthetics to boot while Kong Rong¡¯s colleagues entered into the Virtual Reality Instance. The System had already pinged and started to see the number of agents going into the server. While that was happening, Jin gave all control to Yun as he returned to the Dungeon Maker Instance to ensure that he had eyes on all the souls that had entered the Virtual Reality Instance. After all, this was the first time there were more than a few participants playing the instance and he got to ensure that it at least ran smoothly. The System did bring up the idea of allowing his minions to do the heavy loading test to ensure that everything goes well but Jin procrastinated on the issue. If he had done that earlier, this particular testing would not give him much anxiety especially when the room was full of the country¡¯s top armed service agents. Imagine if something were to happen and he incapacitated the entire group of agents, causing him to be the next most wanted criminal in the country. Forget about being a Panda Lord, it was best for Jin to simply move out of his world and to the other so that they would not catch him for the accidental crimes he committed. Proving innocent might be possible but it would reveal a lot of nasty secrets which each and every Royal Zodiac Clan and potentially the world would come after for. Jin would not be surprised if people started to try inter dimensional travel using him as an excuse so that they could pour resources into it. ¡°All participating users had been teleported into the loading instances and are now choosing how their current avatar would look like.¡± The System reported and Jin requested it to turn on time dilation magic in that hall. ¡°Would that be a wise decision? Subjecting participants to time dilation magic would inadvertently reduce their lifespan.¡± The System asked. ¡°Not as if they have time to enjoy this in the future. Besides, the reduction of their lifespan is minimal compared to the System subjecting ME to time dilation magic.¡± Jin argued and the System countered by saying that it had monitored each and every vital organ on Jin, indicating that there was no change in its physiology as compared to the others. ¡°And the System had repeatedly stated that the User is not affected by the intense use of time dilation and compression magic.¡± ¡°Lol. There was one point in time I thought you would know how long I would live but it seems like you only looked at the changes and predicted how long I could live.¡± Jin said and told the System to go ahead with it and a large mystic circle instantly appeared in the hall of the massage chairs, activating the time dilation magic so that they could enjoy the Virtual Reality Instance even more. As expected, most of them did not take into account Jin¡¯s advice and many were stuck in the avatar customisation menu where they were seen admiring their new body and testing out all the features that were given to them. With the exception of Ke Loong who had already chosen the ¡®studdest¡¯ of stud bodies the customisation menu could present and enter into the village that Jin had created. Unlike the time when Jin entered, the village now had a few NPCs just like how Nian¡¯s Island was. All the previous experience that Jin had accumulated from making dungeon instances would take place in this particular village. Obviously, there were currently no NPCs but one with an exclamation mark bubble on top of their heads since it was part of the tutorial which Jin had created. That was one of the reasons why he was also so preoccupied with it and the intensive use of time dilation magic. With only one person working as the ¡®graphics¡¯ artist, quest designer and story developer, there was no way Jin could have created this within a month or so. Thankfully, the technical difficulties and hiccups were mainly solved by the System while the headset production was taken care of by Ke Loong¡¯s Sea Mesh company where he purposely outsourced all the various parts and subsequently Pandapolis imports those parts to do the manufacturing. While Sea Mesh also dealt with a small production of the headsets which Kong Rong and his colleagues were using now, they were similar to the portal gadgets where Jin had purposely put a material out of their current world so that people would not be able to reverse engineer it. Even if they could, without that vital component, it would not be able to fully replicate the capabilities of the Virtual Reality Instance. Even so, like the portal gadget, the System was in control of the instances and without the same technology or magic that the System employed, there was no way for them to create another Virtual Reality instance unless multinational companies pour billions of dollars into R&D to reach the same level as Jin. Thus, Jin had already future proofed himself by at least ten years with the Virtual Reality Instance if he could establish it properly. The only thing he needs now is to start it up properly. Perhaps just one small village right now, but with the ambition to combine the Virtual Reality instance with a real environment just as how he and the System discussed creating a space station to handle the workload, there was a lot on his hands to take care of and there was only so much one human could do. Jin was hoping that with the introduction of the Virtual Reality Instance to Kong Rong¡¯s department as well as Ke Loong, he might be able use it as an opportunity to broaden his connections so that he could employ people with the right expertise into his cause and create the largest ever dungeon instance in the world via his Virtual Reality Instance. Chapter 1223: Tour Guide Alex Chapter 1223: Tour Guide Alex Ke Loong stared at his new body and sized himself. ¡°Holy shit, I can even feel the crevices under those muscles.¡± He even tried to kiss one of those muscles he long to have in real life and it felt awfully fantastic for him. ¡°You know, you could get that kind of body if you put in some effort in your personal training rather than just staying in the office.¡± Kong Rong said as he came out in the very same body figure he had, just a slightly younger version of him. The only difference was that he had added a tail to his current avatar as well as a pair of dragon horns as if to signify he was true towards his Dragon Lineage. ¡°You are not the only one who has traits of your own family.¡± Ke Loong said as he used some strength to force out a singular partial wing out from his left scapula. ¡°This is fucking amazing. According to the traits, I am currently still in the infant stage of my powers but if I continue to level, I would have the ability to fly like a hawk.¡± ¡°I honestly never checked what my abilities could do.¡± Kong Rong said as the others had begun to zone in and saw the beta version of the village. NPCs started to look at them and whispered among themselves. It was as if people had noticed their arrival and they were exchanging their thoughts and opinions of the people who had arrived to this village. There was however one particular NPC that stood out that looked like a tour guide. It was pretty obvious that the person was the first guy everyone had to talk to personally to start their travels. Kong Rong was wondering how Jin would be handling this in real time since it would be ridiculously stupid for everyone to speak to just one NPC. But as soon as Kong Rong had eye contact with the NPC, it felt as if he was in some cutscene where everyone had been blurred out in the background, making him feel as if he was the protagonist of this particular scene. ¡°Good evening there, Mister! I am Alex and welcome to our humble village of Alexan! As you can deduce from my name, my parents loved the town so much that they decided to name me as part of the village!¡± Alex said as he went towards Kong Rong¡¯s face, almost as if he was invading his personal space and whispering to his ear. ¡°Actually I hated my name, I prefer to be called Lex, it sounded cooler than that normal Alex but don¡¯t let my neighbours or shopkeepers hear it or they would tell my parents.¡± ¡°Ehh okay.¡± Kong Rong merely shook his shoulders and nodded his head in agreement while Alex returned to his original cheery expression and told Kong Rong about the village they stepped into. Apparently, how they started the story was similar to an adventurer coming here by carriage and they were just out of the guards¡¯ room since there were incidents of bandits disguising themselves as adventurers to assault, steal and even kill some of the village people. That was why the village guards were doing a more stringent check to ensure that the people who passed were authentic adventurers with their adventurer¡¯s pass. ¡°Ah, I can see where this is going. You want us to find those bandits?¡± Kong Rong asked and Alex laughed as if he was telling some joke. ¡°Don¡¯t kid yourself, adventurer. As a fresh young aspiring explorer, you should gain some experience and also get to know the town a little more. But hey, if you wish to try risking your life against those bandits, be my guest. We would like to commend a hero when we see a real life one.¡± Alex said in such sarcasm as if the village itself had seen its fair share of fake proud adventurers. It was at that point, Kong Rong came out of the conversation and saw everyone was being idle or ¡®locked in cutscene¡¯ with the NPC as the Dragonborn adventurer walked towards the Hawkborn guy yawning while looking at his phone. ¡°This is the only thing they allow us to bring into this Virtual Reality Instance as a way to track our progress since our phones had installed the Pandamonium App. But also ensuring that we have a link to our current world.¡± Ke Loong said as he showed his work emails coming into his inbox as per usual. The phone model did not change and neither did the accessories such as the phone cover. The only difference was that there was something similar to an inbuilt speaker wired into their heads so they could use the phone without any earpieces. ¡°Ooo that¡¯s interesting but won¡¯t that break the immersion of the place?¡± Kong Rong said as he tried to place his hand on his pants¡¯ pockets and found that his phone was indeed with him. ¡°Nah, I casually told him I like to bring my phone to Virtual Reality during one of the many testing phases and suddenly he kept quiet for a moment. After which he mumbled to me that that was a brilliant idea and had to do this to make sure that the person had a line to the real world no matter what. He does not want any of those novel like incidents where his Virtual Reality becomes a deathtrap with all communications cut out from the world. In his words, If Rei can come from another world and into mine without the intervention of the System, it is very likely that these authors writing about isekai could possibly come true. Lol, so that¡¯s how he instantly approves the use of our real life phones.¡± ¡°hahaha, what a convoluted way of thinking but I am sure that will put many people at ease knowing that there is a connection back to the real world no matter how convenient or to some people annoying it would be.¡± Kong Rong said as he asked Ke Loong if they wanted to find these bandits. ¡°Yea, he also probably makes sure that the kids and teenagers who play would not be able to cut the lines off. In any case, yeah let¡¯s go. Like to see how strong those bandits are compared to us.¡± Ke Loong turned his phone off and the two of them went to the outskirts of the village without exploring the place. With just a basic weapon attached to their waist and back, they decided to rush the content to see what Jin¡¯s prototype could offer. Chapter 1224: Ladybugs and Sheeps Chapter 1224: Ladybugs and Sheeps The village outskirts were not exactly the prettiest sight to behold. Some of the houses had been left abandoned for some time and it even showed that nature had once again shown triumph against men¡¯s creation. Shrubs and bushes had taken over the houses and there was almost nothing left of the former. It made the adventurers wonder why the village did not wish to expand further with the influx of adventurers but they could only wonder that there could be a quest to showcase the history of the village¡­ just not at the moment. In terms of monsters and animal life, it was not long after coming out from the village that they encountered a few enlarged ladybugs and even sheeps grazing the unchecked grasslands. And like every game there was a level attached to them to show their difficulty level and all of them had adjusted to ensure that the threat was equivalent to the general level of adventurers within the vicinity. Thus, Kong Rong and Ke Loong had started to smash some of the enlarged ladybugs to gain some experience. None of them were proving to be much of a fight even though the ladybugs seem to have a better evasion rate as compared to the usual real life punching bags they were used to. However, the cap in their power was definitely a handicap. Unlike in the real world where they had trained for their current cultivation for years, especially for Kong Rong, his usual fighting style was not as strong as he thought they would be in against the ladybugs. It lacked power, speed and even fighting a few dozen ladybugs could prove to be quite a challenge. Still, having Ke Loong with him did aid with the killing and they reached level 2 where they could try their hands on the level 4 sheeps. ¡°Let¡¯s see what those idle gazing sheeps would offer that these bugs don¡¯t.¡± Ke Loong said as he withdrew his sword from the carcass of the dead ladybug. ¡°Wait wait. Before that, I want to see how to use a skillpoint.¡± Kong Rong said as both of them had gained a skill point from levelling up their sword fighting but were unable to use it at all. He then used the Pandamonium App to see if the on board app AI would be able to solve that question. Surprisingly, the AI who was none other than the System told them that since they had not met anybody that was capable of teaching them the ways of the sword, the skill point on swords had currently been locked. If they had taken the time to explore the village, the duo might have been able to browse through the shops for books on basic sword fighting and even visit a sword master to get their skill tree open. ¡°I thought Jin wanted this Virtual Reality to be as open and flexible as it can be? How come we need to follow some sword master?¡± Kong Rong scratched his head wondering why was the current system was kinda backward and stupid. ¡°Dude, you are supposed to be a brand new adventurer, an escape from our current reality. Obviously, you have to play by their rules. Sure, we might be able to use our own skills without chi at the moment but lore wise. You are just some new guy who tried to prove his worth. If you want any assurances, Jin said upon reaching a certain level in let¡¯s say at this instance, sword fighting, you get to incorporate your own skills into the avatar.¡± Ke Loong told Kong Rong not to worry and help him with the sheep. ¡°Alright, it does make sense if you think of it that way. But are you sure you want to fight that sheep? It¡¯s a higher level than you. We do not know the experience point penalty system.¡± Kong Rong commented and Ke Loong snorted. ¡°Wow, looks like your childhood was not just about the Dragon Clan. You did play some games too.¡± Ke Loong teased Kong Rong even though they knew each other well enough. ¡°If there is PVP or a duel system, I would have beat you up right here and now. How would I not get the title Mr Know It All if not for my knowledge for almost everything.¡± ¡°But you did not know anything about this Virtual Reality! I know more than you! Come, relinquish that boastful title of yours and also change your current avatar name to Mr Don¡¯t Know It All.¡± Ke Loong made fun of the top elite agent of the Dragon Clan until he realised the rest of his department was slowly trickling into the fields as well. A few of them even asked what they were fighting against and when Ke Loong said they wanted to take the grazing sheep, the rest thought it would be a good idea to gang up against it so that they could have a faster accumulation of experience points. Thus, a group of three level one adventurers had decided to rush forward, ignoring the ladybugs and against the level 4 sheep. The first few hits went in but with the sheep was of a higher level than them combined. And to their abysmal luck, it managed to deal a critical hit to one of the adventurers, causing one of them to fall dead immediately from the blow. A few of the adventurers laughed at how silly he had died but they were not prepared for the unexpected. The sheep who had killed the adventurer suddenly levelled up. It seems that this was not the usual Virtual Reality role playing game they thought it would be. The monsters themselves could level up as well if the adventurers were not careful and now that forced Kong Rong and Ke Loong on their toes. It was indeed a risk and reward kind of game right now. They could go for a high level monster and bag that kill or risk forcing them to be more dangerous than usual. And since that sheep had just levelled up, it became the immediate threat to all the adventurers in the area. Chapter 1225: That Sheep Chapter 1225: That Sheep Before Ke Loong and Kong Rong could step into the fight against it, another three more adventurers tried to cover the loss of one, hoping that it would be a numbers game. If you throw enough bodies it might eventually be a solution and that was the most logical thing to do in an MMORPG and in dungeon instances. So, they thought that was how they would overcome this particular problem. However, that solution became non existent the moment the total of four adventurers had engaged it. The fifth one was being knocked back before he could even be within the range of the grazing sheep and a barrier emerged out of nowhere as if to stop anybody else from coming close to it. Everyone within the vicinity then realised there is an expected difficulty fighting against the enemies and there was no other way than to carefully choose their battles. ¡°Holy shit, isn¡¯t this just a normal mob? It suddenly becomes a battle to the death against a normal monster?¡± Kong Rong found it hard to believe it was that gruesome and the other adventurers recognised the same too. ¡°I think this is to prevent experience point tagging or a group of people just mob rushing and levelling up fast.¡± Ke Loong presumed and could only anticipate the slaughter of the four level 1 adventurers as the sheep once again smashed its head towards one of the adventurers who had accidentally stepped on uneven ground. The stomp killed the adventurer causing the sheep¡¯s experience points to go up while the other three took a more cautious approach. This time, everyone did not try to be a hero entering the barrier to substitute for the dead adventurer. Even the level 2 duos did not try anything particular and could only hope for the best for the remaining three. On the other hand, someone attempted to cast support magic through the barrier, hoping it would go through but to their dismay, it was not possible. The remaining three had to tackle it themselves and they were already cautiously fighting against the monstrous sheep by making sure there was sufficient distance away from it. At the same time, they had to make sure that they did not accidentally provoke another monster in their midst. Thankfully, this was still the starting area where all the monsters were considered passive and while the counterparts of this innocent looking four legged herbivore had no wish to join the fight, the adventurers believed it would not be the same for other areas. The only advantage they had now was they were trained agents despite the fact two colleagues of theirs had unfortunately fallen due to their sheer bad luck. They kept their cool and analysed the situation despite the shocking catastrophe they encountered in the first place. The agents found out that the sheep was a more passive creature and continued to stay on its guard, only to attack when its enemies came too close. This gave them time to plan their attack so long they did not do anything rash to provoke the sheep and that was the only notion they could rely on. ¡°Maybe I will distract you and you two attack it from the flanks and avoid its legs. After all, the sheep is not exactly a very agile creature.¡± One of them who was carrying a sword and shield ordered the other two. ¡°I should be able to block a hit or two allowing you two to have enough time to damage it.¡± ¡°And then allow it to cause a rampage and kill us all three? Have you seen a very angry sheep before in real life?¡± Another adventurer said and they were in a stalemate in terms of handling the monster. ¡°If it levels up again, it will regain its full hit points and come back stronger.¡± ¡°Lol, plus that headbutt it did was rather quick too and do not forget that the sheep had wool as its protective cover. Even if we are fast, it would be pretty meaningless if our strikes are not deep to pierce through its wool and into its body.¡± Upon hearing the conversation, that was when Kong Rong had thought of an idea to possibly circumvent this level difference. He quickly searched for an enlarged ladybug and stabbed it once, causing its health to drop to half its hit points. Angered by his actions, the enlarged ladybug attempted to attack Kong Rong but he managed to evade it in time. Simultaneously, he started to bring it closer to the adventurers who were in the stalemate against the sheep and shouted at the adventurer who was equipped with a sword and shield. ¡°Yu Xuan! Try and see if you can kill this!¡± Kong Rong shouted as he blocked the ladybug¡¯s attack with his sword. Not sure what his leader was thinking, Yu Xuan merely nodded and followed orders as he took another step back to position himself for the attack. When the ladybug was in range, he used all his might to strike it and to his surprise, the attack went through, allowing him to drop its health to a quarter while Kong Rong finished it off. Both of them got experience points while the sheep continued to stay stationary. The rest of the adventurers saw what Kong Rong was doing and had decided to do the same for the remaining two who were engaged with the sheep. They realised that the interaction between the monsters was something similar to basic maths. To be more exact, Venn diagrams where each set of monsters and adventurers can intersect and subsequently overlap the barriers if they play by the rules. It was also because of the nature of their opponent that they allowed them to do this ¡®cheat¡¯, allowing the current group to reach level 3 despite it being a slow and painful process for baiting. At this point, Kong Rong and Ke Loong had also reached level 4 but they decided to let their leader join in the fight. So with a smaller level difference, the group had decided to try their luck fighting against the killer sheep. Kong Rong might not have any skills under his belt but the other three had briefly talked to their trainers, allowing them to learn basic skills. Yu Xuan was the tank and he had acquired the skill ¡®Shield Bash¡¯ that could temporarily stun his opponent for four seconds. The other two were DPS class with them being a thief and archer respectively, allowing them to have speed on their side. Thus, they hoped that their tank could at least block a hit or two and subsequently the damage dealers could inflict sufficient damage so when Yu Xuan bash its shield against the sheep, they would have enough attack to kill it before the sheep had the chance to counter attack. Worse case scenario, they did what they had done for the past fifteen minutes. Overlap the monsters by tagging and thus allowing other adventurers to enter the fray. It is however a fairly complicated manoeuvre especially when the sheep might possibly deal a critical hit once more, levelling itself up. But one thing was for sure. If they can¡¯t kill this sheep, the sheep might potentially become strong enough to be their first boss encounter. Chapter 1226: Angry Sheep Chapter 1226: Angry Sheep ¡°Steady¡­ Steady¡­¡± Kong Rong said as he placed a step forward and his sword was placed at his back. If possible, they would wish to have a simultaneous strike which they found out while exchanging kills against the ladybugs. By doing a simultaneous strike among the four fighters, it was possible to stun the monster for a brief moment, allowing them to gain momentum. Even though the stun seemed to vary depending on how precise the strikes were, they wanted to, if possible, chain up the attacks with a stun effect so that the duration the sheep was concussed was longer. ¡°NOW!¡± Kong Rong shouted and the sheep screeched while rushing towards him. However, Yu Xuan started banging his wooden shield and shouting at the top of his voice, causing the enmity that was aimed towards Kong Rong transferred to him. To their luck, it caused the sheep to pause for a moment and change direction, providing the attackers with the flanks and its back exposed. Even as the adventurers who were not participating were watching with their throats tightened up as they hoped the four of them could achieve a simultaneous strike. Unfortunately, Yu Xuan realised that if he were to go for the offensive, there was a chance he might be knocked back, or even worse, killed in the process. So, to play it safe, he kneels with one leg firmly on the ground and uses his shield as the cover against the sheep¡¯s headbutt. At the same time, he plunged his sword into the ground, hoping it would provide him with sufficient balance to withstand the knockback of a level 5 sheep. *BAM* The shield Yu Xuan was holding nearly gave way but as a cultivator skilled in the sword and shield style, his basic foundation had paid off allowing the shield to not break under immense pressure by blocking the headbutt via a certain angle. At this point when the interval where the sheep had performed its headbutt, the three other adventurers quickly took the chance to strike. The thief aimed for the neck since it had the least wool on it despite it being one of the more challenging areas to hit. The archer did not wish to fire his arrows since his companions were dangerously close and thus used a knife too to go for a close ranged attack. In the meantime, Kong Rong went for a wide slash with his sword at the body, hoping his strike would have sufficient range to go through the wool and have the blade seep into its flesh. *6! 18! 37! * There was a damage counter that floated out of the sheep when they hit and they saw the strikes connected, causing a multiplier to appear and making the damage counter change colour to a slight tint of rainbow. At the same time, they could see through their eyes that the sheep had a stunned status right above their head. At this point, the thief jumps on top of the sheep while using its horn as its pivot. He then tried to drag the knife through the neck even though it felt as if its neck muscles were made out of rock. Meanwhile, the archer took a quick step back while nocking his bow in the midst to shoot several arrows right to its butt. The sheep¡¯s hit points were going down steadily while Kong Rong frantically slammed his sword as he looked towards the tank of the party. ¡°Yu Xuan!¡± Kong Rong roared once more as he could see the tank forgo his sword that was partially bent from resisting the knockback and headed for the sheep¡¯s head once more. His shield glowed momentarily and they all knew that he was about to unleash the shield bash against the sheep. The shield bash would definitely ensure an additional few seconds of stun time until one of the sheep who were looking at the scene suddenly cried out. So much for hoping that everything would go smoothly as that sheep¡¯s cry somehow lessened the stun duration from the simultaneous strike and the injured sheep was able to move its head in time, barely missing the shield bash. Nevertheless, that prompted the rest of the adventurers to be more assertive in their attacks. Kong Rong had decided to ignore everything else and attempted to slice its legs away so it would be crippled while the thief removed the knife from its neck and tried to aim for the eyes. He was fortunate to be able to keep his balance despite the sudden struggle by the sheep. The archer continued to keep calm and shoot his arrows but the sheep¡¯s movement was getting too erratic. But somehow despite their efforts, they had forgotten that the sheep had levelled up too, meaning not only its hitpoints were increased but its other attributes as well as the very same thing that the adventurers were able to learn each time they reached a new pinnacle in their path to get stronger. Skills. The sheep unleashed a skill they had never seen before. Wool explosion. The sheepy herbivore tightened its muscles to shake the wool away and upon doing so, its wool fluffed up extensively. Initially, the fighters had no idea what it was doing exactly until someone noticed that its eyes were glowing red. ¡°Quickly kill it!¡± Ke Loong and the bystanders shouted and it prompted the four of them to use every bit of their strength to use it off. However, they did not know that the wool explosion was a delayed skill and even upon killing the sheep, Kong Rong noticed something was off and ordered the rest to move away from it as soon as the deed was done. The activation continued and suddenly the wool turned red momentarily before exploding. Everyone within the vicinity did not know how dangerous a level 5 sheep could be and this Virtual Reality instance was not as easy as one would think it would be. The rest of the sheep as well as the ladybugs ran away from the site since the noise, lights and impact from the explosion scared the rest away. ¡°What the fuck was that¡­¡± Kong Rong huffed and puffed to see that his experience bar went up to forty over percent upon killing the level 5 sheep. A great boost in points compared to the ladybugs who were only giving a pathetic point five percent each kill. ¡°Shit man, imagine the reviews on how crazy the fights would be even for just beginners.¡± Ke Loong extended his hand to Kong Rong and they both could not fathom what the higher levels would be like. Chapter 1227: Enough Of Sheep Chapter 1227: Enough Of Sheep When they were done with the first ever hurdle the Virtual Reality Instance had sent them, all of them wished to log out since it felt the group had spent more than sufficient time on it. It was then Jin had personally sent each of them a message stating that only fifteen minutes had passed in the real world. ¡°Ah, that guy is using the time dilation magic to slow it down for us eh?¡± Ke Loong said as he read the message. ¡°Yeap¡­ and he definitely wants us to go through more of the content as feedback.¡± Kong Rong remarked as he saw the dead sheep right in front of them. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if he comes down and leads the fight? The System is probably able to search and locate the possible bugs.¡± ¡°Hahaha, then there will be developer bias since he knows what to expect in the fight unless what you mean was that the sheep was a bug itself.¡± Ke Loong joked and another message got into their inbox stating that the sheep was not a bug at all and the Virtual Reality was working as intended. Jin even said that he was working on a no magic version server where it was all swords and arrows against the monsters. A gritty version where it was all about skills and teamwork. But that also meant that there were no healing spells and the only thing magical was health potions and bandages. Other than that, death should be best avoided if possible but Jin was still working on the details so not much information on the new server other than that. ¡°I see, that would be interesting since it sounded like a high risk high reward kind of server but damn it, stop hearing us and come down here already!.¡±Ke Loong grumbled and obviously, Jin did not bother replying to him this time around. ¡°If that¡¯s the case then we already know the difficulty of Virtual Reality and we cannot go after the bandits like this. As usual, we would need to do a proper recon, check the skills in the village properly before going out.¡± Kong Rong said as he stared at his phone for a moment and contemplated whether to continue with the adventure. And it seems that he was not the only one as every other adventurer around him knew time was of essence despite Jin¡¯s time dilation magic. ¡°Do you guys want to continue or just chill back at the restaurant for another round of drinks?¡± Kong Rong asked and people started chipping in with their opinions. This was indeed a good place to stop for a session of drinks and karaoke. ¡°Welp, it was fun. That sheep was enough excitement for one day.¡± Ke Loong said as he logged out first and the rest followed suit. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Jin teleported back into the Hall of Massage Chairs and everyone woke up felt refreshed. They never knew that the Hall of Massage Chairs was not a pun and it was doing the work of fixing their tired body back to shape. ¡°You think we can play that long? We do not have the stamina of youngsters anymore.¡± Ke Loong said as he grabbed a glass of water at the side of the chair and quenched his thirst. ¡°It is no doubt interesting. But would people appreciate the difficulty?¡± ¡°Yeah, I would like to know what would happen if someone deliberately increased the levels of the monsters within the area.¡± Kong Rong woke up as well and pulled the headset away to check out the design. ¡°We had a few AI designs over those monsters who are over levelled. They would first stay in the vicinity for a while, probably a few hours or so and then a bounty would be placed on their heads so that other adventurers can revisit those old areas to earn some good cash and resources. But if there¡¯s no one who would bother to kill it, the AI had been programmed to walk away and move to an area where the monsters would be of the same level as it is.¡± Jin said that the monster would not teleport but travel slowly through the areas so that any other adventurers who see it could still kill it. ¡°Then would the bounty still be on its head?¡± Yu Xuan was curious how it worked further on which Jin replied that the bounty would decrease as it travelled through the combat regions. ¡°For example, if a level 10 sheep had been spotted in the Village Outskirts, there would be a 100 gold on it but as it goes into the Grass Plains, the bounty would drop by 10 and the further it goes, it would drop even drastically,¡± Jin explained. ¡°You still got to work on your village names though. We can¡¯t be calling Grass Plains to every grass plains we see.¡± Ke Loong teased and Jin rolled his eyes. ¡°Ya know, you could simply use the current town names. Then set the Virtual Reality instance to something like post apocalyptic. The ruins of the modern world being incorporated into the world. It would give the people some familiarity and make it easier to navigate since you are aiming for this game for all ages.¡± Yu Xuan said and some of the agents chuckled at how excited he was with this new Virtual Reality instance. ¡°What? This game has loads of potential and since it¡¯s still in the beta phase, we can give some feedback!¡± Yu Xuan tried to defend his enthusiasm while Kong Rong placed his arms over Yu Xuan¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Enough talk about this Virtual Reality. Let¡¯s go have one more round of drinks and karaoke before the night ends.¡± Kong Rong said and told his team members that he would be treating. Jin bid them goodbye though Ke Loong stayed with Jin to discuss a few additional stuff with regards to Virtual Reality now that he had personally tried it. ¡°My friend, the concept you had was great and it¡¯s already amazing that you did almost everything by yourself but you really do need a team if we are to succeed big time.¡± Ke Loong warned. Chapter 1228: Poaching People Chapter 1228: Poaching People ¡°Yeah, I do know that we need a team and I am not a God almighty. There is a limit to what I can do, especially with the amount of time I have in my hands.¡± Jin said that he too had contemplated on the issue before. ¡°Hmm, I should have enough funds to be able to acquire a small indie game studio but it would take time to headhunt talents for it. Not everyone would be capable of creating storylines.¡± Ke Loong said but it seemed Jin actually had an idea, just something he was not able to do because he was too busy. ¡°Seeing how this is something similar to dungeon instances, I was thinking if we are able to get the people who worked under King¡¯s Monsters. After all, I do feel a bit bad that I got the company to go under after defeating their boss.¡± Jin suggested and Ke Loong laughed. ¡°Please, they never went under. All they did was take a beating from you. From the report of my corporate spi- erm friends, after your thrashing, the triads just placed a new guy up at the top. It has always been this way since no one was irreplaceable in the triads. The only problem was that the mainstream media sugarcoated the entire incident saying that it is going under in order to attract sympathy points but people in the known tried to spread the truth.¡± ¡°Soooo, more people boycotted it and, in that period, you managed to not only recover from the incident but turn it to your fortune. With your popularity rising through the roof, the participation of King¡¯s Monster dipped down to the ground. It was purely business.¡± ¡°I see. If that¡¯s the case does your spies-¡° ¡°Friends.¡± Ke Loong reinforced and Jin changed his wording. ¡°So, if what your spies said were true, any chances of getting their development team to us?¡± Jin posed as an open ended question which the System had stated that there were actually people from King¡¯s Monster appealing for a job in Dungeons and Pandas. ¡°Of note, they are young applicants with at least two to three years of experience and their resume. A few of them may meet the requirements that User had sought for. The only issue is that those mails were at least a few months old and had not been opened due to User¡¯s consistent distraction to do things that are not in the agenda of improving his store.¡± ¡°So harsh. The System never give you any break, eh?¡± Ke Loong said and requested if the System could send such mails to him. ¡°I would forward this to my HR and see what I can do. If they prove themselves capable, we might be able to start from them and poach teams of considerable talent in the dungeon instance making department and get your Virtual Reality world to be more comprehensive.¡± ¡°How are you going to test them? Are you going to give them the Virtual Reality Headset and try it out before the PandaVerse Festival?¡± Jin asked and Ke Loong shrugged his shoulders. ¡°YOU are using cheats to create your instance. But they aren¡¯t. There¡¯s a limit to how much they could do but I would definitely disguise the Virtual Reality set as some new tech game engine that we would be using to create it. After that, slap a non disclosure agreement so that any leaks would cause them a fuck ton of debt that they would never recover. However, I will require the System to be on a lookout so that no news would be out in the open before PandaVerse.¡± Ke Loong replied. ¡°Well, you do not have to worry too much. My human resource department is kind of an expert in making weird tests to ensure that what we find is always one of the better ones out in the market. So far, my HR director has never disappointed me and she would not be doing so for this particular endeavour especially when there¡¯s quite a fortune riding on it. We just have to remember we are looking for decent storytellers who know how to create dungeon instances. At the same time, if we are able to recruit the developers, we should be able to weaken our competitors even further. And if luck is on our side, it caused them to be unprofitable to an extent that we might even be able to buy their store in the future too.¡± Jin could see Ke Loong¡¯s advice and subsequent monologue as ambitious but attainable. It somehow caused him to feel inspired, an emotion which he had not experienced for some time. ¡°That¡¯s way too optimistic at the moment and let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves,¡± Jin warned and Ke Loong grabbed him by the shoulders. ¡°No harm thinking big, we need to be fierce if we want our fair share of the pie. By devouring King¡¯s Monsters, we would stand a better chance against other major competitors.¡± Ke Loong commented. ¡°But moving forward, my personal opinion is still to show a mere teaser for the Virtual Reality component for the PandaVerse Festival. We currently have made sufficient Virtual Reality headsets to fill an exhibition hall and that would be enough to get streamers and media attention. It would be more realistic to show the teaser, gauge the masses¡¯ interest and based on several users¡¯ feedback and improve on it.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good idea, and that would allow me to temporarily halt the development of the Virtual Reality instance and focus on the Farming World,¡± Jin commented. ¡°The System supports this new arrangement. The Farming World Situation had become dangerously volatile and having User¡¯s full attention would be favourable.¡± The System chipped in and they all laughed. In the meantime, Ke Loong took out his phone and sent an email to Jin. ¡°While you might not be able to showcase during the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium, it does not mean you are not allowed to attend. I have four extra tickets with me and so, I suggest that you see the capability of your fellow national suppliers.¡± ¡°Oh¡­Thanks! Heh, who knows? Maybe we can recruit a developer or two from the Symposium too!¡± Jin said as he received the email from Ke Loong but the naivety from Jin caused the latter to chuckle. ¡°Now who is the one getting ahead of himself?¡± Chapter 1229: PandaVerse Discussion Chapter 1229: PandaVerse Discussion In the next few days, Jin took a bit of downtime from the shop to prepare for the PandaVerse Festival. He sat down with Lynn and started to brainstorm on the options available to them and what they wished to show during the PandaVerse. The main attraction was obviously the Farming World War which Jin believed it would not be done within the span of a week- and that was the current estimate they would like to have for it. Lynn personally felt that it was too long but Jin said it was better to have a longer estimate than to squeeze everything in a few days. Reason? Because Jin knows that the majority of his patrons were working people and they usually enter the shop after their work. It also gave those who had missed some of the events at the start to enjoy it and at the same time, it was to ensure that the numbers were well anticipated. Ever since the Dungeon World¡¯s raid and Kraft allowing live streaming of the dungeon instances, people have been awaiting more content from it. They all believed this PandaVerse Festival would be bursting full of it and people were already buzzing with opinions within the Pandamonium Forums. But the PandaVerse Festival would not take place until a month later and Jin had already been recycling old raid instances on a weekly basis to keep the customers occupied. He had rebranded it in a way that this was the time before PandaVerse appeared and the raids were specially discounted for the event. Rewards that were specifically created for those raids reappeared as well since they were considered to be limited when they stopped showing. The only problem was that the dungeon raid instances which Jin had initially created were getting stale for the customers. It was not that the fight was not interesting but the content of it was. This was because the System would sometimes pair solo veterans and fresh newcomers together, and they would have to try to clear together. It was not easy as there were communications breakdowns at times and Jin could see the problem moving forward with those dungeon instances. While most of the time, the veterans were easygoing to help the newcomers but there was no incentive for the veterans to aid the newcomers. Sometimes, they would just quit or ask the System to relocate them to another dungeon instance (via the Pandamonium App). It was their right to do so since they had paid money to have a proper good time and death in the dungeon instance meant that try would be over. True, it was not as expensive as before ever since Jin had repriced the dungeon instances but to some people, each trip into a dungeon instance is still a consideration to be taken. If they do not aim to clear, it would be a waste of their money. That was why Jin had decided to change the pricing model once again as well as how his dungeon instances would operate in the future which might eventually be the norm for the rest of the world to follow. (However, Lynn thinks it was wishful thinking on his part.) Still, he would not be doing it so soon until the PandaVerse Festival and Lynn agreed that it would be better to do so which he could follow the big tech companies where they always had their leader doing the major reveals. ¡°Or you can just send your announcements out. Somehow, word from the customers is that you would usually send an announcement between Thursday and Saturday on a weekly basis. And they always anticipate what announcement you will send since you would always attach a small goodie along with it.¡± Lynn added and Jin felt surprised that his posts were worth looking forward to as it meant his previous idea had worked. ¡°Ah, those extra goodies? Its advertisement expenses. For example, I had attached a redemption coupon for a potion vial sample created by Yu Xiang previously. Her business has been booming since and some people even ordered cartons of it so that they would not have to worry about queuing ever again.¡± ¡°Yeah and how you attached a five dollar coupon without my acknowledgement with the advent of my new dish. Because of that, my dad¡¯s restaurant suddenly had an influx of people and he had to courteously reject people.¡± ¡°Oops. But I did limit the redemption to the first hundred people. Did not expect all one hundred to queue on the day of sending out that coupon.¡± ¡°But thanks to you, I can see that my Dad has really changed. While he might be cursing when there was not a single soul around, he had never raised his voice since then and even apologised to me once. Like, I never saw him apologising to me at all before.¡± ¡°Hmm yeah. I saw him recently and he told me that particular day, you cooked for him a dish that tasted so delicious that he cried.¡± Jin roughly recalled the incident that Lynn was talking about but she looked confused. ¡°Wait¡­ so he lied to me? I thought his tolerance for spiciness had dropped since he tear and I assumed it was too spicy. That idiot dad of mine¡­¡± Lynn smiled as Jin could plainly see that her dad gave an excuse to hide his true feelings. ¡°By the way, did you tell your dad about us?¡± Jin asked and Lynn shook her head. ¡°It would be better if we spend more time together to see if we are really proceeding well as a couple. Oh and a quick word on it, Jin. Let¡¯s promise that if we feel that we are incompatible with each other, we still continue as friends and wish each other the best.¡± Lynn was being dead serious with Jin even though their discussion for the PandaVerse took a huge derail. ¡°Definitely. You are after all my head chef and Sub System User. I cannot let you go amok, can I?¡± Jin raised his pinky finger up and like two little kids, the couple assured each other. The System could not help but intervene by creating a new contract between them with the conversation as proof. ¡°Was that even necessary?¡± Lynn was more frustrated at the System¡¯s intervention than its contract making but the derailing of the topic was a healthy distraction for both who had worked non stop for the past few hours. Chapter 1230: Why Bother with the Symposium? Chapter 1230: Why Bother with the Symposium? The discussion between Jin and Lynn felt like a distant memory as that was the few times they interacted alone as a couple. In the next couple of weeks, they had been running around the store and coordinating for the PandaVerse Festival. What was more shocking was how time had gone by and they were only a day before the official PandaVerse Festival. Jin had never been more tired in his life and yet so satisfied with the burden of work on his shoulders. As he laid lazily on his office chair within the Dungeon Maker, the System was going through the entire PandaVerse schedule once more with him to ensure that he was not adding any additional stuff into the chaos. Oh and that National Dungeon Supplier Symposium? Jin could not even get out of the store because of the issues he had to settle personally as well as problems that were erupting non stop from the big headache coordination. In the end, the Demon Exorcists employed under him went since there were exactly four tickets given to him by Ke Loong. While Jin felt a little disappointed that he was not able to personally attend the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium, he felt it was a decent alternative to let the Demon Exorcists try things out. Unlike him, they had no title under them, no obligations and most importantly, no one recognised them well enough. Jin believed that if he were to walk into the Symposium, he probably would cause some commotion that would not end well for his upcoming PandaVerse Festival. ¡°If it¡¯s you, I do not think you will come out of the Symposium unscathed. You are like Peppers, a walking timebomb.¡± The System also stated that it was the better solution to let the Demon Exorcists enjoy the work of other Dungeon Suppliers. They then can have a better objective of how the rest of the country¡¯s Dungeon Suppliers could compare up to Jin. Suffice to say, they continued to prefer Jin¡¯s dungeon instances more as they could feel how stale the atmosphere was in most of the dungeon instances they attended during the Symposium. However, Rong, the Ox Demon Cultivator, did say that there were some good snippets of the story theme from some of the Dungeon Supplier but all of them had stated that this was their first few products with story themes in it. Unbeknownst to Jin, he had indirectly influenced the Dungeon Supplier community with the advent of storytelling within their instances. Even the big names were trying their hand onto this intricate storytelling theme but apparently, their servers and hardware did not have the capacity to run them well enough. Some even thought that was why Sea Mesh worked very closely with Dungeons and Pandas as the two had shared some new age technology that allowed them to have the cutting edge. But even their corporate spies were unable to get any information about it since people who they tried to bribe or the systems they tried to hack were to no avail. There¡¯s simply a blank space between them and the Panda Clan affiliates. The streaming of Dungeon Instances had also become a rather hot topic and it was pretty obvious that the Symposium was trying to get onto the trend as fast as they could, but sadly not fast enough. Unlike Jin who had already invited some of the major streamers to attend the PandaVerse, the Symposium was still an old dinosaur going for traditional media coverage. Their live conference was all about bringing in a few media critics to talk about the possible new trends of dungeon instance exposure as well as the change of themes among dungeon suppliers. Even Su Zhen, the White Snake Demon Cultivator, who was well known for being studious among the four of the Demon Exorcists had reported that the conference was ¡®boring af¡¯ and a total waste of time. There were a lot of people who got disinterested minutes into the talk that they just walked out of. While it was quite a common sight for the Symposium conferences to have their halls empty, this year¡¯s walkout rate was exceptionally high when some of the audience asked questions with regards to Jin and his store. No answers were given except for some passive aggressive threats or negative remarks with regards to his attitude towards the Dungeon Supplier community. ¡°They emphasised that the community must stay strong and not be an outlier like certain dungeon supplier blah blah blah. You get the story, they are trying to blacklist you but they can¡¯t yet because of your royal status and the people supporting you. I suggest you look out for sabotage with Agent Kong Rong.¡± Su Zhen nearly yawned as she gave her summary report to Jin who was still keeping tabs on the Symposium even though he was in a mess of his own making . Separately, there was a Dungeon Supplier instance competition where the audience could try out the hardest instances each supplier could ever create and if they could emerge victoriously, they would earn a small token. Collecting a certain number of these tokens would yield them a consolation prize but beating each and every available dungeon instance would achieve the grand prize of various merchandise. From the always out of stock Playbox 5 to the incredible Xstation 027, there were a slew of gaming accessories and household gadgets available for grabs. What¡¯s more they even throw in an extremely high end Zony wide screen television which cost at least six figures and an electric car into the mix for the first person who completed it. However, it was a first come first serve kind of win. For the first ten participants who were able to get it done would get five of such merchandise largely thanks to their benevolent sponsors and the subsequent runner-ups would only receive one of such merchandise until the prizes were all gone. And without a doubt, the four Demon Exorcists were rushing the entire dungeon instances to compete to see who could win the top grand prize of that electric car. It¡¯s not like they needed the car but rather that¡¯s the only excitement they could get in this National Dungeon Supplier Symposium which had overhyped to be the best one yet in this century. They obviously know that that would only happen if Jin was in it. And since this Symposium had wasted enough of their time, it¡¯s time to plunder the rewards to compensate for their ¡®losses¡¯. (Hint: They did win the first four prizes including the electric car and Rong was not particularly happy that a certain demonic horse cultivator got it just because he got lost to the prize redemption counter.) Chapter 1231: Recruitment Drive Chapter 1231: Recruitment Drive ¡°Just being curious, why are there no high level cultivators around? I feel a little bad bagging all these prizes for myself!¡± Rong asked as he bagged the prizes and told the counter staff to send them to the Tree Mall. His room where he was currently staying with his parents had all the things he needed but the room which Jin offered him was bare. These merchandise, especially the Playbox 5 would be a huge delight for him when he is on break. ¡°Did you not see? There ARE high level cultivators around.¡± Lian, the Demon Fox Cultivator, showed him the scoreboard where other cultivators were already queuing to redeem their prize and there were not many left. ¡°Eh, seriously? That guy is a grade 10?¡± Rong tried to see the cultivator by tinning his eyes with chi so that he could gauge his strength. For some reason it was his chi was weaker but does qualify as a grade 10 cultivator. And as he glanced around the area, there were grade 11 and even 12s in the area. Some even gave Rong and the gang a few nods and stares which Rong unknowingly ignored but his friends acknowledged. ¡°Gah, okay. I think I saw an acquaintance I did not like.¡± Rong quickly turned his back towards the group and finally accepted the fact that they were not the only ones here. ¡°But honestly speaking, how the hell did we even manage to get the top prizes when our grades are considered mediocre compared to all those around us?¡± Rong questioned. ¡°I am just glad they kept quiet about our identities. Do not want people to be poking around to find us for some recruitment drive.¡± Lian said and Su Zhen shook her head. ¡°You can never get away from those people. One of them is already making their move.¡± As they could see a rather handsome and well built gentleman in his army uniform walking towards them. ¡°Greetings, I am Major Wei, part of the army ground force sixth division. I will -¡± Before Major Wei could even say finish his sentence, Lein the Demonic Qilin Cultivator quietly showed his Demon Exorcists¡¯ badge. The rest did the same as well to show that they were not up for grabs. ¡°Ah, I see! No wonder you guys are able to manage to clear this quickly!¡± Wei exclaimed but continued to stay instead of moving away from the group. ¡°There are no rules stating that people with affiliations to certain groups were not allowed to join the mini competition.¡± Su Zhen reassured her friends that they had done nothing wrong winning the prizes. ¡°No no no. What I am trying to give is just a mere statement of congratulations. I am not implying that you guys cheated or anything. In fact, we are more than happy to know that there are still capable Demon Exorcists within our midst.¡± Major Wei remarked and somehow everyone got ticked off immediately. Initially, they thought that upon showing their badges, they would step away, but now passing such a sarcastic remark to the Demon Exorcists especially towards this group of battle hardened members caused their blood to boil. (Obviously, the Major did not know he had a poor choice of words.) But for once, instead of reacting against the Major¡¯s remarks, Rong quietly broke off from the group and walked away from the conversation. The rest did the same with only Su Zhen saying an insincere apology before joining the group. ¡°Wait, guys. All I needed was just one minute of your time.¡± Major Wei had decided not to let go of them since it was not easy to find high ranking cultivators. And that goes without saying that the sponsors of the Symposium were the local Armed Forces. And thus, Major Wei performed a flash step moving towards the sight of them wanting to have a proper word with them since he was ¡®obligated¡¯ to do so but the Demon Exorcists were getting rather annoyed by him. ¡°Hey, Lein!¡± Suddenly someone shouted Lein¡¯s name and the group looked back for a moment. His hair was slightly messy, eye bags the same as Jin¡¯s but his appearance was insignificant. Donning on standard office wear with a lanyard hanging over his neck, it seemed like he was some random person off the streets. Lein had no idea who this guy was but before he could speak, the Demon Exorcists noticed that his badge was from the Ministry of State Security. That was when Lein discerned that the State agent was sneakily showing him a picture of a Postman Panda from the Pandamonium App from his phone while blocking it from Major Wei. At that moment, he also received a message through his smartwatch which Lein slyly took a look at by trying to scratch his forehead as if he was trying to remember the name of the state agent to avoid any suspicion from Major Wei. ¡°Ah! Yu¡­ Xuan, was it?¡± ¡°Yes! yes! I liked your performance, especially after what you did in King¡¯s Monster¡¯s dungeon instance! Man, that double backflip was sick.¡± Yu Xuan said and he started to congratulate each of them personally with each of their names. Major Wei was immediately ticked off the moment he saw the lanyard on Yu Xuan and he had no idea how the Ministry of State Security was able to find them before him. And it also looked as if the agent had already made contact with the Demon Exorcists but he was not going to let any possible chance go until Yu Xuan stepped forward by telling the Major to give it up. To make things even worse for him, Su Zhen cleverly said that they wished to consider signing up with Yu Xuan, causing the Major to reluctantly walk off. After which, Yu Xuan told the Demon Exorcists to follow him as he provided them a cover to walk out of the Symposium safely. ¡°Nice catch over there.¡± Yu Xuan commented and the group laughed except for Rong who did not exactly comprehend the situation until Lian explained it to him in very simple terms. ¡°I was equally surprised as well that the State Agents would help us.¡± Lein thought that this recon mission was just to enjoy and experience the Symposium. They had no idea the State Agents would provide support for them. ¡°Like you, we have our very own mission too. While there are still the same old probable threats being thrown out on the internet, we cannot ignore them. Our boss placing one of us here is for safeguard and if the situation arises, send in a quick backup. But since everything had gone relatively smoothly, the boss felt that there wasn¡¯t any problem for me to do a second job as a babysitter. Oh please pardon the pun, I am not exactly saying you guys are kids. I recognised how you all had survived that ¡®incident¡¯. Thank you once again for helping the nation.¡± Yu Xuan said but before they could get to exit, the group suddenly felt a shake in the ground. Looks like ¡®relatively smooth¡¯ has always been a red flag. Chapter 1232: Cut Off Chapter 1232: Cut Off ¡°Is that an earthquake?¡± Someone besides the group asked his partner but the cultivators who had been through various battles knew the feeling. There was no earthquake or tremor. It was an explosion. And to make things worse, another went off in the distance and this time around, the group could feel a slight aftershock as compared to the first one. Only then, the fire alarm goes off and everyone started panicking. ¡°Sorry, guys. Looks like my babysitting ends here.¡± Yu Xuan said as he speed dialled his boss with regards to the current situation. ¡°We will go with you. If this incident is the same as that previous one, you would definitely need a few Demon Exorcists by yourself.¡± Lein proposed that going to safety was not exactly their style. ¡°Hmm. Fine. You guys are after all Jin¡¯s official employees and all of you had proven yourselves previously.¡± Yu Xuan nodded his head and told them to follow him. ¡°Let¡¯s hope that it¡¯s just some cultivator causing some ruckus.¡± While the security forces seemed to be on high alert, the symposium participants seemed to be quite oblivious to it and in fact, wanted to see what was going on. Perhaps it was because of the fighting that the Demon Exorcists group had gone through, they were a little frustrated how the public was taking this so nonchalantly. But at the same time, the group honestly hoped that they had severely overestimated the incident. Even as they tried to walk through the crowd, Yu Xuan¡¯s phone rang a few times and it was apparent he was talking to his higher ups as they relayed information between each other while the Demon Exorcist group continued to scan the area. Su Zhen had also taken the opportunity to contact the main branch stating that there was an explosion happening in Shenzhen World¡¯s Exhibition and Convention Centre where the Symposium was taking place in half of the total halls. The rest were supposedly used as buffer areas to support the Symposium as well as a concert hall for the end of the Symposium. And with the modern Dungeon Suppliers¡¯ heavy reliance on machines, there was a hall that had been dedicated to the technical aspects so it was easier to keep track of the servers as well as maintain a cooling system for the machines rather than spreading them out in several halls. The Demon Exorcists did not know this initially until they informed the System with regards to it and were immediately given the floor plan of the Shenzhen World¡¯s Expo. ¡°More eyes would be on your way,¡± Jin said as he summoned Que Er, the Magpie Queen to get her birds to the scene as soon as possible. Even though he was busy with the preparation of PandaVerse and the Farming World, he could not ignore if it was a threat similar to the incident related to the Banned Emperors. Thus, with the help of the System¡¯s teleportation, a team of magpies and ravens had already gone to Shenzhen¡¯s World Expo to have a look. From the bird¡¯s eye view, images of the fire came from Hall 13 which was kilometres away from the South Entrance which they were at. Lein quickly informed Yu Xuan that he did not question where he got his information and decided to use his chi so that they could do massive jumps across the convention centre¡¯s large hallway to the site of the incident. However, as much as they tried to activate their chi, it was not coming out from the Dian Tian. There was a ¡®what the fuck¡¯ moment from the entire group but Yu Xuan kept calm and started chanting. It looked like he too knew a bit of magic though he was not a full hybrid like Jin. The magic spell fizzled too and thus the last resort he had was taking out a scroll from his storage ring. Seeing how prepared and how calm Yu Xuan was despite his demeanour kind of brought a little awe to the Demon Exorcists when they were not as prepared or as versatile as him. The inscription scroll somehow worked. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s no normal fire. There¡¯s an anti chi and magic barrier in the works but for some reason, the inscription scroll works so I had no idea what kind of barrier this is.¡± Yu Xuan said as he took out exactly four more scrolls and passed them to the Demon Exorcist group. Once activated, they would have a ¡°Fleeting Foot¡± buff which allowed them to travel similar to how one would Qing Gong through the halls. (Qing Gong is a kind of martial art that is visually reminiscent of parkour.) Yu Xuan decided to give another call to his reporting officer but as it tried to dial through, the connection snapped as well. ¡°Fuck. Are you serious? Even a satellite line can be disrupted?¡± Yu Xuan said as he tried to call once more. Unlike the public who now had trouble sending out calls because the comms towers could be busy, the State Agents all have a special line and a dedicated military satellite to handle their queries. To have it cut off meant that something dangerous was pending and it was not a good sign. Fortunately, the supposed barrier could not cut the line between the signed contracted employees of the System. Lein was close enough to discern that Yu Xuan had troubles connecting his phone and he also noticed his phones were not receiving any signal bars. ¡°Yu Xuan Sir! We still have a connection to our boss! Then my boss can inform yours!¡± Lein shouted as he requested Yu Xuan to tell him what to say so as to not expose the System too much. The State Agents might know a thing or two about it but Lein did not know how much they knew. ¡°How do you even have a connection up?!¡± Yu Xuan stopped for a while at the side of the convention main hallway. ¡°Our Boss had set up a blood pact of some sort with us. Nasty stuff but he said it is the best way of communicating.¡± Su Zhen tried to bluff since this was the closest thing similar to a celestial type communication network that was not affected by magic, chi nor technology. ¡°Wow, you guys are so sure to be his employees till death? Not that I can say it¡¯s the best way to live. But I will do anything to take any information out of this fucked up situation.¡± Yu Xuan said as he relayed whatever he could to Lein. On the other hand, the System had already connected Kong Rong to a separate channel to the Exorcists Group and he was hearing what Yu Xuan said in real time. ¡°Shit. This kind of barrier spells lots of trouble. Inform the Defence Ministry and Home Affairs. We are not going to be idle this time around as well. A barrier of this kind would definitely have an activation point like a totem or relic. Send the alarm out and call up the off duty teams! Get me the blueprints for not just Shenzhen Exhibition Center but the area surrounding it as well as the underground maps if there¡¯s any!¡± Kong Rong ordered and in his mind, he wondered if Jin had to be involved once more. Chapter 1233: The Criminals Chapter 1233: The Criminals As expected, the crowd started to panic when they realised that their phones were not receiving any signals and the compounding effect of the fire alarm was not making it any easier. The employed security staff were trying their best to keep the peace as they attempted to vacate premises. However, there seems to be a ripple effect of shouts and screams at the far end of the south entrance when people were saying that they were not able to leave. The screams got even more horrifying when someone tried to use force to leave the area and his hand was burnt upon placing force through the said barrier. The panic from the crowd upon seeing the incident increased tenfold and the whole place turned to chaos. Some did not believe and tried to attempt the same thing, only to have been thoroughly burnt and losing their arms or legs in the process. Without chi, cultivators trained in the art of healing were unable to save them even when they were able to put the fire out. The inability to use chi once again caused another layer of anxiety among the crowd and the security forces were unable to contain it even further without the coordination from the head office. Everyone who was trapped in this World Expo had basically become the hostages of the masterminds behind it. ¡°Everything is in order, proceed according to plan.¡± Shang Xia spoke through the ¡®network¡¯ and his criminal partners acknowledged. Among the chaos, the cleaners abandoned their work carts and started walking to their objective until¡­ a new message came into their thoughts. ¡°Overlord, I picked up chatter outside the barrier. The police are coming.¡± One of the technical operators said as he monitored the situation. ¡°Should not be a problem. It is slightly earlier than expected but within the plan parameters. All units, proceed.¡± Shang Xia ordered once again. When it seemed as if the criminals who were instigating this particular incident were delighted that the plan was as simulated, they did not expect the police to come into the scene that quickly. They had ensured that all communication lines were cut including the satellite phone which they picked up at the very last minute so there was no way people would be able to call the authorities and even if they did, the police would not have enough manpower. One to two cars worth of police officers would investigate the situation and only much later they would get more help. That was the scenario the criminals had and they knew that they could complete their objective before the reinforcements arrived. But as luck would have it, the situation did not roll as expected. Their technical operators who were drinking a cup of coffee to calm his nerves suddenly saw not one, not two but columns of police cars howling in the background. Even two helicopters had been deployed to the scene and they were already scanning the area. To make things worse, there were not just patrol cars in the mix, SWAT vans were seen and even black armour SUVs which indicated that they were going to respond to the threat with punitive force. The operator immediately sent another message through his thoughts and to Shang Xia telling her the police were here in full force. They had no idea that the Ministry of State Security had already asked the district police in the nearby regions to be on standby for the Symposium and one word from Kong Rong was what needed to send these police to the current situation. ¡°That does not change anything. The barrier will hold and they cannot do anything to us at the moment. Everyone! Focus on completing the objective. Jack, find an alternate way to get out of this damn place. I do not care if we need to fight through the police and hijack their cars. Get an actionable plan out and we will do just that.¡± Shang Xia ordered once more as she walked along with the VIPs who were currently being escorted to a safe zone. Masquerading as one of the sponsors¡¯ representatives for the Symposium, she was able to have the opportunity to be in the same room as her target, the Minister of Defence He Fei. As she scanned the guards, they were the very same people she and her team had ID except for one conspicuous female bodyguard who wore a surgical mask and large pair of sunglasses. The worst of all, there was no sense of professionalism coming from her with her hair partially dyed in tranquil blue and wore clothes that were not befitting of a bodyguard. An overly sized jacket and skin tight yoga pants made her stuck out like a sore thumb. The odd thing was that she carried an umbrella everywhere she went and there was no wet weather according to the forecast. While she was not in the list of guards that the criminals had obtained, Shang Xia could only assume that she was either some mistress or a plaything being brought by the Minister or his entourage. ¡°We are being escorted to the makeshift bunker. He Fei had already sent people to get the item. Get into position to snatch it.¡± Shang Xia said through her telepathy network and the other operators already performing their second objective in search of a particular suitcase. The suitcase was ordinary but the contents inside was what counts. The killing of the Defence Minister was just a step in their grand plans as the suitcase contained the relic that would summon their old master back. The only drawback was that it required souls for it to work and the hostages within the expo were precisely the best way to harvest them. No massacre nor killing was needed, as the relic would do the work. The only caveat was that criminals needed the protective chants sat aside with the relic. Those chants upon activation would negate the relic incessant killing ritual and that would allow them to complete their objective. Why would the relic be brought to a public event such as the Dungeon Supplier Symposium was not of concern to Shang Xia. The only thing that matters is that both the minister and the relic were indeed here and she would take whatever it takes to complete the task. For the Banned Emperor. Chapter 1234: Jin Knew Something Chapter 1234: Jin Knew Something ¡°A Barrier that is unable to allow you to use chi, magic and even blocking communications?¡± Jin thought to himself as he stopped his current work to think about it. ¡°Why does that sound so awfully familiar?¡± ¡°The System is unable to find any particular magical spell that matches such effects. Even anti magic barriers and anti chi barriers have their own set of rules to set it up. The System had also looked into trap formations since the current situation had entrapped people from going in or out.¡± The System stated and Jin furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°They cannot get in as well?¡± Jin asked and the System said that the birds which Que Er employed had not detected any movement by the police officers as well as the SWAT team. They are discussing the course of action while employing people to find the root cause. ¡°Oh wow, they even brought in the army people. Kong Rong sure acted fast on this situation.¡± ¡°Not only him but the other Royal Zodiac Clan Heads when they heard of the incident. This is because there are VIPs within the Symposium who attended as guest of honour, primarily the Minister of Defence who was there to see the latest development in the Dungeon Instance technology. If proved to be substantially useful for the army¡¯s training purposes, the Minister would then ask the vendors to draw up a proposal for him to consider.¡± ¡°Ah. Doesn¡¯t that mean the security should be extra tight?¡± Jin shrugged whether he should even get involved. It seemed like the other Royal Zodiac Clans had some stake in this and the Dungeon Supplier had already done his part.¡± ¡°It is tight but time is of the essence. Without communication into the building, this terrorist attack would be one of the greatest hits against our country. I am starting to suspect that the Banned Emperor is very likely to be involved in this.¡± Kong Rong suddenly chipped in. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be swarmed with coordination?¡± Jin asked as he decided to go to the loo in his Dungeon Maker. ¡°Coordination doesn¡¯t do jack shit when we have no eyes inside the building. We are wondering if you can connect some video feeds to us. Probably through the System and your Demon Exorcists employees.¡± ¡°The System does not wish to risk exposing itself to the enemy. If the enemy is as Agent Kong Rong had said, there might be a chance they could detect the System and eventually block the signal.¡± The System replied and Kong Rong could not force the System to do things that it doesn¡¯t wish to perform. ¡°Say, have you tried getting some of your men into the Convention Expo?¡± Jin asked as he flushed the toilet and washed his hands and face. There is something bothering him about the barrier and that it felt like he should know the answer but it was at the tip of his tongue. ¡°You want my men to needlessly sacrifice themselves to go through the barrier? Didn¡¯t you hear what your employees said? They reported that those who tried got burned thoroughly and with them unable to receive aid, they might be in danger of dying.¡± Kong Rong felt like Jin suggested something stupid and unproductive for the current situation. ¡°Erm, you have healers ready to heal the wounds and you can activate a few defensive inscriptions before trying. I see no reason why you do not give it a go.¡± Jin tried to reason his rationale and Kong Rong sighed. ¡°Fine. Give me a moment.¡± Kong Rong answered reluctantly and requested the onsite team to do just that. One of the SWAT officers immediately volunteered and he was quickly buffed with a series of defensive spells on him to try entering the barrier. And in the event that he could enter, the officer had also brought with him a few medical kits and a few high grade tonic ampoules with him. The moment he was ready, everyone in the area was looking at him teeming with anxiety hoping that he would succeed. And as Jin watches the officer through the raven¡¯s eyes. He could see that the SWAT officer dashed into the barrier with a spear too. The spear was supposedly imbued with barrier penetrative properties designed specifically for the police to ambush against barriers. The only problem was that it was not supposed to be used against an area wide barrier and the single use meant that he had one way in and no way out as the barrier would probably regenerate once he broke it. And as he ran through the seemingly empty Convention Expo, the spear tip suddenly touched onto something when the officer got up to the stairs. The only problem was that it did not break nor burn as per Kong Rong¡¯s report. It merely deflected away the police officer holding the spear and despite attempts to slash at it, it did not seem to be doing anything damage to the barrier at all. ¡°Lol. I knew it.¡± Jin saw the entire commotion and the officer¡¯s futile attempt in breaking it. ¡°Boss, you can tell your men to stand down. Even bombardments are not going to tear that so called barrier down for you.¡± Jin said as he stood up and teleported himself to his room for a change of clothes. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kong Rong demanded answers immediately. ¡°I must say, they are really quite clever to even think of this, knowing that all the experts would be trapped in there.¡± Jin remarked as he prepared to wear a comfortable shirt and jacket and a pair of combat pants. ¡°The answer is literally in your face. Even I would not have guessed it if not for the clues given to me.¡± ¡°Stop beating around the bush and-¡° ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon instance. A god damn authentic one.¡± Jin said as he made sure that his Bam and Boo as well as his System Rider Device was buckled onto his belt. ¡°Well, I hope it¡¯s authentic because I will be very disappointed if the terrorists used the local servers to whip this beauty of a dungeon instance up. -which sadly, I believe is the case.¡± ¡°And as your one and only dungeon supplier expert that is currently not being invited to the Symposium, I might have a way to intervene this.¡± Chapter 1235: Dimensional Instance Explanation Chapter 1235: Dimensional Instance Explanation ¡°What?¡± Kong Rong could not fathom that what they were dealing with was a dungeon instance rather than a barrier. ¡°That is the theory that I have and It fulfilled all the conditions when I think about it. Tell me, a barrier is supposed to have one particular property and perhaps two, correct? But if you think about it, there is no way for an anti magic and anti chi barrier to be placed in the very same place considering that they have many conditions to meet.¡± Jin explained. ¡°If you do not create an anti magic barrier with chi, the only way to do so is to put magical inscriptions and with the barrier that size, there is no way the terrorists would be able to do so without getting notice with stringent checks. Especially if you said VIPs are there, your men would have swept the place a few times thoroughly including any weakness in the Expo centre or underground tunnels.¡± ¡°That is true and vice versa for anti chi barriers too.¡± Kong Rong was getting what Jin was talking about and it made sense. ¡°Even if it is a relic that enables anti chi and magic barriers, you need power to supply it and there is no other way to do so without a large ¡®battery¡¯. And from my birds, I do not see any excessive magic presence that enables it.¡± Jin reinforced his explanation. ¡°True, if there is, we would already have pinpointed the relic and start to search for it.¡± Kong Rong now looked at his map for a nearby place where his agents and police force had already checked, allowing Jin to secretly teleport to the area. ¡°I pinged the location where you can teleport and I will meet you there.¡± ¡°You do not want to hear more of that theory?¡± Jin said as he instantly activated his portal to move when Kong Rong had situated. ¡°I have other stuff to deal with but if your theory holds water, then I suppose it also explains why people get burned attempting to come out while no one is able to go in. A selected dimensional instance where certain conditions are placed to not let its participants out. Also, no idiot terrorist would be that dumb to drop themselves to be as powerless as the hostages. All the more it proved that this is potentially a dimensional instance where the terrorists could have power advantage against the guards.¡± Kong Rong deduced and Jin was glad that he does have a Mr Know It All in his midst. ¡°But I cannot do this alone. I would need some help with from the inside.¡± Jin said as he had already teleported to a nearby car park and switched his conversation while awaiting Kong Rong or his men to fetch him. ¡°I hoped you guys have overhear what we had being talking about, I purposely asked the System to let you guys eavesdropped the explanation portion.¡± Jin remarked while he waited for the Demon Exorcists to reply. ¡°What do you need?¡± Lein asked as he felt way too powerless in the current situation. ¡°I heard from you guys that the inscriptions are still working.¡± Jin queried and the current leader of the Demon Exorcist band acknowledged stating that they had used Agent Yu Xuan¡¯s inscription to run around. ¡°The only problem is the duration. Agent Yu Xuan said that it should have lasted longer but Su Zhen assumed that there is the absence of chi to cause it to have a shortened duration.¡± Lein commented. ¡°Ahh, that could be true. With the absence of chi, the inscription could only work as much as the energy was supplied. Most inscriptions have some chi stored within it to not allow instant activation but also enough for a short duration of time. But that depends on the grade of the inscription. The higher the grade meant the material used- never mind. No use talking too much now. I want you all to go to the hall where they have their tech stuff.¡± Jin ordered while he saw the commotion from afar. ¡°Then what about the explosion?¡± Lian the Demon Fox Cultivator asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that be a concern to us as well?¡± ¡°That is probably a diversion.¡± Rong understood a little now that Jin had somewhat explained the situation they were in. ¡°There would definitely be someone there to cause a distraction and injure people so that the security forces would be diverted to that area to aid people and suppress the threat.¡± ¡°I concurred with Rong despite him being dim witted at times.¡± Lein said and told Agent Yu Xuan that they would be moving to the hall where they have the servers. ¡°With no communication going through the dimensional instance, the security forces only clue is to move towards the explosion site.¡± ¡°Dimensional Instance?¡± Yu Xuan did not exactly understand how Lein got to the conclusion and only assumed that they were communicating with their boss but there was no time for questions at their end. So, he quickly pointed out where it was and they tried their best to reach there as soon as possible. ¡°Wow, if you think about it, the terrorists are cunning enough to use it in this Symposium. Trapping all the dungeon suppliers here and they have no way of getting the information out to the authorities.¡± Lian thought about it as they ran through the crowd. ¡°Well, good thing our boss had decided not to do so.¡± And so much for this Symposium to be free from attacks. Here I thought I could have a nice decent outing without anything to worry about.¡± Rong remarked. ¡°Don¡¯t lie. Your face tells another story. You are practically elated that this is happening right now.¡± Lian could see Rong grinning side to side. ¡°It¡¯s as if you are waiting for this and thinking that Jin had brought us here for a reason.¡± ¡°Erm, not really. I am truly busy and working my ass off which is one of the reasons why I could attend it. With this distraction in sight, I would have another sleepless night ahead of me. The schedules¡­oh my schedules.¡± Jin complained upon hearing their situation and the Demon Exorcists quietly giggled. Only an ignorant businessman of Jin¡¯s calibre called this current predicament a distraction. Chapter 1236: A Diversion Against the Diversion Chapter 1236: A Diversion Against the Diversion ¡°Jin?¡± The agents who rushed to the second level of a carpark drifted their car as if they were in some racing competition and came to a halt when they were close to him. ¡°That¡¯s rather cool. I honestly thought I would get hit.¡± Jin said as the agents unlocked the door to allow him to get in. ¡°You too, for not moving even though we are this close to you. Please get your seatbelts on and we will be on our way.¡± The agents said as he reversed a little before accelerating down the ramp or the car park. One would wonder if the agents did it as a test to see how Jin would react or if it was an accidental act. Either way, Jin did not mind as he buried his face into his phone. There were other agents with him as well but they had their eyes peeled through the windows and their hands on the trigger to make sure that they were ready for any external threats. In the meantime, Jin was pretending to communicate to the Demon Exorcists via his phone by texting but in reality, he was sending them telepathy instructions. ¡ª¨C ¡°Anything I can do?¡± Yu Xuan queried and the others agreed he should do what he does best. ¡°I know it sounds stupid but right now, I think the one who is in danger is you, not us.¡± Rong was the one who smacked the truth right in front of Yu Xuan¡¯s face. ¡°Without Chi, you are a person with martial arts skills and against those terrorist cultivators, it might be too much of a risk.¡± ¡°I am a State Agent. If I cannot handle it, I do not deserve to carry this badge.¡± Yu Xuan felt a little offended but continued his best to keep his cool. ¡°We are not saying you cannot do anything but I believe it is better if you assist us from the shadows. Stay hidden and do not let the other terrorists find you.¡± Su Zhen tried to salvage the mess Rong brought them. ¡°Besides, you did casually remark that your name is officially not in the list. All the more, assisting us in the shadows would be a better choice.¡± Yu Xuan felt slightly embarrassed that he got to be schooled by teenagers many years younger than his age but they did make a point. He quietly accepted the fact that in this situation, he was the one that was at the disadvantage and if being in the crowd and allowing him to blend in would serve as an additional trick against the terrorist, it would definitely be more than welcome. So as the Demon Exorcists made their flashy way to the Hall where all the servers and other technical hardware would be kept, they noticed that there was a tight layer of security preventing people from going near it. Despite the crowd¡¯s anxiety after the mysterious explosion, the security at the technical hall got even more stringent, as if to not let people from passing through and stealing any equipment. Some of the dungeon suppliers who were in the midst of the crowd, demanded that they wanted their equipment back or at least have access to the servers because of their precious data but the security was not letting anyone through regardless of clearance. But even though it was that strict of a rule, Lein was suspicious and requested the System and Kong Rong if it was possible to have a list of employed security. Kong Rong only needed to make a phone call and the list was instantly uploaded to the System which then transmitted the information to the Demon Exorcists¡¯ phones. Su Zhen gave a quick look and immediately recognised that that particular layer of security was fake. ¡°Wow, that was fast even without any chi usage.¡± Lian commented and Su Zhen accidentally snorted as if to signify her delight in the acknowledgment of her analytical abilities. Aye, her high grades and studious demeanour came from the ability to remember things she once saw. Photographic memory at its very best. Unlike Jin whose cognitive abilities were enhanced by the System and his cultivation, Su Zhen¡¯s photographic memory was a natural talent which people nearly called her a freak for being able to remember as such. That downfall forced her to learn that it¡¯s sometimes best to act unless the situation demands for it. However, the current group that she was with knew her well enough that she did not have to hide from them. Especially with situations like this, allowed her to showcase how terrifying her memory was and to identify whether they were within the list of employed security. ¡°Wow. All of them?¡± Rong needed to know whether Su Zhen had made some mistake. ¡°You can either trust me or take an hour figuring out whether they are not.¡± Su Zhen said as she looked towards Lein, hoping that he could make a plan out. ¡°Boss, what do we need to find once we are inside the server room? We are not IT savvy enough to tell the difference.¡± ¡°Do what you do best. Destroy everything. But if the theory of it being a Dungeon Instance holds true, it is very likely that they have the entire hall ¡®refurbished¡¯ as part of the new dungeon instance and the servers you find might be fake. At that point, the terrorist might potentially be alerted and you guys are on your own.¡± ¡°Then? Any way to break out of that portion of the dungeon instance?¡± Rong asked and sadly, Jin said no. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why do you want us to hit the server rooms?¡± ¡°Because, it means that someone has figured out their trick and they will try their best to silence you. That would mean those terrorists would come after you and perhaps by beating them up, you might find some evidence. On the flipside, your internal commotion would allow me to do my magic with less of a hindrance.¡± ¡°You mean, if you are expecting resistance even from outside the dungeon instance?¡± Lian questioned. ¡°They surely have eyes outside to make sure that we are unable to interfere. Else, if we can break this intricate illusion from the outside, whatever they are planning is for naught.¡± Jin replied as he could see that the car was coming through the multiple barricades of police hovering outside the Convention Centre. Chapter 1237: The Use of Inscription Charms Chapter 1237: The Use of Inscription Charms ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡± Rong decided not to waste any more time. He quickly took out a few inscription charms he had bought previously from Jin¡¯s store and stacked them together. Speed, Defence and Attack inscription charms were used out in the open and the ¡¯employed security¡¯ instantly turned their heads towards Rong and the others. With his Hammer out from his storage ring, he rushed towards the guards with the will to break the human wall that was blocking their path. ¡°That dumb guy! Does he always think that violence will solve everything?¡± Lian said but before she could do anything, the security guards unleashed a series of chi and animal silhouettes emerged right above them. Instead of various animal silhouettes, it was a pack of black wolves determined to devour Rong with one swoop. With everyone¡¯s chi incapacitated, it was pretty obvious the guards who were in cahoots with the people behind the current use of dimensional instance to entrap people. Still even without chi, Rong was able to dodge the chi attacks of the black wolves. The security guards did not hide their smiles as it was apparent they had enough of such charades. Injuring a few people in the process of keeping the ¡®peace¡¯ was probably permitted by their mastermind and a show of force would shove them away from the hall. Besides, now that most of them were unable to use chi nor magic, compliance should follow suit after punishing Rong. One of the guards took his baton out and challenged Rong to a duel where the others had decided to step away from. Some were already giggling how the punk with a hammer would be beaten to submission. And as expected, when Rong slammed his hammer against the guard, it was no match against the guard¡¯s baton which was infused with a high amount of chi. ¡°Judging from the chi, you are probably a grade 10 or so.¡± Rong did not fall back as he continued to struggle against the clash. ¡°Looks like your parents did not teach you any manners in obeying the authority. We have no choice but to use a force lethal enough to subdue you.¡± The guard said as his animal silhouette emerged once more and the black wolf growled even more sinisterly. Rong could feel the weight of the baton getting unbearable for him to handle despite the charms that he had used. ¡°But I shall give you credit for being able to withstand the attack. Most chi-less cultivators would have already succumbed to it.¡± The guard casually commented as he inserted more chi into his baton. It was pure bullying at this point and even the crowd knows that it was unwise to even go near them. ¡°The inscription charms that you use must have been of a high grade or else, you would not even be able to last another second. Still, it does not matter as it seems like your charm is burning out.¡± ¡°Heh. You have yet to see the last of Dungeons and Pandas¡¯ inscription charms and here you think you have already won, Mr Security Guard.¡± Rong said as he risked the stalemate by unleashing his storage ring with his left hand. ¡°When I start, run into the hall and stir as much shit as you can!¡± Rong said via the System Channel, specifically to his pals. ¡°Do you think you can even take something out at your current state?! You cannot even use your chi at all!¡± The guard shouted as he got a little more serious and his black wolf silhouette howled before baring its teeth towards Rong but that impudent Demon Exorcist did not give a damn. ¡°Not if you use a high grade storage ring which does not need any chi! Demon Ox Dual Inscription Charm! Activate!¡± Rong shouted as the white piece of paper flew out of his storage ring and glowed with various symbols attached to it.Two Demon Ox Bull silhouettes emerged from the charm and bellowed before Rong absorbed its chi. For some reason, it managed to kickstart his dantian core and it started to produce chi furiously, allowing Rong to continue holding against the security guard. At the same time, the dual inscription charm also released a ton of steam as part of Rong¡¯s cosmetic inscription activation and that prompted Lein and the others to slip through the guards with speed inscription charms activated. While Rong had managed to distract the bulk of the ¡®security staff¡¯, one of them saw them zooming through the IT Hall¡¯s doors. He wanted to shout out to alert the others but Rong, with his chi running through his veins again, threw his hammer towards the door, causing an explosion to happen right in front of the security staff, knocking away from it. This time, not just the guard who duel with him was surprised but the rest of the staff as well, prompting them to unsheathe their swords instead of batons and rushed towards Rong. Some of them were still shocked that there was a cultivator who was able to restart his dantian core while the crowd quickly scattered not to be caught within the crossfire. In the meantime, Yu Xuan, who was at the far end of the entire commotion, saw the entire scene unfold and was amazed by Jin¡¯s employees. ¡°Holy shit, how the fuck did he get his chi up and running again? Is that why they secretly implied I was a hindrance?¡± Yu Xuan thought to himself before he noticed that there were a few people who were acting suspiciously coordinated amidst the panicking crowd. He decided to eye them and hoped for the best for the Demon Exorcists. If Rong could restart his chi production, Yu Xuan believed the other three might be able to do the same and thus they would not be a problem for him to worry. In the meantime, the other three Demon Exorcists who rushed into the IT Hall had realised Jin was right. No computers or servers were in the supposed IT Hall but instead a pyramidal shaped temple in front of them with several workers working to fix the tip. When the workers saw three unknown individuals standing right at the entrance, they knew the operation was somewhat compromised and proceeded to take their weapons out from their storage rings. ¡°Let¡¯s see if Rong¡¯s tactic works for us as well.¡± Lein said as he took out his dual inscription charm. ¡± I had never thought that this cringey Christmas present would be of some use to us.¡± Chapter 1238: Re-coordination Chapter 1238: Re-coordination ¡°Intruders! Intruders!¡± The communications were going wild as Shang Xia was trying to assess the situation within the hidden bunker which the security forces were attempting to keep the VIPs safe. However, it was getting way too nonsensical for her that she tried to make an excuse saying that her legs felt weak and needed to use the bathroom. ¡°Mdm, your life is in danger and you wish to go to the toilet?¡± One of the guards asked and Shang Xia pleaded that she could not hold her bladder. ¡°Do you really want me to pee at the spot for you to watch? Are you in the fetish of seeing women peeing and disgracing themselves in front of these men? Aren¡¯t you guys the elites? Can¡¯t you protect us as we go to the loo?¡± Shang Xia made a commotion and even though they were in some long tunnel, her shouts echoed and made the guard leader panic for a moment. ¡°Lee, Cheng. Escort her to the toilet and come back at double time.¡± The Guard Leader said and suddenly a hand raised up in the crowd too. ¡°I like to go to the loo too.¡± Shang Xia saw that it was coming from the poorly dressed girl and she was swaying side to side, indicating that she too could not hold her bladder. The Guard Leader looked concerned and even more agitated that she wanted to go too but upon a moment of hesitation, he nodded his head and told his two guards to bring them to the nearest toilet as soon as possible. ¡°There should be one available fifty metres from here. Just try to tolerate it till then.¡± The two guards immediately led the way and the moment they reached, there was a corner which led to a pair of doors that needed the guard¡¯s clearance to go through. Upon moving through the doors, the toilet was in sight and since the guards mentioned that it was a single toilet, Shang Xia decided to be courteous and asked whether the girl needed it first. To her surprise, she quickly ran into the toilet without any warning and took it. Lee and Cheng looked away to sigh for a moment only to find that the woman they were with suddenly disappeared. They reached for their firearms but the reaction was a tad too late as Shang Xia had already sent the two guards to sleep by knocking them out. They did not have a chance to react nor tolerate the hit due to the lack of chi as they succumbed to the force of a full fledged high grade cultivator. ¡°Be glad that you two are fortunate enough to avoid bloodshed.¡± Shang Xia guessed the girl did not matter and even if she did and knew a martial art technique or two, she could handle her with no problem. After all, she needed as many live sacrifices as possible for the relic to work. And now that Shang Xia knew where they were going, it was only a matter of time to strike but first, she had to handle this intruder nonsense her voice channel was making fuss about. ¡°Queen to all, what is the matter?¡± Shang Xia pressed onto her earpiece to activate speaker mode. ¡°Queen, The temple has been intruded by enemies. They¡­ Their chi is fully activated! The workers are trying their best to hold them back but we need backup as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What? They used an inscription? That is impossible. Their dantian should be blocked and there should be no way to activate it. I never heard of an inscription restarting someone¡¯s dantian.¡± ¡°We have no idea, they used some special inscription charm, one even insanely shouting that it¡¯s from some dungeon supplier. Something to do with Panda. Anyways the shit thing is that the inscription caused their dantian to be moving. I already told you that we should have made the instance foolproof rather than having that inscription charm shit to bite us from the back!¡± ¡°Buzz, if we do that, we would have missed this window of opportunity. Besides, what is Black Wolf and his gang doing? Isn¡¯t he supposed to be stopping anyone from intruding through?¡± Shang Xia queried and Black Wolf replied back¡­just not the usual cheery arrogant tone. ¡°The fuck is wrong with this cultivator?! Look, I am busy here, get someone else and I will come once I am done with my side.¡± Black Wolf turned his communications off and focused his fight against Rong. ¡°Get Falcon and Owl. They should be the fastest to respond to your threat.¡± Shang Xia paused for a while and looked at her watch. ¡°And Eagle too.¡± ¡°Mdm, you sure? With the Police, SWAT and even the Army involved. The chances of getting out is nearly close to zero. You are pulling me out of your protection bubble if they succeeded in destroying the dimensional instance.¡± Eagle immediately responded and Shang Xia sighed at the perplexing operation she was running. ¡°Yeah. We had already run the simulation and the worst case scenarios but things change now that there are wannabe hero cultivators. Things are not going as planned and we need to adapt. Rhino and Jaguar should be enough to hold the fort. If anything, they can use that technique to boost themselves for the fight. With that, the police or whatever security forces¡­no matter how strong they are, they would not be able to defeat them.¡± ¡°You are sending them to their absolute death if you do that.¡± Eagle remarked and the Queen did not care about his comments. ¡°Understood. Returning into the dimensional instance and providing backup.¡± Eagle turned off his communications and the silence in the room was deafening. ¡°You are clever to stay there. And for your own sake. Continue to stay there unless you wish to die.¡± Shang Xia said despite attaching an inscription that would explode if she tried to open the door. After all, the girl overheard the entire conversation and by warning her not to open was already an olive branch given to her if she did not do anything stupid. ¡°Interesting. Looks like the mastermind is here all along and here I thought my hunch would be wrong considering that you passed the background checks, even the most thorough ones. But I guess one cannot be too careful after everything has happened before.¡± The girl talked calmly through the locked toilet door while keeping a note to tell Kong Rong that he should revamped his checks. ¡°What can you do? Call the police? If you had heard, the police AND the army are parked right outside the Convention Centre, not able to do anything. And if you don¡¯t trust me, go ahead and try to call the police if you can.¡± Shang Xia snorted after giving such haughty remarks. ¡°I bet they would come save you and your sugar daddy.¡± ¡°Hmm. I got a better idea than staying in this toilet waiting for them. How about I be the police and knock the shit out of you? ¡± Ryuli smirked and Shang Xia could already feel her smile was penetrating through the toilet doors and to her. Chapter 1239: Blasting Out of The Toilet Chapter 1239: Blasting Out of The Toilet ¡°Hah!¡± Shang Xia laughed as she ignored the taunt while checking the guards¡¯ belongings. And as the relic movement was being tracked by one of her comrades, it was about time to commence the theft as well as the assault against the defence minister. But before she could even do a thorough check on the unconscious guard, the door exploded right in front of her and Ryuli slammed her umbrella right towards Shang Xia¡¯s direction. Naturally, the mastermind of the operation was of a high grade and was able to absorb the brunt of the attack. However, Ryuli was not giving her any chance to recover and aimed for her vital points. Even if Shang Xia could dodge them, Ryuli would opt for collateral damage and attack her joints to render her powerless. Yet, Shang Xia was battle hardened enough to unleash a counter which involved snatching the guard¡¯s firearm on the floor and returning the favour back at Ryuli. And just as the bullets were leaving the gun chamber, Ryuli had already anticipated the attack and opened her umbrella, using it as a shield to deflect the shots away. Only upon seeing the umbrella in action, Shang Xia realised that she hit the jackpot and laughed. ¡°You¡­ You are that rumoured State Agent that uses the umbrella!¡± ¡°Wow, I am not sure whether I should be glad to know that I am rather infamous in the Banned Emperor¡¯s circle of assassins and terrorists.¡± Ryuli said as she closed her umbrella once more and unleashed waves of chi towards the Shang Xia, causing her to move backwards. The Dragon Girl then moved forward and kicked the two guards to the sides of the room, hoping that they would not get hit by their duel. (Well, she hoped but could not guarantee if things get rough.) ¡°Always as ever, concerned about others. If you had been ruthless, my people would not have escaped and known your presence.¡± Shang Xia said as she ditched the firearm and took out two daggers, both exquisite looking. Ryuli also noticed that those daggers had a peculiar arrow symbol on them. One was pointing up, away from the blade and the other down towards the blade¡¯s point. ¡°Thanks to them, we have also managed to find a few more shitheads that were willing to spill information. It¡¯s a fair trade I guess.¡± Ryuli was calmly holding her ground as she assessed whether those blades would be a goner for her. ¡°But from the looks of your face, you are more concerned how I got my powers back when you were very sure that there was no chi signature coming from me.¡± ¡°Care to explain?¡± Shang Xia tightened her grip on the daggers and refocused her chi. She knew that fighting against the legendary umbrella cultivator which probably had more kill count than any other state agents would be suicidal and detrimental to her current plan. If Shang Xia falls, others could replace her easily since they had assigned roles but to delay Ryuli until her plan unfolds was her main concern. ¡°Maybe. When I see you in the afterlife,¡± Ryuli said as she leaped forth and aimed her umbrella like a rapier, performing a frightening strike towards Shang Xia. Regardless of her prideful demeanour, she had to thank the heavens and stars that the conversation was on point. If not for the discussion between her comrades to give her the clues needed, Ryuli might actually be staying in the toilet like a prison cell. She honestly could not believe that the inscription charm, the one that has a panda with a Christmas design, a fleeting gift from Kong Rong during their previous team up had actually helped her regain her chi. It had been lying in a storage ring for the longest time possible and she figured that if those cultivators that Shang Xia was talking about were using the inscriptions charms from a certain Panda Dungeon Supplier, it did not hurt to give it a try. Thus, the charm which was supposed to be a magical beam attack had been converted into a battery of sorts by absorbing the stored chi within it. Ryuli knew the chi was dense enough for a short term burst, forcing her to go all out if need be, but to her surprise, the chi resonated with Ryuli, helping her to kickstart her dantian core once more. Based on her limited knowledge on chi regeneration, she could only deduce that the presence of the very same chi had prompted the inactive dantian core to awaken. Something like an electric shock to boot up the heart during a cardiac arrest but this time, it was akin towards a very specific electric pulse to boot the heart up. But that¡¯s the thing that had her perplexed. Her chi was literally a combination of chi and mana together and the way she understood it and it was something like a signature, the only person who could kick start her dantian core again was her very own maqi or¡­her master¡¯s. And that was the reason why she felt extremely confused. How could the owner of Dungeons and Pandas, a supposed disciple to her master, have the very same Maqi as her? After all, if her master did help unlock Jin¡¯s Maqi, his chi would still be slightly different and that deviation would be sufficient to cause her dantian core to not react. The only conclusion she could draw was that her master was Jin himself but age wise, she had verified that he was born approximately a year or two later than her. As if things were not that complicated enough in her head, the Banned Emperor knew about the relic which was why they had set this heist up for it. It meant that there was a leak of information or even a mole in their midst which was something she had to deal with when they were out of this messy situation. For now, she had decided to place all of the confusion and frustration into her attacks, and release them out on Shang Xia as a means of distress. But one thing was for sure when this whole fiasco was over. ¡°Find that bloody panda owner and get the truth out of him.¡± Chapter 1240: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 1 Chapter 1240: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 1 Buzz threw a few bouts of tantrum upon learning that Shang Xia aka codenamed Queen only cared about the relic and not the lives of her comrades. While it was true that their ultimate goal was to revive the Banned Emperor once again into the living but once resurrected, does the almighty really care about the lives that had been lost for his cause? ¡°No, both she and our lord would not.¡± Buzz knew deep down that it would never happen but the money that prompted him to join the cause was too great to ignore. He might not be a true convert but the money was more than sufficient for him to pretend to be a convert when he joined. After all, he had the skills and talent, just that he was not in the right place, right time nor right window of opportunity for him to succeed. So, joining the terrorist organisation was one of the ways to clear his debts. Still, the cracks of being a non believer were apparent the deeper he got into the organisation¡¯s ways of life. And this operation had become the straw which would break his back for him. He knew that after this heist, he either would die or be in hiding forever if he failed. And even though he knew the consequences, the incentive for joining the operation was too alluring to move away from it. An immediate deposit of two million US dollars into his account the moment he agreed to it and another five million if he were to get out alive. He had no idea where the Banned Emperor was getting the funds but because they were too big of a hidden organisation and too rich for his liking, Buzz had decided it was worth the gamble. As a team lead for a certain dungeon supplier group, he had always been intrigued in creating the best dungeon instance. He even took a brief tour, trying out the dungeon instances for this year¡¯s Symposium to be utterly disappointed by it. The only one he was looking out for was actually Dungeons and Pandas but the announcement for him to be out of the Symposium was both a disappointment and relief. Disappointed that he knew he would not be able to see the wonders that particular Dungeon Supplier had created one last time before he died or fled. Relief that he knew the Dungeon Supplier would continue to live on and perhaps one day Buzz would be able to check it out at least once in his life if he were to make it out alive. But now, all he felt was annoyance when he heard the name of the very same dungeon supplier he worshipped being used against him right now. His items were so superior that they somehow managed to activate their chi back again in HIS Dimensional Instance where Buzz should be the one dictating the rules. With time not at their side, the only thing he needed to extend it was putting additional bodies against these cultivators and to do that, he had to crank up the energy and place resources dedicated for other purposes to this particular task. Distract the cultivators. This was because the cultivators that barged in were doing something he was not expecting. Instead of finding enemies to kill or locating the main culprit behind this, they were doing the exact opposite. By doing their best to destroy what they had built so far. It was as if they knew that the pyramidal temple they were building was vital in their plans. But in actual fact, the Demon Exorcist was merely following Jin¡¯s instructions. ¡°If you see something out of the norm, just destroy it. In Every. Way. Possible. If what you said was true, they are maintaining the barrier and not manipulating the landscape means that something out of the norm would be of an importance to them. So, just destroy it and the dungeon supplier maintaining it would need to either rebuild it from scratch or send goons to distract you. If he did the latter, it means that you are doing it correctly and continue to do so.¡± Jin¡¯s instructions were fairly clear and the goons part did emerge when the Demon Exorcists saw men in black suits emerging from thin air. They were armed to the teeth with high grade weapons as they moved towards the Demon Exorcists. Su Zhen and Lian did not use their dual inscription charms as of yet since Lein recommended them to keep it first until they really do need it. ¡°Not necessary to show our hand to the enemy.¡± Lein¡¯s words ticked Lian off since she knew that he just wanted all the fun to himself. He did complain how boring the dungeon supplier¡¯s challenges were and he nearly wanted to let Rong win because he could not bear to go through everything. Besides, having a car of their own was useless when they had the System to teleport them if it was urgent enough. The only thing that changed his mind was a taunt from Rong saying that he could not bother to complete it because it bored him. Lein simply could not let Rong be proven right, because it was their way of friendship. To always be the top in terms of combat ability while not showing it outright was possibly his narcissistic way of living life for now. Still, there were no complaints how much havoc he did as his attacks broke a major hole in the temple while the other two Demon Exorcists dealt with the minions. The only thing that they did not expect was that the men in black subsequently turned to monsters when they were severely injured, boasting their strength. Thankfully, Jin¡¯s single use inscriptions were strong enough for Su Zhen and Lian to hold them off while Lein took care of the monsters. But as Lein did that, the Temple he destroyed was slowly reconstructed back with Buzz¡¯s manipulation of the instance¡¯s resources. He had no choice but to alternate his attacks to make sure that his colleagues were protected as he dealt damage to the temple. But as usual, as things tend to go too smoothly, trouble happens. ¡°Your wilful rampage ends here, punk.¡± An Eagle silhouette swooped in and clashed against Lein as he finished off a wave of monsters. Chapter 1241: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 2 Chapter 1241: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 2 As the fights were beginning inside the Shenzhen Convention Centre, Jin had reached the south entrance of the building staring at the beauty of the building for a moment. He had been here a few times but the place was littered with exhibition promotions and people that there was no time to admire the beauty of the architecture. Initially the police thought it was just additional backup coming in late but a few immediately noticed the man itself. A few of the higher ups who were on the scene had previously read the classified reports of the Royal Zodiac Panda Lord and how he had dealt the blow against the Banned Emperor. Perhaps, he was brought in again to solve this particular case despite the fact that he had despised the Dungeon Supplier Symposium committee for what they had done to him. Still, serving the country, especially the Royal Zodiacs was their main duty and to see the young lord in action again only proved that he was carrying his weight in this modern era. Some of the security forces even commented how the Royal Zodiacs had been only a mouthpiece for their own justice but the appearance of the Panda Lord subtly changed their opinions even if it¡¯s only just a little bit. And if Jin could really break this barrier which they have no information on, it would once again put a record in his legacy being one of the more capable Royal Zodiac Lords. Thus, little did he know that behind the shoulders of the overly fatigued worker for the System had people¡¯s hopes pinned on him to crack the barrier. ¡°System, are you able to analyse anything from ground above?¡± Jin yawned a little as he took his hand and placed it directly on the repelling force, as if to check how much it could resist. Naturally, he had no idea that the Banned Emperor terrorists were already eyeing on him and ready to pounce when he did anything funny against the barrier. Without Eagle, their sniper and battle veteran, the two terrorists only had the option of ambushing the crowd if things go weary. ¡°As User had predicted correctly, it is indeed a dimensional instance. Based on the magic usage to raise the dimensional instance to this large of a radius would most likely need a person extremely skilful in mana manipulation. However, as we all know that the advancement of dungeon instances allowed them to use electricity as a substitute power supply. Unfortunately, any power cut to the exhibition hall would have no effect on it if the previous blueprint plans provided by Kong Rong were considered to be up to date.¡± ¡°Their backup generators, right? Should have enough juice to power all the servers for at least a few hours or so.¡± Jin retracted his hand and stared at the dimensional barrier with his hands holding at the waist. He closed his eyes for a while and subsequently activated his inverse eyes after feeling an involuntary chilling shudder across his shoulders. ¡°We can do two ways around this.¡± Jin shouted so loudly that it caused some of the policemen to react by lifting their pistols up. ¡°You can attack us now or we will come after you guys at this very instance.¡± Jin said as he turned towards the side where it faced the river. Yet there was no reply but confused policemen thinking whether Jin had gone nuts. Is he not able to break the barrier and thus decided to make some fuss saying there was someone around the corner stalking them? However, things changed when they saw his eyes glowing brightly with violet blue as he raised his sword. At that point, panda silhouettes appeared above him but instead of the usual sleepy astral ones, they were holding onto a placard with a lightning symbol on it, waving hastily in the air. The skies above them were tranquil blue, all clear with no clouds to be seen around at all and yet the crackling of thunder could be heard. Next thing they knew was seeing two streaks of lightning hitting at two specific locations continuously for a few seconds. ¡°If they were fast enough to evade the lightning strikes or tolerate the attacks, they are a considerable threat.¡± The System commented as the entire security force could clearly see two shadows popping out from the areas where Jin had shot his lightning strikes. And as the two gentlemen made their appearance in the open, they did not hesitate to start their rampage. The bodybuilder with muscles as large as the car tyres smashes through the police vans, breaking a hole within them. A police van with reinforced metal, built to keep mid to high grade cultivators as prisoners had a hole through it. It was as if telling the police forces that capturing him alive would be rather futile. Meanwhile, the other cultivator was agile. Not like the superhero flash kind of agile but agile enough to deflect incoming bullets and enough strength to rip a head off the retaliating police officer. His attacks were also accompanied with a particular technique where he used his shadow to create a jaguar silhouette to rip the legs out of the person. No head and legs meant the person is a definite goner. ¡°Defensive wall around the Panda Lord! Jin, get cracking and don¡¯t even think of involving yourself into the fight! This is an order from me! Disobey and you know the consequences!¡± Kong Rong shouted as he walked towards the bloody mess the two terrorists had already inflicted. Similar to the situation where the Royal Zodiac Horse Platoon got annihilated, the police officers did not have sufficient training equipped to handle such situations. Even some of the army personnel were instantly annihilated even though statistically they survived a few seconds longer. (As observed by the System.) It was apparent that the terrorists were of a high threat target and there was little the middle grade cultivators could do when faced against high grade cultivators. The only thing they could hope for were people like Kong Rong who were battle hardened agents to save the day. In the meantime, Jin reluctantly listened to his senior executive and started cracking his head on the dimensional barrier. Chapter 1242: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 3 Chapter 1242: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 3 ¡°Resistance is futile. Stay away from the barrier.¡± The colossus cultivator shouted as he portrayed his silhouette with a gigantic bear towering at least a few metres tall above him. And with that amount of chi being released, he sent it towards the direction of Jin who was seen as the immediate threat when the police started building a defensive perimeter around him. However, Kong Rong was standing between him and the wall, blocking the massive chi blast with his walking stick. People always know that the stick was not just a prop to make him look pompous and elusive but his weapon of choice. (Although some beg to differ that it purposely made him look weak.) In fact, some even believed that the stick was just a secondary weapon and used to hide his true powers even further as the Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan always had rumours how they have techniques passed down their generations to be considered taboo according to the current generation¡¯s standards. If Jin could summon a bunch of lightning bolts out of nowhere with his Panda cultivation, the Dragon Clan would probably have more disgustingly powerful techniques hidden under Kong Rong¡¯s sleeves. Still, the terrorists have a job to do and they would not hesitate to steamroll one of the country¡¯s most competent State Agents if they need to. It¡¯s just that¡­ they had severely underestimated him, especially the Banned Emperor¡¯s Bear Cultivator. As Bear saw that his chi blast could be blocked and subsequently deflected away, he assumed that the next course of action was to punch the hell out of the cultivator standing right in front of him. A simple and yet effective alternate strategy as that was how the Bear had always defeated his enemies. Thus, he gathered his chi in his right fist and dashed towards Kong Rong without any other thoughts. Jaguar also thought that the plainclothes police officer who blocked his chi blast was some regular high grade cultivator who did not know the true extent of Bear¡¯s ferocious strength. As if the display of power by ripping a hole in the police van was not enough, Jaguar knew that Bear could even topple buildings with his punch. (Well technically, he broke the foundations causing them to collapse and still survive the falling debris, emerging unscathed from said ridiculous activity.) Therefore, his tenacity was considered to be top notch and no regular high grade cultivator could be a match for him. Even the spars within the organisation would have placed him in the top 50 most capable cultivators if there was a chart to measure their strength and power rankings. So as Jaguar killed a few police officers who were trying their best to shoot him down, he was quietly eyeing the inevitable defeat of the presumptuous cultivator who thought it was best to face the Bear head on. Yet, Bear did not wish to severely underestimate the cultivator who foolishly tried to stop him face on without moving away a single inch and thus he activated his Epic technique even though he believed it was unnecessary. Better safe than sorry when the operation hinges on the two of them to delay the police from opening the dimensional instance from the outside. ¡°Explosive Kettle Punch of the Barrable Bear!¡± In his punch lies an accumulation of massive chi, enough to knock buildings down and now with his Epic Technique, the punch slightly vibrates as if the tightly closed kettle was about to explode from the build up of intense steam pressure within it. Upon release, it was not only knocked the cultivator away, but made sure all that was left standing was his foot imprint as the chi would decimate him regardless of the defensive techniques he had kept hiding. And even if the cultivator did dodge with high speed, the punch would not be wasted and instead, its strength would be doubled as Bear had mastered holding his punch. However, that would not happen as Jaguar had already sent his shadow to bind the high grade cultivator if he ever tried to move away from the attack, making it a guarantee strike which would be a spectacular show for the police to watch. Also, both the terrorists believed that the punch would be strong enough to destroy whatever police wall they had been building behind the high grade cultivator, eliminating the threat two fold. The delight within Bear and Jaguar was immense as they could already picture the horrors of the police and army forces in their heads when the punch strikes. That is if the punch was able to hit. Kong Rong continued to stare head on against Bear with confidence exuding out of him and Bear perceived that as arrogance rather than having the ability to defeat him. But he had forgotten that there would always be a mountain higher than the one he was standing on. The fact he was not number one in the rankings should have reminded him about humility but Bear really wanted to remove that smirk away from Kong Rong¡¯s face that he had underestimated his opponent. ¡°Legendary Dragon Technique, Counterforce Reflection of the Mirror Dragon.¡± Kong Rong¡¯s whisper sounded like a silent breeze in this chaotic situation but it was more than enough to turn the tide of the current impending doom he was about to face. As Bear¡¯s punch made contact against the State Agent¡¯s torso, everything that was supposed to happen against Kong Rong had happened¡­ except in reverse. The punch backfired against Bear and not just his entire arm had been burnt by the attack but his entire body. Kong Rong had not only reflected the entire attack towards Bear but also enhanced it with his own chi, causing the Bear to cease from existing in this world completely. No one knew what the hell was happening when the impact landed causing Bear to disappear as his explosive attack left nothing on the ground, not even a drop of blood as the punch¡¯s attack was so hot that it evaporated any possible scatter of blood away. All that remained were charred marks and ground debris of the explosive punch. Even a portion of the river which was dozens of metres away had evaporated away momentarily before the river continued to flow. Everything in the force was left in shock, including the remaining Jaguar Terrorist who did not expect such a reversal from one of the strongest guys he ever knew. Chapter 1243: Shenzhen Convention Incident - Part 4 Chapter 1243: Shenzhen Convention Incident ¨C Part 4 ¡°No. No. This can¡¯t be.¡± The Jaguar could not believe his eyes as Bear got decimated into nothingness right in front of his eyes. The high grade cultivator turned to look towards Jaguar as if to warn him that he would be next if he did not surrender himself. Jaguar had no idea what had happened and neither did the security forces around Kong Rong. They were merely in awe that the State Agents could be this powerful as it seemed as if there was no revelation of his cultivation silhouette when he merely timed it right such that it was too fast for the naked eye to see it and under the cover of the opposing enemies¡¯ energy chi. (Jin, on the other hand, saw it clear as day with his Inverse Eyes ability.) But little did they know that colossus terrorist was simply a bad match against Kong Rong. The technique which Kong Rong had unleashed was particularly lethal against melee attacks, especially with his Thousand Years Mirror Dragon Cultivation. It would reflect any physical and ranged attacks back depending on the tier grade. And as Kong Rong had already mastered it to the Legendary Tier, the payback given was almost if not the same as five folds worth. Most Royal Zodiac Dragon Clan members would not have the same cultivation as him as they practised the Royal Zodiac Dragon cultivation, the root of all Dragon cultivations. However, for Kong Rong, he had the determination and talent to pick up another cultivation style that was uniquely his when he had already mastered the foundation of the Zodiac Dragon Cultivation. And having a second cultivation style also meant that he fulfilled one of the basic requirements needed to reign as the next upcoming Dragon Clan leader if his father allowed him to do so. And normally, he was not allowed to showcase his alternate cultivation but since Kong Rong had timed it right, everyone except Jin had not caught the glimpse of his cultivation at all, and thus continue to keep his powers secret. The Jaguar did not expect such a powerful cultivator within the police forces and immediately cried for help in the channel. ¡°Bear¡¯s down. Bear¡¯s down. He did not even have the chance to use ¡®that¡¯ at all. I need backup as soon as possible!¡± ¡°No one is able to come to save you. You know that once we go into the dimensional instance, there is no way for us to come out until we complete the task.¡± Buzz said frantically as he tried to reconstruct the temple that Lein had destroyed. There was no sugar coating of the truth too since the operation had been compromised with the rise of invaders. It seemed as if their worse case scenarios were not the worst after all and Queen had not been returning any calls as well. ¡°Fuck!¡± Jaguar said as his hands were trembling a little, knowing that he had to use the forbidden technique. It would inevitably cost his life and there was no turning back from it. The only way he could remain alive was to surrender by the overwhelming police force now focused on him since Bear had died. But he figured that even if he were to surrender, the deaths of the police officers he killed would be used as the evidence to execute him once he had been tortured out for information. And if he does not use that forbidden technique, he would definitely have no chance against the high grade cultivator who had single handedly killed Bear without doing anything at all. ¡°Fuck! If you had moved, I would be able to kill you!¡± Jaguar said as he could clearly see that Kong Rong was not moving an inch away from his position. His Shadow Trap of the Jarring Jaguar Technique needed his opponent to make a movement out of the assigned radius so that it could activate. ¡°It seems that you are looking at me, attempting to taunt me so that I would move towards you.¡± Kong Rong shouted as he casually swung his walking stick in a controlled small area, indicating to Jaguar that he knew about the trap. ¡°Are you a wuss to not walk out of it? Or have you already dispensed all your chi killing my comrade?¡± Jaguar tried to diss him off to the best of his ability as he leapt to another police officer and ripped his head into two. The bullets that were fired towards him were useless as his shadow was protecting him from all sorts of projectiles. ¡°You very well know that I can kill you in a flash even with this trap right here.¡± Kong Rong said as he felt agitated not because of the Jaguar¡¯s taunts but the numerous vibrations he was getting on his phone. He knew all sorts of agencies were trying to get to him including his father, wanting an update of the current situation. ¡°Hah! Try me then!¡± Jaguar believed his threat was not a bluff especially when he could kill Bear in a flash. And hence, he placed his fingers together at his nape and inserted an immense amount of chi into it. There was a hidden inscription right behind his neck and in order to activate it, he had to give everything he got into it. Not just his chi but his life force too. In doing so, he would be able to transform into the forbidden being that would wreak havoc and force the police to stand down. Even if they did not, the police and army would be inflicted with tremendous casualties while allowing his comrades within the dimensional instance to perform their ritual with the stolen relic. The only problem was that if you are the only one left standing in the area surrounded by a mix of regular and elite security forces. The chances of unleashing a forbidden technique without being interrupted were close to zero. A bolt of lightning penetrated through the foreboding atmosphere that Jaguar was creating and to the top of his head. That split moment to stun him (Which also caused him to drop his shadow shield for a moment) was more than sufficient for dozens of police officers to empty their ammo clip towards the Banned Emperor Terrorist. ¡°Welp. That means no information from that guy.¡± Kong Rong sighed but that after sigh smirk was still lurking on his face. Chapter 1244: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 5 Chapter 1244: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 5 ¡°Jin, didn¡¯t I say not to interfere with the subjugation of the terrorists? Focus on your own work.¡± Kong Rong did not even make eye contact and started to take his phone to check the messages he missed when he was dealing with the ¡®threat¡¯. ¡°But it worked out pretty fine, didn¡¯t it?¡± Jin grumbled as he touched the dimensional instance barrier once more and requested the System to analyse. The wall of police officers did not lower their guards as Jin continued to stare professionally at the dimensional instance. (But it looked like he was totally clueless with regards to it.) Instead of breaking it immediately which Jin had full confidence to do so, he wanted to see what kind of dimensional instance the Banned Emperor¡¯s dungeon supplier had created. After all, it was not that easy to pop such an extensive dimensional instance right in the middle of the city. Usually, it was best to create a dimensional instance in an empty plane so there was little to no interference with the real life structures. And to top it off, this dungeon supplier was talented enough to pop it not in just some empty convention centre but in an exhibition where dozens of dimensional instances were erected for the showcase. While it was true that if the Banned Emperor¡¯s dungeon supplier had cut off or routed all the electricity and servers for its own use, the dimensional instance they created would not be an issue since all the ¡®smaller¡¯ dimensional instances would cease to exist without a steady supply of power. But what made Jin admire the dungeon supplier was that he or she did not discount the residue of the current dimensional instances that were open in the Symposium. They managed to overwrite all of the dimensional instances to let the one they wanted to supersede the rest. This was because most modern dungeon instances had their enchantments written in such a way that the dimensional instance would stay open for at least a minute before closing due to the lack of energy supply. This was to facilitate the emergency evacuation of the cultivators that were trapped in their current dimensional instances. But two dimensional instances cannot coexist together in one plane as they defied the laws of supernatural physics. So, all these minor but numerous dimensional instances that could have interfered with the creation of giant dimensional instances were handled despite the emergence of the Banned Emperor¡¯s dimensional instance. This led Jin to conclude that the explosion that happened was not because of an improvised explosive device attack on the convention hall to serve as a distraction but rather the interaction of multiple dimensional instances and a particularly big one. Either that or the dungeon supplier had purposely allowed its instance to collide with another to cause an explosion and create the distraction. However, Jin did not wish to give his enemies too much of a credit as the System finished its last few procedures analysing the monstrous dimensional instance. ¡°As expected by the User, the dimensional barrier does contain a few extra lines of codes that made it unique. However, the rest of the codes were rather mediocre by the System¡¯s standards.¡± The System stated but Jin rolled his eyes. If the System was able to compliment the enemy by saying that it had a few extra lines of code, it was more than enough to know that the dungeon supplier was a talented brilliant individual. ¡°Urgh, makes me want to try negotiating with the terrorist,¡± Jin grumbled as he touched the barrier once more. ¡°We do not negotiate with terrorists. I believed the people there would rather die than surrender their pledge of loyalty to the enemy.¡± One of the police officers stuck his nose when he overheard Jin. ¡°Hmm yea. Okay. Sorry about that.¡± Jin did not bother attempting to fight against an over patriotic officer who was doing his job at the moment. ¡°The System begged to differ. He might potentially be a competent enough dungeon supplier assistant.¡± ¡°Do you even have the money to spare to buy him over?¡± Jin talked to the System through his telepathy. ¡°Money can be earned once more.¡± The System commented which made Jin almost burst out laughing. ¡°Says the one who is so stingy with money that it made my minions feel bad about themselves for not giving the right amount of compensation.¡± ¡°The minions do have sufficient compensation, the User was simply ignorant to their ways.¡± The System stated and that was when Kong Rong shouted from the back. ¡°Hey, Kid! Hurry it up!¡± Kong Rong exclaimed as he returned to his phone, exasperated from the unending phone calls. If one were to ask which was the tiring fight, he would say the one with the humans hounding through a piece of rectangle metal. ¡°Fine¡­¡± Jin was not doing it because Kong Rong told him so but rather, he did it for the possible rewards he might reap after this particular incident. Thus, Jin now placed both of his hands right in front of the barrier and Maqi flowed out at a consistent rate to cover the entire dimensional instance. ¡°You know. Some food for thought.¡± Jin talked to the police officer who was annoying him just now. ¡°To the eyes of many, we might be just. But does justice apply to everyone equally?¡± The police officer wished to reply with his opinion until he saw Jin¡¯s face become even more serious and a large Panda Silhouette emerged from his back. This time, the Panda was filled with a large void of black space and stars twinkling around it. ¡°Dear Banned Emperor Dungeon Supplier, this might not be the best solution to crack your masterpiece but it is certainly one of the fastest!¡± Jin said as he babbled a few enchantments which the rest did not understand with the exception of a few who knew that what he was saying was similar to chanting magic out. This was because what Jin was creating to defeat that large Dimensional Instance was to make a dimensional instance of his own with his Maqi as the energy supply. In short, he was creating an authentic dimensional instance that could rival the ones written in history books and ancient traditions. Chapter 1245: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 6 Chapter 1245: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 6 ¡°What kind of cultivator is she?¡± Shang Xia deflected the umbrella swipe once more with her dagger, while at the same time activating its effects causing Ryuli to be knocked to the side. Her daggers as indicated with an up or down arrow had the ability to force the opponent to move as per the direction of the arrow on the dagger. This allowed a distinct advantage against most of her enemies, especially those in her melee range. However, it did not seem to work rather well with the girl with her combat umbrella. Ever since she learnt how the dagger had worked, it did not seem to matter much for her. The first hit was particularly painful as the dagger which she parried, caused her to suddenly lose her footing and sent Ryuli flying to the ceiling. And to make things even more complicated, Shang Xia¡¯s daggers could change the direction of Ryuli¡¯s counter attacks too during her attempt to block the next set of attacks from the Banned Emperor terrorist. Still, seeing it once was enough for her to change her pattern of attack. From a straight forceful blast of chi to scattered collateral damage. The Dragon Girl also used her chi umbrella to send out solid beams of chi to assault Shang Xia and they were proven effective mainly because of Ryuli¡¯s ability to manipulate the chi beams. Each time the assassin deflected the beam, Ryuli would simply break the beam into multiple smaller lasers and bend them to attack the assassin. It annoyed Shang Xia but she could not deny that only a competent monster was able to make beams converge towards her and she had to up her game if she were to fight toe to toe with the State Agent. Even though the damage might not be significantly high, it¡¯s the sustained damage that would subsequently bring the assassin down to her knees. Thus, Shang Xia knew the consequences of Ryuli¡¯s slow way of killing her and decided to not reserve any skills. One would have thought that her skills would be more towards directional manipulation but Shang Xia was actually a cultivator who was able to control gravity (to a certain extent.) This was equally as unique as Ryuli¡¯s extensive chi manipulation mainly because when cultivators usually use their chi to create an attack, it was usually an extension of themselves. It¡¯s like a bow and arrow situation where the archer dictates where the arrow would go with his/her bow. The strength, direction and intent had been set right from the start and everything lies on how the arrow would fly to. But in Ryuli and Shang Xia¡¯s case, chi to them was like controlling a puppet on strings where the puppeteer was able to still move the puppet at the very last minute. The only difference was how much control both of the cultivators were able to exert. With Shang Xia¡¯s ability, her powers were leaning more towards the basic manipulation since gravity was not an easy ¡®object¡¯ to control. Unlike Ryuli who could control each and every minor chi blast going towards the Queen, Shang Xia only had partial control with the usage of her daggers as well as her surroundings. Still, that was sufficient to affect the delicate control of Ryuli¡¯s chi blast and caused them to deviate from their pattern allowing them to miss. Initially, the Dragon Girl thought that the terrorist¡¯s skills were something related to directional arrows but she now understood that it was a fa?ade to hide her true powers. ¡°A Western based Cultivator. Able to manipulate the space around her. Could just be gravity but I do not have time to test, neither do I have enough space to exert more extensive chi techniques against her.¡± Ryuli thought and then she suddenly realised something was amiss. The two guards. When Shang Xia saw how Ryuli had moved her glance towards the side of the room, she immediately laughed. ¡°You thought that I was the only Banned Emperor in that whole group? You should have selected your people even more extensively Ms State Agent!¡± Shang Xia laughed as her plan was two fold. Half of the bodyguards that were employed were under the Banned Emperor¡¯s control and the group leader just so happened to call on the bodyguards that were affiliated with the Banned Emperor. The only problem was that the bodyguards were seeded by another team and the only way to know who was who during the action was when they dispersed their chi in battle. However, at that moment when the two guards were escorting Shang Xia and Ryuli to the toilet, their identities had not been revealed until Shang Xia knocked them on the back. Only upon contact, she could sense the chi which embedded in them and start to pour some chi in the battle towards them to kickstart their consciousness back. That was also one of the reasons why she was more on the defensive than attacking. Ryuli could only connect the dots as to how Shang Xia could have done it with the use of the gravity powers to move the bodies away from the fight and they quietly sneaked off. Even though she did not know the number of bodyguards that could have been corrupted by the Banned Emperor¡¯s ideology, her main concern now was to catch those guys. If the relic were to fall into their hands, it would be a pending disaster. (Not to mention, it was naturally bad for her resume and a dent in her achievement, especially when it was near the end of the fiscal year and the annual appraisal was near. If Kong Rong was here in her head, he could only sigh how money minded she was.) ¡°Do not even think you can catch them without defeating me.¡± Shang Xia said but Ryuli was already too mad to have proper thoughts in her mind. The fight had reignited her generation of Maqi within her dantian core and if the bodyguards were a threat, she had to settle this quickly. Chapter 1246: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 7 Chapter 1246: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 7 Shang Xia could sense the gathering of her opponent¡¯s chi whether she liked it or not. It was pretty obvious that once the state agent understood the implications of the traitors within their ranks, it was easy to see how the Dragon Girl was irritated by it. But that was what Shang Xia wanted. She knew that there was no way she could win against the monster right in front of her even though she initially had been weakened by the lack of chi. But she felt that there was still a chance to overwhelm this beast and allow her to slip away long enough before the Dragon Lady could do anything funny. After all, the current dimensional instance had allowed her to use her abilities freely. In the meantime, Ryuli¡¯s only concern was to bash through this particular obstacle and get to the defence minister as soon as possible. In the first place, she thought that this was going to be a chill babysitting session of the defence minister when her friend requested for her help to replace him because of the sole reason that his wife was getting pregnant on the day itself. Besides, it was a debt she had to return for the favours her colleague had done for her and she rather take a simple assignment after venturing through North Korea experimenting with weapons and projects that were not of her concern. ¡°It was supposed to be an easy task and now this sort of ¡®shit¡¯ happened. Fucking hell, Ran Ran better appreciate the quality time he had with his wife.¡± Ryuli grumbled as a blue dragon silhouette emerged right behind her and it was pulsating with electricity. The dragon silhouette glared ferociously at Shang Xia as Ryuli¡¯s electric Maqi was sending shockwaves to paralyse her enemy from doing anything before she attacked. ¡°What? My body?!¡± Shang Xia panicked as her counter skills were meant to activate when the Blue Dragon Silhouette flew towards her but she never expected it to cause her to stop all her movements. ¡°No, this shall not be the end of me!¡± Shang Xia said as she tried to bite her tongue, hoping her body would make an involuntary reflex from the pain to break out of the paralysis. Ryuli also believed she got the mastermind as she finally pointed at Shang Xia and sent her Maqi flying towards her opponent. ¡°I cannot end here! I cannot!¡± Shang Xia said as she tried to expand her chi and through sheer will, she could somehow feel a slight muscular twitch through her legs, allowing her to use her chi techniques. ¡°Yes! Now!!!!¡± Shang Xia closed her eyes hard as she threw whatever chi she could garner at that point and it collided with the electrifying blue dragon silhouette that was about to hit her. It caused the basement ceiling to crack and concrete debris was dropping as a result. The basement walls continued to hold but there was collateral damage. When the dust settled, Ryuli realised she was the one that could be in more trouble than she thought. The debris had blocked the door and the state agent could not confirm whether her strike went true. ¡°Damn it! How was she able to break the very last second?! Is it because my Maqi was insufficient?¡± Ryuli clenched her fist momentarily before using her Maqi to extend her search for any residue and there was an apparent trail going back to the tunnel where they had split off from the group. ¡°Urghhh, why was I in such a rush to use a big ass skill in this small room.¡± Ryuli felt frustrated that she was already breaking protocol by moving away from the person she had to guard, thinking that the protective detail was still ironclad despite her departure. But now that she saw two of the guards were in collaboration with the Banned Emperor Terrorists, her emotions went high and anxiety sat in. While she was right to find the mastermind behind the current attack, not being able to defeat her made things even more complicated and now the most important thing to do was to get back to the protective detail. As she was about to clear the debris with another blast, she heard a faint communication line coming through her earpiece. ¡°Bzzzt- ¡ª Bzz¡ªAgent L, Agent L. Can you hear? Can you hear? Reply. Reply.¡± The connection was terrible but to have communication back was something she did not expect, especially the one currently on the line. ¡°Agent L reporting. I repeat. Agent L reporting.¡± The connection seemed to be a little better as she blasted the debris away from the door and she made her way to the supposed bunker. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s good to know you are alive and well.¡± ¡°How did the comms come back up? I thought this is a dimensional instance that blocks everything?¡± Ryuli questioned. ¡°Cough, ¡®our¡¯ Dungeon Supplier did that. You can ask other questions later. What is the situation inside?¡± Kong Rong asked as he shouted at Jin to continue what he was doing. ¡°Disaster. The Defence Minister is in trouble and they are supposed to go through with some major plan with regards to that relic.¡± Ryuli reported. ¡°Go where the relic is, the Defence Minister is not a priority.¡± Kong Rong then went into a police car to give the instructions to his agent as he did not wish for others to eavesdrop. ¡°But he is my priority mission, not the current fucked up situation that I am in. I have to defend him at all costs.¡± Ryuli said but Kong Rong insisted on the new orders that he was giving her. ¡°Ignore the minister. He is just somebody we could replace again in 31 days.¡± Kong Rong replied but Ryuli understood what he said despite the cold hard facts presented. This was because the last sentence was a code in case people were listening in to the current conversation and that code meant that the current defence minister was a kagemusha or a shadow decoy, meant to be used to fool people. Now Ryuli understood why Ran Ran was not here protecting the defence minister, a duty he was so proud of and all she could do was to quietly curse at Kong Rong of purposely setting a bait that the Banned Emperor Terrorists would take. Chapter 1247: Breaking The Barrier Chapter 1247: Breaking The ¡®Barrier¡¯ ¡°Seems to work well, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Jin asked Kong Rong as he could see that communications were back up with a trick that the Dungeon Supplier had done. He tried to dupe the rules of the current dimensional instance by inserting his own dimensional instance through the barrier. Usually, the interaction between various dimensional instances was rare since dungeon suppliers in this era did not have to collide with each other. Each of them had their own stores and there was no need to overwrite the dimensional instances. However, Jin did the ¡®rare¡¯ part way too often with his own dimensional instances. He had to extend existing dimensional instances to suit a bigger crowd or even overwrite a few to let his customers enjoy the current gameplay without too much interference. But this was always within the System¡¯s domain so even with overwriting of dimensional instances, the risks were rather small. But right now, it¡¯s a different situation. Jin is currently not in the System¡¯s domain and he had to interact with a dimensional instance that is not his. The number of victims that were trapped in it made matters even worse. Any regular dungeon supplier would be scared shitless trying to attempt something stupid. The only advantage he possessed was the System¡¯s capability to perform miracles. (the System¡¯s ¡®Big Brain¡¯ analysis to be exact.) So, with Kong Rong able to send his message through the dimensional instance with a reply meant that the System had figured a way to crack the dimensional instance¡¯s code while Jin executed based on the System¡¯s instructions. (After all, the villain was using computers and servers as an extension to power the barrier, not through sheer talent and knowledge of the traditional way of creating a dimensional instance.) As of now, the System had guaranteed that the communication breakthrough would not be noticed by the current dungeon supplier but the two way messages had to be brief in order to raise any suspicions. ¡°Due to the current breakthrough of the System¡¯s efforts, the System now proposed a design which could overwrite the current dimensional instance. Unfortunately, it would require a huge amount of power from the User in order to do so.¡± ¡°Are you saying that I cannot generate enough of it?¡± Jin asked and the System affirmed his incompetence. ¡°That is assuming the User wished to take part in the fights. If the User is satisfied with providing the dimensional instance by himself, the System had estimated it to be sufficient. The only problem the System foresees is that the User would have to expend all his Maqi for the dimensional instance to open.¡± The System stated and loaded the schematics for the dimensional instance into Jin¡¯s head. ¡°I am assuming you are going for the traditional route? Because there is no way I can maintain a dimensional instance of that size.¡± Jin queried and the System once more affirmed his answer with a definitive yes since the traditional dimensional instance would naturally decay as time passes and does not need additional input from the dungeon supplier once it¡¯s done. ¡°Alright, then I will do it.¡± Jin nodded as he internalised the schematics. ¡°The System still believed User would prove more useful catching the Banned Emperor¡¯s terrorists rather than endeavouring such a useless creation of a dimensional instance.¡± The System stated that it would be better to get mobile power generators to create the dimensional instance instead. ¡°No, no, no. If I succeed, this would be a big fuck you to the Symposium if I can create the dimensional instance of this size. Besides, I do not wish to get into the crosshairs of the Banned Emperor until we are a little more influential. Indirect skirmishes are fine though I know that battle strength wise, we have more than enough ¡­considering that we built a multiverse army just to fight the Demon Rats soon.¡± Jin said as he stepped back for a bit to take in a gasp of air despite the frantic situation behind him right now with all the police trying to coordinate with the people inside as much as they could. (Although the communications were frankly rather limited.) ¡°The System computed that the User wished to boast to the world that he is a capable Dungeon Supplier, is that not?¡± The System requested for a confirmation which Jin smiled back with a smirk. Upon reading the schematics, he too know that doing this would knock him out cold for a few hours, maybe even a day but at the very least his reputation among the police and army forces if they had not known him already, will increase dramatically. Convincing them that he is the dungeon supplier they should go for would eventually earn him the big bucks especially when the supposed top notched dungeon suppliers were not able to do a single thing trapped within the exhibition¡¯s premise. Jin then called out to Kong Rong, asking his men to step back a little. ¡°I am breaking this shit down, give me some space all around the entire convention centre!¡± Kong Rong sighed with a defeated smile upon hearing Jin¡¯s request and immediately coordinated with the other security chiefs in the vicinity, the police and army cleared the convention centre with a wide enough perimeter for Jin to perform his magic. Also, Jin had changed Bam and Boo into a staff, something similar to a Taoist Priest staff with rings on it which prompted the System to query once again. ¡°It¡¯s all about the show. Using a sword to channel my Maqi is not as cool as using Bam and Boo in staff mode. Besides, it had some symbolism with me dispelling the ¡®evil¡¯ barrier away, allowing the forces of good to enter.¡± Jin said as he started to channel his Maqi into the staff. But after that comment, the scene was rather quiet around Jin as he began to mumble all the incantations which the System had loaded into his thoughts. With Jin¡¯s Inverse Eyes, he read the monstrous wall of text in his brain with pinpoint accuracy, which almost scared the security forces around him, thinking he had been possessed. Yet, every sentence he spurted out was infused with his Maqi and magical ley lines began to surround the entire building¡¯s perimeter. Some of the magic lines even started to creep above the current dimensional instance, as if it was about to entrap it. Seeing it in action was like looking at a grandmaster in the working. However, that did not faze Kong Rong as he knew that once Jin broke the dimensional instance down, they had to prepare for the next phase. Chapter 1248: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 8 Chapter 1248: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 8 ¡°Who the fuck are these people?!¡± Owl screamed as she took a leap backwards to evade the attacks. With her cultivation, she was able to fly backwards with her chi and to a safe spot. ¡°Buzz, are you sure you are doing your job properly?!¡± She shouted angrily via telepathy which annoyed the dungeon supplier, putting him in great distress. ¡°I am doing all I can but it seems like the nullification of chi does not seem to be working! Besides, the reconstruction of the temple is more important. Just distract them as much as possible and away from it! Especially from that lightning horse kid!¡± Buzz said as he was tapping on his laptop as fast as possible to make sure that the base of the pyramidal temple was ready to receive the relic. After all, this was his dimensional instance and in it, he was the ¡®god¡¯. For these cultivators to rebel against his own world was sacrilege but he could not do anything else other than to make sure his world continued to stay intact. ¡°Eagle is already doing all he can to keep that stupid electro boy busy. I am more concerned for the last cultivator who had yet to show her powers.¡± Falcon, the brother of Owl, had said as he stepped in immediately after Owl had retreated in order to not let the current cultivator they were fighting against to have a breather. ¡°Given your cultivation, shouldn¡¯t you have an easier time dealing with a snake cultivator?¡± Buzz dissed them for not doing their job but they cannot deny the fact that Su Zhen was giving them more trouble than they would credit her for. Her Great White Snake Demon Cultivation was of tremendous help against these two trapped bird cultivators in this exhibition hall. While it might be spacious with only the pyramidal temple at the centre, the fact that the Owl and Falcon were not in an open space environment proved to be a handicap from Su Zhen¡¯s Great White Snake powers, especially when she could feel the entire hall with her snake summons. ¡°Heh, in an enclosed area, the Great White Snake can tear those wings down if you are not careful enough. You might be predators against the helpless reptiles but now the tables have turned,¡± Lian said as she continued to defeat the other lackeys that were involved in the construction of the temple. It might be regenerating on its own with the dungeon supplier doing its best to reconstruct but without the other Banned Emperor¡¯s terrorists to supply chi, the rebuilding efforts had been severely impeded. Lein had also told Lian not to interfere with their fights and as much as he did not like it, to keep her as the trump card against any other terrorists they might encounter. In the meantime, he was equally annoyed with his enemy as the Eagle Cultivator¡¯s movements were sharp and precise. The use of a pair of short spears to attack him at every turn possible was as irritating as Lein countering with his electric attacks. On the other hand, Lein not only blocks but purposely shoots out a series of lightning chi blasts which damage the temple if the Eagle had not moved away. Eagle could have not evaded and taken the hits, but he would suffer tremendously from the attacks. After all, his cultivation was definitely not a good combination against the lightning cultivator. ¡ª- ¡°Sis, it is possible that I saw a weakness in her defence. Her snake summons a second delay when it strikes to protect its user, at that moment, I would dive in to attack her.¡± The Falcon sent a telepathy message to his sibling. The Owl, after recuperating for a few seconds, had decided to give another shot too. ¡°On my mark, attack with all you got as well! Advanced Owl Technique. Orge¡¯s Owl Catch of the Day!¡± The Owl shouted as she circled around Su Zhen before diving down for a strong impact. Her hands and legs had been equipped with talons similar to an owl¡¯s as she was expecting to dive in and shred all the snakes that were in her way. ¡°Oh¡­nice. They caught my drift. I thought it would take something more apaprent to catch them in my trap.¡± Su Zhen smirked as she poured even more chi into her snake summons who had been circling around her for ages as a defensive mechanism. The snakes that were protecting her ever since she had transformed with the dual inscription charms immediately looked towards the owl and rushed towards them. If Jin could have seen the scene with his own eyes, he might have considered letting Yamata no Orochi have a look at her. Perhaps that snake demon might be able to let her be his apprentice and even use him as her new basis for cultivation if she was compatible enough. In contrast, the Owl Cultivator was very confident that she was able to shred anything blocking her path as she zoomed without any fear. The only problem was that she noticed too late when the snakes that came towards her struck her harder than her talons could handle and tore her in a split second moment. Even Falcon who had quick reactionary time as part of his abilities was not able to have a detailed look at how his sister could be torn to shreds. And that momentary realisation was more than enough for a bunch of snakes to emerge from his sides unnoticed and catch him. Its jaws pierce through his chi armour and bite his hands and legs. Just as he was about to panic and struggle out of the way, a great white snake bigger than the rest snapped the Falcon¡¯s head away, leaving his only body as a snack for the rest of the snakes to feast upon. ¡°Epic Technique. Pit of the Great White Snake.¡± Su Zhen said as she felt satisfied to use her first Epic Technique against the cultivators. She thought she never had the chance to use it in combat other than the fights within Jin¡¯s dungeon instances. The white snake summons slowly retreated and continued to form a partially transparent barrier around Su Zhen as she now helped Lian with her extermination of the Banned Emperor¡¯s terrorists. The Eagle saw the entire process and got even more worked up. Like Jaguar who saw something incredibly unbelievable, the only choice he could turn to in this situation was his forbidden inscription enchantment behind his neck. Chapter 1249: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 9 Chapter 1249: Shenzhen Convention Incident -Part 9 Lein noticed that the terrorist he was fighting was doing something out of the norm. He was no longer in his usual battle stance and it seems like he was more on the defensive. Thus, Lein tried to poke his defences with his usual lightning attacks to see whether there were any deadly counters while maintaining a distance. The first wave of lightning bolts that were shot out from Lein¡¯s sword did not feel like he had done any damage to the eagle who was hovering in midair. In fact, Lein predicts that the lightning bolts had been absorbed by some barrier and that already alerted him to be wary of his current opponent¡¯s new stance. However, the Qilin Cultivator never lost sight of what he was supposed to do. The destruction of the temple was his main objective and since the Eagle Cultivator was about to do something drastic, it was best that he would take this opportunity to destroy whatever that remained and trouble the current dungeon supplier who was still hiding from them. Lein probably would not have noticed anything of significance to the temple if not for the impatience of the Banned Emperor¡¯s dungeon supplier consistently trying to rebuild the place back up as quickly as possible. But in consideration that high grade cultivator terrorists came to defend the temple, it was definitely a place of importance that made it pertinent for the Demon Exorcists to destroy it. On the other hand, when the Eagle Cultivator, who was still keeping his eye on Lein saw the Qilin Cultivator massed a terrifying amount of chi, he thought that everything was going as planned. He assumed that he was the perfect bait for the electric user to zap with whatever power it possessed as the Eagle was in a stance where he was absorbing all the attacks into chi for the activation of his forbidden inscription charm. No doubt there were downsides to this as the attacks would still hurt but at the very least, it would activate the charm for his own use with sacrificing his own chi. (Also, Eagle vowed to return the pain back tenfold.) However, as Lein lifted his sword up to discharge his lightning chi, the enemy realised that the lightning strikes were not aimed towards him at all. Instead, each strike went past him and the Eagle Cultivator heard the building behind him exploding. ¡°You should probably take a look behind you,¡± Lein said despite the sound of his lightning crackling so loudly that the Eagle could only deduce through lip reading. And as the terrorist slowly turned to his back, he could see how the temple went into flames with each lightning bolt. ¡°How?¡± Eagle could believe his eyes that these bolts of lightning had sufficient strength to not only break the temple infrastructure down like a punch breaking the walls into two but causing them to burn furiously. Lein had been doing that since the start of the fight when he had engaged against the Eagle but the Banned Emperor¡¯s terrorist did not realise the strength of lightning attacks. In fact, he was able to block it so easily that deflecting the attacks was a piece of cake to the Eagle. It was just irritating that sometimes attacks do hurt and that was when he realised that Lein might have good control of his chi. It was possible that Lein¡¯s attacks could have been this powerful but his objective was never about defeating the Eagle at all. He was merely following Jin¡¯s order to destroy everything that was ¡®not reality¡¯ and this would severely hinder the Banned Emperor¡¯s dungeon supplier. That was when the Eagle knew that if he were to follow his current plan, there was no way he could evolve. Thus, he started to concentrate pouring all his chi into the forbidden inscription, hoping to activate as soon as possible. Lein and the others noticed that too but the destruction of the temple seemed to be their top priority, hoping that a slip in the dungeon supplier¡¯s code might potentially destroy the current dimensional instance they were in. Yet, it seems the fury of the Eagle was more explosive than one could have thought and the Demon Exorcists finally started to pay more attention to it. The only problem was that they were too late to do anything else as the forbidden inscription had finally started to activate and reform the Eagle Cultivator. ¡°Wait a minute. That aura¡­¡± Lian, who was more sensitive to chi displacement, spoke up in fear. The other two Demon Exorcists concentrated their attention and feared for the worst as well. ¡°A forced demon summoning¡­¡± Lein decided not to waste any more time and wished to strike it down as soon as possible. ¡°No! Don¡¯t! It¡¯s not just a demon summoning!¡± Lian wanted to stop her comrade but it was too late as he zoomed towards the Eagle Cultivator hoping to cut it into two before it could come out. ¡°he had become a sacrifice for the demon too!¡± A gigantic hand instantly popped out from the Eagle Cultivator¡¯s body, creating a hole in his chest just to grab onto Lein. The Qilin Cultivator could feel his bones crack momentarily from the grab. ¡°What¡¯s this wonderful delicacy that I smell?¡¯ The voice came booming from the void of the Eagle¡¯s chest as it started to absorb the remaining portion of the dead cultivator¡¯s body. In the meantime, it did not loosen the grip and the only way to free it was to cut his hand away. Su Zhen in response summoned a great white snake to bite on the wrist of the demon. Hoping that the anatomy of humans would still apply to demons, she had aimed for the wrist joints. The Demon Hand reacted in shock, allowing Lein to escape from a sudden twitch of his hand but even the Great White Snake was still not sufficient to damage It as another Demon Hand emerged and tore the snake¡¯s head into two, causing Su Zhen to suffer intensive feedback of pain. ¡°Such playthings do not interest me. But the smell of three little delicacies made me feel that it would be worth the trip coming into this realm.¡± The mysterious Demon Voice continued to echo as the Demon Exorcists could see the world¡¯s fabric being torn open as if time and space was a piece of paper. ¡°What the hell¡­ How can the Banned Emperor terrorists bring such a monster into this world¡­¡± Lian said as she retreated back with Su Zhen in her arms. Chapter 1250 - Shenzhen Convention Incident -Final Chapter 1250 ¨C Shenzhen Convention Incident -Final It was not a demon which the exorcists had recognised. As the hand from the portal tore Su Zhen¡¯s white snake summon into two causing it to dissipate, it finally revealed its head through the portal summoned from the innards of the Eagle Cultivator. To the people who were at the scene it was not a forgettable sight. Even the Banned Emperor¡¯s terrorists could not withstand the look of the demon, causing them to wonder whether if that form of creature was an ally of theirs. The face of an age old alligator accompanied by thousands of teeth. Eyes wide as a tyre wheel while it turned and revolved multiple times with each ¡®blink¡¯, The exorcists could feel their stomach churning each time their eyes made contact with it. And to make this grotesque monster look even more bizarre, a pair shining blue butterfly wings emerged from its ears if it had any before and many more sprouted as it appeared out of the portal. ¡°This is no demon¡­ It¡¯s a void monster!¡± One of the Banned Emperor Terrorists declared as he tried to escape from its vicinity, However, the moving target made it even more appealing for the monster of the Void to grab him. ¡°Don¡¯t run. I am a very hospitable being.¡± The monster said as a pair of wings from the back of his body split off and started to chase after the ¡®knowledgeable¡¯ terrorist. Its wings attached to him without any delay and there was nothing the terrorist could do to remove it. He tried to burn it down with his chi but there was no avail. There were others who saw their fellow comrade in need of help and even tried to cut the wings down and yet those butterfly wings continue to be undamaged from the flurry of blows. Instead, it started to glow ever brighter from the absorption of chi attacks. Soon after, the void monster smiled and with a flick of his hand, the wings forcibly pull the terrorist back to the Void Monster without knowing the consequences of his actions to escape. This was because his life force had too been drained by the wings and he was nothing but a dead living corpse being attached to the butterfly wings. That mere display of powers had the rest around the Void Monster to fall into despair, even the Demon Exorcists themselves. Those Banned Emperor Terrorists were of a decent grade and they put up quite a fight for the Demon Exorcists. What¡¯s more, their chi was even comparable to some of them, only a little more with the help from the dual inscriptions charms that Jin had provided them. But those were all excuses as they knew in their bones that if they tried to fight such a monster, they would probably die as easily as the man who was now detached from the pair of butterfly wings. ¡°I see most of you see reason. And know not to foolishly waste your lives to even attempt attacking me. A commendable course of action to save your pitiful bodies from extinguishing. But rest assured, I can put them into use. That is if you pledge them to me. And even if you don¡¯t, I will inform you that it is not an option.¡± And as the Void Monster finished his ¡®threat¡¯, a sudden slam came from the doors that the Demon Exorcists once entered. Arriving in a such a flashy display was Rong bashing the skulls of the Banned Emperor Terrorists who tried to stop his friends. ¡°What the fucking hell is that?¡± Rong said as he slammed his hammer on the ground while he placed more chi energy into the dual inscription charm he had been holding. ¡°But since you guys are so awestruck with my arrival, guess I have to live up to your expectations as well!¡± Rong¡¯s chi energy spiked up immensely as his dual inscription charm started to shine even more until a silhouette of a Titan Bull emerged from his back. If it was reminiscent of anything, it was similar to the Mechataur which he and the gang experienced in the recent raids that had been ongoing in Jin¡¯s dungeon store. ¡°Rong, stop! Do not do anything against it!¡± Lian tried to warn Rong since he had not seen the capabilities of this Void monstrosity that had emerged into this world. ¡°When in doubt, just strike! Isn¡¯t that my motto?¡± Rong said as he dashed forward with the Titan Bull Silhouette powering his punch to smack the big old alligator down to the ground like a hero coming to the rescue. Sadly¡­ it was not as one would have predicted. ¡°Such a vibrant form of chi display but yet so empty on the inside, Looks like this will be easier than I thought. Oh, Guan Yu, Looks like your descendents have not been as hardworking as you and here I thought coming into the human realm would bring me some form of entertainment.¡± The Void Monster said as he easily dissipated Rong¡¯s Titan Bull into particles and slammed him down to the ground. ¡°Yet all I received was this boring show. Is this truly what you wanted?¡± The Void monster said as he lifted his hand to see that piece of human meat being squashed. Lian, Lein and Su Zhen could not move an inch upon seeing the strength of the Void being ¡°Ah. I did not know that your friend is that weak. But have peace in your heart that he died almost instantaneously.¡± The void monster smiled weakly through his teeth and yet everyone in the room knows that he was poorly hiding his laughter, For the first time, good and evil alignments between the humans in that room did not matter. They knew that if such a being were to be unleashed out of this world, chaos would ensue but yet they were all too powerless to even do anything with the exception of the Demon Exorcists. It was as if the monster solely craved that void which the Demon Exorcists were experiencing. The loss of their friend was irreplaceable and there were only two courses of action they could take in this scenario. Fight to the death or run and take revenge at a later time. As much as it was logical to do the latter option, the burning desire to stand up for Rong burnt too strongly. Until they feel a familiar aura coming from the entrance where Rong entered. Chapter 1251 - Monster Of The Void Chapter 1251 ¨C Monster Of The Void ¡°What the heck is that thing?¡± Jin stared at it for a moment before the System answered with a heavy tone. ¡°A void monster. They are neither demons or heavenly beings. Their existence is to cause utter destruction and only a few records have been seen because their presence could neither be confirmed or verified with the usual means.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jin asked as he shouted at the monster, getting the attention of everyone in the room. As he saw Rong¡¯s dead body on the floor, he could only sigh at how foolhardy that teenage boy was. The other Demon Exorcist quickly ran to his side as a measure of comfort and security as they knew Jin was the only person he could rely on. ¡°Most Void Monsters which appeared caused destruction of untold scale but those were stories and incidents that were very isolated. It is unheard of to see them in the present day as people have neither the knowledge or skills to summon one. It could possibly be a coincidence that they had summoned a Void Monster by chance.¡± The System deduced as it stated that there was a similar aura coming from the cultivator Kong Rong had squashed before he could activate it. However, that aura was faint compared to the ¡­void they were experiencing from the monster itself. ¡°Boss! How did you get in here?¡± Su Zhen asked as she had no idea what to do. ¡°The police are already in the building, coordinating the escape route for the others. Obviously Rong had decided that since reinforcements are in, he could bash into this hall and be the hero that he always wanted to be. Too bad for him, he had to try again,¡± Jin replied and the rest was acute enough to find the underlying meaning to his words. ¡°Can he be resurrected? Even at that state? But his body is all squashed, the Dantian Core would most likely be destroyed with that kind of force.¡± Lian had so many questions in her head with regards to the monster they were currently facing, the situation they are in and all sorts of answers she wish to seek but was too helpless to say anything else. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I am here now, we should be able to kill this piece of junk. Well, when I meant we, it¡¯s actually the enemy that I am calling out for.¡± Jin said before he took a deep breath to shout. ¡°Dungeon Supplier of this current dimensional instance! As one dungeon supplier to another. I implore you to reduce the instance size to this room only. If this Void Monster gets out, not only he will wreak havoc to this convention hall but the world too. I bet your newly resurrected Banned Emperor would not want to live in a barren land right?¡± ¡°You are an interesting fellow. What made you think that you alone can stop me? Regardless, this would be a development I would wish to pursue. This lush world full of pestilence could serve as my lovely adobe. For I, Farasha would be your new master. Prove your worth and you might have the chance to be my servants for eternity¡± The Void Monster said as he started to move out of the void portal as small as it looks into this current reality. The more he pushed himself out of that measly abdomen he had been coming out from, the size difference made it almost impossible to fathom. Jin once again was bewildered by the sheer existence of the monster as Farasha made his presence known. Some of the Banned Emperor Terrorists decided to pit their strength against his taunts and yet with a swing of his wings, Farasha dispatched most of them into nothingness, even without the chance to enter the afterlife. ¡°What¡¯s the chances of fighting this monster?¡± Jin asked the System hoping that it could give an answer to defeat this seemingly impossible foe. But he had forgotten that the Demon Exorcists were also under the System¡¯s influence and it had already collected the data and searched its database for the required answer. ¡°As for now, only the User had the chance of defeating it. The System had been eavesdropping on the Farasha and he mentioned Guan Yu, which enabled the System to narrow the requirements of defeating it. User might not have a Grade 20 Cultivation but the tools at your disposal might pose a chance to bring the Void Monster down to its knees.¡± ¡°Can it be captured?¡± Jin asked the System while hoping to get an answer from the dungeon supplier that controls the instance. ¡°It depends on User¡¯s capabilities. Though suffice to say, it had been some time since the User had captured any quality monsters for the System to analyse.¡± ¡°What the heck! I¡¯ve been working hard on myself to improve my abilities! You did not even give me any chance to grow as you threw me into worlds!¡± Jin said but before the System could answer, a loudspeaker immediately interrupted their internal conversation. ¡°I accept your agreement in exchange for leniency when the entire incident is over.¡± Buzz said reluctantly and somehow Jin could already pinpoint that he was being paid to do this job instead of being part of them. ¡°There is no way someone like you does not have connections with the police.¡± ¡°Deal. We will speak about this later if we manage to survive.¡± Jin said and in an instant he could feel the difference in the dungeon instance. He could feel defensive wards coming up to protect this room and the presence of the hall had been sealed out from the door which he had entered. The chi regeneration for Lein and the others returned to their former abilities and even more now that they were in their battle armour thanks to their dual inscription charm. ¡°Not a bad dungeon supplier after all. Perhaps, he could really be of some use in this fight,¡± Jin thought to himself as he told the Demon Exorcists to stay back. This was a duel that he could not afford to babysit and the rest too knew that they were not capable enough to fight despite their enhanced forms. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If I need your help, I would call upon them. For now, sit tight and wait for the opportunity to come.¡± Jin said as he snapped his fingers for two portals to appear. ¡°Ho Ho Ho! Just when I thought we will never have a chance to debut in the new year,¡± A sharp voice was heard coming out from the portal as the mage and monk emerged, all ready to beat some shit on some butterfly monster. Chapter 1252 - Farasha - Part 1 Chapter 1252 ¨C Farasha ¨C Part 1 ¡°How did Jin manage to pull out a magic portal from nowhere?¡± Buzz thought to himself, thinking that he had already placed all the possible wards into his dungeon instances as requested by him and yet the infamous dungeon supplier which refused to join the convention was able to pull a teleportation magic right in front of him. It was only when he started to try adding more defensive wards that he felt another presence surrounding his dungeon instance. ¡°This feeling¡­ wait a minute.¡± Buzz quickly changed the CCTV camera angle to the ones outside of the exhibition centre and saw a huge solid dome, energised with visible chi covering all around it. In short, Jin had literally placed a dungeon instance as an overlap with his and Buzz was entirely shocked by the level of chi manipulation Jin had. ¡°His instance is not clashing with mine, and instead complimenting it so that this Void Monster would not even have the chance to escape¡­or at least slows his escape. Does that mean that he knows where I am hiding?!¡± Buzz thought to himself but there was nothing else he could do except acceding to the request that Jin had for him. All he knew was that Jin was clearly the superior dungeon supplier despite his awkward arrogance and the mysterious ways he does stuff. He did not fit into any superhero category that was worth admiring but he was always there to help while expecting much back. ¡°Maybe I just do not know him well enough, and one thing is for sure. If he does survive this, I am definitely not crossing paths with him either.¡± As for the magic portals, Peppers and Milk took a quick glance at the enemy and asked whether this was the only problem Jin was facing. ¡°Yea sure, this is the only problem that I am facing, but does this not look like something of a catastrophic level?¡± ¡°Aye, Void Monsters are a hassle to deal with. They have a high resistance to magic and physical attacks so most warriors and mages will have problems dealing with it. Not to mention, a Void Monster of this size meant that he could produce little itsy-bitsy mobs to crowd us all and decimate everyone.¡± Peppers said as she had already tapped into the universal pool of magic to gather mana. With all the upgrades Jin¡¯s monsters of science had given to Peppers throughout the month, she was more confident in her skills and magic as well and had the guts to cast bigger and stronger terrifying spells. ¡°Don¡¯t destroy the goddamn place if you can. The enemy¡¯s dungeon supplier¡¯s ward is not as strong as mine despite the fact that I had added more behind his while summoning the two of you here.¡± Jin said as he too readied his weapon. ¡°Be more confident in your skills, Jin! You had grown-¡± Milk was about to encourage Jin but Farasha had enough of waiting. ¡°All that talking, ya da ya da ya da. My patience has a limit too. I have given you insignificant beings enough time to prepare. If you want more, deal with my children first.¡± Farasha replied as flapped his butterfly wings that were attached to his ears and numerous eggs fell to the ground. Just as the eggs were about to hatch the moment they touched the ground, a blitzful sound was heard in the wind cracking all of them simultaneously. Only at the last egg which dropped to the ground did Farasha see a shadow staring back at him. ¡°Do not interrupt my talking time with my master.¡± Milk said as she threw a stare that was worth a thousand daggers back at the Void Monster for breaking the conversation between Jin and her. In the meantime, that distraction was all that was needed for Peppers to cast a magical circle at the top and bottom of Farasha, creating a double explosion spell the moment Milk finished her sentence with him. To top it off, a similar spell was set off at the left and right of the Void Monster too. For the first time in almost an eternity, Farasha felt pain from the blasts as the flames burnt the beautiful wings on his back. Peppers did not hold back in the explosion with the exception of the scale of it and clearly everyone who was still alive could see Farasha burning in the midst of those spells. And yet, it was not the end as Milk sent a punch so devastating that they could feel the shockwave impacts from the side of the hall. It was no ordinary sound wave either as they could visibly see a few dozen teeth were forcibly split out from Farasha¡¯s mouth as Milk landed the punch. Still, the bellators did not stop there as a fireball was seen glowing right above the Void Monster¡¯s head. It was spiraling like the birth of a new star. And as everyone thought that Peppers would simply hurl her latest spell towards Farasha, Milk suddenly disappeared after her punch and emerged back at the top of Pepper¡¯s fireball. ¡°A combination attack? That¡¯s quite rare for people with such unique individual talents.¡± Jin smiled, knowing that this was probably the result of their sisterly relationship between each other after staying together and fighting between themselves. A spell circle appeared in front of Milk, allowing her to have control of the fireball and like every other melee character would do, she gave a fairly simple football kick causing it to fly at immense speed towards the currently disoriented Void Monster. The bigger the size, the harder they could dodge and to top it off, Jin also did not allow any of their attacks to miss by using his Maqi to create chains to bind Farasha¡¯s main body to the ground. The Spatial Chains were even imbued with fire seeing how effective it was against the Void Monster when Peppers used it against the Void Monster. Upon hearing Peppers¡¯ explanation, Jin did not take any chances when he imbued his spatial chains with the fire element, forcing Farasha to growl in pain. The fireball managed to inflict untold damage to the Void Monster even as the explosion caused most people to be blinded by the blast.. The only problem was that Jin had a feeling that this was not the end of Farasha. Chapter 1253 - Farasha - Part 2 Chapter 1253 ¨C Farasha ¨C Part 2 ¡°Hahahahaha! NOW we are talking!¡± Farasha came out of the explosions all burnt and riled up from all the damage. Yet, he was satisfied by the outcome of the battle as if this was what he wanted for a very long time. ¡°These chains¡­though they are weak, it¡¯s annoying enough to keep me still for just that series of explosions. And gosh, lady! It¡¯s been some time since someone struck me with a force that I can finally feel something!¡± Farasha said as his teeth were popping out from the sides of his mouth. ¡°Gosh, is he some sadistic monster?¡± Milk asked as she returned back to Jin and Peppers. ¡°I did not really use that much mana in the last few blasts but I thought something of that magnitude should have blown that stupid crocodile to pieces.¡± Peppers said as she tried to analyse the current monster that they were facing. It was hard to give an estimate compared to the monsters she had fought before, mainly because they all exude a certain amount of magical presence no matter how weak it was. But for this void monster, it was exuding emptiness rather than a magical presence and thus Peppers had problems trying to deduce the amount of Mana needed to break it. Not to mention, its high magical and physical resistance was a problem which the two bellators encountered and it seemed like their usual strength was not enough to break Farasha down to its knees. ¡°Still, throwing more firepower at it is not the solution.¡± Peppers said despite the fact that she raised her staff and shot another blast of fireball right towards the Void Butterfly. ¡°Because it is a creature of the void and has a name, it might indeed be a high level being that is connected to the void. Right now, its connection is still weak because the summoning was abrupt. But once it had established a proper connection with the void, it could resist even my strongest of spells.¡± ¡°So we gotta break that connection and make sure to punch it up a lot more?¡± Jin still did not understand the concept of a void monster. After all, he was sure that other worlds had their own set of unbeatable monsters and that was not including Hell and Heaven¡¯s plane. Especially when he heard more about Mr Derpy¡¯s master, he was very sure that he did not wish to return back to that world of his unless it was necessary, So, Jin could only assume that this was a monster exclusive to this world which the System briefly explained that it was because of Guan Yu rewriting the rules and laws of nature.¡± ¡°His actions had caused these monsters to emerge as part of his plan to help people. The only problem was that he did not expect this brand new existence to plague the world but its appearances were minimal because of the added precautions Guan Yu had done to keep the world stable. With limited information on the System¡¯s database and internet sources, the System can only assume the Banned Emperor had uncovered the ways to summon them which is currently unknown to us.¡± The System stated. ¡°Anyways, based on Peppers¡¯ analysis, the only way to kill it is to weaken the monster¡¯s connection to the void, right?¡± Jin said as he cracked his knuckles. The System instantly knew what it was thinking and if it could laugh and concur at the same time, it would have done the same too. ¡°Then I guess, it¡¯s because of both of our dimension instances which allowed the void monster to not regain its strength so quickly.¡± Jin understood what needed to be done to reduce its chances to gain immortality. While it was not normal for him to show his tricks wide open for everyone to see, it was necessary to stop this in its tracks as soon as possible. Also, he too did not want anyone to see that he was capable of catching the Void Monster since the System said it was available for Jin to do so. MIlk and Peppers also realised what Jin implied and quickly went forth towards Farasha. Despite the wounds it had been inflicted, the scales and wings of the Void Butterfly could be seen regenerating once more and it meant that Farasha was bidding for time until the opportunity was right for it to attack them mercilessly. All it had to do was to withstand the next series of attacks by the monk and mage combination. However, it was not stupid to take the next wave of offensives head on but rather stop them in their tracks if it was capable to. Beams of transparent lasers, almost unidentifiable to the naked eye, were ironically seen by Milk as they were shot out of his wings. She was able to evade it with ease by thinking they were beams of steel pipes shooting towards her. Only Peppers did not actively avoid the attack as she had erected a mana barrier of her own that was capable of absorbing and even deflecting some of it. Unfortunately because of that incapability to evade, Farasha targeted her and the poor mage had to bear the brunt of it. Yet, it was a good enough distraction for Milk to move towards the wings and use her strength to tear it off. Because of that, Farasha assumed that Peppers was the distraction, and yet he did not know that Milk was doing the same, all for Jin to do its trick. A large magic circle once again emerged right under Farasha¡¯s feet and he assumed that the mage was going to do its explosion magic once again. Thus, he used one of his butterfly wings to summon even more of the butterflies to act as a barrier by blocking each and every part of the magical circle to prevent it from taking direct damage. However, that was not what the magical circle was intended for. Only mages sensitive to mana could see that the magic circle was not Peppers and instead, someone else¡¯s. Jin was the one who created the circle while Peppers was preparing another spell to make sure he succeeds. So just as how he created the spatial chains to hold Farasha in place for a mere few seconds, Peppers did the very same thing, just that it was with an orb. A massive orb of gravity when Jin finally activates the magic circle as a gateway to the System¡¯s main territory. Jin¡¯s shop. Chapter 1254 - Farasha -Part 3 Chapter 1254 ¨C Farasha -Part 3 Bu Dong was yawning as he just came out from the Super Robot Wars merchandise store. He and Deng Long just finished one of the extra missions which the Robot Wars had been giving out to occupy the players¡¯ time as they waited for the next patch. There were hints of a new story within those extra missions but there was nothing short of revealing the next portion of stories within the extra missions but it was challenging mainly because those missions gave Panda Coins for free which was the main pushing factor for Super Robot War players to continue playing. It was also done in order to expand the player base despite it being a niche genre dedicated to people who liked Mecha. But as Deng Long and Bu Dong were talking about their numerous choices on what to eat for dinner, there was an emergency alert popping out at the top of the store instance. Suddenly, everyone within the store instance had their phones alerting them of the imminent event. ¡°Warning! Warning! A new Wide Active Response Event (WARE) has been activated! A brand new monster of an unknown origin had been created by Dungeon Supplier and it had broken out the confines of its experimentation testing grounds! In order to contain the threat, Jin had no choice but to reroute it to the store instance as a temporary holding ground as he repairs the dome that held it. Join forces with your fellow Pandarens and defeat the monster so that the monster can be put back in place!!¡± The quick notification was sent to everyone including those currently in dungeons. There was a pause option where the players could resume where they were and a small amount of coins were given compensation if they decided to participate in this new WARE event. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s rare for Jin to suddenly throw us a WARE event. I thought this was used only in the raids.¡± Deng Long said as he instantly pressed the accept button, allowing him to use his weapons and armour within the store instance, which had always been regarded as a safe zone. ¡°Maybe he wants to spice things up? After all, it had been rather quiet for the past few weeks and I can only assume he was busy working the festival of his own. If once in a while there are these wide active response events, we can earn some coins or exclusive merchandise.¡± Bu Dong commented. ¡°Heh, not just that bro. Look at this.¡± Deng Long flashed his phone towards Bu Dong¡¯s direction and they both noticed how some shops were having fire sales to accommodate this new WARE event. ¡°He is making those casuals to gear up with these time limited sales.¡± ¡°Hmm, with the exception of certain inscriptions, most are rather useless to us.¡± Bu Dong nodded, acknowledging that it was mainly for the new Pandarens who had joined Jin¡¯s dungeon as their new daily routine. ¡°Welp, at least there are coins to be earnt. Not everyone is like Xiong Da who can throw money however they like.¡± ¡°Hah! Please, most of the Pandawans know that YOU are the second Xiong Da in the making. I heard from your friend Yue Han that you had been dabbling in some investments? And they are earning you a hefty sum of profit?¡± Deng Long said as he and Bu Dong started to go near the centre of the large magical circle. ¡°It¡¯s Dad¡¯s money. I only profit some of the dividends.¡± Bu Dong knows that outright denial would be seen as a terrible excuse. And as they reached near the edge of the magical circle, it suddenly started to glow and everyone who had decided to participate felt the very same feeling of fear, especially those who had done the Demopolis Raids. Yet, almost more than half the participants were determined to see this through especially when there was no need for payment, just participate and earn Panda Coins. It was a free event for those who were in the current store instance. As for those who did not wish to join, they had already been teleported to a new store instance exclusively for the time duration of the Wide Area Response Event. But Jin would be heartened to know that almost 90% of the Pandarens had decided to participate in this impromptu event. Meanwhile, on the other side of the magical circle, the orb of gravity began pulling Farasha furious to Jin¡¯s store. Peppers did not stop supplying mana into the gravity orb and poured additional magical power into it so that Farasha could be sucked into it while Milk did not stop her flurry of attacks. In the meantime, the Void Monster had no idea that it was going to be isolated into a trap as it merely blocked the blows and retaliated when necessary. His connection to the void was growing stronger every second and all he needed was to buy some time before it unleashed its full power and despair to his current opponents. But little did he know that a moment of distraction was all that was needed for Peppers to fully pull him through the magical portal created by Jin and Farasha had been teleported into another dimensional instance. ¡°Bah! These dimensional manipulators think that they can stop my connection of the void with another set of borders and more reinforcements. With each passing second, my powers will subsequently return to me and I shall allow all of you to taste and feel the succulent beauty of emptiness.¡± Farasha thought to himself as he spread his wings to show the insignificant beings who had crowded in front of him. It was an ugly sight. The butterfly wings on the crocodile monster were nothing short of an abomination and many believed this ginormous creation was Jin¡¯s. And as usual, they were once again given one hell of an event with Jin creating more hype for his dungeon supplier store via this technique. He could have teleported it into a secured instance and let his monsters do the fighting but Jin believed he could make the best of the situation since right now, the only people who knows about this monster were a few scared living Banned Emperor terrorists and his lackeys. So, why not make it his own event and subsequently capture that void butterfly for his own use? Chapter 1255 - Farasha -Part 4 Chapter 1255 ¨C Farasha -Part 4 The Pandamonium Forums were once again buzzing with activity with the sighting of the new monster that had emerged in the store instance. Many who had just entered Jin¡¯s store via the entrance had also been given the option to enter the instance else they would be teleported to a safer one. Jin also believed that the teleportation of Farasha into his system¡¯s territory would severely improve the chances of the policemen and their fellow support team to clear the convention building out. As much as he wished to see this whole fiasco through and through, his objective of aiding the police had been completed. What¡¯s more, he had arrived in time to save his employees¡­well most of them. Farasha can wait as his cultivators play with him for now and it also allows the System to analyse this particular specimen which it does not have much information on. Even Peppers who was well known to have surveyed a multiverse full of monsters had arguably little to no information on the void monsters. Their appearances were too rare for official records and thus they would have time on their side to dissect the information. ¡°The System had successfully blocked the connection between Void Butterfly Farasha and its source of energy. User may continue to proceed with the situations he is in or come into the store instance and finish Farasha as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Let me tie some loose knots before returning. After all, I got to show who¡¯s the boss in my very own store instance, right?¡± Jin said as he saw the battered few Demon Exorcists being demoralised by the loss of their companion. ¡°Guys, cheer up. At the very least, you had seen him going into the fray with swords blazing right? Well, I mean he did hold a hammer not a sword¡­¡± Jin tried to joke a little but it was pretty evident that their loss for their friend was deeper than he thought. That was when he told them to huddle closer so there were no ears listening in. ¡°Keep this quiet because there is nothing to worry about. He is still alive.¡± Jin said as he opened a System Channel among themselves and they could hear Rong complaining through the channel as he was being treated by Jin¡¯s Panda Nurses. With shouts demanding the Panda Nurses to let him return to the battlefield, his concern for his teammates was the loudest. Upon hearing Rong¡¯s usual complaints, Lian felt that the loss she felt had been mended and she eyed Jin with a bucket full of questions. ¡°I did not tell you guys everything so I will explain more about it when we return. For now, let¡¯s head back and allow the police to deal with everything else.¡± Jin said as he drop the dimensional instance that was surrounding the hall they were in and a team of elite policemen started to enter the premises. They were under the orders to standby by Kong Rong and only to charge in when Jin¡¯s wards were down. ¡°Master Jin, are you okay?¡± One of the SWAT leaders asked as the rest attempted to secure the perimeters. ¡°We detected extreme chi signatures and decided to buff up the team before entering.¡± ¡°Ah no wonder the heavy police presence compared to just now. The dungeon supplier who created this mess helped me to deal with this. Please tell Kong Rong to have some mercy on him because I want him.¡± Jin said as he went closer and whispered the location of the dungeon supplier. Because of his dimensional instance surrounding the entire convention hall, Jin knew the location of almost every single individual within the room. The only problem was that he had no idea who was who with the exception of the Demon Exorcists, the dungeon supplier since his chi was painted on his dimensional instance and a new old acquaintance, Ryuli. The information he provided to Kong Rong was vital as he personally entered the battlefield to meet up with his fellow tutee. ¡°I will pass the message to him but no guarantees on the condition of the product once we found him.¡± The SWAT leader acknowledged Jin¡¯s request considering not just his title as the new Panda Lord but the person who had inadvertently flipped this entire situation to their favour. (However, it was more of the former including his relations to Kong Rong. Prestige and titles do help in situations like this.) ¡°Milk, Peppers. Let¡¯s go. Stop lying there as if you take a major blow for the team.¡± Jin said as he could see the two non blood related sisters slacking at the side and pretending to be the injured personnel so that the SWAT team could assist them out. ¡°Wake up and let¡¯s get going. Those Cultivators could only do so much against the Void Monster.¡± ¡°Bleh, Master is such a slave driver.¡± Peppers said as she stood up with Milk assisting her. ¡°I know I am getting rusty but can you assign me to an easier battle next time?¡± Milk complained as she pulled Pepper¡¯s huge ass up (not figuratively speaking) while healing her with her powers. ¡°No complaints, let¡¯s go,¡± Jin said as they were taking the long way home now that the police had arrived. Even though no suspicions would be roused if they were to teleport right in front of them, Jin would like to have some rest too. The creation of the portal magic was usually assisted by the System but this time around, the dungeon supplier had done it by himself because the System was busy reinforcing the store instance in order to make sure that it was ready for the upcoming mini event. Now that Farasha had been trapped in Jin¡¯s store instance and cultivators of all grades were trying to have a piece of it, the System did not mind Jin taking the long road back home. ¡°We would like to help with the fight too.¡± Su Zhen said while the rest nodded in silence.. All Jin could do in response was to smile ever so slightly as approval to their request. Chapter 1256 - Buzz Surrenders Chapter 1256 ¨C Buzz Surrenders ¡°What the hell was that¡­¡± Buzz took a breather before noticing that his dungeon instance had been completely overwritten by Jin the moment he got out of the convention hall. He now understood that Jin was no ordinary dungeon supplier who happened to have all this fame and glory by chance. ¡°To be able to break my dimensional instance without making too much of a scene¡­ Only dungeon suppliers who have the know-how to create a dimensional instance from scratch and instead of relying on technology could do such a thing¡­ Not to mention the amount of chi one must possess to overwrite such a big area, it¡¯s no ordinary feat. Perhaps that is why he had decided to create his very own festival¡­ Or did he already sense something was amiss and had been tipped beforehand by his police colleagues that there could be a situation like this? Is that why the police were able to come earlier than we had expected? ¡± Buzz said to himself as he could see armed police storming to the room he was hiding. He could have activated the traps that he set previously but decided to hope Jin could honour his word. Thus instead of barricading them with the multitudes of traps and locked doors, Buzz had already unlocked all of them remotely and only doing so the moment they reached the door, as a sign that he is surrendering willingly. ¡°My job here is more than done.¡± Buzz said to himself as he had his arms up when the armed police came through the final door. He knew that further resistance would not only spoil his chances but also there was nothing much he could do to honour his employer¡¯s request. That butterfly crocodile had not only destroyed most of the temple which they painstakingly created for the revival of the Banned Emperor but also, most of the Banned Emperor lackeys had already been killed by that self proclaimed void monster. Even if Buzz poured all his resources to build an artificial temple, it would also be of no use if the most important piece of the puzzle was not there. The relic that was capable of recalling the soul of the dead. And considering the fact that his main employer had not shown up for the fight could only indicate that she either had other backup plans, ran away or the likely situation of being caught. Buzz did not care anymore as he compiled the armed police¡¯s instructions as he laid on the ground to be handcuffed. The police handled him roughly but because Buzz willingly surrendered, there were no sucker punches or kicks before he was pinned down further to be cuffed. And as Buzz walked out of his room, he could see the masses of police covering the area, and investigation teams combing the entire convention hall for clues. Not to just identify what had happened but also take count of the casualties that were within the room. Buzz safely said to the policemen that were handling him that no innocents had been harmed and he could attest to that. ¡°With the exception of Jin¡¯s friend, that bull cultivator, the rest who were killed are Banned Emperor Terrorist.¡± Buzz said but the police officer nearest to him knocked to him with a loud thud. ¡°Save that testimony for later. Although we are recording you now, you best save your defence for our interrogation.¡± The police officer replied as he and the rest escorted Buzz to the designated van while avoiding the media. Yes, the media. Kong Rong and other State Security agents had suppressed the information for approximately for an hour or so until bystanders caught a whiff of the current situation. Naturally as ¡®upstanding¡¯ citizens of the online community, it was their ¡®obligation¡¯ to share every possible eventful nature of the major police presence. Media networks were suppressed despite them picking up on the citizen¡¯s videos and Kong Rong did not allow any of them to even come close until Jin had finally managed to break open the dimensional instance that was surrounding the convention halls. Now that they had made progress, they were able to get in and storm the area to save the hostages and that was where Kong Rong allowed some information to pass through and the media vans started to pour in. That was also one of the reasons why Kong Rong had to pick up quite a number of calls right after his fights as he had bigwigs and other influential people demanding for an answer. But with Jin¡¯s help, the police and the army were able to evacuate civilians the moment they entered, showing immediate positive results for the media to report. The only problem Kong Rong had was ensuring the survival of the defence minister¡­ though he was not too worried with regards to that. Even when Ryuli managed to establish back connection with Kong Rong and reported the bad news, the assassination was not too on his list, but rather the relic itself. Despite what everyone in the known believed as a hush trade secret with regards to the relic, Kong Rong still knew what was going on and had already done sufficient preparations to ensure the minister¡¯s life. He had also purposely allowed the relic to be brought out in order to ensure that the Banned Emperor terrorists would come out to play. If they ever suspected the relic was a fake, they would not be able to catch them. While it was true that they had put the innocent masses into possible harm¡¯s way, the state security felt that it was the only way to get the Banned Emperor Terrorists in full force. And even if they could not get everyone, it showed that their plan works and their current methods were able to pinpoint the actions of the Banned Emperor lackeys. It would only be a matter of time that the state security would be able to find the rest of them and pay for what they had done. (Not to mention, this incident will eventually raise the department¡¯s powers.) And as they evacuate the convention building, Kong Rong and Ryuli were on their way to the designated bunker to thwart the final plan of their ¡®Queen¡¯ and retrieve back the relic.. However, they had forgotten that sometimes a cornered rat will bite and fight harder for its life. Chapter 1257 - Banned Emperor Terrorists Chapter 1257 ¨C Banned Emperor Terrorists ¡°That Buzz! I knew that not to trust any outsiders but HE would not give a damn about it!¡± Shang Xia said as she stared at the relic. Even in her current demeanour, staring into the relic gave her some sort of inner peace within it. Inner peace knowing that she possessed one of the strongest relics in the world and has the ability to revive the Banned Emperor. But with all her plans in shambles, she was considering running away with the relic so as to salvage something from this current messed up operation. She had no idea that there was someone that was capable of destroying the barrier that was taught by the inner circle of the Banned Emperor, people who she knew would have the knowledge to end the world in an instant if they wished to, if they have sufficient resources. And also one which she directly reports to with regards to the result of this operation. Yet, this insufferable member of the Inner Circle also planned the entirety of this current operation and even recruited non-believers for the cause just because he had money to spend. It was as if he did not care about the bodies being thrown into the current operation just to accomplish a certain goal. Yet, that goal remained unclear and Shang Xia could only deduce that he wanted to personally have the accomplishment of reviving the Banned Emperor all by himself. But to teach an outsider the huge dimensional instance trick and providing those banned charms to their devout believers was something that Shang Xia could not stomach but grudgingly follow. From the updates from her trusty follower, Jack and with her acute sense of chi, she understood that almost everything had been lost. Even as she wanted to take revenge on the Minister of Defence He Fei, it would be a little dangerous to do so despite the opportunity presented to her like a ripe grilled chicken waiting to be eaten. Though she had a few more undercover within the group of bodyguards, they continued to remain committed to their role until Shang Xia took action for it. But if the State Security decides to dig any further, their moles would eventually be found and their years of effort in their supposed undercover job would be for nought. ¡°Lady Boss, I too believe it¡¯s now or never. After all, that He Fei had done quite a number to not only your husband but our faction as well. You will never get the chance like this.¡± Jack said through the intercoms while continuously scrambling to change the encryption so as to not let the police catch them. While they may have surrounded the Convention Building with cops, acting as if they were using brute force to storm the place, they also have a support team working nearby to manage the communications and counter intelligence. Else, it would not be so coordinated in sweeping the Convention building and evacuating the civilians from the place. ¡°If our moles get caught through the next few months, we will never be able to enact the same operation ever again.¡± Jack too had a vendetta against the defence minister since like Shang Xia, his partner had been innocently accused and imprisoned for multiple wrongdoings which she never committed. Because of that, he had joined the Banned Emperor as a way to get back against the current authorities and hoped that proper justice could be melded. But of course, justice is subjective to everyone and the Banned Emperor¡¯s way of doing things is not how the majority would look kindly upon. All they knew was to create suffering for others, just to show that they could do the same back at the people currently in power. And if the relic could summon back the primal spirit of revenge, the Banned Emperor, who signified the epitome of vengeance due to the betrayal of the twelve clans, then perhaps, China would not only have a new ruler but all the wrong doings the faction had taken could be sorted out. (And perhaps, rewarded for their allegiance to the revived Banned Emperor.) Still, the thought of He Fei being so near yet so far had clouded Shang Xia of her judgement. With everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong with the operation, Shang Xia and Jack felt that the only way to amend the wrong doings was to at least eliminate He Fei. A killing blow to the Minister of Defence would not only increase their reputation as a terrorist organisation but also increase the confidence of their investors who were supporting them in the shadows. An assassination result like this would also benefit the minor opposition which was vital showering money to their organisation. ¡°Let¡¯s do it. We still have Lee, Cheng and the rest as undercover. One quick finishing blow and we escape.¡± Shang Xia told Jack to make sure there was a window of opportunity for them to get out of the impending doom. ¡°Queen, do not worry. We will make sure that you survive the ordeal.¡± Lee said with Cheng nodding their head, indicating that they would do what it takes, even sacrificing their lives for the greater good of the organisation they believed in. ¡°That¡¯s reassuring to hear,¡± Queen said as she placed the relic back into inventory. Even if she did not care for the lives of her colleagues, Shang Xia had to pretend to do so. After all, it was discourteous to dismiss one¡¯s attempt to risk their life for theirs. All she was to know was that she was able to throw bodies without them questioning her when the push came to shove. With that dilemma out of the way, Shang Xia immediately spruced her plan into action and that was to perform a direct assault against the entourage before slipping away from the chaos. ¡°I will not allow you to catch me. Dragon Lady.¡± Shang Xia still remembers the utter defeat she had when duelling against Ryuli.. ¡°I make sure to let you suffer a catastrophic failure which would put a stain on your spotless career.¡± Chapter 1258 - The Show Is Starting Chapter 1258 ¨C The Show Is Starting ¡°Minos 1, do you copy? Minos 1¡± The walkie talkie from the guard leader finally sprung to life in the desolate bunker they were holding. ¡°Yes, this is Minos 1, copy. Overlord, I am glad to hear your voice again.¡± The guard leader quickly pulled it out and even the bystanders were relieved to know that they would not be in this concrete hell hole that much longer. ¡°We have merged with the police and they are dealing with the situation on the ground as we speak. Give us a sitrep on your end.¡± The main communications team that was initially dealing with the coordination within the convention building had been rescued and as stated in their reply, they had liaised with the police to deal with the remaining threat as well as information on the protective details. While the State Security should have rostered plans for the minister of defence, there were other minor VIPs within the exhibition halls too and the coordination of their guards was needed as the police did not have all of them. ¡°Plan Charlie. We are located at our ¡®last bastion¡¯. We barricaded the doors further in case of any external breaches too. However, we are missing a few guards as well as two VIPs. Mr ¡°D¡¯ had been a little too concerned about his acquaintance who had been missing for quite some time. Our guards had yet to report back to us too although I suspect it¡¯s the issue of having a mass communication breakdown.¡± The guard leader reported and then the main comms team held back their reply as they were discussing among themselves whether to reveal a certain piece of information to the guard leader. ¡°Do it.¡± Yu Xuan, who was in the makeshift communications headquarters, gave them the directive to do so, stating that it was Kong Rong¡¯s decision. Everyone within the comms team including the highest ranking officer who was heading the operation did not concur with his order. ¡°But give the reply to Mr D instead.¡± ¡°Not as if he could do anything with the information and he might incite even more panic. Besides, Mr D is one of the lower ranking cultivators there.¡± The acting head of the police operation argued and Yu Xuan shook his head and went towards him to whisper a few sentences. The Head was shocked to hear the news but he tried to control his facial emotions not to reveal too much. That however still caused the entire team to be curious. Very curious about the information that Yu Xuan had shared. Especially when the Head immediately nodded his head reluctantly to order his operator to pass the news to Mr D instead. ¡°Sir, Overlord wanted to talk to you saying he had some information for your ears only.¡± The Guard Leader believed the head just wanted to make sure the Minister of Defence was well and alive. He wanted to take out the earpiece jack from the walkie talkie for him to use but He Fei insisted on using the earpiece for anonymity sake. Obviously, he did not want anyone else to know what he was talking about. ¡°D speaking.¡± He Fei said and immediately, he was asked to give a special passcode that did not make sense to either the guards or the people around them. ¡°Hold the door or you shall not pass.¡± He Fei whispered as softly as he could. ¡°Hahaha. Blame the Ryuli for giving you such a lame passcode.¡± Yu Xuan said as he was talking upon taking the mic from the current operator. ¡°We found out, there are indeed moles in your group. Apparently way more than we had expected.¡± ¡°Are you sure you are not compromised in that room to give such important information out just like this?¡± He Fei asked as he was worried that there might be moles in the police force as well and it may jeopardise the current operation they were in. ¡°Well, if there are any, it means State Security would not be the only ones involved after this incident. Internal Affairs would be banging on every department to ensure that we are clean. Well, you my sir, will be in charge of it after all.¡± Yu Xuan was giggling at the side as if he was talking to an old friend because no one in their right mind would be talking to the Minister of Defence in such a casual way except for the police head who knew exactly what was happening behind the scenes once he heard the plan from Yu Xuan. ¡°As if that is happening. If I am in charge, it is not a clean swipe at all. Do not forget your responsibilities as a State agent¡± He Fei was being all serious on the phone but clearly, it was a mere act. And suddenly, there was a loud click coming from afar. Everyone in the room thought that help was here, especially with the recovery of the communications but when the heavy lock door slowly opened, they found out it was the guards Lee and Cheng. The lady who said that she needed to go to the toilet was assisting Lee who was injured to pass through. ¡°The show is starting.¡± He Fei said, and Yu Xuan acknowledged his response but instead of asking the Police for more help, he told the operator to change the channel over to continue coordinating the rescue. In the meantime, he picked his phone up and dial for a certain someone. ¡°Hey Ryuli, the show is starting. They had returned to the bunker.¡± Yu Xuan said but instead of a verbal reply, all he heard were taps. Instead of querying for a verbal response, he quickly ended the call. Those taps were no doubt morse code and it did not take Yu Xuan long to understand that they were at the scene too, waiting for the right time to ambush. All he could do now was to hope that there were no other casualties other than the terrorists. Chapter 1259 - Trojan Horse Chapter 1259 ¨C Trojan Horse ¡°Cheng, what happened to Lee?¡± The Guard Leader queried as the other guards removed the barricades to allow them to go in. He Fei saw the entire thing in motion and could feel that he was reliving the ancient times when the Trojans allowed the wooden horse to enter their premises. Yet, he did not make a noise and stood further away from the commotion to see the show unfold right in front of him. ¡°Wait, where is the other lady? The one who was following you?¡± The Guard Leader felt something was amiss but his gut feeling was a tad too late as Shang Xia acted without much hesitation and slammed her knife which she was hiding within her sleeves into the Guard Leader¡¯s chest. Just as how the attack brought Ryuli to her knees with the powers of Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation pulsing through the knives, the Guard Leader was sent flying up to the ceiling even though he was able to withstand the attack. Yet, that brought precious seconds for Lee and Cheng to slaughter the other guards offhand, with the exception of the ones who were the moles. The rest of the bodyguards who were oblivious of these were brought to their life¡¯s end and the remaining who managed to survive the first wave did not know who the turncoats were. They could only trust and fend for themselves and it was pretty obvious the numbers were on the Banned Emperor¡¯s side, causing the guards to falter in their defence and be killed in the process. The rest of the VIPs went to their knees not to be caught in the crossfire, thinking that they would have the chance to be the hostages in such a scenario as they believed their current status and power would be the bargaining chips for these terrorists. Fortunately, for them, they were right as Shang Xia and her goons were finishing off the guards to ensure there was no more resistance guarding this group of VIP entourage. Her blood was racing, she did not expect it to be this easy and even the Guard Leader did not put up much of a resistance as he saw his entire team crumble into dust. The sheer shock factor allowed the rest of the Banned Emperor terrorists to score a kill as the Guard Leader diligently did his duty by sacrificing his life and the remaining amount of chi to create a shield on the most important VIP in this bunker. On the Minister of Defence himself. And with his last breath, the Guard Leader could only hope that reinforcements could come in on time to salvage the entire situation. ¡°That shield on the Defence Minister is impenetrable with our current means. Even if we unite our chi together and blast this entire bunker or maybe including this building, He Fei will still survive it.¡± Lee said as he did not expect this incompetent Guard Leader he was under, knew a legendary technique that could put up a series of barriers or also known as the Thousand Mountains in an Eggshell. It was a fairly well known legendary technique but not the drawbacks were immense as someone needed to be a proxy to take all the damage. In this case, the Guard Leader used all his lifeforce and chi as the proxy and only time or legendary assault techniques could destroy it. ¡°Heh, no wonder he is so weak in terms of skills. He was used as a pawn, an emergency backup in case anything happened to the Defence Minister.¡± Lee kicked the Guard Leader¡¯s face as he was intolerable leading up to the current operation. ¡°And that¡¯s also why their guard detail is minimum because they know that the Guard Leader has the capability to protect him until the appropriate response team arrives..¡± Cheng also spat at him while recalling why the Guard Leader¡¯s details were inaccessible no matter how much they tried to dig before this Symposium started. However, Shang Xia did not care about her underling¡¯s ramblings as all she wanted was He Fei to be dead. No matter the barrier, it¡¯s still a chi technique and that means it can be broken with their current level despite what Lee had remarked¡­because of a certain item within her possession. The Relic. It had no true name to the current relic when they were holding it. Some say it¡¯s the Philosopher¡¯s Stone, some say it¡¯s the Gem of Agu-agamon while the mainstream called it the True Relic of Blood Sacrifice. But in essence, it was a stone that was capable of holding much chi, mana and blood to fuel the desires of the user wielding it. That was one of the reasons why Shang Xia wanted to use this Symposium where a majority of not just commoners but people with a certain level of cultivation will gather. At first, It was a pity that that particular dungeon supplier was not within the Symposium as he would be the very few to taste the true wrath of the Banned Emperor. (Little did she know that he was the one who thwarted her plans and the current situation outside had turned the tables against their favour due to his efforts.) But regardless, the scenario right now was ideal for her as she had unwilling sheep who thought that being a submissive group of hostages would save their lives. Nay. She would use those hostages as the fuel to power up the relic and blast a hole through He Fei¡¯s barrier and stab her knives into his heart. ¡°For all the pain you did to me He Fei.¡± Shang Xia said but the Defence Minister kept his cool and silence as he folded his arms, not doing anything else. Shang Xia took the silence as an act of provocation and began to pour some chi into the Relic of Blood Sacrifice so as to activate its abilities. But at that moment, as if things were going way too well for her, Shang Xia could feel a very familiar chi from the distance. Because she had fought with her before, Shang Xia instinctively moved a step back to see a blast of a dragon head coming through the entrance and annihilating four of the guards that were at the door. ¡°That Bitch!¡± Shang Xia knew that reinforcements had already arrived and the most annoying one as well. ¡°I have not turned bitch mode on,¡± Ryuli said the moment her umbrella clashed against Shang Xia¡¯s knives.. ¡°But for you, perhaps I might consider doing so.¡± Chapter 1260 - A Decisive Resolution Chapter 1260 ¨C A Decisive Resolution The furious chi energy emanating from Ryuli could literally scorch the hostages with the exception of He Fei who was in his protection bubble. But at the same time, a soothing source of chi could be felt by the VIPs just as the shockwaves of Ryuli¡¯s chi slammed itself against it. ¡°Mind the hostages, they do have some value as well you know.¡± Kong Rong said now with a plain simple white half mask with two black holes that serve as the windows for his eyes. Ryuli did not care about the theatrics, especially when they were about to kill Shang Xia at that particular spot even though she knew that he did it to protect his identity even for just a while. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to care about those people. The Defence Minister is my priority.¡± Ryuli said while she slammed her umbrella with twice the amount of chi she had dispensed previously. It was pretty obvious that she could go all out now that Kong Rong was protecting the hostages and slowly leading them out of the bunker with the exception of He Fei who was immobile due to the legendary defensive technique. ¡°Ah¡­such meaningless vengeance.¡± Kong Rong knew that her words were not what they meant. When both Ryuli and he were rushing to the said bunker, they could already sense the guard¡¯s lives being extinguished based on their chi output. Ryuli knew that those guards were double crossed by their own ¡®people¡¯ and they definitely had no time to even think or ask why. She felt for them as she had been in their shoes before. One might think it was her first master¡¯s incident but it was more than that as the Dragon girl had her fair share of betrayal and double crossing before becoming a veteran State Security agent. And thus, Kong Rong could only let his fellow agent unleash her unbridled fury against Shang Xia. And seeing how Ryuli was using more than her usual amount of chi to confront her enemy, also meant that the opponent she was dealing with could not be given any quarters to even breathe. ¡°Not one but two dragon forces. This Banned Emperor Terrorist isn¡¯t going to survive for me to speak to her,¡± Kong Rong said to himself when he kept an eye on the fight while telling the hostages to move in the direction of his chi. However, the reason for Ryuli using two dragon silhouettes instead of just one was because of Shang Xia¡¯s ability to divert chi energy away. The mastermind of this entire incident seemed to be able to move the tremendous force of the dragon silhouette with a swing of her daggers but in reality, she was focusing as much as she could to divert the attacks away. The second dragon silhouette which was painted in ocean blue, tailed behind the first fiery orange dragon silhouette before moving in a slightly different direction so that it could flank Shang Xia. The manipulation of the chi force was so well executed that it felt like the dragon silhouette was alive and burning. Shang Xia tried to prepare herself for the flank attack but she did not expect that Ryuli could command such a magnitude of chi even with the initial attack. It was as if she was not just holding back herself during the toilet squabble but merely testing the water. In fact, Shang Xia deduced that Ryuli could even rival not one but three of the inner council members if they went toe to toe against each other. Thus, the Banned Emperor Terrorist only had two options. It was to either eat the attack and see if there was a window of opportunity for her to perform a counterattack or evade the attack. However, that would also mean the dragon she was evading would come and bite her back in the arse if she did not evade properly considering how skilled Ryuli was in controlling the dragon silhouettes at the back of her palm. But even though she could make such a decision, a bullet flew right towards her causing her to lose her concentration and she instinctively deflected with her offhand dagger, forcing Shang Xia to eventually take damage from both dragon silhouettes. Her death was almost instantaneous ..almost. If it was some average cultivator, they would have been scorched the moment those silhouettes touched them. Unfortunately, Shang Xia was a high level cultivator and as the dragon silhouettes devoured her body, she could feel the immense pain of being burnt in the lowest level of hell while drowning in the pressurising ocean deep. Even though it was a short few seconds that she experienced the pain, it was still out of this world and her body turned into black icy soot with the relic left intact. ¡°That was rather underwhelming.¡± Kong Rong said and Ryuli glared at him. ¡°I still have some pent up anger in me, where should I direct it to?¡± Ryuli said as the two Dragon Sillhouettes hover right behind her. She knew that the bullet was from Kong Rong and she was greatly unsatisfied that her target was burned/froze to smithereens with not much resistance. ¡°We have a job to do.¡± Kong Rong said as he walked towards He Fei while snapping his finger to unleash a sonar location technique to check if any of the Banned Emperor Terrorists were alive. Just because they were killed does not mean they did not have any hidden resurrection abilities. In addition to that technique, there was chi telekinesis in the background picking up all the Dan Tian that had been left from the incident from both the dead guards and the terrorists. ¡°Welp, that was quite a close shave.¡± He Fei said while Kong Rong instantly deactivated the shield around him. ¡°Yea yea, even if we are not here. You could easily handle the rest.¡± Kong Rong said but Ryuli sulked instead. He Fei saw the reaction and he sighed. ¡°Sis, you know I have to keep this quiet. The fewer people who know about this, the more successful the plan will be.¡± He Fei said as he started scratching his neck until his skin started to break apart. Slowly, but surely, he pulled the skin upwards and it was revealed to be a cosmetic inscription that only Jin¡¯s store had sold exclusively. ¡°Well, at least give me a better lie next time rather than using your wife as an excuse.¡± Ryuli¡¯s sulk slowly turned into a hesitant smile. ¡°You know, it¡¯s all just part of the game that Kong Rong put up.¡± Ran Ran, the bodyguard for the Defence Minister, opened his arms up and Ryuli went in for her friend¡¯s hug. ¡± And I am not kidding you, Kong Rong better send me a car as soon as possible or else I would not be able to reach in time for my wife¡¯s labour.¡± ¡°Oh, I have a driver for you ready for you.¡± Kong Rong¡¯s eyes averted towards the direction of Ryuli and her hesitant smile became one of the devils. ¡°Boss! You set me up for this!¡± Ran Ran shook his head as his appearance returned to normal instead of the ¡®pot belly¡¯ that he was carrying. ¡°Last I checked, I still beat you in the advanced defensive driving race course.¡± Ryuli finally could burn some steam off as Kong Rong gave Ryuli a bunch of keys which somehow turned the soul of her eyes into a moment of pure bliss. ¡°What?! Ryuli¡¯s riding?!¡± Ran Ran suddenly felt his legs turning jelly. ¡°Hey. I got to be fair to everyone in my team.¡± Kong Rong said as he reminded Ran Ran that his wife was still waiting for him. ¡°Besides, you need to be there as soon as possible right?¡± ¡°Well, you better hurry then. Boss will clean up the mess here. Your wife is more important than this shithole of a show.¡± Ryuli said as she took out a helmet from her storage ring and tossed it to Ran Ran. ¡°Shithole of a show indeed.¡± Kong Rong said as he picked up the relic that was still intact despite the destruction Ryuli had performed. It was now powered up not from just the blood sacrifices in this room but from Ryuli¡¯s powers too. ¡°But even in piles of shit, one might still be able to find treasure if they look hard enough..¡± Kong Rong smiled as he knew that this powered relic might come in handy in the near future. Chapter 1261 - Farasha - Part 5 Chapter 1261 ¨C Farasha ¨C Part 5 ¡°What is this sorcery?!¡± Farasha thought to himself angrily as he crushed the building right in front of him and unleashed a beam of energy through the streets. The aftermath of the scorched area could be seen releasing a series of butterflies once the energy had dispersed into the air. Those black looking butterflies as dark as the absence of light were subsequently seen droning towards the cultivators. But to the cultivators who had seen this trick one too many times managed to not just evade them but counter their existence. For Death was their teacher and Experience their partner in crime. Many who had encountered Farasha in the past did not have such a luxury as many were quickly consumed by the void. And that was why it finally clicked to Farasha that he might possibly meet his doom when the opponents he had defeated suddenly came back to life, stronger and wiser. Stronger with better gear to counter his void butterflies, wiser when the cultivators banded together to attack him. The Void Being now anxious, tried to reach out to his source of power, one which he thought losing it momentarily would not prove a hindrance. However, no matter how he tried to summon it, he could feel that something was blocking it. Farasha could only assume that the cultivator who created the portal was the same person who made this particular barrier. ¡°But to have a force ready to fight against me, and to boot, they kept sprouting back up as fit as a fiddle instead dying¡­that I cannot comprehend!¡± Farasha saw its black void butterflies destroyed so easily that he raged by using whatever void energy he had stored within him and concentrated them into his series of butterfly wings. The portal to which he had access to the void was not the only way he gained his void energy. Because he knew that another way of generating void energy was through his opponents and that was allowed to make them feel despair, dejection and ultimately desolution of their emotions. The only problem was these ordinary looking cultivators were not feeling that way despite their multiple horrible deaths. Instead, they were renewed with vigour, their spirits rejuvenated and perhaps sadistic to the point that Farasha had difficulty killing with his limited repertoire of skills.e ¡°Ahh ahh. And here I thought everyone would be struggling.¡± Jin said as he entered his dungeon maker instance along with the others who had finally reached Jin¡¯s abode. ¡°To be fair, you trained them to be this crazy. Especially when this is a free event and there are already talks of limited event goodies to be earned from this..¡± Lynn welcomed them back as she already prepared a few cups of tea for the group to partake as a way to calm down before going into battle if they needed to. ¡°That I have to agree with Big Sis Lynn.¡± Su Zhen and the rest of the Demon Exorcists nodded their heads in unison. ¡°The System had also assumed that User had to enter the fray to even out the odds but it looked like the average grade cultivators and their determination to earn rewards had incidentally incentivised them to be the bane of the Void Being.¡± The System stated how it monitored Farasha to be hesitant in its attacks and even decided to be more careful in its approach against the head strong warriors he was against. ¡°However, even if the Pandarens and Pandawans were to join forces, they still would not have enough power to put it down in time.¡± ¡°In time? What do you mean?¡± Jin thought that as long as Farasha was stuck in the System¡¯s premises, there was no way he was able to escape, much less the continuous onslaught on his dependable band of customers. ¡°Farasha had been testing out a variety of methods to break the dimensional instance despite its actions against the Pandarens. It goes to show that the Void Being is worthy of its rumours.¡± The System stated that the dimensional instance was actually eroding away due to the Void Butterfly¡¯s attack. While the System was able to repair it in time in such a way that it was not noticeable for Farasha, it figured that once he had dealt enough damage, the Void Butterfly might be able to understand his circumstance and push all out for a desperate attack. ¡°A moment of such a particular act of desperation is as shown on the screen right now.¡± The System said as it showed how Farasha exploded all its energy causing everything within its blast radius to disappear into nothingness. It somehow gave the Void Butterfly a measure of peace until the System began furiously reconstructing everything from scratch as per Jin¡¯s original blueprint and the cultivators were all teleporting in from their previous safe points. Also, the scene of rebuilding and rebirth eventually forced Farasha to turn mad, something which he never felt for a long time. How could something so vastly simple, worthless keep popping up to annoy him? Everything should be under his control and he knows that there is no such thing as an unbreakable barrier. If the sky is limitless, then perhaps what he had to do is to break the earth until he found the leak, the crack of this particular barrier he was in. ¡°Yeah, I see what you mean. No time to sit idly, the cultivators have their fill of fun. We will reward them according to our usual WARE standards.¡± Jin said as he started to ping all his monsters that were available. ¡°However, I feel that my minions should have some get go from this monster since he is going to join their ranks soon enough,¡± Jin said and Lynn agreed as well that an exercise out of the norm would be great to break their monotonous schedule in preparation for the Great Demon Rat War. ¡°In that case, we shall enter first, I have some payback to do for this monster,¡± Lien said as he finally felt unafraid now that he knew he would be resurrected within the dungeon instance. ¡°Not to mention, we got to get Rong out of the hospital bed as soon as possible or he will be slacking.¡± Thus, the rest of the Demon Exorcists bid their goodbye to Lynn as they entered the fray before Jin could assemble his army of minions to attack Farasha. Chapter 1262 - Farasha - Part 6 Chapter 1262 ¨C Farasha ¨C Part 6 But when he wanted to send an army of minions to fight against Farasha, Lynn reminded him about something very important despite approving his actions. ¡°As much as I support your idea, I like to remind you that a certain somebody would be disgruntled by your actions.¡± ¡°Lol, who would that be? It¡¯s not like i have much to lose from this particular fight¡± Jin was about to send a message to his army of orcs until he suddenly felt a presence behind him. One that potentially overshadowed the entire room if she had her way. ¡°Have you forgotten who was the one that is holding the key to your finances all too soon?¡± Claire said as she pulled his ear. ¡°Ah!!!!!! Claire! Why are you here?¡± Jin tried to play innocent but Lynn and Claire both knew that it was not going to work on her a single bit. ¡°I was merely watching some drama show about a teacher blowing up a classroom and then I got notifications from my Sub System that the main System was using stockpiles of resources in a short period of time.¡± Claire pulled Jin¡¯s ear even further as she continued her reasoning. ¡°It was only until i saw the main page of Pandamonium that there is a monster rampaging in the store instance at this very moment and I am here to query our dear boss, what in the strange delusion he was having to put a boss monster in our SHOPPING district which contained most of our DELICATE and PRICEY items?¡± ¡°I thought the System had already pulled back all those items in another instance, and what¡¯s left in the area were fake duplicates.¡± Jin also tried to justify the reason for putting it in the main shop instance so that it will catch everyone¡¯s attention in attacking Farasha. ¡°Even so, what is this that I see right in front of me? Especially that message that is to be sent out to all the orc and goblin soldiers?¡± Claire asked once more while pointing at the console repeatedly. ¡°Do you really think we have that much reserves to spare for the Great Rat Demon War if you could spend it as you see fit?¡± She twisted Jin¡¯s ear so hard that he was shaking in his legs and even bending them because he could not tolerate it. And yet, Claire was pulling it up even further, making Jin almost cry out for mercy from the pain. ¡°From how I see it, you better clear this yourself and the most you could bring with you is just one monster. ONE.¡± ¡°Then, I like to volunteer myself. Guarantee to finish the job and free of charge too¡± Yet another all too familiar came from afar and everyone in the room who took notice of him sigh simultaneously. ¡°Kraft, you will create more trouble than you solve them.¡± Claire finally released Jin¡¯s ear as he instinctively placed his hands at his ear to soothe the pain. ¡°But look at it this way. Would you rather let a monster die multiple times or me killing that ugly crocodile butter-whatever fly so that Jin would be able to have him for the fight against the Rat Demons? Investing in me would be a great idea.¡± Kraft tried to promote himself although everyone knew that if he did not get his approval, he would still try to force his way into this particular mess. And with a reluctant nod from Jin, Kraft instantly disappeared and emerged right in the middle of the battlefield with all the Pandarens reborn. ¡°Still, this would be a rather boring fight if I were to kill it away, don¡¯t you think?¡± Kraft questioned the nearest Pandaren which happened to be Bu Dong. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you Boss Jin¡¯s employee? That ermmm fox guy. Nasty crazy fellow but extremely powerful?¡± Bu Dong asked as he was already starting to run out of ideas on how to tackle the boss right in front of him. Perhaps, if he has his Mecha, things might be different. Or just the Mechataur that Jin usually would dish out when fighting against humongous monsters. ¡°Or are we doing so badly that he had to ask you to aid us.¡± ¡°Hmmm, something along that lines, I guess but let¡¯s put it this way. He did not order me to come here, I am here out of my own gooooodwill as support. Besides, you guys had been fighting for over half an hour already and dying more than we had anticipated. So¡­ I am just strolling along the shop instance, and perhaps to even out the odds a little more for our dear customers.¡± Kraft said as his chi instantly spread throughout the entire shop instance, giving every Pandaren within the shop instance a boost in their capabilities. Those who were slow in casting their techniques found that they were able to do it in an instant, while there were others who were slower in terms of reaction time, happened to be more perceptive when Farasha attacks, allowing them to dodge in time. All these little boost to the Pandaren¡¯s capabilities caused their morale to be boosted up even further, causing Farasha¡¯s plan to sow despair within the cultivators were nullified. Even when Farasha tried to do the very same blast of void explosion from within had been blocked by Kraft as he used the Pandarens to come together and create a barrier to forestall that catastrophic damage to the shop instance, It was pretty much a one sided game the moment Kraft entered the battlefield that Jin could see the Pandarens were having fun while Farasha was not. Even if Jin did not enter the battlefield, it was pretty apparent that the System would be able to catch Farasha without the User¡¯s aid since he was encased in its System. The only person who was not happy aside from the desperate void being was Claire as she could not believe Jin was going to give out free goodies the moment this particular WARE was completed. As such, Jin had decided to stick to the old method of throwing out gifts. Through the lottery. And that was enough to placate Claire¡¯s fear as she knew that anything that has a percentage chance meant that it was something the shop could exploit. ¡°Fine, you are forgiven just this once. As much as this fight is pretty much a goner for that void being, go to the shop instance and show your fanciful final blow. That¡¯s the whole point of this WARE anyways. To catch the being for our own use.¡± ¡°Right away..¡± Jin said as he took a deep breath and teleported into the midst of the battlefield. Chapter 1263 - Farasha - Part 7 Chapter 1263 ¨C Farasha ¨C Part 7 Just as Farasha was beaten to a pulp, Jin came in time as if to steal the spotlight from Kraft and the other Pandawans. ¡°Your timing is as impeccable as ever. It feels as if you are merely coming here to deal the finishing blow and run away to do with your business.¡± Kraft said and Jin suddenly had a chill running down his spine. ¡°Are you¡­ going to oppose me right now?¡± The Dungeons and Panda store owner asked his employee who was working at the moment, in plain sight of their customers to view. ¡°Hmm? Oh no. If you think that was a threat, it was not. Just a passing remark, a casual comment.¡± Kraft laughed as he patted Jin¡¯s shoulders. ¡°After all, I am still an employee of this store. Fighting amongst each other would not do any good in terms of publicity, right?¡± Kraft spoke softly but still audible enough for Jin to hear despite the background noise of Pandarens fighting against Farasha. Kraft felt that his job was more or less done now that Jin was around to take over his portion and he was about to leave. ¡°But let me warn you. That Void Being? It felt like he was being conservative with his attacks as if he was waiting for someone.¡± Kraft said as he took a deep breath before he shouted. ¡°GUYS! YOUR BOSS IS HERE TO PLAY WITH YOU ALL!¡± Kraft said as he then waved his hand and disappeared in thin air after he announced to everyone that Jin was around. It was then Farasha perked up. The person who he had been waiting for all this time finally arrived. Even though Kraft¡¯s chi sharing had stopped, his chi enhancements to the Pandarens were still active but the next attack which Farasha unleashed was something that even the current chi barriers that Kraft bestowed them with were useless. The Void Being instantly unleashed another void wave explosion sending anyone that was unprepared to defend it be decimated almost instantaneously. Jin was able to defend in time and realised what Kraft had been hinting at. Even though Kraft had volunteered himself, he was merely here to prod and test the monster, as if wondering if it was capable or worth the effort to capture. The Devil Fox too had been going with the flow, as if he knew the intent of the Void Butterfly the moment he entered the fray. But the drastic increase in power from Farasha was uncalled for as the System had been recording lower values than what had been portrayed the moment Jin had arrived. ¡°You are finally here to show your face, caster!¡± Farasha shouted as he stood on his short alligator legs and the wings on his back glowed tremendously bright. It was pretty apparent he was holding it out for Jin to appear as his butterfly wings started to shoot out scatter beams all over where Jin was standing. It did not take a genius to avoid all those beams considering that Jin was a high level cultivator but it was the aftermath that caused him to be wary as the beams suddenly dispersed into a fog of dust. Immediately after the attack, Farasha swung his wings and a gust of wind blew the thick clouds of dust throughout the entire battlefield. Jin did not know what it was but instantly created a bubble of air around him. He believed he had read too much into attack although eventually, the Dungeon Supplier was correct. Everyone who did not hold their breath in time started to cough violently while others started to spasm. The System recognised the dust particles were poisonous in nature and noticed that Farasha already knew how to stop the other Pandarens in their tracks. A swift death only meant that they would return with renewed vigour but a slow death would hinder them. Even if they were to kill themselves, the air had now been polluted with its poisonous dust particles, making suffering the first thing they encountered. ¡°If this is how you wish to fight, then so be it,¡± Jin said as he already had a handy tool within his storage watch. A portable oxygen tank meant for diving purposes. He had already modified it to be combat ready so that it did not weigh as much as it would, but that also meant that the tanks have a limited capacity. Still, that was not an issue as he had a few in his storage watch. (Not to mention, he is currently in his own store instance.) ¡°System, put that oxygen tank to the front of the shop app. Make the first purchase as a complimentary gift for sticking with us in this WARE event. Discounted price for the subsequent purchases only for those people who are in this event.¡± Jin said while he braced a second wave of scatter beams coming his way. He believed that even if he blocked the attacks to reduce the places where the scatter beams would land, the after burst dust clouds could potentially kill him and that is one thing he could not do even though he is the dungeon supplier of this Dungeons and Panda store. The Void Butterfly unknowingly found one of the ways to kill Jin in his own domain. But that is assuming that Jin was still around in his store instance. The only problem is that his customers might spread rumours about how Jin could have potentially increased the difficulty of the WARE after artificially decreasing it with Kraft¡¯s appearance. Still, it¡¯s not worth the risk of staying around, especially when death is looming around the corner. ¡°Eh, you know, you could always transform. That should save you more than enough trouble dealing with him.¡± Lynn spoke through the System channel while she was staring at her darling in dilemma, giggling at how confused Jin was in his particular predicament. ¡°Oh right, but I never transformed in front of them before. Won¡¯t that be a problem?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten that this instance is yours and yours only?¡± That was when Jin decided to not care too much and did as Lynn had suggested. After all, having a System Rider on was like a layer of comfort and protection.. (As well as more power.) Chapter 1264 - Farasha -Part 8 Chapter 1264 ¨C Farasha -Part 8 ¡°TRANSFORM!¡± Jin shouted as he already took out his System Belt and transformed into the System Rider despite the field being littered with his customers suffering from the attacks. This time, he merged with Priest Savant, a decently high level adventurer from the Dungeon World who had been turned into a sentient robot. Almost a replica of the Priest Savant in terms of looks, the only difference was Jin¡¯s headgear with a wider visor that was a signature to the System Rider. Other than that, its cloth like armour had been duplicated fully with the power of the living metal, making it a few times stronger than the one the Priest Savant had been using. At the same time, the System had popped up a screen right in front of Jin and it was only with the fusion of the Priest Savant did he realise the plethora of skills at his disposal. ¡°I should be experimenting more with these Savants into the System Rider!¡± Jin said as he pulled out Priest Savant¡¯s unique staff, one that had been decorated with gems of unknown origins, making it already powerful the moment he held on to it. ¡°Area Cleanse!¡± Jin shouted as poured his Maqi through the staff and cast the magic spell without any further hesitation. Most of the Pandarens were able to feel their lungs and body to be somewhat lighter as if a heavy curse had been lifted off their body. It was then, Jin shouted at them to purchase a portable oxygen tank in order to continue the fight. Seeing how the dungeon supplier was able to lift the terrible affliction from the Pandarens, Farasha did not hesitate to use the same skill once more to inflict the same side effects against them. But this time with a slight twist in his attack pattern. Unfortunately, the Void Butterfly did not know that Jin¡¯s System Rider capabilities to support the entire batch of Pandarens were off the charts. The moment Farasha tried to shoot the scatter beams from his butterfly wings, Jin had to cast a large protective dome barrier around himself. The Pandarens instinctively retreated into the dome to hide from the deadly effects of the scatter beams. However, with Farasha adding a new element of a void explosion within his scatter beam attack pattern, the barrier was easily broken upon absorbing a few hits. Yet that was enough for the Pandarens to make a coordinated effort to conjure a counter attack within the barrier. Those that were well versed in the element of the wind, had already teamed up to build up a gust of wind similar to how a cyclone was generated. The moment, the barrier Jin was offering had dissipated from the void explosions, the cyclone was used to deflect the dust particles generated from the scatter beams as well as slowing and divert the scatter beams trajectory. This enabled Jin to create another barrier albeit a little smaller but more concentrated with Maqi to deal with the remaining scatter beams. It then allowed the rest of the Pandarens to charge their chi for the next attack. ¡°Any chance I get to pilot the Mecha-taur again?¡± Bu Dong questioned Jin as he was charging his chi. He was shameless to ask such a question when Jin was busy trying to keep them alive. ¡°Also, this suit is goddamn slick, how the hell did you even have the resources to create such an exclusive armour.¡± ¡°Just focus on charging your chi!¡± Deng Long knew this was not the right time to ask such questions. ¡°I get to be the superhero in my own instance, isn¡¯t that wonderful? Also, Supa Robot Wars did release a notification that they will be having a major patch soon, right? Look forward to it.¡± Jin did not say much afterwards as he too needed to concentrate on moving to phase two the moment he saw the Pandarens charging for the attack. Even without any extra communication among him and his clients, Jin knew that Farasha still had a few tricks under his proverbial sleeve and he was required to protect his Pandarens if they wished to do a proper counter attack. The only problem was whether the counterattack would be useful against it. If he had played enough games in the past, butterflies and dust particles were not entirely new concepts. The past few attacks might have something to do with inhalation of those dust particles but what if Farasha had an attack pattern where all the dust particles needed were to be in contact with the enemy¡¯s skin? Paralysation or even acidic particles that melt the cultivators were possible. Alternatively, he could change into another Savant that specialised in major firepower like how Peppers do stuff and capture Farasha but that would not be exciting for the Pandarens as a WARE event. To keep the excitement up while not spoon feeding them and limiting the resources wasted was a pain in the ass for Jin. He should have just teleported the Void Butterfly in an isolated instance and deal with it. ¡°Just an update, the reception for this WARE has been overwhelmingly positive. More Pandarens are trying to gain access to the current instance but the System has placed a cap to reduce further casualties. Your opinion on the current situation?¡± It was as if the System knew what Jin was thinking once again and leaving him in a bigger dilemma. ¡°Ignore them for now. If this counter attack fails, kick those who died and bring in fresh blood.¡± Jin did not have much in his mind other than focusing on getting this counter attack right. ¡°Very well, the System will place them in a queue as of this moment.¡± The System replied and via the Pandamonium App, it immediately placed a notification to wait for their turn with an extra warning sign that the WARE event might be ending soon. Some of the excited Pandarens had the mood went down a notch but they continued to hope that they would be able to take part in the event. What they can do now was to watch how the counterattack unfold happening right in their phone screens. Chapter 1265 - Power Of The Void Chapter 1265 ¨C Power Of The Void Each and every cultivator that was present in the shop instance were all charged up and with Jin¡¯s signal, all of the Pandarens stormed out of the cyclone that was blocking the view of the Void Butterfly and went straight towards him. And Jin¡¯s signal was no ordinary one as he shot out a blast of shining light with the literal words ¡°charge¡± in Chinese, enabling each Pandaren to rush out with hope and a dash of optimism that they could finally kill the Void Being. All of them were unleashing their very own unique cultivation techniques against the enormous crocodile standing on its hind legs. Farasha did not stay still as he attempted to move out of the way of the attacks. But as the analogy goes, many red ants could also bring down a mighty elephant. The cultivator attacks were emboldened by the fact that each and every one of them was once more being protected with a ¡®chi¡¯ barrier created by Jin. Not many of the cultivators knew that the barrier was made with a mixture of chi and magic powers as they all assumed Jin was a cultivator and not a mage. Thus, Farasha¡¯s retaliation was not less of an issue than Jin had expected it to be. The Cultivators took the WARE event very seriously and fiercely countered the Void Butterfly to the best of their abilities by avoiding all possible scatter beams and timing their attacks so that their cultivation techniques could be enhanced through the fusion of their teammates¡¯ efforts. It was like how Bu Dong and Deng Long had done a combination technique which they had been practising during their downtimes for Supa Robot Wars and it paid off when Deng Long¡¯s wombat air strikes deflected Farasha¡¯s scatter beams and Bu Dong followed up with his fire sword techniques imbued with the power of the Angry Ape. These small but consecutive attacks were somewhat effective in putting the Void Butterfly in his place and even a desperate wave of void explosion from Farasha had been mitigated by Jin¡¯s Priest Savant form. He was honestly not expecting the Priest Savant form to be so effective that it almost put his priest bellator to shame. (Although to be fair, she did not like being a priest as much as she was being a battle monk.) ¡°Master, you do know that I feel offended by your comments.¡± Milk appeared almost instantaneously the moment Jin had protected everyone from another wave of the void explosion. ¡°What? But I did not say anything!¡± Jin suddenly felt that the System had been leaking his thoughts out to Milk. ¡°What do you mean you did not say anything. When you blatantly present your skills like that, it already offends me. I can feel it in my bones that you are implying what a terrible priest Bellator I had been, that you could not trust to call me to do this job for you!!¡± Milk pouted. At that point in time, Farasha who never took his eyes away from Jin immediately saw how he dropped his guard trying to argue with the lady next to him. And so, he instantly shot out a black ray of intensive energy beam towards Jin which eventually became smaller and thinner, as if to avoid detection. Unfortunately, its sneak attack had been blocked by a wide sheet of energy barrier which Milk had already set up the moment she sensed something was off. It was then she boasted how she was still useful. However, what they did not expect was that the void beam did not stop. It started to tunnel through the energy barrier which now brought some attention to the arguing parties. ¡°Stupid butterfly crocodile or whatever. Can¡¯t you see I am trying to have a conversation with my master?¡± Milk said as she then turned the sheet of energy into a U shape horseshoe and the beam suddenly attenuated and was reflected back to Farasha himself, causing a large void explosion on his wings. To their surprise, the attack was extremely effective and this was the first recorded major damage the System had witnessed. All of them came to the conclusion that the Void Monsters¡¯ weakness was their own powers. Without any hesitation, the cultivators took the opportunity to hit the injured pair of wings seeing that there was some sort of black blood oozing out of the area. ¡°System, can you create Void Energy?¡± Jin asked but the System was unable to comply as it needed the Void Being to be captured for it to analyse how the Void Energy works. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I will try to pretend to learn it,¡± Jin said as he was hoping the training in Suzaku¡¯s Endless Battlefield could allow him to imitate it in some way against the Void Being. To everyone¡¯s surprise, including the person who attempted it was shocking to learn that Jin was indeed capable of producing some form of Void Energy, especially when the Panda Silhouette was cultivating some sort of black hole with his bare hands. (while wearing a pair of translucent butterfly wings and a fake crocodile tail which was hanging loosely at his waist) However, it was somehow taking a toll on his Maqi accumulation which should never happen given that he was currently in the System Rider form as the System was also helping Jin to assimilate his chi energies through his entire body. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s not as pitch black as the one the Void Being had used, but I could feel the similarities oozing from it.¡± Milk said as she stood one step away to ensure not to get caught in the crossfire. Farasha saw what was happening and could not believe his eyes. ¡°A mere insect is able to create void energy?! Even though it¡¯s impure, the evidence of void energy is indisputable!¡± Farasha said and knew that if the caster was able to create void energy, there might be a chance that Farasha would die permanently especially now when he has no access to his own personal void source. Hence, the panic. Thinking that he has to conserve some energy for a prolonged fight, Farasha now abandons all possible recourse and decides to focus his entire reserve of energy to stop the caster from completing his void energy spell. However, if he does that, Farasha needs to ignore all the other cultivators and spend his concentration on just Jin alone. For the threat of a Human Void Mage could potentially be dangerous to the existence of all Void Beings. Chapter 1266 - Farasha - Final Chapter 1266 ¨C Farasha ¨C Final ¡°I am not going to waste any more time with you!¡± Jin said as he too felt that Farasha was now afraid of him for some reason. More afraid than angry. And with that declaration, Jin was finally about to step forward until he realised he was still in the Priest Savant form. It was a little anti climatic but the Dungeon Supplier wanted to be as safe as possible so he turned to Milk. ¡°Milk, do me a favour. Do you mind getting the first card from the deck right beside my waist? I told the System to magically reshuffle it so that you should be able to get the card that I wanted.¡± Jin said while still holding on to the orb of unstable void energy which he had been conjuring. ¡°Why? Not enough firepower or something?¡± Milk said as she went closer to Jin and did what she was told. The first card she picked up was also a Savant and it¡¯s a warlock variant. The Priest Bellator then understood that Jin might have better control of the void energy if he was aligned with the warlock variant as compared to the priest variant of a Savant. ¡°How do I activate this damn thing?¡± ¡°You just take the card out from the belt and insert the new one. It¡¯s really pretty simple and foolproof. The System purposely does this so that other people can use it too.¡± Jin said while holding on to the void orb above his head. It was so uncool that some of the Pandarens were secretly taking photos of Jin trying to change his System Rider form especially during the climax of a fight. (Not to mention, Farasha was bewildered by Jin¡¯s actions and it did throw off his focus a little because it really wasn¡¯t the norm.) Meanwhile, some of the Pandarens who were watching the stream believed it was a new gimmick that they could use in the future and thus, this random change form as not just a distraction but a new sort of indirect advertisement. ¡°If you say it that way, you are tempting me to just unplug it from you and use it for myself. I really wonder how the living metal feels like on my skin.¡± Milk said as she managed to take the card out, causing the System Rider to return to its base form and by putting a new one, the System Rider Belt started to make an announcement that he was going to change into Warlock form. ¡°Such blatant copy of the real stuff.¡± One of the Pandarens commented to his friend when they were watching the stream from the ¡®safer¡¯ shop instance. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s unique enough to call it its own, especially when the suit design is pretty cool. Not to mention, he incorporated his monsters. Technically I feel that there shouldn¡¯t be much of a copyright issue. But hey, what do I know about copyright laws?¡± His friend shrugged it off as they were immediately wowed by the new Warlock form. Spikes appeared on Jin¡¯s big ass pauldrons and a few miniature skulls were being pierced by said spikes. A long tattered and yet intricately designed black robe with an extra cape was seen flowing out from the centre of the rider¡¯s transformation. Not to mention, his aura turned slightly greenish and black to the point where the Panda Silhouette above him started to have his eyes glow from bright white to devilish green while maintaining the fake butterfly wings and that improvised crocodile tail. Thankfully, the transformation was not for nought, as Jin could feel that the assistance of the Warlock Savant had indeed kept the orb of Void Energy stable allowing him to send it out as a blast of attack as compared to when he was in the Priest Savant form. The Dungeon Supplier was partially afraid that the void energy could potentially backfire against him due to how unwieldy it was when he first conjured it. That was why he wanted to change into the Warlock Savant variant, hoping it works. And now that it does, Jin did not hesitate to waste any more time. Farasha¡¯s void beam had been accumulating during the entire fiasco as well but this was definitely his last ditch effort as the cultivators in the sidelines had been attacking him nonstop despite the Void Butterfly¡¯s poor attempt at defending by producing a few void butterfly spawns to detract their attention. It was the one and only shot where either Farasha lives to break this accursed barrier and regain access to his personal void source in the open world or he die to this odd caster which kept surprising him with all this unorthodox way of fighting, The void blasts eventually were set off from both sides and to say the explosions were quiet was an understatement when the two void energies clashed against each other. It was so silent that it drowned the battle cries and all the surrounding background noise for a moment that everyone thought they all went deaf. And it was not the end as a streak of blackness suddenly covered the entire field, causing everyone to see nothing, feel nothing and hear nothing. Everyone could not feel their senses at all and when light returned, they all struggled to get their bearings correctly. However, one thing has changed on the battlefield after that sudden blackout for everyone. The Void Menace was not in the store instance at all, hence everyone started to look backwards to see if the other party was still around. ¡°YUP, HE¡¯S OKAY. STILL BREATHING.¡± Milk was holding onto unconscious Jin in his System Rider form and raising a thumbs up for everyone to see. The Pandarens immediately went into celebration mode as the System had also announced the end of the WARE event and started to deposit the rewards based on the contributions done by each and every cultivator. It seemed like everyone could finally take a breather, especially for Jin when he was indirectly being roped into this particular mess which he could have avoided. Chapter 1267 - Aftermath Of The Symposium Incident Chapter 1267 ¨C Aftermath Of The Symposium Incident The aftermath of the entire fiasco was not pretty. Even though pretty much everyone in the convention was saved, there was a major backlash at the committee members in the Dungeon Supplier Symposium. Even the police were scrutinised despite the quick deployment and rather swift resolution of the entire matter. The public voiced their concern how the terrorists were getting ever more daring than ever to hit such a big event and one which was filled with a high level of security. However, the government did not take too much of a hit from the public mainly because the one who suffered the most was the ¡®minister of defence¡¯ He Fei. Since he was captured as a hostage and had been rescued in less than 24 hours, had shown that the public security forces were still effective and deadly against internal threats. (Although the people who were in the know all laugh at such a statement.) He Fei expressed his regrets for the entire situation and also gratitude for the security forces who had risked their lives with everything. (Whether it was fortunate or not, Jin¡¯s name was not being released publicly though he did mention that the help of certain public members had stepped up and performed their civic duty above and beyond what the rest would not have done.) In addition, he did vow to do everything in his power to not let such an incident happen again and in some way, this particular incident had enabled the defence minister and other supporting government officials to draft a proposal to increase their budget for internal security drastically for the upcoming fiscal year. Some insiders even speculated that the proposal could be approved in an emergency council which they are going to hold to review the said proposal. Hence, one would wonder if the implantation of such an important figure in this entire bait and kill operation would be a risky move but ultimately the agenda had been paid off with magnanimous support and Kong Rong finally had the budget to search for the Banned Emperor. And because the Dungeon Supplier Symposium also invited overseas dungeon suppliers as guests, the countries those guests were from had also condemned the terrorist attack and pledged to provide some form of support if China ever needs it. It was a little expected from the foreign ministry point of view but they too had decided to jump on the chance to build additional bridges with said countries. As for Jin, he finally had a good long talk with Farasha asking him about the Void Plane and how he had been summoned into this world. The Void Butterfly was non compliant at first, especially when he had to obey someone that is superiorly inferior to him. Eventually, he dropped his guard when Lynn had allured him with a custom made hamburger that was suitable for his size. (Her experience in handling Mr Derpy and other large sized monsters paid off tremendously.) That burger alone was more than enough to get him to open his mouth and tell Jin how he, like every other race, was in a hierarchy system. He was considered only as a scout and hunter of some sort. Bringing in some dinner for the rest to feast upon. Void Energy as the name implied that the energy comes from being in the void. Emotions were a healthy source of such energy because depriving the said food source of such energy would eventually create Void Energy. Thus, he was wondering why and how Jin could easily create void energy out of nothing. And a huge source of it as well considering how his void energy was able to counter and eventually overwhelm his own concentrated void energy. Granted he was not the strongest of all Void Beings but being a hunter for the Void was a rank not to be scoffed at either. When asked if he were to go missing, would others come to find him, Farasha responded that it was normal for hunters to go missing because they always hunt solo and there are still chances of them disappearing due to a force stronger than them. Still, it was rather uncommon for it to happen and the Void Beings would take note of the area if there were too many disappearances. ¡°That means there are chances for them to come back here?¡± Jin asked and Farasha nodded without much care towards Jin¡¯s question as Lynn¡¯s food occupied his mind more. ¡°If you can eat my burger, does that mean the Void Beings can consume other energy as well? You don¡¯t have to hunt that much, right?¡± Lynn queried. ¡°Hmm. As much as it sounds very sciency, we gain from the loss from the energy conversion, but we do not need much to survive to begin with. So these burgers are fine although pure void energy consumed is still the best way to get by.¡± Farasha said as he swallowed the last bit of the giant burger. ¡°Ah¡­interesting. So you are living the reverse of us.¡± Kraft was there to hear the Void¡¯s side of the story since this was the first time someone communicated properly with them. Most instances were purely life and death scenarios. ¡°You could say that. It¡¯s a little paradoxical but we get by.¡± Farasha said as he looked towards Lynn, obviously hinting based on the body language that he still wanted another one. Lynn smiled and nodded his head, telling him to wait for more while the rest continued their chat on how to utilise Farasha now that they got a heavy hitter that could potentially relieve some of their problems during the invasion of the Demon Rats. After all, that was mainly the agenda for Jin to have his attention on to ensure that PandaVerse Festival would be a success. For now, he was hoping to get more insight on the latest monster¡¯s combat abilities since the System had given Farasha access to his void source once again. An obvious weakness that he needed connection to the void but a strength capable of inflicting untold chaos when properly tapped. However, just as Jin was in the midst of discussing, Kong Rong sent a message that warranted the Dungeon Supplier¡¯s immediate attention as well.. Jin could only assume that it had to do with the aftermath of the entire Symposium incident. Chapter 1268 - Recognition For Jins Efforts Chapter 1268 ¨C Recognition For Jin¡¯s Efforts ¡°Hey, Jin. How are you feeling?¡± I heard from one of my agents that you had managed to dispose of one of those monsters that the Banned Emperor had summoned in my absence. You even made it into some promotional event for your store though I am receiving some intel that your accountant isn¡¯t too happy about it..¡± ¡°Sadly, that¡¯s the case. And yes to all accounts. Guess that you have eyes and ears both inside and outside the shop. Sometimes, I am not too sure whether it was the best of choice to include you into my company.¡± ¡°Too bad, whether you like it or not, I am already part of your gang. Unless the System decides to brainwash me and I will be stuck with investigating the empty portion of my memory.¡± ¡°Sheesh, are you saying that no matter what, you will still come to me?¡± ¡°Be it a good thing or a bad thing, that¡¯s for you to decide down the line.¡± Kong Rong said as his voice started to get serious. ¡°What manner of monster did they summon?¡± Jin quickly summarised whatever information he had garnered from Farasha and it certainly gave the State Security Agent to furrow his eyebrows hard. (Jin could probably feel it from the tone of his voice too.) ¡°That is not a good sign. Well, I mean that¡¯s great that you now possibly have a countermeasure against Void Beings, but that does not bore well for the rest of China. Much alone, the rest of the world. I am not entirely happy that they are only targeting us since the US and Europe be like ¡®Good riddance, there is a pest in their backyard.¡¯ And I am telling you, there are enough rumours going around that all these are backed by the CIA. Even more so with the appearance of the Void Beings. There is no way they are able to get something this sophisticated without having some wealthy and knowledgeable allies or sources.¡± Kong Rong said and Jin could know that he might had been in some hard hitting meetings which demanded him to resolve the matter as soon as possible. ¡°I am guessing they are going to pass that revised Internal Security Bill in the emergency cabinet meeting very soon?¡± Jin tried to console Kong Rong because he knew that would mean he would have less time for the Top State Agent to be at his behest and even less time for this man to enjoy the dungeons as the mysterious Mr Know It All. One could already reminiscent all the times he idled in Jin¡¯s store just to make sure the last remaining Panda Clan member would not do anything to threaten public security. ¡°Heh. Speaking about that Internal Security Bill. I could say that all your contributions had not gone unrecognised.¡± Kong Rong¡¯s tone suddenly changed for the better as if all that issues he had previously was gone with the wind and the perkiness in his voice felt ominous to Jin. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Now Jin was the one starting to feel some headaches rising up. ¡°The Minister of Defence would like to meet up with you physically to speak to you, the new rising Royal Zodiac Panda Lord. Your ruckus in the Tiger Estate, the killing of the Oompa whatever that monster name is, and now your assistance in breaking down the dimensional instance barrier which greatly moved the rescue timeline. One could say that you had been slogging out hard while the rest of the Veteran Zodiac Heads merely watched how the situations had unfolded.¡± ¡°In short, I earn some brownie points? But I thought every other Zodiac Heads would have hated me and did anything to stop me from growing bigger.¡± Jin replied having the impression that he would be ostracised. ¡°Hence, the meeting with the Defence Minister would yield you the chance and opportunity to talk to the other Zodiac Heads. It¡¯s a meeting to discuss the ongoing events and see how you had the fortune¡­or misfortune to interact with the Banned Emperors, they might see you in a different light.¡± ¡°You mean passing all the shit and responsibilities on me in case things go south because I am the youngest and ¡®newest¡¯ member of the Royal Zodiac Group.¡± Jin sighed but Kong Rong corrected him almost immediately. ¡°You might be right, they will throw you that shitty stuff to do, but that¡¯s the whole point. Jin, you aren¡¯t going to earn anyone¡¯s trust and cooperation just by being the hero all day long. Sure, you can leave or not join the meeting, but that does not accomplish anything.¡± ¡°Yes, I know that and I am not denying that becoming a new up and rising Lord would. I- I just have much on my plate too. ¡± Jin¡¯s reply calmed Kong Rong down a little since it was relatable. ¡°Hmm, still I will advise you to go. Vouching for your protection means that the Dragon Clan¡¯s pride and face is on the line if you decide not to appear. Just take it as the perfect opportunity to meet with the other Zodiac Heads and gauge their interest in you. Needless to say, they would definitely be hiding knives behind their smiles but at least you get to see some of their motives¡­or maybe enjoy their ridicule towards the Tiger Head. He made your life a pain, at least get some laughs from it.¡± Kong Rong tried his best to convince Jin but it looks like he was trying way too hard. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. A meeting with the Defence Minister also meant a possible business opportunity. I would not pass such an opportunity to possibly get army contracts even if it is just a temporary one.¡± ¡°Then you better strike a hard bargain, that guy is craftier than Kraft.¡± Just as his name was being mentioned, Kraft already bulged into the call even though it was just a one to one conversation. And how did he do that? By physically pushing Jin away from the phone aka snatching it and asking Kong Rong whether he could come along with his master for the meeting. Although the Dragon State Agent would like to say no, he felt that bringing a veteran right hand man no matter how crazy he was might actually be a kind of insurance that Jin does not screw up badly. And even if Kraft did, Kong Rong knew that he did it for the benefit of Jin but at the same time for the death of him too.. It might be a show worthy to watch in such a dull serious meeting. Chapter 1269 - Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 1 Chapter 1269 ¨C Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 1 The day which Jin dreaded came all too soon when Kraft happily appeared right in front of him, reminding him early in the morning that he had to attend the meeting with the Zodiac Heads by accepting the Defence Minister¡¯s official invitation. Most if not all the Royal Zodiac Heads had already travelled to Beijing for this important meeting at the Pinnacle Hotel, a highly recognised establishment with its reputation known for its neutrality against all the Royal Zodiac Clans. Everyone had already checked in with the exception of Jin who had not arrived nor even booked a room at the hotel. Many if not all of them were not aware of Jin¡¯s capabilities and merely assumed that this particular new Panda Lord did not have the guts to do what it takes to meet with them and the defence minister. Some even gossiped that he was not worthy to even sit on the same pedestal as them if he could not even come for this particular meeting. ¡°You guys judged him too harshly.¡± Kong Rong tried to make some small talk with a few of the Zodiac Heads and their companions. After all, he was accompanying his father too since he was going to inherit the title to be the new Royal Zodiac Dragon¡¯s Head in years to come. ¡°He will come, I am sure of it.¡± ¡°I am more interested in your reasoning and actions since you have decided to bring legitimacy to this long lost panda clan.¡± One of the Royal Zodiac Heads asked and yet before he got an answer, Kong Rong had to answer a phone call and requested himself to be away from the current conversation. ¡°Xie Jin. Where the heck are you right now?¡± Kong Rong whispered in a hush but rather angry tone. (Probably more annoyed than frustrated.) ¡°The meeting is about to start in less than a few minutes since the Defence Minister had already arrived.¡± ¡°Ehhhhh, I have actually reached the Pinnacle Hotel, but I am blocked by a buttload of guards¡­? They are not letting me in at all even though I said that I am here for a meeting.¡± Jin had already teleported to a nearby secluded area, a few dozen metres away from the hotel but he had not noticed that he was within the defensive surveillance perimeter and thus an alert was sent out to meet this unidentified threat. When he was near the front door of Pinnacle Hotel, guards of various high cultivation levels had already surrounded him and nearly pinned him down if not for his trusty ¡®sidekick¡¯ who created a chi barrier around Jin, allowing the dungeon supplier to give a call to the person responsible for all this. (For once, Kraft was in a non killing mode which greatly relived Jin¡¯s raising headache.¡± ¡°Gosh, you sure know how to make an entrance.¡± Kong Rong said as he peered outside the window and saw the situation was as what Jin had described. At the same time, a few security officers were reporting to the Zodiac Head of this current predicament and Kong Rong had to step in. But before he could say anything, the Defence Minister He Fei was already walking through the doors of the conference hall asking what the ruckus was all about. ¡°Some fellow decided to barge into the hotel by skipping all the guard checkpoints and decided to openly walk through the front gates. The guards would take care of the trespasser.¡± Yuan Ba, the Royal Zodiac Tiger Head spoke out since he was the one who had the police under his control. ¡°The police are getting incompetent, look at all the past recent incidents. So much trouble had occurred and yet the police were either late or nowhere to be found until the incidents were more or less under control.¡± Mu Ji, the Royal Zodiac Head for the Rooster Clan as well as the family to oversee the skies of China. From air defence to handling the majority of stocks of China Airlines and their subsidiaries. A number of the smaller local airlines all needed the support of the Rooster Clan to get clearance to fly the skies. In short, they monopolised the ceilings of China and is considered as one of the few greater Royal Zodiac clans in the region. ¡°If you had stricter control of your immigration as well as better intelligence, then perhaps, these terrorists would not even have come in or maybe contraband items would not have been introduced.¡± Yuan Ba gave a measly throwback comment since he was trying to keep his anger in check with the presence of the Defence Minister but the latter cut in and demanded the current situation to be solved before they start the meeting. However as he glanced around the conference room at the edge of the table, he noticed someone was missing and his secretary reported to him that the Panda Lord was not around. ¡°Minister He Fei, I ask for your apologies to interject but the person they are handling right now is none other than the missing Panda Lord.¡± Kong Rong had decided there was no other time for pleasantries and He Fei gave him a curious look as if demanding for extra answers. ¡°If you allow me to leave temporarily and pick him up for the conference meeting, I would appreciate the kind gesture.¡± ¡°Kong Rong, you know that in this room, we are more or less equals. Do not have to be too formal with me.¡± He Fei smiled slowly while turning to his secretary to tell the guards to stand down immediately. And even though it was an order to be decimated, the security officers who were actually standing at the side of the conference room (and being ignored like sunflowers on the wall) instantly acknowledged the Defence Minister¡¯s orders and went out of the room escorting Kong Rong out.. At the same time, He Fei¡¯s secretary also proceeded to signal a server in the room to at least provide some light refreshments to the entire group while they waited (reluctantly) for the arrival of the last Royal Zodiac Head. Chapter 1270: Extra- Tiny Dragon, Crafty Fox and The Lazy Panda Chapter 1270: Extra- Tiny Dragon, Crafty Fox and The Lazy Panda ¡°You know, being fashionably late is quite a last century kind of thing.¡± Kong Rong said when he met Jin at the front gates as the security officers who heard the Defence Minister¡¯s orders already called off the warning. ¡°I did not expect the guards to not recognise me. I thought you know at least they know who their guests were considering this is supposed to be a place for Zodiac Heads to confer,¡± Jin shrugged his shoulders as if he had nothing to do with this. ¡°Besides, if they had not stopped me, I would have arrived on time.¡± ¡°He is just purely irritated that he had to waste time in this stupid meeting.¡± Kraft yawned too as he took great pains to restrain himself from killing all these guards. ¡°Perhaps you can include me too. I cannot believe I have to join this awfully boring situation. But hey, seeing you panic a little seems like there will be some fun.¡± Kraft added as he eyed the Dragon State Agent. ¡°Is that Dragon Girl with you too?¡± ¡°No, Ryuli had some other business to attend to. Not all State Agents are as free as you thought.¡± Kong Rong said as someone passed ID tags to both Jin and Kraft. They looked like empty blank white cards but they had the necessary access needed to take the elevator. ¡°Meh, I thought she follows you almost everywhere you go when it comes to official business. You know, your little protege or something. Anyways, I have more things to complain about. Why do we have such boring plain cards while yours had your picture imprinted and looked so stylish? Kraft grumbled in the lift and Kong Rong could feel that this particular lift ride might take an eternity. ¡°Because you two are supposed to be booked in last night and not waltz through the defensive perimeter early in the morning when it was supposed to be swept clean of threats.¡± ¡°The PandaVerse Festival is proving to be more troublesome than I had expected. By the way, have you gotten my request about that Dungeon Supplier guy you guys caught? Would like to have a word with him if it¡¯s not possible to release him.¡± Jin asked and Kraft smirked which caused Kong Rong to feel a bad chill running down his spine.o ¡°Kraft, no funny ideas of trying to get him to Jin like some prison break action movie.¡± Kong Rong commented and Kraft already started replying defensively with a laugh. ¡°I would never dare!¡± Kraft said and suddenly Kong Rong felt this might possibly be one of the few longest meetings in his life. ¡°I will see what I can do but currently, I have no excuses to allow you to even have access looking at him. Also, before you say anything, I know your abilities to turn enemies into allies but it would be best if you use that ability in that meeting because potentially everyone in there is all about to be very ¡®friendly¡¯ with you the moment you step in.¡± Kong Rong sighed as he side eyed Jin to see his reaction and yet the little Panda Lord was partially asleep just from standing in the lift. ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± Kong Rong said to himself wondering if he made the right choice forcing Jin to come for this meeting. The lift door finally opened and as he was about to walk out of it, he suddenly clicked something was wrong. A quick turn of his head and he realised what was bugging him all this time. ¡°Wait a minute. Why are the two of you -wait never mind about you Kraft, your fashion sense is too edgy- cough. Jin, why are you in such casual wear?!¡± Kong Rong quickly pressed the ¡®close¡¯ button despite ushers waiting to receive them so they could escort the group to the conference hall. One of them even tried to press the lift button, thinking they had accidentally closed the lift doors but he immediately retracted his hand when he felt a ferocious aura emanating within the lift. ¡°Huh, What? I already wore a polo shirt and long pants. Not enough?¡± Jin replied to Kong Rong as he involuntarily yawned. ¡°Are you fucking kidding me right now?¡± Kong Rong said before using his thoughts to connect to the System. ¡°System, I¡¯m disappointed that you-¡° ¡°The suits are in their storage devices but they refused to wear them, citing the need to reach the place on time.¡± The System stated and Kong Rong felt like he is a father trying to take care of two kindergarten school kids. He instantly pressed the one level down and he sternly told them to follow him to the nearest corridor leading to a series of hotel rooms. Thankfully, one of the rooms was currently being cleaned and Kong Rong barged in, showing his conference badge that he needed to use the washroom for a moment with the other two with him. The cleaner was stunned by their sudden forced entry and could only nod her head as Kong Rong kept shouting expletives at the both of them while they reluctantly changed to their suits. Both were wearing nothing significantly special, just a black suit and white shirt with matching leather shoes with a black tie. There was nothing screaming Panda Clan from the two of them but Kong Rong was already satisfied they were in their correct set of clothes. He then dragged the two of them out unwillingly and back to the lift where Kraft had decided to bring out his long trusty coat¡­ only to be confiscated by Kong Rong. Obviously, that reaction annoyed the Fox and he started to emit his aura, only to be met with the very same resistance from Kong Rong. It was an understatement to say that their clashing aura could be felt by the entire Pinnacle Hotel as people on the ground floor in their defensive perimeter positions could also feel that menacing aura. If not for the Royal Zodiac Heads familiar with Kong Rong¡¯s aura, they might have thought that there was an attack pending within the Hotel itself. Still, the aura that was clashing against Kong Rong was something that perked up all the Heads, as they knew it was no ordinary high level cultivator that could produce such a chi aura. ¡°Just knock it off already¡­¡± Jin yawned as he went into the lift and now told the two to hurry up. ¡°I have other things to settle after this.¡± Chapter 1271: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 2 Chapter 1271: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 2 As they finally reached the top floor once more, the ushers were already sweating buckets from the outburst of chi from the two high level cultivators. They were standing as still as they could and only showing the way because they knew that if they moved, their legs would give way and that would cost embarrassment (Possibly the loss of their jobs too for not being professional.) Unfortunately, one of them eventually fell to the ground as he realised that his legs could not take it anymore. Everyone in the room held back their breath as they did not know how the trio who entered the room could react to this unprofessional behaviour. The floor manager even thought of opening his mouth to beg for forgiveness but his mouth just simply could not move as the tallest among them stared at him as if he could pinpoint who was the person responsible for this entire floor. However, Kong Rong let out a quiet cough and Kraft looked away almost instantaneously while the people guarding the doors opened it as soon as the trio were in sight. They were barely keeping their wits together and also tried to avoid eye contact even though they were as curious as they were scared. Jin yawned again before slapping his face a little to wake himself up as they walked through the doors, knowing that there would be another trial he had to face. And sadly, the first person he saw was none other than Yuan Ba at the edge of the conference table, looking irritated at him and so did the other Zodiac Heads. He presumed that he was not only late but also the outburst of chi which made them uncomfortable. But even before he could open his mouth, Kong Rong took the centre stage and introduced Jin and Kraft to the restless group of figureheads (quite literally.) ¡°Apologies for the tardiness. We were not exactly informed of the procedures and we had failed to ask Kong Rong on how to proceed with this entire meeting. Did not know there were such stringent security protocols in place and many other erm¡­ guidelines to follow¡± Jin bowed slightly to show some sincerity in his apology but the Zodiac Heads were not buying it. Of course, why would they trust this new Lord who had no Royal upbringing at all? ¡°Hence, I asked that you all be so kind as to accept my apologies with this as your breakfast if you all have not had any,¡± Jin said while he opened his storage watch to take out the items he wished to present to the entire group. ¡°It is fine. We already had our refreshments. Do not tarry the real agenda of this meeting.¡± Yuan Ba said with an annoyed look but someone interjected the moment Jin took out the very first item. A small steaming basket full of Xiao Long Bao or also known as soup dumplings. ¡°Now this is something even more appealing than that ridiculous miniature rectangular sandwich that was given to us.¡± A man with an enormous beer belly stood up as he saw the steam basket still piping hot. ¡°Zhu Tai Fang. Head of the Royal Zodiac Pig Head. I am normally disinclined with eating food that is not associated with my clan¡¯s restaurant but the moment you take that out, it¡¯s releasing an abnormal amount of chi and aroma which immediately catches my attention. Defence Minister, I understand that we have lots of things to discuss but having a terribly poor breakfast is not good for the brain and the soul. Not to mention, it seems everyone is in a foul mood. I suggest we partake in his apologies and then continue on with the current meeting.¡± ¡°How do we know that he did not poison the food?¡± Yuan Ba was definitely still feeling sore from the aftermath of losing a few of his important territories. ¡°I am here. There is nothing much to worry about. And Tiger, poisoning the entire group of Zodiac Heads? You have such wild imaginations that I would never think of in this lifetime.¡± A rather well dressed middle aged lady said with her arms crossed. It was apparent she was in favour of eating a sumptuous breakfast before the meeting. ¡°But dear Sirs and Madams, if it pleases you, we can release our breakfast itinerary at this moment-¡± One of the many vice managers had begun to voice out but Tai Fang literally snorted. ¡°Please, I am kind of sick of eating such substandard food every time I have to visit this place.¡± ¡°But Head Zhu, we had employed the best of the best chefs from your clan. There should not be-¡± Before the vice manager was able to finish his sentence, Tai Fang had already materialised his personal pair of chopsticks and spoon to pick up the piping hot xiao long bao from the steam basket. ¡°Oh my¡­ This is exquisite. The skin of the bun is translucent to the point I can see the fillings when I bring it close to my mouth but yet retain its beauty from afar. It can not only hold the weight of the ingredients within it and does not break that easily when pinching it from the top.¡± Tai Fang said as he took a quick breath in. ¡°The soup¡­ the smell is not an ordinary recipe.¡± Tai Fang immediately placed the first xiao long bao in his mouth and as he crushed it from within, he could feel the umami rich soup pouring out of his mouth and pulsating through his entire body. ¡°The minced pork¡­is equally fresh, and I cannot believe a single ingredient within the soup could change the flavour immensely, wait no. It should have been boiled for at least a few days before achieving such ¡ª Where did you get such an amazing basket of Xiao Long Bao?¡± Tai Fang with his godly tongue due to his Royal Zodiac Pig Cultivation was able to discern almost every single ingredient within that small Xiao Long Bao. He was amazed by the amount of work that was put in, significantly way more than the chefs he ever trained. Even as ¡®simple¡¯ as a Xiao Long Bao, he could already feel the years of dedication and training being put into this product and all he wanted was another piece to be placed into his mouth so he could relive the delight. Not to mention, the chi eluded in this small dumpling was way more than he could have ever thought it was possible and it undoubtedly revitalised him. Seeing how the Head of Royal Zodiac Pig, a critical appraiser of food, was recognising Jin¡¯s apology meal, the rest started to feel their stomach rumbling at the sight of it and saliva sneakily drooling out of their mouths. ¡°It¡¯s made by my head chef in Dungeons and Pandas. I have more than enough dim sum dishes for everyone and even Chinese tea made by her.¡± Jin said as he pulled more of the steam baskets out of his storage watch. Defence Minister He Fei also could not resist after smelling the rich aroma coming from the steam baskets even though he was at the far end of the conference table and admitted that a good breakfast would be useful for everyone. Thus, the Royal Zodiac Heads and their companions slowly but surely started to crowd around Jin for the food. Even that annoyed tiger. Chapter 1272: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 3 Chapter 1272: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 3 ¡°Jin, it¡¯s best if you bring all of this to the meeting,¡± Lynn said as she hollered for her boyfriend when he was about to depart with Kraft. ¡°Why? I am going there as a participant, not some delivery guy,¡± Jin said and Lynn smacked his head hard for not being able to comprehend the situation he was in. ¡°You did not bother to do anything with regards to the meeting and you wish to show up at the very last minute? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s high time you gain some brownie points from all those higher up from you? Do you really want them to think that the Panda Lord is some young adult who did not respect any of their rules?¡± Lynn pouted and Jin quietly receive the scolding. She was not as fierce when they were mere boss and employee but her concern for Jin was well thought out. ¡°I had prepared this for the past few hours with time dilution magic. Keep them in the special System storage compartment of your watch.¡± Lynn said to Jin as she wiped her hands and recounted the number of steam baskets and trays he was about to bring for the meeting. Her Sub System assured her that everything had been accounted for and would bill Jin if he did not return all the dishes. ¡°I do not care if they are dirty or not, be sure to bring them back. Those bamboo steam baskets are not easy to come by. They are made from Grade 11 bamboo which the System had been cultivating in the Werejackals farm. Currently, they are considered as limited goods so you better bring them back.¡± ¡°Why use such expensive baskets?! Also, you want me to time freeze the food is just-¡± ¡°Just listen to me for this once. If you do not think it¡¯s helping you after you serve them, you can complain to me all you want when you reach home.¡± Lynn interjected while throwing a piece of chopstick towards Kraft as his fingers were getting very fidgety especially when the smell of the dim sum combined had been nearly intolerable for his mouth to control. ¡°Eat it later or else no food for you for the next one week.¡± Lynn sternly said and he quietly received his punishment when the chopstick flew towards Kraft¡¯s fingers. Way too close for comfort when he could see the chopstick was barely a millimetre away from his index finger. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°Thank god for Lynn¡¯s cooking¡­ Looks like I really owe you big time.¡± Jin thought to himself as everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food presented to them and kept pressing for more information about Jin¡¯s employee. That was where Kraft had debuted his charismatic self and fully praised Lynn right in front of the entire group without any reserves. If it was about Jin, he would probably have added some snarky remarks into it but Lynn had nothing short of compliments from Kraft. (In fact, he was being rather genuine with his comments and no one had detected a single lie from him at all.) Kong Rong even chipped in some of the experiences he had from Lynn¡¯s cooking and he said that Jin¡¯s store was no ordinary dungeon supplier shop at all. While the rest had sent in their spies to poke around Jin¡¯s store, they could not believe what their followers had said until they personally heard it from the horse¡¯s mouth. ¡°I too wished to compliment Jin¡¯s store as it had been nothing but a wonderful experience.¡± A very familiar female voice was heard within the crowd and Jin was totally surprised to see her. (Perhaps, her father¡¯s presence and the need to please the crowd was more pressurising to notice her.) ¡°Yang Ling. Do not say anymore.¡± Yuan Ba stared at his daughter but she was adamant to voice her opinion. After all her father had done to suppress Jin, she was not willing to let the matter slide easily. This entire meeting is also the one and only opportunity for Jin to make allies and not more enemies if everything was done right. If her father was able to let go of the centuries old grudge between the main zodiac team and the Panda Clan, they might be able to do something extraordinary together especially when the Panda Lord had been climbing up the ladder of influence pretty quickly. And she also supported him regardless even though Yang Ling had known that she had no chance to be with him when Lynn gave a friendly call to her asking for help. In a way, she was returning a favour Jin never owned and was doing it to support her dear friend too. The Panda Lord had unanimously helped the tiger princess at her lowest and she will do the same for him when the situation arises. And that situation is now, as she told everyone how the help of Jin was crucial to the success she was enjoying at the moment. Kong Rong too did not hesitate to take the opportunity to reiterate the achievements Jin had done for the country in order to show that the Panda Lord was here to assist the Royal Zodiac Clans as well as protect the country¡¯s sovereignty against both internal and external threats. If anything, Pig Head Tai Fang had unknowingly sided with Jin now that he knows he might finally have a cooking rival he could look forward to. The rest of the group were partially swayed by the stories Jin¡¯s friends had said and even Tiger Head Yuan Ba had reluctantly admitted indirectly that Jin was a league of his own as his General had praised him for the efforts against the Banned Emperor¡¯s induced Monster Horde. ¡°Ah, that. Yes, my own general too had many compliments for him on that particular incident. For that, I personally would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Those men who could live and breathe easily right now were because of your efforts. They repeatedly said that they owe their lives to you and would assist you in any endeavour in a heartbeat. Even if I were to give orders to kill you, they will at the very least disobey it once. This is how much my men respected you for your heroics for that particular day.¡± Se Chang Chang, the Head of the Royal Zodiac Snake said as he savoured a Char Siew Bao. (Pork Bun) ¡°While the food is nice, honestly the compliments are making me sick.¡± Royal Zodiac Rat Head, Shu Tiao Xiao, grumbled and everyone knew that like Yuan Ba, he had suffered financially because of the loss of King¡¯s Monster as well as his Triad Boss. However, as bitter he was, he knew that it was somewhat inevitable since he knew his lackey¡¯s personality. ¡°Right, we have enough idle chit chat. Thank you for the food, Jin. It had been refreshing to hear about you from these people and it made me understand you a little more.¡± He Fei smiled as he raised his hand to shake with Jin for the impromptu sumptuous meal. Now, the meeting has truly begun. Chapter 1273: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 4 Chapter 1273: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 4 With everyone having their stomachs full of good food, their moods too had changed for the better as they took their seats at the conference table. In the meantime, Jin had quickly transferred the remaining food items onto plates and quickly kept the steam baskets before Lynn haunts him for the rest of his entire life. ¡°Hey, sit down already.¡± Yang Ling sent a telepathic message to Jin as everyone including He Fei was patiently waiting for him to sit but at the same time, they seemed like they were biding their time to attack him verbally as well. Between the wrath of the 12 Zodiac Heads and Lynn, he believed the latter would be more of a devastation compared to these people. Still, he decided to fasten the pace by activating his Maqi and using a pinch of Green Panda Wind Energy to move all the steam baskets closer to him while a bit of Pink Panda Psychic Energy so that he could pop the remaining dim sums into the plates he prepared earlier. This quick and small display of ¡®chi¡¯ surprised the group as they saw two different elements in action at the same time which made them ponder what Jin had been hiding behind that Panda Title of his. At the same time, Jin could feel the curious looks from all the Zodiac Heads, and even without saying, the Panda Lord knew that they were dying to know what skills he had. Should he sugarcoat the truth? Or give them a blatant lie? Perhaps a half truth might do him good since they would be working with him even more in the near future¡­assuming they were going to be allies in this crucial time of killing the Banned Emperor lackeys for good. ¡°For now, you should not even speak anything.¡± Kraft who could see the situation unfold said through the System Channel. He did not trust these telepathic messages since everyone around here is a high level cultivator. Who knows one of them could intercept and decrypt whatever messages that were given to anyone within this table. ¡°Get to your seat and prepare yourself. There might not be any blows exchanged today but words are as deadly as swords in this era.¡± ¡°Never see you this uptight before,¡± Jin said to Kraft through the Channel as he thanked the group out loud for waiting instead of the usual humble approach in apologising to people. ¡°Oh, I would love to play mind games with them. Very glad to do so but you are involved and your impression in this entire meeting pertains to your survival. As your contracted bellator, I do have a duty to keep you alive.¡± ¡°You barely keep me alive in most circumstances.¡± Jin retorted and Kraft was laughing from within while keeping a very stoic face. ¡°Still breathing, considered job done.¡± Even though it was not shown physically, Jin could practically hear Kraft¡¯s sinister laughter from the comment. ¡°Thank you once more for coming and making time from your busy schedule.¡± He Fei let out a quick sigh knowing today¡¯s agenda might be an unprecedented milestone that he had never foreseen himself. ¡°As you all have known, our topic today would be none other than the total annihilation of the Banned Emperor Uprising Faction.¡± ¡°As you all have known, they had been a group of terrorists who had been annoying us since the dawn of time but recently, their actions had proven to be more than a nuisance.¡± He Fei explained while Kong Rong, who knew that Jin had zero gasp of the current history, quickly gave a breakdown to Jin via the System. He already prepared infographics which the System promptly showed Jin while He Fei spoke of the threats in summary. ¡°I support the eradication of the Banned Emperor. They are hiding in our midst and even taking up high level positions.¡± Shu Tiao Xiao, the Rat Head, voiced his support. ¡°Like the bodyguards that were supposed to protect you. To think that they were to be trusted to keep you safe but they betrayed our trust so deeply that anyone here could be an imposter, including this kid that just comes in.¡± ¡°How can we be so sure this Panda kid is not the Banned Emperor¡¯s lackey?¡± Yuan Ba chipped into the argument knowing that this was his opportunity to attack him and everyone was already whispering and even had doubts. ¡°Dad, -erm Tiger Head Yuan Ba. I suppose you had not forgotten the time the Banned Emperor had attacked me and you? Who was the one who saved us?¡± Yang Ling queried out loud, knowing that her Father¡¯s hatred was clouding his judgement right now. ¡°Maybe he just did it to ensure that he would be allowed to join our ranks. Infiltrate us as to how those bodyguards did. Imagine the horrors if Minister He Fei is not alive and breathing at this moment. It will be a blow to the country and a win to the uprising.¡± Tiao Xiao exclaimed, hoping that some other Heads and hopefully He Fei will fuel their doubts for this new guy. ¡°After all, it is a small price to pay to join us. You had seen how they tried to sacrifice their own people just for the resurrection of the Banned Emperor. They all blindly believed that in doing so, they would be revived again and serve under him as eternal servants.¡± ¡°I had already done an extensive background check on Jin as much as I would have done to any of you. In fact, we tripled it and spend a reasonable amount of resources to cover all bases to ensure he has a clean slate as the State Security Department had taken this very seriously. Else, My team and the rest of the State Security department would not have unanimously granted Jin and his clan members protection against the rest of the Royal Zodiac Clans. Unless you have evidence that proves otherwise, it would be best to keep your mouth shut about such accusations.¡± Kong Rong said, hoping to wrap this wild rumour mill up before it spirals out of control. ¡°You seriously think we can believe you Kong Rong? Our spies had indicated that you had been working rather closely with Jin for the past few months. Sightings of you in his Dungeon Supplier store are all over our database. How can we be sure that YOU are not part of the Banned Emperor terrorists? Or did he already sway your allegiance to the Banned Emperor and not the betterment of our country?¡± Tiao Xiao responded by bashing the truth out for everyone to hear. ¡°Enough!¡± Jin finally shouted out from the corner of the table to stop all the gossip. He stood up and Kraft could already see what was going on in Jin¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t. You are hindering yourself if you do this. There is no point making empty promises.¡± Kraft advised through the System Channel. ¡°If I do not lead this situation, it might spiral even more out of hand. Besides, you know, we can always improvise.¡± Jin said through the channel as he walked to the middle of the Conference room. ¡°Good luck then, let me enjoy the show.¡± Kraft decided to let Jin handle it and see how it unfolds. Besides, his job was to keep him alive. Nothing about not allowing his master to suffer. Chapter 1274: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 5 Chapter 1274: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 5 ¡°I could tell you all my background story of how my parents were brutally killed by the Banned Emperor Assassins just as I was a newborn baby. There should be police records of it years ago assuming none of them had been deemed classified, archived or worse still, scrapped.¡± Jin said thinking none of them will care with the exception of Yang Rou Xiang, the Head of Royal Zodiac Sheep as well as the lady who said that she could cure everyone of their ailments if Jin had poisoned the food that they ate previously. ¡°No, explain more. Especially how they were found dead.¡± Rou Xiang queried even though this was delaying the meeting even further. (And that is why meetings are never productive¡­) Even though almost everyone in the room believed that they needed to know a little more about Jin, they did not really care about him much until the Royal Zodiac Sheep Head had decided to probe further. ¡°From what I heard from my grandfather before he passed away, they were killed almost beyond recognition and their Dantian cores had been shattered. The same technique was almost used to assassinate Tigers when they came to my shop.¡± Jin said and Rou Xiang sighed. ¡°Although I could not vouch for him, he spoke the truth of the young couple. I was one of the professionals called to the scene and it left me bewildered on the killer¡¯s modus operandi.¡± Rou Xiang said. ¡°We later learned that that young couple was the last few surviving members of Panda Clan and possibly the up and coming new Panda Lord. Little did we know that they had already given birth to a young child.¡± ¡°Because former General Ming had been rather secretive and protective of his only grandson¡¯s identity.¡± Se Chang Chang, the Snake Head remarked. ¡°I worked with him in the army and he kept such a secret for a long time even though we were once close colleagues. We all assumed the grandson was adopted based on how he told the story. And here is the flesh and blood of the last standing Panda Clan member.¡± ¡°Still doesn¡¯t mean he could not have betrayed us in the near future. If Jin had been amicable, he would have found ways to cohabit with us rather than killing our men.¡± Shu Tiao Xiao exclaimed, and Jin looked at him only to remember how Wo De Tian was so ruthless in destroying the Tiangong Shopping District. What the Rat Head had poured his woes on was clearly the pot calling the kettle black ¡°Not to mention how he flexed his muscles to cripple both of my sons in broad daylight during the festive Chinese New Year. How much humiliation one can take from this rebel Lord is rather limited.¡± Yuan Ba chipped in and Yang Ling could see her father was merely fueling the flames of accusation once more. Defence Minister He Fei and a few other Zodiac Heads felt the need to keep quiet to see how Jin would react in such a situation. As long as he wears the mantle of the Panda Lord, he would need to present himself as worthy to be sitting at the adult¡¯s table even though some of the adults were behaving like children. It is just an unwritten rule to ascend as a Royal Zodiac Head. ¡°Business is business, Head Shu, I lament your loss but if you cannot get over the fact that your Triad Boss is unable to beat a game which he had started, that is not my concern. And Head Hu. The Heavens had overseen the fight, fair and square while the rest of my companions fought against overwhelming numbers without killing a single one of your men. Injuries aside, they are all still alive. I might have offended you but you were the one who poked the hornet¡¯s nest. Therefore, I asked that the both of you stop being such sore losers. Admit your defeat and move on.¡± Jin replied and Kraft could already hear a few subtle chuckles and slight smirks on their faces. Oh, the entertainment was worth it and he was glad to be here. The two Heads were stunned and speechless for a while since they assumed that their snarky comments would infuriate Jin with all the accusations and subsequently put him in place but it seemed like the opposite had occurred. Yet, the Panda Lord was not done and he continued to attack the two of them by offering them an olive bunch. ¡°Move on and be my ally in the fight against the Banned Emperor. I can only think that the motive of them killing my parents would be to completely decimate a possible rising Royal Zodiac Clan at that point in time. Supposedly nipping the problem at its bud could have solved the problem but they did not expect their son would rise to exact vengeance against them. So if anyone still doubts my resolve, you can voice it out now.¡± ¡°Then perform a Heavenly Five Element Tribulation right in front of us and swear that you will defeat the Banned Emperor at all cost.¡± Tiao Xiao said in a fit of anger and thus the worst scenario possible in Jin¡¯s and Kraft¡¯s minds had been realised. It¡¯s not that Jin could not perform the Heavenly Five Element Tribulation, the promise itself would be an extremely assuring factor to increase his trust towards the Royal Zodiacs but it¡¯s the wording of the swearing that needs to be considered. Usually, when someone performed the Heavenly Five Element Tribulation, it was in a fit of anger and many who did that had the wording of their promise to be too broad for interpretation, causing people to suffer the Heaven¡¯s Wrath unnecessarily. So, Jin either had to circumvent this situation by trying to avoid the use of the Heavenly Five Element Tribulation (Which is unlikely and cause suspicions) or have a proper phasing so that the Heavenly Five Element Tribulation would only be struck if he were to derail away from his road of serving justice to the Banned Emperor¡¯s lackeys. So, he decided to return the favour. ¡°Then what about everyone in this room? Have they performed the very same Heavenly Five Element Tribulations concerning the said common enemy?¡± Chapter 1275: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 6 Chapter 1275: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 6 ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Why would we need to do that?¡± Yuan Ba scoffed at the idea, refuting the need to do so. ¡°We do not trust you even if that story of yours holds the truth.¡± ¡°Then why would I need to do the same for you people? A few days ago, you guys were considered mere figureheads to me which commoners were complaining about how all of you were high and mighty. All tardy in their actions and reactions to everything, leaving the common people to suffer the brunt of the recent incidents. There were no consolations and reassurances for them to hear while the government gave empty promises to assist and little was done to address the grievances by the common folk.¡± Jin declared loudly and it stung the Zodiac Heads. ¡°Like the cities that were inflicted by the hordes. Sure, the minority might be demanding more than the compensation that was given but to many, their homes were upset by the entire incident that the compensation was clearly not sufficient to aid them.¡± Jin placed both of his hands on the table while assuming a slightly aggressive stance while he stood against the accusations. ¡°So why must I seal this particular deal with a pact of trust that is more binding than a personal blood pact to the people who do not have eyes to sympathise with the common folk and boots on the ground to stand with the people?¡± ¡°You speak so much as if you had helped the people. Perhaps you should do the same before you say anymore.¡± Shu Tiao Xiao rebutted and Jin stared at him. ¡°My contributions to my fellow district neighbours are well known. And besides, I had personally contributed to each of the recent major incidents, risking my life against the Banned Emperor Terrorist while the rest of the Heads were sitting in their offices watching from behind their desks. And you know I do not mean it literally.¡± Jin said and finally, He Fei, who felt that there was enough drama for the day, spoke up. ¡°Then what would suit you to prove your allegiance to the Zodiac Heads? Like you said, to us, you are a mere Dungeon Supplier who has gained some recent achievements and testimonies that prove that you are a cut above the rest. That¡¯s all to it. You are not qualified as a Zodiac Head in our eyes and thus not our trust too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that a blood contract should suffice?¡± Jin said that he had already taken out a small stack of paper from his storage ring and presented it to them. Each soon received a copy to preview and they were all the same for everyone. Most if not all of the Zodiac Heads knew some form of contract law and had the basics covered especially since they were governing major industries and even organisations that the country could not live without. Thus, upon reading the blood contract, they understood the contract to be fair, if not weigh slightly towards their advantage instead of his. From benefits such as the constant sharing of information to monetary and proprietary penalties if Jin had broken the code of conduct as written on the blood contract. It was well crafted that even He Fei who made his way to the top by dealing with contracts on a daily basis could not see any fault or loopholes he could possibly exploit. It meant that Jin had already foreseen this current situation and prepared the contracts in advance. Jin was leading the meeting at his own pace to the surprise of the Zodiac Heads who were staying at the sidelines to watch the situation unfold. ¡°What do you mean that you are able to call upon the help of the signed contractee?¡± Rat Head Tiao Xiao queried and Jin explained that it could not be a one way street in business. ¡°If you do not scratch my back, would it be fair that I scratch yours for free? After all, this meeting was supposed to be for Zodiac Heads, right? If you all treated me as a fellow ally, shouldn¡¯t I be able to do the same at my behest?¡± Jin said and he was prepared to answer a few more questions until a startling sound of a pen was being used. Zhu Tai Fang, the Head of the Royal Zodiac Pig was already signing with his blood and then placing it on the table for Jin to collect. Every one of them looked at him and were rather taken aback by his actions. ¡°What? He made sense. In some way, he should be considered a National Hero by now with several rewards and compensations to be given to him for all the service he did for the country but instead all you guys gave him were stares of doubts and mistrust. Just because of what? That old myth of how the Panda Clan needed revenge against the other twelve clans?¡± Tai Fang snorted loudly and continued his snarky remarks to the rest of the Zodiac Heads. ¡°Please, we all know that that is the lie we had to tell people in the past and that we brought this upon ourselves. Instead of helping the Panda Clan, our ancestors took the chance to climb and steal the glory of the past Panda Clan. It is pretty dumb to bring over a feud that was centuries old and you saw how this young Panda Lord had presented himself to be forward looking by moving away from our rotten past by attempting to reunite everyone without selling himself short. So, I have to say this blood contract is nothing compared to what he had to suffer and had sacrificed to aid the public.¡± The Pig Head¡¯s words started to ring bells in the rest of the Royal Zodiac Heads and a few sighed as Tai Fang was right. By right, they had nothing against the new Panda Lord and instead should welcome him as a new stout ally in the fight against the Banned Emperor and the betterment of the country as a whole. ¡°The Dragons had signed the contract too.¡± Kong Rong had written on behalf of his father since he was transiting to be the next Head and was given permission to do so. ¡°The Snakes had done the same.¡± Se Chang Chang added and the rest slowly did the same too in an attempt to not bring unnecessary discord to the current group. ¡°Xie Jin, you are bold to include me in this contract signing.¡± Defence Minister He Fei said and Jin smiled weakly. ¡°If there is a big fish dangling right in front of me, pardon my phasing but I will be damned if I do not even attempt to try and catch it,¡± Jin said as he bowed slightly when he saw He Fei too picking up his pen and pricking his finger to sign the very same contract presented to everyone. ¡°I admired your boldness and as Tai Fang had said, in return for your service to the country, this is a favour I am willing to owe. Also, after the meeting come and find me. We will discuss your compensation for the services rendered officially by the government.¡± He Fei said and he did a short cough to convene the meeting once more. Chapter 1276: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 7 Chapter 1276: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Part 7 The agenda by the Defence Minister was really simple, to flush the Banned Emperor Terrorists out once and for all. Rather than a discussion, it was more like a one year plan that had already been discussed by his fellow department. The Royal Zodiac Heads were only there to voice out any possible concerns from their point of view, especially when the management of resources would be done by their men. However, the objections were minor and most of the Heads who voiced out mainly supplemented the current plan with additional options that were readily available at their behest. In the meantime, since it was the Defence Minister that they were meeting with, the group were discussing sensitive issues pertaining to the security of the country such as the additional deployment of troops and police in the region that had been targeted as possible hotspots. Everyone had agreed that Shenzhen and the surrounding regions were in the top priority slot with Beijing in view of the latest incidents that happened in the past few months. However, some of the Heads argued otherwise that Shenzhen should not be in the spot considering the amount of heat they had gained through the recent months but Kong Rong reiterated that such a possibility should not be ignored. ¡°Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest place for the terrorists to lurk at. Most people would assume that as well and decide to keep a keen eye on the other hotspots, making Shenzhen once again susceptible to a terror attack. In fact, I have intel to prove that they might strike again.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± He Fei furrowed his eyebrows as he had not had the faintest ideas in his brief from the State Security Department with regards to this new intel that Kong Rong was about to share. And then, all Kong Rong did was to look sideways and shake his head in the direction of Jin. Everyone was confused for a moment with the exception of his Father who seem to know what Kong Rong was planning. ¡°The birth of the new Royal Zodiac Clan.¡± Long Shen Rong, the Dragon Head said and everyone considered it seriously. ¡°That¡¯s right. The emergence of the Panda Clan had not been published and only a handful including this room knows about Jin¡¯s true existence. However, the rise of the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan would definitely bring attention for the Banned Emperor Terrorists to take action. Not to mention, Jin currently has a sizeable target which would be easy for the terrorists to coordinate and take him down. Unfortunately, the only problem I could foresee is that-¡° ¡°You are doing it at the risk of my customers.¡± Jin interrupted and he felt offended by it. Sometimes he wished that the Banned Emperor terrorists would not be a coward and face him directly like how the other primitive worlds had been. (Less the Mecha World but so far, he had very little interaction with that to consider it in his mind.) ¡°It¡¯s a small price to pay to announce the whole world of your existence. Besides, you opened a dungeon supplier store, I am sure your staunch customers would relish the challenge against the Banned Emperor.¡± Tiao Xiao joked and before Jin was able to say anything, Yuan Ba slammed the table to object for Jin. ¡°I may hate him with all the bones in my body but one thing I do not condone is that comment of yours. The Banned Emperor terrorists are capable of destroying people¡¯s dantian core as easily as snapping their fingers if they are of a high level cultivation. If you thought the price Jin had to pay for their resurrections, you are dead wrong. Shu, those lives that could never recover again.¡± Yuan Ba said and it was the very least to show that the Banned Emperor still had an upper hand against everyone because of their technique to destroying cores. ¡°Thank you, Head Hu.¡± Jin was surprised he had taken his side for the argument. ¡°Yang and Hou, any ways to circumvent such techniques?¡± He Fei asked, hoping they had some development in the medical and research fields governed by the Sheep and Monkey Clans respectively. ¡°Sadly, no. But if what Yuan Ba had said and he had recovered from such an attack via Jin¡¯s medical staff, perhaps he could share it with us?¡± Yang Rou Xiang, the Head of Royal Zodiac Sheep queried. ¡°I can introduce my colleague to you but I have to say that we were able to save Yuan Ba¡¯s life mainly because he was in my Dungeon Supplier store. Without immediate medical attention, there is no way we could have done it on a battlefield or in the midst of a duel.¡± Jin replied and people in the room were in a bind. For a moment, they had forgotten that the terrorists they were dealing with were no ordinary run of the mill kind of organisation. Sure, the Elite Royal Zodiac platoons could easily overwhelm and give their lives for the country for it¡¯s their job, honour and duty but it¡¯s not the same when it comes to endangering citizens¡¯ lives. ¡°Actually, I might have a lead on something but it¡¯s something akin to a wild goose chase,¡± Jin spoke up seeing that everyone was stuck in their thoughts. He Fei permitted Jin to continue his opinion while others determine to see if it was something too far fetched. ¡°Does anyone know about the Lost Flower Cities? Where the five flower clans used to rule?¡± Jin asked and only Hou Nao Da, the Head for Royal Zodiac Monkey nodded his head. ¡°It might sound weird but I have an employee hunting the ruins of the rumoured Lost Flower City as part of his assignment to gain extra ideas for the store to create its new dungeon instance. But he found out that there were traces of the Banned Emperor Terrorists attempting to find the same place as he did.¡± Jin explained. ¡°So you are saying instead of luring them to your store, we lure them to a trap where only armed and trained cultivators are involved? But how reliable is your friend? How do we know that all they would do was to send a group to look for trails. At most, what we are looking at is a high ranking member of the organisation who would take the bait.¡± Nao Da deduced that those who were in the military before knew that all it took was a break in the single chain for everything to start tumbling down. ¡°I will suggest giving that idea a try while we work on bolstering our security forces.¡± Kong Rong said. ¡°At most, we can revert back to the original idea of making Jin the bait especially when his PandaVerse Festival is coming soon in a month¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Oh, that would be fun.¡± Head Shu said in his mind but a smirk was portrayed as a sign of acknowledgement to Kong Rong¡¯s idea. But he did not know that it was Kong Rong¡¯s way of helping Jin to rise up to the ranks of the Zodiac Head. For now, they discussed a few other minor stuff before wrapping the meeting up. Chapter 1277: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Final Chapter 1277: Royal Zodiac Meeting -Final When the entire meeting was finally done, it was past noon and everyone had departed almost immediately from the meeting venue. Despite what the Defence Minister had said, He Fei was also in a rush but he had not forgotten what he promised Jin. ¡°Jin, do you have time? If yes, follow me.¡± He Fei said which both Jin and Kraft quietly followed the Defence Minister. ¡°Any luggage you need to check out?¡± the Minister asked which the duo replied with a firm no. ¡°I guess that¡¯s the perk of teleporting at the very last minute. ¡± ¡°Yea, my friend here is a whiz when it comes to teleporting. He was the one who help create those teleport gates,¡± Jin patted Kraft¡¯s back and the latter knew it was a ruse to shift any eyes towards him. ¡°Ah, so you are the one I should thank for those teleporting trucks.¡± He Fei said as they were once again in that dreaded lift. He Fei extended his hands to thank and congratulate Kraft for his ¡®achievement¡¯ but subsequently realised what Jin was pushing for. A firm physical contact with the Defence Minister of China. ¡°That Jin, he can be quite devious at times. So proud of him.¡± Kraft said while smiling widely right in front of the Defence Minister. Just that second was all that was needed for the crafty devil to break into He Fei¡¯s mental barriers and access information which all the Royal Zodiac Heads combined would never have collected. It was not to say that he did not have any barrier but it was rather that Kraft¡¯s devilish techniques to gain access were terribly efficient. The recent months working with Jin had been a big jump to his repertoire of skills that he believed no man alive was able to stop him from accessing their memories. The only drawback was that he needed at least some physical contact with the said person. And that was a done deal when Jin had finally allowed Kraft to shake hands with He Fei. ¡°Pleasure to meet you as well, Sir.¡± ¡°Ah, this chi. It¡¯s the very same one that we all had experienced before having the pleasure to meet you. For you to be able to clash with Kong Rong head on is quite a remarkable feat. It¡¯s good to know that the Panda Lord has such a dependable ally.¡± ¡°You too.¡± Kraft wanted to not say much but it seems he wanted to drag the physical contact even longer by placing his other hand on top of the ones they were shaking. ¡°However, I am truly honoured to finally meet you. It¡¯s not every day we are able to meet a high government official and have a face to face chat and even more, have a proper handshake.¡± He Fei was a bit uncomfortable by Kraft¡¯s shaking as the chi he eluded was somewhat a little threatening. The bodyguards eventually interfered and stop the handshake as they thought that he was about to do something out of the ordinary towards the minister but Jin immediately pulled Kraft back and placed his hand on Kraft¡¯s neck in order to push it downwards. An apology bow with Jin loudly stating within the lift that Kraft was too much a fan of his. Minister He Fei was no doubt shocked by the revelation as he did not expect himself to have such a ¡®fervent fan¡¯. He quickly told the bodyguards to step down and allowed Kraft to explain himself. ¡°Yes, yes. I apologise for the long handshake. I was holding my thoughts and excitement throughout the entire meeting. Anyways, you were talking about teleporting trucks? We can strike a deal with obviously the Panda Lord giving you a decent discount as a way to path our friendship?¡± Kraft continued to pretend his role given by Jin. ¡°Hmm, I will no doubt consider it.¡± He Fei said as they finally got out of the lift and people were already making way for the Defence Minister to get into his car. The other two shamelessly followed him and the guards still felt it was uncomfortable for them to sit in the same vehicle as the Defence Minister. ¡°I only have one space if my bodyguards are in here. So what about it?¡± He Fei asked and even though the answer was obviously Jin, the Panda Lord decided to let Kraft sit with the Defence Minister. ¡°You sure about this?¡± Kraft was obviously acting and Jin magnanimously allowed his companion to take the seat but Ran Ran stepped in and gave a firm no. ¡°We do not have your credentials. Only Jin is able to enter the car from this point forward. I suggest you stay at the hotel until his return.¡± The main bodyguard for the Defence Minister said and Jin step backwards instead of listening to the bodyguard¡¯s orders. ¡°Sorry, Minister. I am afraid that if I am the only one going into that car, my employee would hate me for life¡­so we shall politely decline this follow up meeting. The rewards can wait. I have enough to get by anyways.¡± Jin said and He Fei sighed. ¡°Make an exception this time around, Ran Ran. I am sure that they meant me no harm. It is rather bad manners for the government to not properly reward the person who had the biggest hand in solving the recent incidents. Besides, Kong Rong seems to allow that fellow to walk into the room full of Zodiac Clan Heads without any trouble. I am sure we will be fine.¡± He Fei said and Ran Ran shook his head. ¡°Understood, Sir. Fortress, we are changing the details a little¡­¡± Ran Ran had spoken through his intercoms and the guard inside the car came out, allowing Kraft to enter alongside Jin. Ran Ran took the steering wheel while Jin sat at the front with Kraft and He Fei able to talk more about the ¡®teleporting trucks¡¯. It seemed that the Defence Ministry was willing to purchase up to a hundred of them as an experimental phase but Kraft said that they could at most produce twenty for the first production run after the revisions had been made. ¡°We need to make sure they are of the highest quality as teleporting people is as dangerous as making sure an aeroplane lands safely with their passengers intact. And the timeline given is rather tight especially when most of it is made with in house expertise. After all, it¡¯s still a trade secret which Jin¡¯s store and SeaMesh company are not willing to part it out yet.¡± Kraft said and He Fei understood where he was coming from. ¡°In any case, it seems we have been ignoring you. Jin. Once you reach my office, we will be able to furnish you a cheque and a few weapon relics which could be useful in the fight against the Banned Emperor.¡± He Fei said but Kraft decided to interrupt him. ¡°Rather than weapons and money, we would prefer connections and contracts if that¡¯s possible. Jin is still a growing asset, it¡¯s best we get the right people for the right job if we wish to eradicate the terrorist organisations. I wonder if you aid us in getting the contacts instead.¡± Kraft suggested, which made He Fei laugh loudly. ¡°Indeed, in this modern time and age, connections could be more powerful than money and resources. I see what I can do in giving you a few recommendation letters especially when I had too many people wishing for their favours to be repaid.¡± He Fei said and Kraft once again extended his hand for another handshake which the Defence Minister reciprocated. Chapter 1278: Krafts Report Chapter 1278: Kraft¡¯s Report It was indeed a quick visit to the Ministry of Defence Office as He Fei had been bombarded with schedules and meeting agendas the moment he arrived at its front door. In fact, he almost had forgotten about the two visitors he brought along with him and told them that even though they had decided to ask for recommendation letters, it would take some time for him to call upon those favours and to produce said letters. However, he was not willing to let them go empty handed and told his secretary to get the letter that was initially prepared for them. But as much as he wished to personally present them the letter of appreciation (with a cheque included), He Fei had already wasted too much time on the initial Royal Zodiac Meeting and the Panda Clan had no choice but to miss such an opportunity. (Kraft would surely want another handshake.) As they were led out of the office, the secretary queried whether they would like to have a taxi booked on their behalf for them to return to the hotel. However, Jin politely declined and said that they would like to have a quick bite at the surrounding area before returning back. The secretary acknowledged their reply and returned to aid He Fei with his list of never ending tasks. As they walked away from the office, Jin sent a telepathic message via the System Channel since their most secured channel despite being near one of the few safest places in the country. There were guards posted around the ¡®office¡¯ (Which is technically a building by itself) with a multilayer security system watching movements through high definition CCTV cameras and even had them scanned so that their identities would pop right out on their own system. Fortunately, the System had already registered Kraft under the alias of Ke La Fu, and created an entire history full of fake data so that their systems could not detect anything abnormal with regards to Kraft unless they had decided to personally investigate his past. Else, the Devil Fox had an extremely clean record with a high amount of social points which would allow him to let him do whatever he wanted. (Almost everything¡­) Jin was also afraid there were listening devices or hidden inscription charms which could listen in to their conversation and thus the communication through the System Channel without any worries that they could be found out. ¡°What did you learn about that guy that you had to shake his hand multiple times?¡± ¡°To confirm my fears.¡± Kraft looked around to take in the sights and learn more about the office¡¯s surroundings. ¡°Unfortunately for you, he is part of the Banned Emperor group. A high ranking undercover agent within their own organisation. We do not need any Flower City shit, the guy is right under our noses.¡± ¡°You are kidding, right? You usually would go one big round around the bush before telling me the answer. And now, Kraft is giving me straight in the face?¡± Jin said as he tried to keep calm. Perhaps he should take the taxi ride instead of looking for food. ¡°Hmm? I thought you had your suspicions, that¡¯s why you decided to look around the Ministry of Defence Office so you might have a better idea in case we would like to infiltrate it.¡± Kraft turned to Jin for a moment before looking back straight ahead to an outdoor cafeteria. ¡°Let me gather my thoughts for a moment,¡± Kraft said in a serious tone as Jin ordered a Vanilla Milkshake for Kraft and a plain coffee for himself. They sat near the streets and quietly consumed their beverages. ¡°Any of the Zodiac Heads are in cahoots with him?¡± Jin asked and Kraft let out a rather quiet chuckle while sipping his milkshake. ¡°Have you forgotten that the eradication of the Royal Zodiac Clans is one of the few reasons why the Banned Emperor still exists up till now?¡± Kraft said in the System Channel as he happily enjoyed the thick vanilla cream in his drink. ¡°And you too know that all high ranking official government posts must have not any affiliations with the Royal Zodiac Clans to remain partial to all. If one wants to join, they have to renounce all ties before doing so.¡± ¡°I doubt that vow will stop them from having connections with the Royal Zodiac Clans,¡± Jin said as he looked around, staring aimlessly at the public streets. ¡°Anyways, System are you able to pull up some ¡®official¡¯ details on him? To see whether his data had been doctored like how you did for Kraft.¡± ¡°Oh yea, This guy might not look like it but he is actually a fucking sadist. He had plans to pull this entire country into the ground and burn it to kingdom come. This retaliation plan which they talked about is just the preparation to sacrifice a few regions to bring more Void Beings into this world. You have trouble with one, imagine a dozen more.¡± Kraft interrupted Jin¡¯s request. ¡°But what you have now is time¡­although I wonder how Zeru would be to know that there would be more terrorists trying to find him since you mentioned about the Lost Flower City to everyone in the meeting. Perhaps that would be a more pertinent issue than the destruction of the entire country.¡± ¡°And here we thought, the conspiracy lies with the Royal Zodiac Heads instead. Damn it¡­all I wanted is to open a fucking shop and subsequently be rich enough to have an easy retirement. Not play some hero bullshit.¡± Jin sighed as he gulped the hot coffee right through to ease his stress headaches. ¡°You are already playing one in many other worlds, time to be a proper one in your own world,¡± Kraft said but Jin returned his remarks with dagger eyes and a subtle middle finger while drinking his cup of coffee. ¡°Regardless, the System recommends User to clear his PandaVerse Festival and use that platform to gain a few more allies. As Original Bellator Kraft had said, User has time to thwart the Banned Emperor¡¯s plans.¡± The System said and Jin could quietly nod his head while the both of them continued to exchange information as they walked away from the perimeter of the Defence Minister¡¯s office into somewhere more secluded before teleporting away. Chapter 1279: Flower Picking Session Chapter 1279: Flower Picking Session ¡°Huh? What? System, did you mess up the coordinates?¡± Jin asked as he found out that he was not teleported into the Dungeon Maker Instance but instead a remote location up in the mountains. As for which mountain he was on, there was nothing around, not even a noticeable landmark for him to get his bearings. ¡°Hmm. Did I guess it wrongly?¡± Kraft said as he tried to take note of his surroundings but it seems he was equally confused. ¡°You teleported us here in the middle of nowhere?¡± Jin questioned as if demanding an explanation as soon as possible since this was derailing his plans to work on the Pandaverse Festival even further. ¡°Our opponent had been upsized right? Just thought that we would try to find some clues with regards to him before we returned. But it looked like we might be in the wrong place.¡± Kraft did not care about Jin and walked up the slope, towards the peak of the mountain which seemed almost impossible to reach within a day¡¯s time. (Assuming they are not using any chi to reach the peak and probably expose themselves to anybody around.) ¡°In the meantime, I suggest you pick up some of those wild flowers over there, which might be a suitable gift for Lynn when you return. After all, she did save your ass with her brilliant cooking once again.¡± Kraft said that he would walk up a little more to survey the area before affirming that the place was a dead end for them. Jin looked at the wild flowers and asked the System if it had any data on those plants. The System quickly identified them as camellia flowers and in terms of flower language, those bright red pink flowers symbolise love as well. ¡°Then it can¡¯t hurt to bring a few back. Did Kraft know the meaning of these flowers when he pointed at them?¡± Jin asked the System but it could not answer on behalf of Kraft. ¡°Back. There really isn¡¯t anything in the region. Looks like I came to the wrong place.¡± Kraft said as Jin could feel the cold emanating from his long ass jacket. ¡°You ran all the way up the mountains?¡± Jin asked as he barely picked any flowers. ¡°Hmm yea, thought I could have a better view of the entire area without you holding me down so- Anyways, while you are flower picking, we can have a quick talk about your future,¡± Kraft said as he instantly climbed up one of the lower lying branches while Jin slowly tried to pick the prettiest of Camellia flowers among the patch. ¡°Now that we know that the Defence Minister is one of the Banned Emperor lackeys, what are you going to do? Take the fight against the government? Band up all the Royal Zodiacs and fight against them? Or you know, call the Defence Minister and say hey. I know who you are. How about you just erm, leave me alone and I leave you out of my life? Win Win situation,¡± ¡°Do you even think the last one is an option?¡± ¡°Like we had discussed before¡­ technically, you can run away to other multiverses or even settle down in a new world. I do not see any wrong with that. Like come on, you have an entire city all by yourself in the Dungeon World. The entire world is like a shop to you. Heck, you might even be able to join as the player and join raids with all your monsters without worry. Eventually, you might be the biggest City Lord in the Dungeon World and you do not have to keep your powers as a secret.¡± ¡°Are you forgetting the Church of the Afterlife?¡± Jin said as he found a flower with no damaged petals. He skillfully used his hand to pinch the stalk so that the flower would be in perfect condition. ¡°Bah, those rascals are easier to handle. At least they have not learned the art of terrorism and even if they did, the System and the Dungeon Core would sound out the ambush. It¡¯s less wary than what we have over here.¡± Kraft said as he lay right beside the tree trunk and shooed away a few insects with his chi. ¡°And even if you do not want the Dungeon World, the Goblin World would be a good place to stay. The Orcs and Goblins are under your command. Though it will be a matter of time until the humans feel inferior and start to attack, they probably won¡¯t stand a chance against the technology you introduced to both kingdoms. Also, let¡¯s not forget that there are other races that we have not ¡®meet and greet¡¯. The Fooking Fake Elves as my servants called them even though by lore, they are considered as ¡®True¡¯ Elves, have been hiding somewhere in that world and know the history behind the destruction of the dwarves. But we will get there another day if you stay there longer.¡± Kraft rumbles on and it was clear that escaping this world¡¯s reality was as easy as snapping a finger. ¡°You are saying all this because we all know the consequences of killing a government official.¡± ¡°Not just some government official, it¡¯s the goddamn defence minister which in this day and age, he is kinda the most important guy aside from the prime minister.¡± Kraft scoffed at Jin¡¯s way of thinking. ¡°I am all for challenging the country, but we won¡¯t be on the winning side if we do not prep well. What we will be doing would definitely be an act of terrorism if we are not careful.¡± ¡°Hmm, yeah. But from the way you phrase it, you too want to have a plan of attack rather than just reacting against the terrorist¡¯s plans, right? Have you found out if there are any other government officials that are in cahoots with him?¡± ¡°Not yet, didn¡¯t bother. Maybe when I am back in the room or if I am too lazy, I get my dark elves to find it.¡± ¡°That information is all in your head, how the heck are you going to do that?¡± Jin asked as he stopped for a moment to question him. ¡°Bah, I can share information easily, you do not have to worry about me. Worry about yourself more. From the looks of it. PandaVerse Festival would not be a peaceful one for you and neither will Zeru. Although he can take care of himself, this time he is protecting an entire lost city if he ever finds it rather than just one person.¡± ¡°I honestly have no idea about the Lost Flower City, care to enlighten me?¡± Jin said as he was already holding a bunch of flowers with him. ¡°It¡¯s best if the person himself tells you more about it. It¡¯s more complicated than you think and its history is so fucked up that I cannot keep track of it. In fact, even Zeru might not have everything. I do not think the System has much information about it either. Even though it¡¯s considered a Lost City. There are still people living a secluded life away from all that hustle and bustle.¡± Kraft shrugged his shoulders but those red flowers suddenly reminded Jin that there was someone who might have the answers to everything he requires ¡­assuming he passed the trial. ¡°Urgh, Do I really have to deal with Suzaku again¡­¡± Jin thought to himself. Chapter 1280: Extra - A Couples Chat Chapter 1280: Extra ¨C A Couple¡¯s Chat ¡°Oh hey, you are back. How did it go?¡± Lynn replied as she was surprised by Jin¡¯s appearance in the busy kitchen of the Restaurant Train Instance. Jin then embarrassingly asked if he was able to talk to her alone at her office for a moment. The rest of the penguins immediately offered to take over her duties, allowing her to accede to her boss¡¯ request. At that moment, Jin¡¯s heart was pounding hard, even harder than the adrenaline he had felt when fighting for his life. It might not be the first time he ever gave flowers to someone especially when he had courted Qiu Yue before but this was the first time he did something ¡­romantic to Lynn after asking for her hand in the relationship. For all this time, it had always been quite a one way street with Lynn supporting Jin, being the woman to take care of his health as well as his store. Qiu Yue, on the other hand, was conscientious with the constructions being done in the Southern Region Capital but took the rest of the time training herself to be a better cultivator. It was as if her goals had redirected for the betterment of herself rather than to fight with Lynn for Jin In fact, the fight for Jin was actually not entirely for her own selfish reasons. She had repeatedly seen how Lynn was grateful for Jin and how that idiotic ex boyfriend of hers was pretty oblivious to her deeds and actions. But it was great to see that Jin was forward looking enough to put down the burden he once had with her and move on to start a new relationship with Lynn. Yet, Qiu Yue would not deny that she might be a tad jealous of Lynn since it¡¯s not every time you have a superhuman with a System as your boyfriend. Perhaps that was the few reasons why she decided to occupy her time with Zeru to improve her skills while handling her emotions. As for Lynn, one could say that she was utterly surprised by Jin¡¯s attempt in presenting the bouquet of flowers to her. ¡°Kraft and I went erm¡­sightseeing after the meeting and we- erm I mean I decided to get you this as a thank you gift for what you had done for me earlier this morning.¡± ¡°So, the Royal Zodiac Heads do like the food! That¡¯s a relief to hear. I thought that they would insist on not eating, especially coming from a stranger like yourself.¡± Lynn thanked Jin for the flowers and instantly conjured up a flower vase to put the flowers in it. She also requested her Sub System to put a constant time dilation spell on the Camellia flowers so they would be able to last longer than usual. ¡°I will get a better flower vase!¡± She thought to herself while Jin babbled how there was a Royal Zodiac Head who trusted food more than Jin himself. ¡°The Royal Zodiac Pig Head said that he would like to meet you to exchange some ¡­pointers.¡± ¡°Ah, an indirect cooking invitation challenge,¡± Lynn said and she willingly agreed to it without the dungeon supplier explaining more about it. ¡°You sure? Don¡¯t these cook offs involve some condition where you lose and then you have to vow not being able to cook ever again?¡± Jin asked and Lynn laughed. ¡°Sometimes, I honestly think that your imagination had been heavily influenced by too much anime. No, we do cooking duels to not just impress our opponents but to learn from each other as well. It¡¯s an exchange of ideas as well as skills. Sure, there are off the books cooking duels but they mostly involve cash or certain incentives.¡± Lynn said but the Sub System that governs her abilities and everyday life suddenly chimed out in the System Channel. ¡°Sub System must warn User that based on her memories, Sub System User had been through life and death cooking duels before and urged the User to take caution upon her acceptance in duels.¡± ¡°What! Why do you expose that to him!¡± Lynn was visibly infuriated but Jin realised that there was much that he did not know about Lynn. ¡°Care to explain more?¡± Jin asked but Lynn shook her head saying that she still had work to do. ¡°But you are leaving me in suspense!¡± ¡°Please, you basically do that to all your customers too. Also, speaking of Anime, Rei seemed to be looking for you earlier in the day. I told him that you were off at Beijing and might take some time to return. And by some time, I was expecting you to make a big ruckus that you might not be back in a day or two. I am honestly surprised you were generally cooperative with the other leaders.¡± Lynn said as she pretended to pick up a few clipboards to check on her stock inventory so as to act busy. ¡°You will never believe what we found out. It¡¯s either a big hoax by Kraft or everything we know about this world could be a conspiracy.¡± Jin sighed as he picked up his phone to see if Rei had left him any messages. ¡°Original Bellator had allowed the System to take a look into the information he had obtained and the System is currently collaborating with Original Bellator Kraft to search for the people in question. It would take some time due to the several backend processes that had been running in the background for the PandaVerse but it should be ready in a day or two.¡± ¡°Looks like it¡¯s more than you can chew then,¡± Lynn said as she tapped his shoulders. ¡°We can go over it during our dinner meeting. If you like, we can call back the rest of the gang.¡± ¡°If you are the one who called them, they will definitely come.¡± Jin always knew the power of her food was compelling but sometimes he had forgotten how incredibly powerful a tool it was. ¡°I shall. I assume everyone in Panda Inc?¡± Lynn said as she was about to leave the room. ¡°Yes, that would be great. If Kong Rong could make it, it would definitely be a boon too.¡± Jin said and just as she was about to leave the room, he held her hand and pulled her towards him for a peck on the cheeks. ¡°Hmmph!¡± Lynn pouted from the surprise attack but nevertheless, she was delighted by his actions today. Chapter 1281: Impromptu Dinner Meetup Chapter 1281: Impromptu Dinner Meetup The night could not have come any sooner as a fairly large group of people were amassed in Jin¡¯s house that the System had subtly enlarged the dining area and expanded the table to accommodate the bellators, and the humans which Jin had employed under the Panda Inc. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s rare to see such a huge crowd right here.¡± Peppers said as she was sitting on the sofa waiting with Milk for the food to arrive. ¡°And everyone is on time too.¡± Milk said as she saw the penguins coming out of the kitchen bringing all the food to the table. Jin, who was the last to arrive, quickly sat at the side of the table, with the rest to follow suit. They did not hesitate to partake in the dinner which Lynn had prepared in advance and everyone ate while exchanging pleasantries. It was not long until Jin had decided to start the serious conversation which everyone kept quiet and listened to. He explained to the group what they had found and made the two parties noticeably agitated. Royal Zodiac Snake General Hou Fei and the upcoming Royal Zodiac Dragon Head Kong Rong. Both of them repeatedly asked where the information came from which Kraft eventually used the System to show what it had found so far. ¡°That means there has always been a security breach all this time and we are totally unaware of it. Is that how the terrorists are able to infiltrate into the highest level of the echelon? Because the people at the top are allowing them to enter without us knowing?¡± Kong Rong suddenly felt his back aching from the burden he was about to carry. ¡°The only advantage we have right now is that we finally know a piece of the underlying puzzle. If the enemy does go up to the Prime Minister¡¯s Office, it would not be a wonder why they had been rather elusive.¡± Hou Fei deduced. ¡°Honestly, at this rate, there is no one we can trust. Even though Kraft had assured us that the target had always been the Royal Zodiac Clans, we have no idea how closely knitted or manipulated the rest of the other clans are.¡± Qiu Yue voiced her opinion. ¡°They might have been doing the Banned Emperor¡¯s dirty work without knowing fully what they had gotten into.¡± ¡°There are surface cracks among the Clans and even with this morning¡¯s meeting, people did not see eye to eye on most issues with the exception of the arrival of Jin. Most of them reluctantly acknowledged Jin¡¯s presence but they knew that if Jin were to grow, the clans would suffer in some way or another. The current delicate balance achieved by the twelve clans would eventually be interrupted with Jin¡¯s debut.¡± Kong Rong said which Peppers surprisingly followed up with an astute observation. ¡°Why use their own people to do the job of destroying the Royal Zodiac Clans when there is already one which they could utilise as a distraction?¡± Kraft chuckled and everyone could see the rationale behind that. ¡°While doing a wild goose chase to catch a few Banned Emperor Terrorist, the damage would be done by making the clans jealous at Jin¡¯s success. They eventually might band up together to deal with Jin instead of accepting him as part of them.¡± Peppers blurted out and everyone could see how the Panda Clan might eventually be the incidental bait. ¡°Take the upcoming PandaVerse Festival. It will be a huge slap to the dungeon suppliers that had participated in the Symposium and surely there might be a few people who would be jealous of the possible success of the festival and might end up sabotaging it.¡± ¡°I believe she meant the Rats.¡± Milk chimed in and a few of them chuckled at that theoretical situation. ¡°Lol, imagine fighting the rats in the Farming World and deal with that shit in our world too.¡± Qiu Yue remarked. ¡°Rather than calling it the PandaVerse Festival, we might as well call it Rat Catching Festival.¡± ¡°To be honest, the odds are low for that. The Royal Zodiac Heads could have done that if Jin did not participate in this morning¡¯s meeting but after getting some approval and recognition from the Defence Minister, it is unlikely they will have the guts to do such a dirty tactic. Still, do you want me to get some people to look into buffing your security?¡± Kong Rong asked and Hou Fei also said he could do the same though the latter would be more into participating in the festival as the soldiers had thoroughly enjoyed the previous time when they were around. ¡°You could not deny that the Banned Emperor Terrorist could send their very own people to disrupt the place. Having Hou Fei¡¯s troops might also be a boon since dealing with the Demon Rats could be a hassle and it would be great to have a company of trained soldiers accomplishing certain objectives.¡± ¡°Yea, I see if I could rile up my Dragon Company to join the fun as well.¡± Kong Rong said while he looked towards Ke Loong. ¡°It¡¯s rare for you to keep quiet. Usually, you have lots of ideas.¡± ¡°I am more concerned about the part where Jin said Kraft had made a verbal deal to manufacture 20 portal devices for the Defence Ministry. Like we had said, if used correctly, it would be a wonderful tool, but fall into the wrong hands¡­¡± ¡°Heh, for that. Perhaps allow me to bestow you a few¡­ideas of mine that could be incorporated into the portal device design.¡± Kraft looked at Ke Loong and he shivered from his devilish smile. ¡°By the way, Jin. I know that it¡¯s a bit off topic but it¡¯s also kind of urgent. Well for me that is if you are willing to listen.¡± Rei raised his hand in the heated discussion and Jin allowed him to say a few words. ¡°Erm¡­my family has been found according to Sebastia. But they are in a place where getting them out of the Mecha World would be kind of a sticky situation,¡± Rei said and the rest could feel that this particular discussion they were having would be sidetracked a lot. Chapter 1282: Reis Plea For Help Chapter 1282: Rei¡¯s Plea For Help Everyone in the room stopped their conversation almost immediately and they were focused on Rei¡¯s plea for help. (With the exception of Peppers who was quietly taking one more piece of chicken cutlet to put in her mouth. And yet with so much meat, she never grows wider, taller or even fatter. One does wonder where all those calories went.) ¡°Continue on Rei, I did promise that we will help you to get your family back. And if Sebastia had located them and could not teleport them via the usual means, I could only assume they are in some situation which would require our intervention.¡± Jin said and Rei nodded his head. ¡°Are you sure, you guys want to hear me out?¡± Rei started to worry that he had broken the flow of conversation among the entire group. ¡°The Banned Emperor is an outstanding issue, there won¡¯t be much progress in the short run and there is nothing we can do without sufficient preparation. On the other hand, your case can warrant a quick rescue operation.¡± Kong Rong replied with a smile. ¡°Ohhhh. That smile~! Someone is itching to blow off some steam.¡± Kraft chuckled when he saw Kong Rong¡¯s expression. ¡°You bet, all this revelation just angered me. It seems I had to reorganise my team once more and be more careful on what to report while making sure not to arouse any suspicions from the higher up. Now we know one potential source of breach within our information systems, and it¡¯s how we are going to deal with it that is giving me a big fucking headache.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t pity his lifestyle. Compared to our Lord, this upcoming Dragon Lord had his hands full of secret agent shit and dealing with public nonsense too. I think he sometimes wished to be someone much more ordinary.¡± Hou Fei gave his opinion while Ke Loong added that he wished to see another world. ¡°You mean someone like Jin?¡± Qiu Yue queried and Lynn raised her shoulders in objection while shaking her head. ¡°You been if Jin when he did not have his System powers? Perhaps. Because right now that stupid boy had been overworking himself too much with the PandaVerse Festival while ensuring the preparation for the Great Demon Rat War. Each day, the reports from the Farming World had been increasing with more frequent Demon Rat incursions on the towns that we are protecting. It seems that they know we are doing something and they are throwing bodies to stop us as well. The only good thing that comes out from that is the random items they give whenever they die.¡± Lynn reported. ¡°Looks like someone is awfully concerned.¡± Qiu Yue pulled Lynn¡¯s arm by her side and giggled happily. Lynn could not deny that but Jin tried to pull the conversation back to Rei¡¯s plea for help. ¡°So you can see, everyone here is willing to help. Heck, we might even go right now after this dinner to get them. Just tell us what you know.¡± Jin answered and Rei decided that its best for the person who found his family to give the actual background of the entire situation. Thus, he requested Jin and the System to summon her for them to have Sebastia explain everything. ¡°Master!¡± Sebastia was delighted to see Jin after a very long while and immediately kneeled to show her respect. ¡°Sebastia, join us for dinner and give us your report on Rei¡¯s family,¡± Jin said and added that it¡¯s an order that she had to comply knowing that she would be too embarrassed to eat at the table with them. And before she had any objections, Lynn already went into the kitchen to take another plate of rice, all ready for her to partake in the dinner with them. ¡°If you insist, then this is my honour. Also, thank you, Lynn. I missed you and your penguin¡¯s cooking very very much.¡± Sebastia said as she was specially given a seat right beside Jin as the group continue to eat while Sebastia revealed her report. In summary, ever since Rei had mysteriously disappeared, his wife Charlotte had been working hard to find his whereabouts as well. The only thing she could think of was that he had been captured by the opposing group of countries. Thus, she decided to spy for both ends especially when she was a talented enough engineer while single handedly taking care of their kid, Hathaway. Similar to her parents, Hathaway was not just smart but capable of taking herself. She usually studies what her father had left and also eventually found out how her mother was working for both sides of the war. In fact, she was so brilliant that Hathaway aided her mother in a few projects in ways Charlotte could never think before and it was to the point that they both decided to work secretly to find their father. ¡°Now the only problem is that the mother and daughter had been caught almost at the same time for it to be considered as a coincidence. I had information to prove that there was a sting operation that had been conducted to catch such traitors. However, because of the knowledge they had given to both sides, they were considered valuable ¡­commodities. The war had been stifling and became deadly was the contributions from the two of them. They were part of the team which made the Mechas into an essential backbone of their armies.¡± Sebastia said as she took a breath and chewed on chicken meat while the rest continued to ponder at it. Kraft even stared back at Rei as if questioning his abilities and how he got such an amazing wife and daughter while he was just a mediocre engineer from the Mecha World. ¡°If we ever want information on the Mechanical Brain of the Gigant Titan, Charlotte and Hathaway is your best bet,¡± Sebastia added. ¡°The information on that had been very sketchy despite my fervent attempts to uncover it.¡± ¡°Two prison spaceships, maximum security. So we¡¯re doing it Moon Wars style?¡± Jin said and the rest seems like they were on board with the idea of freeing Rei¡¯s family. Chapter 1283: Prisons Location Chapter 1283: Prison¡¯s Location ¡°Ehh maximum security prison spaceships aside, it¡¯s space, right? We can¡¯t be teleporting into them unless we know the place¡¯s coordinate. And since it¡¯s a transport vessel, all the more we would not have its exact -¡± MIlk who suddenly voiced her concern until Sebastia chimed in her opinion. ¡°They are meeting at Space Colony 969 for the transfer of prisoners,¡± Sebastia said and Rei knows about that Space Colony Station. ¡°Why would a United Federation spaceship be in Xeon Union¡¯s airspace?¡± He voiced his query, hoping that Sebastia could shed more light on it. ¡°Because they are going to have a prisoner exchange programme. Some Very Important Prisoners (VIPs) are being traded for Hathaway and Hathaway alone. The United Federations are keeping Charlotte because they had lots of questions to ask her.¡± ¡°Sounds awfully convenient. How do you even get hold of this information?¡± Rei could not fathom the amount of spying she had to do to get the location of the prisoner exchange. ¡°Oh¡­Did you?¡± Kraft chuckled in Sebastia¡¯s direction. ¡°Fortunately for me, there was no need to. Though, I would like to thank you for your valuable lessons in seduction. Sir Kraft.¡± Sebastia said and somehow people started to wonder what Kraft had been teaching the Female Minotaur. Sebastia however diverted the topic and said that she was lucky enough to grab the attention of a rather horny officer (no pun intended for minotaurs) and squeeze such information out from his brains with a few of Kraft¡¯s teachings. The System did help with the initialisation since Kraft¡¯s technique of getting information could be a bit hard to grasp for users whose magic abilities were less than inclined. ¡°Aww, thought at least you would get some fun out of it before delivering the blow of death to your opponents.¡± Kraft shrugs, feeling disappointed at the answer. ¡°The target did not die as well, else they would have changed the plans drastically and I would not have known where they would be meeting for the exchange of prisoners,¡± Sebastia added. ¡°I am even more disappointed now. Don¡¯t talk to me right now.¡± Kraft showed Sebastia his hand as if he wanted her to talk to his hand rather than him but obviously, after learning some stuff about Kraft in the Farming World, Sebastia did not care even if she hurt his feelings. ¡°So¡­ right now, the United Federation Prison Spaceship is carrying the two family members? Why can¡¯t we try and predict where they come from and ambush them before they make the jump?¡± Ke Loong asked but it looks like Kong Rong who had sufficient undercover experience applauded Sebastia¡¯s choice for the location and timing. ¡°You want us to jump and grab the VIPs too, don¡¯t you?¡± Kong Rong checked to reaffirm his suspicions. ¡°Yes, if they are political figures, we have no use for them. But if they are exchanging for engineers, scientists or some scholar that could give us a better situation of the Mecha World, that would be great.¡± ¡°Actually, political figures might be useful¡­bait,¡± Jin said and everyone looked at him to continue the sentence. ¡°I might need a few leaders that are hardworking to lead the team in the future. And usually, those that are caught are always for the people. If they meet the criteria, it would be nice to have an influencer that could move the masses.¡± ¡°Interesting. Looks like being a Panda Lord makes you see a bit of a wider perspective.¡± Kraft replied but Jin too shrugged his shoulders. ¡°If Sebastia does not know who the VIP is, we just gotta grab them first.¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t we just do what Jin did with the void being? You know, grab the entire maximum security prison spaceship and put it in one of the System¡¯s instances. We could then dismantle the entire thing with the System¡¯s help and also convert the entire ship without much death and destruction.¡± Milk asked once again and somehow made Peppers laugh. ¡°Why don¡¯t while we are at it, steal the entire space colony station 969 and put it in the System¡¯s care too?¡± Peppers remarked and somehow Milk knew that Peppers had an explanation that such a feat could not be done which did not care to ask for any further elaboration. ¡°Since we have a location and when will the exchange be done?¡± Lynn asked and Sebastia said that it was the only information she was not able to obtain. ¡°I had been stalking Space Colony Station 969 for some time and was able to get a black market receiver that could get the transmissions signals for almost every ship that comes through. Even with me right here, the receiver is still collecting data while the System helped me to keep an eye out. But judging from the way the officer had spoken, it¡¯s not that soon-¡° ¡°Greetings all. A plausible unknown signal had been received. The System requests Minotaur Sebastia to return to the observation post for further analysis.¡± ¡°Peppers and Rei, go with her. She probably needs some help deciphering. If tech cannot do the trick, get Peppers to zoom the shit out with her magic. If it is the prison ship, then we will do an attack as soon as possible.¡± Jin said and for once, Peppers did not complain much as if she was willing to do this prison heist as much as the others. Rei nodded his head and the System instantly opened a portal behind them. Lynn quickly took a few wet wipes and passed them to Peppers since her mouth was still filled with leftover sauce as well as a water bottle from her storage ring. She was like a mother sending her kid off to school as Peppers thanked Lynn for the assist. ¡°As for us, we better start talking about some contingencies in case- Erm no. When things go south.¡± Jin said to the group knowing that Lady Fate will always toy with him no matter the situation. Chapter 1284: Identifying the Prison Ships Chapter 1284: Identifying the Prison Ships ¡°How does it look?¡± Rei asked as Sebastia configured the receiver the moment they teleported into Space Colony 969. ¡°There were a few encrypted signals which the receiver could not decipher. The System is currently going through a few of the standard decryption codes used by the military but I do not think they will work. It will be best if we scout the ships ourselves.¡± ¡°Yea, idiots. How are you going to do that if you can¡¯t breathe in space? Those ships might not even be docking near the Space Colony at all. Could be a few clicks away while the spaceport people send their automated refuelling droids to get it done.¡± Peppers said as she stared at the squarish built receiver. ¡°I am rather surprised you know their protocols.¡± Rei also deduced that it could be what Peppers had surmised. ¡°Please, whenever Jin goes into a new world, the System makes me learn as much as possible. The only thing is that knowledge usually goes to waste because no one asked me any questions with the exception of the System using me as a walking database. Sometimes the problems you people have could be quickly rectified if you ask me.¡± Peppers yawned a bit since it was supposedly night back in Jin¡¯s World but right here, it was barely evening. (Although there was no sun around, the space colony had a 24 hour weather system that monitored the colony¡¯s ecosystem.) ¡°Because you are almost nigh unapproachable to most people. And getting an answer from you was like trying to get a wish from a wishing fountain.¡± Sebastia said which made Peppers stick her tongue out in defiance. However, even as she was not happy with Sebastia¡¯s answer, Peppers immediately used her magic within the room that they were hiding and revealed a holographic map that contained information on the flight paths of the spaceships as well as a few stationary ones which they suspected to be the prisoner ships. ¡°Wow, how did you do this?¡± Rei asked and Peppers grinned. ¡°Magic~¡± Peppers said as to let that sarcasm seep into the two who were looking at it before explaining that she used her scan magic to get the information. After all, there were no magic casters in this world and she blatantly did not care about blasting her powers. ¡°Judging from the size and length of the ships, especially with the proximity between the two of them, I guess we found our mark. The next question is how are we going to go there without being seen?¡± ¡°Guess teleporting is out of the way?¡± Rei tried to see if Peppers was able to do that but she shook her head. ¡°As much as I would like to do that, teleporting into space is tricky. Teleportation usually refers to coordinates and those coordinates are based on a certain core landmark. In most instances, we can teleport around because we are situated on one planet. Right now, I have no idea where our dear planet earth is with respect to the Space Colony 969 and even I DO know, the teleportation coordinates into space requires four dimensions instead of the usual three. And before you ask what that is, it¡¯s basically not having half our bodies stuck in space and the other half in a ship. Or with a portal-¡° ¡°Okay, we get what you mean. Let¡¯s go.¡± Sebastia said as she kept the receiver inside the storage ring provided by the System and told the other two to dress up accordingly. ¡°Go where?¡± Peppers asked but Sebastia already started activating her cosmetic inscription charm. ¡°I have a man that could bring us close to that ship. Would that help if we bring ourselves closer to the prison ship and that way you could teleport us in? I assume your scan magic could x-ray the entire ship and provide us safe passage the moment we got closer.¡± ¡°You are not going to ask why not use my Scan Magic, right now?¡± Peppers questioned and Sebastia smirked. ¡°Please Peppers. Everyone under Jin knows you. You would not waste your magic while there¡¯s a chance for the Demonic Red Eyed Queen to blow things up. But of course, please blow the entire ship, there¡¯s a chance Jin might want it.¡± ¡°Like I said, he can¡¯t possibly teleport the entire ship back into the shop¡¯s ¨C oh wait. Do you mean¡­¡± Peppers squinted her eyes towards the crafty minotaur. ¡°Huh, never expect you to think like that. Guess Kraft¡¯s influence did rub on you quite a bit. I¡¯ll give it some thought.¡± ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Rei still felt clueless between their conversations and felt that his presence was more or less redundant. ¡°TLDR, she¡¯s taking advantage of my generosity to aid you.¡± Peppers said while she used her magic to look older instead of a cosmetic inscription charm, she had to configure her looks once again when Sebastia threw a passport to her. ¡°Felt the opportunity was right the moment she did not grumble when she came to the Mecha World.¡± Sebastia smiled as she placed an inscription charm onto Rei, changing his face slightly to match the man on the passport. ¡°Well, this is exciting. Never had I thought I would be in like some movie, changing my face for an undercover mission.¡± Peppers thought to herself as she chose some clothes from Sebastia¡¯s ¡®wardrobe¡¯. ¡°We are going in fast, pay some cash and travel as near to the spaceships as possible.¡± Sebastia went through with the plan but Rei¡¯s head was already full of panic making it impossible for him to listen to whatever Sebastia was talking about. ¡°Sigh, do we really need a character like him right now? Can¡¯t we just send him back first and teleport him back to us when the situation is ripe?¡± Peppers could already feel she was in the movies and Rei was that scared person which could potentially screw everything up. ¡°It¡¯s not my call and besides we never know when we need some actual help from a person who is native to this world?¡± Sebastia said as she slapped Rei to wake him up while Peppers reluctantly cast a calming spell to stabilise his emotions. ¡°I can only hope this immigration thing will be a quick one.¡± Sebastia hoped. Chapter 1285: Going Through Immigration Chapter 1285: Going Through Immigration With only Peppers unfamiliar with the procedures of the Mecha World despite all the knowledge in her head, Sebastia had changed her mind and forced her to change into a little girl instead. (Fortunately, she did prepare a fake kid passport not knowing who would be with her for the infiltration.) Peppers naturally was against the decision but Rei told her that she had to lie her way to get through the immigration passport which even a person not close to Peppers was able to discern she could not lie much. Thus, Peppers resigned to the fate of being the ¡®daughter¡¯ of Sebastia and Rei for the time being. The only consolation she got was that she did not have to do anything and go through the spaceport. However, things were not as smooth as they thought it would be when they reached the first checkpoint. The machines were beeping loudly for Sebastia the moment she tried to go through the scanner and the same goes for Rei. The Immigration Guards slowly walked up to them to do a routine check to see what¡¯s the matter as those machines rarely beeped that loudly. ¡°Are we busted that quickly?¡± Rei nervously chats on the System Channel but Sebastia told him to keep quiet, as she tried to see if she could salvage the situation. However, the best way to handle the situation, for now, was to watch and see. The guard with the highest rank looked at them at the side of the room since that was where the command control for the immigration gates was and spoke through the hall¡¯s intercom. ¡°Immigration Counter 45 & 47. Please step back and try scanning your passports again in a few seconds.¡± And thus, Rei and Sebastia did as they were told with Peppers hanging behind Sebastia, waiting for her turn beside ¡®Mummy¡¯ to clear the gates for her to go through. After all, Sebastia had to act as if Peppers was really her daughter by helping her to go through the immigration gates before Mummy could scan her passport. This time around, the gates blinked with green lights after they stood there for what seemed like an eternity before the gates opened and allowed them to pass through with almost every guard within the vicinity staring at them like vultures waiting for their right time to gobble them up, Next, it was Sebastia¡¯s turn and she too went through without any hitch thus allowing the guards to return back to their post as the family of three gathered again and made their way to the duty free area of the spaceport. ¡°Sheesh, what is all that about? I thought you had the passports covered?¡± Rei commented in the System Channel as he wiped the sweat off his forehead the moment they were far enough from the immigration counters. ¡°I have no idea as well. When I used those passports, they were fine. Not sure if it¡¯s because I purchased them a long time ago and they were not activated. In any case, we should be glad that we are able to go through it without a hitch especially when security seems to be tighter than usual.¡± Sebastia said and that was when Peppers started chuckling. ¡°Heh Heh Heh. You two did not realise that there was some manipulation behind the scenes?¡± Peppers queried and Rei was the only one who entertained her in the System Channel while Sebastia continued to survey her surroundings. ¡°You mean, there was really something wrong with the passports?¡± Rei asked and Peppers nodded her head. ¡°If not for Your Demonic Sage Queen here to clear the ruckus, you think you guys are able to go through without making too much of a scene? I was the one who magically reset the immigration counter status.¡± Peppers said it as if they had forgotten that Peppers was a mage of high regards in Jin¡¯s army, not just a combat mage who could send explosions into the sky. Rei was astonished by her but Sebastia told Peppers not to lie. ¡°There is no way she could have manipulated the machines. She needs to understand the workings of the immigration counter before doing anything to do it. It¡¯s not as if it was based on some physical trigger mechanism plus those guards had a database. The only thing I can think of is that she mind tricked the highest ranking guard within the command post to allow us to go through when our passports were flagged.¡± Sebastia answered and Peppers felt like the magic in her act had disappeared along with her explanation. ¡°Bleargh, but still you have to give me credit for-¡± ¡°Thank you, Peppers. Without you, it would not be an easy feat to go through the immigration counter. I am glad you are here with us.¡± Sebastia said through the System Channel and for once, Peppers kept quiet as she smiled away happily. After a few minutes of walking, Sebastia finally told the two of them that she found her pilot. She quietly asked Peppers to follow Rei for a moment to look at some gifts at a nearby souvenir store while she sat opposite the pilot near a resting area pretending to play her phone. Though in reality, she was texting him through some near field communications app so that it was both encrypted and nearly undetectable. ¡°Three pax. Usual price per person.¡± Sebastia texted. ¡°No, the deal is off. The security here has suddenly gotten very strict. Even if I can take off from the spaceport, the only route I could go is the one they had designated. If I ever divert just by a few metres, the spaceport authorities would sound the alarm for the Mechas to swoop in..¡± ¡°Triple the price.¡± Sebastia did not care what the excuse of the pilot was but at least she know that at the very least, the prison ships must be here or else the security would not be this alarming. ¡°No. I value my life more than that. Even coming here to talk to you is a risk and you should be lucky that I am not going to snitch on you to the authorities for even talking about going near the prison ships.¡± The pilot immediately left the chat and walked away. ¡°Guess we will do this the illegal way.¡± Sebastia sighed as she told Peppers what was happening and in an instant, the pilot came back to the chat group once more stating that he decided to fuck it and go with the flow. ¡°I guess, you only live once.¡± The last sentence from the pilot made Sebastia nearly burst into laughter. ¡°All those memes. Peppers, you are eating too much junk information from Jin¡¯s world.¡± Sebastia said as she looked towards her daughter and quietly nodded her head with thanks. Chapter 1286: Prison Heist -Part 1 Chapter 1286: Prison Heist -Part 1 ¡°Master, we are taking off right now. Not sure how close we will be towards the prison ships but the pilot said that any deviation from the current course we are taking would be alerted and they will activate the Mechas.¡± Sebastia said as she sat right beside the possessed pilot. He might be performing actions to turn his spaceship on for departure but the expressions betrayed them as it was rather obvious he was doing it unwillingly. ¡°Meh, I did not use that much magic to control him, just enough to get things moving.¡± Peppers said when she popped by to see the cockpit and saw Sebastia¡¯s dissatisfied look. ¡°At least give him a memory wipe when the deed is done.¡± ¡°Why do that when he is probably not going to survive the current ordeal?¡± Peppers said nonchalantly and Sebastia figured that the Mage Bellator did not think of death the way normal people would and why wouldn¡¯t she? Peppers might have seen more death and destruction than anyone could so having another human dying right in front of her would be all the same. Even Sebastia herself would have thought the same if Jin had not opened her eyes to other worlds and yet she had not been accustomed to something called dying permanently. ¡°Peppers, he did us a favour despite how unwilling he is, I think it is only fair to allow him to live through this ordeal.¡± Sebastia tried to rephrase her opinions to match Peppers¡¯ train of thought. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± Peppers sighed as she drew a magical sigil on the pilot¡¯s arm, making him squirm in pain for a moment. ¡°This will let him teleport back to the airport but do not blame me for making him suffer the subsequent ordeal he had to face when he got caught by the authorities. After all, it is his ship that we are crashing the prisons with¡± ¡°Ehh¡­guys, you are assuming that this ship can withstand the brunt of the attack from the maximum security prison spaceships,¡± Rei interjected as the spaceship they were on was small enough for him to hear all that conversation from the passenger area. ¡°Ho ho ho!¡± Peppers started laughing at such a high pitch which made Sebastia realise that Rei might not have seen much of Jin¡¯s army at work. Even though she received intel that Rei had been working on a few space crafts that Jin ordered, Sebastia assumed Rei had seen some action beforehand. However, it looks like this would most likely be Rei¡¯s first big battle under Jin¡¯s command. The spaceship took off without a hitch and Jin had replied that they were ready to teleport in the moment Peppers set the coordinates to the System properly. With all the security alerts, it would highly be unlikely this would be an easy grab and run kind of prison heist. After all, this exchange was between the two warring factions. Tensions would naturally be high and everyone would have their fingers ready at the trigger ready to attack if there was something amiss. However, as much as Jin would wish to deescalate the situation, this war had been ongoing for so long that there was nothing much he could do unless he either made them understand each other or annihilated everyone to make it stop. But both options would gargantuan responsibilities mainly because the universe of Mecha World is not confined to one particular planet compared to the rest of the worlds he had been. With both factions expanding through outer space and galaxies beyond, it would take something more impactful to stop their warring. That was also the reason why Jin did not care if his actions to perform a prison heist would eventually further escalate their war because this war isn¡¯t something he could control and the only thing he could do was to make sure Rei¡¯s family would be safe after this event. ¡°We are approaching soon,¡± Sebastia said as the pilot pointed out through the cockpit windows and showed them that tiny little sparks of light were where the maximum security prison Spaceships were. Peppers did not believe him at first until she cast her magic onto the shuttle window and it created a zooming effect that allowed them to see the two maximum security prison spaceships and a bunch of other minor security ships as well mechas around the area. Rei could only tighten his seatbelt at the passenger area as he knew how turbulent a shot from one of those security spaceship¡¯s cannons would feel. Meanwhile, Peppers was already prepping a few magic spells both offensive and defensive so that their current space shuttle would be able to propel through hopefully undetected until the very last minute. ¡°Do some damage to the maximum security prison spaceships too, they most likely have some energy shields which could stop our shuttle from pushing through,¡± Sebastia said as she too felt a little excited since this was the first time she would be charging into a battlefield that was totally unknown to her. ¡°Ya ya, I already did that. Just watch and see.¡± Peppers said as her staff forcefully stabbed through the metal plating floor and an energy shield had been generated around the space shuttle that they were in. ¡°Go now.¡± Peppers¡¯ simple command was not just an indicator for the tearing pilot but also for Jin and the rest to jump into action when the time was right. The pilot reluctantly pushed his joystick pulley to the highest gear while swirling to the left and diverting off course from the one he was supposed to be in. His actions instantly alerted the spaceport authorities and a large blaring warning was emitted from his space shuttle. ¡°This is Colony 969 Spaceport Security. Return to your authorised course in ten seconds or we will be forced to shoot you down. No other warnings would be given after this transmission.¡± ¡°Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!¡± The pilot cried as he maintained the steering wheel and he could see all the security crafts and their mechas sortie out to meet the threat that was blazing through the space. ¡°Fuck yes!¡± Peppers exclaimed as she finally held her magical staff and gave a slight twist as if it was the trigger for all the spells that she had been accumulating for the past few minutes of chanting. Chapter 1287: Prison Heist -Part 2 Chapter 1287: Prison Heist -Part 2 ¡°Space Shuttle ID: X657F had diverted off course and headed towards the exchange point!¡± One of the petty officers shouted out loud within the control centre of the United Federations Maximum Security Prison Spaceship. Captain L Farlinger heard the report and asked the designation of the ship. ¡°Captain, it¡¯s neither marked under the United Federations nor the Xeon Union.¡± The petty officer reported and another shouted that the Xeon Union were directing their guns at the space shuttle as well and to them. ¡°Do not point any guns to the Xeon Union and focus your efforts on stopping that space shuttle. We do not need a Texican Standoff (Mexican Standoff). Fire at the space shuttle whenever it is in range.¡± Captain Farlinger said and later requested another officer for the information about the shuttle, pilot and the passengers as soon as possible. ¡°Also, tell them to ground every other space flight going in or out of the Colony and disallow anyone from knocking off from their job. After all, if Space Colony 969 had approved the immigration, that means there¡¯s someone on the inside that had been their collaborator.¡± Captain Farlinger added and his officers were scrambling around the deck to fulfil his request while sending units and directing the ship¡¯s guns towards the speeding space shuttle. It was pretty obvious it looked like a suicide attack and the only advantage the space shuttle had was the element of surprise. Guns were supposed to be deactivated prior to the prisoner exchange due to the agreement of non aggression. They even had to unarm the Mechas, allowing only physical weapons and shields so any movements from either side would mean they were not honouring the agreement. But this suicidal space shuttle took them off guard and by the time the guns were ready, the shuttle was already at roaring max speed (As if one can hear anything in space¡­perhaps in its different their world) The guns from both spaceships already took aim, calculated and compensated for any deviations when the space shuttle tried to dodge from the attack. In the meantime, the Mechas readied their shields in case of a large explosion that the space shuttle might pack despite its size. ¡°Fire!¡± One of the higher ranked officers within the ship¡¯s deck ordered and the crew released the volley of fire towards the incoming suicide shuttle. However, they did not know that on the other side of the battlefield, Peppers had already accumulated a sufficient amount of spells to give the entourage of ships a taste of their own medicine too. The space shuttle had been reinforced with Peppers¡¯ own signature energy barrier spell, the Aegis while the mage simultaneously unleashed a series of explosions targeting the Mechas and smaller space crafts within the vicinity of the two maximum security prison spaceships. The sudden explosions caused both factions¡¯ captains to be flabbergasted. They were demanding their crew to quickly check for other external threats which they could be unaware of. However, seeing that both ships had been attacked, it was rather apparent to deduce the attack was done by a third party, most likely some splinter group or resistance organisations that had been undermining their war. Yet, before they could identify any threats, another series of explosions occurred. This time, they were aimed at the ships¡¯ engines and boosters. ¡°I thought we had our shields up?!¡± Captain Farlinger questioned his crew and yet he saw that the ship¡¯s shields were working perfectly fine. In fact, it was taking damage from the impact of explosions that occurred on the ship itself. The first line of Mechas had been disabled by the mysterious explosions, leaving only the second and third line of Mechas to rush forth to stop the threat. All of them seem to know the value of this particular prisoner exchange and even if they do not, the intercoms had been blaring with the sound of communication officers to immediately stop the threat. ¡°Peppers, are you going to do something about that line of Mechas coming in?¡± Sebastia asked and the Mage Bellator laughed. Even without picking up her staff, she pointed at the incoming mechas with her fingers, now in the shape of a gun and shooting off like a little kid playing as a gunslinger. Though in reality, there was a magical circle emerging right above the space shuttle and bolts of metal of unknown origin were seen flying out of it, attacking each and every one of the Mechas on sight. The pilots thought that it was just a hunk of steel coming their way, but its penetrative power was more than what the shields could handle mainly because their defensive armaments were attuned to be against lasers rather than physical attacks. For something to be so modern, the Mechas were not ready to be against such primitive attacks, allowing the bolts of steel to penetrate through. The most terrifying thing was that those steel pikes were perfectly aimed directly towards the cockpit, instantly killing the pilots who were moving the Mechas. Even as the others who noticed the pattern attack tried to evade but somehow, the attacks were as fast as modern lasers. ¡°I am surprised that you did not take the opportunity to make a flowery show of explosions,¡± Sebastia said as she steadied the pilot to tell him to keep moving forward. ¡°Hmmph! I know Jin would want the Mechas as a reference and this seems to be the perfect opportunity to do so since they are all coming at us. Killing the pilots and leaving most of the stuff intact.¡± Peppers giggled with a wide smile. ¡°Also, this will allow me to have more System points for me to spend! Hehe!¡± ¡°But they are currently being left all around the battlefield like floating scrap metal. By the time we are done, they could have drifted somewhere else.¡± Sebastia said as she saw the carnage up close while the Mechas were in chaos. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will teleport them soon enough once I am done roasting the rest of the spaceships.¡± Peppers said but she was already teleporting the Mechas before they were out of her sight. And there Sebastia thought that Peppers was doing it because Jin asked. Guess, the Mage Bellator did have her own agenda in this current heist. Chapter 1288: Prison Heist -Part 3 Chapter 1288: Prison Heist -Part 3 Pepper¡¯s defensive energy barrier was not the only spell that had been enchanted in the spacecraft they were in. Their engines had been roaring with the power of mana boosting them through, burning its cerulean space fuel with more efficiency than any other known possible engine in their world. It sped through the barriers while Peppers collected the metal corpses for the System to analyse but she never forgets the current objective of hijacking the maximum security prison spaceship. The moment they reached close enough to one of the prison spaceships, Peppers instantly motioned her hand like a gun and shouted bam! Instead of an explosion that would ensue based on the Demonic Sage Queen¡¯s nature, the spacecraft they were on suddenly got way faster as if they were being sucked into something. It was then they realised that the ship was magically being connected to the main ship like some slime fuse with another slime to become a bigger slime. The only difference was that the metaphorical slimes were solid matter and people who were watching the spell at work were truly flabbergasted by this hijacking method these resistance forces had been using. In fact, they were stunned how a series of mechas could be destroyed and subsequently disappearing miniature black holes appeared out of nowhere to suck them away from their vicinity. Their AI intelligence sensors instantly went into max confusion overdrive citing critical errors in their analysis because there was nothing within their analytical parameters. Both crews were shouting at each other, demanding if they knew anything or any information on the current hijacker. However, what they had were only mere speculations and nothing else. Captain Farlinger of the United Federations immediately demanded the prison spaceship to go to the highest tier of alert judging by the damage the spacecraft had done and also mainly due to the fact that it had crashed into their ship instead. ¡°They are here for the political VIP! We should move quickly to block them from aiding their escape!¡± The officers shouted and Farlinger instantly authorised the use of Silver Soldiers, a series of AI Humanoid War Robots to search and destroy the hijackers. ¡°Sir, are you sure?! The Silver Soldiers may be operational but technically, they are still in their final testing stage and we cannot guarantee the efficacy of them not hurting the VIP prisoners!¡± The technical officer shouted but Farlinger did not care. ¡°Right now, those hijackers are a threat that is beyond our comprehension. Killing them alongside the VIP prisoners is the least of our priorities. At the very most, we will tell the public that Xeon Union had prompted this hijack since our prison spaceship had been compromised.¡± Farlinger smirked but at that moment, they received a transmission from Xeon Union Captain Coalran demanding an explanation. ¡°There is a breach at my prison spaceship! Why are you not taking care of our flank when I am losing pilots from that suicide spacecraft attack!?¡± Coalran exclaimed and showed them CCTV footage of a large explosion near their hangar bay, and an unknown spacecraft was seen parking right at the breached area. ¡°How am I supposed to know if they were able to slip in undetected? That fucking spacecraft had merged- what the hell am I saying?! That thing! It has invaded us as well and we are dealing with it as we speak!¡± Farlinger lost his temper seeing that a spacecraft was able to pass through the senses of the best technology the United Federation was proud of. Radar Detection. ¡°You better make sure that our VIPs are still intact or else, the Xeon Union will declare this as further aggression against our sovereignty!¡± Coalran blasted through the intercoms and shut down all further communications. ¡°At this rate, Silver Soldiers are not the only ones that would be sortied.¡± Farlinger scratched his neck feeling very irritated by the situation. As much as he wanted the prisoners the Xeon Union had in possession, it seemed as if it would not likely be the case as the Xeon Union had the very same version of Silver Soldiers at their behest. The Black Immortals. Their AI programming was ruthless and proven to be efficient killing robots. As much as he wished to boast the Silver Soldiers, they were basically copied inferior versions of the Black Immortals because of their lack of expertise in that particular field. And that was the very reason why Captain Farlinger and the United Federations wanted the prisoners in Xeon Union spaceships. As long as they could possess one of their prisoners, the Silver Soldiers would eventually be the main fighting force for the United Federations and possibly the backbone of their future army structure. But for now, Farlinger had to make sure that he kept his bargain of protecting the VIP prisoners that he was holding. If the hijackers were really coming for them, the entire prison force would make sure that they would not survive. After all, they were a few hundred strong while the hijackers were merely a handful. In the meantime, Rei was breathing as hard as he could to keep himself calm. Sebastia already threw him a battle vest for him to wear as well as a custom made rifle from Jin¡¯s store. It was powered with inscription charms making them user friendly for a non cultivator like Rei. ¡°I only did a few shooting lessons with the werecats. There is no way I am able to-¡± Before Rei could finish his excuse, Sebastia immediately slapped him. And as Rei was about to speak another word, the female minotaur slapped on his other cheek and pointed her finger at him, making him listen to her instead. ¡°One. This is your fight for your family. Two, You are definitely dying. Three, remember you are contracted to the System, even if you die, you will revive back again. Four, do not waste the System¡¯s resources unnecessarily. Five, get your guts out of your body and start walking. Are you going to be out beaten by a teenager wielding explosive magic that could destroy the entire world?¡± ¡°Yes to the last one¡­¡± Rei thought to himself but somehow Sebastia slapped him again and told him to do things without thinking. ¡°Get out, and prove to us that you are not just a wuss but someone worthy of Jin¡¯s promise,¡± Sebastia said once more and told him to get out of the ship. As Peppers was already blasting a few of the metal doors that were shut on them the moment they entered, Rei swallowed his anxiety and pushed himself to be beside Peppers, trying to be as alert as he could be. In the meantime, Sebastia reequipped herself from the luggage she brought with her. How she managed to smuggle in did not require any story especially when she was wearing a storage ring. But the reason she was staying behind for a while longer was that she wished to honour the pilot that risked his life to bring them to their destination. ¡°System, mind helping me?¡± The minotaur asked and the System instantly fulfilled that wish while deducting a fraction of System points that would have normally cost a lot more for that kind of request. The only answer she received from the System was that Peppers had paid the rest while Sebastia smiled weakly as she prepared herself to walk into the deadly battlefield. Chapter 1289: Prison Heist -Part 4 Chapter 1289: Prison Heist -Part 4 ¡°Man, that space shuttle was really quite cramped. Kraft said as he stretched his hands and legs the moment he got out of it. The System had teleported a custom space shuttle which was not particularly deemed very fit for flight into the Mecha World. Rei did not finish fine tuning the mechanical portion of it but it was still space worthy to be used for an ambush mission after receiving coordinates from Peppers. ¡°Well, it sure is, especially for one who could have transformed into a fox for the time being.¡± Milk complained. ¡°I wanted to! You simply did not allow me to rest on your beautiful -urgh!¡± Kraft received a punch to the gut even before he could finish his sentence. ¡°Don¡¯t you think this group has way too much firepower for a prison break?¡± Qiu Yue, the Red Panda Cultivator and Empire building Sub System User queried as she walked beside her new master, Zeru. ¡°I doubt so. Never estimate the enemies¡¯ numbers especially when you are going in blind. Besides, it would be a great experience and experiment fighting in space. You will never know when we are going to fight in zero gravity and that would no doubt be a test of your skills and balance.¡± Zeru explained. ¡°Looks like not all of Jin¡¯s employees are knuckleheads.¡± Ke Loong, SeaMesh CEO exclaimed as he could feel the adrenaline rushing through his body. Even though he was guaranteed to come back alive from the fight, it did not stop him from being the only few from Earth to travel to space, let alone fight. ¡°Just don¡¯t leave my side.¡± Kong Rong said as he did not like the situation they were in after seeing Jin blasting a hole in the maximum security prison spaceship and subsequently sealing it up with his astute manipulation of matter via chi and magic. ¡°Hou Fei, you honestly could go ahead and enjoy the fun. I can stay behind to look after the ship.¡± Jin said as he was picking up a manual to read while waiting for the rest to depart from the space shuttle. ¡°Nah, Boss. That is where you are wrong. The escape route is always the one that would be targeted no matter the situation. So, with the least amount of effort, we definitely get quite a large fish coming to us. ¡± Hou Fei sat right beside the captain¡¯s seat and saw the crowd descending through another hole which was created by Mr Crafty. ¡°But damn, the gates and corridors sure are big in here. No wonder, Peppers said there was no way you could teleport the maximum security prison spaceship back to our world. You could fit like forty Void Beings in here!¡± ¡°Peppers clearly has the means to do it if she partnered with the System but I doubt she would like to vomit rainbows for an extended period of time.¡± Jin said as the manual he read was full of corrections and edits indicating that Rei had indeed been actively working on the manual for the space shuttle, fulfilling his promise as a part time spaceship engineer for Jin while working his ass off to make sure his Gunndam movie would be a success. ¡°Ah. I should go look into that studio that was making the movie for him. They better have some results after all the money I pumped into their studio.¡± Jin thought to himself and then Hou Fei continued to survey the surroundings outside the space shuttle. ¡°With any luck, we might be fighting against a few mechas judging by the gigantic space corridor that we are in.¡± Jin blurted out while he continued to flip the manual but at that moment, he and Hou Fei could hear a rumbling noise to their right. Their eyes simultaneously shifted to see the incoming commotion and it looked like Jin hit jackpot on the comments which he should have kept his mouth shut with. ¡°Do you wish to fight that yourself?¡± Jin now sarcastically asked Hou Fei. ¡°Does this space crap have defences on them? Or heck, a robot that I could use?¡± Hou Fei laughed slowly and bitterly at the current situation where they saw a heavily armoured Mecha scanning the perimeter as it tried to force open the door that had been shut tight. The Xeon Union soldiers on the other side of the door were scrambling to manually open the giant doors because their safety protocols stopped them from entering the room for some reason. They could only assume that the ship had suffered enough damage from Peppers¡¯ initial wave of explosions that their ship was in full lockdown. But even with the door currently barring the seemingly heavy armour mecha from going through, its head was turned towards the space shuttle and sounds of rotating machinations were heard even though Jin and Hou Fei were in the cockpit. ¡°From what I read, this is not even the finished product. We only use this as a way of deception.¡± Jin replied as he now realised what kind of sound it was. A minigun. No, two miniguns twice their size were rotating at speeds that could not be seen with the naked eye right at the top of the heavily armoured Mecha¡¯s head. ¡°Then guess we have to show them that ¡®magic¡¯ does exist in this multiverse!¡± Hou Fei said as he brought out a full mask with a Snake design from his storage ring and wore it to hide his face just as what Kraft and the rest did as well. After which, he placed his hand on the glass window in the cockpit and created a chi barrier to block it from damaging him. ¡°Welp, that means I am the one who will have to clean up this mess,¡± Jin said as he too wore a full Panda mask to hide his identity if their ship blew up. ¡°We could¡­you know, let the ship explode and we go somewhere else.¡± Hou Fei said as he feared that he could not hold up two miniguns with bullets possibly with the radius of a car tyre slamming onto his chi barrier. (It might be exaggerating but at that point in time, he felt it was that way.) ¡°The System is being an ass and gave me a System mission to protect the ship as much as possible,¡± Jin replied as if waiting for the System to give an explanation for its sudden irrational behaviour. But all the System said that there would be a reward to it. Chapter 1290: Prison Heist -Part 5 Chapter 1290: Prison Heist -Part 5 As the rest were having fun creating havoc while they looked for the prisoners based on what the System had extracted from Rei¡¯s memories, Jin and Hou Fei were having the ¡®best¡¯ times of their lives. The heavy rotating guns were blasting bullets off their barrels onto the space shuttle but its ¡®energy field¡¯ was able to withstand the massive slew of impact coming from the rain of fire. The Heavy Armoured Mecha pilot had no idea that it was possible as most space shuttles of that particular size would already have been shredded into pieces with the same amount of firepower given. And it was all thanks to Hou Fei who gave a push of his chi to ensure that his chi barrier was wide enough to cover the space shuttle from the trajectory of the mini gun spray and strong enough to withstand the attack. If not for Jin¡¯s previous sentence, Hou Fei would not have bothered to even block these many bullets coming at such high speed impact. ¡°Why not fight Mecha with Mecha!?¡± Hou Fei suggested as he implied summoning Mechataur into the field and level the robot down with their very own. ¡°That¡¯s basically like bringing our trump card against it immediately at the start of the fight..¡± Jin said through the System Channel while he ran out of the space shuttle to fight against the armoured Mecha. ¡°Hahaha, you are kidding me, right? That Minotaur is our trump card?? I feel that for once, we are the group that¡¯s backwards after all the fights that we are in.¡± Hou Fei replied as he powered up his chi to strengthen the barrier. The Armoured Mecha could have been shooting its bullets from its head but it was simultaneously sliding the titan doors open forcefully so that it could squeeze through. Even if it couldn¡¯t, Hou Fei knew that it would take the opportunity to perform a sleight of hand and literally bring a hand through the opening with a pistol or rifle to shoot at the space shuttle. At that point, forget about tyre sized bullets, it could possibly be laser beam equivalent of chi energy from a Grade 15 cultivator and maybe more. At that point, he either has to sacrifice the size of his barrier to maintain his shield or risk a back blow for overexerting his chi powers to keep the barrier up. Thankfully, he did not have to worry about that as Jin had already popped out from the space shuttle and into the open, prompting the spray of mini gun fire to be redirected at him. However, this time around Jin did not hold back any punches as he activated his Maqi throughout his entire body to produce Yellow Lightning Panda Energy and burst through the room towards the Armoured Mecha. Initially, the Armoured Mecha Pilot thought that the incoming opponent was wearing enhanced body gear to improve his reflexes but the sudden flash of light and subsequently disappearing from the motion sensors caused the pilot to panic for a moment. He might have thought that he was seeing things but the sensors were portraying a different story when all of them suddenly shut down and there was no camera feed going through his cockpit. But before he could react to anything else in order to diagnose the situation, he suddenly felt his entire body numbing momentarily before going into a state of extreme pain. His eyes saw streaks of electricity bursting through panels of the darkened metal box he was entrapped in and sadly that was the last thing the pilot ever saw. Jin¡¯s intense burst of Yellow Lightning Panda Energy brought time for Hou Fei to recover and possibly added an obstacle for the Xeon Union to overcome in order to reach the space shuttle. The Armoured Mecha shut down in between the doors, causing the doors to retract back to their original position. However, the doors were still left slightly ajar despite the giant robot¡¯s unfortunate shutdown, allowing personnel to enter the room but not other Mechas. If they wish to bring or sortie Mechas through it, they either have to break the current one that was trapped in between the two sliding doors or blast the entire thing so that the others could go through. Else right now, heavily armed guards were going through the door and they were in full astronaut suits. Seeing that the perpetrators were not in any spacesuits, the Xeon Union Captain Coalran decided to cut the oxygen air supply and turn off the gravity manipulator so that the resistance rebels could die without them doing much. But they were dead wrong. The full animal masks the rebels were wearing had an oxygen breathing inscription charm which technically made the masks as oxygen breathers which could last for more than an hour or so. If their oxygen breathing inscription charm worn out, they could quickly swap to another from their storage rings. As for the zero gravity problem, it actually poses no threat to the cultivators who could use chi to rebalance themselves so the problem they would have are absolute freezing temperatures if they were exposed to outer space. That was why Peppers merged the space shuttle she was on with the prison ship and Jin melded back the metal so that they would not be exposed to outer space. Yet, if they were in an unexpected scenario where they were thrown out into space, all that were participating in the current prison heist had been bestowed with a customised Gearbox suit by the System that could expand in a moment¡¯s notice and encapsulate them in it. The Gearbox Suit even has a mini air booster that allows them to travel around in space as well as a gyroscopic mechanism that enables them to gain balance easily. The only problem was that the Astro Gearbox Suit was extremely fragile because of its compact design and expanding at a moment¡¯s notice. The group initially wanted to use sturdier versions of previous gearbox suit iterations but that would hinder their movement as well as abilities since the suit had to cover the entire body while ensuring there was no leak. As for now, Jin had successfully disabled their Mecha and the only thing that stand in their way to wreck their mission critical space shuttle were goons and Jin decided not to waste any time dealing with these armed astronaut guards, especially since numbers are on their side. Chapter 1291: Prison Heist -Part 6 Chapter 1291: Prison Heist -Part 6 ¡°Ah, I think I heard some ruckus at the back,¡± Kraft said nonchalantly as he walked up the stairs. He shot down another guard who tried to be a hero but failed so miserably. ¡°The System said Jin and Hou Fei are currently defending the space shuttle.¡± Qiu Yue reported to the rest of the group. ¡°Why? That piece of aircraft is just junk metal. It¡¯s incomplete anyways and only used to keep us intact in case we teleported wrongly into outer space which we did thanks to dumb dumb Peppers.¡± Kraft replied as the group reached another blockade. With Kraft¡¯s assumed technological expertise, the door should have opened quite easily but most of them forgot that this was an entirely new universe with different security protocols and encryption methods. ¡°Ah, this is quite an interesting lock.¡± Kraft quickly got into a pickle upon attempting to hack the system. ¡°Now I understand why the System wants me to go so desperately. It¡¯s not to kill stuff, but to learn their technology and bring it back for the System to utilise. It¡¯s got to cost you something!¡± Kraft said loudly but it was pretty apparent that he was aiming his discontent at the System. ¡°The System shall reward Original Bellator Kraft sufficient System Points as well as a substantial upgrade to his current abode.¡± The System reported and somehow that perked him up. ¡°Is it really the best time to learn their technology through breaking their lock during a freaking lockdown? If we cannot move forward fast enough, they will either bring an army of guards behind us or they will transfer the prisoners away to an even more secure place¡­perhaps send the prisoners that we wish to rescue into a separate space shuttle and disappear into the depths of outer space.¡± Kong Rong showed his displeasure in waiting for the lock to be removed. ¡°Not gonna lie, he does have a point.¡± Qiu Yue said as she stared at the enormous metal doors filled with a dozen locking mechanisms attached to it like some safe with high specifications. ¡°If you fail any of the unlocking sequences, we would never go through this. ¡°And from the looks of it, it seems to be fortified in such a way that even Mechas would have some difficulty going through it with brute force.¡± Zeru touched the metal to have a feel of the material, with hopes that his sword could cut through it. ¡°Guys, we have company.¡± Ke Loong who was on the lookout saw that the room they were in had doors starting to open behind them. And not in just one direction but five. Up, Down, Back, Right and Left. Miniature Mechas that were the size of Jin¡¯s Fortress Golems and the very same Armoured Mechas were seen coming from all five doors along with a multiple platoons of heavily geared troops pouring to get to them. ¡°Ah, that means we are going in the right direction.¡± Kraft smiled as he immediately raised a bubble barrier around himself as he focused himself on the console panel. ¡°Guess this might prove useful in breaking down the initial part of the lock.¡± He said to himself as he had earlier searched a few bodies for any sort of physical item that could be used to unlock stuff. In fact, he even had cut hands off the guards and gorged a few eyeballs just in case they were needed. (The rest were not exactly approving of his behaviour but they knew that he was doing what was needed.) And true enough, the hand which he saw off had proven to be useful as the keyboardless console panel immediately revealed a holographic keyboard with the presence of a familiar thumbprint at the scanner. But to make things even more complicated, it seemed like only the hand he was holding was able to use the holographic keyboard. Further entries from his own set of hands were recognised as invalid and there was a security pop up alert, indicating that only the user who had scanned the console could use it. Kraft eventually got fed up and reanimated the dead user¡¯s hands with chi and started to mirror his finger typing with the dead set of hands. It was creepy from another person¡¯s perspective but the solution worked. ¡°Can your shield withstand all attacks?¡± Qiu Yue asked and Kraft snorted. ¡°Depends whether I am too deep in concentrating on the algorithms. But if it¡¯s a stray bullet or something of that nature, I should be able to handle it without thinking.¡± Kraft replied and that was enough information that for the first time ever, Kraft might need some protection. Even if he was able to do solo fending for himself, it would no doubt slow down the calculation time needed to break open the locks. Therefore Qiu Yue decided to take charge of the situation by telling everyone to kill the enemies as soon as possible. ¡°Don¡¯t just do that. Create diversion as well.¡± Zeru said as he unsheathed his sword slowly to reveal a blade that was coated in blackness. However, the moment he poured some chi into it, his katana returned into a normal metal blade. Qiu Yue knew what her newest sensei was doing and allowed him to do whatever he liked. In the meantime, with the empire building Sub System on her side, she poured a bit of cash and a wall of cement emerged right behind Kraft followed by another set of metal walls and surprisingly a wall of slime too. The slime was no ordinary slime as they were bought off the black market known to be parts of a high ranked defender slime from the Dungeon World. They were known to block high level spells of magic and Qiu Yue hoped that it worked the same against high energy laser beams and even high speed ballistics to ensure that Kraft¡¯s barrier receive the least amount of damage. Separately, Kong Rong and Ke Loong tagged team and proceeded to kill any incoming Miniature Mechas and ground troops since they understood each other¡¯s way of attacking but they left the larger Mecahs alone. They knew their attack power might be insufficient against them, therefore, left Zeru to take care of it. It was only then Qiu Yue realised Milk went missing. She tried to call her via the System Channel and yet there was no answer. Since it was rare for a Bellator to die or get kidnapped, Qiu Yue assumed that Milk went off to kill stuff her way and decided not to bother with her. Besides, she saw the monk priest fought before and knew that in terms of fighting capabilities, she could be either stronger or on the same level as Zeru. Chapter 1292: Prison Heist -Part 7 Chapter 1292: Prison Heist -Part 7 ¡°Ahhh. I can start hearing the fight starting at the other side.¡± Peppers yawned as she blasted open yet another huge door. They were the same sort of doors which the Xeon Union were using but unlike Kraft¡¯s delicate touch, Peppers simply exploded them into smithereens just to proceed further on. Rei was walking behind them holding the rifle while sweating nervously. He tried to look around the maximum security spaceship to have a grasp of the current location that they were in and at the same time surveying if there were soldiers lurking at the top. However, all he saw were rows and rows of heavy metal doors, each obviously holding one of the most dangerous criminals in this galaxy especially when they were taken into this spaceship so that in the off chance that they were to escape, they were met with eternal space as their companion. ¡°Urgh, the lights are irritating,¡± Sebastia commented as she could not stand the blaring red lights that went off over and over again with the siren. ¡°I can fix that.¡± Peppers replied and with a snap of a finger, traces of mana floated out of her hand and then those lights turned bright white while the alarm had quietened down.¡±Alright, now that it¡¯s more peaceful, let¡¯s collect our prisoners shall we?¡± ¡°Are you sure? This place is so exposed and are you just going to release all the prisoners?¡± Rei asked if that was a good idea. ¡°Huh? Yeah, definitely. Once they are killed, the System takes them and we have a company full of first class bloodthirsty criminals in our hands. From murderers to white collar ones. They would be terribly good employees for Jin especially when the System will force them to listen to him despite their behaviour. I do not see anything wrong with that..¡± Peppers replied and she was already conjuring her spells in a way that she could simultaneously kill all of them in one go. ¡°And for your other concern, there is nothing much for you to worry about either.¡± Peppers said and she somehow added someone into their existing System Channel. There and then, Rei could hear the angry shouting and screams of a familiar person who was especially close to Peppers and it was none other than Milk, the Battle Monk/Priest Bellator. As if she knew that Peppers was ignoring her, the group suddenly felt that there was a projectile coming towards their way. Only when it was significantly closer, Rei could recognise that it was a torn off Mecha head which was at least twice the size of him zooming to his way. Yet, Sebastia rushed in and with her new sword, she sliced the mecha head into two cleanly and at an angle where the two pieces would diverge away far enough to not hit either Peppers or Rei. In the meantime, Peppers was not bothered by the distraction caused by Milk and she was almost done with her spell. It would be so much easier to destroy the entire ship with just one single explosion but she was afraid that if she did that, the collateral damage would not be counted by the System as compared to if she inflicted direct damage to the said prisoners. After all, her main objective was to collect as many System points as possible and if she could increase her points by getting almost every single prisoner in this ship, she would do that extra bit right at this moment to ensure those sweet System Points would go into her account. ¡°Stupid Peppers. Teleporting me here just to whack all this dumb robots!¡± MIlk grumbled as she continued to stomp the Mechas and crushing whatever resistance that was coming her way. Even when the Mechas were using anti personnel weapons to counter her, they were no match for her speed and strength. A punch from Milk would cause an entire arm to be crushed from the impact while a kick was enough to break the connection points of the Mecha¡¯s head from the body. And with the zero gravity environment, her kinetic energy was ever flowing within her, enabling Milk to move at speeds and directions of attack she had never gone before. All she knew was that she had to defeat all of them before the Priest Bellator could confront the Mage Bellator. ¡°Spell ready.¡± Peppers said and without any hesitation, magic bolts as thin as a needle flew out of the magic circle that she was casting from. As the prisoners were being struck by the thousand needle attacks by Peppers, they could only lament the fact that they were finally out of this space prison misery. (After all, many of them hoped that the hijack of the space prison was somebody they knew or a job opportunity came knocking at their front door.) When it was done, the green needles that emerged from the magical circle slowly dissipated and Peppers told the group to move to the next area. ¡°So¡­I am assuming you are going to do this at every prison block?¡± Rei asked if that was the plan and Peppers nodded her head. ¡°I know it¡¯s a little boring but it¡¯s the most systematic way I could think of. But don¡¯t you worry, your family members would not with this lump of people. My Scan magic showed me that there¡¯s a basement in this prison ship that holds doors that are much thicker than this.¡± Peppers said and the group could see Rei¡¯s anxiety flaring up. ¡°Sigh, if you want, we can go down first,¡± Sebastia said as she pulled a few large suitcases from her storage ring. Rei could immediately recognise those suitcases and immediately looked towards Sebastia with much curiosity as to how she obtained them. ¡°They were erm¡­ Free of charge. Someone owed me a favour or two. I managed to call them in before I came here.¡± Sebastia said and with each kick to open the large suitcases, bull looking robots started to activate to life and walked out of their charging stations (aka their suitcases). Automated rifles and other sorts of sensor guiding projectile barrels came out from their back and it was pretty obvious that these bull droids were something akin to security robots. Rei knew them from hard as they were cool looking in nature, especially their interior chip architecture. ¡°These ¡®Bullfighters¡¯ are more than enough security for Peppers. I will use her scan details to guide you down to the lower floors.¡± Sebastia said and Rei nodded his head instinctively as he admired those Bullfighters once more before tagging behind Sebastia. Chapter 1293: Prison Heist -Part 8 Chapter 1293: Prison Heist -Part 8 ¡°Captain! We are suffering tremendous losses!¡± The officer said as he reported how both their soldiers, robots and even prisoners were dying. Captain Farlinger had no idea what was happening and the objective of these rebel fighters. The more mystifying part was that he could believe what he was seeing through the security feed rolling through multiple cameras. It seemed so surreal to witness magic and superhuman feats being displayed against the guards. Superhuman feats was already a stretch as he heard of rumours about soldiers being illegally experimented on to provide superhuman strength but still, this was way off the charts. Some of the moves and actions could not be caught with the current security camera, much less with his pair of naked eyes. Usually, such infiltration by hijackers would be taken care of in an instant especially when the prison ship was equipped with expensive Mecha models that were equipped to destroy almost anything in sight but to see those precious Mecha being obliterated almost effortlessly showed that this particular group of hijackers are out of the norm. The problem was that Captain Farlinger had no idea what the hijackers¡¯ objectives were. At one point, they seem to be killing all the prisoners that they had and on the other hand, they seem to be searching for something leisurely. A quick two way communication channel had also been connected to find out that the Xeon Union Maximum Security Prison had also been mired with the very same unique group of hijackers. ¡°This situation leaves me no choice, I will signal for help.¡± Captain Farlinger said through the communication channel with the other captain. ¡°I shall do the same as well. As much as it displeases me, I hope our forces do not go into unnecessary conflict due to miscommunication.¡± Captain Coalran said before shutting the communication channel and looked at his second in command. ¡°I do not trust those Federation Union people, but it seems like they are dealing with the very same problem as us,¡± Coalran commented as he pulled up the security feed that was shared by Farlinger. ¡°Captain, do you think this is a ruse?¡± The second in command questioned and all his Captain did was to shrug his shoulders. However, from their space deck, they were able to see some minor explosions happening on the United Federation Ship. It was not exactly that obvious but there was indeed fire raging and even debris being sucked out from their prison ship which prompted their story with some credibility. ¡°What I am more concerned about is the capture of those superhumans. If there is a group of them attacking both of our spaceships so boldly, that means that there might be more of them out there hiding.¡± Captain Coalran replied and the second in command could see where this particular incident could be headed. Screw that prisoner exchange, even if the United Federation were to call for help, the Xeon Union would shout out for even more. These superhumans might potentially be the catalyst to break this century long stalemate and bring victory for the Xeon Union. ¡°Sir! I will call for help immediately.¡± Coalran¡¯s second in command reported but the Xeon Union Captain told him to hold his horses. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I will do that on your behalf. Despite my rank, I actually do have some contacts from the elite forces, a few pictures and videos should be more than enough to convince them to bring a handful of the best here to capture these people. Continue to activate the Black Immortals to slow the superhumans down.¡± Captain Coalran replied and his Second in Command insisted that more troops are better than some which his Captain eventually believed that such a move might possibly be wise when handling the unknown. And as the two maximum security prison spaceships sent their SOS signals, multiple space fleets had already received the distress call and prepped themselves for the space jump to reach Space Colony 969. The Colony, which was supposedly neutral ground, had their highest authority to request an explanation for the massive incoming jumps coming to their ¡®air¡¯ space. However, being a small powerless colony, both Captains did not bother answering the Colony¡¯s query and could only assume that an extended conflict may occur in their territory. Thus, their space aviation director quickly sent an urgent message to their mayor, prompting for a lockdown in case their conflict spilt over into their colony. In the meantime, their director had requested their colony to move slowly but surely away from the prison spaceships with their colony thrusters. Those thrusters were only used to navigate for short distances so that the colony would have their crops be shined with the nearest star¡¯s rays. (After all, the star was their sun in earthly context.) It might sound futile in the grand scale of the current events but if there was a chance that they could inch away from the prison ships, they might have a chance to have lesser collateral damage. Sadly, the director¡¯s fears were well founded as both the prison ships¡¯ distress signal immediately poured in the emergence of several space fleets in the area, causing this to be possibly one of the largest conflicts yet the current space sector might encounter. And from the size of the fleets on each side, it seems like Farlinger was thinking the same as Captain Coalran. The capture and seizure of these Superhumans were now their current agenda and the only people who were oblivious to these threats were the Superhumans themselves. And unfortunately for them, the System was not able to foresee such a circumstance and could only report to them the moment both fleets arrived on the scene. Jin got a shock when he heard the numbers that the System reported but the inbuilt radar within Rei¡¯s incomplete spacecraft also indicated the very same numbers. ¡°Guys, it looks like we got to speed up the heist. We have more than just company waiting for us outside of these ships.¡± Jin warned both parties and the countdown to grab the prisoners were already ticking. Chapter 1294: Hacking With The System Chapter 1294: Hacking With The System ¡°Zzzzzzzz. And here I thought I could take my time to do stuff.¡± Kraft said as he received the message from both the System Channel and Jin. He sighed a little while dropping his shield and focused fully on the current console that he was on. Breaking the lock was something he had already done roughly about thirty seconds into the local network but Kraft wanted something more. The Devil Fox wanted more information about the maximum security prison spaceship. Being a prison ship meant that there were definitely protocols that had been used to call out for the backup. And those backup signals would be encoded with the encryption this military organisation would have been using. It might sound far-fetched to be able to decode the encryption in less than a minute considering the differences in coding compared to Jin¡¯s world but Kraft was somehow a genius when it comes to cracking stuff down. He managed to understand the way the encryption worked and he infiltrated the military channel, allowing him to peep at their radio communication. However, that was not what he was after. Instead, through radio communications, it gave him a better picture of how the military worked and that was his side objective for breaking into the local network. In the meantime, all the data Kraft had fetched were currently being recorded by the System as he performed the greatest heist in this particular universe. Stealing the maximum security prison spaceship so that they could reverse engineer the technology and make it theirs. Screw the Royal Zodiac Clans and Jin¡¯s Dungeon Supplier¡¯s store. If Kraft was able to get this as his and understood the concept of space travel, the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan would be standing at the pinnacle of the world when it comes to the multi-country space race. China as a whole will no doubt be pushing their money to ensure that the country would be the first to conquer the Moon or even Mars. Perhaps with that, Jin could solely concentrate on making his Dungeon Instances to his deathbed without having to worry about money and glory. ¡°Hah! As if I will make it that easy for him to live.¡± Kraft smiled as he finally found the final firewall that was protecting the ships¡¯ system. ¡°System, do you think you can beat the Ship¡¯s AI? Or are you too outdated to even do that?¡± Kraft said as he attempted to connect a physical portion of the System into the current console he was jacked on. Aye, the System had condensed a portion of itself into a portable hard drive so that it could infiltrate the ship. If there was anything to commemorate, it was technically the System¡¯s first virgin battle against another AI. ¡°Just some forewarning. If you fail this battle, you will kinda be an embarrassment especially when you think about it, you the System, a heaven defying magical product lost a fight against a highly advanced technological computer assistant. ASSISTANT.¡± ¡°The System now understands why some if not all of the minions would have some sort of grudge against you.¡± The System said as Kraft could see that the System finally started its attack against the prison ship¡¯s on board AI. To most people, they might think that the System would have generated a digital Avatar to fight against the Prison¡¯s AI but in reality, it was less lit. Numbers and thousands of code were being generated in real time as the System used a variation of techniques to attack the firewall. In Kraft¡¯s eyes, it did feel like a caveman was going up against a grade 15 modern cultivator with the best equipped inscriptions and weapons. Each ¡®blow¡¯ the System tried to give Prison AI, it was met with fierce resistance as the AI even tried to shut the System out of the network. Unfortunately, Kraft knew that this fight would be a skewed one as he plugged another USB drive that had a cute fox sticker attached to it. (Of course with on site modification by yours truly so that he could attach Earth¡¯s technology into the console.) ¡°You owe me lots. System. I am demanding Lynn cook me the same kind of affectionate meal Jin has.¡± Kraft said with much anticipation as another wave of code was seen water falling through the console list. The Devil himself had inserted a USB Drive filled with customised malware and if he could imagine it, they were like little foxes running around to disrupt the stability of the firewall by pouring oil, salt, cement, water and other nonsensical stuff. In short, he was not fighting fair by unleashing a horde of viruses, almost simulating a sort of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack without the need of other networks. And that little bit of Foxy Technology was more than enough for the System to get up to speed in analysing the Prison Ship¡¯s AI, allowing it to ¡®mutate¡¯ and ¡®evolve¡¯ into something more potent to break the defences of the Prison Ship¡¯s AI (Sounded a lot like digital evolution from the anime Digital Munsters) Not to mention, the System daringly absorbed Kraft¡¯s malware code and used it as its spear to break the firewall defences. ¡°Come on. Once you have the ship under control, we can skittle diddle away with all these remnants and avoid additional damage to the ship because I am totally not going to waste my chi opening a portal this big just to get this to our world.¡± Kraft said as he could feel that the fighting got even more intense from the sounds of the battle as well as the multiple shockwaves being felt despite the layers of walls Qiu Yue had created. ¡°Do not worry. The time that Original Bellator Kraft had bought was more than sufficient for the System to understand the workings of the Prison Ship AI. Although the knowledge obtained was still considered minuscule, the System believed that it has a 49.8% chance of breaking the firewall defences in less than 10 minutes.¡± The System reported and Kraft was shocked. ¡°TEN MINUTES? THAT¡¯S LIKE¡­ten years in hyperspeed space.¡± Kraft was talking gibberish but he just meant that the ship or the rest might not even have an additional ten minutes to spare. (In hindsight, they had more than ten minutes but it¡¯s just that Kraft could not sit still for too long. Perhaps he had an ADHD condition that was never diagnosed.) ¡°The System will try its best.¡± Not a very assuring answer but it was better consolation than nothing for the time being since Kraft had to waste his time watching the digital battle unfold right in front of his eyes slowly. ¡®Slowly¡¯. Chapter 1295: Hacking With The System Chapter 1295: Hacking With The System ¡°Zzzzzzzz. And here I thought I could take my time to do stuff.¡± Kraft said as he received the message from both the System Channel and Jin. He sighed a little while dropping his shield and focused fully on the current console that he was on. Breaking the lock was something he had already done roughly about thirty seconds into the local network but Kraft wanted something more. The Devil Fox wanted more information about the maximum security prison spaceship. Being a prison ship meant that there were definitely protocols that had been used to call out for the backup. And those backup signals would be encoded with the encryption this military organisation would have been using. It might sound far-fetched to be able to decode the encryption in less than a minute considering the differences in coding compared to Jin¡¯s world but Kraft was somehow a genius when it comes to cracking stuff down. He managed to understand the way the encryption worked and he infiltrated the military channel, allowing him to peep at their radio communication. However, that was not what he was after. Instead, through radio communications, it gave him a better picture of how the military worked and that was his side objective for breaking into the local network. In the meantime, all the data Kraft had fetched were currently being recorded by the System as he performed the greatest heist in this particular universe. Stealing the maximum security prison spaceship so that they could reverse engineer the technology and make it theirs. Screw the Royal Zodiac Clans and Jin¡¯s Dungeon Supplier¡¯s store. If Kraft was able to get this as his and understood the concept of space travel, the Royal Zodiac Panda Clan would be standing at the pinnacle of the world when it comes to the multi-country space race. China as a whole will no doubt be pushing their money to ensure that the country would be the first to conquer the Moon or even Mars. Perhaps with that, Jin could solely concentrate on making his Dungeon Instances to his deathbed without having to worry about money and glory. ¡°Hah! As if I will make it that easy for him to live.¡± Kraft smiled as he finally found the final firewall that was protecting the ships¡¯ system. ¡°System, do you think you can beat the Ship¡¯s AI? Or are you too outdated to even do that?¡± Kraft said as he attempted to connect a physical portion of the System into the current console he was jacked on. Aye, the System had condensed a portion of itself into a portable hard drive so that it could infiltrate the ship. If there was anything to commemorate, it was technically the System¡¯s first virgin battle against another AI. ¡°Just some forewarning. If you fail this battle, you will kinda be an embarrassment especially when you think about it, you the System, a heaven defying magical product lost a fight against a highly advanced technological computer assistant. ASSISTANT.¡± ¡°The System now understands why some if not all of the minions would have some sort of grudge against you.¡± The System said as Kraft could see that the System finally started its attack against the prison ship¡¯s on board AI. To most people, they might think that the System would have generated a digital Avatar to fight against the Prison¡¯s AI but in reality, it was less lit. Numbers and thousands of code were being generated in real time as the System used a variation of techniques to attack the firewall. In Kraft¡¯s eyes, it did feel like a caveman was going up against a grade 15 modern cultivator with the best equipped inscriptions and weapons. Each ¡®blow¡¯ the System tried to give Prison AI, it was met with fierce resistance as the AI even tried to shut the System out of the network. Unfortunately, Kraft knew that this fight would be a skewed one as he plugged another USB drive that had a cute fox sticker attached to it. (Of course with on site modification by yours truly so that he could attach Earth¡¯s technology into the console.) ¡°You owe me lots. System. I am demanding Lynn cook me the same kind of affectionate meal Jin has.¡± Kraft said with much anticipation as another wave of code was seen water falling through the console list. The Devil himself had inserted a USB Drive filled with customised malware and if he could imagine it, they were like little foxes running around to disrupt the stability of the firewall by pouring oil, salt, cement, water and other nonsensical stuff. In short, he was not fighting fair by unleashing a horde of viruses, almost simulating a sort of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack without the need of other networks. And that little bit of Foxy Technology was more than enough for the System to get up to speed in analysing the Prison Ship¡¯s AI, allowing it to ¡®mutate¡¯ and ¡®evolve¡¯ into something more potent to break the defences of the Prison Ship¡¯s AI (Sounded a lot like digital evolution from the anime Digital Munsters) Not to mention, the System daringly absorbed Kraft¡¯s malware code and used it as its spear to break the firewall defences. ¡°Come on. Once you have the ship under control, we can skittle diddle away with all these remnants and avoid additional damage to the ship because I am totally not going to waste my chi opening a portal this big just to get this to our world.¡± Kraft said as he could feel that the fighting got even more intense from the sounds of the battle as well as the multiple shockwaves being felt despite the layers of walls Qiu Yue had created. ¡°Do not worry. The time that Original Bellator Kraft had bought was more than sufficient for the System to understand the workings of the Prison Ship AI. Although the knowledge obtained was still considered minuscule, the System believed that it has a 49.8% chance of breaking the firewall defences in less than 10 minutes.¡± The System reported and Kraft was shocked. ¡°TEN MINUTES? THAT¡¯S LIKE¡­ten years in hyperspeed space.¡± Kraft was talking gibberish but he just meant that the ship or the rest might not even have an additional ten minutes to spare. (In hindsight, they had more than ten minutes but it¡¯s just that Kraft could not sit still for too long. Perhaps he had an ADHD condition that was never diagnosed.) ¡°The System will try its best.¡± Not a very assuring answer but it was better consolation than nothing for the time being since Kraft had to waste his time watching the digital battle unfold right in front of his eyes slowly. ¡®Slowly¡¯. Chapter 1296: Prison Heist - Part 9 Chapter 1296: Prison Heist ¨C Part 9 ¡°What the holy crap!¡± Jin said as he peered through the broken door. With his Inverse eyes, he was able to make up at least three to four transport spaceships coming through the hangar. And each transport ship was carrying a few dozen heavily armed soldiers. While he had already received training from Suzaku to fight at least a hundred soldiers by himself, the mental pressure from doing such a task is still maddening. Not only that, Mechas seemed to be deployed to forcefully open the broken door using laser cutters. Thankfully, Jin was quick wit enough to disable those mechas the moment they started to begin their task, causing even more robot debris, and blocking the door even more. ¡°Hou Fei, protect the ship alright? I don¡¯t even want a single scratch on it or else!¡± Jin did not finish his sentence as he pounced into action, releasing Yellow Lightning Panda Energy in short intermittent bursts in his physical attacks. The soldiers who were trained to do mainly ranged combat had a hard time evading the attacks especially when the enemy was moving literally in a flash. Jin figured that the best way to protect his current objective was to throw himself towards them so the attention would be on him rather than on the ship. After all, it was rare for the System to throw a mission objective out of the blue and he believed that the System was doing this to not just protect the ship but Rei¡¯s progress on it. On the other hand, the User had no idea that the System and Kraft were plotting to steal the entire maximum security prison spaceship instead of merely rescuing the prisoners. So, in his ignorance, he continued to stand his ground in the hangar and fought against the incoming military reinforcement. Sadly despite his experience in handling multiple enemies at one go, the soldiers in the Mecha World were of a different calibre. There were grenades, stray laser beams from space, flashbangs and an assortment of bullets being fired into his direction. Even though Jin was zooming around the hangar, some of the soldiers were able to predict his movement with their onboard AI in their equipment and predicted the way he was moving, firing preemptive shots or grenades in hopes that he would be immobilised and they could bring him down. While there were orders to capture him alive, the soldiers on the field had decided to belay that order mainly because he was too much of a threat to be captured alive in a normal way. Their best bet was to use deadly force in hopes that he was injured sufficiently for them to capture him. So, right now, it was kill on sight. Thus, the only way to reduce the amount of damage for Jin was to move fast and also break their formations while making sure not to fall into their trap. Each time he saw that the soldiers attempted to bunker down, they had a quick set up device that was capable of creating a makeshift barricade that was sufficient enough to withstand his swift lightning blows at least once. Hence, Jin added a little more Maqi in his attacks and blasted the barricades with yellow lightning and red fire Panda Energy. At the same time, he released streams of Blue Water Panda Energy right in front of them as if they were homed towards them. It might sound like a stupid move but the chi within the Blue Water Panda Energy was concentrated enough to break the suits of the soldiers, causing a hole. As much as Jin would like to fight fair, he too needed an advantage against the masses. And right now, it was the environment that they were in. The Hangar was partially connected to ¡®outer¡¯ space and thus everyone was affected by it. From zero oxygen to deep freezing temperatures as well as the battle debris, it was a dangerous battlefield they were in. Jin had already equipped his Gearbox suit and even activated his System Rider for extra protection the instant he knew the environment he was subjected to and hence he understood that the soldiers were equally vulnerable to the horrors of space. Those holes in their suits caused them to panic with the exception of the veteran soldiers who knew what to do to patch up the problem but that was more than enough distraction for Jin to plough his way through the rank and file of those soldiers. At that point as Jin thought he was dominating the battlefield in the Hangar, a Mecha suddenly flew right towards him and it was way bigger than the usual ones he had seen previously. If there¡¯s a comparison, the usual ones were like trolls and half giant size (that armoured Mecha which he brought down initially) but the one that was flying towards him was more like a giant. Also, for its size, it was moving way too fast than he would have expected. ¡°Fuck.. Gunndam¡­ is true.¡± Jin suddenly thought to himself as he instinctively changed his Bam and Boo into a large shield when he saw the mecha move its arm and aimed a laser rifle at him. As it fired the rifle, almost half the hangar was decimated by the rifle blast. While it might not look like a Gunndam in Rei¡¯s comics, Jin could see the similarities in terms of design, making him feel that there was something more about Rei that he was not telling about. However, at that point in time, the System reported to Jin that the prison ship was about to teleport. It caused the Dungeon Supplier to be confused until the System clarified that it was about to teleport the ship back to the System¡¯s servers, in one of Jin¡¯s empty dungeon instances. ¡°What¡­I thought Peppers said it was almost impossible for such a size. Ah whatever, if that¡¯s the case, then perhaps I might bring a souvenir back as well.¡± Jin said as he leapt towards the unique mecha while activating his System Rider. ¡°Shu, you are up.¡± The Dungeon Supplier shouted as he took out that card with an intricate Tree design on it into his System Driver. Chapter 1297: Prison Heist - Final Chapter 1297: Prison Heist ¨C Final While Jin placed the card into his System Driver, he used Bam and Boom in its shield form as a projectile to distract the giant Mecha from firing another blast as it seems like its objective was to kill him. Also, it had already damaged a good portion of the hangar including the valuable items that could be used to be salvaged for analysis. It would not do any good to Tin¡¯s team if it continued to damage any more of the hangar. Unfortunately, the transformation was way too flashy compared to the distraction and the pilot flying the Giant Mecha seems to be veteran enough to know that trouble would be coming if he/she does not stop that blinding light. The Mecha¡¯s arm pulled the rifle up once more for another shot but the pilot had underestimated Jin¡¯s transformation and powers as suddenly a wall of roots emerged from him protecting not only the remaining hangar but obscuring his line of sight towards Jin too. At the same time, several branch tentacles were seen shooting out towards the giant Mecha. First, immobilise the laser rifle and subsequently the trigger finger. The branch tentacles later rage on to entangle the joints of the Mecha like its elbow, neck and then it starts to seep into any hole it managed to find such as the air ventilation modules and even the weapon systems. The tentacles did reach into the booster modules as well and the afterburners were clogged up with the hardening of the branches. Obviously, the pilot tried to eject, only to find out that its ejection module had been crept on by those tentacles as if they were desperately looking for a way into the cockpit and the pilot just opened the doors to such an obstacle. ¡°I am sorry, but you will die for me,¡± Jin said as he could sense what the branch tentacles were going on as he poured more Maqi into it, giving it a tremendous amount of energy to perform a burst growth. It forced the end of the branch tentacle to extend and shoot out like a spear thrusting forward, killing the pilot who was desperately trying to destroy the tentacles with his backup pistol. There was no panic in the pilot¡¯s eyes despite the situation he was in. It was as if he knew that there was no way out in this particularly odd situation and he decided to face death head on like he always does in battle. Even in a cramped cockpit, he somehow managed to dodge the very first branch tentacle thrust and then grab it to break it down with his laser pistol. As part of the branch tentacles, Jin could feel the pain when the laser burns into the branch but he continues to press on to the attack He knew that he need to cripple the pilot so that the Mecha could be left intact while not posing a threat to the maximum security prison ship (and in turn, his objective protecting Rei¡¯s incomplete spacecraft) as the System teleports the entire spaceship back into Jin¡¯s instance. ¡°Now you know how I feel whenever I attack or defend something,¡± Shu muttered out of the blue now that he was one with Jin. ¡°Welp. I am sorry, I did not know that you had feelings too despite being a tree.¡± Jin apologised despite the situation he was in but Shu thought that his reply was rather sarcastic. ¡°Just because I am a talking tree-¡± ¡°Shu.¡± A voice suddenly resonated between Jin and Shu along with a string of musical chords being played via the System Channel. A voice that was sweet yet calming and both knew who it was. Ke Mi, the Zither Mistress. Somehow, she knew that Shu had not been in battle for quite a while, and being abruptly summoned to fight had suddenly given him a bit of anxiety. Thus, the Zither Mistress had a familiar string of chords that Shu had liked to calm himself down In the meantime, in also felt some inner peace as the chords eventually turned into a short music piece, allowing him to focus on the task at hand and defeat the ever struggling possible protagonist in this particular universe. The branch tentacles within the cockpit suddenly moved simultaneously, thrusting the pilot at multiple points of his body. The pain had severely crippled him and yet the pilot tried to move his arms so that he could at least destroy one of the branch tentacles, in hopes that he could still live long enough for his comrades to come to save him. However, Jin denied him of such hope as a final branch tentacle pierced him through the chest armour plating and spiralled through his heart, leaving a gaping wound that could not be recovered unless he had an emergency surgical operation right at this moment. The pilot finally resigned to his fate despite him hearing calls that reinforcements are on their way to assist. Yet, they were too late as Jin could already feel the maximum security prison ship vibrating as a whole, a sign that the System¡¯s teleportation was happening. Thus, he quickly secured the giant Mecha which he immobilised by pulling it nearer to the wall of tree roots he previously created. And like a living organism, the roots created an opening in the middle to drag the captured Giant Mecha into its embrace. Other similar giant Mechas were seen flying at their man speeds and provided suppression fire in hopes that the ¡®living¡¯ roots would be destroyed, leaving their unique giant mecha alone. Sadly, before they could do any damage to the wall of roots, the maximum security prison spaceship suddenly disappeared right in front of their eyes. It was nothing they had seen before as there were no signs of warping in light speed or any travel wormholes around. No sudden black holes were detected either causing them to be confused with the entire situation. However, the United Federation Maximum Security Prison Ship was still intact but their captain reported that the enemies on board suddenly vanished after a mystical circle appeared right under them, as if it was magic. At this moment, the two military organisations were at greater odds than usual especially when only one side had untold losses. The tension between the standoff could be broken anytime but it seemed like Captain Farlinger had a proposal to ease the current situation. He offered whatever Xeon Union prisoners who were alive as an olive branch. The current Xeon Union military fleet discussed for a few moments and decided to take the deal to prevent the current fight while adding the condition that the United Federation would provide all recordings of the kidnapping these unique superhumans had done. ¡°This is a deal I never imagined they would take. I guess I need to contact the higher ups to see if the Xeon Union is doing anything suspicious.¡± Captain Farlinger¡¯s head was aching so badly at the number of weird things that had happened in the past hour or so. He did not know that this particular incident would spur the superhuman race between the United Federations and Xeon Union, resulting in a war that would be deadlier than the ones they usually had.. Chapter 1298: Taunting the Survivors Chapter 1298: Taunting the Survivors Captain Coalran and his crew felt like vomiting when the ship suddenly stopped vibrating but when they came to their senses, they realised that they were in an open field and not in outer space. Plain bright blue skies and a well cut plot of grass field made the rest not understand where they were. The crew members tried to get their bearings but the computer system was not functioning as it should. Their AI had suddenly turned silent and all the controls had already been shut away as if to stop any of them from trying to perform any manual overrides. ¡°Everyone arm yourselves! Pick up your rifles and armour! This may be the base of those superhumans and we might be able to overcome this as long as we send out a flare right outside of the ship!¡± Captain Coalran said as he pulled a pistol out from his drawer but before the crew could do anything, there was a knock at the doors at the back of their space deck. ¡°Helllo~~~! Are you guys done? We are here to take prisoners~~~!¡± Kraft said but there was no response back with the exception of the rough scuffling of chairs and cabinets. He could only assume that they were mounting up a defensive wall whenever possible and will shoot on sight. ¡°Let me try this again,¡± Kraft said as he picked up his tablet and pressed a few buttons. ¡°Testing. Testing one, two three. You guys can hear me right? Right????? Oh wait, I can hear feedback from the deck itself so I guess the speakers are working correctly.¡± With the System being in control of the entire spaceship, Kraft literally had the current crew as prisoners of their own ship. An ironic turnover of events for the wardens be the prisoners of their own metal container. ¡°So.. as you guys tried to position yourself, don¡¯t forget to break all the cameras in the room because I am watching you guys from the-¡± And immediately with that revelation, shots were being fired destroying all the visible CCTV cameras within the deck which made Kraft sighed. ¡°You know, that won¡¯t solve any problems,¡± Kraft said as he teleported himself right to the front of the space deck where all it separates him and the rest of the crew was the glass window. The few who were hiding and not facing the Deck¡¯s main door saw the mysterious masked person squatting right outside their space deck while slowly waving at them. Some of the crew members were terrified that they changed their positions by jumping over their walls and hiding from the fox¡¯s sight. Rifles were all aimed towards the space deck¡¯s window and Kraft laughed. ¡°You sure it¡¯s a good idea? If you destroy this window here, you kinda don¡¯t have a view of what¡¯s going on when you try to escape here with your ship. Also, you need to rely on your space suits and stuff -ahhhh. I forgot you have a backup shutter that will block the screen and stuff.¡± Kraft said as he looked at his tablet as if reviewing the blueprint of the space deck. ¡°But let me tell you a BIGGGGG secret.¡± Kraft tried to express the significance of his words with large wide gestures. ¡°You guys aren¡¯t going anywhere at all. Even if you could kill me which you obviously can¡¯t, judging by how terribly incompetent the rest of your security crew was, you guys still have to deal with the horde of prisoners which we manage to let go off! Here! Let me give you a look!¡± Kraft pressed another few buttons on his tablet and the big screen in the space deck now showed live footage of the prison cells being released and everyone was scrambling trying to escape. ¡°Oh, dear! I understand that they are scum in your eyes but do you really have to starve the whole load of them? I mean at least grant them basic human rights or else, you are the one that looks like the evildoers!¡± Kraft tilted his head and expressed his displeasure to the crew. ¡°What do you know?! They have done hideous crimes that deserved to be treated this way!¡± Captain Coalran could not stand the monologue and Kraft gave a quiet clap. ¡°Finally, someone with the guts to talk. I was wondering if you military people are just going to be some mute puppets.¡± Kraft said and he infuriated the crew further by pressing another button on the tablet, showing another live video. And it was a scene of Lynn and her penguins beckoning the prisoners who managed to walk out of the spaceship. Most were greeted by the tremendous smell of warm mushroom soup and subsequently given meat porridge so that they would not tax their stomach from eating something heavy after being starved for ages. However, they had no idea that there was a contract that was being enforced as the System had learnt to make a new sort of banter contract based on Lynn¡¯s suggestion. Upon receiving her food and consuming it, the contractee would automatically agree on the terms and conditions set by the chef. The only caveat was that they had to put it right in front of the contractee to see before eating. Yet, Lynn was able to get all of the prisoners to be under the System¡¯s influence mainly because of one loophole that the System ¡®might have overlooked¡¯ (Lies, the System just pretended to be partial.) The contract was in Lynn¡¯s language, in Chinese and the otherworld prisoners had no idea what it was when they saw it but it was because they saw the words of the contract that was placed like a placard, the effect of the contract was in place the moment they pick up the food from Lynn¡¯s soup kitchen. And in return, Jin had gained a plethora of prisoners joining his workforce. They may be murderers, thieves and much more but with the System controlling them, those sets of undesirable skills could be used for the benefit of Jin¡¯s store. (Besides, Jin believed quite a bit in second chances!) Chapter 1299: Reunion of Reis Family Chapter 1299: Reunion of Rei¡¯s Family ¡°As you can see the prisoners are now under our control, with no rioting whatsoever. In fact, I think that they might be very glad to put you guys under the bus¡­or spaceship in this current situation.¡± Kraft giggled that resistance was futile. Captain Coalran shouted towards Kraft but the Devil Fox acted not able to hear anything before turning the speaker button up on his tablet. ¡°Mind repeating that again? I did not turn on the audio.¡± It was definitely meant to infuriate the captain of the ship by doing so but Kraft indeed had the upper hand in this. As Kraft continued to toy with the Xeon Union crew members, Rei had already been teleported to this particular temporary dungeon instance and started to search for his family members. When the System was able to take over the entire ship, it ran through the database along with Kraft to search whether Rei¡¯s family members were there. To their fortune, they were able to find his two family members onboard their maximum security prison, calling it a done deal for this particular heist. Aside from the main objective, everything else they brought with them was more like a bonus to the System. While granted the System initially did not have many resources to spare for handling all the new bodies, support staff like Claire had been furiously buying more processors through the black market in the past few months as reserve stock for the System. It was supposed to be used for the fight against the Demon Rats but since the situation had changed, the System determined this was the best time to use them. Meanwhile, the Ambush party in the United Federation ship did not do as well as their counterpart. Peppers did single handedly capture a number of prisoners all by herself but it was not comparable to the entire ship falling into the System¡¯s hands. Milk was busied being the scapegoat and the other two did not progress much through the prison ship¡¯s facilities due to the intense lockdowns. Rei felt that he did not do anything significant, even more so that he was not on the same ship to rescue his family members. As much as he wanted to be the hero of this particular mission, bashing the enemies and bravely saving his family members, the truth was that he was certainly far from it. He felt ashamed that he quickly accepted the fact of being in a more backward world with no war conflict and decided to use his hobby as his new talent to cope with the current situation. If not for Jin, he did not dare hope to even think about his family. But right after he heard how his family was desperately searching for him to the point that they were willing to be spies to undermine each organisation¡¯s military capabilities was way beyond his expectations. Their tenacity to search for the truth of their missing father, thinking that it was either one of the military organisations that did it pained his heart and soul. ¡°Rei.¡± His desperate search among the sea of prisoners made him ignore the sounds but a firm grip on his shoulder forced him to quickly turn his head, only to see that it was Jin. ¡°Follow me. I¡¯ll show you where they are since they have already been registered by the System.¡± Jin did not say much and neither did Rei who nodded his head and followed behind. What seems like a few minutes of walking felt like an eternity to Rei, desperately looking around in hopes that he could catch a glimpse of his family before Jin did. But unlike Rei, Jin was the System¡¯s user and now Rei¡¯s family were part of the Panda Lord¡¯s extended family of monsters and misfits. To Jin, it was basically turning on his System¡¯s radar and walking towards the objective. ¡°Rei¡­?¡± That voice. That sole voice was the only thing that sounded like a melody from the heavens. ¡°Charlotte?¡± Rei tried to move his head around to search for it, looking at the front thinking that Jin had already led him to her without any warning. But his wife¡¯s voice came from the back, surprising him all the more. ¡°Dad!¡± Hathaway squealed as well as both wife and daughter pushed through the crowd as gently as they could, allowing the family to be reunited. The three gave themselves a great big hug as Rei unreservedly use his strength to squeeze the both of them as tight (and gentle) as he could. ¡°Guess, my work is done here for now,¡± Jin said as he purposely walked a round route instead of going straight to his wife. After all, he knew how Rei had been thinking of them the moment he realised that he was able to have a chance to return to the Mecha World. ¡°User, the objective has been completed. Both Rei¡¯s request and the System¡¯s side mission.¡± ¡°So, my reward?¡± Jin asked as he quietly walked away for them to converse among themselves. ¡°Artist Rei will continue the spacecraft for you and its design would later be incorporated into Lord Wolte¡¯s new form when it is done.¡± The System replied. ¡°You mean I will have a flying space dreadnought as part of my army?!¡± Jin¡¯s eyes lit up like a star twinkling in the night sky. (Quite literally as well since his eye bags were not to be scoffed at.) ¡°That is good enough for a reward, especially when now money and manpower is not exactly the issue.¡± ¡°Money might not be an issue but materials are. While the money made could be used to buy materials, our vault is not a bottomless pit. With the revelation of the defence minister being a Banned Emperor supporter, the System believed more precautions are needed. In fact, the System recommends starting the Great Demon Rat War as soon as possible.¡± ¡°You think it is a protracted war?¡± ¡°Not a chance that we could clear it within a week as the System and others had planned for Pandaverse. The technology incorporated from the Mecha World had allowed the System to improve its detection technology.¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s way too fast of an incorporation of their technology!¡± Jin said as he immediately returned to the Dungeon Maker to check the latest information. And to his surprise, the Demon Rat numbers were off the charts that they had initially predicted. ¡°Thus, the System recommends starting the Great Demon War as soon as possible.¡± Chapter 1300: Rats Rats And More Rats Chapter 1300: Rats Rats And More Rats ¡°As soon as possible your ass. You are the one who knows best that our preparations are not even half done and you want me to go in and attack them?¡± Jin said as he yawned a little upon looking at the multiple screens where the System showed the updated numbers. It was not wrong though. Even if Jin could mount an offensive, the number of rats had already outmatched his army from 1 to 500 to nearly 1 to 10,000. Jin wanted to assume so badly that it was an exaggeration from the System, perhaps an overestimation but deep down in his heart, he knew that it was not the case. His current mini instance where he kept the Demon Rats as prisoners and used them as a way to entice new cultivators to earn stuff had shown similar results to the System¡¯s new estimation. Some of the Demon Rats managed to contact each other and a few of them even mated on sight. It was as if that was their primal instinct to breed when they are in danger. And to make things worse, the female Demon Rat was surprisingly able to give birth rather quickly too. All it took her was a day to breed a dozen of those rats befitting their names as Demon Rats. The only redeeming factor was that the baby rats took some time to grow due to the lack of food within the dungeon but they were hardy enough to survive. The System and Jin took this opportunity to observe the physiology of the rats and pushed the boundaries of the systematic gathering of evidence further by rearranging the sewers instance so that the Demon Rats were separated. Cruel but a necessary step to see how long those baby rats could survive without food, water and perhaps their mother. To their disgust, those Demon Rats were still growing even in isolation and their growth was only delayed with time as shown by other rats who were fed with food. (In fact, there was this lucky Demon Rat that had been fed with lots of chi infused food that it became a boss of its within the sewers instance.) When Jin captured them, he thought that the sewers instance would be a temporary instance once all the Demon Rats were killed but he had no idea that they could reproduce this quickly even without much help. However, the most important discovery was that even when killed, the Demon Rats still dropped a random material upon their death. Initially, both the System and Jin thought that they would drop specific items based on what they grow from but the Farming World¡¯s Scholars of the East and West, Gold and Weslie had deduced based on the experiment that they had been crossbred so much that such a trait would appear. Yet, another theory was formed once more when a group of cultivators managed to kill the ¡®boss¡¯ of the sewers instance and found material that had never been seen or documented in the Farming World. Although the System had eventually referenced the item via the Cross Worlds Markets as Adamantium, the dream metal of blacksmiths, it was said to only be found in either Heaven¡¯s plane or Hell¡¯s plane. The System tried to replicate the same method and yet the new boss did not produce the very same thing, thus allowing the scholars to conclude that the Demon Rats might actually be some sort of random item generator based on the innate powers of the Farming World. And that was a game changer for everyone. If the Demon Rats could produce any sort of item, even something that was out of their world¡¯s scope, it could justify their speed of production but it also means that the person controlling them had found out about their potential way earlier than them and thus exploited the Demon Rats. In short, the North and South Scholars, if they were still in control, had made the Demon Rats not only their army but their resource production too. It could be possible that they manipulated the Demon Rats¡¯ genes and created this Demon Rat Empire on their own. Even so, Gold and Weslie could not help but be impressed by their efforts too. They might not have a shortage of items but it was because of that, the Farming World had become too complacent with their basic fulfilment of life. There was no innovation and everything was rather stagnant. The only thing that gave them trouble was the central oceans where natural phenomena such as heavy rain and thunder destroyed their trading ships. However, the only so called danger they had was that their scholarly predecessors had predicted a great famine that might potentially wipe out the entire Farming World. Yet most living Scholars did not take this at heart and thought it was just a myth to warn people not to waste the blessing of their lands. Thus, Gold and Weslie could only conclude that with this new cutting edge ¡®technology¡¯, the Demon Rats might actually be the answer for their salvation should such a great famine occur. Still, the means doesn¡¯t justify what the North and South Scholars had done. With all this information, Jin could only deduce that the new numbers that the System had produced is that they are indeed preparing an invasion of some sort. Either the East or West region. ¡°Possibly both at the same time.¡± The System said and Jin felt defeated just from the System¡¯s estimation. ¡°Even if we start our offensive now, those Demon Rats were just going to dig deeper and faster to reach their destination and from the look of the scan magic, they¡¯re not just building one large tunnel. And also, if we warn the other two kingdoms again, they would not be well equipped to handle the rats at all, it would be a massacre.¡± Jin said as if he had no chance of winning this particular war. ¡°User, you cannot win everything.¡± the System said. ¡°The only good thing is that we have scan magic so we will know that we can definitely secure the North with a guarantee that they would be eradicated. But the problem will be East and West where we have to hunt them down.¡± Jin said and the System once again tell Jin to focus on the situation at hand. ¡°One step at a time.¡± ¡°No, you are not helping with such remarks. But yes I do understand that I am overthinking like how I did with the Prime Minister thing.¡± Jin took a deep breath to calm himself and see what can be done or how much he could to slow the predicament of such a disaster. But Jin knows that once he starts this, it will be a heavy burden on his army and shop. Therefore, half baked preparations were not allowed and he would proceed as planned to start his war on the first day of PandaVerse festival. ¡°If any outsiders decide to interrupt our Festival, I will be sure to kick them into that world and left them to rot there,¡± Jin said while the System chuckled stating that that would be a good plan to throw additional bodies to fight against the Demon Rats. Chapter 1301: Advertising is Key Chapter 1301: Advertising is Key ¡°Not thinking of any of that stuff?¡± Kraft asked as he saw Jin hard at work as the deadline for PandaVerse was nearing soon. Promotion of that particular big event was tremendously stressful as he, Kiyu and Bear Cub One were doing it rather aggressively. In the apps, Jin oversaw the promotion by putting up some sort of calendar to celebrate the opening of PandaVerse. Each time his customers opened up the app for each day, they would receive a complimentary amount of 10 Bronze Panda Coins and if they entered the Dungeons and Pandas, they would receive an additional complimentary of 10 Silver Panda Coins. Not only that, each time they checked into the app, the customers would also receive a piece of an incomplete voucher which many people in the forums believed that once they obtained all the pieces, they would have a raid voucher for them to use. Jin did not give many details but told them that they had to wait and see. In the meantime, Bear Cub One had been giving sneak peeks at one of the two major events that would be the main show for the entire festival. The Great Demon Rat War. Being the Dungeons and Pandas¡¯ presentative in Metube and all the other social media sites, Bear Cub One had been showcasing all the previous fights that Jin had incorporated the Demon Rats. That included the beta testing by the Pandawans as well as a few ¡®minor¡¯ raid instances that the customers had joined before. ¡°Some of these past streams are within Pandaflix, so if you wish to subscribe to it, please do not hesitate to do so!¡± Bear Cub One took the opportunity to do such stuff, especially with its growing fanbase that liked his commentary as well as the cuteness he portrayed. The System had inadvertently made a series of costumes which Bear Cub One could be in and even a reskin for being a Panda. However, Jin did not agree to the latter as a permanent fixture since Bear Cub One has his own unique clout. No doubt, there were grievous comments stating that Bear Cub One should be changed to Panda Cub One to suit the scheme but the System kept Jin¡¯s insistence on maintaining Bear Cub One¡¯s identity. Instead, the System compromised by giving the NPC a Panda Onesie to wear for most of the newest videos and the costumes it made complimented the Panda Onesie which made Bear Cub One even cuter. As for Kiyu, she had decided to be more aggressive since she was the promotion and marketing assistant director (as bestowed by Kraft) by throwing out advertisements on television and the internet. She even contacted a few of the critics and reviewers to hype up the event even further and the response was big. Way much more than than what the Dungeon Symposium had (Although she did use some of her charms to get things done.) People were buying tickets and because of the nature of Jin¡¯s dungeon, all they had to do was to compensate accordingly to the number of people that attended that particular day. Of course, having an anticipated number would aid the System to prepare beforehand but there was nothing to which the System could not respond. As usual, there were tickets of different tiers to buy from. The essential tickets which allowed entry into PandaVerse had goodie bags as part of their purchase while the higher tier tickets had limited edition stuff which would no doubt aid them in their ¡®conquest¡¯ during the Great Demon War. And of course, Jin had decided to try something different for PandaVerse and added the sponsor ticket tier. It was a minimum of 1000 Yuan and if the Pandaren would wish to pay more for the ticket, it would be greatly welcomed. What made the Sponsor ticket different from the rest of the tickets was that this particular group would have a special quest that was separate from the rest of the group. Jin emphasised that there is no additional advantage in getting the Sponsor ticket aside from the extra goodies that he was going to throw (that remained a secret as well which it was bloody obvious Jin had not prepared for yet) and additionally, it might be a disadvantage because of the danger they would be in. The only difference was that the experience they have would be totally different from the rest of the group. And as much as Jin wanted to show the new Virtual Reality World that he had been creating, he found that there was too much on his plate with the new findings of the Demon Rats¡¯ situation. Thus, he decided to keep it as a demo for not only the sponsor ticket tiers but the higher tier tickets that were at least 250 Yuan and above. ¡°Hmm? Kraft? Oh yeah. I could not really bother at this point of time. Besides, anyone who tried to attack my shop is a dumb ass. This will be the biggest gathering of cultivators according to the sales of tickets. If those Banned Emperor Terrorists come, we will give them a good ass whooping too.¡± Jin said and asked Kraft not to disturb him any further. ¡°Welp, and here I thought I could pass you some good information about the Mecha World,¡± Kraft said but Jin was truly not interested at all. ¡°Hmm. Then what about the Flower City? I talked a bit to Zeru as well. He did give me some good insight.¡± ¡°I can talk to him later. Please do not bother me right now. I need to make sure I have the numbers right for the Great Demon War. Qiu Yue¡¯s promise to get a few game players did not go well, I need to settle that portion seeing how the System could control it¡­Or maybe I should just get the Savants to take command since they have enough experience leading. But that would also mean we would not have them on the battlefield. ARGGH KRAFT PLEASE GO AWAY.¡± Jin begged him while continuing to type a few stuff on the Dungeon Maker Console. ¡°Seriously, no matter how much you plan, you will still be bound to have quite a few hiccups. Well, to be honest, quite a lot of hiccups considering they are the Demon Rats. I mean, do you remember that time their freaking castle which we thought is the end point became bait. Like what the fuck?¡± ¡°The only fuck I care about is that you leave me the fuck alone,¡± Jin now growled in anger and Kraft finally start to back away. ¡°In any case, I could always get some of my Night Foxes to deal with that commanding strategy thing if you ever need some help.¡± Kraft decided to provide a solution but Jin refused it as kindly as he possibly could before concentrating on the current dilemma that he had in his mind. ¡°That guy needs to chill. After going through so much shit, and here I thought he would have mature enough to learn how to take things as it goes. Oh well~! I guess I will just have a relaxing cup of tea by myself,¡± Kraft said to himself as he disappeared in thin air once more with a snap of his fingers. Chapter 1302: Tree Mall Security Meeting Chapter 1302: Tree Mall Security Meeting As the PandaVerse Festival was just a few days away, everyone in Jin¡¯s store was getting more and more hectic with the preparations. For the first time, Jin was pulling ropes from all the owners that were in his Tree Mall to push this event further. There was a huge meeting which also involved the offices and companies that were separated from the current shopping mall which provided goods and services to customers. Jin had made sure that everyone had to send a representative to come for the major meeting. ¡°Thanks all for coming, as most of you guys have noticed, the PandaVerse Festival is coming in a week¡¯s time and I am conducting this meeting to give a short briefing not just on the PandaVerse Festival but the security procedures for the Mall as well,¡± Jin said as he sent an email to each of the representatives that were in that meeting as well as putting up a huge PowerPoint slide right behind him in the Conference Meeting Instance. Jin told them that with the recent incidents that were happening in Shenzhen, it would be best to at least set up a security and safety protocol in the event that things went south. He honestly did not want those people working to be held hostage unnecessarily. ¡°I have temporarily set up and allocated a few NPCs in each and every dungeon instance, you guys will see who you all will be assigned with as per the email that I had sent. Some companies might have more due to their sheer size while the rest would typically be assigned with one security NPC. If you think there is trouble, open up your Pandamonium App and request the App for help.¡± Jin explained. ¡°The Security NPC will try their best to annihilate the threat unless it deems that people around them are in danger, it will prioritise protecting you guys. At the same time, the App will immediately call the police who will be on standby in one of the rented Shop Instances and assist in the situation. ¡°Wow, you mean, you managed to get the police to station here in the Tree Mall?¡± One of the company representatives asked and Jin nodded his head. ¡°Like I said, with the current volatile situation that we are in, I deemed that the safety of my tenants is paramount and contracted them to aid us. Besides, Tiangong Police and I had an amicable relationship.¡± Jin replied and everyone at the table was complimenting Jin on his responsibility for safety. ¡°Not only that, but I have also hired several private contractors that will keep the place safe in plainclothes and they too will be aiding with keeping the peace in the area,¡± Jin added though only one person among the entire group of company representatives knew the real reason.h Qiu Yue had previously employed Karaoke Owner Man Tang to employ a few ex military and police personnel into her payroll and she finally revealed that scheme to Jin that there was actually a small army that could be deployed anytime under Man Tang¡¯s leadership if Jin needed. Obviously, the Dungeon Supplier was shocked at Qiu Yue¡¯s previous scheme as well as a concern but this will significantly boost the security surveillance of the Tree Mall. The Police Captain was aware of it and also instructed his policeman about such a force walking around as they predicted that the crowd would be in the thousands. Jin did not know whether it was deliberate or not but there was footage that was going around the internet of Jin aiding the police in breaking the siege at the Exhibition Centre. Seeing how the up and coming Dungeon Supplier who refused to join the Dungeon Symposium ended up being the Dungeon Supplier that rescued all those arrogant Dungeon Suppliers that were stuck in there. It showed that he not only had the skills to make the Dungeon Instances but also a capable cultivator, which showed the world that his monsters would at least be decent stuff even for high level cultivators and this PandaVerse Festival could potentially be the entry for them to get sucked into Dungeons and Panda. So that leaked footage alone had garnered a lot of curiosity as well as cultivators buying the tickets to come for the Festival. Even people from other countries had heard about it and some had decided to take the risk of coming to try this out. Hence if this is a success, the next festival could not only attract more people locally but the attractive overseas tourism that would bring prosperity to the local business as well. Thus, this event must succeed and bring any possible threats as quietly as Jin could. At the same time, Kong Rong was working overtime to make sure he picked up any threats that could arise from the PandaVerse Festival. He even started to make a smaller separate team that he could trust to work on the Defence Minister¡¯s betrayal. However, like Jin, he could not trust anyone unless they were working for the System so he was thinking about whether to get his newest team to meet Jin so they could be initiated into the System. But for now, he tasked that team to catch any possible signals of the Banned Emperor movements. Back at the meeting, the company representatives eventually applauded Jin¡¯s security initiative and thus Jin brought the meeting to a close. However, there was one who raised his hand and subsequently queried if they would receive any benefits from the PandaVerse Festivals like free tickets or such. ¡°Sorry, Lai Fu. Don¡¯t be such a cheapskate and pay the standard price.¡± Jin gleed towards Fresh Price Shop Owner before he teleported off. ¡°You are the cheapskate Jin for not giving us any free tickets after working under you!¡± Lai Fu said and boo loudly. Everyone in the meeting chuckled as most of them knew how he was one of the first few owners that came to the Tree Mall. ¡°Well, you tried Lai Fu. you tried.¡± Sheng Si Fang consoled his dear buddy, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t give you one, then I could get you one myself.¡± ¡°Oh please, it¡¯s not as if I cannot buy one myself. Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s get those tickets and rob that Dungeon Supplier blind by obtaining all the rewards.¡± Lai Fu said and his friend shook hands as if agreeing to do the same. Even though they knew their limits, it did not mean they could not dream big. And with PandaVerse, anything is possible. Chapter 1303: Pandawans Overnight Stay Chapter 1303: Pandawans¡¯ Overnight Stay ¡°I know I said that we should go together to PandaVerse Festival.¡± Hungry Hippo Cultivator Xiong Da said as he sighed at the sight he was seeing right now. ¡°But ISN¡¯T THIS A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH?¡± He shouted as he saw the gathering of his Pandawan pals in his living room. ¡°Rawrrrr, Xiong Da Bro. Don¡¯t be too much of a hardass. Look, you have so much space all around you that if you don¡¯t utilise them, it¡¯s a waste of space!¡± Wobbling Wombat Cultivator Deng Long said as he chewed on a piece of pizza. ¡°Ya. Ruo Ying Big Sis invited us here, just take it as a surprise overnight party.¡± Angry Ape Cultivator Bu Dong added and asked Xiong Da if he wants a piece of BBQ Chicken Pizza. ¡°I really liked your house, the view outside is magnificent although I did hear from Ruo Ying Big Sis that you had other flats that are more fantastic.¡± Bombardier Beetle Cultivator Bin Yong exclaimed and his girlfriend Jia Le who practised the Breathtaking Bellflower Style agreed as well. ¡°If you stay at the penthouse on the 35th floor, everything else will look magnificent.¡± Mad Monkey Cultivator Shi Zuo said as he lay on his couch lazily with Luo Bo, the Illusive Rabbit Cultivator already asleep on his lap. ¡°Also, please don¡¯t shout that loud, Luo Bo just pulled a three day all nighter so that she could clear her work in time for PandaVerse.¡± ¡°I think all of us did that just to get a sufficient number of vacation days just for this PandaVerse.¡± Ruo Ying came in and tried to calm Xiong Da down. ¡°This is all of them. I did not invite the rest of the Pandawans since we are not that close to them.¡± ¡°Oh well, I guess they could stay in the guest room but Bu Dong and Deng Long have to share the bed.¡± Xiong Da giggled at the two bachelors but the two of them shrugged it off as an expected reply from the master of this penthouse. ¡°Anyways, I am guessing we would want to team up together for the Great Demon Rat War?¡± He thanked Ruo Ying for taking his suitcase back into his room while he unreservedly joined the group eating the remaining finger bites that they had ordered earlier. ¡°You guys saw how Jin just dropped a massive F bomb in the forums a few hours ago, there is no way any of us will be able to sleep well if we do not discuss this properly.¡± Bu Dong said and the rest chuckled slightly. Jin had previously written in the forums that he would be giving a major hint of the upcoming PandaVerse festival if they could complete a few social media goals. From hitting a certain number of subscribers on Bear Cub One¡¯s media channels to following the new Dungeons and Pandas official Tiktik account where Kiyu would be the one responsible for handling it. To his surprise, his loyal customers not only hit the requirements of those social media goals but surpass them by a whole lot. It seemed as if the efforts in marketing and promoting the PandaVerse festival were not wasted and a high number of people were genuinely interested in seeing this succeed. Thus, Jin held his part of his bargain by releasing the information 12 hours before the official start of the PandaVerse Festival¡­and that was the map of the Great Demon War. When people took a look at it, a lot of them as Deng Long had aptly put it, ¡°Total batshit crazy.¡± This was because the so call map that Jin had released could be considered one of the largest maps that Dungeons and Pandas had ever published. (Although only Jin and his colleagues knew that this was the Farming World and not a Dungeon Instance.) Even the Goblin Orc War could not be compared with the scale of this map especially when all of the cultivators were being teleported into various instances to join the goblins¡¯ fight against the Orcs. But this time around, Jin had explicitly said that they had free rein running around this entire map (basically the entire Northern Region) to get things done. Not only do they have to eliminate the Demon Rats but also help to liberate towns that were infested by them. There would also be instances where they could be joining Jin¡¯s monster armies to fight off the Demon Rats but strict orders had to be followed or else they would be kicked out of that particular fight. Yet because of the strict ruling, more points were said to be given if they followed the monster army¡¯s orders and only a certain amount of Pandarens could join the fight. Any more and the Dungeon Instance would block access to those Pandarens from entering the battle. However, the most important thing of all was that no cultivator versus cultivator was allowed. Anyone who initiated it would be considered banned from the PandaVerse Festival. Even with the basic rules by Jin, the commentators in the forums knew that there might be certain battles that prioritised the first come first serve basis and entering those battles, it will definitely reward more points. So, they suspected that the Sponsor tickets that Jin had been selling would be able to facilitate that. Such a rumour was enough to cause the sponsor tickets to be selling like hotcakes as Jin had publicly shown the numbers as well as the cultivators¡¯ names who bought such tickets (if they were willing to publicise their names, else an alias was used.) And as best Pandawan pals, Xiong Da did buy sponsor tickets for everyone who was in his house right now since he knew this might potentially be one of the best dungeon experiences yet to come. So because of that, the group decide to wind down together by eating dinner and staying overnight at Xiong Da¡¯s house as they casually discussed what they could potentially do with the map provided by Jin. Chapter 1304: Extra: Sleepover At Xiong Das Home Chapter 1304: Extra: Sleepover At Xiong Da¡¯s Home ¡°Guys, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡± Bu Dong said as he started knocking on everybody¡¯s door. They might have had a late night discussing the possibilities on where to go but the toll on all the working adults might have eaten up the remaining night by sleeping through it. Besides, it was not an everyday occurrence that Xiong Da had allowed them to stay at his place and everyone was astonished by the amount of wealth that he had. He might look like any other ordinary high flying lawyer but it seems like he had dabbled into quite a lot of investments when he was younger, especially in real estate and such. After all, he kept saying that stocks would only make someone temporarily rich, while assets were a whole different ball game. That being said, the cultivators who stayed overnight in Xiong Da¡¯s house did not hesitate to fully utilise his guests¡¯ rooms. The rooms were well equipped with good quality beddings and even air purifiers that gave a calm soothing scent for them to sleep peacefully. The toilets had the most ridiculous type of shampoos and soaps that smelled not only terrific but therapeutic to use. The odd thing was that when the Pandawans asked Xiong Da where he got all these, he said it was all from Jin¡¯s store. Most if not all of them were looking blankly at each other and laughed, and instead asked Ruo Ying where did Xiong Da manage to procure them and she too said the same thing. ¡°All you had to do was to just ask. Do you remember how we are able to rent and subsequently buy a ¡®room¡¯ for preparation purposes? Xiong Da casually asked the Pandamonium App whether there were higher quality items that could be purchased and in an instant, the shop window right in front of us changed to daily essentials that had a different price tag.¡± Ruo Ying explained and even showed them how it was being done in real time. The Pandamonium App responded and gave a list of the higher quality stuff which almost made the Pandawans vomit their blood. ¡°45 Panda Gold Coins for just a box of tissue!?¡± Bin Yong exclaimed and Ruo Ying immediately went to her room and took out a box for them to try it out. The tissue felt like silk, and not just silk but premium silk. ¡°And since Xiong Da had contributed quite a lot of money to Jin, he had been buying all these necessities on a daily basis. Also, we do not even need to worry about delivery which makes restocking almost as easy as just pressing a checkout cart.¡± Ruo Ying said and the cultivators nodded their heads slowly. Every one of them knew how freaking efficient the delivery was to the point that it would be a lie if they said that they did not use the Pandamonium services. The food and service delivery were all top notch with the exception that it cost quite a bit. Yet, when it comes to hungry mouths and dreaded delivery times on most app platforms, the Pandamonium App would never fail to deliver. ¡°GUYS! WAKE UP!!!! We will be late for the opening ceremony.¡± Bu Dong continued to shout until he heard a large yawn coming from Xiong Da¡¯s master bedroom. ¡°With our current cultivation grade, it will be just a five minute walk to Jin¡¯s Tree Mall. What¡¯s the rush¡­zzzzzzz¡± Xiong Da said as he opened the door with his pyjamas still on. The rest were also the same and even without speaking a word, they wholeheartedly agreed with Xiong Da¡¯s decision to sleep a bit more. Yet Bu Dong was not satisfied with everyone¡¯s enthusiasm. ¡°And it¡¯s now what? Four hours before the start of the event. Bu Dong, get some rest and wake us up when it¡¯s like half an hour before the opening ceremony. We would still be on time.¡± Xiong Da said as he was about to close his door but Bu Dong decided not to budge and even held onto his door. ¡°Have you guys forgotten how much time and effort was needed for the past events? And now with the hype of PandaVerse, we would be dead last in the queue if we do not reach there early.¡± Bu Dong argued and Xiong Da chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s what the Sponsor tickets are for. Don¡¯t worry, I have ¡®donated¡¯ enough to ensure that getting there late will still earn us the front stage spots.¡± Xiong Da said as he pats Bu Dong¡¯s head and asked him as well as the rest who were standing around at their bedroom doors to return to sleep. ¡°Money is a language that Jin speaks very well. You of all people should know that but if you are still worried, you can go ahead and help us warm the bench.¡± Xiong Da added before closing the door and returning back to bed. ¡°Yeah, Bu Dong, I know you are excited but you saw how extensive that dungeon instance map was. And did you remember how freaking crazy it was to fight for Pandapolis Defence? Everyone here had agreed to take a week¡¯s leave because all of us are prepared to fight in the trenches side by side with each other. As of now, let us enjoy the peace of these wonderful beds that Xiong Da bestowed us. It¡¯s really been a while since I had such a good sleep and to be disturbed like this.¡± Shi Zuo said before closing the door on Bu Dong which made him feel guilty. ¡°I guess¡­I am just too excited to spend time with you people.¡± He said to himself but Deng Long who was also at the side of the corridor chuckled. Even though he was fully dressed as pressured by Bu Dong, he knew that this young lad only wanted to spend more time with the group. ¡°Just give it a rest. And this time I am taking the bigger bed. You sleep on the smaller one on the ground.¡± Deng Long said as he wrapped his hands around Bu Dong and brought him back to the room. Chapter 1305: Dungeon Supplier Stores Maintenance Chapter 1305: Dungeon Supplier Store¡¯s Maintenance To say the crowd was massive was an understatement. Jin took a look through his Dungeon Maker console, overseeing the CCTV live footage of his Tree Mall and saw that it was packed. He was right to get the police to come to handle the situation and even deployed queue lines to enter or exit as suggested by the System. While the Dungeons and Pandas were supposedly open for 24 hours, Jin did make an announcement beforehand that he would be closing the store for at least three hours to update the Dungeon Instances. It was the first time Dungeons and Pandas had closed their store this year since most updates were instantaneous or the customers were placed in a holding area for a few minutes before jumping into the new instance. Thus, people who thought they could do the same by jumping right into the PandaVerse Festival were disappointed. Yet, at the same time most of them understood that if Jin was about to do something big, he needed some time to update the Dungeon and Service Instances. Thus the lines to go into Dungeons and Pandas were immensely long. Some of the long time customers who had been in and out of the Tree Mall realised that there were even new staircases to accommodate the queue. They had no idea how it could be done but many had already recognised that the Tree Mall was something akin to a living huge tree that could change based on the caster¡¯s needs. It¡¯s just that many of them did not get to see it in real life and mostly heard it via the internet and to see it in their backyard was just purely amazing. As for Jin, he did need the downtime to redecorate the place and fix a few ¡®bugs¡¯ that had been ongoing for quite some time. Even though most of them were quickly patched up by the System almost immediately, the constant live updates had made the dungeon instances and service instances not optimised. So this particular downtime was immensely helpful for Jin to fix everything the System had done previously and made sure it took the resources as needed and not anything more. In the meantime, the System had remade its database to ensure it could accommodate the huge numbers of new customers that would be coming in. As well as revisions of the rescue protocols were done internally by updating the Pandamonium App with new codes which also forced the current users to have a mandatory update right before the opening of PandaVerse Festival. It was to help facilitate the intense amount of data going through its own servers while ensuring that the cultivators would be still alive and well when they were killed by the Demon Rats. Even though it is THE System, the System was not acting at full capacity and as such, it needed to place some caution and failsafe procedures in the processes so that everything could go smoothly without too many hiccups. Also, Jin did add in the forums that the other dungeon instances such as the Goblin Forest Dungeon Instances would be limited due to the scale of the Great Demon Rat Wars. If the number of players playing those one-time dungeon instances had reached maximum capacity, he urged the rest to be patient and instead try out the Great Demon Rat Wars as it is supposed to be the main event for this entire week. As for the customers who were waiting outside, the food store owners had collaborated with Jin and opened way earlier in the morning than their scheduled timings to provide food services. Jin had also said that the delivery of food within 200 metres of the Tree Mall would be nullified for the event, prompting people to use the takeout services which were within the Pandamonium App. To their surprise, the food delivery was terrifyingly accurate. Jin did say in the forums previously that it was an experimental feature where the customers could get food based on their live GPS coordinates. The only drawback was that the App would request a constant track of their phones although such a feature could be deactivated anytime if the user turned off the setting. Many were a bit suspicious, thinking that Jin might use such information to gather more data about themselves and sell to people but Jin replied by stating that his company would not do such a thing and added that it was their choice whether to use it for convenience. (After all, if he really wanted to, the Pandamonium App could automatically send live feedback to the System. They never know how omnipotent it was. And in hindsight, there were people who tried to hack the App and the servers like how the major phone company Hua Wee tried to do it and leaks had confirmed that it was currently not possible to do so, making Jin¡¯s data collecting leaking out to be less of a concern.) And as such, the customers were slightly relieved that they at least had some grub before the start of the festival although a few of the knowledgeable customers knew not to eat too much as they were reserving their stomachs for Lynn¡¯s Restaurant and her other counterparts that were serving food in the Dungeon Supplier store. Not because they were just delicious but their food proved to have temporary buffs that would help in the fight for the Great Demon Rat War. However, what the customers did not know was that no one was making anything for the past three hours as Jin had mandated a System Order, an ability which he rarely used with his entire army of minions. He ordered everyone to take a good long rest with the aid of the System¡¯s time dilation magic because the incoming festival would demand from them more than what¡¯s expected. That was why everything was prepared ahead of time before the imminent shutdown, leaving only Jin and the System to work tirelessly to get the store prepared for the largest event that they will ever host as of their time in the store. ¡°Let the floodgates open in ten minutes,¡± Jin said with a wide grin, knowing that all his efforts for the past month would be realised soon enough. Chapter 1306: Extra: Logistics Behind PandaVerse Chapter 1306: Extra: Logistics Behind PandaVerse ¡°You sure the Sponsor tickets are going to do what we think they are supposed to do? Didn¡¯t Jin say that it did not have anything extra other than an additional perk?¡± Bu Dong said as he was munching on a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon in it. The rumoured free delivery services of Pandafull Delivery within the 200 metre radius of the Tree Mall were indeed true and everyone was taking full advantage of it. Some thought there would be a heck of waiting time since the number of people around ordering food was enormous but most if not all of the customers waiting were surprised by the efficiency of the food. This was because Jin had granted all of the food store owners within his Tree Mall a temporary perk that allowed them to store their food in Pandafull warehouse just for today. This meant that any food that was created out of their cooking wok or oven could be magically stored in Pandafull storage with no loss of taste, heat and even the freshness. The store owners know the temporal magic storage of Pandafull and had taken the chance to fully utilise them since Jin was giving them the chance to use it for free. This meant that whenever they had some time on their hands, they could create the food in advance and store it in Pandafull warehouse for keeping. This not only allowed them to create food in an unconstrained time situation but also ensured the best quality for each food item they made. To their surprise, because of the number of food items that had been delivered, the System was also able to categorise them, by acknowledging how certain food items despite them being on the same menu item to be of a higher quality. Thus, under the disguise of Pandafull¡¯s appraisal system, the System had decided to mark such higher quality food items a little more expensive than the usual and even that was not discouraging any customers to buy them. In fact, they were sold out the moment it was released into the Pandafull¡¯s list. Even though it was 1.5 times more expensive than the usual food items, seasoned customers knew that the Pandamonium App had always been a partial judge when it comes to pricing. The price could be absurd but once people tried them out, they knew that it was something that they would not regret buying. Hence, this allowed the food store owners to earn a huge revenue with the aid of the System and were even considering getting the monthly subscription of Pandafull¡¯s warehouse services once PandaVerse ended. (Jin still did promise those who still had leftover stocks after the PandaVerse Festival that no service fees were rendered for the remaining items but they would no longer have access to it if they did not pay for the subscription fees. Obviously, this free trial thing was like a trap to all the food store owners in the Tree Mall, but it was too good of service for them to give up once they knew how it felt like. Meanwhile, the Pandawans who had joined multiple events still could not believe the astonishing number of people within the crowd. And the trouble was that even though they were on time for the event, they were already queuing a few streets away while ensuring that the roads were not blocked. Many who drove here by car were surprised how the Tree Mall was the only place where there seemed to be an infinite amount of car slots. They could only deduce that Jin too had used a dungeon instance to keep the cars considering how instead of going into the underground car park, a series of attendants are asking the customers and their families to get out of the car as their vehicles were being automatically parked for them. To make things even more pleasant for car owners, Jin had introduced a season pass where the parking fees were cheaper if they previously bought a ticket to go for the PandaVerse Festival. As minor as it sounds, it was a relief for many who had travelled far and wide just for this particular event. Not to mention, Hotel Pandastic and the other hotel chains under Jin¡¯s management had seen peak capacity to manage travellers from overseas or other parts of China, making it an exclusive stay to those who come just for the Festival. Jin had placed a lot of emphasis on the logistics ensuring that not only the main event of PandaVerse festival Great Demon Rat War would be a smooth ride but also the needs of his customers. He did not have to do this and let the hostels, hotels and other lodging services take up the burden but how could he miss out on the lucrative profit from providing services which he had already made way in advance? (Some thought that Jin had purposely made all this just for the PandaVerse Festival, thinking it was a major realisation of his overall business master plan but there was no way they would know that it was a mere coincidence that all of these additional services to leech money from customers in every way possible had made this almost an ecosystem that could profit and pleases customers.) ¡°Looks like the countdown has already started!¡± Deng Long said as they saw multiple holograms being projected outside the Tree Mall with a digital timer counting down the start of the PandaVerse Festival. T-10 minutes and everyone started to fervently talk about what to expect. Some of them even whip out the Great Demon War Map and recheck where they would like to go as a start while others attempted to refresh the Pandamonium App to see if there was any special last minute information that would be given out to everyone since it seems like other than the Great Demon Rat War, everything else about the PandaVerse Festival had been rather restrictive other than a few teases. No one knows what to expect from this despite the contagious hype that had been spreading around the net for months. All they could do was wait for that 10 minutes to pass so that they could enter the Dungeon Supplier store and discover the magic that was waiting for them. Chapter 1307: Store Instance Islands Chapter 1307: Store ¡®Instance¡¯ Islands ¡°10, 9, 8¡­4, 3, 2, 1!¡± When the countdown finally reached zero, there was a huge wave of chi emanating from the Dungeons and Pandas storefront. But to the rest who were not near it, they thought that it was the Tree Mall that had released that wave of chi but it was clear that that wave of chi was no ordinary burst. Instead of malice, it was like an invitation to everyone who was waiting in line for the PandaVerse Festival, telling them to come and try to challenge the store to the best of their capabilities. Some of the customers had their legs shaking upon experiencing such a burst of chi for the very first time while the others relished that feeling and got more excited. The police and guards that were manning the queue got even more alert as they thought this wave of chi could put the crowd into a state of frenzy. However, they had forgotten that this was Jin¡¯s territory and with Jin being the Panda Lord, the Panda Police Team was there to assist with the crowd as well. Right at the doorstep of Jin¡¯s store, Super NPC Captain Hei and Captain Bai were standing like the two Door Gods that were guarding a Chinese Temple. ¡°Any disorderly behaviour would warrant the Wrath of either me or Captain Bai!¡± Captain Hei shouted as the Super NPC Panda showed its muscles and teeth at the front row who were dying to get in first.¡± That declaration instantly tamed the crowd as the cultivators controlled their desires and innate excitement as they walked into the store quickly but in an orderly fashion. Both the police and guards on duty were relieved that they did not have to resort to strength when the famous symbol of security within this Tree Mall had shown itself to the public. ¡°Carry on, continue walking! If you wish to stop and take my picture, you are permitted for only three seconds before you move forward! Or else I kick to the back of the queue!¡± Captain Hei shouted as many wished to take a picture of him and Bai since they were rarely together. In fact, Jin was delighted that the need to take a photo with the Super NPCs had allowed the queue to move at a slow but smooth pace. While it¡¯s true most of them could teleport instantly into the Dungeons and Panda¡¯s store as long as they are within the Tree Mall, Jin had temporarily disabled that function to prevent excessive overcrowding or having the System put those people in a temporary buffer dimensional space before teleporting them into the instances. It was best if the System did waste its efforts doing that and rather divert its resources into security as well. WIth the manual access via the consoles that Jin had prepared, the System too was able to have a good scan of all the cultivators that would be entering the dungeon instances as they were checked thoroughly by the consoles they were standing on. Most people thought that it was just identification verification and the issue of a physical band based on the ticket tier that they had purchased but it was also a tracking device for the System to take note of them. While the Pandamonium App was capable of doing so since most people would carry their phone wherever they went, the physical band was used to track the cultivators within the Farming World if anything goes wrong, especially with the large scale invasion, some people might inevitably get lost or worse, captured by the enemies. Therefore it was imperative for the System to track them as well as use it as an SOS signal beacon so that other cultivators could come to the rescue if the System deemed that that particular cultivator might be tortured. (Of course, if it was impossible for the cultivators to do so, the System and Jin had already placed a rescue squad waiting to get them.) Other than that, once they were verified by the System or had their personal information captured, the System would then allow them to enter the dungeon instance. As much as it sounds like a complicated procedure, in reality, it took at most ten seconds in order to teleport into the service instance. Jin even installed a sort of laser ¡®scanning¡¯ device with the physical consoles to purposely distract his Pandarens. (Yes, the laser is just for show, there was no need for that with the System checking the details so invasively.) And when they entered, it felt like a brand new world. The Store instance that they were used to had once again expanded. The previous store instance was already considered huge since they had airports, seaports and even trains to bring them to the instance that they wanted to go to. Now, they realised that this particular store instance seemed to be moving and it was because the place that they were teleported to was indeed doing as they thought it would. The entire land was travelling in the sea. As vague as it sounded, Jin had widened the store instance even further such that what they were on now was something akin to a moving island through the vast oceans. Pandarens at the seaports could see the effect even more as the ships that were once anchored had to be elevated and parked as the ¡®island¡¯ continued to move. ¡°This was because of the extensive number of people that Jin had to resort to this ¡®trick¡¯ where he ¡®stitched¡¯ various separate dungeon instances into one big one by putting people into different ¡®store instance¡¯ islands. This was also to lift the pressure from the System while ensuring that they could enjoy the PandaVerse Festival¡¯s main events. ¡°Store Island 1 and Store Island 2 had been filled up. Creating Store Island 3.¡± The System said as it requested Jin to choose a different theme for the store islands. ¡°Let¡¯s go with London view of the 1970s since we already had Hong Kong and Japan for the first two islands,¡± Jin said as he approved the System to create another Island to let the System allow the next wave of cultivators to come in. ¡°Well, this separate island theme should give some variation to how the cultivators move about while providing a sense of freedom hopping them,¡± Jin said as he ensured that the final touches of the Great Demon Rat War were ready. Chapter 1308: Scalpers and Sponsors Chapter 1308: Scalpers and Sponsors As more of the Store Islands came up on the map, those islands were moving in a particular direction even though the instance that they were in was just one big open ocean. Everyone in those Store Islands was currently restricted from moving between Islands but to most of them, it was not a concern as the Pandarens were frantic in their purchases. Even though each and every one of them could use an on-site service menu, everyone knew that buying from the Supplies store had the most discounts available. Jin predicted previously that people would swarm the store and had already expanded the store by having peddlers and street vendors selling the very same thing as well. He hoped that it would help ease the crowd at the supplies store but he did not expect certain customers to buy the entire stock from the vendors as if hogging the supplies that were meant for everyone. It discouraged a few of the Pandarens as they suspected that such customers would wish to quietly trade for those supplies for a few extra Panda coins. But Jin would be the one winning at the very end as he would pop extra street peddlers NPC and sell customers what they need. After all, he had prepared for the Great Demon Rat War for a very long time, and his Pandapolis had been working all day and night to produce these items. The Demon Citizens from Demopolis had already started to get used to their new lifestyle in Pandapolis and there was a meaning to working hard. The only ones who were disgruntled by the new way of life were the useless nobles who had been sent to do such menial work as well while those who were educated and willing to make an effort were able to be managers. While the other Demon Nobles that had more military experience had been dispatched to Demopolis to work on training new recruits after they passed Kraft¡¯s regime. So to those customers who think that they could be scalpers would be sorely disappointed by Jin¡¯s ample preparation and to make things worse for them, each time a trade would happen, the System had prepared a small advertising box at the side of the trade. It would show the official prices of the items that were being traded and their availability via the on-site service menu. (Not to mention, there might be Panda Coins rebates or surprise gifts!) With the exception of weapons and armours that were being traded, Jin hoped that this would deter non suspecting naive buyers from those scalpers. Other than that, some of the customers were going to the Restaurant Trains to have their stomachs filled as well as getting the food buffs that Lynn and her other accomplished chefs were famous for. Unlike the store owners who recently started to appreciate Pandafull services, Lynn already had such incredible storage from the Sub System since day 1. There was no need to worry about food shortages considering that the System had consistently updated the numbers of cultivators that were going to join the PandaVerse festival. This gave Lynn and her chefs ample time to create food and store them until the time was right for the customers to take it in. But despite the ample amount of food, Lynn was still personally cooking for a few select customers. Despite the amazing spatial technology, there was still a 4-5% loss of chi energy when they took it in and out from the storage, especially when it was not served to the customers directly. So, the best food available was still getting it fresh and piping hot from Lynn herself. And the only few who have such a luxurious opportunity would be those who had the Sponsor tickets. In fact, the highest donated group would have the opportunity to do so first. Most of the Pandarens were not aware of this but like those people who were waiting in line with their Sponsor tickets purchased, Pandafull Delivery had already quietly sent their representatives to get in contact with such people. ¡°See, I told you so. There is nothing to worry about.¡± Xiong Da gleed at Bu Dong who was so anxious the night before. As they followed the Pandafull Delivery representatives. The group realised that they were being escorted to the second level of the Tree Mall which it was mostly restricted to those business companies that were working in the area. Xiong Da and the others then realised there was indeed a separate way to jump into Dungeons and Pandas as the Pandafull representatives who were first in plainclothes immediately changed into a butler suit with a snap of a finger. All of them knew that they were using the cosmetic inscription charms and that was when the service of the sponsors began. The room instance they were teleported into felt like a VVIP lounge room where other Pandarens with sponsor tickets were mingling. They could either have a chat, drink or do some work before going into Dungeons and Pandas but Xiong Da and the gang decided to enter first, only to find out that the sponsor ticket holders themselves have an exclusive Store Island just for them. And without a doubt, Lynn was already in the Restaurant Train preparing the day¡¯s menu just for these sponsors who had paid an exorbitant amount just to join the PandaVerse. ¡°Oh Boss Jin, I really like how you know how to pamper the rich.¡± Xiong Da said as he eyed all the shops and they had servants outside their stores ready to escort them inside so they could purchase what they needed. In addition, Xiong Da and his group once again had the privilege of not needing to pay for any of those supplies or items that they buy because of the additional ¡®donations¡¯ that they had purchased beforehand upon buying the sponsor tickets. But for now, the rest of the group wandered around the Sponsor Store Island like little kids as they see if they could grab items that would be useful for the upcoming fight. Chapter 1309: Trains Trains TRAINSSSS Chapter 1309: Trains Trains TRAINSSSS ¡°Good Morning everyone. The official PandaVerse Event is about to start in half an hour. Please get into the trains as soon as possible if you do not wish to miss the official opening of the PandaVerse event.¡± Jin spoke through the public announcement system and people¡¯s wristbands started to flash with a blinking light. When the Pandarens pressed on the blinking light, it revealed to them the train carriage and seat that they were assigned to, as well as the approximate time that their train would arrive at the platforms. ¡°Please take a look at your wristbands and do not miss the trains! If you do, you might miss the first part of the official event. I repeat, do not miss the trains!¡± Jin said and even sent an app wide announcement to look at their wrist bands for the information needed. ¡°Lol. We do not need to worry about a single thing.¡± Bin Yong said as he looked at his wristband and saw that the train was already waiting at the platform for them. It was plated almost entirely in gold. ¡°Let me buy something real quick!¡± Jia Le suddenly realised she had not bought sufficient amounts of water even though her storage ring was chock full of potions. This was because they knew that the entire group of Pandawans would be staying in the dungeon instance for quite some time. Not many know this but the longer they stay and assist in the raid, the more points they get to rack. It happened during the Goblin World Defensive Raids as well as the Pandapolis Defense. Xiong Da had noticed a pattern and tested the theory out after the Goblin World¡¯s raid and it seemed to be holding some truth. Now that this was not just a defensive raid but a major offensive, the Pandawans are already carrying several high level storage rings to make sure that they have more than enough supplies to last through the Earth week. (After all, they all knew how much time differed from the real world and the dungeon instance.) And even if they predicted wrongly, those rations and supplies could be used for future events, considering Jin had been quite active throwing out new seasonal stuff every now and then. (Also, they now get to buy everything for ¡®free¡¯ with the sponsor tickets courtesy of Xiong Da so being greedy now will still be a good option regardless of the consequences. ¡°Let¡¯s get on board already!¡± Bu Dong shouted as he was looking forward to seeing what Jin had for the event. And as the entire group entered the gold plated train, they realised that they were going to be spoiled by the luxury that was waiting right in front of them when they entered the train. They were not sure what the seats were made of, but they were certain that once they sat on it, it felt the same way how a Dungeons and Pandas plushie could feel. Xiong Da immediately recognised the feeling and straight away messaged Jin whether he could buy this furniture right away. ¡°Nope, they are not for sale,¡± Jin replied quickly and Xiong Da was already in a man child mode pouting as he slid down the seat that was as wide as a cushion sofa and soft like the beds that cost thousands. ¡°Xiong Da. Stopping like a child in front of the others.¡± Ruo Ying sternly said to Xiong Da even though everyone knows that he could act this way only in front of them. And as they started to get comfy in their seats, the train made an announcement they were going to depart. The rest of the sponsors started to hop onto the train and somehow the Pandawans noticed that the group that walked past them had an aura that was different from the rest. ¡°They looked a little familiar.¡± Xiong Da said as he caught a glimpse of them chatting away although a few were grumbling about how they were annoyed they had to take some time off just for this, Yet, the lawyer was not able to pinpoint who they were despite his excellent memory. However, one thing was for sure. The chi aura they had was not ordinary and they were definitely several times stronger than their Pandawan group. Just when he thought that when the Pandawan group that he had, having an average of Grade 9s and 10 in their ranks was already an achievement, he sighed to accept the fact that there will always be a mountain higher than the one you were standing on. ¡°Guess, Jin finally started to climb up the ranks and fame for being a dungeon supplier since high grade cultivators were also participating in the raids.¡± The train finally started moving and the Pandawan group was curious where it would be leading since they knew that further down the island were mainly service instances like the theme park, the zoo etc. But instead, the train was heading to the seaport. All of them thought there was an underwater tunnel that they would be going through. But no. The train was moving towards the sky as rail tracks were being magically constructed which led the entire train to fly. As if to make things even more fantastical, the Pandawans could see that their train was not the only one that was riding on air as the other trains from other islands were doing the very same thing. It was a sight to behold to see lines of trains moving in the same direction and everyone was excitedly taking pictures of such a phenomenon. And during this time, Jin had decided to show them the kind of monsters that they would be working with by dispatching Demon City¡¯s unique fleet of dragons, the Dragon Devils. And riding those Dragon Devils were not just the Dragonlites but the various types of monsters that Jin had collected over the months as they rode to showcase themselves to the Pandarens, an amazing coalition of allies that would be their partners for the week to come. Xiong Da and the rest of the Pandawans also recognised a few old pals that they had worked with in the past raids and they were delighted to know they were in this fight too. At the same time, the Dragon Devils also displayed a quick show of force by doing some air riding feats to entertain the flying trains that were moving towards the location as designated by Jin and the System. But for now, everyone was just awestruck by the beautiful show performed by the Dragon Devils. Chapter 1310: Event Island Chapter 1310: Event Island While the Dragon Devils and Jin¡¯s other minions were stealing the show at the moment, the trains were all converging to a particular destination. Everyone who managed to catch a glimpse of the island in front of them at their seats was curious if that was the main event island that people were theorising about. True enough, as the trains headed closer to the island, they started to circle around the island¡¯s perimeter and systematically, all the trains began to slow down while getting into ¡®positions.¡¯ With the number of trains in the skies as seen previously, the Pandarens were worried how the huge crowd could cause a commotion within the new event island that they saw. Yet, from above the island, what they could see was just a big plain stage at the centre of it all and there were no seats. In fact, it did not seem like there were any seats arranged for this particular event, making them think that this might not be it. Yet, because of how the island shaped like the meteor which had crashed right smack on the island, there were edges which the Pandarens believed they could stand or even seat to see the stage. However, there was an announcement that was being played on every train, reinforcing the fact not to get off it. And in a few moments, the seats within all the trains started to move in one particular direction. Even the ceiling of the train was removed and some of the seats were elevated, making the Pandarens realise that the trains they were on are their assigned seats for this particular event. The trains, like clockwork, started to fall into their assigned positions around the island centre stage and everyone was marvelled at how the trains positioned themselves such that everyone had a clear (not necessarily good due to the number of people present) view of the centre stage. It was like a stadium that had been surrounded by rows of snake like trains around them. Once all the trains had parked at their allocated slots, a loud horn sound was blown, making everyone¡¯s head turn to the side as they could see an enormous whale floating towards the event island as well. As the whale went closer, the Pandarens could only then realise the scale of the flying whale. But on top of it was none other than Jin, who jumped down to the centre stage, welcoming everyone who was present for this particular portion. (People were still pouring into the Store Islands so this was considered the first wave of participants that would be going into the Great Demon Rat War first.) There was no broadcast of the current event that was taking place as compared to the previous times as Jin wants the people who took their time to join this event, queuing for the event to have their efforts recognised. The only people who were allowed to view this were authorised reporters and streamers that Kiyu had sought after. However, they were not allowed to show any of this until this segment of the event had concluded. In short, there were no live viewings and only the recorded part. Some of the reporters who took part were grumpy at how strict the information control was but Kiyu assured them that it was for the overall safety and interest of the people that this did not leak out so soon. ¡°Welcome! Welcome everyone to our very first PandaVerse Festival showcasing the wonders of Dungeon Instances and for us to push Dungeon Instances to the very next level of innovation!¡± Jin said as he bow graciously to thank everyone who took the time to come for this event. ¡°I know everyone is all psyched up to go for the fights, especially those who had taken the time to patronise our stores and enjoy the wonderful food selection at our various Store Islands. So I will try to make this as short as possible.¡± Jin said and the crowd clapped loudly. ¡°As you know this is a very special event for me. It showed how the store had grown and nurtured such budding cultivators in our midst. Not only that, you people have taken this store as your new favourite place to hang out, make friends and create wonderful memories. It is both a joy and pleasure that Dungeons and Pandas could make such a thing happen. For those who are new, thank you for coming and I will make sure that you will feel the same as the rest of my loyal customers who supported me for the past months.¡± ¡°To be honest, this event was initially a slap in the face to the Dungeon Suppliers Symposium for criticising me but in lieu of the recent incidents in China, this event had become much more. In my opinion, we need to have the ability to take care of ourselves in order to protect our loved ones as well as the sovereignty of our country and that is why I had endeavoured this project dearly, pushed myself to the limits to make sure that this very first PandaVerse Festival will have a dungeon raid instance that is out of the world.¡± ¡°It can be considered as a world record that we would be bringing in thousands of cultivators in a dungeon raid instance simultaneously and this will show the world that Dungeons and Pandas is the number one dungeon supplier!!¡± Jin shouted and everyone cheered loudly, as all they had been experiencing for the past hour or so was good service and reasonable waiting time for such a scale of an event. They could not wait for the real deal to begin. ¡°But before we go to war, wouldn¡¯t it be sad that PandaVerse did not have some special guests? After all, this is a Dungeon Supplier store and if there is no pinnacle to view, there might be no motivation to train and fight.¡± Jin said as he walked closer to one of the trains and it was ironically plated in gold. The Pandawans thought that they might be chosen to go up the stage although Xiong Da had a nagging feeling that it was not their group but for ¡®them¡¯. The ones that he saw previously walking past him. And he was right. Chapter 1311: Chinas Finest Chapter 1311: China¡¯s Finest As the door of the golden train opens, a strong mix of aura was unleashed into the public space, causing people near it to be slightly taken aback by the menacing aura. They did not need to know who it was but the aura being emitted was rather clear that the people who were exiting the train were no mere high grade cultivators. ¡°Let¡¯s give a round of applause to welcome China¡¯s finest, The Royal Zodiac Heads!¡± Jin shouted as the background music in every train played in sync and every single one within the event island was stunned to see them. ¡°Are you serious?!¡± Bu Dong shouted as he did not expect that the Pandawans were on the same train as the heads of the Royal Zodiac group. At this point, the bewilderment turned into giddy excitement as the audience saw almost every single Royal Zodiac Head at the centre of Jin¡¯s store. Some even began to question whether they were really the authentic Royal Zodiac Heads especially when the only time they ever got together was during the nation¡¯s National Day. Even so, people know that they were forced to come together as a show of unity and some said they hardly ever come together unless it was a meeting of urgency. However, right now, in this particular PandaVerse event, where only budding cultivators were here to enjoy their time, the Royal Zodiac Heads are now here in flesh and blood right in front of their eyes. As if they could sense the doubt in a few people, almost every single Royal Zodiac Head that was present with the exception of the Dragon Royal Zodiac clan showcased their aura to display to the public that they were indeed the real deal. It also seemed that each and every Zodiac Head were taking turns to show they were better than the other, making the centre stage to be a performance that everyone would not forget. The emergence of the rat and subsequently, the Bull and then the rabbit, so on and so forth. Among the audience, there was a mix of subsidiary clans as well as minor clans of these Royal Zodiac clans that came just to enjoy what Jin had to offer but as they saw their representatives at the centre stage, they could not help but cry in joy. But the loudest cheer came from the Royal Zodiac army personnel as they shouted at the top of their voice when their respective Royal Zodiac Heads came forward to display their menacing aura. Just as the Royal Zodiac Pig Aura came out, everyone was clapping as if to thank for the appearance of the Royal Zodiac Heads that came as special guests to Jin¡¯s event but suddenly the clouds above them started to turn dark for a sudden. ¡°Looks like someone is a tad too shy to show their face,¡± Jin said while the clouds began to crackle with thunder a silhouette of a huge serpent like dragon was seen flying around them. Everyone immediately knew that it was none other than the Royal Dragon Zodiac and the crowd simply went wild. For the first time in the history books, all twelve Royal Zodiacs had come together for one event that was even considered official in everyone¡¯s eyes. (Even though Kong Rong was still hiding since he could not show his face to the Public way too often.) And these made everyone wonder what kind of clout Jin had pulled to bring the Royal Zodiac Heads to his event. Now the reviewers and reporters who were in the media embargo finally understood why Kiyu had demanded such a high level order not to release any information about the event. If intruders of China knew that all twelve Royal Zodiac Heads were gathered in one particular place, it meant that the whole of China was ¡®not guarded¡¯ from both external and internal threats. Thus, with this realisation, all of them finally agreed to adhere to the embargo even though Kiyu was still keeping a close eye on each and every one of them. After all, she too could feel the excitement in their eyes and the feeling of wanting to send out this amazing piece of message to the entire world. ¡°Despite their busy schedules, they have decided to put down any differences they had among each other and me included to come to join this epic event. However, time is precious to them and seeing how I had promised them a load of fun in exchange for their presence, let¡¯s not let these super VIPs wait!¡± Jin said and everyone once again gave another round of applause as Jin told them to stay in their seats. All of the trains that were present on the event stage began to bring the seats back to their original position and a few had already started to move out. In the meantime, the Royal Zodiac Heads took their time to return to their golden train. There was an announcement within their train for all sponsors to be seated and not bother the Royal Zodiac Heads. There were even attendants and Panda Guards to ensure that there was no interference even though the Heads were powerful enough to ignore them. Still, it was a sign of courtesy and everyone on the train tried to take a glimpse of the famous figureheads of China. And with the Heads seated, the golden train had also taken off along with the rest. Jin smiled that all of the Heads had kept their promise that they would come for the PandaVerse Festival and that included the Rat and Tiger. ¡°Looks like no matter what, the allure of money is still quite a strong factor,¡± Jin said to himself seeing how satisfied the entire group of cultivators were elated by their presence. Although he had to pay millions to get them to come, that amount did not matter much considering all he spent could be earnt back in a fraction of a day in the interdimensional stock market. (Of course, with the help of Claire.) And with a satisfied and encouraged army of cultivators in his palm, the offensive on the Great Demon Rat War could finally begin. Chapter 1312: The Siege Chapter 1312: The Siege ¡°All Trains in the first wave are ready to depart into the Farming World.¡± The System reported to Jin as he had returned to his Dungeon Maker to oversee the situation. ¡°Good. Set all trains into combat mode. Get the passengers to have their seatbelts on. If they do not comply, it is at their own risk.¡± Jin said and the System immediately sent out an instance wide announcement. ¡°To all Pandarens and fellow new customers. Please have your seatbelts on. We will be departing shortly to our assigned destination.¡± The PA system in all trains had sounded the same warning again and again while also showing the seatbelt sign right above their heads, just like how most people would notice them on planes. Most Pandarens adhered to the instructions with only a few excited ones who could not wait and stuck their heads out of the train to see the commotion. But all they were able to glimpse was just a portal right in front of them. But at that moment, it felt as if their senses were telling them to get back to their seats as the trains were moving faster and faster. In the meantime, there were Security Pandas at the front carriage of the trains setting up magical barriers which caught the curiosity of the Pandarens but their views were eventually blocked as the Pandas also started putting up a magic veil which obscured what they were doing behind it. ¡°All trains are moving close to max speed. Deploying siege equipment in the front carriages.¡± The System said and Jin pulled out the live camera footage of the main Northern Capital City right in front of him. There was nothing that was out of the ordinary, with the walls continued to be manned by countless numbers of Demon Rat guards. ¡°All Gob Teams are ready to act on your command.¡± Flame Ripper, The Dagger Goblin Commander said and Jin instantly gave the approval to start their operation. With his command, several Goblin Teams that were hiding along the outskirts of the Northern Capital City Walls started firing a barrage of smoke canisters right toward the enemies. At first, the rats had no idea what were those popping noises and but when they realised that a wall of thick smoke was being emitted right in front of their city walls, they knew that an attack was coming, Searchlights started to pop out and alarms began to ring through the entire city. Yet, before the alarms could be fully activated or when the searchlights were up and running, dozens of portals were appearing beneath them, under the cover of the thick smoke. And there, the trains that were running at full speed were dashing out of these portals, smashing their front carriage which was equipped with breaching siege equipment against their city walls. These acts of simultaneous breaches shook their entire city wall despite the Demon Rats¡¯ consistent reinforcements of their walls. They thought they had taken into account the human abilities in destroying town walls as their ¡®sample¡¯ to create stronger, thicker walls. The Demon Rats even placed anti siege equipment on their walls hoping to destroy and they were seen coming to the walls. In fact, they had Demon Rats specialised in detection so that they could sortie their armies in time to counter the humans. But this particular ambush was something that they had never thought of. Almost each and every Demon Rat that was on guard duty were stunned by the scene when they saw snakes of metal come crashing through their walls and penetrate into their outer capital. And if any trains were unable to break through the entire city wall, the front carriage would explode in a forward direction so that there would hopefully be a break in their wall, allowing the Pandarens to continue the siege. Thankfully, as the trains were moving at high speeds, the System did not keep the cultivators in the shadows and shared information in an infomercial way, telling them what to expect as the train reached their ¡®destination¡¯. Many could not believe this was Jin¡¯s way of doing an offensive, No doubt it was refreshing but at the same time scary especially for the new Pandarens although the Royal Zodiac Heads were pumped with adrenaline when they heard of the plan. They were contracted to stay for an hour of the fight to show how the high grade cultivators were supposed to battle. However, from the look of things, they might be willing to stay longer than they were contracted to even though Jin told them that there would be no extra money given. Thus as the trains breached through the city gates, the rush of cultivators startled the Demon Rats as they were faced with an onslaught so fierce, that there was not enough time for a counter attack. To the Pandarens, they were ¡®programmed¡¯ to see all these Demon Rats as enemies and they have to kill any on sight, especially when each rat is worth a point or two depending on their class and speciality. It did not take long for the rats to understand the situation and regroup, forcing a desperate retaliation against the horde of cultivators that came through their city walls. Even so, the assault was not as messy as one might think. The System had purposely given certain missions to various groups of Pandarens. If they complete the tasks and objectives in their missions, they too would be rewarded with extra raid points and so while it was a little messy at the start, there were masses of people targeting key checkpoints. The Royal Zodiac Heads were allowed to rampage however they liked and so they had decided to move inward as they knew that the bosses of a dungeon instance would be in the castle. They were not off the mark but instead of bosses, Demon Rat Abominations started to emerge to protect the second city walls from being breached. Projectiles and bombs were also seen being shot indiscriminately as usual from their second city walls, hoping to do the maximum amount of damage to any large group of cultivators seen. In short, it was a hell of a mess like any war would be. Chapter 1313: Situation in the East and West Chapter 1313: Situation in the East and West ¡°I have to admit, I am actually having fun.¡± Se Chang Chang, the Royal Snake Zodiac Head, said as he slid through the defences of a particular guard abomination and attacked it from behind. In the meantime, Royal Zodiac Tiger Head Yuan Ba took the opportunity and smashed its head with just a fist of fiery chi when it got distracted from the trick attack Chang Chang did. ¡°I will not deny it.¡± Yuan Ba mumbled as his face grinned widely at the kill. It had been a long time since he had a satisfying time fighting against monsters in a dungeon instance that was worthy of his strength. Shu Tiao Xiao, the Royal Rat Zodiac Head, then took the opportunity to cut down the soldiers that were assisting the abominations. ¡°Pssh. That Jin probably did this on purpose to incite me.¡± Tiao Xiao said and Mu Ji, the Royal Zodiac Rooster Head chuckled. ¡°To be frank, his dungeon instance is definitely better than yours by a whole lot. It will probably take you more than a thousand years to reach this kind of quality especially when you are scheming to cheat money off your customers.¡± Mu Ji said and Tiao Xiao ignored her. ¡°But still, I am rather surprised you are here after all that commotion that happened with you and Jin.¡± Mu Ji added as she released a flurry of arrows that struck true to the rats that started crawling out of the debris of the broken buildings. ¡°He paid me enough to come. Besides, he had treated my policemen here more than any other landlords.¡± Yuan Ba gave such a bad excuse that the other Royal Zodiac Heads was snickering at his dishonest feelings. He always knew how awesome Jin¡¯s dungeon instance had always been and this was his excuse to come here to experience it first hand. Even if he had hated Jin for the things he had done, there was nothing wrong in getting enjoyment from the service he provided. After all, if the dungeon instance could get him to be stronger, he might take the chance to do so without any hesitation. This is especially true when there was not enough impetus in the current setting they were living in to do so and the threat of the Banned Emperor did make him slightly anxious after seeing his kids losing to Jin. This was because he could already feel Jin might be on par or even stronger than him even without direct confrontation. And the ability to create this particular dungeon instance was a testament to his strength. Everyone also felt the same as they all knew how hard it was to create such a realistic dungeon instance if he did not have that kind of experience. Even if did not go through such an ordeal, the talent to create such an immense dungeon instance was without a doubt a feat that people would envy. But as the Royal Zodiac Heads were singing their praises to Jin, (Be it reluctantly or not) Jin was too focused on the situation at hand to bother about their words. As expected by the System, the Demon Rats had been alerted to carry on with their digging operation at full force. The Spirits of the Land were doing their very best to provide minute to minute information to the System as well as the coordinates where they were emerging from. Jin then quickly relayed the information to two of his trusted advisors of war. Gold, the Scholar of the East and Zieg, the Dark Templar Commander. While Gold was accompanied by his Werejackals, the WereMice were with him as well. They were the vanguard that would intercept the East¡¯s digging as soon as they emerged from the ground. As for Zieg, he was handling the West alongside the Scholar of the West who seem to have better luck getting more help from the people of her land due to her previous influence as the Scholar. They were more than surprised that she was alive and the adventurers were willing to pitch in to help. Even though Zieg believed that his Dark Templar Knights had the strength of twenty of those adventurers, it was the quantity that matters since they were pitting against numbers. But as they awaited the Demon Rats¡¯ emergence, both the East and West had already prepared a ton of surprises for them. As much as nobles on both sides were unhappy with the amassing of troops, they were quickly appeased with sufficient gold and food stock that Jin had prepared, allowing the two armies to have a proper foothold against the Demon Rats. From artillery to traps and mines, they were well equipped to push back the Demon Rats for at least a day before they were wiped out or exhausted. That was where the Southern Army which Jin had conquered previously would come into play. With the exact coordinates coming through from the System, Jin can finally confirm that the Southern Region was currently safe from the invasion of the Demon Rats which allowed the Southerners to participate in both the East and West campaigns to push the Demon Rats back to the North. An advanced force of paratroopers trained by Jin¡¯s minions¡¯ finest would be departing first before the rest that arrives by boat. This way, there would be sufficient reinforcements for the first wave to go through the Demon Rat Caves. ¡°Jin, we saw some movement on the ground. Getting ready for the fight.¡± Gold reported while Weslie, the Scholar of the West said that their side was still monitoring the situation. ¡°Very well, the moment you see a break in the ground, do not hesitate.¡± Jin gave full approval for Gold to take over the battlefield in the East and in less than a minute, he took charge by firing a volley of artillery the moment he saw a crack on the ground through his binoculars. No Mercy to the Demon Rats. Chapter 1314: 2nd Wave of Trains Chapter 1314: 2nd Wave of Trains Even though Jin was confident that the East and West regions were under control by his minions, he was more worried about the Northern Region. The news of the ambush to the Northern Capital would have already reached the towns and camps that were dominated by the Demon Rats and they were rushing to form a counteroffensive against the humans. Yet, Jin was not going to allow them to do what they liked. The second wave of Pandarens who had gone aboard the trains was transported to these towns as a retaliatory force to prevent the Demon Rats from gathering from various camps and striking the main Pandaren army from the back. The trains also served as a rescue platform for those humans who were helpless against the control of the Demon Rats ruling their town. However, instead of being shocked by the steel carriages emerging from nowhere at the centre of their towns, spies and trained messengers employed by the Southern Stars Organisation had already informed the humans living in those occupied territories in the strictest manner possible. They too had used the System¡¯s contracts during the information trading to ensure that no Demon Rats sympathisers were to leak those plans out. Also before the trains arrived at their said destination, the cultivators had also been briefed of their mission to escort the humans into the carriages while stopping the Demon Rat soldiers from amassing. But to their surprise, those humans who were escaping were somewhat capable of taking care of themselves too. Armed with World War 2 standard issue rifles, a few of them assisted in the escort of the vulnerable into the trains. They were none other than the Southern Stars agents that had stayed to make sure that their mission objectives were protected after performing their initial mission of relaying the information. These Southern Stars agents honestly never thought that this rescue mission would ever happen considering how guarded the Demon Rats were. But now that they saw the reinforcements of these masked soldiers annihilating the Demon Rats so easily, the Southern Stars agents believed this was the turnaround that they had been waiting for. So as they fought fiercely to protect the rest of the innocent citizens, the Pandarens tried their best to push the Demon Rats away from the train when they saw that they were taking their prisoners away, loading them into those steel cabins. Instead of reorganising to travel towards the capital, the Demon Rats now took offence of the masked soldiers that attacked them from nowhere and decided to fend them off from their territory. This presented a serious bout of confusion to their main headquarters in the Northern Capital as the towns were asking for reinforcements to combat the threat they encountered. But as more of the towns reported back, the main headquarters knew that this was the major offensive that the Demon Rats had never expected. Sure, they had skirmishes against the humans near the outskirts of the Town Wecha but other than that, the humans did not move off their fortified town any more than necessary. They only did it when the Rats organised a small raiding party to test their defences and hopefully wear them out through the consistent attacks. Both their military council and masters had believed that this was more than sufficient to keep them occupied after the major fight where they used the Northern Capital¡¯s castle as their object of war against the humans. Yet these coordinated manoeuvres were way too accurate that the main headquarters was caught off guard since they were preparing their main armies to fight against the East and West. Then again, when they received reports that the East and West digs had been interrupted by volleys of artillery blasts, the Demon Rat Generals could only believe there was a mole in their midsts. A human sympathiser which was unheard of in their army when they all had been fed and clothed well. ¡°Unless¡­ It¡¯s one of our masters that sold us off.¡± One of the Demon Rat Generals spoke out of buried anger that their plans were being shot down one by one from the counterattacks. ¡°How dare you said that about our masters?!¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t they humans? Perhaps they are scared that we become too powerful for them to control!¡± ¡°We should take this chance to annihilate them.¡± All these whispers of accusing the North and South Scholars suddenly started to get stronger and it made even the most staunch of supporters of their masters to have their resolve waver at the immense peer pressure. ¡°Then, let¡¯s not dally any longer and remove any human presence and take charge of the Demon Rat Army as how we should have done so a long time ago.¡± One of the Demon Rats General said and the rest readily agreed. Unbeknownst to Jin and the System, the Demon Rats¡¯ coup de teat might possibly be the tide turning for the best for them in the long run now that they had decided to go against their masters. But as of now, Jin continued to run his commands in his Dungeon Maker Console and ensure that the Great Demon Rat War could be suppressed as much as what the best outcomes the System had simulated previously. ¡°Yawn. Where is our turn?¡± Kraft said as he was sitting right beside him and the league of Night Foxes were all standing behind him waiting for his orders to be given when he felt like it. ¡°As much as I like to send you to the East and West Digs where their main attacking army should be, it¡¯s not the time right now. The Demon Rats had yet to show their true colours and seeing how they had once massively modified the Northern Capital Castle for their drilling, they might have some other crazy stuff that they are hiding especially when this is their main capital where all their supposed magic is to happen.¡± Jin said as he continued to prepare the third wave of trains to fight the hideouts and camps that served as the Demon Rat Outposts. ¡°Then just send a freaking nuclear missile right smack at the centre,¡± Kraft said as his mouth was wide open once more from yawning. ¡°And lose hectares of fertile farming?¡± ¡°Better than wasting time fighting with small fries,¡± Kraft replied and surprisingly told his Night Foxes to sit on the floor while standing by for his orders. It looked like he was not planning to go anywhere until he annoyed Jin enough for a proper deployment spot. Chapter 1315: Se Chang Changs Excitement Chapter 1315: Se Chang Chang¡¯s Excitement As the Royal Zodiac Heads rampaged through the Demon Rats with utmost dedication to destroying every single one in their way, both the Pandarens and Pandawans were amazed by the sort of strength that was displayed. In fact, it even inspired a few to do better at this current Raid. Xiong Da was one of such cultivators as he saw how he could finally have something worth pursuing. Sure, the Hippo Cultivator might not be able to be at their level in years to come or even in his current lifetime but if he was able to reach a new grade because of his inspired new goals, it might definitely be something worth chasing for. Initially, he did want to go after Jin but the dungeon supplier had been too elusive in hiding his skills and only coming out occasionally to show them off. Not to mention, the times he displayed his brilliance were always in the dungeon instances that he was sadly not around or too far away to witness. But compared to the Royal Zodiac Heads who were currently on the same battlefield as him, they were a shining example of what it was to be a true high grade cultivator. However, he was not the only one in awe by this crazy display of techniques and one shot kills. Kiyu finally allowed the streamers and reviewers who were waiting patiently for the media embargo to be lifted to set the entire internet into flames. And because of Jin¡¯s requirement for all the invited streamers and reviewers to come into Dungeons and Pandas, the media embargo could be handled and lifted easily. There was no need to worry about leakages when the reviewers were considered ¡®hostages¡¯ in Jin¡¯s shop. (Of course, the reviewers had been treated well with a luxurious wealth of information and services that could make six star hotels pale in comparison.) And to the reviewers, this was like a test that had the fastest fingers to shout out into the internet and attract the most attention. It was as if Jin was trying to give both big and small time reviewers a chance to get the audience they wanted. No one had exclusive rights and everyone was equal until the embargo was lifted. True enough, the piece of information about the gathering of the Royal Zodiac Heads spread like wildfire. It was to the point it was considered as breaking news in a few certain mainstream media channels the moment they pick them up. (After all, Jin did not invite any mainstream media to the festival since they were too troublesome to work with.) But by the time the news of the Royal Zodiac Heads was out in the open, most of the Royal Zodiac Leaders were already close to their contracted one hour mark to Jin¡¯s surprise. He honestly thought this would be considered boring for these super powered fiends that had secret training since young. And yet, here they are in the Farming World wrecking to their heart¡¯s desire. Some even took this opportunity to work together with their subjects as there were quite a few Royal Zodiac Soldiers that came for the PandaVerse Festival. In fact, almost 3/4 of the Royal Zodiac Snake Platoon came to give their support and Se Chang Chang the Royal Snake Zodiac Head had the rare chance to command his troops to victory. He even told Hou Fei the Royal Snake General that this was way better than any military exercise that he had joined before. ¡°Wait, till the main dish arrive.¡± Hou Fei chuckled and Se Chang Chang had his eyes wide open. He thought that this current assault would only consist of cultivators and he had not realised that they were only this to create a foothold so that they could assault the capital earnestly. ¡°How did you get all this information? Is it because of that military exercise that you took part in previously?¡± Se Chang Chang asked and Hou Fei nodded his head while replying to his boss in code that his colonels and he had the privilege to bring in some extensive equipment like tanks and artillery into the picture so long as they were able to provide more money. ¡°That cunning little Panda. Looks like he is not as naive as people made him out to be. Do you need more cash for other ¡®equipment¡¯? I saw from afar there¡¯s an ocean that we can make use of. What about the aeroplanes?¡± Se Chang Chang said and it seems like Hou Fei had managed to get the jackpot for Jin when it comes to earning more money. ¡°But are you supposed to only be contracted for an hour? Last I remembered talking to your assistant that you had quite a few agendas to clear for today.¡± Hou Fei questioned although he knew beforehand that although they were only contracted for only an hour, they were not only obliged to stay any longer in Jin¡¯s Dungeons and Panda store but able to stay as long as they want. If needed, the Dungeon Supplier had promised a one way portal back to their territories once they had enough of the fight. ¡°Agenda for today? Screw those stuff. This is one dungeon instance that felt so real that I could not believe I did not trust you enough to come for the first one! Postponing those administrative for tomorrow will be fine.¡± Se Chang Chang laughed as he told Hou Fei to give him advice if he did anything wrong with the commanding while telling him to get at least a destroyer or airship carrier and a few planes in their possession. If they were going to play this for some time, might as well go all in with the fight. As for the others, a few of the Royal Zodiac Heads already had their fair share of fun and decided to return since leaving their territories empty after being exposed by the mainstream media had left them a tad anxious. But for Se Chang Chang? The fun had just barely begun as Jin already approved of the Royal Snake Zodiac¡¯s urgent request to acquire additional items for their ¡®entertainment¡¯. Chapter 1316: Coup détat Chapter 1316: Coup d¡¯¨¦tat ¡°What are you all doing here? Can¡¯t you see that we are being attacked?¡± A loud stomp from his precious metal staff reverberated throughout the entire room with magic power resonating from it. ¡°You think that will scare us away, Master Nathan Welihelm? Just because you created us does not mean that we are not equals.¡± One of the Demon Rat General said as his axe scraped the floor with a loud clicking sound. And soon, the rest of the generals followed suit and surrounded the Scholar of the North, Nathan. ¡°And? Can¡¯t you see that we are busy discussing what we should do about this mess? The Eastern and Western fronts had somehow been discovered and they were all more than ready to attack us. More importantly, they even knew where the exact pinpoint locations of the digs were and had us in a pinch. And you guys are wasting your time ¨C WHAT?¡± Nathan who was busy digesting the list of text from the Eastern and Western frontline did not notice the severed head that the Axe Demon Rat General was holding. Immediately, he put up a shield right in front of him and demanded an answer from the Demon Rat Generals. ¡°What is the meaning of this?! How did Master Douglas die and why are you holding his head in such a manner? Explain!¡± Nathan shouted as he tried to rummage through his desk to find the commanding ring that was supposed to cause all Demon Rats regardless of ranks to obey his questioning. But before he was able to find it, the shield right in front of him started taking damage from the Demon Rat Axe General as his axe was no ordinary weapon. Like a rotating pinwheel, the axe continuously pounded onto the scholar¡¯s makeshift energy shield and roared as it ground through the layers. And this was merely just the Axe General doing his part where the others were smirking at how easy this whole ordeal was to perform a Coup d¡¯¨¦tat. They had no idea that the command rings could be overwritten with just a simple loophole. By wearing one of them by themselves. The Rat Generals forcibly took the command ring from Douglas, the Scholar of the South who was preoccupied with boosting the defences of the main headquarters further into the capital. But in reality, Douglas was mainly boosting his room with traps so that anyone coming in would be killed. He however disabled the traps for the Demon Rats for very obvious reasons but Douglas had no idea that as he was enchanting the room, he would be stabbed in the back by various Demon Rat Generals, killing him almost instantly. And as if the Demon Rats knew the impossible possibility that he might be resurrected, beheading the head before he could make any further response was the most appropriate choice they had selected. And as if the beheading was not enough, the Demon Rat Generals demanded that his body would be cut into pieces and burned in the midst of this chaos. And in the meantime, the Generals looted his body and gave most of them to the Mage General of the Demon Rats since he had previously been bestowed powers by the Scholars themselves. As for the beheading, it was also used to serve as a conduit for the Mage General to obtain whatever knowledge Douglas had withheld from him previously and also preserved his remaining soul within that beheaded piece so that the Rats can control play with fire by controlling the scholar even from the dead. The Mage General believed that if he was able to do so, controlling the humans outside might be a feat that could be achieved too and this war could end sooner than they might expect. Simultaneously, having the tortured soul of Douglas in their possession also allowed the Demon Rats to utilise the Command Ring as if simulating the effect of Douglas controlling the current group of Demon Rats General. But the control was still under the Mage General and thus creating a loophole that enabled the Rat Demons to move so boldly against the stronger of the two scholars. And since the Demon Rat Generals were under the effect of ¡®Douglas¡¯ the commanding ring used by Nathan was rendered useless and all he could do now was to defend himself. ¡°Why!? Why! After all that we did for you! You know that we are the only two that you can trust!¡± Nathan shouted as he attempted to prepare a lightning spell to zap the Rats into oblivion, hoping to buy time by learning their reason. Yet, the attack got fiercer and more of the Rat Generals took part in the destruction of his shield, causing Nathan to fire the lightning bolt prematurely and also doing some damage to himself from the feedback. And still, the Demon Rats did not fall back but rather pressed forward, going into melee range and slashing the two arms away from Nathan¡¯s body, disallowing him from even holding a wand. Nathan retaliated despite the loss he suffered. Even without hands, he was still able to chant, allowing him to regrow his hands with black magic. Although it might lessen his lifespan, Nathan knows that his life will end in seconds if he does not use them and soon after, cast a necromancy spell that provided him with the ample amount of buffer that he could potentially need to fight against a group of well trained, well armed Demon Rat Generals. ¡°Raise the dead!¡± Nathan shouted after his quick successive rows of chants. Swift casting the spell enabled him to raise a few death knights at his behest and yet he was bested once more by the Demon Rat¡¯s Mage General who cast a holy smite to break a pathway for the Demon Rat Axe General to plough through. The rest instantly blocked the remaining Death Knights, allowing the Axe General to shove the entire axe through Nathan¡¯s body, causing him to be in shock and major loss of blood. And with that opening attack, the Demon Rat Generals continued to eviscerate the last scholar who created them so that this entire race of Demon Rats will be led solely by Demon Rats Chapter 1317: The Dead Scholars Aftermath Chapter 1317: The Dead Scholars¡¯ Aftermath ¡°So what now Cinderclaw?¡± The Demon Rat Mage General asked the Demon Rat Axe General as he picked up Nathan¡¯s beheaded piece and chucked into his belt like some trophy ornament alongside Douglas¡¯ severed head. ¡°What now? Get your ass working. Get all the transmissions but send it to the main communications area immediately rather than have it filter through this stupid room.¡± Cinderclaw said as he checked if the Scholar of the North had any other artefacts that could be used against the humans. ¡°And also, Prideblood, be sure to get all the spells and knowledge from those two heads before they expire.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. Just be sure to be victorious in your fights. The humans are not pushovers when they are bunched up like grapes.¡± Prideblood said and Cinderclaw chuckled. ¡°So, you are of the opinion to teleport them into various places?¡± ¡°Well, yeah? Just let me get those spells from the scholars and we should be good to go. It will disrupt their formation and we can overwhelm them solely with numbers once we break them apart.¡± Prideblood said and the other generals who were nearby liked the idea a lot. ¡°Also, I suggest we do mass teleports and bring the other Demon Rats along with them. It will save on our mana since I do not need to care how many to bring over.¡± ¡°Yeah, just do that and we will take care of the rest,¡± Cinderclaw smirked at the new way of punishing the invaders. It seems as if the rats had underestimated how coordinated the humans were and as well as the number of talented people in their midst. He could only assume that these humans were from either the other regions or maybe a region that was unheard of or even kept as a secret by the Scholars. After all, they were keeping secrets till kingdom come and refused to share anything unless it was necessary. But now that the Demon Rats are not under the rule of these pathetic masters who had spent their lives idly and treated them as mere pawns in the game of chess against the rest of the humans, they are going to carve a name for themselves. Cinderclaw knows that if those ex masters of theirs only wanted power and luxury of life and to be able to do so behind protection of a race would only further solidify their comfort zone. So what if they were to lose a few thousand Demon Rat soldiers? All they had to do was to make even more of those once the battle had ended. And at most, the scholars will send a retaliation attack to ensure that the humans within the Northern regions would suffer even more losses after this attack. However, they did not realise that the Demon Rats had far bigger ambitions to invade the East and West regions. The scholars thought that it would be stupid of them to branch out of the Northern region but their insistence left them no choice but for the Demon rats to leave with their own devices. Naturally, this brought even more headaches for the scholars when they found out about how coordinated the attack in the morning was when they realised the scale of the ambush. Being targeted when the Demon Rats were about to reach the regions through months of digging? The only regret was that they gave the Demon Rats too much freedom and death was the price they had paid for being oblivious to almost everything. Even through this attack, the North and South scholars wanted to hide as much as possible without providing much support, hoping to ride off the tide since they thought that they had the entire Demon Race at their behest. But they never thought how the Demon Rats had decided to use this confusion as an opportunity to remove them. To think all this was because both the North and South scholars got a bit greedy once they had created a new plant based on the Demon Seeds and were drunk with power conquering the entire Northern Region for themselves. But all this did not matter now that they were dead and the Demon Rats were in command of everything. The Demon Rat Generals who used the excuse of the masters collaborating with the humans were excited with their new command of the entire Demon Rat race and they are eager to show these humans that they had messed with the wrong people (or rats). Prideblood eventually managed to learn how to mass teleport via the remains of the dead Scholars and the Demon Rat Generals had already assigned a few kill zones for that to happen. This move was the game changer for the current battle that the two sides were experiencing. The Demon Rats that were engaging against the cultivators did not have any idea what was happening and thought it was a spell from the cultivators, causing them to enrage while some who had the basic knowledge that it was a Demon Rat spell went berserk to keep the enemies occupied before the spell activates¡­all for the glory of the Demon Rats. In the meantime for the Pandarens, they knew it was not a support spell as any friendly spell cast would be indicated in their Heads Up Display (HUD) via their masks and some who were at the edge of the spell managed to move away from it while the rest who were caught in the crossfire continued their fight against the Demon Rats until they realised that they were teleported instead of being blasted into pieces. Jin was surprised when the System reported that the Pandarens had been moved to another location deep underneath the current city that they were fighting and the dungeon supplier demanded the HUDs be brought up to the main screens of the Dungeon Maker instance. There he saw Demon Rats armed not just to the teeth but with steampunk equipment that was close to modern fantasies. Armoured Rats that could give Ironman a run for his money. And the look of grittiness in those Demon Rats¡¯ eyes showed that it was not the first them they murdered people. Jin could only deduce that those Demon Rats had fought against each other to reach a rank or experience that he could not have imagined. And yet, those poor Pandarens were sent to these ¡®slaughtering houses¡¯ to be killed right on the spot and for the next batch to come in. Chapter 1318: Demon Rats Battle Report I Chapter 1318: Demon Rats Battle Report I ¡°The number of dead cultivators is going up.¡± the System said and Jin started to scratch his head. He knew that there was nothing he could do unless he decided to put up an anti magic barrier to protect the cultivators from being teleported into the rat¡¯s kill zone. Thankfully, the cultivators did not think that way and assumed that it was part of the dungeon instance¡¯s design. The Pandarens who were killed mercilessly by the Demon Rats could only assume that they should not be in those magic circles and decided to write it in the forums. With the Royal Zodiac Heads leaving the dungeon instance and returning back to their respective workplace (with the exception of Se Chang Chang), there were no strong supporters to assist the rest of the Pandarens other than themselves. So by writing in the forums, people who were defeated and resting in the Luxury Recovery Instance knew what to expect when they went for their second round. It was as if the Pandarens were learning not only about the Demon Rats but teaching the rest who had yet to enter the dangers they could encounter. And the infamous Mr Know It All had already begun to compile all this information and put it up as a major big post for everyone to view. Now that Jin knows the true identity of Mr Know It All as well as he being part of the Panda Inc Executive, the dungeon supplier had bestowed him the title of a Super User, allowing him to use the System to help edit the posts and giving everyone information that was required for the fight. Normally, Kong Rong would need to spend lots of time editing and pasting the information into the forums but with the aid of the System, the changes in the forum¡¯s posts were fast. When one wonders why Kong Rong, the upcoming Royal Zodiac Dragon Head had the time to play the role of Mr Know It All, the only answer he gave was that it was his hobby. But since Jin knew his other job aside from being the Head of the Royal Zodiac Clan, he understood that it was to keep his information gathering skills up to date. ¡°What do you think of this mass teleport skill that the Pandarens are up against?¡± Jin asked Kong Rong when he learned that the latter was updating his forum posts. ¡°Not outside our expectations. I mean, we did use something similar with those crazy train attacks. Teleporting trains from our world to their world and forcefully assault them without going through their external defences. It¡¯s a tactic I too would like to use in the future and since they have the means and abilities to do so, the Demon Rats copied what we did and used a divide and conquer method to kill us. It¡¯s not surprising at all.¡± Kong Rong said while adding contributions to players who had updated the forums as well as tipping them a little for their information. (which he had verified alongside the System.) ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not our fault that our Pandaren are weak. Most of the new ones never went through any war or real life battles before and using this platform to allow them to experience war is one of the fastest ways to let them grow.¡± Kong Rong added and said that everyone could only believe that this is a ¡®damn real dungeon instance¡¯ and not another world. ¡°To them, it¡¯s just another game while we know that this is not the case.¡± Jin sighed as he was only worried that the ¡®difficulty spike¡¯ was too high for them. Yet he had forgotten that aside from the realism his dungeon instances were infamous for, so were the challenges that his ¡®dungeons¡¯ had provided. The cultivators who were attracted to his store were itching for not just sightseeing but a challenge that would help them grow from their current slump in cultivation. Upon learning through many people¡¯s word of mouth (as well as the internet), most of the new customers know that this would definitely be the best chance to get out of their slump and break through to the next level. And that was evident when the System collected data of the numerous breakthroughs from Grade 1 to Grade 2s when the Pandarens were defeated and sent to the recovery instance. It was as if they were enlightened when they finally knew how their battle techniques were supposed to work and how to overcome challenges. The System also did something out of its own ¡®goodwill¡¯ by giving a small reward of coins as if to spur the Pandarens who had levelled up despite being defeated to have another try on the Demon Rats. And so far, it was working rather well as the morale of the cultivators continued to be maintained at an all high, prompting them to continue the assault against the Northern Capital. On the other hand, with the forums and cultivators sharing information, people started to be more coordinated especially when the Pandamonium App had a new feature called the party finder. The System can either automatically put a group of people wanting to join the raid into one party based on their classes to get a balanced one or the Pandarens are able to set requirements so people can join when they meet their requirements. As the latter provided some restrictions, some of them had to wait a little longer to join in the fun, else they could allow the System to do some matchmaking for them as well at no cost, although the consequences were for the rest of the party members to bear since they cannot reject any which the System had recommended. At the same time, they could hire the Pandamonium ¡®NPCs¡¯ to do the fight which the System had already fine tuned from previous dungeon instances and they were lower tier minions such as the Southern soldiers that were trained not too long ago which Jin and the System had taken in. (Although they could use the System real ¡®NPCs¡¯, it was cheaper in terms of resource management with their minions.¡¯ But with these quick party finding solutions, the Pandarens can finally have a fighting chance with a balanced party. And yet, Jin was not sending any more of his minions other than the ones who were fighting against the Demon Rats in the East and West regions. This was because he knew that the surface was just a beginning as they have an entire city¡­or perhaps a region worth of rats right under their feet going with life as per normal. Chapter 1319: Outer Wall Campsite Chapter 1319: Outer Wall Campsite ¡°Run! Run!¡± The Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers told the Pandarens to escape the incoming artillery that was coming from the inner walls. As a veteran of the battlefield, the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers roughly knew where the artillery attacks were coming from and the approximate location where they would land. Even though they knew that the Pandarens had very little time to run away from the attack, they are cultivators and should be able to at least escape or bring up a chi barrier to protect themselves. At the same time, Se Chang Chang and Hou Fei had decided to clear the outer walls while waiting for the equipment they had purchased to be put to great use. Unlike the Pandapolis defensive, the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers were on the offensive but they required a foothold for a counterattack as they realised that there was no proper base for them to deploy, rest or assault from. While the major wave of train siege had caught the Demon Rats by surprise, the Pandarens did not have any support equipment that they could utilise from the attack. The major push they had initially was from the Royal Zodiac Heads where they inflicted the most amount of damage and did not press on. After the adrenaline rush had subsided, Royal Zodiac Snake Head Se Chang Chang could understand why the Pandarens were given a roughly drawn terrain map to them prior to the PandaVerse festival. He had assumed that those who wished to survive needed to retreat and used the terrain map to escape once the Pandarens were battered. Else, the only way to get out of this dungeon instance was to get killed. However, if that were to happen, they would lose some points from their death and it was not exactly advisable to do so. While they were given a voucher which they could use to regain their points upon buying their ticket as well as depending on the ticket tier, it was inadvertently that dying too many times was an option they could not swallow. Hence, Se Chang Chang deduced that this attack was supposed to be just a surprise ambush and those who could see the bigger picture could see that this was to determine how the Demon Rats could respond to the attack. But only Hou Fei and Se Chang Chang who were war veterans know that if they retreat away from the outer walls, that surprise siege would be wasted as the Demon Rats would raise their defences further when they slaughtered all the Pandarens within the vicinity. Thus, Se Chang Chang decided to use the outer walls as the place for the Pandarens to replenish their stamina and return to battle again. Or as most Pandarens would have dubbed it a ¡®save point¡¯. It cost a little bit more money than Se Chang Chang had expected but now he understood why Jin had also sold such an item that allowed the cultivators to respawn once they placed the save point down. Unlike in games where there was a crystal where they could teleport to, it was more like a drop point that could be seen in first person shooting battlefield games. The Pandarens could now choose the Outer Wall Camp as Se Chang Chang had dubbed it to respawn. However, instead of a portal appearing right at the Outer Wall Camp, a train would emerge along the edge of the Outer Walls (the safer side) and they could alight from there. That means that those who wish to rejoin had to queue for a train which currently had an interval of 15 minutes. But for those who had priority queue vouchers or higher tier tickets, they would be directed to a storehouse where there were Pandas handling a large gigantic cannon pointing towards the sky. It is somewhat like a siege trebuchet where the Pandarens could hide inside a bubble ball similar to what they rode in the Cultivation Zoo Instance. But unlike that harmless thing, the ball was filled with explosives so that when they were catapulted into the dungeon instance via the cannon, they would be ¡®teleported¡¯ like a comet diving down to destroy the highest density of Demon Rats which would contribute to their raid points. (technically this was how they would earn the points back that they had lost. But the reason Se Chang Chang did not mind spending more money to create the Outer Wall Camp was that it allowed him to earn points as well. This was considered as support as well and each time any Pandarens entered his camp to rest, recuperate or even replenish their equipment, he would earn some points. Thus, aside from the requisition of a ship and a few planes, Se Chang Chang had flaunted his wealth and bought licences where NPC Pandas would emerge on the campsite to sell ammunition, potions and even rations. At the same time, the Royal Zodiac Snake Head add put up a large area magic barrier to protect the camp while Hou Fei spent money (and using his VIP privilege since he was a Panda Inc Executive) to set up artillery guns and missile launchers for his Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers to use. An eye for an eye, if those Demon Rats were firing at them from their inner wall, the Pandarens are allowed to do the same too. This also gave the Pandarens a bit of fire support so they would not be overwhelmed by the Demon Rats. Yet, the Demon Rats knew the existence of the camp since it was set up right in front of their eyes and had also tried ways to thwart it so that it would break their chain of reinforcement. Prideblood had attempted to mass teleport the Pandarens within the camp but Se Chang Chang had seen that coming and already placed an anti teleport magic barrier in the camp. (which was also why no teleport portals were coming from the System too.) And since that was useless, Prideblood had decided to continue to use his magic on other Pandarens while trusting the other Demon Rats to do their job. Chapter 1320: Roughscreams Bloodlust Chapter 1320: Roughscream¡¯s Bloodlust ¡°Roughscream, you are up to destroy that Outer Wall Campsite,¡± Cinderclaw said as he sat on the new usurped throne that he and the rest of the Demon Rat Generals had achieved recently. It was approximately a few hours into the war as everything had settled into a stalemate. After the initial explosive act by the humans, the Demon Rats were able to pit evenly against them, causing them to stay within the Outer Town regions of the Northern Capital while the rats fortified the Inner walls as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Demon Rats had been sending groups of soldiers wave after wave from various directions due to the secret passages they had created previously connecting the Inner Town with the Outer Town but the Pandarens preserved their surprise ambushes and continue to hold the ground, especially with the Outer Wall Camp assisting in their efforts. Their seamless requests for artillery support allowed the Royal Zodiac Snake soldiers to polish their artillery skills as they gave more precise bombardments as time goes by. With their support, the Pandarens were able to cut the secret passages off and focus on defeating any Demon Rats that came about. However, the retaliation via the top of the Inner Walls was equally deadly. Most of the Demon Rats and Pandarens were using the houses and other building debris as cover from both sides and the battle was literally a zone of attrition. Even though the Pandarens did not have the numbers against the Demon Rats, their constant reinforcement through the Outer Wall Camp had ensured that they did not lose too much ground against it. But it was a total nightmare for the new Pandarens despite it being a brand new experience for them. If not for the recovery instance that Jin had set up, he believed a lot of those Pandarens would have been scared by the ¡®realistic¡¯ feeling of being in his dungeon instance. But as time passed, the Pandarens were getting used to the attacks and even devised plans to destroy the elite Demon Rats when they were teleported into those kill zones. All of them thought it was part of the event and did not think much about it thus with the party finder that allowed them to be accompanied by Southern Soldiers, Healers and Mages, they were able to defeat quite a number of Demon Rat Elites before escaping the kill zone and arriving in the Undercity beneath the Northern Capital. It was basically a free for all as they hit and run whatever they could see since to them, it was information which was not available until they had escaped the kill zones. And even if they died, the Pandarens shared the information through the Pandamonium Forums knowing that Mr Know It All (and the System, well under the name of Mr Know It All) would provide them incentives and payment for revealing such information to the public. It was like reconnaissance of the entire Pandaren community while trying to survive this crazy Raid Event. ¡°Cinderclaw, that camp is practically harmless against us. With a few strikes from our volley of cannons, it would be destroyed. You saw how their magic barrier dropped instantly after a few hits before it recovers again.¡± Roughscream said as he held onto his spiked club. The Demon Rat Club General swung his mechanical club and placed it on his shoulder while looking hungry for a better fight. ¡°Hah, Roughscream is probably more interested in the humans that survived our kill zone.¡± Skydigger, the Demon Rat Pickaxe General said and Cinderclaw snorted at that aspect. ¡°That group of humans managed to destroy the entire team in minutes and we are allowing them to survive?¡± Roughscream asked what Cinderclaw was thinking. Compared to that camp which could be bombarded with the number of artillery available, those humans had managed to annihilate one of their elites and it should be a more pressing concern than it. ¡°Unless Cinderclaw wished to tire out those humans before assaulting them?¡± Skydigger shrugged his shoulders and Roughscream literally screamed right in front of their new leader. ¡°You know how those humans are despicable and ruthless in their attacks. Why are we not stopping them right now?!¡± ¡°If you can use your brain for a moment, perhaps you will understand why,¡± Cinderclaw said as he ordered Roughscream to look at the footage that the Mage Demon Rats were able to recreate right in front of them. All they showed was multiple footages of humans getting killed again and again by the Demon Rats and Roughscream could not see anything wrong with them. It was then something caught his eye. There were a few humans with the same type of masks coming back again and again. While the masks had not revealed their identity, it was pretty obvious based on the attacks they dished out. The same magical (chi in the cultivator¡¯s eyes.) attacks were used and they became stronger not just in terms of their attacks but in their wits fighting against the Demon Rats in those kill zone boxes that the Demon Rat Generals had set up. ¡°You get what I mean now?¡± Cinderclaw said as he sat more comfortably on the throne. He now understood why the scholars loved sitting on this pedestal of power so much. ¡°Those humans have the ability to return alive? We should capture them instead of killing them!¡± Roughscream said and Cinderclaw wished to laugh at his opinion although he was not wrong without knowing the circumstances. The Demon Rat Axe General would have done the same too. Prideblood came into the throne room upon hearing the initial uproar and replied by saying that they had tried to do so the moment they found out that those humans were able to revive back once more. ¡°But each time we killed and captured one to experiment, a secret spell had allowed them to explode leaving almost nothing behind. It was as if they know that they would be captured and tortured to learn about them so they decided to suicide and therefore not allow us to do anything to them.¡± Prideblood said. ¡°We tried taking their blood and even amputating them but the results that our scientists had shown were nothing significant.¡± ¡°So? All we had to do was to kill and kill again until they never come back.¡± Roughscream said as he walked out of the room and went into one of the Killzone boxes himself. Chapter 1321: Kill Box Zone Chapter 1321: Kill Box Zone ¡°Seriously¡­this is not an easy raid at all,¡± Bu Dong exclaimed as he was catching his breath after killing the last Demon Rat that was trapped with them in this black damp room. The room was not lit and there was not a switch in the room to turn the lights up again. If not for the Mask having a night vision mode in it, there was no way he and the rest of the Pandawans would be able to see. The night vision mode was initially a paid module for the masks that they were wearing but because of the current situation in which most Pandarens were stuck, the System had decided to be ¡®gracious¡¯ and ¡®magnanimous¡¯ to put it as a buyable module via the use of raid points. What¡¯s more, was that it was priced way cheaper than usual (about 10-20% cheaper) if the raid points were to be converted into Panda Coins (there was a current exchange rate between the raid points and Panda Coins but because it is done like a live currency exchange, the number of raid points needed to change for one Panda Coin keeps going up.) In fact, Jin later revised to put the Night Vision Module as part of the higher tier tickets especially for the sponsor tickets and the Pandawans all received it for free. (If they already had it previously, it would be converted into extra raid points but only 25% of the current amount that had been offered to the public.) The System also bundled the night vision module with other Mask¡¯s modules if the Pandarens were looking for some serious upgrades to their current Mask while saving some money along with it. Else, the night vision module was more than sufficient for their current predicament as well as when they use it to traverse the Undercity. ¡°We did expect that much of a difficulty especially when we had decided to enter the teleport circle.¡± Xiong Da said as he tried to use his chi to sense whether there are any more living Demon Rats within the vicinity. He had fought these rats before and knew that trickery was not beyond them. In fact, such cowardly behaviour to hide in the room and ambush them when they were caught off guard was perfectly normal. After all, the winner would be the one who survives. (Although the Pandawans know that it was only bothersome for them to restart again once they died, as well as the fear of losing more points than required.) Eventually, he noticed that there were quite a few Demon Rats hiding within the corpses via his chi sense and decided to use his chi telepathy to tell the rest about it. The rest continued to act casually while building their chi within their body so that when they were close enough to the enemies, they blast their chi out with their strikes. There was immediate retaliation from the Elite Demon Rats using whatever they could find as a shield. Even using their previous late comrades was an option they did not skip. They were no doubt injured from the Pandawans¡¯ attacks but they were still capable of a counter so they took every opportunity they could salvage and used it to injure the Pandawans. The only consolation that Pandawans have is that they are experienced cultivators who had been trained in Jin¡¯s Dungeon instances for months. There was no need for them to panic with this surprise ambush when they were the ones who were vigilant enough to counter back as well and put the remaining Demon Rats down to their grave for sure. After clearing the room once more, everyone started to use chi Sense once again to ensure that there were no more enemies around. It was then they decided to rest a little while Xiong Da and Shi Zuo stood guard. From replenishing their health and chi with potions to ensuring that they were well armed before getting out of the room. It might seem like a room with no exits but their chi sense had managed to find a tunnel corridor that was connected to the doorless room. Thus, they decided to break it down with force and move forward but the Pandawans immediately felt a dangerous aura emanating within the four walls, causing them to raise their weapons up in reaction. They could not find anything that was moving until they realised that a new teleport circle emerged right in front of them. The only difference was that this teleport circle was smaller in fact, small enough to teleport just one enemy. ¡°Just one Demon Rat? Did he teleport wrongly?¡± Luo Bo said only after she released her arrow. However, the Demon Rat screamed at them and the arrow even though imbued with chi was being stopped in its tracks and fell to the ground. ¡°Guess it¡¯s not some normal Demon Rat that we had been fighting against.¡± Bin Yong went forth ahead of the group and took a defensive stance, protecting the entire group with his tiny shield. Roughscream did not know whether to laugh or pity the warrior who stood at the front. To the Demon Rat General, It was obvious to him that the guy defending with his buckler was either naive or stupid. Yet, the rest of his team seemed to trust him a lot and there was nothing else the rest of the group would do to resist him. This then made Roughscream to be a bit wary of him. Yet, he felt that there was sufficient reason to think that the shield guy had been overestimated by him. But before the rat could make his move, Luo Bo had decided to use her skill. Thousand Rabbit¡¯s Shower. With no monsters to disturb her and sufficient space between her and the enemy, the Luo Bo was able to utilise this difficult skill that ensured that her arrows would shower and hit true. Roughscream tried to defend against the Thousand Rabbit¡¯sShower and thought it was just a bunch of arrows attempting to injure him. But never did he realise that those arrows that had been blasted through a wide radius would eventually converge towards him. ¡°Heh. You better give me more fun than this.¡± Roughscream said to himself as he flicked his pickaxe which had killed dozens of cultivators before leaping further into this kill box zone. Chapter 1322: The Advent of a Demon Rat General Chapter 1322: The Advent of a Demon Rat General ¡°User, the Pandawans had engaged with a foe of a fairly high ranking.¡± The System said as it switched the Dungeon Maker main console screen to the scene where the Pandawans were trapped alongside Roughscream. ¡°A high ranking Demon Rat? A general?¡± Jin queried but the System was unable to identify, only knowing that a deflection of a chi imbued arrow would warrant some sort of caution. While the System had created a sort of ranking after defeating that many Demon Rats, it was unable to categorise the current Demon Rat soldier that was fighting against the Pandawans. Since the Pandawans were of an average grade of nine, the System found it suspicious that the Demon Rat was able to fight on par with not one but two Pandawans at the same time. This was also because there were no chi levels to compare the Demon Rats to the cultivators and the only thing it could differentiate was based on its size, type, and to a certain extent its magical powers. However, those usually with magic powers were of a weak stature but this particular Demon Rat was able to wield some sort of magic even though it had not displayed any yet. This made the System believe that there was a higher tier of Demon Rats which had been hidden for this entire time or perhaps they were the ones that were coordinating all the Demon Rats. ¡°They are equivalent to a magic knight or a cultivator of grade 10 onwards.¡± The System said and Jin told the System to continue watching the Demon Rats. The System however queried whether it was the right time to send his higher levelled minions to the fray but the Dungeon Supplier shook his head. ¡°Now is not the time. Although plan wise, we should be unleashing our troops into the undercity now that the Pandarens had discovered it but I think we would be showing our cards way too early. On the other hand, we should hope that Gold and Weslie are able to deal with the Demon Rat Army.¡± Jin said and realised it was a good time to speak to the two scholars too. ¡°Gold, Weslie. How are the responses of the East and West? I assumed that they should have seen enough action.¡± Jin asked and Weslie decided to answer first. ¡°The Queen of the West had decided to lend us our aid by supplementing the Adventure Guild with the promise of great reward. She needed more time to get the army in place before they could sortie out so the adventurers were given the incentive to risk their lives to fight against the Demon Rats. After all, the Demon Rats were something akin to monsters and the Queen¡¯s council believed that the adventurers were more well equipped to handle it.¡± Weslie reported and also confirmed that the current evacuation of the nearby towns for the soldiers to create a foothold. ¡°What about the Southern Soldiers? How are they holding up to the West¡¯s colder weather?¡± Jin asked and Weslie reported that the armour that Jin had sent previously was more than sufficient for the soldiers who suffered heatstroke on a daily basis. After all, Weslie had personally conducted similar environment simulations during their training once they had been assigned to work for her. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good to know. Remember to warn the adventurers not to steal any of our supplies or they will meet with death by our blade.¡± Jin told Weslie and she once told the Dungeon Supplier that the situation in the West was not always favourable because of their terrain and starvation was always an ongoing issue that the soldiers of the West always had to settle. Weslie understood his orders immediately despite being reluctant to send the order to kill these thieving adventurers. But in war, stealing supplies was a major war crime since it affects the logistics of the assault team. Not to mention, the supplies, especially the food supplies, were made by Lynn and her food department. If those adventurers stole those food supplies, it would definitely prompt them to steal even more once they learnt how magically tasty (and powerful) the food was. ¡°Master, the East isn¡¯t receptive to it despite our efforts to convince them with the live magic feed. Instead, a lot of the nobles are fending for themselves, wanting to run away from this menace. My cousin told me that ¨C hold on for a minute.¡± Gold stopped the transmission to send a volley of lightning projectiles into the horde of Demon Rats, and shouted a few commands before returning back into the conversation. ¡°Ah yes, my cousin is informing me that most of the nobles around the area are moving away from the coast and only a few younger nobles had heeded our call since their towns are within the vicinity. I guess they are afraid that their land would be useless after the fight but in my opinion, their soldiers are not the most experienced so they are only going to support or guard the area.¡± ¡°Heh, then you got to thank me for my support!¡± A faraway voice was heard through the transmission even though it was supposed to mute all background voices. And that was none other than Zieg, the dark templars. ¡°Yes, yes. The Dark Templars had connections with quite a number of nobles since a few of them are also part of the nobility. So even when they are running away from the threat, they have used their power in whatever underhanded way possible to get mercenaries and soldiers. We can use them as the rearguards in case some of the Demon Rats manage to escape.¡± Gold added, which made Zieg terribly happy to contribute to the cause. ¡°What about those who could also escape the rearguard?¡± Jin asked even though he knew the answer but since Gold was the battlefield commander for the eastern region, there could be changes that Jin was unaware about. ¡°Yes, we did station a few Weremouse to the rearguard as well since they are the best chasers that we currently have. Unless the situation unfolds to a degree we are unable to handle, we would not be contacting additional reinforcements until the second stage of the plan.¡± Gold replied and Jin nodded his head with satisfaction. All the hard work preparing for this Great Demon Rat War was not easy but at least it is bearing fruits of success.¡± All Jin could hope was that everything was still within their expectations of the worst outcomes. Chapter 1323: Pandawans Vs Roughscream Chapter 1323: Pandawans Vs Roughscream ¡°Fuck! What kind of Demon Rat is that!?¡± Bu Dong shouted as he deflected one of the attacks, letting Shi Zuo take over his place. Although he had managed to block each and every one of the Demon Rat¡¯s attacks, there was no opening for him to take advantage of. ¡°I am Demon Rat General Roughscream!¡± The Demon Rat shouted as he had enough of the mindless shouting from those humans. He was not able to understand what they were saying but he did not realise that the Pandawans have an auto translate function based on the System¡¯s relentless curiosity to learn its language after catching a few of the Demon Rats. That was when both the Pandawans and the System had finally found the identity of the Demon Rat that attacked the former. Jin was quite shocked when he found out that the Demon Rat was of a General rank as he did not expect a General to come alone to fight the cultivators. ¡°You undying humans, I will kill you until you never dare to come back!¡± Roughscream shouted with excitement as his attacks started to be faster and more precise which Shi Zuo was unable to follow without inserting more chi into his body to keep up with the attacks. He had to channel his chi to strengthen his muscles so that his reflex would match up to the Demon Rat General¡¯s attack. However, he eventually received wounds from Roughscream even though he was very sure that he had evaded it. The only thing he could think of was that his weapon has some sort of ability that allowed the Demon Rat to attack away from his range. That meant that Shi Zuo had to either evade further or faster or he had to block the attacks instead. Yet, when he did the latter, he could feel a deep pierce through his upper chest when he blocked the pickaxe from falling into him. Shi Zuo checked his HUD and noticed that his health was dipping significantly. The assault did not weaken his block but the inflicted damage caused him to react by jumping backwards to gain some distance. Somehow, that caused Roughscream to smirk as he pulled his weapon backwards like how a miner would retract his hands after a mining action and suddenly Shi Zuo was being pulled back towards him. ¡°You are not going anywhere.¡± The Demon Rat said as he did the very same action once more by slashing his pickaxe downwards to the very same position where he hit Shi Zuo. ¡°I am not going to die just like that!¡± Shi Zuo shouted as he took his axe up and portrayed his Mad Monkey silhouettes above him. His axe, which was initially the size of a hatchet, grew in size with the amount of chi placed into it, causing it to be a great axe in an instant. ¡°Intermediate Great Axe Art! The Divide Between the Mountains of the Mad Monk-¡± Shi Zuo was still saying the name of his Great Axe technique but he did not realise that Roughscream practically screamed once more causing him to lose his footing since the sound waves were able to push Shi Zuo backwards and stopped him from activating his technique. This was mainly because Bu Dong and Xiong Da were attempting to attack Roughscream at the same time and the Demon Rat General screamed to stop them from advancing. At the same time, Roughscream leapt forth and crashed himself onto Shi Zuo, preventing him from moving away and subsequently sending his pickaxe right straight into his skull. Shi Zuo was killed swiftly and that caused Luo Bo who was on the sidelines to yell in anger. Even though she knew that Shi Zuo was not dead per se, the loss of her husband caused her to rage. ¡°Intermediate Bow Art, Rupture Shock Arrows of the Rabbit!¡± Luo Bo shouted as she released a continuous barrage of arrows imbued with electricity, allowing her arrows to fly faster than normal considering how Roughscream was able to deflect her attacks with his unique signature ability. ¡°You guys are pathetic.¡± Roughscream thought to himself as he took his pickaxe up and slammed the ground, causing the tiles and dead bodies of the previous Demon Rats to float upwards, blocking the dead straight arrows flying towards him. Next, he saw where the rest of the Pandawans were and moved to attack each and every one of them. Xiong Da performed a similar attack by slamming the ground as well to block his advance but he did not expect the Demon Rat General to cut through everything in his path and smashed his pickaxe right straight to his chest, aiming for his heart. ¡°Do not underestimate the Hippo-¡± Xiong Da suddenly stopped talking as the general¡¯s pickaxe dug further into his chest and penetrated his heart directly, causing major blood loss within himself. The Demon Rat smiled as he knew that he had won if he could kill the invaders this easily but Xiong Da was not going to give the Demon Rat an easy time as he grabbed onto Roughscream and initiated an overload chi inscription- basically a human bomb in layman terms. ¡°Let¡¯s see who has the last laugh.¡± Xiong Da thought to himself but he did not realise that his strength could be overpowered by the Demon Rat General as Roughscream squeezed out of his grapple and kicked him towards the remaining Pandawans. At the same time, he took two dead Demon Rats Elite and used them as body shields. The only unfortunate part was that the moment he picked them up, those Demon Rat corpses turned back to their original ¡®resource¡¯ and the General somehow had been wounded with quite a bit of damage. But other than that, Roughscream continued his onslaught and defeated each and every one of the Pandawans that was alive while letting out a warcry of victory to show his strength. ¡°No matter how many times you are back, I will kill you.¡± ¡°Hmm. the Pandawans are more conservative than I thought in this particular fight,¡± Jin said to himself as he had them on one of the main console screens in the Dungeon Maker. ¡°The Demon Rat Elites they fought previously had caused them to be fatigued as they did not expect to face a General rank Demon Rat almost immediately. The System assumed that they are taking turns to fight Roughscream so as to regain their stamina.¡± The System said as it recorded the strengths of the Demon Rat General. ¡°Their deaths were pretty brutal though. And given the pain metre had been set as realistic, it would take guts to face the Demon Rat General once more.¡± Jin said to himself but he had forgotten that the Pandawans were not the type to give up after their deaths. Instead, they would be back for revenge. But with the Demon Rat General left undefeated, it seems somebody or somebodies were watching with great intent. ¡°Seems to me that we have ourselves a brand new target -oops I mean a group of brand new targets to look forward to.¡± Kraft thought to himself as he retreated back into the Dungeon Maker Instance¡¯s shadows and disappeared alongside his trusted Drow Elves. Chapter 1324: "Lets Try Again." Chapter 1324: ¡°Let¡¯s Try Again.¡± ¡°That Roughscream is surely a pain in the ass.¡± Bu Dong said as he cuddled his blanket in the Pandawan¡¯s exclusive Recovery instance. ¡°Sorry guys, I was not there to assist you all.¡± Jan Le apologised for dying a tad faster than the rest since she was killed during the assault of the Demon Rat Elites. ¡°It¡¯s fine. In a way, you are our ace card up our sleeves if we fight against that stupid General once more.¡± Shi Zuo said as he touched Ms head. The Mad Monkey cultivator could still feel the aftereffects of getting pierced right through the head even though he had no injuries to his entire body. ¡°You lot should get more rest than usual. Nurse orders.¡± One of the Senior Panda Nurses said that she was not letting the rest of the Pandawans off until they got sufficient rest especially when they had been at this for at least five hours straight. ¡°But the raid points¡­¡± Bu Dong frowned at the Panda Nurses stopping him from going out again. ¡°The raid points could be earned again and this raid is not going anywhere even after the end of PandaVerse. While the mandatory rest period will be enforced, I will suggest to you all to at least browse and try out the other stuff that is available exclusively during the PandaVerse Festival. ¡°We could get lunch!¡± Luo Bo recommended it as she was famished from the fight. ¡°Besides, do we really need to fight that boss again after that? We need to find a teleport circle once again and go through all that nonsense to fight against the Demon Rat General. Feels like a pain in the ass.¡± Luo Bo said as if ignoring the rest of what the Panda Nurse had suggested but the NPC was merely doing its job to promote the PandaVerse and not force it down their throats. (With the exception of the rest period since the System had detected significant fatigue levels in the Pandawans and they needed to rest or it would merely harm them long term, especially the number of deaths they went through fighting through multiple kill zones for the past few hours.) ¡°Hmm¡­ I deduce that killing that General will not change the situation much since there would be no way there¡¯s only one general working in this particular war. In fact, that rat might have been a General because of his rank rather than his ability to command.¡± Bin Yong said and they looked toward him to finish the conversation. ¡°But.. if we are able to kill him, we will not only earn a heck ton of points from the System and also reduce the kill count of the Demon Rats.¡± ¡°You make it sound like you have a plan to kill him.¡± Deng Long said and Bin Yong laughed and shook his head. ¡°No way, you saw how strong he was? And that pickaxe was not just humiliating, it is definitely a magic weapon that is of a high tier. Maybe that Demon Rat is capable of using magic as well and did not use any of those because we are too weak¡± Bin Yong said. ¡°Well, we were not prepared to fight such a strong foe from the start the moment we cleared the kill zone box. There were no such foes that came to the other groups when they slaughtered all the Demon Rat Elites.¡± Bu Dong said. ¡°So much for re-arming ourselves and saying that we are prepared. We were too stunned to fight that Demon Rat General.¡± Luo Bo sighed and wondered if things had changed if they had prepared for a boss fight instead. ¡°No use crying spilt milk We might have gotten that General either by chance or we cleared certain conditions that caused the General to emerge. No matter what, more Pandarens will die by him if we do not do something or he might even appear in the main fighting area doing more damage than the rest of the Demon Rats could do. So, we should focus on our next course of action whether we wish to do the same thing again or assist other areas.¡± Xiang Da offered his opinion. ¡°I think we should continue to attempt hunting the Demon Rat General. Like what Xiong Da said, giving the General a consistent target to hunt would be a better solution than leaving it alone. Or else, the rest of the Pandarens might suffer and that would be a hit to both our morale and numbers.¡± Bu Dong said but Deng Long laughed at his decision. ¡°You probably just want that heck load of points and perhaps achievement upon killing the Demon Rat General, right?¡± Deng Long who was in the opposite bed of Bu Dong had suddenly been hit by a random slipper. ¡°Ahhh¡­ If Deng Long and I could use our robots from Supa Robot War, that would be fantastic.¡± Bu Dong said to himself how the current assault was based only on the manpower they had. It did not have any flashy items that were being used, unlike the defensive war against the Demopolis Demons during the Pandapolis raids. But that thought alone was more than enough to trigger a realisation within him and he decided to entertain that thought by asking the Senior Panda Nurse who suggested the idea of looking around the PandaVerse festival. ¡°Hey, Ms Nurse. You said something about there being more things to look at at the PandaVerse Festival, is there an event storefront that we might have missed out on at the start of the festival?¡± Bu Dong asked and the Senior Panda Nurse nodded her head. ¡°Yes, there is one at the store instance island. It only had been set up right after the celebration and you can also use raid points to purchase items from there.¡± The Nurse replied but Bin Yong looked at Bu Gong with a curious look ¡°Why do you bother with that? We can buy almost everything now on the online store. Even the redemption store can be used with the Pandamonium App and they would be transferred to us.¡± Bin Yong said and Bu Dong shook his finger at him. ¡°Had you forgotten how Jin always loved the brick and mortar store experience or how there were promotional foods that were on sale before we got on board the train? There is no way he would not put some exclusive stuff in the physical store when right now you can buy anything and everything through the updated Pandamonium App. He is not the kind who would let the old traditional shopping experience die down.¡± Bu Doug was confident that fin was hiding something in those physical stores that the other Pandarens might not have noticed. ¡°Heh. I agree with Bu Dong. We should go and have a look after grabbing some grub. I am freaking hungry and these sandwiches are not enough ¨C Sorry Nurse, it¡¯s not a major complaint. The quality is good but not the quantity.- not enough to satisfy my hunger.¡± Xiong Da said and everyone laughed a little. They hoped Bu Dong was right as they felt that they might not have a chance against the Demon Rat General even if they tried again.. Chapter 1325: Extra - Royal Zodiac Snakes Opinions Chapter 1325: Extra ¨C Royal Zodiac Snake¡¯s Opinions Like how the Pandawans had described, the war against the Demon Rats was an attrition battle never seen before. Even the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers felt that the army should attend to this particular limited raid instance to have a sense of war during this era of peace. Se Chang Chang had returned to his office after a long stint leading the Royal Zodiac Snake soldiers for at least a day¡¯s worth of work. He had never felt both exhilarated and tired from the experience that he had to share it with the Royal Zodiac group chat. Many of them ignored his message upon learning that it was nothing important but Royal Zodiac Pig Head Zhu Tai Fang and Royal Zodiac Sheep Head Yang Rou Xiang were the only two who replied. They were positive with the comments as well and even said that they would consider sending an attachment of Royal Zodiac troops to take part in the fight as well. Se Chang Chang was delighted with the support and was surprised that the clans that made up the main logistic team of China¡¯s army was going in to earn experience compared to the clans who were supposed to be the frontliners. Royal Zodiac Rooster Head Mu Ji said that she would join if they could afford troops that were allowed to fly which made Se Chang Chang scoff. ¡°Of course! I even have three aircraft under my name and had been using them to do some bombing runs for Pandarens until I found out that those Demon Rats had prepared aerial threats as well. I am sure that if you speak to Jin personally, he might be able to give you a good deal to let your pilots learn more. Of course, you can¡¯t possibly get newer plane models since Jin said that those are classified information and he does not have enough references to make them. However, he did state that he might have something similar, just not the same, a bit more fictional in nature.¡± ¡°Hmm, I will talk to him a bit about it else, it¡¯s not ending that soon, right?¡± Mu Ji asked through the chat and Se Chang Chang could only gather from Hou Fei that this was a limited raid instance that won¡¯t be happening again anytime soon. ¡°Jin projected that it would definitely not be done by the end of PandaVerse Festival but he said was going to push it through until they cleared their objective which is to clear the Demon Rats.¡± Se Chang Chang replied and the rest who quietly read the chats understood why he decided to use the PandaVerse Festival to promote this main event of his. By calling it a festival, Jin would be able to fully utilise the strength of the raid instance and its difficulty. Without enough people, the raid instance would be too much of a challenge for the Pandarens.¡± Chang Chang added that he believed that he was doing this to gather information to do a very large raid instance. In fact, he believed that this could possibly and officially be the largest raid instance in the world. He had no doubt that Jin directly had a hand in increasing the popularity of Dungeon Instances again in China as well as challenging the major Dungeon Supplier companies overseas too. The Royal Snake Head also assumed that Jin had gotten the Royal Zodiac Clans to increase the credibility of his latest raid instance, allowing the local media as well as the internet to show that it was authentic since showing the Royal Zodiac Clans meant that it concerned the face of China too. At the same time, Se Chang Chang also theorised that Jin was doing this to indirectly increase the military strength assuming the clans take advantage of the raid instance. And as the Royal Zodiac Snake Head had expected, he enjoyed undergoing Jin¡¯s raid and the difficulty was something which he had not relished from a dungeon instance for the longest time ever. Even dungeon suppliers that were contracted with the armed forces were not able to create such an extensive and realistic instance. In fact, the most luxurious dungeon suppliers too could not come close to Jin¡¯s superior dungeon making skills. It was to the point that they were starting to lose their credibility of being the best in the field but not too much of an extent since their overwhelming service and high barrier of entry allowed rich people to enjoy themselves without it being too crowded. ¡°Heh, perhaps Jin should open two new stores. One specifically for the armed forces and one for the super rich. I assume he will make tons of money if he did that.¡± Se Chang Chang said to himself before opening the Pandamonium App and checking the status of his Outer Wall Camp that he had created. Before leaving, he added a few additional defences such as a better magic barrier and also started to reinforce the interior of the Outer Walls since he was using that to let the other Pandarens and his soldiers recuperate. There were anti-noise inscriptions to prevent explosive sounds from permeating through the walls, allowing the cultivators to rest. Se Chang Chang also decided to expand inward by adding military pillboxes, walls of sandbags and a trench line where the cultivators could fall back with defenders protecting the Outer walls. It was tedious especially when he needed extra manpower to man the entire Outer wall but there was nothing money could not buy including the construction of the defences. Multiple NPC Panda Mages temporarily appeared to use earth magic similar to how Sandy the Sand Witch did it to clear the ground to create the defences and set up the military pillboxes while the Southern Soldiers were bought via contracts to continue the defensive manning of the Outer Wall camp. It was expensive no doubt but the Royal Snake Head had nothing but money and responsibilities so to him, it was fine for him to splurge with his bank account to get it done. Besides, there was a permanent 15% discount for him to utilise as given by Jin for being the only Royal Zodiac Clan Head to stay after their contracted time. (Even though everyone behind the scenes knows that Jin was probably scamming them despite the 15% discount.) ¡°I had prepped everything that I could, all the best to you Hou Fei and the rest. Do not fail me.¡± Se Chang Chang said as he turned in for the day satisfied. Chapter 1326: Shopping After Recovery Chapter 1326: Shopping After Recovery Even though the Great Demon Rat War had been the main attraction for the PandaVerse Festival, the Pandarens had started to look into the other events that made the PandaVerse Festival possible. And one of them was the physical promotional store that the Pandawans were walking to. All of them noticed how the end of the normal shop streets in their assigned store island instance had been transformed into a list of stalls, something like an Asian night market. The only problem was that there was no one around and the NPCs were merely talking to each other as if they were alive. Once they noticed that the Pandawans had come to visit the stalls, they greeted them loudly before returning back to their stores knowing that this was the chance for them to earn some extra Panda Coins. (Or from the Pandawans¡¯ perspective, to use their raid points.) Bu Dong was a little disappointed upon learning that it was just a regular night market and was not expecting much, however, the smell of certain snacks made him change his mind. Even the others, who initially wanted to eat first eventually passed the chance because of Bu Dong¡¯s insistence, had their feelings placated by the fact that they could snack on the various items that were available in this particular night market. From sticks of black mountain pork sausage to fried sweet potatoes and bubble tea, there was a crazy assortment of food items for them to pick and choose from. Bu Dong had also decided to take the opportunity to eat on it and window shop around the place. And when he looked around, he realised that there were only photographs of the items they were selling with the price tags attached to them. ¡°Lol, that stall owner said that he is selling mechanical golems, something like our Robots but smaller in size and a little less responsive.¡± Deng Long said as he caught up with Bu Dong who was looking at pictures of machine guns. ¡°Boss, do we need to buy them first or we can try them out before buying?¡± Bu Dong asked the machine gun stall owner and the red panda owner sighed a little. ¡°Are you able to see the item when you buy them from the online store?¡± The red panda questioned back and Bu Dong scratched his head thinking that this would be a tough negotiation until the Red Panda Owner loosened his expression and told him to follow his store assistant while he continued to take care of the shop front. ¡°Put your hand out.¡± The Red Panda Assistant said and the moment both the two Pandawans extended their hands, the Red Panda placed his on theirs, causing them to teleport to a small instance and a hologram containing all those machine guns were shown to them. ¡°Holy shit, these are modern machine guns, not like the ones they sold on the online store.¡± Deng Long, who was a policeman, had some knowledge of these guns and he knew that they were impossible to get since they were restricted. ¡°Do you have approved permits on these weapons?¡± He asked with a concerned expression to the store assistant and the red panda quickly clapped his paws, instantly popping up a stack of papers right in front of him. Deng Long picked up the papers and investigated using his phone¡¯s internal police app as well. ¡°Holy shit, this checked out, even the licence applications. I know that we are in a dungeon instance but to be able to supply this many restricted modern guns for dungeon instances when he barely opened for a year¡­ What kind of dungeon supplier Boss Jin is?¡± ¡°You should know by now he is no ordinary guy.¡± Bu Dong literally ¡®lol¡¯ at him before looking at the array of guns on the hologram. ¡°Yea but this is beyond ordinary! From what I heard, only the super rich dungeon suppliers were able to obtain such licences and they were only able to hold at most five due to the complicated paperwork involved. To have an array of modern guns and have it as a wholesale product is beyond my comprehension.¡± Deng Long said but Bu Dong was already ignoring him and selected a gun through the hologram. The red panda assistant then howled while raising his arms and the selected modern gun, a Tavor X96 bullpup assault rifle. ¡°Then we should be able to use them without feeling guilty then.¡± Bu Dong said as a new red panda assistant appeared with a black helmet popped down from the ceiling and clapped his hands, creating a gun range right in front of the customers. Deng Long sighed and told the red panda assistant that he would assist Bu Dong with his try out which the assistants agreed since they knew his occupation as a policeman. ¡°I have always wanted to correct your stance but never had the time to do so since we are always in battle. Do not hold your gun this way, place it firmly close to your shoulders, it will withstand the recoil and allow for better shots.¡± And after a few rounds of firing, both Bu Dong and Deng Long decided to take the X96 rifles to augment their firepower against the Demon Rats. With their sponsored tickets, they were able to buy them for less than 60% of the price since they were eligible for such discounts. The licence application for them to be the rifle owners (within Jin¡¯s dungeon instance) was almost done in a blink of an eye as the Red Pandas only required their signature and verbal approval. (After all, the System had all their details as disgusting as it sounds.) With the rifle purchases done, they quickly got out of the temporary store instance and went to the Mechanical Golems as they believed that was the only thing that could overpower the Demon Rat General. As for the rest? They were shopping like mad as the Night Market was filled with hidden gems that they would not expect to find in the online stores or their usual hangouts. It was as if Jin was purposely holding out on these items for sale just for the PandaVerse festival. And as aptly the place had been named, it¡¯s called the Hidden Gem Night Market. Chapter 1327: Hidden Gem Night Market Chapter 1327: Hidden Gem Night Market Still, the Hidden Gem Night Market was just one complimentary attraction that was part of the PandaVerse Festival. The discovery of such a night market had only been possible by those Pandarens who decided to walk out of the store instances or had been recommended via the Recovery Nurses. And as the name suggested, it only opened at the night and according to the Red Pandas and other sentient NPCs, the market was only available for this PandaVerse Festival. It was not a permanent portion and that alone had immediately made the night market a hit overnight because everyone had the fear of missing out. That was when the Pandarens realised that this was what they had been missing for the entire Raid Instance. What Se Chang Chang had been accessing was partially from the Hidden Gem Night Market because of his privilege as a Royal Zodiac Snake Head. Jin did it because he knew that these Royal Zodiac Heads would not have bothered exploring the instance so he purposely created a digital store comprising all the Hidden Gem Night Market items for Chang Chang to procure. In hindsight, Jin was glad he did that as the Dungeon Supplier had managed to earn a huge portion of money from the Royal Zodiac Snake Head. If Chang Chang believed that the 15% discount given to him was fabulous, he would be shocked if he ever knew that the Pandawan sponsors were given 40% instead. But aside from Se Chang Chang, Jin had specifically enforced that items which the Royal Zodiac Snake Head had used were to be sold only in the Hidden Gems Night Market. The System resource management to handle not just multiple transactions but thousands of them would be too great a backlash for the System to cope so Jin only gave such rights to the Royal Zodiac Heads if they were to join the raid instance. Else, the rest would have to buy first before being able to teleport or create such items in their ¡®raid instance¡¯. Jin initially questioned the System whether it was too much but the System stated that Jin would be able to do the same as the Pandarens just that it was not beneficial for the System since there was no extra money earned if he did it. ¡°User, do not forget that the Empire Building Sub System is part of the System. Therefore, the System is capable of doing such quick constructions if the User requires it. The only reason the System did not advocate the ability was that it cost too much now that the System had ¡®loan¡¯ the ability to Qiu Yue.¡± The System said which made Jin willing to sell such an ability to the Pandarens at a price. Even though it was designed as a night market, there was no doubt that the items they sold for the Raid Instance were expensive. Jin had priced everything according to its production value and although they were no doubt cheaper than ¡®real life¡¯, he had to ensure that he was making a profit. While the Pandarens can use raid points to offload certain expensive items, Jin and the System had ensured that there was only so much one could buy with the raid points. Stuff like the teleportation crystal and even the making of the Outer Wall camps were not within the realm of the median salary for most people. It was unfortunate but camps and teleportation crystals were not meant to be ¡®spammed¡¯ or exploited for obvious reasons and that was why they cost a whole lot. In addition, Jin had actually incurred a lot of losses in previous ¡®wars¡¯ but he had the fortune to have a capable Sub System User that was able to earn back the money for him. If not for Claire who had not reversed his debt ridden habits, Jin might still be suffering a loss that he could never recover. He might have the best dungeon instances but if he was not earning money from it, the System would most definitely be using more underhanded methods that would not be revealed to Jin in order to keep the store afloat. Yet despite the price of the support items, Jin was willing to give a few of such things for free such as a modern tank or even an artillery gun through a lottery draw. The infamous large Panda gacha machine which he had used for the Chinese New Year giveaway for the minions was immensely useful for this particular situation. (At least the System did not throw that crazy big item away and kept it in its storage.) And each time the Pandarens were to earn a thousand raid points, they were given a chance to have a chance to play the giant panda gacha machine (which still features the Panda God of fortune since it was still appropriate.) to earn prices. The Pandamonium App would teleport them to the location since the Panda Gacha Machine was too big and too meddlesome to put up multiple gacha machines in various store island instances. Instead, Jin had duplicated two additional of those Panda Gacha Machines and placed them side by side with the original one, making them look as if they were the three great emperor officials that ruled the heavens in the taoist religion. It was also made to decrease the queue time for the Pandarens but the pool of rewards was still shared among the three Panda Gacha Machines and did not have three separate pools of rewards. A disclaimer had also been added in the Pandamonium App so people would have the same amount of chance trying. While the common tier rewards are infinite, the higher tier rewards are limited although they were replenished daily and yet there were times the System rigged it so that none would get the highest tier rewards until a certain amount of tries had been done to entice people to try their luck continuously. Jin did not condone the System¡¯s method and in addition, requested the System to dilute the pool of rewards such that the ones the Pandarens were trying to aim for would be difficult to get. The only good thing was that if the Highest Tier item was not redeemed, it would be added over to the next day allowing the Pandarens to try again and that ¡®sympathy¡¯ was more than enough to win over most hardcore gacha playing Pandarens. Chapter 1328: Profiteering from Virtual Reality Chapter 1328: Profiteering from Virtual Reality Even though the Great Demon Rat War was the main attraction, Jin did push out the public demo of the Virtual Reality machine sets that was where some cultivators who were of the business mind were coming to see. While there were MMORPG gaming aspects to the virtual instance, Jin had collaborated with Ke Loong, the CEO of Sea Mesh and now a high level executive member of the Panda Inc to ensure that this Virtual Reality instance could be used for business purposes as well. Almost everything could be done with the simulation of the Virtual Reality Instance. Once the businessmen activated and dived into a space created by the System, they could literally be gods when it comes to design. From abstract concepts to full 4D drawing, industries like construction and interior design would be in a better position to lead the revolution of creating safer and better buildings. Simulations can be done within the Virtual Reality instance with no lag and that was enough to blow the minds of those businessmen. Not only that, because the Virtual Reality Instances were set up when rigged to the brain, it accessed the mind of the cultivator and allowed them to create whatever they wished with just their thoughts. That¡¯s right, Jin with the System had enabled creators to build with just their minds and not be restricted by software and hands. Yes, hands. All those raw thoughts would now be furnished right in front of their eyes as their minds go wild in creating the best of the best items. Even Rei, the renowned Gunndam manga artist, who showed up as a ¡®guest¡¯ at PandaVerse Festival started to shock people with his ability to create a page of manga with just his mind right in front of them. Any mistakes? Just erase it with your thoughts and redraw that specific section once again. And if that was not all, the Virtual Reality Machine that was plugged into Rei had a dedicated printer installed in such a way that he could print that particular piece of demonstration for everyone to see. When the businessmen logged off and saw the product, they were astonished by the capabilities and asked if their thoughts could be converted to the current formats or maybe even 3D print their products within the Virtual Reality instance. As Jin was not there to entertain the group, it was Itori, the White Fox who surprisingly assisted the dungeon supplier with this agenda. This was mainly because she herself was interested in using the Virtual Reality Headsets for the education of the newly revamped Demopolis and the Seven Cities whom they were allied with. If Itori wished to be part of the process in hopes that the Virtual Reality machines would be widely produced so that she could utilise it as part of the education system. Not only that, the Virtual Reality was connected to the System so any skills that were ¡®taught¡¯ and imparted by the people of the Dungeon World would be collected and archived so that the System itself could be the ultimate library of information. (Even though it already has an extensive amount of information which it was unwilling to share.) With her guidance, the businessmen who were present to see the entire demonstration were allowed to try it out themselves and they were shocked at how fluid it was. Not just the design industry (including tech and medical industries) which Ke Loong had invited, he had also contacted educators, artists, events management and even craftsmen. And once they tried it out, quite a number of them had decided to be investors and even wished to own the first batch of Virtual Reality Machines as soon as possible especially when they realised that they were more or less ready. In hindsight, this demonstration alone suddenly gave SeaMesh a push in their current stock value which only a select few understood why. This was mainly because those people Ke Loong had gotten were COOs (Chief Operating Officers) and CTOs (Chief Technical Officers) of local major companies. He wanted to give the nation¡¯s companies priority so that they could compete even more against the foreign companies. Itori however did not know any of them and treated each of them as equals even though she did see some obvious bantering among the investors themselves and somehow that allowed her to be partial in the teaching. Oddly enough that was one of the reasons why the investors felt her sales pitch was sincere and therefore decided to go with it. In the meantime, the investors and other invitees were also given the opportunity to try out the new MMORPG that was solely virtual reality. Without a doubt, the investors were amazed by the flexibility of the game design. Being able to do anything just by grinding to gain mastery was a boring way to do things but it gave the ¡®players¡¯ what they wanted and to a certain extent, fully appreciated the process. The player grows with the skill they were doing and that was the most important part since there was progression in their part. It¡¯s a systematic way to level up and to gain levels on anything (even sleeping extensively within the Virtual Reality) giving the ultimate sandbox feel which allowed the investors to be what they want to be. However, some were sceptical that this could be a flop but Rei encouraged them Jin would make sure that there would be enough content for everyone if done right. ¡°And by everyone, that included commoners and cultivators.¡± Rei¡¯s sentence made the investors realise that with this, people with no talent to cultivate could finally have a taste of it. ¡°While it¡¯s true that Jin had made this game open ended, you can be very sure that when he completed this, it would be the most epic game people would enjoy, transcending the current levels of play,¡± Itori concluded and that gave many of the thoughts, hoping what she said would be true. But it was plenty obvious that this Virtual Reality technology was groundbreaking and there was no doubt that mass producing this would bring much profit. Chapter 1329: More Customers More Business Chapter 1329: More Customers More Business It was already the dawn of the second day. The PandaVerse festival was still in a huge uproar with dozens of customers coming into the store especially after the streamers and new reports came out earlier the day before. The popularity of Jin¡¯s Dungeons and Pandas had shot up incredibly high with the appearance of the Royal Zodiac Heads. People were massing to the website to see if they had a chance to enter this particular Panda Festival and thankfully with Kiyu¡¯s, Jin¡¯s in-house artistic fox (aka everything that involved advertising) had made an easy to read website while still able to hold the audience¡¯s attention with flashy details. It was not an easy feat considering she took the time to browse thousands of websites to get inspiration. And once she got the idea, the System would be able to recreate based on her wants and needs. As mentioned, the Dungeons and Panda¡¯s website allowed customers to navigate very easily incorporating a variety of elements that would enable the new to be Pandarens or even returning customers an easy time getting stuff. Even without downloading the Pandamonium App, although that would be mandatory to get the most out of the entire procedure, the customers would be able to find that getting there even from another province or country would be an easy feat. From getting the best trips to Shenzhen to finding a place has never been easier. Since Jin technically created a chain of hotels under his name in Pandapolis, the customers would be able to take advantage of it and did not have to worry about accommodations. There were even discounts if they were to buy a ticket of a higher tier. In fact, Jin had even tried to employ more humans from the Dungeon World to work for the Pandafull company, their local delivery system. (So those in the Seven Cities would have a better income!) And since it was a delivery system per se, Kiyu had decided to use it to deliver ¡®people¡¯ as well by creating a package to get the customers from faraway places to Jin¡¯s Tree Mall. To her surprise, the service was well received by the number of people taking up the package. Apparently, people loved the convenience created although she believed that many took it because of the ¡®slight¡¯ discount that was given. Initially, the numbers were overwhelming that Kiyu thought of doing a limited number of packages that could be bought but both the System and Jin had emphasised that they had it under control. Somehow she was able to find out that both the System and Jin had already foreseen such a situation and already had a factory solely for making electric vehicle cars while Itori had already put up a training course for Dungeon World humans at Demopolis military city so that they could be recruited anytime. Aye, since the Demopolis had been remade as a military base, it did not only have defences that other dungeon cities would envy due to the number of relics and gold that had been used to upgrade it, but it had an ever growing training centre that can be used not only for military purpose but for civilians as well. (By the way, Kraft demands to be acknowledged for those magical relics used for defences and gold were all thanks to him and his Night Foxes who had been attacking the Ivory Tower¡¯s 1st floor to get all those items.) And because of the foresight of Jin and the System, Kiyu was able to fulfil the needs of their new and returning customers, ferrying them from airports or nearby provinces to Jin¡¯s store. (If one wonders why electric car vehicles were mainly because they could be powered by basic lightning magic which the Humans were taught to power up rechargeable batteries by consistently converting their mana to electricity. Besides, they were environmentally friendlier.) Thus, with an ¡®unlimited¡¯ amount of accommodations under Jin, he continued to have a steady flow of customers coming in to work on the Great Demon Rat War. And even though it was still a stalemate between the Demon Rats and the Pandarens, the latter had finally had a foothold on the Outer Wall which was kind of unexpected in terms of Jin¡¯s plan prediction. Nevertheless, It was a welcoming development and saved Jin¡¯s money (in fact, it helped him to earn even more money.), allowing the Dungeon Supplier to adjust his reserved forces for the future phases of his plan. As much as it sounded despicable, Jin wished to use the Pandarens as the biggest distraction against the Demon Rats. It was precisely because they were the money makers for him that he decided to use them as such. There was no way for him to control or even command the Pandarens (although he believed that if he were to take control of the Pandawans, they would move through his orders rather faithfully.) So being the wild card as they were, the Pandarens were expected to create havoc to the best of their abilities so that Jin could execute a more precise form of operations when the majority of the Demon Rats¡¯ rank and file were aimed at them. That was also one of the reasons why Jin did not give them anything extra and charged them for everything so that they could continue to supplement his finances while he gathered additional resources he earned from the Pandarens. But what he did not expect was that the Generals came out to play to pit themselves against the Panadrens and they were strong. Jin was thinking about whether to let the Pandarens lure even more of these Generals out so that he could send his own Generals to fight with them. Then again, he always believed that the Demon Rats were as cautious as him or even more sly to keep their trump cards close to their hearts but at the same time, he felt that there might be some awkward changes in their tactics when he saw how the groups of Demon Rats became reckless in their assaults against the Outer Wall Camp. He might assume that they were outliers but also could not ignore his hunch. Whatever it is, today is the second day of PandaVerse and it¡¯s time to up the action a little even though he did not wish to aid the Pandarens any more than he should. But, hey sometimes, throwing his Pandarens a few extra surprises was one of the ways he retained his customer base. Chapter 1330: Wake Up Call Chapter 1330: Wake Up Call As the sun rose up, there might be fewer Pandarens fighting near the Outer Wall Camp but the Royal Zodiac Snake soldiers were committed to keeping the defences of the camp itself. This enabled the Pandarens to rest at ease if they continued to stay in the ¡®raid instance¡¯ since duration was a way to earn points as well. However, an unannounced train came which the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers were not aware of. It did not ping through the Pandamonium App nor was informed by their superiors that were currently in control of the Outer Wall Camp¡¯s respawn crystal. ¡°Do not be wary. You all should know by now that the Demon Rats do not have such a capability to portal a vehicle much less a train stopping right beside you.¡± A Panda Masked user came out from the engine room to address their concerns. A few of the veteran soldiers who had been in the past raids knew that mask very well and told the rest to stand down. But they were curious about what was carried by the train since there were no passenger cabins and all it pulled was storage carriages. As if the Panda User seemed to be reading the atmosphere of the place and the soldiers¡¯ curiosity, he immediately pushed a button, allowing all the storage carriages to open up and the sight alone was more than enough to awe the guards within his vicinity. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s a present for you guys who had been fiercely fighting for the past night. The sponsor understood that a boost in progress would be appreciated.¡± The Masked Panda User added but the soldiers were ignoring him, all of them focused on looking at the opened storage carriages. Multiple missile launchers were packed in those carriages and with the Panda User¡¯s command, all of them were activated and started to turn to aim towards the direction of the Inner Wall of the Northern Capital. The number of missile launchers that were present was almost equivalent to twenty missile trucks all armed and loaded. ¡°Alright, without much further ado, let¡¯s do a wake up call to the Demon Rats.¡± The Panda User said after he felt ignored and quickly got on with the action before jumping down from the Outer Wall Camps and subsequently disappearing in the midst of the new chaos. The missile launchers which were aimed towards the Inner Walls started their barrage all at once which scared a few of the Pandarens that had no idea what was happening as well as the few who stood too close to see the missiles in action. The soldiers who already realised what was going to happen tried to shoo the bystanders away but since the launchers started almost immediately the moment they were activated, there was little to no time to take cover from it. So, all they could do was try to take cover by going into a prone position and slowly get out of the way of those missile launchers. After which, they crawled and cleared the area so that no one got hurt from the barrage of missiles. (Either from the sound, the heat of the launchers as well as possible accidental backfire.) However, those Pandarens who were far away from the launching site could see the fierce bombardment of attacks against the Inner Wall¡¯s magical barrier. It was initially used to reduce the damage from the artillery guns from the human¡¯s Outer Wall Camp and had been reinforced since they did artillery bombardments on an hourly basis to continue the pressure. Yet, they did not expect such an immensely strong wave of attacks near the dawn of the second day of attack when most of their Demon Rats were resting or changing shifts. It was as if the humans knew their routines when they initiated their attack or it was a damn lucky coincidence that they managed to time it to the dot for the change in shifts. The Demon Rat mages who were maintaining the shield through a remote magic circle were killed instantly since their mana was burnt out almost immediately trying to deflect the attack but the missiles that Jin had purchased were packed filled with high grade explosives. (They merely added more volatile chemicals into the mix and compressed it.) In addition, he made sure that the missiles were also inscribed with explosive inscriptions so that they would be deadly enough to bring the Inner Wall down. The reserve Demon Rat Mages tried to resume the magic barrier via the remote magic circle but the moment they connected to recreate the barrier, one missile alone was enough to decimate the barrier once again, killing the reserve mages. After which, the only word that the onlooking Pandarens could describe as hell. Some of the Demon Rats were able to accurately destroy a few of the missiles with their anti air capabilities but it was like removing a few drops of water from an incoming tsunami. The missiles destroyed almost everything they touched and surely broke the Inner Town Walls. The only serendipitous thing that the Demon Rats believed was that only the 1st layer of Inner Town Walls could still rely on the second and third walls. Thus, the Demon Rat Guard leaders commanded the soldiers to start putting up temporary defences again. The Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers also thought that the barrage of missiles would have been done when the launchers finally finished their volley and were smoking. But they were dead wrong as random automaton arms started to appear from the storage carriages and started picking up fresh new missiles right underneath the carriages and reloading the missile launchers. When they were fully loaded, they readjusted their angle a little before continuing to shoot once more. When the surviving Demon Rats scouts saw the very scene they saw initially, they quickly shouted for the retreat while running away for their lives. There was no time to collect the charred dead bodies as the rats tried to save their own to live for another hour. However, one thing was for sure. The second and third layers of walls were coming down too. Chapter 1331: Demon Rats POV: The Dread of War Chapter 1331: Demon Rats POV: The Dread of War ¡°Get up! Get up!¡± The Demon Rat¡¯s Captains were shouting and making noises in their soldier¡¯s bunk. ¡°The enemies had destroyed the Inner Walls, get your fucking ass up, grab your weapons and go!¡± The Captain said once before running to the next bunker to wake the other group of rats. ¡°The enemies had destroyed the Inner Walls?¡± The Demon Rats talked to themselves, as they could not believe the humans had such capabilities. ¡°Not sure, I did not hear a single thing right under here.¡± Another soldier said as he asked for assistance wearing the heavy armour from another Demon Rat. ¡°Duh, of course, you dumbass. We are in the undercity, how the hell do we know what is happening at the top?¡± One of the assisting rats knocked his head while aiding him to click the back of his chest armour to the front. ¡°Well, I am just worried about my friend. He had been assigned to guard duty over the Inner Walls.¡± The Demon Rat said as he thanked them for the assistance and began helping the rest to wear their armour as well. ¡°Hurry up you slowtards! Do you think the enemy is going to drink a cup of tea and wait for you? Get your ass out here in five minutes or else!¡± The captain shouted from the outside and the Demon Rats were already grudgingly acknowledging their captain¡¯s orders. However, since it was the captain that personally called them out instead of their platoon leaders, they could only assume that it was truly a mess up there since their higher ranks do not usually bother with them at all. As the Demon Rat Soldiers were hastening their pace to wear their equipment, there was a ruckus outside as well with a team of support Demon Rats carrying large wooden crates right beside the captain. Once more, the captain shouted and threatened the troops despite knowing that everyone was crazily wearing their armour and making sure they were ready for the battle. Soon, the Demon Rat Soldiers lined up in formation and awaited the captain¡¯s orders. ¡°If you slowpokes are not listening to what I had heard, the humans have once again shown that they are capable of destruction. They have destroyed the first and second layers of the Inner Wall while the third and final layer is barely standing despite our greatest effort to reinforce them previously.¡± The Captain said and he was not wrong. According to Sebastia before her stint in the Mecha World, she had been monitoring and gathering information about the Demon Rat¡¯s occupied city. The Northern Capital did not have such capabilities until the human¡¯s liberation of Town Wecha. Since then, they felt that they should bolster their defences even further in case the humans were daring enough to attack them. They had also taken into account the huge gigantic one to one fights against their very own castle machinations and realised that the new humans that came to assist the Northern Region were dangerous. That was why they also wished to attack the Western and Eastern Kingdoms as they believed that they were the ones who had been training these humans secretly. (Or that was what the North and South Scholars believed since their communication between the East and West was not as amicable as they wished to.) But because they only have suspicions, the now dead scholars thought to impose their suspicions as truths and even propagate them as dangerous threats to further challenge the rats to be better at their work. So through their innovation and ¡®slave¡¯ work, they were able to create the third and final layer of the Inner Wall based on their accumulation of knowledge not from just the North and South Scholars but from their own desires to improve. (It¡¯s a pity that Jin could not capture them as they immediately turned into a resource or else, he would have a race filled with power hungry minions under his control.) ¡°Gentlemen! Your time has come to shine! To prove that we Demon Rats are the pinnacle race of modern society! Do not just push back the invaders but annihilate every single one of them! But do not capture for they will explode and die once they know that they are in that situation.¡± The captain said and he could see a few disgruntled faces. ¡°So to aid all of you to do your jobs to the best of your abilities, the War Council had generously allowed each one of you to hold a rifle as well as your main weapon. The invaders are versatile and so are we! As you proceed to the main elevator up to the surface, take them and make sure to familiarise yourself with it before using them.¡± The Captain ended his pep talk before taking a rifle for himself and proceeded to the elevator while the leaders of each platoon took over the rest of the procedures. ¡°Heh, using their own weapons against them, that will be interesting.¡± One of the Demon Rats commented. ¡°You sure it¡¯s their technology? Perhaps they stole it from us in the first place.¡± ¡°Or maybe some traitor rat gave it to them.¡± ¡°Nah, can¡¯t be. Our technology is too unique for the likes of those humans. They probably took one, cheapened it and then modified it in such a way that it suits their primitive usage.¡± ¡°Ha! Cheapened. No wonder I heard those humans were able to shoot only one bullet at a time.¡± ¡°Exactly! Our Steam Rifles can shoot three bullets at one time and are much sturdier than theirs. They used a combination of metal and wood while ours are pure metal. Not to mention the ore we used from the lifestream to enhance the power of our rifles.¡± ¡°But to think they are giving regular soldiers like us such a strong weapon, the situation up there must be madness.¡± The Demon Rat Soldiers continued to talk to themselves as they picked up their new steam rifles and waited for the great elevator of the undercity to bring them up. However, when the great elevator doors opened, hundreds of stretchers were seen being carried out of the elevator. The Demon Rats who were at the surface were wounded. Loss of limbs and tails to various sorts of debris being stuck in their bodies. They saw how grim it was for the initial group that was up there and those Demon Rat Soldiers braced themselves that the moment they reached the surface, it would be living hell. Chapter 1332: PandaVerse znd Morning Chapter 1332: PandaVerse znd Morning Reports of the mysterious missile barrage were all over the Pandamonium forum as well as the subsequent actions that were being taken by the Pandarens who were staying at the Outer Wall camp. The Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers who were supposed to be on guard had informed all their fellow comrades that were ¡®off duty and many of them staying at Jin¡¯s Pandastic Hotel responded promptly to it, allowing the Royal Zodiac Snake soldiers to take full advantage of the current situation. The higher ups in the Royal Zodiac Snake Command who heard of the attack and responded accordingly felt that this was Jin¡¯s work even though they were not at the scene, especially Hou Fei. Even though the General of the Entire Snake Command will allow him to get a few extra winks as the rest of his company go into action, he has decided to go with the flow as well. There was nothing more reassuring to have a leader paving the way for attack or supporting them. ¡°That guy purposely did that when the concentration of Pandarens is the least. Less friendly fire at this particular timing but damn, he could at least tell me about it so I could prepare a little.¡± Hou Fei sighed as he changed his clothes. ¡°Oh well, there¡¯s the element of simulating it as a real war, especially to the kids. So I cannot blame him for giving them such a thrilling experience.¡± And when the higher ups were notified, the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers who were on guard had been given orders to press with the attack as they knew that this was the best opportunity for the Pandarens to extend their reach from the Outer Wall Camp. All of the Pandarens who were within vicinity also followed behind the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers since they were considered to be the veterans of war. While their actions did leave the camp totally unguarded, they believed that such an opportunity would not come again and thus they started to rush through the Irmer Walls to kill any remaining survivors. There was no need for mercy as to the soldiers and Pandarens, they were mere points. In the meantime, the missile carriage train left the Outer Wall Camp to make way for the rest of the people who were alerted about this development. And as more of the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers entered the fray, the fighting turned even more erratic than ever. The remaining Demon Rats soldiers that were around, fiercely fought to keep their territory intact while their medics tried to move the injured away from the place. Yet, because they were fighting against cultivators, the medics also had to make sure that they were able to get out of the place in one piece. All the collateral damage from their skills had been rather annoying, to say the least for the medics as they tried to save their own kind. While there were a few Pandarens who tried to stop the medics from their job of saving people, most did not bother with them mainly because of the number of Demon Rat Soldiers coming into the picture and fighting them. But because Jin did not coordinate with anybody on the attack, the Pandarens and Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers were unable to fully utilise the opportunity given by him. Also, there were a few who realised too late (more like waking up too late for their own good.) and said that Jin should have informed them about this so they could have prepared. The complaints came in despite the fact that the battlefield had now shifted from the Outer Wall Towns to the top of the Inner Wall. (Aye, some said that they could move as a big group so they could take the Inner Walls entirely and be under the Pandarens¡¯ control, allowing the Pandarens to establish a second foothold.) However, because Jin did not specifically show his face and instead ¡®sent¡¯ a human with a panda mask, a few die-hards had commented that this was probably part of the event and they should not use this excuse to attack the creator of the dungeon instance. ¡°It was for the Pandarens to find out and take full advantage of this random assistance.¡± One of the defenders wrote. Hou Fei also commented on the situation and said that if they had time fighting in the forums, they should use that energy to kill more Demon Rats. And due to the General¡¯s comment, the Royal Zodiac Snakes who had been ¡®retired¡¯ to the recovery instance were supporting him. Eventually, the negative feedback and complaints were being pushed away for more positivity within the forums. Unfortunately, even if they wished to blame the dungeon supplier for his faults for not being able to coordinate a large group, the soldiers who had participated in the first wave of assault on the Inner Walls begged to differ that having a large group would be beneficial. Instead, all of them believed that it might have been a handicap or worse, a detrimental effect. That was mainly due to the fact that the new wave of reinforcements consisted of Demon Rat Soldiers who had the ability to do the same as them. They had rifles that were as deadly as theirs and if their range counterattack had suppressed the Pandarens, they would quickly try to recover back the land they lost. The Cultivators, especially the Royal Zodiac Snake Soldiers were able to block such attacks with their chi, allowing them to deflect the bullets or conjure a minor frontal chi barrier to avoid the attacks. And as the rest of the Royal Zodiac soldiers arrived in groups, they continued to gain back what they earned and it turned to a stalemate full of bullets and metal tips flying around. The first who was able to land a shot was literally one step further into each other¡¯s position. ¡°Then I guess, it¡¯s our time to bombard a few of these rats to push them out of the Inner Walls. Get me the captain of the ship we rented..¡± Chapter 1333: Bulwark and the Beavers Chapter 1333: Bulwark and the Beavers When all the action of the Farming World was concentrated in the Northern Capital, the rest of the Northern region was being combed by a group of people. Initially, Jin had sent several waves of Pandarens to attack the various Demon Rat hideouts, Demon Rat infested towns and even their supply bases. The System had verified that there were a few Demon Rats that ran away but it was not an issue as the Southern Stars Organisation from the Southern Region had been deployed to handle any stragglers from each of the towns. It was especially easy when the System practically had an all seeing eye based on their contract with the spirit of the land. (Not to mention the spirits of the land rejoiced when they felt the noticeable effect where there was no more mining of the lifestream of the Farming World.) However, that also meant that all the hideouts, towns and bases were deserted or abandoned after the attacks. Thus, the coordination between the System and the Northern Region¡¯s last remaining military force, the Bulwark Army, had been put into play. General Matt Umiterus of the Bulwark Army had already dispatched his troops to all those towns and hideouts in order to clean up the place. After all, the dead Demon Rats turned into various types of raw materials and they were left hanging around on all those battlefields. The System was also unsure whether leaving those raw materials too long may cause new Demon Rats to emerge and it was something which it did not wish to leave such items to chance. Although the System did entertain such thoughts upon capturing the Demon Rats, as noted previously those Demon Rats had the capability to proliferate when left alone for too long and that was why the roguelike dungeon instance which Jin had was still going strong since those Demon Rats were able to do so. And aside from material collection, it was to ensure that those hideouts and mining facilities were shut down permanently. With the knowledge and training acquired from the System, the Bulwark Army were capable of using bombs to make sure that caves and mines were destroyed so that the Demon Rats or other people would take the opportunity to salvage these places. As for the machinery and even housing units, the Bulwark Army tried their best to break them all down while the System sent NPC representatives to collect said items. Why burn them down when they all could be recycled? And if they were utterly useless, they can still be thrown into the Recycler unit so that the System is able to make use of everything. As for the towns, the Bulwark Army cleaned up the rest of the areas like debris, and any dead civilians that were caught in the crossfire as well as requisitioning the supplies from the Demon Rat base. While they could not finish all this work in one day, the Bulwark army did not stop in their cleanup operations and the soldiers took turns so that they could get ready for the town¡¯s reconstruction efforts. Speaking of reconstruction efforts, the only person that was capable of handling everything in such matters was none other than the Sub System User Qiu Yue. She had been assigned with an entire tribe of beastmen from the Giant World as her helpers since she demanded the Sub System to take pity on her for working so hard. (Also because, when the Sub System asked what reward she wanted, she said she needed workers or else she could not concentrate on her training.) Thus, the beastmen tribe that was contracted to her was the Beavers. Qiu Yue initially wanted more than one tribe considering the scale of this entire operation but she was proven wrong when the Red Panda Cultivator found out that the Beavers were exceptionally hardworking. There were stereotypes of using the Beavers in the real world as the Construction Mascots but she did not expect it to be true until she saw how the Beavers adored her when they found out that she had been the one who had (almost) single handedly designed and headed the entire construction of Pandapolis City. In her eyes, it was her magnum opus thus far and the beavers were head over heels for her work that they diligently learned how to use the Sub System modules that were available to them. However, construction was not the issue but rather the acute sense of design as well as the foundation and ¡®harmony¡¯ of the buildings that matter. Qiu Yue thought that these Beavers would only be great at building stuff since they were able to do every test that was passed to them but she once again found out that those little buggers were talented in designing too. It did not take them long to learn how to design and how to consciously cooperate with different buildings and their subsequent functions in harmony together. (Of course, there was some vigorous training not just from Qiu Yue but ironically from Itori when she tried to impart knowledge as part of her practice.) So, while Qiu Yue was busy with the subsequent phases of the Great Demon Rat War Operation, she was 100% confident that the Beavers were able to do a decent job in reconstructing the towns as well as their subsequent defences. And they have to do it quickly. The townsfolk that the Pandarens had saved had been transported into a secured location -or more like a temporary dungeon instance set up to house all these refugees. Although there were tents, adequate food and even basic sanitation which were miles of improvement from their previous predicament, the System could not hold them up for free entirely. While Jin had proposed to offer them some work to do in the Agriculture sector of Pandapolis, the System was reluctant to transport people around any more than necessary when it had resources strained to keep up with the shop¡¯s transactions as well as the war. Therefore, it was imperative for both the Bulwark Army and the Beavers to get the towns ready amid the war they were having right now. (And to be honest, Jin might think that the System was being lazy, but currently, the backend process was immensely huge and the System had no time to argue with its user.) Chapter 1334: Snakes Rented Warship Chapter 1334: Snake¡¯s Rented Warship ¡°Shall we be speaking informally, or formally?¡± The commander of the warship, which Se Chang Chang had rented, questioned Hou Fei through the Pandamonium Team Chat. ¡°Do you really want to do it this way now?¡± Hou Fei asked as he had already arrived at the Outer Wall Camp via train and saw a number of his subordinates saluting him as well when he got off the platform. ¡°Nevermind I get what you mean.¡± ¡°Partially formal. Ranks play a part in this current situation but we are all here to learn as well.¡± Hou Fei said and the commander snickered. He was none other than the overall tech officer in charge of the Royal Zodiac Snake Army, Colonel Chen Lai. ¡°But overall, this is not an official exercise so I really could not care that much with formalities.¡± Chen Lai said and Hou Fei gave a passing sigh through the voice chat. ¡°Still, I am impressed with Pandamonium Team Chat. To be able to segregate and fuse the communications channels when needed. Why can¡¯t we have this kind of technology, General?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me when you are practically the Chief Technical Officer for the entire Royal Zodiac Snake Army.¡± Hou Fei replied. ¡°When are my guns ready? I thought you said that you can power up that old school warship whenever you want since you and your boys were previously from the navy and the air force.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s true that using this warship in the raid instance had significantly reduced the number of controls. But that does not mean I can singlehandedly operate this ship myself! Have you heard of quality checks before departing?! We barely touched this ship yesterday and you want me to steer it like I had known her intimately for years!¡± Chen Lai said while the soldiers under him started to chuckle a little. Hou Fei felt that he had touched a nerve on something but it was meant to be a mean comment to disturb his fellow junior in rank. ¡°Anyways, be quick about it. We need you to support the troops as soon as possible.¡± Hou Fei said and Chen Lai sighed, asking if he wanted to at least have the planes to sortie out. ¡°The planes are operationally ready according to the Pandamonium App and the pilots said that everything seems to look fine despite not having a checklist¡­ Well, the App itself had a checklist but once the pilot placed his phone to synchronise the plane, the app instantly cleared almost all the boxes on the list. The rest were the manual interlocks which need to be done physically to make sure that the plane is all good.¡± ¡°Erm, then sortie the planes as soon as possible? I think it¡¯s a pretty good time to do that, especially when I start to see a few boogies at the enemies¡¯ end.¡± Hou Fei reported and Chen Lai quickly picked up his binoculars and checked the direction of the Northern Capital. His General was not replying with tongue in cheek and spoke the truth about a few aerial threats hovering from the spire at the northernmost tip of the capital city. ¡°Get Chryso 1, Chryso 2 in the skies immediately. General¡¯s orders!¡± Chen Lai spoke through the specific channel of the Pandamonium Team Chat that connected to the aircraft team that was on the warship. (Fun fact: Chryso came from the word Chrysopelea which meant flying snake.) When the aircraft team received the command, the stern (the back) of the ships started to open up like a garage door, allowing Chryso 1 and Chryso 2, two specially modified warthog variant planes to sortie out. In terms of size, it is smaller to fit the dimensions of the warship and its engine boosters were magical rather than fuel consuming. All of the soldiers thought that it was because it was a raid instance, there were some fantasy elements to it as they knew mana engines were terribly unstable even with modern technology. (But they never knew they were in a real multiverse flying a real high tech magically powered aircraft.) ¡°Chryso 1, Launching!¡± ¡°Chryso 2, Launching!¡± Both warthog variants went to the skies in a matter of seconds, especially with the plane¡¯s navigation guidance system. It was mostly autopilot when it came to taking off and landing down with some human input if things were to go wary during the process. The pilots were amazed by the brilliant realism of high grade technology implemented into the raid instance (duh¡­) and quickly picked up the joystick to fly toward the enemies. ¡°Six boogies detected. They are mostly shaped like helicopters but I do not wish to assume they were. Permission to fire, sir?¡± Chryso 1 Pilot reported as they got the information through visual confirmation and radar presence. ¡°Granted. Take them down and do a firing run to support the guys.¡± Chen Lai said and instantly switched channels to tell the General so that the frontlines could be warned. Hou Fei relayed the message to his subordinates and the chain of command did their job. As the warthog variants flew closer to the city, the two pilots noticed that anti air defences were being put up. Bolts of lightning were shot from the anti air turrets while a few homing magic bolts were coming their way. To their fortune, there was a magic barrier protecting the aircraft but like every barrier, it has a limit so the pilots tried not to get it as much as possible while closing into their target. The moment Chryso 1 managed to target one of the helicopters, he instinctively fired two missiles right toward it. The helicopter saw the incoming missiles but its manoeuvre was the third rate, causing it to burst into flames. And that alone gave the second pilot confidence that they were akin to the real world helicopters and thus attempted to shoot the second one the same way as his senior did. As the second heli crashed into the city, the subsequent aerial threats were not an issue even though they had Demon Rats at the side of each heli door, shooting out lightning bolts indiscriminately to bring down the warthog variants. However, like a snake gliding through the water, Chryso 1 and 2 slipped around the skies to bring the rest down. Chapter 1335: General Gnawbones Dissatisfaction Chapter 1335: General Gnawbones¡¯ Dissatisfaction The destruction of the steam engine helicopters was a blow to the Demon Rats. They knew that their aerospace technology could be rivalled by the humans considering that a few had seen their aeroplanes but they did not expect to be this much of a difference even after their scientists had fervently researched and come out with a brand new engine for them. Even the higher ups were so amazed by the performance that they ordered all the aircraft to be replaced with the new engine. And yet here they saw their helicopters were destroyed in an instant with little to no retaliation. The Royal Zodiac Snake Aircraft was more than ready to take on more and to their surprise, they were indeed given their wish. General Gnawbones, who was the Air force commander of the Demon Rats, saw the capability of the two planes that the humans had used. Obviously, he was not entirely happy that the Demon Rats¡¯ technology was inferior to the humans so the only thing he could do was to do what they always do best. To overwhelm the enemy with numbers. Gnawbones initially thought that using Steam Engine Helicopters could be the solution to defeating the ground troops that the humans were using. After all, it had superior firepower with missiles and steam powered machine guns. But since the humans had aircraft, then the Demon Rats would respond accordingly with their own. Their Steam Engine Aeroplanes were a little bulky and they could be akin to the planes produced in the 1930s to the 1940s. Even though they were slow to take off, their speed supposedly rivalled those created in that generation as well, in fact maybe even faster if they were to remove the limiters but the test results were insufficient in that context since they did not want any casualties (if possible) during the test runs. That was why General Gnawbones had decided to use that to his advantage. Even if they were slower than the humans¡¯, removing the limiters might potentially be the advantage they need to get this over and done with. He ordered the operations centre to send out 10 of these SE Aeroplanes instantly, preventing the humans from having air superiority even for a second. The general thought to himself what were the odds of the humans winning when they are outnumbered five against one? And he was proven right when he gave the direct command to remove the limiters to the engines fighting against the humans. While Chryso 1 and Chryso 2 had trouble fending off all ten planes in a massive dogfight, they were still able to compete evenly against them. Even for veteran pilots, fighting five planes each was akin to suicide but they were holding them back for a reason. Chen Lai had promised them backup. So in order to gain that backup, they not only needed to occupy the time for those ten planes but also bring them closer to the warship Nerodia II, which was temporarily named after the current warship they owned in the real world. Also, they named it the Nerodia II since they did not want to disrespect the crew which was still handling Nerodia. (Fun fact again! Nerodia is the scientific group name for water snakes.) Once they were closer to sea, a few air to ground missiles were fired to support the surviving Chrysos, allowing them to down three demon rat planes in one go. This gave them some breathing space temporarily but Nerodia II had picked up additional bogeys which they assumed it was to the Airforce General¡¯s discontent to learn that they had managed to destroy three planes. ¡°It seems like they are churning out planes the same way they churned out those Demon Rats.¡± Chryso 2¡¯s pilot remarked through the intercoms and the rest felt the same too, feeling the pressure that they might have more incoming even if they defeated a few of those. ¡°Chryso 3 & 4 are coming to assist, just bear with us as we also need to get those cannons up else General Hou Fei will breathe down my neck endlessly!¡± Chen Lai said despite knowing the situation but if the Warthog Variants equipped with mana engines that were capable of high speed manoeuvring were able to last this long, the pilots could continue to do so. ¡°Nope, this is freaking madness.¡± Chryso 1 said and he defied the orders by suddenly swooping towards the sea once he performed a steep air dive. Chen Lai did not know what he was thinking but suddenly he saw an anti air machine gun outside, turned towards that direction where Chryso 1 was heading by his own crew members on deck. It was then he realised they were going for a bait and kill. ¡°I hope you know what you are doing.¡± Chen Lai thought to himself as he anxiously saw the entire scene unfold right in front of his eyes. Chryso 1 sped through right above the ocean and momentarily changed direction, allowing him to boost the warthog planes vertically upwards in just a split transaction. That enabled the anti air machine gun to have zero friendly fire with targets on sight. ¡°Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Brrrrrrrrrr.¡± The sound of the anti air minigun gluttonously eating ammunition as if it was free of charge destroyed three Demon Rat Planes targets in an instant. ¡°Sir! You are freaking awesome!¡± Chryso 2 shouted but Chryso 1¡¯s pilot was giddy with success. (both physically and emotionally.) The G force was tremendous but somehow he managed not to pass out on it and used his chi to stabilise his balance before continuing to handle the incoming planes. Meanwhile, the Pandamonium Team Chat had one very important person repeating the very same thing despite having the success of defeating three planes in one quick succession. ¡°Where is my support fire going to come? Do I need to go down there personally to get it?¡± Hou Fei said in a very nonchalant voice. Chen Lai sighed loudly and placed his palm on his forehead, telling the rest to follow their general¡¯s orders to the dot. Soon, the warship was firing its main battery guns and the General was happy to hear the sound of explosions for his latest morning exercise. Chapter 1336: Demon Rat POV: Generals Meeting Chapter 1336: Demon Rat POV: Generals¡¯ Meeting ¡°What a joke. Those humans are such a joke and we are still losing?¡± Roughscream said who was now sitting at the side of the grand table that was usually not allowed by the previous Scholars. ¡°Skydigger, I even used your weapon and they could not even handle my strength.¡± The ¡®Pickaxe¡¯ General returned the pickaxe to his original user. ¡°Are you satisfied with your winnings? Can I have my weapon back now?¡± Skydigger grumbled as he got back his pickaxe weapon in such a dirty state that he was thinking of using it on Roughscream. ¡°Yea. yeah. Thanks for it. Could not say that it¡¯s as satisfying as whacking the human with my club and making sure they had been cobbled to death with it. Still, your weapon had a unique feel to it despite the fact that I could not use its innate powers.¡± Roughscream said as he picked up his club. This was his personal favourite and why he was called the Club General. To put some context, Skydigger had lost the bet of Cinderclaw being crumbled under the powers of the North Scholar. It was a minor wager where he had to allow Roughscream to use his weapon for a day which was a disgrace since Skydigger would not have any weapons for that entire day should he be attacked. Thankfully, nothing happened and Cinderclaw did not go all the way to make him suffer so all was well. ¡°I thought I saw the masked humans carrying a club, that fat guy. Have you tried this as well?¡± Skydigger said as he too was at the side of the grand table while waiting for the rest of the general to make their presence for the daily war council meeting. ¡°Meh. It was too light for my own usage, that¡¯s why I ditched it back to him.¡± Roughscream said but Skydigger who was watching the entire match through a remote camera knew that it was not the case. The club simply teleported along with the human when he was killed and there was no way for Roughscream to obtain it. The only reason he said it was because he wanted to see Roughscream¡¯s blatant lying or the possible hint of flustering to know that he was not able to achieve the feat of obtaining that human¡¯s club. It was a minor spiteful payback that he could conjure to get even on losing the wager and his pride by taking away his weapon. (After all, he initially thought it was all merely a joke bet.) And once that banter between the two generals was done, the rest of the generals slowly arrived at the grand table with Cinderclaw taking the centre of everything. While he was merely the Axe General, in their eyes he was considered to be the chief of the chiefs since Cinderclaw was the only one who initiated the internal uprising, leaving matters to their hands once and for all. ¡°I read the reports. We knew they had a warship but to think that they could station aircraft there was a surprise to me. Although we did learn that the number of aircraft they could carry was limited.¡± ¡°Lord General, I propose we pour some offensive might against the warship near the coast as they had been bombarding nonstop this entire morning. At the same time, we can destroy the aircraft and even salvage them so we can take their technology for ourselves.¡± Air Force General Gnawbones reported but the rest were not very keen on sending their troops to the water. All along they had been avoiding the sea for the longest time and even dug tunnels under the sea rather than making ships. It¡¯s not that they could not live or be severely cursed or damaged when there was water. They just did not really like the ocean that much, it was as simple as that. The Scholars probably had a hand in this, making the Demon Rats quite aquaphobic for some particular reason especially when it comes to the ocean but they would never know since they are now dead. Yet, the main reason for not attacking the warship was rather logical. Their main city was not the Northern Capital for the longest time ever. It was a fake front ever since their defeat in Wecha. They assumed that the humans do not know much about it since they never set foot in the area. (Sebastia will laugh at this.) It was because their undercity was where all the defences were concentrated since that was where the Demon Rats lived since their inception. There was no use trying to protect something that they were going to use as fodder. After all, it was going to be a trap for the humans who attempted to conquer the entire Northern Capital. As they continued to struggle with getting the Northern Capital under their control, the main bulk of the undercity would make preparations as well as production to ensure that they had enough to provide the most stalwart of defences against the humans. However, because the humans had to pick the most fortuitous time where the Demon Rats were going for the simultaneous campaign to conquer the East and the West, the Undercity was currently undermanned. Their main bulk of attacking forces who were initially occupied with dealing against Gold and Weslie had started to pull their troops back to fortify the city. That was one of the reasons why Gold and Weslie were able to continue applying pressure with that ¡®small¡¯ amount of minions against the invading Demon Rats since protecting their hometown was more of an issue of importance. And all the Demon Rats needed was to let the humans feel confident while ensuring that they had enough filler forces to ensure that their undercity was ready enough to welcome the bulk of the human invaders. So for the entirety of the meeting, Cinderclaw had headed the direction of this agenda with the rest of the Generals. Chapter 1337: Monkey & Sheep -Part 1 Chapter 1337: Monkey & Sheep -Part 1 ¡°Wow, this is such a mess¡­ I like it.¡± Hou Nao Zhong, the leading captain for the Royal Zodiac Monkey Clan that came under the orders of their Head to try out the raid instance, saw the mess that the Pandarens were in. ¡°It¡¯s really noisy.¡± Yang Mian Ling, the leading captain for the Royal Zodiac Sheep Clan, could not fathom the realism of the raid instance and tried to adjust her earpiece to muffle the sounds a little more. Both the captains and their teams had arrived at the Outer Camp Walls with the Royal Zodiac Snake¡¯s Sergeant Rocher greeting them at the sidelines. ¡°Ah, you two must be the captains that my captain had talked about. Apologies for the mess.¡± Sergeant Rocher saluted as the rest of the team came down from the train carriages. Nao Zhong noticed that the snakes were wearing their uniform along with someone that was different from them. The Royal Zodiac Tigers and someone he recognised as well. ¡°Hu Chun Hua? I did not expect you to be here. Last I heard, it was the Sheeps and Us.¡± Nao Zhong said and Chun Hua laughed. As she turned, Nao Zhong also saw Chun Hua¡¯s uniform and her rank, realising that she had already been promoted to Major. ¡°Oh, I should call you Mdm now.¡± ¡°Stop teasing me already. The Tiger General dispatched me because they believed it would be a good chance to get more experience for war type situations.¡± Hu Chun Hua said and Rochor smiled widely. She was not wrong, the Royal Zodiac Snake Army was merely average in terms of strength but the consistent exposure to Jin¡¯s dungeons had allowed them to push themselves to the limit. He noticed that his lackeys were more intuitive with better combat awareness compared to the year before. ¡°One thing though, why are you all wearing your uniforms? I thought this was just a raid instance. You guys are taking it too seriously.¡± Nao Zhong said even though he too had been instructed to bring their uniforms with them. ¡°It¡¯s easier for the rest of the customers to identify us plus for apparent reasons, the Demon Rats attack us more than the Pandarens when we are in uniform,¡± Rocher said and the rest understood the meaning behind it. More danger means more opportunities for them to learn since this was the main reason why they were all here. Especially when their higher ups purposely selected the team in the shortest time possible and even wasted scrolls to teleport them from various provinces to meet at the Tree Mall. Not to mention, they were given an unreasonable amount of budget to spend in this particular raid instance. The captains even heard that the money personally came from the pockets of their Royal Zodiac Heads which made them feel the pressure even more. But as they conversed, they realised the rest of the team members were waiting around and that was enough to be a source of target by the Demon Rats as they sent out a few fire large balls towards them. And as the teams who saw the incoming attack began to prepare their defensive spells, Sergeant Rocher told them to calm down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you all are safe. We have a magical barrier that protects this particular camp but the Demon Rats are always doing this to test our defences whenever a train arrives¡­as if they were testing their luck.¡± Sergeant Rocher said and they saw the fireballs fall flat onto the barriers. Even though the barrier was strong enough to withstand the attack, a few inexperienced team members shuddered at the realism of the dungeon instance especially when they were first timers in Jin¡¯s instances. ¡°Ah, the barrier fluttered a little from the attack, guess it¡¯s time to buy the upgrades.¡± Rocher thought to himself as he was partially in charge of the Outer Wall Camp¡¯s defences. He quickly showed the team to their temporary quarters where they could store their items but Mian Ling stopped Rocher. ¡°We are under the orders to create a new camp. I do not know the exact details of the current raid instance but I had been following the forums for quite a bit.¡± Mian Ling said and Rocher smiled seeing that there was a fellow forum lurker like him before he was tasked to enter the raid instance. And for Mian Ling, it was true that she had been lurking in the Pandamonium Forums for the longest time ever. In fact, she was especially elated by the fact that the Royal Zodiac Sheeps had been tasked to enter it and even more when she heard that the team was going in as a support role, something that they were specialised in. She was unable to go to visit despite the vested interest mainly because she was stationed in the Qing Hai province and needed at least a week of leave as well as clearance from her officers. So, unlike Nao Zhong who did not know anything much about dungeon instances, Mian Ling was a closet fanatic and amazed by every single thing ever since she stepped into Jin¡¯s instance. The only relief she had from embarrassing the rest with her actions was that she was wearing her signature customised surgical mask to hide her delights from experiencing everything. However, when it comes to work, she is extremely focused on the task at hand. ¡°The reports are not out yet but as you might have known the news came only when Pandarens who were out of this raid instance, aka killed by the stuff from the raid instances. Or when Mr Know It All comes online and gives extra hidden information. So, right now, the Pandarens as well as my fellow comrades have managed to move to the 3rd layer of the Inner Wall but the resistance there is enormous. The situation is not looking good but the Royal Zodiac Tigers had already begun reinforcing the frontlines. So it¡¯s your choice if you wish to rush there first though I feel establishing your support here is the most ideal.¡± Rocher said and asked if he could continue sending them to the temporary quarters or whether they wanted to see the current battlefield themselves. But both the Sheep and Monkey simultaneously said that establishing the support nearer to the frontlines would be the best. Chapter 1338: Monkey & Sheep - Part 2 Chapter 1338: Monkey & Sheep ¨C Part 2 It¡¯s your choice but in my opinion, it¡¯s best to at least experience the frontlines once before making your decision to establish it very close to the battlefield. We might have cleared the Outer Towns and are pushing to take more of the Inner Town but there is no guarantee that it will be free from enemies.¡± Sergeant Rocher said since he knows that ignorance is usually the worst attitude on the battlefield but they are all higher ranks than him and he could only suggest to prevent them from doing something as foolish as this. ¡°Yes, we are moving forward and establishing the camp as per our orders. Besides, it¡¯s just a raid instance. Why should we worry so much? I do not understand why we are fighting this long although the ¡®graphics¡¯ of this instance is extremely real.¡± Royal Zodiac Monkey Captain Nao Zhong said and Sergeant Rocher could only comply quietly, knowing that they are underestimating Jin¡¯s instance by a whole lot. ¡°Understood Sir, we will get a few Snake Guards to lead you to the battlefield,¡± Rocher said but Royal Zodiac Tiger Major offered to take bring them there instead. ¡°A few of my soldiers are returning back to the battlefield after a quick rest. They will know the way forward, you can let your guards stay in position.¡± Major Chun Hua replied and Nao Zhong thanked her. To Rocher and Mian Ling, it seems obvious that they know each other and wished to have a bit of a quick catch up. Thus, the Snake Sergeant decided once again not to interfere with any of their orders and let them be on their way. ¡°Sergeant, I will leave two of my medics with you. Please guide them.¡± Royal Zodiac Sheep Captain Mian Ling said before following behind the Monkey¡¯s Team. Rocher nodded his head as he brought the two medics to the temporary quarters and answered any questions that they had. As the fresh team of Royal Zodiac Soldiers went closer to the battlefield with their Qing Gong, they were met with stray fire but it was nothing the Tigers were not able to handle. Chun Hua made sure their rear was protected since Rocher did mention sneak attacks but Nao Zhong was confident that they were all overreacting. And as they reached the first layer of the Inner Walls, they saw the devastation that was being wrecked in the area. Debris and dead bodies were everywhere but ironically there were no Demon Rats around. The Tigers who had been to the frontlines told them that the bodies were the remnants of those Pandarens who had died while the Demon Rats had been turned into resources. ¡°Resources?¡± Nao Zhong asked and the Tigers told them that when they were dead for a long time, their bodies would turn into a sort of material. The problem was that their materials varied. From plant food to various ores, the Demon Rats became all sorts of items that the Tigers could not fathom but there was not an issue since if the Pandarens picked them up, it would not be theirs but in the junk section. Selling or exchanging them at the Hidden Gem Night Market would provide some extra raid points. The fighting might have been louder but the Monkey Team Leader felt that it was a decent place to set up camp until the Tigers who were on watch suddenly saw Demon Rats crawling up at the west side, splitting their forces between the first and the second layer of broken walls. ¡°Nao Zhong, focus on finding a spot to establish. Do not fight unless it¡¯s necessary and make sure that your guards focus on defending your camp building.¡± Chun Hua said as she led the vanguard of Tigers to the enemies in order to annihilate them. ¡°Are we going to put the two camps together?¡± Mian Ling said as she adjusted her earpiece once again for the sounds of explosions. ¡°Keep your teleport crystal for now. We will find some stable ground and build the camp.¡± Nao Zhong said as he climbed up a broken guard tower to search for a good place to put the teleportation crystal and subsequently build the camp. He noticed that the Inner Wall did have 3 layers of walls and they were placed approximately a kilometre away from each other with nothing in between them but empty plains of land. But that was based on the estimation between the first and the second wall and he did not have sight to judge the distance between the second and third. However, the most prominent feature of the Inner walls is that each wall had differing heights between each of them with the third layer of the wall being the tallest. This meant that the third layer of the wall could provide supporting fire to the first wall if needed and if Nao Zhong haphazardly provided such an open target for the Demon Rats to aim, it would no doubt strain the defences of the camp once it had been set up. ¡°Hmm, we can hide behind the second wall and create a camp using the wall as a structure to lean on for protection against the incoming attacks. Well, some of the incoming attacks.¡± Nao Zhong thought to himself when he saw the damage done to the walls. He had no idea what had happened to cause such destruction and could only believe that there was a fierce fight here. Just as he was about to get down from the guard tower, he suddenly heard Mian Ling screaming at him. ¡°DODGE IT!¡± Mian Ling said but the Monkey Captain was unable to react in time to parry or defend except for letting go of the entire ladder that he was climbing down. Gravity did its job in a nick of time as the shot that was aimed at his heart had been shifted to his shoulder. However, because the guard tower was of a taller structure compared to the wall itself, the fall could be detrimental to his progress in the current raid instance. Yet Mian Ling worried for nothing even though she ran as fast as possible even using Qi Gong to reach the Guard Tower. This was mainly because Nao Zhong was part of the Royal Zodiac Monkey. Being a researched focused clan, the Royal Zodiac Monkeys have a plethora of gadgets under them and one of them is a gadget that each Royal Zodiac Monkey Cultivator would have regardless of job and designation. A mechanical Monkey Tail. Using their cultivation style and chi to fuel the Monkey Tail Gadget, they were able to simulate having a tail for themselves and that was what Nao Zhong possessed. Using his Monkey Tail Gadget, he managed to hang on one of the steps on the ladder, enabling him to block the fall. (Although he still hit his head and back on the ladder) Once he stabilised himself, he tried to grab onto another step but another shot came, shooting at the step that he was about to hold. ¡°Fucking Rats!¡± Nao Zhong said to himself, before flipping backwards so that he could land. ¡°You alright?¡± Mian Ling asked as she checked the wound that he had. With her chi, she managed to pull out the bullet while maintaining the blood vessels around it so that they continued to be blocked when she pulled it out. ¡°Sorry if it stings a little, I did not have any painkillers with me at the moment. ¡°No, I am fine. I found the place where we can establish the camp but after that, I am going to find that bugger who shot me.¡± Nao Zhong¡¯s frustration was apparent but Mian Ling could only sigh. The Royal Zodiac Sheep Captain quickly shifted him towards the walls so that they will be out of sight of the snipers and judging by the attacks, it seems more than one was around as the shots¡¯ interval was getting shorter and shorter. But even if Nao Zhong wished to take revenge, Mian Ling knows that he was not much of a fighter compared to the brilliant support skills he possessed. ¡°We will see how it goes once we build our camp.¡± Mian Ling said as she managed to close the wound with her chi while passing the bullet towards Nao Zhong for him to inspect. This is going to be a long day. Chapter 1339: Monkey & Sheep - Final Chapter 1339: Monkey & Sheep ¨C Final Once the Royal Zodiac Monkey and Sheep Teams had finally established their camp, using the items they bought from the Pandamonium Store, the Snakes and Tigers were a little dissatisfied with it. To them, the location they chose was not exactly the best nor was it the worst but it was more leaning towards the ¡®meh¡¯ choice. Veterans who were fighting on this current battlefield knew that high ground was a better option even though it was vulnerable to open fire. And despite the opinions of their own guards as well as the Tigers, Nao Zhong insisted on establishing the camp behind the wall. Perhaps he was traumatised by the sniper shot or maybe that particular event had reinforced his thinking but the Monkey Captain insisted on putting it near the centre of the second inner wall with a completely destroyed wall from the first layer facing outwards. Rocher saw the camp establishment and could only hope that the Sheep had not used their teleportation crystal. The only expensive thing that should be used wisely within this raid instance. (One of such items cost nearly a million Yuan.) This was because there are way too many openings for that camp compared to the Outer Wall Camp layout. The Outer Wall Camp might be placed in the open but because of the high walls they were on, they could expand downward if needed to accommodate the wounded/tired Pandarens. Not only that, with the high ground, they were able to predict where the Demon Rats were coming, allowing the guards some additional response time to amass and deal with the threat with less panic. But the newly built Inner Wall Camp? It was on the ground, making it very susceptible to the Demon Rat attacks especially when most of the veterans of the current battlefield understood that the Demon Rats could dig out from the ground at any time. In addition, using the second layer Inner Wall as protection would only be ideal if they had complete control of the entire second layer which they currently do not. The Demon Rats, if given the opportunity, could overwhelm the entire second wall and subsequently jump down from the wall, doing ambushes from the top. Even if they do not, just throwing a few bombs was more than sufficient to interrupt them if their magical barrier was weak enough. Plus, the camp had been entirely blinded by the second inner wall¡¯s presence. A Demon Rat Abomination Giant could potentially destroy the wall causing the entire camp to be exposed to an attack. In short, meaningless destruction to the camp due to bad location and the unnecessary loss of resources due to one¡¯s insistence. However, one cannot deny that having a camp there allowed fast replenishment of the items that had been exhausted. From rifle ammunition to grenades and even temporary inscriptions cast by the Monkey¡¯s Battle Alchemists. Yes, the Royal Zodiac Monkey Army is a support Army which deals mostly in buffing their armies and debuffing their enemies. They even had gadgets to augment their fellow soldiers but for this raid instance, they were only providing basic buffing potions and temporary one time use inscriptions. That was why they were called Battle Alchemists because of their role. In the past, the Royal Zodiac Monkey was not exactly the clan that was worth being looked up to. While they had a following that wished to learn their Drunken Monkey Fist, their main specialisation was not looked upon. Mainly because a bulk of their soldiers were weak since their skills were not fantastic. They did have legends of Battle Alchemists buffing themselves to the extreme so they were capable of exterminating monsters beyond the scope of the ¡®average¡¯ realm and that was all to it. But with the advent of rifles and the industrial revolution, things start to change for the better for them. They played a pivotal role in stopping their enemies, especially the Japanese Clans. Their buffs could potentially turn rifle shots into artillery shots, while their cursing debuffs reduce their enemies¡¯ strength, allowing them to turn the tide very easily. With mass manufacturing, their potions were a standard staple for soldiers that were pinned down. So, being close to the battlefield would not only serve as a better support for the Pandarens but also ensure that the war of attrition would tip in their favour. Not to mention, Mian Ling and her Royal Zodiac Sheep Medic were around to ensure that major injuries could be healed, allowing the Pandarens to continue with their fight. Naturally, the Snake General Hou Fei had gotten wind of the new establishment and had already sent a few of his elites to guard the new camp grounds. Major Chun Hua also sent a few Tigers to act as protection detail for those battle medics who had to bring the injured Pandarens from the battlefield to the camp. Otherwise, the Royal Zodiac Sheeps and Monkeys were doing their best to maintain the camp grounds. And with the establishment of the campgrounds, the new Teleportation Crystal allowed the Pandarens to dive into battle faster. Those who selected the Inner Wall Camp as their respawn would be redirected to the Store Island Instance¡¯s airport rather than the train. To the Pandarens who tested it, they realised they were being parachuted out from the planes from a rather high altitude, allowing them to have a full view of the Northern Capital as well as the Northern Region as a whole. Those who were scared stiff due to the fear of heights had been ¡®thrown¡¯ into a capsule by the Panda co-pilots and they were being fired from the Hercules plane to the location where they would spawn. The reason Jin suddenly changed from train to plane was that he realised that the train would be too big of a target to not be ignored. The Demon Rats would either concentrate all their fire on the train or send more troops to the camp. So, by changing the tactic of sending the Pandarens in via air, the Pandarens could use the change of pace to utilise some range weapons to destroy some monsters when they were hanging out up top. It also gave them the advantage push for an assault against the Third Layer Inner Wall since they were coming from above. The Demon Rats eventually realised Jin¡¯s tactics and started to prepare the countermeasures for the paratroopers. Suffice it to say, the paratroopers themselves also took aim against the anti-air attachments on the third wall so that they would have a harder time. Gnawbones wanted to send a few more planes to kill these Pandaren maggots but the Snakes were giving them a hard time to do that. (Though to be honest, the Chryso Pilots were enjoying their time with the flexibility of Mana Engine Aircraft that they wanted more to fight against) And with the Pandarens covering both the sky and land, the Third Layer Inner Wall has a tough time splitting their firepower to cover both battlefields. All they could do was waste as much time as possible so that their Demon Rats counterpart could prepare sufficiently for the biggest counterattack. Chapter 1340: For Plushies Chapter 1340: For Plushies The PandaVerse Festival continued throughout the second day and Jin had started to pull out incentives for the ¡®less hardcore¡¯ cultivators who found the Great Demon War to be tiring. After all, no ordinary cultivator would like to stay in a warzone for days, right? So, Jin had made a rotary model for the discounts, so that Cultivators who were within the Store Islands Instance would have the opportunity to try all sorts of instances. However, when it comes to the major service instances like theme parks and the cultivation zoo, they were teleported to the main store island instance because it was inefficient to make copies of such instances. As for the smaller ones like the Hot Spring Instances, those service instances had multiple copies in the various themed store islands. And because of the theme islands, Jin had ensured that the discounts rotate through the islands as well. This means that not all islands have the same discount activated for the particular instance. The Western Themed Store Island could have their hot spring instance discounted but not the Eastern Themed Store Island. This enabled the cultivators to perform some island hopping and they could see the various types of instances that were available. For example, the Western Themed Store Islands have hot springs that were designed towards the Roman bathhouse rather than the traditional Japanese hot springs. The only thing that¡¯s constant through all the islands was the Hidden Gem Night Market because Jin did not have time to convert them. This brought the cultivators who had decided to spend a week at Dungeons and Pandas an entirely new experience. Even if they wish to explore outside of the Tree Mall, they would be allowed in again depending on their voucher tier, else they would be teleported back to the main store instance. Jin had also prepared a few concert events and even a daily lucky draw which utilised the Event Island Instance so that people could enjoy and earn prizes as they enjoyed the concert. Ke Loong¡¯s event department had liaised with Kiyu, allowing the dungeon supplier to invite a few relatively famous singers and comedians to the Event Island, prompting the crowd to be excited with the lineup. Kiyu even managed to get a few overseas singers/groups and particularly famous ones like Melton John, Lady Baba, XNXD, White Pink and LIZA to perform on those days causing a wild rage of concert tickets to be sold out consistently. The System knew that these famous lineups would cause people to rage for the tickets and even execute scalper services to earn more money so the System made it such that the selling of tickets would be randomly selected from the people who keyed in their interest to participate. Only when they were chosen, they would be offered a chance to buy the ticket and the ticket would be tied to the account and that ID. Since the ID was their National Identification Number, there was no way they could sell it and no one could fake the System. (IF they did manage to do that and were subsequently picked up, the System would be very interested in that person¡¯s talent. Kraft too!) There were even arena battle showings in the Event Island featuring the different types of monsters that Jin owned. Obviously, the monsters knew that they were merely sparring but when they were on stage, their mindset somehow changed. (For example, Dread Reaver, the Death Knight was super competitive when he fought against Sandy, The Sand Witch, nearly making a mess when the Sand Witch covered the entire arena with sand just to counter his Death God Moves.) Oh and did Jin mention there was betting allowed as well? The winners even had a chance to win a special plushie and the minimum bet was just one bronze Panda Coin, allowing almost everyone to try it. And talking about plushies, Jin did create a brand new plush specifically for PandaVerse. The Panda was holding the entire earth in its arms with the word PandaVerse 1 in the middle of the earth. (As if he was indicating that there would be second, third and more to come.) And to make things (worse) more exciting, Jin had purposely created a variety of plushies for this PandaVerse. (To be exact five.) If they tried out all the PandaVerse activities. From concerts to trying out the new Virtual Reality game that Jin had opened on day two. Collect all of them and they will receive a special plushie that is limited. This caused nearly every plush collector to go FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out.) and they started to try and find ways to get it done. But Jin did make it easier for plush collectors too as all those plushies could be collected when they reached a certain raid point threshold, obviously when they were placed high up so that the collectors or regular Pandarens could either try out all the events during the PandaVerse Festival or grind high enough raid points to get the limited plushie. This slew of events and activities gave the Pandarens the flexibility to do whatever they liked in Dungeons and Pandas. People were already commenting how this was superior to the National Dungeon Supplier Symposium by leaps and bounds, and they were showing it on social media as if this was the event they had been waiting for years. The fruits of this festival were sweet and this could not be done without the months of preparation they had done. But as the event was not done, Jin and the System continued to be wary of external threats as well as the volatile situation within the Farming World. From what they gathered through the Spirits of the Land, the Demon Rats were holding their trump card as well. ¡°This feels like Plan G1,¡± Jin said to the System but the System begged to differ, stating that it could be Plan G2 considering the similarities. ¡°Gah, you feel that they are gathering for ¡®that¡¯?¡± (They are naturally talking in code¡­) ¡°High chance. Considering how they had evacuated the Demon Rats beneath, it felt that it would be appropriate for Plan G2.¡± The System reported. ¡°Then I guess having the Void Being is actually a surprising boon.¡± Jin smiled as he continued to monitor the situation. Chapter 1341: Temporary Pandaren Leader Chapter 1341: Temporary Pandaren Leader It was surprising but Jin actually managed to have slept quite a fair bit during this portion of the war since the System and him believed that the Demon Rats were going to take drastic actions later in the evening when the fighting got fiercer. There were more Pandarens fighting against the Demon Rats and they were rushing, hoping to break the siege for the third layer of the Inner Wall. Pandarens started to use the items they bought from the Hidden Gem Night Market and they found them to be very useful. But it was extremely chaotic. Because there were no actual Pandaren Leaders to lead the way, each Pandaren team was doing what they felt was best for them to earn the most points. One could say that the chaos and haphazard use of the items bought from the Hidden Gem Night Market somehow allowed them to be ¡®random¡¯ enough to give the Demon Rat Generals a big headache. Unlike the fights they had previously against the humans where Jin and his Monster Leaders were commanding the teams to fight in a coordinated manner, they were unable to comprehend the change in fighting styles. So, the Demon Rat Generals had decided to fight recklessness with naivety and thus had decided to only send fresh new conscripts and a few fresh heavy hitters to delay them. The only trained Demon Rat troops with sufficient battle experience were on the third layer of the Inner Wall, manning the defensive equipment and having veteran commanders to lead the fight. But they had a difficult time supporting the newly conscripted Demon Rats mainly because they were equally unpredictable when they fought against the Pandarens. Yet, the commanders had directly told the battle hardened defenders to be more decisive in their attacks if they needed to- meaning they could kill their fellow Demon Rats on the ground if the benefits outweigh the costs. To top it off, those Demon Rats followed the orders without any remorse, as they knew that their home was more important than the few lives of Demon Rats. So, as long as the defenders could make the ¡®correct¡¯ judgement when handing out their attacks, the commanders would not blame them and this did make the battlefield even crazier than ever. The indiscriminate killing forced the Pandarens to have the objective of breaking the Third Layer as soon as possible. While it¡¯s true that the Pandarens did not have a leader per se, there were a few who stood up to be a temporary leaders (Since they got the cash to do so.) With enough money and sufficient dungeon time, they are able to lead the masses by sending out shouts to redirect the group. Aye, the System purposely implemented this even though it¡¯s a bit biased but it was an impromptu feature that required testing. However, it was done to make sure that the leaders had a sufficient grasp of the situation as long as they stayed on the battlefield long enough. Leading the entire Pandarens even for just a short amount of time did not give additional raid points but the System would specially distribute extra raid points based on the performance of the leader only when the entire raid was done. It was similar to a hidden quest within this raid instance and it would not be shown as the System did not wish to encourage people to ¡®lead¡¯ just because they could add extra raid points. Besides, the System had always emphasised in their notices that the Pandarens should not tolerate bad behaviour and are able to report if needed so that the Panda Team (aka the System) will investigate. Back to the situation, the temporary Pandaren Leader asked those who had Missile Launcher Carts or even mobile artillery guns (Pandarens literally had the strength to carry those guns and shoot them.) to be deployed simultaneously and fire to destroy the defensive capabilities all at once. It was a feeble attempt at leading but there were quite a few who responded especially when the temporary leader himself purposely sacrificed his items for the attack. So with a weakly coordinated attack, the Pandarens had managed to destroy a third of their defensive capabilities which forced the Demon Rats to with rifles and bows. This increased the survivability of most Pandarens since many of them had purposely bought a magical barrier or a defensive inscription that could block ranged projectiles to a certain extent. Not to mention, those Pandarens who were able to get the enhancement potions from the Royal Zodiac Monkey¡¯s Battle Alchemists were able to reduce such damage to the minimum. The change of battle development encouraged the Pandarens to listen to the temporary leader once again and they destroyed half of the remaining defensive capabilities with their items, allowing them to fight ¡®safer¡¯ and less bothersome¡­until they found out that they had been keeping their mages just for this kind of situation. Fireballs now rained from the safety of their walls and they had watchers to look out the targets for them. Even if they had missed, the effect of the rain of fireballs was still terrifying even though there was a huge interval in their attack pattern. At the same time, Demon Rat Mages continue to cast teleport portals to make sure that those Pandarens were sent to their Kill Box Zones to reduce their numbers as much as possible. Thus, all the Pandarens could do was climb the Third Layers as soon as possible to fight against the defenders. And to protect their walls, the Demon Rats tried their best to prevent their climb by pouring oil and lighting it up whenever the Pandarens qing gong their way upwards. (It was a terrifying sight for the Demon Rats at first but with their experiences from the previous Inner Wall fights, this was the only few tactics they thought of to deter the Pandarens especially when the Third Layer had the highest walls.) While the paratroopers had managed to do the same as those Pandarens on the ground, there were simply not enough bodies to throw against the horde of Demon Rats hiding within the Third Layer. It was as if they were making it their final defence line while the Pandarens tried to penetrate it as much as possible. But only the Generals and Jin knew this was not the finale. Chapter 1342: Terrorist Attempt Chapter 1342: Terrorist Attempt ¡°So how is it going? Are you able to track his movements?¡± Kong Rong asked as he peeled the plastic of the disposable straw and poke it into his small soya bean drink pack. He took a quick sip and looked at the consoles his colleagues were monitoring within the van. ¡°They are edgy for sure but it¡¯s unlike them to do this kind of pathetic attempt as an ambush. especially after the In the midst of all the festivities at the Tree Mall,¡± Yu Xuan, one of the State Agents under Kong Rong¡¯s direct supervision. ¡°Notice any bombs on them?¡± The leader asked and Ran Ran, a fellow agent stated that the equipment was not picking up any significant chi signatures from the targets. ¡°But I believe they are carrying quite a number of storage rings.¡± Ran Ran added and Kong Rong sighed. ¡°This is too obvious, I don¡¯t like this. The Banned Emperor Assassins would never do such a direct attack. This is either a distraction or an extremely coordinated attack.¡± Kong Rong said as he picked up his phone and checked whether the System had detected any other ¡®people of interest¡¯. ¡°But Sir, if you consider the situation at hand as well as past attack patterns, it is already almost impossible for them to bomb the Tree Mall and yet they might have decided to use this opportunity in the lapse of judgement to do a simple bombing. So, perhaps, the more obvious it is, the less we would suspect.¡± Yu Xuan said his theory on the current development and Ran Ran scoffed at the reasoning quietly. ¡°Regardless, we have to make sure there are no follow ups from this attack after we foil it. Ever since Jin broadcasted the 12 Zodiacs, I am pretty sure there would be people coming for him especially using the festival as a cover.¡± Kong Rong said before sending a message to a certain somebody that they had confirmed the identities and they could act independently whenever suitable. ¡°I had sent the coordinates to a group of ¡­cleaners. They will clean up those suspects as soon as they have the opportunity to do so. For now, continue the sweep and ensure there are no additional bombers.¡± Kong Rong added. ¡°Sir, are you sure it¡¯s okay to let these external helpers be involved in our work? I thought you said that you cannot trust anybody else.¡± Yu Xuan asked but his leader nodded his head in confidence. ¡°That is because that group belongs to Jin, and he is the only one that we can trust for sure. Besides, we all know that he has quite a formidable group under him for some reason so there is no need to worry about the competency of their work. As for us, it¡¯s also best that we do not perform any unnecessary actions especially when I have yet to vet the rest of the team thoroughly aside from you two.¡± Kong Rong replied and somehow Yu Xuan and Ran Ran felt proud that they could be trusted by him. ¡°Although I will still subject you two to surprise tests just to make sure that everything is as per normal and no possible backstabbing.¡± Kong Rong smirked when he said it and both of his agents were complaining about how distrustful their leader was. ¡°Sir, I would like a raise to prevent myself from being corrupted.¡± Yu Xuan teased since that was the same thing the news had reported, indicating that the government officials would have their salary increase to reduce the risk of being corrupted and act as a deterrent against worldly desires. To the public, it was such a feeble excuse to get more money in their pockets but their apathy in them caused them to not bother much about the news. Ran Ran also raised her hand like a rat, supporting Yu Xuan¡¯s proposal for a pay raise. Kong Rong sighed and said that he would consider it at the end of the financial year¡¯s appraisal review which caused the two of them to perform a high five. In the meantime, Kong Rong received an acknowledgement that the helpers would finally proceed to capture them and thus asked his two agents to be on alert for any major changes to the Banned Emperor Assassins. ¡°Well, since the Young Dragon Boy asked for it, it¡¯s time for us to do our pre-workout before the Farming World gets to the climax,¡± Kraft said to his boys and girls who immediately jumped into action, going around the Tree Mall¡¯s vicinity to find their targets. When one of the Night Foxes found the suspected terrorist, they qing gong straight to the Banned Emperor Assassin, sneaking up to him so that he was in range for a grapple. And once he executed it, a portal instantly opened right beneath them, forcing the two of them to be teleported into one of the System¡¯s temporary dimensional instances. Without any hesitation, the Night Foxes who were waiting in the temporary instances quickly assisted to pin the terrorist down and blocked the person¡¯s pressure points to prevent him from moving. Meanwhile, they brought a piece of torture equipment so that they could permanently immobilise the suspect and later performed the mind penetration telepathy to get access to the information from the Banned Emperor Assassin. The System quickly compiled the information to augment the current arrest but it seems like Yu Xuan was right on the money when Kong Rong received the information from the System that the terrorists¡¯ attempted attack was merely the few that the System had identified beforehand. (Their IDs were flagged as suspicious when they first entered Dungeons and Pandas, causing the System to track not only them and the people they had contacted as well.) And with the information from the first captured Banned Emperor Assassin, further cemented the idea that the attempt was done by this small group of people who hoped to do an impromptu terror attack. This also allowed the Night Foxes to capture the remaining suspects without mercy (They were already doing that according to the State Agents) and performed ¡®illegal¡¯ mind penetration telepathy attacks to get more information. Why give them chance when they are culprits that were set to terrorise the world? Hence, the System allowed the Night Foxes to penetrate deep into their memories to find each and every potential member of the Banned Emperor Faction so that Kong Rong could follow up. Chapter 1343: Bickering With The System Chapter 1343: Bickering With The System ¡°Yawn¡­anything happens when I am away?¡± Jin asked as he scratched his bed hair. ¡°Royal Zodiac Dragon Vice Head Kong Rong had coordinated with Original Bellator Kraft to apprehend a few Banned Emperor Assassins. They had carried a number of handmade bombs filled with explosive inscriptions and gems charged with chi. Those Banned Emperor Assassins are currently in processing and the Night Foxes are doing their best to get as much information as possible.¡± The System reported and placed the information in front of Jin with a brand new hologram. ¡°So, they really did attempt an attack despite the enhanced security around the Tree Mall. Don¡¯t they know not to mess with us?¡± Jin said as he opened the hologram window and read the information that was currently available to them. ¡°The User needs to be cautious that the information is still currently preliminary until Kong Rong has verified it through other means testing.¡± The System said and Jin continued to skim through the information. For some reason, his inverse eyes had allowed him to read a little faster and remember even better after his fight with Suzaku. He was not sure whether it was a sign that he was going to be at the peak of his current grade or whether fighting with Suzaku within his subconsciousness had subconsciously improved his brain memory. ¡°How¡¯s our profit for the day?¡± Jin asked while he was near the end of the information sheet. ¡°Within expectations, although there is a higher majority of Pandarens, especially the veterans were spending a little more than average to fight against the Demon Rat defenders at the Third Layer of the Inner Wall. The last release of the concert tickets for tonight had been sold out as well including the ¡®additional spaces¡¯ the System had graciously opened up for the Pandarens.¡± The System replied and Jin was happy that the System had listened to his feedback. Even though the seats had already been allocated for a fixed amount of crowd number, Jin knew that he could continue to earn money as long as the Pandarens did not mind standing. There would be a train that was similar to the concept of a concert¡¯s standing space. As long as the Pandarens did not mind standing for the entire concert, they would be entitled to a lower price compared to the price of the allocated seats. Those standing spaces were also sold out almost immediately to his surprise and he believed such a success would allow the System to continue to perform this practice so that Pandarens with lower purchasing power can have the chance to watch it live. Else, the concert could be watched via the Pandaflix and this should partially pacify the people who missed out on the chance to watch it on scene. The System initially wanted them to pay additional for the concert but Jin eventually came to a compromise charging less than usual paid per view content. This was because Jin knows that the System will take advantage of the Pandarens regardless of their status but the User also knows that if he did not watch his ¡®generosity¡¯ carefully, a certain Sub System User that deals with accounts would come to haunt him for days to come especially when this Festival¡¯s total expenses is one that would give them a major headache for months to come if the Boss incurred debts. ¡°And since you are able to talk to me about money matters without urging along, I supposed the Demon Rats situation had not gone to such a state that we are unable to perform Plan G2?¡± Jin asked and the System acknowledged his reply by showing the statistics of Pandarens that were currently in the Farming World as well as the deaths that occurred. ¡°From the System¡¯s perspective, it would take approximately another few hours to reach the desired outcome but it is very suspicious to the point that the System wished to change Plan G2 to Plan F2 instead.¡± ¡°Considering how the entire Northern Capital¡¯s design is similar to the castles in the Lord of The Rings, I do not see why we should go with F2. Flying would not matter much more than the preparation of ground troops. I suggest that we should continue with the current plan and not move our troops as a precaution. In fact, we should brace for complaints instead¡­although I think it would be quite an epic sight for reviewers and streamers that were commenting on the current situation. By the way, any news about us in the mainstream media?¡± Jin asked but the System was more concerned about the initial statement that he made. ¡°I wonder why the User thinks that way? The System requests for a logical rationale as the System has sufficient information for analysis through the spirit of the land and believes that Plan F2 would be a better choice.¡± ¡°After seeing those Steam Engine planes in action, it further reinforced my belief that there would be no additional flying elements against us. Especially when they did not bring any more new models of aircraft after the clash with the Royal Zodiac Snake¡¯s pilots. There was no way the rats would not try to win with so few enemies in sight. You saw how they always try to rush and be reckless using overwhelming numbers and strength at the start but when it comes to a push and shove, they would reveal their cunningness.¡± Jin explained. ¡°Since they know that pure brute strength was insufficient, they would use trickery to get what they want. Most of their major attack patterns should show that and thus I am not surprised that Plan G2 would be the most likely thing that could happen to the Pandarens. If anything, it aligns to their nature as rats.¡± Jin said with Kraft yawning at the corner of the room as well. ¡°What¡¯s with all this G2 F2 whatever plan you guys are talking about?¡± Kraft questioned and yet both Jin and the System ignored him by saying that this was the type of manoeuvres they would take should the Demon Rats perform an ¡®army scale¡¯ attack and continue with their conversation. (After all, not telling Kraft anything will cause him to be annoyed while explaining to him would definitely bore him so they explained briefly to keep his annoyance level to the minimum so he would not disturb their argument.) ¡°Meh, I am just waiting for those generals to make an appearance so I can do some exercise. I do not care how the Pandarens die or survive.¡± Kraft added before sleeping back in his dark corner of his own. (Yes, the System purposely placed a corner void of light so Kraft could doze in there.) Chapter 1344: Demon Rats Finally Making The Move Chapter 1344: Demon Rats Finally Making The Move ¡°It should be time for us to initiate the next part of the plan,¡± Roughscream said as he was in the same communications room along with Cinderclaw and a few of the other generals. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? If you are so hasty, why don¡¯t you personally escort yourself to fight the humans yourself as you once did?¡± Skydigger said with a smirk on his face. He knows that Roughscream was not able to do anything because Cinderclaw specifically says no generals are supposed to enter the battlefield as of yet. He might be of the same rank as the rest but everyone knew the hidden powers Cinderclaw possessed. Roughscream quietly cursed Skydigger for making such a snarky remark but understood that he did it because of the grudge he held for using his personal weapon as an experimental tool for fun. Even he would be unhappy if he lost the bet and had to lend his signature weapon to some other rat so they could ¡®play¡¯ with it. But ultimately, a bet is a bet and it was done as a form of humiliation since they have almost everything in the world and nothing was as shameful as passing their personal weapons to another rat. ¡°Enough,¡± Cinderclaw said to quell down the anger within the room. It was as tense as it could have ever been since the Pandarens were making strides in their assault. And yet, despite the situation they were currently facing, the Demon Rat Generals understood how to play with human emotions ever since they brought the humans to their knees once. The Demon Rats might once be slaves to two human scholars but they were also masters of thousands of human slaves. But having a master alone was sickening to them and most if not all had vowed not to be enslaved. (Especially the top brass themselves.) ¡°We will initiate the next phase of the plan. Give a howling siren to the undercity and for those who have yet to evacuate would be their own undoing.¡± Cinderclaw said and everyone within the room obeyed his orders to the dot. As much as a few of them did not like his commands especially when they could endanger their species, they knew that the Demon Rats had always made sacrifices for the overall good of their society ¡­or that was what they were inculcated to them by the Scholars themselves. It¡¯s true that now the monsters were able to think and fend for themselves but it would be hard to change their mindset overnight especially when it could have been ingrained into their genes to think like that. Regardless, the order had been sent out and the Undercity had made necessary preparations to proceed to the next plan with a few last minute adjustments. In the meantime, the battlefield between the humans and the Demon Rats was going strong as the last batch of kamikaze Demon Rats conscripts began to run out of the third layer defences to handle the Pandarens on the field while the defenders were using what they had left to hold back the cultivators from taking over the Third Layer. There was some fighting on the walls themselves but the Demon Rats were still able to hold their ground against the small number of cultivators who had reached the top of the wall through their qing gong. But to the unsuspecting Pandarens, everything all felt the same and it was nothing they could not handle as most of them had already fought the conscripts before. It was just another desperate attempt to stall for them against the Pandarens and the cultivators believed they would be winning over the wall soon especially when more of the customers are coming in to assist with the attack. However, that was what General Cinderclaw wanted all this time. The accumulation of Pandarens and the extra reinforcements that were coming into the fray. He wanted as many humans as possible on the battleground so that when he initiated the next phase, it would injure them greatly. While he did understand from Roughscream that they were coming back again and again to fight the Demon Rats to their death but as the Club General had pointed out, there would definitely be a limit to their powers and he was a firm believer in that theory. All they had to do was punish them sufficiently until they did not wish to return to the battlefield. And even though what they were going to do would be accelerating the deaths of many other Demon Rats, the Generals know their Achilles heel in this current situation. The Northern Capital might be vastly connected to the Undercity but the major way up and down is usually through the giant elevator that was at the northern tip of the capital. Even if they were to utilise all the passages to fight the Pandarens, they could already foresee their fight at a disadvantage. Their reinforcements are fixed because of the giant elevator and even if they were to retreat to the undercity, the humans would take the chance to create a base on the surface, gathering their troops and trying to push through via the Giant Elevator. This would take weeks, months and possibly even years. It was initially not a problem since they had sufficient food stock at the moment and the Demon Rats were consistently expanding. But now they were in a different predicament. The East and West invasion had been halted, even pushed back by the humans and the collaborations of other entities which the Demon Rat assumed were the inhabitants of the East and West that they were fighting against, (they were so wrong¡­it¡¯s all Jin¡¯s.). Thus, the Demon Rats would be pushed to a three way fight if they let things be but if they could take the fight to them, that would be a different issue. ¡°Proceed to the next phase in five minutes. Get the mages ready to destroy the entire ground leading to the Outer Walls. I want the humans to feel despair falling through the cracks.¡± Cinderclaw ordered once more, with a decisive tone, to make the rest who were having second thoughts of the operations enact it. Chapter 1345: Earthquake Spell! Chapter 1345: Earthquake Spell! ¡°Let¡¯s go! The rats are beatable, we can clear this portion of the raid instance!¡± The temporary Pandaren leader shouted and everyone was encouraged to do it since they could see that they were progressing. However, as they were pushing forward to get full control of the third layer, they suddenly felt the ground shaking. All of them did not care about it since the explosions from the missiles and other cultivators¡¯ spells had always been this earth shattering but when they realised that the ground was shaking nonstop, they started to become suspicious. Some of the Pandarens, especially the Pandawans on the ground, who had more battle experience, could feel that this might not be an ordinary earthquake spell and began to move to higher grounds like the ruins of the second layer. Yet, those who managed to move to the high ground did not expect the following scene to unfold in front of their eyes. The ground literally split in front of them as if it was eating them up for a meal. The soil vibrated and gave way for everyone within the vicinity and the split was so sudden that most of the Pandarens were not able to react in time and that included the Pandawans. They realised that this particular earthquake spell was not just concentrated between the second and third layer but everything from the first layer of the Inner Wall to the third. They realised that it was a trap of a grand scale, destroying all the progress the Pandarens had accumulated in the past two days. All the ground they had covered, the sweat and blood that was spilt to grab each inch of land had been all wasted as the floor beneath them cracked and ate them up. Jin saw the entire thing unfold but did not lift a finger to save any of the Pandarens since they knew that they would be able to revive again from it. He was more interested in what the Demon Rats were plotting now that they had destroyed the entire land as he had expected in Plan G2. The only thing he did not expect was the extent since he thought that they were only going to break a small portion of the ground and the entire Outer Town included. All of the Pandarens who were caught in the trap fell endlessly into the ¡®abyss¡¯ while the Pandawans tried to use their qing gong to try to reach the Third Layer of the wall which was still intact and unaffected by the earthquake. That was when the Demon Rats Mages had started the next portion of their phase to ensure that all those within the trap would remain in the trap. A massive magic circle was right above the Pandarens and they activated a multitude of spells all at once. From a shower of fireballs to a wide range gravity spell to force them to fall right through the ¡®abyss¡¯ and into their Undercity. Since their Undercity was built a few kilometres below ground, the Pandarens ¡®should¡¯ die but since the Demon Rat Generals had seen their resurrection powers in person, they had expected a few to possibly survive. So, they also placed a few Demon Rat Hunters on the job, sneaking those Pandarens out and killing them when they fell from the ¡®sky¡¯. For the first time in eternity, the Undercity had seen some proper sunlight and to the rats, they felt that this might be their golden era when they saw how the Demon Rat Military had killed hundreds of Pandarens instantly. Naturally, those who survived the fall by reaching the Third Layer or had already been on the Third Layer¡¯s wall were now facing fiercer resistance than ever since their support had been reduced to zero and they had to fend for themselves. The Demon Rats who were occupied with ranged duty could assist their guards to kill the rest of the Pandarens that were on the wall. Most of the Pandarens panicked since they were never much of a fighter in the first place. A bulk of them are salary workers and did jobs that did not require them to put up a fight. When faced with this kind of menacing force, it was an obvious choice that a lot of them simply retreated back or be killed by the remaining Demon Rats. However, it was not the same for the Pandawans who had survived the attacks. Bin Yong, Xiong Da, Luo Bo and Bu Dong were unfortunately the survivors from the entire Demon Rat Trap with the rest of the Pandawans back in the recovery instance. Still, they were not going to retreat and hope to at least survive the wave of monsters. Now that both of the respawn points from the Outer Wall Camp and Inner Wall Camp had been destroyed, the Pandarens would have a hard time attacking the Demon Rat¡¯s Undercity and the Pandawans know it too. Thus, they were thinking about whether it would be the right choice to place a teleportation crystal at the Third Layer, allowing reinforcements to come. However, to do that, the person putting down the teleportation crystal would need to be protected. (Although Jin was able to make that teleportation crystal be deployed almost immediately, he initially did it to prevent people from spamming the crystal even if they had the money to do so.) And considering that Xiong Da had one (why not? He is too freaking rich to not purchase one.) They were hoping to place it down as soon as possible and protect the Pandawan who were deploying it before they were exhausted from the constant fighting between the Demon Rats. ¡°Xiong Da! We do not have time to waste. Let¡¯s just put it down and protect it.¡± Bin Yong said and Xiong Da was contemplating whether it was a good choice. ¡°And waste my money when this thing costs hundreds and thousands of yen?¡± Xiong Da queried as he slammed the Demon Rat right in the face. ¡°And you want me to put it here? Out of no fucking where on top of the walls?¡± ¡°If not what? You saw how the Demon Rats annihilated our camps in one shot! There would be no way they could use the very same spell again to destroy the Third Layer again and there must be a reason why they did not destroy this wall when they could have destroyed it previously.¡± Bin Yong said while he smacked a Demon Rat with his buckler and stabbed it. ¡°Bin Yong is right, it¡¯s best that you put it up as soon as possible. Else, we won¡¯t have any respawn points around us at all and this entire war would be set back to square one once more. ¡°Bro, don¡¯t worry. Establish that teleportation crystal. Let me handle the Demon Rats.¡± Bu Dong reassured his fellow Pandawan. ¡°I have a few tricks under my sleeves that should be able to salvage the situation if the situation goes down to shit.¡± ¡°Fine, Then I will be putting my life in your care.¡± Xiong Da said as he took out the teleportation crystal. No matter how bad an idea this was, it was still worth the gamble. Chapter 1346: Xiong Das Hectic Preparations Chapter 1346: Xiong Da¡¯s Hectic Preparations While Xiong Da wished to place the teleportation crystal as soon as possible, he knew it would be total suicidal to do just that. If this was a fight to the death while making sure that they have to plant the teleportation crystal successfully, it was vital that he used everything at his disposal. And that means utilising every single item within his storage ring. After all, there was no use in hoarding those items he had grabbed from the Hidden Gem Night Market if he did not take them out and use them against the enemies. Before placing the teleportation crystal, he placed a high level electrical magical barrier device around him and only himself. It acted as an impenetrable shield as long as the magic source had not been depleted. Xiong Da initially meant to use this as the last resort against the Demon Rat General who he had fought against. A trump card to be used to at the very last moment when he did not have any strength within him. The electrical magical barrier device would discharge high voltages of electricity that was equivalent to a Grade 9 Electric Bolt but the charges were limited so Xiong Da could either dial it down and the device would discharge bolts that were several grades lower or leave it as it is and replace the magic battery source as needed. (He would never expect that all these magic batteries were from Peppers since she discharged too much mana that Jin decided to sell those magic batteries¡­ of course at a high price.) Since he was not dealing with a Demon Rat General, he had already dialled it down to Grade 3 Electric Bolts to increase the lifespan of the electrical magical barrier. At the same time, he also took out a bunch of documents from his storage rings and tore them right on the spot. They were mercenary contracts, similar to how Jin was able to contract temporary monsters by the System. Unlike Jin¡¯s contract with those temporary monsters, the ones that Xiong Da used had a time limit to them since the System does not allow Pandawans, much less the Pandarens to have access to such powers if possible. (Especially when they were part of the User¡¯s repertoire.) However, Jin had compromised with the System, stating that they believed this particular raid was an instance and they had to keep that act up as much as possible. Besides, the System was able to earn some additional profit since it was charging about the same price to the Pandawans for a time limited contract. But to Xiong Da and his particular predicament, an hour¡¯s usage for those mercenaries was already a steal when his friend and him were in such a pinch. Armoured Alligators emerged from those torn contracts and there were at least fifteen of them. Xiong Da basically took the whole stack from the Hidden Gem Night Market since he was still collecting his money¡¯s worth after sponsoring a hella lot of money to Jin. In fact, if Jin were to reveal the numbers, he could be the number one sponsor for Jin¡¯s store aside from the Royal Zodiac Clans who had spent millions to set up those camps. (With regards to those destroyed camps, Jin had decided to refund a partial portion of the funds as Panda Coins to the Royal Zodiac Heads but that was for another retelling to be done in the near future.) Now with some extra hands on deck, Xiong Da had commanded them to set up a defensive perimeter around him while he started the establishment of the teleportation crystal. With just one order, the Armoured Alligators immediately pushed the Demon Rats away and set a defensive circle around Xiong Da as if they were trained Spartans. (They even looked at the part when Xiong Da later realised they were wearing similar gear to the 300 Spartans.) But something seemed to be bugging him, and he believed that a Demon Rat General might suddenly emerge from nowhere when he started the process so Xiong Da once more placed one of the supposedly most expensive items between him and the Armoured Alligators. A Panda ¡®God¡¯ Statue For an item that looked the same as the one residing within the centre of the Tree Mall, the others including the Demon Rats were curious about what that thing was. Even the streamers and viewers who were watching the current development of the raid instance were desperately searching up the Panda God Statue within the Pandamonium App to check what it was. As he placed that 2 metre tall statue right smack to the ground, he was smiling to himself knowing the effects of putting that Panda God Statue right in the middle of the battleground. Xiong Da hoped that if anything were to go awry, the Panda God would rescue him from trouble. ¡°This Xiong Da¡­¡± Jin said to himself, and in some way cursed that he had decided to use the Panda God Statue in such a way. ¡°The User should blame himself for even providing such an item to our number one sponsor.¡± The System tried to refrain from making sarcastic remarks since it knew what it was. To call the Dungeon Supplier to come into the fray and save him. While like the contract was just a one time use, the Panda God Statue would only be ¡®activated¡¯ if it was broken and Jin would emerge from it for fifteen minutes. Aye, it might be just a miserable 15 minutes but to the Pandawans/Pandarens, it was like summoning the gamemaster, a godly figure, in their raid instance to assist them in their current predicament. Yet, Xiong Da hoped that it would not come to that since he only had one such statue with him and it would be a pity that Jin was summoned to clear Demon Rats or just one pathetic Demon Rat General. He wished to use that just as a substitute in case Bu Dong was not able to hold off the major threats. But for now, the Hippo Pandawan was satisfied with his preparation and started to establish the teleportation crystal. Chapter 1347: Taking Care Of The Crystal Chapter 1347: Taking Care Of The Crystal ¡°Looks like the User could be summoned anytime.¡± The System said as it monitored the situation carefully since Xiong Da had decided to place the limited Panda God Statue on the battlefield. ¡°It really does seem excessive for him to do that¡­¡± Jin did not like coming out so soon into the battlefield but he had no choice since he was the one who had given Xiong Da that particular Panda Statue in the first place. ¡°There was nothing that could be done for the moment,¡± Jin added as he saw Bu Dong had managed to kill quite a number of Demon Rats with the new weapons that he had. He spammed the assault rifle like there was no tomorrow and instead of switching magazines, he merely threw it to the ground and started using another one. There was no time for him to think nor take his time to switch the rifles since he was not skilled enough to do a quick swap. However, it did not mean that those rifles that were spent were proven to be useless after he was done with them. Similar to Xiong Da, Bu Dong also had bought a few mercenary contracts and a few of them were specifically to help him with this situation. A pair of Otters emerged from his contract and took partial control of his storage rings. As Bu Dong threw the rifles to the ground, the Otters would pick them up and swap the ammunition if they were still available. After which, they threw them back into the storage ring so that Bu Dong could resummon them back whenever he needed them. Simultaneously, the Otters also made sure that any injured Demon Rats who they come across were killed as well with a slit to their throats. This allowed Bu Dong to continue to look forward and shoot without any care. In the meantime, Luo Bo was taking care of the ranged units that posed a threat to Xiong Da or any of the defenders protecting the establishment of the teleportation crystal. On the other hand, Bin Yong was rushing from one corner to another beating up monsters that were on Luo Bo¡¯s and Bu Dong¡¯s blind side. But with the current setup, they had managed to place a considerable amount of distance between them and the remaining Demon Rats that were on the Third and remaining Inner Wall. ¡°How much longer would the installation of the teleportation crystal take?¡± Luo Bo asked as she used her chi to fire an ultra long range shot when she managed to catch a sniper rifle¡¯s glare from afar. More and more of those snipers were coming up and she knew that the Demon Rats were also using this chance to consolidate their forces after killing the remaining Pandarens within their vicinity. It could be possible that they were the last batch of Pandarens that survived the onslaught. ¡°I have no idea! There is no progress bar on this stupid thing and it keeps asking me to play this typing game to accelerate the installation!¡± Xiong Da was frustrated that this was the only way to progress the installation of the teleportation crystal and he knew that Jin could have implemented an easier way to install it but chose not to. However, that pause was necessary as Jin and the System were preparing the coordinates for a mass drop of Pandarens who were urged to enter the moment the teleportation crystals were up. In addition, the teleportation crystal that Xiong Da was currently installing had an anti teleportation spell similar to the one cast around the Outer Wall Camp because of the Demon Rats¡¯ trickery of teleporting the Pandarens away from the battlefield. That typing game that Xiong Da was forced to ¡®play¡¯ was practically an instructional spell casting device that once given the proper commands would initiate the anti teleportation spell. But unbeknownst to the people who were currently fighting on the ground, the spell had already activated, preventing the Demon Rat Mages from casting those sneaky teleport spells. It¡¯s just that the range was slowly expanding to ensure that it covered enough area to keep the place around the crystal safe. And as Xiong Da continued to struggle against the typing game, a few big shots had started to arrive. Bin Yong and Bu Dong could recognise that the Demon Rat Abominations in front of them were different from the standard ones that they had fought before. They were not only bigger in size but there was an aura of magic around them, indicating that they were enchanted with spells to make them more durable in fights. The Pandawans had fought them before in the kill zone boxes and they were a pain in the ass to fight with. They were able to win with the combination of techniques from the various Pandawans with them. But now that they were pushed to a corner and probably pinned down with the advancing horde of Demon Rats, the Pandawans have to go the extra mile to make sure the teleportation crystal is unscathed else it would be a disaster moving forward. And to make things worse, their favourite Demon Rat General suddenly appears right in front of the horde. ¡°Well, well well! Isn¡¯t it my favourite humans that are still struggling like maggots?¡± Roughscream said as he swung his club right above his shoulders. ¡°Why don¡¯t you fight against us one to one?¡± Bu Dong shouted back, not knowing whether the Demon Rats would understand him. (Although there was the translation module, there were certain dungeon instances that the cultivators had no way of communicating back, like the time they fought against the Deep Ones.) ¡°Why should I do that?¡± Roughscream seemed to understand Bu Dong¡¯s taunt and sent forth the Demon Rats and the Abominations ahead. ¡°Buy me some time. I can provide you with some support.¡± Luo Bo said as she walked to the frontlines. The rest of the Pandawans knew that Luo Bo had the best monster clearing skills among them and decided to hold their ground as much as possible. Even Bin Yong who was rather stingy with his items had finally decided to use them. An extended spellbook where he was able to use a certain spell without any restraints of being a mage but the drawback was the number of uses it had. Chapter 1348: Gaining Grounds in the East & West Chapter 1348: Gaining Grounds in the East & West Meantime, when all the commotion was happening in the Northern Capital and the newly revealed Undercity, the East and the West had their own problems to handle. The Demon Rat Army who had recovered from the initial shock attack after Day 1 had been pushing aggressively against the other two sides. They were dying to get to the surface and all they needed was just one rat to go through for the plan to work. As long as one Demon Rat Soldier was able to go through all the defences and remained unscathed, they have the opportunity to expand into the East and West regions when time permits. This was because each one of the soldiers had been ordered to carry a bunch of seeds with them and there were none other than the Demon mutant seeds which they were grown from. In fact, the Demon Rats were curious whether those Demon mutant seeds would eventually grow into something different and yet similar in nature to them when grown in soil that was not from the Northern Region. There were some scientists who theorised that it was because of the difference in spiritual soil that could either make or break the mutant seeds¡¯ growth. There was always a possibility that the mutant seeds could only grow in the Northern Region but there was no harm in trying it out in the Western and Eastern Regions and see if they could grow the same as well. Yet, all those attempts by the Demon Rats regardless of their aggressive retaliation had not been successful in allowing even one Demon Rat to pass through. This was mainly because Qiu Yue was personally behind the creation of the defences as they went into Demon Rat territories. Because of their large army which included their rat abominations, the Demon Rats would require tunnels that were large enough to not only allow at least rows of Demon Rats to pass through but high enough to allow their Abominations to slip through as well. Not to mention, they needed enough space for future developments and thus did not skimp on the digging process. But they did not expect that it would be their downfall as it was used against them. While the basic foundation of maintaining a tunnel had been deployed throughout the entire area, there was nothing but debris, rat waste and broken equipment that littered the place. They did not foresee any assaults through those tunnels since the Demon Rats assumed they were the only ones who were privy to this particular plan of theirs. They never knew that Jin and the System had been monitoring them closely so that they could swoop at them all at one go. That was also the reason why they decided to be greedy and split their resources to move into two regions at one go. However, all of these decisions were previously made by the Scholars and the Demon Rats had to handle the consequences of their mistakes. Else, they believed that if they concentrated on just one region, their Demon Rat armies would more or less defeat the defending forces easily with sheer numbers. So, with the tunnel empty, Jin¡¯s minions had the upper hand since they have a Magical Constructor by their side deploying tactical walls and defences that allow them to throw greater firepower at the Demon Rats. This was also one of the reasons why Jin had been monitoring the battles in this Great Demon War. Unlike the Demon Rats who apparently have numbers greater than them by a huge margin, there was only a limited number of troops that Jin possessed. Even with the System¡¯s omnipotent contract System and access to the Black Market to get more ¡®NPCs¡¯, there were only that amount of people the System could hire due to its limited processing systems. And also, grabbing too many contracts off the Black Market could cause suspicions to other people from other universes and it was best not to deal with them unless necessary. Else, Jin might have to handle a threat that he was not expecting and so far, he was the changing factor for the world and none had yet to come to his world for now. Still, Jin knew he had to be careful since his world could be invaded for no reason especially after the Dungeon Supplier heard how Derek¡¯s world turned into a permanent Zombieland. So with the defences erected within the tunnels, Both the assigned armies in the East and the West were able to fight and prevent any leakages from going through. Some of the Demon Rats even used invisibility or high speed runners to break through the defences but Qiu Yue had assigned a few of her Beavers with special powers so that those tricky Demon Rats were able to be detected and captured. There were gadgets that allowed the detection of invisibility spells as well as traps that could stop the high speed runners in their tracks like gravity counters which break the runners¡¯ momentum as they trip and fall (while being stuck to the ground until they were killed.) And with the help of those beavers, Qiu Yue was able to move from one side of the Farming World to the other side ensuring that the defences were solid enough to not only hold the front but also give cover to those who were injured and provide defensive fire with the automatic cannons that were built along with it. Yet, that did not mean the East and West frontiers had it easy as the Demon Rats had a massive horde rush and those defensive fortifications were used as buffers to slow down the horde since the Beavers and Qiu Yue could detonate them, destroying a portion of the massive horde to slow them down. After which when they regain their ground, the Empire Building Sub System User would then rebuild the very same defensive walls again to hold the attrition line. It might be tedious for the forces but when they had the luxury and advantage of the tunnels at their side, especially against overwhelming numbers, it was best to use that perk as much as possible. Chapter 1349: Bin Yongs (Temporary) Spellbook Chapter 1349: Bin Yong¡¯s (Temporary) Spellbook ¡°Get away!¡± Bin Yong shouted as he unveiled the spellbook right in front of him and it was shining brightly the moment he inserted a small bit of chi to activate it. Without any incantations, the spellbook slowly turned towards the Demon Rats as if it was detecting how many enemies it had to defeat. Bu Dong and the other Armoured Alligators move backwards knowing that they would not want to get destroyed to bits by Bin Yong¡¯s mysterious new (consumable) power at his behest. However, it was still easier said than done as the Demon Rats were aggressive enough to make sure that they did not get caught in the blast once they saw that blatant light shining right above them. Without any further warning, the spellbook started to buzz with electrical magic and bolts of lightning streamed out from it, trailing towards the ends of the wall. Roughscream got caught in it as well but his club was able to block and subsequently deflect the streams of electricity from it. Yet, his minions were not so lucky as a number of them had been shocked and burnt by the lightning bolts. Meanwhile, Bin Yong was not keeping the spellbook back in his possession and he was allowing it to go for another round once more. This gave Luo Bo the idea for more collateral damage as she aimed her bow high with two unique arrows which teleported out from her storage ring. (How easy it was for modern archers who did not have to carry their arrows everywhere they went.) ¡°Intermediate Bow Technique, Arrow Squall!¡± Luo Bo shouted as she released her bowstring, allowing the two arrows to fly up high. A few of the Demon Rat snipers who saw Luo Bo shooting her technique so openly and in such a flashy way had decided to turn their guns towards her. However, she was clever enough to stand close to Xiong Da¡¯s barrier, allowing her to avoid all of the attacks while her arrows did the job. Arrow Squall was a technique that enabled her one arrow to turn into multiple arrows but they were not as deadly as her other mass area of effect arrows mainly because the Arrow Squall technique was meant to be status inflicting technique. The arrows that split turned into a liquid of certain lethality which would corrode the armours of the Demon Rats but Luo Bo had made sure to reduce the lethality. This was because she wanted to utilise the liquid portion of the technique more than the poison that comes along with it. Bin Yong could see where it was going when he saw the arrows turned into water projectiles hitting the Demon Rats. At this point, he inserted even more chi into the spellbook even though he believed it was useless to charge the spellbook with chi. However, it seems like the spellbook ¡®understood¡¯ the predicament and started to flash even more brightly. Roughscream also knew what was going on and decided to charge forward ignoring the collateral Demon Rats soldiers that were in his way. He knew that if he allowed the spellbook to discharge once again, there would potentially be no more Demon Rats on the top of these walls for the next few minutes. He got to stop it at all costs. ¡°Do you think I will allow you to do as you please?¡± Bu Dong said as he knelt and took out a box of mortar from his storage ring. He knew that those mortar shells needed to be prepped and aimed before triggering them but there was no time on his side either. Thus, he literally threw the box of mortar towards Roughscream and used his sword to summon out a chi slash to activate the mortar shells. The explosion was huge the moment the chi slash touched just one of those mortars, causing a chain reaction to the rest and Bu Dong believed that even if Roughscream was unscathed by it, the impact from it would no doubt stop him in his tracks (or even push him back) even just for a few seconds. But contrary to his pessimism, Roughscream had been thrown backwards by the huge impact and that few seconds was all that the spellbook needed to release a combined charge of four spells towards the Demon Rats. The streams of lightning that emerged from the spell book were wider and more intense, shocking each and every Demon Rat that was in its trail. Along with the impromptu preparation done by Luo Bo, almost every (not dead) rat had been fried by the burst of lightning that was summoned out by the spellbook. ¡°Do you think that crazy ass Demon Rat General would be killed by such an attack?¡± Bu Dong asked as he tried to get up with the help of the Armoured Alligator since they too were knocked back by the mortar explosion. The alligators only grunted as they raised their spears once more and pointed them forward as they all saw how Roughscream might have been roughed up by the explosion and lightning strikes but he was still alive and kicking. ¡°Guess that answered my question.¡± Bu Dong said as he turned back to check Xiong Da¡¯s progress only to see that he was way too absorbed typing like crazy to even look at the situation they had created. ¡°You think this will be the end? That your parlour tricks are enough to stop us?¡± Roughscream said as he literally screamed and the earth around them started to shake. Even without looking, the Pandawans who had been on the battlefield for hours knew that the General had already started to call for more reinforcements and there was little they could do to stop it unless they got the transportation crystal up and running. Even the spellbook that Bin Yong had brought previously, turned into an empty notebook after utilising all of its charges against the initial horde. ¡°I can clear one more wave of Demon Rats with my arrows but I do not have much chi left. It¡¯s either we die fighting till the last minute or we call it quits right here.¡± Luo Bo said as she too was tired from all the attacking. The snipers were still relentless even as she had killed them in the process. They somehow managed to find replacements and were not giving her or her team any breathing space. ¡°I did not wish to use this so quickly.¡± Bu Dong said as he stepped forward, touching his storage ring. The Angry Ape Cultvitor had been keeping this for emergencies or when fighting against multiple Demon Rat Generals but the situation in front of him had unfolded in just a way that it was unprecedented for him to not use it. ¡°Damn it, if only Deng Long was here too. It would have been much easier.¡± He thought to himself as he took the step forward in order to face the sole Demon Rat General that had been bugging them since the start of this war. But just as he was about to spur into action, a loud howl was heard from behind him. ¡°ANNNNNDDD ITS ALL DONEEEEE!¡± Xiong Da exclaimed as he pressed ¡®Enter¡¯ with the hopes that it would break especially after giving him such agony. Chapter 1350: Extra: As The Surviving Pandarens Gather Chapter 1350: Extra: As The Surviving Pandarens Gather ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ma Yue Han, the Blind Bat Cultivator asked as he managed to catch a few of them in mid air. ¡°Wow, When did you learn how to fly? Even with qing gong, this is no easy feat.¡± Xu Jia Le, the Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivator and also the partner of Bin Yong said as she managed to grab Yue Han¡¯s hand and use her cultivation powers by creating flowers in midair for them to step. ¡°I managed to break through to Grade 9 and learnt one of the intermediate techniques that allowed me to float. You should thank Bu Dong and this guy here for forcing me to learn stuff when I could have been lazier.¡± Yue Han pointed with whatever fingers he had left grabbing the cultivators towards Deng Long. ¡°Then I guess, it had paid off well. Told you this raid is a crazy one.¡± Deng Long replied with a sigh of relief. He thought that he would meet the same fate as the rest of the other cultivators who had dropped into the abyssal hole when the earthquake happened. Thankfully, with Yue Han¡¯s floating technique, Jia Le, Deng Long and one more particular Pandawan were able to survive the fall. ¡°Do you mind stepping on those floating flowers? My leg is not really the best place for you to grab.¡± Yue Han exclaimed as he could feel the intense grip that Shi Zuo was placing on both of his legs. If not for Yue Han¡¯s familiarity with the floating technique, the four of them might have already fallen through the abyss. Jia Le knows that Shi Zuo had a tad of Acrophobia and purposely conjured a floating bellflower which was larger than the rest right beneath his feet, allowing him to let go of Yue Han and allowed the Blind Bat Cultivator to balance himself once more. He quietly thanked Jia Le as they witnessed the Great Demon Rat¡¯s main capital, the Undercity, in its full greatness. When gravity pulls them down further, they already saw that there were multiple projectiles coming toward them and hordes of Demon Rats were already rushing into their landing area to not only await their descent but also decimate any surviving Pandarens that managed to live through the fall from the ground above. It was a complete massacre as the injured Pandarens could barely put up a fight against them. The Royal Zodiac Soldiers on the other hand were banding up together as much as they could so that they heal themselves while preventing the situation from overwhelming them. Yet, it was pretty apparent that they could not hold the fort since they were in unknown territory and most of them were low grade combatants since the Monkeys and Sheeps were mainly supporters. The Battle Alchemists from the Monkey Clan were able to do some emergency healing as well as create a defensive array, allowing only cultivators to enter but the onslaught of Demon Rats became a problem when they were the centre of ¡®attraction¡¯ to the incoming horde of Demon Rats. And that implied Jia Le and the rest of the Pandawans who were descending to the ground. The bellflowers were bright enough as a signal for the Demon Rat Archers and Sharpshooters to aim for them. Shi Zuo managed to use an item he bought from the Hidden Gem Night Market to provide a temporary magic barrier around him, providing cover for all four of them but its powers were tremendously weakened with the barrage of attacks, forcing the group to jump together as one so that they could reach the ground soon enough for the magic barrier to enough power to break their fall as well. Once that was done, Jia Le quickly used her kunais to erect a defensive wall of roots to not only stop the incoming projectiles but also be used as a deterrent against the incoming horde. She managed to get the Royal Zodiac Monkey Battle Alchemists to imbue some of her kunais with a chi boost inscription, allowing them to perform a higher level of chi techniques without straining the cultivator. The wall of roots was created by one of such kunais and it subsequently became a wave of roots, which crept on any of the Demon Rats that was in its path, the moment Jia Le inserted more chi into the kunai. This gave them some breathing space to run towards the defensive formation array which the Royal Zodiac Monkeys had created since it acted as a gathering point for all the Pandarens who managed to escape the attacks of the Demon Rats. As more cultivators started to gather around it, the Royal Zodiac Soldiers who were purely combatants like the Snakes and Tigers had begun to extend their reach outside of the defensive array so that they could rescue more people into the formation and at the same time provide some breathing space for the battle alchemists to expand their array formation so that it could hold more people as they continued to treat the wounded. It was a fight for their lives every single second even as the medics tried to save as many as they could so that they would at least be an able body to fend off threats should the array begin to fail. At that point, they knew that no reinforcements were coming soon enough to rescue them especially when the Pandarens realised there was no communication going to any other teams that were still above ground. One of the Royal Zodiac Snakes believed that there was some barrier that stopped the communications to go through so he decided to shoot upwards with all the chi imbued in that one arrow. True enough, they found a multitude of magical barriers barring the surface and to make matters worse, there was even a magic barrier which seemed to darken the entire hole, and made it as if they would be entrapped in this Undercity forever. Yet they did not give up hope. Even though it is merely just a raid instance, they know that this was an obstacle they had to overcome Each and every one of the Pandarens in there might panic and even fear for their lives but the rallying cries of the Royal Zodiacs gave them hope, knowing that if they come together, they might be able to survive this intensely realistic and yet horrific experience. Chapter 1351: Provoking For More Time Chapter 1351: Provoking For More Time As the teleportation crystal swirled around Xiong Da to show its sign of completion, it was already blinking furiously. Xiong Da grinned quietly knowing that the crystal was already working the moment it was activated. ¡°Just in time then.¡± Xiong Da said as he took a glimpse at the back and saw more Demon Rats filling up the walls once again. All of them crawled from the sides of the wall to surround the injured Demon Rat General and awaited his command to charge. ¡°You sure? From my perspective, they are not on time at all.¡± Bin Yong chuckled as he raised his shield and pointed his sword forward. He knew that going in recklessly would be a waste of energy and probably a waste of his life. ¡°So what are they coming in as? Parachute? A train wreck?¡± Bu Dong asked as he too did not know whether he could last if the Demon Rats charged all at once. There was no way he could fight this many for such an extended period of time. ¡°I am too tired. I cannot go any further. Besides, my arrows are more or less depleted. I do not have any chi to do those mass clearing attacks.¡± Luo Bo hid behind one of the armoured alligators as they continued to deflect ¡®stray¡¯ projectiles from the remaining snipers. (To be honest, she was amazed that those alligators could last this long in the fight and even had such reflexes to defend themselves from those sniper shots.) ¡°Are you guys willing to surrender?¡± Roughscream felt the enormous upper hand in the current situation and was pretending to give an olive branch to the four humans who had dealt significant damage to not only him but the Demon Rats as well. If he was not able to capture them then trampling their pride and instilling fear was the way to go so that they would not appear again. And even if they did, he would be stronger and kill each and every one of them once more. ¡°Surrender? Heh. You are speaking way too soon. How about you stop hiding behind your soldiers and come out here to have a one on one with me?¡± Xiong Da stepped forth and revealed his warclub. If there was anything he regretted with the previous fight was that the Hippo Cultivator did not have a proper fight with the Demon Rat General especially when he finally found a Warclub User. Back then, he was injured and the Demon Rat General was in tip top condition but right now, they were in a similar state and pitting against each other one to one was probably the most ¡®fair¡¯ fight they could ever get. However, even if he did wish to do that, Xiong Da was not stupid to fight a fair fight. He was merely wasting time since he realised the Demon Rat General had started gloating, thinking that the Pandawans had finally been beaten to exhaustion and they were unable to fight back. ¡°Or are you too afraid to fight against me? A slightly injured human invader compared to the rest of my companions? Seems like you are only haughty when you are pitting yourself against weakened enemies. So much for you being a General. Demon Rats! Take a look at how pathetic your general is acting. Are you sure you wish to serve such a timid general who did not dare to go up against human invaders when they are at peak health? How about you guys take the stage and challenge me? Perhaps if you win against me, you have the chance to be the next general and overthrow that weakling cowering behind all of you!¡± Xiong Da did not stop taunting Roughscream and the Pandawans hollered the very same sentiments to provoke the Demon Rat General. ¡°You puny humans are courting death!¡± Roughscream¡¯s blood boiled at those weak yet humiliating threats that were aimed directly at him but the Demon Rats were thinking otherwise. Because they had not much interaction with their higher ups, some of them did show some distrust and to a certain degree, scorned the General for calling reinforcements and subsequently hiding behind them. After all, everyone knows that being a General provides perks of extreme luxury that a lowly Demon Rat was able to experience. ¡°Heh, look at that Demon Rat General. Make me feel he is some basic Wu Xia Novel Villain.¡± Bu Dong chuckled at how Roughscream was able to be provoked that easily. ¡°We would need a few of that or else our raid instance would be boring.¡± Bin Yong said as he could see from the side of his eye that the teleportation crystal had been blinking rapidly and even changing colour. And just as the Demon Rat Club General walked to the front of the crowd, He suddenly felt that the air around him began to feel heavy. At that moment, he realised something was amiss when Roughscream felt a large impact right behind him, causing him to be knocked forward. When he turned around, he saw a human invader staring at him fiercely and a wolf silhouette emerged behind him. Eventually, Roughscream also witnessed more humans dropping from the sky and impacting right on the wall, dispersing the Demon Rat formation that he had prepared previously to handle Xiong Da and the remaining survivors. ¡°Is he the one who started that earthquake? Because it looks like I am not late for my revenge.¡± Se Lang, the Wacky Wolf Cultivator, said as he brought out his war scythe. ¡°How come you guys can handle superman landings?!¡± Luo Bo ignored Se Lang¡¯s question and when the dust settled, she found out that all the Pandarens who landed had a sort of device platform that allowed them to prevent them from taking any fall damage while acting as a sort of offensive gadget that enabled the Pandarens to do impact falls. At the same time, both the Demon Rats and the Pandarens on the wall had also witnessed multiple ¡®human comets¡¯ going into the hole the earthquake had created. And calling it ¡®multiple¡¯ was an understatement. It is time for the humans to attack back once more. Chapter 1352: Human Comets Chapter 1352: Human Comets ¡°This is such a terrible terrible¡­.TERRIBLY BRILLIANT IDEA! HAHAHAHA¡± Xiong Da said as he saw multiple human comets coming down from the skies hitting and killing not just the Demon Rat soldiers that were ¡®hanging out¡¯ at the walls awaiting the Demon Rat General¡¯s commands but also the abyssal hole that was created by the earthquake. However, he and the remaining Pandarens had no idea that there were surviving Pandarens within the Undercity and a majority of the human comets were flying right into that hole mainly to reinforce the Pandarens and other Royal Zodiac Soldiers that were still fighting in there, desperately holding onto their lives despite it being just a ¡®raid instance¡¯. They had no idea why they stayed when in most dungeon instances, the cultivators could simply press the log out button or say a safe word to get them out of it. It felt like they were ¡®compelled¡¯ to fight to their last or perhaps they know that people are watching them. After all, there were streamers and viewers on Pandaflix that were watching them live. For the Royal Zodiacs, it could be a matter of reputation while to some, it was a sense of duty to aid the Pandarens. As for the Pandarens, they knew that staying alive as long as possible had always been the best way to earn points as well as keeping their money¡¯s worth. (especially when entering the instance again would require additional payment and like every typical Asian, it was best to make full use of their tickets to the best of their abilities.) As for the human comets going through the abyssal hole and right to the centre of the fight to save the surviving Pandarens, they were trying their best to break the magical barriers with the help of gravity (along with whatever chi they could spare without feeling too tired from it.) They knew that there was a magical barrier from the streams when they watched how horrific the Demon Rats could go to kill dozens of Pandarens in one go and the discovery of an entirely new underground city was both fascinating and shocking to everyone. Just when they were worried about how the Pandarens, in general, could fight back against this terrible setback, Jin had already made the announcement to prepare for teleportation the moment when Xiong Da was able to set it up. It seemed as if like every Pandaren who wished for some Demon Rat payback had already lined up and queued for the fight the moment they found themselves available for battle. The Panda Nurses in the recovery instance were very particular in not letting those who were too fatigued to go for another round. Jin did not want any too crazy hardworking Pandaren to ¡®die¡¯ from exhaustion or playing too many dungeon instances and that would definitely set back his goals to expand his store when needed. Although Xiong Da was unaware of the crystal¡¯s progress, the deployment of the teleportation crystal was actually shown all around in Jin¡¯s stores as the Pandarens knew this was possibly the only turning point they could get to regain back all the hard work they had lost from that earthquake. Thus, they all swore that once Xiong Da was able to activate the crystal, the Pandarens would do their best to take their revenge against the Demon Rats. And so when the human comets smashed themselves to the large magical barrier protecting the Undercity, the Demon Rats panicked as they could not believe that the humans could find such a weird (and yet innovative way) to destroy the magic barrier. Also, upon learning that there was a barrier protecting the Undercity, the Royal Snake Soldiers who were commanding Nerodia II had already stocked the planes for bombing runs as well as adjusting their cannons to hit the magical barrier. There were initial thoughts to help destroy the third layer of the Inner Wall but their General suddenly went missing over the comms and the people on deck decided not to do anything unnecessary. The crew assumed that Hou Fei was killed from the earthquake that the Demon Rats had caused even though it was unlikely that it could happen but he did disappear from their communications. It was only through those human comets that had reentered the fight had relayed the information to them and thus allowed them to establish assistance in taking down the giant shield. In the meantime, this gave hope to the Pandarens who were trapped in the Undercity, as they started seeing reinforcements trying their best to destroy the magical barrier above them. Although that was also a sign for the Demon Rats to push and break the defensive array so that no surviving Pandarens were left and they could focus on attacking the humans that were falling from the building. Simultaneously, the magical barrier had been reinforced with feedback magic, allowing the shield to discharge enough magic against anybody that comes near it. Compared to the barrier that was erected to protect the inner walls, this was not just multiple times stronger but ten to twenty times more manpower was devoted to ensuring that the barrier was not destroyed. Hence, those human comets that landed on the barrier in an effort to break it were instantly killed the moment they made contact with it. It was a suicidal run but the latter wave of human comets could see that it did weaken the shield but they needed more attacks on it. Therefore, some of the experienced Pandarens even started to bring the big guns out as they began their descent. Some brought out artillery guns, anti tank rifles, missile launchers, rocket propelled grenades and one even strapped a crate full of grenades onto him so that he could deal a considerable amount of damage to earn himself some extra points. ¡°Boss, I think you should lend them a hand for this part.¡± Hou Fei said as he was now deep infiltrating into enemies¡¯ lines. Even as a General, he was still once a Snake Shadow, one of the highest rank infiltrators a Royal Snake Soldier could get. Besides, with the System to guide him through, he was able to make sure he got through the frontlines without being noticed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Hou Fei. I am sure someone would call me to aid with the scenario. I am just waiting for him to use me so that I can go incognito the moment I do the deed and remain as a trump card against the Demon Rat Generals.¡± Jin said as he was eyeing Xiong Da¡¯s movements, hoping the hippo would do as he predicted. ¡°And that is assuming you can break it in one go.¡± Hou Fei said in a deadpan manner even though deep down he wished to snicker but it was best he did not make any expressions when he was on the move. ¡°Are you underestimating me?¡± ¡°Well, are you sure you can do that? I mean I haven¡¯t seen you fight after that duel with the two Tiger Sons so pardon me for assuming that you are not the strongest I had known.¡± ¡°Surely, you jest.¡± Jin sighed but he knew not to estimate his opponent. Thus, he had made some ¡®insurance¡¯ in case he could not destroy the magical barrier properly. Though for now, it was a wait and see situation for him as his customers do the dirty work for him. Chapter 1353: Contemplating How To Use The Panda Statue Chapter 1353: Contemplating How To Use The Panda Statue Se Lang sent his scythe flying into the Roughscream¡¯s face and the Demon Rat General had managed to block it. However, the monstrous strength of the vengeful Wolf Cultivator had caused several Demon Rats to be sliced into pieces from the impact alone. ¡°That attack¡­it¡¯s not targeted at me.¡± Roughscream realised when he saw the dead Demon Rats within his vicinity. ¡°I needed some space to fight, they were preventing me from unleashing my maximum strength.¡± Se Lang replied as he pushed his scythe further and the Demon Rat had to step back while sliding his club away from it. ¡°Looks like I am not the main character for this particular scene.¡± Xiong Da sighed but he could see that Bin Yong, Luo Bo and even Bu Dong hiding behind the ever stout armoured alligators taking a breather from the current fights. They might be cultivators but these Pandawans had been fighting with all their might for the past few minutes that felt like hours. There he saw them leaning right beside the Panda God Statue and he scoffed at how this particular thing looked. ¡°You know Boss Jin, even though we are friends and stuff, you still continue to act like you are some distant powerful being that is way out of our league. And in a way, you are like a superhero in the shadows.¡± Xiong Da said and the Pandawans caught what he said partially. ¡°If he is some superhero, can¡¯t he just swoop down now and destroys the barrier? Seems like the Pandarens are having difficulty breaking it.¡± Bin Yong said as he closed his ears when he saw the incoming planes coming down to drop bombs at the barrier. It was a sight that he thought he would never see in real life but here he was standing so close to the scene. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a waste to use the Panda God Statue just to break a barrier?¡± Xiong Da replied loudly after the planes had gone by. ¡°There is always the giant elevator at the northern end of the capital. That was what the Demon Rats are protecting too right?¡± Luo Bo was smarter and used the Pandawan Team Chat rather than shouting. She was already too fatigued to bother screaming her lungs out. ¡°Why bother going the long way with a large town to fight against when we have a hole for us to swoop in from?¡± Bu Dong understood why the Pandarens were trying their best to break it even at the expense of their lives. Only the minority who refused to waste their tickets had decided to land on the third layer of the inner wall and fight against the Demon Rats that were in the way as well as proceeding to guard towers to defeat the snipers. ¡°Perhaps he already knew this was going to happen and gave you that Panda God Statue.¡± Bu Dong added as he said that nothing in this dungeon instance happened by chance. ¡°Wow, if you put it that way, Boss Jin is not just innovative to grab cash but also cunning enough to know how to spend mine.¡± Xiong Da chuckled. ¡°Else, how is he going to fund these kinds of super projects? There is no way an ordinary dungeon supplier will be able to create such a realistic warzone. I believe he managed to coerce the Royal Zodiacs to come here just to get their money as well.¡± Bu Dong explained. ¡°Heh. If you think about it, he placed this raid in the PandaVerse Festival period and even though he said that this raid would most likely continue after the end of PandaVerse, he is secretly expecting us to clear this within a week given our past results.¡± Bin Yong added and they all directed their glances at the Panda God that was right above them. ¡°But that also means that you guys would not be able to see Jin¡¯s powers at work, no? We might have had a glimpse of it here and there for the past few months but we never saw him fight sincerely other than rumours and hearsays.¡± Xiong Da was dying to see Jin in action after learning from his sources that he had contributed to the closure of various major incidents. Yet, when he tried to probe the Boss for information, he did not brag about it nor give a clue to him. ¡°And do you think the Boss would fight this instance¡¯s big bad one all by himself again?¡± Bin Yong said as he remembered how Jin had commented how the difficulty was way too high for the Pandapolis Defence raid and personally intervened to make sure that there were no unnecessary deaths. ¡°He surely had tuned it in such a way that he would not need to appear unless it was essential to moving the plotline.¡± ¡°I still think Boss Jin will still appear to fight the final boss again.¡± Bu Dong commented. As much as he believed in the Pandarens and us, he is still a sucker when it comes to game difficulty adjustments.¡± Bu Dong recalled the times he had help from various NPCs in the Supa Robot Wars because the difficulty level shot up a lot. ¡°So, I will recommend you just use it for the sake of those poor Pandarens losing their money over some stupid suicide attack.¡± ¡°Yeah, Just use it. I also like to see how Jin would destroy that particular shield. Will he be coming down magnificently to shatter the barrier or just breaking the entire thing with his Developer Powers?¡± Luo Bo even though visibly tired, was anxious to see how the situation develops. ¡°Fine! Fine! Fine!! I will throw that damn Panda God Statue at the shield okay?¡± Deep Down, Xiong Da also knew that Jin would not appear because coming into his raid instance too often to help the cultivators was sort of a counterproductive way to play the instances. Therefore, Xiong Da had decided to listen to his friends¡¯ comments despite knowing that he did not have to do it, and they could take the long route down and conduct a proper invasion against the Undercity¡¯s inhabitants. But hey, at least he is earning extra raid points from this act, right? Chapter 1354: Barrier Breaking Chapter 1354: Barrier Breaking ¡°See what I told you?¡± Jin said as he snickered at the entire conversation between the Pandawans. ¡°The User merely had it lucky that the Pandawans were able to come to that conclusion after knowing your habits and behaviour in the dungeon instances.¡± The System reported. ¡°If Hippo Cultivator Xiong Da had not decided to follow his friend¡¯s advice, the situation at hand would have been considered null.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me. I was prepared to show my face a little when I gave that Panda Statue to Xiong Da. Every once in a while I gotta make an appearance or else they forget who is the true ¡®developer¡¯ of this instance right?¡± ¡°Suit whatever you want, it seems that Hippo Cultivator Xiong Da had lifted the Panda Statue up, User please prepare to descend.¡± The System said and it opened a portal. ¡°Well, it¡¯s good to have some stretching after sitting at the chair watching all the action going on for hours,¡± Jin said as he took out his System Rider Belt and attached it to his waist. ¡°Milk, you ready?¡± Jin asked through the System Channel. ¡°Hmm, What? Oh! That fusion thing you were talking about! Eh, do you think it¡¯s a wise idea? It was supposed to be used for minions and not bellators. I am not sure it will work as well as not making a fool of ourselves when the time comes. Besides, isn¡¯t it supposed to be-¡° ¡°Since when are you such a worrywart?¡± Jin asked and Milk blushed a little. ¡°Because I am going to be fusing with you~¡± Milk replied with a swaying voice which made Jin remember why he had not been using Milk for some time unless it was necessary and why he had always paired her with Peppers so that little Demonic Queen rascal could control the little one.¡±. ¡°Oh gosh.¡± Jin thought to himself and prayed that he really did not need to fuse with her if possible. ¡°And here I thought I could go flashy straight off the bat and then disappear. Looks like I have to put a bit more effort into it.¡± ¡°What??!! No! Fuse with me, Master!¡± Milk exclaimed but Jin suddenly heard a loud thud sound through the System Channel. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master. I have her under my control. She would not do anything too reckless with me around.¡± Peppers said and then there was a loud shriek from the little mage herself and Jin could already imagine that those two were already fighting among each other. The System had already muted the ¡®conversation¡¯ between the two bellators as Jin took a deep breath and jumped into the portal. The moment he got out of the portal, he was among the many who were diving down towards the magical barrier within the abyssal hole. Jin could tell that there were a few who were anxious while others had become numb to the sensation of death and whipped out their big guns to inflict as much damage to it. At the same time, there were multiple explosions on the barrier itself and Jin could identify them as the explosive shells used by the Nerodia II. (Since he was the one who bought those shells for them to use.) And yet the barrier was still standing tall, seemingly unscathed by the attack. Jin at his point of descent immediately revealed his cultivation and had purposely expended his chi to show a giant Panda right behind him. The Pandarens who were around him suddenly got surprised by his appearance and even though not many of them had seen him around, they knew that the owner of this store used a Panda Cultivation. ¡°Boss Jin!¡± The Pandawans from all locations who saw the twinkling Panda face silhouette knew that he would be giving a lending hand that was as big as that huge Panda face in the sky. The Demon Rat General Roughscream too saw the commotion and was bewildered by the scene for a moment. He had no idea what was going on but that was enough for Se Lang to land a hit of opportunity against the Demon Rat General, causing him to lose his hand. Roughscream leapt backwards and cursed the distraction. ¡°Focus, yea?¡± Se Lang said as he swung his scythe to gain some momentum with it before charging forward with a standard three strike technique. Jin on the other hand was already gathering his Maqi into his Bam and Boo which they had turned into a giant hammer with a sharp point. Nearing the magical barrier, his Panda Silhouette returned back to its normal size right behind him and was wearing a miner¡¯s helmet with a pickaxe. It seemed like Jin would be using a copied technique he had acquired from Suzaku¡¯s soldiers and he clearly remembered how painful the Advanced Bear ¡®One Dig One Kill¡¯ Ice Pickaxe Technique was as it destroyed his defences easily and nearly broke Bam and Boo if they had not unfuse and turned into two separate weapons. Thus using the very same technique with a bigger weapon, Jin hoped that it could replicate the very effect that had shattered his defences in one blow. He did not let it to chance and even added even more Maqi than he should have while he dived down. ¡°Ping!¡± The Hammer¡¯s pointed peak slammed into the magical barrier and an equivalent amount of energy had been discharged against Jin. Yet, the Astral Panda Cultivator was unfazed by the attack as he had already transformed into System Rider with Ayse as part of his fusion. With the Orc Head Researcher and her powers of the Shaitan Slydra, electrical magic was basically a type of food for her to feed on. ¡°Must say, I did not expect you to call me out like this,¡± Ayse said as she looked at her brilliant armour tinged with the colour of royal purple. ¡°I am more interested in the powers these Demon Rats have. This electricity tasted way too good. It feels like they are using something more primitive in their magic.¡± Slydra added that Jin did not realise that he could hear the thoughts of a Shaitan through the System Rider fusion. ¡°Their magic should be coming from the planet itself, the lifestream energy but this is no time for any further explanation. Mind giving a hand first?¡± Jin said as he was still using the One Dig One Kill technique. ¡°Oh~ I finally could connect to your Master.¡± Slydra was shocked as well when she realised she could talk to him. ¡°Right, right. Let this be a welcome gift for our first meeting.¡± The Shaitan said as she converted all the energy that was consumed and sent them pulsating through Jin¡¯s magic circuits, allowing him to expend even more energy against the barrier. Needless to say, the barrier weakened significantly and the remaining Human Comets continued to assist as much as possible upon learning that this could be the lucky break that they needed to shatter the barrier. All of them even the Pandawans from the Undercity had decided to try their luck. If the barrier is breaking, then why don¡¯t the Pandarens attempt to destroy it from both sides? Chapter 1355: Barrier Shattered Chapter 1355: Barrier Shattered Thus, with the unexpected help from the Pandarens from the undercity, Jin thus decided to perform another One Dig One Kill despite feeling disappointed that the technique did not meet his expectations. (Well, considering that if the warrior that used the skill against him had died before completing the technique, Jin might not have grasped the technique properly.) ¡°Here goes nothing!¡± Jin said as he swung his war hammer and now with Ayse and Slydra empowering him at the sidelines, he slammed the hammer at the very same spot with exact precision. The barrier took the hit and it immediately shattered from the blast. Needless to say, multiple Demon Rat Mages died when the spell broke. And while another few dozen tried to replace the dead Demon Rat Mages and rebuild the barrier, Jin had already utilised the System¡¯s Empire Building Module to create a gigantic pillar that was sufficient in terms of its height, allowing it to be a sort of hindrance for the barrier. It was a sight for sore eyes for the Pandarens as they found out that the pillar that Jin created had a hollow foundation that allowed them to slide down from the surface to the Undercity. All they needed to do was not touch the barrier to reach the pillar (or should they dub it as a pipe slide) so that they can access the Undercity. The Demon Rats including the generals who were overseeing the situation cursed at the human¡¯s innovation and wanted to break the pillar but considering how the third layer of the inner wall had been overtaken by the Pandarens and the humans were also surging through the new pillar, there was no immediate counter attack could be done to remove it. Everyone from all over the store and raid instance cheered how they somehow managed to overcome the current obstacle and people who were doubtful in the first place had decided to continue with their raiding experience. In the meantime, Roughscream was cursing at the new development saying how useless those Demon Rat Mages were as he was fighting against Se Lang. Despite the loss of his arm, The Demon Rat Club General had managed to stop the bleeding with the aid of his Demon Rat Soldiers keeping Se Lang busy. However, they were eventually killed by other Pandarens and Se Lang continued to press on, giving Roughscream just enough time to recover. But now that the barrier and teleportation crystal issue had been resolved, the Pandarens were hoping to regain whatever ground they could get and that included setting a base camp daringly within the enemies¡¯ ground. They knew that they were in the middle of the Undercity but the Pandarens were undeterred to get things done. The Royal Sheep Zodiac Captain Mian Ling had yet to use her base camp creation mainly because she was only given that as part of the funds that were bestowed to her for this raid instance. She did not possess any teleportation crystal and thus allowed the Royal Monkey Zodiacs to set up their base camp first. In hindsight, she was relieved that she withheld her base camp creation pack after having a gut feeling that the Royal Monkey Zodiac¡¯s base camp was in a vulnerable place. But right now, it was not a good decision at all since they were in the middle of the enemy¡¯s territory. The only difference was that Mian Ling¡¯s base camp creation pack, had been filled with a variety of defensive modules which cost a lot more than the Royal Monkey¡¯s base camp creation pack. Her Royal Sheep Zodiac Head knew that the Sheeps were non combatants and would require more protection if they were to set up a camp to allow Pandarens to heal, rest and restock so she had decided to put more money in the creation pack to ensure that her Sheep would have a relatively safe place to perform their healing techniques. ¡°But isn¡¯t the saying, that the most dangerous place is also the safest place?¡± Mian Ling tried to convince herself one last time as she placed the base camp creation pack right beside the pillar that Jin slammed through the barrier¡¯s opening before disappearing into thin air. ¡°Are you sure you wish to place the Base Camp at this location?¡± The Pandamonium App asked for confirmation twice as it was a very expensive item to be used and the Sheep Captain firmly pressed the option yes twice as she looked at the plain palm size cardboard box right in front of her. The cardboard box immediately started to shake and tremble as it started to float upwards right above Mian Ling¡¯s palm and things began to emerge from the box itself. Temporary Holographic designs of the base camp had been outlined throughout and around the pillar like a blueprint plan in real life. The Sheep Captain knew that that was the space needed to be free for the base camp creation pack to do its magic and thus commanded the Pandarens and her fellow Royal Zodiacs to push the Demon Rats away from such places. So as the Pandarens desperately tried to push the Demon Rats away, the blueprints began to materialise starting from the middle of the pillar as their starting point and this gave the Pandarens a certain direction to kill and eliminate any Demon Rats in the area. As more Pandarens slid down from the pillar, they were able to gain more ground despite their enemies¡¯ relentless charges to ensure that whatever plan they were doing did not work. But because the Pandarens too knew the importance of creating a base camp, they did their damndest to ensure that they could have a breathing space even if it was just a temporary one. However as things were about to proceed smoothly for the Pandarens, another few hotshot Demon Rats came into the picture hoping to thwart their plans. Demon Rat Elites and they were the very same who killed dozens of Pandarens mercilessly. ¡°Why create a sanctuary when we can provide you one?¡± The Demon Rat Elite leader said as he used the very same technique of boxing the Pandarens who were trying to create the base camp. Chapter 1356: Demon Rats Closing In Chapter 1356: Demon Rats Closing In ¡°We are not going to survive this.¡± Jia Le, the Bellflower Cultivator said as she panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. She and a few other Pandarens recognised the Demon Rat Elites from a glance and they knew how crazy strong they were. They were akin to fighting against Iron men on steroids and it took some coordination from the Pandawans to put down a few of them together at their tip top form. So, to fight against this many when they were this weary, it was counting death. Even if Xiong Da and the others were to join them now, they still could not guarantee that they would come out alive from this ordeal. Not to mention, these Demon Rat Elites felt different. It was as if the ones they had sent were not the true elites or perhaps the equipment they used was vastly different. It felt like the Demon Rats had decided not to underestimate the humans and go all out with whatever machinations they had. And that was not an exaggeration when they realised that the Pandarens were being bombarded by the Demon Rats in a consistent manner. Sniper shots, elemental bolts of magic and even artillery were used against the construction of this base camp. The Battle Alchemists were trying their best to put up a brand new defensive array formation since it was at least tens of metres away from the original one but the constant barrage had forced them to create temporary measures like layered ¡®pinpoint¡¯ magical barriers while a dedicated batch of battle alchemists continued setting up the defensive array formation. ¡°Five Point Wall Reflection Defensive Array Formation.¡± It was the simplest array and the most basic any formation array master would learn. It was meant to be set up in emergencies and formidable enough to not just stop attacks but also deflect any projectiles from the enemies. The array had been improved continuously throughout the years to include fast velocity objects like bullets but unlike other Defensive Array Formation, it could not ¡®proactively attack¡¯ the enemies. It was merely a roundabout barrier that provided some sort of protection for a certain amount of time. However, because it was the Royal Zodiac Battle alchemists that were creating it, they had years of experience and centuries of experience to finetune it, making it one of the easiest arrays to maintain. As long someone continued to insert chi into the array¡¯s core, the array would be up and running almost indefinitely. Yet, it was easier said than done since every second on the battlefield felt like an hour passing as the remaining battle alchemists were conserving their energy by calculating where the elemental bolts were falling on and they tried their best to create a small yet concentrated energy shield to block the attack. Unfortunately, they were still vulnerable to sniper fire in the chaos and a few battle alchemists had fallen despite attempts to block those sniper fire before they came too close for comfort, ¡°We have to break their kill box zone or we would be trapped.¡± Shi Zuo said as he recognised the very same tactic the Demon Rat Elites were using. But instead of only swords and shields, he noticed that there were barrels sticking from the shadows. ¡°Oh shi-¡± Shi Zuo hectically took out his giant size axe and used it as a shield while the Demon Rats sent a volley of fire while hiding behind the Demon Rat Elites. Tens of Pandarens who died did not expect that the Demon Rats were going into the fray shooting at the enemies with their comrades fighting. But even when their Demon Rat comrades were to fall, another wave of rats jumped out right behind the Demon Rat Elites and entered the fight. They did not care about killing their own race as long as they contributed to the death of the Pandarens. So what if these humans have the ability to return to the battlefield? The Demon Rats were going to use fear and constant pressure to make sure that you never come back. ¡°This is bullshit!¡± Deng Long said as he got a dead Demon Rat as a meat shield to absorb the attacks. ¡°Sorry Bu Dong my dear bro. I am going to use it first!¡± He said to himself as he knew that if nothing was done, all the help that was rendered to them, especially the pillar, would all be in vain again. From his pocket, he took out his phone and even though his face was filled with dirt and splatters of blood, his phone still managed to recognise him. He quickly swiped to where his Pandamonium App was and used voice commands to talk to the app. (Fun fact: If the Pandarens ever knew that the App Voice they were using was the same as Jin¡¯s System, and knew the truth, they might have pissed their pants.) ¡°Get me my suit! The one I bought with Bu Dong from the Night Market!¡¯ Deng Long said so casually and ordinary people who heard it might have thought that he was talking to someone real but it was merely just the app itself. Yet, the app understood what he was talking about despite his crudeness in his request. No other app or voice app would have understood what he meant and that was a complexity that Huawee Phone App Specialists were wrecking their brains like mad. They could never figure out how Jin and his team of app developers were able to create such a highly sentient artificial intelligence in an app. (But that is for another story to tell.) ¡°Understood, please stand by. Transmitting the designated suit in five seconds. Please stand clear of the assigned area.¡± Within an instant, the app acknowledged his request and transmitted the ¡®suit¡¯ that Deng Long had asked for while he kicked and smacked the Demon Rats that were charging at him. ¡°Just you wait, you filthy Rat Elites. Do you think that those hot suits that you are wearing would protect you for long? I am going to plummet you like never before!¡± Deng Long said as he used an advanced technique to clear the area so that his ¡®suit¡¯ could land safely. Chapter 1357: Gunndam Aegis Chapter 1357: Gunndam Aegis Supa Robo Wars. It was not something the general population was quite aware of and given its name, people would assume that it had to do with robots. However, because of the incident that Deng Long was about to create, the Supa Robo Wars would turn from a mere mini game in Dungeons and Pandas to something that will capture the hearts of many closet mecha fans, especially those who were in love with anime. As the ¡®suit¡¯ was summoned out from a portal, Pandarens around him assumed that it was something similar to an ironman suit that would be coming out from it. Some of them even anticipated and tried to watch out for the portal even at the risk of getting killed by the Demon Rats because they were distracted. However to their surprise, out came a flying mechanical unit that slammed towards a larger size demon rat. Like a pair of ¡®tentacle-like¡¯ crab pincers, the front of the flying mechanical unit snipped the Demon Rat into two pieces before flying upwards and descending down to Deng Long. ¡°Gunndam Aegis! Change human form!¡± Deng Long said as he was proud to see that his credits were well spent. The Pandarens who knew the series Gunndam Seedz knew that Gunndam Aegis was an ionic unit. Its bright purplish pink paint was a symbol as much as its strengths and abilities. But unlike the standard Supa Robo Wars where Deng Long would be piloting it in the cockpit itself. These Robo Suits were significantly different mainly because of the size. For one, Jin did not give the actual size of the Robos and the Pandarens believed that it was due to space and size constraints as well as the many advantages it could give if it was of the same size as a Super Robo if placed in such a dungeon/raid instance. So it was no wonder that he would do such a thing. But that did not mean its capabilities were reduced nor the need for piloting. Other Gunndams and Supa Robo Suits would require the pilot to wear the ¡®robo¡¯ as an iron man suit but because of Gunndam Aegis¡¯ unique feature of turning into a mobile armour aka a flying mechanical unit, Deng Long would not be able to fit into it because of its size and thus had to pilot it remotely. He could however wear the suit and eject when it turned into a mobile armour but that would require some skill and training. Right now, all he could do was control the Gunndam remotely as he fought off against the Demon Rat elites. Yet, most Pandarens did not know that Deng Long was considered to be one of the better pilots within the Supa Robo Wars and he was able to multitask rather efficiently (mainly because Bu Dong forced him to go into the supporter role more than often during their fights in the mini game.) and thus with just a holographic controller right in front of him, the Wombat Cultivator was able to control his Gunndam while simultaneously fighting off the Demon Rats that were coming to his way. There is however a silver lining to that remote controlling system. Jin did not know that when he was designing it but the intention was to let the user have some form of basic defence up when they were piloting it remotely since they would be too vulnerable. Hence it was designed to be mobile, moving wherever the pilot would go. Even as Deng Long would travel a hundred metres away from the place he summoned Gunndam Aegis, there would still be a decent connection so long he was within the same raid instance and within a kilometre radius. (Of course, Jin would adjust the radius based on the scale of the dungeon instance but for now, he merely placed an arbitrary number.) Not to mention, there was a barrier against projectiles as well, but mainly small arms only. The pilot would still be vulnerable to Elemental magic attacks or massive AOE like artillery strikes. But that did not deter Deng Long from not using it as he already knew the risk when he was remote piloting the Gunndam Aegis. With a Supa Robo Suit in his hands, he skillfully eradicated three Demon Rats Elites while he disrupted their formation. The Demon Rat Mages and Archers that were nearby tried to shoot it down when it was in its mobile armour form while the Demon Rat Elites attempted to pin it down when it turned into its human form but all of these attempts were fairly futile in the hands of Deng Long. Even the Pandarens who were at the sidelines fighting the Demon Rats were in awe at his skill manoeuvring of the Gunndam Aegis. They all initially assumed that it was automated but only later when they saw Deng Long desperately trying to control it while fending the Demon Rats away that prompted them to believe that he could be their trump card to get out of this desperate situation. ¡°Protect the Pandawan!¡± One of the Pandarens shouted and a few of them had already blitzed their way towards Deng Long who somehow became the main character of the hour as he continuously disrupted the Demon Rat Elites. His fellow Pandawans like Jia Le, Yue Han and Shi Zuo on the other hand went to different sites of the Pillar to make sure that they did not get too overwhelmed from either side. What they all know is that if they were able to continue fending off the Demon Rat Elites, they have a chance to not only build the Pillar Base Camp completely but give them a temporary sanctuary from all the chaos they had. All they needed was to hold on a while longer. How long more was the frequent question within the Pandarens¡¯ mind but a reassuring announcement from Sheep Captain Mian Ling said that all they needed was another five minutes for all the materials to emerge onto the designated locations and told everyone to hold on. As if the Demon Rats would allow that. Chapter 1358: That Gyrocopter Sniper Chapter 1358: That Gyrocopter Sniper ¡°You Humans¡­ You humans!!!¡± Gnawbones grumbled to himself as he came to the scene where the Pandarens were fighting at the Pillar. With a gyrocopter as well as a huge rifle in his right hand, he took aim at the purplish pink robot that had been messing around with the Demon Rat Elites¡¯ formation. ¡°All because of you! I had to be in this stinky shithole! All because of you, I had to deal with piss poor idiots that only knew how to go left or right whenever they were told!¡± He thought to himself as he fired a shot. Deng Long thought that his Gunndam Aegis would have quite a decent armour defending against stray bullets and shots but when Gnawbone attacked it, a piece of the Aegis¡¯ armour flew off, causing it to be vulnerable if it were being hit again. Thankfully, everything seem to be working fine and dandy but Deng Long assumed that the shot came from the gyrocopter as it was pretty obvious how that particular Demon Rat was flailing his rifle around, trying to aim for his Gunndam. ¡°If you want him! I will give it to you!¡± Deng Long was confident that he would be able to take down the weak looking gyrocopter that did not have anything else other than the pilot and the Demon Rat Sniper who was aiming at it. Little did he know that the one who shot his Robo was a general that had been insulted to fight at the frontlines and that means that frail rat was particularly looking for revenge. ¡°Heh! Humans. You think they are sophisticated but in fact, they all are driven by primal desires like us. You hurt me, I hurt you.¡± Gnawbones the Demon Rat Air Force General said as he pointed the rifle right towards the Gunndam Aegis who was currently in its Mobile Armour form, charging in front of him. ¡°This is clearly the bait, you dumbass.¡± Gnawbones already knew who was controlling the flying Robo and within an instant, switched his rifle¡¯s angle to aim at Deng Long instead, firing at him when he was occupied with the incoming satisfaction of defeating the enemy that made his Gunndam Aegis to be vulnerable and its parts exposed for attacks. Deng Long managed to see the projectile fire and he roughly knew that the Demon Rat Sniper would be targeting him and so he had already prepared to move away when needed but what he did not realise was that there was a Demon Rat Elite who was cloaked and ambushed him from the back. It was all a ploy to bring down the rising star of the humans especially when he stood out that much on the battlefield with his new toy. The startle caused him to drop his guard and get hit by Gnawbone¡¯s bullet. He did not expect that the bullet had been coated with magic as well as an experimental technology to increase the penetration force against barriers. Suffice it to say Gnawbones took a huge risk as the Mobile Armour continued to its course without any diversion and all the gyrocopter pilot could do was to manoeuvre away from its path as much as possible the moment Gnawbone took the shot. However, it was not as easy as it sounds and eventually, the gyrocopter did take a direct hit from the Gunndam Aegis¡¯s flight. The tail of the gyrocopter was destroyed and the pilot had to make do with an emergency landing. General Gnawbones on the other hand was satisfied with his performance and already jumped out of the gyrocopter. This was mainly because he himself had a jumpsuit that acted as a flight floatation device courtesy to Weslie who was previously enslaved to create all sorts of weird devices for the Demon Rats just to ensure that she would be kept alive. (Even though the Scholars of the North and South had made promises to ensure her safety but look what the Rats had done to them. lol.) As for Deng Long, because he was off guard by the attack, the Womble cultivator instantly lost control of Gunndam Aegis and it fell to the ground after its last command. The Pandarens who were initially protecting him attempted to fend off the Demon Rat Elite but it was way too strong for the Pandarens. They were killed by him in just a few strokes and it was rather imminent that Deng Long would be receiving the deathblow until tentacle roots started to emerge from the ground and create a barrier around the injured Pandawan. ¡°Thank you.¡± Deng Long said as he breathed out a sigh of relief. He knew that those tentacle roots were from Jia Le, the Bellflower Cultivator. ¡°Use this time to recover as much as possible. I am not sure whether I can help you against the Demon Rat Elite when I am preoccupied in my area as well. The Demon Rats are in high morale after seeing you being taken down in action.¡± Jia Le said which made Deng Long snicker a little. ¡°This is the first time that I felt important¡­Heh.¡± He said to himself as he reached out in his storage ring to get one of the higher quality health potions. The very same health potion from Yu Xiang, who helped Jin to create similar health potions after researching the black market ones and duplicating them. They were always out of stock despite Jin¡¯s rule to only be able to purchase at most five per customer account at any time and also they were untradable among the Pandarens. (Yes, the System had to devote a bit of resource to ensure that there were scalpers attempting to sell the potions away because Yu Xiang¡¯s potions were that brilliant. Jin even gave a promotional raise to Yu Xiang to ensure that she continued to stay loyal to him even though she had already signed the contract enslaving her to the System.) The potion worked wonders but the injury was severe enough that he could have died on the spot in seconds so he still needed some time to recuperate. In the meantime, while he was recovering he tried to relocate Gunndam Aegis but it does not seem to be connecting back. ¡°Shit. Has it been destroyed this quickly?¡± Deng Long said to himself but without visual confirmation and the need to stay hidden for a period of time, he could only pray for the best. However, the overarching ¡®general¡¯ for the Pandawans already had eyes on the situation. ¡°They are really really greedy,¡± Jin said as he saw the Gunndam Aegis being dragged away by the Demon Rats. ¡°Permission to detonate?¡± The System queried but Jin shook his head. ¡°Set internal detonation to an hour. Put backup timers just in case as well. I want to see where they are bringing it to or what they could do to it. I will not be surprised that they have scientists and engineers that are as brilliant as ours.¡± Jin said and he told the System to keep the visual cameras on. But to his surprise, they did not bring it that far. Instead, the Demon Rats brought it to the Demon Rat who had managed to put down its controller. Gnawbones. Chapter 1359: Extra: Some Bad News Chapter 1359: Extra: Some Bad News ¡°Is this really a wise choice?¡± The System asked as it had already brought up a couple of scenarios that involved the Air Force General of the Demon Rats wreaking havoc with the Gunndam Aegis. ¡°I like to see what kind of powers they have,¡± Jin said and the System felt that it was a bad choice. ¡°It is always best to eliminate the enemy before they are able to show their talents.¡± The System stated and Jin did not deny that philosophy. ¡°No. I am actually more interested in how the Demon Rats are going to take control of it without you interfering with it. Besides, we already set the internal timer, right? If there is anything we cannot take control of after the situation.¡± Jin explained. ¡°But why go so far to do that?¡± The System queried wanting to know Jin¡¯s reasoning especially when it felt edgy that the Demon Rats have the ability to control the fallen Gunndam Aegis. ¡°Well, don¡¯t you want to know how they do it? And subsequently, improve on the model?¡± Jin asked as he was looking into the future if they ever needed to interfere and fight against the United Federation, the Xeon Union or the worst case scenario of fighting both of them together. ¡°The Mecha World does not have magic. All they have are generations of technology.¡± The System rebutted and Jin replied the very same thing to it. ¡°Isn¡¯t technology to people who have not experienced it a sort of magic too? The Mecha World would assume that what we did was something that used highly advanced technology which had not seen the daylight of that universe. Once they start trying to mimic us, they could very well duplicate magic for all we know. Isn¡¯t¡¯ that the danger of interfering with the other worlds like how we did to this?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The System asked but it was merely buying time to compute various things in the background. ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb. You know what I mean. Do you think I did not notice that every time we interfere with the worlds, we are inevitably changing their reality? From the Goblin World to the Giant World. We might have saved people but also made enemies as well. And each time we interfere with their world, their enemies seem to ¡®level up¡¯ a lot more than usual.¡± Jin said. ¡°Take the Demon Rats for example. I doubt they did not bother expanding their borders so quickly. If they had conquered the entire Northern Region, it might take them another few years before moving towards the East and West. But because we had interfered, they had moved their timeline so drastically that the cracks are showing. -Both good and bad.¡± Jin took a while to say the last sentence. He knew that because of the Demon Rats¡¯ rapid expansions, they finally had the cooperation with the Spirits of the Land which allowed Jin and the System to learn how bad the problem was. ¡°And let the humans in this world suffer like how past humans suffered under the Banned Emperor?¡± The System asked and Jin scoffed. ¡°Stop acting so self righteous. Both you and I know what we truly want from this war. It¡¯s not to just save people but the Farming World¡¯s ability. To grow almost everything and anything given the right circumstance and planting methods. If the Demon Rats would continue conquering the entire place, the Farming World may very well lose such an ability to create things out of almost nothing once given enough time. And that is because they are eating and living on the lifestream energy with their inventions.¡± Jin said as he monitored how Gnawbones used both magic and mechanical methods to hijack the Gunndam Aegis. It was taking some time but it seemed like their hijacking method works. ¡°So you are willing to let them destroy such a valuable asset that could assist you because you do not wish to interfere?¡± The System questioned once again. ¡°No, I will fight to get this ability no matter what. I know how vital this is but I am starting to think how the consequences of our actions have yet to bite us back. You already said that there are gods and demons but those ¡®Gods¡¯ have not given us any warning at all.¡± ¡°Because they find all of these very entertaining.¡± A feminine voice suddenly interjected into the conversation and Jin could recognise that it was Syldra. ¡°I did not¡­expect you to suddenly talk through my head,¡± Jin said as he knew the difference between a telepathy talk and a System channel opening through his head. ¡°All I needed was just a connection with you the moment you had linked with Ayse. But because you are not my chosen, my conversation with you will be brief to avoid any suspicions.¡± The Lightning Shaitan said. ¡°We Shaitans were once part of the gods before being banished into the ¡®goblin¡¯ world which you had dubbed. Make no mistake, they are clearly watching you fail and rise and they would do things that provide them with the most entertainment. Your fight with Baal would no doubt raise some eyebrows among the High Gods and they are keeping an eye on you even though they should not be involved at all.¡± Slydra said that it is not normal for the heavens¡¯ eyes to be looking at Jin since there were also people who could travel through multiverses. ¡°My only theory which I could form from all this is because of the System. It is nonetheless a product of the heavens if what I learn from Ayse is correct. Whether the Gods would be your foe or friend, it remains to be seen. But trust me, they are always itching for a fight. That is all I can say for now. Goodbye.¡± Slydra said and Jin¡¯s head suddenly hurt a little. Upon taking in this new information, Jin stared at the screens for a moment. He knew that the System had heard everything and was processing the information. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Jin sighed to himself as if he unknowingly got into another heap of shit. If the Gods were watching his every move like some TV show, then he and the System had to take some time to prepare for their inevitable clash. However, for now, he had to concentrate on the situation at hand. Chapter 1360: Trying To Create The New Base Camp Chapter 1360: Trying To Create The New Base Camp ¡°Hahahahah!¡± Gnawbones said as he finally felt that the trip here was not a waste. ¡°What did I tell you guys?! Humans are just a piece of trash when faced against us!¡± The Air Force General said as he used his gloves imbued with magic to move the immobile Gunndam Aegis. ¡°User, the System detected intrusion into Gunndam Aegis mainframe system. Are you sure that you wish to let the Demon Rats use our weapons against our own?¡± The System said as a reminder since the Shaitan Slydra had dropped a bomb of information onto Jin at the worst time of all. Whether it was true or not was a question to be answered in the future but the fact that he had to watch his every single movement since the gods were always watching him might be a problem. ¡°Hmm? Do you think I am worried? You had been watching me for months. What¡¯re another few lurkers?¡± Jin said out loud without any care, eradicating all the secrecy that the Shaitan had painstakingly taken to make sure Jin might use this to his advantage. But it seems like the Dungeon Supplier is going to throw that caution out to the winds with his current actions. ¡°And if they are really watching us, at least provide us some compensation god damn it,¡± Jin argued and if the System was once human, they would laugh bitterly at Jin¡¯s comment. Always wanting to take advantage of the situation he was in. He was no doubt a businessman (be it a bad or good one) through and through. ¡°In any case, I will stay my stand. Let him have his fun. Do a thorough search for how he had managed to hijack it. Besides, we can¡¯t always be helping the Pandarens with their battles, right? Or else, how are we going to have our money¡¯s worth.¡± Jin said as he knew that there was still the internal self destruction timer counting down so there was no worthy that the Gunndam Aegis would be in the possession of the Demon Rats for long. In addition, with the pillar that connects the outer surface to Undercity, reinforcements had begun to flood in now that the Third Layer of the Inner Wall had been more or less secure. Roughscream had also once again used his Demon Rats lackeys to protect him as he ran away from the Pandawans further into the Northern Capital, allowing the Inner Wall to be secure if the Pandarens had sufficient time to lay the foundation. Xiong Da and the other Pandawans were already assisting with sweeping the Demon Rats away that were defending the Inner Wall but Luo Bo had reported that there were still more soldiers coming from the deserted Inner Town and to raid the Third Layer. It was as if the very same thing was happening all over again when they first started the raid instance, holding on to the outer wall and fighting in the Outer Town area but on a larger scale. But one thing was for sure. Even though the Demon Rats seemed like they were losing quite a few troops (statistically in the hundreds, but they had thousands in their midst), they had successfully diverted Pandarens¡¯ attention into two places. In just one day, they knew roughly how many humans were attacking them and using such a tactic to divide their forces even further. One of such humans might be able to take down five to ten rats alone but when combined strength, they could take out exponentially. So, by diverting their attention, the Demon Rats could reduce the number of casualties they could experience while continuously applying pressure on the Pandarens. This no doubt put a lot of stress on the cultivators who wanted a casual enough raid but they realised that it was not possible as they thought how realistic the entire raid instance. They could have withdrawn and yet they knew of the prizes that had been locked behind this particular raid instance and when most of the new casuals found out that they could increase their cultivation grade, it felt like it was a pretty good motivator to continue to stay in this ¡®game¡¯. And as Gnawbones took control of the Gunndam Aegis, the Pandarens knew they had to embrace for the worse. For once, that few more minutes that Sheep Captain Mian Ling had announced felt like it was the longest minutes they had ever experienced. Foundations of the walls were being created but it was not the full structure, allowing the Demon Rats who took the opportunity to strike on the weary Pandarens to be more successful. But everyone knows that ¡®few¡¯ minutes will pass and they will prevail. Right now, all they had to do was to make sure that the Pandarens survive, especially Sheep Captain Mian Ling who was dealing with that god awful typing game which Xiong Da had to do too. But unlike Xiong Da, there was a completion bar on the console (since it was considered to be the more premium package specially catered for the Royal Zodiacs, there were also such ¡®premium features¡¯ attached to it. All hail to the power of money.) Thus, there was indeed a time estimated for completion of the camp creation but it was just that the typing got more tedious, especially with all the interference. Unlike Xiong Da who could even withstand a few attacks if hit directly, Sheep Captain Mian Ling was not much of a combatant even though her fighting skills were above average within her team. But If one were to compare her with the other combat oriented Royal Zodiac Team Captains, she probably ranked one of the lowest. Not to mention, almost every single Demon Rat alive was trying to kill her as they had already recognised the pattern of those humans who tried to create a base camp. So, she had always been interrupted by them and there were always delays even though a few Pandarens, especially those with sheep cultivation, tried to protect her from the threats. (In order to gain some favour as well.) However, the new toy which General Gnawbones had obtained was beyond their expectations and they would be in a rough spot. Chapter 1361: Losing Against Gunndam Aegis Chapter 1361: Losing Against Gunndam Aegis ¡°Now! FEEL MY WRATH!!!¡± Gnawbones said as he used his magic to mimic the controls of the Gunndam Aegis. It managed to turn into the mobile armour and humanoid form seamlessly after a few attempts and the Air Force General had begun to send his new toy to destroy Pandarens just as Deng Long had done it when he was controlling it. Thankfully, Jia Le was able to intercept it because she was preparing it ever since the moment Deng Long told her that he might have lost control of it. To be honest, she had never expected a contraption of Jin¡¯s could be so easily controlled by the enemy but there was no use crying over spilt milk so she had already started to prepare her kunais with the much needed chi to block the attacks. Walls of Bellflowers emerged from the ground stopping Gunndam Aegis¡¯ energy beams however, they were instantly destroyed, rendering them to be a one time barrier against the attacks. She had roughly expected that as she had already seen the machine in action against the Demon Rat Elites so the Breathtaking Bellflower Cultivator knew she only had a few tries blocking it especially when it took quite a lot from her to create those walls. (She might be able to create more but the long stretched battle had caused her to already be fatigued.) On the other hand, Shi Zuo leapt to action when the robot flew towards his ¡®battle zone¡¯. He managed to break a few armour plates but it was nothing the Gunndam Aegis could not handle. And after getting hit, the Mobile Armour had sent its beams flying towards the centre of the pillar hoping to destroy their chance of a proper fight. Suffice it to say, Sheep Captain Mian Ling had to stop her typing process because it was way too close for comfort when the beam skidded a few centimetres away from her. She took a deep breath in to recover from the shock as well as the intense heat that was emanated from the beam blast. ¡°Oh my god¡­ Now I understand why the Sheep Head wanted me to gain experience¡­¡± Mian Ling said to herself as she continued typing while not realising that the beam could have already killed her if not for Shi Zuo disrupting the mobile armour. Some of the Pandarens wanted to attempt to find the controller who was operating Gunndam Aegis but with the pressure made by the former, the Demon Rat Elites had long recovered their formation and continued to strike fear into the Pandarens with every step forward, surrounding them ever tighter. On the other hand, Deng Long managed to recover from the major injury and was able to at least stand with the help of his weapon. ¡°Assholes. Not only did you injure me but you Demon Rats dared to steal my robot away??!¡± Deng Long shouted as he expelled a large amount of chi aura to vent his anger. The Demon Rat Elites were not taken aback by it but it did have some effect on the other Demon Rats who were hiding behind the Elites. Even though it was momentary, the split second respite felt by the Pandarens was a welcoming breather for them to collect their thoughts. Gnawbones was giggling at the back of the lines seeing how the original user of the robot was raging mad. ¡°If you want me to return it to you, come and get it yourself,¡± Gnawbones said but he did not realise that the magic he used to control Gunndam Aegis had caused it to repeat the very same words as if it was some microphone. ¡°Very well then. I shall do that!¡± Deng Long said as he gathered his chi within his legs so that he could jump as high as he could to hit Gunndam Aegis. Gnawbones laughed when he saw the human do such a foolish action. Initially, he thought that the owner of the Gunndam Aegis could possibly call out a new robot out and had a fight with the one he was controlling. But he had disappointed Gnawbones so much that the Air Force General decided to both infuriate and shame him by pulling Gunndam Aegis away from the ground even further, rendering Deng Long¡¯s jump useless. However, Gnawbones had no idea that the other humans were assisting him in his mad endeavour. Jia Le threw a kunai close to him and a stalk of bellflower grew right beneath his feet, allowing him to not only rebound but assisted him to go closer to the Gunndam. No doubt, Aegis had retaliated by shooting at the Bellflower but Deng Long stood his ground (on the bellflower) and blocked each and every shot away. He did not care about the repercussions caused by him deflecting the attacks since some of those bullets strayed and hit both allies and enemies. All he cared about was either getting back Gunndam Aegis or destroying it to prevent Gnawbones from using it. ¡°Enough of this charade!¡± Gnawbones got irritated that the human got even more gutsy and cocky that he decided to change into the mobile armour form. ¡°Now!¡± Deng Long thought to himself as he materialised not one but two heavy duty anti tank sniper rifles and shot it towards his Gunndam Aegis. There was not much time to aim but given that he had enough experience from both his police training and dungeon fighting, he decided to gamble. The moment the anti tank snipers landed on his arms, he pressed the triggers and the shots fired even as the Bellflower continued to grow. It was an impromptu plan Jia Le and him created and they did not have much confidence it would work but Deng Long was banging on the fact that he had a 100% level of understanding of how Gunndam Aegis worked. The super robo nerd understood the strengths and weaknesses of his robots to the point it was imprinted in his brain. He knew for a fact that it was the weakest when it was transforming into the mobile armour and he was betting that the anti tank rifle could hit the discharge area of the beam or maybe if he was lucky enough, the engine or the processing chip. But if the Wombat Cultivator was not, perhaps he could say goodbye to his life. Chapter 1362: Day Two Overview Chapter 1362: Day Two Overview As the second day of PandaVerse Festival came to an end, the Pandarens finally knew this rate was not as easy as its predecessors. All the other activities were still ongoing but the Pandarens who participated in the raid were knocked off their feet. Many took the opportunity to get out of the raid instance to enjoy the simple joys in life as well as the many service instances that the Dungeon Supplier store had to offer. Food was without a doubt the main attraction for most of them as everyone was famished when they logged off from the raids whether voluntarily or through death. But one thing was for sure, they all knew the battles were going to be even harder than ever. Even though there were already Demon Rat Elites fighting at the front gates of the base camp, they had a feeling that this was not the end. However, many were relieved that the stolen Gunndam Aegis was ultimately destroyed after the base camp went up. General Gnawbones initially tried to withdraw the Supa Robo away from the battlefield but it exploded as it was returning back to him. The internal timer which the System had placed had finally activated, causing the controlled robot a reactor engine meltdown. It did help to destroy a portion of the rats that were gathering close to the Pillar Base Camp, allowing Deng Long to earn some ¡®extra¡¯ points even though he was out of the raid. (It was not substantial but extra raid points were better than nothing.) Now with this kind of raid difficulty, the Pandarens finally realised the need to be well prepared. The redemption store that was on any Main Store Island was always packed with cultivators when the Pandarens came out of the raid instance. They previously thought that those temporary inscriptions, potions, quick repair hammers and even quick food rations were nonsensical to be placed in a point redemption store. But now they understood the implication of those items in the store especially now that they were filled with raid points under their belt. A majority knew that consumables would be a costly but essential component of the fight they had to partake in to ensure that they survive the raid as long as possible while accumulating raid points. However, a lot of them were new to Jin¡¯s dungeons and cheapskates, thinking that the dungeon supplier was merely going to rip them off their raid points and ultimately money by putting those consumables in the redemption store. However, after checking the raid themselves, they finally knew that the raid points to consumable exchange were a necessary ¡®evil¡¯ created by Jin since those potions would cost real life money outside the redemption store. Many believed that Jin purposely used those consumables in the redemption store as a raid point sink so that people would not be able to abuse the redemption store rewards. He also made sure that only a certain amount of consumables could be purchased to limit the players¡¯ greed. (And also made sure that those items were bound to the customers themselves.) And to make it more unreasonable, the Dungeon Supplier purposely used poorer quality or lower grade potions as the majority of redeemable consumable rewards. This was not to upset the money making opportunity his store was getting while ensuring that the cultivators had enough ¡®compensation¡¯ for their raid points. Not only that, Jin had decided to add a few items that were in the Hidden Gem Night Market as part of the mystery redemption draw. This was to spice things up in the raid as well as give the cultivators another segment of random reward generation. Nonetheless, it was rigged to the System¡¯s favour as part of the plan to deplete the customers¡¯ raid points. (though it also made sure that good prizes were given out once in a while and announced it to the public so that it seemed as if they were getting a good deal out of it.) Yet, even with the aid of the redemption store and the recovery of territory by the Pandarens who managed to get back after the major setback, the cultivators no doubt felt a bit of dread, especially seeing how the battlefield had been split into two portions. One at the Pillar Base Camp while the other was a teleportation crystal at the Third Layer of the Inner Wall. There was no base camp at the Third Layer Inner Wall and the Alligator Spartans were the only ones protecting it now that even Xiong Da had returned to the store island to rest. And because of his accomplishment along with the ¡®debt¡¯ he had from Jin, the Pandawans were given special treatment when they were either out of the Recovery Instance or logging from the raid instance. Jin had sent a notification to their phones stating that a combined high executive suite was provided to them in one of his hotel chains. Most of them were delighted that they did not have to return to Xiong Da¡¯s apartment even though it was just a fifteen minute walk away from Jin¡¯s Tree Mall. Even though his apartment was more than spacious for all of them, why would they reject a luxurious suite that was situated right in the store? To be honest, Xiong Da even considered negotiating with Jin about whether he could buy an apartment or have a hotel room permanently under his name. However, that Boss was always preoccupied with him and could not stay for much idle chit chat. However, that seemed to change when everyone had finally settled down at the main hall of the high executive suite talking about any possible strategies that they could use to push forward. When Jin was the one at their door after it rang, the Pandawans were happy to see him, although it did feel like he was not here just to pay them a visit. ¡°Still, having a face to face with the developer of the raid instance would prove to be a boon that many would not have.¡± Xiong Da said as he welcomed Boss Jin into the room, hoping he and the other Pandawans could have a glimpse of the next stage of the battle. Chapter 1363: Pandawans Rest Chapter 1363: Pandawan¡¯s Rest ¡°Boss!¡± The rest of the Pandawans who were willing to stay in the high executive suite called out to Jin as a form of greeting. ¡°Long time no see,¡± Jin said as he brought a bit of snack and goodies including a bottle of wine for the group to partake in as he was being led into the main hall where the rest were. Jia Le went to call out Deng Long and Bu Dong who were discussing the Supa Robos in their room and the other two greeted Jin when they saw him. ¡°What brings you here?¡± Bu Dong asked as he knew that the fight between the Demon Rats should still be ongoing with Pandarens who were currently off work participating in it. As the Pandawans and the majority of the Pandarens had taken the time to relax, the humans had ceased their attacks and protected their assets until the next wave. As there were no guarantees that their assets would remain till the next day, the Pandarens who had invested a lot in this current raid had put up an alert notice in their Pandamonium App, asking it to notify them in case the Demon Rats attacks were getting stronger. It was something similar to a standby mode where they would come in to assist if the Base Camp and the teleportation crystal is in danger. Right now, all they needed was some R&R leisure before the Pandamonium App called for them to get into the fray once more because no matter what, quality food and rest is the basic desire of all humans. ¡°Just checking up on you guys and see how are you faring with the current raids,¡± Jin said as he grab a chair from the dining table and place it near the hall where there was a long cushion sofa and coffee table. He sat comfortably at the side and listened to his Pandawans complained. ¡°You just raise the difficulty bar again. Can¡¯t you just give me something easier? At this rate, you will be scaring all the new Pandarens that want to try out your raid instance.¡± Deng Long said as he was still sulky that his Supa Robo had been stolen by the enemy so quickly. ¡°Heh, I did tell you guys that this would not be an easy fight, much less that you all will be able to clear it within a day,¡± Jin replied as he laid back and squashed that complaint. ¡°The numbers are crazy though and that big earthquake is something that we did not expect.¡± Jia Le commented while the rest were shaking their heads as they recalled the experience. ¡°Honestly, that was a little out of the planned consequences but it seems the simulated AI had decided that you guys are progressing too fast even though the help I gave you guys was already at the minimum,¡± Jin replied as he opened one of the snacks and told the rest to partake in the food. ¡°So, you mean that we could have gone and attacked as per usual with no earthquake scenario?¡± Bin Yong asked and Jin nodded his head although he knew it was a lie since he was not in control of the Demon Rats. The break in the ground wa s something he originally wanted to do in the first place, as he knew that fighting the surface was practically a waste of time. However, if he were to factor in the possible money making opportunities in providing sea and air options to the Pandarens and more importantly the Royal Zodiacs, he could be rolling in money which he ultimately did. The first day of profit was unexpected with the Royal Snake Head Se Chang Chang investing so much in his raid instance when all those items he had bought were inflated greatly by the System. Although he did wonder why would Se Chang Chang and the other Royal Zodiac Heads even invest in it so willingly even though they should know that it is just a temporary fixture in a raid ¡®instance¡¯. If he was the head of a clan, he would not readily spend this much money even if it is by a recommendation from his General. ¡°Perhaps, it is his way to fund me indirectly? But if that¡¯s the case, why were the Monkey and Sheep Clan willing to splurge too?¡± Jin thought to himself but he could never figure out why. ¡°Needless to say, it would be an uphill battle from today onwards and that depends on whether the Demon Rats had decided that you are a threat to them or not. But it seems like they will continue to press the offensive to take you out as soon as possible.¡± Jin added and the rest sighed. Even if they know a little bit of strategy and tactics, how could they possibly flaunt it right in front of the person who created the raid instance? ¡°So you are warning us that an attack would be imminent tonight?¡± Bu Dong asked and Jin shrugged his shoulders. ¡°I could only say that that would be a possibility given how they had decided to destroy their land so that they could inflict the maximum amount of damage towards you guys and the rest of the Pandarens with the earthquake attack. But if they know that the number of Pandarens had decreased with the creation of the Pillar Base Camp, they would not hesitate to crush you guys once they prove their theory is right.¡± Jin said as the others seemed to understand where he was coming from. Even though it was just day 2 of the raid instance, the Demon Rats were working and thinking like humans as well. If they had noticed a pattern in the Pandarens¡¯ attacks, they knew that it would be disastrous once the Demon Rats launch a retaliation to destroy the Base Camp and teleportation crystal. ¡°Haha, Boss. Are you sure that this isn¡¯t a ploy for me to spend money so that we can protect the teleportation crystal at the third layer inner wall?¡± Xiong Da asked and Jin laughed. ¡°I am not stupid. I can see why you did not bother adding extra stuff to protect the teleportation crystal since you believe that it could be destroyed within a day or two if the Demon Rats wished to do so.¡± Jin answered and Xiong Da merely returned with a smirk. ¡°But I am not here to promote you to buy any items. Instead, I a m here to ask you guys to let me help you all. If you wish.¡± Jin said with a big smile that everyone knows that he had something up his sleeves. But without a doubt, everyone was excited to hear him. Because whenever he wish to request something from the Pandawans, it would always be filled with excitement and the possible allure of additional rewards as well. However, knowing Jin he would always make them do something crazy mainly due to the fact that the Pandawans comprehended that they were like human subjects in an unethical experiment for some digital money. Still, they knew that rejecting him outright was something that would be considered stupid so they all kept quiet and ready to listen without complaints. Chapter 1364 Chapter 1364: Jin''s Request to the Pandawans "What do you mean by doing you a favour?" Yue Han asked as he was munching on the snacks that Jin brought. "Also, where did you get these chips?" He asked as he looked at the transparent packaging, meaning it was not any major brand but probably home made or by local stores. "Ah, those are just some chips made by our fellow penguins. They were testing out a new batch of products and asked me to try it." Jin responded before also answering to the expected questions from the Pandawans. "Don''t you think that the raid had been made to be far too difficult? I mean sure, the Pandawans and even now the Royal Zodiacs had participated. But something is missing, right?" Jin asked and everyone knew the answer being long term fans of the store. "The monsters." The Pandawans said together as they acknowledged the fact that they were having fun raiding previously because of the aid of Jin''s monsters helping. They might be powerless at times but the monsters will always come to aid them whenever things get too tough. Even for the past two days, the Pandawans were hoping that the monsters would appear like a miracle and yet not a single one had emerged to help them at all. They were all by themselves fighting against the Demon Rats. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Unknownst to the Pandawans and the rest of the cultivators, the Demon Rat Generals actually thought the same as well. They had seen monsters and humans going hand in hand fighting in the Eastern and Western tunnels but there was none in the capital. Therefore, it made the Axe General a little more than annoyed. He was holding back the bulk of the Demon Rat soldiers, his advanced weaponry and even the fighter planes which Gnawbones wished to command so desperately. He was waiting for the monsters to appear in the main capital but they didn''t. Many thought that the monsters had broken with the humans but that theory did not hold much water considering they were doing that in the other regions. That was why Cinderclaw was puzzled as to why the monsters were not appearing yet. Mainly because Jin was technically still planning for it. He had sent one of his trusty associates, Hou Fei to scout the insides of the Undercity. While Peppers had already done a primary scan along with the aid of the Spirits of the Land, what they do not have was the actual numbers and situation that was brewing within the Undercity. In the meantime, Hou Fei was also planting bombs along the way so that he could wreck some damage that would hinder the Demon Rats if need to. Else, he kept moving forward to the Undercity''s largest building, the Black Tower as the humans dubbed it for being so ominous. If Jin and the rest of the Pandarens wished to win, they need to have additional information about the Demon Rats. Right now they have almost nothing on them and Jin had been using the Pandarens as bait, hoping to see some of the elites that the Demon Rats were hiding. Else, the cultivators were good fodder killing machines. By now, the Demon Rats would have known that the humans would be useless to defeat because they will keep coming back but the variety of monsters they had encountered was too many so they could not know whether they had the same features as the humans. The Demon Rats could only assume that some of the monsters have ressurective abilities as well compared to the truth where all of them do once they were under the System''s command. "Are you implying that you will lend us monsters?" Yue Han replied and Jin chuckled a little while shaking his head. Initially, he did plan for the Pandawans to have their own team of NPCs and monsters under their care but as he learned more about his own minions, he decided to not give such a privilege to the cultivators. In fact, the monsters should be the ones leading the cultivators but Jin knew that the monsters had to prove themselves as formidable before any humans would want to follow them. He knew that a few of such monsters already had such a level of respect and influence in the community, especially the goblin trio. "Hah, please. If anything, we should be following the monsters." Bu Dong had decided to try the chips since Yue Han was munching them in handfuls. That sentence alone was enough to change the flow of the conversation greatly to Jin''s favour. "You know how we used to have those Wide Active Response Events (WARE) in the Demopolis rates?" Jin said and the Pandawans who had participated in it knew of its existence as it was those events where they could earn quite a fair bit of extra gold and points. "I am planning to see them as a comeback for the third day onwards. That way, you guys do not feel too aimless as well and I can finally bring my monsters'' AI in." "Well, what does that have to do with us and your favour? If you want us to join the WARE, we would join in automatically without your request at all. It was a good way to get some pretty good raid points." Xiong Da said and Jin shook his head. "Don''t tell me you want us to be your WARE initiators?" Shi Zuo who was at the far end of the group''s conversation spoke up. He believed this was in line with Jin''s possible request since more of the WAREs were created by the instance''s AI and Jin laughed as if he was right on the money. "Yes, Shi Zuo, you got it absolutely right. I want to be you Pandawans to be my WARE initiators. If you had not noticed, the Pandarens are lacking leaders. The Royal Zodiac Soldiers might be organised and Pandarens do follow them from time to time, but in an overarching picture, everyone is doing what they want. I want you guys to take the lead since you all have a higher status compared to the rest of them. And as a reward for completing WARE, you guys can not only get Coins and Raid points, my monster AIs can come in to help. Take it as a condition to make the raid instance a little easier," Jin said and Shi Zuo began to feel there was a hidden agenda in all of this. And this time around, Jin ignored Shi Zuo''s glare and ignored the hunch he might have by continuing to insist that this was his request. This was mainly due to the fact that Jin would like to recruit his group of loyal customers as part of his Royal Zodiac Clan when the push turns to shove in the future. This was one of the tests to see if they had the leadership to do so now that almost all of them had proven to be capable cultivators. But for now, he was merely giving them the impression that he was doing it so they have a better immersion for the raid instance. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1365 Chapter 1365: Second Night Report After some hesitation as well as clarification, the Pandawans finally agreed to it. All of them were given a new sub module within the Pandamonium App and Jin was delighted that it was completed. To his surprise, the night for the second day had gone rather peacefully contrary to his worries. He assumed that the Demon Rats will continue with their attacks but the soldiers that were thrown into the fray were just the rank and file. It was to the point that many of them were using armour that was broken on the ground and fresh new rats that did not seem even mature enough to carry a weapon. However, one thing did change. All the new rats were not given swords and shields, instead, they were given rifles. Some cowered behind the nearby buildings and shot at the magical barrier. It might prove ineffective to show a bullet or two. But imagine having hundreds of rats doing the same thing repeatedly over an interval of a few seconds, and then continue with the next batches of rats. It was practically a hell hole that the Pandarens would not even dare venture out from their energy barrier. Not to mention, the batteries for the energy barrier needed to be replaced at a faster pace than before when they were holding onto swords and shields. The machine gun installations were not very useful against targets that were further out of their range and thus they were soon abandoned. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Thankfully, the humans can play that game at a better pace considering their familiarity with guns, not to mention how modern they were. Suffice it to say, the gun weapons trader in the Hidden Gem Night Market was flowing in lots of cash that some of the limited and more powerful weapons had to be auctioned on the spot because of the quantity that was available. But those weapons the defending Pandarens had picked from the Hidden Gem Night Market were never a doubt a major boon in the current situation. One could say that it is practically target practice for the humans while the rats randomly shot their rifles to destroy the magical barrier. However, luck did not last long for the humans that much as the Demon Rats somehow managed to calculate the amount of damage needed to be done for the magical barrier to be broken. This short interval of vulnerability caused the Demon Rats to fire more in sync and even able to kill quite a few humans with their suppressive fire. Meanwhile, the more hot headed Rats had decided to try their luck to get close to the Pillar Base Camp. If not for the defences, the Pandarens would have long been overwhelmed by numbers alone. It gave them enough time for the Royal Zodiac Sheep Soldier to switch the barriers battery for it to be up. And even the regeneration of the barrier did not deter the Demon Rats to continue to move forward as the barrier tried to activate. They rather risk being cut into two by the barrier and attempt to move forward to annihilate the humans. Not only that, the Demon Rats were clever enough to adapt and sacrifice themselves so that they could sabotage the defences of the Pillar Base Camp. Some of them threw bombs into the spear shooting emplacement, destroying them so that they were rendered useless against the Demon Rats while others hurled a ton of bombs over the walls while using body shields in an attempt to break the other installations as well. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. It was pretty obvious that they were using very barbaric and crude tactics to overcome the Pillar Base Camp with just numbers. It might be terrifying for the Pandarens who had to fight against overwhelming odds, but to the commander in chief, Jin took this as a good and peaceful night. As for the situation at the Third Layer of the Inner Wall, things were not as hectic as one had thought they would be. Ever since the Pandarens had managed to clear the wall from the Demon Rats, they were able to utilise the guard towers and set up a defensive parameter with whatever equipment that they had. And also because the Demon Rats need to use the great elevator to transport their troops, their enemies would be able to hold them off from overtaking the third layer once more. To their luck, a few of the Pandarens manning the Third Layer happened to be somewhat wealthy and they ''donated'' a few defensive installations that aided with the defence such as a large repeating arrow emplacement as well as two mediaeval cannon emplacements. Not to mention, the Royal Snake Soldiers who were out in the sea were bored enough to give some bombardments that aided in fending off the Demon Rats away. Otherwise, the commanding officer of the ship continued to pour lead onto the shield that was covering the Undercity. "General''s orders" or so the commanding officer said. The Royal Snake Soldiers would routinely send their planes to bombard the Demon Rats and the remaining payload would be used on the shield. All of them know that it was pretty futile but wasting the magical energy of the Demon Rat mages was the whole point. If they were too busy handling the energy barrier, that means they would not be able to engage in battle. Besides, this also gave the Snakes to clock in some training runs so they were happy to do so. (After all the Royal Snake General told them to splurge.) But when the sunrise on the third day, things are about to change. All of the monsters and minions that were not fighting in the Eastern and Western tunnels were told to get ready once more. Most thought that it was a ''drill'' again since that was what they were told since Day 1 of PandaVerse Festival, but both Jin and the System had assured them that this was it. They were going in by the third day. This was all because of Hou Fei''s efforts. The Elite Snake Shadow had managed to accomplish his mission to infiltrate the Demon Rat''s headquarters. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1366 Chapter 1366: Extra: Snake Spy "This place is more than just a maze." Hou Fei said as he had managed to stay hidden if not for Ayse''s specially made invisibility suit. The suit was made to ensure that even magic users were not able to detect it but the only problem with it was that it was running based on the crystal energy that Peppers had made. Even though the System would notify Hou Fei when the battery of the suit was going low and it was time to change, the Snake General had already anticipated that it might cause some problem and asked for an invisibility cloak as well as a backup. And even if that is not enough for Hou Fei for he feared that the Demon Rats being beasts might be able to detect via their other senses aside from sight so he made sure to bring a few odourless temporary inscriptions to ensure that he would not be sniffed out. "But to think that I can still participate in an infiltration mission. I do not know whether the boss wanted to make sure that I break my back and have an early retirement or he was trying to find out if I am bluffing or not." The Snake General said as he had already released the listening ''bugs'' into the first and second floor of the Dark Tower. Because of the filthiness of the Dark Tower, Jin and the System deduce that there might be some critters living within the place. When the Snake Shadow had managed to get access into the Dark Tower, he had confirmed that there were indeed spiders and lizards crawling around the place. Thus, he had released those few mechanised insects that were proudly created by Rei. With the help of Weslie, he and the Scholar of the West had managed to fuse mechanical parts and biological bodies together. Those insects would be their ears and eyes for the subsequent part of their plan to invade the Dark Tower. To Hou Fei''s surprise, the security was rather lax and he was able to traverse up to the highest level of the tower without many obstacles in the way. He thought that he had to go through vents, assassinate some Demon Rats or even unlock magical doors. It seemed as if he over prepared the items as he reached the main communications bridge where it was filled with consoles to the brim. The number of screens and keyboards could even rival the main communications room in his world and the Rats were busy relaying information. He did not know whether it was because they were so busy that they could not detect him or the security was just too low level that the Demon Rats had no way of detecting him. In any case, he checked the corners of the room to make sure that there were some ''inhabitants'' before releasing the mechanical insects once more. A total of fifty listening ''bugs'' had been installed and they also had extra listening devices on them so that they could crawl into places where the Demon Rats would not realise and leave them there in case those creepy crawlies were found out. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Even though the mission had been completed, Hou Fei felt that it would be great to have an additional backup plan and had decided to try his luck in hiding a few explosives in a few places. One of which was their resting area mainly due to the fact that those Demon Rats that were working in this place seemed to be more intelligent than their usual rank and file brutes. Killing them would put a dent in their communication system and modern warfare tactics had always put an emphasis on information first. But the main problem was that the walkway to their resting area was used on a regular basis, a single nudge out of nowhere might prove to create suspicion if he was not careful even with his invisibility gear on. Even if he had boasted to be one of the best Snake Shadows, the ability to reach the Dark Tower was already considered a miracle for his lack of practice in recent years. Thus, he decided not to risk his luck any further and decided to walk away¡­until he ''accidentally'' pondered to their generator room. After all, it would still be a wasted trip if he did not throw away all of his explosives when he brought many extras, "I guess this should work quite decently too. Shutting down their power would cause them to panic a little but this would be useless if I do not destroy their backup generator. System, do you have any clue where it is?" "Apologies, the System is currently occupied and does not have sufficient resources to look into it. "More like, because the mission objective is completed, you did not care anymore what I am doing, right? As maddening as ever" Hou Fei sighed and then he felt that breaking their generator was more than enough for a backup distraction plan. He took out an empty crate from his storage which he picked up on the way to the Dark Tower and decided to place it in the corner of the Generator room. After which, he neatly placed all the C4 brick explosives into the crate and covered it with a huge rag which was in his storage ring as well. (One wonders what kind of junk he would keep in his storage ring but it seems to be useful.) Once that was done, he did not teleport back but rather proceed to the escape route that was preassigned to him by the System as Hou Fei did not wish to have any possible magical signal being left by him. But because of his efforts, the System was already busy analysing the number of troops, their movements and even the real time commands given out by their commanders. Information gathering was indeed the most important portion of the war. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1367 Chapter 1367: White Demon Rats "They are really not as stupid as we thought them to be," Jin said as the System continued to take note of all the conversations and the commands that were given to the Demon Rats on the ground. "The knowledge of tactics command is equivalent to those in World War 1. However, there were some modern commands which even surprised the System." "But now that we know what they are plotting, it should be fine, right?" Jin asked as he was trying to choose the plans that his minions and the System had created before to see which one was the best match. "If we managed to intercept each and every fight, the Demon Rat Generals would know there is either a mole or we had accessed a backdoor of sorts." The System replied. "It would be wiser that we pick and intercept the bigger batches or set a trap of sorts." "Well, either that or we just teleport all our minions in one go when they appear. Now that we know where their production factories are as well as the bases they kept their motorised units on standby, it would be an easy feat. We destroy their supplies and force them to be surrounded via a pincer formation." Jin suggested and the System calculated the odds. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "Not worth it. There would be major losses and it would be better if we fight to suppress the Demon Rats instead." The System replied and Jin sighed. "Are you still insisting that they could be negotiated with?" Jin asked and the System did not comment on that particular question and coincidentally Jin''s phone started to vibrate on the table. "Hmm? Xiong Da? I thought he said that he wanted to reinforce the transportation crystal, why would there be any problems with that?" The Dungeon Supplier said to himself as he requested the System to bring up the location where the Hippo Cultivator was. As expected, he was located at the Third Layer of the Inner Wall and the System''s magic eye had brought the live video stream of him on the screen for Jin. "Boss, ehh the Demon Rats, you programmed them that way?" Xiong Da asked as he was confused, thinking that all Rats were supposed to be enemies. Jin had no idea what he meant as well until he saw on screen a batch of white rats on his screen. This was the first time he saw white Demon Rats since all he encountered were black and brown ones. There might be a few dark maroons but never had he seen a blatant bright coloured Demon Rat. A number of them seemed to be severely wounded and they were carrying a white flag as if to announce their surrender. But what concerned them the most was that there was a batch of black Demon Rats chasing after them as well and even shooting at them. Jin could assume there was some story behind it and told Xiong Da the obvious. "Seriously, this is such an easy scenario to depict, do you really need to call me because of this?" Jin lied through his teeth. "Ah. I can hear that tone of yours and the sentence''s phrasing is way off your standard speech. You are lying, aren''t you?" Xiong Da who had been in negotiations with Jin on quite a number of occasions knew how Jin could react and this was certainly one thing that he still had to improve if he wished to be a shrewd and cunning businessman. "Damn it, I thought I could get away with it." Jin thought to himself. "You got me. Could be the instance''s AI doing it. Let me go take a look at it personally. In the meantime, go do what you do best." "Aye, boss." Xiong Da knew what he was talking about. Annihilate the Black Demon Rats that were chasing after them. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. So as the Hippo Cultivator was busy killing the other Demon Rats, Jin had indeed arrived at the Third Layer to not only greet the runaways but also giving his Pandarens the instructions via their visors and Pandamonium App that this was a WARE event in order to hide the fact that this was an anomaly. The Pandarens did not really care to catch the difference in the scenario just like how Xiong Da did, only to know that they had to take care of the Black Demon Rats as instructed by the WARE descriptions. At the same time, Jin had also raised a short barrier right behind the last White Demon Rat who was trying to run from the Black ones. "Halt. I cannot let you go any further, but since you raise the white flag, I can only assume you want to surrender to us as well. May I query your reason?" "Could you please help me- help us? There are a few severely wounded of us that could die without proper medical attention. We will give you all the information and even a tribute if needed. Please help us!" The White Demon Rat said but Jin was mildly surprised that the Rat was talking with such a feminine voice. "Argh, of course, there will be female rats or else how would they reproduce." Jin thought to himself as he wished to bang his head on the wall for stereotyping all the Rats as males. "Wait, aren''t they grown from plants? Wait what?" Jin continued to be confused by the current situation but for the moment, he summoned Milk to the scene and as always she was almost half naked and asleep. "Argh, Milk! Why do you always!" Jin said to himself and thankfully the System was still in control of the bellators, allowing it to transform Milk into her usual battle priest costume while giving her an electric shock to force her awake. "Arghhh Master! Why do you always make me do things early in the morning!" Milk complained as she instantly used her AOE healing spell and despite the ruckus caused by the humans, the White Demon Rats who initially felt perplexed by the situation were able to feel relief that their teammates were still alive. But now Jin wants them to uphold their part of the bargain. Chapter 1368 Chapter 1368: Rats Of Ruins While Jin wished to bring the White Demon Rats to the Dungeon Maker, he realised that the black Demon Rats that were chasing after them were not their usual Elites. Even Xiong Da and the Pandarens who were participating in the fight had some difficulty fighting them. The Pandarens on the defensive installations even chipped in and yet, those Black Demon Rats were throwing out shields that could stop the bullets and missiles with relative ease. Thus Jin took a more thorough look at their appearances and it seemed as if they had one commonality between all of them. They all had a huge machine arm on their right. "The Rats of Ruins!" One of the White Demon Rats shouted to her leader who first communicated with Jin. "They are here! We are doomed!" She continued to cry out loud as her legs trembled the way her vocal cords did screaming their name. "Human! Please, save us from them!" Another White Demon Rat said while she clenched on her cold iron rifle. "How can all of you be so shameless! He had already aided us to heal! At the very most we should do is to fight back! Pick up your weapons and go into cover!" Their White Demon Rat Leader said back. She instantly thanked Jin and walked towards the back of the group where the Rats of Ruins were coming from. However, it was pretty obvious that they do not have the training nor battle experience to fight them. Each and every one of them might be holding a rifle but they looked like it would be better for them to use it as a blunt weapon. "Looks like in this situation, an enemy of my enemies is my friend," Jin said as he looked at Milk. "Lol, Boss. While I would like to say ''it''s my pleasure'', you are being too ridiculous! Asking me to heal a group of Demon Rats and now clearing the fray right in front of me. I demand a reward!" Milk pouted as she knew that she had not been getting any praises or compliments from her master for some time. "Does this count?" Jin took out his phone and sent 5000 System points into her account. "I remembered from somewhere that you wanted a dress from the Inter World Black Market. This should be more than enough with a bit of extra allowance after buying the dress." Jin said and suddenly Milk changed from her Battle Priest set into her Battle Monk set almost immediately. While she does have adequate strength to kill those Demon Rats in her Battle Priest set, her Battle Monk set comes with a pair of war gauntlets and boots that could explosively increase her melee prowess. "As your Bellator! It is a pleasure to be at my master''s orders!" Milk said and she already dashed out at the speed of light. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Like any other monsters, having a name attached to them meant something special and the Rats of Ruins were not any much different. These named Demon Rats as their features had shown had achieved greater competence in their strength that they were augmented with a mechanical arm. While Pandawan Xiong Da could withstand and fight against a few of them at once, the other Pandarens were almost immediately annihilated if they ever received a direct blow from any of those Rats of Ruins. And that made the black Demon Rats complacent thinking that this was the average strength of the humans that were fighting against them. Even their leader felt that this war was already winnable if the incumbent Axe General had allowed the rest of the named Rats, they could have wiped out all of the humans in one shot. "Regardless, the escape of these few Birth Mothers is a boon for me to test out my strength against the humans, so no complaints from-" Before he could complete his sentence, his entire mechanical arm from trying to strangle a Pandaren had suddenly disappeared completely. Disappearing might be too much of a description and rather, dismantled into pieces. The Pandaren who was suffocating had managed to recover his breath and stepped backwards while the leader for the Rats of Ruins tried to search which human had the power to destroy his customised mechanical arm. However, once he managed to get a glimpse of Milk, that was the last moment he had before everything went blank. "Ew. Boss didn''t tell me that these rats spewed such stenchy blood." Milk said as she got a few drops of it on her shirt. And as smelly as they were, it was somewhat corrosive as well, making her think that whatever nonsense that was pumped into them to make them stronger than their average elite was somewhat dangerous. "Just clean it off after the fight!" Jin shouted from afar as he continued to stand there to watch the entire battle. "Boss is really slave driver, eh? Good to see you again Ms Milk." Xiong Da said as he managed to bring down one of the Rats of Ruins by himself too but not as quick nor efficient as the Priest Bellator herself. "Hah, I bet you experienced it yourself as well." Milk said as she tapped on his shoulders. "Save your strength, you''ll need it for the rest of the day when your other colleagues wake up. I can clear this up myself." Milk reassured him with a wink. "That lady¡­ Doesn''t she know that she can instantly bring almost every guy down to their knees with that killer wink?" Xiong Da thought to himself as he listened to her as suggested while he watched Jin''s first employee decimate the entire batch of black Demon Rats by herself. "What kind of strength do you all have?" The leader of the White Demon Rats said in bewilderment as she saw the one-sided slaughter by Milk taking place right in front of her eyes. "Is that why the Axe General was so apprehensive in sending the other Demon Rats out?" She thought to herself while Jin walked toward her as if he already knew the outcome of the battle. "As I said, you have to uphold your side of the bargain and talk. You and the others come with me. I will bring you to a secure place." Jin beckoned the ladies to follow him through the portal as he needed to know if he might have stumbled into a piece of treasure. Chapter 1369 Chapter 1369: Birth Mothers When the portal appeared in front of them, the White Demon Rat Leader shouted for the rest to enter the magical gate. She also stayed behind to ensure that each and every of her survivors entered the portal and that was enough for Jin to see the difference between her White Demon Rats compared to the Black ones. In terms of battle experience, Jin and his minions did not fight against the Demon Rats for long despite the months of longstanding skirmishes, the Dungeon Supplier had received reports that quite a lot of higher ranking Demon Rats would always be the ones to save their skins. So to see the White Demon Rat Leader doing the opposite, it could mean that they were able to listen to reason and perhaps negotiation between the rats might be a possibility. Even though the Leader for the Rats of Ruins was killed the moment Milk entered the battlefield, the others were committed to making sure that their duty to recapture was fulfilled. Thus, they raged as their lives depended on it, removing all the Pandarens who tried to block their way to take back one White Demon Rat. "Have you dim witted rats forgotten about this beauty right here?" Milk asked as she grabbed the Rat of Ruins who was nearest to a White Demon Rat that was trying her best to escape. The Demon Rat attempted to grab Milk so that he could trash her to the ground but her athletics was beyond god-like, allowing her to evade without much help and send the Rat of Ruin into its ruin. Despite knowing that it might be fruitless to go up against Milk, the Rats thus slammed the ground, creating a smoke screen from the buildup of dust in order to move forward. But, it did not deter Milk a single bit as she could sense the bulky moments of the Demon Rats regardless of the smoke screen. "Milk, withdraw. We have already provided enough help for the Pandarens. Any more interference and it would be in the streaming news again." Jin said via the System channel and also told the System to end the Wide Active Response Event (WARE) as soon as he entered the portal. Milk felt that those Rats of Ruins deserved more beating but since her master had rewarded more than she could ever have thought, she listened to Jin with a tad of defiance. With her strength and ability, she stomped on the ground to not only remove the dusty smokescreen but also hinder the Rats of Ruin''s passage back to the rumoured giant elevator. With some magic infused into her stomp, a gigantic wall of rock emerged right from the ground, piercing some of the Rats of Ruins as it grew. However, because it was an indiscriminate magic attack, the Pandarens also got caught by it. Although she did try to warn them just a second beforehand, it was not enough for most of the cultivators to evade it completely. Xiong Da merely used his chi to create a barrier just to make sure that he blocked the magical attack. He realised it was similar to his ground stomp attack but this was pure brute strength infused with high levels of magic that he could never imagine. The rock wall itself is enough to not just block the Rats of Ruins but also the subsequent Demon Rats who might decide to try to invade directly the Third Layer of the Inner Wall. If they wished to assault the Third Layer, they had to go around the rock wall, allowing the Pandarens to defend the walls some additional time between the usual intervals they had been experiencing. "That was really unnecessary," Jin said via the System Channel when he saw Milk''s byproduct of interference in the Dungeon Maker Instance. "Bye Master~! Thanks for the bonus!" Milk totally ignored Jin''s remark and went radio silent, hoping that her master would be preoccupied with the White Demon Rats. The White Demon Rats did not know whether they went from one trap into the other but the Dungeon Maker was not exactly the most welcoming place one would arrive and the System had shut down each and every console screen so that the White Demon Rats would not have a glimpse of what they had. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. But as the White Demon Rats were trying to get their bearings of the place, Jin merely walked towards the supposed leader and handed her a stack of papers. "I assume you all can read to a certain extent. Either sign the first one to state that you agree on behalf of your entire or have everyone sign each of those papers. Those who refuse to sign can leave this place and we will put you back where I found you. I will give you my word that my humans and teammates would not hurt you, but we would not save you if the Demon Rats caught up to you again." Jin said, giving them almost no choice in the matter. The leader quietly picked up the papers and took a quick glance before diving into the details. Indeed, the only difference between the first page compared to the rest was that she was representing the White Demon Rats. She had no idea how they were anticipating this or if they already had surrender papers ready for any Demon Rats that were willing to rebel against the main race. "You sure it''s a good idea? We will be surrendering our rights." One of the White Demon Rats asked as she told everyone the current situation they were in. "Then isn''t it the same as those bastard Demon Rats? What''s the point?" Another White Demon Rat filled with grudges said. "They had written that they would provide us shelter and even ample food and didn''t we unanimously agree to work for the humans if needed?" The leader reinforced their past promises and the White Demon Rats whispered among themselves. "But they also stated that this¡­entity called the System will invade our brains? And we must be loyal to just one human. Isn''t that absurd?" The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "They had saved our lives, we should at least be thankful for that." "I honestly do not want to go back to that hellhole. I rather take my chances with the Humans." "Not my best choice, but I think that siding with the Humans also would be better than being tied with chains and working repeatedly for days." The White Demon Rats continued to chatter among themselves while it was pretty apparent that the leader was trying to get them to be optimistic with regard to the deadlock situation they were in. Eventually, they agreed reluctantly as a whole and the leader signed the first page, giving the rest of the papers back to Jin. And with that signature, the System had the permission to invade their lives as they forfeited their rights to it. They felt a forceful ache across their heads simultaneously as a group mainly because the System was not giving their current enemies any compromises. If they knew anything about the current Demon Rats that would provide an edge for the War, the System would take every single chance. It also took the opportunity to share some information about the current group with Jin, allowing him to know what this group of White Demon Rats were called- Birth Mothers. Chapter 1370 Chapter 1370 Birth Mothers As the System shared Jin information about the Birth Mothers, he had already ordered a few penguins to prepare some food for the White Demon Rats to partake. But because he needed to ''interrogate'' a little more, he continued to make them stay in the Dungeon Maker instance. The Birth Mothers were surprised when there was a group of walking birds coming their way and they thought that Jin had betrayed them, going back at his word after he took the papers. However, as the penguins came closer, they presented to the White Demon Rats a buffet of food for them to enjoy. The smell was enough to capture their souls and as the Birth Mothers craved for proper food, they continued to look at their leader as if for a sign for them to dig in. "Why do you need your leader''s approval to eat? Just go ahead and eat. There is enough for everyone." Jin said as he told the Birth Mother''s leader to meet him after she had her fill. However, the leader did not and decided to follow him away from the group, knowing that he wanted information about the current situation. While Jin already knew the gist of it from the System''s invasive methods to get information, he wanted to see if the White Demon Rats were perpetual liars since they would not have known that the System had the power to read people''s minds as of now. "I am Lisa Von Crustfinger. The appointed leader of the Birth Mothers." Lisa introduced herself with a slight bow of her head while her tail continued to lie low on the ground. The System knew that she was lowering her pride to greet Jin as the Demon Rat''s behaviour was to always have their tails up high as a sign of dignity for themselves. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "Firstly, thank you for rescuing us from the Rats of Ruins, our capturers and jailors. Not only that, you have graciously offered us a sumptuous meal right off the bat. I could not be more grateful than I am now." She said while keeping her head down. "Do not misunderstand, I am doing this for myself. Upon signing those papers, you are now under my rule for the rest of your lives. The least I could do is to make your suffering a knot more tolerable." Jin suddenly sounded like an evil ''kind'' overlord which would cause his other minions to laugh if they were at the scene but for now, his acting was working on Lisa (and that was all that matters.) "So continue on, don''t let me stop you from telling me your circumstances. And also, stand up, I do not need all these archaic ways of showing gratitude." Jin said. "Yes, my master. We were running away from the Rats of Ruins mainly because of their incompetence in leaving the keys close enough to where our hands could reach. Despite knowing that we were quite powerless because of the nature of our jobs, they did not expect us to rebel in such a way." "What job?" "We are tasked to handle the birth of the new Demon Rats," Lisa answered as she brought out a couple of seeds from beneath her fur and revealed them to Jin, stating that these were the offspring of the Demon Rats. "User, the Birth Mother concept is an interesting subject which causes even the System to stumble. Imagine a living organism with the ability to grow and proliferate without a sexual partner while having the traits of a plant like wheat." The System commented as it stated that the Birth Mothers were capable of growing new Demon Rats because of the seeds that pop out from the surface of their skin. "With the current war against you Humans, we are being forced to produce more Demon Rats to accommodate the rising loss of Demon Rats every single minute. They force fed us with supplements and injected us with birth inducing hormones to make sure that we were able to produce more seeds for the clan." Jin could understand what she was talking about because of the imagery the System had sent him. They were literally a birth machine at this rate just to get the seeds growing not from the soil but from these White Demon Rats'' skin. All of them here had been overworked (or overbirthed) from the major losses that the Demon Rats were receiving. And to his knowledge, there were many others like Lisa and her group of Birth Mothers all over the Undercity. They were simply lucky enough to have a chain of events that allowed them to escape almost unhindered by the other Demon Rat soldiers. Mainly because of the fact Lisa and the Birth Mothers gave life to these Demon Rats and that they still recognise the pheromones of their mothers, causing them to hold their hand in killing the White Demon Rats. As for the Rats of Ruins, they were literally lab bred by other Demon Rat scientists, which allowed them to deny the pheromones produced by the Birth Mothers and thus gave them the ability to not only handle them but also restrain the Birth Mothers'' movements. Some of the older Demon Rats even fought back against the Rats of Ruins as the Birth Mothers made their escape and yet it was not enough to resist such elites. If things had gone differently just by a tad bit, Lisa and the others would not be able to survive the escape and contact the Humans. However, Jin could foresee that the remaining Birth Mothers would not have it easy once the report of Lisa and her White Demon Rats had turned to the Humans for help would be made known. Stricter enforcements alongside harsher conditions to reproduce more rats? That would spell disaster for the rest of the White Demons but for now, Jin should already be happy or even delighted that he had finally achieved a way to have Demon Rats under his rule. While he was not sure whether the Demon Rats that he would eventually grow would be mainly because of their trait being a type of ''resource'' after death, there was some hope that he could grow an army of his own almost as easily as the current Demon Rats that they were facing. It was a boon that he hoped to receive but he did not expect it to come in so soon in the Demon Rat War or even in such a manner. Yet, it was still quite a bit of shock that that was how the Demon Rats had been producing these many Demon Rats so quickly after learning about their origins although it made sense. However, now that he managed to get hold of these Birth Mothers, perhaps the Dungeon Supplier could attack even more indiscriminately since the initial plan was to force the Demon Rats into submission if possible, forming a future partnership with them to rule the Northern Region. The Demon Rats would be Jin''s vassal and he would have lesser stuff on his hands while handling his store and other nonsensical multiverse issues that he had. But he could throw that plan off the table and be more brutal in his methods. Perhaps try to save the rest of the White Demon Rats if possible or else, continue to do what his minions do best. Beat the shit out of their opponents. Chapter 1371 Chapter 1371: Extra: Report For the Morning "By the way, did you say that you would offer some rewards to us?" Jin shamelessly asked the question and Lisa Von Crustfingers'' eyes suddenly lit up while she rummaged through her tattered leather sling bag. "We are Birth Mothers so the most we can offer you are seeds of the Demon Rats," Lisa said as she took out a satchel containing the Demon Rat seeds. "These are the best seeds that we have grown from our body. I have kept them from the other Demon Rats so that my most precious of children would not be used as mere fodder." "You do know that you are aiding your enemies, right?" "But we had all heard rumours about you Humans. How you have multiple monsters that fought beside you. We thought that there is a chance life might actually be better than being enslaved by our own race." Lisa said and Jin sighed. "You know, not every human is that benevolent. Some will use you or even manipulate you more than you could ever imagine." Jin responded. "It''s alright. We are willing to take the risk. All of us." Lisa replied with a depressed tone. "Anyways. Keep those seeds of yours first. Get some rest along with your other colleagues. In fact, you should not even participate in this war at all. If I manage to find any other Birth Mothers, I would ask if they would like to join you." "Thank you! Thank you! They should be more than willing to come with you when you say my name and also with this plaque. Give me a moment." Lisa''s eyes suddenly lit up when she heard that Jin would try his best to save the other Birth Mothers. She quickly searched through her bag and took out a broken wooden sculpture of a demon rat. "Show this to them and they would know that you are an ally, not a foe," Lisa said but Jin reiterated that there would be no guarantees he or his allies could find more of these Birth Mothers after the commotion that happened minutes ago. Lisa understood that notion and returned to her group where they quickly offered her a portion of the food. "User, why did you not accept the seeds that were given to you? That is your rightful reward for saving them and we could use their numbers." The System asked and Jin smiled. "Have you not thought of the future?" Jin threw the question back to the System. "If they are able to live comfortably here, don''t you think that the rats they give birth might actually be of a higher quality?" "That answer does not quantitate-" The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "It''s all about timing and trust," Jin interjected. "Let them get used to the place, have them do their job as they are supposed to do naturally and once they figure out how to make the best rats out of the babies they have given birth from, then bring out those seeds. Perhaps, the quality of seeds that they grow over time might exponentially increase in quality, making those seeds which they currently have erm¡­obsolete?" The System understood where he was coming from and apologised for asking such a stupid question. "Then not taking the seeds was not only to show but reinforce the image that the humans and monsters can coexist together despite their differences." "That''s a bit too far fetched but you get my point." Jin chuckled a little as he got Captain Hei and Captain Bai to appear and escort the Demon Rats out of the Dungeon Maker instance once they were done with the food. After all, it was the command centre and even if the White Demon Rats are now their allies, it would not be wise to show the destruction of their race right in front of their eyes. So while waiting for the Birth Mothers to clear out of the instance, Jin had begun contacting Weslie, Gold and Qiu Yue about their situations. "We are progressing well. Just that the fighting never ceases ever since we start." Gold reported. "They had been not just throwing bodies at us but also rather decent troops." "It''s the same situation at my side, but other than that, we are able to make progress. We do need better air filters though or else those artillery we were using could potentially cause a dust explosion within the cave." Weslie reported. "Weslie, I will get the System to prepare some for both of you. Otherwise, Gold, I understand there were some casualties at our end. I should be able to send them back down after the System has cleared them for teleportation." Jin answered back. As much as they want to send the reincarnated back to the fray, the System had always emphasised the need to balance cost and profit. While it was capable of sending the soldiers back again in almost an instant, it would take a significant amount of resources to make sure that the minion was in good condition, both stable in the mind, body and soul before sending them out again. Any desynchronisation of the three elements could possibly reduce the ''stats'' of the minion and cause unnecessary mistakes in battle. (Not to mention, they would be demoralised by the loss of proficiency in battle.) No doubt, this could be averted by pouring a large amount of resources but a minion is still a minion. Unless they all have started to grow and show hidden talents as prominently as the minion leader, the System would only devote that amount of resources for its reincarnation. "Could I have more than just beavers? They are good but judging how things are progressing, it would be great to have more erm¡­underlings." Qiu Yue asked through the comms with the sound of heavy artillery in the background. "Do you think other minions could learn everything so quickly like your beavers? Besides, aren''t you increasing your Empire Building proficiency with this fight? I heard from the System that you could already create walls with automated arrow installations on it. Further improvements to your Empire Building proficiency would no doubt see wonders if you keep using them." Jin asked and Qiu Yue nearly wanted to return to Dungeon Maker Instance and knock his head. "Yeah?! Tell me that when you are down here fighting for 48 hours consecutively!" Qiu Yue shouted back although she was doing what Jin was saying upon learning that this was the best time to increase her Empire Building powers. Not just walls, she could also summon metal pillars from nothing and throw them with immense force. And even though she was dying to test out the new skills she learned from Zeru, she felt that it was better to use her Empire Building abilities against masses of Demon Rats instead. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "You can always come back to rest, the System would teleport you back to the battlefield," Jin replied and that was what the other troops were doing. They might have been fighting a gruesome battle but their morale was still high because the System and Jin allowed them to return to their warm beds and showers accompanied with a sumptuous meal cooked personally by Lynn. No invading troop in the world has such a privileged life to rest, relax and recharge each time when they were called off from the fight to rotate. "Fine, fine but you better take a closer look because the Demon Rats are always looking for opportunities to exploit." Qiu Yue said as she fought for a while longer before teleporting back to Jin''s house. Chapter 1372 Chapter 1372: Inner Town Base Camp Once the Birth Mothers had left, Jin had begun to look at the status of the Pillar Base Camp. It was already morning and the Pandarens were coming into the raid instance via waves. Because of the proximity of the base camp to the teleportation crystal near the third layer of the Inner Wall, the teleportation crystal was used instead mainly to give the Pandarens the ''excitement'' of parachuting down from above. While the dungeon supplier could have made it easy for the Pandarens and teleported them into the Pillar Base Camp, he purposely created this ''situation'' so that he could ''milk'' the Pandarens who failed to jump onto the pillar and descend. But he had a valid reason to do so as well. The third layer of the Inner Wall requires reinforcements as well and if they could manage to clear it, the Pandarens would have a safe base of operations they could use. Of course, that is assuming that the Demon Rats did not pull off another big major earthquake to break the land once more and force the Pandarens to fall down to their Undercity. However, Jin knew that it would be near impossible for the Demon Rats to do that even though the odds of it coming true were still there. This was mainly because the bulk of their Undercity was situated right under it and causing an earthquake right above it would definitely destroy certain key facilities that would be vital for their continuation of this particular war. It might be true that the Rats might do that in the future if they felt that they were on the losing end of the war but Jin had already started to sell a very unique item that was not seen in the Hidden Gem Night market before. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Shu''s roots. The magical Treant had ''graciously'' offered his roots for sale so that if such an earthquake were to occur again, the Pandarens would not be in such a pinch in the future. (Obviously, in return for his roots, he was compensated with System points.) This was because Shu''s roots were capable of holding the ground together once they were planted on the ground. And if multiple roots were used at the same time, it would multiply the effect to hold the ground so that there would be no worries even if the Demon Rats had decided to do the same again. Jin had also used a dummy anonymous account with a relatively high level rank in the forums in order to fool the rest while increasing the reliability of his information to ''announce'' the presence of such an item. This prompted a few relatively rich Pandarens who had the coins to purchase them knowing that this would certainly be a surefire way to earn raid points. The only problem they now faced was that they were not strong enough to walk into the middle of a battlefield and plant those. Even if they could, there was currently no base of operations which could utilise such an item. But all that changed when the Royal Zodiac Snake General Hou Fei emerged out of nowhere with a yawn and a platoon of over fifty people with him. With his presence alongside his soldiers, they were immediately able to create a base camp near the third layer of the Inner Wall and did similar fortifications as the previous Outer Wall Camp. Because of the experience they had set up the Outer Wall Camp, the Inner Town Camp (which was the new name of the camp) had been established without too much of a hassle. People were amazed that the Royal Zodiac Snake had offered to create another base camp considering how much it cost. But everyone was fooled, including the Royal Snake Head that Hou Fei had sacrificed much of his wealth for the well being of the Pandarens even though it was just a temporary fixture in this particular raid. This was because Hou Fei had the base camp package for free from the System since it was part of his rewards for successfully infiltrating the Undercity''s Dark Tower. And since he was part of the Inc Executives (Panda Clan''s fancy names for their own members.), the System also gave him significant discounts to set up the Inner Town Base Camp. The sudden development of a new base camp further raises the morale of the Pandarens, and also allows those said rich Pandarens to establish Shu''s roots, allowing them to gain a hefty amount of raid points for contributing to the stability of the Inner Town Base Camp. The rock wall which Milk had created previously from her fight against the Rat of Ruins was a slight hindrance to the expansion of the base camp but the Royal Zodiac Snakes had decided to keep it as it is because if there was ever a need to fall back, the giant rock wall would be a good buffer to lean on. But other than that, the basic foundations for a decent base of operations had been set up. A medical camp for injuries that would be severe enough that healers cannot heal in a matter of minutes. A basic resupply station especially for cultivators who were using arrows, bombs, modern ammunition etc. A repair station where the cultivators could get their armour and weapons repairs if destroyed. A merchant shop which provided a slight discount compared to the active online store as well as a place to sell the junk the cultivators picked up. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. Not to mention, there was a food canteen where thankfully the penguins were the chefs to provide some food to the hungry as well as a command centre that belonged to the Snakes and other military arms of the Royal Zodiac. That was where they were allowed to rest and communicate as they shared information on the current situation not just within the raid instance but also outside of the raid instance. After all, the streamers and other viewers could show stuff that the Royal Zodiacs might have missed and they could use it to their advantage especially in this day and age, information had always been the edge to win against any war. (Of course, Hou Fei had the best information at hand but as a former spy, he was happy to practise the art of not knowing anything. Or else, what fun would it be if they could not learn how to get the information themselves? ) And with that, the Pandarens were ready to send a counter attack later in the morning especially after defending the Pillar Base Camp for the entire night since it had been the main priority so far. At the same time, the Pandawans who were finally arriving for the fight once more had started scouting places based on Jin''s slightly classified intel of the Undercity. (The Boss could not give everything to them except the general areas or else it would be cheating.) and from there, they started to plan their wide active response events so that Jin could finally have the ''sufficient'' reason to bring down his minions to fight against the Demon Rats. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. The third day of PandaVerse would definitely be a busy day for everyone. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1373 Chapter 1373: Breaking Out The Kill Zone Even with the increased manpower in the Pillar Base Camp, there was still no progress as expected. The rank and file Demon Rats that were surrounding the Pillar Base Camp were still numerous and they were ''refilling'' at a rate that even the increased numbers of Pandarens could not take on. It was pretty obvious that the Demon Rats had already begun to know that the Pandarens were more or less stuck in the Pillar Base Camp unless there were sacrifices willing to push through and break the encirclement. And that itself would still be an insurmountable task to perform. Unlike the previous time when the Demon Rats consisted of a mix of melee and ranged troops, now they were playing with guns. Almost every one of them was hiding behind a piece of cover shooting at the magic barrier indiscriminately because there were no targets to pick on. The moment those Pandarens emerged from the Pillar Base Camp, there would be nothing but their own equipment they had to rely on to block or evade those gunshots. And that was assuming that they could even get out of the kill zone. The Pandarens who managed to return to the battlefield knew that this might get worse as there were already sightings of heavier guns from the scouts that were peering through the Undercity at the highest point of the pillar that was still covered by the magical barrier. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. It was only a matter of time, the magical barrier would be overwhelmed and the Demon Rats would concentrate on picking the Pandarens or destroying their walls and emplacements. Pandawan Yue Han who was on sight had then decided it was probably time to use his Wide Active Response Event initiator. The Pandawans were given a couple of one time portal tickets when they were talking to Jin and the Dungeon Supplier had promised to send out minions that were appropriate to the event''s completion. As long as the Pandarens had completed the WARE with 60% of the participants getting a gold level participation, Jin would then send in the reinforcements as the rewards. But the Dungeon Supplier did say that the higher the difficulty of the WARE, the better the rewards so by defending the Pillar Base Camp was not exactly the most tedious job the Pandarens could ever have. So, Yue Han, the Bat Cultivator had decided to use his WARE to break the stalemate by creating an event that would essentially cost the most amount of casualties if not done right. This was because the WARE he had in mind would only pop out when the Pillar Base Camp''s magical barrier had been destroyed. As the Demon Rats who had trialled and tested, getting the barrier down was a matter of fact, they had a small window of opportunity to charge in and destroy whatever the Pandarens would have before the new magical barrier would be up again. And that was where their big guns and mortars would come in now that they saw a higher concentration of Pandarens in the vicinity. What Yue Han was proposing was that the Pandarens were to rush out at the same time as Demon Rats engaging them through battle and at the same time, find a way to break the kill zone. The other Pandawans who were in with his plan realised how crazy and suicidal it was. However, that also meant that they could finally get points from the Demon Rats that were charging in rather than cowering behind the walls. Also, those charging demon Rats could be used as meat shields against the kill zone that the Demon Rats had set up. Almost every Pandarens knew that the Demon Rats did not care whether it was friend or foe as long as they ultimately could kill their enemies. Thus, the Pandawans knew that if they were to charge out at the same time as the Demon Rats, they would have some ''assistance'' from the other side shooting at their own friendlies. Hence, the plan was spread around and Yue Han had already initiated the Wide Active Response Event the moment he monitored that the magical barrier energy levels had dropped to 35%. The plan was not well received but seeing that it was now a WARE, the rest knew that there would be points awarded even upon their meaningless death. Therefore, the Pandarens pretended to continue cowering behind the walls while readying themselves for the charge so that they could at least weaken the kill zone a little. Also, because it was the first WARE for the day, it enticed the Pandarens who were not yet in the raid instance and prompted them to join almost as soon as possible. "The barrier is going to go down soon!" Yue Han shouted and everyone started to brace themselves for the inevitability. Everyone''s hearts were beating hard knowing that they would die being shot. The pain was not a great feeling but the exhilarating adrenaline pumping through them made them feel alive compared to sitting at the desk doing administrative work. And with a large explosion by the enemies'' mortar, the barrier was broken, causing it to shut down right in front of everyone. The Sheep Zodiac soldiers had now tried to get the barrier up again by replacing the energy battery but before that could happen, the Demon Rats were already dashing towards the Pillar Base Camp with the intent to massacre the Pandarens with their large numbers. The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ?????????????.??? website. "NOW!" The Pandawans who were temporarily their leaders shouted in unison, firing a volley of flashbangs and fireworks to distract the Demon Rats temporarily and also forcing the Pandarens who were in hiding to jump over the walls in packs. The Demon Rats had no idea what was happening with the sudden bright lights but their momentary distraction brought time for the front wave of Pandarens to jump down safely and charge toward them. "Kill the Humans!! Artillery continues your bombardment on their camp!!!" The Demon Rat captain shouted as he saw under the cover of those bright lights the humans were dashing towards them. Usually, the humans would not even be attacking and hide from the attacks and yet now, all the defensive emplacements were manned and they did not care whether they were killed during the battle, another human would replace the dead one and continue using the defensive emplacement without any care for their lives. It seemed as if they were desperate enough to ensure victory at all costs. But honestly, they just want the extra raid points and participation points. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1374 Monster Reinforcements The WARE event appeared and with the conditions of protecting the camp from not more than 100 Demon Rats from entering the campsite, all the Pandarens were rushing out of the camp to ensure that the rats do not even have the chance to enter even if it meant their deaths. The Demon Rat leaders were surprised by the sudden foolishness of the Pandarens but it did not mean much to him. Those Demon Rats of his were itching to have a brawl with them instead of just shooting from afar. Sure, it was pretty effective but most of the rats were satisfied until they tasted blood upfront. More artillery and mortar shots were fired from the Demon Rats and some of them came out of hiding to shoot while they advanced down to the Pillar Base Camp. However, because of the close proximity between their fellow comrades and the Pandarens, friendly fire was inevitable and that was the reason why Yue Han had decided to use this opportunity to attempt to cull the numbers of the Demon Rats down. It was a risky but decent move in Jin¡¯s eyes even though everyone knows that they would be back to square one the moment the magic barrier in the Pillar Base Camp would go up and everyone would be in that sheltered area again. Thus, the Demon Rats were pushing hard hoping to enter and destroy the magic barrier generator if possible. Those long range strikes were in the Rat¡¯s hopes that it would destroy the magic barrier by chance and so they could earnestly mow down the cultivators by sheer force. However soon, they were bound to regret their choice as the WARE events came to a close the moment their magic barriers were up. People realised that this was a relatively short wide active response event but for some reason, their raid points were drastically increased. Perhaps it was because of the high danger component when they were faced with hundreds or maybe thousands of demon rats shooting at them. Quite a number of Pandarens died but both sides¡¯ recklessness had put a major blow to their forces. Yet, that was enough for Jin to finally showcase his promise to the Pandarens that initiated the WARE event. With the closure of the wide active response event, a notification emerged out of their Pandamonium Apps. Since most of the Pandarens were already in the Pillar Base Camp once more, they were able to read the notification without being disturbed. ¡°Warning, major monster reinforcements are incoming in eight minutes.¡± Most people were confused about this as they did not know whether the monster reinforcement was from their end or it was the app hinting to them that the Demon Rats were preparing a major Rat Horde to claim the Pillar Base Camp. However, only Yue Han and the rest of the Pandawans know that this was Jin¡¯s way of helping the Pandarens. However, knowing that telling the other cultivators would be cutting them short of a pleasant surprise so they shouted as much as they could to tell them to quickly prepare for the worst case scenario. Some regretted entering the WARE event thinking that it was because of the event that forced this new condition to emerge (which was not wrong.) but that eight minutes was what the Pandarens needed to regroup as Jin hollered his first wave of troops to be prepared to move out. ¡°One minute more for major monster reinforcements to emerge. Please brace yourselves.¡± The app continued to announce the monster horde wave and everyone started to frantically buy items from the online store to restock as much as they could, thinking that they would need them during a major fight like this. And when the counter reaches zero, everyone had their weapons ready to move out once more the moment their Pandawans counterparts gave the signal. But instead of receiving that signal, they felt an enormous discharge of chi coming near the centre of the camp. The terrifying source of energy caused them to tremble in fear as they saw a bespectacled man in a white coat along with a mantle walking to check the status of the magic barrier. ¡°You guys really know how to overwork the barrier generator. Regardless, this is good data knowing that the barrier can take this much punishment despite repeated use.¡± He said while looking at the cultivators who were now pointing their swords at him. Probably because despite him looking like a man, his face was partially disfigured mainly due to the fact that he was still a ghoul. ¡°Perhaps in another instance, I would be the boss of the dungeon. But not today for I, Derek, the Half Ghoul Lord is here to assist your puny existence to victory.¡± Derek said as he gave a half bow while raising his hand high. ¡°Please move away from the walls for now or at least make some way else it would be an unpleasant experience for you. Do not blame me if you are killed by the stampede.¡± Derek said after he snapped his fingers. Some of the Pandarens did not know what to do, especially those who had just entered the camp. However, the Pandawans insisted that it was not a threat and repeated the orders by Derek. Seeing how their higher commands had asked them to do so, they warily moved aside for the moment but could not help to notice that something was not right especially when the grounds were shaking rather violently. ¡°Stay your blade! Stay your blade! Those on the walls, move down now or try to make some space!¡± Yue Han shouted continuously, hoping that he made the right choice. After all, he had no idea what kind of minions Jin had with him and the one in front of him was someone he had never encountered before. ¡°Thank you very much for your assistance and now, please. Enjoy the show.¡± Derek said as he smiled widely before making a jump to the highest point of the camp in order to have a better view of the current situation. ¡°Now my zombies. You only have two commands. Arise and fight the Demon Rats to death.¡± Derek said as he yearned to see how his newly minted battle zombies would fight after months of countless modifications. Chapter 1375 The Zombie Surge The cultivators participating in the raid were in shock. Not just the ones on the scene but those who were both watching and streaming were in awe by the current development. Zombies were emerging out of the Pillar Base Camp¡¯s grounds and if not for the Pandawans¡¯ pleas to not touch anything else, the Pandarens would instinctively do two things. Either run or fight the zombies before they fully emerge from the ground. But now that they were asked to stay still, they could see how creepy the zombies were from the viewer¡¯s perspective. As the zombies crawled out from the ground, their howling made it as if they had been craving for something, urging them to fulfil it as soon as possible. There was no mistake, the humans were delicious to look at, and even had a scent that made the zombies drool a lot. But the commands of the Half Ghoul Lord were absolute. To feast on the Demon Rats instead. So their heads turned from the humans that were standing so defenceless from the shock of their appearance and headed towards the walls. Similar to the cultivators, they all began to start jumping as if they had some imbued chi inside of them. Some of the Pandarens noticed that their leader also did the same thing previously and wondered if they were zombie cultivators. The truth was that they were not entirely wrong because all the zombies had been imbued with both utility and offensive inscriptions, causing them to burst with chi. The same goes with Derek who equipped a number of high grade inscriptions that allowed him to make others feel like he was a super cultivator. While the Half Ghoul Lord had treated his zombies kindly and even gave them adequate food and care, he did not hesitate to use them like weapons. Because of the degradation of their intelligence, it was best that they could do something more than just biting their enemies to death. So through rote learning, the zombies finally learnt how to swing a sword properly and with the aid of inscription charms, they were able to do more than just slashing the enemy with their brute strength. They could unleash the powers within those inscriptions (though rather haphazardly) and bring carnage to their enemies (Also to some extent, friendly fire. Derek remembered at the start of their training, some zombies almost wiped out the entire zombie group because they could not control the swing when empowered by their inscriptions.) The Demon Rats were rather shocked that humans were jumping out of their shelter and into the killing fields of their ranged attacks. They could not be any more happier as each of them attempted to fill every piece of filth that was foolish enough to be shot at. However, they soon realise that those humans were not hindered by the attacks except for those who were shot in the head. It was then they found out that those were not entirely humans but monsterified humans which they had never seen before. Some of them were even lit up in different shades of hues as they rushed recklessly towards the Demon Rats. Not to mention, more of those ¡®humans¡¯ started to jump off the walls of Pillar Base Camp and even the Demon Rat leaders started to call for strikes on the battlefield rather than focusing on the magic barrier of the base camp. The Pandarens who were at the scene peeked over the walls to see what was happening and saw the carnage that was about to unfold. The zombies might look like they were losing since those who stepped into the battlefield were killed. However, the Pandarens noticed that with each zombie dead, the body that dropped dead was actually closer to the Demon Rats who were shooting at them from their designated point. That means the Demon Rats were having difficulty pushing them back and there is a chance that the Zombies could stop the shooting towards the Pillar Base Camp. ¡°Heh. No wonder Master Jin wants me to go in first. My zombies might not be the most offensive of troops but they sure can take a lot of hits from all those shooting.¡± Derek thought to himself as he monitored the battlefield. At the same time, he pulled out a magical staff and started to chant. Unlike Peppers who loved to cast offensive magic, Derek was more of a support caster and with good reason. Why learn an offensive magic that could only kill one or two Demon Rats considering the mana that he has when he could learn the same level of area support magic and sustain his zombies? By doing that, his zombies were his sword and shield that annihilates everything in his path. Just giving them a minor regeneration boost had already allowed them to reach the Demon Rats in record time. Something even the Pandarens had difficulty doing despite all the fancy gadgets that they bought from Jin. (Which of course, Jin secretly thanked them for spending all that money as well. They probably got scammed in some way or another and only the System and its User knows it.) ,m And with Derek¡¯s zombie having first ¡®physical¡¯ contact with the Demon Rats, the Pandawans took this opportunity to send out another WARE event now they saw how much the monsters were giving the progress they solely needed. (It goes to show how low level most of the cultivators were that they were also regarded as fodders with the exception of Pandawans and a few richer Pandarens who could circumvent the situation using gear.) Regardless, with progress on their side, they are finally able to get out of that base camp and start to move forward and earn some raid points. Jin was delighted that things started to move as he was itching to send all his forces down if not for the allure of money pouring into his coffers. (Which was contradictory since sending his troops down costs money rather than earning money.) But since the Pandarens had started to branch out to fight, the System and Jin had started to listen into the Demon Rats¡¯ plans with the listening bugs that Hou Fei had planted. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1376 Zombie Demon Rats ¡°You see. I told you they are waiting for us.¡± Jin said as the System had reported a few columns of artillery being deployed away from the Undercity¡¯s city hub. Why was he not surprised that there were more underground storages for those Demon Rats to pull out their guns. However, the fight had started in earnest now that Jin had begun showing his hand to deal with the Demon Rats. This was because the Half Ghoul Lord Derek had continued to bring out every single zombie that he had in his possession and continuously sent them out to not only deal with the kill zone but also started converting those Demon Rats to their side. While the Demon Rats were unable to under the System¡¯s command, that did not mean that it could be converted temporarily to their side. This is because the zombies did their basic job best ¨C By spreading their ¡®zombie¡¯ virus to the Demon Rats. Jin and Derek had already experimented it out on the Demon Rats who they had captured previously and it worked out perfectly fine. The only problem was that when the Zombie Demon Rat was killed, their resources were corrupted as well. Rotten and stinky just like how most zombies would have with their degenerating flesh despite their never dying ability. (As long as their head remained intact.) But this spreading of the zombification virus would no doubt strengthen Jin¡¯s side momentarily. As long as the zombies were able to place a bite before the Demon Rats turned into resources, their zombie virus would work. Derek even made sure that the zombie virus spread fast after countless hours of research that had been put in to understand the Demon Rat¡¯s physiology and ensure the zombie virus could move to infect the brain as quickly as possible. However, it would not have been possible if not for how the Demon Rat¡¯s body works. No matter how permeable Derek had made the zombie virus to be, it would be of no use if there was no blood flowing to the heart and brain of the Demon Rat. But in the end, Derek found out that the workings of ¡®nature¡¯ were on their side as they found out that the Demon Rat¡¯s blood flow was actually the fastest when they were dead. Their hearts would not stop pumping as if to accelerate some sort of matter growth and Derek could only presume that it was because they were changing back into a resource. The System was initially curious about the Demon Rats¡¯ physiology, thinking that if they could halt this change, they might be able to reincarnate the Demon Rat, hence having a supply of soldiers under Jin. However, despite multiple attempts to control it, both the System and Derek felt that it was meaningless and decided to drop such a prospect. Knowing that the blood flow was the fastest upon their death only meant that the virus could seep into their brain quite easily the moment the virus was introduced. Thus with this method, the kill zone box became a breeding ground for more of the zombie troops to emerge. That was also why the Demon Rat Command responded fiercely when they received word that their own comrades were turning into enemies. The only thing that Jin was surprised by the deployment of those artillery cannons was how ruthless they continued to be by sending incendiary rounds to burn the entire place. Now the Pandawans had learnt that setting up WARE events to counter the Demon Rats¡¯ efforts would be the most effective. They now knew that they were no longer the main assault force and should do everything they could to assist in this current war. It was as if Jin had already given the Pandarens their chance to prove themselves and they were not able to show that they were capable in the fight against such an immense force. For now, the WARE events included countering the incendiary rounds or making sure that the fire was contained to not burn any more dead corpses that the zombies could utilise. At the same time, Jin was also preparing more troops behind the scenes so that once the Pandarens had completed the WARE events set up by the Pandawans, Jin would be able to send in masses and stop their artillery strikes as soon as possible for their army to advance. ¡°User could easily send elite troops to deal with the Demon Rat Command right now.¡± The System suggested but Jin shook his head. ¡°They are not of a swarm mentality, you cut their head off, others would take their place and continue to fight. It is better we continue to counter them accordingly based on the information we are hearing¡­or until we are fooled by them.¡± Jin said and the System believed Jin would like to drag the battle to fulfil PandaVerse¡¯s festival duration. ¡°Understood. We shall break the shield that is surrounding the hole for now.¡± The System said as it was waiting for the WARE events to be concluded to move to the next portion of the assault. But to its surprise, the Pandarens were able to clear the WARE events rather efficiently and allowed the System and Jin to send out their biggest eater when it comes to magic consumption. Mister Derpy. Instead of emerging out from the Pillar Base Camp, Mr Derpy teleported out from the Inner Town Camp and headed towards the magical shield that only allowed the pillar tunnel to exist. Since breaking was such a wasteful option, Jin had decided to let Mr Derpy debut early and eat the shield¡¯s energy. This not only gives Mr Derpy his daily consumption for the day, but it also will no doubt lower their number of mages. It was literally killing two birds with one stone. And once they find out that maintaining that magic shield was feasible, that was when the real fun begins¡­or that was what Jin imagined it to be. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1377 Mr Derpy’s Magic Meal ¡°Yuck, what kind of magic power is this?!¡± Mr Derpy said as he munched on the magical barrier. ¡°But beggars can¡¯t be choosers¡­¡± he thought to himself as he could feel that his whinings would be purposefully ignored. At the very least, Mr Derpy finally had an enormous amount of energy to consume. He had been starved for quite a few days since the System needed resources to work on the invasion. Not to mention, he could not complain since he had been given a healthy amount when he was not doing anything at all. ¡°But that does not mean I have to suffer from eating such a bad quality of energy. It¡¯s too stale¡­¡± Mr Derpy complained once more as he made a loud click sound which vibrated the magical barrier and eventually broke it into pieces. Without a doubt, a number of mages had a bout of intense magical feedback, killing them in the process. A new batch of mages who were on standby quickly took over and attempted to cover the city with a fresh layer of magical energy. At the same time, the Demon Rat Command assumed that the gigantic whale would be a threat of enormous value if it enters the Undercity airspace so they had begun to sortie the air units once more. And with Air Force Demon Rat General Gnawbones redeeming himself a little the day before, he was quickly reinstated by Cinderclaw, the incumbent overall in command to settle with the mess up in the skies. Gnawbones was overly elated that he got control of the Air Force once again even though Cinderclaw did it as a minor payback for a grudge long forgotten by the former. But with the Air Force completely in his hands and no more holding back now that the allied monsters emerged on the battlefield, Gnawbones finally would be able to unleash the full might on his natural enemies. Meanwhile, when the magical barrier had finished forming, Mr Derpy took a hefty bite on it and finally started to enjoy his meal. He could only assume that the magical shield quality had been degraded from the consistent bombing by the Royal Zodiac Snakes and the Pandarens. To him, it initially felt like he was munching on burnt meat but right now the ¡®meat¡¯s¡¯ taste was acceptable and began to seep energy from it. There was without a doubt the Demon Rat mages were trying their best to maintain the barrier but Mr Derpy¡¯s rate of consumption exceeded their regeneration of the barrier causing holes to appear on it. And with the System prompting the crew on Nerodia on the latest development of the shield via the Pandamonium App, the Royal Zodiac Snakes had decided to sortie their planes as well¡­until they realised that something was coming out of their radar. ¡°And also Sir! There is an enormous fleet of boogies detected in the north!¡± One of the standby crew reported from the command bridge. ¡°What?¡± Chen Lai, who had brought out his laptop to do some administrative work, was stunned by the latest development. ¡°And here I thought I could finally complete some menial task while waiting for the war to end¡­¡± Chen Lai said to himself as he was appraised by his crew members on the current development. ¡°Clearly we do not have enough planes to have a decent dogfight with them.¡± Chen Lai said as he had decided to send the information to the Inner Town Camp where his General was commanding the rest of the Royal Zodiac Snakes that were available. ¡°Yea, it¡¯s pretty obvious from my side that a giant ass whale is floating at the top of the magical barrier and eating it up. It¡¯s no wonder that the Demon Rats would be riled up by it.¡± Hou Fei said. ¡°I see what I can do from my side. I should have a few anti air flak cannons in my inventory.¡± Once the communication between the Nerodia was done, Hou Fei still gave Chen Lai, the current commanding officer of the battleship, to sail slightly closer to the shore to provide some support. At the same time, it was given a new objective to find out where the planes were coming from. With these many planes which amount close to fifty over, there would definitely be a base where they were flying from. In the meantime, Hou Fei consulted the System since it should have a rather detailed map of the Northern Region but the System stated that the base was not a concern at the moment since it was going to sortie Mr Derpy to the area soon enough. ¡°But what can one big ass whale do? Gobble the base up?¡± Hou Fei asked through the System Channel and Mr Derpy who was in the vicinity heard the insult and sent out a whaling howl which deafened the Pandarens as well as the soldiers at the Inner Town Camp. ¡°Okay, okay. We see how this battle whale works against a fleet of planes.¡± Hou Fei surrendered and Mr Derpy gave a slight smirk. The Demon Rats Fighter planes came in no time and with the direction they were heading, it was apparent that Mr Derpy was their target. The Inner Town Camp already had the Pandarens at the ready with anti air weapons but with the limited equipment that they have, they could only do so much. Not to mention, if the fighter planes were to come close to Mr Derpy, friendly fire would be expected so they could only do so much. However, what they did not expect was that the giant ass whale suddenly started to move forward and at a speed that they were not expecting. Even the fighter planes who had decided to send a volley of rockets towards the whale and split their formation afterwards were shocked by the intense charge by the giant amphibian. ¡°Holy shit, is the whale going to swallow the fighter planes up?¡± One of the Pandarens said as they saw the entire fight unfold right above their eyes. True enough, Mr Derpy opened its mouth and dashed through the fighter planes¡¯ formation, eating up almost three quarters of their fighting force in one swoop (or bite). Everyone was flabbergasted by the development and even Hou Fei was at a loss for words until he tuned into the local team channel that was in contact with Nerodia¡¯s crew. ¡°Deploy all the Chryso fighter planes. The remaining Demon Rat planes would be more than enough target practice for those rascals¡­¡± Hou Fei said and chuckled at the absurdity of the current situation. Chapter 1378 Pandaverse Third Day Morning Report Gnawbones was in total shock when he saw his precious planes disappear into the gigantic flying sea monster. What¡¯s more, was that there were enemy planes in the air fighting against his as the monster continued to move further north nonchalantly. Hou Fei was taken aback by the development of the current situation considering that if he knew Mr Derpy could have been reliable, he would not have taken the time to make anti air defences and focus on gathering strength to clear the Inner Town properly. After all, the more time he had to clear the Inner Town, there would be fewer avenues for the Demon Rat to attack while the Pandarens gained more confidence to proceed with their individual assaults too. This was because the majority of the customers would not find it too fun when the difficulty level was hindering them. Despite it being ultra realistic and full of surprises, if the raid was not handled well to cater for the group, people might stop participating once they tried it once. That was also one of the reasons why Jin had decided to bring in the monsters on the third day because with their aid, the Pandarens would now have an easier time fighting while having an adequate challenge when the Demon Rats threw their rank and file against them. In any case, when Hou Fei saw how the enemy¡¯s air force was decimated, he decided to leave it to Mr Derpy to find the air base and destroy it once and for all while the Royal Zodiac Snake General continued to take charge to clear the Inner Town, inch by inch. With the soldiers at the forefront, the participating Pandarens joined as auxiliary support either by giving extra firepower or providing logistics support. It still gave them raid points as advertised and some of the Pandarens especially the Snake Cultivators even tried to use this opportunity to see if they could catch the eyes of Royal Zodiac military officers. Some were blatant in their actions but the Royal Zodiac officers were also rather selective of ¡®secret¡¯ recruitment. That was also one of the reasons why the other Royal Zodiac clans that were currently here were doing as well. As much as they were training their own soldiers in the raid, they were taking this chance to find out whether they could find any hidden talents as well. This was also mainly due to the fact that both the Monkey and Sheep Royal Zodiac clans were lacking recruits with battle experience which was why they decided to use this opportunity to find more. The reason behind the lack of battle cultivators is that the clan usually accepts more academics who could further their clan¡¯s specialities. All those academics needed was to adopt a basic monkey or sheep cultivation and even using them as secondary cultivation was allowed if the academics/doctors were reluctant to change. But the recent attacks by the Banned Emperor had forced the Royal Zodiac clan¡¯s higher ups to think more about their security. Sure, they could get help from the other Royal Zodiacs such as from the Tiger Clan since they owned a big pie of the police and are obligated to help but there was a certain limit on how much they could assist. Not to mention, some secrets were best to be kept within one¡¯s clan than asking for the protection of the others and so they were keeping their eye out for the best within this raid. However, let¡¯s not forget that the Tigers were here as well despite their small group but their objective was purely dedicated to the raid itself. Even though there were some cultivators trying to brown nose the captain in charge of the Tigers, Hu Chun Hua would not even bat an eye at them at all. Her team¡¯s objective was very clear to improve themselves and increase their grade if possible. So, with the current chaos created by the Zombie Horde, they were finally able to wreak havoc freely without thinking that they could get shot from the back now that the kill zone was officially broken. The WARE events were also done, allowing Jin to push the next wave of soldiers out to annihilate the artillery that was set up to counter the zombie horde. It was none other than Wyrstriker and his trusty Wyvern riders. Ayse and her science team had once again improved the mana thruster engines that the goblin wyvern knights were using, allowing them to exit the portal the System created at top speed and zoomed towards the artillery encampments. The sound of the mana thrusters was satisfying to hear as they dived through the broken magic barrier that Mr Derpy left before intervening the Demon Rat¡¯s air force. It caught everyone¡¯s attention including the Demon Rats as they had no idea how fast those goblin wyverns knights were moving. There was no time for the defences in the artillery encampments to react as the wyverns dropped cluster bombs, a devastating missile made up of several smaller explosives. This instantly crippled the encampments allowing the zombie horde to run and invade the undercity. Everything seemed to go smoothly until the System and Jin heard something from the Demon Rat Command that retracting their orders would be a difficult thing to do. ¡°Derek! Pull your zombies back immediately! The Demon Rats are going to-¡± Before Jin could finish his sentence, Derek could already see that the Demons had started their counterattack. Explosives were detonated, causing a certain row of houses to explode, impeding the zombie horde from moving forward. The cloud of dust that emerged looked as if the Great Wall of China had been erected right in front of the invaders. Even with the System¡¯s omnipotent map of the undercity, they could not predict that they had planted that many high grade explosives and waited for more of the zombie horde to cross until they detonated it. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Jin said as he saw the scale of destruction with his two own eyes. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1379 Blitzkrieg As much as Gnawbones wished to return the attack at the flying whale monster, he have to move the second phase of the current war plan that the Demon Rat Generals had planned beforehand. The first phase of this particular war plan which the Demon Rat Air Force was responsible for was to attack via the surface. They had a hidden base which was supposed to be used for this particular phase and their planes would either destroy the threat that was damaging the energy shield. Even if they could not defeat the force that was damaging the energy shield, the remaining number of Demon Rat planes would zoom past the enemy¡¯s forces with all their might and return to the Undercity. The mages would open up a certain section that was known to the Demon Rat Pilots that were participating in this war operation and then the fighter planes would disrupt the enemy lines from the back. That was in conjunction with the massive wall of explosives that were used to kill Derek¡¯s encroaching horde of zombies into the city and the remaining fleet of Demon Rat planes would use the shock induced situation to decimate the human soldiers and their monster comrades. All of that became impossible with the Royal Zodiac Snake¡¯s Chryso fighter jets destroying the remaining Demon Rats while Mr Derpy continued to fly forward, going for the forward air base that the Demon Rats were using. Even if it would be void of planes, the System had instructed Mr Derpy to dispose of the airbase since there were still Demon Rat remnants in the region according to its updated map. When within sight, all Mr Derpy did was just take a huff and puff his lungs out, causing an immense gust of wind to penetrate their feebly magical barrier and destroy whatever contents the Air Base was holding. And with another puff, it cause a temporary hurricane to emerge right in the middle of the base, ripping the floor foundations apart, revealing Demon Rats that were hiding and killing them in the process. He did not even need to use any of his Deep Ones but still eventually decided to send a squad in just to make sure that everything was thoroughly cleaned up. In the meantime, Air Force General Gnawbones had already sent his best pilots to bomb the zombie horde and the Pandarens and his remaining fighter planes to deal threat that the Goblin Wyvern Knights were giving. Unfortunately, because he was in the Command Room, he did not have a full glimpse of Wyrstrikers and his knights¡¯ capability. Even before the bombers and the fighter planes could fully depart towards the survivors of the horde, Wyrstriker and his Wyvern Knights were already circling around waiting to hunt their latest prey. The moment they have them in their sights, their mana thrusters were already roaring through the Undercity and headed straight for them. The bombers tried to evade the Goblin Wyvern Knights but in this current tight airspace especially when they were underground, they were basically air target practices for the Wyverns to bring down. A new piece of equipment had allowed the wyverns to shoot several devastating blasts of fire in a short period of time, which had been dubbed as the ignitor, had been making their debut in this situation. With that piece of equipment near their mouth, it acted as the name stated to help ignite their breaths, increasing the explosive power of their fire breaths. This new method of spewing flames allowed the wyverns to complement the firepower that the Goblins were carrying as well and gave them extra mobility to complete their mission objectives. On the other hand, the Demon Rats in those bomber planes might shoot back but they could never catch the speed the Wyverns were moving unless it was a lucky shot. Other than that, the bombers went down fast, enabling the Goblin Wyvern Knights to concentrate on the dogfight engagement they have with the remaining fighter planes. It was yet another loss for the Demon Rats Air Force as it was pretty obvious that their technology could not surpass Wyrstriker¡¯s platoon of Goblin Wyvern Knights strapped with mana thrusters. This gave the Zombie Horde some time to recover especially when Half Ghoul Lord Derek brought forth the Fire Zombies, allowing them to absorb the brunt of the disaster. The fire they took in was also used as energy to power themselves up, causing them to have a stronger magical presence and shoot long range fireballs back at the Demon Rats who were shooting them from afar. Simultaneously, the Pandawans set up more WARE events to salvage this particular disaster they were in, so for example Pandarens who knew water arts contributed to extinguishing the fire that was raging after the explosion. However, this also allowed the Demon Rats to regroup and party up with the reinforcements that were coming through the underground tunnels or alleys. Houses and apartments were filled with Demon Rats aiming their rifles and rocket launchers through the windows while they waited for the Zombie Horde to go through. But they had forgotten that Jin¡¯s Army does not only have foot soldiers. Columns of armoured vehicles caught the attention of the viewers from the System¡¯s streams as they were the next to pop out from the portals once the current wave of WARE event was completed. Since Jin knew that the Undercity would be a complicated place to fight, it was best to storm the various districts with speed. Scout and lure Demon Rats out of their hiding places and fight with them accordingly. In short, Jin was trying to imitate the tactics of the German¡¯s infamous blitzkrieg tactics where speed was the only thing that matters. The Dungeon Supplier might want to spread this Demon Rat Raid as a week¡¯s long event but given the estimation of numbers that the System had noted in the latest scan along with the Birth Mother¡¯s testimonies, it might be best to work a little bit faster than usual. ¡°Besides, isn¡¯t this speed we are going favourable for the current streaming community too?¡± Jin thought to himself as he could see the numbers and retention of viewers started to increase with respect to Bear Cub One¡¯s Metube stream. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1380 New Threats Every Hour Even as the Goblin Wyvern Knights were doing their best to break down the bomber planes, they realised the numbers were only growing. With each plane they shot down, another two more emerged from afar. And to make things worse, the bomber planes were kamikazing, throwing themselves at Jin¡¯s Army as much as their planes could take. Demon Rats were also seen to be strapped with explosives and bombs that were heavier than their weight so that they could use a booster to make themselves akin to guided missiles. The only difference from the concept of guided missiles was that the Demon Rats were sacrificing themselves to make sure the explosives get to where they were going, to destroy as much as the zombie horde as they could. For the armoured vehicles that were driven by the Dark Templars, most of them were able to continue to charge forward to the city centre Thus, the only solution was to annihilate the bomber planes, combusting them in mid air so that the recovering zombie horde would not take the brunt of the damage. However, it was extremely dangerous for the Goblin Wyvern Knights to do so because the mid air explosions were equally deadly to the wyvern riders. To counter this, Jin had decided to send in Marquis Forneus and his mechanised company of Dragon Devils. This half metal half dragon menace was the latest fighting force that had been sent into the fray against the suicidal bomber planes and the Demon Rat¡¯s remaining airforce. The explosions might be a little damaging to the Dragon Devils but their mechanised selves that had been enhanced by the System allowed them to repair on the go, enabling the Dragons to move from one bomber plane to another rather easily. Marquis Forneus even took the initiative to send his dragon to throw out a hyper charged beam to burn down the latest wave of Demon Rat planes. In the meantime, the Pandarens were in awe by the appearances of dragons since they were always seen as a symbol of might and strength especially when it comes to the fight for the skies. Those who had joined the Defence of Pandapolis previously initially thought that the Dragon Devils were enemies until they realised that they were on the same side and subsequently cheered for them. With the intervention of the Dragon Devils, this gave the zombie horde some time to gain back their momentum and Half Ghoul Lord Derek continued to push the horde out using the roads that were initially cleared by the convoy of the armoured vehicles. Stragglers were still around even after the initial push by the armoured vehicle convoy but at the very least, the Dark Templars had forced the Demon Rats to push their attention to the armed convoy since they were getting closer to the city centre. And as expected when the Dark Templars forced their way through, they were met with heavy resistance. Impromptu fortification such as makeshift walls filled with metal junk and sandbags to heavily reinforced guard posts which were near impossible to go near. Some of the Dragon Devils were able to answer calls by the Dark Templars asking for a quick fly by and they obliged, allowing the armed mobile convoy to move deeper than Jin had expected them to do so. Yet, most of them reached an impasse as the fighting got extremely intense and most of their vehicles were destroyed with dozens of rockets flying to halt their tracks. A number of Dark Templars managed to survive and decided to dash into buildings not just for safety from the overarching shots from urban warfare but also to score some kills. With the power and courage granted to them by Mr Derpy, their object of worship, their skin turned scaly and secreted a kind of slime which enabled them to block gunshots to a certain degree. If the shots were far enough, the build up of slime on their skin would stop the attack but if the shots were near, they might graze the scales that had or maybe injure them slightly. This allowed the Dark Templars to fight at a very demanding pace and massacre the Demon Rats while they hide in the buildings and gain some environmental advantage. The only time some of these Templars were killed was when the Demon Rats bombed the entire apartment building down, crashing their kind within the debris in the process. This series of events made the Demon Rats realise that the cultivators were clearly not the threat and they were right to reserve most of their firepower for Jin¡¯s minions. It was apparently so for the Air Force General Gnawbones who he saw that his remaining fleet of planes was dwindling at a rate he could have never imagined. If mechanical units were not a match to Jin¡¯s monsters, then perhaps it was time to release their own monsters to fight against such monsters. The Demon Rats had not been idle after being engaged in multiple skirmishes with Jin¡¯s minions before this great defensive war they were currently fighting. Behind the scenes, they had started to make their very own monsters or chimaeras as one would call them. This was because they knew that when they die, they would turn to a certain random resource. It could vary from something precious like gold to something ridiculous like a bag of feathers. But it was previously because there was something like a bag of feathers, such Demon Rats were used as the base core for these mutations, creating Demon Rat Chimaeras that were out of this world. There were plenty which the Demon Rats had made and especially when they used the research left by Weslie, the Scholar of the West before she was rescued by Gold, these Chimaeras were strengthened and specialised to monsters that were suited to the Demon Rats¡¯ military needs. Right now, one such monster was the Flying Rat Chimaeras and Gnawbone had decided to unleash a bunch of them all hungry for a fight. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1381 Flying Rats ¡°What in the hell¡­?¡± Jin looked at the console as he saw a swarm of ¡®flying rats¡¯ zooming towards his Dragon Devils. The System was not able to identify the new threat that was approaching and gave the Dragon Devils sufficient warning of the imminent threat. But to their surprise, a breath of fire was more than enough to roast the flying rats and most of the Dragon Devils including Marquis Forneus found that the quality of those rats was not the threat but the quantity. Even throwing out a breath of fire, the rest converged and aimed for a Dragon Devil at the front. The Flying Rats clung onto the Dragon Devil and did not let go. Eventually, each and every one of them began to sink their teeth into the Dragon. More of those flying rats eventually overwhelmed the Dragon Devil¡¯s wings, forcing it to fall from the skies and land with more than just a loud thud. Even as the Dragon Devil Rider tried to command his dragon to eradicate those rats, the rest continued to swarm all over it. p It was only when the Goblin Wyvern Knights swooped in and rescued the rider that the dragon was finally able to use its magic to increase its temperature so that all those rats that refused to bugger off would be burnt to charcoal. The rest of the Dragon Devils finally realised what the flying rats were doing as they wished to use their numbers to burden the Dragons so that they would be rendered flightless. And since the dragon could be brought down to the ground, the rest of the Demon Rat soldiers were able to intervene and attack them as well. So to avoid that, the Goblin Wyvern Knights had decided to travel in groups and burn the flying rats that were clung to the Dragon Devils¡¯ wings. Their breath of fire had little to no impact on the Dragon Devils now that they were partially mechanised but it was also because the goblins had adjusted the ignitors near their fellow wyvern¡¯s mouth and made sure that their flames did as little damage to the Dragon Devils but strong enough to burn the flying rats off their bodies. Demon Rats¡¯ Air Force General Gnawbones saw the opportunity in this particular situation by firing volleys of rockets toward the enemy¡¯s air force as well as the Zombie Horde who had recovered since the Dragon Devils were preoccupied to defend themselves. But now that it was apparent that their targets were the Dragon Devils, their riders were not going to lie down allowing their fellow dragons to get decimated. In unison, the Dragonlites conjured out multiple layers of magic barrier to stop the rockets from hitting their dragons and in that process, it somehow managed to kill off the flying rats that were plaguing their comrades too. However, the collateral damage from the explosive rockets did not cause the flying rats to falter instead they continued to hold their ground, hoping that the dragons would be the first to fall. And when the rockets were not enough, the failing fighter planes also utilised this opportunity to crash onto their enemies, showing that they were willing to do anything and everything to bring those tough opponents down to the ground. Yet, because of his obsession with bringing those mighty creatures down, Gnawbones did not know that the Pandarens and the Zombie Horde were steadily moving forward. That was when Demon Rat Axe General Cinderclaw had already sent a brand new general to the field to counter the zombies. Sword General Firecleaver. With him, there were hundreds of mechanised Demon Rats carrying shields and swords ready to intervene with the Pandarens and the Zombie Horde. Armour that made them two times taller and covered all their vital parts including their tails with a variety of metal plates., They were best described to be steampunk knights since they were literally carrying a generator on their backs, ready to carve a hole in their enemies with all their might with their weapons. And speaking of weapons, what Jin¡¯s side of allies did not expect was that the rats had similar weapons to the Werecats. The mechanised Demon Rats were carrying gunblades or gunswords which allowed them to attack Jin¡¯s army from afar quite easily. If not for the urban landscape, most of the Pandarens would have been shot down from afar already. Not to mention, the rest of the rank and file Demon Rats were still shooting them from windows on a higher floor which eventually forced the Pandarens to clear one building to another. Jin thought that with the introduction of his minions¡¯ things would be easier but the resistance was getting fiercer with every passing minute that he was tempted to throw all his soldiers in. Obviously, the System did not allow him to do so but acknowledged the fact that at this particular stage, it was unwise to wait for the Pandawans to throw WARE events to open the portals for his soldiers to emerge from their dungeon instances. ¡°At this juncture, it would be best to play ¡®cheat¡¯ by sending out your soldiers to counter their forces. Extrapolation analytics had shown that the number of customers entering the raid instance will stagnate by tonight and there is no point dragging this fight if we have the upper hand.¡± The System stated and Jin wholeheartedly agreed to its proposal. For the past few city fights that Jin had participated in, they had been rather straightforward. Most of the Dungeon World¡¯s city layouts were simple enough for the System to figure a plan out. But for the Demon Rat¡¯s Undercity? It seemed as if there were layers upon layers of schematics being piled onto each other as they created this particular city making it one of the most complicated places to fight in. The alleyways, inconspicuous hideouts and confusing sharp turns along with the Demon Rats¡¯ dirty style of fighting made it hard for Jin to attack the undercity blindly. Even though their objective was to go to the city centre and storm the Rat¡¯s Command, it did not mean that the remaining Demon Rats would immediately surrender. Not to mention, Jin was already having it easy since he had Gold and Weslie keeping the other two major armies distracted for the moment. If Jin wished to prevent being swarmed by the other two major armies, the System and he had to secure the tunnels leading to the East and West Regions as soon as possible too. Thus, the System had finally decided to allow Jin to portal his army earnestly to meet their objectives before the end of the third day. Chapter 1382 Western Tunnel Now that the Demon Rats had stepped up their game, Jin was also not holding back any longer. ¡°Gold, Weslie. We are stepping up the timeline. I am sending you Zeru and Qiu Yue.¡± ¡°What do you mean by sending Qiu Yue? I am currently in the Western Tunnel!¡± Qiu Yue said through the System Channel and Jin chuckled. ¡°Then Zeru, I guess I am leaving the Eastern Tunnel to you.¡± Jin rebutted and the legendary Sword Master acknowledged his boss¡¯s orders. ¡°Hey, Jin. You have yet to answer my question.¡± Qiu Yue said as she hid behind a barricaded wall demanding a response from the Dungeon Supplier. ¡°I heard you had been training under Zeru. Isn¡¯t it about time you show your skills out for your Master to rate you? And well, I am not barring you from using the current set of skills too. As long as you clear the army and help Weslie and the others to reach the Undercity, any underhanded method would be fine.¡± ¡°Does that mean I have permission to spend money?¡± Qiu Yue¡¯s smile started to grow wider and had an underlying meaning behind the query but had decided to say it out loud since there was not much time to tease Jin. ¡°Your money.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. But do not go overboard or else Claire would come knocking on my door.¡± Jin gave his approval which certainly made Qiu Yue over the moon. ¡°I can hear that in this current System Channel.¡± Claire suddenly interrupted. ¡°I am releasing a few million dungeon dollars to your account now my dear girl. Try not to spend it all in one go.¡± ¡°Aye aye, Chief Financial Officer!¡± The Empire Building Sub System User gave an air salute to her fellow Sub System User, as she suddenly decided to bravely stand right in front of the barricaded wall with tons of guns and cannons pointing towards the open target. As if it was a warm up to her powers, she had instantly spent ten thousand dungeon dollars to increase her defensive powers, allowing her to elude an aura that caused all the bombs, bullets and other sorts of projectile to ricochet away from her. However, because of the intensity of the Demon Rats¡¯ attacks, the defence buff which made her near invincible only lasted ten seconds according to the user interface through her Red Panda Half Mask. So after being satisfied to be able to block every single ranged attack by the Demon Rats, she had decided to charge forward with the rest of the troops under Weslie¡¯s command. And speaking of Weslie¡¯s troops, there had been significant changes to her army composition mainly because of her petition for aid from the Queen. For the past two days, she had filmed the horror of the Demon Rats live through a magical orb as well as escorted a few of the Queen¡¯s personal Royal Western Region Knights to the battlefield so that they could give an accurate report of the situation that Weslie was portraying. With sufficient evidence that there was a looming threat against her people, the Western Region¡¯s Queen had decided to accede to her long dear friend¡¯s request for aid. The only problem was that the Royal Knights and their army needed time to march to the region where the Demon Rats had popped. But that was circumvented when Weslie had personally told the Queen that they would be willing to mass teleport the Knights and the Queen¡¯s Army to the battlefield without worrying about logistics. Weslie even agreed to pay for this particular expedition so long the QUeen provided sufficient manpower. This made the Queen¡¯s military command somewhat relieved as they thought the Queen was making such a rash decision to force the army to face such a big threat. In addition, Weslie had also offered gold to the adventurer¡¯s guilds and free teleportation to the area so long they decided to risk their lives to fight against the Demon Rat threat. Thus on the third day, she had managed to gather dozens of ragtag groups of adventurers as well as the Queen¡¯s Army to her side. At first, they were terrified by the war that Weslie and her group were waging against the Demon Rats. Unknown ranged weapons and the sounds of continuous explosions scared off quite a number of adventurers and even the soldiers. The only difference between those adventurers and the soldiers was that the latter, bound by duty, had eventually regrouped themselves despite the horror of this mysterious battle. But even experienced commanders knew that Weslie and her troops were only winning slightly through the battle of attrition within the tunnels. If not for some of the weird machinations they saw, there was no way the Queen¡¯s commanders would even agree to aid Weslie too as they knew how dangerous it was to fight in tunnels. While the ¡®weird machinations¡¯ were something to be bewildered at, they were merely ventilators and portable lights to make sure that the tunnels were breathable and did not combust suddenly due to the amount of dust they made kick up with all those explosions. However, with Qiu Yue¡¯s new orders, the Queen¡¯s Army got to see something that turned the tide against these demonic looking ¡®wererats¡¯. She single handedly rushed into Demon Rat¡¯s frontline and those who did not know her, thought that one of Weslie¡¯s underlings turned suicidal. Yet, the scene of her decimating the Demon Rats was like seeing a delicate angel going to war on behalf of the incapable humans cladded in full metal armour. Her sword slashed was transcendental as it cut off tens of Demon Rats in one go and later solid walls of metal emerged right beside her. As the sight of the soldiers was cut off from the walls, they did not know that those metal walls were holding onto spring loaded gigantic drilling spears. All Qiu Yue needed was to press a button at the side of the wall and those giant ass drilling spears sprung forward spinning through all the defences of the Demon Rats, breaking them like measly joint sticks blown by the wind. And with a hand signal by the Red Panda Cultivator, Weslie and the rest under her command charged forth and conquered more of the Western Tunnel. Chapter 1383 MIlitary Impacts Of The Raid Instance As ironic as it was, the introduction of Jin¡¯s monsters somehow increased the streaming viewership as they finally started to see more action in this current situation. Perhaps, the streamers would want a more exhilarating battle rather than seeing the Pandarens cowering behind the walls waiting for the right opportunity. Yet, it was still perfectly understandable that against overwhelming odds, there was nothing much they could do. No matter what, the debate about being able to stop modern projectiles such as bullets was something that had been long contested for a long time. Should cultivators go towards the magic route and learn some magic skills or stay true to their roots and attain enlightenment through cultivation? Magic had no doubt evolved in such a manner that it could stop bullets and even missiles but cultivation was still the same centuries ago. There might have been the introduction of new techniques and methods to cultivate even more easily but other than that, the fundamentals were still the same- for the betterment of oneself. To modern society, it felt like enabling cultivation among their citizens had its strengths. To be able to live a little healthier while stretching the amount of time they can utilise compared to magic. Sure, magic had its perks like telekinesis and being able to conjure the elements at their beckoning, they were more widely favoured by the Westerners. This was mainly because it made use of the surrounding energy, an external force to aid them with whatever they were doing. But for cultivators to do the same, they need to use their internal energy to conjure it up and that requires a higher grade of cultivation to do so. Thus, in terms of energy output, cultivators will lose if they were in a mana rich environment. That was one of the reasons why there were more dungeon supplier shops in the East compared to the West so that the cultivators had a chance to increase their experience in manipulating the chi within their body and fighting was the shortest route to do so. Therefore this raid was an indicator to not just the cultivators themselves but to everyone in the world. To most people, it was mere entertainment but to the governments and intelligence agencies that were watching on the sidelines, it was an eye opener on the current level of cultivation most of the Chinese Citizens were at. Some of the Chinese officials were appalled by the number of low grade cultivators that the Dungeon Supplier had to resort to using NPCs and allied monsters to help with the fight. However, a minor few, especially those with military experience, were actually quite delighted that this particular Dungeon Supplier is giving their own citizens a taste of war. Those officials who monitored the stream in intervals were pleasantly surprised that those ¡®players¡¯ continued to stay within the raid despite overwhelming odds and it showed them that the Chinese people still had tenacity. Still, the military command was concerned that even the Royal Zodiac Armies were having problems fighting against these monsters. They knew that their Generals had forced them to seal their abilities and fight with just mere guns and fists (*Cough* In short, keep their cultivation grade hidden as much as possible except for what they were famous like how the Battle Alchemist was an open secret.) but it was saddening to see that when their elites were restricted, they were not capable of miracles as they thought they would be. However, compared to those who did not join Jin¡¯s dungeons before, the military command could see that there was indeed an obvious increase in capabilities among the Royal Zodiac Snake¡¯s army during their previous friendly military competition. In fact, it was so apparent that the Snakes who usually got 6-7th in placing in these war games had shot up and raised themselves to the third, with only the Dragon and Tiger at the front. That was the reason why the Royal Zodiac Heads had also previously decided to accede to Jin¡¯s request to enter the Raid event so that they could see what made the Snakes become so powerful and coordinated in such a short time. Jin knew that information beforehand from Hou Fei since he was the Supplier¡¯s insider info when it comes to military stuff and the gamble paid off when he was able to use the Royal Zodiac Heads just as how they used him to see the event for themselves. But even after seeing the event, the only one who took action was the Tigers who reluctantly sent a small scouting group party as well as the Sheeps and Monkeys. So far, the daily reports were promising to the Royal Zodiac Heads as the various teams reported the high level of difficulty in the raid that Jin had to supplement monsters to help because the Pandarens were not able to hold the line. All those Heads were probably sadistic in nature but at least they know that their money was well spent if their teams were struggling since that showed them that their military exercises were insufficient to pull more of their potential out of them. But even with the monsters¡¯ appearances, the Demon Rats were fighting even more fiercely, and this prompted a few of the Royal Zodiac Heads who were initially contemplating to finally sending a token force of their own anonymously to Jin¡¯s Dungeons and Pandas. Some however wished to stay in their speciality whenever possible such as the Rooster Head, Mu Ji personally requested Jin to allow her ¡®cultivators¡¯ to have access to planes. And to keep the anonymity, she signed her forces up under the Rooster Flying Academy, an organisation to train budding pilots privately at a rather steep price. This way, the Rooster pilots could stay anonymous while joining this one heck of a crazy battle. There was no doubt that Jin approved of her request and requisitioned a fleet of World War 2 Supermarine Spitfires with modern controls attached to them so that the Rooster Pilots did not need to worry about flying old school. Some were delighted that they get to fly an infamous model from World War 2 but others were annoyed that they did not have the speed and prowess like the Nerodias that the Royal Zodiac Snakes were flying. ¡°Then we have to prove to them that we do not need speed to defeat those rats.¡± Rooster Lead, Zha Ji, said to his fellow pilots. ¡°Let¡¯s score some kills and show that we are still the bastards that rule the skies no matter where we go.¡± Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1384 Supermarine Spitfires ¡°Master! My Dragon Devils are under heavy attacks by those stupid flying rats. Do you have anything that could kill them all in one go??¡± Marquis Forneus asked in the System Channel. ¡°Aye, Master. My Goblin Wyvern Knights are not able to take down as many as we wished to. Not to mention we are now priority targets by the Flying Rats. Some reinforcements would be appreciated.¡± Wyrstriker said as he struck a Flying Demon Rat and pushed it off his back. ¡°No, I do not. But I have reinforcements coming in. They are supposedly elite pilots of my era.¡± Jin said as he was referring to the Royal Zodiac Rooster¡¯s squadron flying the Supermarine Spitfires. And as he replied to Marquis, they had already been teleported into the Farming World through a major portal slightly south of the Northern Capital. With the energy shield inactivated by Mr Derpy¡¯s constant sapping of its magic energy, the hole created by the initial earthquake had become an entrance for Pandarens to jump in when they were needed. The hole was also large enough for that squadron of spitfires to enter without much problem and the Rooster Squadron did not hesitate to dive into it to get into action as soon as possible. They were surprised that the spitfires that they were piloting were easy to manoeuvre mainly because of the controls mimicked the same as their modern planes. The only difference was the layout was made to look as old as the spitfires themselves. Other than that, most of the information that they needed was on their helmets that were provided alongside the plane. The HUD within the helmet¡¯s panel was almost equivalent to the future tech. The Roosters had been waiting for the Monkeys to fulfil their side of the bargain to increase their military edge but since all the military research relied on the Monkeys, such a ¡®minor¡¯ improvement such as a helmet like this was not on their priority list. To find such a long awaited improvement in their quality of life in a dungeon supplier instance not only instantly raised their liking of the store but also made the pilots excited about the battle that lay ahead of them. ¡°Rooster Lead to the team, we saw in the streams how fast those ass looking flying rats are. Save the Dragons so that they could provide us with the firepower needed to destroy this damn city. And don¡¯t worry, the dragon scales are said to be impervious to our shots so go all out saving them but try not to aim their head if possible.¡± Rooster Captain and current Squadron Leader, Zha Ji, said to his team which they all acknowledged as they dived into the hole and saw the hell of the battlefield both on the ground and in mid air. While the space above the Undercity was considered to be limited, there was indeed enough space for a dogfight between air units and now the Roosters roughly understood why they were given an old war model instead of those high tech looking aircraft like Nerodia. Speed might be a crucial factor in most dog fights but in such tight airspace like the ¡®skies¡¯ above the undercity, it was more important to have higher control of their planes since high speeds would only cause them to be reckless and unable to calculate their exit route after shooting. With a slightly slower and more durable plane, the pilots would be able to withstand the harsh airspace above the Undercity. ¡°The Dungeon Supplier, he is not a simple Instance maker. I am liking him more and more.¡± Mu Ji, the Head of Royal Zodiac Rooster clan said as she quietly watched the stream while looking forward to seeing her elites perform in this particular situation. The Spitfires returned to formation after they got through the massive opening that led into the Undercity and Zha Ji had just two requests before they got into battle proper. ¡°Do not tarnish the reputation of the Rooster¡¯s Flying Academy or I will make sure that all of you do three times the drill. And also! The first to be down had to buy everyone the first round of drinks! If we have less than half the casualties by the end of our sortie, I will buy the rest of the rounds!¡± Every pilot gave a resounding acknowledgement and each of them flew forward with adrenaline pumping through their veins as they followed their captain Zha Ji into the chaos. The Goblin Wyvern Knights and the Dragon Devils were informed of their presence but they did not expect much from the humans considering how the Pandarens had performed for the past few days. To be honest, they were hoping for the humans from the Dungeon World, especially from the Seven Cities. City Aljun had a decent fleet of airships and the Dragon Devils thought that they would have a decent chance of turning the tide in this particular situation. Still, to have more hands on deck was better than nothing and Marquis Forneus told his fellow Dragon Devils to continue fighting. Soon enough as the Supermarine Spitfires enter the fray, they started their slaughtering of those flying rats. The Rooster Squadron had split their teams even further with three spitfires per team with the objective to save one dragon. Their machine guns on the planes were the perfect solution to kill the pests that were bothering the dragons and because of their rapid fire, they were able to remove the flying rats at a faster rate compared to the Goblin Wyvern Knights who were using their breaths of fire to burn them to death, But that was the only weapon that the Spitfires have. It was as if to complement the name, Jin had ordered those Spitfires to be armed with an onboard flamethrower in its wings as well. This allowed the planes to be true to their name as it spits oil and ignited it to produce a gush of flames so that any incoming Flying Rats that were coming their way would be burned down. However, because of how the Spitfire was similar to the Demon Rat¡¯s planes, they assumed that crashing their body forward into the propeller will cause it to stop working. It was a suicidal move but they were so sure that the plan would work that they did not hesitate to do so. Unfortunately for them, Jin¡¯s military research team was already one step ahead of them and made an engine sturdy enough to not just fly the plane but also acted as a rotating killing blade to whoever came close. The only problem was that it would slow the plane down momentarily since there was ¡°debris¡± within the propeller blades. As soon as the debris was cleared by the rotation speed and the speed the fighter plane was going, the Spitfire was ready to get going again. With such hidden features hidden in this plane, the Roosters did not regret not being able to realise that the spitfire they were piloting was actually a heavily modified unit that was meant to be tougher than any planes they had ridden before. Thus without a doubt, the menace of the Flying Rats had lessened and with more dragons freed from their pesky attackers, Jin¡¯s Alliance of Monsters and Humans were proving to hold air superiority in this current situation. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1385 Mu Ji Overthinking The Dragon Devils and Goblin Wyvern Knights were surprised that the humans piloting the spitfires were more than just competent. They were able to survive the onslaught by the flying rats and remove the pesky ones from the dragons¡¯ bodies, allowing them to finally move free and reign control of the skies. Now knowing that the Flying Rats were a menace that was not supposed to be underestimated, the new wave of rats were quickly annihilated by the Dragon Devils¡¯ intense breath of lightning flames As if that was not enough for the Rooster Elites, they continue their fight head on with the Demon Rats fighter planes. When the Demon Rat Air Force thought that they finally had an opponent who they could counter attack and win against, the Rooster Elites shot them down with the 20mm cannons on the side of their planes and shredded their units in minutes. Some took evasive movements but they had forgotten that the airspace was extremely tight and some crashed into their own flying rats while others were killed by the Dragon Devils when they disengaged from the spitfires. The viewers who were watching the current scene held to the edge of their seats as they had never seen a dogfight this intense. Most movies hardly showed air battles of this scale and with the somewhat carefully selected angles despite it being live had made the stream all the more exciting which streamers commenting on it reacted explosively to the current video. The streamers had been trying to fish for comments since Day 1 but after the appearance of the Royal Zodiacs, there was nothing much except for the occasional highs in this raid. However, Day 3 went into a complete reversal with the monsters¡¯ arrival and the viewers keep coming in. Royal Zodiac Rooster Head Mu Ji who was monitoring this current stream was more than satisfied with the money she had spent and now understood why the Snakes had decided to devote almost its entire army into this raid. She contemplated sending more pilots into the fray but the price for renting an additional spitfire had caused her more than just a pause. When she checked her Pandamonium app, the spitfire¡¯s rental price suddenly went up insanely as if Jin knew what she was thinking. ¡°Either that businessman is taking the opportunity to rip me off my money or his supply of spitfires as ¡®fake¡¯ as it is limited.¡± Mu Ji knew how difficult it was to replicate fighter planes within a dungeon instance. Even just having a simulation exercise for taking off and landing had already cost hundreds of thousands based on the current dungeon supplier contracts so Mu Ji knew that for that same level of cost to allow her elites to fly was more than just a boon. Mu Ji might not be sending more upon seeing the price but she did contemplate asking her secretary to look into investing in Jin¡¯s Dungeon Supplier store. If anything, she finally understood how shrewd Jin had been to invite the Royal Zodiacs to his dungeon instance. She had finally experienced how his dungeon instances were different from the usual suppliers and saw first hand the advancement in dimensional technology compared to the ¡®high tech¡¯ ones that the current contracted military dungeon suppliers had boasted. She was also sure that with the Royal Zodiacs¡¯ appearance on stream, other countries¡¯ intelligence agencies would be looking at his stream with great intent. If anything, this PandaVerse was essentially a major PR session not just to the rest of the other Royal Zodiacs but to the rest of the world as well. With his affiliation to the Royal Zodiacs kept to the highest classification of secrets as of this moment, he might be able to get other countries¡¯ defence ministries to make contact with him. Obviously, the major superpowers like the USA and UK would not bother since they were wary of China herself but Mu Ji was counting on Jin to get contracts from countries like South Korea, Australia and Singapore to earn their money. ¡°But I am getting ahead of myself. Maybe Jin could not see that far and he coincidentally managed all of this.¡± Mu Ji thought to herself as she saw one of her elites even do an acrobatic 180 degrees flip with his spitfire to evade and shoot the enemies¡¯ fighter plane down. Just when she was getting her high from her elites¡¯ achievement, the stream suddenly switched to a group of unknown planes flying into the massive hole. Upon the explanation by Bear Cub One, they were identified to be the Royal Zodiac Snakes¡¯ Nerodia planes. Those warthog fighter planes lookalike zoomed passes through the battlefield and provided support for the ground troops with heavy gatling gun suppression. Demon Rats who were caught in it had no way was guaranteed to die by the heavy gun fire and as the Nerodia gained altitude, they did not stop but flew faster so that they could get into the city centre. Their main objective was shock and awe by zooming in quickly with their mana engines and sending a barrage of rockets to destroy the buildings in the building. Without bomber planes, their damage was limited but they concentrated on buildings that were detected to have the most activity (Based on Pandamonium App) ? Obviously one of such attacks was on the Demon Rat¡¯s High Command but the rockets on the dark tower had no effect as another shield protected the High Command. Only from chatter from the hearing bugs that Jin could identify that the magic shields that were protecting the High Command were not from Demon Rat Mages but from an artefact. He quickly contacted both Weslie and Gold to ask if they knew about the artefacts held by the previous Scholars and they were not entirely aware if they belonged to them. But both of them confirmed that they would not be surprised if they had such artefacts. ¡°Then why did the both of you not have any with you?¡± Jin asked, now curious why the scholars he recruited were kind of ¡®poor¡¯. ¡°Master, we had made lots of progress with Qiu Yue leading the charge. We had cleared at least three kilometres of the tunnel.¡± Weslie reported, ignoring the question. ¡°Zeru is doing the same as well but we should be able to progress faster since he said he had just finished warming up.¡± Gold did the same and Jin merely sighed telling them that if they needed any transportation vehicles, give him a holler. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, can I just build a damn train? Those rats just did not want to give up and we should just blast through all of them to reach the Undercity.¡± Qiu Yue asked as she was sick of beating those rats. ¡°For all we know, they are running back now while the front keeps us occupied.¡± ¡°Reports from the System said that there was not much movement by both sides of the army withdrawing but it¡¯s your battlefield,¡± Jin replied, making Qiu Yue chuckle that she really had full reign of the current situation. ¡°Then alright guys, time to make some way for me to go through!¡± Qiu Yue said as she cracked her knuckles. Chapter 1386 War Train With the Empire Building Sub System on her side, Qiu Yue had managed to slap down a fresh batch of railroad tracks without much trouble. She had already known long ago that she would be one of the participants to take the fight to the Demon Rats via the tunnels. Thus, this railroad train plan was all along part of her solution to fight against the Demon Rats especially when she knew that Jin¡¯s Army would be transversing through from either the East or West Tunnels just to reach the Undercity. ¡°I am not going to walk hundreds of kilometres just to reach the Undercity!¡± That was her initial thought when they came out with the plans to stop the Demon Rats from invading other regions. While it was a good plan to begin with, the process would definitely be a long and arduous trip for the armies to go through. The only advantage they had was that they did not have to worry about supply lines since they had the power of the System to aid them with that. Or else, realistically, this could be an operation that would never see its completion at all, in fact, the Demon Rats might overwhelm them. And unlike her new teacher, Qiu Yue was nowhere at the skills of Zeru where she could fight for days without stopping. The Red Panda Cultivator had seen him chase after the Banned Emperor lackeys for days by foot when the latter managed to get a car to escape. To the Banned Emperor lackeys, it was a terror trying to escape from the infamous Sword Saint as his qing gong was already equivalent to the speed of a car. Those lackeys eventually wanted to surrender but Zeru did the thing that would benefit Jin best. By giving them to Kraft and allowing him to get all the information before disposing of them. Thus, in this particular instance, she had decided to bash her way through so that it will take the Demon Rats by surprise. The only she worried about was that the Demon Rats had decided to turn suicidal and blast the tunnel to kingdom come. When that happens both sides would definitely take casualties but the losing end would no doubt be the Demon Rats since they had blocked the tunnel access which they had been working so hard to maintain and invade the greener pastures. But instead of worrying about the worst case scenario, Qiu Yue had already summoned a train via her Empire Building Sub System and its appearance had already smashed a few Demon Rats into pieces. ¡°Heh Heh Heh! Behold my almighty War Train!¡± Qiu Yue declared as she knelt on one knee and spread open her arms towards the train that emerge literally from nowhere. Her flourishing of the War Train made Weslie giggle quietly and she was commanding the Queen¡¯s Royal Knights and army to hope onto the train. As for the train itself, the front was mounting a massive siege weapon as well as a well reinforced cowcatcher, known to deflect obstacles on the track that could have damaged or derail the train. After all, the Demon Rats would do whatever it takes to stop the train from moving and Qiu Yue had prepared in advance to make sure that her war train would move unhindered through the corpses of the Demon Rats as well. The train¡¯s wheels were also protected with multiple layers of armour as well making sure that it has enough strength to crash through remnants or debris left by the Demon Rats. And to have such power, the parts that Qiu Yue used were strengthened with inscriptions. Each and every portion of the train had been slapped with multiple reinforcing inscriptions to make sure they would not fall apart. As if that was not an overkill, the train was packed with the latest mana engine that the military research had tolled day and night just to create it. (Obviously, they were doing it for the personal System Points which Qiu Yue had promised to give as well as a monstrous sum after the train had performed well during the live battle.) And that was only the interior structure of the train as Qiu Yue had also fitted it with dozens of gun emplacements ranging from gatling guns, and mini cannons to crates of arrows for those inept at using a gun. Only a few from the Queen¡¯s army were willing to give the modern weapon of destruction a try. The Demon Rats were no doubt shocked by the emergence of the train but after all the intense fighting, they got over it pretty quickly and knew that the war train was their number of priority to ensure their survival. And so hundreds of the Demon Rats were already aiming their fire towards it while the ones with melee expertise attempted to jump onto the train and kill its occupants when it was starting to take off. ¡°No no no. No, you do not touch my precious!¡± Qiu Yue exclaimed as she dashed across the front carriage of her War Train and spent 5000 Dungeon Dollars on her new toy. Suddenly turret barrels emerged from the train¡¯s front and crackling sounds of thunder boomed through the tunnel. ? The Demon Rats that were initially rushing to the War Train had been completely decimated, allowing it to move forward as the Empire Building Sub System automatically insert tracks right in front of the train. Some of the Demon Rats thought they could stop the tracks from being inserted correctly by standing right in front of the train but they never knew that as it dropped from the space above them, the tracks¡¯ placements were something close to a literal ton of energy dropping on to the ground to have it affixed. This squashed the Demon Rats like bugs and their innards were spread all over the ground while the train stamped through it effortlessly. If anything, Weslie¡¯s group of knights might potentially be the first to reach the Undercity and reinforce the main army. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1387 Legendary Sword Technique The Western Army led by Weslie strengthened its lead over the Gold¡¯s Army at the Eastern Tunnel and overtook it as Qiu Yue proceeded with her newly developed war train at a speed she would not have anticipated. Even though it wasn¡¯t a race, Zeru had made the decision to step it up after learning that his new apprentice had outsmarted him. ¡°Jin, Jin. If only you had Qiu Yue¡¯s level of dedication to your training. While Zeru was complaining, he was unaware that he was in the System Channel. ¡°I hear that¡­¡± Jin replied while Qiu Yue laughed at the side comment. ¡°See, this is the burden of leadership. You should not have been complacent with your training at the start of building your shop.¡± Qiu Yue said and Jin felt attacked by her. ¡°How about you try staying in the red and see how that feels.¡± ¡°Well, if you did not create such expensive dungeon instances and stop giving such discounted prices to your customers, you might actually earn a profit.¡± When Qiu Yue could finally sit in the train¡¯s engine compartment, she argued with Jin as she watched her prized war train crush the Demon Rats into mush. ¡°Yes, I too have to admit that he had been working so much on the shop that he did not have proper foundations for his fighting form. It was a miracle how he had managed to be here with a decent level of cultivation within him.¡± Zeru took the chance to tease Jin, making him roll his eyes. ¡°Excuse me, I had worked hard behind the scenes to get my shit together, alright? It¡¯s just that I do not flaunt it as much as you are doing it right now.¡± Jin responded while trying to keep his emotions in check. After all, he knew how much he had suffered within his subconsciousness that the two of them did not know. Although Zeru could see the change after each bout of ¡®training sessions¡¯, the supplier¡¯s skills were no doubt relatively unknown to most of his subjects. ¡°Even so, I had hardly seen Zeru use any fancy skills, so why should I?¡± It was a jab towards Zeru¡¯s constant secretive nature of his techniques despite the occasional show of violence. ¡°That is because I did not like it if other cultivators saw my techniques and attempted to copy them. In doing so, they risk injuring themselves and achieve the worst outcome: death. But since you asked, I might as well indulge my master¡¯s request as a bellator once in a while.¡± Zeru said as he knew that there were no cultivators around the area and even those who had some form of cultivation were all minions under Jin. There was no need to be stingy with his techniques at this particular point in time. ¡°It is a pity that Qiu Yue would be unable to see this skill with her own eyes,¡± Zeru said but he had forgotten that the System was able to transmit and stream the current scene to where Qiu Yue was sitting without much of a hassle. ¡°I could see the entire situation pretty clearly.¡± Qiu Yue replied and Zeru shook his head. ¡°No, there¡¯s feelings involved to do this technique and that had to be seen on the ground itself.¡± He replied. ¡°Feelings?¡± This was the first time Qiu Yue heard about this from him since all Zeru had emphasised was technique and form. But as she continued to watch Zeru perform his technique in her noisy environment of machine gun fire and scorns of the dying Demon Rats, she noticed that even by watching, her master was showing off something different than what the apprentice was accustomed to. Gold noticed that Zeru needed some time to prepare his technique and wanted to rush the troops to aid him so that he could safely perform his attack before the Demon Rats regroup and attack him. However, as they tried to proceed forward, the troops were beset by a heavy aura of fear and terror emanating from the Sword Saint himself. Even though the troops were mostly emboldened because of their understanding that they would always be revived by the System, Zeru¡¯s current aura field forced them to abandon any hope despite being on the same side. Gold also felt the aura from afar but the effects were clearly not as prominent as those who were closer to him. Sadly, the Demon Rats were the ones that took the brunt of this newly developed aura field as they felt that reapers of death were already trailing behind their footsteps. Still, this was not the end as Zeru lifted his sword and illusory petals of lotus started to float around him, forming a monstrous silhouette right in front of the Demon Rats. ¡°Legendary Sword Technique, The Waking of the Black Lotus Dragon.¡± With each word coming out of Zeru¡¯s mouth, the lotus petals now formed the image of a dragon, roaring at the Demon Rats, as if telling them that their time was already up. The frontline collapsed immediately as most of the Demon Rats fell to their knees waiting for the Dragon to take their lives while those who were further away beginning to pee in their pants as they lost their will to fight. With Zeru¡¯s supply of chi, the Black Lotus Dragon silhouette created by the lotus petals comes to life and scans the area. Before smashing through the Demon Rat Horde and obliterating them, it briefly flew and swirled around Zeru as if to acknowledge the master that created it. Blood was spilt throughout the tunnels without much resistance and the rest of the Demon Rats were no match for this monstrosity as the Black Lotus Dragon used its lotus petals to slice them into unrecognisable pieces of meat. Hundreds of Demon Rats were killed in a blink of an eye and the Black Lotus Dragon continued to move forth, decimating the helpless Demon Rats clearing a path for the Eastern Army to walk through. ¡°Gold, I suggest you get some wheels for your troops..¡± Zeru said as his blade was still brandished and walked slowly forward. The screams of the Demon Rats were still echoing through the depths of the tunnels and Gold did not expect such destruction from the Sword Saint. Jin and Qiu Yue¡¯s jaws dropped as they saw Zeru disclose his skill, and the only thing his pupil could do at this point was to pour more cash into her War Train to make it move even more quickly so that they wouldn¡¯t be overtaken by the Eastern Army¡¯s march. Chapter 1388: Cutting the Reinforcement Chapter 1388: Cutting the Reinforcement Jin had finally made the decision to seize this opportunity to end the Demon Rats within the tunnels for good despite the risk of them committing suicide and damaging the undersea tunnels those rats were being battered to a pulp and Jin¡¯s Armies were moving closer to the centre of the Undercity. He knew that the minion leaders would have asked for portals to materialise to save the troops so that impending loss was one he was ready to take. And now that Weslie had enlisted the Queen of the Western Region¡¯s assistance, it was even more vital for her side to save them when the push came to shove. Jin had also decided to push for the destruction of both the Demon Rat Armies within the Eastern and Western Tunnels in order to prevent the main city from receiving the reinforcements they would have wanted to have while the conflict raged on in the main city. The Demon Rats¡¯ capacity to overpower Jin¡¯s army and the participating cultivators would be further reduced. So, he sent out Wyrstriker¡¯s two other brothers in arms, Flame Ripper and Dread Reaver to the Western and Eastern Army separately via the Undercity accesses according to the System¡¯s scan of the Undercity. When the teleport portals emerged at the entrances, the Demon Rats within the vicinity panicked as they did not know that the enemies could have known the access to the tunnels. Up until this time, the goblin armies of Flame Ripper and Dread Reaver had been putting in a lot of work to cooperate with their commanders and earn the respect of their ¡°guardian spirits.¡± Shaitan Ifrit and the Lady who Governs Death were no doubt impressed by their efforts and had granted each of their armies with fundamental abilities, enhancing their capability to defeat their adversaries. Before bidding each other luck as they entered their designated tunnels, this particular fight had given both armies the chance to finally experience how the power of death and fire works well together. The Goblin Armies kept the element of surprise they feared they would lose, especially given how cunning the Demon Rats were, because of how they quickly slew the Demon Rats protecting the tunnels; as a result, none of them was able to communicate the information back to the Demon Rat High Command. The Goblins, however, may have been able to foresee the Demon Rats to their expectations suitably because it takes one to know the other as they made sure that no news of the goblins¡¯ presence was sent out. This extra element of surprise had given the goblins more than just time to enter the tunnels but also booby trapped the dead Demon Rats so that any guards who had decided to investigate the situation would be killed by them as well. It was a dirty tactic but it was something the goblins had thought of due to substituting their lack of manpower to oversee the area. However, instead of leaving the place unattended, the goblins had installed cameras and even motion sensors to ensure that if they were to enter the tunnels, it would give them sufficient time to prepare for an assault from the rear. Or if needed, they would split their armies into two so that they could continue with their mission. But for now, their objective was to reach where the Demon Rats were within the tunnels and create a pincer tactic to ensure that the Demon Rats were pinned down and wiped out and that takes time which Jin desperately needed to oversee the next phase of the fight in the main undercity. Despite the crazy dogfight above the Undercity, the Goblin Wyverns Knights with the aid of the Spitfires had finally managed to suppress the artillery bombardments by destroying those turrets but it did occur quite a fair bit of casualties upon doing so. There were even incidents where Goblin Wyvern Knight was way too fast that it had unknowingly intercepted the artillery shell, causing them to get hit by the attack and explode in mid air. In the meantime, the Rooster Pilots also attempted dangerous dives to drop their limited number of bombs that were stored within the Spitfire before returning to fight the flying rats. Most of them did that despite the significant risk mainly because it lightened their planes allowing them to move faster and allow their fuel tank to last longer in the fights. Most of them figured that they would die fighting against the flying rats since there was no exit given to them until the Royal Snake Zodiac Nerodia¡¯s planes started to contact them and told them to exit when appropriate to refuel and rearm at the ship. The commanding officer, when saw how the spitfires fought, instantly knew that the pilots were definitely elites and not just amateurs that came from the Rooster Flying Academy. He even sent out callsigns which only the Royal Zodiacs knew and now that they knew they could continue with the fight, most of the spitfires attempted to return to the Nerodia to rearm and refuel, which was all the more vital for them to lighten their load and ensure there was enough fuel to speed their way out of the Undercity and to the surface. The warship cum aircraft carrier had thus sailed closer to the Undercity¡¯s huge hole entrance as much as possible so that the spitfires would have a lesser distance to cover. The crew also made sure that they angled their ships in a way that it was easier for them to land without too much of a hassle. But what surprised the spitfires was that the deck for them to land was in the middle of the warship and they thought it was once again a test to not crash onto the ship until they found out that the spitfire, as old as they thought it should be, was equipped with a laser guided landing system. Once connected with Nerodia, it was autopilot landing which made the Roosters laugh thinking that they were a fool to think too much. And with the spitfires having a ship to refuel and rearm, the human¡¯s air force was up and running for the entire war, allowing them to provide as much air support needed for the ground troops and cultivator to move forward. Thus, Jin and the System predicted that they would be able to reach the edges of the city centre by the end of the day. Chapter 1389: Brood Rat Mothers Chapter 1389: Brood Rat Mothers By the end of the third day, Jin had seen the participation from the Pandarens growing evermore, just a little shorter compared to the first day¡¯s opening which goes to show that the deadlock they encountered had indeed caused the rate of participation to dip. While a few would argue that the difficulty level could be too high to the point they were not enjoying it, Jin believed that the main reason for the drop in participation was mainly due to the fact that there was no progress made. With live streams showing that the Demon Rat Undercity had been in constant siege allowed the Pandarens to feel as if they were finally able to participate in a big and crazy fight instead of being overwhelmed by the Demon Rats and stuck in a fortress bidding for time. And the crazy part which they yearn for, was no doubt playing a huge part in this fight. The Demon Rat Generals had finally decided to release the even more Chimaera Rats into the fray and both the cultivators and Jin¡¯s Army were dealing with new threats which they had never seen before. It seems like the Demon Rat High Command had already predicted how Jin might use monsters as fodders such as the zombies growing in numbers with every dead Demon Rat that was on the floor. So, the High Command had released a particular variant of Birth Mother into the battlefield as well. According to what the System had overheard, it was codenamed Brood Rat Mother and the rats that were released from this Chimaera Birth Mother were equivalent to a Queen Bee on steroids. Pumped with hormones and accelerant, by the Chimaera Master beside it, the Brood Rat Mother continuously pumps out eggs from her orifices. Instead of giving birth, these Brood Rat Mothers had been fused with genes from a Queen Bee, causing them the ability to lay eggs. And through these eggs, all it took was a minute for the embryo to grow and break out of the thin shield that was protecting them, taking in their first breath. After which, their instincts based on their smell and sense would enable them to hunt for prey. As if this was not insane enough, Jin¡¯s minions and cultivators who saw the broodlings were astonished by its figure. It was nothing like a rat and more like a mutated creepy crawly that had a rat face been slapped on it. Its size and figure were nothing like Demon Rat at all and these ¡­monsters were all out searching for blood. If anything they were similar to the Zurglings which Jin had fought against in the Southern City. The System and him could only conclude that within the randomness of the creation of the Demon Rat resources, there could be a genetic code that allows them to copy something close to the Zurglings that they had encountered. And for them to grow in such numbers justify that they managed to acquire a genetic code similar to the Zurg Queen. While it might seem the overall situation to be hopeless to fight against several Zurg Queen variants, there was a silver lining to the current predicament. Jin was able to pinpoint where the Zurg Queens were with the System¡¯s Deep Scan. Their signature signal was rather unique when the minions finally caught a peak of it and also through deduction. The Rat Zurgs that were rampaging the streets were all coming in masses and by following their signals, the System was able to have a generalised location where it could pinpoint where the Zurg Queen was, allowing the minions to search for it. So all Jin had to do was to request the Pandarens to make WARE events on those pinpointed locations and they could concentrate on fighting against these Brood Rat Mothers. However, the numbers themselves had proven to be numerous and even the zombies were unable to cope. The Rat Zurgs were fast enough to evade the attacks of the enhanced zombies and the only defence those zombies had were self destruction. This allowed the Rat Zurgs to cut down the numbers of zombies within the fields rather easily since the production of the Rat Zurgs now exceeded the zombies on the field. The only way to stop was to kill off the producer so that they could achieve the advantage in this attrition. And to Jin¡¯s surprise, the number of Pandarens that were on the field had become more active with the WARE events, as if allowing them to concentrate on this crazy fight they were in. (Not to mention everyone was off work after the day!) Not to mention that the Pandaren numbers were higher compared to the day before, allowing most of them to coordinate. Also, the urban city environment allowed the Pandarens to fight better compared to an open field with some of them using guns while others slyly used their cultivation with the aid of cover. Slowly but surely, the Pandarens were able to collectively defeat one Brood Rat Mother with the aid of a few Dark Templars within the vicinity as well as a hell lot of firepower to suppress the Rat Zurgs. Yet, the Rat Brood Mother was only one of the many variant Chimaeras that were now released out in the open. There were like mini bosses Chimaera Demon Rats on the battlefield slaughtering the Pandarens. But even when dead, the Pandarens were relentless in their information gathering. During their recuperation within the Recovery Instance, the cultivators quickly sent information to the forums as well as an interactive map that the System had created in the forums. This allowed Pandarens to place markers where the Chimaera variant was last seen. And because it was the ¡®System¡¯ they were working with, the Pandamonium App even added the screenshot of the Chimaera Variant, allowing Pandarens to either avoid it when they spot it or work together to hunt them down. After all, everything is about points and the customers were all greedy for the rewards that were sitting in the redemption store, waiting to be collected. Chapter 1390: Zurg Vs Zurg Chapter 1390: Zurg Vs ¡®Zurg¡¯ As the Pandarens managed to defeat the very first Brood Rat Mother through the WARE event, they were elated to see a new teleport portal emerging right above them. Knowing that reinforcements would emerge from it to aid them against those Rat Zurgs, they quickly form a defensive circle around the portal. They were sure that the minions that emerged from the portal would not backstab them as well as giving them some breathing space to appear out of the portal. But what they did not expect was that they heard a monster sound that was similar to the Rat Zurgs when behind them. Only a few of the cultivators can spare the effort to look back, causing them to be alarmed momentarily. And the shock eventually spread to the entire defensive circle when the allied monsters did act as the cultivators thought they would. Maybe the mastermind might have appreciated the gesture but her underlings were too eager for a fight. Yes, minions who were watching the stream, waiting for their turn to be deployed already had known that such an outcome was viable. Who were to fight the Rat Zurgs other than the authentic ones? Zurglings that emerged from the portal jumped over the defensive circle that the cultivators had prepared and leapt into the action directly, killing the Rat Zurgs. It seems as if the Zurglings had experience hunting down the Rat Zurgs but not many know that the Zurg Queen and her children did not get their place in the harsh Southern Region of the Farming World by existing peacefully. There were other Zurg Queens alike just as there were as many Brood Rat Mothers in the Undercity at the moment when the swarm began their conquest for unification. It was through the survival of the strongest that they were able to emerge as the surviving swarm in the Southern Swarm. That was also how the Zurg Queen was also able to have a variety of Zurgs under her care and command. Also, if not for the active Friend or Foe identification through the half animal mask that the cultivators were wearing, they might have accidentally attacked Jin¡¯s allied Zurgs by accident. But to see those Zurglings pouring into the battlefield and annihilating the Rat Zurgs gave the Pandarens hope that they could potentially have the advantage against this menace swarm that they have to encounter further down the road to the centre of the Undercity¡¯s Hub. After slaughtering the remaining Rat Zurgs within the vicinity, the swarm began to split into groups, as if they could already sense where the remaining Brood Rat Mothers were. Ma Yue Han, the Blind Bat Pandawan who was at the scene had already decided that this was a good opportunity to activate another WARE event to follow the split groups of Zurglings. This was also used to inform the others that there were ¡®Rat Zurgs¡¯ that were on their side of the battle, not knowing the whole truth that Jin coincidentally had the same kind of ¡®manpower¡¯ on his side to defeat the Brood Rat Mothers. But just as Yue Han finished creating his WARE event for the Pandarens to follow, he realised that there was also a WARE event that had popped up right beside him. When he opened his Pandamonium App to check who was the creator, the WARE marker started to move intensely fast towards his direction. ¡°YUE HANNNN! Move away!!¡± His sister shouted as she was sent flying in his direction. While he would love for her to crash and burn (perhaps because of the sibling love-hate relationship), every man counts in this particular fight and he decided to save Yue Wen by using his Blind Bat Cultivation techniques. The WARE marker was now in sight of Yue Han¡¯s vision but he did not just see a Chimaera Variant that was standing at the top of the rubble. ¡°Heh heh¡­I think I hit the jackpot.¡± Yue Wen said as she thanked her brother while attempting to heal herself. ¡°It¡¯s a Demon Rat General that is on the field.¡± ¡°Lol, it¡¯s not just any General.¡± Yue Han raised his sword up, trembling with a bit of fear. ¡°It¡¯s the one that Brother Deng Long was hunting for. That Demon Rat Air Force General Gnawbones.¡± ¡°Hahah, you better tell him to not bring any more robots to the field, or else he would steal them again.¡± Yue Wen said as she was actually more worried about the Chimaera variant that was beside the Demon Rat General. Even though it was smaller in build, the Demon Rat Variant was holding on to a massive equipment that overshadowed his size. However, every modern cultivator who caught a glimpse of the equipment immediately recognised it. An odd looking gatling gun pack equipped on the rat. ¡°You got defeated by a rat with a rapid fire gun?¡± Yue Han joked but his sister was waiting to see who had the last laugh when the rat stepped forth and started aiming at them. Yue Han assumed that they were normal gun shots until his sister forced him to move for cover. As the shots hit the cover, large popping sounds were heard continuously like popcorn, causing Yue Han to drop to his guard and ignore Yue Wen¡¯s warning. The Pandaren attempted to dash towards the Gatling Gun Chimaera and when he saw that the remnants of those bullets were literally as he had imagined them to be, he sprinted even faster to reach the Demon Rat. However, as he crossed over those leftover ¡®popcorns¡¯, the Blind Bat did not expect to be blindsided by the attack as those popcorns exploded right underneath him, causing him to be thrown back. Gnawbones laughed hysterically as it watched how pathetic the humans were fighting his assigned Chimaera variant. ¡°You think you can touch me? If I cannot rule the skies as I am supposed to then I will make sure that Corney Gatling will ¡®pop¡¯ you humans back to where you came from!¡± Chapter 1391: Corney Gatling Chapter 1391: Corney Gatling ¡°There is no need for us to fight this on our own.¡± Yue Han said as he already sent an SOS for nearby Pandawans to come. The voice chat within the group¡¯s channel was immediately filled with Deng Long¡¯s vows of revenge asking them not to kill Gnawbones yet but the Blind Bat Cultivator had already muted the channel except for important announcements. He needed to concentrate as Corney Gatling started up his gun once more. ¡°Sis! Hide now!¡± The Blind Bat generated a ball of black shadowy chi and threw it down to the ground, creating a smokescreen to block Corney Gatling¡¯s field of view. Yet, the Variant Chimaera did not stop and continued to shoot randomly around the battlefield, spraying through the smoke in hopes that the siblings would get hit by his attacks. And even if they did not, he would expect to hear some popping soon enough. ¡°POP BOOM!¡± The explosion was more than enough of a signal to indicate where the Pandawans were. He quickly changed the mode on his gatling gun to make his ¡®corn¡¯ bullets lope over obstacles like how a grenade launcher works. And because it was a gatling gun, those corn bullets were being shot out at such succession that the explosions blanketed the area. Corney Gatling assumed that this would effectively kill the cultivators but Gnawbones thought otherwise. The earth began to tremble as the Air Force General fiddled with a controller. Soon, a robot in the same colour as Aegis Gunndam, the Supa Robot that he had previously kidnapped, began to emerge from the earth in front of him. However, aside from the paint job, the robot didn¡¯t resemble the Aegis Gunndam in terms of appearance. Its head was disproportionately large relative to the rest of its body as if to make up for a flaw in the design of the machine. ¡°Bwahahahahah! To think that those insane coat rats were able to complete this in less than 24 hours. They must be really inspired by that flying mechanical being!¡± Gnawbones shouted with hysteria in his tone. ¡°Thank you humans for giving me this golden opportunity to test it on you all!!!¡± Corney Gatling stopped his attacks not only because he assumed that the cultivators were killed but it was also to allow Gnawbones to work on his new toy. It also gave the Variant Chimaera some time to laugh at the absurdity of the machine that came crawling out of the ground. But what he did not expect was that even before Gnawbones was able to press another button on his controller, an unnatural gust of wind blew downwards on him, forcing him to look up. And before he knew it, the Demon Rat heard a thud on the ground which he presumed that he must have dropped the controller because of that gust of wind. Gnawbones was bleeding profusely when he looked down and saw that both of his hands had been severed and were laying on the ground beside his broken controller. ¡°Fuck! Did not expect that he would look up at that point in time.¡± Yue Han thought to himself, knowing that the assassination was a failure when he saw that his opponent was still alive screaming. Yet, there was no time to hesitate as he had to go for the second target instantly, focusing on the opportunity that Corney Gatling was stunned by the current development. The Variant Chimaera utilised his gatling gun to repel the assault due to his confidence in the durability of his gear, but he was erroneously optimistic. ¡°Advanced Healing Maiden Arts! Trifold Buffing!¡± Yue Wen emerged from the dispersing smokescreen as her sword cane glowed brightly upon activating her arts. Orbs of coloured energies flew towards Yue Han at that particular instant, giving him Bear¡¯s strength, Eagle¡¯s agility and Cat¡¯s luck for ten seconds. ¡°Advanced Sword Arts! Ascension Sword Strike of the Blind Bat!¡± Yue Han shouted as bat silhouettes emerged from the chi that was accumulated around his sword, causing his strike to look like a stream of bats flying upwards. It was then Corney Gatling thought it was a bad idea that reacts by using his gun to block the blow. Nevertheless, its battle instinct was so acute that his tail retaliated for the Variant Rat and Yue Han was not expecting it. Still, it would be a waste to stop his attack so he decided to risk it all and finish the strike but upon doing so, both the cultivator and the Chimaera Rat were heavily damaged. The Rat¡¯s tail stabbed through the side of Yue Han and to make it worse, it was strapped with the very same corn bullets that were used. It caused his wounds within him to explode, releasing a gush of guts towards the Rats as the Blind Bat Cultivator lay on the ground unable to move. In the meantime, Yue Han¡¯s ascension sword strike managed to cut one of Corney Gatling¡¯s arteries on his neck. It could completely be the luck buffed by his sister but he believed he would not be lucky to survive the attack. ¡°Ha¡­ha¡­Even with Yue Wen¡¯s current abilities, I doubt she would be able to save me unless she used the instant resurrection skill.¡± Yue Han thought to himself but he knew that his sister had already used more than enough chi to create a multi layer barrier to stop the popping attacks before the assassination attempt. ¡°You will pay for this!!!¡± Gnawbones shouted in agony once again, as he used his tail to slap the dying Blind Bat, not allowing him to die in peace while he ran towards his beloved robot. The back of its head suddenly opened and the Demon Rat jumped right into it. ¡°Fuck, that rat still can survive even after losing two hands?¡± Yue Han could not believe his eyes as he threw his last breath away cursing that arsehole Rat activating the robot in that kind of condition. Looks like Deng Long still has a shot at killing that General. Chapter 1392: Corpse Catcher Chapter 1392: Corpse Catcher Even with both of his hands bleeding profusely, the moment he connected to the mechanised being, bits of metal and wire turned ¡®alive¡¯. It reactively attempted to connect to Gnawbones and the moment the wires touched Gnawbones, they stung him with needles and connectors. At that point in time, Gnawbones could feel that his entire consciousness was being transferred to somewhere else while his body was being fed into the robot as fuel. There was nowhere else for the Air Force General to run and he thought that hiding within the robot was his best way of surviving. ¡°I do not want to die! I do not want to die! What is happening to me?! Those lab coat traitors! What did they do to me without telling me?!¡± Gnawbones said as he felt that he had melted away while his body was being taken apart by the robot. But what he did not know was that he was being reborn as the robot started to feed itself data from Gnawbone¡¯s body structure. It was initially a corpse catcher robot where the lab coat Demon Rats had the idea of stealing the abilities of the cultivators and turning them into data for the robot to grow into. For example, if Yue Han had been kidnapped by the big headed robot, the robot would then assimilate his DNA data and mould itself to be a clone of Yue Han with his skills, replicating as much as it could from the data itself. At the same, it would kill the cultivator that was within it. This was not something that the Research Demon Rats could think up in 24 hours rather it had already been a work in progress for some time. It was only with Gnawbones¡¯ continuous pestering that they had decided to give him the prototype and threw in a Chimaera Variant they made haphazardly so that he could stop bothering them. After all, they started to think that they were looking at defeat with each day of the invasion. Some of them even had the gall to think of defecting to the other side but most assumed that they would not survive the extermination should the humans have managed to reach their labs. Yet, behind the backs of their Demon Rat leaders and generals, the Head of the Demon Rat Research, Transquick Foulscratch had decided to take a gamble should the Cultivators and Monsters had reached the deepest level of the Demon Rat Research. They would attempt to parley for their lives and if it does not work out, the least they could do was to detonate the entire facility to kingdom come. What was dangerous was that the deepest level of the Demon Rat Research was close to a major node of the lifestream of the Farming World. But detonating the area also means destroying the lifestream node and it could have serious repercussions to the Northern Region and potential backlash on the planet in near future. This was the only trump card they had on their sleeves and the only way to secure a proper negotiation with the humans. However, all of those did not matter right now as they continuously pumped out all the prototypes they had been storing for months and were releasing them against the humans. Dr Transquick believed that if the humans still had to cross the trial of fire set by them so that they could be worthy of their knowledge even though he had reluctantly admitted to himself that some of the human¡¯s technology was superior to his team by ten fold. So by sending his teams¡¯ military prototypes out to the field, it was like a desperate attempt to demonstrate that the Demon Rat Research might prove to be useful if they were to be taken in. Naturally, many of them had pledged loyalty to the Demon Rats¡¯ society as a whole but after looking at the technology used by the humans, they could not help to wonder if they could reach that pinnacle someday. ¡ª Once the Corpse Catcher Robot had digested and assimilated Gnawbones, it started to shape as the Air Force General himself. The latent powers of Gnawbones started to surface and a backpack rocket began to emerge from the back of the robot as if the metal robot was some living evolving unit. The general¡¯s resource was a missile rocket, which was also one of the reasons why he had been chosen to be the Air Force General, not because of his merits. Mini rockets started to grow from his phalanges not just from his fingers but his toes and tail too. And once prepped, the Corpse Catcher immediately shot out an entire load of rockets into the entire field, slaughtering Yue Wen in the process before the rest of the Pandawans could assist. ¡°What the hell! Gnawbones had some form of new armour?!¡± Deng Long responded as he took cover from the barrage of rockets that continued the moment the other Pandawans arrived at the scene. ¡°I heard someone very familiar!¡± Corpse Catcher Gnawbones boomed his voice through the robot¡¯s loudspeaker. ¡°Give me that flying machine once more and I may yet spare your life!¡± It was taunting everyone within the vicinity so that he could search for any unnecessary movements and annihilate them once it got into range. And Deng Long¡¯s agitation from his provocation was exactly the thing that the Corpse Catcher needed. It immediately reloaded the entire arsenal of rockets and shot out indiscriminately, causing a carnage of explosions. Thankfully, Deng Long was a defensive cultivator and his techniques along with the equipment he bought from Jin were able to shield most of the kinetic knockbacks. But as the Corpse Catcher enjoyed unleashing its rockets to eliminate one sole Pandawan, Gnawbones had forgotten that he was way too exposed hovering in midair unleashing his burst of missiles. That allowed Jing Ru, the Gunning Giraffe Cultivator to be hiding in between the rubbles and took a clean sniper shot at the Corpse Catcher. One deep breath and a slow trigger push were all that was needed to put the annoying Gnawbones down to the ground. With all the noise on the battlefield, her sniper rifle shot was merely another note in the War Symphony that Gnawbones failed to notice in his ecstasy of delivering punishment against Deng Long. But as he fell to the ground, the other Pandawans rushed in to confirm his death before moving forward. To them, it was Demon Rat that was worth quite a few points but to the Demon Rat High Command, they were finally relieved of that annoying general and continued with their fight. Chapter 1393: Wanting The Corpse Catcher Chapter 1393: Wanting The Corpse Catcher While Deng Long was relieved that he was not able to kill Air Force General Gnawbones, he was thankful that he was still in the fight and able to receive some raid points for participation. There was no doubt that he did grumble quite a bit in the group¡¯s channel but he knew that this was a raid instance with it mimicking it close to a warzone. So, he moved on without much commotion when Jing Ru reported that there was a group of Demon Rats coming toward him. As for the people overseeing the entire raid, Jin was surprised that the communication chatter between the Demon Rats High Command had been rather nonchalant with Gnawbone¡¯s death. But overall, the Dungeon Supplier expected a more difficult fight between the Pandawans and the said general in question, especially when he saw how the Corpse Catcher robot took form. Even if it was a sacrifice done according to the System¡¯s reading, he could not help but notice that the technology the Demon Rats used was unique. Imagine he could incorporate this corpse catcher technology with his VR technology without killing the user in the process. He would practically have a replica army of cultivators under his belt without using the excuse of a Dungeon Raid Instance when they were fighting in outer verse worlds. He figured that the cost of making these Corpse Catchers would still no doubt be cheaper than paying to get the resources needed to reincarnate the cultivators, further reducing the expenses he might have. Given that the System had to actively catch the ¡®soul¡¯ outside of the dungeon instance, it also utilised quite a fair bit of the System resources to retain thousands of souls within the vicinity. So with such a thought in mind, he quickly told one of the nearby minions to retrieve the Corpse Catcher Robot as soon as possible. The head might have been blasted away by Jing Ru¡¯s technique but since the rest of the body was still intact, Jin believed that there was a chance the System might be able to reverse engineer the technology. Even if it could not, the Science Team could have a few tricks or two under their sleeves to incorporate the technology into theirs. The System eventually queried Jin¡¯s action and the Dungeon Supplier explained his intention. Making the idea of using the Corpse Catcher technology a potential money saver for the store had given the System much pause to think about analysing the benefits while processing all the other backend requests. ¡°Affirmative. There is indeed a probability that such an idea might work but we need more samples either by capturing the Demon Rat scientists to fully understand their work or acquire fully intact corpse catchers to reverse engineer it.¡± The System said and suddenly from the corner of the shadows, a smile emerged. ¡°Did someone say to capture a certain Demon Rat alive?¡± Kraft, who had been staying in the shadows watching the developments of the war, had begun to be way too bored of waiting. To be on constant standby forced him to occupy himself and his unit of Dark Elves to be rather restless. In fact, Jin was surprised that the Devil himself was willing to wait and not cause unnecessary havoc to the current war situation. He was half assuming that Kraft would do his thing and cause mischief in the Demon Rat High Command the moment Hou Fei found it, killing all who would potentially stand in his path and ending the war early. But he did not and Jin was increasingly worried that the fox himself was doing something behind his back that the Dungeon Supplier was not well aware of. Thus, for him to emerge at this opportune timing was favourable to not just the System who proposed such an idea but to Jin who now could monitor Kraft on the screens whenever needed. ¡°Yes, Kraft, if you could. Capture all the Demon Rat Scientists and their assistants. Kill the rest if you need to but if you saw any Birth Mothers along the way, save them as well. They are potentially the key to breeding a brand new Demon Rat society under our care.¡± Jin said, which made the fox chuckle. ¡°You think they would not have animosity against you, especially when you are the one who slaughtered these many Demon Rats?¡± ¡°I trust in your ¡®charisma¡¯ to charm them so that they can work for me without grudges. Granted, we should not wipe their history away but with the System and you to make them amicable to my bidding would no doubt be a task as easy as taking the trash out.¡± ¡°Heh, I guess you never know how hard taking the trash can is, even more so if one is lazy and has no incentives- Oh wow. You did learn your lessons well.¡± Kraft said as he suddenly saw that the System points in his ¡®e-wallet¡¯ skyrocketed. ¡°This should be more than enough to finance another basement for your night foxes to work with. Who knows? Maybe the Demon Rats might have more than babies for you to have a few Night Rats to work for you as well.¡± Jin decided to entice the Devil Fox and the bait was more than just a fat carrot. It was a golden fat carrot with the smell of opportunity. ¡°When you put it this way, there is no way I can reject it right? Now I am looking forward to punishing those Demon Rats.¡± Kraft clasped his hands together repeatedly and with a smirk on his face. The Dark Elves Narris and Tinda who were beside him, nodded their heads with obedience, disappearing in the shadows without a sound with the intent to relay the messages for the Night Foxes to get ready, ¡°The System has found the possible location where the Demon Rat Scientists are residing and will pass the coordinates to Original Bellator Kraft.¡± ¡°What the heck? An underground facility when we are already ¡®under the ground¡¯? Looks like they took their rat nature very seriously.¡± Kraft shrugged his shoulders and gave a slight sigh, ever so quickly to change his mood. ¡°Oh well, one deep underground facility is better than searching the entire Undercity, so let¡¯s get this over and done with.¡± ¡°Thanks, Kraft and good luck. System, remember to put up a special point reward for the capture of those Corpse Catchers in case the Demon Rat Scientists route goes south.¡± Jin said and the System acknowledged. ¡°Looks like this will be a long night,¡± Jin said to himself as he anticipates the new development. Chapter 1394: Demon Rat Researchers Chapter 1394: Demon Rat Researchers As the hours continued to drag into the night with lots of senseless fighting and the Demon Rats defending every inch of the Undercity, the Night Foxes were not able to go through the battlefield in subtlety. Even a distraction was not capable of distracting their targeted audience mainly because of the chaotic fighting that was happening all around the place. But that was assuming they were going through the route that had been cleared by the Zombie Horde and the Pandawans. Kraft had decided to pay extra points to the System for a straight drop right into the defensive bunker those Demon Rat Researchers were hiding into. Yet what irritated Kraft was that the System demanded more System Points for the portal if Kraft wanted to teleport right beside the researchers as if it had a hidden agenda making the Night Foxes walk through the undergrounds. ¡°You rascal. This amount is basically the same as Jin¡¯s rewards offer.¡± Kraft cursed under his breath and decided to take the initial offer for teleporting at the top of the defensive bunker. Why bother paying so much when all they were going to take was a minor detour? ¡°Be warned Original Bellator, the System has detected a few formidable guards in the area. While the System had determined that the Night Foxe are more than capable to defeat them, it is paramount that speed is-¡± ¡°Stop yapping System. Why are you always stating the obvious?¡± Kraft forcefully closed the System¡¯s Channel and moved his Night Foxes into the portal the moment it was opened. ¡°Here we go again¡­¡± Tinda said as she shrugged her shoulders knowing that Kraft was going to force them to fight a bunch of crazy stuff as usual. ¡°If only we will have things going our way for once,¡± Narris said to her as both of the Dark Elves entered right after Kraft. And to their surprise, all of the Demon Rats that were supposed to rush towards them in frenzy were standing in wait. In fact, they were actually holding their weapons in such a way that it was denoted as if they were welcoming the entire group. ¡°Took you long enough, we have been waiting for your group for some time.¡± the loudspeaker said as the lifts at the far end of the corridor were opened. ¡°Wow, if this is a trap, this might be the first time I had seen such a welcoming one,¡± Tinda replied as she and the rest of the Night Foxes placed their hands near their weapons waiting for an ambush. ¡°Relax. They do not have any killing intent in their eyes.¡± Kraft said as his hands were in his pockets rather than near his holsters. ¡°Let¡¯s take their invitation earnestly.¡± While the Night Foxes were relieved that they did not need to fight for once, they could feel that if things were too peaceful, their Devilish leader would have a chance to make it worse. Thus, even when they were attempting to follow the orders from Kraft, all of them kept their alert in case things went south. The lifts they took went deeper into the complex and it never stopped until it reached a basement where it was not even in the selection of buttons at the side of the lift. And yet instead of panicking, the Night Foxes and Kraft stayed their cool and waited for the lift to reach its destination. Once it stopped, the lift doors opened slowly and a group of Demon Rat Researchers were standing behind a row of Demon Rat Variants similar to Corney Gatling in case the invaders knew no reason. Thankfully for both sides, Kraft was not as bloodthirsty as they thought he would be and stepped forward to even introduce himself. It was then the Head of Research who decided to do the same and make his presence known to his enemies despite the risk. ¡°I make things short, are you planning to defect?¡± Kraft asked as he immediately conjured up a table in the middle of the two groups, asking Transquick Foulscratch whether his intentions were sincere. ¡°If not, I would have caused the alarms to go off by now and alert the Demon Rats High Command.¡± Dr Transquick said and with a snap of his fingers, the Demon Rats Guard behind him brought a group of Birth Mothers to the front. ¡°As a gesture for peaceful negotiations, I had gathered all the Birth Mothers in the facility. You can take them.¡± Transquick, as his name suggests, had already proven to be smart enough to know what the invaders wanted from this particular research facility. ¡°Hmm. Thank you.¡± Kraft said as he too had a few of the Night Foxe to take the Birth Mothers away but instead of fully trusting the Demon Rats, the Night Foxes were already searching the Birth Mothers with both magical and physical inspection to ensure that there were no explosives on them. ¡°Interesting and I might have done the same as well.¡± Transquick chuckled when he saw the scene that denoted their distrust for the Demon Rats. ¡°Not just for you. It¡¯s a routine check we always do.¡± The moment Kraft laid back, Tinda proceeded forth and conjured a set of tea for the two to partake. Once she poured the 2 cups for the leaders negotiating the meeting, she drank from Transquick¡¯s cup. The Research Leader was at first surprised by their actions and understood that they were doing that to ¡®show¡¯ that the cup was safe to drink. Yet, Kraft also gave Transquick the opportunity to let his subordinate have a sip at the cup to determine that there was no poison in it. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I might not look like it but I have some magical tools to discern whether the drink was poisonous or not.¡± Transquick said as he pulled out a piece of glass meter and placed it in the drink. He apologised for being discourteous but Kraft was not stopping him, in fact, he found it amusing to see the Demon Rats in a different light. They were usually barbaric in nature and yet the one in front of him was a copy of all those science nuts he knew. Once he was happy with the results, Transquick took a sip and continued with the negotiations even though it seemed like it was a move to delay more time. ¡°Reason for defecting?¡± Kraft asked straight to the point after the niceties had been performed. ¡°Insufficient materials to research. The curiosity about the coexistence between man and monsters. We thought that we were the best but it seems like the quote `the world is bigger than we know¡¯ applies here.¡± ¡°Oh? Not blatant abuse of staff, lack of money?¡± ¡°We have everything and can do anything. Like these chimaeras. We still have a few at the back in the process. All those lost arms and legs that you humans left behind during the fight, we took them and tried to replicate them with the Demon Rat Variants.¡± Transquick said but a few of the researchers hoped that he would restrain himself from saying such things to the invader. ¡°Bold of you to say all of this right in front of my face.¡± ¡°I would like to see how far you humans are willing to go with the research. If I have to dissect my stomach, I will do so to find a breakthrough. In our eyes, there are no boundaries to research and if you are not able to stomach this, then we are not compatible and rather fight to the death right here and now.¡± Kraft laughed loudly and clapped his hands at Transquick¡¯s assertiveness but all the Night Foxes knew that there would only be a thought brewing in the Devil¡¯s mind. A group of knowledgeable rats that holds no bars when it comes to research? It merely spells disaster. Chapter 1395: Betrayal of the Research Rats Chapter 1395: Betrayal of the Research Rats It was no brainer that Kraft would eventually decide to take the Research Demon Rats into his ¡®care¡¯. However, he has to complete what Jin and the System had asked for him. ¡°The corpse catcher¡­? Ah, Prototype CXVV. The one that eats people to gain their abilities temporarily. I forgot those Demon Rat Generals loved to give fancy names to our subjects and imagined that they had complete control of it. They had forgotten that they were also Demon Rats that had mutated and some might have used the chance to bite back at the owner¡¯s hand.¡± Transquick then asked one of his assistants to get the data drive with regards to the Corpse Catcher. ¡°This is awfully too easy. I can sense red flags coming up already.¡± Tinda said as she was baffled by how the Demon Rats Researcher and Kraft had come to an agreement way too smoothly. And just as Tinda had predicted, there was no doubt a twist to the entire situation. The assistant who was about to give the data drive suddenly got stabbed by another Demon Rat Researcher. ¡°You! How dare you betray us! I finally caught you in the act Dr Transquick! You will not leave this room alive as well as the oth-¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Kraft already sent a bullet right into his brain and walked forward to pick up the data drive from the injured Demon Rat Assistant. At that point, a few of the assistants immediately revealed themselves to be assassins sent by the Demon Rat High Command and attempted to pounce on the scientists. Yet, their actions were instantly detected by the Night Foxes as their not so subtle movements were more than enough to prompt the Dark Elves to react. Arrows flew even faster than the Demon Rat Researchers could even see and all the assassins were down to the floor without a sound. ¡°Guess, you need to vet your people even more thoroughly,¡± Kraft said as he shrugged at Transquick, waiting for an answer for this betrayal. ¡°Heh. If I was killed by this encounter then it¡¯s my fate. But it looks like my gamble has paid off. And to be frank, I am actually surprised that all of my other assistants are alive¡­though I think some had no idea that this happened.¡± Transquick surveyed the area and saw some of the Demon Rat scientists were shaking in their knees. ¡°See. I told you that this agreement was going way too smoothly.¡± Tinda told Narris as she walked to a dead rat and kicked it. A few trinkets came out from the dead which she assumed that it indicated the rat¡¯s allegiance to the High Command. She pulled the trinkets out and showed them to Transquick, allowing him to decipher. ¡°Ah. The Mage General. I did not expect the one who is sponsoring us the most would be the one who will kill us compared to the other Demon Rat Generals but I guess it made sense.¡± Transquick said as he told the rest that the trinkets were some sort of transmitter and there would be no doubt that the Mage Battalion would be here in no time. ¡°Then I believed that you need the rest of your data drives out here to prove that you all are useful to us?¡± Kraft asked and Transquick nodded his head, happy to know the humans caught on quick. ¡°If you are able to reach here undetected, I trust that you have an escape plan too?¡± Transquick asked and Kraft merely snapped his fingers and a portal emerged right beside him. The Head of Research laughed loudly and began shouting at his team. ¡°Everyone. Get all you can pick up and throw them into the portal, we can sort them out later! If the long ears can help us, it will be app-¡± Transquick suddenly felt like a thousand knives being pressed onto his body. ¡°Oh. Don¡¯t call them Long ears. They usually kill anyone who calls them that since you are ignorant of us, I guess they would let you off with a warning this time around.¡± Kraft smirked and told the group to assist them while he opened a few more portals up so that the ¡®grand moving¡¯ would be a tad faster. ¡°Then Boss, I assume you are going to have all the fun to yourself,¡± Narris asked Kraft as he pressed the elevator. He merely smiled and waved back at him. ¡°Of course, I am the boss after all.¡± And when he entered the elevator, the Devil already sensed a variety of magical auras from the top. ¡°So they do have teleport magic as well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The assassins probably already disabled the anti magic barrier at the higher levels but I always have a backup plan.¡± Transquick heard Kraft¡¯s comment and went to the closest computer to activate software module, allowing a few barriers to pop up just in time to interrupt their teleport magic. Unknown to the group who were hurrying to clear the research lab, the emergence of the backup anti magic barrier caused not just the Demon Rat Mages¡¯ teleport magic to be interrupted, it even killed a few Demon Rat Mages who were teleporting halfway by causing them to be lost in ethereal space. Kraft could sense the number of auras decreased drastically and though the help was not necessary, the kind gesture ironically warmed his heart knowing that the Research Head was trying his best to make relations with the Devil. Thus, the trip to the top of the underground bunker was uneventful to the point that Kraft even had time to load all his guns without the use of any chi. ¡°Sometimes, the feel of loading the gun does bring satisfaction to me, knowing that I had a hand in killing them personally.¡± But without any doubt, the moment the elevator door opened, the Demon Rats had no chance of winning at all. Each step the Devil took, each second that had passed, bodies dropped to the ground without a care. Bullets were spent and the smile on Kraft¡¯s face grew ever larger. Chapter 1396: The Remaining Assassin Chapter 1396: The Remaining Assassin While Kraft was holding the enemies at bay (or mere toying with his enemies), things were a lot more hectic at the Research Lab¡¯s deepest basement. The busy moving of resources from the lab into the portal was quite a sight to behold. The Demon Rat Researchers and the Dark Elves were working together to get cardboard boxes of papers to be thrown into the portals. With the exception of some delicate apparatus, the Dark Elves assisted in carrying machines twice the size of them into the portal. Only those with storage rings like Narris and Tinda had decided to use it solely for documents that were indicated ¡®Top Secret¡¯. That alone had made Dr Transquick want to learn their technology even more upon learning that it was not a magic artefact but a product that was readily available to plenty of them. It was pretty obvious that there was a brand new world for them if the Demon Rat Researchers could safely join the humans. Some of the researchers thought that this was a move by their top to infiltrate the humans like how the assassins had managed to become long term researchers to betray them at the final moment. However, the majority of them were relieved that they could live to see another day mainly because they knew that the current battle against the humans was more or less a loss. If the humans had decided to eradicate the entire Demon Rat Undercity, all they could rely on was the Birth Mothers under the human¡¯s care. No doubt there were some who had their pride hurt knowing that they were not able to defeat these humans beyond the seas despite reassurance from the North and South Scholars that the technology from other countries was inferior to theirs. Right now, they could see that the scholars either made a wrong judgement or they lied to them that the humans beyond the seas were strong. In the meantime, while they were breaking out all their locks to move their documents and pushing precious machines into the portals, there was actually a Demon Rat Researcher whose movements were out of the norm. And naturally, that caught the eyes of not just one Night Fox but every one of them within the vicinity of that particular Demon Rat Researcher. Clearly, he was with the rest of the dead assassins on the floor but he had decided to hold his weapon. A backup assassin in case things went awry for the first group. Borat had never expected the backup group to act aggressively alongside with the first but he believed it was well justified since the Night Foxes had presented a menacing aura that he had never felt during his years of assassinations and hunting of humans. They were of a different level and Borat could feel it in his bones. In fact, if not for the fact he had kept his cool, he believed he would be gone alongside the backup group who thought it was a wise choice to aid the first group of assassins. But now with the leader of the backup assassins all alone in this particular situation, he thought it was best to bury this entire underground lab by exploding the lifestream that they initially wanted to use as a bargaining chip against the humans. If not for Kraft¡¯s quick acceptance of the negotiations, Borat thought that they would have the chance to kill off Night Foxes. But now that he realised that they had portals leading to their homeland, he thought that it might be a good idea to destroy the exposed lifestream and spread the explosion through the portal as well. At the very least, the destruction should destroy whatever documents that the Demon Rat researchers had desperately wished to save for the defection. ¡°Your mind is so easy to read,¡± Tinda said as she and Narris stood right behind Borat. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Borat maintained his cool and began to pick up a few documents from the side of the table. ¡°Please do not disturb me, Dr Transquick had already said that we do not have much time on our side.¡± ¡°That is why I told you to wait until we catch him in the act.¡± Narris sighed as she said placed her hands on her hips as if signalling to Tinda that her blatant rash behaviour to catch the spy before he did his act was a futile attempt. ¡°I honestly do not care. We have no place for betrayers and besides, having a live specimen would be better for Kraft. He said that he wanted to try some new torture methods against the Demon Rats if they do not comply. Also, having a spy in denial is better than a dead spy.¡± Tinda said as she moved her index finger with magic pulsating through it. It immediately cast a spell to bind Borat up and even forced his mouth to be wide open while his tail bounded to his body. Through their experience. they knew how some of these rats were adamant about not giving information to the point they were ready to suicide by biting their tongues or even sending their tail right through their heads. (Yes, it was surprising enough that they could harden their tail enough with sufficient blood pressure and pierce through their brain.) It was to the point the Night Foxes had devised a way to bind the Demon Rats and quickly extract information from them rather than doing the usual method of interrogation. (Since most of them knew that Kraft loved to play with their victim¡¯s emotions and tapped into their pool of fear but that would not work if they could kill themselves before revealing any information.) The Demon Rat Researchers were undoubtedly frightened by the sudden capture of their own people but seeing how the Night Foxes had concluded that he was one of the assassins, reminded them that they were still at the mercy of their enemies. Chapter 1397: Death to the Assassin Chapter 1397: Death to the Assassin Dr Transquick came over almost immediately to see the ruckus but before he could make any sound in the attempt to protect his fellow Researcher, Tinda reached into his body and tore a patch of skin from Borat. Naturally, he tried to fight back but Borat did not expect that the female Dark Elf that was choking him had so much strength within her that there was no way to fight back through usual means. He initially thought they would be weak considering their slender body and the nimble use of guns in the initial massacre of the assassins but now he understood that he had no chance against her. The binds were biting on him even harder the more he resisted as if there were magical thorns penetrating his fur and skin. But the most painful was the patch that Tinda had torn out to show Dr Transquick of his betrayal. ¡°I believe you know this particular symbol?¡± Tinda said as she continued to squeeze Borat with her thorny binds. ¡°That¡¯s¡­that¡¯s the 49th Mage Company Insignia.¡± Dr Transquick could recognise it despite the fur and blood around the broken patch of skin. He then nodded his head slowly and tried to explain that the majority of the Demon Rat Researchers were also in Mage Companies as well before they became his employees. ¡°Sigh, so are you saying that my Night Foxes need to do some culling before we are sure we will have no traitors in our midst?¡± Tinda questioned with a stare that demanded an answer immediately in order to taunt him. ¡°No. If you kill my employees, you might as well kill me too since I was a part of the Mage Company as well.¡± Transquick said as he unbuttoned his coat and revealed the very same 49th Mage Company insignia on his right scapula. Some of the Demon Rats stopped their work and decided to show their insignia as a sign of trust for their Research Head too. And this immediately gave all the Night Foxes the excuse to activate their magic eyes to peel into the Demon Rats¡¯ heads, vetting each and every one of them who had contact with the Mage General or had orders to assassinate the Demon Rat Researchers. With Borat as their example, Tinda had already given explicit search terms for all the Night Foxes to check whether these Demon Rat Researchers were accomplices. While they knew that their search might not be as extensive as Kraft¡¯s, it should not be as difficult as the ones they were given in their exams where they had to face veteran human spies to dig out specific information. Knowing the Demon Rat¡¯s history where brute strength and overwhelming numbers were the key to victory over the Northern Region, it was apparent that their level of knowledge when it comes to spying was akin to an amateur stalker. With each read and double confirmation of the Demon Rat Researchers, the Dark Elves shouted the name of the Demon Rat and stated ¡®Clear¡¯ as a sign that there was no need to suspect that particular researcher. Eventually, it all boiled down to Borat himself even though he was desperately hoping that the mage general was more meticulous to provide the backup group a backup group as well. Of course, with the last Demon Rat which they scanned considered innocent, Transquick had no choice but to accept the fact that Borat, one of his long term trusted employees, was working and backstabbing him at the same time. ¡°Blo¡­¡± Borat tried his damnedest to move his mouth. ¡°Blow¡­it¡­up!¡± It was muffled but slightly audible as Borat attempted to stir the remaining mana within his body to force a self destruct, hoping to distract the Night Fox that was holding him down. However, he had no idea that the Dark Elf right in front of him was superior in all aspects. Physically and magically, perhaps intellectual as well but it was never proven until Tinda who was welding magic at her fingertips suddenly closed them together. It caused the binds that were holding him to turn into a ball of magic vines and subsequently squeeze him with a velocity and strength that outmatched being hit by the speed of a racing car. His self destruction sequence had initiated but it was contained within the magical ball of vines. All the Demon Rats could see was a flash of light emanating out of the ball and subsequently, blood dripping out of it. Dr Transquick sighed but told the rest to work hard to move all the items into the portals immediately. The rest of the Night Foxes were feared by the researchers but the researchers were doing their best to remain calm while working hand in hand with their new allies. It was a brutal show of force but Tinda deemed it necessary although Narris begged to differ. No doubt, all of this were also transmitted in real time to Kraft as he watched it live via the System channel as he trampled the mages who attempted to murder him. Evidently, the Devil himself was enjoying the show more than he should, knowing that the Night Foxes, especially Tinda had made the right choice to show her might against the Demon Rat Researchers. ¡°After all, they are going to be mine. Then we will show Jin¡¯s Science Branch that Kraft¡¯s sciency rats are better than theirs by miles¡­ Heheh not to mention all the experimental gadgets they could allow me to use and then I might be able to have a rematch against Jin to have a clear victory.¡± Kraft giggled to himself as he started to plan a list of agendas for his new science team while he massacred the rest of the mages that popped up. Whether he forgot it or not, Jin and the System were watching him and his team the entire time. He was relieved that more Birth Mothers were rescued as well as having the corpse catcher technology available for analysis. However, he was a little mixed in the opinion of allowing Kraft to have his very own research team. ¡°But it could be a good thing¡­considering how he always pesters Ayse and Weslie to make something crazy for him and delays the rest of the science branch¡¯s main priorities. Besides, some competition might be healthy for the development of the store.¡± Jin thought to himself and also started to think about what he could do for the coming future. Chapter 1398: A Few Questions Chapter 1398: A Few Questions The third night of endless fighting continued and with the unexpected alliance of the Demon Rat Researchers, Jin felt that he could finally take a breather from the war for a while. The fight would undoubtedly continue through but he felt that he had already gained more than he would have wanted from this particular war. To be able to find the ¡®source¡¯ of the Demon Rats, their Birth Mothers and with the science team under Kraft¡¯s lead, Jin could annihilate the rest with a rush of troops or even hit the big red button and destroy their main communication headquarters. After which, he could easily send a massive bombardment of missiles from all the money he had earned from the entire PandaVerse Festival. The only problem was that he did not find that it was useful because every single minion under his disposal was vying and itching to have a piece of the fight. Everyone was preparing for this day and it would be an injustice for his minions to not be able to have a taste of the battle that they had been training so hard for. Thus, Jin had decided to leave it to the System to handle the rest of the fight since he believed it would be best for his second in command to take over while he handled something more ¡­delicate. For your information, he did not pass it to Kraft because that self proclaimed had no right to it no matter how much he declared that he had the right to do so. Moloch came in to fill in the seat for Jin. (Although it was evident that the crafty devil always loved to poke his fingers into things that were not his. Thankfully, Moloch had sufficient experience to shoo him away.) Jin went to the temporary instance in the World of Sanctums, where he housed all of his minions, in order to talk to Dr Transquick who was busy filtering out all the documents they had haphazardly thrown into the instance when Kraft told them to do so. (That Fox had bought more than enough time for them but it was a mere habit of him to rush those who didn¡¯t know him.) But just as he was about to speak to the Demon Rat Research, Kraft suddenly emerged right behind Jin just as he tried to spook Moloch to give his command away to him. ¡°No, Kraft. I am not stealing your ¡®prized loot¡¯ away. I just need to talk to him with regards to the Farming World.¡± ¡°Damn, and here I thought I could give a grand speech about how I found the perfect being of science and later demanded a trial of honour- a battle to the death for real so that I can have my rematch.¡± Kraft instantly yawned at the current situation and decided to back off. ¡°I will give you sufficient funds for you to start up your own lab, Kraft. I find that the prospects of having two science teams cooperating and at times doing their own unique projects would bring some healthy competition to the table. Besides, we needed more dudes knowledgeable in engineering and your Demon Rats are actually something I honestly had hoped we could get as spoils of war.¡± Jin told him that he frankly did not believe they would be able to get the Demon Rat Researchers considering their soldiers¡¯ behaviour. ¡°Considering that Mage General Prideblood had decided to dispose of us instead of sending guards to protect us, I figured that it was the right decision for the rest of my research team to change the hand that feeds us. Besides, the contract that our¡­new leader-¡± Transquick had to clear his throat after saying those last two words. ¡°The contract was comprehensive but it was equivalent to submitting to slavery in exchange for generous amounts of funds for our research. Still, I find that this is fair considering that we are guaranteed the same treatment as the rest of your¡­ the monsters under your command.¡± Transquick said and Kraft laughed. Even Jin could not bring himself to say that it was not exactly equal especially when the entire Demon Rat Research Team will fall under Kraft¡¯s explicit tutelage. Still, if they were a bunch of people who were curious about the outside world, they would definitely flourish under his pressuring demands for new and crazy gadgets. ¡°In any case, the objective of meeting you here is not to goad or confirm your ¡®slavery¡¯. I am more concerned with information that I desperately need. Things like where are the North and South scholars or what is the objective of digging so deep to access the lifestream. Why do you Demon Rats wish to eradicate the rest of the human population.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of questions to answer even for a smart rat.¡± Kraft joked but Transquick did his best to explain whatever he could since he had already been inundated into the System. The first question was easy to explain especially when he was the few who utilised the scholars¡¯ magical artefacts and were able to sense the loss of mana rights from those items. Even though the news eventually reached him, the research team already knew what was coming and they were cranking up their projects to make sure that they could replicate the effects of those magical artefacts they were using. ¡°Those Warmongers had no idea the kind of situation that would happen when they killed the scholars. They only wanted power and they got it at the expense of the entire society. That was also when I felt that we might lose the war when we saw the kind of armaments you humans brought into the fight.¡± Transquick said as he had prepared dozens of escape routes which involved the use of the magical artefacts but Jin¡¯s monsters had unknowingly destroyed them when they raided the caves and hideouts according to the System¡¯s scan of the Northern Region. Jin asked the System if his minions had managed to acquire any of such magical artefacts and the System said that it did not have the time to sort it out. ¡°All items the minions had looted were stored in a temporary instance and would be sorted out on a later date when the war had been officially concluded.¡± The System reported. ¡°Well, that is not as important as the second question you asked,¡± Transquick said as he asked Jin to follow him. ¡°My machine will show you the answers that you seek. Chapter 1399: The Lifestream Chapter 1399: The Lifestream ¡°The Lifestream of the Farming World is what sustained this unique world. The plants that grow with the lifestream¡¯s energy were the thing that created the substance it formed.¡± Transquick said as he asked one of his assistants where ¡®that¡¯ machine had been placed in the current instance. The assistant quickly pointed further south, stating that the machine under the veiled cloth was the thing that the Doc was looking for. ¡°So, upon learning that the lifestream was probably the thing that created us, living beings from plants, we thought that this planet should be ours, not the humans. That thought was further cemented by the now deceased scholars when we later learned that we are the only living things that grew from the ground.¡± ¡°The scholar assistants named us as abominations, as demons rather than something of a miracle. Only the scholars knew our worth but if the majority had such perception, we might not be able to live.¡± Transquick said as he looked at the clothed machinery. ¡°Then perhaps we decided that we need to craft out a land for ourselves¡­so that we can call it our home. The northern region was the best choice given how lush it is but the only problem was that there were many dangers lurking within it. But given our nature, the North Scholar decided to shelter us in various hideouts while growing in numbers to kill threats.¡± ¡°Soon, we also treated humans as threats since they thought that we were monsters just as how they heard rumours of talking monsters in the south.¡± He pulled the cloth down and all it revealed was a square metal box. Jin was expecting more but he decided to allow Transquick to continue his monologue. ¡°Some of the rats thought, maybe it¡¯s because they did not know how it feels to be an animal and my predecessor had somehow managed to concoct a potion through the blood of a unique shapeshifter monster we had killed during our hunts. The only problem with that potion was when the person imbibed it once, the effects would be irreversible.¡± ¡°It felt like karma at work when we saw how the humans, terrified of their own people, shapeshifted into another animal. But it got us thinking about how weak minded those humans were and we decided that eradicating them would be the best course of action. Perhaps, those monsters were not the menace to us and rather it was the humans.¡± ¡°So we decided to kill them all. But we never realised that those humans played an important factor in the creation of our lives.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I am guessing it¡¯s something like the third law of Newton erm¡­ there is a certain symmetry in nature.¡± Jin said and Transquick agreed with what he was trying to imply. ¡°So we decided to study the lifestream, to see if we can manipulate it to our advantage. To make the story short, the life and death of humans were needed to have a healthy sum of life stream within the Farming World but we found that it was too tedious. Humans needed more time to grow and kill. We do not have the time and the resources to spare for that.¡± ¡°If they were ever judged under your international criminal court, their entire race would be eradicated on counts for blatant human massacres.¡± Kraft was indirectly hinting that Jin was harbouring beings far worse than serial killers. ¡°Thus, we found the way to fuse human reproduction to our rat race and that was how the Birth Mothers were created. We can skip the lifestream portion but we are not able to skip the consequences of the life and death cycle.¡± Transquick finally turned on the machine and it lit up to show a woman in stasis within the metal box. And with a few buttons, machine arms emerged from the sides to take shots of blood from her body. ¡°We have infused a huge amount of lifestream into a human just for experimentation purposes and we found that it gradually changed the human into something different.¡± ¡°An entirely new breed, a superhuman. In fact, super is such an understatement that we might as well call them ultrahuman. Able to regenerate not just what we need but also capable of generating additional lifestream energy. It was revolutionary.¡± Transquick said as he showed Jin his greatest product. ¡°Oh just in case you are thinking whether I am encasing an ultrahuman in there. You are not wrong or right. It¡¯s a clone cell that somehow managed to look like her. We checked and there was no brain in her at all. There were no other organs except a beating heart. No matter how many times we scanned, no development of peripheral organs was seen. It was filled with just bones and muscles and lots of blood vessels producing a hell lot of lifestream energy.¡± ¡°Then the original?¡± ¡°Killed. Even the scholars found her too scary an ¡®object¡¯ for her to live or be in the wrong hands. Whether it¡¯s in our hands or the humans. The research team concurred but the thing was that the current roster of war generals consumed her flesh before she was incinerated.¡± ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°Lots. But to answer your initial question. The fascination for the lifestream energy was to get the Demon Rats out of it and hell, to weaponize as well as you might have already seen in action.¡± Transquick answered but Jin had way too many queries within his mind, waiting for Transquick to showcase his product in more detail. And yet the scariest thing happened as the ¡®human¡¯ started to move and all the rats who were in the know of this particular artefact were all taken aback by it. Some of them even trembled in fear and that included Transquick since he spent all his life trying to unlock the mystery of this particular project left by his predecessor and this was the first he saw the ¡®human¡¯ moving. ¡°Is it because it was moving because there are humans around? But I have tried that before¡­ unless¡­¡± The Doc stared at Jin and he might be the key to this mystery. Chapter 1400: Yggdrasil Chapter 1400: Yggdrasil The inhuman within the metal box continued to shake vigorously as if actively seeking out something, especially in the direction of Jin. The shaking got even more violent as each second passed and it began to release a dangerously high level of lifestream energy which was unprecedented even to the Demon Rats¡¯ knowledge. It was dense enough that the metal box encasing the inhuman started to leak lifestream energy out of it which had never happened before. The Demon Rat researchers stopped what they were doing and tried to salvage the situation by trying to pick up any device and gadgets that were able to measure lifestream energy and started to do some measurements. It was initially minimal but it somehow started to increase exponentially that Transquick eventually became transfixed by the whole situation. However, his assistants, who seem to be wary of the danger of the lifestream energy that they tried to fiddle with the metal box¡¯s console, attempting to activate additional security locks. However, the magical artefact created by the previous generation of Demon Rats malfunctioned from the pressure of lifestream energy that had emanated from it. Some of the senior Demon Rat Researchers tried to use some immobilisation devices that they threw into the instance to pacify the magical artefact. There was a gadget that takes in the lifestream energy like a vacuum cleaner but it was full almost instantaneously. Another gadget used by the senior Demon Rat Researchers tried to encapsulate the problem with another ¡®metal box¡¯ however before it could even be secured, all sides of the ¡®metal box¡¯ flew several metres away. They did not know whether it was the presence of a new metal box artefact or just the exponential pattern of the lifestream energy emanating that caused the new metal box artefact to not work. The only thing they knew was that it was getting dangerous and everyone desperately tried to run away from it with the exception of Transquick, Jin and Kraft who did not move away from their position since the start of this odd situation. (Funny enough, the Demon Rat Researchers valued their research materials so much that they tried to carry them close to their chest, hoping not to be destroyed by this current development of events.) The System queried whether any intervention was needed but Jin shook his head. ¡°I had this feeling before when I was fighting in the Farming World. It was faint but undoubtedly the very same feeling when I was near a Lifestream vein.¡± Jin said as he too utilised his Maqi in an attempt to connect with the Lifestream energies around him. Transquick watched how Jin¡¯s internal energies started to shape the lifestream energies around him and mentally noted how they interacted with each other. Considering he had no information on how Jin¡¯s energies were working, he had some inkling that it had to do with all that power that the humans had been portraying during the war. While he was far from the answer, the fact that he could sense some magic within Jin¡¯s energy caused most of his theories of how magic was not compatible with the lifestream energies to be nullified. Yet, he was amazed by the sight as the lifestream energies began to take shape right in front of Jin. It was not very obvious at the start but subsequently, they could see the silhouette of a tree being formed from the lifestream energies with the metal box artefact at the centre of it all. Perhaps, it was due to Jin¡¯s knowledge of mythical lore that allowed the lifestream energies to take the shape of a giant tree spirit but the name ¡®Yggdrasil¡¯ had been at the tip of his tongue for the longest time ever since he was touched by the lifestream. ¡°Looks like it was desperately trying to communicate to you rather than it being a threat,¡± Kraft said despite the creepiness of a faceless head moving within the metal box. Jin then decided to pour in even more Maqi energies while focusing on the thought of communication, hoping that the lifestream energies could interact with it. ¡°Than- Thank you.¡± The tree spirit silhouette spoked and moved as if a spring wind blew through its grand old branches. But at that moment, Jin requested the System to call for Shu, their local magical Treant to be on the site as well. ¡°What do you call me for? You want more roots and not sending me to battle- Oh Holiest mother of gods. What the heck is that?!¡± Shu exclaimed as he could feel the pressure of the lifestream pressing him down the moment he got teleported into the instance. ¡°I thought a tree like you can communicate with another tree better.¡± ¡°Are you being a Tree-ist?¡± Shu said but he could already feel the lifestream energies umbrella over his presence like a mother embracing her child. ¡°Shit, you are right,¡± Shu said as he started to receive information from the tree spirit, it was visibly apparent that having Shu around had indeed made things even more convenient for the Yggdrasil to communicate. Despite its intense aura, Jin felt that this was actually its final bit of strength or even perhaps a last ditch attempt to communicate. ¡°Transmitting the data all to the System, because I am not going to interpret this set of overwhelming information all by myself,¡± Shu exclaimed and the moment Yggsdrasil completed its transmission, it whispered another faint thank you to Jin before disappearing right before their eyes. All the lifestream energy dissipated throughout the instance however because it was a self contained room, Most of the lifestream energies were eventually absorbed by the Demon Rat Researchers. However, that did not mean the System did not take the opportunity to gather some for its own analysis. Yet, what was more pressing was the information given by the Life Tree itself. ¡°Long story short, good job, Jin¡­?¡± Shu shrugged his branches and told them that the Farming World was indeed dying from the recent mass exploitation of the lifestream energies. Chapter 1401: Yggdrasils Memories Chapter 1401: Yggdrasil¡¯s Memories ¡°Ehhh explain more?¡± Jin said as he tried to catch his breath. The Maqi he released was more than he had anticipated. In the meantime, the other Demon Rats slowly regained their composure and they tried to pick things up in this sheer white instance. Shu seeing how his master was panting heavily had decided to transfer some mana to him so that Jin could regulate his system while Kraft walked towards the magical treant. ¡°Ah, can¡¯t you just take it from the System? Do you really have to go through my memories?¡± Shu knew what Kraft was capable of and did not wish to be his specimen. ¡°The System will be filtering your memories and will try to make sense of it. I want the raw ones. Sometimes there are emotions packed into it and having to take a look in would definitely give a better perspective than what the System would give us.¡± Before he even finished his sentence, Kraft had already placed his hand into it. Not to mention, he was ¡®kind¡¯ enough to keep Jin in the loop by grabbing his shoulders and commencing the transfer. That meant Kraft was not only taking memories from Shu but also giving Jin the magical treant¡¯s memories so that he did not have to bother explaining everything to him. When the memories flashed through Jin, it was heavily coded with flashes of the Yggdrasil¡¯s past. In the days it was just a tree sapling and subsequently being devoured by the world itself due to a major earthquake, causing the planet to have regenerative abilities. This allowed the Farming World to have its unique abilities. Yggdrasil is now the mythic equivalent of Gaia, the Motherly Earth spirit that quietly watches the world. Under her watch, there was nothing significant among the species that ruled the land. Occasional wars would break out throughout the ages but it was largely peaceful during her reign. But everything changed when the Demon Rats appeared. They quickly changed the rules of engagement and slaughtered anything and everyone they could find, disrupting the scales of balance that had been preserved for the longest time ever. While surely there would be an influx of lifestream due to the death of creatures, Yggdrasil needed to ensure that the lifestream could reproduce life back to the world as well. However, the cycle was disrupted when the Demon Rats began to plunder the lifestream energies from the roots of the world and used them for their experiment and to improve their own technology. Initially, Yggdrasil thought it would merely be a minute intervention, but the Demon Rats got clever and greedy, taking huge portions of it. The Rats might not have known it since they were vastly manipulating the lifestream energies in the Northern Region but this had caused huge changes to the environment in the other regions. It was most noticeable in the Southern Region where the land was already harsh on their inhabitants to be even crazier to survive in. This prompted monsters like the Zerg Queen to have difficulty finding food although the humans living in the area just acted as the catalyst to make the situation worse. The Western and Eastern Regions were also seeing their crops growing at a slower pace. Also, their agricultural advisors noticed that at the rate the crops were maturing, they might have to either devote more land to farmers or tighten the food supply by introducing more taxes. Their stock would dwindle to the point that starvation might be a prevalent issue and they do not have an idea how to deal with it especially when all the appointed Scholars had disappeared. That was why when Weslie returned to the Western Region and greeted the Queen, she was well missed and many advisors to the Queen asked for the scholar¡¯s advice. One of the main concerns was indeed the food situation in the Western Region. Thus, by participating in the fight against the Demon Rats, the Queen of the West hoped that Weslie would have one less issue on her mind and she would be able to aid them with this unknown mystery. And while this was somewhat cruel, sending troops for the war against the Demon Rats would also alleviate the problem of the food supply. Besides getting gold which the Queen would not question how her Scholar was able to amass that much amount, soldiers would be taken care of. Guaranteed meals during the course of this battle might be a short term solution but this would allow the Western Kingdom to breathe a little on their resources even if it was just mere weeks of fighting. ((Author¡¯s note: Time travelled faster in the Farming World than in the real world and most of the time¡¯s perspective had been written in lieu of Jin¡¯s world. I do not wish to retcon too much with regards to timing.)) And to put it bluntly, War would no doubt incur losses and while that loss might be devastating to families in the Western Kingdom, it was one of the few ways to dampen the seriousness of the food situation. As for the Eastern Kingdom, the nobles were hoarding the food supplies and the peasants were all suffering. There was no effort being done to aid the commoners while the King and his wealthy subjects continued to enjoy their food luxuriously without care for life. Gold might not have been on the ground for ages but he still had informants who served the Jacks, his group of Robin Hood Werejackals. It was also one of the reasons he did not really wish to ask for help from the nobles since to them, there was nothing to gain from it other than to flex their military might. But the Dark Templar organisation had numerous nobles under its wing, and since they were already under the System¡¯s influence, it was easy to move a few thousand troops for the war. In return, the System and Gold were able to give reason to feed the families of those troops. Upon hearing that there was food on the table, many who were able, pledge their sword arm for the battle against the Demon Rats as well. No doubt the news went to the King and the other nobles but they honestly did not care about the situation of the Northern Region and lived in their ignorant bliss. With all this information flowing through Jin and Kraft, they could see how the Farming World started to crumble down with the intrusion of the Demon Rats. However, it was evident that Jin¡¯s intervention in both the Northern and Southern regions had indirectly helped Yggdrasil to regain some energy. However, that extra help was quickly depleted when the Demon Rats furiously produced new equipment. It was only in the past few days when the Demon Rats were struck in their Undercity that Yggdrasil had managed to recover a little better. In the meantime, as embarrassing as it was, the System finally was able to get the pattern of the energy signature and it was indeed Yggdrasil acting as the ¡®Spirits of the Land¡¯ aiding it to fight the war against this rat menace. With a plea from the world, Jin decided that it was better to get this over and done with as soon as possible while reaffirming his resolve to eradicate the rest of the Demon Rats (that were not his.) Chapter 1402: Revising Threat Chapter 1402: Revising Threat ¡°Does the User wish to expedite the entire war scenario? It would inadvertently affect the PandaVerse Festival¡¯s schedule.¡± The System queried. ¡°System¡¯s right you know? This World Spirit had already been suffering for some time, what¡¯s the difference with another few days?¡± In a rare situation, Kraft had supposedly aided the System. ¡°Not to mention, I do not think you have that many things planned for the ending of PandaVerse Festival other than a big celebration. You had already called in favours, brought in Singers and Bands for the past few days.¡± ¡°The Virtual Reality Instance is still in beta testing and though people are enjoying it now, officially incorporating the ¡®Corpse Catcher¡¯ technology would be a better solution for the way forward.¡± The System added, to support the case of not hastening the current war scenario. ¡°Urghh. Even though you are right, we did have a plan in the event that we had cleared the raid early. So, why can¡¯t we just improvise with that particular plan? The fight may have been over but surely we will need to several sweeps to ensure all the Demon Rats were killed. We cannot even let one escape in the event that they would mutate like the variants and start reproducing.¡± ¡°That will be quite anticlimactic though.¡± Kraft shook his head in disagreement. ¡°If the ending of PandaVerse Festival is like this, it would be criticised harshly especially when all eyes are on us after you pull the stunt of revealing a number of Zodiac Heads at the start of the festival.¡± ¡°Let me worry about that for now. System, we will go with that particular backup plan of revealing to the Pandarens that they could have a possible farm of their own once they rid the Demon Rats in the Northern Region.¡± ¡°User, are you sure that is a good choice? The System initially went with the backup plan mainly due to the fact that it was not profitable for us to clear the war in less than seven days. Also, we would be at a loss despite the profits if we were to send everyone in without knowing if the Demon Rats would have an extermination plan such as a nuclear bomb. Judging based on what the System had gathered from all possible information from the surviving Demon Rat Researchers, a nuclear bomb equivalent using lifestream energies had been manufactured and kept.¡± ¡°Is that true?!¡± Jin looked at Transquick who was still fixated on the Metal Box Artefact. ¡°Is that true?!¡± Kraft¡¯s eyes were filled with delight knowing that there was finally something worthy of his destructive calibre. ¡°Hmm? True what?¡± Transquick broke his trance from his theory crafting and ensued with some irritation. ¡°You guys built a lifestream energy bomb?¡± Jin asked as if he needed to verify the information at the very moment as if his life depended on it. At the same time, he tried to shut Kraft up who was walking toward him, wanting to grab his prized researcher and give him a hug. (Although it was pretty obvious that he wanted to take a closer look into his memories and learn where the bomb was.) ¡°Lifestream energy bomb? Oh, that piece of wondrous marvel that Borat did. Well, now I know why he wanted to create such a weapon of destruction so badly considering his allegiance with the Mage General¡­¡± Transquick clicked his tongue twice and an assistant came by to ask what was required of the Research Head. ¡°Do you mind getting me my tablet as well as the mechanical book of records if it had not been broken by the aura blast from just now?¡± Transquick asked and the assistant instantly grabbed them from the side, already prepared what the Research Head had wanted after hearing the queries from the two humans. ¡°Ah, brilliant.¡± Transquick smiled ever so slightly and tried to turn on his tablet¡­until he realised he needed power. Kraft then nudged Jin and the Dungeon Supplier reluctantly obliged by teleporting in a portable power generator since he was the one who requested the information. ¡°Hmm, yet another tech which I have never seen before. But the wires seemed to be similar to ours. I guess, with a bit of tinkering I should get it up with no time.¡± True enough, Transquick took a few tools that were lying around in his utility belt and he performed some ¡®cut and paste¡¯ and voila! The power generator was able to be attached to his tablet, allowing it to power up rather quickly. ¡°Call me a genius~¡± Transquick was elated that he was able to transfix two different pieces of technology from different worlds and utilise them at the spot. As much as the two humans were urgent and hungry for information, they were equally curious about how the tablet boots up Operating Systems, and the user interface, they both wondered how different or similar the two world¡¯s technology would be. Soon, they found out that it was nearly identical, but akin to the 80s version of Disk Operating System (DOS) where it was a list of commands with the limited user interface. Yet, Transquick navigated through his tablet rather quickly and was able to find the lifestream energies entrance. ¡°Huh¡­ its location is kept secret even from me who has the highest access to the said database,¡± Transquick said and Kraft who already got bored decided to grab it from him and fiddle it himself. In a few minutes of tapping furiously on the tablet¡¯s keyboard, he finally found out that the location was not just top secret, it did not exist. ¡°What a waste of time.¡± Kraft sighed as he threw back the tablet to his researcher. ¡°Does not exist? Does that mean it¡¯s being taken out of its inventory?¡± Jin asked and Kraft slapped Jin¡¯s back for stating the obvious. ¡°Then System, are you able to track the Lifestream energy bomb with your scan? Surely, with an intense-¡± ¡°Ah, you won¡¯t be able to detect with usual means. It¡¯s kept in a similar metal box like this artefact right here. It will deflect any magical signals since the bomb itself is sensitive in nature.¡± Transquick said as he showed the both of them what the metal crate that held the bomb looked like. ¡°Damn it. That means there¡¯s a high chance it could actually be deployed to the ground.¡± Jin said and Kraft merely shook his head. ¡°Guess, it¡¯s up to the Night Foxes to search for them again. Bossman, go sit up in the command room and make sure the attrition of fight is well-¡± ¡°No. This time, I will go.¡± Jin said as he fiddled with his phone and transferred a buttload of System Points to Kraft. ¡°Go settle your new researchers.¡± It was pretty apparent Jin did not want the bomb to fall into the ¡®wrong¡¯ hands. Chapter 1403: Extra: Negotiating with the Boss Chapter 1403: Extra: Negotiating with the Boss ¡°Well¡­ if you say so?¡± Kraft knew that he could do two things at once. Finding the Lifestream Energy Bomb and stealing it right under Jin¡¯s nose while looking through black market catalogues to make sure that he is able to buy what he wants via the System. After all, it was rather rare for Jin to even distribute System Points it would be a waste to not use it straight after and demand for more. Yet, Kraft decided to have some conscience since this was indeed the first time in a long while since Jin wishes to step into the battlefield and do some fieldwork himself. ¡°I guess it¡¯s better for him to do something or else, he would rot with all that knowledge. Besides, I bet he barely used ten percent of the System Rider System especially when he got so many minions to work with.¡± Kraft said out loud to himself since he knew that the System and Jin were waiting for his response. ¡°Oh, did I speak too loud?¡± The Devil sniggers at his comment and beckons Transquick to follow him, ¡°My dear little scientist, you will have all the equipment you wish to have. I do not even mind if you sleep on the floor but first, let¡¯s get you acquainted with my homely abode in the Farming World.¡± ¡°Goblin¡­World?¡± Transquick did not know what was that but it was equally interested in the sound of that. ¡°Also, My dear Bossman. I let you have the command of my Night Foxes. I bet you will find them useful in your search for that Lifestream Energy Bomb. But do be quick about it, the amount of System Points you gave me barely covers their one week¡¯s allowances.¡± Kraft said as he waved goodbye to Jin and teleported to the Goblin World where his own tavern was. ¡°Out of curiosity, how much is he paying you on a daily basis?¡± Jin asked Tinda and Narris via the System Channel. ¡°Master said we cannot say anything about pay. It¡¯s a very sensitive thing to be discussed on a public chann-¡± Before Narris could finish her words, Tinda cut in. ¡°Less than 50 System Points a day depending on our workload. He is extremely stingy and does not give any overtime pay. I would not mind to be of service to you, Master Jin. So long we can keep this quiet. A hush hush deal between the Night Foxes and us.¡± Tinda whispered in rapid blaze succession that Jin needed some time to process what she was talking about. ¡°I eh¡­ I see. So I am guessing, you guys will double cross him just for extra System Points¡­? Jin said out blatantly and Narris tried to be honourable in her dealings but if there was a screen for Jin to see the expressions of every other Night Foxes behind her, it was bloody obvious they wanted something more than just honour. But even if he could not see it, Jin was able to sense the frustration from the background. The grumblings and possibly some hissing on the ¡®honourable¡¯ Night Fox that Kraft favoured so much. ¡°It¡¯s not double crossing when we are technically working for you. Kraft is merely the¡­erm what do you call it? Local Director? You are the Chief Executive Officer of this bloody company. Getting some extra commission from you is not betrayal at all.¡± Tinda phrased it so comically that Jin could see that they were desperate for extra System Points. ¡°I honestly won¡¯t blame them for being so hungry for those points.¡± Jin thought to himself and asked the System to get a comprehensive report on the Night Foxes¡¯ earnings. In less than a blink of an eye, the System¡¯s report was generated right in front of Jin to read and without much of a glance, it was evident enough that the Night Foxes were indeed being underpaid for the work they did. ¡°Sigh, considering the work they do for Kraft, they do deserve the kind of System Points that Kraft mentioned if he didn¡¯t blindly rob them of their allowances,¡± Jin said while shaking his head in dismay. ¡°Right????¡± Tinda was excited to see that the Boss of their Boss had some sympathy for the Dark Elves. ¡°Fine, fine. Aid me in the search for the lifestream energy bomb and all of you would be entitled to a bonus.¡± Jin said and the Night Foxes were pleasantly thrilled by the prospect of incoming System points.¡± ¡°You know, it would best to keep your word by giving us a deposit¡­¡± Tinda tried to persuade for some points upfront but Jin shut her up with just four words. ¡°Don¡¯t Push Your Luck,¡± Jin replied and almost every single Night Fox around her pulled her aside and Narris who was supposedly the most abiding Dark Elf under Kraft¡¯s command placed her hand onto Tinda¡¯s mouth and told her to shut it. ¡°One more condition. The Lifestream Energy Bomb or BOMBS are entirely my possession. If I notice that Kraft had managed to get a hold of any part of it. I will banish everyone as per the agreement signed between you and the System.¡± Jin made it clear that even though they were in the same team, under the same System. ¡°Does that include our Boss stealing it right under our nose?¡± One of the Dark Elves asked and Jin nodded his head. ¡°Yes, if he steals it right under your nose. By hook or by crook, you better take it back. And do not worry about the Demon Rats he is attempting to sway. The System had placed a direct order, instructing them to not share anything about the Lifestream Energy Bomb with Kraft.¡± ¡°You know¡­ if you keep him out like that, all the more he would attempt to bite you back,¡± Narris said, thinking she gave a sound warning. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know his character equally well. I just need to make sure his potential desire for that wanton destruction would be sated in different ways.¡± Jin said as he returned to his Dungeon Maker room, asking for a map of the Undercity once more. Chapter 1404: Preparation For The Final Fight Chapter 1404: Preparation For The Final Fight The Night Elves went into overdrive searching for the Lifestream Energy Bomb despite the ongoing war that was happening despite the entire incident. Moloch was handling the situation well enough that Jin felt reassured that he was able to move into the Undercity without worrying. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry kid. While I might not look like it, I do have some experience under my belt. It¡¯s just that your way of doing war is a tad unconventional but after watching and reviewing your actions, I now know what needs to be done.¡± Moloch said as he sent the information of what he did for the past few hours. Jin took a quick look within the Dungeon Maker and noticed that the Demon Rats were not relenting despite the loss of their Research unit. Kraft did make it look like they had stolen some properties from the research facility and then burned the entire place down. He even purposely got several of the Dark Elves to throw a few of the dead ¡®assassin¡¯ researchers near the entrance of the burnt down research facility to look as if it was pillage and arson. This would allow the Mage General to not know that the distress signal called by the assassins was not due to betrayal but rather a sign of help against the humans and their fellow monster allies. But they got to make it foolproof to make sure that the Mage General would not suspect a thing about their intention to get the Lifestream Energy Bomb. Thus, a few Night Foxes were purposely seen putting up an elaborate act that they were taking the injured Birth Mothers in the event that there were still soldiers and mages monitoring the situation. With such a ploy by the Night Foxes, the rest of the Demon Rat Researchers and Jin would not have to worry the Mage General¡¯s having suspicions about them knowing the Lifestream Energy Bomb¡­ Or at the very least lowering the chance of it. The most important thing was to deceive their higher ups to make them think that the humans were only here in the research facilities for the Birth Mothers and nothing else of note. This was because if the Researchers were dead, Prideblood would know that the humans would not have access to the information with regards to their most exquisite and destructive weapon in their hands. ¡°However, can I give you some advice?¡± Moloch asked his master for the permission to speak, which Jin gave it freely. ¡°I believe it is now time to cut the heads off the snake¡¯s body. We have reached the City¡¯s centre and all the forces that we are seeing now are trained soldiers like the ones we had fought protecting Wecha Town.¡± ¡°The rank and file Demon Rats are currently dispatched to the flanks and fighting against the zombies but the main bulk of their veterans are concentrating their firepower in that particular area. I will not be surprised to see a few recurring characters like Skydigger, the Pickaxe General who ran away from the Pandarens.¡± ¡°I thought he would be dead with all that damage done to him.¡± ¡°Even if he does die, do not be surprised if you see someone claiming to be Skydigger.¡± Transquick who teleported in, wanting to give Jin the possible hiding locations where the Lifestream Energy Bomb would be. ¡°There are permanent unique general positions in the Demon Rat military and there are disposable ones. Skydigger is one of the names bestowed to the Demon Rat that was able to transcend their combat skills and proved to be deadly with a pickaxe.¡± ¡°Most of the elites are just waiting for the General to die out from combat to take the seat. And yes, there is a queue for that title because everyone knows the privilege of being a General.¡± ¡°So, I guess we should aim for the permanent positions?¡± Jin took a quick glance at the possible locations on a bloodied map of the Undercity and passed it to the System to upload so the Night Foxes knew where to go. ¡°Yes, Gnawbones was fortunately one of them as he was the few who partook a decent amount of lifestream energy, the other three who also took in the energies were Roughscream, Prideblood and Cinderclaw. Particularly the last one is now seated as the King and Overseer of the entire Demon Rat race. Defeat him and you might have some control of the situation.¡± Transquick was quick enough to understand that Jin wanted the war to finish as soon as within his seven days. Now that he was inundated into the System, and the promises of technological research after the war had spurred Transquick to reveal even more information to ensure that Jin reached his goal. ¡°Then I guess I better head to the High Command as soon as possible. Peppers and Pei. We have some hunting to do.¡± Jin called out the names of his mage bellator and his guardian ¡®fox¡¯ to the Dungeon Maker instance. ¡°Heh, the System told me all about it. Let¡¯s see who really deserves the title of Mage General.¡± Peppers said as she unveiled under her cape, a combat vest filled with crystalised tubes that were supposedly used to control her mana consumption. ¡°I am the one who should be surprised that you decided to call me. I thought you would call the Orcs to fight against this¡­Club General. Wait, are you implying that I fight like a brute?¡± Pei, the Pink Fox unveiled her human form and took out her katana with the intent to stab Jin. ¡°No! No! I was merely thinking that you fight with the most elegance despite your cold hard strikes within my army. And also, don¡¯t you think you should be thanking me instead?¡± Jin knew that the rest of the Foxes were hard at work recreating Demonpolis and that they were dying from administrative paperwork. ¡°You have a valid point. The rest would be jealous if they knew that I went out to play.¡± Pei retracted her sword and Jin was relieved that she could still listen to reason. ¡°See? The privileges of being guardian once for the User.¡± Jin chuckled but Pei knocked his head. ¡°I still am, just that I know that you are within the System¡¯s premise and the sole reason why I did not make a move.¡± Pei argued with her hands crossed. ¡°And if you are going for a big battle then all the more you all should feast first before going in.¡± Lynn suddenly popped into the Dungeon Maker instance which Jin presumed that the System had told her everything about. ¡°Thank you Lynn.¡± He said as the dungeon supplier told the two of them to have some food to gain some buffs before entering for the ¡®final¡¯ fight. Chapter 1405: Leading The Distraction Chapter 1405: Leading The Distraction ¡°So Boss, do you want a quick portal to the High Command or do you want me to create a pathway to that building?¡± Moloch asked but he believed he knew the answer Jin was going to give though it was better to come it out from his mouth than assuming. ¡°Create a pathway for me to go through. Use a WARE event or multiple WARE events to make it happen.¡± Jin said as he looked through the information that Transquick had given him with regards to the Demon Rat Generals who had been taken in the lifestream energy for their own consumption. ¡°Hmm, might be a tad difficult since we are only in the middle of the fourth day and most of the crowd comes after their work schedule.¡± Moloch said as he tried to check the number of Pandarens around to see if there was any ¡®magic¡¯ he could pull to make it work. ¡°Aren¡¯t the Pandawans still around? I thought I heard them saying that they had saved up their leave and money just for this particular event?¡± Jin asked and Moloch brought up the Pandaren List to check whether his usual customers were present in the fight. Based on the System¡¯s last seen reports, he eventually found out that they were currently resting and having their lunch at one of the newly opened restaurants within the Tree Mall. ¡°They are currently waiting for the orders and since they are such a big group, it would take some time. Although I believe you can use your privilege as the Tree Mall¡¯s landlord and push forth the order¡­since your NPCs are the ones doing most of the cooking.¡± Moloch giggled and Jin thought about it for a second before saying no. ¡°Let them rest, it would be horrible of me to let them miss this out but equally horrible to cause them to quicken their pace of eating just for this minor event,¡± Jin said but Moloch begged to differ. ¡°I honestly think they will drop everything whatever they are doing and go for a run with you. Frankly speaking, it¡¯s not just the points, they believed in you especially when you have such an exciting battle ahead. Besides, you did owe them a good fight after you abandoned them to fight against Baal.¡± ¡°That is also true¡­ Now that I think about it, do you think it¡¯s okay to release Baal now for a fight?¡± Jin asked Moloch since he was the only one monitoring the progress of Baal despite being kept under heavy System scrutiny (even when he too had agreed to sign the System¡¯s contract willingly.) ¡°Hmm¡­ If you want him to be part of the fight, it will no doubt increase the odds of this current battle since his leadership is unparalleled -well, his leader was unparalleled when I first joined him. Not like that crazy fool he was under Kiva¡¯s artefact influence so I guess we could give it a try. Besides, having him for future battles would definitely be useful if we were ever to intervene in the Demon¡¯s dimensional plane or heck, even the Gods¡¯ place of living. Not that I honestly want to go there.¡± ¡°Woah, Woah. You are thinking way too much now. In any case, contact the Pandawans and get our NPCs in that Chinese restaurant to serve the food to them as soon as possible. Also, put their meal on my tab while I talk to Baal for a moment or two.¡± ¡°Boss, you sure?¡± ¡°Better to have me give him the orders than to get it from you. He might agree on the account that he is doing you a favour or returning the debt he owes you, but ultimately, he is my minion. I still have to talk to him and make sure he sees things my way.¡± ¡°Boss, you sound cool for a moment, but I do not think you are that capable.¡± ¡°Hah asshole.¡± Jin chuckled as he had already sent the Night Foxes to do a preliminary search while hiding their presence. Only later when Jin and his minions enter the fray, it would then be the best distraction for the Night Foxes to do their job properly and search for the Lifestream Energy Bomb while making sure that their generals are occupied to even think of using the Lifestream Energy Bomb, especially their Mage General Prideblood. ¡°Hahah, I will prepare the Demopolis Minions for mobilisation. They would no doubt be happy that King Baal would be there to lead them once more.¡± Moloch said to Jin knowing that even if his master had failed to convince Baal, the last resort he could do was to either command them himself, or Jin using the System to force Baal to lead the troops. Yet, those thoughts were kept aside since he had already conversed with Baal enough times to know that it should be an easy job for Jin to convince the Demon King to lead once more. Once Jin teleported into the instance that was keeping Baal imprisoned, he was expecting a defeated soul, filled with regrets. But he was dead wrong when the dungeon supplier saw the demon humming to himself in his prison cell writing something with a few books by his side. He never believed the King of Demons would be studious if he had never seen this side of him. ¡°If you have come, it means that you either want me to go into battle or need me for some advice with regards to the Demon Dimensional Plane,¡± Baal said as he continued to be occupied writing. ¡°Yes, the former.¡± Jin did not bring up any excuses or any roundabout explanation. ¡°Are you not afraid that I might break the System¡¯s hold, take control of the army that I once lost and create a coup d¡¯etat within your circle of minions?¡± ¡°Honesty, not really. If it comes to that, I will just settle with whatever powers I have within my possession. I clearly do not have the time to think about such stuff. Besides, I trust the System to inform me of such incidents before they could even happen.¡± ¡°Then you must be fortunate to not have such worries.¡± The King lamented a little. ¡°I too would like some of this ¡®worry not¡¯ attitude and just do more for my kingdom.¡± ¡°You can always make a new one. I can offer you a position in Pandapolis Administration since there are now demons working in the city as well alongside the whatever stowaway humans.¡± ¡°Tempting offer but I do enjoy my current solitude. Being bogged down with paperwork isn¡¯t my style.¡± ¡°Though I feel that you are enjoying it.¡± ¡°Probably just bored.¡± ¡°But are you bored enough to lead your men to battle again?¡± Jin felt that there was no need to prattle on. ¡°Hmm. I would not lie that my sword arm is itching for a fight since my defeat. For now, I will accept your call to battle. But do not expect-¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough for now, we can discuss more when we are done with the current situation. Time is of some essence in this current matter.¡± Jin said as he requested the System to pour whatever vital information it had to Baal, allowing him to understand the chain of developments that were happening in the Farming World. ¡°I see, then let¡¯s get to it,¡± Baal said with a sigh after rubbing his temple from the excessive information that was given to him. Jin was undoubtedly relieved that everything went smoothly, many thanks to Moloch who had been preparing Baal from behind the scenes. Chapter 1406: Ever Extending Bridge Chapter 1406: Ever Extending Bridge Baal entered the Dungeon Maker Instance with Jin and Moloch was not surprised at all that he was able to make his way here. But rather, he was more than happy to place his hand out as if he was demanding something from Baal. ¡°What?¡± Baal tried to avoid the stare from Moloch but the plushie minotaur was insisting for Baal to hand over it. This made Jin curious and Baal decided not to dilly dally too much considering the situation in the Farming World. ¡°System Points trade. It was a bet whether Boss would be willing to go to get Baal out of his cell.¡± Moloch said and Jin only had confused looks on his face. ¡°We made a bet. That¡¯s all. Do not think too much about it. It¡¯s just our past time hobby when Moloch and I were still King and Advisor.¡± Baal said but Jin was more curious about how Baal even got hold of System Points. Yet, that was a question that was out of the current context at this point in time and one could only assume that the System was already getting Baal to do things even though he was semi imprisoned. ¡°Do I have Kiva under my control as well?¡± Baal asked and Moloch smacked his former King on the shoulders, telling him to not joke anymore in front of Jin. However, Baal was asking it as a serious inquiry. ¡°Why do you need him?¡± Jin asked and Baal requested the System to open up the Undercity¡¯s map. ¡°There is no doubt that I can brute force my way through the City Centre with my troops but it will take too many causalities. But from what I heard, Kiva had developed a sort of bridge module with the Science Branch which enabled it to work by extending almost infinitely until it reach its destination. It was a combination of magic and technology at the same time.¡± Baal answered and Jin now understood that even though he was imprisoned, he was still privy to their information. That means the System did not see him as a threat but Baal merely wanted some time alone for himself and decided to continue to stay within the cell. The only problem was that the System did not allow freeloaders and thus where the System Points came about. Still, he did not understand what was Baal thinking and needed clarification. ¡°What does that have to do with the push for the High Command?¡± ¡°You needed a bait for distraction and this would be the perfect lure to make sure that the Demon Rats High Command take note of you,¡± Baal said as he requested the System to simulate the ever extending bridge module in the Undercity. ¡°In the first place, why would he even make such a product?¡± Jin asked but both Moloch and Baal merely shrugged their shoulders. The System, however, was able to provide an answer for it, stating that it was to connect not just cliffs and canyons or fast flowing rivers but to connect between countries, and more ambitiously, between planets. ¡°Planets??!¡± Jin exclaimed as he could not believe the absurdness of the said product. ¡°Well, if he wants to use this to connect between planets, then that means it¡¯s sturdy enough to hold against artillery fire.¡± Moloch deduced and the System gave a positive affirmation. ¡°I see. So as our forces goes overhead the ground, they could obviously see the threat that was coming towards them, since we are forcefully connecting it to the Demon Rats High Command Building. Not a bad idea.¡± Jin nodded his head in agreement and give the plan a go ahead. ¡°Not only that, but the bridge can also extend sideways so we can use the surrounding buildings as a diversion while enhancing our temporary stronghold.¡± Moloch had a quick review of Kiva¡¯s product. ¡°Though I do not believe the name of this product is just called Ever Extending Bridge. He definitely had a fanciful name for it.¡± ¡°Yes, Researcher Kiva did submit a name but it was unanimously rejected by the rest of the Science Branch, citing concerns that it might be too pompous.¡± The System reported and the group sighed, knowing Kiva¡¯s habits. ¡°Also, how¡¯s the response from the Pandawans?¡± Jin decided to sidetrack from the current conversation, now knowing the direction of their war plan. (But unbeknownst to him, the System was a tad disappointed considering it had come up a heck load of plans previously regarding this invasion and Jin had decided to use a plan that had not been fully simulated and its risks calculated. However, the System does not deny the attention it could generate from the plan, it was merely worried about the damage and cost it had to bear. ¡°The Pandawans agreed to it, and in fact, Xiong Da had promised to come as soon as possible even though I told them to enjoy their food,¡± Moloch replied. ¡°I even added that if they waste their food, they are not going to go in at all, which prompted them to Xiong Da to gobble everything which the rest could not finish. For that, I was partially speechless.¡± ¡°But it was barely a few minutes the last I spoke to you¡­ Guess I cannot underestimate the power of the hippo.¡± Jin shook his head in dismay. ¡°Nah, they were only given the appetisers. So, they still got the main course and dessert but Xiong Da is obviously on the edge. Thankfully, the NPCs responded positively to our orders and they are dishing the food out as fast as possible while maintaining quality.¡± Moloch reassured Jin. ¡°Then, we shall start the assault first. Send out the announcements to both the Pandarens and our Minions. As for Baal, I shall give you temporary control over the Demopolis Generals. Even the Devil Dragons who are fighting now will be under your command. In the meantime, Moloch please ensure that the rest of the forces are still doing their part, especially the ones that are fighting in the East and West tunnels.¡± Jin ordered and the both of them acknowledged. The Demon Rats would not know how hard Jin and his minions are going to hit after this slew of orders. Chapter 1407 Prideblood’s Ambition With each day of defeat and losing their grounds of their Undercity bit by bit to the humans and monsters, the Demon Rats¡¯ morale was dropping rapidly. The rumours regarding the death of their Air Force General had been made true once the Demon Rats in the Air Force had been given orders by Mage General Prideblood. And what was worse was that the humans were relenting in their fight, something which most of the veterans had dismissed them as weak beings were refuted at each and every turn of the battle. The newer Demon Rats could see the vigour of the human cultivators returning to the battle not defeated but ever more eager to kill them. Their numbers might not amount to much but their resurrective abilities were something that even the Demon Rats believed that it was only a matter of time before they lost such an ability and died permanently. There was no such thing as infinite magic and somehow they thought it was proven true within the second day of the battle. Yet, as a spark of hope shimmers through their hearts, the humans came in with their allied monsters to crush all their beliefs. Now into the fourth day of battle, they were desperately fighting only in hopes that their main armies who had advanced into the Eastern and Western regions would have more success and buy them time to establish a new foothold in said regions. Yet, the control of information by the High Command had disabled them from knowing the truth that their main armies were nowhere near the Eastern nor Western regions. Even in their attempt to retreat to the Undercity as reinforcements had been cut off as there were reports that the monsters had taken control of the tunnels at both ends. There were no more troops to spare to retake the entrance of the tunnels by the Undercity and even a squad of Demon Rats Elites under the command of Cinderclaw had been wiped out by two greenish ¡®guardians¡¯ standing proud and strong at each entrance. The presence of Jin¡¯s infamous Goblins, the Death Knight and the Ifrit¡¯s Successo had made the intensive training and experience Demon Rats Elites gained, a joke. They were nearly immediately slaughtered with their powers combined and the goblins knew that a great show of strength would deter the High Command from sending any more troops now that they were at a deficit. However, the Demon Rat Generals refused to acknowledge the fact that they could not be killed, especially the Mage General who knew that he still had the ultimate trump card in his sleeve. The Lifestream Energy Bomb. He had read extensive reports on how the bomb¡¯s side effects after it had exploded, disabling the ability to regrow anything. This means that there was a chance- nay, a definite way to kill all the humans and their monsters in one go as long as they were gathered. Even if it means the destruction of the Undercity then so be it. Prideblood believed that destroying the bulk of these humans with resurrective powers within the Undercity would not just be an achievement but also a warning to their group that was hiding beyond the Northern Region to be afraid of the Demon Rats. All they needed was more time so that the humans and monsters would be more concentrated within the Undercity before he used such a deadly weapon. However, the only problem with such a tactic was that it was a theory that had yet to be proven against the humans and no one had such a plan in mind, not even the Usurper General Cinderclaw who took the throne for himself. However, with each passing second, the loss of troops and the need to command the rest of the air force, the thought of using the Lifestream Energy bomb was getting stronger and stronger. It felt like it was a beginning of an obsession, wanting to use such technological powers and defeat the humans once and for all. Unfortunately, as he was thinking on the sidelines about the total destruction of the humans, the radio and magic communication operators were signalling the Generals in their high seats that the humans were teleporting something huge. (Since they saw a huge portal on their magic eyes and cameras) ¡°Is it that big fish that was hovering above the Northern Capital? They are teleporting that thing in?¡± Prideblood did not know how to fight that threat but he believed the remaining bulk of Gnawbones Airforce would be a perfect diversion for it while the humans gain the balls to rush through the city centre. ¡°No, it seems like they are bringing out a sort of metal plate contraption. We could not identify its use-¡± The operators reported until the Ever Extending Bridge which Jin had prepared finally came into play. It shot out instantly like a rock being slung out from a catapult as it extended endlessly with the use of magic. Kiva was absolutely delighted that his newest invention was being used especially during a wartime setting. The Bat Lord made sure that the coordinates were right, barely avoiding almost every single building by extending it over them while stretching towards the High Command¡¯s location. Soon, the bridge ¡®found¡¯ its target and crashed itself towards the High Command, lodging itself in the middle of it all. At the same time, Kiva ensured that more plates were deployed not to just ensure that it was firmly into the High Command but also to ensure the stability of the bridge. Soon, pillars started to grow like tree roots attempting to find stable ground. (They do look like metal tree roots from afar.) ¡°Charge!¡± Baal, who was the first to emerge from the portal in a lightweight armoured car, had now surprised the rest of the Demon Rat¡¯s High Command. The shock gave them sufficient time for the remaining army to pop out from the portal all in armoured vehicles, ranging from armoured cars to heavy duty tanks. Some of the soldiers were on foot but they ensured the portal¡¯s safety by fortifying the surrounding buildings so that the Demon rats could not disrupt the Demopolis¡¯s army advance. One thing is for sure, the assault to end everything finally begins. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1408 Battle On The Sky Bridge - Part 1 Everyone who was currently fighting on the battlefield had no idea that the bridge that magically appeared from a portal would be of an immense proportion. The allies of Jin were shocked and yet encouraged by the sudden flow of reinforcements but the enemies¡¯ morale had been severely hit by this move. The High Command was scrambling to gather forces to counterattack but the sky bridge had made it rather hard for the Demon Rats to reach. It was near impossible unless individual teams of Demon Rats climb up buildings and jumped onto the sky bridge. It invalidated all the defences that the Demon Rats had prepared and thus they were desperately trying to bring the sky bridge down with whatever ranged weapons that they had at their disposal. On the other hand, the Demopolis Army had it easier as they were in their war vehicles pushing through at top speed and killing anyone that they had spotted in the buildings. Even those Demon Rats who had risked their lives to jump onto the sky bridge were bull charged by the armoured cars. Normally, it would have slowed down the pace of the advance guard but Baal was at the lead of the charge with Kiva at his side. ¡°My Lord! Let¡¯s make this a trip to remember for this is our reunion!¡± Kiva exclaimed as he activated his magical ring, the only battle item which he was allowed to bring out since the rest of his arsenal had been confiscated by the System. Still, with just his ring, he was able to conjure a wind barrier that not only knock unsuspecting Demon Rats who jumped to the sky bridge to get their bearings, but also those who had attempted to prepare a makeshift barricade against the vanguard. In the meantime, Baal was standing tall at the top of the armoured car, unhindered by Kiva¡¯s shouting as well as the garbage hanging around the sky bridge. He was surveying the current battlefield to see how he should deploy his forces. ¡°Hmm. Marquis Forneus. The System just did a wide scan and noted a few places which might have the potential ability to destroy the sky bridge. Send your forces to those coordinates immediately.¡± Baal told the Devil Dragon¡¯s Leader and the Marquis was all the more delighted to serve under the decisive Baal once again. With a resounding yes to his orders, he sent the Devil Dragons closest to those coordinates to survey and destroy whatever that might plague the current operations. ¡°Earl Barbatos, Dive down and remove those barricades. Half Ghoul Lord Derek would appreciate such an effort.¡± Baal gave another order to the Lord of Giants and Barbatos who were hitching the rides on tanks immediately compiled to the order, leaping down from the sky bridges to sweep the barricades away. (When the trolls and giants did it, everyone on the sky bridge could feel a difference in the weight and its recoil and the tanks could move even faster without wasting too much mana.) ¡°Earl Furtfur, Get your Winged Hydras to disrupt the Demon Rat Variants before they receive the orders from their Demon Rat counterparts to intervene on our advancing army.¡± Earl Furtfur took the orders at heart and with pride, commanding his Winged Hydras who were hovering above the Demopolis Army to split out and attack the Chimeras that were on the ground of the Undercity. ¡°Kiva.¡± Now Baal finally gave the Bat Aristocrat the attention he craves. ¡°Yes, my lord!¡± Kiva was a little disappointed that he was not spoken with any noble title attached to his name. But at the same time¡­relieved and perhaps delighted? He assumed that Baal had decided to call him by his name only as a sign of possible friendship. ¡°No, do not overthink. Your title had been stripped for the heinous acts you committed in Demopolis. It shall remain so until you have proven yourself to me.¡± Baal said and told him to get his bottleflies to engage against the Demon Flying Rats. ¡°Ha! That is one too easy of an order!¡± Kiva clearly disregarded what Baal had said and instantly relayed that command to his Bat Bottleflies. ¡°Those disgusting replicas will be annihilated the moment they meet my tremendous force of Bat Bottleflies!¡± To Baal¡¯s surprise, those Bat Bottleflies were surprisingly strong as they sought their prey and devoured them almost in an instant. The Flying Rats were not able to fight well compared to the Bat Bottleflie who were of similar size and with deadly agility to boot. With just a few commands, the entire battlefield turned from a war of attrition to a near total annihilation of the Demon Rats. The Pandarens who were informed of the sudden event took whatever opportunity they could to enter the fray and attack any Demon Rats. Even Xiong Da and his group of Pandawans had commandeered an armoured vehicle, racing through the sky bridge and went ahead to assist the Lord of Giants in destroying the barricades. At the same time, they put up new WARE events to ensure that the Pandarens were concentrating the fight so that the Demopolis Army could move unhinged towards the Demon Rat High Command. ¡°See, ¡®Master¡¯. My King is capable of things that you would never achieve! Descend from your petty high throne and accede it to my King. Perhaps, he will-¡± Before Kiva could finish his sentence, Jin who was sitting at the back of the armoured car had already nudged Peppers to use a mute spell on him. As for his evaluation of Baal, Jin was undoubtedly impressed that his lords and ladies were able to follow his short commands until he remembered that Moloch was also handling the minions. With the aid of Moloch¡¯s directing each individual company of Demon Soldiers to their respective places after Baal¡¯s orders, the groups were able to effectively coordinate the attacks. And because of that, he and the other three were able to relax for now as his hard work of taking over Demopolis paid off. All he had to do was to wait until they either reached the High Command or the three Generals infected by the Lifestream energies were to appear. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. ???? Chapter 1409 Battle On The Sky Bridge -Part 2 The Pandarens alongside the Demon Army had pushed through the Demon Rats¡¯ barricades with a decisive blow under the command of Baal. Jin and his companions were able to move through the Sky Bridge smoothly without the hindrance of the Demon Rats. Soon, the Demon Rat High Command is within sight and as expected by the Demon Rats under the Generals, they had already mounted a defence within the surrounding area. Windows had been left slightly jarred and filled with Demon Rats armed to the teeth. From basic rifles to sniper nests, there were even mages at the ready to send a volley of terrible offensive magic to Jin¡¯s vanguard. ¡°Jin, shall I clear them out?¡± Baal asked as he was still standing tall and everyone had their scopes and barrels aimed at him. ¡°I guess you want some form of warming up?¡± Jin said through the System Channel as he took a closer look at the Demon Rats via Pepper¡¯s magnifying magic. From the looks of it, they were veterans, probably the elites of the elites protecting the Generals and the operators in the High Command from certain harm. ¡°Since you already have your lineup ready for the fight, I guess this is my only plea- an excuse to stretch my sword arm.¡± ¡°Hey Baal, get in line!¡± Moloch yelled through the System Channel. ¡°I have yet to go into battle! How can you go if I did not have a shot at them?¡± ¡°I thought you said you preferred to stay at the sidelines, managing the command?¡± Jin asked, knowing that if Baal goes on a rampage, his previous second in command would like to fight alongside him. ¡°This is different!¡± Kiva and Moloch somehow managed to shout at the same time through the System Channel and it seems like the other noble lords and ladies had the very same idea. To fight under Baal, a Greater Demon, was a dream that many Demons from the Demon Plane would sacrifice their lives and even souls for. But to fight with Baal? Everyone would desire such great honour and pleasure. ¡°Heh. Then I am sorry Moloch and even to you Kiva. You have your roles to fill at this point in time. You have to lead the entire Demopolis Army to immeasurable victory while Kiva, focus on driving.¡± Jin ordered and the two had to comply based on their contract with their System. There was no time for personal desires to be in the way of matters when the most important battle drew near. ¡°Does that mean?¡± Baal was elated to know that he had the permission to fight as metaphysical chains that were holding him back suddenly turned visible. For Demons who were following behind him were shocked at the layers of chains that were put on him but that was the System¡¯s condition for him to lead the army since a Greater Demon should not be given a chance to have complete free will. But just for this moment, all the locks and chains had been released from him, giving him the ability to breathe properly after months of confinement. (Though it might be months, the System had used time dilation to make him feel the days like years, and months like centuries. His back that had been imprinted with the marks of chains gradually disappeared as his strength returned to him just by taking in the air around him. With all the Demons under his command and the immense stench of death in the undercity, it provided him with the necessary mana for absorption. The demons were gladly pouring tribute mana for their one and only King regardless of the distance. This was made real and further accelerated with the aid of the System, transferring the mana from one monster to another through System points. As the Demons gave their king System Points, it was then turned into Mana where he used it to absorb and regain his vitality. In less than twenty seconds, he was already up to half his previous strength and Baal stopped accepting any more tributes or generous donations. (especially from a certain bat ¡®lord¡¯.) The Greater Demon believed that he had more than enough power to decimate this place twenty folds even though he was half his strength. And that reality was proven when the barrage of rockets began to fly towards the vanguard but with a gentle flick of his finger, a gust of wind ensued, causing all the rockets to be deflected away, damaging the surrounding buildings instead. Next, the Demon Rat Snipers made their shot but those bullets were like quickly slowed down a metre away from Baal¡¯s torso and head. The Greater Demon grabbed all those bullets that were stopped right in front of him and he threw them back at them again, with the very same trajectory. Most of the snipers realised what he was doing and managed to dodge the shot (barely) but a few who were preparing their next shot did not have the time to react fast enough and got killed in the process. However, the Demon Rats were not relenting as those who were killed had been replaced by a fresher batch of soldiers waiting to perform their duty. The Mages who saw Baal in action, instantly doubled up their casting, knowing that this adversary they were facing was considered an elite. If they were to pull their punches, they might be the ones who are going to die. So, as synchronised as they could be, the Demon Rat Mages simultaneously unleashed a volley of fireballs towards Baal who was still in the lead of the vanguard. The Greater Demon believed that fire should be fought with fire and thus revealed a magic circle that was large enough to encase the entire breadth of the sky bridge. Soon, the balls of fire albeit of a different colour came shooting out from the magic circle, intercepting each and everyone that Demon Rat Mages had cast. But the Demon Rat Mages already knew his ferocity and thus hid a second spell within the fireballs. It was an absorption spell where the fireballs take in the mana of the opponent¡¯s spell and used it for their own. As Baal thought to fight ¡®fair and square¡¯ for this particular showcase, it seemed that it only gave him a better excuse to use stronger spells. The Demon Rat Mages¡¯ fireball turned insanely huge and the Demon Rats thought that this could be the counterblow that they were waiting for so that the sky bridge that was hinged onto the Demon Rats High command could be destroyed. However, the opposite happened. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. ???? Chapter 1410 Battle On The Sky Bridge -Part 3 Chapter 1410 Battle On The Sky Bridge -Part 3 Baal took a slow breath in even while the fireballs were coming in hot. Yet, it was still too close for comfort for some of the Demopolis Army as they were not as fearless as the commanders and captains. But with a huff and a puff from Baal, all the fireballs froze in midair unable to consume the magical energy that Baal had emitted. His breath of frigid ice had caused those who were worried about imminent destruction to let out a sigh of relief. Almost every Demon Rat Mage on the scene was surprised by the change in development. They were fairly certain that the fireballs alongside with the absorption spell should have dealt the counterblow they were all waiting for. Even Prideblood, the Demon Rat Mage General were surprised by how his unique spell which he had infused and spread through the Demon Rat Mages had been rendered useless. Could there actually be a type of magic that was capable of stopping his unique absorption spell or the spell had reached its upper limits and stopped working? There were so many questions in his head but the sight of those ice cold static fireballs in the air was a testament that there was someone who was superior in magic to him. And what¡¯s surprising was how the environment was not affected by Baal¡¯s Breath of Frigid Ice and that meant he had precise manipulation of magic that was top tier. Even Shiva who was supposed to be the pinnacle of ice element casters, the Shaitan would have to bow down to his ability to cast a wide area of effect of magic and not disrupt the surroundings. Thus, this allowed the entire Demopolis Vanguard to move forth without too much of a hassle. On the other hand, the Demon Rats had anticipated those frozen fireballs to be countered and blown back towards them but it was not happening. They remained as they were while the Demopolis Vanguard drove through. Hence, the Demon Rat Mages had begun casting their next set of spells, using lightning which would not interfere with the frozen fireballs. Thinking it would be useful since the lightning strikes should result in a direct attack, the mages poured as much mana as they could to blast it out from their spell circles. ¡°And here I thought they would create natural thunder and lightning.¡± Kiva scoffed and subsequently laughed at how stupid the Demon Mages would feel if they know what was to come next. Jin and his other two companions kept quiet and waited for the stupidity to surface into reality. As those lightning bolts were being sent out of the magic circles, some of the Demon Rat Mages who were slower in their casting found out something crucial, including those who were sensitive to mana in the air. There was still a lingering magical spell in the midst of this battlefield but the presence was so minute that not even the Mage General was able to sense it except for a few. Regardless, those mages were not able to report as well since the magic presence of those frozen fireballs was so dense that most of the ¡®sensitive¡¯ mages shrugged it off. It was only until the first batch of mages who fired their volley of lightning strikes did they realise what Baal had been hiding. The lightning bolts that were spitting out of their magical circles had been solidified into ice. Lightning which is supposed to be moving at the speed of light had been frozen by Baal¡¯s continuous casting of his spell. The reason why he did not allow the frozen fireballs to dissipate and be destroyed. Its massive magic signature had confused the Demon Rat Mages and their mana sense, allowing him to hide his ice magic in the midst of this already chaotic battlefield. Baal could have used destructive earth shattering magic but that was not the point of this particular match of magic. He needed to show finesse to prove his strength and superiority against the Demon Rats. (Besides, he knows that a certain bellator would hate to see that she lost her chance in mass destruction.) The Demon Rat Mages were eventually killed by absolute sub zero temperatures as the frozen magic circles subsequently iced their mana flow as well. The remaining mages tried to stop their casting once they learnt of the situation and yet there was nothing they could do as the ice spell had already permeated through their shield barriers with the frozen lightning bolts as the catalyst. The Demon Rat Mages maintaining the shield barriers were not spared by the frigid ice as they were the next to die while the rest of the Mages tried to make a secondary barrier to ensure they would not be encased in cold hard water crystals. ¡°I have to admit to your precision and cunningness.¡± Peppers finally blurted out praise despite her being quite reluctant to do so through the System Channel. ¡°For the Mage Bellator to take her time to praise me, I believe that is an honour I would not forget.¡± Baal chuckled knowing that her powers and potential were undoubtedly infinite if not for her restraints. This was because for someone to have access to the universal pool of magic had been deemed as a person to be considered, capable of defeating Greater Beings without much trouble. Once she had managed to permanently deal with her weakness, it was possible for Jin to have a godly being at his side as well. That was assuming she was willing to tackle her weakness and the only way Baal could think of was of great trials and tribulations. ¡°We are reaching soon,¡± Kiva said as he saw the Demon Rat¡¯s physical barricades were coming up close. ¡°Just put us near the barricades. Do not need to crash us over.¡± Jin said as he readied himself, knowing not to underestimate his opponents even though they were presented to be weaker to them individually. Yet, he did not forget what Transquick had said about those who had been ¡®infected¡¯ by a copious amount of lifestream energy. They might still be a force to reckon with and he had to be careful. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. .???? Chapter 1411 Battle On The Sky Bridge - Part 4 Chapter 1411 Battle On The Sky Bridge ¨C Part 4 As Jin, Pei and Peppers stepped out of the car, they were met with fierce resistance which Jin¡¯s personal mage had already taken care of the current dilemma. A multilayer shield barrier had been erected which prevented their car to be wrecked into havoc from the hail of bullets. (Baal initially wanted to provide such a service but was immediately denied as the Bellator herself wished to have her powers shown clearly. Basically, she was itching to show off as well.) The soldiers at the frontline barricade had no idea about the dreadful deaths that had happened on the rooftops of the High Command and surrounding buildings. They only assumed that these people that came forward were also soldiers that could be beaten via conventional means. ¡°Leave all these small scums to my men. Master, go ahead and fight the Demon Rat Generals to your fullest pleasure.¡± Baal signalled to his commanders and the Infamous Soldiers of Gem emerged from the hazy crowd of demons. The Sapphire Soldiers used their magic rather smoothly because of the mana compatibility left by Baal¡¯s previous frost spell. They absorbed the surrounding mana and sent gushing water which subsequently turned into silhouettes of bulls, decimating the makeshift barricades in a matter of seconds. But the Demon Rat soldiers were not dumb and actually used the makeshift barricades as a front for their actual iron barricades. They were filled with counter spells which were ready to dispel Sapphire Soldiers¡¯ magical attacks. And they were indeed extremely effective in breaking the flow of battle that the Sapphire Soldiers had started. Yet, this did not falter the Soldiers of Gem as Topaz Soldiers who were well known not only for their manipulation of earth magic but also their ability to wreck stuff. There were no other better candidates in the Soldiers of Gem to crush the iron barricades even though they know that the Demon Rats might still have some nasty tricks under their sleeves. True enough, rotating guns were seen popping out of those barricades and instead of bullets, long iron spears were being shot out from those guns, killing several Topaz Soldiers in one go. Yet, the Topaz Battalion did not hesitate to push forth as they attempted to adapt to the situation and deployed soldiers wearing the latest set of armour developed by Jin¡¯s Science Team. It amplified their Topaz stone by threefold, allowing them to harden themselves enough to withstand the killing blow from those rotating guns. Soon, they managed to reach to the barricades, smashing both the guns and the Demon Rats manning them. The fight became fiercer as Troll Rats, another chimaera variant came into the picture, contesting the Topaz in the field of attrition. Yet, this stalemate allowed the other soldiers of Gem moved forth, providing the necessary firepower to stop them. The Ruby Soldiers sent lava filled punches to Troll Rats, diminishing their ability to recover while the Emerald Soldiers kept the Topaz Soldiers alive as much as possible by channelling mana to allow them to recover. Though some of their spells were hindered by the Iron Barricades¡¯ numerous counter spells, the soldiers were still able to put up a decent competitive edge against the Elite Demon Rats holding their ground. No doubt both sides¡¯ ¡®main protagonists¡¯ could intervene in the fight, they could already sense who they should be fighting with. Naturally, they thought that Baal was considered to be their main target but he was not sending out any killer vibes which made the Demon Rat Generals confused until they saw that there were three humans beside him. Thus, they assumed that those humans were the guards that protects him and they were the huddle which was required to defeat him. But unlike the Demon Rat Generals and their misinterpreted intel, Jin was already eyeing their general who supposedly governed the entire Demon Rat population. However, before he could even make a move, the Demon Rat¡¯s Lance General and Club General somehow popped up from the bottom of the bridge and prepared to strike Baal, thinking he was the general of this entire movement. (After all, he did look like a human if he did not change back to his demon form.) Jin and Pei managed to block both of the General¡¯s strikes and caught on the situation that the Demon Rats believed Baal was their main general. It was no doubt a good distraction for Jin to be seen as the lesser one rather than the main perpetrator of this entire army invasion. Pei instantly dispatched their Demon Rat Club General but eventually realised that it was a mere fake and that the Club General was actually doing a follow up attack from the Lance General in order to catch Jin off guard. They thought it would be a sure strike when Jin was seen as defenceless as he was blocking the Lance General¡¯s attack but everyone around him knew that he was setting up a feint as much as the Club General had prepared one. With Bam and Boo as one greatsword blocking the lance attack, it immediately split into a scimitar and shield, allowing Jin to simultaneously parry the Club General¡¯s strike and use his shield to slam the Lance General away. Their hopes for a one strike one kill had dissipated when they lost the element of surprise against Jin. Pei slowly walked towards Jin while both the generals jumped backwards to have some ground away from their opponents. ¡°Are you going to follow them? They are going to play dirty,¡± Pei commented as she could already predict what the two Generals were going to do. ¡°Can I leave their deaths to you?¡± Jin queried and Pei smiled ever so slightly. ¡°If you promised that luxurious bath package for me in that whatever mountain hot spring instance.¡± Pei tried to bargain. ¡°Oh, that top VIP package with a month¡¯s worth of Polar Bear and Panda¡¯s massage? Sure.¡± Jin didn¡¯t expect that her conditions to fight both were easy. At the very least, he had her occupied and not a wasted trip. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1412 Battle On The Sky Bridge - Part 5 Chapter 1412 Battle On The Sky Bridge ¨C Part 5 As Pei had expected, the two generals jumped down from the sky bridge in an attempt to lure one of Baal¡¯s ¡®guards¡¯ away from him and the Crane Fox followed them willingly to whatever battlefield they were choosing. For the remaining ¡®guards¡¯, Prideblood, the Demon Rat Mage General had finally entered the fray. There was no grandiose in his arrival and merely flew towards the group asking for an opponent to challenge. He would have wished to fight against Baal himself to prove that manipulation of his magic spells was not the only thing that could subvert a fight but Peppers already stepped in and pointed her wooden staff at him, demanding for the duel to be with her instead Compared to Baal, who had nonchalantly released his magical aura, Peppers for once kept her magical aura suppressed. It was a trick she unwillingly picked up as a promise by Ayse and the rest of the Science Branch to make sure that she controls her mana better. Thus, Prideblood did not take too much notice of the small little girl and only assumed that she was doing this because she was part of the guards that Baal had employed around him. ¡°I will get rid of this obstacle and challenge you.¡± The Mage General said as he swirled his head to beckon Peppers to come with him. However, everyone knows how defiant that little pepperish girl could be. In the middle of this fight where there could be potential friendly fire, Peppers had daringly fired an explosive flare spell right at where the Demon Rat Mage General was standing. While it did startle the soldiers of Gem, Princess Gaap who was their commander had already used all the gems in her possession to protect not only herself but her army from the flare attack. At the same time, Gaap also held her priciest Ruby Gem up to absorb Peppers¡¯ residual fire mana so that she could have an easy time casting high level magical fire attacks if there was a need to do so. ¡°I did not expect such an attitude from a human, to attack preemptively for a duel.¡± Prideblood cleared the air around him, undoubtedly surviving from the entire attack unscathed with a magic barrier. But before he could insult Peppers once more, a beam of energy came straight from the sky bridge and towards him. While his magic barrier was able to withstand the attack, Prideblood was being pushed back by it. The attack by the little girl was not meant to be destructive, but to push him out of the current battlefield as well. That was when he realised that the humans and monsters were as gullible as he thought they would be. He was initially planning to use the aspects of a duel to bring Baal¡¯s mage to a ¡®neutral¡¯ ground where he could have the initiative of having the familiarity of the area. Traps were also set up and it involved the very same counterspells that had been seen used against the soldiers of Gem. However, he does not have the idea whether his motive to do so had been discovered or the mage girl was able to read his mind, causing her to be aggressive and have the duel location of her choosing instead. Prideblood wanted to counter the attack but he was not given any chance as the colour of the energy beam suddenly turned multicoloured like a rainbow and splinters of the energy beam emerged from the main beam to shoot at him. This forced him to not just concentrate his defence at the centre of the barrier where the beam had been focused but also on his sides and rear. There was no chance for him to counter when he had his mind filled with trying to stop the attacks and hence he could only be pushed in a direction of the current duel to how Peppers would like him to be. It was a bad start but Prideblood had to make do with what he had at the moment. ¡°Hopefully he can last longer than the other opponents you had fought against.¡± Jin waved at Peppers but it seemed like the Mage Bellator was already getting bored. ¡°The other opponents you forced me to face could have cut this energy beam into half, deflected the rest and retaliated without too much of a hassle. I think you might have severely overestimated the enemy this time around.¡± Peppers said as she twisted her wooden staff a little more and the rainbow colour beam started to show even more hues of colours and Jin could already imagine the increase in difficulty that the Mage General had to handle. And unsurprisingly, Prideblood was indeed going to swallow his pride now that he found out that his magic barrier had been proven to be useless. The energy beam splintered, even more, shooting mini beams at a continuous pace against the Mage General that he could not keep up with the blocking. The Demon Rat Mage General might have been able to block ten mini beams of the same intensity at one time, but in a split second, another ten beams emerged out of his sight and hit ten other different spots. Only those who are mana sensitive, and are meticulous in their preparations for defence could stop this attack, otherwise, the definite way to defeat it was to counterattack with an explosive amount of magic. And sadly, Prideblood did not belong in any of those. He thought that being infected by the lifestream energy would make him invincible but it was clear without a doubt that the humans and monsters were stronger than him by many folds. ? Still, that did not mean he was left without any other means. Even as he was injured by multiple energy beam attacks, he was looking at the right time to activate the lifestream energies within him so that he could not just effectively block the beams but also counter them. After all, his speciality spell was the mana absorption spell. As he got hit by those beams, he was also taking in those spell attacks as mana. Once he was ready, he could fire off the very same beam with greater intensity than what Peppers was producing. ¡°Heh, for a Mage General. He is easy to read.¡± Peppers said to herself as she now placed two hands onto her wooden staff and poured more mana into the attack while changing the spell configuration she was dishing out. As calculated, it looked like it was gonna be an easy victory for her. Chapter 1413 Battle Under The Sky Bridge Chapter 1413 Battle Under The Sky Bridge ¡°Firecleaver.¡± The newest Club General said to his partner as he raised his weapon up. ¡°She had defeated my clone almost instantaneously.¡± ¡°Do not call my name so casually, ¡®Roughscream¡¯.You have yet to fill the shoes of the old general. He was the only one that is deserving of the title.¡± Firecleaver said as he continued to monitor the lady fighter that they had lured. ¡°Bickering between the two of you so early in this fight? How could I expect a decent duel when the two of you are not in sync with each other? Shall I end this fight quickly?¡± Pei said as she still kept her katana sheathed in the scabbard. It was then she heard a loud explosion from above the sky bridge and knew that Peppers was starting her attack against the Demon Rat Mage General. ¡°Welp, looks like my colleague might defeat your fellow General faster than I kill the both of you if you two could not get your shit together.¡± Pei shrugged her shoulders and hoped that provoking them would give her a warm up exercise that was worthy of a sweat at the Hot Spring Instance. However, the only one that responded to her provocation seemed to be the younger general who seemed like proving himself to Firecleaver. It seemed like whatever information that Transquick had given was stated to be true. The title of the Club General was given to the strongest of Demon Rats who have the best proficiency in that particular weapon. From the way they had conversed, Pei can only assume that the previous Club General did succumb to his wounds from the Pandawans¡¯ retaliation and this particular Demon Rat was merely filling in the shoes of his predecessor so that there is always a Club General at the top of the Demon Rat hierarchy. That also meant that whatever information collected by the System about the Club General was invalid. The only advantage Pei had was her overwhelming strength but killing them might be a waste since she could possibly always learn a trick or two from her enemies and incorporate them into her skills. That was assuming that there was something to learn from the enemies since she had already accumulated a decent amount of skills from her years fighting the ancient war with Kraft. Regardless, having a refresher would not hurt once in a while and could only hope that her enemies would be up to par as their names could. (Although, she was not expecting much since the data from the System had already indicated them to be lesser than a Grade 4 Cultivator due to their inhuman strength.) The new Roughscream started to saunter through the graveyard of all things mechanical as that was the place where the Generals had led her to. Subsequently, his footwork got more intense and from the heaps of trashed vehicles, more of his ¡®clones¡¯ merged from it. A synchronised attack where if Roughscream had failed to hit her because she dodged, the other clone would immediately attack without any hesitation. This should make blocking difficult since killing the clone did not cause the clone to dissipate like an illusion. This was because the new Roughscream had trained not just several Demon Rats to be like him but several dozens like him. In short, the new title of Club General was not held by just one Demon Rat but an entire clan of Demon Rats. All of them had been trained under one teacher previously which made their thoughts and movements to be similar to each other. It was an ironic choice for the entire clan to be dubbed as the new Club General but Pei could see that their higher up might be doing this not to just motivate the new Club General but provide sufficient power to fight against this particular imminent threat and the Club General¡¯s name Roughscream would always be eternal. Even if one dies, another Roughscream could replace him easily because they are of the same. Demon Rat Axe General Cinderclaw imagined that the repercussions of choosing an entire clan to be a club general would not be too far fetched as he imagined there would be considerable losses sending his generals to fight against the humans. If any one of that Demon Rat Clan had survived and they managed to pull through from this war, Cinderclaw could simply announce a competition for one person to get the Club General title. In short, he did not care as long as the Demon Rats were able to perform their duties and that was why Lance General Firecleaver, a veteran general, had refused to acknowledge the new Club General since he was considered to be disposable. Pei had no idea and only assumed that they were just the Club General underlings since all of them looked the same to her. And unfortunately for the Club General, she did not dodge any attacks from the ¡®Club Generals¡¯ and slaughtered every one of them mercilessly. Her speed was also fast while her katana sliced through their meat and flesh like fresh chicken meat on a chopping board. There was no delay in her subsequent strikes and the nameless clan of Demon Rats had been decimated in this particular graveyard. Their years of intensive training disappeared right in front of Pei when their lifeless bodies decorated the graveyard, leaving none behind. But even as the last ¡®Club General¡¯ standing right in front of Pei, knowing that his death was inevitable, he stood tall against her, holding on not just his club weapon but his mate¡¯s club too. ¡°Foolish. Run away while I am feeling generous. You are just another worthless stain to my katana.¡± Pei said as she looked at the Lance General. ¡°Hmm? Let him do what he wants. I care not for this generation of club wielding Demon Rats.¡± Firecleaver said as he had already sized Pei up from the way she killed the Club Generals. ¡°Such a pity, I thought you Demon Rats are, at the very least, united,¡± Pei said as her katana now sheathed within her scabbard had been used as a blunt weapon against the last Club General. And yet, it slices through the Club General¡¯s weapons and subsequently his head as well. The results were pretty obvious and Pei returned her stare at Firecleaver. ¡°So, when is your turn to be a useless resource?¡± Pei asked as she swung her scabbard so hard that it not only removed the blood stains on it but destroyed a large mountain of scrapped vehicles. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1414 Lance General’s Utter Defeat Chapter 1414 Lance General¡¯s Utter Defeat Firecleaver snickered as he swung his lance around to warm himself up as well as showing Pei that he had the competency to use it well. The Club Generals might have been killed in a flash but their speciality was in their strength, not their speed. Pei utilised that weakness to make sure that they never rise again even though they tried to compensate by using numbers to make up for it.????????????????????e????????ovel*???????????? That was why the Demon Rat Lance General thought that he would have an edge against an agile opponent since the title of the Lance General had always been given to the Demon Rat with the fastest speed. Not to mention, he had consumed the Lifestream energies albeit not as much as Prideblood and Cinderclaw. Thus, he was confident that he would have an edge against Pei and believed he finally could have some fun since the opponents he fought never provided him with the relevant challenge. In fact, he felt bad for the lady swordsman since the lance had always been superior to swords because of its length, striking power and the ability to adapt from a distance. Nevertheless, he did not know that Pei came from an era where such mediaeval weapons were almost irrelevant in the face of cultivation powers. The only use for such weapons was only used to channel their chi and dump whatever energy they could gather towards their enemy. So the poor Firecleaver thought that he had the edge against Pei and charged arrogantly toward her. If Pei could scoff at that idiot within the time he attacked, she would have done it. However, his attack was so pathetically simple that she felt she had taken advantage of Jin¡¯s deal. Even if the two of those generals had combined, they were no match to the Crane Fox who had performed battles that were beyond this set of particular ¡®skills¡¯. And without much hesitation, Pei had sliced him into two by using his momentum as the catalyst. Firecleaver did not even have the opportunity to utilise his skills at all but so the same could be said about Pei when all she had done was putting her katana at the correct position for him to be sliced. To be frank, Pei did not expect him to die that quickly. ¡°Perhaps, he had some special skill with him.¡± That was what she thought and hoped that he might split into two and fight against her with whatever lifestream energy that Jin was so worried about. Yet, the reality was harsher than her fictional imagination as she was standing in between both parts of Firecleaver and could only sigh that her job was done. But as the Crane Fox decided to walk away from the ¡®murder¡¯ scene, she could sense a strange energy moving throughout the area. ¡°Ah, this must be the lifestream energy that Jin was talking about,¡± Pei said as she tried to sense the movement of the said energy. However, instead of dissipating into the air like how most form energies would do, it seemed like it was moving in a particular direction and she decided to follow it, hoping that it would lead her to somewhere exciting. It was not long until she saw one of Kraft¡¯s Night Foxes looking around the area. Only through a brief conversation that Pei remembered that the Night Foxes were looking for the Lifestream Energy Bomb. ¡°Did you sense the movement of the lifestream energies?¡± Pei asked the Dark Elf and he said that he could only briefly sense it and needed full concentration to trace it. ¡°Ah, so I accidentally interrupted your job,¡± Pei replied, knowing that she was just going to use it as an excuse to follow him so that she had something to do. It was only at that time she realised that she was becoming like Kraft, wanting to do something fun just to escape from the real work. She momentarily slapped herself on the cheeks, inciting the curiosity of the Night Fox but the Dark Elf was intuitive enough to ignore her. He knows that asking could inadvertently bring more trouble for himself. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Pei¡¯s instinct were always right on the money as both the Dark Elf and she found themselves going through a rather derelict building which was not given much care and away from all the current fighting that was occurring throughout the city. The moment they went through the front door, the presence of magic was immense and Pei could feel the intensity of the lifestream energy gathering right below the building. ¡°There could be a chance we hit the jackpot.¡± The Dark Elf said and Pei nodded her head in agreement. However, if they were to notify the other Night Foxes, it could possibly be too late for the group since the presence of magic might mean that the Mage General would notice enemies within the vicinity. Thus, the System that was monitoring the situation instantly informed Pei to retrieve the lifestream energy bomb and override any orders that she had. While she was not obligated to listen to the System because of what it had done to her previously, the Crane Fox knew that it was Jin¡¯s desire to get the lifestream energy bomb and end this war charade as soon as possible. ¡°I guess, getting the Lifestream Energy Bomb should be an equivalent exchange for that hot spring instance luxury package.¡± Pei reasoned it would be a good trade and told the Dark Elf that followed her to look after the entrance, defeat any trespassers and inform her if any Generals decided to come knocking on this building. Obviously, the orders were easy for the Dark Elf to follow and he was more than competent to comply, so he nodded his head in agreement and left the acquisition of the lifestream energy bomb to Pei. For a short while, Pei assumed that any Demon Rats that were hiding within the basement of this derelict building would be as useless as the generals she fought against. But unlike the Lance General, this entire basement was filled with a heavy aura of lifestream energies and that might prove some challenge even for the Crane Fox. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1415 Battle On The Sky Bridge - Part 6 Chapter 1415 Battle On The Sky Bridge ¨C Part 6 ¡°You know the memes among gamers like how we levelled up in the sidequests too much until the main quest is too easy?¡± Peppers said as she started now changed her energy beam from a bright multi colour hue beam into one that eludes nothing but blackness from it. The Soldier of Gems was furiously attacking the front, preventing any Demon Rats from even coming close to General Baal and Jin. And since Baal had already taken care of the Demon Rat Mages from before, there was clearly no threat to the two of them who were standing there out in the open. ¡°So, you are saying that we over prepared for this?¡± Jin asked as he folded his hands and leaned beside the jeep which they came out from, watching Peppers do her magic since there were basically no threats between them. ¡°I think the oversized robots in the Mecha World posed more threats than this. Though I honestly could not blame you for overpreparing.¡± Peppers analysed the situation as the blackness of the beam that she cast out felt as if it was a spell that a Void Being would use. Space around it started to distort a little as if the beam was sucking not just any mana around the area but it was also sucking the reality around it. ¡°Considering the fact that if we did not attack when they had their armies separated, their overwhelming numbers were still a force to be reckoned with. And you know how Demon Rats can be. Even if I blast them all with one huge spell, the remaining could scatter and breed. Divide and conquer is still a relevant tactic which should be embraced.¡± Peppers said as she could finally feel resistance against her black beam. She smiled a little knowing that the Mage General Prideblood had finally decided to be serious in his fight and unleashed his lifestream energies that he had been hiding. He initially thought that the mage that was guarding Baal was using her ultimate skill and thus, decided to hold on until her mana expired. Yet, the longer he held onto it, the more Prideblood realised that he had been toyed by her and the level of damage that the black beam had done could have annihilated him if he broke just one second of concentration. Thus, he knew that he had to be serious in the fight if he wished to survive the attack. He thought that Baal was the only magic user who could threaten him but this little girl had powers of magic that were beyond his expectations. However, Peppers did not have any quarters for him to rest the moment he broke the black beam of energy. Once he had dissipated the beam away, Prideblood had been blasted with a series of black and white explosions which Peppers nicknamed the spell Salt and Pepper, where it was merely a series of manipulation of light and dark mana. She created that spell as a way to learn and understand the concept of Yin and Yang but as lazy as one could be hardworking, she got bored trying to understand the meaning behind it. To her, it was merely a concept that worked because of limited resources and for her to have the entire universal mana pool, she could hardly understand why there was a need to have harmony between two elements. However, she continued her lessons because Lynn took time out of her busy schedule to teach her so that she could understand how cultivators truly work and how sometimes cultivators could excel at times when things became too difficult to handle. But for now, Peppers was merely using the Salt and Pepper spell as a way to flaunt her results of studying to everyone in hopes that using the spell constantly would make her understand it someday. On the other hand, Prideblood was trying his best to counter the Light and Dark Spell Explosions to the best of his ability. The only problem was that each time a pair of those spells exploded, the next set somehow got stronger and it became from ¡®troublesome to dispel¡¯ to ¡®I don¡¯t think I will survive.¡± Still, the Mage General thinks that he might have the chance since he had the power of absorbing spells into his own¡­ but that was assuming he was able to cast a spell of his own. Peppers had already prepared for that the moment she saw it at work when he and his Demon Rat Mages were fighting against Baal. During her consecutive spell cast of Salt and Pepper, she purposely allowed Prideblood to have his own way by giving him a small window to cast a spell. Naturally, the Demon Rat Mage General fell for it and cast a wind arrow shower spell in hopes that quantity would beat the ¡®quality¡¯ spells that Peppers had been dishing out. Besides, those wind arrows would be absorbing those magical spells that Peppers released and they would be his revenge against the little mage girl. However, the more the wind arrows absorbed the mana of the Light and Dark elements simultaneously, the more it would negate the effects of spell absorption. Prideblood was surprised by it as he saw his arrows merely dissipate the moment the light and dark element spells had been absorbed, forcing him to try again with another elemental spell. But even with earth arrows, the spells had been cancelled out once they absorbed both elements, making him confused why he could not counter attack. ¡°Hmm. I think I might start to understand a little bit of Yin and Yang.¡± Peppers thought to herself as she saw the effects of those magic arrows being cancelled out. However such thoughts perished the moment she started casting more of the Salt and Pepper Spell. Eventually, Prideblood lost all his mana just from defending and the black and white explosions killed him, without giving him the chance to retaliate using that lifestream energy bomb which he had kept as backup. All he could hope was that the defences he had nurtured through the months of storing near the Lifestream Energy Bomb might prove to be useful against the attackers of his Undercity. ¡°Besides, it will destroy them all if they aren¡¯t careful.¡± Prideblood smiled to himself before his face got wiped off this world from the last pair of Light and Dark Explosions. ¡°Now all we are left with is the main antagonist.¡± Peppers said as she floated up to the top of the car¡¯s roof and summoned out a bag of chips, waiting for the main event to start. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1416 Skull Of Eternal Unrest Chapter 1416 Skull Of Eternal Unrest ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Jin asked as he saw the one and only general watching the entire shitshow from the rooftops. Baal¡¯s Icy Breath might have killed the rest of the Demon Rat Mages but he was standing in the middle of it all unscathed by everything else. Peppers was a little confused with Jin¡¯s questioning until she realised that the Demon Rat Mage General¡¯s body slowly started to regenerate from the little pieces of meat that were left from the explosions. ¡°Healing Magic? Wait no¡­ it felt like Reverse Time Magic, but it does not seem that way. If you Reverse Time magic in that particular space time area, my explosions would have happened again and yet the only thing that¡¯s moving is his body.¡± Peppers deduced but Jin and Baal quietly looked at both Cinderclaw and the resurrection of Prideblood. The Mage General gave a burst of croaking laughter as his head was formed first and subsequently the rest of his body. His Mana levels were also back to their original values as if he was not just reverted back to his old self but was reborn as well. ¡°Cinderclaw! With this feat of wonder, I will swear fealty to you for the rest of my life!¡± Prideblood shouted as the tips of his body had been detailedly reformed. The others might not have known but the previous North and South Scholars had dabbled and wielded the powers of necromancy. However, their use of necromancy felt inadequate and multiple experiments had proven that the effects of long lasting life were mainly due to their ability to maintain the mana levels within the undead. But what if they do not wish to use their mana since it was draining way too much of it for daily usage? What if they have another source of power that could be replenished easily but is powerful enough to maintain undeads? So, yes. The answer was Lifestream energy. With the characteristic of the Farming World, the lifestream energy was the key to solving their conundrum. It is not only able to act as a superior substitute to mana, but it also provides regeneration and possibly awakening the special abilities within one¡¯s self. For the Demon Rats, when they are killed, they would be transformed into a resource. There are normal resources and there were rare ones. Cinderclaw happened to be that one of a thousand resources, or perhaps one out of a million. That particularly unique one where the item itself was an artefact amplifier. By itself, it was pretty useless even though it was a rare item, but the North and South Scholars had their ways of increasing the strength of Cinderclaw¡¯s abilities by allowing him to use their artefacts. That was when the seed of rebellion had been planted into Cinderclaw¡¯s mind as they experimented on him with various artefacts to see how strong the amplification could be when he had unlocked his latent talents via the lifestream energy. Soon, it was plain to see that he could be way more powerful than the scholars themselves and thus they decided to wipe his memories of those artefacts that had been used in order for him not to lust for such items. However, the scholars themselves did not know that after being affected by both lifestream energies and a multitude of artefacts had made him somewhat resistant to the mind washing effects. Those memories eventually surfaced and Cinderclaw sought after those artefacts that the scholars possessed even though he knew that by doing so, would be a coup d¡¯etat. Still, he did not care as once he was well recognised by the other Demon Rats, being second to none to the scholars, removing them would only be the least of his worries. Thus, he was using that particular necromancy artefact, the Skull of Eternal Unrest, infused with lifestream energies to bring Prideblood back into the picture. So long as the lifestream energies were still within the vicinity of his death, Prideblood could return almost instantly, rendering him nearly immortal considering how the Demon Rats purposely set their city underground to get close to the source of lifestream energy. ¡°Argh, so irritating!¡± Peppers said as she raised her hand and closed her eyes while a magic ball choke full of magic was being generated but Jin stopped her by holding her wrist, stopping her from completing the incantation. ¡°Why are you stopping me from killing him?¡± Peppers said as Jin told her to look up and she saw Prideblood being ravaged by Baal¡¯s magic attack. Ice spikes were protruding out not just from his chest but from every portion of his body. Yet, the body which was supposed to be frozen and broken by the ice spikes was slowly being stitched by the powers of the necromancy artefact. ¡°Even if you condense your magic and kill it in one shot, it doesn¡¯t matter until the main artefact user dies,¡± Jin said while Cinderclaw held onto the Skull of Eternal Unrest and continued to pour lifestream energies into it.????ree????e????????ov????l.???????????? ¡°Then, the mage general would be an excellent way to warm up my magic fingers. It¡¯s been so long since I used my magic and those spell words are just hanging in my brain, wanting to get out.¡± Baal iterated as he once again cast another spell in demon tongue, causing Prideblood to explode into ice flakes. ¡°As for you, instead of blasting things with friendlies in the way, think of a way to capture all that lifestream energy so they could not be used in its resurrection. I will go deal with that main antagonist of this entire charade.¡± Jin said as he poured some Maqi into his legs and boosted them so he could qing gong straight to the top of the Demon Rats High Command. With his Panda Mask on as a blatant and yet necessary cover against streamers¡¯ comments, he jumped straight to the real threat of the Demon Rats to end this once and for all. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1417 Battle On The Skybridge -Final Chapter 1417 Battle On The Skybridge -Final Cinderclaw was satisfied with the current situation. Even though his troops were losing heavily against the soldiers carrying various colours of gems as their weapons of choice, he now knew that he could revive them so long he had the Skull of Eternal Unrest and the rest of the artefacts that he had ¡®inherited¡¯ from the North and South Scholars. But as he revels in his joy of doing his very first ¡®resurrection¡¯, it seemed as if the humans had already known the potency of the artefact that he was holding even if they did not know anything about the strength of his innate talents. Still, he was rather taken aback by the display of spells from Baal where every word he uttered was a total destruction of Prideblood. It made Cinderclaw think that the humans have some knowledge of the Skull of Eternal Unrest or it was a mere coincidence that they would kill Prideblood before his regeneration was fully complete. This was because the Skull of Eternal Unrest could not be dispelled until the target had fully healed. Not the slightest detail could be missed out and one could say that it was the perfect resurrection item. The only problem was that when used in battle, the enemies would not stop and wait for their target to be fully resurrected just like in this scenario. Thus, unless the Skull of Eternal Unrest had used up all the user¡¯s mana or in this case, lifestream energy, Prideblood would be stuck in the loop of being killed over and over again by Baal¡¯s varied repertoire of magic spells. To top it off, Moloch was off the battlefield, feeding Baal magic spells incantations in demon tongue via the System Channel, allowing the previous King of Demopolis to practice magic he had not done for the longest time ever. (Peppers was also recording all the spells on the sidelines despite showing no interest in the current situation.) This also meant that Prideblood was inadvertently feeling the brunt of every single spell and suffered the start and end of life. It felt like an unending circle of suffering with each regeneration and there was no chance for him to take action since the artefact did not allow him to move from the spot other than his mouth. And even if he could spew out a spell incantation fast enough, it had been proven repeatedly that his magic was no match against the humans and monsters. His counter spell and absorption spell had zero effect on Baal¡¯s improved spellcasting (courtesy of Moloch) which forced him into an endless loop while keeping Baal amused in this current war. Prideblood¡¯s only hope was that the artefact is destroyed because of durability issues or from the collateral damage by the clash between that Panda Masked Warrior and his current master which he had recently sworn fealty to. This was mainly due to the fact that the Lifestream energies would not be ceased since Cinderclaw was using another artefact to pull the lifestream energies from his dead comrades. In short, he was akin to a necromancer class with all the artefacts he was holding onto while having the strength of a warrior. However, that pride of being the strongest warrior flew away the moment Jin had joined blades with him. The Dungeon Supplier was not giving any chance now that he knew he was holding artefacts which Gold, the Eastern Scholar had warned him of. While he did not remember all the strengths and uses of the artefacts that Gold had told about, he was aware of the fact that the Northern and Southern Scholars were holding artefacts that could topple this entire war if Cinderclaw learns of their use. Not to mention, the threat of the Lifestream Energy Bomb was still lingering in his mind. Jin was not worried about the death of his comrades or the annihilation of his customers in this current raid. He was more concerned about the aftermath of the attack, rendering the fertile lands of this potential investment to be useless. After all, if he wished to retain a foothold as a world renowned dungeon supplier and ultimately number one dungeon supplier, he had to have the scale of production to back it up. If Pandapolis was his manufacturing city, the Farming World, specifically the Northern Region would be the city of bountiful resources that provide the raw materials for his manufacturing city to work on. In the meantime, Demopolis was currently acting as a military city where demons and soldiers were trained to use modern weaponry while the city acted as a storage facility for all the items he accumulated for a great war if deemed necessary. So, to make sure that his prospective city was well and alive, he was giving his all to make sure the general was killed before any major harm was done to the land. The knockback Cinderclaw received was something he had felt before and understood that this particular Masked Warrior was of a high level that could not be taken lightly. He instantly tapped into his artefacts and the dead Demon Rats around the vicinity started to ¡®wake¡¯ up. Even those who had turned into a particular resource were slowly gaining back their Demon Rat forms. ¡°Tsk, I have no time to handle small fries. If you think you are a skilled necromancer, think again, you insolent rat.¡± Jin said as he wielded his sword upwards and used it to draw a magic circle above him. Soon, a magic portal emerged and a squad of well armed Orcs were seen jumping down from it. ¡°About time.¡± Nubwort, the Black Disaster said as he banged his spear on the ground and it reverberated loudly. The other Orcs roared in unison, causing a warcry effect to spread around not just among the Orcs but also empowering Jin as well. ¡°I save the last for the best. Beat the shit out of them. Show them my version of necromancy to this second rate one.¡± Jin ordered and Nubwort grinned with delight. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1418 The Duel With Cinderclaw Chapter 1418 The Duel With Cinderclaw Nubwort¡¯s troops performed another war cry and even though the Demon Rats were ¡®zombified¡¯ by Cinderclaw¡¯s artefact, they were not entirely immune to the crippling screams of the orcs. Though this only gave the orcs a few seconds to close the distance between them, it was all that was needed for the orcs to have utter victory against them. And as mentioned, the war cry even boosted Jin¡¯s spirits up, making him feel stronger. The feelings cannot be quantified but the System had already noticed a sharp increase in Jin¡¯s Maqi as he too went forth to Cinderclaw. Yet Cinderclaw was still astute enough to block the incoming attack with his axe, causing the surroundings to receive the aftereffects of the impact. The ground sunk from the attack and Jin continued with his second attack, now changing his Bam and Boo into two shorter swords, hoping to use agility to his advantage. At the same time, he also activated his System Rider belt, calling forth Assassin Savant to enter. This way, Jin has the speed and skills to overpower the Demon Rat Axe General. As Assassin Savant entered to become the persona of his System Rider, the armour turned thinner as if to allow better mobility but did not compromise on the strength of its defence. The living armour that Jin had was still working as intended. However, Jin did not know that his first blow against Cinderclaw was the first time the Axe General received such a death threatening attack. If Zeru or Kraft was around, they would have lamented at the missed opportunity the enemy had bestowed Jin. The dungeon supplier¡¯s lack of experience had forced him to miss such an opportunity to kill the enemy in one shot since Cinderclaw was stunned for a few seconds. But unbeknownst to experienced fighters, Jin unknowingly did the right thing as well. In the time he switched into an assassin, he had already aimed several vital points stabbing them thoroughly and swiftly based on the knowledge of Demon Rats¡¯ Anatomy after the System had reviewed hundreds of corpses and killing blows. It wasn¡¯t until the fifth blow that Cinderclaw managed to recover himself from the stun and stopped Jin with his bare hands from giving him the sixth stab. At that point Jin used his Maqi to command a gust of Green Panda Wind Energy and Red Panda Fire Energy, causing a vortex of tornado against him, allowing the System Rider to have some distance against Cinderclaw. ¡°That guy¡­ does he know my secret?!¡± Cinderclaw thought to himself as he used his axe to forcefully remove the flaming vortex and took several deep breaths to recover. ¡°Five lives had been lost and I was only left with three in a short period of time? This warrior cannot be underestimated.¡± No matter how strong his artefact amplification skill was, there was an artefact called the ¡®Cat with Eight Lives¡¯ that does not scale with his amplification skill. Once considered an artefact that should be discarded upon using eight times to save one¡¯s life, Cinderclaw found that the number of attempts on the Cat with Eight Lives could be regenerated with lifestream energy. The only problem was that it required an extremely high amount of lifestream energy making the conversion of energy not worth it to regain back one attempt. His innate talent of amplification also did not reduce the amount of lifestream energy needed, forcing it to be one of the valuable artefacts that he possessed. Still never in his life thought that Cinderclaw would need to rely on such an artefact until his fateful encounter with this human in a slim metallic suit. But yet he rejoiced at the fact that Jin did not know the secondary effect of the artefact. It prevents his enemies from aiming at the same spot once again and even if they do break the enchanted area and Jin manages to stab through it, no death would occur to Cinderclaw again. Yet one could say Jin was lucky enough to have started his assault on the vital spots from the bottom up. Two stabs through his both thighs, causing massive blood loss, One stab at his abdomen and slashed it outwards, forcing his organs to be expelled. Two stabs below the armpits in an attempt to disable his hands. While it might not seem like vital spots to a human, there were major arteries based on the Demon Rat¡¯s anatomy. (Although it also seems that Jin wanted to have a fanciful kill and did not aim for the heart or neck.) And of course, with Cinderclaw still standing, the Assassin Savant was shocked, wondering if he had some sort of death immunity artefact. ¡°Well, if he dies so easily, he is not worth being the leader of all Demon Rats, right?¡± Jin said as he clashed his two shortswords together to make a sic-ing sound before rushing towards Cinderclaw once again. This time Cinderclaw had already estimated the powers of his opponents and summoned out an undead demon rat troll variant in front of him as a barrier while he recovered his stamina for a little while longer after consecutively using five uses from the Cat with Eight Lives. ¡°Now this is possibly the only opponent that I could find worthy.¡± Nubwort swung his spear a little to create some momentum before throwing it towards the Undead Rat Troll. The force of the spear throw caused it to knock sideways, allowing Jin to move forward without obstacles in the way. Simultaneously, the Black Disaster jumped towards the Undead Rat Troll to slice his head off. ¡°Tsk. Irritating humans.¡± Cinderclaw said to himself as he slammed the ground hard and prepared to handle the charge from the assassin who seemed to be putting a lot of magic on his two weapons, hoping to have one clean kill. ¡°Remember, he might some sort of death immunity. I suggest not to hit the very same spots.¡± Assassin Savant said with some anxiety and yet Jin was calming him down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If he does not die. We will try and try again.¡± Chapter 1419 The Delight Of Zither Mistress Chapter 1419 The Delight Of Zither Mistress As predicted by Cinderclaw, Jin had thrown his two shortswords towards him but what he did not expect was that the shortswords suddenly emerged out of the auras of two black and white bears right at him. Bam and Boo had been embodied with Jin¡¯s Maqi to an extent that it was able to create silhouettes of the Pandas diving right at him. The Axe General had no idea whether the silhouettes were real or just a diversion from the strike of the shortswords. To Jin, they were both real and acted as a diversion for Jin to switch his System Rider to someone which he had been longing to use since the start of the System Rider Belt. His appearance of his System Rider changed into something more demure and even had a gown befitting of the minion he was borrowing the powers from. When Cinderclaw blocked both of the silhouette blasts, he had been cut by the shortswords that were hidden within the Panda silhouettes but the strikes were not as accurate as Jin hoped to. Yet it was enough of a diversion for him to change his System Rider and the real attack began as the Demon Rat Axe General had been strung up. ¡°Master! Cool!¡± ZIther Mistress said as she saw Jin had beautifully and masterfully tied Cinderclaw in a web of strings. With each silk woven string enhanced with Maqi, any slight movement that Cinderclaw made would cause him to bleed excessively. ¡°Of course, I learnt a little bit about strings when I was away. I thought I could impress you with this.¡± Jin grinned a little behind his mask but he could already feel that Zither Mistress was elated by the compliment as she thought that she had been forgotten by her master with the slew of new minions coming in to serve under him. ¡°I teach you! New trick!¡± ZIther Mistress said as she controlled Jin¡¯s body the way he moved the strings and suddenly Cinderclaw¡¯s arms and limbs fell off in an instant without much strength. The intense gore could have scared any newcomers and perhaps force them to regurgitate like how the broken blood vessels would from the sudden loss of limbs. Without a doubt, it did not faze both the Zither Mistress or Jin and instead the latter marvelled at Zither Mistress¡¯s manipulation of his Maqi. The rest who were using his body (no pun intended) utilised his magic and his chi channels so roughly that he might feel wasted by the end of the fight. But Zither Mistress¡¯ accurate control of his Maqi despite her first time using it made Jin give ¡®mad¡¯ respect for the little girl. (Obviously, he knew that she was a being that lived over hundreds of years but he still treated her as his dear little sister that he never had.) However, the Panda Cultivator was still wary of Assassin Savant¡¯s advice of Cinderclaw having death immunity and could already notice the regrowth of arms and legs once more. Jin did not wish to waste any more time and used his Maqi to control Bam and Boo to float up and strike Cinderclaw once more. What he did not expect was the Demon Rat Axe General to retaliate as he saw the Demon Rat use both his tail and mouth to stop the strike towards his heart. And with his tail, Cinderclaw used the momentum of the striking shortsword towards Jin, causing him to break out from his current position and release the hold he had on the Axe General. ¡°User, you could have tolerated the attack.¡± The System felt it was a pity that they were at the grasp of winning and Jin let go of such an opportunity. ¡°Your suit of living armour would have the chance of blocking the attack. Even if it pierces through the living armour, User possessed the power of regeneration to a certain extent.¡± ¡°And make me feel those worms crawling inside me? Ew no. Thanks. Besides, I honestly do not wish to see a situation where my weapons are pitted against my shields. I would never want to know which is the stronger one.¡± Jin said as he changed the shape of Bam and Boo into two needles, allowing them to escape from Cinderclaw¡¯s grasp. And as it returned to Jin, he did not hesitate to attempt another assassin attempt using Bam and Boo in their needle form to pierce through the rat¡¯s head. However, Axe General manipulated the lifestream around him to create a temporary barrier which protected him from the attack, forcing Jin to call back Bam and Boo, turning them into the instrument of choice for the Zither Mistress to use. ¡°I will kill enemy!¡± Zither Mistress said with such resolution that Jin could not help that he wanted to root for her even though he planned to switch monsters so that Cinderclaw would remain unaware of the thousand and one tricks he had. However, Cinderclaw became extremely anxious since he knew that his Cat with Eight Lives are going to end soon if he was not careful. Up till now, the Axe General had yet to place a proper blow against his enemy and worse still, his undead Demon Rats were all killed with his opponent¡¯s minions watching the battle on the sideline. It was as if they were waiting for their master to slip up so they could swoop in to save the day and perhaps bag the kill of Cinderclaw in their hands so that their master would offer them a generous reward. ¡°I am supposed to be the great one,¡± Cinderclaw mumbled¡­as he took out the last artefact that he initially hoped to use for conquering the other kingdoms. Unlike the Cat with Eight Lives which was shaped like a cat statue and the Skull of Eternal Unrest, a skull, the last artefact he was carrying was shaped like a finger but it was called the Lost Key of the Unticking Clock. Without any hesitation, he bit it knowing that doing so would potentially end his life. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 1420 Key Of Unticking Clock Chapter 1420 Key Of Unticking Clock As soon as Cinderclaw bit the finger artefact, the world momentarily stopped for him. While it seemed befitting for the Key of the Unticking Clock to stop time and allow the Demon Rat Axe General to move unhindered through the supposed fifth dimension of reality, it was not the true effect of the said artefact. Unbeknownst to everyone, Cinderclaw had a unique organ that most male Demon Rats do not have and it was a pouch similar to one of a Birth Mother. The unscrupulous Scholars of the North and South had experimented on Cinderclaw and a few selected rats to such an extent that their murders would be justified if an observer would know the entire story. With the Key of the Unticking Clock, Cinderclaw was able to do the impossible, and also potentially the first for a male Demon Rat to give birth to new Demon Rats. Aye, if he could not defeat the monstrous humans right in front of him now, then what about Demon Rats that from him? His descendants should have been evolved and well suited for the fight since they will take in not just his strength but his innate skills and talents. And that finger artefact was the item that would make those eggs within him to be a reality. The Key of the Unticking clock would force the eggs to ¡®magically¡¯ be fertilised, grow through the process of incubation and get to the age of Cinderclaw in mere nanoseconds. It was not meant to work in such a grotesque way as Cinderclaw had planned to slowly use the artefact in secret and produce his shadow army of warriors that would be loyal to him to the bones. Not only that, he could select his potential heir for the throne when he was too old for it and his reign of terror would forever be etched on the minds of the enslaved. Unfortunately, all of this would be just a dream for he knows that the current situation demands that he takes such drastic actions. An explosion containing a swarm full of warrior Demon Rats bursting out from within his stomach in a second will definitely kill the Usurper General. Cinderclaw could have used the Cat of Eight Lives to overcome this difficulty and he only had one try left to make sure that he survived it. If he managed to go live through that, he would potentially have a terrifying skill in his possession since the Cat of Eight Lives Artefact had the power to make a previously life threatening death be nullified depending on the site of injury. This meant that he could use the Key of the Unticking Clock without care and he would still survive such a brutal ¡®birth¡¯. That is assuming he survives the attack¡­which he did not. When Zither Mistress took full control of Jin¡¯s Bam and Boo when it became the instrument of her choice, she had managed to tug a string of the Zither, sending a killing wave of chi, aiming right straight for Cinderclaw¡¯s neck. Because of the Axe General¡¯s moment of hesitation to use his ultimate trump card, he did not know that a slice of lethal chi had already decapitated him, forcing the Cat of Eight Lives artefact to work (not) to his favour to fully perform such a taboo act. When the Key of Unticking Clock takes its effects based on Cinderclaw¡¯s desire, the time around them continues to move and Cinderclaw¡¯s belly instantly exploded forcing the armour that was holding him to scatter while not one or two Demon Rat warriors emerged out of him but dozens of Demon Rat warriors similar to Cinderclaw¡¯s stature were dying to a gasp of air. As disgusting as the scene was, the ZIther Mistress seemed unfazed by the entire scenario and had already played a quick tune which released a series of chi slashes towards the Demon Rat Warriors. A few of them were instantly killed but she noticed that many still survived, especially those who were hit on their necks. She had no idea that the effects of the Cat of Eight Lives were still active in Cinderclaw¡¯s offspring. This act of killing prompted the Demon Rats Warriors who were confused by their brand new surroundings to do what their instincts were to guide them. Go for the nearest enemy. It might seem like an easy task clearing naked Demon Rat Warriors but the System had warned that the lifestream energy surrounding Cinderclaw had dissipated and instead went into these newly born Demon Rats, causing their attributes to spike sharply. The Orcs who were watching from the sidelines quickly intervened and realised that the Demon Rats they were fighting were no ordinary fighters. One of the Orcs overly underestimated and lost his head through just a punch from these newborn Demon Rats. And to make things worse, even with Cinderclaw¡¯s death from giving birth to his new warriors, more of them continued to spawn from his stomach like ants rushing out from their anthill. It was not a pleasant sight when these empowered Demon Rats were filling the roof of the High Command but the System had confirmed that Cinderclaw died a pathetic death and was no longer a thorn in Jin¡¯s side. ¡°Fall back. There is no reason for us to linger anymore.¡± Jin said as he too saw how the Mage General who had been used a toy by Baal finally stopped regenerating. Without Cinderclaw¡¯s control of the artefacts, there was no more Lifestream energy that allowed the Skull of Eternal Unrest to work. Furthermore, the artefacts that the Axe General used broke and there were no other concerns for Jin to stay especially when he got a message from Pei that she might have found the thing that he was worried about this entire time. In fact, this spawning of Demon Rat Warriors was a blessing in disguise. Now that the Generals were killed, Jin could let the remaining portion of the battle be played out by the remnants of the Demon Rat race alongside his customers.fr????e?????????????????????????????.????om For now, his concern was the lifestream energy bomb and he rushed to Pei¡¯s side as soon as he can. Occasionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 257: From Fleeing to Arriving Chapter 257: From Fleeing to Arriving Proofreader: Xemul ¡°More keep coming!¡± As Loren glanced back over his shoulder to check behind him, he saw that the swarm of black centipedes chasing them continued to grow in number, covering the floor of the sewer passage like a black carpet. Fortunately for Loren¡¯s party, the centipedes were slowing down, probably due to the insecticide effect of the pills Lapis had thrown into the sewage, and together with the slow-moving undead, they showed no sign of catching up with the party, which was rather jogging than running. However, their party was not fast enough to break away. The centipedes and undead were following them at a certain distance, and it was not difficult to imagine that they would be swallowed by the wave as soon as they stopped. ¡°Still no sight of a ruin?! Do we have to climb up somewhere?!¡± They arrived at the ruin that Ivy said she would lead them to. Loren thought that the quickest way to escape from the underground passage would be to find a way to the surface, but there was no guarantee that the centipedes would give up their pursuit. Still, if they could get away from the sewers, they would be able to fight them off with fire, which would give them a better chance of survival than just running through the sewer. ¡°We should be almost there, but there is one problem!¡± Ivy, who was leading their group, said, and Loren was almost at his wits¡¯ end that there was still a problem cropping up at this point. He did not want to hear it, but he knew that if he didn¡¯t, he would be in trouble when facing it. ¡°What the hell is it?!¡± ¡°There is a door to the ruin, but it takes a little while to open!¡± Ivy said that the door to enter the ruin from the canal was not the kind that opened as soon as you grabbed the handle and pulled, but the kind that opened slowly when you operated the device to open and close them. Normally, this would not be a problem, but with the horde of centipedes chasing them from behind, the smallest amount of time could be fatal. ¡°You open it beforehand then!¡± ¡°Asking me to run through that stink¡­ You¡¯re evil, Loren.¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s a matter of life and death!¡± Loren roughened his voice, asking if this was the time to think about stink and such. Ivy looked resigned to that truth, but she suddenly pointed ahead and shouted. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the entrance.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already arrived?!¡± At this distance, where the door was already within sight, there was no way to gain any time when Ivy was ahead of them. Loren wished she had talked about this earlier, but those thoughts disappeared from his mind the moment he looked in the direction Ivy was pointing. It was because part of the sewer wall had already been opened. ¡°This way! Hurry up!¡± A figure shouting from within, beckoning to them. Loren shouted in surprise as he saw who it was. ¡°Mills! What are you doing there¡­?¡± ¡°Just hurry up!¡± Loren, thinking that this was certainly not the time to be checking on the situation, immediately quickened his pace and picked up Gula and Lapis, who were running ahead of him. ¡°Hold on to my neck!¡± ¡°Thank you for your help.¡± Loren called out to Ivy, who was leading their party, as he overtook her, and with a word of gratitude, she clung to his neck with both arms and hanging onto his back. Loren had to carry the weight of three people by himself, but he managed to support them with all his strength. At the same time, he gritted his teeth and endured the stench that assaulted him once he passed the range of Lapis¡¯ pills, even though he was almost rendered unconscious. He ran as fast as he could and entered the entrance where Mills was leaning out, and immediately looked back toward the door. ¡°They¡¯re almost there! Close it!¡± Ivy, who had been holding onto Loren¡¯s neck, immediately jumped off Loren¡¯s back and ran to the wall, quickly operating a device that seemed to be there. The wall slowly closed with a creaking sound. ¡°They¡¯re getting through!¡± But as Ivy had said beforehand, the closing speed was quite slow. Moreover, the centipedes that had been chasing them began to increase their speed, perhaps because they saw that their preys were about to escape. Ivy screamed when she saw this, but Loren had already expected as much. He lowered Lapis and Gula, whom he had been carrying in his arms, to the floor, and immediately drew the greatsword on his back, sent the heads of the group of centipedes that were diving into the entrance flying, then cut off the heads of the zombies that were being pushed inside by the centipedes and kicked their bodies away. ¡°Burn! Fiamma Unggia!¡± Loren poured magic into his greatsword, and the flames gushing from the blade struck the oncoming horde of centipedes. The last time Loren used it, he was nearly drained of all his strength, but from that experience he had learned to save some while letting magic flow into the greatsword. The fire released this time was controlled, and as it hit the leading group of centipedes, they recoiled from the heat. The flame had been released behind the closing door, and Loren expected that even if it had ignited some kind of flammable gas, the damage would be contained. But luck was on his side this time: and the flames did not burn excessively, and the centipedes at the front were discouraged. He decided to use the sword to exude more flame, which completely stopped the centipedes that were coming through the entrance. Meanwhile, the wall slowly but surely closed, and Loren used his greatsword and the soles of his feet to dispose of the centipedes that had made their way into this side of the wall. ¡°You¡¯re Loren, aren¡¯t you?¡­¡± Mills, who had sat down and leaned his back against the wall, muttered to himself. A dying torch was beside him, somewhat illuminating the space where Loren and the others were with its scant light. Loren had just noticed himself that his party had no lights to illuminate their way through the supposedly pitch-dark sewers. He was able to see around him even without lights because he borrowed Shayna¡¯s vision, but Mills, who was a mere human, was unable to see without lights such as torches, and the fading torches that are now placed beside him were probably not enough to ensure sufficient visibility. ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient to be human, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I suppose so.¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Leaving the non-human beings talking and nodding to each other, Loren knelt down beside Mills, who remained seated with his back against the wall and refused to move. The smell of sewage was wafting from Mills¡¯ body, but Loren tried to put that out of his mind, as now was not the time to worry about that. He had been in too much of a hurry to jump in, so he couldn¡¯t get a good look at Mills, but now when he did, he saw that the man no longer had his weapon, his leather armor was torn, he was bleeding everywhere, and his breathing was short and shallow. His eyes were somewhat vacant and it was difficult to tell where he was looking, but what was even more unusual was that his left eye was bloodshot and moving incessantly. His right eye was unaffected, only the left eye was moving on its own, which was eerie enough to make Loren frowned. ¡°What happened?¡± Mills moved his lips to answer and immediately coughed violently. Loren could see that he probably didn¡¯t have much longer to live. ¡°I don¡¯t know. After I talked to you guys¡­ I remember getting ready and stepping in here¡­ But after that, my memories¡­ before I realized, I found myself in the sewers infested with insects, and was being dragged down into the sewers by a bunch of them.¡± Mills had no idea what had happened to his two party members at that point. Thinking they were probably dead, Mills resisted desperately and managed to crawl out of the sewage into the passageway, losing most of his equipment, but by that time he was already badly wounded. After that, he managed to fight off the centipedes that were relentlessly chasing him as he continued down the passage. The entrance that he had invited Loren¡¯s party into was opened by chance. It seemed that Mills was moving while leaning against the wall, his body caught on something in the mechanism and activated it. ¡°I thought I was done for, but¡­ Seeing you at my last moment might have been the last vestiges of good luck I had.¡± ¡°All right, don¡¯t talk too much. We have a priest here. We¡¯ll take care of your wound.¡± It probably would not help, but Loren said it anyway. Mills slowly shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time. I¡¯m not going to make it. And¡­ even if you manage to heal the wounds, it¡¯s already too late for me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something¡­ inside my head.¡± Mills slowly lifted his left hand and put it over his left eye. The left eye was still moving frantically, but now that it was covered by the hand, it looked as if there was no abnormality in Mills¡¯s body. ¡°They also¡­ must have been hit by this. There¡¯s something in my head that¡¯s telling me to¡­ let them eat me, obediently let them eat me¡­¡± ¡°Mills¡­¡± ¡°My memories¡­ and my ability to think, they¡¯ve taking them all. I¡¯m not me anymore.¡± Mills¡¯ voice began to tremble. Whether this was a response to the impending death, or to the feeling of not being oneself anymore as Mills had said, Loren did not know. Not knowing what to do, he turned to Lapis, who was watching them, as if asking for help, and Lapis silently shook her head. Loren realized by this action of hers that there was nothing she could do. ¡°Having been in the mercenary business for so long¡­ I figured I won¡¯t die a nice death. Still¡­ I want to die as I am.¡± The remaining right eye of Mills looked at Loren. Loren could tell by the way Mills looked at him what he wanted him to do, but when he wondered whether he should really do it, to which Mills opened his mouth to state his desire clearly. ¡°Please, Loren. Let me die at your hands¡­ I don¡¯t care what you do after I die, but I don¡¯t want to be worms¡¯ food while I¡¯m still alive.¡± ¡°That¡­ Is it what you want?¡± ¡°Yeah, it is¡­Sorry.¡± Loren stood up after seeing Mills nod. If left alone, for reasons unknown, Mills would probably be used as bait by those centipedes. Loren tried to convince himself that it would be an act of compassion to let the man die as a human being while his consciousness still remained. As he was about to ready his greatsword, he heard Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind. [¡®Onii-san, I can help him pass with more comfort.¡¯] At the sound of her voice, Loren lowered his greatsword. Mills¡¯ face was colored with disappointment, but when he saw Loren¡¯s figure stooping down and putting his index finger between his eyes, his healthy right eye stared at Loren, wondering what he was going to do to him. ¡°You¡¯ve been a mercenary long enough, and you¡¯ve had enough of all the cutting and slashing, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Maybe. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit like cheating, but I¡¯ll get it done gently.¡± The fingertip that Loren had placed between Mills¡¯ eyes glowed a pale white light. Mills¡¯ expression changed to that of calmness as he saw the light. ¡°This is¡­ Indeed, this is more comfortable.¡± The hand that was covering his left eye relaxed and drooped. As soon as the left eye, which had been moving on its own, stopped moving, Mills closed both eyelids. ¡°Oh, yes,¡­ I just remembered something. The commander¡­ I happened to see him in the north of Justinia empire¡­ Why did I forget it¡­?¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for the information. Now, get some sleep.¡± There was no reply from Mills. When Loren lightly waved his fingertip and extinguished the light that had been lit there, Mills had let out his last breath. Chapter 258: From Funeral to Arrival Chapter 258: From Funeral to Arrival Proofreader: Xemul Loren offered a silent prayer, and no one called out to him. After a while, as the other three continued to watch, he crouched down beside Mills¡¯ corpse and began to examine it. Removing a metal tag from the body he tossed it to Ivy, who caught it and immediately tucked it into her pocket. If possible, Loren would also like to retrieve the Adventurers¡¯ Guild registration cards of Mills¡¯ former companions, but he had no idea where they were. And if they had been swallowed by the swarm of insects as Mills had mentioned, it was unlikely that he would ever find them. ¡°Can I ask you to take care of the matter?¡± Loren asked Ivy, and she nodded in response. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the case of Mills and his party.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯d like to bury him, but¡­¡± If there is a patch of soil, Loren would like to bury Mills, but they were within a ruin. There were only stone walls and stone floors, so there was no place to bury Mills¡¯ corpse. He had thought that leaving it as it was might not be a bad idea, but then Mills¡¯ corpse would be taken over by the ghosts that might be floating around the area and become an undead. Or perhaps the swarm of insects on the other side would swarm in and feed on it if they could open the door at any point. Unable to bear such thoughts, Loren tried to think of something that could be done, but he could not come up with a good idea. As he was about to give up, Lapis stood beside Mills¡¯ corpse and said. ¡°If it is the burial of the dead, leave it to the priests of the God of Knowledge.¡± ¡°Can I ask for your help?¡± ¡°No need to. It is my job.¡± She was not lying in any way, but for some reason, Loren could not shake off his lingering uneasiness. However, there was no one else to entrust this task to in this situation, and Loren took one step away from Mills¡¯ corpse as if to tell Lapis that he would leave the matter in her hands. Seeing this, Lapis stood in front of Mills¡¯ corpse, closed her eyes, placed her left palm on her chest, and turned her right palm toward Mills. ¡°O soul of Mills, who has fallen on this earth! Return to the wheel of samsara and await your next birth. In the name of Kukuru, the God of Knowledge, may your path be illuminated so that you will not be led astray.¡± No sound or light was emitted, but Loren could see that the atmosphere surrounding Mills¡¯ body became somehow clearer after Lapis¡¯ prayer. Loren thought this was an excellent ending compared to a mercenary¡¯s death, where no one would have even cared, not to mention receiving a priest¡¯s final blessing. He would have been left on the battlefield and become beasts¡¯ food, or wander around as an undead. ¡°It is unlikely that he will turn into an undead, but¡­ What do we do with this body?¡± Lowering her hands and opening her eyes, Lapis asked. Loren thought for a moment before opening his mouth. ¡°Can we burn it?¡± The body couldn¡¯t be transported. They were still inside a ruin, and although it might sound bad to say, they did not have the luxury to carry something as bulky and heavy as a corpse around. They could carry bones or ash, but in the current situation where even their safe return to above ground was still uncertain, Loren wondered if it would be possible to burn the corpse down to ashes right here and now. The question was whether they had the power to do so, but Ivy modestly raised her hand and offered to do something about it. ¡°You can?¡± ¡°Leave it to me. I am still one of the beings called Evil Gods. I¡¯m not good at fighting now that I¡¯m in this body, but I¡¯m a bit of a magician.¡± Ivy said and stood in front of Mills¡¯ body, exchanging places with Lapis. ¡°Build a spire of red flame, >.¡± As soon as the incantation ended, a heat so intense that one could not help but turn one¡¯s face away from it appeared. A pillar of crimson flame, large enough to connect the floor and the ceiling, enveloped Mills¡¯ body in an instant. The power was substantial, and by the time Loren held up his hand and braved the heat and light of the flames to witness the results of the magic Ivy had exercised, Mills¡¯ body had already disappeared into the flames. And as the pillar of flame was gone, there was nothing left, not even smell or ashes. Only the scorched ceiling, floor, and walls left traces that seemed to indicate that magic had been exercised there. ¡°Impressive.¡± ¡°Power-wise only. As you can see, it¡¯s a difficult magic to aim, so it¡¯s not easy to use.¡± ¡°So, where do we go from here?¡± As the series of events came to an end, Loren looked toward the depth of the ruin as he heard Gula inquiring. The place they had jumped into was a stone corridor, and the path led in deeper. But from Loren¡¯s position, he could not tell what laid ahead. ¡°We¡¯ll keep going. We can¡¯t go back anyway. Besides¡­¡± Loren pointed with his thumb at the entrance they had come in through. Gula looked over and saw that although the entrance was securely closed, she could hear the occasional sound of something banging on the wall from the other side, indicating that a horde of zombies and insects was waiting on the other side of the wall to chase after them. ¡°We don¡¯t know how long that door can be kept closed, either.¡± Mills had been able to activate the mechanism by coincidence. The possibility that the door could be opened again by accident, while the insects and zombies were beating their bodies against the wall, could not be dismissed. ¡°And it¡¯s deep inside, isn¡¯t it? The device that Ivy used?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± The device made by the Ancient Kingdom that Ivy had used to change from the body of an Evil God to her current body, which was Loren¡¯s goal, was supposed to be placed deep inside the ruin. Shayna still had not made a decision whether to use it or not, but Loren had a feeling that she would like to check the actual device first. ¡°Then we have no other choice. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Understood. Let me lead the way. I know this place well, after all. There are still traps for intruders, for one thing.¡± Ivy stopped Loren, who was about to walk away, and took the lead. Gula and Lapis followed, with Loren falling at the end of the line again. Unlike the ruins Loren and his party had previously explored, the walls of this one did not shine, and there were no light sources, making it impossible to have visibility. However, due to the fact that no one in their group was in need of a light source, no one lit a lamp, so they proceeded through the ruin in complete darkness. And under Ivy¡¯s guidance, they knew exactly where to go. It was as if she knew in advance where everything was, the order in which to move through the corridors, and how to open the doors. She also knew the locations of traps to repel intruders before they were activated and took steps to prevent them from being activated, allowing the others to walk easily through without any noticeable trouble. ¡°It¡¯s only natural, since we have someone involved with the ruin leading us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the kind of cheating that would no doubt draw boos from other explorers if they heard it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know much about any of the ruins, Gula?¡± ¡°How could I possibly know anything about them?¡± As Gula confidently stated such a pathetic thing, Lapis shrugged in exasperation and Loren smiled wryly. Ivy, who was leading the way, also giggled, but then her footsteps came to a halt. She signaled for the others, who were alerted and wondering what was going on, to stop, then moved a little further down the corridor alone. After a while, she slowly walked back to the others, who had been waiting for her. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°We have a visitor.¡± Ivy¡¯s short answer to the question was more than enough to startle Loren and the others. ¡°Is there another entrance?¡± If the ¡®visitor¡¯ had come through the entrance on the sewer side, it would not be surprising if there were some kind of traces. If they had entered without being discovered, they must have been very skillful. And if there was another entrance, Loren and his group were fools to have entered through the sewers. To Loren, who asked which of the two cases it was, Ivy replied. ¡°There are, but they¡¯re either collapsed or unusable.¡± Loren, who had almost felt like a fool by Ivy¡¯s simple admission of the existence of other entrances, managed to regain his composure when he heard that those entrances were no longer in use. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There are several entrances leading down from the original above-ground facility. I have confirmed that all of the entrances were destroyed when the aboveground facilities were lost.¡± Ivy said that when she was rebuilding her own body, if she was interrupted during the operation, it could be fatal, so she had made a thorough investigation beforehand. As a result, she confirmed that the only entrance that could be used was the one on the sewer side, and that all other entrances were unusable. ¡°What do you mean by unusable?¡± ¡°This is a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom.¡± Ivy answered Lapis¡¯ question in a hushed voice. ¡°It is a facility that you can transport into by using certain equipment and tools. The reality is, most of those equipment and tools were lost or destroyed in the chaos that followed the fall of the Ancient Kingdom, so I don¡¯t believe there are any that can be used today.¡± Ivy¡¯s words made Loren and Lapis look at each other. Ivy seemed to think that there was no one in the modern world who handled tools and equipment from the Ancient Kingdom period, but Loren, Lapis and Gula did have some idea about someone who could handle such things without any issue. Unable to suppress the ¡®No way¡¯ that was welling up inside him, Loren involuntarily tightened his grip on the hilt of his greatsword. ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡± ¡°Yes, me too.¡± Lapis and Loren nodded at each other. Ivy, unaware of the situation, tilted her head at the atmosphere, and Gula was beginning to exude blood lust. ¡°So our destination is just beyond that, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren pointed to the corner where Ivy had just gone to find out what was going on, and she nodded. ¡°Take a turn and go a little further. The room where the device is located is at the end of the hall.¡± ¡°All right, then, everybody, get ready for battle. Whatever is in there, prepare for the worst.¡± In response to Loren¡¯s instruction, Lapis¡¯ eyes turned stern, and Gula began to crack her knuckles while grinding her teeth. Not knowing what was going on with Loren and the two suddenly becoming menacing, Ivy was bewildered. However, she was seized with the feeling that whatever was ahead was going to give them a bad time. Chapter 259: From Encountering The Enemy To Fleeing Chapter 259: From Encountering The Enemy To Fleeing Proofreader: Xemul If you knew that there was someone there, it would be easy to be prepared. And if you know who that someone was, it would be even easier to be prepared. Or so Loren had thought, but the reality was that things didn¡¯t always work out that way. As he and his companions quietly peeked around the corner leading to the door to their destination, they were thinking about a trouble specific to the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruins. ¡°If this was a normal building, we could take strong measures such as firing all the magic we could from here and disposing of the people behind the door.¡± That was what Lapis muttered as she looked at the door right beyond the line of sight. Loren thought that if they took such an approach, the equipment in the room would also be damaged, and the point of coming all the way here would be null. However, as Lapis was talking about a strategy that did not seem feasible to execute, he decided to leave it alone. The door at the end of the passageway, which appeared to be quite sturdy even from a distance, was unlikely to be damaged by a half-hearted attempt to shoot magic at it. ¡°Should we be impressed and say something like ¡®Just as expected of the Ancient Kingdom¡¯?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say what you don¡¯t mean. And by the way, that door can be locked from the inside. Both physically and magically.¡± The information that Ivy just provided was, from Loren¡¯s point of view, vital. ¡°So a surprise attack is out of the question.¡± If they really wanted to surprise the ¡®visitors¡¯, Lapis¡¯ method seemed to be the quickest and surest way. Other than that, if the door could be opened quickly, it should also be possible to surprise those inside. However, a door that was locked by both physical and magical means took a long time to open, and the people inside would surely be alerted while meddling with the lock. This meant that Loren and his party would not be able to attack without being noticed by anyone inside. ¡°What if we use magic powerful enough to get through that door?¡± Lapis was not ready to give up on the idea of a surprise attack from a distance, but Loren shook his head at her words. He didn¡¯t know how sturdy the device in the room was, but he didn¡¯t think it could stay intact after magic powerful enough to bypass the sturdy door was released. He had come here to secure the ancient device for Shayna. If they were to destroy it in a moment of adrenaline surge, then what was even the point? ¡°Ivy, can you open it quietly? You were involved with this place, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course, I can. As long as it¡¯s locked in the proper way.¡± Ivy answered Gula¡¯s question. ¡°You have been able to go this far without encountering any traps thanks to me, so you should be a little more grateful.¡± ¡°Whatever. If you do that, the people inside won¡¯t be able to tell¡­¡± ¡°They will once it is opened though? Or are you too stupid not to notice that your room has been unlocked, Gula?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± Gula glared with a threatening expression, and Ivy turned away with a composed face. Loren gently let out a sigh of resignation, thinking that even between beings called Evil Gods, there was a lot going on. ¡°We have no choice but to approach as close as we can, and once Ivy opens the door, we¡¯ll step in at once.¡± ¡°Then do them in?¡± Lapis asked, and Loren shook his head. ¡°If it¡¯s them in there, unless they¡¯re really stupid or have a reason not to move, we won¡¯t be able to stop them from running away.¡± Loren predicted that the person in the room would be a swordsman named Magna, whom they had encountered several times before. He was a black-clad swordsman who seemed to have some connection to the Ancient Kingdom, and his fighting ability was even greater than Loren¡¯s. He was someone Loren didn¡¯t want to encounter if possible at all, but for some reason, they ran into this Magna guy quite often. In a previous encounter, he had managed to cut off one of Magna¡¯s right arms, but at the cost of some sort of injury to almost everyone who took part in the battle, and Loren was hospitalized for what must have been the umpteenth time. ¡°If I could finish the job, I would, but they¡¯re very¡­ tough.¡± ¡°We have always encountered them when they have equipment, tools, and conditions that are much more favorable. This time, well¡­ I guess it¡¯s the same situation again.¡± Considering the information from Ivy, it was highly unlikely that they entered this facility on foot, assuming that the people in the room were Magna and his follower, a female Dark Elf named Noel, who had previously turned herself into an Evil God. In other words, it was highly likely that they had come here using some tools from the Ancient Kingdom time, which put Loren¡¯s party at a disadvantage. Those two would be able to escape using that transport method. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the other side seems to have the advantage when it comes to the Ancient Kingdom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°So, what are we going to do? Are we going in or not?¡± Faced with Gula¡¯s question, Loren thought for a while and decided on a half-hearted plan: they would move to the door as stealthily as possible, and Ivy would open the door as quickly as possible, but he didn¡¯t dwell on forcibly engaging anyone inside. ¡°They¡¯re a nasty opponent, but if we go all out, we¡¯ll manage somehow.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not certain that the Black Swordsman and the Dark Elf are on the other side of that door.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m going now, okay?¡± After checking with Loren, Ivy ran down the passageway without a sound and stood in front of the door. Feeling Loren and the others following behind her, Ivy let her hand touch the door to open it, and immediately noticed something unusual and frowned. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°In addition to the two original locks¡­ > has been applied.¡± It seems that whoever was inside had a very cautious nature. In addition to the original locking functions of the ruin, they had locked the door once more using their own magic. This meant that even if Ivy was able to open the door by regular means, the door would still not open. An > spell had to be used to unlock the > spell, which was an additional step. Moreover, once the > spell was released, there was a high possibility that the magician, who placed it would notice, making it almost impossible to surprise those inside the room. ¡°Can you remove it?¡± ¡°The original locks can be removed right away. Maybe the magic lock too¡­ >.¡± After unlocking the locks of the ruin, Ivy immediately used her magic to unlock the additional magic lock. However, the magic she casted had no effect. ¡°Hm? It won¡¯t open?¡± ¡°This magician is on a higher level than I am. I lost because of the difference in the power of our magic.¡± Pushing aside the flustered Ivy, Gula touched the door. ¡°Envy¡¯s a fool. She¡¯s lost all her magic power because she quit being an Evil God. She¡¯s useless.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Ivy was dejected, but they had no time to worry about it. Gula immediately used her > magic, which canceled the magic on the door. Loren, who immediately switched places with her, kicked open the door and rushed into the room with the same momentum. At the same time, he blocked an arrow shot at him with the belly of his great sword. ¡°Look who it is!¡± Unlike the passageway, the space Loren stepped into was entirely illuminated by a light source on the ceiling, providing a clear view. In the center of the large room was a device that looked like a bed wrapped in a transparent shell. On the wall behind it were various glowing and spinning objects, and in front of it stood a slender figure clad in what appeared to be armor, but one that daringly exposed her brown skin. She was holding an arrow to a huge, strangely decorated bow, aiming at the entrance. It was the Dark Elf that was Magna¡¯s follower. Loren, seeing that it was Noel, who seemed to have obtained the body of the Evil God of Lust, exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s our line! You guys again! What are you doing this time?!¡± There was no answer to Loren¡¯s question, and instead a second arrow came. Loren, who had noticed that the bow she was using had a strangely elaborate construction, thought that the arrow might have a strange effect, and chose to evade rather than defend himself. The arrow itself disappeared, leaving only a small hole in the wall. Loren had thought that there would be a gap between shots, but the moment Noel fired the first shot, another arrow appeared out of nowhere and was already in the bow, leaving no time for a gap. ¡°It looks like the bow has an arrow-making effect.¡± Lapis declared, while leaving the handling of the arrows to Loren, and was staring at the bow Noel was holding. ¡°The number of arrows is infinite and there is no gap between them, but there are no hit corrections or special effects on the arrows. It is a rather mild magic weapon.¡± ¡°A bow handled by an elf with an unlimited number of arrows is a nightmare!¡± Elves were generally great archers, and it was extremely difficult to dodge their shots. It was no exaggeration to say that the number of deaths is equal to the number of arrows in an elf¡¯s quiver. If arrows were infinitely generated, ordinary soldiers, no matter how many they gathered, could be annihilated without any means to retaliate depending on the distance and location of the shooter. However, if there were no magic effects on the arrows and the number of arrows shot out did not increase mid-shot, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to strike down Loren with his skills. ¡°Where¡¯s your master? Last time, when I cut off his arm, did it kill him?¡± Loren¡¯s words, meant to both confirm and provoke, caused Noel¡¯s mouth to twist slightly in what appeared to be a smile as she held her bow in a careless manner and fired a third shot at Loren. If there were no funny effects attached to the arrows, it was better to defend than to evade. Loren flicked off the arrow with his greatsword as Noel said. ¡°He will not die at the hands of the likes of you!¡± ¡°Where the hell did he go then? I can¡¯t seem to see him anywhere?¡± ¡°I have no obligation to tell you that. Magna-sama has already left this place, healed from the wounds you inflicted on him!¡± ¡°He must have realized we were coming in and fled before we got here, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Take it however you want. You owe Magna-sama a debt for damaging a part of his armor. He¡¯ll deal with you when the time is right. Until then, live in fear.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should just settle it right here, right now?¡± Loren taunted and beckoned Noel to him, but she was having none of it. She shot another arrow at Loren¡¯s party as if to warn them, then turned around without seeing the result. ¡°I have no more business here. I have to go after Magna, and I don¡¯t have time to deal with you.¡± ¡°She¡¯s trying to escape, Loren.¡± ¡°We have no way to stop her¡­¡± Noel had seen Loren fight several times. That was why, even if Loren attacked her, she would be able to dodge and escape. Moreover, if the escape method was of the teleportation type, Loren would have had no way to stop her. He was ready to throw his greatsword at her if she tried to leave even just one snide remark, but the elf did not say anything more. She used some kind of tool to create a gate of light that was just big enough for one person to pass through, then slid into it and disappeared. Chapter 260 Chapter 260 Proofreader: Xemul Loren¡¯s group did not relax for a while, even after Noel had disappeared. Transporting was a tricky thing; even if no one was there a moment ago, someone could appear a moment later. They were bracing themselves for the possibility that Noel might suddenly appear out of nowhere after pretending to have vanished, but Ivy¡¯s muttering made them realize that they were wrong. ¡°It seems she has really gone.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not coming back, is she?¡± In response to Loren¡¯s question, Ivy climbed over the device in the center of the room and began to examine the floor in the area where Noel had disappeared. ¡°There is a magic circle for transport here. It needs a certain disposable magic instrument to activate, but we¡¯ll know if it¡¯s about to operate, so there¡¯s no chance of a surprise attack.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we destroy it?¡± Loren didn¡¯t know if it was possible to destroy that magic circle or not, but he believed that it would be the most reliable approach in this situation. Ivy, however, had a hard time with this idea. ¡°First of all, it¡¯s a valuable legacy of the Ancient Kingdom¡­¡± Loren was unable to say anything more when he was told that it was valuable due to its academic and historical significance. It was not something he could judge, so he had no counterarguments. ¡°Is the Adventurers¡¯ Guild going to investigate it?¡± Loren thought that it might not be a good idea for technologies about body-swapping to be leaked out into the world today. If Ivy said she would have the Adventurers¡¯ Guild investigate this ruin, he would try to stop her. However, her answer was painfully simple. ¡°No?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of preserving it then?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t preserve it, it will become a lost technology.¡± What she essentially said was that she was not sure where to draw the line between good and bad here. Thinking that there was no need to force the destruction of the transport magic circle, Loren patted the device in the center of the room, which looked like a bed wrapped in a transparent shell, and said to Ivy. ¡°Well, let¡¯s check this out first. I want to know what they were doing here.¡± ¡°Understood. Please wait a moment.¡± Ivy said and immediately began to examine the equipments and the glowing devices on the wall. Gula was not particularly interested in these things, or rather did not want to see them; she didn¡¯t look in Ivy¡¯s direction as she worked. But Lapis watched on with great interest, and occasionally interjected a question or two to satisfy her thirst for knowledge. ¡°This¡­ is a bit of a mess, isn¡¯t it? It looks like someone who doesn¡¯t know much about the equipment here played around with it.¡± Ivy frowned as she worked. Loren had no idea what he was looking for but expected Ivy to explain it to him in her own way, and Ivy began to lay out the information she had found without stopping her work. ¡°It seems that they were repairing someone¡¯s body and also strengthening the person¡¯s physical abilities. The parameters were¡­ set as high as possible¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible.¡± If Noel was the one who had used the equipments here, it should be almost certain that the one whose body had been repaired and strengthened was Magna. The guy was already quite strong with his own strength and the effects of his equipments; if his abilities were further enhanced by the device here, Loren didn¡¯t want to run into him ever again. Ivy, who had been continuing her investigative work without knowing of Loren¡¯s feelings, operated some devices on the wall, and the frown on her face turned even deeper. ¡°It¡¯s just, the way the equipments was used is a mess. First of all, the culture material has been dripping out.¡± Loren¡¯s brow furrowed as he sensed something disturbing in Ivy¡¯s indignant remark. Whatever it may be, the fact that something was dripping out gave Loren a hunch that they were in danger, but Ivy didn¡¯t care and continued to tell Loren what she knew. ¡°Solutions are also all leaking¡­ Stimulators, stabilizers, all of them¡­ It would have cost a lot of money to replenish all these. The reserved inventory has been consumed with no care at all.¡± ¡°I have a quick question. I don¡¯t care who was repairing whose body, but where do all the leaking things go?¡± As the waterway was connected to this ruin, Loren could somehow predict the answer to his question even if he did not receive one. Still, he could not help but listen to Ivy¡¯s reply, who was very knowledgeable about this ruin. ¡°It will, of course, be disposed of into the waterways.¡± Even though he wished it wasn¡¯t, her reply was exactly what Loren had expected. Feeling a slight headache coming on, he pressed with another question. ¡°What happens to the waterways when those kinds of stuff are poured down?¡± ¡°That¡­ is hard to say. The materials and drugs will become all messed up, so it¡¯s unlikely to bring about anything.¡± ¡°What if it does?¡± ¡°Assuming there is something out there that has eaten the culture material, it will grow to several or dozens of times its normal size as it receives the effects of the stimulating and stabilizing drugs. The giant specimens will lay more eggs than usual under the influence of the drugs¡­ Eh? Could that be¡­?¡± Ivy¡¯s face turned pale as if something came to her mind while she was giving the explanation. Loren, who had already reached the conclusion that Ivy just now reached, clutched his forehead with his left hand as if to endure a headache, and the seemingly-uninterested Gula, though still turned away, had a bead of sweat dripping down her cheek. After a while, Lapis, who had been watching their reactions, clapped her hands. ¡°I see. So it just happens that there are a few places in the wide waterway where the conditions are just right, and the centipedes and other things that live there multiplied and grew healthily, and that¡¯s why we have that swarm?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sure it was a group of individuals that had been accelerated to grow under somewhat unfavorable conditions. If I remember correctly, if there were areas in the canal with the right conditions, the rate of growth would be even greater.¡± What Lapis had deduced was bad enough, but what might have happened according to Ivy was even worse. Loren was speechless after learning all this, but Lapis, perhaps unintentionally, rubbed even more salt to his wound. ¡°I see. That reminds me; seeing Mills¡¯ eyes moving on its own, I thought I had seen this phenomenon somewhere before. It was a parasite, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°A parasite?¡± Loren¡¯s face turned sour as he heard that there was another factor involved, even though the centipedes alone were already too much to handle. Lapis began to share some of her knowledge. ¡°I don¡¯t remember its official name, but it is a small parasite whose final host are centipedes. As a larva, it lives in small insects, water, fruits, and vegetables. If the host is a living animal, it enters the host¡¯s central nervous system and brain to control its behavior, and ends its cycle by being eaten by the final host, the centipede.¡± The parasites laid eggs inside a centipede¡¯s body, then those eggs were released together with the centipede¡¯s excretion and would be eaten by some other insect, then the parasite would work to have that insect be eaten by a centipede. That was the cycle of this parasite, according to Lapis¡¯ explanation. Also, their larvae did not die from being bitten or chewed, and as long as they retained a certain size, they were resilient enough to return to their original larval state. ¡°When we first came to town, Nig caught a larva about the size of a thumb and ate it¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably it. I¡¯m sure Nig will be fine though. Spiders release digestive fluid to dissolve their prey and then sip it, and I don¡¯t think the larvae will survive that. They are originally smaller than a grain of wheat, so if you include the larvae before they grow to be huge, they can be of various sizes.¡± If the larvae grew inside living creatures, they would have no way to know where these parasites were. If the situation was bad enough, it was possible that almost all of the food in Suest was contaminated by this parasite. ¡°By the way, if a human¡¯s brain is infected by the parasite, they will¡­¡± ¡°Lose their intelligence and consciousness, and some or most of their memory, I think.¡± ¡°What about the ability to converse?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be lost.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this town finished?¡± The symptoms of the parasite victims described by Lapis matched the condition of many of the city¡¯s residents that Loren and his group had seen. Perhaps Lapis understood this, for she looked at Loren with a weak smile and asked in a voice that was more than a little shaky. ¡°What should we do, Loren?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do anything, can we?¡± If the situation had come to light earlier, some action could have been taken to stop the parasites from spreading. However, the residents affected by the parasites had already spread throughout the city, and Loren did not think that there was anything that could be done about it now. ¡°Can we get rid of the parasites after they infect us?¡± ¡°After they enter our head? How do we do that?¡± Lapis¡¯ response was that if there was a way, she would like to hear it herself. And as Loren wondered if there was any other way to manage such a thing, Gula said. ¡°With the power of Gluttony, it¡¯s impossible to eat only the parasite.¡± [¡®Onii-san, it¡¯s also impossible to kill only the parasite with Energy Drain.¡¯] Shayna said in Loren¡¯s mind as if she had expected him to ask. As he listened to her, he understood that there was nothing they could do. ¡°By the way, I¡¯m sure we¡¯re not infected, since we haven¡¯t had any food of this city¡¯s origin since we came here, and the food in the wagon was controlled and sealed by me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will make you feel any better, but would you like me to make some deworming medicine? I think I can make it with the facilities we have here.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a mixing room at the back of this room. There should be some materials left.¡± Under Ivy¡¯s guidance, Lapis opened a door that seemed to lead to a mixing room in one corner of the room and disappeared behind it. As Loren watched Ivy, who was still investigating the device, and Gula, who grimaced because of the terrible situation they were put in, in his heart he continued cursing at Magna, who had probably used this ruin and Noel, who had apparently operated these devices. Chapter 261: From Results To Escaping Chapter 261: From Results To Escaping Proofreader: Xemul It did not take long for Lapis to return from the compounding room holding thin ceramic containers filled with clear, colorless liquid in her hands. They drank up the containers Lapis offered and took a sigh of relief; even if the parasites had entered their bodies, this drug would make it difficult for them to survive and reach their brains ¡°I¡¯ve done some examination on the equipment, but things aren¡¯t looking good.¡± Ivy said as she returned the empty container to Lapis. Lorren wondered if the situation could be any worse, but the news Ivy gave him was indeed terrible. ¡°The devices themselves are damaged because they were manipulated improperly. Specifically, if a human body were to be built, some functions would have to be omitted.¡± ¡°Be more specific.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t have the ability to grow and reproduce.¡± Ivy said it without hesitation, but the news was fatal. In other words, even if they tried to create a body for Shayna with the equipment at the site, they would only be able to create a functionally defective body, which would be meaningless. ¡°Furthermore, due to the fact that most of the materials had been left dripping, it seems that there is no longer enough material left to build an adult body.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to help.¡± Even if they used the devices to build Shayna a body, she would never grow up and would be a child forever. The only thing Loren could say after knowing this was that there was no way he would put Shayna in such a body. ¡°There are some parts that automatically restore themselves, so I think they will eventually be repaired and replenished over time.¡± ¡°I guess there are no other choices¡­ Shayna will have to put up with it for a while longer.¡± [¡®But onii-san, I don¡¯t really feel like I¡¯m having to put up with anything.¡¯] As if to comfort Loren, who sounded depressed, Shena conveyed such a thought to him. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped¡­ We¡¯ll have to leave this ruin behind for now. As long as the drugs and materials are replenished, it will be possible to build Shayna¡¯s body, right?¡± ¡°Yes. And if we have enough time, we might be able to come up with a way to implant the soul of an undead into a living body.¡± There was no point in worrying about what couldn¡¯t be done, Lorren thought to himself. The facilities of the ruin themselves were intact, and if the materials and medicines lost in this incident would be replenished over time, then there was nothing to do but wait. And Shayna hadn¡¯t said that she wanted to leave Loren¡¯s body immediately; it wouldn¡¯t be bad for her to have some more time to think about it. ¡°It feels like such a waste of effort though¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild will pay you, and by having a stale commission solved, my experience and reputation in the Guild will rise.¡± ¡°That reminds me, you were saying something about dealing with stale commissions in the beginning, weren¡¯t you?¡± Suddenly having a strange feeling, Loren asked Ivy, and she nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s been that long since I chopped off Magna¡¯s arm.¡± While it was true that a certain number of days have passed since due to travel and other things, Loren thought that it had not been long enough for this commission, which should have come around sometime in the middle of all that, to have a reputation of being stale. In response to Loren¡¯s question, Ivy tilted her head. ¡°The devices themselves show signs of having been operated several times, but I don¡¯t know how long they have been dripping chemicals and other materials. The site, at the time I used it, had a substantial amount of materials and chemicals in storage, and the fact that they were empty suggests that they had been leaking for quite some time, though.¡± ¡°Is this the first time they have been used to enhance someone¡¯s capabilities?¡± ¡°That too is unknown. It¡¯s just that the parameters are set to maximum, but we don¡¯t know how long they¡¯ve been in use or when they were used.¡± ¡°I¡¯m checking just in case, but-¡° Loren scowled at Ivy, albeit lightly. Ivy tilted her head, wondering what in the world she had done, and Lorren asked. ¡°Is there any chance that you caused the leakage when you made your body?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a rude question to ask a technician. I would not use them this way.¡± Ivy glared back at Loren. He held her gaze for a moment, then eventually looked away. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The only people who seem to be using this ruin are me and the Dark Elf earlier. From your point of view, that is something to be confirmed.¡± Ivy¡¯s expression softened for a change. ¡°It¡¯s more believable that it was the work of an Evil God rather than a mistake made by someone who had no idea what they were doing.¡± With no hesitation, Loren poked Lapis, who was spouting nonsense, on the head. It made quite a solid sound, and Lapis reflexively pressed both hands to the site of the poke and bent back. Loren asked Ivy. ¡°So, I guess this commission can be considered more or less completed? You won¡¯t start saying something like we have to solve everything, will you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little beyond what an individual or a party can handle, so I think it would be unreasonable to ask you to do so much.¡± The situation had progressed to the point where the city of Suest could be considered lost. Most of the city¡¯s inhabitants must have fallen prey to the parasites, and the parasite number must have reached over a thousand, or even close to ten thousand, at least according to estimates. No matter how much the Guild was asked to do something about it, the situation had reached a level where the government had to deal with it. ¡°Then let¡¯s get the hell out of this town, report to the Guild, and let them deal with the rest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± Lapis agreed, but Gula, who was standing next to her, spoke up as if she had suddenly realized something. ¡°But if we make a report like that, won¡¯t they find out about the existence of this ruin?¡± ¡°Leave that to me.¡± In response to Gula¡¯s concern, Ivy tapped her own chest. ¡°It depends on how you report it. It¡¯ll be all right; we¡¯ll keep this under wraps. I¡¯ll put the general cause of the trouble on Miss Dark Elf and her master, and I¡¯ll talk to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to make arrangements.¡± Ivy smiled wickedly as she said this, and Gula and Lapis began to back away and try to distance themselves from her as much as possible. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, the fact that those two would be pursued by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was not a bad story, and he did not understand why the two of them would back away. ¡°Alright¡­ For now, let¡¯s get out of the ruin. There¡¯s nothing more to be gained by staying here.¡± ¡°How are we going to get back to the surface?¡± Lapis¡¯ question was an expected one. The fact was that the hordes of centipedes and zombies that had been chasing them were probably still waiting outside the entrance then had entered through, and it would take a lot of effort to go through them to return to above ground. Normally, here they would turn pale thinking about being trapped, but Loren answered the question in a matter-of-fact way. ¡°Originally, there was a way to get to the surface in this facility, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s been destroyed¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we use Gula¡¯s magic to remove the earth and sand that¡¯s crushing it? If there were normal residents above, we would have to worry about collateral damage and this place being discovered and such, but it seems that there is no need for that.¡± Ivy, who was just now catching on to Lorren¡¯s words, clapped her hands together. Although it was a rough measure, Lapis and Gula had no objection, as it was much better than returning to the sewers to face the smell and the swarms of insects. ¡°Let¡¯s quickly get this over with and leave this town. Ever since knowing about the parasites, I¡¯ve been thinking that I don¡¯t want to stay here too long.¡± At Lorren¡¯s direction, Ivy immediately led the group to the stairs that originally led to the ground level. The stairs were indeed buried halfway up, and Gula muttered a small whisper after some confirmation. ¡°Well then, >.¡± A ball of bright red flame the size of a child¡¯s head appeared at Gula¡¯s fingertips. Controlled by her consciousness, it landed on the earth ceiling blocking the stairway. It then exploded, sending a large amount of earth and smoke toward them with a shock. Lapis, who had realized the consequences of the magic just one moment earlier, pulled Lorren away from the scene and escaped, but the two Evil Gods stood there and were covered in dirt and sand from head to toes. A huge chunk had been gouged out from the earth burying the stairs, but even with such damage, they still had not reached the above ground. ¡°I think we should focus on the piercing power rather than explosive power¡­¡± According to Lapis, the power and range of effect of the > magic were perfect, but it was not suited for destroying thick layers of sand and soil or bedrock. If destruction and penetration were important, it would be much more effective to pour stronger magic into the legal > or elementary > and increase the number of bullets. Before Lapis could say anything, Gula and Ivy, with dust still on their heads, pointed their palms at the half-destroyed ceiling. ¡°I¡¯ll smash it no matter what! >!¡± ¡°Let me help you! >!¡± Two balls of flame, larger than the previous one, landed on the ceiling, and at the same time, a deafening explosion sounded. Black smoke covered their vision and crumbled earth and sand rained down on them from overhead. Lorren tried to keep the smoke from drifting up to where they were by flapping his hands, and Lapis, coughing a little in the dust, looked toward where the two Evil Gods were standing. ¡°Yes, we smashed it!¡± ¡°This is what we can do.¡± Gula and Ivy, who were covered in even more dust than before, pointed to the ceiling with triumphant looks on their faces. Although it was impossible to determine whether the earth and sand that had broken off the staircase in the middle fell inside the ruins or was blown out, there was still a gaping hole leading to the outside. ¡°If the result is the same, what does it matter what happened?¡­¡± At any rate, the exit to the outside was now open. Lorren, thinking that there would be no problem even if he turned a blind eye to everything else, urged everyone to go up the stairs. That was the moment it happened. A figure suddenly fell through the hole that had just opened into the ruin where Loren¡¯s party was. Without even a single movement of trying to catch itself, it slammed back first into the floor from behind with a rather loud sound. ¡°What is it?¡± Lapis thought that it might have been a resident of the city who had fallen into the hole that had suddenly opened up, but her expectation was betrayed when they saw the fallen figure rise up, shivering and shaking and bleeding considerably from the head. It was a young man dressed in clothes that made it clear that he was a resident of the town at first glance, but he rose up without wiping the blood that was pouring from his head. And as he turned towards their party, they saw that both his eyes were moving crazily and independently of each other just like the left eye of Mills, who had taken his last breath at the ruin entrance, had done. Chapter 262: From Falling Down To Climbing Up Chapter 262: From Falling Down To Climbing Up Proofreader: Xemul The moment Loren saw the face of the man who had fallen, he involuntarily took a couple of steps backward. But he immediately felt a shadow over his head, and he jumped away from the spot. Almost at the same time that Loren jumped, an old woman fell onto the spot where he had been standing. It was an old woman who, by all appearances, had slammed head first into the floor, and her neck was bent in a direction that suggested she would not survive. But without much pause, she also rose up with blood flowing profusely from the wounds on her head and broken neck. Noticing that the old woman¡¯s eyes were also moving like crazy, Loren¡¯s face twitched as he shouted. ¡°The infected are falling down!¡± At Loren¡¯s words, Lapis looked up at the top of the stairs. The staircase, which must have led from the underground facility to the aboveground facility, had quite a few steps and was as high as the ceiling. There were more figures gathering around the edges of the hole in the ceiling, and some of them were slowly descending from the top of the staircase. ¡°They are coming from above!¡± ¡°What do we do? Do we go back?!¡± ¡°That¡­¡± Even though they were infected by parasites, they were just former residents of the town. If they were left alone, they would probably end up being eaten by the centipedes, but Loren¡¯s group had no way to save them. There was no choice but to leave them. But the next moment, when Loren saw the old woman who had fallen nearby and broken her neck try to approach with her hands outstretched toward him, and he became alarmed. ¡°Don¡¯t come! But you don¡¯t understand, do you?¡± The old woman¡¯s behavior should already be controlled by the parasites; even if he gave her a warning, he was not sure if it would be understood. Even so, the sight of an old woman with a lolling head and bloody clothes silently approaching with outstretched hands was enough to give even Loren a creepy feeling. That was why he gave a warning, but it would mean nothing if the other person did not have the ability to understand it. It was not that the idea of giving the woman a kick to force her away from himself didn¡¯t occur to Loren, but no matter how bad state she was in, she was still an old woman, and that made Loren hesitant. As he considered what to do, he backed away as the woman came closer. Then he saw the man who had fallen in front of him moving toward Ivy, stretching out his hand as the old woman was doing. ¡®Well, um, I was wondering if you could stay away from¡­¡± Ivy, like Loren, also issued a warning and stepped back as the man approached. But her words didn¡¯t seem to reach the man¡¯s ears, and he was still trying to approach Ivy with the same gait when he suddenly opened his mouth wide and began to make a strange noise that one wouldn¡¯t think was coming from a human throat. He was so loud that Ivy was startled, and at that moment, while still making that noise, the man grabbed her with agile movements as if his movements up until now had just been for show. Unable to react quickly enough, Ivy was grabbed by both shoulders by the man, and he pushed her straight to the wall, her back slamming against it quite forcefully. As Ivy uttered a small groan from the impact, from the wide-open mouth of the man, who was still making strange noises, a slimy, white, thumb-sized object peeked out. ¡°Eh¡­¡± The man approached Ivy, who was taken aback, with mouth opened and teeth bared. Feeling herself being bitten, Ivy tried to push him back only to suddenly realize that the force that was pushing her against the wall had disappeared. She blinked her eyes. ¡°A bit too spineless, aren¡¯t you? You messed up not just your body but your head too, didn¡¯t you?¡± It was Gula who said this with her hands on her hips, as if she was disgusted. Ivy, who had not yet caught up with what was being done and said, saw that the man had gone missing except from the wrists down, with the hands still holding her shoulders. She hurriedly shook them off, making them fall down to the floor. Loren, who had seen Gula using her Gluttony powers to devour the body of the man who was about to attack Ivy, also felt a slight cold sweat break out on his forehead as he saw the body of the old woman who was about to approach him disappear from before his eyes in the blink of an eye. At the same time that the man who was about to attack Ivy let out a strange cry, the old woman had also opened her mouth wide, her teeth missing here and there, and was about to grab onto Loren with a similar strange cry. It seemed like she had also been swallowed up by Gula¡¯s power, this time without even a wrist left. ¡°Sorry, and thanks.¡± Loren¡¯s reaction had been delayed as the old woman suddenly screamed and grabbed him. By the time he was about to ready his sword, she had already gotten well inside his range. Having escaped thanks to Gula¡¯s authority, he thanked Gula as she brushed off the dirt and sand that had gotten on her head and shoulders from the magic explosion. ¡°I want to say something like ¡®You¡¯re taking too much time to judge the situation¡¯, but it can¡¯t be helped. The other party was a grandmother, and given your personality, it¡¯s understandable that you hesitated.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s what¡¯s good about you, Loren.¡± Listening to Gula¡¯s words, which contained laughter, and Lapis¡¯ words, which carried a somewhat comforting tone, Loren wondered if he had gotten a little rusty. If you were a mercenary, you would not be able to survive on the battlefield unless you had the judgment to respond immediately to any kind of hostile actions. Loren feared that since he had been away from the battlefield for so long, he might have lost some of his sense of perception. ¡°By the way, Gula, is it safe for you to eat those?¡± Lapis immediately tried to change the subject, perhaps because she saw that Loren was about to think about it. If Loren was made to think too much and come to the conclusion that he had to return to the battlefield, it would be very difficult for Lapis, who wanted to continue as an adventurer, to deal with the issue. Even if he had to go to the battlefield, Lapis would still at least try to make him take her along. But for now, she tried to keep Loren¡¯s attention on other topics to prevent him from having strange thoughts. However, that topic was also an important one. If a human being who was infected by parasites was eaten by Gula¡¯s power, what would happen to her condition? Loren, who heard Lapis¡¯ words, was also very curious about this. Gula kept her hands on her hips as if nothing was wrong and made a small snort. ¡°It¡¯s different from eating with my own mouth. What I eat with my power¡¯s mouths will be finished off in my power¡¯s stomach, and won¡¯t have any effects on me. Even inorganic substances can be digested in the stomach of my power, right? A parasite would be killed in an instant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very encouraging, but¡­ Is it possible to eat all of them?¡± Gula looked to where Loren pointed, and saw that similar figures had been gathering one after another at the edge of the hole, and one by one they were beginning to step off the edge of the hole and fall down. The stairs leading to the surface were so crowded with people that they were beginning to push down. Staring at them for a while, Gula eventually looked at Loren and said in a very offhanded tone. ¡°A bit too much.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± The ones who fell down still didn¡¯t take any defensive stance, and hit the floor unprotected. With injuries that made it seem like a miracle that they were still breathing, they still picked themselves up and began to try to crawl closer to Loren¡¯s group despite all the dripping blood. Watching their numbers gradually increase, Lapis leaned in toward Loren and asked him in a somewhat strained voice. ¡°Do we go back?!¡± ¡°Would you rather go back and walk through the centipedes and the stench, or would you rather go forward and walk through the crowd?¡± There were only two choices. To be honest, everyone present was tempted to answer that they didn¡¯t want to do either, but if they didn¡¯t choose one or the other, they would be stuck here and would eventually join the ranks of the poor victims. ¡°Let me vote for the crowd.¡± ¡°Me too. Humans are still better no matter what.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be your witness if anything happens.¡± Ivy¡¯s words were about the two people that Gula had already taken care of, and the people that they would probably have to take care of in order to escape the city. After all, although they were infected with parasites and deprived of freedom of action and will, they were not criminals or monsters, but mere ordinary people. It was possible to say that they were just dealing with an attack, but it was not a pleasant feeling, and the aftermath was worrisome. Ivy said those words having anticipated all this, and having the Adventurers¡¯ Guild vouch for them wouldn¡¯t be so bad. It lightened Loren¡¯s heart somewhat. ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± With a single, motivated shout, Loren stepped onto the stairs leading to the aboveground. From above them, countless figures were descending the stairs with rather unsteady gait, and some of those in the front suddenly seemed to lose all their strength and tumbled down even though Loren and his companions had not yet done anything. Loren, who was leading the group, immediately kicked them away, but they did not get up from their feet or move at all, and their limbs were flung around limply. [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll help too.¡¯] From what he heard from Shayna in his mind, Loren understood that this was apparently the result of Shayna using a strong Energy Drain to suck out the lives of the infected. Even if she could not kill only the parasites, it was possible for Shayna to kill both the host and the parasite at once, and she had an advantage similar to Gula using her power in that she could make the person die without touching them. ¡°We should avoid touching the fallen ones as much as possible. You never know where they are going to come from. The blood and body fluids are most troublesome, I think. Be careful not to get it in your mouth.¡± ¡°Easier said than done.¡± The number of people on the stairs had been somewhat reduced by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. However, since the reduced number of people was quickly replaced by those from aboveground, it did not feel like the overall number of people had decreased. It was not hard to understand why Lapis had said that, but it seemed to Loren that it would be extremely difficult to break through the wall of people blocking his way while doing that. ¡°As long as the medicine I gave you is working, it won¡¯t be a problem if some of them get into your body. But if the main body of the insect is injected into the body, that would be a problem.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to imagine that¡­¡± Loren swung his greatsword as he answered. If he swung the sword with the blade up, it would cut his opponents in two and splattered flesh and blood, so he inevitably used the flat of the sword to push them away. Even so, with each swing, Loren¡¯s arm strength swept one off the stairs and onto the floor of the ruins. Together with Gula¡¯s authority and Shena¡¯s Energy Drain, Loren and his team were somehow able to make it to a state where they could climb the stairs, albeit slowly. [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ll give you power! Burn them down!¡¯] At the same time as this thought was conveyed to Loren, the life force and magic power that Shayna had taken with her Energy Drain began to flow into his body. Thinking that it would be difficult to adjust the blast, Loren said the words that were needed as he pictured in his mind the image of pouring the power, which was about to overflow, into the greatsword he held in his hand. ¡°Burn! Fiamma Ungia!¡± Crimson flames erupted from the blade of the sword, which was held at the ready and thrust forward. It filled up the path before their group, engulfed head-on the infected that were trying to grab at them and blasting them to the ground. The infected couldn¡¯t even make a sound. ¡°Loren, you¡¯ve gotten very good at adjusting it.¡± Lapis looked on in admiration as the red flames blew through the air, leaving only a number of charred corpses in their wake. Having cleared away the obstacles on the staircase, Loren and the others ran up the stairs at a quick pace before the infected still on the ground closed in on the staircase again. As they finally reached the top of the stairs, the infected that were gathering were downed by either Gula¡¯s power or Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain, and they leaped out to the surface. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re out!¡± Loren, wielding his greatsword and trying to buy time for Lapis and the others to reach the surface, tried to check on the town while fighting off the advancing infected. But the sight he was greeted with made him so stunned that he almost dropped the greatsword in his hand. Chapter 263: Sealing From Aboveground Chapter 263: Sealing From Aboveground Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Loren? What in the world¡­¡± Lapis, who had noticed Loren¡¯s state and climbed the stairs to check on the city as he did, was speechless when she saw what he had seen. What they saw was not the same city they had been in before entering the sewers. ¡°My goodness¡­ How much things have changed in such a short time.¡± Gula casually said as she shaded her eyes with her hand and watched the city¡¯s buildings burn violently. From between the burning buildings that were spewing billowing black smoke, a young woman, apparently not yet infected, ran out screaming. But just as she was about to step out into the street, a number of hands reached out from the darkness and grabbed her body, dragging her back into the darkness of the alleyway by force. There was also a young man running frantically down the street, probably in the midst of running away from the infected who were chasing him from behind. But just as he looked back to see if he had managed to escape, he was swallowed up by a wave of infected citizens that broke through the entrance of a building nearby. And on the other side of the street, centipedes were swarming in such numbers that they covered the entire ground, pushing down and swallowing citizens, who were probably already infected with parasites and lost their senses. ¡°Isn¡¯t this too chaotic?¡± Loren muttered in a fed-up voice as he knocked down one of the approaching infected with the flat of his greatsword and kicked another to the ground. As far as he could see, the town had been almost completely overrun by centipedes, and the situation had developed to the point where there was nothing that could be done to help it now. ¡°What do we do now?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t even do anything now, can we?¡± In the distance, a building could be seen crumbling down with a rather loud noise. What emerged from the collapsed building was a huge centipede, lifting its long body, which was long enough that one had to look up to see it, and clattering its fangs. Loren, with his mouth falling half-open, wondered what would make it grow several to ten times larger. Behind him, Shayna was using Energy Drain to kill those who tried to approach in place of Loren, who was so stunned that he stopped moving. ¡°The city is almost completely wiped out. There is no way to rescue the victims, and from the looks of it, there are no un-infected people to rescue.¡± Those who were able to escape had probably already fled out of the city. The ones that couldn¡¯t escape, like the woman who was dragged into the darkness earlier, had already been made to join the infected by now. ¡°So we¡¯re the only ones un-infected?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s very likely to be the case.¡± Lapis answered while casually kicking away those who came close to her. Judging from the design of her priest robe, it seemed to Loren that constant kicking was not considered a laudable action for a priest. Compared to the priest robes of other deities, the robes of the God of Knowledge were more nice-looking, but on the other hand, there were many unprotected areas. The skirt is the best example of this, but since Loren somehow understood why Lapis used kicking that much, he couldn¡¯t ask her to stop. It was because unlike her legs, which were prosthetics, her arms were now made of real flesh. Lapis was being cautious to avoid touching the infected in the flesh as much as possible, just in case. ¡°This is getting out of hand.¡± Loren shouted as he drove away the infected, whose numbers did not decrease no matter how many times he did, and Lapis and Ivy began to discuss something. In the meantime, Loren and Gula were in charge of intercepting the attackers to keep them away from those two. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this rusty iron taste for eternity¡­¡± Gula also did not want to touch the infected directly because of their creepiness, and she continued to intercept them mainly by using her power to devour them. Although she also sometimes used magic to burn them down, the number of attackers did not seem to be decreasing, perhaps because their group were the only ones who continued to resist in this Suest city. Even so, if they stopped resisting, they would be joining them, and both Loren and Gula were determined not to let that happen. ¡°Loren, what if that big centipede from earlier comes this way?¡± ¡°We have no choice but to run away. There is no way we can deal with such a monster.¡± The giant centipede that they had had a glimpse of earlier seemed to Loren to be as huge as the neck of the Ancient Dragon he had seen in the demon territory, if only in size. He had not the slightest intention of directly crossing swords with such a thing. If possible, he would run, and if not, he would have to put all his strength into his greatsword and create flames to burn it away. But fortunately for Loren and his team, the giant centipede had encamped in the center of the town, and there was no indication that it would move from there. Loren thought that perhaps the largest concentration of prey was in that area, and the centipede had not felt the need to venture into other areas yet. However, once it had consumed all the food in the central area of the town, it would next turn its attention to the infected on the periphery, and if that happened, the giant centipede could make its way to them. Loren was thinking of taking some kind of action before that happened when Lapis, who had been discussing something with Ivy, seemed to have finished and came up to him at a run. ¡°Loren, I¡¯ve discussed this with Ivy, and we¡¯ve come to a decision. Let¡¯s burn this town down.¡± What she had just said was outrageous, but judging from the fact that Ivy, who had been in discussion with her earlier, was nodding her head deeply, it seemed that she was not joking. ¡°The truth is, the situation is out of control even if the army comes. The easiest thing to do would be to break through the siege of the infected and escape, but if we leave this city unattended, the damage could probably spread quite rapidly.¡± ¡°I agree. But how do we burn down a city? And what are we going to tell the Adventurers Guild about this?¡± In the worst case scenario, they could be treated as criminals for being the ones who burned down Suest. And even if they said they would burn it down, Suest was fairly large, and Loren was very concerned about whether they had the firepower at hand to burn the entire thing down. However, Lapis had an answer for Loren. ¡°Put all your power into Fiamma Ungia and generate the greatest amount of flame. If you use it seriously, that greatsword will burn down a city without any difficulty.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ going to kill me?¡± The power consumed is determined by the power used; that was how the magic weapon called Fiamma Ungia worked. If he were as powerful as the Demon King, he might be able to pay the price of burning down a city, but in Loren¡¯s case, he only had enough power to produce a largish flame before exhausting his strength. He could only see himself dying because his lifeforce had drained completely if he were forced to burn the city with his power, but Ivy and Lapis offered a solution to that concern. ¡°We will create a defensive barrier. In the meantime, Loren, please use Energy Drain to siphon off the power of those who attack us.¡± ¡°I will call you when we¡¯re ready, but I want you to thrust your greatsword into the ground, retreat into the defensive barrier, and then use the power of the greatsword. The sword properly has registered you as its owner, so even if you remove your hands from the sword, you are still linked with it, and you can use its power from within the ward.¡± The fact that Lapis and Ivy discussed with each other and came to the conclusion that it would be possible to use the sword in this way suggests that it was probably feasible. But Loren just couldn¡¯t bring himself to accept the fact that his weapon was something that, depending on how it was used, could burn down an entire city. Still, he believed that he had no choice but to do it. Ivy continued, perhaps taking Loren¡¯s silence as a sign of hesitation. ¡°Please leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to me. I¡¯ll make sure to talk to them so that you won¡¯t be inconvenienced.¡± ¡°But you know, even if you burn the aboveground part of the city, the underground will remain, right?¡± The number of centipedes above ground was considerable, but Loren believed that there must still be a good number of centipedes in those sewer canals as well. These centipedes could survive in the underground canals even if the aboveground part of the city was burned down, with the parasites still inside their bodies. If that is the case, then even if they burned down the city now, it would not have much meaning. Ivy answered Loren¡¯s question. ¡°Gula and I will seal off the underground, along with that ruin.¡± Ivy believed that also exterminating the centipedes in the sewers right now would be impossible. If that was the case, she believed it was best to ignore the problem to some extent and seal the canals along with the ruin. The seal would only prevent people from entering and leaving, and could be released or resealed at will by Ivy or Gula themselves. Lapis and Ivy¡¯s proposal was to leave the ruin alone until it had replenished sufficient chemicals and materials. ¡°And then we¡¯ll make the Dark Elf and her master take the blame for the whole mess. What do you think?¡± ¡°Somehow¡­ Is it my imagination or does it sound like we¡¯re the bad guys?¡± In order to save their own lives and prevent further damage to the surrounding area, they burned down the city, including the victims who were infected by the parasites, and then blamed another party for their crime. That other party was indeed the source of all this, and although he felt almost no guilt, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from wondering if this was the right thing to do. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little late for that? This party is made up of one demon and two Evil Gods, after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only a temporary member of the party. I¡¯ll be back to being a Guild employee when this is over.¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s the plan. What do you think, Loren?¡± Loren was at a loss for an answer when asked by Gula. However, he knew that he had little time to hesitate, so he answered in a hushed voice while roughly ruffling his hair with his left hand. ¡°If that¡¯s the only way, then let¡¯s do it.¡± ¡®We¡¯ll get to work right away. Loren, please gather your strength.¡± Lapis and Ivy immediately split up and began to draw some sort of magic formation on the ground with chalk. Gula took up the responsibility of protecting the two of them, and Loren, left alone, exhaled deeply as he looked out at the approaching crowd of infected citizens. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Shayna. I¡¯m going to need your help.¡± [¡®Don¡¯t worry, onii-san. I¡¯m going to drain them dry!¡¯] Loren could sense the excitement from Shayna¡¯s thoughts, as if she was glad to be able to actively help him. He readied his greatsword, wondering how she could sound so excited when she was about to do such a deadly task. ¡°Well then¡­ I¡¯m counting on you!¡± [¡®I¡¯m going to go all out! Commencing Energy Drain!¡¯] At the same time as the declaration, the body of the nearest infected from Loren¡¯s position dried up in an instant then fell to the ground with a dry sound. Before the fall could be completed, the next target¡¯s life was already sucked out of their body by the Energy Drain, and like the first one, the dried up body collapsed to the ground. In the meantime, Loren, wielding his greatsword, began to fight off the infected citizens that were approaching their group. Chapter 264: From Conclusion To Sleep Chapter 264: From Conclusion To Sleep Proofreader: Xemul ¡°And thus, Loren the Swordsman, with the beautiful Priestess in his arms and the two Evil Gods in tow, crushed the enemies that came at them like raging waves and conquered the city of Suest, which had been struck by calamity!¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Are the trials and tribulations that stand before him a curse? Blessed be the God of Knowledge upon him!¡± ¡°God¡¯s blessing is the last thing I need¡­ Listen to people, will you? But well, if you don¡¯t want to listen then it can¡¯t be helped. Hey, Gula, give me that jug over there.¡± ¡°Wait a minute¡­ There¡¯s not much in it, is there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m going to throw it at her head anyway.¡± After lightly shaking the ceramic jug to check its contents, Gula offered it to Loren, who had half-raised himself from the bed with a blank expression on his face. Accepting the jug, Loren shook it lightly himself, and after confirming that there was not much in it as Gula said, he slowly raised it up. Perhaps noticing that Loren was serious, Lapis, who was standing by the window of the hospital room looking out and humming the lines of a local minstrel, hurriedly turned around and thrust her hands forward, stopping Loren as he got into a throwing stance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my bad, but please don¡¯t do that to my face.¡± ¡°Then keep looking out. You¡¯ll get hit in the back of the head that way.¡± ¡°Please forgive me, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Seeing that Lapis had begun to bow her head, Loren finally lowered the jug he was swinging and handed it back to Gula, who deftly held out her hand to accept it. Lapis¡¯ cheeks puffed out in slight dissatisfaction as she lifted her head and watched Gula returning the jug to its original position. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we had a heroic tale or two starring you, Loren. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous. And the story is all wrong. Who do you think they are talking about, this beautiful priestess girl?¡± ¡°Me, of course?¡± Looking straight back at Loren, who was glaring at her, Lapis said this without doubt or hesitation. With her being so unequivocally sure, Loren found no room for rebuttal. ¡°You say it¡¯s wrong, but don¡¯t you think you did a good job this time?¡± ¡°Are you joking? I didn¡¯t do anything to be praised like that.¡± Loren muttered as if he was spitting the words out. Lying back down on the bed, he thought back to the events leading up to the current situation. It was just how a job usually was, Loren thought. The number of opponents was indeed staggering, but there was no real fight; they were just a crowd of people rushing in and grabbing. If Loren had been told to deal with them without killing them, he would have had a very hard time, but he knew that even if he didn¡¯t do it, sooner or later they would die by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. Knowing that they would die anyway, he had swung his greatsword with no constraint. Against the blade that consisted of Loren¡¯s strength and skill and the power of the greatsword itself, those who had been infected by the parasites and deprived of their freewill were no more than a slightly thick wall of flesh. This allowed Loren to devote himself to the task of clearing away the swarms of people who were pouring in until Lapis and Ivy were ready, while Shayna exercised her Energy Drains in between. Feeling the power being snatched away and channeled into him continued to increase, Loren waited for the girls to finish their preparations. The moment Lapis told him that it was time, he thrust the blade of his bloodstained greatsword into the ground and jumped into the protective barrier that Lapis had deployed while pouring all the power that had accumulated inside him into the sword. He felt his strength being drained from his body at a furious pace, and his consciousness was fading away with it. As he tried to watch what was about to happen, his entire field of vision was dyed red, and he thought he heard a tremendous sound. That was Loren¡¯s last memory. Loren did not experience what happened after that, but according to Lapis, the flames of the Fiamma Unguia he had released while being unconscious had a strength that surpassed that of the protective barrier. It fully engulfed Suest in an instant, destroying the entire ground level of the city and nearly burned their party to death in the process. With flames raging in such a wide area, the fire was expected to spread to the surrounding grasslands and forests, yet it did not spread at all. Perhaps the heat was so instantaneous and unimaginably high that any affected materials were either immediately turned into ashes and blown away by the wind, or skipped the melting process and turned into some kind of gas, which was also blown away by the wind and scattered. And thus, the town called Suest disappeared from the map. All that remained were remnants of things that had been burned and melted into glass; there were no traces of its inhabitants or anything else. After making sure of this, their party got on their wagon, which had stayed intact being protected by the same barrier. After checking the luggage and horses for parasitic effects, they headed for that blue desert where Lapis¡¯ base was located. After entering Lapis¡¯ base, the group used the equipment there to check themselves for parasites, and after concluding that everyone was fine, they returned to Kapha. After returning to Kapha, Loren, who had never regained consciousness, was taken directly to the hospital and admitted. This was the part Loren didn¡¯t want to think of. After losing consciousness in Suest, he was nursed by Lapis, Gula, and Ivy for several days before returning to Kapha without ever waking up. When he started thinking about all the things that had happened during that time, he couldn¡¯t stop tearing his hair out and wanting to hang himself. ¡°We¡¯ve seen and done a lot of things. You don¡¯t need to worry about it. You know how Ivy and I are, and Lapis-chan was¡­ rather happy?¡± That was what Gula had said to Loren the first time he thought of this after regaining consciousness, when he was lying in agony in bed and wanting to die. Her words had stopped him mentally and put him in a stupor for a day or so, but that was all in the past now. ¡°Ivy is always at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild these days. I hear she¡¯s really busy with reports and paperwork.¡± After managing to regain himself by putting certain topics to rest or to oblivion by choosing not to think about them, Loren¡¯s next concern was the cleanup. After all, a town had disappeared; it would be strange if it did not become a big deal. When Loren asked about this, Gula replied that Ivy was handling the situation at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Loren wondered how much trust could be placed in the testimony and reports of Ivy, who was merely an employee of the Guild, but he was unable to obtain any further information. Gula, however, said that the testimonies of an Adventurers¡¯ Guild official were quite credible, and that their authenticity was guaranteed in some way, but she did not know how. ¡°It¡¯s not hard to cheat if you know how. From that point of view, I don¡¯t think there is any way that any information that would be detrimental to us could be leaked through Ivy.¡± Ivy herself was originally an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild under a false identity. It was Gula¡¯s opinion that she would not make any underhanded move to leak information that would be detrimental to herself at this point. ¡°What information does she have that can be used against us?¡± ¡°The true identity of you, Gula, and Ivy. And I¡¯m practically the one who burned down the town.¡± Loren sighed; apparently Lapis did not categorize this information as something that could be used against them if it became known. But still, as Loren laid on his bed, he hoped that Ivy was successful. If she had done well this time, it would have resulted in a certain amount of damage to Magna and Noel, and it would have been safe to say that they had gotten their revenge. With intel on their appearance and names, those two should be relegated to wanted men of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. If they were to attract the interest of adventurers of a higher class than Loren and his party, perhaps they could be exterminated for that alone. ¡®However¡­¡± Loren¡¯s expression grew bitter as he thought about it. Their party had always lost the initiative, and had never had a pleasant experience when dealing with the two of them. He wondered if it would be alright to just wait for other adventurers to do something about those two. Even if they were to leave the task of finishing them off to other adventurers, he wondered if they could at least take the lead once and outwit the two. Only then would he feel relief for the first time. Perhaps reading something from Loren¡¯s face, Lapis asked in a somewhat worried voice. ¡°Loren, is there anything wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that, but¡­¡± Loren told Lapis what he was thinking, and Lapis, who listened silently, folded her arms and let out a small groan as soon as he finished. ¡°Making the first move¡­ That¡¯s going to be a little difficult. But¡­ I certainly feel like it¡¯s only after we do that much that we¡¯ll be able to make them regret getting involved with us.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t afford to dwell on it, though.¡± From Mills, a fellow mercenary of Loren¡¯s who had died in Suest, Loren had received information about the commander of the mercenary company to which he used to belong. The commander had been seen in the Justinian Empire in the northern part of the continent, and from Loren¡¯s point of view, this information was much more important than dealing with Magna. ¡°If the commander is really there, I would like to meet him once, even though I have no intention of going back to being a mercenary now.¡± ¡°I see. Hmm¡­¡± Seeing Lapis lost in thought with arms crossed in front of her chest, Loren felt somewhat uneasy. Perhaps sensing his concern, Lapis smiles while unfolding her arms as if to reassure him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look so worried. We¡¯re not doing anything right away, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to do something stupid to the commander, who seems to be your benefactor, at the very least.¡± ¡°Can I trust that?¡± ¡°Please do. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll feel a little sad, won¡¯t I?¡± With that said, Lapis walked closer to the bed and bent down to put her hand on Loren¡¯s forehead. He felt the comfort of the cool touch of the hand, and was once again aware that his body had not fully recovered. Exhausting enough power to burn down an entire city had put a tremendous burden on Loren¡¯s body, no matter how much surplus energy he had received from Energy Drain. Shayna also had not appeared on the surface of Loren¡¯s consciousness as if to demonstrate how exhausted she was. It was clear to Loren that she had not disappeared, but it seemed that she had become so tired that she did not respond when he called out to her. And once again, Loren recognized that the greatsword he was now using was formerly the weapon of a demon king. ¡°You need to take a rest for now, Loren. When you get better, we will have many things to think about. But until then, I¡¯ll take care of anything that seems troublesome, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Loren closed his eyes as he felt Lapis¡¯ hand caressing his forehead as if to reassure him. Although he was concerned about Shayna¡¯s condition, he himself understood well that the damage his body had received could not be taken lightly. Leaving Lapis in charge of troublesome matters inevitably left him somewhat uneasy, but he trusted her enough to know that she would never make a move that could be fatal on her own without consulting him. In that case, he should let his body rest and try to recover from the damages. As Loren began to think about this, he suddenly felt sleepy, and he let himself fall asleep without resisting. Chapter 265: Adapting To Destruction Chapter 265: Adapting To Destruction Proofreader: Xemul Rumors abounded that a certain remote town had been destroyed. Not some village, but a proper town, even though remote. Loren did not even want to think about how many people the rumors would affect, considering the relatives of the town¡¯s sizable population. And since he had a direct hand in the destruction of that town, the feeling was quite strong. Even leaving aside the excuse that he had no other choice, he still did not believe that there was any other way to go about it, and still considered that to be the best course of action. But if the residents of Suest and their relatives pointed fingers at him saying that ¡®You destroyed the city¡¯, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find the words to refute them. However, life in Kapha was so calm and normal that it was hard to believe that there were rumors of such a thing. This was more than a little surprising to Loren. Although not all the details of the situation were known to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it must have been reported to them by a girl named Ivy, who had accompanied him on his previous job as an employee of the guild. There should have been a sense of crisis and tension in the air, but the town was looking to be the same as ever. Loren went to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as always did, and while sipping a cheap drink in the adjoining restaurant, he listened intently to the conversation in the bar. Although some of them mentioned the destruction of Suest, it seemed that many adventurers did not consider this to be a problem. ¡°Did you hear that Suest has been destroyed?¡± ¡°Suest? Where is that?¡± ¡°Some kind of town in the northwest, I think.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about that. Let¡¯s talk about the next job.¡± That¡¯s about all there is to it. If the other adventurers did not know about the information, it was understandable that they did not bring it up. But if it was brought up and they were not interested, Loren found it difficult to understand. ¡°Isn¡¯t that strange?¡± It was not that he wanted other adventurers to be interested in the topic, or that he wanted Kapha to fall into a depression as a result, but the fact that no one had any interest at all made him wonder about the magnitude of the situation. At the very least, tens of thousands of residents must have died, and it would have been a well-known incident due to how terrible it was. Loren tilted his head, having the feeling that there had been another incident with a similar scale of destruction before. [¡®Onii-san, you can¡¯t have forgotten that¡­¡¯] The thought of Shayna, who had not responded to Loren¡¯s attempts to talk to her for a while, perhaps because she had used too much power when she was finishing the final task of their previous commission, echoed in Loren¡¯s mind. He did not think that Shayna, King of Death, the highest-ranked undead, would disappear just because she had used a little too much power, but it was still a relief to be able to hear her voice properly. ¡°Well, Shayna¡¯s hometown was a city-state, too¡­ And when it was destroyed, I think there was¡­ a lot more going on.¡± ¡°Since it happened before, they¡¯ve got used to it, don¡¯t you think?¡± The answer to Loren¡¯s question came from Gula, who was sitting across from him at the table and devouring the large bowl of soup she had ordered. Her spoon had not stopped scooping up soup even once. The soup was just a cheap one made of scraps of meat and vegetables seasoned with a little salt, made to fill one¡¯s stomach, and of poor quality. It filled the bowl, which was as big as a wash basin, to the brim, and Gula was in the process of single-mindedly pouring it down her throat. Loren wished she had something better to eat, but he himself was drinking the cheapest liquor one offered at the diner. It was not very strong, and was not something you could get drunk on with just one glass. ¡°How could one ever get used to it?¡± Gula had received some explanation of the situation when she joined Loren¡¯s party, and of course Lapis had told her how Shayna had gone from being an ordinary girl to being the King of Death. She must have heard about the city-state in which Shayna¡¯s parents served as the chiefs of government, and seemed to know that the girl had a former life. ¡°No matter how big the incident is, if it has nothing to do with you, you may get used to it after hearing about it a few times. That¡¯s how it is, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I wonder.¡± Loren thought that even if it had nothing to do with him, if it was a big incident, he would be interested in it, but Gula¡¯s opinion was different. ¡°Well, whatever the case may be, it¡¯s over now. Ivy will take care of things, and I¡¯m sure nothing bad will happen.¡± In their previous job, they accepted a commission from Ivy, a Guild official, in exchange for certain information. The information was about a ruin in Suest, which was rumored to have been destroyed. In fact, Ivy, who was the Evil God of Envy, one of the Evil Gods that had existed since the time of the Ancient Kingdom, had detailed information about this ruin. But the materials stored in the ruin had been depleted by a swordsman named Magna and his follower the dark elf Noel, both of whom had some history with Loren¡¯s party before. As a result, it was not serviceable right now. Ivy had sealed this ruin, which was located underground within the sewers of Suest, and had promised Loren¡¯s group that she would take charge of it until the materials were replenished over time. The purpose of all this was to create a vessel to house Shayna¡¯s spirit body, which was temporarily residing inside Loren¡¯s spirit body. There still remained the question of Shayna¡¯s thoughts about the matter and how to transplant her spirit body, which was now undead, into a living body, and so on. However, the story was shelved for the moment. In the sewers of the former town of Suest, which are connected to the ruins, were swarms of insects that have grown abnormally due to the leaked chemicals and other substances that Magna¡¯s group have left behind as a result of their actions. This was not a matter that could be dealt with overnight, and Loren thought it was best to leave it out of the picture for now, since it was difficult to even get close to the ruin until such problems were taken care of. ¡°But Loren, it¡¯s annoying to get beaten up all the time, isn¡¯t it? That black swordsman is our mortal enemy.¡± ¡°By ¡®we¡¯, do you mean the Evil Gods?¡± When Loren interjected with an implied warning not to include the party into this business, Gula rested her soup-scooping hand for a moment and looked at Loren reproachfully. The black swordsman, Magna, was apparently related to the Ancient Kingdom, although he didn¡¯t know how he came to be. Moreover, he seemed to know a lot about many things, and there were indications that he knew a lot about the ruins where Gula and the other Evil Gods were created, and the one where Ivy created a new body for herself in order to quit being the Evil Gods of Envy. Loren also noticed that Gula and other Evil Gods seemed to have mixed feelings about those related to the Ancient Kingdom, and that Gula¡¯s feelings seemed close to hatred and resentment. She was one of his friends, more or less, and he was willing to lend a helping hand if she wanted to fight Magna to clear up the resentment she harbored. However, he would like her to not go and make new enemies as a member of the party. ¡°You¡¯re so mean, Loren¡­¡± ¡°Shut up. What¡¯s the point of considering him as an enemy if we don¡¯t have any countermeasures against him? We don¡¯t even know where he is.¡± The possibility of them settling down somewhere was zero. Magna, whether by sheer strength or thanks to the equipment that had enhanced his abilities, was capable of going head-to-head with Loren and even overwhelming him if he were to take him seriously. If such a swordsman, with a dark elf as an attendant, were to stay in one place, it would be impossible not to hear about him. ¡°It would be a different story if they had come at us, but we only encounter them after they¡¯ve done something, and then it¡¯s too late.¡± ¡°Have you heard anything about them? They¡¯re officially wanted by the Guild, right?¡± Magna and Noel were wanted as persons of interest in the destruction of Suest. Ivy had immediately initiated the procedures after returning to Kapha, and as soon as the warrants became effective, they were sent by various means to the Adventurers¡¯ Guilds throughout the continent. According to what Ivy had told Loren, the wanted list was quite severe, and all adventurers, regardless of rank, were eligible to take them. There were bounties for even the smallest information, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild will pay a considerable amount of money for the capture of Magna or Noel. ¡°There may be some information out there. I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the Adventurers¡¯ Guild pays for information. How can they give away information they paid for for free?¡± The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a mutual aid organization for adventurers, not a charity. There was no way they would share the information they had collected with money with adventurers for free. If necessary, adventurers had to pay the Guild to buy the information. And Loren did not have the money in his pocket to buy the information. ¡°Why don¡¯t you beg Lapis-chan for it?¡± ¡°Do you think that¡¯ll work?¡± Loren answered, thinking that Lapis would probably nod if he begged her. However, he also knew that there was a world of difference between thinking about doing something and actually doing it. ¡°I thought about doing that too, but¡­ The amount of debt I owe is just too much.¡± Although he had not received any demands, Loren was a debtor. The creditor was actually Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King. She had paid, on his behalf, the cost to repair the damage of part of the castle of the Great Demon King, who was apparently of an even higher rank than the Demon Kings. Loren had no way of resisting the double attack of the amount of money and the creditor, either which could end his life. ¡°I¡¯m in a position where I could be seized at any moment.¡± If he were to be taken into custody by the Great Demon King, he would not feel very much like living at all. The thought of not being able to return to his daily life made Loren feel as if he did not have time to think about all the commotion over the destruction of Suest. Chapter 266: From Proposal To Resignation Chapter 266: From Proposal To Resignation Proofreader: Xemul ¡°What¡¯s with the gloomy face?¡± Loren looked over to see a girl dressed in a white priest¡¯s robe with a ponytail that was swinging from side to side standing over him and peering into his face. He was slightly taken aback by the fact that he did not notice her approach until she called out to him, but considering the girl¡¯s true identity, it was quite understandable. She was Lapis, Loren¡¯s companion. At first glance, Lapis gave the impression of being a lovely and innocent girl. But in reality, she came from the demon race that lived in a mountainous region in the center of the continent, a race that was hated by the entire continent and boasted physical abilities several times greater than humans. The power hidden in her delicate arms might even surpass Loren¡¯s arm strength, and since her physical abilities were still unknown, it was highly likely that getting behind an excellent swordsman like him without being noticed was no problem for her. ¡°May I ask what¡¯s troubling you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious.¡± After such a preamble, Loren told Lapis the conversation about Magna that he and Gula had had earlier. Of course, he didn¡¯t mention the debt he owed to the Great Demon King. If anything, Lapis stood on the Great Demon King¡¯s side, and if he were to talk about it, it would be impossible to know what she would start plotting. It was not that Loren did not trust Lapis, but he would prefer to avoid having something planned without his knowledge. ¡°Dealing with Magna? That sure is a troublesome thing.¡± After listening to Loren¡¯s story, Lapis naturally took the seat next to him on the left, groaning slightly as she folded her arms and tilted her head. No matter how extraordinary Laps might be in terms of abilities, if she did not know where the other party was, she is unlikely to be able to do anything. Even so, her participation was a welcome change. As Loren began to think about another topic, Lapis unfolded her arms and clapped once as if she had come up with something. ¡°I have a good idea.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear it.¡± Loren unintentionally revealed his true feelings, and Lapis, looking upset, grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him left to right. As if to prove the hidden strength of Lapis¡¯ arms, Loren was easily jolted even though he was physically more imposing than her. Loren was annoyed, and Nig, the obsidian spider that had taken his right shoulder as its home, started to flail about in a panic and raised its two front legs in protest. The spider was apparently startled by the sudden movement of Loren¡¯s body. ¡°What do you mean by that, Loren? I demand an explanation. I demand a satisfactory explanation!¡± ¡°I just slipped¡­ Anyway, just tell me what you¡¯ve come up with.¡± Still being jolted, Loren almost confessed his true feelings once more. He was a little flustered inside, but tried to deflect by asking about a good idea that Lapis had come up with. Loren, who was swayed by the conversation and was about to say something more honest, was a little flustered inside, but tried to deflect the conversation by asking about a good idea that Lapidus had come up with. Regardless of what had happened, seeing that Loren was willing to listen to her now, Lapis released his shoulders, though she still looked a bit put off. She coughed once, then raised her index finger at Loren and Gula, who had started to pay attention to her. ¡°I think it would be very difficult to go after Magna himself. So let¡¯s give up on this once and for all.¡± ¡°Give up?¡± Gula seemed to be displeased, but Lapis did not seem to take offense by this and explained the reason. ¡°I happened to hear that since the Adventurers¡¯ Guild added them to the wanted list, information has been coming in little by little, but the quality is not very good.¡± This was a surprising thing to hear for those who were familiar with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was a continent-wide organization with a considerable number of members, and it had issued an official warrant so that not only Bronze and Iron rank adventurers but also the so-called master adventurers, the Silver and Gold rank, received information about Magna. ¡°I had assumed that once the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had issued the official warrant, we would have very detailed information about Magna¡¯s movements.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± No matter how powerful Magna was, he shouldn¡¯t be able to wipe out all traces of himself. It would only be natural, then, that when Silver and Gold adventurers joined in the search, his tracks would become known. Yet, surprisingly little information about the guy had come forth. ¡°One possible explanation is that Magna has the ability to hide himself from the eyes of even the most sophisticated adventurers.¡± The swordsman named Magna that they had encountered so far had so many magical tools and weapons that Loren wondered where he had gotten them from. It would not be so surprising if among them were tools with the ability to conceal oneself. ¡°The other possibility is that they know where he is, but can¡¯t report him.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Loren asked, not quite sure about the second possibility Lapis had mentioned. ¡°The second possibility is that Magna already has influence at the nobility or royalty level in some other country. The Adventurers Guild is certainly a significant organization, but it is not the kind of organization that would pick a fight with a country. If they were pressured by a national-level entity, they would probably hide information from the public.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a horrifying story.¡± Loren understood that in the extreme, it would be like there was the country of Magna somewhere on this continent. Of course, if Magna¡¯s name and face were made public, it would be immediately obvious. But if there was some place that were performing country-level experiments pulling strings from behind, it wouldn¡¯t be a fun story for Loren, who had a hostile relationship with Magna. If their party were to wander into that place unknowingly, said place would be able to legally consign Loren and his companions to oblivion in the name of the law that applied to the place. Considering what it would mean to chase after such an existence, even Loren¡¯s desire to forcefully pursue Magna had waned. ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to go after Magna himself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m convinced. But then what are you going to do? Wait until we run into them again?¡± Loren was about to let out a sigh, thinking that in the end he would have to be one step behind, but Lapis shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not a sure thing, but I¡¯m saying that rather than making the first move, there may be a way to spoil their start.¡± ¡°If we can do that, it might be worth a try. But how do we do that when we don¡¯t even know what they want?¡± If you knew the objective, you could take the approach of destroying that objective beforehand. However, they had no idea what Magna¡¯s objective was; even if they wanted to destroy it, they did not know what they should destroy. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that Magna¡¯s group is often associated with places and things that have a connection to the Ancient Kingdom?¡± When Lapis put it that way, Loren thought that it certainly sounded right. ¡°If that is the case, I think that if we acquire or destroy all the powerful items and ruins associated with the Ancient Kingdom, it will hinder their group.¡± ¡°I see what you mean. But where do we get information about such things? If that¡¯s what you expect from us, I¡¯m sorry but we can¡¯t help you.¡± It was logical to think that the quickest way to obtain knowledge about the Ancient Kingdom would be from the Evil Gods, who had been alive since the kingdom¡¯s actual prosperity. However, Gula proclaimed that they could not help in this matter. ¡°When we were on the side of the Ancient Kingdom, we were their dogs. Ivy, who has got some information from the time before she became an Evil God like she does about that ruin, is an exception. We generally know very little.¡± Gula said tha by the last days of the Ancient Kingdom, she and her group had rebelled against the kingdom and did play a role in its destruction. But by that time, information about the ruins and powerful magical tools was either hidden or destroyed or abolished with the fall of the kingdom, and there was no useful information available. ¡°We were also in a state of rage at the time. We destroyed anything and everything we saw without really thinking about why. Youthful indiscretion, ya know.¡± ¡°You destroyed the Ancient Kingdom in a moment of youthful indiscretion?¡± Loren felt that it must have been a real nuisance for the destroyed side, but since that side was also the cause of destruction, there was no room for sympathy. Gula was laughing sheepishly with her tongue stuck out, but Loren could not even begin to imagine how much had happened at the end of the Ancient Kingdom, when it was on the verge of extinction. ¡°I don¡¯t have any expectations of you Evil Gods from the very beginning though.¡± Lapis¡¯ words to Gula were a flat denial. Ignoring Gula, who had almost fallen out of her chair due to those words, Lapis turned her full attention to Loren, who was sitting next to her. ¡°In the first place, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust and Greed are all words that don¡¯t have a single good image, don¡¯t you think? How could I possibly think that I could get any useful information from such people?¡± Loren thought there were no words to refute that statement. Rather, he was surprised that they had managed to extract some useful information from those Evil Gods of Sloth, Greed, and Lust. Gula, who had managed to pull herself back onto the chair, was also unable to refute Lapis¡¯ words as she had already told her that they would not be able to obtain any information from her side, and just silently glared at her. As if oblivious to Gula¡¯s gaze, Lapis continued to speak. ¡°Rather than them, I know someone who we can get much more useful information from. That person may be difficult to contact, but it¡¯ll probably be okay.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Loren¡¯s memory did not contain any information about the person Lapis was referring to. He wondered if Lapis had known said person before she met him. Lapis told Loren about her proposal. Gula stared at her with her mouth hanging open as if she could not believe what she was hearing, and Loren let out a small sigh as he realized the trouble that awaited him. Chapter 267: From Qualifications To Restriction Chapter 267: From Qualifications To Restriction Proofreader: Xemul ¡°You know Loren, I¡¯m also in the business, so I¡¯ll respond accordingly, but¡­ I can¡¯t believe my ears when I heard what you said, and I doubt your sanity.¡± It was Ivy who threw such words over the counter. She was looking at Loren with a sales smile plastered on her face and a reluctant look. This girl, who was formerly the Evil God of Envy and whose real name was Envy, had accompanied Loren¡¯s party on a commission they had accepted to the recently rumored-to-have-been-destroyed city. After the job was over, she returned to her original position as an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and was apparently working hard every day accepting commissions. And there was a reason why Loren went to Ivy¡¯s office. ¡°Certainly such requests do exist, yes? I know that you need some money, Loren, I¡¯ve heard from Lapis and Gula. However, I must say that this is a move that I cannot recommend at all.¡± ¡°Actually, I feel the same way.¡± Loren¡¯s answer, which seemed to say that he agreed with Ivy from the bottom of his heart, made the girl look at him as if to ask why. But Loren just shrugged, put his elbows on the counter and leaned his weight on it. ¡°But Lapis¡­ said that we should take what we can get.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really disagree, but¡­¡± After hearing about the person Lapis had suggested they go to for information, Loren had come to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at Lapis¡¯ request to see if they could accept a certain commission. Loren had tried to refuse Lapis¡¯ suggestion, not out of reluctance but out of fear of looking like a fool, but he was told that he was in need of money, and was also persuaded that it would be a shame not to accept the commission, knowing that he would almost certainly succeed, and that it would be a shame not to receive the reward he was supposed to receive. He had subconsciously chosen Ivy¡¯s desk because he thought it would be better for his mental health to talk to her, who knew the situation to some extent, rather than to be looked at like a fool by a receptionist whom he knew nothing about. ¡°As you probably know, Loren, there are two types of commissions that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild handles: unlimited and unlimited.¡± Ivy pulled out a thick bundle of papers from under the counter. They were stacked in a rather haphazard manner and tied together with string, and appeared to be copies of the commission forms posted on the bulletin board on the Adventurers¡¯ Guild floor. She began flipping through them in a manner that looked quite careless from the outside, and eventually found the one she was looking for. ¡°This is it, isn¡¯t it? A commission to investigate the dragons that live in Mt. Fire Flute.¡± The mountain called Fire Flute was a rather large volcano located about a day¡¯s ride south of Kapha. Although it was a volcano, it was not the type of active ones that emitted plumes of smoke and red flames, but the type of gentle ones that had never erupted for several hundred years according to records. The name ¡®Fire Flute¡¯ was a name that was used throughout the continent, but was simply a term used by elderly people in the villages and towns around the volcano; it was in fact one of countless unnamed mountains on the continent. Rumors of dragons living in such a mountain had been passed down from generation to generation since long ago, but few people had actually seen the dragons. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild had placed a commission for someone to go there and check in case there really were dragons in the mountain. The reason why Loren¡¯s party was going to explore such a place was that they had previously met an Ancient Dragon named Emery in the demon realm. At that time, they had received information about the Ancient Kingdom and the Ancient Dragon living in the human realm, and Lapis suggested that they ask that Ancient Dragon for information about the powerful tools and ruins created in the Ancient Kingdom. Lapis did have some idea about where other beings that had existed since the time of the Ancient Kingdom were, but she believed that the Ancient Dragons, with their knowledge of the Ancient Kingdom and their habit of collecting treasure in their nest, would be the best source to obtain information about what Magna might be after. And from the information they got from Emery, the dwelling of the other Ancient Dragon was Mt. Fire Flute. ¡°It¡¯s almost a commission in name only. It¡¯s simple work, just performing a safety check, and one or two parties will take it on every year to make a few pennies.¡± It was a very boring story, but what Ivy was having difficulty with was the restrictions on accepting the commission. ¡°This commission is only available to adventurers of silver rank or above, since the hypothetical enemy is a dragon. Considering the possibility of an emergency, this is a job that we can¡¯t give to adventurers of the iron level.¡± ¡°But there have been no reports of dragons in the area, right? Then why don¡¯t you lower the restriction?¡± One of the reasons why there were only one or two parties that took on this commission a year must surely be the fact that only silver rank adventurers were allowed to take it. Silver rank adventurers were high rank adventurers, and their number was very limited. There was no way that they would accept a commission to search for a dragon which they may or may not encounter. If that was the case, Loren¡¯s argument was that if the eligibility criteria for the commission was lowered so that even iron adventurers could take it, the number of exploration would increase, but Ivy shook her head with a serious face. ¡°There are no reported encounters, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°That means there simply have been no reports of dragon encounters. The truth is, there are a lot of people who haven¡¯t returned yet.¡± Those who did not return alive naturally could not report their findings to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Even if they had encountered something, they would not be able to pass on the information. What concerned Loren here was that Ivy had just said that there were quite a few people who took on this commission and hadn¡¯t returned, a commission that could only be taken by silver rank adventurers and above. ¡°There have been twenty silver rank parties that have taken this commission in the past ten years, and eight of them have not returned. That¡¯s a 40% unreturned rate for silver rank parties. You can see how dangerous this commission is, can¡¯t you?¡± Although there were only a few parties who had accepted the commission, it was quite dangerous that 40% of them had not returned. Of course, whether or not all of them had not been able to return after encountering a dragon was beyond Loren¡¯s guess, but it did not seem so far-fetched to him to think that there might be something living in that Mt. Fire Flute that could at least make it impossible to make silver rank parties unable to return. ¡°This is the kind of commission that could result in the loss of numerous lives if it were to go awry. It¡¯s not something you can just drop the restriction on and ask anyone to do it.¡± ¡°You mean to say that based on your experience working with us?¡± Somehow feeling like he was being told that he was not good enough, Loren¡¯s gaze turned a little stern. Meeting his gaze squarely, Ivy leaned slightly forward over the counter and whispered. ¡°Please complete an adequate number of commissions, contribute to the Guild, and promptly take the test to advance to silver rank. How long do you plan to stay in the iron rank?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve just become iron rank adventurers recently.¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of a bad joke. Even if you had a mock battle against a party of silver rank adventurers, you would still be able to neutralize them with no problem, right?¡± If it was a question of whether or not they could do it, Loren guessed they could. At the very least, with Lapis¡¯ and Gula¡¯s strength, it should be possible to defeat even silver adventurers. However, he could not say that they would take the promotion test too casually, since there was a possibility that they would get involved in some unpleasant incidents and be in the public¡¯s sight, when they did not want to. In the iron rank, they should not attract much attention because they were part of the many adventurers, but if they moved up to the silver rank or above, they may suddenly attract public attention. ¡°The more your name is known, the more trouble you will get into. Mercenaries with a nickname do have influence, but they are always being pursued by people who look for fame.¡± ¡°Did you have experiences with that?¡± ¡°Of course not. I was just a regular mercenary, and was not that famous.¡± Ivy looked at him with a puzzled expression, then pulled out a piece of paper from under the counter, looked at it, and compared it with Loren¡¯s face in front of her. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Well, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is an organization that appears to have a laissez-faire attitude toward adventurers, but actually does quite a bit of research on them.¡± Ivy said to Loren in a hushed voice. Although it was not something that can be discussed openly, Ivy told him that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild used its enormous organizational power to gather information on adventurers that had caught its eyes, if not all of the adventurers who belonged to it. ¡°The original purpose is to drive criminals out of the organization.¡± ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but so what?¡± ¡°There is a report on you, Loren.¡± This was not something that should have been divulged to him. It was not a nice feeling to be told that your past had been investigated, not to mention in the face. Loren wondered if the girl was being too loose-lipped, and actually worried about Ivy before feeling bad for himself. There was no way he would feel good about being told that his past had been investigated, much less tell him that he had investigated you. It¡¯s not a good feeling to be told that your past has been investigated, and it¡¯s not a good feeling to tell that person that you¡¯ve investigated him or her. ¡°According to the report, you were a skilled mercenary who was nicknamed ¡®Beheading Wind¡¯ on the battlefield.¡± ¡°That is a misunderstanding. First of all, the mercenary with that name was so skilled that he changed the course of the war just by taking part in it, right? I don¡¯t know about now, but when I was a mercenary, it was impossible for me to do that.¡± If he asked himself whether he alone had the power to change the course of the war now, he felt that he did, although it would depend on the scale of the war. But even so, he didn¡¯t think that he could be the one called ¡®Beheading Wind¡¯. ¡°There are some descriptions about the wars in which you participated.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything I did in those wars.¡± For Loren, who had spent all his time fighting from place to place, what happened in each battle was just a matter to forget, and with each new battle, he forgot the oldest one he had fought. And since the location and timing of the battles were decided by the mercenary company¡¯s leaders and executives, even the information about where the battles were fought were only vague memories in Loren¡¯s mind. It was also proof of just how many battlefields he had fought on, but now that he was making a living as an adventurer, he thought it was all meaningless. ¡°I don¡¯t care about those things. Can¡¯t we just take the commission somehow?¡± Loren again asked Ivy, who had rolled up the piece of paper that was supposed to be a report and tucked it under the counter. She looked to be in thoughts for a moment before answering. ¡°Not that you can¡¯t, but¡­¡± ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡± Loren thought that if the method did not seem executable, he would just give up on this commission once and for all. Taking this commission was not their main purpose anyway, and if it was not possible to accept it according to the rules, there was no need to force it. If he cannot accept the request according to the rules, there is no need to break the rules by force. ¡°You can either ask to be added to the silver rank party that takes this commission, or you can add a silver rank adventurer to your party and have that person serve as the party leader, even temporarily. Then you can receive the commission.¡± At the mention of a silver rank party, Loren¡¯s mind briefly flashed back to a party of silver rank adventurers he had met in the past. However, they are considering taking this commission purely for their own reasons, and he didn¡¯t want to cause troubles for anyone else by dragging them into this. Then the question became whether there were any silver class adventurers willing to join Loren¡¯s party, even temporarily, but there was no way he could know that. ¡°I think it would be best to have Loren move up to the silver rank.¡± Ivy¡¯s argument was that if Loren himself became a silver rank adventurer, he would be able to accept the request without having to go out of his way to find another silver rank adventurer. Wondering which method would be best, Loren decided that he would need to take this information back to Lapis and Gula and discuss it with them. Chapter 268: From Reporting To Boasting About Love Chapter 268: From Reporting To Boasting About Love Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Collaboration with a silver rank adventurer?¡± After ending his conversation with Ivy, Loren returned to Lapis and Gula, who were in the adjacent dining hall, and explained the condition to accept the commission as Ivy had told him about. And after hearing him out, Lapis let out such a comment with a raised eyebrow. Perhaps Lapis had in mind the name of a silver rank adventurer they had known in the past, like Loren, but she did not mention the name as he was uncomfortable with the idea of having someone accompany them on a job that had a 40% non-return rate. ¡°Should we take the promotion test, Loren?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not.¡± Loren answered immediately, and Lapis looked a little dissatisfied but did not say anything more, as if she did not want to force the issue. ¡°We don¡¯t have to take that commission, do we?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a shame to not take what you can, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis once again objected. However, if one thought about it calmly, even if they could take the commission to investigate Mt. Fire Flute, it would require the collaboration of a silver rank adventurer, and that would not be free; they would have to take into consideration the rather hefty sum they would need to pay too. Of course, having a commission would be better than nothing at all, but considering the time and effort it would take to be able to accept it, it would be less troublesome if they just worked on their own. ¡°But it can¡¯t be helped, can it¡­? I thought we would be able to make some easy money at last.¡± Lapis looked extremely disappointed, but Loren did not understand what she was saying. This commission was a dangerous one with a 40% non-return rate, but she was saying that it was a way to make easy money. Someone with a normal thought process would never utter such words about such a commission. Loren was about to ask if there was a reason for her remark, but before he could open his mouth, someone sat down at the table they were sitting without asking. ¡°A job to make easy money? Tell me more.¡± Emotionless blue eyes, long blond hair so smooth that it seemed to be made from gold with the utmost precision and skill, ears so sharply pointed that they looked like blades of daggers, clothes that were easy to move in, and the bow on her back; everything about her screamed a hunter in the forests. Her appearance was so abrupt that Loren was unable to utter the girl¡¯s name for a moment, but Lapis, who was sitting next to him, immediately spoke the name as she looked at the girl¡¯s chest rather than at her face. ¡°It¡¯s Nim, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Lapis, where are you looking? Depending on the situation¡­ I can be ruthless in battles.¡± The coldness in her voice sent a shiver down Loren¡¯s spine, even though the words were not directed at him. But Lapis, to whom those words were directed, immediately turned her gaze to Nim¡¯s expressionless face and smiled softly. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Nim. No change at all.¡± ¡°Elves live longer¡­ and our changes can¡¯t be seen by humans.¡± Loren retorted in his mind that Lapis was not human, but of course he couldn¡¯t say such a thing out loud and so just kept silent. As if being beaten by Lapis, whose smile did not falter no matter how much she was glared at, Nim let out a sigh and turned to Loren. ¡°Let¡¯s change the topic. I heard that there is an easy way to make money, and I¡¯d like to be a part of it.¡± However, Loren had no idea why Lapis evaluated this commission as such. Nim was an elf hunter and a registered adventurer, and moreover, her rank was silver. In other words, considering their current circumstances, she was a godsend, but there was no way he could explain to others what he didn¡¯t understand. So Loren lightly elbowed Lapis, whose face still wore an unnatural smile. ¡°It is relatively easy, but I¡¯m not talking about something you can do while humming. Would you like to hear about it, Nim?¡± ¡°I do. Actually, I need money.¡± Loren¡¯s eyes widened a fraction with Nim¡¯s words. The elves, who basically lived in the forest and were said to live off the bounty of the forest, had little value for money. The same was true for elves who had come to human villages; although their way of thinking may change somewhat, there were very few elves who voluntarily strive to earn money. ¡®Very few¡¯ meant such elves did exist, but they had some reason to do so and often had no choice in the matter. ¡°What happened?¡± Nim gently extended her hands and slowly stroked the head of Loren, who was more concerned about her, an elf, possibly being trapped in a situation where she needed money than about the commission or money. ¡°Loren is a good child. Now you¡¯re worried about me.¡± ¡°Loren has always been a good person. He¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a thing¡­¡± Loren protested in a not-very-serious manner as Nim petted him. But Lapis, either pretended not to hear him or really didn¡¯t hear him, turned serious again and spoke to Nim, who removed her hand from Loren¡¯s head, perhaps satisfied that she had petted him enough. ¡°I¡¯m happy to tell you about it, but just as Loren is concerned about your need for money, I¡¯m curious.¡± Although they had met Nim and her companions several times, none of them seemed to be in need of money as far as Lapis could see. It had been a while since the last time they had met, so she thought that something might have happened in the meantime. But no matter how she tried to imagine it, none of the members of Nim¡¯s party, as she knew them, seemed the type to suddenly be in desperate need of money. Even Chuck, the rogue who seemed to be the most careless, didn¡¯t seem to be a man who didn¡¯t know the limits of what was possible. ¡°Lapis is also worried about me. Thank you, but there¡¯s nothing to be worried about.¡± A party might need money suddenly if, for example, they had failed in a commission and had to pay a large amount of compensation or penalties as a result, or they had made an expensive purchase that has caused them to lose their cash flow. None of these scenarios could be considered good, so it was natural to be concerned about Nim¡¯s statement that she needed money. However, neither Loren nor Lapis felt any lies in Nim¡¯s words, which were said with a smile. ¡°Actually¡­ Chuck finally fell.¡± If they were truly in trouble, silver rank adventurers would hesitate to complain to iron rank adventurers about their plight. However, as Loren and Lapis seemed to imply that they would not allow the conversation to proceed unless they were told about the situation, Nim seemed to have given up on the idea of remaining silent. She bashfully clasped the hands she had placed on the table together, and after looking down and saying nothing for a while, she somehow managed to squeeze out those few words. ¡°Pardon?¡± Afraid that she had misheard, Lapis had to ask Nim again. The way Lapis asked back was a little sharp, and Nim involuntarily shrank back. But when she saw that Lapis was not angry in any way, she began to explain the situation in a whisper while still hanging her head. According to her explanation, Chuck and her, who had been showing signs that they were quite close for quite a while, had managed to get married within the party. Hearing this, Loren and Lapis congratulated the couple, but the story did not end there. The next part of it was the reason why Nim approached them. ¡°In my clan, the man and woman who are to be married must give each other a gift.¡± Nim explained that although there was only one tribe of elves, there were many different clans within that tribe, and each clan had its own customs and traditions that it continued to observe. And among those customs, the clan to which Nim belonged had such a rule. It was not like Nim and Chuck didn¡¯t have any savings, but since it was a one¨Cin-a-lifetime event, they wanted to put real effort into the gifts. However, Nim was a little short of money to purchase her gift, which was the reason why she needed money so urgently. ¡°What the hell are you going to buy? Is it that expensive?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. It¡¯s a secret between husband and wife. The first shared secret.¡± Seeing Nim blushed to the tips of her ears while still looking down at the table, Loren thought that it would be too much to ask for more information and kept his mouth shut. Lapis seemed to have the same thought, and while she frowned a little at Nim¡¯s talk, which could be considered boasting about her lovelife, she didn¡¯t seem inclined to say anything unnecessary. ¡°That¡¯s why I need money. As soon as possible.¡± ¡°Why are you alone? Chuck should need money too, right?¡± Loren looked around, but there was no sign of Chuck or any of Nim¡¯s party members. He thought that it would be more efficient to work together if they both needed to earn some money, but Nim explained to them that since they were keeping the gifts a secret, they couldn¡¯t be together when earning money or purchasing gifts. Both were currently acting alone. ¡°Ritz is probably helping Chuck.¡± There were only four members in the couple¡¯s party. If the leader of the group, the warrior Ritz, was helping Chuck, then the magician named Koltz was the only one Nim could turn to. But Koltz was a bit too old to accompany a hunter like her; it would be extremely regrettable if she forced him to accompany her and he got hurt. Thinking that she wouldn¡¯t manage by herself, Nim remembered Loren¡¯s party, whom she had met before, and went to them for help. That was when she overheard Lapis talking about the commission. ¡°I think I am good enough to not cause you trouble.¡± Nim said. Loren¡¯s impression was that Nim was indeed capable by normal standards, but considering the true identity of Gula and Lapis, he must say that she was somewhat inferior to them. Still, not knowing the difficulty level of this job, Loren decided to leave the decision of whether or not to take Nim to Lapis. ¡°Though I did say that it would be fairly easy, I can¡¯t guarantee your safety. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°No problem to me. That is the nature of an adventurer¡¯s commission¡± ¡°The rewards will be equally splitted into four. Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. But I would like something extra.¡± It was a request that could be considered as brazen, but Loren thought it was a reasonable one, since Nim was originally a silver rank adventurer, one rank higher than them. And without her, they would not be able to accept this commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Lapis seemed to feel the same way. She nodded without any complaints about Nim¡¯s term, then offered her hand to the elf as if to say ¡®Please take care of us¡¯. In return, Nim took the offered hand as if to reply ¡®Please take care of me, too.¡¯ Chapter 269: From Accepting The Commission To Departing Chapter 269: From Accepting The Commission To Departing Proofreader: Xemul To strike while the iron was still hot, the group went to Ivy immediately after they had secured the participation of Nim, a silver rank adventurer, and went through the procedures for accepting the commission to explore the area around Mt. Fire Flute. Ivy did not think there would be any problem with their party accepting the commission as long as they met the conditions set forth by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and she registered Nim as the party leader. ¡°I¡¯m the leader?¡± ¡°Please understand that this is a necessary step in the process.¡± Lapis quickly gave a short explanation of the situation to Nim, who sounded puzzled as she pointed to herself. She was collaborating with their party to receive a share of the rewards in return, so suddenly being assigned the role of party leader, something she had not expected, was probably perplexing to her. However, after listening to Lapis¡¯ explanation, she patted her chest as if she felt a little relieved. The main contents of the commission request were to explore the area around Mt. Fire Flute and to confirm the existence of a dragon that was said to live in the mountain. There had been no reports of encounters with dragons in the past, so if they did not find any, they could simply report so. ¡°Are there really dragons?¡± Loren questioned as they prepared to leave. The 40% non-returning rate meant that exploring parties were wiped out at a fairly high rate, but another way to look at it is that as many as 60% of the parties returned without encountering any dragons. If the only reason for non-returning was encountering a dragon, then the rate of dragon encounters could be considered fairly high. However, no one could say for certain that dragon encounters were the cause . Although reports of a dragon living in Mt. Fire Flute might be no more than a legend, and there were no reports of monsters in the area, adventurers who had explored the place had reported that there were other types of monsters living there. If the parties of silver rank adventurers had been wiped out by those monsters or some other accidents that they might encounter on the way to the mountain, the likelihood of dragons being there instantly decreased. ¡°Unless Emery gave us incorrect information, they should certainly be there.¡± Stroking the horse pulling the wagon they had hired to calm it down, Loren shrugged at Lapis¡¯ answer, then tossed the luggage he had packed into the back of the wagon. Nearby, Nim, who was packing up her belongings, was muttering something with a rather complicated look on her face. Listening more closely, Loren found that Nim was muttering something along the lines of regretting her decision to participate in the exploration of Mt. Fire Flute when he heard that it was an easy money-making job. Loren thought it was not unreasonable. At least, if you looked at the numbers, there was no way that a job with a non-returning rate of 40% was an easy money-making job. ¡°Just like Ritz said, ¡®I¡¯ll get married when this job is done¡¯ are words of death. I may never be Chuck¡¯s wife.¡± Hearing Nim said such things in a somewhat hollow voice, the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned down. But there was no guarantee that they would make it out alive, so no words of comfort could come out of his mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it.¡± Despite having such thoughts, Nim hadn¡¯t given up the commission, and as Loren felt grateful for her integrity, he recalled his mercenary days. As Nim said, there was also a jinx among mercenaries that those who said things like ¡®I¡¯ll quit the mercenary¡¯s life and get married in my hometown when this job is over¡¯ were likely to die on the next battlefield. Or at least it was rumored to be so. But if you had lived on the battlefield for a long enough time, the impression you had of those who said such a thing would be somewhat strong in your memory, making it seem as if only those who said such a thing died. In reality, those who died would die no matter what they said or did the day before, and those who did not die survived no matter what they did. ¡°That¡¯s right. In fact, if it is only about dragons, there are items at hand that can help us avoid a battle.¡± ¡°There are such convenient things too?¡± Even though encounters with dragons were rare, if there were tools that could help them avoid a battle with dragons, Loren thought that it surely would not hurt to have one as a talisman. Just as he was thinking about how expensive such a tool might be, Lapis rummaged through her luggage and pulled out a scroll from inside. Curious as to whether it was a tool that would allow them to avoid combat with the dragon, he looked at Lapis¡¯ hand, but the scroll she was holding, for all intents and purposes, appeared to be nothing more than a scroll. He wondered if there was some generally unknown dragon-repelling magic recorded in there, but Lapis¡¯ answer was different. ¡°Actually, this is it. I got this scroll from a certain Ancient Dragon.¡± Nim¡¯s eyes widened at the mention of an Ancient Dragon. It was the type of creature that never seeing one in your whole life would not be surprising for the average adventurers, even silver rank ones. That was why Nim¡¯s reaction was natural. Loren and Gula looked at the scroll Lapis had brought out without any particular surprise. The Ancient Dragon Lapis had mentioned was probably the one who lived in the demon realm, Emery, whom they had met before on a different job. The scroll was probably the one Emery had pulled out from her pile of treasures to show Lapis information about the Ancient Dragon living in the human realm. But Loren had no idea how it could be used to avoid dragons. ¡°Some kind of valuable scroll?¡± As Nim asked, Loren wondered if there was such a thing as magic to ward off dragons, but Lapis shook her head and explained about the scroll she had taken out. ¡°No. The scroll itself is imbued with an Ancient Dragon¡¯s magic power, so at least we won¡¯t be attacked out of the blue if we have it.¡± It seemed that Emery, who thought Loren¡¯s party might eventually visit her kin living in the human realm, gave Lapis the scroll to use as a talisman. If the Ancient Dragon recognized them as intruders and attacked them, they would be killed in an instant without any chances to defend themselves. However, if the dragon understood that they were acquaintances of the other Ancient Dragons thanks to the nature of the magic of the scroll, the likelihood of them being attacked would be very low. Lapis¡¯ plan was that, once they could establish a conversation with the Ancient Dragon, they would be able to obtain information about the dragons on Mt. Fire Flute with little effort and accomplish the commission without too much trouble. ¡°Does it really work?¡± If things went as well as Lapis thought they would, it might; but if not, they might end up being attacked by dragons. Loren looked at her with doubt, but Lapis answered in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°It was given to me directly by Emery, and she personally endowed it with her magic power, you know. If this doesn¡¯t work, nothing will.¡± ¡°So if we carry that thing, we can meet the dragon on Mt. Fire Flute, then our job will be done, right? Seems like an easy job to me.¡± Even though there was information about monsters living around Mt. Fire Flute, monsters lived everywhere, and living in a certain place wouldn¡¯t make them more dangerous than living elsewhere. The information that Ivy had given me beforehand indicated that the only confirmed monsters were orcs and ogres, which, while not weak, were not particularly powerful. Loren thought they could handle them. He knew that his outlook was rather naive, but the worst case scenario was that they all get killed. ¡°They won¡¯t come out in droves again and make things unmanageable, will they?¡± Gula was somewhat skeptical, but it was hard to imagine that they would encounter a mass outbreak of demons so many times, and Loren did not want to think about it. Even so, it was true that they tended to be chased by a large group of different things, from insects, undead, goblins, to humans. ¡°I don¡¯t even want to think about a horde of orcs.¡± Orcs were very extremely ugly to the human eyes, and stinky. The idea of a large number of orcs descending upon them was something Loren didn¡¯t even want to think about. ¡°If there were such an outbreak, wouldn¡¯t women in every single house in the neighborhood be taken away? And wouldn¡¯t that be a terrible thing?¡± The practice of using women of other races for reproducing was also observed in goblins, but the orcs went even further. Goblins attacked adventurers they happened to encounter or villages they happened to come across and kidnapped the women. Orcs, on the other hand, were in the habit of aggressively attacking female adventurers and underprivileged villages at all hours of the day and taking only women away with them. Because they were so aggressive and habitual in this practice, they were so hated by female adventurers that they were always at the top of the list of monsters that they found repulsive. ¡°Even in the Ancient Kingdom, breeding of orcs was the only thing not allowed. If they had meddled with it, it might have been the reason for their downfall.¡± As soon as the word ¡®orcs¡¯ was mentioned, Gula, with a grin on her face, shared her knowledge. Loren made a horrified face; the idea of a country being destroyed by an orc outbreak sounded bad enough, but it wouldn¡¯t be impossible if the technology to breed orcs were to be established. But neither Loren nor Lapis nor Nim, who was working, took up the topic. ¡°Gula? You know a lot.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, well, I¡¯m a magician, so I had to learn about the Ancient Kingdom, you know.¡± Nim stared at Gula with admiration, and Gula began to stutter some excuses. She might have meant it as a light-hearted remark, but in the presence of Nim, a so-called outsider, it was an imprudent one. Neither Loren nor Lapis offered her a helping hand; they both ignored her glances and continued with the packing work. Gula seemed very flustered by their attitude, which seemed to be telling her to clean up her own mess with a hint of annoyance, but she managed to fool Nim somehow or other. In the meantime, the loading of the cargo was finished, and the group, with Lapis as the driver, Loren sitting next to her, and Gula and Nim sitting in the back, slowly drove down the streets of Kapha toward the south gate. Chapter 270: From Journey To A Ruin Chapter 270: From Journey To A Ruin Proofreader: Xemul Departing from the south gate of Kapha around midday, Loren¡¯s party headed south in the wagon without much of a hurry. Idly watching Lapis steering the horse, Loren spoke to her to confirm something that had just popped into his mind. ¡°Hey, Lapis, between a place that takes two days to reach on foot and a place that takes one day to reach by wagon, the latter is farther, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fine line.¡± Lapis, who had nothing to do except hold the reins and steer the horse, answered Loren¡¯s question while looking forward. ¡°It would be about the same, or maybe the latter is a little bit farther.¡± ¡°So that means we can stop over there, right?¡± ¡°There?¡± Loren¡¯s words came out of nowhere, and Lapis tilted her head. The movement caused a slight diagonal shift in the path of the wagon, but Lapis quickly corrected it and then asked Loren again. ¡°Where do you mean?¡± ¡°Dia¡¯s place.¡± ¡°Ah, you mean the place of that Elder, who only has the head now?¡± There was a loud clang and a light jolt as the wagon shook lightly, and Loren looked back over his shoulder to see Nim toppling and lying on her back. Given the elf¡¯s clothes and her rather majestic tumble, he should have seen something he shouldn¡¯t from his position. But the fact that there was nothing obstructing his line of view and he could see her face properly despite her lying on her back made Loren unconsciously pinched his nose bridge. ¡°Loren, explain your action.¡± ¡°Something got into my eye. And what¡¯s with tumbling so dramatically?¡± Loren replied with an excuse to Nim, who was still lying on her back and only raised her head to glare at him. She rolled to the side from that position and got down on all fours. ¡°Did you just say ¡®Elder¡¯?¡± ¡°I did. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Nim¡¯s face, which carried the characteristic elegance of elves, twitched. As Loren wondered what was so surprising, Lapis elbowed him from the side. When he looked over to see what that was for, Lapis, still holding the reins and looking forward, whispered in a volume that only Loren, who was sitting next to her, could hear. ¡°It¡¯s nothing strange to be surprised. She is an Elder, ELDER. You¡¯re a bit dull so you don¡¯t feel anything, but when people hear that they are going to see an Elder, they normally will react like Nim.¡± ¡°You say so, but¡­¡± Loren was about to say that no one else was surprised, but he closed his mouth when he remembered that the other members of this party, besides himself and Nim, were a demon and an Evil God, and that they were very far from the word ¡®normal¡¯. ¡°Ah, Nim, it¡¯s understandable for you to be worried, but this Elder is our acquaintance and has never attacked us, so you don¡¯t have to worry so much.¡± ¡°That explanation doesn¡¯t reassure me one bit.¡± ¡°I have something I want to ask her, so I thought we should drop by while we¡¯re on the way.¡± The Elder named Dia, whom they had met during a previous job, had told Loren¡¯s party to visit her if they needed anything as she had no intention of changing base for a while. After that, however, they did not visit her again because they did not have any business to, as well as did not go anywhere in the vicinity of her base. In addition to thinking that it might be polite to at least show up if they were going to go nearby anyway, Loren had a small business to attend to with the Elder. ¡°An Elder isn¡¯t the type of being you go to see just for the sake of it.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a bit of a detour, but it¡¯s been a while, and it might be a good opportunity.¡± Nim was giving off an air of ¡®I don¡¯t want to go if I can help it¡¯, but Lapis, as if oblivious to it, drove the wagon on while saying. Although such conversation happened, the trip itself was going very well. If Lapis and Gula let out even just a hint of the aura of a demon or an Evil God, beasts and monsters with a bit of senses would not come close to them. But as long as they were moving along a street used also by ordinary travelers, they could not afford to give off such auras, and both of them were trying to keep their presence as low as possible. Some still noticed, but those who did not were, from the eyes of those who knew what was going on, very reckless in their attempts to attack Lorens¡¯ wagon. But this time, on top of the wagon, was a skilled elf hunter named Nim. She had eyes that could see farther than humans and ears that could pick up even the smallest of sounds. Added her skill as a hunter to the mix, and no single creature could escape from there was no single entity that could escape once targeted within the range of her bow. ¡°She¡¯s very skilled.¡± Loren let out these words in admiration as he watched a group of goblins that were hiding in the sparse bushes along the road and trying to approach their wagon being shot through one after another by Nim¡¯s arrows as if she could see them through the bushes. The goblins probably died without knowing how they had been sent to their deaths until the very last moments. Seeing how their comrades fell, the other goblins became desperate and charged at them, only to be immediately shot down and followed their friends. Under Nim¡¯s attacks, the group of goblins could not get close enough, but also couldn¡¯t escape backward. They continued to fall one by one until all of them ended up as corpses on the plain. ¡°The only part of the body that proves the kill is the ear, right? Do you want me to retrieve them?¡± ¡°No need. It¡¯s not worth anything anyway. It¡¯s a waste of time to collect it.¡± Looking around to make sure there was nothing else moving, Nim put away her bow and took off the quiver hanging at her waist. It seemed like there had been quite a few goblins lurking around; the arrows in the quiver had been reduced in number, but there was still a large inventory of arrows left in their luggage. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we at least collect the arrows?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to use arrows with goblin blood on them because of the smell.¡± If there were only a few arrows left, Nim might consider reusing them; however, as an elf, she had a superior sense of smell compared to humans, and it would be intolerable for her to use arrows that had the scent of goblin blood on them. ¡°It¡¯s a waste. It would be nice to just collect the arrowheads.¡± The body of the arrow and the feathers were not difficult to replenish as they could be found in a small forest, but there was no way to replenish the arrowheads, which were made of metal, once they were lost. ¡°I still have plenty of arrows to spare, and I can still fight even if I run out of arrows.¡± Nim tapped the hilt of the dagger she was wearing. However, her arm strength was somewhat questionable, and the idea of Nim, who was slender, engaging in close combat was a story that left Loren feeling uneasy. He felt like she should continue fighting with her best weapon, the bow, as long as she could. He didn¡¯t know what Chuck would say if they let Nim fight in close combat and got any wounds on her body. ¡°I wonder if there are any arrows at Dia¡¯s place. If there are any, it¡¯ll be nice if she shares some with us.¡± ¡°Since she¡¯s an Elder, I¡¯m sure she can make plenty of arrows in no time. Shall we ask when we see her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even want to understand what you two are talking about¡­¡± It was beyond Nim¡¯s imagination to visit a place where an Elder lived and ask her to replenish arrows. The sight of Loren and Lapis talking about it as if they were making small talk was something she could not understand. When Nim looked at Gula, wondering if the other party member might be having the same thoughts as she was, she saw her nodding off while sitting still as if she had nothing to do with whatever was going on around her. Thinking that this one was also an unbelievable character, Nim shuddered once again. And so, they continued southward along the road. The party spent a night by the roadside, then drove further south at dawn, leaving the road and proceeding to a ruin in a place where no one would go near. The location was just before Mt. Fire Flute. The mountain in the distance must have been the place; neither Loren nor Lapis had paid attention to it the last time they had been here, since they had not gone any further then. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve been here.¡± At first glance, it was hard to believe that anyone would be living in such a place. Of course, that was why it was a ruin. However, Loren and his friends knew that an Elder named Dia resided under the ruin. Neither Loren nor Lapis knew how long the Elder had been there, but they thought she was probably still; not that many years had passed. ¡°An Elder, in a place like this?¡± Nim, who was walking through the ruin after Loren and the others, muttered as she looked around. It was true that the ruin did not appear to be inhabited, but Loren thought as Elders were classified as vampires, a ruin was still more suitable than a human village. ¡°If she hasn¡¯t moved her base, she should be here¡­ Will she come out if I call her¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of an Elder who comes out when you call her.¡± Gula said with a wry smile as she sat down on a pile of rubble nearby. Watching her, Loren casually asked her about something that was bothering him. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I sometimes hear being talked about in the Guild these days. Which is stronger, Evil Gods or Elders?¡± Both had the character ¡®God¡¯ in their titles. From a human point of view, both must be beings beyond imagination, but he was curious to know what they themselves thought about it. Of course he couldn¡¯t let Nim know about Gula¡¯s true identity, so he was only talking to her as if he was asking a knowledgeable magician. Although little information about Evil Gods was disclosed, the fact that such a being was said to exist was reported to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild by Loren and the others when they encountered Sloth and the others, so there was at least talk at a casual level. ¡°That¡¯s a difficult question¡­ If it were a simple contest of strength, the Evil Gods might win.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It is said that Elders were beings brought forth by the world itself, and they just can¡¯t die. You can¡¯t cut off their heads. You can¡¯t crush their heart. Burning them with fire or freezing them with ice does no good at all. Their only weakness is boiling water, that thing in the kitchen¡­¡± ¡°Whose weakness is hot water?¡± At the same time as the voice was heard, Gula¡¯s body flew through the air as if she had been pushed from behind. She crashed to the ground in a rather interesting posture, and another figure flopped onto the pile of rubble on which she had just perched. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Loren and Lapis. And to the elf and that incomprehensible woman, nice to meet you, I guess?¡± It was a girl who looked to be very young, with long, flowing blond hair and a pompous smile on her face. Dressed in a gorgeous dress that did not fit the scene of the ruin at all, she stood precariously on top of the rubble and flipped her long blond hair with a slightly exaggerated motion. ¡°I came out without being called. Short-lived one, long-lived ones, and incomprehensible one: I am the one born from the world, an Elder. For reasons I cannot give you my proper name, but you may call me Dia!¡± The girl, with her chest puffed up, declared so in high spirits. Loren looked at her, then looked at Gula, who had probably been pushed by the girl. The Evil God had been thrown a considerable distance and was upside down as if she had plunged face first into the ground; she fell to the ground like a dead tree as soon as the girl finished saying her name. Praying that Gula, who did not get up, was still alive, Loren turned his attention once again to the girl who was standing on a pile rubble. Chapter 271: Chatting At The Base Chapter 271: Chatting At The Base Proofreader: Xemul ¡°So, Loren, what can I do for you today? It¡¯s been so long, I thought you¡¯d forgotten about me.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the kind of relationship where I visit you all the time though.¡± Loren had no desire at all to live a life where he had to see the face of an Elder, a highest ranking vampire, every day. Being given the cold shoulder by Loren, Dia slammed a metal cup down in front of him rather strongly. After encountering their party in the ruin, Dia had decided that they shouldn¡¯t talk while standing around outside, and had led them to her own base beneath the ruin. Loren wondered who in the world would be visiting a place like this, but the room they were taken to was a drawing room, and Dia was preparing tea for them while they sat on a sofa. The cups were probably made of metal because they would not break or crack even if handled roughly, and the table on which his cup was slammed on also seemed to be made of some kind of metal. ¡°I see that you had some tea leaves ready.¡± Lapis said. Unlike Loren¡¯s, her cup was offered to her without a sound, and she was enjoying the aroma of the steam rising from it. ¡°I sent Master to buy them.¡± Dia answered as if it was nothing. ¡°You still haven¡¯t forgiven her?¡± Dia nodded decisively as if saying ¡®of course not¡¯, and Lapis smiled wryly. There was another Elder who could be called Dia¡¯s guardian-cum-master, and her name was Sierra. She was the one who ultimately pulled the strings behind the scenes in the incident that brought Loren¡¯s party into contact with Dia, and ever since Dia found out about it, Sierra had been letting Dia use her for free to avoid being hated. ¡°How can I, after what she did?¡± Dia said plainly and resolutely, and neither Lapids nor Loren, who were only outsiders, felt like saying anything more. They could only feel worried for Sierra, and hope that Dia would forgive her as soon as possible. ¡°That was that, but let¡¯s get back to my question, shall we?¡± ¡°The reason we¡¯re here? We were in the neighborhood, and thought that we should come for a visit. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Sipping the tea that had been brewed for him, Loren said in a questioning tone. Taking a look at his party members, he saw that Lapis was watching the proceedings with interest, while Gula quickly drained the tea that had been offered to her and demanded a refill, which earned her an offended look from Dia. It seemed that the Evil God was still bitter about being pushed down from the rubble pile, but Dia seemed to be winning in terms of response: despite her annoyance, she still quietly titled the teapot and poured Gula another cup of tea. The efl Nim was the only one who took the offered cup with both hands, held it in front of her chest, and sat still with her eyes downcast without taking a single sip. Loren thought that he would have to leave her alone until things were over, since she apparently did not feel very lively in front of an Elder and, no matter how much Loren told her that it would be okay, did not want to believe him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to convince me though.¡± After finishing pouring a refill into Gula¡¯s cup, Dia lightly shook the teapot and said this to Loren while pouring tea into the cup in front of her. Staring at the reddish liquid filling the cup, she then returned the pot to the table where everyone was sitting at and picked up her cup, inhaling deeply and enjoying the aroma before gently placing her lips on the rim. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you shouldn¡¯t come if you have no business to. Even if that is the case, you, Loren and Lapis, are always welcome, as well as your friends. I am merely suggesting that if you do have some business, why not get it over first and then enjoy the tea?¡± After finishing, Dia took a sip of tea from her cup. Loren blinked at the geriatric-like demeanor of the girl in front of him, but in fact there was nothing strange about the way she acted; after all, even if she looked like a young girl, she was a being who had lived for several hundred years. Dia¡¯s offer to finish their business first if they did have some, then take their time later was very much appreciated by Loren. He was about to open his mouth to say that he would take advantage of the offer when Gula suddenly pressed her hands on her mouth and fell off her chair with her face upturned. Wondering what had happened, Loren braced himself and took a look at her. But when he saw Gula stretched out on the floor with her mouth bright red and swollen as if she had been burned, he turned his gaze to her cup. There was no steam rising from the cup, and when Loren touched his fingertips to the cup itself, the metal, heated by the tea, only transmitted a heat that was not unbearable, and not enough to burn anyone¡¯s lips. He tried to move his fingers toward the tea inside the cup, but before he could get very close, Dia reached across the table and gently stopped him. ¡°You should stop. It¡¯ll be very troublesome if you get burns on the tips of your fingers. After all, it¡¯s extremely hot and painful.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any steam rising¡­¡± ¡°Because I put some oil on top?¡± Dia said nonchalantly. Pulling his own wrist out of Dia¡¯s grip and withdrawing his hand, Loren looked down at Gula, who had stopped twitching as if she had hit the back of her head when she fell down. Apparently, her attitude of rudely demanding a refill had angered the Elder. He didn¡¯t know when she did it, but she must have gulped down the very hot tea, which was covered with a film of oil on the surface to prevent the steam from rising, since she was Gula. And this was the result. If one did not consider the deftness and severity of the attack, it could be called a childish prank. But the only damage was some burns around the mouth because the one who received it was Gula; if it were done to a human, it could have resulted in lifelong injuries. ¡°Don¡¯t do that to me, okay? And the elf over there, too. If I have offended you in any way, I am ready to apologize.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I wasn¡¯t taught to be disrespectful to guests.¡± ¡°Loren, you automatically excluded me just now, didn¡¯t you? You did, didn¡¯t you?!¡± Loren had meant it as a casual remark, but Lapis noticed it. When he saw that she was about to take Gula¡¯s cup in her hand, he hurriedly stopped her. He instantly judged that whatever she was going to do, it would be most dangerous to have it in Lapis¡¯ hand. Lapis, too, had no intention of seriously trying to do anything with Gula¡¯s cup; when Loren wrapped his hand around hers, she pulled back obediently. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you two are still getting along as well as ever.¡± Dia¡¯s throaty laugh was so different from the smile on her face that Lapis turned to Loren as if confused by the gap. Loren withdrew his own hand, and began to talk to Dia about his business. ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like to ask you a few questions. I¡¯d appreciate it if you could answer me.¡± ¡°All right. I promise to answer to the best of my knowledge.¡± After moistening his lips and throat with a sip of tea, he explained the reason why he had decided to come and see Dia. ¡°Do you have any idea about how to make the soul of an undead become human¡¯s again?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Loren asked with a serious expression on his face, and Dia stared intently at him while taking a sip from her cup. Loren did not speak in detail, but Lapis immediately understood that it must be for Shayna, the King of Death resided inside him. In their previous job, Loren¡¯s team had obtained information about a place where they could make a vessel to turn Shayna back into a human being. However, the place was in such a state that it could not be used immediately, and that was not the only problem: Shayna¡¯s spirit itself had already become undead, and they had established that if it were to be returned to a living body, either the vessel or the spirit, or both, might disappear. Loren was trying to think of a way out of this, but he was just a swordsman; and it was unlikely for him to come up with any ingenious ideas about magic. So he thought about what to do, and decided to ask Dia, an Elder who was also classified as undead but was hardly an undead, for her opinion. If Nim had not been here, he might have been able to ask more directly, but it was difficult to ask Nim to leave the room, so Loren had to choose his words carefully. ¡°Turning the soul of an undead back to a human¡¯s soul huh. Of course it¡¯s not impossible.¡± Loren was surprised at Dia¡¯s unexpectedly straightforward answer. He had approached her with the idea that she, as a being classified as high-ranking undead, extremely intelligent and said to be brought forth by the world, would be able to provide a solution to Shayna¡¯s problem. He had not expected to be able to receive it so simply though. ¡°There is one simple way. Using > after >.¡± ¡°That¡¯s absurd¡­¡± It was Lapis who said so frankly in response to Dia¡¯s words. Loren looked at her as if to ask her why, and Lapis, with a weak smile on her face, explained the meaning of the words she had unthinkingly uttered out loud. ¡°> can be a very simple spell, depending on its use. Something like using it to turn water into holy water can be done by anyone who is a full-fledged priest.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking about attempting to purify an undead soul by > here. It may be possible, but it would require the preparation of several high-ranking priests from various sects and several days of rituals. In addition, the soul purified by this technique would probably ascend to heaven at once, you know?¡± Lapis was implying that the facilities at the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin Loren knew couldn¡¯t be used for this. And even if he was able to turn Shayna¡¯s soul back to human, he would not be able to transplant it into the vessel created at the ruin if her soul had been taken to heaven. ¡°How to use > is another problem. There have only been a few successful cases so far, and it is the highest ranking spell. Performing it requires nearly a hundred high-ranking priests and a ritual that lasts for more than ten days to enhance their power.¡± Death was absolute. It was an immutable law that even Gods could not easily overturn. If such a phenomenon were to be performed by humans, it was understandable that it could only be achieved through such a procedure. Of course, there was no way that Loren could manage what Lapis was talking about, and the method Dia described was nothing more than an impractical plan. ¡°It sounds like a pipe dream, but it is not unrealizable. And I¡¯m just giving you an example.¡± In other words, this method was something that could be done if one tried to, but its feasibility had not been considered at all. Loren grimaced; even though he now knew a solution, he couldn¡¯t do anything to realize it at all. Seeing Loren like that, Dia asked him with a mischievous smile on her face. ¡°The idea of turning the undead back into humans is either a fantasy or a pipe dream. Still, the fact that it is not absolutely impossible to realize is a saving grace, isn¡¯t it? So¡­ Would you like to hear about some other ways?¡± Chapter 272: The Chatting Continues Chapter 272: The Chatting Continues Proofreader: Xemul ¡°We¡¯ve heard that much, so can you tell us about other methods?¡± Dia looked a little surprised at Loren¡¯s answer. Since what he had heard was impossible to realize, she had expected him to end the topic here. Yet he said that he wanted to have the knowledge even if it was useless, and it took her aback a little. ¡°If you want to hear, of course I will tell you. But as to whether it is feasible or not, you can judge for yourself, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t snap even if they¡¯re just useless knowledge.¡± ¡°The second method is this: Preparing a soul that possesses a little more magic power and less ego.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± It was an oddly specific instruction, but Loren had no idea what it indicated. Lapis, who was quietly listening in by his side, turned her gaze toward Loren for a moment as if she had some idea what Dia was talking about. But before her gaze could meet Loren¡¯s, she immediately turned her attention back to Dia, so Loren had no idea what she was looking at. ¡°It¡¯s a cheat. If you coat the outer of an undead soul with such a soul, it will look like a normal soul from the outside.¡± ¡°I kind of understand what that means, but what happens to the soul that is used to coat the undead soul?¡± ¡°It dies, of course. Or, more precisely, the person perishes because they lose their soul.¡± At this point, Loren finally realized what Dia was trying to say. In other words, it was to create a state similar to the one he and Shayna were currently in. If Loren¡¯s ego disappears in this state, the control of his soul would be transferred to Shayna on the inside. Shayna¡¯s soul itself would remain undead, but the soul of the former Loren coating it on the outside would make Shayna to appear as a normal living person and not an undead from the outside. The problem was that to do this, someone must be in a state where their soul was lost but they were still alive. This method, too, was one that could be done if they ignored the difficulty to achieve it. Loren, who was puzzling over whether there was a way to kill only the ego and leave the soul as an empty husk, was presented with a third method. ¡°This one is the easiest. But from the point of view of a solution, it is not a solution at all.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear it first.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also easy to realize. The soul of the undead surrenders its power to another soul, or another soul becomes undead and takes that power from the undead soul in question.¡± Wondering how all that was simple, Loren frowned. But Dia, the one who had proposed the idea, added an explanation as if it was something trivial. ¡°I know the magic to do this. It can be exercised.¡± As she said this, Dia pulled out a silver ring with a red gemstone from the breast of her dress. It was of simple design and did not appear to be very expensive. Then she casually took Loren¡¯s right hand and slipped it into his index finger. Loren usually wore gloves, but as he was currently in Dia¡¯s base and was being served tea, he had to take them off. It was a mistake. Dia¡¯s movement was so deft and natural that Lapis, who was standing next to Loren, could not warn him, and Loren himself did not have time to retract his hand. The ring slipped to the base of the ring and then stopped as if it was its place. ¡°Oh, it fits perfectly.¡± ¡°Wait a minute?!¡± Loren hurriedly tried to take off the ring, but it was so snugly fitted that no matter how hard he pulled on it, he could not move it from its position at all. It was not something that would get in the way of moving a finger or holding something, but Loren wanted to complain about suddenly being forced to wear something he didn¡¯t know what it was. Dia¡¯s next words made him shut his mouth though. ¡°That¡¯s the magical tool that contains the formula.¡± Loren, who had unconsciously turned his gaze to his own finger, was surprised to hear that. Shayna was as well; she activated the King of Death¡¯s vision she possessed and synchronized it with Loren¡¯s vision. Thanks to that, both of them could see that there was indeed some kind of surprisingly elaborate magic formula engraved in the red gemstone of the ring on Loren¡¯s finger. ¡°To use it, pass the magic power through the formula and declare either ¡®Offer¡¯ or ¡®Take¡¯. The formula will do the rest on its own after. Once this is done, the soul of the one whose power has been taken will revert to that of a mere mortal.¡± ¡°What happens to the one whose power is taken and the one to whom it is offered?¡± Normally, one would think that since the person received the power the undead offered and carried it in their body, they would just create one new undead soul. However, contrary to expectations, Dia folded her arms with a frown and tilted her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped that I don¡¯t know. After all, there is no precedent for the transfer of power from the undead, who are beings in their own right, or for taking power away from such beings.¡± That sounds reasonable. At the very least, not many people would be crazy enough to think of taking away the abilities of zombies or skeletons, which are low-level undead, and it is unlikely that they would be able to do so with vampires or the King of Death. Furthermore, it was hard to imagine such high-ranking undead going out of their way to offer their power to the living, so it was understandable that there had been no precedent for such a thing. However, Loren asked Dia about something that had occurred to him. ¡°Then why did you make something like this?¡± Dia told him that it was a magic that had no precedent, and no one knew what the outcome would be. That meant such magic had never been used in this world before, and the ring on Loren¡¯s right hand might be the very first in the world to be able to activate such magic. It was difficult to understand why she would suddenly give such a thing to him, but he didn¡¯t understand the reason why she created such magic in the first place. ¡°Actually, I was thinking of using it on¡­ Master.¡± The eyes of Dia, who whispered those words, were almost serious from Loren¡¯s point of view. ¡°That¡¯s scary¡­¡± Dia was originally a vampire who stayed under the protection of other Elders as the youngest Elder. When she met Loren¡¯s party, she was undergoing a test to be allowed to stand on her own. But the test was actually interfered with by Dia¡¯s master, Sierra, and Dia was subjected to many terrible things. Some time has passed since then, but even now Dia still seemed to hold on to that fact. ¡°I thought you were going to forgive her eventually if she kept running errands for you.¡± ¡°About this, humans are the same, aren¡¯t they? You say you forgive, but sometimes you have these spontaneous outbursts of anger.¡± ¡°Yes, I guess¡­?¡± Loren¡¯s eyes were directed to Nim, who was sipping his tea without participating in the conversation. She jumped a little in her chair as she was suddenly included in the conversation. ¡°Loren, I am an elf. Don¡¯t ask me about the feelings of the human race.¡± Nim shook her head in annoyance at the topic. She herself thought it would make more sense to ask Lapis and Gula than to ask her, an elf, but what she did not know was that Lapis was a demon, and Gula might have once been human, but now she was an Evil God. Both of them were not the right people to ask about the feelings of the human race. ¡°That was why I made it. After I finished making it, I wondered what would happen if an Elder took away another Elder¡¯s power, and I realized that the magic would not work if the other party strongly rejected it or something, and I just found it troublesome.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a waste?¡± ¡°But it might be a¡­ useful tool for you?¡± Loren was at a loss for words when Dia told him this with a thin smile and a testing tone. Certainly, if he wanted to turn the Shayna inside him back to a human being, using the power of the ring to transplant her soul into a living body would make it possible, even though he did not know what would happen if he used it. As a result, the power of the King of Death would remain inside Loren, and even though it remained unclear what effect this would have on Loren himself, it was hard to imagine that things would go horribly wrong as there was currently nothing too inconvenient about having the King of Death herself residing inside him ¡°If I become undead, I can change my appearance and extend my lifespan. That can¡¯t be so bad, can it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty okay with you becoming undead, Loren. It¡¯ll probably be quite nice.¡± Placing a hand on his chin, Loren pondered what to say in reply to Lapis, who said such a thing with a straight face. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to see any rotting things. If possible, please stay as you are, or at least turn into a bone-only state.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like either rot or bones though¡­¡± ¡°Loren? Are you seriously considering it?¡± Nim asked incredulously, and Loren came back to himself. He shook his head with a wry smile on his face. ¡°No way. I was just a little moved by Lapis¡¯ words that even bones are okay.¡± Loren said to gloss it over, and Lapis, having been used to deflect the question, poked him on the side with her finger in a slightly dissatisfied manner. He was indeed a bit happy; it was not a lie. But he wondered if it was a bit crass to use it as a joke. Dia let out a throaty laugh. ¡°You get along so well. I¡¯m jealous.¡± ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡± ¡°Well, that was all I know to answer. Are you satisfied?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very kind of you to share some of your knowledge of the Elders with me in a chat.¡± Loren answered jokingly, but if what Dia said was the truth, the information she gave them was so good that he felt he had to thank her properly. Whether or not it could be used, the fact remained that an Elder who had lived for several hundred years had given him this knowledge without any compensation. However, if he acted too grateful, he had no idea what Nim would think of him, so he had to pass it off as a conversation topic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Instead, I¡¯d like you to¡­ tell me something in return.¡± Nim was visibly alarmed when she heard that the Elder wanted to ask something, but on the contrary, Loren calmly nodded. In a transaction, it would be very unfair if they only receive information without offering the other party anything. In addition, it was not that he did not know Dia; if it was something that came up as one of the topics of conversation during a chat, there would be no need to be so cautious. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing big. So, you¡¯ve been in the neighborhood, and decided to pay me a visit. Can you tell me a little about why you¡¯re in the neighborhood?¡± Dia asked with an innocent smile that seemed to indicate that she was just curious, and Loren, thinking that it was nothing to keep secret, began to tell her the story so far, as well as the purpose of visiting the place they were heading for. Chapter 273: Accepting The Proposal Chapter 273: Accepting The Proposal Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Meeting the Ancient Dragon of Fire Flute Mountain? That¡¯s another bold thing to do in the body of a human. Normally, you would be extinguished without ever meeting them.¡± After listening to Loren¡¯s explanation, Dia looked at him in dismay and said. Loren agreed with this opinion. Without the map with an Ancient Dragon¡¯s magic in Lapis¡¯ possession, he would never think about putting something like this into action in the first place. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re introduced by a dragon of the same rank living elsewhere, you may not be treated so badly, but I¡¯m still a little concerned.¡± Dia glanced at Loren and while saying this, lips curving into the shape of a smile in contrast to her words. Somewhere in Loren¡¯s head, a warning of danger began to send a tingle down his nape. As Loren stroked his neck and wondered what this warning was about, Dia clapped her hands together as if she had just thought of a wonderful idea. ¡°All right then, let me accompany you to Mt. Fire Flute.¡± ¡°What?¡± Loren asked back, feeling the tingle on his nape grow even stronger. Around him, Lapis gaped at Dia, who was smiling happily, while Gula was still lying on the floor and Nim¡¯s elegant face was hardening into surprise as if she had witnessed the end of the world. ¡°You are dealing with an Ancient Dragon that has lived since time immemorial, aren¡¯t you? No matter how good an adventurer you are, and no matter how many safeguards you have in place, that surely is an opponent too much for a human to face, isn¡¯t it?¡± There were things that, even though we understood why they were necessary, we were still reluctant to do them. Even though Loren thought they would be fine, the act of going to see a powerful being like an Ancient Dragon was just the same, considering that there was always the possibility of something going wrong. That was why he said. ¡°That¡¯s right. That is not the kind of opponent you want to face when you can help it.¡± Dia nodded repeatedly as if to say she agreed, then leaned forward and began to explain the situation to Loren, who still hadn¡¯t fully grasped where the conversation was going. ¡°So, why don¡¯t you let me act as an intermediary and mediate between the two parties? In other words, let me accompany you as an insurance.¡± Loren considered Dia¡¯s proposal. Their party was acting based on the expectation that they would probably be safe with the map Lapis had, but it was certain that the addition of an insurance would feel more secure. To ask for that insurance from an Elder was indeed a little worrisome, but aside from them being acquaintances, they had more or less helped Dia become independent, and she felt indebted to them to some extent for that. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad idea to ask for protection from an Elder¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re totally right.¡± ¡°But what are you up to?¡± Indeed, Loren and his party had helped Dia to stand on her own. But even though she might have felt indebted to them, that did not mean that she would protect them without compensation. The story between them started with a commission from Dia, and although things changed considerably in the course of the commission and its outcome, it was not something that would make the Elder feel that much guilt about. That was why Dia must have something in mind when she made that proposal. In response to Loren¡¯s question, Dia remained silent for a while, then her shoulders began to shake, and she let out a low chuckle. ¡°How doubtful you are, Loren. But then again, it might be difficult to survive as a mercenary or an adventurer without that.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of something unsavory, just say it.¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­ Alright. The truth is,¡± All eyes focused on Dia, who smiled and twisted her face into a nasty expression. They all braced themselves to hear what the Elder was planning to do. Dia took plenty of time to pause, then suddenly opened her mouth. ¡°As an Elder, I have time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but say it again.¡± Loren thought he must have misheard, but Dia spat out the same words in a very clear voice. ¡°As an Elder, I have time.¡± ¡°And what¡¯s about it?¡± ¡°Well, we have so much power and time, but we have no use for it. If I was doing some kind of research, I might be able to spend time on it, but I don¡¯t have anything like that right now. To put it bluntly, I have so much time on my hands that I am bored to death.¡± As a human being with a fixed and not so long life span, Loren did not understand what Dia was talking about, but he could understand what she was trying to say. Because human life was not that long, people spent their time and energy to accomplish various things in the limited time they have. Many people wasted a lot of time in order to decide what to accomplish, and Loren himself was occupied with just living in the present. But on the other hand, Dia was an Elder, and her lifespan was so long that it was hard to tell whether it was fixed or not. The power contained in her body was enormous, and if she wanted to do something, she would be able to accomplish almost anything in a short time. If a being like her wanted to spend a long time accomplishing something, it would have to be something extraordinary and unimaginable for a human being. But Dia, the youngest of the Elders, had yet to find something like that. ¡°I have a vague idea about what I want to research, but I don¡¯t know how long it will take to settle on a topic.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re in a state of limbo and time is just flying by, and you¡¯ve got nothing to do, is that it?¡± ¡°I have a lot of time on my hands. If I experience different things, maybe I¡¯ll get a better idea of what to do.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you want to go with us?¡± ¡°I think it would be worth it. What do you think?¡± Once again, Loren considered Dia¡¯s offer. If an Elder like her was following them to a human village, a lot of problems might have risen. But in this case, there was just an Ancient Dragon at their destination, so Dia being an Elder was not an obstacle at all. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad, is it? I don¡¯t see any particular disadvantage.¡± Lapis interjected as if to support Loren¡¯s thought. If he was not alone in his opinion and Lapis also did not see any disadvantages, it seemed to Lor¨¦n that there would be no problem in accepting the offer. ¡°What about you, Gula?¡± ¡°In my case, the only problem is my own safety.¡± When asked by Loren, Gula, who was still lying on the floor, said as she picked herself up. In Gula¡¯s case, she was only being treated harshly by Dia because of her attitude towards the Elder, so it couldn¡¯t be said that Dia¡¯s company would be bad. ¡°Nim, are you¡­ okay with this?¡± Loren asked and, seeing that Nim was frozen in place with a pale face, half rose up from his chair in a hurry, leaned over and placed his hands on the elf¡¯s shoulder. Nim looked up at Loren with a stiff expression on his face and replied in a detached yet slightly trembling voice. ¡°Lore, are you always like this?¡± Loren, who understood what Nim was referring to based on the atmosphere but was not sure, hesitated for a moment before answering in a tone that tinged with resignation. ¡°I¡¯m almost always like this.¡± ¡°I see. Loren¡­ you¡¯ve been through a lot.¡± Nim¡¯s face was still pale, but she was looking at Loren with pity for some reason. Loren didn¡¯t remember ever being looked at in such a way, but maybe ordinary adventurers would look at his situation in the same way, and he found it hard to tell her to stop. ¡°I¡¯m not that sort of person, but I¡¯m thinking I should take the job that Ritz and Chuck do next time. You should take more comfortable jobs too, Loren.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t take on troublesome jobs just because I want to¡­¡± Loren blurted out, and Nim, with a straight face, said in a serious tone. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m being asked to take an Elder to meet an Ancient Dragon. I wouldn¡¯t accept such a request even if I am in the silver rank.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t the original request, though.¡± The original request was for a survey of the area around Mt. Fire Flute, and there was no mention of any Elders or Ancient Dragons in it. If there were such mentions, just like Nim said, there was no way silver rank adventurers would have accepted such a thing, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would have to mobilize adventurers of the gold rank and above, adventurers whose very existence might soon become a story. If iron adventurers were to find themselves involved in such a situation, anyone would look at them with pity and not just Nim. Of course, if Loren had seen someone like that, he would have felt sorry for them too, but unfortunately, he was the one involved, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of pity for himself. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that aside. Since there doesn¡¯t seem to be any objections, I don¡¯t mind if you go with us.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. You may feel reassured then. Ancient Dragons are mighty beings, but even they are no match for Elders.¡± Dia had found a good way to pass the time; Loren could see it written plainly in the cheerful smile on her face. Since they did benefit from taking her along, Loren thought that being used as a way to pass the time was not such a bad thing. Chapter 274: Detecting Anomalies Chapter 274: Detecting Anomalies Proofreader: Xemul Dia, who was smiling so happily for some reason, explained to Loren and the others as soon as they stepped onto the ground that the distance between her base and Mt. Fire Flute was not very great. Loren did not notice it until he was told, but when he looked in the direction Dia was pointing, he could indeed see a rocky mountain standing alone at a distance that was not close but also not that far away. After looking intently at what Dia was pointing at for a while, he muttered to himself. ¡°There¡¯s no smoke.¡± Given the name and the information that dragons were said to live there, Loren¡¯s image of Mt. Fire Flute was that of a volcano with black smoke rising up here and there and bright red flames occasionally erupted. However, even though the mountain that stood alone at the end of the road was indeed a steep-looking mountain with bare rock surfaces from a distance, there was no black smoke or even white smoke rising up anywhere from it. In other words, it was just like what they had been informed about the mountain before they accepted the commission. As Loren thought that it was only natural that he didn¡¯t notice this mountain the last time he came to Dia¡¯s base, the Elder withdrew her pointing finger and scratched her head. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not an interesting mountain.¡± She then walked to the wagon that Loren¡¯s party had come on and hopped on to the back, taking up a position right behind the driver¡¯s bench. She was dressed in the same dress she had been wearing at the base, which, although unadorned, did not look like something for walking outside. Loren, who was impressed by how lightly she could move in such an outfit, sat down next to Lapis, who took the reins, while Gula and Nim sat at the back. Nim might have sat at a distance from Dia purely because she was afraid of the existence of the Elder, but Gula apparently chose to keep her distance because she felt threatened by what Dia might do if she sat too close to her. As Loren thought that she was only being treated badly because she deserved it, Lapis lightly pulled the reins and began to drive the wagon. ¡°We¡¯re within sight of it. We¡¯ll be at the foot of the mountain by nightfall.¡± ¡°If nothing happens.¡± After arriving at Dia¡¯s base, they had spent some time resting and chatting there. The base was located a short distance from the road, and Loren estimated that if they returned to the road and then went to Mt. Fire Flute, their destination, they would arrive by evening. He had also considered the possibility of heading straight for the mountain from the base without returning to the highway, but that would require driving the wagon over very bad terrain and would take too much time. He thought that he was probably not wrong, but then he suddenly became aware of the stares coming from behind and turned around to see Dia, Gula, and Nim all looking at him with somewhat reproachful stares. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°If you keep talking like that, something will definitely happen.¡± ¡°Loren, that was careless. You should be careful with what you say.¡± ¡°On the contrary, I¡¯d prefer it if something does happen.¡± Loren turned his head in the direction they were going and lightly rolled his back lightly, trying to escape the gazes of the three girls. Lapis was watching him with a chuckle. Despite such incidents, their group returned to the highway and continued southward toward Mt. Fire Flute after leaving Dia¡¯s base. Nim and Gula were bracing themselves for something to happen, but contrary to their mild accusation of his slip, their wagon was able to make its way along the road without encountering any obstacles, and the rest of the journey was uneventful. The truth was, Loren had been worried that something might have happened, but their group proceeded smoothly and finally arrived at the foot of Mt. Fire Flute. ¡°Nothing happened.¡± Nim and Gula each looked in the opposite direction, trying to escape Loren¡¯s staring eyes. Only Dia was looking back at Loren with a frustrated look on her face. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange? Won¡¯t saying something like that absolutely make something happen?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no use complaining to me. Isn¡¯t it good that nothing happened¡­? Dia, are you bored that there is nothing to do?¡± ¡°Well, the experience of traveling by wagon under the sun was a good way to pass the time.¡± Dia chuckled as she uttered the words that no one could expect to come from a highest-ranked vampire. ¡°It¡¯s much healthier than shutting myself in a basement. From now on, I¡¯ll try to go out more often.¡± ¡°It¡¯s horrifying to have a top ranking vampire like an Elder wandering around. Have some self-restraint.¡± Vampires walking around in the daytime was something that could strike fear into the hearts of most humans. But if it was an Elder, it was easy to predict that there would be a commotion as big as if the end of the world was coming. There were apparently about ten or so other Elders in the world besides Dia, but Loren had never heard of any of them going out to kill time without a purpose. In other words, the other Elders had some other reason or method to pass the time, and they did not simply go out and about. He would like to see Dia learn from them in that area. ¡°I don¡¯t think there are any other Elders as harmless as I am.¡± Dia said in a slightly disappointed voice and looked up at Loren. He glared at her, feeling strongly that if he really showed any sympathy right now, she would really go out during the day. Dia kept looking at Loren for a while, and when she saw that his expression had not changed at all, she turned her back on him. Her expression changed to one of annoyance, and she let out a small, sharp click of her tongue. Loren hoped she would give up on the idea, but inwardly he was nervous. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt your pleasantries.¡± Loren felt a slight sense of discomfort when Lapis interrupted the conversation. The tone of her voice was one that was not intended for engaging in or making fun of the talk, but to make the listeners uneasy. When he turned to Lapis to see if something was wrong, she was holding the reins and staring straight ahead, but Loren¡¯s eyes could not see what was worth staring at. All he could see was a continuous stretch road and the gradual thickening of trees as they approached the mountains. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Lapis?¡± ¡°The wind has a strange smell to it. Do you know the geography of this area well, Dia?¡± Lapis glanced behind, and Dia, who was leaning forward from the back of the wagon, nodded. ¡°It¡¯s right around the corner. I¡¯d like to think I know it reasonably well.¡± ¡°So, do you know what¡¯s up ahead?¡± Lapis pointed to the end of the road. Dia closed her eyes as if recalling something, then quickly opened them and nodded again. ¡°I believe there is one farming village. There are several farming villages scattered around the foot of Fire Flute Mountain, and this road should have led to one of them.¡± Loren wondered if it was because his previous experiences had been so bad that he felt something ominous about the word ¡®farming village¡¯. Even though the sun had begun to go down, the sky was still blue, and the weather was very nice. But Dia said there was a farming village ahead of them, and Lapis said she smelled a strange smell coming from that direction. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a sign for this one to come out.¡± After concluding that looking up at the sky won¡¯t make things any better, Loren pointed to the greatsword that used to be slung on his back and said. Lapis glanced at the sword, which had been laid down because it would get in the way of sitting on the bench otherwise, then slightly tilted her head. ¡°I wonder? But not yet, I think.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Loren had thought that with a farming village at the end of the road and the strange smell Lapis had sensed probably coming from there, they would eventually end up fighting a battle, but Lapis seemed to think differently. ¡°There is definitely a strange smell, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be new.¡± ¡°That means¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out when we get there.¡± Interrupting Loren¡¯s words, Lapis lightly adjusted the reins on the horses and sped the wagon up a bit. Although the road was maintained for being a highway, it was not even, and there were many bumps and dips; as the wagon started running at a high speed, it started swaying violently. Loren and the others endured the jolting, clenching their teeth lightly so as not to bite their tongues, and not long after Lapis noticed the anomaly, they arrived at one of the farming villages that Dia had mentioned. After pulling back on the reins and stopping the horses, Lapis took in the scenery of the village that awaited them, and realized what the anomaly she had felt was all about. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an abandoned village, was it?¡± There had indeed been a village there. Because there were traces of what might have been a village in the past. It was a farming village, and there were fields around it, but they were so overgrown with weeds that it was hard to believe that anyone had ever touched them. The fences that were supposed to enclose the village grounds had been destroyed here and there, rendering them useless. The buildings inside the fences had also been so badly damaged that they did not appear to be inhabited. Their wagon was able to enter through a break in the fence, revealing an even more terrible situation. The walls of the destroyed buildings were covered with blackened liquid splattered here and there, and in some places there were burn marks. The ground was covered with disordered footprints, indicating that the inhabitants of this village must have been in a great hurry to get around. They stopped the wagon and peeked into some of the buildings to see destroyed furniture and debris, probably food, scattered on the floor. The food was either dried out or beginning to rot, indicating that this state of things had not occurred recently. ¡°It looks as if something attacked them.¡± Lapis pointed to a wall of a house that had deep scratches on it, likely the result of some sort of blade being driven into it. ¡°Some kind of bandits?¡± Nim mentioned a likely cause, to which Gula shook her head. ¡°If it were bandits, there would be a corpse or two lying around. Why are there no dead bodies in the house after all these signs of attack?¡± ¡°Maybe they were all taken?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. This black spot on the wall is a blood spatter, right? If the wounds were large enough to cause that much blood to splash, there would definitely have been a death toll.¡± It was not unusual for bandits to carry off villagers from the villages they attacked. Men were taken as simple labor, while women were taken as objects to satisfy various tastes. There was always a certain demand for both from the not-so-proper class of people, and that meant money, and it was not uncommon for bandits to raid villages for it. But if, as Gula had said, some of them were so badly wounded that they were bleeding enough to splatter the walls, it was strange that there were no corpses lying on the ground. It was unlikely for the bandits to carry the corpses with them; after all, dead people were not worth money, and bandits were not in a profession where they could afford to carry around things that were not worth money. ¡°Let¡¯s look into it a little more closely. Maybe we can find out something.¡± The day was still bright. Loren believed that if they did not finish their investigation while there was still light, they would not be able to find any good clues after the darkness of night had fallen. That was why he sounded a little rushed, and Lapis and the others, without complaining, immediately scattered to various places in the village to carry out his instructions. Chapter 275: From Moving To Camping Chapter 275: From Moving To Camping Proofreader: Xemul Loren and the party searched the village for a while, but what they found was that not a single villager was in sight. There were signs of attacks all over the village, and although it was expected that a large number of people had been injured or killed, not a single corpse had been found, and it seemed that these events had occurred long before their party visited the place. ¡°What do you think, Loren?¡± Loren pondered over Lapis¡¯ rather vague question. They knew for certain that something had happened in this village, but had no idea as to what it might have been. If there had been any bodies or survivors left behind, they might have been able to find some clues, but when even that was not available, Loren didn¡¯t know where to start. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I¡¯m a muscle-brain, but¡­ I¡¯m not good at this kind of thing.¡± As Loren said this, his thoughts gradually began to lean towards the idea of pretending to have not seen anything and move on. Even if the cause of the disaster was now known, the village would not be restored. If there were survivors or something, it would not be impossible to think about revenge and such, but there was none here. It was not uncommon for a remote village to be destroyed for one reason or another; the country would eventually take notice, and another new village would simply spring up somewhere else. ¡°That reminds me, to some extent, there are soldiers stationed to protect the village, aren¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Yes, there are. In a village like this, there are usually a few to a dozen soldiers stationed by the government to guard the village.¡± ¡°No sign of them. Or¡­have they fled?¡± It also depended on the scale of the attack, but Loren guessed from the traces left in the village that there were so many that a dozen or so soldiers could offer no resistance. Though whether the soldiers fought bravely there or ran for their lives, he could not be sure. ¡°If the soldiers had fled, the information would have been passed on to the government, so it would not be surprising if they had formed a sizable force and come to recapture the village.¡± ¡°And if no one has come, either they¡¯re in the middle of organizing, or the soldiers couldn¡¯t get away¡­ Either way, it¡¯s a troublesome story.¡± ¡°A farming village isn¡¯t an isolated place, is it? Isn¡¯t there another similarly sized farming village nearby?¡± At Gula¡¯s words, Loren and Lapis looked at Dia. She was supposed to be the most knowledgeable of them all when it came to the geography of the area. ¡°There are several of them. Do you want to visit them while there is still some daylight?¡± ¡°Yes. If there is a safe village, we should let them know.¡± Whether it was to ask for help from the government or flee the area, the other villages would not be able to make a move unless they knew that there was imminent danger. That was why Loren thought it would be a good idea to inform them of this information, and without any objections, the party decided to leave the destroyed village and travel around the neighboring farming villages, driving wagons under Dia¡¯s guidance. However, it seemed that the situation had already deteriorated considerably long before Loren and his party made their move. Dia led them to a nearby farming village, but what awaited them there was almost identical to the scene they had seen in the previous farming village. ¡°Loren, this village is no better.¡± Gula, who had entered the village for a quick survey, reported so to Loren, who was keeping watch on their wagon parked on the outskirts. According to her report, in the second village they visited, there was no trace of any villagers, living or dead, houses were destroyed here and there, and marks of some kind of struggle were left all over the place. ¡°The foodstuffs are all gone, but most of the cash and household goods have been left untouched.¡± ¡°That¡¯s odd if this was the work of bandits.¡± If the village was attacked by bandits, who usually took everything, it was incomprehensible that they would leave valuable belongings behind. Especially the cash; they should have taken it no matter what they left behind, and it was strange that they had left it untouched. Loren wondered about the possibility that the resistance on the village side had been so fierce that the bandits had given up on those items. If that was the case, it would be a reasonably plausible explanation for the current situation; maybe the surviving villagers had abandoned the village to carry the injured and the dead away and to seek help from the government. ¡°But even in that case, they wouldn¡¯t leave cash behind¡­¡± Cash was necessary, both as traveling expenses and for other use before they could get help. The possibility of villagers abandoning the village without taking any of it was inconceivable. ¡°Loren, there is something else that is actually odd.¡± Dia called out to Loren, who had been lost in unanswerable thoughts. When he looked at her, wondering what more there was to see under the circumstances, Dia was keeping her gaze fixed on Mt. Fire Flute, visible from the village. ¡°I have come this close, and yet there is no reaction. This is very strange. I would have thought they would at least come to check on me.¡± Loren could not tell which were the more powerful beings, the Elders or the Ancient Dragons. However, there was no doubt that both are powerful beings, and it was indeed strange that there had been no response from the Ancient Dragon¡¯s side when such a being like an Elder was approaching. It would have been understandable if the Ancient Dragon was a much more powerful entity, so far removed in power that it did not need to pay any attention to the movements of an Elder, but from what he had seen of Dia, it did not seem to be the case. ¡°You can see the Ancient Dragon from here?¡± ¡°Well, actually, I don¡¯t feel such a powerful presence from that mountain. I have never been this close to the mountain before. Since I don¡¯t feel anything¡­ maybe there is no Ancient Dragon on that mountain anymore.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be. Maybe because we are introduced by another Ancient Dragon?¡± Lapis was flustered by Dia¡¯s words, but the Elder just calmly asked. ¡°When was the last time that Ancient Dragon came face to face with its own kin? Unlike us Elders, no matter how great the Ancient Dragon may be, they still have a lifespan.¡± When she said that, Lapis had no choice but to close her mouth. The Ancient Dragon named Emery, who gave Loren¡¯s party information about the Ancient Dragons living in the human realm, was living in the demon territory, and she didn¡¯t tell them how long her kin had been living in the other realm. It would not be surprising if the dragon had lost their life for some unfortunate reason before their party arrived here. Whether it was an external factor, such as the appearance of a very powerful enemy, or an internal factor, such as the lifespan of the Ancient Dragon itself, either possibility could not be dismissed. ¡°It would be better if they had died of natural causes.¡± Nim said, keeping a wary eye on the area. ¡°Let¡¯s just report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that there are no more dragons on Mt. Fire Flute. Maybe we can get a dragon corpse in our hands. That¡¯s worth a lot of money.¡± Nim said that there was nothing to throw away from a dragon¡¯s body. Flesh, skin, scales, teeth, and even bones were all high-end raw materials and ingredients that fetched a hefty price when they hit the market. And if they came from an Ancient Dragon, the price could skyrocket, and in some cases, it could bring in more than just a fortune. ¡°The scales and fangs alone are quite something. We¡¯ll be lucky if we can pick them up.¡± ¡°If we can.¡± Loren¡¯s original objective was the information he might get from the Ancient Dragon, but if he couldn¡¯t get it, he couldn¡¯t help but shift his interest to the cash income. However, that was only if the desired Ancient Dragon was really dead, and he had no idea what had happened to it at the present. ¡°Old dragons are able to suppress the power of their own presence. We can¡¯t assume that they¡¯re dead, but¡­ it¡¯s strange that they don¡¯t appear at all.¡± ¡°If they know that Dia has no hostile intent, they may not have bothered to show up at all.¡± In Loren¡¯s opinion, no matter how powerful the Elder was, if there was no hostility, an existence such as the Ancient Dragon would not be so alarmed. Dia nodded gravely at his words. ¡°I thought so, too. I¡¯ve tried to intimidate them a few times since a while ago.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make things worse.¡± Loren brought his hand down on the top of Dia¡¯s head, making her hold her head in both hands and crouch down on the spot. Seeing this, Nim looked at Loren with amazement. ¡°Loren, you are an amazing child. How dare you hit an Elder?¡± ¡±You¡¯d better think it¡¯s because I¡¯m an Elder who can take a joke, elf.¡± Dia, with tears in her eyes and head in her hands, said in a displeased tone, and Nim hurriedly hid behind Loren. As Loren thought that using him as a shield was meaningless because he would have no chance if Dia truly attacked, Lapis asked him for the second time. ¡°Loren, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Loren looked up at the sky and checked the position of the sun. Although the sun was still reasonably high in the sky, the time of day was such that they unlikely had enough time to get close to the mountain. Loren thought that if they were going to climb Fire Flute Mountain, which no one knew what was on there, it should be during the daytime, and he did not want to spend the night in the mountain without a compelling reason to do so. Thinking that it seemed best to camp out for the night and head for the mountain tomorrow morning, Loren looked around their surroundings. The area around them consisted of a highway and some plains, and just one step away from a forest. Loren felt that it was a waste to avoid the open space of the village and camp out on the plains or among the trees, but he also wondered if it was really a good idea to camp in a village where villagers had disappeared for unknown reasons. ¡°A compromise would be to camp a little further from the village.¡± There was some open space on the outskirts of the village so that wagons could be parked. Loren suggested that they camp there, and the other members readily accepted his suggestion, perhaps thinking that it was better than inside the village and that it would be troublesome to set up camp too far away from the place. ¡°No one would think of raiding a village once it had been destroyed.¡± No one doubted Lapis¡¯ opinion that this would be a relatively safer place to spend the night than other places. Chapter 276: From A Strange Event To Interception Proofreader: Xemul Loren had the impression that strange and weird things did not happen in the daylight, but rather when it was dark and everyone had gone to sleep. However, as if to mock Loren¡¯s assumption, this strange event occurred suddenly when their group had decided on an encampment site and were beginning to prepare for it. ¡°There¡¯s noise.¡± The party had parked their wagons in an empty lot on the outskirts of the village, and were unloading and unpacking their luggage to take out what they needed. Lapis was the first to notice it. She returned the luggage she was handling to the back of the wagon and turned her gaze outside the sparse row of trees that surrounded the village. Loren and Gula rested their hands and looked in that direction to see what it was about, and Dia casually said. ¡°Something is approaching.¡± ¡°How many?¡± With a sense of foreboding, Loren quickly asked, and Dia looked beyond the trees for a moment before answering with a tilt of her head. ¡°About a hundred?¡± ¡°Wait¡­¡± No matter what was approaching, a hundred was an unusual number. Loren quickly picked up his greatsword and synchronized his vision with Shayna¡¯s. With his vision enhanced by the King of Death¡¯s power, he instantly caught what could not be seen with human vision: the reactions of numerous lifeforms approaching their encampment at a fair speed from a considerable distance beyond the trees. Each of these signatures did not seem to be very powerful, but the sight of that many gathering and approaching all at once caused even Loren¡¯s expression to twitch lightly. ¡°Watch out! Something is coming!¡± Loren shouted a warning, and at the same time, Nim climbed into the back of the wagon and quickly fired an arrow from her position. As the arrow flew through the trees, a faint but distant sound similar to the scream of an animal could be heard. Loren was amazed at Nim¡¯s skill with the bow. The arrow had hit its target despite the trees and the distance. Then the elf told him the identity of what she had shot as she knocked another arrow. ¡°Loren, the orcs are coming.¡± ¡°Orcs?!¡± As soon as she told Loren the identity of their enemies, Nim shot another arrow. This time, the arrow also passed through the trees, and a scream very similar to that of a pig could be heard closer than before, which made everyone realize that something around a hundred were indeed approaching, and that it was a group of orcs. ¡°A hundred or so orcs? That¡¯s too many!¡± ¡°It seems that they have obtained a large number of mother bodies.¡± As Lapis complained with a stiffened expression very much like the one on Loren¡¯s face, Dia said such an outrageous thing in a casual, everyday conversational tone. Dia, perhaps noticing that all eyes were on her, tilted her head as if wondering whether what she had said was really that strange and continued. ¡°Orcs and goblins grow very quickly. Naturally, they are born from the mother¡¯s body in a dozen days, and can grow to almost adult-size within seven days. A month after that, they will be able to start reproducing.¡± The reason why orcs¡¯ and goblins¡¯ numbers did not increase explosively in their natural state was because of the difficulty in securing a mother body, Dia continued. But of course, what appeared to be a group of orcs was steadily approaching their party, and while listening to Dia, Nim was frantically shooting from the top of the cart to chip away at the enemy force, albeit just by a little. ¡°Since their species have few females and the females are usually not very strong as individuals, it is not possible to have enough females to serve as mothers. That¡¯s why their number is not as large as it could be.¡± ¡°Nearly a hundred orcs IS a large enough number!¡± Nim¡¯s shooting continued to make, their probably-orc enemies, scream. The sparse trees slowed the enemy¡¯s advance to a certain extent, so none had reached their group yet, but it was only a matter of time. Loren also noticed Nim grimace for a moment as she tried to knock another arrow. Perhaps her arrows inventory was starting to dwindle. ¡°They¡¯ve probably managed to secure a good number of mothers¡¯ bodies. Once they do, they will keep on reproducing until the mothers¡¯ bodies give out. That¡¯s why there are so many of them.¡± ¡°Where did they get such a large number of mothers?¡± ¡°That¡­ I think from here?¡± Dia casually pointed back to the wreckage of a destroyed village, where not a single villager was left. ¡°Orcs will even eat the corpses of their own if they can get their hands on them. The corpses of villagers and soldiers would have been good food for them. Besides, there must have been quite a few women in the village, young and old alike.¡± Loren looked at the destroyed village with horror. The houses that lined the streets belonged to the villagers, and each house must have been occupied by a family. To put it bluntly, there were at least as many women in the village as there were houses. They did not know how many of them were taken alive by the orcs, but it should be quite a number as orcs would not kill women due to their desire for bodies to act as mothers. Moreover, this village was not the only one destroyed. At least one other village had suffered the same fate, the one they had found earlier. If both of them had been attacked by the same group of orcs, the number of villagers taken could be close to dozens. ¡°And orcs, by the way, are strangely prone to giving birth to twins or more.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear such information!¡± Loren swung the greatsword in his hand in response to Dia¡¯s comment, which sounded like a bit of trivia about orcs. Coincidentally, a creature leapt out of the trees at the same time and the blade, which had been swung with full strength, cut it in half at the torso. The creature had a pig-like face and let out a pig-like scream as blood splashed all around. ¡°Eek!¡± Loren did not expect any member of this party to scream at the mere sight of orcs, but surprisingly, Lapis did scream and hid behind his back. He had thought it was unexpected, but he immediately understood the reason when he saw the dead orc he had cut up. Orcs were intelligent beings, and normal individuals all wore some kind of clothing or armor, even if they were ragged. However, the orc that Loren cut in half was, for some reason, not wearing any kind of clothing and was completely naked, even though it was holding a weapon in its hand. Naturally, everything was in full view, even the object dangling from his crotch, which was probably a little too long and large compared to that of a human, and Lapis apparently reacted to this by hiding behind Loren. ¡°Lapis-chan, you¡¯ve never seen an orc¡¯s penis before, have ya?¡± ¡°The size is different, but it is basically the same as a human¡¯s. It is nothing to be surprised about.¡± ¡°I mean, you¡¯ve been traveling together, you must have seen Loren¡¯s at least once¡­¡± ¡°Dia, stop it.¡± The other three said such things to Lapis, who was hiding behind Loren¡¯s back and not coming out, while shooting at orcs that had leapt out of the trees or biting them off with Evil God power or catching and draining them. When the last, inexcusable words came out, Loren had to put a stop to it. It was true that Loren has had several instances in the past where he had remained unconscious for long periods of time, and each time he had been nursed by Lapis. What Dia was trying to say was that seeing that thing was a part of nursing, but it was something Loren had always tried to avoid thinking about. He would die of embarrassment if it were to be exposed to the light of day like that. ¡°The size difference between Loren¡¯s and orc¡¯s is because of their races¡­¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll throw this sword at your head. If you think ¡®It¡¯s just a greatsword¡¯, you¡¯re mistaken.¡± Loren pointed his sword at Dia instead of the orc that was coming for a surprise attack, thinking that making her shut up was of a higher priority. He then thrust the tip of the sword to the throat of the orc that was lunging at him from the side. He twisted the blade slightly to widen the wound, and without looking at the orc, which died instantly and fell to the ground, Loren cut another one that jumped at him from behind into half vertically and clicked his tongue in disgust. Although most of them could be killed with a single blow, there were just too many of them. Thinking that he wouldn¡¯t be able to silence Dia like this, Loren glanced at her while slashing another orc. The Elder punched and kicked the orc approaching her, then drained the life force of its unmoving body, probably with Energy Drain. Seeing a moment of opportunity, she raised her hands toward Loren as if in surrender. Dia thought that to tease Loren and Lapis any further with this stuff would be dangerous not only for herself, but also for Loren, who was still trying to shut her up, and Lapis, who was still hiding behind Loren¡¯s back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stop checking out your own allies? You might die very unexpectedly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who started it.¡± ¡°Rather than that, the enemy number is increasing. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s more important to intercept them?¡± ¡°You¡¯d better remember what I said¡­¡± Despite this venomous comment, the number of orcs surrounding the encampment was indeed increasing, and the situation was becoming so dire that a single mistake could result in severe damages. A normal party of iron-ranked adventurers would have been annihilated by this, but Loren¡¯s party remained undeterred. Every time Loren swung his greatsword, an orc would turn into a lump of meat, and around Gula, orcs with missing heads and torsos would disappear as they fell down, their entire bodies devoured before they could hit the ground. Nim was still shooting the orcs that tried to approach them from the top of the cart, but Dia, realizing that she had a limited stock of arrows, followed her lead and struck them down with a strength of arms and legs that one could not imagine from her childlike appearance. ¡°Gula, how are you doing that?¡± Nim was indeed mystified by the sight of the orcs missing bodies parts just by approaching Gula without any chanting coming from the latter. While Loren was thinking bitterly that it would be natural for that to happen if she used her power, Gula answered boldly. ¡°It¡¯s my secret skill!¡± ¡°I see. I won¡¯t ask for more details then.¡± Nim replied readily, and Loren wondered if that was a good thing. But he was grateful that she was not pursuing the matter, so he didn¡¯t press it. If a large number of comrades were killed in such a short period of time, it was only a matter of time before the orcs, no matter how little intelligence they had, would become frightened and flee. Strangely enough, however, the orcs showed no sign of retreat, no matter how many of them were cut down, beaten and kicked to the ground, pierced by invisible fangs, or devoured by their own. Not only that, their bloodshot eyes did not look at Loren at all. They all fixed their stares on the other party members and attacked them. ¡°These orcs! Are you all Klaus¡¯ kin?!¡± ¡°Loren, isn¡¯t that a bit too much?¡± Loren, who had spoken these words unintentionally to the orcs, who seemed to have no interest in him, was very calmly reproached by Lapis, who remained hidden behind his back. Chapter 277: From Repelling To Pursuing Proofreader: Xemul Loren knew that on the battlefield, it was common to lose the ability to think normally. He himself had fallen into such a state on several occasions, and each time he was amazed at how he had managed to survive, and the state of the orcs looked like battle mania to him. However, such a state would not last forever. If your army had the upper hand, it could last for a long time, but there was always a limit. And If your own army was outnumbered, it would cool down even more quickly. ¡°They are such a pain in the ass!¡± Loren spat out while smashing the orcs with his greatsword. If the orcs failed to defend themselves, there would be flesh and bones flying around. And if they did not fail to defend themselves, there would be flesh and bones AND weapons flying around. The smell of blood filled the air, and orc corpses piled up on the ground in proportion. Wiping the blood splattered on his face with the back of his hand, Loren glanced behind him and noticed Nim sneakily hiding there in addition to Lapis, who had been there for some time. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I ran out of arrows.¡± Replied Nim, who had drawn a dagger for protection. Her words did not carry much sentiment, though there was a somewhat irritated tone in her voice. If their opponents were humans, even Nim might have been able to be a challenge in close-quarters combat by making use of her superior speed to stab or tear at a vital point. But their opponents were orcs, whose bodies were protected by a tough skin and a thick layer of fat underneath, making it difficult to inflict life-threatening damage; the most a dagger could inflict on them would be slight scratches. ¡°It must be troublesome, becoming unable to fight when you run out of arrows.¡± Dia, who was still crushing orcs with her bare hands and feet, laughed in a tone that was somewhat mocking, though not to the point of ridicule. Nim was annoyed by those words, but what Dia said was actually true, and the difference in power between Nim, an Elf, and Dia, an Elder, is too obvious. ¡°There are too many orcs. If someone doesn¡¯t work, even just a little, we¡¯ll get tired soon.¡± ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I know. I¡¯ll give you some arrows.¡± Dia said as she lightly swept off the legs of one of the orcs that attacked her. It was a light foot swipe that seemed to require little effort, but the orc¡¯s legs were torn off and sent flying away from the knees down as easily as if they were attached to the upper thighs by glue. Dia grabbed the neck of the orc, which had lost its balance and was about to fall, her fingers embedded in the flesh, and chanted something in a whisper. With a light shock, the orc¡¯s body disappeared, and about ten plain white arrows appeared in Dia¡¯s hands instead. ¡°See, is this good?¡± Nim was surprised to receive the white arrows that Dia had walked all the way to Loren¡¯s side to give her. The white arrows felt hard and smooth in Nim¡¯s hand; just by touch alone, she could tell that they had no deformation or bends. Even the feathers were made of the same material; these arrows didn¡¯t look like something you could get at a local market. Nim put the dagger back in its sheath, took off the bow strapped to her back, and with the arrows she had just been given, she fired at a suitable orc from a position behind Loren. ¡°Eh?!¡± It was Nim, the one who shot the arrow, who was surprised at the result of her own attack. The arrow from the bow flew in a straight line to the targeted orc and pierced its head, but unlike her previous arrows, it went into the orc¡¯s head, with the arrowhead coming out on the opposite side of the hit point. If that were all, it would have been enough to say that the arrow was powerful, but the white arrow that pierced the orc¡¯s head disappeared with the orc¡¯s body. In the place where the orc had disappeared, about ten white arrows fell down as if to take its place. ¡°Be careful not to misfire those arrows.¡± With a stifled laugh, Dia told Nim, who was staring at the newly-appeared arrows falling down in a daze without understanding what had happened. ¡°It is the work of alchemy. The original power of the arrowhead has been increased, but when the arrowhead penetrates, the alchemy enclosed in the arrow is activated and the prey is turned into the same arrow. As long as it doesn¡¯t miss, the arrow will never run out, but if it accidentally gets stuck, the technique cannot be aborted.¡± ¡°What kind of principle is that¡­?¡± Dia explained with a proud face to Loren, who had taken a break from cutting down the orc and unintentionally butted in: ¡°It is an alchemical technique that consumes the victim¡¯s magical power, flesh and blood to create arrows from the penetration of the arrowhead. It is a relatively easy technique since neither the magic power nor the materials are altered.¡± ¡°Consuming flesh and blood and magic means¡­¡± ¡°The arrow is made of bones. Is it such a rare material?¡± Nim slightly frowned when she realized that the arrow she had used was made from an orc¡¯s bones, but quickly regained her composure and plucked another arrow. Orcs were basically known for their filthiness, but since bones were found inside the body, it was not a material that cannot be used as long as you can put up with a little bit of creepiness. The morale of the orcs, which had been steadily decreasing in number in the meantime, soon reached its limit. Perhaps their battle mania had cooled down at the sight of their friends being so easily and cruelly slaughtered, and they began to flee in droves. Once that happened, it would not take long for their rank to collapse. Fear was a contagious thing; the fear in the eyes of the orcs began to spread, and soon the orcs as a whole began to flee from Loren¡¯s party. ¡°We¡¯re going after them!¡± ¡°We should probably stop. It is now nighttime. It is the time of day when you can underestimate an easy opponent and get caught off guard.¡± Loren thought that if it was the orcs who had attacked and destroyed the villages, they should go after them, find their base, and rescue any survivors left. However, Dia immediately dismissed his words. Loren was about to argue with her, but then he looked around and realized that the sun was setting, and it was indeed getting dark. ¡°But you know what? It¡¯d be a bore to let them go like this, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°No problem. You can leave everything to me.¡± Dia answered and approached one of the orc corpses lying all over the area. She crouched down beside the corpse, held her hands over it, and muttered a word or two. Then, the orc, which had been a corpse until then, stood up with its destroyed body. ¡°Is it necromancy?¡± Lapis, who was still behind Loren, looked over his shoulder and watched Dia¡¯s work with a curious look on her face. Loren thought that since the orcs were gone, there was no point in continuing to hide behind him, but Lapis was still snuggling up against his back and showing no sign of leaving. He decided to let her do whatever she wanted to do, thinking it would probably be futile to tell her otherwise. ¡°It probably won¡¯t work on the orcs that were cut up by Loren or butchered by Gula, but the orcs I beat to death can be reused as zombies.¡± The places where the orc had been hit should have been crushed, and its body should have been broken in various places from rolling and crashing into the trees from the force of the blows. But such things no longer mattered to the dead orc; moving very slowly and strangely, the zombified orc slowly began to walk toward somewhere. ¡°Hey, where is it going?¡± ¡°Where it lives, of course.¡± Dia answered. She had already turned another orc into a zombie, and it, too, began to walk away, dragging its damaged entrails behind it. Loren raised his eyebrows at the gruesome sight, but Dia seemed unbothered; she moved closer to the corpse of another orc and began to use her necromancy again. ¡°What are you making them do?¡± ¡°Even though orcs are not very intelligent, they can at least remember where they live. So I turn them into zombies and have them walk home.¡± This orc, which had also wobbled to its feet, had no head. Loren feels that since the body was headless, high or low intelligence was not relevant, but the ghost that controlled the zombified corpse was, and the presence or absence of body parts was no longer relevant when it came to thoughts. ¡°The orcs I turned into zombies are under my control. I can keep track of everything, from how they walk to where they go.¡± ¡°Elders do have some useful powers, don¡¯t they?¡± Loren thought that it was just what to be expected from the strongest amongst Undead, and a high-ranking one at that. Dia turned a suspicious eye on him as she created yet another zombie. ¡°When you say it, it sounds like you¡¯re joking, or being sarcastic.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°No, well, it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t understand.¡± As Loren tilted his head and wondered what she wanted to say, he heard the thought of Shayna inside him. [¡®Onii-san, um, I was turned into it, but¡­ I am the King of Death, the highest-ranking Undead¡­¡¯] Shayna sounded timid, but Loren wondered if she could do the same thing that Dia is currently doing, and she replied. [¡®I can. Is it alright for me to do it?¡¯] Thinking that it would be a great help if it could save Dia some work, Loren asked Shayna to use her ability. Having been asked, Shayna projected her own image into Loren¡¯s mind for a moment, said she would do her best, and then began to exercise her power as the King of Death. ¡°Eh, wait? This¡­ What is this?¡± It was no wonder that Gula sounded upset. Dia had been using necromancy to create zombies by selecting corpses with relatively few broken parts, but Shayna just turned any corpses into zombies almost randomly, and the result was a very creepy spectacle. An upper body of an orc crawled with both arms and disappeared behind the trees while trailing various things from its cross section, while a lower body of an orc followed with wobbly steps. The left and right sides of an orc that had been split in half vertically supported each other as they slowly walked away into the line of trees. As they wondered how the orcs with only their heads left could do such a thing, one rolled its way through the trees. It was a sight beyond fear, and they could only watch on and laugh. And like that, the orc corpses that had received Shayna¡¯s power, regardless of the extent of their damages, walked towards the place where they had lived. ¡°What a bunch of nasty zombies they¡¯ve become.¡± ¡°Those zombies, they weren¡¯t Dia¡¯s doing, right?¡± ¡°No, Elf, it was me. I didn¡¯t expect it to become such bad taste.¡± Dia shielded Shayna¡¯s presence from Nim¡¯s questioning, then looked over the mostly vanished corpses and performed some sort of necromancy to remove the traces of blood that had been splattered all over the place. ¡°We¡¯ll take a good night¡¯s rest tonight and go after them when it gets bright. Hopefully, there will be enough orcs to crush the zombies during the night, so we¡¯ll have less work to do.¡± Dia yawned, rubbed her eyes, and patted Loren on the hip as he watched over things. ¡°Now that the blood is gone, you should get ready for bed soon. Staying up late is your skin¡¯s worst enemy.¡± ¡°Nah, you¡¯re basically a creature of the night, aren¡¯t you?¡± It sounded to Loren like a very bad joke for an Undead to say that she did not want to stay up late. ¡°Vampires and Ancestors may be, but it has nothing to do with the Elders. Whatever, just get the bed ready now.¡± ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll make preparations.¡± Looking at Dia, who yawned again, Loren decided that it was probably no good to think too much about it. Putting away his greatsword, he began to resume his work on building a tent for the camp. Chapter 278: From Pursuing To Arriving Proofreader: Xemul During the night, the party took turns to keep watch in pairs, rotating between Gula ¨C Dia and Loren ¨C Lapis. The next day, after having plenty of sleep and rest, they began their activities as soon as the sun rose. Loren was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of a vampire who began activities at sunrise, but he knew he had to accept the fact, as the actual vampire who did that was right in front of him. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡± Dia curiously asked Loren as she had noticed him looking glancing at her from time to time, to which Loren replied shortly that it was nothing and forced his mind to focus on something else. About the orcs that had attacked yesterday, the corpses that had been turned into zombies and sent to search for their home, had provided some rough information about the location of their base to Shayna. But even without such information, there was a clear trail of where the zombies had gone, and it was of no difficulty to follow the blood tracks. ¡°I thought we¡¯d done a pretty good job of cutting them down yesterday, but it looks like there¡¯s still a lot of them left.¡± The first zombies were created by Dia. Because of this, their information was obtained by Dia, then passed on to Loren and the others. Loren was worried about how she could receive information from the zombies created by Shayna, but his worries proved to be in vain. As the highest-ranking vampire, it was no problem for Dia to interfere with the magical connection between the zombies created by Shayna and Shayna herself to obtain information from them. ¡°There seems to be a cave in the middle of Fire Flute Mountain. It seems to be where the orcs live.¡± ¡°Are there any survivors?¡± Nim asked curtly, and Dia shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Zombies are not intelligent enough to distinguish between orcs and humans. The only thing they can tell is that there is something alive out there in large numbers.¡± ¡°I want to help the survivors.¡± Nim stated somewhat firmly. Loren also wanted to help as much as possible, but the first priority was their own safety. If that were to be threatened, he believed it would be necessary to give up on the survivors. However, he thought it would be best to remain silent as it might aggravate Nim¡¯s feelings. But the elf glanced at him and, sensing that he was being asked to say something, Loren thought for a moment before offering a bland opinion. ¡°If possible.¡± ¡°Sure, that¡¯s fine.¡± After such an exchange, the group left the camp. They loaded their belongings onto the wagon, carried only what they needed, and left the wagons inside the ruined village. Loren was uneasy about leaving the wagons in the ruined village without guards, but Gula and Dia took care of the matter. ¡°I¡¯ve left a protective ward and a magic formula to keep monsters out, so I think it¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve set up an interceptor on the wagon, so it should be able to handle a few monsters.¡± ¡°Do you want me to do something too?¡±¡± Loren gently turned Lapis¡¯s offer down. The magical formula used by the Elder and the Evil God alone was more than enough. If the power of the demon tribe was also used, it was impossible to know what would happen. If they were not careful, they might end up with more damages than just a lost wagon. Although it was not a great distance from the wrecked village to Mt. Fire Flute, the path was quite steep, and there was no such thing as a mountain path. This meant that neither people nor animals would venture into this mountain, and it was very troublesome for their party to have to climb it. Nevertheless, they chose a route that seemed relatively easy to follow and began climbing. But there was one person who could not climb the mountain, but climbed on Loren¡¯s back instead. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any spare clothes or something?¡± Clinging to a stunned Loren¡¯s back and looking somewhat pleased was Dia, wearing a dress. Of course, it would not be impossible to climb a mountainside with undergrowth and short trees wearing such a dress, but the dress would obviously suffer from tears all over. Dia immediately gave up climbing the mountain and clang to Loren¡¯s back as a means of keeping up with the group. ¡°As an Elder, I don¡¯t have any plain clothes.¡± ¡°When we first met, weren¡¯t you wearing something more plain?¡± ¡°I was not a full-fledged Elder then, but I am now.¡± ¡°You always just say whatever¡­¡± Loren was taken aback by Dia¡¯s manner of speaking, but it was no great burden for him to have the small Dia clinging to his back. The only thing he worried about was that she might get in the way a little when he drew his greatsword. As he thought that he should just let her do what she pleased, he noticed Lapis turning to him with a grudging look, and hurriedly decided to pretend not to know. And so, Dia was being carried up the slope of the mountain while humming on Loren¡¯s back. After a while, the Elder tapped Loren on the shoulder and pointed in their direction of travel. ¡°There¡¯s a zombie over there.¡± Loren looked over and saw a motionless, half-destroyed orc corpse leaning against one of the trees growing on the side of the mountain. Thinking what a grotesque sight it was, he approached and stopped when he saw another dead orc hidden in the undergrowth at the zombie¡¯s feet. Peeking out from Loren¡¯s back, Dia looked down at the fallen orc corpses and immediately guessed the identity of the corpse. ¡°They seem to be intelligent enough to send out patrols. It seems they ran into each other and got into a fight.¡± ¡°So, the zombies over there are stuck in a battle.¡± ¡°That seems to be the case. The fallen one is a little bitten off, but it seems less damaged than the standing one, so I will let this one lead the way.¡± As Dia said and waved her hand lightly, the zombie that was leaning against the tree collapsed to the ground, and the fallen orc began to slowly stand up. The orc, whose cause of death was apparently having its throat ripped open, did not appear to be too badly damaged, and as not much time had passed since it was killed, its appearance was well-preserved. However, it was still completely naked, and although Lapis had gotten used to it, she still found it hard to look directly at him. She quietly looked away and hid behind Loren. ¡°Just like the first time.¡± ¡°Please leave me alone.¡± As the two people behind his back had this exchange, Loren followed the zombie, who had started walking, and began to climb the mountain again. It was a long walk from there. Halfway up, they found a place where they couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what happened. Hidden behind a large grove of trees nearby, they came upon a cave-like opening in the mountainside, where a group of naked orcs were locked in a grapple. If that were all, it would have been just another unpleasant scene that they could have pretended to not see and forgotten about, but it was apparent that some of the orcs were in such a broken state that they were clearly not alive. It seemed that the orc zombies that Shayna had created and the orcs that were living in Mt. Fire Flute were in the middle of a battle. ¡°The zombies are doing pretty well.¡± The living orc was completely naked as usual, but they had weapons in their hands. The zombies, on the other hand, were already broken to some extent, and they didn¡¯t have any weapons. The zombies were strong enough that they would not stop attacking even if their bodies were broken. By the time Loren and his group arrived, a good number of the zombies had already stopped moving. However, the zombified orcs, who were originally sturdy and powerful monsters, had become zombies that wielded their power without concern for physical damage or limitations, and the orcs seemed to have suffered quite a bit of damage as well. Thinking that the balance of the battle would tip to the side of the zombies if they interfered, Loren was about to put his hand on his greatsword, when he was stopped by Dia, who was clinging to his back. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°Are you going to rush in? I don¡¯t want you to.¡± ¡°We can crush those orcs guarding the entrance now.¡± Since the cave on the mountainside was probably where the orcs lived, Loren thought that it was unlikely that the orcs engaging the zombies at the entrance were the entire force. However, there were not a small number of them, and he thought that if they were to be exterminated here, it would reduce the amount of work they would have to do when they ventured inside. ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush in. We only need to crush them, right?¡± Dia whispered to Loren, her mouth close to his ears, and snapped her fingers with her right hand. With that single movement, the orc corpses and zombie remnants that had been lying motionless on the ground began to gather together in one place, as if they had a will of their own. The sight was so gruesome that Loren and the others were speechless. The muscle fibers of the gathered orc and zombie bodies were squashed together, the blood remaining inside dripped out, and with the sound of bones being broken echoing all around, merged into a single mass. (Liz: just imagine how gross it would smell is enough to make me want to vomit¡­) ¡°Flesh golem. It¡¯s not undead, it¡¯s the result of alchemy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so disgusting that it makes me want to vomit.¡± Lapis gave a scathing criticism to Dia, who was a bit proud of her performance. Dia was somewhat disappointed by Lapis¡¯ words, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, Lapis¡¯ remark was understandable. After all, it was a flesh golem made from orc corpses, both fresh or zombified, kneaded together like clay and formed into a humanoid shape. Even if no one said it bluntly like Lapis, there was no doubt that it had an appearance that would make anyone with normal sensibilities nauseous. Moreover, when the flesh golem caught the startled orcs and began to try to push them into its body, even Loren, who thought he was used to such things, could not help but feel a small lump in his throat. ¡°Well, I guess that takes care of the orcs.¡± Perhaps realizing from Loren¡¯s expression that what she had created was unacceptable to the other party members, Dia hurriedly tried to change the subject. Loren, however, was caught off guard by Dia¡¯s words and questioned her, thinking that no matter how much she tried to change the subject, nothing would change as long as the actual thing was right in front of their eyes. ¡°How can you call that ¡®taken care of¡¯?¡± It was true that the flesh golem had almost one-sidedly crushed the orcs. However, although the cave where the orcs live was quite large and spacious, it was probably too small for the flesh golem, which had assimilated many more orc corpses, to get inside. If it could not get in, it would not be able to exterminate the orcs inside, and the problem would not be solved at all. But something happening at the entrance of the cave began to overturn this thought of his. Of all things, the flesh golem began to bend and twist its huge body and push its way into the cave. ¡°It was originally a mass of flesh and blood, so it¡¯s easy to transform.¡± According to Dia, it did have some kind of skeleton, but even if that skeleton was destroyed, there was no problem reconstructing it inside. Moreover, as there was no reason why it had to be humanoid, the size of the space it entered would not matter. ¡°After the orcs have been dealt with, the problem is solved by destroying the golem itself. How¡¯s that?¡± Dia boasted, and Loren was honestly impressed. Yet that feeling fizzled out when Lapis voiced her question. ¡°If there were survivors among them, that golem would pick them out and keep them alive, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Dia froze in her boastful pose, and that was the answer to Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°What do we do, Loren?¡± ¡°You tell me.¡± The flesh golem had blocked the entrance to the cave as it tried to push itself inside. As they could not stop it now, there was nothing they could do. With nothing left to do but watch and pray, Loren looked up at the sky with resigned eyes, hoping that there had been no survivors from the beginning, or that some of them would survive. Chapter 279: From Extermination To Raiding Proofreader: Xemul They watched the flesh golem that Dia had created for a while until it pushed its body completely into the cave, making it impossible to see what was happening from the outside. After emerging from their hiding place, Loren tried to approach the cave, but the entrance was completely covered by a wall of flesh and he could not see inside. As the entrance was completely blocked, no noise could leak out. Wondering what to do, Loren looked down at Dia, who had come up beside him. The Elder moved her face close to the wall of flesh golem she had created, then shook her head as if to say it was hopeless. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do until the order is carried out.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t even cut our way through it?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re ready to get sloshed with blood and grease, I won¡¯t stop you.¡± If one were to use a blade or something to cut through the wall of flesh that covered the large cave¡¯s entrance, one would have to be prepared for the condition Dia had described. Loren was willing to get covered in blood and grease if necessary, but he didn¡¯t want to be in such a situation when he didn¡¯t have to. Looking toward the cave, Loren noticed that the wall of flesh blocking the entrance was slowly but surely slipping inward. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Gula, who had also noticed the change, tilted her head, and Dia, who was also tilting her head, clapped her hands. ¡°This cave is quite deep. The flesh golem does not have enough volume to fill the entire cave, so the deeper it goes, the more the flesh wall will be pulled inside.¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re going to be able to move forward as much as the wall being pulled inside.¡± Lapis, who was poking her head in to check the condition inside the entrance of the cave, said with a sigh. The walls of the cave were slick with blood and grease after the flesh golem had passed through; you might slip if you stepped in the wrong direction, and you were sure to get dirty if you touched the walls, so it was not in a condition that one would want to enter. Still, they would need to enter to check inside after the flesh golem destroyed itself, and the thought made Loren feel gloomy. He stared at the wall of flesh moving slowly toward the back of the cave with disgusted eyes, but after a while he noticed that the movement of the wall was a little strange and looked at it more closely. The wall of flesh, which had been moving steadily inward until then, suddenly stopped moving at a certain depth. ¡°Hey, it stopped.¡± ¡°Has it reached the end?¡± The wall had not advanced that far and was still within sight of their group, who were peeking in through the entrance. Thinking that it might be too shallow and too early to have reached the end of the cave, Loren suddenly noticed that the wall of flesh, which had gone deep inside, was coming back toward them. ¡°Run! That thing is coming back!¡± Loren did not consider the flesh golem to be such an inferior creature that it could not distinguish between friend and foe, but the speed of the returning wall was so fast that he thought it might engulf him and the others who were peering into the cave. As he tried to move away from the entrance while giving a warning to everyone, Dia, who was at his back, whispered. ¡°Collapse.¡± With that single word, the flesh golem, whose body had been made of flesh and blood, crumbled as if it had been some kind of joke. Loren was worried that if the thing collapsed, its remains would flood beneath their feet, and they would be in serious trouble. But his worry was for nothing as the remains of the flesh golem lay on the ground as flesh and blood for a moment, then soon dried up and turned into clumps, which after a while broke into dust. Crouching down in the remains of the flesh golem, which had self-disintegrated without leaving so much as a smell behind, Dia took a pinch of the dust before the others could stop her and stared at the substances on her fingers. ¡°Golems basically have no feelings.¡± Dia said to no one in particular as she brushed the dust off her fingers. ¡°But golems made from living organisms, such as flesh golems and bone golems, sometimes retain some kind of residue of emotion.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°This golem was frightened by something.¡± Dia¡¯s gaze turns to the depth of the cave. It was impossible to see inside the unlit cave with normal vision, but Dia, being an Elder, could see through that level of darkness just as well as in daylight. Loren, too, was able to see as far as her by borrowing Shayna¡¯s vision, although he was unable to see into areas that are not completely lit by his own vision alone. When he turned his gaze toward the depth of the cave as well, all he could see was just a straight stretch of cave; there didn¡¯t seem to be any being that could frighten even a golem as Dia had said. ¡°It must be quite a thing to frighten even a golem.¡± Lapis, who had followed after Loren and peered into the depths of the cave, could also see through the darkness with her magical vision. Gula, too, could do the same thing. Nim was the only one who had a frown on her face after peering into the dark and glancing at the others. ¡°Loren, do you see anything?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t. How can I?¡± In fact, he could see, but he couldn¡¯t let Nim know that. So Loren had no choice but to tell the elf that he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Nim, you can¡¯t see?¡± ¡°I can to some extent¡­ But not to the end of the path.¡± ¡°I also can¡¯t see anything?¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± Gula and Lapis, still peering into the cave, lied one after the other. Dia was looking at Loren and the others with a look that seemed to say ¡®What are you talking about¡¯, but they just couldn¡¯t let Nim know the truth. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to get some light and go in there. Thankfully, the blood on the walls and floor seems to be gone.¡± As the flesh golem self-destructed, the blood and grease that had wet the walls of the cave also self-destructed and turned to dust, perhaps because they were also parts of the golem. As Loren was thinking that it would be no problem to touch the walls even though they might have to pay some attention to the dust under feet, Dia curiously asked. ¡°We¡¯re going to go in and investigate?¡± ¡°Yeah. Maybe there are some survivors left, and probably something else in there that scared the flesh golem too?¡± Although Loren had a rather brutal thought that it would be less troublesome if there were no survivors left, he believed it would be a good idea to investigate what had frightened the golem. The reason was simple: of all the beings that might inhabit Mt. Fire Flute, the only one powerful enough to drive away even a supposedly emotionless golem would be the Ancient Dragon that they had come to see. He did think that it might be unlikely, since Dia and Lapis could not feel anything when they came close, but he also thought that it would be a much more productive idea than trying to search the entire mountain, as long as there were no other clues. ¡°I¡¯m not forcing you to follow me. I¡¯ll go on my own.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I can let Loren go alone.¡± Nim said with her bow at the ready. Lapis nodded, her face showing some dissatisfaction at having been beaten to the punch. ¡°If everyone is going, I can¡¯t bear to be the only one left behind.¡± ¡°I have to go, too, if that¡¯s the way it¡¯s going.¡± In the end, it was decided that they would all go inside together. The cave was large enough for two people to walk side by side. Loren and Dia, who had a magic light on her fingertips, walked in the front, Gula was in the middle, and Lapis and Nim walked side-by-side behind her. ¡°I thought it would stink¡­ but it doesn¡¯t.¡± Even without the presence of the flesh golem, Loren had expected the place to be filthy and stinking, as it had probably been the home of orcs. But the air inside the cave they stepped into, although a bit damp, did not contain the foul odor he had expected. ¡°The golem was in here first. All the dirt and smells have already been taken in.¡± Dia said that if they had gone in first, perhaps the cave would be in the condition Loren had expected. But the flesh golem had charged in first, and as it went deeper inside, rubbing its body against the cave wall, it seemed that it had also taken dirt and other things into its body. Those things were broken down with the golem when it self-destructed and turned into the dust that filled the area underfoot, so there was no scent or dirt left behind. ¡°That¡¯s handy.¡± ¡°Originally, golems were meant to be used as tools.¡± ¡°They look horrible, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more charming when they have at least one flaw.¡± Loren continued through the cave, wondering if that appearance, which was made from internal organs and muscles kneaded together, could simply be considered as a fault. The flesh golem itself did not go very far into the cave; it turned around in the middle of the path, so Loren wondered if there might still be some orcs left in the back. But when the party went deeper inside, there was no sign of orcs, nor were there any leftover food like dead bodies lying around. ¡°Looks like it did a good job of cleaning up.¡± Dia said with satisfaction while checking the situation by holding out magic lights here and there. The cave was deep. Loren was somewhat curious as to how the flesh golem, which had only made it to a rather shallow part of the cave, had gotten rid of the orcs that might have been in the back. However, he could not carelessly ask Dia about it, considering that he might get some absurd answer. As for the result, Loren thought that it would be good enough if the orcs had been exterminated. ¡°The survivors were cleaned up, too, weren¡¯t they?¡± Gula, who was walking behind Loren and Dia, spoke to the Elder in a somewhat dismayed tone. But Dia puffed out her chest lightly and firmly stated. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything like survivors, so perhaps they were never here!¡± ¡°Wow¡­ Loren, this Elder has become defiant.¡± ¡°I certainly did expect them to be here, but since we can¡¯t know for sure whether they really were here or not, you cannot argue that they really were.¡± Lapis somehow managed to convince Gula, who was dumbfounded. ¡°Loren, you should choose your friends better.¡± Loren listened to Nim¡¯s worried words of advice as he alone kept his eyes on their surroundings. There must be something in their path that frightened even a golem, but where had his companions left their sense of urgency, he wondered? Chapter 280: Traces In A Hidden Room Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s nothing here.¡± The group proceeded with caution, but there were no signs of life in the cave, despite the fact that it was once the home of orcs. The place where they would normally cook food, the place to lock up the villagers brought from the village they had attacked, the place to store food¡­ They couldn¡¯t find any places like that. They found a few spaces that looked vaguely like they might have been used as rooms, but there was nothing left in them, and they could not even guess what the purpose of those rooms might have been. ¡°It¡¯s spotless. Maybe the cleaning was overdone?¡± When Lapis, who was walking behind, said something like that to Dia, who was walking in front, Dia turned away with a blank look on her face and started clumsily whistling a strange tune. Smiling wryly, Loren wondered if she had any better way to deflect the question. But there was another thing weighing on his mind: the thing that had made the supposedly emotionless golem back down. There must have been something at the end of the cave that not only triggered fear in the golem, which normally would not be frightened but also made it abandon its forward movement and move backward. But not only Loren, even Lapis, Dia, and Gula, had yet to sense such a powerful presence here. ¡°I wonder what was here? Is it gone already?¡± With her hands folded behind her head, Gula, who was walking around with a manner that showed no hint of caution, said to no one in particular. Loren thought that if something with such a powerful presence was on the move, it should have left some traces, but they hadn¡¯t been able to sense any such traces at all. ¡°Maybe that thing was very good at handling its power and presence?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. I don¡¯t think I can compete with it.¡± A being that unnecessarily exerted intimidation over its surroundings was frightening, but a being that could exert intimidation when necessary and then move on without being noticed by its surroundings would be even more so, according to Nim. She said that this proved that the being had both a very high level of intelligence and ability, and Loren agreed. The group slowly moved deeper into the cave as they talked, but after some distance, Loren felt a tug on his shoulder and looked down at his right shoulder. He could not see Nig at its usual place on his shoulder, but he saw instead a white thread attached to it. Looking at the end of the thread, he could see Nig with its a black body stuck to the cave wall. Wondering what was going on, Loren walked up to the wall where the spider was, a spider thread still attached to his shoulder, and stopped when he smelled a sweet smell coming from the wall, albeit only slightly. ¡°Loren?¡± Seeing Loren suddenly walking towards a wall then stopped, a quizzical Lapis asked. But she immediately noticed the gaze he directed towards the wall and, raising a hand to get the others¡¯ attention, she slowly approached the wall herself and brought her face close to the rocky surface. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Something smells¡­ bad.¡± As Loren wondered if Lapis could smell that, Gula approached the wall just as Lapis did, and when he thought her nose twitched lightly, she suddenly frowned, covered her mouth and quickly moved away from the wall. That sudden reaction made him wonder if she had been exposed to poison, but Gula¡¯s subsequent words made his mind go blank for a moment. ¡°I can feel Luxuria¡¯s presence!¡± What came to Loren¡¯s blank mind was the image of a macho man with a split chin and a big smile on his face, his glistening skin exposed without reserve and his crotch covered by a poor excuse of a piece of cloth. He unconsciously took a step backward, but his legs failed to keep his weight and he almost fell on his back. But was supported by Dia, who was nearby, and Lapis, who had been standing behind Loren before he knew it. Perhaps Lapis had immediately tried to hide behind Loren upon hearing Luxuria¡¯s name, but when she saw that Loren was about to fall on his back, she had hurriedly supported him. He thought to himself ¡®I¡¯m not your shelter¡¯, but he guessed he should be thankful for her in this case. As Loren somehow managed to regain his posture, he saw Nim looking like she had no idea what was going on, and Gula still staring at the wall. The Evil God covered her mouth with her hand and carefully brought her face close to the wall, closely examining the rock surface for a while. Eventually, she looked away and toward Loren and the others. ¡°This wall is probably created by >. I don¡¯t know who did it¡­ but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s him¡­¡± Someone who had the presence of the Evil God of Lust, but was not Luxeria, and also used magic. Loren knew of only one person who met all these conditions. But if that person had been here, Loren was afraid that they had been a step too late. Even thought it was a long shot, it was not impossible for the Evil God of Lust, who would be leading a group of muscle-bound adventurers in the city of Kapha right now, had somehow created a wall here. But in that case, they would have to consider eliminating Luxeria, the true Evil God of Lust, in earnest. Either way, an investigation was necessary. ¡°Can you move that stone wall?¡± ¡°I can just > it¡­ Ah, but if the magic she used was as strong as mine, it might be a bit of a pain.¡± The person Loren and Gula were thinking about was a dark elf named Noel, who followed a man named Magna, a black swordsman who had a history with Loren and his companions. Loren¡¯s party had previously explored a ruin where Evil Gods had been created. There, they had encountered Noel, who had been reborn as an Evil God of Lust by a device that created Evil Gods like Gula and her kins. At that time, they parted without much of an encounter, but since Noel had also gained power as an Evil God of Lust, it was not surprising that she would have the same powers and dispositions as Luxuria. ¡°Try to. We have to look into this.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯ right. Give me some time, will ya?¡± As Gula approached the stone wall, Nig, who had been attached to said wall, hauled itself back to Loren¡¯s right shoulder by the thread it had spit out. Loren patted the spider on the back, who sensed the presence of something they had failed to notice and told him about it. ¡°Loren, it has become very attached to you.¡± ¡°It seems so¡­ But I wonder why?¡± ¡°People who are liked by insects and animals are not bad. Loren is a good child after all.¡± Nim smiled and pat Loren¡¯s back. Embarrassed, he scratched his cheek with his index finger. In the meantime, Gula, who had been examining the stone wall, stepped away after a while and pointed her right palm at it. ¡°>.¡± As she chanted the spell, the surface of the stone wall glowed dimly for a moment. As the light faded, what had been a solid stone wall lost its shape and dissolved into thin air. At the same time, an entrance that had not been there appeared, and Loren and the others had to turn their faces away, cover their mouths with their hands and hold their breath because of the sweet smell that leaked out from the other side of the entrance. ¡°My God, who honors knowledge, protect us from the forces of evil. >.¡± Lapis hurriedly chanted, and everyone¡¯s resistance to magic was increased. If not for that, Loren and Nim might have been hit by the sweet smell and fallen under the control of the power of lust. The smell was that strong. Loren, who was holding his breath so much that tears leaked out, wiped his eyes and looked beyond the entrance that Gula had opened. On the floor there was what appeared to be a magic circle drawn by purple light, and in the center of it was a stone statue of what appeared to be a woman. ¡°What is this¡­?¡± Nim asked, mouth still covered by a hand, and Loren wondered how to reply. Being a silver ranked adventurer, she must have known about Evil Gods, but it was difficult to say that Evil Gods existed right here. But then, it would be very difficult to explain that thing without talking about the Evil God of Lust. As Loren wondered what to do, Gula spoke on his behalf. ¡°This is a form of magic that affects the mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not an honest art. I think you have to be a bit of a crazy outcast like me to know it.¡± Loren wondered if anyone would call themselves crazy, but Nim stared at Gula and muttered ¡®I see¡¯ as if she was satisfied for some reason. Wondering what about Gula¡¯s appearance that was so convincing, Loren stared at the Evil God, who seemed to have been expecting some more difficult questions and was disappointed that none came, and found something that somehow made sense to him. ¡°She¡¯s not dressed like a normal magician.¡± A magician¡¯s basic attire was a robe and a staff. However, Gula was not dressed in the manner one would associate with the word ¡®magician¡¯, and her clothes were very revealing. If you were told that she was an outcast, you would accept that she could not be a normal magician with such an attire. ¡°I know I said so myself, but it hurts to hear you agree like that¡­¡± ¡°For now, let¡¯s leave Gula¡¯s unusual appearance alone.¡± Leaving Gula slump-shouldered, Lapis pointed to the formula on the other side of the entrance. ¡°I think it¡¯s better to destroy that, isn¡¯t it? Maybe this is the reason why the orcs were so active.¡± ¡°Maybe so, but¡­ how do we get rid of it?¡± Loren wondered if Gua was going to use > again, but Lapis pointed to the female statue enshrined in the center of the formula. ¡°If we destroy it, the formula will not be able to sustain itself.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t go out of control, will it?¡± Destroying the key element of a controlled object woud certainly cause the whole system to go out of order and collapse. And with its control gone, the controlled object might go wild. That was what Loren wanted to confirm, but Lapis tilted her head and said. ¡°I can¡¯t decipher the formation.¡± If it were an ordinary magic circle, Lapis would have been able to decipher it. But what they had here was a circle made by the power of an Evil God, a formation that she did not know, and she said that it wouldn¡¯t be strange if something unexpected happened. Even though Loren was disheartened by her words, they couldn¡¯t just leave that magic circle here. So he raised his greatswords, thinking that no matter what the statue in the center of the magic circle was made of, it would surely be broken by his sword. Chapter 281: From Dispelling to Advancing Proofreader: Xemul Loren was worried that the magic circle would go out of control if they destroyed it, but they couldn¡¯t just leave it alone. Even if something happened, there was still Lapis, a demon, who was skilled in manipulating magic, and Gula, who was indeed called ¡®God¡¯ even though there was a lot to say about her title. Then there was also Loren, who had Shayna, the King of Death ¨C the highest ranked undead, dwelling inside him. Not to mention Dia, the Elder. Thinking that a group like theirs could handle a few things, Loren swung his greatsword and slashed at the female statue in the centre of the magic circle, which was glowing with a mysterious light. Loren had expected the statue to be made from some kind of very hard material, but his blade passed through it with almost no resistance. As a result, he pitched forward a little after putting too much force into the swing while the statue, having been cut off at an angle, fell to the floor. At that moment, the magic circle on the floor immediately lost its light, and the unbearably sweet smell that had been wafting through the air vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. ¡°How¡¯s it?¡± ¡°It seems to be alright.¡± Loren wondered what would happen, but Lapis, after looking around and seeing that nothing seemed to have changed, walked up to Loren¡¯s side and lightly poked the female statue that had fallen at his feet with her toes. The statue made a sound like something solid being tapped would, but nothing happened. After confirming this, Lapis turned to Loren, who had returned his greatsword to his back, and nodded to say that it was okay. ¡°With this, I guess the orcs problem is also solved now.¡± ¡°The golem cleaned up the mess.¡± Gula said this in a voice that could be considered either sarcastic or joking, and when Dia glared at her. Just then, IT came out of nowhere. Loren reflexively put his hand on the hilt of the greatsword he had just put away, and Lapis got into a fighting stance. The smile on Gula¡¯s face disappeared, and Dia¡¯s eyes, which had been glaring at Gula, turned away from her to the back of the cave. Nim was the only one who was surprised by the suddenly ready-for-battle atmosphere and looked around without understanding what had happened. ¡°Did you feel it?¡± ¡°Yes, but only subtle and not very clearly.¡± ¡°Just for a brief moment, then it¡¯s suddenly gone.¡± ¡°But it definitely focused on us.¡± ¡°Loren, explanation please.¡± Nim tugged at Loren¡¯s sleeves, and Loren wondered what to say as he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. It was probably the presence momentarily directed at them that made Loren and the other three enter a state of alertness at once. As Lapis said, they reflexively went into fighting stances after sensing the presence, but it was too subtle for Nim to perceive. Although it was not surprising that Lapis, Gula and Dia could sense the presence, they were all astonished that Loren was able to sense something that even a silver ranked adventurer like Nim couldn¡¯t. They didn¡¯t show it on their faces though. ¡°You mean something turned its attention to us for a moment?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t seem to mean us any harm, but I sensed something very powerful.¡± ¡°It must have come from somewhere deeper in the cave.¡± ¡°The passageway seems to still continue. Shall we go on?¡± Dia pointed to the end of the passage and Loren nodded. ¡°Yes. We¡¯re here to investigate, so we have no choice but to go on.¡± If they turned back here, there was very little to report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The fact that nearby villages had been destroyed was a matter that should have been reported to the government rather than the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and the report of an unusual orc infestation had nothing to support it now that they had defeated the orcs and cleaned out the cave where they dwelled with the flesh golem. ¡°Then we should proceed with utmost care.¡± ¡°I guess so. If something happens, I¡¯ll leave it to you, Elder-sensei.¡± ¡°Very well. I¡¯m confident that I can handle most things, but since this is your job in the first place, it is a little wrong to leave everything to me, don¡¯t you think?¡± As they walked deeper into the cave, Dia admonished Lapis¡¯ words, but Lapis took no offense and plainly said. ¡°I think it¡¯s part of being an adventurer to use whatever you have available to you to get out of a tight spot.¡± Behind them, Gula nodded her head repeatedly as if to say ¡®That¡¯s right¡¯. Loren thought that if Dia was not enough, surely the next to be pushed to the frontline should be Gula, the Evil God. ¡°Hey, Nim. You could give up at some point and go back anytime. We kinda have our own terms, you know.¡± Loren would feel sorry for Nim and Chuck if the elf got too deep into this, so he told Nim, who was walking behind him. It would be a bit dangerous for Nim to go back on her own, but with her ability as a silver ranked adventurer, he thought she should be able to make it back to Kapha by herself. But Nim shook her head. ¡°Once I¡¯ve taken a job, I will carry it out properly. When it¡¯s time to come back, we¡¯ll all go together.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to be a great wife, Nim, no lie.¡± When Loren sincerely put into words what he felt, Nim, who normally did not show much emotions, quietly looked away as a slight blush tinted her cheeks. Seeing the elf like that, Gula and Dia smiled wickedly. Loren, guessing that they were about to tease Nim, glared at them a bit hard before they could and the two, realizing that they were easily found out, gave up teasing the elf. ¡°Loren, can you tell me the same thing too?¡± Loren opened his mouth to say the same thing to Lapis, whose eyes were shining with anticipation, but he stopped himself mid-sentence and closed his mouth. As Lapis was about to puff out her cheeks, being unhappy about not being able to hear those words for herself, Loren patted her head. ¡°Words don¡¯t have any weight unless you really mean it, don¡¯t you think? I¡¯ll say it here casually if you want to, but do you want something like that?¡± ¡°Mm-hmm. Let¡¯s save it for the right time then.¡± Loren¡¯s words put Lapis back in a good mood, and she easily backed off, which caused Gula and Dia to start smirking again. But this time, they took one look at Lapis and immediately dropped the smiles from their faces and began to slink away. Loren reckoned that she must have stared at them with a very scary face, but fortunately for him, Lapis¡¯ face was turned toward Gula and Dia at an angle that was not visible to him, and Loren never had to see it. And like that, the group proceeded deeper into the cave where the orcs used to live. After some time, Loren noticed that the orcs had not set foot in the back of this cave. To be more specific, the orcs did not seem to have come beyond the area where the magic circle was located. One of the reasons why they knew this was that the remains of the flesh golem, which had self-destructed and turned into dust, had stopped appearing beyond the place where the magic circle was located. Even though the flesh golem had retreated in response to something, they didn¡¯t know how far it had been able to advance at all. but considering the fact that Dia had ordered it to self-destruct before it could retreat too far, this cave had no traces of its passage. However, Loren thought that it was safe to assume that the deeper part of the cave was untouched, since there was no sign of the filth and smell of orcs living there. And the only reason he could think of was that presence, which had momentarily focused on them was in the back of the cave. ¡°If you really think about it, the Ancient Dragon is a strong possibility, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You mean the thing in the back of the cave? That may be so, but if so, doesn¡¯t that raise another question?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so strange about it?¡± ¡°Would an Ancient Dragon allow orcs to live in the cave that leads to its lair?¡± Orcs were a filthy race. They hoarded a variety of things, which made the area around their dwelling very smelly and unbearably dirty. It must be quite unpleasant just to have such monsters living near you, and if you think about, it seemed very unlikely that a being like an Ancient Dragon would really allow them to live close to its dwelling. ¡°If any orcs settled anywhere near where I live, I would certainly incinerate them on the same day.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the dragons would tolerate something that even the humans can¡¯t seem to tolerate.¡± ¡°I think us elves would do everything in our power to get rid of the orcs if they were anywhere near the forest.¡± ¡°I am sure that dragons will not allow that either. But then, what else could be ahead?¡± ¡°Could it be a dragon that is tolerant of orcs?¡± There are many different types of people among the human race. It would be the same for elves and demons. Loren thought that if there were so many people with different ways of thinking, it would not be surprising if there were some individuals who showed some kind of tolerance toward a race that was abhorred like orcs. However, this idea seemed to be unacceptable to Gura and Dia, and they snickered at him, saying what a foolish thing to say. They snorted as if he had just said something nonsensical. ¡°Loren is such an unusual child. Not many people think like that.¡± Loren was unsure whether that was a compliment or not, but he decided to take it as one judging from the expression on Nim¡¯s face. ¡°I don¡¯t dislike that kind of thinking.¡± Even though she also couldn¡¯t tolerate orcs, Lapis didn¡¯t seem to negate Loren¡¯s thought. Although Nim couldn¡¯t be told about this, Lapis was from the demon race, a race that should be abhorred by the human race. But Loren still treated her normally, so she might think that it was not strange for him to think in this way. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not very likely, is it? I said it myself, but I can¡¯t imagine a dragon being friendly with orcs either.¡± If the Ancient Dragon that seemed to live here was that eccentric, then Emery, the Ancient Dragon living in the demon realm, who told them about this one, should have said something to them, or so Loren thought. Chapter 282: From Advancing to Encounter Proofreader: Xemul Stopping and thinking would not give you an answer. Having decided to move forward, Loren and his team decided to take action and proceeded further into the cave. As they formed a line and proceeded deeper and deeper, Lapis noticed something strange. ¡°This cave doesn¡¯t seem to change in dimensions no matter how far we go.¡± If a cave was naturally formed, the deeper you went, the narrower it got. And even if this was not the case, there was bound to be a slight difference in size somewhere. However, the cave that they were walking through had remained almost the same dimensions from the entrance. This meant that this was not a natural formation. However, when he put his face close to the wall of the cave, he could not believe that the rock surface there was dug by someone¡¯s hand, as the wall had extremely natural irregularities. He wondered if it was a disguise to hide the fact that the cave had been artificially created. ¡°Did the orcs dig it?¡± ¡°If so, it would have been more distorted.¡± An artificial cave that did not change in dimensions cannot be built without the skill and knowledge to keep digging in the exact same area. Even if the orcs had dug the mountainside to create a place for themselves to live, Lapis said that it would probably have to be a laborious job, and the shape of the cave would have to be distorted. ¡°Then whose hand did it¡­?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s me, Me. Can you hear me?¡± The male voice suddenly resounded so close to their ears that the group all stopped in their tracks and became alert. But no one could be seen around except for themselves. Loren wondered if it was some kind of telepathy communication like what was used by Shayna, but unlike Shayna¡¯s voice that echoed in his mind, the voice he heard just now definitely sounded like a real voice that shook his eardrums. And it was the voice of an old man. ¡°Can they hear me, I wonder? If you can hear me, please answer.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Loren asked shortly in reply to the voice that demanded a response. It was natural for people to be wary when they could only hear the other person¡¯s voice but could not see them, and it was impossible to know what information may be conveyed to the other person if they speak in long phrases. That was why Loren thought it would be better to keep it short and just implied that they heard the voice. Loren was that cautious, but when the unseen owner of the voice heard his reply, his voice was tinged with joy. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re connected at last. I see you¡¯re in range of my voice, thank goodness.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± The other members of the group remained silent, listening to the dialogue between Loren and the owner of the voice. ¡°What, you are such a bore! Did you break that annoying magic circle around here?¡± The only other magic circle around here Loren could think of was the one of Lust, which he destroyed just a few minutes ago. He asked if that was what the voice talked about, and it happily said ¡®yes¡¯ repeatedly. ¡°That was the first time I felt to be in danger since I was born. If you have removed it, I must thank you. There is no danger beyond that point. You may proceed without worries.¡± An adventurer who replied ¡®Ah is that so¡¯ after being told to not worry would not live long. However, Loren somehow felt that, judging from the tone of the voice he heard, it might be safe to trust what it was saying. But it was a baseless thought, and when he looked at his companions to see what to do, they all looked troubled and seemed to be thinking hard. ¡°It¡¯s a trap, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s a trap.¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a trap.¡± ¡°No one would be stupid enough to believe it.¡± The girls seemed to have uniformly decided that what the voice was saying was a trap. Loren wondered if he was being too good-natured, but was relieved that he had not said anything about trusting the voice. He made a suggestion on what to do next. ¡°We have to keep going. And we have to keep an eye out for traps.¡± In other words, let¡¯s keep our guard up and continue to move forward. As Loren took a step forward, thinking that was all they could do, a voice with a tone of dismay reached his ears. ¡°Skeptics, aren¡¯t you? I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Where are you talking to us from?¡± It was a strange feeling, Loren thought, to have a conversation with someone you couldn¡¯t see. Not that there were no similarities to conversing with Shayna, but Shayna could appear in Loren¡¯s field of vision when she wanted to, and she was someone with whom it was possible to have a conversation without speaking aloud, which was different from the person talking to him at the moment. ¡°Sounds are sent directly to ears by vibration in the atmosphere. In other words, if my voice doesn¡¯t reach others¡¯ ears, you¡¯re just preoccupied mumbling to yourself.¡± ¡°What a bad character!¡± Loren was so surprised by the way the owner of the voice said it that he unintentionally raised his voice, but it seemed that the other person was really trying to make sure that no other members could hear him except for Loren. When he suddenly shouted out loud, everyone looked at him with surprised eyes. Loren cleared his throat and decided to ignore the voice until they met its owner. But just then, he heard more words. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I think I went a little overboard with the prank.¡± There was no joking tone in his apologetic words. The owner of the voice told Loren in a regretful voice that he would not make the same mistake again. ¡°You¡¯re not going to say anything, are you? It can¡¯t be helped. I can transmit my voice by making the air vibrate, and I can even change the tone of my voice, but still¡­ If you don¡¯t talk, I will have to mess with someone else.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± With a sense of foreboding Loren whispered in reply, and the owner of the voice whispered back something ridiculous. ¡°I¡¯m going to whisper in the ears of everyone present here ¡®I love you¡¯ in your voice.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you, you little¡­¡± Loren muttered in a cold, low voice to the other person, who had used polite form only for the ¡®I love you¡¯ part. Lapis and Nim, who had good ears, seemed to hear his murmur. They looked at Loren with a puzzled look on their faces. Rather than startling them, Loren¡¯s first priority was to stop the owner of the voice from pulling his prank. If he really did that, who knew what kind of chaos would ensue. Some would be overjoyed, some would be confused, and some might even get angry. If all of them were to approach him at once, Loren had no confidence that he would be able to control the situation. ¡°I will be thankful if you don¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°It was just a small joke. But you seem to be afraid of the people around you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared to death, so don¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°You sound honest. All right, I swear I won¡¯t do it.¡± The voice did not seem to be able to tell what kind of people were around him, Loren thought. With a group of Elder, demon and Evil God, which just mentioning them together was ominous enough, that was a prank one would never think to pull off. ¡°But walking too slow¡­ I¡¯m bored out of my mind. Can¡¯t I at least have a chat with you?¡± ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t ignore you, so if there¡¯s something you want to ask me, just say it.¡± As only Loren could hear the voice, the sight of him muttering things might seem strange to the other members of the group. However, if it was to stop the mischief that the owner of the voice was talking about, Loren was prepared to take it in stride, even if it made him look like a bit of an oddball. ¡°I¡¯ll ask then. Are you not friends with the creator of the magic circle?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure who made it, but I have a guess, and they are not one of us.¡± ¡°I see. Well then, I feel a strangely potent wave of power from the area where you are. What is the reason for this?¡± Loren looked at Lapis and other people around him. The first thing that came to his mind when he heard the term ¡®potent wave of power¡¯ was the power imbued to the map given to Lapis by the Ancient Dragon Emery. But if they were talking about potent power, then Dia the Elder, Lapis the demon, and Gula the Evil God, basically everyone except for himself and Nim would fit the description. Not knowing which of these the voice was referring to, as well as thinking that it was better to avoid giving an accurate answer, Loren decided not to answer. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to see for yourself?¡± ¡°So, there is more than one candidate for that. That¡¯s a bit frightening.¡± Having his intentions seen through so easily, Loren was deeply impressed. A poor attempt at wordplay might instead make the other person distrustful, so Loren, reminding himself that he needed to think carefully about his answers, decided to ask some questions of his own. ¡°Are you the Ancient Dragon that is said to live in the vicinity?¡± ¡°Who told you that? I¡¯ve been living in hiding for so long that only a few people know who I am.¡± Loren could not imagine why an Ancient Dragon would live in hiding. There must be a good reason for such a powerful being to hide itself, but he thought it was better to answer the question than to think about it at the moment. ¡°We heard from an Ancient Dragon who lives elsewhere. Her name was Emery. Do you know her?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t recall that name¡­ Well, I guess her real name must be a different one. Our names are difficult for humans to hear or say.¡± ¡°It was a dragon living near the castle of the Great Demon King in the demon realm.¡± There was silence for a while. Loren wondered if the dragon had become lost in his own memory when the voice came back, suddenly lively as if its owner had recalled something. ¡°Emery, in the demon realm¡­ Oh oh oh, that one. I know her. I see¡­ it¡¯s not surprising that she knows where I live.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t want us to be attacked out of the blue, so she gave us something with her power in it. Perhaps that is the power you were talking about?¡± ¡°I see. I don¡¯t remember how long it¡¯s been since we last saw each other, and I suppose her worries were justified.¡± How long ago was it that even an Ancient Dragon could not remember? The voice told Loren that it was probably so long ago that it was difficult for him, who only has a fixed lifespan, to even imagine. ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait until we see each other to find out more. You¡¯re about to arrive at my place of residence. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, so come in slowly.¡± Loren noticed that there was a dead end in the direction he was going, and there was no other path. Gula was the first to approach the dead-end wall and began to examine it, holding up her hand. ¡°This one seems to be blocked by magic, too.¡± ¡°The guy at the end of the road called us here, so he must be able to open it, right?¡± When Loren said this to Gula, implying that the Ancient Dragon should open the door for them, the dead-end wall, as if it had been waiting for him to say this, lost its shape as if it were melting, and the entrance that had been blocked is revealed. ¡°What a great power. Even my eyes could not catch any signs.¡± Dia said in admiration as the group went through the open entrance and stepped inside. On the other side of the entrance was a wide hall-like space, with soft white light pouring down from the ceiling, illuminating the entire space. Various gold and silver treasures were piled high along the walls, glittering and reflecting the light pouring down from the ceiling. Loren and his companions were nearly blinded by the sight, but their eyes immediately fell on a dragon in the centre of the hall, and everyone¡¯s faces lit up in surprise. ¡°I should say welcome, should I? I am the Ancient Dragon who lives here. My name is¡­ you may call me Konin.¡± The dragon¡¯s mouth curved slightly into a smile as he introduced himself. Chapter 283: Obtaining Information Proofreader: Xemul When Loren stepped into the chamber, he wondered about one thing. The chamber was shaped like a semi-circular dome, and as far as Loren could see, there was no place to exit other than the entrance through which they had entered. The Ancient Dragon he had encountered in the past was very large, and her habitat naturally had a large opening for such a huge body to enter and exit. But there was nothing like that in this space, and Loren wondered how the dragon living here came and went in and out. But the question was immediately answered when he saw the dragon. ¡°Is there something wrong with my appearance?¡± The dragon, who tilted his head as everyone looked at him, was much smaller than they had imagined. He was small for a dragon, not to mention an Ancient Dragon: Sitting in the centre of the space like a dog, he was at most the size of a young horse. If he was just this big, he would be able to walk through the cave they had passed through to get in and out. However, it was also hard to believe that this was an Ancient Dragon. ¡°So tiny.¡± It seemed like Loren was not the only one who had this impression, but Lapis and the others also felt the same way. As Lapis unintentionally murmured those words, Loren observed the dragon, who was looking at them from a lower perspective than his own. Appearance wise, he looked just as what you would imagine when you heard the word ¡®dragon¡¯. His body was white, the colour so pure that it seemed to glow a little. There was not a speck of dirt on it, and every part of the body, such as limbs, claws and fangs, were in good condition. However, he was still too small. To Loren, he looked like the Ancient Dragon they had met in the demon realm, shrunken down to a smaller size and bleached of all colours. Having been stared at by everyone, the dragon thumped the floor with his tail. ¡°Are you admiring me? Good gracious, it makes me shy.¡± ¡°We¡¯re surprised. Aren¡¯t you a bit too small?¡± The dragon named Konin looked up at Gula curiously when she expressed her honest impression. ¡°Is there something wrong with being small?¡± ¡°It is too different from the Ancient Dragon we¡¯ve met before.¡± The Ancient Dragon they had met in the demon realm was a very large specimen. For Loren and his companions, who still had that image in mind, the specimen they encountered this time was much smaller in comparison. Even if they were told that he was the Ancient Dragon they were looking for, they were still unable to accept that fact. ¡°I have been living here in hiding.¡± Squinting, Konin said as if he was recalling something. ¡°It would be inconvenient to hide if you were too big, wouldn¡¯t it? And if you don¡¯t eat enough for your body, you¡¯ll starve. With this body, I don¡¯t need as much food, so it was more convenient for me.¡± ¡°Why were you hiding again? If I was as powerful as you, I wouldn¡¯t have had to run and hide.¡± From what Loren understood, Ancient Dragons were one of the most powerful beings in the world. An Ancient Dragon was an existence that could not be countered even with an army. So, it was incomprehensible that such a powerful creature would go to the trouble of hiding his existence. If there was something that tried to provoke him, he should have the power to make them yield, Loren thought. ¡°I am a pacifist.¡± Konin said this in a nonchalant manner, but Loren¡¯s eyes did not fail to notice a momentary shift in his gaze. Even without that, Loren believed that no one who claimed to be a pacifist was really a pacifist. He stared at Konin in silence, and after a while the dragon muttered quietly as if to add. ¡°Actually, I was badly wounded by the kingdom a long time ago. I was recovering from that, and I am also a hikikomori that is scared of going outside¡­¡± ¡°Was it the Magic Kingdom of Nuuna?¡± ¡°They were very scary. They saw dragons only as a source of materials.¡± It was no exaggeration to say that the body of a dragon was a treasure trove of materials that can be utilized to the extent that there was no waste. Not only scales, claws and fangs, but bones and internal organs could also be used. Dragon meat could be used to make medicines, and it was also very tasty to eat. ¡°It is said that dragon steak was a favourite dish of the royalty of the Ancient Kingdoms, and that they hunted dragons.¡± Lapis said to Loren as if sharing some trivia, and Konin nodded his head. ¡°So, this dragon here. Is there anything to eat, I wonder?¡± If a dragon was as huge as Emery, the amount of meat and materials that can be obtained from it should be substantial. But Konin, the dragon in front of them, was very small. He was so small that even if you took the trouble to kill it, you might not have enough to eat, or so Loren thought. Konin replied in a somewhat displeased tone. ¡°I was a huge dragon myself until about 300 years ago.¡± According to Konin, even such a huge dragon could only manage to drive back the forces of the Ancient Kingdom. Seriously wounded, he built a dwelling inside Mt. Fire Flute, where Loren¡¯s party was currently at, and began to hide there for many years to heal his wounds. ¡°The smaller you are, the less power you have to use to heal wounds.¡± ¡°Poor dragon.¡± ¡°Oh, you understand, don¡¯t you?¡± When Nim said this, Konin walked up to her and rubbed his head against her chest as if he was nuzzling her. Nim¡¯s face stiffened at first at the experience of being nuzzled by a dragon, but when she realized that it really was similar to being nuzzled by a young horse, perhaps because Konin was being moderate in his strength, she began to stroke his neck tenderly. After a while, Konin pulled away from Nim and walked back to the centre of the chamber. ¡°Hm, somewhat lacking.¡± ¡°Loren, can I shoot that dragon?¡± If voices did have temperature, the temperature of Nim¡¯s words would be the same as the Frozen Hell, one of the hells where evildoers were cast down after death as stated in mythology. Loren stopped her as she was getting her bow ready. ¡°No, don¡¯t do it. That bone arrow won¡¯t penetrate dragons¡¯ scales anyway.¡± In the current state, Nim might be able to shoot through the dragon¡¯s scales. But as long as Loren had information he wanted to extract from this dragon, he could not let her shoot him dead. ¡°Well, it wasn¡¯t much, but thank you Elf lady. And thanks for destroying the magic circle. I couldn¡¯t go out because of that circle.¡± ¡°Was that magic circle really that powerful?¡± In Gula¡¯s opinion, that magic circle, which was probably created by Noel, was just a substitute for the continued exercise of the power of Lust, and should not have been the reason for the Ancient Dragon¡¯s actions. However, since the dragon was unable to go outside because of it, there might have been something else that even Gula did not know. In that case, Noel¡¯s ability must be considerable, and it was necessary to check what that magic circle could do. ¡°No, that magic circle itself just gave off a strange smell. The orcs that were attracted by it were the problem.¡± ¡°How can orcs give problems to an Ancient Dragon?¡± Even though orcs were not as low-ranked as goblins, individually they were not very powerful. However, should they gathered in greater numbers, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Still, they should not be feared by an Ancient Dragon at any price. ¡°They stunk. And the orcs under the influence of that magic circle have lost the ability to make distinction.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Ordinary orcs only attack females, but those orcs¡­¡± ¡°Oh, forget it. I don¡¯t want to hear any more about it.¡± Sensing that he was going to regret it if he heard it, Loren interrupted Konin and made him stop talking. ¡°You¡¯re a male, right?¡± Loren thought that the dragon would not be a female, seeing that he had rubbed his head against Nim¡¯s chest and insinuated that it was not good enough. If the dragon was actually a female despite all that, Loren would have a lot to unpack, but his worry was for naught. ¡°Yeah. As a male, I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯d be frightened of orcs.¡± Konin¡¯s voice trembled as he looked into the distance, perhaps he had once tried to get through the orcs¡¯ dwelling place. Watching the dragon being like that, Loren was convinced that the annihilation of the orcs here and the destruction of that magic formation, which Noel must have made, was definitely a good thing. ¡°If you¡¯re going to thank me, I have a favour to ask of you.¡± ¡°Oh, what is it? I¡¯ll do it if I can.¡± With a casualness that made Loren wonder if he was being a little too hasty, Konin nodded at Lapis¡¯ words. But with ¡®if I can¡¯ being added, Loren wondered if his reply could be considered hasty at all. Lapis told Konin the reason why they came here. The dragon, who had been quietly listening to Magna¡¯s story and actions, and their desire for information from Konin in order to get a head start, let out a low groan when she finished speaking. ¡°I see. So maybe that¡¯s why they came here.¡± ¡°They came here?¡± Loren shook his head in surprise, wondering if they had already made the first move. ¡°I don¡¯t know if they were the ones you are talking about, but there was someone who tried to open the entrance to this place when that magic circle was formed. I didn¡¯t open the entrance because I didn¡¯t like the way they built their crazy magic circle in the corridor of someone else¡¯s dwelling, but it was probably them.¡± ¡°So, you haven¡¯t seen them?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see them or speak to them.¡± That was good information, Loren thought. At least regarding the information this Ancient Dragon had, they knew that they had a head start on Magna. ¡°Now, you were talking about the ruins and relics of the Magic Kingdom of Nuuna, which you call the Ancient Kingdom. Well, then, I know one thing. I have information about a relic, perhaps the most powerful relic I know. I will tell you about it.¡± With the air of a teacher teaching his students, the Ancient Dragon, who called himself Konin, tuned slightly and puffed out his chest in pride. Chapter 284: From Obtaining Information to Advancing Proofreader: Xemul The Ancient Dragon had gone to great lengths to describe the item as a ¡®special item¡¯. Loren thought it must be an extraordinary item, but then a question came to his mind. Dragons had a habit of collecting treasures, which, in addition to gold, silver, and gems, should also include powerful magic items. If it was such a treasure like Konin had said, then it should be included in the treasures piled up by the wall of the chamber where their party currently was. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s among the treasures there?¡± If so, it was no longer the legacy of the Ancient Kingdom, but the treasure of a dragon. Konin wanted to express his gratitude, but there was no way to tell whether he felt thankful enough to give up his own treasure. ¡°No, it¡¯s not here. I¡¯m not interested in items I can¡¯t use myself.¡± With that being said, Loren looked at the hoard piled up against the wall. In addition to the coins and gems, there were also some weapons that like treasured swords or magic swords stuck into the ground, which seemed to contradict Konin¡¯s statement. Loren was about to ask about it, but he closed his mouth when he saw Konin walk up to the wall, held the hilt of one of the swords stuck in the wall in his mouth and started shaking his head. It seemed like he wanted to say that he could use the swords in this way. Taking that into account, Loren looked at the piles of treasures again and found that there were indeed shields and swords among them, indicating that they were probably collected because the dragon could use them by holding them in his mouth. Regardless, Loren had no idea why a dragon, who was supposed to have scales stronger and fangs sharper than most swords, would go to the trouble of putting a shield or sword in his mouth to use it for anything. ¡°What are the magic items that you can¡¯t use?¡± ¡°Armors. I can¡¯t wear human armors.¡± Konin, who had returned from the wall, answered Lapis¡¯ question. As a dragon¡¯s body structure was completely different from that of a human, it was true that a dragon could not wear human armor. He probably could use helmets at the very least, but it seemed that Konin had no intention of dismantling a set of armor just to use the helmet. ¡°There is an extraordinary item, made from the best of the best technologies of the Magic Kingdom in a ruin that I know of.¡± ¡°It smells of trouble.¡± Dia muttered as if she had some thoughts about the legacy of the Ancient Kingdom. Loren did not disagree with the fact that the trouble powerful goods attracted was proportional to their power. It was usually the case for things that everyone wanted, and Loren would not want to touch them unless he had to. However, with someone like Magna collecting such things and making it even more of a hassle, he had no choice but to resign himself to the fact that he would have to. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it is troublesome or not. I haven¡¯t seen it myself, after all.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t seen it?¡± Because of Konin¡¯s big talk, Loren had assumed that he had seen the actual object. However, if the dragon had not seen the actual thing himself, it was doubtful whether it was actually in the place he said it was. ¡°I am sure it is there. It was written to be there.¡± ¡°Written?¡± ¡°There is a monument at the entrance to the ruin where it is enshrined. It is written there, so I think it is there.¡± Konin¡¯s tone was losing strength, as if he became weak when confronted with the fact that he had not seen the item himself. The faces of Lapis, Gula and Dia, which could be seen behind Loren and Nim, turned doubtful. ¡°A monument at a ruin? They went through all the trouble of putting up a sign that says, ¡®There is an armor here¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a strange story, isn¡¯t it? What kind of ruin is that?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t build a ruin just to put armor in it, can they? No, can such a wasteful thing be¡­ possible? Is it possible?¡± Loren understood why the three of them were sceptical. Ruins of the Ancient Kingdom always served a purpose. For example, it could be a research facility, a residential facility for the people of the kingdom, or a warehouse. What kind of facility would be built with a monument at the entrance to inform the public that there was armor inside? That made the existence of the ruin that Konin mentioned became doubtful. ¡°Ojii-chan, you¡¯re not going senile, are you?¡± ¡°How rude. Both my eyes and head are still clear.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯ve lived a long time, haven¡¯t you?¡± Gula, with only one eyebrow raised, spoke in a mocking manner, and Konin protested, stomping the ground in indignation. Leaving the dragon to Gula, who provoked him with even more words, Loren formed a circle with Lapis, Nim, and Dia and began consulting with them. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it means, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lie.¡± It was Lapis who responded to Loren¡¯s request for an opinion. ¡°I don¡¯t think Konin would benefit from setting us up, and since he seems to feel indebted to us for eliminating the orc threat, I think the information is fairly reliable.¡± ¡°Even if you take that possibility out of the equation, I¡¯m still not convinced.¡± Dia took over Lapis. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already known this, but ruins always have a purpose. I¡¯ve never heard of any ruins that were built to house armors.¡± ¡°So, with that in mind, let¡¯s let the leader decide, shall we?¡± Loren¡¯s words caused three of them to shift the focus of their gazes, and Nim was the centre of attention. ¡°M-me?¡± ¡°Even though it¡¯s just a formality, you are the leader of this party, Nim.¡± ¡°Mercenaries are a bit strict about hierarchical relationships among ourselves.¡± ¡°I just went with the flow. I had no idea this elf was the leader.¡± In fact, Nim was registered as the party leader to be able to accept this commission, but she did not expect to be entrusted with the decision here. After looking around at the troubled faces of the three people staring at her, she looked at Loren with a sullen expression. Seeing such expression on her face, Loren put his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her. ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. We won¡¯t dump it on you here like that. But¡­¡± After a pause, during which his expression turned serious, Loren looked into the eyes of Nim, who was still looking at him, and spoke his mind. ¡°Nim, you originally joined this job because you wanted some easy money, right? I¡¯m sorry, but from here on out, it¡¯s going to be a troublesome thing that has nothing to do with the job. I can¡¯t involve you in this, so it¡¯ll be better if you turn back here. I¡¯ll ask Dia to take you back.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to exclude me when things become interesting?!¡± Dia pressed, and Loren apologetically told her. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to exclude you, but we can¡¯t let Nim go home alone, can we? Our party will continue on alone from here on, so why don¡¯t you go back with Nim?¡± Although Nim was a very skilled silver-ranked adventurer, Loren was not only uncomfortable asking her to return to Kapha alone, he was also worried that something might go wrong. If Dia escorted her back, he would be able to go to the ruin without worrying, but he knew that Dia would be reluctant to accept this proposal. That was why he made the request earnestly. Dia¡¯s cheeks were puffed up and she looked dissatisfied, but when Loren bowed to her, she reluctantly agreed. ¡°Only if the elf decides to come back.¡± ¡°Of course. So, what do you think, Nim? Of course, we¡¯ll pay you the money. If it¡¯s urgent, you can ask Lapis to pay right here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll lend you the money, but the interest is ten percent for ten days, Loren.¡± Lapis said with a smirk, and Loren, wondering how serious she was, responded with slumped shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m in so much debt I can¡¯t even count it, and now you want to add more to it?¡± Nim, who had been watching their exchange, responded to Loren¡¯s suggestion with a slight chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m going with you. It would be absurd to go back now. The commission to investigate the Fire Flute Mountain would not have been possible without the presence of a silver ranked adventurer, even on paperwork. I can¡¯t just leave.¡± ¡°It could be dangerous.¡± It might have been bad for Nim, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, it would be better if she left now. Even if they didn¡¯t know how dangerous the ruin or whatever Konin was referring to was, it was by no means safe, and he would feel sorry for Chuck if anything should happen to Nim, who was about to marry him. ¡°You¡¯re a good child, Loren, for worrying. Not only for me, but also for Chuck. But I am an adventurer. I take responsibility for the consequences of my decisions.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Loren tried to argue with Nim again, but she seemed resolute and showed no sign of changing her decision. As Loren focused all his mind on making Nim return safely, Dia smiled happily at the thought of not having to go back and said. ¡°Worst case scenario, I¡¯ll turn her into an undead while she¡¯s still alive, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± ¡°Loren, this child¡­ scares me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared, too. And she really means it.¡± Loren said this with a sigh as he soothed Nim, who was trying to keep as much distance from Dia as possible. As things were now decided, they looked back to Konin, whom Gula was supposed to be wrangling some information from, but what they saw was the two of them fighting for some reason. Loren had thought that even an Evil God would not stand a chance against an Ancient Dragon, but the battle was rather balanced, although he was not sure if it was because Gula was putting up a good fight or because Konin had become weaker with his shrunken body. ¡°Gula, we¡¯ve come to an agreement. You can stop now.¡± ¡°Just a bit more! Just a bit more and I¡¯ll have this lizard¡¯s life¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare make fun of me, little girl! I may have shrunk, but this is nothing!¡± Konin was struggling violently to escape from Gula, who was outright strangling his neck, and Loren put an end to their scuffle by pulling the dragon away by force. As Konin breathed heavily and gasped for air, which he had been deprived of, Loren rubbed his back and asked him to show them the way to the ruin. Konin, after catching his breath, tapped his paw several times on the floor where he had been when he greeted Loren and his companions. ¡°The truth is, there¡¯s a reason I made this my home.¡± The floor opened up with a crack, revealing an entrance to a downward spiral staircase. When Loren peeked down, he could not see the bottom, just a rather deep vertical hole. ¡°If you go down here, you will find the ruins. It¡¯s a straight path, so you won¡¯t get lost.¡± Konin said that the reason he chose to live here was partly to heal his wounds, but also because this was the only entrance to the ruin he had mentioned. Even though he had been seriously wounded by the Ancient Kingdom, he had, just as expected of a dragon, sealed the place with magic so thoroughly that even the Ancient Kingdom could no longer easily get to it ¡°In short, it comes full circle.¡± Konin laughed as if to say ¡°Serve them right!¡¯, but to those who heard the story, all they could feel in their heart was amazement for the level of pettiness the Ancient Dragon possessed. Chapter 285: From Advancing to Arriving Proofreader: Xemul Loren¡¯s group was amazed at Konin¡¯s pettiness, but they could not stay amazed for long. As they finally got the information they needed, the group decided to go down the spiral staircase the dragon had opened for them. Konin was not interested in following them. He said he would block the entrance to his place of residence just in case, and would wait for Loren and the others to return. ¡°I¡¯ve tried several times, but I just can¡¯t reach it.¡± Konin was just a little bit frustrated, but when they heard that even an Ancient Dragon had failed to reach the ruin, Loren and the others tensed up. ¡°Is it very dangerous?¡± Loren, who was leading the group down the stairs, asked, and Gula, who had just been in a scuffle with Konin, responded with a tilt of her head. ¡°I wonder. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because he shrunk or not, but he doesn¡¯t seem to have much power. Maybe he specializes in magic.¡± There were many different types of dragons, Gula said. Some specialized in physical strength, others specialized in magic, and she thought Konin might belong to the latter. There were also dragons that did not fall into either of these categories, but possessed ¡®blessing¡¯ as humans called it, like Klaus. ¡°If he specializes in magic, then it is understandable why Magna¡¯s group could not touch him.¡± The entrance to Konin¡¯s dwelling was sealed off by a stone wall created by magic. Knowing the power of Magna and Noel, Loren had thought that they could at least break down the stone wall and get inside, but apparently this entrance could not be breached by simple physical means. To unlock it magically, they would have to surpass Konin, who surpassed Noel in magical strength. There was no way they could manifest a magic stronger than that of an Ancient Dragon, and that was why the two of them hadn¡¯t been able to reach Konin¡¯s residence. ¡°If he specializes in magic, his self-boost must also be very powerful. If he wanted to, I¡¯m sure he could be so powerful that he would be untouchable even with that appearance.¡± Lapis warned Loren to not mess with Konin, but he had no intention of even trying to. If he could defeat a dragon, he would certainly be called a Dragon Slayer, a title that would be respected throughout the continent. However, Loren could see that having such a title would invite not only respect but also trouble, and it was something he would refuse even if offered. ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s pretty deep.¡± Dia complained as she looked down to the bottom of the spiral staircase, which was their destination. They were inside the stairwell. The surrounding walls, probably made of the same magical building materials that were commonly used in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, emitted a dim light that ensured visibility in the surroundings. However, their destination was so far down that it was not visible with such a source of light. ¡°The way down is easy enough. The ascent is the problem.¡± Nim said in a discontented tone, and it was not unreasonable: a long way down meant that the way back up would be long as well. The fact that going uphill was harder than going downhill was also a given, and if you had to do that after exploring a ruin, even those confident in their physical strength would feel discontented. ¡°How far down do you think it¡¯s going to go? It feels like we¡¯ve gone down quite a bit. I mean, the people of the Ancient Kingdom were not that smart. If they were going to build such a long staircase, they should at least make a device that can go up and down automatically or something.¡± Loren did not agree with the idea of using magic to solve everything, but this time he was inclined to agree with Gula. That was how long the stairs were. It was a spiral staircase, so of course the distance they had to walk was longer than the actual distance descended. But even so, there was still a long way to go despite the distance they had covered so far. The steps at their feet were just stone steps, and there were no patterns or design on the dimly lit walls. As he continued to walk down the unchanging scene, Loren lost his sense of time and began to feel as if the reason why they were going down this staircase, as well as their destination, had become vague in his head. He lightly shook his head to try to clear his mind. Behind Loren, Nim, with both hands on the walls and legs slightly trembling, looked perplexed at the changes happening to herself. ¡°There¡¯s a mild mental pollution trap here. Stay alert.¡± Loren, wondering what the hell was going on, tried to take a step forward, but couldn¡¯t find his footing and almost fell forward. Lapis, who was nearby, managed to support him and kept him from falling. Had he fallen forward on the stairs, he would have tumbled down, and there was no telling how much injury he would sustain if that happened. Nim, who was behind Loren, was trying to continue down by walking along the wall when Gula suddenly slipped her arms under her armpits from behind and placed both hands on the elf¡¯s breast. Nim reflexively screamed, but Gula was behind her, and in addition to Gula¡¯s stronger arms, she, just like Loren, was in a state of confusion. Naturally, Nim was just unable to shake the Evil God off. In the meantime, Gula had her hands all over Nim¡¯s chest. She released the elf after a while and gently patted her shoulders as Nim covered her chest with both arms in a defensive stance. ¡°Nim-chan, a girl¡¯s winning point is her chest.¡± ¡°Loren, can I shoot this child dead?¡± The bulging veins on Nim¡¯s forehead were especially noticeable, perhaps because of the characteristic pale skin of the elves. Nim was that angry. Loren shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t. She helped clear your mind.¡± Of course, it would be troublesome if Nim really did shoot Gula dead, but the thing was, the violent emotional swing brought by anger seemed to have dispelled the effect on the elf¡¯s mind: her gait was much steadier than it was before Gula pulled the prank on her. Loren was not sure if Gula did it on purpose or by accident, but either way it was her who got Nim out of the trap that was affecting her mind. He thought it was alright for Nim to be angry, but shooting Gula would be a bit too much. Loren himself, too, had been able to clear his mind thanks to the elf¡¯s scream, so he felt he had to defend Gula. [¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t help you with this. I could tune you into my mental resistance, but¡­ It is an ability unique to the undead, so it might be dangerous to tune it to you, who is still alive.¡¯] Shayna¡¯s apologetic voice could be heard in Loren¡¯s ears. The undead had a high resistance to anything that affected the mind. However, this resistance came from the fact that they did not have a mind to be affected, or that their mind had already been manipulated from the beginning. Shayna was apparently reluctant to allow Loren to attune himself to the mental resistance of the ¡®King of the Dead¡¯, the highest-ranked undead. ¡°It¡¯s a plain nasty trap, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You remember how you get drowsy when riding a wagon across the empty plains? This trap does something like that, only a hundred times more powerful.¡± Lightly knocking the wall with her fist, Dia explained. ¡°It¡¯s a poison-like trap that gradually permeates you over a long distance. If your mind is strong, you can recover on your own, but¡­ If you can¡¯t, I can do something about it.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Thanking Lapis for supporting him, Loren moved away and asked Dia. She smiled and clenched the fist she had been using to knock at the wall tighter. ¡°It¡¯s a trap set by the monotonous, unchanging scene. How about we break it down at places to make a change?¡± ¡°No, it will collapse.¡± Loren immediately dismissed Dia¡¯s suggestion. It certainly would break the trap, but he couldn¡¯t help worrying about the way back up if she really did do it. In addition, the place where they were now was right under Konin¡¯s lair. It might cause trouble for Konin, so it was a method that he could not possibly allow her to do. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Only Nim needs to be careful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, too. No problem at all.¡± To say that there was a problem here would mean allowing Dia to be destructive. Nim seemed to understand this somewhat, so she gritted her teeth lightly and forced herself to sound unconcerned. Dia stopped knocking at the wall, looking a little disappointed. From there on, it was a long way down. Then Loren, who had been walking at the front of the group, noticed that the staircase had come to an end at the end of his line of sight, and he realized that the long descent was over. Wondering where the path was, he saw only one smooth passage leading away from the end of the staircase. ¡°I wonder if the ruin is in that direction?¡± After everyone had descended the stairs, Gula pointed to the end of the passageway. Not far from where the staircase ended, a double door made from metal could be seen. In front of it was a black monument with a smooth surface, a sight that matched the information that Konin had given them. Loren slowly approached the monument, and although there were indeed words carved on the surface, he could not read the writing. ¡°Here lies the armor that protects you.¡± Dia, who knew from the beginning that Loren would not be able to read, quickly came up next to him, took one look at the monument, and read out loud. ¡°It looks like there really is an armor here.¡± ¡°If ¡®armor¡¯ was not written here, I¡¯d think something very nasty was in there.¡± ¡°This door is open.¡± Nim said, gently pushing at the entrance door. Perhaps Konin, who had apparently been here before, had somehow opened the door. But then, he had said that he had not been able to reach the destination. ¡°This ruin is surprisingly small.¡± Loren unintentionally uttered, and the girls peeked in from behind him. There was a passageway led straight from the door that Loren had opened, and within a short distance, a golden door with an extravagantly decorated surface awaited them. ¡°Is there something behind that door?¡± ¡°Well. I guess we¡¯ll find out when we see it, won¡¯t we?¡± There seemed to be no traps in the straight pathway. Even if there was one, it would probably have been disarmed by Konin, who had arrived before them, and there would be no danger. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get closer and check it out, shall we?¡¯¡± Gula said. But without being told by her, the group went through the entrance door and slowly began to examine the golden door that they reached in almost no time. Chapter 286: Answering Proofreader: Xemul ¡°It¡¯s kind of in bad taste, isn¡¯t it?¡± It was not unreasonable for Gula to have such an impression. The door before them was in a shiny gold color from top to bottom, and sparkled brightly enough to catch all eyes even with the lack of light. ¡°It¡¯s not made of pure gold, is it?¡± The door was a rather large double door, and if it were made entirely of gold, a considerable amount of the metal would be required. Naturally, the funds required to produce such a thing would be enormous, and even though this was a ruin of the Ancient Kingdom, Loren thought that at best it would be a thin layer of gold gilded on the surface. But his thought was quickly negated by Lapis. ¡°I think it¡¯s pure gold.¡± Loren looked at her with disbelief, and Lapis lightly knocked her fist on the door in front of them several times. ¡°It is coated with something, but it is probably all pure gold. It¡¯s worth a fortune, but we can¡¯t just take it off and bring it with us.¡± ¡°Were they insane?¡± Loren could not comprehend the idea of using pure gold to make an interior double door in a ruin that was used only to enshrine an armor. Perhaps because the Ancient Kingdom was just that powerful, but it didn¡¯t seem to make any sense to him. ¡°It is human nature, as it has always been, for those in power to want to spend money recklessly.¡± In contrast to Loren, Lapis looked at the door with no surprise at all. Dia, Gula and Lapis, examined the door, and after standing in front of it for a while talking about how this and that was not present, all three of them finally let out a deep sigh almost simultaneously. Lapis turned to Loren and Nim, who had been watching to see if they had found anything out, and gave a short answer about the results of their study. ¡°It¡¯s hopeless. We can¡¯t open it.¡± ¡°Somehow I¡¯m not surprised.¡± Loren had somehow expected this, given that Konin, an Ancient Dragon, had failed to arrive at the place, but he could not hide his surprise when Lapis told him the fact. ¡°It is no good. No matter what I do, I can¡¯t lift the spell sealing the door.¡± ¡°I was also quite confident in my knowledge of magic, but I have never seen a spell this strong before. This is the type of sealing method that cannot be opened by any means unless you know how to open it.¡± Dia¡¯s words made Loren and Nim tilted their heads. Lapis added an explanation, as if she thought they didn¡¯t understand what it meant. ¡°This door is sealed by some kind of technique. Normally, we would be able to lift it, but we can¡¯t do anything with the spell used here.¡± ¡°It is a contradiction, isn¡¯t it, to have a door that can be locked but not unlocked? By all means, such a contradiction should not be possible, no matter what magic is used.¡± ¡°There is something that is needed to make the contradiction works.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ a key?¡± After listening to the explanatory questions from the other three, Loren gave his answer, and they all nodded. ¡°This is the kind of lock that can be easily unlocked if you have the key.¡± ¡°But without the key, you can¡¯t destroy or dismantle it.¡± ¡°This place must hold something of great value. It sounds simple, but actually very difficult to construct.¡± All three of them look frustrated that there was something that they could not dispel, even with their power. Dia, in particular, looked rather grim: it seemed like she was both frustrated and displeased at the fact that her own power as an Elder didn¡¯t work. Loren wondered if it was caused by the feeling of being defeated in a field where she had confidence. Loren asked Lapis, who seemed relatively easy to talk to. ¡°So, what¡¯s the key?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. And like people usually say, simplicity is strength¡­ The key is simply a word.¡± Lapis said and pointed to what looked like letters engraved on a part of the door. Loren couldn¡¯t read it. He didn¡¯t even know what language it was in. He looked at Nim, but she immediately shook her head as if saying it was impossible for her too. But Lapis and the other two seemed to be able to read them. ¡°It says ¡®Thou shalt state the answer to the question¡¯.¡± ¡°So, the answer is the key?¡± ¡°Yes, but we cannot answer the question.¡± Lapis shook her head as if there was no hope here, and Loren became curious as to what the question was. After all, they had an Elder, an Evil God, and a demon here. These three beings, considered as powerful beings throughout the continent, had gathered to think about the answer to that question, and still couldn¡¯t find it. As Loren thought that the question on the door must have been a very difficult one, Lapis, whose expression had turned troubled for some reason, read it out loud. ¡°The name of the being is the answer. They are both male and female, and they are both old and young. They are taller than the mountains, and their voice is smaller than the flutter of a mosquito¡¯s wings. You cannot take your eyes off of them when they are far away, yet you cannot see them when they are near. Look up and their head is lower than your eye level. Look down and their head is far above you. What is this being?¡± ¡°I have never heard of such a thing.¡± Nim said with honesty after hearing Lapis. ¡°I have never heard of it either. There are too many contradictions in the question. I have never heard of such a contradictory being in this world.¡± ¡°I wonder if there is hidden meaning behind the contradictions? But¡­ we¡¯re asked to answer this question while having no clues at all.¡± If Dia could answer the question, she would be able to open the door. Since she was unable to release the spell, she was eager to outwit those who had created it and open the door by regular means. However, the question was so cryptic that even Dia had no idea what it meant. ¡°Is the answer ¡®No answer¡¯?¡± ¡°Then my answer is, there is no such thing in the world!¡± As soon as Gula said that, her body was blown straight back. Because of the suddenness and force of the blow, Loren and the others were delayed in their reactions for a moment. When they hurriedly looked back in the direction to which Gula had been blown, they saw her sticking to the entrance door of the ruin, which had been closed before they knew it, her arms and legs spread wide. She seemed to have been hit by a considerable force. She remained stuck there for a while before eventually peeling off and falling to the floor in the same posture. ¡°If you give the wrong answer, you get a penalty. This is tricky, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°If you look closely, you can see that the entrance door has been reinforced with some spell.¡± Lapis thought bitterly that, if the entrance door was reinforced to withstand the impact of something flying in and slamming into it, its creator must have been very confident of the lock on the inner door. This trap was not placed at the entrance door probably to ensure that the intruder would be killed by being caught in it at the inner door and blown back. ¡°Shall we give it a try again? My answer is, there is no answer to that question.¡± As soon as she said this, Dia¡¯s body was sent flying backward. Despite the fact that Dia was an Elder, one couldn¡¯t help but think that being slammed into the entrance door with such a force would cause serious injuries to her small body. Nim almost let out a small scream, But Loren moved first and caught Dia¡¯s body with his own. He was not able to kill the momentum of the blow, however, and he fell back a few steps. But because Dia¡¯s body was small and light, neither of them was injured. ¡°Oh my, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think you would catch me, Loren.¡± Dia¡¯s body was quite small compared to Loren¡¯s. She could easily fit in his arm. As if to cover up the fact that she had given the wrong answer, Dia, scratching her head in embarrassment, landed on the floor from Loren¡¯s arms, and with a face full of motivation, poked Lapis from behind, who was about to give some answer herself. ¡°Will you do the same if I am blown back, Loren?¡± ¡°Stop it. You¡¯ll hurt Loren.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that heavy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you weigh, but even I was blown away with enough force to give Loren quite an impact. If you, who is bigger than me, were to be blown away with the same force, wouldn¡¯t the impact on Loren be incomparable?¡± Naturally, Loren would be willing to catch Lapis if she was blown away. However, the impact he felt through the jacket he was wearing as protection when he caught Dia was quite powerful, and he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to catch Lapis, who was much bigger than Dia, if she came flying at him with the same force. Understanding Loren¡¯s thoughts, Dia stopped Lapis. Lapis seemed to be quite dissatisfied with this, although she could understand the logic behind. ¡°Isn¡¯t it unfair if it¡¯s only Dia?¡± She glared at Dia resentfully, and Dia responded with a nonchalant face. ¡°I was prepared to be slammed into that door over there, just like Gula was. I didn¡¯t think Loren would catch me.¡± ¡°Loren is a good child. If he thinks it¡¯s dangerous, he¡¯ll put his body on the line.¡± ¡°But I was just bounced off the door and he didn¡¯t catch me?¡± Gula said while crawling back to them, and Loren bowed his head lightly as if he had done something wrong. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You were blown away so fast, I couldn¡¯t react.¡± The only reason he was able to catch Dia was because Gula had been blown away before, but from Gula¡¯s point of view, that was still not a fun story. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to rest my mind until I find the answer and open this door.¡± ¡°Even so, who do you ask?¡± ¡°Do I ask the other Elders for help¡­? No, the disadvantage would be too great¡­¡± ¡°I would ask my tribe¡¯s elders for their wisdom, but my homeland is too far away.¡± While the girls were racking their brains to find a way to come up with an answer, Loren, who was looking at the golden door, slowly opened his mouth to ask Lapis to confirm one thing. Chapter 287: From Answer to the Conclusion Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Hey Lapis, I have a quick question.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Loren, there are a lot of smart people here. It may take some time, but I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll come up with an answer.¡± Lapis, probably thinking that Loren was worried, said this in a gentle voice as if to reassure him. It was not quite what Loren wanted to hear, but he kept his mouth shut, wondering if it was a sign of Lapis wanting to think about it some more. In the meantime, various discussions were going on between Gula and Dia, but there was no indication that they would be able to reach a fruitful conclusion. ¡°What do you call a being that encompasses all kinds of magical things?¡± ¡°Chaos? But if that is the answer, how can the Ancient Dragon not have reached it?¡± ¡°Then it must be some kind of religion or alchemy¡­¡± ¡°Are you talking about the ¡®All is one, one is all¡¯ thing? That¡¯s an idea, but it doesn¡¯t answer the question of what the being is. Loren didn¡¯t even understand half of the conversation between Gua and Dia, but the only thing he was sure of was that what they were discussing was not the answer to the question at hand. The reason Loren was so sure of this was very simple. ¡°Hey, I know the answer to that riddle.¡± Deciding that if he let the discussion continue on and on, it seemed unlikely that they would ever reach an answer, Loren opened his mouth and stated. Lapis, Gula and Dia, who had been thinking hard about the answer, froze up. Loren wondered if it was such a surprise, but what he said seemed to be very shocking to the three of them. They all looked at him as if they did not believe his words at all. ¡°Really? If it¡¯s true, I¡¯d like to know.¡± ¡°Yes? This is my answer. That is the mythical beast Quadra Cedrofiggie Elp.¡± ¡°What?¡± Loren¡¯s words made Lapis¡¯ expression crumble. But Lapis, who looked at Loren with a face that clearly showed she was wondering what in the world this person was saying out of the blue, still had a better reaction than the other two. Gula and Dia had snickered, though small, as soon as he spoke those words. From their point of view, Loren¡¯s words were nothing more than a bunch of nonsense. Of course, there were tales of mythical beasts all over the world, but none of them had been verified, and they did not believe them to actually exist. To the three of them, this gesture of Loren was just like that of a child loudly declaring the existence of his imaginary friend, but their faces turned from blue to deadly white as they watched the golden door slowly open as if being pushed from the inside. ¡°You gotta be kidding me¡­¡± ¡°I wonder why you don¡¯t know about it. When I was a kid, our leader told me about this fantastic beast that appears in fairy tales. When the hero gets lost, it comes out and shows him the right path.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such a story?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it either¡­¡± ¡°This is¡­ Ah, so that¡¯s how it is. It¡¯s only logical that we didn¡¯t know.¡± Dia, who had recovered quickly, tapped at her temple with her index finger and muttered something. After a while, seeming to be finally satisfied, she sniffed and crossed her arms. Loren, who had assumed that everyone knew about the tale of that mythical beast, had no idea what the Elder was satisfied with, but Lapis and Gula, who still did not fully understand the situation, continued to cling to the topic. ¡°Don¡¯t be so proud of yourself. Explain it to me, please.¡± ¡°Yeah. If it continues like this, I¡¯m going to feel bad no matter what happens.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing complicated. We thought the letters on the door were a riddle, but this is not a riddle at all. It was not asking for a key to unlock the door, but just a pre-set password.¡± A riddle was one whose answer can be deduced from the problem statement. But what was required here was not an answer to the problem statement, but a password that had been set from the beginning. In other words, the question engraved on the door was not intended to be solved, but was simply a sentence that required a password to be answered when asked. It was a lock that could only be unlocked by knowing the password, and no matter how hard you tried to think about the question, you would never be able to solve it. ¡°The name of the mythical beast that Loren mentioned is just a string of words with no particular meaning. But if you consider it a password, meaning isn¡¯t necessary. It is just a password to open this door.¡± ¡°How is that possible? And who is the leader of your company to know the password, Loren?¡± ¡°Even if you say so, I have no idea. I was only told by the leader that it was a fairy tale that everyone knew.¡± ¡°How can a story with such an incomprehensible and long character name be a common fairy tale?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no use telling me that. Well, isn¡¯t it fine as long as the door is opened?¡± Gula, who felt as if she had been cheated in some way, was still dissatisfied even after Loren¡¯s explanation, but Lapis, who had recovered after Dia, had already turned her interest not to the door or what was behind it, but to the leader who had taught Loren the fairy tale. Dia seemed to feel the same way and whispered in Lapis¡¯ ear as she watched Gula continued to complain and Loren continued to pacify her. ¡°I think it¡¯s worth looking into. I cannot move too openly though.¡± ¡°Yes, I suppose so.¡± Lapis nodded with a serious look on her face, but quickly changed her expression and shoved Gula, who still seemed unconvinced, away from behind and took Loren¡¯s arm. ¡°Hey?¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave the complicated things for later. Now that the door has been opened, why don¡¯t we take a look at the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s treasure, something that even an Ancient Dragon said to be of great value?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine I guess¡­¡± Gula, who had been pushed from directly behind with considerable force when she was off-guard, plunged face first into the floor of the ruin and was stuck in a prostrated posture with her butts sticking up. Loren was worried that it must have been quite painful, but he was pulled through the newly opened golden door by Lapis, who tugged on his arm. Behind the door was a large room. The room, which had no doors other than the golden double-leaf door, seemed to be a dead end, and considering the distance from the entrance to the room, he got the impression that it was a rather small ruin. If the only purpose of the ruin was to house some kind of armor, it was understandable that it would be small and compact. In the center of the room was a sunken area filled with water, and in the center of the area was a set of golden armor that was probably the reason this ruin was built, placed in the position of a knight kneeling before his lord and hanging his head. It radiated such a powerful force that could be recognized even from a distance, indicating that it must be a very valuable and powerful item. ¡°It¡¯s a little gaudy, but¡­ It¡¯s no wonder this ruin was built to store it.¡± ¡°It gives me chills even from a distance. Gaudy though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so bright that my eyes hurt.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know who made it, but they had bad taste.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy it.¡± All eyes were on Loren as he drew his greatsword and held it ready with both hands. Loren blinked as he noticed this, and when he asked if he had done something wrong, Gula snapped at him. ¡°Why do you want to break it all of a sudden?!¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m not going to wear something like this. It¡¯s too gaudy.¡± Gula looked back at the golden armor. Its shape was so well formed that it must have been made by a highly skilled craftsman. The carvings and decorations on the surface were also magnificent, made from various precious metals and gems. It was definitely a wonderful item worthy to be displayed as a work of art, but when asked if it was practical to wear in battle, even though it was not exactly impractical, it would take a lot of courage to wear such a shiny, gilded piece of armor. ¡°But this is an armor imbued with magic? It must be quite powerful?¡± ¡°Then, Gula, do you want to wear this?¡± Loren pointed to a golden armor. Gula imagined herself wearing it and immediately shook her head. He then looked at Lapis and Nim, who also shook their heads, as did Gula. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can wear it because of my height, so don¡¯t even ask.¡± Dia said this before Loren¡¯s gaze turned to her, and they all agreed that they did not want to use the armor in front of them. ¡°But I¡¯m sure Magna will wear it when he gets it.¡± The fully-black plate armor was also quite conspicuous. If Magna could wear it with such a nonchalant expression on his face, it would certainly be easy for him to wear this golden armor. ¡°Even if we put it somewhere else, the bastard will always come after it as long as it¡¯s there. And if we leave it here, there¡¯s no guarantee that Konin will be able to protect it forever.¡± ¡°If they can¡¯t open the door, we should be fine, right?¡± The door to the room where the armor was stored had been unlocked by Loren. Lapis thought that if the door could be locked again by closing it, it might be possible to continue sealing it as long as the name of that mysterious beast was not known. However, Loren denied this. ¡°It¡¯s a ¡®maybe¡¯. And if he gets words that we opened this place, we¡¯ll be troubled again.¡± Even if someone did not know the password, it was natural to think that if they had information about someone else who did, they could get it from that person. In this case, Loren and his team would be pursued by Magna even more aggressively than before, and more trouble would await them in the future. ¡°So, I think it¡¯s best to destroy it, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I kind of do.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to use it, but you don¡¯t want it to be used, then destroying it is the most reliable solution.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but if it¡¯s from the Ancient Kingdom, I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Do what you want with it, Loren.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy it with a bang.¡± With Greatsword in hands, Loren¡¯s presence increased. With the activation of the self-boost technique, the magic sent into his entire body enhanced his abilities, and Loren kicked at the floor and rushed at the armor, wind whipping around his body. The great sword that was swung down cut the armor that was resting on its knees at an angle from the shoulder, and the returning blade further sliced through the wreckage of the armor that had been cut in two, breaking it into pieces. The surface decorations shattered with the impact, and Nig, clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, diligently gathered up the glittering fragments and gems for some reason. ¡°What are you collecting them for? Well, I guess they might be worth some money.¡± ¡°Nig¡¯s kind of spider eats minerals to harden its outer shell. Gemstones and metals are just minerals in the first place.¡± As Lapis pointed out, Nig brought the pieces it had been collecting to its mouth, chewed them up and swallowed them, although Loren did not understand the logic behind this. After eating some, it stopped collecting pieces, perhaps satisfied. What had been eaten couldn¡¯t be traded for money; Loren shrugged, put his greatsword back on his back and turned to the others, who were watching him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go home then.¡± ¡°Somehow this job ended easily, didn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s a good thing, but it feels like something is missing to have Loren come out of this with no damages.¡± ¡°It¡¯s strange to call this one easy. Normally, we would have definitely died somewhere.¡± What Nim said was probably the common way of thinking, but perhaps experiences also played a part in such things, and as Lapis said, also Loren felt a little bit like something was missing. However, if he thought about it calmly, since no one was missing and no one was sent to the hospital as usual, this job must be considered a great success, and Loren concluded that there must be something wrong with him for feeling unsatisfied. He urged his companions, who were looking at him, to leave the ruin behind. Lizz: in the post script, author did apologize for how this all ended and asked to refrain from too agitated attacks in the comment section ???? Chapter 288: From Celebration to Hijacking Proofreader: Xemul The church bells rang. Amidst the cheers, a man and a woman with indescribable auras opened the church door and came out. The man had stubble, and could not be described as good-looking. Although he was wearing a white dress suit, it could hardly be said that he looked well-dressed, and there was a strong sense that he had been made to wear the suit, which was extremely disconcerting. In contrast, the woman was a beautiful woman with incredibly well-defined features. Her long, dagger-like pointed ears and long blond hair that sparkled in the sunlight made her look unrealistic, like a fairy or something, and the pure white strapless dress she wore added to this impression. Loren, leaning against the wall of another building, watched the scene from a distance as the two held hands and were congratulated by the crowd waiting outside the church, and murmured quietly with a smile on his face. ¡°That¡¯s pretty ballsy of you.¡± At that moment, a dagger was thrust right next to Loren¡¯s face. Without moving, he glanced at the dagger, which was vibrating slightly with the force of impact, and was impressed by Nim¡¯s skill, who had the hem of her dress lifted and was smiling brightly at him. The way she lifted her dress, pulled out the dagger that was probably strapped to leg and threw it at Loren was so quick and natural that most of the participants didn¡¯t notice anything. Loren pulled out the dagger from the wall and quietly tucked it into his pocket, thinking that without Nim¡¯s skill, this would have become a big commotion otherwise. Bloodshed was too inappropriate for such a festive occasion. She did not intend to harm him as he did not feel any killing intent, but the glint of a blade was more than enough to cause a commotion. After the series of events on Mt. Fire Flute, Loren and his companions returned to Konin¡¯s place of residence and told him the whole story of what had happened inside the ruin. The dragon had looked very disappointed at the fact that they had destroyed the armor enshrined inside, but when he glanced at Loren, he seemed convinced of something and said nothing more. Konin agreed to let them report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild that the dragon on Mt. Fire Flute Mountain did exist. However, they would only report that they had seen the dragon from a distance and were not sure about the details. Even if they honestly reported that they had approached the dragon and even talked to it, it was clear that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not believe that a group of iron rank adventurers had not only been able to approach the dragon but even talked to it. Things like the dragon was actually an Ancient Dragon, and had even got into a scuffle with Gula were details that no one would believe in. What made Loren wonder was that 40% of the adventurers who had received the same commission before them had failed to return from their exploration on Mt. Fire Flute. At first, he had thought that the dragon living there was ferocious and that they had fallen prey to them, but looking at Konin, it did not appear to be the case. When he asked Konin if he knew anything about it, the dragon said that there were quite a few dangerous monsters living on the mountain. It was hard to believe that monsters would live on a mountain inhabited by a dragon, but since Konin himself was a rather amicable dragon and ate only the right amount of food for his body, the monsters probably did not realize that a dragon was living right there. But if monsters were the only reason for the non-return adventurers, the return rate should have been a little higher. Konin guessed that perhaps those adventurers had been so preoccupied with the possibility of dragons living on the mountain that they had neglected preparations for other monsters. However, the actual reason remained unclear, as dead people could not be questioned, and Konin did not pay any attention to adventurers. Dia had parted ways with them at the ruin where she lived. From Dia¡¯s point of view, it had been a very meaningful way to pass the time, though the look of relief on Nim¡¯s face when she heard that they would finally part ways with the Elder was very impressive. Loren thought such a reaction was normal, but even if he was asked to have the same reaction, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reproduce it at this stage. Dia was in deep talk with Lapis when they parted, but Lapis didn¡¯t elaborate on the content of the discussion. Loren didn¡¯t ask either, since he believed that Lapis would tell him when it became necessary to. The cheers got even louder. Apparently, the bride and groom were offering drinks for the occasion. They had been able to give Nim a fair amount of money for accompanying them on this commission. The reward from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was not much, but Gula had smartly picked up some pieces of the golden armor that Loren had destroyed. As expected, the material was gold, and Gula took the pieces to a blacksmith who melted them down and turned them into gold bars. A large percentage of the profits from the sale of these gold bars was given to Nim as a wedding gift as well as a thank-you for accompanying them on this job. There was a reason why the armor, which should have been quite powerful, was easily broken or cast down, as Lapis explained. ¡°It was probably a type of magical item that only works when someone wears it. I suppose that with no one wearing or using it, it would have been nothing more than a set of garish-looking armor made of gold.¡± Even though the armor had been destroyed, it was originally something imbued with magic. Loren had some reservations about selling pieces of it because he did not know what kind of power remained in there, but if they melted it down, there would be nothing to worry about. He had also thought about bringing all the pieces with them, but no matter how valuable they were, they were only one-set-of-armor worth of precious metal, nothing compared to the amount of debt he was carrying. He was happy enough to be able to give Nim a present this time. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come closer?¡± Loren was lost in thought when Lapis approached him. Their party had all received invitations to Nim and Chuck¡¯s wedding, and Gula had procured a dress from somewhere and attended with joy. She had always dressed in revealing attire, but she was wearing a tightly-fitted dress today, and the scene gave Loren, who was watching from afar, a sense that something was amiss. But thanks to Gula¡¯s nice body, the feeling of clothes-did-not-suit-the-wearer coming from her was less severe than the one coming from Chuck or from Nim, who was lacking in volume in a certain bodily part. Still, the sight of Gula in that dress was unusually uncomfortable to Loren¡¯s eyes, and even though there were quite a few people invited to the event, the area where the Evil God was standing looked strangely empty. ¡°Lapis, why didn¡¯t you wear a dress?¡± Standing beside Loren, Lapis was dressed in her usual priest robe. There was no problem with a priest wearing a priest robe at a wedding ceremony as it could pass for formal attire, but Loren felt that since the robe was something a priest wore all the time, it was not the kind of attire to wear to a festive occasion. ¡°I¡¯m from a different church. This is the church of the God of Business and Fortune. If I come closer wearing this, they will treat me as a heretic.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just kidding. They won¡¯t look at me very well, but we¡¯re not at that level of conflict.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why didn¡¯t you just wear a dress?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not in formal attire either, are you?¡± Both Chuck and Nim were adventurers, and many of the invited guests were also adventurers. As might be expected of silver rank adventurers, many of them seemed to be wealthy, and a lot of men in attendance were dressed in formal attire. However, there were also a few adventurers here and there who were unable to prepare formal wear and attended the ceremony in civilian clothes, although they were unarmed as a matter of course. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything formal.¡± Loren had also considered attending in civilian clothes, but he didn¡¯t have that many clothes. In the end, he dressed in what he always wore under his armour, which he felt too unsuitable for this celebration. ¡°If you had told me, I would have provided you with pure white formal wear.¡± That sounded kinda wrong, Loren thought. In a ceremony like this, the only man supposed to wear a pure white dress suit was the groom, not anyone among the attendants. But Loren just shrugged, feeling that it would not make much sense to tell Lapis. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t look good on me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± When Lapis said this to Loren with a serious face, Loren was at a loss for an answer. In the end, he could not find a reply, so he just shook his head in silence. In the meantime, the ceremony went on without a hitch, and Loren noticed that the people in attendance were becoming noisier. When he looked around to see where Chuck had gone, he saw him being mobbed by a group of strong men, probably his friends and associates. Loren thought that this was a common sight at such ceremonies, but for some reason, it seemed that the centre of the commotion was not Chuck, but Nim. When he looked more closely to see what was going on, he saw Nim holding a white object in one hand and lifting it high so that the surrounding attendees could see it clearly. It was a bouquet made of various different flowers. It was wrapped in white lace, and Nim was holding it high so that everyone could see it. Loren wondered what she was going to do, and suddenly remembered that there was a legend, or a jinx, or a superstition, that whoever received the bouquet thrown by the bride at her wedding would be the next one to get married. It seemed like Nim was throwing her bouquet, and a fight over it would break out among the attendees. In reality, it was unlikely that a fighting scene like the one Loren was imagining would unfold, but if a crowd scrambled for something that only one person could get, he thought some scuffles would happen. That was why the moment Nim lowered the bouquet and threw it high into the sky, Loren tried to look away to avoid seeing the scene he thought would unfold. But before he could, he shivered at the cold air that suddenly rushed forward from his side, and involuntarily turned his attention to the whereabouts of the bouquet that had been thrown out. The source of the cold air was Lapis. Wearing an expression that would have made even Loren, a mercenary and experienced adventurer, shiver, Lapis rushed forward, her movements so strong and sharp that it was hard to believe that she was a priest. Quickly slipping between the attendees who topped down as if hit by the cold air, she stood at the spot where the falling bouquet was about to hit the ground and caught it with both hands with a soft smile, as if the coldness she had been exuding up to that point had been nothing but a lie. The attendees who did not participate in the scramble for the bouquet were stunned. Nim, the one who threw the bouquet, was also frozen, a smile still on her face. Lapis was the only one who looked extremely happy. She laughed and turned to Loren, who was watching from afar, and shouted out while waving the bouquet in the air. ¡°Loren! I got it! Seems like it¡¯s my turn next!¡± Loren wondered if it was necessary to display her abilities as a demon to such an extent that her true identity might be revealed, but if he asked Lapis about it, he would probably get the answer that of course it was. He could not understand the superstition about catching the bouquet, but he guessed it was meaningful enough for those who needed it. And so, with a sense of resignation, he concluded that there was nothing to do but feel sorry for the attendees who had lost consciousness because of Lapis¡¯ sudden intrusion. Watching Gula, who apparently was late to the party, regretfully chewing on a handkerchief-like cloth in the crowd, Loren thought that Lapis would probably not stop waving the bouquet until he showed some kind of reaction, and decided that there were worse ways this event could have ended. As he felt the eyes of the attendees turned towards him, he waved back at Lapis, feeling like he had no other choices. Chapter 289: Prologue: A Reunion Was Recommended Proofreader: Xemul As nothing in particular had been destroyed, rumors began to circulate. In Loren¡¯s opinion, if nothing had been destroyed, then there was no reason to spread rumors. However, the rumor said that nothing being destroyed might actually be a harbinger of something, perhaps due to the recent succession of rumors about the destruction of this and that here and there. How much people seemed to like rumors amazed Loren. Thinking back on it, he recalled that a while ago, he had been involved in a commission in which several villages at the foot of a dragon-inhabited mountain called Mt. Fire Flute had been destroyed by the orcs that had gathered there in large numbers. When Loren pointed this out to the gossiping adventurers, he was surprised by their reaction. While meeting his eyes head-on, they told him that nowadays, a village or two being destroyed was not even worth a rumor anymore. It seemed that there had been a lot of stories of villages being destroyed in various places, even in areas where Loren was not involved at all, with villagers being wiped out or suffering near-annihilation. The adventurers were laughing and saying that the number of such incidents was so large that the destruction of a village was no longer a topic of gossip, which made Loren wonder if such a situation was acceptable. He parted from them with a vague smile. ¡°Public disorder is a good time for mercenaries to make money.¡± The destruction of a village meant that the area where the village had once stood would be left unoccupied, even if only for a short time. For a country with ambitions to expand its territory as much as possible, such an unoccupied area would be something that it would want to put its hands on immediately. However, doing that would lead to war with the country that originally occupied the area. This was a dispute occurring between countries, but in fact, even within the same country, it was not uncommon for nobles and noblemen to do the same thing in order to expand their own territories as much as possible, leading to small-scale battles. The land held by nobles was something granted by the state, and nobles should not try to expand it without permission. But the problem here was that it was difficult to prove that a certain area from here to there was the territory of this noble. In other words, the boundaries of a territory were very vague, and this problem was caused by the lack of detailed maps of the country. Although there were national maps, they were made by humans using hands, eyes, and feet, and to put it bluntly, the distances, dimensions, and scale were extremely inaccurate. This was a problem stemming from the fact that mapping technology was not well developed. Lapis, a demon girl who was working with Loren for certain reasons, had been surprised to hear that the surveying technology of the human race had stopped at that level. However, reality was reality, and there was nothing to do about it. Thus, the territory of the nobles were not properly defined, but were determined arbitrarily like ¡®From here to there is your territory¡¯. This was why the boundaries of the nobles¡¯ territories were so vague and unstable. ¡°That was how I afforded my meals, so I have no right to complain though.¡± Loren believed that someone somewhere would do something about such disorders in the world. Maybe in time, a hero would emerge and unite the entire continent. If that were to happen, the mercenary business would probably cease to exist, but Loren himself had already quit the business, and as an adventurer, he had no particular thoughts on the matter. Rather than that, Loren looked at Lapis, who was leaning forward from her seat across the table from him, and picked up the glass of alcohol that was on the table. They were at their usual corner of the dining hall attached to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. It was lunchtime, and on the table where Loren was sitting was a plate of hard bread, soup with few ingredients, and some pickled vegetables. He had originally come here for lunch. Even though he had given most of his reward for the investigation of Mt. Fire Flute to Chuck and Nim, a recently married couple of silver-ranked adventurers, Loren still had a good amount of cash on his hands. Considering the amount of debt he owed, it was nothing more than a grain of sand, but since he wasn¡¯t being asked to pay back the debt and there was no demand for it, he decided to eat lunch with it. Of course, he was not thinking of not paying the debt, but the amount he owed was so large that it could stir an entire nation; it was hard to believe that his debtors were seriously thinking of collecting the money from Loren, who was only an adventurer. One of these days, they would probably use him for something when the time came; Loren wondered if it was alright to think like that. Regardless, Loren¡¯s mind switched to the issue at hand: Lapis, who was leaning forward in front of him. She had shown up just as he set foot in the dining hall for lunch, and as soon as she sat down in front of him, she had suddenly said, ¡®Loren, let¡¯s go north.¡¯ Loren looked out the dining hall window and wondered what she had just said all of a sudden. The city of Kapha was located in the southwestern part of the continent, where the climate was mild and the temperature did not fluctuate much throughout the year. In the southern part of the continent, the climate was hot and humid all year round, but in the northern part Lapis had just mentioned, the climate was the exact opposite, with low temperature and dryness, which was not what one would consider pleasant. Loren had no objection to going there if necessary, but he thought this might be a bit too sudden. He broke off a piece of bread and began eating. ¡°Loren? Are you listening to me?¡± Lapis spoke to Loren, who hadn¡¯t shown any particular reaction to her words and just began to eat his lunch instead, with just a bit of harshness in her voice. Paying her no mind, Loren washed down the dry bread in his mouth with some bland soup, then glanced at Lapis. ¡°Go on? I¡¯ll think about it after I¡¯ve heard the whole story. It¡¯s not something you decided out of the blue for no reason, right?¡± Gula was not here. She always appeared when they had adventurer work to do, but Loren had no idea where she was or what she did when they didn¡¯t. It was dangerous to leave Gula, a being called an Evil God created by the Ancient Kingdom, unattended, but that did not mean there was any way to limit her activities. Although they were now working together as fellow adventurers, if Gula were so much as inclined, he would end up in her stomach due to her power as Gluttony, so he didn¡¯t want to press his luck. ¡°I do have a reason. It¡¯s about the leader of the mercenary company that you belonged to, Loren.¡± Loren suddenly recalled the information they had obtained some time ago. It was something brought to him by another member of the mercenary company to which he originally belonged, and although he did not know how accurate the information was, it said that the leader of their mercenary company had been seen in the northern country of Justinia Empire. To Loren, the leader of his mercenary company was his foster parent, sword master, and comrade. He wanted to meet him again if he could. Although Loren had quit the mercenary life and become an adventurer, he still wanted to tell the leader that he had if he was still alive. However, if asked if he was willing to travel to the Empire of Justinia in the north just for that purpose, Loren would immediately answer no. That was how far away the northern country Lapis had mentioned was. After receiving the information about the leader, Loren had secretly checked the location of Justinia Empire on the continent, and found that it was located just north of the center of the continent. The central part of their continent was surrounded by steep mountainous terrain inhabited by the demon tribe, and in order to reach Justinia Empire from the southwest, it was necessary to make a large detour around the demons¡¯ territory. ¡°It takes many days and a lot of money just for a one-way trip. Just thinking about the round trip is daunting. Do we really need to go that far?¡± ¡°Yes, we do.¡± Lapis¡¯ answer was immediate. It was so quick and decisive that Loren looked a bit daunted, and Lapis, perhaps thinking that this was where she should push, leaned forward and brought her face close to his. ¡°I was convinced of it during our work the other day. We must meet with your leader and hear what he has to say.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± Loren understood, albeit only somewhat, why Lapis was so fixated on the leader. The door leading to the innermost part of the kingdom was locked by magic, and a word was needed to open it. During the commission that Loren and his team accepted before Chuck and Nim¡¯s wedding, they had explored one of the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom. The door leading to the innermost part of the ruin was locked by magic, and required a word to unlock it. While Lapis and the others tried to derive an answer from the words engraved on the door, Loren had managed to open the door as if it were a matter of course by speaking the words that he had been taught by the leader. Loren himself had heard it as a fairy tale known to everyone, and wondered why the others did not know about it, but the others had never heard of such a fairy tale. Of course, if this was only Lapis, who was a priest in appearance but actually was a demon, then it was possible she really didn¡¯t know the tale. However, one of the highest ranking vampires called Elders who was accompanying their party at the time, a young girl named Dia, had secretly informed Lapis that she also had never heard of such a fairy tale anywhere throughout the continent. When Lapis heard this, she decided that she had to persuade Loren to meet and talk with his mercenary leader, no matter what it took. ¡°Why are you so reluctant? You don¡¯t want to see him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to see him¡­ I don¡¯t want to go all the way there just to see him.¡± Though not entirely correct, one could say that the journey would mean traveling across the continent, from the southern region to the northern region. That alone was a daunting distance, but if they wanted to avoid the demon territory, they would have to travel an even longer path. ¡°I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t be in the north forever either, so why don¡¯t we wait until we hear a rumor closer to home?¡± Loren had had no information about where the commander had been or what he had been doing since the destruction of his mercenary company. The former member of the company who gave Loren information about the leader might have known more, but unfortunately, that member lost his life during a conflict that Loren¡¯s party was also involved in. Loren felt a little down when he thought about this, but he managed to pull himself out of his darkened mood when he suddenly noticed a little girl in a dress with wings on her back looking at him with concern. She was the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, whom he had met in a certain incident. [¡®Onii-san, please don¡¯t take it too hard.¡¯] Loren heard in his mind the worried thoughts of Shayna, the girl who had been transformed into the King of Death, and he smiled slightly to say that he was okay in response to the voice that only he could hear. As a result of the battle with Loren and his group, Shayna had lost her material body and became a purely spiritual entity. If left alone, she would have had no choice but to disappear, but she had managed to maintain her existence by residing inside of Loren¡¯s spiritual body. Because of this situation, sometimes Shayna was able to feel his emotions quite directly. The conversation between Loren and Shayna was not something that could be detected from the outside, but Lapis, perhaps sensing this from the atmosphere, decided that it would be better to end her talk for the time being. ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t want to force you, but could you please think about it?¡± She told Loren and began to order lunch for herself from a waitress who passed by behind her. Chapter 290: From An Emergency To A Commission (1) Proofreader: Xemul It was not very pleasant to rehash a topic that had already ended. Despite her conviction that it was necessary, Lapis seemed to think that it would be meaningless to make Loren feel bad, so she did not touch on the topic for a few days after she first invited him to go north. As for Loren, although he had given it some more thought as Lapis had asked, he still felt uncomfortable with the idea of traveling so far north to see the leader, and still hoped that Lapis would give him a break if at all possible. So neither of them had any desire to talk about it, and the time passed without either of them mentioning it, and just as they were about to forget about the whole thing, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild received an extraordinary piece of information. It was Ivy, a female staff member of the Guild, who received the piece of paper on which this information was written. The paper itself had been brought in on a fast horse. The rider, who obviously had been riding for some time, came staggering through the entrance of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and, after handing the paper to Ivy, who was working as a receptionist, had promptly fallen unconscious on the spot, perhaps exhausted from all the horseback riding. Ivy, after instructing the other receptionists and staff to tend to the rider, looked at the paper and immediately ran off to the back of the building, her expression slightly changed. The people at the back of the building were all high-ranking executives and Guildmasters, and the fact that Ivy ran to the back meant that she had something that required a superior¡¯s opinion. This happened at a branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, located in the city of Kapha. The adventurers were bracing themselves for what was about to happen when Ivy came back from the back of the building and uttered the following words. ¡°An urgent commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild!¡± A paper detailing the details of the commission was immediately added to the bulletin board where commissions were posted, and a sort of commotion broke out among the adventurers who saw it, indicating the gravity of the situation. ¡°Loren! Loren! We¡¯re in trouble!¡± It was in the evening, and Loren was discussing with Lapis and Gula about what to have for dinner in the dining hall when he felt the air around them suddenly stirred. As he dazedly watched the crowd getting frenzied, he heard a voice calling out to him and looked over to see Ivy, dressed in the uniform of a Guild official, somehow walking quickly toward him. ¡°Ivy? What¡¯s with the uproar?¡± ¡°You just said that there is an urgent commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, didn¡¯t you?¡± Loren knew what Gula was talking about even without being told. What he didn¡¯t know was the connection between that and Ivy walking towards him. He thought it would be better to wait and listen to Ivy¡¯s explanation, so he sat still and didn¡¯t greet her. Ivy quickly came and slammed a piece of paper in her hand onto the table where Loren and his friends were sitting. ¡°It¡¯s trouble!¡± Ivy looked as if she still hadn¡¯t lost momentum yet and was leaning forward when Loren said while pushing her face back with his palm: ¡°We can hear you, so calm down and explain what the trouble is.¡± That was when Ivy finally realized that repeatedly saying ¡®trouble¡¯ didn¡¯t explain anything. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, then pulled out a chair from Loren¡¯s table and sat down. ¡°We¡¯ve received an urgent commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± ¡°We heard that, but what¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a retaliation commision!¡± Ivy looked at Loren as if she thought he understood, but there was still a question mark on his face as if he didn¡¯t understand what was being said, unlike what Ivy had hoped. She turned to Lapis and Gula to see their reactions, but Gula did not seem to be interested in what she had just said at all, and looked as calm as ever. Lapis also seemed disinterested; she opened the menu and seemed to think about what to have for dinner. ¡°Hey, everyone?! This is a big deal!¡± Ivy slapped the tabletop with force, and Lapis finally looked up from the menu. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what the big deal is, even if you say so. A commission is something you don¡¯t have to accept, so what does it have to do with us?¡± The three of them believed that no matter how much trouble they were told was happening, all they had to do was to not get involved in it. Although they were prone to getting into trouble, if they kept in mind that it was going to be hard, they could just avoid it. However, Ivy immediately rejected this idea. ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t work! The Guildmaster has instructed me that this retaliation commission is one that all adventurers in the silver rank and below are obligated to participate in!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Ivy¡¯s words were absurd even to Loren¡¯s ears. To begin with, if they were talking about Kapha, there were currently no adventurers above silver rank, and if the condition for participation was as Ivy said, then everyone would be sent on this commission. Loren was racking his brain to think if such a strange commission was even possible when Lapis whispered softly to him. ¡°The Guildmasters in each branch have tremendous authority over their members. If you refuse, your participation in the guild may be revoked. But¡­¡± Lapis then turned her gaze from Loren to Ivy. ¡°All adventures from the silver rank and below¡­ the number of participants will be far too large. Do we really need that many people?¡± ¡°Oh, no. As far as this one is concerned, we give you the option of either providing the manpower or covering the funding.¡± ¡®It is written here¡¯, Ivy said and pointed to the piece of paper she had brought and spread out on the table. It was true that the same thing that Ivy said was written there, but Loren¡¯s eyes widened when he saw the minimum amount of money that would be required. ¡°Five gold coins or more, that¡¯s a hell of a lot of money.¡± ¡°Silver rank adventurers can probably manage the money, but it¡¯s difficult for the iron rank adventurers and below.¡± The conditions written there were that each person must provide either five gold coins or labor. Even if one paid the minimum to be excused from participating, five gold coins was a lot of money. Loren thought that this was too much, but after hearing Ivy¡¯s explanation, he changed his mind. ¡°A branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has been destroyed.¡± The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a mutual aid organization for adventurers. If a part of the guild had been destroyed, it was understandable that the entire organization would come together to retaliate, and it was also understandable that all members would be required to participate. But destroying a branch of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which used its organizational power solely for the benefit of adventurers and not getting involved in politics, can only be described as outrageous. ¡°Their staff was almost completely wiped out, and the adventurers who belonged to them were either killed or captured, with only a few able to escape. These few crossed the border and asked for help from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild of a neighboring country, and fast horses were immediately deployed to send information to all branches throughout the continent.¡± ¡°Neighboring country? Wait a minute, Ivy, you¡¯re talking about one branch being destroyed, right?¡± From Loren¡¯s point of view, destroying even a single branch would be outrageous enough. However, if they had to go all the way to a neighboring country to ask for help, it was not just one or two branches that had been destroyed, but all the branches in the territory of some other country. ¡°Unbelievable. Which Lord would have gone to such an extreme? What did the Adventurers¡¯ Guild have against him or her?¡± ¡°It was not a Lord.¡± Ivy, perhaps to calm herself, pressed her palm against her chest and slowly calmed her breathing, which was becoming heavy, perhaps due to stress. No matter how you looked, Ivy, an employee of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, seemed like a typical woman with short blonde hair and a beautiful face. But in reality, just as Gula, she was the Evil Goddess of Envy, created by the Ancient Kingdom. Even though she had changed her looks with her own hands, there was no way she could change what she was inside. While Loren and the others looked at Ivy and wondered what had happened to make someone like her so stressed, Ivy, who had regained her composure, said in a slightly trembling voice. ¡°The culprit who destroyed fifteen branches of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild was the Kingdom of Lombard, whose territory is at the northern part of the continent. It was the king, Lompard III, who gave the order.¡± It took a while there for Loren and the others to understand the words that Ivy had told them. The first who did was Lapis, who shook her head in disbelief. Gula was next, leaning back in her chair with her face contorted in surprise. The last was Loren, who, once finally understood the situation, began to look at the paper spread out on the table and Ivy¡¯s face alternately with a grim expression. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe, because I still don¡¯t believe half of what I¡¯m saying myself. But the information I have received definitely states that branches of the Guild were destroyed by the leadership of the state.¡± ¡°That kingdom was unbelievable, but the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is also unbelievable. I know it¡¯s a big organization, but I can¡¯t believe they would take retaliatory action against a country.¡± The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was a huge organization that had spread throughout the continent. Loren knew this, but it would be hard for it to pick a fight with the country and win. It was true that the number of members alone might be comparable to the number of soldiers a country possessed, but they were scattered all over the continent and should not be a force that can be operated collectively at once. Thinking about this, Loren suddenly remembered something that bothered him about the conditions for participation, and asked Ivy about it. ¡°If it¡¯s that important, shouldn¡¯t we also have adventurers of the gold rank and above?¡± Even though their numbers were very small, adventurers of the gold rank and above, who were supposed to have extraordinary abilities compared to those in the silver rank, were not included in this commission. If the situation was that serious, it did not make sense not to mobilize such forces. ¡°It won¡¯t work. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is allowed to operate throughout the continent because of agreements with the countries, and one of those agreements is that adventurers of the gold rank and above are not allowed to participate in wars.¡± According to Ivy, adventurers of the gold rank and above were considered a force comparable to at least several units, or even an entire army of ordinary soldiers. Such a force was able to move freely throughout the continent under the name of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild because of such an arrangement. Without it, it would be impossible for countries to allow a force that could rival an army to wander from place to place. ¡°In this case, even though it was the Lombard Kingdom that made the first move, if we mobilize adventurers of the gold rank or higher in retaliation, there is a strong possibility that the agreement will be broken.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a troublesome story, isn¡¯t it? If we keep that agreement, we cannot use our first-class forces.¡± ¡°It seems that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild has decided that such an act would put the very existence of the Guild in jeopardy.¡± If retaliation failed and the problem ended up being confined to the territory of the Lombard Kingdom, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would suffer a considerable blow to its organization, but it would not be fatal. However, if the Guild were to break the agreement and mobilize gold rank adventurers, it would alert all the countries on this continent, which could jeopardize the continued existence of the Guild. Therefore, the Guild was unable to mobilize this force, despite the fact that it was a very effective force if used. ¡°Wait a minute. So that means that if we choose to contribute by manpower, we will be sent to war?¡± Ivy nodded at Lapis¡¯ words. ¡°The Kingdom of Lombard has been at war with a neighboring country, even before the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branches were destroyed. This time, we are sending our forces to lend a helping hand to that neighboring country.¡± If the Adventurers¡¯ Guild itself were to enter into a dispute with the kingdom, it would be very difficult, as Loren thought. But if it were to lend its forces to a country already at war, it would not be such a bad fight. ¡°So, which country is this neighboring country?¡± Ivy opened her mouth to answer Loren¡¯s question. But before she could say anything, somehow Loren already had a hunch about what was going to be said, and the words came out of his mouth instead. ¡°Could it be the Justinian Empire?¡± Ivy, who was about to speak, looked at Loren, who had spoken first, with surprised eyes. That was enough of an answer, and Loren and Lapis looked at each other in surprise. Chapter 291: From An Emergency To A Commission (2) Proofreader: Xemul As an adventurer, the idea of being forced to go somewhere simply didn¡¯t sit right with Loren. However, there was something more important they needed to settle first. ¡°Can we make it to a country at the northern end of the continent in time?¡± Even if they went on fast horses, it would take them at least more than ten days to arrive if they went around the demon territory in the center of the continent. The fast horse carrying the news had reached Kapha in the shortest possible time without encountering any trouble, but it still seemed like it was already too late. But Ivy offered an explanation for this. ¡°Several of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s branches are equipped with magical tools for relaying information. If this network is used together with fast horses, information can be spread within a few days.¡± ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild really is impressive, huh.¡± ¡°But if we use a horse-drawn wagon to get there from here, it will still take more than 10 days, won¡¯t it? Since we humans can¡¯t be sent like information, we won¡¯t be able to get there in time, will we?¡± Ivy responded calmly to Gula¡¯s new question. ¡°There will be a special transport from Kapha to the location. It is a special thing that also accommodates overnight stays inside, and can carry a dozen people at a time. The cost will be covered by funds from non-participating adventurers. We expect to be there within ten days.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t help but feel it¡¯s too late though.¡± It should have been at least ten days since the incidents first happened. Even if he did not know the circumstances of the war between the empire and the kingdom, Loren thought it would not be surprising if it was settled in a few days. But Ivy negated this. ¡°The empire and the kingdom have been fighting skirmishes and major wars for a long time. It will not be settled so easily.¡± ¡°Loren, are you not familiar with the area?¡± Lapis tried to fish for some information from Loren, and Loren considered her question for a while. He remembered fighting on battlefields in the north several times, but when it came to which country he was affiliated with and which country he fought against, he couldn¡¯t remember. For a member of a mercenary company like Loren, the only important thing was how to defeat the enemy in front of him; it was the job of the executives and above to think about which countries to affiliate with and which countries to fight against. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to help.¡± ¡°You are a true mercenary in many ways, Loren.¡± There was no exasperation or mockery in Lapis¡¯ words. The only thing her tone of voice carried was a hint of admiration for Loren¡¯s life, which had seemed to be just one continuous battle. As Loren was thinking that he had had no choice but live that life, Ivy turned to him with serious eyes. ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell you is something that really doesn¡¯t need to be told.¡± After this preface, what Ivy said was a bit of a surprise to Loren and his friends. It seemed that almost no adventurers below silver rank who belong to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha would participate in this retaliation commission. They would have to pay gold coins as an alternative measure, but this would be paid in the form of a loan from the Kapha city branch. The reason for this was the same as Loren¡¯s concern: the city of Kapha was too far away to participate in this commission. Forcing adventurers to participate would not do any good to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch in Kapha, so they thought it would be better for both the adventurers and the Guild if adventurers chose not to participate in the commission, even if they had to lend money. With that fact in consideration, Ivy informed Loren¡¯s party that she wanted them to participate in this commission. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is important to the reputation of the branch.¡± There was a large difference in abilities even among adventurers below the silver rank. Some could be expected to do well in this commission, while some were certain to die if they participated. If adventurers from the second group were sent to participate without distinction, the reputation of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild branch in Kapha might be damaged. Thus, the branch had narrowed down the list of adventurers they wanted to participate, and Loren¡¯s party was apparently among them. Lapis seemed dissatisfied with the Guild¡¯s approach, but Loren had no particular qualms about it and urged Ivy to continue on. Being sent into unwanted battles for the convenience of their superiors was nothing unusual for a mercenary, and even if he was now a bit removed from it, it had been a daily occurrence for Loren until just recently, so if he thought of it as a mercenary, he was not as frustrated as Lapis was. ¡°It¡¯s just a hunch, but I have a bad feeling about the kingdom¡¯s violent actions this time.¡± ¡°And you want to thrust us head-on into that bad feeling?¡± Loren grimaced in true annoyance, but Ivy, who had started the conversation, was staring at him with a very serious expression. ¡°This is not something unrelated to you, Loren.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another nasty thing to say to me.¡± Loren said with a wry smile, but Ivy continued with no regards for it. ¡°For one thing, this is connected to Evil Gods.¡± Her words caused a slight tension amongst the group. Gula, in particular, was staring at Ivy¡¯s face as if wondering what in the world she was saying, but Ivy continued to talk without paying her any heed, looking only at Loren. ¡°It¡¯s not just one. Perhaps two are involved.¡± ¡°How could you possibly know that?¡± The smile on Loren¡¯s face disappeared, and he asked with a face as serious as Ivy¡¯s. But it was not Ivy, but Gula who answered. ¡°It¡¯s not anything like a connection between Evil Gods, you know. The Evil God of Envy is always looking for something to be jealous of, and she has a nose for the location of superior beings.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know which Evil God they are, but the remaining two would be the most likely candidates.¡± ¡°Wrath and Pride huh¡­ The most troublesome are the ones left, aren¡¯t they?¡± Ivy seemed to agree with Gula¡¯s grumble, and a somber mood began to mingle in the serious expression on her face. Gula and Ivy apparently knew the two Evil Gods, but this information was unknown to Loren and Lapis, who asked Ivy to explain. ¡°I just have an example, so I don¡¯t know if that is still true today.¡± Ivy was an Evil God who did not want to continue to be an Evil God; she had used herself as material to rebuild her body and weaken her power. A device installed in a certain ruin made this possible, and Ivy believed that it would not be surprising if there was another ruin with a similar function somewhere else on the continent. That was why she was not sure if the information about Evil Gods before they were sealed and fell asleep a long time ago was still valid now. With this preamble, Ivy told Loren about the Evil Gods of Wrath and Pride. That is why I am not sure if the information about the time before Ivy and the other evil gods entered the sealed sleep a long time ago is still valid today. After saying this, Ivy tells Loren the information about the evil gods of wrath and arrogance. The name of the Evil God of Wrath was Rage Saturnia. She was a young girl with blonde hair and fierce looks. According to Ivy, she normally was not so bad, but once she got angry, she became out of control. ¡°If we simply compare the attack power, she is the strongest among the Evil Gods.¡± Ivy then tried to describe the Evil God of Pride, but she looked thoughtful for a moment and then looked at Gula instead of Loren for some reason. ¡°What kind of Evil God was Pride?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah¡­ Right, we don¡¯t know what Pride looks like.¡± When Loren asked her what she meant by this, she explained that the Evil God of Pride did not like to meet other Evil Gods, and that they preferred not to reveal their true faces to those they considered lower in rank than themselves. They wrapped their faces and bodies in cloths so that they could not be recognized. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s a man.¡± ¡°His name is¡­ probably Superbia Hipride?¡± ¡°This is getting troublesome.¡± On the one hand, there was the presumptive child Evil God who, once she got angry, got out of hand. On the other hand was a presumably male Evil God who looked down on even other Evil Gods, who were supposed to be his comrades, and never revealed his appearance. Loren did not want to come anywhere near them at all. ¡°I think that when it comes to things involving Evil Gods, even if you ask a silver rank adventurer to help you, you won¡¯t know if they will be able to return safely. In that respect, you and your team have already encountered five Evil Gods including myself, and have returned alive.¡± Even though this was a recognition of his achievements, it was not something Loren felt happy about at all, but he could not deny that Ivy was correct. Although it was not clear at this point how or from where the intervention of the Evil Gods that Ivy somehow sensed was coming, Loren thought that with the demon Lapis and the Evil God Gula by his side, it was unlikely that they would not be able to do something about it somehow. ¡°Can¡¯t we just talk to the gold ranks and ask them to temporarily act as the silver ranks?¡± It was Lapis who proposed such a way out. The agreement that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had with each country on the continent was that adventurers of the gold rank and above were not to participate in wars. But what Lapis proposed was temporarily demoting the gold rank adventurers and having them participate as silver rank. ¡°It¡¯s impossible. The number of adventurers in the gold rank is much smaller. Most of their faces are known, so it would be easy to find out what our intentions are in demoting them.¡± Loren thought this was a good example of how having your face well-known could limit your actions. It was not a laughing matter, however, since his party were the ones who were currently being put in a disadvantageous position by this situation. ¡°To sum it up, the commission this time is to use the Adventurers¡¯ Guild¡¯s pocket to do the job of mercenaries.¡± This was something that they would not have known if they had not been told. Loren thought that it must have been Ivy¡¯s sincerity that made her go to the trouble of disclosing it to Loren and the others. ¡°It sounds like a hassle, but it¡¯s an offer I can¡¯t refuse. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll mind, do you?¡± When Loren looked at Lapis and Gula for their opinions, Lapis gently quietly lowered her eyes and showed no particular reaction, while Gula shrugged and shook her head as if she had no choice. Having made sure that neither of them raised any objections, Loren turned back to Ivy. ¡°We can accept it, but¡­ I have a condition.¡± ¡°What is it? I¡¯m willing to take anything this time, even if it¡¯s something unreasonable.¡± Ivy braced herself, but Loren waved his hand in front of his face in a lighthearted manner. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do anything unreasonable. There is a silver rank adventurer named Ritz, right? Please make sure his party doesn¡¯t participate.¡± Ivy¡¯s eyes widened a little when she heard the unexpected request, and she stared at Loren as if she was trying to figure out what he was up to. ¡°Chuck and Nim from that party just got married, didn¡¯t they? When such people go to war, they often mysteriously don¡¯t come back. It¡¯s going to be a mess and we can¡¯t afford to help them, and if they die, I won¡¯t be able to sleep well.¡± It was a kind of jinx that was circulated among mercenaries, but Loren thought that it was not to be underestimated because, strangely enough, the probability of such a situation was really high. Perhaps being married distracted them, but if one were to draw a simple connection, it was true that the probability of death was high for newlyweds who went to the battlefield. ¡°If those guys are willing to participate and complain about not being selected, I need you to get hold of them and make them give up. Will you do it?¡¯ ¡°Understood. We will not request their participation, and if they do apply, we promise to give them a variety of reasons why we won¡¯t accept their application.¡± ¡°May I ask one thing of you, too?¡± As Loren finished his request and Ivy agreed to it, Lapis suddenly raised her hand. Ivy was relieved that Loren¡¯s request was relatively simple, but when Lapis added her request to the mix, Ivy¡¯s expression stifferend again, and she braced herself. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so cautious¡­ And my request is also something very sweet.¡± Ivy, who was not letting her guard down, thought this was impossible. Lapis, perhaps thinking this would reassure her, smiled and winked at her, but this just ended up making her even more wary. Chapter 292: From Departure To Encounter (1) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°I meant it when I said it was a cute request!¡± An exasperated Lapis swung her whip, and the horse that had been hit let out a low, discontented neigh. On the driver bench, Loren let out a small sigh. Lapis probably was not taking it out on the horse, but it still looked like a rather strong whip, and he felt some sympathy for the horse. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that was harsh, Loren? When did I ever do anything that would make her so suspicious of me? Don¡¯t you think that was too much, considering I¡¯ve been conducting myself like a dignified priest all this time?¡± Although he did feel a bit bad for Lapis, who was in a huff, Loren found Ivy¡¯s reaction when Lapis made her request valid. Since she knew Lapis¡¯ real identity, there was no way she could take Lapis¡¯ ¡®cute request¡¯ at face value. Of course, Loren believed that if Lapis were to say the same thing to him, he would feel a bit resigned but not be as alarmed as Ivy, but only because he was Loren; to expect the same thing from someone else would be almost too much. Lapis¡¯ request was for their party to act independently. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild had originally commissioned this job, so the participants had to work under the Guild¡¯s supervision. This was only natural as the Guild was their employer this time, but Lapis wanted to bend the rules and demanded the right to act on their own. Loren had estimated that there was a 50-50 chance that Ivy would agree to this, but he was surprised at how readily she accepted Lapis¡¯ request. He didn¡¯t know whether it was because Ivy thought it was not a big deal or because she had some other agenda, but she assured Lapis that as long as they contacted the Adventurers¡¯ Guild representative at the destination, there would be no questions asked about the progress of the trip. She even provided them a carriage according to Lapis¡¯ request as the means of transportation. ¡°Is there any reason why we¡¯re taking a different route?¡± Gula poked her head out of the carriage and asked. Lapis was still muttering complaints in her mouth, after finally realizing that there was no point in continuing, she exhaled lightly, looked over her shoulder at Gula, and answered. ¡°Of course. Why would I make such a request if there is no meaning to it?¡± ¡°Oh, really? But if that¡¯s the case, why did you refuse to use the Guild¡¯s transportation, which seems to be very comfortable, and travel in a cheap carriage like this?¡± Ivy, perhaps thinking that she might get complaints later if she didn¡¯t let them know, had shown their party the transportation that was originally prepared by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild for this commission. It was a huge vehicle with a fairly spacious living area, and according to Ivy¡¯s explanation, it was magic power that turned the wheels and propelled the vehicle forward. Existing horse-drawn carriages were incomparable to this vehicle, which had been made by analyzing magical tools excavated from some ruins and reproducing their effects using current technology. If the vehicle could be mass-produced, it would change the world. But according to Ivy, it would require a tremendous amount of money and a large amount of rare materials just to make one unit, and maintaining it would cost another tremendous amount of money. It was not possible to produce enough of them to be distributed throughout the continent. ¡°It was rather regrettable, I think.¡± Lapis had an extraordinary interest in the vehicle that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had created with the best of its technology, but for some reason, she did not retract his previous request and left Kapha with Loren and Gula in the carriage that Ivy had prepared for them. Loren found it surprising that Lapis, a priest of the God of Knowledge and a person who seemed to be full of curiosity, did not insist on riding in the vehicle she had never seen before. There must be a reason why she insisted on taking a different route from the other participants. ¡°To put it more succinctly, it¡¯s to shorten the time it takes to get there.¡± ¡°Shorten the time? That car is really fast, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, they can run as fast as a horse, and for longer than a horse, but¡­¡± Even if the cost to run the vehicle was high, it was a device, not a living thing. It did not require any rest time, which would be necessary if horses were used. Heat and other substances did accumulate in the vehicle when it moved, so it was not possible to keep it running without a break, but even so, it was said to be able to operate for longer than a horse. Lapis looked frustrated, perhaps still feeling a little regretful about not riding the car, but she did not seem inclined to take back her own argument. ¡°There is a faster way to get there, so why not use it?¡± ¡°What way is that?¡± Gula tilted her head, but Loren immediately knew what Lapis was saying. ¡°There is. Others can only reach the northern countries by taking a large detour through the central part of the continent, but we can get to our destination by the shortest route.¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah¡­ We are going to go through the demon territory.¡± Just by the word ¡®shortest route¡¯, Gula understood what Lapis was thinking. Normally, no one would think of reaching the northern part of the continent by cutting through the territory of the demons. Demons were not the type to chase after and deal with someone who was moving hesitantly around the edges of their territory, but they were not merciful enough to tolerate someone who tried to invade their territory unprovoked. However, Lapis was with them. If Lapis, the daughter of one of the Demon Kings of the demon tribe, accompanied them, they should be able to avoid conflict through discussion or some other means, even if the demons came to interfere or deal with the situation. ¡°But would the time change that much?¡± Gula wondered if there would not be much difference in arrival time even if they had turned down the route the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had prepared for them and taken the shortest one, but Lapis smiled at her and said. ¡°I chose this because it would be different.¡± ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± The carriage that Ivy had prepared for them was relatively comfortable to ride in, but even so, it still had the limits of a carriage. If refusing a novel and seemingly comfortable ride resulted in almost the same arrival time, Gula believed Lapis would not make such a choice. ¡°This time we will continue straight to the mountainous area surrounding the demon territory. There we will change transport, and once we do, it won¡¯t take us long to reach the center of the continent.¡± ¡°The center of the continent? Not the north?¡± Finding problems with a part of what Lapis had just said, Loren asked her about it, and Lapis ducked her head as if being found out. It seemed like Lapis had not chosen to move separately this time based solely on factors such as riding comfort and time required. ¡°Lapis, it¡¯s not good to keep secrets.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, but I¡¯m not allowed to tell anyone this, even you, so I can¡¯t explain right now.¡± Loren¡¯s and Gula¡¯s faces both twitched at Lapis¡¯ apologetic words. As far as the two of them knew, there were not many people who could force Lapis to do anything, and all of those who could were people with whom you would not want to have anything to do with. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me, Lapis. Are you selling us out?!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­. What in the world do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Some unthinkable characters ordered you to bring us somewhere again, right?¡± ¡°I have to keep silent! Please let me!¡± Loren grabbed Lapis by the shoulders and tried to get her to turn toward him. As she resisted his attempts to turn her around, he put his mouth close to her ear and shouted. ¡°What ¡®cute request¡¯! I knew I was in for a bad deal!¡± ¡°For one, it¡¯s a request from a cute girl!¡± ¡°¡®Cute¡¯ is not a word that goes with ¡®request¡¯!¡± The reins were being pulled this way and that by Loren and Lapis, who were almost fighting each other on the driver bench, and the carriage, pulled by a horse that was no longer walking straight, became unsteady. Gula, who was looking out the window of the swaying carriage and watching the two on the driver bench, muttered quietly. ¡°Can¡¯t deny that it was a cute girl who requested it.¡± ¡°Will there be a war if I deny it?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that an undeniable truth?¡± Loren and Lapis, who had spoken two different things at the same time, stopped moving for a moment and fell silent, still in the same posture as if they were in a scuffle. The horse, no longer being pulled by the reins, corrected its course on its own and began to walk straight again on the path it had been on, but this soon seemed to become impossible as Lapis pulled on the reins again and began to slowly lean into Loren with a smile on her face. ¡°Oh? Oh?!¡± ¡°Are you saying that if it doesn¡¯t result in war, you will deny it? Do I understand correctly that it is Mister Loren¡¯s opinion?¡± ¡°No one said that!¡± ¡°Then what did you mean when you said so?!¡± The scuffle resumed, and the horse shook its head in annoyance as it was pulled by the reins once more. Normally, the horse¡¯s gait would sway from side to side in response to the movement of the reins, but perhaps having learned to correct its gait from the previous experience, this time its gait had mysteriously remained straight, and the carriage was no longer swaying. ¡°Hey, Lapis! Stop acting wild! The reins are going this way and that way! You¡¯re driving the carriage off route!¡± ¡°This horse is an excellent horse borrowed from the Guild, so it¡¯ll be fine! After all, it is smart enough to return to the Guild¡¯s stables in Kapha on its own once the rider is gone!¡± ¡°That would be a creepy sight¡­¡± What Loren referred to was the sight of the horse returning to Kapha on its own once its loads were empty. It might be a very good horse, but the sight of a horse-drawn carriage running with no driver and no passengers on board was nothing short of eerie. ¡°Anyway, if we can get to the edge of the mountainous area by the end of the day, we¡¯ll let it go and transfer to another transport!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pretty last-minute itinerary, isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t know if I can get on another transport with no explanation! If it can get back to the city on its own, it¡­¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it won¡¯t return to town unless the carriage is empty.¡± Lapis looked triumphant, and Loren gritted his teeth in frustration. Gula, who was watching the exchange between the two, thought that it would take some more time for the situation to settle down or change, so she retreated back into the carriage through the window she was peeking out of and closed her eyes, thinking about taking a nap in the space she had all to herself. Chapter 293: From Departure To Encounter (2) Proofreader: Xemul With such chit-chat, the wagon headed straight for the mountainous region. Loren and his team managed to reach the mountain range that separated the demons from the other races just before sunset. The route the carriage took did not reach the edge of the mountains; they had to get down at the closest-possible point, gave the horse a light push to encourage it to return to Kapah, then proceeded on their own feet. They still managed to arrive at their destination though, and Loren looked up at the being that was waiting for them. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect her to be waiting for us. I guess there¡¯ll be a big commotion, huh?¡± The being to whom Loren threw such words was so huge that he had to look up at her, but for some reason, she was waiting for them with an atmosphere and posture as if she was trying to make herself smaller. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble to hide my appearance and presence. I don¡¯t want to make a scene for nothing.¡± The answer came from a giant dragon. Loren had not seen enough dragons to be able to tell them apart by facial features, but he had met this one before, and she was acting like she was familiar with them, so he did not hesitate speaking her name. ¡°Emery, why are you here?¡± It was the Ancient Dragon that Loren and his team had met earlier when they had entered the demon territory. The dragon, too, seemed surprised to see Loren and the others there. Her eyes widened for a moment, but it looked like she immediately came to some sort of understanding; her expression and aura returned to normal at once. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, human.¡± ¡°Indeed. I didn¡¯t expect to see you here again.¡± Emery was an Ancient Dragon that had taken up residence within the demon territory. She must have been seen flying above the mountains on several occasions, but Loren did not think that she had ever been seen flying over the mountains and out of the area. Perhaps he had been seen flying over the mountains and in the sky on several occasions, but Loren did not expect that he would indeed be able to fly over the mountains and out of the mountainous area. ¡°So, perhaps¡­ We¡¯ll get to the center of the continent soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m unwilling to do so, but I¡¯ll take you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re offering us a ride?¡± ¡°What other choice do you have?¡± Emery¡¯s words came as a shock to Loren. The last time they had met, Emery had never tried to carry Loren and his friends on her back. When she wanted to carry them, she had let them hold onto her legs and pretended to not see them. But this time, she was willing to carry them on her back, so easily and simply that Loren had to wonder what kind of change of heart had taken place between the time they parted and now. ¡°Loren, I don¡¯t know what you are expecting, but Emery is simply being offered the job in exchange for a partial discharge of the debt she owed because of that thing she broke before. Right, Emery?¡± Loren wondered if something had happened to change Emery¡¯s mind about the human race, but what shattered his thoughts was Lapis¡¯ nonchalant rebuke. He looked up at the dragon, but for some reason she turned away as if to avoid his eyes. ¡°An Ancient Dragon running errands¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. I did destroy it ¨C that¡¯s a fact. If they say they¡¯ll write off part of the debt, I¡¯ll be willing to overlook a few things.¡± Emery said and, as if suddenly remembering something, brought her face close to Loren. The sight of the dragon peering straight at him made Loren feel a bit chilled, but Emery paid it no mind and asked him a curious question. ¡°I thought you had to pay for some of it, too?¡± ¡°I guess so¡­¡± As for Emery¡¯s creditor, it was actually the same as Loren¡¯s. The particulars of the amount of money were not properly known, but Loren had been told that it was a sum of money that he could not possibly pay alone. It was the result of a small misunderstanding, and he didn¡¯t know the exact amount, but he had been told that it was more than he could afford to pay by himself. ¡°Isn¡¯t it tough? They are relentless when they ask for payment. It¡¯s a bit better if you have some savings like I do, but for a fledgling adventurer like you, it¡¯s probably quite difficult to arrange.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been asked for payment.¡± To date, Loren had never received a demand for the debt he owed. Although it was not an amount that he could pay even if he was asked to, he has never experienced the kind of harsh collection that Emery described. When Loren told the dragon this, she shook her head from side to side as she looked at him in disbelief. ¡°I constantly have messengers from the Great Demon King coming to my nest, but you don¡¯t get any of them?¡± ¡°Well, if they come, I¡¯ll also be in trouble.¡± Although Loren did not know who in the world was visiting Emery¡¯s nest, if they were a messenger of the Great Demon King, they must be a powerful being in their own right, and Loren would be very troubled when such beings barge into his room at the inn. Emery, on the other hand, was upset that no collectors had been sent to Loren, and continued to grumble and complain while splitting out thin plumes of smoke from her mouth. As Loren was thinking that he could understand her feelings, Lapis stepped forward and raised her voice, as if she thought that the conversation would not move forward at this point. ¡°In Loren¡¯s case, it¡¯s because I¡¯m the one being asked to watch over him that no one is coming. In your case, there is a collector coming to collect but no one is assigned to watch over you, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That is¡­ certainly true.¡± ¡°If you are fine with having a watchman at your nest, they can stop sending collectors. Do you want that?¡± ¡°You want me to let a pawn of the Great Demon King station in my lair? That¡¯s not a joke.¡± ¡°Then, please just accept it.¡± Lapis said this in a calm but firm manner as if to end the conversation there, but inwardly she was gloating over the fact that she had successfully steered the conversation. In fact, the biggest difference between Emery and Loren was that Emery was paying her debts, even if only a little at a time, while Loren had not paid his debts at all. Although the existence of a collector had little to do with this, Emery seemed to think that just because no collector was sent his way, she was the only one paying the debts. Before they could delve too deeply into the matter, Lapis dared to come forward and say that she was Loren¡¯s watcher in order to turn the conversation in a different direction. Of course, Lapis had no such role. It was not fun to be misunderstood, so Lapis wondered if she would have to explain to Loren later. But when she glanced at Loren, he did not seem surprised at all, and was paying close attention to Emery¡¯s movements instead. He was not surprised and was paying attention to Emery¡¯s movements. If we keep him waiting too long, he might say something about reducing the amount of the debt, so we¡¯ll have him come with us right away. ¡°I guess there¡¯s no point in complaining here. If we keep them waiting too long, they might say something about decreasing the amount of debt reduction, so you have to go with me right now.¡± Seemingly having changed her mind, Emery said this, then dropped her wings and lowered herself so that Loren and his friends could climb on her back. ¡°Hey Lapis, I don¡¯t know much about history, but¡­¡± ¡°If you are asking if there are any references about humans riding on the backs of Ancient Dragons, then as far as I know, there are only a few, in ancient documents from the Ancient Kingdom period.¡± If Lapis was correct, it was almost a legend, and Loren found himself getting a little nervous at the thought of such a fairy-tale experience. Thinking that it was only natural to be nervous because of what Emery was, Loren used the wings that she had dropped to make it easier for them to climb up as a foothold and scrambled up to her back, then sat down cross-legged. Lapis climbed up after him and sat down between his legs, leaning her body against his chest. Loren was about to complain that she was too close when Gula, who had climbed up after Lapis, came up behind him and put her hands around his neck as if she was about to cling tightly to his back. He hurriedly pushed her hands down. ¡°Ah, Loren, don¡¯t you want me to hold on to you?¡± ¡°Not my neck, not my neck. At least hold my shoulders or something.¡± If it were someone powerless, Loren might not have felt any resistance to being held by the neck. However, Gula had the brute strength to strangle him to death with just her bare arms, and as long as there was no guarantee that something like that would not happen, Loren could not just surrender his neck quietly. ¡°You don¡¯t need to huddle together like that. I¡¯ll fly carefully so as not to drop you¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m worried about, but this positioning is necessary.¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t understand it, but if that¡¯s alright with you, then we¡¯re off.¡± As if she had no intention of listening to any answer from the beginning, Emery kicked the ground with a lightness that did not suit her huge body, and that was all it took for her to gently leave the ground. She flapped her wings a few times, and her body quickly soared into the air, flying up to an altitude that would make you lose your footing if you looked down. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel any acceleration at all. Dragons are amazing, aren¡¯t they?¡± Lapis, with her back still resting against Loren¡¯s body, said in admiration. Loren recalled the moment when Emery flew up. Whenever a vehicle started to run, you always felt the impact of being pressed against the back of the seat, but Emery had soared up to an unimaginable height without causing any such feelings. ¡°I doubt very much that you will ever ride on the back of an Ancient Dragon like myself in the future, but remember this: Once a dragon decides to let you on their back, they will never fly in a way that puts a burden on you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on the back of a dragon either.¡± Loren immediately responded, to which Emery turned her head and glared at him. She was about to say something to Loren, who did not understand how much of an honor it was to be able to ride on the back of a dragon, but before she could open his mouth, Lapis followed Loren¡¯s lead. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on the back of a dragon either.¡± ¡°Me too. Riding on the back of a dragon? Nah I¡¯m good, thank you.¡± The fact is, Emery¡¯s back is not that comfortable to ride on. Perhaps it was because all three of the passengers on her back had given her some sort of criticism, but Emery was beginning to look a little downcast. Seeing her like that, Loren wondered if he had said something wrong, but the truth was, Emery¡¯s back was not that comfortable to ride on. He thought it would be different if they had at least a saddle, but there was no way the dragon would let them put a saddle on her back. ¡°Sorry for the uncomfortable dragon back, but bear with me for a while.¡± ¡°Oh, are you sulking?¡± As Lapis tried to rub salt into the wound, Loren lightly tightened his arms around her from behind as if he was embracing her, making her let out a small scream and become speechless. Lapis grew quiet as strength drained from her body, and Loren said to the back of Emery¡¯s head while supporting her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She got a little carried away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s just get the job done. Loren was not sure if Emery had collected herself or decided not to care, but she replied to him in a blunt rather than sullen voice. Turning straight toward the center of the continent, she flapped her wings and flew a little faster. Chapter 294: From Departure To Encounter (3) Proofreader: Xemul Riding on the back of the Ancient Dragon Emery, Loren and his party set off for the demon territory, but the flight was not that enjoyable. The ride itself was not too uncomfortable. In fact, it seemed that Emery had really been careful about them, and the flight was not as bad as they had expected. The problem was the speed of the flight and the time involved. Emery¡¯s flying speed was truly fast; there was no time to enjoy the view from the sky or anything. Loren could barely see the scenery in the distance, and the ones near him and below him were literally flying by, so he quickly gave up sightseeing and just stared blankly ahead in the direction they were going. As for the time, due to the fast flying speed, the traveling time was greatly shortened. In general, Loren had a strong feeling that he was being carried to his destination before he knew what was going on, and the sentimentality of flying in the air as a human or riding on the back of an Ancient Dragon remained very vague. ¡°Do you see it? That is the castle of the Great Demon King.¡± Emery called out to Loren and the others, who suddenly noticed that their flying speed was slowing down. Loren, who had only been staring blankly ahead, turned his gaze from the front to the surroundings a little at her voice. Because Emery had slowed down for some reason, he was able to check out the surrounding scenery a little bit. As Loren gazed around at the scenery, which was still flying by but had somehow become more visible, he spotted the structure that Emery wanted to show them. There was a huge lake. It was already nighttime, and in the center of the lake, which was dimly visible in the pitch black darkness, was a floating island, and there was a huge structure built on it that could have been mistaken for a mountain. Lights, perhaps from bonfires or magic, were lit here and there, and the structure seemed to be floating in the darkness, just barely visible. Looking at it, Loren involuntarily felt a chill run down his spine at the presence that seemed to be enemating from the structure. ¡°Is that it?¡± Gula, who was clinging to Loren¡¯s back, pressed her body against the area where the chill was running down, her voice coming from somewhere close to his ear. The too-close voice made him shiver involuntarily, and the motion made Lapis, who had been lying languidly in Loren¡¯s arms, came back to her senses. She raised his head, which had been resting on Loren¡¯s chest, and began to look around as if she had just woken up from a nap. ¡°Eh¡­ Ah, that. That is our destination, the castle of the Great Demon King.¡± Loren had guessed that it was the being called the Great Demon King who had instructed Lapis to bring him this time, judging from their talk with Emery and the fact that they were going to the center of the continent. However, when he was told once again that that was indeed the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, he could not stop the thought of having to go there from weighing heavily on his mood. He wanted to go home, but he could not turn back now. Even if he could somehow get down from Emery, he would be in the middle of the demon territory, and he didn¡¯t think he would be able to make it back to the human territory on his own feet. ¡°There is no need to be so nervous, Loren.¡± Perhaps sensing his feelings through their physical contact, Lapis looked up at Loren from inside his arms and spoke in a reassuring tone. ¡°This time, His Majesty the Great Demon King has summoned us personally. His Majesty is not so crazy as to harm a guest he himself invited.¡± Even so, Loren was not at ease at all because the other party was the Great Demon King. If he displeased him even just a little, he could easily lose his life. If at all possible, Loren didn¡¯t want to see him at all. But regardless of his thoughts, Emery approached the sky above the castle and began to descend slowly in a spiraling trajectory. ¡°Now, where should we land?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just land in front of the main gate?¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be any fun.¡± Emery responded to Lapis while looking at the three of them, the corners of her mouth curved upwards. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, he could not find anything fun about going to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle. However, there was nothing to do but to leave it to Emery¡¯s judgment as to where to land, and he could only pray that the landing would be as smooth as possible. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go over there.¡± After flying around the castle for a while, Emery seemed to have decided on a landing spot, and she adjusted his trajectory to head toward the castle. Loren had no idea where Emery was going to land, but Lapis and Gula immediately knew, and he could see them panicking in his arms and at his back. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the place for a dragon to land!¡± Loren looked around to see why the two of them were panicking, and he vaguely saw where Emery was heading. It looked like a balcony to Loren¡¯s eyes. For some reason, there were no lights of any kind in that area, and it blended into the shadows of the castle even under the moonlight, but Loren thought it was likely that this was where Emery was headed, judging from the direction of her gaze. ¡°Can you even land there?¡± Emery was huge. Loren was worried about whether her body, so huge that it was worth the title of ¡®Ancient Dragon¡¯, would be able to descend on a balcony, no matter how huge the castle was. But Lapis and Gula were more concerned about something else. ¡°Regardless of whether you can or cannot, won¡¯t the soldiers come rushing in and treat us as suspicious?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also worried about that, but do you understand that if we destroy the balcony, we¡¯ll be in debt?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the details. Alright, we¡¯re coming down.¡± Despite Lapis¡¯ attempts to dissuade her, Emery plunged into one of the balconies of the Great Demon King¡¯s castle at a fairly high speed, despite having slowed down her momentum somewhat. Loren, while imagining the tremor and loud noise such a landing would make, was caught by a rather out-of-place thought: ¡®What in the world is a balcony large enough for an Ancient Dragon the size of Emery to land on used for?¡¯ In the meantime, Emery landed on the balcony she was aiming for with an ease that was unimaginable for such a huge being. The maneuver was so spectacularly done that Loren and his party did not even feel any impact, but for some reason, the dragon suddenly shook them off her back. It happened so suddenly that they couldn¡¯t even brace themselves, and ended up flying through the air in a parabolic arc. ¡°We¡¯ll hit the wall?!¡± ¡°No, even worse than that!¡± They were not thrown at the wall of the castle, but at a huge window. The expensive glass in the window would be too fragile to catch the bodies of Loren and his team, and the impact of the collision, not to mention the danger of the shards of shattered glass, could have resulted in life-threatening injuries if not handled properly. Loren quickly wrapped Lapis, who was still in his arms, and Gula, who was clinging to his back, in his own arms and curled himself up so that he crashed into the window back first. However, the shock that would have come after just a few moments of floating did not hit Loren¡¯s back. Instead, after a slightly longer than expected floating feeling, his body sank into the warm water with a violent splashing sound. Loren wondered if they had fallen into some kind of swamp, but it was hard to imagine a swamp in the castle, and besides, it was not very deep. He immediately put his feet on the bottom and stood up. In his arms, Lapis and Gula were coughing violently, as if they had inhaled some hot water when they landed. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Loren asked as he released them from his arms. Gula was coughing so hard that she could not answer, but Lapis, who coughed lightly while wringing water out of her soaking wet priest robe despite knowing it was useless, nodded at him. Loren watched Lapis rub Gula¡¯s back, who seemed alright despite still coughing, then looked at the place where they had been thrown out. The huge window they had been worried about crashing into was, for some reason, wide open, and they could see Emery turning around in the distance. It seemed that after throwing them out, the dragon had quickly moved to escape. Thinking that there should have been a more gentle delivery method, Loren turned his gaze to the space behind the window, where they had been thrown at. It was unlit and pitch black. The water under his feet was probably at the right temperature for soaking, and it formed a fairly large watering hole. It rose to about Loren¡¯s knees, and was clear and clean, not murky. ¡°Is this a bath?¡± Loren could think of no other facility in a castle that held such a large amount of hot water. He was impressed by the expensive facilities, but considering that the place they were in is the castle of the Great Demon King, it would not be surprising if there were one or two bathrooms. ¡°But if the water is this warm, does that mean¡­ someone has already bathed in it, or someone is going to very soon?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you even think that someone might be bathing?¡± Gula was still coughing and Lapis was taking care of her. The moment the answer came, Loren put his hand on the greatsword on his back, turned to the direction of the voice and readied himself. ¡°That Emery. I told her to bring you here as quickly as possible, but I didn¡¯t tell her to just throw you in here. It spoils my hard-earned time of relax.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± There was no light in the room, and the voice came from the far end. The light from outside did not reach the area, and straining his eyes on it, Loren could see, albeit dimly, a figure soaking in the hot water. ¡°That question is for greeting. I know who you are, so I¡¯m not going to ask you to tell me your name.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer the question.¡± When confronted by Loren, who was ready to draw his greatsword at any moment, the owner of the voice did not seem to put himself on guard, nor did he even make a move to get out of the hot water in which he was soaking. Just as Loren was thinking that this was not the attitude to have in front of an armed intruder, someone strongly pulled his hand from behind him. ¡°No, Loren! Please refrain yourself!¡± It was Lapis, her face tense and her voice small but firm. Loren, seeing her expression, immediately let go of the greatsword and kneeled down on the spot, hanging his head. He did this because he could think of only one person who could make such an expression appear on Lapis¡¯ face. ¡°You don¡¯t need to act so humble. I¡¯m sure this was force majeure, and I did tell Emery to bring you to me right away. I don¡¯t blame you for putting your hand on your weapon, since it would be natural to be wary when being addressed in this darkness.¡± A small ball of light appeared in the darkness. Illuminated by the light, which was probably created by magic, was the face of a young man. His long, pure white hair was flowing in the water, and his dark purple eyes, which were looking at Loren and his party in front of him, showed a hint of interest and curiosity. The man¡¯s body from the chest down was not visible because he was immersed in the hot water, but from what Loren could see and what showed through the water, he was quite tall and well-trained. ¡°I know this is not the place for such a thing, but let me introduce myself. I am the one who called you here. I am the leader of the Demon Kings ruling the demon tribe, the Great Demon King. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± The man introduced himself and wiped his face with his palm, smiling at Loren¡¯s party. Chapter 295: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched Proofreader: Xemul ¡°At any rate, let¡¯s get dressed, shall we? You can¡¯t be thinking of speaking to me while dripping wet, can you? I¡¯m not myself being like this, either.¡± As if he had no intention of hiding his body, the Great Demon King casually rose up from the bathtub in which he had been soaking. As various things were on full display, Loren was worried about Lapis¡¯ reaction, but when he glanced toward her, he found that she was kneeling in the bathtub like himself, her eyes closed and her face down, not looking at the Great Demon King at all. ¡°I¡¯ll have some things ready for you right away. Do not resist, as it will be in vain.¡± The word ¡®resist¡¯ caught Loren¡¯s attention and, wondering what kind of face the Great Demon King had on his face as he spoke those words, he tried to look up slightly to see. But he hurriedly cast his eyes and face back down when he saw girls in maid uniforms entering without a noise from what looked like the entrance of the bathhouse as the Great Demon King snapped his fingers. Even though he was kneeling in the warm bathtub, Loren could not stop his body from shivering from the chill. He was completely overwhelmed by the auras of the newly-entered girls, who were probably maids judging by their appearances. [¡®Are you okay, onii-san? ¡­If something happens, I¡¯ll do everything I can to protect you!¡¯] Loren was so nervous that he could not answer the worried voice of Shayna in his mind. The thought that if he did one thing wrong and offended anyone present, he would almost certainly not make it out of this place alive dominated his body. The girls in maid¡¯s uniforms might look cute, but the aura Loren sensed from them was comparable to that of Judie, Lapis¡¯ mother and one of the Demon Kings he had met before. ¡°Your Majesty, these people are¡­?¡± As the girls began to wipe the Great Demon King¡¯s body down with a clean cloth, one of them looked down at Loren and his friends and asked. A suspicious group of people entering through a window while the king was bathing was, no matter how you looked at it, a criminal story; even if they did not do anything wrong, they would have been executed immediately. Even though there was the circumstance that Emery was told to bring them in front of the Great Demon King in the fastest way possible, it was up to the king to take it into consideration. Loren naturally felt his body tense up, but the Great Demon King, while being wiped down by the other maids, replied in a very light tone to the one who had asked the questions. ¡°They are my guests. These are the ones I had ordered Emery to bring as soon as possible. These men were only brought in, and Emery was only carrying out my order. Neither deserves blame.¡± ¡°Would you have an audience with them like this?¡± ¡°A funny joke, but you¡¯re not serious, are you? Get them some change of clothes and rooms at once. They are my guests, and I expect you to treat them as such.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± The moment the maid bowed her head at the Great Demon King¡¯s words, the tension that had been building up in the place suddenly dissipated. Loren was about to let out a sigh of relief at being let off the hook when he saw empty-handed maids running towards them and gasped at the sight. Without hesitation, the girls stepped into the bathtub in their maid uniforms and approached Loren and his friends, walking above the warm water. Loren, who had thought that if the maids went up to them in such a state, they would wet the hem of their skirts and would have to leave the bathtub themselves, could only stare in stunned amazement at the maids approaching without wetting even their toes, let alone the hem of their skirts. ¡°Now, esteemed guest, please give me your hand. Your clothes and equipments will deteriorate if you keep wearing them like this.¡± ¡°Is this not Miss Lapis? It has been a long time. How have you been? It is not good for your health to have your hair and clothes soaked like this. Please change at once.¡± ¡°Hm, is it alright if I just carry this blonde miss somewhere else?¡± Loren took the hand offered by the maid while listening to Gula protesting about being the only one who got treated badly. The maid then took his hand, and just when Loren thought she would pull him toward her, she lightly picked him up and carried him horizontally in her arms. He was quite heavy, including his equipment, yet here he was, being held by a maid much smaller than him in size and could not do anything about it. Loren turned his eyes toward Lapis, who was also being held by another maid. Noticing his gaze, Lapis gently shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s useless to resist, so it¡¯s better if you do as you are told.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, our guest here has a rather impressive body, so¡­ Would you mind if we borrow a change of clothes from Your Majesty¡¯s wardrobe?¡± The maid who was holding Loren in her arms without even pretending to feel heavy asked the Great Demon King, who was swarmed by other maids and was in the process of putting on a bathrobe. The King looked at Loren being held in the arms of the maid with amusement, and then nodded. ¡°Use whatever you like. It would be interesting to see a human wearing my clothes.¡± ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty.¡± The maid slightly bent her waist in a bow and said thank, then walked out of the bath and down the corridor with Loren still in her arms. Loren was somewhat concerned about what would happen to the other two, but he decided that he probably should be more concerned about what would happen to him. However, even if he was worried, he did not think he would stand a chance against the maid who was carrying him, and he concluded that he would have to trust her and let her do whatever she wanted. He decided to leave his body to the maid, at least making it easier for her to do her job. ¡°Esteemed guest, your reaction is quite favorable.¡± The maid, perhaps feeling the strength leaving Loren¡¯s body in her arms, told him this without stopping. ¡°It¡¯s easier for me to do my job if you entrust yourself to me.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just used to giving up things.¡± ¡°I think that would be an accurate assessment of the situation.¡± Loren thought that he would be no match for the maid who smiled at him, and he thought that no matter how he was treated in the future, it would be wise to let her do as she pleased. What happened from that point on was something Loren did not want to remember much. In the room to which he was taken, Loren was stripped naked by the maids who had apparently come for help, and his clothes and equipment were taken away. Loren has a sense of shame as much as anyone else, and it was not that there were not a lot of different thoughts running through his mind, but he had decided to do as he was told, so he had no choice but to endure it. The maids said that they would take care of the clothes and equipment they had stripped of Loren and dry them. But Nig, who always clung to Loren¡¯s shoulders, refused to be taken away along with the clothes, and tried to stay even by using the threads it had spit out. So, Loren interceded and managed to keep it from being taken away. Underwear-wise, there was no problem because something in Loren¡¯s luggage had escaped getting wet. But for the clothes, one problem occurred when he tried to use the Great Demon King¡¯s personal belongings: The Great Demon King himself was quite tall and had a well-trained body, but he was still somewhat smaller than Loren, and there were no clothes for Loren. The maids immediately gave up on trying to fit Loren into the existing clothes, and after taking measurements of Loren¡¯s body, they sewed up a set of formal wear at an incredible speed. ¡°Are clothes that easy to make?¡± ¡°As a maid working at the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, it¡¯s only natural to be able to do this level of work.¡± The maid answered and dressed Loren in a white and silver ceremonial robe. Loren, who was made to wear the heavy and extremely-hard-to-move-in robe, lifting his hands and twisting around to check his body while looking with disgust at the hem that seemed to drag on the floor and the sleeves that were too loose. ¡°It doesn¡¯t suit me¡­¡± Loren had never worn such clothes in his whole life. There was no full-length mirror nearby so he could not see what he looked like, but he was sure he looked ridiculous, and the thought darkened his mood. However, the maid was looking at Loren¡¯s outfit with admiring eyes for some reason. ¡°I tailored it myself, but I¡¯m surprised at how well it suits you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any point in trying to flatter me though. Do you?¡± ¡°No, no, you look very dignified. You could even claim to be royalty.¡± Loren thought that it was too much even for flattery, but then he remembered that the Great Demon King had told the maids to treat them as guests. He concluded that she was at least trying not to make him feel uncomfortable, so he gave up on checking his own clothes and asked the maid, who still had a look of surprise on her face, about what he should do next. ¡°Your meal is ready, and you are to dine with His Majesty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just another thing that makes me sick to my stomach.¡± In the human realm, Loren had always found just meeting with nobles and royalty to be an immense mental fatigue. Now, with a being called the Great Demon King in front of him, it was hard to believe that he could afford to enjoy the taste of the food, and he was likely to suffer from heartburn and stomachache. ¡°But the ingredients are carefully selected and only the best are used, and the best chefs in the demon territory will cook.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any doubts about the quality of the food. It¡¯s just a matter of mood.¡± Loren answered, wondering if she would understand. Then he asked the maid a question that had suddenly occurred to him. ¡°So, how long are we going to be staying here?¡± ¡°Our Lord understands that you are in a hurry. I have been told that since you have been invited to stop by, we do not intend to keep you for long.¡± Dinner and lodging for one night. Loren secretly breathed a sigh of relief when the maid told him that tomorrow morning his wet clothes and equipment would be dry and he would be able to leave. ¡°If you are satisfied, will you accompany me? I will take you to the place where you will dine with His Majesty.¡± Nig climbed up to Loren¡¯s left shoulder and clung tightly to it. Loren patted its back as the maid bowed and led the way. Following her, Loren left the room where he had been fitted for the new clothes, and was led down another long hallway for a while before being shown into a room. ¡°Loren! Are you alright? You¡¯re the only one who is late, so I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going¡­ on¡­¡± As soon as he entered the room, Loren was greeted by Lapis, who was not dressed in her usual priest¡¯s uniform, but in a dress that showed both shoulders and emphasized the lines of her body. The dress was purple in color, perhaps because she was a demon, and it looked somewhat alluring. But since she did not wear any makeup or did her hair in any elaborate way, there was a hint of innocence about her appearance, and Loren thought it suited her very well. On the other side of the room was Gula, whose dress was similar in design to Lapis¡¯ but in gold color, and her hair was set in an updo. Together with her more shapely body, she looked bewitching. ¡°You both dress up very prettily.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ really Loren?¡± Lapis tilted her head, staring fixedly at Loren while Gula, who was watching Loren from behind her, froze up with her eyes wide open, even forgetting to blink. Loren chuckled and shrugged, thinking that the clothes really must not suit him for the two of them to have such reactions. ¡°If you can¡¯t help it, just laugh. It¡¯s ok.¡± ¡°No, that¡­ Uhm, how should I say it¡­?¡± Lapis stammered as if she could not choose the right words to say, but she could not continue because several maids filed in, bringing various items into the room and began to decorate it. A clean tablecloth was draped over a large table, and various lights were brought in and placed here and there to illuminate the room as much as possible. Four chairs with elaborate decorations, which Loren could not even imagine how expensive they would be, were brought in and placed in even positions around the set table. Loren and the others watched on to see what was about to happen, but they became a little alarmed to see the Great Demon King, who had been completely naked in the bathroom, enter the room following the maids who were working. Wearing a black garment very similar in design to the one Loren was currently wearing, the King smiled with satisfaction when he saw Loren and the others. ¡°You¡¯re here. Wait for a while. I would have saved us the trouble if I used the dining room I always use, but if someone sees me eating with humans and such, there will be a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°Dinner, Your Majesty?¡± Lapis asks on behalf of the group. Loren did not know what to say to the King, and he felt it would be dangerous to let Gula speak, but he also thought that there would be no one better suited to speak with the Great Demon King than Lapis, the daughter of a Demon King. ¡°Yes, daughter of Judie. Since I invited you this time, I am obliged to entertain you. It¡¯s a small thing, but enjoy it.¡± Loren¡¯s face twitched as he thought that there was no way he could enjoy this, but Lapis and Gula managed to produce something that could only be called forced smiles. As the Great Demon King watched the three of them with an amused smile, the maids continued to set up the room. Chapter 296: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (2) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Now, I¡¯d tell you to relax, but that would be hard to do, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± The Great Demon King¡¯s said as they sat at the table the maids had prepared, and Lapis was the only one who could respond with a wry smile. Sitting at a not-so-big table with the Great Demon King and being surrounded by maids, Loren would like to meet anyone who can relax in such a situation. In addition, the room had no windows. Loren was feeling very keenly a sense of oppression from their surroundings, and he wanted to leave the place as soon as possible. The table was crammed with a variety of dishes. Loren did not know exactly what they were, but all of them were probably of a very high quality, but this did not make him feel any better. ¡°I won¡¯t mind if you keep your vigilance. I¡¯ve gotten what I want.¡± In the not-quite-bright-enough room, the Great Demon King let out a small laugh. The way he laughed was so friendly that it was hard to tell the difference between him and an average young human who could be found anywhere. The title ¡°Great Demon King¡± had given Loren the image of a powerful and unrivaled monster, but now he had come to know that such a character could also laugh in such a way. ¡°May I ask what it is that you want?¡± ¡°The man right there. Loren, you say? I want to see his face.¡± Loren frowned slightly at the answer the Great Demon King gave to Lapis¡¯ question. The King was a being at the top of the demon race. Why such a being would mobilize an Ancient Dragon to bring a mere mercenary, or rather a mere adventurer like him to his castle just to see his face was beyond Loren. ¡°As expected, he¡¯s very interesting. And he will become even more interesting. Loren didn¡¯t think he was interesting enough to be called so twice. Because it was the Great Demon King they were dealing with here, he could see something completely different about himself, and that could be described as interesting. However, that did not change the fact that he didn¡¯t understand what he was being told. ¡°Where did Your Majesty hear about him?¡± Loren thought Lapis¡¯ question was pretty good. At the very least, the only information that was conveyed to the Great Demon King was that of Loren¡¯s previous visit to the demon territory, when he destroyed a part of his castle due to an errant shot by the Ancient Dragon Emery. It was not something that would have earned him the reputation of being interesting or anything. ¡°From my trusted Demon King Judie, of course.¡± ¡°From Mother?¡± ¡°You regularly contact Judie about what¡¯s going on in the outside world, don¡¯t you?¡± Lapis looked shocked at what the Great Demon King said. She immediately looked at Loren with an apologetic look on her face, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, the fact that Lapis had sent news to her mother was nothing to blame. In fact, her still keeping in touch with her mother after being deprived of her arms, legs, and eyes and sent out into the outside world as if she had been expelled made Loren look at her in a more positive light. The only thing that bothered Loren a little was what Judie had been told. ¡°She comes here every now and then, and every time she seems very happy and keeps going on about how her daughter has found a good man outside¡­¡± ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Invite him to the ceremony, will you? It¡¯s not every day a ceremony is attended by the Great Demon King.¡± ¡°Your Majesty?!¡± With her hands on the table, Lapis half rose up and said in a loud voice. Even in the dim light, her face was noticeably red. Lappis¡¯ face, which was reddish even in the scarce light, was visible as he lifted himself up from his chair, put his hands on the table, and shouted loudly. Loren quietly looked away from the smirking Great Demon King and Lapis, who slowly sat back in her chair with a downturned mouth as if she thought it would be disrespectful to go any further. [¡®The world will be surprised to know that an Ancient Dragon has been mobilized for some chit-chat.¡¯] Loren agreed with Shayna¡¯s mutterings, but he also thought that Demon Kings and the Great Demon King were terrifying exactly because they could do something like that. ¡°I was intrigued by the fact that the daughter of my trusted Demon King has fallen for a mere human. I thought I had to see him at least once, and that¡¯s how this all started.¡± ¡°You are being too playful, Your Majesty¡­¡± ¡°It was indeed just for fun. But now, I don¡¯t think so anymore.¡± Noticing that the Great Demon King¡¯s tone of voice had lowered, if only slightly, Loren turned his gaze to his face. It was an act that could have been called disrespectful, but the Great Demon King did not rebuke him, nor did he drop the smile from his face. ¡°Loren, you are an interesting being. You are a mere swordsman, or maybe a mere mercenary or adventurer, but the truth is, your existence is essentially impossible.¡± Loren wondered in dismay if this was a complete denial of his entire existence, but he could tell from the Great Demon King¡¯s tone and words that he did not mean it in a bad way. However, there was a part of him that wanted to ask what the King meant, but not knowing how to open his mouth, Loren remained silent. ¡°You seem to want to say something. I won¡¯t complain about your manners, so just say it.¡± ¡°First of all, can I ask you something?¡± Loren opened his mouth, which felt rather heavy, and looked at the Great Demon King, thinking that if permission had been granted, he would not be punished for his disrespect. The King simply inclined his head, and Loren asked what he thought he needed to know first. ¡°I don¡¯t know your name, so can I just call you ¡®Your Majesty the Great Demon King¡¯?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯d forgotten about that. I¡¯ve forgotten to tell you my name since there is no one in the demon tribe who doesn¡¯t know my face and name.¡± Loren spoke in the same manner of speech as he had always used, and Lapis turned towards him with concern apparent on her face. However, the person to whom his question was directed, the Great Demon King himself, simply placed a hand on his forehead and smiled wryly as if he had just suddenly realized something. ¡°I¡¯m Foras. I can¡¯t tell you my last name, but you can call me Foras.¡± ¡°L-Loren! You can¡¯t really call him that, you know?!¡± Loren opened his mouth and was about to call the King by his name when he was stopped by Lapis¡¯ frantic whisper. On second thought, Loren thought that it would probably not be appropriate for him to call the Great Demon King by his name even if he was told to do so, since he was his superior. He tried to think of something that would be less offensive. ¡°Your Majesty the Great Demon King Foras¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s long, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s even longer than ¡®Your Majesty the Great Demon King¡¯. Foras is fine. Shall I order you to call me that?¡± Loren felt that it would be impolite to avoid doing something that had been permitted twice, but there was no way he could know what to do in such a situation. He looked at Lapis for advice, and she nodded with a tense expression on her face. Deciding that it would be okay, Loren looked at Foras again and opened his mouth. ¡°Foras, what do you mean when you said I was an impossible existence?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s up to me to explain that. If you need to know, you will know. I¡¯m sorry for being vague, but even without that fact, you are still interesting.¡± After saying this, Foras commanded one of the maids to do something with a gaze. The maid, who had probably been told beforehand, caught the King¡¯s eyes, bowed deeply, and suddenly held up her hands to the lights in the room. With that action alone, all the lights were extinguished, and the windowless room was shut in darkness. No matter how good your night vision is, it is usually impossible to see in a room with no lights at all. Except for us demons and that strange being. So, Loren. How about you?¡± Loren was able to see Foras¡¯s face as he asked, albeit vaguely. He was even able to make out the amused smile he was wearing for some reason. Loren had thought that it was the power of the King of Death residing inside of him that allow him such a vision, but after a while, the face of Foras, which had been only vaguely visible, became clearly visible, and Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in his mind. [¡®Onii-san, I¡¯ve synchronized our vision.¡¯] ¡®That was strange¡¯, Loren thought. If the current vision he had was the result of Shayna¡¯s power, then it did not explain how he was able to see Foras¡¯ face, albeit vaguely, before that. Although it was only for a short time, Loren was indeed able to see Foras¡¯s face before the King of Death¡¯s power allowed him to see. If it is the case that Shena has been able to use her power to secure her vision, it would explain why she was able to see Foras¡¯s face, even if only vaguely, before that. ¡°In an unlit room, without the use of the other power within you, you could see my face. Am I right?¡± ¡°You are right.¡± Loren nodded honestly, thinking there was no point in trying to hide anything. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the being in front of him, the so-called Great Demon King, had noticed Shayna¡¯s existence inside Loren. Between that and the fact that he did not know how much Lapis had told Judie, he did not think playing stupid would be a good plan. ¡°People think of magic as a power that manifests itself through spells and magical powers, but it is not.¡± In response to Loren¡¯s answer, Foras began to talk about something else entirely. Loren had no idea what he was trying to say, but Foras continued on. ¡°In fact, if you have the will to use it, you can manifest magic. Well, only we demons have such a high affinity for magic, but actually, there were also certain humans who could do such things.¡± ¡°Past tense?¡± ¡°There are none now. They¡¯re supposed to be gone.¡± With a cryptic answer, Foras pointed to Loren¡¯s right hand. Looking down at his right hand, Loren saw the ring that had been given to him by an Elder, the highest ranking vampire. It was glowing with a dull light, albeit only slightly. ¡°It¡¯s a magical tool that even I can¡¯t easily create. If I put my mind to it, I might be able to make something similar.¡± The ring that Loren wore on his right hand was given to him by an Elder, and its effect was to take away the power of the King of Death of Shayna, who was residing inside Loren. The Elder who created it said that if Loren¡¯s willpower prevailed over Shayna¡¯s, or if Shena agreed to give up her power and Loren declared that he would take it, then instantly the power of the King of Death would be Loren¡¯s and Shayna¡¯s soul would be restored to her original human soul. ¡°It¡¯s a magic like no other.¡± Foras casually raised his hand. In response, the maids turned back on the lights that had been extinguished. In the newly-illuminated room, Foras, leaning back deep into his chair, looked at Loren with a smile on his face, and Loren met his gaze squarely with an expression that was both surprised and not so surprised. ¡°Your Majesty, can it be that¡­¡± ¡°You are starting to get things mixed up a bit.¡± Foras said, pointing at Loren. Loren, feeling the tip of the finger pointing at him like that of a dagger, could only look back at the face of the man who was called the Great Demon King without any words to reply. Chapter 297: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (3) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°That¡¯s about all I wanted to talk about. I heard there was a guy who looked interesting, so I called him to my side and saw his face. That¡¯s the end of my business. Would it be easier to say that I¡¯m satisfied?¡± Foras suddenly said this with outstretched arms and a rather playful air, while Lapis looked at Loren with a serious expression on her face. What Foras had told them was not something to be optimistic about. It could affect not only Loren¡¯s life, but also his very existence. Moreover, Lapis was currently unable to come up with an effective solution to break out of this deadlock, so she inevitably looked gloomy. However, Loren, the party involved, looked grave for just a few moments. He then exhaled deeply, and his expression completely changed. ¡°Should I say thank you for the information, Your Majesty?¡± Loren¡¯s expression was the same as it had always been during normal times. He showed no signs of impatience or fear, and Lapis, who had been worried about him, stared at his face blankly as if she was let down because of his lack of reaction. ¡°Gratitude is free, you know. Well, if someone gives it to me, I should take it, shouldn¡¯t I? But you¡¯re quite composed, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I can do anything about it now. It is something that has helped me a lot in the past. If that is its origin, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Loren¡¯s expression was unperturbed as he tapped his chest with his thumb. Foras, who had been observing Loren¡¯s expression, decided that there was no lie in his words and expression. He laughed at Lapids, who was becoming confused about whether she should be worried or relieved by Loren¡¯s words. ¡°Lapis, your friend is fearless. It wouldn¡¯t be as interesting if he was a demon, but since he is a human, it is.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty¡­ But I can¡¯t judge whether this matter is interesting or not.¡± ¡°Hmm? Even your reaction is interesting.¡± Lapis turned her head away to avoid eye contact, and Foras looked at her with a mixture of interest and curiosity. Lapis, troubled by his gaze, continued facing away as if trying to escape from the situation. Foras was still trying to corner Lapis with his gaze when Gula interrupted and directed his attention to herself. ¡°So, Your Majesty the Great Demon King. I wonder how much longer do we have to wait with all the food in front of us? They probably got cold already.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t notice. It would be a disgrace to the Great Demon King to serve his guests with cold food. Hey, you. Take down the cold dishes and replace them with fresh ones.¡± At the directive from Foras, the maids who had been waiting by the wall immediately stepped forward to check the dishes on the table. But Gula stopped them with a glance and crossed her legs. ¡°There is no need to check, just prepare new dishes. It would be a shame to throw away food that has only gone cold, so I¡¯ll take care of them.¡± As soon as Gula said that, the dishes on the table disappeared with their containers. While the Great Demon King and the maids stared in wonder at the disappearance, Gula casually wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand. ¡°All good. Won¡¯t you prepare new dishes now?¡± ¡°You still want to eat more? Lapis, your friend is gluttonous.¡± Foras said this to Lapis in a joking manner, but both she and Loren were a little surprised to hear it, if only inwardly. So far, they had not mentioned that Gula possessed the power of Gluttony, and even though Lapis had given Judie a fairly detailed report on Loren, she did not think she had reported much about Gula. It was hard to believe that the information on the Evil God had been passed on to Foras via Judie. And yet, Foras had clearly used the word ¡®eat¡¯ to talk about the disappearance of the food. In other words, Foras was aware that Gula had somehow eaten the dishes on the table, and he ordered the maids to bring in new dishes, leaving Lapis and Loren to wonder how in the world he had known. ¡°We have gathered a lot of delicious delicacies. I hope you can taste them.¡± ¡°Well, you should have let us start when they are still fresh then.¡± ¡°You are right. I didn¡¯t pay enough attention. I should have talked while we were eating.¡± Scratching his head, Foras acknowledged Gula¡¯s complaint and apologized. Lapis, who was listening from the side, was not so happy about it though. Foras had addressed Loren by name and told him to speak to him casually, but he had not addressed Gula until now. If Gula did not act like one usually did in front of a king, Foras could have reproved her attitude at any time as the Great Demon King. Since he had stated clearly that they were guests, it was unlikely that they would suddenly find themselves in a fatal situation, but it was still a cause for concern. The demon race was supposed to have a significant advantage over other races in terms of physical strength and endurance, but for the first time in her life, Lapis was beginning to feel a stress-induced ache in her stomach area. ¡°Lapis-sama, can I get you some water?¡± The stress was so apparent on her face that one of the maids offered to get her some water in a concerned tone. As Lapis gratefully accepted the offer and sipped from the offered glass of water, the table was once again filled with numerous dishes. The amount of food and the speed at which they were being served made you want to ask how many dishes they had prepared, but if one considered this to be a testament of the power and wealth of the Great Demon King, Loren thought that it was quite a display. ¡°No more difficult talks now. You can start on them. I¡¯ll have some too.¡± After offering the food to Loren and the others, Foras began to take a bite from a random plate nearby. In response, Gula started to work on the plate in front of her, but Loren was somewhat overwhelmed by the array of dishes he had never seen before, and Lapis was not really in a state to be able to stomach anything right now. Still, Lapis thought it would be impolite not to try at least some of the food offered, so with a glass of water in her hand, she began to eat the vegetables and fruits that did not seem to be too hard on her stomach. Seeing this, Loren finally reached for the plate in front of him. From the look and taste, Loren could know if a dish was meat or vegetables, stewed or roasted, but that was about it. He had no idea what the ingredients were or what were the names of the dishes. Still, he could tell that the ingredients used were of high quality and the skill of the cook was high. The food was generally tasty. ¡°Lapis, you don¡¯t seem to be eating well. Have you become accustomed to human cuisine?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, the only demons that can eat as usual here are the Demon Kings¡­¡± ¡°You are the daughter of a Demon King, are you not? And I¡¯m sure you will eventually succeed her title.¡± ¡°That¡­ is still unclear. I think we should focus on the issue at hand first.¡± ¡°The issue at hand?¡± Foras frowned, and one of the maids softly whispered something into his ears. ¡°I see. Now that you mention it, aren¡¯t you going to war now?¡± ¡°In case you have forgotten, please remember that our visit is a side trip, and that our actual destination is there.¡± When Lapis said this in a low, controlled voice, Foras clapped his hands together with an expression that looked like he had just recalled something. ¡°I did not forget, just not thinking about it. But Lapis, if it¡¯s just a skirmish between humans, won¡¯t it end when you make a move?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, please don¡¯t tease me. A war is not something that I can go to and end¡­¡± ¡°Usually not, but you¡­ As I recall, about ten years ago, some Demon King started a rebellion, and you alone quelled it¡­¡± ¡°Your Majesty! Please do not mention it!¡± The smile on Foras¡¯ face still had not disappeared. He looked like he was just teasing Lapis, but Loren felt that the Great Demon King would unlikely say such a thing in jest. On the other hand, seeing how Lapis rose up from her seat while trying to get her words under control with a bright red face, she could be flustered either because he was telling the truth or because that was a lie. However, details were just details. Even if Lapis was a strong demon, it was hard to believe that someone who was, according to herself, 18, could have single-handedly put down a rebellion of some Demon King 10 years ago. ¡°Anyway. If I were to end a war of the humans all by myself, I would no longer be able to walk in the human realm, wouldn¡¯t I? I still want to gain more experience.¡± Lapis, who coughed several times and glanced at Foras, said this to the king as she returned to her seat. Foras gave her a disappointing look and spoke to Loren, who was watching the situation. ¡°So, this war was between who and who?¡± ¡°It is between¡­ the Kingdom of Lombard and the Empire of Justinia, I think? I¡¯m sure you, as the Great Demon King, don¡¯t know the name of the human countries.¡± Loren said this, not believing that the Great Demon King would care or remember every single thing about the land of the human race, but the answer from Foras disproved that expectation. ¡°I don¡¯t know the country of Justinia, but I know Lombard.¡± ¡°That was unexpected. How so?¡± It was hard to believe that a being like the Great Demon King would have cared about human countries. However, the fact that he knew about it meant that it was a country that was worth paying attention to in its own way, yet Loren could not understand why. ¡°We detected a strange presence there a while back. I was curious and did a little research, so I remember.¡± ¡°A strange presence?¡± Being told that there was something a being such as the Great Demon King considered strange at the place of their destination, anyone would become concerned. If that presence was on the Empire side, there would have been some relief, but the fact that it was on the side of the enemy kingdom was not good information for Loren and his team. ¡°Yes. It was similar to yours, but different. I was sure that you were there, but¡­¡± Foras then turned his attention to Loren. As Loren pointed to himself to ask if the king was referring to him, Foras nodded. ¡°It was odd that you, who were supposed to be in the southern part of the continent, suddenly showed up in the north, but Lapis was by your side, so I thought it was something she had done. As it turns out, it was someone completely different.¡± ¡°May I have some information on this person, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I stopped looking into it when I realized it wasn¡¯t Loren, so I don¡¯t have many details. The only thing I know is that he always wore black full body armor, and there was a dark elf in revealing clothing by his side. With those details, I realized that he wasn¡¯t you, so I stopped looking into it¡­ Hm, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Taking in the face of Loren and his companions, Foras asked with curiosity. Loren and the other two, who recognized and had first-hand experiences with the strange presence on Lombard side that Foras had described, looked at each other and realized that nothing but trouble awaited them. Their shoulders sagged almost simultaneously. Chapter 298: From Changing Clothes to Being Watched (4) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Wearing black full body armor and accompanied by a dark elf. I can only think of one person that fits such a description.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure that there is no one else who fits that description, but¡­ It¡¯s them, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That bastard¡­¡± Foras watched the three¡¯s reactions and somehow seemed to understand what effect the information he had given them had. After thinking for a while with his arms folded, he said in a light tone. ¡°Well, good luck.¡± ¡°Loren, this is a rarity you know. A pep talk from His Majesty the Great Demon King.¡± ¡°Just because it¡¯s rare doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s of any use.¡± No matter how powerful the Great Demon King may be, a single ¡®good luck¡¯ was not a spell, and would not benefit them at all. When Loren dismissed it with a weary expression, Foras¡¯ expression slightly stiffened. Worried that he was offended, Lapis turned a little pale, but Foras remained like that for a while, then uncrossed his arms and turned toward Loren. ¡°That is true. Receiving a useless word truly has no merit.¡± ¡°Ah, no, Your Majesty, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked you to come here to satisfy my curiosity. It is my duty as a king to reward you accordingly.¡± Foras ignored Lapis, who tried to interrupt the conversation, and spoke to Loren. A reward from a king would be very valuable. But even though the Great Demon King was indeed a king, a gift from him was likely to be something of little use, so Loren could not be truly happy. ¡°Could you just give me some money or something?¡± ¡°How could the Great Demon King¡¯s reward be something so ordinary?¡± Loren tried to make a harmless suggestion, but Foras stared at him as if he was an idiot, and Loren pressed his hand to his forehead, wondering if the suggestion was a bad idea after all. ¡°That¡¯s right. Take, for example, that spider clinging to your shoulder.¡± ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± When Loren saw Foras pointing at Nig, he pulled his right shoulder away slightly to protect Nig. Foras, who was moving his fingertip to point at Nig in accordance to Loren¡¯s movement, smiled wryly and shrugged as Loren watched him with caution. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to do anything bad. Wouldn¡¯t you be happy if that spider had the ability to turn into a pretty girl?¡± ¡°Nig is a male.¡± As Loren gave Foras a cold stare, wondering what this Great Demon King was up to, the king stared at Nig, who was still clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder with a slightly surprised expression on his face. ¡°It is this attached to you despite being a male?!¡± ¡°What does it matter if it¡¯s a male or a female¡­?¡± Seeing Foras shaking his head in disbelief, Loren thought that not many people would think that this was the Great Demon King ruling at the top of the demon tribe. The same thought seemed to also occur to Gula, who was looking at Foras with a dumbfounded expression, and it was somewhat surprising to Loren that even Lapis was looking at the king with angry and condescending eyes. ¡°Well¡­ Wouldn¡¯t you be happy if that spider can turn into a beautiful boy who looks like a girl at first glance?¡± ¡°No, not at all.¡± Foras asked Loren again, and Loren immediately responded without hesitation. Loren did not mind Nig clinging to his shoulder and even found the act somewhat adorable precisely because it was a spider. It taking on a human form would cause all sorts of problems. The power to make a spider take on a humanoid shape of the Great Demon King was indeed something to marvel at, but that did not mean Loren wanted to see it in action. ¡°I¡¯d much rather you help us with the preparation for our trip from here to the north.¡± Loren tried to move the conversation to a different direction, but Foras was having none of it. ¡°I¡¯m the one who asked you to come, you know? It¡¯s only natural that I would make arrangements for your return trip. I¡¯ve already arranged for Emery to take you to the north tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve prepared for this¡­¡± ¡°Rather than that, that spider¡­¡± ¡°Why are you so keen on making Nig humanoid?¡± As Foras leaned across the table and reached out, Loren, who was still trying to protect Nig, lightly smacked his hand away. Foras looked at Loren, with a curious expression on his face as he retracted his hand. ¡°Now, there¡¯s no comfort in your party, is there?¡± ¡°Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Hey, Great Demon King.¡± Loren, horrified by Foras¡¯ words and wondering what he meant, became even more tense when hearing Lapis¡¯ and Gula¡¯s voices. Loren, who was unable to move, heard the two girls slowly getting up out of his field of vision. Being unable to look at them, he could only guess from Foras¡¯ reaction what kind of expressions and eyes they were looking at the king with. ¡°May I ask what you mean by ¡®no comfort,¡¯ Your Majesty?¡± ¡°Do you understand that what will happen depends on your answer?¡± Loren could hear the girls cracking their knuckles, and he knew that they would not let Foras get off score free no matter what his answer was. But the other party was not just any thug, but the Great Demon King. In front of Loren¡¯s eyes, who thought that this was too difficult an opponent for the girls, Foras calmly stood up. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®What will happen¡¯? You are the ones who need to understand the situation. I am the Great Demon King, and all the maids here are under my command. You don¡¯t stand a chance, do you know?¡± After the Great Demon King spoke those words that were full of reprimanding, one of the maids who stood beside him slightly raised her hand and said. ¡°Sorry, Your Majesty. We are not to interfere in this matter.¡± Foras involuntarily frowned and asked the maid with a composed face. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°We think Your Majesty is at fault for the conversation we just had. But still, we are Your Majesty¡¯s servants. In our hearts, we are inclined to support Lapis-sama, who was told that she was ¡®no comfort¡¯, but we are going to hold off on that and will not to interfere.¡± Foras looked around and saw the maids waiting by the wall nodding in agreement, and he realized that none of them seemed to be willing to defend the exchange. He looked thoughtful for a moment, but then his expression immediately changed to that of someone who had just had a good-for-nothing idea. He turned to Loren with a sly grin. Loren frantically tried to guess what the king was about to say and realized that he was going to ask some question that would put Loren in a tight spot. Just as the king opened his mouth, Loren wondered what he himself should say next. ¡°Then it would be most certain to ask him. What do you think, Loren? Is this Demon King¡¯s daughter, or maybe that unknown miss for that matter, enough of a comfort factor for you?¡± ¡°Needless to say.¡± Loren was relieved that the words came out of his mouth without pause, but upon hearing them, Foras, Lapis and Gula all looked at him and seemed to think very carefully about what they should do next. The words that Loren had just said could be taken as either a denial or an affirmation, and it was difficult to determine what he was thinking just from this one reply. However, neither Foras nor Lapis could easily go further into questioning Loren¡¯s opinions, considering what might happen if they did. If Loren expressed a positive opinion, Lapis and Gula would gain points, and the maids were very likely to side with them, making Foras¡¯s position very bad. On the other hand, if Loren expressed a negative opinion, Foras would be in a stronger position, but what awaited him would probably be a rough fight with Lapis, Gula and the maids who were upset with him. The maids who were watching over them could understand how difficult it would be for them to question the truth of Loren¡¯s words, since Lapis and Gula were afraid of receiving a denial, and Foras would lose his ground if Loren gave an affirmation. That was why some of the maids were admiring Loren, who gave a very vague but fair answer to the Great Demon King¡¯s question. ¡°I-I see. Well, let¡¯s leave it at that, shall we? Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°Y-yes, Your Majesty. We have no objections.¡± Foras tried to end the conversation in a vague manner by not clarifying the situation, and Lapis and Gula seemed to have decided to go along with him, affirming Foras¡¯ words with amiable smiles. Loren was about to be reassured that this would be the end of the conversation, but Foras, determined not to let that happen, stirred things up again. ¡°So, about the reward.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t given up yet?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t call myself a king if I forget about the reward, I¡¯m going to give you.¡± Foras sounded so confident that it was as if his previous fluster and hesitation had been a lie. For his part, however, Loren thought it would have been better if he had just forgotten about it. He certainly didn¡¯t feel any bit of gratitude for the reward. As Loren wondered if there was any way he could make the conversation go in a direction that would minimize the damage, Foras took out something from his pocket and tossed it to Loren. ¡°What on earth is this?¡± Loren caught the item in mid-air and held it up in front of him. It was clear at first glance that it was not one of the coins circulating in the human realm. The silver-colored coin had an elaborate picture of a knight riding a horse on its surface. ¡°Is this a coin from the demon realm¡± Having travelled around the continent as a mercenary, Loren had some knowledge of the design of the coins circulating on the continent. But he did not recognize this coin, so he could only assume that it was circulating in the demon realm. He held it up and showed it to Lapis, but she denied it. ¡°No, it is not. This is¡­ What is it?¡± If it was something that puzzled even Lapis, Loren suspected that it had more magical than monetary value. Just to be sure, he showed it to Gula, but she also shook her head as if she did not recognize it either. ¡°I¡¯m only sure that it¡¯s not gold.¡± If neither Loren, a human, nor Lapis, a demon, nor Gula, who had knowledge from the Ancient Kingdom period, did not recognize this coin, there was at least one thing certain about it: it was not a currency in ordinary circulation. Foras nodded. ¡°I told you I won¡¯t reward you with money. It is not gold, but it is precious. Carry it with you at all times. It will help you.¡± ¡°How about you just give me some money? Don¡¯t you see how much it would help me if you would just reduce your debt?¡± ¡°Loren, let me tell you something.¡± Foras began in a slightly formal tone. Loren¡¯s expression changed as if asking what was going on, and Foras began to speak with a serious face and voice. ¡°The truth is, among the Demon Kings in the demon territory, certain things are becoming more and more problematic year by year.¡± As Loren sat up straighter and wondered what a Demon King, and even the Great Demon King, would consider a problem, Foras continued with the same seriousness. ¡°That is the issue of grooms and brides.¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°The daughters and sons of Demon Kings are always in need of a groom or bride. The greater their power, the more difficult it is to find a partner.¡± Loren was taken aback by Foras¡¯s words. Gula looked at Lapis, who had hung her head with a red face, with pitied eyes. ¡°As the leader of the demon tribe, I am worried about the future of the tribe.¡± ¡°What do you want to say?¡± ¡°Fortunately, humans can marry demons. As for their abilities and lifespan, there are ways to manage that.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Loren uttered in a rather low and measured voice, his face gradually becoming more and more stern. Foras met his eyes head-on and smiled brightly. ¡°And that¡¯s why it¡¯s highly unlikely I¡¯ll ever do anything to reduce your debt.¡± ¡°Hey, what does that mean?¡± ¡°By the way, if you make it to the finish line, I¡¯ll cancel the whole thing.¡± ¡°What finish line?!¡± Loren snapped, but Foras seemed to have no further interest in the conversation. He ignored Loren¡¯s words and not even made eye contact with him after that. Watching Loren, who refused to back down, Gula told Lapis, who had finally turned red all the way to her ears, in an indifferent tone. ¡°Good boss, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°¡­Please allow me to refrain from commenting.¡± Needless to say, Gula¡¯s and the surrounding maids¡¯ warm eyes focused on Lapis, who had managed to squeeze out those words then returned to hanging her head. Chapter 299: From Waking Up to Going North (1) Proofreader: Xemul The dinner with the Great Demon King, which would not have been a comforting experience for ordinary people, went on without a hitch from Loren¡¯s point of view, although the atmosphere did become a little sour and strange. After being released, they each went to their assigned room. Overwhelmed by the funny feeling that he was the only human who had ever stayed overnight in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, Loren entered the room he had been allocated and immediately fell asleep on the bed. The next day, Loren woke up to sunlight streaming in through the window of his room, and as he opened his eyes, he noticed that the atmosphere in the room had changed compared to before he fell asleep. Loren had no idea what the comforter was made of, but it seemed to be of a very high quality and was very light and comfortable, but when he woke up, he felt a great deal of weight above him. When he stirred, he found that the bed, which was supposed to be quite spacious, was so cramped that he could not even move properly. Moreover, he heard something like irritated muffled voices every time he tried to move. As he realized something must have happened, Loren forced his drowsy eyes open and tried to sit up, only to find himself looking into the face of a girl with purple eyes that was peering into him from above. Without thinking, he dropped his half-raised head back onto the bed. ¡°Good morning, Loren-sama. How are you feeling after waking up?¡± The smiling girl¡¯s face was unfamiliar to Loren. However, somehow, he couldn¡¯t help but think that he had seen that face among the maids who were waiting by the wall at the dinner with the Great Demon King last night, though he couldn¡¯t say for sure. More than that, when he thought about why the girl was peering at him upside down while he was sleeping in his bed, Loren realized that what was supporting the back of his head was not a pillow but something tauter and more resilient, and cautiously asked. ¡°This must not be true, but you weren¡¯t on your knees all night, were you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say close to that.¡± Loren looked to his left and right as the girl said this, and the reason why the bed felt so cramped that he couldn¡¯t even move his body immediately became apparent. As it turned out, on each side of Loren was a girl in a maid¡¯s outfit sleeping, snuggled up to his body. He lifted his head a little and looked at his chest area, and there, too, was another maid lying face down with a happy sleeping face. Realizing that she was surrounded by a total of four girls, Loren once again dropped his head down into the lap of the girl who was apparently kneeling. Her sitting posture was perfect, and the feeling coming from the back of his head was quite nice, making Loren almost fall asleep again. But he held on and kept his consciousness, then asked the girl who had started to peer into his face again to explain the situation. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± When she asked him back, Loren wondered what he should say. After all, he was currently in demon territory, a place where human common sense could not be applied. There was a possibility that what he was wondering about was something common on this side of the world and did not need to be asked, and the maids might not understand his concerns. Still, Loren opened his mouth again, thinking that the only course of action he could take at the moment would be to ask her honestly. ¡°Why were there four maids sneaking into my bedroom?¡± ¡°Are you dissatisfied?¡± When asked if he was dissatisfied, Loren was once again at a loss for an answer. Most men would have answered that there was no way they could be dissatisfied with the situation, but for Loren, it was a situation in which he could hardly say he was satisfied. ¡°It¡¯s more horrifying than satisfying.¡± ¡°Oh? What does that mean again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a weak human, surrounded by demons, not to mention demons who are in the service of the Great Demon King. Before I can even think of being happy about the situation, I feel that my life is in danger.¡± It was hard to imagine from their appearances, but the maids in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, at least as far as Loren saw them last night, possessed immeasurable abilities that made Loren think they could rival the Demon Kings. The fact that four such beings snuck into his bed while he was sleeping, unnoticed, meant that Loren was in a situation where he could be killed at any time, and he had no time to feel happy or embarrassed. ¡°I think you¡¯re being a little paranoid, don¡¯t you?¡± The maid said with a faint smile on her face. ¡°Then, why did four demons sneak into my bed?¡± ¡°It¡¯s to entertain you.¡± It took Loren quite a long time to understand what the maid said. Then, after understanding what the words meant, he asked the kneeling maid with a surprised expression as if he had heard some incredible information. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®entertain¡¯?¡± ¡°Shall I rephrase it as ¡®winning some favour¡¯?¡± ¡°No, no, no, wait. I don¡¯t understand anything.¡± The other parties were demons. As they were all superior to humans in terms of abilities, naturally there was no need for them to flatter humans at all. But Loren also could not understand why the maid would go to the trouble of declaring that they had come to entertain him. Amidst the confusion, he suddenly thought of an element that would make this possible and asked again. ¡°Did the Great Demon King send you?¡± ¡°I am not obliged to answer that.¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s the same as saying he did, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren thought that it would not be strange if the Great Demon King had planned something like this. After all, he was the kind of person who would summon a mere mercenary, a human, to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle just because the person seemed to be interesting. It would not be surprising if the guy thought it would be even more interesting if he set the maids, who might rival Demon Kings, after him. ¡°But even so, four are too many!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know what Loren-sama likes, so we thought we¡¯d let you choose¡­¡± That said, it was true that the maids were all girls with well-defined faces, but their hair lengths and body types varied, and their ages also seemed to be different, even though it was impossible to tell if that difference was real or not. They are such girls that would catch someone¡¯s taste in their own way, even if they couldn¡¯t be a perfect match. ¡°You¡¯re not complaining? You¡¯re extremely powerful people, aren¡¯t you?¡± Loren, who didn¡¯t like to think that an average demon could possess the same kind of presence a Demon King normally would, believed that the maids working in the Great Demon King¡¯s castle must be of a certain level of power even among the demon tribe. And it seemed that he was not wrong, judging from the look on the girl¡¯s face when she heard his words. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t think we are at the same level as the Demon Kings though. We are a part of the group that protects the castle of the Great Demon King, and I am proud to say that we have the power to do so.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it must be humiliating to have to deal with a dubious human like me, right?¡± ¡°No, that is another matter. We were willing.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± As Loren wondered if he had misheard something, the girl who was talking with him blushed a little and began to fidget. ¡°Certainly, if it were just a random human, we wouldn¡¯t even consider letting him touch our bodies¡­ But Loren-sama is the one that His Majesty the Great Demon King was interested in. It is hard to consider you a mere human.¡± Loren wanted to say that without a doubt, he was a mere human. But judging from the maid¡¯s reaction, he felt that even if he tried to insist, it would all fall on deaf ears with just one counter-argument: the Great Demon King is interested in him. The maid, wondering what Loren¡¯s reaction was, put her hand on Loren¡¯s cheek as his head still rested on her lap. ¡°Well, you were sleeping so comfortably that we didn¡¯t think it would be right to wake you up. So here we are.¡± Loren felt like praising himself for going to sleep that quickly last night, thinking that if he had stayed up even just a little later, he would have been tempted by these four girls. He had fallen asleep as soon as he laid down on the bed due to physical and mental exhaustion, and he could not say whether he would have been able to resist the temptations of the maids if he had remained conscious in such a state. Smiling wryly, Loren thought that he definitely would not be able to. The maid who was kneeling moved her face a little closer and said in a hushed voice. ¡°We still have time now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t feel like it.¡± At Loren¡¯s rejection, the maid reached out and lightly shook the shoulder of the maid who was lying face down on his body. That action alone was enough to wake the other maid, and she began to feel his body through the comforter. But after a while, she turned a sombre face towards the kneeling maid and shook her head. ¡°Oh, no reaction at all?¡± ¡°Where was she pawing at? Have you guys no shame?¡± The place where Loren was touched through the comforter was a place that he did not want to speak out loud. That was why Loren, with a reddening face, threw a steely gaze at the kneeling maid. ¡°I think we are all attractive in our own way, so.¡± ¡°Maybe so, but no matter how good you look, I just can¡¯t react to those who could kill me with one hand.¡± As he said this, Loren suddenly thought of a red-headed young man with whom he had worked together on various jobs in the past. The young man, Klaus, would have been able to make love with these maids even under such circumstances. Loren smiled wryly, thinking that he, on the other hand, would never be able to do such a thing himself. ¡°Well, I appreciate the thought, so why don¡¯t you let me go?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. What a pity.¡± Apparently, the maid whose lap Loren¡¯s head was resting in clearly understood that even if they continued their conversation, it was not going to turn out the way they wanted it to. Once that was decided, the maid immediately shook the girls sleeping on either side of Loren to wake them up, and they all quickly got off the bed so as not to get in the way of Loren getting up. Chapter 300: From Waking Up to Going North (2) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Your prospective groom is not quite right in the head, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure you want that to be your will?¡± After changing his clothes, Loren was escorted by maids through the castle of the Great Demon King and led to a room with a long table, probably a dining room. A clean, pure white tablecloth covered the table, and on top of it was an array of food that seemed a little too much for breakfast, and the maids were still bringing in more food, as if that were not all. Loren, back in his usual gear, scratched his head and looked around the table, wondering who could consume such a large amount of food. Just then, Gula, who was quietly inhaling the food at the end of the table, noticed him and looked up. In contrast, the Great Demon King, who was dressed in loose-fitting clothes and Lapis, who was in her priestly attire, were discussing something at a distance from Gula and were unaware that Loren had entered the room. Loren wondered if the maids would announce him, but with composed faces, they moved away from Loren¡¯s side and went to stand by the wall without saying anything to Foras. Wondering if this meant that he should keep quiet and watch what was going on, Loren gently pulled up a chair near Gula and sat down. Neither Foras nor Lapis seemed to notice him and continued their conversation. From the content of their conversation, they had apparently known what had happened last night in some way. Loren listened to them more closely. It seemed like they had received a report from the maids. ¡°I¡¯ve selected the best out of the countless maids in the castle and sent them to his bedroom, but he didn¡¯t do anything with them. Is that guy a man or not?¡± ¡°He is a man. I can assure you that he had enough self-control and reason to not give in to women¡¯s advances, so can you stop denying that just because it didn¡¯t turn out the way you wanted, Your Majesty?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s a pretty big deal even among us demons, you know? A mere human male would not even be able to have just a touch of their fingertips, you know? He was embraced by them, lied in their lap, and still had no reactions. Is he impotent?¡± Gula looked at Loren¡¯s face as if to ask him how he was doing. Gula had forced herself on Loren once before, and he had managed to endure a rather close call. If she had remembered that, she would have known that Foras¡¯ claims of impotency were baseless. Loren¡¯s face turned bitter. ¡°Be careful what you say, Your Majesty. The only body parts that I am still missing are my legs, and I¡¯m regaining a lot of my original strength. Even if I can¡¯t beat you, I can at least have some revenge.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. I will manage if you go on a rampage, but the castle won¡¯t be able to. And I did that for your sake in the first place.¡± ¡°My sake? What on earth do you think you were doing?¡± Lapis was all smiles, but the aura she was giving off was horrifying. She tilted her head in wonder at Foras¡¯ words. Loren was similarly confused. He could not imagine how the act of spurring the maids of the castle on him would be beneficial to Lapis. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? If he had gotten his hands on the maids, you could use that as a weakness.¡± That made Loren wonder. It was true that he would feel guilty toward Lapis, but he hardly believed it could become something like a weakness. If they had promised each other a future, it might be a different story. But aside from their internal feelings and emotions, Loren and Lapis were fellow adventurers, and the only relationship they had was that of debtor and lender. ¡°It seems a bit unreasonable to threaten Loren with that. After all, the fact that the other party is the maids here makes it obvious that they were sent by Your Majesty.¡± Lapis thought that it being a ploy by the Great Demon King was a very strong excuse. At the very least, it was impossible for the human race to resist the Great Demon King, and exposing it as a ploy could very likely displease the King. If you thought about it, even if you recognized it as a ploy, you would find yourself in a situation where you had to go along with it. Even Lapis would have no choice but to show her understanding. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not all. Why do you think I went to the trouble of having different types of maid sneak into his bedroom?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it because¡­ you didn¡¯t know what kind of woman Loren likes?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I was after.¡± Foras said so with a smug look on his face, but Lapis did not seem to understand what he was trying to say. She kept tilting her head to side. Loren, too, did not understand what the King meant, but Gula, who was still eating in silence, seemed to understand Foras¡¯ intention and lightly beckoned Loren, who had a question mark on his head, to get his attention. ¡°Alright. There are four fruits here, right?¡± After seeing Loren¡¯s eyes turn toward her, Gula stabbed a fork into four slices of fruit from the salad on the plate in front of her and laid them out side by side. ¡°If you ask me which one I prefer, I will choose one and put it in my mouth.¡± Gula picked one of the fruit slices with the fork in her hand and threw it into her mouth. ¡°So, you can know what I like through this, can¡¯t you? Then, when the cook wants to make a dessert that meets my taste, they can focus on the fruit I just ate and make a dessert that doesn¡¯t deviate from my tastes.¡± ¡°And ? What does that mean?¡± ¡°So, if they can find out later which of the maids who snuck into your bedroom this time was touched and how much, they can naturally determine your taste in women, right? Then, in order for Lapis-chan to be intimate with you, she can¡¯t be too different from those preferences.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I was trying to do! Gathering the necessary information to ensure that the search for a groom for the daughter of the Demon King under my command goes smoothly! That was the plan, and yet that loser didn¡¯t even touch them¡­¡± Foras, who had been so pleased with Gula¡¯s words that he raised his voice, stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Loren watching him with a cold gaze from his seat near Gula. Lapis followed his gaze to see what caused such a reaction, and it was then that she first noticed Loren¡¯s presence. She got up from her chair in a rush, perhaps to greet him, but she moved so fast that she almost fell backwards. However, the maids around Foras caught her with blinding speed, preventing an accident. ¡°H-hello. Did you sleep well?¡± Loren wondered how he should react to Foras, who raised one hand and spoke to him in a friendly manner. Should he pretend that he had heard nothing and respond normally? Or should he blame, or thank the King for his ploy? After thinking about which of these would best resolve the situation, Loren decided that it would be safer to feign ignorance. ¡°I was so tired I couldn¡¯t even dream.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m sorry to hear that. If you had stayed awake, you might have been able to enjoy my castle more.¡± In other words, ¡®That was why I didn¡¯t touch the maids. Sorry¡¯. That was how Loren responded to Foras. He then shrugged at Lapis, who was watching him with a grim expression. ¡°I guess that¡¯s just the way it is when you¡¯re a human. Let us wait for the next opportunity.¡± ¡°Your Majesty, what are you talking about?¡± Loren made a blatantly disgusted face, wondering if he was still going to try to do something. Foras didn¡¯t seem to notice, and he puffed up his chest as if Loren had said something nice. Lapis gave him a light poke. Gula watched the exchange while continuing to consume the food at the same speed. Then, perhaps thinking that the conversation was not going to proceed properly, she interrupted to take lead of the discussion while wiping her mouth with a napkin the maid had prepared. ¡°So, Great Demon King. You said you would help us with our trip to the north, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll have it delivered to you as soon as it¡¯s ready. I don¡¯t care whatsoever about human conflicts.¡± In fact, it would be a rather leisure trip. Other adventurers departed from Kapha, even with the special transport, would need nearly ten days to reach the battlefield in the north. But Loren¡¯s party, despite making a side trip to the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, could travel with such speed that they would read their destination in few days. If they were to ride on the back of the Ancient Dragon Emery from the Great Demon King¡¯s castle to the battlefield in the north, they would reach their destination extremely quickly. ¡°Once we pass the mountainous area, we will be on foot, so our speed from there on will be a bit slower.¡± Their carriage had been returned to the city of Kapha when they boarded Emery. It was not that there are no carriages at the Great Demon King¡¯s castle, but if they were to ride on Emery¡¯s back to the northern border, there would be no way to transport a carriage. So, once they crossed the mountainous area, they would have to go on foot to the battlefield. ¡°Can we make it in time?¡± ¡°If the map is correct, I think we can get there in two days¡¯ walk.¡± Without a carriage, their luggage would be limited to what they could carry on foot. Loren wondered if the provisions they had prepared when leaving Kapah would be enough, but Foras quickly dispelled his fears. ¡°We¡¯ll reorganize your luggage here, dispose of what is no longer needed and replenish what is needed.¡± ¡°That would be very helpful. Thank you for your help.¡± ¡°Just make sure you use up all the food and water you have before you reach your destination.¡± When Loren asked what was meant by this strange order, Foras answered that this time he was preparing for Loren and his group something made with the technology of the demon tribe. Demons had more advanced technology than humans. The same could be said for the food and water conservation technology, which would be obvious to anyone looking at them that they were not made with human technology. If their party was questioned about the origin of those items, Loren¡¯s position could be very troubled. ¡°At worst, we could say they were given to us by a kind traveller passing by.¡± ¡°Would that work?¡± ¡°Not that it wouldn¡¯t. After all, even though their number is few, there are demons who walk the human world like Lapis.¡± Foras said that it was common for these demons to conceal their true nature as demons as they traveled, and that it was rare for them to provide supplies when they encountered someone in need. Their items were treated as if their origin was unknown, and some people say that there might be a hidden village somewhere on the continent with very advanced technology. ¡°I think that¡¯s not far off the mark. The whole territory of the demon tribe is like a hiding place.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯ll let them know so that they can use that as a cover-up the next time.¡± But more than the fact that his suggestion was accepted by Foras, Loren was surprised to learn that Foras, the Great Demon King, had a way to contact the demons traveling in the realm of the human. ¡°This whole continent, you know. If you guys get serious, the rulers could change tomorrow, couldn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I can only tell you that it is not impossible.¡± Loren asked Lapis with a hint of tension in his voice, and Lapis answered with a face and expression as if it was nothing. Loren was at a loss for words as he leaned back in his chair and wondered how a world crisis could happen so easily without the knowledge of the human race. Chapter 301: From Waking Up to Going North (3) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Your luggage and transport are ready. Would you like to leave now?¡± Loren was rescued from the room that had begun to have a rather delicate atmosphere by a maid coming to inform them that preparation for their trip had finished. The party, already prepared, was ready to leave immediately and decided to depart after informing the Great Demon King. ¡°Lapis, I await your glad tidings.¡± ¡°I think it would be better if you shut your mouth, Your Majesty, so that our meagre allegiance would not be further eroded.¡± The Great Demon King decided to see them off. Trying to keep himself out of the King¡¯s sight as much as possible, Loren followed the maid¡¯s lead while dragging Lapis, who had a stiff smile on her face. After being made to walk a considerable distance inside the huge castle of the Great Demon King, they were able to leave through one of the exits. ¡°I¡¯m the only human who¡¯s ever set foot inside the castle and made it out safely, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Usually, they are dealt with before they even set foot in the castle.¡± As the party had this disturbing conversation, they were greeted by Emery, the Ancient Dragon who had previously helped them to get to the castle. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Now get on my back!¡± Emery, who was waiting for them in a crouch, hurried them along. But Loren did not immediately climb up on her back. He looked up at her face with narrowed eyes instead. Not understanding the meaning of his gaze, Emery unintentionally locked eyes with Loren, and her body stiffened slightly at Loren¡¯s words, which sounded somewhat resentful. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something else to say first?¡± Loren said this because Emery had thrown Loren and his companions right in front of the Great Demon King while he was taking a bath. Although the Great Demon King himself had said that he would not hold the dragon responsible, Loren, who was suddenly thrown into the bath and then had to encounter such a being as the Great Demon King, felt that he would not be satisfied without voicing his complaint, so he thought that a word of apology would be acceptable. ¡°I think it was a pretty good surprise. Don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°We could have died.¡± ¡°You climbed onto the back of an Ancient Dragon and met the Great Demon King. Such an incident should be a given, shouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is that your answer?¡± Loren crossed his arms in front of his chest and kept his eyes fixed on Emery. The dragon returned his gaze, thought for a moment, then bowed her head slightly. ¡°My prank went too far. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Be careful next time. I can¡¯t keep up with you dragons¡¯ way of thinking.¡± As soon as Emery uttered her apology, Loren stopped glaring at her and scratched his head. Behind him, Lapis and Gula were whispering to each other. ¡°The dragon apologized.¡± ¡°She probably felt that she had gone a little too far. The fact that she didn¡¯t use brute force at this point is proof that dragons are decently intelligent.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to apologize, you shouldn¡¯t have done it in the first place.¡± ¡°You see, it was all in the heat of the moment.¡± ¡°The two guys in the back. I wish you would stop saying it so that I can hear you. You are probably right, and that¡¯s why I apologized.¡± Lapis and Gula stopped talking after they witnessed the rare sight of a dragon being embarrassed, more by a shift in the atmosphere than by facial expression. Emery made a sort of coughing sound, and then spoke to Loren and the others again. ¡°Now get on my back. I¡¯ll take you to the place where you can get out of the demon realm.¡± ¡°By the way, how much will your debt be reduced because of this?¡± Gula asked Emery as she watched Loren, who had been urged by Emery to climb up onto her back, lend a hand to Lapis, who was trying to climb up after him. The dragon was also looking at the two of them, but when she heard Gula¡¯s words, she instantly turned her head away and looked in the opposite direction. ¡°Can¡¯t tell us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s a matter of pride for me.¡± Gula¡¯s face became quizzical when she was answered with such a vague term like ¡®pride¡¯, but her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Loren reach out his hand to her from above Emery¡¯s back. Gula could climb up Emery¡¯s back without Loren¡¯s help. But on second thought, Lapis should also have the same physical ability, and would not have needed Loren¡¯s assistance. Still, considering that she had held Loren¡¯s hand and had him pull her up to the top of the dragon¡¯s back, Gula thought she should ask him to do the same and obediently took Loren¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t tease her too much.¡± Loren said to Gula as he took Gula¡¯s hand and pulled her up. Gula tilted her head to see what he was talking about, and Lapis, who had already sat on Emery¡¯s back, continued as if to add. ¡°Dragons usually don¡¯t carry someone on their back, but she is carrying us on her back in exchange for a reduction in her debts. If we asked for the amount of the debt reduction, that amount would be the price of Emery¡¯s pride, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, but¡­ Can you stop having that kind of conversation on my back?¡± Emery said in a somewhat resigned voice to the party, who looked at each other and stopped talking about the topic. After all, she was the one who would be transporting them from now on. If they upset her, there was a risk that they would be thrown back into the castle. But more importantly, Emery¡¯s voice, which sounded like a plea, was a little pathetic. ¡°Take care on your way, everyone. We look forward to seeing you again.¡± With these parting words of the maid, Emery slowly jumped up into the air. Loren, while feeling the floating sensation that he didn¡¯t think he would ever get used to, waved his hand as a goodbye to the maid, who was looking up at them and waving her hand. ¡°The maids seem to like Loren quite a lot, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°It proves that I have a good eye for men, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it just because they¡¯re curious? And Lapis, say those words when I¡¯m not around.¡± As they talked, the party enjoyed the unusual experience of air travel. On the way, they passed over several cities of the demon tribe. If an Ancient Dragon were to pass over a city of the human tribe, it would surely cause a huge commotion as a beehive was poked, but from the air, Loren was amazed that almost no commotion occurred. ¡°Isn¡¯t an Ancient Dragon a threat to the demon tribe?¡± ¡°We can talk to them, and we know that they are not so senseless as to attack a city for no reason.¡± ¡°What about ordinary dragons?¡± ¡°If a dozen of them flew in, they might be a threat, but if it¡¯s just one or two, then tomorrow¡¯s meal will be more luxurious.¡± If it were a country or city of the human race, just one ordinary dragon would be enough to destroy it or cause a great deal of damage. The fact that Lapis answered so casually made Loren realize once again how the demon race was compared to humans. Meanwhile, Emery continued her flight smoothly, and just as Loren was thinking that it must be almost lunchtime, judging from his empty stomach, they arrived at the mountainous area that separates the territory of the demon tribe from that of other races. The dragon easily flew over the high mountains and landed on the edge of the forest on the human side of the mountain range. ¡°You seemed to fly a little slower than when we came in?¡± ¡°I thought you might enjoy the scenery more that way. You have time to spare, don¡¯t you?¡± According to Lapis¡¯ estimation, it would take about two days to reach their destination, the Empire, on foot from the break in the mountainous region to the north. However, even if those two days were taken into account, by the time Loren and his team arrived in the Empire, the people who were supposed to have left from Kapha would still not have arrived in the Empire territory. If they arrived too early, people would wonder how on earth they had managed to get there in such a short period of time, so there was plenty of time to spare. ¡°Be careful. There are disturbing signs in the north. We will see each other again when the time is right.¡± After lowering Loren and the others to the ground, Emery said her farewells, soared high into the sky, and flew away again toward the demon territory. After watching her figure disappear beyond the mountains, Loren and the others put their packs back on their backs, checked their surroundings, and began walking north. ¡°If we hurry, we should be there in about two days, but let¡¯s move a little slower.¡± The food and water they had from the Great Demon castle was more than enough for several days, if Gula¡¯s binge eating was not taken into consideration. Loren agreed with Lapis¡¯ suggestion, although it was not without thought that it would be better to arrive at the destination somewhat earlier, considering the situation where the Empire and the Kingdom were at war. ¡°Our side trip was horrible. We should settle down and rest somewhere.¡± ¡°I agree. The climate here is quite different from Kapha, so it might be better to take time to get used to it.¡± When told, Loren noticed that the wind caressing his skin was indeed different from what he had felt when he was in Kapha. ¡°The air is a little drier and¡­ a little cooler? ¡°It¡¯s not chilly yet, but it¡¯s a lot further north than Kapha. And we¡¯re going even further north, so it¡¯s going to be that way.¡± Loren had been told that once you reached the northernmost point of the continent, you would find a land covered with ice that never melted. While temperatures in other parts of the continent might vary somewhat, the northern part of the continent was said to have a climate where the temperature never reached a point where ice melted at any given time. As they moved closer to the north, the temperature would naturally become cooler and the air drier, depriving their bodies of moisture. ¡°It would be nice to have someplace like an inn town where we can relax and gather information as well. Oh, you can leave the payment to me.¡± ¡°At this point, I¡¯m not even worried about a dozen silver coins or more in debt¡­¡± Loren wondered if it was a good idea to leave the payment to Lapis, but there was no way he had enough money in his pocket to pay for lodging for all three of them. ¡°I¡¯d be happy if the food was good.¡± ¡°What is the best food in the North? You don¡¯t get to eat well on the battlefield, so I¡¯d like to try something tasty before we go.¡± Gula and Lapis chatted light-heartedly as they walked on. The atmosphere was so light that it was hard to believe that they were going to a battlefield, but considering their races, it was probably nothing to get worked up about, and Loren didn¡¯t feel the need to warn them to brace themselves. When Loren noticed that Nig, who usually clung to his shoulder, was trying to crawl under his jacket, perhaps because of the cold, he loosened the collar lightly to make it easier for the spider. Chapter 302: Getting More Members at The Tavern (1) Proofreader: Xemul After parting with Emery, Loren and his group set out on foot toward the north, and were lucky enough to arrive at an inn town along the city just before sunset. Compared to Kapha, the temperature in this northern region felt a bit cooler, and this was even more apparent when the sun went down. As for Loren, who had been worried since around dusk that it would be a bit difficult to sleep in the open given this climate, he felt very fortunate to be able to sleep where there was a roof and walls. Even more fortunately was the presence of something in this inn town that made the team very happy. As it would be meaningless to arrive at an inn town without being able to get rooms for the night, Lapis had tried to quickly decide on a place to stay and book some rooms. ¡°Are that hot springs?¡± Hearing the excitement in Lapis¡¯ voice, Loren looked at the clerk, who was introducing the facilities of the inn to them. The female clerk, who was smiling at the happy Lapis with a loving smile, nodded deeply in response to Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°There is a hot spring nearby. We draw hot water from there. The bathing area is large, and you¡¯ll have to pay a little extra, but the water is plentiful, and you can use it as much as you like.¡± ¡°How much is it? I will pay whatever you want.¡± Loren glanced around as he listened to the clerk explain the price and the precautions regarding bathing to Lapis, who was so eager that he believed not entering the hot spring would not be an option. This inn was built like any other large inn with the first floor being a combination of a reception counter, bar, and dining room, while rooms for guests were on the second floor and above. The dining hall was crowded with customers having dinner, perhaps due to the time of day, but Loren felt a bit uneasy at the sight of them, contrary to Lapis, who seemed happy. ¡°What¡¯s with the long face? Are you thinking about peeking into Lapis-chan¡¯s bath or something?¡± Loren¡¯s frown deepened at Gula¡¯s whispered words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die yet.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it will go¡­ that far.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if my life is not in danger, I will not go peeping.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not especially worried or anything. But what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± When asked, Loren subtly gestured toward the dining hall¡¯s direction with his chin. Following his gesture, Gula looked at the dining hall and tilted her head as if not understanding what Loren was trying to say. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± ¡°There seems to be a lot of punks here.¡± Gula looked around the dining hall again at Loren¡¯s words, but after a while, she returned her gaze to Loren¡¯s face and tilted her head again. ¡°So?¡± ¡°Is it just something so trivial from your point of view?¡± After all, Lapis was a demon and Gula was a being called Evil God. Compared to them, those slightly boorish people were probably just cute little things. Loren understood this well, but it was a fact that those people did not know. As if to prove him right, there were more than a few glances coming from inside the restaurant toward their party as they made arrangements for lodging, which made Loren feel depressed because he could clearly sense the ill intents behind those glances. ¡°War, for better or worse, brings people together. And among them, you¡¯ll find a few with gruesome deeds.¡± ¡°Do you mean that we should be on our guard? But who would mess with us?¡± ¡°If they knew who you really are, they wouldn¡¯t.¡± This was what gave Loren a headache. Those who knew who Lapis and Gula truly were, would never consider them targets for some nefarious purpose. But no one here knew. Those with a certain level of skills might have been able to guess at the hidden abilities of the two girls, but for those who do not, they must be seen as nothing more than beautiful girls. And those who engaged in unscrupulous behavior were usually those who acted faithfully to their own desires without considering the circumstances and capabilities of the other party. ¡°If you¡¯re with me, they wouldn¡¯t do anything, but¡­ That also depends on the place.¡± If Lapis and Gula looked like nothing more than beautiful girls, Loren did look like a formidable swordsman. Even though he did not know the extent of their abilities, Loren believed that the girls would be fine as long as they were with him, as he had an extraordinary body and equipment to match, but there were places where even he could not follow. ¡°At a glance, the town here is not that big. There¡¯s not much entertainment, so they¡¯ll be starved for some.¡± ¡°There are lots of sad people in this world, aren¡¯t there?¡± Gula said this in a somber tone of voice, and Loren agreed with her. If they had dealt a bad hand with Lapis and Gula without knowing who they really were, they would almost certainly be much better off getting beaten up by Loren. ¡°Why don¡¯t you guys just show your true nature? That way no one will touch you.¡± The thought that had just occurred to Loren seemed like a very good idea, so he suggested it to Gula, who in turn frowned at his words. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°If the people in the dining hall get scared, won¡¯t they make it impossible for us to stay here?¡± Demons and Evil Gods were very intimidating. If humans were to suddenly face both, who knew what kind of disaster would ensue. There might be some tolerance, but if they frightened the employees as Gula had suggested, they risked not being able to stay at the inn, so Loren decided to retract his idea. ¡°I hoped you wouldn¡¯t wipe out the inn.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not certain that they¡¯ll mess with us, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Bad predictions usually turn out to be true.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Lapis, who had apparently finished her exchange with the clerk, interrupted Loren and Gula¡¯s conversation. Holding the key to their room, she watched them with a puzzled look on her face. Loren, not knowing what to say, gave a vague smile. While searching for the right words to say, he suddenly noticed something as he looked at Lapis¡¯ hand. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s only one key?¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯ll stay in one big room. Is that alright?¡± Lapis smiled, and Loren put his hand on his forehead. He felt like he was getting a fever, but he knew he had to say what needed to be said, so he scratched his head and told Lapis, who seemed to be waiting for a response, as if to remind her. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡± Loren wondered if she was inspired by the actions of the Great Demon King, they had met in the demon territory. But Lapis unexpectedly responded by rolling her eyes. ¡°Three private rooms are expensive. Loren, don¡¯t tell me you want a single room for yourself?¡± Loren was at a loss for words. Certainly, it was cheaper to get a large room that could accommodate three people than to get three private rooms. He did consider getting a room for himself, but in that case, Lapis and Gula would be sharing a room while Loren would be the only one in his own room. As Loren had entrusted Lapis with the payment, it was a situation that he could not say no to. ¡°But¡­ That¡¯s not good for a lot of reasons, is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all, but¡­ What about you, Gula?¡± Gula looked very lost when asked. But after taking a look at Lapis¡¯ expectant face and Loren, who was eagerly waiting for her ¡®I do mind¡¯, she spent some time thinking it over, then asked Lapis. ¡°I¡¯d like to order dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Okay. I don¡¯t mind at all.¡± At Gula¡¯s super straightforward answer, Lapis clenched her fist on her chest while Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment, as he had no way to respond. The only way to turn the tables at this point would be to offer more than Lapis had proposed to Gula, but Loren didn¡¯t have the resources to do so. ¡°Now the opinion inside the party is two to one.¡± ¡°Ahh ok¡­ I see, I see.¡¯ Loren raised his hand in surrender, thinking that if there was no way to resist, it would be better to give up quickly. But Lapis¡¯ face turned a little unhappy. ¡°Are you unhappy? It¡¯s something many want but can never get, you know? There are a lot of men out there who would pay money to be you.¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t know the truth, then maybe you¡¯re right.¡± Loren, who was convinced that those men would 100% run away if they knew the truth about the two girls, but he knew that it might upset Lapis if he said anything about it. So, he ended the conversation there and picked up the luggage he had left on the floor when Lapis started talking with the clerk. Lapis seemed to be a little frustrated, but when she saw that Loren had given up, she decided that there was no point in pursuing the matter any further and began to lead Loren and Gula to their room, fumbling with the key the inn had given her. ¡°After putting our luggage in the room, let¡¯s go to the hot spring. Let¡¯s warm ourselves up and wash before we have dinner.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget our agreement earlier, okay?¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ll just wait in the room, ok?¡± Even though the door was locked, it was dangerous to trust the lock completely. This was a particular concern when traveling, and leaving someone in the room to keep watch was a matter of course. If Lapis and Gula were going to bathe, Loren thought it was his job to wait for them, but Lapis looked at him in surprise, as if wondering what he was saying. Loren, feeling ominous, asked. ¡°If you¡¯re going to be out of the room for a long time, you¡¯re going to need someone to watch your stuff, right?¡± ¡°What do you think of me and Gula? Of course, we have spells to protect our belongings.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Hm. Let¡¯s go bathe then.¡± The sooner you gave up, the better. Loren, who had been telling himself this, sighed and felt even worse when he noticed a couple of gruff-looking men glancing at them out of the corner of his eye. ¡°Just to be clear, there aren¡¯t any mixed baths or anything like that, are there?¡± ¡°It looks like men and women are separated. Did you want a mixed bath? Lapis asked back with a smirk. Perhaps due to these words, Loren noticed that some of the stares he was receiving were tinged with envy and jealousy, and he heaved a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart. Chapter 303 Proofreader: Xemul Despite a few minor hiccups, the group went straight to the room that had been prepared for them. Although Loren being unable to stand the stares coming from the dining hall also played a part, the biggest reason was that none of them could not overcome their desire to rest their bodies. The goods brought from the demon territory that were obviously not of human origin, were put away at the bottom of the luggage in advance so that they would not be seen by anyone, but Loren was careful not to let anyone other than himself touch them as he carried the luggage into the room. Once he finished the tasks, he sat down on a couch in the room and exhaled deeply. ¡°Loren, the bed isn¡¯t a double, is it?¡± ¡°What did you expect?¡± The room was furnished with two beds that were probably designed for one person, and two long couches, perhaps as substitutes for the beds. As a large person, it was a bit difficult for Loren to sleep on the couch, but he quickly occupied one of them because he did not want to let Lapis or Gula sleep on a couch. ¡°I couldn¡¯t just let Loren sleep on the couch¡­¡± As Lapis said apologetically, Loren waved his hand at her not to worry about it and go to the bath first. ¡°It¡¯s alright, just go. I¡¯ll take care of the luggage.¡± But Lapis gently rejected him. ¡°I¡¯ve got some things I have to do first. Gula, I was wondering if you could take care of the luggage? So go ahead and take a bath, Loren.¡± Loren was somewhat caught off guard by the way she said that. It was hard to believe that Lapis would have some errand that she ¡®had to do¡¯ in a passing inn town. He was a little afraid to ask what she was going to do though. If he were to hear something outrageous, he would not be able to keep his peace of mind, but he also would have no way to stop her. So, he believed that it would be better to maintain his ignorance by playing blind and deaf unless a problem popped up. ¡°Is that so? Gula, are you ok with this? ¡­Gula?¡± Loren looked at Gula, who did not respond to his call, and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed unpacking with a thoughtful look on her face. ¡°Hey, Gula, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, no, I mean, there¡¯s nothing to worry about. I just¡­ feel a strange presence, or something.¡± Gula¡¯s vague words were enough to make Loren feel uneasy. Their party had once stayed in another inn town right before it was destroyed. Loren was thinking that something similar might happen here, but he hastily dismissed the thought. Thinking that he would be present anytime an inn town was destroyed seemed a bit too depressing, but at the same time, having such thought in the first place made Loren wonder if it was some kind of omen. ¡°It¡¯s probably just my imagination, and I think you should go take a bath anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that¡­¡± Loren decided to take a bath as recommended, feeling that if he became more cautious than necessary, it might trigger some strange event to happen. By not caring too much, maybe there was a chance that nothing would happen. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while, so I¡¯ll leave you to it, Gula.¡± ¡°Take it easy, Lapis-chan. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Although Lapis and Gula were talking like they always did, Loren could sense that something was amiss from the content of their conversation. Telling himself that it was probably just his imagination, he stuffed towels and clothes into a small bag and went to the inn¡¯s bathroom, where he let out a small whistle of appreciation for the facilities there. Loren had not expected much from a bathroom in a not-so-large inn in a not-so-large inn town, but when he saw it in person, he found that the dressing room was quite spacious, and the bathroom looked quite promising as well. He quickly took off his clothes, wrapped the thick cloth provided by the inn around his waist, and stepped into the bathroom. Although Nig was fine with being in hot water at the Great Demon King¡¯s castle last time, Loren felt that the inn would complain about him letting Nig in, so he decided to have the spider wait on his folded clothes this time. It was said that in some places, it was customary to bathe in a bathing gown, but this bath was not designed to be so formal, and basically both men and women were allowed to bathe completely naked. Behind the door separating the changing room from the bathhouse was an entire area made of stone, and was considerably larger than Loren had imagined. The bathtub was also quite spacious, large enough to accommodate several people of Loren¡¯s size. Loren, thinking that this would be a good place to enjoy a relaxing bath, first grabbed a wooden bucket to wash off the dirt and grime from his body, only to find that there was another guest behind the steam. The other guest, who had been soaking in the bathtub up to the shoulders, stood up in front of Loren¡¯s eyes, not even bothering to hide their body. Loren himself was quite large and muscular, but the person in the bathtub was even larger than him, with a body that could be best described as all-muscles. Loren, who was watching the slightly muddy water cascade over the body of what could be described as a giant, saw the face on top of the muscular body and ran out of the place with all the force he could muster in the next instant, forgetting his own state of nakedness. ¡°>.¡± It was probably some kind of spell. The moment the words reached Loren¡¯s ears, he felt something unnatural on the soles of his feet and lost his balance. He would have fallen heavily on the floor of the bathroom, but he quickly regained his balance and managed to avoid falling down by putting his hands on the wall. Then, the large man who seemed to have cast a spell on Loren puts his hand on the wall as if to block his way. ¡®I really want to praise myself for not screaming¡¯, Loren thought to himself. A sense of danger that he had never felt even on the battlefield hit his whole body, and even though he was in the warm, humid air of the bathroom, he felt like he had been thrown into an ice-cold place. The large man, his hand still on the wall, spoke to Loren in a tone of voice that seemed to say that he was not at all pleased with the situation. ¡°Why did you run as soon as you saw my face?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to meet someone who wouldn¡¯t run.¡± Hearing Shayna screaming inside his head, Loren, who was gradually regaining his composure, answered the large man in front of him, careful not to let his voice tremble. ¡°That¡¯s rude, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ngh rather than that, why the hell are you here?¡± The man was staring straight at Loren as if trying to keep him from escaping. No matter how many times he thought about it in his head, the only answer Loren could come up with was that the man in front of him could not possibly be here, so he looked back into his eyes and asked. As far as Loren knew, the man was still in Kapha when their party left the city. And even if he had left the city at almost the same time, there was no way he could have arrived in the northern part of the continent in just two days. ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it? Even if your existence itself is strange, is it strange enough to distort the physical distance in the world?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? You want to do it?¡± Loren frowned when he saw the man licked his lips and felt the screams that echoed through his head increase in pitch and volume. Since it was not an actual sound, it was not likely to damage the eardrums no matter how loud it got, but it was still loud. Even though she was imperfect, Shayna was still the King of Death, yet this being was capable of frightening her to this extent. Thinking that Shayna should not be the one to feel frightened, Loren looked back at Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, who was right in front of him and was staring at him. Far from what one would image of the title ¡®Evil God of Lust¡¯, the macho, jawbreakingly large man met Loren¡¯s gaze and, for some reason, smiled. [¡®Onii-san! I fear for myself! Can I use any of the skills of the King of Death with all my might?¡¯] Shayna seemed to have been trapped by her fear and trepidation. Loren tried to soothe her while finding a way to escape from the situation. But Luxuria was bigger than him, and he was blocking one of the escape routes with his hand on the wall so there was only one way left, and he couldn¡¯t get the timing right to move. Loren¡¯s eyes darted in all directions, looking for some way to escape, and he unintentionally found himself looking at Luxuria¡¯s lower body. Loren himself had wrapped a cloth around his waist to cover that part of his body, but Luxuria had exposed it completely, and when the long, dangling object came unmistakably into view, Shayna again let out a scream inside Loren¡¯s mind. [¡®Onii-san! Peepee da-dangling! Peepee ¡®] Even though Loren had no idea what she was talking about, he tried his best to calm Shayna, who was probably in a state of delirium, while asking Luxuria. ¡°If you didn¡¯t do anything strange, how are you here? It¡¯s only been two days since we left Kapha.¡± ¡°What a stupid child. For us, distance is something negligible. Haven¡¯t you ever seen a Gula disappear in front of your eyes?¡± Loren searched through his memories. The first time he met Gula, she was half-assimilated with a chief monster, but as soon as she was released from the assimilation, she dove to the ground and disappeared somewhere. If this ability was not unique to Gula, it would not be surprising that Luxuria, who was also an Evil God, could do the same thing. ¡°So, you¡¯re here for real.¡± ¡°In the flesh. That¡¯s why I¡¯m lonely.¡± With a whispering voice, Luxuria brought his face closer, and Loren was, uncharacteristically, prepared to die. Of course, he was not prepared to just sit back and be eaten to death, but he was prepared to fight Luxuria without weapons or armor. Just as he was about to slam his clenched fist into Luxuria¡¯s face, Luxuria¡¯s body, which was crowding him, disappeared in an instant. As Loren blinked and wondered what had just happened, he heard the sound of something wet slamming into the wall. When he turned to look, he saw Luxuria¡¯s upside-down, spreadeagle body slid down the wall onto the floor. ¡°What were you going to do to Loren?¡± The terribly unhappy voice belonged to Lapis. Wrapped tightly in a cloth with a wooden bucket and a towel in each of her hands, she was glaring at Luxuria with a steely gaze. Although her eyes and posture were ruining the scene in many ways, the sight of Lapis was even more pleasing to Loren¡¯s eyes than usual, especially after seeing Luxuria naked. Loren found himself calming down. As he did, he began to wonder why Lapis was in the men¡¯s bathroom and asked her as such. ¡°Hey Lapis, why are you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Loren, it took me more time than I expected. Especially reserving the bathrooms for exclusive use and dealing with those who might interfere¡­ But let¡¯s not talk about it.¡± ¡°Exclusive use?¡± ¡°To make sure no one else comes in while I wash your back, of course? Bribing the inn was no trouble, but I didn¡¯t expect an Evil God to be here.¡± ¡°And what do you mean by ¡®dealing with¡¯?¡± ¡°We had a discussion, but it ended in an unfortunate way. I had no choice but to roll them up in a mat and hand them over to Luxuria.¡± Having said that, Lapis suddenly began to fidget and said in a small voice while looking at Loren with a slight blush on her face. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m here to wash your back.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot on your plate, don¡¯t you? Well¡­ Please do.¡± Feeling terribly exhausted both mentally and physically, Loren had no desire to enjoy bathing or washing his body at this point. He could not even refuse Lapis¡¯ offer, so he just sat there and let her do as she pleased. Chapter 304: Getting More Members at The Tavern (3) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°I was wondering if you were the one who was giving off that strange vibe I was sensing.¡± Gula, with a look of intense dislike on her face, said this in front of a light meal in the dining hall on the first floor of the inn. Luxuria, who was poking at the ham on his plate with a fork in a gesture that did not suit his body at all, responded with a look of displeasure as well. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®strange¡¯?¡± ¡°What on earth are you up to, sneaking around hiding your presence?¡± If there was an Evil God nearby, Gula, who was also an evil god, would be able to notice somehow. But she hadn¡¯t been able to this time seemingly because Luxuria had been suppressing his own presence. Gula thought that this might be due to some kind of plot, but Luxuria responded with an annoyed look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not plotting anything. I was just trying to participate in a commission from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± ¡°Why do you want to get involved in someone else¡¯s war?¡± Evil Gods like Gula didn¡¯t care much about others¡¯ circumstances. In Gula¡¯s opinion, if people wanted to go to war, they should just go ahead and do it on their own. She was working with Loren and Lapis simply because they wanted to poke their noses into this war, and also because she had found out that someone whom she considered to be her enemy seemed to be involved. Since they were both Evil Gods, an enemy of Gula might as well be an enemy of Luxuria, but Gula didn¡¯t think Luxuria had received the information about this person yet. That was why she didn¡¯t understand why Luxuria was willingly getting involved in this war. ¡°I need the money.¡± Luxuria¡¯s answer to Gula¡¯s question came as a surprise to Loren and the others. Luxuria resumed poking at the ham and explaining the reason in a slightly reluctant tone. ¡°You¡¯ve met those lovely children who became my followers in Kapha, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you make them yourself?¡± They did not just ¡®become¡¯ Luxuria¡¯s followers, they were actively put together by Luxuria himself. They had nearly destroyed the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but Luxuria was talking about them as if they were just a result of natural progression. Gula glared daggers at him for that, but Luxuria seemed immune to her glare. He stabbed the ham with his fork, brought it into his mouth and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing. ¡°Those kids are making a good living as adventurers, but they still need money to pay for all the things they need.¡± Loren wondered what an Evil God and his followers needed. But no matter how much he thought about it, all he could come up with was useless items, so he decided to stop thinking about it immediately. He had more important things to worry about. Due to mental exhaustion, Loren was unable to refuse Lapis and had allowed her to give him a back rub in the hot spring. Moreover, they had both soaked in the warm water together afterwards, and now he was regretting his reckless behaviour even more than before. The only future that awaited him now was one where he would be completely caught up in the plans of the Great Demon King. In addition, depending on what Lapis reported to her mother the Demon King, they might be forced to retreat immediately. ¡°Lapis, about what happened¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know that I took advantage of you when you were at a low point, so I¡¯m not going to use this as an excuse to bind you.¡± Looking at Lapis, who was smiling brightly, Loren wondered how much he could trust her words. But he could not pretend that what already happened did not happen. Now he had to accept reality as it is, and be prepared for whatever would come later. And so, Loren decided to stop worrying about this matter. ¡°¡®Times change, but you will always need money. It¡¯s really disgusting.¡± Luxuria picked up his fork again and let out a sigh, but Loren agreed with him about the money. ¡°I can¡¯t send those lovely kids off to fight in a dangerous war, so I thought I¡¯d come over here and make some money for them.¡± ¡°I already feel sorry for the enemy army.¡± An Evil God was an extraordinary existence, but even among them, Luxuria was different. Everyone but Luxuria thought that the Kingdom¡¯s army, who knew nothing about such a being, would have some very difficult time ahead. ¡°But even for the sake of those children, it¡¯s still lonely to sleep alone. So, I am very grateful for your gift.¡± Luxuria turned to Lapis with a smile that he probably thought was very smooth. Lapis responded with her own smile and a deep nod. But Loren, who was watching her face from the side, saw that Lapis¡¯ eyes were not narrowed because of a smile, but were firmly closed. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Please enjoy yourself without reservation.¡± Lapis said with just a hint of sweat on her forehead, but Loren thought that the situation must have been a nuisance. The people who were planning to mess with their party had to be neutralized, wrapped up in a mat, and pushed into Luxuria¡¯s room before Lapis broke into the bath where Loren was. Thinking of the future those people would have to face, Loren felt pity for them, even though it was their own fault. And Loren did not even want to imagine what would happen between Luxuria and those who were captured, but for the staff who would inevitably have to clean up afterwards, their fate would be so miserable that he could only give his condolences. ¡°So, are you guys going to go to the Empire right away?¡± Luxuria¡¯s question brought Loren back to reality from the purplish pink haze that had been filling his brain. As both Gula and Lapis looked at him for answers about the party¡¯s plan, Loren cleared his head of all the things he had been thinking about with a single cough, then put his mind to work to answer the question. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°You¡¯d better not. You should spend a little time around here.¡± Luxuria¡¯s tone was serious, and he didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Loren¡¯s group took a long look at him. Lapis discreetly averted her gaze halfway, but Loren pretended not to notice this and asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It will be blatantly suspicious otherwise. If you continue north, you will reach the battlefield between the Empire and the Kingdom in just one day. And when you report that you are from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, what do you think will happen?¡± It would take them only one day to reach their destination, but it would take those departed from Kapha about three more days. Loren thought for a moment that it would be a good thing if they could arrive early, but he immediately pushed the idea away. ¡°We¡¯ll be too early, won¡¯t we?¡± If they reported that they had made the journey that would have taken about ten days even with the special transport provided by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in three days, no one would have believed that it was a normal occurrence. Had this been a normal commission, they might have simply been driven away. But this was a war, if they displayed such blatantly suspicious behaviour, they might be judged to have had some kind of intention and detained. In the worst-case scenario, they could be executed without any interrogation. ¡°How could such an absurdity be allowed to pass?¡± Loren thought it was understandable that Lapis would shake her head in disbelief. She might be a priest of the God of Knowledge, but she had no experiences of wars. Even if she had, priests had very clear identity, and were treated differently from mercenaries like Loren. Even if they behaved in a somewhat suspicious manner, the priests would only be treated with a bit more caution, and would not fall into the situation that Loren thought he would be in. ¡°During a war, the government officials are very volatile. Sometimes they just want to get rid of all the incomprehensible things.¡± ¡°In a war, the side that cannot keep their cool loses, right?¡± ¡°If everyone thought like that, there wouldn¡¯t be a war in the first place.¡± ¡°It sounded like you were being very specific about the current situation on the Empire side?¡± ¡°I was. I¡¯ve been there once.¡± Loren thought that if Luxuria had been there once, it would be natural for him to know the specific reaction of the Empire. He was about to give an immediate answer when he noticed the meaning of Luxuria¡¯s words. He stared at the Evil God, who looked as unconcerned as ever. Noticing Loren¡¯s gaze but did not understand its meaning, Luxuria stopped stabbing the ham. ¡°Wh-What is it?¡± ¡°Did you say you¡¯ve been there once?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. If we enter the war and make a good name for ourselves as soon as possible, we might be able to get a reward from the Empire in addition to the Guild¡¯s commission, right?¡± Luxuria¡¯s reasoning was not so bad in itself, Loren decided. If he had actually made a great achievement, the Empire would want to extract such a talented person or maintain ties with him, and would not let him return to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild empty-handed. In this case, however, there was something else to be concerned about. ¡°So, you were a fool, or, to be more accurate, you immediately identified yourself as an adventurer from Kapha.¡± ¡°Of course, I had to, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t get paid.¡± ¡°Then what happened?¡± When Loren asked, Luxuria¡¯s reaction was blatantly different from his previous responses. His expression did not change and he did not stop poking the ham on his plate, but Loren, who had been watching, clearly noticed him turning away from his gaze. From that reaction alone, Loren immediately sensed that Luxuria had caused something untoward, and he glared at him with almost murderous eyes. ¡°Answer me. It will also affect what we will do from now on.¡± ¡°I mean, they were terrible! I came here to help them, but they treated me like a suspicious person and tried to throw me in jail!¡± Luxuria was furious, but Loren and the others could not help but think that the Empire¡¯s reaction was justified. It was suspicious enough that he had come from the distant city of Kapha so soon after news from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild had spread, but then there was Luxuria¡¯s appearance too. If there were people who were not alarmed by this, Loren could only think that they must be either very stupid or living saints. ¡°Then what? Of course, you would be taken into custody. What did you do there?¡± ¡°If you were caught and imprisoned, you wouldn¡¯t be able to make any money. But if you escaped, the same thing would happen if your description was circulated, right?¡± In terms of distinctive features, there were few people as distinctive as Luxuria. Even if someone who was not very good at describing others were to describe him, they would be able to provide information to correctly identify him. If this were to happen, it would be hopeless for him to participate in the war on the Empire side no matter how innocent he was, and he would face nothing but capture and extermination as soon as he was discovered. Loren was struck by a frightening thought as he wondered what Luxuria might have done to prevent that from happening. Gula and Lapis looked at him curiously, but then they heard Loren¡¯s muttering and immediately understood. ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t have any bright thoughts like letting things cool down or give up, did you?¡± ¡°Why should I care about a group of humans?¡± Evil Gods had no consideration for others¡¯ circumstances. Luxuria¡¯s words would have caused problems if anyone had heard them, but fortunately there was no one near them, and his answer was lost in the din and bustle of the dining hall and did not reach anyone else¡¯s ears. ¡°Yeah, just like I thought. That¡¯s why I have a vague idea of what you did.¡± ¡°What on earth do you mean?¡± Lapis urged him to answer, and Loren tried to lower his voice to not attract anyone else¡¯s attention. ¡°I think he probably¡­ made it so that the troop or the fort or the base he first reported to¡­would cease to exist.¡± Eyewitnesses were the problem. Once they were gone, no matter how suspicious Luxuria might have been, no one would know about it. It was impossible for an Evil God, who had no consideration for humans, not to take this simple but effective measure. ¡°To be precise, I destroyed one fort. But it should be alright. It¡¯s a long way from here, and even though the other side took advantage of the loss, they¡¯ve managed to recover.¡± Luxuria said laughingly. Feeling like he was at his wits¡¯ end, Loren let out a low growl. Lapis and Gula, who now understood the situation, nodded to each other in silence and both kicked Luxuria in the face as he tried to pick up another piece of ham with his fork. Chapter 305: Getting More Members at The Tavern (5) Proofreader: Xemul Regardless of the course of events or outcome, Luxuria was certainly right, and Loren and his friends decided to spend three or four days in the inn town. Fortunately, spending time in this town, where hot springs are available, was not too painful for the party, and they were able to spend a relaxing time for the first time in a long time. If there was a problem, it was that Loren himself felt a sense of uneasiness about the fact that various things were being paid for out of Lapis¡¯ pocket, but Lapis quieted Loren by telling him not to worry. ¡°It¡¯s like interest for the debt you owe to His Majesty.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing comforting about that.¡± Having said that, Loren actually didn¡¯t have any choice but to rely on Lapis, and that fact left him a bit hunched over. There was one person who did not hold back at all in this situation though, and it was Luxuria, who had come to accompany Loren¡¯s party before he knew it. The guy ordered a large quantity of food from the inn and forced the men of poor conduct, who were handed over to him by Lapis, into a room. He then stayed in that room from morning till night while consuming large quantities of hot water and cloths. The cost of those things also came out of Lapis¡¯ pocket. ¡°Lapis-chan, I don¡¯t know if I should be the one to tell you this, but why do you even take care of Luxuria?¡± ¡°If you take your eyes off him, you never know what he might do.¡± Lapis seemed to think that it would be better to keep a close watch on Luxuria, even if it cost a little more, than to be in a situation where they couldn¡¯t know what he was doing. That said, it seemed that the staff at the inn had some detailed information about what Luxuria and his friends were doing in their rooms, and they were paid more for their cleaning services than usual. ¡°If you don¡¯t pay attention to his behaviour, he¡¯s a very good fighter. I¡¯m sure he can at least serve as a shield for me and Loren.¡± ¡°Well, I can assure you that he¡¯s not a bad fighter.¡± While listening to the conversation between Lapis and Gula, Loren suddenly looked back at his own party. Although he was a human, Loren had Shayna, the King of Death, existing inside him and Nig on his shoulder to support him in his activities. Lapis, their priest, was a demon who was fluent in both light and dark magic, and could also fight in melee combat. Gula, who is nominally a sorcerer, boasted of her Evil God powers as well as magic powers, and her combat abilities were in the realm of the ridiculously strong. ¡°What the heck did Luxuria register at the Adventurers¡¯ Guild as?¡± From the way he dressed, which looked terribly uncomfortable to move in, it didn¡¯t seem to Loren that Luxuria was registered as a warrior. However, concluding that he must have registered as a priest or magician just from that fact seemed like a bad joke. In the first place, Luxuria was unarmed, and his role was not discernible from her appearance. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask him?¡± Loren looked uncomfortable when Gula told him this. The only way to talk to Luxuria, who rarely came out of his room, was to wait for whenever he came out, or to visit his room. Loren could not talk to him right away, and he definitely would not want to visit Luxuria¡¯s room even if his life depended on it. ¡°He probably registered as a priest.¡± It was Lapis who made such an unbelievable statement. Not only Loren but even Gula looked at her with an expression ¡°was the world coming to an end?¡±, to which she continued with her usual expression. ¡°I think he registered as a priest of the God of Earth.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be true, can it?¡± ¡°It seems that his title of priest is an official one. He must have been able to obtain a position in the temple after his resurrection.¡± ¡°Oh God of Earth, is it alright to grant priesthood to that guy?¡± ¡°Well, Luxuria¡¯s existence is not in that much contrast to the teachings of the God of Earth. In fact, it can even be considered that he endorses their teachings, and I think that¡¯s why he got his approval so easily.¡± ¡°No way?!¡± ¡°Because the teaching of the God of Earth is to love all living beings in this world. There are various sects that exclude demonic creatures or demons, but none are excluded due to gender.¡± As far as Loren knew, the God of Earth was a benevolent and loving God of Creation, but when he heard Lapis¡¯ story, he thought that the scope of their protection was too broad. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can be a follower of the God of Earth.¡± ¡°The God of Knowledge always welcomes you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s another thing I can¡¯t do.¡± Loren¡¯s abrupt answer brought about a slightly hurt look to Lapis¡¯ face. For this was the God in whom Lapis believed, and used a pretence to boldly declaring ¡°Because I am a priestess of the God of Knowledge¡± at every possible moment. The ability requirement seemed to be so high that Loren thought he would never be able to serve as a priest. And so, Loren¡¯s party rested for four days before resuming their journey to the Empire. By the time they left, the amount of money that Lapis had paid to the inn must have been substantial. But when the party, who could be considered as the best customers, told the staff that they were leaving, the only emotion on the staff¡¯s faces was relief. Loren felt somewhat sorry for the inn, thinking that they must have been quite troublesome guests. But since the most of the troubles must have been caused by Luxuria, he felt somewhat better by assuming that all the blame was placed on the Evil God of Lust. Talking about Luxuria, he must have thoroughly trained, or maybe brainwashed, the men Lapis had captured and passed on to him. They had become completely different from before and Luxuria came out of his room surrounded by men with sparkling eyes. ¡°Are you going to take them with you?¡± Loren asked Luxuria for a confirmation, even though he had already known the answer. Loren did not know, nor did he want to know, what had happened over the past few days, but the men who had been locked in Luxuria¡¯s room seemed to be completely submissive to him. The fact that they all seemed to take supreme pleasure in doing so only creeped Loren out further. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave them here, can we?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Well, I guess so.¡± Loren nodded as he looked at the staff of the inn, whose faces were coloured with despair as soon as they heard the word ¡®leave¡¯. He would like to leave them all, including Luxuria, somewhere in the wilderness if he could, but the fact that he did not know what evil shadow they would cast over the world later on kept him from carrying out such an idea. ¡°And it¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re taking us with you, you know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really want to hear it, but humour me.¡± Loren prompted while keenly aware of the greatsword on his back, thinking that if the Evil God spouted something nonsensical like ¡®I¡¯ll tell you at night¡¯, he would do the whole world a favour and cut him down right there and then. Luxuria folded his arms in front of his well-developed chest and replied proudly. ¡°You have more people now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so good about that?¡± ¡°Well, the adventurers coming from Kapha wouldn¡¯t have arrived here even after we reached the Empire, you know?¡± Even if they were to add up the time they spent in the inn town, only about six days had passed since Loren and his party left Kapha. Adventurers traveling on the special transport prepared by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would take about ten days to reach the Empire, and even if they had made good progress, they would still be behind Loren¡¯s group, who would enter the Empire¡¯s territory in one more day. ¡°If only three or four adventurers showed up at the post under the current circumstances, they¡¯d be laughed at and received their pay at the gate.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s coming from a guy who went to report on his own?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned from experience. Stop putting blame on me.¡± The truth was, Luxuria was so powerful that it was hard to know how many human soldiers could be a match for him, and anyone who knew his true identity would not ridicule him if he reported alone. But if you thought about it, one or two people claiming to be reinforcements would be nothing more than laughing stocks to the army. ¡°But with these cute children, there will be about ten of us.¡± Considering the size of the army, ten or so adventurers would be nothing, but they were still a decent number, and could be a force to be reckoned with. Luxuria said that it would be much easier for the Empire to accept them than if they were on their own. ¡°It will reduce the chance of being turned away at the door. Why not take them with us then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not free to take them with us though.¡± Four people would be alright, but about ten would make a rather big group. Naturally, the amount of luggage they could bring with them would increase, but the cost to prepare such luggage would also increase. This was what Loren was concerned about, but Luxuria sniffed and said: ¡°You¡¯re not the one paying though.¡± Loren was at a loss for words at this reply. He looked at Lapis as if asking for her opinion, thinking that he indeed had no rights to talk about money in any way, and she answered without hesitation. ¡°It¡¯s a small price to pay for a wall or a shield.¡± ¡°Your partner¡­ She really can talk like that despite her pretty face.¡± Luxuria, with a slightly resigned expression on his face, said this to Loren, but Loren could only shrug lightly as he could not find anything to say in return. ¡°If possible, I would appreciate it if your group die nobly in the battlefield, Luxuria.¡± ¡°I agree with that.¡± ¡°Would you be willing to blow yourselves up with the enemy general?¡± ¡°What do you guys expect from us?!¡± ¡°¡±Suicide bombing.¡±¡± Lapis and Gula answered in unison, and as expected, it caused quite some psychological damage to Luxuria. As the Evil God and his followers fell silent, Loren picked up his own luggage and called out to everyone. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get going. We have things to buy. I¡¯m sorry, Lapis, but you¡¯re going to have to pick up the tab. It¡¯s better to have enough men to get accepted into the army.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then. I¡¯ll give Luxuria a loan.¡± ¡°Wait a minute?! Isn¡¯t that interest too high?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing compared to the debt Loren owes.¡± ¡°I wish you wouldn¡¯t use me as a reference there.¡± Confronted with a number that was sure to be outrageously high, Luxuria closed in on Lapis, causing her to run around to evade him. Loren looked up at the sky in the direction of the north where they were heading, thinking that the bustling atmosphere was not a bad thing, but for God¡¯s sake he hoped they would tone down by the time they met up with the army. Chapter 306: From Entering the Empire to Marching (1) Proofreader: Xemul Since Loren¡¯s team had joined up with Luxuria¡¯s group at the inn town, they had been walking north for about a day. Loren wondered if some deity had heard and fulfilled his wish to avoid camping out with this group of people, when they had arrived at another town around dusk after departing in the morning. This town was close to the battlefield, and was originally meant to be a defense base. It was built as a combination of a town and a fortress, with a deep moat and high walls surrounding the town, making it a very imposing structure. ¡°I am amazed at how we were able to get into the town with this group of people.¡± It was wartime, and the soldiers guarding the town must be on high alert. Even if Loren¡¯s party did not look questionable, he thought it was pure luck that someone as suspicious looking as Luxuria was able to get through the town gates. He had expected to be stopped, but for some reason, they were able to enter the town after only a single check at the gate as usual. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can say that they were doing their jobs if they just let these guys pass.¡± Loren pointed his thumb at Luxuria¡¯s group, who were walking behind, without looking back at them, and Lapis and Gula nodded their heads in agreement. ¡°Maybe the standards have been lowered because they¡¯re at war?¡± ¡°Or maybe they could sense the trouble they could get themselves into, so they just let it slide.¡± They were a group of devious men, led by a large person who looked suspicious no matter how you looked at him. As Lapis said, if you tried to stop them, you never knew what kind of trouble you might get into. The question of professional responsibility might remain, but if you were a smart person, that was not a group you would want to be involved with. Luxuria and his men tried to raise their voices in protest at being treated like the God of Pestilence, but Lapis and Gula both gave them cold stares. That silenced everyone except Luxuria, who proceeded to complain. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°By the way, Loren, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Hey, Lapis! Don¡¯t just outright ignore me!¡± ¡°¡­Payment.¡± Luxuria was about to grab Lapis, but as soon as her whisper reached his ears, he became surprisingly calm and meek. Seeing that, Loren looked at Lapis with narrowed eyes, wondering what she had done. Lapis was all smiles as always and seemed unperturbed by Loren¡¯s gaze. But after a few moments of staring, she muttered something, as if she had given up for some reason. ¡°I made him write an acknowledgement of debt.¡± ¡°You¡­ are really reliable when it comes to those things¡­¡± Loren was honestly impressed by the fact that she was able to restrict the actions of an Evil God with a single piece of paper. However, he also wondered if someone as powerful as Luxuria could just brush it off, but Gula answered his question. ¡°I think they made a contractual agreement. We¡¯re not very good at that kind of thing.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not called Evil Gods for nothing. Well, you probably won¡¯t understand it, but it has to do with the way we increase our power.¡± ¡°Could it be that when being under some kind of restriction, you receive something extra instead?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Lapis-chan knows that¡­ That¡¯s where she got him. Ha, serve you right, Luxuria.¡± Gula smiled at Luxuria with a malevolent smile, to which Luxuria responded by baring his teeth, yet it was the most protest he could muster. There was not a shred of cuteness in such a gesture coming from a big man with a cleft chin, and Loren turned away from Luxuria while trying to look as natural as possible. ¡°So, about what to do now. The most logical step to take is going to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, or to the contact point of the Empire who asked for help from the Guild, or something along those lines.¡± ¡°I would like to gather information, but I think those would be the safest places to do it. But Loren, do you know where the military contact point is?¡± It was a place which the general population had little familiarity with. Adventurers, for their part, also had little to do with a nation¡¯s military, so few of them knew much about these facilities. However, for Loren, it was a place he was quite familiar with. ¡°I used to be a mercenary, after all. I do know.¡± That was where Loren used to make a living before becoming an adventurer. It was true that he had never directly dealt with them since procedures and other matters were handled by the administrative staff, but he at least had a general idea of where and in what form the contact point was located. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t we go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± Gula, seeing that it would be fine either way, made such a suggestion. As Loren and Lapis looked like they wanted to know the reason for the suggestion, Gula pointed to Luxuria and the others who were walking along behind them. ¡°You don¡¯t want to take these guys to a military, whose current situation we know nothing about, and where a lot of problems might happen. Not to mention the number of people you¡¯re going to have to deal with¡± ¡°That¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I think it would be less troublesome if we go to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and ask them to help us get in touch with the army. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild might have a little bit of tolerance for these guys.¡± At Gula¡¯s suggestion, Loren looked at Luxuria¡¯s group. He would have liked to say that Luxuria was the only strange one, but in fact, the men hand-picked by him also looked and acted with a somewhat strange atmosphere around them. Taking them to the army as they were might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. The military was notoriously sensitive when it came to deviations from the norm, so it would not be a bad idea to have the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which seemed to have a soft and flexible approach to such things, play the middleman. Loren decided to visit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and tell them that they had come to the Empire as commissioned by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in Kapha, but then another problem arose. ¡°From Kapha? Where did you enter the Empire from?¡± The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was certainly tolerant of Luxuria and his men, and there was no mayhem. But this time, rather than the number of days it took them to get to the Empire from Kapha, they were suspicious about the route they had taken. If you thought about it, a trip from Kapha to the Empire would take about ten days even with the Guild¡¯s special transport, so it was only natural that they would have to cross several borders. If they had used the Guild¡¯s own transportation, the Guild would have taken care of the border crossings, but Loren¡¯s group was traveling separately and had not gone through any border-crossing procedures. Loren had been so preoccupied with the fact that he was being made to come to the demons¡¯ territory that he had completely forgotten this basic thing, and he felt regret about it. But there was nothing he could do about it now, so he gave a vague, ambiguous smile to the Guild¡¯s receptionist, who looked at him with suspicion. Lapis slips past Loren and steps in front of the receptionist. ¡°The truth is, there are many ways to get around the mountainous area.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°There is a route that goes back and forth between the demon territory and ours which we discovered by chance, and we came here through that route.¡± Of course, what Lapis said was something that Loren didn¡¯t know, and it was probably as close to an unthinking blabber as it could get. However, if he looked at Lapis, who had said such a thing with confidence, with doubt, they would not be able to clear up the receptionist¡¯s suspicion. So, Loren watched the receptionist¡¯s reaction while trying to keep a poker face. ¡°And that route is?¡± ¡°I can tell you the route in exchange for a fee of information if you need it?¡± The receptionist, perhaps judging from the fact that Lapis had not shown even the slightest hint of guilt, seemed to decide that this was a story with some credibility and called in a supervisor-like staff and began discussing something. Loren lightly poked Lapis, who was watching the conversation with a smile on her face, in the side and asked in a whisper. ¡°What route?¡± ¡°Not that it doesn¡¯t exist. Rather than that, Loren, could you please say something in advance before you poke me in the side? I almost made some strange noise.¡± ¡°None says ¡®Hey, I¡¯m going to poke you¡¯ before poking someone. What if they really want you to tell them? Is there such a thing as a shortcut?¡± If one took Lapis¡¯s word for it, there was a route that allowed for much faster travel than the special transportation that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild provided. This was information that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would consider of great importance, enough to make them pay an unthinkable amount for it. Loren thought that the Guild would not give up on obtaining this information, but Lapis answered with a smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯ll first warn them that we do not guarantee their safety.¡± ¡°I see.¡± There was no way that a route through the mountainous terrain and the demons¡¯ territory would be safe. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild was probably aware of this, but Loren realized that Lapis¡¯ words about not guaranteeing safety had another meaning: it implied that the route would be extremely dangerous. In other words, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not be able to verify the information Lapis had given them, even if they tried. ¡°For example, I can tell you a route that will instantly kill a silver-ranked party at the entrance.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want me to tell them a route that we can¡¯t take?¡± ¡°If we are lucky, we will be able to pass through.¡± Loren decided that it would be pointless to try to warn Lapis, who was adamant that she had not lied, and prayed that the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would not get too invested in the matter. Fortunately, the Adventurers¡¯ Guild decided that a route going through the demons¡¯ territory would be extremely dangerous and there were more pressing issues at the moment, so they did not ask Lapis for information about the route. Instead, they told their group that they would immediately send a message to the department in charge of dealing with the Imperial army. ¡°Basically, we are acting as a guerrilla attack force or an auxiliary force to the main force. For details, please follow the instructions of the Imperial army officer in charge.¡± The receptionist offered a piece of paper with the location of the Imperial army¡¯s contact point and the name of the officer in charge. Upon receiving the paper, Loren urged everyone to leave the Adventurers¡¯ Guild quickly before their cover story was blown. Chapter 307: From Entering the Empire to Marching (2) Proofreader: Xemul After leaving the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in a hurry, Loren and his companions headed for the building where they were told the contact person of the Imperial Army was located. He was in charge of military logistics and recruiting soldiers. The Guild¡¯s message might not have reached the military if they rushed there too quickly, so the group strolled around the town for a bit before entering. It seemed that by the time they arrived, the Guild¡¯s contact had properly notified the military, and the official in charge immediately came out to meet them. ¡°You are quite fast. I heard that some adventurers were coming from Kapha, but none have arrived yet, except for you.¡± A middle-aged soldier introduced himself as the official in charge. Seated at a simple wooden desk with a quill pen clasped between his fingers, he did not give off an impression of a man who had just returned from the battlefield. Loren thought that he must be a government official specializing in clerical work, judging from his physical appearance. ¡°We took a different route. The sooner you join, the more you get.¡± It was true that they had taken a different route, though it was more of a detour than a hurried visit, and they had even taken a rest on the way. Loren did feel a little guilty about it, but he couldn¡¯t tell the truth. ¡°It depends on what you can do for the war. Basically, you will only be rewarded for the work you do for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, but of course you will be rewarded separately from the military if you do something that affects the war situation.¡± Loren wondered if the official in charge was a little less than hopeful when he said this with a smile on his face. In the first place, it was not a common occurrence for an individual to have any significant impact to influence a battlefield situation, and those who could, were usually called heroes. Someone like Klaus might think of himself as one, but an ex-mercenary wouldn¡¯t care. ¡°That¡¯s tough. It¡¯d be better for us to work within our pay grade.¡± ¡°You could say so.¡± The official in charge laughed, and Loren replied with an amiable smile. The official beckoned Loren with a little gesture, and as Loren leaned in closer, whispered into his ears. ¡°But the people at the back, are you sure they are alright? You are good, but¡­¡± Loren quietly turned his head to look behind him. Members of the group were waiting for him to finish his exchange with the official, and Loren frowned. It seemed only natural that the official would feel uneasy. Lapis was acceptable to some degree. From the outside, even though her dress was a priest¡¯s uniform, it did not look like something to be worn on the battlefield, and its color and design made her stand out. In Gula¡¯s case, her clothes were too revealing. If anyone other than her thought of going to the battlefield in a tube top and hot pants, it could only be assumed that they were anything but a sane person. As for Luxuria and his followers, no words were needed. Although it could be said that the followers did appear to be decent, the aura created by their eyes and mannerism didn¡¯t look decent in any way. In general, it was understandable for people to wondered whether the whole party was alright, and Loren shared the official¡¯s concern. However, nothing that could reassure the official came to Loren¡¯s mind, so he went with a safe response that he managed to somehow think of. ¡°Well¡­ Can¡¯t judge a book by its cover.¡± Of course, there was no way that the official would be satisfied with such an answer, but the officer seemed to reconsider, given the fact that it wasn¡¯t his job to meddle in these things. After rummaging through the documents on his desk for a while, he pulled out the item he was looking for and held it out to Loren. ¡°As you may have already heard from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, most of the reinforcements from the Guild will be organized into units that are in charge of guerrilla missions.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been told a bit, but what¡¯s the current battle situation?¡± As far as Loren could see, there was no one else who seemed to have any urgent business with this official. He wondered if the guy would be willing to engage in a conversation in the name of information gathering, and decided to test the waters. The official seemed to have some free time on his hands, so he readily started talking. ¡°We¡¯re in a standoff near the border between the Empire and the Kingdom.¡± The official pulled out another piece of paper, which was a simplified map of the border area between the two countries. Running his finger over it, he began to explain. ¡°The two countries¡¯ main forces are engaged in a standoff in the middle of the border. Several units are deployed around them, but it¡¯s a stalemate. There are also a number of small units, whose main target would be weaving in and out of the gaps and engage in skirmishes such as reconnaissance and ambush.¡± ¡°This is quite a nuisance, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren did not know the detailed figures, but from the experience of his mercenary time, he knew that war was a costly affair. This was true whether there were battles actively going on or not, and even just by fighting a standoff, tremendous costs must have been incurred on a daily basis. These costs should be paid out of the national treasuries of both countries, and the burden would eventually be shifted to taxpayers. If they were going to declare war, it would have been better to start and finish it as soon as possible, but it seemed that there were circumstances that prevented the quick conclusion of the war. ¡°The Empire and the Kingdom have been hostile to each other for a while, but it had been little more than a series of small skirmishes. But when we found out that we could get help from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, we sent out a serious force, to which the Kingdom responded by also sending out a large force from their side.¡± ¡°So, after you opened that can of worms, you found out that the forces were pretty evenly matched?¡± Although both sides had sent their troops to the front, a clash between two forces of nearly equal strength usually resulted in significant casualties, regardless of who won. The Empire and the Kingdom were not the only countries in the northern part of the continent. No matter who won this war, if a third party intervened when they were exhausted, both would fall. In such a situation where the future of both countries was uncertain, both sides had become reluctant to take action. ¡°Currently, the Empire is said to be slightly outnumbering the Kingdom, but since this is due to the reinforcements from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, the combat ability of the Empire is a little worse. In general, the overall strength of both sides is about the same.¡± In group battles, individual skill was almost like a margin of error, unless one was very skilled. Adventurers were skilled in battles, but few of them had any experience in large-scale group battles, and it was unlikely that they would be able to coordinate with the Empire¡¯s army. Although the Kingdom¡¯s army was outnumbered, it was made up of soldiers who had originally been trained for group battles, and it did not include soldiers from other organizations. In other words, the Kingdom¡¯s army is superior to the Imperial Army in terms of coordination and leadership. ¡°The Empire began conducting reconnaissance and raids using adventurers as their main axis, and the Kingdom began sending out units to counter them, which led to small-scale battles here and there.¡± Loren wondered if this was actually a good use for adventurers. Someone must have thought that if the force lacked credibility to be incorporated into large-scale battles, it would be more effective to be operated as small units to some extent. A guerrilla force was not something to be trifled with. Even if they were not much of an obstacle when fought directly, they moved fast, and it was difficult to see where they were coming from. If they were to poke a hole in a supply route or a part of the main force that was undermanned, the main force would be affected in no time at all. This was probably why the Kingdom sent out forces to counter the attack, but this time, the small units clashed with each other, and the war seemed to have fallen further into a stalemate. ¡°The number of reinforcements from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild is increasing as time goes by. I think that soon we will be able to ignore the quality of the reinforcements and balance it with the sheer number.¡± ¡°The Kingdom is not stupid, so they must know that they could be at a disadvantage if they wait too long¡­ But the fact that they haven¡¯t started a decisive battle is rather worrisome, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°The military brass will be the one to think about that. In the meantime, could you please fill in the names of all the people on this form?¡± The one who took the document presented by the official was Lapis, who had come to stand beside Loren before he knew it. Ignoring Loren and the official, who were astonished and wondering how long she had been there, Lapis simply wrote the names of three people on the document, folded it into four pieces, and threw it to Luxuria as if throwing a knife. Loren thought it would be no big deal since it was just paper, but the paper flew toward Luxuria in a twirl. Not expecting something to be suddenly thrown at him, Luxuria reacted too late and was struck between his eyebrows. ¡°Hey! It hurts more than I thought!¡± ¡°Just shut up and fill in your name and the names of the others.¡± When Luxuria, who was pressing at the bleeding wound caused by the paper¡¯s corner, raised his voice in protest, Lapis answered in a cold voice. It seemed that the Evil God understood immediately that it would be pointless to protest any further. He did as he was told and began to fill in the names of himself and his followers on the paper while muttering complaints under his breath. Loren asked the official something that had been bothering him, just to be sure. ¡°Do we have to write it ourselves?¡± ¡°No one knows if you wrote it yourself or not.¡± ¡®I see¡¯, Loren said, then took the piece of paper that Luxuria, who looked like he wanted to say something, held out to him and placed it in front of the official. The official compared the number of names on the paper with the number of Loren¡¯s group and confirmed that there was no discrepancy. Then, he casually put the number 891, his signature, and a large seal on the paper and gave it back to Loren. ¡°That¡¯s all for now. The upper floor of this building is used as a lodging, so please stay there today. Show this paper to the sergeant at the entrance, and he will get you a room. There is also a dining hall, and you can have your meals there. Tomorrow, another person in charge will come to call you by this number, so please follow the instructions from there on.¡± ¡°We¡¯d like to be assigned to some easy mission as soon as possible.¡± ¡°That¡­ If you¡¯re a clerical staff, you could be assigned to the rear duty, like I am.¡± No one would think of asking an adventurer to do the paperwork for them. Loren knew it was a waste of time and effort, and he was about to leave the place with a bitter smile on his face when he remembered something and asked the official. ¡°By the way, I heard that there¡¯s a guy called Yuri Mutshilt in the Empire. Do you know him?¡± ¡°You mean General Mutshilt? If you¡¯re thinking of going to sell yourself directly to him, don¡¯t do it. You¡¯ll be treated like a suspicious person and thrown in jail.¡± It was the name of the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren had originally belonged. Loren was surprised at how quick an answer came when he mentioned the name, but he was even more surprised to learn of the rank that preceded it, which made him unable to continue the conversation. He didn¡¯t know how the official took his reaction, but the man continued with more information that he had not heard. ¡°The General came on the scene some time ago and has distinguished himself in the war against the Kingdom, so he may have an understanding of people like you. But it¡¯s wartime, and he¡¯s busy commanding the main army here, so if you come forward and say you¡¯re actually the General¡¯s bastard son or something similar, you¡¯ll lose your head.¡± It was said that during wars, there were people who came forward to military leaders claiming to be a child or a blood relative. Regardless of whether the claim was true or not, the situation was chaotic, and people wanted some help, no matter how little. General or whatever, Loren now had some clue now, so he decided to put off investigating and just go along with the story for the time being. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m thinking about¡­ Just that I¡¯ve heard his name being mentioned. If he¡¯s just come to the scene a while ago, isn¡¯t it too early for him to become a General?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hero in the current war against the Kingdom, you know.¡± ¡°A hero¡­¡± Assuming that no further information was likely to be obtained from the official, Loren concluded the conversation, urged Lapis and the others to leave. ¡°What is he doing?¡± Although it was good news to hear that the leader of his mercenary company had survived its destruction, Loren was puzzled to hear that he was now a general in an empire in the northern part of the continent. The thought that it might actually be a different person with the same name came to his mind, but the only way to confirm this was to somehow get a face-to-face meeting with the person in question. But how could an adventurer and a general of a country meet? Not knowing what to do, Loren let out a small sigh. Chapter 308: From Entering the Empire to Marching (3) Proofreader: Xemul The accommodations provided by the Empire¡¯s army were far from luxurious. Lapis and the others were reluctant to stay there until the very end, insisting that they would rather stay at an inn. But for Loren, the place gave a sense of security as if he had returned to his old home, and he was able to sleep surprisingly well at night and wake up refreshed in the morning. ¡°Last night was hot.¡± It was Luxuria who made that statement and ruined such a refreshing morning. Although the quality of the rooms was poor, the army did prepare private rooms for all of them. But Luxuria had chosen to stay in a large room with his cronies all night long, and it seemed that they had been immersed in good-for-nothing acts without hesitation or consideration, which was not unexpected. Among the Evil Gods, Loren thought that this Luxuria should be re-sealed at all costs, but he was troubled by the question of whom to appoint as Luxuria if they were to actually go ahead with it. Of course, Loren would prefer not to have to make this choice himself, but he had the feeling that it would be very bad to ask Lapis or Gula to do it. ¡°I wonder if someone like Klaus can manage?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± As Loren complained to himself, Lapis, who looked unhappy as if she had not had a very good sleep, overheard his muttering and asked him about it. Loren replied that it was nothing, then stopped thinking about it for the time being and switched his mind to the reality in front of him. Luxuria was not the only problem ¨C another one arose while they were having breakfast provided for them by the Empire. Gula was about to display her power as the Evil God of Gluttony without regret when she learned that the Empire¡¯s army would provide their meals during their tour of duty, meaning they were free of charge. Loren had been silently watching until about halfway through the meal, but when the number of refills reached double digits, he realized that if he continued to idly stand by and watch, they would be in trouble. He forced Gula to stop by dropping his fist on her head. ¡°What ya doing?!¡± ¡°Are you planning to ruin the Empire¡¯s army financially through food expenses?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been ten times only! And it¡¯s free!¡± ¡°You should think about the consequences!¡± A soldier¡¯s main asset was a healthy body, and most armies provided the best food possible. Of course, depending on the war situation, there were times when food could not be considered food at all, but Loren knew from experience that the food provided by the military of any country was usually of a reasonable quality as long as they could afford it. It cost a considerable amount of money just to make an army operational, and food expenses accounted for a large percentage of that cost. Even just one being like Gula could really make the army go down because of food cost. ¡°Have some self-restraint, okay?¡± ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Gula, who had been rejoicing at the prospect of all-you-can-eat free food, looked very unhappy when Loren gave her a warning. ¡°Ca~n¡¯t be helped then. I¡¯ll get some on the battlefield.¡± ¡°Saying that kind of thing in a public place¡­¡± Gula would make a good meal out of the enemy soldiers. Loren felt a little sympathy for the enemy army, thinking that the Kingdom¡¯s army would never have dreamed that they would go against a being who saw them only as food. ¡°Is squad 891, Loren¡¯s party, here?¡± Several armed soldiers appeared at the place where Loren and his team were on standby and called the number they had been registered with the day before. When Loren told them that the number and name were his, a soldier gave him a command with practiced ease: ¡°Get ready at once and go to the eastern gate of the city. Meet up with the rest of the men there and head for the battlefield.¡± ¡°Understood. We¡¯re going.¡± Gula and Luxuria were somewhat annoyed by the soldier¡¯s tone of command. Thinking that perhaps it was understandable, since none of them were the sort of beings who would be commanded by ordinary people, Loren urged them all to follow the soldier¡¯ orders and head for the east gate of the city. Once there, they found adventurers who had probably come from the Guilds across the land as well as regular soldiers, perhaps to show that the unit was on the Empire¡¯s side. Loren gave his number and name at what appeared to be the reception desk, and they joined the group. ¡°Loren, are you sure you don¡¯t want to talk about the commander for now?¡± Lapis asked. Of course, Loren was more interested in learning more about what his old commander had been doing since the disbandment of his mercenaries¡¯ company than in participating in a war, but he was also well aware that it would be impossible to do so immediately. ¡°In wartime, there is no way that a man nobody knows can get an interview with a general. That¡¯s why it¡¯s impossible for now.¡± ¡°But if you say your name or something, they¡¯ll¡­¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to get a meeting, then the Empire¡¯s army is a bunch of fools. You heard what that official said, right? There are a lot of people who, in the heat of the moment during a war, will claim to be your children or former comrades, and they are usually ignored.¡± ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡± From Lapis¡¯ point of view, a war between humans was of no importance. Her interest was focused on the person who used to be the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren once belonged. If she could not meet him, she would lose all motivation. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡± Loren also had a desire to meet with the commander. He was surprised to hear that he was a general in the Empire, and was eager to ask him about what had happened to him during that period. However, the difference between the time they used to travel together and today was so great that he actually considered the possibility that the general was another person with the same name. Even so, he would have to meet him at least once to find out. ¡°If we work for a while and become a bit more memorable, we might be able to get a hold of someone who might be able to talk to the higher-ups. It¡¯s much more likely to go through than trying to talk to them out of the blue without any preparation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t use force, right?¡± Lapis said in a slightly hushed voice and made an evil face. As if in response, Gula and Luxuria also began to make evil faces, and Loren lightly waved his hand to urge them all to stop. No matter how powerful the Imperial army was, Loren thought that it would certainly be quite a task to take on two Evil Gods and one demon. However, if they were to go through with such a reckless move, the whole team would be wanted by the entire continent, and even if he was to meet his supposed-commander, Loren was not at all willing to make a choice that would make his future life less comfortable. ¡°Only if you guys can conquer the entire continent.¡± If that was possible, it would not be unfeasible to solve everything by force without thinking about consequences. Loren thought it was something impossible, though, and Lapis simply nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, even if we¡¯re talking about the humans¡¯ territory only.¡± ¡°Right? Then the only thing we can do is to be credible.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be a little stressful.¡± [¡®Onii-san, I think I can manage to conquer a country, if you don¡¯t mind the methods.¡¯] Shayna showed herself in his mind with fluttering wings, and Loren bit back a wry smile and told her to stop. If Shayna, the ¡®King of Death¡¯, were to use her power to the full, she would be able to organize an army of the dead, and she would certainly be able to conquer an entire country with her power. But what would be left after would be a land of the dead, where only the dead roam, and Loren didn¡¯t even think of making such a thing happen to serve his own purposes. The fact that Loren and his group were engaged in such a noisy conversation went somewhat unnoticed by those around them, and they spent their time without causing a commotion or attracting any strange attention. Then a group of soldiers dressed in rather high-class equipment appeared in front of the assembled soldiers and adventurers. They were probably officers of some rank. As Loren stared at them, they stopped in front of the whole group, and one of them raised his voice. ¡°Listen! I am the Commander of the 45th guerrilla squadron. From now on, we will survey the situation around the main body and, at the same time, eliminate any units of the enemy that may be carrying out the same mission.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not very organized for an army, aren¡¯t they?¡± While the regular soldiers were lined up neatly and listening to their commander, those who appeared to have been sent by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild were not lined up and did not seem to be listening as carefully as they should. ¡°I guess they decided they couldn¡¯t make an adventurer listen.¡± ¡°Mercenaries are a little more organized.¡± Mercenaries engaged in warfare for a living and had a certain amount of knowledge and experience in group activities, but adventurers were basically those who worked only with their own parties and were not accustomed to or knowledgeable about working in groups of dozens or even hundreds of people. If they tried to force them into the form of an army, it would naturally lead to a backlash or breakdown, and the Imperial army seemed to have given up on this completely. ¡°Of course, if the Kingdom had a decent army, numbers would not be a factor of advantage.¡± Loren knew that when an uncoordinated group of people clashes with a reasonably well-coordinated group, the former would undoubtedly be the more fragile one. In this case, his experience had taught him that superiority in numbers could be detrimental. It was not so uncommon to hear of armies that became disorganized and were defeated by a small force because their number was so large and couldn¡¯t be controlled. ¡°Isn¡¯t this quite lousy for an organization that has someone like your old leader as the general?¡± ¡°Even if he is a general, he probably doesn¡¯t have command of the entire army. The general may be a general, but he may not be in command of the entire army. Someone else must be in charge of guerrilla squadrons. Or maybe it¡¯s someone else with the same name?¡± ¡°In any case, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be very interesting.¡± Lapis said this with a sigh as she gazed around at the group that had started to move after the commander¡¯s speech or instructions or something like that had finished, led by the regular soldiers. Hearing this, Loren covered his mouth with his hand to disguise the fact that he was about to snort, but Lapis saw it. ¡°What kind of reaction is that?¡± Lapis looked offended. Loren, who was walking with the people around him, turned a troubled face to Lapis, who had followed him, and pondered for a while what to say, but eventually gathered his thoughts and put them into words. ¡°There is no such thing as an interesting war in this world. No matter what kind of war you get into, it¡¯s never going to be interesting.¡± ¡°Hmm, is that so?¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to eat living food!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to catch some cute kids.¡± Behind Lapis, who seemed to be convinced, were Gula and Luxuria and their cronies, who were in high spirits. Lapis glanced back, then looked up at Loren, who was walking next to her, and said curiously. ¡°They seem to be having a good time over there.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t care about them whatsoever.¡± If left unchecked, the battlefield could be thrown into chaos. With a sigh, Loren began to think about whether he should give them a little warning while they were on the march. Chapter 309: From Marching to Battle (1) Proofreader: Xemul It took about two days on foot to reach the border from the town where Loren and his party had left. If the cavalry had been dispatched, they would have been able to reach the border sooner. But since the troop consisted mainly of adventurers, who were not provided with horses and some could not even ride, they had to travel to the border on foot. Loren wondered if they could have used wagons or something similar to transport them, but he heard from the soldiers walking with them that all such transport had been mobilized for the main group and there were none left for a guerrilla unit. ¡°I still think we¡¯re lucky though.¡± Said the young soldier, who talked with Loren along the way said. When asked what was so lucky, the soldier replied that some of the Kingdom army¡¯s troops had already broken through the stalemate and entered the Empire side, wreaking havoc and attacking units like theirs, inflicting a fair amount of damage on the Empire. ¡°We¡¯re on foot and so far, we haven¡¯t encountered any such obstacles. We are blessed to have such peace and quiet on the road, don¡¯t you think?¡± The young soldier laughed, and Loren could only manage a vague, ambiguous smile. In fact, the young soldier¡¯s fears about the Kingdom¡¯s ability to infiltrate the Empire¡¯s side of the border had already been on display here and there around Loren¡¯s unit. Except Loren¡¯s group, most of the adventurers were unaware of this, let alone the Empire¡¯s soldiers, but there were reasons for this. One reason was that the Kingdom¡¯s forces were extremely small. There were not more than ten people in their group, and because of their stealthy activities, no one in Loren¡¯s platoon, which consisted of several dozen people, noticed them joining, or if they did, they did not recognize them as the kingdom¡¯s forces. Another reason was that before anyone could confirm the identity of the small force, they had suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared. This led some of the Empire soldiers and a small number of adventurers to suspect that the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers, who were very well-trained, had invaded the territory of the Empire and were gathering information, but this was a completely off-the-wall guess. ¡°When a small group of people move through enemy territory and are discovered, it¡¯s like they¡¯re begging to be hunted, isn¡¯t it?¡± A shiver ran down Loren¡¯s spine as he watched Luxuria lick his own lips, probably believing that he was being seductive, and Lapis took up a fighting stance. Next to her, Gula was licking her own lips and murmuring in dissatisfaction. ¡°The taste¡¯s not very good. You haven¡¯t eaten much good food, have you?¡± Those words were quite innocent, but when Loren heard them, he felt another shiver go down his spine, a different kind of shiver than the one he had when he heard Luxuria¡¯s words. Apparently sensing this, Lapis let down her guard against Luxuria and rubbed Loren¡¯s left shoulder. Nig, who had stationed on Loren¡¯s right shoulder as always, was also tapping his shoulder with its forelegs in a regular tempo, as if it was concerned about Loren. The right shoulder was occupied by Nig, who was tapping Loren¡¯s shoulder with his forelegs in a regular tempo, as if he too was concerned about Loren¡¯s well-being. ¡°You gluttonous girl. I had my eyes on that child! ¡°Shut up, you pervert. He¡¯d be much happier in my stomach than in your hands.¡± Here was what Luxuria and Gula were arguing about: As soon as they sensed the presence of the mysterious group, Luxuria immediately used some kind of magical tool, while Gula exercised her own power to capture and eat them. ¡°It¡¯s a girl! There¡¯s a girl! Come join my love nest~¡± ¡°Oh, come on! Such a rare thing should be eaten by me!¡± ¡°No! I¡¯ll let her taste a supreme pleasure that will melt her into a puddle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the worst. You¡¯ll be caught as a sex offender.¡± The people around them who didn¡¯t know what was going on looked on in confusion, wondering what the two were talking about. But Loren, who knew what was going on, was so sickened and horrified that he wanted to cover his ears. He was barely able to feel the touch of Lapis¡¯ hand on his left shoulder and Nig¡¯s paw on his right shoulder for comfort and healing. To make it short, the would-be obstacles had been taken care of by the ravenous fangs of either Gula or Luxuria before they could be recognized as obstacles and made into a state where they could no longer be a hindrance. And so, after two days of walking, Loren and his group arrived at the border where the main body of the Empire army and the main body of the Kingdom were facing each other. It was a large plain surrounded by forests, small hills and hollows, and the two armies were engaged in a standoff across the borderline that had been set up just halfway across the plain. Around them, troops of about the same size as Loren¡¯s were blending in with the surrounding terrain and invading the other side¡¯s territory, and Loren and his group soon found themselves in the middle of these small-scale skirmishes without a moment¡¯s rest. ¡°Our main mission will be to destroy the enemy¡¯s guerrilla forces. Be on your guard.¡± The commander of their unit instructed them. Loren thought that Gula and Luxuria would be able to hunt their opponents unilaterally without having to encounter them, just as they had done on the road so far. However, this was denied by the two Evil Gods. ¡°I can handle about ten people, but not dozens in an instant.¡± ¡°Me too. I can¡¯t take in that many people at once.¡± Luxuria said and showed Loren something that looked like a small box. He said that he could use it to drag the object he had his eyes on into an isolated space, but there was a limit to the number of times he could do so. ¡°By the way, what happened to all the people you¡¯ve dragged in so far?¡± ¡°You want to know? I can show you how it works through real practice.¡± Luxuria, who said this with a meaningful smile, was silently kicked in the groin by Lapis before Loren could back away. He crouched down on the spot without a single sound. ¡°Loren! My toes felt something strange! Something really strange!!¡± ¡°O-oh. Thank you, Lapis.¡± Loren patted the head of Lapis, who clung to him with teary eyes, and once again felt that Luxuria really should not be left unchecked. With such occasional disturbances, Loren¡¯s platoon continued to move about the border to search for enemy units. And on the first night after arriving at the battlefield, they encountered a force that appeared to be an enemy guerrilla unit. The location was in a forest, small but very dense. Neither unit noticed the other until they stepped into the forest, and the next thing they knew, the other was right in front of them, and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a battle. ¡°Damn it! You can¡¯t even have some starlight in the woods.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can turn on the light! We¡¯ll become a target!¡± ¡°Shut up and turn on the damn light! We will fight each other! It¡¯s absurd to die at the hands of your comrades!¡± In the darkness of the night, with the leaves growing thickly overhead and blocking the light of the moon and stars, the battle quickly became a confused affair, whether they wanted it to be or not. It was a mistake to fight in a situation where you were not sure if the person next to you or in front of you was your friend or foe, but once you had crossed swords, you could not overlook your opponent. In the darkness where swords clashed with swords and shouts and screams flew about, Loren calmly drew his greatsword, seeing with his eyes a view that he would not normally be able to see. The few lights that were lit in response to the shouts were not enough to provide visibility, but Loren¡¯s eyes clearly saw the situation around him. With the power of the King of Death, Loren had an absolute advantage against his opponents, even in the current situation. The Empire soldiers and the Kingdom soldiers were equipped differently, and there were no adventurers on the Kingdom side. Knowing this, there was no way Loren could have accidentally harmed his allies. He ran through the forest, even though the place was thick with trees, there was still enough space to wield his greatsword depending on how he handled it. Even if you sensed that something was moving with force, there was no way to respond effectively if you did not know what it was or what it was trying to do. Loren moved with little resistance, and in his impact left Kingdom soldiers¡¯ bodies on the ground with their heads split open, organs spilled out, or arms and legs cut off. ¡°What the hell? What¡¯s coming through? How many down?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a monster! There¡¯s a monster!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand! How the fuck can it move?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on your side! I¡¯m on your side!¡± Hearing the screams of the slain and the still-breathing, the Kingdom side was in chaos. Part of that chaos seemed to be transmitted to the Empire side, and Loren couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly, even though no one was watching. From Loren¡¯s point of view, he could see his opponent, and it was nothing to cut them down. But from the point of view of the person being attacked, it was completely incomprehensible that they were being cut down unilaterally and precisely in a place where they could not see at all. The fact that they could not understand the situation further added to the confusion. ¡°How many people did they kill?! What the hell did the Empire bring out?!¡± ¡°Platoon commander? Where¡¯s the platoon commander¡­ Uuhhwaaaah platoon commander!¡± ¡°What do we do?! Retreat? Advance?¡± Every time the blade of Loren¡¯s greatsword flashed in the dim light, one or more of the kingdom¡¯s soldiers fell to the ground, losing life or something equivalent. Each time this happened, the confusion on the Kingdom side grew worse, while the Empire side gradually regained control of the situation and composure. ¡°No damage has been done! Calm down! Our allies are defeating the Kingdom army!¡± ¡°Turn on the lights and get a clear view! Don¡¯t worry! Our superiority is unassailable!¡± ¡°What? Are those adventurers? The adventurers participating this time are lower than the silver class, right? Isn¡¯t it strange that they¡¯re all such monsters?¡± ¡°These guys taste pretty nice. Their food was probably different?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on fire! Really on fire! It¡¯s a buffet of young, lively kids!¡± Some of the shouts made Loren want to cover his ears, but Loren calmly and quickly cut down the Kingdom soldiers one after another. Occasionally, there were Kingdom soldiers who showed some resistance by swinging their swords around feverishly even though they could not see, but the swords they were swinging without proper aim did not catch Loren¡¯s body, and those soldiers also turned into corpses under the force of a single blow. If things continued as they were, the battle would be settled without so much trouble ¨C that was what Loren, who had cut down who-knew-how-many Kingdom soldiers, were thinking when a change occurred on the Kingdom side. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time! If we don¡¯t do something, we¡¯ll lose everything!¡± ¡°Fire the signal! Let them know where we are!¡± Loren could not understand what soldiers on the Kingdom side did or what happened in response to that shout. All he knew was that someone had done something, and that something white and shiny had pierced through the layers of foliage and launched high into the sky. As it flew up to a certain height, it emitted an even stronger light, and then slowly disappeared. It was not an attack, but merely a signal to let something know where it had been launched. Seeing that, for some unexplained reason, Loren felt so anxious that he tightened his grip on his greatsword. Chapter 310: From Marching to War To Combat (2) Proofreader: Xemul At that time, Lapis was perched on a branch in a grove of trees, looking around the forest that had become the battlefield. As a priest by profession, participating in the battle in a forest at night, where it was difficult for humans to have a clear view was not a choice for her. Of course, she had the confidence and ability to slaughter enemy soldiers better than anyone else in the forest, but if she did, she would be looked upon with suspicion even if she called herself a priest. Priests were not the type who go into battles in the first place, and even if they did, they would rarely be on the front lines. ¡°In this situation, an ordinary priest wouldn¡¯t be able to protect themselves.¡± The most obvious choice would be to flee if you couldn¡¯t fight, but Lapis couldn¡¯t run away while Loren was staying here, so she thought it would be safer to temporarily avoid danger and move to a place where no one would be chasing her. However, from the way she climbed up the trunk of the tree as if she were running up it, and how she chose to sit on a branch that was long and thin, it was clear that her body movements were too well-trained for a priest. Fortunately, there would be no one to find faults with her actions in this darkness, and even if there was, she would have insisted that she was very light. It was precisely because Lapis was looking down on the battlefield from above that she was able to quickly notice the change in the atmosphere. But by the time Lapis became aware of the alarm bells ringing in her head, some kind of presence had surged forth from a corner of the forest, and she judged that there was little time left before it triggered some kind of fatal phenomenon. ¡°Loren! Just a minute please!¡± Lapis knew exactly where Loren was. That was why she immediately jumped down from the branch on which she was sitting to Loren¡¯s side, and before he could say anything, she placed her hands on his shoulder and pulled him down to the ground at once. Loren was startled by Lapis¡¯ hand on his shoulder and the pressure he felt from it, but he didn¡¯t complain when he realized that there must be something going on, given the strange atmosphere he had been feeling and Lapis¡¯ behaviour. He grabbed Gula, who was nearby, by the shoulders and pulled her down to the ground as well. ¡°What da hell?!¡± Gula, perhaps not noticing anything, shouted a protest at Loren¡¯s sudden action. But in that moment, their field of vision suddenly changed from darkness to a deep crimson. ¡°Hold your breath!¡± An unfamiliar tone from a familiar voice. Loren closed his eyes and held his breath, wondering what had made even Lapis feel that her life was threatened. With Lapis and Gula seemingly covering him with their bodies, Loren still felt the heat on his skin as if the air around him was on fire, and he was caught in the thought that he might die. If that much heat was in the air, Loren, a human, would not be able to stand it. If one¡¯s throat or chest burned, it was inevitable that one would die in agony. However, the heat that burned his skin quickly receded. When he opened his eyes, he could see Lapis and Gula covering him, but the scene beyond was still the same: a world where everything was dyed a deep crimson. Loren did not know whether to be thankful or surprised that he was not yet dead in a place where no human being could possibly survive, but what caught his attention more than anything else was the way Lapis and Gula were looking in the same direction, their eyes grim. One must breathe to speak. Breathing could have been a fatal act in a place where everything was dyed red by what was probably a blaze, but he somehow had a feeling that it would be safe. And he would not be able to hold his breath forever anyway. With such thoughts in mind, Loren spoke. ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± Lapis, with her gaze still fixed somewhere, replied in a voice that sounded as if it were squeezed out of her mouth. ¡°I think something¡­ extraordinary has arrived.¡± Her tone of voice had returned to normal. Gula continued. ¡°I¡¯d like to know why you are here.¡± Gula¡¯s tone was stern. Loren was thinking that something that dangerous must be just in front of them when he suddenly noticed that Luxeria was not around. The chance that Luxuria was dead was extremely unlikely, but that didn¡¯t mean he could remain unscathed in a situation where Lapis and Gula couldn¡¯t afford to let their guards down. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if the Evil God defied his expectation and was completely fine though. Just then, he heard the voice of a girl that seemed to be in her teens. ¡°What for? Do I have to answer that? Gula, as usual, you are a very annoying person. And why aren¡¯t you on fire?¡± Loren tried to raise himself up from the position he had been dragged down to, thinking that although the voice was that of a girl, the way she spoke was somewhat like a man¡¯s. ¡°Please don¡¯t get up. It happened in an instant, so the barrier I set up wasn¡¯t too big.¡± Lapis, noticing Loren¡¯s attempt to raise his body, warned him. Loren nodded and gently pushed Lapis and Gula, who were still on top of him, out of the way as he half-righted himself, and then he saw what was on the other side of the red-tinted space. It was a girl, just as he had sensed from the voice. She had golden hair that reached down to her shoulders and a slender body. She was wearing a knee-length brown plaid skirt and a dark blue vest over a white shirt. Over this was a frilly crimson cloak with a large brooch that fastened above her chest, giving her the appearance of a girl for whom the word ¡®lovely¡¯ was apt. However, the arrogant smile on her face was far from lovely, and the look she gave Loren and the others was not the look one would give to a living creature. ¡°Gula, do you know her?¡± ¡°I thought you would guess it somehow, Lapis-chan. I do know her.¡± Gula answered Lapis¡¯ question without taking her eyes off the girl. ¡°She is the Evil God of Wrath, Rage Satania. She¡¯s just a little kid, but she has a lot of offensive power, and is one of the top Evil Gods. As for the reason why she attacked us out of the blue¡­¡± As he listened to Gula¡¯s explanation, Loren¡¯s gaze swept around his surroundings. Loren did not know the reason behind this situation, but the area around them was still covered in crimson flames. The trees that formed the forest were in the midst of being consumed by the heat of the flames. Naturally, both the Kingdom and Empire armies that had been fighting among the trees were engulfed in the flames, and here and there, black chunks of what might have been human bodies could be seen falling to the ground through the flames. ¡°You didn¡¯t join the Kingdom, did you?¡± ¡°What if I say yes?¡± The girl bent down a bit to look down at Loren and the others with her arms folded in over her chest. Despite being amidst the flames, her clothing, as well as her body and hair, did not appear to be affected by it. This was proof that this girl was the one who caused the current situation, but Loren could not link the disastrous scene around them with the smiling girl. ¡°Are you an idiot? I don¡¯t know why you joined the Kingdom¡¯s side, but that blow has brought down not only the Empire¡¯s soldiers but also the Kingdom¡¯s as well.¡± Loren looked around, horrified by Gula¡¯s remark. He tried to ascertain how much damage the girl¡¯s blow had caused, but the surrounding trees had all but disappeared, and it could be seen that a considerable area had been burned down in an instant. It was understandable to assume that the Kingdom¡¯s soldiers would have been caught up in the same way as the forest was engulfed in flames, unless there was something that could have carried all of them away at once. ¡°She burned her allies down?¡± ¡°Allies? Where are they?¡± To the mutter that Loren had let slip, Rage said in a tone that sounded like she truly wondered about it. As Loren became speechless, Rage continued from above him as if he was a fool. ¡°My Grandeur is the only one on my side. The Kingdom¡¯s army is just a tool for me to accomplish my goals, and if they prove to be a nuisance, what¡¯s wrong with burning them down?¡± ¡°Well, we are called Evil Gods, so we can let that slide. But why are you on the Kingdom¡¯s side? According to the information we have, the one on your side seems to be a survivor of that country that made us what we are. Do you know that?!¡± ¡°Oh, yes, that. That¡¯s what he called himself, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s true.¡± Rage casually acknowledged Gula¡¯s words. Gula¡¯s eyes widened, and she was at a loss for words at Rage¡¯s response, but the other girl found her reaction funny somehow and burst out into a throaty laugh. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in whether that black guy is a survivor of that country or not.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m only interested in living a fun life, and I¡¯m cooperating with that black guy because he offers me that.¡± Loren, thinking that despite her appearance, she had quite a good personality, spoke to Shayna, who was probably watching the situation from inside his body, while keeping his body half-raised. The space outside of the barrier that Lapis had quickly put up was still dyed red, and it was not a situation where one could just rush out without any countermeasures. [¡®Is there anything you can do?¡¯] [¡®Not that there is none, but¡­ I don¡¯t think it will hold her for long. I feel a bit uneasy dealing with that Evil God.¡¯] Despite Shayna¡¯s hesitant statement, Loren, without much thought, asked her to play a card she had. Whether they could rely on that move was still a question, but even if they couldn¡¯t, it would still be much better than being left with nothing to do. [¡®Whether the flames are physical or magical, they should be able to diminish somewhat with Energy Drain, and if you protect your body with defensive magic¡­¡¯] [¡®That¡¯s enough. Either way, we can¡¯t even get out of here without doing something about that girl.¡¯] [¡®Even so, it won¡¯t last very long, because that Evil God¡¯s power won¡¯t disappear.¡¯] [¡®If we can get her attention, Lapis or Gula will take care of the rest. Probably.¡¯] Loren thought that this approach relied too much on others to work, but he had no other ideas about how to break through the current situation. They couldn¡¯t run if there was no way to run, so there was no other choice. Loren hoped that Lapis or Gula would make some kind of move, but in the meantime, it was his job to buy some time. He listened to the ongoing conversation between Gula and Rage while putting strength into the hand that held the greatsword, waiting for the right moment to stand up. Chapter 311: From Marching To War To Combat (3) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°I¡¯ve always thought you¡¯re bad, but to think you actually have the nerve to do it right in front of me!¡± While Loren was looking for an opportunity to attack Rage, the conversation between the two Evil Gods continued. It seemed that it was not only going nowhere, but was also starting to spark Gula¡¯s anger. Her eyes bulged and her shoulders trembled, while Wraith eyes glared at her with a vicious, evil stare that was hard to imagine from her appearance. ¡°What part of ¡®Don¡¯t mess with me¡¯ don¡¯t you understand? Sure, that country used to piss me off, but it¡¯s gone now. I¡¯m more concerned about how much fun I can have now.¡± ¡°What if that black bastard starts up another country like that one?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡± ¡°Rage! What the hell is that answer?¡± Gula, with a hoarse voice, waved her hand. Rage, perhaps not expecting to be attacked by someone who was still inside a protective barrier, was slow to react. Taking advantage of this delay, the invisible mouth of Gula¡¯s power bit into the small slender body of Rage, and for a moment the surrounding crimson color faded. ¡°It hurts!¡± But immediately, Rage put her hand on the mouth that was biting her, and wielding what was probably the power of Wrath, she burned the mouth out. The effect of the burning was felt by Gula, who clutched her chest with her hand and exhaled a puff of slightly-black smoke from her mouth. Loren did not miss this moment. As soon as he saw that the fire around them was lessening in intensity, he jerked up on the spot and ran out through the wards that Lapidus and Gula had put up into the forest that was still ablaze. ¡°Human, are you stupid? Do you want to be burned to ashes by my authority?!¡± There was not even a scratch at the spot where Rage seemed to have been bitten by Gula¡¯s power. She pointed her authority-burned hand at Loren and snickered at his action, but soon her face was colored with astonishment. Loren, who had leapt into a space where any living creature would have been immediately incinerated and rendered immobile, was coming at Rage with the same momentum. ¡°What the heck is this guy?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how I¡¯d call myself.¡± Thanks to Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain and the protective magic, the amount of heat Loren felt was greatly suppressed. Even so, there was still a burning sensation on the surface of his skin, and he knew he would not be able to keep it up much longer. If this was how it was, there was no other way but to move rather than thinking and go for a quick attack, and Loren swung his greatsword, which he held in both hands, as hard as he could at Rage. But Rage, who although looked like a young girl, was in fact an Evil God, would not be caught so easily. With a fluttering of her skirt, she quickly moved to dodge Loren¡¯s attack. ¡°A human?! Are you human?!¡± ¡°Lately, I¡¯m not so sure.¡± Just a few days ago, the Great Demon King, leader of the demon race, had told Loren himself that he had begun to gradually blend with the King of Death inside him. Feeling that his thoughts would get lost in the maze if he started to think about it, Loren shook his head lightly to chase the thought away and immediately launched a follow-up shot at Rage. The blade of the greatsword swung with considerable force through the weakened-but-still-burning air. Rage ran away from the sword, trying her best to dodge it, but Loren, who was chasing her, did not have the luxury of time to spare. Even though the heat had been suppressed somewhat, he still felt as if his skin was being burned little by little. If the situation were to return to how it was before Gula¡¯s attack, the time available for him to act would be even shorter. To prevent this from happening, he had no choice but to keep attacking and pushing Rage into a situation where she could not afford to use her authority, but there was no sign that his attacks would hit the Evil God, who was small and quick. ¡°How agile.¡± ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not going to get hit by that big thing!¡± Rage, the one who responded, did not seem to have a lot of time to spare either. It was unbelievable for Rage to have a human moving around in a space where her authority was in effect. In addition, the greatsword wielded by the man in front of her easily sliced through the defensive magic that she tried to use to repel it. If she were to be directly hit by such a thing, there would be nothing she could do. On top of that, the big man¡¯s attacks were relentless, and he kept trying to catch her precisely. ¡°What are you? Gula¡¯s lover?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t owe you any answer!¡± ¡°How can you swing such a rude thing at such a cute girl like me?!¡± ¡°A cute girl wouldn¡¯t burn more than a hundred people to ash without warning.¡± If it were only by appearances, Rage would certainly be a cute young girl. However, she was also the one who had burned to death more than a hundred people in a single instance, and Loren would never let up his attacks. However, even he was beginning to feel a little impatient with the fact that his attacks were being dodged without even a hint of countermeasure despite his opponent being an Evil God. Loren thought that another move would be necessary to hit Rage, but when he glanced toward Lapis and Gula in between blows, he noticed that having her authority burned had inflicted more damage on Gula than he had expected. With a hand pressed to her mouth, she seemed unable to move, and Lapis was trying to care for her. He realized that Gula was not in a condition to provide support. [¡®I¡¯ll cover you!¡¯] Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in Loren¡¯s mind. He wondered if it was possible for Shayna, who was protecting Loren¡¯s body while draining energy from the flames around him, to provide further support. But then, he felt something swelling up from inside him, and saw Rage¡¯s face twisted in surprise at the same time. ¡°What the hell?! What the hell are you?!¡± Thinking that Shayna had probably exerted the King of Death¡¯s power she possessed to further interfere with Rage, Loren threw another blow. The Evil God¡¯s dodging manoeuvre was late, and the blow lightly grazed her shoulder. Loren saw a faint red line running across the torn clothing and the skin beneath it, but the blow was too shallow and far from enough to kill Rage. ¡°You hurt me, you son of a bitch!¡± The pain from the shallow wound seemed to have ignited Rage¡¯s anger. Loren felt the temperature around her jump up dramatically. Thinking that his body would be burned despite Shayna¡¯s protection at this rate, he did not stop swinging his greatsword. Rage was looking at Loren with the intent to burn him to the ground when she suddenly looked down at her own feet, her gaze again tinged with surprise. Down there were her slender legs, of course, but there was also a huge, rugged hand protruding from the ground and grasping her ankle. ¡°You¡¯ve done so much to me, not to mention my cute children.¡± With a clatter, Luxuria emerged from beneath the ground, covered in dirt and slightly burned in various places. This Evil God, who had not been seen since the Rage¡¯s authority had burned down her surroundings, had managed to escape the heat of the fire by burrowing underground. Of course, the people whom Luxuria had tamed could not have done such a thing, and had probably been reduced to ashes by Rage¡¯s power, which apparently angered him. ¡°Hey, you. Where the hell did you come from?!¡± ¡°Oh, your panties are cute.¡± Luxuria smiled at Rage with a dirty, rugged face, and she hurriedly held down the hem of her skirt. Their position meant that Luxuria should be able to see all that was under Rage¡¯s skirt, but the fact that his eyes were on it while his skin was being burned bit by bit was as expected of the Evil God of Lust. ¡°Stop screwing around! This time burn as the whole dirt around you¡­¡± ¡°Oh, no. I don¡¯t think that child is interested in your underwear.¡± Hearing so, Rage turned her gaze towards Loren. But by then, Loren¡¯s body was already in front of her, and the greatsword in his hand was about to be brought down. She hurriedly put together a spell to defend herself, but Loren¡¯s sword easily cut through it and plunged into her body. If someone as small as Rage had been struck by Loren¡¯s blow, they would have been cut in half. But as expected of an Evil God, Rage pulled her leg out of Luxuria¡¯s hand with force. Without a moment¡¯s pause, she took his blow on the left shoulder, then leapt backward despite the rather deep wound. ¡°Oh, what a pushover, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?! Damn, I should have killed you earlier.¡± Loren knew that he had cut her quite deep. A human opponent would not immediately die from such a wound, but would sooner or later if left alone. But with an Evil God as his opponent, it could hardly be considered a significant wound. ¡°Damn it! What the hell is that sword?! There is no way a normal sword will work against us!¡± Rage cursed, but Loren did not respond. He silently went after her and swung his greatsword at her, but she evaded him by flying backward even though she was wounded and was losing a considerable amount of blood. Loren tried to chase after her, but he was caught by the intense heat that erupted from Rage as she landed on the ground. ¡°You¡¯ve done it. Don¡¯t think you can get away with this for free!¡± ¡°This is not good¡­¡± The aura emanated from Rage, who was holding her bleeding left shoulder with her right hand, gave Loren a sense of mortal danger, making him immediately jump back. ¡°If this kills you then that¡¯s it, but if not then I¡¯ll make you pay for this wound the next time!¡± The world turned a deep, dark crimson around Rage as she shouted. The color was incomparable to anything Loren had ever seen before, and he fully understood that he would not get away if he got caught in the middle of it, but he also fully understood that the speed at which it was spreading, he would never be able to escape it. ¡°Fuck you! How dare you do this to me!¡± Then it suddenly occurred to Loren that the greatsword he was holding was the weapon of a Demon King, and that it could manipulate flames. It was not at all clear how well this would work against Rage¡¯s authority, but Loren, thinking that he would not be able to escape anyway, thrust the tip of his sword into the ground and put all the strength he had into his grip on its handle. ¡°Loren! That¡¯s too reckless¡­¡±. [¡®Onii-san! You can¡¯t!¡¯] As Loren squeezed his eyes shut, he was suddenly struck by a white light that he could see through his eyelids, followed by a shock that shook his entire body and a roar that threatened to deafen him, causing him to rapidly lose consciousness. Amidst all that were Lapis¡¯ and Shaya¡¯s voices, but he was not sure if they were real for just a hallucination; Loren let go of his consciousness as he leaned on his greatsword. Chapter 312: A Coordination in the Hospital Proofreader: Xemul The regular sound coming from the table bedside lulled Loren into a sleepy stupor. In fact, there was nothing to do but sleep. If you were not careful, you would soon be caught in the hands of drowsiness. Loren, lying on a bed in the clinic, called out to the person who was sitting on a chair beside him, peeling some kind of fruit with a small knife. ¡°Why you?¡± The person who looked up was Klaus, dressed in plainclothes. The way he was lightly crossing his legs, turning the fruit in his hands, and peeling the skin without breaking it, for some reason, looked as refined as a painting, which made Loren feel even more uncomfortable. ¡°Why¡­ I¡¯m here to pay you a visit.¡± Unsure of the cause of Loren¡¯s unhappy expression, Klaus deftly cut the fruit into small pieces in his hands and arranged them neatly on a plate prepared atop a low table next to the bed, ¡°Normally, isn¡¯t it Lapis¡¯ job to do that kind of thing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s true, but there¡¯s no law saying that I¡¯m not allowed to do it either.¡± Understanding that this was the reason for Loren¡¯s grumpy voice, Klaus, with a grin on his face, took out another fruit from the basket he had brought and began to peel it expertly. Loren had not actually witnessed the battle with Rage, the Evil God of Wrath, and he was told the details on his bed in the clinic after he regained consciousness. Loren had lost consciousness after he tried to use the power of his greatsword to fight against Rage, who had activated her authority over the pain of her wounds, and it seemed that he had succeeded to some extent. As a result, Rage gave up the battle and fled the scene. Gula had suffered extensive damage from being burned by Rage¡¯s authority, and Luxuria was burned to a crisp by the double damage from the Evil God¡¯s authority and the power of Loren¡¯s greatsword. And then there was Loren, who had poured too much power into his greatsword and lost consciousness. ¡®To be honest, I was thinking of dumping everyone except you on the spot¡¯, said Lapis, who had been left in charge of the clean-up. Loren thought that it was quite understandable for her to say so. Gula was not much of a problem, but in order to leave the place, she would have had to also carry Loren, who was quite large, and Luxuria, who was even larger than Loren and was still buried underground. Even if Lapis was a demon, whose abilities were considerably higher than those of humans, it would still have been hard work for her to carry all three of them. Not to mention that one of the people who had to be carried was the lustful Luxuria. Apparently, it was quite a strain on Lapis, both physically and mentally. Even so, Lapis carried Loren on his back, grabbed Luxuria¡¯s and Gula¡¯s legs, and dragged them to the town where they had been before they left for the front, all alone. She then took the three of them to a clinic, and after completing the procedures for their treatment, she went to the Empire¡¯s army without a moment to rest and reported to them what had happened. Lapis was not by Loren¡¯s side at the moment because of the hearing, and Loren felt heavy at the thought of how she might have explained this incident to the Empire¡¯s authorities. He knew that Lapis would never have foolishly told the true story, but he could not think of how to explain the situation in which more than a hundred troops, both friendly and enemy, had been wiped out in an instant. ¡°I guess we were lucky that we arrived here later than you.¡± If they had arrived at the same time as Loren¡¯s group, it was highly likely that they would have been assigned to the same unit. In that case, Loren thought that Klaus was probably right in thinking that they would not have been able to survive on their own. After all, the unit to which Loren had been assigned had been wiped out. To be precise, all but four, including Loren, were said to have died. No matter how promising and capable Klaus and the others were, it was highly unlikely that they could have survived in that situation. Loren himself would likely have been killed in the first attack if not for Lapis and Gula, and he considered himself lucky to have survived. ¡°But Loren, you were lucky to get a private room.¡± While Loren was lying in bed, fighting was still going on at the front line, even if it was only petty squabbles. Naturally, wounded and sick soldiers continued to be sent from the front lines to the rear of the city, and all of the treatment centres and other facilities were packed to capacity. It was simply not possible to place just one person in a private room like the one in which Loren was currently staying. The only reason he was still able to stay in a private room was because Lapis had forced it. Originally, he and Luxuria were supposed to be placed in a large room somewhere, but Lapis was adamant in her protest to this. Loren heard that she had even told the authorities that she would not say a word about what had happened unless they agreed to her request, and after much wrangling, her request was finally granted, and Loren was now in a private room. Loren felt that he should be deeply grateful to Lapis for this. Being in the same room with Luxuria while unconscious was not a joke at all. Someone else unlucky enough had been in the same room with Luxuria in his place, but Loren tried not to think about what was going on in the room. While Loren was suffering from minor burns and debilitating weakness, Luxuria was suffering from burns so severe that everyone wondered if he was really alive when he was brought into the hospital. His condition was so bad that even the medical practitioners working at the clinic were tempted to give up on the treatment, but he recovered enough to be able to move around the next day after only a token treatment, and could be discharged in two days or so. The opposite was the case with Gula, who, although did not appear to have any serious injuries on the outside, seemed to have suffered deep damage to her internal organs and was still undergoing rest and treatment. Like Luxuria, Gula was in such a serious condition that the healers wanted to throw up their hands, but she was showing signs of recovery day by day from a condition that would normally have killed someone else. The clinic was curious about the vitality of these two patients and asked Lapis to let them examine both in detail. However, Lapis dismissed the proposal without a second thought, and firmly told them that they would not get away with it if they did anything out of line. Loren was grateful to Lapis for preventing this from happening in advance, as it would have surely caused a commotion if the two of them had been examined in detail and determined to be non-human. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re trying to make up for the bad luck I¡¯ve had while doing my job.¡± ¡°I see. That makes sense.¡± Klaus said with a bright smile on his face. Looking at his handsome smiling face, Loren picked up one of the pieces of fruit that he had cut up from the plate on the side table and put it in his mouth, feeling somewhat dissatisfied. The taste of the fruit should not change no matter who cut it, but just the thought of Klaus cutting it makes Loren feel that the taste was somewhat diminished. ¡°You should have a bit of misfortune, too. For example, you should visit the room of the big guy who was carried in with me.¡± ¡°Loren, I definitely don¡¯t want to do that. Not sure why, but there¡¯s a warning ringing in the back of my head that I must not go near that hospital room.¡± ¡°Why not? You might get along better than you expect.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, but when you tell me to suffer some misfortune, it¡¯s a sure sign that something terrible is lurking in there.¡± Looking at Klaus, who had a look of deep dislike on his face, Loren noted down in a corner of his mind that one day he would try to get Luxuria to do something to Klaus. He could hear Shayna¡¯s helpless laughter in his mind. ¡°But Loren, is that really, okay?¡± Loren looked in the direction of Klaus¡¯ gaze to see Nig, who had appeared on the table where the plate was placed and was in the process of grabbing one of the cut slices of fruit. Feeling the two pairs of eyes on him, the spider raised his front leg as if asking ¡®What?¡¯. Loren chuckled at his action and shifted his eyes to his arms. The minor burns he had received were in places not protected by his gear, such as his face, neck, and hands. And there were some white fabrics, not bandages, stuck all over his legs where he had been burned through his trousers. The white fabric was in fact spider silk threads that Nig had spit out. The spider, who had survived the battle with Rage, had placed his own thread on the wounds to use as a substitute for a bandage. The threads had been removed by the healers once during the treatment, but the healers who examined him thought they would be much more effective than bandages, so Nigg rewrapped them after the treatment. As for the armor that protected most of Loren¡¯s body, although its surface was scorched, it had returned to its original state before long after being left alone for a while. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think it looks like it¡¯s nesting on your body.¡± Nig¡¯s act of stretching threads over burns and the like was apparently seen as such in Klaus¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. He¡¯s a smart kid. He won¡¯t do anything bad.¡± The mere sight of a giant spider was enough to make some people feel disturbed or disgusted. Klaus, too, seemed to be feeling a little uneasy, if not disgusted. But when Loren said those words and patted Nig¡¯s back while the spider was still holding the fruit, he seemed to understand that it was really alright, and his eyes on the spider softened somewhat. ¡°But you know, it¡¯s been a long time since I started taking Nig along with me. I guess it¡¯s a little late for you to be worried.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t pay much attention before.¡± ¡°Well, because he¡¯s a male.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Loren had mentioned Nig¡¯s gender as a joke, but seeing how easily Klaus agreed, he wondered if the story would have been different if Nig had been a female. But he felt that if he asked Klaus about it, he would receive some horrifying answer, so he forced the doubts that had begun to well up out of his mind. As if to ventilate the strange atmosphere, Lapis opened the door of the hospital room and entered. As soon as she saw Klaus¡¯ face, the first thing she said was: ¡°Loren, are you awake? Huh? Klaus? Have your tastes changed?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Even though he didn¡¯t know what she meant, Loren immediately interrupted her because it sounded like it was going to be something ridiculous. ¡°Klaus visiting a man in his hospital room¡­ There will be disaster coming¡­¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t listening, I ain¡¯t listening.¡± ¡°Let me at least joke about it please. Trouble is brewing.¡± The only chair in the hospital room was occupied by Klaus, so Lapis let out a deep sigh as she sat on the edge of the bed where Loren was lying and let out such words. ¡°Trouble?¡± ¡°Yes. Well, it can¡¯t be helped, can it? After all, we are the survivors of a unit that was completely destroyed. From the Empire army¡¯s point of view, we are one of the few sources of information that came back from fighting against the unidentified forces of the Kingdom.¡± It seemed that the Empire had some idea of the existence of Rage the Evil God. However, because no soldier had ever returned alive after fighting with her, her identity remained unknown. This was the first time some information had been brought back. If the Empire was satisfied with Lapis¡¯ report alone, it would not be so troublesome. But they would almost certainly try to obtain information from people other than her, and that was why she said trouble was brewing. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can give a good report about this.¡± ¡°You will have to figure it out somehow. If they decide that we have arranged our stories beforehand, the credibility of the information will be diminished.¡± Saying this, Lapis leaned down slightly from her position on the edge of the bed to move closer to Loren, who was lying on the bed, and waved her hand at Klaus, who was still peeling fruits, as if she was chasing away a dog. Klaus smiled wryly when he noticed that. ¡®Take your time¡¯, he muttered in a low voice, then put the fruit and knife down on the plate and walked out of the room. ¡°Well, if we don¡¯t work things out to some extent, we¡¯re going to have even more trouble.¡± ¡°I can understand that, but why did you chase him away?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know where the information might leak, and if worse comes to worst and someone steps in, I¡¯ll slip under the covers and scream, and we¡¯ll say we were right in the middle of it.¡± ¡°I think that would be more trouble than it is worth, or am I just imagining things?¡± While Loren said this with a disstressed look and tone of voice, Lapis had a big smile on her face. To Lapis, things must have worked out just as she wished, and she must have had no concerns. But to Loren, it was hard to decide if this was a good thing or not. ¡°For now, let¡¯s start with a coordination of what we should say and what we should not say.¡± Loren, feeling the weight of Lapis¡¯ body as she began her explanation, and with a resigned look on his face listened to her explanation. Chapter 313: Prologue: From Opening to Contact Proofreader: Xemul There was a rumour that some guerrilla units had been destroyed. However, the rumour was based on information gathered by the intelligence unit of the Imperial Army, so it was quite certain, and was a bit too much to be called a rumour. Loren thought that it would be a big deal, but from the Imperial Army¡¯s point of view, it only meant that some of the adventurer-affiliated units, which were not considered a major fighting force in the first place, had been destroyed. The damage to the regular soldiers¡¯ force was apparently not that great, and the town where Loren and his group were located in, did not have any major commotion. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild, on the other hand, was in an uproar. After all, all adventurers who had been embedded with Imperial guerrilla units had been killed by an unknown force. Lapis, who had gathered information from the Guild¡¯s branch in town, told them that the damage was so great that the guild had begun to enlist additional adventurers and increase the ratio of silver-rank adventurers. Loren thought that their opponent was too tough. The unidentified force that had destroyed the Imperial guerrilla units was probably a girl named Rage, the Evil God of Wrath. However, the Kingdom also had two other Evil Gods in their ranks: a dark elf who was supposed to have the power of the Evil God of Lust, and the Evil God of Pride who had yet to make an appearance. So, it might not all be Rage¡¯s doing. But even so, any Evil God would be too much for a bronze or iron rank adventurer. Loren could not help but think that if their people were going to be slaughtered for nothing, the Empire should just stop sending in their forces, but he had no way of communicating this to them. If it was only about Rage, it would not be impossible to explain since she was the one, they had encountered. However, should they be asked why they knew about the other Evil Gods, they would not be able to explain. There was no way they could say that their two companions were also Evil Gods, and the best Loren could do was to pray that the Empire would get some information and find a way to deal with them before more fatalities and injuries occurred. Loren, who had been injured in a battle with the Evil God of Wrath, suffered so much damage to his body that he could not leave his bed for several days. By the time he was finally walk again, he had begun to feel his body weakened due to being confined to bed for so long. After receiving permission to move around from his doctor, Loren began a training regimen of swinging his greatsword around in the garden inside the clinic¡¯s premises to strengthen his body. Wearing only his pants and boots and no clothes on his upper body, Loren was single-mindedly swinging his greatsword when he heard Lapis, who was watching him from a bench nearby, muttered and decided to take a break. ¡°We have always managed to fight them off or run away from them, so I haven¡¯t really felt it, but I guess Evil Gods are a troublesome existence, aren¡¯t they?¡± Loren had been practicing with his greatsword for quite some time, ever since he woke up early in the morning. Sweat was dripping down his body like waterfalls, and in the atmosphere that was considerably cooler than Kapha, where Loren and his companions had originally come from, steam was rising from his body, albeit slightly. Lapis, seeing this, stood up from the bench and offered Loren a towel that she had apparently prepared in advance. Loren accepted it and used it to wipe the sweat from his neck and face. ¡°I still can¡¯t find any evidence that the Empire has discovered the existence of any other Evil Gods than Rage.¡± Loren was also subjected to the Imperial Army¡¯s questioning. He had been secretly comparing stories with Lapis in advance, in order not to reveal the fact that Rage was an Evil God, and simply conveyed the information as he saw it. The story of a girl burning down the enemy¡¯s and allies¡¯ armies in an instant was already too ridiculous to be believed. If the information that the girl was an Evil God was added to it, the sanity of Loren¡¯s group might be questioned before any credibility could be established. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve ever seen anything like that. But even I can¡¯t gather information from the central figures of the Imperial Army, so I can¡¯t tell what they¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°Even you can¡¯t do it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t, it¡¯s more that I¡¯m not really interested in it.¡± It seems that Lapis was not so interested in whether the Empire or the Kingdom had the upper hand in this war. Even if the Empire were to suffer a crushing defeat and be destroyed, she seemed to think that she could just take Loren and run away. It was to be expected, after all, even if she looked like an ordinary priest, she was actually a demon, a race that was abhorred throughout the continent. ¡°I¡¯m more interested in whether I can somehow meet with the General of the Imperial Army.¡± Lapis¡¯ interest was not so much in the course of the war, but in one of the Generals in the Imperial Army, Yuri Mutshildt. The man was originally the leader of the mercenary company to which Loren belonged, but since the destruction of the mercenary company that led to Loren¡¯s becoming an adventurer, his movements have been completely unknown to Loren. Loren had received information that his former leader was in the northern part of the empire from a member of his old mercenary group, whom he had met by chance on a job not so long ago. However, when they entered the Empire, they found that Yuri had become one of the generals in the Imperial Army, and Loren and his companions, who had been sent by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, could not easily meet with him. Lapis was thinking that even if they could not get a meeting with General Yuri out of the blue, they might be able to use the information they had obtained this time to get in touch with someone in the vicinity. Although it would take some time and effort to meet with the desired person, it was still better than nothing, and Lapis was currently investigating who the people around the General were and whether they could meet with them. ¡°It would be easier if they would initiate contact.¡± The Empire must have received information that it was an adventurer by the name of Loren who brought intel about the girl named Rage. It would not be surprising if the upper echelons of the Imperial Army would think to call Loren to obtain more detailed information, but to date, nothing of the sort has been delivered to Loren and his team. Lapis was somewhat regretful that Loren hadn¡¯t been more suggestive during his inquiry, but in Loren¡¯s opinion, acting strange, even just a little bit, might trigger the officials¡¯ sense of caution if he was unlucky. So, it was best to tell the truth as it was. ¡°If only we could just force our way through. It would be quicker.¡± ¡°Can a priest of the God of Knowledge do such a thing, I wonder.¡± ¡°Our God approves of the use of force to obtain necessary information.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll definitely make some other priests angry sooner or later.¡± When Loren asked her what kind of priest would use force to deal with the guards to meet a general, Lapis¡¯ cheeks puffed up in dissatisfaction. Thinking that even though Lapis would surely be able to get through the Imperial soldiers and get to General Yuri if she wanted to, she should not go to such lengths in the current situation, Loren resumed his practice. Loren¡¯s upper body was protected by a jacket he received from an Elder, the highest-ranking vampire, but his legs, covered only by ordinary pants, had some severe burns. Even though he had recovered to some extent, he still felt a cramping sensation and a dull ache when he moved them, and he swung his sword with a grimace on his face. The fact that he was in such a state after being treated by Lapis and the healer made him think that his original wounds must have been quite severe, and he realized once again that it was a very dangerous thing to challenge that girl Rage head-on. ¡°We¡¯re going need some kind of countermeasure, or we¡¯ll be damned.¡± ¡°We cannot rely on our Evil Gods.¡± As Lapis commented, Gula, whose internal organs seemed to have been burned through her authority, was still forced to stay in bed. They believed that Gula, the Evil God of Gluttony, would not die, but her condition was not so good. A normal human being would have died if their internal organs were burned, but Gula¡¯s condition was improving, a demonstration of the life force of an Evil God. However, the burning of her internal organs had to be kept in secret from the healers. If they were to know of this, they would have to explain how such a thing had happened and why she was still alive. As a result, the cause of Gula¡¯s damage was unknown, and she had been left to recover without effective treatment. As for Luxuria, who was the Evil God of Lust, something no one could guess from his large, muscular body, he had only surface burns, and had recovered enough to be able to move around even if he was still covered in bandages. However, he was still undergoing treatment for his burns as he did not want any scars on his skin because they would be a hindrance in the future. Neither Loren nor Lapis had the slightest desire to know what that future was, and they just left him to his own devices. ¡°So, the only ones who can move properly are me and you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about you being able to move properly, Loren.¡± [¡®Onii-san, if I can use my power, you can heal faster¡­¡¯] Loren gently shook his head at the voice echoing in his head. The voice belonged to Shayna, a girl who had been transformed into the ¡®King of Death¡¯, the highest ranking undead, in a previous job Loren had received, and whose spirit had been forced into Loren¡¯s body when Loren had brought her down. Shayna suggested to used Energy Drain to snatch power from the beings around her, then use that power to supply Loren¡¯s recovery ability, he would recover from his burns in no time. However, the people around them in this city were the Empire¡¯s citizens and soldiers, and using Energy Drain to feed him their power was a method that Loren did not approve of. ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it. You were burned pretty badly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I can feel it when I move.¡± If he pushed himself too hard before he was fully healed, he would only delay his full recovery, which would not be good for him. Adding Lapis¡¯s concern to the mix, and Loren began to feel as if he was doing something bad. Loren decided that it was good enough to be able to move his body to some extent before it became too dull. He was just about to end his practice when he noticed two figures, seemingly of a healer and a soldier, looking in his direction at the doorway leading from the clinic building to the garden. ¡°It looks like they made contact first.¡± ¡°Considering your injuries, it would have been better if it had been a little later, but timing is everything in these things, you know.¡± When Loren gestured at the soldier with his chin, Lapis spoke these in a low voice and shrugged, then turned her head toward the soldier who was watching them and, with a friendly smile on her face, waved her hand in his direction. Chapter 314: From Invitation to Joining Forces (1) Proofreader: Xemul The soldier who contacted Loren was, as they had expected, a messenger from the Imperial Army. He had come to inform Loren¡¯s team that there was a general who wanted to meet the group to ask them directly about their experiences, as their names had been listed as the only survivors in the reports of the destruction of the guerrilla units. Loren had been thinking of getting in touch with someone of high rank in the Imperial Army, so he gladly agreed to an audience. After getting himself ready, he was escorted by a soldier to the building where the Imperial troops were stationed. As for who to bring along, there was no option at all, and Lapis was by Loren¡¯s side. Luxeria was out of the question, and Gula was still not in her best condition, so there was no point in forcing her to move if it would make her wounds worsen. Actually, Loren had considered taking Klaus with him. The reason was that Lapis was a demon, and although she was currently living as a priest of the God of Knowledge without being discovered by anyone, there was no guarantee that she would not be discovered by chance. If this were to happen, the way the generals of the Imperial Army responded to the situation would be very different, and it was necessary to be aware of the risks involved in mobilizing Lapis. On the other hand, Klaus, aside from his affinity for women, was a young man of good looks and a well-known adventurer, someone the Empire would not treat lightly. However, since he had nothing to do with what they were being summoned for, Loren had no choice but to give up on bringing him along. Of course, the option of Loren going alone did not exist from the beginning. He was not so reckless as to think of going by himself to meet a person of high rank ¨C a General ¨C in an army that he could not be absolutely sure was on his side. Loren had tried, but he could not get any information from the messenger about the General who wanted to meet them. When Loren asked about it, he was told that he would understand when he met him, but the messenger refused to give Loren any further information. Loren found the guy to be a competent soldier in a sense. Information might give them unnecessary prior knowledge or impressions, which in turn might affect the flow of the conversation. It was not a bad idea to take them to the person without giving any details beforehand. The question remained, however, as to how many more people would ask for them without even giving their names in the future. Loren decided that this was probably due to the difference in status between the Imperial Army authorities and adventurers. There was no need to guess which side was in a higher position in the Empire, where Loren and his team were currently located. The messenger took Loren and Lapis to a building that looked more like a private home or a merchant¡¯s house than a military-owned barracks. However, the fact that it was a military facility was obvious from the soldiers guarding the area. Two of them, accompanied by the messenger, were led inside under the openly watchful eyes of the soldiers guards. ¡°Please wait here until the General arrives.¡± After handing over their weapons to the soldiers due to security rules, Loren and Lapis were ushered into a reception room. The room was not especially glamorous, but was decorated with furnishings that looked too expensive to be considered simple. They sat downside by side on the sofa they had been pointed to, with Loren looking somewhat uncomfortable and Lapis looking about curiously. ¡°Hey Loren, the empire is very rich, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren replied to Lapis, who was looking around the room, in a hushed voice, seemingly uninterested. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s a country, so it must have money, right?¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯s quite impressive that such a facility in a town so close to the border, which in a sense is at the very edge of the country, can be so well furnished.¡± Loren looked around to see if that was the case, but there was no way he could tell if the furnishings were good or bad, and he didn¡¯t have the knowledge to appraise their values. But Lapis seemed to be seeing a different scenery than Loren. ¡°The items are not showy in appearance, but they are well-built and made of materials and colors that are pleasant to the eyes. It may look plain to some people, but it costs quite a lot of money to have all these items in one place.¡± ¡°I am happy to hear you say so, young miss. You are quite knowledgeable.¡± The voice of a middle-age man resounded, in response to Lapis. Loren got up from the sofa as if he had been struck, and when he looked toward the entrance of the room, he saw a man standing there at the open door, looking just how Loren expected him to from his voice. The man was shorter than Loren, but from appearance alone, he gave a much more intimidating and dignified impression. The clothes he was wearing were probably the uniform of the Imperial Army, but Loren knew that the body hidden under the thick and lengthy garment was that of a well-trained warrior. His face was chiseled, and his long black hair, with just a hint of gray, was pulled back. He looked to be pleased about the praise for the furnishings of the room, but his gaze was strangely sharp. ¡°Are you well-versed in furnishings, Miss Priest?¡± ¡°As a person in the service of the God of Knowledge, I am familiar with a wide range of things, but only casually.¡± Lapis, who had also got up and was standing by Loren¡¯s side, bowed courteously. The man slightly inclined his head in response, and Loren, somewhat taken aback, greeted him. ¡°Commander¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Loren. I was wondering if it was you when I found the name in the report. It¡¯s fortuitous that you survived.¡± The person who slowly sat down on the sofa facing Loren and Lapis while saying this was Yuri Mutshildt, the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren once belonged, before he became an adventurer, and whose whereabouts have been completely unknown since the destruction of said group. Loren, seeing the face was exactly the same as the one in his memory, sat down as if collapsing on the sofa, while Lapis gently sat down next to him. ¡°I¡¯m sure Loren doesn¡¯t need any introduction, but you must do, young miss. I am Yuri Mutshildt, former mercenary commander, and current general in the Imperial Army.¡± ¡°My name is Lapis. I am a priest in the service of the God of Knowledge, and I am currently a fellow adventurer of Loren.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you introduce yourself normally?¡± Seeing Lapis bowing to Yuri in an impeccably mannered, Loren couldn¡¯t help but say. Hearing this, Lapis looked offended for a moment before suddenly smiled like a blossoming flower and declared. ¡°I am Loren¡¯s bride.¡± ¡°Now, Loren. What have you been doing since the destruction of the group?¡± ¡°That should be my line, Commander.¡± ¡°Ah, this? I feel like things just went through very naturally?¡± The two looked at each other, and Lapis unthinkingly put her hand on Loren¡¯s shoulder and shook him. Loren did not shake her off. Annoyed, Nig raised his forelegs to intimidate Lapis, but she continued to shake Loren without caring. ¡°No, I¡¯m not deflecting. I just can¡¯t believe that Loren, who was so out of touch with the ladies to a degree that many in the group thought he might have actually gone that way, has found such a refined young lady.¡± ¡°Now, where did that rumor come from? Tell me the details. I¡¯ll go find the one who spread it and make him regret!¡± ¡°Well, who was it? I¡¯m getting very forgetful in my old age.¡± Loren¡¯s expression turned vicious when Yuri made an innocent face. He glared at Yuri with such an angry expression that would make a weak-minded person faint if they met him on the street at night, but the man didn¡¯t seem to mind at all and laughed. ¡°Well, almost everyone in the group was talking about it.¡± ¡°Fuck them¡­ Well, whatever¡­ I¡¯m not interested in that side of the road one iota, but I don¡¯t care about the old rumors.¡± Loren¡¯s expression was about to become even more vicious when he was told that he was the only one who did not know, but he reigned in his temper, took a deep breath and tried to change the topic. Yuri, who was watching him, said in an impressed tone. ¡°You¡¯ve learned to be patient. You¡¯ve grown up.¡± ¡°You make it sound like I was insufferable when I was a mercenary.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you?¡± Staring at him intently, Yuri asked earnestly. Loren¡¯s face lost some of its grimness and his gaze turned away from Yuri, albeit only slightly. That seemed to be enough of an answer for Yuri. The smile remained unchanged and, without further inquiries, he clapped a few times. As if on cue, the door through which the man had just entered was opened, and a woman¡¯s voice was heard from the other side. ¡°Yes, General?¡± ¡°Can you prepare tea for our guests? We have much to talk about, but a parched throat would make speaking difficult.¡± ¡°Certainly, Sir.¡± Loren muttered something like a curse under his breath and tried to calm down, and Lapis and Nig tried to help soothe him. Yuri looked at him in amusement, and Loren managed to calm his breathing and his feelings before he started speaking again. ¡°That does not matter. I want to hear about you first.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t be in a hurry. The situation is not very comfortable right now, but there will be enough time to wait for the tea to be prepared. And since it has been so long since we last met, don¡¯t you feel emotional? Or did you not even want to see me?¡± ¡°¡­How could I not?¡± Loren answered sulkily while turning his head away. Once Loren calmed down after realizing that he had been worked up by the Commander¡¯s sudden appearance, Lapis next to him and Nig on his shoulder finally showed signs of relief. ¡°We both have things to talk about. For now, let¡¯s have a cup of tea and relax, and then take our time.¡± As Yuri was saying to Loren, several women in maid¡¯s uniforms entered the room quietly without making a sound as if they were waiting for their cue, carrying trays of the tea he had requested. Chapter 315: From an Invitation to Joining Forces (2) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Well, first of all, I would like to ask you how you have been doing.¡± The women in maids¡¯ uniforms finished laying out the tea and left the room as quickly as they had arrived. Loren watched them work, admiring how neat and tidy it was. Lapis, standing beside him, waited until the maids had left the room before speaking softly to Loren. ¡°They are all trained fighters.¡± ¡°They¡¯re maids, right¡­?¡± ¡°The way they move is not that of maids. They probably have weapons hidden under their skirts, so they may have been trained as assassins.¡± Lapis was whispering to Loren in front of Yuri, but her voice was so low that the man should not be able to know what they were talking about. Even Loren was having trouble catching some of her words, but for some reason Yuri, who was further away from Lapis, seemed to be able to hear it clearly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what maids are supposed to do?¡± Yuri said this with a good-natured smile, but Loren didn¡¯t even hide the bewilderment in his voice when he replied. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of such maids.¡± ¡°A maid is the person who is closest to her master. Therefore, it is only natural that she should have the skills to protect the master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s bullshit.¡± ¡°Anyway, tell me how you are doing.¡± Yuri asked again, his smile overpowering Loren¡¯s words. Loren was about to say something in response when Lapis intervened. ¡°I shall start then.¡± Loren considered himself not a very good talker. When asked to talk about himself, he had nothing to say except that he had stopped being a mercenary and had become an adventurer, and he knew that Yuri would not be satisfied with that. That was why he decided to let Lapis take care of it. He was about to take a sip of the tea the maids had left for him when he heard Lapis¡¯ next words, which nearly made him spit it out. ¡°I have had the pleasure of going out with Loren since¡­¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute. That¡¯s not how to put it.¡± ¡®Going out¡¯ here meant traveling together as fellow adventurers, not going out as a couple did. But Lapis¡¯ choice of words was not so much as causing confusion, but deliberately misleading. Letting Yuri have such a misunderstanding would be troublesome, so Loren tried to interrupt, but Yuri, seemingly unaware of Loren¡¯s situation, leaned forward with his cup of tea in his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s hear the details, shall we?¡± ¡°Hey, Commander!¡± ¡°When I first met him, I had a feeling that he was the one.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± ¡°It¡¯s called fate. Hmmm¡­ that Loren¡­¡± ¡°Listen to me!¡± Loren raised his voice and his fist, but there was no place to put his fist down. If they were at a cheap inn or a diner, he could have slammed his fist down the table in front of him, but what was in front of Loren now was a table that, although not fancy, was definitely worth a lot of money according to Lapis. However, no matter how well-made the table was, it probably could not withstand the force of Loren¡¯s fist if he slammed it down with all his might. The table would most likely be smashed into pieces, and if something like that happened in an Imperial Army¡¯s facility, not only would he surely be forced to pay for his action, but one wrong move and soldiers would fly in to accuse him of committing an act of violence against a General. Disregarding Loren, who had stopped moving after having no destination for his raised fist, Lapis proceeded with her conversation with Yuri. [¡®You¡¯re in a tough spot, onii-san.¡¯] Loren slowly lowered his raised fist, trying to push the conversation out of his mind as much as possible, when he heard the worried voice of Shayna in the back of his mind. Nig also tapped Loren¡¯s shoulder with his front legs as if to console him. ¡°I see. It seems you¡¯ve had quite a time.¡± After a short time, which seemed like torture to Loren, Lapis finished her story, and Yuri expressed such a sentiment. Apart from a few unclear parts where Loren didn¡¯t know if Lapis was trying to paint a love affair or induce misunderstanding, her story was reasonably easy to understand, and even Loren, who was listening without really paying attention, could remember that such things had happened. Of course, Lapis did not tell Yuri her true identity, or those of Gula and Luxuria, who were currently traveling with them. Loren was glad that he had left the talk to her. If he had been the one to talk, there was a definite risk that he would leak some information. Even so, the mental exhaustion was too much for Loren. He put his hand on his forehead and let out a deep sigh. ¡°Now that you know what¡¯s going on on my side, I¡¯d like to hear what happened on your side.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not nearly as interesting as your story, though.¡± Yuri sipped his tea and began to tell his story, as if responding to Loren¡¯s request. ¡°It¡¯s nothing spectacular. After the group was destroyed, I managed to escape and somehow ended up in this place. The only thing a mercenary leader can do is to fight, and that¡¯s why I joined the army.¡± ¡°I understand that much. But how come you are now a general in the Imperial Army?¡± A General, not to mention of the regular army, was not a position easy to obtain. Even if you came from a family of military personnel, you might never be able to reach such a position. The fact that a wandering mercenary was able to hold that position was beyond comprehension for Loren, but Yuri answered with a puzzled expression on his face. ¡°Well, you see, I used to be the leader of a mercenary group.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an explanation.¡± Being the leader of a mercenary group was not likely to have any weight in any way. Loren knew that much, but when Yuri told him again so clearly, he wondered if the man had been chosen for the general position because of his experience as the leader of a mercenary group. ¡°Even if you say so. In this Empire, which is not on good terms with the neighbouring kingdom, there is no shortage of places to fight, and as long as you have a place to fight, you can earn merits, right?¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°I was just fighting, and before I knew it, I had become a general.¡± Yuri said nonchalantly. Loren almost raised his voice until he took one look at Yuri¡¯s face, which seemed to say what was so strange about this story. He remembered his own days as a mercenary in the man¡¯s group and kept his mouth closed. It was Lapis, who asked in place of Loren, who had gone silent. ¡°Is it that simple?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m reasonably competent.¡± Yuri said as if he was simply stating a fact without a hint of boasting. Lapis stared at him in wonder, and Loren told her. ¡°It¡¯s generally true, so there¡¯s no way to argue with that.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do much. When I was a foot soldier, I made my mark by targeting enemy commanders, and when I was on the commanding side, I just kept doing what the enemy didn¡¯t want me to do, and the merits would follow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you put it, though¡± ¡°Since it is him, he can do it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with this trust?¡± Loren admitted in a resigned tone of voice, while Lapis was shocked. Yuri watched them with a smile on his face, but after a while his expression turned serious and he lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger to get their attention. ¡°Now that we know each other¡¯s situation, let¡¯s get down to business.¡± Yuri, who had drawn Loren and Lapis¡¯ attention to himself with just that small sound, laced his fingers together on the tabletop and began. ¡°It¡¯s about the girl that you met.¡± Although Loren and Lapis had lied about Gula and Luxuria, they told the Imperial Army that they had met a girl named Rage Satania, who called herself the Evil God of Wrath. The reason was that they did not know what kind of impression they would make on the Imperial Army if it became known that they were withholding information they had obtained on the battlefield. Loren¡¯s team had already reported the existence of Evil Gods to the Guild of Adventurers, so if the Imperial Army and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, which were currently cooperating, shared information, it would not take long for them to find out that there such beings exist. However, as they had not reported that these Evil Gods were roaming the world, or that there were even those living normal lives like Gula and Luxuria, or that their origin dated back to the Ancient Kingdom period, Loren was not sure if either the Empire or the Guild would ever know such facts. ¡°It is reasonable to assume that she is a powerful magician wielding fire magic, but the staggering amount Imperial Army casualties cannot be explained by that alone.¡± Many units had been destroyed by the unidentified enemy, but the places where they were destroyed still remained. It was clear that those areas had been burned to the ground by a powerful fire, but Yuri said that until now, the Imperial Army had not been able to find out what kind of entity could have caused such a fire. This time, according to the report of Loren and Lapis, they were able to establish that it was an entity that took the form of a girl and called itself an Evil God. However, the Imperial Army apparently did not take the girl¡¯s title of ¡®Evil God¡¯ literally. ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe that a mere magician could have this kind of power. It is reasonable to assume that she has enhanced her power in some special way. But that is of little importance now.¡± Lapis wondered if the first thing to do now was to find out how the enemy was raising their power to such an incredible degree, so that they could consider imitating their methods or taking their power away from them, but Loren and Yuri had a different idea. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what the method is, we need to think of a way to deal with this girl first.¡± ¡°If all of the scouting and guerrilla units have been wiped out, we can¡¯t just go around looking for the source of their power.¡± ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, but it¡¯s impossible to counter them with no plan, you know? We almost died too. Even if you ask us to do something about it, we will have to decline.¡± ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m not senile. I won¡¯t ask anyone to charge at an opponent who has caused such damage with no plans.¡± Yuri smiled wryly at Loren¡¯s words, who feared that they had been summoned because they had encountered the Evil God of Wrath once before and would be asked to do something about her because of their experience in returning alive. ¡°So, you¡¯ve got a plan, and you want me to take care of it, right commander?¡± ¡°Thank you for speaking so quickly, Loren. You¡¯re the only one I can ask.¡± Loren, who had understood from Yuri¡¯s tone of voice as he looked at him that this was not something he could refuse, gave a quick nod, praying that Yuri¡¯s plan would really be effective against the Evil God of Wrath. Chapter 316: From An Invitation To Joining Forces (3) Proofreader: Xemul After the meeting with Yuri, Loren and Lapis paid a visit to the clinic. The purpose was to check up on Gula, who was undergoing treatment. Loren had been a patient at the clinic until he regained consciousness, so the practitioners working there immediately showed him to Gula¡¯s room when they saw his face and heard him mention Gula¡¯s name. ¡°We are very sorry to tell you this, but¡­ We think it¡¯s time for you to take that large mister away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this, but something happens on our side, and we may have to ask you to look after him for a little while longer.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not sure how this will affect the other patients¡­¡± ¡°We understand. It may be a waste of time, but we¡¯ll talk to him properly this time.¡± As the young female practitioner nervously discussed this with Loren and Lapis while leading them to Gula¡¯s room, Loren wondered how hard he needed to hit Luxuria with his greatsword in order to make him tone down his behaviors a little bit. In the hospital room, to which Loren and Lapis were taken, they found Gula wrapped in a comforter on clean sheets, breathing heavily in her sleep. Looking only at her sleeping form, Gula was a beautiful woman with very well-defined features, and her proportions were so perfect that even through the quilt, one could see how stunning she was. As soon as Loren thought that he wished she would stay sleeping forever, Gula breathed out a puff of pitch black smoke. The smell of something burning filled the room, and Lapis, frowning, walked over to the window and opened the slightly-ajar window fully, then began to fan the room with her hand, trying to drive the smell out of the room. The fire from the Evil God of Wrath that had attacked Loren and his friends was still burning in the stomach of Gula¡¯s authority, and no one knew its location. By this time, Loren did not know whether to be afraid of the authority of the Evil God of Wrath, which kept burning for such a long time, or to be amazed at how stuffed the stomach of Gula¡¯s authority was that it could keep burning for this long. But since this was what kept Gula in such bad shape, it was no laughing matter. ¡°Hey, Gula. Can you get up?¡± Loren said in a subdued voice as he walked up to the bed. Gula opened her eyes a crack, then sat up when she saw that Loren was calling out to her. Loren gestured that she could stay lying, but Gula waved her hand as if to say she was fine. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°First of all, how¡¯s your stomach?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotta real bad case of heartburn.¡± Gula held her hand over her chest and frowned, black smoke leaking out of her mouth again. If she had been a human being, it would not have been possible for her to survive, since the fire was still burning inside her body. It was such a strange phenomenon that even the medical practitioners were puzzled by it, and Loren was concerned that Gula¡¯s true identity might be revealed. However, since the examination showed that her body wasn¡¯t burning from inside, they were able to argue away the phenomenon as being caused by some force that no one understood at the moment. ¡°Nothing bad. We¡¯ve been asked to do a little something, and we were thinking of asking you to go with us.¡± Loren was thinking of asking Gula to accompany them on Yuri¡¯s commission. Lapis believed that she and Loren could manage it, but Loren thought that no matter how powerful Lapis was, he was just a mercenary, and the more people they could mobilize with would be the better. ¡°I might be able to if I push myself, but what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll explain while you take this.¡± Loren reached into his jacket and pulled out an ornately decorated glass bottle that looked expensive. Inside the clear bottle was some kind of liquid. ¡°Is it medicine? But there is no such thing as a medicine that can cure my illness, is there? No medicine can put down Wrath¡¯s fire. It would have to be some kind of elixir.¡± ¡°It is an elixir.¡± Loren replied casually, and Gula looked at the bottle in Loren¡¯s hand with a surprised look on her face. The bottle was something Loren had requested from Yuri as a necessary expense for this commission. Apparently, this valuable medicine, which cost one gold coin a bottle, was within the reach of a General of the Imperial Army, and Yuri was willing to give it to Loren upon his request. ¡°Can you manage with this? If not, I¡¯ll get a few more from the Commander¡¯s.¡± ¡°You got them from him? I might be able to make do with something on the level of an elixir.¡± With these words, Gula took the bottle containing the elixir from Loren, pulled out the stopper, and gulped down the contents without hesitation. As Loren and Lapis watched to see how effective the elixir would be, Gula, who had kept her eyes closed for some time, finally exhaled a long, thin breath of white smoke from her mouth and opened her eyes to look at them. ¡°Alrighty. Now I¡¯m good to go.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay? If you¡¯re having a hard time, even just a little, I¡¯ll tell the Commander and he¡¯ll give us a few more bottles.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Besides, this is expensive, isn¡¯t it? I can¡¯t drink it without feeling like I¡¯m adding to your debt, Loren.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pretty little thing compared to all the debts I¡¯m saddled with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something to be proud of, okay?¡± Judging from Gula¡¯s jab at him, she seemed to be really okay, so Loren nodded. ¡°I, for one, would be very happy to see Loren¡¯s debt increase¡­ But it certainly doesn¡¯t seem to make much sense to add one more gold coin to it now, does it?¡± ¡°You are so merciless, Lapis-chan. And using such expensive medicine to ask me to go with you, what did you take on, and from where?¡± Loren began by telling Gula, who was smiling wryly, that the leader of the mercenary group he used to belong to was now a general in the Empire, and then went on to explain the discussion they had with Yuri. Yuri¡¯s commission to Loren and his team was to obtain the means to fight against a being who called herself the ¡®Evil god of Wrath¡¯. Yuri said that there was a cave further north from the town where Loren and his group were currently residing, and that there was something inside that would help them fight the Evil God of Wrath. Yuri then added that Loren was the only one he could ask to do this, but Loren could not understand why. It was also unclear where Yuri had obtained the information about the existence of such a thing, but the Yuri Loren knew was not the type of person who would say things without meaning it. So Loren believed that there really was something in there, and that Yuri had some kind of reason to commission Loren and his team. ¡°That¡¯s why we had to go on a trip.¡± ¡°I see. So you want me to accompany you on that trip.¡± Loren nodded to Gula, who got out of bed. ¡°Because more people are always better, of course.¡± ¡°Although I would be more excited by the idea of being on the road with Loren alone, but I agree that more people are better.¡± ¡°What, it seems that Lapis-chan doesn¡¯t give me much of a welcome.¡± Gula said with a laugh, and Lapis silently cast her eyes down without denying or confirming. ¡°I¡¯m good. What about Luxuria?¡± Gula asked, stretching lightly as if to check her own condition, and both Loren and Lapis showed their reluctance at the same time. They both wanted to leave him behind if possible, but as they had been told by the nurses earlier, the clinic wanted them to take Luxuria back as soon as possible. They understood that it was not possible to leave him at the clinic forever, so leaving him behind was not a good option. ¡°We¡¯ll have to check up on him¡­ Though I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tough call, but he¡¯s a guy I have a certain amount of faith in as an asset.¡± ¡°If we weigh the advantages and disadvantages on a scale, I think the disadvantages will be heavier. I wonder why he was not consumed by Miss Wrath¡¯s flames?¡± Lapis mumbled to herself that she wished he had been reduced to ashes. Loren nodded his head repeatedly in agreement, and Gula laughed as she watched them. ¡°Luxuria is one of the toughest ones amongst us. Well, the toughest of all must be the lazy guy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s tougher.¡± Loren tilted his head at Gula¡¯s words. This was something he struggled to imagine from the name ¡®Sloth¡¯. Sloth, to begin with, gave the impression of not doing anything as much as possible. Loren wondered what Sloth¡¯s authority was, and Gula gave a simple explanation. ¡°If Sloth wants to, he will have full resistance to all attributes, plus a defense so strong that even if a dragon steps on him, he will be unharmed. In return, he must not move at all.¡± ¡°So he can be a superior flesh wall?¡± ¡°The only way he can use his authority to its full potential is to lie completely flat, so he can¡¯t be used as a shield. There¡¯s another heinous effect that more than makes up for it, but whatever.¡± Gula said as she bent her body, then her elbows, and clenched her fists. She must have felt stiff after sleeping for so long. ¡°I¡¯m good enough to help you. As soon as we are ready, let¡¯s head for that cave or whatever it is. I¡¯ll ask Luxuria about it, and you two make preparations for departure, all right?¡± ¡°I heard that the Commander is taking care of all the preparations for departure and the arrangements for supplies. As soon as we are ready to go, all we have to do is pick up our supplies and transportation at the north gate of this city.¡± Yuri was not sloppy about making preparations. It seemed that he had already arranged for those things before he approached Loren and Lapis. Everything was ready, and all they had to do was go to the designated place with only their own personal belongings. ¡°Who is this Yuri, ex-commander?¡± ¡°To me, he¡¯s just a kind old man.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s just an old man.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an old man who used to be the leader of a mercenary group.¡± Lapis and Gula looked at each other as Loren seemed not to care much about the situation. The man had come up with a countermeasure against Wrath immediately, knew of the existence of a cave that no one else knew about, and was already prepared for departure when he approached them with a job offer. Both of them thought that this was no mere old man¡¯s work, but it was also true that Loren¡¯s comment of ¡®It¡¯s just how the Commander is¡¯ seemed strangely persuasive. ¡°Well, is this alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have to look into him sooner or later, but for now, I think it¡¯s alright.¡± When Gula, who seemed to be feeling somewhat uneasy, asked Lapis, she answered without thinking too deeply and shrugged her shoulders. Chapter 317: From Departing To Travelling (1) Proofreader: Xemul As Loren and his group got into the wagon Yuri had prepared for them at the north gate of the city for their travel to the northern cave, they were joined by Luxuria, who was in an unusually good mood. The guy volunteered to be the driver, and thus he sat on the driver bench. Behind him were Loren, Lapis, and Gula, sitting among the luggage on the wagon. ¡°What¡¯s up with the long faces, you guys?¡± Luxuria, dressed in his usual tight clothes, looked back over his shoulder and called out to Loren and the others at the back, but no one answered him. To tell the truth, everyone except Luxuria himself wanted to leave Luxuria in town, but if they left town without letting him know at all, they had no idea what would happen later. Gula decided to pay him a visit, during which he quickly insisted that he had fully recovered, and when he heard that the group was leaving the city, he naturally offered to go with them. There was no way for them to refuse him. One reason was that they did not know what would happen if they refused, but the more important reason was, they could not bear the silent pressure from the personnel of the clinic. Loren wondered what in the world Luxuria had done to make the whole staff reject him to such an extent, but he could not ask either the practitioners or Luxuria himself about it. ¡°Rather than that, I wonder why you¡¯re in such a good mood.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s going out together, you know. Of course, it¡¯s fun.¡± Hearing the word ¡®everyone¡¯, Loren looked around, but there were only a few travelers on the street where the wagon was running, and none of Luxuria¡¯s cronies that he was worried about were in sight. Luxuria alone was already a heavy enough burden for Loren, and if the cronies that the guy had directly educated or trained were to follow him, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Loren would lose his peace of mind. ¡°Going out means camping at night. And everyone will stay in the same tent together!¡± According to Yuri, there were originally several villages in the northern area where they were headed, but due to their rather small size as well as the current large-scale war, they had all been destroyed or evacuated, and no lodging of any kind could be expected. Near Loren, who was feeling heavy at the thought of having to deal with the menace called Luxuria in addition to camping outside, Gula bared her teeth and threatened the other Evil God. ¡°Don¡¯t joke about it. You¡¯ll be out by yourself, wrapped up in a bamboo mat.¡± ¡°Why?! That¡¯s discrimination! Abuse!¡± On the driver bench, Luxuria flailed his arms and legs like a spoiled child, but strangely enough, the wagon was moving straight ahead on the street without shifting course. Loren thought that it would be quite a challenge for the horses to keep going straight with the reins being pulled that much to the left and right, but they kept going in an unnaturally straight line even though their heads were shaking from side to side. Looking around to see if anyone was doing something, Loren let out a small sigh when he saw none of his party members seemed surprised about the horses. ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Lapis noticed his sigh and asked, but Loren waved his hand at her in response, then reached out and inspected the luggage loaded into the wagon. Yuri had prepared most of the things for them, but they had not heard much detail about what and how much had been prepared. Loren believed that the commander would be thorough, but there was always the possibility that something could go wrong, so he thought it would be a good idea to have some confirmation. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the commander for you.¡± Yuri had said that it would take about three days to reach the cave, their destination. Loren asked if they had the time to make the round trip, which would take about six days, but Yuri assured him that he could at least buy them some time. The man had said that making progress would be a problem, but maintaining the status quo was something anyone could do. However, with the two armies facing each other, it could not be that easy to do. Thinking that they had to find the thing that could counter the Evil God of Wrath and get back to Yuri as soon as possible, Loren suddenly stopped his inspection. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Loren? Did you find something unseemly in there?¡± ¡°For God¡¯s sake, why would he put something unseemly here?¡± While being taken aback by Lapis¡¯ words, Loren pulled out the thing he had been touching from the luggage and examined it with a scrutinizing eye. It was a thick coat. The coat was quite large, probably prepared for Loren. He wondered why, but after rummaging through the sacks some more, he found two other coats that were smaller than the one he had pulled out first. ¡°There are more than just coats.¡± Loren searched the area where the coats had been, and found the same number of thick, well-made sleeping bags. As tents and other items appeared one after the other, he tilted his head in wonder. The temperature here was certainly lower than Kapha, but it was not so low that they had to wear a coat over the clothes and equipment they currently had on. Depending on the time, the northern region may be covered in snow and ice. If they were here at such a time, they would need a lot of equipment, but as far as Loren knew, it wasn¡¯t supposed to be that cold. ¡°Am I wrong? Or is it getting that cold??¡± ¡°What are you mumbling about, Loren? Oh, coats and sleeping bags? Yuri, you must be a very thorough person.¡± As Loren fiddled with the things he had pulled out and muttering to himself, Lapis, who was sitting nearby, peeked in and, after seeing what he was holding in his hand, expressed such an impression. ¡°Do we need these things?¡± Loren asked, picking up a sleeping bag, which was too thick to be used for ordinary camping. It was not that it couldn¡¯t be used, but Loren thought that if he were to wrap himself in the sleeping bag inside the tent Yuri had packed for them, he would have difficulty sleeping well due to overheating. However, Lapis¡¯ reply was different from what Loren had in mind. ¡°I think Yuri prepared it because he knew it would be necessary from now on.¡± Loren had to agree. ¡°Does that mean the temperature is going to drop?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine a sudden drop in temperature, though.¡± That was what Lapis said, but they would later learn that her words were wrong. On the first night, nothing unusual happened, and the group kept watch in pairs, and the morning came without incident. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m paired up with Luxuria. With this line up, I can watch over the whole team by myself, right? ¡°Of course it¡¯s so that Loren and I can team up, and so that Luxuria and Loren won¡¯t be on duty at the same time, right?¡± ¡°Ah, right. There¡¯s no choice then. I¡¯ll team up with Luxuria.¡± ¡°You two? I don¡¯t seem to have a sleeping bag.¡± ¡°You dress like you feel quite hot, so you won¡¯t need a sleeping bag. Just sleep like that.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too harsh to me?!¡± The first night was uneventful, despite such conversations going on and on, but something unusual happened on the second night. After kicking Luxuria down, who had feigned ignorance and tried to enter the same tent as Gula, Loren sat down next to Lapis, who was working on a bonfire and watching the situation, with a wry smile on his face. Looking up at the sky like this, he could see the stars twinkling in the cloudless sky. ¡°Has it gotten a little colder?¡± A sauce pan was placed over the fire, and the heat from the fire turned the water in the pan into hot water. Lapis took a scoop of the water and poured it into a cup, which she offered to Loren. ¡°It¡¯s not plain water. There are tea leaves in it.¡± Loren looked into the cup. There were indeed tea leaves swaying in the hot water, which had begun changing color. This was probably not the way it was supposed to be brewed, but if you were in the middle of a camping trip, this was a good way to avoid the hassle of straining and brewing tea leaves, so Loren sipped the tea. ¡°But we¡¯re getting close to our destination, aren¡¯t we? I guess we don¡¯t need those after all?¡± Loren pointed to the tent made of thick cloth that Yuri had prepared. Gula must be sleeping in there, and if she was also using the thick sleeping bag, she must be feeling quite hot. The temperature was gradually dropping due to their trip north, so it was not so uncomfortable that it made them unable to sleep, but it was still stuffy enough to cause night sweats. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a misjudgment?¡± Lapis tilted her head. In front of her, Luxuria was about to crawl into another tent. Luxuria had not been provided with a sleeping bag, but the temperature was warm enough that he had no trouble sleeping in the tent without one. They would travel north for only one more day or so, and it seemed like they would not need coats at all. Lapis had used the word ¡®misjudgment¡¯ to refer to both Yuri and herself, but it seemed that Loren understood only one of the two meanings. ¡°The commander gets old too.¡± ¡°Would he be angry if he heard that? Or would he get upset?¡± Wondering how Yuri would react when he heard that Loren, of all people, was treating him like an old man, Lapis could not help but laugh out loud, but her laugh quickly turned strained. Noticing Lapis¡¯ expression stiffen as if she had seen something unbelievable, Loren looked up and squinted his eyes, just as Lapis was doing. ¡°What is it?¡± At first, it seemed to Loren that there was nothing there, at least nothing that would make Lapis¡¯ expression stiffened. But after a few moments of staring into blank space, he saw something small glinting in the light of the campfire. Before Loren could figure out what it was, Lapis had fed a new piece of firewood to the fire, then jumped onto the back of the nearby wagon and began rummaging through their luggage. ¡°Lapis? What in the world are you in such a hurry for¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s ice!¡± With these words, a thick coat was thrown at Loren. He immediately put it on, understanding that he should. After seeing Loren put on his coat, Lapis also began to hurriedly put on hers. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but the temperature is dropping so rapidly that the moisture in the atmosphere is starting to turn into little ice cubes! If we¡¯re unlucky, we could have a life-threatening cold wave coming!¡± ¡°Why all of a sudden¡­¡± There was no sign or anything. Surprised by this sudden and unexpected change, Loren blurted out, but Lapis vigorously shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but what is happening now is all that matters. We have to put off for now the investigation of the causes and the unnaturalness of the situation, and our first priority now is to take countermeasures.¡± As fuel for the campfire, they had firewood, dry leaves, and a few branches, some of which had been amongst their luggage and some they had collected in the area before setting up camp. However, if a cold wave were to hit as Lapis predicted, the fuel they had might be inadequate to keep the campfires burning. Chapter 318: From Departing To Travelling (2) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this bad? This seems life-threatening.¡± ¡°You¡¯re better off than me! I don¡¯t even have a sleeping bag or a coat! Even an Evil God can die, you know! Will I die?! Will I become a cold body here with no one to love me?!¡± The cold wave, which Lapis had feared, hit their camp not long after she had first detected it. Its intensity was indeed, just as she guessed, potentially life-threatening. Even Loren, who had hurriedly put on his coat, felt a cold, almost painful sensation on his unclothed face and hands, making it difficult to get away from the fire. Nig, who had always maintained his position on Loren¡¯s shoulder, had hurriedly slid into his coat from the collar and was now clinging to Loren¡¯s chest to get away from the cold. Next to Loren, Lapis, also wearing a coat, was clinging to his arm, shivering in the cold wave that hit the camp. No matter how much more capable they were compared to humans, demons still felt heat and cold. ¡°Loren¡¯s body is warm. I can¡¯t help but feel happy.¡± ¡°Are you really feeling cold?¡± From the tone of Lapis¡¯ voice, Loren suspected that she was not that cold. But the trembling coming from her arms was real, and he couldn¡¯t just heartlessly pull her away. Loren scratched his head in annoyance. Right in front of them, Gula and Luxuria had been making a big ruckus about the whole thing. Gula was still inside her sleeping bag, but had also wrapped herself in her coat, while Luxuria was still in an attire that was entirely unsuitable for cold weatherl. ¡°Why is it so cold?! Did the world go through an ice age while we were sealed up?! Or did we fall into some frozen hell without knowing?¡± ¡°So you are aware that you are going to hell. I don¡¯t care what you do, just give me that coat!You look like a caterpillar, you should have enough!¡± ¡°Shut up stupid! Who¡¯s going to give it to you? It¡¯s still cold! If this coat comes off, I¡¯ll get all stiff!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to be stiff, what about me, who doesn¡¯t even have a coat?! I¡¯ll become an ice statue! I think my ice statue will be beautiful, but no one will come to see it in a place like this!¡± ¡°You should only sleeptalk in your sleep! Your ice statue is nothing more than waste material!¡± It seemed like those two were still alright, Loren thought. If the situation was to get really unpleasant, they wouldn¡¯t be able to argue like that. As long as their voices were still coming out, it was safe to assume that they were still okay. However, Loren also thought that if things continued like this, it was inevitable that they would eventually reach a dangerous situation. Their camp was not sheltered by anything, and was completely exposed to the elements. No matter how hard they tried to keep warm by the campfire, the slightest breeze would cause the warmth to escape. Loren began to think that it might be difficult to greet the morning if they did not move to a place where the wind could at least be kept out, when he suddenly felt a hand reaching for his coat¡¯s collar. He reflexively grabbed it. ¡°Lapis, what are you trying to do?¡± The hand Loren had grabbed belonged to Lapis. It had been clinging to his shoulder earlier, but before he knew it, Lapis had extended it towards his chest as if it was trying to creep into his coat. ¡°Loren, it is said that a creature¡¯s libido increases when it is placed in a life-threatening situation.¡± Lapis, who had inevitably moved closer to Loren as she reached for his chest from her clinging position, told him this with a serious face. ¡°It is a living creature¡¯s instinct to procreate, and I believe that you, Loren, are about to reach that point.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? What do you even want to do in this situation? Do you want to die?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine, Loren. I¡¯ll mainly be the one to get undressed. I see that there is plenty of room in that coat, so if you could just let me inside, I can secretly¡­¡± ¡°Wait wait, are you really that unaffected?!¡± As he pushed back against Lapis, who was insistently pushing herself closer to his body, Loren decided that it would be dangerous to remain in the same place any longer. He did not have a plan, but he thought the situation would only get worse if he did not move to a hollow or some other place where he could at least get shelter from the wind. ¡°We¡¯re moving. Pack your things.¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t move now, we might get stuck. The horse will also be in trouble soon.¡± The horse was still tied to the wagon and was breathing out white breath from its mouth. For the moment, it seemed to be still alive, but if it was kept still, it might freeze to death in this cold, which even their party felt to be quite severe. Loren thought that even a little movement would raise its body temperature. ¡°Hurry up. I heard that freezing to death is a fairly painless way to die, but you don¡¯t want to die.¡± With just a little bit of anger in his voice, Loren reminded Lapis firmly. He thought about the possibility that she might have already lost the ability to make sound judgments due to the cold. ¡°It¡¯s a little disappointing. I was thinking that if I kept pushing it, maybe I could make it.¡± Loren had expected Lapis to complain, but she followed his instructions and detached herself from him surprisingly readily. Her flirting had made Loren wonder for a moment if Lapis¡¯ behavior up to this point had been intentional, but when he saw that her body had not stopped shaking as she pulled away from him, he was at a loss. Putting off whether he was right, Loren called out to Gula and Luxuria as well. ¡°Hey, listen. You guys too, get moving, quickly. You don¡¯t want to be left behind.¡± The two had been quarreling right up until then, but they immediately stopped arguing at his words. As Gula dexterously crawled forward in her caterpillar-like state, Luxuria began to move toward the wagon and tidy up the tent with such agility that it was doubtful whether he was really feeling the cold. After quickly tidying up the camp, the party managed to coax the freezing horse into walking, and then began moving north again. ¡°But what the hell? I¡¯ve never heard of a weather like this.¡± Loren, sitting on the driver-bench, spoke to Lapis, who was holding the reins next to him, as if asking for her opinion, but Lapis looked around and tilted her head. Even if one were to look around, the surroundings were still covered in the darkness of night, and with the light that Gula had created with her magic from inside her sleeping bag and the scant moonlight, there was no way to get a satisfactory view. Even so, Lapis, who seemed to be able to see through the darkness with the vision of a demon, muttered in wonder. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but where are we moving towards now?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We had been following the map until we camped, but suddenly I can¡¯t tell where we are. I mean, was there even a place like this before we set up the camp?¡± Upon being told this, Loren looked around once again. According to the Great Demon king, Loren¡¯s vision, which seemed to be somewhat blended with that of the King of Death, could see more clearly than human eyes even in a darkness that was normally impossible to see through. And what appeared in Loren¡¯s vision now was a scenery that he was surely not familiar with. Before camping, Loren had seen an unobstructed view of a vast wasteland, but now, even though the wasteland was still a wasteland, he could also see the shadow of what looked like a huge mountain nearby. No matter how much Loren checked his memory or tilted his head at the unfamiliar mountain like Lapis did, no matter how hard he strained his eyes or rubbed them, the sight that did not disappear indicated that the mountain was indeed there. ¡°Were we closer to our destination than we thought?¡± There was definitely a mountain near their destination. Yuri had told them that the cave was at the foot of the mountain, so Loren wondered if that was the case. But Lapis shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not possible. We must be at least another half day or so away.¡± Loren thought that if Lapis said so, then it must be the case. At the very least, Lapis¡¯ opinion, which was based on the map and actual conditions, was more reliable than his own vague sense. If that were the case, however, it would not explain the existence of the mountain that loomed in front of them. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to go there anyway. I heard there is something that will help us find the cave?¡± ¡°I got this.¡± Lapis took one hand off the reins and pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. Waving the paper, which had some kind of pattern drawn on it, Lapis began to explain. ¡°It seems to be a talisman that reacts to anything that opposes the Evil God of Wrath.¡± ¡°Commander, why would he have such a thing?¡± To Loren, the thing in Lapis¡¯ hand looked like nothing more than a piece of paper with incomprehensible scribbles on it. However, if what Lapis said was true, then it was a magical tool, not something that could be obtained at random. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to ask you. Who in the world is that Yuri?¡± Lapis asked, but Loren had no words to answer it. The Yuri Loren knew was really just an old man who had been the leader of a mercenary soldier corps for some years. Of course, he owed the man a debt of gratitude for raising and educating him since he was a child, but he didn¡¯t think it had anything to do with Lapis¡¯ question. ¡°I have a hunch that there must be a cave at the end of this road, and that¡¯s our destination.¡± ¡°Even though you don¡¯t know where we are?¡± Loren was more than a little surprised to hear this contradictory remark coming from Lapis, who had just said that they were still half a day away from their destination according to the map. But Lapis, the one who said it, did not even seem to think her words were strange or out of place. ¡°I believe so because I don¡¯t know where we are.¡± Loren snorted a little at Lapis¡¯ strangely confident words. Behind him, Gula, still in her caterpillar state, and Luxuria, who was still not wearing any kind of warm clothing, were sinking into the gaps between their luggage. Chapter 319: From A Trap to Freezing (1) Proofreader: Xemul Some time later, Loren saw a scene that made him wonder how it had happened. The wagon was going straight ahead on the road, but the road was soon cut off at the foot of a mountain that appeared in front of them, and as if in some kind of joke, the pitch black opening of a cave appeared at the end of the road. Just as he suspected that they were being tricked, Lapis pulled out the talisman that Yuri had entrusted to her, which began to glow blue-white, indicating that the cave was their destination. ¡°See? That¡¯s just how it is?¡± Lapis said to Loren, not particularly proud of her prediction coming true, herself. Her face was also colored with bewilderment at the unnatural way things were progressing. ¡°I wonder if our Commander is actually a demon or a devil of some kind.¡± ¡°Are you asking me? If you don¡¯t know, Loren, then how could I know? I didn¡¯t see anything out of ordinary that could hint to it though.¡± Loren wondered if he had been bewitched or something, but no matter how much he tried to review his memories, he had no recollection of the Commander ever being a non-human being. He had known the man since childhood, and if he had been bewitched all this time, he would have been thoroughly deceived. But Loren didn¡¯t want to doubt the Commander to that extent. ¡°Well, on the bright side, we¡¯ve reached our destination.¡± ¡°At least the cave will make the cold a little more bearable.¡± With this answer, Lapis steered the wagon toward the cave. The entrance to the cave that opened right in front of them was wide enough that Loren could swing his greatsword around freely and the blade would not touch the walls. Even the whole wagon was able fit inside. Lapis stopped the wagon by the wall and tied the horse¡¯s reins to a protrusion. As Loren stepped down and patted the head of the horse, which looked somewhat relieved, Gula and Luxuria crawled out from the back of the wagon. ¡°Is this where we were going?¡± As if she thought staying in her caterpillar-like state would be troublesome, Gula crawled out of her sleeping bag, pulled on the coat that had been wrapped around her shoulders, and shivered a little as she hugged herself. Luxuria was also shivering like Gula, but since he was a large man in a tight outfit, it only creeped Loren out. He quietly looked away, not wanting to see it as much as possible. ¡°If Yuri¡¯s story is to be believed, it probably is.¡± Lapis lifted the piece of paper still glowing blue so that Gula could see it and shook it lightly. Gula turned her gaze toward the deep end of the cave and narrowed her eyes. ¡°So, there¡¯s something in the back of this place that can counter Wrath.¡± ¡°If the information is correct, yes.¡± ¡°Well, l-let¡¯s hurry up and g-go and g-get that something, s-shall we? Let¡¯s f-finish this job as soon as possible and b-bid farewell to this cold place.¡± ¡°From the looks of the rock, this seems like a normal cave, so it shouldn¡¯t be too complicated.¡± Luxuria walked slowly toward the back of the cave while carefully examining the cave walls. Loren thought that if this was the destination, rather than taking a break at the entrance, it would be better to go deeper as Gula had suggested and finish the work Yuri had asked them to do. He was about to follow after Luxuria who was walking in the lead with Lapis and Gula when IT happened. With a small, throaty scream, Luxuria, who had been walking in the lead, was suddenly flung backward. It happened very abruptly, but Loren¡¯s action was still fast. He pushed Gula¡¯s toward a cave wall and jumped to the opposite wall, shielding Lapis himself. Fortunately, the cave was wide enough to allow them to avoid Luxuria¡¯s flying body. He flew through the space that Loren had just vacated with considerable force, and shortly after he crashed into the ground head first and rolled backward several times before finally coming to a halt with his buttocks raising. ¡°What? What happened?¡± ¡°Well, that was a close call. Are you okay, Lapis?¡± ¡°Thank you, Loren. You covered for me, so I¡¯m alright.¡± Lapis, who was pressed up against the wall by Loren, looked at him with regretful eyes as Loren pulled away, but still said a proper word of thanks. Her eyes looked like those of a predator watching its prey, and the corners of Loren¡¯s mouth turned down while Shayna was yelling at him to please get away as soon as possible in his mind. ¡°What really happened? It¡¯s not normal for such a big body to be flying through the air like that.¡± Loren said while looking at Luxuria, who still had not moved after rolling to a stop. The guy was somewhat larger than Loren, and his weight must naturally be commensurate with his massive body. Considering the power that must have been used to send him flying, this was no ordinary occurance as Loren had said. Not to mention that Luxuria was an Evil God. The fact that an Evil God was blown away without being able to put up any resistance was enough to make one think that there was something extraordinary there. But when Loren looked at the area where Luxuria was hit, he could not see anything. ¡°Lapis, can you see anything?¡± ¡°No. What about you, Loren?¡± When asked by Lapis, Loren looked again at the area where Luxuria was blown back, they could not see anything there. [¡®What about you, Shayna?¡¯] Inwardly, Loren called out to Shayna. He thought that Shayna, the ¡®King of Death¡¯, might be able to find some kind of sign, but her reply was not favorable. [¡®I am syncing my vision with you. I can¡¯t see anything that you can¡¯t see, onii-san.¡¯] ¡°I can¡¯t see anything. That doesn¡¯t mean there¡¯s nothing though.¡± Loren shook his head and concluded. Lapis looked thoughtful for a moment, then grabbed the wrist of Gula, who was nearby. Both Loren and Gula, the one who had been grabbed by the wrist, wondered what on earth she was going to do, but it immediately became apparent to them. ¡°Hey now.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!?¡± With a small scream, Lapis swung her hand and Gula, who was held in that hand, was thrown forward. Loren took a step forward, surprised. But right before his eyes, as Gula¡¯s body reached the spot where Luxuria had just been thrown back, he instantly changed his trajectory at a sharp angle for an evasive action. And just like Luxuria, Gula was thrown from the spot, a scream following behind her. ¡°She really was thrown back.¡± Still rolling, Gula slammed into Luxuria, and both of them groaned. Ignoring them, Lapis stared at the area from which Gula had been flung away. ¡°Are they okay back there?¡± ¡°We needed to verify it.¡± Although Gula was supposed to be lighter than Luxuria, their landing point seemed to be exactly the same. Gula had slammed into Luxuria, who was still lying on the ground. Luxuria¡¯s body rolled back further due to the impact, but Gula was on her hands and knees. She glared at Lapis with somewhat bitter eyes, but Lapis did not seem to notice. She was staring at the spot where the Evil Gods were hit. After a while, Lapis, seemingly had something in mind, tried to move forward herself this time, but Loren grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°There is surely something there. I want to verify whether it was reacting to Evil Gods or not. Fortunately, judging from Gula¡¯s condition, it doesn¡¯t seem to be a life-threatening contraption, and I am quite sturdy.¡± If we were to simply discuss sturdiness, Loren would certainly be the most fragile of all the members present. And even though this trap was not likely to be fatal, it was logical that someone who was physically sturdier should try it out, taking into account the possibility of injuries when being sent flying a certain distance at a certain speed. However, whether or not it was acceptable was another matter. Loren, still grabbing Lapis by the shoulders, pushed her behind himself and stepped forward himself. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°No, Loren, it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re going to observe the trap, I should be there, not you. Watch out for anything that might happen.¡± Rather than one person being a test subject and an observer at the same time, Loren thought it would be better to concentrate on one or the other. He was of the opinion that Lapis would be a better observer than he was, and that he should be the test subject. Lapis was about to say something about this, but Loren stopped her. ¡°Well, you will understand it better than I do.¡± ¡°That may be true, but¡­¡± Lapis acknowledged, though with some hesitation. He waved at her and stepped forward. A force that could fling people back should be quite powerful, but if you know it was coming, you could be prepared for it. And as Lapis had said, neither Luxuria nor Gula showed any signs of broken bones, so the expectation that it would not be serious also calmed Loren. That was why Loren was walking slowly forward, but it was not until a few steps past the point where the Evil Gods had been flung back that he realized that something was wrong. Loren had expected to be struck by now, but there was no sign that it was about to happen. After taking a few more steps and confirming that nothing was going to happen, Loren looked back at Lapis, who was observing his movements with a somewhat troubled expression on her face. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Is it a mechanism that reacts only to Evil Gods?¡± Lapis tilted her head and muttered. But the next moment, she dexterously jumped away from her spot. ¡°Lapis-chan, you should try it out¡­ Uwahhh?!¡± Gula was trying to push Lapis from behind. However, Lapis, who had probably sensed the danger, dodged, making Gula lose her target. As Gula pitched forward with the momentum, she was pushed hard by Lapis, who had moved to behind her just in time, and fell down to the ground at Loren¡¯s feet. She lied sprawling on the floor of the cave in a big heap, and even her eyes seemed to have rolled back ¡°So, it won¡¯t trigger.¡± Lapis came to where Gula was and watched her. Loren considered her remark for a moment and opened his mouth. ¡°Could there be a limit to the number of times it triggers?¡± ¡°Well? I don¡¯t know for sure, but it looks like I can get through, since I don¡¯t seem to get struck either.¡± ¡°That sounds like it. Well¡­ we won¡¯t know even if we think about it anyway, so let¡¯s just move on.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Gula, Luxuria, let¡¯s go.¡± Watching Loren¡¯s back as he walked away, Lapis poked Gula, who was still lying prone. She got up and grunted in disapproval at how badly she had been treated. Without paying attention to Luxuria, who sat up with a mumbling complaint, Lapis muttered. ¡°It¡¯s possible that the trap was disabled because someone who is allowed to get through got through.¡± The words did not reach Loren¡¯s ears, but they rang true somehow. Lapis followed Loren in a jog, wondering what that could have meant all the while. Chapter 320: From Being Trapped to Freezing (2) Proofreader: Xemul Caves had different structures. Although there were exceptions because they were natural formations, most of them were simple structures that included several straightforward routes. If the size of the cave was large, it might be difficult to find your way back because of the many branches and paths you had taken, but in a normal-sized cave, it was unlikely that you would get lost inside. The cave that Loren¡¯s team entered seemed to be a straightforward type of cave, and the group were making their way along the almost straight pathway without any lights. Darkness was a very troublesome thing for the human eye, as it made it impossible to see anything. But Loren seemed to have gradually absorbed the abilities of the King of Death, and he could see enough to determine what was where without having to call out to Shayna. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a good thing or not.¡± The fact that he was taking on the power of the King of Death meant that Loren was becoming less and less human. Although it was still unknown at the moment how this would end, Loren had the feeling that it would not be a story with a happy ending. However, he was not inclined to expel Shayna out of his mind, thinking that she would disappear if he did. He was somewhat inclined to let things be as they were for now. ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary cave as far as I can see. I wonder if there is really anything here that can stand up against the Evil God of Wrath.¡± It was Lapis who raised such a question while looking around. Indeed, there was no indication that anyone has tampered with their surroundings. It was somewhat difficult to imagine that the mere depths of this cave could conceal something like Yuri had mentioned. ¡°There was some kind of trap at the entrance, so it can¡¯t be that no one was in there at all, can it?¡± ¡°The paper Yuri gave me and that fact are the only clues we have at this point.¡± Lapis said and waved the paper, which was pinched between her fingers. It was now emitting an even stronger light than it had been at the entrance. Yuri did not give any particular explanation for this, but Loren and Lapis thought that the increased light was probably a sign that they were getting closer to the desired object. ¡°It helps that there is only one path. I wouldn¡¯t want to wander through a maze here.¡± ¡°Even though the it has eased up a bit, it¡¯s still cold.¡± The air was still cold enough to feel chilly, although it was not unbearable thanks to the cave and the coats they were wearing. Loren did not want to stay long in this space, nor did he want to navigate the maze as Lapis had said. ¡°But what the hell is down the road?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think it must be something that can counteract the power of fire, since it is something that can oppose the power of the Evil God of Wrath.¡± ¡°Simply put, something that possesses the power of water or ice.¡± Gula joined the conversation from behind them. She, too, was wearing a coat, which hid her usual attire, and she seemed to be somehow able to withstand the cold. Next to her, Luxuria had his arms crossed as if he were hugging himself, walking haltingly. If he looked back at Gula, he would inevitably see Luxuria¡¯s figure, so Loren asked Gula without looking back. ¡°If it¡¯s going to compete with that, it must be pretty powerful, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s some half-assed item, it¡¯ll just be burned to ashes.¡± ¡°Can we transport such a powerful item by ourselves?¡± The simple assumption was that something with the opposite attribute to the Evil God of Wrath and with equal power was enshrined at the back of the cave where they were proceeding. Loren¡¯s question was whether such a thing could be carried casually. Gula was could not answer, and Lapis responded in a light-hearted manner. ¡°Let¡¯s just assume it¡¯s something we can carry with us. Otherwise, I¡¯m sure Yuri wouldn¡¯t have asked us to fetch it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the Commander would have thought of that¡­¡± [¡®Onii-san, there¡¯s a doorway ahead.¡¯] Loren was speaking when Shayna¡¯s voice in his mind stopped him. He turned his gaze forward. With the King of Death¡¯s vision, which could see through darkness, he saw, just as Shayna had said, a metal door that was clearly man-made at the end of a long stretch of cave wall that he had previously thought was natural. Lapis and the others seem to have noticed it, too, and they all stop in their tracks. ¡°And something like that just appeared.¡± Because of the incident at the entrance, Lapis observed the area around the door carefully without moving from the spot, but she gently shook her head after a while. As was the case at the entrance, Lapis was unable to detect anything unusual around the door, even with her magical vision and knowledge. However, it was hard to believe that there were no tricks being played, as it was obvious that there would be something beyond the door. As Lapis tilted her head, Loren stepped forward, acting as if he were a casual observer. ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go this time. I think it¡¯s too much to ask Gula and Luxuria to be flicked back again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a trap that flick you back here though.¡± ¡°Then help me out. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± Just because the trap at the entrance was equipped with a device with comparatively low killing power, did not necessarily mean that the same kind of device would be used again here. The possibility that something with a potentially deadly power might be set here could not be dismissed, but with a demon and two Evil Gods behind him and the King of Death named Shayna inside him, Loren was optimistic that he would manage somehow. He slowly walked up to the door at the end of the cave. Loren was on guard to some extent, ready to deal with any situation that might arise. But with slow and steady steps, he eventually arrived at the door. Having arrived at the door without incident, Loren turned toward Lapis, who was waiting for him at the same position where she had stopped earlier, with a look of disappointment on his face. Lapis shrugged and walked up to where he was waiting, beckoning Gula and Luxuria to follow her. ¡°Nothing happened.¡± ¡°There were several signs, but none of them were triggered.¡± Loren had not noticed, but Lapis, who was watching from behind, had seen signs of movement of something that was probably an anti-intruder device. However, they were not triggered even when Loren passed by. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering who the hell you are, Loren. There have been a few things that have seemed a little strange to me.¡± ¡°Even if you say so, I have no idea. I don¡¯t even know where I was born.¡± ¡°Once this is done, we may need to try to squeeze it out of Yuri. For now, we have to deal with the matter at hand first.¡± Saying this, Lapis moved her face closer to the door in front of them, being careful not to touch it. The metal door, which had some kind of pattern engraved on its surface, had no handle or keyhole, as far as the eyes could see. There was also no place to put a hand on it; the door seemed to be impossible to open in any way. Lapis turned away from it to Loren and said in a somewhat dismissive tone of voice. ¡°If Loren pushes it, maybe it¡¯ll open?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you give it a try? There doesn¡¯t seem to be any kind of trap.¡± Loren then checked with Shayna to see if it was true. Shayna, with fluttering wings in Loren¡¯s field of vision, stared at the door for a moment, then nodded. If both of them had checked and found no traps, Loren thought that even if there were traps, he would not be able to tell. Without letting his guard down, he gently put his hand on the door. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want to ask.¡± As Loren heard the conversation of the Evil Gods in the background, the metal door disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place as soon as he put his hand on it. Loren was unable to comprehend the scene before him, but as if to drown out his thoughts, a gush of cold air suddenly burst forth from the open doorway, and Lapis let out a small scream and clung to Loren as the two Evil Gods began to scream in unison. Even though they were wearing coats, the cold air seeping into their bodies made Loren and the others wince, and their exposed skin felt only stinging pain. Loren feared for a moment that he was going to die as his body heat was being snatched away from him, but after a while, the wind died down, the cold air settled a little, and Loren was finally able to let out a deep breath. ¡°I thought my insides were going to freeze.¡± Loren said. He was neither joking nor speaking figuratively but felt it sincerely. He lightly tapped Lapis, who was burying her face in his arms and clinging to him, on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, are you okay over there?¡± After seeing Lapis look up, he called out to the Evil Gods behind them. Gula raised her hand as if to say she was okay, though she was shaking so hard that her teeth could not even chatter. Luxuria, on the other hand, was deathly pale and motionless. Loren wondered if he had frozen to death, but when he saw Gula, while trying to withstand the cold, put her hand on Luxuria¡¯s neck and let out a sigh of disappointment, he realized that he seemed to be alive. ¡°The cold air trapped inside the door burst out all at once. I thought I was going to die.¡± ¡°Me too. I heard that freezing to death is one of the most comfortable ways to die.¡± Loren had heard from someone that it would literally be like dying in his sleep, but he could not imagine that he would want to die here, no matter how comfortable it would be. Leaving Luxuria, who was not likely to move, and Gula, who was watching over him, behind, Loren and Lapis stepped into the room. ¡°Is this it?¡± They hadn¡¯t proceeded much further when Lapis pointed to the end of the cave, where a single-edged sword with a slightly curved blade was thrust deeply into the ground. Loren and Lapis approached the sword, which was glowing pale in the darkness as if it were pushing the darkness away, and stared at it intently. ¡°Scimitar, I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s called.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a falchion?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°A falchion is thicker and heavier.¡± When Lapis looked at the blade of the sword again, she saw that it was indeed quite thick, with a weight that would make it a little difficult to handle with one hand. A bluish-white light was emitting from the blade as if clinging to it, and she could see that it was an intense cold magic. ¡°I think this is the countermeasure he was talking about. Let¡¯s call it an ice falchion.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s ice against fire, huh? But, can it really stand up to that powerful Rage?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s believe it can. The Commander said so.¡± As she answered, Lapis was about to put her hand on the hilt of the sword that was stuck into the ground, but hesitated for a moment and then stepped aside to let Loren take her place. Loren felt as if the sword could have been pulled out by anyone, but since Lapis has specifically given him the task, he thought that it must mean something. So he moved forward to the spot Lapis had vacated and gently put his hand on the hilt of the sword. The cold stung his palm a little, but nothing more than that happened, and with a light effort Loren was able to pull the sword out of the ground. ¡°I think there was a legend that once upon a time, whoever pulled out a sword that was stuck in a stone or something could become king.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that big a deal, is it? We¡¯ve got what we need now. Let¡¯s get out of this cold place as soon as possible.¡± As the sword had been stuck into the ground, there was no sheath to hold it. Loren urged Lapis to return to the entrance, thinking it would be necessary to return to the wagon and find a cloth or something to wrap the sword with. ¡°What the hell?! What the fuck are you doing here?!¡± ¡°You followed us huh, pervert!¡± Just then, Gula¡¯s impatient scream and Luxuria¡¯s resigned voice came from the entrance. Chapter 321: From Being Trapped to Freezing (3) Proofreader: Xemul The voice of the Evil Gods made Loren and Lapis quicken their steps. When they returned, they saw the two Evil Gods squaring off against a man standing opposite them. The man, whose body was well-defined enough for others to identify his gender even with a coat that hung down to his feet, looked at the newly-arrived Loren and Lapis while ignoring the two Evil Gods standing in front of him. The man had loosely wavy gray hair and a white mask covering his entire face. His sharp eyes made it hard to believe that he was an ordinary person, but what made Loren wary was the fact that he did not hesitate to look in the direction of them in the almost unlit cave, and that the color of his eyes was purple. ¡°Is that the thing that can counter Wrath? Well, it¡¯s certainly a good item, but it¡¯s not that special.¡± The man said while gesturing at the falchion in Loren¡¯s hand with his chin. Loren did not reply to him, but instead called out to Gula, who was bracing herself. ¡°Do you know him?¡± ¡°This presence and that mask¡­ He is the Evil God of Pride, Superbia.¡± Gula answered without taking her eyes off the man, and Loren groaned softly at her words. Given the circumstances of their arrival, Loren was not too sure about the location of the cave they were currently in, but as far as he knew, it was within the Empire territory, so he did not think much about possible interference from the Kingdom side. It was beyond Loren¡¯s imagination that they would be so blatant that they would send one of the Evil Gods to intervene. ¡°Give it to me, and I¡¯ll let you go.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to just say ¡®Yes Sir¡¯ when you ask me to give it to you?¡± Loren replied, holding out his right hand. Superbia let out a soft sigh as if he were a teacher dealing with a naughty student. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for you. Don¡¯t make it harder for me.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you see the situation? We¡¯ve got two of your comrades over here.¡± ¡°My comrades? What are you talking about?¡± Loren was thinking that since they were all Evil Gods, the greater the number, the better. But after saying it, he remembered that when they were dealing with Wrath, they could barely escape even though she was by herself. Loren wondered if he had chosen the wrong word, but Superbia sounded as if he had heard something very unexpected. ¡°I don¡¯t have any comrades. I¡¯m not comfortable being lumped in with them.¡± Loren swallowed the words ¡®But aren¡¯t you all Evil Gods¡¯ just in time. The reason was, even though Gula and Luxuria looked annoyed at his words, they didn¡¯t say a word in rebuttal. Even though Loren was aware that the situation was apparently unfavourable, he made an effort to speak to Superbia in a light tone of voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. For us, it¡¯s hard to tell the difference because you are all Evil Gods.¡± ¡°Ignorance is a sin, but I forgive you for once. You should be thankful that you have the opportunity to know.¡± ¡°He looks down on me too high, that it almost makes my ears ring.¡± Lapis muttered in a low voice. Loren gestured for her to keep silent and held up the falchion he was holding in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to give you this, but I¡¯m here on business too. I¡¯d be doing my employer a disservice if I went back empty-handed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of my business.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so tough on me. How did you get here in the first place? I heard you¡¯re the Evil God of Pride, but you¡¯re also a hound of the Kingdom? Hey, Lapis, would you look after this for a minute?¡± Loren¡¯s face lit up with a dumb smile. He was so different from the usual Loren that Lapis looked up at him with a startled expression on her face. Loren gently handed her the falchion in his hand and continued speaking, scratching his head. ¡°You may not be able to relate to this, arrogant as you are, but adventurers like me make our living from this. If the commission fails, my credibility will be at stake. My life is precious to me, but money is too.¡± ¡°Money? If I give you some money, will you give it to me?¡± ¡°That depends on the sum. After all, I might be out of work for a while.¡± ¡°Would you forfeit your life for a few pennies?¡± ¡°If you think it¡¯s just some pennies, then be generous, Sir.¡± Superbia looked a bit taken aback by Loren¡¯s banter. It was also the same for Gula and Luxuria, who were listening to their conversation. Both of them looked at Loren with dumbfounded faces. Under the gaze of these three Evil Gods, Loren continued to speak in a tone that, to those who knew him, was different from the usual. ¡°If you¡¯re working for the kingdom, you must have deep pockets, right? Wouldn¡¯t you let me have some crumbs?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not working under any orders. There is no one in the world who can order me around.¡± ¡°Then why are you so obsessed with this sword again?¡± ¡°I owe a debt to a man named Magna in the Kingdom. I¡¯m just helping him until I pay it back.¡± Superbia looked away as if he was not convinced even though he himself said it. Loren gave him an amicable smile as he quickly glanced at Lapis. Lapis, who had received the sword from Loren, was staring at its blade, but when he noticed Loren¡¯s gaze, she gave a small nod. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that the Evil God of Pride owes someone a debt. What did he do for you?¡± ¡°He just helped me break my seal. I would have been able to break it sooner or later without his help, but he should be rewarded for helping to speed up the process somewhat.¡± Loren was surprised to see that he was rather righteous for someone who called Pride. Superbia gave him a rather stern look. ¡°Magna told me about you. He said your name is Loren. You look a little different from what I¡¯ve heard, but you¡¯ve got Gula and Luxuria with you, so I¡¯m sure of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to hear what you¡¯ve heard about me, but, well, I¡¯m Loren.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your feud with Magna. I¡¯m just here to ask you to give me what you¡¯ve got. If you give it to me obediently, I¡¯ll pay you some money for it. But if you refuse, I¡¯ll take it slowly after I¡¯ve dealt with you and your friends.¡± Loren slowly shifted his gaze to Gula and Luxuria. Luxuria remained poised against Superbia, but Gula, who seemed to have given up on her resistance and released her posture, gently shook her head at Loren. This gesture made Loren realise that even with two of these Evil Gods working together, it would be difficult for them to fight against Superbia. ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice then. Lapis, is it alright if we give it to him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the second-best choice, but it¡¯s a little problematic. So let¡¯s do it this way.¡± Lapis replied by turning the sword in her hands over and stabbing it into the ground at her feet with all her might. She then removed her hand from the hilt of the sword, which now stood with the tip of the blade buried into the ground, and told Superbia as she lightly dusted her hands. ¡°We¡¯ll leave this here. When we leave the cave, it will be yours. Let¡¯s make that a pact, shall we?¡± As Loren and Lapis seemed to have given up on the sword too easily, Gula and Luxuria seemed to want to say something about it, but Loren stopped them with a gesture. ¡°You are the Evil God of Pride. You wouldn¡¯t do something cheap like a surprise attack from behind, would you?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t take too much time, then it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll wait at least as long as it takes you to escape.¡± ¡°Thanks. Hey, let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡± After seeing Superbia nod, Loren patted Gula and Luxuria, who looked somewhat stunned, on the shoulder and urged them to quickly leave the place. Gula and Luxuria, wondering if this was really the right thing to do, were pushed by Loren and moved toward the exit, passing by Superbia, who was standing still. Lapis followed them, and Loren, who was still somewhat wary, was the last to pass by the Evil God of Pride in a half jog. ¡°Don¡¯t be so alarmed. I wouldn¡¯t take you guys by surprise.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but be careful. I¡¯m not as fearless as you are.¡± ¡°A small fry like you just can¡¯t help it. Here, your reward.¡± As they passed each other, Superbia spoke, to which Loren replied in a dignified manner. The Evil God then tossed him a coin, which Loren received, and after confirming that it was a gold coin, he quietly tucked it into his pocket. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Being so happy just because of such a meager sum of money¡­ You really have no future.¡± After returning an ingratiating smile to Superbia¡¯s mocking, Loren waved to Gula and Luxuria, who were running ahead of him, as if to ask them to increase their speed. He then sped up himself and asked in a small voice when he caught up with Lapis. ¡°How¡¯s everything?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good. All that¡¯s left is timing.¡± He nodded in response to Lapis¡¯ thumbs-up, then urged Gula and Luxuria, who was running ahead of him, forward by a push for the former and a kick in the buttocks for the latter. When they reached the wagon parked near the entrance of the cave, he put Lapis on the driver¡¯s bench, crammed Gula and Luxuria into the carriage, undid the rope tying the wagon to the cave wall, then patted the horse¡¯s rump and quickly climbed onto the driver¡¯s bench himself. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll come as soon as we leave.¡± At Loren¡¯s instruction, Lapis picked up the reins and started the wagon. Ignoring the cries of complaints from Gula, who fell into the luggage due to the sudden start, Lapis raised her voice as she concentrated on driving. > ¡°Lapis-chan?¡± ¡°We¡¯re flying, hold on tight! Answer my call!¡± At the moment Lapis, who had called for attention without answering Gula¡¯s question, said those words as if making a declaration, Gula and Luxuria turned around with a startled expression on their faces when they felt the presence of magic power swelling up behind them. It was definitely coming from the direction which they had just run through, and where Superbia was probably still at. Before they could even wonder what had happened, they were hit by a chillingly cold wind, and if they looked deeper into the cave, they could see a tremendous amount of ice sprouting up at an incredible rate, as if the atmosphere itself had turned to ice. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later! Now, if we don¡¯t break away from this place as soon as possible, we¡¯ll get caught up and finished too!¡± Gula¡¯s surprise shout was answered by Lapis, who gave a whip to the horse pulling the wagon. Clinging desperately to the bench, which was rocking violently due to the increased speed, Loren looked behind them and prayed that they would come out all right as he watched the mass of ice explosively expand its range. Chapter 322: From Report to Instruction (1) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°So, the commission failed. I¡¯m sorry, Commander.¡± Loren reported to Yuri, sounding not very apologetic. It was the morning of the day after they had escaped from the mountain, arrived at the town they had come from, and rested for the night. Loren, accompanied by Lapis and Gula, had gone to the military facility where Yuri was waiting for him, told the soldiers there Yuri¡¯s name and asked for a meeting. And when they were shown into the room, those were his first words. After explaining what had happened, he reported their failure so brazenly that Lapis and Gula, whom he had brought with him, looked at Loren flabbergasted. Yuri, who received the report, did not get angry or show any sign of disappointment, but simply responded with a few words. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Yuri did not make any further inquiries, but invited them to sit down at the table across from him. ¡°You seem awfully indifferent.¡± Lapis looked at the General with suspicion and said, but Yuri gently shook his head as he watched them taking their seats. ¡°As I said, it¡¯s something only Loren could have done. If he went and failed, it would have been the same for anyone else. I don¡¯t blame you.¡± ¡°What on earth was that place anyway? It wasn¡¯t an ordinary place, was it?¡± Thinking that demanding explanations would be more effective than asking questions, Lapis asked in a somewhat harsh tone. Yuri stared at her for a while, then gently shrugged and replied, tone unchanged. ¡°Well, I forgot.¡± ¡°Do you expect me to be satisfied with that answer?¡± ¡°Well, even if you say so, forgot means forgot.¡± Yuri¡¯s gaze shifted from Lapis to Loren as he replied in a playful manner. Yuri¡¯s tone of voice remained unchanged as he told Loren, who was silently watching the exchange between the two. ¡°I may remember sooner or later. I will tell you if I do.¡± ¡°Understood. It¡¯s all right.¡± ¡°Is it really?¡± Lapis seemed to be somewhat displeased. Loren placed his hand on her head as if to placate her and whispered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can get him to talk about something he doesn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Some pain might loosen his tongue, don¡¯t you think? Shock might make you remember something you¡¯ve forgotten.¡± Lapis said such disturbing words with a coy face, and Loren and Yuri¡¯s expressions simultaneously twitched. It was understandable that Loren¡¯s face would twitch because he knew that there was nothing, he could do to stop Lapis if she wanted to do so, but Yuri should not have known this. Gula, wondering why his face was twitching, asked with a searching expression and tone. ¡°You¡¯re a General of the Empire, aren¡¯t you? If Lapis-chan wanted to use force, wouldn¡¯t you be able to stop her?¡± ¡°That may be so. Though I can¡¯t think of anything I can do to stop Loren, who is working with that priest, if he wants to do so.¡± Gula understood Yuri¡¯s concern. Yuri was indeed a General, and if he were to raise his voice, an avalanche of soldiers outside the room would immediately enter the room. However, the number of people who could be in the room was limited by the indoor space. Gula thought that it would be difficult to hold Loren in check with that number of people, as Yuri feared. ¡°But it¡¯s disappointing. I thought that magic item would help us resist the power of the flames.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. At least Pride has been neutralized for the time being.¡± Yuri let out a sigh, and Loren responded. Gula asked Loren what she had been wondering. ¡°What the hell did you do when we ran away?¡± ¡°I appraised the transfer of ownership, then used the tool.¡± It was Lapis who answered on Loren¡¯s behalf. Gula, who did not understand the words, wanted a more detailed explanation, so Lapis began to explain, holding up her index finger and wagging it from side to side. ¡°That falchion was not an item that could be used by anyone. It was the kind of magical tool that only the owner was allowed to use. At that point, the ownership of the sword and the right to use it belonged to Loren, who had pulled it out.¡± However, Loren did not have the knowledge to appraise the use of magical tools. Even Shayna, who possessed the power of the King of Death, did not have the knowledge to use unknown magic tools on the spot. So, Loren transferred his respective rights on the spot by handing the falchion directly to Lapis. ¡°So, while Loren and Pride were talking, I appraised the falchion and figured out how to use it.¡± ¡°Wait a minute. Didn¡¯t you say you were going to give that sword to Pride before we escaped?¡± ¡°I declared that I would give it to him as soon as we left the cave, so I still had the rights to it even after I had stabbed it into the ground. All I had to do was move to the exit and release the power contained in the sword before we left the cave.¡± As a result, the cave was enclosed in ice. No one knew what happened to Pride, but it would not be easy to get out. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if he was caught in the ice.¡± ¡°Nah, that would be a wishful thinking, but it¡¯ll probably take him a lot of work to get out.¡± According to Gula, Pride¡¯s authority allowed him to exert a power superior to his opponent as long as he looked down on that person. However, there should be only Pride in that place now, and the authority that could be used by looking down on others would not be available. As a result, whether caught in the ice or not, the Evil God of Pride had to use only his own power to get out, and that much power was not enough to threaten both Gula and Luxuria. ¡°Even if we can¡¯t keep him locked up forever, it might buy us some time.¡± ¡°Surprisingly, it might not be that easy to get out.¡± Lapis muttered that it was not necessary to consider this as a crisis for the time being, and Yuri inquired: ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I just remembered something. That place is a little bit special, and not easy to get in or out of. And if you used the sword¡¯s power to seal it with ice, it would be a pretty powerful seal.¡± Lapis was about to ask for more details, but before she could open her mouth, Loren gently stopped her. Yuri had said earlier that he might remember something. Loren believed that it meant aside from this bit of information, he had ¡®forgotten¡¯ everything else, and it would be futile to continue questioning him. Lapis believed that he should be hounded for answers, but she obediently complied with Loren. ¡°But even if that matter is solved, it¡¯s not going to make things any better. The immediate crisis at hand is the existence of a being called Wrath, who wields fires.¡± The Evil God of Pride might have been a threat, but from Yuri¡¯s point of view, he was still an existence outside of his consideration. It was not a bad thing that he was neutralized for a while, but the threat of Wrath was not something that they could manage after losing the means to counter it. ¡°Is there any other measure? Since you¡¯re the leader, don¡¯t you have anything else?¡± ¡°Not that there is no other option, but it¡¯s not something that can be done immediately. The longer it takes, the more damage we suffer, and we can¡¯t stall forever.¡± The situation had already progressed to the point where the Empire¡¯s force and the Kingdom¡¯s force were about to meet face to face. It had not developed into a full-scale confrontation was due to Yuri¡¯s efforts to buy time, but no matter how talented Yuri was as a general, he could not delay the already-developing military conflict indefinitely. ¡°The next best strategy, and one that requires little time to implement, would be to distribute water and ice scrolls to the army¡¯s magic practitioners and launch a simultaneous offensive strike at the same time Wrath appears. If the timing is off, the effect will be weak, and above all, there is no proof that this will work.¡± The Evil God of Wrath was indeed a powerful entity, but she was also an individual. It was extremely difficult to predict where and when this individual would appear on a battlefield, where the Empire¡¯s and Kingdom¡¯s armies were tangled. If the Imperial Army made a wrong guess, they could suffer fatal damage. But even if they made a right guess, they might have to launch an attack on their own allies. ¡°Individuals that can rival an army is just a headache.¡± ¡°I have a suggestion.¡± As Yuri placed a hand on his forehead and let out a sigh, Gula raised her hand and said. ¡°There is something that can be prepared in a relatively short time. Once put to work, it can probably suppress the power of Wrath, with little or no casualties. Wanna hear it?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that sound like a pipedream?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a risky move in its own way, but it does exist. If you want to hear about it, I can tell you under certain conditions.¡± Yuri, who had been staring at Gula for a while as if he was trying to figure out what he should do, finally answered in a tone of voice and air that seemed to direct to no one in particular. ¡°Is it money?¡± ¡°Nah, I can¡¯t eat the money. I¡¯m at a place so far away from home and so cold, and I¡¯m starving, and my body and soul are freezing.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± As Gula spoke in a deliberate tone, Yuri removed his hand from his forehead, rubbed his chin with his finger and hummed. But his hesitation was short-lived. Yuri, perhaps having made up his mind quickly, lightly slammed his hands on the table and leaned forward. ¡°Alright. I promise you the best lodging and meals I can provide. But I¡¯ll hear your information first.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t take that back after hearing my information, will you? And how about for three people?¡± Gula smiled wickedly at Yuri, who had accepted the deal, and held up three fingers of his right hand. Loren thought that they shouldn¡¯t be involved in the reward for the information that Gula was providing, but he stayed silent, thinking that if you were given something, you should take it. Both Loren and Lapis were aware of the lack of Luxuria in the deal, but neither of them had the slightest intention of pointing it out. ¡°For three, alright? All the best. So, what is this measure?¡± ¡°Well, actually, it¡¯s¡­¡± Yuri accepted Gula¡¯s request and immediately demanded information. In response, Gula began to explain her countermeasures against Wrath, but the idea was so outrageous that Loren, who was listening nearby, doubted whether it was really possible. Chapter 323: From Report to Instruction (2) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Are you insane? Do we even have a chance to win?¡± After leaving Yuri¡¯s place, Loren¡¯s team gathered in a room at an inn that he had prepared. After listening to Gula¡¯s countermeasure against Wrath, Yuri had kept his promise and provided them with what he considered the best accommodations he could offer. Loren wondered why an inn originally used by the nobility of the Empire was located so close to the border where the battlefield was being fought, but he was convinced when Yuri told him that the current battlefield had also been a battlefield several times in the past, and that troops were dispatched there quite frequently. Military service was a kind of duty for nobles, and many well-known nobles hold a good position in the military. In other words, this was an inn for high-ranking officers. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about my head, then yes I¡¯m not in my right mind. But,¡± Gula deftly dodged Lapis, who had come at her with such force as soon as they entered the room, then jumped on the bed in the room and laid down. Lapis looked upset, and Gula continued. ¡°Worst case scenario, we can just drag him in front of Wrath if we can¡¯t convince him.¡± ¡°Is that how it is? But I think it¡¯s a little too much to throw Sloth at Wrath.¡± Lapis said and sat down on the edge of another bed. Loren, who had been watching their exchange at the entrance of the room, finally opened his mouth and looked around the room and asked the question he had been holding in his mind. ¡°It looks to me like there are three beds.¡± ¡°Of course, there are. This seems to be a room for three.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sleep here too¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be eaten or anything.¡± While feeling that this was not the place to be concerned, Loren thought it would be futile to try to argue with Lapis¡¯ words. He entered the room, propped the large sword on his back up against the wall, and placed the dagger he had taken out of his luggage near the pillow of the innermost of the three beds. ¡°Isn¡¯t that usually the opposite of what you¡¯re supposed to do?¡± Gula, who had been watching Loren¡¯s actions, commented, but Loren just ignored her. Since he would never voluntarily attack Lapis or Gula, and in fact, the opposite possibility would be much more likely, preparation would be absolutely necessary. Anyway, Loren could not understand why a room for high-ranking officers would accommodate three people. He thought that a noble would not go to the trouble of sharing a room with others, but then he reconsidered the fact that most nobles who join the military are men, and it might not be unusual for them to invite someone else into their room at night. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a good thing it wasn¡¯t just one gigantic bed for three.¡± ¡°I would have been fine with that.¡± Lapis, who overheard Loren¡¯s low murmur, said in a matter-of-fact tone. But Loren thought that if such a situation had arisen, he would have had to consider doing something about Yuri, who had prepared the room. ¡°There¡¯s only one bathroom, so the three of us can all go in together, okay?¡± Surprisingly, the room Yuri had prepared for them even had a bath. But although it was a decent size, it was still only one bathroom. Gula suggested this with a wry smile, to which Loren responded with a sigh and downturned mouth corners. ¡°Why the hell would we do that? Why don¡¯t we use it one at a time, or why don¡¯t I go in after you guys are done?¡± ¡°Are you going to waste the chance to take a bath with beautiful girls? Could it be that you are that type of guy? I heard that it¡¯s common on the battlefield, and I¡¯m worried about you.¡± Gula said smugly with a smirk. Loren sat down on his bed and glared at her. ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about anything¡­¡± Just then, Nig, who had been clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, quickly descended to the bed via his arm, moved to the edge of the bed, and began to spin a web. Loren, sensing that he was making a bed for himself, gently patted Nig¡¯s back as he dexterously shaped the threads, he spat out it with his forelegs, and warned him not to make anything too showy. ¡°Can¡¯t you give in to your desires at least once? Don¡¯t you think you are too stoic?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease me too much. One of these days I¡¯m going to really give into them.¡± As Loren uttered this in a threatening tone, Lapis, who was sitting on the edge of another bed, collapsed onto the bed on her back and silently beckoned Loren to come to her. Loren let out a sigh, covered his face with his hands, and waved his hand at Lapis as if he were chasing away a dog. ¡°Rather than that, what is Sloth¡¯s odd against Wrath?¡± Loren had only met the Evil God of Sloth once, but he had the impression that, as the title implied, the man found everything to be a chore. He didn¡¯t seem like the kind of Evil God that would be suited to a war, nor did he seem like an effective means of countering Wrath, who they had no choice but to flee from. However, Gula answered in a strangely confident tone while still lying down. ¡°In my opinion, Sloth is the most effective countermeasure against Wrath.¡± ¡°And what the hell is the logic behind that?¡± ¡°I¡¯d happily to explain it to you in the bathtub.¡± Gula said with a smug smile. Loren was about to reject her when he noticed Lapis¡¯ eyes fixed on him. ¡°Isn¡¯t it usually the man who makes those kinds of demands?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect Loren would make such an exchange offer.¡± ¡°What do you guys get from trying to seduce me?¡± Loren had never lived in a way that could be described as particularly chaste or pure. It was a useless thing on the battlefield, and although he did not like to talk about it, when he was old enough to be a child soldier, he had bathed together with female mercenaries from other mercenary groups. For some reason, the female mercenaries he bathed with at that time were very pleased. ¡°I¡¯m doing all this because of the goodness in my heart.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a bit curious.¡± ¡°You¡¯re way too transparent. At least pretend to be shy.¡± Being liked by two girls who were worthy of being called beautiful made Loren very happy. However, if they were too open about it, it would dampen the mood. It was with this in mind that Loren responded to them. Lapis and Gula, still lying on their backs, looked at each other and began to wriggle around on their beds. The action seemed to have some meaning, but to Loren, it looked like caterpillars trying to decide which direction to go. ¡°Just want to ask, but¡­ What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just trying to be as shy as we can.¡± Lapis answered with a straight face. Loren, at a loss for words, looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Whether it¡¯s a tactic or a trick, what¡¯s the point of being coy if you¡¯re not going to be honest about how you feel?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, Loren. Even an Evil God agrees.¡± ¡°If we have eternity, we can dance around each other as much as you like. But time is finite, you know?¡± ¡°But there are those who argue that this is the best part.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t agree, but if you like such things, then I can cast my eyes down with blushing cheeks and slowly lift my skirt while biting my fingers¡­¡± ¡°Something¡¯s not right there, isn¡¯t it? I mean the skirt part. I can¡¯t do that with my clothes.¡± ¡°Do it with your top, then?¡± ¡°My top? My top!? If I lift it up, we¡¯ll suddenly go straight to the main part!¡± While Loren was at a loss as to what to do as he watched the two girls begin to argue with each other, Shayna appeared in his field of vision, flapping the wings on her back and looking at the two with interest. As Loren wondered what was interesting, Shayna muttered something in his mind. [¡®That¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it? This must be something people call ¡®girls¡¯ talk¡¯. I¡¯m a bit jealous.¡¯] Loren thought that this might not be the case, but he did not convey it to Shayna. He was not familiar enough with this ¡®girls¡¯ talk¡¯ thing to be able to say that it was definitely different, and he did not think it was necessary to go to the trouble of denying the kind of misleading thoughts that Shayna was having. Moreover, Shayna had been turned into the ¡®King of Death¡¯ at a very young age, and before that, she was the daughter of the head of a city-state, so it was unlikely that she would have had the chance to talk with other children her own age. Loren hoped that he could somehow get her back into a human body as soon as possible. Perhaps that thought was conveyed to Shayna, as she peered into Loren¡¯s eyes with a somewhat worried expression on her face. [¡®Onii-san?¡¯] Loren told her that it was nothing, then coughed lightly to attract the attention of Lapis and Gula, who were still noisily arguing with each other. The conversation stopped at that sound, and they both turned to Loren. ¡°Anyway, this is just the Commander¡¯s consideration. Stretch your wings when you can, and such.¡± ¡°Hey Loren, I just wondered if you would go with me to persuade Sloth to come along? I¡¯m the one who suggested it, but I don¡¯t really feel like doing it by myself.¡± Gula peered into Loren¡¯s face and asked. He wondered what to say for a moment, but then quickly answered. ¡°I¡¯m inclined to refuse if he¡¯s holing up in some strange place, but since we¡¯re obliged to report to the Commander, I guess I just can¡¯t leave everything to you, can I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. Whether we succeed or not, we will have to communicate with the Commander, so I guess we¡¯ll have to go with you.¡± When Lapis expressed her approval of Loren¡¯s thought despite all the reluctance, Gula stretched out on the bed with a relieved expression. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I guess we¡¯d better have a meal and a bath, then I¡¯ll take you back to our place after we¡¯ve had a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°I forgot to mention one condition, that is, you have to stay put tonight. If you try anything strange, I¡¯ll let you handle it on your own.¡± Loren put the final nail in the coffin, and Gula¡¯s face became gloomy. She looked extremely disappointed, but nodded after a while, perhaps having come to the conclusion that she had no choice but to accept it, considering that she would have to go alone to persuade Sloth otherwise. ¡°That means only I have a chance this time.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t behave yourself, I¡¯ll leave you behind alone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too cruel. I can¡¯t allow you to travel alone with the Evil God of Gluttony!¡± Lapis half rose up and protested, but Loren had no intention to retract his statement. After a while, she reluctantly nodded as if she understood. Loren felt a little bitter about the Commander¡¯s consideration and wished that he had prepared a separate room for each of them so that they would not have to go through such troubles, but he was relieved to know that he could rest in peace to some extent. Chapter 324: From Report To Instruction (3) Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think that¡¯s cruel? It¡¯s cruel, isn¡¯t it? Absolutely cruel!¡± It was Luxuria who complained while wriggling his body. Annoyed, Loren answered. ¡°Shut up¡­ The Commander was very considerate to exclude you.¡± Luxuria wriggled even more and tried to get closer to Loren, but pulled back in panic when he saw Loren clenching his fist. It was the day after Loren, Lapis and Gula had enjoyed a splendid room and a sumptuous meal at the inn that Yuri had prepared for them. Then Luxuria had barged into the inn uninvited. Thinking that it would not be good for them or the people around them to leave Luxuria exposed to the public eye for so long, Loren had invited the guy into the room they were staying, but he was already beginning to regret it, wondering if he should have turned him away instead. ¡°Why am I the only one left out?¡± ¡°I will not share a room with you, even if it kills me!¡± When Loren told him plainly, Luxuria procured from somewhere a handkerchief and a bit down on it while turning tearful eyes toward Loren. The gesture, which might have elicited a certain amount of pity and compassion if made by a woman, was so offensive when made by a large man like Luxuria that Loren¡¯s hand involuntarily reached for the greatsword that was propped up on the wall. ¡°Now now now, it¡¯s time to give up like a man.¡± It was Gula who said this with a bright face. In the end, her and Lapis¡¯ and plan to seduce Loren did not work, but Gula¡¯s mood was still improved after a good sleep and delicious food. However, due to Gula¡¯s appetite, which was multiple times that of an average person, it was hard to tell how much money was going to be listed in the bill that was to be delivered to Yuri. Loren thought, since he was not the one who had to pay the bill, it would be okay, and tried not to think about it any further. ¡°I¡¯m a girl at heart!¡± ¡°Such a weird girl does not exist!¡± Realizing that he would be beaten to a pulp if he approached Loren, Luxuria tried to approach Gula instead. But Gula, without warning, kicked the approaching Luxuria with such force that the whole room shook when he crashed into a wall, causing Lapis¡¯ face to twist in annoyance. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m staying overnight in the same room with the Evil God of Lust, so please give it up.¡± ¡°Lapis-chan, you¡¯re terrible! I¡¯m, I¡¯m going to be bad from now on!¡± Luxuria didn¡¯t seem to suffer much damage, despite being kicked with considerable force; he immediately got up and protested. But this time, instead of trying to close in again, he stood by the wall crying as if to invite sympathy. He seemed to be a little wary of another sudden kick from Gula. Loren sat down on the edge of his bed, wondering if this was truly the entity that had contributed to the destruction of the Ancient Kingdom. Nig, who had been swinging on the web by his bedside, came up to Loren and climbed to his shoulder via his back, where he stayed in his usual position. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re getting paid, so we¡¯re going to work. We have to go to our den and talk to Sloth. What about you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re leaving me alone! Of course, I¡¯m going with you! If you¡¯re going to invite everyone to our den, then you must visit my pillows of love, which I hav-¡° ¡°WE¡¯RE NOT GOING THERE! I can¡¯t take Loren and Lapis to such a horrifying place! You want to drag these kids to the depths of madness?¡± Luxuria¡¯s face lit up, but Gula interrupted him in a fierce tone. If Gula, an Evil God, called the place ¡®madness¡¯, then it must be a truly terrible place. Loren vowed to never step foot in Luxuria¡¯s ¡®pillows of love¡¯, even by mistake. ¡°But how are we going to invite Loren-chan and Lapis-chan over?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gula tilted her head thoughtfully at Luxuria¡¯s question. ¡°We can use our usual route, but it would be difficult for Loren and Lapis-chan to go through there.¡± ¡°Is it too difficult even for a demon like me?¡± Loren was only human, but Lapis was a demon, and her abilities were comparable to those of Gula and Luxuria. In response to Lapis¡¯ question whether it would be impossible even for her, Gula silently reached out into the empty air. Her hand then disappeared as if melting in midair from her fingertips, and when her wrist was no longer visible, she stopped reaching. ¡°What do you think? Can you do it?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Same here¡­ What¡¯s that?¡± Loren was a mercenary with no connection to magic and a mere human, but even Lapis, who had a deep knowledge of magic and possessed considerable power, gave up trying to do the same thing Gula had done after just watching her. What Gula had just shown them was something that only an Evil God could do. ¡°What to do now? Hmm¡­¡± Gula withdrew her outstretched hand, and from the wrist down, her hand reappeared. There was no trace of anything at the place where the hand was pulled out, either from Loren¡¯s eyes or from the King of Death¡¯s vision, which he could access by syncing his vision with Shayna¡¯s. ¡°We destroyed most of the gates to our den before they sealed us.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t need them because we could get there on our own.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a gate we forgot to destroy somewhere?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Let me try to remember.¡± Luxuria folded his arms and put an index finger on the tip of his chin in thought. Not knowing what the Evil Gods were discussing with each other, Loren and Lapis had no choice but to wait quietly for a conclusion to be reached. After a while, Luxuria let out a deep breath. ¡°No, we destroyed every place I can think of because we knew they would get us into trouble later.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Uhm, you see, even if you, Evil Gods, understand each other, we have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± As Lapis said, Gula began to explain. The place where the Evil Gods live, according to Gula, was created by the Ancient Kingdom. Although she did not know the details, it was said to be in a space separated from the real world by magic. The Evil Gods themselves could travel there via the power of their authorities, but other beings could only reach them by passing through certain gates. During the war against the Ancient Kingdom, these gates were all destroyed by the Evil Gods, as they did not want anyone from the kingdom¡¯s side to enter. ¡°¡®I thought we might have left at least one.¡± ¡°But we were very thorough.¡± Even though they were Evil Gods, the Ancient Kingdom that created them was a terrible existence in its own way. As Luxuria said, they had thoroughly searched for the gates connecting them to the kingdom and destroyed them completely. ¡°If we can¡¯t get to your place without a gate, why don¡¯t you just go there, convince Sloth and bring him back yourself?¡± To be honest, Loren didn¡¯t really want to go to the place where the Evil Gods lived. Or rather, he didn¡¯t want to go there if he could help it. The name gave the impression that it was a shabby place, and if the Evil Gods of Lust, Greed, and Sloth live there, there were even less reasons to be interested at all. Lapis seemed to feel the same way, nodding her head repeatedly to Loren¡¯s words. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so wary. That¡¯s cold.¡± ¡°True feelings aside, if there¡¯s no way to get there, there¡¯s nothing we can do, right?¡± Whether they wanted to or not, if there was no way to get there, it was pointless to even think about it. Loren responded, and Gula was again pondering what could be done about it. But her thoughts were soon interrupted by a knock at the door. ¡°Who¡¯s here? Are you expecting somebody?¡± ¡°No¡­ Wait a minute.¡± Rising from the edge of the bed on which he was sitting, Loren walked over to the entrance of the room and slowly opened the door. A young soldier peeked through the gap. The soldier then presented a folded and sealed piece of paper and told Loren the name of its sender. ¡°This is a letter from General Yuri. He thought it would be of help. I will leave you with it.¡± After telling Loren only what he needed to, the soldier bowed and quickly left. Judging from how quickly the soldier had left, he probably had sensed the level of danger in the room just from the atmosphere. Loren returned with the piece of paper he had received to find all eyes on him, wondering what had happened. He opened the paper. On it was a map of the town where Loren and the group were staying. There was a crossed-out mark at one place, and short instructions, probably written by Yuri, attached to it. ¡± ¡®Go here, it will help¡¯ huh?¡± After reading the words, Loren handed the piece of paper to Lapis. After looking at the information on the paper, Lapis asked Loren. ¡°Who really is your Commander? Is it possible that he is watching our activities from somewhere?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit too much to be dismissed as a coincidence.¡± Loren wondered if Lapis was right, and the Commander or his people were watching them, but he was unable to sense any such presence when he searched for it with his senses. [¡®I don¡¯t feel anything either. Maybe it really is a coincidence?¡¯] Even if Shayna said so, Loren couldn¡¯t help but think that it might really be a coincidence. But then, the timing was too perfect. ¡°It¡¯s very suspicious, but¡­ I can¡¯t think of any other way but to follow the Commander¡¯s instruction.¡± Loren asked Gula for her opinion, but she just shook her head. It meant that Gula and Luxuria did not have a plan to break the current deadlock. In this case, they had no choice but to put their trust in the clues provided by Yuri at this point in time. Chapter 325: From Instruction To Report (1) Proofreader: Xemul After leaving the inn, Loren¡¯s group went to the location indicated on the map and found themselves in an old, deserted, and abandoned church. It was obvious from the dirty exterior walls that the building had not been used for a long time. The windows had cracks all over, and the entrance door was swinging with a high-pitched squeaking sound, as if it was not even locked. It seemed unlikely that there was anything here that could help with the current situation, and Loren wondered if they were being pranked by the Commander. But he decided that he would have to properly inspect the church before making such a conclusion, so he urged Lapis and the two Evil Gods who had followed him to enter the church. ¡°Are you alright with going into a church, Luxuria?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that, Lapis-chan?¡± ¡°Because the wrath of God befalls the wicked.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you say this to Gula, but only to me?!¡± Luxuria stomped his feet, and Lapis gave him a cold look. Loren thought that according to this logic, the demon tribe, which was universally recognized as wicked, must also suffer the wrath of God, but of course he was not foolish enough to say it out loud. ¡°If you want to fool around, do it later. Look around to see if we find anything first.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not trying to fool around¡­ What do you want us to look for?¡± ¡°Just anything? Assuming, the Commander didn¡¯t send us to this place as a joke¡­¡± Yuri had only said that there was something that could help them here, but he did not provide any information about what it was. Loren, who knew Yuri¡¯s character to a certain extent, thought that the man did not specify any further not because he forgot, but because he believed that they would have recognized it if they went here. However, Yuri was also the type to pull pranks, such as leading them to a place where there was nothing of note. If this was the case, Loren must take some kind of retaliatory action; that was what he was thinking as he stepped into the church. With Lapis close behind him and Gula and Luxuria wandering a bit further at the back, Loren walked straight down the central aisle and stopped in front of the altar at the far end of the church. The only thing left inside the decaying church, aside from a crumbling bench, was the altar. There might have been a variety of furnishings once upon a time, but with the entrance door unlocked, there was no way to tell if someone had taken them. ¡°Oh, this is¡­¡± Lapis spoke behind Loren. When he turned around to see what was going on, he found Lapis with her hand on her chest, her eyes downcast, and her head slightly bowed. ¡°Lapis?¡± ¡°It seems that this was originally the church of the God of Knowledge, whom I worship.¡± Loren turned his eyes toward the altar, but it too had been neglected for a long time and was dirty and crumbling, so it was impossible to tell what God it was dedicated to. Even so, it seemed that Lapis, who was truly an expert in this matter, could tell. After offering a prayer in that posture for a while, Lapis walked past Loren, approached the altar, and began to examine it, being careful not to completely destroy the crumbling thing by a clumsy touch. Loren, not wanting to tamper with the altar in any way, decided that it would be best to leave its examination to a professional. He crouched down beside the nearby bench and began to examine it carefully. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for a part of the chair to be hollow and have something stored in it¡­¡± ¡°Do you like that kind of book, Loren?¡± ¡°Not really, but¡­ They do come in handy when I have a spare night.¡± ¡°Reading a book by the light of a campfire, with a sword propped beside you¡­ That seems quite classy, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± Loren himself could not see the scene from an onlooker¡¯s point of view as Lapis described it, so he would never be able to make a judgment as to whether or not the descriptions of ¡®classy¡¯ were appropriate ¨C Loren thought as he continued examining the bench. Lapis, who was examining the area around the altar, tapped on the floor and made a hard sound, drawing the attention of Loren and the others, and then beckoned them to come to her. ¡°Did you find something?¡± ¡°Probably. Could this be it?¡± As Loren came near, Lapis pointed at a colourful panel and a metal plate that had been inserted into the back of the altar. While it did not appear to be concealed, it also did not seem to be a necessary part of the altar. When Loren looked closer at them, he saw that there was a sentence on the plate. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ What language is this?¡± Lapis judged it to be a sentence because there was some level of regularity to the symbols inscribed there. But she had no idea as to what the sentence said, which was the important part. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen those letters before¡­¡± ¡°If even a priest of the God of Knowledge can¡¯t figure it out, then isn¡¯t it hopeless?¡± Loren quickly gave up, but still looked into the plate to see what was written. From either side of him, Gula and Luxuria did the same thing. ¡°Hm¡­ How to read this? Morning¡­ evening¡­ hmmm?¡± ¡°I know that it says something about colours, but I can¡¯t make out anything else.¡± Gula and Luxuria seemed to be able to read some of the words on the plate. Lapis gave them a questioning look, and Gula explained. ¡°This is a type of code used in the Ancient Kingdom.¡± ¡°Why is it here?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t know, either. By the way, the meaning of the same symbol changes depending on the combination and order of the letters¡­¡± ¡°We obtained some information about it during the war against the kingdom, so we can read some of it, but not all.¡± ¡°From the colour of the sky before dawn, we must follow the colours one by one until we reach the sky at dusk, right?¡± Lapis, who was wondering what to do as the two Evil Gods gave up, was taken aback when she heard Loren read out the text of the plate without hesitation. The Evil Gods felt the same, as they stared at Loren, whose expression didn¡¯t even budge. Loren¡¯s words in response to the three¡¯s gaze made them wonder if that was the case again. ¡°The Commander knew how to decode it.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go check your Commander out before we check this place out? It¡¯s absolutely ridiculous. After what Gula and Luxuria explained just now, you can¡¯t think that it¡¯s normal to know how to decode this, can you?¡± ¡°Maybe he heard it somewhere else? Well, first of all, the colour of the sky before dawn is purple-ish blue, so we should start from here.¡± Lapis and the Evil Gods looked at each other as if to say ¡®Is that so?¡¯. Loren, however, did not care, and placed his finger on the panel of purplish-blue colour among the panels set into the altar. ¡°One colour at a time means to touch each colour once, and the colour of the sky at dusk is red, so this is the finish point.¡± Loren¡¯s fingertip traced over the multicoloured panels, touching each only once, and then stopped at a panel with a subdued red colour. As Loren¡¯s finger stopped moving, the altar itself slid to the side, revealing the entrance to a staircase leading to a basement. Loren pointed at the staircase that appeared in front of them, not in a proud manner, but in a matter-of-fact manner. ¡°This is how you do it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, Loren, but I still have a few unanswered questions.¡± Lapis answered with a very dissatisfied expression on her face. Loren was not sure why she was dissatisfied with the fact that it didn¡¯t take them too long to figure out how to proceed. ¡°Me too. Shouldn¡¯t solving riddles be the role of magicians and priests? How come a warrior can solve it so quickly? ¡°How come a warrior can read characters that even I can¡¯t?¡± It seemed that the two Evil Gods were feeling the similar frustration that Lapis was feeling, but Loren couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Unable to think of any other course of action, Loren simply said ¡®Let¡¯s go¡¯ and quickly stepped into the stairwell. ¡°In times like this, it¡¯s very convenient that we don¡¯t need torches, isn¡¯t it?¡± It seemed that Evil Gods could see things in the dark, and Lapis could also see through the darkest of dark places without using magic with her own eyes. The only one who couldn¡¯t see in the dark with his own eyes was Loren. But it seemed that the power of the King of Death possessed by Shayna, who was currently residing within Loren, was gradually mingling with Loren¡¯s own power, so he now could see things in the dark without having to synchronize with Shayna¡¯s vision. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll have to be careful.¡± ¡°Be careful of what?¡± ¡°When we¡¯re with other adventurers. If we go into a cave without a light on, it will look suspicious.¡± ¡°I see. It does slip your mind once you¡¯ve become used to it.¡± Even as she said this, Lapis began to follow Loren down the stairs without making a light. Loren, sensing that the two Evil Gods were following them, continued down the stairs, which were not very long, and soon led to a straight passageway. Wondering why there was such a thing in the basement of a church, he carefully followed the passageway. Yuri¡¯s lack of warning made it unlikely that there were any dangerous traps that could threaten their lives, but Loren thought that even so, caution would never be unnecessary. However, the three following behind him did not seem particularly alert and were looking around at the walls and ceiling of the passageway. ¡°It seems rather plain for a hidden place. The walls are just stone.¡± ¡°There are no specific markers, so it¡¯s hard to tell when it was built.¡± ¡°The place doesn¡¯t seem to be too humid despite being underground. There are also no signs of weathering. That¡¯s amazing in its own way, isn¡¯t it?¡± The only thing Loren was amazed by was their lack of caution, but considering they could handle almost anything that came out or happened to them, it was understandable. He continued onward until he came upon a dead end, where a door that seemed to be made of metal blocked the way. ¡°Does it require a key? Or is it another riddle?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ No, it seems to open straight away.¡± Lapis, who walked past Loren and brought her face close to the door, shook her head in response to Loren¡¯s question and lightly pushed the door open. The door, which must have been quite heavy, didn¡¯t seem to take much of Lapis¡¯ effort and opened inward without making a sound. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to have traps of any kind.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯ll go first.¡± Loren, who had stepped forward in place of Lapis, put his right hand on the hilt of the greatsword on his back and pushed at the door with his left hand, causing it to open even wider. Slightly leaned his upper body in through the opening, Loren immediately looked at the chamber beyond the door to see if there were any traps or attackers waiting for them. When he was sure that there was nothing, he went straight inside. ¡°How is it, Loren?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. There is nothing here. Or more like there is no space for anything.¡± The others came in as Loren beckoned them. But as he had said, the space on the other side of the door was not that large. It was surrounded by walls on all four sides, and if several people were to enter at the same time, they would feel quite cramped and uncomfortable. One of the walls was decorated with the shape of a gate. ¡°Is this it?¡± The inside of the decorative gate, which was supposed to be just a wall, was filled with some kind of very creepy looking light. Lapis quickly looked away, feeling as if her consciousness wavered just by looking at it. It seemed that Loren felt the same way; after pointing to the wall, he did not look in that direction again. However, the Evil Gods did not seem to mind at all. They stared closely at the gate and the light inside it, and Gula softly said. ¡°I wonder what was in this place that we didn¡¯t destroy it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so far from the capital of the kingdom that I wonder if it was left out of our knowledge.¡± ¡°Then this is it?¡± When asked by Lapis, Gula nodded. ¡°Yes. This is the so-called ¡®Evil God¡¯s Gate¡¯ that leads to our den.¡± Chapter 326: From Instruction To Report (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Leave it to the professionals when it comes to handling this thing, shall we?¡± Gula, without showing any particular sense of caution, jogged to the gate with the suspicious light that Loren had discovered. Loren wondered for a moment whether he should stop her, but then decided to watch from the side, thinking that if Gula was acting so confidently, there should be no problem. While Loren and the others watched, Gula jogged up to the gate, casually reached out her hand and began to run her fingers along the surrounding walls and the surface of the gate itself. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ a little bit here, a little bit there, and that should do it.¡± After working on something for a while, Gula looked back at the others with a smile on her face. It seemed that the gate leading to the den of the Evil Gods had been set up or something, but as far as the eyes could see, there was no noticeable change in the gate or the suspicious light inside it. Loren was worried about whether it was really safe, but when he saw Gula beckoning him to go through the gate, he decided to be brave and plunged his hand into the mysterious light inside it without letting his feelings known. Behind the gate should have been a wall, but when Loren¡¯s hand was swallowed by the light, it easily slipped through without any sign of resistance. Realizing that it was not a dead end, Loren continued forward and went through the gate to the other side. ¡°What the hell?¡± Beyond the light was a rather large space. But the reason why Loren could not help uttering such words, however, was because the pallet of everything in the space was so far from what he was used to. It was a space that was not very easy on the eyes. The walls as far as the eye could see were painted in light pinks and purples, and the floor was covered with countless cushions of similar colours. In between the cushions were a number of white tables, which were packed with cakes and cookies in colours Loren had never seen in his life, as well as a number of other things he did not know the names of, which were probably confectionaries. Moreover, on top of the cushions, there were so many deformed but adorable stuffed animals that he almost got tired of counting them. The whole place had a soft and fluffy atmosphere. It did not resemble the scene one would imagine from the description ¡®the den of the Evil Gods¡¯. More like, the atmosphere here was too girly to be the home of the Evil God of Sloth. Loren, who had stopped and looked around as soon as he entered, then heard the voice of Gula behind him; she seemed to have followed him in. ¡°So? How does it feel to set foot into the den of Evil Gods¡­ Eh, eeeehhh?!¡± ¡°Hey, Gula, is Sloth really here-?¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t look!!¡± As Loren was about to turn around to check with Gula to see if this was indeed their destination, he suddenly felt a tremendous force pulling him backward, and with a strange floating sensation, he realized that he had been thrown into the air. Loren wondered how he could be thrown so lightly, considering he must have been quite heavy, including the weight of his greatsword. Caught by that out-of-place thought, he realized after a short time that Lapis had apparently caught him with a slight impact to his back and the feel of thin arms around his stomach. ¡°Welcome back, Loren. That was fast.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± With Lapis still holding him from behind, Loren I saw a red-faced Gula, who had come back from the other side of the gate in a panic, and Luxuria, who had been slammed into the wall so hard that he was stuck there spread-eagle. [¡®I can clearly see the footprints around Luxuria¡¯s waist.¡¯] Loren somehow understood what had happened after hearing Shayna¡¯s words. Perhaps it was Luxuria who had first tried to catch Loren as he was flung back from the other side of the gate. In order to move the Evil God, who was trying to catch Loren with his arms outstretched, Lapis had kicked him with considerable force and caught Loren in place of him. ¡°It was so close, Loren. If I hadn¡¯t caught you, you might have ended up making a red stain all over the wall or floor.¡± ¡°What¡­ Did something happen?¡± Loren thought that it was Gula who threw him out of the gate. Regardless of why, she had probably done it without thinking about how much force she should use, and Loren¡¯s body, thrown by the power of the Evil God, would have been slammed into a wall or rolled around on the floor with considerable impact if no one had caught it. ¡°You saved me. Thank you, Lapis.¡± ¡°If you want to thank me, you can stay like this for a while longer.¡± Lapis hugged Loren from behind and began to rub her cheeks against his back. Although he thought his greatsword would be in the way, he figured it would be fine if Lapis was happy with it. So, Loren left her alone for the time being and turned his attention to Gula, whose face was still red. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°No-nothing! It was a small mistake¡­ Yes, just a mistake!¡± Gula babbled in a fluster. Loren was looking at her as if he was seeing something unusual when Luxuria, who had peeled himself off the wall, said in a low whisper. ¡°She was probably too used to operating the mechanism that she accidentally connected it to where she lives.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind that, but why did she throw me?¡± ¡°For that child to live in such a place while having such looks? She¡¯s probably too embarrassed about the gap between her appearance and her inner-¡° Luxuria¡¯s words were cut off in the middle. As Loren watched on in amazement, Gula came rushing in at an incredible speed and, seemingly also having forgotten how to control her strength this time, she slammed her right fist into Luxuria¡¯s somewhat-smug face. Loren¡¯s eyes followed Luxuria¡¯s huge body as he was blown away and slammed into the wall without even a scream. He then slowly turned his gaze to Gula, who was still breathing heavily with fist raised in front of her. ¡°If you make any further comment about this matter¡­ I¡¯ll be prepared to do the same.¡± ¡°I understand. I understand, so please connect us to Sloth before any more damage is done.¡± Loren raised his hands in surrender, trying to sound as calm as possible. Gula then slowly turned to face him with a determined look in her eyes, her fists clenched and her shoulders shaking. Lapis, who had been hugging Loren from behind, also pulled her hands away from Loren¡¯s stomach and waved them in the air while still hiding behind his back. Gula stared at them for a while with steady eyes, but when she saw that they really did not seem to be asking or talking any more about the matter, she approached the gate again while regulating her breath. And as he watched her begin to operate the gate, Loren spoke to Lapis, who suddenly came out from behind him. ¡°This topic is dangerous.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s keep that in mind.¡± ¡°What are we going to do about that, though?¡± Loren gestured with his chin in the direction of Luxuria, who was still stuck slammed into the wall. Lapis glanced in that direction, quickly averted her gaze, and shook her head quietly. ¡°I think it would be just fine to leave it alone.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll probably come back sooner or later.¡± Loren and Lapis agreed to leave Luxuria alone as if the choice to help had never existed in the first place, and quietly watched Gula work. Perhaps because she had failed once before, Gula did not perform the operation with the same familiarity as she had done earlier, but checked the procedure again and again. After that, she first poked her head inside the gate to see the state of affairs on the other side. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s good now. You can pass.¡± Having Gula¡¯s permission, Loren and Lapis timidly went through the gate after Gula had stepped aside. Praying that they would not find anything outrageous beyond the gate, they were met by a space furnished with nothing but stone tatami mats and stone walls, and the figure of a man sprawled out in the middle of it. ¡°It¡¯s dreadful.¡± Loren said, swallowing down the words, ¡®It¡¯s so different from the room I was in a few minutes ago¡¯. Gula gave him a scary look for a moment, then walked up to the man lying in the middle of the space. ¡°Hey, Sloth, wake up!¡± Gula called out and began to kick the man lightly in his side. But the man did not respond at all, and did not move an inch. After continuing her light kicks for a while, Gula, who had probably become fed up with the lack of response, suddenly swung her leg back and dug her toe into the man¡¯s side with force. ¡°Ouchhhh!!¡± Normally, this single blow would have caused the one being kicked to thrash around in pain. However, this time it was the kicker, Gula, who screamed in pain and jumped around on one foot, holding her toes. Loren and Lapis watched on, not knowing what was going on. After bouncing around for a while, Gula, with tears in her eyes, eventually decided to stomp on the sleeping man from above. Although this resulted with a somewhat quiet boom, the man still did not show any reaction at all. Eventually, a tired Gula gave up and sat down on the spot. ¡°Damn¡­ We probably have to burn the place down.¡± As Gula got up and lit a red flame on her fingertip, Lapis interjected: ¡°Isn¡¯t this a closed space? We¡¯ll be suffocated if we use fire magic here.¡± Gula ground her teeth in frustration, but quelled the flame. Loren, who had guessed from the look on Gula¡¯s face that she had no other effective means of waking the Evil God of Sloth, thought for a moment and then muttered. ¡°Should we release Luxuria on him?¡± ¡°Hey, hey, isn¡¯t that too cruel?¡± Perhaps hearing Loren¡¯s murmur, the Evil God of Sloth, who had shown no reaction so far, turned his head toward him, albeit slightly. If he had been in Sloth¡¯s position, he would have run away at once. But seeing that the guy¡¯s reaction was limited to that, Loren was unintentionally impressed. ¡°Is lying around more important than personal safety?¡± ¡°Worst case scenario, if I really use my powers, I might be able to do something about it. So, what the hell do you want with me?¡± ¡°Remember me?¡± Loren thought it would not be surprising if the guy had completely forgotten about it, but he brought it up anyway. The Evil God of Sloth suddenly rose up and turned to Loren, sitting cross-legged. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, isn¡¯t it? I said I had a feeling we would see each other again. So, you still remember.¡± | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 327: From Instruction to Report (3) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re awake, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m sure Gula will say something troublesome, you know.¡± Gula was about to take a bite out of Sloth, who had reacted to Loren even though nothing she had done had gotten him up. But Sloth just yawned and scratched his head without looking at Gula, as if he had no intention to fight with her at all. Gula repeatedly kicked him with no mercy, but Sloth¡¯s body did not even move or sway with the impact of the kicks, as if it had grown roots on the spot. ¡°Can we continue our talk now?¡± Loren, seeing that Gula¡¯s actions seemed to be completely useless, interrupted her to say that the conversation would not move forward at this point. When Loren opened his mouth to continue, Sloth raised a hand to stop him. ¡°I remember you, but I don¡¯t remember hearing your name. If you¡¯re going to talk to me, why don¡¯t you start there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Loren, adventurer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Lapis. I¡¯m Loren¡¯s aspiring bride, a priest of the God of Knowledge and an adventurer, a generally unpleasant demon, Loren¡¯s beautiful partner, and the mastermind behind a lot of things.¡± ¡°You just made that up, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m not lying.¡± Hearing the self-introduction, Loren stared at Lapis with half-lidded eyes, but she met his gaze head-on with a radiant smile like a sunshine. Loren placed his hand on his forehead, thinking Sloth¡¯s endurance against external stimuli was amazing, but his mental endurance was also considerable. The Evil God of Sloth, who was watching them, let out a carefree laugh. ¡°Oho, interesting. I don¡¯t think I can top that introduction. I think I¡¯ve told you my name before, but I¡¯m Dauna, the Evil God of Sloth. Well, nice to meet you again?¡± Dauna, who introduced himself somewhat calmly in a rather easy-going tone, waved his hand at Loren and Lapis. Behind him, whereas Gula was still kicking him repeatedly from behind, but there was no sign that Dauna was having any discomfort about it. ¡°So what is it that you want from me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Gula, actually. We¡¯ve come to ask for your help because she thinks you might be able to stand against the Evil God of Wrath.¡± Loren had intended to leave the negotiation to Gula, but seeing how committed Gula she was to kicking the Dauna¡¯s back, he had no choice but to negotiate on his own. However, he had no idea what kind of conditions would be required for a being called Evil God to lend his power, so he thought he would just have to be honest and tell him why they had come here. But when Dauna heard this, he clearly showed that he didn¡¯t like it with a frown. ¡°Wrath? Oh¡­ It¡¯s a hassle¡­ It¡¯s true I can deal with Wrath¡¯s power, but¡­¡± Loren could not decide whether Gula had realized that no amount of kicking seemed to make any difference or whether she had given up, but she finally stopped kicking Dauna¡¯s back and said: ¡°His authority is adversarial to not only other Evil Gods, but also to almost everything in the world.¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s also adversarial to Loren.¡± Lapis then added a few words to the conversation. Loren tilted his head, not understanding why Lapis would say such a thing. Even though they had become involved due to a previous incident, they did not know Dauna well enough to come to such a conclusion. Lapis muttered the reason. ¡°His name sounds somewhat similar to Magna.¡± Loren was about to agree, but then he hurriedly shook his head to get rid of the thought. It would be too much to equate the Evil God in front of them with the guy in black armor who had been causing all kinds of troubles just because their names sounded similar. Dauna, who was almost classified in the same category as someone he probably didn¡¯t even know, looked at Lapis and Loren with a puzzled look on his face. But then he looked up at the ceiling and muttered quietly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that name from somewhere.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave it aside for now. We have to deal with the problem at hand first. Gula, this loafer¡­ no, this person? What do you mean when you say that Dauna¡¯s authority is adversarial to other Evil Gods¡¯?¡± ¡°He¡¯s got this authority called ¡®Immovable Stillness¡¯. As you can see, no matter how much we kick, punch, burn, or freeze him, he¡¯s completely impervious to it.¡± Gula dropped her fist on Dauna¡¯s head. The action created a sound that made Loren worry if the guy would really be okay, but it was Gula, who had to cradle her hand in pain. Dauna, just smiled to this. It looked as if he felt no impact, at all. ¡°Authorities that use direct attack are completely ineffective because they do not work, physically or magically. Lust¡¯s authority is also ineffective because his mind is immovable. He finds it too bothersome to go get his things back, so Greed¡¯s authority is also useless. As for Envy, what is to be jealous of in laziness? Same for Pride, how do you look down on laziness in the first place?¡± ¡°Sounds invincible when it comes to fighting Evil Gods.¡± Although Dauna was a little reluctant to have Luxuria set on him, it was probably a matter of his likes and dislikes, and it did not seem to cause him any real harm. Knowing that much, he indeed possessed an ability that could be described as invincible against Evil Gods, just as Lapis said. ¡°He¡¯s just too lazy to attack on his own though.¡± According to Gula, Dauna, aside from his Evil God¡¯s authority, had no talent in almost any skills, be it swordsmanship, martial arts, or magic. When he had met Loren¡¯s party before, he had shown abilities such as crossing space and summoning slimes. But Gula explained that these were all abilities possessed by the Evil God of Sloth, and to him, being able to use them was just like a person being able to breathe. ¡°Gula, after hearing all that, it seems to me that this Evil God is nothing more than a hard and obtrusive figurine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re about right.¡± ¡°I find it hard to believe that this person could ever be a means of countering the Evil God of Wrath¡­¡± The Evil God of Wrath¡¯s authority was burning down an extensive area. No matter how great the protective power of the Evil God of Sloth was, if only the Evil God himself was saved and the surroundings were burned down, it was indeed hard to believe that it could be a countermeasure as Lapis said. If Sloth had some kind of plan to defeat Wrath, then that would be a different story. But if Gula¡¯s explanation that he had no means of attack was true, then the chances of that happening were also very slim. ¡°I¡¯ll need him to cooperate with us to demonstrate the true value of his authority. So, hey there, are you willing to cooperate?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to go through the trouble if I can help it.¡± Dauna answered while glancing at Loren¡¯s face. Loren was unable to gauge the meaning of the look that was directed at him, but Dauna just scratched his head and continued. ¡°But, that guy there, Loren, right? I feel a little guilty about him.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about when my seal was broken. Even though it was for the sake of my escape, I think it was a little bit too much to make the slime attack you.¡± Loren remembered. The time when Dauna¡¯s seal was broken was when Loren¡¯s party met him for the first time. It was in the labyrinth beneath a certain adventurer training school. When they tried to keep Dauna from escaping, he had summoned a slime to distract them. It was a very powerful slime, and an ordinary adventurer would likely have been killed by it alone. ¡°We were hostile too, it couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Hearing that makes me feel better. After all, we Evil Gods have troubled you guys all the time, haven¡¯t we?¡± Loren¡¯s gaze turned to Gula. Gula, noticing Loren¡¯s gaze, turned around on the spot to escape Loren¡¯s gaze with considerable alacrity and began pretending to be unaware of it with her back turned and attempt to whistle. ¡°We received some help, too.¡± Loren said, thinking that he had to follow up that line of conversation first, and the smile on Dauna¡¯s face turned bitter. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that, but I¡¯d also like to clean up the past, if you know what I mean.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Letting bygones be bygones would be very suitable to my title as the Evil God of Sloth, but I¡¯m willing to exert myself this time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it.¡± It was true that he had been in a very dangerous situation, but he had also been able to get through it without dying. Loren didn¡¯t even remember the story until he was told, so he readily agreed. He looked at Lapis to asked for her opinion, and she nodded her head in agreement. ¡°If that¡¯s alright with you, Loren, I have nothing else to add.¡± ¡°All right, then, I¡¯ll cooperate with you, even if it¡¯s a hassle¡­ But first, I need you to do something for me.¡± When Dauna casually added those few words, Loren and Lapis felt alarmed at the same time. They thought he was trying to get them to agree to a simple condition and then use that momentum to get them to agree to something troublesome, but Dauna stretched out his hands to Loren from his sitting position and said something that neither of them had anticipated. ¡°I wonder if you could carry me to the site? Walking is bothersome.¡± ¡°You want me to¡­ to carry you?¡± ¡°Is that Lapis over there? I think it would be nice to be carried on a woman¡¯s back, but I¡¯m afraid that¡¯ll be much to ask.¡± Loren looked at Gula to see if the guy was serious, but Gula shook her head gently as she looked at Dauna with pitiful eyes. Loren, who saw from the gesture that Dauna was indeed serious, let out a sigh and told him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have Luxuria carry you. Just wait a minute.¡± ¡°Oh, wait, I¡¯m starting to feel like forgetting my title and walking on my own two feet.¡± Loren had thought that maybe Dauna couldn¡¯t walk even though he had two legs, but it turned out that the Evil God could if he wanted to. When he saw Dauna standing right up, his shoulders slumped, and he wondered how this Evil God could really be of any help to them. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 328: From Instruction to Report (4) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul Coming back from the Evil Gods¡¯ den proved to be no problem at all. Loren wanted to report to Yuri immediately, but Luxuria was insistent that they should visit his place as well. Loren was not sure how Luxuria would react if he honestly told him that he did not want to see the abode of Lust, regardless of whether they had time for it or not. He turned him down politely, and Luxuria gave up at once, though he didn¡¯t seem to be satisfied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you visit my place? You even visit Gluttony¡¯s fancy room!¡± ¡°Lust, if you mention that again, you won¡¯t get away with it.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I went there. It was a nice place to take a midday nap.¡± ¡°Sloth, you too, mention it again and be ready to¡­¡± While Loren was watching the Evil Gods, not quite sure whether they were bickering or just fooling around and wondering if he had to intervene himself, Lapis, who was standing beside him, tugged him lightly by the sleeve. ¡°Loren, should I make my room fancy and pastel too?¡± ¡°Where did that even come from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sly flirting technique, where one uses the gap between the ordinary and the private space to increase the charm. I didn¡¯t think Gula would do such a thing.¡± ¡°Hey, Lapis-chan. Won¡¯t you have a talk with onee-san in the dark?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you would use such a method after coming here, you sly Evil Fox! Dirty Evil God!¡± Loren, seeing Lapis and Gula arguing with each other, realized that it was unlikely for them to come to an agreement at this point, so he pulled out the greatsword on his back and thrust the tip into the ground. He asked Shayna to intimidate them with the aura of the King of Death, and for some reason, even Nig, who had been clinging to Loren¡¯s shoulder, also raised his forelegs as an act of intimidation. The Evil Gods and the demon fell quiet, even if only on the surface. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the commander now, guys.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, Loren, but we¡¯re in a city.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°If you spread the King of Death¡¯s aura here, I¡¯m sure there will be all kinds of trouble among the residents¡­¡± Loren realized what he had just done. It was true that the two girls in front of him would not show such a strong reaction to the presence of the King of Death, but it was a different story when it comes to the ordinary citizens. If they were unlucky, they might even faint or suffer some other kind of accident. Loren thought it was a little too much, even if it was to keep the others quiet, but he could not do anything about what he had done now. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to repeat that, just come along quietly.¡± ¡°The Commander is going to be very angryyy~ with you.¡± Lapis said while looking at the quiet townscape. ¡®And whose fault, was it?¡¯, Loren inwardly cursed at her as they set off for the military facility where Yuri was expected to be waiting for him. When they finally arrived, it was at the scene of a fire. ¡°We¡¯re getting reports of people passing out in one part of town after another.¡± ¡°What the hell is going on?! Get a medic down here, NOW!¡± A stretcher was being carried out, and soldiers were moving left and right to contact doctors and healing practitioners. Feeling the eyes of the others fixed on him as if they had something to say, Loren walked through the scene, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, and proceeded to the room where Yuri was supposed to be. Perhaps it was because Yuri had informed the soldiers of the situation to some extent, or perhaps because of the chaos, but they arrived at the parlour without being stopped by anyone. When Loren opened the door, Yuri, sitting on a chair, greeted him and the others and immediately made the following remark. ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re causing all kinds of trouble here.¡± Not much time had passed since the incident at the church. Yet, Yuri¡¯s tone clearly implied that he believed Loren was the cause of all the commotion. ¡°Are you spying on me somewhere?¡± Loren replied, not knowing whether to be surprised or appalled, while Lapis looked at Yuri suspiciously and asked him. ¡°Who on earth are you, Yuri? What do you know about Loren?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t really have anything to hide, but¡­¡± Yuri glanced at Loren¡¯s face and, seeing that he did not seem to be bothered, continued. ¡°I think we should talk about such things in a calm and relaxed manner. So, let us discuss your next commission.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to ask us about countermeasures against the Evil God of Wrath?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to leave that to you. I have faith in you, Loren.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you call leaving things to chance.¡± Loren glanced at Yuri, who patted him on the shoulder with a cheerful smile, with half-lidded eyes, but Yuri brushed it off with a smile and spread a map on the desk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be so sudden about this, but I¡¯m going to have you go here. It is the main battlefield.¡± Yuri pointed to a plain some distance away from the city, where they currently were. It seemed that the forces deployed there were the main forces of both the Empire and the Kingdom. ¡°This is where the two armies are supposed to meet the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Head-on?¡± ¡°Yes. The main forces of the two armies will meet head-on without any tricks. It¡¯s called a decisive battle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± It was Lapis who raised doubts about Yuri¡¯s confident words. Yuri looked at her as if asking what was that about, and Lapis pointed a finger at him with clear suspicion in her gaze. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that someone who went from being the leader of a mercenary group to a general of a country like you would choose a simple clash without a plan?¡± ¡°I appreciate you thinking so highly of me. Of course, there is a reason.¡± Yuri, unperturbed by Lapis¡¯ question and accepting it as a matter of course, began to explain the reason. ¡°If we were to simply fight, we could win even if the Kingdom had twice as many troops as they do now.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just get it over with?¡± ¡°The reason is the existence of the Evil God that you reported. I don¡¯t have a plan to use against someone who can burn down my troops just by encountering them.¡± In other words, in order for Yuri to defeat the Kingdom¡¯s army in a fair battle, he would first have to remove the Evil God of Wrath from the battlefield. However, just because Loren¡¯s team had brought the means to do so, it could not be said that they would be able to encounter the Evil God of Wrath without fail. As if they were sent out on a casual, random mission. ¡°For this reason, we need to create a situation, in which our opponent will surely bring out the Evil God of Wrath. Is this good enough?¡± ¡°You¡¯re deliberately fighting head-on to ensure that the other side¡¯s Evil God will be pulled out?¡± ¡°The Empire¡¯s soldiers are very strong. If we just clash with them, I¡¯m sure we¡¯d get the most out of this situation.¡± The Kingdom knew this to some extent, of course, and Yuri smiled wryly at how hard they had been working to drag out the situation. ¡°If our opponent realizes that they are at a disadvantage, they will bring out the Evil God in order to turn the tie around.¡± ¡°If you can take care of the Evil God on the other side, we will win without any problems. There is still a chance that we will lose the direct confrontation, though. In that case, please just leave everything to me.¡± When Yuri looked at Lapis to see if she was satisfied, Lapis kept her silence and looked at Loren instead. Yuri¡¯s explanation had made sense to her more or less, but she was going to leave it up to Loren to decide whether they wanted to go along with the plan. ¡°What happens if we fail?¡± Without immediately giving an answer, Loren asked Yuri. The general gave a small sniff, then tapped his finger lightly on a spot on the map that would probably be the battlefield. ¡°I have another plan, but I don¡¯t want to use it if I can help it.¡± If only one strategy was prepared, the situation would become fatal when it failed. Loren was well aware of this. Impressed that the leader had another plan after all, he asked out of curiosity. ¡°Do you mind if I ask what the plan is?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you. You never know where information might leak out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± There was no way to leak something you didn¡¯t know. Loren agreed that if it was a special plan for the Evil Gods, surely the fewer people knew about it the better. ¡°But I have a plan. So as soon as you decide you¡¯ve failed, you start running. Is that clear, Loren?¡± Yuri¡¯s tone of voice was more like an admonishment than an order. Loren looked startled for a moment, but then a broad smile broke out on his face and he responded in a tone that seemed to say that Yuri, who was staring at him, became a little bit kind-hearted. ¡°I have never heard such an order before when I was in our mercenary group, Commander. Have you come to value life more because you¡¯ve taken the position as a general?¡± ¡°It would have been better if I had remained a mercenary.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Yuri¡¯s eyes suddenly turned distant as he blurted out those few words. Loren tried to ask him what he meant, but Yuri gently shook his head and stared at Loren¡¯s face again. ¡°That is certainly an order. If you realize that you have failed, leave the place immediately. Don¡¯t try to force yourself to do something on your own, and if it becomes hopeless, it¡¯s alright to count on me. Remember this, Loren.¡± ¡°Oh, ah¡­ Well, it depends on how things go, but I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Yuri was being strangely commendable, something Loren had never seen before when he was a member of the mercenary group. He was more than a little taken aback, but Loren didn¡¯t seem to care. The general then turned his gaze toward Lapis, who was standing beside Loren, and the Evil Gods at their back. ¡°I would like to ask for your support too.¡± Yuri said and suddenly bowed his head. Luxuria and Gula looked at each other for a moment, then nodded decisively. Lapis, who still had a slightly sceptical look in her eyes, also nodded in agreement to Yuri¡¯s request. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 329: From Departure to Confession (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul The transportation from the city to the battlefield was arranged by Yuri. In order to launch a general offensive against the Kingdom¡¯s army, Yuri, as the General, arranged for Loren and his team to be temporarily incorporated into a unit that would be at the front line. However, it was not possible to lend them horses like the cavalry, so the team was transported in wagons carrying supplies to the front line. As might be expected of a march accompanied by a general, the number of troops involved was on another level. Loren¡¯s team, who was sneaking in among them, watched the majesty of the army commanded by Yuri from the back of the wagon, each with their own impressions. ¡°You can¡¯t even compare them to the mercenaries.¡± Loren said, even though it was only natural that a mercenary group could not be compared to the regular army of a country. Luxuria, who was sitting at the back of the truck at a distance from the other members, murmured in fascination. ¡°That¡¯s what a strong man is all about¡± He sighed and placed his hands on his cheeks. The action would have been acceptable if a girl had done it, but when done by a burly man like Luxuria, with a hint of colour on his cheeks no less, it made even Loren want to look for another place in the back of the wagon to get some more distance. Even on top of the supplies would be fine. ¡°Gula, can¡¯t you just dump that deleterious substance somewhere?¡± ¡°Lapis-chan, how much easier it would be if I could¡­¡± With a straight face, Lapis suggested discarding Luxuria, but Gula¡¯s response was less than desirable. Loren secretly wondered if he was not the only one who felt that if they dumped the guy somewhere, he would probably cause as much trouble as he could before coming back. ¡°But this is such a splendid army. They seem to be using good equipment, and the soldiers seem to be well-trained. I can feel their strength just by looking at them.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell how serious you are at all, Lapis.¡± Lapis came from the demon tribe, who were far too powerful compared to humans. Loren smiled wryly, wondering if he could take her assessment at face value, and she looked at him with a slight tilt of the head. ¡°Should I add ¡®for humans¡¯ then?¡± At Lapis¡¯ remark, Loren held up his index finger in front of his lips. The person sitting on the driver bench of the wagon was a regular army soldier assigned by Yuri. Even though they were not on the wagon to prepare for departure or wait for a specific order, Loren did not think that he should say anything too carelessly without knowing who was listening, and from where. ¡°But isn¡¯t this actually a pretty strong army? The Kingdom¡¯s army that fights them must be pretty strong, too.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen them, so I don¡¯t know.¡± Although that was his answer, Loren thought that the Kingdom¡¯s army might be somewhat inferior to the Empire¡¯s army in terms of quality. If the Kingdom¡¯s army was on the same level of the Empire¡¯s army, with the help of the Evil Gods of Wrath and Pride, it would not be surprising for the Empire to have lost the battle already. The fact that this was not the case at present meant that the two sides were somehow on an even footing, even with the help of the Evil Gods. ¡°Well, don¡¯t be too relaxed.¡± A bad decision could turn fatal. As Loren concluded, the order to advance rang out, and the Empire¡¯s army began to advance, albeit slowly, toward the front line in anticipation of the decisive battle with the Kingdom¡¯s army. ¡°Oh, this is so easy.¡± The journey was completely safe itself. Because of the sheer number of people marching, no monsters gathered around them. The bandits were not foolhardy enough to think they could mess with a regular army, not to mention one with a considerable number of troops, so there was no trouble to impede their progress. However, since the army was accompanied by a general, the safety of the road must first be confirmed by scouts and such. But even so, the road trip was uneventful to the extent that Sloth was overjoyed. And so, to the surprise of Loren and his team, they arrived at the frontline base without any incidents. After arriving at the base, the cargo was immediately unpacked, and Loren¡¯s team, who had no particular job to do until the battle started, decided to take a walk around the place. That was when they noticed a commotion within the compound and turned their attention to it. ¡°Amazing! That¡¯s Wargenburg¡¯s prized adventurer!¡± ¡°No wonder, he¡¯s already been promoted to the Silver rank, and is rumoured to be on his way to the Gold rank.¡± ¡°I guess good women do tend to gather around such a heroic figure.¡± Intrigued by the storm of praise coming from the crowd, Loren took advantage of his height to peer past the wall of people, but when he saw the face of the person at the centre of the commotion, his eyes went somewhat half-lidded. ¡°It¡¯s too late. They are already coming this way.¡± Before he could question why Klaus was coming toward them, Leila, the knight, came out of the crowd. Behind her was Laure, the priest and Ange, the magician. Klaus was being dragged along by Leila by the scruff of his neck. Although he seemed to be resisting, Leila seemed to pay it no mind. ¡°Loren! Good timing. I need to talk to you. Why don¡¯t we go some place quieter? Now!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a feeling this is going to be troublesome, but¡­ Fine. Which place do you have in mind?¡± Loren didn¡¯t want to get involved, if possible, but the look of desperation on Leila¡¯s face made it impossible for him to say no, so he reluctantly agreed to join up with Klaus¡¯ team. Within the crowd that Leila and the others had waded through, some people were asking who Loren¡¯s team was and what they were doing, but Loren just decided to let things happen. He let down Lapis, who was perching on his shoulder, called out to the Evil Gods who were watching from the side with disinterest, then quickly left the place. >¡±Sorry, we owe you one. Do you know some place quiet?¡± Leila whispered to Loren as they walked alongside, and Loren opened his mouth without thinking. ¡°The Commander might know.¡± ¡°There is a large tent at the east end of the base that you can use. There are snacks and drinks prepared inside, so I think you can relax there.¡± Loren had not said those words in anticipation of a response. But with a timing that made everyone wonder if he was lurking nearby and waiting for the right moment to come out, Yuri passed by just then, dropped the remark, then continued walking away. Stunned, Loren and the others could only watch his back as he walked away without being able to say anything back. ¡°Loren, is that mister really human?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been a little sceptical lately.¡± Regardless of Yuri¡¯s true identity, Loren was grateful to have a place where they could relax, and although he still had many doubts, he decided to put them to rest and headed for the tent they had been pointed to. ¡°So, what happened?¡± Whenever they stopped, a group of soldiers would approach and try to surround them. The atmosphere was friendly, and Loren knew they had not done anything wrong, but when he saw Leila and the others quickening their pace as if wanting to escape, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder about the reason. ¡°The short story is, we participated in a small battle against the Kingdom and played an active role.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not bad, is it? Did you bring down an enemy general or something?¡± >¡±Have you heard about a fire-wielding magician who could wipe out an entire unit?¡± Leila said it in a hushed voice. Loren was inwardly surprised to hear that, but he nodded his head, careful not to let it show on his face. ¡°Well, a bit. Just some stories, though.¡± ¡°We ran into her and had to fight her off.¡± Leila¡¯s words had a considerable impact on Loren and Lapis. They had been exploring various means to counter the Evil God of Wrath, but if Klaus and his team had succeeded in doing so, then the Evil God of Sloth that they had brought with them would have been spared from the task. Loren quietly looked at Dauna¡¯s face to see if he was upset about losing his job, but he saw the guy¡¯s eyes lit up at the prospect and exhaled, realizing that his worries were for naught. ¡°If it¡¯s true, that¡¯s great. It means your team is equal to a unit. I can see why the soldiers would be all over you.¡± ¡°If it had been done the right way, we wouldn¡¯t have had to run off like this.¡± Loren thought that he should give them a compliment, but he got a bitter remark from Leila as the response. As Loren wondered what had happened, Lapis asked Leila in a hushed voice. >¡±I¡¯m sorry if I got it wrong, but I heard a rumour that the magician in question was a girl. Could it be due to that fact?¡± ¡°Thank you for your great perception! We fought her off once, but twice is impossible! She was so angry that she was literally breathing fire! Still, now that we had made the achievement of having repelled her once, I¡¯m sure that we would be sent out the next time we encountered her! I¡¯m still young, I DON¡¯T WANT TO BE REDUCED TO ASHES!!!¡± Leila was so worked up that she couldn¡¯t keep her voice down any longer: she began to shout as she tore at her magnificent blond hair. Loren looked at Klaus, who was being dragged away, wondering what he had really done to make the Evil God of Wrath retreat, even if only temporarily. The guy only let out a weak laugh of someone, who had not yet learned his lesson. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 330: From Departure to Confession (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°So, what happened this time? Something with your resident lady man?¡± Loren asked Leila. In the tent that Yuri had sent them to, there was a large table, a couple of chairs, and some light snacks and tea. As expected, wine was not available as they were on the cusp of a battle. Loren was a little disappointed, but he sipped the tea that Lapis had brewed and picked up some dried meat and fish as he raised his question. Leila had been dragging Klaus with her until they arrived at the tent, but once they were inside, she tossed him to the side. She sat down on a seat across the table from Loren, accepted the tea offered by Lapis, and took a sip. ¡°We joined up with the Empire¡¯s army here not long ago, and were immediately sent out to do some skirmishing on the front lines. We agreed, of course, because it was our job and it would make a good impression on the army.¡± ¡°That reminds me, you are under the patronage of the Wargenburg Kingdom, aren¡¯t you? How did you get sent over here?¡± Klaus, despite being an adventurer, received backing from the Kingdom of Wagenburg and was being trained by them, as they highly valued his abilities. In times of emergency, he was expected to be set up as a hero and sent to the front lines. It was very strange for the Kingdom to lend such a person out of the country so easily. ¡°Simple: It¡¯s all about the cost.¡± According to Leila, there was little advantage in doing a favour for an empire so far away. At best, there was a chance it might become useful in some way. If it had been a matter of sending an army as a nation, Wargenburg would have refused or ignored it from the beginning. However, this time it was only a matter of dispatching adventurers, which would not cost much and would allow them to do the Empire a favour simply by lending them the service of one of their prized adventurers. If said adventurer had achieved some success in the war, the favour would have been even greater. ¡°So, we were sent here to save the Kingdom of Wargenburg the expenses.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry to hear that. But, if you were so highly regarded by the Empire¡¯s soldiers, that must mean you had done something of merit, right?¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re back to where we started.¡± Assigned to a unit with other adventurers, Klaus and his team encountered a unit from the Kingdom during one of their mobilizations, and their unit accidentally engaged in combat with the enemy¡¯s unit. At first, the highly-skilled Empire¡¯s troops, led by Klaus, who had considerable combat capabilities, and supported by the adventurers, had the upper hand against the Kingdom¡¯s troops. However, the situation took a turn for the worse when a single intruder entered the scene. It was the Evil God of Wrath, recognized as a magician who could manipulate flames. The tide of the battle was turned around by this single intruder, and the Empire¡¯s army, burned and felled one after another, was on the verge of defeat. ¡°Then, this sex-obsessed guy realized something: the magician in question was a woman.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine, but could it be¡­¡± ¡°She was quite a pretty girl. So naturally Klaus reflexively flirted with her.¡± Leila glared at Klaus, with her tone turning bitter. At the moment, Klaus was drinking and eating and chatting with the gloomy-looking Ange and Laure as if what was being discussed had nothing to do with him. But he noticed Leila¡¯s strong presence and gaze, and looked in their direction with an amiable smile on his face. ¡°Things just go downhill from there. Despite his life being in danger, that idiot went up to the magician and began to try to feed her with a series of cringy pick-up lines.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that kind of conduct should be scorned by the soldiers? Having the guts to flirt with girls right in the middle of a battle is something¡­ not highly valued.¡± ¡°The sound of the blazing flames and the fact that most of the soldiers had kept their distance to escape the magician¡¯s threat was a blessing in disguise for that idiot.¡± Letting out a deep sigh, Leila ruffled her blonde hair. The look of fatigue on her face told Loren that she must be having a hard time, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, except for pouring more tea into the empty cup in her hand. After moistening her throat with the newly poured tea, Leila continued. ¡°From the outside, it must have looked as if this sex maniac was trying to persuade the rampaging enemy magician or something. The truth is, the attacks stopped after he began to flirt with her.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That child is still young, and is still quite innocent. She was never hit on by a man at all, so she must have been confused and froze up.¡± ¡°So innocent. Ain¡¯t she cute?¡± Gula and Luxuria, who were half-heartedly listening to Leila¡¯s story from a little distance away, expressed their impressions. Meanwhile, Dauna was nodding off as if he had no interest in the conversation at all. Loren asked. ¡°If that was all, I don¡¯t see why this magician was so angry. Regardless of the situation or whether it was right to do or not, it¡¯s not exactly a bad thing for a man to hit on a woman, is it?¡± Loren thought that the act of flirting was not a bad thing in itself. Of course, the circumstances where the flirting happened could not be ignored, but Wrath could just turn him down if she didn¡¯t like it. It was not something to get mad over. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me that he still continued after she rejected him? If so, I can understand.¡± ¡°I wish she had rejected him. Of all things, this perpetually horny fool actually almost succeeded in seducing the magician with just a few words.¡± [¡®the way she calls him just gets worse and worse, doesn¡¯t it?¡¯] Shayna said with a wry smile. Loren replied in his mind that it was understandable, and urged Leila to continue. If Klaus had almost succeeded in seducing her, Loren thought that he might have been able to draw the Evil God of Wrath to their side, but reality was not so sweet. ¡°The magician was almost swayed. She certainly would join us if he succeeded. But we were right there by Klaus¡¯ side, you know?¡± Loren suddenly realized what had happened. As Gula and Luxuria say, the Evil God of Wrath had never had the experience of being seduced by a man, and had almost fallen for Klaus¡¯ tricks. But what would happen if she were to be confronted by the fact that Klaus was already surrounded by other women? When the thought crossed his mind, Loren understood what had happened from there. ¡°Aahh¡­ That would have snapped her out of it.¡± ¡°As for me, I feel a little sorry for Rage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a woman too¡­ I can¡¯t help but understand how that magician felt.¡± Leila nodded her head in agreement with Lapis¡¯ words. The way Lapis looked at Klaus was so cold that even Loren, who was not directly exposed to her gaze, felt a chill. But for some reason, Klaus, who was supposed to be the one involved, simply looked embarrassed and scratched his cheek. ¡°That poor magician turned red when she realized that she had been nearly deceived.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised he wasn¡¯t killed right there.¡± If it had been a girl from a bar, Klaus might have received a slap. But the other party was the Evil God of Wrath. The guy should have been burned to death on the spot in anger. Klaus must have been a very lucky man for that to not happen. ¡°She said she would not let him go the next time they met and ran off at full speed. Well, it seems that the soldiers in the distance did not hear that either.¡± Leila¡¯s shoulders slumped, and she feebly continued, speaking as if spitting out her words. ¡°The situation seemed to suggest that even if Klaus wasn¡¯t able to fully sway the magician, he did successfully persuade the magician to temporarily withdraw. When we returned to our camp, he was credited with having saved the day and prevented the destruction of his troops.¡± ¡®The Wargenburg Kingdom might not be able to stop laughing¡¯, Leila concluded, her shoulders slumped. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do with someone who thinks with his lower body like him¡­ How could he even think of hitting on someone in that situation? And why did he succeed? The mental exhaustion alone ages me.¡± ¡°I can only say that I¡¯m sorry to hear that. But if you hate this so much, why don¡¯t you just quit?¡± But that would not happen, Loren thought. Unlike the other two, Leila was a knight in her own right, and although that may not be the only reason, she was working with Klaus at the behest of the Kingdom of Wargenburg. No matter how much she disliked it, she had no choice but to follow the orders of her country as long as she was serving it, and she would have to leave the country before she could say she was quitting because she didn¡¯t like it. Loren thought that was a horrible situation to be in. But Leila, with exhaustion etched on her face, said something that was totally different from what Loren was expecting. ¡°There are reasons why I can¡¯t quit. Partly because I¡¯m a knight, of course, but also because¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being a slave of love? There¡¯s a limit to how far you can go with that, you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever meet a man better than Klaus in my life.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re really in too deep¡­. But what is it you like about him so much?¡± Despite her lamentations about Klaus¡¯s behaviour, Leila¡¯s opinion of him was nothing short of superlative. Loren thought that he might actually be a pretty good guy without their knowledge, but Leila said decisively. ¡°His face!¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the type that is attracted to physical looks. I don¡¯t want to be anywhere near a guy whose face I don¡¯t like for even a second. That said, Loren, your face is quite good, but Klaus¡¯ face is on another level.¡± ¡°O-Okay? Thank you?¡± Loren¡¯s response was unintentionally clipped, but the other members¡¯ reactions were similar to his, with Lapis frozen in place and Gula and Luxuria staring at Leila as if they had heard something unbelievable. Only Dauna remained motionless in his chair ¨C he seemed to have already fallen into a deep sleep, but Leila¡¯s words had that much impact. ¡°Klaus¡¯s face is exactly my ideal. No matter how many men I meet in the future, I will never find anyone better. If only¡­ he was just ten percent less of a philander.¡± Loren turned his gaze away from Leila, who was stressing her argument, and looked at Ange and Laure. They did not seem particularly surprised by Leila¡¯s confession, as if they were already familiar with it. However, they seem to understand the shock that Loren¡¯s group are feeling; they turned away and avoided his eyes. The atmosphere in the tent turned strange, and Loren wondered what to do about it. As if to help him, the entrance to the tent was slightly opened just then, and for some reason, Yuri peeked in. ¡°Rest well today. All-out attacks will start early tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Commander, where did you watch us from this time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about. Anyway, I told you what I needed to.¡± With that, Yuri left with the same suddenness as he arrived. With that, it was as though everything had been left in limbo. Not being able to do much about it, Loren let go of all thoughts as he decided to concentrate on tomorrow¡¯s battle with the Kingdom¡¯s army. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 331: From Deployment To Battle (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul Early in the morning of the next day, before dawn had even broken, the Empire¡¯s army began to mobilize. The truth was, Loren and his team did not know exactly what the formation would look like. They had not been informed of it. ¡°We do have a rough idea of what it¡¯ll be, though.¡± The adventurers were to work with infantry units. The supposed reason was because they were not as skilled with horses as the cavalry, but the truth was that there were not enough horses to lend to adventurers. ¡°Horses are kinda expensive creatures to feed.¡± ¡°Just like you, Gula-chan¡± ¡°Whatcha say, you subhuman?!¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t want to be lumped in with you, you bucket of leftovers. Do you want me to make you bleat?¡± ¡°You¡¯re both annoying relics, so will you please be quiet?! Gula and Luxuria got into an argument, but Lapis quickly cut them off. As the two Evil Gods unintentionally looked at each other and deflated, Lapis turned her attention to the back. It was Klaus¡¯ party, with Klaus carrying Dauna on his back, walking at the rear. ¡°Can I be carrying a girl on my back at least?¡± Klaus, who was carrying Dauna on his back like a rucksack, blurted out. ¡°If Dauna were a girl, I would never let you get near her. I don¡¯t want to hear something like she is pregnant after the war ends.¡± Even under Lapis¡¯ cold gaze, Klaus only showed a good-natured smile and did not seem to be affected in any way. Amazed at how thick his skin was, Lapis stopped her glaring and turned her attention back to Loren, who was walking beside her. ¡°The reason we don¡¯t know the formation is probably because the Commander decided it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡± ¡°Even if we knew, it seems there¡¯s not much we can do.¡± If Lapis and Gula and such were so inclined, saying there was not much they could do would be incorrect. However, there was no way they could reveal their true identities in a place with so many people present around them, so what they could do was limited to what was the consensus, thus there was not much that priests and few mages could do. ¡°I guess adventurers can¡¯t be trusted that much.¡± ¡°Even you, Loren?¡± ¡°If it were just me, it might be a different story. But here, I¡¯m just one among many. I can¡¯t be singled out.¡± Special treatment could cause unnecessary friction and misunderstandings. In this regard, Loren thought that Yuri¡¯s decision to provide them with a tent yesterday might have been a bit rash, but it¡¯s best not to hold on to any uncertainties. ¡°I guess if we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, we can¡¯t answer any questions. Well, our job is simple.¡± As Loren said, the war itself should have been left to the soldiers of the Empire¡¯s army and Yuri, their General. All Loren and his team had to do was to survive, and deal with the Evil God of Wrath if she appeared in the middle of the battle. ¡°In the worst-case scenario, we can just run away. As long as the Evil Gods don¡¯t come, it¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°Was it the same as when you were a mercenary?¡± Intrigued, Lapis asked, but Loren shook his head. ¡°When you¡¯re a mercenary, there are times when you can¡¯t run away.¡± ¡°Mercenaries work for money, but there are times they can¡¯t run away either?¡± ¡°To be precise, there are times when they are made to be unable to escape. Times when they are treated as pawns to be discarded and there is no way to escape. After all, you can get mercenaries from anywhere as long as you pay enough money.¡± It took time and money to train and provide for regular soldiers. In comparison, mercenaries have a wider range of qualities, but as Loren said, as long as they were loaded with money, there was no difficulty in procuring them. Moreover, if the mercenaries were to suffer harm, it would be considered their own responsibility, and they would not have to be cared for around all the time like soldiers. It was understandable why they would be treated as disposable. ¡°I¡¯ve been there a few times, and it¡¯s the worst. You have to go through either the enemy army or your own army.¡± ¡°This time, since the General is your Commander, I guess we don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t think the Commander would do such a thing.¡± While exchanging such conversations, Loren and his team moved with the Empire¡¯s troops and eventually arrived at the plain that Yuri had apparently chosen as the battlefield for the war against the Kingdom. As they watched the Empire soldiers begin to line up their positions, Lapis suddenly expressed her doubts. ¡°The Empire army arrived first and is setting up positions, but there is no guarantee that the Kingdom army will be here, is there?¡± ¡°There must be some plans. It¡¯s the Commander we¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°I simply let the Kingdom spies know that I would personally be present here.¡± It was Yuri who continued Loren¡¯s vague answer, as if to give it more details. Loren was surprised to see him appearing out of nowhere. Lapis, who was similarly surprised, mumbled as the General smiled as if he were a child who had successfully pulled a prank. ¡°Me? By a mere human? Getting sneaked up on, just like that? Ridiculous!¡­ But it¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t notice anything until we were approached and¡­and¡­¡± ¡°Just by letting them know your location, the Kingdom¡¯s army will come?¡± Loren asked while gently hiding Lapis, who seemed to be quite shocked and kept muttering to herself with a stunned look behind his back. Yuri silently pointed to a direction beyond the plain. Loren¡¯s gaze followed the tip of the finger and caught sight of countless shadows of people gathering on the other side of the plain in the dim darkness. Not knowing what to say, he simply shrugged. ¡°Hm, just as expected of you, Commander.¡± ¡°You mean I never fail to set up a trap.¡± Yuri looked pleased with his own work. Loren raised his hands in surrender and said in a teasing tone. ¡°Then do tell, when this magician is going to show up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the hardest part.¡± Yuri said in a low growl as he crossed his arms. Ignoring Loren, who wondered whether a General in charge of an army could afford to dawdle like this, he looked in the direction of the enemy forces for a while before turning around with a shake of his head. ¡°The only thing certain is that she will appear when and where they are at a disadvantage. War is an uncertain affair, and I don¡¯t know when that moment will come. If I had the talent to know that much, I would have told you- ¡° Just then, Yuri suddenly held his tongue as if he had just remembered something. Loren was about to ask him if this sudden change of attitude meant something was wrong, but before he could open his mouth, several soldiers came running up to Yuri. ¡°General! What are you doing here right before the battle?¡± ¡°Everyone is looking for you, General!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I shall return now.¡± Surrounded by soldiers, Yuri was taken away as well as prevented from escaping, which seemed a bit crude for a general in the army. However, his action of wandering around just before the start of the battle was troublesome for the soldiers, and Loren thought that the soldiers of the Empire army were in a tough spot. ¡°Anyway, Loren! I¡¯ll leave that to you! We¡¯ll take care of things over here so we can win the war, and you take care of the rest!¡± ¡°Alright alright, just go back. The higher ups are getting antsy.¡± As Yuri shouted at him from inside the wall of soldiers, Loren saw him off while waving his hand as if he were chasing off a dog. When the General was out of sight, Loren sniffed and looked toward the Kingdom¡¯s army positioned on the other side of the plain. ¡°Really. He¡¯s very thorough, but I don¡¯t know if he missed something or not¡­¡± ¡°He is very thorough.¡± Finding it comical that someone, who had laid a trap to have the Kingdom¡¯s army mobilized, to be dragged away by soldiers like that, Loren said in exasperation. It was Lapis who interrupted him in an even tone. Like him, she also was watching the Kingdom army far ahead. Almost missing what she had said, Loren thought for a moment about what Lapis was trying to say and asked. ¡°About what, and to what extent?¡± ¡°Up to when your conversation was cut off, and he was taken away by the soldiers.¡± Lapis said without hesitation. Loren was about to let it slide when he belatedly understood what she meant; he looked at her with a somewhat stiffened face. ¡°Is it a joke?¡± ¡°If so, it¡¯s not a very funny kind of joke, isn¡¯t it?¡± Realizing from the lack of denial and the tone of her voice that Lapis was not joking, Loren once again turned his eyes to the direction where Yuri had disappeared. No matter how much he thought about it, Loren had no idea how Yuri had slipped away from the army¡¯s executives. But if in addition to that, he had made sure that the soldiers would come calling for him at the exact time he wanted their conversation to end, one couldn¡¯t help but wonder how thoroughly he had orchestrated the whole thing. ¡°That uncle, I can¡¯t comprehend him at all. Even amongst us, his type is rare.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the Commander would be pleased to hear that assessment coming from you, Lapis.¡± If he was evaluated as someone who could not be bested by the demon tribe, that would certainly be a compliment for someone in Yuri¡¯s position. Loren has no intention of talking about Lapis¡¯ background even with Yuri, so at present it was simply an evaluation from a priest of the God of Knowledge, but Loren thought that perhaps Yuri would still be pleased. ¡°I¡¯d like to point this out to you first, Loren. Being a priest of the God of Knowledge is not a synonym for being shrewd.¡± ¡°Since when can you read my mind?¡± ¡°Your face shows it all¡­¡± Loren reflexively covered his face with his hands when Lapis said this. She couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his reaction, but the atmosphere of the battlefield and the smell of iron in the wind immediately made her sober. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 332: From Deployment to Battle (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul And then the battle began. In a battle between large armies, it was always the archers who started. The infantrymen were the ones standing in front of the archers. As they advanced slowly with their spears and shields at the ready, a hail of arrows rained down on them from above in an attempt to block their advance. Most of the arrows missed or were blocked by the shields over their heads. But some arrows were not; they reached their targets unobstructed, and the unlucky soldiers who were hit by them fell on the spot with shrieks and screams. Of course, some of the adventurers working with the infantry were magicians, and they protected their comrades with shields and protection spells. However, the effects of their magic were less than dependable considering the scale of the battlefield. As the distance between the Empire¡¯s army and the Kingdom¡¯s army narrowed, stones were mixed in with the arrows that came flying. Infantrymen picked up the stones on the ground and hurled them at the enemy forces. The effectiveness of this method of attack was greater than the cost. ¡°Quite subdued, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lapis muttered boredly in the midst of battlefield, where arrows and stones were flying around. Next to her, Loren, who was using the flat of his greatsword to repel anything that might hit him or Lapis, heard her muttering and frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you usually have magicians who can attack with magic on both sides?¡± ¡®¡±Well, in a battle of such scale that kings and emperors would appear, such magicians might accompany them.¡± The existence of a magician was not something common. Because the knowledge and skills required to become a magician were greater than other professions, only those with a certain level of education could become one. Unlike soldiers, who could fight to a certain degree as long as they were equipped with weapons and armor, the training of a magician took time and money. This was another reason why there were so few magicians among the lower- and working class of population. Moreover, beginner or self-taught magicians were not capable of immediately exercising magic on the scale that could be used in warfare, and there was no way that they could be sent to the frontline. ¡°We usually have a few of them guarding the main camp, but they rarely come out this far forward.¡± ¡°It seems the adventurer magicians are here though?¡± ¡°Well, yes. But if they keep using magic to dodge arrows and make some attacks, they¡¯ll run out of uses and have to flee backwards.¡± The kind of mages, who became an adventurer were quite different from the court magician who belonged to a country. Though the adventurer mages called themselves ¡®magicians¡¯, they only had a few rudimentary skills, which was far inferior in quality to the ones who belonged to a state. For a magician to be deemed qualified to serve in the military, he must be at least on par with an Iron or even Silver ranked adventurers. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, but I¡¯ve heard that those who have received the title of Court Magician have power comparable to that of a Gold-Rank adventurer. If they were sent to the front line so readily, we wouldn¡¯t be able to hold our own.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d better act only as a priest, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Lapis had thought that if the battle was filled with a barrage of magic attacks to some extent, she would not be exposed in the chaos even if she secretly used some magic. However, considering the current situation, it was obvious that using even one spell would make her become conspicuous, and Lapis reluctantly took the use of magic out of her mind. As Loren and Lapis were having such a carefree conversation, around them were Gula and Luxuria, who were exuding a relaxed atmosphere, and Klaus with his group, who were tense because they were on the battlefield. However, the tension was rather ruined by the presence of Dauna, who was still being carried on Klaus¡¯ back. ¡°Ah, uhm, Lapis?¡± One of the girls in Klaus¡¯ party called out to Lapis. It was Ange, the magician. ¡°I didn¡¯t get a chance to ask because Klaus didn¡¯t seem to mind, but that Dauna person, I remember him from the adventurer training school-¡° ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong person.¡± Lapis stated plainly without allowing Ange to continue. Ange was momentarily daunted and faltered, but she quickly regained her composure and continued to press her point. ¡°That can¡¯t be right¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong person. You see, this deja vu feeling you¡¯re having is a misunderstanding. You¡¯ve never met Dauna before, and you don¡¯t know who he is.¡± ¡°Wh-What?¡± Lapis firmly gripped both shoulders of Ange, who squealed in confusion and bewilderment, and gradually brought her face closer and looked her eye-to-eye. ¡°It is said, that there are three people in the world who look like each other. He may look like someone you met before, but he is not the same person. Alright? Do you understand? What you are feeling is just your imagination.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all¡­ my imagination.¡± ¡°If Klaus says something similar, you must correct his mistake. Is that clear? Please repeat after me. ¡®You are mistaken¡¯.¡± ¡°You¡­ are¡­ mistaken.¡± Despite hearing a hint of depression in Ange¡¯s voice and catching Loren¡¯s startled look at the edge of her vision, Lapis continued without a care. ¡°Good. Are you feeling better now?¡± ¡°Eh?! Ah? Uhm¡­ Yes. What on earth did I misunderstand?¡± Ange tilted her head as she went back to Klaus¡¯ group. As he watched her go, Loren asked Lapis, who was waving her hand smilingly next to him, in a nonchalant voice. ¡°Can you do brainwashing or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Are you doing it to me?¡± ¡°If I were, you wouldn¡¯t be so troublesome.¡± Loren gave her a suspicious look, to which Lapis replied with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just a trick that can¡¯t be used on someone with such a strong sense of self like you. If it were effective on you, and if I wanted to do it, you would be saying ¡®I love you, Lapis!¡¯ by now.¡± ¡°Your taste is¡­¡± Loren reflexively took a step away from Lapis. She looked up at him with a hurt expression on her face and said. ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than an example, Loren. I would hate to make you do that.¡± Loren thought that it would be dangerous to continue this topic as he flicked another arrow off with the flat of his greatsword. As they were talking, the distance between the two armies was closing, and now the soldiers on the front line began to engage each other in a fierce battle with spears. The spears held by the soldiers were quite long, and they not only thrusted them out, but also swung them down in an attempt to eliminate the enemy¡¯s formation of spears. But the enemy also thrusted or swung down their spears, and clattering sounds echoed throughout the battlefield, and soldiers fell down as they were stabbed or knocked unconscious by the enemy. ¡°It¡¯s time to get to work. I¡¯m going to cut some down.¡± Here and there on the battle front, both armies were beginning to break apart. If this continued further, close combat between infantry would begin, and then, depending on the situation, other types of troops would be introduced into the battlefield. If cavalry were to engage, the situation would not be very interesting for the infantry. Loren decided to make some gains before that happened. Clutching the hilt of his greatsword with both hands, he rushed to the front line, weaving his way through the soldiers. Not too far ahead, there were already tips of the spears seen clashing against the armour and shields. Some adventurers, perhaps thinking the same thing as Loren, tried to cut their way through the soldiers and into the enemy army. Some lucky ones succeeded in getting through the line of spears, some unlucky ones were pierced, and still more unlucky ones lost their lives there. Loren, in the midst of all this, swung the greatsword he carried on his shoulder at the tips of the countless spears being thrown at him with great force. With that single blow, the spears of the Kingdom army were easily smashed as if they were twigs, and some of the Kingdom soldiers lost their balances from the impact. Then Loren swung his greatsword in return, and several Kingdom soldiers were cut in half by the torso, their lower bodies collapsing on the spot while their upper bodies spinning in the air like some kind of joke. ¡°What is this guy?¡± ¡°People are¡­ like pieces of paper¡­¡± Loren stepped further into the lines of flinching soldiers of the Kingdom army. Swung by an arm strength far removed from that of an ordinary person, his sword of unusual size was carelessly swept sideways. With that single blow, several more Kingdom soldiers were cut in half, following those who had gone before them. ¡°He uses that stupidly big weapon so easily¡­¡± ¡°Hold up your shields! Don¡¯t let him swing it around like that!¡± A huge weapon like the one Loren handled had to be swung with great force, and the force of the swing and the weight of the sword itself increased its power. If it could be stopped, it would take a great deal of force and time to swing it again, and the Kingdom soldiers immediately took up shields to defend themselves. Normally, such a strategy might have worked. However, the man in front of them is Loren, and the greatsword in his hand was a legendary item that was originally used by a Demon King. ¡°What a pain in the ass!¡± Not caring that they were lying in wait for him, Loren once again swung his greatsword. As the blade seemed to gleam with the barest hint of light, a soldier who was trying to stop the attack had their shields and bodies cut in half horizontally. As the torso of a stunned Kingdom soldier was cut into three or four pieces in rapid succession, someone muttered. ¡°It¡¯s a magic sword¡­ He¡¯s got a magic sword!¡± The word spread like a wave among the soldiers of the Kingdom army, and immediately there was a great commotion around Loren. ¡°What kind of magic sword can cut through a man¡¯s shield and armor?¡± ¡°Hey, get away from him! If you stay within range of that blade, you¡¯ll all be slaughtered!¡± ¡°Move! Get out of the way! Let me out of here!¡± ¡°You fools! Don¡¯t push me!¡± ¡°Call the cavalry! Call the knights!¡± Screams and yells filled the air, and the Kingdom soldiers fell into a state of panic as they tried to keep as much distance from Loren as possible. Loren shrugged as he watched the soldiers drop the weapons in their hands and turn their backs to him in an attempt to be the first to flee. ¡°They¡¯ve got no guts.¡± He grumbled, to which Shayna replied. [¡®I think I understand the feelings of the soldiers over there.¡¯] A soldier with a huge, well-trained body that can unleash an indefensible attack ¨C if ordinary soldiers were to encounter such a man on the battlefield, she thought that they would have no choice but to make a run for it. ¡°The enemy formation has been broken!¡± ¡°Push in! Don¡¯t let them escape!¡± The Empire army, seeing the corner cleared by Loren as an opportunity, rushed forward. The Kingdom army, who were terrified by Loren¡¯s fighting style and were fleeing without being able to intercept any of his attacks, was rushed into by the Empire soldiers from where Loren had cleared. Stabbed and slashed in the back, they fell down one after another, littered the battlefield with their corpses. Even though he thought that the enemy formation had become very fragile after a tile had been broken, Loren was not relaxed. He had not yet seen the Evil God of Wrath, but he had overheard someone¡¯s instruction to call in the cavalry. ¡°The cavalry is a pain though. They¡¯re fast.¡± But Loren did not retreat, and continued to advance forward. No matter how strong Loren¡¯s power was and how extraordinary his physical strength was, cutting down nearly ten soldiers with shields and armor must have been draining. He had also used the power of his greatsword, albeit only a little bit. Knowing this, Shayna did not stop Loren, who was trying to advance further, but began to quietly use Energy Drain to steal life force from the surrounding Kingdom soldiers who were still breathing and convert it into Loren¡¯s strength. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 333: From Successive Battles to Sloth (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul It was some time after Loren¡¯s charge into the enemy lines that a change occurred. Lapis, who was smiling and watching from behind Loren as he continued to turn enemy soldiers into meat sacks with each swinging of his greatsword, suddenly looked into the distance and called out to him. At that moment, he was stabbing an enemy soldier, whom he had cut but failed to finish off. ¡°Loren, look at that.¡± Looking up as he was told, Loren titled his head in a puzzle when he noticed that there were strangely few dead enemy soldiers lying around. Then he saw Gula looking strangely satisfied a short distance away and realized what was happening. But Lapis put her hands on his shoulders and made him turn around to face the opposite direction from where Gula was. ¡°Not that way, this way.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡­ We¡¯re busy cutting down the enemies¡­¡± There were still many enemy soldiers left that needed to be cut down. No matter how hard Loren worked to back them off, there were still an untold number of enemy soldiers around him, and he knew he did not have the luxury of worrying about a battlefield that had nothing to do with him. Loren, who turned his gaze to said direction as Lapis pulled him along, was momentarily lost in amazement at the sight of a pillar of fire rising up to the heavens at a considerable distance from them. ¡°Focus, Loren. Do you remember what we are doing here?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That reminds me, there¡¯s still that matter. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve been on the battlefield that I forgot.¡± ¡°And what does that mean?¡± ¡°The Evil God of Wrath has appeared, hasn¡¯t she? How troublesome. I have to move there.¡± Loren grumbled. The place where the pillar of fire appeared was quite far away from Loren and his group. Loren deduced that it was no where near the main base camp, nor his own position, or the location of the Empire¡¯s main troops. ¡°Why did she go out there? If we consider fighting power, shouldn¡¯t she go this way?¡± ¡°Loren, that is what you were aiming for, weren¡¯t you?¡± Lapis said with a suppressed smile, and Loren clammed up. Before the battle began, they had heard from Yuri that the Evil God of Wrath would appear in the areas where the Kingdom army was in an unfavourable situation. Loren thought that if he could create such an area, the Evil God of Wrath would appear there. He did not particularly want to engage her, but rather to prevent her from mistakenly appearing in the main camp, where Yuri was. It seemed that Lapis knew of his intentions. ¡°Then do you know why she went there?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. The reason is that you, Gula, and Klaus are working too hard, so the Kingdom¡¯s forces are concentrated too much on our side. Because the other side is undermanned, she has to appear there first.¡± ¡°What is the Kingdom doing? ¡°You tell me.¡± Looking around, it was true that Gula and Luxuria were defeating the Kingdom soldiers at an overwhelming rate, and Klaus was also slaughtering the enemy soldiers one by one despite still carrying Dauna on his back. The girls in Klaus¡¯ party were also helping, but the number of soldiers around them did not seem to be decreasing at all. This meant that many soldiers were gathering here from other places, and those other places were getting into disadvantageous position much faster. ¡°Anyway, we have to move out of here.¡± The Evil God of Sloth, who had been brought along to fight against the Evil God of Wrath, was nodding off on Klaus¡¯s back, even though they were in the middle of a battle. As far as Loren could see, it looked as if he had been hit occasionally by flying arrows or by the spear or sword of a soldier who tried to attack Klaus¡¯ from behind, but there was no sign of injury either to Dauna himself or to Klaus, who was carrying him on his back. ¡°Klaus! Can you break through this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up to the task! If you can get this thing off my back, I¡¯ll try to, but if not, you¡¯ll have to do something!¡± Klaus did not fight by forcefully destroying the enemies¡¯ defences like Loren; he fought by targeting gaps in their armors and inflicting wounds to take away their ability to fight. Because of this fighting style, he was not able to force his way through the enemy lines as Loren, and since he was carrying the weight of one Dauna, he was not likely to break through the wall of enemies. ¡°I¡¯ll have to do the work then.¡± Even if they could break through the current enemy¡¯s enclosure, they would have to pass through a battlefield between the enemy and their own army in order to reach the point where another pillar of fire was expected to rise up. So, it was Loren¡¯s job to lead and clear the way. He shouted as he swung his greatsword and cut down another couple of soldiers. ¡°Klaus! We¡¯re moving! Follow me!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± After getting Klaus¡¯s answer, Loren turned to the direction of the pillar of fire. Lapis followed, somewhat dissatisfied that she had not been called, while Gula and Luxuria took over the role of rear guards as they urged Klaus and the others on. Around the time that Loren¡¯s group started moving, at another corner of the battlefield, the Empire army was in chaos. Together with the adventurers, a part of the Empire army had cut deeply into the Kingdom army¡¯s lines, and with the Kingdom soldiers concentrating at another place, the Empire army had been allowed to fight a fairly easy battle. However, the presence of a girl who suddenly appeared had turned the scales of battle upside down in an instant. ¡°Damn, I was sent out here just like this. What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing with a beautiful, innocent girl?¡± The girl certainly was lovely, if only by her appearance, with her fluttering crimson cloak and flowing golden hair. But the words that came out of her mouth were strangely vulgar, in a stark contrast to her cute voice. And even though there was nothing visibly burning, bright red flames blazing at a height of about waist-high were surrounding the girl. Outside the ring of flames, several people were struggling in the flames and were quickly being turned into hard, black charcoal. In the center of the circle of Empire and Kingdom troops surrounding such a scene, Rage, the Evil God of Wrath, glared at the Empire soldiers with an annoyed expression. ¡°The big guy the other day and that lady man, you Empire army are really pissing me off. You all should be burned to ashes.¡± ¡°Th-this is the¡­ fire wizard of the Kingdom army¡­AAGH¡± The Empire soldier who let out this comment was transformed into a human torch by a single glance from Rage. He rolled on the ground, screaming and trying to extinguish the flames, but the flames, which never went out, engulfed his entire body and turned him into a black, hard object. ¡°Who¡¯s a magician, who? Don¡¯t you dare lump me together with them.¡± ¡°Y-you are a member of the Kingdom army, aren¡¯t you?! Do you know how many of your allies were involved in that single blow earlier?! And you¡¯re still¡­¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Apparently, Rage had burned down not only the Empire soldiers but also the soldiers of the Kingdom army when she appeared at this place. A Kingdom soldier tried to criticize her for this, but he, too, was forced to suffer the same fate as the Empire soldier earlier under the glare of Rage. ¡°My job is to burn down anything that gets in my way. If it is the Empire army, I will pursue it. If it¡¯s the Kingdom army, I don¡¯t pursue it. If you don¡¯t want to get involved and die, get the hell out of my sight!¡± Under the threat of a girl who looked considerably younger than them, the faces of the Kingdom soldiers drained of colour, as they began to retreat in a hurry. As the Empire army moved to pursue them, Rage blocked their way. ¡°Don¡¯t give me more work!¡± A crimson wall stood in the way of the Empire troops, which was about to advance with weapons at the ready. A single swing of Rage¡¯s arm sent the flames rushing toward them like a tsunami, swallowing dozens of soldiers in one fell swoop. The smell of burning flesh and the screams of burning soldiers immediately filled the area, but Rage simply sniffed in a bored manner. The Empire soldiers who had not been swallowed by the tsunami of flames attempted to fight back. ¡°Don¡¯t get too close! Attack from afar!¡± ¡°Ordinary bows and arrows won¡¯t work! Bring the crossbow!¡± Since wooden weapons would be burned quickly, the soldiers immediately chose to attack Rage with crossbow bolts made of steel. Crossbows were immediately loaded, and several soldiers aimed at Rage from a kneeling position. ¡°You seem to be using your head a little, but don¡¯t be a bore.¡± Rage, on the other hand, did not even move from her spot. She just stared at the soldiers with crossbows at the ready as if she was looking at something terribly boring. ¡°Don¡¯t pay attention to that! Shoot her down!¡± Under the order, several bolts were released from the crossbows. All of them were on a deadly trajectory towards Rage¡¯s small body, and even though the Empire troops did not think that they would be able to kill her by themselves, they were sure that she would not be unscathed. However, before the bolts could come close to Rage¡¯s body, their trajectories were unnaturally bent, and they flew away without even grazing her. ¡°What happened? Magic?¡± ¡°With so many flames burning and the air swirling, maybe projectile weapons can¡¯t properly hit their target.¡± The spurts of flame ran towards the feet of the Empire soldiers, who were still in a kneeling posture, to engulf their bodies. They fell down in a heap and rolled around, trying to extinguish the flames that had caught on their bodies. Rage sent more flames to finish them off. The Empire troops still tried to attack Rage despite the devastation they had just witnessed, and she smiled evilly at them. ¡°You seem to have a lot of guts, don¡¯t you? If you¡¯re going to go along with me to relieve my frustration, then let¡¯s burn you all to ashes!¡± Her vicious words, unimaginable from her appearance, caused tension in the Empire army. As they stopped moving as if they had frozen, and just as Rage was about to step forward with a smile on her face, two knives flew out of nowhere, aiming for the side of her head, catching her by surprise. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 334: From Successive Battles To Sloth (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Damn! I thought I had her, but she blocked it!¡± It was Loren who rushed to the scene and threw not one but two daggers at Rage¡¯s head. The daggers he threw were not his own, but were borrowed from two nearby Empire soldiers who had them hanging on their belts as spares. The two soldiers, who knew they had been picked, stared at Loren with startled faces. ¡°You. You are as annoying as an insect.¡± The daggers that Loren had thrown had definitely been on the trajectory for a direct hit despite the flames, but they were repelled by the force field that Rage had apparently set up around herself and fell to the ground. She stomped on the blades, and as flames rose up, they burned red and melted down like candies. ¡°Be good and let me turn you into ashes!¡± Rage swung her arm, and flames surged up from it. Loren defended himself with the flat of his greatsword. The flames only slid across the surface of his armor in a scattering of sparks, but the soldiers around him did not stand a chance. With a sideways glance at the soldiers who had turned into living torches without even time to scream, Loren brandished his greatsword and slashed at Rage. Seeing the blade, which seemed too huge to be used against a small girl like her, cut through the heated air and flames, Rage quietly clucked her tongue and moved to dodge it while shooting more flames toward Loren. Loren pulled back the sword, which had not hit its target, and slashed at the flames that were shot at him. The scattered flames burned where his skin was exposed, the stinging pain made Loren grimace as he held his sword up once more. ¡°You son of a bitch! Let me slowly roast you up!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t just shoot fires however you want, can you!¡± Loren thought that even if Rage was an Evil God who controlled fire, it would take her some time to produce a flame large enough to burn down the surrounding. Therefore, in order to not allow her that time, he tried to hunt her down without stopping his attacks. Loren¡¯s greatsword managed to occasionally catch the edge of Rage¡¯s clothing, but he was unable to land a solid hit as she kept dodging, taking advantage of her small stature and light weight. ¡°Oh, you son of a bitch! You shredded the edge of my skirt! What if it makes me less cute?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your cuteness has become non-existent after you keep burning humans one after another!¡± ¡°I¡¯m cute, aren¡¯t I?!¡± ¡°Stop spitting nonsense!¡± While continuing to attack Rage, who protested with a somewhat hurt look on her face, Loren wondered if he would have to finish her by himself, or if reinforcements would come. He had not forgotten his previous confrontation with Rage. Based on that experience, Loren wanted to avoid confronting her, if possible, but running through a battlefield was a bit difficult for Lapis, Gula, or Klaus and his party, who were not accustomed to battlefields, and before long Loren found himself in the position of being the only one at the front. He had also considered waiting until someone else arrived on the scene, but he could not leave Rage burning Empire soldiers to death, so he had no choice but to make a move. Loren wished from the bottom of his heart that she had been killed by the daggers, but he understood, even if he didn¡¯t like it, by watching Gula and Luxuria, that Evil Gods were not the kind of opponents who would die with a single surprise blow. ¡°You can¡¯t deny my cuteness!¡± Rage, perhaps angered by Loren¡¯s words, raised her eyes and tried to release more flames, but she was hit directly in the face by something, and tumbled backward with a small, cute scream. Loren, guessing that it was the priestly spell >, shouted without looking in the direction where that something had come from. ¡°Lapis?!¡± ¡°Sorry Loren, it took longer than I expected.¡± The voice that responded was of Lapis, just as Loren had expected. In addition to her white priest robe and eye-catching appearance, Lapis was a girl. She stood out on the battlefield, and seemed to have attracted the attention of the enemy soldiers. This was why she arrived at the scene later than Loren. However, although she had waded through the throngs of enemies, there was no blood or dirt on her clothes or hands. ¡°Was everything all right?¡± ¡°Yes. I can handle this much, and I¡¯ve mostly pushed it to Gula and Luxuria, so it¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°And Klaus and the others?¡± ¡°They seemed to stand out more than I did, with three girls running with a man carrying another man on his back.¡± Holding a hand over her eyes, Lapis looked in the direction she had just run through, but there was no sign of Klaus and the others yet; only enemy soldiers were swarming in that direction. As he dodged the flames that Rage was shooting at him, Loren felt slightly regretful about not having escorted them properly, ¡°Can you at least bring Klaus? Not so much Klaus himself, but the thing on his back.¡± ¡°Klaus?!¡± Loren¡¯s question to Lapis seems to have reached Rage¡¯s ears as well. As if to prove Leila¡¯s statement that she would never forgive him the next time they met, Rage¡¯s expression changed to one of anger, and the flames burning around her grew more intense. Loren was inwardly grimacing at the thought that he had made a blunder, but Lapis looked back at the battlefield through which she had run and asked. ¡°Can you hold on until I bring him?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know.¡± Rage once again dodged the sword Loren swung to keep her in check. Even though she seemed to be on fire with anger, she appeared to understand that Loren¡¯s weapon was somehow dangerous, and didn¡¯t carelessly lunge at him. As Rage continued shooting flames while keeping a distance, Shayna continuously used Energy Drain on her from within Loren, but from outward appearance alone, he had no idea if it had any effects. He wondered if he would be able to hold out until Klaus and the others arrived with Lapis¡¯ help. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew him!¡± ¡°He is totally at fault for what you are upset about. Even I know that there is no room for arguments there. It¡¯s a bit of a pity that he wasn¡¯t burned to ashes right after he made a pass at you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite reasonable.¡± The way Loren reacted, in which he fully acknowledged Rage¡¯s side of the story without any attempts to defend Klaus¡¯s actions, seemed to have calmed Rage¡¯s anger somewhat, and the intensity of the flames lessened to some degree. Seeing this, Lapis silently patted Loren¡¯s shoulder before turning around and returning to the battlefield from which she had just exited. ¡°She went to call in a friend or something? You got some kind of plan to get to me?¡± ¡°Well, I guess you¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± ¡°I mean, do you think you can stand in front of me until those reinforcements arrive?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± While Loren fixed his grip on the greatsword, Rage casually stepped forward. However, her action was never completed. Loren did not immediately understand what the reason was, but Rage was stepping forward when, without any warning, she was suddenly knocked down and fell forward with such force that her face hit the ground hard. Loren, who was looking at the fallen Rage to see what had happened, understood when he saw a small shadow moving at her feet. It was Nigg, who had secured Wraith¡¯s feet firmly to the ground with the threads he had spit out. After succeeding in making Rage fall down in front of Loren, who was both surprised or dismayed to see the spider there, Nigg climbed on top of the body of Rage, who was still confused about what had happened, and began to spit out a large number of threads. It was often mistakenly believed that spider silk was flammable, but the truth was, even though they could be burned off, they could not catch fire. While Rage was still confused and unable to react, Nigg skilfully wrapped her body up like a package while she was lying on her face. When Rage belatedly realized the situation, she began trying to burn off the spider¡¯s threads by emitting flames from her body, but Nigg¡¯s tough threads were not burned off so easily. The spider wrapped the threads around her body two, three, and more times, and eventually succeeded in trapping her inside a huge cocoon. Nigg raised his front legs as if to strike a triumphant pose, then, having done his job, climbed up from under Loren¡¯s feet, clung to his shoulder at his usual spot, and stopped moving. ¡°Hey, I was surprised. You¡¯re amazing.¡± After wrapping his greatsword in cloth and thrusting it into the ground, Loren patted Nigg, who was now clinging to his shoulder, and the spider shook with joy. In front of Loren¡¯s eyes lay a pure white oval cocoon, as tall as his waist, with what sounded like moans coming from inside and flames occasionally flickering out from between the threads. Although one had to wonder what in the world was in Nigg¡¯s body to make him able to spit out that many threads, the scene in front of his eyes was real, and this should be able to block the Rage¡¯s movements for a while. Knowing that much was enough for Loren now; the rest was relatively unimportant to him. He considered taking this opportunity to stab Rage, but there was no point in damaging the cocoon so badly that it would break the Evil God¡¯s restraints. And above all, the threads that Nigg spit out were strong enough that he didn¡¯t think he could manage to stab through it and finish Rage with a single blow. ¡°Let me out! Let me out of here! Damn it, I¡¯m going to burn these threads¡­ Hot?! The threads are melting?! Melted threads, hot!¡± From the screams coming from the cocoon, it seemed that Rage was trying to escape by burning it from inside, but the flames roasted the threads and melted them into a hot liquid, which then caught on her body and caused an uproar. Loren was once again reminded that Nigg had the power to restrict an Evil God¡¯s actions, even if only temporarily, and that even though she had the appearance of a small spider, she was still a powerful magical creature in her own right. ¡°It¡¯s reassuring to have you on my side. You really saved me.¡± [¡®I did my best too, onii-san!¡¯] ¡°Yes, you did. Shayna¡¯s strength helped me, too. I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do it on my own.¡± When Loren thanked Shayna aloud, she showed a hint of embarrassment in his mind. While wishing he could somehow return Shayna to her original human body, Loren looked around and saw that both enemies and allies had fled due to Rage¡¯s flames. After confirming that his surroundings were like a vacuum in the middle of the battlefield, he leaned on the greatsword he had thrust into the ground and took a moment of break. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 335: From Successive Battles To Sloth (3) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul Loren waited for a while. Inside the cocoon created by Nig, Rage seemed to be releasing flames incessantly to melt its threads; the red color of the flames was beginning to show through the gaps in the threads. From time to time, Nig would jump down from Loren¡¯s shoulder to the cocoon and spit out more threads to reinforce it. But after a while, he seemed to have run out of stock and was no longer moving from Loren¡¯s shoulder, giving off an air of exhaustion. Furthermore, since the flame-throwing Rage was now trapped inside the cocoon, no more flames were shot out, causing soldiers of both sides to be attracted back into Loren¡¯s spot. Loren, still wary that Rage might emerge from the cocoon at any moment, wielded his greatsword to knock down the approaching enemy soldiers while waiting for Lapis to bring Klaus to him. ¡°I¡¯m not going to last much longer.¡± Loren was whining when a huge flame erupted from a crack in the cocoon. A tear appeared on the surface, not big enough for a person to pass through, but enough for an arm to push out, and through it he could hear the curses of Rage inside. ¡°Damn you, you bastard! Don¡¯t think that I¡¯ll just turn you into ashes after what you¡¯ve done to me!¡± For a moment, Loren was lost. The size of the tear indicated that the cocoon was not that thick, and it occurred to him that he could now plunge his greatsword through it and deliver a fatal blow to Rage. However, if he failed, he would only make the tear bigger and shorten the time it would take for the Evil God to come out, which would only make the situation worse. Just as Loren put strength into his grip on the hilt of the greatsword, the voice he had been waiting for finally called out to him. ¡°Sorry, Loren! Did I keep you waiting?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re just in time.¡± Kicking down the surrounding Kingdom soldiers, Lapis reappeared. Behind her was Klaus, who was using his longsword to finish the approaching enemies, and following him were the three girls. ¡°Are you bringing your luggage?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s all safe somehow. I mean, what kind of guy is he? I think I took a couple of good shots to the back, but he doesn¡¯t look hurt at all.¡± Loren nodded in response to Klaus¡¯s question, while Klaus lowered the man on his back to the ground. Dauna, who claimed to be the Evil God of Sloth, slowly descended from Klaus¡¯s back and casually waved at Loren while cracking his neck, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding tumult. ¡°Hey there, did I keep you waiting for long?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting a while, but not long enough to be fatal. Anyway, can you really do something about that?¡± As he rushed to Dauna, Loren pointed to the cocoon, which now had several tears and began to spout fires. Dauna stared at what Loren pointed at closely, then asked in a tone that lacked any urgency. ¡°What do you want me to do with this cocoon?¡± ¡°Not the cocoon. The thing inside it. It¡¯s Rage.¡± Loren was about to ask Dauna what kind of nonsense he was blabbing, but he stopped, thinking that it would be wrong to get angry. The guy had just arrived, and there was only a large cocoon lying in front of him; he could not know that Rage was inside. In the meantime, Dauna curiously approached the cocoon. The moment he brought his face closer to it as if he was about to examine something, the cocoon burst open from the inside. ¡°I finally got out! Damn! What the hell is this cocoon?! My flames can burn it, but it takes so long!¡± Rage rose up from within like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. The figure standing imposingly with angry eyes looked not so different from before she was sealed in the cocoon by Nig, but Klaus blurted out. ¡°She¡¯s covered in something milky white. Somehow, it feels like¡­ just after?¡± It might just be an offhand comment from Klaus, but it made Loren turn his dismayed gaze toward him when he heard it. Lapis, who was standing next to the guy, glared at Klaus with a cold, disgusted stare. Klaus¡¯ companions did not react much as if it was something normal to them; they simply looked at him exasperatedly. But Dauna, who had taken a few steps backward when the cocoon exploded, began to laugh uproariously. ¡°After! Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what it looks like!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t laugh! I became like this because I was melting down the cocoon from inside, it can¡¯t be helped! It¡¯s not like I like looking like this!¡± The angry Rage, who was baring her teeth, was indeed in the state that Klaus had described. The milky white substance, however, was not what Klaus and Dauna had imagined, but rather the end product of Nig¡¯s threads melting by the heat. But it was sticking to her clothes, hair, and face in clumps, and she was in a rather wretched state. ¡°I¡¯m hot and sticky all over and not half as cute as I was. Damn it. You son of a bitch, I¡¯ll never forgive you¡­ Klaus?! YOU ARE HERE!????¡± Rage, who was trying to pull off the sticky residue from her body with a disgusted look on her face, saw Klaus amidst the surrounding figures and tried to jump at him, only to be caught in the debris of the cocoon and stumble on the spot. Thanks to Rage¡¯s feet getting tangled in the melted threads lying on the ground, Klaus was not attacked. He quickly moved away from Rage and, without a second thought, hid behind Loren. ¡°Get away from me!¡± ¡°No, Loren, you and I are friends, aren¡¯t we? I thought you¡¯d help me out here.¡± ¡°What friends? There is no excuse for what you did!¡± Loren tried to draw Klaus out in front of himself, but Klaus even made full use of his > not to get overpowered and continued to resist. It was a rather unsightly grapple from the outside. Gritting her teeth, Rage, who was temporarily forgotten, was about to step toward Loren and Klaus when she noticed Dauna laughing nearby. ¡°Huh?! Dauna?!¡± ¡°Long time no see, Rage. You¡¯re as stuffy as ever.¡± Dauna took a step forward as he answered, and Rage took a step backward. Her face was obviously tense, and everyone could see that Rage was not so much afraid of Dauna as she was uncomfortable with his presence. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Loren here, asked me to do a faaaavour for him. It¡¯s a bit of a hassle, but I¡¯m here to deal with you.¡± ¡°You?! Of all people, YOU?!¡± ¡°I think the only ones who can handle your flames are me and Envy if she is serious, aaaren¡¯t we? I don¡¯t think Loren made a bad choice.¡± ¡°Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!¡± Cursing with the voice of a small girl, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Rage turned around and tried to flee the scene. However, the attempt was not successful. Even if her footing was somewhat obstructed by the remnants of Nig¡¯s threads, since she was a so-called Evil God, she should be able to escape with little trouble if she put her mind to it. However, Rage was moving so slow and hardly made any progress that even Loren and his team had to tilt their heads and wondered if this was really a being who claimed to be an Evil God. ¡°My authority is >. It affects not only myself, but also those around me.¡± ¡°You, son of a bitch! Don¡¯t come this way!!!¡± As her legs were not advancing according to her will, Rage¡¯s face contorted, and she released a flame toward Dauna. The streak of flame burned the atmosphere as it headed in a straight line toward Dauna. However, it did not reach him; its force decreased midway, and it finally fizzled out. ¡°Strangely enough, as something slows down, its temperature gradually decreases, regardless of whether it is a living thing or an inorganic substance.¡± As Loren heard Sloth¡¯s words, alarm bells started ringing somewhere in his mind. Not knowing what danger, he was in, he grabbed Klaus by the collar and shouted to Lapis and the others, who were watching the scene. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong! Get away from here!¡± Loren understood the nature of the sense of urgency he was feeling when he noticed that the movement when he took a step forward had turned out much slower than he had expected. Since Dauna¡¯s consciousness was focused on Rage, the effect on Loren¡¯s group seemed to be a little weaker, but it seemed that his authority was not something that could be focused solely on selected target, but the type that affected everything within its range indiscriminately. ¡°I can¡¯t control it once it is truly activated, but that¡¯s okay. Isn¡¯t it great to be sleeping forever in a world where nothing moves?¡± As Dauna¡¯s strangely contorted voice reached his ears, Loren looked over his shoulder and saw him stooping down to look into the face of Rage, who was now unable to move, her legs completely trapped. Of course, there were Kingdom soldiers surrounding them, but perhaps because they were less resistant to the Dauna¡¯s power than Rage, none of them made even the slightest movement, as if they were puppets. The flames that had been blazing disappeared, and as if to replace them, the ground and the soldiers¡¯ body surfaces were slowly covered with something white. ¡°Everything is starting to freeze.¡± ¡°Hurry up! That¡¯s what happens when we get caught, too!¡± Even from a distance, Loren could see that Rage¡¯s face, which had been confident and determined until Dauna appeared, was becoming a crying one. Her body, down to her fingertips, could move no longer, and Dauna, with a kind smile on his face, gently touched her cheek with a palm. Loren, having seen this, decided that he should do everything in his power to escape and focused on running, dragging Klaus, who was screaming in protest, behind him. Then, Dauna¡¯s words reached Loren¡¯s ears. ¡°Sleep well. Ahh, how envious. This is the perfect laziness.¡± Loren could already feel the intense cold air on his back. Would they really be able to escape out of the effective range of Dauna¡¯s authority? As he wondered this, Loren, along with Lapis and the others who were running with him, just tried to move their feet and keep advancing forward. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 336: From End-Of-War To Consequences | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul Soon after Dauna neutralized Rage with his authority, the Kingdom army was forced to retreat before the attacks of the Empire army. The Kingdom army, which had originally been outmatched by the Empire army in terms of the quality of its troops but had been able to compensate with the power of Rage, naturally was unable to defend itself against the Empire with her gone. The Empire army, which had almost unilaterally launched an offensive this time, was not about to let them get away, and was attacking into the Kingdom¡¯s territory to pursue them, but the adventurers were not taking part in this battle. They were participating only under the pretext of supporting the Empire forces, who had been under attacks. When the Empire force took on the offensive role, their cooperation was deemed to be over, and the adventurers began to return to the towns and villages they were based in. In the midst of all this, Loren and his group still stayed in the town where the Empire¡¯s army was based, with the main reason being, to hear Yuri¡¯s stories about Loren. Although Loren himself did not seem to care much about it, Lapis was interested, and since Yuri himself did not say that he would not talk about it, she was planning to ask him when the war was over. However, this had proved to be unsuccessful. ¡°General Yuri is in command of the pursuit of the Kingdom army and is currently accompanying the troops on the front line.¡± When the soldier in charge of guarding the base informed Loren and the others of this, Lapis looked as if she wanted to say ¡®Darn it!¡¯, but it was already too late. If they wanted to try to force Yuri to talk, they would have to follow him to the front line, and if they did that, they would be drawn into the war between the Empire and the Kingdom, whether they wanted to or not. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get in touch with you sooner or later if he feels like talking. It¡¯s just how the Commander is.¡± ¡°Is this alright with you, Loren?¡± Loren thought for a moment and then asked Lapis in a slightly hesitant tone. ¡°Suppose I were someone else that I don¡¯t even know. Would that change the way you treat me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an unexpected question.¡± Lapis, who looked genuinely surprised, nevertheless immediately answered Loren¡¯s question. ¡°It¡¯ll be a different story if you are a mortal enemy of my family or something, but fortunately both my parents are alive and well, so that can¡¯t be it. And, Loren is just Loren, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It is. Yes, it¡¯s all very good.¡± Lapis seemed completely pleased with Loren¡¯s question and her own response, so that discussion ended there. However, there remained one more problem: Rage, who Dauna had neutralized on the battlefield. The authority activated by Dauna had completely enclosed a corner of the battlefield in ice, and all of the Kingdom soldiers that were caught up in the ice had died. Loren thought that if they could be revived from that state, they could no longer be called human, but Rage was an exception. As expected of an Evil God, the ice encasing Rage melted as soon as Dauna¡¯s authority expired and ambient temperature returned to normal, and although she was unconscious, she was still alive. Not knowing what would happen after she woke up, if they just left her there, Loren¡¯s team brought her back together with Dauna, who had fallen asleep. As for the damage to the soldiers that Dauna¡¯s authority had caused, the Empire soldiers who had seen Loren¡¯s group fleeing were mostly spared; only a few who were unlucky and unobservant were late in escaping. However, a good number of Kingdom soldiers were caught up because they were standing on the spot, and they remained standing there as cold, white ice sculptures even after Dauna¡¯s authority had lifted. ¡°Damn it¡­ I¡¯ve lost¡­ Let me go¡­¡± After regaining consciousness, Rage was in a state of utter despondency that was unimaginable from what they had seen on the battlefield. No one knew when she would use her power and unleash fires again, so she was imprisoned in a military facility on the outskirts of town. Tied with a thin metal cable to prevent her from immediately burning it off, she sat cross-legged in the center of the prison cell, her face sullen. For some reason, it was left up to Loren¡¯s team to decide what to do with her. ¡®General Yuri¡¯s decision¡¯ were the words of the soldiers, but Loren couldn¡¯t shake the worrying question of ¡®why him?¡¯. ¡°Is this going to be alright?¡± Loren, who had been led into the prison to see Rage, watched her through the bars and asked. Lapis tilted her head while Luxuria shrugged. ¡°Dauna¡¯s ¡®blessing¡¯ is very very bad, you know.¡± It was Gula who said this as she looked into the prison cell. And for some reason, Klaus was standing nearby. As they were already present here, Loren and his team could not stop Klaus from coming to check on Rage. Of course, they would not tell Klaus about Evil Gods, so they explained the authority of Evil Gods as a blessing, similar to what Klaus himself possessed. Loren thought it was a bit of a stretch, but so far Klaus seemed to be convinced without any particular doubts. ¡°Simply put, the blessing is to demotivate all beings within the area of effect. When something is demotivated, it tries to stay where it is. And when everything stops, that¡¯s what happens.¡± ¡°So, you yourself are unscathed because of your abundant tolerance. That¡¯s scary.¡± Dauna, the one who had caused such a phenomenon, demanded a place to sleep after, as if he had done a lifetime¡¯s worth of work, and now occupied a room at the inn where Loren and the others were staying and continued to sleep. Loren thought it might be a backlash from using his authority, but Gula told him that Dauna¡¯s power as an Evil God had weakened somewhat because he had worked despite being Sloth, who should not work at all, so he now had to laze around to regain his power. ¡°You mean she is still under the influence of Dauna¡¯s blessing?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s going to be like this for a while.¡± Loren thought that if the authority Dauna had displayed were to be used too often, it would be horrible, particularly because it was almost impossible to defend against it. Even if you tried to defend with magic, it seemed that magic itself would lose its own motivation and become ineffective. If there was any saving grace, it was that Dauna himself was the embodiment of laziness, and almost never made a move on his own. ¡°Goddamn you¡­ Remember what you did to me¡­¡± ¡°She is indeed Rage, still cursing this much despite being under Dauna¡¯s influence.¡± Loren wondered what to do with Rage, who was still continually swearing despite being completely listless. The easiest and safest way would be to dispose of her right here and now. Normally, they would have had to prepare for a lot of resistance, but now that she had lost her willpower, he felt that they could do it without too much trouble. ¡®But¡¯, Loren turned his attention to Gula. Loren expected that Gula, an Evil God, would not feel very good about disposing of Rage, who was also an Evil God. He could sense that Gula, who was peering into the prison cell, was asking him to somehow spare her life. He considered passing Rage over to Gula, but then he wondered if it would be a good idea, since she would be too much for Gula¡¯s group to handle once she regained herself. ¡°Hey, Klaus, you did hit on her once, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a man¡¯s duty to hit on a pretty woman.¡± As Klaus answered Loren¡¯s question clearly and decisively, Lapis and Gula glared at him with disgusted eyes while Luxuria looked at him admiringly. ¡°This child sure has got a lot to offer, doesn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°It makes me shudder just to think that he¡¯s in the same league as Luxuria. ¡° ¡°I wonder if it would be possible to seal them together somewhere.¡± While each of them proclaimed their different sentiments, Loren pondered for a moment, then made a suggestion to Klaus. ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you take her to your place and take care of her?¡± Lapis¡¯ and Gula¡¯s eyes widened as if saying ¡®What are you talking about¡¯. Luxuria, however, clapped his hands as if saying ¡®Good idea¡¯, and Klaus, who was the one who had been told to do so, replied instantly with fiery enthusiasm in his eyes. ¡°I-Is it really alright?!¡± ¡°No, wait a minute, Loren. This is the man who was almost killed because he tried to seduce Rage.¡± Talking rapidly, Lapis tried to stop them in a panic, but Loren responded by pointing to Rage in the prison cell. ¡°That¡¯s true, but she almost fell for Klaus, didn¡¯t she? So, if he talks to her properly, it might work out better than you think.¡± ¡°B-but¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to take care of her, and with how things are, we can¡¯t dispose of her in good conscience, can we? So, I think it would be best to let someone who had the best chance to succeed to persuade her and take care of her.¡± Klaus already had the skills to turn the girls in his party into his companions, even though they might say otherwise. Loren¡¯s argument was that, even if a fourth person were added to the group, he would somehow manage to make it work. The underlying reason, however, was the idea that handling it by themselves would be too much trouble and should be left to Klaus, who seemed to be good with women. But Loren never mentioned this. ¡°Ange and the others will resent you for this.¡± Lapis, perhaps reading his thoughts, leaned in close and quietly whispered to Loren, who also answered in a whisper. It was not as if there was no merit; if Klaus could successfully persuade Rage, his party could expect a huge boost in strength. And even if there was no merit to it, Loren believed that Klaus would not refuse if he was asked to take care of a pretty girl like Rage. ¡°She¡¯s going to be like this for a while. Convince her before things get out of hand.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. There may have been some unfortunate misunderstandings, but I¡¯m sure that if we talk courteously, she will understand.¡± As Klaus answered with a needlessly sparkling smile, Loren looked relieved to hear the trouble had been taken care of. He patted Lapis, who still wondered if it was really okay, on the shoulder and looked at Gula, who nodded, albeit slightly. ¡°Hey, Rage. I¡¯ll leave it up to you whether or not you want to accept his offer. If you don¡¯t like it, you can ask Gula for help. You can contact her, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you what to do. It¡¯s just a favour. In any case, you lost to us once, so be a little more accommodating, okay?¡± Thinking that she would become stubborn if he forced it on her, Loren used the word ¡®favour¡¯ instead. Hearing that, she stared at him through the prison bars. ¡°¡­I understand.¡± After a few moments, Rage nodded reluctantly despite being seemingly out of it. Although he did not know how effective the verbal agreement, they had made on this occasion would be, Loren thought from Rage¡¯s behaviour that she would not revoke it. ¡°We¡¯re done with the clean-up here. Let¡¯s go back to Kapha. We should do some work and make some money.¡± Seeing that their job here had ended, Loren tried to sound cheerful, but Lapis whispered. ¡°That¡¯s true. And your debt is not decreasing. How about just give up and marry me?¡± Reminded once again of the huge debt he owed, Loren¡¯s expression turned gloomy, and he lightly poked Lapis on the head with a wry smile. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 337: From A Destroyed Country to A Reunion | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul A rumour began to circulate that a kingdom had been destroyed. Loren wondered which city-state had fallen this time, but this thought was put to rest when Shayna, the King of Death spirit who was living in his soul, gently chastised him. Rather than a real country being destroyed, it was more common for a city-state, which typically came into being by becoming independent of a country for some reason, or by being formed by a group of people in similar circumstances, to be destroyed. However, before Shayna became the King of Death, she was the daughter of the governor of a city-state, and it was intolerable for her for such a thing to be dismissed as a common story. While apologizing to Shayna in his mind, Loren wondered if it would be necessary to gather more detailed information. They were currently in a town that was located very close to the border of Justinia Empire. Loren and his team had come to this place in the northern part of the continent, far from Kapha, to participate in the war between the Empire of Justinia and the Kingdom of Lombard at the request of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Now that their work had finished, they were ready to return. Using the route they took when coming meant passing through the territory of the demon race in the center of the continent, and although they had a relatively safe way to get through there, it was not a route Loren wanted to use often. With no reason for them to hurry back to their base in the town of Kapha, which was in the southwestern part of the continent, they decided to take a proper route for a change. They declined the transportation arranged by the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, and were just getting ready for the trip when this information came. ¡°What kingdom has been destroyed? If a kingdom was destroyed, it would be a big deal, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± They were in a restaurant on the ground floor of the inn where they had been staying. After placing his order for breakfast with the waitress and taking a seat, Loren asked Lapis, who was sitting in front of him. Dressed in a white priest¡¯s uniform with her trademark ponytail swinging behind her, the girl answered Loren¡¯s question as she poked at the meal she had apparently ordered earlier, which included a vegetable salad, a fried egg, and some hard-looking round bread. ¡°It seems to be the Kingdom of Lombard.¡± Lapis said in a very casual tone as if it was nothing, but the answer shocked Loren greatly. The Kingdom of Lombard was the country that had opposed the Empire of Justinia in the commission that Loren and his team had received earlier, and until just a few days ago, it was a country that existed properly. Even if the Empire¡¯s invasion had been swift and severe, Loren could not believe that a properly functioning country could be destroyed in such a short period of time. ¡°Was the Commander too much for them?¡± In the battle against the Lombard Kingdom, the man in command of the Justinian Empire¡¯s army was Yuri, the leader of the mercenary group, to which Loren had belonged before he became an adventurer. Loren couldn¡¯t even imagine what the man had done to attain the position of General, a key position in the army, in the time that had passed since their mercenary group had been destroyed. As he wondered if Yuri, a man of such skill, would be able to destroy an entire kingdom by means that he could not even fathom, Lapis shredded the round loaf of bread with her hands and glanced at something. ¡°If you are so curious, why don¡¯t you ask him?¡± Loren, who looked incredulous at being told such a thing, turned his head in the direction Lapis¡¯ gaze was directed. Thinking that there was no way this was possible, Loren saw an elderly man with a big smile on his face sitting at another table and immediately turned his gaze back to Lapis. He managed to hide his inner thoughts from his face, but in his mind, he could hear Shayna making a big fuss. ¡°It¡¯s a joke, isn¡¯t it?¡± Loren¡¯s words, which he hoped were true, caused Lapis to shake her head gently with a pained expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯d like to think it¡¯s a joke, too. And if I am not mistaken, I am sure it is indeed him. Loren, are you sure he¡¯s just a human? Could he be some kind of variant human?¡± Lapis asked with a serious face, and Loren could not find any reassuring answer. Just then someone tapped him on the shoulder. Under the current circumstances, it could be no one else. Loren turned back with a resigned look, and sure enough, there was Yuri, who still had a smile on his face. He had walked up to Loren before he knew it and was now standing by his side. ¡°Do you mind if I sit with you?¡± ¡°Suit yoursel¡­ Wait, no. Don¡¯t touch Lapis, okay? Don¡¯t sit on her lap or something just because I tell you to suit yourself.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve become so cautious. I thought I got you.¡± Yuri said this in a rather regretful tone, and Lapis¡¯ sense of caution suddenly jumped. She glared at him, watching his every move, but the man was not at all concerned. He pulled out a chair from a nearby table and sat down on the opposite side of Loren, to the right, still keeping a smile on his face. ¡°So, what is it that you want to ask me?¡± ¡°Is it true that Lombard Kingdom was destroyed?¡± Loren was still in a state of disbelief even as he asked this. He could not shake off the feeling that there was no way it could happen. Yuri neither nodded nor shook his head, but merely shrugged. ¡°You can say it¡¯s true, or you can say it¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Loren thought that there were only two possible answers for his question, true or false, but Yuri¡¯s answer was different from what he had expected. ¡°It¡¯s true that it has been destroyed, but it¡¯s also not wrong to say that it is not destroyed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°I mean, as a country, it has been destroyed, generally speaking.¡± The waitress brought the breakfast Loren had ordered. After he had accepted it and thanked her, Yuri began to talk about the situation. ¡°You know how the battle at the border ended in a victory for us, then we launched a follow-up attack?¡± ¡°Yes, I know. We were in the middle of it.¡± ¡°My expectation was that, once we had made some inroads into the Kingdom¡¯s territory, the Kingdom¡¯s army would be serious about repelling us, and after a few more battles, the war would be over with them having to cut off a certain amount of territory.¡± It was only natural that the Kingdom would not simply sit idly by and watch the Empire army invade. The forces sent to the border could not possibly be the entire strength of the Kingdom¡¯s army, and there must still be a larger force inside their territory. If they came to intercept and attack, the Empire¡¯s troops Yuri commanded would be forced to withdraw and retreat. That had been Yuri¡¯s prediction. By retreating there with little damage, the battle itself would be a great victory for the Empire, and Yuri believed that they would be able to shave off a large portion of the Kingdom¡¯s territory in the post-war negotiations. Reality, however, was not as Yuri had envisioned it. ¡°There was hardly any resistance.¡± ¡°From the Kingdom¡¯s side? That can¡¯t be true. Another country¡¯s army was within their territory. Regardless of what happens afterwards, there must be army reinforcements of a certain scale.¡± ¡°Albeit, there were none, and then some strange things happened. And that is the problem.¡± Yuri said that the Empire¡¯s forces had been able to advance fairly deep into the Kingdom¡¯s territory due to little resistance. If that were the only reason, Loren thought it would still be too early to conclude that the Kingdom had been destroyed, but Yuri went on to say that other strange things were happening in the Kingdom. ¡°There were no one left in their towns.¡± ¡°Maybe the people ran away because the Empire army was coming?¡± It was not unusual for citizens to be displaced during a war. It was not strange to think that as long as one¡¯s life was safe, one could recover even if they lost their possessions. And as the war became larger and more intense, the inhabitants of nearby villages and towns would all flee away from the front lines. ¡°Our soldiers are very well-behaved. They would not commit violence against the unarmed population. But, well, that doesn¡¯t mean people believe us when we tell them not to run away.¡± ¡°I was a member of your mercenary group, so I understand, but¡­ There is more to it, isn¡¯t there?¡± Yuri¡¯s joking tone was light, but his expression was not. He nodded when Loren asked if there was more to the story. ¡°If this were just one or two towns, I would have the same thought as you did.¡± ¡°Well, they can¡¯t all be empty.¡± ¡°We have sent out scouts and advance teams to every small village, town, and large city to make sure that they are all accounted for. We have confirmed that more than two digits of villages, towns, and three large cities are without a single inhabitant.¡± Yuri¡¯s statement changed even Lapis¡¯ expression. If the reports were true, it would mean that tens of thousands of people fled the country at once. But considering the time that elapsed between the defeat of the Kingdom army at the border battle and the invasion by the Empire army, there was too little time to manage such an exodus, no matter how deftly actions were taken. Moreover, considering the space, materials, and food arrangements for such a large number of people, it was hard to believe that this could be accomplished in a normal way. Yuri seemed to share this view; his expression was gloomy beyond belief for a general who had just won a war. ¡°I am certain something has happened. Something big, but I have no idea what it is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not advancing the army under those circumstances, are you?¡± ¡°Of course not. Rather, we are pulling back our forces and sending more scouts to ascertain the current situation.¡± If Yuri had been an ordinary general, he might have thought it was strange, but would have continued to advance the army anyway, because they would be able to take the Kingdom¡¯s territory without resistance if they continued on. ¡°It is quite simple to win battle, but it is far more important not lose sight of the bigger picture.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a pain¡­¡± The gloomy expression on Yuri¡¯s face changed to a smug look. Lapis spoke up in place of Loren, who was probably right in what he was saying, but was unintentionally crude in his tone. ¡°So, you came all the way back from the front lines here, to this city, the army General?¡± Loren¡¯s eyes widened slightly at Lapis¡¯ pointing finger. The army itself must have encamped within the Kingdom¡¯s territory, and Yuri, who was supposed to be in command of it, should not be here at this moment. Since he had travelled so far from the frontline, he must have had some deeper reason in mind rather than just to surprise them. However, given Yuri¡¯s personality, it was possible that he really came back just to surprise them; in that case, Loren thought he should be forgiven for punching him a few times, but Yuri cut him off in a serious tone. ¡°We need to investigate the Kingdom of Lombard. Directly or through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it doesn¡¯t matter, but will you help us, Loren?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t mind the work, but what do you plan to do about that?¡± Loren nodded at Lapis. The actual fact was, Lapis was trying to get Loren¡¯s story from Yuri, but because Yuri was out on the front line, she missed the chance. Now that Yuri had come back, even though the priority was certainly work, Lapis would try to extract information about Loren from him somehow. This did not seem to be an ideal situation for Yuri, who had been running away and disappearing in work. ¡°That, I guess we¡¯ll just have to make do.¡± ¡°Well, good luck with that. Lapis is in charge of negotiating the rewards, benefits, and conditions of the job.¡± ¡°Please be gentle with me.¡± Lapis was staring at Yuri, but he smiled at her with an expression that suggested he was not taking the situation too seriously. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 338: From Acceptance to Assault (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul In the end, Loren decided to accept Yuri¡¯s commission directly. If they accomplished the commission through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, it would be recognized as an achievement and their statuses as adventurers might be higher, but if he had Yuri submit the commission through the Guild, there was a possibility that adventurers other than Loren¡¯s party would participate. This could be avoided if Yuri submitted it as a nominated commission, but that required going through a complicated process, and judging from Yuri¡¯s tone of voice, time was of the essence. ¡°You¡¯re not very greedy, Loren.¡± The next day, as they began their journey in a horse-drawn wagon arranged by the Empire army, Lapis told Loren in an exasperated tone, and he shrugged. Looking out the window of the carriage, Loren could see the soldiers of the Empire army that were accompanying his party. As expected, even though the town they were going to, was close to the front line, Yuri did not want them to go alone, and had assigned a platoon of soldiers to act as their guards. The soldiers, who were not their companions and were working under a different chain of command, looked more like escorts than guards, and Loren felt as if he had become a criminal in some way. Ads by PubFuture ¡°This is a commission from a General of the Empire army, isn¡¯t it? If it had gone through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, our names would have been well known, and our achievements would have been recognized.¡± ¡°Not interested. As long as I can make a living, that¡¯s all that matters to me.¡± ¡°Are you a hermit or something? You talk like an old man.¡± In the wagon, Lapis occupied the seat next to Loren¡¯s as a matter of course. The seat opposite her was occupied by Gula, the so-called ¡®Evil God of Gluttony¡¯. ¡°As your name gets bigger, more troubles will come.¡± ¡°It seems to me that you¡¯re already involved in a lot of troubles.¡± ¡°Not that I wanted to.¡± When Loren objected with an offended look on his face, Gula gave him a wicked smile. Normally, she would have been beside Luxuria, the Evil God of Lust, but he was not here now; they had left without him. In a previous commission, Loren and his party had captured a girl named Rage, the Evil God of Wrath. They were at a loss as to what to do with her, so they entrusted her to a young man named Klaus, who was famous as a promising adventurer and even more famous as a womanizer. And for some reason, Luxuria had insisted on working with Klaus¡¯s party this time. ¡®I feel a vibe of resemblance with me¡¯, the guy had said and forced his way into Klaus¡¯ party, whose members looked extremely displeased, and parted ways with Loren¡¯s party. Loren felt somewhat refreshed by his absence. Gula, however, seemed to decide to go there later to make sure Klaus didn¡¯t know about Rage being an Evil God, and if things escalated to a certain extent, she would take Rage to the place where she and other Evil Gods resided. Dauna, the Evil God of Sloth, who played a role in capturing Rage, had been idly lounging in a room at their inn, but had disappeared before anyone knew it, perhaps having become bored. Gula said that he had probably returned to his den, so Loren decided not to worry about it. But Sloth was so slothful that he was a little concerned about whether he had really reached his den or not. ¡°But where is this wagon headed?¡± Gula, who had chosen to stay with Loren and Lapis, was following them without knowing much about the situation. Loren wasn¡¯t sure if her blind trust in him was a good thing, but Gula herself did not seem to mind it. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be heading for the nearest town in the Kingdom¡¯s territory. Uhm, what¡¯s the name of the town?¡± ¡°Melchira? I¡¯m not really interested in names.¡± Lapis, who seemed to not care about remembering things she had no interest in, tilted her head and tried to recall the name, and Loren mentioned what he vaguely remembered. It was something that Loren himself was not interested in, and he had only remembered it by accident. ¡°The town had tens of thousands of inhabitants, but they had all disappeared before anyone knew it.¡± ¡°Did some sharks fall down from the sky or what?¡± Loren wondered why sharks, but thinking that Lapis might be offended if he let it slide at this point, Loren gathered his thoughts for a moment before making a comeback. ¡°If that were the case, there would have to be a dead shark left, wouldn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, they must be swimming in the sewers or something.¡± Lapis said, but in a tone that implied even she did not believe it. Loren, who thought it was just a way to pass the time while the wagon was moving, decided to go along with it since he had nothing else to do. ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t it be more realistic to say that a piper blew a pipe and took away all the inhabitants?¡± ¡°I know one Evil God who can do such a thing.¡± The conversation started as a joke, but when Gula suddenly threw in an information bomb, both Loren and Lapis looked at her at the same time with a startled look on their faces. ¡°It¡¯s you guys again?!¡± ¡°Wait, wait!¡± Gula protested against Loren¡¯s words, which sounded like a reprimand. It was not surprising that Loren and Lapis would think ¡®Oh, no, not again¡¯ when told that one of the Evil Gods could do such a thing, but Gula denied it. ¡°I know the one who can do it, but there¡¯s no way it was him! Because that Evil God is Luxuria. There¡¯s no way he could have done that without us knowing.¡± Loren asked Gula about the details, wondering why that name had come out of nowhere. ¡°The Evil God of Lust can do such a thing?¡± Loren had hoped for something like ¡®I¡¯m just kidding¡¯, but Gula nodded her head firmly as if to kill his hope. ¡°If a beautiful girl like me was running around the city completely naked, all the men would be chasing after her, wouldn¡¯t they? If you have the authority of Lust, you can create such a phenomenon regardless of age, sex, or gender.¡± Gula¡¯s words made Loren imagine the scene: Countless people chasing after Luxuria, who was running around the town with his oiled naked body on display, and a look of obliviousness on his faces. It was a hellscape, to put it mildly, and even though he didn¡¯t have motion sickness, Loren involuntarily covered his mouth with his hand as he felt vomit rising in him. [¡®I feel sick¡­ I think I¡¯m going to throw up. But I can¡¯t throw up.¡¯] Shayna¡¯s thought was shakily transmitted to Loren as he was in the midst of feeling nauseous himself. As if sympathizing with them, Lapis, who was sitting next to Loren, suddenly grabbed his arm and began to bang her forehead against his shoulder. ¡°The image is in my brain! If I don¡¯t get rid of it right away, my mind will be damaged!¡± ¡°Stop, Lapis, don¡¯t shake me. I¡¯m going to throw up¡­¡± Loren¡¯s body shook every time Lapis banged her forehead against him. Being jolted while feeling sick, his face gradually turned pale. ¡°Loren! If possible, please put your arms around me and squeeze me! If I can¡¯t get rid of this image with your touch, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to keep my sanity!¡± ¡°What the hell are you talking about in the middle of all this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m quite serious!¡± As Loren would not give her a hug, Lapis at least tried to give one herself; she put her arms around Loren¡¯s torso and hugged him with all her strength. Loren felt sorry for her, but he also felt that he would truly throw up in the wagon if he was squeezed in the abdomen, so he tried to wriggle around to adjust the position of Lapis¡¯ arms around him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that an imagination of it alone can inflict this much damage on these two people. I think the theory that Luxuria is the strongest becomes more plausible.¡± ¡°Why do you look so unconcerned?¡± Loren asked Gula, who was watching him and Lapis with amusement, and Gula answered shortly as if it was nothing. ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯ve already been contaminated.¡± ¡°Loren, how can an Evil God be uncontaminated?¡± When Loren and Lapis had settled on the conclusion that this was indeed the case, Gula, lightly rising from her seat, pointed at Loren and shouted loudly. ¡°Stop talking about people like they¡¯re not normal! I think I¡¯m a reasonably sensible person among the Evil Gods!¡± ¡°Among. The. Evil. Gods¡­ You don¡¯t even mind admitting it. Only among the Evil Gods!¡± ¡°I mean, there are soldiers outside. What are you yelling about?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t protest here, you¡¯ll lump me together with Luxuria and Rage!¡± The wagon was well-built, and the soldiers outside would not be able to hear the conversation inside due to all the noises from the wheels and horses¡¯ hooves. But even so, if they had a sharp ear, they might have heard Gula¡¯s cries. Although Loren and his party did not exactly hide Gula¡¯s true identity, they also did not want to go around spreading the word openly, nor increase the number of people who knew about it. ¡°I already think you¡¯re the same kind as them, Gula, even if you deny it now.¡± ¡°Lapis-chan~! Have a talk with big sis here until we reach our destination, won¡¯t you?!¡± Lapis pretended to look extremely disgusted and move away from Gula, but then inadvertently leaned toward Loren. Gula, who tried to grab onto Lapis, stood up in the narrow wagon and was grabbed by Lapis by both wrists, as if they were in a strength contest. Trying to get away from them, Loren leaned against the window sill. Nig, the spider clinging to his shoulder, lifted its two front legs as if to intimidate the two girls, who were now in a power struggle. In the noisy wagon, Loren could hear Shayna, something only he could do, sounding as if she tried to comfort him. [¡®It¡¯s like this every time. It must be difficult for you, onii-san.¡¯] Shayna sounded somewhat amused, and Loren wondered if this was alright. Hoping the soldiers outside weren¡¯t too interested in the ruckus inside the wagon, he looked out the window to avoid looking at Lapis and Gula, who were still grappling with each other. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 339: From Acceptance to Assault (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul And like that, the group continued on through the Kingdom¡¯s territory. Even though they were moving through enemy territory, Loren and his party were not disturbed or harmed by any of the Kingdom soldiers, their journey proceeded smoothly. There were several encampments along the way, but no monsters attacked the group, and the Empire soldiers took care of all the watch shifts and camping preparations, allowing them to enjoy a very relaxed trip. ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange that we haven¡¯t encountered any monsters?¡± ¡°Even though I want to say that you¡¯re worrying too much, I have to agree. Quiet and peaceful is good, but too quiet and too peaceful is abnormal.¡± Lapis squinted at the sunlight streaming in through the wagon window. She was reclining on her seat as if in a deep slumber, but the words coming out of her mouth were somewhat stiff. ¡°I don¡¯t see any sign of large creatures. There should have been signs of wild animals or people from some village, but so far ¨C none.¡± [¡®Onii-san, I can¡¯t sense any signs of life¡­ I¡¯ve never been in a place like this before.¡¯] Shayna said that when she used the King of Death¡¯s power to search for signs of life, she detected some plants and small animals, but no signs of life larger than that within the search perimeter, except for their own group. ¡°The scenery is peaceful, but the atmosphere is that of a cemetery.¡± Gula murmured exactly what Loren had in mind. One of the Empire cavalry accompanying Loren¡¯s group leaned against the window of the wagon without stopping his horse. As Loren looked at him to see if something was wrong, the soldier announced through the open window in a low voice. ¡°We¡¯re about to arrive. The town should be in sight now.¡± As the cavalryman returned to his original position after saying this, Loren looked out the window and gazed in the direction they were going. Across the uneven terrain, he saw what appeared to be the roofs of some buildings. Almost crawling on Loren¡¯s back, Lapis also looked out, saw the same thing that he had seen, and muttered to herself. ¡°That¡¯s Megadeth.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not Megadeth. That¡¯s Melbula, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mercila. What are you guys talking about?¡± Gula quipped icily, and Loren and Lapis quickly retreated back into the wagon after exchanging a look with each other. ¡°So, what do we have to do in this Mercila?¡± ¡°For the time being, we¡¯re going to do some investigation.¡± The Empire army had been investigating several towns that somehow had been completely deserted. However, the Empire and the Kingdom were currently at war, and soldiers and officers were not accustomed to conducting such investigations in the first place. And because there was not much time, a detailed investigation was not carried out. The first thing Loren and his team were asked to do was to investigate whether there were any traces in the town that could explain why people had disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at investigations either.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s why Gula and I are here.¡± Lapis, a demon with abilities superior to those of humans, and Gula, an Evil God, might be able to recognize even the slightest trace, something a human would not be able to. In that light, sending Loren and his team to investigate seemed like the best course of action. Yuri should not have known this information, so Loren assumed it was just a coincidence, but for some reason, he could not shake off the suspicion that this was indeed the case. ¡°There really is no one here.¡± After a while, they arrived at the town they had seen and, without being stopped by anyone, proceeded on their way into the town. A city of Mercila size should have tens of thousands of inhabitants, but as Loren and his team moved through the streets in formation, there was no one else in sight, and not even a sound could be heard. The streets, which did not appear to have fallen into deterioration, suggested that indeed there had been inhabitants not so long ago. ¡°No Empire soldiers are stationed in Mercila?¡± If you thought about it, the town of Mercila was taken from the Kingdom by the Empire army. There should have been some soldiers stationed here to keep it under occupation, but there were no other sounds except for the ones their group was making. It was eerie. ¡°Under normal circumstances, we would certainly have put some men on the ground, but with the way things are going, the soldiers are getting a little creeped out.¡± The Empire cavalryman who was riding alongside the wagon heard Loren¡¯s words and said. ¡°Have you requisitioned the property of the original inhabitants?¡± ¡°No, we did not. If we wanted to, we could take as much as we wanted, but¡­¡± The cavalryman answered Lapis¡¯ question. The atmosphere in the town was so thick that even Loren could not help but agree with his answer. There were no enemy soldiers to interfere and no residents to resist, so it would have been easy for the Empire soldiers to take away all of the residents¡¯ properties if they went on a raid, but the eeriness of the situation seemed to have discouraged them from doing so. ¡°If some kind of bandit comes in here, it¡¯ll be like a treasure trove for them.¡± ¡°True, yet even that kind don¡¯t show themselves.¡± A town that was unguarded, with no inhabitants and only properties left behind, should have been a paradise for those who entered to steal. But if what the cavalryman said was true, that no one even tried to steal from the town, it only added to the eerie atmosphere. ¡°Is it alright if we secretly pocketed some?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t recommend it, but¡­ The General has asked us to turn a blind eye to it. Although, a certain amount must be paid to the Empire.¡± ¡°I see. This is very motivating.¡± The Empire soldiers did not want to touch anything in this creepy place because they did not know what would happen if they did. However, if Loren and his team had no problem after touching them, the soldiers might want to collect some themselves if they could. For that reason, they would not mind if some of the money ended up in their team¡¯s pockets. That was what Loren thought as he watched the exchange between Lapis and the cavalrymen. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start our investigation with that big store. It¡¯s probably a merchant¡¯s house.¡± ¡°You¡¯re totally determined to steal some, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°The property is unclaimed, and the circumstances indicate that it has already become a spoil of war for the Empire army. By the way, it was a good decision to bring Gula along.¡± Lapis had learned that Loren was reluctant to lay his hands on other people¡¯s property. That was why she emphasized the ¡®spoil of war¡¯ and told him that if they did nothing, the money would go straight into the military¡¯s vault. Loren understood this, too, so he did not argue with her, and Lapis smiled. Gula, on the other hand, tilted her head when she heard her name mentioned. Watching Lapis ask the cavalrymen to keep away from the wagon so that they could discuss the investigation between themselves, Loren answered the question that Gula must be wanting to ask. ¡°We can¡¯t carry that much on our own. With you here, we can store them at your den and take our time to examine the goods later.¡± ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Gula could move into the space where the Evil Gods lived. Even though Loren¡¯s team could not transport that much goods left in the town on their own, not now or in the future, they could temporarily store them there. In other words, it was as if they had a warehouse with Gula as the counter, and with this, they should be able to recover a considerable amount of property from the city of Mercila. ¡°We can¡¯t use it too often. It¡¯s too suspicious.¡± ¡°If they ask, why don¡¯t we just say we have a magical tool?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Well, the Empire army will receive its share of the money too, so no one loses. Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give most of it to my mother¡¯s boss to reduce your debt, Loren.¡± Loren had a considerable amount of debts. Currently, the creditors of these debts were Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King, and her boss, the Great Demon King, who seemed to be in charge of the entire demon race. He could pay any amount any time without prior demand, so even though he was concerned, he was not worried about it. The exact amount was not known to Loren, but it was not an amount that he would be able to pay off on his own. So, if he could repay even a small portion of it with the additional income from this job, Loren had no reason to stop Lapis. ¡°Do your investigation, too, okay? That is our first priority.¡± Loren warned Lapis, who was on cloud nine, but what she and Gula said in response was something he did not expect. ¡°I already know roughly what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can already smell it.¡± Not much time had passed since they entered the town, and they said they already had a good idea about the disappearance of the residents without having done any investigative work. Loren was surprised, and Lapis¡¯ expression changed from happy to sullen. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could have figured it out on my own though.¡± ¡°It was a piece of cake for me. The signs are so unique. Even after all this time, it¡¯s easy to spot.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean¡­¡± ¡°I guess we hit the jackpot with what we said before we went into town.¡± Gula had said she knew of an entity that could move a large number of people in a short period of time and without disruption. It was the Evil God of Lust. However, Luxuria was not here, so why did Gula say they hit the jackpot? Loren, wondering if it was really Luxuria who did this after all, widened his eyes when he realized there was another being who might have the authority of the Evil God of Lust besides Luxuria. ¡°I think Loren has realized it, too. The dark elf that was in the Lust capsule at the facility where we were created¡­ It was a dark elf, right?¡± ¡°Noel. Since the shiny black presence of Magna in the Kingdom army is expected, it¡¯s almost confirmed to be her.¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t know where they took the people or what he¡¯s thinking. We won¡¯t know that even if we investigate this town.¡± ¡°My mission from now on is to pretend to investigate while conducting an enjoyable house search. Depending on the results, we may even be able to give that nasty, shiny black thing a bit of a workout.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going to let that black bastard off the hook, are we?¡± ¡°I¡¯m also thinking that instead of killing him off, I¡¯ll leave him almost dead. He¡¯s caused us so much trouble, one after the other¡­¡± Gula and Lapis laughed together in low, restrained voices. Perhaps sensing that the two were beginning to give off an evil vibe that was enough to blow away the eerie atmosphere in the town, the cavalry horses walking around quickly began to distance themselves from the wagon. Watching from the window, Loren was seized with the thought that these two were better not to be left alone. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 340: From Acceptance to Assault (3) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°Look, Loren, look!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking. You don¡¯t have to be so excited.¡± Loren responded to Lapis¡¯ loud, joyous voice, which echoed through the quiet town, with a wry smile. A town without a single inhabitant was a very eerie place. But the subdued atmosphere was blown away by Lapis¡¯ shout, brought about by the mountain of treasures that were piled up before their eyes. Loren¡¯s team had immediately begun their investigation after entering the town of Mercila. Half way through, Empire soldiers had gathered from various parts of the town a number of properties belonging to the residents who had disappeared and piled them up. Not only hard currency of gold and silver, but also furnishings such as ornaments and candlesticks; anything that looked valuable was collected and put into a heap. ¡°Is this part of the investigation?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the investigation. There might be magic tools in here that might have caused this phenomenon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you say, but how you say it, right?¡± Lapis and Gula had already established that the person who had caused the unusual phenomenon was probably Noel, a dark elf who had come to possess the power of Lust and was a follower of Magna, the black swordsman who had been causing problems for Loren and his party. Loren thought that if that was the case, there was no need for further investigation. But regardless of how much he believed this, Lapis insisted on conducting a proper investigation and asked the Empire soldiers to collect the properties left behind in the town. Perhaps because of Yuri¡¯s instructions, the soldiers did not seem to show any displeasure at Lapis¡¯ request, even though Loren¡¯s team was supposed to be outsiders; they quickly split up to gather the assets remained in the town and gathered them at the town square, where Lapis had taken up a position. ¡°The treasures of an entire town are right in front of you, Loren. It¡¯s not often one gets to see a sight like this, so you should enjoy it while you still can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the midst of being devastated by the fact that I can¡¯t clear my debt, even with all the money I¡¯ve accumulated.¡± In contrast to Lapis¡¯ good mood, Loren¡¯s expression turned sombre as the treasures piled up. They had collected almost all of the goods left in the city, but even if he spent all of them, Loren still would not be able to settle the debt he owed. Once again being shown the reality of the burden he was carrying, there was no way he could be as buoyant as Lapis, and he simply felt his mood sinking. ¡°It would be nice if there was a way to clear it all at once.¡± The debt that Loren was carrying was caused by him accidentally destroying part of the castle of the Great Demon King, who ruled the entire demon race, when he entered the demons¡¯ territory in the past. The amount of money would not have been so out of the ordinary if it were a normal castle, and Loren still felt cheated even after all this time. But when the other party was the Great Demon King, just protesting might cost him his life. Moreover, even if he did try to protest, Loren had a feeling that the Great Demon King would, with a calm smile, parry his objections so perfect that he would not even be able to make a sound. It was promised by the Great Demon King and Lapis¡¯ mother, a Demon King, that if he married Lapis, the entire amount would be cleared. It seemed that they considered it the dowry, but Loren did not think it would be good to have such a relationship with Lapis as a collateral. However, when he was presented with such a pile of goods and told that even this would not be enough, he wondered if he could repay the debt at his own discretion. ¡°Now now, Lapis-chan. Using debt to tie Loren up might seem fine for a demon, but it has turned out to be a bad move, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s true, considering Loren¡¯s character. No matter, I¡¯ll think of some other way.¡± Behind Loren, who was looking up at the pile of goods with a gloomy face, Gula and Lapis were secretly exchanging such a conversation. From the point of view of Lapis, who had promised to work with Loren until he could clear his debt, she had almost achieved her goal of always staying by his side by making him take on a debt that he could not pay off. However, she somehow knew from past experience that Loren¡¯s personality would not allow him to move forward unless he could settle the debt. But if the debt were to be settled in some way, Lapis was not certain that Loren would behave the way she wanted afterwards. In the worst-case scenario, there was a possibility that their current relationship would end, and Lapis, who considered it unsavoury to eliminate the debt, was always thinking of ways to somehow make the ending she envisioned into reality. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t let him get away!¡± ¡°Scary. This child is really scary.¡± Gula looked at Lapis, who was clenching her fist with a new determination burning in her eyes, as if she were looking at some incomprehensible being and quickly pulled away. Meanwhile, the Empire soldiers were faithful to their duties, and after a certain point, Lapis began to appraise the goods that had been piled up. ¡°Basically, we don¡¯t have to appraise the worth of items. In this case, we will sneak out more valuable stuff.¡± While Loren was impressed by how thorough the soldiers carried out Yuri¡¯s instruction, Lapis quickly sorted out the gold and platinum coins and carelessly moved the silver and copper ones to the side. She then stuffed them into a jute bag the soldiers had brought out from somewhere in a rather haphazard manner. Although coins varied in design from country to country, the proportion of metal used to produce them was the same, and unless there was something wrong with the coins, they were traded at roughly the same value in every country. Therefore, regardless of whether the Kingdom had been destroyed or not, the coins collected here would not be affected. ¡°I am now checking the ornaments. There is a high possibility that there are magic tools among these items. Even a shabby ring can cost as much as a mansion, depending on the magic that has been granted to it.¡± While Gula was sending the gold and platinum coins that Lapis had selected to the Evil Gods¡¯ abode, Lapis began to appraise her next catch. Loren looked at the Empire soldiers with a questioning look, wondering if such blatant embezzlement was alright. But they did not seem to notice Loren¡¯s gaze at all, and were immersed in loading the bags containing the enormous amount of copper and silver coins onto a cart, which they had also apparently collected from somewhere. ¡°It seems like there aren¡¯t any good designers in the Kingdom. The designs are a bit old-fashioned or behind the times¡­ And the precious metals used are often mixed. The gemstones are also of poor quality from the many scratches they have.¡± The ornaments that were not suitable for Lapis¡¯ eyes were carelessly tossed aside. Those items, which Loren thought might still be worth a fair amount of cash, were picked up and stuffed into jute bags by the soldiers. ¡°This one, I have the feeling that it will fetch a higher price if we melt down the base and polish the gems individually. Oh, this is a magic tool. It has the magic of imbued. It is a very good item.¡± As she was about to throw the ring in her hand toward Gula while muttering the results of her appraisal, an Empire soldier gently held Lapis¡¯ wrist. Thinking that he was about to accuse Lapis of embezzlement, Loren prepared himself, but the soldier apologized for his impoliteness in touching Lapis¡¯ body before saying. ¡°Such magic tools will be of great help to the Empire army. Could we please have it?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped then.¡± was an excellent spell that, when applied, would eliminate a certain amount of the damage the subject suffered. Whether it consumed the user¡¯s magic power or had a limited number of uses was not known, but if it existed as a magic tool in the form of a ring, it was a fine item that was coveted not only by adventurers but also by soldiers, who made fighting their livelihood and profession. That was why Lapis did not show any reluctance when hearing the soldier¡¯s request and simply handed the ring over to him. Loren, who had expected some resistance, looked surprised at Lapis¡¯ obedient response. Noticing this, Lapis secretly whispered to him without stopping her appraisal. ¡°If there is something really good, I¡¯ll snatch it away without saying anything.¡± Loren wondered how she would manage that, but it was clear that no one could stop Lapis from doing so. After all, the only person here who had the skills to appraise magic tools was Lapis. In other words, if she decided to remain silent, no one would be able to question her. ¡°But, do ordinary citizens have such magic tools?¡± ¡°There are a surprisingly large number of them. Many people look for magic tools at a reasonable price.¡± According to Lapis, there were many people who sought magic tools besides adventurers and soldiers, such as aristocrats and merchants of big stores. She explained that even if they were not in the midst of battle, there was always a certain amount of danger lurking around them from day to day, which is why there was always a need for tools imbued with something like a magic. ¡°This one has effect. Here, take this too.¡± Lapis tossed the soldier a necklace with a single green stone hanging from it. It did not look like much of a bargain to Loren¡¯s eyes, but if it healed wounds just by wearing it, it was worth a lot of money. ¡°The most popular products are , , and . These are the top sellers, regardless of appearance.¡± Although he found this to be a very bleak story, Loren thought that they should keep some for themselves. He told this to Lapis in secret, but she simply shook her head. ¡°I can do most of those things. And in your case, if you don¡¯t give up the greatsword on your back, you are protected to a level that cannot be matched by these magical equipment.¡± With that, Lapis placed a ring in Loren¡¯s palm. The unadorned copper ring looked like it could be exchanged for a few copper coins at a local street vendor, but the fact that Lapis went to the trouble of giving it to him suggested that it was a magical tool of some kind. ¡°That¡¯s an ring¡­ Loren, can you wear it?¡± Loren compared his finger with the ring on his palm. Loren¡¯s fingers, trained to wield a greatsword, were thick and knobby. It did not look as if the ring Lapis had given him could fit. ¡°The high-end ones can be adjusted for size, but the ones we have here are the kind you can get for a bit of money. They won¡¯t fit you, Loren.¡± Loren, who had expected such a thing, offered the ring to one of the soldiers. As he watched the soldier carefully took it and put it away in a separate bag from the rest of the goods, he realized that being large could be a bit inconvenient at times. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 341: From Acceptance to Assault (4) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul The sun had gone down, and it was well after dark when they finished going through the whole town and collecting all they could in the name of investigation. The sorting of the goods was almost finished, the bags were packed. Moving out at this hour would be difficult, yet staying in some building in such a deserted town was too creepy. So, in the end they decided on the night camp in the town square. Just then, Lapis shouted hysterically. ¡°Eh?¡± Loren, who had embezzled a large percentage of the town¡¯s wealth via Gula, was busy doing manual labour to at least help the soldiers with their work, when he heard Lapis¡¯ voice and stopped. Lapis was by herself at a distance, sorting through some of the remaining treasures. When Loren looked at her to see what was going on, he saw that she was holding something that looked like a doll with a metallic sheen in her hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, just that this thing¡­ I think it is a magic tool, but I have no idea what it is.¡± The doll-like object that Lapis presented to him had a metallic sheen, but it appeared to be made of iron or some other common metal rather than any kind of precious metal. Although it did not look valuable, if it was a magical tool, it could not be an ordinary item, but Lapis had no idea what it was used for. If Lapis could not recognize it, it was a suspicious object, which warranted Loren¡¯s caution. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m troubled because I can¡¯t figure that out.¡± Lapis looked at the doll in her hands from various angles and examined it thoroughly, but still could not identify it. After a while, she shrugged as if giving up and made to stuff the thing into the cart loaded with goods by the Empire soldiers. ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but it is a magic tool. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to just throw it away, so I thought I¡¯d let the soldiers collect it.¡± Although Lapis seemed to have a point, Loren wondered if it would be a good idea to carelessly throw something that could be dangerous into their luggage. However, they also couldn¡¯t throw it away, since there was no doubt that it was a magical tool. While Loren was pondering what to do, one of the soldiers noticed and approached them to ask what was going on. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°We have an unknown magic tool, and I was wondering if you could keep it for us.¡± ¡°I see. In that case, we will take care of it.¡± The soldier responded very politely, and Lapis handed the doll in her hand to him. The doll did not look that big, but it seemed to be much heavier than the soldier had expected, probably due to the fact that it was made of metal. He failed to hold it and dropped it to the ground. ¡°Are you alright? It¡¯s unexpectedly heavy.¡± Lapis bent down to pick up the doll that the soldier had dropped. The moment Loren saw the soldier placed a hand on his neck and smiled wryly in embarrassment, he felt a creeping sensation running down his neck and grabbed Lapis, who was bending over, by the waist. ¡°Loren?! There are eyes all around you, we can¡¯t¡­¡± Loren, disregarding the improper words Lapis was about to spit out, kicked the ground as hard as he could and jumped backward. The ground was being pulled toward the doll that had fallen at the feet of the soldier, who looked dumbfounded as if he couldn¡¯t understand what was happening. ¡°Ah?¡± He sounded extremely confused as he was pulled toward the doll together with the whole ground. The stones that paved the square and the earth and sand beneath it became one mass, enveloping the human figure, and the soldier, who was not fully aware of the situation, was caught in its way. In the darkening plaza, there were echoes of the earth, sounds of hard objects rubbing against each other, and the scream of the soldier who was caught up in the mass and crushed by it. ¡°What happened?!¡± Surprised by the noises, the soldiers readied themselves while the earth and sand that had gathered around the doll slowly began to take a humanoid shape as if to mimic the shape of the doll in its center until a clay figure appeared, so tall that one had to look up at it. ¡°Is this some common thing that an average citizen can buy?!¡± Loren, who was trying to distance himself from the clay figure while still holding Lapis by the waist, asked, and Lapis answered with regret. ¡°It¡¯s a trap. It must have anticipated that someone would come to collect the town¡¯s goods and placed it here. How could such a dangerous thing be on the market?¡± The clay doll, which had finished taking shape, swung its arm. The thick arm made from earth and stone moved with speed and crushed a cart it made contact with. Seeing the collected goods loaded on the cart flying about, the soldiers immediately formed a formation and faced the clay figures with weapons in their hands. Their speed was quite impressive, and it was clear that the soldiers were well trained, but the clay figure rushed into them with such a stance and vigor that suggested there was not a shred of thoughts about defences in its mind. The clay figure, whose own weight alone must have been quite substantial, rushed into the soldiers with such force that it was impossible for humans to stop. The formation of the soldiers was broken, and several of them screamed in pain as they were caught in the rush of the clay figure and knocked to the ground. Then, without mercy, the clay figure stepped on them. Bright red blood splashed, and the soldiers convulsed as they were crushed by the massive figure, their limbs bent in strange angles. The soldiers¡¯ morale was not dampened by the fact that their fellow soldiers had been savagely trampled. They boldly launched an offensive attack on the clay figure with their spears and swords. But their opponent was made from earth and stones, and no attack seemed to be getting through properly, whether they were made by spears or swords. ¡°What the hell is that? What did you do, Lapis-chan?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Gula, who was at a distance and was not involved in the initial chaos because she was not helping with the soldiers¡¯ work or interested in Lapis¡¯ work, raised her voice, and Lapis raised her voice in protest at her rude question. ¡°An earth golem, huh? That thing ain¡¯t looking edible.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not going to intervene, just be quiet. And Loren, could you please put me down? My clothes are getting stretched.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Loren gently released his grip on her clothes, and Lapis got to her feet and adjusted her dishevelled garments. Meanwhile, the clay figure continued to attack, and another cart was smashed by a swinging arm, splattering wood fragments and a large number of copper coins. ¡°First of all, >.¡± Gula called her magic, and a ball of flame flew toward the clay figure, leaving a red trail in the darkness of the night. As soon as the ball landed, it made a roaring sound and sprayed flames, scraping at the clay figure. ¡°Gula! You¡¯re getting our soldiers caught in the crossfire!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Fortunately, no soldiers seemed to have been caught up in Gula¡¯s magic, but those who were nearby the clay figure to attack it were agitated by the heat of the explosion and the flames, and they rushed away. In the meantime, the clay figure sucked up more earth and sand from under its feet, and the parts that Gula had destroyed with her magic were easily repaired. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty capable golem with auto-repair capabilities¡­¡± ¡°This is not the time to be impressed.¡± The soldiers¡¯ attacks didn¡¯t seem to be getting through, and if the golem was repaired immediately after a casual attack, it would be quite difficult to destroy it to the point that it stopped working. Still determined to do his best, Loren readied his greatsword and rushed toward the clay figure, which the soldiers were having trouble dealing with. The clay figure immediately swung its arms to intercept Loren as he approached, but the greatsword Loren wielded cut off the earth-and-sand arm with such an ease that he felt almost no resistance. With a consecutive attack, Loren lopped off its other arm, but the clay figure sprouted new arms from its torso and thrust them at Loren, who was in the middle of swinging his greatsword. ¡°You¡¯re a pain in the ass!¡± He forcibly pulled back the greatsword and cut off the third arm, but he had to stop the fourth arm, which was stretched to add to the attack, with the flat of his sword, and the impact sent him flying backward. Even though Loren still kept his stance, he staggered involuntarily as the ground beneath his feet pulled him toward the clay figure while he was trying to lunge forward again upon landing. The clay figure, not missing an opportunity, rushed forward and swung its arm, and Loren once again caught the attack with the flat side of his greatsword. He rolled on the ground and glared at the clay figure with a scowl. ¡°Damn it! This bad footing!¡± The clay figure would suck up the ground around it at every opportunity to repair itself, making it difficult to find a foothold. And if Loren was knocked down, the clay figure¡¯s arms or legs would attack him, making the fight quite challenging. While this was going on, one other soldier was sucked into the clay figure, and another soldier who had lost his footing was crushed, spraying red blood. [¡®I¡¯m sorry, onii-san, but this doll is just not a good match for me.¡¯] Loren, unable to complain about Shaya¡¯s apologetic thoughts, readied his greatsword again and slashed at the clay doll. The non-living clay figure had nothing that could be siphoned by Shayna¡¯s Energy Drain. Shayna lamented that even if she wanted to siphon the magic power that moved the little doll, which was probably the core of the clay figure, the thick layer of sand and soil would get in the way, making it impossible for her to get to it. ¡°The damage is unexpectedly extensive¡­ Gula, can you please adjust your timing?¡± ¡°Arrrighty.¡± Lapis and Gula turned their palms towards the clay doll. Realizing that they were about to unleash some magic, Loren jumped back to avoid being caught in the line of fire. ¡°>!¡± ¡°>!¡± A glowing white bullet and a red-hot ball of flame were released from their hands, each landing on a shoulder of the clay figure and blew off an arm with a booming sound. Before the dust settled, Loren, who had been closing in on the clay figure, dodged through the arms that it had created from its torso and sliced the torso right across, separating the upper and lower halves of the body. But Loren did not stop there; the floating upper body was further sliced in a crisscross pattern, and the remaining lower body was also sliced down the middle from left to right, with a small doll cut in half falling out of the disjointed upper body. ¡°This should stop it.¡± He thrust the tip of his greatsword into the broken doll fallen on the ground and breathed a great sigh of relief as the earth and sand that made up the body of the clay figure collapsed and formed a small pile on the ground. ¡°We¡¯ve been hit pretty hard.¡± Some soldiers were crushed and others were knocked to the ground; there was quite a bit of damage to the Empire army, including soldiers caught in the body of the clay figure. As he watched the soldiers hurriedly carry away the injured and begin cleaning up the wrecked carts, Loren wrapped his greatsword in cloth and hung it on his back, looking up to the heavens with a sense of foreboding. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 342: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul The Empire platoon had suffered such a considerable damage from the unexpected golem attack that it could not function as a military unit anymore. The reason was because the attack had caused human casualties, when the platoon only had a few dozen men to begin with. The soldiers, who were trampled, were not the only ones who lost their lives. Some of those who were attacked by the swinging arms were unlucky enough to meet the same fate, and taking into account that some soldiers were so seriously injured that they could not move, the platoon strength had been severely reduced. When Loren asked why the soldiers insisted on continuing on despite this fact, they said it was because it would be closer to join their comrades, who had established a stronghold in the Kingdom¡¯s territory, rather than getting back into the Empire¡¯s territory from their current location. ¡°That was the original plan, but we had to change it.¡± A soldier apologetically informed Loren and his team of this, but from Loren¡¯s point of view, it was inevitable, and he could not say no. ¡°Since some of the carts were destroyed, we¡¯ll have to leave behind many of the things we had requisitioned in the town.¡± From the beginning, the plan was to leave a certain amount of goods in the town. It was impossible for a single platoon to carry and transport the goods of a whole town anyway, even after Lapis and Gula had pocketed a good number of them. But the carts used to transport the goods were destroyed by the golem, which further reduced the amount they could carry. ¡°So does that mean what we can¡¯t carry will be thrown away?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what happens. I hope we can recover them later.¡± If they left the goods in a town where not even thieves and bandits would come, no one would come to snatch them, and normally there would be no problem sending some personnel to retrieve them later. However, Gula and Lapis were present here. The two of them would not miss the goods that were being thrown away, and Loren lightly poked them to make them stop their scheming as they nodded at each other with evil smiles on their faces. A considerable amount of goods had been moved to Gula¡¯s residence at this point anyway, and he did not think it was a good idea to be too greedy. ¡°Have you finished your investigation?¡± A soldier asked Lapis and Gula, who were writhing in pain while holding their heads where they had been poked by Loren, in a timid voice. Lapis twisted around with her hands still on her head, wondering what the soldier was talking about. But she immediately remembered the original purpose for which their team had been sent to their current location, and while she kept a calm exterior and nodded, inside she was panicking as she had almost forgotten about it. ¡°Ahem, yes¡­. We have gathered enough information to report to the General.¡± ¡°I see. I¡¯m glad to hear that.¡± The soldier looked relieved. Even though they had been able to obtain a considerable amount of goods and magic tools, it would be meaningless if the results of the investigation were not favourable, given their current situation where friendly troops were suffering casualties. That was why the soldiers looked relieved at Lapis¡¯ answer. But from Loren¡¯s point of view, as Lapis and Gula had already figured out what was going on before they entered the town, there was no need for them to go to the trouble of entering the town. And if they had not entered the town, they would not have been caught in the golem trap, and the dead soldiers would not have lost their lives. ¡°It¡¯s not like entering the town was an unnecessary move just because we had a rough idea of who did it.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a lie. Look into my eyes.¡± The light in Gula¡¯s eyes, which were peering straight at him, seemed fake somehow, and Loren turned his face away to avoid her gaze. Meanwhile, Lapis kept her eyes downcast and did not make eye contact with Loren, which told the truth of the matter. With this exchange, Loren and his team left the town they had visited and continued on through the Kingdom¡¯s territory to a place where the Empire army was said to have a base of operations. On the way, they had to make camp once, but even there they did not encounter any bandits, monsters, or wild beasts, so they had a quiet and uneventful journey. Thus, on the evening of the second day after leaving the town where the golem attack took place, Loren and his team were able to arrive at one of the Empire army¡¯s strongholds. ¡°What the hell?¡± That was Loren¡¯s first reaction when they arrived at the Empire army base. Although they did not say it out loud, the others probably felt the same, as they stopped pulling the carts and stared at the other side of the road. Over there was a base that had certainly been built by the Empire army. Surrounded by a wooden fence, huts and tents were set up, a scene that would certainly suggest that a large number of people had been there. However, there were no people among those huts and tents. The first thing that came to everyone¡¯s mind when they saw the scene, where there was no sign of life, excepts hints of people leaving everything, was the image of a town that had lost its citizens. ¡°This was also a bit unexpected, but¡­ If you think about it, it is not necessarily impossible for what happened to the towns and villages of the Kingdom to happen to an Empire army base, is it?¡± No one answered Lapis, who raised her eyebrows and said something like that. But standing there for any length of time was not going to make the situation any better, so Loren¡¯s group called out to the stunned soldiers and stepped into the Empire army base. ¡°There are some signs of a battle.¡± Some of the huts and tents had blood stains on them, redder than the sun¡¯s rays at dusk, and some of the fences had been destroyed and burned. Whoever the blood belonged to, it seemed certain that there had been some kind of battle or struggle here. The size of the base suggested that only a small part of it had been involved in the battle. But the problem was that none of the bodies, friend or foe, that should have been left behind as a result of a battle, were found. ¡°Is there a possibility that they had to retreat after fighting with something?¡± ¡°In that case, it is strange that they haven¡¯t met up with us at some point.¡± A soldier answered Gula¡¯s question. The path that Loren and his team had taken to reach this base was a straight one, with no branches on the road. If the army was retreating, it was certainly strange that they had not encountered it at some point. Even if there had been a major upheaval within the Empire army and they had been unable to retreat in an organized manner and had fled in groups, it would not be surprising if they had encountered at least a portion of it. However, Loren and his team did not encounter or see any group that looked like them on their way to the base. ¡°Even if the worst had happened and everything had been destroyed here, it is strange that there are no bodies.¡± Lapis spoke ominously, but Loren thought that in war, one never knew what might happen, and that one should certainly take this possibility into consideration. Even so, it was indeed strange that there were no bodies left. If there had been a counterattack by the Kingdom army, they would not go out of their way to bring back the corpses of enemy soldiers, and would usually throw them away. ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible that they were eaten by monsters or beasts?¡± ¡°The size of the base suggests that there were too many people to be eaten up. If they were eaten, it must have been by a huge monster or a large number of monsters, but the destruction of the base was too limited for that.¡± Except for some parts that had been wrecked or burned, the rest of the base remained in a state that could be described as almost intact. It was hard to imagine that such a large-scale battle had been fought that the entire Empire army would have been wiped out, but here was a strange scene that one could not think of anything at all to explain what had happened. When they examined the inside of the huts and tents, they found that there was no sign of any damage, with food on the table, untouched dishes, and beds that someone had slept in. ¡°The Commander¡­ Nah, was General Yuri here?¡± Loren asked one of the soldiers, who shook his head. ¡°This is a relay base. The General is supposed to be positioned further ahead.¡± ¡°If the relay point is in such a state, the army ahead of us is¡­¡± Gula was about to say something, but stopped halfway. Everyone could have guessed what she was going to say, but she seemed to have read the atmosphere and deemed it to be too ominous. ¡°I can¡¯t help but think¡­ Gula, what do you think? Do you smell something?¡± What Loren asked was the scent of the Evil God of Lust, which Gula had smelled before entering the previous town. If the situation was similar, the cause might also be the same, he thought. Gula sniffed a few times at Loren¡¯s suggestion, then tilted her head with a troubled expression on her face. ¡°I think there¡¯s a faint residue, but it smells more like flesh and blood.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look like there was a big battle?¡± Loren thought that if the smell of blood and flesh was so strong that it cancelled out the smell of the Evil God, then it would be strange if there were not more marks of a spectacular battle. It was hard to imagine that a battle that only left marks in a small portion of the area could mask the smell of an Evil God and confuse Gula¡¯s olfactory sense. ¡°I think you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t think something at that scale would leave such a strong smell of flesh and blood.¡± ¡°Does that mean she didn¡¯t use much of her Evil God¡¯s authority?¡± If Noel exercised enough authority to affect all the inhabitants of a town, there should be a recognizable residue, and Gula would be able to smell it. If it was so slight, then it was possible that the authority was not exercised much, as Lapis said. If that was the case, however, it was hard to understand how they could have uprooted all the personnel belonging to a troop and moved them out of the base. ¡°Anyhow, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to move further now.¡± Loren grumbled as he looked up at the sky, which continued to darken. The sun would be completely gone in no time, and it was obvious that it would be difficult to go any further. But if they were to camp, they would have no choice but to use the Empire army base, which had been deserted for unknown reasons, and that was eerie to say the least. ¡°We don¡¯t have the luxury of time. It can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°Mister Loren¡­¡± When a soldier, who could not hide his anxiety, called out to him, Loren scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m not being optimistic, but I think we¡¯ll be okay. Whatever happened seems to have finished, and it seems that only places with a certain number of people are targeted, such as the town and this place. They wouldn¡¯t go out of their way to attack a small group like us in such a bizarre way, would they?¡± ¡°Hopefully not.¡± ¡°Even if it is not so, it is too dangerous to go on from here. Since there is a base here, there¡¯s no reason not to use it. Let¡¯s just make it through the night and then figure out what we¡¯re going to do.¡± There were many causes for concern, but that did not mean that he had any brilliant ideas that would solve all of them at once. Loren, thinking that regular soldiers are not as dependable as one might think under such circumstances, half forced a smile at the anxious soldiers and began talking to Lapis and the others about preparing for the night camp using the remaining facilities of the base. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 343: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul And then, night came. Loren¡¯s group prepared for the night using the tents and huts that were as close to the center of the remaining Empire base as possible. They decided to set up more guards than usual, then gathered wood from the supplies left at the base and lit the surrounding area with multiple bonfires. Too many lights might attract the attention of anything that could be around, but the priority was to deal with the uncertainty of spending the night in a place where something terrible happened with unknown causes. There was a good amount of food left in the base, and it was not in bad condition, but the group did not touch it. The truth was, they did not want to touch anything left behind because they did not know what had happened or what kind of residue might be left. The soldiers were so tense and anxious that they could not sleep even when it was not their turn to stand guard, and they were so afraid of being alone that they would huddle together and wait for morning to come. In contrast, Loren¡¯s team had decided to sleep in their tents until it was their turn to keep guard. ¡°Loren, it is not safe to be alone. Let¡¯s sleep in this tent together, by all means.¡± While the Empire soldiers stood guard, Lapis tugged at Loren¡¯s sleeve with great force as she tried to secure a place to sleep. Worrying that his clothes might be ripped, Loren somehow managed to resist the tugging and asked. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t want to, but is it my imagination that I feel like you are more dangerous than anything else?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s your imagination. Above all else, it is wrong to feel that I am dangerous. The safest place in the world today would be right beside me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s annoying that you¡¯re not wrong, but¡­ Do we have enough sleeping bags for both of us?¡± ¡°No, there is only one.¡± Loren¡¯s shoulders slumped as Lapis told him clearly and unambiguously with a straight face. His resistance faltered for a moment, and taking advantage of it, Lapis furiously pulled him into one of the tents, and Loren began to resist again in a hurry. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on the ground and you use the sleeping bag?¡± ¡°My goodness! Do you know what kind of negative effects letting yourself get chilled brings about?!¡± ¡°Shut it. If I get into a sleeping bag, there¡¯s no room for anyone else!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I can force my way in there and snuggle up to you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even try to hide it anymore?!¡± Despite these exchanges, Loren was able to get a good night¡¯s sleep. Of course, if he had to share a sleeping space with Lapis, he did not think she would let him sleep at all, so he resisted and slept in a different tent. ¡°Loren, you¡¯re so mean¡­¡± ¡°Nah Lapis-chan, I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t take your side this time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that in such an atmosphere of uneasiness, a sense of intimacy can be created by huddling close to each other, skin against skin?¡± ¡°This child is a lost cause¡­¡± Gula was amazed at how hopeless Lapis was, but she could feel that some of the tension was fading among the soldiers who were watching the exchange between them. She brought her face close to Lapis¡¯ and whispered as the latter was about to crawl into her own tent while muttering to herself. ¡°Did you do that on purpose?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re half right. It¡¯s fine if I can push through, and if he rejects me, it¡¯s fine as long as I can act silly.¡± It seemed that Lapis had the intention of easing the soldiers¡¯ feelings by going out of her way to engage in that ridiculous exchange. Lapis was also looking to satisfy her desires if she could push Loren through, so it was not an entirely noble move. But even so, Gula gave her a slightly impressed gaze, as that was uncharacteristically considerate for a member of the demon race. ¡°So, what are we going to do now?¡± The next day, after an uneventful morning, Loren¡¯s team reconvened with the group of soldiers, who looked exhausted, and discussed their future plans. One of the soldiers, who appeared to be an officer, whispered something to the people around him, and then answered Loren¡¯s question on behalf of the others. ¡°We are going to go back from here. We thought about going forward and joining up with our comrades, but given the current situation, it would be very difficult for us to do so.¡± The orders given to them were only to accompany Loren¡¯s team and meet up with the troops that were supposed to be at their current location. They were told to follow the instructions after the rendezvous, but now that the base troops had disappeared, this was impossible to accomplish. If that was the case, they decided to turn around from here and return to the border. ¡°The only time we were attacked by anything before we got here was by the golem in that town. It might be less dangerous for you to go back.¡± ¡°And what do you plan to do?¡± Loren hummed in response to the soldier¡¯s question, and after a short, sharp exhalation, he made his decision. ¡°I¡¯ll continue on. I¡¯m going to check how the Commander¡­ how General Yuri is doing, and if I can lend a hand, I will.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t escort you.¡± ¡°No need. I¡¯ll go on my own.¡± Loren implicitly told Lapis and Gula that there was no need for them to follow him. Loren¡¯s indebtedness to Yuri was his own personal problem, and had nothing to do with the two girls or the soldiers. However, Lapis did not seem to be aware of Loren¡¯s intentions and told him in a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you then. I¡¯m sure we will be fine. What about you, Gula?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. If that black thing is up ahead, we¡¯ll have to do something about it.¡± ¡°I see. We won¡¯t stop you, but¡­ Take care.¡± After confirming Loren¡¯s team intentions, the soldier called out to his comrades and began to prepare for the withdrawal. While watching the luggage being quickly put away, Loren looked at Lapis, who was walking up to his side, and tried to confirm one thing. ¡°Are you really going to go with me? There¡¯s nothing but trouble from here on out, and you don¡¯t care about the Commander, do you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care about the Commander¡¯s safety, but if you say you¡¯re going, then there¡¯s no reason for me to not go with you.¡± ¡°I owe the Commander a debt for bringing me up, so I just can¡¯t abandon him.¡± ¡°I have my own reasons for not wanting to miss out on a good property like you, Loren. Since you haven¡¯t finished paying off your debts to begin with, you¡¯ll be in trouble if you don¡¯t continue to work with me.¡± Lapis thought it was a bad move to bind Loren by the debt, but at the moment, she secretly felt in her heart that it was a good thing to do. She could not interfere in the relationship between Yuri and Loren, but Loren could not stop her from following him, as long as she had a reason to do so. She also thought that perhaps she could force him to turn back or flee if something bad happened, using the fact that he hadn¡¯t paid back his debt as the reason. Worst case scenario, Lapis could force him to get away by kidnapping him and threw all responsibility to the Great Demon King by saying that she didn¡¯t know what to tell the King if she lost Loren, who owed him a debt. ¡°What about you, Gula?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can escape whenever I want. If I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡± Gula waved her hand with a smile as if she didn¡¯t care, but Loren was a bit concerned. ¡®That black thing¡¯ Gula had mentioned was definitely Magna, the swordsman in black armor with a black sword. She had a very strong feeling about him, and seemed to be bent on getting her revenge the next time they met. But if she lost his cool in front of Magna, even an Evil God might not be able to get away with it, and that made Loren somewhat uneasy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Perhaps reading this thought from Loren¡¯s expression, Gula patted him on the back with a smile on her face. Lapis squeezed the clothes from the other side. ¡°It¡¯s okay to worry about me like that once in a while, you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why I should be worried about you.¡± Loren blurted out what he thought, and Lapis silently gave him a punch on the side. The impact hit him even through his jacket, which he had received from an Elder, the highest-ranking undead. Loren coughed involuntarily, thinking that he really shouldn¡¯t be worried about Lapis at all. In the meantime, the soldiers finished their preparation, and once they had packed up, they offered to let Loren¡¯s team do whatever they wanted with what they didn¡¯t take back with them. There was food for a few people, tents and sleeping bags that were no longer needed, and some of the goods that they had brought from the previous town but had to leave behind to lighten the load on the return journey. Loren thanked the soldiers, and Gula, out of the soldiers¡¯ sight, hurriedly sent them to the abode of the Evil Gods. ¡°Well, that¡¯s it for us. Good luck. And if you are able to join the General, please take good care of him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not the kind of person who needs to be taken care of by me though. But well, I understand.¡± The soldiers bowed to Loren¡¯s team before leaving, and Loren watched them until they were out of sight. Although there might be less danger, they would still have to walk through enemy territory with little fighting power, and there was no telling whether they would make it to the Empire¡¯s territory safely or not. If they were wiped out and did not return to the Empire, there would be rumours that the Empire army had been mysteriously destroyed for unknown reasons; Loren thought ominously. The spider Nigg raised his front legs as if he was waving goodbye to the soldiers, whose figures were getting smaller and smaller. ¡°You assert yourself at key moments, don¡¯t you, Nigg?¡± Lapis said with interest as she watched Nigg clinging to his usual position again with his raised legs down once the soldiers disappeared from sight behind the ups and downs of the terrain. If there was nothing going on, Nigg stayed still as if he was a part of Loren¡¯s clothes, but if there was something going on, Nigg was sure to take some kind of action before anyone knew. Loren wondered if the spider could read the signs, the atmosphere, or the flow of the situation as he gently stroked Nigg¡¯s back. [¡®I¡¯d like to assert myself too, but only onii-san can see me.¡¯] Shayna fluttered in Loren¡¯s field of vision, looking discontent. It was true that Shayna¡¯s presence was invisible to Lapis and Gula, and she was only recognized as being inside Loren¡¯s mind through his words. But when Loren consoled her, saying that she had always been more than helpful, she stopped flitting around, perhaps feeling a little better. ¡°Alright, we need to go too.¡± To give the team some directions, the soldiers had given Loren¡¯s team a map of the surrounding area with explanations written on it before they left. It seemed unlikely that their team would get lost, but as he looked at the road ahead, Loren wondered with a slightly gloomy feeling if they would be able to meet up with Yuri¡¯s group without any trouble. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 344: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (3) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul After parting ways with the Empire troops, Loren and his team left the deserted base behind and ventured deeper into the Kingdom¡¯s territory. The absence of any animals, people, or monsters created an eerie atmosphere, but if one could put up with that, one could say that the journey was smooth and trouble-free. ¡°It would be different if there were at least a bird flying in the sky.¡± Lapis, who was walking next to Loren, said. Loren, as if following her gaze, looked up and saw that there was indeed not even a shadow of a bird in the sky. He let out a small sigh. As they left the Empire army¡¯s base and proceeded deeper into the territory of the Kingdom, the presence of even small creatures had gradually decreased. No one knew whether it was because they were frightened and went hiding or some other reason, but by the second day after the first encampment, Gula and Shayna could hardly detect any presence other than their own group. ¡°It¡¯s like a dead kingdom.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look as rundown as it seems on the surface, though.¡± In contrast to the weirdness of the surroundings, Lapis and Gula¡¯s tone of voice was relaxed, which instead made Loren feel uneasy. He walked along the road with heavy footsteps and a troubled expression, wary that they might be dragged into something unthinkable. It was almost mid-afternoon on the second day when the sound of something caught Loren¡¯s ears. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± In contrast to Loren, who was on guard the moment he heard the sound, Lapis and Gula seemed to notice it only after they had been told. They looked at each other and held their palms up to their ears. ¡°Yeah, I can hear something.¡± ¡°It sounds like moans, or hoarse cries. Something like that.¡± ¡°You guys don¡¯t seem surprised at all.¡± Loren wondered if they should be a little frightened or creeped out, but he understood that they were a demon and an Evil God, and that expecting a normal girl¡¯s reaction from them would be a waste of time. Still, he thought that they should have expressed some degree of surprize. Ignoring him, Lapis moved the hand she was holding over her ear to her forehead and began to look ahead of the path they were on. ¡°As far as I can see, there is nothing strange, so if anything is there, it is probably on the other side of that hill.¡± Although not by much, the road did have some unevenness, making it impossible to see what lies ahead from a certain distance away. ¡°If so, isn¡¯t it right where the frontline troops of the Empire army are positioned?¡± At Gula¡¯s words, Loren pulled out the map he had received and began to compare it with the distance they had travelled and their surroundings. Lapis, who was peering at it from the side, seemed to have determined their current location based on this information before Loren could, and made her assertion in a very clear tone of voice. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. It should be visible soon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hurry then?¡± If their surroundings, which had been completely quiet until then, had suddenly started to become noisy, there must be some reason for it. And if the frontline troops of the Empire army were right there, it was very likely to be something related to them. Loren unthinkingly started rushing, but Lapis held him back. ¡°Think about it, Loren. If the three of us participate in whatever that the army is facing, it is not likely that the current situation will change drastically. In other words, there is little point in rushing.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it more likely that we will miss something by moving too quickly?¡± Gula seemed to agree with Lapis¡¯ opinion. Unable to force his own opinion where two people in their party of three shared the same opinion, Loren stopped rushing and started walking forward at the same speed as before. ¡°This won¡¯t do, Gula. I would like us to turn back if possible.¡± ¡°I agree, but I don¡¯t think Loren would say yes. It would be impossible to stall for more time, so we have no choice, right?¡± Loren could hear Lapis and Gula whispering something behind him, but he felt so much pressure that he couldn¡¯t even hear the content of their conversation. He was still calm enough to know that even if he had started running in a hurry, there would still be a long way to the end of the road, and he would only be wearing himself out. So, he continued onward at a speed that would not exhaust him. And when the scene at the end of the road finally came into Loren¡¯s view, he naturally stopped in his tracks. Due to their height, even though Lapis and Gula had walked to the position where Loren was, they still could not see what he could. Still, when he stopped, they seemed to have guessed that it was something at the end of the road that caused him to do so. ¡°Loren?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ No, what the hell?¡± Loren unconsciously mumbled. Lapis, rather than asking questions, climbed up his back and sat down on one of his shoulders. In doing so she secured an even higher vantage point than Loren. Then she turned her gaze in the direction Loren was facing. It was a dark red wave. That was the only way to describe the thing that was covering the ground. Inside it, there was a space that was not covered, and looking more closely, Lapis could see that the space that was still safe was a so-called ¡®encampment¡¯ surrounded by a simple fence and moat. Inside the camp, a large number of people who looked like soldiers were continuing to resist the dark red wave that was surging toward them with what looked like weapons in their hands. Once Lapis realized what the dark red wave that was surging toward the camp was, she let out a small gasp. The dark red thing surrounding the camp, which was so dense that it looked like a wave from a distance, was made of humanoid figures with half-dried blood clinging to their body. The humanoid figures, which were neither armed nor wearing any kind of armor, continued to advance steadily but not hurriedly toward the encampment in the center while emitting a hoarse sound like a moan from a slit on their head, which was probably a mouth. That was what Loren¡¯s group had heard from a distance. Corpses were already piled high around the camp, and the soldiers were also fighting on top of corpses, but even with that many corpses, the dark red figures¡¯ advance was unstoppable. ¡°Not zombies. What are they? They¡¯re creepy regardless, but how could you intercept such a large number of them?¡± Compared to the size of the camp, the area of the ground covered by the dark red figures was ridiculously large. If they were to rush into the camp in such numbers, it seemed that the camp would be overwhelmed at once. And yet, the camp had continued to intercept them without allowing anything get inside the fence. ¡°Something is wrong with them. The humanoids don¡¯t attack even if they are being hit. They are just advancing slowly.¡± This was probably the reason why the camp was able to continue defending itself. Even if there were soldiers within arm¡¯s reach, the dark red figures neither defended nor attacked, but simply kept walking forward. The fact that they were walking so slowly and that there were no attacks from them gave those who watched the scene an eerie impression. ¡°Inside that camp are the frontline troops of the Empire army?¡± ¡°Probably so. I don¡¯t know how they managed to build such a camp in such a short time though.¡± ¡°And what are those dark red things?¡± ¡°Probably some kind of flesh golem.¡± Golems were made from a variety of materials. The most common ones were wood, stone, and metal, but there were also golems made from the flesh and blood of living creatures. Called ¡®flesh golems¡¯, they had an unpleasant appearance that at first glance could be mistaken for undead creatures, but they were artificial magical creations. Compared to golems made from wood or stone, flesh golems had problems in terms of strength and durability, but it was easy to procure materials for them as long as there were flesh and bones of living creatures of any kind, and they were more agile than other golems. They were often used on the battlefield also because of their strong visual impact. The fact that they could not move once their flesh and blood had decayed was a disadvantage, but if they were used for a short period of time, there was very little time and effort required to create them on the battlefield, where there were plenty of corpses lying around. The difficulty level of making a flesh golem was low, and as long as there was a reasonable number of magicians available, it was not impossible to mobilize them in large numbers. ¡°Why are they acting like a wall?¡± ¡°I suppose they must have orders to do that.¡± Since flesh golems were sometimes used on the battlefields, it was not that they could not fight. Even if they were a little sluggish, if they were able to gather enough numbers to cover the ground, they should be able to use their sheer strength of numbers to overrun the Empire army¡¯s camp without any difficulty. The only reason this was not done could be assumed to be that their creator did not order an attack on the camp, but only for them to move forward. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s put off thinking about the situation until later. We need to break through this meat wall and join up with the Empire army¡­¡± ¡°You want to break through this? I don¡¯t like the idea¡­¡± Simply put, what Loren and his team had in front of them is a wave of dead flesh. It would be quite hard labour to push through them and reach the camp on the other side. Moreover, since they were dealing with dead flesh, they would be splattered with all sorts of things as they pushed their way through. Lapis, who was dressed in her white priest¡¯s uniform, did not want to get close to them. ¡°Gula, please make a path for us.¡± Lapis, sitting on Loren¡¯s shoulder, looked down and said to Gula, who had climbed up Loren¡¯s back on the opposite side of Lapis and was peeking at the scene from Loren¡¯s shoulder with a big frown on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd. Even I will have a hard time penetrating this meat wall under all the watchful eyes.¡± ¡°Anyway, you guys, get off my shoulders and stay back.¡± Even though they were girls, it was hard for Loren to move if they were stuck on his body. He would not shake them off, but he did lightly tap Lapis on the thigh to ask her to quickly come down. Lapis easily went down from Loren¡¯s shoulder, followed by Gula, who also went down from Loren¡¯s back. ¡°We¡¯re going anyway. We¡¯re going to cut through those things and join up with the Empire army.¡± ¡°We have no choice. Gula, please take the lead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to blow them away with normal-ish magic. It¡¯s gonna to take a lot of time, tho.¡± Gula raised her voice in dissatisfaction as Lapis urged her to do so. Listening to their exchange, Loren drew the greatsword from his back and, without checking to see if they were following him, started running toward the dark red wave that was rushing toward what he assumed was the Empire army¡¯s camp. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 345: From Exhaustion to Breakthrough (4) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°>l!¡± It started with Gula¡¯s magic. A red flaming ball was released from Gula¡¯s palm and plunged into the swarm of flesh golems in a straight line, spreading damage with a booming sound upon impact. A cloud of smoke rose high in the air, and several flesh golems were caught up in it, their bodies torn apart and reduced to mere chunks of flesh. The golems around them had suffered the collateral damage. Those which were half-destroyed or burned by the scattered flames began to fall down, but other golems soon stood to fill in their places. Another Fireball was shot at the same spot, but it only caused the same amount of damage as the first shot, and other golems soon came to fill in the gaps. ¡°Isn¡¯t this endless?¡± Gula whined after the third shot of magic. The total number of golems surrounding the imperial army¡¯s position must have exceeded ten thousand, and even if Gula destroyed a dozen of them with one shot of her magic, the damage would have been negligible in the grand scheme of things. Even so, Loren swung his greatsword, knowing that if they did not do this, they would not be able to move forward; several golems were cut into two right across the middle and fell to the ground after a white slash passed through them. But the encampment was still far away. Despite being attacked from the rear, the golems didn¡¯t seem to be paying any attention to the presence of Loren¡¯s group. They just continued to focus on moving forward slowly, and after cutting through a few more golems, Loren quietly clicked his tongue. If there had been a gap, it would have been possible to force their way forward. But they couldn¡¯t because as soon as one golem fell down, another would immediately fill the gap they left behind. ¡°Truly a wall of flesh, these guys!¡± ¡°This is annoying.¡± A bullet gleaming with white light shot out from Lapis¡¯ hand. It was a beginner¡¯s level offensive technique called >. The white bullet only shattered the head of one golem, and the golem whose head had been shattered continued walking as if nothing had happened. ¡°It seems a little damage won¡¯t stop them.¡± [¡®Because they are created by magic!¡¯] Shayna¡¯s voice echoed in the back of Loren¡¯s mind. The Energy Drain power of the King of Death was exercised, and the individuals whose power, or rather magic power, was sucked out of them fell down in succession and stopped moving without any external injuries. But other golems quickly filled in the gaps where they had been missing. [¡®The power of their number is amazing.¡¯] ¡°This is not the time to be impressed.¡± Switching to a backhand-grip, Loren thrust the tip of his greatsword into the ground and shouted. ¡°Burn them down! Fiamma Unga!¡± Loren felt all of his power being drained from his body. Then flames erupted from the blade of the sword in his hand, and the flames ran toward the golems swarming in front of him. The flames, even more powerful than the magic Gula had unleashed, engulfed the golems, turning them into black charcoal rolling on the ground in the blink of an eye, but still leaving no space to move forward. Loren, who had expended his own life-essence in order to use the power hidden in the greatsword, almost fell to his knees unwillingly as he felt a sense of powerlessness assailing his body. But he resisted and pulled the greatsword out of the ground, then changed his grip on its hilt and swung it forward again. ¡°Could it be that we won¡¯t be able to advance unless we disable a large number of these golems?¡± ¡°Maybe so, but as long as Loren doesn¡¯t give up, we¡¯ll just have to keep trying.¡± Lapis pulled out a small bottle from her luggage and hurled it over the heads of the golems. Gula, who had taken Lapis¡¯ intentions into account, cast a Fireball spell on the bottle in mid-air, which ignited the oil that was apparently inside, sending a rain of flames down on the golems¡¯ heads. The golems whose bodies caught fire did not immediately stop moving, but after burning for a while, they slowed down and collapsed on the spot. Although they succeeded in setting fire to a wider area of golems compared to using only Fireball, the number of golems they were able to defeat was still too small considering the total number of the swarm. ¡°Ahh shit! You¡¯re so annoying! Get out of my way!¡± Loren¡¯s greatsword, swung down through the wind, caught a golem¡¯s body, and red flames erupted. The golem turned into a human-shaped torch, engulfing not only itself but also the golems ahead of it, but Loren¡¯s attempt to move forward was blocked by the body of other golems. With things like this, Loren thought that he had no choice but to move forward little by little, by forcing his way through. But, perhaps reading his thoughts, Lapis raised her voice to restrain him. ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Loren! You will be crushed!¡± If Loren forced his body into a space crowded with countless golems, he would only be crushed by the swarm; no matter how large and stubbornly strong Loren¡¯s body was, it would not have the strength to push back against hundreds or thousands of golems. Loren was beginning to think that what they were doing was futile, as they were unable to move forward, when he heard a faint human voice, albeit from quite far away. ¡°Who is that over there? Reinforcements?¡± It seemed that an Empire soldier, who was in the middle of intercepting the golems, had noticed Loren¡¯s group. Wielding his greatsword in an effort to reduce the number of golems as much as possible, Loren responded by raising his voice in the direction of the soldier¡¯s voice. ¡°We¡¯re related to General Yuri!¡± ¡°General Yuri? General Yuri is alive and well! Can you get over here?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out!¡± Without any concrete ideas on how to do so, Loren cut down more golems. The empty spaces left by the fallen golems kept being refilled with other golems, but Loren continued his attack, thinking that the more he defeated, the fewer golems the Empire army would have to intercept, and that defeating them would not be a waste of time. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming from the outside!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you open the way? What about the magicians?¡± ¡°They ran out of energy in the first interception and are having a rest! Hey there! Be careful or the golems will¡­¡± Loren¡¯s face contorted as he heard someone scream. Even if the golems did not attack, if someone was engulfed by the wave of golems moving forward, they would only be crushed or trampled. Someone seemed to have been unlucky enough to be swamped, but there was no time to lament their misfortune; the golems continued to rush in, and the Empire troops were desperately trying to intercept them. ¡°Fuck! We¡¯re running out of time!¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve got time to whine, take out as many of them as you can!¡± Loren thought that they had a last minute arrival in the fight. There was not much time left before the soldiers defending the position were decimated. ¡°Then we¡¯re going to have to push ourselves a little bit.¡± Loren gritted his teeth, then flipped the switch in his consciousness. As he heard something click somewhere in his head and felt the power in his limbs rise sharply, Loren roared and swung his greatsword at the wall of flesh in front of him. Several golems were cut in half with the first swing, and with a step forward, the blade of the greatsword was pulled back before smashing through the golems that had come to fill the open spaces. ¡°Loren?! You¡¯re being reckless!¡± ¡°We have no choice but to go in now!¡± Hearing the voices of Gula and Lapis, Loren took one more step forward. As the golems were being cut down and dismembered by his blade, Loren stepped forward. The golems were cut into pieces without even being able to fill the gaps left by his attacks, which were much faster and more powerful than before. Two walls of flame shot up from the ground in parallel as if to maintain the space that Loren had cut open, and Lapis and Gula ran after him in that space. ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll ever find out how many times, we¡¯ve used magic?¡± ¡°I secretly set off a few spells myself, so even if they find out, the number won¡¯t be too outrageous, right?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be suspicious!¡± ¡°No one would be foolishly honest enough to count the number of flame walls in such a confusing battle, I¡¯m sure!¡± The conversation between Lapis and Gula told Loren that they were following him. Feeling that it was his job to keep clearing the way, Loren continued to swing his greatsword at such a speed that made it seem as if no golems were even there. After attacking for the umpteenth time, Loren felt his consciousness wavering, but he managed to preserve thanks to the power Shayna had taken via Energy Drain and poured into him. Secretly impressed by how useful his body had become, Loren continued to attack, but as he looked ahead, he saw a soldier waving his hand at the golems that were swarming around him. ¡°Heey! I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d make it through this¡­ Hang in there! You¡¯re almost there!¡± The distance to the camp seemed to be less than a few more meters. However, the golems that were swarming around were not going to disappear once they reached the camp. In order to reduce the number of golems as much as possible in his current state, Loren put more strength into his limbs and let out a roar that sounded like that of a beast from his throat. At that moment, the blade of the greatsword in his hand burst into flames. The roar and flame of the sword reverberate through the air, burning the golems that blocked their path, consuming their flesh and blood and turning them to charcoal, then to ash, in the blink of an eye. ¡°You¡¯re being too reckless, Loren!¡± ¡°He probably can¡¯t hear you! Anyway, he cleared the way.¡± Loren was sure that he had been too reckless; he felt a sudden assault of weakness that almost made him fall over, but he felt people supporting him on both shoulders and carrying him. Loren did not know how many golems he had killed with his last attack, but he could tell from the footsteps of the people supporting him that the path to the Empire army¡¯s position had been cleared. ¡°Hey! He really made an opening!¡± ¡°Is he okay? Did he hurt himself?¡± ¡°This guy¡­ Hey, call the General!¡± ¡°A breach has opened up! Wake up the magicians!¡± Loren heard a flurry of voices, probably from the soldiers. He was shaken violently and felt as if his entire body was being lifted, though the sensations were dim. But he had no energy to react to these sensations, and lost consciousness. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 1 A Normal Day 1 He found himself pushing his wheelchair through the park, today was his day off and he just wanted to get a rest for his head. Normally Jake would be practicing his pitches more today was a special day, it was Jake''s 40th birthday. More like he had lived alone since his mother died when he was 25, he was not going to celebrate, after going through the graveyard Jake just wanted to push his chair and spin around. He had some friends from the small office where he had worked since the 22 plus they would do more harm than good me one day like this, he did not want looks of pity today. Jake has always been a positive person in his life, never depressed and always accepted everything that fate gave him. Plus he could be considered a person with no luck. He was a healthy person and loved running before he was 20, always very good at his studies and popular with the girls. With his 1.85 in height while he was in school, he was always called to participate in sports activities, especially basketball. More like he only lived with his mother and he was not talented, Jake did not like to play and always did part-time jobs to help with the expenses of the house. His father died when Jake was only 2 years old and his mother worked as a waitress in a restaurant near the house. When his father died his mother who was only 20 seemed to wither with the sadness and pressure of having to raise Jake alone. So Jake was always sensible and did not ask for many things and had no way to pay for college. After finishing high school Jake decided to try a scholarship to help her mother more while driving home by bus, a runaway truck ended up hitting the bus right in the middle at high speed. Many people on the bus died the most Jake survived, but ended up with broken and crippled spine for life. After months at the hospital Jake was very depressed but always forced a smile in front of his mother, who got even worse after Jake''s accident. A few years later Jake mentally recovered from his accident and started working at the small company that works to this day and for a while things went well. More after a few years her mother died sleeping, then found that she reached the peak of depression more in front of Jake looked good. It seems that Jake''s paralysis was the fatal blow to her. Jake had to continue living and as always was positive ended up finding a way to live happily. His company friends in the beginning after his mother''s death tried to get some dates for Jake, who despite being wheelchair-bound was still considered handsome with his blond hair like his father''s and brown eyes like his mother''s. The more they discovered by Jake that the accident had left him powerless, so even the chance to marry and build his family was taken away. Chapter 2 A Normal Day 2 More that makes Jake sad, it''s the fact that his talent is wasted. After his mother died, Jake was much sadder than when he found he could not walk. Especially when I heard it was from depression. Just so Jake found that his mother was great at hiding what she feels, she normally smiles at him and he has never seen her cry since she was a teenager. More in fact she was saving everything for her. After that to try to cheer on Jake, one of his friends who played basketball in college told Jake to play with him. When Jake played at school he tried to play basketball for a while, but for always having a great time they made him play center, or other positions of strength, and he scored only a few points and did not defend well. Although he knew that he lacked training, he realized that he had no talent for the position he played in and after that he never tried again. More without being able to use his legs, what he could do in basketball was to just throw and pass. What his friend and even Jake realized was that he actually had a great talent for pitching and passing, which he did not do in high school because of his tall stature. Because you have to have a lot of talent so that without training, you can shoot 3 points without jumping. Still, he liked the feeling of scoring 3 and continued training. So Jake kept pushing his chair across the park, he was satisfied with his life, he is still alive, had his house paid, a good job that does not pay much more, he does not spend much either. He had a whole house furnished and could even buy a car more like he could not drive he had stored in the bank, on his vacation he would sometimes make a trip to other countries. As he was very alone at home he tried to learn other languages, he spoke in addition to English, French, Spanish, German and Italian, everything he learned alone. Then on every vacation he went to a country, which he dominated the language to visit. He too enjoyed the stock market, he studied many past trades a lot and made a lot of money by investing. He also liked to cook, as he ate alone he did a lot of research on cooking and nowadays he prefers to eat his own food at other restaurants. He enjoyed acting, too, although he did it himself, you would do several plays like a monologue. Whenever he finished learning something he would go to another, he did not want to sit still to think about bad things. But today was his birthday, instead of celebrating today he took the day to look at the past and glimpse a possible future. Today he had already gone to the graveyard to see his mother, had also gone to the restaurant where his mother worked to eat his favorite waffles that he always ate when his mother worked there. Then he went to the community center to see the children and young people playing basketball. And he got to the park, now that the sun was up, it was time to go home. "Tomorrow starts the second half of my life," Jake said decisively. Chapter 3 The acciden As Jake pushed his chair off the path of his home, he began to think what to do for the rest of the year. His birthday was at the beginning of the year and the vacation from work at the end, so since his mother died, Jake decided how he would spend the year with the end of his planning for the holidays. In recent years Jake tried his best to learn a new language so that by the end of the year he could go to that chosen country to travel and complete his apprenticeship. This year he wanted a challenge and decided to learn Japanese and go to Japan on vacation, as the format of the letters was different it would be challenging to learn the language in a year. Plus this was like a mental breakout, and a kind of focus on one thing not to get depressed. And also, when he could learn the language a great sense of reward would be felt by Jake, since he started with this, Jake learned that he was very competitive. As he pushed his chair distracted along the sidewalk, suddenly a car came at high speed and off the lane went toward Jake. When Jake realized the danger was already too late and the car hit his chair and sent it flying out the window of a nearby store. The driver of the car seemed to be dead before hitting Jake, had a heart attack while driving and the car lost control. Once again the lack of luck crossed Jake''s path as he adjusted his life. The store that Jake entered when he suffered the accident seemed abandoned and the street that was near his house was empty at this time of day, so no one noticed the accident that happened. Jake who had been thrown was still alive and did not feel pain, was numb, he could not believe that he had suffered another accident like this in the same life. When Jake turned his head to the side he saw that it was full of blood where he was and he did not feel pain perhaps for losing the senses. "Really a bit of luck, to die on one''s birthday yet for an accident like that," said Jake discouraged. "In a way this is a form of release for me, and I have no one to worry about even." As time passed Jake was staring at the street, even a deserted street like this someone should have passed by and called an ambulance, it seems that fate really wanted him to die. "Could it be that after living a life like this I could really say that I was happy?" Jake said as he stared absently into the street. "I can say that I lived fully while I could, I did what I wanted as allowed by my limitations, and I had a good mother." Still while awaiting his death Jake did not resent the life he lived, he only knew he had to accept his fate, if he had one thing he resented was his bad luck. "But can I say that I was truly happy?" Chapter 4 A Second Chance 1 "I can say no, there''s so much I wanted to have done more I could not, I wanted to have my mother with me for a longer time, I wanted to have friends who really liked me and did not stay with me just for pity, I wanted to have much more money only if I had things that I wanted to have and people I could spend with. I wanted to go to more parties, I wanted to have a car, I wanted to have a motorcycle, I wish I had a boat. I wanted to meet more girls, I wanted to have someone I loved and loved me back, I wanted to be married, I wanted to have children, I wish I had a family. I wanted to have run, I wanted to have played more sports, I wanted to have played basketball with other people normally, I wanted to have played real games, I wish I had won a lot of titles and prizes. I wanted to have my legs ¡­ " When he was close to death Jake finally saw that he was not totally happy, he broke that barrier that had around his heart and his mind and blew. Jake knew that what he lacked for him was something that the harder he tried in this life he could not have. [Then you finally saw what was missing for you, which left you incomplete], Jake heard that robotic voice in his head. "Who are you?" Jake asked, startled. [I am the will of this world, well a small portion of it, what you call destiny]. "Fate, and what do you want with me?" At this moment near death Jake did not care to ask if fate was real or not, if he was going crazy he would die anyway, at least he had someone to talk to and not just expect death alone. [I like the will of the world I saw you Jake, I saw a man who like you said no luck, and your luck is so bad that it even affected the people close to you, but you were always optimistic and never blamed fate. In fact I eat the will of the world I do not decide anything, each one decides his own way, and that makes a karma. In your case your karma is incomparably good, you have never hurt anyone and suffered for things you did not deserve.] "What do you mean?" [You paid for a karma of a life that went beyond what you did, and if you decided that you were happy anyway I would let it go, but in the end you realized what was missing from you, a wish, a wish that could never be accomplished.] "So you came to explain to me that I have had an exemplary life and can die happy and peaceful?" [Not for everything you did I decided to give you a chance, a second chance.] "A second chance like that?" [I''ll send you back to the past, 30 years when you were 10 years old, and I''m going to send a little piece of with your soul, you''ll remember everything you''ve lived and that piece of me will help you carry it out .] "Is this like a system like that of stories?" [You could say yes.] "Thank you thank you very much." Jake thanked fate crying, this was an opportunity for him to have everything he wanted. [If it''s a system as it will be called] Asked the system curious, the whole system of stories had a name that showed the ultimate goal of the user. So Jake replied with a smile. "To be happy." [It''s a wonderful goal, now go and be happy.] After that a great light cleared the store and then Jake disappeared, into his past and the beginning of his new story. Chapter 5 A Second Chance 2 When Jake opened his eyes he felt very strange, it seemed that his vision was better, his body smaller and he felt a vitality that lost much. After calming down Jake realized that what the "will of the world" said was not a lie, he had returned to his body when he was 10, so he really went back in time, so Jake cried in silence for a while. After he stopped crying, Jake realized that he was in his room in a humble neighborhood in the city of Miami. When it comes to Miami, people who do not know think that everyone who lives there has a lot of money, this was far from the truth, the house Jake lived with his mother was a house that Jake''s grandfather father''s father bought when he was old. When Jake''s grandfather died he left the house for Jake''s father who was going to marry his mother. This was a house that left Jake nostalgic; after his accident, his mother had sold this house to pay for Jake''s treatment and buy a smaller house, and after Jake''s mother died he left that other house because they had many memories of his mother, he had even left Miami. As he remembered that Jake was immediately anxious, the two things he most wanted and could not have had now, his legs working and his mother, Jake looked at his watch and saw in it was still early in the afternoon and his mother would arrive It was only after six. So what he could do was run and remember the emotion that was when he had his legs working, so Jake ran out of the house, then began to run to the nearest park. The more Jake ran, the more excited he got. Just having this feeling of running and knowing that he was going to see his mother already compensated for having gone back to the past. In this neighborhood that Jake lived, basketball was not very popular. They did not have many blocks open and the ones that were open were occupied by the older boys and adults, and the schools had only a weak basketball team, which was one reason Jake had not discovered his basketball talent. Plus the neighborhood had some parks, the bigger ones were used more by the adults, the smaller ones only had children, thus was born the taste of Jake by running. After Jake arrived at the park he kept running, running until he fell and when he tired he collapsed on the ground laughing, the feeling of running was very good, plus Jake had only a body of 10 years so of course he had no resistance to it. After resting Jake ran longer until it was late afternoon, so Jake came home, he took a shower, put on a good outfit, cleaned the house, made dinner and sat waiting. Today was meant to be a day full of emotions for Jake, he had to calm down and talk to his mother that he loved very much and had not seen for a long time as if he had seen her this morning, otherwise she would think it strange. After a while the door of the house opened and appeared a woman who looked 30 years older looked tired, she had black hair and more than 1.70 in height. When Eve looked into the living room and saw Jake sitting there she opened a smile on her tired face, "Hi, son, did you spend the day well at home?" When Jake heard his voice he could not stand it ran and gave her a hug and said crying "welcome back mother." Chapter 6 Preparing for the Future 1 After Jake spent a lot of time with his mother to nostalgia, Jake found another problem, as he had lived to be 40, Jake did not remember many things at the time when he was 10, so whenever his mother tried to talk about things that happened to her recently he had to change the subject so that she did not notice anything strange. Then Jake was very sleepy and slept. The other day after Jake ate breakfast with his mother she went to work and Jake stayed home alone again. After spending a joyful day Jake had to start thinking about what he would do for the future, in fact to change the future, he did not want to waste his talent for basketball in this life let alone get crippled again. So Jake decided that he would try as hard as possible to avoid bus and car rides, to run to where he had to go or go by subway. More after thinking about it soon enough Jake realized how stupid he was saying, many of the places he needed to go were long distances, it was impossible to go through life without cars, besides, the accident that almost killed him at the end of his life past was when he was on the sidewalk, not to mention that if you have to live in fear it was better not even live. As for the studies Jake was not worried, he would have gotten into a good university in his past life had it not been for the first bus accident, and even more Jake had always studied alone after starting work and he was always smart, at least he would not need to study. So the only thing he had to prepare really was how to be a basketball player, with his talent he would certainly have a chance and in the United States, opportunities would not lack for a talented person. More like he trained his pitches and befriended a coach, this coach said the base is the most important in basketball without proper training when new even a talented player would be outdone by an ordinary with training. That was Jake''s problem, the neighborhood he lived in and the neighborhoods nearby did not have many people his age practicing basketball, and local public schools also did not excel in basketball. So Jake would have to train himself, it was nice that while he was walking with his friend coach, he saw many techniques to improve the bases in basketball, and also many training to improve the resistance, when Jake grew a little more he could train with the guys on the local courts. So Jake left to run again, of course not as yesterday as more training to improve physical endurance, with his age was the only proper training for a child to do. After Jake returned in the late afternoon to do the housework and make dinner with his mother, when his mother arrived they had dinner together more today his mother was too tired to talk and Jake went early to his room. While thinking about doing the same thing tomorrow, Jake remembered that before returning to the past fate would send a small part of him with Jake, but as he was very excited he forgot it. "Fate, are you there?" Chapter 7 Preparing for the Future 2 [Yes, Jake, I''m here.] "Fate, if you were with me the whole time because you did not talk to me, I''ve been wanting to thank you for this chance you gave me, just to be able to walk and see my mother again was worth going back to the past." [I did not talk to you because you did not call me, the will of the previous world already told you, I came here to help you, but I will not bother you with anything if you do not need me, I''m like a system only a part of what I was, but this is more than enough to help you, as to thank you, you do not need I already told you that the reason you take this chance now is that you deserved, what happened to you was a mistake that the world has committed, and as I represent the will of the world I have an obligation to correct this error.] "Yes, you''ve said that before, but I want to thank you, as to why I come to the past, besides doing what I want you have some mission or rule for me?" [No, as your personality has already been analyzed before we give this chance to you to go back to the past, we know that you will not do anything like destroy the world or make wars, in addition, this world in the next 30 years will have many bad things happening if you change that, only makes things better for everyone.] "So I can do whatever I want? But will not that change the future? " [It does not matter, when we see what happened to you, we find that the world is very distorted and many people have had their destinies changed like yours, none of them as serious as you, so when you were sent back to the past with me I already solved this, then the future has to be changed, but the most striking things that have happened are still going to happen.] "I understand you told me it was now like a system, so I have a statistics panel or something?" [you have, let it show you.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Job:] [Height: 1.31 m] [Weight: 35 Kg] [Force 3] [Agility 4] [Resistance 2] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª When Jake saw his stats was shocked, he did not even care what was written, he felt like he was in a game, once Jake was called by his friends to test a virtual reality glasses at a university near where he lived and the RPG game had a status window anyway. More when Jake saw the data again in the statistics window he was intrigued. "Fate, how are these statistics calculated?" [With your body as a base, of course, when we go back to the past, I''ve integrated into your soul so to make an estimate of your body for me is easy, your strength you should know what it is, a normal adult human has 7 in all stats as a base, you are still a child then 3 strength is already good, the strongest man on earth must have 60 strength and has to do with many exercises and martial arts, agility is a mixture of body speed, speed of thought and a little dexterity, the world''s fastest human must have 50 agility, endurance is the strength of your body, flexibility and how much your body can handle at maximum performance, resistance also has to do with speed recovery. energy in your body, the person with the most resistance in the world must have 45, intelligence is ability to think, speed of reasoning, memory, creativity and studies, this is the most difficult to measure, because it has to do with talent, te what the person has learned, what the person has learned, and some other things, the most intelligent person in the world must have intelligence. [As I said 7 is the average for all adult statistics, only the intelligence is different 20 is the average, a healthy adult person has the average statistics of 10, an athlete is at least 20, and a good athlete has on average 30, 70 is usually the maximum that people can reach and 99 is the absolute maximum, plus that is just the strength of the body, this is fundamental only in fights in other sports, training, skills, techniques and many other things can make a person better than you.] Hearing this explanation Jake understood everything else, the fate explained everything else and the luck? Chapter 8 Preparing for the Future 3 "Fate, what''s this luck, you did not explain." [I left that last of all, Jake, luck is not a statistic that an ordinary person has, or rather, everyone has more is impossible to measure, this is one of the so-called hidden statistics, there are others like charm, perseverance, talent among others, everyone has these statistics no one else knows how much, the more your case is different, I put your luck to the fullest to correct the mistakes of the past, you had an abnormal luck you should not have and this has changed your destiny , you should have up to negative this statistic, the problem is that as I saw, it was for you to be happy and have much success in your life, more happened the opposite with you, so you caught my attention, so you accumulated a lot of karma in your past life, so much that it gave you back in the past, to have me, to have 99 of luck statistics and still have left.] [The only thing I ask you, is not to play games that require luck like the lottery, because if not the chance you win several times is too big and this will bring problems for you.] "You can leave, I''ll play only sometimes to have fun and I will not bring trouble." Jake always wanted to know what it felt like to play and win at a casino, so it''s impossible that he did not want to play a few times, but he also understood that it could bring a lot of trouble for him and even his mother. In fact, Jake still had no idea how terrifying it is to have a luck above human standards, to get an idea if a stray bullet shot was certain to hit Jake, it was possible that a piece of meteor fell into the earth the size of the bullet alone so the bullet does not hit him, in a way, luck is a kind of super power, but you have to know how to use it and Jake does not know how. "Part of luck I understood, more and this job I saw in the statistics window, because it is blank and what does it mean?" [As I have said before for you, my sense of coming to the past with you, is to help you accomplish all the things you want to do, then this system will depend on your decision to be able to adapt and help to accomplish what you want to do, you said that you want to be a basketball player, if you are determined to do this then one of your jobs will be basketball player and the job title will change according to the level you reach you can have multiple jobs and the system will show you the skills you need to be the best and most successful at what you want to do, plus I warn you that although you may have multiple jobs and multiple skills, you have to train your skills to level up and the more you it will be harder to get to the top.] "So it''s settled, my first job will be basketball player." Chapter 9 Preparing for the Future 4 Jake in his soul was already an old man, and after many disappointments in his life he hardly had dreams or desires, what he often did was set goals, that''s how he studied a lot, learned about the stock market and talked several languages, in his goals he gave himself rewards like making a trip on his vacation, so when he said he wanted to become a basketball player before he almost died and won a lot of titles, that became a conviction in Jake''s mind, so even without remembering the system Jake was already making plans to play basketball, especially when he was still young and had so much talent for basketball. A basketball player''s career is not very long, he would play at the most until age 35 and then look for something else to do, so Jake wanted to do his university, plus the money he can earn in 15 years of career is very more than many win in a lifetime, if he is to play for an NBA team. Even more so after the system said that he could choose other jobs later, so he became more motivated, what he wanted in this life was to be happy, so with basketball he would fulfill many of his desires, use his legs to the maximum, successful career and would give a good life to his mother who suffered so much. [Okay, now your first job will be basketball player, I''ve already swept through your body and discovered all your talents and put in a window called skills, these skills usually start at level F and increase rank the more you train this skill, the maximum is SS, so try to learn as many skills as possible to increase your quest skills.] "Understood, can you show me my skills table now?" [Of course, what position do you intend to play?] "I thought about it, I have a lot of talent in pitching, balls 2 and 3 for me are not a problem, but in the short time I played despite not having training, I realized that I have no talent to play near the bottle and neither in the defense, and because at the time I could not walk I never trained in other things that did not skills with the ball and pitches, in passes I think I have talent so the ideal position for me is Point Guard." [I agree with you, now I''ll show you your total statistics.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Primary School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.31 m] [Weight: 35 Kg] [Force 3] [Agility 4] [Resistance 2] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control D] [Man to Man F] [Dribble F] [Layup F] [Set Shot SS] [Block F] [Goes by] [Rebound F] [2 Points C] [3 Points C] [Free-Throws SS] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "I did not like the elementary school player''s title, am I at a much higher level than that, and why are my abilities so weak compared to an elementary student?" [This data is compared to the best elementary school player in the world, think how many parents out there were not great players, coaches or wealthy families and want your child to be a great player in the future, these children train since the age of 6 , your skills are low because you have never trained, anyone who has trained knows more than you, you are great and control ball, jump without jump and free throws, but in passes you did not learn to walk with the ball and never had to feeling of how other players move, then your passes are not perfect, as for the pitches of 2 and 3 you did not learn to throw jumping or throwing with the prey of taking a stump, then you only have one C.] Hearing what the system said Jake actually realized his flaws, he still had a long way to go in the basketball world, but now he could see the path with many arrows, this was the right way to go and the easy way out of all the other players had, if even he did not become a great player, then he would admit that he chose the wrong way. Chapter 10 Training Time 1 The next day, after breakfast with his mother Jake returned to his running training, he had to make the most of this school vacation time, because later he would be arrested at school, Jake would just sit in the room and pretend to listen, because he knew everything that was being taught, plus he would still have to go to school. After the opening of the system Jake finally found his goal, the system as he had already said could easily scan Jake''s body so he would know how much time he had to do how many pushups among other things to be able to gain statistics points. So Jake felt more motivated because he could see his effort bearing fruit in numbers, moreover, he could train to the maximum without worrying about injuries because the system would warn him when to stop, yet the system said that even with this training of great effort would take 10 days to gain a point in his physical statistics, as for the intelligence he gave up, he would read some books from time to time, because with the large amount of intelligence he has the system said it would take months to raise a point , and Jake did not want to waste time on it for now, he needed to improve his physique to be compared to an adult to be able to train the real basketball, so he was grateful that he was sent back again, so it would give time before he got old to play on a good basketball team. ¡­ While Jake was struggling in his training his mother Eva looked at him with concern, she knew it was not right to leave Jake alone at home while going to work, even if the restaurant was close to home his son could run some kind of danger. Jake was never a boy to make friends and the few friends he had separated after they had finished the old phase of school, so Jake usually stayed home on his vacation, but now these days Jake has left more home, at the beginning Eva was very happy to see her son leaving home and going to the park, she thought that Jake was making friends, but later some gossiping friends of her said that Jake always runs alone, he runs until he falls out of fatigue and that sometimes he does pushups , this is not a normal thing a boy his age do, the worst of it is that they said that sometimes when Jake looks at him to the void and laughs like a madman. Eva was really worried that Jake was crazy, although she did not stay home much, she was still his mother, so of course she had noticed that her son had changed in the last few days, but that change had been for the better, he was cleaning the house , was less rebellious, made food and was much more affectionate. More after hearing what he was doing made her worried, although it was good to help him at home and be more obedient he was still a child, he should not mature so early, he might be missing his father. When Eva thought about Jake''s father she started to cry, she loved him a lot, and he died so soon, so suddenly, she was heartbroken, it was as if her world had collapsed, if she had not Jake, she would probably have died of depression, but for her son she had to be strong, she buried this pain deep in her heart, Eva never looked sad or would cry in front of her son, so Jake never discovered that she was like this until the death of her mother . Eva''s dream was to see Jake be happy and succeed, her son''s accomplishment was hers, as to her old dream of having a restaurant of her own she forgot, not even Jake knew about it. So Eve decided it was time to have a good conversation with her son. Chapter 11 Training Time 2 When Jake was back in his tired home, and wanted to go take a shower to rest, he lifted his head and saw his mother sitting on the couch looking seriously at him. "Hi Mom, I did not know you were back home, how was your day," Jake said as he ran to sit with his mother. "Jake, I think we have something to talk about," Eve said as she looked seriously at her son. "Has something happened, Mother?" At this moment until Jake realized that something was happening, his mother rarely called him to have an argument, because he did not do anything wrong. "Jake, my son, is there something going on with you, is there something you want to tell your mother, something you''re ashamed of or did you think it would be better to hide?" When Jake heard his mother say that his heart almost stopped, ''Mothers know their own children'' he thought, Jake of course was different from before because his mind was too mature for his age, plus he thought his mother would not notice nothing, but he underestimated his mother''s attention, of course Jake never thought his mother knew anything about the system, because the more creative a person of imagination was, he would never have imagined it existed in the real world. "No mom, nothing happened, I''ve been acting different because I saw how busy you were and wanted to do something to help you," Jake said without changing his expression. Jake had done some acting classes, so faking emotions or calming down was a key part of his acting training. When Eva heard Jake say that her heart ached, she was also proud to see her son growing up and paying attention to what she did, but she did not want to see him lose his childhood. "My son, I thank you for thinking of me, but you''re just a child, I do not want to see you as an adult, I want you to have fun, play more, I''ve been busy, can not do some homework. " "I know mom, I''ve been joking, I go to the park every day, these things I do quickly at home." "Speaking of playing in the park, I''ve heard that you''ve been running alone and doing exercises until you get tired every day in the park, Jake does not seem like a normal kind of joke to do." "How do you know, mother?" "My friends saw you in the park, they got worried and came to talk to me." ''These gossipers,'' thought Jake, of course he knew that when she talked to her friends she meant the other ladies in the neighborhood who had nothing to do so they lived by paying attention to the lives of others. "Mom, I wanted to wait a while and say that later, but I think the time has come, I''ve been thinking those days, and you should not know anymore. I''ve really enjoyed watching basketball on television, and when I saw it, I found out that I wanted to be a basketball player, more talked on television that to be a basketball player has to have some fitness and a lot of training since I was young, so I decided to start training now to be a great play in the future. " Eva was a bit shocked to see her son talking so seriously about her future, of course she thought it was just a phase and that he would change her mind in the future maybe, but still, she saw that he did some research before speaking , and he was even training alone, so at least he''s excited about something. "Son, I think it''s nice of you to want to be a basketball player, your dad loved basketball too, why did you say you wanted to tell me that later?" "Because I wanted to wait until near my birthday, then show you how serious I am at learning basketball, so as a birthday present, I wanted you to build a basketball court in the basement, only one table is good." When Eva saw what Jake said she was impressed, it seems that he was thinking seriously about it and was also very intelligent and knew to have patience, if it was for this much she was willing to give that gift to her son, she had seen in a great a sports store that cost $ 300, a table, and they gave her two balls of toast, that much money she''d saved, not to mention that at age 10 Jake had never asked for a present from her mother. When Jake saw his mother think he sighed, he knew his mother had that money, but it was money from his savings for emergencies, and he did not want to ask his mother anything, but that was more important, they did not have basketball courts available for children and he would have to wait 5 years at least if he wanted to play with others on the courts, before he did not care, more after receiving his system skills, now he had to train them, and 5 years of training would make a great difference in the future. As for the basement, it was very large, their house had a basement and an attic, as they did not have many things and their mother did not like going to the basement at night they kept everything in the attic and the basement that was more than 4 meters below of the ground was empty, 8 meters wide and 12 meters long, this was almost half of the measurements of a normal court, so with a treatment on the floor, and a table, was enough to train in those 5 years. What Jake would do is create a line of 3 equal to the professional''s measure and the table to train leyups, so he could train all his basketball skills minus those that need other players. "Okay son, I''m going to give you this gift as a vote of confidence, although it''s not necessary for you to be a professional player, at least I want to see you using this block that I''ll do for you, if I see you Do not go there, I''m going to be very disappointed in you. " When Jake heard this he flashed a big smile, "You can be sure Mom, I will not stop using this block." Chapter 12 Training Time 3 As Eva promised, she quickly bought the table and some materials to make a simple basketball court, when it is paid things run fast, 2 days later Jake looked at his court in the basement, with the line of 3 points at 7,24m as used in the NBA, the other markings also in the official measurements, this gave almost half a block, which was more than enough for Jake to train until he reached adulthood, today is also the day the system said that if Jake did the exercises which he does every day would gain 1 attribute point on each main attribute except intelligence. More now, Jake no longer needed to run into the park and be called crazy, now he could do his strength, endurance and run training in his basement, so Jake started his daily workout, training was simple, running from one side of the Jake was able to take only 30 minutes at his maximum and then he had to rest, and the push-ups he was already 6 without getting tired, but Jake was thinking about his future, if he took 10 days of exercise routine to increase 1 point, then probably the amount of time he will have to exercise increased in the future when he reaches 20 it will take close to 1 per point plus he had to accept because he was better than others who did not have a goal to reach and a system to measure their capacity in numbers. By the time he reached the end of his training Jake was totally exhausted, it was no wonder that the gossipers in the neighborhood thought he was crazy, not even professional athletes train up to that point. "And, Fate, did I get a point already?" [Yes, you will, I will show you.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Primary School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.31 m] [Weight: 35 Kg] [Force 4] [Agility 5] [Resistance 3] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C "Really increased one point each, now I feel it was worth everything I did, when will it give to increase all 3 attributes again Fate?" [The 3''s, if it''s 3 it''s going to take 12 days.] "12 days just, not much I thought it would take much longer." [It does not take so long because you train on the limit every day, if you trained lighter the normal would be 1 month.] "I have to train like this in 1 month will start the schools, I''m glad that this year starts in September, if it was in August I would not have that much time, when classes start I''ll only have a third of the time I have now to train." [That''s true, plus you do not have to be so rushed, 5 years from now when you start competing with the other boys in basketball your advantage will be huge, if it''s just 3-point throws when you''re 15 with your talents could compete in the NBA, of course, only in that requirement, in the others you will still be very far.] "Speaking of a 3-point shot, do I really have to wait until my strength reaches 7 to start training? My hands are already itching for so long that I do not make a pitch." [I can not do anything about it if you have the strength of less than 7 to throw your ball nor reach the rim of the throw distance of 3 meters, and the force for this type of throw is mainly a very important factor , the more strength and control of that force you have, the more chances you will have to hit the pitch, because once you have the strength you just need to adjust the accuracy, not to mention that the amount of strength you have plus the amount of resistance greatly influence for how many pitches you can do in a row, when you were 40 years old before you came back, after a lot of pushing your wheelchair and a lot of strength training you did, your strength was 18 and you could do several pitches in a row, for you to have a good example the best 3-point thrower of the NBA today has 35 strength and 28 resistance, much more than you have ever had in two lives together, and yet he has a an average of just over 50% of pitches, if one day with your talent you have 50 strength and 40 resistance you can hit an average of 80% and so on.] When Jake heard 80% average 3-point pitches his mind went blank, if he tries 20 pitches in a game with that average he ranges around 39 points per game if he only tosses 3, that''s how the system spoke , if he achieves this only with pitches of 3 he would be one of the best players in NBA history, not to mention other skills. After that Jake got even more excited to start training again, just to train the physical skills if he had time he would become a good basketball player, this shows how important training is. When he saw the time, Jake rose quickly to start cleaning the house and cooking for his mother, on those days he had been frustrated trying to cook in the most normal way possible, if he cooked as he knew his mother would definitely find it strange as a child who just learned to cook, cooks better than her, so he has to strive to maintain a normal taste. After her mother arrived and saw that everything was tidy as always and the food was ready she just smiled, after she confirmed that he was not crazy, it was great to have an obedient son who helps the mother at home, and in fact later of the open conversation she had with her son, Eva felt much lighter, she no longer had that tired look she had since her husband died now her life was her and Jake and he was becoming the man of the house. Chapter 13 Training Time 4 So the 12 days of intensive training were over, Jake did not notice, because he always trained until he fell, plus the time he exercised to get tired totally had increased and so he also recovered faster, so in those 12 days you can say which he trained almost twice as much as he had before. In fact, not even the system thought that Jake was going to continue this intensive training, he thought that after a few days he would reduce the training load, which is normal for every athlete, more obviously he underestimated the will and determination of Jake. What actually happened was that most of the resistance training and speed was running, and only in a small part of time did he empty force drills, and Jake always loved running above all else, thus taking away the fatigue, that training was as a joke to Jake, and they say that as long as you have fun, you can handle more difficult things. Not to mention that Jake knew that this was only temporary in 20 days was going to start school, and could not do all this training, so Jake had to struggle while he had time, what he was trying very hard was to gain the amount of strong enough to start training their basketball skills. Her mother was also used to Jake''s training routine, even more so when it was her mother''s day off, Jake would give up training to stay with her for a while, and sometimes he would take her for a walk. Eva of course was very pleased with this, and over time she felt less and less lack of Jake''s father and his vitality and beauty came back to her, Eva was still a young woman, she always seemed a little older and had a face tired, more for the depression she felt and also that she had no one to vent, in Jake''s previous life, as he was a normal child and then a normal teenager, it was normal for him to ignore his mother a little and even feel ashamed of to be near her and he tried to make friends. In fact, Eva and Jake were actually very similar on this side of making few friends, so if one ignored the other they would stay the 2 in a house living as isolated. More after Jake lost his mother and learned that she was always depressed and hid it from him, now that he had another chance he wanted to stay with his mother as much as possible and ensure that she was happy. And the two of them could actually be talking to each other for hours, Jake''s mental age was much older than his mother so naturally they could have a conversation on the same level, now that it had been a month since he''d gone back in time, Jake did not have to more hide her mature personality, her mother gradually became accustomed to it, and as she thought he still "played" playing basketball every day he was a normal child. Funny that his mother one day after seeing that Jake spent all day training, said that if he did not get good grades this school year she would not let him play more basketball when she said it Jake almost laughed at how ridiculous that was, for him who could enter a university at any time, go well to school, more when he saw the serious face of his mother decided not to laugh. After the end of training day Jake was totally exhausted, he was breathing unevenly but he had a smile on his face because he knew that today was the day to harvest the fruit. Of all this training. [Boy, I''ll have to say that I''m impressed by you, I found that at that time, after training a few days you were going to decrease more I was wrong, so until you''re old enough to play with others your stats will be unmatched.] "Fate, you know I''m doing it like this because soon I will not have that much time to train, besides, I''m crazy enough to be able to throw again." [You can rest easy the way things will even if you decrease your training time when you are over the age of 11 and you will be ready to train.] "Hey Fate, there''s one thing you did not explain right to me, this elementary school player title, I''ll only be able to change when I reach age?" [No, there''s another way for you to move forward so that you can consider your statistics with older people, but it''s very difficult, actually, although it''s a lot harder this path I recommend to you, the way you get to SS in less 5 skills and B in all other skills, this should not be considered difficult for you.] "It''s not very difficult, it''s going to have to take a long time, I do not know when I''ll be able to play with other people, so the skills that an opponent and a teammate require are the most difficult to train." [It should not be so, after you can practice you will understand despite what I said that your statistics are compared to the best player of the primary school age trained to the extreme, because it also has the same limit as you, age and physical strength , more in your case when you are training with ball your body should have the same statistics as an adult taking off weight and height, and this no matter how new he started to train are things he will not be able to do before 13 .] So Jake understood, he was a little embarrassed to look at his skill statistics being compared to that of a boy his age, moreover, in the pitch of 2 and 3 points that he was so proud he was a C compared to a boy of his age, willing or not he trained for many years in his past life, yet he was no better than a boy who had trained for 5 years, of course he understood what the system said, as soon as he learned to shoot by jumping him will definitely go to the SS, more for what the system said now depends only on him and his abilities to take that shameful title. Chapter 14 The Importance of Resistance 1 "So Fate, show my statistics, I''m looking forward to seeing the points change." [So here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Primary School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.33 m] [Weight: 35 Kg] [Force 5] [Agility 6] [Resistance 5] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C As Jake saw this he was very excited, this is kind of a reward for him for his efforts and hard work, in addition, it is a step closer to being able to practice with the ball, in fact the system had already told Jake that he could already practice with the ball, he just could not do 3-point layups and pitches, the rest he could, more like Jake learned from that friend of his coach, the fundamentals training he''s going to have to start doing occupy much of his time, so he thought it would be best to just start when he could leave a little aside that training he is doing now, more as the system said his stats are only going up so much because he is giving up as much if he has to split time of training to train the fundamentals, then it may take much longer to have the strength to start firing. Now there are only 2 points to have enough strength, but as the holidays are going to end, it will not be enough for him to reach so fast, 20 days should increase to another 1 point and after classes start it should take another 3 months to win the last Stand. After Jake focused on his strength statistics, he started looking at other details of his statistics window, he saw that he had grown a few inches and his agility had increased by 1 point too, only after he looked at his resistance and was shocked, he had increased 2 points in those 12 days, he remembered that his stamina was the smallest of all his stats but now it was along with strength, while another had increased 1 only resistance increased by 2. "Fate, why only my resistance increased by 2 points while the other statistics increased by only 1?" [I thought you''d already noticed, Jake think you got too obsessed with your strength, in fact I can tell you that your most important statistic for you in the future as a basketball player is your stamina.] "What you thought I had already noticed in this training I did not notice anything different, and because the resistance is the most important to me, when you said that the person who had the most resistance in the world was only 45 much less than the other 3 statistics I already had a little given up trying to train the resistance. " [I see, then you did not realize the importance of resistance, I will explain to you the uses of your statistics, strength statistics is the strength of the body, muscle strength, when you increase your strength in points all the muscles in your body if also strengthen, after the muscles the tendons, arteries and bones will also have more strength, the strength you gain through me and your training that I put in numbers is different from the others, in strength you will have much more advantage than any world with the same strength statistics as you. Agility is the same as I explained to you, has to do with thinking speed, dexterity and speed, for example, a large car racing runner should be around 39 agility, more if he wants to bet a race as the others he would surely lose, because his agility is focused on the speed of thought and his dexterity, in that you are also advantageous because every point of agility that you increase, increases also in all aspects of agility not only in one, if you have 40 agility in the future and you want to be a professional rider you will surely win from anyone with a little training and experience. Intelligence has a less important role in some sports, as I said is too broad, reasoning, memory and knowledge form intelligence, plus a chess master would lose all discussions with an academic plus they could have the same number of intelligence, you have the upper hand because when your intelligence increases your thinking, your perception, your memory and your knowledge increase equally, as you are now in intelligence there must be only about 20 people in the NBA who have more than you, and they are geniuses, so your advantage in organizing moves and passing choices should be huge. Now the resistance as I said is the most important to you now and in the future you have the flexibility that goes, improve and you will be able to make difficult moves more easily, the body defense also increases causing you to make more contact plays or of power struggle and can win, and the most important is the stamina, which is the energy of the body, the more stamina you have the longer you can endure in a game, and also the faster your energy will recover, so now your training speed has increased and the time to gain statistics has not increased so much because you have increased your stamina by 3, and the stronger the more resistance exercise you will be able to gain, which means more time training, so it is a win-win situation. ] When Jake heard the system explaining so he finally understood, in fact if so, in basketball and in many more sports resistance is the most important, but as he needed strength to be able to make his pitches he neglected the importance of others, and hearing the system speak he recalled that once he heard that the more resistance the player has also helps to resist injuries, if his body is much stronger the less chance of suffering an injury in the future, and this is something that still gave Jake some fear, after all in his other life he could not use his legs and did not want to be the same at his second chance. Chapter 15 The Importance of Resistance 2 [And there was something else that you did not realize, that''s your advantage that others can not have as talented as they are and that''s also why I said that the maximum of statistics is very difficult to achieve, and your advantage is I, although you have to train the same amount of time as others and spend the same effort as others, the resulting you and the others will have is different, as I said every point you earn I increase that points in all the aspects and possibilities that this point may have, when an athlete who has 45 points of resistance, his body can not stand the effort anymore and his statistics of strength and agility do not follow, so this resistance also requires much of an athlete''s body, so the human limit is around 75, plus you will not have that kind of problem, these statistics points you have are not entirely physical points, they are also a kind of karma, my help to you It is giving you karma points instead of a muscular body, so even if you have 60 strength you will not have muscles jumping all over the body but an asymmetrical body, so you can with great effort pass that barrier that is the 75 points with a lot of effort.] As the system said this became much clearer to Jake, in fact, he should have realized that these stats are not all pure, because the system had already said that it was impossible for a child under 13 to conquer, in addition, the system had already said that his fate of 99 had been given by him, so it is normal that he could change the others. Jake was really a bit worried that when he had many points of strength he would have a very muscular body and was happy that this was not the case, now he only had to strive to reach the 7 points of strength before returning to classes. "Fate, I''m going to get the 7 strength points before the classes start ?, Before I did not think it was possible anymore now that I learned the usefulness of the resistance I think it might be possible, but it''s only 20 days left that I go get?" [I think if you continue with the same pace of training that you are going through now is very possible, even if you do not achieve will still be lacking very little, your resistance will increase one point in 12 days, your strength will increase in the next 6 days and his agility in the next 18 so I think that may be possible.] "Because the time the statistics increase is not the same?" [From the beginning it was always like this, I only show the statistics points and not how much to increase the next, when you reached 5 agility your statistics seemed to have increased equally, but it was only because 1 day is missing for your resistance statistic increase and a few days to increase strength, now that it took for his agility to reach 6 his resistance managed to raise 2 more points more did not give time for his strength to rise, because the difference of a point gets more and more difficult, if your resistance would not increase and you could train more, it would take much longer, not to mention that your resistance is very different than for normal people, so only you in the world can train like that.] So Jake understood more about his own body, it was nice to know that he had a greater advantage over others, so his path to success would be smoother, the only one Jake did not understand was about his luck, the most useless of all, the good thing was that Jake was optimistic and he thought that this high luck would help more to throw balls of 3, if the system knew that Jake would think only in the most basic of the resources of luck he would spew blood, Jake perceived nothing different in his luck because he never left home and normally his luck did not affect much the system so it was impossible for his luck to attack and suddenly increase a point of strength, so, for now, it did not seem useful, Jake seemed to forget that for his lack of luck in his past life his mother died young and he was paralyzed and almost died, and that was only because Jake did not venture very alone, so his good fortune could do the opposite, for example his mother is now in much better health now and is much less depressed, this can be considered the way Jake treats his mother plus also involves luck, the clients of his mother''s restaurant and his boss are always very good humor, so she has less stress at work and earns more tips, more in her past life, Eva was often treated badly for no reason and her boss is in a bad mood she had to do overtime. Luck can in an invisible way mess with the ways of fate, so the will of the world only realized that there was something wrong with Jake that his bad luck was so much that he twisted fate to the point of the world''s will to perceive its presence. So without knowing how his successful life would be guaranteed by a statistic that Jake considered useless he continued training to the extreme, after realizing his resistance Jake finally realized that he really could cope much longer and also needed to rest much less, so he was able to spend better all the little time she had when the days went by Eva also realized that her son really seemed to be struggling a lot in this dream of being a basketball player more did not understand why Jake despite having a new block and balls If she knew that Jake was trained for less than three months to have a body compared to an adult she would be shocked, so she saw that Jake was not hurt and did not overload herself. She did not disturb him, she thought when he tired of training or when he saw that short training did not make much sense, he would give up and go and get the ball to practice, what she did not expect was that what her son was doing that she considered joking was perhaps the most effective training that everyone has ever done, so the days before school were ending. Chapter 16 The Body of a Man And so Jake continued training, on those days of training he acquired a habit, did not look at his stats until he met the goal he had set, he hoped he would get the 7 of force before he spent the 20 days, more if he could not it would do no good to keep looking every day, it was just like cooking, if you stare at the pan while you''re doing it seems like time does not pass, yet still he realized that his resistance had increased and that he could train more and more time and needed restless time. And after 19 days of training after lying exhausted on his court in the basement, the system finally spoke to him. [Congratulations, you did Jake, you reached 7 stats after today''s practice.] "Seriously, how cool I was afraid of not being able to, after yesterday I was starting to get anxious, show me then Fate." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Primary School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.34 m] [Weight: 35 Kg] [Force 7] [Agility 7] [Resistance 6] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C ''It really came to 7 and agility too, just lacked more resistance should increase soon'', Jake was thinking while looking at his new statistics, in 3 months he had a great change and improvement, so it would probably take much longer to increase these statistics. [Now you have a normal adult body, actually as I improve the efficiency of your statistics you have a better body than a normal adult, as this is the potential that everyone has up to 7 is relatively easier, then up to 10 still can be considered easy, then up to 15 is difficult, and up to 20 is quite difficult, after 20 each point is a barrier, after reaching 30 you can be considered a top-level athlete in any sport, plus people more talented and dedicated people reach that level at age 25 and that''s because they focus on one statistic more than others, so now it''s no longer just about training, up to 10 you can get by doing those exercises you''re doing now more after 11 If you want to be efficient you should start using professional equipment, but your mother may not approve, so I recommend that you slow down the physical training and start and to train your skills that are lagging behind.] Jake listened seriously to everything the system said, and in fact he had already thought about it, he was running almost non-stop just resting enough for almost 10 hours a day yet still took almost 18 days to increase his agility at one point and strength in 2, even if the resistance increases and allows him to train more he will not be able to improve fast and will waste a lot of time, people who practiced exercises had visible improvements in 6 months of gym even being a person with a normal physical, and without the system to help, it just shows how useful the exercise machines can be for Jake now, but as the system said it is impossible for him to convince his mother to give equipment like a 100 kg weight to a 10-year-old kid professional supervision. Just as Jake was thinking of starting his training with a ball, now he was forced, but even so it was good enough, until the 17 even with training runs he should be able to reach 20 in all statistics, it can be difficult more it is necessary, he should have all the possible advantages before playing with the professionals, because when they arrive at that time everyone would be training as well, no one wants to be back in their profession. [Jake, if I could speak I would recommend you take a break this week of your training before you start playing ball, your classes are already starting and you are still 10 years old, you better get acquainted with your teachers and classmates this week, stay longer with your mother, this is good to give your body a breather too, you are almost 3 months training non-stop, even if I find it difficult for you to get an injury, it''s still not good to exaggerate and even your mother seems to be worried, she may start to think you''re crazy again.] Jake thought and realized that the system was right, he also saw that his mother was worried about him, but he was so focused on increasing his strength that he could not stop training, but now that worry is gone, and so should he good memories at school on his second chance, after all his goal was not just to be more basketball player be happy, and someone obsessed with something and leaving aside family and friends cannot be happy. "You''re right, Fate, I''m going to take this first week of school to get used to classes and my classmates and take some time to rest my body, I do not want to end an injury for no reason, scheme of exercises with the ball, I saw some more I have to get the most useful for me now, which are the for the player to train alone, this gives more time to improve my skills, I want until the end of this semester leave that title player of elementary school basketball, I''m going to enter Middle School now, it should at least be like that, but it''s good for me to improve on my own. " So with the finished training, Jake finished his first vacation back in the past, he ended up just training, but that will not be a waste as it will improve his bases for the future, Jake wanted to be the best NBA player in the future, and in a time when there are geniuses everywhere, all the effort is short. Chapter 17 The Beginning of Middle School 1 After deciding to rest in the first week of class Jake can really realize how much his body was worn and his mental state too, he was completely exhausted, and after fulfilling that sense of duty he had to reach 7 points of strength, he can relax much better afterward, after all, normal training is like this, until rest can be considered a kind of training. And so came the day that would start Jake''s school year, his 6th grade through 8th grade he would be in this public school, it''s the same one he studied in his past life, the school''s name is Southwood Middle School, has a lot of fame in sports more in the cultural and artistic areas she stands out a little, maybe has a little influence of this school Jake''s willingness to study acting, but that''s not important, Jake did not intend to participate in the school basketball team, this would be an experience with very little challenge for Jake, and he would stand out a lot, maybe if the school team was good he could train a bit the basics of basketball and his skills in teamwork, more if the team is bad he can even get worse. So Jake got ready and went to breakfast with his mother. "Good morning mom." "Good morning, Jake, you start your classes today, you''re already turning into a teenager, I hope you study well and do not get in trouble all right?" "Of course mother, I''ll pay attention in class, respect the teachers and try to make new friends." "Very well, this is my son, now hurry to eat not to miss the bus." After that Jake went to school, it was a good school, with big buildings, gymnasiums for various sports and theaters, very good for a public school, then Jake went to the coordination and picked up his school schedule, the time was 9:10 am ¨C 3:50 pm, then had 1 hour for clubs, just as Jake already knew the school well went directly to the classroom, arriving in the room he sat close to background, his vision was now very good and also he just needs to listen to the class just to remember their content, all of Jake''s teachers were men in their forties, making Jake lose even more the urge to pay attention in class, next to him had a little boy smaller than Jake plus he was very chubby, he wore a goggles and looked smart, since he started classes some small groups had formed since they should have known each other for years, in his past life Jake was assigned to another room so he did not I met to no one here, not to mention that he had no close friends at school, but still this chubby kid caught his eye. Jake was a person who believed in fate a lot, especially after everything he went through and knew his destiny, so for a boy that interested him even though he was over 40 years of mental age and also did not seem to have many friends sit down his side in the classroom could be considered a kind of destination, in addition, Jake had promised his mother that he would make a friend so he was the perfect candidate. When it was time for the break the students were saving their books to go to the next room after lunch, Jake had already put away his books and approached to talk to his colleague. "Hi, fine, nice to meet you, my name is Jake, I do not know anyone at our school and I feel like I can get along with you, can we talk?" Jake had not lived much for anything, as he worked at a company he had to know how to talk to someone out of nothing and make a good impression. "Hi, my name is Joseph, I do not have any friends either, so I''d like to talk to you." When Joseph spoke he had a small smile on his serious face, his father had sent him to this school without telling him and he lost the few friends he had as he was somewhat antisocial, he thought he might be without friends, more this boy that was sitting at the bottom who seemed uninterested during the class actually pulled conversation with him, that''s great luck. "That''s great then, let''s get out of here and find someplace to eat." After Jake said that he got up and left, Joseph got a little lost the sooner recovered and followed Jake, as Jake had already studied at this school before, he knew the best places to eat, and places that no one went, was a good place to talk too. Then they talked for a while and saw that their class schedule was the same, so they could sit together all classes, and so after the first day of school Jake and Joseph became friends, Jake liked Joseph very much, he seemed mature to his old and really smart, his goal was to make the most of all the tests, he did not want to go to any club like Jake, although Jake liked the theater he could not spend much time in the club activities, he needed to improve his skills first basketball, this week off Jake would learn all he had to learn about this new school environment and deepen his friendship with Joseph, because then when he comes back to train he will not have time for anything. So after his first day of school, Jake went home, he cleaned the house and made dinner as usual and waited for Eva to tell him how his day was. "Hi Jake, my son, how was your first day at school, did you make some friends?" "Yes mother, I made a friend, a boy named Joseph, he seems to be very smart and sits on my side in every class, he also does not go to any club and then we become friends." "Good, Jake, that makes me very happy, but this is about not going to any club, are not you going to join the basketball club?" "I think not mother, this year even if I join the team I will not be able to play because the starting team must be 8th grade, and I''m still not good enough to get a place, so for now I''m going training alone at home when I get better I enter the team. " Jake had really thought of it and it was like he said to his mother, in basketball now he was really bad and training in the club with a rhythm for kids will decrease his training, so he had better train his skills at home and when he had good enough he went to the team, just to train his team plays, so he helped the team and himself. Chapter 18 The Beginning of Middle School 2 And so the days went by slowly in the first week of Jake''s class, it really is normal for the first week to be a little stuck as if it were even made for some students to adapt to their new school or class, so the classes do not have much content , as Jake said he would do it he would take a look at what would be spent for class of the day and if he knew what he would be taught he would not pay attention in class, just watch if the teacher called his name to answer something, Joseph was the Contrary to Jake, he was totally focused on the teacher''s lecture, so it''s normal for him to do well in the exams. After they ate lunch together and talked about everyday things like what happened in class or the sports of the week, Jake was a bit of a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the NBA 88-89, and the conference in 89-90, but as he knew the most important results in the games it was very enjoyable to watch, not to mention that Fate said that his return to the past could change some futures, so betting could be his defeat, in football he was a fan of Miami Dolphins more who won this year was the San Francisco 49ers, he did not like hockey and in the Major he was a fan of the Boston Red Sox, more than he won was the Oakland Athletics, so they talked about their teams. So the weekend came as his mother had to work and Jake was still in the last days of his week off, he decided to call his new friend Joseph to go eat in a diner, Joseph cheerfully accepted in the first few weeks he did not have what studying and had no close friends so he was bored at home, so the two met at the diner. "Jake gladly you called me, I was bored to death at home, there is nothing good to watch and nothing to study, I thought I was going to have to review some more things to study what you already know does not have the same grace." "I understand you, but you really like to study, I see that you will have a beautiful future ahead of you, I also study more just to pass the exams and what interests me." "I really like to study and that was my luck because my father and grandfather have high expectations for me so I have to study anyway." "Expectations like that?" "Well ¡­ I wanted to tell you before, but my father insisted that I not tell anyone before I knew the person''s character, but now that I know you this week, I''ve learned that you''re not the kind of person my father said , the truth Jake is that my family is very rich, I have been to school so because my grandfather also studied in public school and my father who studied in private school according to my grandfather was very alienated, so they wanted me to go to school publishes as my grandfather and is the best possible in the tests, and after I get to college that I can keep up with others, my grandfather owns a camera company and my father is a lawyer, just like my father is a son unique and I am my father''s only child, it is for me to inherit my grandfather''s company after finishing college. " Jake quietly heard Joseph''s story and sighed, he did not really have that his friend was from a wealthy family, he must have been raised well, Joseph was humble and did not care much what he ate or wore, so even Jake who had experience of life did not notice, but what made Jake sigh was not it, Joseph said that he was heir to a very rich company, so he spoke may be up millionaire, but had to be a camera company, Jake had studied once that when it came to the digital platform and cell phones taking pictures, more than 90% of the film camera companies had gone bankrupt, it is not easy for a businessman to have a revolutionary vision and especially for large companies that had their businesses in the stock market make a change from the film to the digital platform is almost impossible, only the biggest did this and not because they had given up the film more because they wanted to follow the two platforms, companies had the capital to invest in two fields, and that was what saved the businesses of these big companies. Now a friend he did by accident was actually an heir to a millionaire company that maybe just Jake with his future knowledge could help save, that certainly has the hands of fate, Jake was really thinking about how he could get into the market Joseph was at the door, but now it was not time to help Joseph, even if his friend believed him, his father and grandfather would never believe a child''s predictions, but Jake still had plenty of time to change that. game, Jake was not going to get involved in Joseph''s business but he would ask him to help in the future so that Jake could make his moves in the stock market, so using some of his knowledge of business and future knowledge Jake could make lots of money in the future, but now also was not the time, after his conversation with his friend Jake was going home, tomorrow will be the day that ends his week of rest and it was time to start Jake had not made a throw-in of 3 for a long time, it can be said that Jake had a strong will to endure so far, especially that despite the system suggesting that he rest for a week, he never said that he he could not fling once more Jake did not like to start things in half, if he held out to wait 3 months what was 1 week, in addition, Jake realized how this week of rest did well for his body and his mind, he was at his best and his mother did not care as well, as Jake stopped without her having to say anything she realized that he knew what he was doing, so she started to trust him more, it can be said that for Jake the confidence of his Mother was an unexpected gain. Chapter 19 Training Skills 1 On Sunday morning Jake descended excitedly to the bas.e.m.e.nt, today began his training with the ball, the first warming up and went to the corner of the court where the balls were kept. He took a basketball in his hand and stayed a while with her in his hand with his eyes closed remembering the feeling of playing, then he went to the corner of the court passing in his mind the training routine that he would have to do from now. Although Jake wanted to shoot very much, the shoot was for the end of the training since it took most of the time, in the beginning he had to do a training to improve his dribble and ball control, which was to stay a good time bouncing with the ball quickly in a low distance, and trying to do if you look at the ball. This gives an unconscious control of the body how to keep the ball close to the body, which is the essence of basketball, try to do this exercise with both hands, and after a good time start doing the exercise bouncing the ball to the court. Walking from side to side and with the base of the body lowered and sometimes with the other hand raised as if defending the ball of a defender, thus Jake would make the bases to have the ball in motion that you can not have in your previous life. Then train moving the ball around the body and changing the position of the hands quickly, so you can do it quickly in a game if necessary, this Jake also did a lot then had the ability, the ball quickly across the court running, to be able to do this in the game, all walking exercises with the ball Jake still had difficulty on his first day. This is one of the reasons he did not want to join a team, they would think that he was an amateur, and then they would be surprised at his quick improvement that would be caused by the system, so it was better to come in after being a little good. After the dribbling exercises and ball control and movement by the court, Jake was already a bit tired, so the system said that it was good to have the attributes of a normal a.d.u.l.t to start training, it is an exhaustive training the basketball, more had to be done. No skill can mask the lack of training, so now Jake would train the pass, Jake was already considered very good in his passes plus the way to give a foot pass and moving around the court is very different than sitting in a wheelchair. So he had to train a few moves, more over time the pass training that consisted of trying to pass a chest height, over the head, underneath and then bouncing was done easily, to be able to Making things difficult Jake decided to use a place on the court that had a piece of iron in the corner of the court so it was more difficult to give a pass and make the ball come back. But even then it was very difficult after this training Jake was finally going to start his throwing training, first he was going to try to layups, to have more reality approaching the game, he had to walk around the basket area and then run from the Free-Throw throwing area and run towards the basket and make the move with his hands to put the ball in, to have a better performance in the game. Jake had to try different types of layups already thinking about how the opposing player would try to give a stump in him, he would also try with the ball touching the table, so to have many varieties. As Jake had never done this training he missed a lot more still hit some because he had good control of the ball and over his body, yet still after he finished this training he was exhausted, these exercises they had to take several laps on the court and also had to jump. After he went to training shoot in the 2-point line, he made the same move than for the layups but did not run into the basket and rather threw, he had to try several positions from the 2-point line and out of the key. In the beginning, he still made a lot of mistakes because he could not execute well the movement of throwing jumping, more then he started to hit more, more maybe because of fatigue he still missed a lot and lastly, he went to the training of shoot of the area of 3 points. When he started to try it looked like he was less tired, at first he tried to fling without jumping like he did to try to remember the feeling, he hit some, still more missed most, maybe it was how the system said how now he has fewer strength statistics points, seems more difficult to throw, loses stability a little. Then he threw jumped, and it was worse, but he still hit some, after all he was to the last part of the training that was Free-Throw, when he started he was exhausted, more like he did not have to jump or run before throwing and the distance was not great, he still hit most shoot, if someone who knew basketball would see that they would be shocked, he hit 7 out of 10 shoot. This besides the fact that he is exhausted and has only 10 years and not have enough strength, you can imagine how much he would hit the future in a game, really had that being said that Jake had a great talent for the shot. When the system said he had flair for 3-pointers this was that he is much better in the 2-pointers and much better at Free-Throw, so he is a talent for the basketball, penalty that he is not very good in defense otherwise he would be a great SG, this could be tidied up in the future with the help of the system, more has to be said that with his high vision of game and his talent for the pass leave if an SG is a waste of him that is a better yet PG. Jake just thought he could be a better SG because he did not play group matches, he does not know how important a team has to win, so he thinks he is good is enough, the system did not fix it because in the case of Jake that¡¯s right, he would definitely enter the NBA in the future and there who is not good in his position? Chapter 20 Training Skills 2 After a good day of training came to school, Jake took classes normally and talked a lot with Joseph also in the breaks, they already became great friends, especially after Joseph saw that Jake had not changed his attitude even after knowing that he was rich, Joseph also did not live very luxurious despite having a wealthy family, as he told Jake, his father and grandfather are training him and to pass high school without much money would show him how a normal family lives clear his father does not force him to do anything if Joseph wants to give up he can and they would go back to live before, Jake no longer knows in his previous life where he and Joseph did not know each other, Joseph gave up this test after a year, not for lack of a rich life, or because he could not get good grades, but because he did not have a friend in his first year of school, he was still 11 years old and he was a child and could not stand solitude, then in the future Joseph always resents and in addition, actually the camera company he inherited from his grandfather went bankrupt, Joseph did not have the vision to switch from film to digital, luck that he was very good at his job and sold the company. ¡­ In the Monday Jake returned to train after dinner with his mother Eva and went down to the basement to train, while Jake trained Eva looked at him secretly, she was very happy when she saw that Jake was finally using the court he asked for and playing with the ball, before he just ran and did not even catch the ball, so Eva did not understand how Jake wanted to be a basketball player in the future because he just ran and exercised like crazy and neither took the ball or used the table she bought him she did not care too much about the money, but it was because it was the first expensive thing Jake had ever asked for in her life, she knew Jake as every normal child had the things he wanted, but how did he know his situation was not good and his mother had to work hard to be able to take care of the house so he did not ask. And Eva also wanted to give something to her son, but Jake did not seem to have any dear interest, and he did not like expensive clothes either, and he almost did not rip one up after he won, he could be considered the perfect child for many more mothers for Eva not, she wanted to give everything to her son, her greatest happiness was to see Jake smile and see him so taking care of everything hurt his heart, more these days he finally said something he liked to do and even asked for a belated gift to that, so what Eva most wanted was for Jake to have fun with the first gift he wanted. ¡­ Jake had not really realized that his mother was looking at his training, he was very focused, today he had much less time to train so Jake was giving everything in his training, he still made some mistakes in many things more could see his improvement, it came from the talent Jake had for basketball, he could use his body in the best way possible to do the exercises, then Jake was again to the pitches and really like today he trained less and was more energetic he missed much less, more he was still wrong and he knew why it was the way he jumped and positioned himself to shoot, he had to take some of his body habits that he took when he threw without leap, but he could still see the improvement, only the Free Throw still they were still the same, Jake had already reached the maximum technique for the Free Throw, which diminished his percentage of correctness was his lack of strength as the system had said ago Jake saw why even players considered to be great had an average 40 percent hit rate, a normal athlete, even an NBA player would have an average of 30 strength and those who had a lot more than that were the ones who focused more in defense or buried, it is clear that even with the help of the system it would still take a long time for him to have more force statistics than these. "Fate, with training like that, I think we''re going to have to give up physical training, every day I do not have much time and on weekends training time increases, and I get a lot more tired with this training than with training. other." [I was already hoping for this, it was good that you reached the 7 force before the holidays are over, you do not have to worry about it, when you see that your skills training gets very slow you can start to switch between training of skills and physical training plus this training can also increase some points in your speed and will increase many points in your endurance, strength training was meant to be behind because you do not have the necessary equipment when you have will increase quickly, not to mention that with normal growth of your body because you are a child will increase some points of strength and endurance, only speed that does not increase more by natural growth, the important thing is you do not relax in training, you have to have a great advantage among the other young people before you enter college, because then scouts do not care much about their potential at that time they will only care about what you can show on the court, there the time to grow is over.] Jake heard everything the system said and saw that it was true, the increase in physical statistics can only increase greatly when it comes time to use equipment, plus the skills he can improve now, and in the future even if he does not have many team skills he can enter through his individual abilities, but this is what takes more time even with the help of the system, and he has many F skills even when compared to a child, so this may be good for Jake, after all these skills would improve well faster than the pitching that comes to S when he learns to jump jumping, and with Jake''s talent this will be very fast. Chapter 21 Training Skills 3 And so over a month has passed since Jake started his training with the ball, his mother was happy and Jake was also he was motivated with his possible improvement, but intentionally did not look at his stats chart, he wanted to see a table most complete of its evolution after a good training time. At school all was well too, Jake still talked a lot with Joseph and did not pay attention in almost all classes, at the beginning the teachers did not notice more then they ended up noting by the great contrast formed by Joseph paying close attention and Jake pretending, then the teachers began to ask questions to embarrass Jake and to show that he had to pay attention in class, sorry that he hit everything that was asked and most of the time with different answers than the teachers taught so they stopped paying attention to him, which the teachers want is that all students understand their classes if they have some student who is already advanced in some subject or has already learned, so teachers pay more attention to others who have more difficulties, Jake, of course, knew that too what he intended was after seeing that the teachers were not paying much attention to him, he would start to study his language books and business management that are what he will most need to learn in the future, and also he has to start at some time pretending that he was learning some languages because he could not just start speaking four new languages ??out of nowhere without explaining how he had learned so he could to do this gradually in the future by his ''ease'' of learning a language he could be called genius more was better than having his secret uncovered. Now it was the weekend and Jake had all day to train, after a month had passed and he had a better practice to do the exercises and also was not as tired as before, at this point in training Jake had improved a lot his pass and was able to hit the iron bar in several ways with passes and the ball came back to him most of the time, he was also improving his position when jumping, his body did not get crooked, able to make the pitches with more easily, his dribbles mostly improved a lot, certainly had to do with his high control of the ball, he hardly released the ball as he walked with her around the court bouncing with his eyes closed, when Jake learned to fully use his legs and improved balance of his body in block his body control also improved, Jake also trained much his layup and also the rebounds, which he had more difficult to train alone was Man to Man and his Block because he had no opponents, but at least he could improve his positioning. "Finally it''s been a month, Fate shows me my window of statistics and skills, please, I''m anxious to know how much I''ve improved." [Sure here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Middle School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.35 m] [Weight: 36 kg] [Force 7] [Agility 7] [Resistance 7] [Intelligence 45] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control B] [Man to Man C] [Dribble B] [Layup C] [Set Shot SS] [Block D] [Pass S] [Rebound D] [2 Points] [3 Points] [Free Throw SS] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª When Jake saw his statistics window he was a bit happy and a little annoyed, happy because he had seen that his stamina had improved, and also that his pitches of 2 and 3 were also much better now that he learned to jump jumping, is far from the NBA level even more thinking that he was only 10 years old now this was more than excellent, even with the help of the system the skills still relied heavily on the player himself, and he was sad that for him his Dribble, Layup and Body Control were even lower than he thought, for Jake compares to a primary player these skills should not be so bad, but as the system said should be correct, if one day he started to doubt the system would not help him look for your statistics. [And, Jake, you should be happy with what you see, this month of training you gave the most despite the short time you had, and you had a great improvement, if you are now in this school team for sure you already would be the captain of the team, plus taking the statistics as pass and pitches that you already had a great training and is only adapting to the fact you have legs now, the others have not grown so easy, when I show the statistics for you from now on it is the best of all positions, which means that when you have SS in defense you will really be the best player in defense, at this stage I even think it is possible for you, more from the next it will be impossible, the geniuses have been discovered by your coaches and will be trained to the best of your ability, and you do not have much talent for defense unless you train more defense than the other skills you are good only when you have a 26, and so if you find good players to play against you every day.] Jake understood well what the system was saying before he was compared only to the best player and even a great player has his weaknesses more now he would be compared to each statistic the person who was better in her, Jake certainly knew that he did not have much talent for defense, plus he was still good, before he just did not play well as Center because he never trained the skills of the position anymore now he was training with what he learned from his coaching friend and what he researched alone, so he can say that is better now than when he was 16 or older and was called to play, unless the height is clear. [But you still do not seem to be so satisfied with your growth Jake, I thought you''d be more excited now just to change that title.] Now that the system mentioned that Jake realized, he was very focused on his skill levels and did not realize that he was being compared to a perfect player in all skills of his age at Middle School now, and no more in primary, if so then the system is right, your growth far exceeded your expectations. Chapter 22 Training Skills 4 As soon as Jake was very happy and satisfied, a person at the height of Middle School was 13 years old and Jake still had 10, it may not seem like much more is this time that boys grow faster in physical, then a 13-year-old with a good genetics could be 1.60 m while Jake at age 10 was 1.35 m, and usually the bigger the body the more strength he has, then Jake is way above those of the same age, actually Jake started to wonder if all the players did not they would not be better. More like the thought of Jake, the system soon spoke. [Jake, I think you''re misunderstanding something, you can not in any way compare your training to someone your own age in the physical part nor the best computers can do what I do that is to let you train to the maximum without risk and your stats do not grow the same as others, if a child your size, we are not even talking about age, had the same strength as you, then that child would be full of muscles and could no longer increase his strength without damaging the your body, until you have a training limit that can do with your age, and as far as training of abilities what takes more to learn for the normal players is the Ball Handling, the Body Control, the Pass and the pitches of 2, of 3 and Free Throw, all this to master at your level takes years of training, not to mention they have to trill the other skills too, plus you have trained this for more than 10 years in your past life, and with your arm strength that was very good you can focus more on your aim what young people often do not have the strength to throw at their age, in addition something else that you may not have noticed that makes the results of your training improve much faster is your intelligence, no genius of the world would have an intelligence like yours before 20 at least so it is impossible for young people to have their training speed, you have the times that understand the movement you will do in the best exercise to power runs it better without high intelligence takes months or years to understand moves that take few months to you, and as I said you will train fast to the next level after you will take like the others.] Jake understood later that the system explained, his rapid training is due a little to his talent, a little to his effort, a little to the system and much due to his great time of life that increased his intelligence and also gave the time that he already had trained, for example, you can not doubt that if a star like Michael Jordan came back in time like him, before he was in college he would have returned to his peak in skills because he would be like training again or as a student remember what you''ve studied is different from learning from scratch. "Fate, you were talking about the next level, what''s the next level and how do I get there?" [The next level is obviously high school, and for you to reach that level is different than to get to the level you are now, because now you are at the correct age, so to pass on to the next level you will have to have at least S in all your skills, or reach 13, then you could already pass immediately because you already met the requirements, I recommend you train more without opponents to play it will be very difficult you can achieve the S just training alone, more continue training as you are doing now because even if your skill level reaches SS at High School level it would probably be C, after all the best of the best of all skills of players up to 18 would be the comparison, there are 18-year-old players who in a specific skill could play in the NBA more in college basketball, so do not loose in your training, do as I told you before, change from physical training and skills training, so you can improve on both.] Jake knew that the system was right, he wanted to raise the level of comparison of his skills because he liked to see after a training time his skill level increase in his system window, it''s like a reward for Jake, more maybe in those more than 2 years even if he trained a lot did not get to S in defense skills, it is difficult to improve without opponents, Jake wanted to join the school team but he thought it best to wait, it would be very difficult for him to be able to play on the team in his first year , and he could not make his pitches from 3 to 10 years, according to the system he would have to wait until the 12 to not draw much attention, he really did not want to draw attention before getting to high school that is when they would have the scouts of the colleges watching his games, then it was time to show himself, and surely there he would find opponents worthy of improving his defense skills, Jake even thought of playing in a more defensive position now at school, but only by the difference in physical statistics would it be difficult for someone to force Jake to be serious. So Jake continued training as usual, and going to school, soon would be the first test, Joseph was a little nervous more Jake was calm, impossible to go wrong in the tests because they always drop questions related to the classes they had and after Jake remembered the content would be difficult for him to miss. Three days after Jake talked to the system was coming to the end of another day of training and Jake was throwing his balls of 3, he already hit 2 out of 10, which would be a good average in a game, after another cast the system called him. [Congratulations Jake, you''ve earned your first reward from me for your efforts, as today you completed 1,000 pitches of 3 you''ll earn a reward, this is a hidden quest, from now on every 1,000 pitches you make you''ll earn that reward.] "Because you did not tell me before I would have done the 1,000 several days before." [I can not tell you these things because although the rewards are good, you will be disconnected from your training, if you made 1,000 pitches of 3 several days before many exercises would not be done, you will not leave your goal because of the missions otherwise you may regret it, your ultimate goal as a player is to be the best.] "I understand, I just wanted to know beforehand to program me better, but I did not know I was going to have missions." [I''m going to act almost like a system, I''m just not going to try to affect your growth with missions that leave you better quickly, you''ve gone back in time at a younger age so you can have time to improve your life if I improve your skills with just some missions this would not make sense, and the missions will be for your future jobs also in addition to basketball player, so I told you not to pick several start jobs, because to improve you have to focus on one first.] So Jake understood, it seems that with this system he just would not be the best if he did not want to. "Then show me what the reward is." [Stamina Bar] [This is the stamina bar, you eat one and it recovers all your energy, it is great to use to improve if training, more is better if you use during a game, in the meantime you eat and back like at the beginning of the game, so you can run more than the others.] Chapter 23 Training Skills 5 Jake was very pleased with his first reward, this Stamina Bar would really be very useful for most workouts would be a waste too big to use for now, street resistance is still very low so even if she fully recovers all her energy would be wasting a product that could be used better in the future, so Jake did not plan to use his reward for now, as being very good to use in games, was certainly true, but it was better to use only in important games, because it is normal in a team all players always have time to rest in the game, even in the NBA players play almost always less than 40 min, and get to do 1,000 pitches of 3 with your current resistance without disrupting your training would take about a month even, Stamina could be considered a rare product. After that Jake completed his normal training and went upstairs to stay with his mother for a while, he was very happy because it seemed like Eva was no longer as depressed as before and was much healthier, she was doing less overtime than he remembered and it seemed that with her beauty returning her mother was getting a lot more tips on her job, and she was already completely accustomed to Jake''s training pace and did not think he was crazy anymore, even being a bit proud of how much his son was struggling to fulfill his dream, Jake, of course, knew all this and whenever he had time he talked to his mother. "Mother are not you tired today?" "What is it Jake you think your mother is getting old, no I have not gotten tired these days, the other waitresses are getting more time at work and customers are not causing problems so the bargains at the restaurant are fine, so I''m not doing much overtime, usually most waitresses are just temporary and just want to work for a while until they live as an actress or singer or give up and go home, it seems like the restaurant was lucky and they got several waitresses who are like their mother who wants a steady job, so the boss is not having trouble with the shifts and even his mood is better. " "That''s a good mother, I''m happy for you, I was thinking, it''s going to be that weekend you could take me to the movies, there''s a movie that I really wanted to see." "At the movies? of course, it''s been a long time since we''ve been watching a movie, I think it''s a good idea to have fun and relax. " "Thank you, Mom, you''re the best." Of course the excuse of wanting to see a movie was a lie, Jake who came from the future has seen all these movies several times, but he remembered that sometimes when he talked to his mother after growing up he said that he regretted not doing more stuff with him when Jake was younger like going to the movies, going to see games in stadiums and going to the amusement park, and of course Jake knew that if he did not say he wanted to go and see his mother he would never go alone to see a movie in the movies, mothers, mostly single moms are able to abandon everything for their children, so without Jake his mother would not have a social life and would watch a movie to relax, and the movie that was on was good even was Michael Keaton''s Batman and Jack Nicholson, one of the best films of this decade. So the week went by and over the weekend Jake and Eva went to the movies closer to home, Eva bought two popcorn and two soft drinks, tickets, and some sweets, she was excited to go out with her son in the family after so long , and in the late 80''s things in the movies were not as expensive as today, after they went to see the movie, the queue was still great even if it was not the movie''s opening week, many couples and few families were in it, it seems that the film had an age rating, there was no problem as his mother was with him, and Jake was not really any kid he already had the soul of an old man, they saw the movie and it was really cool even though he had already watched several Sometimes, especially the role of villain, was the high point of the film, after that film in the opinion of Jake the other several films gives series Batman would not have a good until the 2000s, but was a good source of income for Warner, mother liked bastant and the movie, he remembered that his mother was not like the other women she loved action movie and did not like romance movies, maybe because when she saw romance movies she would remember her father and be sad, before I did not think about it , but now that I know she hid her feelings from me I had to stay tuned, I did not want to lose my mother again. After we went home talking about the movie, I explained things she had not understood from the movie, and she smiled when she could understand, as I have seen this movie several times and even read several reviews I was talking like a pro. After I went to spend the rest of my day in training, I could not miss a day even though I wanted to stay with my mother. Really just as the system said I felt that as I trained my ability did not improve much, I was improving fast because I was learning the basics, but now that the level of skill increased I had to think about all the exercises, what I was doing wrong to be able to improve, in the pass I could no longer improve unless I had thought partners, however much I could imagine the players moving, it would never be equal to the real thing, the defense I improved my positioning the most, without an opponent I would not improve, now the only improvements I was making were in the Dribble, the pitches, and the basket moves, because I already had a good base with my high level of ball control. So I would train this way and after the end of the year I''m going to start alternating training as the system said to increase my physique on vacation is a great idea, I''ll use all the Stamina Bars I can to improve my stats to the maximum that I can, now that I have proved in my training that the points of strength, agility and endurance help in the duration of my training and even in the executions of my abilities I can not leave behind. Chapter 24 The First Christmas After Return 1 And so a few more months went by, during those months Jake did not relax from his training and kept trying his hardest, plus he insisted on not looking at his statistics window until winter holidays started, but he still could feel that he was improving, in his pass training he almost always got the ball back to him after trying several types of pass hitting the ball in an iron bar, in the training of layups and balls in the table Jake also managed to hit almost all even making several moves with his hands before releasing the ball that would be useful when the opponent tried a Block, in his training of Dribble he could now run the whole court hitting two balls on the ground while his eyes were closed, but despite this he did not know how much this would be effective on his opponents when they were on the move, and what progressed most was his shooting training, he could not find any more no clear flaw in his pitches with jumping, his positioning when he jumped was good and he kept a steady average of hits, was not as good as in his past life plus the system said it was because of his lack of attributes, this could only be resolved with time, plus his Free Throw average reached 90 percent, he would miss one in 10, of course this only when his condition was very good plus was good enough, plus the system reminded him that in the game the pressure of the fans could make the average drop quite a bit. In those months Jake also spent a lot of time talking and going out to have fun with his mother and sometimes going out to play with Joseph, but as Joseph seemed much more interested in studying it was difficult for him to find himself out of school. Speaking at school the tests passed, there were two in this semester, Jake got first in the two and Joseph was in the top ten, the teacher was impressed by Jake''s performance and even praised him for his mother who was very happy, she was very proud of her son who was good at home, and still good at school and even practiced a sport. Joseph was also shocked by Jake''s grades, he thought several times to give advice to this friend of his who was not paying attention in class but did not because he was afraid Jake would find him annoying and did not want to be his friend anymore, but now his he was ashamed to have thought of it, but was also very happy for his friend, even more, so that he could show this result to his father and grandfather who were complaining that Jake could be a bad influence on him, now they would have to accept that friendship. Jake was also very happy, not with the grades because it was what he expected, but with the teachers, now that he had gone so well the teachers will not care what he does in the classroom, and now he could bring business and language management books to start masking his knowledge with his age, and Jake was also happy because his mother was happy. And so it was winter break, it would only be 3 weeks at Jake''s school, and he had already accumulated 6 Stamina Bars, so he would have to do everything he could to improve his stats, he got with the assistant gymnastics class some weights to put on their arms and legs, they weighed 5 kg each, so putting on both arms and both legs would be 20 kg more in weight in their exercise routines would increase their strength and endurance would not normally be indicated to use those weights more with the system warning Jake did not run the risk of having injuries so he made that risky move, so Jake came back with the exercises of running and of pushups and the times he made bars, now Jake did not know what his current statistics were like but he could run 1 hour at a speed of 5 km per hour until he got tired and did 40 pushups and 20 bars, all this in 2 hours he rested, all this with the 20 kg body weight, the rest was 1 hour, so on a training day of 10 hours he did 3 training sessions, of course in the second and third sections the average result fell, but it was still incredible, Jake decided that every 3 days he would use a Stamina Bar so to fully recover, so he could have a better result yet, and so he did, he spent the whole vacation running and after 3 weeks he was looking forward to the result, after two weeks of training Jake had to give a stop because it was coming Christmas, he had already spent Thanksgiving with his mother more with there were only two in the family and it was a holiday that was usually lively when one had a large family, was passed in a less festive, just one dinner, plus Christmas was special, Eva would do anything to see Jake happy that day, so a few days before they would go together to pick a Christmas tree, her mother would put various ornaments all over the house, they decorated the tree and his mother made several desserts, Jake knew early that there was no Santa Claus so he did not have to go through the shame of pretending to know, so it was a lively day at Jake''s house, and he took these days to give a rest to his body, even with the Stamina Bars Jake''s body was in high load, if it was not the Jake system would already have an injury, then those days were great too, Jake ended up going out with his mother on Christmas day, they went to several cool places in the city, the best ones were on the beach more Jake did not like going to the beach at Christmas, it was better to go near the summer, but still had many beautiful places to see. After Christmas day, Jake received an invitation to go to Joseph''s house, his friend wanted to see him more this invitation was mainly to meet Joseph''s father, his grandfather lived in another house in a more noble area of ??Miami, but Joseph lived in a big house too, it looked like a mansion, it had more than 10 rooms on three floors, but it was not very luxurious, it had only two cars in the garage and the furniture was old and beautiful but it was not those that cost a fortune, it was then that Jake understood that this one that was already a huge house was the only temporary house of Joseph while it studied. Chapter 25 The First Christmas After the Return 2 Just as I was looking around at Joseph''s house the maid who had left to announce my arrival had come to guide me to the place where Joseph''s father was the householder, so the servant took me to an office at the end of the first floor was an office similar to what I had seen in movies, had a typewriter, several documents on the floor near the large table that Joseph''s father was sitting looking at me, the table was now cleaned with no documents and with a set of tea on top, the maid led me to sit in the chair in front of Joseph''s father who was not in this room. "Thank you for coming to my house today Jake, I''ve heard a lot about you from Joseph, my name is Oliver and I''m Joseph''s father." So presented Oliver, he was 1.73 tall was not as big as Joseph more appeared to be overweight, he was wearing a pair of glasses just like Joseph and a sweater that looked suitable for the time of year, he had by he was 30 years old and already started to have wrinkles on his face, it seemed that his work was exhausting, Joseph had told that his mother had already died when he was 5 years old and his grandmother also so the family was now only three men, Joseph seemed to like his father more he was very afraid of him, and looking at him now he really seemed to be always serious. "It''s a pleasure to be here, Mr. Oliver, Joseph is a great friend of mine and always speaks of you as well." "You''re very polite Jake, I called you here because I wanted to meet this friend of my son that he talks so much, you really should not know more Joseph always had a few more friends had some still in his previous school, plus what he did not he knew that some of these friends he had were people his parents told him to approach Joseph because of his grandfather, and although the children are innocent, that''s only when they''re kids, with a family so I''m sure the personality of them could become distorted too and when I arrived breeze maybe Joseph would already be too close so I could interfere, so I wanted to meet you to know if your intentions are good or how theirs I ask you to apologize if I offended you. " Seeing Oliver being so sincere and making everything clear as soon as he saw me amazed me, I think something like that is not what you should say to a child, more like I had an adult mentality I realized, he wanted to see my reaction when told me this, if I had someone send me here to approach Joseph''s family for his money, as soon as Oliver said that the child would be scared and might try to run away, of course, he did not expect a child to act in front of him who is a lawyer who is accustomed to dealing with lies, but for me who had no plan against Joseph, this sincerity of his could help me clear things up at once with his father, although I think of needing the help of Joseph''s family in the future, this is just a convenience because Joseph would surely help me find someone else''s trust even though I could not count on your help I could still do the same But if he can believe in me and change the way he works for his company, he can get richer, if not more, if he has someone who could help himself. they will fail for sure. "Mr. Oliver, I really have no other intentions as I approach Joseph, actually I did not know that your family was rich until he told me, I think he''s cool and a good friend and I hope I can count on him in the future, said he did not have many friends, but I do not have any other friends beside him, if I could I wish we could continue like this. " When Jake told all of this to Oliver he was very shocked to be a bit shocked, as Jake had thought he had said all this to scare a child who was sent by someone else to approach Joseph, he would never expect a kid to respond with so much firmness, and from his experience as a lawyer he could see that Jake was not lying, just hiding something, it seemed that this thing did not have much to do with his son. "I heard you were smart picking the best grade in the class plus I did not think you were that mature, Hahaha, plus that''s good too at least now I know my son made a real friend, I just hope you do not deceive my son in the future, he may seem strong but he is very fragile. " "You can believe Mr. Oliver, as a friend of Joseph''s, I''ll try my best to take care of him." "I can see that you are sincere, so I''m sorry for all this interrogation, Joseph is up there you can go with the maid she takes you there, I hope I can talk to you when I have more time, I feel you It''s very interesting." "Yes sir, when we have more time we''ll talk, I''ll see Joseph now." I liked Oliver, he was not as stiff as he looked, he was a bit like my mother someone who would try to do everything for the happiness of his son, he came to this house with Joseph, must have left a little work maybe had missed a few opportunities just to be able to see his son grow up in a better environment than he did when Joseph said that his father and grandfather had sent him to a public school to go through some difficulties a child would not have in a private school, although I think they had a certain reason I thought they had been a bit harsh with Joseph''s creation, but now I have seen that what happened may not be so simple when he had thought it was like I never had children despite living a long time I only saw things from the perspective of how I was and I am a child more now I think I could see a little the difficulty that has to face my mother or a father like Oliver, have qu and by someone first and you no longer be the priority, this is the vision of a father. Chapter 26 The First Christmas After The Return 3 I went up with the maid to the second floor, we went to the last room down the hall to the left, when I entered the room I saw Joseph sitting on the bed looking down, he seemed to be thinking about something, probably he was worried that his father was going to talk to me that he could not be present, of course I will not tell him about my conversation with his father, Joseph''s room was large, almost three times bigger than mine, he had some team posters and athletes he likes, had an autographed baseball and a television in the corner of the room, had a small table in the corner with a lamp, should be the table Joseph studies, as they had several books on top of it. "And Joseph, will not you even greet me after I''ve come to your house?" Only after he heard my voice did he seem to get out of his thoughts. "Jake, Merry Christmas to you, that I wanted to meet you downstairs plus my dad said that I wanted to talk to you alone, I''m sorry for that." "This is normal Hahaha, your father had to be worried about you, and I think he just wanted to meet me, he just introduced himself and then he already sent me up here." I had to lie, otherwise, I felt that the mood between Joseph and his father would grow stranger. "So that''s good, I was worried that he would do an interrogation with you and you could be scared of it." "You have such an imagination." In the background I was a little surprised he guessed exactly what his father did even though he did not know why his father was doing it, but I''m sure he''ll understand in the future. "You have to study more on this vacation, Joseph, you did not say you were going to be the first in the class, I''m waiting, I''m saving the place for you Hahaha." "You know how to hit where it really hurts, I confess that I underestimated the students of a public school, and to think that neither the first nor the other I only managed to be among the ten, and soon for you I was bragging, at least I learned to be careful with my mouth, and I was thinking of giving you the advice to pay more attention in class, but you''ll see that it will change next semester, I''ll still be the first. " "The most you can do is tie me first, try not to miss any that you can take a chance Hahaha." After talking to Joseph for a long time, I declined Oliver''s invitation to dinner and went home, as I had to go alone did not want to leave too late and leave my mother worried. After all this, I did my last week of training and spent all my Stamina Bars, now I was anxious to know how much I had improved in all those more than 3 months. "Now Fate shows me my statistics window that I''m crazy to know how much I''ve improved." [All right here] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 10 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Middle School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.40 m] [Weight: 39 kg] [Force 9] [Agility 9] [Resistance 11] [Intelligence 46] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man B] [Dribble SS] [Layup A] [Set Shot SS] [Block C] [Pass SS] [Rebound B] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª I was very happy when I saw how much my stats and skills had improved, a lot of it was in S or SS now, and the ones I had never trained before were in A or B, what made me happy was my Dribble, I never thought it would increase so much, I know I was doing well in training, but according to the system these skills reflect more what I can do on the court compared to the best of my age, as I never did a dribble before I did not think I would punish the SS, and from what I saw the other skills also reached the limit I could do alone, I needed opponents to improve, more could not have new opponents so far, and my stats I did not expect it to increase 2 each one, until the intelligence increased by 1 and was already very high, according to the system said it was going to take a lot to improve, and the resistance then shocked me increased by 4, I had not done exercises until the exaust these then the day before the holidays did not think it would increase a lot, as if he saw that I was in doubt the system began to explain. [I see that you are impressed that your physical statistics have increased so much, do not stay, for training it took up enough to increase, those 3 weeks of intense training that made them increase, the truth is that by the natural growth of your body all statistics increased one point, and the other was for those almost 4 months of training so it''s not so fast, your resistance has increased because every time you do physical or physical training you''re improving your endurance, do not think you have to stay every time exhausted for it to increase a point, because if it was so when you reach 50 points of resistance you would have to train to the maximum for 3 days to be exhausted, since the resistance also increases your ability to recover energy, so sometimes while you spend you also recovers, and the way of increasing both is also due to the Stamina Bar, because as you re fully quit you can exercise more. How much skill statistics you''re certain will not increase no matter how much you train until you have adequate opponents, the dribble you do not need to be unsure, training is the foundation of the game, if in training your skill is high in the game she too will be, the only difficulty you will have will be to adapt to the moving opponent to dribble over in two games you must get accustomed, and the other thing that makes this SS skill is your agility stats, as I said statistics influence the execution of skill, now probably there should be no one faster than you at all Middle School so how speed is part of the dribble hardly anyone can stop you, the defense is different, have to have techniques also if you use only your strength will be lacking, plus you cannot stop training although several of your stats are SS when you get in high school will be D at most.] As soon as I heard this I calmed down a bit, the system had already said that when my body grew some statistics would also grow, the resistance made me very happy, with a little more if I get 15 points, according to the system I could already to play a whole game with only a few minutes rest, that''s my other goal, of course it will probably not be easy, maybe it will take a year or two, the strength to increase now is profit, and I was not that arrogant to find who would be better than a 17-year-old player, his body at that age would already be fully developed and he would have much more training time than me and more experiences, not to mention the impassable barrier that is the height, I''ve heard of someone with 1.70 m that could win against a 2.00 m using much more speed and techniques, more with 1.40 m that I have now I can not even make a table near the basket if a face of 1.90 m I can only taste air pass the ball, neither throw, I can think that I would definitely take a Block, so I have to be patient and next year when I join the team I will start to gain experience in games and polish my skills, my goal is that when I get to 16 I can play with professionals, then I will feel that my training was worth it. The holidays are over and after a few days I''ve made my birthday for 11 years, my mother had a small party just for us and was very happy when Joseph appeared at the party, it''s the first time since I was a small child that a friend appears at a party of mine, so it was a lively day. Chapter 27 The Result of a Year 1 And so 6 more months went by, with training all was well, Jake was alternating between physical training and skills training, after the resistance became 11 Jake hardly got exhausted, of course since most of the time he trained was less as he had to go to school, but even so it was a great evolution compared when he started training, and as far as training skills was much more ungrateful, although Jake felt the improvement in his skills he just had to believe in system because he could not see everything on court or against an opponent, when you are playing any improvement is visible, more to Jake mainly that after discovering his talent never played basketball as it should then in the season could not use his legs could only imagine, even more his defense skills training, that he knew that although he practiced almost every day would not have any improvement, the other s abilities he still felt an improvement in those 6 months plus the defensive ones, so in order to train like this one had to have a strong mentality, Jake was already practicing also some movements of more elaborate dribbles to deceive the defense, but still it is difficult. With his mother everything was fine, they were getting closer and he could not see any trace of depression on his mother''s face, his face was already blushing and she was extremely healthy, it seemed she had already forgotten her pain. when she lost her father, of course she had not forgotten her love for her father or her memory, only the pain of losing him, that Jake could understand how difficult it was when in her past life Eva had died a part of her heart had died with her, even someone happy as he almost got depressed and it took a while to recover, yet still he never forgot the pain of losing his mother, and yet he had a mentality much stronger than her, plus Eva had Jake to tell and get rid of her pain more Jake was alone in the world. Even though they were much closer as family, whenever he had time Jake asked his mother to take him out and have fun and in that time they did several things, Jake even used the camera that won Joseph''s birthday gift to save all those moments, he was thinking of making an album and giving it to Eva, Jake had to admit that the camera of Joseph''s grandfather''s company was very good. Jake and Joseph also got much closer in those 6 months, they were improving their friendship the way they did, after all, they did not go out much to talk and play, Jake had his basketball training to do and Joseph was always using his free time to study, to tell the truth the happiest person with this friendship was Joseph''s father Oliver, he repeatedly called Jake to his house for lunch on weekends or even for tea, he had to admit that even he already considered Jake as his friend not only as a friend of his son, he could talk about various subjects and was very mature, Oliver sometimes thought that if he closed his eyes and forgot his age it seemed that he was talking to someone older than him, even in chess is a game he liked a lot he could not beat Jake, chess was a game of patience and he is the one who lost first and falls into Jake''s traps, so at first he was ashamed Jake also liked to talk to Oliver he was a friend to him too, that year after his return he used several moments to go changing his personality and way of talking to everyone and everyone including his mother accepted that he was different from the other children his age and so with the people who were close to him, Jake no longer pretended that he was a child, and this was very well accepted by everyone, after all, anyone preferred to talk with a normal adult than with a child impatient and had no business to speak. The reason that Oliver was happiest in the friendship of his friendship with his son was the school, Jake was always the first in all the tests and the teachers already used him as a model to inspire other students, and Joseph as his friend was what he was more struggling to get better at school, and was giving results, he was already second in the whole room that year and if he could get all the questions out of the test as Jake would tie in first, the reason Joseph really was trying so hard is that while he was struggling to match Jake in his grades in the classroom Jake kept reading language and finance management books, the teachers discovered that too, they did not say anything, they were just impressed, as well as studying for normal classes Jake was also studying other things, there is a teacher who would not be happy to see a student who was very intelligent and above all is modest and does not cause problems in the hall the first book that Jake was studying was about the Spanish language, once a Spanish-speaking teacher became curious and also happy with Jake''s thirst for knowledge and tried to speak with him in Spanish and the result surprised all the teachers he actually managed to have a simple conversation with the teacher, then he meant that he was seriously studying these books, then the subject came up to Eva, they asked if Jake had already done some language lessons or if Eva taught Jake to speak Spanish , and she said no, she knew a little speak Spanish because she learned a little from a relative of hers more as much as she spoke was less than Jake, Eva was also surprised that Jake was trying to learn a new language and was still the Spanish one which she liked so much, so Eva said that Jake was not doing classes and learned alone all the teachers were shocked, and so many teachers said that in addition to the Spanish books Ja Ke also studied business management books, but as they could not test their knowledge they did not know how much he was learning, so Jake became known as a genius at school, he already hoped for it and did not think it was a great thing, a title of genius is only more important shortly before university, and this is much harder to achieve, but what he did not expect is that his mother would be so happy with it, she would boast of it to everyone in the restaurant that she worked, and how he knew he could not afford a university for his son, but it was always his dream that Jake could get into one, so she was very happy for her son, of course Eva did not know that Jake was guaranteed in a university with his talent for basketball, she just thought he was joking, especially after Jake did not join the school team. So whenever Jake was not training and Eva was not at work she always asked to speak in Spanish with her son to try to help him get accustomed to the language, which she did not realize was that Jake was purposely trying to decrease his pronunciation to talking to her and without Eva realizing who was improving her Spanish was her and not Jake, but with him saw that his mother was happy to help him practice he was also happy, and that''s how things went for Jake in those 6 months, he could not even remember how he had spent that time in his past life more certainly was not as good as now, and so Jake was not realizing how much his high luck was gradually changing the lives of people closest to him , a lot of problems and illnesses that people would normally go through were not happening to Jake''s friends, so life seemed great to everyone, it''s normal for people to tend to forget the bad things that happened in their s lives. Now Jake was just days away from a summer vacation that would last for 3 months, he was scheduling what his training would look like and how he was going to use the various Power Bars that Jake was saving in those 6 months, and also a few days to complete a year that Jake came back in time for a second chance, he was grateful and always talks to the system, he gave Jake the opportunity to do everything he wanted and to end all the regrets he had, and the system even helped in his training, it made it much easier and gave a great motivation to see the numbers change in their physical statistics and their abilities, the system would give Jake a future, but what he did not expect and even forgot was that the system was very powerful and could do almost everything, the system was what made Jake different from the other players, it was his advantage to improve his life and soon Jake would realize it. Chapter 28 The Result of a Year 2 So the holidays started and Jake started to train, he still wore the same weights, Jake thought of increasing the weight plus the system said that if he did that he could actually have some injuries so he continued to wear the 5 kg on each arm and each leg adding 20 kg, he just needed to increase the intensity of the training a little, so after a few days training when the day was over and Jake was wondering if he was going to use the first Energy Bar the system spoke to him. [Jake tomorrow is the day you''re going to complete a year since you''ve gone back to the past, I remember you said you wanted to see the results of your training when you completed a year so I''m warning you.] "So, about a year ago, I was going to ask you to look at the statistics to get an idea of how much it has increased in a year and also to see how much it will increase on this vacation, so please show me." [All right here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 11 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Middle School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.46 m] [Weight: 44 kg] [Force 11] [Agility 11] [Resistance 14] [Intelligence 47] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man B] [Dribble SS] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block C] [Pass SS] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was analyzing how much he grew up this year, his height increased a lot, he did not realize why the other students were growing too, and the people closest to him were already too tall to compare, the weight also increased more as if he were too thin , who looks at his body does not imagine that he already has the greater strength than many adults who do not exercise, his speed is also still being maintained, it must be because the training that Jake does also serve to increase dexterity, is increasing a lot, it was the smallest statistic a year ago but now spent the other two. His skills are also of another level, before he was an amateur who only knew how to throw and some things, now he had the firm base, his defense he already knew that was not going to increase in those 6 months, the statistics that are SS Jake feel that they are still increasing, according to the system layup is a skill that can only reach SS with increasing height, the sooner he will join the school team and may increase some of those abilities. His intelligence is also increasing should be related to the books he has read about the Spanish language and trade. "It really has increased a lot this year I feel like a different person than I was, sorry that my abilities have stagnated, I hope that when I join the team to improve my defense to the rank S so that I can see how my ability is compared to students I find it difficult to wait another two years to see. " [You''re in too much of a hurry, sure enough, training your skills alone has a limit to improving, plus you have more than 6 years to try to get a scholarship to university, that was one reason I brought you into the younger you can hit all the things you have to do in the future, make friends, take care of your mother and be able to enter a university quietly, I''m here to improve your whole life not just with basketball, when you do what you can do and see that you can not improve more by training try to do something else, after all I know that the reason you want to get into a university is not to depend on basketball for a lifetime, after all your career will end at a point.] "You''re right I still have time, I just do not want to have to look at the past and regret not having done enough as in my past life, I already know what I''m going to do besides basketball in the future more still is not time to think about it, I''m still far from my limit in basketball. " [You''re straight, you still have a long way to go and what are you doing tomorrow?] "I think I''m going to take the day off to rest, I''m going to have to do 3 months of intense training on these vacations, it''s better to have my body relaxed before I start." [This is a good idea.] So Jake did what he said he spent all day resting and talking to his mother who was also off duty, they were always talking and hiding nothing from each other (apart from the system), so they seemed more friends than mother and son , and at the end of the day the system called Jake again. [Congratulations Jake, now you''ve completed a year of training in your first job basketball player, and now it''s time for your reward for your effort, this reward always seeks to give you something you need and analyzing if you deserve it, in your case you do not need to be trained can be playing too, as you have trained enough you will receive the maximum reward by analyzing what you need most.] "And what I received shows me." Jake told the animated system, although it was annoying not to know what to do or when it will reach the rewards more was also exciting the unknown. [Here it is.] [Imagination Training.] Imagination training? No matter how Jake thought of it he could not see what it was if he wanted to imagine he would figure it out he did not need the help of the system. [Really Jake this time I can say that you used all your luck, that''s exactly what you needed and the best prize the system could give you.] Jake was still wondering what this award was plus he did not think that something he thought was useless would receive such a system appraisal, it must be said that he had not seen the system compliment anything, and the system would not win anything fool it then it must be something very good indeed. "Fate, explain to me what this training of imagination is, I do not know what it means." [You do not know what it is? I thought you would know, this imaginative training equals Shadow Boxing that you may have forgotten to mention, the difference is that it''s not for boxing but for basketball and with the help of the system it turns almost into a game of virtual reality, the only thing is that this can not train your body, but can greatly improve your skills and give some experience to you in a basketball game.] "Like a virtual reality game I still do not understand explains me better." [Ok, you should have seen some basketball game is not, think it''s a basketball game, in this game there is a 10-player block with 5 on each side and this block has the same specifications of one in the NBA, with the same NPC rules, the players on your side and the opposing team will be like NPC in an RPG game, they will have a very high artificial intelligence plus they will not talk yet, so you will be a player and have another 9 controlled by artificial intelligence, you will be the coach of your team and you can make changes in your team, and you choose how the skills of the players of your team and the opponent team and their heights, only your physical statistics that you can not choose, they will have faces of dolls and this everything only serves to improve your technique and your experience in a game, you choose the position you play and if you play with a weak team or strong as teammates and also if your opponent will be strong or weak, all this is at your skill level, meaning that your teammates and opponents will all be between F and SS of a Middle School player skill, you can not play with opponents or allies of the high school level or below, and to activate this training you just have to sit cross-legged and close your eyes, then you think about starting the training and can go to that dimension with your mind, if someone calls you while you are training you will be warned and will leave inside moments.] After listening to the system explain the skill he understood, this ability is very OP, he was worried that he could not find opponents to train his skills and was thinking about what he would do if his opponents were too weak, and also allies to train his passes , was also worried about his lack of experience playing a game and this ability solves all his problems. It''s like giving a glass of water to someone who''s dying of thirst in the desert, a virtual basketball game, that''s what came to Jake''s mind when he heard the explanation of the skill, it really is how the Shadow Boxing Plus system would help improve your imagination multiplied by a thousand, in boxing you imagine an opponent more in basketball are 5 opponents and 4 allies besides imagining the court, the rules, the judge, and the time, it is impossible the more system makes it possible and still allows you choose the level of skills of opponents, of course Jake would never choose opponents weaker than him, but he could put them only a higher level, which he could train to reach the same level as his opponents, and when they had rank SS Jake would already be in the S rank and could move to the next level, like the height, if all were a little higher than it would be great, and the allies could also have a level of ha He could also order everyone to pass the ball to him and could only pitch when he allowed, so he could train various skills and game schemes, he could see how much he could handle in a match with his endurance, since his statistics and skills in the image would be the same as his in the real world. Now he was excited to begin. Chapter 29 A Different Game 1 So Jake sat in the middle of the court and closed his eyes, whoever looked at him thought he was meditating, so Jake thought to start Imagination Training. In front of him appeared a large court, it was like a gym and had no crowd, in front of him had 10 players and one that looked like a judge, he could not see anyone besides them, nor the technical opponent. It had 5 players in totally yellow uniforms and 5 players in purple uniforms, the judge had a black uniform, all 10 players had the same height and the same body shape, and all had a face without eyes and mouths and no nose, a mannequin''s face. It looked a bit like a horror movie when he saw more after he got used to it, so a window appeared in front of him to choose a team, he chose the purple shirt team. So in the window sent him to choose the positions and heights of the players of his team, he gave a different position for each one, for Center (C) he gave a height of 1.70 m, for Power forward (PF) he gave a height of 1.65 m, for the small forward (SF) he gave a height of 1.60 m even for the point guard (PG) and the shooting guard (SG). When the window told him to choose the heights of the opposing team he chose the same heights as his team. After all, Jake was already 1.46 m tall and would continue to grow in a short period of time, he could not adjust everyone''s height before each workout, it would be a waste of time, so Jake saved his selection and asked not to change until he wanted to. When the window told him to choose the abilities of the players of his team he chose to always be a level higher than him, be his teammates or opponents, so he always had to try to improve, the system warned that SS skills they could not be increased so everyone would have the same skills as Jake in which he had SS. So after he hit all the details the player who had the position that Jake wanted to play the point guard (PG) went to his team''s reserve bench and the game started. Everything was equal to an ordinary game the judge whistled, the electronic table on top of each basket marked the time of possession of the ball, the score of the game, the playing time and the period in which the game was. In the beginning the ball was sent to the top and the centers of the two teams disputed the possession, the first possession went to the yellow team, ours was the purple team, that''s how the big screen was, it was a normal game, the only thing I heard was the sound of the sneakers on the court. Their team and mine was well organized, the artificial intelligence that commands their thinking should work as a professional player and with a lot of experience, their PG passed the ball to the SG who walked towards our basket, I realized it was the only one out of position on the court and I went to score the PG of the opposing team. So the SG stopped for a while thinking about the move and made a nice pass to the PG of them who made a Layup and scored the first score of the game, that''s when I realized that they must all pitch well and have SS passes plus the defenses are quite bad, because mine was, it seems like it was going to be a frank game with many points, but what matters most to me was to train my skills and not the result of the game. I soon went to the corner of the court to restart the game, I passed the ball to the SG of my team and we started to advance to the opposing court, when the marker of my SG came I asked for the ball back and the ball was quickly passed for me, what is the good thing about being the coach of the team whenever I asked for the ball or had them do something they would do. Soon my marker also appeared so I soon came on top of him to test my dribbling training, I hit the ball from one side to the other waiting for an opportunity, then I made a left turn and I passed the right, and I passed through the opponent , it seemed that my training was effective, this gave me more confidence, as soon as I reached the 3-point lineup the two teams were in position. I saw an opening and then I gave a pass inside the area of the car to the Center that received and soon made the basket. So playing the game I understood what the system meant by the difference of making a pass with players on the move, it also depends a lot on the ability of my team to play not only my pass ability. Soon the yellow team began its new attack, I understood with this that the difference of the result of the game would be my actions, if I were well we would win and if I were badly we would lose, after all, all the other players are very equal in ability. So I went to the tight marking on the PG of their team, as I marked a lot on top he did not have space to dribble me, so he gave a pass to the SG of the team that came back to receive the pass, so I gave space for the opponent''s PG to receive the pass so he could score him again, and that''s what happened. When the PG received the ball and I went to mark it, he gave a dribble to the right and he threw 3 points, when I looked back the ball did not enter and the C of my team took the rebound, so I realized that my plan to make room for the opponent was not a good idea. Soon I received the C pass and ran to the opposing court, when I ran I realized that they could not reach my speed so I ran faster and did a layup to score 2 more points for my team. As I was faster I thought that using speed was a good strategy the sooner I gave up the idea if I ran every time I hit the ball I could not take two periods of play without getting tired. So what followed was a fairly balanced game, as this was the first time I was doing this training I was trying to understand the processes of the game, more like I saw, they had a basic pattern of game and did as you teach the manual. Another thing I noticed was that the opposing team tried quite a few pitches of 2 and 3 whenever they had space, my team did not do it because I had to pass the ball, if the pitch was 2 I had them tighten the mark more if was 3 I had to give space, they averaged 1 of 20 pitches, so it was guaranteed that they would miss, and so my team was increasing the advantage on the scoreboard. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 20 to 12 for our team, my team lost only 1 attack and their team lost more by trying 3-point pitches, I saw that they did it because they were behind the scoreboard and because my team pressed the mark. I managed in that first period to see how a real team worked in a game, and also how to give passes, so I understood that I could choose different positions in my team to train different skills, I did not want to train layups and my defense by the height difference between I and the opponents, so I understood why I could choose the height of the opposing team, I could train in that space several times so I had no reason to hurry. In the second period we continued trying the plays in the bottle, an interesting thing was that this opponent team did not commit fouls, so besides me sometimes pushing too hard in defense was a very clean game. I tried several different types of pass and also sometimes forced an advance to the basket and did a layup, and when the advantage between us was too great I tried a 3-point throw, I hit 2, I missed 1 and in another I went blocked, was difficult because if I did not create too much space to throw the opponent blocked me by the difference in height. So at the end of the second period, the game was 48 to 30, in that period the opposing team made fewer mistakes and we made more mistakes, but the baskets of 3 made up, so I saw it would be difficult to see the opponent hit a pitch and 3 in that game. Chapter 30 A Different Game 2 While I was resting in the interval from the second to the third period I went to talk to the system. "Fate this training of imagination is really incredible, I feel like I''m playing here with my real body, and it''s also very cool to see how they think, it''s hard to imagine that they are not real people playing with me but controlled by the system." [You are underestimating human intelligence, the problem is that humans can not use 100% of their brain capacity, if they could, this would be a child''s play, but with me helping is very easy, there are many people who have thoughts on this is just an enhancement of this.] "But there''s one thing I think is strange, their passing skills, dribbling, and pitching are so much worse than mine, was not it for us to have the same skills?" [So you noticed this, that''s why I told you not to stop training, when you get to the SS level of a skill you start to outdo the best, plus your opponents will have a skill equal to a SS at Middle School level , so it''s normal for them to be worse than you, a good example of this, even the best 3-point pitcher at 13 years or less would be much worse than you are now, so it''s very difficult for them to hit a basket in a game in that are being well marked, more like in this training your opponent in fewer points than you and everyone has the same ability, they have to take a chance.] Listening to the system talk so Jake understood how he can not control the thinking of the opponents, they have a mission to win and in their view the two teams are equal so they have to risk a 3-point pitch, of course with Jake in the team purple, their chance of making more mistakes increases, and Jake has much better passes and pitches than everyone on the court. After a good rest a good deal of Jake''s energy had returned, then he figured he could play until a part of the 4th period before he got tired, so he went with his team of puppets for the third period of the game, 48 to 30 was a good advantage then Jake saw that he could slow down and take advantage of the ball possession. Without realizing he was thinking more and more like a PG, so the game resumed with a much slower pace, Jake tightened the defense and tried to force the other team to throw since they had difficulties in invading the bottle, so it was a good opportunity for Jake to train his defensive rebounds, he could get some, but when the rebound went to the area of the car he had no chance with his height. Jake did not take off and slowed his speed as much as possible, he wanted to save energy, yet he realized that everyone, being opponents or allies still had a lot of energy left, so he understood why there was only one substitute, for him, Jake was the only one who would tire in this game. After a while Jake realized that the opponent had changed strategy and was defending more the bottle, so Jake was having difficulties to pass or attempt an infiltration, he also could not ask his team to throw because otherwise it would be the same as the opponent and would miss enough, so Jake made a substitution and put the PG on the court and replaced the SG, so now he would no longer make the frames of plays of the team and focus more on scoring, when Jake made a change of positions received the free ball and tossed the 2 points, most of the time he hit his shots even when he missed was lucky and his team took the offensive rebound, so his team did not lose any attack and the advantage only increased on the scoreboard. More like he had to try hard to throw it ended up getting tired at the end of the third period and was replaced, as the coach he gave the order for the team to only trying to throw if it is ending the possession of the ball. So he was watching the game of the reserve, it was very different from watching on television mainly because as he was in the game he could feel the skill of opponents and teammates, his team now without him lost much more possession of the ball and I lost more attacks, but the game was more balanced. When the third period ended the game was 70 to 50, his team scored fewer points because he held the rhythm of the game and the opponent scored more because he was time off the court. Jake did not care about the outcome of the game because he knew that this was training, if he trained in defense they would lose and if he tried to throw more, they would lose too. It was not as much fun as Jake thought, despite being a virtual reality game, because there is no cheerleader, more players or competitions does not have much grace, lack voices, music and stories to be funny, more training was everything well, it was a lot better than training alone on a court in the basement, so Jake watched in silence the rest of the substitute bench game, after another period the game finished 85-65, the two teams were really very similar they did 15 points each. Jake made 36 points and gave 15 passes, meaning that 66 points went directly through his hand, it was a Double-double plus Jake was not so happy because it was natural since he had ordered everyone to pass the ball to him and could only to throw when he left without saying that all the allies were very skilled than to hit a good pass was to make an assistance because they would always hit in the bottle. Plus he was more than satisfied with this reward from the system, that''s exactly what he needed, so long as he continued training he would certainly improve his skills if he had not already decided to join the team in that second year of Middle School he would give up on this idea, more so if he would stop to think, although this is a great training, the training players had defined patterns of play, but real-life opponents would think different things, not to mention that it was good to play with several opponents. Jake''s plan was to play very well and win some prizes to fulfill one of his dreams and also make his mother happy, and see if he could get a sponsorship. He recalls that in his past life he heard that sometimes some sponsors watched National Middle School tournament games and selected some young and talented players to sponsor, and that''s what Jake wanted most, he needed money to help his mother and when he had to make some investments in the future, after all, he had to use some of his knowledge of the future to ensure his mother''s stable life, after all, they would still wash for several years for Jake to earn a lot of money as an NBA player. After Jake left his imaginary training he immediately felt dizzy, as if his brain were overloaded, and it took him a while to get back to his senses. [The first few times you do this training you will feel this dizziness when you leave, so it is best to use once a day only, although you have won this reward by luck is also by your high intelligence that is able to withstand this effort, after all, humans never use their brains.] "Do you have any side effects?" [Not at all, it''s even good for you, after a month when you stop feeling nauseous when you quit training you''ll realize you''ve gotten faster to use your brain, it''s almost like boosting your intelligence.] "So instead of a side effect will get a bonus, that''s fine, it''s really the reward I needed, thank you Fate." [You do not need to thank everything that happens to you because you deserve it, after all, I use your karma to help you.] So after leaving the basement, Jake said he would not want to eat and went to bed because he was feeling very tired. When he woke up Jake saw that he had slept more than 13 hours and was impressed, he really exhausts his mind this training, it was good to use every two days, so Jake began to change the schedule of training of this vacation, although he earns less physical statistics on those holidays he would gain a lot more from this training, so when he joined the team he would not be a newbie, and would have the chance to even play earlier than he imagined. So Jake came down to breakfast with his mother, now Jake was much more excited, this year was already much better than the past, and he saw that soon could make his mother stop working as a waitress. Chapter 31 The Vacation 1 And so he continued on Jake''s holidays, In Vacation past, as Jake knew he was short on time and also very excited after going back to the past to do something, he spent all his vacation time training. Plus this year he could not do the same, now Jake had to split his training time into 3, physical training, skills training, and imagination training, so each one would be done in a day until Jake got used to it and not get tired of using imagination training. In addition, Jake has to use a vacation time to go out and play with Joseph and another time to relax with his mother, he had already agreed with Joseph that he would sometimes go to his house and also that they would go to the beach, after all, Jake lived in Miami, it would be a shame for him not to go to the beach when he lives in a place that one of the best beaches in the world. As for spending time with his mother, Jake could go with her again at the movies or go to the city aquarium, or just stay home talking, so from the start, it would be impossible for Jake to spend his entire vacation training. So also with this lighter training routine Jake would not have to use his Stamina Bars, he already had many saved and as he discovered in the game in his mental training his current resistance would not give him a whole game, especially one with the fast pace. So it was good for him to save some for when he has important games, after all in an important game having a Stamina Bar was like having a new one for the lungs, he did not want to stand in a game like that. Jake began his physical training on the first day and would move on to skill training in the other and when he used the imaginative training he after resting could go out with his mother or his friend Joseph. To tell the truth Jake was already anxious for this vacation to end so he could join the school team, he sometimes talked to some of his colleagues who accompanied the basketball team last year. At Middle School the basketball team has several tournaments, but only teams with good ability can participate in these tournaments, have the regional tournament that is done with only the teams from the south of Miami, the champion of the south plays with the champion of the north of Miami and the winner of that game goes to the state tournament, which has a representative from every city in Florida, then the winner of that tournament goes to the national championship. So Jake was sure he could get some titles and so he could stand out among the other players, and get some sponsorship, it would not be easy anymore he was not training hard for over a year for nothing, and with that imagination training it was like he could always play with a team with a high level of skill. So after a few days of training Jake was going out with his mother, he told her that the other week would go a day at the beach with Joseph and so she decided to take him to the mall to buy some shorts for the beach, some new sneakers and clothes for him to train, Jake always ran a lot and with his size growing fast his clothes were bothering, so it was a necessary visit. "Mother did not have to come to the mall, we could go to the store near our house, they have clothes for me and they are much cheaper, so they are very expensive." "Do not talk bullshit my son, some ordinary clothes we can even buy there, plus the clothes and sneakers that you need are sporting goods, if you buy there will rip with as much of the exercises you do, then we will buy at the sporting goods store that I bought your table for by in the basement, they have good things and also I already have a card there, as we have to buy many things is better to get a discount. " When he heard his mother Jake fell silent, she was right, he was in the growth phase so he had to buy clothes. It would not be a waste of money and her mother seemed to think of everything, it was much better to buy a better outfit a bit more expensive than to buy a cheaper one and she rips it. And Jake also knew that her mother enjoyed shopping at the mall, she did not buy anything for her but just to see the clothes in the window she was happy, that''s one of the things Jake never understood in women. After they bought everything they needed they went to a fast food in the food court and ate while they chatted after they went home slowly, Jake was carrying most of the bags, it was because he was strong plus his mother thought he was showing off and was ready to pick it up when he got tired. As they headed back home Eva chose a path that could see the beach, and when they were looking at the beach, Jake saw a poster that was hanging on the wall of a gym, when he stopped to see what it was he was impressed. What was written was that they were going to have a youth competition on an open court near the beach that they were passing, will be limited from the age of 10 to 15 years, and would have several competitions, such as the 3-shot competition, Free competition Throw, and a 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 competition. The prize for each competition would be a trophy and also a cash prize of 500 dollars, all were great prizes, Jake could compete in 3 categories and earn up to 1,500 dollars, he did not want to participate in 3 to 3, because he would have to find more two players and even if they won they would have to split the prize, for he did not compensate. This competition would be in a month and would be sponsored by a private school in the region that is one of the best to teach athletes, it would be a good advertisement and as the local radio was going to transmit they would split to not have the burden of paying $ 2,000. "Mom, I''m going to want to participate in this competition." Jake said pointing to the poster, the poster said the location and time and that only needed to sign up for the day, so that would not be a problem. "In this competition? If you want you can try, I was thinking that you had already given up on this dream of being a player if I did not see you training so much. " "To give up of course not, I told you, mother I was going to join the team this year, it''s just that since I knew I could not play last year I did not want to try." "And this competition do you think you can win?" Eva said jokingly, of course, she did not think her son who only trained in the basement and was 11 could win from 15-year-old boys who had been playing for years, but what Jake said afterward stunned her. "If it''s just one I think I can win, but there are two that I can not be sure of." ''So he''s sure of one, I''d better tell him not to be too arrogant. ''Eva thought of saying this but changed her mind, some things the children have to go through in order to learn. Of course, when Jake said that he was only certain that he was being modest, what he was sure of was Free Throw, even though he did not average 9 hits in 10 pitches as in training, he did not think there would be someone under 18 who could pitch better than him, in 3-point pitches he was not sure about luck, sometimes if someone was luckier than him they would hit more pitches if they had similar abilities, he knew his skill was SS up to the Middle School more like would have people of 15 years also, could have someone better, as to 1 to 1 his problem was the difference in height, if he found someone with 1.70 m would have nothing to do. More like he would have to participate anyway because of what he knew he would win, it would not hurt to try the other two as well. So Jake went home with his mother, he was quiet nothing was going to change in his training or his plans for the holidays, he would do the same things, he would not be nervous about a tournament in a month, not to mention his fort mentality that did not allow him to be anxious, he knew better than anyone that in a month his physical attributes and abilities would not improve much even if he doubled his training, and if he did not win he would have other chances, he got much calmer later of having that system conversation, he was still 6 years old, everything he trained six times he could not imagine the improvement he could make up until then. Chapter 32 The Vacation 2 So another week passed the training was not so heavy now that he was alternating, he rarely got exhausted, and his brain seemed to be getting used to his training imagination, he did not stay so much and did not need to sleep anymore, but he still did not see the improvement that the system said it would do to his mind. As long as he did not feel pain, Jake also made a change in the height of the player who was marking him, was placed a height of 1.73 m, that was the highest of the game until then, with this difference of height Jake could not the more you stop your pitches, the more you could stop your opponent from going into the basket. Another change he made was that the player who marked him had all of his abilities at most, SS in all his defensive skills, so he can see the difference from that game they had, they won more Jake had to spend a lot more energy, because he had to use his speed to score points, the luck is that while the opposing team did not change the defense to prevent his team from going to the bottle, Jake could always use his passes to break the defense. More when he arrived in the middle of the third period Jake always had to replace so he learned to make the best score while he was on the court to be able to win after he left, after all, he could use his speed to break the SS defense of the opponent plus his substitute could. So the next day it came time for Jake to go to the beach with Joseph, his friend was excited because he had not been to the beach in a while after all his father did not have time to go with him and his friends only liked to do things that waste their money. Jake also did not go much to the beach, when young in his past life he did not want to disturb his mother, who was always tired of work to go out for a walk, he was not as smart as in this life that he realized that his mother liked to go out with him, and instead of tiring his mother, these outings would help take the stress out of the work of the week. And when Jake grew up he was always doing a part-time job to help at home, after he got older Jake did not see much fun going to the wheelchair beach so he was not going. So now he was doing something he had never done before, he was going to the beach with a friend. "Thank you for coming with me to the beach Joseph, I know you would rather be at home studying today but always wanted to do this." "No, thank you, I''ve always wanted to do this with a friend, but I could not either, and I know you also prefer training." After laughing together for a while, Joseph asked. "Are you really going to try to join the basketball team this year? I do not understand why you did not come in last year, so now you would have learned to play and could even enter the starting lineup. " "And who said I do not know how to play?" "Have you played on a team before?" "Not" "Have you ever done street basketball?" "Not" "Have you ever trained with a coach before?" "Not" "So I do not know how you''re so cheeky, you dare say you know how to play." "I trained alone this time because I did not know it now, I know." "If it were like that, it would be full of players in this world." "More is already full of players in this world." "You understood what I meant." "When I take the test for the team you will see." While they were talking they walked along the beach, although they said they were going to play on the beach they were just walking along the beach and enjoying the sun, the sand and the feeling of being on the beach full of people, it was a shame that Joseph did not know how to swim and did not practice any sport. One good thing is that Joseph was much thinner than before, Jake knew after talking to Oliver that Joseph used to be stressed out because of the school and his few friends who only exploited him, so as to get fat from stress Joseph also ate a lot for cause of his nervousness, so he ended up getting very fat, Oliver thought about putting his son into some sporting activity plus Joseph had asthma and because of his weight, could not do even a time of exercise that he already had to use the asthma pump . Now at least he''s eating a lot less and he''s not as stressed out either. So they talked for a while then just sat still, taking advantage of a moment, Joseph was thinking how lucky it was to have a good friend but what Jake was doing was seize the now, Jake knows that people change, he would not change because he had already changed what had to change, his mind was not of a boy anymore, but he did not know how Joseph would be in the future. Joseph was now a loyal boy, but this was because now he is very pure, and he was so because his father and grandfather protected him without him knowing, sometimes he even had some clues about what was going on around him plus he pretended not to know. More Jake knew that more than time, money also changed people, Joseph would have to run this company in the future so he could not do without hardening his heart, some decisions like closing a factory and laying off hundreds of people who relied on his salary and employment to survive was normal to prioritize profit, and sometimes with money came the desire, desire of all kinds, whether power, women or even more money, sometimes people changed. Jake did not think his friend would be like that anymore he did not meet Joseph in the future, especially after his family company had failed so Jake did not know if this friendship would last him just wanted to take advantage now, now it was real, now they were best friends. So after spending the day with his friend Jake went home to rest, tomorrow was starting another round of training, and also the day of the tournament was arriving only missing a few weeks. Eva was also anxious, she was already talking to her co-workers to change shifts so on the day of the competition she would be off duty, things in the restaurant were improving, her boss was not even going to the restaurant, now he could hire a manager to able to relax and enjoy the money that was coming in. He was even thinking about opening another spot for his restaurant to take advantage of more success his analyst and accountant was against it, he said he had not like a new restaurant to work out, he was even surprised to why this current restaurant is making so much profit. Of course, even graduating from the best college he would never think that the reason the restaurant was making a success was that the son of one of the waitresses was very lucky. Plus that was something even Jake himself did not know, he was still not convinced of the effects of having such a high fate, so far was only functioning passively, without Jake wanting, as the system asked Jake not to try to play the lottery he was not doing it. So in a new training section of imagination Jake tried to play in another position, he was like Power forward (PF) a position that he has played in the past more hated more this is because he did not have the training, now the only position he does not could play was the Center because he did not know how to play with his back to the car, and did not want to learn it since he probably would never have to use it in a game. His opponent who was scoring him directly Jake gave him all SS defense and also a height of 1.75 m, he knew he would lose in all disputes at the top plus he had to do this to prepare for the tournament, despite have an age limit, did not have a height limit, and in America tall people generally seek to play basketball as their choice of sport, because even if they are not very skilled they can still play before the professional basketball. In the NBA height helps more skill is everything, no one can play there just because they are tall, but before it, technicians prefer a High Center than a lower skill Center. So in his training Jake was for the first time to see his team lose, and many points were made on him, of course, because Jake was trying not to throw and just go to the basket, and also because today was not who was giving the passes, when he gives the passes he can use his ability to force a point, plus he had to admit that the opponent''s defense is very good, the system made their positioning perfect and not that opening. Chapter 33 The First Competition 1 To tell the truth, at the beginning of the training Jake was using as an excuse the fact that he was having to train himself and neglected his defense training, after all, he knew when he saw since training a good defensive player takes much more time than an offensive. As Jake ended up taking more interest in basketball when he was already disabled he ended up not having many experiences with a team, and only interested in making points, how after 2010 the best teams were very offensive and always celebrated the buried, the dribbles and the baskets of 3, and in defense only the locks were celebrated, Jake thought the attack was much more important. More after he came back and had a chance to be a great player, he did not want the defense to be his weakness, so he figured he should raise his skills just a little, and it got better, then when the system said he could only see the next skill level when he had all S skills, he got really angry plus decided to join the team to have an S defense, he did not want to wait until he was 13 years old to see his skills being updated. More only when he started doing this Imagination training that he saw the big difference between having a good defense or not, on television when he saw the games he goes that all were well marked and rarely had a very big mistake in defense, so he could not see the difference between a good defense and a bad defense, the biggest defensive player he saw was Tim Duncan, but he thought he only got 2 NBA MVP for also having a good average points and not so much for being a great defensive player. When Jake played with friends they were all amateurs and the defense was not that important, so much so that the taller ones like Jake always had the positions of Center (C) and Power Forward (PF). More like he was playing a training putting all the players besides him with SS defenses and with SS attack, although it was only in the novel Middle School, he realized that it was the fault of the defense, all the opponents tried to attack by his position, and not it was only because he had the smallest height but because he did not have the right positioning and did not know how to score as well. It was there that he sounded an alarm in Jake''s head, glad that he was still young but because of his lack of judgment and because he did not have a coach to guide him, he might have missed a chance to have a career in the future. After all if at a Middle School level your defense is already a flaw when playing in the NBA would be like the defensive team having one player less. In addition, the best player Jake has ever seen and if idol Michael Jordan besides being considered a genius in the attack was also a great defender, only if he can become a player so it is also important in defense he could become a great player in the NBA. While training with his new resolution, the weeks were passing and finally arrived the day of the tournament, when the day of the tournament was coming and mainly this morning Jake finally began to feel the pressure of having his first competition, although he is confident of winning the categories he was going to participate in yet the nervousness did not disappear. So Jake went down to his breakfast, when he came down he saw his mother finishing preparing the breakfast table, there were several things Waffles, bacon, pancakes, cakes, bread, cheese, ham, eggs, orange juice, and some more things. It was already beyond a normal breakfast, it was turning into a banquet, and Eva had already arranged to take Jake to the tournament, she was wearing a beautiful purple 60s style dress, her hair was tied like a ponytail with a rubber band. "Mother I think you exaggerated today, I''ll have to play later, I do not think I''ll be able to eat enough." "I did not make you eat everything, and I''m going to eat too, this is to celebrate your first tournament, and to be lucky, who knows you can win with that, now as a little of each, I will not play outside even in the afternoon you eat the rest to celebrate if you win. " His mother always had an answer to everything Jake was talking about, he was glad she had woken up earlier just to have a breakfast banquet for him to cheer up, but Jake was also a bit sad because he realized she did not have much hope for him to win. But it was normal for her to think this, after all, unless she has a very talented genius, usually the older ones always win those tournaments, and Eva has never seen Jake play, in fact beyond him no one has ever seen him play after training his skills, after all, the training of imagination was something that happened inside his head. So it was normal for his mother or his friend to question his ability, but as Jake had the system to be sure of the level he was in, she was angry at his lack of confidence. "Mother you look very beautiful today, your hair and dress are very beautiful." "Look at you, already knowing how to praise at this age, do not tell me that my son is going to be a Casanova at school, I do not want to have a daughter-in-law so soon." "With you that way, anybody would praise you if you were not blind, and your daughter-in-law is still going to be a long time, I have to study and play basketball now, I''m too busy to think about it." "It does not have to be that serious it was just a joke, but I''m happy to know that my son already has his priorities in mind, for me while you study well you can do whatever you want you''re still so young, you do not have to be so mature , let Mother take care of you for a long time and just enjoy playing now as much as you can. " "No need to worry, I have a lot of fun playing basketball and when I want to play I have my friend Joseph, so more than that I can not enjoy it." "I like this friend of yours, Joseph, he is a very good boy, some friends like that can become like a brother when you grow up, and a sincere friendship like yours, a lot of people are not lucky enough to spend all their school time, I did not have for example. " Jake knew what his mother was like. She had always been very responsible in everything she did, and for her, Jake was the most important responsibility she had ever had since his father died she had to be both mother and father at the same time. So she wanted him to have everything but she did not want to spoil him, Eva wanted to be stern when Jake did something wrong but also wanted to comfort him when he was sad. That''s why when Jake became disabled in his past life Eve became depressed until she died, after all, as a mother she thought she was responsible for everything that happened to Jake until he left the house. More in this life would be different, Jake wanted to be the only reason for her pride to his mother not of concern, the only reason for happiness not of sadness. So since they had a happy talk and a very full breakfast, they went out to go to the tournament, on the way it was full of people, it seemed like everyone was going to the same place as them, Jake had never heard of a competition of young street basketball, so he thought he was not very famous, and it looks like Jake was wrong. As it was sponsored by a famous local school and local radio, it was normal for the tournament to attract a large crowd as they reached the open court that now had several people inside, Jake realized how much they moved the venue to the tournament, the organization made some temporary bleachers for the public to see the game, and also near the place had several food stalls, a festival instead of a tournament, so when they located the place of registration had a very large queue in the more than 3,000 young people. The inscriptions had not started yet, it was now nine in the morning and the first competition would start only at noon, so Jake decided to come early to do his registration, but he did not think he had come late, so when there were only a few minutes left for the registration was put up a banner on top of the registration desk that gave everyone at the site read. When people saw what was written on the track a commotion happened at the tournament site, many people went to the venue of the tournament organizing team to complain, only Jake was calmer and now he finally realized why he did not know that tournament, probably today was the last time it would be held. Chapter 34 The First Competition 2 What was written on the banner above the registration desk that caused the claim of all the people who wanted to participate and also of their families was [To participate in any competition today and run for the $ 500 prize, who sign up will have to pay a $ 10 registration fee.] In fact, Jake was calm because he was already expecting it, and what was happening was not entirely because of the people gaining from the organization, but came from a need caused by the negligence of the people organizing the tournament. Jake had already asked his mother to bring in $ 60 if the application was 20, Eva agreed, as she thought Jake had seen somewhere on the poster that she had a registration fee. Jake guessed this because he had already participated in several tournaments, not sports more than other things, sometimes they charge a fee to be able to give a bigger prize and many people accept this, but when this happens generally the tournament has few participants, because only people who have some confidence to win or just want to have fun and do not mind spending a little money for it want to participate. That''s why Jake analyzed that the private school and the radio were dividing up the expense of the 2000 tournament prize and also the organization of that because he only saw tournaments that participation was free when big companies did to promote themselves. And Jake was right, that was the intention of the organization, to make the registration fee and the tournament would be an advertisement for the companies. No one but Jake predicted that the prize would be very good and also because all the youngsters had a chance to win, that so many people would try to participate, so Jake was surprised when he saw that he had several participants. With the almost 3000 youngsters Jake saw participate and more that will come later, if everyone decides to participate in the 4 competitions and having only one court, the tournament would last more than a month until a winner was decided. When the organizers realize that they have tried to create ideas to have fewer people participating, if they only decide to have a last minute limit, several people will complain that the tournament was armed, so someone greedy from the company must have had the idea of charging $ 10 registration so fewer people could attend and they could still have some money invested back and maybe even make a profit. What this person should not have thought is that if they did this the idea of doing an advertisement for the school and the radio would have the opposite effect, that would undermine the name of the companies because they did not warn in advance that would have a registration fee. So Jake was thinking that there would never be another tournament like this, of course with the situation with this and the pressure to have a solution for the tournament to be completed today, companies would not think about the future now. Even after people complained for a long time, it was still decided that those who wanted to participate would have to pay 10 dollars, many people became angry and left, and very young people who still wanted to participate also could not get the last minute money too they''re gone. And the few people who wanted to participate yet and also had the money in place went to make the inscriptions, of course very few people had the money and confidence to participate in various competitions like Jake. So Jake made his entry to participate in three competitions, when many saw this, realized that Jake was young and disdained him for wanting to participate in various competitions despite having to pay 30 dollars. Of course Jake could not bother with these people, he went to the place his mother was and waited with her for the first competition to begin. So with just 10 minutes to start the competitions the registrations were closed. The first competition of the day would be Free Throw, this was a competition that was not seen in many places, but as this tournament was for young people up to 15 years of age, Free Throw is a skill that every player of any position had to have after all everyone could suffer faults in a game. And according to the view of the competitors, because they are very young, many people would find it hard to hit several pitches. The rules were that each person would have to make 10 pitches on their first chance, 10 seconds of time to make each throw, those who got more than 5 hits would pass the next round, so until they had to hit 10 of 10 pitches, no one else thought that would come so far. Just over 200 people still paid the $ 10 to sign up for this competition, so they would have to make the draw, the organizers had to prepare more than 200 papers with a number in each to decide the order based on the fate of each. Jake was the tenth to draw and got the number 223 that was the last one that had to hurl, ''lucky'' Jake thought. He always forgot that he had a 99 attribute for that, Jake wanted to be the last one to know how many balls he had to hit so he could pass and win, after all, he could hit 9 in 10 pitches if he was lucky. So the competition of pitches began, people of all ages were there and tried to make their pitches, despite giving to know that some were younger and others were older only the organizers knew the exact age of them, when it was coming the turn of Jake make his pitches, only a little more than 50 people of more than 200 managed to hit the 5 pitches to pass the next stage. The one who had hit the most, he had gotten seven shots out of 10 and it was clear that he was lucky for the happiness he was showing, these people who managed to appear to be 15 years old by his height and had some training in basketball. So Jake hit 6 shots of 7 and then purposely missed the other 3. It seemed that as the system said nervousness even affect the hit rate of the pitches, he did not miss one in 7 because he wanted to, he wanted to hit 6 and then miss the rest do not show. After that Jake received a lot of applause because he was one of the only ones to hit 6 shots and then Jake went to his mother who was smiling and applauding a lot, I could see that she was proud and happy. Then in the second round of pitches everyone had to hit 6 of 10 to move on to the next round, so only 13 hit 6 throws and no one hit 7, when it was Jake''s turn he hit the 6 in a row and missed 4 on purpose, still the audience applauded more excitedly, Jake was the only one who seemed to be the youngest of all 14 finalists, the other 13 seemed to be around 14 and 15 years old. Now came the round that could be the final, taking out a nobody had hit 7 pitches, so it was difficult to have the next round, whether hit 7 went. This time the luck did not seem to smile for the young man who had hit 7 the first time, and none of the 13 hit the 7 balls too, some hit only 5, and when it came to Jake, the radio narrator began to show all competitors of that round before their pitches, only 2 of the 13 were 14 years old and the other 11 were 15 years old. When the narrator introduced Jake, he said he was only 11 years old, 3 less than the youngest of the others, and now Jake had the chance to win, everyone in the crowd cheered and whistled for Jake, after all, it''s cool to cheer for the person who seems to be at a disadvantage. So Jake went to the Free Throw, he knew he was going to win now, and so he was much more anxious and nervous, this would be the first time Jake had ever won anything in his life, it would be his first basketball trophy after his more than a year of training, had many people cheering for him now and also his mother, he wanted to leave Eva proud and also prove to her that he had talent, that he knew what he was saying when he talked about being a basketball player. He made his first pitch and missed, he was very anxious and ended up putting a lot of strength and hit the back of the rim, then he made his second pitch, this time he hit, Jake was calmer now. The crowd seemed to be throwing him, when he missed they lamented and when he hit they celebrated, although Jake was in the final and hit twice 6 shots, no one in the crowd did not even think Eva was going to win. He was only 11 years old and was 3 years younger than everyone else, everyone thought that Jake had only been lucky so far he had some skill, so ale made the third pitch and missed again, everyone complained and thought it was over and he would have than having another round. So Jake made the fourth pitch and hit it, everyone celebrated, Jake was sweating through his whole body of nervousness, this must be the worst time Jake was throwing, he was getting more and more nervous at the thought that this time he would not win. Jake made the fifth pitch and hit again, it seemed he had found the right way, so he made the sixth and then the seventh and hit the two. Now Jake had hit 5 and wrong 2, he was 3 and he had a real chance to hit 2 more and win the prize. The crowd became more anxious and Jake hit the eighth also, now he had already hit six and had two more chances to hit one, he really could win. The crowd got more excited and Jake more nervous, 10 seconds to throw before were enough more now seemed few, he threw the ball with his hands shaking and missed the ninth pitch. Everyone regretted, it seemed that he was not going to win, that pitch was too bad, Eve started to gnaw her nails, So Jake became even more nervous and forced his mind to calm down, confidence in his ability he had he just needed to calm down and win in that last pitch. Now it seemed that his high intelligence and the side effect of his training imagined were working, he was calming down by force, his body was more nervous his mind was clear, so he threw himself if he said pitch, everyone looked to see if he was going to win or do not. And the ball came in, Jake had won with a dramatic end that was unnecessary to him, he had more skill than that, the good thing is that now he understood what the system said that the pressure affected the accuracy, if in a children''s game already that''s how the NBA thinks. When Jake went to his mother Eva ran and hugged him, she was crying with happiness, all the audience was standing applauding it seemed that they had gotten more involved than Jake thought, it was cool to see a young man in adversity doing incredible things. And so Jake''s first competition was over. Chapter 35 A Star Is Born 1 So Jake''s first competition in the day and in his life also ended he won first, picked up a trophy and $ 500 reward, plus he was not so happy because he showed poor performance in his opinion. Of course, if those who lost to him knew that he thought he had a poor turnout despite having won and being 3 years younger than the other finalists he would be beaten to death. Her mother mostly did not stop smiling, she even forgot that when Jake told her that she was confident of winning a contest she wanted him to suffer not to be arrogant, after all her son was not arrogant he was even very humble. That''s how life is just getting results for people to know if someone is really capable or just into it, especially in sports. So it took a while for the audience to calm down and meanwhile the event organizers took pictures of Jake with the prize and started organizing the court for the second competition. Everyone thought that with Jake winning the advertising that the company was preparing and even invested heavily so it was going to work very well, of course, they did not realize that when charging the fees they had already damaged the image of the companies. The second competition was for 3-point pitches, as now everyone had to pay a fee of $ 10 to participate, only a few people aged 14 and 15 enrolled, so the total number of participants was only 80 people, which already was enough for the difficulty of the competition. The rules and format are very similar to those of the NBA All-Star, for the competition of 3-point pitches. They would be in the beginning because there were many participants and would have to have rounds of eliminations that all would throw 3 balls of five different positions in the court, two in the sides, two in the diagonals and one in the center of the line of 3 points, similar to the one of NBA, each one would have 1 minute and the 10 that would hit the most would go to the final, each basket was worth one point, if there was a tie, all that would tie would go to the final. So each competitor could make a maximum of 15 points, of course, everyone thought that at most 7 balls would be right. Just as all the contestants went to draw their turn Jake went up again, at first everyone was shocked the sooner everyone cheered a lot, it seemed like a celebrity was going to participate. After all it is normal to understand everyone''s reaction, for an 11-year-old boy to know how to do Free Throw with such a high hit rate was already incredible, now imagine that he also knew how to do 3-shot was unbelievable, after all, it is difficult for the most Jake was the only one who dared to participate at age under 14 years. If it were before, many would mock him for trying harder and being arrogant, but since he was the champion in the Free Throw, no one would dare to underestimate him. Jake again showed his luck defying the sky and was among the last three, so the young people started to climb on the court to start throwing with everyone feeling the pressure brought by Jake, after all, although it is obvious Jake should be a basketball prodigy yet it was a shame to lose to someone much younger when one should have the advantage. Soon the competitors were making their pitches one by one, as expected by all of them this was the most time consuming and boring competition to watch, it had already been over an hour and a half and Jake had not yet come, and the competitors were not very good so that the eliminatory phase was not very lively. After everyone had just missed Jake and two more, the one who had made the most points and hit more pitches of 3 was a 15-year-old, he was down for his age seemed to be 1.50 m, and he had done 8 points , he hit everyone from the right corner of the court and all from the center of the 3-point throwing area, and hit a ball on each of the diagonals. It must be that because he was new he trained more in these places, his pitches in the left corner of the court were horrible to see neither hit nor the rim, so he should never train from that position. Another 3 youngsters made 7 points and 6 others had 6 points, so Jake and the other two competitors had to make 6 points to go to the next round, after all, who draw fewer points after completing ten people also goes to the final Jake started to make his throws from the left corner, as it was not a game and he did not score and this competition valued more the speed of pitches, Jake made his pitches without jumping that was his specialty, so he hit two of the three pitches of that corner left. When Jake hit his first shots the crowd began to cheer because they knew that since he hit one he had the talent to be the champion, after all, he would not go to court just to be ashamed after he won a trophy. Her mother was also more and more excited in the audience, when she saw that her son was the only young woman participating she became more worried after her son hit one she trusted him, after all in spite of the others calling him a prodigy only she knew that he trained every day in his basement for over a year to reach the level he is today. When Jake went to the left-hand corner of the court he hit two more of the three pitches, he was not trying to make a mistake, it was difficult to hit even, then in the middle position he hit three of the three pitches, that was his preferred position after right corner of the court. Then he threw all the last six balls quickly and erred all, at this point everyone in the audience already began to suspect that Jake just tried to hit enough to move to the next stage or to be the champion and then miss the rest of purpose, after all, he did this also in the Free Throw competition. In fact, they had already suspected before but did not dare to believe that an 11-year-old would have the mentality of not wanting to show too much and not show all their strength. And that was the truth, but what Jake made to miss on purpose was not only to not stand out, but also to save energy, after all he was going to participate in 3 competitions today and all these competitions had several stages, and to hit a pitch requires a lot of focus as well as physical effort. After Jake went to his mother''s side, the two who threw after Jake was unlucky and form eliminated so only 11 people went to the final, taking Jake all the others were 15 years old. So now it was around 4 o''clock in the afternoon and the organizers paused in the competitions so that people could rest for a while and go eat too. Jake ate with his mother some food Eva had brought from home, they went to a corner and as the people were educated no one approached to greet Jake who had been the champion, after all, everyone should have their right to privacy, and mainly because Jake was going to have a little rest before attending another final, could be his second trophy, for young people with him was an incredible achievement. So after half an hour of rest, the finals resumed, the competitors were going to pitch in the same order as before so Jake would be the last one again. The rules of the final were the same as the NBA this time, it would be five balls in five places of the court and the last ball of the five of each place would be a Moneyball equal to the NBA, and that ball would be worth 2 points. As competitors would still have one minute each had less time for each pitch, the maximum points that could be made in that final were 30, and the one who made the most points would be the champion, only in case of a tie would be made another round. So the mood of the competition was also more lively, everyone in the final had skills to make the crowd cheer, and of course everyone''s imagination already had a favorite, Jake, how he won the last competition and also everyone saw that he missed pitches by the way everyone thought he was going to be the champion, it was different from the Free Throw contest that he was the underdog, everyone had recognized his abilities. In addition, some of those finalists pitched their last balls in the last second last round, and now they would have a lot more balls and the time was the same, plus Jake had thrown his last ball before half the time pass by to throw without jumping. Chapter 36 A Star Is Born 2 Jake was much calmer in this competition than in the last, actually after hearing from the system that the strong force was needed to make good pitches Jake already knew that it would be very difficult to find someone of his level in the 3-shot category. He was training a lot right now just because in a game it is very difficult to throw without jumping and not taking a block, so now he is just going over what he already knew, after all in his past life he had more than ten years of shooting training, in this court today nobody trained more than him although he is the youngest. So his confidence came from his training and not without foundation, not to mention that in the competition he could pitch without skipping what was his specialty, he just did not tell his mother that he was confident of winning in that category just because he did not know the rules of the competition and he did not want to underestimate his opponents. More now that the first round was over he knew he would win, especially as he realized that the distance of the 3-point line from this court was much smaller than his home using the official NBA measures in 2018. So everything was easier for him to win, the first competitors made their pitches and as everyone expected they could not make all the pitches in time, and because they were trying to hurl faster, many mistakes were made. When it came to Jake that was the last one who had hit the most had made 14 points, that''s because he was lucky to hit 4 of the Moneyball, the second only had 11 points, and no one was able to throw all the balls in a minute. Now Jake was crying still, he also was not going to throw all the balls, not because it did not give more time because he would not need. When time began to roll Jake also went to make his pitches, he again started throwing on the left side of the court, so calmly and quickly he hit 3 of the 5 pitches with Moneyball too, so he made 4 points. Then he hit two of the five pitches and went to 7 points, in the middle that he was better he hit 4 of the five pitches including the Moneyball thus reaching 12 points after he hit 3 of the five on the right diagonal including Moneyball and went to 16 points, and since he had already won the competition, he purposely missed the last 5 balls and 5 seconds left. So the audience was silent for a moment before starting to clap frantically, several people whistled and some shouted his name until his opponents began to applaud him. Because it now became obvious that he actually made some mistakes, although he did not know the reason or how brilliant his performance would be if he gave the maximum many thought it was not to humiliate his competitors and liked his humility. Many people thought he was not seeing a young man plus an NBA professional because of both the correctness and him had in this competition, after all they had no way of knowing that the measures of this court are completely different from the official, even those who knew also found this, after all, Jake was still seven years old at least to be able to play for the NBA so they saw him as a new star. Only her mother could not applaud much because she was crying with happiness if before she could tell that Jake was lucky now everyone was sure of her skill, and Eva was happy and wondering if her husband was a blessing and seeing what his son was doing the sky. Eva did not care much like Jake, who had now earned an extra $ 500 and put together everything that gave $ 1,000, to say that Jake had already returned the investment he had asked Eva to make. His mother had spent less than $ 500 on the basement remodel and some clothes for Jake and now he could make a double comeback, and it had only been a year since he started. Eve had not thought of that and did not even care anymore. Jake wanted to show his mother that basketball could bring a better life for his family and also pay for Jake''s university, what he wanted to show his mother was that she did not have to work so hard and hurt her health than Jake did in the future could help her. After Jake received the trophy and his prize money, the organization took even more pictures of him and the crowd applauded him as well, so they cleared the court that was going to start the 1-on-1 competition. For this competition there were a lot of people participating despite the entry fee and they were all over 13 years old, the youngest ones who just wanted to participate in something have already participated in the Free Throw competition, now only the older ones were trying, most of them still I was 3 on 3 and not this one. Only those who came alone were in this competition, yet the total was 400 people. The rules of this competition were that the game would last until someone made 10 points or 5 minutes later. The rules were different, but the organizers had to change to finish today. Then the people would begin to make the raffles to determine who would compete against whom, each one would make 8 games until deciding the winner, it was now 5 o''clock in the afternoon this tournament was going to take until 11 at night probably, so the raffles were being made until Jake climbed the court again, everyone applauded him again, now Jake was the favorite to win, no one cared more for the difference in height or age, in fact many thought the others were at a disadvantage now. Of course, Jake''s opponents did not think so, they thought that with their height difference as long as they did not let Jake hurl they would win, they also thought he might have other cards up his sleeve but could not give up for fear of someone younger before to compete. Jake really had a card up his sleeve, it was his speed that would surely be superior to anyone from here so he could use his top speed together with his dribble and good ball control to run into the basket and do a layup, and if the opponent of space not to let him go to the basket he would just throw. Of course, he was not too confident about winning this competition, he has little experience in games with real people and also Jake had seen some people over 1.70 m that would compete with him. So Jake could only hope these players were eliminated before playing with them, he preferred to play a very skillful opponent with a height similar to him than someone much taller than him, after all the only problem he had now was his height. The games would be played on both sides of the court in order to reduce the time, but it would not really take 5 minutes each game before reaching the last 100, so the first round would have 200 games, plus many games would end in 2 or 3 minutes when someone made 10 points quickly. The games passed faster to the joy of the organizers and soon came the turn of Jake his opponent was 1.55 m, then only slightly higher than him, and did not seem to be very skillful, his opponent began with possession of ball and soon tried to leave for the basket using his body, it seemed that the opponent had no confidence in his pitches. Soon as it seemed that he was going to try a layup Jake prepared to defend and stepped forward, but it was a feint of his opponent who took a step back and made a pitch making his first point, then when his opponent started with ball possession again Jake soon tightened the mark, after seeing that he could not move forward, then tried a pitch and missed. Jake ran weighed the ball and went to the three-point area to start his attack, then soon turned around to face his opponent, Jake was trying in that competition a typical street basketball dribble style, he hit the ball quickly in low pitch close to his body and sometimes between his legs, so the opponent could not take the ball, so the opponent closed the distance to not let Jake throw, Jake made a feint to the right and ran to the right, when his opponent realized that it was a fake Jake had already passed and when he tried to run to score Jake accelerated and went to the car, soon made a basket with a layup, so his opponent soon realized as well as the public also that Jake was very well in dribble and was also very fast. When Jake''s opponent realized this, he gave a small space to take time to react to his advance, as soon as he did, Jake cut to the right and flipped without jumping, then made his second point, so now his opponent was in a dilemma , if he gave space Jake would fling and if he scored closely he would dribble. Soon all his competitors had a serious look on his face, Jake was now really the favorite. Chapter 37 A Star Is Born 3 So the game continued with Jake''s total domination by his opponent, he made a few points with 2-point shots, but did not try to make 3-point shots, although Jake was fairly confident in his 3-point shots he knew in one game and with markup his hit rate was very low and with him winning the game had no reason for him to risk losing possession of the ball. His opponent had also realized this and as he knew he would lose at this pace he tried to force Jake to stay out for the 3-point line, plus if he tried to force it too much would be missing and if he gave Jake some space would pass with his speed , so he managed to stop Jake from scoring for a while and Jake did not force the pass either because he knew that his opponent would soon tire. As soon as his opponent began to make mistakes and Jake could do the 10 points soon, Jake finished his first game and was as tiring as he hoped, competing in 2 categories before Jake was a little tired and if he reached the final and did the 8 games Jake could not stand. Good thing Jake still had many Stamina Bars, so this extended tournament would not be a problem, so Jake had his second and third games plus those matches were much easier it seemed that his opponent in the first game could have gone far to the competition if not had faced Jake in the first match. In his fourth game Jake found his first most feared opponent, he was 1.68 m, it was the opponent Jake else thought would be difficult, but Jake soon realized that it might not be so despite his opponent being tall and having some skill he was very slow and his marking was not very strong, it seems that he counted on the mistakes of his opponents and with his height to achieve victory in his previous games, so Jake used his speed to dribble his opponent and make his shots of 2 points, he still did not try to go into the basket because he was afraid to take a block but the shots from far away were not problems. After that Jake won 2 more games with some difficulty and reached the top 4 of the competition 1 against 1, all the other 3 were 15 years and an average height of 1.72 m, the largest was 1.74 m, and different from before all 3 looked like they were very skilled, someone who was tall, fast and knew how to score well as the most feared opponent for Jake, as he only missed 2 games and would finish soon and without much rest Jake ate his Stamina Bar to recover his energy, so he turned what everyone thought was his biggest disadvantage became an advantage, his 3 opponents were tired after 6 games, after all, they depended on his height and always had to score and run to basket to make his points while Jake alone had to take possession of the ball and make his 2-point shots to win. Everyone watching the last four thought Jake was the favorite. Jake was actually much more skillful than the other 3 who had difficult games so far, but everyone who understood the game knew that Jake should have been exhausted by now and also that his opponents would use his height to try to gain the advantage. Soon Jake had his first game his opponent looked tall and strong, he did not seem to be the fast type and was more of a type that uses his body to score as a Center. "Boy, when I first saw you on this court, I never thought you could compete with me in a match, but now after all you''ve done I''d have to be an idiot to underestimate you, even though I have to use my height to win you do not think it''s unfair after all this may be the last time I win you after all next year the height should not be more of a disadvantage for you. " "You talk like you''ve already won, do not worry I will not find your height unfair because I''m going to beat you, it''s just going to be more work than the others." "Being overconfident is already boyish arrogance, you should be satisfied getting two awards should not be too greedy." "If I win hands it''s because I have the ability not because I''m arrogant." "I like you, lad. I''ll let you know the name of the person who taught you a lesson, CJ, that''s the name for you to remember." After CJ said what he wanted, Jake just laughed as if he thought it was ridiculous, he admitted that he thought it was going to be a difficult game, but he did not play several games in his Imagination Training with opponents much taller than him for nothing , he learned several ways to punctuate such people, he just finds more annoying as he said. The first possession of the ball was going to be CJ, it seemed that even the organizers thought that Jake was going to win and they were giving CJ a chance to win, of course, CJ also realized he did not care to be underestimated, despite everything he said to Jake himself knew that he was much inferior to Jake in everything, but that was not only why he was going to give up, he wanted to win that prize in cash and also the trophy. In addition, he had a feeling that Jake would be a great NBA player in the future, so if he could win even having to use his advantage at the time he would have something to boast for the rest of his life, win a game over a future professional player just thinking about it increased the energy of CJ. The game started and CJ soon put the ball up and tried anyway to bounce the ball as far as possible so that Jake could not take the ball while he was down, on top he knew he would not lose his way forward the basket was slow and when he got close to the basket he stood with his back to Jake protecting the ball, it seemed that he was very afraid of losing possession of the ball, then he turned and makes the basket. When Jake saw what CJ was doing he was shocked and irritated, when he heard what CJ was talking about before the game he thought CJ would make the best game of his life and was even thinking that it would be a difficult game. Plus he never thought CJ would make such a shameless game, the crowd was also booming more Jake had to admit he had no idea how to get the ball in that situation. After CJ made the third point, in the same way, the crowd was booing, even more, the audience had never seen this style of play either, they even thought it was illegal and they were looking at the judge. The judge was helpless despite being an ugly game was not illegal, no one did it because it only worked for the difference in height, and it is difficult to find someone who is much taller than another opponent much inferior in ability, if Jake was a little the higher he could steal the ball with ease. When CJ went to make the fourth point Jake could not stand and made the mistake, it seemed that CJ also did not think Jake would appeal to the dirty game and fell soon he tried Free Throw and missed and lost possession of the ball. So Jake figured out how to regain possession, he had confidence in making the points after that, CJ also found that what he was trying to do was not going to work out anymore, so he regretted not having trained Free Throw any more. Jake started the ball and soon felt the pressure of marking, it seemed that CJ also knew how to play and was not only shameless, so Jake tried a race more CJ kept the distance and ran along, Jake felt that if he attempted the shot miss or would be blocked. This was the first time that Jake was in a really difficult situation on the court, it seemed that CJ was well on losing time because he had the advantage on the scoreboard and when the time was over he would win. Jake also noticed this and thought it was time to use the skill he learned in his training, Jake changed his style of dribbling to a faster type and that got the ball higher, so CJ was also confused for a while and soon changed to Marking stance with this new dribbling style Jake could react faster and use his speed to the maximum, so he cut to the right and when CJ was going to follow Jake made a crossover to the left and CJ lost his balance and fell on his butt in the ground so Jake made his first point in the game leaving the audience silent. Chapter 38 A Star Is Born 4 It was a very quick move and with a very natural movement of the body, and it was unexpected that Jake could make this move, it was a very complicated move to learn to do so naturally that could deceive the defender, just as CJ did not expect he ended up in the floor. The public did not expect it either, for a person as young as Jake to be good at one thing, it was just incredible, but Jake seemed to be skilled at various things, he knew how to do Free Throw, mid-range and outside scoring shots, plus inside scoring. Now, in addition, with his high speed, he also knew several moves of dribbles, and it seemed so natural, of course, that Jake did not look good in defense anymore if he was good at everything he would already be in the NBA now. After that the morale of CJ fell to the ground, forcing Jake to make shots of 3 was just to be in trouble, CJ knew that even then would not have much chance to win, especially now that he appeared to have several types of dribbles, players who always made shots was much easier than those who made dribbles for the basket. So Jake varied between crossovers, several types of size-up and even spins, after Jake made 4 points CJ had already given up the game, at least he did not want to lose so ugly, so he continued to force the score and even made a foul that Jake converted easily, so when he was 6 to 3 and Jake saw that the time was running he made a 3-point shot and hit, so ended up 8 to 3. CJ was sad to have lost more consoling himself thinking that he had been the only one he had not lost before time runs out so far, and he was right, no one else cheered him despite him playing well because of the ugly game he tried to do in beginning. So Jake rested for a while watching his opponent''s game in the final, one was 1.71 m and the other 1.74 m, both were too high for him to play freely than by height Jake did not care who his opponent was. As soon as the game progressed everyone could naturally see that the tallest was the most skilled, he knew how to use his height well to do indoor scoring and also had the ability to do mid-range scoring, in defense he was also very good against his opponent he managed to make 2 blocks in his game, his opponent was also good but managed to make only 4 points, and the highest was with 7 points now and the game still had a time to finish. While Jake watched the game he tried to think of ways to beat the taller guy, it would be difficult for him to be able to do inside scoring and he also had to be careful not to lose possession of the ball because if his opponent went to the inside scoring him did not know how to stop it. So Jake decided that the only way he could win was with his speed and his dribbling moves, he might even have to use his outside scoring despite being too risky, and he did not think his opponent would make room for him. "Fate, what do you think your skill is compared to other high school players?" [I think in attack he''s just C more in defense would be B, he has good stability for a defensive player and will still get much louder than he is now, I think until he can become an NBA player in the future with his talent.] "Seriously? I do not think I remember such a player in the NBA so he may not have trained enough, it''s a shame for you to speak so well of him I think he has talent. " [It is not always just lack of training, it could be a cause similar to yours or other circumstances, without a player or an athlete in any sport does not only require more skill also a bit of luck and also persistence if he is not lucky, suffer some injury or think it is not good enough to risk his future he could try to do something else.] "You''re right, although I find it a pity each person has their own circumstance if my mother had problems and I had to make quick money or stay home to take care of her I think I could give up basketball too." So Jake finished seeing the game in silence, as he needed to focus this time he was not the audience to stay with his mother but stayed close to the court to watch the match. When the game ended with the highest guy''s victory he immediately glanced at Jake, he had seen him while he was playing more could not divert his attention until the end of the game. So the referee called Jake to the court and said that the final would start in 5 minutes to give them time to rest. "So you''re Jake, it''s amazing what you did today, and although I find you more talented than I am, your age only gives me more pressure, I did not want to be mocked by my friends for losing someone so much new and smaller than me. " "You''re also very good, if you keep working hard I think in just a few years you could be in the NBA." "I do not want to go to the NBA, my dream is to be a doctor and not a player and since neither me nor my family has the conditions to pay for a college I''m going to try to win a sports bag playing basketball, so I''m only going to play until I finish college . " "I imagined something like this, it''s good that you want to follow your dream, and also you can always play in your leisure time, so it''s good too." "You''re the first person who is not surprised when I said I do not want to be a player, I liked you more and I will not go easy on you in the game, after all, I want the 500 dollars too, my name is David happy to meet you, it. " As soon as Jake shook David''s hand he went to the corner to rest and focus on the game, just like the system said David should have a situation not to be in the NBA and that reason seemed like it was because he would be a doctor in the future, also a bit must be because he was not confident in doing much success in the NBA, after all just being able to play does not mean you can be rich playing. After a while the game started, again Jake did not start with the ball possession, David calmly hit the ball and tried to fool Jake, but Jake did not move so Jake went to the basket and after reaching within range basket turned on his back and protected the ball. Jake really was not very talented in defense, his opponent did what he wanted in front of him and he could not get the time to catch the ball, this was one of the skills Jake had to learn that was one of the most fundamental of all basketball the steal. As it was a skill that Jake had never done in a game before Jake could not learn and so was not on his skills list as the others, but this was still unacceptable, it was impossible for him to be a good player without mastering steal, plus he had no way to learn or train because he never played with other people, and in his Imagination Training his opponents could not use steal either because they could only use skills that Jake had so the games were more open and less lacking and more points. More Jake tried a lot this last month in his training of imagination and got the way to use the steal, now only needed to use in a game, David also should have realized that Jake was not very good at using steal otherwise he would not do that type movement in front of you. So after David made the basket he seemed more confident that Jake did not know how to do the steal, and he was right, so he was trying to make the same move again, sure that Jake would not catch the ball this move was better than the move without shame of CJ from before and would give the same result. This time it would not be like this, Jake purposely never used any defensive technique before, just by waiting for such a chance, and also because he did not need it, Jake wanted his opponent to lower his guard in front of him and so he would make an obvious move with David was doing now, a pity that no one had ever realized that such a skilled player as Jake did not know how to make such a simple play that was taught in every school. As David repeated the play and Jake saw that the opportunity was certain he made the move and stole the ball from David''s possession, and at that moment Jake learned one of the most important skills he needed to become a more complete player. Chapter 39 A Star Is Born 5 Of course David did not know that he was responsible for Jake becoming more complete as a basketball player and that this move he used in him now would be one of the moves that would make Jake known, and if he knew that it would not necessarily make him happier anyway nobody liked to be the wheeled stone of someone. The only thing David thought now was that he was wrong and Jake knew how to use the steal for a long time because the weather was perfect, if Jake was not so meticulous he would have learned that movement for a long time after all his ball time was always great. More so Jake regained possession of the ball and as David was shocked Jake tied the game and continued with the possession of the ball. This made David very bitter, as he had seen that Jake was very bad at the defense he had thought of making as many points as he could before he lost possession of the ball and would try his best after losing to regain possession again, so it would be a tight game more he would win. Plus he could never have thought that Jake only allowed him to make a point and soon would draw, and all this by a mistake of judgment of him, but he was also impressed with the talent that Jake was showing, for him Jake looked like an onion when you peeled one layer had another underneath, and if you could peel several, you would cry. But he soon recovered and pressed in the defense to try to recover the ball. Jake also had to calm down, he was very excited now, the real motive of Jake trying to participate in the 1-on-1 competition even though he could not win was to try to achieve this ability, and for Jake to achieve this skill was the most important win the trophies or prize money. After all, now that Jake learned the steal even if it''s F rank now, it could develop rapidly in his Imagination Training, and there too the games would be more complete and more challenging than before. So he would not be embarrassed when he joined the school team and would not have to ask someone to teach him. So Jake was trying to get a way through David, but David was a good defender if Jake was the best in the attack of this tournament, so David was the best on defense. After a fake attempt Jake brought the ball closer to his body again, unlike before, Jake was hitting the ball at the height of his waist and this is because he could not make the ball hit lower as before to be able to change direction and get their dribbles. More Jake did not do this from the beginning not because he was hiding his talents more because he knew that with this style of possession the opponent would have the opportunity to steal his ball. So just when he saw that he could not do it any other way Jake started to play like that. So David saw an opening and tried to steal the ball, but this opening was a trap for Jake, so David stretched his arm Jake threw the ball over David''s head and ran to the basket to do the layup. This is not a move that anyone has to do because it has to have a great precision of judgment, good reflexes, and speed of muscle explosion to make the move before the opponent reacts. And when David realized he was cheated, the ball was already in the basket, of course now David was not going to allow a play of this to happen again, but Jake did this just to ensure that he would be ahead of the board so David would have the highest pressure as time went by and made more mistakes. The game continued to play and whenever David made a mistake Jake quickly dribbled and would make the point, so soon the game was 4 to 1 for Jake. The time was passing and David was already sweating nervously, so he made another mistake and Jake went to the basket to do another layup, when David saw that Jake was going to make another point and increase the advantage he ran and without caring to make a foul tried to block Jake''s layup and succeeded, Jake did not expect a block at that time and lowered his guard. This was an important thing that David achieved with this block, in addition to preventing Jake from making another point and regaining possession of the ball he left Jake apprehensive in trying to do inside scoring because he could take a block by the height difference. So David did 2 points with layups and then Jake managed to steal the ball again, this time Jake did not try so actively to go to the basket and thought if he was going to try to make room for a 2-point shot, but David was tightening the mark and not space. So Jake stopped hesitating and took a few steps back and tried a 3-point shot, David did not expect that either he did not try to stop, the only chance he had to win the match was for Jake to try to shoot from the outside and erase some. More like he was thinking about it Jake hit his first shot of 3 and got a 3-point lead, so now that it was less than 1 minute before the end of time he could only manage the ball. Although he could only pass the time as David hoped Jake saw that the mark was far away and did another shot of 3, and hit again, now having done 8 points and with a 5-point lead it could be said that the game was over. And David accepted it too, Jake just wasted the time and David did not try to steal the ball either, it''s important to know how to lose in the sport if Jake had not won anything David might even have been ashamed of losing to an 11-year-old boy more like Jake won two competitions before that was no shame. Everyone who understands basketball and came to watch today knew that Jake was a genius, of course they did not know how much Jake struggled in his training every day too, more than a successful person does not have to strive to be the best, the important to all was just now and his future, what happened before only matters to the fans that Jake would do after being famous, then what he did to train would inspire the young in the future. So Jake received his third trophy and another 500 dollars, thus having received to the total 1500 dollars, after taking several photos the organization asked Jake to take another photo with the three trophies and Jake accepted since they gave so much money for him because to deny one more photo. So Eva brought the other two trophies and as Jake could not hold the three together he asked his mother to take the picture with him too, everyone accepted and Eva took the picture with a big smile on her face. She never imagined that after only a little more than 1 year of training Jake would dominate other young people up to 15 years in her area, of course, she knew he could not be the best, more than 11 years she had no doubt that no one was better than Jake. And Eva knew that because Jake was so skilled in basketball he could easily get a sports bag to study whatever he wanted in a college and get a good job in the future. Eva had no idea that Jake planned to play professional basketball in the NBA in the future, of course despite seeing her son perform well in this competition for Eva the NBA and what he did is like comparing a person who knows how to sing a bit well with a singer professional, for these things not only have capacity but also very lucky. As soon as Jake finished taking his photos he was ready to go home because the hour was already approaching ten o''clock and Jake would not compete in the last category of the day, but when he went out with his mother he saw that David was approaching. Jake told his mother to go ahead to have space to talk to David, after all, he was the toughest opponent Jake ever faced. "Congratulations, you deserved to win, I came here thinking that I would win easily but I did not think I would find someone better than me and even younger." "You also played very well, forced me to use everything I had, if I did not have to make that money I would have let you win." "It was me who would not be happy about it, I do not need that much money like that, I wish you would let me win." "I think we all have our own pride." "I guess so, you asked me if I wanted to play professional basketball before and you''re going to be a pro." "Of course, yes, you will still see me playing in the NBA in the future, although I agree with you that sometimes it is good to have a profession that you like, fortunately I like to mess with stocks and companies so I can still be a professional player and finish college and have a good job in the future. " "That''s a good idea too, I hope I can see you in the future on television, then I can even be proud to have lost you. Good luck." "Good luck to you too." Chapter 40 The Vacation 3 Jake and his mother stopped at a pizzeria on the way back home to celebrate Jake''s huge success, Eva was very proud and would definitely brag to her work friends tomorrow at the restaurant. After they were full Jake asked to pay the bill to celebrate his first prize. He gave 1,000 dollars to Eva so she could use whatever she wanted, Jake wanted to give all the prize and Eva did not want to accept anything, in the end, they granted and Jake gave 1,000 dollars that Eva said she would put into Jake''s savings that she was going to make, and Jake got $ 500 to use on his first investments. When they returned home, there was all the food Eva had made in the morning and they forgot that they promised to eat when they returned home, so they laughed for a while and went to sleep. The next day Jake went to meet Joseph and told his friend that he had won the 3 competitions that took part in a tournament with young people up to 15 years old. Joseph, of course, did not believe Jake''s fanciful story at all, but Jake was very happy to see the shocked face of his friend when he showed the pictures taken to Joseph. So Joseph finally saw why Jake was sure he would join the school basketball team even though he had never played on a team before, that was because he had talent, so it''s harder for people to believe that someone close to you is talented. Especially Jake who is also so good at school and is the best at school, Joseph has seen many talented people in sports at his old school, the more the player was better at sports, the worse he was usually at school. And so the final days of Jake''s vacation were over, he would sometimes stay with his mother, sometimes train and sometimes go out with Joseph. "Fate, now that the holidays are over, show me what my stats are like." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 11 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: Middle School Player] [Position: PG] [Height: 1.51 m] [Weight: 48 Kg] [Force 13] [Agility 12] [Resistance 16] [Intelligence 47] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man B] [Dribble SS] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block C] [Pass SS] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal E] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So Jake looked satisfied to his statistics window, especially in the skills part, although his other skills had not changed at all, he now had a new ability being shown and it was the steal that Jake had learned in his final game against David. And he was already in rank E, Jake was very happy especially when he made his first game in the space of his imagination training, his opponents and teammates were much better and more complete after being able to use steal, and the game was much more especially after Jake put the skill of everyone in the SS rank, even he had some balls that were stolen in his possession, but only in the beginning, after he got used to it he did not lose the ball anymore. Plus this was just because his ball possession ability and dribbling was much higher level than his opponents, once he enters the high school level will be much more difficult than now. His stats have also greatly improved after the natural growth of his body and also of his intensive training, he after a time could equal the body of a well-trained athlete, and when that time lasts to play a whole game should not be more so hard. "Now I''m not afraid of anything else with people my age, I just have to get the team to win a few tournaments and if I''m lucky I can get sponsorship before I go to high school." [I think you''re underestimating somewhat the difficulty of winning tournaments on a team, I admit that you alone are the best at Middle School only in your 1-on-1 skill, with two talented scorers marking you would already be nullified in one game, then you have to rely on the talent of your teammates too if you want to be champion, that''s the beauty of team games, individual skill is not everything.] "So you mean that if my team is not good I do not have the chance to win, that''s not fair." [Of course this is fair, you just have to play for a better team, so many great NBA players end up changing teams, it''s because they want to win and they know they can not alone, you alone can be able to take a bad team for the national competition, but when you get there all teams will have skilled players that you can not defeat alone.] "So I have to hope that the team at my school has at least two more skilled players, with me too 3 should be enough to be the champion." [If there are 3 players of your level it may be possible, but I find it very difficult, you have to cheer more to have a balanced team than a few skilled players, even if the ability of all your players are just above average as B by less, with you on the team you can be able to win the national championship, but if you have only one bad player, you will not have the chance because that player will be the weakness of your team that can be used in an important moment.] Jake knew that what the system was saying was right, but he could not choose the skill of his teammates, it was his mistake to choose a school that was not famous for basketball, of course, this happened only because this was the old school of Jake and he had some emotional attachments for her, and yet Jake is fortunate enough to meet Joseph in his first year of school. Jake also did not want to think about playing basketball for a team until he entered high school, but as he had to train his skills and team play, he could not run away from it forever, in the worst case Jake would show his talent for everyone to see and even if he did not win now he would win in high school. The important thing was to find someone who could sponsor Jake to help his mother get out of this job, and for that, his individual ability was enough. If it were necessary, Jake would draw attention from the big private schools and try to get a scholarship at a school that was good at basketball. [This is a good idea, Jake, but you can not be satisfied with just a scholarship to enter a private school, try to get a sponsorship for you to play for this school, so they would pay you as a club pays a professional player, so you get everything you want and still win the championship next year.] "I could do that, but let''s hope because we''re still just assuming that the ability of the players in my school team is not good enough to win the national basketball championship title, if they''re good enough I do not need to worry anymore to change schools. " Jake really was hoping to be like that, he did not want to have to leave this school so, besides Jake having a fondness for this school he still had to think about his friend Joseph, he had heard from Oliver that after a year had passed Joseph wanted him to be able to move to a private school and end this experience of living a more humble life, more perhaps because of Jake, Joseph decided to continue in the school he was now, and so Jake also did not want to leave school and leave Joseph back. [I think you do not really need to worry about your friend Joseph, as you heard from his father, he''s already passed his test and no longer needs to stay in a public school if you have to go to a private one because of basketball , I''m sure Joseph will also want to go with you, and Oliver''s father will also like this, because a private school has a far more superior teaching than a public school, and the reason he placed his son in a school where no one knew he was rich was just to let you out of concern, and you can help look at Joseph in that.] When Jake heard what the system said he was a little more relaxed, he was actually more worried about his friend than the school, so if Joseph could go with him Jake would be much quieter in changing schools. Then at the re-start of classes after the holidays, Jake would go to the basketball team to be tested whether he could enter or not, but what no one knew was that Jake would also be testing the basketball team that day. Chapter 41 The Basketball Team 1 So Jake''s vacation ended he went to school normally and as the school was a little away from school and further away from the place that the basketball tournament was held only Joseph knew how Jake had excelled in those holidays. Jake thought of just pretending to be reading the Spanish book because he already knew how to talk, but later he discovered that even reading this book again there were many things he had to learn. Then he turned one day he read the Spanish book and the next he read the business management book, this was much harder for Jake because he had not yet studied anything he was reading in those books. So after the school ended Jake did not go home as usual to train, he went to the basketball club, and today he had heard that it would be made a selection as if it were the first year to see if it would enter the team 1, team 2 and team 3. Team 1 is the starting team, team 2 is the reserve and team 3 only watches from the stands and only play when all of team 1 and team 2 cannot play whoever does not go either to team 3 can help the team to catch the ball and administrative work or they could only train in physical education classes. Today would be the selection for the 3 teams as the veterans of last year had now graduated, more generally the newcomers went into time3 and at most for team 2, to enter the starting team they had to be good at everything, which Jake did not it was last year, but now he had the confidence. So Jake introduced himself to the coach named Roy Carter, coach Roy was once the star of the basketball team at a Texas university, but he can not be a professional player because he had to take care of the family business after he got married and his wife asked to take over the business, coach Roy became coach to stay close to the sport he likes so much. Even though he graduated from physical education and coaching because he was not as well-known as a player and wanted to be trained close to home he agreed to train a team at a not very good school in sports. After all, his dream was not to be a national basketball champion with his team, more than just one of his players for the NBA, so he could say that he made some contribution to the spore, but in 10 years of work, he never found a player with potential. In today''s training Roy was not in a very good mood because he thought the team of last year was very good even more were eliminated in the second round of qualifying for the state tournament, which he thought could go at least for the national team was a disappointment, and all the best players of the team formed last year, despite having a few good players from the second year to be holders is still not enough. Those who signed up for the basketball team this year make up as little as 15 people, as usual, the team had 6 spots open last year, and he would be lucky if he found 6 good enough to fill the vacancy. So he started calling the names of the new players one by one, the lowest and most overweight were 4 and all were below average and were eliminated, plus 3 had the right weight and height for Middle School also played down and were eliminated. So now he had 8 players to fill 6 spots, when he started looking at those 8 he saw someone in the corner, was a young blond who had striking eyes and a well-defined body, he was looking calmly at the situation different from others 7, when Roy looked at the plug to see who it was he was surprised. He was surprised by two things, this young man was in the second year and he has never played in a team before, and was not even interested in signing up last year, when he read the reason he laughed, the reason was because he knew he would not have chance to play for being the first year. He was right, hierarchy rules are very strong even in basketball in schools, a first-year player hardly ever plays, no matter how good he is. And the other reason that Roy was surprised was that he knew the face of Jake, this was the young man called by a genius by the teachers, they said that he made a high note in all matters and also that in the meantime he studied Spanish in class. Roy never imagined that the genius of the school would like to play basketball, in his day those who took the highest marks did not like sports very much, and by the height and his body he has the right way for a sophomore basketball player. So the other 7 did their test and 4 passed 1 failed and two were left waiting, if there was no one better they would enter. Jake finally came, he was tired of waiting and was very disappointed with the level of the new players of the team, all were very bad and only went through because the requirement was low and yet only 4 of 14 passed. The test requirements were to get 5 in 10 Free Throw, run 10 laps on the court in minutes and hit 6 in 10 balls from the 2-point area, and then dribble well a 2-team marker that was almost stopped. Even with such easy requirements many still did not meet, Jake, of course, did it all very easily by taking praise from everyone who was watching the selection. After Jake entered the team 2 as the others entered some for team 2 and others for team 3, and now coach Roy asked if team 3 wanted to challenge team 2, no one raised his hand, and when asked if team 2 wanted to challenge the headlines Jake raised his hand and three others as well. Thus would have a game with the starting team and team 2, the game would be in 2 times of 8 minutes each, and the 5 that improve to play in the opinion of the coach Roy will be of the titular team. As the teams were getting ready, seeing what positions they were going to play, what the tactic was, coach Roy was seeing everything from outside, he was paying attention mostly to Jake, he felt that Jake had the ability to be the starter of that team and maybe even the captain, because it looked like he was from PG position, it was the position of the old captain who also went out to go to high school, and the reserve of that position also went to high school. What was playing in the starting lineup today was the 3 in the position and was the first year and now the second year, this player does not have much confidence in the court and does not play very well also, he is the opposite of Jake who overflows confidence and took over the lead of team 2, and the captain of the starting team is now Center, who said he does not want to continue like this. So after the two teams were ready the game started, the ball went to the side of team 1 who soon passed the ball to the PG who seemed not to have caught the ball but a hot potato when he tried to calm down Jake was already in his marking, he had told his teammates that they could leave the other team''s PG for him to score and worry about the others. After playing a lot of time in the space of his imaginary training with his opponents at ever higher skill levels, and also after winning the 1 on 1 competition, Jake was now much more confident in his defense, he could not do anything if I opponent was much taller on the ground he had confidence he would not be dribbled. And his opponent seemed to have no confidence in his dribble either when he saw the good posture of Jake he immediately passed the ball, his pass was good plus he only passed to the closest teammates which made the move more predictable and easy to defend. So when he was going to give another pass Jake stepped forward and stole the ball running to the court of the other team now empty, some tried to follow in the markup but realized that Jake was very fast and soon Jake did the layup and the first two points. So everyone soon realized that Jake was very skilled and also that he had already gained the starting position in that move. After that the PG of the other team seemed to be afraid of Jake and soon passed the ball, after a while the titular team changed the game posture and who was setting the game now was the SG of the other team, this SG was now a veteran of the third year and also started last year, he was the highest scorer of the team and also was the vice-captain last year, he had said that after losing several important points last year because of pressure and made the team be eliminated that not he was mature enough to be the captain. More was undeniable that he deserved to be the starter and respected, moreover, that defeat made him much more mature and humble, so he would not make the mistake again. This SG soon picked up the ball made the dribble on his marker and after entering the mid-range makes the 2-point shot. Jake soon realized that this was the leader of the team and asked his teammate to let Jake mark this SG, the companion was very happy about it and soon accepted Jake did not want to lose this game, he wanted to establish his authority in this block. Chapter 42 The Basketball Team 2 So team 2 started with possession again, Jake soon received the ball and was advancing calmly to the court of the opposing team looking for to control the rhythm of the game and to calm his teammates. Coach Roy also realized this and praised Jake in his heart, the reason that the PG was often the captain was so, PG''s job is to organize the team without their attack and to control the pace of play, Jake learned this while playing in the dimension of your imagination training. It was very remarkable to be able to lead their teammates when they played together for the first time, but the youngsters always respected the best, and Jake gained his authority making that move. Soon he was in the line of 3 points and all his companions were marked, this served to remind Jake that this was a real game and not as in his training of imagination that he had only to think and his companions moved as his will. Here he needed to combine the plays and talk with his teammates, he soon made a signal to the SG of his team that realized he unsealed and soon received the Jake pass, then the SG left for the bottle and when another player of the team opponent went out to mark it he passed to his mate who was free and that scored the 2 points. This was the way of the teams without much training if you find a small space to pass the ball to the defense of the other team dismounts, so the good pass and the vision of the players were important. Still, the starting team did not shake, they had experience and they would not be agitated just for losing so little, so the SG that was now setting up the ball received the ball and Jake soon appeared to mark it. Jake on the spot noticed that this player was different from the other and he could not steal the ball so easily, then the SG tried a dribble to escape the mark of Jake but he could not get rid of the mark, this is one of the things that Jake learned well in the 1-on-1 tournament, when you''re away from the basket a little space for your opponent, so you run less rich to be dribbled, and close to the 3-point line you tighten more on the markup. Jake had confidence in his speed so he could give some space, he did not expect his opponent to risk a shot of 3 and even if he did he probably would not score the 3 points. The SG seeing that he could not get rid of Jake looked for a good pass option, the teammates who were in last year''s starting lineup with him on the court now were Center and small forward, among them Center was not very good at attacking only defending and small forward was skillful and fast. The point guard and Power forward had already graduated and the two on their team were not very skilled. Then his only option was the SF so he made a signal to his partner who soon understood and easily got rid of the mark and received the ball and gave a 2-point shot. Jake was a little disappointed with his teammates, they were passed very easily, so it was no use defending him well and the rest being a weakness. So Jake understood even more than what the system had said was a fact, without skilled teammates he would never have a chance to go to the national championship with only his ability. Even if he only made shots of 3 and took the team away in the back would have times that every time he caught the ball would be marked by more than 2 opponents or would miss every time he was shot. This is the reality of a team sport, now if your teammates were a little good it would be enough to win the tournament because it would not be just him who would make all the points of the team. So when Jake restarted the attack he realized that the SG of the other team was his marker now, not that it made a difference for Jake, he had confidence that he could pass anyone on that court, but that is not his goal what he wants is to show a little of your skill and find companions with skills. So the game was gone and the first half was over, Jake''s team was losing by 4 points, as he was not trying to score many points and only gave passes and organized plays, a pity that his teammates could not hold on to the defense. So Jake had already figured out who should be the starting team after the end of the game, he should be the PG, what was marking he should be SG, the other team''s Center should also be the starter, plus the team 2 Center as well showed potential, perhaps with a year of training, next season he would be the starter. The SF of the other team was very skillful as well, he does good mid-range shots and also knows how to get on the pitch, and is also good at dribbling. The PF was only the weakest position, the biggest candidate should be what is playing in the starting team, although he is only average in both the attack and the defense, he could become the team''s weak spot. Just as Jake had already analyzed all the players he would use the second half to establish his superiority, although he did not like to show it was important for his teammates to know of his ability and for him to become the captain and team leader. So in the second quarter, he used all his speed and resilience to dominate the match, he totally disregarded his marker and just ran around the court until he hit the car or made 2 and 3-point shots. When they were only two minutes away their marker was already exhausted and ended up butt on the ground twice by Jake''s crossovers, so when the game finished the second team won by a difference of 11 points, this because the defense was not as good as the attacking, and the home team did not allow the lead. When the game was over everyone was dripping with sweat and very tired, only Jake was breathing normally, after all, Jake was preparing his resistance to bear in the future a game of 48 minutes, for him 16 minutes was nothing now. So everyone on the court including the coach were looking at Jake as if they had seen a monster, this ability was not something for an 11-year-old to have, and even more so because everyone knew that Jake had never played on a team before, that it means that everything he knew he learned alone. Of course, this is not the truth though he actually trained himself alone what Jake had learned was with the coaches who were his acquaintances in his past life, he learned several coaching methods and also saw many games between youngsters so he was able to learn to do everything that does not require other people to train. And this was also partially solved when he learned ''imagination training'', with which he can train all abilities. "Well that was a good game, now I''m going to decide who goes to the starting team and who goes to team 2." Coach Roy decided to talk to end the strange weather that was left after Jake''s incredible performance, at the end of the first half everyone noticed how he was a skilled PG who knew how to lead his teammates and boom passes and even defend well. More in the second half he showed all his skills, as he was able to do whatever he wants on the court and even give 3 point shots, he showed the difference between him and the others and how he was the star of the team. It was as if he had two different personalities, in the first he was a good player for the team and in the second he was the player who did everything by himself. "Well then in PG''s position Jake will be the starter and then if everyone agrees he''ll also be the captain." So everyone agreed from the headlines last year no one wanted the position and as he showed, Jake had the ability to lead the team. "Good then for the position of SG Lucas Garcia, for the position of SF Aiden Lewis, for the position of PF Luke Allen and for Center Owen Turner." So the team was formed after everyone complimented the training ended for the rest of the day and everyone went home, Jake was a little upset because now that he saw the team he knew it was impossible for him to win the national tournament. Some were even skillful, but this was just for school and maybe some were good for the state level, more for the national nobody was, what he expected was the more he trained and played they would get better, after all, the experience is also important for judge the skill. Jake did not expect much, just which his teammates were good enough to hold the defense and make a few points when he needed them, so the other teams could not focus all the way on him. Chapter 43 The Basketball Team 3 So Jake came home and went to dinner with his mother. "And my son, how was your day today?" "It was a very good mother, in class everything was the same as always and what I wanted to tell you is that I joined the basketball team and I will be the captain." "That''s great, my son, now you can do more what you like and make new friends." Jake told his mother that he would be the captain just to make her proud and happy of him, he did not even care about it, this team for him is just a passing thing he had decided that if he did not win the tournament this year he would speak with Joseph to choose a school that had a better basketball team. So Jake went to his room and was thinking about today''s game, he still could not take any hasty conclusions because he had not yet seen how the titular team would play together, and he also did not know what the level of the other teams'' players was. After all, he seems to have heard that the team last year had a good chance of reaching the national championship, this could mean that the other teams are not that good either. They still had 3 of the top players last year, he did not know how the PF was anymore thought impossible that the PG was even better than him, so he was sure he could take the team at least to the national championship, so he would have a chance of being called by some sponsor. "Fate, can you tell me what is the average ability of my team players compared to the best of Middle School?" [Of course I''ll tell you, just for you to have referenced your average is S, and you''re just not SS for your defense, after all, your position is geared more towards the attack, your team''s SG has an average A plus almost B, he has some ability and his defense is very good, but he is not good at 3-point shooting and his pass and dribble are average.] [Your team''s SF has average B, has good dribble and ball control, his mid-range shot is good and his layup too, plus his pass is bad and his 3-point shot too, his defense is weak.] [The center of his team is almost C-B, he''s very good at defense and rebound, medium in the pass is very poor in attack and dribble.] [The PF is D is bad at defense and attack, I think he can improve, but it will be at most B in a year.] The skills of his team is as he thought, the PF will be the weakness of his team in the competitions, even if he can improve it will be the only medium, and that is to say that he will not have anyone high in the bottle that can score this is another disadvantage, at least his defense is not too bad, he can send his PF to score the worst opponent and so not lose many points because of him. It''s not that bad, but according to the system he said it is not enough for him to win the national championship, yet he will have to try to take his team as far as possible, in order to be able to be seen by someone. He was in a hurry to get a sponsorship now because Jake wanted to get his mom out of the restaurant as fast as possible, as he knew she had died of stress in her other life, he knew her mother had a fragile heart, and now it was the only time he would need to, because when he is close to 16 and starts investing in the stock market he will not have to worry about money anymore. The other day Jake went to school normally, classes passed quickly and soon came the break he met with Joseph. "So you joined the basketball team and became the captain, I would have been a bit surprised if you had not told me what you did at the street tournament, now this is what I expected for you." "It''s annoying how you get used to things very fast, it was very funny that you surprised me when I showed you the photos." "I think nothing you do more will amaze me so much, you seem to be good at everything, in studies, at sports, leave something to us mere mortals." "There''s a lot that I can not do, go there and be the best in one of them." They played for a while and after school, Jake went to his first basketball practice, so after two hours the training was over. Jake went home disappointed with the level of school training, it seems he did well at home training last year, the first half hour is warm up, then half an hour of basic training that is worse than what he does at home only in a team, then a tactical and positioning training, at least one good thing in that, and then the last half hour of a lightweight game for the players to do what they just learned. As he was disappointed he went to ask if it was always so with SG Lucas. "Is it always like this? Almost always, only on weekend days, we have the whole day that is much more intense, we train everything we did today for a longer time and is well pulled in the physical part, I do not think we have much to train, after all, we already learn the basics before. " "What if there''s someone who does not know the basics?" "If you have someone like that you will not be able to join the team, the most basic training is often done even in physical education, so it''s rare for anyone not to know." So Jake understood, he had thought wrong, if he had tried to join the team last year or pass the test he would pass so he would not have a chance to improve, it seems he had the right decision to stay to train in his basement. In addition, after today he completely lost hope that the PF will achieve a level of power to help with the team in time to play the championship games. So spent a few weeks of training, as Lucas said on weekends the training is better, more often than not training 3-point shots, so everyone on your team is bad at it, if he did not train as much he would be too. Jake also learned a few things in these training, such as tactics and strategies that can be used in a game, and whenever he could he would go to Center Owen to learn some things about defense and harnessed and taught some things about how to attack. Plus he could not teach much, just how to make baskets in the bottle, because the way that the Centers play in a game is a different way he does not know the coach Roy also seems not to know, so it''s not Owen''s fault to attack more than he had no one to learn. When Jake told Owen that he could try to learn by watching others play he almost picked up from the center, only Jake is able to do something like that, normal people do not just learn by watching, they have to be taught step by step, and then train a lot to finally learn. Jake always talked to other players and tried to make them combine signals to make at the time of the game, after all, he can not tell the game to play in front of his opponents. Jake was also trying to combine signals for more complicated moves that involved several moves of his team players and even many passes so they could score more easily. When Jake heard that Owen could not score, he wondered how coach Roy could let such a player play in his team, after all, it would be like having an attacking player less on the court, but how the training went through Jake learned why. Owen did all the other roles that a Center had to do, he was a good reference center to pass the ball quickly in the bottle and he could give more possibilities of pass that Jake would not have in his position, also Owen was very good in rebounds , he would take the majority of what he disputed in the training, so it gave more security to those who wanted to risk a shot from further away. So he was a good player, if they had a better PF they could have more chances to go further to the championship. One day when the training was over Roy saw Jake sighing in the middle of the court as he looked at the players, the coach did not understand that the workout had been good and his team was even better than last year with Jake in the team. "What you''re sighing at, Jake, your teammates are looking so bad." Roy asked jokingly, but Jake did not respond and just smiled. "You really think the team is bad, boy you''re very demanding, you''re much better than last year, and if nothing goes wrong to go to the national championship, it''s not good for you." Jake glanced at his coach and decided to speak his thoughts. "It''s not that coach, it''s not that they are bad, I think that besides Luke everyone is above average only that for what I wanted is not enough, and in two weeks the regional tournament begins, I do not think they get better. " Roy also agreed with Jake''s vision, taking out Luke everyone was above average, especially Jake, yet he did not understand what he was not satisfied with. "And what did you want me to think these good players are not enough?" "To be champion of the national championship" Chapter 44 The Regional Championship 1 So Jake responded to the coach without even looking at him and then left. Roy was frozen by shock for a while and when he recovered Jake was already gone. Roy really did not expect Jake to be so ambitious, he even thought coaching would be great if his team entered the national championship, the more he won, he knew it was impossible. Now he understood what Jake said the team was not enough, really to be the champion was still a long way off, and Luke would be the big flaw of his team in the national championship, until the state they could let Luke score the worst player of each team, but the national team did not have a bad player, everyone had to be good. After thinking a little he understood why Jake dreamed of being the champion, after all with his talent he could even be elected MVP of the national championship, being the champion is normal for him to expect this. More Roy knew that his school team was not enough, so he also wondered why Jake went to study at his school and not another famous for having a good basketball team. Of course no matter how he thought about it he could not imagine that the reason was that just over a year ago Jake not even know how to play basketball knew how much more to think about choosing a school that was famous in that, in fact, Jake really did not expect to improve so quickly , he was hoping to reach the level of others in high school, but the system greatly accelerated his plans. Roy was also glad that Jake was wise enough not to tell the others that he wanted to be the champion, it was too bad to give false hopes to his teammates, then they would be more depressed when they could not. As weeks went by quickly and the day of the first regional championship game arrived, there would be 32 teams from the city of Miami and the county as well, and the winning team would go to the Florida State Championship, then another 64 teams would pass and the winner would go for the national championship, that another 64 teams would dispute the champion trophy. Today''s game was with a team from a not very well-known school, so they should win today so they were pretty calm, the Western School team always participated only to complete the numbers. Still, all the players who were having their first game were a bit nervous, Jake was also a bit nervous, although it is not a very important game for his future career can be said that he will always remember this game throughout his life. The other team seemed more nervous still, last year Jake''s school team was a very strong team at least for the regional games, they won that championship and were eliminated in the state, of course, that''s the mentality in sports, always someone wants to conquer more than it has before. Jake''s team wants to get to the state more for this adversary team to reach the state already would be a great glory, besides, when playing with young teams the strong and weak team is never very defined, if the entire team that is strong Middle School way the team in the other year may be weak. And if a player like Michael Jordan joins any team, that team becomes strong, of course, Jake''s team this year was stronger because he had him. The league rules are four periods of eight minutes each and an interval after the second ten minute period, Jake could easily play the four periods without slowing down the pace but he knew his teammates would not hold out. Another thing is that no matter how much of a score they score more than their opponent, they would play the same way because they were already prepared to lose and were only playing for fun or gaining experience, so their minds would be different. So Jake''s work as PG was to control the pace of play so that his team did not have to run the whole game, in defense they had the confidence to mess up the other team''s plays so they were not afraid of a defeat. In the beginning, Jake''s team gained possession and the ball was sent to Jake to organize the play, so he went calmly to the opposing court, 24 seconds for possession of the ball in a quiet game is a long time. So he advanced to a three-point line and the other team''s defensive line seemed well posted, but that was the basics trained by all teams, they would have to make a play to test the waters. The PG of the other team was marking Jake at some distance as he did not know if he was good at throwing or dribbling us into the basket he had to stay in the middle. Jake soon signaled for the team to change positions they had practiced in training and the team changed positions, the defenders did not wait for it and Jake found SF Aiden free to receive the ball. He made the pass quickly and Aiden straightened and shot 2 for the basket, so Jake''s team started in front of the board and Jake saw that his opponents had many problems in the scoring. Soon the opposing team came on the offensive, their PG came with the ball and Jake was already on him for the marking, after all, he was not afraid to suffer a dribble with his speed, the opponent was a little surprised, he did not expect a marking so tight. He tried to pass for Jake soon felt the pressure on the marking and realized that it would not be so easy to pass him, so he looked at his team to see who he could leave the ball. Jake had agreed with his team that only he would make a tight marking and the others could give space for the opponents to pass the ball, so the weaknesses in his defense would be masked and his team would tireless. Soon the SG of the opposing team received the ball and made a feint that Lucas fell and he passed finding space to shoot and tie the game. That was the problem for Jake, his team was lacking in game vision, simple feints so should not fool the defenders, not to mention that getting a dribble and scoring gives more confidence to the opponents. More Jake did not complain as capital he had to know when to complain, and the game was only at the beginning, the next Lucas should not make a fault like that again. Jake started another attack for the team and began the rotation of passes in the attack that he had combined with his team, he was going to give passes to all his teammates in the attack, and some would score and others would make another pass or return to the ball he. So his opponent would not know who was the weakest or strongest in the attack and could not change the type of marking, and more importantly, Jake would try not to score much in this game to hide his strengths, after all this was only his first game and they did not have to go with everything. So the game was passing and soon ended the first period, as Jake continued to do a rotation of passes in the first period, as expected the opponent team did not know who to tighten the defense and Jake''s team almost did not lose attacks finishing the winning period by 16 to 8. Although in defense Jake did not try to steal a ball, he did not give space to the opponent who appeared to be the best player of the other team, when the defense tightened he had to risk the shot on the strong marking and hit a few of them. And he did not have the confidence to do a 3-point shot, which made Jake''s pressure easier, as well as PG, SG was the other with good attack skills, but as it became more obvious after a while the defense concentrated and the other team had fewer options. And so the game continued in the same way, until the end of the third period that the opposing team realized that Owen and Luke had not made any point, but with Jake''s organization, they still helped in the passes so they could not be left alone. It was an easier game than expected, at the end of the fourth period the opposing team was exhausted and Jake''s team that had let some players rest with Jake controlling the pace was more relaxed. The game ended up 56 to 30 in favor of Jake''s team, it was an easy win with Jake making only 8 points and with a hundred percent advantage, so his team kept him as a card up his sleeve for another round of the championship. So at the end of the day, only 16 teams were left to the next stage, so would have four more games to discover who would be the regional champion who would go to the national championship. After coach Roy released the team, Jake called only the starters in a corner and pointed out the mistakes they had in that first game, he gave some tips on how to correct those mistakes and said that the strategy the team used had worked very well and that they should continue like this. Jake did this just to show his authority and maintain the unity of the starting team, he wanted to show that they could improve and that he was watching the plays of the back, in fact everyone had a lot of respect for Jake to sacrifice himself not scoring many points for the team have a secret play in the other rounds, after all that young player does not want to show up in a competition. Chapter 45 The Regional Championship 2 And so after the day of the first game of their first school league championship finish, Jake was back home to dine with his mother. In fact, Eva was anxious all day, she knew that today was going to be Jake''s first game at school and despite seeing how well Jake played in the street basketball tournament, she was worried because she had seen that her son was very confident to be the winner. Her fear was that Jake would lose the game and his team would be eliminated and Jake would be depressed about it, Eva knew how dangerous it could be for someone to get a little depressed, after all, she was depressed enough after her husband died. And that depression followed her for more than eight years until she got better, and Eve knew depression was lurking for an opportunity, for her to be shocked again and end her life. And for young people, everything is more intense when you end up with a boyfriend, or if you lose a friend, it is like yours the world would end at that moment. Although Eva knew that Jake was more mature than others at her age, she also knew how much basketball was important to him and how much time he invested in it, so losing a game that he thought would be easy to win could end with his self-esteem. So just when Jake came home saying that they had won that she calmed down, she knew that her son was very skilled in basketball, more for what she knew this was a game if 5 people on a team, if only Jake was good and his companions would not arrive an hour that they would lose. "So you guys won that game, very good, my son, I''m very happy for you." "Thank you Mom, I knew you would be worried about this whole thing, now the next game will be in a week, so you should calm down, I''m confident our team can win at least this regional." "The more you must know my son, I know how skillful you are, but this is a team sport, no matter how good you are it can not get the whole team behind." "I know mother, plus the team also has some good players, everyone has their weakness no one else is perfect, as I am the captain the best I can do is try to enjoy all their good points and try to cover their weaknesses." "I''m very proud of you for working so hard on what you do, no matter the end result as long as you give your best." "I do not need to be very worried, the goal of the team is just to enter the national championship, although we have no chance to be the champion this I can try to achieve." "It''s already a great result, you''ll have won two trophies by then." Jake just smiled and ate his food in silence, he wanted to win that national champion title no matter how difficult it was because he knows he had the potential for it, plus he was bound by the circumstances, he should now know what big players who were the best in the NBA most did not have the best teams and so they always lost. Of course, when you are a professional you get used to the defeat, after suffering a painful defeat a very large check can relieve your pain, plus Jake did not even have the check. So more now was not the time to think about a defeat that had not yet happened, he would have a game next week and should win. So Jake spent the week doing only a few lightweight training sessions and a few plays with his teammates, during the intervals of the classes he always talked with Joseph, at that time they talked about other sports and also school and even television programs. So it was an hour that Jake could relax. So the day of the game arrived, the school team he was going to face had the name of the mascot of the Tigers school. The Tigers were a much stronger team than the team from the first game, they reached the fourth place in the last championship losing to the opponent of Jake''s team in the final. So this game was a good opportunity for Jake to estimate the level of his opponents in the finals of that championship, of course, that the team of Jake was confident to win, in an analysis of his game in the first match of that championship, the best players of that team seem to be 2, the PG called Xavier who is in the place of the previous PG that was formed and was the captain, which was not a problem for the team of Jake, since it would be marking its adversary. The other four players were already in the starting lineup in the past, and they were better now after a year, the other good player of that team to pay attention was the Center called Jay. So he was a good opponent to test Jake''s team and there was no need to worry too much because the best players in their team would be marked by the best supporters of Jake''s team that was himself and Owen. The game began and the team of Jake got possession of the ball that was soon sent to him to arm the move, Xavier soon went to the marking more Jake used his speed to take advantage of the cover of Lucas to reach the line of 3 adversary, so he soon found a fault in the defense and sent the ball to Luke who understood the sign of Jake and soon passed to Aiden to score the first two points. This had been Jake''s order and his strategy, as Luke and Owen did not have the ability to score, at least they had to know how to give the passes to improve the team''s attack, so Jake taught them both several signs and also trained them passes, because when Jake was tagged and had no choice he could arm the plays through them. Because if Jake was so scared that he could not move, it would have to have more than one person marking him, so someone would be free to make the points or at least the passes. Jake also trained the two to do at least one simple layup, so if they were totally free it was just walking to the basket and making two points, after all, no matter how bad a player is it is impossible that he can not make a basket without marking. The two were also very grateful that Jake spent so much time with them, even if it was only because he wanted the victory, because as they say he knows not only speaks but also sets an example. Other players, even his captain last year just complained and put them aside on the attack rolls, he did not spend time trying to teach them, as Jake had seen, it was not that Owen did not know how to attack, he was not taught properly how to do. Xavier was annoyed that Jake had fled his marking, he wanted to force Jake with a heavy defense to know if he had good dribbling abilities, after all, he just as many others had realized that Jake was hiding his true abilities. And what Xavier wanted to know was how good Jake was for the team to take appropriate action, because if they knew they could score, the more they were afraid of the unknown, it was not normal for a player to hide their skills. Jake of course also knew this, he made it clear that he was hiding something because he wanted to leave his opponents in the dark if they thought he was very good and be very careful with him, they were right, but if they underestimated him they would pay the price. Soon Xavier commanded his team to the attack, he also tried to use his speed to escape the marking of Jake but could not Jake always kept the same distance on the defense. After he tried a few more fights Jake neither moved, when he really did the dribble Jake was behind, was not an easy opponent, helpless Xavier can only make the pass, so he threw the ball to the PF of his team. They had noticed watching the last game that the PF was a weakness in defense Jake''s team, of course, his team already expected this to happen so there was always a player near the SF in case it was passed. If they made the point it would be a maximum of 2 points, and Luke was instructed to always stay close to his opponent to disrupt his mid-range shot, it was not the perfect solution but it was the best Jake''s team could do now. So the opposing team made the 2-shot and tied the game, Jake calmly started the attack again, this time Jake made a sign and so all advanced together for the attack, as an army troop. Jake had already realized that Xavier would try to force the defense to see what Jake was capable of, but as they attacked slowly they could all advance together passing the ball between them, so unless the opponent wanted to make the fault they would have to give space. Soon Jake received the ball and gave a long pass to Aiden who had the free way to the basket to make two more points. As they wanted to tighten the ball, the Tigers had wanted to come up with Jake''s team, but they forgot that their court would be unprotected in that way. It was a good way that Jake created to open a gap in the opposing defense, they had trained this and Jake wanted to see if it would work out in a game and gave. Chapter 46 The Regional Championship 3 So the Tigers'' team had no choice but to wait for Jake''s team on the defense court and give them room to advance, so it also killed the idea of ??Xavier pressing Jake, they could not risk taking a ball back again, so the idea of Jake was successful and the team was advancing calmly. Of course, it just happened this way because Jake''s team was not stuck to attack, if they wanted to attack faster it would not work. So Xavier started another attack on his team, Jake was now giving Xavier a little more space to choose his options better, he could move back to his PF plus he was not the best player on his team either, so he tried to pass the ball to Center Jay. Jay was the main player in his team last year, he was very good in his attacks more a little deficient in his defense, but most of the centers of the region were like that, the technicians even preferred a Center that could attack better than one that he could not, even if he defended well. Because defending in the pitcher was complicated, even a skilled defender could not stop the other team from scoring, it was a safe ball of attack in basketball. Jake''s team was no longer the coach''s choice, Roy had also preferred a Center that knew how to attack Owen who was better at defense, but his reserve was no better as well as Owen was more complete he could stay for another year, not team owner. Of course, Jay acknowledged that Xavier was more important than him this year in the team, but he still wanted to show that he had quality, helping to eliminate the team that was the champion last year. So he turned and thought of going straight to the court to make the points, plus Owen was in his way, they knew that Jay would play a major role in this game, now it was up to Owen to defend his tank. So Jay tried to pass Owen more unsuccessfully, when he saw that another opponent came to steal the ball he hit the ball back and two-point shot. So the game was tied again, and so the two teams were attacking attack, and when the first period ended Jake''s team was leading by just two points, yet despite appearing to be a tight match in the score to the truth was that the pressure was all over the Tigers. When Jake''s team attacked they had plenty of time and Jake knew how to control the rhythm of the game, with the strategy of advancing all together the Tigers had no more how to press the ball out if they did not want to risk a play in the back. And Jake''s team attacked calmly and Jake was still spinning his attacks, so they did not lose an attack in the game. Plus the Tigers'' attacks were not so smooth, they were under pressure because they were always behind the board, and everyone knew that their opponents had not given the maximum yet, in addition, all attacks defenders pressed the attackers who failed to advance no time for the key, they got stuck in the mid-range. And with an error, they ended up behind the scoreboard in that first period, so the Tigers'' players got tired faster and Xavier had more pressure at the time he had to organize the play. The second period continued almost the same, this time the Tigers tightened more in the score, but it was useless when Jake made some signs the whole team moved in a way that the opponents were lost, but Jake knew where each one would go. Other times after making a simple signal Jake gave a pass from scratch and the player only moved later to receive the pass, it seemed that this team played that way years ago, but what happened was that only Jake had to remember all the signs, his teammates had to decorate only four or five each. As soon as the Tigers got tired, and Jake''s team attacked softly, in the middle of the second period Jay decided to risk and advanced to the basket of the team of Jake to do a layup, more Owen was on top of him and gave a block in the move, thus increasing the morale of Jake''s team and with the Tigers getting discouraged. In the third period when the starters had come back from the reserve bench they were behind the scoreboard by 12 points already and could hardly win that game, Jake had been the only one standing on the court all the time was still overflowing with energy. So with the downtrodden adversary, Jake''s team slowed down and only managed the advantage, the end of the game ended up 64-36 with a score higher than that of the first game. This showed for all teams that Jake''s team was the favorite to win after all the Tigers were better this year than in the past, and yet Jake''s team won easily, moreover, Jake had not yet given all he had This game. So everyone went to their homes, Jake had nothing to say as a captain besides praising the team, especially Owen who had the hardest part today, as Luke did not have much to say, everyone knew that his level was lower than the rest of the team plus everyone can see that he struggles in training and games. Jake also felt that he was getting better, he was making the right decisions faster and faster, it seems that what he needed most is to try more games like this, so now he was using the maximum of his statistics, mainly the intelligence to organize the plays. This was not as easy a game as it seemed, just that they did not make mistakes and the opponents were too hasty for not being able to make the plays they had trained and ended up losing the game. If Jake''s team made a lot of space or made several mistakes, the opponents would pass the score and gain confidence, of course, Jake would not let that happen, but he was happy to hide his skills as much as possible. When Jake got home he saw that his mother had not been so worried after the first game, of course, if she knew that the game would be much more difficult than the first round, she would not be so calm. After that another two weeks passed and Jake''s team won the other two games and now only the final game was missing, these two opponents were much weaker than the Tigers team and whenever they played they entered the court with morale low. So the games were dominated by Jake''s team who did not overdo it and kept the advantage on the score of only 20 points, not to humiliate the opponents, although Luke is his fault, all teams also had a weak player for Luke to score. In addition, Luke had also improved with his training and experience of the matches, now he could do more accurate point shots and do better layups until his defense improved, he learned to use his height advantage to set pressure on opponents. Jake also knew to hold and did not score more than 10 points in any of the matches, but always all the points of the team passed through his hands, not all were assists but he sent through the signals. So after these four games, coach Roy just needed to watch the games because Jake was the boss, and he did well, Jake knew the time to scold and comfort and always praised the plays well executed. So many rival coaches looked on him with envy, it''s hard to find such an independent player who is not arrogant yet if they knew that the idea of ??the signs on the court to pass the balls out of Jake could not tell what face they would do. And also Jake did not know any more had some companies and also other private schools in the area that were paying attention to him, they were just waiting for him to play everything in a game to see if it really was worth investing, or if he was not quite as capable and was just making some mind games for his opponents. More everyone hoped that unfortunately they could not see it in this regional championship and they would have to wait for the state because the team that Jake would face in the final was the same one they faced last year and won. Because this year''s Bears team was weaker than last year''s team because most of those who stayed were not adequate substitutes for those of last year. And it was clear to everyone that Jake''s team was much stronger this year, many already said they were favorites to win the state championship too, so everyone had an easy win. Jake''s team was also confident of the victory, so everyone spent the week waiting for the eager match, Roy was a little concerned that the players were very relaxed and made mistakes in the game but he did not want to lower the morale of the game. Chapter 47 The Regional Championship 4 Only Jake was treating this week like everyone else, he was more thrilled with his first trophy even being street basketball because he was the first, and he was facing opponents who were up to four years older than him. So it was really an achievement to win this trophy, but this school championship is different, not really an achievement, although the trophy is for Jake another qualification for the next championship, and the same until winning the national championship, then yes it would be anxious, because he could say that he was part of the best team in the whole country. If he could win the MVP would be even better, he wants to win something he could be proud of when he was joining the NBA, being the state champion should be the minimum for them. You can tell that Jake is not as excited as his teammates because their target was another, his teammates know they will not be professional so they just want to have a medal, or a photo of them holding the trophy to hang on the living room shelf. when they have a regular job in the future. It''s like a team that has just climbed into any major football championship, such as the Spanish championship, for example, there in the first year they get fourth place in the league and qualify for the UEFA Champions League, all players and fans would go celebrate. But if Barcelona were in the same fourth place they would be ashamed and the fans would be angry because they did not get the first place and the champion. The point of departure between them is another so the expectation is also another, of course along with his teammates Jake also smiled as if he was very happy about it. So the day of the game has arrived. "Look at my colleagues, today is a very important day for all of us, our families and some colleagues from our school are here today to give us their fans to be the champion, today we will forget the possibility of playing the state championship from here two weeks and we''ll do our best in this game. " When Jake began to speak everyone would be quiet and listened to every word he said, so he paused and continued his speech. "I also know that many of you are excited and think that we have already won this game, I tell everyone to be very careful about it, I know that we are the strongest team and that we deserve this title, but that is not why we will despise our opponents, they are also good and they have also arrived in this final like us for two years in a row, our team only won every game with ease because we gave our best and I hope we do the same today and be the champions." So everyone will be excited by the captain''s speech, Jake took a long time to think about the words he could use that would increase team morale but also put everyone down with his foot on the ground and focused on the game, and from what he saw it worked. Coach Roy just had to stand around and watch everything without having to say anything, it was great when the players did everything without the coach having to say anything, after all the coach''s job is to prepare the players and correct their mistakes, if he did not have to say anything it was because everything was fine. So they saw their opponents the Bears team, it was an easy opponent to win over they had a well-balanced team, none of the players had big differences in their performances, that was the good part of the team, they had no weaknesses anymore it was also the defect in the team. Because as they all played in the media, they did not have any players like Jake that made the difference in the matches, although a single player could not do it all alone, with a good team supporting him they immediately became favorites. So the game began and their team started with possession, the Bears'' PG soon picked up the ball and started to organize the first attack of the final, the Bears team quickly positioned themselves on the attacking block and soon afterward the team Jake on the defense. Thus Jake''s team lost in the positioning efficiency, so the Center the Bears were already in good position received the pass and scored the first points of the final. Jake took the ball and calmed his team, it was good if they did not make that mistake again but there was no turning back time, so Jake advanced to the opposing court. The Bears were already well positioned in the defense too, but that did not matter, Jake made some signs and then opened an opportunity to pass the ball, Lucas received the ball in a good position and made a mid-range shot to equalize. Soon the Bears started with the ball calmly, they were probably trying to set the pace, so Jake''s team would tire and all opponents realized they did not have good substitutes on the bench. So Jake always tried to keep pace slower, just as PG accelerated the pace Jake soon appeared on the marking, so he tried to continue at high speed plus Jake kept the distance when he stopped to try to make a fake Jake took advantage of the mistake of opponent to steal the ball from the hands of the PG, soon as the Bears team recovered from the shock Jake was already distant running to the opposing basket, and then made 2 more points with a layup. So Jake''s team took the lead on the scoreboard and Jake showed a little of what he was hiding as a warning, that only he could control the pace of play, otherwise he would get the ball back. Although it was a bit of a lie because it was a stroke of luck that he managed to steal that ball because the opponent lowered his guard, it worked because the PG resumed the attack at a slower pace, and Jake also continued giving more space. The Bears'' team could not be guilty of being frightened, they had wondered why no one before the game in the final tried to break the rhythm Jake was putting out so as not to tire his players, and then Jake made a show of strength like this , no one wanted to test whether it was a coincidence. After all the teams knew that Jake could do more than he did on the court, but did not know how much more he could. And the Bears team already started the game not hoping to be the champion, they just did not want to suffer a humiliating defeat, and no one wanted to piss off that evil star that was Jake. And they were right, that the opponent was too hard and Jake had to stand out, he would give his all in that game to make as many points as possible. So the Bears attacked calmly and Jake gave space, after a play so they passed to the PF who made the two points. Then Jake''s team attacked and he passed the ball to Lucas who scored the points as well. Then the time passed and the final was so lukewarm, as Jake saw that the opponent had no thoughts about winning the game, he also instructed his teammates did not open many advantages in the points, and so the game ended up more annoying than all they thought it would be. In fact, if someone entered the middle of the game they would see a game that seemed to be played, point to point, plus those who saw Jake''s demonstration of strength at the beginning of the game and the team of the Bears calming down afterward realized that the game was the only appearance. In fact, even Jake''s team players were fooled, they were struggling thinking that the other team had come with everything, and they thought that Jake signaled for them not to attack much to not spend a lot of energy, so much so that they managed to play the game everything. So the game ended in 48 to 42, a game that looked at the score thought it was point to point, and the players of Jake''s team celebrated and shouted for having been the champions, until the cheer cheered livelily, only Jake that was to tighten the hands of his opponents and the Bears who had a proud face on their faces were not jumping. Anyone who understood basketball knew what had happened on the court and had strange looks on their faces, it could be said that this was a unique game, some thought until the game had been combined before by the teams, only Jake the Bears and the future they would say that this was not a meaningless ending. The players felt at that moment that Jake made that basket, that the game could not be won, and Jake also knew that they had made a certain decision not to force, and that anyone to see the games of the team of Jake in the state also would understand that when Jake gives as much as the game becomes, if the opponents just wanted to have respect, Jake did not mind to respect. And only a few in today''s game would see something strange in that, in the future everyone looked at the records just on the scoreboard and not what actually happened on the court. But that does not change the fact that Jake won his first trophy with a team in an official game, he was happy too, especially when he saw the smile on his mother''s face in the bleachers, she had worried about this game much more than he who already expected the result. So Jake was voted MVP of this regional tournament with justice, and this was not questioned by anyone, the best player of the best team, seems fair for a short championship like that. And so in Jake''s mind was already the state championship. Chapter 48 A Break 1 After winning the championship although before Jake did not think that was great, the truth after he understood that in fact for others was. Jake''s school called all team players and coach Roy to take a commemorative photo with the champion trophy and also put that photo on a school mural along with other champions. This trophy for the other year would call more youths who wanted to play basketball to enter their school that was known to be the best in the region for two years in a row, so this victory would also serve as an advertisement for the school. The students at Jake''s school were also very excited about this championship, being a two-time champion was a good thing no matter the age or sport because it shows that his team can do more and not just once, so everyone was happy and bragged to their friends and told their parents. The city newspaper also made a note about the team''s victory in the league and even mentioned that Jake was the MVP, so it turned out to be a bigger issue than Jake expected. After all in his past life beyond school Jake did not care much about basketball, his schools also never won the champion trophy, so Jake did not think it was a big deal. His mother and Joseph also seemed to be happier than he had been the winner, so after a while, Jake abandoned his mentality that winning a minor trophy like this was not important, if it were not for the various schools they would not have decided that way and just would give the vacancies to the state. The only thing that made Jake sadder is that there were no sponsors who came in contact with him after the first trophy, he had heard that there were some people watching the game no one else seems to have liked. Of course, since this game is important to win, Jake still would not have tried his best to show himself in the final game just to please the people who were watching, he would only do it when it was necessary for the state championship, and then it would not be too late to them they see what Jake was capable of. Now that it was nearly two weeks before the start of the state championship Jake decided to relax before the state, he realized that although he was almost sure he would be the winner Jake was still very stressed in the regional championship, maybe because it was his first time as captain that he did not have to just take care of him. So in the Jake school that was now more famous, he still kept his grades first, even though he was also busy with basketball, which left his teachers amazed at his diligence, and he was used as an example to many other students who complained about not having time to study. In the classroom, Jake was still seen with his business management books and more economics now the language book he is seeing is another, it was a French book, many thought that Jake had tired of studying Spanish plus some knew that Jake already spoke his language fluently. The Frenchman no longer had any teacher in the school who knew how to test Jake''s skill, but as he had a precedent with Spanish, no one doubted that he was taking it seriously and learning. Jake''s goal was to make it known until university that he spoke all the languages ??he learned in his past life and then learn Japanese he had decided to study before returning to the past. When it was the weekend that was also Eva''s day off, Jake was thinking of doing something different with his mother, no matter how Jake was busy he always talked to his mother every day, he was taking great care emotions of Eve and also with her stress. Eva was also very happy to be well cared for by her son, but even this sometimes made her angry, like the time she was in her period and Jake was bothering her because her emotions were very unstable. Jake did not forget that Eva had died of depression and would never forget more because he blamed himself for not realizing that something was wrong with his mother. So Jake asked Eva so they could go to the mall together, just to eat some candy and maybe also go and watch a movie at the movies. Eva did not know Jake was doing this because she took Jake to the mall and decided to give him everything he wanted to celebrate that Jake had won the champion trophy with his team, she did not think Jake would also win the state championship so she found that this was the best time to celebrate. If Jake knew that his mother still had no confidence in his victory and was planning to make him happy before his possible defeat, he might lose heart to go out with his mother this weekend. So first Jake wanted to go to a well-known ice cream shop that was in the bottom of the mall, this was something that Eva liked more Jake was making this stop because he wanted, he liked ice cream mass and because of all this training, he had not eaten in years past. For Jake ice cream it''s like those things that you love to eat or do most are not so important to you and he only remembered when someone else was commenting. And Jake just remembered that he wanted to eat ice cream when he saw the store at the entrance of the mall and did not want to miss the opportunity, who knows when he would remember again. Afterwards, he went to see the movies that were in the film on that day, as soon as he saw the name of a movie Jake immediately took his mother to watch. The movie Ghost, this was one of the classics of the 90''s that even Jake who was totally out of the way of the novels liked it a lot. Her mother did not like novels much, she preferred more movies and action and adventure but just the most classic novels she liked more than all, it was funny until she saw that the list of the top ten films that someone who said she did not like novels had two of them on the list. But in addition, he remembered that when this movie went on television his mother had watched and liked it so much that he remembered Eva saying that she felt very sad that she could not have seen this movie in the movies because she was a Lovely movie plus her mother had lost half the excitement because her friends from the restaurant had talked in conversations several times about how beautiful the end was. Just as Eve already knew the ending before the movie started she lost a lot of the thrill of seeing it for the first time. So Jake asked Eva for a little money and ran to a nearby place and bought tissues and put them in his jacket, he knew that his mother would cry a lot to see this movie so far. After they came in to watch the movie, it was really a very romantic storyline of the movie, after all the main actor dies at the beginning what is not normal in movies, but he stands around like a ghost, the person himself at first does not realize the why, even more, tries to help his beloved even knowing that he could not stay with her on earth. Just as the whole self-respecting movie succeeds in the end, Jake had once heard that much of the success of this film was for the choice of music that gives a special feeling to the viewer. As the film continued Eva had already begun to cry, so Jake handed the package of tissues to the mother who earned her the admiration of the women nearby for the consideration he had with his mother. And so some of these women sent reproving looks to their boyfriends and husbands who could not think the same as a child. Of course Jake did not know that he''d sparked a small fight between couples and even distributed some of the scarves around just to put more fuel into the women''s rage fire. Eva was already accustomed to the consideration of her son who had been much more attentive in the last year, she even thought with pride the luck that her daughter-in-law would have in the future and that she had created Jake very well. This film was a good indication to Eva that she was forgetting the pain she felt when she lost her husband, this movie made her remember him, more just with affection and no longer with the pain and sadness of losing him. So the movie ended and Jake went with his mother home while doing a summary and explanation of the movie as always, he liked to make it sound like he knew more than he really knew from his knowledge of the future. Chapter 49 A Break 2 So Jake returned with his mother home who was very happy after crying a little in the movie, this was what he would never understand how women were happier the more they cried in a movie. After Eva made her dinner, despite the fact that Eva still could not cook better than Jake, he himself liked to eat his mother''s food. So they reeled, in the days that Eva had to work and late night at home Jake cooked, and in the days that Eva was at home she cooked. Eva herself was very pleased with this arrangement because it showed that her son really liked the food she made, and it was good to cook for him to love himself. Then Jake went to sleep because the other day he had agreed to go to Joseph''s house because his grandfather would show up and it looks like he wanted to meet Jake who was the closest and only friend of his grandson. So when dawn Jake ate breakfast with his mother, they still talked about the movie they watched yesterday and Jake told his mother to tell his friends how the movie was, so he thought his mother could take revenge on his friends without to know. After a car appeared at the door of Jake''s house, it looked like he was the driver of Joseph''s grandfather''s car, Jake quietly said goodbye to his mother and got into the car. He was much calmer this time in meeting his friend''s grandfather than when he met Oliver because that time it had not been too long that he had known Joseph, and he knew that his family might be thinking he was a mere wanted to stay close to Joseph because of his family''s money. More like how he had cleared things up with Oliver, Jake thought he would not have much trouble with Joseph''s grandfather. Even more so Jake was a bit anxious, because he had already heard who Joseph''s grandfather was, his name was Matthew Jackson, and he was a great businessman who was very successful in this industry, now he was a little old so that should be why Jake has never heard of his name in the future. Even more so Jake admired Matthew a little because he had heard that the company Focus and Flash as it was called, had an approximate value of 320 million dollars, and was one of the leading companies in the market. In addition, Matthew still had 80 percent of the entire company on his behalf and the other 20 percent was in the stock market. That said that Matthew alone created a $ 320 million company, as Jake had long invested in the stock market and had not yet managed to make his first million in the past even though he was still considered successful. He knew how hard it was to make much money in a bargain, and when he heard all this from Joseph he was both happy and sad. Sad that since it was a company with a value of 320 million, the only reason Jake had not heard of the company''s name was either that they had been sold or that they had not switched to film time for the digital model and went bankrupt. And the part that made him happy was that Joseph''s grandfather still had 80 percent of the company, which means that if he could convince Joseph''s family to change the type of camera in time they could do it without having to ask to other shareholders in a meeting, after all, they still had the majority. And as Jake had come from the future he could "speculate" on several benefits that having a digital camera company was a lot better than having a film camera company. And if they have the right business vision they could instead fail or have to sell their company, be one of the market leaders. So Jake came to each of Joseph''s, the maid led Jake to the same office he came to visit Oliver, this time he knew he would have to see someone different this time, and as expected when he walked into the office, whoever was there was not Oliver, but Matthew. "So you''re Jake, Joseph''s friend, I''ve heard a lot about you from Joseph and Oliver, which surprised me a little bit, I did not expect you to become my son''s friend in spite of the big age difference. " "It happened to me and Mr. Oliver we have a lot in common that we like, and I also like to play chess so we got along really well." "You really are an interesting young man, the best student in the school, learned alone to speak more than one foreign language, won the regional basketball championship as the captain of the team and still not arrogant." "You praise me a lot, I happen to be lucky to have a little talent for basketball and I have to study hard to give my mother a better future, and circumstances have made me mature faster." "Actually, if I did not know about your family I could say that you were an heir to a noble house because you have a certain size of someone who has already gotten very involved with people like me." Really a great life experience makes a difference, although not sure Matthew almost made up what happened in Jake''s past. Actually as Jake already worked in an accounting firm and also already had to get involved with some people from the stock market, Jake had already developed a method through experience to deal with rich and intelligent people like Matthew. Plus he understood that as if Jake had been taught as a child, after all, he could never imagine that Jake had lived many more years than he looks. "I really liked you, it also seems that the friendship between you and my grandson is quite sincere, it really is a shame that my company does not have much to do with sports because a brilliant young man that certainly is worth a sponsorship." "Even though my company does not have much to do with it, the daughter of a friend of mine had started a sportswear company aimed at the young audience, so I''m going to call her and recommend that she see her files and maybe she can use you as a publicity boy for your business." "I really thank you if you can do that, I was really looking for sponsorship after this championship ends because I want to give my mother a good life until I can make money on my own." "It''s good to see that you care about your mother, and I''m happy to see that you''re not very proud and accepted my help, very proud people do not tend to gain anything in this life, because without help nobody gets anything, a lot of help before you get rich." Jake really was not ashamed to get help like that, especially as he did not get money but rather an opportunity, what more he wants are chances of proving, and Jake really thought he could help any company that would reach out to him when he was underneath, after all, it is during these hours that you most need friends. As for Joseph''s family, he was less ashamed still because he knew that if they listen to his advice their hundreds of millions of dollars company will escape from bankruptcy. What bigger help could Jake offer? So after Jake finished Matthew''s conversation he went up to the stairs without waiting for the maid and went to Joseph''s room, when he entered his friend was sitting there with a book in his hands. "Jake you finally finished the conversation with my grandfather, you do not need to be scared of him, my grandfather just has his face it would be so because he is accustomed to making that face when he is doing business, but he is even quieter than my father, even befriended my father with it will be even easier. " "I was not scared, your grandfather is really cool, he even helped me with a problem that I was worried about a long time ago on our first date." "What problem is this you had and did not tell me?" "It was just that I wanted to find a company that could sponsor me and then I could take my mom out of the waitress job and give her a well-deserved rest." "And because you did not tell me, I could have helped you with that too long before." "That''s why I did not tell you, it just happened this way because your grandfather offered it first because I would not ask him otherwise, you could not help me, it has to be a company that really needs someone to be a boy advertising, so I can help the company too, if it is not a sports company it would not work. " So Joseph understood the idea of ??Jake, then Jake spoke with his friend for a while and at the end of the day, the driver of Matthew took him back home. Chapter 50 Sponsorship 1 As soon as Jake went home he found his mother who was in the kitchen preening dinner, he stayed in the kitchen for a while looking and his mother had not noticed him because he was concentrating on the kitchen, she was struggling harder after seeing that Jake was getting better at his cooking. In fact, Jake was not really improving, he was just slowly cooking the way he did in his past life, after all, Jake cooked better than some restaurant chefs if they were just ordinary food without much sophistication, but for Eva, he was improving fast. Jake thought Eva was just proud and was being competitive, so he wanted to wait a while and teach her the things he knew or pay a cooking course for his mother, but what he had not yet realized was that his mother had a dream of having a restaurant of her own, although she did not expect that dream to come true was still a dream. "Son you already arrived, if you were there, I should have said something, you almost scared me." "I saw that you were concentrating and did not want to disturb you, I''m sorry." "Not all right, so how was the day at your friend''s house?" "It was okay, I talked to his grandfather a bit, he was a really nice person and he told me something, I''ll tell you more about it at dinner time." "Okay then, go take a shower and change clothes and then we''ll talk over dinner." So Jake went to his bathroom, this news about the sponsorship Jake had to talk to his mother calmly, she should not think it was just about making a donation, because if it was so she would not accept, he had to explain that it was an exchange and that Jake could help the company with its image and its performances. So after putting on the new outfit Jake came down the dining room and went to eat with his mother, the table was with several different things and Eva seemed to have been struggling at that dinner. "So Jake, what did you expect to tell me until dinner?" Eva knew her son well too, she knew it should be something important, or he would have said it all at the kitchen door, but she knew Jake was mature and would not cause problems, so she was not worried. "Mom, what happened was I talked to Joseph''s grandfather, his name is Matthew and he''s a really nice person, he heard that my school team had won the regional championship and I was the captain and the MVP and that we could also win the state and said that a friend of a son of a friend of his was interested in me. " Jake mixed Matthew''s words with the reality he knew and made the words a bit ambiguous to get Eva''s attention from the point, so when he spoke on the patronage, his mother would be relieved and forget the importance of the situation, this was a technique of negotiation that Jake learned to use in his past life. "What do you mean, she''s interested in you?" As Jake hoped Eve fell into her bait and shifted her attention from the main subject. "She has a company that makes sportswear for young people, they must have shoes too, so she was interested in sponsoring me to promote her brand." "Sponsorship do you mean she''s going to give you money?" "It''s almost like that, it''s not her that will give me money, but her company, so I could just talk about her company in some interviews, or play in the state with some sports article that her company does, or could even make a commercial for television or a magazine wearing and talking about your brand." "So you mean this is not a charity and that her company is going to win something with you, too?" "Exactly that, in addition, she may be investing in my future as a basketball player, if after a few years I get into college basketball or even in the NBA, even though I still do not wear the clothes of her brand, her company could declare that I wore while I was younger, they can earn a lot from it. " So Jake convinced Eva to tell him all the possibilities of sponsorship, as the company was from an acquaintance of his friend''s grandfather, they may not want Jake to do anything, but he himself knew what he said was true as he saw it happen several times. And he had the confidence to enter the NBA in the future if they did not use that opportunity who would lose it was them, but it was not his business. Of course Jake also thought that if the brand was really good, and they had a future it could help them in a future crisis, and could even be a partner of the company, but that was for the future, after all, Jake even needed to sponsor them now for not having more money, the more help the company with money. So a few days later Jake received a call from the company that Joseph''s grandfather spoke of, so he decided to go to that first date alone, after having negotiated everything correctly, he could call his mother just to sign the contract. Soon a car appeared in front of Jake''s house, and soon he saw that it was the company car so he went in and went to the restaurant that he would meet with the company representative. As soon as he entered the restaurant he went to the waiter for this to take him to the representative''s table, the waiter took him to a table which is in a separate place, it was a good place to talk business. As soon as he got close to the table he saw a beautiful woman who had gorgeous long black hair and a face that resembled the actress from the movie Ghost he saw with his mother at the cinema the other day, she was a little smaller than Jake''s mother and not it seemed to be the serious type. "Hello, you must be Jake Matthew told me the other day, I thought your mother would come with you." "Hi, I''m Jake, my mom is working today and as the matter today I am and we''re not going to sign any contracts today, I thought I could figure it out." "You''re right, Matthew even said that you were more mature than your age, my name is Clara, and I am the company''s representative in this negotiation." Jake realized that this woman seemed to be hiding something, but she could not figure out what it was, yet he did not think it would cause a problem so he did not care. "So Matthew told me about you and I heard that you were the captain of your team and had been the regional championship champion and also the MVP, so my company was looking for a young man to be the face of our company in America and so we thought you might be suitable, I wanted before I decided on this to ask a few questions for you. " Jake was relieved that she seemed to take him seriously and get right into business, and it seemed to be more or less what he expected. "Sure, you can ask whatever you want." "So I would like you to be honest with me, I do not speak what we say to anyone today, how far do you think your team can go in this season and what do you think of your team?" "I believe we can win the state championship and qualify for the national championship, plus I think we can not go very far to the national championship, about my team, some of them have skills to play the state championship and others less than that, nobody but me has the ability for the national championship. " Jake said the truth was what he had already thought before starting the regional championship, after all, it was impossible that other teams that have won their respective state championships have flawed players like Luke, unless they have a player of the level of Jake, what can be possible plus is bad anyway. Clara was a little surprised at Jake''s honesty, many young people were very attached to their colleagues and often lied or were hypocritical and did not want to speak ill of others to pretend to be cool, but Jake spoke without problems as if talking about another person. "And you have the thought of going to play in another school after you finish that championship this year?" "I have, I wanted to play in a team that had the ability to give me the national championship trophy, and also I would have to leave my school anyway after more than a year if a private school offered me a purse I could transfer there and play the national championship on a good team and stay there for high school too, I would just have to talk to my friend Joseph before. " Now Clara was more surprised because it seemed that Jake had already thought about all this for some time, it was good to do business with someone determined, things went faster. Chapter 51 Sponsorship 2 "If you do not mind, I''d like to ask you some questions about your company as well." "Do you want to ask about my company? Sure you can ask." "I''d like to know what kind of products do you work with?" "We are a company that manufactures and sells more basic sports materials and also clothes, uniforms, cleats, tennis shoes, racquets, golf clubs among other things." "So you have factories and stores too?" "Yes, we have several factories and shops, including shops in some malls, we started 5 years ago and we are looking for a person to promote some of our products to the young audience, and Matthew recommended you." "And what''s the name of the company?" "The company is called Sports 100." Jake was not only asking those questions to be the advertising kid, but also because he could invest in that company in the future, so he wanted to know if they also made their own products and did not depend on outsourced companies so they could spend a little more, but they also had more control over their deliveries. "So, did your company decide if I was going to be her advertisement boy?" "Yes, I really liked you, and besides, I found that you were honest in your answers, if you were just the regional champion and the MVP you would be qualified more I would not be sure if you would be the chosen but win the state championship is enough if you win the MVP even better." "And how much will the sponsorship be and what will I have to do?" "The sponsorship will be $ 5,000 a month, and then if your achievements improve the value also increases you will also receive the products you need for free, what you need to do is to participate in the games you participate in as the state championship using our products like sneakers and socks, if you attend interviews it would be nice if you mention the name of our company." "And if you really win the state championship, let''s do an advertisement with you by participating by using our products in some magazines and maybe even on television." "Okay, I think I''m good at doing the things you told me, so have someone take a copy of the contract to my house and I''ll tell my mother to sign it." "Then I''ll take it, we''ll meet us next time, it''ll be a pleasure working with you." "The pleasure will be all mine, I hope to be able to help promote your company as well." So Jake left home in the company car, he really liked this Clara, and after some time talking to her, Jake realized what was bothering him, this Clara should not only be the representative of the company in this negotiation, it should be the owner of the company or at least one shareholder with great power, she must be the daughter of Matthew''s friend, so she would say his name without adding lord. Jake was thinking this because he has also worked in this business and he knew that Matthew must be highly respected in this business sector, after all, he has a company worth $ 320 million, despite Clara''s company being able to earn $ 100 million. should be beyond that. So she has to be a person very close to Matthew to be able to speak his name with such intimacy, in addition, Jake was thinking that maybe the company of Clara a Sports 100 must have been bankrupt or sold until the time of Jake in the future, because he remembers that while working at the accounting firm, he once had to survey the best sports companies in Miami for a client, and the name Sports 100 was not on the list. It was amazing that two companies that Jake got involved in this would be two companies that were big plus did not succeed in the future, should be the effect of their lucky statistic that the system said that it would not be too obvious anymore would still help in their life. So he was wondering whether or not to be a partner of this company seems like the decision would be easier to take now, the hard part was figuring out why this company would have failed? After all the company of Joseph''s grandfather was because of the change in technology, so it was normal, plus a sports company was a mystery. After he got home Jake did the housework and prepared dinner for his mother, after all, he had good news for her, even if Eva did not want him to make his mother leave the restaurant now that he had that patronage, after all, her mother''s health was more important, and Eva received just over $ 1,000 working every day and doing overtime sometimes. Jake would win with this sponsorship almost 5 times more than his mother, and if he was the state championship champion he could win even more, not because his mother would suffer, it was better that she stay at home and take care of him that would earn more, of course, that if her mother had a better job and that she liked Jake she would not mind, but it was a job Eva was forced to do. As soon as she got home she went to take a shower and then put on her clothes and went to dinner with Jake, Eva was used to getting home and having the house ready and dinner ready, so she totally relaxed after getting home. "Mother I have something I would like to discuss with you." "And what''s my son, seems to be serious the way you''re talking." "I think it really is a serious matter and it should not be delayed any longer, and I hope you mother will agree to my request." So Eva realized that this was really a serious matter for Jake, she saw how serious her son was at all, studies and sports, he was struggling and she was proud of her son, she wanted to support everything Jake did that was not something bad for his future. "And what is my son you can tell me." "So Mom, what happened was this, I went to meet today with the company representative that Joseph''s grandfather recommended to sponsor me, the name of the company is Sports 100, they are reliable, so I went to talk some details of what I would have to do." So Jake took time for Eve to think about everything he said and then went on. "This company wanted me to think that I used some of their products in the championship games and also that I would mention them if I were to do an interview, also if we won the state championship I might have to do some magazines and television advertisements." "As I get better in competitions it can increase, more at the beginning I''m going to receive $ 5,000 a month and I''ll also be able to receive several products with which they work for free, so it''s a complete sponsorship and I accepted, they''ll bring a copy for you to read and sign." "So that''s what you wanted to tell me was very important? Although I do not like that you did not talk to me before accepting, how are you going to receive the sponsorship, no problem, when the copy comes I''ll read it and if everything is as you said I''ll sign it." "No mother, what I wanted to talk about important was not this, that was just for you to understand the situation." "So what was it you wanted to discuss with me." "So Mom, now that I''m going to win this sponsorship that may be over $ 5,000 in the future, I want to ask you to please quit your waitress job, that''s for mine and for your good." "Jake this is not something to discuss, I need that job to sustain the house and you should take that money and save it to use in the future, I do not want a penny of that money." "I knew it would be so why I said I wanted to argue, Mom I understand what you''re saying, this is money that will be for my future and you who are the adult would have to work and earn the money for the house." "I''m so proud of you to have taken that job and sustained us both for all these years, I know you needed, plus I want to tell you that it does not have to be more like this, I know mom you were suffering in silence all these years thinking she was hiding from me and even depressed because of her father''s death, and also that you faced a lot of pressure from having to raise myself." "I also know that you suffered and felt guilty about having to leave me home alone all these years because you needed to work, but now it does not have to be this way anymore, Mom, I want to get the money I earned with my talent and work for that you can stay at home with me longer, I do not want to see you suffering for a boss who offends you or clients who do not respect you, or the fatigue of having to work overtime." "I want you to stay at home with me, now that I have the condition I can no longer see you suffer, I also suffer thinking about what you go through, I mean that doing this I will also invest in my future." "The nightmare I said I had the day you saw me crying when you got home was that you had died from stress from working so hard, and now that I can, I do not want that to happen." "The way you help me make more money and in my future, you''re staying home and helping me so I can think about basketball on the court." Chapter 52 Sponsorship 3 While Jake continued to speak in a loving voice, Eve had been crying for a long time in his arms, Jake did not know if it was shame for her son to know everything she felt in her heart that she thought she had hidden so well, or it was relieved that now that he knew Eve would have someone she trusted to vent. It was the same situation that Jake cried all before his possible death before returning to the past, a feeling that all the things that were buried in the heart had been released and his heart that before was heavy now was light. Eve did not realize she already considered Jake that it was a child the man of the house, someone she knew she could trust now to the bills of the house he wanted to pay, Eva did not want to accept because she did not want to mess with her son''s money, but after hearing what Jake said she did not hesitate anymore, it was true that she blamed herself so much for leaving Jake at home alone when he was still small, even knowing that she was doing something that had to be done she could not forget. And if what Jake said was right then it was a bigger reason, if it was true that he was feeling anxious for fear that she had been going through something bad at work and could not concentrate on doing what she likes Eva did not want to see it happen. "Alright, then my son, when I see if the contract is right and sign I''ll get out of my job." When she heard that her mother had agreed to her selfish request, Jake just hugged her and did not speak anymore, he knew his mother was proud and it was hard for her to give up a job so many years just to hear her son. More Jake who came from the future knew that this was the best possible situation, he could only have a happy life if his mother was in his life, Jake knew from experience in his past life that having lots of money and no one to share with was not as good as it sounded. So the next day, Clara sent someone to Jake''s house to deliver the copy of the contract for Eva to sign, after reading and seeing that she was in the way Jake said she would sign, she also said that the contract would be for three years with the possibility of renewal depending on Jake''s performance. After that, Clara had the first payment deposited to show sincerity and told Jake to just wait until the time was right so he could start recording some advertisements, he also received some sneakers and socks that he should use in the next matches of the championship, day of the first state championship game Jake was free. As soon as the person who brought the contract went away Eva went to the restaurant to ask for her bills, she received a little money and just that, not a farewell and a thank you for her working there for the last eight years. So Eva left the restaurant with the right mind that had made the right decision to leave work, she had gone through a lot of hassles there and never received a compliment for her job well done. Jake, of course, was very happy about it, it was very important to him that his mother should be well, and one of the first goals he had set for him was to get his mother out of this job, and he finally got it, it may have seemed just a little more than a year more for Jake was more than twenty years to get his mother off work. Now it all depended only on him, if he continued to do well, Jake could even get another sponsorship after finishing the state championship, and he had to try harder to play better and be more sought after. So Jake was free from training and just having to go to school. Taking advantage of the fact that the sponsoring company had said that he would give away all the sporting goods Jake wanted for free, Jake asked for some basketballs and some more advanced training equipment to train the dribbles and passes, and also finally a high-performance treadmill and some weight machines. The company delivered everything Jake wanted in just two days and Eva questioned why Jake had bought a bodybuilder that he should not wear at his age and he said it was to take advantage of what was now free to save for the future. Eva, who thought that Jake would not have the strength to use these gadgets, now thought for a moment and saw that what her son said was reasonable and accepted. This time Jake had to lie, he needed the bodybuilder as soon as possible to improve his strength and play better, and with the system helping him he had no possibility of getting hurt, so Jake did not care. So missing a week to the start of the state championship to start Jake would just do weight training and also as he always does, he would train in his imagination training spit. Now it was a time that Jake was saddest in his imagination training, he was adjusting the difficulty to the maximum putting all his teammates and opponents at the maximum level of abilities, so it had been a while since Jake had not won a game in his training of the imagination. More like Jake had great talent and could also learn just by watching, he was growing in his abilities as well, it was just too difficult to increase the rank of his skills that were already almost at maximum. After almost a week when there was only one day left for the game, he received the news he had hoped for. [Congratulations Jake, you got before your first major game unlock information from the next level of high school skills.] So it seemed that after many months of effort Jake had managed to raise all his skills to the S rank of the novel Middle School, as the system said Jake had already outgrown the level of attack abilities for a long time, plus the defense was preventing him to advance. And a few months ago Jake succeeded with the help of the street basketball tournament and also his imagination training raises all his defensive skills to rank S, but as in the final game, he had learned the steal skill and thus one more skill to rise to rank S. More with a lot of training and the various championship games that forced his potential allowed him to raise his abilities by unlocking the next level. "Then show me Fate my windows of statistics and skills." [I will show more I would like to remind you before seeing your rank, what I had said before, the gap of the high school skill novel is too great, so sometimes an S rank becomes a D rank, I''ll show it now.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 11 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.59 m] [Weight: 55 Kg] [Force 15] [Agility 13] [Resistance 17] [Intelligence 47] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control C] [Man to Man D] [Dribble A] [Layup B] [Set Shot S] [Block D] [Pass A] [Rebound C] [2 Points S] [3 Points S] [Free Throw SS] [Steal C] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Despite the various warnings of the Jake system he was still shocked to see that the various SS rank abilities became B or A, and only a few came to S, only his Free Throw came to SS and would continue to do so until the NBA probably because sometimes Jake this way he hit 10 of 10 Free Throw shots, there''s no way he can hit it anymore. Basketball really had no limits, it was far from being near NBA level, and Jake felt that he had reached a limit on how much he could improve in a short time, it would probably take a year before the end of high school to Jake could see his SS statistics, and he had no confidence to see the next level before entering college because some people who play defense in late high school already have skills to enter the NBA, and Jake was not confident of raising his defense skills for this level. Jake was also happy that his statistical strength was beginning to keep up with his stamina and reaching as much as he was in his past life, only with a Jake system could he get better at that age, glad he would not grow many muscles in his body otherwise it would be weird. Jake also had realized that his height was growing rapidly for his age, soon he would reach the height of Luke who was two years older than him, it seemed that the system and also his better food was allowing Jake to get much higher than in his past life, so his dream of making a dunk in a match could come true. So everything he could prepare was ready, now it was just waiting for the opponents who would come in this state championship and he could finally reveal his true skills on the court. Chapter 53 The State Championship 1 So after two weeks of rest for all players and teams today begins the state championship, although Jake''s team has made the best possible games, they were not a favorite of that championship. The biggest favorite was the Lions team who had won the last state championship with their entire team in the second year and now everyone was in third and theoretically much better and experienced, that team was in another key so Jake''s team would only see themselves in the final results. Jake''s team opponent today had not played the state championship for three years, but they struggled last year''s champions in the final, and that team they won tight was one of the worst teams in the state championship last year. The team''s name is Alligators, and all players seemed average in skill, the best player on the team was their SF that was called Will, as Aiden is a bit weak in defense the game will be one with many points, his PG that would mark Jake''s name was Tom. Although Jake was not worried he still warned his teammates to play with concentration and give no space to the opponent, and if anyone could in the game that covered Aiden who was with the most difficult opponent. Before the game Jake put on the sneakers and socks of the brand he was sponsored, of course, he did not tell this to his teammates, because although he did not believe it, it could happen to be envious of his teammates and affect in matches. So the game started with the ball in the possession of Jake, who soon began to advance to opponent''s court, he was taking this game more seriously after knowing that his skills were not as high as he thought they were, this brought Jake a little to the reality that he was only an 11-year-old yet and that he still had a great distance from the NBA. As soon as he reached the three-point line his team was already positioned for the attack, after the regional championship finale, Jake trained a few more signs with his team, as he increased by only two each did not have to worry, more Jake had more than 10 new combinations to think about now. He made some signs and then passed the ball to Owen who was freer because he had not made any points so far, so Owen did the layup and the first two points of the state championship for the team. Owen and Luke had been learning from Jake directly that he had a high school player''s abilities now, after two months if they could not make a free basket as Owen was now he would not deserve to be called basketball players or at school. The Alligators team suffered now with their oversight, of course, all teams have players who could at least score points, so they gave those points by underestimating their opponents, which was what Jake always said. After Tom started the attack on their team, Tom and no one in that league had received information from other teams besides which player they had to worry about, and Jake was one of them, in the information just said that Jake was a good offensive player and that knew how to organize the team at the time of the attacks. Plus there was nothing in the information about Jake being good at defense, so after Tom got the three-point line he did not make the pass and tried to infiltrate for the basket, although he felt the mark of Jake squeeze him still managed to move, when he was doing the layup the ball had gotten out of his hands, he was focused on scoring and relaxed his hands from the ball and Jake seized the opportunity and stole the ball. So Jake just ran more than the others and not at his top speed and reached the opposing basket to score two more points for his team. ¡­ While the game on the court in the bleachers had several reporters who had been sent by the newspapers of their cities to cover the championship, despite being better than the regional no one liked being sent to cover such low-level championships, at least they would be willing if it were national. One such journalist was the only 25-year-old Eric Hunt who was sent to cover the Miami Herald, the Miami Herald, Eric was just a news reporter and columnist for the Miami Herald, and despite being a minor league, always had players who could be future NBA stars. And the person Eric was eyeing at this time was the young Jake Smith who was just 11 years old and was in his second year at his school, he was the MVP of his school''s regional and many including Eric had seen that he had not shown all your ability. Now was the chance to see if he even had the potential to be a star in the future, and if he had Eric himself would do his interview for a future star he could follow in the future. ¡­ On the court, Tom was starting another attack, although he acknowledged that he was wrong to leave the ball unprotected it was the first time he had the ball in his possession stolen, that is to say, that Jake was also good in defense. So when it came to line three he did not want to risk more attacking alone then he made the pass to the SG of his team, although Will be the best in the attack on his team Tom knew he could not pass the ball just for him, otherwise his attack would be very predictable, after SG received the ball he made a feint and Lucas gave him a space, SG did not take advantage to make the dribble more decided to make a two-point shot right there. And so they slowed down the board, Jake never had many expectations for the defense of his team so he just started the game and did not say anything, although he knew that Lucas could be sad, more like his teammate made a mistake that could not be corrected in this game what else could Jake tell him? So he just restarted with the game, in the line of three points Jake passed the ball to Lucas and just nodded indicating that he should know what to do, Lucas made a feint and then the dribble and ran to make the two points. As in the first period the teams were only studying Jake as he always managed to impose his pace of play because it was superior to Tom, so in the end Jake''s team ended up leading by four points, although the Alligators tried their best without risking making more mistakes they could not lead the score because Jake''s team did not lose any possession of the ball. And so it was the same in the second period and Jake''s team was ahead by 10 points now, the highlight of the team other than Jake was Owen who became one of the best centers after learning to strike too, Luke was struggling to maximum as he acknowledged his weaknesses was improving so as not to be a major weakness on the team. Luke was also making the most of learning Jake''s attack and defense with Owen, with two national-level players teaching it was hard not to improve, and Luke seemed to have his strong point that was discovered by Jake, who was that his reaction speed was fast, so he would not fall into as many feints as Lucas and Aiden. So his role in the game was to disrupt the opponent as much as possible without missing, he did not need to steal the ball or block the attacks, only to disrupt, of course, he and all of the team knew that if a skilled player attacked the team would be in danger. In the interval from the second to the third period, Alligators had more time to discuss what to do to try to win this game, and decided that the way was to rely on Will for the attacks of the team even if the move is obvious, after all, was the only way of not losing attacks. Too bad they did not have a good way to beat their opponents in defense, Jake''s signals were simply deadly for any defensive positioning, with three signs he could change the position of the entire team twice, and so it looked like a dance in the attack. When the third period began the Alligators team started to do what they planned, all their attacks went through Will and Aiden was simply a defense ornament in that game, Jake was seeing all those moves more did not think with a big advantage as they were it was not necessary for him to trade the tag with Aiden. Jake''s team attack also missed more during this period and Owen could not take all the rebounds, so Jake''s team was in danger of getting behind on the scoreboard by two points in that period and lessening the advantage they had overall if Jake did not do something. Chapter 54 The State Championship 2 So Jake began to focus more on defense, he observed Tom ahead of him and also Will''s position on the court, and as every time Tom tried to give a pass to Will, Jake reacted faster and as he hoped this pass managed to intercept the pass. More this time he did not immediately rush into the attack and just moved calmly to the attacking court, so it helped the mind of all his team to calm down, they were agitated by the pressure of the opponent who looked like they were behind on the scoreboard. So Jake was showing that he need not be in a hurry, it was only calmly advancing that they would win the match, on the other side this intercept of Jake made Tom anxious, although he knew that spending every hour for Will could leave the play checked, which he was worried that Will would double-mark and not that the ball was intercepted. So he was right now that the report was wrong and Jake focused more on defense than on the attack, because he did not score many points, although all the attacks of his team passed through his hands that were normal, all the attack of his team also passed through his hands. Now, this defense was not what anyone would do, he was the toughest opponent he ever played, actually what Tom did not know is that the report was made predicting what Jake would be if he did his best, and was correct, the defense has always been Jake''s weakness. It goes without saying that the difference between Jake and the others was his experience and the system, he gained a lot of experience in his imagery training games, and the system gave Jake a goal for him to improve his defense, otherwise Jake probably would not have has struggled so hard. After this move killed the small reaction of the Alligators team, the game was once again controlled by Jake, and in the last period the ball was over for Aiden to score the points, so he could at least feel a little better for his weak defense. And so the game ended with Jake''s team having a 16-point lead, it was lower than most regional doe games, only seeing from that side shows the strength of the state championship teams, the Lions who were the favorite team were in the level of ability. After the game ended Jake said goodbye to his teammates and was preparing to leave when he went to by the reporter Eric, as he was not too tired Jake decided to do the interview. "Hi Jake, are you okay, I''m Eric and I''m from the Miami Herald and would like to ask you some questions?" "Sure you can ask." "Well then, you won the MVP award of the Miami regional championship and it was one of the highlights of your team''s victory today, do you think you have the possibility to win MVP in that championship as well?" "Yes, I think I have possibilities, I have confidence in my abilities, but as I do not know the best players in the state championship it is difficult to say if I will win, after all, most of the teams here have the MVP of their championships playing in their teams." "This interview will be published only after the end of the state championship so you can rest easy, so I will ask that question, many people think that you did not show all your skills in these games that have happened here, you can tell me the because?" "What happens is that this can be seen from the wrong point, I think my strong point in basketball is already being shown, how PG my ability to keep up with the game and also to be able to organize the attacks of my team with quality are my greatest ability, what I have not done yet was to show my individual skills that are less important than those of the team, and I did not do that to be able to catch unprepared opponents." Although Jake''s response seemed diplomatic was the truth, for a PG to be considered to be successful is when he has the ability to show the best of his teammates potential because the PG could be less skillful than the rest of the team, so he has which if considered a foothold for team, if Jake could play with great NBA players using his signals to score the plays, the result would be incredible. And of all the rest Jake already showed a lot of his abilities, he only played more for the team than for himself, so far he just did not show his skill in the 3-point shot that could be a good weapon in some games if he caught the unsuspecting opponent. "Do you have something to say that you would like me to add to your interview?" "Yes, I would like to thank all of my mother''s support first, because without what she did for me I could not be here and also my sponsor, the Sports 100 company, which allowed me to focus only on basketball." Eric was surprised by someone of Jake''s age already having a sponsor and was even more certain of his feeling that he could become a star in the future, even concentrating on the basketball he already is, he may become a future NBA star. So Eric thought about asking a few more questions and preparing well before doing another interview, so he would have the complete material to show in his column in the newspaper. After that Jake went home and told his mother excitedly about his victory, although he did not want to show himself, he liked to see the proud smile on his mother''s face, yet he wished she were just the game in the final, because she was very nervous in games and has no greater support than he would have to see her in the final. In that game Jake could see that his 2-point shots and also his passes were more stable, and if he had to give a guess, it would be because of his recent increase in strength, he could see more and more differences in his statistics later that they were increasing, he now had more confidence that his 3-point shots would also be more successful. In addition, Jake had many Stamina Bars stored in his inventory, so in one important game he did not need to worry about the lack of power, he still did not have enough stamina to play a full game in the NBA, plus the four periods of one playing at school was easy. So another week quickly passed and another game went by, it was incredible that he seemed an easier opponent than the Alligators, so Jake could easily dominate the game and his team won by 24 points, some reporters and coaches already saw Jake''s team as a favorite to win the championship most knew that the way they were could not win the Lions in the final. At the end of this game, Eric appeared again and Jake stopped to welcome him. "Would you like another interview?" "I would like, plus we will leave to further in the championship to give time to prepare all the questions I want to ask for you, near the end would be a good time." "Good to know that you too are confident that our team will go far in that championship, but if you are not here for an interview do you have something you want to tell me?" "You''re pretty smart for your age, yes I wanted to tell you that you''re the captain as a fan I''m cheering for a Miami team, it''s a warning, for you to take care of your next opponent." "Oh, are they that good?" "No, if it is to put on skill levels they are at the level of your first opponent the Alligators, what I told you to be careful of is that they do something that no one likes to see in the youngsters'' championships." "And what is it that makes you tell me that I should prepare myself." "They make fouls, a lot of fouls, and they always take turns not to get kicked out, and even if they are their reserves they have almost the same skill level as the starting team, even though they do not hurt the opponent everyone knows that young players are not good myth in Free Throw, as soon as they have managed to advance to their third game, I do not know how their teammates are from Free Throw so I''m only warning in the case. " "Thank you, you tell me to have a week to prepare and organize a strategy." "I hope you win, although it''s not illegal everyone likes to see an open game, so everyone should cheer for you." Jake was really worried now, an opponent making fouls, is the worst opponent for teams like Jake that depend on the ability of a single player, so Jake knew, only Lucas is good at Free Throw, Aiden is just average and the other two would be difficult to hit one. So even the attack handling techniques with the signals would not work, and he could not pass on to anyone, only Aiden and Lucas can be trusted in their Free Throw, although this kind of tactic is useless in teams like the Lions, they could get quite far. It seems that for the next game Jake would have to give up some of the team play and show off his skills that everyone wants to see because if they need Jake, the points can be considered converted. Chapter 55 The State Championship 3 So the time passed and the day of the third game arrived, Jake spent the whole week thinking of another solution to win this game by using the strength of his teammates, but could not think of anything, even if the others received the ball and passed quickly someone would have to give the shot, and that would be the one to receive the lack. Of course, it would not be the whole game that the other team would miss, only when they wanted to get past the scoreboard, but Jake did not know when that time would come so he could only trust his teammates who knew how to shoot. The opposing team was called Snakes, probably by coincidence they used this tactic, they were an average team with no players to be taken into special consideration, most of them were efficient, they made the layups to be wrong and also the 2-point shots, they did not usually lose attacks. Their defense was not very special, they did not steal the ball and also could not disrupt the attacks very much, only with the tactic of stopping the game with fouls they got so far, of course, that they had the skills needed to win the regional competition. The game started and the ball was in possession of Jake, as he knew his team could lose if he played as always he talked to his teammates that he would spend less the ball in that game, it was necessary, more, if the opponent''s defense scored double in it, would openings. So Jake reached the three-point line and did his signs as always, to see that the opponent was planning to start with a foul, so he passed the ball to Owen and when his marker became distracted he left the mark and ran to the key , so Owen returned the ball to Jake who alone did the layup and scored the first two points. That caught the Snakes by surprise, so they missed the chance to get ahead in that game, when they went to the attack, Jake and his teammates were scoring higher than usual, yet they managed to tie the game in a 2-shot from the opponent''s SF. They did some research on Jake''s team and found out that Aiden and Lucas were defensive faults, but with tight marking like that would be difficult for them to attack all without making a mistake. So Jake always told the team to at least know how to put pressure, because with the pressure and then the fatigue the aim of the opposing team would fall, and Jake told Owen to try a block if he saw an opportunity. The game continued like this and used his teammates and his speed to score points and avoid the fouls, he was not afraid of fouls, but he wanted to show the other team that his tactics did not work against him and his team. The team of Snakes, on the other hand, had lost hurts attacks because of tight marking, and so Jake''s team finished the first period 6 points ahead, although Jake had run quite a bit was not at all tired and he had scored 8 points only in the first period. The Snakes'' team was missing out on what to do on defense, he who was known to do many fouls had failed to do any, and when they tried to double-marking Jake he would pass the ball and his teammate would score the free basket. So the Snakes realized that they would lose the game sooner than they thought, the team already knew that by doing what they did and also without skilled players they would not win, nor did they think they would lose in the third round either. But Jake is a player who can break the balance of a match on his own, even if he were to get tired in the third period it would be too late to narrow the gap, and it''s not like when Jake leaves the court his teammates could not score points. So the game continued like this until the end of the second period, the game was already 40 to 28 for Jake''s team, Jake had made 22 points, and the PG who was trading him was now exhausted and Jake still full of energy, so everyone players are either Jake''s team or opponents, including fans, reporters and scouts from other teams underestimated much that Jake could do. Everyone thought that Jake was hiding his skills but no one thought that much, he was a PG and he was always the third on the points list, behind Aiden and Lucas, and how he had played so well in defense in some games, they, however, he could not move due to his tying movements, and the players did not seem to sleep a bit. Jake in that game proved his potential as SF or SG, no one thought he should be the one who gave the passes, it was a waste of potential, of course, Jake knew what they thought, more was as he had said in the interview. A good PG is like a quarterback in the NFL, no teammates who stand out and score points after receiving the balls would be of no use so he believed that in the future when playing with high-level players he could show all his skills. In the third period, the team of Snakes knew that they had lost the game and relaxed in the marking, so Jake also returned to play as in the other games just distributing the plays, and thus the game was calming and the difference in the score even diminished. So it was 70 to 60, and everyone was happy after seeing this game, Eric was right on the stand that his decision had been right to think Jake was a star, and in addition, now he did a favor for that player, either say that maybe in the future he can do exclusive interviews with him. He was still preparing the questions and wanted to do after the next game that would be the semifinal so he would take the opportunity to ask what he thought of the final game that would most likely be against the Lions. The coaches from other teams who attended this game were now worried that they might face this team, and for all of them they became favorites along with the Lions, Jake''s team were also excited about being champions of the state and their dream and coach Roy as well. They were not jealous because they were lucky enough to have Jake on their team, and they also knew that Jake was thinking about them and so he spent so much money and he always had few points in other games, now more than ever Jake was the captain in their hearts. ¡­ In the stands, sitting in the corner were two illustrious presences that would not normally come in school games, these women were Clara and her friend, Clara, as Jake thought, was the same shareholder with the largest number of shares in the sportswear company, she had 21 percent of the total shares of your company. Her father had 10 percent, her husband had 10 percent as well and the woman on her side had the other 10 percent, Clara is only 25 years old this year, and her husband is 30 after marrying for having been betrothed by her father, Clara who was only 18 years old did not want to stay at home and went to do university of administration. At the university she met her friend who was also from a wealthy family like her and they had met briefly at some social parties, so at university they found they had common tastes and became friends, and when she was 20 she had an idea and decided to go in the sports materials market and so tried to raise funds, in just 3 years the company started to succeed and now was starting to earn enough to reward who invested in it. Her friend''s name was Tiffany and she also decided to open a company when Clara opened hers, her company was a natural sports drink called Sports Natural. Tiffany also invested in 10 percent of Clara''s company and her company was starting to be successful too, Clara called Tiffany to watch the game of Jake who was the company''s new advertising boy, Tiffany did not like her decision because Jake was very new, and she thought a high school player was better and would have more visibility for the young audience. More after seeing the game tonight, Tiffany had nothing more to say and had to endure seeing the arrogant smile on Clara''s face, her friend said that it was a good idea to have a younger and more talented player, besides having been recommended by Matthew. Clara had pointed out several things, first, that was the recommendation of a friend, if they accepted they would have done a favor, according to he was young, then his sponsorship would be lower in value in the beginning, third he was very talented and would add value to the mark. Fourth would be great to have a talented young player who over the years he would develop and look better and could even get to the NBA, so the company could be said a little responsible for it has succeeded. Tiffany thought the idea was good, but Jake might not be so capable, but after today she had to accept that she was wrong and that her friend''s vision was better than hers. Chapter 56 The State Championship 4 "Okay, I''ll admit that I was wrong and that your decision was right, but you''re really lucky, a friend makes a recommendation and turns out to be a genius." "He really is very good, but the reason I chose him apart from his ability is his personality, he is quite mature and honest for his age, so he is someone who can be trusted, besides, as I said we did not invest much in it, if it did not work, we would not lose much." "You''re right, we have to risk it sometimes, if his team wins the state championship and he''s the MVP we''re going to increase his sponsorship to $ 10,000 a month and start recording the advertisements, I''m going to make him the advertising boy for my company for $ 10,000 as well." "You too? Your business is not geared towards young people with mine, a professional player would make more success would not it?" "We are going to look for a professional athlete too, more basketball players and American football are more successful more are also very expensive, so I can choose a professional athlete in another sport and Jake for basketball, as you said is a good story to sponsor a young man who can go to the NBA, does more advertising in the long run." "You are right, we have a market with many strong companies, we have to stand out in a different thing if we manage to win the young public could be an advantage for us, everyone wants the same as the champions." "We''re going to have to see a new school for him come in next year too, this team is very weak, and as you said he accepted we can choose now, a private school is a good idea because he can stay there until he graduates." "Let''s see this with Matthew too, it seems that Jake and his grandson are close friends, so he can get a good idea and change Jake along with his grandson to a new school, Jake also mentioned when I told him that he would depend on seeing with Joseph if he would change schools." So as they got up to leave after watching the game the two friends decided important things about Jake''s life, the more important he was to play basketball, to help his mother with the money earned and to maintain his friendship with Joseph. So Jake went home and told his mother that he won the game, she was very happy, with the passing of the games she was not so anxious more before Jake''s games, her son was more mature and Eva did not think Jake would to despair if he lost a game after winning so much. "Mom, now we have two more games and in the end I want to see you there, it seems the opponents are really strong, we''re going to have to do our best if we want to win, the good thing is that after that we''ll have the holidays, so it would give the team more time to train for nationals." "Son, it''s good to be confident, but you should not talk like that to anyone else, because even if you really can win you will be an arrogant person, and no one likes arrogant people." "I know mom, I just say if you need it and for you, otherwise you''ll be anxious the same in the first games." "I''m not going to stay that way anymore, I believe you and even if you can not win I know you''ll handle it well." "You could have stopped at the ''I believe in you'' part more thank you." It was good to know that his mother trusted him, Jake did not like being treated with a child, because although his body being his mind was not, it is difficult to be treated with someone who can not do anything, plus he even liked it when his mother worried about him. So he had a week to prepare before the game, the bad thing is that this week Eric had not mentioned anything about his next opponent, it really sucks to stay in the dark, but before the game they would get a report, but also even if they knew in advance they would have nothing to do. In the months that the championships were going on while Jake was just doing his imagination training, his teammates were working with coach Roy every day to be able to improve even a little, but the time is not enough. If Jake did not have the system either, he probably was training like that too, of course, it was only with bodybuilding and his imaginative training that Jake''s training was much more effective than his opponents. While at school Jake only read his books and talked to Joseph in the breaks, the school was very pleased with him, after all the basketball team was putting the name of the school in the newspapers and attracting a lot of attention, now they would also attract more students who were good at sports, this would increase the credibility of the school. Jake was considered the best example for the school to give his students as well, after all, he was still number one on the test scores of the school, and his friend Joseph was second, many even thought that Joseph only got it because he learns something with Jake, when he heard this his friend became very angry, he studied ten times more than the others in school and now the credit had been given to Jake who never helped at all. Jake just laughed at this, after all no matter how long Joseph studied between classes would not compensate for the years he studied, and even now he was still studying, it was like a famous saying in the sport if you do not stop the distance will not decline easily. If Jake was satisfied with what he had and stopped studying in a few years Joseph would be better than him, but here he was studying with two books. But the school was prepared to lose Jake for the next year, he did not know that anymore even his teammates already expected Jake to transfer next year, after all, it did not make sense for Jake to continue in this school, he was already more advanced with the studies and also in basketball. "Jake, my dad asked me if I''d like to change schools like you, I had not heard you''re going to change schools?" "I also have nothing definite yet, I''ll just see it after the national championship is over, I did not even look for a new school, so I would tell you before I decide to change." "So I think my dad is getting ahead, but if you change, I''m going too, after all, my father had already told me at the end of last semester that after that year their test for me was over and that I should choose a good particle school to learn more." "I''ll be happy if you change with me, because you do not tell your father to use your contacts to see a school that is good in both sports and teaching, how do you go there too, this is important, after all, if you have a team average would be enough to win the national team next year." "Good idea, my dad will be happy to do it." Of course what Jake did not say is that he did not intend to pay a penny in a private school, even if he has conditions now to pay because he thinks unfair as he did not need it, he would make a good advertisement for school, a scholarship because a school could not. After returning home Jake did a few hours of training and then had dinner with his mother, for now, Jake was no longer cooked, his mother who was now at home did not want Jake to cook or do household chores like his Mom seemed happy and excited about it and did not get too tired he decided to leave it for now. After all, Eva worked for many years as a waitress and sometimes worked overtime at work, compared to cleaning a house that only two people lived was much easier, and so she realized her desire to stay at home to take care of her child and relieved one of the things he had in his heart. After he went to the room Jake was thinking of everything he''s been through since his return, he really thought he had too much karma accumulated on how well things had happened in his new life, of course, compared to a life of chance is paradise. The thing that made Jake happier was to have been able to help his mother and have basketball in his life, he already loved basketball after his accident in his past life and had discovered his talent and how much fun it was to play, even more special because now he had experienced all that the sport could bring and not just the shots of three. So with each game, he did he discovered a side of his competitive that became more and more anxious with the victory, this was a desire of rewards that he weaves when he began to learn the languages and make trips at the end of the years, but now it was better because he competed with others and the rewards were not given by himself. Now he just had to go on like this and live one day at a time, he had everything he wanted for now, but he had many ambitions to do when he grew older, one of them was to find a good woman and build his family, he hoped also that he and his mother could be happy. Chapter 57 The State Championship 5 After a long time thinking about what happened in the past and what could happen in the future Jake smiled, and so he stayed for a while then he thought of something and could not resist the curiosity to ask the system. "Fate, I was curious, in many games or stories the system always gives missions or reward the protagonist with something when he does something, but I did not receive any of these types, why?" [I was curious as to why you did not ask me this before, as I said before my goal in sending you to the young past and also come with you as a system, is to help you fulfill many of your desires and not allow a tragedy happen to you.] [Even though I want to help you a lot, I can only do what your karma created in this and the other accumulated life allows, for now, I have not made very big changes in your lifestyle nor given anything that you did not have to train also to receive.] [So in the future you will be able to receive several rewards for the actions you did more as you are very young and you are ahead of many talents your age, you have no real challenge now, and even if it seems a challenge is no achievement in view of the system.] [So you''ll only have rewards when you make NBA-level achievements, and in return those rewards would be very good, and if you win them now it would be worse than winning in the future, for example, if I give you physical stats points for you now, it will be much harder to train to earn another point, but when you reach the age of the NBA you will have all your stats very high and it will be difficult to train the next point so you''d better win later than now. Jake had just asked a casual question and was not really upset about it, after all, he already had everything he wanted plus he did not think he would have such a complete answer, and it seems that the system had already expected him to ask about it, that for the system, winning trophies and prizes without being in the main league was not a very big achievement. He did not agree with that part, after all, when you are young you have limitations, like Jake who cannot win even though he has more skills than his opponents because his team is weaker, and in the NBA everyone would have grown up a lot and faced many experiences like by Jake. More after listening to the other part, Jake realized, for the truth that it was not so difficult to gain new points of physical statistics for now, but now it was much harder than at the beginning when he had all his statistics in single digits, so he could imagine which would take months even with exercise devices to increase new points when he was above 30 points. At that time he will be playing in the NBA and it would be great to win a statistic point when it was difficult to train, it''s like in martial arts stories, if a martial artist gets a pill that can make him cross any level he''d rather use to cross a bottleneck or a difficult level, than when he is in the first levels that only take months to cross. And he remembered that the system said that when his strength was very high he could improve his percentage of hits in 3-point shots, then he would be a star even if he did not want to, and another thing the system said is that because of the system Jake could go months without training and still maintain fitness and he would not get fat. It means that when his level was high he would not need training and could rely only on missions and rewards to get better, and he knew that no matter how good he was he could not win the NBA title in the first years, unless that your team is already a champion. So he would have to build his skills for many years to be a champion, not to mention that Jake had many other goals in life beyond basketball. After that week passed quickly and the game of the semifinal arrived, before the game instead of warming up he took the information of his opponent to study better, so he saw that the opponent in the semifinal was the Wolves team. The Wolves were a tough opponent but not hard to beat, their best player was the SG called Mike, the PG was the second best and he was good at organizing the attacks, his name was Alex, and another good opponent was Center Paul. This was very good for Jake''s team, since his greatest weakness on his team Luke would not be exploited, so they just had to try harder, it seems that the opposing team was very fast and his PG did a lot of stealing and the Center some blocks. It was more difficult for Alex to steal Jake''s ball, and Owen did not attack much so the opponent would not have anyone block, so it would be a game that made more points and missed less since Mike would have more freedom to score over Lucas. The game started with possession of the ball with the team of Wolves, when Alex got the ball he started to run for the attack while he hit the ball in the middle, he wanted to try to take the opposing defense of surprise, but Jake was already on top of him, not giving room to move forward. He already had the information that Jake was fast, plus he thought it was like the almost seemed like he was underestimating the opponent, more when Alex started to run Mike also ran along and the two had the same speed, Jake was able to follow his mark more Lucas did not then Mike was free to receive the ball and score the first points of the game. After Jake started the first attack of his team, although Alex tightened the defense Jake could still get around, and he reached the three-point line, the opponents were in position and attentive to the change of opponent movement, so Jake made the signs and his companions began to move, their defenders followed closely. After Jake made another sign and passed the ball, Lucas took a few steps back and received the ball, Jake fired toward the basket and Lucas passed in the empty space, Jake received the ball and gave the 2-point shot and tied the game. The opponents scored well, but Jake managed with the movement of his teammates to open space for him to attack, it was a move that did not have the defense to react correctly and only Alex could do something, but Jake was very fast when he reacted Jake already had gone through it. After a tight match, the Wolves'' attack was very dynamic and with good players who did not lose the attacks or the pressure, and in Jake''s team, he made the points of the team. It was the same situation as the last game if they did double marking Jake would pass the ball to whoever was free, and if the marking was weak he would make the basket on top of the two opponents, so they could only hope Jake got tired. Alex was also frustrated, in addition to losing speed he had no chance to steal the ball, when he tried Jake took advantage of the opening and did the dribble, and in that game Jake showed the strength of his dribbles, he made crossovers and other plays to pass Alex or to create space for the shot. Even with often having two scoring Jake the opponent was tiring faster, and at the end of the first period because of a mistake in the attack, the team of Jake was ahead of the score by 2 points. For those who saw in the stands looked like a very tight game was more in control of Jake, he only feared opponents that could give shots of 3 points, because then it was difficult to control the score. Another thing that could happen is if his team lost possession of the ball if he had more than one player with Alex''s defensive ability, Jake''s team would lose many attacks and it would be difficult to reverse the score because Jake could not attack and score without giving a pass. The second period was practically the same, Lucas was already starting to feel discouraged because many balls would come on him, others would go to the PF of the Wolves and the only Paul did not receive passes, it seemed that the team was worried about Owen too. Jake had a chance to take the lead off my feet, but he could not seem to keep up with the others. At the end of the third period, Jake received again double marking and had to move to Lucas who was free, and Lucas lost the attack thus equalizing the game, Lucas was sad and lost his morale and Jake was forced to animate him as was the captain team. In fact, if he could choose he would not, it was not enough for him not to complain about the innumerable failures of the team and besides, he had to encourage them, it really was not an easy task to be the captain of a team. Chapter 58 The State Championship 6 When the third period was over, the game was tied, it was an exciting game for the public and the journalists, but it was exhausting for those on the court, Jake was very tired and his five opponents were just a little better. After all, the entire Wolves team took turns to double-score Jake for the entire game, after Lucas made that mistake. Jake was not relying on his teammates much more to score, but now the victory was almost guaranteed. Jake ate his Stamina Bar that he had accumulated from the system missions and regained all his energy, as Jake had a good body he was not sighing and sweating much earlier despite being exhausted. Then his opponents only knew that he was exhausted because he was falling in yield in the last plays, and thus the Wolves team would take advantage when Jake was substituted to extend the advantage. After all, everyone knew that without Jake his team did not have the ability to charge here alone, so Jake played every minute in every championship, and his body easily withstands a normal game. So what the Wolves thought would be the key for them to win would be sure of their defeat, although their team was not exhausted they could barely finish the fourth period without running much more, but they did not expect Jake to come back full of energy and they would have to run more. And so it was the fourth period, his opponents saw Jake running as usual and could not keep up, and then they thought that Jake was pretending he was tired to trap, at the end of the game Jake was attacking freely and the Wolves who were tired missed some attacks. Almost, in the end, Jake still took advantage of the oversight of Alex to steal the ball and run to the opposing court and extend the advantage, in the end, the game was 70 to 64 and Jake''s team went to the final. The Wolves'' team was disconsolate and many even cried because they felt they lost to just one player, of course, Jake''s team supported this game a lot, in the end, was their pressure by the tired opponents'' players who secured the victory. Everyone celebrated the qualification for the final as always, after all, mistakes like Lucas''s even happen with the pros, and everyone understood Jake''s decision not to pass the ball at the end of the game. Jake was not that happy, this was a good game that stimulated his potential and he had improvements in his abilities, but what he could not get out of his head and smile was the fact that in that game the limit of his team was clear. Jake did not doubt that if he tried his best they would be able to win the final and take the state championship title, but he knew that almost all teams that play in the national championship would be of the same level as the Wolves at least to the strongest. Because even though he tells everyone that he does not think he has the ability and strength to win the national championship he still wanted to try, Jake wanted to see how far they could get competing with the best teams in the country. But this game made it clear that this is not possible, he has the strength and the will to defy more now he knew he did not have the qualifications, even if Jake was a strong body the team would be his wings to be able to fly, and it is as if all national championship teams were in the sky. But after seeing his teammates smiling and celebrating he also had to compose himself, although his goals were different he could not blame his teammates who were doing their best for his talent shortages, he would only take them to the national championship to hold their dreams and see more of your smiles. When Jake recovered he saw Eric walking up to him, as he did not need any warning to know how strong his next opponent was, he must have come to do another interview, Jake liked Eric because he tried to help his team with that information in another day. "It must be an interview today, I would like to thank you for your good intention the other day for that information, it was very useful to know that some of our tactics would not work, so you can ask whatever you want." "I actually came today for an interview, and I was feeling like I got too into the business of others that day, after all, even without my warning you would still win." "It''s the intention that counts." "Well then, I prepared this interview carefully in the last weeks, now I''ll ask the questions prepared, in these last games, everyone can see that you are much better than your teammates, do you think you have a chance to win that championship?" "I think so, I do not know the Lions team and I''ve never seen them play, but I can say that I think all the last four teams in that league have a real chance to be a champion, so I think our team''s strength does not is smaller than theirs. " "The Lions team has a whole team of high-level players and they also have great height, they also have reserves of the same level as the main team and you will not be able to make many points attacking internally, with only 2 shots, you Do you have any idea how to win under these conditions? " This was the first time Jake heard the information from the Lions team, if it was Eric as he said playing as they played today, it will not come out with the win, it seems that Jake would have to use all his skills in that final and that they could only see the other teams in the national championship. "Of course, our team has prepared for every situation, we have several ways to compete with all kinds of opponents, we intend to leave as the champions." "You said you have a sponsor, do you think next year you can change schools to try to win the national championship next year?" "I thought about this possibility, but I do not know if any school is interested in me because they would have to have a much better team." "Do you intend to enter the NBA in the future?" "I intend to have the chance, but only after finishing university." And so it ended with the promised interview, Eric was very pleased with these answers and was happy that Jake did not avoid answering any of the questions, he was also surprised to know that Jake would try to finish college first before trying to enter the NBA, is not this the goal of all basketball players? For Jake it was not like that, basketball was a fundamental part of his life and he loved it more had much more important ideals, he would not do as in movies drop everything that was really important for a dream, Jake''s priority was his mother and then living a happy life, if playing basketball helped in that, but he would not make it a priority, if his mother had a problem and needed help he would drop everything. But he did not think it would be like that, basketball is the path he chose to solve the problems of his life while doing what he loves, and the system would help accomplish that, and it''s not like he could not play in college, and sponsorships would solve many problems. After that, Jake went home and told his mother about his team''s victory and they moved on to the final, now Jake wanted to see Eva there cheering for him, maybe he was the only calm among the players who would be in the final, despite the Lions thought they were going to win they were worried about Jake too. And the players of Jake''s team also would not relax and train all week before the game to try to improve even a little and take the pressure off their captain''s shoulders to bring another trophy to their school, they were lively and confident in victory. Reporters and reporters, coaches from other defeated teams and businessmen from all over the state would be attending this game because the best players in the state would be on the court, and the victor would represent them at the state championships early next year. Entrepreneurs were looking for youngsters who could sponsor, most were looking for the elders who would go to high school next year after all the high school championships are seen by people across the country, and would bring more visibility to the company. And Jake was training on the racing and bodybuilding machines and also every day he trained his 3-point shots until he was tired, this was the weapon he had never used in the championship, not many of his age could give him 3-point shots and he hoped to catch the opponent by surprise, so they would open up the advantages for Jake''s team. If he could not do layups and all the players on the opposing team had tall players, he would only betray his scorer and give his shot in the 3-point line, he could only squint at his aim and his luck that the system said it was good and would trust Owen to get some rebounds as well, it would soon be the state championship final, and the best would be decided there. Chapter 59 The State Championship 7 So the long-awaited final day, everyone was nervous when they arrived at the place that would be held the match, Jake''s team always knew they would not have a chance to win the national championship, so their ultimate goal was this trophy that would be played that time. game. The players were nervous because they did not have enough confidence in their abilities, they all improved a lot since the first game, they gained experience and struggled to get here, especially Owen and Luke, Owen who could now attack well thanks to their captain and became one of the best championship centers and Luke reached the level of the team, he was no longer the weakness of the team. But even so, they knew they did not have the skills to be in that final, confidence that the players who played the championship last year in reaching the national championship were absurd now that they looked at it, they had to beat the Tigers that were much more strong and experienced them. The only point of courage that all the team had to hope to sell this game today was Jake, a younger player than they and their captain, everyone knew he was a genius, plus he also did well as a captain he supported and even taught the team players, and before when they thought they would lose Jake showed new skills. It was like Aiden once said in school, his captain was like an onion had layers and more layers, and whenever he peeled one he would look better. Coach Roy was also nervous, today he would finally meet two of his goals as coach of that school, reach the national championship with a school that does not specialize in sports and trains a player who could be a star in the future. Jake was also nervous, it was the first final that he considered really important, he hoped to take this medal and the trophy home, this game was a real achievement for him, and he also felt the real weight of his responsibilities in this game, all his team, the coach, the fans who have been following and enjoying his team throughout this championship and the students from his school who came to see the game today. He knew that if they could win the championship today was in their hands as he became more nervous he turned and looked at the bleachers, and so in the first row he saw his mother, she was anxious looking at him and forcing a nervous smile, she''d been supporting Jake forever, in two whole lives. Then he started to calm down and with a smile waved to her as if it was a sign the crowd in the stands began to cheer and scream, so Jake got more confidence, that he was not alone, he had his teammates and fans. Jake looked across the court and saw the other team, or Lions, they did not look nervous and were confident, their team has often won the state championship, and in addition to Owen they were taller than all of Jake''s team, in elite teams like yours had a skill requirement and also height, they did not allow low players to play. Their specialty was the calm in their attacks and the defense in their area near the basket, they allowed few points in layups, thus they could force the errors of the opponents and had the calm to attack. They did not fear Jake as well, his team would not allow him to use his speed to infiltrate his defense and would press his 2-point shots, the rest of his opponents they were less concerned yet. Jake asked that the system estimate the abilities of the opponents and they all had media A, and many had block S in their abilities. The Lions team was very similar in terms of ability, their PG was called John, their SG was called Kevin, their PF was Alan, the SF was Edward and the Center was Trevor. In them the highest scorers were Trevor and Alan, so Luke would be under a lot of pressure, plus Lucas and Aiden who were weaker in defense as well, so this was a point game if Jake could not cross the opposing defense so the game did not would make more sense. As the game began and ball possession went to the Lions, John received the ball and moved calmly to the court of attack, Jake had to make room for John not to attempt a quick attack, after all this was not a game in which he could control the rhythm of the game and the opponent unlike them had reserves of the same level. If his teammates got tired and needed to be replaced the defense would break. John was also aware of this, but did not accelerate their attacks, they knew they had to be careful about Jake''s robberies so better be careful, in the 3-point line he just passed calmly to Kevin, so Kevin who looked like he would give a kick of 2 used a feint and passed Lucas to make the first 2 points with a layup. Jake, who had hoped to calm his teammates and started his attack, contrary to what he thought the opponent would not press and positioned himself in the defense calmly, they would not mark each individually besides Jake, they chose a zone defense and thus would not allow anyone to invade the key and do an inside scoring. So Jake could calmly pass the ball and choose who would hit the 2-point shot, so besides Owen, he did not ask anyone to stay in the painted area, and they would just circle the airs of 2 points. This was a defense strategy that could only work with a weak team like Jake''s if it was a high-level team they would only be a 2-point shots practice. Jake passed the ball to Aiden who made the points to tie the game, so Jake''s defense did not have the ability to stop top Lions players from doing their layup shows, and Jake rotated with Aiden and Lucas to hit the 2-point shots. And so the first period of the game was duller than expected and ended tied. In the second period, it seemed that the Lions stopped analyzing their opponents and they changed to 2 players to mark Lucas and Aiden besides John that still marked Jake, one of them marked Owen and the other marked in the zone and sometimes made a double mark in Jake. With increased pressure Jake did not have the same confidence in passing the ball to Lucas and Aiden to take the 2-point shot, and he could not force the pass to do an inside scoring without a foul, so the pressure on Jake''s team had increased, and it seemed it was only a matter of time before they lost attacks and fell behind the Lions in points. So Jake was also forced to risk to get the win, he did a crossover and a hesitation to try to fool the opponent that he would make the pass and try the layup when John made the move to prepare and run to come back and mark the breakthrough, Jake made a step back and got a space and went back to line 3 to give a shot. The ball made a beautiful trajectory and entered to score another 3 points for Jake''s team and to shock everyone, it was Jake''s first 3-point basket in the league, many wanted to argue that he was lucky but seeing everything he did until now they could not. So Jake''s team passed the front of the board for the first time in the game. The Lions team also thought it was a coincidence and kept playing calmly, they did not miss an attack anyway was just a matter of time. Then it was Jake''s turn to go on the attack again, this time John tightened the defense, but Jake did not feel his pressure with his strength statistics, he used his body to make space and gained speed going to the key taking the defense of the Lions unprepared, when Trevor tried to cover the defense, Jake just made the pass to Owen who had been forgotten and was free to make 2 more points. This was an important basket because it was the first time they managed to break the Lions defense in this game and do a layup, which increased the confidence of Jake''s team. So the game continued in this way with Jake finding ways to not lose an attack, the Lions were also starting to get nervous, and after another beautiful feint and a step back, Jake made another shot of 3 to another converted basket. By the end of the second period Jake had made 4 baskets of 3 points without missing any and so his team took an advantage of 4 points, even nervous the Lions still did not lose an attack, increasing Jake''s strength also increased his confidence and stability, it seemed that his luck was also giving a hand. Chapter 60 The State Championship 8 In the interval the players of both teams were exhausted, only Jake was a little better, it was a final, which was already stressful and still the score was so close, the Lions had not given up yet, after all, they thought Jake would not hit all the 3-point baskets, they were counting on these mistakes. Not even the NBA pros get a 100 percent hit in a game, only if they throw a few balls if Jake wanted the win he could not go here, and the rest of the team was there just to put pressure on the defense and swap passes with Jake. Jake took a look at the bleachers and with his excellent vision managed to see many people, he saw his mother who was smiling at him although still nervous, elsewhere he saw Joseph and his father Oliver, it seems they came to take a surprise and cheer for Jake. Elsewhere in the stands, he saw the reporter and journalist Eric who was the only one who did several interviews with him and even helped him with some important information, after looking a little longer he saw Clara in the corner of the public next to a beautiful lady blonde who seemed to be the same age. It seemed that all the people that mattered in his life were in this game to support him, this gave Jake extra energy, the strategy had to be the same as the second period, he would not continue giving shots of 3 as everyone thought, he only will manage the score that guarantees the trophy for his team. So after a while, the Lions team will be anxious and miss more attacks, and Jake''s team just had to be calm, he looked around and saw that his team was very nervous to whoever was ahead on the scoreboard. So he thought that if it were him in his places he would also be nervous, after all, they are being suppressed the whole game and can not know if the team can or not win because it does not depend on them, but Jake, so it seems that it was time to be The captain. "Guys, everyone here, I have a few words to say." The players immediately approached and crouched around Jake as they did to listen to strategies, if the captain had an order they would listen to it. "Look at you all scared, calm down, I''ve said that before, but when we''re ahead of the leaderboard, who should be nervous are not our opponents, we deserve to be in this final no matter what you think or what others say." When he said this the whole team relaxed as if it was magic, they were even a little embarrassed, Jake was much younger than them and also as captain and team ace was suffering a lot more pressure than they did, but those who were there were tremendous they were the ones who had to set an example. "Everyone here knows how important this game is, I do not know the whole story but I know that in ten years at least it''s the first time our school has a team in the final, and that''s our chance, we''re going to win and be the first school in at least decades to be in a national championship. " "I''m going to say this for the first time, I know we have no chance to go very far to the national championship, so let''s give all of us here and so we can spend our vacations and holidays with a smile on our faces and make our family proud." "Close your eyes and try to remember everything that we have been going through since the regional championship so far, we have defeated some teams that would have gone further if they had not faced us, we are strong, what I need you to do is tighten as much as possible the marking and try to force them to give 2-point shots and not make the points with layups which is what they are best, let''s win. " So the whole team had fire in their eyes and a willingness to win, they forgot the nervousness and just wanted to do everything they could to say after they did something to help the team to be the champion. After that, Jake called Owen alone in a corner. "Owen I have two important missions for you to do until the end of this game, the first one, if I miss a shot you should get the rebound, this is what you are best, you do not lose in height and neither skills for them, and second if you have a chance, I want you to block one of your players, to show that it''s not anyone who can be strolling around our basket, I''m counting on you. " Although Jake knew it was difficult, he also had to give a purpose to his team. So the third period started and the game was weak again, everything was going very well in the defenses and did not invent much in the attacks, Jake did not try any 3-point shot and Jake''s team continued in the advantage by 4 points. Only at the end of the third period did the Lions team begin to become visibly nervous and trying to defend more and unstable in the attacks. In the last period, the pressure of the Lions arrived at an absurd level, as Aiden and Lucas became tired the adversaries began to tighten the mark in Jake that could not go to the layup anymore. So he was forced to try the 3-point shot, the first one he tried to hit and in the Lions'' comeback attack he was rushed and careless and Owen saw an opportunity and a block on Edward. The ball fell into the hands of Aiden who tired just passed quickly to Jake who fired at speed before long Jake was already running alone into the basket and had left his markers behind, so scored two more points in the layup. Now the final was with Jake''s team managing to lead by a 7-point advantage, and only half of a period was missing, but the Lions did not give up, he continued to tighten the mark over Jake who had to give another 3-point, but as it was with little space he missed and Owen managed to get the rebound alone against 3 scorers and scored two more points, The players of the Lions team were heartbroken because they knew this could be their last chance, then 2 minutes into the end of the game John was distracted and tired Jake took this opportunity to steal the ball and score 2 more points and open the advantage to 9 points, so the final game was over. Nobody else tried anything and time just passed to celebrate the new state champions, all of Jake''s team celebrated and hugged and some even cried for joy, but on the other side, many Lions players were crying with sadness. Some reporters and family members were allowed to enter the court to celebrate with the winning team, Jake was also very happy this time, it was a great achievement for him, and it was also good to see the smile of his teammates and his coach who fulfilled one of his dreams. This could be considered a farewell gift from his first teammates in his life and they were with him so far, after all, Jake knew he would not be here next year. He was much happier when he greeted his friend Joseph and his older friend Oliver who came to see this game and cheer for him, he then hugged his mother and stood beside her hugging until the organization called them to receive the medals and pick up the trophy. Jake received with great happiness and pleasure his medal and then they were called to erect the trophy, so they took a beautiful photo that would be a great souvenir for all of them, even more, to crown the party Jake received the MVP of the state championship which was much more significant for all. After that while his companions celebrated Jake tried to go near his mother again more Owen grabbed him by the collar and without warning he lifted him and then he was erected by the whole team and thrown up several times, everyone was happy, it was a day to be remembered. After this Jake managed to escape to be hugged with his mother where it was safer when they saw that everyone smiled, there they remembered that Jake was only 11 years old. When Jake tired of the whole celebration tried to call his mother to leave more was stopped on the way by Eric the reporter, he wanted to leave more could not deny an interview for a reason like this, especially someone who supported him and helped him and followed him since the first games. "Alright Eric, you can ask your questions." "Hahaha, I know you''re tired more now you''ve won the championship and been elected MVP, it''s a great thing so I can close my story and column with a golden key." "Tell me what you''re feeling with everything that happened today, you so young and in your first league and your first year in a basketball team has won all the titles so far and also always been the MVP." "I feel very good and happy, that all the effort I''ve done so far has had results and happy for my teammates as well, the opponents we faced until the final were very good and I''m happy to be the champion." "Before taking a picture for the cover of your interview, there is someone you want to thank for that victory that supported you on your way here." "I would like to thank my mother who is here on my side, without her I would be nothing, I would also like to thank my friend Joseph who also supported me a lot throughout the school and my teammates who allowed me this opportunity and the Sports 100 company that sponsors me and gave me the comfortable sporting goods that I have used in every game and allow me to fully concentrate on basketball. " Eric and Eva were thrilled by Jake''s first words and were impressed by his eloquence to talk about his sponsors. "So can we take the picture for the cover?" "Of course, I can take it with my mother?" "Of course it will look even better." So Jake took his uniform out of the final and underneath he had a shirt written ''Sports 100'', Eric could just take the helpless photo consoling it would be a good interview. Chapter 61 Good News Comes Always Together 1 Clara and Tiffany who were together watching the scene from afar opened up a satisfied smile, and Clara almost ran her thumb up to Jake, really a good investment decision for her companies, Tiffany was now eager to sign that contract soon. Incredible as a child after playing a game and being tired of celebrating and had the awareness to make this advertisement look good and not scandalous, and as it was a child who walked with the shirt with the company''s mark under the uniform nobody would complain. An honest advertisement that shows results like this in a newspaper that everyone would read was worth much more than star-advertising that would cost millions as Jake had said he was sure he could repay the company, and that he gets only 5000 per month now that is a tiny part of how much the company can give. That was how he thought, he needed this money now and not in the future, and even though it seemed like a lot to him now, it was enough to get his mother out of that grueling job that was Jake''s longing, and it was like Jake said, in the future when he did not even need other companies to offer millions of dollars he would not accept it. After that, Clara would schedule a new meeting with Jake, but today it was better to let him celebrate and then rest, he would not run from one day to the next. So Jake went home happy with his mother at the end of that day, he promised to have a celebratory lunch the other day. The other day Jake and his mother went to a restaurant for French food, this restaurant was a bit pricey but had good portions and it was not like some restaurants that had more charm than food. He wanted to show Eva the best meals he experienced in his time by learning to cook and on his trip to France when the waitress came Jake made the requests of the dishes in French, his mother was a little surprised but not so much, she knew that Jake had been studying French books, but did not know that he could speak. After they had a good meal, Eve seemed to enjoy Jake''s favorites as well, then while they waited for dessert they began a conversation. "Are you worried about something Jake?" "So you realized, I''m thinking about what I told you, I''m very happy to win this trophy, the second this year, but I''m sad because I know this is going to be the last, we will not be able to get very far in the national championship. " "I thought it was strange that you were so happy yesterday but worried today, I''m not going to say that you should not worry, but you''re still young, you''ll have many chances to win more trophies with your talents in the future, you should stay happy and celebrate quite like your teammates. " "This is another thing I''m thinking, I think it''s a bit wrong of me to want to change schools just to win a championship, I know I have the right and that all my teammates have already accepted that I''m going to change from school, but I will not even make money on the trophies, is it worth it? " "I''m glad you think a lot about your schoolmates and your friends, but I think you''re still young and should do what you want now as long as it''s not wrong, it''s an opportunity for you, I know you do not likes to lose and wants the best, whether it will be a good decision or not just time will tell and even if it is bad will be a good learning for you. " After Jake heard his mother''s response he was a little silently thinking, even after the dessert arrived and until his return home. Eva was happy as her son had a mature thought for her age, it is always a pride for parents when their education works and their children become good people, but she had a little regret because it seemed that Jake had lost the best of his childhood. Eva could not know that this was Jake''s second childhood, what he enjoys now was a bonus for his age, he already went through an immature phase and now only bothered to do what was right and not regret the future. After a little thought, Jake decided that he would change his school even though his greatest attachment at school is his friend Joseph would also go with him, although he quite liked his teammates, they were not really friends. For Jake it was important to win the national championship once, then at high school, it was the same, he did not think about being champion every year, if he needed to he would play, but at least he would have to win. Jake''s school decided to reward the champions of basketball championship, letting them go on holiday sooner, so they would have more time to spend on vacation and then come back rested for the national championship, Jake did not care much because he already had all he could rest before he wanted to. Jake also heard that his teammates would train the most on this vacation to try to make a better campaign in the national championship that would begin at the end of January, it was still almost 2 months away and so gave time to make some improvements. Jake gave a lot of advice as captain to his teammates if they had the will, the talent and the time they would improve quickly as Luke did in 3 months, so they thought it was worth the try. Jake who already had the statistics of an adult who practiced some sports only did his races on the mat and bodybuilding to improve his strength as much as possible, if he regained the strength he had in his past life he could give shots of 3 with much more perfection. It was amazing how much he improved in a little over a year, but it was all because of the system that could maximize his talents and training, you could not compare Jake to a normal person without the system he would get to what he had today only to 18 years. To train his skills and experience he had his imagination training, which was better than having real games at times, especially when he went on to high school level, now if he leaves everyone with 1.80 m, and his skills in the He could not even touch the ball, it was like several adults playing with a child. After all had a serious problem that Jake had that system could not solve in a few years, that was his height, with 11 years Jake had now already with the help of the system 1.61 m tall, which is already very good for his age , but despite his ability being enough for Jake to play with high school students his height was not so Jake could not rush. After a week in the final Jake was already enjoying his vacation a lot and was also very happy because he never remembered in his life to be able to stay with his mother many days at home, it was a good thing Eve left her job. So an order arrived at his house, when Jake opened the box he saw that it was two photos, his with his team raising the trophy and the other of Jake with his mother that Eric took the two were sent in sizes increased by about one meter on each side, could be hung on a painting. In addition, there was a newspaper that had been published this morning, he had seen only a little notice the day after the final, but in that newspaper had a whole page with the two photos and a flashy title ''Young star twice MVP takes the team of Miami to victory '', just to not be false was very biased this news. As promised had his quotes from his sponsoring company Sports 100 up in the shirt that Jake wore on his champion photo, Eric even quoted in his column that the company Sports 100 was a visionary company that recognized him before everyone else, and also had a comment that the team, unfortunately, had no chances in the national championship. Jake liked the report and thought it was all very sincere, he had criticism too, but it was normal after all nothing was perfect, so he thought that this journalist Eric was someone reliable that he could tell in the future. Then Jake showed the order to his mother who liked the interview in the newspaper, especially the parts that Jake talked about her, and also said he would frame the two photos, it was a good memory to leave close to his medals, sorry that the trophy would go for schools. At the end of the day, Clara called Jake''s house and said she wanted to have lunch with him to discuss more details of Jake''s sponsorship and performance. Jake was not worried, he had played well and done his part, and also always used branded products in every game and still got this beautiful advertisement, he did not know if he would get a raise or not, but it did not matter if he received would be more money to be able to invest in the future and if it did not receive it would still fulfill the contract until the end even if another company offered a bigger offer. Chapter 62 Good News Comes Always Together 2 Another day Jake was in the car that was sent to the hotel restaurant. Arriving at the restaurant he asked the waiter to take him to the table that had been reserved for Clara when he got close enough to see the table was surprised, next to Clara was the beautiful blonde woman that Jake had seen in the stands watching your game. "Hi Jake, how long, sit down there." "Not so long ago, I saw you and your friend in the state championship final game, thanks for the support." "So you saw us, it was nothing, we were there not only to cheer for you but also to check our investment." "And you liked what you saw in the game." "Yes of course, not only what I saw in the game, but also what you did after him, I saw you in your interview with that reporter and also saw the newspaper later, very well done, you did much more than we initially expected, now for a while we will not even need to make a new advertising. " "What I said in the interview was not only advertisement but also what I really felt was thanks to his sponsorship that I could concentrate more on basketball improving my standard of living and even being able to realize my desire to take my mother of her job that only hurt her. " "Even so I liked it, let me introduce my friend here, her name is Tiffany, and she is one of my business associates, besides, she also has a company of her own." "Hi Jake, it''s a pleasure to finally meet you, as a partner of the company I was also very happy with what you did for the company." "Hi Tiffany, it''s nice to meet you, too." "So, Jake, we did not call him here just to exchange compliments or to congratulate you on your trophy and for being MVP, as I said before, sponsorship could increase depending on your performance and accomplishment, and you did very well in that state championship, so our company has decided to increase its monthly sponsorship for $ 10,000 a month because we think you deserve it, and there will not be any breach of our contract even if you do not have games because we also believe in your future. " "Thank you very much, I promise I will not make you regret putting your trust in me." "I believe you, now the other reason I called you here is something that my friend will treat." "Thanks, Clara, so Jake as my friend here already said, I as well as her partner also have my own company that is also from the sports field, is a company that manufactures natural sports drinks and is called Sports Natural." "And our company would also like you to be The pitchman for our company too, because besides having already seen that you can add a lot of value to our company, I also think it would be a great idea to do some commercials in the future showing the partnership of our companies , so if you are The pitchman for our company we can make this image association more easily. " Jake was very happy with this development, he hoped to some extent that he could get a small increase in his sponsorship agreement with Clara''s company, after all, he showed that he has talent and also knows how to use his image to help the company, but he never thought he would get a new sponsorship. After all, he was still 11 years old and did not have much visibility for a company in Middle School, but it was a coincidence that she was someone from Clara''s own company, so it made sense what she did, it seemed like Jake''s luck was working again. "I accept and appreciate the trust your company is also putting into me." "So that''s settled, we''ll give you $ 10,000 a month, and the duration of the contract will be the same as the two companies, I''ll have someone take the contract for your mother to sign, but it''s really amazing how mature you are for your old, it seems like I''m talking to someone who is older than me. " "I thought the same thing when I first met him." After that Jake found a way to escape the interrogation of his two contractors, it was good that Jake was a minor on the contrary he thought he would be forced to stay to drink with both of them. After he went home, Jake told him everything that happened to his mother who was very happy for Jake, she was a little worried about getting out of her job and having to rely on Jake''s patronage, she thought she could easily get a job if something went wrong, but she still felt sad that Jake could not keep enough money for her future. Now that she saw that Jake was earning $ 20,000 a month, Eva was happier and was completely relaxed from leaving her job, not that she had no confidence in her child''s ability, but that she was afraid the companies would change their minds and leave it backward, after all, companies worry above all with profit and not with the personal life of their business partners. Jake was also happy with this development, although he was not worried about money it was always good to have more so when he started to invest he could make more money in less time. After that things were calmer for a while, and Jake was planning how to spend his vacation now that he had more money, after all, it would be Christmas and after that, he would go through his 12 year birthday, so he planned to take a trip with your mother. In the past to learn a language well and also to give a reward of his own, Jake liked to make trips to know the places, to see the language to be spoken everywhere, to know the culture, to try the local dishes and also to know the sights of the countries. But even though he always thought it was a good idea, Jake thought traveling alone was very lonely, and sometimes he found himself wondering what his mother would think of that place, and now he could see in person what she would think as he won that second chance, he was hoping to get older and make more money before that, but now it was the perfect opportunity, as the saying goes, ''Never leave for tomorrow what can be done today'', because tomorrow is a mystery known only to God and the destiny. So when preparing Jake received a call that a representative of a private school wanted to know him, Jake already expected something like that but hoped it was only after the national championship, even so, he agreed to meet this representative at a restaurant nearby. When he got there he soon saw a man in glasses with a briefcase next to his body in a suit, he looked more like a lawyer than a representative. "Jake, it''s a great pleasure to meet you, a future great NBA player and even now you''re a small star earning two MVPs, our school has been looking for you for a long time." Jake was a little startled by the overly friendly attitude of the rep, after all, he was no professional player. "You said your school always looked for me?" "Yes, it''s a truly sad story involving rebirth, do you remember a street tournament you attended a few months ago?" "I remember, was your school organizing this tournament?" "This is a long story, as the school I represent is a private school, it also does not cease to be a company, and the shareholder who is now the president of our school has always wanted us despite being a school focused on teaching , we would also be a talent factory for large universities that are our partners. " "As people who are very good at school do not have to worry too much about school if the teaching is good, we can not look for geniuses like that, but in sports it is different, that shareholder then suggested that our school also focus on the creation and training of various sports talents. " "The former president thought this was a good idea, but he wanted the school not to spend a lot of money on it, the shareholder said it was impossible, and even though they lost money in the short term, it would be a great investment for the future." "But the president of the day did not think so, and decided to do that street basketball championship to find new talent for our school, but he was very rushed and did not think things right and we ended up having to charge the entrances to the joy of the old President, we even made good money from it. " "Until you showed up there, a great talent so the president thought it had been a success, but did not expect him to organize badly this street basketball tournament had been his biggest mistake and so the cause of his dismissal." Although Jake did not know what had happened without listening to the rest, he already imagined what had happened, because that was what he had thought when he saw what had happened before the start of the tournament entries. Chapter 63 Good News Comes Always Together 3 "Many of the parents of young people who were present that day will not like what our school did, what was to be a tournament with free registrations became a paid enrollment and took the money from many parents that day." "After that several parents went to the education office in the city and they complained that a school made misleading propaganda to take money from the people, the school tried to argue the fact that they had to charge at the last minute because the people who wanted to participate were many, but it did not help at all, it did not change the fact that it was the school''s fault. " "After that our school was punished and almost closed, but the board happily acted fast and fired the president and some tournament officials, now that the school is regaining its popularity the shareholder who is now the president is putting into practice their plans of make our school a reference for sports. " "So this year we are inviting and giving scholarships to young people like you, and forming teams strong enough to win the next several sports championships like basketball." "For great talents like you have other plans, if you come to our school next year to win the national championship next year and commit to a contract to stay in our school until the last year of high school, we promise we will pay you $ 5,000 beyond your scholarship, and you will have the priority of choosing a university that we have partnered in when you graduate. " Jake had to admit to being shocked by the generosity of this proposal, plus the scholarship to study at a school that had first-rate teachers and a team strong enough to win the national championship, would still receive $ 5000 a month worth of his former sponsorship, just to attend school until the end of high school, and more importantly he would guarantee a university to study and fulfill his mother''s dream. Just as this was a proposal he could not refuse he agreed to transfer to this school at the end of that school year, and that he would stay in it until he finished high school. Then Jake went home and told his mother that he was very happy for his son and even cried when Jake said that he would have guaranteed entrance to a university, it was a dream that was being carried out, now she had nothing more to do ask, just live quietly with your child. So Jake knew that his luck statistic was very good in other aspects of life, how bad luck ended his life in his past life, as the system said that it was not for Jake to be the best basketball player in the world, but for him to have a happy life, so it was a great system, as it is said good news always comes together. After that as Christmas was coming Jake told his mother his desire to go to Spain with her, Eva''s family was from a distant relative from Spain, she had even heard much about this country from her grandmother, and really wanted to go there, and with Jake saying that it was his desire and also using the excuse that was to improve his Spanish, Eva accepted the trip. Seeing that his mother had accepted Jake began to prepare the trip, he called a tour company and said he wanted to make a trip to Spain in a few days and would stay there for about two weeks, he asked for a personalized script. Paying a little more expensive and as Jake had a personalized script that would cause fewer problems for the company if tourism they accepted, so Jake told the places he and his mother would visit, also said the names of the hotels and even their numbers. Then she asked for travel insurance and a rental car to stay on hold when they got there, so everything was settled more easily, Eva was seeing all this impressed on the side, it was as if Jake had much experience in making trips. Jake really had a lot of experience organizing trips, but it was much easier afterward when everyone was using the internet and cell phone so travel could be scheduled in hours. So after a few days, Jake and Eva went on their trip to Spain, the place where they would visit for a few days was Madrid, where they visited several beautiful places and the most important museums of the country: the Prado, the Reina Sof¨ªa and the Thyssen. Then they continued in Madrid to spend Christmas and New Year, then they went to Seville and met the image of flamenco going to Jerez de la Frontera, then went to impressive attractions such as the Reales Alc¨¢zares, La Giralda Tower and the impressive Plaza of Spain. Then they went to Barcelona where they visited such impressive places as the Sagrada Familia, Parc G¨¹ell, La Pedrera or the Palau de la M¨²sica, Mir¨® Foundation and the Picasso Museum. Then to Catalonia where they went to various places to try various dishes such as butifarra, fuet and espetec, snails, rabbit served with snails, seafood and even chocolate, escalivada which is red peppers, eggplant and baked onion with lots of olive oil and served with goat cheese, as well as p¨¤ amb tom¨¤quet which is bread with tomato and olive oil and many recipes with cod and seafood. For dessert, the Catalan cream. And they stayed there to celebrate Jake''s 12 year anniversary, Eva was very pleased with this trip, she had many ideas for the restaurant of her dreams, eaten in the cities where they passed, she wanted to try some of the drinks too, but she could not with Jake around. She was also very moved when she passed through Barcelona, which was the city where her grandmother always spoke to her, she never thought she would be able to visit this place in her entire life, and all thanks to her son who was only 12 years, for herself being mature Jake will always be a child, he was the pride of his life. Jake was also very happy, he also wanted to take his mother to several places where he drank before more decided against it, he visited all the places where he had already come before and also to new places, and realized that it was actually much better to go through these places with someone you love. After this Jake and his mother returned home, after all, Jake''s classes had already started, it was just that the first few weeks were slow and Eva was not worried about Jake''s notes, so they left to return after Jake''s birthday. After returning Jake made calls to his friend Joseph and also to Clara and Tiffany advising that he had returned from his trip, as he was responsible he warned his sponsors that he would travel to see if he had no commitment in those weeks. Clara allowed the trip, now she was very happy because several gyms made orders and also in their stores they saw many parents buying their brands for their children, after all, Jake was also young, parents did not even believe that it was the training that Jake did so good in no time at all, so they figured beyond their talent could be because of the sporting goods he wore. What was not a complete lie, equipment, and sportswear can even increase a person''s performance and even reduce the risk of injury, and if it were not for the bodybuilders and the treadmill Jake received from Sports 100, he would not have the same stability in their games. In addition, all of its products have the highest quality and do not lose to any major brand, it''s just that Clara''s company has cheaper products, so those who buy once will end up buying again. And at school everything was normal, the teachers did not mind Jake having come in a week later because besides being the best student in the classroom he is also the school''s hero in sports. Joseph was also very happy to see his friend back, in the interval Jake told his friend that he would no longer have to look for another school and told about the business with the private school Elite, and Joseph only said that he would tell his father, even Joseph knew the Elite school and knew that his teachers were very good, so he thought that he would not care, Now it was a few days before the first national championship game, which was the school''s dream to participate, just to have his name participating already raised the name of the school, Jake also thought he did not have much hope in winning had to concentrate and prepare to try to move as far as possible, his entire team had trained a lot on that vacation and Jake also trained every day in his imagination training space where he played with mates with much greater skills and lost many times. So the whole staff was ready not to do too much ugly. Chapter 64 The Expected Sadness The excitement of Jake''s team for reaching their first state championship died a little when they knew who their first opponent was, they were the team that had come to last year''s Eagles'' semifinals. Of all in the team only coach Roy was in a good mood after all his mission was only to play this game and the result did not matter particularly, in addition, he knew that the level of the Eagles was much higher than the Lions that Jake ever had made every effort to win. So if their team had one more player of Jake''s level they could have a small chance of winning, but should not ask the impossible, they even heard that the other team would send the reserve team to face Jake''s team minus two players which were the PF that would mark Jake and the PG that would be marked by Jake. So they could guarantee that Jake would not dominate the game and also that his attack would work easily, who were these two was PG Jack and PF Carter. So the game started and the Eagles were on the attack, Jack was advancing with the ball while Jake marked it, in the national it was difficult a team to be taken by surprise, everyone already had much information of its rivals. So despite thinking to be better Jack did not dare to underestimate Jake, and so protected the ball well and looked for teammates to give the pass, despite thinking they did not Jack tried to dribble Jake. Soon he passed the ball to his SG that despite being a reserve still played better than Lucas, he made a feint and soon made room for a 2-point shot. It was known to everyone that Lucas and Aiden were the weak points in defense of Jake''s team, now Luke was only lower in attack but was good at defense. So the Eagles'' offensive was totally focused on Lucas, Aiden, and Luke, who despite not being weak had as opponent Carter who was a starter of the other team, they did not need to risk attacking over Jake and Owen who were the best defenders. In the attack as in the last games, only Jake could do something, and above him was Carter and not Jack, so he had a marker that was taller and had talent and defense experience. But Jake still made the first two points. And the game continued like this, with the defensive pressure all over him, Jake could not hit all the attacks and so his team was behind in points at the end of the first period. Jake was angry marking was too strong and he had to use all his skill in time to take a shot not to suffer one block, and sometimes he lost accuracy and wandered, so he ended up losing major attacks. What he did not know was the team that was most impressed, especially Carter who was scoring him, Carter was the best player in defense of the Eagles team and so he was always assigned to score the strongest opponent, but taking the champion team , there was rarely a player who could score as many points over his mark. In fact, Carter was the best defender of this national championship, and yet he only got Jake to miss two attacks. In the second period it remained the same, but this time Jake missed only one attack and his team was 6 points behind, so despite knowing it was a trap, Jake had to try the 3-point shots to reverse the score. In the third period, Jake lost more attacks more compensated making all of 3 points, and managed to decrease the advantage to 4 points. And in the last period, Jake had eaten his stamina bar and was full of energy so he can complete more attacks, at the end of the game the opponent put the starting SG that also hit some 3-point shots and was tight but Jake''s team was eliminated in the first phase. Everyone was a little sad but they were expecting it so they quickly overcame, only Jake was more shaken, it was his first loss after returning, and Coach Roy only knew he wanted to be a national champion. But as he had said at the beginning the team was not enough, so coach Roy was sad for him, few of the fans of the team came to see this game, nor the reports Eric came, because even Jake was not optimistic before, even later who discovered that they would face one of the favorites. Jake went home and then found her grandmother who was waiting at home with a smile, but after a while, the smile on Eva''s face disappeared and she looked at her son with a warm look. Eva had already become accustomed to receiving Jake by saying that she had won in her games even when the opponent was stronger, and just as this was still the first game she thought her son and team would win. But seeing Jake shot down she realized that this time it did not happen, so she just hugged her son and tried to comfort him, she knew Jake was a proud boy and never wanted to lose, even more knowing that he was talented. But today was a day that she knew would be imprinted on her son''s memory, it would help him grow in the future as well, but now it was an hour of pain, he would learn that there was always someone better than you, and even if you were the better, Jake was playing a team sport, where 5 were needed for the win. When Jake received his mother''s embrace he relaxed the mask he had put on his face so as not to appear weak and soon began to cry, Jake knew that he would miss a day in this championship, since he joined the team, and even so he trained to the maximum, he prepared plays with his teammates, he cheered them up when they were sad, he gave his best to always win the games. Why did he do all this? Because he wanted to win, even though he knew the odds were low and knowing that his team was not the strongest, he hoped that somehow he would get a lot better, that somehow his luck would interfere with the outcome of the game. He fought for hope, not to give himself up to defeat, but today all this is over, they lost and this was Jake''s last game for his team that fought and smiled with him and the last game of that year. Many said that Jake''s team was unlucky to have faced one of the top 4 teams in that national championship in that first game, but Jake did not think so, if they won they would have the strength to fight for the trophy, and if they lost as they lost, either just say that the staff could not go any further. He hated to lose, but it was better to lose at the beginning than to waste time swimming and then die on the beach. Jake learned that lesson, again he saw that he was not the best, he was now apprehensively preparing to be the best in the future, but today he just wanted to be a child, his mother''s son and be able to cry in her embrace to be able to Forget this subject tomorrow. The other day Jake was usually to school, he was still greeted by his all friendly colleagues saying that it was a shame that his team had lost but no one was sad, everyone hoped for it, for them Jake had already done more than enough leading the staff there. In the room as always he was reading his book and sometimes listening to his teacher''s explanations, Jake''s classes had a fun fact that only the teachers knew, as Jake always took maximum marks and never missed a question, the teachers never asked anything and they only let him read in peace. But his teachers learned an interesting fact, as Jake had come from the future that nobody knew, he had already studied all the subjects taught by his teachers, and also after graduating from school Jake still studied these things alone. Even more, he always gave a check on what he knew before each class and with his high intelligence statistics he learned everything, and it was only natural that he should not miss any questions in the tests. But sometimes when he heard the teacher talk about something he had not learned, or forgotten or just did not know, he would take his attention away from the book he was reading and pay attention in class, so he would learn and then re-read. What he did not know was that after these almost two years of teaching the teachers realized this, that when their classes became interesting Jake would pay attention. So the teachers began to try harder to better their classes and make more interesting and even research things just to get the attention of Jake and brag to his colleagues in the break. It made Jake''s teachers unwilling to be loved, his classes most interesting, his students had the best lessons, and all Jake''s teachers were given a raise. So now Jake was the most beloved student of all teachers. Chapter 65 Going to New Ways 1 Then at the break of classes, Jake called Joseph to eat in the usual place, so they walked there quietly after Jake began to excel in the games no one else approached this place when he would eat, for consideration. "So you talked to your father about Elite school and moved there?" "I said yes, for him it''s okay, as you know he was thinking of sending me to a better school already, and the Elite is very good, he just told me to talk to you to take care of me there." "Of course, I did not even have to ask, I know you could go to any school but you''re going to study with me, so I can only thank you more for taking care of you there." "I think it will be cool also a new school, there might be more difficult classes and you miss a few questions in the tests and so I will be number one." "Do not count on it too much, you have not even gotten all the questions in the tests like me, even if I miss a few, you''re going to miss a lot more." "Do not put an end to my hopes so easily." "And how was the trip with your mother?" "It was really cool, we went to several special places like museums and we also ate a lot of unique foods from there, I took lots of pictures afterward and I send you some." "Yes, I also wanted to go, when I was younger, my father was very fond of taking us to the snow for skiing, I did not learn because he was very young, but even so, traveling is legal." "Why do not you go?" "After my father opened his office it''s harder to take a vacation, and I was not too excited to go, only after hearing you speak I remembered." Jake was very familiar with this, he had several acquaintances who were more successful than him at work, Jake also got rich, but I another area, the stock market, but anyone who wanted to succeed had to work more in the company, and so they had less time for their families. He remembered that a lot of his colleagues had already divorced at least once, and many had different health problems because of stress, in that part Jake was fortunate not to have to worry about his work. And so no longer having games later in the year, Jake already said goodbye to his team and coach Roy, everyone was very sad to know that Jake was going to change schools, but they also knew that he wanted to win the last title that he could not. And that too because Jake did not want to spread that Elite school would pay him a salary to go there, otherwise no one would find it strange his change of school. And so the semester passed quickly and the second year of Jake''s Middle School ended, in that time he always stood first in the grades and when he went to say goodbye to the teachers all found it a pity to lose such a great student. On vacation it''s been two years since Jake came back to this time, really he had accomplished everything he wanted and could not have done, now it was time to make more dreams and always think of getting better. While not going much further to the court besides doing the 3-point shots, Jake would still go whenever he could do his exercises on the weight machines and also on the treadmill to increase his speed and endurance. And every day Jake was doing his imaginary training, so he gained more experience and also trained his skills, but after reaching the high school level skills were taking much longer to make improvements. It seems like it would not be as easy to get to the NBA level as he thought, he was really naive in thinking this, the system itself had said that only at the beginning would it improve quickly. But he was not in a hurry either, it would still have many years for him to worry about being on the NBA level, and he already had the skills to win the national championship next year, he just needed a better team so opponents would not they could focus solely on him in the marking. Her mother at home was also much better, it seems that she was fully recovered from health after many years of stress in the restaurant having to always worry about paying bills, now she had a younger appearance that her age and vitality shone on his face. Jake, who had never seen his mother so well in their two lives, could only be happy, his friend Joseph was also losing more weight and now he could no longer be called chubby, now he got even more looks from the girls at school. Jake could also be considered popular, but he had an attitude that prevented these girls from approaching him, and he did it on purpose, because unlike Joseph he had more experience, but it was impossible for him to feel attraction to a child having a mentality over 40 years old, and he did not want to have to refuse and hurt their feelings. And so the holidays promised to be very quiet for Jake, he had nothing programmed and also did not have to do an insane exercise routine to improve his skills, he was just thinking of relaxing to prepare for the next school semester that would be excited. But it seemed that not everything would be according to his thoughts, a few days after his holiday began, Jake received a call from Clara that now that the announcement that Jake made in the newspaper was already beginning to lose the force, so he and Tiffany thought which was the perfect time to make a commercial that would be broadcast on local radio and television as well as newspapers and magazines. Jake did not expect his first ad campaign to be such a big exposure, but after hearing what Clara said was really a smart way to save money, there would be a street basketball competition that would be organized by the city of New York that usually has the best street players. And these competitions would be free and also divided by age and would be held on different days, and as players could bring their own shirts and uniforms, Clara and Tiffany thought it was a good idea to take Jake to this competition in a uniform that represented both companies. The winner of each competition that the finals would be held the last day all together could do a live interview for the radio and television besides to be published later in the newspapers, the prize was of 2000 dollars for the first place. This was also a chance for local companies to choose players and if they promote then they would allow ads, of course, they probably did not expect an outside company to bring a Miami player to represent their company, but since it was not in the rules they could just blame themselves for not thinking this. Clara was naturally confident that Jake who was considered the best in school would not lose to 12-year-olds since normally the state MVPs were all 13 years old, and that''s been over 6 months, she did not think a genius with Jake would not improve at that time. And she was right. Jake had a big improvement in those 6 months, mostly in experience and at the time, so, Jake, every inch would make a lot of difference in his game with his bigger stats, he could already jump higher than his opponents so he just needed to get into a difference of 6 cm so you do not have more problems in going to the layups without fear. So Jake was guaranteed to make a good low-cost advertisement for both companies after he told his mother about the trip to work he naturally insisted on going along, in Miami, she could even leave Jake alone but she would not do the same in another state. Jake naturally did not care that his mother was together and just warned Clara to prepare a new plane ticket, Clara did not care either, just that he seemed so mature that sometimes she forgot that he was still underage and had a responsible one. Jake just prepared for the trip and told his friend Joseph that he would have to be out of town on that vacation, Joseph understood and wished him good luck. The night before the Jake trip he thought of something and said. "Fate shows me my statistics window." [Sure here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 12 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.65 m] [Weight: 60 Kg] [Force 17] [Agility 16] [Resistance 18] [Intelligence 50] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control B] [Man to Man D] [Dribble A] [Layup B] [Set Shot S] [Block D] [Pass A] [Rebound C] [2 Points S] [3 Points S] [Free Throw SS] [Steal B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª "My skills have hardly increased, my stats are fine, but I feel it''s getting harder to raise a point." [If this is what you think you are very wrong, your stats are increasing very well, is that you are very rushed, normal people without me would take more than 8 years of training to do what you did in 2.] Chapter 66 Going to New Ways 2 [You will easily continue to increase your statistics with a lot of training until you reach the 25 points, then it would take almost ''1 year to train each point, then the missions enter to help you overcome your limits, or you can get better equipment to increase more your statistics.] [How much your skills was what I already told you while you were stuck at the Middle School level, just because you do not see your ranks go up does not mean that you have not improved, you have skills that despite having high rank cannot be used by you completely, then you can just find out more in the games.] Jake agreed with the system''s vision, he really felt that he improved his skills even though he could not see the ranks before when he was stuck at the Middle School level, and now he was so focused on the ranks again that he did not notice his improvement. Jake still had to understand that professional basketball players did not have systems to improve anymore they became stars, he needed to look beyond the system sometimes, then Jake thought of something else. "Why did my intelligence increase more this semester?" [Had the trip you did with your mother and the books you read, in addition, many things you came to understand this semester you did not understand before, how feelings, or in basketball, whatever you learn depending on the effect you has in you can increase your intelligence.] After he understood Jake was silent again, he was thinking about how to improve his skills until the arrival of the school games, he did not just want to pass the time, he would have to think of a way to improve forever be in front of others. [I see that as long as you''re not doing anything to improve you''re not going to sit still, but only once a day go to imagery training and your daily workouts cannot be increased, and you hitting the ball on the court would not do any good. ] [So I''m going to give you a hidden mission that was for you to find out for yourself in the future, but that future seems pretty far now, so I''ll get by now.] [[Special mission being a reference]] [All the biggest basketball stars ended up being a benchmark and source of motivation for new players, but you have not even come close to that yet, but there''s something that every star should do to be unforgettable, and that''s something you can start doing now, will be your brand in the future.]] [[Create a movement of yours, can be a dribble, or pass or even a special way of giving a 3-point shot, important that when people see them know that you created and that this movement is useful, if you must create a shot that never hits the basket because nobody will want to imitate.]] [[Reward: one point for each basic statistic, if you have the same talent you can create several moves.]] [So you''re going to try the challenge? If you try to create your move, if it is updated in the future you get more statistics points.] Jake''s eyes flashed when he saw the mission of the system, it was such a good idea that he wondered why he had not thought of it before? After all, a single move would be too good to fool the opponent, it would be something that the defense has never seen before so would not know how to react. "Of course I accept, this is a great idea, thank you for giving me this mission Fate." [I think it would be interesting to see what movement you would think of to create, it has to be something unique, that comes from your mind, even if it has a similar name or resembles another created movement, it will still be unique because you created it yourself, three people who created 3 different moves to make a dunk with just one hand would they be the same? Of course not, whoever executed the movement would know the difference.] After that the other day Jake went to New York with his mother, they stayed in a great 4-star hotel that Clara managed for them, the same day he met with Clara. "Hi Jake thanks for coming, I know you were on vacation plus this is a great opportunity for our two companies to get a great advert and not pay too much." "You do not have to be so polite, this is my job, I already earn a lot to play for just about half a season and without much media exposure, after all, we will not have many opportunities like that from the interview with Eric, he referred me to it after he took a scolding for making such a good and without the newspaper receiving. " "If it''s to repeat a success like that I do not mind paying the extra for the newspaper, but it just happened so well because it was spontaneous." "Yes, that''s why if you have an opportunity like this you should not hesitate to call me, after all, I also want to help the company that helped me." "It''s good to know that, many who are sponsored as you to appear in any situation that is not in the contract always asks for an extra payment, and in this world it is impossible to put unexpected situations into contracts." "I''m just different because my time is not worth so much and because I''m your friend, but if one day I''m famous and busy and a company that I do not know pays me for just using my image I would do the same as the ones you said, it''s a matter of situation. " "You''re right, I should not complain without understanding the other side''s point of view." "It''s good for you to complain about these things that bother you whenever you''re with people you trust to keep things that irritate you in the heart, it just makes you feel bad in the future, sometimes even if you''re not right you should talk to let off steam." "You really look older than me giving advice like that." "It''s your impression, so why would you especially call me here?" "I called you here to give your equipment and uniform to the street basketball tournament matches, it will be one against one and will have tournaments of all ages separately, tomorrow starts and it will be the 11-year playoffs." "Your qualifiers are after tomorrow and will be until 17 years, then there will be a day that will be played all the final matches in one day." "Alright, you can count on me." As Clara said the other day began the street basketball tournament, there would be hundreds of games a day, plus they had 5 blocks where the games were played, going up 10 points or 10 minutes, Jake saw the tournament for 11 years and was one very low level, the strongest players reached the final matches quickly and the tournaments ended much faster than the organizers predicted. Jake was bored even with the last games that were more disputed, even the two finalists were at a much lower level than Jake when he was that age. The other day early in the morning began the tournament for young people at age 12, for the huge number of people had 4 keys with 64 games each, so the two best of each key passed and the eight best would play, the last two would play the final in the last day. Jake fell on the key and soon started the games, luckily or not Jake''s first opponent seemed to be there just for fun and did not play really, so Jake quickly scored the 10 points and went to the next phase. His second game was also an amateur and Jake scored the 10 points quickly as well. The third game began to get interesting, was a regional level player that Jake game had a good defensive posture, more easily fall into feints like Lucas and Aiden of his team, so ended up on the ground twice and then gave up scoring and Jake made 10 points again. The fourth game was also regional level but was higher then it should be a Center, in this match Jake only used his speed to escape the defense and give 2-point shots or layups. But the fifth opponent was different, the weak had all been eliminated and that player was Jack''s level of the Eagles who eliminated his team, Jake had to take it a little seriously, he started again with a dribble hitting the ball near the ground to did not lose possession and when he would dribble he would get the ball more in the waistline. So mixing a few feints he had a burst of speed and passed the opponent, so he ran into the basket, then the opponent realized this and gave more space to react to Jake''s explosive speed start, but with space, Jake just shot to score another point. That was the reality for Jake''s abilities, it was difficult for him to lose in one against one, even though the opponent was a national champion, he just lost because the national school championship was a five-on-five game. So Jake was ruthless and always gave the maximum while playing with the opponent to take the anger of losing the national, the opponent could only suffer and run to try to score a single point in failed. Jake''s game was the first to end and he soon began to see the games of his future opponents, after that game they would only have 8 players and they would have 2 more matches today. Chapter 67 Going to New Ways 3 It was good for Jake to watch these matches, because maybe an opponent of the Nationals could be in one of those matches, they all had the level of skill to play the national championship, if Jake could he could just pick one player for each position and then take the trophy home in this year''s championship. So he hoped for the Elite school to bring players of such a level to his team so he would be safe in bringing the trophy. In addition, Jake did not know if all the people were from New York or came just to play a game, because if he was the first he only had to admire the level of basketball in that city if he lived here he would have no problem finding rivals. Looking at the matches Jake could not find anyone who could challenge him, but that does not mean they would be easy games, but that was normal as well, after all, Jake''s level had already surpassed those of the same age, but his players were brilliant too. Jake''s next opponent was a quick boy named Lane, in the match he saw before Lane seemed to be a fast-paced type of player, who depends on the dribble to pass his opponents, but his dribbles did not have many feints but sudden bursts of speed. This was an easier opponent for Jake who had a great speed of reaction and also agility, yet he admired Lane who had his training alone and the talent to reach that speed and not a system as he had. So the game started and Jake, who had only seen Lane attacking, was impressed by his firm defensive stance, he gave just a little space and did not give Jake many chances to shoot, it should be because Lane also had confidence in his reaction speed. So Jake just moved calmly and was choosing which path to take to pass his opponent, so Lane thought that Jake was distracted and tried to steal his ball when he did that gave the opening that Jake wanted. When Jake slipped out of his hand and ran, Lane also noticed and tried to run back, but he had already lost the advantage and Jake who broke free ran to the basket for the first point. Lane had now realized that Jake could be as fast as he and so opened up a little more space to react in time, Jake also realized this and started another attack, after a feint he hesitates and then a perfect step back that gave the impression that he would go to the basket and then just made the mid-range shot with the space he opened. So Lane was now helpless and understood quite a bit what was going on with Jake''s opponents, now only a taller player could cause problems for Jake in his age range, but it''s also hard to find someone taller than him at age 12, and the taller ones are always slower than him. After the game continued so until when unintentionally Lane slapped Jake''s arm that made him miss the shot, but the referee did not seem to have seen the action, Jake also did not care much and so the possession of the ball went to Lane who tried to pass using his speed, but to no avail. So he just got a little space and then shot himself to make a point, after Jake got used to playing with much more skillful players in his imagination training his defense was much more stable, so the pressure he created for people of the same age with your strength is now huge. That''s what the system meant he would have to play some games to realize the difference, it''s like playing tennis every day with Federer, you can play with him for several years without making a point and just losing, but one day you play with someone weaker you realize how much you''ve improved. It is important for an athlete to play games to be able to know how his or her current ability is more clearly, only workouts have given you wrong information about yourself sometimes. So the pressure on Lane was very big in this game, yet he realized that Jake seemed to be taking very seriously this game what irritated him after scoring the second point Lane began to see a new hope of winning. So he went to a new attack and fast movements he managed to run to the first basket in the game, confident in his speed he just ran to the basket and when he tried to make the layup realized that Jake was near him. Even so now he was about to make the point so he did not care, what he did not expect was that Jake who was only slightly taller than him with a blast of strength jumped and gave a block. So he lost the chance to score the third point and also a bit of morality, Jake had been someone tall in his past life, and despite not playing well he had a long time to time rolls like the block, so his ability still increased even though he did not do it in the games. The system had already said that his height would also influence the rank of some of his skills as a layup, block, and dunk that has not been learned, after the ranks were to know its ability to make the move in court, the higher he was more chances of doing a dunk. So he easily scored the points and won that match, now he had just one more game today and then the final on the last day of the tournament. After a while his opponent in the semifinal appeared, he was named Doug and had had a victory 10-5 in the last match, as all 8 were about the same skill had been a more comfortable score in addition to Jake. Doug also looked at Jake with a worried look, he had felt it did well to win by 5 points. Jake won by 8 points, and he heard from some in the audience that Jake did not seem to have worked hard. Clara was satisfied with the game in the stands with Tiffany and Eva, many men were looking in their direction because it was difficult to see several beautiful women together in games like this, as Eva was healthier now the three looked like sisters. Clara and Tiffany were hoping for Jake and so they called him here, but they knew that street basketball games were different from basketball that was played as a team, so they were not sure of their victory. But after they started watching the games and saw Eva who should be more nervously calmly watching the game was curious, so Eva told that when Jake had just turned 11 he had participated in a street basketball tournament and his opponents had 15 years and he managed to win. After hearing that they both relaxed and were surprised, they had not heard about it before, so this tournament should not be a challenge for him. And so Jake''s game started this time he lost the draw and who started with the ball was Doug, Doug was also very happy, he was an SG in the games of his school, and had played in last year''s nationals, but did not I remembered seeing Jake. So he inferred that he had not participated, because otherwise, he would have found him in the regional or state before that, he had trained several different ways to make a point, so that year he would be the team owner. Jake tightened the scoring and gave no space, Doug was prepared for this and defended the possession of ball turning with his back to the basket, so he wanted to have a power struggle before trying to turn to make the point. Jake who saw this just smiled and started to increase the pressure and use his strength to stop Doug from acting, after a time when Doug saw that he was losing the fight turned around and tried to hurl but Jake reacted quickly and jumped to block, Doug noticed, too, and he just shot himself, and did not even hit the basket rim. Jake ran and got the ball to start his attack, Doug followed behind and kept a small distance, Jake just smiled and ran, after stopping and giving a small feint he made a bait behind his back catching Doug off guard and easily passed him make the first point. Now Doug was sure that Jake played more street basketball, this dribble is not common for players of that age unless they liked to do the show, but on the streets, the more beautiful and different the cooler the play. In fact, Jake really liked shooting more than 3, but after deciding to be a PG he started to train more variations of passes and different dribbles, he tried all the ones he had seen in NBA games and video games. It was hard to learn on his own, but with his high skill rank in dribble and ball control it was easier to get the hang of it, the harder it was to decide which situation required that kind of dribble, but the only way to figure it out was by playing. And that was more important now that Jake was trying to create a move of his own, he knew it would not be easy, it would have to be something that would help him in the games too, a move that was not useful was meaningless, but Jake had already thought of some, just that the difference in thinking and performing was great. Chapter 68 Going to New Ways 4 Then the game continued and Doug hoping for a difficult match turned out to be the perfect opponent for Jake to test new moves. But as Jake always used to the right moves and made the point later everyone saw how his natural resource was like in field football, if a player like Neymar made a beautiful bid or gave a hat on the corner of the field rival fans would be offended, but if it was a dribble under the legs of the defender and then made the goal the fans would even applaud. The difference is the objectivity of the throw, Jake was now testing new moves, but always with the intent to make the point and not humiliate the opponent. Jake made the 10 points in the game, Doug lost his will after the 6 points marked by Jake and Jake ended the match easily, Doug was upset because he needed this money, but even if he knew that Jake could not leave it, to overcome it. So Jake went on the way out after that, he had scheduled lunch with his mother and also with Clara and Tiffany, and today they would not have any more games. Jake was also interested in the games of tomorrow because they would be his biggest rivals in the nationals, the rest did not matter to him, the public thought different, they were hoping to see games of the young people with 15 years until the 17 years, because these would be the games more played. "You played really well in the Jake matches, you should have told me before that I had already won a tournament so when I was younger, I would be more relieved." "It was different, many good players had to stay out either because they did not want to pay the inscriptions or because they could not, and the stronger ones seemed to have chosen the three against three that is easier to win with a good team." "Even so, if you can beat some at the age of 15 those your age would be easier." "This is true, good that we call you, now the advertisement is guaranteed on the day of the finals, even if you did not win it would be difficult, we would gain visibility, in addition, in the end, they will have the games of the elders that draw more attention, so it will have more audience. " "I think it''s a good idea you two have too, it''s rare to find such a good chance, and you could tell the Miami newspaper that a young man from there won in New York that I''m sure they would publish it." "That''s a great idea, I''ll call the reporter who did an interview with you before and I think he''ll be interested in that, you know the market well, too, Jake." "I''m reading some books on economics, stock market, and business management that I plan to do at the university, so I''ve seen some business strategies." "I heard you do it in the middle of normal classes and still get good grades, I also heard that you are learning a language alone, this is quite difficult, I just learned because I had enough people to nurture and practice with me, but only through of books is incredible. " "It''s not even easy, but if you have enough patience and time to learn is something more useful than the courses because you learn to speak and read at the same time and I can travel as I did this year with my mother in the countries, so it''s worth it. " "It would be good if I had a son like you in the future, I was not even so good to my mother, and you Tiffany." "I was not, too, but today I regret not spending more time with her when I was a child because now that I''ve aged I''m ashamed." "I also heard from Matthew that you had chosen a new school to go, I and Tiffany were looking for one for you too, but the business improved and we were short on time." "Yes, it''s called the Elite school, they offered me a scholarship and even a financial incentive for me to go there, and they also said that they will form a team to win the national championship, which is what I wanted the most." "So it''s good, although your contract is no longer restricted by your immediate results it will be good to win a national title as well." After lunch Jake returned to the hotel to rest, his mother also seemed tired, so they slept early to watch the tournament the other day. The next morning Jake had breakfast with his mother and after that, they went to the competition together. Jake realized that he had much younger than yesterday, and tends to increase as the age increases, moreover, it was more difficult to find a young man who was an amateur as Jake faced, in the 16 and 17 years there should be no nobody else. For young people this is a great chance to get some money and for some also more fame and visibility, in addition, it may be a great opportunity to test their skills, it was said that some great PG suffered when young at street basketball games and being their specialty to pass lost in 1 against 1, thus many develop new talents. In these youngsters, Jake still could not see any player with sponsorship shirts yet, but he heard from Clara that many companies looked for players who were more likely to win, and games with older players draw the public''s attention. So the games started and Jake just watched silently with his mother who was experiencing the sensation of watching games without having to worry about her son, it was more relaxing she had to say. As Jake''s games only from the 5 games onwards the competition got more excited, Jake had already seen many players that could give him trouble as an opponent, and one especially caught his attention. He was a very skillful young man and what caught the attention of Jake was that he also shot 3 points, he missed some but also knew how to defend well, besides he has a good time and presses strongly on the attacker. If Jake had to point out a good example of an SG being this boy, Jake also realized that in addition to his 3-point shots his robberies must also have outgrown Middle School media, this would be an opponent Jake would have to personally score to be able to ring in a game. And as expected he went through all the opponents and reached the final just like Jake, after the end of that day of tournament Jake intended to walk with his mother to tour the city since he did not care about the qualifiers of other ages, so that Jake was with his mother leaving he saw someone approaching him. "You''re the one from yesterday who reached the final is not." Who approached him was precisely the young man Jake was watching more closely on this tie and would go to the final on the same day as Jake. "Yes, I am one of them, my name is Jake." "Jake, you seem to be better than my opponent in the final, I saw your game yesterday, I do not care much about this tournament I just want to play with strong opponents because we do not play a match now." Jake found interesting the personality of this young man, he was even thinking of one day maybe having to play against him in a match of the nationals, but he did not have the audacity to think of challenging him right now, he wanted to go and so he gave a look asking by the authorization of his mother who nodded. "Well I can play with you now for a while, but you have to tell me your name." "Great, my name is David and I play like SG in team matches, I hope you do not disappoint me." So Jake and David were up to a block that was open to the public in this competition, but it was empty now, Jake let David start because he wanted to see closely how his attack was. David did not refuse because he recognized Jake''s abilities; as soon as he picked up the ball he showed a much greater speed than in the playoff games and tried to get past Jake as if he hoped he just retreated calmly keeping the distance between them next. So David tried several different feints without success and when he tried a cut dribble Jake saw an opening and stole the ball, as he opened more distance Jake can attack took advantage of the distraction of the opponent and gave a 3-point shot to make the first two points. David really had been distracted because he did not expect to lose the ball in the middle of a dribble and was even more distracted after seeing Jake doing a 3-shot and hitting. "You''re not the only one who can shoot 3, you''ll have to try harder if you want to beat David." Jake used a tease that he seldom played when he played, but that was because he wanted to see all the potential and skill that David had now, so he would know his strengths in the future national games. From the stance of David''s moves, Jake had already realized that he must play a lot in games in teams, and with his skills, he should have played the nationals. And the teasing seems to have worked, David stopped thinking too much about how Jake did and began to focus on the game now that it would become more serious. Chapter 69 Going to New Ways 5 Jake grabbed the ball and quickly made a step back, David advanced to try a block thinking that Jake would try a shot, but Jake just kept the ball and made David unbalanced and so did a cross jab pretending he would go right to going to the left. After going through two dribbles so David lost his balance and almost fell, but he stood up determinedly just to see Jake quietly going toward the basket to score a layup and make the third point. After two moments of carelessness Jake had already scored 3 points, and David had to admit that this 12-year-old was better than him, yet he did not give up and Jake continued to score points. When Jake could not give a dribble he would only open space and give a shot to mark the point, it is worth mentioning that after so much training Jake could now jump and immediately give the shot without having to adjust much, was his strong base with the shot without a jump. So who was more stressed was to be a scorer as David was after all Jake had many resources to score the points because he had no teammates if adding his assists would be difficult to steal the ball of his possession. But that left David more excited to improve, after all, he had a tough opponent to hit, after a while, Jake was 1 point to finish the game but missed a shot of 3 and David recovered the ball. David was excited to try the reaction and after trying a feint and opening a spice he gave a 3-point shot, but Jake looks like he was already expecting and almost managed to give a block, but still touched the ball by pulling it out of the direction of the basket. Jake ran and gained possession again and then scored the last game. David was more excited after losing this game instead of being depressed and soon approached Jake. "You really are good, but this year I''m going to a stronger school and I''m excited to win the national championship this year, and I''ll give you the change there." "I do not think you''re going to get my school, you''re also determined to win this year and you''ve invested a lot, I do not think you have any chances." "Then tell me which school you''re going to play so I know which team to expect to defeat." "It''s the Elite school in Miami, so we certainly will not meet in the region at least." When David heard the name of Jake''s school his smile quickly left his face and changed to a grimace. "Then we will not be able to meet as opponents in the nationals." Jake was surprised by this change of attitude of David and did not understand why he said this, after all how he participated in the team that went to the national last year he was very aware that there would be no opponents this year. "Because you said that, do you know anything about the Elite school that I do not know?" "Yes, I know a lot, because they called me to study there too, so let''s be teammates this school year." Jake was quite taken aback by this turn of events, the strongest player in the national league age here was David, and if he is his teammate regardless of who the opponent was, he was confident of winning. So unlike David, Jake was very happy with this news, it seems the trophy was closer now, and Jake did not think he needed a rival to motivate himself to improve, only his mother was reason enough, to give pride to her and earn money for a stable life. "That was really good news, I now have more confidence in winning the national championship this year with you on my team." "But are not you an SG too? We''re going to have to play a position or some of us play as SF. " "No I''m the PG of the team, you''re too good to be my reserve so it''s impossible for you to be in the same position as mine." "Are you a PG? I do not think it fits, with your 3-shot and your dribble you should be an SG. " "That''s because you did not see me organize plays and command the team, then you''d change your mind." "Alright then, I''m leaving now, after this game I was really tired until the finals." After that David left and Jake returned to the hotel with his mother who was smiling even more than seeing his son win and then making a friend, she was hoping Jake to be able to win the national championship this year and not be discouraged as at the beginning of year, and by the smile of his son it seems that he was really confident in the victory. Eva was right, Jake was really confident in winning this year now that he had a David level player on his team, moreover, he was more hopeful in his new school''s recruiting ability if they wanted to make sure to win the national championships this year they would need 3 more high-level players. Jake did not need as much, the better team he could do, after all his job was to organize the team and give assists at the right time to his teammates, and it all boils down to their ability and Jake''s confidence in them. It could not happen again that Jake decided to do it all alone and gave up on passing the ball at the end of important games in fear that they could not complete the attacks, Jake may have gone very well last year but he did not exploit half of his abilities as PG. So many still said that he should change position, Jake did not mind giving the position to another mate if he showed a better ability as a PG, but only by having more freedom he would not give up his position. And so Jake and his mother had dinner and then went to sleep the next morning while they had breakfast, Jake was making plans to spend the day with his mother, today were the qualifiers of players aged 14 and up in 4 days which would be the final Jake was free to do whatever he wanted. So he left with his mother and soon asked for a taxi and gave an address, Eva who was accustomed to follow his son when they went to walk did not ask where it was, the place where Jake wanted to go was the Broadway that was a few hours from the hotel where they were. Jake had seen on a website in the future that at that time was running a show that he liked very much and was sure that his mother would like too. It was the famous spectacle Les Miser¨¢bles that was a success worldwide, was a beautiful story that had several twists and had a dramatic end. When they arrived at the place Eva finally knew where they were and her eyes glittered at seeing the theater that only heard in the newspapers and television, Jake went to the box office and was lucky to have two tickets available for today. So he took Eva to a nearby restaurant and ate with her and then they killed the time until the show started, then they went to the theater site on time and went in early to enjoy this great atmosphere that had the theater. And so the show began different from the cinema, the audience of the theater saw the people acting live that brought more realism to the story told and also saw the changing and being the scenes and the characters coming and going. The play begins with the story of Jean Valjean being told in the beginning when he was in prison having to do forced labor to pay his five-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread and another 14 for trying to escape several times, and he finally gets his parole where he is always obliged to carry a yellow paper that was a symbol of his social status. But after leaving Valjean ends up stealing silver from a religious bishop who offered him food and a place to stay, then the police take him and the bishop shows mercy and mind to protect Valjean. Impressed by the kindness of the bishop who offered advice that would abandon his past and change his life, so many years later he becomes a successful man who owns a factory and mayor of a small town. In this factory works Fantine, who was the favorite personage of Jake, that worked in the factory of Valjean, and after that was discovered the truth that she had a single daughter she is fired. Then Fantine who had to send money to her daughter is driven to despair and forced to become a prostitute and loses her health quickly in this situation, then Valjean who finds her pities her and sends her to the hospital. When Valjean goes to the hospital to visit Fantine he goes through a situation that is seen by Inspector Javert who suspects that he is the prisoner who fled years ago. Valjean visits Fantine and promises to take care of his daughter, but Fantine dies before seeing Cosette one last time. After Valjean discovers that an innocent man had been captured in his place and confesses that he is the fugitive, but he can not surrender because he has to fulfill his promise and find Cosette. He finds the girl and takes her with him after paying the swindlers who mistreat her. The second act Jake does not like much, had the grown Cosette who finds love in a revolutionary called Marius, after a long fight the resistance is all dead and only Marius and Valjean that saves him, and then Valjean gives Cosette to Marius and goes to a place to die alone accompanied by the ghosts of Fantine and Eponine the foster sister of Cosette. But of all things, Jake liked how the story was accompanied by the beautiful songs that were exciting and brought history to life. After they left the theater and went to the hotel Jake was happy that his mother liked it as much as he did the show. Chapter 70 Going to New Ways 6 After a few more days passed, the day of the final arrived, the place of the competition was still the same, but now it was full of people, they also had several cameras and trailers for the TV people and the guests. Many reporters from the city were there as well, Jake stayed close to his mother and since it was still a long time before the games started, he stayed for a while just watching, Clara and Tiffany had a meeting today so they could not watch the final, but they said they trusted on Jake and just leave like that. Jake wore a sports shirt with the company brand and the shirt with the advertisement below, was to make more impact at the time of the match, Eva had also brought several drinks from Tiffany''s company to drink and also enjoy and do promotion. All other finalists had already arrived just Jake was not there, the crowd was also more interested in the older ones, the 17-year-old even had dunks in yesterday''s game, so it seemed like a more exciting game. David was also there among the finalists and had noticed Jake, but he was not interested either in the final game because he knew he would win, he just felt sorry for the other finalist at the age of 12 who looked excited and anxious. He had already lost, but still did not know was what David thought, it was impossible that Jake who had won him lose to someone who was much weaker than him, his opponent who already knew David from before instead seemed calmer and already had accepted defeat. In fact, David was also upset about Jake''s attitude of being a wolf in lambskin, he just challenged Jake too because he thought he was weaker by what he saw in the games if Jake had shown his shots from 3 before him or would try. In fact Jake did not do that on purpose, in the games of the school league he even hid some of his abilities to catch opponents by surprise, but there was just not to humiliate the opponents, he was already winning every game almost 10 points difference, if he also gives 3 shots nor would he match. After a while, he saw that the organizers were calling the players to start the finals, and Jake finally left close to his mother after giving her a kiss and a hug in it, took off his blouse and went to the other finalists as he arrived At last near the time Jake started drawing attention. And what also caught the attention was his shirt with the mark of the two companies, who had shirts with sponsorship so far were the two finalists of 17 years and the other with 16, but Jake seemed to have only 12 and also had the trust of some company and were still two companies. Eric who had come after receiving the call from Clara also took some photos when Jake appeared, his interview with Jake ended up increasing his fame and was well received by the public in the newspaper. Despite hearing complaints from her publisher for making ads without charge, this time Clara promised to make up the paper after this interview, after all, Clara''s company got good sales thanks to the interview, the people of Miami liked to see that a young man from their city was the best state in basketball games. Now Jake was challenging young street basketballers in New York who was known for his open courts, if he won it too should be a success, but what caught Eric''s attention was Jake''s shirt that now had two companies, he would she remembered being just one before. It seems that Jake also won with his interview, it was good because if the player got on well with the reporters his fame usually increased rapidly. After a while, the finals started and two 11-year-olds went to the court, but it was not known whether it was the lack of skills or the pressure of the public and the cameras the youngsters were doing a bad game. It took almost two minutes and several attempts for one of the two to make the first point, so the game seemed to be played so bad that the two were and it took almost 15 minutes for the game to end, the organizers must have regretted taking the time restriction maximum. When the game ended did not get the applause expected from the audience, you''re kidding, was lucky that they did not boo because they were playing children and waited for applause? It was soon followed by an unscrupulous reporter interview as promised with the young man breathless for playing 15 minutes, then he received a medal and the trophy and only then received some applause, then he took a picture and left. So the expectation of the final game that Jake would play now was almost zero, everyone did not think a year would make such a big difference in experience, and they were partially correct because Jake''s opponent was shaking when the camera filmed him, it was a tournament which was being filmed and parts of it would be broadcast on television. This was in stark contrast to Jake who looked completely calm and his shirt with sponsorships, many even began to think that the companies on the shirt were small markets or stores in the city. To tell the truth Jake also did not expect the nervousness to affect both the younger players, he was even with feathers of his opponent who was shaking and wanted to say a few words to calm him down and say to focus on the game but could not. He would have to give the best to play well and thus bring more attention to his sponsors and if he would calm the young man and then end him in the game he would appear hypocritical in doing so. So Jake and David who was watching this and laughing outside just made a silent prayer for their opponent''s suffering, the game started with the possession of Jake''s opponent, but he was strangely walking the ball up. So Jake just waited for a little and stole the ball from his opponent, then made a comeback in it and ran to the basket to score the first point. The young man who was very nervous was called Kirk and he was really nervous with the big public and the cameras, he was even calmer before starting the tournament, but after seeing the shameful game of the two players only 1 year younger and the He was even more nervous. So the game started and he distracted lost possession of the ball, and saw his opponent who seemed calm make the first point easily, then his opponent just picked up the ball and started another attack and took step back and gave a 3-point shot who cheered the cheer that started to cheer and just then Kirk calmed down and realized that this was the final and the 2000 dollar prize he wanted to win was starting to get further apart. Jake also noticed after making the third point that his opponent began to calm down, that was better, if he did 10 to zero with a nervous opponent would not attract the attention of the public as much as gain from a stronger opponent. So Jake started another attack and Kirk started to put pressure and defend, as he was warmer Jake made a feint and after a hesitation made the crossover and passed through Kirk on the left, Kirk tried to recover more Jake was fast and had already given the shot to make 1 more point. So Kirk had to acknowledge that his opponent was much better than he expected, but he could not give up like that and tried again to press Jake, Jake just ran into the basket and then stopped, when Kirk also stopped Jake ran to the left and then when Kirk turned to defend his left side Jake made a spin as he saw LeBron James do it several times and then just did the layup to score another point. The play was so fast that Kirk only knew that Jake had made another point and did not even know what happened, after being in shock for a moment the crowd began to scream, cheer and cheer crazily, who filmed was very happy with the discovery and those who had turned off the camera because they did not expect anything were repentant. In the crowd, Eric had a big smile on his face because as he expected a lot from Jake he always took pictures of his marked points, and took the picture of that basket that would be the cover of his interview. Jake liked to make sure the move he had rehearsed for a while, but he thought it was a shame he could not finish with a dunk, that would be perfect. Kirk who did not know what was happening just rushed Jake and the referee to restart the match soon, Jake got the ball and now more confident began to make some typical street basketball throws to cheer the crowd as well and go through Kirk, so after to make the seventh point Jake made a hesitation again and a step back to take another shot out and make 2 more points. Kirk had accepted his defeat and was annoyed by the crowd that was screaming all around Jake did, now he just wanted to make a point to not lose from zero, Jake started the attack and after making some feints that did not work with concentrated Kirk and took another step back. Kirk stepped up to try to stop Jake from taking the shot from outside but ended up taking the ball under his legs and was passed, he struggled to reach Jake who had run into the basket and when he got close he saw Jake stopping and doing a hesitation , then Jake makes a cross jab followed by another hesitation and ending with a quick crossover and passing through Kirk, Kirk who took three dribbles in a row and was a bit tired ended up with his back to the ground as he watched Jake close the game and win the final. Chapter 71 The New School 1 After the end of the game, the cheer was totally lively other than the last champion, everyone loved that game and they thought that Jake''s game was incredible, the fans did not even remember having consideration for Kirk who was the loser. And it was to be expected, Jake struggled to give a show in this match other than his normal game style, after all, he had to assert his sponsorship that was very well paid by the two companies compared to what he could do for the companies. Now that he had the chance to promote the marks he would do his best, his mother also understood a little that his son played very well, and she also realized that the fans were much more excited than in the last tournament when Jake beat an opponent 4 years older. Soon they set up the place and called Jake to receive the trophy and do the interview, Jake went to the audience before and gave a hug to his mother to take a bottle of sports drink from Tiffany''s company, he liked the drink himself, he had a better taste than other companies. So he went and to the applause of the public received the medal and the trophy as well as the check for $ 2,000, then the reporter who looked more like a gym teacher appeared in his sportswear to do the interview. "Hi, young man, congratulations on having won the 12-year-old tournament, I and I are very fond of your game in the final and especially of that spin, tell us your name and where you are from here." "Hi my name is Jake and I would like to thank the city of New York for hosting this tournament which is a good experience for all of us, I come from Miami and I am very happy to have won." "So you came from far away here, I mean I think you play very well and have an incredible future in basketball, and I hope to hear more from you in the future." "Thank you very much." "Is there anyone else you''d like to thank here?" The interviewer gave the space for Jake to make his announcement because the tournament organizers had accepted that in advance. "I would like to thank my mother who always supports me and came here with me today, and I would also like to thank the Sports 100 and Natural Sports companies that support me allow me to concentrate on basketball." When Jake made the announcement he also pointed to the shirt and the drink in his hand. "Congratulations again and thank you for coming here." After that Jake left the place that received the interview and took the picture with the trophy for the local newspaper. As he was leaving the place Eric was coming up to him, Jake knew he would ask some questions and stood by his mother to wait for Eric as the David final began. "And here we meet again, very good game today, you could see that if you had more freedom in your team you would have been the national champion, you may not know the team that eliminated you reached the final this year, pity they missed. " Jake really did not know but it was better to know that the team that eliminated them went so far to the championship but if they lost their team did not even have a chance to win, Jake just got a little sad because their hopes were very high. "I took a picture of your last move and I''m going to ask for a copy of the recording of that thing to send to you, I think you''ve gotten the attention of the elders, even the 17''s can not do like you, unless they make a beautiful dunk, but it will not be so easy because the two finalists have the same strength and no one will give so much freedom. " "I just have a few questions to ask, the first is what you expect to achieve in that school year?" "I ended up changing schools this year and I''m going to be in Elite school this year and I have not yet seen the team they formed, but I''ve also improved a lot since last year and the one that is winning the final of the 13 years will also be in the same school as mine, so at least we will win the 2 championships that I won last year and reach the national level and have a better performance than last year. " Eric was surprised to know that another talented youngster would also come to Miami from this tournament if they have average players besides those two he already had a chance to win and even more if they have a better team that is more likely. So Eric was thinking of a new story to make after that, he would cover the history of the Miami team that would win the national championship, and Jake would be the star of that article, it seems that he really had many gains in making that trip to New York. "Do you have any expectations of winning the 3 MVPs this school year?" "I think with David here it will be difficult, as I had said before I''m a PG, with good players the less I stand out better, I''ll better organize the plays and give the stage to my teammates." And so ended the interview with Eric coming out satisfied, soon after the interview the game of David also ended his victory by 10 to zero as well and the applause of the public. So Jake decided to return to the hotel because tomorrow morning he would have to go back to Miami and also Clara and Tiffany would have come back tomorrow too. Now Jake intended to rest on those holidays and train only his strength and speed beyond imagination training, and he had another challenge, to create a movement of his own that would be useful for games, he had many ideas and now it was time to start experimenting. After Jake returned home his vacation went on without further surprises, and Jake was working on his first move that he thought several times, as his first move a PG had to be a care movement, it was something he had thought of after field football games and also some similar throws in basketball. It was an assist that he thought he used the flexibility of his arms, speed and also needed to be done at the right time, he moved his arm to give an assist to one side and when the opponents think the ball goes there, with the tips change the direction of the pass to another teammate. He would call this ''Elastic pass'' despite being a very specific movement that can be used in not many circumstances the system confirmed that it was worth as a good move and that could be his signature in the future. In fact, Jake thought of a dribble and a shooting move of 3 as well, but he deduced that he would need more time to hone and also more physical stats and as each movement created increase his stats he created an easier one first. In fact, no special moves are needed to make assists, what is important is the view of the player, if the player giving the assistance has a more general view of the game he can give an incredible pass that no one expects and break the whole defense, but it would still be just a pass. So Jake thought these moves mainly to deceive opponents who like to try to steal the ball, so now he had to improve this movement in the vacations to be able to use it in the first games of the regional championship. The holidays passed quickly and it was time for the beginning of classes, Jake morning put the new uniform went to his new school to study, arriving there he saw several students of all ages, in the same place there are the buildings of the Middle School that Jake would and also the high school building, so he saw many girls and boys as well. Jake went to the administration building to get his class schedules and in which class he would be going every week, Jake had made a special request that was approved to be able to study in the same room as Joseph, so he knew he could see his friend every day. When he got to the classroom Joseph was there and also he could see David who had moved from New York, Jake and Joseph chose a place together in the left corner in the background, David chose to sit in the middle well on the opposite side of Jake, so it seems he did not want to contact Jake. When classes started Jake as he always picked up his books and began to study, now he was finishing reviewing the French books and then he would move on to Italian, Jake''s business books thought it would take many years yet to study all the areas. But unlike the teachers at his old school, the teachers at all classes were bothered to see Jake concentrating on something other than his classes and asked several questions, some that were not even what he was being taught, Jake did not bothered and answered all the questions. He knew that not concentrating on classes was not very respectful of the teachers who were upfront, and even more so now that this was a private school and Jake besides earning a scholarship, he was being paid to attend, but he did not either. could spend time in class with something he has learned before. After all, Jake still had some ambitions in his life to accomplish and could not let the studies aside, and as for answering the questions, it was a teacher''s right to ask what time they wanted. Chapter 72 The New School 2 And so he continued the first day of class with all the teachers getting irritated with him and wondering whenever he could in the intermission he asked what Joseph whom he brought here thought of the new school and Joseph liked besides the teachers who seemed boring and implied with his friend. After the end of classes Jake went for his second obligation to go to basketball practice, today was the day Jake would meet his teammates and he also had to officially join the team. ¡­ Coach Mike was a little anxious and nervous today as he as the new coach of the Elite school held a meeting before the start of classes this week, the content of the meeting was that he as the new basketball coach had an obligation to win all three championships of the year. They explained that the school that was now going the way of the sport would have to try to win all the various sports championships and basketball, football and baseball were the school''s top priority in both Middle School and high school. The school that wanted to become a new benchmark had made heavy investments in new players from other schools as well as in sports facilities and new coaches for all teams. All teams that played last year were undone and new would be created, then the board passed him the list of the 5 players who were recruited from other schools and would be the starting team to win the national championship this year. As they were not famous the coach did not recognize them by the names, but by their records last year, they all participated in the national championship last year but they ended up being eliminated and they had in common that they were in schools with weak teams of basketball and practically took alone the teams for nationals. Listed to be the captain he saw Jake''s record that he was 12 at that time and had won 2 MVPs from the region last year, the others were from other regions, Coach Mike had to admit that the school had made really heavy investments to beat that year. The note added to Jake''s profile was that he always led the team and that it was good for him to leave control of the team in play for him, and the coach only looked after the team in training, when he saw that coach Mike was not angry and yes impressed. Because if in his command as PG he led a team with players far below average until the nationals this shows his excellent judgment and leadership, the most important was he able to show his authority to that team that was much better than he had. ¡­ When Jake entered the school grounds it seemed he was the first to arrive, he found the school facilities very good, he would have to remember to ask the coach to mark for him a time so he could run on the track that the school had done, had a mile to go around. Although Jake played basketball he still remembered the joy of running, and other than strength training he would still run on the mat even if he did not, even more, because the treadmill had a device that made the treadmill tilt as if it had a rise, which was very good. Sometimes in his running training he had to hold himself in order not to eat one of his energy bars in order to keep running, he promised himself that as soon as he accumulated 100 of these bars he would start eating them so he could run more, after all too it was a training that increased both speed and endurance. After a while people started to get on the court when David arrived just waved to Jake and went to sit on the bleachers, it seemed David did not like him very much. After a while, coach Mike entered the court, he looked at the youngsters, the 5 who were called from another school and had 20 more students that some wanted to join the team this year and others should be players from last year that were taken from the team. "Welcome all of you, the ones who are here want to be on the basketball team this year, some came from other schools and some were already players last year, for me the best players will play today and then 10 will be the reserves, rest can just watch the training." "Those who were chosen from other schools were chosen because they have skills to show them all today." And so the coach put the 5 players on his list into one team and the others were randomly chosen, despite what he said, of course, he would not go against a school order, so he favored the best if they lost anyway they did not deserve to be the best. It must be said that the representative who spoke to Jake and the others who chose the 5 from different schools chose very well, unlike David who had a more challenging personality, the others got along very well with their teammates and just came for the chance to enter a university. The team players who were recruited were: Jake (PG) who was the captain of his team and won 2 MVP in the two championships he won, David (SG) who reached the 3 national championship game with a good team that did not was strong enough to win, Harrison (SF) reached the first round of the national championship with his weakest team and was the best player there, Mark (C) reached the second round and was the best defender of his team, took many rebounds, had an average of 2 Block per game and still attacked well and Carter (PF) who reached the final in the national championship and scored Jake in the game that Jake''s team was eliminated. David and Carter knew Jake''s abilities very well and the other two had no leadership skills and only obeyed the captain in the game, so it was as if they were chosen to be a team with Jake already decided before to be the captain. In this game just to decide the inevitable Jake did not have time to combine signals before the game began then he would only mark the plays at the time of the game because when players have skilled it does not matter much if the opponent knows what they did in the attack. So the game began and Mark got possession of the ball, so the ball was sent to Jake who advanced quickly to the attack, his companions went further and positioned themselves in the attack, so Jake just took a look and gave an assist for Mark who was unmarked to do the layup. The opposing team was surprised by the fast attack and they started their attack, Jake and his team only returned to the defense and let them attack, when the opponent''s PG came close to the 3-point line Jake tightened the mark. Just as Jake''s entire team tightened their scoring and then the opposing PG tried to pass Jake, but without success, he gave a pass to his SG, but David pressed more in the mark, just as the SG tried to return the pass Jake went ahead and intercepted the ball to start a counter-attack. Jake tried to advance calmly, but David fired for the attack, as he was faster than his opponents Jake just gave the pass to David who with the ball ran up to do a layup and 2 points. Then the opposing team tried other attacks, but all were always well marked and whenever someone opened Jake, David or Carter stole the ball, so the advantage only increased Jake did not even try to make any point and only organized the attacks. When the opponent encountered a defensive positioning fault and tried to do a layup, Mark gave a block and protected the basket, so when the 16-minute game ended Jake''s team had made 30 points more than his opponent, then no one disagreed that they were the starters and also that Jake was the captain by the position in the court. Coach Mike was very pleased, seeing personally was better than reading reports, and Jake was able to get used to his teammates'' game style quickly and made the best passes at the right time. So he understood why he was the PG chosen to command a team of talented players like them but as they were all calm none of them were arrogant, perhaps because everyone had lost last year neither of them saw himself as an exceptional player. The coach was wrong, Mark and Harrison were actually quieter and just did their parts, but Carter and David were more problematic in their teams, they did not listen to the captain and even challenged the coach many times, but that was because their personalities only they let them listen to a player better than them. And they both knew Jake and had to acknowledge that he was better than them, David just knew that in the individual part, but Carter knew that tactically Jake was perfect at Middle School, Jake knew how to defend better than him up to and on the attack or say, and today Carter saw his skills in assists, and more than anything everyone was very pleased to come to this school. After all they had the chance to go to a good university and also play in a team that had the ability to win the national championship, everyone liked to sell and when young people liked to boast to others of their achievements, especially those five who were so skillful, so losing last year left a bad taste in everyone''s mouth. And now they were performing several wishes at once in this school, a desire to be in a good school and with proper facilities, study with the best teachers, go to a good university, and even more as basketball lovers to be champions in all competitions. Chapter 73 The New School 3 After this training, Jake went home and told everything that happened at school except for the teachers who were getting on his foot. First because Jake did not want to worry his mother for no reason and secondly because his teachers were not wrong and even Jake was not doing it to annoy his teachers, for him the teachers'' job was to educate his students. In both respect and teaching, so the tests were to know how the student''s performance was going, Jake, despite understanding his teachers, felt that he respected them particularly, because he had often seen students do much worse than he in the future he came, and talked to others in the classroom and also some used cell phones while the teacher spoke. Even though some teachers thought that while the students were not upsetting the class they could do whatever they wanted, in fact, Jake was still studying in the classroom, just that it was something more advanced than was being taught, and he was confident in his notes on the tests. Eva was very happy that Jake was doing well in her new school and also that Jake said she had a good team and thought she would win the national championship this year, she did not want to see her son sad again and she wanted to see her son have success with your talent. So another day went by and Jake continued his school routine, only a few weeks before the start of this year''s regional championship, Jake was excited but did not want to find his old school in a game. Jake had heard from a colleague that his old school had a much weaker team this year and did not have many chances to reach the regional final, it seems that Jake made the right choice in leaving, after all, members of his team were from and were now in high school. And his whole new team looked very talented which would further highlight his skill as PG, the results in championships can help improve showing the ads of the companies he sponsored him too, he did not aim to be the MVP this year. Just under a week into the start of the regional championship, Jake had already done a lot of training with his team, coach Mike had many good tactics that could change the course of a game, especially with a team full of talented players. As a coach, he was worried about what he received from the school that some players could be undisciplined and especially Jake who was seen by everyone as the team coach but that was not the reality, Jake left everything to coach Roy, just in the hour of the games that he took on the team. Just one thing he did before and still did on that team again, signal training, that was Jake''s game, and even his new teammates agreed that it was a good idea to know how to move to get the ball without being known by the opponent. Carter even more because he personally experienced as a team much lower than they managed to keep a balanced game, so now it was time for him to experience the good parts being Jake''s colleague. David also had no complaints and heard all Jake''s instructions, so it seems that David was not personally fond of Jake, but rather than Jake''s first impression of him, David was a very quiet and introverted person. After a few weeks of training, everyone had already mastered the signs and game drives, Jake was very pleased with this, he now passed 15 different signals to each one, which would give dozens of different combinations for Jake to do. He relied more on these players, they would remember those 15 signs at important times, of course, the 15 were personal, so Jake had to decorate 60 different signs to command the team. So missing a week for the first game, Jake realized he was very stressed about it, because they were all knockout games, losing a game would mean that he missed the last chance to win a national championship. So he decided to do something to forget it a little and calm down, when he thought what to do Jake soon had an idea, now at home Jake could not cook anymore, even Eva knowing that he cooked better than she, Eva still thought it was his work caring for her child now that she has left her job. But her mother seemed a little obsessive about improving her cooking alone, and Jake, though he did not care, got used to eating only the best foods compared to restaurants he''d prepared himself. From the thought of his mother that Jake could see that he was trying hard, he gave up on it, but cooking was also one of the things that helped Jake soothe himself in his past life. So now he had an idea that he should have thought a long time, that was to raise his mother with him to do some cooking classes, now he just had to think about how to convince his mother that it was for him and not for her, she did not think she would. "Mom, I was thinking of something, can I talk to you?" "Of course, son, you can talk." "I was thinking about doing some cooking classes to calm down a little before my first game, could you come with me?" "Take a cooking class, where you took it from." Eva was a little panicked when she heard that her son who cooked so well wanted to cook cooking classes with her, she was even a little bit obsessed with improving her cooking skills. But it was not like Jake thought because he saw it cooking so well, but because after she left work and had more time she wanted to improve her cooking even though she could never have her own restaurant. Because the most important thing to open a restaurant is the restaurant''s cooks and dishes, not the money because someone with skills could open a restaurant if they received funding, but even someone with money would not receive skills just because they had the funds to open one. She did not want him to know, because otherwise, he would use all his own money to open one for her, and Eve did not want to touch her son''s money. "I just really enjoyed a few dishes that I ate on our trip to Spain and wanted to learn how to make them, and I also want to do another trip later this year to another country, so it would be good to learn sooner." This was the best excuse Jake could think of, and he thought he could work with his mother because he knew that for some reason she wanted to learn how to cook better, and he like his son for years knew it was not just him. "So that''s why, I happened to like the food there too, and I wanted to learn how to do the dishes myself, but it''s not as easy as I thought, I think it might be a great idea to do some lessons, after all, I can too. use at home so it will not be wasted time. " As he hoped, it seems that his mother was very interested in cooking, he always knew she liked to cook, it was partly why he started cooking too, but even for those who liked it was too much, so he realized that she had some wish he did not tell him, did she want to make a different dish? If so, she could do it in class, but if it was something else he wanted to find out to help her do it. After all Jake was so obsessed with the college that he would not make it to the NBA earlier because he knew it was one of the few wishes his mother revealed to him, if they had others he would want to know. So he and his mother went to do some classes together, when they got there they were introduced to the whole class the teacher was also a woman, and it looked like a lady who would make a movie playing a good grandmother, Jake chose this course because he and his mother they did not want the stiffness of a professional kitchen but rather a quieter environment. Eva quickly made some friends and went to try some dishes, Jake was not doing anything, for now, he just looked at what everyone was doing and sometimes he shook his head when he saw someone do something wrong. It was not that Jake did not want to try to cook, but that the class would be after hearing the teacher''s instruction, they would have to make a double dish and they would share what to do, as Jake just wanted to relax and that Eva would take it he told her to try make the entire dish and he would do the decoration and finish. As the women talked, Jake heard that sometimes his hand mentioned her name and soon after the women looked at him with a loving look, she must have told him that he brought her here, or their trip together, so he received many looks like if it were a rare animal in a zoo. It got to the point of the teacher who looked like a kind grandmother to really become a kind grandmother and bring milk and cookies to him, Jake, of course, was not at all embarrassed with his thick face as concrete and took advantage of the flattery and the cookies, after all, he had already decided to stop doing things out of shame and after regret. Chapter 74 Walking Back to Top 1 After his mother finished preparing the dishes Jake moved to make the decorations and last preparations to be able to finish the plate. Many women who were on the course including the teacher thought that Jake was just looking and that Eva would prepare the entire dish, but when Jake started they realized that he had more skills in the kitchen than many of them. Even the teacher who showed how to make the dish was surprising after all this was the first time she showed this dish and the others were doing just the same, but Jake was making the decorations the way she did with ease. Of course, he did not do it with the same delicacy as she who prepared these dishes years ago as a pro, but it was still incredible. After Eva promised to go back to do other classes they went away, Jake had told his mother that as she had liked it so much she should come in days he was in school to not get bored at home, and when it was weekend it would come with her. Eva liked the idea and promised to come 3 times during the week, Jake was happy because one of the things he had the most regret was that his mother was very lonely and did not have many friends and did not leave the house without him. So now she would have a hobby and so could make friends who had the same preferences, just as Eva was with Jake he was also happy when his mother was well. After a few more days it was the day of the first regional championship game this year, unlike last year Jake had come with a much stronger team, but now he was much more worried than before as he knew it was his last chance. His teammates did not look very nervous in their turn, they liked basketball, but winning the national championship was not a goal for them. The team that they would face had been eliminated in the second round last year so it could be said that it was a weaker team, Jake began to calm down more only when he was already on the court, he knew that at that time no point in getting nervous anymore. The game began and Mark won the ball pass to his team and handed the ball to Jake to start organizing the first play, Jake started to run while his teammates began to organize an attack. The opposing team''s markers only kept away from Jake until he reached the 3-point line, only after his marker began to press, his other already-positioned teammates were being heavily scored as well. Jake just made a few signs and for the defenders last night''s nightmare if Jake''s team players quickly changed their position and the scorers were confused. Jake took a break from the mark and gave the assist to Harrison who had been freer, and so Harrison accelerated and did the layup scoring the first two points of the team in the championship. Jake''s team quickly returned to their defense court and positioned themselves to the other team who already hoped to concede many points did not care and just attacked when they got close to the line of defense form marked strongly by Jake''s team. But they still managed to trade passes until they found their SF more free to score points with a 2-yard shot and tie the game. Jake again organized the attack, the same as last year Jake still controlled the pace of the game as PG and made it more supportive for his team, but different from last year he maintained a fast pace and not a slow. He knew his teammates could handle this pace until the end of the game, but the same could not be said about their opponents, so in that attack, the opposing defense did not position itself quickly and Jake passed to Mark to do the layup and 2 more points. This fast pace was the way Jake liked to control the game, it was better to get a defense unprepared or at least to put more pressure on the opponent''s defense, and with fast players like David and Harrison, the game would quickly become one-sided. So the two teams attacked and studied Jake''s team did not miss any attack, but the same could not be said about his opponent, with great pressure from Jake''s teammates and also lacking skills they missed 3 attacks and after the first period Jake''s team led by 6 points. Although Jake stood out for his control of his team and the seemingly unexpected positioning changes of his team that was controlled by him and the passes at the right times, Jake was not getting very high and had not made any point yet. But he could not go unnoticed by his weaker performance as everyone there knew that he was the MVP of the last championship, he himself has not mistaken anybody and really did not think of making points if he could pass, but he did not mind stressing one little more your opponents. He was testing the skills and limits of his teammates, he had to know what he could expect from them in the future, after all, he did not want to pass the ball in an important game just for his teammate to miss the attack like last year. In the second period Jake''s team still opened another 4 points ahead of their opponents'' mistakes, the other team must have realized that they could not win like this and tried to increase the pressure on the mark, but all of Jake''s teammates were good players and had no problem marking the pressure. In the third period, Jake told his teammates to push a little more in defense and try to stop the other team from attacking, so Jake''s team made 5 steals and so they got a 20 points advantage, in the last period the other team had given up and Jake''s team only managed the score. It was a good game in which everyone did not have to give in to the maximum and also showed the strength of the whole team and not only of a player, after that game Jake was not nervous anymore, he knew that with this team they would have a great chance to win the National Championship. Eric was the only reporter who was present in that initial game, the others just started going to games closer to the final, he had already decided that he would cover all the games of Jake''s team that he thought was the future national championship team. So he wanted to comment on each score and take pictures of the game and the players, so in the end, to do a better and more complete interview matter, it was a very big risk for him because if Jake''s team lost he would have wasted all his time covering these minor games. But even so he decided to risk it, he thought it would be worth his investment based on all the media he did that had Jake in it, especially the last one that had as cover the point of Jake doing spin, everyone liked to know that a young man from Miami won a match against the best of another city. They liked it even more when they saw the dribble that a 12-year-old did, Jake himself was getting better known by the readers of the newspaper in Miami, after all, he had appeared in 3 interviews doing incredible things, so if they won the national championship would be another success. Clara and Tiffany''s companies were also getting better known and selling a lot more, it was a lucrative investment for them so far, not to mention that they could save two years not needing to record an ad. In addition, Eric also knew that David was very skilled as well as won in the 13-year competition, and today seeing these players it seems that all players are on the same level, so they were a big favorite. After Jake went home and told the good news to his mother who was also anxious, last year she had become accustomed to staying calm and just waiting for Jake''s victories and was even surprised when Jake could not win now she would always be a little anxious until hearing the good news of Jake. So another week went by and the second round came Jake''s entire team was confident of their victory, and the game was over easily than last week, the opposing team already knew the strength of Jake''s team and did not present much resistance, Jake controlled the game and his teammates and they had a smooth win in that game as well. When Jake spoke to David after last week''s game he said that the New York regional championship had much stronger teams, it was said that winning the regional championship was more difficult than winning the state championship. This means that whoever won the regional championship in New York was practically guaranteed in the national championship, of course, he was a rare case, all the other teammates were expecting a slower pace in the regional championship. After the game ended Jake, who was preparing to leave, he received news that made him surprised and annoyed. His old school had the team eliminated in the second round, Jake did not want to face them in this championship, but it was still surprising that a team that won two consecutive regional championships and were the state champions lost only in the second round. So Jake''s mood soured a little. Chapter 75 Walking Back to Top 2 He knew he could be considered hypocritical, but he had this feeling now, after all, he did not want to see the school he played in so badly. Even so, there was nothing he could have done from what he heard from some former classmates the team from his old school was very weak this year, although Jake''s team was considered weak last year this was considering the level of the national championship but even without it was a team that could reach the state. So when he heard that he was weak he did not take many into account, but now he understood that his friend said he was weak compared at the regional level, but that also meant that he would not have to face the dilemma of facing his former team in a game. After he went home he told everything he was thinking to his mother. "You''re not being hypocritical, my son, it''s just that you have a good heart, I''d think it would be a lot worse if you just cared about winning and do not mind your old school." "I understand that, but I still misunderstand." "It''s okay, just win the national championship this year and so in your head, you will make sure that your decision to change schools has been successful." Jake decided to believe what his mother said and went to rest, it could be that in addition to feeling sad for having changed school he was unsure whether this was a wise decision, because it affected not only him but also his friend and his mother. After that, Jake went to school and told the same thing to Joseph, and coincidentally he said almost the same thing as his mother said, so Jake took that as true since two people said the same thing. In class, the teachers still seemed to bother with Jake reading books from other subjects in the classroom, but after seeing that he''d gotten all the questions asked, they decided to wait to see their test results. Jake did not care about it, he really did not think the classes important with him already knew the matters, taking the best grades possible was something he only did to make his mother proud, she gave Jake much freedom to do whatever he wanted as long as he gets good grades. So during the week before the game, Jake would always go to workouts to review some tactics and also see how the training of his colleagues was being done and if they needed their councils. That was another difference from this and his old team, although Jake knew that everyone was skillful, he liked to give advice to his old teammates like Luke and Owen and watch their growth from game to game every week. But in this team, although everyone had their failures were things that would not show great improvements in a few games, who else could improve and trained a lot was David practicing his 3-point shots. Jake could see that he was improving and had more confidence in him to pass the ball in important games to try the shot of 3, it was good to be able to trust his teammates. As soon as the third match arrived, Jake could no longer distinguish whether his opponent was good or not because they always played the same way, after all, they had many teams that were good at the regional level, but Jake''s team was all of it at the national level. So the ball started with the possession of Jake''s team, he soon ran with the ball along with his teammates and just waited for everyone to position themselves, then made an assist as Carter scored the first two points with a layup. After the first game coach, Mike told the whole team to score as strong as possible from the start of the game so the opposing team would be pressured by the strength of their team and would tend to miss more attacks. And even if the attacks did not go wrong, some of Jake''s players had good defensive skills and steals a lot of balls and when the opponent arrived to do the layup, Mark and Carter took turns and blocked the attacks. Just as in that game that at the end of the first period Jake''s team led by 10 points of advantage, both sides missed some attacks, but Jake''s team was stronger in defense and less miss. Jake ended up getting the first two games and now in that third game also without scoring any point, but he was happy with that because he meant that his team was good enough not to need him in the attack and also increased his coordination with the team which would be important in more difficult games. At the end of the second period Jake''s team led by 20 points and the opponent had given up reversing the score, so with the win assured the coach put some players reserves to train them since they would be the starters in the next few years. And Jake was impressed that the reserve team was stronger than his former teammates, so he realized the difference between a private school that prioritized the sport and its old school. After the end of the third game, more reporters began to realize that they had a very strong team dominating the regional championship, and Eric was always registering everything in the games and preparing his story at the end of this long journey that would end in the national championship. Eric had even received compliments from his boss for being so committed to his work, because in addition to covering the regional league in the games at night he still did his reporter work normally during the day, and the newspaper was glad that Clara had paid a rate for the publicity he received from the newspaper. After the weeks went by quickly, everything was still the same, his teammates were still training hard for the games and Jake did just the basics which left his colleagues puzzled as to how he looked better after each game even though he did no special training. There was no way they knew Jake was doing the most important training in his games in the space of his imagination training, unlike before Jake clearly understood the fraud that was to have this tool to train, Jake felt he already had an experience of hundreds of games now and did not make any more simple mistakes. Because in his imagination training though Jake know that opponents are not really everything is still very stimulating to his competitiveness, sometimes Jake gets tired of losing by putting his opponents'' skills at higher levels to learn better and modifies in some games just to be able to win. In addition, he gets several experiences and can think of countermeasures to play with higher opponents, and thus improved his layup and his shots of 2 and 3 points, although not changing the rank of skills in the system he was much more versatile. His dribbles and ball control also improved after facing opponents with high defensive and steal skills, Jake several times had the ball in his possession stolen in this training. And not to mention that this training had infinite potential, when he is at the beginning of the NBA skill level he will be able to organize his opponents'' abilities to the NBA ALL-STARS level, so until he reaches the top he can always improve. Also, since this was a training that only involved his mind, he could make this training even tired or hurt what he hoped would not happen, and his mind simulates exactly how his body is in a healthy state. At home Eva was much happier recently, she was very happy when she saw the success and joy of her son that was what she always wanted, but she did not have to be completely happy if her own life was missing something, but now that she found something she likes to do and friends to talk to, Eva was much happier now. On weekends always as promised Jake would go with her to cooking classes, the other women on the course were happier than Eva when Jake appeared mainly to the teacher named Anna who treated Jake as her grandson and always gave milk and cookies. They always talked about how they envied Eve, who had such a loving and educated son, Eva was also very proud, and all of Jake''s stories became known to the group of friends who were only more impressed. After all, someone 12 years old who could already support the house and also played basketball so well that he was MVP twice in championships, was also the best student in his class always making the most of all the tests, he was really like the perfect son for them. Besides, he was someone who treated his mother so well despite doing all this and was not arrogant, they all especially liked the trip he organized to Spain that was the land of Eva''s more distant relatives. Now Jake was like the mascot of women doing a cooking class. Chapter 76 Walking Back to Top 3 There was only one thing Jake did not expect to happen this week. Teachers have long disliked their attitude in the classroom because Jake always reads other books, even if he answered all the questions correctly they still bothered about it. So Jake hoped that after doing his first test at this school and getting the maximum grade the teachers would understand that he was different and then they would stop caring about him, he did not want special treatment, but only that they did not bother him. But that did not happen, the teachers seemed more bothered by the fact that he took the maximum mark and although they did not bother him in class, his attitudes with him got worse and worse. What Jake did not know was that they were bothered by sheer prejudice, the teachers received information that Jake came from a public school and had only gotten a scholarship to study at his high school for his sports skills. So first they were already irritated by having a weaker student who would hinder the rest of the class and promised to keep an eye out to see if Jake did anything different that would bother the other students and thus complain to the school board. As they waited in the first week of school Jake had not paid attention in class and just kept reading books about something else, teachers were more annoyed by a student who was weaker than the other classmates did not pay attention in class. So they were determined to find out what book Jake was reading and pass it to the board complaining, but when they saw which books they realized they could not use a language book and an advanced study book to complain about a student who could not study. So they thought that even if the books were not harmful they still would not let him watch the classes so they would ask several difficult questions by the time he was wrong they could complain. But Jake answered all the questions including what they did about things that were not even taught in class, as well as the last resort they could only let Jake read his books and when he was poor in the tests or a little below the average they would complain. But Jake eventually sorted out all the test questions and so he had proved that he was better than the whole class, but the teachers still focused irritably because it seemed like he was belittling their classes because he already knew too much. Which meant that the teachers were shifting their prejudices to Jake being the wrong one, forgetting that the problem at the beginning was whether Jake might or might not be on the same educational level as his peers which he proved to be up to. If the teachers had only waited after having the first prejudice and waited to see what was going to happen none of this would have happened and they might even like Jake more because he was the smartest in his class. But their pride has disrupted their judgment and they will always have a more negative view of Jake. But that was something Jake did not know and even if he knew he would have nothing to do about it, he was just thinking about the regional championship final that would happen after the fourth game that they should win. The fourth game also had a weak opponent, they seemed scared and prepared for defeat the moment they faced Jake''s team, they knew most of Jake who had been the MVP of the state championship. It was normal to see skilled players who had great talent and who dominated the trophies of the championships in 2 years until moving to another level. And so it was an even easier game than the last ones, everyone always kept in good shape and they were always stable in their performances on the court, and with Jake organizing the whole team, all his teammates had only to think about defending and then scoring points. After seeing some of Jake''s games, coach Mike finally realized because everyone said that Jake controlled the team and took the coach''s place, that was wrong and it was just something that happened on the court for his ability as a PG and captain, what happened, in fact, it was something else. In all pre-game training and over the weeks Coach Mike trained and prepared the players, they trained various formations and tactics along with the positioning to make the plays well. And what Jake did was learn all that the coach trained and prepared throughout the week and organize the team with their signs during the games on the court. Since everyone had trained all those plays in the week they just needed to see the signs of Jake to know what to do, it was much easier than having to keep looking at the positioning of their teammates as well as their own as it was done in training. So with Jake on the court, it was difficult to see his team erring their position and let their opponents take advantage of spaces to score, and it also looked like it was Jake who thought of everything and controlled everyone on the court. For the trained Mike as long as they could win he did not care much about what others thought. So the game ended smoothly with Jake''s team winning by 20 points difference which is the average team in these championship games. After the game for the first time in the league, Eric appeared to do an interview. "Hi Eric, I thought you''d stop being a reporter and just come to our games as a fan to watch as you did not ask for an interview." "It''s not so easy to think about the right questions, you do not want me to ask silly questions like what you ate before the game or what you wanted to be when you were younger, right?" "You''re right if you asked questions like that every game maybe I would not answer you anymore." "I''m coming in every game to register all of your team''s games this season and take pictures of all of them, so once you''re a national champion I would have a more complete and better coverage than the others." Jake did not expect Eric who was a reporter to be sure that Jake''s team could be the national champion, even though he was confident he could not be sure of his victory, after all, he had only experienced one round in the national championship last year. He just got safer when he got on his Carter team who had stayed in second last year and also thought that the Elite school had managed to form the best team in the championship. "I''ve been in the sports business for some time and I''ve even been to some NBA games, so it''s impossible that I do not know when one team is stronger than the others, I started to see that your team was favorite when you said that David would be on your team. " "After all New York has many good players and almost always their teams that win the regional championships come close to the finals in the national championship, so you and David who have won in the two ages that would participate in the league miss easy to think about it, especially after I saw Carter and the others on your team. " "Well I''ll ask my questions at once, how do you feel at your new school and with your new teammates, do you think you could go further than last year with this team?" "I do believe, are very skilled players and received better training, not to mention that all have experience having played the championship last year, even though I improved a lot with all the experience, and even more so with the defeat which all suffered last year we''re looking forward to the trophy this year. " "In the final which is in a few weeks, the team you are going to face are the Tigers you''ve played with them and won with your old team, what''s the feeling of facing them again." "It''s very different from last year and even knowing that their team may be better I have confidence that we will win and so we will become the champions and we will go to the state championship later." Jake was always honest with his interviews so Eric liked to talk to him, it was difficult when someone just kept dodging the reporters'' responses, it also makes the reporter more willing to try to take something that accidentally escapes from the player. After that Jake went home again to tell his mother the good news of another victory, Eva should be anxious now waiting for news of Jake''s victory. If it was not for Jake to ask her not to go to her normal games and only in the finals, she would be there in every game, the good thing was that if Jake won that fourth game the next she could be there in the stands to see. So after a while, Jake appeared with a smile and she knew it meant victory. Chapter 77 Walking Back to Top 4 "I told you that you did not need to be worried until near the national championship mother." "That''s impossible my son, mothers will always care about their children, even later when you grow up I will still be worried, but do not worry, I get anxious as fan cheers for your team, only that my team is you." Jake understood a little what his mother meant, himself after he discovered what he had lost when he saw his mother dying in his past life now that he had a second chance Jake always paid attention to his mother even when he knew she was fine. The only difference was that Eva did not need to see Jake die once to have this concern, this was the love of a mother that all mothers should have, it was also to be the love of a son for his parents, or for his brothers, but the shame and clumsiness ends up driving people away. At school somehow it seems that some teachers who still had problems with Jake had somehow figured out what Jake and the school were trying to hide, that it was Jake having some kind of contract with the school and that Jake also gets for it. Although this type of contract was not illegal, it was still somewhat immoral, because it was not supposed to be done by a school, something with the Elite school made it practically ''hire'' Jake to move and play at that school. Although they only discovered parts of the contract, what they discovered was the part Jake had accepted that while the school wanted and paid for it, Jake would not leave school until he got to college. Jake accepted this clause because he understood that the school did not want him to change to another when he was in high school and was at his peak in basketball after they had paid him before. And Jake also wanted to stay in this school until the end to receive a recommendation for the university, so of course, he would not want to leave. But the teachers would misunderstand this and knew the personality of the school principal who was also a known shareholder of the president, the principal took care of the behavior of all the ''school staff'', and now, in a way, Jake was also an ''official'' '' from school. So after the Elite team that Jake was winning the regional championship, they would ask him to hold a meeting to correct Jake''s posture in class, claiming that he disrespected the teachers and bothered the students. Jake, not knowing what new unexpected problems were coming up, was doing some more training with his team before the regional championship final. Although he thought this would be an easy game he did not want his whole team caught off guard and ended up losing the game, so during the week besides training the coordination with his teammates Jake also checked his conditions to see if they were ready to the game. In a young team such as Jake''s, it was difficult for some injuries to happen, even if they hurt themselves in some game or training as long as it was not serious they would be good again in a week. Everyone like Jake was very confident, his team was doing very well and so the players were happy with their results and had higher hopes of winning the national championship that year. As the days went by and soon came the day of the final, Jake left early from his home with his mother who could see the game today as it was a final. The grandstand today was fuller than usual and many reporters had also come to check whether Jake who had been the MVP last year could win yet again. Clara and Tiffany said they could not come, the business was improving and so they decided to make a bigger investment, they were building some new factories and expanding the business further. Since this was a school championship Jake also could not use any materials that could make a good advertisement, so besides Eric, many would not notice until later if it was published in the newspaper. So a while later, the game of the final started again, Jake still remembered that it had been a rather complicated game against the Tigers team last year, but could not know just for that, after all, many players who were in the year past have already been to high school. The ball began with the possession of the team of Jake who soon received the ball, unlike the other teams most if not all the plays had to be organized by him, Jake did not like those other players left with the ball and put the ball. As Jake did his part well and even improved the performance of his teammates no one cared much about it, Jake thought it fair since it was the job of his position and in return, he also did not score points unless he had no choice. Jake soon advanced to the attack and gave a pass to Mark who made the first two points with a layup before the Tigers'' defense could organize. Unlike last year as he did not score any points yet, Jake stood out for his passes and stated his PG position, even so, he was the one listed to be the MVP since all his team was equal in ability and everyone besides Jake had to same point average per game. So it was obvious to everyone that Jake who had been the MVP last year and gave all the assists this year to his teammates was the favorite to win. Jake''s team quickly returned to defense and held on to the opponents ''attack, the Tigers'' PG this year could not find good options to pass the ball and did not have the courage to try to pass himself by Jake. The Tigers'' team this year was better than in the past, but there was no unusual player who could take responsibility and attempt the attack on plays like that. And Jake, as well as Coach Mike, reminded the team several times not to belittle their opponents and end up losing because of it. So all of the Tigers'' team attacks were difficult and all players were well marked, yet sometimes they found a player less pressured to get the ball, protect and try to shoot. So by the end of the first period, Jake''s team was winning by 6 points difference, Jake still had not scored a single point, but as always all points were passed before him. In the second period Jake''s team defense continued to tighten and pressured, and with the Tigers players more nervous and distracted by the difference in the score they started to miss attacks and Jake''s team players were more likely to steal the ball. Jake made the rotation in attack and his team-mates seized the chance to take advantage of most of the attacks but even making the rotation because it was possible with the Tigers'' weakest defense Jake was still analyzing the positioning and skills of his teammates. David was stronger physically than the others only after Jake and Mark and was also fast and got good 2-point shots, David also liked to try to move wherever possible, but he knew the time to do it or not. Mark was a great center, he was like an improved version of Owen, in addition to being taller and having a better positioning and speed of reaction, Mark was also good at rebounds and blocks, and had an excellent attack feature. Harrison was a play of the type who liked to try to do the layup but was also very good at his 2-point shots and Free Throw, was a good player in dribbling, but also was the worst defender of the Elite team. Carter was great on defense, it seemed that he was much stronger since he was in charge of scoring Jake, his attack is medium and if the ball gets to him goes to the layup, Carter is also good at rebounds. So in his head Jake was already preparing to face the strongest enemies, he saw that he could rely more on the attack moves when everyone was marked in Mark who always knew how to position himself and did the layup very well, Mark also had strength so he could defend possession of the ball and get at least one foul to score the points. Later he would rely on David and then on Harrison, Carter would only be when he had no more options because he lost at least half of the attacks that he could not get close to the basket to attempt the layup. David could seem to be the most reliable option, but he tended to be very explosive at times when he was excited. In these games, he seemed calm and focused, but against a difficult opponent when he cheered up and started to lose his head and try to make impossible moves, Jake can not count on him. So the game continued and the Jake team''s advantage against the Tigers was steadily increasing, Jake''s tactic to increase the pace of the game was going well and the Tigers'' players were getting tired and reducing the pressure on Jake''s team. Chapter 78 Walking Back to Top 5 The game continued with Jake''s team an advantage, with a tight marking and the stolen ball, the Tigers team was in a difficult situation, on the other side everyone was experienced and knew how to play with a little marking. So at the end of the second period of play Jake''s team was 14 points ahead, if it was another normal game and with another team, Jake''s team could relax and manage the score because the opponent would have already given up. But that was the final and the Tigers were a team that had been around for a long time but could not get the trophy home, so even with that big difference of points they kept scoring the same. Jake respected this strong spirit of the other team, he also would not give up and would try to win the end if he was in another situation, but as an opponent, he could not only give the victory by being admired. Jake continued to make the moves in the most appropriate situation, David who was also a skilled player had already learned to play and rely on Jake''s lead, so most of the time he made good saves from the defense to receive the ball. Jake was pleased with this, it was proof that David had good senses of game, but since this was not a difficult game he still continued with the rotation and David received the same passes as always, but his good move could disturb the opponent''s defense. To score the moves were always similar, Jake passed to Mark who made the points with a good variation of layups, Harrison or went inside to try the dribble and layup or made a feint and shot a 2-point. Carter who was the least efficient was often left unmarked and was given the ball to make the points with a layup and David just as Harrison had a variety of attacks he could do. But even though everyone was repeating the same attacks, what made the moves difficult to defend for the Tigers was the handling of the Elite team''s attack and also Jake''s passes. Not to mention that everyone had to be alert to the possibility of Jake even making the points, with such pressure the Tigers'' team would tire faster. By the end of the third period, Jake''s team had a 22-point lead, so despite the Tigers'' team not losing their will, their morale was low with such a disadvantage and little time to seek victory. So by the time the game ended Jake''s team had won by 30 points difference, the Tigers made a good game but the difference in strength between the two teams was too great. After the game was over, everyone on the Elite team celebrated a lot, although everyone knew they were skillful and that this was only the first step to the national championship that was the team goal. It did not change the fact that this was the second regional championship trophy that many 12- and 13-year-olds received, and for many who were from school last year, it was the first time they had won even though they had only stayed in reserve. Jake was also very happy, this was a contagious joy for everyone who tried Jake and the players of his team were greeting the Tigers team after the game. Coach Mike was also happy, he knew he had been hired to this school only to win such championships, and he had delivered the first trophy. When it came time to hand over the trophy, Jake as captain received again and after the champion''s party. Jake received the MVP for the second time in the regional championship. Everyone was happy and celebrated a lot, even David who was the quietest could be seen with a smile on his face, Jake was not so pleased as well. Although he won the trophy and MVP which would greatly help Clara and Tiffany''s company, he could not help thinking that it was not fair that he had won the MVP a second time without even scoring a point, it should be by he won last year as well. He was partly right about it, but the reason was not as simple as that, Jake won the MVP because he performed well and it was the second time he won the regional championship by two different teams, which means he was responsible for lead the team to victory twice. No one would think it was unfair because he was also the MVP of the state championship and everyone on his team recognized him as the best, moreover, the organization responsible for awarding the awards was bound by it, as well as Jake, only his four companions could have won the MVP. But what happened was that because of Jake''s perfect turn of the attack giving the passes, the 4 others had both similar performances and so many similarly marked points, if the organization gave any of them the MVP award it would certainly have complaints, but for Jake not. So Jake won the MVP and no one on his team thought he was wrong, not because they were very close, but because they knew that if Jake did not pass and tried to score more alone he would win the prize anyway. When Jake tried to get back to his mother in the cheer to celebrate he was stopped by some reporters who asked to ask some questions, he was polite and he responded to everyone so that later the reporters went to the rest of the team. After Jake went to his mother who was smiling, she was very happy every time she saw her son win some game, and even more a champion trophy like that, the best player award also made her proud. She was happy that her son''s effort was being recognized by everyone, even though she was not a big basketball fan, even she could see that her son was improving a lot since the last game she''s seen so far. When Jake finished celebrating with his mother and was just beside her hugging Eric coming in for the interview, as someone who followed Jake for a while, Eric knew Jake liked to have some time with his mother before the interview. "Congratulations on winning the championship and winning another MVP, now you can say you''re one of the best Middle School players, what do you think of that?" "I think I should not be the best, but I think I can be among the best if we win the national championship at the end of this season." "So you''re confident of winning." "Not because of my ability, if there is one thing I learned last year, you need a team to win the national championship and not just individual skill." "With your team do you think you can win the national championship?" "I think it is possible, yes, they are all very good players and could have won the MVP in my place today, but the important thing is that we still have to win the state championship in order to think about the national." This time nobody or Eric gave Jake the opportunity to advertise the companies, but in the photos, you could see in the socks and also the sneakers. Jake was thinking of starting to wear bandanas, bracelets, arm protectors and other protective equipment in the area of the legs with the brand of the companies to be able to do greater propaganda, as were necessary items for players were allowed. After all this Jake and Eva went home, their lives had been very happy these last few years, especially in these last days, it seemed that the problems avoided Jake''s house, it could be Jake''s luck helping. But even this luck can not keep close people and their family from all problems, only the most serious problems would not happen. When Jake returned home, after taking a shower and having dinner with his mother lay on his bed and was lost in thought, he had been grateful to fate that would bring his conscience back to when he was ten. Although it seemed very early, a lot in his life would be irreversible if he had returned later, this relationship he now has with his mother, it would be difficult to get so close if he had returned at the age of 15 for example. It would also be many more years that her mother would have to suffer working at that restaurant and continuing with her depression, Jake also would not have known the family of Joseph or Clara and Tiffany, her mother also would not have the friends that she now had like Mrs. Anna. Jake could claim that fate chose the exact time for Jake to come back and have his turning point that changed his life, later it might have been too late for him. Now that school year was going by so fast, in a few weeks the state championship would begin and then it would be her birthday soon the national championship if everything went right and would end Eva''s birthday that Jake had a surprise for her. Every year her mother enjoyed a simple birthday, but this year Jake had thought of a special gift that was needed for them so he knew her mother would not refuse, and unlike last year Eva had some friends to be able to invite and spend her anniversary together. After that would be an end of a phase, your Middle School. Chapter 79 Problems Always Comes 1 While still lying on his bed Jake''s mind was still working fast, it was hard to calm down and get to sleep after winning a trophy, so Jake just kept thinking and did not try to hurry and decided to wait for sleep to come naturally. The good thing was that Jake was never really alone, he could always talk to the system in his mind, but since the system usually did not bother Jake if it was not something more important, Jake also did not speak unless he had something that he really was curious about. "Fate, why do I feel like the staff on my team this year celebrated less excited than my team last year?" [Is this simple, your teammates this year were like you last year do you remember?] "Like me?" [Yes, like you, last year even though you just won the regional championship, I was not very happy because I thought it was just a way to win the national championship that was your goal.] [Your companions this year also think just like you, they are happy to have won, but they can not let go of the thought that was natural, and the more difficult the competition, the more joy you and they feel to win.] [So last year your team that was weaker and just depended on you to win found incredible every trophy they won so the celebration was much greater.] After hearing what the system said Jake thought it was reasonable and also was a bit embarrassed to judge his companions being that they were the same as him last year. [You have to get used to it. Jake, this is the world you''re entering, everyone who plays basketball is fortunate to have the talent and can make lots of money doing what they like to do.] [But one thing you should never forget is that it''s also a business above all, you''ve gotten started earlier so you can better understand, the results are everything in professional basketball, that does not mean you''re waived if you do not win, but will certainly be less valued.] [In addition, the teammates that vice have in the future will be just that, teammates, often co-workers, not all players in a team are friends, many even dislike each other.] [And if you can win a trophy like this you''re just happy to have won, but when you do not win understand that this is natural and you settle for receiving your salary, that''s the professionals'' reality.] Jake could understand a little what the system was saying, he was also well acquainted with how the adult world worked, were it not for the fact that Jake did not mind being promoted and getting a better position in the company, he could hardly have done make the few friends you made in your past life. Everyone in the company is always alert and never trusts anyone, after all, they are competitors to get a better position in the company, Jake saw many people ruin their social lives, lose their families, get separated and sometimes become depressed while fighting for a salary best. Jake can see this well because he was seeing this as a spectator and did not participate in this dispute, but perhaps whoever was going through it was not willing to acknowledge that he was in a difficult situation. The other day at school Jake found the behavior of his teachers strange, but he was optimistic and thought that they would stop implicating him anymore. So in the interval, he went to talk to his friend Joseph as always. "Congratulations Jake, winning the championship and the MVP again, more and more I feel that you can play in the NBA in the future, so you sign some T-shirts for me because I''m going to sell them dearly in the future." "You have a wealthy family and you still want to resort to such petty tricks and make money over your friends, I''ve changed my mind about you." "Bah honor does not fill the belly or even the pocket, even if I am rich I will not refuse a good chance to make more money, because you study these books of actions if you did not think so." "All right you win, but speaking belly you''ve been losing a lot, so I can not call you fat anymore." "Good to know you called me that way behind my back, I have to lose weight to get a beautiful girlfriend." "Already thinking about dating at this age, if your notes fall I''ll tell your father." "What do you mean by that age? We''re 13 now, well I''ve got at least that''s the right age for romance. " "Well if you say, I''ll wait until I get to the end of high school at least, and do not stop wearing glasses either, otherwise you''ll lose your identity." "Well let''s stop talking about identity, why do I feel like teachers are looking at you differently these days?" "So it was not my impression, I think they gave up picking on my foot." "Maybe after you won the championship in our last school you were like a hero and the teachers started treating you better, it could be because of that." "I hope so, although I do not mind it''s a little annoying to have the teachers on top of you." "I also think, it''s the first time I see the teachers get on the foot of the best student in the class, you''re really different." After class Jake stopped bothering about this and returned home, the week passed calmly like this and Jake thought that everything should be fine at school. Eva was still going to lecture her a few times a week and Jake could see that her mother''s cooking was improving, maybe he inherited her talent in her kitchen, it was a feather that Eva had not had lessons in her past life, otherwise Jake would know. When the weekend came, Jake went to class again as he had promised, but when he went to class no one would let him do anything, and it turned out that it was like a visit for everyone including Anna who adopted him without knowing him as a grandson. At first, Jake thought that Anna was just such a person and that she liked children and so she clung to him, but later he discovered in a conversation with his mother that the story was not so simple. Anna, as Jake thought, was perfect for being a grandmother, she was in her early 50s and her hair was starting to turn white, black eyes and her face reminded her somewhat of actress Meryl Streep, but with a slightly more rounded face and without that whole actress''s charm. And Anna really had a grandson, but this grandson who was a bit like Jake and was a little younger than him ended up dying in a car accident along with his mother who was Anna''s daughter-in-law. Anna was a little depressed at the time, she owned a restaurant that was a bit of a hit and she was also the chef of the restaurant. After the death of her grandson, Anna also lost contact with her only son who after losing Anna''s grandson and his wife was shaken and decided to move to England, so Anna at once lost all her family as she was already a widow. Still, Anna was a strong person and after a few years she recovered, even though she had the money to spend the rest of her life well after selling the restaurant, Anna decided to give cooking classes just to do what she likes and talk to other people. So she met Jake who was the first child to come to her kitchen and also was of similar age and face resembling her grandson who died, moreover, she had heard from Eve how much Jake was loving and special, so she began to spoil him as if it were his relative. Of course, Anna did not see Jake as her dead grandson and she was not crazy, much less looking for someone to fill the void her grandson left in her life, it was just that she really liked Jake and she had a lot of affection to give and no one to receive. After knowing that Jake was even more affectionate with Anna, after all, it was someone who liked him and his mother, had the same love for cooking and also suffered similar lives, Eva also suffered much more than Jake, only another part of his suffering only Jake knew, and would not repeat. So after the day ended Jake and Eva came home happier after spending the day cooking and with friends, Jake just went to rest because he would have to have next week to prepare for the start of the state championship, his team was fine, now it was just tweaking a few details. But what Jake did not know was that next week could be more hectic and stressful than he''d expected. Chapter 80 Problems Always Comes 2 When the new week started and Jake was ready to go to school Eva received a call early in the morning, the call was from the school that she and Jake were to go to the board early this morning. After that, Eva looked at Jake as if she were wondering what was happening and Jake just shook his head as if to answer that he did not know, so Eva replied that she would go to school, after all, it could be something important. "What happened, Jake? Is it rare for the school to call parents suddenly like that, even earlier in the morning without warning you, did you do something at school that you did not tell me? " "No, I do not think I did something that would justify calling him there, but if I could have missed something I''ll tell you everything I did at school in those first few months to see if you find something for possession to have been call." So Jake told his mother everything including the incident with the teachers, but after that Eva could not find anything wrong either, she also could never have imagined how Joseph and Jake thought teachers would find trouble for nothing. Later when they went to school Jake and Eva went directly to the principal''s office, after a while, the director said they could enter. When Jake walked in with his mother the director took a slightly hostile glance toward Jake, when Jake saw this he was a bit surprised, after all, it was the first time he met with the director what might be the reason to receive the director''s anger. "Good morning, Mrs. Eva, my name is Terry William, but you can call me Director William, I called you here because I received several complaints that your son has been causing problems for our school." Eva and Jake looked at each other in shock, even today in the morning they had talked and agreed that nothing had happened wrong with what Jake did in school so far. "Well, Director William, could you explain in detail exactly what my son did to tell you that he''s causing trouble at school?" "So I guess you''re not aware of what your son did then, I received several complaints from teachers that your son does not pay attention in the classroom and comes bringing other material to distract him during class." "I know that your son has received an agreement to come to this school to play basketball and we are very grateful that he brings us this trophy, but that does not justify his disruption." Jake, who could not bear to hear this, soon interrupted what the director was saying. "See Director William sorry if I may not be educated, but there are some very wrong things in what you heard there." The director who no longer had a good impression of Jake from what he heard from the teachers was even more displeased at being interrupted. "Then say what I misunderstood." "As you are saying you should not have read the contract I signed so that means that this contract was made by someone who has more authority than you, and in the contract says nothing about me having to play basketball, I just have to stay in school until you enter college. " What Jake said was true, the contract said only for him to win the national championship this year, in other years he just needed to stay in school until he entered college, but as the principal had not read the contract and only heard rumors he should not know that he also had to win the national championship this year. In addition, Jake realized that the one who made this proposal to Jake must be someone who has more authority than this director so he had to be firm at that time, after all, he was clearly being slandered. The director was even more displeased with this, but what Jake said was true, who made this contract has more authority than he and the director also did not know what the content of the contract, so he had to take a more passive stance now, after all, he could not punish Jake if he was not wrong, it would be the same as going over the authority of whoever called him here. "You''re right, I do not know the content of this contract, but what I know that regardless of what it does not give you the right to interfere in class." "This is another thing you''re wrong director, did you happen to find out what really happened inside the classroom in the classes that the teachers are complaining that I messed up and what exactly is going on?" This question caught the unsuspecting director, he had not really investigated anything about what happened, but he did not think it needed after all several teachers gathered here to complain about Jake and in addition, he heard that Jake was hired by the school of some The director then decided to punish Jake for messing up classes. But Jake had made several twists in this conversation, if Jake had not really done anything and the teachers were just complaining about anything, then the principal would lose all respect and would have called a student''s mother for nothing. And by the way, Jake was acting the director realized he had more on this subject than he knew so the right decision on what to do was to take a less reproachful attitude and try to find out what was really going on in this situation. "Very well then, in that case, you could tell me what your version is on this subject and if it is different from what I heard I will investigate well before making a decision." So Jake, who did not really want to further increase this problem, just said what had really happened, how he already knew the story the teachers were explaining and so he would sit quietly in the corner of the room just reading books that were also educational and did not disturb the classrooms. In addition, he said that he took maximum marks and did not miss a question in the exams and answered all the questions that teachers asked and did not even talk in class as other students did. The more he listened the more irritated the principal became, the inside boiling with anger and regret, if he had not gone with the wave of teachers and made a simple investigation he would never complain he would call Jake''s mother here for a meeting. Now he had no choice but to apologize for calling Jake and his mother here and so embarrassed himself, after all, it was his fault, the principal could not complain to the teachers because it was his fault for being deceived or having done a simple investigation. "Well then, I can only apologize to Mrs. Eva for calling you here and you, Jake, for accusing you unjustly, this problem will end here and if the teachers continue to cause problems, I will resolve them." So Jake and Eva also decided to put an end to it, after all, it seems that the director was not a bad person and just was deceived by others, and Jake also could not complain about the teachers since he would still have classes with them for almost 4 years, and if that matter really ended he would be glad to forget it. The director was very pleased when he saw that Eva and Jake were not going to continue with the subject, that changed their opinion about Jake, now he thought Jake a good guy who did not hold grudges and besides a great basketball player was also a great student and who took the best grades, had no way he was not happy to have such a student. So Eva came home and Jake went to his class, he entered the room and after a long time the teacher entered the classroom, he should have been called by the principal and taken a moral lesson, so the teacher just looked in Jake''s direction angered more then returned to normal and began to lecture. When the break came, Jake called Joseph and told him what had happened. "This really is absurd, several teachers come together to complain about something so meaningless just out of pride, it''s much better that they take more time off to prepare better classes." "I was really disappointed with the teachers, but since I had not done anything wrong I did not care about it, at least now I will not be bothered in class anymore." "That''s good, I''m not like you if it were me I would not have closed the subject so easily so I would have called my father here and would have required teachers to be held accountable for it." "I did not do this because I would not win anything by ending the reputation of some teachers, I have more important things to worry about than that, soon will start the state championship and I have to concentrate on basketball, we have to win the national championship this year, that''s why I came to this school. " Jake was right, he never needed to worry about his studies and did not care much about the scholarship from school to university, if he wanted now he could pay for the entire course of the university. Chapter 81 Easy Start 1 After all this confusion Jake returned to focus on his team, neither he nor coach Mike wanted to see the team relax and be very confident in the games of the state championship after all many cities would be competing in that championship and were the champions of all regions of Florida. Even though Jake and everyone who played the national championship knew that the team had the strength to fight for the trophy, even so in so many regions they were participating it would not be strange to bring up a new player from the level of a future NBA star who would dominate the championship. Although Jake was much stronger than his own age, he was sure that Michael Jordan was much better than he was at his age, what the system was for Jake was an unlimited future and not a supreme skill from the beginning, so he still could not contend with geniuses now, but could in the future. That was the day of the first state championship game, the players were a bit tense before the game after hearing so many warnings from coach and Jake. After the game began Elite team got possession of the ball and was passed to Jake organize the first attack. As they had agreed Jake stood for a while and advanced slowly, when the opponent''s defense also began to position itself slowly Jake suddenly gave a long high pass that ended in the hands of David who had run unmarked to score the first two points for the Elite team. The idea is to start with a slightly more shocking move and thus take the advantage from the beginning, the move seemed to have made a mental impact on the opposing team that started its first attack, so Jake and his teammates were strongly marking the opposing team after passing through the middle of the court. Coach Mike said before the game for everyone to press on the defense and not give room for the opposing team to organize calmly the attack was an exhausting style of play but Jake and his team endured. And so the game continued, the opposing team was much weaker than the Elite team and so soon the advantage on the scoreboard began to increase, Jake with his passes destabilized the opponent''s defense. Whenever the opposing team closed the defense well on Jake''s teammates, he made some signs and everyone shifted their positions, opening spaces so that Jake could give the pass and see his team-mates score the points. Although this team was weaker than Jake''s team, they were stronger than the Tigers'' team, so the game was not as simple as it was shown on the scoreboard. With the Elite team''s tight marking the opponents still missed some attacks and had to get rid of the ball by finishing the time of possession of the ball, so the defense of the elite team was effective. So after two periods of play in the interval the Elite team led the game by 22 points, it was an expressive advantage that showed the efficiency of the attack and defense of Jake''s team. In the third period of the game, the defense of the Elite team began to relax a little more, nevertheless, the adversary team had the lower morale by being so behind the scoreboard and thus still miss more attacks. Jake also managed to get a lot of stolen ball guessing and intercepting passes and also taking the ball from the opponent''s PG, it had been said if people had not seen other games of Jake would have confused him with a more defensive player. But by this time of the state championship everyone already had a complete report of all the matches of Jake, so only of him being in court had to have at least two players marking him, even though he has not scored any points until now. The reason for this was that no one had any idea why Jake was not doing stitches, he did it because he wanted to and had no restraint on him or something so everyone thought that if a game got difficult Jake could just start attacking and making several points. Such a player was more dangerous and could not an opposing team organize a defense strategy that ignored Jake, the entire elite team knew how the dilemma of the opposing teams and whenever the defense tightened they passed the ball to Jake who almost always stood well in the line of 3 points, so the defense had no choice but to score. So the third and fourth period passed and the game ended with Jake''s team having won with a 32-point lead, it could be said an easy game because the opposing team never had the ability to threaten the Elite team but Jake''s team showed that he would play every game seriously. Today there were more reporters accompanying the Elite team game that was the favorite to win this state championship too, of course, Eric was there too, he did not care about the competition because he made a sure bet and was already following Jake''s team from the beginning. The most important thing was that he had a kind of friendship with Jake and knew how to get a good interview of him after the most important games were over, it was just him giving Jake a little publicity of the companies that sponsored him and he would talk to the greatest pleasure. Eric was also anxious for the games to get tougher and for Jake to start scoring in the games, so he could take more pictures for his interview, especially if Jake made a point like the one Jake made in the final of the street in New York, so it would be incredible. After the game ended Jake went home to tell the good news to his mother that he should be anxiously waiting at home, Jake could not wait for the cell phone to be more popular in Miami and so he could call her after every game. But it was also a lie if Jake said he was no longer pleased when he saw his mother smile satisfied after giving the news of winning a game. So he went home pleased, as he imagined his mother was very happy to hear about his victory, Eva knew he was getting closer to achieving Jake''s goal for that season. This was a stressful week for Eva, she had been very irritated with the way the principal and the school teachers treated her son just because he was smarter than the others, if Jake was more arrogant he might even think about not watching more the classes as he already knew what was taught. She was calmer now because she''d talked to Anna and her friends about Jake''s problems and how the women got mad and they were together they spent a lot of time swearing at Jake''s school and then Eva calmed down. Eva was very happy to have these friends and so was less stressed, it was nice to have people who cared about her and Jake and who liked them, Anna herself was the most outraged and even wanted to go to school to seek justice for Jake as a real grandmother would do so Eve who was angry before had to calm the agitated Anna. Jake had already forgotten all this stuff, and classes in the week before the second game normally took place, the teachers treated Jake in class as invisible and did not ask questions and did not care about him. Jake did not even care, after all, he had little to learn in those classes when there was something he did not know or did not remember for some reason he paid more attention in those classes, then Jake found that only a few of these teachers taught in high school also. So he did not need to study with all of them all the way back to college, Jake never thought about canceling the contract to go to another school like someone who had worked in an office for a few years in his past life, Jake knew to suffer some problems. So the day of the second game of Jake''s team in the state championship had arrived, the team did not have much important information reported, they called themselves Hawks and they had a well-balanced team, their best player was Scott and he was the team PG. This PG Scott was smaller than Jake and was known to be able to make 3-point shots, also if space was given to him, Scott had the ability to drive through the lane and make a layup, but what Scott stood out for was in defense. That means that it was a bad game for the Hawks, and the Elite team is usually stronger than Scott had to score was Jake who did not try to score in the games, besides, Jake also stood out in defense, if not even David who should be better than Scott could easily score points on top of Jake he could forget. Chapter 82 Easy Start 2 And so the second game of the state championship began, the ball began with Mark getting possession of the ball for the Elite team and the ball going into Jake''s hands to organize the play, he held the ball, in that game would not start with an attack fast. Shortly after the entire team positioned themselves in the attack Jake saw that the Hawks'' defense was evenly balanced, everyone had a mark that was so much on each player as it could also become a zone marking. The zone defense was the right type to stop the Elite team''s attack as the attacking players changed their position easily with Jake''s signals, but this type was the hardest to adapt and able to defend well if a player ran out being left alone to attack would be futile. Not to mention that the Elite team''s attack did not depend solely on Jake''s change of position and precise passing, but also on the individual ability of all team players. So Jake threw the ball to David who soon left on top of his defender and then with a dribble passed him and managed to make the first points with a layup. Many misunderstood that Jake was controlling the rotation of passes just so that no player stood out, it was not that, if it were so the companions of Jake would have already claimed what happened was that with this rotation the defense would not know in whom to force the marking. But in that game with the Hawks that was not individual marking was perfect for players to show their individual ability, and it was not long before the defense discovered their mistake. In the attack the Hawks'' team was also having difficulty, Scott was completely nullified by Jake''s scoring, as Jake was much stronger than the other players his age, it was almost impossible for anyone to get past him using the form, dribbling was also difficult because Jake did not freak out and his reaction speed was very fast. So Scott did not have much choice but to pass the ball when he took it and had the chance, Jake was also confused, it was clear to him by the style of game of Scott that he was more an SG than a PG, and Scott was not very good either in giving passes. At the end of the first period, the Elite team were gaining by 4 points advantage, it was a tighter game and as Jake was giving David freedom and the others made individual play as well, more mistakes happened and the attacks were more time-consuming. Even though there was no doubt that the Elite team had the advantage, in the second period the defense of the Hawks did not change their form of defense, they should have thought that as the advantage on the scoreboard was small their defense was working. So before starting the second period, Jake gave a scold at his teammates who were being too individual and forgetting that the game was in team because many times two players from the opposing team would go for scoring and instead of moving to the teammate who was unmarked David and the others forced the shot or the passage. That was a waste of good selfishness, and Jake''s scolding seemed to have worked, the moves were much prettier than in the first period, there were plays that went through the hands of the 5 players before going to the points. In defense the Elite team was stable as always, in addition to Jake his teammates were also doing a great job, so the second period ended with the Elite team getting a 12 point lead in total. In the second half of the game, the Hawks team decided to return their score to one against one, and so Jake returned to make the rotation in the game, it was easier for the Hawks team to score more also the points continued out the same way. In the attack, the team of Hawks decided for a change and sometimes Scott tried to risk the plays against Jake, but Jake defended some and stole the ball a few times, it seemed that Scott''s confidence continued to fall. So he tried to give a shot of 3 that was his differential, but Jake who was alert gave a block on the attack and managed to stop, then passed to David who ran in did plus 2 points for his team. That was the final blow to the confidence of Scott and the Hawks team who then relaxed Jake also did not want to humiliate the opponent and so the game ended the Elite team winning by a 24 point lead. Although this game was easy for the Elite team to serve well, the Hawks'' team was much stronger than the first opponent, but Jake''s team nevertheless showed that they can attack in more ways than one and still guarantee victory. As soon as the game ended Jake went home to tell about his victory for his mother and celebrate the victory with her after that Jake ate and went to sleep pleased with his day. After another quiet week, the third match was also easily won by the Elite team, which was now the favorite to win the state championship, the overall strength of that year''s Florida State Championship was much weaker than in its glory years, as well Jake''s team seemed to be the strongest. There were other teams that also excelled, but the Elite team also had Jake who was the MVP of the state championship last year and it was undisputed that Jake with his talent was supposed to be better than last year and he still had not been forced to score any point that year. Many argued that the biggest reason for Jake to make no point so far was that the opposing teams were too weak for him to score, that could not be a truth, no matter what the real reason Jake did not do any point he would rather make points in a game that was risky to lose than to lose doing nothing. Others speculated that it was a kind of protest that Jake was making since last year they said that Jake was more suited to be an SG or an SF than to be a PG and that it had irritated him and now that Jake was with comrades stronger team he could just pass and still win. That was the closest they came to the truth, Jake really did this to be able to improve the use of his passes in a game because he did not make any changes before, and it was also good that so other opponents would not know how much he improved and in a difficult game he could catch the opponent by surprise. After another week the fourth opponent was also defeated, it was another team that tried to make a zone defense, but after that game, Elite team players were much better at making individual moves to their teammates. So the highlight of this game was David in the attack and Carter in the defense that managed to make 11 blocks until the end of the game, so little by little the total strength of the Elite team was showing, players could now also realize how their current teammates were much stronger than those of last year. So the hope of being able to win the national championship was much greater, all players still had guarded things that they could not show in the games, Harrison mainly that many said was the weakest player in the team, he just did not have many opportunities to show his skills. Mark also noted that last year he excelled in rebounding he did not have many opportunities for that, and in the defense that had more rebounds all the players of his team could also take defensive rebounds. Not to mention Jake who had not yet scored a point yet, even his teammates did not get a chance to see their total abilities, if it was not for Jake being the MVP last year many would think he was bad at attacking. His teammates were only totally convinced when Carter, who was the team''s best defender, said he could not stop Jake and also David said that Jake was better than him in the attack, so Mark and Harrison could only imagine how terrifying Jake would be in the attack. While everyone thought of him, Jake would sometimes go to the high school gymnasium to see the basketball team''s training, Jake had heard that the biggest investments to form the school''s first sports name had been made on basketball, baseball, and American football. Jake who already had his skills compared to the high school players got curious and went to see how they were the best of the high school compared to him. He watched the team coaching in silence as if pondering something and then went home silently, no one saw that Jake had come to see the workout. When Jake got home he just lay down and kept thinking about that training and was wondering if he could beat someone there is a one on one game. Chapter 83 An Unexpected Game 1 "Fate, were they the best players in high school?" [They should be, this is the first year of this team together and they are still in the state championship like you are, so you can not be sure, but by their individual skills they must win.] Jake had seen only a workout and not a real game, the players seemed to be just warming up, but he might discover something that although it should be obvious it was still shocking to Jake. That he could not win from any of the titular team players in the one against one. Jake knew this should be obvious, thinking about the age difference of 4 years, but despite trying to convince himself that this was not to be too convinced and start thinking he was better than everyone else. But in his thoughts, Jake really thought he could already play with the best high school players, but what he saw today took any of those thoughts of Jake. To start with was the height difference, he saw that none of the 5 were less than 1.80 m, before he thought that perhaps much lower players could play, but at least in the main team of the high school had no one. Jake was sure he could reach that point, but perhaps only after the age of 15, before that, it was almost impossible for him to reach that point. Jake also thought he could play against them because he could face a 15-year-old opponent with only 11, but it was in street basketball, in addition, he himself knew they were not the best of that age. So he asked the system if they were even the best of the high school because if they were he would at least have an excuse. Besides the height difference in the skill he also had to admit that he could not beat these players, and the worst thing was that he knew that not everyone was 17 years old and many were 16 or even 15 years old. [I knew you were very inflated ego before, your team now can be considered the best Middle School now, and many of them have several S rank skills, and it sure is the same for the best high school team.] [When you entered Middle School many of your skills were high ranked because you had several skills that you learned in your past life, but by taking your 2 of 3 and Free Throw shots, your other skills were at a high-level School at most.] [Now you really are playing high-level basketball with the best, it''s normal that you can not get over this being 4 years younger, this is only possible when you enter the professional level that talent is more important than age, is the phase that you are now the age also means the time that you have trained.] [But I''m sure with a year or two of training you can be on this team, now you just have to keep training as you do now.] So Jake calmed down, what the system said is right, he was much younger than the others and had more time, moreover, he had the system that would show his greatest out when he was in the NBA, at that time he could win statistics just playing well. So Jake can relax and stop thinking about it so he can fall asleep. Now he had two weeks to prepare for the final, although Jake was quite confident in winning as well as his teammates he still along with coach Mike underwent some training to improve some of the team''s faults. As she prepared for the final Clara called Jake for lunch. Jake knew it should be something important for him to be calling, so he went to lunch. "Hi, Jake, how long before we can see each other, the company has been doing very well these days and I''ve been busy." "It''s good to have that kind of concern, it means business is going well, I hope your business keeps growing like this." "I also hope it will continue like this, I should thank you too, my business strategy was wrong before, I was advertising all over the country and so few bought my products." "But with a few ads concentrated in Miami our sales grew much more, so I saw that the best strategy for a company with little time like ours is to concentrate the advertisement is only one or a few nearby cities first and then increase the reach over time." Jake agreed with what Clara was saying, many companies because they have a lot of funds to invest think that making a national advertisement is the best for the business as big companies do. But this is not always true, for new companies even if you have more money to do more advertising, starting in a city and making the brand well-known in this city is the first step. After making the company well-known in a city first, it can increase the reach of the brand''s disclosure to the state and thus increase, if the brand can not be even known in a city or after a state, it is not necessary nor try to increase the advertisement because the company has no future. "So what did you call me for today?" "Thanks to the success of my company and also of Tiffany''s company, we are thinking of celebrating our achievements this year." "So you as a face of our companies should be there for sure, and bring your mom too, it''s just a party with some dancing and dinner with the people who most helped our companies." "Will it be formal?" "Yes, take a full suit and your mother in a dress, as she is so beautiful I''m sure she will be elegant in any dress." "And when will this party be?" "It will be after the end of your state championship and before your vacation, I know you want to take another trip with your mother, I''m jealous of you, I do not go on a non-business trip for a long time." "Then we''ll be there." So Jake returned to his house and went to tell the news to Eva, his mother who had never been to a party so it got a little scared, but as it was a company party that helped so much Jake she knew she had to go. So after a few weeks the day of the final game arrived, although everyone was quite confident they were still all nervous about this game, everyone thought like Jake, this was the last chance to win the national championship of Middle School, losing a game means the end, there would be no other year. Everyone on this team was a good player and they also had their own pride, so they did not want to remember in the future that they could not win a trophy because they were careless in a game. So this would be a different and more intense game than the other games of that championship. The Elite team''s opponent for this game was an old acquaintance of Jake from last year, it was the Lions team Jake won last year. Unlike the other teams the Lions seemed to be confining to their win, Jake found this a bit odd because despite the players being different the team coach was the same, which means they were confident even facing Jake who was with a team much more strong than last year. It seemed that the team highlights were the SF and SG of their team who could shoot 3 well, SG was called Daniel and SF and called Tobey and when Jake looked, they looked confident. So the game began with the ball going into possession of the Elite team, Mark soon passed to Jake who began to organize the first attack. He was bouncing the ball calmly while his teammates had already positioned themselves in the attack, it seemed that the Lions had also arranged a zone marking, Jake did not care and soon passed to David. David who was excited to make the first attack of the final tried to leave to the bottom of the court while passing by Daniel, but soon after the PG of the Lions team appeared to cover the move and David who was confused stopped the attack. He looked at Jake and was surprised when he saw that Jake was completely unmarked and so passed the ball to him, Jake just received and made a quick pass for Mark to make the first two points of the final. So soon after the Lions'' attack began, all Elite players began to score with pressure after the midway line. This was an end game, the marking had to be as strong as possible and did not give the other team the chance to do the attacks quietly. Whoever was organizing the Lions team attack for this game was Daniel and not the team PG, Daniel soon passed the ball to Tobey who made a feint in Harrison and got a 3-point shot making the first points of the team. The Elite team was not shaken by it and Jake started to organize another attack, as soon as he got close to the 3-point line he passed to Harrison who was to reciprocate the points that marked him on the defense. But soon the Lions team PG came in to make a double team. So everyone on Jake''s team realized where the confidence of the coach and the Lions team players came from, he wanted to leave Jake unmarked and team up with the ball, they were counting on Jake not being able to score. Chapter 84 An Unexpected Game 2 Realizing this all of Jake''s team were shocked for a moment, from where the Lions teams got the idea that Jake for some reason could not score points after all this was just a normal game. But what Jake did not know was that many teams were discussing why Jake did not try to score a point in any game, although many thought he had no particular reason some thought differently. Many teams that included the Lions thought they had a different reason for it and this reason could be either an injury that would stop him from forcing the body or anything of the sort, the important thing was that after the flaw was discovered in the game style of Jake and what a solution to that was scoring by zone many saw this as an opportunity. If for some reason Jake really could not score any point he could pull a player out of his mark to score another player in double could be the key to winning the game, and if Jake were replaced there would be no need to defend by zone. And if Jake could score normally it was just back to normal defense, the reason that many did not do this before is that they knew that if Jake could even score and was forced to start making points, the Elite team''s greatest strength would be active. Because so far no player has been seen who could stop Jake, even in the game he was eliminated last year Carter who was one of the best in defense stood defenseless in the defense against him. But this game was the final, so the Lions team had to risk everything, when Jake received the ball from Harrison he saw that the PG was not coming even to mark it, Jake did not necessarily need to score, he could just pass the ball to another player as he did before giving the pass to Mark. But for him, it was unacceptable to let other players on his team get pressured on his whim, so Jake got the ball and shot the 3-point line. When they saw that the joy and confidence that had the coach and the Lions team had ended while the opponents who had lost to the Elite team rejoiced in secret after all they would also think that they had lost a chance to win the game if they knew that Jake really could not score. So the Elite team scored another 3 points and the Lions team went to the attack tenser, Daniel who was setting up another attack realized the distraction of David and was shot off to make 3 more points. Despite not having an advantage in the attack he was not weak in defense either, Jake went to the attack again and gave a pass to David who this time did not receive a double mark and when he took a step back he shot outside and did another 3 points for the team. The crowd was excited by this game filled with 3-point baskets which was rare to see in a Middle School game, who was not happy about it were the Lions who increasingly lost their previous confidence in the victory. They knew that Jake could shoot 3, but did not know that David could as well, so they would not have any advantage, so the game continued excited and at the end of the first period Jake''s team won by 5 points. The two teams could get 3-point shots, so it was to see who missed before when the Lions team missed an attack, Jake only organized a normal attack and his team would get the 2 points, but when the Lions hit the 3 points Jake and David tried to reciprocate. But it was a fact that David''s aim was greater than that of the Lions players and Jake was even better, so any strategy that could be for an absolute victory has now been broken, so it was a game of friction. Jake and his team-mates were also surprised by the tenacity and skill of the Lions, they were having a difficult game at the end, which means that the Lions could do well this year in the national championship if it were not for the Elite team. Jake really felt a little bad because thanks to him going back in time the Lions lost two state championship trophies and his players missed the chance to make good memories. He knew it would be like that in the future, he himself was a walking butterfly effect, he would change several things and change the lives of some people for the better and without wanting the lives of other people for the worse. He knew this, but it would not change anything, it was how the system told him before he went back to the past, he was just recovering what he lost and deserved. Of course, he would be sure to do good as much as he could, but he would never harm himself just to not interfere in the future, so he would get as much as he could and that would be until the day he stopped playing basketball. So Jake''s team continued to dominate the game, the 3-point shots depended on both skill and luck, in NBA games as the team defenses have a minimum level that is already too high teams usually miss many attacks. As the team can normally miss even a layup, dunk or 2-point shot players are much more free to try 3 shots if they have the skill and space required. But at Middle School and high school, it was different, as the teams did not have much defensive strength, usually, 2-point attacks and layups always hit, so 3-point shots were a riskier bet. So Jake even though he was very confident would not try many 3-point shots in easy games and also prevented David from doing it recklessly, so only if a team was so confident in their attack within their defense he could do many shots of 3. The Lions team was like that, in the previous games they were confident in their defense and even if Daniel and Tobey missed some attacks and hit others, the points were the same at the end, not to mention that team morale increases when 3 points are made. But their strong defense did not work very well with Jake''s team when David was being scored the most heavily the ball was passed to Harrison and from time to time he had a Jake pass for Mark or Carter when the defense was distracted. The Lions team coach himself saw today what a difference Jake played as a PG on a strong team and weak team, Jake''s passes had now gained color and we''re not just to make room for himself to shoot. The reporters, of course, today realized perfectly this difference and no one else said that Jake should be an SG or SF, he also stood out as PG and he would not be in that position with the quality of his pass and organize nor the team would be a waste. So the second period of the game ended with Jake''s team-leading by 12 points, but in the third period the Lions still believed in victory and did not give up. The Elite team continued to play strong and David also made several points of 3 and the Lions PG could not score correctly Jake, David ended up being the most marked player, so Harrison had more opportunities to make his plays. Although Harrison had not been criticized in previous games he was still seen by reporters and other teams as the weakest player in the Elite team, as he did not score too many points and was also the weakest in the defense. But despite knowing he was the weakest along with Carter, his biggest highlight was in the offense, and if it was not for David doing a few 3-pointer shots he would be the best scorer in the final game. Of course, all this was orchestrated by Jake who knew that Harrison felt unhappy in the last few games, how he could score the same points by giving the passes to Mark or to Harrison he chose the last one who was having confidence issues. It was much more challenging for Jake to be a captain of a stronger team than he was this year than last year the team was weaker, last year Jake just needed to maintain team morale and unity and set an example in a block and everything was fine. But with a stronger team, this year was more difficult, the morale of most of the team was always high, and worse, sometimes he had to ask his teammates to hold their animation and play more calmly what it was like throwing water on the animation of their companions. Not to mention that if it were not for Jake being lucky that everyone on his team was cooler he could not guarantee the union with such a strong group, they all had very strong individual characteristics that did not mix easily. Chapter 85 An Unexpected Game 3 The game continued when the third period ended the Elite team was winning with an 18 point lead, so in the fourth period the Lions had already lost the will to fight as they knew the game was already lost. Jake as always controlled the team and returning with the rotation system in the attack ended up winning the game with 24 points difference. Jake and his teammates greeted the toughest opponent the team has faced so far, some Lions players began to cry and others knew that next year would be theirs. Jake and his teammates began to celebrate the victory and also the state championship that was theirs now, Jake saw that his teammates were celebrating now much more than when they won the regional championship. That made Jake happier because it showed that they were still young people who felt joy at winning a championship that was already expected, or was what the system said, they were happier after beating a stronger team like the Lions. Jake was also very happy and soon went to close to his mother in the cheering, the awards would still take a little so he would enjoy. Jake gave a big hug to Eva who was also very happy with the victory of her son, she was hoping that this season he can celebrate another trophy winning the national championship that was not possible last year. After a while, it came time for the awards and the Elite team was receiving the trophy at the awards, so everyone took their medals and Jake who was the captain lifted the championship trophy state championship. Everyone was very happy and took several pictures for newspapers across the state, the whole team had won this trophy last year, but anyone who saw this photo in the state of Florida recognized only Jake that had won last year as well. After that Jake also received the MVP award from the state championship as well, everyone found them deserved and even Jake no longer cared and just celebrated with his teammates and then went to celebrate with his mother. All the newspapers asked several questions for all players including Jake and Eric was no exception, the difference being that Eric''s report was much more complete and even the other players who saw him since his first regional championship games treated him better than the others. Jake had to admit that Eric had a lot of talent for his reporter profession, he knew how to ask good questions that did not embarrass the players and also easily befriend the players just as he was with him. After the celebrations ended Jake left with his mother and everyone went home too, Jake was very happy with the way things were going, at least he managed to win the same as last year, now he was missing one more championship, but this would only be for after the holidays. Unlike last year Jake was very anxious for the holidays, because besides the trip that he planned to do with his mother to celebrate his birthday also had the fact that he was getting very annoyed in school because of his teachers. To be able to talk to his friend Joseph did not need to be done at school, he could go every vacation at his friend''s house, the school was just a boring place this year for Jake, he hoped it would change in the year which comes when he would enter high school. But before you go on vacation, Jake still had an appointment that would be the celebration party for Clara and Tiffany''s companies, as he was greatly helped by them and it was his duty to attend this party that would be in a few days. It was good that this would still be in a few days and not today, because Jake was very tired after the game, in the stress and the celebrations. The other day in the morning when Jake woke up to eat his breakfast he saw his mother with a smile on his face that had prepared several things to eat and was reading the newspaper. "Good morning, my champion son, I prepared a capricious breakfast to celebrate your win in yesterday''s game." "Good morning, thank you Mom, but I did not need all this, what were you reading that made you so happy?" "It''s the newspaper headline about your team''s national championship victory, the one that that reporter Eric does is better than the other newspapers I read." "So you bought other newspapers too, which says it made you so happy." "He said that a star could not be hidden when he talked about you still winning the MVP even after playing giving more passes than making points and in the end made several 3-point baskets." "Newspapers are exaggerated as usual." Although Jake said this he had to say that it was good to be praised publicly like that, not to mention that it would be good for companies that sponsor him if his image as a player would be better. Jake was now no longer interested in sponsoring companies, he had two that he was lucky to have his representatives being good people, and with that, he made enough money to make his family look good for a long time. But Jake knew that this was not always so, many companies when they hired a Face of used their image until they thought that the company recovered the investment, even with great players was like that. So Jake did not think about getting rich advertising and eroding his image, so Clara and Tiffany''s companies were great, so he would even have time to take a trip abroad on vacation without worrying so much. After a few days, everything had stolen normal and even the excitement for the state championship win slowed slightly, and Jake was thinking of the party that would be held the other day. Knowing that her mother was a little worried about how she would dress and how she would behave at that party, Jake saw it as an opportunity to make her mother a little happier. He decided to give her a gift by marking a day at the SPA for her so she could rest and take care of her skin and become happier and more confident in the party. When Jake took Eva to the SPA she was very surprised and then just gave a hug and a kiss on her son and went inside, Jake just stood in a room near the entrance waiting, as he knew it would take him just started training. It was good that her imagery training could be done anywhere, while Eva was going through all sorts of relaxing massage and skin treatments. Jake did this only because it was his mother who did much for him, but he had to admit that maybe he could not do the same for his wife in the future, waiting several hours while doing nothing was a great test of patience. The other day, even though it was the day of the party, Jake overcame himself and took his mother to the mall to take his mother to choose a party dress and also to the beauty salon, he knew a men''s clothing store that always had good suits and chose one quickly. After all, even though he was only 12 years old, he already had the height of many adults who were small, so choosing a suit was not a problem, but choosing a good dress for Eva and waiting in the salon was another test of patience. But after spending it was worth seeing his mother who was very happy, Jake had heard from some of his friends before the women, especially the most beautiful as Eve was also was very vain. Her current appearance that included makeup and clothing also had a lot of influence on her self-esteem, Eve spent a lot of time simply dressing, first because of Jake''s father''s death and then only because of her waitress job that she wore a simple uniform. After Jake got her mother away from work, her mentality did not change. Eva still wore only simple clothes and just took care of her hair. What Jake wanted was for his mother to see that the others could admire her for her appearance and so Eva later regained that vanity that every woman had and was happier. Jake wanted to do this before perhaps on a birthday, but as he knew his mother well, Eve would not accept that all this was done for her for no reason at all, now he had a great reason it was Clara''s party. When Eva left the salon with her party dress on, everyone who was in that part of the mall looked at her, many thought Eva was a celebrity or some lady from Miami''s high society. Eva''s smile was even more dazzling after seeing that she was still beautiful and attracted attention so much when she was young, so a little of Jake''s tiredness disappeared, it was a pity that the day was not over yet and now they would have to go to a party. Chapter 86 An Animated Party 1 After leaving the mall Jake and Eva had to return home as a car would be sent there to get the two for Clara. After getting into the business car it was very beautiful they went to the hotel where the party would be held. As it was a party where the guests were mostly busy people, the place chosen was a 5-star hotel that was in a better location in Miami. As it was Clara and Tiffany who chose the hotel together, they chose one that had a large ballroom where they could perform the dances and also the dinner, in addition, the ballroom was also near a beautiful field and pool where the cocktail party could be held. The songs that were played were suitable for dancing at a slow pace, yet it happened several times that these celebratory dinners passed without anyone having the courage to perform for dancing. Only those closest to the companies would be at the dinner tables, the other guests would just get some snacks and go get a drink by the pool. Clara had reserved a table next to hers for Jake and Eva so they would not have doubts about what to do. As soon as Jake and Eva arrived many people turned to look, although Jake was wearing a simpler suit matched well with it, for a more handsome man with Jake was even a simple suit it brought some elegance. But who most caught the eye in this situation in this situation was Eva, Jake chose for her one of the best dresses in the store and also she had taken very good care of her skin and hair in the SPA and beauty salon, as Eve was too beautiful, to begin with, and so drew more attention. As they did not recognize Eve and Jake''s people began to divert attention when they realized that the place where they sat as close to where the closest Clara and Tiffany were. After settling at the table, Jake and Eve stood to greet Clara and Tiffany who were sitting at the same table, along with them was an older man who seemed to be about the age of Matthew who was also sitting at another table. "Jake thank you so much for coming to our party, it''s a very important day for me and I''m glad to see you here, and Eva too, you look very beautiful today, I think you could dress more like this," Clara said with a smile. "Thank you, Clara, you look very beautiful today, Tiffany is beautiful too, congratulations to the success of your company," Eva replied happily. "Congratulations, I think my mother should dress more like that," Jake told Clara and Tiffany. "It was thanks to you also Jake that the company can grow fast so its appearance helped a lot to develop the market of our companies in Miami." "That may be so, but if you did not have a good product and a good preparation for increased sales none of this would have happened." So the two greeted each other and praised as they were always done on occasions like this, the difference here was that the compliments were sincere and heartfelt. "Let me introduce you two to my side for you, Jake, this man here is my father who is also an investor in my company with 10 percent of her, and this other is my husband who is also an investor with 10 percent." Clara''s father when introduced waved the mug to Jake, as he had heard that this young man was special, he had liked it, especially when he knew the good advertisements Jake had made for his daughter''s company. But Clara''s husband did not even care to look at Jake''s face, he simply treated as if he had not heard, after that the mood on the table was strange, Jake could see that something was happening between Clara and her husband and the father of Clara as well as Tiffany looked upon him with disapproval as if his attitude were expected. Feeling this, Jake waved goodbye and turned to go back to his table with his mother, but before returning he decided to pass by Matthew''s table that was Joseph''s grandfather sitting alone at a nearby table. "Hi, Jake boy, you did not have to come to my table to party or mine." "Hahaha you can only be kidding, it''s normal for us to say hello to friends." "I''m glad to hear that, it was very good for Joseph to have met you, he''s much better now." "Your grandson helped me a lot too, I''ve never been too much to have friends and me and him get along." "That''s good, you can go back to your table now, soon dinner will begin." So Jake and Eva said good-bye and went back to their table. And just as Matthew said after a while the dinner began, someone soon came up on a discreet stage that was near the dance hall and began some speeches and thanks, it seemed that he was an employee of the company. After Clara, Tiffany and Clara''s father climbed onto the stage and made some small speeches, but Clara''s husband did not even look at the stage when it happened. It seemed that in addition to him and Clara having problems in my marriage he also had problems with the success of the companies of Clara and Tiffany, this was what Jake did not understand, he did not have 10 percent of Clara''s company as well? Because that meant that if Clara''s company succeeded, it would also make more money. After that, some of the people went to the cocktail party and some of the people were chatting at the tables, Jake and his mother ate too and talked cheerfully for much of the party. But no one had gone to the salon to start dancing with someone, which was normal even at parties, despite having good music. Until one time the music that Jake knew was his mother''s favorite started playing and he took Eva to the dance floor. Eva followed her son, she had already become accustomed to his impulsive way and also Eva was very fond of this song, besides, she had made a lot of arrangements for this party and even chose a shoe that was beautiful and could also be used to dance. So since her son wanted to dance she could also show off a little more of her beautiful dress that Eva did not know when she could wear it again. While they danced Tiffany, Clara, and Matthew, everyone who knew Jake smiled to see him with his mother dancing, this party was not so discouraged and it was not that nobody wanted to dance, but what happened that no one had the courage to be the first and they knew Jake was not the type to be ashamed in these situations. After Jake started several people also had the courage and pulled their peers to dance, so dozens of couples were dancing a few songs later. After three songs Jake brought his mother to his desk, he had noticed that his shoe was starting to hurt and did not need to exaggerate, but even after Jake left the couples continued to enter the hall to dance. So Jake looked at Clara''s desk and saw her grinning at her ignorant husband, it was clear that Clara wanted to dance as a hostess too, but her husband did not seem to be willing. After a while, Tiffany went to Jake''s desk and called him to dance with her too, so one of the hostesses could dance and Tiffany could not pick anyone then called Jake. Jake did not want to go in for shame, but Tiffany sent him a look as if to say that he was to blame for starting dancing, so he took courage and went. As Jake was a young man who had come with his mother and also looked close to Tiffany and Clara everyone just smiled when they saw him and Jake heading for the dance floor. Seeing this, Clara was more relieved to avoid embarrassment but still looked grudgingly at her husband who refused to help her as if it had nothing to do with him. Clara knew that her husband did not like her and that she was not satisfied with this arranged marriage, but she was in the same situation and not even so cold with him, not to mention that they had been married for years and this situation only seemed to get worse. Meanwhile, Jake and Tiffany who danced together were quiet and without any subjects to talk, Jake never talked much alone with Tiffany and now they were dancing together forced by the situation. "You''re strange, are not You? Clara''s situation with her husband." Jake really was curious about this situation, but this matter was not directly related to him and his experience said that it was good not to get too involved in the personal problems of others. Especially if these problems involve your bosses or your superiors because when you know about the situation better you end up indirectly getting involved in it. Chapter 87 An Animated Party 2 Seeing that after finding a good subject to talk while dancing Jake did not want to hear Tiffany became more irritated. "Come on you do not have to be so annoying like that, it took me so long to think of a subject to talk to you." It seemed that Tiffany really wanted to talk about it, she was Clara''s friend after all, and she also seemed to be quite upset about this, so Jake had to listen to this while secretly thinking he would never tell her a secret. "Well then, it happened that that lord Clara said was his father, had at a young age a great friendship with the father of Clara''s husband, Clara''s father''s name is Stefan and her husband''s name is Robert." "So Stefan decided that he would marry his daughter in the future with Robert, in fact as Clara was always very obedient to his father she accepted this marriage well." "The problem was that Robert always had a bad and rebellious personality, and so even though Clara was beautiful and a gentle wife Robert did not want to marry her at all." "But in the end, as Robert''s father was starting to get old and also getting sick, Robert eventually decided to accept his father''s request and marry Clara." At first, Jake thought that this story seemed a little with the movies, but it turned out that it was a little different, the man who did not want the marriage was the man and not the woman. "But even Robert having agreed to marry Clara, he was never a real husband to her, Robert never accepted Clara in his heart." "Clara has always been a woman with the most modern thinking and thought that in the future her husband would accept her in his heart and they would have a family as they should." "Even so, she''s not a woman who agrees to stay indoors, so she did a university and that''s where we became friends." "While at university, Clara had an idea of ??making a sporting goods company for the younger ones, and after a while she saw that the idea could work out and started." "She managed to create the whole business plan and then just needed the investment, Stefan who was feeling guilty for having almost forced her to marry a bad husband and knowing that his company would be passed on to Clara''s brother." "It gave part of the money that would be his inheritance to Clara to be able to invest in its company and soon entered with another part in its name even as an investor, thus Clara had the greater part of the actions and its father had another." "Afterwards Robert''s father gave the money to his son also to get invested because he also felt guilty that his son was being bad to her and felt that with his son investing their relationship would be closer." "As I still lacked a large part of the investment, I decided to invest a part of my money in the company and so she got the most needed and left the rest to the stock market to complete what was needed before I could start working." "I was thrilled with the idea of ??Clara and also opened my company, but in my company, I invested alone and the rest I raised in the stock market." "After me and Clara continued to work a lot after a few years our companies were doing very well and worth a lot more than we invested." "It was for this to be a beautiful story, but it did not end there, Robert was always a very proud man and had an inferiority complex with his smaller Sande family company than the Clara family company, that was one of the reasons of him not to accept the marriage." "And it got even worse when the company he saw his wife start from scratch went on to make so much success while he did nothing, he was feeling inferior and envious." "Now her attitude toward Clara is even worse, especially since her father has become even sicker, it seems Robert now sees no reason to remain married to Clara." While dancing with Tiffany, Jake listened to the whole situation in silence, it seemed that the situation was more complicated than he thought before, and how he thought he knew the situation made him feel involved in it somehow. With what he could hear of this situation the conclusion he could draw in the end was that Robert was a proud man, narrow-minded and also that he can not see good things happen. If he did not want to marry Clara because he did not find a loveless marriage or because he loved someone else, Jake could understand, but only because he did not want to and why he did not think his wife had more money than he could, Jake could not understand. "And it seems that he also betrays Clara with other women is what they say out there since it is not proven that Robert is having an affair, Clara prefers not to believe." So the situation was even worse if this was the case, and so Jake also began to understand the possible reason why he had not seen the name of Clara''s company in the future because this was not only a problem if a couple but a problem of members as well. But unlike the case of Matthew who did not know that his company was in danger of failing to change the technology, Clara should know very well that if her husband was in the way of doing business, then Jake could not give advice to them. And Jake also had no way of helping now, maybe he had in the future, as long as Clara''s company did not fail or was sold on the basis of the factories and the slabs they could rebound. After that, Jake returned to his mother and a few hours later the party ended and everyone went home. In a few days school holidays began, unlike the public schools the Elite school gave more time for students to rest more on their vacation, so Jake who did not have to worry about returning before his birthday began to organize his trip. This year Jake would still follow his journey from his past life, he would now go to France which was the second language he learned and also the country he most enjoyed traveling to, the cuisine there was incredible and the landscape as well. So he also wanted to make this trip with his mother if it was possible, Jake knew that Eva just as he was a lover of French cinema, although not very popular has the most interesting stories of romance and also of past centuries. So he did the same routine as before, he called the same travel agency he used last year on his trip to Spain and said again to mark two passages for him and his mother, speaking the names of hotels and cities where he would pass. This travel agency was very fond of working with Jake, after all, Jake did almost all the work for them and the agency used sometimes the same script that Jake organized for Spain and the clients were very satisfied, now the agency had a new script for France. A few days later Jake and Eva took the plane to France, they were going to be first in Nice and to finish the trip in Paris, they began the trip knowing the beautiful beaches that were known around the world near the C?te D''Azur. It was really a very beautiful place and was also different from the beauties of Miami beaches, then they went to some restaurants to try the local food. The next day they took the train to Monaco which was a must-stop on a journey through Europe in Jake''s vision, arriving they went to many places like the Church of Sainte-D¨¦vote which was one of the most beautiful in Europe. Then they went to Place du Casino where they found the Monte Carlo Casino which although they could not enter because of Jake''s age was a beautiful place to take pictures and keep a souvenir of the trip. After they went to Port Hercule to see the hundreds of yachts staying in this place, it was looking at this scenario in their past life that Jake felt the desire to have a yacht for him, and still had that dream in this life. Then on the other day, they went to Carcassonne by train to see the city which could make people think they returned to medieval times, it even gives them a view of the ramparts around the city. In this town after they went to Chateau Comtal to visit and be able to walk through the long city walls, they then ate the famous cassoulet plate to end the visit to the city. Afterward, they went to Grenoble to visit the city and then visit the French Alps, a beautiful place, for Jake was at least since he loved snow, and so they stayed a few days to spend Christmas and the end of the year there. Chapter 88 An Animated Party 3 As he spent the end of the year with his mother staring at the snow through the hotel window, Jake could not help but think again about how different it was to take a trip alone and go on a trip together. He could enjoy much more of the places he visited last time and also leave some of the script planned to visit places he had no desire to visit before. Although Jake returned almost three years ago in the past thanks to fate and knowing that this was not a dream and what was really happening, he could not help but be nostalgic and comparing the two lives on commemorative days like this. On days like this Jake was afraid to even sleep at the end of the night and wake up alone and without his mother, without his legs and discover that all this was a dream. Jake had this fear because he lived over 40 years used to a life where things never worked out that way for long when things started to get good bad things happened. Even though he had to accept this new reality and stop always waiting when something bad would happen, he hoped it would never happen, that he could always see his mother every day with a smile on his face. The other day in the morning he continued his trip to the last stop Paris, they would visit as many places as they could and spend Jake''s birthday here. They visited many places on this trip through Paris such as the beautiful Bas¨ªlica du Sacr¨¦-Coeu, Paris Museum Louvre which is the most important museum in the world, Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and also, of course, the Eiffel Tower. So in this beautiful place Jake completed his thirteenth birthday, it was the second time he was that age, but this time everything seemed more special and different. It was strange what he was feeling, maybe just people who had a second chance as he might know what that feeling was, after all to Jake everything he was living now, being with his mother again was a kind of miracle. So after celebrating a lot with their mother on the day of their birthday, they spent a few more days in France and then bid farewell to their second wonderful trip and voted home full of beautiful memories. The second half would already start and Jake also had the national championship to worry about now, that would be his most memorable memory of all Middle School if he could win that national championship. Jake even thought it funny how he thought at the outset that he did not think it would be worth playing at his school team and that the school championships would be very easy to beat, he just decided to join the basketball team to have experiences in playing with teammates of team that was something that Jake could not learn alone. But now a few years later here he was so excited about the possibility of winning a school league, that was the beauty of life, just living things you can know if it is important or not, so you should not judge others just by looking out. After his relaxing holiday trip, Jake was excited to start the national championship, but not all his team was so, coach Mike who was the person who had the biggest responsibility with the school to bring over this trophy to school was too anxious He can bring together four of Jake''s teammates who were in town during the holidays and also wanted to train more to be able to improve even a little for the start of the national championship games. And after almost a month of training, he had a slight improvement that increased their confidence a bit, yet everyone was stressed with the national championship that would start shortly. When Jake returned to train with the team after the start of classes for the next few weeks that would be the first game, the whole team could relax more of their tension when they saw that their captain was so calm and confident for the games. Coach Mike also calmed down and internally praised Jake''s confidence in his teammates, everyone in this team recognized Jake as the natural leader of the team after just over 6 months together, this was not something that could be achieved to be a certain charisma. After a few weeks the first game of the Elite team had arrived Jake was not anxious and was even calm, he had confidence that with his team now they could win a different result from last year. The national championship had a format different from the regional and state championships, in the beginning, they had 64 teams and not only 32 as in the other 2, but for the teams that participated did not have such a big difference, they would only play 6 games instead of 5 games as in the other championships. The first opponent of Jake''s team was the Bats, all players who could enter the national championship are strong unless they could have a player like Jake was last year, so when a player stood out in a strong team it was good to have to Watch out for him. The Bats team had three players that Jake''s team had to be careful of, Center Joe, PF Paul, and SF Ramiro, that meant that the Bats team for this year was strong, yet Jake felt that this team was weaker than the Eagles the former Carter team last year. So he was confident that his team could win this year, Carter also thought probably the same, the other three were still nervous. The game began and Mark got the first possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake who received the ball started the attack and soon saw the opposing PG coming to score him from the start, so Jake used a path behind Mark and thus opened distance from his defender to advance calmly into the attack. When he reached the three-point line Jake saw that all his teammates were well marked, so he thought it would be time to show the result of his training with his team collapses and made some signs for his teammates to change positions. All Jake''s opponents so far were already prepared to move in with Elite team players when Jake did the signs, but what Jake and his teammates had done so far was not just changing positions with only signs. All Jake''s teammates quickly moved into their new position without the Bats players being able to react, so Jake handed the ball to Harrison to make the first two points of the team in that national championship. The strongest point of the Elite team''s strategies was not to change positions without communicating on the court, but rather the speed that players could change their positions, after all, Jake gave a different signal for each one, so a player did not have to wait for the other shifted to move and all moved at the same time. So the opponents would not have time to react and move together in defense, nor the zone marking could solve this, it was a shame that Jake could not have done this before with his teammates because everyone needs to move quickly and at the same time after that, the signals were meant to work. So the Bats ''defense was caught off guard and they could not react, the Bats'' team PG started their first bout after that move, unlike the Bats team, the Elite team waited to tighten the defense near the three-point line. So PG waited a bit and passed the ball to SF Ramiro who received the ball with a little space and made the 2-point shot to equalize the game. Harrison apologized with his teammates because he was distracted in the defense and let the opponent score the points. Jake started the attack and adjusted the pace to attack faster, this time in the attack the opponents seemed to be waiting for the Elite team positions change, but Jake only gave the pass normally to Carter who did the layup and 2 more points. A skilled PG should also have several different ways to attack and thus catch the opponent off guard, and in this part, Jake stood out if the opponent tried to guess his thoughts when he realized the pass or the shot would have already been made. For this and other reasons, the fans might not agree that Jake deserved to always be the MVP, at least the best PG he always was. The Bats soon started a new attack, the Elite team still gave the same space until the opponents reached the 3-point line, the opponent''s PG passed the ball to Joe to make 2 more points,, but when Joe tried to do the layup for marks the 2 points Mark tried to give a Block and ended up making the foul. Despite not being able to make the block served to leave the team of Bats apprehensive and show that the defense of the Elite team was not dead. Chapter 89 National Championship 1 As a player of a team that arrived at the national championship, it was normal that Joe knew to convert the Free Throws, but perhaps by the nervousness of a difficult game, he ended up missing the 2 attempts and the fault of Mark ended up being positive. Mark himself was the one who got the rebound from the second failed attempt and passed the ball to Jake to start another attack, as the Bats team was all in the attacking block and were a little shaken by having lost an attack, Jake just got the ball and ran at maximum speed. It should be remembered that because Jake was playing as a team and as a point guard, he never ran at his top speed because of his statistics trained in those nearly 3 years were bigger than all his colleagues at Middle School. So when Jake accelerated, all opponents were left behind and in a few seconds, he was alone doing a layup to score the 2 points. With these 2 points scored by Jake the Elite team already had a 4-point lead over the Bats in less than 1 minute after the game started, thinking that the Bats team''s mood slowed, even more, when they started attacking again. The PG of the Bats team despite not being very skilled still managed to control the mood of his team a little, so in their attack, he passed the ball to Paul who seemed to want to show his skills. So Paul who received the ball and tried to pass by Carter when he saw that he would not get dribble he just forced a mid-range shot to make the 2 points. This was the strategy that coach Mike organized for the game, the Elite team should appear to be slow in defense and when the opponent was distracted they would steal the ball. Of course coach Mike can only risk using this strategy because he relied on his players'' defensive skills; if a weak team did that, it would only make it easier for the opponent to attack. Then Jake organized the attack and passed the ball to Mark who soon turned and did a layup to score 2 more points and further decrease Joe''s will that was marking him. So the game continued like this and when the first period ended the Elite team was ahead by 6 points, almost at the end of the first period Jake stole the ball of the opponent''s PG and makes 2 more points ahead. In the second period of the game although the Bats tried to keep calm the 6-point advantage was still stressful for the players, and Jake still began to slow the game and spend the possession of the ball as if they wanted to keep the advantage like that. On the other side, the Bats'' team PG was falling on Jake''s pace and was trying to get off the ball quickly in the attack, he realized that any hesitation he gave Jake would take to steal the ball. So he had to make each move with the care that made him even more stressed, Jake also became more relaxed the more the game heated up, he always kept his mind cold and looked for the best move every time in his attacks. And for all who watched the game this difference in behavior was apparent, so this time in this national championship everyone could see Jake''s playing style and it would not be like last year where he was eliminated before being seen. When the second period and the first half of the game had ended the difference was 10 points, although the Bats team played better the advantage still existed, and if it continued so the game would end. In addition to make worse the team of Bats were very tired by the stress of the game, after all, as the team was stronger all expected that after leaving the state championship winners could at least advance until the third round of the national championship. But now they were losing in the first game to a team that was playing for the first time the national championship, this only served to increase their stress when they saw that they were 10 points behind on the scoreboard. The game continued and everyone cheered to try to get the result, but Jake''s team was relentless and when the game ended the Elite team had won by 16 points. Everyone was very happy with the victory more as this was only the first game of a total of 6 was still too early for interviews, of course, Eric was there as in all games to follow the full trajectory to the national championship trophy. When the regional championship started no one cared about Jake''s team and he was there and now that they started the national championship no one believed in the Elite team and only Eric was there, and his reporter intuition said he would be the one who was right at the end. When he saw that none of his colleagues from other states cared for the Elite team and still accompanied other teams in the early games, what he heard almost made him start laughing in front of them. These reporters said that the reason was that Jake''s team did not have any players who were a standout and that only his team who was very good, Eric thought this was funny because it was exactly the opposite that spoke of his team last year, that the staff had just Jake most did not have a strong staff. After hearing this, Eric did not mind reminding them to these reporters, it was their fault for not having done simple research on last year if they did know that the Elite team had all the requirements to be the champion. After the game ended Jake went home to tell his mother about the victory, Eva always got anxious about the first championship games more than other games, especially the one in which Jake was eliminated last year. As soon as Jake told about her victory Eva gave a happy and relieved smile, she wanted Jake to continue happy as he was now, and not like last year when after just 1 month of Jake''s birthday he was saddened by defeat. Eva never told this to Jake, but a few days after Jake had lost the national championship game, she was seriously worried that Clara''s and Tiffany''s companies would give up on the sponsorship deal, after all, she knew that with Jake eliminating the two companies they lost a chance to make national propaganda through it. So she was sincerely grateful and wanted to be friends with the two businesswomen, because after they did not end the contract that Eva was sure they were sincere and did not think only of the profit. After winning that game easily by facing a stronger team like the Bats, Jake was more confident in winning that national championship, not to mention that he knew that the players of his team could play even better than today. So after dinner with his mother, Jake went to rest relaxed. In the following days many students from his school were talking about sports, this year it seemed that the investment began to work so that the Elite school was the reference school in sports. It was not just the Middle School basketball team that had advanced well in the national championship and yes all sports were having their teams perform well, both in Middle School and high school. From everyone in the school maybe just Jake''s teachers who were not happy with that, to be specific only part of the group of teachers, some followed the advice that was given after the direct scolding and realized that they did not need all of this if the student did not bother the class and was the best in the room. Teachers who were not convinced after everything that happened did not care what was right or wrong anymore, they just did not like being reprimanded by the principal because of a student, this had become a personal case to some of them. So they were just waiting for Jake and his team to lose some game so they would not meet the president''s expectations and so they would have an excuse to teach Jake a lesson, at least a suspension they wanted to stop their anger. The principal could only be disappointed with these teachers who still had this in mind after he called Jake into his room to talk about this subject, several calls came to him the next day to warn him not to cause trouble for Jake. And these callers were all owners or shareholders of large corporations, some even had friendship with the current president, right now that Jake did something wrong he would not call him into his room to complain, not to mention a resentment of some teachers. In fact, the principal knew that these continuing teachers who had encouraged other teachers to do so, even though very successful teachers did not make much money in their careers. So the only thing they could be proud of for others about their careers was when they taught people who became great figures after they grew up, like some senators or artists, so when they knew someone who did not care about their classes was an insult to that pride. Chapter 90 National Championship 2 So the days went by and soon the second game of the national championship would be arriving, today a rest was given to the Elite team, but Jake, as he always did at home, went down to the basement and had already finished his race and now he was in the handsets of bodybuilding. Jake thought he had to do this as much as he could because he had heard from the system that soon the statistics would need many months sometimes to be able to increase by one point, so he decided to do these exercises as a habit, so he would train without expecting anything and if the statistics go up it would be a good surprise. Of course, it also takes a good mindset and patience to do this, if it were someone else who had the system apart from Jake he would probably ask to look at his stats every day. But Jake, who had just returned from a trip where the only training that had been done was imaging training every day, it had been months since he had checked his statistics. Jake thought that now was a good time to know how much better he ultimately would not improve until the national championship ended so it was good to cheer up with his stats that had certainly increased. "Fate show me my statistics window." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 13 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.68 m] [Weight: 65 Kg] [Force 20] [Agility 20] [Resistance 21] [Intelligence 52] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control B] [Man to Man C] [Dribble A] [Layup B] [Set Shot SS] [Block C] [Pass S] [Rebound B] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª It was really amazing how much his stats increased in almost a year of training, maybe because of the trip he made his intelligence also increased, as it was not a statistic that could be trained as was the case of luck any point that increased left Jake happy. His physical stats all came in at 20, and Jake could see that the growth rate of his stamina that was once the fastest-growing statistic declined after he reached 20, his agility was very good too, but he knew there might be some people in high school who have more agility than he. The statistic that he was happiest to have increased was his strength, now it lacked little to reach the strength he had in his past life, just so he would feel that he was improving. As for his abilities, he increased very little despite having a lot of training in his imagination training, but Jake also had already realized that his abilities improved much more in official games than in 100 trainings. Jake was mostly unsatisfied with his defense that was low in his opinion if anyone had a dribbling ability like his that would eventually be the fault of his team''s defense and Jake could not accept it. He also knew what the problem was, he had not had difficult opponents who could train his defense well, Jake even found it absurd as people said that his forte was the defense. Only he himself knew that he had to train 10 times in defense more than in the attack to increase skill rank, and it would have to be so, his minimum goal would have to be A at the NBA level until he turned 20. He knew that climbing up S in high school would only be a big challenge, not to mention he still had college rank before going through the NBA, it was nice that the NBA level was not as low as it was high school compared to Middle School where an S rank skill could become D. So Jake believed he would be able to achieve this in 7 years which is almost 3 times the time he trained, of course, if his defensive ability was in A normally his other abilities would be at S or SS level, but that would be impossible reachable in just 7 years, maybe in 12 years was possible. But that was if he only focused on the sack what he would not know if it could be possible, at least he needed to focus on his mother and his personal life half the time, after all, his desire for the second chance was mainly to have a happy life and do not forget everything else and just focus on basketball. [Now that their stats have reached 20 it will take a lot longer to raise a statistic, as I had said only the biggest stars of the NBA have the main statistics equivalent to 30 points which are 3 times more than the normal adults.] [Of course, despite having 3 times the capacity of a normal man this is only in statistics, only strength stands out better in numbers, this does not mean that a person who has 30 in agility is three times faster than a normal person.] [But in more competitive sports even 0.1 second makes a big difference, in basketball could mean making the points or not doing, or getting a dribble or not, small differences in a game can change the final result.] [But to tell you the truth I thought you could only get 20 points of statistics after 15 years, it''s good that you do not fight people your age or else you could end up hurting a lot of someones unintentionally.] Of course Jake already knew about a part of what the system said, especially about fighting, according to the system said it was almost impossible that things happened to Jake thanks to his luck, especially with the personality of Jake who never fought in 40 years of your past life. And since the NBA was a goal for a distant future he did not want to forget, but he did not have to worry about that either, it was not long ago that Jake saw that he could not even beat a high school player the more of the NBA. So the days went by and came the day of the second game, when they were preparing for later Jake realized that his teammates were much more relaxed for today''s game. That nervousness should be only a result of the debut game that was tenser after all nobody wanted to be eliminated in the first game, only coach Mike was still tense, after all, he had more responsibility in this game and that was his job. As for the opponents it was expected that after the second round onwards it would be impossible to find a team that was weak, all the lucky ones had been eliminated in the first round, proof of which was that in that game a lot more people came to watch and had more reporters. The opposing team was called Cats, a team that until a few years ago was not very well known in basketball and began to invest more in the sport in recent years as well as the Elite team. The highlights of this team were PG Rick, SF Santiago and SG Lincon, were a team that was very good in attack and had some problems in defense, so all their games used to have many points scored. These three players also used to risk the shots from outside, so with the three players making points of 3, the hit rate was low plus the score at the end of the game ended up high. So before the game started coach Mike reminded David and Harrison to score their opponents well, with Jake the coach was calm, but with Harrison was that he was more worried, it would be a great weakness for that game. And so the game began and the possession of the ball went to the Elite team again, soon Jake received the ball and started the first attack in that game, he advanced calmly to the 3-point line and gave a pass to Harrison. Harrison who received the ball managed to pass through his opponent with a dribble and then made the first points with a layup, Jake''s goal with that pass was to increase Harrison''s confidence after scoring the first points. After Rick started the first attack for the Cats team, just like Jake, Rick had the same idea and passed the ball to Santiago who received the pass and pretended to try the dribble, Harrison who was focused on the defense fell on the feint and moved to try to defend, so Santiago who had a free space made a shot from outside to score the 3 points. Jake calmed down Harrison who was frustrated by being cheated and started another attack on the Elite team, he advanced up the 3-point line and gave Mark a pass to make 2 more points with a layup. The defense of the Cats waiting for Jake to try a shot from outside or move to David to try a shot of 3 was surprised by his decision to attempt a normal attack. Jake knew what the other team was thinking, but he more than anyone knows that it is too risky to watch his attacks only on the shots outside, for that game in which the opponents had a good defense and David also wanted very much to try the shots of out Jake gave a chance. But this game was different the defense of the opponent was weak and David knew to follow more the strategies of the team, so why not to take advantage to get more attacks and points with Mark and Carter and to vary with the shots of 3 points in the attack? So the Elite team''s attack on this game would be unpredictable. Chapter 91 National Championship 3 The game continued like this, sometimes the Cats tried a shot of 3 and hit and on the other side Elite team hit almost all attacks but only made the safest 2 points. As expected by coach Mike the player in whom the Cats were the most chosen to attack was Santiago who was being scored by Harrison, Jake was very good in his defense and David also managed to steal a lot of balls, so Harrison was the weakness of the defense Elite team. Jake was not worried about it, he thought it might be even good, as the distance from the line of 3 in the Middle School was smaller than in the NBA it was normal for skilled players to hit rate was higher. Even so the normal for a skilled player was to hit one of three per average in a game, which means that the Cats team would lose two attacks to make a 3-point. Usually not to lose so many attacks to the teams that did a lot of shots from outside, they looked for players that could receive more rebounds like Center and PF, that was what Jake was calm. In the defense, Mark and Carter were the only ones that disputed who took more rebounds and few finished in the hands of the attack to have another chance. As proved by the end of the first period Jake''s team was ahead of them by 3 points difference, it could be a difference of just one attack for the Cats team, but for Jake, it was a safe advantage. In the second period coach, Mike made a small change and asked Carter to support Harrison to score Santiago, so Santiago''s strike rate began to drop, so Lincon and Rick started to try more shots from outside as well. On the attack side of the Elite team seeing that Mark and Carter had already entered the game more and were confident after making several points, Jake thought it was time for a few shots of 3 as well. He had to rely on Mark and Carter to take advantage of the rebounds and so do not miss the attacks, Jake passed the ball to David and motioned for him to try a shot of 3 if he had the opportunity. David was thrilled with this as well and agreed, David''s reason for not being overly anxious and correctly following the coping strategies the coach and Jake did was that he realized it was the surest way to victory. But that does not mean that he did not like to do what he did before, was that now he asked for permission before, David who had the ball made a feint and then a step back to try a shot from outside and make the 3 points later. The Cats did not expect that in the second period the Elite team that was always ahead in the score was to try a shot of 3, although it was what the Cats wanted before the game started, seeing that they controlled the rebounds, it did not make much sense to this strategy. Rick commanded another attack and gave the ball to Santiago who received the double marking soon after and not to risk giving the pass to Lincon that received and tried the shot of 3, on the pressure of the mark of Mark ended up missing the shot and Mark picked up another rebound. The ball was passed to Jake who began to advance to the attack, so while the Elite team organized in the attack before reaching the line of 3 points as it had no mark, Jake made the Set Shot and was able to make 3 more points for his team. The Cats'' defense did not expect that, and everyone had to admire Jake''s ability to hit a shot from 3 yards without having to jump, it made a totally unexpected move, and it was clear that Jake did it with confidence who could make the points and not just to try. The advantage was even greater, the game continued with the Cats team hitting a few shots of 3 and increased their score, but sometimes erring and losing their attack, on the other side the Elite team tried sometimes the shots of 3 and hardly lost the attacks with Mark taking the rebounds. At the end of the second period, the Elite team led the score by 10 points, as it was 4 attacks for the Cats team he still did not lose hope in the victory, however, taking out the rebounds everyone realized that the Elite team defense was very passive. So in the third period, the Cats team were more concerned about hitting the shots off than the opposing defense, so in a moment of attack, Lincon received the ball and was thinking about how to get space to give the shot of 3 when David saw an opportunity and stole the ball from Lincon. As he had the free court ahead to attack David who had confidence in his speed just ran and then did a layup to increase the lead in 2 more points. Lincon had to acknowledge that he was very inattentive and missed an attack more did not care much about it, then in another attack, Rick who made a feint was preparing to try another shot of 2 when Jake stole his ball, then Jake ran to the attack to make 2 more points with a layup. Almost at the end of the third period Rick tried a pass to Santiago and the ball was intercepted by Jake again who picked up the ball and made 2 more points with another layup, so at the end of the third period the Elite team was ahead of the score by 17 points and they had almost guaranteed victory. With three steals that passed without disturbing the team of Cats who were accustomed to losing attack by their 3-point shots, the course of the game took a path expected for the Elite team''s victory. At the beginning of the fourth period the Cats team that had not yet given up began to rush to try the shots from outside, but as they were already in the fourth period and were trying to shoot outside the entire game players were already tired, so Jake saw that Rick would try a shot anyway and made a block to reject the attack. This was the final blow to the Cats'' willingness to give up trying and so the game was only run by the Elite team in the fourth period and at the end of the game, they had won by 22 points. As it had been shown in this game Elite team showed that it had both attack and defense in that game, so they stood up as one of the favorites in the reporters'' view to win the national championship. But this was still the second game and there were 4 left for the final, so none of the reporters bothered Jake and his colleagues with questions, it was still not too late to interview them later if they got close to the final. Eric also did not ask any questions yet in this national championship and only took the photos for his report, but not for the same reason of the others and but because for him it was not necessary for the moment, after all, he had already asked the basic things and now just near the end more questions were needed. Jake went home soon after the game to tell his mother about his victory, after he told her and saw Eva being relieved they dined and went to rest despite Jake having a much greater resistance with his stats increasing he was very tired after the games. At school, in the following days, many people were happy that their school continued to be featured in various sports, but some people started to get sad after school teams came to the national competition despite good performance, many teams began to arrive at its limits. After all, although the president had invested a lot in sports that first year, it was not enough to be a benchmark in all sports and many teams did not have the strength to fight for the national championship trophy, that should be normal. But for the coaches who just aimed at winning after they were hired this was a disaster, and he could not blame the players because they were just students yet even Jake who gets money from the school could not be guilty if his team lost. So that responsibility that had to be passed on to someone else was kept for the coaches of the teams, so the team coaches, especially the major sports teams who received the most investment, became increasingly anxious about this situation. So coach Mike was spending these weeks much more stressed, Jake wanted to be able to comfort the coach, but since he had also been an employee in a company he knew that everyone had to live with the stress of their responsibilities. Jake wanted to promise that he would win the national championship, but even he did not know what level of skill the strongest opponent of that national championship was, Jake could still see that Carter was not so calm and Carter was the one who knew how strong the champion was. So despite wanting to secure the trophy Jake could not, he had made the mistake of being very presumptuous last year and suffered what he could to play his best and try to win game by game, so the trophy would get closer and closer. Chapter 92 National Championship 4 Soon came the day of the third game of Jake, the opponent of this game would be the Chameleons team, it was a team similar to the Elite team, only that its general strength was smaller. A team with a good stable attack and also a good defense, and the highlight of the team was also the PG who was called John, the PG controlled the attacks well and was also good with the shots of 3. But as it was seen in the last game in which they narrowly won, John was not hiding any of his abilities, so it was a weaker team than the Elite team that had stronger overall strength and Jake also did not show all his skills. But this was not what the reporters and general members of the audience thought came to see the game today, they thought that the two teams had the same strength and that the Chameleons'' team only had more difficulty in the last game because the opponent was more strong than the Cats. This was normal because people were only misinformed and could not see the game of the two teams to compare, in addition, in addition to Eric waiting for the Elite team''s victory in the national championship no reporter cared to research Jake''s performance in the year past. They could not be blamed, reporters only cared to research the results of the teams and not the players in particular, just as Jake did something that could not be considered normal that was to change schools no one thought was his second national championship. Even Carter who came to play the final last year and was considered as one of the best players of the defense has not been recognized by any reporter so far. That was the biggest difference between professional championships and school championships, for reporters there were no individual stars in schools because they did not bother remembering the name of a good player who would grow and leave that school in a few years. Only later when the player continued to make good games until reaching the NBA, after reaching that level yes the players'' names would be remembered and the reporters would even talk about the time when they were younger and stand out in their schools. At this point, Eric was different, from the moment he met Jake he hoped that Jake could become an NBA player in the future, so he was following Jake''s whole career from a young age while doing his job. In fact, Eric had already been promoted to be able to follow bigger and more important games for the good performance that he did in the last year, but Eric decided to wait to follow Jake as much as possible and his decision was correct so far he can do some more stuff and be more praised. The game began and the ball was again for Elite team possession, with Mark on the team it was difficult for the opponent to have the first ball of the game, Jake received the ball and started the first attack of the game. He advanced to the attack calmly and after reaching the 3-point line sent the ball to Mark to make the first two points with a layup. As Mark was good at attacking also he became the safety player for Jake, whenever he passed to Mark he was sure to have 2 points, it was to have a player like Mark of reference that Jake worked so hard to train Owen on his team last year. A good center that could make the points and catch the rebounds was like the right arm of a good PG, a reliable player, although Owen was not that good, it was only with his help that Jake could take his team to the National Championship. It was not for nothing that most of the time the Centers were the players always loved by their teams in the NBA. The game continued and in the first attack of the Chameleons, John arranged quietly passed to the SF of his team that made the 2 points to tie. They were calm and did not fear the Elite team, maybe they thought the same as the reporters that the Elite team had a weak opponent. Jake did not care that he would just play as always and he had confidence that they would win as always, his whole team was strong and so he thought no one stood out much, but opponents seemed to think they did not stand out because they were weak. This difference of vision and mentality made them lose the right was to face each game of the national championship as if it were the last, for Jake if his team was behind the score after a period he was already aware and changed the way to play. But the other teams had a mentality of thinking they could recover easily and only in the last period began to worry, it''s too late to do anything. The two teams had a slow game, nobody forced myth in attack or defense, but as Jake expected even with a game so the Elite team finished the first period with 4 points ahead. And as Jake also hoped the Chameleons team did not care for that small advantage and they continued playing the same way, and after the third period to have finished the Elite team was 14 points ahead, and when the Chameleons team tried to do something it was already too late. And the game ended with the Elite team winning with 18 points on the scoreboard, Eric who was watching the Elite team''s game style since the first regional championship game had already realized this feature of the Elite team game. It was like a quicksand where if you did not pay attention you would sink, and when you realized it was too buried to be able to go out alone, only with the help of someone could the team escape. In basketball that someone could be a star player that was differentiated, only this type of player could do something special and lead the team to victory. But even if such a player appeared to try to turn the game to the Elite team he was also prepared for it, if the opposing team came out of the quicksand Jake was like an eagle flying around to make sure victory. In fact in Eric''s vision, although Jake has all the skills to be a star, he does not have an individualistic personality that the stars usually have, star players know how to play as a team but prefer to do it all alone, Jake was the opposite of him he knew how to do everything on his own, but he would rather trust his team. But for Eric that was just a thing of the age, when Jake got to a big stage like the NBA where the star player stands out more than the whole team he would start to change forever wanting to show off his skills. After the game ended Jake headed straight home to contain his victory over his mother, Eva just as Jake was happier the more Jake won because she knew the national championship trophy was coming. And as the days went by came another week and the Elite team had their fourth win in the national championship, the team they faced in that game was about the same level as the Chameleons team and they were defeated in the same way. Many reporters said that the Elite team was lucky enough to catch the easier opponent among the last 8, but no matter what everyone said Jake''s team reached the top 4 of the national championship, it was impossible for an unmanned team to get so far in a championship. So many coaches and reporters have tried to study the reason why the Elite team can reach the top 4 with no apparent prominence in their first striking appearance in a basketball championship. Reporters and coaches felt that the Elite team was the weakest of the last four, and so reporters began to research more about this team later, and so they discovered many interesting things to do in various subjects. They found that the 5 Elite team players had come from 5 different teams and that everyone playing for this team even with weaker teams was able to reach the national championship and they were invited to the Elite school. Carter was a team that made it to the final last year this year because they lost their top players and can not make it to the national championship, and Jake had a much weaker team than the other 4 and doing most of the points of the team brought them to the national championship. And despite losing only in the first game lost to Carter''s team that reached the final narrowly, so could have gone further if the opponent was another, so everyone would start paying more attention in that PG for the next games. They also discovered that it was not just with the Middle School basketball team, many other sports teams also invited students from other schools and were now all coming to the national championship. This gave a warning to the other schools that started to complain to prohibit that the Elite school could continue doing this for the next years, otherwise they would always be the winners relying on students coming from the schools of the others. Chapter 93 National Championship 5 Of course, the president of the Elite school was already prepared for this and it was not like what he did was illegal, so he just said about the complaints that the students came because they wanted to study in a better school. The president of the Elite school, of course, did not expect to be able to do this every year of inviting players from other schools, so he hoped to have the best teams so they would win the national competitions as early as the first year and so he could attract more students with talent for sports for years to come. And the school got good publicity for being encouraging the sport and trying to better results in school events, such as events like the national championship although it may be important to give only prestige to schools and not prizes in money the school was not suspected for anything. Not even the other schools mistrusted that the reason that the president was getting good new students in various sports was to have a better relationship with the universities, and so the parents of the students will choose their private school instead of the others. Clara and Tiffany despite being very busy still congratulated Jake for reaching the top four of the national championship, if Jake could win or at least reach the final will be great publicity for their companies. Especially in Miami that the population already knows the city more and Jake also from the newspapers, it is good to see that a team from the city has the best school in the country in basketball, so Clara could already imagine another great influx of young people buying materials from his company. Oliver and Joseph also congratulated Jake for getting so far, yet everyone knew that Jake could only be really happy if he won the national championship. Even Jake knew he had been lucky to face a weaker opponent in the last game, yet he was confident in his team''s ability to make a good game and win. So another week went by and the day of the fifth game came, Eva wanted very much to go to this game, but Jake asked that she not be in this game because so he would have more motivation for the final game when she came so Eva accepted and also can stay cool because if Jake was talking like this was because he had confidence in reaching the final. The opposing Elite team in this fifth game was called Dogs and they were a team from a very traditional school that has always been in the top 16 of the national championship in the last 10 years. The players who stood out in the Dogs team were PG Mike, PF Lucas, and SG Troy, Lucas was a player with a style of play that was the opposite of Carter, instead of standing out in the defense he stood out in the attack, so it would be an interesting duel on that part of the court. Troy was a good player both in defense and in the attack, he always performed well, when the ball was passed to him, Troy made the points, he was also the player who stole most balls in the Dogs team. But who was the best player on the team was Mike who always had good performances in the matches and was the main player of Dogs, but in this game, Mike was the player that least worried the Elite team because Jake would be marking him. So the game soon began and the ball went into the possession of the Elite team, Jake received the ball to arm the first attack of the Elite team, David was being strongly marked by Troy so Jake gave the pass to Harrison. Harrison as soon as he received the ball made a feint and managed to dribble and pass the opponent''s SF, then he continued advancing until making the first two points with a layup. Harrison was excited because he knew that with Jake''s personality he would be the most played player in the game as David was well marked, it was another game where he could show off his skills. When Mike set out to make the first attack for his team he planned to pass the ball to his SF to tie the game, but he saw that Harrison looked very dedicated in scoring and so passed the ball to Troy. Troy received the ball made two feints until he managed to fool David and open space to tie the game with a 2-point shot, David was annoyed by that and looked at Jake who just ignored him. Jake who had many years of experience in his past life had already realized that David was very agitated for this game and got even more agitated after the opponent seemed to want to focus on him. Jake knew that if he relied too much on David that he was not calm to attack it would not work, David would put that game in a very fierce and lively rhythm that was not what Jake wanted. The pace of the Elite team''s attack should not change if it were not for the fact that the opponent was stronger which did not seem to be the case for now. Even if he did not want to change the pace of the game if he could not trust David for the attack he would have to change the way he would attack. So when Jake reached the 3-point line instead of stopping to arrange the play or move to David, he just made a feint and when the opponent waited for him to stop he accelerated when Mike realized that Jake was going to try to go to the key Jake had already passed and quickly did the layup and made the 2 points. No one expected Jake to go in to punctuate the inside, so he cheated the whole defense and even Jake''s teammates. So Mike started another attack on the Dogs team, this time everyone was well marked and then he decided to trust Lucas and passed the ball to him. Lucas received the ball and tried to use his body to force the passage, Carter used his strength and did not allow Lucas to approach the basket, as Lucas realized that he could not go to the layup he just turned and did the 2-point shot. Despite being a basic move this turn after being turned to face space with space to give the shot requires a lot of skill and is very difficult to defend as well. So Jake calmed his team that was getting anxious and began to organize the attack, this time Mike was more attentive and so hoped for anything that Jake did, so he just made the pass for Mark to do the layup and 2 more points for the team Elite. The game remained balanced, but even when the first period ended the Elite team was leading the score by 4 points, the Dogs team thought it was normal of the game and did not care. But Eric who was in the stands knew that the Dogs had fallen into the Elite team''s rhythm and trap and if they did not realize it fast, they would lose the game like all previous opponents. But it was obvious to everyone that the Dogs team were the most difficult opponents Elite has had so far, proof of which was that Jake was starting to make more individual moves. Mike also realized that Jake seemed to have many individual abilities, but he was helpless about what to do about it, after all, Jake could attack in several different ways or just give the passes as always. In the second period, the Dogs team tried to push more in the attacks and the defense, but there was nothing in particular that they could do, although it seems that the Elite team was being pressured, the score continued with the advantage the whole game, the pace was always controlled by Jake. The Dogs players realized that only David seemed to lose his temper more easily, but they could not use this to their advantage because Jake also knew this and did not pass the ball to David. David was also starting to get annoyed with this, he did not realize he was getting agitated and despite relying on Jake''s decisions on the court not to like not being given any passes so far. As soon as the second period ended and the elite team was leading by 8 points on the scoreboard, despite the Dogs team knowing something was wrong, as the advantage was still small and they were pressing more and more they thought it could turn the board. Meanwhile, Jake took advantage of having a longer time in the break and called David to a corner, David though not knowing what it was after seeing Jake''s ugly face was quickly near him. "You realize what you''re doing in this game, why am I not passing the ball to you?" David was very annoyed that he was not getting a pass all this game, but when he heard Jake''s question that he seemed to be angry and began to calm down and realize that something was wrong, otherwise he did not see why Jake suddenly did not pass the ball for him. "No, I do not know what I did wrong." "It''s good that you do not really know, what I had said about your habit the other day?" So David remembered the conversation the other day and was embarrassed because he was so shut up and did not have many friends. David never found someone who had the courage to tell him he had a problem. Chapter 94 National Championship 6 But Jake who was the captain of his team had the courage and called David a few weeks ago to talk about a problem. Jake said he realized that sometimes David in some games was very agitated without realizing and soon lost control and lost his head a little and did not defend right and played well with the team and just wanted to know to score points and win. David had never noticed this before Jake mentioned it, and since David''s previous team was full of players who were weaker than him, his teammates did not mind that David did it all by himself sometimes. But since the Elite team had better players like David and also had a PG equal to Jake who liked to be able to totally control the team in the game, they could not ignore it anymore, and Jake had to talk to David. David who did not know this before understood that this was wrong in a basketball game and promised that he would be careful not to do it anymore, but in this game, as the opponent was stronger and challenging, David unknowingly began to lose control and Jake who realized did not pass the ball to him. But Jake knew he could not stay the whole game with a player unless he could count on the attack and so he decided to talk to David. "Now I understood what I did wrong, I''m sorry it will not happen the same in the third period." Seeing that it was not intended and that David apologized and said he was going to change Jake did not want to continue with this subject. "Well, try to control yourself, I need to count on you to attack so we can go to the final." So David nodded vigorously saying that he had understood, he had been thrilled that Jake not only did not quarrel with him but also said that the team needed him for this game, now David would fight more for the win. So in the third period, the Dogs team went all the way up to try to score more points and victory in the game, Elite team defense also put more pressure, especially David who received a vote of confidence and Carter who was annoyed at not being able to steal any ball until now. So Mike who also had confidence in his team passed the ball to Troy, David tightened more in the score but Troy just turned the body and made a 2-point shot, despite striving David''s strength was not in the defense. Jake also knew this and patted David on the back to encourage and started the attack, who saw the game and even though that Jake was comforting David who was having a bad game since he did not pass the ball to David. When Jake reached the three-point line he stopped, Mike was intent on not being passed without realizing it, Troy who scored David was still intent on his defense even though David did not receive any pass in the game. Even though Jake passed the ball to David, so David who had received the confidence of his captain remained calm but was full of energy, and so he made a feint when Troy just shook David sped and made a dribble for Troy. Troy tried to recover but David had already gone and ran to do a layup and his first 2 points in the game, Jake had a lot of expectation in David''s potential if David learned to channel his energy and use in his plays with a calmer mind he would become an excellent SG. Although the Dogs team saw David score they did not care about it, so Mike started another attack and soon advanced to the three-point line, Mike had already realized that David seemed full of morale and will for some reason and so passed to Lucas attack. Carter saw that Jake should have managed to calm David at half-time and thought the victory was practically decided, but he felt ashamed not to have stolen any ball in that game as soon as Lucas received the ball Carter instead of tightening the mark gave space. Lucas, seeing that he had space, did not have to turn or defend the ball and just gave the shot and scored the 2 points, Jake went and started another attack and passed the ball again to David who received and gave the shot from outside to make the 3 points. Mike resumed the attack and as soon as he reached the 3-point line saw Lucas with space again and so passed the ball, Lucas received the pass and made the 2-point shot. Jake had confidence in Carter and did not care much about it, Jake left for the attack and Mike and Troy prepared for David''s attack, Jake made for the first time the pass movement he invented the and in time the ball went to David went to Harrison who was already unmarked. The pass was so surprising that Harrison almost did not hold the ball, but he soon concentrated and soloed the mid-range shot to make the 2 points. Most of the players and the public thought it was an accident and they did not care much, only Jake was more excited because it was the first time that he made a move of him in a game, and it seemed useful, of course, that would not always be so, but at least the defense would not try to intercept his pass without thinking twice so as not to be deceived. Then the game remained the same and so when the third period ended the Elite team was ahead by 10 points, at this point in the game the Dogs team were already starting to get desperate to recover on the board and take the advantage. During the third period, Lucas was the focus of the Dogs in the attack, so Lucas was starting to feel tired, Carter, on the contrary, seems to have taken advantage of this third period with the advantage to rest and now besides Jake was unmatched in endurance, Carter was the one who had the most energy. In fact, Jake had long since accumulated more than 100 stamina bars, but at this point, he did not need more for the Middle School games, so besides spending a few to fulfill his desire to run longer on the treadmill he just kept. Jake knew that when he got to the NBA with the intensity of the games even a thousand bars of stamina would be few for him, so he needs to keep doing the shots of 3 when he had free time to accumulate more. So at the beginning of the fourth period, Mike passed the ball to Lucas who more relaxed now tried to give the 2-point shot, Carter who was waiting for it came up and gave a block, so Jake took the ball and ran to do the layup and more 2 points. After this move, Mike began to hesitate sometimes without knowing who to pass the ball, in one of these hesitations Jake stole the ball and ran to score another 2 points, so in the middle of the fourth period the Elite team already led by 14 points, the team of the Dogs began to discourage. It was to see that they did not have much opportunity to recover in the game and to obtain the victory, so in another of the attacks of Dogs Carter stole the ball of Lucas and only thus it felt a little better in the game, Jake that received the ball made a bait behind his back and gave Mike a dribble and then fired a shot from outside to make 3 more points. Many of the reporters had already noticed and even commented on this in their stories, Jake was a player who was very aware of his abilities and so in some games he had an average of more than 80% correctness in his attacks, because he only attacked when he was pretty sure he was going to get it right. So this was incredible, even if his media was a bit lower today, Jake was the player who had scored the most points against the Dogs, so today the biggest contribution to his team''s victory was Jake. Eric thought that now that Jake scored again normally despite not being at peak performance, he looked more like an MVP than the regional championship and the state championship, and in fact, many commented that if the Elite team won the trophy, Jake was the one who deserved the MVP. If that happened it would show that the organization I gave the MVP award to Jake at the regional and state was right because it would be a bad joke if the MVP of the national championship did not win the smaller prizes before him. Thus the game ended after a while with the victory of the Elite team that gained an advantage of 18 points, even with this expressive advantage everyone could say that it was not the case of the team of the Dogs being a weak team but of the Elite team being strong and now favorite to the trophy. Jake who was very happy after celebrating with his teammates for a while rushed home, he had to tell his mother that he should be anxious that in a few weeks she would have to go to the final game because he won. Although the reporters thought about stopping Jake for an interview, it did not make much sense since they did not know who the opponents of the final were to ask the questions, and in a few weeks would be the right time after the final. Chapter 95 National Championship 7 After hearing that Jake had won Eva was very pleased, she was very worried about this particular game, despite being confident in Jake''s ability, Eva could not forget what happened last year in which although she was confident the team your son still lost. It was good that in the next game she could go personally to watch the game, it was very distressing for her to have to wait at home for news of her son, in that final game even if he asked her not to be Eva would still, for her this game it was so important that it was like Jake''s graduation from Middle School. When the first week went by Jake knew that many of his acquaintances had confirmed presence for this game, Joseph would go with his father Oliver to see the final and Anna also confirmed that he would when he heard of Eva''s important game. Tiffany and Clara had confirmed that they would go to this game too, the two of them were happy mainly because of Jake''s success and the realization of his desire to be closer to winning the national championship, and they were happy because they knew that only Jake was in the final of this championship was already a great promotion for both companies. As well as friends of Jake and like the representatives of the companies that sponsor him both had to attend this game even though because of the improvements of the companies they were very busy. But what made Jake truly surprised and happy was that his teammates at his old school last year said they would also go to the game to see Jake be the champion of the national championship. He was happy that his teammates from last year would go to that game to support him, which Jake did not know was that although he was not happy with his team''s results last year, his teammates were very pleased with the who succeeded and were grateful to Jake who was responsible for all the good that happened. In those weeks before the games, Jake did something different from what he usually did and trained every day with his teammates, so everyone saw that his captain was struggling more than they did which gave a great deal of encouragement to all Team workout more. Coach Mike also passed several instructions on what the players could do in some hypothetical situations that could happen in the final so they would not be nervous and also went through the tactics trained earlier so there were no mistakes in the final. Jake had to admit that he admired Coach Mike''s knowledge, he thought that someone with that ability despite not being able to get to train any college team was at least good enough to train his high school team, that left him curious who the school chose to train the high school team with all that investment made. In that time he also took time to talk and play chess with Oliver, even though the two became really friends Jake and Oliver were very busy people, often Oliver also had important business to solve in his company. After all, even if lawyers have a lot more time to stay home sometimes cases start to accumulate and have to be resolved, even the rich sometimes have lawsuits that they have to resolve. Jake also after he got sponsorship and decided to travel on vacation with his mother did not have much free time either, but as a major game was coming Jake wanted to play some chess with a friend to relax a bit. And so the days went by and the day of the final came, in the morning Eva was again preparing a breakfast full of things to eat, Jake also felt that her mother''s food had gotten much better after a few weeks that she began to do those classes. Jake was sitting on the couch staring at the wall with red-faced eyes for not having slept well last night, no matter how confident he was in his team it was impossible for him not to be nervous and eager for this end game that was the last chance to be champion of the national championship. Probably both teams and the two coaches would be the same, Jake was able to relax a little after even his mother was more relaxed for that game. "Jake you have to be calmer, I know better than anyone how much you trained and did your best to get to this end, now it''s no use getting nervous, I know you can win this game and I''ll be there to see." "Thank you, Mom, I do not know why I''m so nervous, so it''s no use trying to be quiet on my own, as I''ve fallen asleep now, I do not care, I just know that when the game starts I''ll calm down." Eva also knew what her son was like and just smiled and said nothing else, then they had breakfast and went to the game site together. After arriving there Jake greeted the coach and all his teammates and began to warm up, the two teams had already arrived even though it was still a long time before the game started. When it was not enough time for the final to begin Jake called all his teammates to give a word before the game began. "I do not know what all the reasons were for you to bring your families to Miami and go to Elite school, but one thing I know, all of you who are here love basketball and want to be the national champions as much as I am." "Do not treat this as the journey of this season, for all of us here the path we went through until this final did not start this season, but throughout all our 3 years of Middle School." "I do not know if any of you intend to be a professional player in the future, but I want you to remember that if we win that game in 1992, we''ll be the best basketball players in the world of our age." "It will be a glory that can be remembered throughout our lives, so let''s give our best in every minute of this game, I will not keep anything and play my best and I hope the same of each of you, we will win." After Jake finished speaking they were all very excited and the morale got to the maximum they could, they had the confidence that their team was the best and they trusted their champion who was the best player and today would do their best then it was just to play and win. After making the speech and everyone vow to finish warming up, Jake called David to the corner once more. "David, I''m counting on you in this game, I know you''re good, even if you can not do a lot in defense, pay in the attack, and use all the energy you have to make better plays and do not get lost in that game." "You can trust me, in this game I''m going to give my best, I want to be the best in the world after that game too." So Jake was pleased he was not lying when he said that if they could win today they would be the best in the world in their age range, so Jake the United States was the place with the best basketball players in the world, so the best were the best in the world. Everyone in the stands were cheering and very excited for this particular game, many reporters had also come to make the coverage of the final if the players could make dunks also this game could even be broadcast on television. Nobody else thought that the Elite team did not deserve to be in the final and much of the stand even praised them, it was cool to see a dark horse come to the final, it was a team nobody knew and so nobody even the Miami media expected them could reach so far. Who was happier in the stands beside Clara and Tiffany was Eric, just for having come to this game without mentioning that he expected the Elite team to win this game the matter was already guaranteed and so he had won a lot with his bet to follow the team since the first game of the regional. It was a matter that would be seen across the country now after it was published, Eric was now more than convinced that following Jake was the right decision he made, after that matter, his position as a journalist would be more consolidated, and in some years he felt he could again cover Jake''s games. Then when the game was about to begin Jake went to his seat and put on the bandana, the bracelet, the arm protector and the protective equipment on the knee and cinnamon all with the trademark of the companies, the referee just took a look at it and left in peace, now the uniform that had a shirt and blue shorts was with several blank equipments in the arms, legs, and head. Although knowing that they were protective equipment would not be prohibited by the referee he decided to just put everything just before the game, so nobody would have time to say anything, and he was right, probably if he had come to the court that way the referee was asked to take this out before the game. Chapter 96 National Championship 8 Even though the reporters on the bleachers knew it was a kind of propaganda, no one could say anything, Jake was now about six feet tall, so all these things made him stand out and have his own style, not bad because he was the captain and the best player on his team. At that time there were not many players who did something like Jake and used it with their own style, so it was quite original for a youngster to do it, not to mention that everything was something that could improve his performance on the court, so everything accepted very well. Tiffany and Clara who were seeing this should be the people who were happier about it, even though they both had this idea they would never ask Jake to do it, which is why they both chose him as the face of the company even though he was so young. Jake did not need an advertising team to figure out the best time to make good publicity, even the idea of ??putting the equipment in just a few moments before the game started was a hard thing to think about. The opponent of the final that the Elite team would face was the Foxes team, it was the team that had beaten Carter''s team last year as well and so was the third time they were in the final, even so, all Elite team even Carter who knew who the opponent was, thought they would win. The highlights of the team were practically the whole team, PG Jack was a complete player for his age and would be an example of a perfect PG if Jake did not show up and raise both the level, he knew to do everything Jake knew, but some levels further down, he still helped lead the Foxes to the final. The center of the Foxes team was called Max, Max was also very skillful and well in getting rebounds too, was the player that had the highest rebounding average, but the reason was that the Elite team made little mistakes and everyone was good at catching rebounds too, so he did not have many opportunities. The SG that was called Sam was also very good, this in the media view was better than David, and if it was not better at least it was of the same level of skill. The team SF was Bryan and was also another player that the reporters thought was better than Harrison both in defense and in the attack, the team PF was weaker than Carter so it was not a highlight. So this had everything to be a difficult game if Jake had not said that he would give his best, now although this is a tight game the Elite team should win. The media highlight for this game was that 5 players in this final were good at 3-point shots, Jake and David on the side of the Elite team and Jack, Sam and Bryan for the Foxes team, so this promised to be a game full of points. So the game started with the ball going into Elite''s possession, then Mark passed the ball to Jake to organize the first attack of the final, Jake left for the attack and the whole team went along. The Foxes team did all the research before the game and knew that the Elite team was fast, so scoring in the middle of the court was not the smart option, so they waited to score in the 3-point line. Jake, who had to make the attack, had to consider a lot more at the time of giving the passes after all the opponent was very good in defense, he passed first to David who already received the ball and the opponent approached to put pressure on the defense. David who was calmer thanks to Jake''s warning returned the ball to Jake who soon passed to Harrison, this took the unsuspecting defense and so Harrison went to score the first two points with the layup. This already showed to Jake that the normal passes would not work in this game where the attack might not have the space to make the moves, but that was true for both sides, Jack started the first attack for the Foxes team and soon Jake pressure on the defense, Jack had no ability to dribble and forced the pass to Sam. Sam received the pass and David came to mark, but Sam was able to pass to Bryan who dribbled in Harrison and tied the game. It would be a game played in each attack, Jake did not want a final that he could not control, but this game Jake had seen that the opponents were better in the attack than his teammates, so it would be a difficult game. Jake started another attack and started to make the signs and his teammates quickly changed their positions so the ball was passed to Mark who received with a little freedom and can go up to do the 2 points with the layup. Jack attempted to start the attack on his team, but they were all being better scored and he did not want to risk it, yet as a team fighting to become champion the Foxes team had their strategies to vary the attacks. So Jack, Sam, and Bryan left the area where the Elite team''s defense was the 3-point line and thus began another attack formation before the Elite team''s defense could understand what was happening. then made the shot from outside to score the 3 points. This was another strategy of attack that the Foxes used when the defense was very good, they used their players who knew to make the shots of 3 points and so if the defense did not accompany they would make the shot from outside and if the defense accompanied they would take advantage of spaces that would be opened in the defense to make the points of 2. Jake understood what they were trying to do and so decided to continue with the defense well posted after all the shots from outside were much more unstable and so the score would not change much. Jake who started the attack for his team soon reached the 3-point line, but instead of stopping he made a feint and soon passed Jack with a dribble and ran to do the layup and 2 more points for his team. Jack tried a quick attack in response, but it seemed that the Elite team was faster and so he had to try a 3-point shot and missed the shot, it was like Jake said in a final game mainly where his opponents were young and not had stability would have many mistakes in his shots. Jake started another attack and so he started up Jack and made the dribble, Max tried to mark Jake that would go to the 2 points and Jake passed the ball to Mark to do the layup and the 2 points. This game was like Eric said when Jake played a difficult game he preferred to go to the individual plays instead of trusting his teammates, which in the end was right, of course, the different thing was that if they tried to make a double game Jake could rely on his free companion. This was a team game that highlighted Jake''s individual talent, but that did not mean he was doing it all in the game alone, so it was an open game. At the end of the first period the Elite team was ahead by 3 points, one advantage of a basket and despite being like every game the Elite team was not calm, they were in front of the scoreboard only because the opponent missed, but the defense did not it was working so it was a matter of luck. Max and the opposing PF did not receive a pass I the whole first period and all attacks were 3 points, although most were wrong and Mark was there to catch most of the rebounds they were having to rely on the opponent''s error. In the attack they missed less but were counting on Jake''s individual moves, if they played a double game in him he would pass to whoever was free what happened several times if it were not for Jake they would also be stuck for the defense of the opponent. Reporters also thought that the game was now in the hands of the Foxes team if they can hit more shots from outside the victory can be decided by luck. Jake was the only one who did not think so, in the few times that the opponent opened a few points of the advantage he passed the ball to David or he even tried the 3-point shot to take the advantage, it was a difficult game, but still, win if he could count on his teammates. In the second period, David also left to disrupt the adversary with Jake in the shots of outside, thus the adversary still could not invade the defense. Jake also continued with his individual attack style, the defense was helpless because they could not stop Jake, so they still tried to stop him from arriving to do the layup and so others were free to make the points. The Foxes team''s defense felt it was easier for Jake''s teammates to err even if they were free than Jake in the layup, and the game showed that they were right, pressure from the final was making the Elite team nervous and wandering more. Chapter 97 National Championship 9 Jake and Coach Mike knew that too, but this was normal in an end game and it was better to support their teammates so that they gained confidence and calm down to stop passing the ball and make the points alone that would facilitate the defense work. The Foxes team was also suffering from the pressure and so missed more shots from outside, the difference was that when they hit they made more points which diminished the pressure of errors, the defense was just having to watch the game. The game continued in the same way, but when the game ended the Foxes team were 1 point ahead, it was the first time the Elite team was behind the scoreboard, Jake was also helpless because it was not a problem with the defense and yes the attack missed more. Jake began to force more in the attack and the defense of the Foxes who were feeling the pressure when Jake attacked it would only stop after doing the layup and even the double game did not stop him anymore, this the first time that Jake was using all the force your stats to dominate the game. It was because the opponents were strong and so he knew he would not hurt anyone, so with fewer mistakes, the Elite team finished the third period ahead by 2 points, so before the fourth period everyone was very tired by the intense pace of the game and even Jake was feeling tired. It was normal, Jake so far had made almost 46 points that were more than half that the entire team did in the game, as the reporters predicted this was a game in which the attacks dominated and so the score was already approaching 100 points. Jake soon ate his Stamina Bar and so completely regained his energy, yet he realized that despite being tired the Foxes'' hit rate on shots from outside was increasing with confidence. On the side of the Elite team, the players were getting more and more nervous and Jake could not calm them anymore, even the coach was helpless, the incredible thing was that David was well and helping Jake more. If the team was playing as always they would already have a good advantage, it seemed that if they could not defend their confidence well they would also fall. Unlike the players on the court, all the fans and reporters were very excited about a tight and disputed game as this Clara and Tiffany moved to sit next to Eva and calm her that was nervous with the progress of the game. Joseph and his father Oliver who also understood the game realized that the Elite team was very nervous and was depending on Jake to move ahead, it was a difficult game and Jake seemed to be starting to get tired too. The reporters were arguing that if the Elite team beat Jake would surely win the MVP award when Eva heard it, she calmed down and felt proud too. If the reporters were commenting this was because it would probably happen, Clara was also happy about it and thought that later she should thank Matthew for introducing Jake to her, just what he had already done for her company was already worth the contract to university. Anna, who was watching the game on her own, also found Eva and went to sit next to her, although she was cheering for Jake, Anna did not understand anything about the game and so she only hoped when Jake, who was dressed differently from everyone, picked up the ball, which happened to be the same as everyone in the bleachers. The Foxes team coach was cheering on his players who were already thrilled with the game that was close to the final as their school went to the final every year they would not be as nervous as their opponents and even brightened up by their nervousness. The coach was telling everyone that Jake must have been exhausted so he could not play in that last period the way he did until now, everyone on the Foxes team was starting to get angry with Jake. It was impossible for a person to run all over the court and still attack almost alone for 3 periods without getting tired, but Jake did not seem to mind and never slowed down, if it was not for Jake they would already have a great advantage in the game but now it was the time they waited. The last period is always what everyone spends more energy, so in addition to Jake, they hoped that the opponents also tired and so the victory would be theirs. The fourth period soon began and the Foxes team soon advanced to the attack and Jack passed the ball to Bryan who risked the shot from outside and managed to score the 3 points putting his team in front of the score again. Jake got the ball and started another attack, the opponents were anxious to see the moment he would be completely tired because at that point the trophy would be theirs, Jake went up to the 3-point line and passed the ball to Mark who with space turned and did the layup to score another 2 points. That was what irritated the players of the Foxes team, Jake was a good PG without a shadow of a doubt when he received the attention of all the defense and finds an opportunity he always passes the ball on time. With all the weary and nervous players Jake now only passed the ball to David and Mark who were now the 2 best players on the team, Mark even being nervous did not err so close to the basket. In addition to Jake, the calmer was Carter, but as the defense only had to watch the opponents give the shots out he just picked up the rebounds, it was impossible for Jake to pass the ball to Carter who was not good at attacking in an important game like this. And the game continued to play point by point so at the beginning of the fourth period the opponents felt that Jake had rested a bit and was giving his last attacks before getting tired, but after half of the fourth period, they found that they were wrong and that the resistance had no end. The reporters were also impressed by this, it was not normal for a player of the age of Jake to have all this volume of the game without tiring, so the game continued a stalemate until the inevitable happened. Who was getting tired now was David, Mark, and Harrison who were not holding up the pressure of the final and the high pace of play, so Jake who was now alone in the attack was easier to score and the advantage of the Foxes team was increasing. Jake was also starting to get anxious because he was watching the national championship trophy slipping away from his hands, even with his skill and stamina Jake could not get past 3 in the defense and then do the layup and score the points in the attacks. So close to 1 minute to finish the final game Jake''s team was losing by 8 points, Jack, Sam and Bryan were exhausted too, but this was there close to winning time so they were still hitting the shots from outside. Jake still had hope though he was losing the game, close to 1 minute to end the game Bryan missed the 3-point shot and Carter who still had power passed the ball to Jake who had not come back to score, Jake received the ball and ran to the court of attack. As Jake was getting all his energy back from eating a Stamina Bar before the fourth period started it was impossible for the slower and more tired opponents to follow him in a race. But since there was only 1 minute left and they still had 8 points in front they did not care much, Jake also knew this and so stopped running in the 3-point line and gave a 3-point shot instead of running to the layup and the 2 points. It was riskier like that, but with the game near the end Jake had to risk to win, and his shot from outside came in and so Jake could take 3 points off the Foxes'' advantage by dropping to 5 points. The crowd rocked with this move and everyone was already cheering for Jake and the Elite team, but the Foxes players did not mind the attack. Jack started another attack and only moved forward, they just had to spend the time of this attack and hit their attack by doing the 3 points, so the game will be over, Jake was marking Jack. Jack spent time and did not want to risk facing Jake and Sam was marked by David, just as throughout the game he decided to choose Bryan who was marked by Harrison who besides being the worst in defense of the Elite team was also exhausted at that point about the game. So when the time of possession of the ball was at the end he passed quickly to Bryan, but Jake who was also attentive to the play that could set the final also knew that Jack would choose Bryan who was the safest choice and stepped forward at the time of the pass. With his reflexes, Jake can intercept Jack''s pass to Bryan and then ran to the court of attack to avoid losing a second of time. Jack was shocked, this was the first turnover he had all season, and this stolen Jake ball occurred in the last seconds of the last period of the national championship final. Chapter 98 National Championship 10 Jake that ran like never before did not receive the mark of the opposing team that was in shock by this stolen of his ball, so he as before stopped in the line of 3 points and made the shot of the outside again to score 3 more points and to diminish the advantage to 2 points. The grandstand that watched the game was crazy, this final that seemed to be already defined was now an attack to define the champion when Jake''s ball entered the basket Foxes team players woke up from their states of shock and everyone looked at the time. It was 35 seconds to finish the game if the Foxes team made the points the game would end this time the Elite team opened the defense and everyone was preparing to score who was with the ball. This time even the Foxes team were nervous, to make sure they did not lose they left Max back, so if Jake somehow stole the ball for the last attack it was Max''s mission to stop him. Jack had his confidence shaken by this last move, but it was still he who commanded the attack, Jake was not marking him closely as if he were challenging him to shoot himself if Jack had the guts. Even though Jack did not lose his temper anymore he was still forced to hear several people from the grandstand calling by the name of Jake in the crowd, Jack again spent the time because it was the only thing they could do. When the time of possession was over, the Foxes team were scared to risk the shot from outside and took advantage of the open defense of the Elite team, Jack gave the pass to Sam that had left David behind in the mark, this was missing 8 seconds to end the game. When Sam would do the layup to score the 2 points and ensure the victory, Carter appeared and did not try to make the block and was soon doing the fault to prevent Sam from making the 2 points. So Sam had to hit the 2 Free Throw attempts to win the game, he hit the first one that left all of the Foxes team happy and the Elite team nervous, Jake was waiting in the middle of the court and Max was still on the defense court. Maybe the pressure was too great Sam missed the second attempt, Mark took the rebound and gave a long pass to Jake who was waiting in the middle of the court, 6 seconds left to finish the game and the Foxes team were 3 points ahead. Jake got the ball and ran to the attacking block, Max was waiting for this and got ready, Bryan who had come back tried to push Jake to make the foul and win the game but Jake held him off with his strength and did not fall. So the referee let the game continue, missing 4 seconds Jake reached the 3-point line a bit far from the line and further away from Max if Jake hit the shot from outside the Elite team would tie and so the game would go to overtime. If it was for overtime the Elite team would probably win because Jake who made the points was full of energy and everyone on the Foxes team was exhausted, so Max did not want to risk it and so he tried to hit Jake''s arm after he had jumped to do miss and prevent the 3 points. But even with Max hitting Jake''s arm after the shot from outside was executed the ball still went and Jake hit the 3 points drawing the game in the final, had 1 second on the clock still and beyond the 3 points, the referee scored the foul for the Elite team made by Max. Seeing that everyone in the crowd was crazed with this unexpected end of the game, Jake in the last minute of the game hit 3 shots from outside making 9 points to recover from the 9-point advantage that seemed guaranteed the advantage for the Foxes team. Carter risked a foul to stop Sam''s attack at the end and it worked well since Sam missed one of two attempts but Max, who tried to do the same, could not stop Jake from making the 3 points and drawing as he also gave the chance of victory to the Elite team. Those who understood basketball were impressed by the physical form of Jake that only got that chance to run and to force 2 times more than the other players and still have the persistence to hit that shot from the outside even having suffered two attempts of lack. Not many players would be able to continue running after being shoved, so now Jake had the chance to lead the team to victory. So Jake received the ball and waited for the referee''s authorization to make his Free Throw attempt and lead his team to victory, Jake received the authorization and so calmed down with his strongest ability that was always SS gave confidence to Jake who made the shot and hit the post on the scoreboard. When Jake hit the Free Throw and so made the point, his team went ahead and the clock that was less than 1 second cleared, so the Elite team was this year''s national championship. Elite team players started shouting and celebrating and Jake even knelt on the court after hitting his last shot, everyone was crying from the two teams, the Elite team cried with joy and relief and celebrated the victory so disputed. The Foxes team wept with sadness, the trophy were in the hands of their team, just a little effort and they would win, with 8 points ahead with 1 minute to finish the final they relaxed and paid the price. Jack, Max, and Sam who made mistakes in the last minute mainly and Bryan also felt guilty for missing this game. On the side of the Elite team, although they were celebrating and happy now, the players knew that because of them they had almost lost this final if they had played normally with the perfect performance of Jake the victory would leave naturally, but the pressure affected the performance of the players. The best performers were Mark and Carter who despite not having much attention in the game did not make mistakes and in the end, helped in the defense and rebound for Jake to win. So after Jake got off the ground and stopped crying his teammates lifted Jake and threw him up in celebration a few times, everyone knew that without his captain they would not have won. After being put on the ground and having celebrated with his teammates, as the organization of the championship would still take time to arrange delivery of the trophy, Jake ran to where his mother was and celebrate with her. Eva was also crying along with the players, she knew how much Jake wanted to win this game and she overheard the reporters saying from the second period of the game that Jake''s team would lose. As a mother she was distressed and did not want to see her son crying again for being defeated and it was her last chance to win this championship at Middle School, and what made her sadder was to hear that her son was playing well, but the rest of the team did not. It was like listening to what happened last year again when Jake played well and carried the team on his own and the others were not doing their part, and Jake had said several times that this year was different than they had a team. The only thing that made her calm down and continues to cheer was that all the fans were cheering and saying the name of her son too, Anna, Clara, and Tiffany were also distressed and happy for the fans to give recognition. So she can only relax when in the end her son managed to seek victory, now crying she hugged Jake, Anna, Clara, and Tiffany also embraced the two was an exciting moment after an exciting game. Eric was on the side just taking the best pictures and filming everything, he had already been able to interview the other players while the other reporters only went after Jake to get nothing, all Elite players said they were happy, they made a dream and that this victory was thanks to his captain. So Eric was very happy with the end of his long story, but he thought it would be worth it, it was hard for an entire team full of talented players to praise a player with the same words and in separate interviews. Jake''s team-mates last year found the game exciting and saw that even at his new school Jake was still leading his team to victory, they were very happy that Jake had managed to be the champion, he deserved it. Joseph and Oliver also thought for a long time in this game that Jake could not win after getting behind the score were excited and Oliver who was older felt that Jake really could be an NBA star in the future if he had a few more games like that. After celebrating with his mother his friends Jake answered some questions to the reporters who left him satisfied, then Jake reunited his players who were with their families and took them to greet the Foxes team players who made a great and clean game, and at the end of that game, they deserved all the respect. Chapter 99 End of a Time 1 After greeting their opponents began the celebration, first the Foxes team received the silver medal and were much applauded by the cheer, then all Elite team players received their gold medal and Jake can finally get the long-awaited trophy. Three years of fighting and a lot of training for Jake and his teammates, they even changed schools and went to another environment to finally be a national champion. Jake later as everyone expected received the MVP award of the season, after this end, there would hardly be complaints from Jake receiving the MVP award and thus also ended his claims to have received this award in the regional and state championship. Everyone has grown accustomed to Jake with all those sports gear and accessories with bandana, bandage, arm and body armor, and everyone wanted to take a picture of him to put on the paper. After all the proceedings were over Jake thanked everyone who came to watch this game and prepared to leave with his mother. Eric, who waited all the time Jake was alone, finally approached and congratulated Jake for the win and wanted to do an interview. "Congratulations Jake, a beautifully played game that despite having been more difficult for his team really makes the trophy more valued thus, and congratulations also for being chosen as the deserved MVP." "Thank you, it was really a game played, but I''m very happy that we came out winners." "Your team did not show the same good performance they had in other games, if they had played better and were less nervous you think the result of the game would be calmer?" "Today was the final, all the players in my team had a lot of pressure in this game, they left their schools and came to the Elite school to have an opportunity to win the national championship." "In addition, they are all 13-year-olds and so in this game, they could not perform better, but I''m sure they all learned and matured a lot." "But the Foxes team players and yourself are young too and have performed well in that game." "The Foxes team players play on a team that has a greater experience in playing national championship finals, moreover, I''m sure even then they had a little nervousness and that affected their performance." "I am the captain of my team, but I have had this position because I have a leadership position in the team and my mind is much more stable, so expected of me in this game by the coach and my team-mates who gave me that position was for me to stay calm." "In addition, I do not think that just the nervousness was the cause of my team''s poor performance, also had the great strategy of offensive opponents who made a tactic that our team was not prepared to respond to the height and so our defense was lost in this game." Jake as always said everything he thought about the game, he really thought this and the strategy of the Foxes team was a risky yes, but served to leave the Elite team players insecure and thus destabilize the mentality of the players. If it had not been for the Elite team''s attack, in the case of that Jake game the winner would have been another, and with Jake''s team playing style that was really the best countermeasure. "Would you like to thank someone special for this victory?" "I would like to thank my teammates who did a good job and without them we could not even have reached the final, I would also like to thank my mother who supported me at all times and without her I would not be here, and I would also like to thank Clara and Tiffany and their Sports 100 and Natural Sports companies who sponsored me and allowed me to focus on the court." "Okay, let''s take another picture of you with your mother as always and I as well as the other reporters we expect to see you in the league next year, but at high school this time." So Jake and Eva took another picture together and then said goodbye to Anna and the others and headed home, Jake was exhausted after the game. Although the Stamina Bar retrieves all of Jake''s energy does not restore the tension in the muscles which is obvious otherwise there would be no sense to use after training, but if it were not for the help of the system that protects Jake''s body from injuries he could not take all this burden. Despite being exhausted Jake was very satisfied with everything that had happened today and in these last years, although some problems happened, it was still important that Jake got what he wanted to conquer. But today was an important game and that he almost lost, could see that his luck could not help in all things, he would never expect that despite this year had a good team, that all were so poor in this important game. As he told Eric he understood what happened and he was sure that after this game everyone would grow up with this experience and they would not make another mistake like that, but he just let it go because he had won even though he knew that if he lost he would be resentful of his colleagues for a long time. When the game ended and Jake knew he had won the game he heard something from the system, but at that moment he could not answer otherwise it would seem that he had gone crazy talking to himself. "Fate, what happened to you calling me after the game?" [This was a game that could be easy for you and your team, but it turned out to be an important test and a difficult game for you, missing only 1 minute to finish the game with the opponent 8 points in front of the scoreboard, you were in a situation of defeat.] [But if you want to become a professional basketball player and more than anything in a star, you could not give up just by being at a disadvantage in a game, so by not giving up you piqued more of your potential in the last moments to bring victory for your team.] [So you have unlocked a new achievement that has to be done in 5 steps, with that victory you took the first step.] [[Win a game that seemed lost using all your skills and reversing the impossible.]] [[1 point increased for all your stats, improving all abilities below rank A in one level.]] Jake was surprised because he did not expect to be able to increase his stats before the NBA, but he understood that what he can achieve in today''s game in the vision system was the beginning of what was needed to be a star. "So show me my statistics window now Fate" [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 13 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.68 m] [Weight: 65 Kg] [Force 21] [Agility 22] [Resistance 23] [Intelligence 54] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control A] [Man to Man B] [Dribble A] [Layup A] [Set Shot SS] [Block B] [Pass S] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So his strength finally returned to what it was in his past life, with this Jake finally felt that he was really starting to improve, and with his current skills he was confident in facing a high school player with his pass and a shot of 2 and 3 he could have a seat on the main team. So everything that was worrying Jake in these last months were solved after the end of today, were still more than 6 months to start high school until Jake could improve and until his height that was the main problems to play in high school too would increase. The other day when Eva saw Jake coming down to breakfast she felt that something big had changed in her son from last night to now, but guessing it had something to do with the national championship victory she stopped worrying about. It was good to see that her son had become more confident, for her Jake would always be a child, but Eva knew that Jake had great responsibilities since last year, now the clubbing was no longer a joke, but it was a career in which Jake began to walk and could not give up on the way. So a few weeks have passed since the Elite team went to the national championship, even though Jake had been very prominent and was even highly praised by the media in general for a future star, at school it was not quite like that. This year as the Elite school attempted to excel in all sports, although failed in some they still had won the national championship in several major sports, it is clear that since it was a private school linked in high school, the championships won by the team high school team overshadowed the results of the Middle School team. So few people at school this time cared for Jake and who attracted the most attention was the older basketball team. Jake, of course, did not care much about this, he had won the national championship first by himself as a personal wish, then by the companies of Clara and Tiffany and thirdly to fulfill his contract with the school, in no time he did this to receive compliments. Chapter 100 End of a Time 2 In the classroom the situation was even worse, besides Joseph, all Jake''s classmates avoided talking to him not to get on the bad side of the teachers, everyone in the room knew that Jake was a little chased. What was good is that the Elite school was a private school, so the teachers had to be fair in applying and correcting the tests, otherwise Jake would hardly be still the one with the best grades. Jake as usual in his house received the newspaper and an order with a poster of the photos made in Eric''s final, Eric''s report was so complete about the Elite team that was the national champion and about Jake that was the MVP too, which was sold in several states of the country and not just in Miami. And with Clara and Tiffany shelling out a little compensation the cover photo of Jake was full of announcements from both companies, this has helped to further improve sales across the country and further consolidate the name brands in Miami that newspaper readers have they remembered Jake. After all, a young man who achieved several achievements to the city in two years is hardly remembered, this left the Elite school president very satisfied and happy to have hired Jake for his team, he received the information that Jake had been the main responsible for the victory at the final. In fact out of respect for the school that Jake did not take off his uniform at the time of the photo to increase the advertising of the companies of Clara and Tiffany, how the school paid for him to be there Jake also considered them a sponsor. Now Jake''s last concern before finishing Middle School was that this year he would have a special birthday party for his mother. Eva was someone who was a bit depressed before and did not have many friends, so every year she asked Jake to make a simple commemoration with just the two of them in the family. Jake also thought it was cool since by the time it''s your mother''s birthday you can not have a party in another country like him since it''s right in the middle of class. But this year was different, Eva now had a few acquaintances from cooking class and was close friends with Clara, Tiffany, and Anna, so Jake would not give up having a party this year, besides, Jake wanted to give a gift a car to his mother this year. In this last year Jake always came receiving the money of the sponsorship of the companies and also of the school, and already gave to gather close to 400,000 dollars, Jake had some plans for this money and as he did not know what his mother still wanted him to buy a car that is not so expensive and that it can not deny since it is useful to them. Although it did not happen in this life Jake remembered trying to give a beautiful watch to his mother in his past life, it cost close to ten thousand dollars and Jake had joined with great difficulty and then Eva refused the gift and forced Jake to return. So he always had to think of something his mother would like and she would not return, but Jake would use this gift to get a clue to what she wanted. Jake knew Eva had long had some kind of dream, but her mother was someone who died of depression in her past life hiding her suffering with a smile on her face, so he knew that Eva could not find out. But even if Jake knew his mother very well it was difficult for him to imagine that Eva''s dream was to have a restaurant, the reason for this was that he thought his mother hated restaurants for working until she died of stress in one. It was only a matter of time before Jake found out, he asked Anna to do whatever he asked her to treat him as his grandson, to discover Eva''s desire, and Jake thought it was only a matter of time before Anna found out. Jake decided to make this surprise party at Anna''s house so her mother did not suspect anything, Jake even with the help of Anna made all the sweet and savory feasts, and still makes the cake herself, Anna was always impressed with the skills of Jake in the kitchen. Some things he knew better than herself that he had worked many years as a professional, Jake also invited and confirmed the presence of everyone, with Jake knew his hand he invited only his female friends because he knew that Eva was uncomfortable around other men. So in Eva''s birthday, Jake woke up early as he always did and had a hearty breakfast, when Eva woke up and saw the breakfast remembered that it was her birthday. "Happy birthday mom" "Thank you, son, with so much going on I had even forgotten that the day had come." "You may even forget, but I will not, after breakfast I''ll take you to a cool place." "Do not need Jake, you know full well that I like the simple things." "I know, it''s going to be pretty simple, it''s just to remember that day." So they ate breakfast and then they packed up and left, Jake called a taxi and gave an address, Eva was a little suspicious about what was this surprise of after a while they stopped in a very beautiful studio. Seeing it was a studio Eva was really surprised, nothing came in her mind of surprise related to a photography studio. "What did we come here to do, Jake?" "I said, we came to make some memories, as you do not like parties very much I thought it would be nice to take some photos just the two of us and so save that special day." Eva really liked this idea and this gift was something simple and also quite special, in fact, Jake had thought to do this for a long time, soon he would be more like an adult than with a child. Despite having several pictures of trips together and also of basketball competitions, they did not have many pictures with only Jake and his mother, and he remembered that this was one of the things Eva said that he regretted not having done for Jake in his other life. Besides, Jake knew his mother was smart and knew him well, so she should already be suspicious that Jake was doing something for her birthday, so he decided to do it first before the party. This was a photo studio that took pictures of various outfits from various backgrounds that included historical scenery or just landscapes, it became very famous after a few years, but now it was still easy for Jake to schedule a few hours. So they spent all day taking several pictures with different scenery and clothes, Jake felt it was worth it when he saw his mother smiling at the thought of what clothes to choose and which scenarios to choose. After spending a few hours taking the photos they decided to end the section of photos, after a few weeks the studio would make a beautiful album and send them home. Since Jake had expected Eva to like it enough and the photo section was slow, he marked Eva''s party to start the afternoon, so he looked at the clock and saw that everyone should have arrived by now. "Mom, are we going to stop by Anna''s house before the day is over?" "Of course my son, that''s a good idea." At that hour Eva could not imagine that Jake was still planning to have a party for her after all the day had already been very special today. So when they arrived at Anna''s house Jake stayed a little behind and Eva opened the door. " "" Surprise. "" "" When she saw several of her friends were in beautiful dresses and behind her friends had a large table with cake and several other things, hanging on top had a banner saying ''Happy Birthday Eva''. So Jake had successfully managed to make a surprise party for his mother, there was no way Eva was going to be angry seeing Jake had all this work and even had a little party just by calling the people closest to her. It was a happy day and Eva had fun chatting with her friends, they all liked to hear the surprise that Jake had made for her before they came to the party, even Anna who did not know was surprised, she thought he would take Eva to a restaurant or something simpler just to pass the time. But for Anna, just what Jake did before the party was enough for Eva to have an unforgettable birthday before the party, and although everyone was talking about him, Jake was outside Anna''s house. Although he had a good relationship with all the people who had come today was Eva''s day, not Jake''s, so Jake just kept congratulating himself and then pacing to let his mother and the others have their conversations. As everyone in the house knew how Jake was no one cared about this, but only Anna knew that Jake was not just walking around and was also organizing the last gift of the day for Eva. So after everyone had celebrated enough, even Tiffany and Clara who were quite busy had managed to relax enough it was time to end the party. As soon as they opened the door the truck had arrived with the last present, it was a car that Jake had bought from Eva and that already had the document in her name, it was easy to do this with the help of a lawyer like Oliver. Chapter 101 End of a Time 3 As Jake thought when Eva saw that Jake had bought a gift a car, she was thinking about how to get Jake back. But in this situation in front of several people and after such a special day Eva does not dare to do this, in addition, they really needed a good car to be able to go to places farther away without having to be stuck having to choose schedules with public transport. So Eva accepted the last gift from her son, Jake was very happy about it, the party with several people was really the right way to give a gift to your mother. It was harder for Jake with a good son to realize that this was his mother''s way, over the years if Jake made more money he was sure Eva would get used to the presents. After that, the months passed and Jake''s Middle School time was over, Jake had the best grades in the room as usual, but Joseph had more difficulty as the Elite school had a more advanced level and so he was in the top 10 first. Joseph who had the second-best grade in his last school was very bad, then Jake managed to console his friend that although his place in the class had fallen he was learning much more now. Jake had nothing special to do and so he just took the time to go out with his mother and Joseph, he also had more time to train and enjoyed every minute of it. As Jake had already reached a very good level of statistics and his basic basketball skills he had only to continue to strive because now every statistic point and every skill rank that could increase before reaching college was important. Although Jake was very confident that he could be in the NBA in the future without training none of this was possible if he played in high school with his current skills he would have a hard time against the best players, let alone the pros. The companies of Tiffany and Clara also now that they had a great investment and increased their sales and their companies generally had to adapt to the growth, thus they were not thinking about making new advertisements for the time being. Eric also told Jake the other day that he had gained a lot of prestige in the paper, so this year he was chosen to cover the Olympics and then went to cover some NBA games but would again cover Jake''s games someday. So along with the end of Jake Middle School, many people close to him also had great changes in their lives, he was happy because all these changes were good and were progress for the people who were around him. He himself was progressing so much every day, he would soon begin a new phase in his life, he was prepared for these new challenges he would face in high school, and Jake had his friend Joseph to accompany him on his school days and his mother to give support at home. Along with his new stats after the national championship final, Jake felt that he too had met the requirements needed to try to train his new move as well as be able to use more of his pass movement in the games. Although the pass move was something to be used more in the games and be an unpredictable move, in the final it could be a good opportunity to use this to fool the Foxes defense was not possible because his teammates did not perform well. Just as he had thought before, a good move for him to create had to be a dribble move, and the name of this new move he perfected on vacation was . This Ghost move was a movement that Jake would move the ball in a way that the opponent would not know where the ball was for a moment and so Jake would pass through it, Jake had already thought about this move a long time, but it was difficult to get the ball stay out of the opponent''s field of vision and move without committing an irregularity on the court. After all, to get the ball out of the opponent''s field of vision for a moment Jake could not obviously bounce her normally on the court, so it had to be a quick move, and in that move, it would look like a ghost ball to his opponent, so Ghost moves. Also, this was a move that could not be used many times so that the opponent does not get used to it, the system said that the move was good and valid, but Jake did not win the statistics points yet. A few more weeks passed and now it was the last week before high school began, as it was the same school with just the different building Jake did not have to worry about researching the school site. Eva had already taken her uniform and also the books that would be used and also the class schedules, Jake spoke with Joseph who now looked like another person, influenced by Jake, he also began to run and now he was thin and was not the fatter of 3 years ago. As Jake once said if Joseph took off his glasses he would be completely unrecognizable, that was another reason that Oliver and Matthew liked Jake so much, after all, he had been a great influence for Joseph. ¡­ In another home also preparing for the start of the school year was the coach of the high school basketball team who was very pleased since he had won the national high school championship last year. He did it with the best team he could muster by calling on young people from all over the country, what was better was that these youngsters were still 2 years old to graduate last year, that is to say, he had the same champion team only more mature It''s better this year too. I could tell that he had already won the national championship this year too, the school was very pleased with him too, he just came to this school because his wife worked here and he too received a great salary. Also, thanks to him asking some favors for some of his friends, the Elite school did not know that he had had a problem hitting a student before, he himself thought it absurd to be fired since the student he hit was an adult and not a child. But there was nothing he could do now, in this new school however with they were all young, no one dared to disrespect his authority, so he did not think there would be any problem. In front of him were the files of the youngsters who had been the champions in the national championship last year and would now join his team, he had really liked that, especially from Jake who had been the MVP of the national championship as well. These players had no chance to play this year on the main team, but in the future, they could bring another national championship trophy at high school as well. His wife sitting next to him also looked at Jake''s file in her husband''s hand, she was one of the teachers who took Jake''s hat for no great reason, that year Jake would be going to high school and would not be in her class. But she could not bear to see that Jake would go through everything he did without any little punishment, so knowing the personality of her husband she had an idea. "Honey, are these the players that will join your team this year?" "Yes you''re right, these were the youngsters who won the national championship last year, why?" "One of those players was my student and I think he can cause problems for you." "Why was he a bad student? That did not really matter to me, he was the best player on the team at Middle School." "No, he was the best student in my class that was not the problem, the problem was that he was so smart that he did not mind paying attention in class and was reading other books, that was even the reason that several professors complained about him like me." "I understand my love I know how proud you are and all the other teachers are too, but for coaches players like Jake are geniuses." "I know, but the director''s reason for not punishing Jake was that his grades were good and that the basketball team needed him, and as he was the best player on the Middle School team I heard that sometimes he did not hear the coach and in some games he used his position as captain to lead the team by himself." When he heard this the coach heard this he did not like, he knew that although his wife was exaggerating a little because he did not like Jake, something she said should be true, in addition, in the card he had in hand that Jake was really the captain and a leading person. This was something he did not like, no matter how good the players on the court were, one thing everyone had to figure out was that whoever was on the team was him. So he took another look at Jake''s record, he was no longer very pleased to have such a good player on his team, he was more into having players with great potential and training them for a few years. So when these players won they would say that it was all thanks to him, but hearing what happened in the classroom, this Jake did not respect his teachers so much. Chapter 102 A Difficult Beginning 1 "You''re right it can really become a problem, but since he just became MVP in the national middle school championship I cannot leave such a player off the team for no reason at all." The coach''s wife was happy to hear that her husband agreed with her, but then she was saddened to realize he was right, no matter how much she and her husband did not like Jake, it was impossible to leave MVP and champion team captain out of the team without a reason. So the wife and the coach kept looking at Jake''s hand trying to think of something, so after a while, the wife who had the most hatred was the first to get an idea. "Who is the lowest player on your current team?" "I think it''s the PG that''s 1.76 in height, but that PG is already 17 and that''s his last year before graduating." "So here''s the reason you wanted you can put a minimum height limit to play as a team owner since the beginning of the year, I heard that Jake is not even 1.70 m, so you have at least 1 year with he out of the team, in addition, you said that the team that won last year still continues this year." The coach really liked the idea of ??his wife, in fact, the height was undoubtedly a very important factor for the performance of a basketball player, it may not make much difference to the games until Middle School, but after high school does a lot of difference. In fact, after his PG the other minor player of his team is 1.83 in height and this player does not have much chance to become professional if he does not grow a little or play very well in the future, it shows how important he is. So it''s a good excuse to leave Jake in the bank, another thing the coach saw in the report was that Jake could also play in other positions besides PG so he would make Jake never play PG so he would have no more reason to be the captain of the team. The coach thought that if he left Jake for 2 years on the bench with a lot of training he could make him a more obedient player who followed what his coach said, and if they could still be the champions without Jake this year he would not get complaints. The coach''s wife was happy, so if Jake stayed a year or two without playing, it would be enough punishment for her to be satisfied, after all, she was not a lifelong grudge. ¡­ Without knowing that his future in school basketball was compromised Jake was happy and hopeful to start high school, apart from basketball he could meet new people and maybe even make new friends. In his past life, the best phase he had that he was happiest was in high school, this was the time of school and the lives of young people in which everyone is much more open to talk and make new friends and maybe even love relationships. Everyone in high school was young people who were preparing to become adults, so the little fights they had before for children''s reasons disappeared with age, this was more true for well-known private schools such as the Elite school where everyone had as their goal good university. After another week of school, the school day started for all the students. In the morning, Jake had a hearty breakfast made by his mother and then went to school. Jake wore his new uniform and very excited Jake went to the new building that would be where he would study in the next 4 years high school, looking in the corridors Jake could not see any children, but many young people and some could even be mistaken for adults. It was also the first time at school that Jake began to cast a few more glances at young women who looked like women now, though Jake did not feel any trouble finding someone his age as though his mind was over 40 years old his body was a child of 13 years. When a person grows naturally his tastes also change with age, before in school even when he realized that perhaps the girls in his room looked at him with some affection, for Jake were all just children, from now on would not be more like this. After walking for a while Jake got to where his room would be in the first class of the day, Jake who had already received his schedules of all classes and also who would be his teachers that year was very happy, it seemed that none of the teachers who did not like He would teach it to him this year. The new teachers had known for a long time that there was a young man who would not pay much attention in class and would be reading language books and business and business management, the language book Jake had already started reading this year was the Italian language. Although he already knew this and other languages ??that he took the books to learn Jake did not think it was a waste of time, after all, nobody could learn more than there was about something, the biggest proof was English a language that was spoken in his country and that everyone spoke this language throughout his life. Even so, he still studied that language in school from childhood and would continue to study perhaps even in university, and even then he could not say that he knew English completely, it was like that with other languages ??as well, studying 1 year the books of each language he always seized new things. Not to mention that later to make another trip with his mother would be quite fun, in addition, Jake was very pleased with the books of economics, business and business, finance and general investment books that he was reading. If he were to join every year that he studied about it would have been more than 10 years already, which was twice as long as any university, and he would continue to read those books for over 4 years of high school until he got to university. Economics, in general, was something no one could say that he knew too much, but at high school as this was a private school Jake thought he would have many things that would draw his attention to the teachers'' explanations, especially in chemistry, history, and physics that were matters impossible for Jake learned everything before. Even so Jake thought he would continue to hit all the questions in the tests, after all now different from his last life his intelligence statistic was more than 50 now, and as the system said this was a statistic that helped in all things and the school was one of them. Entering his classroom Jake was one of the first to arrive, it was still more than 20 minutes before class started, after a few minutes Joseph also arrived and sat next to Jake, as usual, Jake could see that some girls were looking in direction to both. Even though Jake was impressed by how much Joseph changed after becoming thinner, Joseph was almost as handsome as Jake, Joseph had also changed his glasses into a model that looked better on his thinner face. Joseph had black eyes and his hair was also black color, with the new model glasses he looked quite smart and well with these glasses, Jake was sad because he had no reason to make fun of his friend. "Looks like you''re pretty popular right now huh my friend after you''ve arrived the girls started looking at you and sighing, after that you know how to eat less and do some exercise." "Who are you to talk to, since our last school the girls in our room always kept looking at you, now it''s no different, I do not know how you were not fat with how many chocolates you''ve already won." "That''s because I play basketball, even if I want to get fat I can not do it with so much that I run." "I''m envious of that, if I played basketball I would not have much difficulty getting thin." "I''ve told you this before, whenever you want to run or play basketball you can call me." "I do not want to be embarrassed, we already tried and you do not know how to take it easy on anyone." "But take it easy with you, that does not mean I''ll let you win just because I take it easy with you." "It does not change the subject." "We were talking about girls because you never tried anything even knowing you were popular?" "First because at the time I thought girls were kids like me, so I was not interested in anything, second because even though girls always stare and even give chocolate, I never had the nerve to ask them to start dating themselves." "And third because I was more concerned with basketball than with dating, but now all this is no more if any girl wants it can happen." "I do not believe, I think this is just your excuse, waiting for women to call you to date first is ridiculous." "I do not think so, I like more independent women who are not afraid to express their feelings too, after all, I''m not as conservative as you are." Chapter 103 A Difficult Beginning 2 Jake was being honest with Joseph, although after his accident he had closed the doors of his heart to the novel, Jake came from a time when women sought the same rights as men. So those conventions that were once more commonplace that Joseph thought was right did not exist anymore if women liked someone they would go and take the initiative. Jake found this very cool, perhaps because he was raised by Eve alone, he was someone who recognized the strengths of women in society and supported women to have the same rights as men. Although this was a normal conversation about 2020 in the 1990s was something people were not accustomed to openly talk about. After Jake stopped talking because the class was about to start and he did not want to bring a bad first impression to his teachers, looking around at his classmates, Jake realized he had almost no students he studied at Middle School. That was a good thing, his colleagues tended to ignore him because of the issues with the teachers and he wanted to start over again. So after a while the first teacher came in and started giving the class normally, sometimes asked questions for the students and even for Jake, it was a normal attitude not like it was last year. And all the teachers of the day were like that, Jake still read his books sometimes and paid attention to the teacher when he came up with an issue that he did not know, so there was a good atmosphere in the classroom as he wanted last year. As the teachers already knew how Jake was and also knew that he did not do it to disrupt the class and even had the best grades, the teachers did not care much, and without prejudice, they realized that everything was fine with Jake being so in the room class. So Jake was in a good mood for the school to take the test to join the basketball team, this time he was not the first, but neither was the last one, he greeted his old teammates last year. Everyone seemed to be in pretty good moods and more mature than last year, they were all pretty embarrassed and grateful Jake and Coach Mike never said anything about the fiasco that was their game in the final of the national championship. Jake from last year was keeping a low profile, he knew that this year''s high school basketball team was the same as last season''s champion, and Jake also knew that in addition to his ability to shoot 2 and 3 and in Free Throw he was inferior to the elders. The players who were on the team before also looked at the new players strangely, they knew that this team just as they won the national championship only in Middle School, it was normal that they wanted a chance to play in high school as well. Even though they were not that worried, it was impossible for the coach to put someone from the first year to replace the champions of last year, so that year at least their starting position was theirs. Even knowing that it was impossible for everyone to become friends and just talk as if nothing had happened and they were not playing the same places in the starting team. Jake and his colleagues who entered now for the high school team were really looking at the starters who were last year''s champions with challenging looks, they had a lot of respect but also had a lot of confidence that could be the starters too, after all, they are the best of their age in basketball. After a few minutes a girl appeared, it was someone no one in that block knew, Jake saw this and was curious, if not even the players last year knew this girl means that she was new as well as they, in addition, Jake saw that this girl must be her age or be only 1 year older than him. This girl had some towels in her hand and stood in the middle of the court, after a few minutes the coach entered, all the older players had a look of respect when they looked at him. Jake now knew who was the coach of the high school basketball team that made him so curious before he was called coach Philips and second Jake knew the coach Philips trained for a few years a team that reached the finals of the national basketball championship at university. So Jake had to admit that this trainer was more qualified than the trained Mike to train the high school team, it was that same coach who chose all the players who formed the team that was champion last year, so it was normal that the players more old people respected him. Jake also thought that coach Philips deserved his position and intended to respect him as he did with the others. "Welcome to everyone for the high school basketball team, this is the first team training of the year, the older ones already know me, but for the youngest, I am the Philips coach who will coach this team in the next few years." "I would like to make it clear that who has the command of this team is just me, so I do not want to see any kind of disobedience if someone does not like my rules can leave the team." "I''d like to introduce this girl here by my side, her name is Elizabeth and she''s going to be the general affairs manager for our team, she''s in her first year and has volunteered to help get towels, water, and player maintenance I want everyone to respect her." "Hi guys, I knew this team won the national championship in the past and since I am a basketball fan I decided to help you as much as I can so that you can win again, you can call me Liza as well." "Okay, Liza can go to the side and hope the training will start soon." "Very well people, as last year I was the one who chose the players and it was my first year I took it lightly, but now we are a champion team, so new rules have to be decided." "As everyone knows, the club is a sport where height is very important, so I decided that we will have a minimum height so that a player can be in the starting team, this height will be 1.76 in height, although it is a bit low if it''s someone with good skills like our PG who has that height can play." After that coach Philips continued to say several rules that he had invented to cover what he really wanted, it was clear that Jake and the players of last year''s team were quite upset with this rule that practically took away the chances that some of them could play this year. But as the coach had already said he would not accept complaints they could only accept, in addition, even Jake who was quite sad because he knew that if it was like his past life this year he would hardly grow up and only after turning 15 would through a growth spurt. Jake thought that this would not change, in fact, the system had already helped a lot in its growth, in his past life he was only a little bigger than 1.60 at that age, if it had not been his growth spurt in his 15 years he would never think of playing basketball. So the excitement he felt was gone, Jake knew he could not play this year in the starting lineup and this Philips coach did not seem to like him very much, so Jake knew there would be no exception for him. David and the other teammates last year were still excited despite this rule after all they did not know whether or not they could grow up that year, after the day''s training started normally, Jake was on the reserve team playing against the other reserves, coach Philips seemed to want to separate the team from last year even in training. Even though Jake''s team still won in the end and many endorsed Jake''s skills as well, coach Philips was also eyeing the match and personally saw that Jake was really a great player, it seemed that with a few more months of training he could be at the level of the holders of the champion team last year. Even though coach Philips did not change his mind as he did not need new players this year, it was good to slow down his champions'' mood last year, after training Jake went home. "Mom, I do not think I''ll be able to play in the starting lineup this year." At dinner as he talked about his day with his mother Jake had to talk about it, Jake did not want to lie or hide anything for Eve that would happen day by day, just as playing basketball was like Jake''s job now it was important to talk about that. "But because my son, you play so well and you love basketball so much, I thought it was impossible for you to be out of the team this year." "I also thought that, I must have gotten a bit arrogant after winning the MVP of the national championship, but this year is different from the others, the team that is the starter now is the team that was champion last year now that they are even better and more experienced it is impossible that they are not the holders." Chapter 104 A Difficult Beginning 3 "In addition, the Philips coach who is the coach of the high school team and who was once coach of a good team at a university even made a new rule, in this rule only players who are more than 1.76 tall can play in the team holder." "But that''s wrong, it''s a bias that takes away the opportunity of those who are lower to play, everyone should have the chance to show off their skills regardless of the height." "Despite being biased the coach has a little bit of reason while at that, few geniuses in basketball history could play better than others having a much lower height, actually 1.76 high is already considered small for basketball." "So what are you going to do, son?" "I''m going to keep training to see if anything happens, does not mean I can not play basketball anymore, it''s going to be like this for only a few years, I''m sure that time will not be a problem for me in the future." So Jake finished talking to his mother, there was nothing for him to do anyway, he did not want to change schools again because of basketball even if his contract allowed, moreover after he won the national championship he was no longer so eager to play. Jake really wanted to win the national high school championship as well, but he was still 4 years old for that, when he was in his junior year high school he thought he could win even if he played with a weak team. Even though he was quite sad and disappointed in knowing that he could not play more this year, Jake was really eager to play even knowing that he had no advantage over his abilities, it was good to play a difficult game to increase the skills as was the final. Jake was also thinking that if the situation did not change and he was sure he could not play this year, Jake would have to tell Tiffany and Clara that they were representatives of the companies that sponsored him. Then he lay down on his bed and thought for a long time, since when he was a person who was so easily annoyed with a problem, after everything he spent in his past life he was living a paradise now. So remembering that only came to live until 40 being a positive person Jake calmed down to finally managed to sleep. The other day, Jake went to school one more time, things were different now than they were last year, before he wanted to finish classes quickly so he could go basketball on the court, and now he wanted to stay longer in class and stay sad when he had to go to the court. Even so Jake went to the court every day to train with his colleagues to see if he learned anything by watching the starting team play, but even after several days of training the coach Philips seemed to have no intention of leaving Jake or training a match against the team. After seeing Jake training for several days with nothing happening differently, Liza, who was already quite a friend of the players as she was a good manager, never talked to Jake, even though she could see that he was feeling discouraged. So after the training was over and all the players left, she packed up quickly and then went to the Philips coach''s office. "Hi, Liza, did you finish packing?" "Already a coach." "Thank you as always Liza, I really appreciate what you are doing for this team, if we win this year apart will be what you are doing for the players." "Thank you, coach, I came here because there was something I was curious about after training today and I wanted to ask." "You may ask, sometimes if you see something I have not seen it can help the team." "I wanted to ask about Jake who was the MVP of the National Middle School championship last year, even though I was not in the same room with him I still went to see the game end and saw that it is much better than the other players his team." When coach Philips heard Liza talk about Jake the coach''s expression darkened for a moment, but soon returned to normal. But Liza noticed when the coach changed the expression, it seems that the coach had something against Jake himself. "So you want to ask why even Jake playing so well will not be able to play in the starting lineup?" "No, I understand that it and the other does not have the right time and even though I do not agree much is true that time is very important in the high school games, I just wondered why you do not let he can train to play against the starting lineup to be motivated." "Since you''re going to be on this team for the next four years helping players, I think you deserve to know that, the truth is that what I''m doing is preparing the minds of the players who have just arrived from Middle School to join that team." "You should know that their team was the champion of the National Middle School championship last year, so they are very excited and I''m sure they thought as they were champions could have a guaranteed place in the starting lineup." "Normally they would be right, but this year the team was champion of last year''s high school is still all here, so they would not have a chance to play anyway, and height rule already leaves out much of the team also." "Part of the team that can play next year in the starting team is already playing with the holders to see the difference in the skills and so there is still a lot to train before they can be the starters." "Coaching so they will calm down and see that they are just ordinary players and so it is easier for me to work with them and maintain my authority." Liza who was listening to everything saw that it made a lot of sense what the trained Philips was saying, it was normal for players to obey their coaches and a team that was feeling very good about being champions would have to have time to see that they did not were so special. "Unfortunately the same thing can not be done with Jake, this young man really deserves to be MVP last year, his ability is just a little below the regular players, so if I let him train with the starters he would be more arrogant still." "So I have to train him normally and leave him a bit isolated, after all by the height of them he could not play in that year anyway by rule." "In addition, Jake for being a very good player and always having played in weak teams never learned to obey his coach and I saw in his record that he was always the captain and wanted to command his team in the games." "Before he could do that, but in this team only who is in charge of the games is me, so I will have difficulty this year to make him a normal and obedient player." Liza agreed with what the coach said now as well, she remembered how in the final who controlled the team was Jake and not the coach, she once saw the coach talk to her team and only Jake did everything. So Liza understood that coach Philips was concerned about her authority being taken by a player, and realized that she was thinking too much. Seeing this the Philips coach was happy as he had to deal with Jake who was a different MVP from the other players and leaves him out of the team he realized he had to create a story to convince everyone that he had a reason to leave Jake out of the team. After his team was champion this year even with Jake out of the team no one else would say anything, of course, the coach could have treated Jake who was a different and better-skilled player, but how he wanted Jake to never revolt and enjoy to please his wife who wanted to time Jake off the staff this year. So a few more days went by and soon the day of the first regional championship game would be approaching, Jake still cannot play in training against the starting team and was getting upset about just training. The Philips coach who watched everything realized that Jake was feeling bad about his training that was lighter with Jake, so the coach saw that maybe it was time to do something new to make Jake more obedient to his team. So the coach again set up two reserve teams with Jake''s team from last year''s separate, after the game was midway through the game he moved. "Jake come here." Jake was surprised to have been called by the coach, he had the feeling from the beginning that the coach did not like him and how the coach never spoke to him and treated him differently from the others Jake was sure now. "Yes, coach?" "I''ve been reading the record of your previous games and having seen you train here in these past weeks I''m sure now, Jake I think the position you play is wrong, you should now play as SG and not as PG." "Coach, I have to disagree, I''ve heard several times that I could play better and even make more points like SG, but I think it would be a waste of my skills if I did not play as a PG." Chapter 105 A Difficult Beginning 4 The coach did not like that Jake did not accept his suggestion, usually, the young players listened to the coaches because they wanted to improve and the coaches have more experience, especially Philips who had already trained a college basketball team. Even though deep down the coach agreed it would be a bit of a waste of Jake''s pass and ball control skills for him to be an SG and was suggesting it more so that Jake no longer tried to be a captain it was true that Jake could have more success as SG, after all, it is sometimes better for a player to focus on only one thing and not try to do everything. The other players, especially the older ones who most respected coach Philips, thought Jake was also wrong not to hear the coach. Jake saw this too and was helpless, if it was his past life he could even listen to the coach and change positions, but whoever said that was the best position for him was the system that helped him so many times and certainly knew more about Jake the coach who only saw him play for a few weeks. In addition, a decision on where to play could change Jake''s future in basketball, after all, if he decides to play as SG he would have to play in that position for the next 4 years and the college scouts will also see him playing in that position. But Coach Philips did not understand this and thought Jake was just defying his authority as he thought Jake would do from the start. "I do not care what you think, I''m the coach of this team and now that I said you can only play in that team in SG position." Coach Philips thought it was a good time to show who sent all players using Jake as an example. Jake thought the coach was being irrational and that he was just implicating him, just as the workout was ending he just decided to leave. Seeing that Jake was leaving the players just thought he was being proud and the coach also did not care about leaving Jake, Liza also thought Jake was wrong and remembered what the coach had told her before, so Liza thought Jake too arrogant too. Jake went home and did not care what others thought of him, coming home he told his mother everything that happened and told her she did not accept because this decision without regard to the coach could change her future. Eva agreed with Jake, she knew about everything that happened to Jake on his way to playing basketball, Jake started by training basketball alone first running alone in the square and then in the basement that had an improvised court, and that since the age of 10 without anyone telling him what to do. Even after he started playing for basketball teams at school no one taught Jake anything other than game tactics, and now that Jake had conquered both a coach who had not seen him play for 1 month wanted to do something that could change the future of his son. After going to his room Jake began to think about what to do, he no longer saw many benefits in going to the basketball club after classes just to train even knowing that he could not play in any game this year. In addition, the coach seemed to dislike him and gave weaker training and did not let Jake play against the starting team that would be the only way for Jake to learn anything. And now after all the coach still wanted to decide on what position he could play if Jake could only train as SG in training there more than ever he would be wasting his time training in that team. "Fate, what do you think I should do?" [I think you''re right Jake, that coach does not seem to like you and wants to hurt you when he told you to play in another position I realized he had other reasons and that it was not for your good.] [As you said if you spent several weeks training in another position it would do more harm than good to you, and you never know what that coach can do for you next time.] [So what I suggest you do from now is to stop going to this training since because of this rule you will not be able to play in the starting team this year and that is the only thing that can make you improve your skills.] After the system said exactly what Jake thought he''d been standing there thinking for a while, so he decided he''d stop going for that meaningless training. When he woke up in the morning he said his decision to his mother. "Are you sure about that, son?" "Yes, Mom, I think it''s going to be better for me to stop going now since I can not play anyway, training like that would do more harm than good to me." "But you like to play basketball so much, my son." "Yes mother, I like to play and not to train, if it is to train I can do better at home." "Do not you want me to go to your school and talk to your coach or the principal about this?" "I do not think it''s a good idea, the coach will not change his mind and he''s the one who commands the team, even though I do not like that he has the right to do what he wants on the team, especially now that he has won the championship last year and can win again this year." After talking to his mother Jake decided that he should also tell Tiffany and Clara since he had made his decision. After telling Clara that she was close to Tiffany, Jake waited for her answer. "It''s all right Jake, I think you''re right in this situation and should even stop training for no reason, you''ve done a lot for my company and Tiffany''s too, and we''re solving some problems that will be in business administration after the business has improved." "So for at least two years our companies do not intend to do any new advertising, after that I think your coach will realize that it is wrong and call you to play again, otherwise we can tell you to win another street tournament that would also be a great advertisement, so do not worry." Jake felt very grateful for the trust of Tiffany and Clara, even if their companies did not need any advertisement they could cancel the contract until Jake returned, but they did not do it because they knew he and his mother needed the money. Then when classes were over Jake called his friend Joseph to tell him the bad news too. "I knew something like this could happen when you told me about the rule that coach invented you are not someone who likes to go just to train." "As expected from my friend, you know me well." "If you want, can I ask Dad to come to school and put pressure on the principal?" "No need, as I told my mother I think even if he is wrong it''s his right as a coach to do whatever he wants." "Okay then, if you need anything, just talk to me." And so after that Jake went straight home, as he had not signed anything or was formally in the basketball club and no one there was counting on him, Jake did not think he needed to warn him that he would stop going to practice. Also, even if he did not think it would happen, Jake did not want any last year''s teammate to feel obligated to leave the team just because he left, after all, Jake intended to come back after it was time to join the team. And he did this for several days even after he spent the day of the first regional championship game, the first few days were strange to Jake who was accustomed to go coaching, but then he even forgot about the basketball team. But what Jake did not know is that a strange atmosphere stayed in the training of the basketball team after he left. The players who played with Jake at Middle School who also had no chance to play on the starting lineup because of the height began to get angry at the coach and just listened because they were obligated, especially David and Mark who were closest to Jake in the team. If David and Mark knew that Jake would leave the team they would have gone out together as Jake had hoped, but now they missed the opportunities and just did without any motivation what the coach was saying. Liza was the one who was most annoyed by this, she no longer liked Jake after hearing what the coach said and was even more irritated after seeing Jake not listening to the coach''s advice and challenging him in the middle of the court. But after Jake left in the middle of the conversation she waited the other day for Jake to arrive so she could talk to him even if she did not want to, after all, it was her job to try to help the players out of the games. When Jake did not show up, she just as everyone on the team thought he had been angry with the coach and did not want to show up, but after several days she and the other players realized that Jake really had left the team. Chapter 106 The Second Job 1 Liza did not expect Jake to actually leave the team and even more so without speaking to anyone, even though he did not need to tell anyone was at least educated to have appeared, she was angry too that Jake had left Jake''s teammates in the year past began to get irritated with the coach. So after the first regional championship game was over Liza decided she needed to talk to Jake at least once to understand what happened. Philips also did not expect Jake to be so radical and actually leave the team after what he said, as he said that Jake would not play in any position on his team without being SG he pretty much said that if Jake did not follow what he said would not play in his team. So he hoped that after some time without playing Jake would change his mind and would start doing what he said coach Philips never expected that a player who was MVP of the national championship at Middle School would rather leave the team to obey. Who was really happy about it was his wife and her friends who got what they wanted and found that Jake finally got his punishment. But as he still had a team to train he stopped caring for Jake and focused on his team that would be going to win again the national championship. Jake was leaving after another day of class when he saw Liza coming towards him, he stopped to wait for her to come with a smile on his face, but realized that Liza did not seem to be very happy and was even a little angry. "Hi, Liza, we did not get a chance to talk to each other during practice, I did not think I would talk to you after I stopped training." "So you really stopped training, as you did not show up for the workouts during those weeks we even thought you might have stopped, but you could at least have warned someone you would not train anymore." "I did not think it was necessary, I had no obligation on the basketball team and I also had no friends to warn, I did not think the coach or the team would need me and did not want to cause a mess warning my old teammates, some of them might end up leaving the team too if they knew I''d leave." Listening to Jake saying something she did not expect Liza calmed down a bit, she had been annoyed that Jake had left the team and not warned anyone, but stopping to think he had really no one to warn. And now Jake''s old teammates were upset with coach Philips, but if Jake had told them he would leave the Liza team they knew some of them would have dated Jake. "But why did you leave the team? I thought you liked to play basketball, you have a lot of talent and even won the MVP last year of the national championship because someone like you would give up basketball." "I never said that I would give up basketball, I just leave the team, there is no reason for me to waste my time there training, I could not play anyway by the rule that the coach did and even if I train there it would be in a position that is not mine, that would not help at all." "If you could just lower your head for a while and stop being so proud and do what the coach said, you could soon get back to the starting lineup." "It''s not about being proud first because I''m sure the coach does not care what is best for me or for any player, so changing my position could shape my future in basketball, he only cares about winning." After Jake said what he thought he was leaving home, Jake was annoyed to have to give explanations to someone he did not even know, and now that he has made his decision he would not go back. Liza stood there for a while thinking about the things Jake said, then she left, too, but she had to accept that what Jake said was right, changing a player''s position was something that could change the future of that player, so even if the coach was right he should have talked privately about it first with Jake and then decide. But as Jake said that was part of the authority of the coach, even if he had erred if the coach wanted to do that he would do so the only thing Jake can do since he did not agree was to stop training. After spending a few weeks he stopped training at school, Jake who had more time to spare now would have to decide what to do while he had to wait before he could get back to the team, at least until he got the right time. In fact he already knew what to do, it was something he wanted to wait for a few more years until he was of legal age to be able to solve things himself, but how could not wait so many years because when he is 16 would be the best age for him to focus on whether basketball was the most important. Now that he''s got more free time Jake decided to start the next day what he had hoped to do for many years. So the next morning Jake went to Oliver''s house to talk to him, what Jake needed most was now a lawyer. "Jake you here, I did not expect you to see me today." "I had to come here, unfortunately, today I did not come here to play chess, I need your help with some things." "Do you need help solving your problem at school? Joseph had already told me about it, I''ll see what I can do, but I can not guarantee that I''ll get you back to the team." "No, it''s not about that, I''d like you to point me to a lawyer you know who specializes in business so I can work only with myself for a few years, and I also hope you can help me get a good accounting firm for now, and I''m going to need you to oversee all that." "What do you need all this for?" "I''m thinking about making some investments, I''ve already researched some companies and would like to use the money that I got from my sponsorship to invest, but since I''m underage I need a lawyer representative and also a company that can take care of my investment." "Investing is a very risky thing, Jake, if I were you, I would recommend that you expect to grow up and then think about doing it again." "Normally I''d think you''re right Oliver, but now I''ve got some companies I''ve been watching for a few months and I think this is the best time to invest, and you know how the business world is if I invest in one Growing company I can make lots of money in a few years." Of course Oliver knew this, his father had always worked with his company that part of the company was on the stock market, so Oliver always had to keep an eye on the market to help his father, but Oliver knew that investing in a growing company was a big risk, could earn a lot, but could also lose a lot if the company did not work. "Did you tell your mother about this, Jake?" "No, this time I did not talk about it with her, but I''m not going to mess with all the money, and I''m still receiving the sponsorship, so I want to try this chance, if I talked to her, my mother would be the same as you and I would not believe what I''m doing." "I''m talking to you Oliver because as my friend and as a lawyer I know you will not say anything and will help me with this." When Oliver thought he had found a way to stop Jake from doing this he talked about his professionalism, now Oliver could no longer tell Eva about it, and Oliver had known Jake for several years now, Jake looked like someone who knew what he was going to do and Oliver knew that Jake had always studied business and economics for three years. As Jake learned multiple languages ??so it was safe to assume that he too would have learned something about economics after studying for so many years. "Okay so Jake I''m going to get an accounting firm to take care of your money for you, it''s the same company I use so you can trust, as for the attorney to be harder, just to help you sometimes is easy, but to work for you no one I know will want without charging a fortune." "And if it''s a lawyer who just got a license that is related to someone you know, that person can get experience working with me and it''s going to be reliable, but if that''s the way this lawyer is going to have to work as my assistant, too." Oliver can only smile helplessly at Jake''s requests, get some lawyer who just got the license and be related to an acquaintance is easy, but for any lawyer to be an assistant to a 13-year-old, it would be hard to find. Moreover, all this would be only working on the hypothesis that Jake succeeds in his investments, only so some lawyer can win something working for him. Chapter 107 The Second Job 2 "Well since I''m going to help you find the people you need to at least tell me which companies you invest in, as my father works with the stock market because of his company, I often get tips from my friends who work with actions to invest." "So if the company that you are thinking of investing in is in the ones that I was suggested to invest in, I feel calmer because I will know that it is a known company." Jake thought it made a lot of sense, yet he just wanted to take the risk and invest all the money he got from his sponsorship to invest because he knew from the future which companies would be most successful and which ones would fail, otherwise he would invest only a few thousand dollars. Plus, with the internet bubble stock market going to happen over the next 10 years, Jake knew of many people who got millionaires just by being lucky enough to know when to start investing and selling their stocks before the bubble burst. Few expected such madness that companies that had no profit were given millions of dollars valuation, and also only a few months before the bubble waited for market experts to prepare. But before that many experts made the wrong predictions and because they were afraid to risk they lost the chance to win millions, but that''s something for 8 years, without much capital to invest, no one could become a millionaire even if they invested a little money. And even if Jake invested now he would have to wait a few years to see his money multiply, yet Jake did not see much trouble in telling Oliver about the company he wanted to invest so Oliver could get rich with him. "Of course, no problem the company I''m going to invest all the money is Cisco, I heard something about a new era of information that was coming, and I think this company has the stability to grow a lot is valued in this new era." Oliver thought for a moment and then remembered that he had heard about this company, but although this company was valuing a lot in recent months, he heard that the two largest shareholders had sold a large part of their shares and so investors were apprehensive about this company. But as it was a company he had heard at least, it meant that Jake had really thought hard about it. "Alright, Jake can leave it to me that I find the people you need." After clearing everything Jake returned to his house, he felt bad about hiding something from his mother, but until he got something out of it Jake did not want to tell Eva this, and it was not only because he feared his mother would not allow it, but also to make a good surprise for her. After that a few more days went by and Jake got used to going without training at school, after all, he still trained every day at home and with his imagination training too, and contrary to what Jake and the coach Philips thought the media did not it was imported that the High School Elite team was without the MVP of Middle School. Everyone thought that was normal after all the team that was starting was the team that was the champion last year of the national championship, no team would put a champion on the bench for no reason. And next year everyone would have forgotten Jake if they win this year, the only media person who really cared about Jake and was looking for more news about him was Eric, but Eric was busy with the Olympics and then would cover the NBA for a time. In fact, both Jake and Philips coach were relieved by this, Jake also did not want to cause problems for his school just because he did not play so he did not ask Oliver to help him. As he had more free time on the weekends for not being on the team anymore, while waiting for Oliver''s response, Jake took the opportunity to spend more time with his mother, Eva was already going a long time for cooking classes, Jake also came whenever he could. So they were all friends of the people who attended classes, Anna mostly Jake already considered as part of the family, Eva had already learned a lot in these classes and her dishes were much better after those years. After the class of the day ended Eva went to the other room to change and Jake knew that she would stay for a long time talking to the other women, so he took the opportunity to talk to Anna alone. "So Anna, how do you think my mother is now?" "Eva is very well now, I do not think she would have her mood to get better, she does not have the stress of work to worry about, she has many friends here in class and she has you as a son to make her happy, do not you think you have more chances of Eva getting depressed again." Even knowing that her mother''s health was very good and always being with her at home, Jake still cared about Eva very much, after all in her past life he also thought she was very well until Eva ended up dying. So he knew he could not stay calm even if he thought his mother was happy, so Jake took advantage of his mother''s friendship with Anna and asked Anna to pay attention to Eva in class as well. Because Anna knew Jake was just being careful with Eva, she accepted and sometimes told Jake some of her conversations with Eva. "These days your mother is doing very well, but last week I realized that she was very worried about you, Eva thought you would be very sad to have left the basketball team at school, but after seeing that you were well she too calmed down." "But something?" "I asked her if after you got older and left home if she would want to remarry, but as you said Eva said it would not happen that her father was the only man she loved." Jake knew that very well, in his past life he knew that many men he approved approached Eva, but she always refused them all, Jake did not want his mother to be alone, he hoped Eva would find someone she loved. So Jake thought the only way Eva could get married was if she met someone she loved, and Jake knew it was very difficult to do even once in a person''s life, even though she could not form a family after accident would get married if she met someone she loved, but that did not happen. Jake thought it might be because of his bad luck, but he could not know if luck had anything to do with love, he would have to see if in that life that his luck could not be greater if he would find the right woman for him. "Did you find out what my mother''s dream was?" "Not yet, Eva really knows how to hide things, I think if I do not figure it out by myself and do not touch the subject with her, her mother will never tell me her dream." Jake hoped for that too, but he felt that if it was not something impossible to accomplish after a few years had passed that Eva would miss what she wanted for Anna. After Jake left home with Eva, as Anna said his mother really seemed to be in a good mood, which made him happy too. After going home Jake began to think that he would have a busy time in the coming weeks, and in fact, besides being an accounting firm to handle taxes, he did not need anything else, but Jake thought it would be strange if people found out without researching anything he just invested in a company and then got rich. So having a lawyer would solve all his problems, but Jake could not count on Oliver for everything, so he had the idea to ask for a lawyer recommended by Oliver, and would have other things that Jake would need in the future that could only be made by a lawyer so that was a good chance. [Are not you forgetting anything, Jake?] "I do not think so, do you think I''m forgetting Fate?" [Well I found it strange that you did not talk to me for so long even after you decided on what to do you do not remember that at the beginning I told you that you could have more than one job?] Jake really remembered that but then the system said that he should not choose another job without thinking because he would have problems having more than one job, so after a while, he did not care about it anymore, after all, he already had everything I needed basketball. "I remember what you said Fate, but I do not think I need anything other than basketball, if it becomes a problem then I do not even want to." [I knew you had misunderstood something when I said that even though you could have several jobs not to choose anything, I was talking about other sports.] [You might not have thought of it now, but with your statistics growing more in the future you''d be better off in many sports than most athletes in the world, just statistics.] Chapter 108 The Second Job 3 [In many sports just having the stats as you will be in the future you could win a gold medal in the Olympics, it is not that these sports do not require different talent or techniques, but rather that you would be far above the others.] [A good example of this would be weightlifting or other tests that require strength in the Olympics, even though all these sports also require training and techniques if you have two or three times the strength of an opponent you would win.] [So although I say that you can have all the jobs you wanted and could do whatever you wanted, there are some things that I hope you do not do for your conscience, after all, you should not do things when you know you have an advantage unfair.] [But you can still participate in another sport besides basketball, I just hope you do not overdo it, but by taking the sports you have no problem to have other jobs, and having a job can also help you to better accomplish the things that you do have to do.] [Depending on the job you choose you may even gain new skills or reveal and train some of your hidden stats, luck, for example, was a hidden statistic that is only shown now because it is at its maximum.] [So I recommend that you do this from what you want to do a job, so you can have some help since this system exists only for the purpose of helping you to be happy.] After the system said this he realized that he was thinking too much, really if he got new skills to invest it would mean that he could have more success and less risk in that. Jake also understood what the system was worried about if he used his knowledge of the future to become rich and did not interfere in the development of the companies the most that would happen is that people become less rich in the future. But the system already warned some things that Jake could not do as try to bet on the lottery and now use his statistics to be the best in several sports, if he bet the lottery with his luck that was at most would have a great chance of him winning and this would make all lottery raffles after that give different results. So he would be directly affecting the future with that, and as the system said, if he had a dream of winning a medal at the Olympiad he could just pick a sport, it would be unfair if he won in several sports just because he can. "So I''ll choose as my second job Businessman." [Okay, so this is decided, your second job will be Businessman, I already made your new statistics window you want to see?] "Yes, show me, please." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 13 years] [Job: Businessman] [Intelligence 54] [Luck 99] [Charm 24] [Leadership 18] [Policy 4] [Eloquence 27] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [See Through] [Business Vision] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So he can see that it really was different from his basketball player statistics window, several of his other stats were hidden, now he understood what the system meant by hidden statistics. The system only shows the statistics that are necessary for the job he will do, such as to be a businessman he did not need physical statistics the system took out all, just as for a basketball player it is not essential to know politics or have charm. But he would like to have static leadership as a basketball player too, even so, he understood what the system meant, he also had far fewer skills than as a basketball player. [Now I''m going to explain a few things about your statistics, charm, politics, leadership, and eloquence, all these statistics are needed for your second job, politics is a statistic you might not need to use if you only work with investments, but as an entrepreneur, you might need.] [The other statistics are present in several other jobs as well, charm is a statistic that shows a characteristic of attracting people, can help both your posture, your face, your voice and even your look, your appearance counts a lot for its charm too, is a statistic that can make people trust you more too.] [Leadership is a statistic that works very well with the charm, shows how you have control of the situation and your confidence too, can help in basketball too even though it does not show up in your first job statistics window, I already said about it all has these statistics only that is not shown in numbers.] [Eloquence also works well with charm and leadership, is the statistic that allows you to better express what you think and can also convince people or even deceive people.] [And these statistics, as well as intelligence, do not have a person-to-person pattern, they''ve had people with 80 of charm or leadership in history, it''s hard to compare, but it might help a lot in your work.] [Skills, as you''ve seen, are active, that means just that you have to think about the skill and focus on them to activate, unlike those in basketball these skills do not have ranks, and they''re just to help you.] [See Through is a skill that lets you know if a person is speaking the truth or lying, can be used at any time, but you have to concentrate before the person speaks to know if it is true or false.] [Business Vision is a skill that lets you know if a business is going to work or not, this skill has a limitation, you have to have enough information about the company and that skill can only say it within 3 years after you have to use the ability again.] [In addition, this ability also can not tell why the company is going to work or why it will fail, a company can have a lot of profit and even though its actions fall for some reason, so the skill is not perfect.] Even with the system saying this would already be a great help to have these skills, he would have to be careful with the first skill, or after a while, he would become suspicious of all people, this should only be used with yes or no, so there would not be much room for error. Jake was very happy with this ability, he can also understand that with the system even if he chose to do something other than basketball he could have succeeded, even so, this job was only to secure his future, then he would still try to play basketball even if he has problems like those of now. After all, he promised before he died that one day he would be an NBA champion, and as Jake got a second chance he wanted to do everything he could, as well as form a family, if he found a woman who loved him, he would marry her even if he had then to fight for this love. So Jake went to bed happy to have gotten help from the system on what he would have to do now. The other day in the morning Eva saw that Jake was very happy, she was happy with that too since Jake decided she would leave the basketball team although he sometimes smiles as mother Eva knew that Jake was not really well, he was sad because he could not do what he liked. "What happened, Jake, you look really happy today." "It''s nothing, Mother, today after school, I''m going to have to go to Joseph''s house all right?" "Of course it''s okay, I''m glad you''re with your friend long after you''ve left the team." Jake just smiled, he and Joseph were close friends, after that they were like brothers, but Joseph was very fond of studying and so they did not go out together because of this when Joseph was not studying Jake he was busy with other things. But even so, they were as friends as others who went out together all the time, today Jake would go to Joseph''s house to talk to Oliver about the things he asked for, as Jake was trying to keep his mother''s investments secret, as Oliver calls his house to talk about it. Jake was eager to start investing, after all, what he remembered in the future the company''s stock appreciated very quickly, from 1990 until the bubble burst, so Jake did not want to waste months when his money could be increasing. As Jake said, he would not invest all the money, but it was not because he was afraid that it would not work, but because he had to save money for an emergency that could happen, after all, it would be a waste to sell valuable stocks in a hurry just because he needed money. Jake also did not think about becoming a billionaire and joining Forbes, he just wanted to make money so he would never have to worry about running out of work again, and that would not be difficult, if he just left his money there for a few years he would be a millionaire with the gain of the shares. In addition, Jake needed to show that he knew what he was doing with investments, so when he talked to Matthew about changing his company business he could be treated as an equal and not a child, that would be the only way to save the company from Matthew of Bankruptcy. Jake had also thought for months about what he would do with his money, and if it worked out he would be a millionaire even if he did not want to, but that would take several years at least, so Jake wanted to get it all done now. So he could only worry about basketball in the future. Chapter 109 The Second Job 4 So Jake went to Joseph''s house, and when he got there the maid immediately took him to Oliver''s office, it seemed that Oliver was already waiting for him. "I was thinking about how to call you here without having to call your house, glad you came on time." "Did you get what I asked for?" "I have, I already talked to the accounting firm that I work with and they are already ready to work with you, it''s just you take the reports on the financial transactions for them and the company solves everything." "But I do not think I''m going to have to discuss this with you, but with your assistant, the daughter of one of my father''s friends is 25 years old and just graduated and took a lawyer''s license a few months ago." "Her name is Emily, and she has quarreled with her father and mother who wants to be independent and live from her own work, but in fact, she still lives with her parents, so you just have to pay a meaningful amount to her and she goes work as your lawyer and assistant. " "How did you get her to work for me?" "I talked to her father, Emily has always been good at university and is very responsible so her father is afraid she will end up in a big law firm like mine and stay forever working for someone else." "But he thinks you''re just joking, so your daughter would never have thoughts of continuing to work as a lawyer with you for a few years." "So you fooled her father? Of course, after she''s worked for me for a few years she''s going to be very successful, I just hope this Emily does not stop working with me after she''s succeeded." "I did not fool her father, I said that you were very responsible and that you could succeed, and he said that if you were successful it was better because your daughter would still work for one person only what is better than working for one firm." "What her father is worried about is that her daughter who has everything she needs at home ends up working too hard for a company expecting a promotion and never has its value recognized." So Jake understood more or less the situation, Emily''s father was afraid that without needing her to end up working for others for life as Jake did in his past life if so, it was better than Emily open a law firm with his father''s money. But to open a successful firm does not only need money but also experience, so her dad wants Emily to get experience with Jake and then open a firm for her. And if she succeeds being Jake''s assistant then there would be no reason for her to stop working for him. "When can I talk to her then?" "Tomorrow, you can trust her and anything I keep my eye on." Jake trusted Oliver if Oliver trusted her, so should he, Jake did not really want to waste much time before he started to invest. So the other day a woman of 1.76 tall because of the high heel entered the restaurant, she had black eyes as well as her shoulder-length hair, a body with good proportions and beautiful glasses, she was very beautiful and had the image of a secretary in Jake''s mind. Soon this woman was taken to Jake''s desk, it must have been Emily, and after a while, she arrived, Jake stood up to receive her. "Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Emily, and I''m the lawyer Mr. Oliver has recommended to work with you as an assistant." "Hi, Emily, my name as you should know is Jake and I wanted to know if it''s okay with you to work as my assistant because if you''re being forced by your father, work can be complicated in the future." "No, although I know that my father was also very happy that I was working with you and not a firm, I accepted that job myself, after all, I heard that you intend to be a basketball player and that you already have sponsorship, and also wants to work with investments." "So I think in a few years working with you I can get enough experience and I can also see a bit like Oliver work to learn something, I also do not want to start working in a firm where I can not do anything for years and also I do not want to depend on my father to succeed." Jake liked Emily''s honesty, he was really worried that he might have a lot of work to do during those years, so it''s best if Emily really wants to work because only then can he have what he wants. "Okay then, I liked you so you''re hired, I can not pay you a high salary in the early years, then your salary will be $ 6,000 if you accept." It was a larger salary than she expected from Jake''s situation and age, Jake knew Emily did not need a high salary, but Jake would take at least 8 years until she could raise her salary, so he gave as much as he could. "I accept." "Okay then, get a notepad and pen and always take it with you." So Jake gave him a notepad that looked more like a calendar and a pen and handed to Emily, he needs her to start working as soon as possible so he would not lose money after Emily picked up the notebook Jake spoke again. "I want you to prepare a document along with Oliver so that you can open a small investment firm as my representative, put Oliver''s name in addition to mine and yours." "The name of the company will be" JK Investments "and will allow you to move the money on my behalf." "I''m going to give you 250,000 dollars, you''re going to take that money and invest everything in the Cisco company, after that you''re going to send a copy of that contract and the documents of those actions to the accounting firm and another copy to Oliver." Emily was surprised by the size of this investment, $ 250,000 worth of shares in a company show how much Jake has confidence in the growth of this company, at the same time showed that Jake really wanted to work seriously. "After that I want you to always check the movements of these actions, I think after the whole process is complete I will not need you for a few years, so if you want to do something else you can tell me." Emily was surprised again, but soon understood, her job is to analyze the investments, so as long as Jake did not move these actions she would have nothing to do, but even so, he needed an assistant because otherwise, he would have to spend several weeks running behind it. So Jake went to his house after talking to Emily, working with stock seemed simple, but it was because Jake had knowledge about the future, actually it''s really simple like that, you choose a company, choose the amount to be invested and pay that amount , then just know the right time to sell. Of course as Jake said there would be other things Emily would have to do in those years, what Jake meant by assistant was forever that he needed he would have a preference. After a week in late September of 1992, Emily appeared again to inform Jake that he had managed to buy just over 6,000 shares for $ 40 with the $ 250,000 Jake, he was very pleased. He was in a hurry because one thing that companies did several times at this time to have more investment was to divide the shares, this did not cause any loss to those who had invested before, and as people were more uninformed in a few months the action returned to the previous value. Jake wanted to invest before the company made too many divisions, so he could earn more. After that, the months passed quickly and soon he was coming to Jake''s vacation again, at school Jake and Joseph had the best grades in the room as ever, now Jake had to pay more attention in class because he had many things he did not know now. Clara and Tiffany had hardly spoken to Jake these months, it seemed they had discovered several mistakes in the companies that had to be corrected when he spoke to Oliver it seemed that the companies were also preparing for future investments as well. Jake was happy for them, Eric had also done very well in the Olympics and now he was covering the NBA, Eva was fine as always and only he who had not done many things this year, this showed him how important basketball was in his life, without playing he had nothing to do. Of course, he always trained when he could, but without playing on the court with other people he had no way of knowing how much better. Jake also got a little sad when he learned that the basketball team had won the state championship and would play the national championship early next year, it seemed that this year''s team did not really need Jake to win the games. So Jake was happy that the school team had won the state championship, but he was sad because with that the coach managed to show that he was right in his high rule and also that Jake was not needed in the team this year. Chapter 110 The Time Goes 1 Of course, Jake knew that this year''s Elite team was always a favorite to start with as the current champions of the national championship, but even so, he was sad about it. Jake also knew that although the team is doing well this year, next year this team of champions will graduate this year, and for the next year the Elite team will not have a good base, so Jake saw in training the players who should be the surrogates of this champion team are his former Middle School classmates. But Jake did not remember seeing any good PG among the players in training, and even if the coach called Jake he would have to go back on his word since he said that Jake would not play on his team in any position other than SG that the coach wanted. So Jake thought that this success was temporary, but even if the team was going badly he still would not have room for him with this coach, so Jake was waiting to see if something changed in those years and if nothing changed he would cancel the contract he had to stay in school until college and move to another school. Jake did not want to do this, after all, it would be a lot of disregard for Joseph who followed him to study at this school, he could not be dragging his friend around changing schools just because a problem arose. So Jake just had to see how things would develop over the next few years to make his decision, now that the holidays were over, it was time for Jake to have his annual trip with his mother. This year they would travel to Italy, Jake called in advance this year to the travel agency since he was in the freest time, as always Jake already told the phones of the hotels to the agency and they only needed to prepare the tickets and reservations , and so the agency got from Jake another travel script. So when Jake''s vacation came he warned all his acquaintances that they would be out of the country for a few weeks, everyone was already accustomed to it, only Emily who was a little surprised. Eva was also used to it, she was happy when Jake said they would go to Italy this year, despite being a simple woman and not having many different experiences in life, Eva easily got used to this annual routine of world travel. After all things like that mark a person''s life, now Eva did not even remember that in the beginning, she accepted these trips just so that Jake would master the language she was studying, she only liked the trips. As Jake had thought after a few years not having to worry too much about things and getting rid of the depression that had affected her life for years, Eva was now slowly changing her perspective on life and personality, now she tended more to accept the things without caring so much about the consequences. The trip began with them going to Milan which was the world''s fashion city, Jake had not visited Milan in his past life, but he wanted to show this city to his mother. There they visited the Duomo which is the third largest church in the world in Gothic style, after which they saw the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery which was a nearby attraction. But Jake did not want to go to Milan so much for the attractions and took the time to stroll around the city with Eva, in places like this just to be in the city where you heard so many times already brings joy to people. The next city they visited was Verona, which was the city where Romeo and Juliet''s story was going. Jake recalled that his mother was very fond of reading this story. Afterwards, they went to Venice where they saw several incredible places, it was different to see a city where people thought about boats, Jake and Eva took a boat trip through the rivers of the city as well. After Jake took Eva to Bologna, there is no way to travel around Italy and not enjoy the wonderful food of that country. Afterwards, they went to Florence which was a city in which just walking along the streets you can breathe art, so also know one of the great historical cities of Italy. Then they passed quickly to see the tower of Pisa and soon they went to Rome where they would be until the end of the trip after all Rome was a place where one could stay several days quietly. First, they went to the Colosseum where they saw one of the most famous places in the world, Jake did not even find anything interesting in the place beyond history, but Eva found everything incredible, so it was worth visiting those places. Then they went to the Vatican where they were fascinated by the grandeur of the place, especially the Basilica of St. Peter, a place that deserved reverence. Then they just strolled through the city for the rest of the holiday, then it was Jake''s birthday day when he was 14, now Jake felt that his second phase of childhood and adolescence was faster than in his previous life. But Jake had to admit that he preferred these little more than 3 years of living in this life which was his second chance than the 40 years of his past life, though one might say that Jake had some success in his past life and did what wanted. Without a family and people, you like to share make it all feel empty and meaningless, now Jake had a lot more people who cared about him than in his entire life. In addition, Jake could also feel that his mother was having the life he always deserved, sometimes Jake thought that his second chance was also the chance that Jake wanted to correct his mistakes and give a good life to his mother and the people with which he cared. After a nice trip, it was time for Jake to come home, he had to go back to school and also keep training for when he could play again, he could be on the same level as the best high school players. But Jake could feel that he was improving much slower now, so he could tell that it was crazy his thinking that at the age of 16 he could have the ability to play in the NBA. He was a real person and could see that his only and greatest talent for being a professional player was his 2 and 3 shots, but Jake still doubted if that would be enough to be an NBA player. After all, he has a skill that is superior to his age in the shots out because he trained more than 10 years in his past life, and even then he did not think he was any better than any NBA player. [You''re charging too much Jake, maybe if you did not have me you would not be the biggest star in the NBA with just your talent, but you have to remember that there''s no such thing in this world as you missed the chance to play in his past life even with his talent.] [Many people could also have a talent for being the best basketball player of all time, but they chose to have another profession in life, anything can happen, so there are many who have been lucky enough to become stars because they have been trained by excellent coaches.] [You were not fortunate enough to have a great coach, too, but you''ve had more than 10 years of training in your past life, so Jake takes that chance and become the great player you''ve always wanted to be.] [As for the subject of your skills I''ll tell you one more thing, even if you had the same skills and the same physical stats as an NBA player you could not do the same as that player.] [Your body is not yet fully developed, so even with your physical statistics you are still a child, so do not think too much about it, it is only after your 16 years that you can begin to compare yourself to a professional player, developed, but its height will continue to increase.] [So to know what your 3-point shot will look like, you have to wait a few more years, after all, you will have to adjust many things in those two years to create your own style.] After hearing this from the system he felt better, really the world has never been fair to everyone, to begin with, many people with lousy personalities are born into wealthy families and face no difficulties in life while other people starve to death every day. Many of these people who die every day unfairly could have made the world better if they had the right opportunities, so Jake stopped feeling inferior and promised himself once again that he will be a great basketball player in the future. Without Jake knowing the system was analyzing his body and mentality all this time to help Jake improve, so the system knew that Jake had released a kind of blockage that had in his mind at that time that prevented him from improving quickly. The mind of a human is something incredible, even with Jake having everything to improve and become an incredible player if his mind thought otherwise would prevent him from improving in the future. And Jake felt inferior to other players he knew he could face in the future, and also felt guilty for playing better than the others now just because he had the help of the system, now that Jake had freed himself from that thought he was free to explore the potential. Chapter 111 The Time Goes 2 In fact, what Jake was going through was normal for young people, and after he returned to the past despite his mentality being over 40 years old, he was still affected by his actual age. So Jake was going through puberty again, but he was not as affected as the youngsters normally were, except that with that basketball subject even his mind being more mature he thought that what he was doing was not so sure. The reason for this was the character of Jake who spent most of his life doing what was right, and even worse was that he felt that even having an ''advantage'' over others was not yet enough to be better than the others. It was only after this problem was settled in her mind that her abilities could improve normally could this be done by her parents or coach, but Eva already thought Jake was more mature than she was, and her coach was now another source of trouble for Jake. So who had to figure it out was the system. So Jake came back for another semester at school, and so the time kept ticking away, as Jake was not playing he thought time would pass again without any news, but this time Joseph appeared with a surprise. At the interval of classes when they would go out to eat, as usual, Joseph called Jake and said he had something new to tell, as Jake never saw Joseph so excited he was curious as well. "So Joseph, tell me what''s the news you had to tell me." "I found a girl I like." This made Jake really surprised, he never thought his friend would find a girlfriend before him, that change of appearance must have made Joseph more confident. "So you''re dating?" "No, I still did not have the guts to tell her, I was hoping you''d know who she was before and see what she thought of her." "Who''s going to date her is you and not me, so you''re the one who needs to like her after you start dating you introduce me." "But you''re my friend, I think it''s important that you approve of the girl I''m dating, so I''m safer." After Joseph said this, Jake was a bit thrilled, that meant that Joseph considered Jake really important to say this if Jake said he did not approve of the girl that Joseph liked Joseph would not ask the girl to date him. "I think it''s really cool that you think so well of me, but you''re a little early, you usually ask your friend''s approval to marry and not to date." "I think it''s better this way, if you do not think it''s legal, you can get rid of me later." "No, your girlfriend has to have a good personality and be nice to you and not to everyone, you just need to know her reputation, if several people find her cool she must be cool." "There are several people that I personally do not like, but I do not think these people are bad, it''s just that I did not get along very well with them for some reason." "What if my girlfriend is someone you do not like?" "Oh I think we can learn to live together for your sake, besides, you still have not asked to go out with her, how are you so sure they''ll be boyfriends?" "Because we''ve talked a few times before, and I think she likes me too, so if I ask to date her, I think she accepts." "So do it, do not lose your youth, after you start dating you introduce me to it." Jake really did not expect Joseph to get a girlfriend, but he was happy with his friend, Jake wanted everyone around him to be very happy because he was of the opinion that happiness was contagious, sometimes just hearing good news from Someone you can also be happy. So in the next few weeks, Joseph would disappear sometimes at lunchtime when Jake asked if Joseph had already started dating the girl his friend said they were still talking. Jake admired his friend''s patience, with Joseph being so careful so everything would probably work out, this made Jake think that he had completely changed his friend''s life, it was impossible for Joseph to come to this school in his past life. Jake could only hope that his friend''s new life would be much happier, so after another day of school he went home, Jake was now reading his German book to prepare for the next trip. This was the book with which Jake could learn the most, even in his past life he could not master the language, this was his chance, with a year Jake could master his fifth language. The other day Jake and Eva went to cooking class, some people had come and gone, so only with Anna that Eva had a deeper friendship, that year many women did not like to talk to Jake too. After all Jake was already 14 years old and the women no longer found him a cute child and made cookies for him, just Anna who still cared for him. After the class was over Jake and Eva went to Anna''s house to talk, after those years together they were more and more like a family, Anna also felt more alone because there was no one in her family to talk to. Just as he did not have much to talk about, Jake ended up talking about his friend having a new love, Jake did not like gossip anymore, the atmosphere of cooking classes left his tongue looser in time. Besides, neither Eva nor Anna talked to Oliver, so Joseph''s secret was well guarded with these three. But what Jake ended up just bringing to the subject eventually came back to him. "And you, Jake, do not you plan on getting a girlfriend?" "I do not know, I have not met any girl I like, I have to wait for it to happen naturally in order to work out." "I think you should try harder my son, this way I can never be a grandmother." "It''s true Jake, get out more with people your age and not just your mother, you''re almost a man now, just so you''ll have opportunities to find a girlfriend." Then the conversation was over and Jake sat just thinking about the corner of the room. Even after she returned home Jake still did not talk to her mother, Eva thought he was angry and also did not try to talk to her son. Actually, this subject was one of Jake''s sensitive points, what Eve said about not being a grandmother was exactly what happened in Jake''s past life, but it was because of the accident. Even so Jake knew it was Eva''s dream to be a grandmother, and Jake also had to hear about it for almost 20 years in the conversations with his company friends, when someone chooses not to have a child is one thing, but for Jake, that choice was taken. After resting for one night Jake''s mood returned to normal. So a few more months passed Joseph still had not introduced the girl to Jake, and even if he did Jake was not in a very good mood at the time, he just received the news that the basketball team had once again won the national championship of the high school. Jake was happy about the school, but he could not help but feel a little excluded, of course, he knew that even if he was a substitute he would not be so happy to win that national championship. Coach Philips should be in high confidence the school in him, so Jake did not have much hope to play next year, now that Joseph also had a new girlfriend Jake was not thinking about leaving school this year. He now had to hope for something different to happen next year, after all, Tiffany and Clara were patients more Jake did not think companies would like to pay sponsorship to someone who was not even playing and did not have much fame. The only good thing about it was that Jake felt that his ability improved even by training alone, he thought he would now be on the same level as the team players who won that year, less than. So if Jake entered the team for next year was sure to play well in the matches, so he had to wait to see what would happen. So a few more months passed and the first year of school had ended Jake as he was always the first in the classroom with his perfect grades, but Joseph''s grades had fallen, it seemed that dating was really detrimental to the study after all. Jake was sure his friend had started dating, but Jake hoped his friend would soon introduce this mysterious girlfriend to him. At the beginning of her mid-year vacation that would take a few months, Jake finally got a call from Clara, it seemed like the corporate restructuring was over and she wanted to have lunch with him. Jake accepted and the next day he went by taxi to the restaurant, arriving there the attendant took Jake to Clara''s table. "Hi Jake, how long." "I have to say this, even if you were busy with your company you could have some time to talk to friends." "I know, but I lose track of everything when I''m focused on work, the only person I normally talked to during this year was Tiffany, and that''s because she showed up to help me work sometimes." Chapter 112 The Time Goes 3 Jake could feel a sense of sadness in Clara''s voice as she said it, and he could imagine why her marriage must be in a worse situation than before. Jake could understand why Clara''s father did not show up at the company, he had 10 percent of the company just because he wanted to help open the Clara company and had to get his stake in the company. But Jake did not think Clara''s husband was not in the company either because he trusted her, it was more because he should not care about Clara''s company, even Tiffany who was just the friend and also had the company to look after. If Jake was older he would try to help Clara with his knowledge, but even now he wanted to do more harm than good to Clara. "And you Jake, how''s the situation at school? Still out of the team?" "Yes, unfortunately, my situation also seems to be more complicated, right now the team just won the second national championship, even though the team that won these two times now goes to university the authority of the coach is greater than ever now." "Is that you? Planning to go to another school?" "No, I think it would be very unfair to my friend Joseph who supported me when I went to this school." This time Jake did not miss that Joseph was dating after all Clara was an acquaintance of Matthew who was Joseph''s grandfather if Clara told this to Matthew it was only a matter of time before Oliver knew. "In that case, I have some news that will interest you, after we have managed to adjust everything that had to be done in the companies we are thinking of opening a small-scale few shops in Europe as well." "So we knew that Spain at the beginning of next month there will be a basketball tournament in Madrid, I do not know what their goal is in doing this tournament, but I thought you could try participating." "It will be divided by ages as it was in New York, but will only be from the age of 13, so you can join the division for 14 years, this can help at least a little in announcing the company in Spain." Hearing that Jake was excited, it had been more than a year since he had not played in a court with other players, only in his training in imagination training, Jake even thought of looking for some tournament to attend, but he did not have as many contacts as Clara and did not know where the tournaments were held. Even though he knew of a tournament in Miami he would not participate, after all, he wanted something new a challenge as well, and although Jake was confident of winning from anyone at his age he could not guarantee if he were going to another country. "You can count on me, it''s been a long time since I was looking for some tournament to attend, you brought it in at the right time." So Jake came home to tell the news to his mother when Eve knew this she was very happy too, she knew Jake was eager to play again. In fact Eva was surprised that Jake had not yet decided to change schools, of course, Jake did not tell her it was due to his friend''s consideration, and Jake still thought it was not time yet, even if he went to a new team, even though it happened at Jake''s previous school, he would have to try to lead the team to victory in the national championship alone. But if this situation continued for another year Jake would really have to apologize to Joseph and move to school, after all even if the Elite school could give him a place at the guaranteed university, Jake did not need to. He had more than enough money to pay for a university now, and he could win a seat for several universities just by playing basketball. So after a few weeks, he went to Spain again with Eva, only this time it was not the trip but rather to play basketball, Clara would arrive after a few weeks more, after all, it''s almost a week to start the tournament. So Jake stayed with his mother in the same hotel that stayed on his last trip, as Jake was already sponsored by Tiffany and Clara''s companies he did not accept that they pay their expenses for this trip. So the week passed quietly, Jake walked every day with Eva to save some more memories of Spain, Eva loved this country, and so Jake also came to like it too. And so came the day the tournament was to begin, the format of this tournament was the same as Jake participated in New York, the games of each age range would be made in one day each and the games of the final would be made all the last day. Jake had to admit that this was a great way to organize a tournament, so they could have as many games as possible and on the last day, the audience would be the biggest to see the final matches. Jake had not participated in a tournament like this for some years, so he was a little excited even if today was not his day, today was the day of the games for the age of 13, Jake hoped to see high-level games in the final phase. As Jake hoped, he could see several talented players during the games, had two players in the present that had a level similar to what David had at their age, when it arrived late in the afternoon only four players remained. By chance of the tournament the two players who had a level of skill near David would face in the semifinal, so Jake could say that this game would be an early final, whoever wins this game would win on the final day in the final. The two players knew how to give shots from outside and were also good at the internal scoring, so it was an interesting game, as David also these players did not have much strength in the defense, so the game proceeded with many scored points, in the end, one of the two players slipped and the other hit a shot from outside and won the game scoring the 10 points. The other game of the semifinal was also quite disputed, but this was because the technique of the players was bad, it was a game with many mistakes and the winner was happy with second place because he knew that he would lose in the final in a few days. Jake returned home happy after that, after all, tomorrow would be the day he would play, Eva stayed at the hotel and did not accompany Jake to the place of the tournament, after all, Jake was the one who knew the way better in this city. During the night Jake took longer to sleep excited. "Fate, as I''m going to play tomorrow I want to know how my stats are after a year of training." [Sure here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 14 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.72 m] [Weight: 69 kg] [Force 25] [Agility 26] [Resistance 27] [Intelligence 54] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling S] [Body Control S] [Man to Man A] [Dribble S] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block B] [Pass SS] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal S] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was surprised and happy after seeing his stats, he knew by instinct that his skill had improved a lot this past year, but he did not expect ranks of the skills to improve as well, now taking away his defensive skills all were rank S. His physical stats were improving slowly, but Jake knew the reason was that he already had all the statistics very high, and if they kept improving so he could even reach the NBA standard in two more years. So if Jake continued this way he would have reached the level he wanted before finishing high school, when he saw his abilities he wondered how his former teammates were, if they were already playing in the high school team now. Jake thought that now that the two-time champion team graduated from high school, their former teammates would naturally become the starters if they had met the height requirement. Mark and Carter are sure to have reached 1.76 m tall, after all, they have always been the highest of the team, David should not have arrived yet, and Harrison just as Jake should not reach that point by the end of that year. Jake really hoped that at least for his former teammate''s coach Philips could do a proper training if his teammates could reach the level of the champion team until next year shows the ability of coach Philips. So after seeing that his solitary training year had paid off Jake can sleep more quietly. The next day Jake woke up very early in the morning and quite excited, and even woke Eve to have breakfast to go to the tournament site. Eva was quite happy to see Jake so excited this morning, she even thought it had been good for her son to have spent that time away from the basketball team. Before Jake was always playing with a lot of pressure for his talent, for sponsorship, for being the captain of the team, so it seemed that Jake did not have much fun playing, it was as if he just did an obligation. But after spending that time without playing Jake seems to have regained his love for basketball, if Jake really wanted him he would not have to play any more high school and would still be in a university, but Jake was looking for every kind of solution to be able to come back to play, it shows your love for the sport. Chapter 113 The Tournament in Europe 1 Tiffany was still busy solving some more problems in her company, as she spent much of her time in that year helping Clara, she ended up leaving some work unmade. So Tiffany could not go to Europe to see Jake''s tournament in Spain, she had to finish everything in time for the opening of some stores in Europe that would be in a few weeks. Clara also could not go to Jake''s tournament, as Tiffany was busy helping her out this year, Clara decided she would organize the details of the store openings alone, so she could just go in time to see the final. Jake did not care much about it, he put on the shirt with the sponsors and the bandana and the arm protector, as this was an open tournament he could wear whatever he wanted so he did not need to hide the marks of the companies. As this was the day of the games of the age of 14 years, they had many more people than yesterday in the bleachers, after all, today it should be more exciting than yesterday. Jake long ago did not mind the audience during the games, he heard from one of the organizers that he would have to play 6 games today, this showed that many young people had signed up for the tournament. Jake''s first game was early on, his opponent was a young man who was much smaller than Jake last year, it was different from the experience of being bigger than his opponents for him. Jake got the ball and then shot outside to score 2 points, as the other tournament the score would go up to 10 points, who did first win, and shots from outside were worth 2 points. After he regained the strength he had in his past life and even outperformed after training for a year, Jake was much more confident in shots from outside now. In addition, Jake was very excited after spending almost a year without playing so he did not think of making it easy for the opponent, he would play the best he could every game and would do a better advertisement for his sponsors as well. The opponent was surprised by this then tried to press more defending more closely to not give space to Jake give the shot out, Jake also realized this and made a feint, when the opponent fell on the feint Jake did the dribble and then ran to do the layup and 1 more point in the game. The opponent thought he had been inattentive and paid more attention in the other attack, so Jake made a feint and the opponent did not move, so Jake made a step back and tried another shot from outside to score 2 more points. In less than 1 minute Jake had already made half of the points needed to win, but the opponent seemed to forget the score and just wanted to stop Jake once. Jake, who was also focused on winning, soon set off for the attack once more, this time the opponent was doing a better job in defense and Jake could not pass easily, so Jake got a small space and did a quick set shot to make 1 Score. After Jake made a cross jab in another move and passed by the opponent to make another 1 point. In another move, the opponent realized that he could not compete with Jake''s speed and thus stayed a little further to react, and so Jake stepped back to be able to make 2 more points, and the opponent than just let Jake pass to make the final point and win the game. The opponent had to admit that Jake was much better than him, so the defeat was well deserved for him, Jake also greeted the opponent and was very happy after playing and winning after such a long time. So Jake returned to his mother to wait for his next game, he also took a look at the games that were being made, but could not see anyone who stood out from the start. After a few tens of minutes, it was Jake''s turn to have his second game, this time the opponent was bigger than him, but it seemed that it depended more on his height to play and was not very good. So Jake can depend on his much superior speed to always go through the opponent and make the 10 points with his layups, this had been an easier game than the first. Jake won again but could not be very pleased because he found the game very easy, he wanted more difficult opponents to have a better game. After a few more minutes it was Jake''s turn again, his opponent was smaller than him this time too, but seemed to be faster than his previous opponents, this time the ball began with the possession of the opponent. Jake was no longer so confident in his defense after reaching high school, so he concentrated much more than when he attacked, the opponent began to feel some pressure coming from Jake and was more excited to play. He made a feint and Jake ended up falling, so he ran to the diagonal on the right and then made a mid-range shot to make the 1 point. Jake was not much of a freak, but he was so focused on the opponent''s movements that he fell, this time Jake relaxed a little, the opponent tried another feint Jake did not fall. So the opponent tried to use his speed to pass through Jake and also did not get it, so he who started to get agitated forced the mid-range shot and missed the shot, Jake took the rebound and returned to the line of three points to make his attack. The opponent was more distant, so Jake took advantage and made the shot from outside to make 2 points and pass the front on the scoreboard. The opponent did not expect Jake to take the shot off and hit, but now he would be more attentive in defense against Jake, Jake in the other attack threatened to make the shot and the opponent fumbled, so Jake just advanced and made the mid-range shot to make 1 more point. Then Jake started the attack again and saw that he had space, and with confidence, he shot the outside, but this time he did not hit the shot and the opponent took the rebound, so Jake prepared to defend next. Jake''s opponent hoped to have some space to attack, but soon saw Jake coming to defend and make pressure, so he shot the outside and ended up hitting and making the 2 points. With the game tied again Jake''s opponent was more confident and attacked again calmly, Jake did not see the opportunity to steal the ball, he had to admit that the opponent this time was difficult. After trying several things and not being able to get through Jake the opponent tried the mid-range shot again and hit the fourth point in the game and going forward again. Jake was still calm, this was what he wanted a rather difficult game to train his defense, the opponent tried several things and again cannot pass through Jake and so tried another mid-range shot, Jake was waiting for it and jumped along to do the block. The opponent did not expect their attack to be rejected and only reacted when Jake was again in possession of the ball, this time Jake did not try another shot outside and played calmly until making the 10 points and win the game. The opponent this time also had to recognize that Jake was stronger than he, but he thought more than if he had not played so badly in the attack he could have won. This third game gave Jake a new idea, as he wanted to practice his defense more, he would give the ball to his opponent at some point and would train his defense, of course, he would do it only if he had confidence that he could win. After a few more minutes when it would be Jake''s turn to make the fourth game the organization of the tournament announcement that would have 30 minutes for the players to rest, Jake was not tired, but that was because he had won his games easily. The other games were more intense, and after 3 games everyone was a little tired, so just Jake was more upset with this 30-minute break, Eva realized that this decided to talk a bit with Jake until the time passed. "Jake, are you hungry?" Jake really was not hungry anymore as he knew his mother just did it to cheer him up. He nodded, so Eva took some sandwiches he had made at the hotel for Jake to eat. So Jake ate and got a little more relaxed, of course, it was not because he was eating, but because he liked his mother worrying about him. In fact, Eva was a bit worried about Jake these days, and all this was after the conversation they had at Anna''s house, she remembered that Anna told Jake about dating and also that he should spend more time with people his age. So she was wondering if after Jake got older he would not want to spend so much time with her anymore, after all, it''s normal that after the kids grow up they do not want to spend so much time with their parents anymore. So she was a little sad because she would lose this special relationship she had with her son, since long ago Eva always knew that she was very lucky that her son treated her with such care. So Eva was preparing herself mentally so that her son would gradually move away from her and begin to live his own life. Chapter 114 The Tournament in Europe 2 If Jake knew what his mother was thinking he would just laugh, it was impossible that Jake wanted to get away from Eva, even if he started dating people his age or even got a girlfriend he would just organize the way how long he passed with each one. There was no reason for him to lose the family relationship just by having new friends and meeting new people, as Jake had already said the only reason people moved away from their families when they grew up was out of shame, and Jake was the same in his life last. He often wanted to have dinner with his mother after he got older and did not do it because he did not have the courage, so in this life that was his second chance he promised not to lose the good things in life out of shame, if that was so he would not have made so close to Anna. "And then Jake, how do you feel after playing for the first time after so long?" "All right, Mom, I really missed that, but it''s better to know that it looks like even though I stayed so long without a game I could still improve." "This year I hope you can get back to the school team." "I do not think this is going to happen, even without the height rule the coach will not want me to go back to the team and play as PG which is my position." "Then why do not you give up and play in the position the coach wants you to play, I''m sure you''ll play well." "I have confidence that I can also play well as SG, but I do not want to play in that position until I get to college at least, otherwise I feel like I will not be able to play PG for many years." "And why this?" "Because I still have a lot to improve as a PG, and in that position, I feel I can play better in the future, but as SG I can play perfectly, so everyone will realize this and will not give me a chance to improve." "I don''t understand." "It''s more like that, if I have a potential of 90 on a scale of 1 to 100 as SG I''ve already reached 85, that means I can do very little, but as PG my potential is 100, and I''m in the 79 now, I mean if I have the chance I can become much better as a PG than as SG in the future do you understand?" So Eva can understand, Jake wanted to say that it might be better as PG in the future, but it was better as SG now and he did not want to let the others know about it, otherwise, no one would give him a chance to get better. And most of all Jake knew that coach Philips did not know any of this, after all, he trusted the system that said that that means that for some reason coach Philips wanted to take Jake out of PG''s position, and that did not was thinking the best for Jake and neither of the team. Jake wanted to take advantage of high school to train and improve as much as he could his PG skills, then if he was in college or the NBA and that was a decision thinking the best for the team he would accept. So Jake''s rest time was over, and he saw his opponent, he seemed to be smaller than Jake was bigger than his last opponent, so Jake planned to do what he had thought before. He heard someone call the name of his opponent that was Carlos, Jake had the first possession of the ball, so he made a feint, he saw that Carlos appeared not to be very good in defense, after the feint he made a step back and gave the shot from outside to make the first 2 points. In addition to being very confident in his shots from outside, Jake also planned to let the opponent have a chance to attack also to be able to train his defense a little, so Jake planned to only shoot from the outside. It was not like Carlos knew this, so he just prepared for any attempt by Jake, Jake made another feint and Carlos fumbled again, so Jake made a step back and shot the outside. Jake could only laugh at this when he did not mind making mistakes, then Jake got another space and fired another shot from outside and hit again to make 2 more points. When Jake saw that Carlos was discouraged he just forced a shot out to miss, so Carlos finally got the chance and took the rebound and prepared to attack as Jake hoped Carlos can only get in the top 8 because he was good at his attacks. Jake placed himself in a position of defense and prepared calmly, being 6 points ahead and with an opponent who did not seem to be shooting from outside he could defend calmly. Carlos did not know he was being used to train Jake and just attacked, Carlos seemed to be very good at dribbling and was confident in his speed, but Jake was firm in his defense, Jake played over a thousand games in his imagination training, and Most of the games were with bigger opponents and more skilled than him. So if there was one thing that Jake learned and would never forget was to keep a small distance and defend well, so Carlos could not get rid of Jake''s defense in any way and was forced to do a mid-range shot that ended up hitting. So Carlos had to admit that Jake was very good at the defense, this was Jake''s mistake too, having had so much experience in the games of his imagination training he was an excellent defensive player, Jake just could not recognize it because he was very focused on skill ranks. So all Carlos attacks were the same way, he tried anyway, but could not get rid of Jake''s defense and ended up doing the mid-range shot, even though he was very good at it and made 3 points in 3 attacks. Jake still defended calmly, he knew that if he continued to defend so Carlos would make a mistake while focusing on the defense Jake realized that Carlos had a ball domain error and took the opportunity to steal the opponent''s ball. Carlos made a small mistake and Jake stole the ball, this was a difficult game, so with possession, Jake did not want to give Carlos another chance, he made a feint and then a cross jab and ran to do the layup. Carlos did not expect Jake to score internally and ended up suffering a dribble, now he was 7 to 3 for Jake, and Jake made some more feints and using the speed managed to pass Carlos and make 1 more point with a layup. So Carlos gave some space to react better Jake''s speed, Jake took a step back and made another shot from outside, and so did two more points and won the game. After Jake missed a shot from outside the game looked like it would be disputed, but then in 3 more moves, Jake can guarantee the victory by 10 to 3. Carlos was sad for have lost but accepted the result because he knew that Jake was better than him, in fact, many in the stand thought that even if Jake played with those at the age of 17 could still win. Jake greeted Carlos for the good game and soon returned to his mother''s side, Jake wanted to see the games of his possible opponents, Jake could immediately see two opponents that he thought could be strong in two different games, so he hoped that one of these two were their next opponents in the fifth game and in the final. The two were players with a height of 1.76 that was the minimum required by the Philips coach, they should be Centers or PF by the style of play, they were looking for the force showdown and then they tried to do the layup. Jake had a lot of experience in playing with much higher players, but his current opponents were not so the games were close to finishing, yet the results of the two games were not so remarkable, soon they won as Jake hoped. And so it was time for Jake''s fifth game, as Jake hoped his opponent was one of them, so the other should win the semifinal as well and could be the opponent of the Jake final, Jake had heard the name of his current opponent that was Miguel. Soon the game started with the ball in Miguel''s possession, Jake would not risk giving the ball to a difficult opponent so, as Jake hoped Miguel soon tried to use his body to force the passage to the basket. But he had chosen the wrong opponent if Jake was confident in anything it was in his strength that could be seen in numbers in his statistics window, so Miguel soon realized that he was losing in the power struggle and so decided to try the dribble. The dribble was not the forte of Miguel so Jake did not fall into any of his feints, so Miguel tried to use his speed and could not pass, and like his colleagues before him decided that the way was to shoot the mid-range, and so Miguel made the first point. Even though Jake could defend well even someone taller he could not make a block be a foul, so he just had to press and wait for the opponent to miss. So Miguel went again to the attack, even though he was not accustomed to attacking like that, Miguel was also a good player of his team in the school. Chapter 115 The Tournament in Europe 3 Jake was expecting a difficult game when he saw Miguel''s game before, although, despite Jake knowing how to defend well he still had not learned to use his strength to attack, he had to remember to ask Mark to teach him. Miguel was again to attack and after realizing that he could not get past Jake, he made a mid-range shot again, the ball entered again, so Miguel won by 2 points now. Miguel was not satisfied with that either because he knew that some time would go wrong, this was not his style of play, even though he had to keep trying, Jake was still firm in defense, he was waiting for Miguel to miss. After trying to get past Jake again unsuccessfully he tried another mid-range shot and the ball went up again for 1 more point, Miguel liked to have a 3-point advantage in such a difficult game. So in another attack he tried another shot mid-range and missed this time, Jake was quick to pick up the rebound and start his first attack in the game, after going to 3-point line Miguel was already attentive in defense, Miguel''s stance was much more confident in defense where he was better. Jake made a comeback and took the shot from outside, so he scored 2 points and reduced Miguel''s lead. on the scoreboard for 1 point. Miguel did not expect Jake to take the shot outside and so he let Jake take the shot quietly, but the next he would be higher, Jake realized that too, so he tried some feints and Miguel did not fall into any. So Jake pretended that he would make a feint and sped to Miguel, Miguel tried to go after Jake, but without success and so Jake did another 1 point with the layup. So Jake had tied the game, Miguel did not like it, but now he could not ignore the feints of Jake that could be played real, so Jake tried the feint again and Miguel rocked a little, then Jake accelerated again. This time Miguel was aware and tried to block Jake, Jake soon makes the crossover and be able to change the direction of his race quickly, Miguel cannot react to this and can only see Jake do another 1 point with the layup. Miguel had to admit that Jake was a tough opponent, but he had a way to deal with opponents so when Jake went to attack again he saw that Miguel seemed to be giving Jake a way, and that was it. This was a kind of challenge Miguel made for his opponents that he thought he could not win normally, he allowed the opponent to try the layup and he would try the block that was what he did better, if the opponent could score the points would be sincerely admired and if he blocked it he would have the chance to win. Now it depended on whether Jake would accept the challenge or not, Jake decided to try, his layup was rank S and so he was confident in getting the points, so Jake ran along the path that Miguel opened and Miguel accompanied. Jake went to the inside area to make the layup, Miguel was aware went up to try the block too, but Jake had already made the move and just put the ball to make the point, this time Miguel was slower and Jake won. Miguel left the space again and Jake attacked again, this time Jake made another move with his hand at the time of the layup and managed to fool Miguel and make the point, so Jake was already winning from 6 to 3. To make a block correctly the defender has to get a good time, if the defender is very slow the attacker makes the point and if the defender is very fast the attacker can change the way to attack or try to get a foul. If the attacker knows in advance that the defender is going to try to block the move, it is much more advantageous for the attacker, so Jake accepted the challenge, and Miguel also knew that and yet he was confident in himself. After Jake''s first two attacks, Miguel could figure out which time would be right to make the block, so Jake went to the attack again, more confident after doing 2 points Jake went to the layup, Miguel made block at the right time, like Jake had a great speed of reaction after increasing his agility he tried to avoid the block and tried to make the point before. But as he had not completed the move correctly the ball did not come in and Miguel took the rebound, even so, Miguel was surprised, he made the block at the right time but Jake still managed to try to make the point. So Miguel started his attack, but again he was having trouble going through Jake again, but this time Miguel thought of a way to try to use his height to attack, he went to the bottom of the court and his back to the basket. Jake thought Miguel was trying to use his strength again to try to move forward and went to stop him, but Miguel had a different idea when Jake arrived, he could not move forward, but he had already trained several moves of that position. So Miguel used his body to turn toward the basket, shielding himself with his back to Jake, and then made the mid-range shot, Jake had never trained to defend from that position so he could just watch Miguel spin and could only react after Miguel did the shot and the point. After Miguel made the move again and got another 1 point making the game 6 to 5 for Jake, so Miguel discovered a good way to attack, Jake was not sure what to do, but he had a way to prevent Miguel from making this move easily. After Miguel tried the same move again, but when he turned his back Jake used his strength and with his body pushed Miguel away from the basket, so even if Miguel made the turn would still be far from the basket. Miguel still did not know how Jake was that age that he was so strong, but that was not important because with this movement Miguel lost the way to make this move, so he could attack just the same way he did in the beginning. Miguel tried the mid-range shot and managed to hit and tie the game, then in another move he did not have the same luck and ended up failing, Jake ran to get the rebound and make his attack, when he reached the 3-point line Jake got a space and made the shot from outside to make 2 points. Now the game was 8 to 6 for Jake, so Jake started the attack again he made some feints then got a space to the right side and made the mid-range shot to make another point. Jake took the challenge and went straight to the inside, Miguel knew that Jake would accept his challenge and this was also his. last chance to make the block and try to win the game. So Miguel waited for the right moment to try to make the block, Jake just ran quickly towards the inner area, soon Jake jumped to make the point, Miguel jumped together to try the block, but this time Jake who had gotten impetus from the race did not try to do a layup and went to the Dunk. So with a Dunk, Jake won the game, Miguel did not even have the chance to try the block because he did not expect Jake to try the dunk in that game, and he was convinced after losing that game. The crowd was also excited to see a dunk in this game and everyone started to applaud the good game, Jake greeted Miguel for the good game and went to his mother because he wanted to see the end of his opponent''s game in the final. Although Jake was right and the tallest player was winning his opponent who was in the last four, he was not weak, so the game was being point-to-point despite the advantage of the taller player. So after a while the game ended and Jake confirmed who was his opponent in the final in a few days, Jake could not play in that game so he was confident to win, after all, he could not risk taking a trip to Spain for nothing. After that Jake went home happy to have won, if this was a game in the days when cell phones and the internet were everywhere, Jake''s game would be a hit on social networks. This time Jake went every day after his game to the tournament site to see the games of people of all ages, of course, Eva did not want to see those games where Jake would not play and stayed in the hotel, so Jake tried after seeing the first games guess who would be in the final. In addition, Jake wanted to see if he learned anything about how to defend himself against plays like Miguel did against him, and so he saw that it was almost the same way he did even though not everyone had the same strength as him before to become an adult and thus contended for space so as not to allow the attacker to turn on the defender easily. Chapter 116 The Tournament in Europe 4 So Jake can hit the finalists of the tournaments with the ages of 15 and 16, in games with the elders all were very disputed and had many good players so Jake cannot guess, but he can learn a lot by watching these four days of games. Before he did not care much about watching the games with youngsters of those ages because he was in a very distant reality for him, but now that Jake was in high school these people were possible opponents for him one day. In the case of Spain, he would only play against them if he could be a professional, but he thought of youngsters in general as opponents, with the system to help he could not give the excuse that he was too young to dispute with these players. After seeing the final days of the qualifiers the finals would be the next day and he could no longer just watch because he also had to play, Jake heard that there would also be a television channel covering the games of the finals and several local newspapers as well. So it would be a good advertisement for the companies of Tiffany and Clara when he won, Clara said he could not be in time to follow Jake''s game in the final because he had to solve some things even before opening his stores in Spain. Jake understood this very well, the business never has certain forecast to finish, thus it could not even be called of unforeseen and yes it was a common thing, the important thing was to have no error after the stores were opened. Jake was already happy that he would have his mother with him on the final day, back at the hotel he was remembering the first Dunk he made in the game against Miguel, Jake had seen that his layups were already reaching the table normally, so he thought that if he took more momentum and used his superior physical statistics he could get a Dunk. And it turned out well, even though the rank of that ability was too low for him to try hard on the games after he grew up a bit and trained more skill would be another resource for him in the games. But if he was unmarked and running to make the points as it has happened several times he could try the Dunk, after all besides being suitable for him to do this was a big boost to team morale in the game. The other day Jake woke up early again, after all, today would be the day of the final, Eva looked affectionately at her son who was all excited, she thought that only when it came to basketball Jake seemed to be really a child. "Do you think you can win today, my son?" "I''m sure, I have more confidence when I can play alone, after all, it only depends on my result to win, but even so my opponent seems to be very strong, I have to play more seriously today." Eva knew that even though Jake was struggling on the first day of the tournament he had not done his best, in fact not even she knows what would be the best of her son, after all in the final of the national championship of the Middle School both she and all that were in the crowd thought Jake''s team would lose, but Jake managed to get the win in the end. Of course, the biggest reason for this is that Eva does not get too much basketball, Jake really overcame his limits in that national championship final game, but he was only 13 at the time now more than 1 years later with Jake growing up and training every day was normal that he improved a lot. After they went to the tournament site where all the finals of all ages would be held, Jake waited close to his mother as he listened to the people''s conversations in the stands, most people came here to see the games of the elders. Soon the first game of the day that would be the final for the age of 13, Jake saw the player he knew would be the winner since the semifinal and paid attention, most of the fans had not come that day so they hoped for a good game. But as Jake hoped after a few minutes the first final ended up being 10 to 4 for the player Jake expected to win, it was a one-sided game, of course since they were all good players it was difficult for someone to win by 10 to 0, so the 4 points were just the basics. Then it was Jake''s game, his opponent was Raul and he seemed confident in the win, of course, the people in the crowd who watched Jake''s game expected him to win if he played the same way as in the semifinal, but it was normal for Raul to be confident, usually in a game with two players of similar skill the highest would win. But that was true only when they had similar abilities, Jake received the first possession of the ball and smiled, Raul was a better defender than Miguel, but only when they arrived near the basket. Jake just advanced calmly and Raul took a step back to keep the distance, so Jake made a step back and made the shot out, so he made the first two points of the final, the fans liked to see a shot from outside and applauded. Raul did not expect Jake to take a shot from outside and it made him more upset, but soon recovered his calm and defended Jake more closely. Jake who waited for this made a fake and Raul fell on the feint, so Jake just ran to the other side and did not give chances for Raul to recover and did the layup to score another 1 point. Jake liked to use his speed more when he played more seriously because he knew there was no one in High School who was faster than him, it was a safe play. So Raul had to go a little further away as he watched for a possible shot from outside Jake, this was the suffering of all who defended against Jake, could not know what he would do next. Jake made some more feints, but Raul did not fall and so Jake pretended to do another feint and really accelerated, Raul was able to follow this time so Jake made a crossover and then a bait behind his back and Raul who fumbled in these fast movements ended up on the ground and so Jake ran free and made a dunk to score another 1 point. The crowd began to cheer and cheer more lively with the beautiful plays of the final, Raul stood up from the embarrassing ground and went to defend a little distracted Jake realized this and made a feint and then a step back to make a shot out and get 2 more points. So Jake was more excited winning by 6 to 0 and Raul wanted only power for Jake once and score 1 point not to lose very ugly, but Jake decided to take this game seriously and did not want to give any chance to the opponent. Jake made another feint and a cut dribble and ran to do the layup plus 1 point, Raul was helpless in defending against Jake the worst was that when Jake could get through it with his speed could not react, if it was not an official tournament he would even complain that Jake should be older than 14 years. The crowd only wanted to see a beautiful spectacle and did not care about Raul and twisted louder, Eva was also happy with her son winning and cheering together. So Raul gave space to Jake to make the shot from outside, so if Jake erred he would have a chance to make at least 1 point, Jake took the chance and fired a shot from outside to make 2 more points. After Jake got the ball again, now it was the last ball of the game if Jake made that point the game would end, Raul had also given up, but it had to look like he would still fight to the end. Seeing that Raul seemed inattentive Jake saw the opportunity to use the dribble he created, so Jake hit the ball on the ground and moves quickly, Raul who was watching Jake realized that the ball had disappeared from Jake''s hands and thought that he had made a mistake and turned to look for the ball. Jake did not think Raul would deviate from his vision when he did the dribble and just passed Raul when Raul heard the sound of the ball on the court he saw that Jake still had the ball in his mother and running to make the Dunk and the point of victory. Raul did not understand what happened and the fans just thought that Raul gave up the game because everyone could see the ball in Jake''s hands all the time, Jake did not know if his dribble was a success or not because he did not expect Raul to do it. But he was happy to win the tournament, Jake only received a small trophy and a medal with no cash prize and no interviews as it was in New York, yet he was happy. Jake got one of the awards photos and the others would be put in the paper, so Jake went to the bleachers and gave his mother a hug to celebrate. Eva was already used to seeing Jake win, but she would always be happy about it, especially when she heard people in the audience cheer for her son. After Jake celebrated time with his mother he turned to watch the next games, after all, it was a rare chance to learn something by watching these games, soon the final 15 years would begin. Jake had been wondering who would go to the final, but could not guess who would win that game between the two. Chapter 117 The Tournament in Europe 5 Jake would pay attention to every game, so he saw the final between the two 15-year-old players, the two had similar heights and were bigger than Jake. The two were speed players, so this was a game with many feints and short runs, the two players were not very good in defense so it was an open game, who had the first possession had the advantage. So after a running game that started with the first ball won from 10 to 7, if the other was a little better in the defense or the one who won missed a mid-range shot the result would be another. In the next 16-year final Jake had a hunch on who could win this game, both players were tall, but it seemed that one of them was PF and good at defending near the inside area, and the other was an SG and was good at defending in various ways. As it was a concern for Jake, all players even in high school had to be good at both attacking and defending, so Jake focused so much on improving his defense since he had confidence in his attack. So Jake hoped the SG would win because that SG was tall too and knew how to make shots from outside, now it would depend on whether he would hit or miss more, who started with the possession of the ball was the PF, so he had an advantage. The SG pressed with their defense, but the PF managed to pass and made the first point with the layup, then again the PF passed SG and made another point. In the third attack, SG managed to get the hang of it and no longer allowed the PF to pass, so the PF tried the mid-range shot and made another point, in the other attack the PF cannot pass again and tried another mid-range shot and missed this time and so SG got the rebound. So the SG was up to the three-point line and as the PF was not close he took the shot out and made the first 2 points of him in the game, then again the SG tried the shot from outside and made 2 more points and went to the front in the game. After the SG managed to make a feint and a dribble passed by his opponent to make 1 more point, the PF that started well now was losing by 2 points, so he tried to tighten the defense, but SG was fast and soon can do more 1 points with a mid-range shot. After the PF managed to steal the ball and then tried to make an attack and decrease the advantage of the opponent, and the game continued like that, as Jake hoped the SG won by 10 to 7, after all, if he was shot outside, was 2 points. The 17-year-olds were much more exciting to the public, all were over 1.80 in height, so it was normal to have at least 6 Dunks per game, yet the game was much more contested because everyone who came in at the end was excellent players. Then it was the final for the 18-year-old, some of these players could even be professional by age, all were very good, but had no incredible player so the final was won by 10 to 9 with a dunk of the winner. After that Jake left with his mother, Jake had little more than a month of vacations still, so he would not return and waste the trip to Spain, in addition, he wanted to wait to see if the opening of the Tiffany and Clara stores would happen before his vacation was over. Jake wanted to be present at this important moment for her friends, Eva also wanted to stay here for a while longer, after all even if the hotel room cost a little it would be much more waste to leave without taking advantage. Jake liked a famous investor''s phrase that he did not remember the name ''the most valuable asset in the world is time'', it was true so Jake and his mother had to take advantage now that they had time because no one knew what the future would be like. After a few days strolling around town Jake managed to pick up some newspapers that had pictures of him and about the championship, he wanted to give to his mother who likes to save that newspapers that had stories about him and also show Clara that the announcement of the companies was legal in the picture of Jake''s uniform. After a few more weeks in Madrid, Jake and Eva finally got to see everything they wanted in the city, as it was a wonderful city had many sights and types of food to try. And Clara had finally come to town too, Jake called her and said she was still in town, Clara was surprised because she knew that Jake''s tournament had ended a few weeks ago, and then she could not get in touch with him. Now she knew it was because Jake had not come home after those weeks. "Hi Clara, how long have you been able to sort out all the stuff about opening the stores?" "Yes, I got it, I''m sorry I lost the entire tournament even though I asked you to come here." "No problem, actually I wanted to thank you, as I had stayed all this time without playing I wanted to participate in some tournaments like this, but I can never find where they are performed." "How good, then, are you sure you do not want the companies to pay for your trip to Spain? Even when I make my travels, whoever pays is the company, it''s more a matter of justice than having money or not." "This is because you are hired by the company, so all your expenses have to be registered to not generate future problems with shareholders, but I am only a sponsored athlete." "Moreover, because of my mistaken decision to enter this school, I have to stay out of the team and I am not giving visibility to their companies as I should, and my mother and I took advantage of the trip on that vacation." Seeing Jake give so many reasons so Clara did not say anything else, but she was a little surprised that Jake understood that she had to have her expenses recorded so she would not have problems, she knew Jake read books about companies, but she did not expect him to know so much about this. If Clara knew that Jake now had a company too and worked with investments at age 14 she would be even more surprised, Jake intended after showing that he was earning money advising his friends to invest as well. "So why are you still here in Spain? Getting to know the city on your vacation?" "That too, but I decided to stay here to witness the opening of the stores here if they happen before my holidays are over, after all, you and Tiffany are above all my friends." Clara was very moved by this gesture of Jake to stay in town just to support her, she was happy to have worked with Jake all those years. "Yes, it will be done later this week, Tiffany, unfortunately, will not be able to come anyway, but I''ll represent her in the opening as well." "It''s a shame she can not come, but she''ll sort things out in her company more important now, especially with the new stores soon her brands will be represented all over the world." "I hope you''re right, I and Tiffany sacrificed a lot of things and a lot of time for our companies to grow here." "I think you''ve already achieved a lot of things, even if you end up selling your company in the future, you''ve still done something incredible." "I wanted to never have to sell this company, I have a very special affection for her and it''s not just for the money that I did all this but also to feel that I did something in life." Jake understood well what Clara felt, not many women who managed to create a successful company in that decade, after the times were modernizing women could show more and more their ability, but the beginning is always difficult, he was sure that Clara and Tiffany were deserving of being called successful women. So after a week, Jake was present at the mall that the first store would open, Tiffany''s company had a store next to Clara''s company, actually, it was a much larger space that was split in the middle so the rent was cheaper and the shops stayed together. After that Jake returned home with his mother, but Clara would still have to stay in Madrid to sort out some things about the stores, in a few weeks it would be the beginning of Jake''s second year at high school. He said he did not think he could return to the team this year, but he still had some hopes that coach Philips would call him, if he was called back Jake would go to the team without saying anything about the past. Jake went to school on the first day of class to show the newspaper that he had a story about him for Joseph, but it was Joseph who called Jake to talk at the break saying he had something important to talk about. Jake naturally thought that his friend would finally introduce his new girlfriend to him, but Joseph seemed too serious to be about it. "What Joseph was, you''re so serious you''re scaring me." "I''ve wanted to talk to you for a while now, I''m dating, I started before this year''s vacation." "I already knew, it was so obvious after all you get out sometimes and also your grades were falling, so who is she?" "That''s what I wanted to tell you about, she does not like you very much and I think you do not like her too much." Chapter 118 Relationship Problems 1 "I think that''s impossible, I''ve never done anything wrong to anyone in this school, people might want to avoid me, but I do not see any reason why someone does not like me." "I also do not know why, I just know that when I said I wanted to introduce you to her, she said that she already knew you and did not like you very much and that''s why I did not introduce her to you." "And so that was what was so important that you wanted to talk to me?" "Yeah, I do not think things can go on like this, so I want you to see what you might have done wrong and try to get on with it." "Joseph, I think I''ve told you this before your friend and your girlfriend need not necessarily get along, just what needs to happen is that we do not quarrel with each other near you." "So if you already know that she does not like me do not introduce us, I do not even want to know who your girlfriend is, just tell her that no matter what crazy reason she does not like me she will not come and talk to me." "I''m your friend and I have no interest in being your girlfriend''s friend either, so let''s keep things the way they are." In fact, Jake had found it a bit strange after all, he almost did not talk to anyone, let alone give cause for anger at him, so before Joseph had started dating Jake had said that just to reassure his friend and also because he knew he did not have any person he was particularly against. But since it happened Jake still held the same opinion, if Joseph''s girlfriend did not like him much did not matter he was a friend of Joseph and did not want to be friends with his girlfriend too, in addition, they were in school and did not have many reasons to Jake ended up getting close at the moments that Joseph was with his girlfriend after all Jake would be the one that would end up being left. "But I wanted you two to get along, so I could rest easy." "So I''m sorry to tell you my friend, but you''re being selfish in this case, it''s not just because you want something that will really happen and especially in relationships between people if your girlfriend for some reason does not like me I do not think best to force this." "And if even after what I said you still insist on it I would recommend that you talk to your girlfriend and not me about it, after all, I said that I did nothing for anyone and also there is no one whom I do not like here, you have to convince your girlfriend to forget what she has and come and talk to me." Jake understood why Joseph came to him today, Joseph wanted Jake to have done something wrong for him to apologize, but Jake did not do anything wrong for what he remembered and not for a friend would he recognize something he did not do and apologize to satisfy someone''s madness. So if Joseph wanted Jake to get along with his girlfriend, who would have to compromise would be his girlfriend, not Jake. So Joseph was a little annoyed after finishing the conversation in a way different from what he expected Jake did not feel sorry for, he was a friend of Joseph, but that was not why he would do everything his friend asked. After this Jake continued doing his usual things, in the intervals he still talked to Joseph normally and they did not touch on the subject of Joseph''s girlfriend, Jake had often seen situations that a friend''s girlfriend does not like the other friend, but he never thought it would happen to him. But it was just like Jake had said, they were at school and if they did not get along, there was no reason for them to force themselves to meet. Jake would still often go to Joseph''s house to talk and play chess with Oliver, but they never talked about Joseph, just once Oliver asked Jake if there was anything wrong going on at school and Jake said he did not, should be after Oliver realized that Joseph''s notes had fallen. But Jake did not lie at all, he did not think Joseph would start dating was classified as a bad thing that happened at school, and in fact, Jake knew that Joseph was not very intelligent and so he had to study two or three times what your colleagues to get the best grades in the room. And after starting dating, it''s not as if Joseph stopped studying and rather that he went on to study the same as the others normally, so Jake thought that was right, he did not want to see his friend stressing for nothing. Jake also sometimes talked to Emily to find out how things were, Emily said that she was still doing work normally since Jake did not need her always, Emily''s father also liked Jake because Emily being Jake''s assistant she could not work in any law firm. And Emily also gained more recognition after starting to work with stocks and thus got jobs more easily, she also got more experience with these jobs too, and Emily always checked the progress of Jake''s investments, so he was very pleased. The time passed quickly and soon they were arriving at Jake''s end of year vacation and his trip with Eva, Jake would go to Germany this year, and this would be the last trip of the normal script planned by him, as Jake knew it was not only late 1 year to master a language he would have to travel to another place by the end of the year. The Tiffany and Clara companies were successful with their store openings in Spain too, they managed to open more stores in the country after that and planned to expand to the rest of Europe later. Eva still kept going whenever she could for cooking classes, and Jake would sometimes as well and their friendship with Anna was getting deeper and deeper, Jake still hoped that Anna could discover her mother''s dream, but Eva did not really count after these years. Jake also received the news that the basketball team had won the state championship and was not too surprised, from what they knew of their former Middle School teammates it was normal that they could reach the national championship at the very least. But Jake thought they could not win the national championship this year, after all, they are all good and with that competition had not as an incomplete team to win. And so in this situation Jake prepared his trip to Germany with his mother, he got all the hotels again and the rest needed for the trip and the agency just prepared the tickets and made the reservations. After that year studying Jake could finally say that he had mastered the German language, in the next few years he would try to learn the Japanese language and then the Russian language, then he had no interest in any other language. And so Jake went on his trip with Eva, as Jake had said he learned German for liking the same language, no other reason, but the trips he made to Europe that he liked the most went to Germany. Of course, the biggest reason was that Jake did not like to see the heritage sites or care about the sights when he was alone. So in Germany, he paid a driver to drive for him through much of Germany, he liked the scenery very much on the trip and even as he passed through the cities he liked to have a freer trip. Of course, now he was traveling with his mother, so he could enjoy much more of the travels of the cities in this life, yet he wanted to do the same trip he did the last time with his mother driving this time. He started the journey through Berlin and then continued his trip to Cologne after there they went to Trier where they had some attractions that he took Eva to see. After they went to Frankfurt, then to Heidelberg and ended their trip to Munich, Jake like the other time really enjoyed this trip where he was freer to go wherever he wanted and spend a few more days in the cities. Jake did not ask but he thought Eva had also liked this different way of making a trip were much more relaxing, and so Jake stayed in Munich until after his fifteenth birthday. Jake felt that these almost five years of his life on the second chance were wonderful, of all he was happiest was to have changed the life of his mother, who was previously living working stressed out at work and without friends with Jake even not talking much to her for having reached adolescence. But Eva''s life now was the complete opposite of it, actually Jake thought if she told her mother she could have lived otherwise she would not believe it herself. His life has really changed a lot from his past life for now, but this year would be a difficult year where Jake would have to make maybe another decision that would change his life, whether or not he would change school this year. Jake could not accept even his friend staying a third year without playing, as he knew he should do nothing about the school coach the only way for him was to change schools and cancel this contract. Chapter 119 Relationship Problems 2 He could accept being out for two years from the main team because he knew that many players would not normally play at that time, so he thought he was not losing so much, even if he went to another team if he could not win it would not be worth playing. But Jake could not stand another year that would be lost, so he would wait to see if something changed until the middle of the year before the third year of high school began and if nothing changed he would not even begin the next year at this school. Jake thought that now that his friend had a new girlfriend he would not be too lonely even if Jake had to go to another school. Eva also knew what Jake had in mind, in fact, she had been surprised by the maturity of her son for having endured staying almost two years without playing for responsibilities, so whatever Jake did she would support. So Jake and Eva ended the trip and returned home, Jake did not know now how he could convince his mother to make the trip next year Jake had already bought several books to be able to learn Japanese, but he was sure he would not learn in one year only. In addition, at school, classes are getting harder and harder, and there were many things Jake did not know, so he did not have as much time to read his books in class. Joseph had his grades down because of his girlfriend, but Jake had no excuse to let his grades drop, at most he would stop reading books from other subjects in class, but it was not necessary yet, perhaps because his intelligence was so high in statistics Jake can learn things more easily now. And so the first days of school began after this vacation, Jake thought of his future as he walked the halls and did not even see his friend Joseph coming. "So, Jake, what are you thinking you''re so distracted about? If I had a holiday like yours I''d be happy." "Do not tell lies, I talked to your father the other day and he said that he called you to travel several times and you who did not want it even more now I do not think you would agree to stay a few months out of the country and leave someone behind." "I told my father to stop being such a gossip, he tells everything to you." "You look pretty happy to anyone who has the grades dropping." "I do not care about that much anymore, I do not need to have the best grades in the room so I can graduate from school and go to a university, have no reason to study so much." "I''m happy because after so long my girlfriend finally admitted that I was wrong and that I should not say she does not like you, so she said if I wanted I could introduce her to you." "Who would have thought you''d have the talent to control women, all right then, when are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" "It''s going to be this weekend, I''m going to take you and her to lunch at a restaurant." "You''re too exaggerated, you do not have to be so formal, introduce yourself to me at the end of class today." "Not this time will be my way, you have nothing to do on the weekend, you could do this favor for your friend." "So dramatic, all right then, I''ll be there at this restaurant." Jake saw that Joseph was quite happy and smiled too, now he was curious to know who this girlfriend was that was so mysterious for more than a year, Jake could say that Joseph really liked her very much and thought that perhaps in the future Joseph might end up marrying her. And so the week went by quickly, Jake wore a social shirt that he had bought recently, she was quite wide now, Jake bought several clothes after returning on his trip from Germany, but he was not with Eva this time. Eva was a bit sad about it but she accepted that her son was growing up, but that was not the reason Jake did not let Eva go with him. Jake did not even care that he was going to buy clothes with his mother until he was 30 years old, the reason was that even if Jake had enough money he did not want to waste anything, so his old clothes did not suit him anymore. On the other hand, Jake who had come from the future knew that he would have a big growth spurt in these next six months that would only stop after he turned 18, and with the system, he realized that he would be much higher than in his past life. So this time since he was forced to buy new clothes to have something to wear he would have to buy clothes much wider than his current size, and in a few months, those clothes will fit. Eva even fought him after he came back from shopping for not knowing how to shop, it was good that Jake did not have to care about the cost of the shoes because he earned from Clara''s company. When he arrived at the restaurant he saw Joseph sitting alone, it seems that his friend''s girlfriend had not arrived yet when Joseph saw Jake he smiled but then looked oddly at his clothes. "The clothes are beautiful, but was not your size right?" "You''ll see in a few months, I know what I do, besides, I did not plan on having to wear this anytime soon because of you, my sportswear is tailor-made." "I get angry at athletes because of you, people usually get strange wearing sports clothes every day, but since you have muscles and you look like a model using them, I get angry." "Thanks for the compliment I think, you also should already have how many models of different glasses, 20?" "Very funny, my girlfriend said that as I have to use it any way I could do it in style, and I think she''s right." "Speaking of your girlfriend, do not say that you marked her late on purpose." "I thought you were going to say she was late, but you''re right, as she already knows you and you do not know her, I thought it would be nice if she came later." So Jake had to wait a few more minutes to meet his friend''s girlfriend. After a while she arrived in an elegant dress, as everyone was 15 or 16 she already looked like a woman, Joseph hoped that Jake was surprised, but Jake seemed to know already who it was. Jake was not stupid after his friend said he had some problems with his girlfriend, Jake already had a few candidates only, so he just had to confirm. "Well it looks like you''ve been waiting, I''ll introduce you anyway, this is my girlfriend Liza." Yes, it was Liza the only woman who had a little more serious disagreement with him, actually Jake had thought it was her, but Liza would have to be too childish to dislike Jake even though he was the one who had been harmed by having to leave the team. But it turned out that she was really childish and had been angry with him, Liza was proud and even though she had already realized that Jake was not wrong she did not want to admit it, but after a few years she realized that Jake was more mature than her, so she was embarrassed to do it and even bring trouble to her boyfriend. Actually contrary to what she thought, Jake had even forgotten about Liza after that time the more she got mad at her, Jake simply did not care for Liza before, so Joseph could have settled for it. "Jake, I wanted to apologize to you, I already apologized to Joseph too, I know that my behavior was childish all this time and at the time as well." "I do not think you need to apologize to me, I never cared about that and even forgot you." She was a little annoyed at him saying he did not even remember her, but it showed how angry she had been for nothing during those years. "Well, if you''re all right then I''m relieved, I did not want my girlfriend to be against my friend." Jake just smiled that was never a problem for him, but maybe it was because he went through a lot in life and his mind was more stable if he was really young things could have been more problematic. So the three of them talked quietly for lunch and after a while, Liza had some time in the bathroom to ''adjust her makeup'' and Jake and Joseph were left alone again. "So Jake, she''s cool is not she." "I knew your girlfriend should be cool since you liked her like I said she had to be cool just for you and not for everyone else, otherwise you could have a lot of rivals." "Hahaha you''re right about that, now I''ve settled down with things being sorted out." "These things are normal when you and she grow up and mature fewer problems like that should happen." "But changing the subject a little, when do you intend to introduce her to your father and grandfather? From what I noticed you seem to really like her, and she also seems to really like you, so before your relationship becomes more serious I think your parents should know just like her parents." Jake did not want to be boring, but he knew that it was never a good idea to take too long to make things clear to the families, just so they would have a serious and serious relationship, Joseph had been dating for more than a year, it could not be too long more for parents to know. Chapter 120 Relationship Problems 3 "I know this, I wanted you to know first, if you would accept that, my father should also accept since you are alike, and also I can tell my father that you thought she was good, so he who trusts you will accept." "Her parents have known for some time, I even talked to them before, they accepted the dating too well." Jake did not mind being tested by his friend, he wanted all the people closest to him to be happy, Jake knew that Oliver would accept this relationship, Oliver would be very happy that his son was becoming a man. After a while, Liza came back, and this time it was Joseph who went to the bathroom, maybe the restaurant''s food had not fallen well for the couple, Jake who had a body improved by the system had an iron health and a digestive system functioning as a Swiss clock, so he was quiet. But it looked like it was Liza now who wanted to talk to Jake by herself if Jake did not know that Joseph had actually gone to the bathroom he might think they had arranged this before. "I know I was childish of going mad at you before, but you know what made me realize it at once?" Jake did not care much, but as his friend wanted him to be friendlier to Liza he had to continue the conversation. "What made you realize that?" "The current situation of the basketball team, now I realized that you were right a few years ago when said that coach Philips did not care about the players and only with the victory." "But now I realize that the situation is more serious than you said, he cares not for victory but for his authority." So Jake realized that this story was really his interest, after all even if he was no longer on the basketball team his teammates were still. "What happened?" "After you left the team, your old colleagues never got on very well with coach Philips, it was a little bit about you and another reason was this restriction of height, many were dissatisfied that they did not even have the opportunity to play." "Even though no one left the team like you after the gaming season started last year your old teammates could see that the players who were the starters had not been champions for anything and really played very well." "When they realized that even without the height restriction they would not have a chance to get a place on the team they stopped playing all the blame on the Philips coach." "So coach Philips really was a good and experienced coach and gave many councils and taught a few things that improved the techniques of his former teammates, how they could play in the training with the champion team they improved a lot." "After the season ended our school was the national champion again, Carter and Mark reached the minimum height and entered the starting team, and so they continued training quietly, after the regional championship vacation apart from Carter and Mark the other three were players who would graduate this year." "They were elite school students before and they were not hired so even after training for three years with coach Philips they were not stars, but they played more or less so they could easily win the regional championship." "The state championship was a bit tougher with these weaker players, but in the middle of the state championship David reached the minimum height and could take on the responsibility to get the team to win the state championship, but after that things got worse." "On this vacation, everyone was training normally but everyone including the coach knew that the team was not strong enough to win the national championship that way so everyone was reasonable in suggesting that Harrison who could not reach the minimum height this year played to have a chance." "I also found it reasonable because the coach only created that high rule to make the team stronger, but now he was making the team weaker without Harrison." "But the coach did not want to hear and said he would not go back on his word and break his own rules, he said that players should not try to override their authority and even said in the end that it was Harrison''s fault for not growing up." "After seeing this I remembered what you said and realized that you were right all the time, and if it were not for the coach''s absurdities you would be on the team too, with you there I''m sure we would win." Jake agreed with Liza too, the coach had some problems because he was so obsessed with authority, the important thing in Jake''s opinion was victory, not at any cost, but choosing a rule he created himself than winning is ridiculous. "If the coach let me play again as a PG and with the height I have I would go back without any problem, but I''m not the one to decide this, so I can not do anything about it." Liza knew that Jake was right if it was another player would not accept back after the coach does, but Jake did not care about it, again Liza realized how had been childish before. After Joseph came back from the bathroom, the three of them talked for a while, and then Jake got up to leave, but before he left Liza called him. "Jake since both of us will be in Joseph''s life now I hope we can be friends too." "Of course, I think so too." "Well, next week I''m going to have a little party at a club to celebrate my birthday and I wanted you to go too." Jake was surprised by this and Joseph was happy, this shows that Liza is really being sincere and wanting to be friends with Jake, Jake who had nothing to do accepted and left. "I''m very happy that you two are getting along now, I talked to Jake and next week after your birthday I''m going to tell Dad about us." "That''s great, I did not like having to date hidden from your family, but why did you decide now?" "Because Jake knew and accepted you, now is the time." "But what does Jake have to do with your father?" "It has a lot to do, you know how I am, I like to do things only when I''m sure it will work out, and my father is very restricted to me so I feared he would not accept our relationship." "But my father is very close to Jake and he totally trusts him, so if I say that Jake agreed and approved you, he would certainly approve as well." Liza knew that Joseph was doing it for both of them and so she was not upset over her boyfriend''s overcare, but if she knew Jake was the key to everything, she would have forgotten it and apologized to him a year ago. But she knew that Joseph did not say this so as not to pressure her, so she was happy to have a considerate boyfriend. "But you know you did not have to invite Jake to your birthday, I know you invited a few people, just the ones closest to you to this party." "No problem, I know he''s cool, in addition, you said Jake is very close to his mother and also single is not he?" "Yes, it''s true, why?" "I remember that my grandmother once told me that people who treat their mothers well tend to treat their girlfriends well, so I wanted to introduce them to a close friend of mine." "And you think it will work?" "I think she''s going, my friend is very modern, her I say I think Jake is good for her and she likes him herself can ask to date his friend, my friend already had many boyfriends but nobody was worth it, so I think Jake would be the right type for her." "But will your friend be the right person for Jake, as you said she''s dated several men did not give me the impression that she''s a good person." "It''s because you have a dirty mind when I said dating I mean going out a few times and giving a few kisses at the most and not what you''re thinking." Even so, Joseph did not think Liza''s friend was supposed to be the right person, but because he did not want to argue he was quiet, after all, it was Jake himself who would have to decide when the time came. Jake returned home not knowing he was being taken into a trap in a week, he spent some time talking to his mother and then went up to his room. Jake was still thinking about what Liza said about the basketball team, it seemed like the team was no longer so sure of winning the coach''s personality became a problem if even Liza realized this the whole team must be in trouble. Mostly David who is the hottest team can end up fighting with the coach but Jake did not think he would have much chance to play this year anyway if the team did not win the blame it could end up being awarded to the coach who did not put the best staff that could. Jake was worried about his former teammates, but he was also hopeful that this could cause some change in the team that makes him play for at least the next year. So now everything was in the hands of the coach as always if he had a change of attitude the team could even win this year and if not, would be in the hands of the director. Chapter 121 Relationship Problems 4 So another week went by quickly, Jake put on another of his social outfits after he packed many times his shirt tightened on his body, Jake would just go to congratulate him and then leave. He did not know what to give as a present and ended up buying a beautiful hat that he saw, he did not know whether or not Liza wanted to, but he did not think of anything else that would make it strange for his boyfriend''s friend to give away. After a while Jake arrived at the club where the party would be held, it was a pretty reserved and beautiful place perfect for celebrations with few people, Jake saw that they had only a few people when he arrived. Soon he could see Joseph and went to his friend. "Hi Joseph, where is your girlfriend?" "She''ll only come in later, as she is the hostess of the party her friends said she had to come in after most of them have arrived." Jake did not comment on this because he never did parties like this before, he enjoyed spending all his birthdays with just his mother, mostly because he did not have many friends, but he preferred it that way. Jake saw a table in the corner and went to put his gift together with the others, he did not want to stand out much anyway, Joseph also seemed a bit out of the way before Jake arrived. So Jake decided to stay with Joseph until Liza arrived, then he would congratulate her and leave, Jake did not like parties that much and as no one knew him would not be strange to leave at the beginning of the party. After a while, several people had arrived and Liza finally arrived, she was in a nice dress and high heels. Liza approached them and Jake silently moved away from Joseph who was the boyfriend. After Joseph started walking along with Liza while greeting the guests, when they greeted all of them they came to Jake, Jake was already anxious to leave and was a little annoyed to have been left last. "Hi Jake, thanks for coming." "Congratulations Liza, may you have many years to live." "Thank you." "So, I left my gift there at the table and I was just waiting to congratulate you before I left." "Are you leaving already? No, there''s someone I want to introduce you to, come with me." So Liza did not wait for Jake to respond and turned around and started walking, Jake was left unable to refuse and just followed in silence, Joseph knew that his friend was in a bad mood about being left waiting when he wanted to leave. Liza seemed to know that and left Jake last to give her time to introduce her friend before Jake left, but she did not know that would make him feel stressed. But it was not surprising that Jake was annoyed, he was one of the first to arrive and only came for education, then he was close to Liza when she began to greet the guests, and Liza came to greet before him until who came later her. So Jake thought she was doing it on purpose to annoy him, now she still wanted to drag him around. Liza finally reached a place further down where her friend was sitting at a table by herself, this woman was almost as tall as Jake with the high heels she wore, she was wearing a very pretty blue dress. She had long black hair that was smooth and came to her waist, she wore a slightly heavier makeup on her eyes, but wore a subtle lipstick on her lips, Jake had to admit she was beautiful. Jake tried to disguise his irritation for education, but it seemed that Liza''s friend had also noticed. "Jake, this is my friend, her name is Jennifer, Jenny this is Joseph''s friend that I told you." "Looks like you brought him against the will to see me." "This is not Jenny, is that Liza decided not to tell Jake and how she realized that he wanted to leave quickly had left him waiting on purpose after he arrived and finally greeted him, Liza did not like Jake much and my friend found that she did it to irritate him." To avoid further misunderstandings Joseph decided to make it clear to both of them, sometimes trying to make things by surprise irritate people, Liza also seemed embarrassed at not being able to read the situation before. Jake understood the situation, even more, was a little angry, but he had the education and stayed to talk to Jenny. Liza and Joseph left to leave the two alone although they already thought it had not worked out from the beginning. "Nice to meet you, Jeniffer." "You can call me Jenny, too, Jake, it looks like you did not like what Liza did." "To be honest I did not really like it, I do not like people doing things behind my back, we were not friends before that and I thought her invitation to the birthday was a way of trying to get closer to me I am Joseph''s friend." "If I thought she did it for me I would even be grateful for the intention, but it seems that it was not." "I liked that you were sincere, even though it might hurt me a little." "It was not your fault, I think she does things without thinking too much about others and not on time, I''m sure you did not ask her to do that, either." "Not really, but like you said how she did it for me I liked the intention." "I suppose so, even more, that as a friend you must know her way well, do you study at the Elite school as well?" "I study yes, there are many students at this school, so there are many classrooms the same year." "That''s true, even if they have a problem with teachers." "I heard from Liza that you were from the basketball team before you had a problem with the coach." "That''s right, you can not quarrel with those with authority." Jenny seemed to be interested in Jake and Jake was accustomed to having long conversations after long years of work, so he pulled out several subjects so as not to let Jenny think he had not very interested in her just from really not having. After a while they said goodbye, Jake left and Jenny had lots of friends at this party to talk to, Jake was determined not to trust Liza very much even if for politeness he did not want to be her friend after what she did to him. They did not have to be friends even to stay close to Joseph, they had only to respect, Jake met many people like Liza in his life, they were the kind of person who did not care much for people who were not his friends. Jake knew that it was not for evil but a personality trait, Liza herself must have done this with several people several times without realizing it, and thus hurt several people. It was because of a person like Liza who had in Jake''s company in his past life that the people of the company found out that he was impotent, Jake knew it was not on purpose, but it hurt the same way. When she arrived at the end of the party and everyone left, Liza approached her friend to find out what it was like. "And how was the conversation between you? Do you think that can work? " "I do not know if he got interested in me or was just educated, but I liked him, Jake does not seem to be the type who mind what I hate and he''s also very handsome." "So it was worth bringing him here." "But you''ve lost all chances of becoming his friend Liza, he''ll be polite to you not to leave Joseph unhappy, but he does not trust and dislike you." "Do you really think that? But he did not seem to be the kind of rancor keeper, I thought if I''d apologize he''d forget." "That''s what I said, he will not get mad at you over that, but he does not like that way of doing things the way you want him without caring about others and he''ll never be your friend." "That''s a shame, I wanted to be friends with him to make Joseph happy." So Jake returned home a little tired, he never liked going to parties with young people like that, and he ended up getting stressed because of Liza. But as always he just forgot the subject and went to sleep. The other day at school Joseph apologized to Jake, in fact, this time who had the biggest fault in this was Joseph, he knew what the girlfriend plans for the party and wanted to help his friend to get a girlfriend too and did not say anything to Jake. But he did not expect Jake to be so annoyed with all this, and he realized that Jake made it clear that Liza did not try to get too close to him, that''s what Jake said before, he was not too angry with Liza introducing him to another girl, the problem is that it was the wrong way and at the wrong time, besides, she did not do it thinking about him. After a few days Jake had forgotten about all of this and when classes were over he prepared to go home but when he was leaving school someone called for him. "Jake, wait a little while." When he turned around he saw someone he did not expect to see again, it was Jenny Liza''s friend, it seems destiny wants them to talk for a while longer. Chapter 122 Relationship Problems 5 "Jenny, I did not expect to see you again to tell you the truth." "You''re honest as always, I thought that after we talked for so long that day we''d become friends, I even thought you''d forgotten if you asked for my home phone number." "To be honest I was still angry that day and I thought it was not a very nice company, besides, I thought you did not like what Liza did." "Actually she had already told me about you before the party, and I said before that I would introduce you to the party, but she never said you did not know anything." "Well I think it''s best if we do not continue talking here on the way, what you think of talking more in the cafeteria near here, they have a very good cake." "Sure, let''s go." Jake was being polite to Jenny because he was accustomed to treating people like that, but to Jenny who always dated with more ignorant men what Jake did made her more interested in him. So Jake talked for some time with Jenny in the cafeteria, and then Jenny practically demanded that they pass the phone numbers on to each other. As Liza had told Joseph, her friend was a bit more modern and liked to take action, and Jake, who came from a time where almost all women were like that, found Jenny''s way normal. Even though it was a bit different Jenny still wanted to wait for Jake to call her out first, but she was bound to be disappointed because Jake would have more agitated time soon. Before the week ended, Clara called back to Jake to ask about Jake''s situation with his school staff, and Jake said he thought he would not play this semester yet. So Tiffany and Clara were thinking of finally making a normal advert after so many years, although being more expensive can bring better results for a brand to become popular. She did not try to make a regular announcement before because Jake brought many new customers and free publicity to the company and also because they thought Jake was still too young to do that, after all, it''s a bit strange to see a child representing some sports company anywhere. But now Jake already looked like an adult and a lot of people still remembered him in the Miami area at least, so they both decided it was a good time to do that. So they started to organize things, after thinking long Tiffany who was responsible for organizing things this time decided to work with a well-known advertising company instead of just taking the photos on a block. This was a company that used to make magazines and television ads for big companies on the market, so they had a lot of experience and even worked with big music and movie stars. They talked to Tiffany about what kind of trades they would have to do with Jake, it had to be something that would look good on both the TV and the pictures for the magazine, Tiffany who did not know asked Jake''s opinion who would be who had to do the commercial. Jake thought for a while and said he had an idea about a commercial that would show a lot to two brands of companies, but he did not know if the public would like it. Once they heard the idea of ??Jake, both Tiffany and the advertising company staff thought it would be a good idea, even if the audience did not find the commercial interesting, they would remember the brand. Even though trading was a good idea for television, the pictures for the magazine had to be made in the studio, when Jake went there he thought he might get to meet some movie stars or some musician there. They said there really was a singer who just started to get famous and could be a big star in the future, Jake got curious and went to see who the singer was, if it were to be famous in the future he would know. But the woman he saw taking the pictures was not someone famous in the future and seemed to be the same age as him now, as it was already there and his photos would be delayed. Jake sat down to see the photos being taken. He had to say that even if the woman was not going to become famous as a singer she was very pretty, had short black hair and beautiful green eyes, she had a very beautiful body too. The singer also saw Jake sitting looking at her from a distance and found it a bit odd why no one asked him to leave, she thought he should be there to take pictures too, but she did not care because she saw that Jake was looking at her usually and not in a disrespectful way. Jake realized that the singer was also looking at him and just looked directly into her eyes, he thought that if you looked away you would seem more guilty. After the photos were over Jake just got up and left, he did not want to bother the singer any further and also had to prepare to take the pictures of him. The singer thought Jake was coming to greet her or to try to pull off a conversation and did not think he would just leave, so she went to get ready to leave. After that Jake first went to take his pictures and then later in the afternoon he would go to a nearby gym to shoot the scenes for the television commercial. The photos would be of Jake in a uniform with the marks of both companies and taking a bottle of sports drink from Tiffany''s company, Tiffany''s company was now selling both the bottles with the drinks and cans as well. When the singer who was taking the photos before was thinking of leaving, she saw that Jake was taking the pictures, so she gave a smile and decided to sit to see the photos as revenge for before. After the photos were all gone straight to the court to film the commercial when the singer heard that a commercial would be filmed she became curious and decided to go along to see how she was free for the rest of the day. Arriving on the court still in uniform Jake started running around the court, he ran very fast it was to start sweating so the commercial looked more real. Jake''s idea that Tiffany and the company agreed that Jake looked like he was training very hard and during training he would drink two cans of Tiffany''s sports drink, then he would put the two cans in the corner of the block one away from the other on top of a pair of sneakers with Clara''s company brand underneath each can. So he would appear sitting on a bench and from afar trying to knead the cans, after he could knead the cans he would say ''workout of the day finished'' so it would make him look like he drank the sports drink from that company every day and had to knead the cans to be able to finish. It would not be so interesting, but it would show a lot to the brands of the companies. The singer was in the corner following the whole recording, as Jake knew what had to do well since the idea was his recording was fast, they would have to see if it would look good after the final edition. After exchanging Jake saw that the singer was still there and decided to greet her this time, the singer realized that Jake was coming and thought to leave, but realized that it was too late. "Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Jake." "My name is Kate, nice to meet you too." "I really liked your photos before Kate, I wanted to learn a bit so I did not do it wrong after my turn." "It was my first time too so you were lucky not to learn anything wrong." "I heard you were a singer, what style do you sing?" "I sing pop music, I started only a few years, I hope to be successful in the future." "I''m going to cheer for you, I hope you succeed, but this is a very competitive market, is not it?" "It''s true, but this is my dream so I can not give up just because it''s difficult, and you''re a basketball player or an actor?" "I play basketball, but not as a professional, maybe in the future." "I''ll cheer for you too, I think you have talent, it must be difficult to hit so many shots from the outside followed to be wrong." "I expect too." "I have to leave now, it was good to meet you, maybe we''ll see each other again in the future." "I expect too." So Kate left, Jake realized that she was feeling uncomfortable with the conversation and so he let her go without disturbing him, but he liked her a lot, it was a shame he knew she would not be very famous in the future, he decided to buy some CDs from her in the future. What Jake did not know was that this little conversation they had changed Kate''s future forever, but that he would only know more in the future. Jake asked the people who did the commercial if they would need him for anything, and then went home too, coming home he saw that Eva was waiting for him. "And son, how was the commercial recording?" "It was okay mom." "And when do you think I''ll be able to see you on television?" "That I do not know, they still have to buy a space with the channels to be able to start to pass the commercial, but the photos in the magazine you''ll be able to see next month already." "When you find out when the commercial is going to go on television you let me know." Jake smiled after seeing how his mother was excited to see the commercial that Jake appeared on television. Chapter 123 Change in Situation 1 To Eva, all the people who appeared in commercials on television were artists, and Eva was very fond of theater and cinema, so now she thought her son would also be an artist. In fact, she was not so wrong, but instead of star Jake would be a celebrity and not an artist, especially when he entered the NBA, then it would not be difficult to see Jake on television or in magazines. But Jake could see no reason to correct her upbeat mom if she made her happy she could even tell the others that he was an actor as Kate confused him. So after all this shaking Jake received the second news that changed things, Liza called Jake to talk after class. "And then Liza what happened?" "The basketball team was defeated yesterday in the third game of the national championship." "How did this happen?" "Coach Philips did not want to put Harrison in the team until the end and because of that the other players who knew they could not win were in the lowest mood and did not play their best and lost." So Jake can understand why the team had lost that game if Harrison were on the team even if they were not champions they could get to the final at least but the coach was upsetting the team now. So Jake cannot say anything to cheer Liza that was sad because the team had lost after all things still depended on the coach and not the players only. After a few days, Jake''s television commercial was shown for the first time and the magazine was also put up for sale, watching the magazine and television commercials still remembered Jake and liked the commercial. And Jake was already excited again, as he was not on the team he was not too sad they lost, only felt bad for his friends, so he received a call that caught him by surprise. "Hi Jake how long, I''ve seen your commercial and you in the magazine is getting famous now is not it." "It''s been a long time, Eric, did I even forget about you after these two years, being very successful there in the NBA?" "Yes, things have worked out for me here, I''m thinking of re-tracking some high school team games next season, but and you, as you missed after the third game only." "I do not lose a game since the second year of Middle School stops telling lies." "But I saw that the Elite High School basketball team had been eliminated yesterday, I thought that after winning last year something was really wrong, is this news wrong?" "No, the news is right, but I have not been playing in the Elite team since the national middle school championship." "How is this possible? Are you injured or are you in another school?" "No, I''m still in Elite school, but the coach did some things that kept me from playing for these two years, so I''m training." "With this it is possible! This coach is blind, and how could they win without you on the team last year?" "Last year the team still had the players who were champions before, they won for 2 straight years and then went to university." "So that''s it, what''s the name of this coach of your team right now." "Coach Philips, he trained a team from a university and made it to the final, so after winning the national championship for 2 years he has every confidence of the school." Eric felt that he had already heard of the name of this trainer, he hung up the phone after saying goodbye to Jake and went to do his research, his journalistic senses said that there was something more in this story. Jake thought there was nothing too much and just kept going his days normally, but with all these things going on in the last few weeks he''d completely forgotten to call Jenny. Jenny thought she was being ignored on purpose and stopped caring about Jake, she decided that she would stop thinking about him and forget him when she decided that she saw the commercial on television that Jake appeared, so she realized that it would be more difficult than she thought. On the weekend as always Jake and Eva went to Anna''s cooking classes and after class went to her house, getting there Jake told the two what was happening on the basketball team. "I never liked that coach, what is happening proves that I was not wrong, Jake was always a good guy and had to stay two years off the team without playing basketball because of that coach." "I also think, I should have gone to complain about what the coach did to my son if Jake did not stop me I would have gone." "It would not do any good mother, it would only make things worse at school." "Something must happen now, does not it?" "I do not know, but if nothing happens I''m going out of school on a mid-year break." While Jake was talking to Anna and Eva, Eric had finally finished his investigation, he knew he had heard about this coach before, was a player from one of the NBA teams. When Eric had interviewed that player about the personality of the coach of that team that was difficult with the players, this player said that in the old college there were rumors that once a coach punched a player''s face for disobeying him in the game. As the player was also wrong for having offended the coach the matter ended only with the dismissal of the trained, but then the other players of that team said that this coach was a little crazy indeed. And now Eric discovered that this coach was the current coach of Jake''s school team, he thought it was absurd that coach who had a history of violence against his athletes had managed to work in a high school school, now he would interview directly the president of the school to do a good story in the newspaper. While Eric was ready to fix problems the president of the school was looking at the magazine that had the photos of Jake, the president remembered that Jake was one of his favorite players and played in his school. Actually, the president was a very busy man and had been traveling in recent years to solve many affairs with members so he could not take care of just one player, he just knew that the basketball team won the national championship last year and lost that year. But the president did not know that one of his favorite players was out of the team and he was thinking of leaving his school soon. When the president was thinking of leaving home he knew that a reporter wanted to do an interview with him, how would be good news for his company the president allowed Eric''s entry. Eric came in and prepared for the interview, depending on what happened he would have to disrupt the business of the president''s company, so he prepared a mess. "Hi President, I''m Eric a reporter, I would like to ask a few questions about your school''s high school basketball team alright?" "Sure, you can ask whatever you want." "Very well, President, what do you think about the results of the basketball team these past few years?" "I''m very satisfied, it''s been 4 years since we''ve been developing a plan for our entire Elite school to become recognized for training stars of all sports, and I''m happy to be having good results." "This year the basketball team did not win, you know about that?" "I know yes, it was very unfortunate that this happened, but I believe this is normal in sports, no team can win every year." "I had information that the coach of your school''s basketball team has a history of being very authoritarian and has even hit one of your players, I wanted to know what you think about it." The president was taken aback by this question, as his school was a prestigious one it should normally be impossible to hire someone who has a history of violence, if the students'' parents knew this they would complain. "I do not think this information is true." "I checked this information myself before coming here, and I knew that this year''s loss could have been the fault of his coach for putting good players out of the team for any reason." So the president realized that it should be true, after all, information such as this can be easily verified, so the president was in big trouble now, the school had had a scandal a short time ago, now would have another for the incompetence of some people. And as soon as Eric left the president knew that this subject would be published in the newspaper the other day, so he had to think of a solution quickly about it. "Well, I thank you Eric for giving me this information, I would like to say that this information will be verified and if what you said is true I guarantee you can even publish on the matter that I will dismiss both the Philips coach and the responsibility for his hiring, we can not have a trainer with a history of violence training our students. " Eric was impressed with the intelligence of the president as a reporter, of course, he realized that the school should not know about the history of the coach''s violence, so he went straight to the president he knew he would take action on it, so he could help Jake too, Eric did not want to see Jake be playing with the talent he had. Chapter 124 Change in Situation 2 As soon as Eric was gone the angry president threw a glass vase that was on his desk on the wall, he was very annoyed by the incompetence of the people who worked for him, he had to stay almost three years busy and traveling everywhere to convince partners and major shareholders that the situation at school was improving. After all, many of these shareholders were unsure after the scandal a few years ago, but now because of the mistake of someone else everything he did was downwind, he was lucky that after he visited these partners and shareholders he got a big investment for the school. So, for now, these people will not think about giving up their investments and selling their shares, so the president called his secretary and asked her to have someone do an investigation on the subject, and he wanted a result the same day. After a few hours the secretary entered the president''s office and did not even have the guts to look into the president''s eyes, she handed them all out and left the room as if she were running away. The president needed less than half an hour to read all the information in the document, the secretariat was even efficient and even showed a complete result about everything that happened in the team''s training in the last three years, so the president knew that what Eric said it was true. He even saw that the coach put Jake who was one of his favorite players out of the team for a stupid reason, he agreed that size was important to winning games, but that was only if the taller players were more skilled than the minors, after all, have to have good skills to play basketball. So the president was sure that tomorrow he would meet what he said and send the coach away and an employee of the school that hired him, then he sent the information to Eric to put in his story. After Eric received the call from the president he was glad that everything went well, so he decided to call Jake to give the good news. "Hi Jake, I have good news for you." "I hope it''s good for you to call me at this time of night." "When you told me the name of your coach I remembered a rumor I heard from a coach who had beaten one of his players." "Yeah, what''s wrong?" "After I went to do an investigation and this coach who assaulted a student is the same that is in his school, so I talked to the president of his school and he assured me that tomorrow his coach will be fired, that is to say that in the year next you can go back to the basketball team." Jake was very happy with this, finally, he could return to play after 2 years, sorry that the team had already been eliminated this year but next year he was sure they would be better and more mature to be able to win another championship national. "Thank you so much for Eric, now I forgive you for staying 2 years without giving news." "Hahaha, now you forgive me is, well next year I want some exclusive MVP interviews okay." "You can let me assure you, thank you very much, you helped me with a subject that was bothering me for many years." "I enjoyed listening to this, but it''s true that if I was following the games I would have found out about this coach before, I''m ashamed of my co-workers who do not know how to do their job properly." After this Jake ran to tell the good news to his mother, Eva was very happy to hear that her son could play again next year, so it seems that Jake was rewarded for waiting in school for 2 years without playing, after all, he would still be in the same school as his friend and would not have missed much. After Jake told the news to Oliver, Joseph, and Anna that they were the people most concerned about him in this situation, then Jake had to call Liza although he did not want to, but as she always told the news of the team for him, Jake thought he had the obligation to tell it to her. "Hi Liza, it''s me, Jake." "Jake, what a surprise you call me, I thought you had lost my number, but this is not a good time to call." "I know, I would not have called if it was not for important news, the coach of our team will be fired tomorrow, so everything will probably focus well on the team next year, warn the players not to go training tomorrow." "There will be no more games this year, tell them to wait until the coach leaves school to go back to training, and you do not go there either." "That''s really great news, Jake, so you can all play normally next semester, I''m happy, but how do you know that? Can you tell me the details?" "It''ll be in the paper in the next few days, so good night." Jake did not want to get too involved in the call because he still had to call Clara and Tiffany, but after some thought, he thought it would be best to call tomorrow morning. So Jake went to sleep well and relaxed after hearing this news. The other day Jake called Tiffany and Clara to tell them about the good news the two said that after Jake called they could see the news in the paper as well, it seems that Eric had already done his job. Jake decided not to go to school today, he would probably be a mess at school today, he told Joseph not to go too, and Joseph told Liza. Who did not have a good day today was the Philips coach, he first knew about the newspaper that he would be fired, as soon as he saw the news he knew it was over, he hoped the school would find out about him, but then he thought they would fire him in private. So he could look for another place to work, but with this news, he had no choice, as he knew this could happen he had already saved good money this year, now he was thinking of going out of the country to train a basketball team somewhere else. Along with him, his wife was also sent away because it was she who recommended the husband even knowing he had this problem, of course, the coach would never know that if he had not gotten involved with Jake he would probably have this job for many years still. As Jake hoped the school was a mess the other day, some parents came to complain and also had reporters at school, so some classes were canceled in the afternoon, luckily the president had been quick and settled it in just one day. After everything was settled before the day was over the president decided to call Jake so he could talk to him privately, seeing the reports of the trainer he realized that Jake had been harmed even more had not left school, so he decided to call Jake to talk. Jake did not know what it was, but it was the same way the president was the one in charge at school, so it was the president who paid his salary for those two years. "Jake, it''s been a while since I''ve met you in person." "It''s my pleasure to meet you, Mr. President." "Well Jake, I called you here first to apologize on behalf of the school, I know that coach Philips has hurt you and some of your teammates a lot, and I would also like to thank you for not leaving this school." Jake found it a bit strange why a president at such a great school would apologize to him that he was just a student, and Jake was paid and had many benefits for coming to this school. "You must be wondering why I myself being the president of a school apologize to a student right?" "I''ll tell you why I was there watching the game that you were a state championship champion in Middle School sophomore year and you know what I realized in that game? I realized that you could become an NBA player in the future." "I did not know if you could be a star, but a professional player for sure you would be, so I did not hesitate to pay you to play in Middle School, to show my sincerity I do not even include high school in the contract." "That was because I thought as you loved basketball you would play naturally and try to win without needing a contract, of course, I would never imagine there would be a coach crazy enough to get you off the team." "I know now you no longer need sponsorship from the school, and you can also go to a university without help, but you still chose to stay in that school and wait and that''s why I think I need to thank you." "For me, it''s very important to have a player who will be from the NBA having played so many years in my school and you are that player." So Jake understood that the president was betting on his future, and Jake thought it nice to be recognized, so he did not regret having stayed in that school. "Well now I wanted to know if you have any requests to make, or any suggestions, I will do my best to do what you need." So Jake started to wonder if he had anything he wanted to ask the president for, it could not be too absurd, or the president certainly would not, so after thinking for a while Jake had a pretty good idea. Chapter 125 Change in Situation 3 "Mr. President I have an idea now that the school does not have a coach for the high school team and will have to look for someone qualified, why not promote coach Mike from the Middle School team? I think he''s capable enough to get the job done and then looking for someone capable of training the Middle School team should be easier." The president hoped Jake would ask for many different things in his mind, the president even told Jake that he would ask him a lot of money, but he never expected Jake''s request to be something that could benefit the school, not him. "Then this is agreed, coach Mike will be promoted at the beginning of next semester." So Jake was pleased with this, there were not many things he needed the president to give if he needed the money he could just sell some of his stock and he would have a lot, but what Jake cared most about was being able to play basketball in the next semester. So he could not risk the school hiring another crazy coach and he could not play in the season to see, so he remembered Coach Mike that Jake thought he had the ability to train the high school team if it were coach Mike he would have sure to be put to play. After everything was settled Jake went home and told about his conversation with the president to his mother, so Eva said she agreed that Jake had made the right decision to stay in that school waiting to be able to play. So Jake could sleep soundly for the first time in a long time because now he had no more trouble to worry about. On these holidays Jake wanted to just train and rest a lot because he would have to play early next semester, but Clara did not know that and called Jake. "Hi Jake, I remember you told me you were always looking for tournaments to play, but could not find any?" "Yes, indeed, Clara." He said so himself, but it was when he knew he could not play on the school basketball team, but he could not tell Clara that he seemed to be doing it for him. "I''ve heard that there''s going to be a tournament in Miami in two weeks, I do not know who''s organizing it more, it''s a 3-on-3 tournament, not like the ones you''ve played, so you need to find two more people to play, too it seemed that the age limit is under 18 so you can play with older players." So Jake was excited, it had been a long time since he wanted to play against people older than him again, so he would try to call some players from his school team to see them go. "Thanks for letting Clara know, I''ll go get some of my classmates from school and see if they''ll join me." "Alright then, this tournament is just for fun so you do not have to wear the uniform with the company brand if you do not want to." "Alright, thanks again." So Jake hung up the phone and soon called Mark, he always had the numbers of his teammates, but he never went to call if it was not for something important. "Hi Mark, this is Jake." "Hi Jake, how long, I thought you had forgotten if your teammates, we have not talked for nearly two years." "I told you that I do not like to talk on the phone for anything, I wanted to invite you to play a tournament that will be in a few weeks, this tournament is 3 against 3 and I thought I''d call you and David." "A tournament? It looks cool, I will." "Fine then, I''ll call David now." "Okay, goodbye." So Jake called David to invite him as well, David also complained that Jake had not talked to them in a long time and agreed to attend the tournament as well. So after a few weeks, the three friends went to participate in the tournament, this tournament would be done in just one day this time, it would start around 7 am and would go until around 10 pm so it would be a tiring day for the players, Jake did not care much about it. As they always had lots of people participating, Jake stayed close to David and Mark, he asked his friends how things were while he was away, they said he did not miss anything, after all, they did not get anything in those two years. Jake also realized that the two were much more mature, especially David who was much calmer, so Jake was curious to know how much they improved in the game as well. After waiting some time it was their turn to play, the opponents had some younger players and others older than them, it seems that it was a team formed just to have a little fun playing. Jake had already discussed some tactics with his teammates, possession began with Jake''s team, the game was up to 21 in this tournament and each shot was worth as many points as in an official game. So when Jake scored, he gave Mark a pass that he received and then did a layup to make the first 2 points, then Jake received an abolish to start another attack, Jake passed to David that in a few moments passed around the opposing player and makes two more points with a layup. In another move, Jake passed to Mark who even with the opponent defending well managed to turn and make the 2 points, so Jake can see a little how his teammates had improved a lot in those 2 years. They quickly made it 18 to 0 and Jake passed the last ball to David who shoots the outside to score 3 more points and win the game, so Jake was more certain that they could win the national championship next year. "You seem to have improved a lot in those two years, especially you David who seems to be calmer." "The only good thing about that coach was that he knew how to coach the players, so if he made up his personality he could have been good." "Who would have thought that one day I would hear you say that in David?" "I''ve improved my personality a lot, too, we all have to grow someday." "You do not seem to get much better from Jake." "It''s just that I''ve always been a lot better than you''ve always been, so you can not tell the difference." "Hahaha I do not think that''s it, you''ve been two years without training now I should be better than you." "You can keep dreaming David." After waiting for almost 2 hours the second game would finally happen, each team had to do 5 games to be the champion, and not all were as good as Jake''s team and win easily. So Jake who had been provoked by his teammates wanted to use this game to prove that he had improved so he passed the ball to David and then asked for it back, after receiving the pass he soon shot the outside and made the first 3 points of the game. On the other play, Jake asked David for the ball again, so David understood that Jake wanted to show off in that game and just passed the ball back, and that''s how it happened, Jake ten right 6 more shots out and made all 21 points without missing a beat. The whole fans were cheering much more opponents wanted to cry, the defender of Jake tried to get in the way, but Jake still shot the shots. After the game ended Jake looked at David as if to say I told you, David did not want to give up and replied. "That does not mean that you''ve improved in those two years, you could do it before." "That''s what I said, I was way better than you two years ago that you can not figure out how I got better." After that David had to admit that at least he could not beat Jake, Mark was just laughing at it, he knew Jake was not arrogant and was just doing it to provoke David, but what Jake said was true, be it two years ago or today Mark knew that just like Jake as captain they could win the national championship. In fact, although they did not say much about it, Mark knew that his 3 teammates did not want to be professionals, or rather they could not be professionals, so everyone just wanted to play in college and have good memories. But Mark felt that Jake did want to become a professional basketball player in the future, and Mark thought Jake had the ability to do that, as he knew Jake was a great player, and as SG he already had the ability to play at a university was what Mark thought. After a while the time came for the third game, the opponent seemed stronger, but Jake and his teammates did not care, Jake played seriously making points and making the passes on time, so in a short time, they won again from 21 to 0. The others were already getting angry with Jake''s team, it was obvious they were very good, so they should not come to play with amateurs, but no one could complain because it seemed that Jake''s team was only 16 years old. Many who were playing were 18 years old, so complaining after losing to a team that had players two years younger could not happen. The opponents of the semifinal seemed to be better, but Jake did not care, he made the same moves again and they made the points easily as well. Chapter 126 Change in Situation 4 In fact Jake had already thought that when he was younger to play 1 against 1 it was easier than 3 against 3, but now it seemed that it was different when he was getting older, this is because the opponents scored better and even if you had more skill was not so easy to make the points. But in the 3 against 3, you could use the help of your teammates to disengage from your opponents to make the points, as Jake had to whom to pass the ball the opponent could not score much over and Jake had space to do the dribble or the shot from outside. Jake passed to David and when his defender distracted he ran into the inside area, David saw this and passed the ball back, Jake received and ran alone to make the 2 points with a dunk. After Jake''s dunk the crowd started to cheer more, Mark who was the top of the team got excited too and after Jake passed the ball he ran and did the dunk too. Jake looked at David as if asking if he wanted to try as well, but David shook his head, it seemed David did not want to try too, after a few more plays Jake''s team won and went to the final. After the game was over he asked David why he did not want to try it either. "It''s not everyone who knows how to do everything just like you, I can not get the time to do the dunk and mistake often." "Do not worry about it, it''s just you train for longer and you''ll be able to make the dunk better and better." "I hope you''re right, but it''s not like I play less for not being able to do the dunk, so I do not care that much either." Jake realized that David just said it because he was being proud, but he could not do anything to help his friend, many things in basketball have no way to be trained and the player has to be born with this talent. The teams had a chance to take a break before the final game, many were tired of playing all day, but Jake''s team was relaxed because, in addition to being more accustomed to longer games, their tournament matches ended faster than others. After half an hour the game of the final would finally begin this time the ball started in the possession of the opponents of Jake''s team, their point guard passed the ball to the player who was being defended by David, David had been much better in defense after two years of training. So this player had difficulty passing through David, Jake approached him discreetly and when he saw a chance he stole the ball behind the player who was focused on David. So Jake returned to arm the attack, he passed the ball to Mark who was freer than David, Mark went to make the points but his opponents came in two to stop him, so Mark passed the ball to David who had been alone, David made the mid-range shot and scored 2 points for his team. After playing for a while without Jake the players got used to not being so dependent on a PG and passing the ball to the other players as well, Jake thought this was a good thing because it made the team more dynamic. In another attack, Jake made a step back and made the shot from outside to make 3 more points for his team, in another move Jake passed to Mark and received back to do the dunk, and in another, he passed to Mark to do the dunk and plus 2 points for staff. They played a lot of games together so the moves were easier, David was better scored so he did not receive many passes from Jake, within minutes they made the 21 points more easily and won the game. Even though they won this championship they were not so happy after all these games were defeated very easily, but still had some fun and see how they were to the skills of their teammates. They received the trophy and took some pictures, but this tournament was not very big and would not be published in the newspaper and did not even appear on television, which is why Clara said she did not need Jake to wear the uniform with the sponsorship. The three of them were happy to have won after having stayed so long without playing together, it was a good memory these photos and this trophy. Jake came home after that and told Eva that he had won the tournament and she was happy as always for her son, so Jake smiled too, Eva did not care if the tournament had been difficult or easy she liked to see Jake winning. Jake rested after a long day with a smile on his face. After playing this tournament Jake thought about retaking his vacation when he decided to take a walk in the mall to get distracted a bit, after walking for a while and buy a box of chocolate for his mother he stopped at a snack bar before going to House. After picking up his lunch he searched for a place to sit and saw only one table at the back of the diner, but when he got there he saw that there was someone he knew sitting near that table and decided to greet. "Hi Jenny, how long have not we seen each other." "Jake, I did not think I''d see you around here, we just stayed a long time without seeing you because you did not call me as you promised." "I''m sorry for that, many things happened in that time and I forgot when I remembered I thought I was already very late and decided not to call." "You should, you could call and apologize." "I''ve never been good at thinking about what people feel, so I do not have many friends." "Well this is over and I do not like being too stuck in the past." "You''re right, so I''ll sit here on the side, we''ll talk again." "You can sit with me since we met, it would be weirder for you to eat at a side table while pretending not to meet." "You''re right, so I''ll sit here." Jake sat down and just started eating normally, Jenny stared at him expecting him to start talking about something, but Jake just ate normally and quiet as if he were alone. "Are you really going to just be eating there and not talking to me?" So Jake stopped eating and looked at Jenny. "Honestly I think this situation is a bit strange, so since I''m not sure what to say I decided to just be quiet." So Jenny realized that Jake was being honest and instead of getting angry started laughing, Jake looked at her as if he thought she was strange and Jenny finally stopped laughing. "I was just thinking that you''re really different from the other men I''ve met, it''s different to meet someone who is as sincere as you." "I think everyone has their own way that makes it seem like everyone is unique, it just happens that it''s hard for people to show their true personalities out of fear of being rejected." "I agree, I also pretend to be somebody else because I''m afraid people do not like who I really am." "So I hope someday I can see how you really are." After meeting several times, Jake and Jenny finally began to try to get to know each other better, not just out of obligation because they were introduced by Liza, and so a different relationship began to happen. Jake was now at peace, he felt that again he did not have many problems to worry about and so can open the normal conversation with Jenny. So on vacation, Jake left home more often, sometimes he would go out with Jenny and sometimes he would go out with Eva, Joseph was going out with Liza longer, so Jake did not want to bother his friend. When the vacation was over Jake had done a lot of things and was completely rested and excited to get back to training at school, after another day of school Jake returned to school after so much time. He met with his old teammates and talked to them a while before the coach arrived, Harrison was excited by the change in the situation, but felt that those two years were for nothing, because he was training and still can not play as well Jake. The funny thing about this situation was that now that coach Philips had left the team, all 5 had reached the minimum height that was the rule that was made, this means that this year he could count on the team with full force if not fight with Jake. Liza arrived too and greeted all the players, it seemed that after these two years she was dearer to all players, she sent some strange looks to Jake, Jenny must have told her that they had met a few times on vacation. But Jake did not intend to thank Liza for that since she did not do it for him, Jake wanted to avoid as much as possible to be close to Liza, he sincerely hoped that when she got older she would improve that way, but he did not have much hope of it. After a while the new trainer who was a former acquaintance of Jake and his teammates stepped onto the court, coach Mike did not need to perform because everyone on that team knew him. Jake was excited, his life playing basketball in high school had finally begun. Chapter 127 A New Beginning 1 The training of the day was normal, but it also had a special feeling for all the people on the court, the players thought the confusion had finally ended, Jake thought he could finally play again, and Coach Mike was feeling a strange emotion as well. The day before school started the president called Coach Mike to his office, he said he trusted him and hoped he would do a great job in the years to come, but also made it very clear that it was at Jake''s request that he had been hired and that for the next two years it was better that he did not cause any problems. Mike was grateful for Jake''s thinking of him, but he felt a little strange that he had been ordered by the president to practically drop his authority as a coach, of course, he understood that this was only because of the president''s concern that something that happened to us years. And Mike also understood that Jake was not the kind of person to take advantage of the situation, so nothing would change as it was in Middle School, but served to show the importance that Jake has for the team. Jake was very calm in the coming weeks, the next day would be the first regional championship game, he could finally return to play normally, in those weeks he also talked a lot with Jenny on the phone and sometimes in person, and so the relationship between them was deepening. Jake can finally feel that things were back to what they should be, after dinner with his mother he went to bed and before bed, he decided to talk a little with the system. "Things have been a little intense in those two years, is not it, Fate." [These two years have been very good for improving your skills and also you can mature a little more, it''s important for you to know that even with the system things can get complicated for you too.] "That''s true, it helped me realize that this is real life and not a dream, things can go wrong and can work for me as for everyone." [You can also do many things in those years that you normally could not, you may know some people better too.] "That''s true, show me my statistics, please." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 15 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.83 m] [Weight: 78 Kg] [Force 28] [Agility 28] [Resistance 30] [Intelligence 57] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man S] [Dribble SS] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block S] [Pass SS] [Rebound S] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal SS] [Dunk B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was impressed when he saw how much he improved that year, it was few times that he can see almost all his skills in the S rank, after looking for a while he cannot resist asking. "Fate, why have not I come up to the next level to upgrade my skills?" [There are two reasons for this, the first is that you have to raise your dunk skill to rank S too, and this is not going to be easy, the second is that you have to decide for sure what your next step will be, you can go to university like you said it would or could show the skills of the NBA.] So Jake realized that this was really important, but he had already decided to go to a university before, he had to realize that dream that was as much of his mother as his. [I think you should talk to your mother better about this, you can go to university when you are older if you are to fulfill your mother''s dream, you have to think about what is most important to your career as well.] [Because after you stop playing along with the money you''re going to earn in the NBA and with the stock you invested, you will not need to work after retiring from basketball, so I think you better think of it better, there''s still plenty of time until you have to choose since your dunk ability is still far from the S rank.] Just as the system said he thought he really should have this conversation with his mother, he also thought he would not have to do the university, also because after spending five years studying various business books in this life and more than 10 years in his life should not have much for him to learn. "But changing the subject, why do you say it will be difficult to raise my dunk skill rank?" [As I said before, some of your abilities are also affected by your overall stats and by your body, just as your height affects several of your abilities, so some of your abilities only rose in rank because your height increased.] [Dunk was one of them, that means you need to train a lot and grow up too so that dunk becomes S rank too, so you can get to your next level.] Since this did not just depend on him, Jake decided he would just rest to be well in the game the other day. The next day Jake woke up early and went down to have breakfast, down Jake saw that Eve had woken up earlier and had already prepared all the food. So Jake smiled and remembered that two years ago his mother really always cooked the breakfasts on game days. "Hi Jake, you woke up early today, I thought you were going to rest some more before you go to the game." "I think I was very excited, I still can not believe I''m finally going to be able to play again." "Oh, you can believe, things always turn out well when you wait and try hard if you did not train those two years you could not play this year." Jake thought his mother was right as always and ate his food quietly, then he got his purse with his things and went to the playground. Jake looked at the stands and saw that Eric was there as he said he would be, but the audience for this game was very small, this was normal it was a game that everyone knew what the result would be. Although last year they did not win, the Elite team is a team that reached the national championship for three consecutive years and won in two of them, Jake thought it was strange to be playing in a team that was a favorite to win, was the first time for him. In the two years that he played in Middle School his team was one that no one expected to win, but now many expected good results from them, of course, Jake did not feel any pressure, he always played to win even before. The opponents seemed discouraged because they expected them to lose the game when they learned they would play against the Elite team. Coach Mike had already established all strategies and tactics for the games in training, so in the game who would command the team was Jake, but this was a game that no one expected it to be difficult. After a while the game began, Mark won the first possession of the ball and passed to Jake, Jake with the ball possession began to organize the first attack for his team. Arriving at the three-point line he passed the ball to Harrison who would play for the first time in two years like him, Harrison who despite not playing much improved with the training ran towards the inner area and did the layup to do the first 2 points for the Elite team. The opposing team also managed to score 2 points and tie the game, Jake started another attack and this time did not pass to anyone and made the shot from outside to make 3 points. The game continued like this, before the defense if they hit both teams hit their attacks until the pressure of the Elite team''s defense increased and the opponent erred first, so the difference on the scoreboard only increased. The elite team attacked efficiently and defended well, as the advantage in the abilities of the players of both teams was very great the result was expected, in the interval after the second period the Elite team won from 42 to 24. Jake played those games with a different goal than just winning, he wanted to do a Triple Double in every game until he won the state championship, Jake was proud as well and wanted to show everyone that the national championship MVP was back in High School. Making more than 10 points and 10 assists were easy, the hard the other, Jake decided to try to make 10 steals per game, at least Double Double was guaranteed for him. After the game was over Jake was very happy, his teammates were already hoping for it and he thought it was normal, but for him, this was an important victory. Jake returned home and as he always did he was anxious to tell his mother about the victory in his return game when he came home smiling Eva already knew that everything had gone well. So that was the first step of a new beginning, it would be Jake''s walk for the first national championship to be defeated at high school. Jake wanted to at least win both he could still win to not feel bad for losing the first two, and he also thought it would be a good result to win two national championships in four years. The most important number was something that Jake counted on, but he did not care much but could be important information in the future, it was more than 3 years since Jake did not lose a game. Chapter 128 A New Beginning 2 After another week Jake''s team won another game, the team won well and Jake got his second Triple double followed, the team won well and everyone was very happy about it. Jake took advantage of the time and went to talk to Oliver, Jake came home and the housekeeper took him to Oliver''s office. "Jake, how long have I not seen you, you and Joseph are growing up, you''re not coming so much here and you''re starting dating a girl your age and my son started dating too, and I''m getting more alone all the time." "You''re too exaggerated, I know you were very happy when you heard that your son was dating." "Of course I was proud of my son, he''s still such a beautiful and intelligent girl that he''s dating." "And Joseph was afraid you would not agree, he said he expected me to approve to convince you, I saw that your son does not even know you." "I''m happy with that, you''ll know that when you''re a parent, your son has to be a bit afraid of the father to respect you more, the important thing is you know the right spot so it does not affect your relationship with your child." "I do not agree very much with this, but I know that each one has his way of raising a son, I have no fear of my mother, but there is not one person I respect more in the world than her." "That''s because your character is good, so I think you''re such a good influence on Joseph, you see he''s more confident now, he''s lost weight and even got a good girlfriend, all this is because you''re his friend." "I think you underestimate your son, he just needed better support, it could be me or anyone, besides, I also learned a lot of things and I am very grateful to be a friend of Joseph." "So that''s good for everyone, but by changing the subject I knew what happened at school, I said that it was best that you let me talk to your principal, I would have taken that ex-trainer from you a long time ago." "I could not imagine that the situation would be like this, I do not usually think that all are crooks." "But you should, so you would never be deceived." So Jake talked for a while with Oliver and then even played some chess matches with his friend, Oliver had a Jake-like mental age, so Jake felt more comfortable with him. Jake also decided to take Jenny to the movies to watch a movie with her, Jake wanted to know what it was like to watch Forrest Gump at the movies, he thought about taking his mother there, but now Eva also had her own friends, besides, Eva never liked much of this movie. So Jake thought of taking Jenny to see this movie with him, Jenny was very happy, she knew that Jake was different from the boys of the same age, but for some months they were leaving and Jake never tried to kiss her, so Jenny thought that he might not like her. But today she felt it would be different after all the cinema would create a perfect climate for this, and Jake had not thought of any of it and just wanted to see the movie. And after the movie was in the middle Jake realized that Jenny was looking at him with passionate eyes, although he did not really have many experiences with relationships he had some girlfriends and knew what Jenny was expecting. So Jake hugged her affectionately and kissed her after that Jenny had a satisfied smile on her face and returned to watch the movie after the film ended that Jake was realizing that the name of the protagonist of the film was Jenny and this may have excited a little she. Even though Jake had not planned on that, having already seen the movie turned out to be perfect for a first kiss, and Jenny must have thought it was the destination that made it happen, so after Jake took her home he officially asked Jenny to date with him and she accepted. Jake went home really thinking about how his luck worked well at such times, after dining with his mother he thought that would be a good time to tell what happened to her. "Mom, I wanted to tell you something that happened today." "What is my son?" "I started dating today." Eva was a little surprised for a while, after all, she did not even know that Jake had liked some woman, and suddenly he started dating up. "I think that''s very good, my son, who is she, what''s her name?" "Her name is Jeniffer and she studies at the same school as me, I met her at a birthday party for Joseph''s girlfriend, she was the one who introduced her to me." "So you''ve liked her since this party?" "No, I was a little angry at the time, so I did not care much about her, but I found her very beautiful, but after meeting with her many times I ended up liking her and started dating today." Eva knew that Jake did not use to lie so that must be the truth, she was very happy for her son, but a little sad because she knew that she would be more alone from now on, nevertheless she would always put Jake''s happiness in the first place. "So when are you going to introduce her to me, Jake?" "I do not know, I think only if things get more serious, even though I like her just now that we''re dating that I''ll be able to know more things about her and her more things about me." Jake thought anyway, mainly because he was a very serious person who did not like to play with anyone''s emotions and nobody to play with their emotions. So a week went by and the day of the third regional championship game came, Jake was completely focused on this game and the whole team as well, they knew that if they played well they would win, so they had to do only what they knew. Jake was still in search of his Triple Double in all games, so he was the most active player in the game when the game started Mark gained possession of the ball high for his team, Jake received the ball and started the first play of the game. Although Jake was behind making a Triple Double in the games who scored more points in all the games now it was David who was the SG, Jake thought that was the right one after all David improved his abilities very much in those two years. Carter attacked better now, but he was still much better at defense and Mark was the same, Harrison was also much better at his technique, but having stayed so long without playing he needed to find the rhythm of the game. So it was only natural that David was the one who made the most points in the games, Jake could too, but it was unnecessary for him to do it all alone having companions to play along. So in the plays Jake passed the ball more often to David and varied with his teammates, whenever he could he passed the ball to Mark who sometimes dunks to cheer the crowd, Jake also had times that ran right passing by all his opponents and doing a dunk. Now that Jake was taller with all his physical stats he could easily do a dunk, so he had to dunk whenever he could to increase the rank of his skills. As the opponents in the regional championship were weaker he could often guess where his opponents would make their passes and manage to steal, sometimes he also stole the ball by making a Double team on his opponents. When the game was over Jake had made another Triple Double and his team had won well again, Coach Mike was very pleased with that, Harrison was also regaining his game pace and would be 100 percent in the state championship. Eric also always took great pictures at Jake''s games, even though he is getting used to watching NBA games wherein several games he made several incredible plays, he was not the only one who followed these plays, often the newspapers published the same photos in their newspapers. That''s why Eric missed Middle School and high school games because many of those games went unnoticed by most of the other reporters and he felt he was finding a hidden treasure when he took these pictures. Eric long ago realized that if he watched the games of Jake had great chances to see this kind of play many times, in addition, it was much easier to get a good interview with young people of that age. So when Eric learned that Jake was two years out of play he was outraged, he sometimes imagined when watching NBA games when he would see Jake playing on that court and when he came back he discovered that some coach who did not understand basketball nearly spoiled his future. So Eric was happy to be able to help Jake this time, in addition, Jake was now more favorable to Eric and so it was easier for him as a reporter to get an exclusive interview both now and in the future when Jake was an NBA player, so Eric was the one who felt lucky. After the game ended Jake returned home to tell his mother about the victory as always, Jake was happy that the cell phone was getting more and more active at that time so he could buy one. Jake was very pleased with many things after returning to the past and many things in his life were much better than before, but the fact that he could not get his computer to access the internet was something difficult to get used to Jake, soon that time would return. Chapter 129 A New Beginning 3 A few days after the game Jake had already gone to school and talked a lot with his friend Joseph and also sometimes went out with his new girlfriend, sometimes Jake only stayed in homes with his mother, could say that he was having a few peaceful days again. Jake can also train a lot in school, coach Mike decided to pass some new plays that had not passed in the Middle School period for the team, Jake as always picked up all the moves easily, after training a lot with his team Jake was not about to do anymore the signs during the game. The team trained everything they needed during the week and in the game, it was easier to perform, Jake was also afraid that his opponents could get used to their signals and the plays would turn out to be more wrong than right. The days went by and the day of the fourth regional championship game arrived, even though it was the semifinal Jake''s team players were relaxed, they were just on the court waiting for the opposing team to enter. The opponents also did not seem to be afraid, as they had reached the regional championship semifinal they had confidence in their abilities, yet they were concentrated because they knew that the opponents were the champions for 3 years in a row. The game started with the ball in possession of the Elite team, Jake received the ball and started the attack calmly, Jake reached the line of three points and the team was all positioned in the attack, Jake passed the ball to Harrison who disengaged from the opponent. Harrison got a space and threatened to give the shot, the opponent got in the way and Harrison could dribble more easily, then Harrison made the mid-range shot to make the first 2 points for the Elite team. Everyone returned to the defense and waited for the attack, Jake was the one who was ahead to defend first off the line of three points, that prevented the little actions of the PG of the opposing team. In high school almost all teams had a player who was skillful in shots from outside, so now the Elite team could no longer give so much space on the defense. The opposing team can still tie the game in this move, so Jake was to start a new attack, reaching the three-point line Jake passed to David who was with space, David received the pass and shot the outside to score another 3 points. So the game continued in this way, the Elite team erred far less than the opponents in the games and so could be able to increase the advantage in the score in all periods of the game, Jake and David could also make the shot from outside with confidence because Mark and Carter took the rebound. Jake had every confidence that never again would happen what happened in the final of the National Middle School Championship with his team again. And so Jake always tried the steal when he had the opportunity and sometimes he could do 10 steals before making 10 assists for his teammates, by the end of that fourth game they had easily won by 30 points on the scoreboard. Eric who followed all the games finally realized that Jake was trying to make a Triple Double in every game, so he smiled and knew he could have an interesting story at the end of the national championship. In fact, Mark was also featured by doing a Double Double in every game taking the rebounds, it was normal when he thought his position was still an incredible result. Jake could also fight for the rebound, but found it unnecessary to dispute with a teammate, after that game ended the final would be in a few weeks, Jake said goodbye to everyone and went home to tell the good news to his mother. So Jake was prepared to play in the final of the regional championship that would be in a few weeks, although this was not a difficult game, it was important for Jake to win a championship after all this time, and Eva as always would be there. During the training Jake already treated Liza normally, although Jake did not want to be friends with Liza he did not see problems in treating her well, after all, she helped the basketball team and was a friend of both his girlfriend and his friend, it was impossible that Jake ignored her. As Jake had always been very sincere he also told Joseph and Jenny about why he did not like Liza very much, and he even told him about what his co-worker did with him in his past life, but he said it happened to someone else. After that Jake even told Joseph and Jenny that they did not take what Liza seriously did, they realized how bad it might be in the future and so they tried to talk to Liza, after all, Liza was still young and could change her personality in time before becoming an adult. After that Jake even realized that Liza had improved a lot and it weighed that if she continued like this he could become her friend in the future, Jake also during the week took Jenny to a restaurant to go out with her during the week. Jake felt that in those weeks after they started dating their relationship was getting better, and he was also getting to know her much better, and Jenny was also learning more about Jake. But one thing Jake did not like was that even though Jake talked a lot about his mother and even told about his father that he had died, Jenny did not say anything about his family in their conversations, Jake wanted to know more about it, but for now, he decided to make room for Jenny. Before that game Jake also ended up talking to Tiffany, Jake had asked how the companies were going and Tiffany said that everything was going well and then called Jake to have lunch. Since Jake did not really talk to Tiffany despite being sponsored by her company, he also accepted it, after all, it was important for him to talk to her as well as talk to Clara more often. Arriving at the restaurant Jake saw that Tiffany was wearing a very nice feminine suit, now that Jake had grown up that year his clothes were just a little larger than his size when he saw that Joseph and Eve who rebuked him were surprised by Jake''s prediction. "Hi, Jake, how long have not we talked to each other in person and that alone?" "It''s true, I know you''re very busy, after all, you besides having your own company are still shareholders of Clara''s company." "It''s true, I was very lucky, although at first, I trusted Clara''s talents and I even invested in the company because I wanted to help her raise capital and she could keep control of the company." "But I did not imagine that my investment would bring me so much return, besides, it''s thanks to Clara that I had the courage to start my own company after I received all this inheritance 10 years ago I honestly did not know what to do with so much money." "I really admire you and Clara too, I know how hard it is for women to be so successful over the years with an economy that sometimes favors men so much, so I think it''s inspiring." "You are also inspiring Jake, at your age I still had to suffer to study, but you already have a career ahead of you in basketball playing so well, still get good grades and spoke some languages, I wanted to have a child like you in the future." "I also have a lot of flaws, but I try to do my best, I also appreciate the confidence that you and Clara put into me at the time I was out of the basketball team." "We believe in your future too, as now you are going to another final and next year you will also win the national championship in high school, with what many can not do in a lifetime is worth waiting for." "I hope you''re right." "Actually I called you here because I''m very worried about something Jake, Clara, and her husband are practically making a civil war at their house." "What happened?" "Clara found out that Robert was cheating on her all this time, she already suspected it, but it seems that the situation is even worse than she imagined, Robert is not only cheating on passing women, he got a woman he says he loves. " "And why does not she end up with Robert right away?" "Because Robert''s father is still sick, and the truth is, I''ve heard that Robert has never touched Clara since they were married, so even if Clara gets angry, she''s not been so harmed, and even Robert only expects father his death to separate from Clara." "The situation seems to be complicated then, but Robert could at least expect them to separate before finding a new woman." "I also think, but it looks like the woman did not want to wait and said she would find another man so he did what he did." So Jake felt that this situation could get worse in the future, but even if he could talk to Tiffany about it it would seem that Clara would have to suffer until Robert''s father died, only after that could a solution be found. Another thing Jake thought was what would happen to Clara''s company after she broke up with her husband, after all, Robert had 10 percent of the company, and only normally should it be obvious for him to continue with these actions as the company. Clara was succeeding. Jake felt something different might happen. Even though this was something that would only be resolved in the future, so Jake went home because he had to prepare to play the final that would happen in a few days. Chapter 130 A New Beginning 4 As the days went by and the day of the regional championship final arrived, Jake woke up well and Eve had already cooked breakfast, Jake wondered if Jenny would make breakfast in the future in the future. Jake just erased that thought, he thought maybe no one in his life would treat him as well as his mother treated him, and if he could, Jake intended to take Eva to live with him after he got married. After all, Jake did not think Eva was going to marry again, and he would never let her live alone, besides, he thought either Jenny or another woman could not possibly have Eva as his mother-in-law, so Jake started to think that. Thinking of living alone he remembered Anna who lived alone now, after building a large family like Anna did, in an accident everything fell apart, Jake remembered a bit of his story when he remembered the story of Anna, so Jake thought of visit her the other day, so he could celebrate after he won today. So Jake went to the place of the game with his mother, this time they went by car, Jake could not wait to get his driver''s license for another year to be able to drive as well. When they arrived at the place Jake''s teammates and opponents had not yet arrived, only a few had arrived, Jake got ready in the corner while Eve went to the bleachers. Liza had also come to see the game and was preparing some towels and water bottles to deliver in the game, Jake looked at the best stands and was a bit sad not to see Jenny anywhere. If Jenny did not want to see his games, Jake would not ask for it either, but he was a bit sad about it, Joseph was not coming to the games even though he was a friend, but Jake thought it would be nice to see Jenny from time to time. So the time passed and everyone finally arrived and the game was about to start, the opponent was the team of the Spiders, they had as highlight the PG and the Center of the team, the PG was called Joe and the Center was called Juan. Jake wanted to try to triple-double once again, but this was an important game so he would focus more on the victory than on his personal performance, the game began Mark got the ball to the Elite team. Jake received the ball and started a fast attack for his team, Jake saw that the Spiders defense left Harrison cleared and passed the ball to him, so Harrison received the ball and ran to make the first two points of the final with a layup. The opponents also tried to respond quickly as Joe advanced to the Elite team''s defense court, Jake followed closely at close range, Joe saw that the SF team managed to infiltrate the Elite team defense and passed it to him. But Jake also realized this and so he stepped up to intercept the pass and steal the ball, after his agility went up a lot Jake realized that it was true that he had increased his reaction rate a lot, so after training a few dozen times in his Imagine training Jake was good at getting ahead and intercepting passes. So the fast attack of the team Spiders failed and Jake advanced quickly to the attack, Joe tried to follow and realized that Jake was much faster than him, so in a few seconds Jake made the dunk and 2 more points for his team. The crowd was excited by this fast-paced start and the Elite team already had a 4-point advantage in less than 30 seconds of play, after Joe was more careful with his passes, but even so Elite team defense was very difficult and the times they had to make a quick pass or a shot anyway because the ball possession time was over. The Spiders'' defense tried to do the same, but the elite team had a lot of skillful players, as the games got harder Jake and David shot the ball out and hit most of the time with 3 points, but even when they were missing Mark was there to catch the offensive rebound. Jake could also always count on Mark and Carter to attack internally, so at the end of the first period the Elite team won by 8 points of difference, Jake had already managed to steal 3 balls, but still, he was not satisfied. In the second period of play, it looked like another shot competition from outside the two teams, but the Elite team was more than double what the opponent, and with both defensive and offensive rebounds that Mark and Carter took the Elite team won this competition. At the end of the third period of the game the Elite team won by 30 points of difference and Jake finally managed to make the 10 steals in the game, so he managed to make a Triple Double in all regional championship games. Mark also had an incredible performance and got a defensive triple-double making more than 10 points, taking 10 rebounds and making 10 blocks in the game, with that performance was impossible for the Elite team to lose. Even Juan being one of the top Spiders players was completely nullified in this game by Mark, and Joe was having problems with Jake too, Jake did not make such a tight defense like that, but he got 6 of the steals in Joe. But even though they knew they had lost that final, the Spiders continued to work hard in the fourth quarter of the final, so the elite team won by 34 points and still greeted the Spiders for their bravery in that game. The whole team celebrated this championship trophy moreover and Jake was also thrilled to win for the first time after two years without playing, Eva was crying with happiness also to see her son win again. Eric took many pictures of all this, he was also happy to have helped, so the Elite team won and Jake who had returned to be the captain raised the champion trophy again. Then Jake received the regional championship MVP award and everyone thought it was more deserved, so everyone was happy to have started this season with a good result. Then no one interviewed this time because it was the regional championship and the fourth time the Elite team won, so no one cared much about an expected victory. So Jake and Eva went home, Jake may feel that he had recovered something he had lost after that victory, so soon it would be the state championship. Just as she had thought before the other day Jake and Eva went to Anna''s house, Anna was very happy to see them when it was neither class day, Jake came into the room and Anna came back with an apple pie she had made and served both. "I knew we should have come today mother if we would not miss that delicious cake." "I thought you had come to visit and not to eat." "I can do both, I''m sure Anna agrees." "He''s right Eva, I actually woke up early today thinking about making this pie, I have not done that in years, I''m glad you came while the pie is fresh." "Jake wanted to see up here to celebrate a little because his team won the regional championship yesterday, as this is the first trophy he has won in over two years he was very happy." "Congratulations Jake, if I had known I would have gone to watch as well." "Alright, you can watch when it''s the national championship final, so I get more excited." After talking for a while Eve went to the bathroom and Anna took the opportunity to talk to Jake alone. "I heard you got a girlfriend, eh, Jake, congratulations." "That''s right, we''re getting to know each other better now and I''m really enjoying it, but she does not tell me much about her family, I wanted to know about it too, but she seems to be avoiding it." "I''m sure she has her motives, sometimes it''s hard to talk about the family so give her some time." "I think so too, but for me, if she does not talk about family to me it will be a wall that keeps our relationship from getting more serious, I do not expect her to introduce me to her parents, but that''s the least." "I understand, you''re really different Jake, but I think you''re right, besides, you''re still young so you have plenty of time to talk about serious things." "But changing the subject, I think I have something you''re going to like to know, Jake." "Which is?" "I finally figured out what your mother''s dream is, I also did not imagine it would be that after all you told me, but it seems like it is." So Jake was really happy to hear this, he was even doubting whether or not Eva actually had a dream as he thought, but after more than two years she finally opened it and told Anna. "So what is my mother''s dream?" "Eva''s dream is to have a restaurant of hers." "What?" "That''s right you heard, Eva''s dream is to have a restaurant like you told me she''s endured for many years being a waitress I never thought it could be this, but it seems that''s it." So Jake was really shocked, he thought he knew his mother very well, but the last thing he hoped turned out to be the truth. Chapter 131 A New Beginning 5 "You do not have to be so shocked, Jake, it''s normal that you did not wait for this, but that was not because she''d worked in a restaurant for many years, but it sounds like something she heard from her parents when she was little." "You know how good she is at keeping secrets, so she should never have told you anything, actually she did not tell me directly either, but she ended up letting it slip away." "How was it?" "Well I was telling her about some good memories that I remembered from the time I had a restaurant, so after talking about it for a long time I started to get excited and Eva was moved too and ended up talking, but she did not must have not even realized that he let slip." "But as I tried to find out about it there was so much overrun I could not let that slip, I knew I was a lot like her mother when we met, we even liked the same things." "Thank you so much for telling me about it, Anna, I really needed to know about it." After Eva returned to the room the two disguised they were talking about her and returned to talk normally, but Jake was thinking a lot about how he would fulfill Eva''s dream. The biggest problem now was the money, Jake had raised almost $ 400,000 again after making that investment more than two years ago, but he wanted to re-invest that money in equity next year, he knew that money could make it 20 times over in 5 years investing, but Jake would not let Eva wait another 5 years to have his restaurant. So he knew he did not have much to decide, between getting richer and fulfilling his mother''s dream he would always choose to fulfill Eva''s dream, surely many would call Jake crazy, but the greatest regret he had in his last life it was not that he did not get richer but rather let Eva suffer. Now that Jake had decided after having his bleeding heart he would have to be sure to prepare things well so that his mother''s restaurant would not close after a few years, he would have to choose the right place and also what kind of restaurant it would be. Jake did not have to train normally after having the system with him, so he could take advantage of this time before the next championship to prepare the restaurant for Eva, the important thing was that to open a business from scratch took many months at least, so he had to start to organize this now. So in the next few days Jake spent preparing the start of a restaurant project for Eva, he just needed to prepare the base because he would never be ready before he knew what kind of business Eva wanted to do. It had to be decided whether it would be a high-class restaurant, a popular restaurant or even a restaurant that prepares foods from just one country, all this was very important to know before opening the restaurant, but to get a property to have the restaurant be renovated and other things could be prepared sooner. So Jake did a good job searching for everything it would take to open this restaurant, after preparing all the basics he called Emily, it had been a long time since he had spoken to his assistant, but he needed her now. Emily was glad to see Jake after all this time, she did various types of business work and people trusted her because she had an investment company that was Jake''s. Even after working with several people she still did not forget that she worked for Jake, and it was not just for the company or the salary, but because she saw how much the actions that Jake invested yielded in those two years. She''d thought about investing herself, but she was too scared to lose everything, to someone as cautious as she could not work with the stock market, maybe if she could see Jake making a good profit this time she had the courage to trust Jake at the time of investing. "Hi Emily how long, I see you look more mature and experienced after these years." Emily was a little speechless, it was hard to hear this from someone who was only 15, but as it was true she did not say anything. "It''s good to see you again, too, Jake." "I need you to do a very important job for me, look for some brokerage and real estate companies, and look for all the places in Miami that can open a restaurant and bring the data to me as soon as possible." Emily knew this would be a long and difficult job, but as Jake only needed her once a year it was impossible for her to complain. After passing on this job to Emily, Jake thought it was time to start talking to Matthew about the future, he told Oliver that he wanted to meet Matthew and that it was for him to come along. Oliver accepted and arranged everything, after all, he knew Jake well and knew that he should be planning something important for today, in the evening Jake made that meeting in a restaurant to be more formal. Matthew also liked Jake very much and even though he was a little busy he knew he could have some time at dinner time after they arrived they all sat down and dined together making jokes, only after dinner ended that Jake started talking. "So Jake, as you decided to call me and my son to this restaurant I think the subject is a bit more serious than this our conversation I''m not sure." "You''re right Matthew, I called Oliver here because he knows a few things about what I''m going to talk about today, Matthew, do you have a company that has factories and several camera distributors right?" "Yes, it is my pride that I raised this company by myself and is already worth more than 350 million nowadays." "It''s true, I think your company is an inspiration to me and Joseph who will be the heir of this company, what I want to say and Oliver here is to witness is that I studied for almost 5 years on my own and I was able to learn a little about business." "True father, Jake has an investment firm and has made good returns so far after two years." Oliver did not know what Jake intended with this, but he intended to help if it was just to speak the truth, Matthew was rather surprised by this, if Oliver said that the company had a good return it means that it was really good because his son was not of exaggeration. And Oliver said that two years ago, that means Jake started this company 2 years ago at the age of 13, that''s why I deserved his respect. "And this company that I''m investing in is a technology company that has only been valuing itself so much in recent years because it is involved in this great new innovation that will be the Internet that will be used worldwide." "You can see that in the coming years, all companies that engage with technology will be highly valued, of course, this will not be a healthy valuation and can cause problems." "But companies that make real profits and also have well-established ones will go through these harder trials than ever before." "Other things that are starting now, but will dominate the future of the market are computers and mobile phones, with the internet all will have one in 10 years." Matthew and Oliver were very interested in these ideas of Jake, it was interesting to see someone at the age of 15 talking so properly about the future, but they did not understand what this had to do with them. "It''s for all this future that I ask you, Matthew if you''re going to hire my company as a consultant for yours." "Jake I did not understand, I think my company is not so involved with this innovation in technology and so I did not understand this joke about my company hiring yours." "The fact that you have now said that your company has nothing to do with innovation in technology proves more than anything that you need to hire my company now." Oliver, who was a bit lost in all of this, stopped to think for a while, he knew that Jake was very smart and also had business talent, so he knew Jake was not kidding about it all. "Jake, neither I nor my dad is understanding what you''re talking about, try to be clearer about where you want to go." "He does not want to get anywhere, he''s kidding is not Jake?" "Dad, I do not think Jake is a person to call us here to play so let us listen." "Oliver is right, I''m not joking, as I really liked Joseph and the two of you too, I would have done it as advice, but I do believe people do not believe much in the things that are for free and so I''m asking you to hire my company, so everything I say becomes official. " So Matthew and Oliver realized that Jake was trying to emphasize how important this subject is, so they calmed down. "Well, Jake, for me to hire your company, I need to know why the internet and this new technology is so important to my photographic company." "Computers, cell phones, and the internet, these three things are very important to a possible future for your company, in fact, these things are fundamental to the future of fewer than 10 years for your company." "If you accept this technology, in the next 6 years at least, your company can become one of the most valued in the country and after these 6 years if you create a good base will grow even more." "But if you refuse this technology, your company of more than 350 million may have to be sold for half of that or open bankruptcy." Chapter 132 The Decision Defining the Future 1 "I''m saying this, do you understand how important it is that you hire my company and accept my councils or not?" So Matthew and Oliver finally understood why Jake was being so serious about this whole situation, bankruptcy for a company was one thing that should not be said jokingly, so Jake was trying to make it as formal as possible. Yet it was hard for them to believe that if they did not make a change the company of more than 15 years could end up failing, at most they thought they could miss a very good opportunity. But something told them that what Jake was saying was true and that could not be changed, in fact, what was influencing them now was Jake''s charm, leadership, and eloquence that had been maximized by the system when he talked about Business. But that only happened because what Jake was talking about was an absolute truth that he knew to have come from the future, the more truth the matter was and the more conviction Jake had to speak, but whoever he heard would believe it. "Well Jake, I''ll believe you, for now, so you tell me what your councils are and if it''s not something very absurd I might consider and so you''ll be hired." "Okay, let''s start first with the change that can make your business more successful or end up failing, as you all know people are lazy most of the time and do not want to make a lot of effort when they do something." "So today not everyone has a camera at home, why? This is because people have to take the trouble to buy the film reel to take the pictures and after that, they have to reveal the pictures, am I sure?" So Matthew and Oliver thought a little and saw that what Jake said was right, if everyone had a camera at home the companies would be much richer and there would be many more companies on the market. "Now try to imagine if a person had a camera and did not even have to buy rolls of film or reveal it, people could take pictures from anywhere and even make videos and hundreds of them, then they could see anywhere or even send them to friends, if so, do you think people would want to have a camera?" What Jake described was difficult to even imagine for Matthew and Oliver, if what Jake said was possible the cameras would truly be much more sold and the companies would make millions of dollars. "This is the power of technology, in a few years everything I said to you may be possible, but it is clear that such a good market will have a lot of competition and will also have the patent barrier, so it''s best to start early with this." "What I said to you is already being developed now and it''s called a digital camera, in the beginning, these photos can only be transferred to a computer, but in the future, it will be in several places, now I''m going to talk about more barriers and opportunities." "As I said before, the future will be for computers and cell phones, but why this? This will happen because computers and mobile phones will absorb and develop various technologies and products into one." "Imagine this computer and cell phone that you know today being smaller and more practical and having a digital camera, a music player and television among other things? With that everyone would just need a cell phone and a computer and the rest will be obsolete. " So Matthew and Oliver were confused again before Jake said that the digital camera could be the future and now he said that even if the company changed, it would still risk going bankrupt. "This is what I want you to understand, this is one of the markets that have the greatest opportunities, but it is also the most difficult market to compete, only being in front of everyone that you can conquer the best achievements." "But what I said about computers and cell phones is also an opportunity for digital camera companies, like this? You can be the first to develop the technology and thus provide for these companies." "Imagine if every person in the world has a cell phone and each home has a computer, in addition, with the new technologies developing people would switch phones every year if you were the supplier of products to these companies could earn hundreds of millions every month at least." "It means that all of this is risky, but it is a great future for those who know the way to go and I want to help you along that path, but like I said you can not avoid it if you do not adapt your company to the less you enter the digital camera market, your business will not have a future." So Matthew was quiet for a while, he had to think about what he could do for his company in the future, he did not want his company to end up failing because he did not know how to fit into the market and as Jake said this is key to an entrepreneur. Not to mention that as Jake said this is also a great opportunity, and all he had to do was take the first step, so he at least would not risk the failure. "Alright, Jake, I believe you, so you can tell me what I can do to keep my company from going broke." "I know that although you trust me will not immediately change your business and risk everything, so I recommend you open a section in your factories intended to make digital cameras, so if what I said really happens you may just give up make your film cameras and develop more digital cameras." "And for this to happen I suggest you hire several people who work with technology to develop this for you, and whatever you can try to put a patent on it, if any small business is developing this too you can try to buy that company to take advantage of technology." So Matthew and Oliver agreed with what Jake said if they did they would be prepared for the future and at the same time they would be taking care of themselves in case what Jake said did not happen. When Jake saw that they accepted their councils he was relieved, he was very tense and nervous about having to try to convince these people, after all, Jake cared a lot about Joseph''s family and did not want them to end up losing everything because he did not try. But now he was quiet because he did everything he could have done if the company was still closing because it was to be closed, Jake did not really want to do many things to change the future and so he did not try to create a company for his win with if future knowledge. Maybe that is why fate chose him to go back to the past if it was someone else, he would try to do everything to get rich and change the whole future, the truth is that Jake wanted very much to be an actor too, so he came to think of work with movies too. But that would affect many things and many people, so he did not try to do any of this, and even if he was called to make a famous movie he would not agree to do, Jake was very conscious to do things. As for what Jake said about wanting his company to be hired was not really true, he did it just to show that what he had to say was serious and not a joke, it now depended on Matthew''s ability to do business, Jake help in all he could just open a company of it and get rich alone. Moreover, the truth was that Jake did not have the money to start a business now if he took the money he invested in stocks he still would not have enough and would lose the chance to get rich without having to do anything. After Jake returned home and talked to his mother normally to go to bed, Eva could never know that Jake had spent the whole day trying to fulfill her dream and would have participated in a conversation that could be worth millions for many companies. The next day Jake woke up early and ate for breakfast and soon got ready to go to school, after all Emily still had to take a few weeks to get everything he asked for her, as he also settled the matter of Matthew''s company he could once again worry only about the state championship that would soon begin. In fact Jake was thinking nostalgically that maybe this could be the last trip he would make with Eva on New Year''s Eve, after all, next year his mother''s restaurant would be complete and she could not just go out to travel. And in a few years even if Eva can arrange things and travel again, Jake may also not have the free time to travel, as to make a trip with Jenny he would not do unless he was married to her. And so the days went by again, today would be the day that the Elite team would play the first game of the state championship, everyone was looking forward to it, Jake talked to his teammates and they said that the state high school championship was very disputed. The teams were very strong and last year if David did not return to the team and take all the victory in the last games they could be eliminated. Of course this year the team would have both Jake and Harrison besides David, so they thought he could win. Chapter 133 The Decision Defining the Future 2 Soon the two teams were on the court, the Elite team players were more relaxed and the opponents were treating this game as a final after all the Elite team had won the state championship for 3 years in a row. Jake still wanted to try the Triple Double in this game, it was impossible for the Elite team to not underestimate their opponents as everyone knew their abilities, even Jake could not avoid doing so, so Jake thought that having a goal like this could make him play more Really. The game began and Mark won the ball possession for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and began to organize the game calmly when he reached the three-point line he passed the ball to Carter who was freer. Carter managed to do the layup and the first 2 points before the opponent arrived when the teams had a lot of skill difference the game was so if it had a small space the player would make the points. Jake and his team-mates returned to defense and their opponents quickly reached the three-point line, Jake was ahead to defend a possible shot from outside, but the opposing PG decided to pass to the SG of his team. David who was on the defense pressed to disrupt the SG, but the SG still managed a small space and made the mid-range shot to make 2 points, Jake picked up the ball and began to organize another attack. Arriving at the court of attack he passed the ball to David, David was now much more mature than before and was not nervous with the ordinary moves and so made the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team. So the opposing PG started the attack for his team and in the three-point line tried to make the shot from outside, but Jake also went up together and got the block, so Jake got the ball and ran alone to the attacking block and only stopped after to cross the entire block and do the dunk. When Jake stole a ball and ran for the attack the teammates did not even try to keep up and stay on the defense because they knew Jake would score. The mistake this time was of the opponent PG who underestimated Jake who was close in defense after Jake had his growth spurt that year, he had no more flaws in his game, neither attack nor defense. Of course Jake was not perfect, that means he had mastered the basics if a player with better ability than Jake attacked he could not defend, but he was on the right track. After that move the Elite team played calmly and managed to increase their lead, by the end of the first period Jake had achieved 4 steals and already made 6 points, the Elite team had an advantage of 8 points. In the second period, the opposing team''s PG seemed to be running away from Jake giving hasty passes to his teammates without a PG the opposing team could no longer attack well, and Jake was more likely to get the steals intercepting the rushed passes. So at the end of the second period, the advantage was 20 points for the Elite team, Jake had already made 6 assists and more than 10 points with 7 steals, this gave even more confidence for the Elite team to win. In the third period the opposing team seemed to have given up on the game and Jake could make his Triple Double, and tried harder to get the points out, and the game continued like this until the end, the Elite team won with 34 points difference. Mark and Carter were only thinking about how this game was different from last year, they also won, but the game was much more disputed, that year the Elite team was much better and defended well too. Proof of this was that even Harrison having improved greatly in defense he was still the weakest in the defense, in the training of the team the 1 to 1 were much more exciting than the training of the team. Less when 1 on 1 was with Jake, then training was not fun, Jake had both the dribble and steal in the SS rank, so the game was unilateral. After the game Jake went home to tell his mother about the victory, Jake was confident in winning this state championship also after today, after celebrating a little with his mother Jake went to his room. There was one thing that had not gone out of his head since he spoke to the system a few months ago, that''s what the system said about his being able to play other sports with his stats. Before Jake had even thought about it, but he would not think of actually doing, first because his stats should not be currently stronger than the best of many sports, he was not currently stronger either than NBA players how much of the other sports. Maybe as the system said five years ago when his stats reached 40 he could even do other sports, but at that time he would have to play basketball when he was 20 he would be in his third year of university yet. And he would still have to learn some techniques to participate in these competitions, but after thinking for a few months on this he realized that he had some sports that he could perhaps attend and win now. And it was something he always loved to do, that idea did not leave Jake''s head and he wanted more and more to try it, it would be an incredible thing if he could participate in the Olympics in 2 years, Jake knew that to participate in he would only have to qualify and qualify for the position. "And Fate, do you think I can really do that?" [I really did not think you could think of it, after you stopped thinking that using the system was a form of cheating your mind really developed into the bad, but I think this is entirely possible, if it is with this sport you may be able to win even a gold medal in the Olympics.] "I know I can win a gold medal, but I can do it, do not you think wrong?" [I do not think it''s wrong, it''s a sport and if you have more ability to win than your opponents you should try to win, I''ve never seen an athlete who is much better than others and wins very easy to give up because he thought it would be very unfair with others.] [But I would still recommend you to participate first in the longest competition and so after another 6 years you would try the shorter competitions.] So with the system saying that everything was fine Jake was more determined to do this, what Jake was thinking was to be a professional runner, he always loved to run and before was just to relax. But after hearing the system saying that he could participate in another sport Jake thought that if it was to run he wanted so the system that knew what he was thinking recommended that Jake only participated in the marathon for a while and then participated in athletics in general and to win more medals. But Jake did not know if he could do that in 6 years because of basketball, but two years from now he could certainly, in order to compete in the competitions he just had to sign up. And if he could win a marathon or get at least the required time in an accredited test he could attend the Olympics, of course, he would still have to research more to be sure, but it should not be that much different. But with his current physical stats, it was impossible for Jake to normally win a marathon of more than 40 kilometers without much training or many points of resistance, which is why the system said that Jake was having the wrong thoughts. To win the marathon Jake was thinking of using the Barra Stamina to compete, so after running for many miles he would eat a Stamina bar and recover the energy to run, so it would be in the view of the system to steal. So Jake could certainly win a marathon, so the system recommended that Jake first participate in the marathon and then try out competitions with fewer distances as his stamina and agility stats increase further. So Jake stumbles thinking about it as he prepares for the second state championship game, after all, even though he really could do it could not be done without any preparation first, Jake would also have to make sure he could participate even though he was 15 now. After a few days the second game of the state championship happened, the Elite team won again with 36 points of advantage and Jake managed to make another triple Double in that game, in fact, that second opponent was of the same level of the first game. Eric was very excited about this after he realized Jake''s intent he started to hope that Jake could triple-double and not just the victory, so Jake came home to tell his mother everything. Jake talked to Oliver during the week and it seems Matthew did some research and actually figured out what Jake said was going on, so he realized that if everything Jake said would happen this could be an incredible opportunity for the company. So Matthew was already starting to look for some people to start developing the technology to be able to manufacture his first digital camera in a few years, and Matthew was already thinking about continuing to develop the technologies while paying attention to the market. If Matthew noticed some rumor that Microsoft or the cell phone companies were behind the technology he wanted to be the first to get in touch with them. Chapter 134 The Decision Defining the Future 3 So Jake can be relieved, he knew that Matthew was a great man and business to be able to create his company out of nothing for more than 15 years, so even if he had made a big mistake in his past life by losing that change in technology now was different. After Jake gave the way he had to follow Matthew could get the rest alone, in fact, Matthew was more excited about being able to participate in this new wave of technology, it could turn dozens of companies growing out of nowhere and in a few years would be more valuable than your company. So knowing that in a few years he could even work with Microsoft that would be the most valuable company in the world in a few years encouraged him a lot, so Jake did not need to tell Matthew how important this was. Jake just had to warn Matthew to be more careful and not end up losing a lot of money because of the internet bubble bursting in a few years, after all, if Matthew let go of some stock he could make lots of money but lose control over his company. At the break from school Joseph went to eat with Jake again at the break of class, but today Joseph was quieter than normal, he heard from his father what Jake did the other day, Oliver thought it important Joseph knew why he would be the heir of the company in the future. But Oliver did not know that Joseph would feel so strange about it, it was normal after all he and Jake were the same age and they were so different, Jake now also had a girlfriend, but besides playing basketball very well he was still the best student in the room with perfect notes. As if that was not enough Jake still helped his grandfather with the company, and according to Oliver of that Jake may have saved his company from bankruptcy and have helped the company grow even more in the future. That''s because Joseph did not know that Jake already had an investment firm that earned more than $ 1 million and was also trying to open a restaurant for Eva, the difference between the two was too great. Of course, Joseph despite being envious and admiring his friend still liked Jake very much and was only grateful, but after knowing about it he needed some time to get back to normal. Jake, who also had a lot on his mind, did not realize that his friend was strange, he had to continue preparing what was necessary for Eva''s restaurant, and Jake thought that this week or another Emily should have managed to get everything he asked for. Besides that, Jake had to see some details if he could even participate in the marathons and participate in the competitions and if he could when the competitions would be made, Jake was determined to do it. When Jake thought more about it he had an idea, he had seen athletics and marathon competitions on television several times, and all these times he saw that athletes often ran for sponsorships from sports equipment and sports drinks companies. So Jake could ask if Tiffany or Clara would know anything about what was necessary to participate in these competitions, so he could find more information with their help. So he called Tiffany because he knew that Clara must have many private problems to solve, Jake booked lunch with her at a restaurant because the subject matter was very important to talk over the phone. Jake really did not know, but in fact the commercial he did a while ago on television turned out to be a big hit, Jake besides a talented player was very handsome in general and was right in front of the cameras, putting all this together with the small fame that Jake had already turned out to have gone very well. And now Jake was going to be national champion if all was right in this and the next championship, after that Jake would go to college or straight to the NBA, so Tiffany and Clara were thinking of increasing the amount of sponsorship they pay Jake. At first, it was just Clara''s bet because Matthew asked and also because Jake was only in Middle School, but now Jake was near a bigger stage in basketball, so Tiffany and Clara who also had bigger ambitions for their companies thought about keeping Jake as sponsored even in the NBA. Even if they knew that keeping a player in the NBA was not very realistic because they could not afford the high contracts that the biggest sports companies could afford, they relied on Jake''s friendship for that. So Tiffany wanted to take advantage of this lunch to discuss this with Jake, so she got to the restaurant and saw Jake getting up from his desk to greet her. "Hi Tiffany, thanks for taking some time out of your busy time to greet me." "No problem, I really wanted to talk to you about a subject." "About what?" "Then I''ll tell you about it, how it was you who called me, it''s only fair that you tell me what you wanted first." "Alright then, let''s have lunch first then we''ll talk more about it." So the two ate and talked about common things after they were in the dessert Jake spoke again. "I''ll call you here because I wanted to ask you and Clara a favor." "A favor?" "Yes, I do not know if you knew, but I''ve always been very passionate about sports in general and not just basketball, but the things I liked the most were running and playing basketball." "Since I wanted to have a good career and also get a place at a good university, I decided to be a basketball player, and how I love basketball is okay." "But after those years I learned a lot with basketball and even the training cannot make me improve my skills in a short time, so in the next few years I would have the freest time." "So I decided to try other of my dreams and participate in a marathon like I always wanted to run, so I know that generally, sports-related companies know a lot about these competitions I wanted you to help me." So Tiffany was very impressed by Jake''s great love for sports, because even though he said he had more free time she knew that even if it were so others would not try to participate in a marathon. "Of course I can help you with this Jake, I''ll look for the next competition for you to participate, so even if you do not finish the race you can be happy about it." "I do not think you understood me, Tiffany." "What I did not understand." "I have a lot of confidence in easily finishing an ordinary marathon, what I wanted you to help me was to know more official competitions and if they have any age requirements to participate as a professional runner." "I do not want to just participate in a race, I want to win a marathon and qualify to participate in the next Olympics." After hearing this, Tiffany thought she had heard poorly or that Jake was joking, but when she saw his serious eyes she realized it was not a joke. "Jake you know that those who take part in these competitions are professionals who train for dozens of years sometimes, it''s not something you can just try to win." "I know all this well, I have the confidence to win a marathon, so please help me just to see if I can participate and when and where will be the official competitions." So Tiffany realized that she could not convince Jake to give up on this idea and only agreed to help him, after all when Jake lost he would know how difficult it was, it was not as if it would cause some harm to let him become a professional runner if it were not to affect the basketball. So afterward they separated and the contents of the conversation were so striking that she even forgot to talk to Jake about the increase in his patronage, but then she realized that it was okay for her to talk about it after she got the information she Jake asked her to check on the marathons. So Jake returned home quietly, he had to prepare for the third game of the state championship, even if they were confident in winning it was not good to underestimate the opponent too much. Jake waited for news of Emily all week, but she did not show up, which means gathering all this information was harder than Jake thought. So the day of the third game of the state championship came, in the morning Jake ate Eva''s breakfast, he thought that even if it was not for the fact that Eve got many friends and was happier in Anna''s cooking classes, just for the so much that her mother improved on her cooking was already worth it to enter this course. Of course Jake still cooked better than Eva, and that was normal after all even Anna said that Jake had plenty of talent to cook, many dishes Jake managed to do even better than Anna who worked as a chef in a restaurant for many years. After that Jake said goodbye to Eva and went to the starting spot when Jake arrived almost everyone had arrived, coach Mike was going through a few plays with Carter who was the main player in the team''s defense, Harrison also seemed to be concentrating. Jake got ready too and before long everyone had come to the game, the coach called them all for another last-minute instruction and then the team went to the court to start the game, Jake realized that coach Mike seemed much more nervous than the players themselves and laughed as they prepared to start the game. Chapter 135 The Decision Defining the Future 4 The opponents of the Elite team for this game were the Pigs team, they had a PG named Max and an SF named Alan. These were the two strongest players on the opposing team, the Pigs team were hopeful that they could win this game because they knew that even though the Elite team won last year they still had a lot of difficulties doing so. And the Elite team this year had two more new players than last year, so the Pigs team''s opponent having a team with players all of the third year of high school shows that the school team was weak. Jake naturally did not know any of this and was ready for the beginning of the game, soon the game began and Mark got the first possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and prepared to start the attack. But when he advanced to the Max attack that was the opposing PG came to defend against Jake near the middle of the court, Jake realized this, but did not care about it and just made the pass to David. Such pressure against a player was a bad idea to make against a PG that has only to organize the plays, soon everyone reached the line of three points and David passed the ball back to Jake who looked at the position of his teammates and passed the ball to Carter who was freer, Carter received the ball and turned to make the mid-range shot and make the first 2 points for the Elite team. After the opponent went to make his first attack, Jake did not pressure from the middle of the block as Max and waited in the line of three points, Max advanced calmly and passed to the SG of his team that even on the strong defense of David managed to make 2 points with a mid-range shot. Jake started another attack and Max was close to him from the start again, so Jake again gave the ball to David to advance to the attacking block near the three-point line. Jake got the ball back and fired out to make 3 points for your team. Max did not expect that and can not even react, actually whoever told him to stay on top of Jake was the Pigs team coach who saw how Jake had made a Triple Double in the first two games and was worried about it. But not always the data told the story of the game, Jake was not the only player on his team and did not even have to spend much time with the ball in the hands to make the moves, so the defense of Max besides bothering a bit was nonsense. The game continued like this until the end of the first period, Jake had made 4 assists and 8 points in the attack and got 4 steals in the defense, which was almost the same as he got in the other games, the difference was that whoever was with the ball the longer it was David and not him. The Pigs coach who saw this knew that his strategy had not worked but had nothing else to do because he realized that the other players also played well so he could not play a double game on Jake. In fact, the coach was even underestimating Jake, even if Jake was under two-man defense he could still make the points and the plays, it was just that Jake did not think it necessary to get rid of Max. But if it had a difference was that the difference in the score was only 6 points in the first period, this showed how the opponents were much better in the state championship, another cause of this was that Alan had managed to make 6 points in Harrison. So in the short time that had coach Mike reprimanded Harrison a lot for that, after all, Harrison was much better in defense after these two years of training, so these points on him only showed that he should be devolved in the game. In the second period the defense remained tight on Jake, Harrison looked more focused on defense but was not yet in his best condition, Jake gave more passes to David who managed to hit three shots from outside and make 9 points. So when the second period ended the elite team led by 14 points and Jake had already made 14 points and 7 assists with 7 steals, meaning he was close to triple-double in that game as well. Jake also realized that even though David was almost always the highest scorer of the team he now made almost all points with shots from outside, now he had 15 points, Harrison had not received any pass from Jake because he was being erased by the opposing defense. So the third period began, the game was almost the same way of the second period, but Harrison seemed to have finally returned to the game, so until Jake returned to pass the ball to him, Jake was still marked by Max closely, but after making the double Double Jake made two beautiful plays and made two dunks in that period. He did this to show how this individual defense was useless, Mark also cheered up and did a dunk too, so at the end of the third period the Elite team was 22 points ahead and the Pigs team gave up winning the game, so the game finished after the fourth period with the Elite team winning by 28 points difference. Jake saw that Eric had not come to this game and found it a pity, he wanted to ask Eric to prepare an album for him with the pictures he took at all games, but Eric had lost that, after everyone calms down Jake was ready to go away. But before leaving he saw that Harrison was a little quiet, as captain of the team he thought he had to talk to Harrison and approached. "So, Harrison, has anything happened to you?" "No ¡­ it''s nothing important." "You can talk to me, I realized that you were very quiet today and even had an unstable performance in the game if you want to talk to someone, can talk to me." So Harrison looked at Jake for a while and then looked down for a while longer, Jake kept quiet waiting because he realized that Harrison was wondering if he should talk or not. "I think I''d better talk than stick with this myself, actually I was kind of weird today because, in the third game of the state championship, I was thinking about stopping playing basketball." That made Jake surprised, he never thought Harrison wanted to stop playing after all Jake knew that all his teammates really enjoyed playing basketball. "And why did you think of that Harrison?" "Actually I''ve always loved basketball a lot, a few years ago at the beginning of Middle School I thought I was a basketball genius. Since I was little I always played with friends and always thought about attacking and I loved to score." "So in the first two years of Middle School even being in a school that was not so good at basketball I thought I was a genius yet, I was able to win the regional championship in the first and second year, and I also scored a lot." "In the second year I managed to win the state championship too and I was happier, but when I lost in the national championship, I realized that with that team I could never win." "Just playing is not fun, I wanted to win and so I knew that the Elite team was recruiting good players from weaker teams to make a winning team and they would even give a university scholarship to the players." "When I was called I was very happy and I accepted quickly so I thought I could be the star of this new team as well but when I met everyone I realized that all of you had great skills in attack and defense and I was the weakest between you." "And you had Jake too, I knew I could never be the best player on the team, but even so I thought I could improve a lot and fix my faults and be on the same level as everyone on the team as well." "After the final of the national championship that year we all played very badly and you had to take the team alone for the victory I realized that there was still a lot to improve and that the defense was also very important for a good player. "So I thought my biggest fault was the defense and I decided to train a lot so that when I played in high school I was just like you, but then the new coach arrived and even you left the team and I realized that besides my other defense disability as a player was the height." "So after staying almost two years without playing and seeing that I would not be high to play well in the future, I thought about giving up basketball in this third game last year." "But then David came back to the team and we won and then the coach left the team and so I thought I could still play, and now I''m playing with all of you, so I got a little distracted, but I''ve recovered." So Jake who heard it all felt bad for Harrison, even though he stayed two years off the team he wanted to be a professional player and knew he had a talent and a system to help him fulfill his dreams. But Harrison did not have all these things that Jake had, Harrison was young, did not have many talents, did not know how Jake could or could not grow in the future and stayed the same time out of the team, so it was normal for him to start thinking about these things. Chapter 136 The Decision Defining the Future 5 Even so, Jake felt he should say some heartfelt words to Harrison, even if it was not very encouraging to hear the truth could open his eyes wide and give a decision to be made by his friend, whether he would continue playing or not basketball. "Look, Harrison, I can not really say I understand what you went through because my situation was very different from yours when I was out of the team, but I''m going to tell you what I think about all this." "I do not know if you intend to play professional basketball or not in the future, but I say for myself, I do not like to lose too and most of all I really like basketball, so I think even if I lost, winning I would like to play the same way." "Even if you do not become a professional in the future, I think you should continue to play in college even if you are on a team that does not have much ability to win because I know you love basketball and will only be happy If play." "Even if you do not think about playing professionally in the future all those moments you spend playing at school or university will be an honor and a good memory in the future for you." Harrison felt a lot better, after all, even though he had thought about leaving the team he still decided to stay, and now that things were going well and they should continue like this for two more years he did not think more than he wanted to give up playing the game he loved. After seeing that Harrison seemed to be better Jake got his things and went home, he had to tell his mother about this victory, as the games approached the national championship Eva was more apprehensive before the games and only calmed down when he knew about the victory of Jake. After Jake saw the smile of his mother when she learned of his victory Jake can relax at home, and so in the other week would be the state championship semifinal, even if those games are easier Jake knew he was approaching the national championship. Although Jake was confident that he could win, he could not help but be apprehensive, even if the team did not have Harrison, his teammates should have been able to go through the third game last year in the national championship. After all, he was well aware that it was after the fourth game that the teams would grow stronger, so he had no way of knowing how his opponent would be if they reached the national championship finals, Jake thought the team he saw when he reached the High School that was the champions. This team was better than their current team-mates, only Jake was better off they and Mark were close to that level, of course, Jake hoped his teammates could improve greatly in those more than 4 months that they were missing to start the national high school championship. During this week before the fourth game Jake can finally see Emily, he was a bit pitiful when he saw how tired she was, but as it was a job that needed to be done Jake had no choice. Even so, Emily brought close to 50 places, this was after she eliminated all the seats that were not suitable for a restaurant even with a makeover and also places that had a very excessive price. Jake was very pleased with her work and said he would call her again after everything was decided so that she could handle the contracts and the final details, Emily was very happy to be praised, incredible that it seemed that Jake was only 15 years old she respected him more than her father who had worked with companies for many more years. So Jake no longer spent his days at home but rather in the library, he had already arranged everything that was necessary to open a restaurant, after that he would have to talk to Eva to know what kind of restaurant she wanted for everything to be ready. But Jake wanted his mother to know about it only after the restaurant was ready and retired, so she would only have to choose the vendors, hire the staff and make the menu, but that would have to be decided by Eva. Jake wanted to pick a place and renovate the restaurant in a way that would succeed no matter what kind of restaurant Eva wanted to open, that would normally be impossible, but Jake was confident he could do it. He looked very carefully at all 50 places and in the end got only 10 places, then he organized the places he chose with the documents about the restaurant he had prepared. If everything happened as it was in the document and with the location the restaurant would be ready to be opened, so he used his job skills Businessman who was Business Vision. That was the reason that Jake was confident in the restaurant, with that ability if it was green, it meant the business would work out at least within 3 years no matter what his mother did, and if it was red it would not work. So he just needed to change the business plan and the place until it turned green, after doing that he ended up with 4 places that gave the green light, that surprised Jake, so he decided to choose between one of these places. Then he would leave those three other places in store for the future, so if the restaurant grew he could open branches in those places if they had not been sold to other people by then. This was a place close to downtown Miami and had a great location, it was close to several hotels that did not provide good restaurant service for their customers who preferred to eat in some restaurant and also was not that far from the beach. Jake saw that he could buy the place for 250,000 dollars because this place had serious problems with an accident years ago and was almost destroyed inside it, but that only made it easier for Jake to make the renovation and open the restaurant. So he called Emily again who was surprised at how fast Jake decided to open the new restaurant, she thought it might take a month for Jake to decide, of course, she did not know that Jake had prepared everything before and had the system for help it. Jake knew that the early years of a restaurant were the most important ones to know whether or not he would succeed and Jake had seen it be a success in the first three years, so if nothing went wrong it would be a success after that as well. And Jake could always use that ability every year to let him know at least a year in advance if the business would have a problem. So Emily received all the documents Jake had prepared and also ordered her to buy the place, when Emily opened the documents she was surprised, in the document she had all the plans for the reform designed by Jake and also all the things that would have to be bought to the restaurant. So Emily just had to pay people and her work would be ready, so she was even a bit embarrassed for taking so long to do something simple as finding the places to shop. So Jake had solved the problem of the restaurant, he had to wait at least 3 months to find the place ready, it would be just before the national championship began, Jake also decided where he would do this that could be his last trip with Eva. After all the holidays were coming and Jake still had not learned to speak Japanese and not write, so he would have to choose another country to make the trip this year, and next year Eva would have to take care of the restaurant and so could not go with him anymore on travel. So Jake was preparing the rest of the week for the fourth state championship game after Jake told Harrison he seemed to have forgotten all the old issues and was much better at training. When he had time Jake always asked Mark to teach him how to make Center moves, the first time Jake asked for it Mark was surprised and scared thinking that after Jake grew up a little he wanted to be a Center now. If that happened Mark was worried that Jake would take his position, only after Jake promised he would not do what Mark agreed to teach him, it was not surprising Mark was afraid, Jake already knew how to play as PG, SG, and SF, if he learned some techniques with Mark he could play also as Center and as PF. So Mark was startled to think that Jake could have the position on any of his teammates, of course, Jake would play much worse if he was in another position than PG and SG, but even he playing worse was better than many of those positions. Of course Jake was not thinking about doing this, he was thinking of learning the best to use his great strength to score points if necessary, and Mark was the right person to teach him that. Mark thought that Jake could in a few years have mastered the position if he learned, it was not so wrong because the basics of basketball were the same for everyone, so the experience of playing in a position was important to a player. Jake could play very well both SG and SF was not because he was an incredible genius but it was that in those more than 3 years can play more than a thousand games in the space of imaginary training, in that thousand games he had experiences playing as a PG, playing as SG and also as SF. Chapter 137 The Decision Defining the Future 6 Jake played a lot in these three positions and so he could say that he has more experiences than David and Harrison in those positions, so he could play so well in any of those positions. Of course, it was not that Jake was thinking of playing in other positions, but because he thought that if he knew how to play in various positions, his decisions as a PG at the time of the pass could be based on his own experiences in other positions. So Mark was doing a much more dangerous thing than he thought, because if Jake learned all of Mark''s moves he could play hundreds of times like Center and PF as well. So soon Jake could take his position, of course, this would never happen, Jake''s greatest talent was in the shots from outside, if he played in an internal position he would lose his most powerful weapon. Jake had thought this over and over, the system did little for him as a basketball player, but these two things were able to solve the two biggest problems of basketball players, which was experience and his physical condition. The talent had to come from Jake from the beginning, so Jake sometimes trained with Mark as he prepared to play that fourth game in the state championship. After a few days came the day of Jake''s fourth game in the state championship this year, in the morning he as always woke up well pleased and Eva who had woken up much earlier had already prepared the food. After eating Jake went to the site of the animated game, this was a game that although not very difficult in the expectation of Jake would be a great challenge to fulfill his goal of making a Triple Double in all games. When he arrived at the playground everyone had arrived and this time coach Mike was just watching and did not give any instruction, Liza as always was on the side of the coach, it was only in the intervals of play that she was busier. Liza did not talk much to Jake about unimportant things, she''d heard so much from Jenny and Joseph that Jake did not like talking to her much like a woman she had her own pride. So she did not talk more than needed with Jake, she thought she was giving Jake some kind of cold treatment, but she did not know Jake was very happy with her doing it, he did not like talking too much anyway. Jake looked at the other side where his opponents, the coach was a good time sweating even before the game started talking nonstop while showing something in the small clipboard that was in his hands. The players had serious looks as they listened to everything the coach spoke, looked like they were preparing something to try to win the game, fans could see the stark contrast of the two teams before the game. One side was completely calm while the other side looked like it would play the game of their lives, of course when the game started all Elite team players would be serious. After a while the game referee called the two teams to the court, the game would start, the team that would be the Elite team''s adversary in that semifinal was the Penguins team, as it was in the semifinal showed that the team had good strength. The main players of the Penguins were the PG and the SG, the PG was called Sam and the SG was called Paul, Sam was looking at Jake as if he were his mortal enemy, he did not want to score a player who made a Triple Double on top of him , it would be a shame for Sam. After a while, the game began and Mark gained possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake picked up the ball and calmed down a bit before starting the first attack. This time Sam did not do as Jake''s last opponent and gave way until Jake reached the three-point line before beginning to defend more firmly, David playing with Jake a long time ago was always around waiting for precaution. Jake looked for a short time before passing the ball to Harrison, Harrison soon passing by his opponent and did the layup to make the first 2 points of the game. Jake who saw this was happy because it seemed that after venting Harrison managed to return to his best form, this would be very important for his team, so everyone quickly returned to the defense. Sam received the ball and started the first attack of his team, everyone played this game prepared to lose, but even so, they knew they had to try their best to win if they beat the Elite team they would surely win their next opponent in the final. Sam went to the PF of his team who got rid of Carter''s defense and went to Center who can do the layup and make 2 points and tie the game, Jake got the ball and started another attack for his team. Jake advanced calmly and passed the ball to Mark who had his back to the basket and turned to do the dunk and the 2 points, Sam tried to attack quickly and Jake realized that it moved quickly to intercept the pass, so Jake passed to Mark who again did a dunk for another 2 points. This time Sam received the ball and did not do anything hasty, he did not imagine that Jake was that fast, Jake and the Elite team also went back to the court defense, Sam advanced calmly this time. Arriving at the three-point lineup Sam passed the ball to Paul, Paul tried several ways to get clear of David and got after making a feint, so Paul fired a shot from outside to make 3 points. Even though David was much better at defense after two years he was still much worse than Jake, Carter, and Mark, and all opponents knew that. Jake got the ball again, he reached the three-point line and made a feint pretending to pass the ball, so Jake sped up and ran until he stopped after doing the dunk and 2 points for his team, Sam had to think of a way to stop Jake. When the first period ended Jake had made just 6 points but had made 5 assists and 4 steals, even if the opposing team defended with all force against Jake the passes and steals were impossible to prevent. And that''s because Jake was not pushing the individual plays much, because if he did he could score even against 3 opponents, at least for the state championship teams Jake was unstoppable. In the stands this time Eric was there, he had been in a bad mood when he was forced to cover an NBA game and missed the last game of Jake, yet he got a colleague at work to take the pictures in his place. After the NBA game that time he even argued with the general editor who had done it, after all, Eric was one of the newspaper''s top reporters after all these years, he was no longer in the position that he was forced to be sent out to cover games without being warned beforehand. The general editor did not imagine that Eric was usually so quiet would get so angry, so the editor realized that he could not do whatever he wanted with anyone like that, usually, Eric did almost everything they asked for, so they made a mistake this time. Eric complained about this exactly because he had realized this, even if he did not need it he liked to do others favor, but he noticed that the others began to confuse kindness with cowardice and began to send him everywhere. Eric was very thrilled with Jake''s growth that he had been following for almost 4 years now if it was a question now it was a certainty for Jake to become an NBA player with such rapid growth. Eric thought that if Jake ended up going to college before entering the NBA and had time to improve, even more, he would enter to be the rookie of the year in the NBA in his debut, it was missing to know if Jake would have the patience to wait the right time. Because the NBA could tempt anyone into this world as fast as possible, and Eric was sure Jake would be in high demand next year if it were not for the coach''s mistake of leaving Jake out of the team last year, this year this bleacher would be full of scouts from the teams. In the second period of play Jake seemed more erased, even more so he made his assists and steals, he only had three shots out and had already made 9 points, that was the difference of a great player. So the Elite team led by 12 points at the end of the second period, but Jake was already close to making his Triple Double, Mark had made 4 dunks in the game so far, and David also made his shots out. With a team like that Carter and Harrison who were playing very well seemed erased in comparison to their teammates, Carter was a player who cared more about the victory of the team than with him and was happy about it. Harrison had already reconciled that he was not as good as his teammates and just did his best on the court, Paul from the opposing team was also playing very well but they were still missing. In the third period, the coach of the opposing team was already discouraged and asked that all try to make several shots from outside to manage to reduce the advantage on the scoreboard, so Jake was doing what was there to do in the three-point line and made 4 blocks in the third period. Thus the Elite team had 16 points in front of the scoreboard at the end of the third period. Chapter 138 The Decision Defining the Future 7 The fourth period of the game was very rambling, Sam and his team did not try a reaction and Jake and his companions who saw that the opponents had given up did not increase much the advantage on the scoreboard. Even though Jake had to admit that this was the most difficult game they played, so he thought about how much stronger the opponent of the final would be, even so, Jake had gotten another Triple Double and would try again in the final. Eric was also excited about this, he wanted to see how much Jake could Triple Double in all games, had already been 9 in a row which was incredible for a player of any age. Eric was already thinking that the title of his story about Jake if they won in the national championship had to do with how many Triple Triples he could do, he already imagined the impact that that matter would have. After the game ended Jake went home to tell his mother about the victory, he imagined she was anxious because this game was the semifinal. Jake was thinking about the vacation after the final already, but that does not mean that he did not think this would be an important game, but that his vacation would also be important. After a few days of the game, Jake had a date with Jenny again, Jake had been busy these last few weeks, but even so, he would always see Jenny for a few days a week, Jenny was a little upset about it. But she liked how Jake respected her differently than the men she had dated before, as Liza had said Jenny was a rather modern woman, but she was a family girl after all. Even more so, her family is very conservative, it was impossible for her to take a step forward with the men before marriage, at least she knew Jake would not be that way and would respect her. First, they went to the mall because Jenny wanted to buy some clothes, Jake did not care much about it and just waited, he even picked some clothes and gave it to her as a gift. Before Jenny thought about choosing some clothes for Jake too, but she realized that Jake had a good taste for choosing her own clothes, she got the wrong impression the first time they met because Jake was in rather wide clothes. After they barely passed a few shops and ended the meeting in the restaurant, they talked about many things and Jake ended up as always touched on the subject of Jenny''s family. So Jenny realized that she could not keep changing the subject because she would have to talk about it someday when Jake realized that Jenny was finally talking about her family he prepared. "You must have realized by now that I do not like to talk a lot about my family, but since it seems like it''s important to know this to continue to trust me, I''ll talk." "My parents are normal, my mother received an inheritance from her family and besides receiving a part of the inheritance in money she decided to continue with the various houses and apartments she received." "So my mother always receives a lot of real estate money for renting these houses, as over the years the value of the houses has increased a lot it seems she made a good investment." "My father is the director of a food company, in addition to a director he has some shares of this company, so my parents are very well." "The reason I did not want to tell you about my family is my brother since he was a kid he was always taught to take over the family business, my father wanted him to work with him in the company and my mother wanted to leave the real estate with him." "But my brother ended up being a great disappointment to me and my whole family, even having everything he ended up getting involved with some wrong people and became a drug addict." "So it''s always been very difficult to talk about my family, I hope you do not get a bad impression on me for it." Jake was listening to all this quietly and when he saw that Jenny had been thrilled to talk about his brother could just get his hands on the table to show his support, if this was so you could understand why she did not want to talk much about her family. Jake liked Jenny and did not care much about her family at the time, he just wanted to know this to increase his confidence with her, after all, Jake thought that the more a couple knew about each other, the closer they became. "I understand what you must be going through now, but I want you to know that I will always be here for you." After lunch, Jenny calmed down and they said goodbye, it was like Jake thought after Jenny talked about his family the relationship between them became closer, now Jake thought he knew Jenny, and Jenny knew Jake accepted everything sore her. After that happened Jake thought he was more relaxed to play in the final in a few weeks, now his life was heading back in the right direction. At school, Jake was getting the best grades as ever and Joseph, after learning what Jake did for his family company, seemed to have found the motivation to study more again and his grades were improving. Even though Jake still took his economics and Japanese language books to school, he had almost no time to read the books, most of his classes now taught about things he had not learned before or did not remember. So Jake can see how different teaching was in the best private schools that prepared students for the universities of the normal public schools. In fact, after he got to college he would probably have time to read many books in class, after all, he studied over 10 years on various economics and business management books, so he had many things that would be taught in the lessons he taught already knew. Yet he had to do this to fulfill his mother''s dream, and also because he knew from his past life that people often respected more of a diploma than true knowledge. In the training of the basketball team, coach Mike was passing all the plays and tactics that they trained with everyone, so the first training before the final was in a frame, the plays that had players that did not understand were trained again. In training Jake was training a lot with Mark as always to learn moves from Center, so Jake learned a lot of how to use his strength to gain advantage and to be able to make the points in a dispute. When he saw this even Carter gave some important advice, David and Harrison were exhausted on the training floor were impressed with Jake who still wanted to learn more things even after being such a good player. Coach Mike also thought Jake was a great team captain and set a good example for the other players, Liza thought so too, after Jake returned to training the training environment was dozens of times better than before when Jake was out of the team. And the days passed quietly like that, missing a few days to the final game Tiffany called Jake for lunch. He was excited because what Tiffany wanted to say probably had to do with the marathon he asked her to see. So he went to meet her at the restaurant after he arrived at the restaurant he was taken by the receptionist to Tiffany''s table. "Hi Jake, Congratulations on having reached the state championship final, I''ll be on the final day to watch, but Clara, unfortunately, will not be able to." "Has her marriage situation got worse?" "That''s not it, she had to go to Europe again to solve the affairs of our stores that are there, if it keeps on working, we''re thinking of opening some more stores there." "So I''m happy about this, I expect business will continue to improve there." "Thanks, I got to see what you asked me, you can really compete professionally at age 16, so next year you can compete, our companies will always support you in everything you need." "Thank you very much, when you have an official competition next year you can let me know that if it is not the same day as the basketball games I will attend." "It will be good if you participate in this, as you said sports-related companies usually sponsor some athletes in these competitions, but our companies have no one in these competitions, you can represent us." "Of course, you can count on me, I''ll try to win to put the name of your companies on the podium with me." Tiffany just laughed, she did not think Jake at the age of 16 could finish the test the more he won, but as Jake said that he loved running he had no problem with him at least participating in the competition. "I wanted to talk about something else with you Jake after you win the next national high school championship my company and Clara''s company are thinking of increasing the value of the sponsorship we give you every month." "Our companies want to continue the contract with you until after university, so we thought to increase the value now and if you win the championship in college the value may increase again." Jake hoped Tiffany would bring this subject of sponsorship at some point, but he hoped it would be after the national championship, of course, he did not know it was also because his television commercial was successful, Jake''s value as a face of a company rose without him knowing. Chapter 139 Time of Changes 1 But Jake thought he owed a lot to the companies of Tiffany and Clara, they supported him from a very early age when no one knew for sure if he would be a good player or not and they continued with him even when he had to stay a while without playing what would hurt their companies. Thanks to getting all this value from sponsorship since a long time ago he can take his mother out of the grueling work in the restaurant, have a good time those years while only caring about basketball. He can also make several trips with his mother taking advantage of the time they had and he can even invest a part of that money to earn much more in the future and even fulfill Eva''s dream of having a restaurant. In addition, he considered Tiffany and Clara his friends, so for all this, he wanted to continue this contract with them until when their companies wanted, after another 6 years when he enters the NBA he will no longer have to worry about money at all. "I want to continue this contract until the time the university finishes at least." "But have not you heard how much will be raised each month on your patronage?" "It does not matter, I''m sure it will be very good." So lunch ended and Jake went back to his house, Tiffany stayed on the table for a while and then started to smile, she knew Jake would be like that and that''s why their relationship was from friends plus business. Maybe if it was only for Tiffany and Clara, Jake could tell that he did not even need to increase the amount of his sponsorship per month, but as a result, whoever won was other company shareholders too he needed to treat it as a business and take advantage of it to make more money. Jake thought that if he could even compete in the Olympics two or six years from now, it would be great for companies to increase their sponsorship, so Jake was happy about that. After all, this had happened Jake was now focused on the final game that would be in a few days, after training what was possible the coach Mike sent the whole team home so that the players could be well rested to play in the final. Anna told Eva that she would be in the final also to see Jake''s game, he was very happy about it and his mother, of course, would be in the final also to support Jake in that game. As the days went by and the day of the final of the state championship finally arrived, Jake ate the feast in the morning made by his mother who always prepared a lot of food for Jake in final games. After Jake packed his bag and went to the place of the game with his mother when he arrived everyone had already arrived too, the gym where the game of the final would be played was full of people even if it was still a long time before the game began. This time the two teams seemed to be relaxed just waiting for the game to start, Jake could start packing for the game and meanwhile looked at the stands to see where the people he knew were. Anna got a place near the court to sit next to Eva, Jake saw Eric also with a camera in his hands, he could also see Tiffany sitting in a place farther from the court, then Jake looked across the bleachers, but could not see Jenny anywhere. He hoped Jenny would come by surprise because she should know about this game for Liza too, but she did not show up, now he hoped she could come to the national championship final if he could get there. Jake quickly recovered, he had to win this game if he wanted to think about the national championship, and even if Jenny did not come to his mother and many people came to support him. After a while the two teams were on the court just waiting for the game to start Jake''s team opponent in the final was the Sharks team, they knew that the Elite team would be a tough opponent but they were confident they could win. The Sharks'' team had three players who were the highlights, the PF was called Robert, Robert was very fast despite his height, the SF Lucas was a player who was very good at shots from outside and also helped the team PG to organize the plays sometimes that confused the opponents. And also had the PG of the team that so with Jake was in the third year of school and was already the highlight of the team, his name was Steve and he was the regional team MVP of their team, everyone on the team had a lot of confidence in Steve. Jake was confident of the victory even though everyone thought Steve was a great player, but Jake thought that if he did not try harder he could not be able to triple-double that final. Jake talked about this with coach Mike and the coach thought that if he could do this would only benefit the team, after all with a triple-double meant that he helped in at least 30 points for the team and took the chance of the opponent making 20 points, so Mike could only be good for the team. So the game started and Mike won the first possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and saw that Steve did not seem to want to score up for that game, so Jake advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to David. David got the ball and instead flew to the side trying to get out of the opponent''s defense when he saw that he could not get away easily David made a feint when the opponents fell into the feint David can pass by the opponent and run to do the layup and the 2 first points of the final. After this move, Steve received the ball to organize his team''s first attack in the final, Jake also gave Steve space up to the three-point line, reaching the three-point line. Steve looked calmly at the positioning of his teammates. Seeing Robert unmarked he passed the ball to him, Robert received Steve''s pass and then turned to make the mid-range shot to make 2 points and tie the game. After Jake got the ball and went to organize a new attack, arriving at the line of three points he saw Mark a little free and passed the ball to him, Mark received the pass and can run to do the layup and 2 more points for the team Elite. Jake can analyze that the opponent''s defense was a bit weak and was confused by their confidence, so Steve reached the three-point line but instead of passing the ball he tried passing by Jake, Jake defended and Steve failed, then Steve tried and Jake did not even react. So Steve passed the ball to the Center of his team that managed to make the 2 points for the team of Sharks, and the game continued like this until the end of the first period, Elite team wins by 4 points of difference. Jake thought that the opposing team was more difficult than he thought it would be, Jake had 8 points and 4 assists in that early period and managed to make 3 steals in that period. But none of the teams tried the shots out in that first period so it was hard to know what the game would be like from now on, Jake was also a bit worried about Steve who tried to get past him a few times, but he did not get anything. Jake heard that he was a player who had a very strong attack and so was curious because Steve did not try anything in the first period. Jake also saw that Carter seemed to be having difficulties with Robert in the defense, so Robert was the one who received the ball in the Sharks team and Jake got two steals in him helping Carter. When the second period began Jake calmly advanced to the court of attack, he passed the ball to David, David received the ball and made a step back and made a shot from outside to score his first 3 points in the game. Steve received the ball to organize the attack of his team, arriving in the line of three points he passed the ball to Lucas who managed to get rid of Harrison and made the shot from outside to make 3 points for the Sharks team. Jake started another attack and reaching the three-point line passed the ball to Mark who dunk to make 2 points for the Elite team to cheer the crowd, Steve started another attack for his team and passed the ball to Lucas who managed to do the mid-range shot to make 2 points for your team as well. After Jake made an attack for his team and advanced to the line of three points, arriving there he made a feint and then began to run, Steve did not expect and tried to follow Jake, Jake made a quick crossover and got rid of the defense of Steve and then made the dunk to make 2 more points for his team. The crowd cheered with this attack and began to make more noise, Steve started a new attack and reached the line of three points, Jake was attentive in the defense waiting for Steve to make his move. Steve made a shot from outside, Jake came up and almost made the block, Steve was scared by Jake''s quick reaction and ended up missing the shot from outside, Mark took the rebound and passed to Jake to start another attack calmly. With these new plays at the end of the second period the Elite team was winning by 10 points, Jake had done 5 steals and 7 assists in total and a lot more than 10 points already, so he was close to another Triple Double. Chapter 140 Time of Changes 2 Even with this great advantage at the end of the second period Elite players did not relax, Carter and Harrison were the ones who were less happy in this game because even trying their best in defense the opponents still made points. Jake did not care much about this and was more worried about Steve in this game, he had heard that the opponent PG was very fast and tries many individual plays and was worried about it. Jake thought Steve was being very conservative so far in his plays, so Jake was thinking that Steve was expecting something to start attacking. But Jake was wrong, Steve has been trying too much in these first two periods of play many attacks, but Jake did not fall into his feints and Steve realized that using speed did not work against Jake, so he did not try to force the attacks because he knew that Jake could end up stealing the ball. Steve was very talented and so he also knew when he had to retreat and so he was passing the ball over, but in that third period, he had to take a chance if he wanted to win the game with his team. So Steve started the third period in the attack, he reached the three-point line and passed the ball to Lucas, Lucas got the ball and then shot the outside to make 3 more points for the Sharks team. So Jake got the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, reaching the three-point line he saw Carter freer and passed the ball, Carter received the ball and did the layup to make 2 more points. Although Robert was very good at attacking he was weak in defense but Carter was not very good at attack so Jake had no way to take advantage of many opportunities to score more points. Steve received the ball and went to the attack, reaching the line of three points he saw that this time his teammates were well defended by the Elite team, this was normal after all the team of the Sharks can only reach the final counting on the individual plays of Steve. So Steve saw that he had to risk the individual play, he tried to make some feints and Jake did not fall into any, seeing that it did not work Steve tried to dribble using his speed, but Jake just kept the distance short. Seeing that Jake did not try to steal the ball Steve tried to go to the inner area to try the layup, Jake who learned some things with Mark used his body to close the way, Steve tried to push Jake to get closer to the basket, but Jake was stronger and drew Steve out. As he saw that the time of possession of the ball was ending Steve forced the mid-range shot and managed to make the 2 points before the time was over, Jake did not care and got the ball to start another attack. But Jake did not know that after that move Steve and his teammates who realized that Steve could not advance against Jake gave up the victory, they would still try, but they knew that without Steve''s moves it was much harder. Jake advanced to the line of three points and passed the ball to David who cleared himself, David received the ball and made the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team, and the game continued so point to point. Although Jake almost gave up Steve kept trying to pass by Jake in the attacking moves, but Jake waited for the whole game and fought harder in defense, so after Steve''s third attempt, Jake could finally get the hang of it and made the steal on the opponent. After stealing the ball Jake ran up to the court and only stopped after doing the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team, then in the third period, Jake made 3 more steals in Steve and 1 steal in Robert. When the third period ended Elite team were 18 points ahead on the scoreboard and virtually guaranteed the victory, once coach Mike asked what Jake thought when he played in defense, the coach asked this because he wanted to know what was the motivation to play so both in defense and in the attack. Jake replied that because he was bad at the defense he had to work harder than the others to keep from getting in the way of the team, the coach realized that Jake thought he was poor in defense and so he trained and tried harder than his teammates. So he did not correct Jake not to discourage him, but even if he corrected Jake would not agree that it was good because his target was the NBA and not the high school, and Jake knew that he would improve much more slowly in defense than in attack. In the fourth period despite knowing that could not win the Sharks team fought to the end, the Elite team also struggled, Jake and David continued to make the shots out and Jake still made the steals, so the game ended with the team Elite winning with 26 points in front of the Sharks team. Jake was able to make another Triple Double and everyone started celebrating the state championship victory, everyone hugged and celebrated jumping a lot, then Elite players greeted the opponents who made a good game. Everyone took lots of pictures, Jake was wearing the bandana and arm protectors with the brands of sponsored companies that would appear in the photos so he took out all the reporters asked for. After Jake went to hug his mother and celebrate a little with her, he also hugged Anna that was close to Eva, so Jake stayed with his mother and Anna until the time to lift the trophy. Tiffany was seeing everything from afar and had no intention of joining the celebration around Jake, so she just saw the game was already good, Eric also did not come down and just took several pictures, he wanted to interview Jake only after he won the game national Championship. After Jake was called and the elite team players received the medals and Jake received the champion trophy to lift, so everyone celebrated together again after Jake received the MVP award from the state championship which no one was against. After all the celebration Jake went home with Eva when they got home Jake was very tired and went to rest early. The other day Jake was calmer and went to eat what his mother had prepared after all Jake had already won more than 10 championships if he had the individual, he would always be happy to win sooner would calm down the other day. "So, Jake, did you think it was good this year, winning the second championship?" When Jake heard his mother''s question, he paused to remember a little all he had to go through these last few years to get here. "I think it was pretty good thinking that I was thinking about even switching from school to playing again, but that year will be much better for all of us." When she heard Jake''s response, Eva thought she was talking about her teammates, she could never think that while they were chatting her restaurant was being renovated and would be ready next year. After Jake only had to wait for the end of the year and he could travel with Eva out of the country, Jake had already organized every trip and had even talked to the travel agency, the place where Jake would travel with Eva on that vacation would be Brazil. It was a beautiful country in South America, Jake always wanted to meet, but he did not feel like traveling there alone, and as he had not learned the Japanese language he could not visit Japan. Another reason Jake did not visit Brazil was that the country was very large and did not have many train lines that passed through cities as in Europe, so he decided to make this trip different this time. But it was still a few weeks before the holidays began, before the holidays of that year as he knew that Jake planned to spend his birthday again outside the country, Joseph decided to plan to go to a restaurant to have a couples'' dinner before the holidays. As Jenny and Liza were friends they agreed and so Jake who was last warned had to agree too to be annoying, so the day of the dinner arrived and Jake put on a social outfit and prepared to go to the restaurant. Arriving at the restaurant Jake realized that it had been the last one to arrive, but as it was not yet the appointed time, he did not care much about it. Contrary to what Jake had expected the dinner was very enjoyable with many jokes, but soon came to a subject that interested Jake, Joseph was about to tell how it was when he and Liza met their parents and told them they were dating. "After a few months we were dating, Liza had already told this to her mother, so one day her mother met the two of us when we were at a dinner and said she would book a dinner so that I would officially meet her and her husband." "As it was by surprise that we met I confess that I was very frightened when I met Liza''s mother, so I was even more nervous for this dinner." "But as Liza had told her mother before that she was very kind, everything was fine, but Liza had not told me she''d done this before." "At dinner, her father was also very nice and I felt really good, so it was with her parents, with my father it was easier, after talking to Jake before I booked a dinner." "Liza is a little nervous because it took me a while to introduce her to my dad, but when I told my dad that Jake thought she was cool my dad accepted it right away." Chapter 141 Time of Changes 3 Jake took this cue to talk to Jenny about it, he realized she looked a little uncomfortable, but as Jake had told Joseph before he thought it was good that he met her parents as soon as possible. As for introducing Jenny to her mother, Jake was sure Eva would accept her as Jake had already agreed after all Eva trusted Jake and knew that her son was mature to choose a girlfriend. "Taking advantage of the fact that Joseph touched on this subject I think that after I return from traveling on these holidays it might be a good time for me to meet your parents, do not you think Jenny?" After Jake said that, Joseph continued to smile because he thought it was a good idea, but Jake noticed that Liza and Jenny looked a little panicked after Jake said that, they probably did not expect Jake to talk about it in front of friends. But Jake did not think so, after all, Joseph was his friend and Liza was Jenny''s friend, they were practically family in Jake''s eyes, he looked at Jenny who seemed to be struggling to think. "If it''s about your brother you do not have to worry about it Jenny if you want we can have dinner at a restaurant and just invite your parents." As Jenny realized that Jake was looking for an answer now she knew she could not get away from it. "Let me think a little bit more about it and so I take it to talk to my mother when you come back from your vacation we talk about it again." Jake thought it was a good idea for her to talk to her mom first as Liza did and then it would be easier to talk to them and she thought it was okay when Jake agreed he realized that Liza and Jenny looked relieved and found some weird. So Jake returned home and now had to prepare for the trip that would be in a few days, so he told his mother that maybe after they returned from travel he would bring Jenny to meet her, Eva was very happy about it. After a few more days Jake warned everyone that he would travel for a month and so went to Brazil with Eva, Jake''s first stop was Bahia, a place that may well represent a part of the country''s culture. They arrived at the time of the summer so they felt a great heat when they arrived, they went to Salvador that would be where they would make the first stop. From there they went to visit the Chapada Diamantina which is one of the most beautiful places in this state. Later in the time they stayed in the city they ate the Brazilian foods like Acaraj¨¦, Vatap¨¢, Tapioca, cocada, brigadeiro, and then they went to the beach to finish the trip in the city. As the distances between the cities were very great Jake decided to rent a helicopter to go from state to state, from Bahia they went to Rio de Janeiro. Taking advantage of the fact that they were by helicopter, they made a circle in the city sky and saw the redeeming Christ, sugar loaf and the Corcovado, then they returned to the hotel. From there they went from Helicopter to the state of Sao Paulo, they went to know a little the state that is wonderful, there they ate feijoada, a?a¨ª, barbecue, and cheese bread. From there they went to Paran¨¢ to visit Foz do Igua?u which is a place that has to be seen on a trip to Brazil, Jake spent his birthday in a hotel near there. After that, they returned home, this would be another very hectic year for Jake after they came back it was still a little more than a month before school started. As soon as he arrived Matthew asked Jake to come to his house because he would have some things to talk about, Jake accepted and went there as he did not have much to do these days before the beginning of classes. Matthew''s house was much larger than the house that Oliver and Joseph now lived, Oliver decided to leave this house when they decided that they would put Joseph in a public school for a while. But after so many years even after Joseph went back to school at a private school, Oliver decided not to go back to this house and live where they were definitely, Joseph also got used to a simpler life and agreed with his father. So Matthew was the only one who lived in this house these last few years, when Jake got there the maid took him to where Matthew was, after walking for a while Jake realized he was going to the living room. It seemed that Matthew was different from Oliver who used to stay at the office all the time, after taking Jake into the living room the maid left and Jake went in there by himself. "Hi Jake, thank you for coming here so suddenly." "It''s okay, I have plenty of free time before the classes eat, but what did you need that called me here?" "As you''ve helped me so much these last few months I know you''ve been studying a lot about economics and business management in the last few years, so I''ve prepared a document with my company''s current situation after making some changes as you suggested." So Jake looked at the table and saw that he had some documents, as Matthew had given permission he felt in an empty chair and picked up the documents to begin to see. As Jake looked at the documents Matthew looked at him, these documents could only be understood by those who worked with companies for a long time, even Oliver who accompanied Matthew for many years did not understand everything about these documents, but Matthew knew that Jake read many books I wanted to see how much he understood. Of course, he did not want to complicate things for Jake and was just curious to see how much he learned if Jake did not understand something Matthew would explain about everything. But even if he had not read any of the books he read, as Jake worked for many years in a company that ran the accounting records of many companies, he had an obligation to read such a document. Reading this document Jake can see that Matthew had invested a large amount of money to create a new department in his company to research new technologies and another department only for the digital technology that was the most important for the company now. Matthew was really competent at what he was doing, as well as looking at whether it was true that competing companies were researching digital cameras, Matthew had already met some people who started working on it and brought them to his company. It seemed that Matthew''s company was now one of the first to sell digital cameras on the market, of course, this quick action from Matthew was only possible because he had more than 70 percent of the company''s control, which means that if Matthew decided anything he could do without having to consult other shareholders. Jake can also see in the documents that the growth of the company had stagnated before that, that is to say, that the market was weak in the present times for the cameras, then it could be good for these companies that new technology was developed. Then Jake took advantage of having all the information about Matthew''s company in his hands and used his active second job skill at Business Vision and saw that the light was green which meant that the company would succeed in the next three years at least. Then Jake put the papers back on the table and smiled, Matthew, who was waiting for Jake to ask something, found it a bit strange what Jake had done. "It looks like everything is fine with Matthew now, even if you''ve made huge investments these past few months, with these new departments you''ve set up your business is ready for when digital technology is established." "But you have to prepare to invest even more money into it in the future, and when you are sure about the technology I would recommend that you try to quickly sell the machines your company needed to make the old photo machines, so you would have more money to buy the new ones." Matthew was a bit surprised after Jake started talking, but he still paid close attention to everything, what Jake said was exactly the same as some people who worked with him said when they heard about the possible change of technology. "Did you understand everything in the Jake document?" "Had not he been prepared for me to see?" "Yes, you''re right, I just thought I might have some things you did not understand." "I understood everything, it was like I said to you, now we''ll have to wait to see the development of the market and the new technologies before we begin to manufacture digital cameras and start selling." "I would also recommend that you could talk to some companies that create new digital file storage technology, these companies now work more with computer companies, but you can see if they can create something for your company as well." Jake was thinking, of course, on the memory card that anyone with a cell phone or digital camera would know about it in the future, but he did not know if the companies had started to create that at the time, but if they had, Matthew could be one of the first customers of these companies now. When the internet bubble burst in a few years, many companies will be scared to see a sudden drop in the value of their company in the market, this could be a good opportunity for Matthew''s company to make new partnerships and grow more in the market. Matthew had realized that Jake had not only understood the report he had prepared but also had already thought of what to do after that if Matthew did not know that Jake had his own company and had not finished school yet he would still call him to work in his company now. Chapter 142 Time of Changes 4 In fact, Matthew planned to start moving the company to Joseph in the next few years while his grandson was in college, but after talking to Jake he understood that by the time Joseph took over the company she would be bankrupt already. So Matthew would have to change his plans and first resolve these technology transitions and change the company before Joseph took over the company, even Matthew could not understand much about the changes in the company now. So it would be impossible for him to teach Joseph about it now, it would be better to do that in over 6 years in the future when Joseph had finished university, but Matthew thought that if Jake worked at the company with Joseph he could pass the company into the hands of the grandson now. But Matthew knew this was impossible, not because Jake had his own company, but because he knew Jake wanted to be a basketball player first before being a businessman, so Jake could not stay in a company solving things every day. Thinking about it Matthew thought about how lucky Emily was to be Jake''s assistant, in a few years in the future with Jake had to focus on basketball who would solve all things in the company was her, and Jake would have to teach some things to her in that time. Even though Matthew was learning some things with Jake, Emily could learn a lot more by being his assistant. After that Jake did not return home and took the time to see what was needed so that he could get his driver''s license, Jake wanted to learn how to drive as soon as he was when he was old, Jake always thought that if he had a license and a car in his past life he might not have suffered the accident. The process was simple and Jake already had knowledge about the theoretical part and also about the practical part, and with the current agility of Jake he could even drive a formula 1 car, much less a normal car. So Jake could be sure to have his driver''s license before school started, he did not want to have to ride the car he gave his mother, so he would have to wait a few more months to buy a car. After that Jake returned home, now he had nothing left to do but wait for the beginning of his classes, there was still a few months left for the national championship and Jake wanted to wait until after that to see which marathon race would run. Jake thought that before the national championship Eva''s restaurant would be almost ready, but he wanted to talk to her after the national championship near Eva''s birthday, Jake was sure that Emily was supervising everything so she could rest easy. After a few days Jake''s classes started again, Jake went to school normally, he talked to Joseph at the break of classes and Joseph said that he had spent the holidays very well, sometimes at home studying and sometimes going out with Liza. Jake tried and could not find Jenny after classes were over Jake wanted to tell her about dinner to meet her parents, but he would have to wait until another day. And so they spent Jake''s early days at school, he also started training with his teammates in preparation for the national championship, the players were reassured because they trusted Jake, but Coach Mike seemed nervous every day. Even though he knew that the team was the favorite to win this year the team still did not dare to try to calm the coach promising to win the championship, every year new players would appear, it was not something that could be said before it happened. Even after a few more days at school Jake still could not find Jenny after school, he even asked Liza who said she did not know anything, but Jake knew she was lying. So Jake called Jenny''s house to be able to talk to her, who answered the phone was an older woman who seemed to be Eve''s age, so Jake asked for Jenny, so the woman said she would call her. "Jake, I said I was not supposed to call my house without letting me know." "I called because I could not find you at school, we have to book some day to talk better." "Alright then, let''s meet tomorrow at that cafeteria near the school." By the way, Jenny answered who answered the phone must have been her mother, and Jenny should not have spoken to her mother as she had promised, so Jake was not too happy either. The next day Jake was in the cafeteria waiting, after a long time he came to think that Jenny would not come, but she arrived after a few more minutes, Jake could not even complain as they did not score a certain time. Jake was very clever after living for many years in his past life, so he was not the type that was blinded by a relationship, so he had realized that when it came to the Jenny family was very strange. That day at Jenny''s friend Liza''s restaurant was awkward as well when Jake mentioned meeting Jenny''s parents, so Jake realized she might have a much bigger problem than just Jenny''s brother. Besides, Jenny had not said anything to her mother about this vacation and was running away from Jake, he could tell that Liza was helping her friend too. Even if he thought he was not sure how to do it, Jake was thinking of using one of his second job skills to talk to Jenny in that conversation. It was the See-Through ability that allowed Jake to know if the person he was talking to was telling the truth or lying. "Hi Jake when did time go, how was your vacation?" "They went very well, Brazil is a very beautiful country, you should see someday." "Maybe we could go someday, I''d love to." "Me too, but let''s talk about now, have you been avoiding me these days?" After asking, Jake activated the ability. "Of course not, I just quit a little later from school these days." So Jake saw that she was lying with the color that appeared was red, when the person said the truth was green and if the person was not sure the yellow appeared. That meant she was actually avoiding Jake on purpose these last few days, yet he could not tell her that she was lying because she would deny it, there was no way Jake could use his ability as proof for anything. So Jake decided to ask all the things he wanted to know and then decide what he would do when he knew the truth. "So fine, did you tell your mother about dinner so I''d meet your parents?" "So, about that, I talked to my mom and she told me that she thought it best if we waited a few more months before we met with my father, it''s better than our relationship gets a little longer first so they can rely more on you." Jake saw that almost everything Jenny was lying about this time meant that she had not told any of this to her mother and her parents, and she doubted it would be a good idea to tell about it in the future. "Does it have to do with your brother?" "No, my brother has been in a clinic since last year, let''s see if he recovers from the vice there." So Jake saw that at least the story about her brother is true, Jake found it better to clear things up at once, it was so much better than hearing some lies. "Look, Jenny, I really like you, but if you have one thing I do not like, it''s all lies, whatever you told me today besides your brother''s subject I feel is a lie, and even Liza is lying trying cover you, so if you do not tell me the truth about what''s going on today we''d better get it over with." Jake told the truth and what he was feeling if he suspected that Jenny was lying all the time it was difficult to continue this relationship, and if it were not for the skill given by the system he would get out of here deceived. Jenny was surprised by what Jake said and the certainty that he had she was lying, she always knew Jake was different from the others but did not think he could not even lie to him this time. So she was split, she knew Jake was serious now, but she thought if she told him the truth he would end it anyway, but now she had to try at least. "Okay Jake, I''ll tell you everything, the reason why I do not want to introduce you to my parents now is that I''m sure they would be against this relationship, so I thought if we were still together until after university may be possible for things to change. " Jake was surprised that even though he thought Jenny was lying again about it the green color that was shown said it was true, the reason he was so surprised is how without even talking about it she was sure that her parents would not accept this relationship. After all, Jake, despite being modest, sometimes thought he was really a good boyfriend, and not many people who knew him did not like him, maybe it could be because of his high charm or charisma, but he thought that if he knew the parents of Jenny they could really like him. "You may not even believe in why I''m so sure of it, but I''ve already told you about my parents once, and they did not like you that one time." Chapter 143 Time of Changes 5 Seeing that Jake still did not understand why even after so many indirect Jenny just sighed, she did not want to say it directly because it was one more thing about her parents, but she saw that she would have to speak more directly. "Jake, my parents are quite relaxed with me, they do not care much about whom I date and do not control my life much, but what happened to my brother was a big shock to them." "They trusted my brother a lot and we''re sure that everything would happen the way my brother would be the perfect heir to the family name, but you know what happened." "Even though they''re pretty liberal with whom I date, I''ve never introduced anyone to my parents, do you know why?" Jake already understood everything, but he still did not want to believe it, and he wanted to hear everything from Jenny to see if it was true what the last things he said so far were true. "The reason is that my parents think that when I introduce someone at home, these people can be my future husband, and so they evaluate more seriously the person I am and depending on what they are they may even have this relationship ended." "Before I never had someone very serious that I dated so you would be the first, I do not know if I love you, but I really like you." "But my parents have already told me that I can only marry a man who comes from a good-name family or a man who has a good position in a company like my father." "I know you intend to be a professional basketball player in the future, even if you make a lot of money, my parents would never accept that I should marry you, they think about my future and stability in the first place." "That''s why I thought we could wait until after college after you graduate you can change your mind about being a basketball player." After hearing all that Jenny said he felt a little powerless, Jake was dismayed by all this, he had seen it several times on television but never thought it could happen in real life. Jake was sure he wanted to be a basketball professional in the future, he thought of even a running athlete going forward as well, but he could not work in a company every day, not least until he finished his NBA career here more than 20 years maybe. So the reality of Jenny''s family would be impossible for them to be together, Jake was very proud of his mother and loved her very much, but he knew that he came from a poor family so much that his mother worked until she died in her past life. Jake was no longer poor, he had the sponsorship he received every month and his actions invested, he now had his mother''s restaurant, but he did not think it was enough for Jenny''s family. Maybe after another five years when he became a millionaire selling his shares, they would change their minds, but when that happened they would try to convince him all the way to quit his basketball career and work for his company. And Jake did not want any problem like this, he wanted a family that supported everything he did and not that they tried to convince him to give up his dreams. Even though Jake wanted to hear what Jenny thought, if she thought differently from her parents and supported Jake in his dream, Jake would take the pressure from her parents to stay with Jenny. "I wanted to know what you think about it Jenny, do you think the same as your parents?" "I do not know if I think the same way, but I want to feel safe in the future, maybe you can play basketball until you finish college and then change your mind, I heard Joseph say that his grandfather who has a big company thinks you have a lot of future in the business world." "So it may be that after another four years you change your mind after all basketball is not a guaranteed thing, you can always get hurt, so I think we could continue together until you finish university and then we can decide together." Seeing that Jake realized that Jenny thought the same way her parents, maybe they thought differently, Jake always thought from the beginning of the dating on the possibility of marriage, but Jenny just wanted to take advantage of now. And Jake realized that Jenny never supported him in basketball games, so maybe for her, it was just a sport that Jake could do for a few more years. So Jake looked at Jenny and took her hand, maybe Jenny was the woman he liked most in two lives besides his mother, so it was hard for Jake to do that. "Jenny, I really like you, it has not been since the first meeting, but it has been increasing gradually, but knowing that although we are together now we have a completely different vision for our future together I think we should end." "Even if I like you, I do not want us to spend any more time together knowing we''re going to split up later, because if I liked you more, it would have been more difficult." So holding hands Jake saw that Jenny started to cry and just nodded, so Jake dropped his hands and wiped the tears around her eyes, got up and kissed her head and left. Even though he knew it was not right to comfort someone you made him cry, but he did not want to remember the person he liked crying. So Jake left and told her mother everything, Eva was angry at first when she learned that Jenny''s parents did not accept Jake because of this, but after Jake said she could understand she only hugged her son for a while. After Jake went to the bedroom, he wanted to be alone thinking a little, as Jake told Eve he understood, although he did not accept or agree he understood that different social class people thought differently. Even Jake thought that if in the future something like that happened to his daughter he could act the same way, but he would only know in the future, but what Jake really thought was if the people close to him were like that too without him knowing. As Liza tried to cover Jenny, Jake imagined she knew about the situation with Jenny''s parents, maybe Liza''s parents were the same way, Jake was deluded by the fact that they accepted Joseph well when he met the family of the girlfriend. But Joseph was also wealthy, so he could not know if they would have rejected him if Joseph was poor, and even Matthew and Oliver who treated him so well could have done so too. After all, Jake was just a friend of Joseph, that''s why they accepted so well, after all, having a poor friend was not a problem, Oliver even when he first met Jake, feared that he was a profiteer. Jake remembers that only after Jake helped Matthew with that advice that he invited him to his house, it shows that Matthew had some reservations with Jake before. After today Jake realized the reality that he was ''in the world of the rich'' before he had not noticed anything different, but now he realized that it was different, even at school apart from his teammates who also had scholarships Joseph was his only friend. At school he started Middle School several people besides Joseph tried to talk to him, especially after Jake joined the school basketball team, now he realized that it was even different. After that Jake got a few days depressed, but after a week he returned to normal, soon would be his first national championship game and he needed to be in good shape, the system helped keep his body in shape, but keep the mind well it was with him. Besides, even if he had discovered some things he did not know before, he did not change anything, after all, he was still friends with Joseph and his family still treated him very well, that was enough for Jake. At school, Jake also did not want other friends and he never really liked Liza, so Jake realized that besides Jenny nothing changed and that there was no back, so Jake returned to train normally with his team. After all, there was little time left to start the first game of the national championship, in training Liza was looking at Jake as if he had done something wrong by ending up with Jenny and Jake as he had always just ignored her. At the break from school Jake told Joseph to warn Liza not to talk unnecessary things to her if she did not want a fight, Joseph knew that Jake broke up with Jenny and so he just said he understood. Jake knew Liza must not have told the real reason for the separation to Joseph and just invented some motive, and Jake was not in the mood to talk about it like Joseph because the dating was over already, it did not matter anymore, Jake did not want Joseph to be strange to him. Joseph must have talked to Liza because in the next training Liza just went back to ignore Jake as he did before, Jake''s teammates knew they had an unfriendly relationship so they did not say anything and did not dare try to berate the captain who was angry these days. After that, Jake could also realize the oddity of the fact that none of his teammates had a girlfriend, it seemed they found out about all this before him, but it was a game day so Jake did not want to think about it anymore. Chapter 144 The National High School Championship 1 After a few more days Jake had finally taken out his driver''s license, he was happy with it, so Jake decided that after the national championship if Tiffany and Clara really increased their sponsorship he had to buy a car. After a few more days the first national championship game had arrived, Jake woke up early in the morning and went down to eat the breakfast Eva had prepared. Eva had been worried about Jake in the last few weeks because he had finished her first date, she even got to talk to Anna about it because she did not know what to do. Anna said it was best to let Jake recover on his own, Eva did this and it looked like Jake was really well again. Eva felt that it was strange that she had never met this girlfriend of Jake, in fact, Jake would never present Jenny to Eve before he met her parents, after all, he knew his mother well. If Jake introduced Jenny to his mother, Eva would have quickly stayed close to her and the situation would be much more complicated to finish. After breakfast Jake got his things and went to the site of the first game when he arrived there everyone had already arrived, Jake realized that his teammates seemed to be more excited for the games than he since almost always they arrived before. Coach Mike seemed calm today different from the days of training at school, the other players also seemed to be relaxed, Jake looked at the bleachers and saw only Eric of known, but it seemed to have several reporters and university scouts for that game. After a while the two teams were prepared on the court for the start of the game, the Elite team opponents were the Horses team, and the main player of the team was SG Santiago. Jake would try to get another Triple Double for today''s game, after the first few games Jake thought he had gotten the hang of it, in fact with his steal ability being SS it was just a matter of getting the hang of it. So the game started and mark went up higher than his opponent and got the ball to the Elite team, Jake received the ball and started the first attack calmly, reaching the three-point line he saw free Harrison passed the ball to him. Harrison received the ball and can make the mid-range shot to make the first 2 points of the game, so Elite team players quickly returned to the defense. The PG of the Horses team picked up the ball and started the first attack for his team, reaching the three-point line he looked at his team''s attack options, PG knew that all Elite team players were good at attacking and defending. He saw the free PF and passed the ball to him, Carter who was in the defense pressed and the PF saw that Santiago was free and passed the ball to him, Santiago received the ball and made the shot from outside to make 3 points for the Horses. Jake received the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, reaching the three-point line Jake saw that Mark was free and passed the ball to him, Mark who received the ball ran and did the layup to make two more points for his team. And the game continued throughout the first period, the Elite team attacked as always and played well, the team of Horses despite having difficulties to attack could count on Santiago who made more points for the team. At the end of the first period, the Elite team was ahead by 6 points, Jake had managed 2 steals and 5 assists in that first period besides making 6 points. David was struggling to defend against Santiago, but Jake thought it normal because Santiago seemed to be a very good player and was probably the reason the Horses team made it to the national championship, maybe even if Carter was defending against him it would not change. In the second period Jake began to make more individual plays which made things more difficult for the Horses team, the PG Horses team received the ball and started another attack for his team. Jake realized that the opposing PG seemed to be staying away from him on purpose, so Jake did only 2 steals in the first period, the opponent''s PG passed the ball to Santiago again, Santiago could again pass through David, but this time Jake who had read well the ball made the cover to steal the ball. So Jake advanced calmly to the attack, reaching the line of three points Jake made a feint and the opponent''s PG fell, so Jake passing by the opponent and ran to do the dunk and 2 more points for his team. The PG of the Horses receive the ball and started another attack, before reaching the three-point line he passed the ball to Santiago, Santiago received the ball and made the shot from outside to make 3 points for his team. Jake received the ball and advanced to the three-point line, he passed the ball to David who requested the ball, David received the ball and also made the shot from outside to make the 3 points. When the second period ended the Elite team was ahead by 13 points on the scoreboard, Jake had 7 steals and 9 assists, plus 17 points made, as Jake started stealing Santiago''s ball whenever he could to help David in defense, to The team of Horses decided to bet more on the shots from outside. But the team of the Horses only had Santiago to make the points out, already the Elite team had Jake and David to do the shot from outside, so the Elite team''s advantage continued to increase. The Elite team remained strong and finished the third period winning by 18 points, Jake who had already achieved the Triple Double in that game can not relax and continued to play well, so when the game ended the Elite team won with 24 points. Jake made more than 30 points and 20 assists in that game and ended up being the highlight again, yet the Elite team greeted the Horses team for trying to the end. Jake saw the Horses team and Santiago remembered a bit of himself at Middle School before joining the Elite team, it was just like Jake had to do his best to win the game. After the game ended Jake went home to tell Eva about the victory in the game, they celebrated Jake''s victory in the game and after dinner, Jake went to rest from that lively day. After the first game, Jake realized that he had fully recovered from the end of his first date, but Jake decided he would not try to date again at least until he finished high school. And even after high school at university, he would have to be careful not to date a woman from a wealthier family again, even if Jake knew that not everyone was the same he did not want to risk it again. Eva realized this and was a bit worried, but Jake was someone who was alone for more than 15 years, now that he had friends, his mother, and goals to follow it was impossible for Jake who had such a strong mind to become depressed. During the week Jake was called by Emily even though Jake wanted to wait to tell Eva about the restaurant only after the national championship was over did not mean that he could not see how the restaurant had been left ready. So Jake went with Eva''s car to the place where the restaurant would be opened, even if Jake could not afford a car now he would not walk around taxiing there. When Jake arrived at the site he saw a beautiful building painted a purple and green color, Emily was wearing a suit with a clipboard in her hands, so far she had nothing on the outside saying it was a restaurant. Jake thought it best that Eva put a sign on the front of the restaurant with the name she chose for the restaurant. "Hi Emily, is the restaurant ready?" "Yes, it was all very easy after buying the property, after all the documents you gave me already had all the plan for the renovation and all the things that needed to be bought for the restaurant to work." "So I was able to find a good company to renovate and then a company that specialized in selling everything that was needed to open a restaurant." "Let''s go inside to see how it was then." So Jake walked into the restaurant, he could see that it was how he imagined the tables and chairs had already been bought, they had a few carts to deliver the food too, and the renovation was very good. Now no one could have guessed that this place was destroyed before retirement, Jake could also turn up the reception desk and the cashier''s place, then he came in and saw that the toilets for customers and employees were properly separated. Jake saw that the kitchen was also very good, had all the equipment needed for a kitchen to function, deep down he could see that there were even two offices in the back of the restaurant, so Jake was very pleased with the restaurant after the renovation. Jake was sure that her mother would also be very pleased with this place when she saw it, it was the way Jake thought of this place any kind of restaurant Eva wanted to open would be a success if the food was good. "You did a very good job, Emily." "Thank you very much, I also thought you were very good after retirement, I''m sure your mother will like it here." "I hope so, I do not care if this place will make a profit or not, it was made just to make my mother happy." Chapter 145 The National High School Championship 2 "I''m sure she''ll be very happy with this place." "I''m going to need you to give me the reports of these 3 years of investment in September this year, I want to see if I can invest in more actions at that time, but before that, I do not need anything, so if you have anything to do released." "Thank you so much, so I''ll see you in September." After Emily left Jake stayed a while still staring with what this restaurant had been like even though he had said he did not care if this restaurant would make a profit or not, he knew Eva would care about it, after all, no one likes to run a place that is unsuccessful. So besides knowing if the food would be good and what kind of restaurant that would be, Jake was thinking that it would be better to have a person who knows how a restaurant works to help Eva, so he was thinking about talking to someone about it. After a few more days was the second game of the national championship, the team was even weaker than the Horses team and had no very skillful players like Santiago, so the Elite team won by 26 points. Jake made another Triple Double and Mark was another highlight of the team making a Double Double with points and rebounds, so the Elite team advanced to the next phase. So Jake can realize that the team they faced in the state championship final was actually quite strong, if they were in the national championship they could move further into the competition. Eric was very happy to see that the Elite team was doing very well in this national championship, in fact, he still had some doubts about the performance of many of these players, although they performed well in Middle School, high school is in a different level. After all, many of these players could be in the NBA in the future, so besides Jake, he was not sure about the other players, but now he saw that Mark and David also had the possibility to become professional players. Especially Mark who is a great center, at this time of the NBA good players of this position are very wanted, but Mark had to reach more than 2,00 m of height if he wanted to maintain that dominion in rebounds in the NBA. The next game would be very important for the Elite team, after all, it was at this stage of the national championship that the team was eliminated last year, even though Jake and Harrison were not in that game, there is little pressure for the team. So it''s important for his teammates to see Jake and Mark in such a good phase, Jake made 12 triple-double this season in all games so far, and this is because he is not playing alone and passes the ball to his teammates. Some days after the game Jake went to visit Anna alone, in fact, it was the first time that Jake visited the house of Anna without Eva being together, but Jake wanted to make sure that Eva did not know anything about that. "Hi, Jake, good surprise to see you here alone." "I wanted to talk to you without my mother knowing, would you mind if I took you somewhere?" "Take me where?" "It''s a surprise, I''m sure you''ll like it." Since Anna trusted Jake a lot she just got in the car and Jake took her without talking much on the way, after a while, they arrived at the place where Jake had prepared for Eva''s restaurant. They entered the place and only after they entered that Anna realized that this place was a restaurant, as it had nothing on the facade yet she did not know, after all, it would be Eva who would choose the sign. Still, she did not know why Jake had brought her to this place, Jake had taken her to see the whole restaurant, Jake had arranged the makeover to look like a restaurant he was close to 2010 so it was a bit trendy for the time. Even though it seemed easier for both the restaurant staff and the customers, after they''d gone all over the restaurant, Jake pulled out two chairs and asked Anna to sit on one of them. "So Anna, what did you think about this place?" "I found it very beautiful and pleasant, it is very different from the restaurant I had, but I think it was well organized and decorated." "That''s good, do you remember that you said that my mother''s dream was to have a restaurant?" "Of course I remember, only a few months ago I told you about it." "True, this is the restaurant that I bought and re-created for my mother, do you think she''ll like it?" When Anna heard what Jake had said she thought she had heard it wrong, but after wondering why Jake had brought her to this restaurant that had no sign on the front and looked new, she realized she had heard right. But she would never have imagined that after only a conversation and without even confirming the truth with Eva, that Jake would immediately buy and renovate a restaurant for his mother. Even though this restaurant was not as grandiose as what it had, the restaurant she had just gotten big like that after many years of work and success, but Jake just wanted to fulfill her mother''s dream. For a moment she was a little jealous of Eva for having such a good son when her sister did not even know where she was, or whether she was alive or dead. But soon she recovered when she remembered that she considered Jake and Eva as his family now, so she had to be glad Jake was so good with Eva, Jake was quietly waiting for Anna to absorb all this information before continuing the conversation. "Of course she will like it, a mother really likes when a child gives a flower gift, let alone a restaurant like this that was prepared with so much regard to Eva''s dream." "I''m glad to hear this, I called you here Anna, because you''re also responsible for this restaurant being made, were it not for you to discover my mother''s secret, I would probably never know." "I really enjoyed doing it, I think Eva deserves it too." "So, since you''re already responsible for this you could very well be responsible for even more would not you?" "As well." "I want you to come here to work with my mother and help manage this restaurant and the kitchen as well." "I can not do this Jake, you know my story very well, you know why I closed my restaurant." "I know very well, that''s why I''m asking you to help me and my mother too, you''ve closed your restaurant because of your family, and now you''re going to work here to help your new family." "I do not want neither you nor my mother to be alone and I know that you always loved to cook and that''s why you opened those cooking classes." Hearing that Anna stopped for a while to think, she knew what Jake said was true, she always liked the kitchen a lot and that has not changed until today, and she actually regretted having closed the restaurant years after her son went through. "You can be there together with my mother, at least at the beginning, if afterward, you see that you can no longer just give some councils, I need your help Anna, and I also think this may be good for you." After hearing Jake say that Anna was convinced, it was true what he said if after a while she did not want to work here anymore she could just leave but now she had to help Eva at least in the beginning. "Alright Jake, you convinced me, I''ll help at least for a few months." "Thank you, Anna." So Jake gave Anna a hug, he invited Anna because she knew she always dreamed and remembered the time she worked in her restaurant, but Jake knew that Anna needed a good reason to be able to go back to the kitchen without feeling guilty about her family. Now Jake had the perfect motive, and with Anna, he was sure the restaurant would be successful. "Jake, what''s the specialty of this restaurant?" "I do not know, this will depend on my mother, but I do not think it will be a high-class restaurant or looking for international recognition." "I was also thinking this, when are you going to tell Eva about it?" "After the national championship final, I want to tell her this before her birthday, after all, this is not a simple gift, but to fulfill her dream, and that she can not refuse." "That''s right, do you think this restaurant will work out?" "For the next three years at least I''m confident, and with you here I''m even more confident, as you do not have to worry about paying rent it''s easier to spend the first few years until the restaurant has regular customers." "I think you would really be a good businessman Jake, you know how to think about the most varied business, but you decided to be a basketball player." "I can do both, an alias I think I can do more than both, I want you to keep secret about this restaurant, and can start to prepare for in a few months, you can even find the employees. " "I was thinking about it, I have a lot of friends who also give preparatory classes to people who work in restaurants like me, so I''m going to look for some people in those places." "Then I''ll leave everything to you." Chapter 146 The National High School Championship 3 After bringing Anna back home Jake also went back to his house, he dined with Eva who did not ask where he was all day. Even in her past life, Eva was very liberal with the way she treated Jake, she never asked where he was going, even the times he''d been away from home all the more so in this life that Eva knew Jake was very responsible. If Eva were not like that, it would be much harder for Jake to make the surprises for her. In the classes the team was training as if the next game was the final, Mark no longer wanted to train with Jake and teach things to him, it was frustrating to see how in a few months Jake had already learned everything he knew. So he did not want to continue training until Jake defeated him when Mark refused to train him, Jake realized that he had already learned everything he could from Mark, so now it was time to play Center as an imaginary trainer. If Jake could do this for a few months he was sure he could dominate the position, after Mark said that he learned some of his techniques playing and experienced, in experience Jake would not lose to anyone with the system helping. In addition to being able to learn more about defending and attacking in the inside area, Jake could also train block and rebound in that position, so he only had to gain from it. After a few more days the third game day arrived, Jake had breakfast with Eva and soon went to the place of the game, when he arrived in the gym he saw that his teammates had already arrived for that game. Unlike what was normally all the players were more tense in this game, Jake did not know if this was good or bad, but he was sure that his team could play as always. After a while the two teams were ready to start the game, the opposing team was the Cats, the best players of the Cats were the PG, the PF, and the SG. The PG of the team is called James and was a player lower than the others, but he seemed to be very fast, the SG was called Fred, was a very good player in the shots from outside, and the PF of the team of Cats was the highlight of the team, he is called Liam and he was good in both the attack and the defense besides being almost 1.90 m in height. Jake hoped the performance of his teammates would be very good because the opponents appear to be strong, after a while the game started, Liam was the one who won the ball for the Cats team early in the game. The ball was passed to PG James who advanced calmly to organize the attack, after reaching the line of three points James passed the ball to his team''s SF, Harrison who was in the defense was excited to perform well today. After all, because of the Philips coach he cannot play and had to see the team lose in that third game last year, the SF of the opposing team realized that they could not pass through Harrison and passed the ball back to James. James, who was pressured by Jake''s defense, passed the ball quickly to his team''s Center, Mark, who had performed well in all games, gave no room for the opponent, so Center forced a mid-range shot just to miss the attack. Carter grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Jake, Jake who saw the Cats'' defense slow to come back began to run into the line of attack, Jake was faster than all the players on the court and quickly passed by the Defenders of the Cats team before half of the court. James who saw Jake running was also fast and being the last player in the defense of the Cats team now ran to stop Jake''s attack, Jake ran up after the three-point line when James arrived he made a sudden stop and then the crossover. James could not stop so fast and was removed from the play, so Jake advanced again and made the dunk to make the first two points of the Elite team, after seeing this incredible move the fans began to cheer for the Elite team. No team had people who really cheered for them, which they had were people who liked basketball, so it was normal that the team that made the most exciting moves would have more fans. James picked up the ball to start the Cats attack, after the last play he saw that it would be difficult to count on the SF and the Center of his team for this game, for the information he received before the game Harrison and Mark were the people that allowed more points of the opponents when they defended. So even though James did not know what was going on he would not risk those moves too much, James knew he would not have many chances to get past Jake who was a high school star now, and Carter was the best player on the opposing team. So he could attack more with Fred who was against David and sometimes with Liam who could with his ability score even with Carter''s defense against him, so getting to the three-point line he passed the ball to Fred. Fred received the ball and was wondering if David who was normally bad at defense would be like his teammates and would be better in today''s game, Fred made a feint and David was cheated so Fred made the mid-range shot to make 2 points for his team. Jake did not care much about this and got the ball to organize another attack, reaching the line of three points he passed to David, David tried passing by Fred, but David''s move was very open and Fred managed to steal the ball. Fred passed the ball to James who held the ball and calmed the team, James knew that against the Elite team it would be difficult to make a fast attack and so it was better to organize the attack well, reaching the line of three points he passed the ball to Fred who returned to the behind the three-point line to make the shot out and make 3 more points. Even though in the first attack the team of the Cats still had the lead on the scoreboard, Jake only received the ball calmly, he knew that it was normal to make mistakes and so he reached the three-point line he passed the ball for David. David got the ball behind the three-point line and knew that it was Jake''s way to say that he trusted him, but it put David in the pressure and he missed the ball, but Mark picked up the rebound and passed the ball for Carter, Carter went to do the layup and Liam went up and got the block. As Fred was able to catch the ball that remained and calmed the team, this time Jake did not like anything, he passed the ball to David who missed the shot because he made the wrong move at the time of the shot and then Carter suffered the block because did not pay attention at the time the attack. So Jake realized that today does not seem like a good day for David and Carter, but it was a great day for Mark and Harrison so it seemed like a game he would have to try to win the game. Fred passed the ball to James who advanced to the line of three points, James without hesitating passed the ball to Liam who was in high morale after making the block, so Liam using his body was able to turn and dunk to increase in 2 points for the Cats team. So the Cats were winning by 7 to 2 against the Elite team, Jake got the ball and advanced to the three-point line, getting there he passed the ball to Harrison, Harrison dribbled in the opponent and then did the layup to do more 2 points for the Elite team. After the game continued until the end of the first period, the Elite team was losing by 4 points, James was careful against Jake and so Jake could not do any steal in that first period. Jake managed to score 6 points and 4 assists in that first period, at the end of the first period the Cats team had realized that David and Carter were not in good shape and attacked over them. In defense they also realized that David and Carter did not receive any more passes from Jake and so the defense over Harrison and Mark increased, this seemed like a difficult game for the Elite team. So in the second period, Jake decided he would have to take responsibility and make more individual moves to take some of the pressure off of Harrison and Mark. At the beginning of the second period, James was more confident in the victory of that game after the first period, he realized that the right decision was to avoid Jake when it attacked the same, so after reaching the line of three points he passed the ball to Fred. Fred got the ball and faked David as he looked around so Jake did not steal the ball, then Fred passing by David and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for his team. Jake also noticed that the opposing team was intent on him, but it did not matter if his teammates could not take advantage of their opponents'' inattention, Jake picked up the ball and advanced to the three-point line, Jake made a feint and then tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for his team. Chapter 147 The National High School Championship 4 After this move James became concerned about Jake again, in fact, they knew little about Jake who had not played for two years without playing championships, but this year Jake looked like a great PG who played for the team and always got a Triple Double in the games. But no one had any reports from Jake after making a big individual game where he made more than 40 points, because the last game like that was in Middle School, and high school did not care about that. So the coach said that if they knocked out Jake''s teammates he would not play so well, but in that game, James''s instincts said that Jake was more dangerous when he was cornered like in that game. James started another attack for his team, this time he passed the ball to Liam after reaching the line of three points, Liam received the pass and again easily turned on Carter and made the hook to make 2 more points for his team. In fact, it was not that Carter was badly defensive in this game but rather that he could not play well against Liam who was taller, Jake received the ball and quickly advanced to the three-point line. He made a fake and passed by James, then Jake continued advancing to the inner area and went to do the layup, Liam who saw this tried the block, but Jake realized that Liam is close and kept the ball longer in the hands during the layup and managed to do the layup. Liam was upset that he could not get another block, but Jake changed the direction of the ball at the right time and if he forces it, Liam already had 3 blocks in that game and wanted more in the game, he wanted to make his first Triple Double in top of the Elite team that had Jake. James started another attack and passed the ball to his team''s SF, Harrison was up and SF passed the ball to Liam, Liam ended up in a double game with Carter and Mike and passed the ball to Center who was free, Center tried to do the dunk for shows that should not be underestimated. But Jake, who guessed what the opponent would do, returned to the defense and made the block on top of the opposing center, Center who wanted to make the Dunk and was rejected ended up getting unbalanced and falling to the ground. The players of the Cats team complained about a foul, but the referee saw that Jake''s block was cleared and sent the game to follow, the crowd started to cheer again and Jake passed the ball to David who was running alone on the attack. Even though he was a little bad in the game David did not lose that chance and made the 2 points with the layup, James was also impressed by this move of Jake, but calmed down and began to organize another attack for his team. He passed the ball to Fred who passed by David and tried the shot from outside, Jake appeared suddenly again and made another block in Fred''s attack, Jake even took the ball and ran to the attack to make the dunk and 2 more points to your team. With these three plays of Jake the Elite team managed to tie the game again, James who was twice defenseless because Jake went elsewhere combined a move with his team''s SF. James passed the ball to the SF who managed to pass by Harrison and ran into the inside area, Jake left James alone and went behind the SF as well as had agreed the SF passed to James who without defense made the mid-range shot to do plus 2 points for the Cats team. Jake knew this could have happened, but he could not let his team stand behind the board doing nothing, so Jake started another attack, he advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Harrison. Harrison who was well in that game pass by the SF opponent easily and ran to do the layup, Liam who was accompanying the move also rose and managed to make the block in this move, the Cats Center took the ball and passed to James to start the attack. James, who was happy not to allow the Elite team to draw again, stepped up to the three-point line, he saw that Jake was a bit away probably thinking about defending against another person and so James tried to shoot him out. Even though Jake was a little away from James he paid attention to it as soon as James tried the shot from outside Jake advanced quickly and jumped to make the block in that move as well, so Jake took the ball and ran to the attacking block and made the dunk to tie the game. Jake realized that James was agitated for being ignored and was already thinking about making this block since the last move, after all, Jake had the physical statistics very high and the rank of his ability block was S, besides being almost 10 centimeters higher than the opponent can make the block easier. Even though Jake found it normal James was very impressed that it was he who suffered the block, even if it was possible Jake was away from him before he even hopped Liam would not get the block in this situation, this means that Jake was more skillful than Liam in defense. The game continued like this and the second period ended with the Cats team being 2 points ahead, even if Jake was doing very well in defense Liam is doing well, Jake had 18 points and 8 assists, and now he had 5 blocks in the game. Liam had 14 points and 6 blocks in this game, so it was a good players'' match, but Jake was a PG and Liam was a PF, so Jake''s box score was different. In the interval after the second period, Jake and coach Mike tried to talk to David and Carter, David was just a little nervous and in bad shape in that game, and Carter was going badly just in the attack, in defense he was normal, but it was that Liam was playing very well. At that time Jake and Coach Mike felt the lack of a sixth man in the team if they had a good reserve the team could maintain a good game in those situations, but the team substitutes were now much weaker than David and Carter. And if they were taken away from a major game could affect their performance in the next games if the team won, the third period still had a good performance of Jake and Liam on both sides, so the third period ended with the Elite team 2 points in the front thanks to a basket out of Jake at the end of the third period. Jake now had 30 points and 11 assists plus 8 blocks, he was close to a triple-double different from the other games, but thanks to James''s care, Jake only managed 3 steals throughout the game. On the Liam Cats side, he had 26 points and 11 blocks in that game, so he had a Double-Double, but he still had 6 rebounds and was behind the triple, but Mark was also well in the game and had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Fred was also doing well with 20 points and Harrison had 12 points, this was more a three-on-three game than a game between teams, in the last period Liam was a bit more tired with this intense game. Jake was still full of energy and this could make the difference in the final result of such a difficult game, James received the ball and started another attack and passed the ball to Liam, Carter who continued to struggle in the defense managed to disrupt the mid shot range of Liam. Harrison picked up the ball and passed it to Jake, Jake advanced to the three-point line and took a set shot away from the three-point line to make another 3 points for the Elite team, James did not even have time to defend before the ball. After James from a few plays was starting to get anxious, the Elite team was ahead with 5 points and Liam was now tired, so he passed the ball to the SF team''s Cats, Harrison even tired continued form in the defense, so the SF passed the ball to Liam who was the star of the team. With Carter firmly in defense too, Liam did not want to risk it and passed the ball to Fred, Fred took David out of the play and prepared for the shot from outside when he saw Jake arriving, so Fred passed to James, but they were very close so Jake was still next. But as the time of the possession of the ball was ending and James thought that Jake was tired also he tried the shot of outside, Jake approached quickly and managed to make another block, was the block number 10 of him in the game. Jake got the ball and ran for the attack and only stopped after the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team, missing minutes to end the game and the Elite team had a good lead, but James still did not give up. Arriving at the three-point line he passed the ball to Liam who got the energy to pass by Carter and dunk to keep the Cats team firm in the game, Jake got the ball and advanced to the three-point line, getting there he saw that all the players in the Cats team were defending well. So Jake thought about making another individual play to make the points in that play, but so he remembered a move that trained a lot with Mark in the weeks before the game. So Jake made a sign with his hands that he had not done for a long time, his teammates did not know what that signal was, but Mark knew that Jake made an Alley-oop and Mark took the ball in the air and made a dunk. Chapter 148 The National High School Championship 5 After that beautiful move, the cheer cheered again, from the beginning everyone cheered a lot for the Elite team since Jake''s plays, Mark was happy to be able to complete the play, after all, they had little training in this training. But as Jake passed the ball with great precision to him and it became easier, after that point the team of Cats began to discourage, yet they fought until the last minute. Jake managed to make the Triple Double and over 40 points in that game, Mark also had a great performance, the Cats side Liam also had a great performance but Coach Mike was not satisfied with his players. After the game, Jake went home to tell his mother about the victory, but the rest of the team stayed behind to hear a scolding from the coach, after all neither Jake nor the coach wanted to see a performance similar to the Middle School final in other games. Maybe if Mark and Harrison had not played so well they would be eliminated again, after all in high school it was normal for teams like the Cats that had great players like Liam and so Jake could not save the team again. After dinner with his mother at home Jake went to the bedroom to rest, today was a tricky game, but also it was a very good game to play, after today he realized that he would have more competition to win the national championship. Jake could tell that Carter had not played as well as he usually did, and David was also bad at the game, but that does not mean that the Cats'' team was weak, Liam was a very good player and even Fred did work for the defense. That reminded Jake that these were the best players in the national championship, and they still had 3 games for the Elite team to be able to win the national championship, which means that the next opponents are likely to be the toughest. "Fate, show my statistics." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 16 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: High School Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.86 m] [Weight: 82 Kg] [Force 30] [Agility 30] [Resistance 32] [Intelligence 58] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man S] [Dribble SS] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block S] [Pass SS] [Rebound S] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal SS] [Dunk A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So Jake could see that many statistics had increased a bit in those months that he did not look at his stats, that was to be expected because Jake trained whenever he could on the treadmill and his strength training as well. His abilities did not increase much, but this was to be expected and even if he increased he would not know how the system said when he passes SS rank continues to improve, but Jake could not know until he reached the next level. As for what would be the next level Jake was not yet decided, he would wait until next year if his skills increased so much he could try to get into the NBA if they did not increase much he would go to university to have a few more years to prepare. Jake was thinking that his ability as a PG had something to improve even before joining the NBA, after all, Jake''s dream was to win an NBA championship and not just be an ordinary player there. So he would have to be very good if he wanted to win against the various MVPs they had there. After a few days that Jake was preparing for the next game in the national championship, he spent time in the break of classes with Joseph, they were as always, but Joseph was thinking that something was strange. At dinner they did a few days before Jake''s trip for the holidays they were fine, Jake had even talked about talking to Jenny''s parents about dating, that means things were getting serious between them. But after a few months he heard about Liza that Jake had broken up with Jenny, even though Liza had not said why and tried to say it was Jake''s fault, Joseph was no child to believe in his girlfriend''s lies. But when even Jake had said that there had been nothing and that he just wanted to forget and not be bothered by Liza he did not understand, so now that Jake had gone through a more difficult game for what he heard from Liza and missing a few games for the final it was time for him to talk to Jake. "Jake, I''ve been thinking about this for a few weeks now, so I want you to tell me the truth, which was the reason you broke up with Jenny." Jake who was thinking about basketball and eating distracted was taken by surprise by this sudden question from Joseph, he thought that this matter had already been closed, but it seemed that Joseph had not forgotten. "It was nothing important, forget about it, Joseph." "Tell me, I''m your friend, I was involved in this too, I deserve to know." "Okay then, the reason we ended up was that we thought about different things for our future, I wanted a serious relationship and talk to her parents, but Jenny just wanted a casual relationship and wait to see what happened." So Jake said only part of the real motive, it was true that if Jake did not care that Jenny''s parents did not approve of this relationship and if Jake wanted to just be with someone, they would not have ended that relationship. But Jake did not want to have a false relationship, he wanted a true relationship that had a future and that the two really liked, and Jake could not bear the fact that this relationship was not forward if he did not get rich in the future, it seemed more business what a relationship. Joseph saw that Jake was telling the truth and did not understand why this had happened, even though their relationship was not serious now if they liked it could become serious in the future. But seeing that Jake was speaking the truth and matched a little with what Jenny said, he did not ask any more, Joseph saw that Jake had been a little annoyed with him getting involved too much and decided to talk about basketball to change the subject. "Do you think your team can win this year''s national championship?" "I think so, I can not be sure because I do not know if a stronger team can appear." "But Liza told me that some players on her team played badly in the last game, and if it was not for you and Mark the team would have lost." "It was not really like that either, it''s true that David played badly, but Carter was fine, he never shows up much in the attack anyway, it happened that we had a very strong opponent in that game, so even if he played well in defense the result did not would change a lot." "As for David he is a lot better than a few years ago psychologically, he happened to play poorly in this game, but he knew he was bad in the game and that happens, I just hope that it does not happen in the next games." Jake was not too worried about his teammates, he had a lot of confidence in them, but he was really worried as if the next opponents would have a player like Liam, that would be the most worrisome. After arriving home Jake thought about what he could do to improve until the next game, he thought that maybe the key was really in the defense, in the attack he could solve somehow making individual plays. And it was impossible for all four of his teammates to play badly in the next game so he would have someone to pass the ball but in defense, if another player like Liam appeared he could not count on his teammates to stop that player. If even Carter could do nothing, the others had no hope, so Jake sat on his bed and began training in the space of his imagery training, his opponent and teammates were all six feet high. Jake chose this time for everyone because he was only a few inches taller than his, and so he would feel a greater challenge, as everyone had his skill in the S rank, after all, it was more or less Jake''s overall rank. Jake knew that it was not possible to compare a real skill player to the player that was generated by the system even if that player had the abilities all rank S, Liam, for example, he certainly did not have all his S rank maximum he had 3 of the skills. But Liam could easily beat the system players on a 1-on-1 basis, this was because people thought differently from machines that only had one pattern, but these system players were now all Jake needed. After all, he would now train in a position different from the one he usually plays, so Jake went to his position as C and started the game, even if it was not the position he was accustomed to. Jake had a lot of experience in basketball in general and learned a few things with Mark in those weeks and even with Liam in this game. In the jump to gain possession of ball Jake let his team''s PF was to compete so the opposing team was the first with the ball, Jake stayed in his position near the bottom of the court and defending against the opposing Center. Soon Jake realized that it was more difficult than he thought, besides looking at the PG of the opposing team that was with the ball he had to pay attention in his positioning to get a possible rebound and also in the opponent center. It was much harder to play than PG in the defense, the first ball the opponents PG passed to the opposing SG that shot the outside, Jake prepared for the rebound, but the ball entered the 3 points of the opponent. Chapter 149 The National High School Championship 6 Jake was annoyed to be fighting for the rebound for nothing after the ball came in after Jake picked up the ball in the bottom line and passed to his team''s PG, then he started to run without looking back until he reached his position. Jake did not want to know how to score in this game so he told his team''s PG not to pass any balls to him, unlike his team at school, the imagery training teams did not have a very fixed positioning. However, Jake did not manage to connect with it, as his teammates had hoped, and the ball went out of his way. they did not know what was going to happen. But for this, the team had to train a lot and everyone had to have an IQ basketball high to make these plays, after all an error and the player with the ball could be surrounded, in addition, Jake liked to have control of the plays. If the opponent can start reading his plays and is no longer working, he could think about changing the team''s style of play, but for now, it was better to keep it that way. While playing as Center he understood how difficult it was to play in that position, he had even more respect for Mark, yet the training in that first game did not work out as well as he thought. He managed to train a lot to get the rebounds, but apart from the positioning it was very dependent on luck to get the rebounds, but he did not get any chance to make the block in that game. Even so he tried again with another game, he purposely asked his team''s defense of these more spaces so that the opponents tried to score internally, and this time he also wanted to try the plays of strength in the inner area to try to make the points as a Center and so he asked for the ball more. So he can make more moves in that position, in attack and defense Jake had some difficulties, he was stronger than his opponent in the moves, but often he ended up making fouls trying to attack or defend by using excessive force. So he thought it good that he did this in training and not in games, in the block was easier, he had done several times in the games, he just had to hit the time and so he could play the ball and not the opponent. If the opponent made more elaborate moves to move the ball more Jake would give up trying the block, in fact once talking to the system he discovered that he had enough facilities with block, steal, dunk and layup because his intelligence and agility statistics were higher. Thus both his agility and his speed of thought were faster and easier for him to guess the time of the ball, but to use the force to attack or defend if he learned only with experience, that is what Mark probably meant. As Mark knew Jake would not play Center''s position he thought Jake could never get the experience of playing in that position, so Jake would never be better than him, but Mark did not know Jake had the system. Even so Jake understood that Mark must have talent as a defender, and also to know the right time to get the rebounds, which was something that Jake had more difficulty, but he had a lot of time in his training of imagination to learn some techniques to use in games. When Jake''s game day arrived it had already improved a lot as Center but was compared to an amateur and not to Mark, but Jake did not plan to use what he learned in that same game room, Jake thought he could use some of what he learned in the semifinal or in the very end. After eating breakfast and saying goodbye to Eva he went to the playground, this time only coach Mike and Mark had arrived, in training during the week before the game Jake can see that his teammates seemed more focused on the training. As he had been previously dismissed by the coach, Jake did not know what the coach talked to the team after the last game, but it seemed that he had motivated the players, yet Jake intended to rely on Mark for that game. Mark was in good shape in the last games and Jake thought it was best to pass the ball so Mark would score more points and gain more confidence. After a few minutes everyone had arrived for the game, Jake saw that everyone looked good in this game, he would have to see after the game began, he would pass the ball to David and Harrison to see how they were for that game. Carter was important for him to be better on defense than on the attack, but he would find an opportunity to see how Carter was on the attack for that game, the game was about to start and Jake decided to speak with Mark shortly before the game. "So, Mark, how are you feeling today?" "Well Jake, I think today''s going to be another good game." "Great then, you know that our teammates have had some games down, but you''re the player I trust the most, I do not want to give more pressure, but I''ll pass the ball to you and the rebounds are yours okay?" "You can count on me, Jake." "Fine then, come on." While the players were all set to start the game, Mark was more excited than ever, he never said that but Jake was an example to him on the team, he thought Jake would surely be a professional in the future. Even though he did not plan to be a pro too, he wanted to at least be on the same level as Jake, which is why he was struggling so hard in training, and after two difficult years, he was finally at his best this year and was proud. But after the last game that his teammates had problems he saw the team almost being eliminated again, so he was very nervous about this game and unsure if he could play well. But Jake came to talk to him like he had never done before a game and said he trusted him, so Mark knew he had to do well in this game, just as Jake thought of him, Mark also thought Jake was his only real friend in the team. Jake did not know that he had avoided a possible disaster in the game by talking to Mark and was on the court analyzing his opponent for that game, in that fourth national championship game they would play with the Bats team. From the information they had for this game the best players on the Bats team were the PG and SF, fortunately, there were no very loud players what Jake thought for that game. The PG was called Daniel and was a great player, had an average of 9 assists per game and 30 points as well, plus an average of 3 steals, the team SF was Alexander, had an average of 20 points per game as well, the two made half the points per game. But Jake was not so worried about Daniel in this game, he was more concerned about Alexander, Harrison was not very good at defense so it would be a free attack for the Bats team, Jake had to take the chances to defend against him and help Harrison. Even if Jake wanted to, he did not think he could get a Triple Double in every game after playing against the Cats team, he just expected the team to win. After a while the game finally began, Mark disputed and got the first possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and ran up the three-point line, Daniel who was defending against Jake kept the distance and waited to see what Jake would do. At that time all the teams already had the information of the main players, many players were highlights of their teams, Liam who was eliminated was one of them, but even so, Jake was considered the favorite to win the national championship MVP. Even though there were three games remaining for the final, no one thought that was wrong, after all, Jake was a Triple Double player in every game of the season, and what was more difficult than in the last game he did with more than 10 blocks in instead of steals like in the other games. So Daniel would not try to put pressure on the defense over Jake because he knew that who would tire himself would be Jake did not care about it and passed the ball to Harrison, Harrison who received the ball tried the feint over Alexander, but the SF of the Bats team stood still. So Harrison tried to use speed to pass by Alexander, but the opposing defender just kept the distance, so Harrison made a sudden stop and made the mid-range shot to make the first 2 points of the game. Jake who was seeing this realized that Harrison is well in today''s game, but to his surprise, it seemed that Alexander was also good at defense, as in his stats he had no steal or block he was taken by surprise. Even though Jake knew he could count on Harrison in the offense, it was best to avoid risking the confrontation with the strong opponent, Daniel took the ball and started the first attack for his team, reaching the line of three he went to the SG of his team. The SG had difficulty, but still managed to get rid of David and make the first two points for his team, Jake received the ball and started another attack for his team, in that last move he can see that David looked good in the game, he came to line of three points and passed the ball to David. Chapter 150 The National High School Championship 7 David received the ball from Jake and used his speed to get out of the opponent''s SG and ran to do the layup and 2 points for the Elite team, David knew he had done badly in the last game but it was just his physical condition that was not very good. After the last game, he went to the hospital and saw that he had the flu and feverishly played the game, yet he knew that he had disappointed his teammates by not taking care of himself, so they almost lost the game. Jake said that he trusted him but David knew that everyone was disappointed as he, so he promised himself that he would do his best in the next games, he would help the team to win that national championship. Daniel saw that David looked good and was a bit disappointed, yet he recovered and advanced to the three-point line, so he moved on to the PF of his team, now he wanted to test if Carter was well on defense as well. The PF tried to make the turn and saw Carter trying to steal the ball, so the PF pulled away and forced the mid-range shot to make the 2 points for his team, seeing that Daniel realized that Carter looked good for that game too. Jake advanced to the line of three points and passed the ball to Mark this time, Mark received the pass and made a feint and then a turn to make the layup and score 2 points for his team, the opponent''s opponent was lost with this move. Daniel got the ball to organize another attack for the Bats team, it seemed that luck was not on their side and all Elite players were fine for today''s match, reaching the three-point line Daniel passed to Alexander. Alexander got the ball off the three-point line and Harrison was far away hoping he would get in the three-point line to make the attack, but Alexander made the shot from outside and made 3 more points for his team. Jake grabbed the ball and advanced and before the three-point line took the shot out to make 3 more points for his team, Daniel just tried to disrupt Jake''s shot, but it was useless, Jake was taller and jumped too well to do the shot movement, so it was difficult for a lower player to defend. Jake suffered for a long time to be smaller than his opponents, now was the time for him to take advantage of his size to make more points, he hoped to grow taller until graduation in high school, after all, he was bigger than in his past life that he only reached 1.85 m tall, so he just hoped for how much more he would grow. Daniel did not bother with that, he knew he could not do much defense against Jake in that game, at least he wanted to mess up all the moves he could, Daniel advanced to the three-point line and saw that Alexander was being defended by Harrison , but Carter and Jake had their eye on the defense. So Daniel passed the ball to the SG of his team, David put pressure on the defense and the opponents PG had more difficulty in making the play, so the PG tried to pass to Alexander that was unmarked again, but Jake managed to read well the move and intercepted the pass. Watching this happen Daniel was angry, he saw that Jake was intent on the move, but he did not expect the SG of his team to give up on the move and move to Alexander, that was one of the reasons that Jake liked that all the moves passed through his hands. Jake who had caught the ball advanced to the three-point line, he waited a bit and passed the ball to Mark, Mark who received the ball advanced and did the layup to make 2 more points for his team. Daniel took the ball and advanced to the three-point line, this time he did not want to risk and passed the ball to Alexander, Alexander made a feint and used his speed to pass by Harrison and ran to the inner area to do the layup and 2 points for your team. Jake got the ball and organized another attack for the Elite team, this time he passed the ball to David, David threatened to run inside, but instead made a step back and made the shot from outside to score another 3 points for his team. The game continued like this until the end of the first period of the game, Jake had made 7 points and 5 assists, in addition, he managed to do 3 steals in that first period, the Elite team was with an advantage of 8 points against the Bats team. It was exactly like Jake thought, when everyone was playing well doing the points and defending normally the Elite team was much easier to win the games, but the main factor was that the best opposing player was a PG, SG or SF if it were so the game did not change much. Because Jake could easily stop the opposing PG, and no one even expected David and Harrison to do well in defense, so the Elite team can play well and seek victory as always, but if the main opposing player is a Center or a PG game complicates. Because if this happens to the opponent can make several points in Mark and Carter who were the best in defense of the Elite team, the opponent could also make points over David and Harrison and then the game is difficult as last time. At the beginning of the second period Daniel received the ball and started another attack for his team, arriving at the line of three points Daniel passed the ball to the SG of his team, learning from the last mistake he tried several times until pass by David and do the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for your team. Jake received the ball and advanced to the three-point line, he passed the ball to Mark again, as Jake said he was passing the ball to Mark more than to the others, and Mark had not lost any such attack that he turned and did the layup to make 2 more points for the Elite team. The Bats'' team had already realized that Mark was the one receiving more passes from the Elite team and they also knew that Mark was coming from a sequence of good games, but aside from asking the Center for his team to pay more attention, they could not do anything. they do double play on another player Mark will make the points more easily. Daniel received the ball to arrange another attack, but reaching the three-point line Daniel risked the shot from outside to make the 3 points for his team, Daniel was satisfied with this, he knew that if he who was the player who scored the most points in your team could not make points they would lose. Jake received the ball and did not care what happened, it was impossible for him to completely nullify the opponent in the defense, so it was good that Daniel took more confidence to make the shots from outside, so Jake would have more opportunities to make the block. Jake reached the three-point line and this time did not stop and took advantage of Daniel''s distraction and used his speed to pass by the opponent, Jake continued and only stopped after making the dunk to make 2 points for the Elite team. The crowd once again cheered for Jake and the Elite team, many who were in the stands today were the last game and wanted to see again the beautiful plays of Jake and his team, Eric was also taking the pictures as always. Eric was very happy to have followed the Elite team that year again in almost every game, even if he had not done an interview with Jake he had talked a lot with the other players on the team, he would wait after the Elite team was the champions this year to interview Jake. Many had found it absurd that Eric had failed to follow many NBA games to accompany a high school team, but Eric is investing in a good relationship with Jake after all reporters who are friends with an NBA star can ensure success for at least 15 years. So he knew that if he accompanied Jake''s team at least he could cover the champion team, but as always Jake had exceeded his expectations, in addition to all the games having nice plays and dunks for Eric to take the pictures, Jake had also made a triple Double in all 13 games so far. Even though Jake could not get any more, Jake was still 16 years old and was in his third year of high school, so Jake still had another year to show off his skills. If Jake could make 3 more triple-double in this national championship and win would be the best matter that he could do throughout his career, Eric was sure, Eric was also thinking about the companies he knew they sponsored Jake for several years now. He had to admit that these companies were very lucky and invested well in Jake, after that national championship many teams would seek Jake to offer sponsorship, but after the matter of Eric leave with Jake doing 13 triple-double followed only these two companies can have the whole glory. After a while the second period ended, the Elite team still had superiority and had a 12-point lead, but with Daniel starting to make the points the advantage did not increase much, Jake had done 15 points, 9 assists, and 6 steals, so the Triple Double seemed routed. Chapter 151 The National High School Championship 8 In the third period, the team of Bats was beginning to be anxious about the outcome of the game, they knew that if they did not try something they would end up being eliminated, then without much to do the team coach suggested that they try the shots out with Daniel and Alexander. This was a way to get away from the fierce defense of the opponent and make more points, so Daniel took the ball in the line of three points and passed to the SG of his team, SG held the ball for only a while and passed the ball back for Daniel to take the shot out and make 3 points for his team. Daniel was too fast to make the shot out, so Jake who had to keep an eye on all the opponent''s moves to try to steal and stop the opponent''s attack can not react in time, Jake reached the three-point line and saw that the Bats'' team was trying to make a stronger defense for this period of the game. Jake made a quick signal and then passed the air pass to Mark who ran and made the dunk after catching the pass on top and completing the Alley-oop to make 2 points for the Elite team, after that move the cheer celebrated again, this was a great resource for making the points and besides increasing the morale of the team still left the opponents discouraged. Since Jake''s pass was perfect Mark had only to set the time to do the dunk, Mark was excited again, even though he was insecure before the game with Jake''s words and his great performance he was feeling confident again. After that Daniel took the ball and started to organize another attack and went up to the three-point line, he passed the ball to Alexander who quickly got rid of Harrison and can make the shot from outside to make 3 more points. Jake grabbed the ball and started another attack by going to the three-point line, getting there he swiftly passed Daniel and advanced to the inside area, the BF team PF tried to stop Jake who passed the ball to Carter who was free, Carter received the pass and did the dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Even though Carter did not really like to do the dunk he knew he did very well and felt it was the right move this time, and he was right, even though with two attacks the Bats'' team took a little advantage on the scoreboard they felt evil in taking two dunks in two moves. With these two moves Jake had already realized that the goal of the Bats team was to spend time and make the shot out at the end of the play, as the ball had to go through many players before the shot outside, Jake felt he could do some interceptions and get more steals for it. And so it was until the end of the third period, the Elite team was winning with an 18-point lead and Jake had achieved the Triple Double, he had 22 points, 14 assists and 11 steals throughout the game so far, Eric was who he was more celebrating in the stands. The whole game that Jake did a triple-double followed was to increase his record, and so the matter that Eric would do would be better too, Mark was also playing very well and had done 16 points and got 8 rebounds so far, close to more a Double-Double in that championship. In the fourth period, the team of Bats realized that the defense of the Elite team had already discovered their strategy and so some passes were intercepted by Jake, so in this last period they decided to try to direct the shot from outside. So they tried a lot in the last period, but Jake did not seem to want to give hope to the opponents, so the game ended with Jake getting 3 blocks in the last period and doing 9 points with shots from outside, total Jake made 33 points in the game. Mark scored 11 rebounds in that game and double-double, Alexander had 28 points and Daniel had 21 points and 8 assists, it was a shame the rest of the team was a little weak or they could have made a better game. Now only two games left for the national championship final, Jake came home to tell Eva about the victory, Eva was relieved and happy about it, the closer she got to the final of the national championship, the more nervous she was before the games. After that Jake went to rest, he was very happy with the performance of the team in the game, especially Mark, Jake wanted to be able to continue with him in these last two games of the final, Jake did not expect him to make another triple Double in that game, coach Mike told him while Jake tried to help the team this would end up happening naturally. After a few days, Jake went to Anna''s house again, it had already been a few weeks since the conversation they had about Anna helping Eva with the restaurant, Jake wanted to see if Anna already had some results about it. After all, it was only a little over a month before Jake told his mother about the restaurant, after which it would have to be opened quickly, in fact, Jake had noticed that Eva had been strange in these last months. Jake knew what was going on in his mother''s mind, it was true that Eva had a terrible job at a restaurant, and it was also true that Eva wanted to spend much more time caring for her child at home while he was little. So Jake got what he always wanted and got Eva out of that job after he got the sponsorship money, thanks to that they could spend a lot more time together and even make several trips what would be impossible with Eva working. But now Jake was already 16, he was not a child but Eva had to stay home to take care of him, besides, Jake would soon go to a university and maybe had to leave the house, thinking about that Eva who was very proud and achieved everything alone before in her life began to feel bad about the current situation. Eve knew that her dream of having a restaurant could not be fulfilled so she was thinking that as Jake was big now she could start working again but she knew that because Jake was making lots of money he would not let her mother work anywhere to earn little. But Jake knew Eva better than she thought and knew what she was thinking, so even if she had to lose a few million in the future by failing to invest he decided to build the restaurant for Eva now. After arriving at Anna''s house she opened the door and led Jake into the living room while fetching some tea and biscuits for Jake after a while Anna came back with tea and cookies and another folder under her arm. "I know you''re very busy these days with the national championship final approaching and would not come to visit me for any reason." "That''s not true, even with little time I''d still be here just to talk to you, it calms me down a lot." "Even though I know this is a lie, I like it, you came here to talk about your mother''s restaurant, right?" "Yes, it''s only a few months before I tell her everything, it would be exciting if you had already found some staff to speed up the opening of the restaurant." "I did what I could, I found some employees who would be the waiters or the waitresses, I also found a staff for the cleaning and the general affairs of the restaurant, who will cook it will probably be mainly Eva and me, but I have to wait to know what will be the restaurant to hire the rest of the staff." "While the suppliers that you have managed to find are perfect, you can have any type of restaurant, the rest we can buy in the morning market, which is cooler, we will only have problems if Eva decides to do dishes with imported food or seafood, but I do not achoo she''ll do it. " Jake was very happy to have called Anna to help, without someone like her mother would be lost for a few years before she could get used to doing things in the restaurant normally. But Anna had even experience in a first-class restaurant that was more demanding in quality, to do something like this was easier, the only thing Anna said she did not understand well was the finances, but Jake and Emily would take care of it. Jake hoped that the day Eve went to the restaurant was soon, he wanted to see how happy she would be to fulfill her dream and be able to work quietly for life if she wanted to. "Thank you so much, Anna, to meet you was one of the best things that happened in my life, thanks to this, my mom and I were alone, we got a new family and you''re going to help my mother with her dream." "I also think like that, actually a few years ago before meeting you after I no longer had the restaurant or my family, the love of cooking was the only thing that kept me alive, and now I have one more time family and a restaurant to work with." After that Jake and Anna talked about many other things, and only later that night that Jake went home, he was sincere before when he talked to Anna, after going to her house he felt more relaxed. After a few days, Jake went to the mall to relax because it was only a few days to the semifinal and the pressure was too great on him, after eating ice cream while strolling the mall he saw something that had impressed him. Chapter 152 The National High School Championship 9 Jake walked past a music store and saw on a poster the photo of that singer he had met a long time ago when he went to do the Tiffany and Clara companies commercial for television. The name of the singer was Kate if he did not remember evil after he met her that day Jake even tried to look for some new thing she had done, but after a few months still had nothing then Jake thought she would not do success. But now after almost a year he saw that her new work had been released, and it looked like she was a very popular singer now, Jake did not remember her so he knew she would not have much success in the internet era. But in his past life, Jake was someone who did not like music and did not care too much about the artists who were successful or not, so he did not know if that singer Kate was very successful at that time in her past life. But from what he could see at least now she was a popular singer, so Jake bought what was being sold to listen to when he was time, after all, he had promised that he would buy. After a few more days came the day of the semi-final game, Jake woke up earlier than Eve that day, but he stayed in the room while thinking about some things. Jake was thinking about all the difficulties he went through before he could get to that game, almost two years off the team and uncertainty if he would still be in Elite school, Jake continued by his friend and because he knew it would be difficult to start all new in another team. Now his effort had been rewarded, he was in the semifinal of the national high school championship and was still playing with the same teammates, so Jake was pleased to have stayed in Elite school. After a while putting her head in place Jake came down to eat at her breakfast, Eve had already prepared everything as always, seeing this Jake was happy and wondering if she still had time to do this after the restaurant opened. After eating Jake was still long before the game and so he sat waiting for the time to pass, seeing that Jake was a little distracted today Eva spoke with him. "Are you okay today, son?" "I am, just thinking about some things before the game." "You think you''re going to win this game?" "I think so if everyone plays like it''s always going to be all right, I still want you to watch the next game." After talking to his mother a little Jake saw that was a bit strange, so while he went to the place of the game he tried to regain his usual calm, after all, he was the captain of the team if his teammates think he was very worried they might get nervous too. When Jake arrived everyone was already preparing for the game, Jake saw that Mark and Carter looked worried about this game, so Jake had already guessed what could have happened, after a few minutes the two teams were on the court ready for the start of the game. The opposing team for this game was the Foxes team, they had 3 players that could cause many problems for the Elite team, the SG the PF and the Center, the SG was called Elijah, Elijah was a player who was almost the same height that Jake. The style of play he had was similar to David, but Elijah did not have many skills in the shot from outside, so he could cause many problems with David''s fragile defense, the PF of the opposing team was called Mason and was very good at attacking and also in defense. The Center was called Jackson and just as Mason was good both in attack and defense, Jake saw in the report about them that with both on defense the team hardly took any inside scoring, only with mid-range moves and with shots from outside it was possible to make points on them. Coach Mike asked that Jake not try to force any individual play and do layups and dunk in that game, much less try to do the Alley-oop with Mark as in previous games, Jake understood the coach and said he would not overdo it. Although Jake wanted some challenges to increase his abilities he understood that this game was difficult, he could not rely very much on the attacks of Mark and Carter and even Harrison was more restricted not being able to do the inside scoring. The game soon began and Jackson won the first possession of the ball for the Foxes team, the ball was passed to the PG of the Foxes team, PG reached the three-point line and passed the ball to Elijah. Elijah made a feint and managed to dribble David and then made the mid-range shot to make the first two points for the Foxes team. Jake got the ball and started the first attack of the Elite team, he passed the ball to Harrison who managed to pass by his opponent easily and make the mid-range shot to tie the game, after seeing it Jake saw that they would still have many opportunities to make points even without inside scoring. The Foxes'' PG passed the ball to Jackson after reaching the attack, Jackson received the ball and made a turn using his force to protect Mark''s ball and then did the layup to make 2 more points for his team. Jake saw that as expected Mark could not stop the attack of the center opponent, he took the ball and went to the court of attack, getting there he passed the ball to Mark, Mark although he was a little surprised to receive the pass still did the play and managed to make the 2 points for the Elite team. Jake made this move to test the opposing defense, but he saw that Mark had difficulty making those points even if Jackson did not wait for the attack, thus showing that Mark would have difficulty in overcoming the opponent''s defense. The opposing PG did not seem as worried as Jake and was thinking of using enough Jackson and Mason in the Foxes'' team attacks and sometimes passing the ball to Elijah to vary the plays. In that attack he passed the ball to Mason, Carter was struggling in defense and tried to stop Mason''s attack, but Mason looked even better than Jackson on the attack and still managed to do the layup with ease even with Carter''s defense. The game continued like this until the end of the first period, the Foxes team was in front of the scoreboard with 4 points in front, Harrison missed a few plays in the attack and Mark could not get any rebound in that game. On the other side of the Foxes, the team did not make any mistake in the attacks, Jackson and Mason were very skillful players and did not lose any attack and Elijah easily got rid of David in the plays. Jake realized that if they continued like this they would lose, he had 6 points and 4 assists in the first period because he did not try to attack much and tried to find weaknesses in the opponent''s defense. Coach Mike just watched without speaking, in practice during the weeks he would spend everything he could for the players and had great authority and respect from the players, but during the games who ruled the team was Jake. This was not a request from either Jake or the president, but a decision from Mike himself, he saw in Middle School times that Jake had great leadership and vision of the game, so it was better than he leads his teammates on the court. After thinking Jake saw the only option they had and called David to talk. "You must have realized that we are in big trouble in this game, but we can not do anything about Jackson and Mason, so to disrupt the opponent''s attack I will defend against Elijah in the rest of the game and you defend against the opponent''s PG, understood?" "Yes, I understand." "Well, the attack on the rest of the game will depend on us both, even though I do not like to play so we''re just going to shoot the shots, I have confidence in both of us and I think with 3-point plays we can get to advantage in the game, so I count on you." After they returned to the court because they did not have a very long break, David was sad when Jake said he would have to give up defending against Elijah, but he knew his defense was really weak and the team had to win. In addition, all players knew that Jake was like the team coach during the games and with more respect than he had for Jake he just accepted without complaining, but then he was very happy seeing that Jake also trusted him for the attacks of the team for today''s game. When the second period began Jake was with the ball up the three-point line and passed the ball to David, David who was out of the three-point line took the shot out to make 3 more points for the Elite team. Then the opposing PG took the ball to organize the attack for his team, but soon everyone realized that whoever was defending against the PG of the Foxes team was David and that Jake was now on the mark of Elijah. As it was a team strategy no one could say anything, so the Foxes PG team passed the ball to Mason on the attack, Mason made the quick turn and then made the dunk to make 2 more points for his team, Carter had no chance to stop the attack. Chapter 153 The National High School Championship 10 After Jake got the ball and went to the attack again, after reaching the three-point lineup Jake did not wait and made the shot out to make 3 more points for the Elite team, the opponent''s PG was very weak so Jake had not been careful when attacking. The Foxes team went to the attack again, the opposing PG passed the ball to Mason again, that Mason did not turn on Carter anymore as he turned away, after facing the basket he made the mid-range shot and made 2 more points for his team. Jake picked up the ball and went back to the attack and the three-point line, so he passed the ball to David, David made a feint pretending that he would go inside the three-point line, but then returned where he was and made the off to make 3 more points for the Elite team. So the crowd began to realize that the strategy of the Elite team was to make the shots off and try to gain the advantage with several 3-point plays, but everyone knew that this was a difficult thing even for the NBA teams, so it was a risky strategy. Even though Eric knew Jake had an average of 80 percent of hits in the 3-point play, some argued that it was because Jake was not playing well in the games, but it did not change the fact that Jake had more than 40 shots out this season, which meant that Jake averaged nearly 3 shots per game. So the 80 percent average was amazing with all these attempts, David was worse and had an average of 40 percent, but David did more than 60 shots from outside, so it was also good for someone in high school. The opposing PG was again to the three-point line in another attack and passed the ball to Elijah, Elijah realized that as Jake was defending against him the Elite team was giving importance to him. So he was happy with that, but he was angry too because he knew he could score more points if David was still on defense, so if Jake was on defense he would have fewer chances to score, but even so, he was not too worried about Jake. Even though Jake was very good at the defense he was also very good at attacking, even when he plays one-on-one with Mason and Jackson in training he can score many points on them. So Elijah tried to fake Jake, but no matter how many times he tried Jake was not coupling, so Elijah made a dribble in Jake using his speed, but Jake who was paying close attention in the move accompanied, when Elijah thought he had passed Jake and relaxed Jake made the steal and stole the ball. So Jake was with just the PG opponent on the way and accelerated as Jake was very fast he ran up to the attacking block and no one can accompany him so he just stopped after doing the dunk and 2 more points for his team. Elijah had not suffered many steals in his games, but he knew it was a common thing in the games and admitted that he had been careless after going through Jake, yet he had not given up making his plays and making the points for his team. The Foxes team''s PG reached the three-point line for the attack and saw Elijah asking for the ball, the PG who also trusted Elijah passed the ball to him, Elijah got the ball happy and used his speed to pass behind the SF of his team disrupting Jake in that move, when he had space made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Foxes team. Jake did not mind that, not even the best NBA supporters can stop the opponent''s attack in every move, Jake went to the three-point line and passed the ball to Harrison. Harrison managed to get rid of the opponent''s SF and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team, it was not because Jake decided to make more shots from outside to the team with David that he would not make other moves. The game continued like this and finished the second period with the Elite team winning by 3 points of difference, Jake did manage to hit the 4 shots from the outside that tried to make 12 points in that period, David got 3 of the 5 shots he tried and he did 9 points. Jake was now with 22 points and 9 assists in the game, in addition, he managed to do 4 steals in that period of play, 3 of them were in Elijah, yet nothing was guaranteed in that game, the Foxes team thought the Elite team was lucky and they could recover in the next period. At the beginning of the third period Jake picked up the ball and went to the attacking block, arriving before the three-point line he did another shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team, the Foxes team also attacked with PG passing the ball to Mason. Mason made the turn on Carter, Carter was prepared for it and tried to steal, but Mason was quick and realized he would not have the chance to attack and passed the ball to Jackson, Jackson received the ball and dunk to do more 2 points for the Foxes team. Carter who was better at defense still worked harder and managed to mess up Mason''s moves but Mark could not do anything to stop Jackson, he even thought about missing several times but coach Mike would not allow foul play. All high school teams were trying to prevent foul play because a lot of players got hurt because they did not have much physical fitness and ended up having to give up their future in basketball, and without the fouls, the games were much more enjoyable to watch. Jake took the ball again and went to organize the attack, arriving at the attack he saw that both the opponent''s opponent and Elijah was prepared to defend when Harrison and David received the ball, so he made a step back and shot the outside to do plus 3 points for the Elite team. Everyone was impressed by Jake''s luck at hitting a lot of shots from outside without missing out, but it was more than just luck, Jake always trained his shots from outside on a court that had the NBA''s official pitch, even on that court he hit almost all of its more than 100 shots from outside per day. After Jake''s strength statistic reached 30 he was making the shots out much more easily and accurately, so at high school where the three-point line was much closer to the basket, it was much easier for Jake to hit a shot out. He just did not hit all the shots from outside because the pressure of the official game was dozens of times higher than in training, in addition, when he hit several shots in a row he got very excited and went missing, but in that game he was more focused on helping the team and so got it right. The Foxes'' PG came back to the attack again, Elijah was asking for the ball, but the PG decided to move on to the other teammates because Jake was very well in defense against Elijah, so he passed the ball to the SF of his team, SF managed to get rid of Harrison and cut to the side preparing to make the mid-range shot. But Jake read well and stole the ball from the SF before he realized Jake arrived, Jake ran with the ball to the opponent''s court and only Elijah was able to accompany, Elijah who was annoyed by not receiving the pass was more irritated by the SF than received the pass instead of having lost the ball. Jake approached the three-point line and Elijah was just ahead, within the free throw area Elijah tried for Jake and steal the ball but Jake took a step pretending he would go left and actually made the unstoppable Spin Move and then made the dunk to make 2 points for the Elite team. This was one of LeBron James'' main moves in the NBA, if no one had done it before LeBron James was now one of Jake''s moves first, only Eric, who was always paying attention to Jake''s moves, was able to take a picture of this Jake move. This was a movement similar to what Jake did when he was younger in one of the tournaments he played, but this time it was much faster and better because it was finished with a dunk, Eric decided it would be the cover photo of the story on Elite team after they won the national championship. After that everyone was clapping their foot in the gym, the Elite team players were very happy and excited and the Foxes team players realized they were playing against a showman who was good at everything in basketball and discouraged a bit of defeating that game. The PG of the Foxes team took a deep breath and started another attack on their team, they could not just give up after reaching the semi-final just because the opponents had a good player. Arriving at the three-point line the PG passed the ball to Jackson who turned over Mark and did a dunk also to make 2 more points for the Foxes team, Jake got the ball and started to organize another move for his team, arriving the three-point line he passed the ball to David who made the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team. Chapter 154 An Exciting Final 1 The Foxes'' team PG picked up the ball and went to the three-point line and passed the ball to Mason, Mason turned to do the layup, but Carter was able to react and make the block in that move, Harrison took the rebound and passed to Jake. Jake just got the ball and calmed both teams and then went to the attack calmly, the Elite team was winning the game, but the game was not easy to be beaten and despite not liking to do so Jake began to spend more time in ball possession. This was also the work of a PG controlling the pace of the game in favor of his team, after arriving at the attack the opponent''s PG was very afraid to try to steal Jake''s ball, so Jake made the shot from outside to make 3 more points to his team when the time of possession of ball was ending. These tactics worked out right because the Foxes'' players began to get more anxious in the third period, so the third period ended the Elite team winning with a 10-point lead now. Jake had 35 points and had not missed a shot from the outside yet in that game, he also had 15 assists and 8 steals in total, David also had 22 points in the game and was doing very well. Jake told his teammates that they needed to calm down and play normally that they would end up winning the game and would be in the national championship final, Carter was better after getting a block. But Mark was very sad, he came from a great sequence of games, but now did not get any rebound and made only 8 points because Jake''s passes were accurate and caught Jackson distracted. The Foxes team still tried to score more points, but since they had no players who could make shots from outside to make three-pointers, even if the Elite team missed a few balls they would still have the advantage. In addition, after Jake began defending against Elijah the game became more difficult, the SG of the Foxes team could not get past Jake in every move, so the Foxes team always lost some attacks. Until the end of the game, Jake did not miss any shot from outside, it was something incredible and even Jake had to assume it was because his luck had helped Jake after doing more than 12 shots outside in this game, it was difficult not to miss any. But if someone made a video of this game would think it was incredible, Jake made the shots outside very fast and from the 5 directions of the 3-point line, so the opponent PG could not do much about it. The Elite team ended up winning the semi-final against the Elite team with a 15-point lead, Jake had 46 points and 19 assists plus 11 steals, it was another Triple Double, Eric thought it was incredible, a record 15 games in a row now. In addition, Eric remembered that Jake had another incredible record, had made 21 games that Jake did not lose for now this record was more normal, but if the Elite team won this year the national championship next year should also be beaten by Elite team. After all Jake and his teammates are in their third year of high school yet, so everyone had another year to play with the same team and they will be more mature with another 1 year of training. So Eric was thinking that if Jake could bring this record to college it would be awesome, of course, it would not be easy, but it was possible if the team was strong. After the game ended everyone could not escape doing some interviews with all the reporters, after all being in the final of the national high school championship was an incredible thing thinking that it was almost the last step before the pros. After that Jake went home to tell his mother about the victory in this game when Eva heard that Jake had beaten her, she finally calmed down, she did not want to show it to her son in the morning, but she was very nervous about this game in the morning. In the next game she would not be so nervous because she would be in the stands to cheer for Jake and see everything that was happening, but staying home knowing that such an important game for Jake was happening was bad for her. There were still a few weeks left for the final game and Jake wanted to just rest before this important game, of course, his teammates would do some more training, but it would only be plays and tactics and not the training they would normally do. Jake at school can talk to Joseph and his friend said he would go to see the final game with Oliver, even Matthew would see if he had time to watch the game, Anna also said he would definitely. After a few days, Clara called Jake, she said she wanted to go to a restaurant to talk business, it seemed that Tiffany would not attend that meeting too, it had been a long time since Jake could not talk to Clara since she had to make a trip to Europe to solve the problems of the shops. Clara did not know that Jake and Tiffany sometimes argued about her private life either, even if they talked about it so they could help her when something happened if she knew that she would attend the meetings instead of sending Tiffany. Jake grabbed Eva''s borrowed car and went to the same restaurant they always met when Jake arrived the waiter wanted to take him to the table, but Jake decided to go alone by then. Clara had not realized that Jake had arrived, he looked at her alone at the table and realized she was a bit depressed, a bit sad too, it seemed like she had not eaten and slept very well in these last few months. The make-up helped cover this, and even though she may have lost weight, maybe even Tiffany did not realize it, but Jake, who had not seen Clara for a few months, might realize, moreover, after what happened to Eva in her past life, she learned to pay more attention to people. Although it was not so serious Jake realized that Clara was a bit like her mother was, because Eva was Latin it was difficult for him to perceive easily, but Clara had whiter skin anyway with the makeup he could easily perceive. But Jake imagined how difficult it must be to be married to someone many years ago and lose all his youth in this marriage, besides, she knew that her husband did not love her and still betrayed her, it can be said that Clara had a very sad life even business success. When Clara noticed Jake she smiled and got up, just so Jake realized she was distracted for a while, so Jake smiled too and went to the table, the last thing she needed was to see her friends pity her right now. "Hi, Jake, how long, after I went on that trip you did not call me anymore and just talked to Tiffany." "I thought you were still busy and as I had already asked her to look at these matters for me, it would be rude to talk to you about this." "I know, I was just joking, if you talk to her or me, we''ll both know the same, I heard you want to be a marathon runner now?" "It was always a dream of mine, I always enjoyed running and my stamina was always very good, so I thought I could try." "If you think I can believe it, after all, I''ve stopped mistrusting you since you were 13, I know you can do that." Jake really liked Clara to trust him, she knew he would not say such things without having any confidence if Jake said he just wanted to be okay, but Clara had heard from Tiffany that Jake said he wanted to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Clara did not think Jake would say that if she did not have at least the confidence to end a whole marathon, so with a few years of training she believed that it was possible Jake was already an athlete so he would be easier than ordinary people in those races. In addition, the two companies already sponsored Jake anyway, if he participated in a marathon they would only have to win; in addition, because Jake being underage he would be a stand out just by finishing the marathon. "But that''s not what I called you here, what you''ve done this season is incredible, even though I and Tiffany did not know much about it, but a triple Double in every game is something that only you did I think." "In addition, you still have one more year at high school to play and then you go to college with all that plus the fact that you can be the MVP of all the championships you have played in the future we are very happy to patronize you." "So I and Tiffany decided that from today you will receive sponsorship of 25 thousand dollars from each of our companies, so 50 thousand of our two companies." Jake was very happy to hear this, it''s a big sponsorship for him now, he was thinking about maybe joining the NBA before because he wanted to have more income to be able to invest in stocks and be able to take advantage of before 2000. But with this sponsorship he could do the university, in these last games he understood that he had much to improve on many things in the game, he wanted to enter the NBA to win and not wait a few years for the opportunity to start. Besides, Jake was taking time to talk to Eva about not doing the university because he knew she would not like it, he would have another 15 years of career at least after college, so he did not have to hurry. Chapter 155 An Exciting Final 2 "Thank you very much for the trust Clara, you have supported me a lot when I''ve been away from the team for almost two years, I will never forget that." "I already said that it was okay, Jake, you did several things for our companies at that time too, plus we were thinking about doing another commercial with you this year as the last one was a great success." "But after that record of 15 triple-double, you made we will again have free sponsorship from you for another year, for that money we could pay your sponsorship for another 2 years." Jake knew that this was probably true, after all just to pay the time on television of these commercials would already give that value, in addition, the propaganda that Jake would have succeeded as a basketball player was much bigger than in a commercial that everyone would know was false. The companies of Tiffany and Clara were still developing the brand, even if their products were very good and they sold well many people did not even know that brand existed, and for a company to make the brand known was very important. At least in the Miami area, Jake was well known and just as Jake was related to their companies for many years people would also remember the brands, Tiffany and Clara did not have the money to pay for millionaire sponsorship with NBA players, so Jake helped very corporately too. "But that''s not why I called you here, Jake, you do not have any agents and so some people came to talk to me about it, after all, everyone knows that our companies sponsor you." "They talked to you about what?" "Representatives of the two companies came to talk to me because I wanted to be their sponsors as well." This time Jake had really been taken aback, he would never expect more companies to want to be his sponsors, he understood that in the beginning Clara''s company only agreed to sponsor him because of Matthew''s request. After the Tiffany company saw that Jake was very intelligent and also Tiffany was a shareholder of Clara''s company and so she also became his sponsor, he helped companies a little, but they already had a lot of capital and quality products and so developed quickly. But Jake did not know why the two companies wanted to sponsor him too, after all by the way Clara said neither she nor Tiffany had recommended Jake to these companies. "You do not have to think about it much Jake, you''re very talented and now that you''re over 1.88 m, I''m sure you can play in the NBA, especially after what you did this season." "Even if companies can not continue to pay you after you enter the NBA, they can say they sponsored you before you entered the NBA, and you still have 1 year in high school and a few more years in college." "These companies saw that you''ve been helping our companies a lot and not for a lot of money, they also saw your commercial on television, so it''s no wonder they ate sponsoring you." "And I called you here to say that Tiffany and I have no problems if you want to work with these companies too, so that''s it." "You can give them my phone number so if the conditions are good I can work with them." "Alright, I''ll do it, then until the next Jake, we''ll be in your final game." "Thank you for everything Clara." After that Jake went home, he never thought that more companies could sponsor him before the NBA, but it was good because he needed a lot of money before the year 2000 to invest and try to earn as much as possible by then. After all, if he is going to be able to invest in the future, some company will depend on the money he makes in these investments, how he already knew how much he would make was not risky, but after that, he would not have such a good chance and risk. After a few days, Clara said the two company representatives wanted to talk about the details of the sponsorship agreement with Jake on a few days at the restaurant where they last met. Jake thought that the representatives of these companies would try to talk to him only after the national championship final, but he did not expect it to be so fast, yet he did not care about it, the sooner he could get the better money. As Clara had to arrange this she scheduled lunch with the two company representatives at the same time, she thought that so Jake could end up with a bigger sponsorship of the two companies. The next day Jake went to the restaurant again, the waiter took Jake to the table of business representatives, coming to the table Jake could see the two representatives, one of them was a fatter bearded man and looked more like a school teacher than a representative of a company. The other was a tall man who appeared to be of Asian ancestors, he wore a suit and had glasses of the same brand as Joseph wore, the fatter representative was clearly uncomfortable with the difference between their appearance. "Hi, nice to meet you, Jake, my name is John." "My name is Alan." "It''s a pleasure to meet you both." The Asian man''s name was John and the fattest was Alan. "I think it''s best if I talk to each other so the conversation does not get too confusing, so the other can see how the deal goes, so things get easier, what do you guys think." "I agree." "I also agree." Jake did this so that the two did not think he was trying to do something to increase the values ??of the purposeful patronage and also not to get too confused, the two thought the same thing and accepted. "Then I''ll speak to Alan first in alphabetical order of the name." "Well then, I am the representative of a razor company, we saw that you have a lot of talent and did an incredible thing on the blocks this season, so the sponsorship is first to support you so you can focus on the studies and in basketball." "In addition, we have seen that you have done a good job with Tiffany and Clara''s companies and we also think that if we need to do a commercial for television you can do very well." "And what are the values ??that your company thought?" "Our company has thought of something around $ 50,000 a month." "Sounds good to me, now John what is the proposal of your company?" "I am a representative of an energy drinks company and our company has taken an interest in you for the same reasons as Alan''s company, and if our company can get an authorization we can even sponsor you when you join the NBA." "The value we think is around $ 45,000, but Alan''s company thinks it may be more I have the authority to raise to $ 50,000." Jake was very happy with this, he had just raised the value of his sponsorship to 25,000 with the companies of Tiffany and Clara, so he was thinking of accepting any amount above $ 30,000, but luckily he chose the company of Alan first, so the other company''s values ??also increased. "I accept the 50 thousand a month that your companies offered so you can talk to Clara''s company to put your brand on a bandana or arm protector for me to put on the games, or even a shirt for me use in an interview that I have to do on occasion." "If you also have some agenda that I have to do as a commercial, you just call me and I''ll schedule a timetable that I can attend." The two were a little confused by this, they expected to have a long talk and discuss the prices a lot, they did not expect things to end so easily, but they were happy to be able to solve this in just one lunch. This heightened the appreciation the two companies felt for Jake, they prepared a maximum of $ 60,000 to close this sponsorship deal but ended up much less. Jake thought 50,000 was great and probably would not accept much more, if they paid much more than the companies of Tiffany and Clara they could have some complaints in the future, now the contract would be wide open with that value and Jake would have much more freedom. After this Jake went home and told her about the good news for her mother, Eva was shocked to see how much her son would earn, with the 4 companies and the school, Jake would earn $ 155,000 a month, even if it was much less than players of the NBA won he was still far from being an NBA player. So Jake was happy because he would have much more money to invest in stocks in September of that year and this after he opened the restaurant for his mother, so Jake was convinced that he did the right thing. After signing the contract the two companies have already deposited the first month in advance, they wanted that if Jake won the national championship he could already talk about the two companies, Jake was happy about it. Even if it was not too true Jake still told Tiffany and Clara about the value he would get from the two companies because it was because Clara helped him get that sponsorship, Jake would also tell the companies when it was time that he too would run in marathons, so companies would gain more exposure. In the next few days Jake just rested and thought about the final game, it would be a difficult game for sure, Jake thought that if there were players like Mason and Jackson this game would be harder because it was impossible that he hit all the shots out at all the games, and it was never known if his teammates would take the pressure and play well this time. Chapter 156 An Exciting Final 3 At least during the training sessions in the weeks before the final the team seemed focused and excited for the final game, Jake had confidence in his teammates as well. These days Jake always did his private training too, every day he played as Center in his training of the imagination, he was confident that he learned a lot, maybe in a few more months, he could even play in position. Jake was sure that this experience could help him a lot in his game as PG, he could read much more easily the changes of Mark and Carter and also of his opponents. After a few days, the day of the national championship final had finally arrived, Jake woke up very early and went down to eat Eva''s breakfast, it was a full table as always and Jake ate happily. After that Jake and Eva changed and packed up their things and then went to the playground, Jake was very happy to have his mother going with him to watch this final game, giving him another incentive so that he could win. After arriving at the game site Jake saw that all his teammates had already arrived, Eva can also find Anna in the stands and went to sit next to her. Jake could also see Joseph and Oliver in the stands until Matthew had seen to see this game, Jake could see Eric, and Tiffany and Clara in the stands, it seemed that everyone he knew had come to see this game. The two company representatives who started sponsoring him now had not come to see this game, but Jake was sure they sent someone to see Jake''s performance, Emily did not come because Jake did not tell her about this game. Jake thought that as Emily worked with him it would be strange if he asked her to come and cheer for him in the game, if she found out by herself and wanted to appear he did not care. The coach was passing some last things to Carter and Harrison, Jake was a little anxious in today''s game, his teammates seemed to be fine and he also trusted them a lot, but Jake was worried that the same could happen for the final 3 years behind. Jake knew that if his team was playing badly in today''s game he could not just lead the team to victory, even if he could hit all the balls out he would get an hour that he would receive double play or even with three players and could not do anything more. The two teams were called to the court because the game would soon start, the Elite team''s opponent in that final game was the Hawks team, they had 3 players who were the team''s highlights. The Hawks'' team PG called William, he was a very skilled player and even had some Double-Double in this competition with points and assists, even if William was very good at shots from outside and mid-range he was very fond of making scores also. William was not very good at defense, but he was one of the best players of that national championship in the attack, he was one of the reasons the Hawks'' team reached the final. The SF of the Hawks team was called Logan, he was a very good player in internal scores and shots from outside as well, in addition, Logan was a player with 1.82 m and very good in defense, so Harrison would be virtually nullified for that game. The PF of the Hawks team was called Gabriel, Gabriel was a very strong and fast player for his size, besides being a tall player was very fast and skillful, would be a big problem for Carter, he even had a note about Gabriel for Jake , he was better than Liam that they faced some games ago. The SG and the Center of the Hawks'' team had no highlight, but they were too good to be on such a strong team so Jake did not dare to disregard them. After a few moments, the game began and Mark got the ball to the Elite team, Jake was happy to have the first ball of the game, he had to make some plays with his teammates to see how they were for that game. But on that first ball, Jake thought it best to score the points to ensure an advantage for his team as soon as he got close to the three-point line he made the shot from outside to make the first 3 points for the Elite team in that game. William did not expect Jake to take the shot off on the first play and he could not even react, but he took the ball calmly and went to organize the first attack for his team, arriving at the attack he passed the ball to the SG of his team. The SG picked up the ball and passed by David and then made a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Hawks'' team, Jake got the ball and started another attack for his team. Arriving at the attacking court he passed the ball to Harrison, Harrison knew that Logan should be an excellent player in the defense and so only made a feint and opened a small space and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for his team. Jake was very pleased, it seemed that Harrison was very well in the game today and also had matured a lot in recent years and learned to think and know their limits, Jake thought that with another year of training Harrison could pass for the defense of Logan. William received the ball and went to the attacking court to organize the attack, arriving at the attacking court he passed the ball to Logan this time, Logan did not respect Harrison and pass by the opponent quickly and continued until doing a layup to do 2 more points for the Hawks team in that game. Jake got the ball to advance to the line of three points and passed the ball to David, David made a feint and saw him unable to fool the opponent, then he dared his speed and passed by the right side of the opponent to make the mid shot range and 2 more points for the Elite team. William received the ball and began to organize another attack for his team, arriving at the line of three points he passed the ball to Gabriel, Gabriel made a quick turn and then made the mid-range shot to make the 2 points for the Hawks team. Carter did not have much time to react with this quick move of Gabriel, so he was frustrated by even after training so much still had players who could easily make points with him on the defense. He knew he did not have the qualities to be a professional, but at least he thought he could be a good player in college, but if he had difficulty playing high school in high school when he knew it would be more difficult at university. Jake grabbed the ball and started another attack on his team, he reached the three-point line and passed the ball to Mark, Mark received that Jake pass and turned as fast as Gabriel on top of the Hawks'' team center and made the layup to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Everyone could see that Mark was the most trained during the week, in the last game he can not do anything because the opponents were very good, that was good because he took some of the pressure that was on him before the final. But this also served to inspire Mark to train harder for not having another game in which he could do nothing in either attack or defense, Jake thought that just like everyone on the team next year would be the year that Mark would show all his potential as Center. After this move Jake was very satisfied and can see that all his companions were very well, Jake being able to rely on Mark and David in the attack could already make many different moves. On defense, it would be difficult to stop Logan and Gabriel, but if nothing happened, Jake was confident that his attack was better than that of the Hawks and they could still come out with the win. William was disappointed because he also realized that the opposing players were all in good shape, but just as Jake relied on his team players, so William started another attack on his team. Arriving in the line of three points this time he did not pass to anyone and went to face Jake, William made some feints and saw that he could not fool Jake, so he sped left to pass by Jake. Jake could easily follow, but William was a skilled player and after two dribbles he could pass Jake and make the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Hawks'' team, Jake knew he could not stop William in every move and did not care about this move. William was disappointed to realize that Jake had not been bothered that he had gone on this move, William knew that the better the defensive players were the more proud they were and would not want to be dribbled. But William could never know that even though in his information Jake was considered one of the best defenders, Jake himself did not think it was that good. Jake began to arrange another move, William hoped that Jake went to the individual play in this attack to his revenge and was prepared, but Jake soon passed the ball to David, David made the feint and took a step back to make the shot out to make 3 more points for the Elite team. William received the ball and passed to Logan when he arrived in the attacking court, Logan received the pass and made a step back and made the shot from outside also to make 3 more points for the Elite team. Seeing this Jake knew that this could become a point-to-point game. Chapter 157 An Exciting Final 4 After a few more plays the first period ended, the two teams were very equal and the Elite team was ahead with a 2 point lead at the end of that period. Jake had 7 points and 7 assists in that early period, but he could not do any steal, Jake still had to analyze William''s playing style to have a chance to steal the ball. Everyone in the crowd was thrilled with this end-to-end final, but they did not have many exciting plays in the first period, but they knew that in Jake''s games it would not be so slow the whole game. Eva and Anna were a little anxious about the game, but they were happy that Jake''s team was winning and Jake was playing so well, they expected the game to continue like this. Joseph, Oliver, and Matthew were quieter than the others in the stands, they were cheering for Jake and they had the feeling that Jake could get the victory without too much difficulty. Tiffany and Clara were also calm, they had accompanied Jake since many years ago and they never saw him lose any game, so they had confidence that Jake would always win, it seemed strange, however it was true, after Jake lost a game that could change, but has not yet happened. At the beginning of the second period, William was with the ball, he saw that the team of the Hawks was behind the board and decided to bet more on individual plays and Gabriel and Logan for this game, these were the players who washed the team with him for this Last. So William reached the three-point line and passed the ball to Logan, Logan passed by Harrison easily and went to the inside area to attempt the layup, Mark appeared to cover Harrison and Logan passed the ball to his team''s Center. Hawks ''center was alone and tried to do the layup, but Jake who was following the move rose and made a block to end the Hawks'' attack, David took the rebound and passed the ball to Jake to organize the attack. Jake followed calmly to the attack, when he reached the three-point line he passed the ball to David, David received the pass and fired the shot before the defender came in to make 3 more points for the Elite team. William was upset because when he was thinking of tying the game the advantage increased to over 3 points when he reached the three-point line William also made the shot out to make 3 more points for the Hawks team he could not afford that this advantage would continue. Jake was still trying to analyze William''s playing style, he had to admit that the Hawks'' PG was one of the best players he knows in that position, Jake went to the attack and passed the ball to Mark. Mark received Jake''s ball and used his body to protect the ball as he made the turn on the opposing player and then dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team, Mark was beginning to regain his confidence before the last game. Jake realized this and started to pass the ball over to him, in an end game like this it was more important not to lose attacks, and for that besides himself, Jake trusted Mark more. Mark also seemed to be getting better and more conscious in defense, Jake was happy with his friend''s improvement, especially since it would help his team a lot. William did not care much about Mark, just as Jake had Harrison and David on his team who were not very good at defense, the Hawks'' team center also struggled defensively. So they already had this failure in defense for some games, William came on the court and passed the ball to Logan, Logan received the ball and easily got rid of Harrison to make the shot from outside and make 3 more points for the team two Hawks. Jake got the ball and started to organize another attack for his team, he reached the three-point line and saw that William had been fumbled by the change of position of his team''s SG, so Jake took advantage and ran behind David to the bottom of the court to make the shot from outside and make 3 more points for the Elite team. Jake had no confidence in hitting all the shots from outside, but he knew he could only keep the advantage to the team because he and David hit several shots per game, besides, in that game Jake was calmer because Mark could get the rebounds for the Elite team. William grabbed the ball and went to arrange another attack for the Hawks'' team, reaching the three-point line he passed the ball to Gabriel, Gabriel who learned from the mistake last time picked up the ball and quickly got rid of Carter and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Jake grabbed the ball and advanced to the attack, reaching the three-point line he did not stop and made a feint to cheat William and continue heading towards the inner area, William tried to recover and Jake made a sudden stop and then a crossover and can leave William behind, and advanced until doing the layup and 2 more points for the Elite team. Jake came to defend, William made a feint and could pass by Jake using the speed, Jake who was attentive did the steal at the moment that William relaxed and advanced to the attack. Jake ran alone to the attacking court and only stopped after he made the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team, Jake was trying to catch the dribbling style of William from the beginning of the game, now he had the opportunity to do the steal and did not lose. William was even more annoyed by this, he got the ball to start another attack for his team, but he was not so inexperienced so and did not try the individual move again, he passed the ball to Logan. Logan received the pass and left Harrison behind easily and advanced to make 2 more points for the Hawks'' team, Harrison was very upset about it, he was not managing to get in the way of Logan. Also, because Logan''s defense was very good he was not having a chance to attack as well, even though he thought of having more chances he knew he was not the best option for this game but David to Mark. Jake grabbed the ball and started to organize another attack for the Elite team, he advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Mark again, Mark this time he moved away from the opponent''s center and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. By the time the end of the second period the Elite team was winning by 6 points, Jake had 19 points and 12 assists in the game now, plus he had 3 steals and 2 blocks in that period, William tried a few more moves and Jake could do more some steals. Mark was also doing well and had already managed to score 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for that game, David also had 12 points so far, with all the Elite team having a good game they were getting closer and closer to getting the trophy for that one national Championship. Tiffany and Clara were very happy about it, both as sponsors and as friends of Jake, as they had increased Jake''s patronage even though knowing it was well worth it was good for Jake to win the national championship to convince the shareholders. Tiffany did not have many problems because she was the majority stockholder of the company, but in Clara''s company, her husband was the one who was starting to bother, at first Robert who did not want to have much contact with Clara did not care what happened in the company. But after he virtually assumed he was cheating on Clara and also after the company began to get more valuable he also started trying to interfere in the company''s business, with the 10 percent of the company he could just mess up the decisions a little and impose nothing. So now Clara was trying to make all the decisions she made right in the company, increasing Jake''s sponsorship was something she had to have some results to prove that it was not a personal decision but rather the best of the company. At the beginning of the third period the Hawks'' team was starting to get anxious about the score of the game, they were the champions of last year playing much less than this year, two years ago they knew that the Elite team had won the second time. So everyone thought it was the turn of the Hawks team, but they never thought that the Elite team would form another strong team after only two years, now the comment that Elite team could only win because they had recruited players from other schools seemed to be false. William grabbed the ball and advanced to the court of attack with more speed, they wanted the fast attack to be able to take the advantage of the score of the Elite team and to be able to at least tie in that period, so he passed the ball quickly to the SG of his team who pass by David and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the team donates Hawks. Jake got the ball and started to organize another move for the Elite team, he reached the three-point line and passed the ball to David who fired the outside shot to make 3 more points for the Elite team. Chapter 158 An Exciting Final 5 The two teams were very much the same in the game, but Jake was being calmer and managing to better organize the attacks for the Elite team, that was the biggest difference in this game, if someone from the Elite team was playing badly as happened in other games would be more difficult, but as everyone playing well Jake could do his best. William took the ball and went to another attack for his team, reaching the three-point line he observed his players, so he passed the ball to Gabriel, Gabriel received the ball and made a feint pretending it would turn to the left and turned to the right and then made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Hawks team. Jake took the ball and calmly went to arrange another attack for his team, arriving at the three-point line he passed the ball to Carter, Carter received the ball and did the layup to make 2 more points for his team. Jake realized in a few moments that the team of the Hawks was thinking of changing the defense, they realized that Mark was able to make the points very easily and had Gabriel go to play a double game on him. So, Jake who saw this passed for the first time in the game the ball to Carter who alone can make that point, this served as a warning, if they leave a player alone to make the double play they would end up losing faster. William who realized this did not bother, the coach had already thought about it before giving that order, but as he knew that Mark had great results in this national championship it would be much more dangerous to let him score points than to leave Carter alone. Jake knew what the opposing team was thinking and knew they were wrong, Jake did not pass the ball to Carter just because Carter asked for it in some games, he was a defensive player and wanted to save his energy to defend. But he could attack as well as Mark, there was no one in high school who would not know how to score, only that some were better than others in dealing with the opposing defense, but leaving Carter alone was like letting the Elite team score more easily. William reached the three-point line and passed the ball to the SG of the Hawks'' team, the SG made a feint and could pass by David more easily, Mark came to cover and SG passed the ball to the Center who was alone do the layup to make 2 more points for the Hawks team. Jake picked up the ball and went to the court of attack and when he reached the three-point line passed the ball to Carter, Carter who was alone again did the layup and made 2 more points for the Elite team. It was like Jake said if they left Carter free and defenseless Jake would pass all the balls he could to him to make the points for the team. William received the ball and began to organize another attack for the team of Hawks, he reached the line of three points and tried to pass the ball to Logan, but Jake stepped forward and intercepted the pass. So Jake with the ball ran up to the attacking block, William who had been responsible for making the mistake ran the maximum he could to stop Jake, when he was close to the free throw line William tried to steal the ball, Jake made the bait behind his back and took William out of the play and advanced to make a dunk on his back to make 2 more points for the Elite team. The crowd loved Jake''s moves, it was how they expected the game would never be so annoying when Jake was on the court, William was even angrier because he realized that Jake was just holding his speed to dribble on him before making the points. In fact, it was not that, as the Elite team was winning the game Jake was not in a hurry to end the move and so it took time, he did not expect William to follow him, so he had to get rid of William to make the points. William received the ball and went to another attack for the Hawks team, this time he was not in such a hurry, arriving in the line of three points he took a step back and made the shot from outside, Jake who was alert jumped together, so William had to make the shot faster to avoid Jake''s block. The ball did not enter and Mark jumped to take the rebound, then he passed the ball to Jake that calmed the move, in the middle of the third period Jake had already analyzed the style of game of William and so would not be caught by surprise in these moves. At the end of the third period the team Elite team was winning by 10 points difference, could be more if Harrison and David had not lost some attacks, Jake can do 5 more steals in that period and was with 8 steals now. In addition, he had 31 points and 22 assists, Mark had 8 rebounds now but had made no point in that period, Carter who took advantage and made 12 points in that period. The team coach of the Hawks realized that this game was almost lost, William who was the best player of the team had lost control of the game and his emotions, so Jake can take advantage to prevent many attacks from the Hawks team. But the Hawks'' team coach had the same problems as many other teams and had no substitute players qualified for his team, especially for the best player on the team who was William. Eric was quite excited about this game as well, Jake was very close to making another triple Double and winning another national championship, Eric was happy for Jake and was even happier with the story he would write about Jake. After that game, Jake would have 16 games in a row making Triple Double, and what was better was that next year Jake could continue to increase that sequence in the regional championship that had weaker teams to face. Eva was very happy for her son, as with all the games she accompanied with Jake these years she knew that with a 10-point lead victory was virtually guaranteed, she knew Jake deserved all the good that was happening after staying 2 years without playing and still training every day. In the fourth period, the Hawks had not given up yet and continued to try to win the game, but Jake deliberately delayed all of the team''s possession of the ball, as the game was only 8 minutes per time he could leave each move closer to victory. When the time was running out William began to get more anxious and Jake managed to do 4 more steals and 1 block defending against him, so after a quieter fourth period, the Elite team won the game with an 8-point lead. After the game ended Jake first brought everyone to greet the opposing team for the good game and then everyone began to celebrate. Everyone was shouting and wailing, smiling and crying with joy at the victory, Harrison and David were most excited about this victory, last year they were not able to play for most of the year so they were very sad when they were eliminated. Jake went to where Eva and Anna were and gave a hug to his mother who was crying a lot of joy for Jake, seeing that Jake also started to cry, he had been strong and endured the suffering and frustration in those two years, so now it was the time to cry with joy and leave the past behind. Anna also hugged them and cried too, so the reporters first interviewed the other players who had recovered and let Jake celebrate, Jake only stopped when it was time to grab the medal and lift the trophy as a winner. When Jake raised the trophy and the players began to celebrate again the fans were cheering a lot too, many who came to this game were accompanying the Elite team that had the best games. After Jake got the MVP award from the MVP national championship and got more applause from everyone, the players picked up Jake and threw him up a few times to celebrate, they knew that Jake was responsible for the win that year as well. All the newspaper reporters and some television interviewed Jake and asked about various things, Jake answered everything and was sure that the bandana and arm guard with the marks of the companies that sponsored him appeared. After all, was over Jake was again close to Eva, his friends who came to see the game were already gone, Matthew saw with Joseph and Oliver that Jake really had a lot of basketball talent and would never give up on that to work in a company. Tiffany and Clara were also satisfied as well as the observers of the new companies who sponsored Jake after Jake got close to Eva he saw that Eric was there waiting to do the exclusive interview. Jake was also happy about this because he would have to talk about the new sponsors and even doing several interviews before everyone avoided the subject, but Eric had a lot more authority than the other reporters and could even talk about the companies after Tiffany and the others could just give a fee to the newspaper. "Hi Jake, congratulations on the national championship victory, the MVP award and the incredible record of 16 consecutive Triple-Double games, all of which you''ve certainly been one of the biggest highlights of recent years for youth basketball." "Thanks, Eric, if it was not for your help maybe this would not have happened, I''ll never forget what you did for me and for all the school I could say." Chapter 159 An Exciting Final 6 "Just keep doing these interviews with me and join the NBA in the future and I''ll feel good for what I''ve done for the sport in general." "Sure, you can ask whatever you want." "How do you feel about winning your second national championship and second-time MVP in both Middle School and high school?" "I feel pretty good about it, it makes me feel like I''ve been improving in those years and I''m not far behind, the national high school championship is much harder than the Middle School, really only the best to get here." "I was very grateful to be able to be with the same Middle School teammates, so I think we have a greater advantage of networking." "And I hope to continue to improve in the future and one day is in the NBA." "You''ve gotten an incredible feat that even a lot of players could not get through many times in their careers to get a Triple Double and more than that you did for 16 straight games, do you have any secrets in that?" "The secret is to train a lot and have the will to help the team, I once talked to coach Mike about this after doing triple-double followed by some games if I should stop it and he said that I doing this helps the team to win then I should try to continue." "I agree with your coach, but to do that has to be good both in attack and defense, do you intend to continue like this?" "I always try to improve my defense, but against a good player like William in today''s game I would be lost, so I just try my best." "Do you have anyone who wants to thank you for this victory today?" "I would like to thank my mother who has always supported me in all my difficulties and allows me to continue, Anna also that as my mother supported me a lot, my teammates who have been with me for many years and my coach, without they could not win." "I would also like to thank my sponsors who have been supporting me and helping me, and that''s it." "Very well, thank you for the interview." After that Jake was happy to go home with his mother and Anna went to her house too, after a long day full of emotions after dinner Jake slept quickly. The next day Jake woke up early even though he had nothing to do during the day, they were in March and it was a few months before the third year was over, then they would still have a vacation of 3 months until after classes started and Jake had more games. But he would have many things to do even if he did not have games, Jake was thinking about competing in a marathon in the next few months, but for that, he would have to train for at least a few weeks even if he was going to use the Stamina Bar at the races. This is because even if he did not get tired in the marathon his muscles would not be renewed with the energy bar and his body could dehydrate so a few weeks could condition his body so that there is no risk of side effects and no injuries after the race. The most he tried before was to run 30 kilometers on the treadmill and eat two bars of stamina, then the system warned that if he did not stop he could suffer an injury but that was because it was the first time he tried to run more than 10 kilometers. In addition, his stamina statistic was only a little more than 20 at that time, but if he trained for a few weeks and with his stamina statistics being well over 30 he would hold 45 miles marathon quietly. Besides the marathon, he could run if he could find any suitable he would still have to see about his mother''s restaurant that would be open in a few weeks after all Eva would still have to choose the theme of the restaurant. After she chose what the restaurant would be they would have to see if they needed to buy some equipment and hire the cooks, then they would have to negotiate with the vendors and choose the menu. Then they would still have to do a simple advertisement at least in the regions near the restaurant, then Jake could relax with his mother''s restaurant. Jake was also sure that Matthew could need some more of him these months, the funny thing was that even though he was in high school still the thing he least cared about was school. After all, even now that he had plenty of things he had to learn in class, he had intelligence of 58 now, according to the system itself, less than 1 percent of the population should have intelligence of that level. He was almost learning the Japanese language completely, and it was still more than half a year away from the year-end holiday, and Jake did not know if he would travel this year, after all, he would only go if he could go with Eva or his family. Jake did not know if Eva could leave the restaurant she had just opened for a month on vacation to go on a trip, and Jake was not planning to marry until she was 25, so if it was not for Eva it would only be 9 years from now. this trip would happen. After all, even if he wanted to do this trip a lot during his birthday, he would not have any joy in spending his birthday alone, he had better invite some friends to have this party at his house. Jake also thought that he was very lucky nobody knew that his family was rich now, even if he appeared on television no one could deduce that Jake receives a lot of money being underage, in addition, they did not have great changes in their lifestyle even making so much money. Jake thought about it because neither he nor Eva would want to move away from this each for a few years, after all, it was the only memory Eva had of Jake''s father and Jake also spent dozens of years here with his mother adding up the two lives he had. But when the others discovered that they were rich they would have to go to another larger house in another neighborhood that had greater security, after all, Jake did not want Eva to be kidnapped because he had money, Jake was not afraid to be kidnapped because the system said with his luck nothing could threaten his life. He could even have problems with some people or some relationships, but nothing could risk his safety, that was the main purpose of the system to increase his luck, was so that he had no accident as in his past life. The same could not be guaranteed for his family, even if it would not normally happen to be rich and leave his mother in a house without security was like an invitation for a misfortune to happen. After a few days Jake went to Anna''s house again, he was about to hit the last details of the surprise for Eva, Jake was thinking about Anna telling Eva that this was the restaurant where she would work and that she wanted Eva to see what it was like. That was no lie Anna would actually work at this restaurant, but Eva did not know the owner was herself, after that he would make a fake opening party with only the hired employees and Jake and Eva would be the guests for the opening. Only at that moment would Jake tell that the restaurant was from Eva and they could start organizing the restaurant for real opening after everything is ready. Anna said that everything was ready for the plan, if she knew what the restaurant would be until the opening could be real, but Anna and Jake were afraid that Eva would find out and that spoiled the surprise, in fact, the reason for Jake to have all that work to leave everything ready before telling her was so she would not refuse the restaurant. If everything was ready and the people hired, it was impossible for Eva to reject her gift, but even if the restaurant was already bought she might have rejected it earlier and ordered Jake to sell the building. After a few more days, Eric sent Jake another poster and a copy of the story he made about Jake and the Elite team''s victory in the national championship, the newspaper with that report ended up being sold to a few more states because it was about the national champion. Even those who did not play basketball in the schools were impressed to have a Triple Double player in 16 straight games, everyone who knew a little bit about basketball knew that it was almost right for Jake to be in the NBA in a few more years. In addition, Jake was already high enough to play professional basketball, so everyone thought that only an injury could take Jake out of success in the sport, everyone in Miami knew Jake after those years with several reports and other people recognized Jake of the commercial on television. Several university scouts were already gathering information from Jake to begin recruiting him for the next year, Elite school was mostly talking to the top universities that they had partnerships to let them have privileges to talk to Jake before other universities. But Jake knew he did not have to worry about it, he would choose a good university to go to and have a good basketball team, luckily Jake followed college basketball a bit in his past life, and although he did not watch every game still knew which universities made their final rounds each year. In addition to a good basketball team the university should have the course he wanted to do and also that the reputation of this course is good for whoever graduated from it, besides, he could see which universities were closer to Miami, the nearest universities of Miami that have these requirements will be Jake''s main choices. Chapter 160 To See My Mother Happy 1 After a few more days Jake began his training to run the marathon, in the first week he intended to run 10 km and then increase 10 km after each week, so after a month he would be ready to run a marathon. The system said that Jake could run up to 50 km with his current resistance statistic, but the speed would be less than average to run a marathon with chances to win. With that Jake figured he could run fast enough to win for 30 km, so he would need to use a stamina bar and could finish the marathon with energy after all his problem was that his muscles could not withstand the distance and intensity of the race. If he ran for 50 km at medium speed then his muscles would have to be able to run for 45 km at a slightly higher speed, so first, he could put his body in a position to withstand the intensity of the race and the great distance. As he wanted to do this correctly he asked the school to open the athletic field for him to run on the track, Jake thought it might be harder to do the 50 km on a track that was circular so he had to make turns than on the normal road. As Jake was the star of the basketball team and the school president liked him they allowed him to use the track for 5 hours the day the athletic team was not using the track. On the first day of training as he was not running in a hurry he made the 10 km in 50 minutes after he finished training he did not feel too tired and felt he could run for longer and faster. But he decided that it was better to increase his stamina by the few, so on the second day of training he managed to run in 45 minutes the 10 km, he felt he could intensify and on the third day he did in 40 minutes the 10 km. With that time he began to feel more tired, on the fourth day he did in 35 minutes the 10 km so he felt that he was very tired, as the training was not for only 10 km but for a marathon he felt that this intensity was enough. So when he finished the 7 days he could easily make the 10 km in 35 minutes, he felt that if he wanted he could improve, but it was time to move on to the 20 km race day. On the first day he decreased the intensity of the race and made in 80 minutes the 20 km, he felt a little tired more thought he could intensify so he ran the 20 km in 70 minutes on the second day, this time he became much more tired. So Jake decided that this training was intense enough so that the 7 days he could easily make the 20 km in 70 minutes, Jake was satisfied that it was so because he still did not need any stamina bar with that distance and at that speed. This showed that his body was much tougher than in the past, but he could not continue with this training for now because another day would be the false opening of the restaurant and would also be the day when he would tell that this restaurant was Eva''s, so he needed to talk to Anna better today. As Jake needed to train and did not want his mother to suspect that he was doing anything while he was training in those two weeks Anna was doing her part in the plan this week. Jake felt Eva was a little strange at home this week, but she did not tell him why she was like this, Jake figured it had something to do with their plan, but Jake held it today to go to Anna''s house to see what was happening. When Jake got to Anna''s house she opened the door and looked tired, not weeks ago, so Jake was sure it had something to do with her mother this week. "Has anything happened in those weeks, Anna? Something went wrong with our plan?" "While nothing has happened to the plan, I can tell you it was better than I expected, but I suffered a lot this week to make it work." "Did you suffer? What do you mean by that?" So Anna started to tell what happened this week, according to their plan. Anna would take Eva to the restaurant and say she would have been working in that bout in a few months, so she would invite Eva into the fake restaurant opening where Jake would say that The owner of the restaurant was actually Eva. But before Anna started with the plan she had to improvise, this was because as the day when she would have to start working in the restaurant was near Anna had to end the cooking classes. Besides some people Anna planned to invite to work in the restaurant she was not very close to anyone other than Eva, and it was the same with Eva. But that''s when the problem began, some of the women who were taking the course told Eva that the course would close, Anna had not said anything to Eva yet because she would personally go to her house to start with the plan. So Eva who loved the course was anxious and went to Anna''s house to ask about it personally so Anna decided to start with the plan ahead of time and said she would start working again in a restaurant and that she would talk to Eva in person and even taking her to know where Anna would work. When Eva knew that Anna would start working at a restaurant was when she started getting weird at home was what Jake was thinking, so Anna took Eve to the restaurant and showed her everything, and so said the restaurant would open in a few weeks and that Eve was invited to appear on opening day. Until then Anna and Jake''s plan was perfect, but Eva, besides saying that she was going to say something neither of them expected, she asked Anna to talk to the owner of the restaurant to give her some work. It seemed like Jake said and Eva is very willing to work after Jake got older, but Eva knew that Jake would not let her work in a place to earn a little, so Eva decided to ask Anna to work with her, Eva could give the excuse to Jake that she wanted to work with Anna. Since this was out of their plans, Anna did not know what to say, but she could not say not because Eva was very hopeful about getting this job, so the only thing Anna could say was that she would talk to the owner on opening day and introduce Eva to the owner. So Eva agreed to go on opening day, but she was a bit sad because she thought it was as if Anna had indirectly rejected her, so Jake understood why Anna and Eva were strange this week. Even though the plan worked Jake was sad to know that his mother was so anxious to work and was avoiding talking about it with him, Jake only wanted to take Eva from the other job because she knew Eva was suffering, but if it was a good work he would approve even if the salary was low to see his mother happy. After all, what Jake has been doing is to see his mother happy and not being selfish, he was sad because it seemed that Eva still did not want to say everything she thought about him, that''s how she died in the past life and Jake thought who had changed that being closer to her. But it seemed like nothing had changed yet, it showed that it had been a wise decision for Jake to ask Anna to keep an eye on Eva when he was not around, otherwise he would still be unaware of many things. Anna was also sorry for Eva and with even more pity for Jake that she knew she wanted Eva to talk to him more, so Anna stopped talking to comfort Jake a little, she felt even more of the family, it was just like Eva was his shy daughter and Jake was his grandson who suffered from his mother who did not know how to be honest. Soon after Jake recovered after being comforted, at least the plan had worked and thanks to Anna he could know more about what his mother thought the same way, so after a few days at the opening of the restaurant Eva would know of his gift. After a few days, Jake told Eva that he had talked to Anna and was also invited to open the restaurant, so he called Eva to buy some clothes at the mall, Eva did not think necessary because Jake had taken her to buy some clothes in the year past. But Jake had only bought some clothes for parties and formal dinners, he thought that the clothes for an opening would have to be different, especially when the clothes were for the owner of the restaurant. Jake also grabbed some social clothes for that opening, he did not want to wear a suit at the opening of his mother''s restaurant, so he thought it would be good to pick a new outfit for that special day. After they returned home together, after dinner Jake returned to his room and Eve also went to sleep, after all the other day would be the opening of her friend''s restaurant. Jake can tell that Eve was distracted all day, he was a bit sad because she did not tell him anything about having applied for a job at the restaurant that Anna would work, it shows that she did not trust him much, but he found that this proved to be a good idea to open this restaurant even if it was hidden from it. Chapter 161 To See My Mother Happy 2 Jake was thinking that even if his mother was angry that he had made a restaurant without having talked to her before, he could tell she had asked for a new job without talking to him before too, so she could not be too angry with him. Jake was thinking that this year he would use his second job more, so he was curious if his stats increased in those months that he cannot check. "Fate, show me my statistics window for my second job." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 16 years] [Job: Businessman] [Intelligence 58] [Luck 99] [Charm 36] [Leadership 23] [Policy 8] [Eloquence 36] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [See Through] [Business Vision] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Looking at it, Jake saw that many of his stats increased a lot when he did not see it, but his Policy did not increase much, he remembered that when his statistics were in the single-digit they increased a lot in a year other than Policy. But he thought this was normal as well because unlike physical statistics he would not know how to increase these statistics, maybe if he did several businesses in the next few years these statistics would naturally increase. After seeing this Jake decided to sleep because the next day would be quite hectic. Jake woke up early the other day when he came down Eva was preparing breakfast a little distracted, Jake could guess what she was thinking, but he knew that would change after today. After breakfast they packed up and went to the place where Jake prepared the restaurant, when they got there they found several people, Eva thought this was normal, only Jake thought she was so nervous she did not even realize that this new restaurant did not have a sign yet. The people who were here were the people Anna hired for the restaurant, then everyone went into the restaurant, everything was set up and prepared as if they were to open today, everyone received glasses of champagne and toasted. So the employees went inside as they smiled and chatted, Jake and Anna thought Eva was too distracted by not realizing anything strange so far, after all, there was no way a restaurant opening was like that and with no opening speech. In a moment only Jake, Eva, and Anna were in the hall, so Eva could not take it anymore and decided to talk to Anna even though Jake was nearby. "Anna, who''s the owner you said you''d be here?" "She''s already here," Anna said as she tried to hold back the laughter over Eva''s question. "Did you tell her about what I asked you before?" "I''ll leave that decision to you." Seeing that Anna was happy while playing with Eva who was more nervous Jake decided to end this surprise and tell his mother soon before she had an attack. "What did you think of this mother restaurant?" "I found it very beautiful, it had to be that way for Anna to agree to work here." "Does it look like the restaurant you dreamed about?" "I think it''s even better than I thought, I dreamed of something simpler ¡­ Wait! How do you know I dreamed of having a restaurant? I did not tell anyone that." "Secrets are never kept forever mother, like the fact that you want to get back to work." Seeing this she was shocked, Eva thought that Jake never knew many of her secrets, it seems she tried to hide all this for nothing when she learned that Jake discovered Eva was a bit ashamed of it. "If you wanted to work you could have told me that, Mom, I think your happiness is the most important thing, even if the work did not pay well or it was tiring, the important thing is that you were happy." "I wanted you out of that restaurant because it felt like you did not like it there and was not happily working there if you''re happy I''m happy too." It was supposed to be something exciting for Eva, but she was so embarrassed to have her secrets discovered and also to know that she was thinking about too many things being that her son was so understanding. Anna was the only one excited to see all this, she thought again that Eva was so lucky to have a son like Jake, in her family instead of winning a restaurant she had until she close what she built with so much effort, in addition, her son did not understand what she felt and even left her alone. Even if it was not bad envy and only one thought was normal when it made so much difference in situations that had similar situations. "This restaurant is now your mother, it''s my gift to you, and you can not be angry at me, consider compensation for hiding so many things from me all those years." Eva was shocked again by this situation, so this restaurant was hers? It was the restaurant she had always dreamed of, but she thought it strange that she only knew it when it was ready. If it was someone else she might suspect this was a lie, but Eva was accustomed to Jake making several plans just to give her a gift, moreover, she knew better than anyone how much Jake earned from sponsorship per year, should give to buy more than 4 restaurants like this. So Eva had to accept this gift, she did not even think of rejecting it as Jake thought she would, maybe if it had not been bought or remodeled she might deny it, but after everything was ready she knew it was impossible, moreover, she could work where she wanted it now and could have more freedom. It was like Jake had thought before, after all this time knowing that the son made so much money to be well for a lifetime, Eva no longer thought it was a waste to spend money on anything, especially because she knew that the child could be more responsible than she is to the money. "So it''s a lie that Anna was working here?" "No, that''s true, she and all the people you saw in this false opening will work with you, I asked Anna to help you with this restaurant and it was she who chose those people, but if you want to dismiss someone the restaurant is your." Eva was very happy to know that she could work with Anna as she wanted, and if it was Anna who had hired these people Eva trusted her friend, moreover, without Anna she knew that nothing could go right in the restaurant in the first few months, it seems Jake had thought of everything. "So when can the restaurant really be open?" "This will depend on you, mother, you have to choose the name of the restaurant, with what kind of dishes and public the restaurant will work, hire the necessary people, find the suppliers, make the menu of the restaurant, make a facade for the restaurant and then do some advertising to be able to open it." Eva realized that Jake had left all the important decisions so she could take, even if she knew nothing about restaurants, Anna could help with all the things she did not know, even though she knew Jake did not care about it she did not I wanted the restaurant to do no harm. After all this Eva knew the people who would work in the restaurant and then everyone went home, Eva had agreed that she would discuss with Anna about all the things that were missing, in fact, Eva''s dream was just to have a small restaurant. So she could tell that her dream was already fulfilled, of course, she wanted to see the restaurant full of people every day and also cook in her restaurant, but these things could be easily accomplished, now she had just to think about what the restaurant needed so he could at least keep up without Jake needing to put more money. After they got home Eva can calm down and finally can think of what the son had done for her to open this restaurant and fulfill her dream, she heard from Anna that Jake had solved everything herself and she only helped after the restaurant was retired. So after she finished dinner with Jake she got up and gave her son a hug, after a while, she even got emotional and started crying, after so many years she was already getting used to the way Jake treated her until she forgot how good a son she had. Eva did not know that at first Jake did all these things because she had seen her suffer and end up dying in her past life, but even if she knew she would know that if the same situation happened to thousands of different people, no one would do the same things that Jake did for her. In addition, Jake never stopped trying to make his mother happy even after 6 years had passed since he returned, and it did not look like Jake would stop trying to make Eva happy for the rest of his life. After that Jake went to his room to prepare to sleep and face the next day he had been very happy that everything went well and his mother had been happy, he also thought that this restaurant could make that in addition to Eva a lot more happy people. Besides Anna, who was Jake''s main concern after his mother, he thought that everyone who works at this restaurant would be very happy since Eva and Anna were very kind people and with Jake financing the restaurant it was certain that they could never go wrong. Even though he understood a lot of cooking and cooked so well, Jake was not planning to get involved in the restaurant''s decisions, so he would just wait to know what kind of restaurant it would be when he went there after little more than a month. So Jake could re-worry about his training over the next few weeks, he just had to worry about training for the marathon because he could keep up the good shape in basketball. Then he could just do his weight training to increase his strength. Chapter 162 To See My Mother Happy 3 After doing the running and bodybuilding training Jake would always make his shots out whenever he could on the court he had in the basement, at first he did it just to fulfill the missions and receive the stamina bars. But after a few years, this had become a habit for Jake, moreover, he knew that this could only do him good in his games, after making tens of thousands of shots from outside it was impossible that this did not help in his rates of correctness in the games. And to train his general skills in basketball he trained every day in his training of imagination, after many months he had already learned basically how to play in the positions of Center and PF, so now he returned to do a more general training for all skills and in various positions. It did not seem like, but Jake was feeling a lot of pressure to improve, he had talent, a system, more training time than everyone and even his physical stats could improve faster than the others, so Jake thought he had an obligation to be at least as skillful as the main stars. In addition, he could have many more experiences in several different positions on the court, so he thought he had no excuses if he could not be better in the future. So the next day Jake returned to the athletic field to train more, the last time he had managed to do 20 km in 70 minutes easily, so he would start with that distance again. Jake managed to easily make the 20 km in 70 minutes again, so he felt he could go to the next stage of training, the other day he tried to do 30 km when he finished was very tired and had done in 115 minutes. It was 10 minutes longer than he was walking, so he felt the difficulty in his goal of winning a marathon, after all, it was difficult to even finish this marathon when the training week ended he managed to do the 30 km in 105 minutes, but he still felt very tired. Even so, he was a bit happy about it because he could probably do 25km even faster than he was doing now and then eat a bar of stamina and he would end the marathon in a good time. Even though he wanted to try to improve his racing time, even more, Jake believed that in 6 years or less he could manage to win the marathon even without eating a bar of stamina, only then he could be proud to race and he would still be 22. Of course Jake was not arrogant in thinking that all this was just his skill and effort, he knew that without the system he could not possibly succeed even if he trained for another 20 years. The other day while he was preparing to train again Joseph called Jake to go out and talk a little, so Jake ended up accepting how he did not spend much time with his friend and also he had no competition to do soon. Joseph called Jake to go to a diner, they had not been in a dinner for a long time because Joseph stopped eating snacks after he decided to lose weight even after the nutritionist said he could eat again without being afraid to fatten him easily I did not want to risk it. "Hi Joseph, finally decided to eat again normally, I said that you could end up sick if you did not eat anything you wanted for fear of getting fat." "I just wanted to wait a little longer to be sure, you know how easy it is to get fat after you''ve just lost weight, is the accordion effect I heard." "Now you''re almost married, you do not have to worry so much about looks, Hahaha." "Now that I have to take care of myself, even more, congratulations for the national championship and the MVP award, you deserve it, now I''m sure the school regrets having left you two years off the team." "Thank you, I''m sorry if I was more relaxed now that I won this trophy, it was like it was something I had to do, now I can rest easy to play next year." "You say that more next year you''re struggling again to win and you get stressed again, you''re the type you can not stop while you know you can do it." "You know me well, but I said I''d be calmer and not that I would not try to win, I think we can win by playing more quietly." "I knew you made a restaurant to fulfill a dream of your mother, very cool it, I was sad that I was not invited to the opening." "You are well informed, few people know this yet, but you have not had any opening yet, the inauguration will only be in a few months because the last details are being agreed, when the time comes your family will be invited." "And how''s your date with Liza, is everything okay?" "Yes it''s okay, we''re going slowly, after all, next year we have to decide which university to go to and we do not know if we''ll have to be separated by the time of college or if we can study together." "Your grade I know is enough to get into any university, but what is it like at school?" "She''s like me, she''s among the top 10 in her room, I mean it depends on the universities and also what course we''ll do." "You''re going to do Business Administration, are not you? It''s her?" "Yes, I''m going to do administration so I can learn how to take care of my grandfather''s company in the future, but Liza still does not know what she''s going to do, she thought about doing journalism, but she gave up and now she''s thinking about what to do." Jake did not say anything, but he also thought Liza would not get anything in journalism, but if that''s what she wanted she should not try to do something so different, it was something he did not want to get involved with, and Jake did not think he had risk of Joseph and Liza separating even if they are 4 years apart. Jake knew how old-fashioned girls were after they chose someone to stay, it was difficult for them to change their minds, and Joseph had a hard time finding someone he liked too, so Jake did not think he would change his girlfriend so easily. After that, they talked for a long time and were each to their own home, Joseph had also taken out his driver''s license too after he saw Jake driving, he thought it would be best to take Liza out. Jake saw that Joseph called him to talk because he was stressed with the last year of school coming, it was like he said he depended more on the university than his will and Liza, in that case, Jake was luckier because he could choose the university he wanted and he did not have to worry about a girlfriend. He would find it cool if he could join the same university as Joseph, but they would not do the same course and Joseph had his girlfriend now, so Jake would not insist on studying together with his friend, after all, Jake was a friend of Oliver and Matthew too, it was impossible that they would cease to be friends just by studying at different universities. Since he had missed this training day anyway he decided to see what his mother and Anna were doing, after a week they were talking they should have some more things ready. And really it was so, after Eva said she had no restaurant in mind Anna began to suggest several things showing how she had more experience on the subject, Eva just as Jake had said she did not want a high-class restaurant. She also did not mind having world recognition with Michelin stars, but it was not only because she had a simpler mentality, but because when they were traveling in Europe Jake took her mother to some restaurants that had Michelin stars. Eva did not like it very much because she thought that in some restaurants the food was not tasty and in others, she had little food, only a few restaurants with Michelin stars really pleased Eva, she thought the food was the best she had ever eaten. When Eva complained to Jake that some Michelin starred restaurants did not have tasty food Jake told her that all the world''s greatest chefs are struggling to get that recognition and some even commit suicide when they lose their stars or when they win for fear of going back to mediocrity. And they agreed it should not be for that much, but Jake knew it was because of the pressure and stress of having a very high goal that does not just depend on the chef and also the evaluator for that dream to be realized. After that Eva was afraid to be like these chefs and did not want to have a luxury restaurant, Anna said that it could not also be a popular restaurant because it would not pay salaries and vendors and would also be a waste of the restaurant building and the location. So they decided it would be for the upper middle class, so the dishes would be more complete and the price would be acceptable, as the location was near hotels that did not provide breakfast service or the service was bad, they decided to make a Full English Breakfast in the morning. At lunch and dinner, it would be with various dishes that Eve experimented on the trips she had with Jake, Anna did not like the idea of having dishes from Germany and Spain, Eva said she wanted at least some dishes from those countries. So Anna accepted and completed the discussion about the restaurant menu, but the menu would have to be seen better then, at least they would know which vendors would need to hire and also the kitchen staff who would be the sous chef, cooks, assistants among others. It would be much harder for Anna to find good professionals because the salaries would not be as high as the top restaurants. Chapter 163 To See My Mother Happy 4 In addition to salaries being smaller than in major restaurants some things would be more difficult than in normal restaurants, this was because there was a lot of variety in cooking styles, many chefs specialize in just one type of dishes like Italian or Japanese food. It was difficult to find people who made several different dishes and with the same quality, so she would have to hire several cooks who were good at different dishes with different styles, and the way to deal with these people would have to be different. But even if Anna complained about the job Jake could see that she was very happy doing it, after all these years she was doing what she liked again, Eva was also very smiling every day which made Jake happy too. Jake said it was so that Eva could also take advantage of it to learn from Anna at this time and not leave all responsibilities to Anna, after all, Jake knew that her mother''s request to have several dishes made everything more difficult for Anna to organize. They were lucky that as Jake did not know what kind of restaurant it would be when she invited Anna a few months ago she had already sought out professionals from every area of ??the kitchen and of different styles, now she just had to talk to these people. Seeing that it would still take a few weeks for everything to be ready in the restaurant Jake returned to his training the other day. This time Jake would be trying to run the 40 km, he can see from his last training that he could not keep the average of 35 minutes for every 10 km, so he would have to run much slower to achieve. So he did as on the first day and tried to run with a time of 50 minutes for every 10 km, so at the end of the day, he had achieved but was exhausted at the end of the training, even with that speed with the little practice he almost failed. Also, as he feared he felt some leg pain after training, this showed that he did not have the physical ability to run that distance and so his muscles could not handle the load. So for the first time after he returned to the past he had to prepare an ice bath in the bathtub, it was not a pleasant experience, but it was great to regain his muscles so he could train the other day again. The system could help Jake avoid injuries or warn him when he could suffer an injury from too much training, but Jake''s case was just a normal rebound of running for so long, it was important to train the muscles of the body. When Eva returned home she saw that Jake had taken an ice shower and laughed at him for a while, in fact, she even thought it strange that Jake had trained for so long and never needed an ice bath. The next day, Jake made the 40 km again in 200 minutes, this time he got it easier, at least he had no leg pains, at the end of the 7-day training week he got the 40 km in 200 minutes and did not stay very tired. This time he was not in a hurry, he needed to run 50km all day and would be sure to at least finish the race and not be ashamed, so he wanted to try to run until he could run 40km in 140 minutes. Then he would pass 50 km if he saw that he could not get Jake to eat a stamina bar on race day, so the other day he tried to run 45 minutes for 10 km and again was exhausted by the end of the day, but at least he managed to run 40 km in 180 minutes. After 3 days he could already run the 40 km in 180 minutes without getting too tired and changed to run 10 km in 40 minutes, so the other day he managed to run the 40 km in 160 minutes, but he again had leg pains and had to take another ice bath. Even so after a little more than a month of training he could see a big improvement, he was sure it was thanks to the system, but even so he could be very proud, in addition, Jake was sure that his stamina could increase more at the end of the year. At the end of the 7 days of training he managed to run the 40 km in 160 minutes, but he saw that it seemed that this was his speed limit, if he increased he would be much more tired at the end of the marathon and would have pain in the legs. So he decided to settle for 40 minutes for 10 km, Jake wanted to start training to run 50 km and reach his limits in the marathon, if he could run the 50 km he would be sure to build resistance to win the marathon using the bar power. Jake remembered the system saying that it was more difficult to raise resistance statistics than the other physical attributes, now he knew why, after all the marathon was more about the body''s total capacity than stamina and stamina. So someone running 100 km does not mean that these people would have 60 resistance, but that person would have trained his body to the extreme and his body was able to withstand the effort. Jake was lucky enough to only increase his resistance if he could do the same thing as people who trained their bodies for dozens of years to do those tests. Jake also remembered the fact that the system said that his body was not fully developed and so he would withstand much less effort than adults over 19 years. In addition, Jake heard that when you reach the common limit every second makes a lot of difference, for example, in marathons the limit should be around 30 minutes by 10 km, so after that, every minute causes much more effort for the human body. The best in the world could reach 25 minutes by 10 km if all conditions are favorable and this is its absolute limit, so all sports have something like that, especially when you run that distance multiplied by almost 5. But Jake would not have time to try the 50 km after all the restaurant was almost ready, Jake had to help his mother in these last adjustments before the inauguration, Jake saw that all the people had been hired and the menu was ready as well. It would have various types of dishes from all the countries they visited, most of the dishes were from France and Italy, Eva asked for several dishes that were refused by Anna, such as the BBQ that could not be made because of the smell of roast that I would stay in the restaurant that could take away customers who did not like the dish. Eva also declined the Japanese food Anna wanted to put on the menu, Eva said she thought she had many Japanese food restaurants in Miami and her restaurant did not have to do the same, and Eva did not like Japanese food. Anna also managed to find a great Patissier who came from Mexico and decided to get this job in the restaurant because Eva had no prejudice with Latinos what they had in other restaurants and he wanted American citizenship for him and his daughter who was hired as a restaurant receptionist. It turned out that the Patissier was excellent and even Anna who worked with luxury restaurants approved of his skill, his name was Julius, and his daughter''s name was Lola. In fact, Anna told Jake that she was much more confident in the Full English Breakfast portion than it was in the morning than at lunch and dinner time, Jake agreed to this after seeing Julius''s abilities. With J¨²lio and Anna commanding the preparation of Full English Breakfast would surely be a success, but Jake thought it over, he hoped customers could spread Julius''s skills in desserts so that everyone would know the restaurant through it. After all, even if Jake did not expect much from the restaurant and just wanted to see Eva happy, there was no denying that this was above all a business, even if Eva''s idea of ??having dishes from several countries was a good idea, every successful restaurant needed and Julio could be the highlight. After all, things were settled it was time to choose the name of the restaurant, in the end, it would be called "Eva Touch", it was the name of Eva who was the owner of the restaurant and also had a reference to the Garden of Eden of the Bible. Anna and Jake laughed when Eva was embarrassed by the name she chose, but the name was important to call attention to the restaurant, after all, it was the food and the service that people would most evaluate to judge the quality of the restaurant. Jake saw that his mother was looking forward to the restaurant''s opening, but Jake thought it was not the right time yet, they had to first make a few announcements first and then invite all the friends to the opening. Jake asked Eric to put the restaurant in the newspaper where he worked that had the largest number of subscribers in Miami, Eric was happy to know that Jake''s mother had opened a restaurant of his own and said he would help her advertise and even make a discount. Then Jake phoned all the acquaintances for a small opening party the day before the opening, after a few days after the plaque that would be placed on the front of the restaurant would be delivered to Jake. Jake also took the opportunity to take stock of the opening expenses and also the cost of vendors and salaries that would be the restaurant''s monthly expense, Jake was a bit shocked at the report''s final value. It seemed that having a restaurant was more expensive than he thought, in addition to wages which was set too high because there were too many people, the value to the restaurant ingredients was also higher than he initially thought. Chapter 164 To See My Mother Happy 5 Even so in a few months, Jake had confidence that the restaurant could start to make a profit, of course taking the value of the initial investment that Jake invested to buy and renovate the restaurant and all things in it. Jake did not care about this because for him this investment was a gift to his mother, he never thought about getting that money back, Jake was excited too with the opening that would be in a few more days. While Jake prepared the last details for the opening of the restaurant Anna and Eva were busy training the staff to prepare the dishes of the menu, after all after the restaurant opened they would have to be prepared. Fortunately, the dishes on the menu were all very easy to make, the more complicated dishes were made by the more experienced cooks about Anna''s guidance, Eva was using everything she learned to guide other cooks and also oversees the cooks. Even Jake helped a little by giving some tips on the dishes he knew how to do very well, Jake also offered to help by trying the dishes that were prepared, as he did not have to worry about getting fat and also knew how to cook he was the best candidate to prove the dishes. So after a few more days, everything was ready, the restaurant was ready for opening and the dishes were perfect too, the opening day would be dinner time, after all, they could not serve Full English Breakfast to the guests. The advertisement in the paper was also a success, a pity that was too expensive to keep this advertisement, so Jake thought of only announcing a few times a year in the newspaper after all his main income would come from nearby hotels that did not even read the newspaper. When the opening day came, it was Jake who had to attend the guests, since both Eva and Anna were the chefs in the kitchen and could not easily get out to greet the guests, moreover, Eva thought her son would do a great job as a host in the Opening. As it was in the evening all his friends could attend the opening of the restaurant, Eric was one of the first to appear, Jake invited him for being a friend and mainly for helping with the advertisement of the opening of the restaurant. Then came Joseph and Liza, Jake invited only Joseph, but he could not prevent his friend from bringing his girlfriend, then they charged Oliver and Matthew, then Emily appeared with her father, the last ones were Tiffany and Clara. In addition to the friends came many people who were known to their friends that Jake asked the contacts and the managers of the closest hotels, Jake wanted to make friends with these hotels so they would recommend the restaurant to their customers. After everyone arrived Eva left because she had to say a few words to everyone who came, after dinner, a cocktail would be made so that everyone could talk, but many would probably leave after dinner. "I want to thank everyone who came here today, it''s a dream that I''ve always had that is being carried out today, I want to thank my son Jake who prepared this restaurant for me and also my friend Anna who has been helping me all these years and is also helping me in this dream." "What I hope is that everyone who comes to this restaurant can leave satisfied with the dishes that are served here and everyone can share this happiness with me for many years, thank you." Everyone applauded Eve who went out quickly to the kitchen ashamed, she was wearing the chef''s uniform and not a dress like the last time, as that was the opening everyone was wearing dresses for women and suits for men, even Jake was in a suit. Afterwards, everyone dined very happy, several people were invited today and everyone had a favorite type of food, but as Eva''s restaurant had several types of dishes from several countries all were satisfied. As Jake and Anna expected the highlight of the dinner were the desserts and pasta that Julius prepared, many tried various kinds of desserts thanks to this, the highlight was the cakes that were made by Julius, everyone liked. Actually, almost everyone who was invited here did not expect much from the new restaurant after all everyone knew that this restaurant would serve Full English Breakfast and the value of the dishes was not too high, so people only came for education. But all the dishes were very good as in all restaurants and the desserts were the highlight of the restaurant so it looked like it had everything to be a successful restaurant, it was a pleasant surprise to everyone. After the dinner was over everyone was very happy, Anna and Eva left the kitchen and switched to the dresses they had prepared for the cocktail after dinner and everyone praised the restaurant before leaving or staying for the cocktail. Jake, Anna, and Eva were very happy with the success that the restaurant had made, the one who had been most surprised by this was Emily who helped Jake to look for this place just over 6 months ago. She saw that Jake chose the place and prepared all things for retirement and even had the business proposal a few weeks after choosing the place, Emily even thought that Jake had done everything in a relaxed way as it was just to perform the dream of his mother and not to succeed. But today she realized that he had done everything correctly and was very successful at it, after that restaurant and the report on Jake''s investments that were making a lot of money, she was sure Jake would be very successful in the future. First Jake talked to the hotel managers, everyone was glad they were invited to the restaurant when Jake raised the issue of the customers the managers said they would certainly recommend the restaurant to hotel customers. In fact, as the hotels did not have that kind of service and even those who did not like the customers, the hotel owners themselves advised the hotel to recommend it to customers where they could eat. The problem was that the managers had no place to recommend to customers, the few restaurants that offered such service served only the continental breakfast which was the same as some hotels. But the customers were not satisfied with that, not to mention that these restaurants charged a lot for it, now the managers finally had a place they could recommend with confidence after all these desserts would do until the managers of the hotels wanted to eat breakfast here. This could be good for hotels that could get more customers in a few years who like the food of the restaurant, after all in a survey they made many customers did not come back because they did not have a good service with meals. After the managers left Jake greeted Tiffany and Clara who were chatting happily with Eva and Anna, so Jake took the opportunity to talk to Oliver and Matthew who were alone in that cocktail party. "Why are you alone here?" "There are not many people we know here, besides, we''re not alone because we have the company of each other, are not we?" "You''re right, we were waiting to talk to you before you left, I''m sorry for Joseph, he had to leave after dinner because his boring girlfriend dragged him away." "Do not talk like that, Liza is a good girl for Joseph, so was my wife and mother, was not she? It is the destiny of the men of our family to be sent by women." "That''s true, but I did not say Liza was a bad girl, she''s just boring, there''s no way you could compare her to your mother to your wife, those were real women." "She''s still very young and so it is, I''m sure she can be a great woman in the future." Jake was only watching the two of them talking to themselves and leaving him out of the conversation, he could not speak ill of Liza because she was his friend''s girlfriend and he hoped that Joseph would leave because of her, that''s why he did not invite Liza, so Joseph deserved to leave. It seemed the two had gotten much closer after they discovered that Matthew''s company might have failed if they did not switch to digital cameras, after which Oliver began to help the company a little more and leave his law firm with his employees. "How''s business going now, Matthew?" "It''s doing very well thanks to you, we''ve finally been able to develop our own digital camera, it did not take long because many companies in Japan were already developing this technology." "Now I''m only afraid that integrating this technology into our camera models and we can start selling, we have to make the public aware that our company is changing the first products and then we will have more time to improve our products." "I think you''re right to do that Matthew, even if the first digital camera does not have a very good quality you have to show that your company is developing, the important thing is for you to improve your products when computer companies develop USB on computers." "It will be at this time that digital camera sales are going to increase a lot, you need to be one of the first companies to be in this market, so your company will always be in the public''s memory." "Also, do not forget that you have to try to develop this technology to put on cell phones or computers too, if you get some technological patents and some contracts with cellular companies your company will earn billions." Matthew trusted Jake''s vision was developing this technology, almost all of the company''s profits were going to the development of technology and products for this, after making the public know your brand will make them earn much more in the future. After these cameras began to make more success Matthew was thinking of giving some reward to Jake, after all, he was helping the company a lot without gaining anything. Chapter 165 To See My Mother Happy 6 Matthew knew that if what Jake said was done he could earn billions with some contracts with cell phone companies or computers as well as with technology patents after all anyone using a technology they developed would have to make a profit share for Matthew''s company in the future. For a $ 320 million company that was close to failing to earn a few billion in the future would be all merit of Jake, so it was together to give a reward, Matthew would have to decide whether it would be cash or stock company. After all, if he took Jake shares even if he was worth hundreds of millions in the future, he would also encourage Jake to give more councils like this to the company so they could be market leaders after a few years. Matthew thought he could not hire Jake because he knew Jake wanted to be a pro at basketball, but just as Jake had an investment firm and also helped take care of his mother''s restaurant, if he had some company stock he could help Joseph in the future with some ideas. Matthew thought that if he had a granddaughter he would surely marry Jake to tie him to the family, but Jake is a friend of Joseph and with the company, the stock would already work, he felt he was right because that could also help Jake make more money. "When we''re finishing the camera for sale I''m going to call you to the company so that I can evaluate if the product is good, after all, you gave the idea." "You can count on me." Just as they said after talking to Jake, Oliver and Matthew left, after a while before Jake looked for more people to talk to Tiffany had left the other women to talk to him. "Hi Jake, I was very happy to see this restaurant you prepared for your mother, I''m sure she''s very happy about it, now you''re also a businessman like me and Clara." Few people knew that Jake had another company that worked with investments, nor did Anna and Eva know about it so it was normal for Tiffany to think it was Jake''s first venture. As well as Tiffany and Clara no one else knew Jake was planning to run a marathon, Eva knew Jake was training for it, but she knew Jake always liked to run and did not think his son was serious about taking it seriously. Jake apprehended in his past life that dealing with other people was always better to be humble and try to hide as much as possible what he does, because sometimes even the closest people can end up feeling envious. Jake''s teammates, for example, did not know how much he got from sponsorship, in fact beyond the companies only Eva knew the value correctly, even Emily and the accounting firm did not know these things for sure. "It''s all from my mother and there is nothing of mine here right now, even though it''s very successful I do not want my mother''s money." "I know this, I was just playing with you, next year is going to be a busy year for all of us, your last year in high school and our companies will also start investing in new stores and factories, we want to grow in the market in the next years." "I''m happy for you, I hope your companies can continue to grow in the next few years." "I expect that too, we might have to do another television commercial for next year, I think your other sponsors will also do that, next year you''re going to be very busy." "It''s good to be busy, I rested a lot getting out of the team in those two years, now I do not want that to happen again, I''ll also start looking for marathon competitions later this year." "Are you really going to do this? We support you, but I think you''re going to end up wearing too much if you do so many things." "I want to enjoy trying before I go to university, I have a plan that needs me to run in a marathon to get it right." Jake had some plans for the next few years, he did not want to run just because he liked it if that was why he did not need to compete, but he had to train first to accomplish those things. The only marathon competitions he wanted to run were just at the end of the year, if he wanted to run in the next few months when he would be ready he would have to go to another country, and he did not plan to participate in many international marathon competitions. So he would have more time to train until the end of the year, Jake thought it would be easy with the help of the system, but even with the system helping it was difficult to improve in a few months, the more training time he was more certain he would have to win using the stamina bar. "How is Clara? Has her marriage situation improved? I see she''s better today." "Nothing improved, I think she gave up everything, almost ten years of marriage so without any interest of Robert left her with no hope that something would change." "The health of Robert''s father has worsened again and he''s getting more and more shameless with his lover, I think in the next two years if Robert''s father ends up dying, he''s going to separate from Clara." "I can not understand why Clara has not separated from him yet, this guy only makes her suffer for many years, Clara is so beautiful and still young, she can marry again soon, but if she takes too long in this toxic relationship it will only hurt her." "I agree with you, but Clara is very stubborn, as she had given her word that she would marry she does not think about separating until Robert has the initiative." After that Jake and Tiffany talked for a while longer and the cocktail ended, Jake said goodbye to Clara who seemed curious about what they were talking about so they closed the restaurant and left. The next day the restaurant would start functioning normally and they would never have time off again so if everything went right, after all how the restaurant would work with breakfast, lunch, and dinner they would have to open early and close late every day. The other day Jake went to the restaurant to help on the first day of normal operation, everything went very well and as there were many cooks helping each other when they had nothing to do at the moment. In the early days, they agreed that only Anna would run the kitchen and Eva would just watch and learn, then Eva would also do her duties as a chef when the restaurant was busier. It really was not a good idea to have two chefs in a restaurant, but everyone knew that Anna would have more authority and Eva would only help in the beginning, after a few years Eva would have as much authority as Anna in the kitchen. Since in the first few days they did not have many clients, Jake had the idea of ??inviting several restaurant staff to eat Full English Breakfast without any special conditions, the staff was very happy about it. After they had gone a few days the customers increased and Jake had to stop inviting the staff, the staff understood and were very grateful, and the most intelligent would always recommend Eva''s restaurant to hotel guests. After all they would not miss anything doing this and would not even hinder the hotel, in addition, they knew the food was truly delicious, especially the apples and desserts, after going to the restaurant as guests some who had the highest salaries even went back there as a customer because it was not expensive the Full English Breakfast. Hotel guests sometimes received the recommendation of the manager, the receptionist, and other hotel staff and went to the restaurant and enjoyed the service and even tipped thanks to the staff they were happier to recommend. So Jake''s simple business strategy worked, thanks to a little luck, a little intelligence, good restaurant food, and customers did not have many options. Guests at Full English Breakfast hotels also sometimes had lunch and dinner at the restaurant, at first Anna decided not to close the restaurant for reservations and serve the customers who would catch up. If it was the time of the mobile apps it could all be easier with the restaurant having good appraisals in food apps, but by that time that was the best way Jake could think. After another week of helping in the restaurant Jake left everything in Anna and Eva''s hands, he was sure that even though they had some difficulties, in the beginning, they would be able to. Jake had to go back to his training at school, he had to improve his body as fast as possible so that he could run at the end of the year, after all, he could not train like that when the most important basketball games are happening. Jake returned to training and ran another 40 km in a day in 160 minutes, he did not have many difficulties and so he thought he could move to the 50 kilometers, but the other day coach Mike called Jake to his office. Jake did not understand why he had been called, after all, though some players were training on the court the coach had dismissed the mandatory training team, so Jake had time to run. "Hi Jake, thanks for coming, sorry for interrupting your training." "Okay, coach, is there anything you want to call me here?" Jake was uncomfortable because sometimes the coach was very polite to him who was just a player, it was good that coach Mike did not do that when other players were around, otherwise, the situation could get weirder. What Jake did not know was that Coach Mike also did not like to do this, but he started doing this after receiving several notices and councils from the president of the school to treat Jake well, in addition, Coach Mike was very grateful to Jake for helping him to get a promotion. Chapter 166 The Last Year of High School 1 "I called you here to ask your opinion on something important." "My opinion? For what?" "In the games of this season of our team although we won, in the end, the team did not perform well, only you and Mark performed well in those games." "I was thinking for a long time what the reason was, I thought it was because the players depended too much on you, but that''s not true because a lot of teams do it and they do well." "I also wondered if it was because they were not good players, but you know as much as I do that this is not true, so I figured out that the problem is in our style of play." "When that team got together at Middle School I saw a lot of talented players who were great players, but they did not have time to train together and work on tactics, and you were very talented, so I chose this style of game that depended more on PG to make the plays." "It worked very well and despite the team having problems in the final and in some games because their teammates were very immature." "At high school this year even though the team had a lot of time together you and Harrison did not play for two years and that''s why I chose the same kind of game from that time." "But this time in addition to you, the whole team has difficulty making individual plays against stronger opponents and they fail to defend." "So for next year, I thought of making plays that use the whole team in the attack and thus try to avoid that all the attacks depend on individual plays, so after working well the play we can have many more points and fewer errors in the games." "In addition, there will be two players that I worked with them last year at Middle School who will be in that team next year, this year they were the highlights in the national championship that our school has won." "So next year they can be good reserves for the team and so gain experience for years to come." "I wanted to know what you think of it as captain and a top team player." Jake thought this might be a good idea, he had thought of it when he was playing in the space of his imaginary training, but he felt he needed a lot of training and networking to make that kind of play work. Even though he was losing control of the team''s plays he knew it would be best for the team, it seemed that it would be much harder for Jake to triple-double from now on, after all, he could do more than 10 assists easily because almost all the plays passed by. But with this system of attack rotation and passing it was difficult to do more than 10 assists and each period has only 8 minutes. As for new players if coach Mike said they would be good players should be true, as they would be the first year would not have as they hold, so it seemed a good idea to let them gain experience. So if some of the titular team players have a poor performance it would be replaced. Coach Mike was a bit tense as he waited for Jake''s response, he saw Jake frowning several times as he thought and thought Jake did not like the idea, usually, the coach does not need the player to get involved in those decisions. But Jake was different, he was the MVP of the national championship and the president was very fond of him, especially after he made that incredible record, this change in the way of playing will greatly affect Jake''s performance in the team, after all, he will not be the focus on the attack. Jake did not think the coach was asking for his permission, so Jake the coach was only reporting a decision that was already made, but as he saw the coach hoping he would say something he interrupted his thoughts to respond. "I think the coach is right with these changes, it will be better for my teammates and they will be better off making the points if they do not have to make individual plays every time." "But I thought all the players on the team have to work harder on mid-range shooting for this style of play to work, I think all my teammates including David miss out on those moves that should be easier." Jake thought he really was the best, after all, opposing teams would be prepared to face the Elite team and have a lot of advantage if they maintained the same predictable style of play, but the other players had to train a lot more. Coach Mike agreed that the other players needed to train more to make these plays work, it would not be so difficult because the former coach, despite being a bit crazy, was a good professional and already did this type of training in the time that he trained the team. So it seemed like everyone had to get together again to start training ahead of time, but Mike was sure everyone would be happy if they knew that this training was meant to correct training failures. After that Jake left, Coach Mike thought Jake did not need that extra training in 4 months like the rest of the team, one month was enough for Jake to go play with everyone and get on with the team. In addition, Coach Mike knew that Jake had training that he did in particular that made him so good, he knew that Jake was doing hourly races every day on the athletic fields, Coach Mike thought it was to increase stamina in the basketball and was happy to have such a dedicated team player. The other day Jake went on trying to run the 50km, it was much harder and different than trying to run the 10km in less time, so Jake put a time of 50 minutes for every 10km, even so, he could not do that on the first day. Jake stopped because the system warned that if he continued he would suffer an injury, so Jake immediately stopped and lay on the race track, Jake had run 46 km, was enough for a marathon, but with that time it was impossible for him to have any highlight. Even though Jake did not intend to give up, he knew he could get it if he kept trying, after resting for many minutes the system said he could walk back home now, Jake immediately felt a lot of pain in his legs after he started walking. It was a sharp pain and Jake started to even cold sweat, if the system had not warned he actually saw that he could have a serious injury to his legs, maybe it could even be a stretch in the muscle. Jake felt he was being too rushed to rely too much on the system, as the system said he could do the 50 km with his resistance statistic he only trained for less than 2 months and already wanted to try. Now Jake saw that even if it were possible not to say that it would be easy to do this, Jake came home and took another ice bath, the other day he did not train because he wanted to rest his body totally like it had not done a few months ago. So after two days off Jake returned to the training ground again, this time he felt that his legs felt much lighter and stronger, after warming he went to the 40 km again, he easily managed in 160 minutes. So Jake thought he could try to slow down, so he could train heavier without taking the risk of an injury, so the other day he tried to do 10km in 35 minutes, he managed to feel more exhausted and his legs aching again. But he was delighted to be able to run 40km in 140 minutes because that was much closer to the time of the marathon for the champions if he managed in a few months to make the 10km in 30 minutes he would have the time to try to win. But Jake knew this was impossible because his body could not handle it, he needed another 1 year or increase his stamina in some points and even then it was not guaranteed, which is why Jake had the stamina bar to win. After completing a week of training Jake knew that he could not improve in a few months, he did not feel any more pain in his legs but still felt exhausted. After Jake went home he had dinner with Eva who also arrived late from the restaurant and went to the room to think, even though he knew it was not easy it seemed like he had underestimated the marathon, this was normal Jake took 6 years of intensive training to play basketball at the high school level. This was only because he had the knowledge system of his past life, otherwise, he could be at Harrison''s level just maybe, Jake only thought he would more easily get the marathon because he had the stamina bar and also had high physical stats after the train for years in basketball. But now it seemed like it could take years for him to get it, yet he could not complain because he realized the difficulty of training that other athletes have to do for several years to accomplish this. "Fate, did not you say that I could run up to 50 km with my resistance statistic? Why do I feel like I can not do this?" [Actually, I''m more impressed than you, not with the fact that you can not run the 50 km, but rather that you got so far with your training and effort alone, even I was rooting for you.] Jake did not understand, did not he have to train? How could he win without training? He knew that his body could not handle it and so he decided to train before, but now it seems that he had done something wrong and the worst was that he did not even know what it was. Chapter 167 The Last Year of High School 2 "If they have something that you know I''m doing wrong, please let me know before Fate, you know how precious my time is now." [No, you did not do anything wrong, actually you did everything as it should be I accused you of stealing to win the marathon with my help and the stamina bar, but I do not think of it that way anymore, you really like to run and wants to win the medal with his own effort as well.] That was true, Jake really loved running and wanted to win the medal honestly, so he wanted to represent the United States and be proud to win a gold medal for him and the country. But Jake knew that this was impossible normally and so he wanted to take advantage of his physical statistics and the stamina bar to fulfill his dream, and after a few more years maybe win without the stamina bar. [I''ll explain better how it looks like you''ve forgotten, what''s the main reason you''re a basketball star at your age beyond your talent and training?] "Because of you, Fate, it was thanks to the system that I got it." [I mean, in addition, you''ve always had the system in this life and not even that you''re the best in all sports because you''re good at basketball specifically?] Jake paused to think a little, long ago, after he met the system 6 years ago but after thinking he finally remembered and understood what he was doing wrong. "The job, I forgot to ask for my third job." [That''s right, without your basketball player job I could help you very little in this, but now you develop your skills and statistics well and are improving a lot, even if you do not get new statistics with your third job, how it''s related sports will have skills that can help you.] [I wanted to say before that with your third job you could do the 50 km with your current resistance statistic, but after those months of intensive training you almost got through on your own, now with the third job and training that way you can get win at the end of the year, with the stamina bar clear.] "How long do you think I need to train to win on my own?" [Two years at least, if you could train like this it would always be possible in a little over a year, but since you have a lot of things to do I think it would be difficult to do in less than two years.] Jake was pleased to know he could get it in 2 years, even though he would be cheating a bit with the system, but Jake did not care about it, he remembered the system saying that everyone is born with advantages in life, no one is equal to life is not fair. In fact Jake had always watched the Olympics in his past life, even though he could not move his legs at times he dreamed of earning a medal in athletics, Jake knew he could win a gold medal in basketball in the future for the American team. But he always thought that the individual medal had a lot more value than a collective medal if he won in basketball people would remember the American basketball team but if he won by running alone if he would still represent the United States and still have his name remembered too. Thinking about it Jake remembered that once he read in a book that men always struggle for power, money, women, and recognition, Jake thought that was true, after almost dying once being a stranger he wanted to put his name on history once. "Fate, I want my third job to be Runner." [Well done, here are your new stats.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 16 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 1.87 m] [Weight: 85 Kg] [Force 31] [Agility 31] [Resistance 34] [Intelligence 58] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung D] [Iron Body C] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was very happy to get his third job, in fact, he had thought of it, but even though second job skills were very useful and even fraudulent he thought he would not have any useful skills for athletics, but now he saw that he thought very little about it. [You have only two techniques in this third job, but these two techniques would be very important to you, just as in basketball these two techniques are passive, so you will always be using them when running, but this time the system will be helping your develop and improve your body.] [Second Lung is a technique that works as the name says, it will be like you have a second lung, you will have much more energy in the races and you will not tire as fast as now if you reach the maximum rank of this skill, you had a second lung.] [All marathon runners have a similar technique, they learn over time how to control their breathing well and also how to keep pace to run longer than others is a kind of talent.] [Iron Body is similar to what you have in basketball, is a technique that prevents you from having an injury of any kind as you almost had to run another day, so your body will handle much more exercise than before and will get stronger fast.] [I do not think normal marathon athletes have a technique like this, but with the result of training for many years they do not have muscle injuries just for running for long distances.] [Just like I said with these two skills you can easily run 50 km without having any risk of having an injury and even without any training, but with the training you did you could get a lot more.] After hearing the explanation of the system Jake really understood how these skills could be useful to him in any race in athletics, he could use all the capacity of the muscles in his body without fear of getting any injury. When his speed increased much more he could even try to run a 100-meter race and use his top speed to win, after all, he would have no problem with his muscles. So Jake went to bed happy because his biggest problem was solved and he could run without getting hurt and had no more to take those ice baths. The other day he returned to the race course again, he decided to start with 10 km in 50 minutes and would try for the first time to do 50 km, after just over 4 hours he managed to do the 50 km, do 50 km in 250 minutes already made him very happy. But he still felt very tired and with some pains in his legs, Jake knew that while he did not reach the maximum rank of the skill he would not really have an Iron Body and could still feel pain or suffer an injury. But he did not need to worry too much about it anymore because he would not try to run more than 50 km anyway, so he did not have to be so worried about it, besides, he knew that the higher his stamina statistic was the better these skills. As Jake did not want to overload his body, he spent the rest of the seven days running at that same intensity, after 7 days of racing he did not even feel very tired at this distance, so he started running 10km in 45 minutes. After 50 km he was exhausted again and with some pains in his legs, this was normal after all he slowed his time in 25 minutes and made the 50 km in 225 minutes, it was already a much bigger load on his body, with that he felt that still could improve. That made Jake very happy, it seemed that with the third job he saved months of training that would take him to reach that level, of course, it was far from enough for him to win a marathon, but he knew it was a matter of time. After another week of training, he could already do the 50 km in 225 minutes without feeling too tired, but he could not continue training because he had to see if his mother needed anything in the restaurant. Even so in just over 3 months with 2 months of training, he had achieved what many could take years to do and Jake still did not have his body fully developed which harmed him to run, if he was 19 he could do in time competition already. So Jake understood why the system said he needed two more years, it was his training in those two years and also his final stage of growth before he became an adult, then he could really improve a lot. This was already the month that the vacation had begun Jake always made perfect grades in class and so did not have to worry about studying for the exams after the final grades came out Jake and Joseph was ready for his final year in high school. After the holidays Jake still vacationed his things normally, but all his classmates would have great changes in their schedules, even Joseph and Liza who had the best grades in their classes would have to stop meeting so much to have more time to study for the vestibular. When Jake remembered that this time was coming he was scared for a while and then calmed down with the help of the system, after all, it was at the time of the tests to enter the universities that Jake ended up suffering his first accident that almost ended his life. If he had gone back to the past without the system he would probably be locked up in these months of trial for fear of suffering this accident again, but the system ensured that this was impossible to happen again, it was easier for 3 meteors to fall on the ground at the same time for Jake to suffer this accident again. Chapter 168 The Last Year of High School 3 So Jake grew calmer, he thought it was really impossible, he could stay home that day to ensure and with the luck, he has it was impossible for that to happen again. Jake went back to his mother''s restaurant to see how she was doing, or if she needed help, but when she got there she realized there was already a line waiting for the restaurant to open for breakfast. Jake came early to make a surprise for his mother, after all, Eva left almost 5 am every day, after talking for a long time they ended up deciding to close the restaurant at 11 at night, so Eva ended up sleeping little every day, yet she was very happy. And Jake waited until she came home to dinner every night, of course it was he who prepared dinner, even so, Eva sometimes warned before that she would have to eat in the restaurant and he would eat alone, Jake thought it was important that he could eat a meal together with your mother so you do not get too far apart. Of course if it was necessary he could go to the restaurant to have dinner with Eva, but for now it was not necessary, the important thing for him was that Eva and Anna were happy, when Jake entered the restaurant he was almost stopped by Lola who did not expect no one came in at that hour. But Lola realized it was Jake''s son and who set up this restaurant and she sighed relieved that she had not stopped him, Lola had seen Jake a few times even though he had stayed in the restaurant to help for more than a week, that was because Jake would always leave to settle some matter or stay in the office all day. When Lola heard from her father that Jake was a basketball player she immediately thought he was like the Mexican boys who spent all day playing on the community courts, these guys always played with her and some were even criminals. So she was surprised when she saw that Jake did not look like anything to these guys despite being the same age, he looked more like one of those lawyers or businessmen she always saw in movies. Lola got an even better impression of Jake when he learned that he was the best student in his school and that he who opened this restaurant to fulfill his mother''s dream had heard this by talking to Anna who liked to talk about Jake more than that Eve was his mother. "Hi Lola, how are you?" "It''s all right, Mr. Jake." "You do not have to call me that, I''m going to be uncomfortable as I''m younger than you, call me Jake like everyone else, how''s the restaurant?" "It''s going very well, we have plenty of reservations for lunch and dinner and breakfast always has a queue just like today." Lola was very happy that Jake remembered her name even though they had only seen each other a few times, moreover, she was relieved Jake was not being too arrogant as some restaurant customer was. "I''m glad the restaurant is doing very well, I think it''s all thanks to your dad who makes delicious desserts." "Thanks, but I think it''s because Anna and her mother take good care of this restaurant as well as customers and employees." "It''s also because of you Lola, I heard from my mother that many clients like your sympathy and education in care, everyone is doing a great job, I''m going to speak to my mother now, bye." Lola was very happy with the compliment, she would work harder and happier today because of it. When Jake entered the kitchen after putting a burrow in his hair he saw that almost all dishes were ready, Anna was talking to Eva who was preparing several waffles that were the way Jake liked and always ate to remember his mother in his past life. "Hi Jake how surprised, I did not know you had come today, come to eat something." "I saw it to surprise you and my mom, I want some of those waffles later." "I thought you''d want something that Julius did like everyone else coming in the restaurant right now, that line that''s out there is because of his food." "You do not know Anna, Jake''s favorite food at breakfast is my waffles, he would not choose another food." "My mom''s right, I think it''s a great idea for you to personally make these waffles, Mom." "I told you, Anna, I had to make those waffles." "It''s okay to do it." Jake had not understood, but it seems Anna wanted Eva to let other people make the waffles because they were too busy to make several plates, but Eva insisted that at least she wanted to do it herself. After Jake ate he could see that really many people were coming to Full English Breakfast, it seemed like it was really a hit and the right thing to do, Anna even had a good vision in the restaurant business and was right about capturing the market. But the greatest of luck was that all the hotels in the area recommended their restaurant, and all thanks to Julius, Jake recommended that his mother and Anna increase his salary for the next month and both agreed. A little was Jake''s luck that was helping Julius to work with them, but all this was because the service and food were very good, otherwise, people would not come back every day. Jake went to the office afterward and analyzed and cleared all the restaurant bills, Anna did it correctly and did not spend much more than necessary and Jake also told how much money they could spend after many calculations. So it seemed that from now on the restaurant could stand alone without him putting more money on his account, it showed the success of the restaurant, so he was thinking of handing all the restaurant bills to the accounting firm that his other company worked. This was a company that did not charge very high fees and was recommended by Oliver and praised by Emily, so Jake trusted them to organize the restaurant counts when Jake talked about it with Eva and Anna they agreed. Eva trusted everything Jake said and Anna had a private accountant in her last restaurant, but she knew it was better to trust a company of respect because sometimes the restaurant accountants stole all the money. Jake asked Emily to talk to them and Emily negotiated with the company, the company accepted the job and even made a discount on the service fee because it was a Jake business that already had more business with them, Jake was happy about it. After that Jake just needed to come to visit and no longer needed to clear the restaurant, Jake said goodbye to Lola at the exit and went home. The other day Jake continued his running training, he ran the 50km again and did it in 45 minutes again, seeing that everything was fine the other day he started running 10km in 40 minutes. So he finished the 50km with much difficulty doing 200 minutes, even being very tired he was happy to decrease the total time in another 25 minutes, but Jake realized that this was his limit again, he could lower in a few minutes but not could do the 50 km in 175 minutes. If he could do that he would be a lot closer to winning a marathon, but he did not have to be too worried about it, the main purpose of this training was to do more than the 45 kilometers to make sure that his body stood at a distance. Now he needed to keep trilling at that distance, and with that time, his body and his body statistics could increase further after a few more months, so for the rest of the training week, he continued doing the 50 km in 200 minutes. After Jake did once more a week of training doing every day 50 km in 200 minutes, Jake did not get too tired of it, but he knew his energy could not handle training faster than that. But Jake knew his muscles held out more than that, even if his muscles did not heal with a stamina bar, they still slowed down a lot and relied a lot on, so he could handle much heavier running. After running for several days with the third job the system told Jake about a feature he did not know, this feature was like a video game screen that was transparent in its upper right corner of his vision, this could only be activated in the training or racing competitions for safety reasons. This transparent screen showed Jake the speed he was running, the distance and the overall time of the race, and that would be a great help in training and races, but the system advised him to take the speed marker, so he would only be at a distance and time. This was because the system said that looking at speed did not help anything and only made him anxious, after all, he just had to know the distance and the time to see if it was going well, Jake agreed with the system and took the speed off the screen. With that, Jake could train with much calmer and he had the most exact time and did not have so much variation in the performance after another training Jake would return home, all his training in the next months would always be like this. It was so that he would strengthen his muscles and increase his stamina, after all when they were a few weeks away from the race he would train using the stamina bar in the middle of the marathon to see if his body could withstand increased speed and pressure on the body. Chapter 169 The Last Year of High School 4 While Jake was training every day his school friends were studying, even his teammates who had to train on their vacations the new style of play took a few days to study anyway, even the school could not give a scholarship at the university if their grades were too high bad. When Jake learned that his teammates were training in school for the new type of game he volunteered to train with them so the team could be more involved. After all, even though Jake did not need to do that as a captain, he needed to set the example for his teammates on how to do it, his teammates, as well as Coach Mike, hoped to easily accept training. After all, they knew it was because of them that the style of play had to be changed, Jake had no problem with these individual moves, on the contrary, Jake was much better at these 1-on-1 shots. After a day of training on the court coach Mike called Jake to talk privately, Jake did not know what was agreed more easily, his teammates thought it was just Jake who would quietly go to the coach''s office without any fear. "I was very happy that you have set aside your vacation to train here with the team, I know that you have even trained after here on the athletic field every day, it was really the right decision to have you as team captain, you give a great example Jake." "I''m also part of the team and it''s normal for me to train with all of them." "That''s right, I called you here Jake because even though this school tries to stop them all with you it''s impossible, we''ve got several calls from various scouts from various universities." "As an MVP last year in the national championship you have been the number one choice of almost all coaches who need a PG or SG in the team, so soon you would probably receive several invitations from universities across the country." Jake was happy to know that it was his mother''s dream that he should enter college, and he had decided to go to college, after all, after entering the NBA he would have to concentrate entirely on basketball. And even then maybe he could not play much in the early years if he came into the NBA now, after college he would be sure he would be a lot better in basketball, but Jake found it a bit odd that Coach Mike would get several college invitations. As if he had realized Jake was confused, Coach Mike explained everything that was going on. "Actually your case was really special, normally the scouts and coaches of college teams start talking to the players in the first or second year, and in the third and fourth years they make the offers." "In his first year in high school, several scouts and coaches of college teams were already watching you, after all, you had been the champion and MVP teams in the national middle school championship." "But they spoke to the Philips coach who spoke very badly of you and said that you would be out of the team all through high school so they all lost interest in you." "So all these recruiters were eyeing other high school players in those first two years, it was only in the third year that you started playing that they remembered you." "But these recruiters paid no attention to our team in the regional championship nor to the state championship in normal games." "It was only in the national championship that they started paying attention to our team, but even watching you play so well they had no interest in you what coach Philips talked about you at the time." "But they were very interested in Mark and then in other players of our team, with the passing of the games our team has always been winning and you have always been being the highlight of the team and eliminating several players they were watching." "It was after our team won the national championship and you were the MVP with a triple-double that they realized that the information that the Philips coach passed was fake and you were a great player." "But at that time all the coaches and scouts of the university teams also knew about you, so everyone talked to me and I gave you a good evaluation." "The school wanted to hold so that the colleges that we have partnerships could talk to you before, but it did not give more time, but it''s impossible for everyone to talk to you before and so everyone has already made proposals with full scholarships for you." "Even more when they learned that you had the best grades in one of the schools with one of the best teachers in the country, so you only have to call the coaches from the universities you have the most interest and choose a good one." Jake even found that his situation was very different from the other basketball players, after all, he had not been called by any recruiter before and now he was called by everyone, but it was good because he could choose the universities. He wanted to pick the ones he remembered that they had the best teams they could beat that he saw in his past life, so he would be on a winning team so he could also choose a team that had a weaker PG and was strong overall. But he would leave to think about it later, he said goodbye to the coach and returned to training, after training he went home, he wanted to tell his mother the good news, but she was in the restaurant and he was tired of the various training to wait for today. So he decided he would tell when he chose a university, he could not talk to these trainers now either because he still had to run a marathon so his plan worked out right. After a few months of training the Elite team was doing well with the new style of training, coach Mike thought it would be much harder for the team to change the playing style, but with Jake joining the training on vacation all It worked. Now it was only a few days before the beginning of the last year of school, everyone was still very worried about the grades, after all, if they could have a good university or did not depend on grades. Jake was the coolest with it all, he trained every day he could in the school training camp, after a few more months of training it was already very easy for him to do the 50 km in 200 minutes but he did not try to increase the training load. It was because he could not get too tired of this as he still had training for the basketball team, even though they had improved a lot since last year and even had new plays and tactics beyond the new style of the game. They still had to train a lot for the regional championship that would be in a month, this was because the two new players who were the middle school stars would join the team, they had to train to be good reserves for the team. Jake asked to leave the training in these last days of vacations because he wanted to see how was the restaurant of Eva and see if it could help in something. Eva had already grown accustomed to the restaurant routine and was less tired now, she was happy every day and was already starting to do her job better as a chef. Anna was also very happy these last few months, she could not even believe how she managed to get away from the environment she loved so much a few years ago, fortunately, she had Jake who brought her back to this life. She did not even remember that she said she would only help for a few months until Eva got used to the job and then left, Anna now wanted to work at this restaurant until the end of her life. Jake was also very happy that everything was going well with his mother, but he was a little sad because it was getting harder to meet his mother at home in the last few months, at first whenever he was not tired he waited until Eva Come back for dinner and talk. But after a few weeks, he realized that Eva always arrived tired at home and still had to stay at least 30 minutes to have dinner and talk and have dinner with Jake before taking a shower and sleeping. So thinking of his mother, Jake suggested that Eve dine in the restaurant and even set up a bathroom there so she and the staff could bathe there and get the home ready for bed. Eva denied the idea of ??the bathroom, but accepted that it was better to have dinner in the restaurant, so they were hardly in the house anymore, Jake would sometimes go to the restaurant, but it was difficult for him to go often. And Jake still had not bought a car for him and Eva always used the car, so Jake had to go to the restaurant by a car when he wanted to go. Jake was thinking about buying a car for him, but he wanted to save money to invest in more stock in a few months, but it seemed that having a car was important to him if Jake wanted to go somewhere in the future. When Jake arrived at the restaurant Lola was the one who received it again, she was very happy to see Jake again, after all, he could not come often in the restaurant and even when he came sometimes Lola was busy working and could not talk to him. "Hi Lola, how are you?" "Very well thank you, we''ve had a lot of work these past few months, have you come to see your mother?" "Yes, I also came to see you and the others were just starting my classes last year and with so many things I have to do I will not be able to come here many times." "That''s a shame." "What is a shame?" Chapter 170 The Last Year of High School 5 "It''s a shame you will not be able to come here to help after all you''ve been helping in the restaurant several times." "Oh, do not worry, if you guys have any problems you can call me, I''ll talk to my mom now bye." After Jake left Lola sighed with relief and was all ashamed when she heard that Jake could not come anymore because of the school she was very sad that she ended up talking out loud, after all, Jake could think that she likes him if Lola spoke the truth. Lola really liked Jake very much, he was different from the boys of the same age, he was handsome and took care of his mother very well, Lola did not think that a girl did not like him, but she knew that his family were only employees in this restaurant and Jake owned the restaurant. As they lived in different worlds she thought they could not be together, moreover, Eva was older than Jake and if he knew she liked him, she feared Jake thought it was out of interest. Eva and Jake took good care of her and her father, and they even praised her father''s salary, and she did not want the relationship to be strange. Jake, who did not know any of that, went to the restaurant kitchen, but although it was almost time to open he did not see his mother or Anna, so he went to ask Julius where they were. "Hi, Julius, how are you?" "I''m fine Jake, I''m very happy working in this restaurant and seeing that people like my food, I''m very grateful to all of you for giving me and my daughter an opportunity." "It''s us who thank you, it''s thanks to your desserts that this restaurant has been a success, do you know where my mother and Anna are?" "They went to the market, as they finished everything they had to do for breakfast they went to the market earlier to pick some lunch ingredients, but they come back before the restaurant opens for breakfast." So after Jake waited for a while they came from the market the work of a restaurant chef was not at all easy, when they saw that Jake had come they came quickly towards him, and Eva and then Anna gave him a hug. Eva could not spend so much time with Jake and felt a little bad about it, but Jake knew all this before opening this restaurant for her, and after a while, he would go to university and they could not see much of anyway. For Anna it was different, she saw Jake now more than before because he came to see Eva several times, so she was just happy. "What happened to Jake that you came in early today?" "I think I''m going to come every day for a few days, after all, I''m going to start classes last year and I will not be able to come so many times." "It''s true your classes will start in a few days, I''m sorry son for forgetting that, but I agreed with Anna that on the days that you have a game I do not come in the morning to make the food for you." "You do not need a mother, I''m glad to see you so motivated working here, I''m already big and I can do these things myself." "Not the least of this I have to do, and I''m going to watch your games in the final after you go to university I will not be able to go more, so I have to enjoy it now." So Jake laughed and accepted, he knew that his mother wanted to be present at these important times with him, and he was very happy about it, it was a pity that Anna could no longer go to any of his games. "Do you need me to help with anything?" "No, you can just keep looking, after we''ve started making reservations since last month, there''s no such mess anymore, and the staff has grown accustomed to running the restaurant and they do not make any more mistakes." Last month Anna decided she could not stand so many people lining up in front of the restaurant, at first she liked it because it meant the restaurant''s success, but then she even started to get customer complaints. At first, because this was not a classy restaurant and the prices were not high they decided to make a restaurant that had no reservation and that people could just come and eat but they did not expect the restaurant''s success. After a while, they even queued for dinner and lunch so they decided to make a reservation to see if it worked and it worked out very well. The difficult thing was to solve the problem of breakfast, in the end, Anna decided that they would give some reservations to the hotels that helped them quite at the beginning, the hotels were very happy with this and even paid in advance for the reserved places. So it was the hotels who decided who could go in for breakfast, and they put it in the hotel''s reservation packet as if it were their service when there were places, the hotel staff would reward them for the best work. So with all the places always reserved and with the accounting firm that Jake hired to organize the restaurant bills they had only to worry about preparing the restaurant''s dishes. So within a few months they had a successful restaurant and it worked very well, Jake was very pleased with that, every two years he would only have to use his skill of the second job Business Vision to know if the restaurant would be successful in the coming 3 years. After staying one day in the restaurant Jake who had nothing to help saw that could end up messing up and so decided he would come and stay only a few hours at dinner time and then leave. After all, he still had to train every day on the 50km track, he knew he was ready to run a marathon now after almost six months of training, but he still trained every day, even on rainy days he would run. The coach of the athletic team at the school heard that there was a basketball player who would come running every day on the athletics track, so the coaches thought he could give some tips, he was very good at training the 100 and 200 tests m. The coach knew that this was what Jake did because he did not bring any equipment, but he was shocked when one day he saw that Jake was running a marathon, not even the school trained any athlete for marathons and so he could not give any county. Even though this coach was impressed that this 16-year-old could run so much every day, as he did not count how many laps Jake gave the coach did not know that was 50 km or he would be even more shocked. Jake, who had nothing to do, remembered that he had to talk to Tiffany about the marathons, after all, it was she who had promised to help him sign up for a race, so Jake agreed to have lunch with her in Eva''s restaurant. After a few hours they met at the restaurant, Jake had a reservation at the restaurant at all times every day, if he did not wear it someday they would fit someone else. Jake thought this was a good idea now that the restaurant worked with reservations, and never a table would end empty even if it did, this was the good side of having a restaurant with the cheapest dishes, there are always people available at all schedules. "Hi Tiffany, sorry to call you like that at the last minute, we have not seen you in a few months." "No problem, I hired a representative to help me with some things in the company, in a few years I''ll put him as president to take care of things in the company, it''s horrible to have lots of money and not have time to take advantage, I was not born to stay in an office. " "But can not it cause trouble for you?" "No problem, this representative is someone of confidence that I work for a few years, in addition, my father and I still have most of the shares in the company, so he has to ask me for any decision he makes and I will make some deals like patronage with you." "If you think this is a good idea then it must be really, I called you here today because I want to participate in the Chicago marathon in October, I hope you can get a place for me." "So finally it''s going to be the first race, I''d recommend you start with a half marathon or a race with less visibility, the Chicago marathon is one of the main circuits, so the best runners in the world will be in it." "You said you''re going to compete to win, right? I do not think you have a chance in Chicago. " "I also thought about running in a less crowded marathon first, but I want to see if I can be in the Olympics next year, so I have to start with a race known for that." "If I can win in Chicago and then in New York, I think I''ll have the recognition to be able to compete for a place in the Olympics without any scandal." "Do you want to win in Chicago and New York? If you can do that, no one will doubt that you won the gold medal, but have you started training at least?" "Yes, I started training as soon as I finished the national championship final, now I''m prepared." Hearing this, Tiffany was impressed and agreed, if Jake had been training for 6 months he should know if he could win or not, at least to finish the test she was sure Jake could do. If Tiffany knew that Jake could run 50 miles every day she would not doubt him anymore. Chapter 171 The Last Year of High School 6 "So I''m going to sign you up for these two marathons, I hope you can really beat Jake, just so you do not mess up your basketball practice." "You can rest easy, these training helps even more because they increase my resistance, now I can easily play a whole game without tiring too much." Hearing that Tiffany had no more doubts, she knew that Jake should know what she was doing and would not be irresponsible, she wondered what it would be like if Jake could really win, she was sure Jake would be in the NBA in the future. So would a professional player who was also a professional runner, Tiffany had not noticed, but she was also confident that Jake could win the marathon. After that, the days passed quietly and classes finally started again, everyone was more focused on studies and even Jake stopped bringing his books to class. He had already learned to speak Japanese and had studied many economics books in all those years, now even he was tired of studying so much, in a year he would go to university and no one could complain when he took these books to class. After classes the first day he went to school, today would be the day the team would meet the two new players who came from Middle School, arriving there he saw that almost everyone had already arrived and after greeting his teammates he was waiting on the bleachers. After a while coach, Mike came along with Liza and two other guys, these two were almost 1, 70 m, they were very tall for those who were 14, they should be the two players that coach Mike spoke of. But Jake noticed that his teammates did not seem to know who these two players were, it seems that coach Mike seemed to be hiding this from the other players, after all, every year new players came from Middle School and did not have much opportunity to play. "Well, everybody pays attention here, these two are the new team players who came from Middle School, this one is Lucas Garcia, he plays like SF now, but he learned to play also as a PF, he changed his position because it was too a few years ago." "This other one is Nathan Roberts, he plays as SG and was our school''s MVP at the Middle School National Championship last year, they will be playing on our team this year and they have gone into some games depending on our players'' performance." Jake was calm but David and Harrison were nervous about it, they were training a lot to help the team more and now substitutes came to play in their positions, Carter was much calmer because Lucas was too small to play in his place. So they could finally train with everything for the regional championship that would be in a few weeks, Jake was also training in his imagination training, he plays in various positions and was improving his defense very much, after finishing the training one day the system came to give good news. [Congratulations Jake, all your skills have reached the S rank, so you can raise your level now, the important thing is to choose whether the next level will be the university or the NBA.] "It will be a university." [Okay so, so you can look at your stats whenever you want, I think it was a good idea for you to choose the college level because it''s lower than the NBA level, so you can get even better.] "I want to see my statistics now, Fate." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 16 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: College Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.87 m] [Weight: 85 Kg] [Force 31] [Agility 31] [Resistance 34] [Intelligence 58] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling B] [Body Control C] [Man to Man C] [Dribble B] [Layup B] [Set Shot A] [Block C] [Pass A] [Rebound C] [2 Points S] [3 Points S] [Free Throw SS] [Steal A] [Dunk D] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake saw his current skills and was surprised, after all, though he was much better off when he entered the high school from Middle School was still not much better, he never expected that his best skills would be classified as rank C and B. If so, he would have to admit that it would be very difficult to play in college, after all its abilities took almost a year to improve one level, which means that these skills would be much harder to improve. If he had moved to the NBA level it would be even worse for him, after all, it was obvious that the NBA was stronger than the university, seeing that Jake was thinking several things the system saw that it was better to explain correctly. [You must have been impressed that your skill ranks have dropped so much, but that''s why I have to explain you better when someone leaves high school and goes to the NBA that player there unless it''s a genius it takes two years or more to play at a normal level.] [So S skill rank is the maximum that an average player can average on the high school in cases of genius players is different because they get an SS rank like you which means that they have exceeded the maximum level of skill possible.] [At university it''s almost the same, but right there the geniuses cannot easily get the SS rank of skill, nor can you get that in various skills as you did now, that means most players have rank C or B skills at the University.] [Normal players can have up to D skill as is their dunk rank, but very much end the university and go to the NBA with skill rank B or A, few reach S rank, and the NBA is even harder to reach to the S rank of a skill, only the biggest stars at the top can do that.] [So you can understand that your skill rank has started to be compared to the pros now if you want to have an SS rank in a dunk in the NBA have to bury like Michael Jordan if you can get that you''ve already reached the level of a star.] So Jake understood why his skills were so low, if he got to the NBA even his shots from outside could not be rank S as more other skills, now he could just make the shot out quietly but in the NBA would always have a tall player to disrupt the pitch and the hit rate would drop a lot. Even though he was happy because he could see his improvements again seeing the ranks of skill increasing, when he was with the skills the S rank now he could boast of playing well in the NBA, in addition, Jake remembered that his skills would increase when he he was 19 years old. So the time passed quickly and soon came the day of the first regional championship game, this time the coach made a bold decision and decided to put Lucas and Nathan as holders as the games would be easier. Jake was certain that David and Harrison were not happy about it, but how these players needed to get experience in case they needed to get into national championship games was a necessary thing. Coach Mike could not do that in the state championship if it was not possible that they could not even reach the national championship, so now was their only chance. Jake woke up early for the game and saw his mother preparing breakfast, as usual, she had even taken a few hours off in the morning just to be with Jake a few hours before the game. Even if he did not say it, Jake was very happy that Eva did it for him, he ate it all happily and then went to the playground. When he arrived everyone had already arrived and seemed eager for the game, Jake saw that the opposing team seemed discouraged as if they had already given up trying to win this game, this was normal considering that the Elite team was 4 times the championship champion regional and state levels. And as the team was the same as last year with the addition of some players there was no way they were worse than last year, all five Elite team players were already talking to college teams. Everyone was guaranteed and reassured that they could join these teams, only Jake did not start talking to anyone because he was choosing the right universities to talk to, but he was the most assured of them all as he had already received the scholarship invitations from those universities. It was just agreeing and getting into a university, yet everyone was thrilled to be champions once again of the national championship, it would be Carter''s third trophy and either in high school and Jake''s second. But no one was counting the first year they could not play, Jake went to coach Mike who was going through the rush again, it was necessary because it was a new style of play with players that they were not so familiar with the team. After a few minutes Jake''s first game in high school began, even though it was a regional championship game he was a bit tense, Mark went up and won the ball possession for the Elite team. Jake passed the ball to Lucas who was already on the attacking block, Lucas received the ball and with freedom ran after the three-point line, the defense came to stop his advance and Lucas passed the ball to Carter who was freer in the internal area. Carter picked up the ball and then easily did the layup to score the first two Elite Team points in the game, the opposing team was lost in that play because when the Elite team made the points Jake who was the one who was putting the plays was coming in line three points still. So the opponents realized that the Elite team could have changed their style of play, otherwise it would be a problem for the other teams because they would have corrected the only flaw that the opposing teams could exploit. Chapter 172 New Game Style 1 The opposing team soon made an attack to equalize the game with a mid-range shot of the SF, Jake received the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, after passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Nathan. Nathan passed the ball to Lucas who had gained more confidence after the last play, Lucas pass by the opponent and went into the inner area and passed the ball to Mark, Mark received the ball and saw that the defense was already on him, so Mark passed the ball to Jake who was free and Jake made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. The opposing team also went for another attack, the team PG ran up close to the three-point line and passed the ball to the SF of his team, Lucas was firm from the defense and so the SF of the opposing team had to return the ball for the PG. So the PG of the opposing team passed the ball to the Center in the inner area, the Center that was well defended by Mark had to force the attack to make 2 more points to tie the game again. Jake grabbed the ball and began to organize another attack, this time he came before the three-point line and passed the ball to Nathan, Nathan quickly passed the ball to Carter, Carter returned the ball to Jake and Jake made the pass to Lucas who had gotten free with the move and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. And so continued the game in the first period, the Elite team had a 6-point advantage, Jake had 6 points and also made 2 assists, which scored most was Lucas who made 6 points in the first period. Nathan seemed to be more nervous in this debut game, but even so, he scored 4 points and made 2 assists, yet he could play better normally as the MVP team at Middle School. Coach Mike was pleased with the performance of the team in the first period, even though they did not have any three-pointers they still managed a 6-point lead, which is why they did not miss an opportunity to attack. The opposing team was also playing well this game, but they were having difficulties even when the defense of the Elite team was not too tight, so it was a good practice opportunity for the team. When the second period began the opposing team changed to a zone defense, after all, they did not achieve anything with an individual defense in the first period, so Jake went for the first attack of that period. He passed the ball to Lucas who had gotten rid of the defense to receive the pass, so Lucas passed the ball to Nathan who was free, this time Nathan did not hesitate and took advantage of the space to make the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team. The opposing team started another attack and was passing the ball as well as the Elite team, but they did not seem to have much intermingling and ended up missing one of the passes and the ball came out. So Jake received the ball in the return of the game, Jake advanced calmly and the opponent defense was very worried about Lucas and Nathan and left a space free for Jake that advanced without hesitate, thus Jake drive to the basket and finished the play with a dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. The opposing team seemed to be lost in the game and did not have a player to calm their teammates and lead the team into a reaction, so the second period ended with the Elite team leading by 14 points. Jake had 14 points and 5 assists in the game and managed 2 steals in that period, Nathan had 11 points in total and Lucas had 10 points in the game and so it was a great debut for them. In the second part of the game in the third period, David and Harrison would return to play the rest of the match, it could have been they who started, but the trained Mike wanted to give more confidence to Nathan and Lucas. Jake also had to admit that Nathan seemed to be on the same level as David and Lucas was already better than Harrison because he was good at defense too, so it looked like in another 1 year they would be the team''s highlights after Jake and the others left. It seemed that the Middle School team was also the favorite to win the national championship this year, so next year better players would join this team, these players came to the Elite team thanks to the former players who were twice champions of the national championship and the team of Jake and his teammates as well. This inspired new players showing that the Elite school was a great strength of youth basketball, even if it was not now before it would be with new talented players entering it showed that the strategy of the current president of the school was right. At the beginning of the third period, the opposing PG advanced to the court and passed the ball to the SF, but Harrison who wanted to show that he deserved the position was very strong in the defense and SF had to return the ball to the PG. The PG then tried to pass Jake with a dribble, but Jake followed closely on the defense, so with the time of possession of the ball finishing the PG passed to the SG of his team that made a jump and mid-range shot quickly to do more 2 points for the opposing team. Jake received the ball and passed it to David who advanced with the ball to the attacking block, David passed the ball to Mark who came to the back of the court, Mark passed to Jake who was in the line of three points, Jake passed the ball quickly for Harrison who was free open on the left, and Harrison made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. With David and Harrison coming in for the team they got more involved and the moves were easier, Harrison did not want to lose his starting position in his last year for Lucas, he thought that with that style of play he did not have any problems. make stitches. After all, Harrison''s biggest problem, David and Carter were that with the strongest opponents they could not make the individual plays and score, but with that style of play they would have more freedom sometimes and they could make the points. This was one of Mike''s goals for these changes, he wanted to give more pressure to David and Harrison that they were no longer the absolute starters and would have to play better if they wanted the starting position in the team and if they played poorly the coach I would not hesitate to remove them from the team. The opposing team began another play, the team PG passed the ball to the SF of the team that opened to receive, this SF pass by Harrison and found Carter on the cover, so SF had to turn the ball to the PG of his team. But Jake was following the move and managed to intercept the pass and steal the ball, this time Jake did not need to wait and run alone for the attack, the opponent''s defense could not chase and Jake went to do the layup and 2 more points for the Elite team. The game continued like this and soon ended with the Elite team winning by 26 points of difference, the opponent was not so sad because they expected defeat, Jake managed to do 31 points and 12 assists, plus 10 steals and made another triple Double, but it would be difficult to do against stronger opponents. This time Eric was no longer following the game because he had been sent to the NBA again, but he said he would follow some national championship games, Eric never doubted that Jake could win the national championship again. So the bleachers were a lot emptier for this game, Jake was thinking of going back and telling his mother about the win, but he remembered that Eva was in the restaurant now, he could not go to the restaurant after the game. So Mark who was the most sociable of the group suggested that all of them who played were going to a dinner to celebrate the victory and so they all accepted, it would be good to integrate Lucas and Nathan into the group now that they would all play together. So they went to dinner and everyone sat there and told Lucas to make the orders, but it was not to intimidate the newbie since it would be Jake who would pay the bill as the only richest on the team. As young people and athletes everyone ate very well, and as it would be Jake who would pay everyone asked for at least 3 burgers each and lots of fries with sodas for everyone, actually no one on the staff knew that Jake was rich now and so they thought he would be wasting much to pay for this meal. Soon everyone started talking about various situations that happened in their lives and then talked about things that happened in basketball, which was the best game or when they scored the most points. After a good time everyone was much closer Jake was the least of them, after a while they started talking about the future and universities. "Has anyone ever decided which university to enter?" "Not yet, we''re all talking to the coaches, I want to be the Center headliner for my team after a few years." "I do not mind playing in rotation, I know that my weak defense can end up disrupting the team." "It''s not always Harrison, it depends on the level of the university you''re going to enter, if it''s a weaker team, you''re going to want it for sure." "But I do not know if it''s worth it to stand on the bench of a champion team or be a starter on a weak team." Of all Carter and Harrison did not care to play as reserves and Mark and David wanted to be the owners of the team. Chapter 173 New Game Style 2 For Jake they did not even have to ask, it was obvious that he would fit into a strong team and would play as a starter in everyone''s mind after they asked more sensitive questions as if someone would become a pro. When they entered high school all they hoped was to play at university and stop playing after graduating, but after winning the national championship and being able to win for the second time some began to dream. Harrison and Carter had already decided to stop after college but David was still in doubt, he knew he could play well, so maybe after another five years when the university finished he had a chance to enter the NBA. Or he could even play professionally in other countries in Europe, the important thing was that he loved basketball and wanted to be professional, Mark always thought about stopping playing after finishing university. Before, he never doubted he would stop playing, but now he was 1.92 in height and still growing, and last year he had made great games and received invitations to chat with college coaches who were considered strong in basketball. So he began to think just like his friends that could become a pro, playing in the NBA did not seem difficult now, just like David he would leave to decide in a few more years, again no one even needed to hear from Jake to know that he could be a professional. After that everyone left and Jake got up to pay the bill, Lucas had stayed behind because he wanted to talk to Jake privately, after Jake paid and left Lucas came over to talk to him. "Hi, Lucas, what happened to you waiting for me here?" "I was a little embarrassed to speak in front of others, but I want you to know that I started playing after seeing you playing in the national high school championship final in your last year that you won." "Before I even played, but as I was very small I did not think I had a chance and I even thought about moving to another sport." "But I saw you playing very well and even being one of the smallest of the team, so I thought I might as well now I ended up growing up and I was lucky to start before I could play now." "Cool to know about this Lucas, I hope you keep playing well this way." "I''m going, I want our team to continue winning even after you graduate, and Nathan is also very much your fan, but he''s very shy and will not have the guts to say, I''m going to go bye." After hearing this Jake was very happy, it is good to know that new players started playing inspired by him, even more, players like Lucas and Nathan who were so skillful. The next day Jake asked Oliver to help him buy a new car and also get some cell phones for him, it was important to have this so he could talk to his mother even if the signal in town was not very good yet. Jake was still waiting for Emily to organize the reports on how his investments were going these last few years, Jake wanted to invest again, after all, that was when he could make more money. At that time the computers were still not much used, mainly because it was difficult to save and to show the recorded data, so Emily was still doing everything at hand in some reports. Jake was still doing his training almost every day at the school''s training grounds, as it was a little over a month before the Chicago marathon he would have to start preparing for the race. After a few months running 50km almost every day his body was much more prepared and his stamina had increased a bit too, so it was time to increase the intensity of training. First Jake started running 10km in 35 minutes, yet after the end of the training day he was not quite married even though he had run 50km in 175 minutes, so he went running 10km in 30 minutes which would be enough for him. he wins a race of less difficulty. But when he was about 38 km Jake started to tire and saw that he could not so he ate a bar of stamina and regained his energy as much as he relaxed his muscles a little, so he can run the 50 km in 150 minutes. With that time he could win the race and his muscles were not hurting after the race, Jake already hoped he could not run the 42.195 without eating the stamina bar, but he got quite close to it. Another 6 months of training and he could get, the problem was that he would have to run below the 130 minutes to be sure to win, if he could run in 125 minutes he would be sure of the win. Just as he would have to cheat this year and run eating the energy bar to win he could eat the stamina bar after the 35 km and in the last few km, he could increase the speed as he would be with the energy recovered. Jake tried to do it the other day and saw that it was possible, but he had to see it on the day because running on the road was different from running on a race track, there could be some climbs that would affect his pace. Even so now he was much more confident that he could do this, he felt he was much closer to his dream of getting a gold medal in the Olympics, after a few more months he could guarantee that his stamina and agility would increase further, which would make it easier to win than now. During the week Jake went back to the restaurant near dinner time, his mother and Anna congratulated him on winning the first regional championship game, Eva was not so anxious about the game because she was busy at the restaurant. In addition, this was already the fourth regional championship of Jake and he always won in the end, so until the national championship games Eva would be much quieter with the other games in the year, she did not know that Jake had already ordered a phone for him and for her so Eva could know the outcome of the games and other things. After seeing that things were okay again he continued his double training the week, he was training for both basketball and marathon, and both pieces of training helped him get stronger in both sports. In the training of the basketball team after that day everyone left together the whole group became much more united, yet three groups were naturally formed, Jake was more with Mark and Lucas and the three became much more friends. David got on well with Jake as well, but he was more into Harrison because his team-place spots were at risk, and Carter was more with Nathan, only Jake and Mark were everyone''s friends, the others had some disagreements between them at times. Lucas always wanted to learn something from Jake and was very excited and honest that he was the kind of people Jake liked to make friends with, so Jake did not mind teaching Lucas what he knew he could only do so well after hundreds of games of experience in the space of imagination training. Jake and Mark got much closer together after Jake started doing several training sessions with Mark, from training to play in the Center''s position and Alley-oop between several plays they trained together. A lot was said until Mark improved a lot last year by training longer than the others with Jake, Coach Mike was the one who was happier with all this, after all in this new style of game of the team they had to have enough entourage so that they did not have many turnovers in the plays. So after a few more days finally came the day of the second game of the Elite team in the regional championship, Jake woke up early and went down to eat breakfast prepared by Eva. After Jake left and went to the scene of the game, when he arrived there almost everyone had arrived as always, the coach was going through a few plays with Lucas and Nathan who would start playing today again. Jake went to talk a few more things with Mark while he waited for the beginning of the game, the opponents in this second regional championship game were the Flagami team, the players featured in this team were PG Ezra and SF Colton. Unlike the team in the first game, they did not seem to be willing to lose the game even against the Elite team, so after a few minutes the game began, Mark took possession of the ball to the Elite team. Jake received the ball and advanced calmly to the attack, when the Elite team was all in the attacking block Jake passed the ball to Nathan who was more open by the right, Nathan advanced until the opposing SG appeared in the defense. So Nathan passed the ball to Carter who went to the bottom of the court on the right of the attack to receive the ball, Carter received and already passed to Lucas who was in the Free Throw free area, so Lucas made the mid-range shot to make the 2 points for the Elite team. Today was Nathan and Lucas''s second game in high school and as they played in Middle School they were no longer nervous in today''s game, Ezra got the ball to start the first attack of the Flagami team. Ezra was keeping away from Jake who had an average of 10 steals per game and passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG tried to pass through Nathan, but Nathan kept the distance and defended tight, so the SG passed to Colton who stayed free to receive the ball. Before Lucas got to the defense Colton already made the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Flagami team and tie the game. Chapter 174 New Game Style 3 Lucas was annoyed at being careless in defense which allowed the play of the opposing team, but Jake who received the ball said it was well and started another move for the Elite team. Unlike the attack Ezra did not give space to Jake when he was in the defense, nevertheless, Jake that had a good dominion of the ball did not care and went to the attack while keeping a distance of Ezra, Jake passed the ball to Nathan before arriving in the line of three points. Nathan made the turn on his opponent and passed the ball to Carter who opened at the bottom of the court to receive the ball again, Carter passed the ball to Mark when the opposing PF came to defend, Mark who had more space in the inside area if pulled away from his defender and made a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Ezra started another attack for the Flagami team, Jake continued giving space for Ezra to advance, before reaching the three-point line Ezra passed the ball to Colton again, Lucas came to the defense but Colton passed the ball to the Flagami team PF. The PF got the ball and turned on Carter, Carter pressed the marking and managed to disrupt the attack, so the mid-range shot of the PF did not enter and Mark went up to take the rebound, Mark passed the ball to Jake that calmed the Elite team and went to the attack. Jake passed the ball to Lucas who with freedom advanced until after the line of three points, Colton came to the defense and Lucas passed the ball to Nathan who was free in the left corner of the court, Nathan tried the shot out at the bottom of the court and The ball did not come in this time either. This time Jake went up to take the rebound and passed the ball to Carter who was free to do the layup and 2 more points for the Elite team, Jake realized that the two teams were at a very fast pace in the first period which caused more mistakes in the attack. But now he could not control much of the pace of the game and so he just had to wait to see and do his best, coach Mike realized the same as Jake, but he could not change the style of play because of this, moreover, he trusted Jake and his players for victory. On the other side was what the coach of the opposing team was wanting to see for that game, as the Elite team was much stronger the best he could do was wait for the opponents to err more so they could have a chance. Ezra went for a new attack on the Flagami team, Jake was giving him space, but Ezra knew Jake was very good at defense and so he did not want to risk so he passed the ball to the SG of his team, freed from Nathan with a feint and made a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Flagami team. Jake started another attack for the Elite team, after passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Carter who was but behind in that move, Carter advanced with the ball and passed to Lucas who was on the left side of the court within the line of three points. Lucas saw Colton coming to the defense and passed the ball to Jake, Jake passed the ball to Carter who was free after all that rotation and Carter made the mid-range shot to make the 2 points for the Elite team. The game continued like this and the Elite team finished the first period winning by 2 points of difference, the two teams erred many attacks and made fewer points, but Jake and Carter disrupted the opposing players and so the Elite team got the advantage. Jake had 6 points and 3 assists as well as 1 steal in that first period and was the best player in the Elite team, Nathan and Lucas were also well and confident, but missed some important attacks, the team had fewer mistakes with Jake in charge of all but it was only against weaker teams. The second period began and Ezra started another attack, he advanced to the attack and passed the ball to the SG of his team, but Jake who was further away from Ezra leu comes to the play and intercepted the pass making a steal, so Jake did not run to the attacking block because they still had two Flagami team players on the way. With calm Jake advanced and then passed the ball to Nathan, Nathan with freedom advanced until after the line of three points and passed to Mark, Mark passed the ball to Lucas who was open from the right and Lucas made the mid-range shot doing another 2 points for the Elite team. Ezra advanced to the attack again, he passed the ball to Colton who opened wide to the left to escape Jake, so Lucas came behind and Colton pass by Lucas skillfully and made the shot out to make 3 more points for the Flagami team. The Flagami team was excited to be having a fiercer game against the Elite team who always won the games easily, yet they did not dare to underestimate their opponents, especially Jake, Carter, and Mark. Mark despite not appearing much in the game was totally nullifying the Center opponent in the defense and even made a block in that game, besides taking 4 rebounds in the first period of play. Jake grabbed the ball and advanced calmly to the attack, Ezra was doing a close defense of Jake, even if it did not give many results still jumbled Jake to make the moves, Jake passed the ball to Mark that left the inside area to receive the ball. Mark passed the ball to Nathan who was open from the right, Nathan tried to leave the opponent''s defense PG, but the opponent continued on up, so Nathan passed the ball to Jake, Jake advanced to the place where Mark was within the three-point line, Mark set the screen and disrupted Ezra, so Jake can make the mid-range shot to make two more points for the Elite team. This was one of the plays that Jake had trained a lot with Mark the pick-and-roll, it was difficult before because Mark was more in the internal area, but with this new style of play, it was a move that could happen more often. The Elite team was still ahead at the end of the second period with 6 points, Jake had 12 points and 6 assists in the game so far and got 3 steals, midway through the game the trained Mike put David and Harrison in place of Nathan and Lucas. Even though the two played less nervous today they still made a lot of mistakes in the attack but were very good in defense and so the Elite team had the advantage but coach Mike was happy to have this game as an example to teach some things for these new players. The third period was calmer for the Elite team, with Harrison and David entering the team got better in the attacks, in the defense they still managed to hold well and Jake moved more in the defense to seek to intercept more passes and get steals. Ezra who saw this did not like to be ignored and tried a shot from outside after getting the ball back from the SG of the team to make 3 points for the Flagami team, it was only the seventh point of Ezra who was always worried about Jake in defense , Jake also realized that the opponent was wanting to participate more in the game. Jake picked up the ball and went to arrange another attack, he passed the ball before reaching the middle of the court for David, David advanced calmly and passed the ball to Carter who was more open at the bottom of the court on the left side this time, when the PF was coming to defense Carter passed to Jake. Jake passed the line of three points and accelerated while Mark set the screen and Jake drive to the basket to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team. Ezra grabbed the ball and advanced to the attack, arriving before the three-point line he passed the ball to Colton, Colton had Harrison on defense and passed to the PF of the Flagami team, the PF passed back to Ezra who was free behind the line of three points. Ezra tried the shot from outside and Jake appeared to try the block, Ezra saw Jake coming up together and changed the trajectory of the shot at the last moment to avoid the block, but Jake still touched the ball lightly and the ball did not enter who took the rebound was Carter and passed the ball to Jake. Ezra was impressed by Jake''s speed of reaction to this move, yet he still had to attack if not his team had no chance to win with the Elite team not missing another attack. Jake advanced to the attack and passed the ball to David, David passed the ball to Harrison who took Colton from the play and went to the left side, Flagami team SG came to cover the move and Harrison returned the ball to Jake, Jake passed to David who was free at the bottom of the court on the right. David took the shot from outside and made three more points for the Elite team, so the Elite team continued like this and won by 18 points in the end, Jake made 30 points at the end of the game and made 12 assists plus 11 steals and managed another Triple Double. Jake would try to increase that record to the maximum he could, but with that style of play it would be harder with the stronger opponents, Jake felt that the teams this year were better, he did not know if it was only in the Miami area or the national championship It would be like this. Even so, the Elite team was stronger this year and also had reservations in case someone played a game badly, so he was confident in his team. Chapter 175 New Game Style 4 After a week Elite team won the third game of the regional championship, they won by 24 points and it was an easier game than the second, Jake made another Triple Double and already had a record of 19 in a row. He hoped he could keep it that way in the state championship at least, Lucas and Nathan played better this game and were getting the hang of high school play, Jake was sure they would do well after Jake and the others formed. The next day Jake went to the restaurant to tell Eva and Anna about the news, they were both very happy with it, only two games left for Jake to win the regional championship and go to the state championship. The restaurant was making a lot of success in those last weeks too, many people who came to visit the city of Miami stayed in the nearby hotels to be able to eat in the restaurant as well. Many returned to stay in the same hotels only to be able to in the restaurant again, the hotels that had the problem of customers not coming back again were the ones who were happier with it. The restaurant was also working well with all reservations booked, so there was no longer any improvement, after all, Eva and Anna said they would not like to increase the value of the dishes, so it just kept working the same way. Some gastronomic critics of the newspapers came to do a survey and ended up making compliments to the restaurant, after all, it was not a luxury restaurant so had only to have good food and good service to be commended. Julius was highly praised by critics saying that he could even work in restaurants with Michelin stars, but Julius did not want that stress in his life anymore and was happy with the restaurant. Jake asked Eva if she had an interest in creating branches for the restaurant in other cities or places and Eva said she was satisfied with only 1 restaurant but Anna said it was best to wait a few years before thinking about it. After all only the restaurant food was well known and the restaurant brand not so opening branches would not work for the time being. Jake agreed to this, he just suggested the branches because he had separated some places to buy when Emily did the research for him, but it looked like he would not have use for those places. The next day Oliver called Jake to his house, it seems that the things Jake asked for had arrived so Jake went to Oliver''s house, and the maid took Jake to the living room and not the office as usual. "Hi Oliver, thank you for solving this for me, I got used to asking things for you because before I could not buy anything by myself." "No problem, I have an office that can easily take care of these things for me, besides, it''s nice to have a lawyer take care of when they sign contracts, the salesmen get more honest." So Jake received three cell phones that were big and heavy as he remembered seeing in his past life, Jake had no cell phone of that type and only bought it when he had internet access on his cell phone. Jake received the numbers and stored everything correctly, he would give one of the cell phones to Anna beside him his mother''s, Jake saw that Oliver had taken advantage and bought some cell phones too, it was useful to be able to talk outside the home, especially for a lawyer like him. So Oliver handed the car keys and documents to Jake and they went out to see the car, Jake was very pleased, after all, it was just a popular car to be able to ride in the city, Jake thought to keep this car until they get the money invested actions. So he could buy a better car and even a new home for himself and his mother, after all, he would have to travel a lot in college and the NBA games and it would not even be worth having a home for him in those places. "I liked the car thank you very much, Oliver." "Stay here for a while, Jake, how''s your mother''s restaurant going?" It seemed that Oliver wanted to talk even as he asked as he placed his hand on Jake''s left shoulder and pushed it lightly as he walked into the garden where he had a table and chairs ready as well as some snacks. Jake who realized this was in no hurry to leave and went with Oliver to the garden while he smiled. "The restaurant is doing very well, better than I thought when I opened it if it was not a gift for my mother and investment I would certainly recover in a little more than a year, the restaurant already has the reserves full every day, I am happy for my mother." "Sounds good indeed, I''m going back there for dinner another day, I loved the dessert and found it interesting that it had several different dishes there, so I can eat Italian and French food at the same dinner." "I think things go well when they''re done well and willingly, my mother did not even research anything and just made the menu the way she wanted it now people liked it." "I know it was you who chose the place and reformed the restaurant, this was also very important in the success of the restaurant, if it were a bad place, none of that would be so successful." "Thanks for the compliment, how''s business going?" "It''s going well, my father is very excited about the new camera, next week I think he''ll call you to see the finished product if nothing goes wrong next month goes to our stores." "I''m happy to see that it''s working out, it''s now the company''s continuing to develop new technologies and in PD and I''m sure everyone is successful." "That and thanks to you too, Jake, my dad was disheartened by the company that had not been developing for years and was thinking of moving to Joseph to take advantage of retirement." "But Joseph is still very immature for business, he has to study a few more years before he knows how to guide this company, so the company could end up even going bankrupt without creating the digital camera." "Now my father is excited again with the company and so when Joseph takes over the company will be well again, and he will be prepared everything is working out." "But you do not seem to be excited about it Oliver, I realized you called me to talk to forget the problems maybe? You can tell me then what''s going on." "You''re very insightful for your age, you''re right I''m in trouble right now, you should know how I told you that I never liked very troublesome things, so I did not work with my father in the company." "I built my own law firm without much experience and I was lucky to succeed and hire qualified people, so I''m happy with my work." "But even though it does not seem like I care a lot about my family, Joseph and my father, that''s why I''m helping my father with the company now after you''ve said the company could go bankrupt." "After all, even though I did not like the company very much, I did not want to see what my father built for so many years disappearing, now my father is implicating Joseph these last days, and I''m worried about that." Jake thought it was nothing serious after all, he lunges with Joseph almost every day and his friend does not seem to be concerned about anything but studies now. But Jake knew Oliver was not the type to worry about anything, so he got more curious about it. "What''s going on between Matthew and Joseph? I talk to Joseph every day and he does not seem to be worried about anything but studies." "That''s because I asked my father not to tell Joseph about this until he entered a university so as not to interfere with his studies, my father is implying a lot with Liza to Joseph''s girlfriend." So Jake was surprised again because Matthew cared for Liza since Liza was good at school and from a wealthy family, it was hard to imagine why. "I can not understand this, I do not think I have any problems with Liza for without Joseph''s girlfriend." "I think so too, but my dad did not like her when he met her, he said that Liza''s personality was bad and she was not a good girl and could bring a lot of trouble for Joseph if they got married when Joseph took over." "So my father wanted Joseph to break up with Liza now, I tried to talk to him, but it looks like nothing can change his mind." After hearing this, Jake could not say anything more, because he thought Matthew was right in everything he said, just that Jake did not think it should decide if they could marry or not, after all, Jake knew that Joseph liked Liza and Liza really loved Joseph. Even if Liza could cause problems for Joseph in the future if she could not improve her personality as long as she loved and was good to Joseph, that was fine, but this was just Jake''s point of view and he did not think Matthew was wrong. So Jake could not give any useful counsel to Oliver that wanted the peace of the family, but Oliver did not seem to want to let Jake stay out of this situation. "What do you think about that Jake?" "I think if Joseph and Liza love each other they should get married if they wanted and be happy, but I do not think Matthew is wrong with what he said, only that our views are different." "That''s a shame, if you thought my father was wrong I''d ask you to talk to him to convince him, but I do not think we can do that, do you have any suggestions that might help with this?" Now Oliver left Jake in an uncomfortable position, after all, Jake did not like Liza, if she did not marry his friend Jake would be happy if Joseph was not sad about it, but now Oliver asked him to help them get away, it was difficult for Jake. Chapter 176 New Game Style 5 Yet he could not deny Oliver''s plea for help since Oliver had done so much for him over the years, so Jake tried to think sincerely about a way to help Liza get Matthew''s approval. In fact, Oliver asked Jake to help because he knew that if Jake told Matthew that Liza could be a good wife to Joseph, Matthew would take Jake''s opinion seriously and might even change his mind. But Jake could not do that because it would be a big lie that he would be telling, after all, he does not approve of Liza staying with his friend, he just does not intrude because he believes that when he has love, any relationship can work. "I think I have an idea that could work, but I do not think either Joseph or Liza and her family will like this idea." "You can talk, any attempt is welcome." "I think Liza could commit to going to some etiquette and social behavior classes and doing a few sessions with a psychologist, that could help her better develop her character and personality while she''s still young." Oliver was shocked by this suggestion of Jake, so he had said that no one would like this suggestion, but this was really feasible, after all, it was for the sake of Liza and Joseph and certainly could help her a lot to have a better personality and prove that she loves Joseph. Jake did not give this suggestion to offend Liza, he saw this once on television in an interview with a celebrity who was saying that she had a lousy personality when young not even the family could handle her but as the family was rich they tried this method and it worked out very well. After all, there are many reasons for a person''s personality to develop, but a person as a young person could change if they were properly led by professionals. After that, Oliver said he would think about it, after all, he could not just say that to Liza, she would surely be offended by it, but if it was done Matthew would surely approve of their relationship and even improve his opinion for Liza if she accepts this. Jake got his new car and went straight to school, he still had class and training today, after all soon the next Elite team game would happen, the pieces of training were going very well, with this new style of play they could have many more variations in the tactics and change several moves. Coach Mike wanted to use this new style of play to catch the strongest surprise teams in the games, but he had to make a lot of adjustments and the players had to get experience with this new style of play in the games. In addition, coach Mike had to put Lucas and Nathan to get experience in the games, he was counting on the two to lead the team from next year without Jake in the team the other players would have to play much better and not make mistakes to be the champions because there would be no more players to cover their mistakes. In addition to this training Jake was still going to the training ground to run every day, he kept the same intensity in training every day just to improve the body''s resistance, it ran 35 km to a 30 minutes average and every 10 km , then he ate a bar of stamina and increased the pace of running. So Jake''s stamina bars were decreasing in quantity almost every day, but he got one every 3 days of training, in those 5 years that he used very few he still had more than 400 bars of stamina saved, would give him training for a year quietly. The other week Jake would have to talk to Oliver about the new digital camera as Oliver had said, and it was time for Emily to report on the investments he had made in recent years. Jake could not wait for the internet and computers to be more like what he remembered so he could make his investments much more easily, yet it was good because he came from the future and knew what was going on in the economy. Jake woke up in the morning and went down to eat his breakfast that had been prepared by Eva, Jake liked that she did it for him and Jake also thought that so Eva could rest more. After all, she went out every day almost 5 in the morning and came back late at night, even though she did not seem tired because she was very happy and excited about the restaurant Eva would still have to be careful with her body. "You said the other day that you have new players on your team, how are they?" "Lucas is very cool and fun, besides, he said he was my fan and that''s why I like him more, Nathan is quieter, but he seems very cool too." "In addition, the two play very well and can lead the team to victory in the next few years, this year they only help the team as reserves." "But did not you say they were starters in the first games of that regional championship?" "That was because Coach Mike wanted to give them experience and also confidence coming into the team as headlines in the first year, but today that''s the semifinal they started as reserves and just got in the middle of the game maybe." Coach Mike certainly trusted David and Harrison a lot more than Lucas and Nathan for important games and with the change in team style David and Harrison will be much easier to score in the toughest games. Even if they have difficulty in defense if the team does not lose attacks we can already guarantee the advantage and victory as it is done before, Jake saw that his teammates were training a lot in every week mid-range shots so as not to miss many attacks. "I''ll go then mother, good work for you later." "Good luck in the game too, do not forget to call me to tell you about your win after the game, I have not even tried this phone yet, I want to hear good news from you." "You can count on me, Mother." After that Jake went to the scene of the game, getting there he was still one of the first because he had gone by car this time, everyone was coming and getting ready for the game. Soon the coach announced that David and Harrison would start playing as Jake thought it would be, Lucas and Nathan were sad but understood well the coach''s motives for it. The opposing team for this fourth regional championship game would be the Allapattah team, they had three players who had a greater prominence, the SG of the team that was called Levi, was fast and gave many assists besides doing well mid-range shots. The team''s SF was another outstanding player, his name was Joshua and he was fast and good with passes as well as Levi, but Joshua likes more than making individual plays and finishing the plays with dunks or layups. The third highlight was Center Aaron, Aaron was a player who despite his height was still a very fast player, so would be a good test for Mark''s defense, Allapattah''s PG was not very skillful and missed passes in All the games. So Jake could do well in this game, but with Levi and Joshua the Allapattah team had a style of play similar to the current Elite team, moreover, journalists said it was a shame because the Allapattah team could do well this year in the championship state and until they reach the national championship if they were not in the same region of the Elite team that wins for 4 consecutive years. After a while the game began, Mark went up to take possession of the ball to the Elite team, even if Aaron was fast to a Center he was still lower and lower in defensive techniques than Mark, so this would be an interesting dispute. Jake grabbed the ball and walked calmly into the attack while his teammates positioned themselves in the attack, David unclasped and Jake passed the ball to him, so David made a feint and passed by Levi and passed the ball to Carter who had been more open in the bottom right corner of the court. Carter saw that he had space and so did the mid-range shot to make the first two points of the Elite team, Carter was one of the most favored with this change of style of play, he trained quite a few mid-range shots and now could help the team in the attack. The Allapattah team''s PG received the ball and started the first attack for his team, he advanced and passed the ball to Levi before the middle of the court, Levi increased speed and quickly arrived before the line of three points, David approached in the defense keeping distance. So Levi passed the ball to Joshua who was more open when Harrison arrived for the defense Joshua passed the ball to the Allapattah team''s PG that was coming in the attack, Jake did not give space and approached to defend, so the PG passed the ball to Levi again. Levi managed to dribble in David and made the mid-range shot to make 2 points for his team and tie the game, Jake got the ball and started another attack, this time Jake passed the ball to Harrison who was more open on the left, Harrison stayed with the ball for a while and then passed to Carter who came to the left corner. The PF team Allapattah approached to defend and Carter passed the ball to Jake, Jake threw an aerial ball and Mark took the air to make the dunk and 2 more points to the Elite team, with that Alley-oop the fans started to cheer and morale Elite team increased. Jake knew that Mark would have a difficult match against Aaron and with this move Jake hoped Mark would have the confidence to make a good game. Chapter 177 New Game Style 6 Allapattah''s PG got the ball and started another attack for his team, he advanced with the ball and then passed the ball to Joshua, Jake still did not know if the PG of that team was really bad or if it was an opponent''s trick then at the beginning of the game he would continue to observe. Joshua followed with the ball and soon passed to the PF of his team, the PF received and Carter already approached to defend, so the PF did not delay with the ball and passed to Aaron, Aaron received the ball with back to Mark and made a finely before turning, Mark fell on the feint and so had to just watch Aaron doing the dunk and 2 more points for the Allapattah team. Just as Jake thought Aaron would be a difficult opponent for Mark to defend because of the difference in style of the game between them, so Jake got the ball and advanced to the attack, after advancing for a while he passed the ball to Harrison who had come back to receive the ball. Harrison made a feint and got rid of Joshua and went into the inside area, Harrison saw that he could not move further and passed the ball to David who was behind, so Harrison and Carter opened to receive the ball, David passed the ball in place where Harrison and Carter had left and Jake was there to receive the ball. Jake who was free advanced and made a slam dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team and for the joy of the fans, this was one of the moves that the Elite team started working after they changed the style of play. As Jake was no longer trapped having to arm the moves he could move more and get balls so free to make the points more easily, even though Jake could easily make the individual moves was good when he could get a ball when he was free to score. The PG received the ball and started another move for the Allapattah team, this time in the same way as in the other moves he passed the ball to Levi and was not until the attack quickly, Levi passed the ball to Aaron who quickly passed the ball to Joshua who was free behind the three-point line on the left side of their attack. So Joshua did not miss the opportunity and tried a shot from outside before Harrison arrived for the defense, so he made 3 more points for the Allapattah team, cheering the game up again. At the end of the first period, the Elite team was winning by 3 points difference because Jake got a steal and a shot out at the end of the first period, Jake had made 9 points and 3 assists and was again the team name in the first period. The problem in this Elite team game was not in the attack because they lost only two attacks and one of them was a 3-point shot from Jake that missed and Mark cannot take the rebound. The problem was that the Allapattah team''s attack was very good and the Elite team''s defense was failing to stop them, Mark was doing well in defense and Aaron had only 4 points but Levi and Joshua had 12 points in the first period, so it was difficult for David and Harrison to defend against them. At the beginning of the second period the Allapattah team''s PG started another attack, he passed the ball to Levi who advanced calmly in the attack, reaching the three-point line he passed the ball to Joshua. Joshua easily removed Harrison from the play and passed the ball to his team PF, the PF passed the ball quickly to the PG again, the PG passed to Aaron who turned quickly to layup, Mark tried the block and ended up making a foul in Aaron. Aaron hit both Free Throw attempts and scored 2 more points for the Allapattah team, but Mark was not dismayed by the foul because he thought he might end up stopping Aaron. Jake received the ball and started another play for the Elite team, he advanced to the attacking block and passed to David who was close, David advanced with the ball and passed to Carter who had opened the right to receive. Carter got rid of PF''s opponent and went to the inside area, advancing he saw that he could not continue and passed the ball to Harrison who was more open, Harrison made the mid-range shot and made 2 more points for the Elite team. David and Harrison were anxious to do well the attack moves as they knew they were not able to stop the opponents in the defense. The Allapattah team''s PG advanced with the ball to start another attack, he passed the ball to Levi who advanced for a while and passed the ball to his team''s PF, the PF passed to Joshua who was more open. Joshua received the ball and made a step back to make the shot outside and make 3 more points for the Allapattah team, even if Joshua liked to make individual plays he did not risk doing much because of Jake. At this point in the game Jake must have realized that the PG of the Allapattah team was not really a good player and so did not have the ball for a long time, so Jake must be waiting for a chance to steal the ball, so the players took more care in their moves. Jake grabbed the ball and started another attack on the Elite team, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Harrison who was more open on the left, Harrison passed the ball to Mark who had left the inside area. Mark passed the ball to David who was more open from the right and David passed the ball back to Jake who was behind the three-point line, Levi and Joshua who were making the move moved to try to steal the ball from Jake. Jake who saw this easily passed with a crossover by Levi and Mark set the screen for Jake to pass easily, Levi who was left behind and Joshua who was fumbled by Mark tried to recover in the move, but Jake passed to David who was in the bottom of the block right behind the three-point line. David shot the ball out and scored 3 points for the Elite team, David made far fewer attempts at shots from outside with this new style change, but he still took advantage of the opportunities he had to score. The Allapattah team''s PG picked up the ball and calmly started another attack, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Levi who was advancing to the attack, Levi passed the ball to Joshua, Harrison appeared to disrupt the attack and Joshua returned the ball to Levi. Levi made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Allapattah team, it was a point-to-point game that the Elite team was not accustomed to doing in regional league games, opponents were really good and could be in the national championship on another occasion. Jake got the ball and started another attack, he advanced to the court and passed the ball to Carter, Carter who was making a good game passed the ball to David who was on the right, David passed to Mark in the inner area. Mark tried to turn, but Aaron was quick and followed all of Mark''s moves in the attack, so Mark returned the ball to Jake who was out of the three-point line, Jake took the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team. What was supposed to be an exciting contest between the Center''s two teams ended with the two erased in the game, Mark could not get the attack because Aaron could follow all his moves, and Aaron could not attack because Mark had taken the right time on defense. Of course, this was because they had more attack options and did not have to force the moves otherwise it would be a much more exciting match. The Allapattah team''s PG advanced to another attack, he passed the ball to Levi before the middle of the court and Levi advanced to the right in the attacking court, Levi passed the ball to the PF of his team, the PF who could not Carter got the ball to Joshua. Joshua passed back to Allapattah''s PG, PG attempted to pass the ball to the PF again, but Jake anticipated the play and intercepted the pass making a steal, so Jake rushed forward to the attacking court. No one from the defense of the Allapattah team was able to keep up with Jake''s speed, so Jake went alone and only stopped after a dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team. At the end of the second period, the Elite team won by 9 points of advantage, even the Elite team did not miss many attacks and Jake got 3 more steals the Allapattah team managed to make some 3-point plays with Levi and Joshua shooting from outside to make the points. Jake already had 23 points in the game and 7 assists, plus 4 steals in the game, even though he was the only one had a highlight in the game, Mark and Carter managed to disrupt more of his opponents, even so, they did not have much advantage in a difficult game these. Nathan and Lucas were very excited to enter the third period and play the second half of the game, they were good at defense and could get in the way of the opposing team if Levi and Joshua scoreless, the game would be easier for the Elite team. David and Harrison knew they had a good game, but they had many defensive faults and so they could not help the team anymore in a game like this, even if they did not want to leave they knew that it would be best for the team of several ways. Chapter 178 New Game Style 7 Jake who saw this can not help but smile, it seemed that he was the only one who understood the thoughts of coach Mike, in a difficult game like these coach Mike would not risk changing two players of the team who were having a good game by two that came from the Middle School. Exactly as Jake thought coach Mike only spent a few plays with David and Harrison and neither thought to put Lucas and Nathan in the game, with all players besides Jake did not understand why. Coach Mike was worried that the team would become unstable with two players with less experience in a difficult game like this, even though Lucas and Nathan are even better at defense, their attacks may end up failing because of nervousness. If the Elite team was losing the coach could have to make the change to improve the defense of the team to try to win the game, but with the team winning was more difficult, after all the advantage was only increasing with the passing of the game. With that David and Harrison played more excited with the confidence of the coach and Lucas and Nathan had to understand that this was the coach''s decision and they were still new players who were already lucky to have the opportunity to play. At the beginning of the third period Allapattah Team PG started another attack for his team, he was the one with the most pressure on the team because besides not having the confidence of his teammates was still being defended by Jake who could steal the ball with any carelessness of it. The PG passed the ball to Joshua who was on the team''s attacking block, Joshua advanced and felt that Harrison was better in defense for that period, so he passed the ball to his team''s PF. The PF kept the ball while keeping the distance from Carter, so the PF passed the ball to Levi who was more open to the right, Levi passed the ball quickly before the defense came to Aaron. Aaron made a feint and moved away from Mark''s tight defense to make a mid-range shot and make 2 more points for the Allapattah team. Jake got the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, he advanced to the attacking field and passed the ball to Carter who was more open to the right, Carter made the feint and pass by the PF of the opposing team finished the move with a layup to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Carter was much more confident in his attacks after the team changed the style of play, many plays like this where the inside area is almost empty are perfect for Carter and Jake to try the individual play. The opposing team''s PG started another attack and after advancing for a while passed the ball to Levi, Levi advanced calmly and passed the ball to Joshua again, Joshua tried to get rid of Harrison. But Harrison was well on defense and Joshua tried to pass to his team''s PF instead of passing to his team''s PG who had lost the confidence of his teammates, but Jake hoped for it and intercepted the pass by making another steal in the game. Jake did not rush into the attack and passed the ball to David as he went into the attacking court, David passed the ball to Jake again and went to the right side of the court, so Jake passed the ball to Harrison who was free on the left. Harrison thought about trying the mid-range shot but did not try because he saw that Joshua was waiting for that, so Harrison passed the ball to Mark in the inside area, Mark who was well defended by Aaron passed the ball back to Jake. Jake passed the ball quickly to David who was free after Carter set the screen, David received the ball and made the step back to try the shot from outside and make 3 more points for the Elite team. By the end of the third period, the Elite team was winning by 15 points difference and had virtually guaranteed victory, Jake had 29 points and 12 assists throughout the game, during that time he passed the ball over to David and Harrison who were morally higher and so did not score so many points. Jake also had 8 steals now and was close to another Triple Double, he had been the main responsible for the team to increase the advantage by disrupting the opponent''s attack, so the Elite team had a bigger advantage. For the fourth period coach Mike placed Lucas and Nathan since the game was practically won for the Elite team, David and Harrison came out satisfied knowing they did their best in the game. For Nathan and Lucas who were coming in now would try their best to have coach Mike observe their skills and could trust them to enter a game like that in the future, Jake thought that was the right mindset if they wanted to join the team. Jake received the ball and started the attack in the fourth period, he advanced and passed the ball to Nathan before the middle of the court, Nathan who was in the mood to play well if they controlled and advanced calmly to the attack. Nathan passed the ball to Carter who was again open on the right to receive the ball, Carter passed the ball to Lucas who was on the left, Lucas pass by Joshua and advanced to the inside area and did a layup to make 2 more points for the team Elite. The Allapattah team''s PG advanced into the attack, he passed the ball to Levi who just as his teammates had not yet given up on the game, Levi advanced and soon felt that Nathan''s defense that had entered now was much better than David. So Levi passed the ball to the PF his team, the PF who also had difficulty the whole game with Carter in the defense passed the ball to the PG of his team, the PG quickly passed the ball to Joshua. Joshua felt a huge pressure coming from Lucas in the defense and felt that he could not pass for him, but the time of possession of the ball was ending so he tried a shot of mid-range with Lucas pressing. As Joshua was already tired in the fourth period of play and with pressure from Lucas defense he ended up missing the mid-range shot, Jake went up to get the rebound as Mark and Aaron were getting in the way. So Jake advanced calmly to arrange another attack for the Elite team, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Lucas who was more open on the left, Lucas held the ball for a while and passed to Carter who was on the right. Carter grabbed the ball a little and passed Jake who was off the three-point line, Jake quickly passed the ball to Nathan who was free in the corner on the right side, Nathan received the ball and made a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Jake was working more on the plays with Lucas and Nathan to give more confidence to them in an important game like this and the two were not disappointing him, Jake could feel that Nathan was improving a lot with each game and getting used to the rhythm of the basketball in the high school. Jake could already see why he was the MVP of the Middle School National Championship last year, the opposing PG started another attack on the Allapattah team, he advanced for a while and passed the ball to Joshua on the right. Joshua held onto the ball for a while and tried to make a feint to fool Lucas who stood firm in defense, so Joshua passed the ball to the PF of his team, the PF kept the ball for a time and passed to Levi, Levi who did not managed to get rid of Nathan''s defense passed the ball to Aaron who turned well and did the layup using his body to protect the ball and got 2 more points for the Allapattah team. Nathan and Lucas were very good at defense, Nathan could be at Mark''s level if he did not consider the position in the team, as MVP of the national championship was normal that he knew how to defend well. But Lucas was even better than Nathan in the defense, Lucas was at a level that surpassed Carter when Carter was in his first year after all Lucas could also play as PF because of that. Seeing that the Allapattah team was struggling to attack using Levi and Joshua, so they had to bet on Aaron who was being better defended by Mark, but Aaron was getting more advantage in the game. Mark realized this and did not like it because he thought he was being underestimated, Jake got the ball and advanced for another attack, he reached the attack and passed the ball to Nathan who was more open on the right. Nathan passed the ball to Carter who was on the right too, Carter held the ball a little and then returned to Jake who was out of the line of three points, Jake received the ball and made a shot from outside with a set shot to make 3 more points for the Elite team. The PG of the opposing team began to organize another attack for the team Allapattah, after passing in the middle of the court he passed the ball to the PF of his team, PF held the ball a little and had to pass to Joshua on the right because Carter was arriving to defend. Joshua tried to make a pass to Lucas, but Lucas was firm in defense, so Joshua passed the ball back to Levi, Levi quickly passed the ball to Aaron in the inside area. Aaron made a turn and tried to dunk, but Mark who was paying attention in the move jumped in time to make the block and reject the attack of Aaron, this time he managed without a foul. Jake got the ball and saw that this was Mark''s way of telling Aaron and the Allapattah team that they would not let them do whatever they wanted with him on defense. Chapter 179 New Game Style 8 Jake grabbed the ball and waited for everyone to calm down after Mark''s block, so Jake went to the attack and passed the ball to Nathan, Nathan was quietly advancing until before the three-point line. Nathan made a pass to Lucas who was on the left, Lucas held the ball for a while and passed to Carter who was open on the right side of the attack, Carter weighed if he should make a single move but decided to pass the ball back to Jake. Jake got the ball and read well the move making a pass over, Mark took the ball in the air and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team, the cheer was lively with more this Alley-oop and well after Mark has made a block on the defense. With that move, the team morale Allapattah fell lower because they were even further behind on the scoreboard, so they lost the will to win as they knew it was no longer possible. After that, the game became much easier for the Elite team, so after a while, the game ended with the Elite team winning by 25 points, this was for sure the most difficult game they had. Perhaps neither the regional championship final that would be in the next game nor some state championship games were so difficult than this game, so Jake agreed that it was a shame that the Allapattah team was in the Miami area if they were in another state could even be in the national championship. Jake made 37 points in the game and had 16 assists, plus 11 steals, these numbers show how Jake struggled and played well in that game so Elite team could end up winning, he got another Triple Double to raise the record. After the end of the game, they greeted their opponents who made a great game and everyone began to pack their things to leave. Coach Mike was certainly the happiest after this game, this was a very difficult game that was not much pressure to have happened just in the regional championship semifinal, so the team had to see how effective this new style of play was. In addition, he can see the flaws that players had in this style against more difficult opponents as in this game, these flaws could now be corrected in the pieces of training between the games. Another good thing was that Coach Mike saw how good it is to have two reserves the time to come in and improve the team somehow and they had different characteristics from David and Harrison, so Coach Mike was very happy. Jake got ready to leave and did not forget to call his mother to tell him that he had won this game, Eva liked to use the phone and saw that it was much more practical after Jake got into his car and went home to rest. Over the next few days the Elite team was doing a lot of training to improve their flaws in the game, Jake was together as the captain because there was no mistake from him in the coach''s report, this was normal after all Jake played hundreds of times with this and other styles of playing in your imagination training space. Even though he listened carefully to all the tips and visions of the coach how to improve on those mistakes that the players made after the team made several training to correct these errors. Jake was still training after that on the athletic field, after just over a week of the regional championship final Jake would run in the Chicago marathon, so Jake asked Tiffany to notify the other sponsors about this event. Alan, who was the representative of the shaving company, said his company had never been interested in events like the marathon, but since Jake would run, and Jake is a company-sponsored athlete they asked for his brand to be put on the shirt Jake would run on the day of the marathon. While John, who was the representative of the energy drinks company, was very interested in this marathon, his company wanted to follow other brands in the tendency to sponsor various extreme sports and recognized sports like athletics and basketball among others. But even though the company is much bigger than the company of Tiffany and Clara they were still studying what would be the results of sponsoring Jake to see if it was worth investing in more sports. But since Jake was offering to do more of a sport for their company, he did not have John to deny, John actually even offered that his company would also put up marathon booths to give Jake water, so their brand might appear more. But as it was Tiffany''s company that it was more than fair that her company had exclusivity at least in this marathon, Jake also wanted that in consideration of Tiffany who was his friend. After all Jake was running this marathon to win, so Tiffany''s company could have been much more prominent if only they were supporting Jake in this race, Clara''s company would also have stood out because they were giving the clothes beyond the sneakers for the race. Jake went again with his 50km run, this time he would try again without using the stamina bar, so Jake ran at a speed of 30 minutes for every 10km, so he would have to finish in 150 minutes. With the canvas at the far right of Jake''s vision it was much easier for him to maintain a perfect running pace and not force his muscles, he easily passed the 35 km, but this time he did not eat any bar of stamina and kept running. Jake also passed the 38 km this time non-stop, so he continued and went through the 44 km before he could not take it anymore and fall from tired, but Jake was very happy about it because he finished the distance of a marathon and so he managed without the bar of stamina. [Congratulations Jake, I confess that I am very impressed with your willpower and effort to have managed to do this, even if you have the system, few could do what you do with so much will even having achieved so many things at such a young age.] "Thank you Fate, but I still have not got the 50 km, I know I''ll get it someday, and next year I have the confidence to finish the 50 km in 150 minutes without the help of the stamina bar." [I''m sure you can achieve this, but I think you''re forgetting something very important Jake, even though you''ve had that goal for you, you''ve actually forgotten the main purpose of it all.] "Main goal? Was it not to finish the 50 km without the stamina bar to strengthen my body and gain resistance to be sure to win the marathon?" [Yes, but that was the goal for the Olympics marathon that will be almost a year from now, your goal now should be to finish the Chicago, New York, and Boston marathon, but that goal was what you just got.] "What do you mean, Fate?" [You managed to run more than 44 km today in about 132 minutes, which means you made that time in about 2 hours and 12 minutes, but the marathon is only a little over 42 km.] [This means that you did more than the marathon in a time of 2 hours and 8 minutes without using the stamina bar, so you sure could get very close to winning the marathon with the best times and energy to spend yet.] [In addition, we can not forget that you still had a tiring class and did training of more than 2 hours with the basketball team, which means that when you started to run you were not even close in your best physical condition.] [So with you totally rested and more than two weeks of training I''m sure you can get used to doing this every day until marathon, missing 400 meters to the end of the race you will know by the system screen that marks the distance If you are still after someone in the race, you can even accelerate your speed for a while because you have the energy to run another 3 km.] Hearing what the system said Jake saw that it was true and that he would not have to cheat to win this Chicago marathon in just over two weeks, so he was very happy, it hurt his pride to know that he needed to steal to win the marathon. Jake always loved to run forever, so cheating to win was against everything Jake believed in his character, but Jake only wanted to do it this year because with much effort he was sure he could improve even more next year. Then Jake went home very happy with it, so he came home to rest, in fact, the system was the one who was most surprised by all this, the system was part of the destiny of the world, so all his predictions were almost perfect. But the only person who could go against the predictions of the system was Jake, the system predicted that Jake could get that time only next year if he trained with a lot of effort, at first the system had even been disappointed with Jake. Because Jake had suggested that he would use the stamina bar to win the marathon, so the system thought Jake would choose his third job and benefit from it and after a year of training in basketball himself Jake could win the marathon with the stamina bar. But over time the system realized that it was wrong and that Jake was just trying to save time using the stamina bar to win, in fact Jake trained a lot to be able to run a marathon without using the bar of stamina, but even so how depended on the resistance Jake''s raise and his own body was not an easy thing to do. Chapter 180 A Marathon to Enter History 1 So the system was forced to change its prediction again before it was a year of normal training and with the help of the third job and the stamina bar Jake could win a marathon. This went to in a year of extreme training as Jake was doing he could increase his stamina and with the help of the third job and without the stamina bar he could win with his own marathon effort. But Jake did not seem to be satisfied with that and managed to lessen that estimate in 4 months, the reason for this beyond Jake''s dedication every day in training was because Jake''s pride to always be honest made his potential mature faster. So his training was several times more effective and he managed to protect his pride, it was the same that happened when the Elite team was losing in the final minutes of the fourth period of the national championship final. In that game, his team was playing very badly and Jake had to try to take the team to victory alone, in that game Jake exceeded his limit several times and managed to lead the team to victory, this time Jake again broke his limits and managed to improve. After that Jake rested happily at home, even if Jake had a mentality of more than 40 years his body was still that of a teenager and Jake was always looking to do something new. He had to take responsibility indicating to Matthew''s company that they would go bankrupt if they did not switch to the digital camera, even though Jake knows the things of the future does not change the fact that trying to advise a company of more than 300 million to move to another product is difficult. Jake has also never ceased struggling every day in training his basketball skills; in addition, he has always taken on the responsibility of being the captain and main player of the team. Jake also had several sponsorship contracts that totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars all month, he had to play well and take care of his image so as not to harm these companies. Jake also had hundreds of thousands of dollars in investment which was very stressful, even knowing that this business is sure to work. Jake was now trying something much more difficult and important, which is to fulfill his dream of running in a competition, he had to train for months to get to that point. And Jake still had an even bigger goal that was to win several gold medals in the Olympics, he wanted to represent his country and hear the national anthem playing from the top of the podium. Jake was doing all of this at the age of 16 and would continue to try harder and more, just the goal of being the best basketball player in the NBA is already a goal that many have fought for a lifetime, and it is an honor for all life. After a few days Emily finally showed up with the reports Jake had requested, he knew it was difficult to do without the help of a computer, but Jake had asked Emily months ago so he hoped she had more than enough time to organize everything. As Jake looked at the reports that were more or less what he remembered the company''s growth in the stock market, Jake was afraid he might have influenced a bit about it, but it seemed that not. "It took me a while to get the reports because I''ve always been correcting the data with the stock market update." It seems she had noticed that Jake was a little dissatisfied with the delay, but that was not why Jake was really busy over the last few weeks, he wanted to have those reports to have the confidence to increase his investment. And in the stock market as soon as you made your investment more could give profits in a good phase as was the company Cisco in the stock market, Jake was very pleased also to see that he had the cash to receive dividends from the company stock. So he would have to invest less money from outside and could use his own stock yield, Jake had invested $ 250,000 in 1992, now in 1995 that figure had multiplied by 5, but that could not leave Jake happier. Because as he had no way to invest much in that time did not yield much profit, his actions which were money he did not move in 3 years was far less than he could win in a year of sponsorship. But if someone like Matthew or Tiffany and Clara had invested a few million would already have made a few million profits, but now Jake was also thinking of investing too much every year to have more in a few years. But Jake did not want to invest everything he had because he had other plans to make with the money, Jake had bought more than 6200 shares in 1992 with 250 thousand dollars, now he had 25 thousand shares I am worth a million and 250 thousand dollars. In those 3 years, he got almost 100 thousand dollars with dividends received for his actions, so he wanted to buy another 910 thousand dollars in shares that give more than 18 thousand shares, so he would have more than 43 thousand shares. Now he could use the dividend money to not have to spend all the money he had put together that year of sponsorship after buying the restaurant for Eva and also the car for him, now Jake still had close to $ 200,000 that would be used for other investment. So Jake told Emily to invest the $ 910,000 in stock and after she''d do it that she''d report everything to him, so Jake would have something else he wanted Emily to do in the next few weeks. Emily was very impressed with Jake because of these actions, after all, he was only thirteen when he made that first investment, even the great stock analysts thought that investing in tech companies was risky. Emily knew that Jake was investing everything he had and that his family was not rich and could risk losing that money if she were not just Jake''s assistant and lawyer in charge of making the investments she would have advised him to withdraw that amount investment while he had a profit. But time showed that she was wrong and stock values ??kept rising, so when Jake told her that she wanted to see the investment report of the past few years she thought Jake would sell his shares and stay with the profit. But Jake looked like he''d never thought of doing this and invested almost the value he''d invested before, a few weeks ago Emily had made a meeting with Oliver, Matthew, and his father and they talked about a lot of things. But one of the subjects that were most talked about was Jake, the four people were one of the few who knew that Jake had made that investment, at that meeting when she said that the actions had valued in 5 times Matthew and Emily''s father said they repented of not investing a few million. After all, they would have a 5 times valuation in the stock, but this time Jake was investing again and Emily was sure that her father and Matthew still would not have the courage to invest in these actions, now she had to see if Jake would be right again. After a few days if he spoke with Emily Jake passed in the restaurant to talk to his mother and Anna, the two congratulated Jake again for being in another regional championship final. Since they were always very busy and could not talk to Jake for long, Jake had come a few times a week in the restaurant so as not to bother the two in the restaurant, the business was going well as always with the always crowded reservations. So Jake talked to Lola for a while, but now it was dinner time, and everyone who had made reservations had already arrived so Lola as a receptionist was free for the time being. After talking for a while Jake went home to rest, it would soon be the game of the regional championship final, even if it should not be a game harder than the game the semifinal that opponents were at the level of the national championship, would still be a game with more pressure for being the final. The team was still training a lot to correct the mistakes in the style of game that happened in the last game, it was not much because the team managed to attack well in the game and did not waste many attacks which is important. As the game started to slip away, Mark and Carter were using their skill at pressing to successfully stifle the game. Jake tried to focus their attacks down the middle. However, Jake did not manage to connect with it, as his teammates had hoped, and the ball went out. So much so that when Nathan and Lucas entered the game Elite team defense had improved a lot and the opponents did not have much more space to attack, yet Coach Mike had more confidence in David and Harrison for important games like that. Jake agreed in parts with this, they managed to win last year with much more difficulties than that year, while Mark and Carter are playing well in defense and David and Harrison play well in the attack the team can be a winner as always. In addition, Nathan and Lucas were very skillful but they too were very young and so the coach was afraid that they could not withstand the pressure of playing in an important game, as reserves whenever the team needed they could play. With just a few days left for the regional championship final, Matthew called Jake saying he was going to go to the company, Jake had already been warned by Oliver and so knew that it should be the new digital camera that was being produced. So Jake was a bit nervous at the moment, after all, if the camera was bad the company would not be completely free of the risk of bankruptcy, Jake went to Matthew''s company expecting the first digital camera to be a success. Chapter 181 A Marathon to Enter History 2 Jake came into the company a little nervous still, but he calmed down when he saw that Matthew, Oliver, and the employee assigned to create the camera were quiet. Jake thought they were in this camera business a lot longer than he knew about cameras after all Jake did not know much about it, after all, Jake''s family never had much money in his past life. When digital cameras were starting to become popular it was when Jake had suffered the accident and only Eva was the one who was working at the restaurant and bringing little money home. When Jake started working again and they had more money the era of digital cameras had already passed and it was more common to buy a camera phone, so Jake had some cameras, but these had a much higher technology that was available in the year 1995 and even Jake did not know much about these cameras he had. That was how Jake was giving his opinion to an airplane, the only thing he could say was that he had to fly, but how to make the plane fly he did not know, so he suggested that Matthew hire people who understand the technology or who were already working on similar technologies. "Thank you for coming when I called Jake, the digital camera that will go to the stores in the next few weeks is ready, so I wanted you to see how it was and give your opinion." "No problem, Matthew, as it was I myself who suggested this nothing more just than I take responsibility and help whenever I can about it." After this Jake received the digital camera from the hand of the official who was responsible for creating this camera, Jake saw that this camera already had a small screen where it was possible to see the correct position that the photo would be taken. Jake could also see that this camera had no zoom and the quality of the photos did not seem to be very good, besides, he did not know what kind of storage the camera was using, but it was not a memory card and could save a few photos. Even so, Jake could not say for sure if this camera was good or not for the current technology, the storage system was a problem that all cameras faced before the arrival of the USB cable. And even after that, the storage of a computer was not very good at that time, so it was a problem for the digital cameras, if they increase the quality of the resolution of the photos, even more, the number of photos that could be stored would decrease. So Jake returned the camera to the clerk and asked to speak with Matthew and Oliver in private, he would not say he did not like the camera right in front of the employee who had the job of developing the camera. Matthew seemed to have understood what Jake wanted and took him to his office in the company, the employee seemed to want to hear what Jake said and was disappointed not to hear Jake''s opinions. "Matthew as you may know I do not know much about digital cameras, but I think the quality of the pictures is very low, moreover, it has no zoom system for the camera, in addition to the quality of the pictures being too low cannot store many Photos." "Where is the memory card system that I said I needed this camera is also very large, how much will this digital camera cost?" "It will cost around a thousand dollars, let''s see how it goes before improving technology, in addition, storage and with the floppy." "One thousand dollars? That''s too expensive Matthew, we have to improve this price, what quality of the photos and how many photos can save the camera?" "It''s 0.8 megapixels, we''re looking at ways to improve that." "That''s too bad, Matthew, we''ve got a lot to improve on, so you''re not going to get a place in the digital marketplace." In fact, it was that Jake''s knowledge about digital cameras came from the future that he was asking a lot of Matthew''s company, after all the reason why many companies that made film cameras go bankrupt was not out of lack of will. It is much more expensive to develop technology and create something new than just following behind big companies, Matthew himself had spent millions developing to be able to create this digital camera. That''s the biggest reason many companies went bankrupt, it was too expensive to get into that market and few expected the movie camera market to end up failing so they missed the opportunity, Matthew trusted Jake and his company had the capital to take the risk. As Matthew further invested in the company he discovered that this was really the future and now could be his chance to take his company to the world stage together with the big companies of digital cameras. In addition, Matthew saw that the most expensive is to create the basis in the digital market, then the values ??fall far more to develop these new technologies. And the digital camera from Matthew''s company could be considered good for the time, Matthew''s camera has 0.8 megapixels of quality and the biggest companies have only 1.3 megapixels, in addition, color cameras with values ??of less than thousand dollars were starting and developing in the market. And these leading companies in the market have invested hundreds of millions to create this camera, and Matthew has not even reached 10 million in investments, and much of that money has been selling some machines that would not be used to make digital cameras. All this was because Jake had said that the way that Matthew''s company had to follow, with a goal in front they did not waste time not knowing what to do so Matthew''s company keep up with market-leading companies. This first digital camera would be sold on the market just to spread the company name and remind the consumer of the company brand, not to mention that Matthew''s company was one of the only ones on the market that was from the United States, so consumers would choose a domestic company than an outside company. "Jake, this is the best our company can do today, that''s because I do not have the money to invest in new technologies before selling this camera after I get the profits I can continue to invest." What Matthew said was true, he put that price because it was the same thing the competing companies were doing, but to make those cameras cost only $ 600, so he could have almost $ 400 profit from every sale of that digital camera. Of course, if Matthew put the value he invested in camera technology he could make a lot less profit, so he would have to wait for the profits to be able to invest more. "The USB technology you''re talking about is about to be finalized next year, and besides, I heard that it was only in 1998 that the first computers were fully adopting this technology, we have time to be one of the first to develop that." "I''m already getting in touch with some companies that are developing the memory card, so our next camera may already have these two technologies, we''ll also try to improve the quality of the photos and zoom in on the next camera." That''s right while pitching a product to Matthew''s company already knew what to do for the next model of the digital camera, that way they saved time and money on it, so Matthew was thinking of giving a company share to Jake. "So fine, I just want your business to succeed, Matthew, do not forget to try to develop the technology so you can put the camera lens on a mobile device and on the computer, so you can even take the initiative to ask for a contract with the big companies." Jake remembered to hear since around 2000 the first camera phones were created, so Matthew was less than 5 years old to develop this technology, this was the future of digital cameras. If Jake told this to SONY they would not only develop the technology and they might even be the ones developing the first camera phone before 2000, so Jake was giving Matthew a chance at life. "Try also to make a bigger screen for the digital camera, it is better if it is a liquid crystal, this could increase the prominence of your company." So having said all he needed, Jake left, he realized that Oliver was there just to keep Matthew from talking to Jake about Liza and Joseph, Jake did not want to get involved in it either, so he left quickly. Jake was very curious to know how much Matthew''s company could get out of money from the sales of this new digital camera, but since this was not his business, Jake decided not to get involved unless Matthew wanted his help. After all, Jake had a lot of new ideas for investments, but he had to tell Emily everything before. After all, it would not do any good for him to have an assistant and not work with her when he needed something. As a few more days went by and the day of the regional championship finale arrived, Jake woke up early in the morning and ate breakfast for his mother, Eva was happy to make breakfast for Jake on game days. After all, living with Jake in the same house had seen him very little in the last few months, so she felt better doing her job as a mother doing at least Jake''s breakfast on the day of the game. After Jake packed his things and went to the scene, it was the first time Eva would not be in the stands in a final game, it made Jake a little sad even though Eva was very happy with the restaurant. Eric also was not in the stands for this game, so Jake could not see anyone he knew, after all, Tiffany and Clara were busy with their companies and did not have to attend a regional championship final. His other sponsors also did not send anyone to see the outcome of this game, even if Jake should be happy that these people trusted him, it was better than he had someone cheering for him. Chapter 182 A Marathon to Enter History 3 Jake saw that everyone had already arrived and Coach Mike was passing some instructions to David and Harrison and even Nathan and Lucas were there to see if they could learn anything they could do if they entered the game. One positive thing Jake had realized was that David and Harrison did not play any bad games again after the team had Nathan and Lucas in reserve, Jake did not know if it was because they had matured in the last year of high school or if it was by pressure from can be replaced at any time. Even though Jake thought this was the best thing for the team, Carter and Mark seemed to be very quiet for this game, Jake thought it was too dangerous to relax before a final, even if the opponent could be weaker because that could lead to mistakes. But if neither coach seemed to care much for that game Jake could not do anything, he was at least thinking of doing his best as ever, even if this new style of team play could lessen his control in the game, Jake could Use your skills to set the outcome of the game. The opposing team of the final of this regional championship was the team Brickell, that team had three players that had a greater prominence, the PG of the adversary team that was called Ryan, was a player who liked to pass the ball very much and made individual plays. Ryan was a player who did not stand out much in shots from outside and the team Brickell was known for miss many passes in the games, now Jake knew why his companions were more calm, that Ryan would be completely annulled by the defense of Jake. Another highlight of the opposing team was the SF Jaxon, Jaxon was the most skillful player of the opposing team who was very skillful in individual plays, mid-range shots and shots from outside, as well as being good at defense. But everyone on the Elite team was accustomed to the SF of the opposing team attacking quietly and making several points so it would not be such a big problem, Harrison was the one who was sadder by the bad luck. The other highlight of the opposing team was PF Thomas, Thomas was good at defense and in the attack, but he was no big player and everyone hoped that Carter could defend well against him, so Jake saw that the Elite team had the advantage in that game. Even though he would still try his best, even if he was not a tough opponent, Jake also wanted to try another triple-double that would be his 21st followed, this would be a near-impossible record to be broken in the future. After a few minutes the game of the regional championship final finally began, Mark got the first possession of the ball for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and went to the attack. Jake advanced for a time and passed the ball to David, David advanced more to the attack and passed the ball to Carter, Carter received the ball from the right and held it a little, Thomas already reached the defense and Carter passed the ball to Jake who was Welcome. Jake received the ball before the line of three points and passed to David again that was open from the right, David made the mid-range shot and made the first 2 points for the Elite team. Ryan received the ball and started the first attack for the Brickell team, Ryan passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG advanced for a while and passed the ball to Jaxon, Jaxon quickly made a feint and easily passed through Harrison, then Jaxon made the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Brickell team and tie the game. Jake got the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, after advancing until the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Harrison who was open from the left, Harrison advanced a little and Jaxon came to the defense, so Harrison passed the ball David was on the right. David passed the ball to Mark who was more open in the inner area from the left, Mark received and using his body to protect the ball advanced to do a layup and 2 more points for the Elite team. Mark was already one of the best in the attack along with Jake, only the rebounds he takes in the games already made him an indispensable player for coach Mike, with his good performances in matches he was already looked for by the best universities. Jake also thought that Mark was a good player, could not be a professional player in the NBA, but if he could have opportunities to improve at university Jake was sure he could see Mark in the NBA in the future, Jake even wondered why he did not see Mark in the NBA in his past life. Ryan started another attack for the Brickell team, this time he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Jaxon, Jaxon advanced to the three-point line and Harrison reached the defense. This time, Jaxon did not attempt a single play and passed the ball to Thomas, Thomas held the ball and Carter came to the defense, so Thomas who was receiving pressure from the Carter defense passed the ball to the SG of his team. The SG was open from the left of the attack and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Brickell team, the opposing team as well as many teams knew what was the weakness of the Elite team defense and so could easily score points like this. Jake received the ball and advanced to organize another attack for the Elite team, he passed the ball to Harrison who was open from the left, Harrison held the ball and passed to Carter who was open on the right of the court. Carter passed the ball to Jake who was out of the three-point line, Jake who was still far from the three-point line fired outside, so the ball came in and made 3 more points for the Elite team. The game continued so at the end of the first period the Elite team was winning with a 5 point lead, even if the defense did not do a good job Jake got a steal and made a few 3-point plays. Jake had made 11 points and 3 assists, all realized that Jake was doing more in this game, but Coach Mike could not complain to Jake by making a good game, Jake had already compromised much of his offensive ability with this new style of play. Jake realized that coach Mike was again using that game to train the team more with the new style of play, but even if he did not talk to the coach he thought it was wrong to use a championship final for that, so he was just doing his part for the team to win. At the beginning of the second period Ryan went to another attack for the Brickell team, he passed the ball to Jaxon who was more open from the right, Jaxon easily passed pass by Harrison and passed the ball to Thomas. Thomas managed to get away from Carter and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Brickell team, as everyone on the Brickell team was already hoping that Ryan would be overruled by Jake in the attack, they decided it would be Jaxon who would take on that role as the point guard. team. After all, Harrison could not stop him from playing, Mark was making a good game also canceling the center of the opposing team, and Jake was having a hard time finding his teammates without leaving Ryan defenseless to score. Jake advanced to the attack to make another move, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to David who was ahead in the attack, David advanced a little and passed the ball to Carter who was open on the right, Carter saw that Thomas was far away and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Ryan picked up the ball to organize another attack for the Brickell team, after advancing until after the middle of the court he passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG advanced a little more and passed the ball to the Center of his team before from David to the defense. The center took the ball a little and passed to Jaxon, Jaxon made a feint and pass by Harrison easily left, Jake appeared well after Jaxon was adjusting to make the shot and steal the ball. The moment was perfect and Jaxon did not even notice when Jake had left Ryan unprotected to steal, so Jake rushed forward to the attack, team SG Brickell and Ryan were racing along with Jake to try to defend. Jake swiftly left the opponent''s SG behind and reached the three-point line on the attack, Ryan tried for Jake with a foul, so Jake quickly crossover and passed Ryan and resisted the pull and continued advancing into the inside area to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team. The crowd started to cheer up with this Jake play. Ryan was even impressed that Jake stayed on the same pitch even though he tried to foul, but that was normal because Jake was much stronger than all high school players and he did not want it to be difficult to make a simple foul. The game continued like this and the Brickell team was paying more attention to Jake and making the moves more calmly, the attack of the Elite team also did not miss almost any move and so the two teams continued like this until the end of the second period. At the end of the second period, the Elite team won by 12 points and everyone was satisfied, Jake made 4 steals in the game and was dissatisfied with Harrison''s defense, Jake had 23 points and 7 assists so far. In this third period coach Mike decided to put Nathan and Lucas into the game, this game was easier than the last game and even David and Harrison did not care much about leaving this game. Chapter 183 A Marathon to Enter History 4 With Lucas and Nathan entering, the defense of the team would be better and Jake was calmer with it, Lucas could mostly stop or at least disrupt Jaxon who had already done 14 points so far. This was because Jake managed to get in the way of Jaxon and his opponent was also 5 assists, but Ryan, who should have been ruled out by Jake, had made 8 points because of that. Even so, Jake thought that was not enough of that and he was thinking of a way to further improve the defense to further increase the advantage against the Brickell team, so he called Mark to talk for a bit. "What was Jake?" "Look at Mark, our team on the defense is me and you and Carter, but Carter has to worry about Thomas from the opposing defense, I''m trying to help my team-mates and so Ryan can also score more points." "Now that Lucas and Nathan have entered the defense of our team will improve, but I need your help in something, I want you and me to help Lucas in the defense and so we can stop Jaxon from the opposing team." "As a key player in defense, you need to learn from this game to defend against another player while defending against another understood?" "I get it, you can count on me, I''ll do my best to stop the opponent in defense." "Very good, I count on you if I go out to defend you do not need if I do not leave stay with you." After Jake talked to Mark they rested again to be rested for the rest of the game. At the beginning of the third period Jake went with the ball to the attacking block and passed the ball to Nathan, Nathan received the ball and went towards the three-point line, so Nathan passed the ball to Carter who was open on the right. Carter got the ball and held it a little, so Carter passed the ball to Lucas who had gotten rid of Jaxon and was free on the left, Lucas received the ball and quickly tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Ryan received the ball and started another attack for the Brickell team, Ryan advanced until the middle of the court and passed the ball to his SG team, SG received the ball and soon received pressure from Nathan''s defense and had to pass the ball for Jaxon. Jaxon hit the right and quickly advanced into the three-point line, but this time Lucas was the one who was defending him and Lucas did not allow Jaxon to open space for the shot, so Jaxon had to pass the ball to Thomas. Thomas made the turn on Carter and advanced to the inside area, so Thomas did the layup to make 2 more points for the Brickell team, Carter could not for the opponent''s attack in every move, but it was clear that with the entry of Nathan and Lucas the Brickell team was having a hard time attacking. Jake grabbed the ball and began to organize another attack for the Elite team, after passing through the middle Jake passed the ball to Lucas who was open from the left, Lucas passed the ball to Carter who was coming and ran into the internal area. Carter understood Lucas''s intention and passed the ball back to him, Lucas received the defensive ball in the inside area of ??the attack and had only to advance to layup and 2 more points for the Elite team. Ryan started another attack for the Brickell team, he advanced for a while and passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG advanced to the attack and before reaching the three-point line passed the ball to Thomas. Thomas tried another attack, but Carter reacted quickly and accompanied Thomas with a good defense, so Thomas was forced to pass the ball to Jaxon, Jaxon tried the feint and got a space and passed by Lucas. As soon as Jaxon was thinking of doing mid-range Mark''s shot, Jaxon was not expecting Mark to come and only paid attention to Jake, but he thought quickly and passed the ball to the center of his team that was free now. But Jake covered Mark and intercepted the ball and made another steal in the game as Mark appeared in the defense Jaxon forgot to watch Jake that left the defense of Ryan and was waiting for that pass. So Jake did not rush for the attack to just calmly advanced as he watched the opposing team, before reaching the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Lucas who was on the left. Lucas received the ball and advanced shortly before passing to Nathan who was open on the right side, Nathan received the ball and held it a little while advancing to the three-point line, Nathan passed the ball to Mark who was in the inner area and Mark turned on top of the opponent center to do the dunk and 2 more points for the Elite team. At the end of the third period, the Elite team won by 21 points difference and had virtually guaranteed victory, Jake had 8 steals, 12 assists, and 31 points so far in the game, he was close to making another Triple Double. Mark was doing well what they combined and was trying to mess up as much as possible Jaxon, Lucas was also very good in defense and did not give Jaxon many chances, so other Brickell players had to try the plays. So Jake who was always watching closely the moves was managing to make more steals in the game, in the attack all were attacking even taking Jake who made the points whenever he saw the opportunity. The team Brickell had not given up on the game yet because it was the final, but deep down they knew that there was no chance of winning this game, Ryan was mostly the most discouraged with the game, he was being canceled by Jake and could not do anything in the defense. This was normal since Jake already had a skill level of a university player, only the best in defense of the high school could bother him, even though it was difficult to find someone who could even stop him. Ryan went to organize the first attack of the Brickell team in the fourth period of the regional championship final, after passing from the middle of the court he passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG advanced a little more and passed to Thomas before the could arrive. Thomas made a feint and moved away from Carter to make a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Brickell team, Thomas was the only one who could do anything in that last period of the game. Jake picked up the ball and advanced to the attack, after passing from the middle of the court he passed the ball to Nathan who was on the right, Nathan continued advancing and passed the ball to Carter who was open on the right. Carter got rid of Thomas and went to the bottom of the court, Carter tried the mid-range shot and the ball did not enter, Mark managed to take the rebound and passed the ball to Jake who was out of the three-point line. Jake threatened the shot and passed the ball to Nathan who was free on the right, Nathan who received the pass made a step back and tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team. Nathan and Lucas were improving so quickly since they got into high school, if it had not been for David and Harrison''s last year, Jake was sure that Coach Mike would make those two headlines in the national championship by then they should have improved a lot by then. The talent was a really unfair thing in the sports world, it was like Jake''s system that people had to be lucky to be born with him, after all, players like Michael Jordan who only trained a little more than the others maybe and had so much difference in the result. Ryan got the ball to try another attack for the Brickell team, then before passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to the SG of his team that was open on the left, the SG advanced a little and passed the ball to Thomas by left. Thomas tried another shot, but Carter was doing a lot of pressure on the defense and Thomas returned the ball to Ryan who was behind, Ryan tried a feint over Jake, but Jake was firm in the defense, so Ryan passed the ball to Jaxon on right. Jaxon receives the ball and had to try a move before the time of possession of ball ended in these last two periods he was very tired, Jaxon had to go through the good defense of Lucas which was already very difficult. Then he still had to pay attention to Jake and Mark''s position before making any move, and sometimes even paying attention Jake still managed to steal the ball. This time he managed to pass by Lucas on the right and saw that neither Jake nor Mark were coming to disrupt, so he advanced a bit more and was ready to try the mid-range shot. But when Jaxon was paying attention to Jake and Mark, Lucas recovered and followed up and got the steal to retrieve the ball, so Lucas passed the ball to Jake. Jake advanced calmly and passed the ball to Nathan after passing through the middle of the court, Nathan advanced to the three-point line and passed to Carter who was open from the right, Carter held the ball a little and passed back to Jake. Jake got the ball before the three-point line, Jake made a feint and passed by Ryan quickly and drive to the basket, Thomas tried to block Jake in the inside area and Jake made an unstoppable Spin Move and finished the play with a slam dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. The crowd cheered again at the end of the game and the morale of the Brickell team fell further. Chapter 184 A Marathon to Enter History 5 Thus the game ended with the Elite team winning the regional championship with 30 points of advantage, Jake made another triple Double and finished the game with more than 40 points, Elite players greeted the Brickell team players for the good game. Then everyone joined and celebrated this victory, even if they won a lot it was always good to win a regional championship trophy, even more, this year they had some more difficult games, it was more exciting. Jake was also celebrating with his teammates, he was very happy for the win, but it was very strange that this year he did not have his mother to celebrate the victory with him after that final. He knew that Eva could not be in all the championship finals of his life and certainly would not be in university time, but he hoped to see his mother in the stands to celebrate together. After all, in this life, Jake was much closer to his mother and got used to being almost always with her, but this time he had to be content to celebrate with his teammates. After a while, the Elite team was finally called in to receive the first place medals and then Jake raised another trophy for his team and for his school, after celebrating quite a bit Jake was called to receive the regional championship MVP award. Jake was happy with that, too, and he''d put that trophy back on his prize stand, then everyone celebrated a little more and Jake left home, coming home he did not forget to call his mother. "Hi Mom, I won the final game, our team won the regional championship." "Congratulations, my son, I''m sorry I could not be there with you in this game, but I always had confidence that you could win as always, come here today for dinner, Anna also wants to congratulate you." "Alright Mom, I''ll go there later." So after resting for a while and taking a shower, Jake went to the restaurant, Jake took home on purpose because he knew what time the restaurant was less busy, so Eva, Anna, and even Lola came to find Jake, Eva came first and gave Jake a hug. "Congratulations again for beating my son, I was distracted all day in the restaurant until you call me, even if I knew you were going to win it''s hard to stay calm without being able to watch the game." "It''s true Jake, she was anxious all day today, congratulations on winning the game, I wanted to be there too." "Thank you mother, for caring about me, thank you too, Anna, for the congratulations." "I also wanted to say congratulations, Jake, very cool you have won the regional championship in high school, I hope you can win the state championship as well." "Thank you, Lola, I also hope I keep winning." Lola really thought it was cool that Jake''s team had won the regional championship, after all in the neighborhood she used to live before, there were a lot of young people of Jake''s age who played basketball, many of them did not go to school, but those who went there said how difficult it was to win the championship regional, and even more difficult the state championship and later the national championship. Lola knew that these young men were arrogant and liked to boast a lot, so for these people to say that a championship was difficult, it was because it was really difficult. Then everyone talked for a while as they sat down at a table and ate, actually everyone just listened as Jake told how the game was after he went to say that he also made another Triple Double and won the MVP award for the championship. Eva and Anna were already expecting something like that after winning for the fourth time, but Lola was really impressed and began to think that Jake played better than she imagined, Jake was very happy when he saw Lola''s reaction, even if he did not like it to show off was good when people recognized how difficult it was to do that. After that Jake said goodbye to everyone and returned home to rest after all the restaurant would still be open for a few more hours and Jake did not want to disturb anyone. Anna said that Jake needed to rest well for the next two weeks before the state championship began. Jake did not tell people that next week would be the Chicago marathon run, so he would not have time to rest. After resting well the other day Jake resumed his normal training, except that he did not train with the school basketball team and only trained basketball in his training space of imagination. The physical training he was doing was just for the marathon, Jake would have this training for another 5 days and rest one before race day, so Jake would be fully rested on the day of the marathon. Jake''s biggest goal for this marathon was to win without using the bar of stamina, he was already able to win if he used the bar of stamina, with the system Jake learned that it was much more difficult to increase the energy of your body than increase the overall resistance of the muscles in your body. After all, after more than 6 months of training, he had already strengthened his body muscles to keep running 60 km at a normal speed and 50 km at a speed of competition. Of course Jake did not know that this had only happened because he tried hard and broke his limits and improved more than normal for this marathon, Jake had to win this and the next marathon so he can enter the Olympics without anyone thinking which was a fraud. If he entered the Olympics for the first time people might suspect that it was something forged so that a young man could represent his country in the Olympics, after all the Olympics are the maximum event of athletics sports. But if he could win or be among the first in some internationally recognized marathons people would just think he was a genius, plus there was something else Jake needed to do that would require him to win a marathon. After a few more days training Jake could see that the system was right on a subject he was ignoring, Jake always did his training after taking classes all day and still doing the training with the basketball team. As he had become accustomed to this routine and knew that his body was not equal to ordinary people because of the system he thought it did not matter much, but these days even having to attend classes he was not going to training and so he can easily do the 50 km run in 150 minutes. It had been months since he was chasing this time, now just by not doing the training with the basketball team he can complete the training, this gave much more confidence for Jake to win this marathon. Two days into the marathon Jake was going on his last day of training, so the other day he would be resting for the marathon at his best, but Tiffany said he would need to talk to him. So Jake who was confident in winning decided to take more today to rest and so be better for the marathon. This time they met at another restaurant that was not Eva''s restaurant, because as her mother could not watch the marathon, Jake decided not to tell her until he won the race. So Eva knew only that Jake was marathoning soon, but she could not even imagine it was an international marathon and that Jake planned to win this marathon. "Hi Jake, sorry for calling you missing a few days for the marathon, you should be concentrating or resting, right?" "Actually I was training until today, but as you called me I decided to take that day to rest too." "What? Were you training a few days away for a major competition like that? You have to take at least a week to rest your body to be able to run that great distance, I hope you have the stamina to run that whole marathon." Jake knew nothing about how the other athletes were preparing for a marathon like this, but his body was different from ordinary people, so he did not have to worry about what others did. In fact now Jake had the contacts and the money to hire a professional trainer to prepare with the other runners for the day of the competition but he did not do it because he knew that his style of training would be different from the others using the system to improve. In addition, the coach probably could suspect his improvement that was several times faster than the athletes, in fact, Jake was doing his best to avoid going through national competitions and major training centers for a reason. He did not want to do a thorough examination so the doctors would not find out that his body was several times stronger than the other athletes and players, let alone that they could record their very fast improvements because that would cause suspicion at all. As for his strength, his muscles were not very developed, but his strength was very great, this could be explained if Jake said that his physical limits were smaller than in reality. "Well, if you think you will not have problems, I will not go any further with this subject, after all, who knows your body better is yourself." "I called you here to give you your uniform for the race, who was to deliver this was Clara, but as I was the one who organized this from the beginning she asked me to bring in, besides, I already prepared some employees to stay at the registered posts from the marathon and give you water all right?" "I believe you, on test day I''ll meet you before the marathon begins." "Okay then, rest well and do not train as usual." After that Jake went home to rest well after all the day was coming for a marathon that will go down in history. Chapter 185 A Marathon to Enter History 6 After another day of rest Jake told his mother that he was going to take a quick trip and took a plane to Chicago, Tiffany had arranged the plane tickets back and forth for Jake and even booked the hotel for him. Tiffany would go on another flight to Chicago, they were the employees of some of her stores in town that would help Jake with whatever he needed for the race, Jake was not affected by the trip that lasted just over 3 hours. Jake went directly to the hotel and did not even think about touring the city after all this was the first time he had participated in a marathon, and it was not just to have fun but to win, so Jake was focused. Jake was ready by 6 am he had arrived, it was very cold, but Jake did not even feel uncomfortable with that temperature, he took his kit and registration number and was ready to run. Even though the shirt he got with the registration number took away a bit of the view of the brands of the companies that sponsored Jake, they had already thought about it and also had in the running shorts. Even though Jake was very tall, on his face everyone could clearly see that he was a young man and he saw many looks that seemed to be scorning him, but Jake did not care about these people, besides, if it was not for the system he would probably have who only fight to complete the marathon. While still missing a time to start the marathon Jake managed to find Tiffany who was the only person who came to accompany him in this race, John did not care about Jake giving preferential treatment to Tiffany who was the longest with him, but he would not come to Chicago just to give support in this marathon. In fact, Tiffany also did not need to come, but after she had a good conversation with Jake she began to think of a corner of her mind that for the more than 4 years she''s known him since Jake was a child, that Jake could really win this marathon She herself thought this was crazy and even Clara who knows him and talked to Jake the longest with him thought so, but she really believed he could achieve this miracle. After all, she thought that Jake would not ask if she wanted to make a uniform for her sponsors if he just tried to finish the race, but even if Jake did not win, she would not find it a waste to watch that race. So Tiffany quickly told Jake at what stations her staff would be preparing water, then she said she wanted luck and waited for him at the end of the marathon. After that Jake concentrated to try to stay in the best possible shape, he went to find a place in the starting line, Jake would not be in the front because he had to control his pace, when it passed from 7 and 20 in the morning everyone started to prepare for the start of the marathon. The only person Jake knew best about the starting line of the race was what would originally be the champion of this event, Jake only became interested in the champions when he sought information about the marathon in his past life. As in his past life, this man would be the winner in Jake''s view he was his only competitor for this win, he was named Eamonn Martin and finished that marathon in just under 2 hours and 11 minutes. So Jake had confidence in winning this event after a few more minutes finally began the 1995 Chicago marathon. In the beginning, many started running quickly and took the lead in the race, the start of the race is a moment where you can see who had experience in marathons and who was new. After all, it was not smart for anyone who wanted to finish this race in a good time to increase the pace early on after all these people would have cramps and would have difficulty finishing the race in a few kilometers. And even those who were more experienced ended up having their race rhythm affected by these people and in the beginning, they increased slightly the race rhythm. The main enemies of the marathon runners were the wrong pace, temperature, and unexpected muscle problems, after all the people who trained to win a marathon were confident to finish the marathon in just over 2 hours. But these factors were some that could get an experienced marathoner out of the race, Jake did not feel in his body the temperature changes, he had also trained a lot using all the system''s resources to accustom his body and his muscles to run that distance in those last months. As for the pace being hampered by others, Jake was always observing the transparent screen that was in the upper right corner of his field of vision, in that transparent screen he could see that he was running at a rate of 1 km every 3 minutes. So he could finish that race in just over 2 hours and 6 minutes with that speed, of course, Jake would make adjustments in the last few km of the race if other competitors were in front of him. After the first 5 km keeping the same pace, Jake felt that he had passed by many people who accelerated at the beginning of the marathon, only the strongest still had to be exceeded. Even after that distance he was not yet tired and his breathing was steady, Jake could see that many of them would accelerate and pass through him and sometimes Jake would pass by these people. These should be people who had some training and experience and we''re trying to maintain a steady pace for the race. After 10 km of racing the first 30 minutes had passed and Jake did not know if there was still someone ahead of him at the time of the race, but Jake knew that even the best could be seen in the last few kilometers of the race. After 15 km of marathon Jake still felt great with his running pace, he was only paying attention to the transparent screen in the upper right corner and did not care much about other runners who were around him. Jake started to feel tired and Jake doubted he had more than 30 people in front of him at this point in the race, but Jake tried not to think much of anything and just to continue concentrating on his racing pace. Whoever was finding this all very strange were the people who were called by Tiffany to stay at the stations and deliver water and sponges to Jake, after all, they had information that Jake did not go through any of these stations to get water. After the first 15 km, these people even thought that Jake had given up the marathon, but some of the staff saw Jake driving through 25 km and 30 km, so he was still in the marathon, but he had not hydrated once in the whole marathon. Actually, when Jake ran every day in his training, of course, he had no one to deliver water to him during the race, so Jake, who had a much stronger body than the others, could run an entire marathon without moisturizing himself. After the 35 km race Jake already felt that the end of the race was near, he had already run for 105 minutes and began to feel his legs getting heavier and his breathing was irregular. At this point in the race, Jake was only thinking about winning this marathon, as he could not see anyone in front of him Jake thought everyone had been after him for a long time. If Jake could run at his pace and some would still win being too far ahead of him for the last few km and Jake could not even see these people he had to admit that he did not deserve to win this marathon and he would not even be sad about it. The Chicago marathon was a televised event, so while Jake was thinking absurd things the people of the United States were the ones who were much more shocked, after all, it was clear to everyone that Jake was very young. At the time of the race, he was the first in the race even though he himself was not sure of that, in the last few km it is normal for marathoners to increase their pace to get a better time at the end of each marathon. That meant that these people were at least a few hundred feet from where Jake was, and Jake, like everyone else, could also increase his pace in the last hundred meters. And everyone could see that only Jake was struggling to run he had no problem running through the end of this marathon, through his registration number the commentators could know some data from Jake. They knew that Jake was only 16 years old and was in his senior year of high school, could also know that this was Jake''s first marathon in life, a young man of 16 years to be leading a marathon for a few km already, even if he did not win would be a great story. Another interesting fact that the commentators realized that Jake had not hydrated once in this marathon, this was certainly one of the determining factors for Jake to always keep his race pace. What these commentators were most excited about was that Jake was a young American by birth, it was almost 13 years since the last American won a marathon in Chicago and even if they could not confirm they could be sure that Jake should be the youngest to win a marathon in history. At least since the marathon became more competitive, after all, a few dozen years ago there could be a young man who won by running in less than 2 hours and 40 minutes, so everyone was happy with this pleasant surprise. Even more so because it was the year before the Olympics in Atlanta that would be in the United States, so it was great to know that they could win another medal. It was a shame that since Jake had never taken part in any marathon, no one had any more information about him beforehand, yet everyone thought it was incredible that a young man could win. Chapter 186 A Marathon to Enter History 7 By the time Jake passed the 40 km and everyone could see that he had over energy it was almost certain that he would be the winner in the end, even though the runner up was over 4 minutes behind him. Jake, who had always kept the same pace from 1 km in 3 minutes decided to slow down to 1 km in 4 minutes at the end of the race, after all, Jake didn''t mind breaking records in his first marathon. He just wanted to win in the end, otherwise, he could eat a stamina bar and run under 2 hours and beat the considered limit for the marathon runners, so he did differently from the other marathon runners who increased the pace at the end of the marathon. Whoever was watching didn''t realize that Jake could control his running pace and thought he was getting tired at the end, so all the spectators who were present at the marathon site in the last kilometers of the race began to applaud Jake to encourage him to finish the race first. Jake was very excited about it and was thrilled too, he finally realized that he was close to winning an international major marathon, a dream come true for many marathoners worldwide. He who had started running just because he liked it very early and did it for two lives, Jake only stopped running in his past life because he lost his leg movements because otherwise, he would have run until he was very old. Also, in his past life, Jake had always dreamed of completing a marathon but had no chance, so in that final km of the marathon, he remembered that. Even so Jake kept up the pace that would give him the win, so to those who were cheering it looked like he was looking forward to finishing the race to win, little did they know that if Jake wasn''t conservative he could run like this up to 50km in total. Jake kept running and in the last km people were cheering even more excitedly, second place could almost see Jake in the end, but he knew it was impossible for Jake to lose in the end and just wanted to slow his own time. While Jake was closing the marathon one of the commentators got some information from him, was this commentator surprised, did a young man of 16 who was running his first marathon have any information to be discovered? But as soon as he saw the information he was impressed, Jake was from the city of Miami and must have come to Chicago just to participate in the marathon, he had also made a television commercial. Also, Jake was the last MVP of the national high school championship, what did that mean? That Jake was a basketball player and a very talented at that, maybe a future NBA player. In the information it said that Jake was in his senior year now, that means he won the national championship and became the MVP in his third year, so he could win again this year. In addition, Jake had a record of doing 16 triple Double in a row (the commentator was unaware of the 5 regional championship games that Jake raised his record to 21) this was something that not even the best players in the current NBA can achieve. This meant that Jake reached the top of the marathon and won a major marathon while he was 16 while focusing more on basketball, so it became much bigger news for everyone. Jake didn''t know that everything about him had been investigated by commentators and was in the last km, for Jake this was the longest 4 minutes of his life, it was a different thrill to win a marathon where many of the best in the world participated. Jake had to say that it felt better than winning the national championship with his basketball team, maybe it''s the difference of winning a championship with one team and winning a race alone or because the race had the best and basketball was just the best. High school players. So Jake kept running and the closer he got to victory the better he felt, when he finally passed the track first he finally relaxed, he looked at the time on the transparent screen and said 2 hours and 9 minutes. Jake slowed down and finished the race three minutes later than he could before, but if he really worked hard, Jake thought he could run in less than 2 hours and 4 minutes, after all, it was exciting to beat a record at one time or another. Jake was very happy to have won and very proud to have done it without the help of the stamina bar, he was happy to hear the cheering of the fans in this race. As soon as he calmed down Jake felt his legs were sore and he was very tired, Jake could see the doctors around, but he wasn''t that bad, Jake ate a stamina bar and took a bottle of water from Tiffany''s hands that had come to greet him. So he felt his energy recover and the muscles in his leg relaxed a lot from relieving the pressure, so Jake felt he could run another 20 km if his legs could hold on so Jake walked normally to a designated place for him. The doctors saw that Jake was fine and began to prepare to receive the other athletes who would come later, who was most surprised by this was Tiffany who saw how tired Jake was before and after taking the water and eating something seemed rested again. Tiffany thought Jake was more mysterious the more she knew him, how could someone so young do so many different things so well, she couldn''t even think it was back in the past because that was only part of the reason, the other was the system. She was very happy that Jake had won this marathon and that his prediction turned out to be correct, but she was more shocked than happy, after all even she who knew Jake was thinking it was amazing just as the commentator reacted. She wanted to talk to him for a while, but Jake was dragged into an anti-doping test as soon as the race was over, it seemed the event organizers feared that Jake would run away with how fast they brought him to take the exam. After all, he was consuming performance-enhancing substances was the only thing the organization could think of for Jake to have won this marathon since it was the first time he had run. Jake was the only one who was cool about it, he knew he ran as fair as he could, but it proved that Jake was right to run a major marathon before joining the Olympics. Because if even a national competition like this already thought Jake was stealing the Olympics would be much more complicated, then he would try the New York marathon and after those two marathons, no one could suspect that he was just running. After taking the exam Jake went near Tiffany, the corridors were still coming so the organization would be slow to set the stage for the awards, so Jake had time to over and didn''t want to communicate with the people in the organization who thought he was stealing in the marathon. Tiffany was calm too, she knew Jake wasn''t stupid about using substances for such a marathon when he still had basketball and several things that could be affected by it. "Congratulations Jake, I thought you really could win this marathon, but honestly I was very surprised by that result." "I told you that I would try to race to win, but this is just the beginning, I want to run and New York marathon and then the Olympics, but I have to worry about the state championship soon too." "I believe you can do that, I''ll say Matthew did an incredible favor for Clara and me, if he hadn''t introduced you to us it would be a pity, and to think that at first Clara thought he was doing Matthew a favor, she now knows it''s the opposite." They talked for a while and then the organization came to call Jake for the awards, the people of the organization were a little embarrassed after all they were so suspicious that Jake was using illicit substances that almost dragged him to take the exam. When they saw that Jake was clean everyone was very embarrassed, yet they sent the samples to the labs for a closer look, but seeing how calm Jake looked they were wrong, so Jake was washed to the place of the awards with the others. that was in the first place. Jake saw Eamonn Martin who had been the winner in his past life and now was second, Jake felt a little uncomfortable for a moment and then recovered, he already knew that to be the best he would have to change many things and leave many. winners in a story that only he knew. Even though Jake greeted Eamonn Martin before climbing to the first place podium, it was all very exciting for him to hear the national anthem and pick up the $ 100,000 prize. This money was important to the plans Jake was having in a short period of time, now he had 300,000 to make an investment if he could after that Jake said goodbye to Tiffany and returned to the hotel to rest, but before they agreed to have dinner together to celebrate this victory. Tiffany was very happy about all this because Jake had tried his best to show off his uniform with the sponsors and Tiffany''s company ended up being the highlight for being in the supporting marathon, and Clara''s company also for giving Jake the clothes and sneakers. was using. It really was another totally free advertisement for everyone who saw Jake who had won this marathon, Tiffany was thinking that John who had accepted well that Tiffany was the one to stay in the marathon was happy and very sorry at the same time now. Glad that Jake made an unexpected advertisement for his company and sad that he didn''t insist on being present at this marathon with Tiffany anymore. Chapter 187 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 1 After Jake returned to the hotel he finally can relax, Jake took a shower and then lay down to rest, but he still had to call his mother to give the good news, Jake tried to call several more times Eva was not attending so he had to give up. In fact, Eva was not sure how to use the cell phone and only Jake and Anna had her number, when Jake had a game Eva kept the cell phone nearby because she knew he could call but usually she leaves in her office while working in the kitchen. As Jake did not say anything that was running a marathon she did not even think he could call, Anna was even worse and had not brought the phone to work, but Jake did not bother with it, he would have to wait a few days before he could talk to them personally. So Jake thought of getting some sleep to rest his body before it was dinner time with Tiffany at night, but the system did not seem to want Jake to rest. [Congratulations to Jake for winning this Chicago major marathon, even if that was expected with the latest results from his workouts, it''s still incredible that you can win even with all the pressure of a real marathon.] "I''m really happy about it, it was a dream come true and now that I''ve won I want to continue to win other marathons and win the Olympics too." [It''s good to see that you keep trying even after you''ve won, I''ve talked to you even though you''re tired to give your reward.] [[For having won one of the 6 major marathons of the world you gain 1 point in Resistance and 1 point in Agility and greatly increased the proficiency in your abilities.]] Jake really had an unexpected surprise, he did not think he could get statistics points in any sport other than basketball, with that point in Resistance he could have more confidence in basketball and marathon. Even so Jake learned that the system statistics were not absolute, after all even though he could finish the marathon after a few months of training thanks to the system, but his Resistance is now close to the person in the world who has more Resistance in numbers. Even though Jake is still away from those athletes who can run an Ironman, it was that same marathon that he did and more swimming and cycling, if it depended only on the system he could only do this with 50 or more of Resistance, but these people have neither more than 40 in Resistance. After that Jake was learning not to rely so much on his statistics, even so, Jake was very pleased to gain a few more points in statistics because Jake was different from the others and could only rely on his statistics to get things. If he had reached 50 in all three physical stats he was confident in winning any sport that relied more on his body with some training. [I realized that you did not expect to score points with your third job, but you won one of the 6 major marathons in the world, after that there are only 5 major marathons, the Olympics and the athletics world that you could win statistics. [And if you win all those stats by winning those competitions you could say that you''ve reached the top of the marathon, and if you think the stats are not the same as the others you''re wrong.] [The difference between you and these people is the technique and skill if you had the same stats as now and were SS in the Second Lung and Iron Body skills you could be able to finish an Ironman competition.] [After all, even if it''s not like basketball is important sports that count on skill and talent if you think it''s that simple, it''s wrong.] So Jake realized that he missed out on many things with these people who had the talent to run and train for several years, it seemed like he had to think about how best his own abilities were. "Fate, let me see my statistics window of my third job." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 16 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 1.89 m] [Weight: 87 Kg] [Force 32] [Agility 33] [Resistance 36] [Intelligence 58] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung C] [Iron Body B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So Jake can see that his stats increased a lot in almost 6 months, of course, this improvement is related to the 2 statistic points he won for the reward for winning the marathon, yet he could now understand why it had become easier for him run the 50 km in training. His two skills also went up only one rank, but thinking that the system had said he thought it was good, after all the system had said that these skills were not the same as basketball, it did not have several levels and when it actually reaches SS rank it would be the most he could get. In SS rank he could easily run an Ironman competition with a few more statistics, but even if Jake had an interest in that was not his final goal, he wanted to try to narrow the gap and get more into athletics in general. Of course, this was a plan for 5 or 9 years from now that would be enough to greatly increase his speed and stamina, even if it was a long time Jake would only be 25 at that time so he could think long term like that. After Jake finally could sleep for a few hours, when dinner time arrived a hotel employee said that Tiffany had come to the hotel hours ago and had said something urgent had come up and she had to catch a plane to Miami before. Jake was curious to know what it was, but Tiffany must have thought Jake was very tired after the marathon and decided to leave without saying anything to him, yet the next day Jake would have enough time to talk to her in Miami. So Jake dined at a nearby restaurant and returned to the hotel to rest for a while to catch the plane the other day, but nothing was going as Jake wanted, he received information that someone was waiting for him in the lobby of the hotel. Jake had to go to see who it was because it could be someone from the race organization to say something to him, but coming to the salon he found an elegant woman waiting for him. Jake did not know what this woman wanted, but it did not look like someone from the organization of the race. "Hi you must be Jake, I recognize you a bit of the television commercial I saw, but you were younger and younger than now, my name is Chloe and I''m the WBBM-TV reporter who is from CBS." "Hi Chloe, nice to meet you, I wanted to know what you wanted with me?" "I know you''re tired but I wanted to schedule an interview with you on television, it''s exciting to see a young American winning the Chicago marathon after more than 10 years after the last time an American won, and you still have many interesting facts." "I could even do this interview with you, but it looks like you did not get ready today and I have a flight booked for Miami tomorrow afternoon, so I do not think we''ll have the time." "You could go in the morning at the television station, then the station could pick up a car to take you to the airport, I wanted to even record it right here, but you chose a hotel that does not allow cameras to enter." "Alright, tomorrow you have a car get me early and then take me to the airport after the interview is over." "Combined then, see you tomorrow." Jake thought about rejecting this interview, but thinking about what he would have to do in the future he could use that opportunity to get what he wanted more easily, using television to solve a problem was not something Jake did. In the morning when the car arrived Jake was already ready with his things in hand, they arrived at the station quickly and Jake was taken to a studio to do the interview, luck would be recorded, if it were live Jake would not accept. "Hi Jake, thanks again for agreeing to give me this interview." "Alright, I just do not want to miss the flight later in the afternoon." After a while, the staff set up the cameras and made a brief check and then began the interview. "Hello everyone, I''m Chloe and I''m here today for a special interview with one of the most talented youngsters I''ve ever met, he''s the winner of the Chicago marathon that happened yesterday." "Jake is only 16 years old this year and he is an American from Miami, we are very happy to see an American win the Chicago marathon after more than a decade." "Say hi to Chicago Jake." "Hi, Chicago, I appreciate your invitation to be here." "We who thank Jake, what motivated you to participate in the Chicago marathon which is one of the world''s top marathons as your first marathon?" "I''ve always loved running, and I''ve always had good resistance since I''ve been a kid I run a lot more than the others and I do not tire so easily, and since it''s my last year at school since more than 6 months ago I decided to run this marathon." "And as I had to run I wanted to win too, so I trained a lot for that day and everything went very well." "It really is an incredible story, in his debut marathon with 16 years becoming now one of the top names in athletics is impressive, you say you trained for this marathon?" "Yes, I ran whenever I could almost every day on my school''s athletic field, at first I was running about 10 km, and over time I was increasing my daily running and increasing my confidence as well." "Your school is Elite school, is not it, this school is not very well known for athletics, but many should know that in recent years this school has excelled in basketball, and this has a lot to do with our guests today." Chapter 188 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 2 "That''s what makes him so special apart from the fact that he''s only 16 when he won that marathon, Jake here as well as a marathon runner is also a basketball player." "But he''s not an ordinary player, but the captain of his high school basketball team who was the national championship champion last year." "And there is more, Jake here was the MVP of the last national championship with a record of 16 games in a row making a Triple Double, and this record is now bigger because his team has won the regional championship, that record is 21 games now. "Jake like you, does a basketball player get time to train for a marathon and still win this marathon?" "As I said it is a dream of mine, I always wanted to run and I thought I could, I would train the team after school and after the basketball training I would do the training on the athletic field." "So you ran more than 20 km almost every day after attending classes and still attending your basketball team''s training?" "That''s right." "Really incredible, an inspiring story for people who dream of running the marathon and say they do not have time to train, if you feel like doing it, you can do it." "But one thing before finishing the interview, have you decided whether to go to a university or go to the NBA if you have the chance?" "I go to a university, I have not decided yet, but I want to continue studying after school." "Alright then, we''ll soon see Jake at college games, the university he''s choosing will have a basketball player and a marathon runner along, thanks for the Jake interview." "My pleasure." After that Chloe ended the interview and Jake took a ride and arrived in time to catch a plane to Miami, he wanted to rest at home today. On the same night that Jake left Chicago, some of the station''s sports newspapers and programs liked the interview and decided to run Jake''s interview on their shows, after which even the CBS headquarters spent part of the interview across the country. So Jake again became known to many people, much remembered Jake from the newspaper''s television commercial, Jake''s story was already known by people and if one day someone mentioned it again it would be easier to remember him. The other day after resting well at home from the weariness of everything that happened in Chicago, Jake first tried to call Tiffany to try to figure out what had happened, but Tiffany did not answer the phone as she always did. So Jake could tell that something was happening, but he had no way of knowing what it was and if he could help with something he was sure Tiffany would try to talk to him, so he decided to forget about it for a while. So Jake decided to go to the restaurant to personally tell his mother and Anna about the marathon, even though many had seen this story about Jake, people often forgot about these things, so Jake was still stranger in the streets of the city. Arriving at the restaurant Jake can see that Lola was busy and so went along to the kitchen to look for his mother, so he told Eva and Anna that he had gone to Chicago and had won the marathon there. Eva was very happy for Jake as always and hugged him and Anna was also happy that Jake had won a contest, but Jake himself may realize that the two seemed not to know what it meant to win a major marathon like Chicago. Thinking about it, it was normal for many people not to care much about athletics outside the Olympics, people usually only knew about sports better known to teams like basketball, but they only cared more about athletics when they got to the Olympics. Of course, after the internet made all the information more accessible to everyone, people started getting more interested in other sports more often, but Eva and Anna only knew the sports that were most talked about on television. So Jake was helpless as to this, he could not just teach them how great and important were the major marathons because that would be the same as showing up for winning, he was sure that if one day he could win a gold medal in the Olympics the two will realize just how important the marathon is. After having relaxed a little talking to his mother, it was time to go back to normal training with the school basketball team, after all the state championship would soon begin and the team had to be ready to win. David and Harrison were training very hard because they were really starting to be afraid of Nathan and Lucas, after all, everyone could see how the newbies were talented and improved very fast. Nathan and Lucas were also training very hard as well because they could feel that they could have the opportunity to get a place in the starting lineup, the one who was happier and satisfied with it was coach Mike. But he was also divided, in the beginning, he had never thought of taking David and Harrison out of the team because it was their last year and they were both good players and even if they had a poor defense they were good at attacking. But even he did not expect Nathan and Lucas to improve so quickly, they were very good at defense and were improving in the attack, not to mention that defense was now the most important for the Elite team in more difficult games. That''s because if it was necessary the coach Mike could count on Jake to make most of his team''s points, but not even Jake could alone improve the team''s defense, he could only help the team with just over 10 steals in the entire game. This was normal after all because basketball is a sport that depends much more on the team than on the individual''s only skill, so the training now was to improve the tactics that the team could do during the match. Only Jake did not receive complaints from coach Mike, the others even thought at first that it was coach''s favoritism, but realized that Jake did not make any mistakes like the others in training, this was normal after all when he started playing Jake was the one who had to decorate several tactics and plays to pass as hand signals to his teammates. Now Jake, who had an intelligence score of 58 could easily remember the tactics he decorated and follow much better than the others, so his teammates had to learn to do better and stop feeling jealous of Jake. After training with the basketball team Jake returned home only, he decided on the recommendation of the system to take a week off from his running training, after all the system could help maintain the shape of his body by that time. Even with the system helping your body to rest and recover better to not have many risks of injury, the system said it was better than Jake sometimes took a break so that his muscles could rest and breathe naturally. But Jake was only resting like that because in another month he would have another marathon to participate and he had won two points of statistics in the last marathon, so Jake felt he could rest because that point in Resistance was much better than training for 4 months. In addition, two skills also improved and Jake could improve on a Resistance spot if he won the next marathon, so he thought he could rest a bit. After a few days of training, Emily had finally come back with the investment report that Jake had asked for in more actions last time. "I got everything you asked for Jake, $ 910,000 invested gave over 18,200 shares as we expected." "Very good job Emily, now that I want you to investigate a person for me, I want to invest in his company, but for now you have to tell me if this person has already opened a company and what the current value of the company, then I want that you get a phone number so I can talk to that person." Emily was a bit puzzled by Jake''s request, he wanted to invest in a person''s company was up to normal, but from what she saw Jake did not even know the person''s phone number and not even if that person had opened the company just like he could invest in such a person. "What''s the name of this person, Jake?" "That person''s name is Jeff Bezos, he must be starting a company in Seattle, look for him for me and try to find him before the end of the year." "He has a company that seeks to make a profit on the internet, just like Cisco, but since that company has not yet entered the market, I think I can make a lot of it." "But how did you know about it?" "His family was from Miami and an acquaintance of mine told me about him, so I wanted to invest in his company because even if I invest little I can earn a lot in the future." "You can let me find him if he has a company in Seattle." "I''m counting on you, Emily." Amazon was one of the biggest companies in the world before Jake went back to the past, so he could not afford to miss out on that chance of investing in the beginning, if he could, he''d take all his shares from Cisco to invest in Amazon in exchange for more, but he knew that Jeff Bezos would not accept it, so it was better to be discreet and try to get at least 20 percent of the company. In addition, if he bought everything he had in Amazon shares he could not sell so he would not regret it, so he thought he was making the right decision by investing heavily in Cisco and selling it all in a few years, so he would have much capital to invest more and use for himself. After all, Jake knew that after he became an NBA player, he would not have to worry about a lack of money on a million-dollar salary, but now was the best time to invest. Chapter 189 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 3 In fact, Jake could not be considered as having much money now, these deals yielded up to 100 times more often, but even if Jake took out everything he earned even though he was considered successful he could get 6 million to invest until 2000. But so he could at most win 20 times more and that was not even a lot of money if it were to analyze things well, after all, Jake could make close to 300 million dollars in his career as a basketball player at least if he became a star. Thinking about it Jake would not earn much from these investments, so he wanted to invest in long-term companies such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook where he could invest millions to earn billions of dollars in the future. So Jake was just trying to earn more to invest more in these stocks, Jake was also thinking of giving 1 percent of the shares of the investment company to Emily who would be who else would work in that company. It might not seem like much, but if Jake had $ 1 billion in profit Emily would have $ 10 million, for the investments Jake wanted to make in the hundreds billionth that 1 percent could be worth more than the value of a whole midsize company in the future. As for opening a company of his own was not Jake''s style, even in his past life he wanted to know only about investing and not managing anything, and joining a company at its inception like it would with Amazon was the same as opening a own company as he would have to open up capital to invest in the company, he could end up with less money than investing in a company. As Jake waited for Emily''s response the day of the first state championship game was coming, the team was just training to improve the match and was ready to play anytime. Everyone was much calmer and confident in winning because everyone was more experienced than last year and also had two new players who could play as well as the team holders. Even if some players had a bad game they could still guarantee the victory with the substitutes that were the height, so it was quieter. As the days went by and the day of the first game of the state championship game, Jake woke up early in the morning and ate Eva''s breakfast. Even though it was the way Jake always liked it because he knew that only when you lose something that you start to add value, like when Eva went to all the final games, after a few times Jake was used to it. But when she had to stop going because of the restaurant that Jake missed most so he had to take advantage now, because when he was in college he would not have anything like that. After Jake got his things and went to the game site, so after a while everyone was ready for the game, the two teams went to the court and the game began, Mark went up high and took the first possession of the ball for the Elite team. Jake received the ball and calmly began to organize the game, he advanced a little and passed the ball to David who was open on the right, David advanced and passed the ball to Carter, later on, Carter held the ball a little and passed to Harrison on the left. Harrison got the free ball and ran into the inside area and did the layup to make 2 more points for the Elite team, Harrison and David were very excited in today''s game but they had to play thinking about the team as well. The reason for this was that the coach seeing the good performance of Nathan and Lucas in the games and mainly how the team''s defense improved when they were on the court decided to change their thinking. So coach Mike decided that each pair would play 2 periods in all state championship games if someone was playing poorly in the game would be immediately replaced, so the coach wanted to see their performance in the games to decide the national championship if they win. So David and Harrison wanted to prove they deserved to be the starters of the team at least playing those first games well, the problem was that they knew that Nathan and Lucas were thinking of doing the same from the third period. The best players on the opposing team of today''s game were PG Axel and PF Micah, these two positions had Jake and Carter who were the best defenders of the Elite team and so they were more relaxed for that game. Axel received the ball to advance to the attack, passing from the middle of the court he passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG received the ball and advanced for a while until David reached the defense by pressing, so SG passed the ball for the SF that made the mid-range shot before Harrison arrived for the defense and made 2 points to tie the game. Jake received the ball and began to organize another attack for the Elite team, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to Harrison on the left, Harrison advanced and passed the ball to Mark, Mark turned easily and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Axel got the ball and started another attack for his team, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to the SG of his team, the SG passed quickly to the Center, The Center tried to make the move, but Mark was firm in defense. So the Center had to pass the ball to Micah who received and already made the mid-range shot to tie the game to his team, in those first moves Jake can see that the opposing team was not very strong in defense and attack. Even though the game seems to be balanced it was because the Elite team was still studying the opponent, but when the defense starts to press the opponents will not have so much room to make the plays with such ease. Jake advanced again with the ball and began to accelerate the pace of the game, before the line of three points Jake passed the ball to Carter who was open to the right near the bottom of the court, Carter held a little and passed to David that was behind. David received the Carter ball and made a step back and attempted a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Elite team, Jake saw that David and Harrison seemed to be more excited to make the plays as long as they did not lose an attack he did not would care. The game continued like this and the Elite team finished the first period winning by 8 points of difference when the Elite team began to press more in the defense the adversary team began to err more. The best players on the opposing team were defended by Carter and Jake, Micah even attempted a few plays over Carter, but Axel and a lot of opposing players were fleeing from Jake passing the ball quickly. So the opposing team was messed up by Jake and missed more, but at the same time, Jake did not get any steal in that first period of the game. Jake made 6 points so far in 2-point plays and also managed to make 4 assists, he was out because the opponent was weak and because David and Harrison were looking for more plays. At the end of the second period the elite team already led by 20 points and had the easier game, Jake struggled more in defense and made 4 steals in the game so far, Jake made 14 points and 9 assists, the Triple Double for that game was well underway. In the third period Nathan and Lucas entered and did not change much the result of the game, the Elite team finished the third period with 30 points of advantage and the adversary team was already more discouraged to play the game, thus the defense of Nathan and Lucas was a slightly erased in this game. Jake had 21 points and 12 assists in that third period, plus he got 5 more steals to complete 9 in the game so far, so after a while, the game ended with the Elite team''s easy victory in that state championship debut. Jake got another Triple Double and increased his record, even more, Nathan and Lucas were not very happy because they could not do anything to change the game, but the trained Mike understood well that they played better in games more difficult what was important for the coach. So Jake went home first because a win like this did not bring much satisfaction to him, coming home he called Eva who was waiting for the call and was happy to receive the news of the victory. So Jake went to rest to prepare for next week, even though he expected Emily to find Jeff Bezos quickly he knew it was impossible by now, in addition, he asked Emily to evaluate Jeff''s company now so as not to look like Strange to invest in it. Jake had received the news that the company''s digital camera began to be sold in stores across the country, it looked like the camera was selling well despite the price and the camera was not as advanced as the others on the market. Jake was surprised but realized that it was because the name of Matthew''s company was well-known for more than 30 years making cameras, so the public was more confident in the new product, and the camera was even of good quality taking the limitations. Jake also did not know exactly what Matthew considered well sold for his company, for the total value of the company if the camera sold 10,000 units would already be considered a success for Matthew''s company in the first few weeks. But for Jake 10,000 unit was too little to have sales for this camera, if Matthew was more determined he could start selling overseas for a slightly larger amount. After all, for a thousand dollar camera is worth to pay a value to export to Europe and Asia to try to sell at least one million cameras worldwide. Chapter 190 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 4 So Jake decided to go to Matthew''s company to give this county to him, after all, he had already gotten so involved in Matthew''s business on the market that it did not make sense anymore to be shy now. As soon as Jake entered the company was well received by employees who were all very polite to Jake after the company began to sell well digital cameras Matthew made an alarmist speech to the company. He told everyone that the company was actually close to bankrupt the way it was, even though everyone was very quiet and did not think about innovating in the last few years, even Matthew, who was always an animated man, began to lose his will and that was why thinking about closing the company. So when Jake told him that the company needed a change and could even develop more in the market, even if it did not risk the company to fail Matthew would have decided to create the digital cameras. And many company employees were against this change that could save their jobs, were it not for Matthew to have the absolute majority of the company''s stock could happen the company could not make that change. So the employees were very grateful to Jake who saved the company they worked for. Jake did not know any of this and thought everyone was just being polite and thanked him as he went to Matthew''s office. "Hi Jake, I did not think you''d come here today, I was thinking of calling you only at the end of the month when I got out the first month''s sales report." "I wanted to talk to you about something, how''s the sales?" "We sold 4,000 cameras in just over a week, I expect 15,000 sales by the end of that month." It was worse than Jake thought less than half of the sales that he considered good, but Jake understood the animation of Matthew, after all even after selling all the machines that would not be used more to make the digital cameras he still had to invest another 4 million just to be able to make the cameras. In addition to more than 12 million spent on technology and product development, even if most of these 12 million went to develop the technologies of digital cameras in the cell phone and computer was still a lot of money invested. Yet if it was only to count on the profits Matthew''s company could recover more than 4 million dollars in only 1 month of sales, it was impossible that he would not be happy. But Jake hoped that Matthew would not be blinded by this apparent good result and keep looking to sell more of these cameras, after all, it would not be that they would always be the market leaders with that little thought. "Jake I said I''d call you here at the end of the month, but since you''re here now I''ll tell you what I had for the end of the month now when you gave me that idea to save my company you said you wanted it I hired your company." "I know this was just to bring more credibility to what you were talking about, but I said that if everything went right I would give you a reward, and it seems like everything has gone much more than right, so I''m going to give you your reward now." "Jake, I''m going to give you 5 percent of the company''s stock of digital cameras for you, that''s the least I think you deserve, but I can not give you too much either, so I hope it can pay off at least a little What you did for my family." Jake was shocked at this, 5 percent of the company, even if Matthew had 80 percent of the company, that was a lot to give to someone, especially because Jake did not come up with any investment and gave just one idea so that the company Matthew did not fail. "I can not accept this Matthew, it''s a lot of money, it''s more than money is a piece of your family''s assets, I can not accept that." "I know it may seem like a lot, but if you think about it, it''s not that much, after all, if it were not for you, that company would have failed, even if we were quick and we would sell that company before it faltered we would lose a lot more than those 5 percent on that sale." "And even if that company can be worth 10 billion or more in the future it will all be thanks to your advice, then those 5 percent is little even for what you did to my company." "But I think stocks are a lot, after all, you''ll be giving me a share of the voting right of that company, so if you insist you can give me that 5 percent cash and you get the shares." "I''m going to tell Jake, I''m very worried about the future of this company, after a few years who will replace me here is Joseph, even though I know you will try to help him too, with those 5 percent you will be our family from now on." "And even if he does not want to hear those 5 percent you have can save that company, so please accept Jake." So Jake got lost in what to do, he knew that Matthew was being sincere in giving these actions and his motive is also very well thought it seemed so Jake did not want to deny after seeing Matthew asking him to accept. "All right, Matthew, I''ll take these actions, thank you very much, I''ll do my best to make sure you do not have a loss even after you give me those actions." "Hahaha you''ve done more than enough Jake, I''m still paying you for what you''ve done if you do what I said I''m going to have to give an even bigger share of the company." So Matthew asked that Oliver, who was also Jake''s lawyer, organize the transfer of stock, Jake did not insist anymore because Matthew seemed to have thought of everything, but 5 percent of that company now without increasing the value after the success in the sales of the machines is at least 16 million. So Jake got even more into the group of millionaires after being a millionaire with 15 years after his actions and his patronage surpassed that value, that''s one reason Matthew loved Jake so much, a young millionaire who came out of nowhere was someone that he should have in his company. "Well then Matthew, as you know I did not come to your company knowing that I would win these shares and we still have an important subject to talk about." "True, I had even forgotten that, well then what did you want to tell me?" "I''ll be honest with you Matthew, I thought this digital camera should not be released now, but it should still take another 1 year at least for you to improve the camera model to market another." "Still I have to admit that your vision is better than mine for sales as these cameras seem to be doing well in the market, but I honestly think this is too little for your company Matthew." "What exactly do you mean by Jake?" "I fully understand that the camera market was very full these past few years, every country was trying to gain from it, so you just sell your cameras in their stores is a great idea." "But you have to understand now Matthew is that his company now has become one of the leaders in the world market for digital cameras, they should have just over 10 companies that manufacture digital cameras in the world now." "And from what I saw your camera is in the top three in quality, so I think you should first increase your production and then sell in more points in the United States and Europe, you have to advertise this better with commercials for the television." "I''ll be honest, if I did not know you I would not even know that this camera was for sale in the market, I did not see any promotion anywhere." "You have to understand Matthew that you have to take advantage of this rare moment when you are one of the leaders of the world market and let everyone know your brand, so you must make many advertisements because even if you do not sell to everyone, know about your company." "You have to take advantage of this time when your camera costs a thousand dollars and you have a lot of money to sell to Europe and get everyone to know your business because in the future you will have to sell that camera at a maximum of $ 400." "At that time you do not have as much appeal to advertise to the whole world and still make a profit, but if people remember your brand they can buy because it will be quality and not very cheap." Matthew was listening to all this with a twinkle in his eyes, he realized that the years really left him with no ambition, Jake was right, they had to take advantage that they had little competition and win a large part of the market. And Jake was certain that in the future they would have to lower the price of one camera to be able to sell many, so this was the time to make their company one of the world market leaders. And Matthew realized that Jake was really thinking hard about it and was not being blind, because Jake suggested and Europe and not Asia that had several companies that dominate the market, Matthew also had to think about investing now. Just for that idea, he saw that it was worth giving the company''s 5 percent share to Jake, and Matthew was sure they would have a lot more opportunities to grow in that market. "I agree with you Jake, I was being very careful and I was treating this digital camera as one of the products I was selling before, but we have to take that opportunity to gain a piece of that market." "I''m going to invest in those first months all the money that I receive from profit in advertising and also to increase the production capacity of the company, how many cameras do you think we have to target to sell Jake?" "It has to be at least 1 million Matthew, at least one million and these cameras will patronize the entire future of your company." Chapter 191 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 5 1 million cameras sold, Matthew never thought about that number of sales for cameras of that magnitude and with that high-profit margin, Matthew would be happy if he sold 80,000 cameras in total. So Matthew could have 24 million profit to invest more in the company, and Matthew had only close to 40 stores selling their cameras across the country, that is to say, that these 40 stores sold 100 cameras on average each. So if Matthew could have 3000 stores around the world selling his cameras only in the country and Europe with more propaganda they could sell 300,000 cameras in a week at least, so selling 1 million was not just a dream but a reality. Not to mention that if they sold so many cameras so their profit margin will increase and the cost per camera will drop a lot, so they will only have to gain by investing in this goal, they can get to earn 400 million in profit from all this and increase a lot the production capacity and also the points of sale for the future. So Matthew can understand why Jake said that this camera could finance the future of the entire company after all this camera will pay for all the investments for the future and still give a lot of profit for the company. Matthew could never imagine earning more than his company''s profit worth in a product only, his company''s market value will ultimately exceed 4 billion in value, so the 5 percent of Jake could be worth 200 million in just 1 year. So Matthew said it was worth giving these shares to Jake after Jake left. Matthew did not hesitate and asked for the first time in more than 10 years a loan for his company putting part of his shares as collateral and began to invest in the future that he wanted. Jake had no idea that Matthew was going to be that decisive, but it was certainly best for the company, Jake was well aware that the brand of a company sometimes had to be worth more than the profit the company made. Now Matthew had to invest in increasing the brand value of the company, this could help even in the future negotiation to put their cameras in the handsets of the biggest companies in the future. After a few days Oliver handed over the document stating that Jake had 5 percent of the shares of Matthew''s camera company, Jake was wondering what he could do with it. After all, now he would have more money to invest if he needed to, but it would be too stupid to borrow a loan from Jake''s actions because all his actions always valued a lot in a short time. So Jake thought it better to expect another investment opportunity with Amazon to invest in the future, not to mention that Jake would earn a dividend fortune by the end of next year with the profits from the sales of that digital camera. After seeing that Matthew''s company was going again on the right path, Jake was only concerned about doing his training, he felt that he was increasing a lot of rambling his skills in basketball after he rose to the level of a college player. Jake knew it would be difficult, but he did not think it would be so much, fortunately by the end of his high school senior year he still had time to improve his skills a bit, after all, he wanted to get well into college not to be put in the staff when you arrive. But Jake knew that now the only way to improve his skills beyond constant training was to actually play with players better than him and thus further develop his potential. But there was hardly anyone like that in high school, this was his last year and Jake was thinking about doing something special, so he thought about being selfish at least for a game and trying to do something special that would mark his career. As another record, the only record he could get when he wanted now was just one of the most points made in a basketball game, the problem was that Jake did not know exactly what that record was. So he thought he could only make as many points as he could and of course break that record, so he would again make his mark on youth basketball history. But he could not forget to try the record with another Triple-Double as well, it would be difficult, but it would give Jake a boost in the next game, so he talked about it with the coach and his teammates. Everyone was shocked at Jake''s thinking, normally no one would ask that to the team before the game and it would just happen naturally, but so they understood that Jake was saying he could do this in any game and was holding on for the team''s sake. So everyone naturally backed Jake''s decision and said they would try to help as best they could, this was a game that the team did not even have to care much about the defense because Jake should make more than 60 points on his own if he wanted to break a record. More than a few days to go, Jake was thinking of training again for the New York marathon in just over a month. With these points in Resistance and Agility, Jake was much calmer for the next race, of course, it would never be easy to run with so many talented athletes, but Jake had to try if he wanted to win an Olympics. At the same time as the last time he felt he was easing the first 30 km of the race, he only began to feel tired after the 40 km, and ended more easily the 50 km of training, Jake felt he could even run 60 km if you tried. But it was not yet time to force the training with the marathon so close, so at least Jake felt he could do it again if he could run the 50 km in 150 minutes then he thought he could run the little more than 42 km of the marathon in less time. If he ran by taking 30 seconds per km he could finish the race in less than 5 minutes in the final time, of course, Jake knew that it was impossible for him at the moment because so he could achieve at the same time the record of 10 thousand meters. But if he took 10 seconds per km it seemed possible with a lot of effort, so he would have 7 minutes less in the whole marathon and could even beat the record below 2 hours, these were goals that Jake could try to follow for the next marathons. The other day he tried first to take 5 seconds per km, so he would take 3 and a half minutes at the end of the marathon, which means he could finish the race in just over 2 hours and 3 minutes which would be the record in almost all the proofs of the world. That was Jake''s goal for now before raising another point on endurance or a skill rank, it seems easy to decrease that time by km, but for runners who run in the limit any second down is a win. Jake tried to run in that time, but in km 39 he had to stop, the system warned that Jake was at risk of an injury if he continued running, so Jake who was exhausted sat and ate a bar of stamina. So he felt his energy coming back and his muscles relaxed a little, yet Jake sat still waiting, after all, what Jake was most afraid of was an injury, no matter how small. Part of it was because Jake had a trauma of being a long time without walking, Jake felt that if he stayed too long without walking he would wake up from a dream and still be in a wheelchair, even if he knew it would not happen, he could not take this fear out of your heart. Another simple point was that he had many things to do next week and an injury would ruin everyone''s plan, so Jake sat there for a few minutes until he felt safe getting up again and going home. This time he did not feel leg pain after walking, it was because this time he sat down immediately after the system gave the warning and also ate a bar of stamina that relaxes the muscles a little. Even so, Jake was brave and tried again the other day, this time he did 4 seconds less per minute, so he managed to run the 43 km before he stopped exhausted. It was not because of any system warnings, but because he felt he could not end anyway, so he at least felt he could finish the marathon, he would finish in 2 hours and 3 minutes and 40 seconds, already a great time for any marathon in the world. It was the limit Jake thought he could now after increasing a point in Resistance and a point in agility, so Jake understood that he should have been able to improve his skills before the reward and not after, otherwise the improvements would be more apparent. That was better for Jake because after that next marathon finish he could be able to raise those skills again with the reward for beating a major and thus getting more confident for the Olympics next year. Jake knew he was more excited now about athletics than basketball, first because he loved basketball and running in so much then because he was clearly seeing the improvement in athletics now. He was close to winning another major marathon and then it would be an Olympiad, then he could try something else for athletics yet, but in basketball, he had only the national championship that was harder to beat. Then it was college, and only after he''d get the most out of the basketball that was the NBA, it was normal that what was nearer to conquer would cheer him up, not that he was not happy with basketball as well. But now Jake had to think about the next game where he was trying to break a record, Jake wanted to at least make 80 points because then he would feel like it really was a record. Chapter 192 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 6 The days passed quickly and the day of the second game of the state championship arrived, this was to be an ordinary game, but as Jake was thinking about breaking a record the whole team was excited. It was incredible that after that interview on the television nobody remembered that Jake had also won a marathon, it shows how rare this situation was and that few people cared about the marathon at that time. This was shown in Jake''s interview with Chloe, even though he has just won a 16-year-old the Chicago major marathon reporter in the middle of the interview changed the subject to basketball. It was as if the reporter was more interested in the fact that Jake was the MVP of his basketball team than with him having won a marathon, many were like that at the time. Jake woke up early that day and ate Eva''s breakfast fondly, she was happy to spend that time with Jake even if it was only a few hours in the week that they spent together. Even Jake was getting used to seeing his mother for a short time in the week, of course, Jake would never allow it to be the same as in his past life, he accepted it well because Eva was happy in the restaurant with Anna. So Jake packed his things and went to the place of the game when he arrived everyone was more relaxed than normal, after all, today''s game for them was not about winning more, but about how many they would win. Jake''s luck was acting as usual and the team was on the same level as his first opponent, so Jake would have less difficulty in winning that game, his opponents were preparing tactics for this game that would be difficult for them. Jake felt sorry that Eric was not in the stands, in fact, few reporters who as soon as Eric thought that all the Elite team game could have anything were there. In fact Jake was not sure that he could get this record as his teammates said, he just warned his teammates before because today he would have to make several plays alone without passing the ball so he thought he had to warn before. As he wanted to try to make a triple-double was also agreed that in the first period he would try to get the 10 assists as well, and as much steal as possible, before the opponents lose their will to play. The opposing team was called Penguins and it was very balanced, only PG Maddox was the team''s greatest standout, the others had the same level of skill as the state championship, but they could not get more than that. After a few minutes the game began, Mark went up more than all and won the ball possession for the Elite team, Mark soon passed the ball to Jake, Jake advanced and passed the ball to David before the three-point line. David passed the ball to Carter who was open on the right and Carter held the ball for a while, when the defense came to press Carter passed the ball to Jake who was further behind, Jake passed the ball to Harrison who was free on the left and Harrison tried the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Elite team. Maddox received the ball to start an attack for his team, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball of the SG of his team, the SG that received advanced to the attack and passed the ball farther left for the PF your team. The PF felt Carter coming on the mark and passed to the SF from the right who tried the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Penguins team and get the tie in the game. As the Penguins team made the move Jake was watching to be able to steal as fast as possible, Jake picked up the ball and began to organize another attack for the Elite team, after passing through the middle of the block he passed to Harrison on the left. Harrison got the ball and tried to overpower the opponent, seeing that he could not Harrison passed to Mark who was in the inner area, Mark received the ball passed to Jake again, Jake received the ball and passed to Carter who was free on the right. Carter who received the ball already made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team, so far it seemed like a game like everyone else, the Elite team passed the ball and tried to make the points and the opponent did the same, but all the plays ended with an assist from Jake in that first period. After a few plays Maddox received the ball to organize another attack for his team, after passing through the middle of the court Maddox passed the ball to the SG of his team that was on the left, SG advanced a little and passed the ball to the PF of your team. The PF tried to pass through Carter and saw that he could not and was prepared to pass the ball, but Jake who was following the ball made a steal in the ball that was with the opponent PF, the ball was left for Harrison who advanced to the attack calmly. Before the middle of the court Harrison passed the ball to Jake who continued to advance, Jake went up to the three-point line and passed to Mark who just turned and did the layup to make 2 more points for the Elite team. When Jake made the first steal he already had 6 assists in the game and not a point, so when the first period ended Jake had 4 points and 10 assists along with 4 more steal that he got in 6 plays of the opposing team. With the first period, so the opponents were thinking maybe that Jake was trying to score fewer points in the same game, the Elite team was 8 points clear in that period. At the beginning of the second period Jake advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to David, David advanced and passed the ball to Carter who was further ahead, Carter passed the ball back to Jake who was out of the line of three points , Jake tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for his team. Maddox received the ball and tried another attack for his team, after the line of three points he passed to the SG of his team, SG made a feint over David and can pass by David after the SG passed by David, Jake who was on the roof made the steal and got the ball. Jake advanced in speed and the defense of the Penguins team can not keep up so Jake kept running until finishing the play with a Slam Dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. And Jake continued like this until the end of the second period, Jake made 31 more points for his team and he got the 10 steals, so Jake had 35 points in the game so far, his teammates were impressed when they saw what Jake had done the Triple Double still in the second period of play. But despite that Jake allowed Maddox to score 10 points in the game, in five plays he tried to steal the opponent''s PG ran out of defense and can make the points easily, so it was not something Jake could do with the better teams. Even though it would be harder than he thought to do 100 points in a game like that this was to be expected because he had only 32 minutes in total such a game and Jake still wanted to try the Triple Double along with his record. In the third period Jake kept trying to score points, he made 25 attempts from the outside, 21 came in and Jake had made an incredible 46 points in the third period, so Jake had 81 points in today''s game after the end of the third period. The Elite team had a 42-point advantage in the game and this was because the team''s defense today was more relaxed with Jake making so many points, after understanding what was happening the Penguins team totally discouraged and became practically an expectant in the game. In the last period, Jake scored 42 points and made a total of 123 points in the entire game, the Elite team won with a 70-point lead and all Jake''s teammates celebrated as if they had won the national championship. Jake was very happy with that as well, he felt he could have overstated, but he did not know what was the record for high school players so he had to do his utmost, of course, this was because he even tried the Triple Double together making 10 assists otherwise he could make 30 more points in total. Jake made 36 attempts from the outside and hit 30 of them, so he 90 points in the game with shots from outside, an average of 3.8 points per minute which is not the maximum he could do. The reporters were very happy and interviewed Jake with great joy, they knew that going to the Elite team games one day could give some result, this was certainly a record, even if it was not the game with more points was in the top 5 with assurance. The good thing about a game like that was that it increased one player''s average points in the year, Jake had an average of 28 points per game and now must have increased a lot with that game, his state championship average was at least 75 points per game. After that Jake thanked his teammates and went to talk to the opposing players, all were well with it and although they did not like to lose at least they were happy to see an incredible record being made. Jake knew that his opponents made it a lot easier for him in the last two periods of play, not pushing him too hard in defense and also not making too many fouls so he could not score more points in the game. Chapter 193 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 7 In fact, Jake did not know but he did not have the record of most points made in a game so far, in college basketball in the ''50s a player made 113 points, Jake was remembering a piece of news he read in 2012 where a player college students scored 138 points in one game. But Jake was now in 1995, so he was far from 2012 yet, at university he could try to break that record again with more game time, yet without the internet people just remembered Wilt Chamberlain''s 100-point record. But that record was far more impressive than Jake''s 123 points because even if an NBA game had more time, the opponents were much more difficult and the game was much more tiring. Jake still had a lot to improve in another 5 years to get the chance to do that many points, but nowadays this was impossible even with another 5 years Jake still thought it was impossible for him to reach that level even with the help of the system. After that Jake went home happy and satisfied, he had achieved a difficult thing and a difficult goal in a player''s life, so he was much more motivated to reach the NBA and improve even more. In fact Jake had heard of a 100-point curse in his past life, people who could make 100 plus points in a game ended up not playing for the NBA in their careers, so he was more than willing to do away with it. Jake did not forget to call his mother to tell him about the victory and also about the record, Eva was very happy with the news about the victory, but she could not even know how to react by listening to Jake''s record. After all, it was something that nobody talked about much, but as Jake was happy she was happy too, so Jake can rest well after a game like that. But the other morning Jake heard a piece of news that made him sad, that he had not been able to beat the record for more points made in a single game in high school, Eric was the one who had heard this from his fellow reporters and called to warn Jake about this. The record was for Danny Heater and it was in 1960, it was a record with 135 points in 32 minutes, Jake thought it was incredible he had a triple Double, but Heater had done 7 assists and 32 rebounds in the same game, which was more incredible for Jake. If Jake had not tried to keep Triple Double making 10 assists he could have made at least another 30 points in the first period, but now it was too late to complain, yet it was still an incredible record. Jake thanked Eric for warning him otherwise he could have been ashamed, fortunately, he told his mother that he had just broken a record and did not say he was the one who had the most points. Now Jake thought it was a good idea to forget about it, after all, he was very selfish in this game and should not try again. At school no one else commented on this, Jake was a little sad because this was a private school that was more focused on studies, so people cared more to get good grades than what was happening in the sport. Of course, at this point Jake was very respected for having the highest grade in the class, now they could say that Jake was the best student of the school with his perfect grades in the last year and still contributing with titles in the school basketball team. Joseph who understood more about basketball congratulated Jake a lot on this incredible record since he started dating Liza and still with the university coming they were less time getting together. Jake was also very busy with business, basketball, athletics, and his mother who thought it normal for Joseph to be busy too, but Jake did not know Joseph did not feel the same way. When they met the two were only 10 years old, Jake liked Joseph because he was very simple like him and had no friends and even being rich did not care about the money he had. But Jake forgot that in fact Joseph was still 10 years old at the time and was alone for not having friends, so he looked like that when the years went by as normally happens when he grows older Joseph''s personality also began to change. And Jake was still the same because his mentality was over 40 and would not change anymore, so after 6 years of friendship much changed for Joseph, he became aware that his family was rich and what it meant to have money. Before his friends were all selfish and so the money was bad for Joseph, but he was still young at that time and forgot everything, so Joseph sought to be the best student in the room and also to lose weight to look like Jake. After Joseph slimmed down and his grades improved and he still got a girlfriend he was proud to be better than Jake as his family was richer then Matthew and Oliver told Joseph that Jake had saved his family company with business tips. Also, Jake was getting acquainted with basketball and was earning his own money with effort, so Joseph''s pride became envious of his friend''s success, Jake was still more handsome, had better grades, was better at business and saved the company from Joseph''s family. And now Joseph learned that Jake helped the company a lot to make a lot of money and they could raise the company''s worth by more than 10 times in a few years, so Matthew had given 5 percent of the company to Jake. So Joseph''s envy only increased, Jake was playing basketball and doing business while he was the best student in the class, while Joseph was still having to stop seeing Liza just to be able to study harder to get a better grade. Even though he still liked Jake and still considered himself a friend of his, he was grateful that he helped his family''s company, he supported his grandfather''s decision to give 5 percent of Jake''s stock. Oliver, who was his father, perceived this very well, but he thought it was normal for Joseph, who was in his teens, all of which could help Joseph build his personality and character more by the time he grew up. So Oliver thought it was important to choose who was his son''s friend because it all influenced a person''s personality as he grew up, and Jake was the best friend Joseph could have. That''s because even though Joseph was jealous of Jake he was still a lot better than most of his age, but with Jake as a comparison he could be humble even with all that, and Oliver thought that humility was very important for a man to have. After Jake went to the basketball team''s training, he told everyone on the team that he had not broken the record and everyone was a bit disappointed as he was, so everyone asked what Jake would do. And so Jake said that he would forget about this subject that had not worked, but his companions did not agree with him if Jake had put as his goal to break this record it was better that he could do it. So everyone said they agreed that he had to try again to be worth it, even coach Mike and Liza weighed the same, so Jake would put the Elite team''s name back in history, even the school president agreed with this when he heard that Jake almost got in last game. Even Eric said that if Jake was to try again he would go to the game to register all this it was rare that a player could have confidence in breaking a record of this and to plan before a game, usually this was an accident and sometimes even if the player stayed alone on the court for 32 minutes could not make more than 135 points. So Jake agreed that he would try one more time, he would have just one more chance as it was almost impossible for something like that to happen in a semi-final or state championship final, the national championship was even harder to come by. While I thought Matthew had gotten more comrades across the country and in Europe too, with Matthew guaranteeing that these companies would not lose money selling their cameras, his reputation helped a lot. Matthew had also increased production at his factory, so he was prepared to sell 1 million digital cameras if customers wanted to buy, so the company''s stock market appreciated the company''s good income outlook. Matthew thought of going to Asia too, but Jake was against it, he thought it was not good for competitors to take notice of the company before they sold too much and were more entrenched in the digital camera market. The commercials were also being planned to go to television, Jake wanted to help in the commercial, but gave up when he learned that Matthew''s company had a department specialized in that, this was to be expected of a company that was more than 30 years in the market. Jake had no news of Emily as well, it was normal for him to be slow to find someone like that and Jake gave him more than 2 months of time, so Jake wanted to make sure this business worked out fine. The thing that worried Jake more now was Tiffany and Clara that did not give any news, as Jake had not been able to speak with Tiffany after returning from Chicago he tried to speak with Clara and also it did not obtain anything. So the two did not know that Jake had nearly broken a record, yet it was an incredible feat that could get some attention for his sponsors as John and Alan used for their company. But now Jake could not do anything about it as no one asked for his help, besides, Jake was busy thinking about the best way to break that record in a week, and he still had to train for the next marathon. Chapter 194 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 8 So in the week Jake continued his racing training, yet he could not do the 50km of training by taking the 4 seconds per km, but as soon as he could, he could consider himself ready for the marathon. After a few days, Jake was still in doubt as he could get the Triple Double and makeover 135 points in the next game while he was thinking about that Mark had the solution and came to talk to him. "Jake, I heard you have a hard time thinking about how to get Triple Double and make the necessary points, you know very well what you need to do, you do not have to have any regard for me." "I do not know what you''re talking about Mark, I consider you all, but I''m not doing anything special to you." "It''s okay, everyone on the team knows you are like that, I also think as a captain it''s cool that you consider the well-being of all your teammates, but in this game, you have to be selfish if you want to achieve that record." Mark was right, actually long ago Jake was being considered with Mark, but he thought his teammates had not realized this since Jake got over 1.85 m with his many training games it was obvious that he could always dispute and even win Mark''s rebound. But Mark always helped a lot with the rebounds in several games that the team needed, and when it was Jake who missed the shots outside or mid-range Mark was the one who helped the team not to lose any attack. In addition, Jake trained a while with Mark and learned the Center''s position with him, so just to further improve his achievements he did not think he needed to dispute the rebounds with Mark. But in this game, Jake needed an easier triple-double in which he scored several points, so even though it was not easy he could be like that without needing 10 assists in the game and could attack in all the plays. This was possible because Mark and Carter shared almost all of the team''s defensive and offensive rebounds, and yet Mark had a medley of more than 9 rebounds per game, Carter averaged 5 rebounds per game. "Okay then Mark, thanks so much for this, but only for this game, then we''ll get back to normal." So Jake was quieter after resolving this, he would not make the 10 assists and would try to score in all attacks if Jake could count on the luck he could even miss fewer shots from outside and less mid-range shots as well. But Jake learned that luck has no fundamental performance when doing more than 20 shots per game, otherwise it would be obvious that Jake had something different in every game, but at least in this game he wanted his luck to help more points. While Jake was doing his training for the game Emily called him saying that he needed to talk to him about something important, so Jake was excited to think that Emily had managed to find who he was looking for. They met as always in a separate restaurant because these deals were still a secret from Eva, when Jake got there they greeted each other, but the subject was not what Jake expected. "Hi Jake, I''m sorry to call you urgently while you were busy training, but I needed to talk to you." "No problem, so you managed to find who I was looking for?" "Unfortunately not yet, but in a few weeks I will have this information for you, the subject has to do with my father and other businessmen." So Jake was disappointed in this, he was anxious to do business with Jeff Bezos, it was like Jake thought that the longer it took him the more chance of going it wrong was, while Jeff had not yet sold stock Jake knew he could convince him. "You do not need to be so sad so I think something good for you, I always tell my father about working for you, but whenever we talk to the businessmen who are my father''s friends we speak that I work in a company the which is true." "So I told you that you had made an investment and had a return of several times the amount invested, so all of them were interested in investing in a technology company, but were afraid of losing a lot of money." "But they did not want to go into big investment companies for fear of being cheated, so knowing that I whom they knew worked in an investment company was working with investments they wanted to invest in the company." "But as the company is practically your investments I wanted to know what you think of it." This was really unexpected for Jake, he just created this company to take care of his own investments, after all, he was a minor and the values ??were high for a common business, so a company could help Jake better control his investments and pay taxes. But he never really expected the company to receive investments from other people, even when he suggested that Matthew, Oliver, Clara, and Tiffany make the investments, either they could do it on their own or find a really specialized company. Of course, he could not deny that with his future knowledge he could easily indicate which investments were right for these companies, now was a great example, there were several companies that were valuing themselves in the stock market because of the internet. But Jake knew exactly which companies would have the best returns and when stocks would have the biggest declines, some companies would fall in value in 2000 and then recover in a few years. Cisco would be a company that would have a huge fall in stocks, as a large company would recover, but it would never reach its peak again and would only recover in more than 15 years. Other companies like Microsoft and Apple would have losses and recover and earn much more in more than 10 years, so it would be worth investing a few million in stocks to have a millionaire retirement. But Jake thought it was not worth waiting that long, after 10 years he would earn that money from NBA salaries, so he invested in Cisco to make a lot of money and then sell it all. In contrast, it had Amazon that it would be one of the largest companies in the world in more than 15 years, so it would invest little and earn a lot, not to mention that more companies like Amazon would still exist in the future to invest. But for someone who did not come from the future as he companies like Cisco were too risky if he did not know the right time to sell, and companies like Amazon would only be recommended for those who have little money to invest. But Jake had a problem doing this, it was that companies like Amazon he wanted to invest as much as possible in a short time, these companies Jake would never recommend to others, but in a few dozen years the people who invested in the company would complain to see Jake billionaire that he did not recommend this company to them. So Jake said what he was thinking to Emily with other words and Emily just smiled as she answered him. "You do not have to worry about it, Jake, these people just want to work with your company for a few years at the most, no one wants to risk losing money so you can just help them make lots of money and they will not complain." "So I agree, but I want 10 percent of their investment profits to be worth my time to think of the best investments for them and once a group comes in we will not accept anyone else." "Alright, I''ll tell them about it." "In addition, we will have to separate the company into their accounts, my personal investments and the investments of these entrepreneurs, and you can not tell them about the companies that I am investing separately." "You can count on my ethics, I will not talk about it." "You''ve done a good job, Emily, hire people to always check the stocks we''re investing in and focus on finding Jeff Bezos for me, I was already thinking about it, you''re going to get 1 percent of the profits from all of that company''s business, you deserve it and work harder for it." "Thank you so much, Jake, I''ll do my best." Emily was well aware of how good it was to get 1 percent of the profits of an investment firm like these because she would not use any penny of her own money to invest and still make a living out of it. Jake, for example, invested $ 250,000 a few years ago and now earned more than $ 1 million, she would get $ 10,000 to invest nothing, and that was just the beginning, now Jake still had that money invested if he earned 5 times more she would earn 50 thousand this time. In addition to the salary she already earns that is little now, but Jake said that it would increase a lot in a few years because all the money that Jake wins he invests again and she also did not have much to do a few years ago. So after a few days, Emily warned Jake about the investment information, 23 business owners who were friends of his father would invest in stocks and let the company take care of their investments, Emily again asked the people who were known to Jake if anyone wanted to invest. But no one showed interest again, not because they did not trust Jake, but rather because they had to invest in their own companies, Matthew even had until he got a loan to invest in his own company. Still, Jake was surprised that so many entrepreneurs were investing in it, especially when he heard the value that these 23 entrepreneurs would invest, 30 million dollars, was much more than Jake initially thought. He felt bad for having charged 10 percent of the profits, of course, some people would invest more like Emily''s father who would invest 4 million dollars, and he promised that half of the profits would go to Emily. Jake asked Emily to explain exactly that some could lose something in a few years more than 15 years would gain much more while some would earn a lot and not lose anything in a few years. Chapter 195 A Risky Investment That Will Make It Right 9 To earn more in more than 15 years or to earn less in a few years, everyone obviously chose to earn a lot in a few years, many of these people were old and wanted to have the money in a short time and were investing only because they saw that they had much to gain from the internet. Nobody wanted to lose money even if it was to recover after more than a decade, not to mention that nobody believed that Jake could predict the market in so many years ahead, was what Jake really expected. So Jake told Emily to still invest everything in Cisco stock, after all, it was the most profitable company and Jake knew the exact time to sell the stock, in other companies the gain was smaller and Jake did not remember when it was the best time to sell. Even so, Jake thought this was the best time to invest in Cisco, the company would still appreciate nearly 20 times before the bubble burst, so that 30 million could become more than 600 million dollars. Also, Jake thought that 30 million was too much to invest carelessly after all could even have a large part of a smaller company and interfere with their moves, Cisco would still not care about those 30 million now. Jake might even say that these investors could have 40 times that amount in profit, Emily would certainly be a millionaire if he was entitled to half of her father''s profits, so Jake wanted everything to be on a notary''s record. Because if he earned 10 percent of that value he would even be rich just standing there waiting for everything, even so, Jake was still more focused on doing this deal with Jeff Bezos because, in the long run, it would certainly be more money. Too bad their friends did not want to invest now, that would be their last chance to make a lot of money on that investment, glad that Jake still knew more profitable investments in the future. But nothing would be like that to earn 40 times the value invested in 5 years only, only if they try to invest in a company like Amazon after opening and waiting for more than 10 years to receive the investment. But even Jake would not do anything like that, only if he did not really need the money by that time, so it might be worth it. After leaving everything in the hands of Emily in the company they returned to concentrate on their training, marathon training would take time to see some result, but in basketball, he was just preparing for the challenge in a few more days. At least now Jake knew how many points he had to make to break that record, he thought he would not have another chance to do it and now that he has again received the confidence of his coach and his teammates he should be able to break that record. When Jake told Eva that he was trying to break that record again, Eva could not know how important this was, but she felt Jake was very serious and focused on it so at least she encouraged Jake by saying that he would succeed. While Eva talked about this with Anna who also did not understand much about basketball Lola ended up hearing about it and was impressed, she was someone who understood well of basketball of so much to hear it of the young people who lived in its street. So she had already been impressed with Jake winning the MVP award in the national championship and having done Triple-Double in several games, she knew how difficult it was against a weaker opponent. So hearing that Jake would try to score more than 135 points, she honestly thought it was impossible, many young people on the street would show up when they scored 40 points in a game and said their goal was to score 50 points in a game. So making more than 100 points was impossible for Lola, even the pros could not do it, but as she listened to the conversation she heard that Jake had already scored 123 points in the last game trying to break that record and would try to get it this time. So Lola could no longer doubt that Jake could be capable of this, even more, she heard that this was an important moment for Jake, so she told Eva and Anna that she wanted to go to that game to cheer for Jake. She was really curious to know if Jake could actually do this and also wanted to be there to cheer for Jake in the game, she was the one who was most unoccupied sometimes in the restaurant, Eva and Anna knew Lola liked Jake and how it was Jake''s game, they let her make this surprise. And so the days went by quickly and soon came the day of Jake''s game, it was the third game of the state championship and everyone was more excited about this game, Jake woke up very early in the morning and ate his breakfast made by Eva. Eva did not tell Jake even after he left that Lola would come to her game, she knew that even though Jake was more mature for his age since always he always was happy when someone known would go to a game of it. When Jake arrived at the game site, everyone had arrived and was as relaxed as in the last game, Harrison himself said it would be good if Jake could try to break a record in every game, so they would be calmer. Of course, everyone knew that this would be true until the state championship final, then they would have to have increasingly difficult games, so in this game, they would have to see if Jake could break his record. The opposing team also had no players who could make a difference in today''s game, plus everyone knew what Jake did in the last game and felt that it could be repeated in today''s game, so the PG of that team was the most discouraged for having to defend against Jake. Jake looked at the bleachers and saw that there were a lot more reporters for this game, Eric had also come as he had promised so Jake took another look at the bleachers and saw that Lola had also come to see this game. Jake was happy about this, he was glad that someone he knew was in a game so important to him, Eva was sure he liked things like that. So after a while the game started, Mark took possession of the ball to his team and passed it to Jake further back, Jake advanced to make the first attack for the Elite team in that game. Jake passed the ball to David who was ahead, David advanced until after the line of three points and passed to Carter, later on, Carter held the ball for a while and passed back to Jake who was behind. Jake got the ball behind the three-point line and tried the shot from outside to make the first 3 points for him and the Elite team, so the opposing team started the first attack of the game a little apprehensive, they did not know if it was just a normal attack or if Jake was trying to make over 100 points again. So they made the move until it fell into the hands of the SF team that with space made the mid-range shot to make the first two points for their team, they realized that the Elite team seemed to be giving even more space for the play to end fast. So Jake received the ball and advanced quickly to the attack, as everyone knew that Jake had to try to break this record they had to make the moves as quickly as possible to have more attacks in the game. In the defense they could not give so much freedom to the opponent because Jake had to try to do 10 steals to obtain a triple Double also, so Elite team advanced quickly and the ball was passed to Jake that did another shot from outside to do 3 more points for the Elite team. So the opposing team saw that something might actually be happening, but they could not do anything about it, they advanced quickly too and tried the mid-range shot with SG, but the ball did not go in and Jake was the one who went up to get the rebound. So Mark, who saw this, knew he was right about what he said, so even if he wanted to play that rebound with Jake even though he was taller he would have lost that ball, so Jake was really letting the rebound for him and Carter. At least the defenders in the offensive rebounds Mark and Carter were still the best positioned to take the rebound, yet Jake was not rushing and even if the team attacked quickly he expected everyone to position themselves before attacking. After all, this was the third game of the state championship and they would have to respect their opponents if they did not want to risk being defeated. After more than half of the first period to have passed Jake had made 10 attempts to shoot from outside and hit 9 of them, so he had 27 points in that period already, it seemed that his request worked and his luck was working harder today. The opposing team had only 14 points so far losing 2 attacks that Jake took the defensive rebound, in that attack they were attacking quickly because they were following the pace of the Elite team, the SF of the opposing team passed the ball back to the PG. But Jake anticipated and intercepted the ball making the first steal in the game, Jake immediately advanced to using his speed left the defenders of the opposing team behind and finished the play, making a dunk to make 2 more points in the game. So the game continued and the first period ended and the Elite team was winning with 50 points against 20 only of the opposing team and Jake had made all the points, he tried 19 shots from outside and 16 entered so Jake still had a high average of the hit. Even the opponents were impressed with this was almost 3 attempts to shoot from outside per minute, of course, this was possible only because in the three attempts he missed Mark took the rebound and passed it again. Chapter 196 New Challenges 1 Jake caught five rebounds and made 3 steals in this first period, even though it wasn''t as good as in the last game everyone could see that Jake was trying hard to beat this record after a while the second period began. Even though it was impossible to win the game, the opposing team still tried to take advantage of the Elite team''s defenses of that game to score more points, which was what the Elite team wanted because Jake would have more opportunities to rebound and steal. Jake in all attacks still made the move normally before receiving the ball again to make another shot from outside, the opposing PG knew that this was not an ordinary game and did not force much in defense and did not try to make fouls. What many wondered was how Jake didn''t get tired after making so many plays in this and the last game, even if he could finish a 32-minute game wasn''t that impressive because the players weren''t always trying hard. In many plays the player just walked around the court until the team made the points, in more difficult games it was normal to see the players get tired and replaced, but Jake seemed never tired. Some reporters just knew how Eric was because Jake could also run a marathon if a person can run a marathon, he can play to the fullest in a 32-minute basketball game. So the game went on, by the end of the second period Jake had scored 94 points, he managed to score fewer points in the second period, but everyone was already impressed by that, almost 100 points in 16 minutes were impressive to anyone. Jake was still in the mindset of just firing off that game, so even though he missed a few he was counting on Mark to rebound to try again, Jake tried 18 off shots during that time and hit 14 of them, and the other 2 points. were in a dunk after a steal. He also got 9 rebounds and 7 steals in total, so the triple Double was on the way too, even though Mark had given up on the defensive rebounds so Jake had 7 rebounds in the game already, Eric and reporters were impressed with that. Anyone can get a lot of shots out of a game, just the selfish player and not thinking about hitting any of them, proof of that is the 3 Point Shootout Contest that the NBA does every year on All-Star. In just 1 minute they try 25 shots from outside and have hit more than 20 of them, it shows that it is possible, but no one tries because in a real game with a player in defense it is much harder. But today Jake was trying to show what the possible odds limit was, Lola was also impressed by that, she honestly thought it was not possible, but after Jake scored almost 100 points in the middle of the game she no longer doubted and just cheered. Of course, this was only possible because Jake had 32 strengths, much more than he had even in his past life, he could feel that it was much easier to try the shots off, and Jake didn''t have so many muscles that hampered his movements even with more than 30 strength. With the help of his luck and the distance to the three-point line being smaller than in the NBA, it helped a lot for Jake to achieve that, yet he was impressed to achieve that in one game. In the third period, everyone was excited to see Jake break this record just to be disappointed, Jake scored 36 points only in that third period of the game, everyone thought it was because he was getting tired of the game. But it was Jake who was holding on purpose, after all, if it went on like that he would stand out too much with this record, he still made 17 attempts at outside shots to hit 12 more of them, yet he deserved praise for it. Even though he had 130 points at the end of the third period and had already broken his own record, now he had to make 6 more points in this last period to break that record, just by having 2 straight games with over 120 points he would already be in history forever. Jake also had 14 rebounds and 12 steals in the game, even Mark already had 12 rebounds in this game, so Jake was happy for his teammates so everyone was excited for this last period of play. When another 8 minutes were up many were cheering Jake on the court, he scored 42 points over that period and far beat the record for most points made in a game, 172 points should even if a historical record hard to break even if the ball is given for some to be trying for 32 minutes to make that much of points. Jake tried 20 more shots from outside to hit 14 of them and score 42 points, plus Jake had 20 rebounds and 15 steals, a triple Double with a record again. Jake made 74 off-shot attempts to hit 56 off, Mark got a Double-Double with 20 assists as well as 16 rebounds, even David had 17 assists in today''s game, with the game past the average assist of his teammates were almost bigger than Jake''s even. Jake did some interviews with everyone including Eric who was not left out this time, after all this time everyone was sure the record had finally been broken so the story would be really interesting to them. After thanking his teammates and opponents again for all playing a fair game Jake was preparing to leave, after all with his stamina he was tired after that game. But on leaving the game site he saw that Lola was there alone, she wanted to congratulate Jake too, but he was surrounded by several people and reporters and she missed the chance, Jake felt a little guilty for forgetting her alone. "Hi Lola, thanks for coming to see the game." "Congratulations on winning and also on the record, when I heard from your mom that you were trying to score over 100 points in a game I didn''t believe it, but I wanted to see it in person, and it turned out you scored over 170 points." "I''m glad I got that, now I feel like I''ve done something important even in my high school days." "Don''t say that, if you win this national championship more would be your second time being the champion, if you win the MVP prize will be even better, I think winning is more important than just doing well once and getting nothing." "I hope you''re right, my mom didn''t even tell me earlier that you were coming here, I was really surprised." "I think she really wanted to surprise her because I asked her yesterday to come here." "I''ll take you to your house then, I came in my car." "Thank you, then." While Jake drove Lola to her house they both got to be talking in the car, then Jake drove her home and drove off, Lola was later upset that she didn''t take the opportunity to talk more in the car, but was glad Jake was a gentleman. and take her home. Jake went home after that and I call his mother saying that he had managed to break the record this time, so Eva was happy for him, she realized that this record was really important to Jake. So the news that Jake had broken the record for the most points in a high school game was mostly known in Miami where Jake was already well known, after all, it was more than ten times that he appeared in the newspaper and on television. After that happened Jake returned to the normal training routine, next week would be the state championship semifinal and in less than a month would be the marathon of New York. As for the state championship Jake was confident, but in the marathon, he did not know if he could lower the 4 seconds per km in a 50 km race, after all, he knew well that the marathon was much harder than in training. After all Jake finished the marathon smoothly because he trained to always run 7km more in training and even decreased his time to ensure that would have no problems, but he could not guarantee that would not always be so, after all, it was not easy to win a major marathon. Jake knew from John that thanks to Jake being representing the company sometimes with sponsorship mainly in the Chicago marathon they had a lot more sales in Chicago and Miami now, after all, everyone was curious about those companies that sponsored Jake who did so many amazing things. Tiffany and Clara''s companies had the best results in these places because they had been with Jake for a long time, so Jake was thinking of Tiffany who hadn''t been talking to him since he was in Chicago. Just as he was wondering if he would go there to find out what happened Tiffany called Jake saying she wanted to talk to him, but the place was in a hotel restaurant and not in the normal restaurants they met. Jake accepted and relaxed thinking that nothing had happened and he was thinking too much, after all, Tiffany was busy and has his private life too, he should not have interfered that much. So Jake thought she was calling to talk about her two games with over 120 points and her record was broken after all his acquaintances called to talk about it with him. But arriving at the restaurant he saw that things were not that simple, Tiffany had a serious face that from what he knew of her seemed even that she was angry or angry about something. Seeing this, Jake even cringed in fear that he had done something wrong, but he didn''t remember doing anything wrong, so he took courage and walked slowly to Tiffany''s table. When she saw Jake her gaze shifted to worry and tiredness, so Jake knew it was nothing to him, but he was curious what could cause such a strong woman such emotions as Tiffany. Chapter 197 New Challenges 2 "Hi Tiffany, you made me worry about you coming out of Chicago all of a sudden, I know I shouldn''t intrude on what happens in your life, but as we are friends I was worried about you." Jake was a little apprehensive, he was always a person with few friends in his life, so he valued the few he had and tried everything he could for them, but Jake''s relationship with Tiffany and Clara was not that simple. Even though he always thought of them as a friend, he didn''t know if they thought like that, because they were also his sponsors, and so Jake didn''t know if they treated him well because he was a friend or an important business partner. After all, Clara never talked to Jake about his personal problems and put a barrier between them, so much so that in recent months he had only talked to Tiffany most of the time. Tiffany also, although talking a lot about Clara didn''t say anything about her life people, Jake was different and told everything he felt for them. "I''m sorry I left so suddenly, but there was a serious problem that I had to address urgently, but I''m glad to hear you were worried about me." "I heard from your record in the last 172 points game, after a 123 points game, really I think no one else could do something like that, our companies will win a lot from that too, congratulations Jake you''re amazing." Jake wasn''t happy with Tiffany''s compliment because it was clear she was trying to change the subject, but Jake couldn''t force Tiffany to talk about anything. "Thanks, I was happy after this game, you called me here because you wanted something from me?" "No, it was more to apologize about that day I left without saying anything and to congratulate you on your amazing game." "Did something happen, Tiffany? I feel you have something that is bothering you so much, could that be the reason you left Chicago quickly? You know you can trust me so I can see if I can help anything." After Jake said that Tiffany seemed to be in conflict whether to talk about it with Jake or not, Jake just waited for Tiffany to make up his mind. "All right then, I''ll tell you, Jake, it''s not because I don''t trust you that I didn''t say anything about it, but since it''s not about me I can''t just talk about it like that, but as you''re indirectly involved I I''m gonna tell you." "It turns out that when I was in Chicago with you at the marathon a lot of things happened here in Miami." "Robert''s father, who was very ill, unfortunately, died after so many years, but without even waiting for his burial Robert filed for divorce." "Because they married a total division of property no one has to share anything with divorce, and Robert now that he has inherited the family business is thinking of making several changes and investments in his business." "So this madman said he had been talking to a major sporting goods company for months and that company has, we don''t know how, bought 30 percent of the company from shareholders on the stock exchange and wants to buy Robert''s 10 percent as well. " "If they can buy 10 percent of Robert their company will have 40 percent of the company and Clara will only have 41 percent so Clara will not go without the only voice in the company anymore." "Fortunately, although this company that wants to buy Clara''s company is so big, they don''t want to waste too much time on it and they want to buy Clara''s company, me and her father besides Robert or the rest of the stock market." "Fortunately Clara has acted fast and bought 5 percent more of the stock and has 46 percent again so with mine and her father''s shares that we will never sell, this company also seems to have bought 4 percent more and has 34 percent." "The other shares are with a bank that doesn''t want to sell because it''s making a profit, luckily Robert''s father was smart and knew he had been unfair to Clara in this and before giving the shares to his son''s name put a clause that Robert would have to offer Clara the shares before selling to another." "Now we have 5 years to buy these shares before Robert can sell to this other company, the problem is that these shares are worth 28 million now and neither I nor Clara has that money." "We have made a lot of investments in our companies and we have a security contract in our companies that we cannot loan our company shares to get that money." "Clara''s father can''t do anything about it either, and it''s impossible for us to raise $ 28 million in 5 years without borrowing, not to mention that our company is always valuing and so that value can be higher in 5 years." "If this other company can''t buy our company they''ll want to sell that 34 percent too, so we have to raise even more money for it." This seemed to be a pretty complicated situation, they can''t use any company money beyond dividends in those 5 years, this is impossible even if they add their salaries in the company. "Can''t you make a loan without pledging the company stock?" "We can, but we can''t do much with loans." "You can try to raise as many funds as possible in a short time and I invest that money for you, so in 5 years you can raise that money to buy Robert''s stock at least." "I think Clara and her dad won''t agree to bet the company on unsecured investments, Jake, I just wanted to tell you that, I don''t expect you to get that money." So Jake gave up trying to convince Tiffany, with 2 million invested now he guaranteed that he could raise that amount to at least 60 million, but it was like Tiffany said a venture investment, just not risky for Jake coming from the future, but no one knew about this. Right now Jake couldn''t really raise that money, in another year with Matthew''s profits he could if he borrowed Matthew''s stock as collateral, but that was impossible for Jake to do. In 5 years Jake would have that money for sure, but he couldn''t guarantee it for Tiffany and Clara, and even if they were very close friends he couldn''t give it to them, and lending wasn''t a good way either because he would have to wait. 8 years to receive at least. So what he could do was buy these stocks, even if it was a bad investment Jake would do it for friendship, after all, they would have a lot of money in 5 years, he just felt bad for not being able to reassure Tiffany that she was sad. After Jake came home he thought about it again, he could do nothing to help the company now, no one he knew would invest more than 123 million just to help Clara and Tiffany. Even Matthew, who was also a friend of them and would make that money from selling the cameras, would do such a thing, after all, it was pointless to do so. At least now Jake knew why Tiffany and Clara''s companies did not exist in the future, they would certainly be less successful than now, so Robert tried to sell his shares and then got Clara and Tiffany discouraged and sold their shares and the company has been sold. So Tiffany must have been discouraged and sold to her company, with Jake having changed things for the better. Clara had a way of reacting and still continuing with her company, and the other shareholders would not let Tiffany sell the company that is worth so much now. Luckily he still had 5 years to think of something, in 6 years he was able to get what he has today out of nowhere, so Jake believed he could do something in 5 years, one good thing had come out of it all was that Clara was finally free from the unhappy marriage she was. So Jake decided to forget about it for a while and continue his training routines, so he went to rest to continue training for the next game. The other day Jake went to the restaurant and talked to Lola a little about some trivial matters and then went to meet his mother and Anna in the kitchen. "Hi Jake, congratulations on winning yesterday and breaking the record you wanted so badly." "I''m not sure what Jake looks like either, but it must be amazing to score over 100 points in a game." "I was very happy too, you didn''t tell me anything about Lola going to the game yesterday at breakfast are you, mom?" "I didn''t think I needed to tell you why you would see her the same way, besides, she just went to see the game." After talking a little with his mother and Anna he went to school, everyone in his class was busy studying there, and Jake was the most relaxed in there, but he didn''t bring any other books to study in the classroom. Jake was very busy doing many things he didn''t even have time to rest, and after learning the Japanese language he spoke 6 languages with English, and he would use those languages more in restaurants or on the rare trips he would make. , so Jake was no longer interested in new languages. For a long time, he would no longer make his travels as he had no company, so the purpose of learning the languages that were travel was over Jake promised after having his second chance that he would not make travel alone anymore if it was something work he would do, but never to relax. After all, he retraced all the trips he had made in his past life in this life with his mother because he always thought he had some things that he had missed enjoying being alone. Chapter 198 New Challenges 3 As for the economics and business books he had read them for over 10 years if he counted his two lives, there was not much else he could learn from the books. After he did this by continuing with his perfect grades he finally got the recognition of all the teachers who considered him a student model for all classrooms, seeing that Jake regretted a little for being so adamant and insistent on taking the books to the classes in the past. Even if he wasn''t wrong, it wasn''t right to want to complicate things with the teachers, at least he had learned everything he wanted before finishing school, even though those hours a day in the classroom might seem like a waste of time when he got around. It was as busy as Jake. He knew well that after this time passed he would miss it all, another thing that also changed was that now many of Jake''s classmates were asking him for advice about things they didn''t understand in class. Before, everyone was afraid to ask Jake that he had problems with the teachers and seemed not to study in class, but after they started asking they were surprised to find that Jake was a great teacher. Even Joseph who thought Jake didn''t study was sorry for not asking Jake for help before, so many of his classmates had their grades improved long after Jake''s tips. Even though it seemed like Jake didn''t study now, it was because he had already studied hard in his past life, besides studying hard at school when he was this age he studied after the older ones over the internet, and the summarized teaching videos were much better than the lessons. normal to learn. Those with the worst grades and wanting to go to a good university even asked Jake for help after school, but he had to deny it because he was so much busier out of school than at school. After classes Jake returned to his training with the basketball team, everyone was happy that Jake had a great achievement breaking this record, with these two games all relaxed a lot and forgot the concerns of the team. But after all the excitement was over they remembered that they were in the state championship semifinal again and so the games would get harder and harder, even if they were the favorites to win the championship surprises could always happen as their opponent in the regional championship that was able to reach the national championship. Who was not very happy with these two games in which Jake was trying to break the record were Nathan and Lucas, both were very happy for Jake as they were very cheering for him but knew they missed good opportunities to prove themselves to coach Mike. After all, in these two games, neither the attack nor the defense mattered much, just everything was being done so that Jake could score over 100 points and break the record so Coach Mike didn''t even bother putting Nathan and Lucas to play in those two games. So they missed two opportunities to show that they could do more as a starter in the national championship, of course even David and Harrison didn''t make much money from those two games either, but as they were already starting out they weren''t losing much on that. Although Jake didn''t know that Nathan and Lucas were sad about it, he knew he had been selfish in these two games, so in training he did his best to help his teammates improve, always giving tips when he could. Coach Mike thought it was very good because it served to relax some players who were very tense to compete for positions in the team and also to try the second national championship in a row. The president was also insisting that the team had to work harder to win this national championship, Elite school was not a school known for being strong in sports, but with new investments, they won 2 national championships in a row from high school. Many new talents went to school so after a year''s break the team had been able to win another national championship and were heading to win one more, together with Jake''s record this year they were to be placed as one of stronger schools in high school basketball. Also, many talented players joined the Middle School team and they were fighting for the third national championship in less than 5 years, players like Nathan and Lucas were joining the team next year again. In addition to basketball training, Jake was struggling with his home bodybuilding workouts, he had abandoned the treadmill after he started training to run the marathon, but he could feel that his strength was falling behind in his physical statistics. Even though at the moment the agility and endurance statistics were more important to him in his two works, he could not give up on increasing his strength, because he could not forget that the system said that the strength statistic could increase his strength rate. mid-range shots and outside shots. Jake had a dream of getting more than 60 percent hit on the outside shots at least if he got 80 percent was much better, but for that, he would have to have at least 60 points in strength statistics. After all Jake learned that he enjoyed basketball in his past life in the wheelchair by shooting outside, in the NBA, too, he knew that in the beginning, he could no longer easily make his individual plays and layup and dunk in plays. All of his opponents will be high-level players and will not allow it, so Jake would have to rely on outside shots and mid-range shooting early in his NBA career to make his points. But just bodybuilding wasn''t helping, he could now earn 1-2 statistics points a year, so it would take almost 15 years for him to have the statistics he wanted in strength, you couldn''t count on it. In his marathon running training, Jake was also dissatisfied with his improvement, he was able to run 46 km at a speed of 2 minutes and 56 seconds per km, but it had been two weeks with this training and so he could not run the 50 km at that time before the New York Marathon. Jake knew how important it was to be confident for such a marathon, so he could run smoothly, any distraction could make Jake lose pace in the marathon and thus lose the race. But that was his normal improvement with training, he was improving fast earlier because of his pride in winning a marathon without using the stamina bar Jake had awakened his potential and so was improving in training quickly. After all Jake was already at the height of marathon competition after winning in Chicago, so he could earn system stats points as a reward, the system even acknowledged that it was difficult to improve with training and so gave reward points to motivate Jake to keep improving and break new records. Of course, since the system was something that helped him push his limits, he could still improve by training normally, but Jake was only 16 now, even if he took 10 years of running under 2 hours a whole marathon would be awesome. Jake was just being impatient now, he still had the statistics he could earn at major marathons, and when he got to the NBA with basketball, it wouldn''t take him ten years to beat those records. So Jake was thinking of doing what the system was against in the beginning, participating in various sports and having various jobs to improve his statistics faster, thankfully Jake was holding on for now. The system wanted Jake to learn to be patient and to learn that the way to be the best in all sports was his skills and not his physical statistics were the same for jobs like Jake''s Businessman. If he increased his Charm, Leadership and Eloquence statistics to the maximum he could get any contract he wanted even if conditions were unfair to his business partner. Jake could win over many women and make the biggest businessmen like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs accept working for him with these statistics, which is why the system gave no rewards for these missions. If Jake alone could raise these statistics to the fullest it would be his merit, of course, Jake didn''t know about it himself, so Jake always depended on his intelligence to do his business and his people who weren''t even in the system. After another week of training, the state championship semi-final game had arrived, but perhaps the opponents were startled by Jake''s two consecutive 120-plus-point records and the Elite team easily won the game. Jake had a good grip on this game and scored just 24 points, he also got 18 assists and 12 steals with one triple-double, so Jake had 25 games in a row doing triple-double, many couldn''t even do that much in life as a player. basketball and that''s why Jake thought it was a good record. Nathan and Lucas entered this match in the third period, but as the opponents looked scared they could not be as prominent as the opponent nor attacked, so the Elite team also respected the opponent and won with an advantage of only 20 points. But everyone knew that it was impossible for the final game to be that easy, as both teams could win the state championship and enter the national championship if they only won the game, and the Elite team had a history of players with poor performance in games. important, that was an added hope for the opposing team. After the game, the Elite team had to retrain for the final and Jake was also close to the marathon, so it would be a lively week for everyone. Chapter 199 New Challenges 4 After Jake returned home he called his mother to tell him about the victory, then Jake went to rest to be ready for a busy week. Jake was very happy and in great shape in both basketball and athletics, even though he was finding his progress in slowing his time to the next marathon very slow, he was sure he could still win. So before the end of the year, he wanted to win this state championship and also the New York marathon and close very well this year which was great for him. Emily had hired a few people to help monitor Jake''s and the company''s investments as well, and since she had done it a few times for Jake, Emily had more easily bought the stock with the money she received from investors. Just as Jake had thought aside from slightly increasing the stock value that 30 million had not changed much for Cisco, it wasn''t even 0.1 percent of the company, but that was exactly what Jake wanted. Although he was from the future and knew exactly how to buy and sell the company''s stock, Jake didn''t know much about how it worked or what kind of products the company made to make it is stock so valuable, so he just wanted to be an investor. But Emily had not yet found Jeff Bezos, even though the store had not yet been opened on the internet and so it was harder to find him in Seattle until the end of the year Jake could still wait until Emily found him. Matthew had also improved production at his factory and got new distributors to sell his digital cameras all over the country and in Europe, with a few days of sales in new places he had sold another 10,000 cameras. So he was convinced that he had made the right decision believing Jake''s vision, that way they could even sell more than 1 million cameras, could end up being more than that. After a few days of training Jake had received an important visit; he had chosen one of the universities to study and play basketball in the coming years was the University of North Carolina. It was one of the top universities in the United States and not far from Miami, and it had a great basketball team that couldn''t beat NCAA in the years Jake could have been in college in his past life, but they were always among the best. They had a strong basketball team, and even good players where Jake played, but he was confident he could get a place in the starting lineup in the coming years, at least next year he wants to play more than 20 minutes per game at the end of the match. championship. All the universities had made early-year proposals for a sports scholarship without even needing an interview, with Jake getting the best grades in school he could easily get that scholarship. Especially after he made two games with more than 120 points and still had a record of 25 triple Double in a row in games, it showed that he was really capable of playing in the NBA and those two games with over 120 points weren''t just luck. The president of the Elite school was really trying for a long time to make friends with the University of North Carolina, after all, they had one of the best college basketball teams in the United States and could be great school partners. But this university was not interested in Mark and the rest of the basketball team, they were interested in Jake just like all the other universities, but the president could not interfere with Jake''s choice. So he was glad Jake had made this choice that would also help the school, the president was convinced that bringing Jake to his school had been one of the best things he had ever done in his career. Who had come to visit was the University of North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge, he had come to meet Jake who would play for his team in the coming years, Bill Guthridge was delighted to see that Jake had chosen his university. The coach was confident that with Jake on his team in the coming years he could have his team being NCAA champion, the team he was assembling now was very strong, but he needed a spectacular player like Jake to lead the team. Of course, the coach did not expect Jake to be able to do this in his first year, but in the coming years he would count on him, courtesy Bill first went to meet the coach of the Elite team who was Coach Mike to know some things about Jake. Coach Mike had a lot of respect for the big universities that had strong basketball teams, so he had respect for Bill who had the ability to coach such a team, Coach Mike just spoke well of Jake and said that since Middle School Jake was A great player and team captain. So during the training of the basketball team on the day Coach Bill just watched Jake, he also looked at other players in the team, but only Nathan and Lucas got more attention from him if they grew older could play on their team in the future. Bill thought Mark was very good too, but it was not enough to stand out on a university team, he thought Mark could be a good reserve for a weaker team if he got better he could perform well last year. college, but Coach Bill didn''t want to bet on that. Jake as always was very discreet in training, after all, it was just to train the team tactics and improve the rapport, yet Coach Bill really liked Jake''s ball control as well as his defense performance, was also pleased to see that Jake I really didn''t miss a pass in training. At least he showed the basics for a college basketball PG, of course, Coach Bill knew Jake was so much better than that, he had seen some recordings of some Jake games and was what he expected from a star. to your team. Even though in some games Jake showed a common performance, it also showed that he knew how to play well and as PG could bring out the best in performance from his entire team. After the end of the training, all the players left and only Jake stayed behind to talk to Coach Bill, all the players were curious to know who this person was watching and who Coach Mike was so respectful, they thought that they had seen him somewhere, but they could not remember where. Jake was also very curious who he wanted to talk to, he also felt that he knew Coach Bill, but didn''t know exactly where. "Hi Jake, it''s nice to meet you, I''m Coach Bill Guthridge, I coach the University of North Carolina team you decided to join next year." So Jake knew where he knew Coach Bill from, even though he didn''t watch many college games he knew some important people from the big college teams, Jake was also surprised that Coach just came to talk to him in person. "Hi Coach Bill, I''m very happy to meet you too, I''ve heard a lot about you." In fact Coach, Bill was still the assistant to the head coach of the University of North Carolina, but Jake knew that in 1997 he would take over the team, so Jake treated him even better to please Coach Bill to have a place in the team in the future. Even though he was very talented he knew it would be very difficult to be in the starting lineup next year, but he could play as the sixth man until Coach Bill became the head coach. Coach Bill was very pleased with this treatment, even though he was not the head coach, he was on the University of North Carolina training team for 30 years and so enjoyed being respected for it. "I came here just to meet you and watch a game of yours, we can talk about more things when you officially join university, so we won''t have any complaints from the other team coaches about it." "But another issue we will have to talk about after the final game so you don''t get distracted from the game, this is more important so be prepared." "All in coach, I''m going now then." In fact, Jake already got what Coach Bill had to say important to him, but Jake already had a solution to this problem, he would not only harm himself to please the university. So the week went by and Jake continued his training routines, even though he knew that Coach Bill was watching he was still training the same way he had before, that was very pleasing to the coach as well, but his teammates who had found out who was the coach Bill worked even harder for training. Even though it wouldn''t change things much they had to try their best not to regret it later, it actually helped Nathan and Lucas who were being watched by the coach as well. Jake was still training after the team''s training on the school''s athletic fields, he was still trying to run the 50 km in 2 minutes 56 seconds to get a better time and still have the assurance that he had the energy to finish the marathon at that time. But that was not easy for him, Jake even had to stop running several times during training because the system warned him that he could be injured, it showed that Jake was always trying to push his limits in training every day. Still, luck didn''t seem to be on Jake''s side this week, with a few days left to the state championship final and just a few weeks into the marathon, Jake was getting away from home every day in his training sessions. His mother was also very busy these last few weeks, Eva always left around 5 am and came back only around 23 hours, so almost always no one was home during the week, so Jake who was at school got the news that shook him a lot. Chapter 200 New Challenges 5 Jake found shockingly that his house had been robbed, reports from neighbors in the police investigation said that armed bandits broke into the house after arriving by car, after a few minutes these bandits left without carrying anything. After what happened Jake asked for a license from classes and training to go to his mother''s restaurant, he was sure Eva was much more shaken than he was when he arrived at the restaurant the police investigator was talking to Anna while Eva was still I was crying scared. As soon as she saw Jake safe she had a feeling of relief and almost fainted, Jake caught her scared and took her mother to her office, Anna and the investigator still talking, not seeing that Eve passed out. He himself was very shocked by what happened, but it wasn''t about to pass out in shock over it, so Jake didn''t understand why his mother was like this, so he warned the investigator that he would take his mother home and then pass the police station. Anna said she would take care of the restaurant, for Jake with everything that happened today he would close the restaurant, but as Anna could still take good care of things she told Jake that it was important to keep the restaurant open to meet customer reservations and keep the credibility of the restaurant. So Jake agreed with Anna and just took her mother home after Eve slept Jake also went to his room to think a little about what happened, he never thought he would be really robbed, even in his past life that bad luck happened something like this happened. It showed what he was doing could change the future he knew, and besides, Jake thought that with his luck at Maximo something like this couldn''t happen. As he was worried about his mother and in shock, Jake unthinkingly brought them to his house that had been robbed recently, but he thought everything should be fine because the police would be watching his house for a few months and the bad guys weren''t. would have the courage to return. "Fate, how could something like that happen, I thought I would be protected with my luck at Maximo in this life, did you even say something would never happen?" [You really will always be protected with your luck at Maximo, but sometimes the people closest to you could end up with some bad luck or even hurt themselves.] [Of course, it will probably never be very serious, but something like this can happen, what happened to you today was actually very lucky, because as you thought some bad guys have somehow discovered that you and your mom are rich and live in a house that is in an unsecured neighborhood.] [The cops must know that too, but the bad guys came armed and took nothing because they were actually trying to kidnap you and not steal the house, just like you two were out, nothing like that happened.] When Jake heard this he was shocked, now he understood why his mother was so nervous and lonely and soothed when he showed up, he had really thought something like this could happen but never imagined it would actually happen, especially with his luck. But what happened this time Jake was already thinking of buying a house as soon as possible, while his mother slept Jake went to the police station to give the statement and heard from the policeman the same as the system said. Jake didn''t really care whether or not the police would catch the bad guys, he would move house and make sure that none of this would happen again, after thinking about it he returned home to rest and stay with his mother after she woke up. Jake told all his friends what had happened to him, everyone was worried about what might have happened and they were happy that nothing worse happened, Jake asked Oliver to look for a house for him to buy with enhanced security and Oliver said he would take care of it of this. Since Jake couldn''t stay with his mother at their house so that something like that wouldn''t happen again while they waited for Oliver to find another house, Matthew offered one of his houses for Jake and Eva to stay while waiting to buy their new home. Although Oliver stayed in one of Matthew''s smaller houses, it was still almost a security-enhanced mansion in it, Jake had never paid attention to any of this before his house had been broken into. Jake was fine a few days after what happened and Eva started to recover, she was just afraid something might happen to her son and not her home having been broken into, so after a few days, she wanted to go back to the restaurant to help. Anna who was taking all responsibility on her own. "Are you sure it''s okay with you now mom?" "I''m sure Jake, something like this can''t bring me down for long, I just worried about you, but now I realized that everything was fine." "Alright then mom, stay with Anna and always drive back and be careful of your safety." "I''ll be fine Jake, something like that doesn''t happen often to one person, and you, my son, is everything okay?" "I''m fine too, mom, I just had to miss some training for the upcoming state championship final and marathon game, but I can still play quietly." "It''s true, you still have a game in two more days, with everything that''s going on I had even forgotten about it, are you sure it''s okay for this game, son?" "I''m sure mom, you can go easy." Jake really felt that everything was fine with him, he was just a little shaken by what happened and also knowing that something worse could have happened to him and his mother, Jake realized that could end up changing the future in a way that would not be. good for him and his family. He was just a little upset that he couldn''t talk to Coach Bill at the university anymore, but he wasn''t so worried about it because he already had a scholarship and knew he could do well in games. He spoke with coach Mike about the game because he was on leave from school for what happened, coach Mike confirmed that Jake''s place in the final was guaranteed if Jake thought he was okay to play. In fact Coach Mike has been worried these past few days about Jake''s situation, Jake is the team captain and also the best player of the team, with Jake they have never lost a game in several years and so the other players felt safe to play the best. But if Jake couldn''t play this state championship final which although not their toughest game of the year would have a lot of pressure to be a final, the whole team could play badly because of it. Luckily nothing had happened to Jake and he seemed to be fine for the next game when the coach told Jake''s teammates that they were all reassured after hearing that Jake would play. Only Coach Bill wasn''t very optimistic that Jake could play so well in the next game, but it still gave him insight into how important Jake was to the Elite team, so he further showed Jake''s value as an MVP for a team that was several national champions. So Eva seemed to be back to normal after a few days of rest and they were temporarily living in one of Matthew''s houses until Oliver found a good home for them. Thus came the day of the state championship final, Jake as always woke up early and ate breakfast prepared by his mother, Eva seemed to have forgotten what happened after those days and was fine again. She wasn''t worried about Jake either, because she was confident that her son was so much more mature than she would be, and she wouldn''t be too shaken by what had happened. "Are you alright for today''s game my son?" "I''m fine, Mom, even though I''ve been without training these past few days it won''t be a problem to play normally." "I believe you, Jake, Lola said you were going to watch this game too, you were upset that I didn''t tell you last time." After that Jake went to the game site with his things calmly, he arrived early and many had not prepared yet, Jake saw Lola in the stands as his mother had said and was happy for the support. Eric had not come to this game either, nor anyone else known, other than Coach Bill who was in a special place as an Elite school guest, the opponent was Callahan''s team. They were scared of Jake''s performance in some games, but could not just give up after reaching the final and with chances of playing the national championship if they won. The Callahan team had three most prominent players, PG Adam SG Evan and SF Jose, Callahan PG was very much according to several reporters, but his state championship performance was greatly overshadowed by Jake who was much better. and played in the same position. Even though Adam was not very jealous of Jake and admired the opponent who would probably be a great NBA star in the future, yet Adam still thought of playing his best in this game and at least not letting Jake do another triple Double in that game. None of the reporters knew that Jake''s house had been broken into this week, and neither of their opponents could imagine that, so they couldn''t think this could be an advantage for their team if they attacked more from the side Jake was defending. After a few minutes the match began, Mark went up well and took the first possession for the Elite team, Mark passed the ball to Jake who advanced into the attack and passed the ball to Harrison on the left, Harrison passed the ball to Mark who was inside. Mark turned and left the opposing Center''s defense, so he ended the move with a layup to make the first two points for the Elite team in that final. Chapter 201 New Challenges 6 The game continued as usual with the Elite team dominating, Jake was just watching the opposing team more and was not trying to make many moves, yet the Callahan team had their players avoiding him in the attacks. After all only the average of almost 12 steals per game can make opposing players avoid Jake when attacking, after all, Jake was almost always considered to be the best attacking and defensive player in the championships he played. The Elite team beat the opposing team by 6 points and Jake had only 4 points in the first period, he also made 4 assists and no steal. At the beginning of the second period, it was Adam who had the ball, the Callahan team knew they could not avoid Jake and the Elite team in this game and still hope to win, so from the second period they decided to risk and attack more. As Adam advanced for another Callahan attack, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to Evan who was open from the left, Evan passed David and made the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for Callahan. Jake caught the ball and went to arrange another attack for the Elite team, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to Harrison on the left, Harrison advanced for a while and passed the ball to Carter who was further on the right. Carter held the ball and passed it to David who was behind him, David attempted the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. Adam took the ball and began another attack for his team, he advanced and passed the ball to Jose after passing the middle of the court, Jose advanced and passed the ball to the forward Callahan PF. The PF held the ball and passed it to Adam who was behind him again, Adam saw that Jake was far away and made the outside shot to score 3 points for the Callahan team. So Jake received the ball and began another attack for the Elite team, he passed the ball to David more open on the right, David advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Mark ahead. Mark held for a while and passed the ball back to Jake, Jake saw that Adam was coming and tried to pass the ball to Carter, but eventually missed the pass and the ball came out, Jake apologized to his teammates and the game continued. Adam was happy for this mistake by the Elite team and saw that if they tried they could have a chance to win this game, so he advanced to pass the ball to Evan after passing through the middle of the court. Evan advanced a little more and then held the ball for a while before moving to his team''s Center, and the Center managed to spin on Mark''s defense and lay up to score 2 points for Callahan. Jake advanced for another attacking move and passed the ball to Harrison before the middle of the court, Harrison advanced a little and passed the ball to David, David held and when Evan reached the defense Evan passed to Jake who was free behind. Jake tried the shot from outside and missed Mark so he did not expect so did not catch the rebound and the Callahan team got another attack. At the end of the second period of the game, Callahan was the one who beat Elite by 2 points, Jake scored 4 points and 4 assists without getting any steal, so Jake was close to a Double-Double, but it was difficult for him to get a triple-double in this game. Coach Mike had to put Nathan and Lucas to improve the defense of the Elite team and try to reverse the game again in favor of the Elite team. But Jake and some more basketball savvy like Coach Bill realized that it was Jake who was doing badly in this game, but since Jake was usually so good, even playing badly he was one of the best on the team. Jake was missing a lot more mid-range passes and shots from outside the box, not to mention that in defense he could not keep up with the moves to know when to make a steal and even Adam had passed him a few times. Jake was the same physically as usual and Jake couldn''t figure out what was wrong with him, yet Jake knew he wasn''t playing as usual but was still playing well so he could just pass the ball more and more carefully and not try so many times the mid-range shot and the outside shot. In the third period of the game, Jake was passing the ball more and only to the nearest players, Nathan and Lucas were trying to show that they were good and were making more points in his place. Nathan and Lucas were also able to defend much better than David and Harrison and thus annulled the opposing attack a bit, so the elite team ended the third period winning by 2 points again. In this third period Jake scored 6 more points and 3 assists, he got a double-double and had already given up trying the triple-double because he had not got any steal in the game. Still, Jake missed far fewer passes during that time and also missed fewer mid-range shots, so people who thought Jake was playing badly thought they were wrong after this performance. But Coach Bill knew that Jake was still having a bad game, it looked like Jake had realized that and so was trying to hold on and play more safely, Coach Bill found Jake even more impressive after learning that. After all, if a 16-year-old player was having a bad game and with a scout-like him in the stands, the player would be even more nervous and play even worse until replaced. In addition, Coach Bill knew that Jake should be playing badly because he suffered a shock during the week of his home being broken into, yet Jake was trying his best to be a state champion. In the fourth period of the game Jake still had a regular performance and made 4 points and 4 assists, as in this game, he did not get a triple Double his record was ended with 25 straight games making triple Double. Most likely this record would never be broken again in high school basketball, just like the 172 points he scored in that state championship. The Elite team won 6 points more than the Callahan team, only after the game is over that Coach Mike can breathe a sigh of relief. Coach Bill had to go back to college and found it a pity that Jake had been affected so he couldn''t see Jake playing his best in the final game, but what he saw was that Jake knew how to adapt to his situation let him even more excited about Jake''s future. Coach Bill was sure that Jake would soon be back to normal and so the Elite team would win the national championship early next year. Even if Coach Bill had to talk about some important things with Jake, he would have to wait a few weeks before he could return to Miami and Jake was fine again. Everyone greeted the Callahan team who had a good game and lost only 6 points from the Elite team that was the national championship champion last year. Everyone celebrated this state championship a lot more, only Jake couldn''t be too happy about this game, something had never happened to him, Jake was worried about not knowing why and would happen again in a more difficult game. But he couldn''t think about that now because his teammates were so happy about this victory and this state champion trophy. Then everyone was called on to get Jake to lift the state champion trophy, just so Jake can relax a little and everyone celebrated Jake also got that state championship MVP award and was happy. After that Jake went back to the stands to take Lola away, Lola was very happy with Jake''s invitation and accepted, but even though Lola wanted to talk to Jake this time as they drove to her house, she realized that even having beaten Jake was not in a good mood. So she missed another chance to talk, when they got to Lola''s house, Jake got out of the car to take her to the door, so at least Lola took the courage to say a few words. "Congratulations on winning the state championship and MVP Jake award." "Thanks, I was glad you came today too." "I was worried that you couldn''t play normally because of what happened this week, I was shocked and worried about what happened to you and your mother Jake." "Thanks for worrying about me and my mom, I''m glad nothing worse has happened this time either." "I hope nothing like this happens again, but I was happy to see that what happened didn''t affect you in today''s game and you could still win as usual." After that Jake went home and called Eva and told her about the victory, Eva was worried that Jake wouldn''t win this time but was relieved to hear that Jake had won. With that Eva can relax that everything had returned to normal, soon they would have a new home and so everything would be even better and something like that would never happen again. Jake was no longer happy even after winning today''s game, he knew he had played bad today and couldn''t understand what was wrong, he felt that it was normal and even the statistics window said he was normal. Even if they still won today''s game and Jake managed to hold back and miss less, Jake knew that this was because his team had played today''s game so well, if it was up to him the team would have lost that game. But against a tougher opponent, the same could not happen again. Chapter 202 A Little Crisis 1 Jake didn''t even sleep well after the game and kept thinking about the final game, but he couldn''t think of anything, so he went the other day to train again with his team. Jake saw that everyone was acting normally with him and no one had noticed anything wrong, he even broached the subject indirectly with Coach Mike who found it all very strange and thought that Jake was fine as always. In fact, Nathan and Lucas who were very happy with this situation, with yesterday''s game almost nobody realized that Jake had played badly, the reason for this was that Jake had said he would normally play for a few games after scoring over 120 points in 2 games. So your teammates would have a greater opportunity to stand out with Jake playing like that, in this last game everyone thought Jake was just giving his teammates more opportunity. Nathan and Lucas who got into the game with the losing Elite team played very well both in attack and defense and so helped the team to win, everyone thought this was a difficult game different from what was expected. So Coach Mike was happy with the performance of his two new players and Nathan and Lucas were even happier because they could catch Coach Bill''s attention so they could be at the University of North Carolina with him in a few years. After a day of training, Jake got even more confused because he managed to play well in training as usual and scored 40 points causing his teammates to be discontented. After all, it was not necessary to score so many points in a training game with his teammates, then Jake did the same of the last days in his marathon training, so Jake thought this was an isolated case. But at home, he sometimes remembered what Lola said after the final game, that she was worried that Jake might be bad at the final game because of the bandits raiding his home. This was really shocking for Jake, especially since he knew after hearing from the system and the cops that the attackers were aiming for him and his mother. So Jake thought for a while that even if he had a system like in fantasy stories and his strength was greater than most people, that was the reality and someone with a gun could end his life and his mom''s life, just like every dream of his second chance. Jake also realized that his luck could not really do any miracles and that even if he learned a fighting technique and his stats were at maximum he would still be a normal human being. After thinking about it for a while even though he was a little scared he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart, because deep inside he could never really get out of his mind the thought that all he was living was a dream. So after thinking about it and resting for a day he returned to his normal routine, Jake had only a few weeks before the New York marathon and would need to continue his training if he wanted to secure the victory. Even though he was still worried about his performance in the competition after what happened in the final game, in training everything was back to normal and nothing seemed wrong. So he thought it might just be a normal day that he couldn''t play his best as all athletes had, after all, he wasn''t a machine, it was just that it had never happened because of the system. Even so, Coach Mike has been a little worried since Jake came to ask if he had played badly in the final game, so he decided to give Jake a break until after the break. The rest of the team still had to train hard, especially Lucas and Nathan who were fighting for a place in the starting lineup, but Jake who had just been through a stressful and dangerous situation in his life and was the best player on the team deserved to rest. Jake accepted the coach''s good intentions and stopped going to the basketball team trainings after classes so he had more energy to train before the marathon, in classes besides Joseph who was always by his side after what happened nothing had changed. Joseph knew that Jake was living with Eva in one of his grandfather''s houses, while his father was looking for a good and safe home for Jake and Eva to live in, so he left his studies and his girlfriend aside and got closer to Jake again. because he was worried about his friend. Jake was also very thrilled about it and happy to have a friend like Joseph, even Liza in her last team training was worried about him. He was a little sad because it seemed that after the breakup Jenny no longer cared about him, Jake knew that even Liza seemed to be disappointed with her friend who claimed to like Jake very much. If something similar had happened to Jenny, Jake wouldn''t hesitate to look for her to find out how his ex-girlfriend was, but it seemed that Jenny didn''t think the same way. In fact, before that Jake still had Jenny in his heart, he hoped that after being in a better living condition she could look for him, or she could take courage and challenge her parents. But now he understood that he no longer existed in Jenny''s heart, so Jake reinforced the thought that he''d better not get involved in any relationship until after a few years. Jake liked Lola very much, but he just saw her as a dear friend, after all for Jake the age difference between them and the fact that she and her father worked at her mom''s restaurant made her someone Jake didn''t even think about dating. That''s because Jake had a mental age of almost 50 now, but his actual age was 16, and Lola was out of those two, if Lola was the one who took the initiative and said she liked him, Jake could change his mind, so Whether this relationship could work was entirely in Lola''s hands. After more than a week of training, the New York Marathon was a few days away, so Tiffany and John showed up to talk to Jake. Tiffany was worried about Jake and Eva for what happened a few weeks ago, even though they had talked on the phone, it was different from talking in person. Tiffany looked tired and a little pale at this meeting, she was worried about Jake and Eva who were her friends, she also had to worry about her company and Clara''s company that could be sold if they couldn''t find a solution. In addition, Clara was also a little depressed after her marriage ended and what was happening at the company, it was as if everything that had happened in the last 10 years was for nothing. So she was getting stressed by her friends and tired by the work that increased. John was also worried about Jake but was concerned only if Jake''s sports performance could fall that showed the difference between business partners and friends. "How are you doing, Jake?" "I''m fine, Tiffany, luckily I have a lot of friends who helped and are helping my family after what happened." "If it wasn''t for all these problems that came up suddenly, Clara and I would be there to help, too." "It''s okay, Tiffany, I know very well that the problem you are experiencing is much bigger than mine." "Do you think you''ll be fine for this marathon, Jake?" "I can''t say for sure, John, I know I''m going to finish the competition, but I don''t know where I''ll be." Jake had always known that John and Alan were different from Tiffany and Clara, which is why Jake didn''t think of having regular sponsors after getting rich with his investments. But as time went on Jake realized that this was impossible, he needed to sponsor John and Alan now and would need the support of larger companies after joining the NBA. There was no billionaire in the world who would refuse tens of millions in sponsorship just because they didn''t like working with people who fought for them. "That''s great, I''m sure you can bring us a nice surprise in this marathon too, Jake, so I want to be in New York this time to support you with Tiffany." "I don''t think it''s a good idea, John, you know at least for these two marathons it was Tiffany who solved everything and organized everything." "I know that, but it was an order from my superiors, I''m sure Tiffany won''t mind that another company that sponsors Jake is in this marathon." "I really don''t care Jake, I saw here just to tell you that because of the problems you know well, I won''t be able to go to New York with you this time, my city workers that will solve everything, now John here it can also help. " "That''s great so I''m going with Jake to New York for sure." So Jake had to accept John''s request, he himself thought it wasn''t fair to John and Alan''s company being set aside, as he knew that Tiffany was in trouble was good for everyone. So the other day, Jake said goodbye to his mother and went to New York to prepare for the marathon, he didn''t have to worry about a few days of school absences and had no more training with the basketball team and so can go before. John said he would go the day before the marathon, Jake would only rest for the next two days and be rested and prepared for the marathon. He still could not run the 50 km with the new speed and so decided to run only 20 km with the fastest running speed, so he was sure to shorten his time and still complete the marathon. Chapter 203 A Little Crisis 2 So he could at least shorten his time by more than 1 minute, Jake was thinking of the Olympics and also some years where marathons would become more recognized and stronger athletes would start competing. Records would be made under the best time Jake could run now, so he had to improve as much as he could while he had time to train, because he still wanted to train to compete in other track and field events. As far as basketball was concerned Jake was the most dedicated, even though he was away from team training he still did his imagination training, as usual, every day, Jake thought that before the national championship he could improve his skill rank which didn''t change much in the last months. Jake knew that now each raise could make a lot of difference in a game because now Jake was getting to the pro level, Jake wanted to secure that national championship more before going to college. After a few more days the New York marathon day finally came, as it was a major marathon, over 25,000 people were present that day to participate, Jake chatted a little with John and one of Tiffany''s staff and began to prepare. to the marathon. John said he would be waiting for Jake at the race''s arrival, probably he also hoped that Jake could win this marathon more. Normally Jake would be much more confident than in the Chicago marathon because this was not his first competition and he had even won in Chicago before, even more, so Jake improved a lot after winning the reward for winning in Chicago. But he was still afraid of having another bad performance as in the state basketball championship final, in that game he could count on his teammates and the level of the opponents was not very high. But now any mistake could cause Jake to lose this marathon, besides, he was with the best athletes in the world competing with him, these athletes would not be defeated if Jake couldn''t do his best. Even with the nervousness and the pressure, Jake managed to calm down when the race really started, he didn''t have much to think about after the race began, with his training he knew he had stamina and with the help of the system he could control better your running pace. Television commentators were also paying special attention to Jake, after all, Jake was just 16 years old and had just won the Chicago Marathon, many also knew that Jake had recently won the state high school basketball championship and was the MVP. of the championship. So it was normal for everyone to pay close attention to himself that they didn''t expect Jake to win this marathon either, after all, it was very rare for an athlete to win two marathons in a row and even rarer if it was in different marathons. Even more, the Chicago and New York marathon that took place at a break of just over 1 month, I 1 month many athletes would not dare to compete again, much less like Jake still did playing basketball while recovering. In addition to Jake other athletes also caught the public''s attention, but only last year''s winner was Mexican German Silva, even though many thought he could not win again. German was well known for having missed the marathon path last year. He even earned the nickname Wrong Way Silva, but it was amazing that even if he missed the path he had still won the marathon, in the last 5 years Mexicans had won the New York marathon 3 times and German could win 4 times in 5 years. Jake was also worried about German because he knew that German had won this marathon in his past life, now Jake wanted it not to happen again. After ten kilometers of running, Jake had already passed most of the amateur runners who just ran at a faster pace and didn''t even think about finishing the race. He was feeling good even running at a pace of 2 minutes 56 seconds per km, which was 4 seconds less than in the last race, it gave Jake more confidence by showing that he had to rely on his daily training, so he could finish this test with a good time. Even so Jake was realizing that his running pace was not as good as in the last race and in training, even though he managed to make the time he planned every 5 km, sometimes he would run very fast and then have to slow down. Jake knew this was bad because every time he ran faster he used up a lot more energy, after all, he was running to the limit to win the race, while other runners were often running in groups and some even had rabbits to set the pace right. Jake didn''t think he needed any of this after running the Chicago marathon, but in the race, he realized that there were points where it was more appropriate to slow down and other points where it was appropriate to accelerate. All of this was derived from the experiences of some past marathon runners, not to mention that running in groups or with rabbits was useful because the runner could protect himself from drafts coming in the opposite direction and tired him out. These were all things Jake had blindly missed since he was very confident in himself and the system and had won his debut marathon, this time he was a little unsure he realized that if he did how others could get some time yet best. Commentators who didn''t know Jake was passing and thinking were just seeing Jake running very well in the first half of the race, after all, they thought Jake had his own style of running after winning the Chicago Marathon. "Runner Jake seems to be doing very well in this marathon too, I confess I didn''t think he would participate in this race after running just under a month ago." "You can''t compare Jake to normal people, just because he''s running a high-level 16-year-old marathon and still playing basketball at his school shows he''s special." "That''s true, even though athletics is not as popular as basketball around the world, it''s even more impressive that at age 16 Jake is competing with the best with a chance to win." "Even more because he is an American and has appeared at the right time near the upcoming Olympics in our country, it is yet another medal promise for our country." "Do you think Jake had participated in the Olympics? I thought he would try a youth athletics world for his age." "If I could win by competing with the best I would definitely choose to participate in the Olympics, he could have the honor of winning the gold medal across the country and still so young, I don''t think he would give that up." "It''s because he is so young that I don''t think he should, in 4 years he will be 21, he can participate in 4 more Olympics after that if he wanted as an athlete in the marathon, no need to risk everything now." "Then we can only wait and see what he will choose, the ability we all know he has for it." Jake didn''t know the commentators were talking about him and was trying to focus on the race and set his pace so he wouldn''t get bored in the end. After driving the 20 km he slowed his running speed as he had planned, but he seemed not in good condition and still could not run at the right pace accelerating sometimes after changing speed. Still, his body was still fine, which was normal if he considered that he would run even more than 20 km, so if he was feeling tired now he could give up the marathon. Even so, Jake was well ahead of the other riders at this time of the race, because the second group sometimes increased the pace at the best points and slowed down the hardest paths and Jake always kept the same pace. Before Jake thought he was doing right, but now he realized that he just tired more doing it, after all, they had points that he could run faster and hold on wasting time and in places, he had to slow down he forced to keep pace. After the 32km race he began to feel the marathon tiredness, Jake felt that he was worse than his workouts and than the last marathon, he did not know if he could finish the marathon running at the same pace as he was now. Unlike before Jake was feeling tired and also very thirsty and for the first time in his marathons went through a support station to get water. Since he was not used to doing this in training Jake ended up breaking the running pace he had finally set again and still took all the water feeling bloated afterward. "This is the first time I''ve ever seen Jake stopping at one of the support stations in this marathon, from what I''ve heard, he didn''t even need to stop in Chicago." "This is normal, it''s been over an hour and a half, and it''s about noon where the heat and wear are greatest, in Chicago that the race starts earlier and it''s colder it''s been able to go on and on." "Apparently Jake is not used to going through race support stations, he seems to have lost his running pace after the stop and the water didn''t do him much good." "We sometimes forget about this because he won in Chicago, but this is just his second official marathon and for Jake''s age I don''t think he has participated in any amateur marathon before." "True, but it also shows that he has a lot to improve and evolve even though he''s one of the best 16-year-old marathon athletes, who knows in the future we can''t see Jake winning every marathon in the year." "This is hard to imagine, he shouldn''t even have much time to train now and don''t forget that if one day Jake enters the NBA basketball this marathon routine is over for him." Chapter 204 A Little Crisis 3 "That''s true, in the NBA teams play a lot of games a month and have to travel across the country, I don''t think Jake would be released just to participate in a marathon." "This is if he gets into the NBA of course, even if he''s a good player we''ll have to wait a few years to see, seeing how well he goes in the marathon I find it hard to believe that God has given him so many talents." "But I think if he could choose for sure he would rather have the knack for being a basketball star than a marathon winning athlete." "Hahaha, that for sure." Even commentators thought basketball was more important than athletics in the United States, but that was normal, so much so that in many countries athletes have no financial support from their countries to participate in athletics competitions. Even so, talented people like Jake would choose other sports or even a normal job than being athletes and bringing medals to the country. But more popular sports like basketball didn''t need government support for the players because the companies and fans were moving enough money to pay the athletes'' millionaire salaries. As Jake approached the 39 km race he felt much more tired, so Jake realized that he was definitely having the same problem he had in the state championship final and couldn''t make the most of his performance. The problem was that Jake discovered this too late and ran more than half of the marathon with a faster running pace and his body in its current state could not stand as the marathon was him alone he could not count on anyone but him. Even if that happened Jake was still very decisive, when he realized he couldn''t complete the marathon at his current pace he slowed his running speed, luckily he was 1 and a half minutes faster than the last marathon. So Jake remembered that German finished this race in his past life in 2 hours and 11 minutes, with Jake''s current speed he could finish the marathon in 2 hours and 4 and a half minutes, so he was close to 7 minutes ahead. Since Jake was just over 3 km away to finish the marathon, it was almost impossible for him to lose even if he slowed in half. So he was decisive and slowed in half to finish this marathon first, and as Jake thought even commentators already thought of Jake as the winner. "Just over 3 km to finish this marathon, if Jake continues at this speed he can, in addition, to win break the New York marathon speed record." "That''s right, the current record is for Juma Ikangaa who in 1989 finished the race in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 1 second, but in fact, if Jake can maintain that speed he could even break the marathon world record." "Yeah, but it looks like it won''t happen today, runner Jake now seems to be drastically slowing down his running pace, I think he might be in trouble right now." "It''s really a shame, but he''s still young so it seems he couldn''t control his running pace well and so it looked like he could break all the records, but now he must have little energy." "This is really dangerous, for him to slow his pace whether it is a serious fatigue problem or even a muscle problem, Jake seemed to have control of his pace and has already slowed down the race once before halfway through the race." "He sure has talent, but since he''s always running alone and without a group, he must have accelerated too much without realizing it and got tired." "That''s right, after all, it''s been just over a month since the Chicago Marathon and he was trying to run at a much faster pace, almost 5 minutes less." "Fortunately he has a lead of more than 7 minutes to runner-up so victory still looks guaranteed." Jake thought so too and ran a lot slower, but after another 1 and a half kilometers he saw that German who was second was approaching, meaning that in the end, he must have taken more than 2 minutes in that km. What shocked Jake was that the system had warned that Jake should stop running now because he was at risk of injury. This shocked Jake that even at his top training speed he was still able to go over 46 km before having a risk of a muscle injury, but now he ran the whole marathon much slower and shortly after 40 km the system said he could suffer an injury. Jake was outraged by what was happening, he did not expect the unknown problem to affect his physical condition so much, after all, he could accept that it affected his skill in basketball which also required techniques but was now physically affecting him. Jake was in a big dilemma now, if it was one of his workouts even if it wasn''t urgent as soon as the system mentioned a risk of injury Jake immediately stopped and sat until he was recovered. But now he was in the middle of a major marathon, he was first with great advantage to German who was second and also just over 1km to finish the marathon. Jake had three choices at this time of the marathon, he could give up and lose everything he did in that marathon and so would avoid an injury, he could also risk running even if he suffered an injury to try to finish the race in sacrifice and try to take first place. Or he could eat a stamina bar, Jake knew after experimenting a few times that the stamina bar in addition to fully recovering Jake''s energy would still greatly relax his muscles and take away the tension. If he ate the stamina bar he could easily finish the New York marathon first and avoid the injury, but Jake knew he really had only one choice. He could not give up because this marathon was not only about him but also had Jake''s responsibility to his sponsors, so he could not give up near the end and almost win. He couldn''t eat the stamina bar either because Jake knew it would be like cheating, so even if he won it would stay in his mind all his life. So the only option Jake had was to force himself to finish the marathon even risking injury, of course, he only took that risk because the marathon was ending and also because Jake had no more basketball or marathon games to run before February. from another year. So Jake knew that with the help of the system and his strong physical statistics he would not be injured for long, so Jake decided to ignore the system warning and keep running. The system that could understand Jake''s thoughts also stopped bothering with the injury warning and just watched the marathon ends. In fact Jake was overcoming a fear he had always had in his heart now, having been unable to move his legs in his past life for over 20 years, Jake was afraid of being injured and unable to walk for a while. But now he was facing this fear in order to win, Jake still kept his speed for a few hundred meters until he felt a sharp pain in his right leg. Even though he was prepared for the pain Jake still fell for a moment losing his stride, German who was approaching Jake, the commentators and the audience watching at home on television, as well as the local people, were startled by it. Even slowing down Jake was still almost certain to win a marathon under 1km to complete the marathon. Jake still struggled to get up and keep running, he just ran a little slower than before despite feeling a lot of pain in his right leg, he could only continue because his strength and endurance statistics were so high. German felt sorry for Jake that it was a track and field genius to be so unlucky at the end of the race, but he was a pro and would not miss this opportunity to win the marathon a second time. "Really unbelievable what is happening to athlete Jake, someone so young and talented has been so unlucky and it looks like he will lose this marathon." "It''s really a shame what happened to this young genius, but he''s human and after running a marathon just a little over a month from Chicago he''s straining his muscles a lot." "That''s true, I see he seems to have had a right leg muscle injury, Jake seems to be in a lot of pain and yet still runs like no injury I really admire this young man''s character and courage." "It''s a shame he will lose, I respect German who won last year and is about to win again, but Jake clearly deserved to win this marathon." Commentators said they respected Jake for striving to finish the same hurting marathon, but if they knew that Jake chose to hurt himself instead of cheating they would respect him even more. Only 200 meters to the end of the marathon track German finally passed Jake who was running fast despite being hurt and in pain, German looked at Jake with respect as he passed him. Jake was not too shaken by this since he had expected it when he gave up eating the stamina bar, he was glad he was guaranteed second at least, third place was still far behind. German won the New York Marathon with just over 2 hours and 11 minutes of running, and Jake came in second with 2 hours, 11 minutes and 45 seconds as the final time. Jake regretted not winning, but was pleased with the second place due to the circumstances of the race, he was angry to not know the reason for this problem that has upset him twice and even made him lose the chance to win this. marathon. But he would have to see that after he got home and had time to think. Chapter 205 A Little Crisis 4 Jake was second and so got $ 60,000, so he had almost $ 500,000 to invest in something, he had already defined how much money he would invest in Cisco shares every year and the rest was for something else. Jake did it because otherwise he could be tempted to invest all the money he had in stock, that wasn''t good for him, even if Jake was sure he would make it he might still need the money for other things. Just like the house, he would soon have to buy for him and his mother if he was out of money he would have to sell his shares to buy this house which would be a loss for Jake. As soon as the race was over Jake ate a stamina bar and regained his energy as well as relaxed his muscles a little, soon after the doctors arrived and Jake asked to go to the podium and get the reward before going to the hospital. As Jake had still run a few hundred meters after suffering the injury and the doctors found nothing serious about Jake''s right leg they allowed it. Jake did everything he had to do and greeted German who just won, German seemed a little guilty of winning because Jake had suffered an injury, but Jake congratulated him sincerely because he knew that if he wasn''t here German would still win. After that Jake still went to the ambulance hospital because he had a lot of pain in his right leg, so the doctors quickly went to the hospital because for an athlete to find out quickly what an injury could save his career. While on his way to the hospital Jake was thinking about what happened in the marathon that was just over, Jake was feeling a lot of leg pain and just insisted on staying at the awards to sort it out and be able to go home after leaving the hospital. He didn''t want to have to go places after leaving the hospital because he stopped doing some things because of the pain, but Jake felt it was better to feel a lot of leg pain than not to feel his legs within his past life. Analyzing the marathon Jake realized that the main culprit for his defeat was himself, even though this unknown problem affected his marathon performance as it disrupted the state championship final. Jake could still have won if he had been careful just as he still won the game in the final by choosing the best way to play, the problem with this marathon was that Jake had been too hasty to do things. After all, he knew better than anyone that he had no need to try to improve his running time while he completed his first marathons, because with a time before when he was running in Chicago he could finish the marathon in 2 hours and just over 6 minutes That time would be enough to break the records of many marathons or even the world record, but Jake forced to improve his time already in his second marathon and eventually lost the chance to win. After all Jake already had enough stamina to run nearly 60 km at his previous speed, so even if this unknown problem got in the way of this marathon, he could still win easily. The doctors gave him an ice pack so that Jake could begin to recover the muscle damage before he even got to the hospital, of course, Jake only got all this treatment because he was second in the marathon and even won in Chicago. If you were an unknown athlete even if you had a more serious injury than Jake''s, you might have to look for a taxi to go to a hospital. After arriving at the hospital Jake had all the exams and it was found that his injury was grade 2 and he would only need less than 1-month rest to be able to retrain normally. So Jake was released from the hospital to go to the hotel, they asked if Jake wanted to stay for a few days to recover at the courtesy hospital since Jake was a famous athlete, but Jake denied when he learned that his injury was not serious. Jake has already arranged a plane ticket to return to Miami the other day, as he would have to lie a few weeks it was much better to do this at home. John came to talk and say goodbye to Jake before returning to Miami, Jake thought John would be nervous with Jake for not winning this time and so John''s company had less visibility than Tiffany''s last time, but it seemed that he was wrong. "With you, Jake? I was very worried when I saw that you had gone to the hospital after the marathon was over, is the injury serious?" "It''s nothing very serious, I''m fine, in a few weeks I will fully recover, so I''ll be 100 percent when the national championship starts next year." "That''s good, so congratulations on the second place in this marathon, you got an amazing feat of being in the top 3 in two marathons in a row and this time you almost won." "Thanks, I was sad that I didn''t win." "You should be happy about that, you''re still young and you will have many competitions ahead in the next few years if it weren''t for the injury no one could predict you would have won your second marathon in a row." "But if something like this happens again you should give up the race immediately after having an injury, after all, you are still young and have many competitions ahead, besides you have to worry about basketball too and if it was an injury more serious? " After saying that John left, Jake understood that John was right to say that, he should have stopped running when the system warned, after all, that it was good to have a system warning of injuries that many athletes would dream of having if Jake didn''t hear and get hurt anyway? Maybe the hormones made him too hot-blooded to not follow his experience and make these imprudent decisions. As for John, it was normal for him to be very happy about it instead of getting angry only Jake knew he could easily win this race, for John and anyone it was a miracle that Jake would suddenly pop up and get in the top three in two. major marathons. But that was a valuable lesson Jake needed to learn to be less arrogant, after all, Jake was different from other normal athletes, he just needed normal training and the system would help him improve his physical statistics. Even though Jake was talented he knew that the main reason he got all he got was the system, so he had to use it better to be even better at what he did. So Jake decided that he would retrain in the time he did before and would expect his endurance to naturally improve before improving his marathon times after all this was just the beginning for Jake in the world of athletics and he still had to try other modalities after that. After that Jake felt like he was calmer after deciding what to do next, so he slept soundly and the next day returned to Miami using crutches as a precaution, Jake ended up not telling any of this to his friends and family so no one would worry with your injury. Only Tiffany called worried after learning that Jake had been injured after the marathon through John after Jake said it was okay Tiffany congratulated him and was also happy that Jake finished the second marathon, this was unexpected for her. So Tiffany remembered Jake''s conversation again that she was aiming for the gold medal at the Olympics, so Tiffany was very excited to think so because it would be so helpful to her and Clara''s companies. After all, after learning that Clara''s company could be sold in 5 years Tiffany and Clara decided to stop investing in the company and raise money to try to buy Robert''s stock within 5 years. Clara''s mistake was that she was very anxious and used almost all of her money to buy another 5 percent of the stock and prevent the adversary from buying more stock, but it cost Clara 15 million. Part of that money even came from Tiffany who in a moment of urgency took from his reserves and even the capital of the company, fortunately later this year with the dividends Clara and Tiffany will receive this money would be replaced, otherwise, Tiffany could even be sued for this crime. Even so, they could only raise 6 million a year even if the company stopped investing as Clara could not take her father''s share either, so if this year they had to replace the capital that was "borrowed" from Tiffany''s company they would have chances of accumulating 24 million in 4 more years. That means a lot of sacrifices would be needed just to buy these shares, considering that Clara and Tiffany''s companies grew by more than 30 percent in those 5 years that sponsored Jake, they would lose the chance to grow at least 25 percent in those 5 years. This made everyone very angry, only Robert who was primarily responsible for it did not bother at all, so even if this adversary company could not buy Clara''s company they would have hurt them in 5 years. Not to mention that Clara and Tiffany knew it would be impossible to buy back that 34 percent of the company would oppose even if they wanted to buy after all that 10 percent would already take 5 years to buy. Clara''s father was the one who was most sad about it, of course, they didn''t know that Jake was just waiting for the right moment to buy these stocks, even if it''s just to help them, even buy all those 44 percents who were in such pain upside them would be possible with Jake''s profits. When Clara learned that Jake was teaching she decided to talk to him after all these months, she already knew that Jake knew all about her situation through her friend Tiffany, even though she was annoyed with her friend at the beginning. But Clara was just grateful for everything Tiffany was doing for her at the hardest time of her life, and Jake was also a very important person in her life right now, mainly because she knew Jake was responsible for helping her company survive this crisis indirectly. Chapter 206 A Little Crisis 5 So while Jake was recovering Clara went to pay a visit, when she arrived at Matthew''s house where Jake was living, Jake was very surprised to see that Clara was even thinner now. This is usually a good thing for women, but the problem was that Clara had been thin before and had a slender body, but with her getting thinner from depression she looked like a sick person. But Tiffany and Clara''s father were pleased that she had set aside work a little to visit Jake who had suffered an injury. Even though Jake didn''t let it show he was shocked and just smiled at Clara as he invited her in. Jake had a right thigh stretch that was a mild grade 2 injury so he could still walk now with a limp. "How are you doing, Jake?" "I''m fine, this injury isn''t serious and I just need a little rest to recover, luckily I''m almost on my vacation, so it won''t bother me so much." Jake was trying to hide that he had hurt himself not to worry his friends, so he got a medical certificate to leave school for another week. Only Joseph cared more about Jake, but when Jake said over the phone that it was okay no one cared much about it. Since this time Jake had not won the marathon even though he had the attention of commentators and the media, his name was not mentioned very much in the news after the marathon. So if even after winning in Chicago many did not see the news about Jake at his school, now that he had come second much less. "I didn''t think you were so good at marathons if you wanted you could already become a professional athlete after finishing school." "I still prefer to stay in basketball and study for a while." Jake knew Clara was just kidding in saying this, after all, who would give up a scholarship at a guaranteed university? And basketball could only bring good things to Jake and his sponsors for years to come. "I''m more worried about you, Clara, I knew what happened to you and I also see that you don''t look very healthy right now, tell me how you are." Clara didn''t expect Jake to suddenly change the focus of her conversation, she had just talked to her friends and family about what had happened, but she felt like talking to Jake about what happened too. "I''m much better now than at the beginning, I knew from the beginning that this marriage could end at any moment, but I always hoped Robert would change his mind and that we could be together." "So I just focused on work and put personal matters aside, but in the end, it turned out worse than I thought." Jake just listened in silence as Clara vented. "But I don''t think Robert is so wrong so you know, he has the company that he needed to invest in a long time, but while his father was alive Robert could do nothing and I always suggested reinvesting profits in the company, so almost 10 years Robert can never use his stock profits for nothing." "I liked him even before my dad planned this wedding, so I was a little happy before I knew Robert didn''t like me, his only shortcoming is that he''s always been a little proud and jealous, so it all turned out like this." In the end, Clara was crying and Jake just put his hand on Clara''s arm to comfort her, he didn''t think Clara really liked Robert for what he heard from Tiffany, so he understood that her shock was greater after what happened. "None of this is your fault Clara, things happen and you were right to want to invest more to improve the company, I always thought a man should be able to be proud, otherwise he just becomes stingy." "If he needed the money to invest in his other company, Robert would talk to you before, I''m sure you would understand." "I think the end of your marriage was a good thing for you, now you are free to find your happiness, as the problems of the company things will end up resolving, don''t worry so much." After that, Clara looked a little better and Jake ended up comforting her even if he was being visited, so Clara talked for a while and left. Jake knew it would take Clara much longer to get over what happened, but he was sure a strong woman like her would eventually recover and come back stronger after that. But Jake was still in a little crisis of not knowing what was happening to him if it was a physical problem like the injury to his leg Jake would be quieter because an exam would tell when he would recover. But Jake had no clue when he would recover from this unknown problem, and unknown things always cause people more fear. So before bedtime, Jake remembered that the system might know something about it after all the system was the destination that knew everything and even knew its statistics and estimated its abilities. "Fate, do you know what problem I have?" [I know, you had a mild psychological problem caused by your trust after they broke into your home.] Jake was much more relieved when he learned what the problem was, at least it was no longer unknown, but Jake knew the psychological problems were the most complex for athletes. Some athletes have yips that as an example of psychological illness, archers also have something known as ''target panic'' that causes many of them to lose important points in competitions. Some are just temporary and some of these problems don''t heal for life, so Jake was a little worried about that. "But my mother had no problems with that." [Your problem is not serious, your mother may have an even bigger problem than this, but you who need your mind to be in perfect condition because of sports have discovered this before.] [This must have been a shock to know that something could have happened to your mother whom you have seen die once in your past life, in time it will pass by itself.] "But how long will it take for that? I have to be fine for next year''s national championship matches." [This is hard to know even for me, but it shouldn''t be a problem for you to win the national championship, it''s hardly going to last that long, besides, you can still play well and even win a marathon if you don''t do anything exaggerated, how much The less you worry the faster you will recover.] Jake was a little relieved to at least know that this would recover soon, if it was something serious the system would say, even after the national championship Jake did not intend to participate in any other marathon anyway, so he hoped that in almost 3 months he back to normal. [Most importantly, next time you should stop running when I warn you that you are at risk of injury, this time you suffered a minor grade 2 injury, and because you continued until the end of the marathon even injured the injury almost reached grade 3.] [If this happened you would be almost 3 months unable to walk and would lose the national championship for sure, your luck helped this time and you did well to eat the stamina bar as soon as the race was over so the injury returned to grade 2 milds.] Jake was really scared of it, it seemed to be more serious than he thought, Jake thought grade 2 was already overdone for him, but he was lucky, Jake expected only a grade 1 injury when the system warned. What Jake didn''t know was that the system protected his body from Grade 1 injuries, especially after increasing his Resistance stat so much so that any injuries would be Grade 2 at a minimum and in the future would be even more dangerous. [With my help and your high Resistance as you are you should fully recover in 2 weeks, tomorrow you should be able to walk normally with a little pain, but be careful next time if you don''t want to use the stamina bar give up the race.] Even if the system understood that Jake was proud not to use the stamina bar, the system did not think pride should be more important than Jake''s health in such a situation. Jake was surprised because it was rare that the system of such councils, usually the system just watched Jake make his own decisions, so Jake understood that it should be really important. Of course Jake hoped never to go through this kind of situation again, he understood that his decision was the wrong one for the situation. Now Jake was thinking that maybe it was time to get a trainer, he understood that his marathon training was wrong with him relying only on his statistics, but that would have to wait until after he fully recovered. The most important thing was to get a coach who knew the basics of training in all types of athletics that involved running from 100 meters to the marathon, after all, Jake didn''t need very specific training with his statistics and he wanted for various modalities. Also, the coach had to be very reliable not to talk about what happened to Jake in training, after all, Jake didn''t have a normal body thanks to the system and any coach would realize that. That''s why Jake hasn''t sought a coach so far, but in order to have more effective training and for the other running modalities he needed to have proper training. Jake just had to wait until after vacation and the start of another year to start thinking again about basketball and also about the marathons and the olympics that he would try for a spot so he could relax for a while until his injury recovered. But that didn''t mean he had nothing to do in the meantime, after the vacation Jake would finally know how much Matthew''s company had made in 1995, he knew it could be even higher than the company''s total value, so Jake, You could expect a very large profit share in your first year as a shareholder. Chapter 207 A Little Crisis 6 After all, Matthew''s company was worth over $ 300 million for now, so if more than 1 million digital cameras were sold by the end of the year as Jake had hoped they could have over $ 1 billion in sales. If they sold these 1 million cameras the company would have $ 400 million in pure profit, not to mention that it would greatly increase the total value of the company if all profits were distributed Jake would receive a 20 million stake. In addition, Jake was actually being conservative with the estimate of selling 1 million cameras, until public interest could wane next year he thought they could sell at least 3 million cameras. So Jake could get 60 million shares only and could buy part of Clara''s company shares and help her, of course, that was just Jake speculation and they would have to wait to know the exact values. Another thing Jake was hoping was that Emily would soon find Jeff Bezos, Jake thought that the more time passed the harder it would be for him to have a big stake in this amazing company. But Jake couldn''t rush Emily, because, besides the work of finding someone to be very difficult, she still had several things to worry about right now, after all, Emily''s father''s friends had invested $ 30 million in Jake''s investment firm. Emily had to closely monitor whether the people she hired were doing a good job, in fact, she thought that was the most important thing at the moment than looking for an unknown person. But Emily had great respect for Jake who conquered everything he was young and without the help of his family, so she still focused on finding the person Jake was looking for right away. After a few days, Jake could walk normally and not even feel pain in his right leg, if the system had not said his injury was serious Jake thought it was just simple to recover so quickly. At the same time, Jake was impressed by the resilience his body now had, Jake hoped that as his physical stats increased his resilience would increase as well. So the month passed quickly and Jake''s holiday came and this was the first time he had no trip to make, luckily next year his mother and Anna were thinking about how to reduce their workload. As the restaurant was in its infancy and still gaining customer trust and Eva still had to learn how to be a chef, they both had to spend almost 18 hours a day at the restaurant. But next year Eva who had already learned a lot from Anna and the restaurant staff already knew what to do so Eva would stay in the morning and Anna would stay in the evening, in the afternoon the two would work together like now. Anna was also busy thinking about what would change the menu to please customers, even if it wasn''t an upscale restaurant that always needed to be changing menus the restaurant had to at least have some news for customers. At breakfast, the restaurant made small changes every week as the variety and taste were more important than the menu, plus Julius''s desserts didn''t need to be changed as all customers enjoyed and always ordered the same dishes. Eva would be shocked to learn that Jake had been injured for over a week and she didn''t even realize it, which showed how much time she spent away from home, but that was also what ensured that she was safe in the incident of breaking into her home. Jake was waiting for Emily to start doing something in his vacation time, but who came to talk to him was someone Jake had already forgotten. It was Coach Bill Guthridge, he had said he would come back later to talk to Jake about something important and had to leave after the state championship final game, but Jake thought he would come back only after the national championship. But Jake didn''t know that Coach Bill thought he might be a second Michael Jordan to his university in the future and gave Jake a lot of importance, all the more so because Coach Bill was worried about Jake after seeing Jake''s poor performance in the last game. "Hi Jake, I said I''d be right back to talk to you, how are you?" "I''m fine coaching, I''m having some problems for important games but I don''t think I would have any problems for the national championship." Coach Bill was pleased with Jake recognizing that he had a problem and being honest in telling him that, Bill also thought that Jake''s problem should be a minor problem and should not affect Jake for so long. "I also think your problem is going to disappear soon, but what I wanted to talk to you about was an important problem that you must solve before you go to university." "And what problem is that?" "It''s the problem with your sponsorship deals, I don''t know how you got those deals even though you were in high school, but at university, this is extremely forbidden and the NCAA may even punish our university and you if it is not resolved." Jake hoped this problem would arise, it was normal for Coach Bill to already know about it, Jake before needed this sponsorship to leave his mother without having to do a bad job, so he might need to go straight to the NBA without being ready just for the money. This problem with forbidden sponsorship contracts for college basketball players continued even in the 40-year-old Jake''s past life, the claim that the NCAA used was that it wanted to let it go without much publicity to preserve the universities and the players and to keep it. the audience continued to watch the games. As a result of this, a lot of problems ended up and famous players like Kobe Bryant among others ended up directly entering the NBA after high school because of it. Now Jake no longer needed these sponsorships as he and his mother have a lot of money and investments, but Jake had solved this problem in a way that maybe only he in the world could do. "Coach, I don''t think my sponsorships will be a problem, because my sponsorship contracts are not for basketball, but because I''m also a professional marathon athlete, so I won''t break any university rules." Coach Bill was shocked after hearing about this, even though Jake was indeed a marathon athlete the NCAA rule holds true for all basketball players, so Jake could not be an exception in Coach Bill''s opinion. "I think my case is a special coach, I really am a professional athlete and I won the Chicago marathon and I was also second in the New York marathon, and these two are major marathons." "Not to mention that I intend to participate in the Olympics next year to try to win a gold medal for our country, so I think it''s normal that I can have some sponsorships, it would be great for the university''s image too, I don''t think people from NCAA would refuse to make an exception for me." Coach Bill wondered what Jake said next, really if Jake had won a major marathon and placed second in the other undeniable era he was a pro and very talented at running. If Jake could win a medal at the Olympics or even just win one more marathon while in college, it would be really great for them, and even if the NCAA made an exception for Jake, it was impossible for another athlete to meet those requirements one day, that would be an exclusive case. So Coach Bill thought it might even be possible, at least he could try to recommend it to the university. "Alright Jake, I''ll at least talk about it with the university, I think the NCAA might make an exception for you, but I don''t guarantee anything." "Thank you, coach." "So since this subject has to be set aside, for now, knowing the problem you have and that you are soon going to university to have more difficult games I have prepared something for you." "What is this coach?" "You''ll see soon." Since Jake was on vacation and had nothing to do, he agreed to go with the coach to see what this surprise was for him, so he had just spent Christmas and Jake told his mother he was going to travel. So Jake and Coach Bill got on a plane and went on a trip, on December 29th almost at New Year''s Eve Jake found out what surprise Coach Bill had prepared and enjoyed it a lot. Coach Bill had brought Jake to watch an NBA game between Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers, Jake guessed that Coach Bill wanted to show Jake how Michael Jordan played in that game. Of course Jake also paid attention to Ron Harper''s performance playing in the same position as him, but Michael Jordan was the one Jake paid the most attention to. This was known as the best season and the best Chicago Bulls team in history, so for a 6-time team just in Michael Jordan''s time, it was really amazing. Michael Jordan averaged over 30 points per game, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, yet he was a player who knew how to play as a team and so they could be champions. Jake watched the game paying close attention to his idol and Bill also just watched the game without saying anything next to him, for Bill this game was a very important lesson and lesson for Jake for him to have a career goal of trying to be like the idol. It could also take away any arrogance Jake might be feeling for being high school MVP several times, as well as show that Jake was far from the NBA and college level. This could even help Jake with the psychological problem he was facing and return to play normally for next year, after all, Coach Bill wanted Jake to come to his team after being once again champion of the national championship and come full of confidence. Chapter 208 New Business 1 The game was as good as everyone else, the Chicago Bulls team won another game, by 120-93 against the Indiana Pacers team. This was the best time for the Chicago Bulls team to end this season with a record of 72 wins and only 10 losses, at which point the Bulls would have 31 wins in 32 matches. This year Michael Jordan would be MVP again after returning to basketball after a stop to play Baseball which was his father''s wish. Michael Jordan had scored 29 points in this game and only Jake knew he was seeing one of the games of a season that would go into history for the Chicago Bulls. It was a pity that Jake couldn''t play Michael at his best, even if he could play it was Jake who couldn''t play the best. "Did you see this game well, Jake? If you can play half of what Michael plays you could one day be a great basketball player in the future." Jake agreed with what Coach Bill said, but with the system, Jake''s goal was to play at the same level as Michael Jordan, even though it might be nearly impossible Jake was determined to try even if it took another 14 years before that. After all the system said that with higher physical statistics Jake could play at his peak even after 30 years old, so he still had plenty of time to develop his skills as well. After that Jake thanked Coach Bill so much for this gift, Coach Bill told Jake that he would try to talk to the NCAA university and organization to see if Jake could get permission to have sponsors at the university. So Jake returned to Miami while Coach Bill went elsewhere, Jake was already liking Bill as a coach and expected to see him again soon. After returning home, Jake went back to light training to fully recover, Jake was now thinking about how he could find a coach that suited his requirements and was still reliable. It wasn''t that Jake was worried that something really bad could happen to him because even all the technology in the world couldn''t figure out how the system improved his body and what Jake had different from others. But it would be strange if Jake were seen as different from other athletes in their physical appearance, he also wanted to be recognized as a talent above all. So Jake decided to ask Tiffany for help again, after all, she was the only trusted person Jake could ask for help now as Clara was worse than Tiffany because of the problems and Jake didn''t trust John much. Tiffany said she would look for someone suitable for Jake, the fact that Jake wanted someone who only knew the basics and was also trustworthy made things a lot easier for her. If he asked for an elite coach or someone famous, it would be much more difficult for Jake, who was still playing basketball, no professional coach would accept an athlete with keen attention. So Jake tried to prove himself while he was young, so he wouldn''t have so much trouble in the future, he knew Tiffany should take the entire vacation to find someone suitable because she was busy. So Jake waited again for news of Emily who promised to meet Jeff by the end of the year and could not keep the promise as the year would end in another day. But Jake didn''t blame her because she knew Emily had so many other things to worry about besides looking for Jeff, so Jake spent the year quietly with his mother and continued his training that intensified when Jake saw that he was recovering. While training and waiting for Emily, Jake received an invitation that was unexpected to him, it was a request from the football team to have Jake play in a friendly match for them over the weekend. Coach Jim knew that Jake had a great physical performance in PE classes and also playing for the basketball team, Coach even knew that after all the training that Jake was still running on the school''s athletic field. In fact, it was the football team that had the biggest problems after the Elite school decided to focus more on sports because it was essential that the school make the biggest investment in football that was America''s favorite sport. But while only making a promise to a few talented students for all sports including Jake and his teammates, the school could easily win state championships. Unfortunately, this was not possible for football, because it needed at least 33 very talented players to improve the elite school''s weak football team, which was almost the number of students called in for all sports. In addition, usually schools famous for being good at sports had two teams, and the VARSITY core team and the secondary team that was VARSITY JUNIOR, so they would have to have at least 70 good players to have some prominence. Even if the school promising scholarships could invite these players and win the state championship it would be for a maximum of 2 years and then the team level would fall again. Even as the school was needed, it made a big investment, and in two years it got an American football team to beat class 5A in the Florida region, which made talented new students interested in writing at school. In the other 2 years, the football team still achieved good results thanks to the good work of coach Jim and even if they didn''t win the Elite school it was still well placed in those two years building greater confidence for new players to enter. But even so the number of good players the school had decreased and many ended up getting injured at the end of the year, so earlier this year as the VARSITY JUNIOR team also had a friendly and had no player for the first team coach Jim got not knowing what to do. So he chose the student he thought could best play among everyone in school, of course, he did it because he didn''t know Jake had just recovered from an injury. Even though Jake wasn''t a fan of football, he still knew the rules very well, and with his statistics, it would be very difficult for anyone to hurt Jake in normal contact, Jake was also looking for a sport that could improve his strength and football could. be a good idea. Of course Jake would never think of becoming a pro at this, but to play in his spare time would be a good idea if Coach Jim knew what Jake was thinking he would probably regret inviting Jake to the team. Jake showed up at the school''s football training ground, no one came to talk to him and so Jake stood by the field until a young man came to take Jake to put on his protective gear before starting training. As Jake was not used to the boy who was one of the staff assistants helped Jake put on his protective gear and uniform, as it was a rich private school everything was new and had lots of extra equipment for everyone. When Jake returned to the field, coach Jim stepped away from team training and came to talk to Jake as he was the one who invited him to help the football team. "Hi Jake, thank you so much for coming to help the team now that we needed it." "No problem coach, I was on vacation and it''s just for a game." "I''m glad you think so, for today you will just watch the training while the assistant explains some tactics and formations we use for you if you have any questions you can ask him." After that Coach, Jim returned to follow the team''s training while the assistant began to show in a small board various formations and schemes that were used by the football team just as the coach said. Jake listened very attentively while sometimes looking at the field to see the training, he asked many questions about things he did not understand to the assistant who explained everything patiently. It seemed that Coach Jim really wanted Jake to really learn everything and left the assistant all day to teach Jake everything he needed to do the assistant sometimes repeated the same thing over and over again. Jake wasn''t upset about that because he really wanted to learn everything the assistant said, so at the end of the training day, Jake was just upset about having to wear protective gear for nothing as he was not called to play. After Jake went home thinking that the day was lost, in fact, Jake didn''t know why the coach bothered to teach him all this, after all, Jake didn''t think he would even have a chance to play as he had not trained and that he was just there to cover the numbers. But if he could, Jake thought he could play as Running Back (RB) or Wide Receiver (WR), after all, Jake was certainly more agile and flexible than these other High School players. Someone from the NFL could be faster than Jake, but his stats were too high for his age, as the strength only the heaviest and biggest players could be stronger than Jake, but these players couldn''t keep up with Jake at speed. After all, it was impossible for anyone to have Jake''s strength without having developed muscles, it was possible for Jake thanks to the help of the system, and with larger muscles, players lose speed. After everyone left home, the coach arrived to talk to the assistant who stayed with Jake all day, Coach Jim was all day paying attention to Jake even while coaching the team. "So how did it go?" "He is better than the expected coach, from the questions I asked him later in the day it seems that one day he managed to memorize almost all the tactics I gave him." Coach Jim was very pleased to hear this, he thought that because Jake was the best player on the basketball team and was suddenly asked to help the school football team he would be annoyed to have to do all day doing nothing. just listening to the team tactics. But to Coach Jake''s surprise, he had no arrogance and listened attentively without even complaining about anything. Chapter 209 New Business 2 Jake thought the coach called him to the football team just to complete numbers, but he was completely mistaken, coach Jim paid close attention to the information he had long ago about Jake. In addition to his physical talents, Jake was also the best student in the class and the PG of the basketball team. In addition, the coach heard that it was Jake who led the team at the games and Coach Mike just coached the team during the week and spent all of their time. the instructions to Jake. Coach Jim also heard that in the beginning when the team had not played much time together that Jake passed the moves to the team players through hand signals, this all shows his intelligence and leadership ability. If Coach Jim wanted only players to complete the numbers he could call some from the JUNIOR VARSITY team, and the secondary team could recruit some players from the school, many wanted to play on a recently champion football team. Coach Jim didn''t know Jake was that fast from his games either, so Coach was thinking of using Jake to replace the two-quarterback (QB) who had been injured, the JUNIOR VARSITY team had only one player in that position who wasn''t so good. So Coach Jim was thinking of testing Jake in this position, so it was important that Jake memorize all team tactics before they could train other things after all the fitness coach knew Jake had. So Jake just had to train a few short passes or aerial throws during the week, it was Coach Jim''s big bet, but this was just a friendly one and he would only use Jake for once if Jake didn''t get a satisfactory result during the week, the Coach could just let Jake out of the game. After arriving home Jake continued studying the notes he had received from the assistant football team, this was all very interesting to Jake and even if he didn''t play he found it useful to learn some things like that. Jake had always taken everything he did seriously, so he was successful in many things, with Jake''s intelligence being very high and most of the time he spent studying these tactics Jake was confident that he would remember everything if necessary. The other day the assistant helped Jake put on his protective gear and prepared to teach Jake again about team tactics, but Jake said he didn''t have to because he had learned it all already. The assistant was not surprised and thought that Jake was just being arrogant and didn''t want to waste any more time studying, after all even the quarterbacks of the main team could not say that he had memorized all tactics. The quarterback usually learns only the basics of tactics and only studies those that can be used in the best games shortly before the games, otherwise, it would not take the time to organize the team in the attacks. Seeing how confident Jake was, the assistant asked several difficult questions while his tactics were in hand, he thought if he showed that Jake didn''t know everything he could continue teaching. But then the assistant was surprised how Jake had really decorated everything, so he went to ask Coach Jim what to do, Coach Jim was surprised because he didn''t expect to include Jake in today''s training. So he decided to go through the training that Jake would have to do the other day with the starting players while Jake would watch alongside the assistant explaining what Jake would have to do if he was in training. Jake accepted that and spent another day with his protective gear unused even once standing beside the field, yet Jake was glad that he was learning so many things he didn''t know about football training. The other day in the first part of the training Jake started to participate, first of all, he would have to do the 40-yard race for the coach to know his time, Jake had never done anything like this before but had heard many times on television. So Jake knew it was tough and he gave his race the maximum, he got a time of 4.61 in the race, that wasn''t considered very fast in the NFL, but as Jake was still 16 he impressed everyone. Even more, because it was his first time doing the 40 yard race, everyone admired Jake who had one of the best times of the team, in fact, Jake''s fort was more endurance than blast, he could keep his top speed for 200 meters for example. When Jake''s agility was over 50 he could even compete with sprinters because of it, then the assistant gave Jake the race course that Running Back (RB) and Wide Receiver (WR) would do. So Jake was happy because he was certain he would be in these positions just as he had thought, Jake was even wondering if he could make a touchdown, with his speed and strength he was confident of doing at least one in training. After several people trained the coach called Jake to talk to him, and Jake was excited thinking about how he could do a Touchdown. "Jake I know you already learned most of the team''s tactics in the early days and saw how we do the training so today you are going to play quarterback, I think you''ve seen what the trajectories WR and RB will do." After hearing that Jake was shocked, he never thought he would play quarterback after all this was the most important position of the team and Jake had never played football seriously before, so he had no confidence in leading the team to make the points without experience. Coach Jim saw that Jake was surprised and pleased with it, he thought Jake was capable of it but didn''t want to see Jake being too arrogant thinking that he could easily or would go wrong. "You don''t have to worry about that, the quarterback''s main job is to organize the team, know the right tactics to catch the opponent by surprise and make the passes and plays, you''ve always done the first two things, making the passes is the only one that you need to train." With training making the passes was really the easiest, but knowing the right time to make a pass while having the pressure of the game, with opponents trying to knock you down and your teammate receiving the pass has to be moving that makes it all harder. Not to mention that a good quarterback has to have a lot of strength and a good arm in addition to being spatially aware not to lose the ball before making the pass, but Jake doesn''t have to worry about that as he would play just one game. Also, it was great that this game was just a friendly one, but with the psychological problem that Jake is in he could end up playing very badly if the game was serious, of course, Jake didn''t even think he could play. So Jake went along with his assistant and was training how to do the oval ball throws, luckily Jake already knew how to do that from PE classes and playing a few times with friends in his past life. The assistant was surprised because Jake looked like he was used to playing with the oval ball and didn''t miss a pass, even when the assistant went further, it showed that Jake had at least the strength to be a quarterback. After a while the coach called Jake to do basic passing training while the WRs moved as agreed, Jake easily passed the training and missed none. It was easier because there was no one in defense, but even experienced quarterback could end up missing that training, Coach Jim grinned and was glad to see that he was right about Jake. At least he already knew that Jake could play on Sunday if Jake could make the hardest passes in the pressure of the match when everyone had a training with the teams of 11 of the attack against the 11 of defense Jake missed many more passes. This was because with a defensive player the WR could not move exactly as it was in training because he had to clear the defender, so the quarterback must read the move well and set the pass even with the WR out of the pass route. Even so, no one was mad at Jake who was playing for the first time with the team, just about him hitting the pass and receiving the ball from the Center without knocking it off his team-mates. Even though Jake still hit some passes and others it was Receiver''s fault that he dropped the ball even though Jake''s pass was right, all of which made the coach happy as they still had 3 more days to train and hit everything. After all Jake was just training to set his passing time calmly, but when the opposing defenders pass the Guards (LG / RG) and Tackle (LT / RT), Jake will have to learn to think faster and dodge the opposing defenders that will try to bring it down. Even though Coach Jim was very pleased with Jake''s performance, someone once said that a genius player in one sport could play in other sports and Jake was proving it just as Michael Jordan did. Too bad Coach Jim thought Jake was too old to start playing football, if Jake had started a few years earlier he might have had a chance to become a pro, but now that was almost impossible unless Jake had amazing talent as a quarterback. Luckily Jake wasn''t even thinking about becoming a pro football player, even though he enjoyed the sport was impossible for what Jake wanted to do in his life, Jake was thinking of playing basketball because he loved the sport and wanted to get very rich. He also wanted to run in athletics because he loved running and wanted to try to win several gold medals at the Olympics, so love was not the only reason for Jake to do these two sports. To win medals more easily he could only participate in sports that required more strength or even fighting sports such as judo, even swimming was better suited to winning the medals. But he knew that it was not possible to do various sports in his life and the marathon involved running and were similar to the method of physical training that Jake already did for basketball, so both sports could be practiced by Jake. Chapter 210 New Business 3 But if Jake tried American football too he would be at great risk even if he could become a professional player, after all the fatigue he would face with this sport that had too much physical contact would be too much and not even the stamina bar could help Jake improve. In addition, Jake could end up with several injuries that would hinder him with basketball and athletics, if running Jake had already had an injury it was impossible to expect that the same would not happen with American football. But Jake thought that he could try sometimes to participate in some games and training just to improve his strength, of course, these games would not be at the university or in an NFL team but with some friends. The other day Jake was even better with his passes, with his hundreds of games in his imagination training space. Jake had already learned several tricks to learn how to predict his mates'' passing movements at the right time. After all, even though in basketball the passes weren''t as difficult as in football, Jake''s experience still helped, after all, Jake was known to rarely miss a pass in basketball training and games. In football if Jake could hit a pass every 4 plays he could lead any team to champion, of course, that was easier said than done, Jake hit 1 pass every 10 attempts on his second day. When everyone saw that Jake was much better and more used to hitting pass times, the defense suddenly opened on the orders of coach Jim and the players of the positions of Defensive End (DE) and Defensive Tackle (DT) understood what the Coach wanted and knocked down Jake who didn''t expect it. Jake was a little confused by what had happened and soon realized that he had suffered a sack from the opposing players, it wasn''t that Jake didn''t know this could happen but that he understood that the coach was just training him and not letting his opponents go do that. In addition, Jake knew it should be his attacking teammates'' job to protect him as he made the moves, so as he stood he looked bitterly at the coach and his teammates. "Don''t be mad at your teammates Jake, I was the one who planned this, you as a quarterback always have to pay attention to opposing players as you prepare to pass, this time you understand that sometimes the team can make a mistake and you will fall like now." Of course Jake understood why the coach did that, but Jake couldn''t help being upset because he could defend himself if he knew his opponents would pass by his teammates and not suffer Sack. In the following plays, Jake was always preparing the pass while watching the opposing players, Coach Jim was pleased with it, he thought that if he made Jake caught unprepared he would be more aware after that. So Jake was now missing more passes but was trying to make passes faster because he was worried that opposing players would try another Sack, now Jake was acting more like a quarterback. Jake ended up suffering 5 more Sack in training because he didn''t have time to pass, but even the coach was surprised how Jake was still able to dodge the DE and DT opponents before being knocked down, which shows how Jake had agility. When training was over Jake took off his protective gear and went home tired to bathe and rest, Jake couldn''t help but think about how hard it was to be a quarterback even in training. Of course, this was because Jake was not used to it and he still had many limitations on his current training, but since everything was so intense Jake focused more on what the trainer said than what he remembered watching on television. While Jake was training without him realizing he had fully recovered his best form before the injury, the football team also had to do warm-up and physical training every day before tactical training. It was a different training from what Jake was used to and much harder than what he did on the basketball team every day, but Jake who had high physical stats and did a lot of physical training every day could do that training easily. It also made Coach Jim and the other players very surprised, after all, Jake seemed to do the exercises more easily than athletes who were used to doing the same every day, even Jake''s repetitive weightlifting training could easily lift more than 100 kg several times. For over three years Jake was used to doing weight training, even though he couldn''t lift weights over 300kg at the hip as many NFL players could easily lift over 200kg. The other day Coach Jim decided to call Jake to pass on what he had to do in the next days of training from now on, after all, Jake was being trained to participate in the game on Sunday and they didn''t have much time to fully prepare it. "Jake, you''ve been doing very well in the training we''ve had so far, but today we''ll have to do the full training every day until the game day if you don''t understand something you can ask me." "Complete training? As well?" "I speak training but more actually it will be more like various simulated games between the attacking and defensive teams, we will have all the plays of a normal game and even the races and score." So Jake understood, he wanted to do a touchdown or a Field goal, but if he could give a pass to a WR or an RB to touchdown he would be happy too. As the coach taught the players the way the assistant Jake always knew well came to explain what the training would be like now and also what moves he had to know to do. So Jake finally understood that his training was so difficult for him because he didn''t have many play options and not even the four down attempts that the attacking team usually has to attempt the touchdown. In games the quarterback usually has 3 different attack options, he can pass the ball and make throws for WR as Jake had been training, he could also pass the ball to RB to try the race or he could run himself to try to advance. Since in training everyone knew that Jake would only try to make passes as that was what the coach wanted, it was obvious that Jake and WR had a much harder time getting the move, as training started Jake awkwardly called the move they would make. He thought it was cool to watch the quarterback screaming loudly on television, but it was too embarrassing to do so, in the first play the assistant said that Jake should try the play with RB, Jake was happy because it was the play he found easier for QB do. Jake didn''t know how to analyze the level of his team''s players because he wasn''t used to watching high school football games, but he had heard from assistants that in the last 4 years the president of Elite school has decided to focus on sports the team School football has always had the best defense. This was not only because the school invited many talented students from other schools to the Elite school, and had more to do with hiring Coach Jim, he was on the coaching staff of one of the universities that had one of the best teams. Even though Coach Jim was not the head coach of this team he learned a lot from the coach watching him work and was also responsible for the defensive part of the team, in which one team had more than 40 players and three teams needed to have one. good coaching staff besides the head coach. Thus at least the defensive part of the Elite football team was guaranteed, and in high school, the attacks of the teams are generally weaker because it is difficult to find a QB who had the strength and good arm to play and who has intelligence as well. So RB racing is usually the main move, and a firm defense is the best countermeasure for a talented RB, seeing how difficult it was for his team''s RB to advance 2 yards in training, Jake saw that the easiest move for him was not Very helpful on staff. For lack of a good QB after the best student in that position invited by the school that the team was having difficulty winning the state championship again, in the other move Jake would try a race again. So RB advanced just 2 yards again and the attacking team had advanced just 4 yards and needed at least 6 more for the first dawn, so from what he saw on television Jake knew the coach would ask Jake to try a pass now. After all, even though there were 4 attempts usually the 4 attempts were made a punt so that the team would not risk losing the ball, Coach Jim asked Jake to try a pass this time as he thought. So with two WRs on his team, Jake had only two attempts, as the opposing team knew that Jake was not very experienced they could exclude Jake''s option by making a race, as this was the 3rd attempt they usually thought the team in the attack would try a pass. But what Jake didn''t know was that he only had one attacking team and one defending team didn''t need a punt on the fourth try, but Jake thought he was out of options, Jake received the ball in Shotgun position and moved quickly to the right where I had the most protection. The coach recommended that Jake make the move with the left WR that would run straight and cut in the middle, but midway through the play, he saw that the defensive team''s CB was waiting for this move. So he decided to play with the right WB who would run straight and cut out getting close to the sideline, luckily the right WB was more free when he cut right and Jake made a Lob Pass and the WB jumped to get the ball safely. With this move the attacking team had advanced 8 more yards and achieved the first dawn and would continue on the further attack, Jake was happy to get his first dawn playing as QB, he thought it was as satisfying as making points in basketball. Chapter 211 New Business 4 Coach Jim was the one who was most impressed, Jake decided on his own for a different play than the assistant had recommended, and that was the right decision to get the first down to attack. He didn''t expect Jake to get a first down on his first play, so the next play would soon start and it would be another race, this time Jake was in a position closer to Center and then passed the ball to RB. The RB managed to find a gap between the opposing defense and managed to advance 4 yards before making a slide, the attack was quite happy with that, but the defenders were upset with Jake who was a novice playing so well. This time again the assistant said that the recommended play was a race with the RB, the assistant always said it was the recommended play because the WB was always ready to receive a pass on every move. All coaches encouraged the quarterback to have more freedom to choose which move to make because the moves were always changing and the coach could not predict the opposing moves. This time the defenders were determined to stop the race, so Jake who was in Shotgun''s position saw that the race was a bad idea, so when he wondered who would pass he saw that an opposing DT had managed to get past Jake''s defenders and I was trying a sack. Jake used his speed to run to the right and get as far away as possible while trying to analyze the play, Jake still making the pass to the left WR that had cut in half again. The WR managed to receive the pass and the attacking team was able to advance another 4 yards, even though being knocked over by the DT after passing the pass Jake was still happy to see that he had succeeded. Even Coach Jim was shocked again to see that Jake had decided to change play correctly and still made the pass while walking away from the opposing player trying to take him down. It was hard to see this in a quarterback even though he had several years of experience, but Jake was a newbie so it was more surprising, a quarterback who can usually analyze the moves well while withstanding the pressure of his opponent and has a good presence of Pocket has the so-called Poise. That was the hardest thing for any quarterback to teach and it''s a kind of talent in itself, the coach was increasingly thinking that Jake could have a great career if he started early in football and could be an NFL player if he had the time. After the team continued training until the end of the day, Jake was even more tired than the day before and was very dirty and sore after being knocked down several times in the training rounds, so after removing the protective gear he decided to take bath in school just like the other players did. After Jake went home with a smile on his face despite being very tired, he was happy to make a good game and had much more fun with his teammates than on the basketball team. So over the next few days everyone repeated the same training routines and had games between attacking and defensive teams, Jake quickly got used to playing quarterback and even risked a few races to win a few yards in a few plays. So everyone finished the last training before Sunday''s game, Jake was sad to realize that this was perhaps the last training as the football team players, he became very friendly and had fun with the attacking team and even earned the respect of the team defensive after getting several moves. Jake thought that if he played on this team before he could have many friends in his high school days, but because of the risk of injury Jake had not risked playing football before, even though now he can play well with his teammates and having no risk of injury was because it evolved. He has trained his body with the help of the system since he was 10 years old, that means he was training for over 6 years, only playing a lot of basketball can greatly improve his technique and further improve his physique, the last year he also gained a lot from training to run the marathon. If he had tried to play only football before when he was over 10 years old he would not have been able to improve so quickly and be so prominent in the team, not to mention that he would be injured to have the physical statistics he had now. And surely he would have no sponsorship to help him and his mother like he did in basketball many years ago, Jake was not blinded by his current success and knew his priorities, so he could still have a lot of fun with American football sometimes. Before Jake went home on his last day of pre-match training Coach Jim called him in for a final conversation, Jake was also very grateful for Coach Jim''s invitation when he was feeling a little bad about losing the New York marathon and had nothing to do on vacation. "I wanted to thank you again, Jake, who came to help our team even if you were on your vacation." "Alright coach, I always wanted to know what it was like to play football and you gave me that chance, I really enjoyed my week here." "Glad to hear that, I''m not going to invite you to join the football team because I know you already have everything going to college to play basketball and will be a great NBA player in the future, but I wanted to say I think you have amazing talent and could be an NFL star as a quarterback. " Jake knew that the talents that Coach Jim was talking about was what Jake had gained from his years of basketball experience and with the help of the system, Jake understood that even if he had some basketball talent before, it wouldn''t be enough for him to be a pro. So Jake knew that it was because of the system that he could play basketball so well and his talents had developed, so with the system, Jake could also have a chance to play in the NFL and be good at any sport. Still, Jake was very grateful to the system that was helping him fulfill all the dreams he had in his life. "I wanted to say that I was happy to see that I was right to call you for this friendly, you did much better in training than I expected and you will play as a quarterback on the attacking team in Sunday''s game." After saying that Coach Jim left, Jake was very excited to hear this, he hoped after seeing that he was training as a quarterback in every training session of the week he could play on Sunday, but hearing from the coach was different. Of course, he didn''t say anything about it to his mother, Eva never really liked American football because she found it a very violent sport when Jake played from time to time in her past life she always got angry with him about it. Even if he explained to her that the sport was very competitive and had a lot of tactics and required intelligence as well as strength to play, it was difficult to take Eva''s bias out of football, especially as she heard the news of players hurting themselves despite all the protective gear they wore. So Jake thought it best to keep it a secret from her, in fact, Jake felt guilty for doing so, even if it was not to make Eva worried, he already had many secrets and hid many things from his mother that he was always so close to. Eva didn''t know yet that Jake had an investment company and 5 percent of Matthew''s company, she didn''t know that Jake had been injured this time and many other things that Jake was hiding to make Eva quiet. When Sunday arrived Jake woke up very early and quickly prepared breakfast and went to the game venue, it would be in a small stadium in town that was made for even football games. The Elite school was still building a new stadium to host its games, which was one reason many players were still afraid to choose Elite school to study and play football. The opposing team for this friendly was a class 7 team and was much weaker than the current Elite team, but even so, they could bring a lot of work for Jake''s team today. They were chosen for this friendly because the attack from this team was strong and the defense was weak, so the Elite team could train their strong defense and have an advantage in the attacks, and the opposing team would win by having a strong team to train and see what the limits were. Jake joined his teammates to hear the moves that would be played in the coach''s game, Jake went to the assistant to know what he would need to do in the game, but those were just rehearsed play instructions and suggestions. Coach Jim left Jake to decide which moves he thought were best done, as this was a friendly game. Jake thought he wouldn''t have any psychological problems disrupting him. In fact, the problem could have been healed Jake didn''t know, but he knew that in this game he would be fine, soon the Elite team kicked off and the friendly game started, the opposing team''s comeback advanced a little and threw himself to the ground. start the first play of the game. Jake was on the bench watching as the Elite defense team took the field, Jake heard several times that this defensive team was the best in class 5 for 4 straight years, but Jake only knew that they knocked him down several times even when they weren''t.playing for real. Now Jake was just hoping that the defensive team was right in this friendly match that the opposing team could not achieve a touchdown or a field goal, yet Jake paid attention to the opposing team''s quarterback to see if he could learn anything else. But Jake soon saw that the opposing team''s QB had a very different style to him and began playing in the under center position, so Jake had learned that QBs who played from that position were usually because they had little agility or made many moves with RB. Jake preferred Shotgun''s position because he gave more time to analyze the play to try the WR pass or the RB race, and also gave more time to react if the opposing team went through their teammates to try Sack. Chapter 212 New Business 5 Jake saw the opposing team advance 37 yards before making the punt, so the attacking team along with Jake would finally have their chance to play, they would start from the 30-yard line, so had to get 7 runs to get to Endzone. The play suggestion was a race with the RB that was on Jake''s left, Jake decided to try this play and called the play with much more confidence than in the first practice after Hut Jake received the ball and handed it to the player RB that was on the left. The RB ran to the left trying to get out of the opposing defensive line, even though Jake thought both of his team''s RBs were too fast, before being knocked down he managed to advance 4 yards which was very good to get the first down. After the team quickly organized to start another play, again they would try a race, Jake received the ball and went to the left RB again who managed to advance 7 yards this time getting the first down for the team in the game. After a few moves Jake realized that the opposing team''s defense was actually much lower than the Elite team''s defense that Jake always had to face in training, only with the races did they get after many moves to advance more than 50 yards and less to go of 20 to reach Endzone and get the touchdown. Even though sometimes Jake had to change the suggested moves he didn''t need to make any passes for the WR, but in the last 20 yards, it seemed that the opposing defense started to improve suddenly and in the first 2 races they could only advance 4 yards. So on the third try the assistant said it was time for Jake to try a pass, Jake got excited and after receiving the ball from Center began to analyze the play, the recommended play was with the left WR, but both WR they were well defended on the routes they ran. Jake saw that the RB was also well observed by the opposing defenders, so within seconds Jake realized that he had no choice in this play, so he saw that he could be able to advance himself with the ball from the left. When Jake started running an opposing DT player had just passed the protection of his teammates, if Jake took another minute he would no longer have a chance to try the race. Jake managed to run trying to get as close as possible to the left sideline, he had a good run and managed to catch his opponents off guard and was knocked down after advancing 11 more yards. He was happy to get down after the move but was upset when he realized he was close to getting the touchdown he wanted so much when he was asked to play, of course, he knew it was very difficult for him to achieve as a Quarterback. Coach Jim was very pleased with Jake''s performance, it would have been worthwhile to invite Jake to this friendly for the football team alone, even though Jake wasn''t necessarily better than his team''s quarterbacks he had a different style of game. Just 3 yards to Endzone, Jake''s team was excited as opponents were afraid of falling behind, Jake, who had experience of being under pressure, only calmly organized the play. The assistant said the suggestion was a race, but that Jake could try the pass if he could get the Touchdown after that Jake received the ball and the right WR entered Endzone and ran into the middle unmarked. Jake didn''t miss this opportunity and made a bullet pass to the receiving WR and dived to the ground to secure the touchdown. After that Jake celebrated as if he had dunk or Alley-oop in the game, it was very satisfying to give a pass that ends with the team''s touchdown, so the Elite team was winning by 6 points. After the team kicker still hit the kick and made an extra point, now the Elite team had 7 points lead against the opposing team in the game, Jake returned to the bench to rest happily and was congratulated by his teammates. The opposing team failed to score in their chance to attack and punctured again after advancing more than 50 yards. In this first quarter ended with neither team getting any points and the Elite team continued to win by 7 points, in the second quarter of the game the opposing team managed to score 3 points with a field goal. Jake suffered Sack a few times because he had no play options and WR fumbled a few plays and the Elite team lost some chances to increase the lead. In the middle of the third quarter the Elite team was just 30 yards from Endzone, Jake was starting to get tired of the pressure of the game even though he had plenty of time to rest between plays. After two races they had advanced just 2 yards and Jake was in a dilemma about what to do, as the players were on vacation and we''re just playing a friendly with a weaker team, Jake''s offensive teammates were not taking the play very seriously. Fortunately, the coach had a lot of control over the defensive team that was doing his part, so the Elite team was still winning the game, but the opposing team was seeing an opportunity to win with the inattentive offensive team. Jake would only play this friendly as an Elite team football player, so he seriously trying to win differently from his teammates, so in this third race, Jake told the coach to put 3 WR into this play. That would make it obvious that it was a pass attempt, but Jake thought the WRs were at least playing this game more seriously and he might have a better chance of getting another pass down. Coach Jim had also realized the problem of the offensive team, but he could not solve it in the middle of the game and so agreed with Jake and put another WR on the field, the opponent had also made changes to defend themselves better. But Jake thought the opposing team''s defense was weaker and so they didn''t have much flexibility to adapt to unexpected game changes, Jake also asked the incoming WR to be higher and the coach put the 2.03 WR in feet tall. So after the play started and the taller WR ran diagonally from right to left, so Jake''s TE blocked the opponent a bit and the WR got free and kept running. Even so Jake held the pass as he saw that his teammates were able to hold their opponents longer, so Jake made the pass when a DE managed to pass and prepared to Sack Jake. Two players from the opposing team were chasing after the highest WR and so Jake did the unexpected and went to the right-hand WR, even though the opposing CB did not expect Jake to give up the higher WR and passed the ball. what he was marking for. The high pass that Jake made was very easy for WR to catch with his fingertips while jumping, it was so good that WR received the pass and still managed to stand and the opponent CB''s front, so he kept running. He ran as hard as he could yet be knocked down 4 yards before Endzone, so the Elite team would have 4 more chances to try the touchdown or Field goal, Jake was confident of getting it and asked the coach to keep the 3 WR for those attacks. Since the RB no longer seemed to want to attack and make the moves Jake thought it was best to try riskier passes, but if he got one of the three passes would be enough for the touchdown. In the first play, WR almost managed to catch the pass but dropped the ball and after struggling to maintain possession of the ball, so in the other play as they wondered which WR Jake would choose he decided to run left with the ball. The DE realized that Jake was attempting the touchdown and decided to intercept Jake before he attempted the slide, but Jake had no thought of trying the slide and when the DE appeared for contact Jake had the ball under his left arm. Endzone was only 4 yards away, but in Shotgun position, Jake received the ball a few yards back and so needed to run much harder to touchdown, Jake blocked the DE who weighed over 100 kg with his right arm making a Stiff Arm. So Jake managed to protect the ball and made the touchdown for the Elite team, now the Elite team had 13 points and was 10 more than the opponent, the kicker missed the shot and missed the chance to get an extra point, but all they knew the game was decided. Jake was happy to have made a touchdown, he used the fact that the RBs were unmotivated and asked for another WR for the coach, he asked for the highest WR and everyone thought Jake who had a good pass would use WR''s height to get the touchdown. So Jake got another breakthrough for the team by fooling opponents and even teammates, missing 4 yards. Jake kept the WR because he was thinking of using the 3 bait WR and getting a CB that could hinder his race to do the touchdown. So he got the touchdown even risking the whole team attack, that could be bad for a normal QB, but Jake wasn''t really from the football team and would just play this friendly, besides, he had made a good game and helped the team. He always wanted to do a touchdown and couldn''t miss that chance with the team winning, to ensure the touchdown Jake even used the Stiff Arm he had only seen on television to not risk the slide. In the fourth quarter Jake managed to get the Elite team to less than 20 yards to Endzone, so Coach Jim who saw that the Elite team had already won decided to make a Field goal to end the game, the kicker redeemed himself and scored 3 more points and increased the score to 16 points. So the opposing team also gave up trying to win the game and the game ended after a while with the Elite team winning 16-3, Jake left happy with this victory. Chapter 213 New Business 6 After the end of the game, Jake was tired and just wanted to go home, so after celebrating with some teammates that Jake had befriended he left home with Coach Jim saying that Jake should look for him the other day. So Jake went home happy with this training after he got home he was very pleased with his own performance and after playing a game worthless he was much more excited. Jake was feeling bad about having poor performances in both marathon and basketball, after all, it was hard for him to accept that he had a psychological problem when he went through everything he had before so playing well after resting for a while did very well for him. The other day Jake couldn''t go to school to talk to Coach Jim as he had promised because it was his birthday, he was so busy and thinking about everything that was happening that he even forgot his birthday. But Eva hadn''t forgotten, she knew Jake was going through some problems she didn''t talk to her about, this year she knew they couldn''t make the trip like every year because she was still busy with the restaurant. So she at least wanted to celebrate Jake''s birthday properly, so she called all of Jake''s friends so he could forget about the problems, only Matthew couldn''t come because he was in Europe tracking camera sales there. Even though Tiffany and Clara who were in a lot of trouble showed up, Clara seemed to be feeling much better after being apart for so long, she was happier after knowing she could still count on her friends at a time like this. So Jake was happy with the surprise and celebrated with his entire 17th birthday, after a simple celebration everyone congratulated Jake and went home, after all, they were very busy people. "Thanks for that surprise mom." "Glad you liked it, I didn''t expect this surprise to work because you always pay attention to your birthday and mine, but it seems like you''ve been so worried about your things that you even forgot." "You have nothing to worry about mom, I was training with some friends from the football team and so I forgot my birthday, nothing to worry about." "I believe you were really coaching football, but your that you''ve been worried about something, but if you don''t want to tell me okay, I just want you to remember that I''ll always be with you and that you can always count on with me and say what is worrying you, after all, I am your mother." After that Jake went to the bedroom to rest, he was happy to hear what his mother said, but still, he planned to say nothing about the problem he was passing to his mother, after all in a problem so she could not help anything besides giving support like she was already doing without knowing it. Jake was now 17 years old and this year he would have to do many things, besides the national championship basketball games, he would still have some marathons to participate in and try to get into the Olympics that year. Also, this would be his last semester at high school and his first semester at university, Jake just had to wait if Coach Bill could convince the university that Jake could continue sponsorship by himself as a marathon runner as well as a basketball player. With Jake choosing North Caroline University, the school president asked all the NBA people and other basketball leagues who were trying to talk to Jake to quit, it was better for Jake not to end up offending some of those scouts. The president didn''t mind offending these people because he thought he had much more to gain from the universities than from the NBA teams. So for Jake, this year of 1996 would be one of the busiest of her life, especially if Emily could finally find Jeff Bezos, so Jake would be much more relaxed knowing that his future would be guaranteed. The other day Jake went to school to meet with Coach Jim, Jake had warned that he could not go the day the coach asked because it was his birthday and the coach even apologized to Jake. "I called you here just to thank you, Jake, I knew you were tired after the friendly game, but I didn''t expect you to have decided to play with us the day before your birthday, after all, it wasn''t an important game." "I was glad I played that game, not even I remembered that it was my birthday so it was my fault anyway." Coach Jim really wanted Jake to play as his team''s quarterback, he was jealous of Coach Mike who had a great player to lead the team and was still polite and humble. Many talented players were arrogant with the coaches just for playing a few games well, most of these players did nothing openly, but talked badly about the coach with other teammates, which annoyed Coach Jim a lot. A good example was the friendly game in which Jake helped the team, I could well say that as both team quarterbacks were injured that the team can only win the game thanks to Jake''s good performance. Even though the current football team was one of the best and even won the state championship a few years ago, the main reason for this was Coach Jim who had reorganized the team and the best defense for several years in a row. But as it was a friendly game against a weaker team, the offensive team became arrogant and played very poorly and unwillingly in that game, fortunately, Jake had scored some points at the beginning of the game and then at the end with his passes and his touchdown. So taking advantage that Jake can''t come to training, Coach Jim did an analysis of the game with the players and stressed several times how the offensive team played badly and how he wouldn''t accept them playing that way again. So Coach Jim was happy even though Jake had joined his team for just a friendly match, so Coach wanted the players to say goodbye to Jake who would no longer come to the football team training. "Coach, could you hear a request from me?" "Of course Jake, if I will do what you ask if it is within my reach." "I wanted to ask permission to come a few times to train with the football team, just the physical training, it''s very useful to increase my strength." "Of course, you will always be welcome here." So Jake just said goodbye briefly to the other players of the team, so Jake could continue doing the football team training that was much more helpful in increasing his strength statistics. As Jake would not participate in the training drills and other things would not disturb the football team, otherwise, Coach Jim would have to refuse Jake''s request. After settling everything with the football team Jake left school and decided to take a walk around town, so he enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach and went to the mall to buy something to give to his mother when he got home. How used to it Jake walked by the music store and bought a new CD from Kate, as he had promised her when they saw each other in Jake''s rehearsals, whenever he could he would go to the mall and buy a CD if he had one Kate''s new album. Contrary to what he thought she was a great singer and seemed to be very popular in current POP music, now she was 18 years old and looked like she would run for some music awards this year, even if Jake wasn''t a big fan of music in his life Last time Jake found it odd that he didn''t remember her name. Even though he knew he would not meet Kate again he was glad to at least know of a good singer to catch up with now, after he bought a gift for his mother Jake left. Jake wanted to take this vacation to rest well for next year, so he didn''t do any more training after recovering from his training injury with the football team, Jake could do it because the system could always leave his physical condition at the peak even though he did nothing. But that way he couldn''t improve either, luckily Jake still had his imagination training that was given by the system, in this training dimension he could train every day and always accumulate experience and improve in basketball. The other day Jake had to give up his plan to just rest on vacation, John called Jake and it looked like he had arranged with Alan for them to make a new advertisement with Jake together. It would not only be an advertisement for two companies like Tiffany and Clara did, but it would be the same day that he would record both advertisements and they would buy the same advertising space on television, just as Jake appearing more his brands would also be more remembered. As Jake had agreed when he signed the sponsorship agreement, he could not refuse it, in fact, John and Alan did not know that Jake was trying to take advantage of his running in marathons to continue sponsorship at the university. So they thought they were in the last months of the sponsorship deal with Jake, yet they were very pleased with this more than a year of sponsorship that could end after the national ballet championship. After all, they sponsored Jake for basketball and Jake still managed to win and then run second in two major marathons which were a great surprise for companies that were betting by sponsoring Jake who was still in high school. After all, they hoped the sponsorship would last only a year because if Jake went to college to play basketball he couldn''t get sponsorship and if he joined the NBA it would be their company that couldn''t afford to raise the value of sponsorship for Jake. Now they were even more fortunate because Jake was expected to get a seat in the Atlanta Olympics, even if Jake didn''t win at a young age representing his country he would surely be known for. Chapter 214 New Business 7 After a few days Jake went to record both John and Alan''s corporate commercials, he went to the same place where he recorded the commercial for Tiffany and Clara''s companies, of course, that was because Jake recommended them. John and Alan knew that Jake was a little famous now and would be even more so after this year and unlike the Tiffany and Clara companies they had been given a big budget to record a great commercial that could be used for a few years. So they wanted to use a well-known advertising company to record this commercial and so guarantee the quality, but as Jake had recommended they decided to give a small company a chance to do a good job. This small advertising company was bigger than before and had some success in some commercials, but as Jake was famous and brought two companies to make one commercial they still made a lower budget, so John and Alan, as well as their business, we''re very pleased with it. Before he started recording the commercials for the companies Jake toured the company premises and other studios, but he couldn''t find Kate again, Jake knew it was impossible to happen again by coincidence. But Jake trusted that his luck could help and he could find Kate again, but that didn''t happen, in fact, he even thought that as Kate was famous now she should work with a larger advertising company now. He didn''t even know why he decided to look for her, after all, they had only spoken once, Jake thought it must be because it was nice to meet someone famous and went back to prepare for the recording. The recording of the first commercial would be John''s company, it would be similar to several commercials that Jake saw in his past life, the company that was recording the commercial called several actors to impersonate athletes and Jake was the one that stood out. There were some scenes of Jake firing some shots off and hitting and other scenes of Jake running, in the end, everyone takes a can of energy drink from the company and smiles at the camera while holding the can and were sweaty after playing sports. After they put up a slogan showing that the energy drinks company supported sports, Jake thought it was very simple and didn''t look very good, but as the company that recorded the commercial and John found it very good, he said nothing. In fact, the commercial was good by the time it was recorded, Jake was the one who was used to more elaborate commercials in his past life, but he didn''t know that the purpose of John and the company that was recording the commercial was to send a message. positive for the commercial while the focus of the commercial was Jake who was handsome and would be famous as an athlete. Then Jake took a break while the recording crew prepared to make the second commercial, as Jake had learned to act a little in his past life was so easy for him to make a simple, speechless commercial without making mistakes. What Jake didn''t know was that there was a famous movie director in Hollywood who was watching Jake making these commercials, like someone from New York and with good memory this director remembered seeing a Jake commercial on television a few years ago. He also remembered that Jake had recently come second in the New York Marathon and on the broadcast said that Jake had won a marathon in Chicago and was a basketball player. As a film director, he didn''t care much about sports, but he thought Jake was very handsome and that he had an elegant style to be an actor and had a talent for acting, of course, he thought he could give only simple characters in movies for Jake to play. Athletes who performed in even talentless movies could lure their fans into the cinema and increase box office, and Jake could still perform normally which would be best for him if Jake could win a few more marathons or join the NBA would be a big blow. publicist having Jake in his movies. Jake who didn''t realize he was being watched began preparing to record another commercial, this one even though it was still simple Jake thought it was more elaborate than the previous one. In this Jake was in the room facing the door of the house, so he bends down and gets ready to go out for a run, first, he who is already in sportswear takes a sports bag and puts a towel and a bottle of water inside from the bag. Then he puts on his socks and running shoes, so he looks around as if checking if he has forgotten something and leaves the house, after a few moments he comes back with the bag and goes to the bathroom and gets a shaver from Alan''s company and says ''now I''m ready'', and then I grab the bag and run out of the house. The commercial was trying to show that shaving was also important for an athlete not to be sloppy at home, after all, it was a necessary kind of hygiene for athletes who always seek to improve performance. Jake again made the whole scene that was long without making any mistakes, it made them finish faster and also that the commercial seemed more natural, even the watching movie director approved of Jake''s efficiency. After that Jake, who had already finished recording, left for home while John and Alan stayed behind to arrange some more, Jake didn''t know that these commercials were what would finally make him famous. After all, Jake had always appeared in the media for many years, but this year he would have a lot of exposure with these two commercials, marathon races, the Olympics, and maybe even college basketball games. After that, Jake just rested at home and on the last day of vacation Emily finally came up with good news for Jake, she hoped she could get it much sooner, but she had the investment firm to take care of and so she was late. "I finally found who you were looking for, Jake, he''s really starting a business that sells books like eBay, I don''t know if it can succeed as you expect, but I got his phone number and address for you." Jake just laughed at that, Amazon sold books online, so it was completely different, but in the future, it would also sell several other products, so Jake found it funny that Emily had accidentally predicted the future. Emily thought Jake was laughing at her, after all, she didn''t do much research about the company Jeff Bezos started because Jake had just asked her to find the person and not investigate what that person was doing. "You did a good job Emily, I swear you just delayed because you were worried about company and stock investments, but even though it''s a lot of money you don''t have to check it all the time." "Just look at the stock change record after the stock market closes, only after 1999 I think we will have to be more careful with those stocks." Emily trusted Jake, but thought Jake was too confident and that could cause him to lose millions in the future, after all, she learned the stock market was a risky market where the investor always has to be alert to the indications that the stock may fall. It wasn''t like a risk-free investment like savings where you can just leave the money there for a few years and then withdraw when you wanted to, Emily thought Jake had a lot of talent for the stock market, which is why he was making so much money Having nothing before. So she thought that as Jake''s secretary it was her job to take care of the details Jake set aside, which is why Jake decided to give Emily a percentage of stock, talented and loyal people were what Jake would need in the future. But Jake was certainly not careless about the stock, in his past life he was also like Emily and checked the stock value several times a day for any sign before selling or buying more stock. Now Jake was calm because he knew what the future would be, but since he couldn''t tell anyone that, it was better than people thought he was arrogant. In addition, Emily''s father and his friends invested $ 30 million in Jake''s investment firm, so even though he knew everything was going as expected it was really good that Emily and her company''s employees were always on the lookout for moves of the stock market. So investors would be reassured that Emily and the others were really dedicated to taking care of their money, so Jake wasted no more time and called Jeff Bezos''s office to talk to him. Jake identified himself as an investor and said he wanted to talk to Jeff Bezos when possible, the company secretary asked if Jake wanted to schedule a meeting, but since Jake was in Miami that was not possible, so he had to wait to talk later over the phone with Jeff Bezos. By late afternoon his call could finally be made and he would talk to Jeff on the phone, Jake was nervous when the moment finally came, it wasn''t just because Jeff Bezos was famous in the future, but that depending on what they talked on the phone was very Jake could become one of the richest men in the future. "Hi here is Jeff speaking, who is it?" "Hi Jeff, my name is Jake Smith and I''m from Miami." "And what would you like to talk to me about, Jake?" "I''ve been investing in technology companies for a few years, I have a feeling this time is great to invest in these companies and make money." "But as much as I can earn from big business is very little, even 30 million don''t make the company pay attention to me." "So I wanted to invest in a start-up tech company that I felt had great potential, so I''ve heard about your company, I think the idea of selling books online is very good and can make it very successful." "And I think your company might develop a lot in the future, so I''d like to talk to you about the possibility of me investing in your business, what do you think about that?" Chapter 215 Bright Future 1 So Jake was sweating while talking on the phone, he had to take a deep breath not to show that he was nervous over the phone, he believed the first impression really was what it was like so he wanted to be confident over the phone to Jeff Bezos. That''s why he talked about how he had invested for many years in technology companies what was true and also how $ 30 million invested does not make a big company pay attention to the investor what was also true. But with that, he indirectly showed Jeff that he had been an investor since the dawn of the internet age and also that he had over 30 million capital to invest, if Jake could he would actually lend and invest millions from Amazon. But he knew that Jeff would never want to give Jake such a stake, so he believed he could just leave an impression of being a big investment for Jeff Bezos, all to increase Jeff''s confidence in Jake. And the reason was that he wanted to meet Jeff in person to discuss the details of the investment, and maybe if Jake didn''t do it Jeff could scorn Jake a bit for being too young at their first meeting in person. In order for this not to happen, Jake needed to show that he was a serious businessman before that, so he could even get more stock after a trade. "I can consider that, but for that, we need to meet in person, what do you think about me going to Miami to talk to you better?" "I think that''s very good, bring some detailed reports from your company and maybe we can close business on your trip here." "I hope so, see you soon." Jake was very happy and pleased with this first conversation so that he could talk more easily with Jeff in Miami and it would also be much easier to make a good impression on this meeting. Jake decided to leave the details of when they could meet and also Jeff''s reception for Emily to take care of, even though Jeff was in the future one of the richest men in the world, now he was just a businessman who was starting to develop the company. So Jake would have to show that he was only interested in the company and not its owner, this business had to work out because Jake had so much advantage in this negotiation by knowing the future. So in Jake''s first week of class, he couldn''t even focus much on class thinking about the upcoming meeting, Emily had talked to Jeff and he said he would come to Miami later this week. So after a few days, they met at a restaurant in the hotel where Jeff was staying, Jeff was not surprised that Jake was young because Emily had accidentally talked about it while talking about how amazing it was that Jake was a young athlete and businessman. Coincidentally Jeff had also seen a Jake commercial on television and some news about Jake winning the marathon, which made Jeff more willing to have Jake as an investor, after all, sports-related people generally have little interest in business matters. So Jeff thought Jake just wanted to invest in order to make more money in the future, that''s what Jeff wanted, an investor who just came in with the money and didn''t interfere with the way he ran the business. But that was very hard to find, usually, the more money one invests the more interested in giving one''s opinion on the company''s business, Jeff wanted to be the president of the company he created himself and would not accept anyone else for it. "Hi Jake, it''s nice to meet you, I saw you in a television commercial, amazing you''re a famous athlete at your age." "I''m not famous yet, I''m just starting out, but you had to have a lot of courage to quit a good job at a big company in New York to start a company in Seattle." "I see you know something about me, I wanted to take this excellent opportunity to start my own company, as you said on the phone this is the best time for tech companies." "I really believe that, with the government''s new project to encourage the development of the internet in a few years, more than half of the American population and the world will be able to connect with these start-up companies." "Everyone likes to read books, I particularly read in class, so I think your company has great growth potential, and if you want you can also expand to other products on the internet." "I also think like you, but I would like to know why you are interested in my company and not others that are also being created now?" "I''m interested in these companies too, I''ve been investing in Cisco for over three years ago and I''ve made a lot of money out of it, I also have a stake in a company that makes digital cameras, so I''ve always been looking for something that could give me more money in the future." "I believe you are a sensible person who can grow your business and make a lot of money in a few years, and I need to see your company''s business reports to be sure, but I think your company has a better foundation to develop in than others. " So Jeff stopped asking other questions and handed in the company''s earnings reports, assets, and future development proposals, just as Jake hoped the company was now valued at $ 40 million. In the company''s future development proposals they had information about starting selling electronics, software, video games, among other things, and also that the company intended to make the IPO next year. These were things Jake already knew well, yet he spent a lot of time reading all the information, many things he was reading about the future development proposals would not be accomplished. "How much percentage of the company are you willing to open mom for me to invest in?" "I have 60 percent of the company now, I have other investors who have another 40 percent, next year many of these stocks will have to be diluted for the IPO next year, we have to see how much you are going to invest." "I plan to invest $ 12 million in the company, and I can even sign a contract saying that I will always support your decisions at the company and not interfere with business, how much do you think you can give me?" Jeff didn''t expect Jake to come in with so much money at once, he could dilute the shares of the other shareholders and his own as well, so he wouldn''t need any more investors until next year''s IPO. What interested him most was that Jake said he could even sign a contract saying it didn''t interfere with the company''s management and would still support him, Jeff hoped Jake might not have much interest in the company, but didn''t expect it to be so much. Also, it seemed that Jake had a lot of confidence in him, so Jeff decided to accept Jake as an investor, with Jake''s investments he would have 45 percent of the company, but that was just the official company rating, as a technology company was worth a lot more than that. "I can give you 25 percent of the company''s stock, next year those stocks will be further diluted with the IPO and may be worthless, what do you think?" So Jake thought through the situation, he knew that Jeff Bezos had invested over $ 300,000 in setting up the company after Jake invested and got 25 percent, Jeff must have 45 percent and other investors even less. "I accept, but I have one condition, that my future shares may not be worth less than 12 percent, I may even add more capital to avoid further dilution." "Alright, so let''s prepare the contract for the stock purchase, no need to sign a contract promising to support me in the company and not interfere, I accept your word." Jake knew he had not changed the future that much now, he may have at most invested in place of other investors, but as Jeff had 45 percent and he had 25 percent of Amazon he thought that as Jeff would have more than 17 percent of the company in the future he would have less. After all Jake invested $ 12 million to have 25 percent, plus Jake had invested a lot more than other investors, not to mention that many will try to sell their shares after a few years. Even if Jake had a condition of having at least 12 percent in the future he would be happy even if he had 0.5 percent of the shares after 20 years, after all, he would still have a bright future with that. He had $ 500,000 before that and could borrow another $ 11 million to invest, so he would get some of Matthew''s company profit last year so he could repay that loan in no time. If he wanted he could only sell part of the stock when Amazon made the IPO and he would have the loan money back, in fact, he didn''t know he would need so much to buy those stocks in 1996, he didn''t know that Jeff had made a few rounds of investment and raised over 9 million before. But he was determined not to miss this unique chance of becoming a millionaire, so they broke up to settle the contract and Jake had to prepare the loan, so after another week he signed the contract and they were both happy about it. Now Jeff had more money to make the necessary investments in the company and Jake knew he was lucky to have gotten those shares, in fact even Jeff himself couldn''t know that his company would be the most valuable in the world in a few years. After all Jake remembered seeing in a report that Jeff told his investors that the company had a 70 percent chance of going bankrupt, it showed how well he considered the risks and so kept his company as one of the only ones that had gone through the crisis of 2000. After a few days, John and Alan said that Jake''s commercial would start airing on television, Jake was used to it and was no longer so excited about it, but both companies expected a lot from that commercial. Chapter 216 Bright Future 2 Many still did not know that these two companies sponsored Jake, after all the brands even if they were in Jake''s uniform were not recognized, so this commercial would serve to make the two companies known as were the companies of Tiffany and Clara. So they thought this commercial was very important to them, this commercial would be broadcast all over the country, after that, it was certain that Jake would be famous one way or another, after all, there weren''t many people who appeared in 2 commercials at the same time in the country. The company was thinking of focusing on its sales in Miami, Chicago, and New York, which were the places where Jake was best known and the commercial would have more effect in all the country. Jake thought it was a pity that Tiffany and Clara''s companies couldn''t do the same, after all, as John and Alan thought, this was a very good chance of advertising for the companies that sponsored Jake. But he knew it was impossible because Clara was trying so hard that the company wouldn''t value until she could buy more stock, she couldn''t boycott the company to diminish the value because Robert and the opposing company wouldn''t allow it and could even get Clara out of the presidency. But she wouldn''t make a commercial to further increase the company''s sales and value the value of Robert''s stock, Robert certainly didn''t like it, but he had no right to complain about how his stock was practically sold. The company that was trying to buy Clara''s company, on the contrary, was happy, after all, Clara''s company was competing with them and if they didn''t improve in those five years it would be worth it even if the company couldn''t be bought. After a few more days Matthew had called Jake to his house, Jake could hear from Matthew''s voice that it was good news, so he was excited because he wanted to know how much Matthew''s company had invoiced so far. "Hi Jake, congratulations on your birthday, you''re 17 now, I never thought I''d see someone as talented as you being so young." "Thank you." "I swear you''re excited about it too, I confess I didn''t expect us to be that successful, and it was all thanks to you." "Glad to have helped." "I think even you''re curious how much we sold last year." "I have to confess that not even I expected us to sell so much, but thanks to your county I made a strong investment and even a partnership with several major retail stores around the world." "So we sell just over 2 million digital cameras worldwide, only in Europe we sell 1.5 million cameras, so thanks to your county we could sell so many cameras." Matthew was very impressed by this too, he took out a $ 100 million loan by placing 32 percent of his shares as collateral, it was crazy that no one would normally be able to do. But with that money he can make a commercial to advertise his digital camera and also the company''s brand, he bought advertising space for television channels across the country and also in Europe. In addition, Matthew bought some new machines and hired some temporary workers to make 1 million digital cameras for inventory, he believes Jake said they would sell this 1 million camera. So he spent all the money and still went into debt because it would cost 500 million to make these 1 million cameras, in a few days the first sales reports excited Matthew, he used all the revenue he received from the cameras to pay for the manufacture of these 1 million of cameras. After 1 month he had already paid the cost of the cameras and had almost no more stock, so he saw that his effort was paying off, after manufacturing the first million cameras he kept manufacturing and can repay his loan and recoup the stock. Just as he had thought before, the more cameras he sold, the lower the total cost became, because most of the cost was technology development and employee salaries, and selling more than 2 million cameras would get lower and lower. So by the end of the year, Matthew had sold 2 million cameras and was still manufacturing more, he expected to sell at least 4 million more cameras in 1996 and that year he didn''t even think about making the new camera anymore. With the new 1995 earnings review, the stock value will increase greatly and the value of the company will be valued at $ 4 billion, that''s over 10 times the value of the company last year, just as Jake said the company would completely change if it followed the advances in technology. This was a big hit for Matthew and the entire company, it was hard to even for the biggest companies in the world to sell this much of cameras a year if they kept selling well after they developed cameras to put their company on smartphones and notebook the best in the world. Jake knew that Sony would have a total value of almost $ 100 billion in 2000, of course Sony does a lot of things besides selling cameras, they sell all kinds of electronics, but if Matthew''s company could be worth $ 10 billion he would be very happy. Jake was also happy and surprised by all this, so Matthew''s company was completely out of danger, and with this new valuation of the company, Matthew was now a billionaire with over 70 percent of the company. Since they made half of the sales value as a profit they made $ 1 billion this year, so Jake could get 5 percent, which was $ 50 million, so Jake could repay the loan without any interest and still have a lot of money. Of course Jake hoped that Matthew''s company would use all the profit to reinvest in the company, after all, they had the best chance of appreciating before this bubble burst in 2000, it would affect Matthew''s company as well and it''s market value would fall again. "As with a loan I made I already increased the company and this year we are not going to start selling the new camera that''s almost ready, I will only reinvest half of the profit I received this year." "So we can pay for the development of the new camera and also the inventory, next year we will earn more, I will use the profit better to invest and improve our company." Jake was surprised and happy about it, so he would receive 25 million profit distribution and still be able to easily repay his loan and the new home, he began to regret not taking a bigger loan to get more equity from the company. Of course Jake remembered that in a few years he would have another good investment opportunity, and it was always good to have a lot of money for emergencies that had happened a lot in those years, after all, he couldn''t count on the sponsorship that would be invested in cisco stocks. After that Jake was very relaxed about having no problem to worry about this year if he got more money maybe he could even buy Robert''s stock to help Clara, but maybe he had to wait a little longer for that. So Jake went back to running his 50 km marathon run every day, he went back to running the same time he did in Chicago for 30 minutes every 10 km, so he would no longer risk another injury. When he increased his stamina, even more, he could try to increase this time more, but he would not risk it now, after all, he had a good enough time to win any marathon in the world. He was also training with the football team whenever he could, he was just doing the physical training, and then he would leave as promised to Coach Jim. Also, Jake had gone back to training with the basketball team, he was just playing training because he warned coach Mike that he was doing physical training on the football team, coach Mike knew well that the physical training of the basketball team football was harder so it was not opposed to Jake''s decision. It was soon going to be the basketball team''s first match in the national championship and this was the last year with this team playing together, so Jake hoped he could win after all the NCAA championship. Now Jake no longer had to worry about his investments because he knew the future and had trusted people running his business, Emily had been annoyed with Jake when he made the $ 12 million investment in Amazon by even borrowing money from Amazon that. After all, investing in the Cisco technology company was much safer and more profitable in Emily''s vision for Jake to make, and this loan was very risky because Jake didn''t know when he could afford it. But soon after Jake would get the dividends from Matthew''s company and could pay back the loan and still have 13 million, so Emily understood that Jake knew what to do and stopped meddling in his decisions. Even though she thought Jake could earn a lot more if he invested all that money in Cisco stock, Jake also knew that this could be true in the short term, in 5 years he could invest that 25 million in Cisco stock and earn more of $ 1 billion. But that wasn''t necessarily true in the future, Jake could with that 12 million Amazon stock invested over $ 57 billion over another 20 years, and Jake could still hold on to that money by making more smart investments before 2000 and receiving many more billions of dollars more. An example of this was Google that the creators tried to sell in 1999, Jake was just wondering how he could make the most out of it without changing the future so much so that if he bought Google the creators wouldn''t just stay for work. So Jake could end up destroying one of the biggest tech companies of the future, but if he couldn''t get at least a few billion of it he would forever regret it. Chapter 217 Bright Future 3 Jake had seen many stories of people who knew about the future and used the best first ideas and became millionaires from it, some even hiring the original owners of the companies to be the presidents. But Jake knew this wasn''t real, even if he created a lot of things ahead of time and created patents for it didn''t mean it would work because he wasn''t aware of it as the original creators would have. Not to mention that these big companies often had too much luck to earn so much in the future, and hiring the original creators to work was even more impossible unless he gave them a large percentage of stock. After all, they created these companies with these ideas because they had talent as entrepreneurs and for technology, so even if they didn''t have that idea they would have other ideas to be independent, not so successful anymore these people liked independence. So Jake knew he had to deal with this opportunity to buy Google very carefully, it was best that he just come in as an investor, but he couldn''t wait a few more years and pay many millions, so that would be his opportunity. Besides, he remembered the many investment opportunities he could make if he could seize all these opportunities it would not be impossible for him to become the richest man in the future. After that Jake got another good news, her mom could finally organize her work schedules and stay less time in the restaurant, she would come in at 5 am as usual and leave at 6 pm so she would work 5 hours less. Julius also had a similar work schedule, but he would have to work harder to make various desserts and cakes and prepare before leaving for dinner time, the less important restaurant staff were lucky to have more time to rest. After all, the restaurant could hire employees to work both shifts, who would have to work the most was Anna who was the person who best understood how to take care of the restaurant, she would come in at 10 am and stay until 11 pm to close the restaurant. So Eva and Anna would work for a few hours together and take care of lunchtime, which was one of the periods when the restaurant was getting fuller, the restaurant was now almost completely prepared for the new routine that was supposed to last for many years. Anna and Eva did not think of opening other branches and even if they would open it would be in the franchise system, after all, Jake bought a great spot for the restaurant and the restaurant was very large in space, and now that it was completely full there was nothing else to develop. Eva just wanted to fulfill her dream of having a restaurant and not being out of work, Anna was paid a very high salary at Eva''s restaurant and was like a restaurant partner, so she just wanted to work for a few more years until she couldn''t take it anymore when I got older. Since he had no rent to pay the restaurant income was very high and he could quietly pay good wages for all the employees and there was still money left for Eva to keep and use as he pleased. Perhaps this was one of the only places in Miami that had good quality service and happy employees, Eva and Anna always came up with ideas for improving customer comfort, which in turn increased the restaurant''s popularity and income. Jake also knew that the new menu was almost done and he promised he would try their new dishes soon, Jake was glad that everything was going well for his mother, now he didn''t think he had to worry about her getting depressed again. Her other friends were fine too, Joseph was still dating Liza and they both seemed to be thinking of getting married after graduating from college, luckily it seemed that Matthew was so busy with the company that he had forgotten to demand that Joseph break up with her. Now only Clara''s situation that could not be resolved in a short time, but Clara had recovered somewhat from the shock of divorce that her ex-husband was trying to end with his company selling to the competitor. On the subject of Robert''s actions, Jake was sure he could buy a share within five years, but he didn''t know if Clara would be happy about it, after all, she seemed to want to put all the actions she could in her name, not even Tiffany It was different. After all, Clara asked Tiffany to lend the money so she could regain Robert''s stock and control of the company, but she never talked about Tiffany buying the stock and keeping it for her that Tiffany would surely do. If something like this were to happen when Jake decided to buy the stock to help Clara, he would not lend them money so easily, after all, it would be as if Clara was saying that she didn''t trust the people who were trying to help her. So Jake was just concentrating on his training now, he went back to doing his training easily running 50 km every day, he felt that he was fine and that this training was very easy for him. But since he knew it was not a good idea to risk increasing his running speed before increasing his Resistance after what happened in New York, he decided to try to increase his training load in a different way. Now he decided to increase the distance covered in his daily training, first he increased this distance to 55 km to see if he could run just as easily after all this would not disturb the official marathon even if his condition was not well on race day. After all, he needed to run just under 43 km anyway, after trying he saw that although it was possible he was still tiring him more, so he decided to continue this same training routine and if he thought it was too easy he would increase some more km. This training was only temporary, after all, Tiffany had been looking for some time for a coach like Jake had requested, it was not easy to find someone with the necessary qualifications and was still reliable in a short time, so Jake would have to wait. After a few more weeks the first game of the national championship was getting closer, nothing had happened at that time for Jake. But that day he had received the money from the distribution of profits and repaid the loan to the bank, at the same time Oliver texted Jake that he had found some homes in Miami that were in safer neighborhoods. Since he had been living in Matthew''s borrowed house for a while, he was eager to buy and move to his new home, as it was more to his mother than to him, so Jake called Eva to choose the house he wanted to live in. All the houses were mansions and were two-story thousands of square feet in size and dozens of rooms, the houses also had large space near them where Jake thought of making a field for his running training and also a basketball court. Even though he knew that soon he would have to move. Jake thought that since his and his mother''s house was, he would always live there whenever he had free time, so it was better to have a house that would meet all his needs. The houses also had large pools and other special things that even Eva might like, so it took longer for Oliver to find some houses for Jake and Eva to live in. Even though she thought all these houses were big and very exaggerated, Eva knew that this house would be bought by Jake because that was what he wanted so Eva didn''t complain as always that Jake was spending a lot and just focused on choosing a good house. After all, even though Eva wasn''t sure what Jake was investing in, she knew he was making a lot more money than she could imagine, so she was just so proud of Jake who did all the things she dreamed for her son''s life. Eva chose a beautiful white house that Jake had liked a lot too, so all that was left was to wait for Oliver to prepare all the contracts and the house would be theirs, yet Jake would still have to stay at Matthew''s for a while longer. Because he would have them put an athletic field and a basketball court on the grounds of the new house, Jake also asked his mother to take care of the decoration of the house and buy all the missing furniture. Meanwhile Jake asked Clara to send a team to set up a small gym in one of the employee houses so that he could do his exercises without worrying, even if he received the free products for sponsorship Jake decided to pay for it. So they would still have to spend more time at Matthew''s house, Jake didn''t want Eve to know more about the house cost more than $ 2 million and hundreds of thousands more dollars would have to be spent on decorating the house and renovating what Jake wanted. Jake also asked Emily to take care of hiring new trusted employees for her new home, he had already asked for a security team to be hired after the new home was ready, so Jake would make the excuse that they were new home employees for his new home mom. So Jake would send a driver and a security guard who would always be protecting Eva when she was away from home or in the restaurant, other security guards would take care of the new home and some would take care of Jake himself when he was out of school. So he could rest assured that nothing bad happened to him or his family, while Jake also took the opportunity to make a new purchase, he would need to set up a better office for Emily and her investment firm employees to work with. Jake chose one of the places he had set aside to make Eva''s restaurant to buy and make his new office, this place was actually a well-located office building that would serve as a small restaurant for Eva''s business expansion. Chapter 218 Bright Future 4 But since his mother didn''t seem to want to do that in a short time Jake decided to buy to make an office for his company, but after a few more years this great place could be sold to someone else. To buy this place Jake had Emily prepare everything, he even let her decorate her new place of work, so Jake would spend a few hundred thousand dollars, along with the house he bought Jake had spent close to $ 3 million. Soon Jake received another news, it was Coach Bill who had made a call to advise that the university and the NCAA had accepted that Jake would maintain their sponsorships as long as he did not carry any marks for college basketball games. Everyone understood that Jake''s case was really very special and was really unique and would probably never happen to another player, not to mention that Jake was very talented in basketball and also talented in athletics. So the university understood that it would lose a lot if Jake gave up entering university and went straight to the NBA because of a little sponsorship, not to mention that the university didn''t have to pay Jake anything. So the NCAA could also use Jake''s example to soothe the media that was complaining that it was unfair for students not to receive sponsorship while playing for their university teams, they would show that a player would have other means to earn money. If Jake could participate in this year''s Olympics it would be even better for the university to have a national example as a student, it was less than Jake expected, so he was in such a hurry to win a marathon so he could show that he was a Talented athlete too. In fact, Jake no longer needed the sponsorship money, but he was thinking of continuing this contract to help Tiffany and Clara who can''t invest in Clara''s companies until they buy Robert''s stock. In addition, Jake already planned to use this money to invest in cisco shares and also pay the salaries of employees of his new home, he did not want his mother to even think of taking her money that Eva now earned in the restaurant. Other than that Jake had no income coming in every month, so even though he had millions invested in three companies, he didn''t receive dividends every quarter from any of the three. And as far as he remembered, Amazon would never pay dividends until the time he lived in his past life, so the money he received with sponsorship and winning the next marathons would make it unnecessary for him to sell his cheap shares for little money. Because of this, he thought he would have to invest in a company that paid dividends after receiving the money when he sold the cisco shares in 2000, of course, he didn''t need money now after receiving his profit share from the company. from Matthew. Jake was also curious that Matthew could spend the money he received from profit sharing this year, since if Jake had received 25 million taking 5 percent, Matthew would have received more than the company''s former cash value. Jake knew that Matthew would not use this money to invest this money and was curious if Matthew would consider investing this money, after all, Jake has offered several times to offer an investment suggestion to Matthew, but Matthew always said he was broke. Now Jake didn''t have the heart to talk about investing with Matthew again, not to mention that now Jake''s investment company was already best known for taking care of over $ 30 million in the capital. While Jake thought about it Matthew asked to talk to him again, even though he didn''t know what it was Jake went to Matthew''s house to talk to him again. "Jake, I called you here because I have an important subject to deal with you." "Say, Matthew, if it''s something I can help, I''ll do it." "You had talked to me about investing a few months ago, at the time I couldn''t do it, but now with this money I received I can take a part to make some investments, and as you and Oliver have been talking, I think I can make a lot of money from these internet companies." Jake was very happy to hear that Matthew had finally decided to invest, Jake''s biggest fear was that he would get rich and his friends would lose the chance to invest in that time and later criticized him for not encouraging them to invest. So whenever he could he could tell his friends to invest Tiffany and Clara were in trouble and didn''t believe Jake much, and Matthew always said he couldn''t invest so Jake was worried and at least knew he had tried. "I think you do very well Matthew, you can talk to Oliver about it, he knows my company''s investments right now are all in cisco stock, tell Oliver you want to invest that he buys the stock for you." "I want to invest for your investment firm Jake, I heard that you and a lot of investors are making a lot of money from your company and I wanted to join in as well." "I don''t think it''s a good idea, Matthew, my company charges 10 percent of all the profits our company makes for you on investments, so I think Oliver better make it for you and you get all the profit." Jake understood that Matthew and maybe his other friends misunderstood him, he was not interested in profiting from his close friends, he just wanted to help them make money after all this was the best time to invest that Jake knew. Even if his friends started investing now and sold the stock in 1999 to be safe they could still make a lot of money out of it, so Jake wanted everyone around him to make it. But Matthew did not know this and found it strange that Jake would reject him in his investment firm, in fact, Matthew was a little suspicious if he could make money even with these technology companies and knew that investing in stocks was very risky. But after several years Oliver had told him that Jake''s company had several times earned the initial investment, and now they had several investors who invested 30 million and were making a lot out of it in no time. Besides, Matthew knew well that Jake was very good at making money and besides having good ideas he seems to be very lucky, so now that he had money he decided to trust Jake and see if he could make even more money. But he didn''t expect Jake to refuse his participation and ask him to talk to Oliver, Matthew well understood that Jake''s company could charge 10 percent of the profits and that could be a lot of money. But Matthew saw it differently, the investment firm charges 10 percent of the investment''s profits, and Jake still said he thought Matthew could lose a lot by giving that 10 percent. This was to show that Jake was very confident in his firm that would work for several years taking care of the investment just to earn 10 percent of a possible profit, plus when Matthew and other investors handed over the money to an investment firm if they lost it would all be Jake''s and his company''s reputation that would be damaged. So for Matthew that 10 percent of a possible profit was more than fair to pay the company that would give him many millions if he gave this money to Oliver he knew that his son could not be all the time paying attention to sell the actions at the right time and earn more. "But did you talk a few years ago to leave with your company to take care of my investment?" "That was because as you are my friend I wouldn''t ask for anything to take care of your investment, but now I can''t take care of it without asking anything because I covered 10 percent of Emily''s acquaintances." "No problem, I think 10 percent is very fair, I trust your company can take better care of my investment than my son who is worried about many other things." "If you think that''s okay, I promise to take good care of your investment, how much do you intend to invest?" Prior to this conversation Matthew intended to invest giving 50 million for Jake''s company to invest after all he had to count on losing all that money by investing in stocks, but now he had changed his mind after seeing how confident Jake was in his company, his entrepreneurial instincts said he would regret not investing much more. Also, next year his company would earn a lot more and he didn''t have to worry about running out of money, so he decided to invest almost everything he had received and would get only part of that money, if he made a lot he would be just happier than Oliver and Joseph''s future was guaranteed. "Then I''ll give you 300 million dollars to decide how to invest Jake if I make at least a tenth of that I would be very happy." Matthew knew it was very difficult to make money from stocks, so he also knew that the more he invested the more he could earn in a short time, Jake knew it too and was surprised when he learned that Matthew would invest 300 million, but was soon happy knowing that his friend would make a lot out of it. When Jake told Emily that she had a 300 million investment in the company she almost went crazy, she was very stressed about taking care of buying and organizing the company''s new office and still seeing the 30 million investments. But now she probably couldn''t even sleep with stress knowing she was working so hard, especially in a business that was too risky and uninsured. She didn''t even want to imagine what would happen if Jake''s company made a mistake and lost those over 330 million now, so she had to make sure she was doing a good job in the next few years. The person who was most at ease with all of this was Jake himself, after all, he knew the future and didn''t have to worry about any mistakes or falling stocks, he was just thinking of selling these stocks first to make sure it wouldn''t be his company that would accelerate the bubble burst. Chapter 219 Bright Future 5 After all, now Jake''s company would be directly involved with a few billion dollars in the next few years If Jake''s investment in Amazon were to be counted, that number would only increase. Of course, not everything was guaranteed, because when Matthew greatly increased his investment he might not want to continue to risk and ask Jake to sell the shares, after all now Matthew would invest 300 million dollars, but when that amount exceeded 1 billion he might not want to but keep on risking. Jake could be sure that anyway, he would make hundreds of millions of dollars in a few years with his company, even though Emily would be a millionaire with her stake in the company, Jake just had to wait and see how things would change. After that Jake no longer had to worry about business until the end of the year, only Emily would be busy at the time, yet he would be much busier with basketball and marathon than ever. Also, this year Jake would still have to worry about college in the middle of the year, with so many things to do he was glad his mom had more time to stay home so he could talk to her more to relax. This year because of the Olympics the national championship would start a few weeks ahead of time, and in February Jake had to participate in the qualifying test for this year''s Olympics. That would not normally be a problem for Jake, but this year at the Olympics from what Jake remembered the three marathon medalists were from the United States, so he would be practically playing an early final, if he could win he could win at the Olympics as well. Luckily Jake had decided to control himself at marathon running speed, so it should not be a problem to run the Olympic qualifying race in 2 hours and 6 minutes, plus he remembered that the final race time of first place It was more than five minutes longer than that, so it was good news for Jake. In the training of the basketball team Jake saw that Nathan and Lucas had improved a lot again, they had grown in height too, even though David and Harrison had also improved could not compare. After all, Nathan and Lucas were still in their first year of high school, it was normal for them to quickly improve their skills after doing better training and facing stronger opponents. While David and Harrison were already in their senior year of high school and used almost all the growth potential they could have in high school with their skills, even Coach Mike thought they were both far more talented than other players of the same age. Even though Coach Bill, who worked with the top players at the university, was interested in their talent, they had no greater prominence at Elite school because everyone on the basketball team was used to Jake who was a much more amazing talent than the two. Of course, Jake should not be used as a comparison, after all his skills were at the university level, so Jake who knew this considered the two even more talented. So after a few more days the day of the first game of the national championship arrived, Jake woke up very early and went down to eat breakfast prepared by his mother who today had exchanged times with Anna to prepare breakfast for Jake. Jake could see that her mother was much healthier and happier now than before, Eva had fully recovered from the shock of having her home broken into and working less than before had more time to rest. How are you feeling for today''s game, Jake?" "I''m feeling it will be good, this year''s teams seem to be stronger than last year, but we have Nathan and Lucas on our team, so our team is also stronger this year." "I also think you''ll win again, this time I will try to go to the final game cheering for you again." "So I have to work harder to reach the end of this year." Jake was happy to hear that his mother could go to this year''s national championship final again, Eva was busy with the restaurant and so couldn''t go to the regional and state championship finals, but most importantly he was happy to have his mother over there. Jake also knew that Eva was struggling to go because it could be Jake''s last high school game and also in the next few years she wouldn''t have been able to go to other cities to watch Jake''s games as she had before in Miami. After chatting with his mother for a while Jake went to the game site, he got there after everyone on his team and after getting ready to talk to Mark while doing warm-up exercises and waiting for the game to start. Unlike Jake who was given a break from training because Coach Mike was worried about him, the other players trained normally, without a quality PG like Jake training was difficult to simulate a real game. And no one wanted to try to play in the impromptu PG position because they would miss the opportunity to fight for the vacancy in the team, Coach Mike was the one who was most satisfied with that, because David and Harrison were already good players, with Nathan and Lucas running for the job all improved and the team just had to gain from it. In the absence of Jake who led the team in training was surprisingly Mark, after all, he was now the best player in the team and what improved best after Jake, Jake himself told his teammates several times that without Mark to catch the rebounds they could miss several important games. The adversary in this first game was the Cats team that made it to the national championship every year, but this year they didn''t think they could go any further after facing Jake''s team. The best players of the Cats team were PG King and SF Amir after a few minutes began the first game of the Elite team in the national championship. Mark climbed higher and got the first possession for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and began to organize the first attack, after advancing a little he passed the ball to David, David advanced even before the three-point line and passed the ball to Lucas on the left. Lucas made a feint and managed to trick Amir into the left, Lucas continued to advance into the area and the opposing Center came on the cover, so Lucas passed the ball to Mark who was free. Mark received the ball and made the dunk to score the first 2 points for the Elite team in the match. In this match as Amir was good in the attacking team coach, Mike decided to put Lucas who is better in defense in the starting lineup. But he still put David on the starting lineup and left Nathan as a substitute, it was the first time Coach Mike had put just one of the two on the starting lineup, usually, he always put Nathan and Lucas together. PG King received the ball and advanced to the attack line, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to his team''s SG, SG advanced to before the three-point line and David arrived to press in defense. SG did not hold the ball and passed to their team PF, PF received the ball and Carter was firm in defense, PF still tried to get rid of Carter, but Carter was firm in defense, so PF turned the ball to King again who was behind him. King tried to make the move, but Jake was firm in defense, King tried several times to get the trick and passed the ball to his team SG when he saw that he could not get past Jake. The Cats SG received the ball and attempted a mid-range shot as the possession time was running out and managed to score 2 points and tie the game. Jake received the ball and started another attack for the Elite team, he advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Lucas on the left, Lucas advanced until after the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter who was on the right. Carter received the ball and soon the opposing PF arrived in defense, so Carter held the ball a little and passed to Jake, Jake received the ball and passed to Lucas who was free to the left, Lucas received the ball and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Elite team. And so the game continued until the end of the first period, the Elite team was winning by 4 points, Jake had only 4 points, but got 5 assists and 2 rebounds in that first period. After so many things that had happened in those months without playing, Jake had even forgotten about his psychological problem, but his subconscious seemed to be making Jake hold on and not push himself so hard. Lucas was also fine and had 8 points and 2 assists in this first period of play, early in the second period the Cats team advanced to make the first play of the second period with King. King advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Amir, Amir advanced on the right and went past the three-point line and passed the ball to his team''s Center, Mark was inattentive and the opposing Center managed to spin and make 2 more points for the Cats team. Jake received the ball and advanced to before the three-point line with the ball and passed Lucas to the left, Lucas held the ball a while and passed to Carter who was open on the right, Carter got a shot at the opposing PF and ran to the left bottom of the court to pass the ball to Mark. Mark tried to spin on the opposing Center, which was in defense and didn''t allow it. Mark passed the ball back to Jake, Jake got the ball and stepped back and tried the shot from outside to make 3 points for Elite. In the second period, Jake was more active in the game as he always was and the players got good plays, so the second period ended with the Elite team leading the way with 10 points more than the Cats team. Chapter 220 Bright Future 6 Jake had scored 10 points in that period and had also made 4 assists and got a rebound, so Jake was now 14 points and 9 assists and 3 rebounds, the trained Mike who was worried about Jake thought he was doing very well so far. But I couldn''t tell if Jake thought he was playing badly because his standard is too high, at least he was playing a lot better than in the last state championship game, it was better for Coach Mike if Jake was healed, because otherwise, it would be hard for them to win the national championship without it. Jake who had forgotten his problems had also played well in the third period and the Elite team increased the advantage even further, by the end of the first game the Elite team had won the game by 30 points. Jake had 38 points and 15 assists plus 5 rebounds, Lucas also had a good game and Harrison didn''t even get into the game, David had a modest game and was replaced by Nathan in the fourth period. Coach Mike was very happy with the outcome of the game and figured that even if Jake had a problem before he should have healed after seeing him play so well today, so Jake picked up his things and left after saying goodbye to his teammates. After arriving home Jake took a shower and rested and just got up when his mother came home and told her that they had won the game again, Eva was happy with it and made a special celebration dinner for Jake. After working in a restaurant for several months, Eva had improved her cooking a lot, but what she improved, even more, was the speed at which she prepared the food, she just had to wait for the fire, because her cooking skills made her finish the dishes quickly. This was normal considering she saw the same dishes being made hundreds of times and even observed the chefs ''techniques for preparing the fastest dishes, as Anna had said, years of experience only improve chefs'' skills. Even now that Jake could cook better than his mother, he was much slower than she was to prepare the dishes, but that only made Jake happy to see Eva cooking so well. At school during the week the tension was increasing as the last semester progressed, Jake was the most relaxed about it because he had high scores on both ACT and SAT tests, and Jake already had a university scholarship guaranteed. Joseph had also gotten a very high score, but he wanted to get even better before entering college, with Jake teaching when he had time all of Jake''s classmates had gotten good grades. The teachers now loved Jake and could not even believe how some teachers in the past might not like him, after all, they earned great bonuses from the Elite school on the higher their students'' grades. Jake even found time to teach some players on his basketball team and some close friends he had made on the football team, everyone who studied with Jake got great scores. But that was because no one who could get into a private school could be stupid, besides, the classes were always good no matter which teachers gave the classes, Jake had gotten a good grade even on the GMAT he did. Even if it wasn''t for the sports scholarship Jake could easily get into any university, Jake had also overcome his fear of another accident and could no longer walk, now he was convinced that his future would be great. Jake was in such a good mood that he even helped Liza with her studies, Joseph was smart, but unlike Jake, he was terrible at teaching and couldn''t help his girlfriend. In his last semester of high school even Lola came to talk to Jake, she offered to teach him how to do well on exams, he thanked him and said he didn''t need to be the best student in his class. He was grateful and didn''t want Lola to waste her time, and Lola ended up being embarrassed and embarrassed for it, Lola had to blame Eva who always bragged about everything Jake did and forgot to say that he was the best student of the school. This week Jake was a little tense too because on Saturday this week would be the qualifying event for the Olympics, so he had to train well during the week, he still ran the 55 km with a speed of 30 minutes for every 10 km. Jake wanted to make sure he could handle the entire race at his normal speed that would win the marathon, the second game of the Elite national championship would be on Friday, so he would have to go to Charlotte, NC where he would be the night of classification. This time he didn''t want anyone to go with him there, so John wasn''t happy anymore but he understood that Jake needed focus right now to try to win, there would also be a $ 100,000 prize for the first place Jake wanted to win. Tiffany had said he had not found any suitable coach for Jake, so Jake said he didn''t want any now until the Olympics were over so he could get a better coach and a coach now could hurt his training. After a week of training was the day of the second game of the national championship, this game was easily won by the Elite team, in the first period of the game they were 10 points ahead of the opponents. In the second period, they were winning by 22 points and at the end of the third period, they won by 32 points, as the opponent practically gave up the last period they won by 38 points difference because they held on. The opposing team was good and all their players played regularly, unfortunately at that time only opponents with high-level players could go through the defense of the Elite team and bring danger to them. Jake also played very well and scored 34 points, 12 assists and 4 steals in the game, so Coach Mike was sure that Jake had no more problems, the same day Jake went to Charlotte, NC to prepare for the marathon the other day. Even though he had forgotten this during the games Jake had already realized that he had gotten rid of his psychological problems, in the classification marathon he could be sure if he was completely healed. In fact, according to Jake had realized he should have no problem winning even though he still had the psychological problem, yet he was good at giving more confidence during the marathon to know that he was fine. During the race he would have to watch out for Bob Kempainen who was the one who would win the marathon today and also win the gold medal in the Olympics after a few months, Jake even knew that Bob Kempainen would win this marathon after getting sick at the end of the test. Even so, Jake had to try to win the marathon just as he was competing, because if he had to take pity on all his opponents, he better stop running and playing basketball too. On race day Jake did his warm-up exercises as he prepared to start running, in his after-marathon training he had learned how to get water at various points in the marathon without disturbing his running pace. Jake had also decided to run a portion of the group marathon to avoid wear and tear by facing the entire draft, but as he knew it would be at a much stronger pace than other runners it was better that he run alone again today. So began the qualifying race for the Olympics, Jake was again relying on the dashboard the system had given to mark his speed and average race time, he learned from mistakes in the past marathon and would also change by running stronger in the decides and more slowly uphill. Even if he didn''t make the best time he would tire less in the marathon and still gain experience to learn the best way to run, it was these little things that could often guarantee victory in a high-level competition. In the first few miles of the marathon he sought to run in groups as he had planned, he was always changing groups as one accelerated and another slowed if he did not see a very large climb, curve or descent along the way he would not change the racing pace. At one point in the race, Jake was recognized by some members who were running in a group, Jake was much more famous after appearing in two television commercials this year and participating in getting a good placement in some major marathons. Who recognized Jake was a pro too but didn''t plan on getting a test placement, so they decided to run at the same pace as Jake and always taking turns with someone in the group leading to block the wind and help Jake in the marathon. Jake was happy with that, but with the consideration of these people than necessarily with the help they would give him in this marathon, but what this group did not know Jake had the system and also this was the third marathon he would run. So this was meant to be Jake''s best performance in all the marathons he has run so far, so while the people in the group were intent on helping Jake in the marathon they would be helped and would be able to arrive with much shorter time at the end of the marathon. After all, everyone in the group was professional runners and had good stamina to run, keeping pace was their only difficulty, and with the help of the system, Jake was an expert in keeping pace. So only when km 25 passed did the people in the group fail to keep up with Jake''s pace and had to part with him in order to finish the race, even though it was helped Jake served as a rabbit for those runners who would get a much better time running. Jake, while he was with the group, managed to save a lot of stamina and even by slowing down the corners and turns and increasing the speed in the decides he was still able to keep up with his planned running pace, Jake was also stopping properly at the back stations to drink some water and cool off. This was by far Jake''s best performance in marathons and the more he ran the more confident he got. Chapter 221 Bright Future 7 Race commentators had also realized that Jake was running at a high level, now Jake was no longer a stranger and was respected in the world of professional marathon athletes. So this was the third time Jake had been running fast and commentators had already realized that this was Jake''s racing strategy, he won in Chicago and was second in New York and only lost because he had an injury after almost beat the race record. "And we see that as speculated Jake is really trying to participate in the Atlanta Olympics this year, this year he is 17 years old and everyone thought he was too young for that." "I don''t think so, this is the third marathon he runs, he got great results in the first two and has been keeping a very strong pace for this one too." "True, we can''t just see Jake as a young man, he is a pro and a favorite to get a place at the Olympics, but he forced a lot in the last New York marathon and ended the race with an injury, will he can you go well today?" "From what I''ve seen he''s running at a much slower pace than he did in New York, he also ran a portion of the group race preserving endurance and is preserving well-controlled running energy." "Now all that remains is whether he is doing this because he has learned to run more efficiently or because he has not yet fully recovered from his injury in the last marathon." While Jake was running commentators were trying to figure out what was happening to him, after all, athletes usually make mistakes and learn from experience by competing in multiple marathons before improving. But even with all the flaws, Jake had won since his first marathon, so he was a rarity that everyone liked to talk about, not to mention that Jake was only 17 now which made him even more interesting to commentators. Jake kept running at the same pace as he avoided wasting energy by slowing down the climb, so after 30 km of the marathon, he was still fine as usual. Jake could feel that he was clearly much better than in the first marathon that ran in Chicago and much better than when he ran in New York, now Jake was finally realizing the advantage of getting two stat points after winning in Chicago. Jake had a great advantage for the other participants while maintaining the same running pace as he went 35 km, only after that did Jake begin to feel his body heavy and tired. Now with less than five km of the marathon left to win, Jake could feel that stopping for water at the support stations and other things he did differently this time helped a lot to make him run more comfortably this time. "It looks like Jake is really in great shape in today''s race, about five km to the end of the marathon and he doesn''t look exhausted like other competitors at this point in the marathon." "We can see that Jake seems to have found the right race pace and has run the same way as the other runners, he really seems to be our greatest hope for winning the gold medal at this year''s Olympics." "It''s true, the fact that Jake is so young and so stable in his marathons makes him one of the best marathon athletes in the world today." After driving the 38 km Jake slowed his pace a bit, after all, he had a huge lead for second place and was still afraid of what happened in the last marathon to repeat again. After all, he was still not very confident that he was completely healed of the psychological problem he had and could still win even if he held on to the final part of the marathon. After going through 41 km Jake finally relaxed and realized that he could win today''s marathon smoothly and get a seat at this year''s Olympics, he was even dreaming about the gold medal. "It looks like we already have a winner for this marathon today, Jake is almost entering the last mile of the race and has a huge advantage of over 3 minutes for the other competitors." "Second place finisher Bob Kempainen was ill at the last moments of the race, but he still stands firm in second and is well ahead of third place in the race." "So we will have our main representative for this year''s marathon Olympics a 17-year-old Jake Smith is his name." This time Jake had no problem at the end of the race and can easily win and secure a place for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Jake was relieved that it seemed his problem had been healed. He finished the race in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 30 seconds earning $ 125,000, $ 100,000 to win and $ 25,000 for breaking the race record, so he was pleased with that, then Jake made a point of greeting Bob Kempainen that it would be the winner if it wasn''t for him to participate this time. After talking with some reporters and saying that he felt very good to be able to represent his young country in an Olympics, especially this one being in his country. This was also the first time Jake had not eaten a stamina bar after finishing a marathon, he felt less tired today than in his training, Jake had decided that this year would only train for the Olympics and not participate in any marathon until the Olympics. So Jake would have to wait a few years before he could compete in all major marathons in the world, Jake was a little disappointed to earn no reward statistic points after qualifying for the Olympics. But that was normal, after all for the system this was just a qualifying competition and the Olympics was the real challenge they would have to face, Jake just thought it would be nice to have a few more points in the Resistance statistic before the Olympics. The same day Jake returned to Miami, he thought it was much better to rest at home than to stay in a pewter hotel, Jake told his mother when he got home that he had won the race and qualified for the Olympics. He hoped that as last time she wouldn''t mind much, but Jake was wrong this time, Eva knew the Olympics very well and cheered for the United States in all competitions. So she was very happy and congratulated Jake so much for being able to compete at the Olympics, Eva even said that it was for Jake to do everything possible to get a gold medal to bring home. Jake had many awards and medals at home, but an Olympic gold medal would be completely different from what he had now, Jake agreed with his mother about it, which is why he wanted to get several gold medals after a few years. Jake was seriously thinking that after this Olympics, in addition to trying to win the major marathons, he would start training for other sports as well, with his agility and Resistance now Jake thought the 5,000 and 10,000-meter race would be easy to beat here 4 years ago. But the 1,500 and 800-meter races would be much more difficult, the smaller the distance from the races the greater the difficulty for Jake to try to win, he thought he would have to have at least 42 stats in agility to try to win and that wasn''t easy to achieve in 4 years only. After winning 5 more marathons major Jake would get 5 more agility points and 5 Resistance points, it was a pity that Jake didn''t know if he could achieve more with the athletics world championship and the Olympics. Even though Jake knew he could not count on the agility points he would get from his normal training after all the system warned that Jake only got many points because his body was developing, but after this year he would not improve that easily. That was why Jake was thinking about how he could improve his strength statistics, after all, he could not increase running in marathons and it would take several years to think of earning any points with basketball. So Jake would have to see his Agility and Resistance is much higher than his strength statistics, and Jake knew from the system that he would need strength statistics to be able to improve accuracy on off-range and mid-range shots as well. The other week Jake decided to rest his body and did no training other than the training of plays with the basketball team, after all, would soon be the third game of the Elite team in the national championship. Now that Jake had recovered from his psychological problem nothing could hinder his team from getting another national championship trophy, then he would just have to think about university. Jake called John and Alan during the week telling him that he had won and qualified for the Olympics, they were happy about it and their companies would be even happier. John was a little worried after what happened in New York and was happy to know that everything went well. Jake also called Tiffany and Clara, but Tiffany was out of the country solving some problems with European stores and Clara said she wanted to have lunch with Jake to celebrate the good news. When Jake saw Clara at the restaurant he was glad to see that she looked much healthier than before, she still looked a little pale and thin but was much more alive and happy than before. She managed to recover faster after eating better and taking some vitamins, but especially after getting out of the depression that was due to the many problems, Clara realized that she had real friends by her side like Jake and Tiffany. "How are you doing, Jake?" "I''m fine, much better than before, things seem to be working out well now and I''m back to playing well and qualifying for the Olympics, plus my mom seems to be very happy and doesn''t have to work so much in the restaurant anymore." "And you look so much better than before, Clara, I hope you''ll be happy and confident again as it was the first time I met you." "Thank you, Jake, thanks to you and Tiffany that I am recovering so well, but I can only be happy again after I recover my actions from Robert''s hands." Chapter 222 Bright Future 8 Jake realized that the reason Clara recovered so quickly and accepted well what happened in her company and divorce was that she finally accepted that her ex-husband Robert was a scoundrel and was not worthy and did not deserve her love. It was only a matter of time before this happened and Clara woke up to realize the reality of life, Jake was afraid that after Clara lost her innocence what was left was anger and desire to take revenge on her ex-husband as it happened to many women. Luckily it seemed that Clara was not like this and just wanted to recover her company to get her life back to normal, seeing that Jake who was fine with everything that was happening decided to try to calm Clara by telling her situation. "I think you don''t have to worry so much about getting your business back Clara, I know you don''t trust my business visions, but I think I make good investments and by 2000 I could end up earning a few tens of thousands of dollars." "I know you don''t believe that, but my company is taking care of a multi-million dollar capital investment and part of that money comes from Matthew you know well." "Is Matthew even investing?" "Yes, I now have a small percentage of his company stock, and Matthew''s company made a good profit from the sales of the new digital camera, so he and I made good money on the company''s profit share." "Just as Matthew trusts me, he decided to invest with my investment firm." It was a pity that Jake couldn''t tell Clara the details of his dealings and the company, but Clara must have realized that Jake had indeed made a lot of money as she knew the rumors about the deals being done. Clara was really surprised by this, she didn''t know that Jake was that good in business, she thought Jake lived only on the sponsorships she received, but it seems she was very wrong and Jake could be richer than she thought now. In fact, Clara couldn''t be blamed for thinking that, after all, Jake was only 17 now and it was already amazing the accomplishments he had in two top-level sports like basketball and athletics, so she couldn''t imagine that Jake had a talent for the stock market too. Matthew and Oliver knew Jake a lot better and had been listening to Jake''s business visions since many years ago, plus Jake gave many important tips to Matthew''s company and saved Matthew''s company from possible bankruptcy, so it was normal for Matthew trust Jake for the investments. Even with the crisis that was going on in her company, Clara would not think of giving money to Jake''s company to invest at a time like this, after all, she knew well that the stock market was risky and she could not risk the future of her company in that. Matthew was with his company making a lot of money from the new product and could risk an investment of a few million, but she could not make herself, Clara could change her mind if she heard that Matthew risked investing 300 million with Jake''s company, but Jake never would do it. "I don''t understand where you want to go with this Jake, it''s not that I don''t trust you, but I can''t bet my company''s future on the stock market." "I know that well, you made it very clear last time, what I mean is that when I can redeem the money from my investment in 5 years or even before that when I get Matthew''s company profit share I will buy the Robert shares of your company. " "But you have to agree to that first, then when you have conditions I can sell that 10 percent stock back to you." For a while, Clara was silent trying to understand what Jake was saying to her, after all, it was normal for her not to understand that if Tiffany she had known for over 10 years or her father bought these actions to help her, Clara would not be so surprised by that and would just be grateful. But she didn''t understand why Jake who until a while ago had nothing wanted to risk buying her company''s stock right now, if she didn''t know Jake well she might even think that Jake was buying those shares from a rival company. But she knew Jake would never do something as bad as that to her, and even though Jake was a close friend and her company-sponsored Jake when he was younger and more needed, Clara didn''t think it was enough to justify it. "Why are you doing this for me?" "Because you are one of the dearest people in my life, and I don''t think you deserve to lose your company for a mistake that is not yours, if I have this money I will definitely buy these stocks, because even if I keep them I know you''re efficient and can make my investment count." Even though he didn''t expect that question Jake just told the truth, Clara and Tiffany were very dear people in his life and helped him a lot at a time he needed, besides, Jake knew that Clara was efficient and a great company and worth the investment even if Clara didn''t buy those shares from him. After another 4 years in 2000, Jake would have billions of dollars in cash from his investments, in another 20 years, he would be close to 100 billion if all he thought worked out, so taking that 30 million to help a friend was worth it to Jake. When Clara saw in Jake''s eyes that he was being sincere as she began to cry, Jake was surprised by this and didn''t know what to do, he knew it wasn''t a cry of joy because he hadn''t bought the stock yet and nothing had happened. So Jake could only comfort Clara awkwardly, the crying Clara was having now was a bit of a relief, after all, she was still very stressed about everything that had happened in recent months. Even if her health was better she couldn''t be relaxed until she regained Robert''s actions, so seeing that Jake also wanted to help herself by knowing him a few years ago made Clara relieved to see that she didn''t have to go through this alone. It wasn''t a question of whether or not Jake could be 30 million in a few years when a few years ago he had nothing, but just the sincere intention to help make her happy. After a while Clara recovered and was embarrassed after realizing she had cried in a restaurant again and again in front of Jake, she didn''t know why, but she felt comfortable and relieved whenever she talked to Jake. She knew it was because she was so fragile and vulnerable these past few months with everything that had happened in her life, and Jake was now a man and always confident and cheerful at all times. It was a kind of charm and maturity that Clara had never seen in anyone, when Jake was a child he was not like that, and looked just cute, in a few years he changed a lot, thinking about it Clara can not help but smile, it made Jake more confused seeing Clara crying and then smiling. "What''s it?" "It''s nothing, I was thinking that a few years ago when I met you you looked so cute, and now that you''ve grown up you look very confident." "I thought I already looked confident when I met you." "Hahaha, no you just looked cute trying to be serious under 13." After that, they talked for a while and broke up when Jake went home, he thought she looked better after he said he would buy these shares from Robert''s hands, even if Clara didn''t believe him, Jake was very confident in doing that to happen. In fact, if Jake made a loan he could easily get the money to buy Robert''s stock, but he knew well that Clara''s problem would not be solved with just that, Tiffany and Clara had to think of a way to buy the stock adversary company that was 33 for sure too. After all, it was now as if they were working with the enemy and the opposing company could know everything they were doing and doing the same, or rather, would be a hopeless competition for Clara''s company. So Jake would rather wait a few years and get that money without any debt if he says that in the next few years Jake would make even more money from the profit-sharing of Matthew''s company. After that the week spent quietly with Jake doing just the training of basketball plays while resting this week after the marathon, Jake was afraid of having another injury if he continued training as before. After all, even though the system could warn before Jake had the injury this was only in the latter case, after all, it was only because Jake was overdoing the training that he always had the risk of an injury. After a few more days the day of the Elite team''s third national championship game came, the game was much more difficult for the Elite team than in previous games after the first national championship game Lucas always started the starting games. It was because the whole team and coach Mike felt safer to make the plays with Lucas in defense, in this game David started as a starter again, but it happened again that he underperformed as he had not since last season. So at the end of the first period of the game, the Elite team only led the score by 2 points because Jake was playing very well and scored 12 points only in the first period. Seeing this coach Mike was not slow and decided to put Nathan in the game in place of David, David was very upset to have left the game but knew it was not a good day to play and could end up hurting the team if he continued playing. In the second period the Elite team improved a lot in the game and the defense played better than in the other games and gave no chance for the attacking opponent, Jake also continued to play very well and still gave accurate passes to Mark and Lucas to score more points. So at the end of the second period, the team won by 10 points and Jake had 12 points and the whole game had 24 points. Chapter 223 Last National High School Championship 1 In the third period, the Elite team came back to dominate with good moves from Jake and the strong defense of the whole team, Coach Mike was pleased with what he saw and thought this was the best team to play this national championship. If it wasn''t for David and Harrison''s high school senior year Coach Mike would have replaced them after all the two new players were playing much better, especially in defense and now they had achieved the perfect match with the rest of the team. Not to mention that Nathan and Lucas would surely be the leaders of the Elite team next year, putting them in important games to improve and gain experience was the best he could do. By the end of the third period, the Elite team was winning by 18 points, and because the opposing team played well and demanded that everyone on the Elite team play as well as they could, Mark also excelled playing well in defense and making the attacks without failing when necessary. Not to mention that he had 13 rebounds at the end of this third period being one of the most important players to secure this advantage in this tough game, Jake has scored 14 points over that period and has had 28 points throughout the game so far. Unlike the other teams that played in this national championship before against the Elite team, in this third game, the opponents did not want to give up the game, so Jake and the other players did their best and guaranteed the victory of the Elite team. So at the end of the fourth period, the Elite team won 30 points more than their opponents, Jake finished the game with 44 points, 17 assists and 7 steals, his best game in this national championship, after all, he managed to perform well against a most difficult opponent team. After the game Jake chatted a little with his teammates and then left home, David was the only one who was not happy after this game because he would probably miss the chance to play in the starting team after this game. But no one could comfort David because Nathan, who had got the job, was also friends and teammates, everyone knew that only the best could play in the starting lineup and all were teammates. Overnight he talked to his mother after telling him that he had won the game, Eva was happy for her son and was no longer so nervous about games beyond the final game because she couldn''t even imagine Jake talking about losing after so many years. After all even though Jake had stopped playing for 2 years it was still amazing to think that it was 5 years since Jake had known what a defeat in basketball was, of course, Jake University games could experience more losses and in the NBA he would surely lose a lot of games. But at high school at least he still didn''t know what it was to lose a game, this might be Jake''s most impressive record of making multiple doubles or scoring over 100 points in two games. During the night after showering and getting ready for bed, Jake found himself thinking again about how things had worked out again in his life, so he wanted to see how he had improved after so long. "Fate, I''d like to see my Basketball Stats window." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: College Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.93 m] [Weight: 95 Kg] [Force 33] [Agility 34] [Resistance 37] [Intelligence 59] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Basketball Skills [Ball Handling B] [Body Control B] [Man to Man C] [Dribble B] [Layup B] [Set Shot A] [Block C] [Pass A] [Rebound B] [2 Points S] [3 Points S] [Free Throw SS] [Steal A] [Dunk C] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was surprised to learn that in the physical he had improved a lot unknowingly, he hoped that after 16 years he could not change much, but was surprised to see that he had grown to 1.93 m in a short time he increased 4 cm in height. Of course Jake knew it was because of the system tuning, after all, he had grown so much taller than in his past life, now he didn''t know if he could increase his height even more than now, after all, he couldn''t control the system. At least he knew that the system did only what was best for him, and Jake had realized that the muscles in his body had increased a lot and were stronger, so his weight had increased too, this should be done by the system, so people wouldn''t suspect Jake''s abnormal strength with a thin body. After all, no matter how much he ate or exercised, his weight and body did not change at all, his statistics had also increased by one each, while his growth would stop, his statistics would not increase as easily. Already his basketball skills had improved almost nothing after all this time, only the skills with the lowest rank had improved, and Jake was training every day in his imagination training space. "Fate, could you explain to me what happened?" [I will explain everything until I am 19 years old your body will still be growing, circumstances that not even I control well must be met for your body to change anyway in the following years.] [But just as you said, no change should hurt you, the higher you should do better on some skills you have more difficulty now and also with your more muscular body reduces the risk of injury and does not hinder your agility.] [Your stats have kept growing at this time if you keep exercising, lately, you have been putting it a little aside thinking that it doesn''t help at all, but if you push yourself as before it might still work.] [As for your skills not improving much, partly as I had warned you before, as the college level of basketball is very close to the pro it''s much harder to raise ranks, but each improvement makes a lot of difference.] [Also, since you had a psychological problem this obviously affected your skill development as well, so much of the time training you had had that problem was to no avail.] "I''m healed now, aren''t I?" [Yes, you are healed, your problem was nothing serious, to begin with, but as you were under a lot of stress due to all the responsibilities you have taken longer to recover even with my help, thankfully it was right at the beginning of your vacation and didn''t affect you that much.] "You said my skills training had been impaired due to my psychological problem, but before you didn''t say no injuries would disturb my imagination training space?" [I said no physical injury could disrupt your training, but your problem was mental, so it affected it even more, and I didn''t expect you to ignore me and have an injury in life, so it''s your fault.] Jake was embarrassed to hear this after all the system had always warned the moment before he was injured, but this time Jake ignored the system warning and went for the injury, Jake''s mental problem was even rarer to happen and probably would not happen again. So Jake took advantage of the fact that he was talking to the system now and decided to see how he had progressed in his other jobs as well, the second particular employer was what Jake least looked at as having no rank-enhancing or statistical skills that Jake found useful. "Fate, show me the statistics window for my third job too." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 1.93 m] [Weight: 95 Kg] [Force 33] [Agility 34] [Resistance 37] [Intelligence 59] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung B] [Iron Body B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª The physical statistics were the same as his first job, but both techniques were what Jake was most interested in, he was delighted to see that his Second Lung technique had improved further, after all not even 8 months from the last time he had seen an improvement. If Jake had won a major marathon and received a reward he would not have been so surprised, but he won only the Olympic qualifiers and came second in New York last year, and his race time had not improved. "Fate, because my Second Lung technique has improved in recent months." [Improved because of the marathons you ran, of course, competing has always been the best way to improve and gain experience ever, and even though your skills haven''t improved much because of your psychological problem, you still came second in a marathon major and won the Olympic classification marathon so you improved even without the rewards.] Thinking about it was not so strange that he had improved after having great results in two marathons in which he competed with the best in the world, now Jake was even more certain that he could improve even better if he won the Olympics. "Fate, show me my second job statistics window too." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Businessman] [Intelligence 59] [Luck 99] [Charm 39] [Leadership 28] [Policy 16] [Eloquence 39] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [See Through] [Business Vision] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was not surprised by his statistics getting much better in his second job, after a long time he had not looked, and the system had said that other statistics also interfered with other jobs, so it was normal for Jake to improve. Even more, than Jake had gotten great deals in recent years and could make billions of dollars in a few years and tens of billions in more than 20 years, it shows that Jake has been doing well and improving his negotiating skills as well as leveraging his knowledge of the future. Jake was glad that his policy and leadership statistics increased, after all, he studied a lot about trade policy after receiving this statistic and many companies he worked for were important to the country''s national policy. His leadership stat must have increased after having several negotiations where he had to lead conversations and also what he went through on the basketball team and his challenge with the football team where he led a team to victory without knowing his Teammates completely. Chapter 224 Last National High School Championship 2 His stats of eloquence and charm also increased well, these were the two statistics Jake found most important that he received in this second job, even though leadership was important was more for his other jobs. Charm was very important to show confidence and the older Jake got his charm increased naturally, his commercials could be successful thanks to this statistic and even with relationships, Jake knew this statistic could be important. Eloquence was the key to everything when it came to business, there was a phrase that Jake heard was that if anyone wanted to leave an unarmed businessman they had to stop him from speaking. And that was the truth, an example of this was that Jake worked hard to find Jeff Bezos and be able to talk to him personally, even though Jake knew about the future and had the money to invest none of that mattered if he couldn''t even talk to Jeff Bezos. So did Matthew, if Jake couldn''t win Matthew''s trust and talked so well about the risk of bankruptcy Jake couldn''t have helped anything even if he knew the future. After seeing that he had improved a lot these last months Jake could sleep much more peacefully and happily, the other week Jake went back to training with full force, he participated in training with the football team, did the training of plays with the basketball team, ran the 55 km of marathon training and still did weightlifting and treadmill at home. As the system itself said that Jake could improve his physical statistics over the next two years he had to try at least not to mention that Jake''s body was already very different from other people if he rested for a day his body would completely recover from fatigue. If there was one thing he noticed from his training was that his Resistance had improved again, he had a lot more energy even after running, so Jake realized that maybe it was after the last marathon that he gained a Resistance point and his technique improved. After all, as the system even said that he didn''t get any rewards this time, he would still improve his skills and statistics as normal people did. So Jake decided to increase the running distance of his daily training again to 60 km so that he could work harder and improve his stamina as well, so with these improvements maybe he could improve his running time in the marathon. But since his current race time already allowed Jake to win this year''s Olympics, Jake decided not to risk it for now and just do the basic training, so he was considering only taking a chance after finding a coach and changing his training method. So Jake could hear from a pro whether he could run faster, but he would ask Tiffany to look for someone again only after the Olympics were over. In the training sessions with the basketball team, Jake was feeling much more comfortable making the moves after he had confirmation from the system that his psychological problem was healed. Even though no one noticed this small change because the focus of the training was again the dispute for a position in the starting lineup, Harrison was trying very hard in training after losing the starting position. But he himself saw that he might not have a chance because he saw that Lucas was improving even better than he was in training, and Harrison''s problem with his defense techniques couldn''t be solved by just training more. It was a talent problem too, after all in the beginning as he was starting to play basketball Lucas was already playing as PF and only later decided to move to SF position, so Lucas had much more defensive skill than Harrison who lost many years of training playing only in the attack. David was almost always a starter as he was a much better player than Harrison and was once a key player in the Elite team attack, especially when he developed his 3-point shooting skills much further. But because he played badly in the last game and Nathan came in as well as a substitute and pleased the coach he was afraid of losing the starting position on the team, after all, he could see that Nathan was improving a lot in training. In fact, Nathan was known for playing even better than Lucas at Middle School last year, so much so that he won the MVP award for the Middle School National Championship before. But when he entered high school he started playing very shyly and gradually improved by playing worse than his teammate Lucas, but that had a reason no one on the team knew. The reason was that despite playing as SG last year Nathan just stood out and played so well because he also played as team keeper and his playing style and place on the court were similar to Jake. The other players and not even Lucas who played with him before realized this was what was happening, of course despite having the same style of play Jake played more than 10 times better than him, even Nathan thought so. So when he entered high school he realized this problem and knew that he had to change his playing style to play better and have more room in the team, so he still played as well in defense as before but was having trouble showing his Attack skills. If Nathan had talked about this with the team he could probably already be the basketball team starter by that time, after all, Coach Mike could help Nathan find another style of play that he could do better. And Jake himself could play in many different ways on the court, as someone who had far more than 1000 experience games in every position in his imagination training space Jake was far more versatile than anyone thought. It was also because of this that he could adapt so quickly to the team''s changing playing style at the beginning of the year, Jake only always played in the current playing style because he thought he could help the team more like this. But if he found out that Nathan could play like that too, Jake would be free to try several different styles that would surprise his opponents. Even so, Nathan was now totally used to his new style of play after almost a year and could play his best again, so he thought the team would only have to win if he were the starter in those final games. With all this squad in the team the week went by quickly and the day of the fourth game of the national championship arrived, the opponent seemed to be even stronger than in the last game, knowing that coach Mike did not hesitate and put Nathan in the starting position SG. So the starting lineup for this game was Jake in PG position, Nathan in SG position, Lucas in SF position, Carter in PF position and Mark in Center position. If this team showed the same match they had in the last match, coach Mike thought he would have no problem winning this game even with the opposing team being more difficult. Before leaving home for the game, after eating breakfast Eva warned Jake that Lola would go to the game again, at which point Jake had realized that Lola felt something for him. But Jake was determined not to have any kind of relationship until after college after he could sell the shares he needed to sell and join the NBA. Jake wouldn''t have much trouble to solve and could think back to relationships. After all in 2000 Jake would still be 21 and even Lola would be 22, so if she still liked him by then Jake would agree to date Lola, of course, that was because Jake didn''t love Lola and didn''t feel very strongly about her. If he was in love with her, Jake wouldn''t have to wait all these years to make up his mind, yet he liked having Lola as a friend and was happy to have her at his games. So after the game started Jake was playing as well as ever and the moves with Nathan and Lucas were being done very well and they could find many loopholes from the opposing team. At the end of the first half, the Elite team won by 6 points, after all, even if the Elite team was playing well, the opposing team was also able to take advantage of the attacks. In that first period, Jake scored 8 points and played well as in the other games, but even though Jake had no problem scoring more points his teammates were also fine and he made more assists. At the end of the second period, the Elite team was ahead by 14 points with Jake scoring 10 points to 18 in total, and by the end of the third period the Elite team was ahead by 18 points and Jake had 8 points to the top 26 in total. In this game, the opponent was good in his attacks and could use well to make mid-range points and thus avoided the strongest defense of the players of the Elite team. Carter was also playing as well as ever and managed to force the opposing PF to make more mistakes, with everyone on the team playing so well Carter was sometimes overlooked, but he also improved a lot in defense and can contribute much more in attack after the style Elite''s gameplay changed earlier this year. By the end of the fourth period, the Elite team had won the fourth game of the national championship with a 24 point lead and Jake had scored 36 points, 14 assists and 8 steals, this was the game where Jake came closest to making a triple-double. after the record he had was over. The biggest reason for this was that this year''s national championship games were hotly contested and Jake didn''t want to be selfish and try to force a Triple Double. Now only two games left for the Elite team to be the champions again, even though they were confident that their team was playing so well this year Jake still couldn''t help worrying about how tough the semifinal opponent could be next week. This week of training everyone had to work harder on play training, and whoever played had to play very well, after all, only two games were left for Jake''s team to officially graduate from high school games. Chapter 225 Last National High School Championship 3 Even though everyone was training even harder to be able to play even better in the final two games of the national championship it was obvious that everyone was very confident and many were right about the victory. That was not strange after all the Elite team was almost the same as it was last year''s champion, in another year it was normal for everyone to think they got better and now they still had two great new players on the team to further improve their chances to win. Of course, the biggest confidence of them all was Jake who was a great player who had no one like him in today''s high school even though he didn''t break any records in every game like last year Jake was still doing a media 35 points per game in this national championship. Not to mention that Jake was still the team''s best player in defense and controlled the game with his assists, so Coach Mike expected Nathan and Lucas to play much better so they could replace Jake next year. Coach Mike knew it was impossible to find another player of the same rank as Jake to replace him next year, so he hoped that Nathan and Lucas together could do that, even if the team''s skill level dropped, they could still try win again the national championship next year. Coach Mike had heard a report that this year''s Middle School basketball team had two great players coming into high school next year, they were the Center and PF of the starting team when Lucas and Nathan were in Middle School and won last year. It looked like they should win the Middle School national championship this year too, so even though next year it was difficult for the Elite team to be national champions again in two more years they could try another two-time championship. But that had nothing to do with Jake leaving school after the end of this semester to go to university, this week he was doing his best in training if he put in hours his full training beyond his time in school would give 10 hours per training day. More than 4 hours for 60km running training, close to 1 hour for football team physical training, close to 1 hour of individual physical training, more than 2 hours for team play training at school and 1 hour doing the 3-point shooting drills he did whenever he could. Before his training was no more than 6 hours normally, and before starting marathon training he trained less than 4 hours a day, so the more time passed the heavier Jake''s training had to be in order to earn statistics points. If anyone saw his training routine he would not doubt that Jake could compete in both athletics and basketball, of course on days when he had a business to take care of his routine it would decrease by many hours and sometimes he would not do his longer running training. So while Jake was still doing his training during the week Oliver said he had something to talk to him about, even though the two of them were friends Oliver rarely called Jake to his house when he didn''t have an important subject to say. So Jake usually got tense when he was called, after all the last thing Oliver had to talk about was the problem with his friend Joseph''s dating, luckily Matthew seemed to have completely forgotten about that after the successful digital camera sales. "Hi Oliver, what happened to you calling me here?" "You''re my friend Jake, I can''t just call you to talk." "Of course you can, I''d be happy if you always called me in to talk and had no problem." "I called you here for two matters, the first is to say that your house is ready for you and your mother to move, even if the court and athletic field you asked for is not ready yet this place is too far from your home and shouldn''t bother you if you want to move there." Jake was glad to know that he could finally go to his own house, it was very uncomfortable to be at Matthew''s house even though the house was great and Jake was a close friend of Matthew''s, and Eva must be even happier about it than he was. As for the court and his athletic field would be something Jake wouldn''t have to worry about at the moment, after all, he didn''t need a place of his own yet, after finishing the national championship Jake would take a break for the Olympics and then go to university. That would be things Jake hardly even thought of using for now, what Jake cared about most was that his mother was comfortable in the new home and that her safety was assured, after all, Eva would be home alone when Jake was in college. "The other subject I wanted to ask was which university are you going to after high school?" "It will be the University of North Carolina." "So it''s a shame, but I don''t think Joseph is going to study at the same university you''re not?" "I don''t think so Oliver, actually I don''t know if he was in the same university as his girlfriend, but I think you can rest easy now Oliver, Joseph is no longer that boy from a few years ago." "He has changed a lot and is much more confident now, I''m sure he will have no trouble finding new friends at his new university." "I believe that too, but I would feel much safer if Joseph was at the same university as you Jake, you always took such good care of him." "I think it''s going to be good for him to mature even more by this time, he''s almost an adult now and he has to know how to take care of himself too, not to mention that even though we were going to do the same course at university he has to choose with the best teaching and mine will be the best basketball." Jake also thought that studying at the largest universities in the world like Harvard or Princeton among others, but he knew very well that a university degree meant nothing to his future. After all Jake wanted to be a professional basketball player and play in the NBA until he was 40 and still play other sports and win a lot of Olympic medals, even after that Jake spent a lot of time studying since he was 10 and also in his past life to learn about Business. In fact, Jake didn''t expect to learn anything new and just wanted to get his degree later, plus with Jake''s investments now in the stock market he would have tens of billions after retiring from basketball and would not have to worry about working ever again if you didn''t want to. But Joseph still had a lot to learn at the university, and it would be best if he continued to study after that, after a few more years Matthew''s company would be worth billions of dollars, and Joseph had to know how to handle it. Fortunately, Matthew was still in good health and could run the company for at least another 10 years, which would give Joseph time to learn what he would need, and Oliver would always be by his side for advice whenever Joseph needed it. "Not to mention that after Joseph University you probably think about getting married, maybe you''ll soon be Grandpa Oliver." "I don''t think they will do it anytime soon, but we have to see if my dad will approve of this relationship, at the moment he may be busy and has forgotten about it, but I don''t think it will always be that way." "And you Jake, are you thinking of having a girlfriend?" "Not now, maybe after college, after all, I''m very young yet, but you''re the one who needs to meet someone in Oliver, you get older every day and it''s best to find someone to stay with you now that Joseph has grown." "I don''t think about meeting anyone now, I don''t like people I know my age very much and I don''t think it''s right to meet someone younger than me, so I''ll have to wait and see if I can find anyone." After talking for a while Jake returned home after calling the moving company he had already booked since he bought the house, the other day Jake would finally move to the new house, he had to wait another day to warn your mother that she would come home at night. When Eve got home she was very happy to know that her new home was ready for them to move, she was also feeling uncomfortable living in a house that was not hers, but today would be the last day. In fact, she was the one who had been saddened to have to move to a new home, after all, she had the most memories of the house where she lived before Jake was born, but for her and her son''s safety, she agreed to move to a new home Larger house. The other day Jake made all the move to the new house while his mother worked after he handed the key to Oliver because he thought it was safer than leaving in the concierge, so Jake now finally had a mansion as he had always dreamed of in his past life. Several of his dreams had come true on his second chance, he was already very wealthy and had a mansion, the best cars, and a yacht could wait a few more years, his dream of entering a university to fulfill his mother''s dream it was also close to fulfillment. Jake had also been able to let his mother live happily, but that was something to do for a lifetime and was accomplished now, getting into the NBA and being champion would also take a few more years, the hardest thing was finding a woman he loved and having a family. But Jake knew he still had many years to live to fulfill all those dreams, now he just had to think about the weekend game that would be the national championship semifinal game. Nathan, who had started as a starter, played very well and received more praise than Lucas in the game, so now Carter was the player who contributed the least to the team in the games and yet he was still very good and could play on any team in high school. Chapter 226 Last National High School Championship 4 Mark was essential to the team''s rebounds and Nathan and Lucas had to do well in both defense and attack, only Jake who had no pressure and had to play what he knew only. The days went by and the day of the semifinal match was near, so Coach Mike decided to give the players a rest so that everyone was at their best on match day, of course, Jake didn''t change anything and he would still do his thing intense training in the same way. For Jake who had 37 Resistance points a common basketball game would not be enough to make him tired, maybe when he had a routine of several games in the week that lasted longer and were much harder as it would be in the NBA that he might need a rest before the game. Jake was quieter at least to spend more time at home, he was totally quiet in his new home, even though in his past life he didn''t live in a mansion and had several employees that wouldn''t bother Jake. But Eva still thought it was strange, she loved the new house with the new much bigger and comfortable furniture, especially the kitchen, it was big and seemed a bit in space of the restaurant, that was why Eva chose this house. But she couldn''t get used to seeing the housekeepers cleaning the house for her, it was a custom she had since childhood, and Eva didn''t even like Jake cleaning the house sometimes. Even so, she knew she couldn''t clean a mansion this size alone so the maids she could even accept, the cook Jake had hired was another thing Eva didn''t like, she preferred to cook the food herself. Jake knew this well so the cook didn''t live in the house and only worked when Eva wasn''t home or when Eva needed her, so Eva couldn''t complain and had to accept it too. The hardest thing was getting used to a driver and another man who took her everywhere, Eva couldn''t even go to a mall alone without the driver insisting on taking her, that''s what Jake had demanded of course Eva had freedom to go where she wanted and the security guards would just follow her from afar. After all, after what had happened Jake could not rest easy leaving his mother alone, he knew that after a few years Eva would get used to it after all the rich had security and used to live like this. Jake had complete confidence in the people who worked with him and cared for his mother because he had used his second job skills with all of them, so he knew that everything they said was true and these people were reliable. After a few months, Jake would always ask the same questions and use his ability to always ensure his mother''s safety, in fact, Jake suggested that Oliver hire Joseph a security guard after what happened to him. But Oliver said he didn''t think it was necessary and Jake didn''t want to talk about it anymore, Jake was so lucky he can''t help worrying about it, he thought Oliver was being too careless, after all, Oliver didn''t leave home very much and Matthew had the security guards near him. So after Matthew''s company was even more successful, Jake feared that his friend would also be targeted by bad guys. Of course, even Jake knew this was something unusual to happen, and his house was targeted because he was in an unsafe neighborhood, so a person being kidnapped on the street was much harder to do. But after what happened Jake realized that just because something is hard to happen doesn''t mean it can''t end up happening, and after a tragedy happens it''s no use complaining and regretting it. After a few more days the day of the fifth game of the national championship game, it was the semifinal in which despite being expected a difficult game everyone was confident with the victory. Jake woke up very early and ate breakfast prepared by his mother and then left for the game site, when Jake arrived he saw that he was the last to arrive from his team and went to do the pre-game warm-up exercises. After another week of training, the starting lineup would be Jake in PG position, Nathan in SG position, Lucas in SF position, Carter in PF position and Mark in Center position as always. The opposing team was the Foxes team and had three players who were the team highlights, PG Sam, SG Joe, and Center Thiago, even though playing against the elite team that is the current champion the Foxes team players seemed confident in victory. After a few more minutes the semifinal game began and Mark climbed higher and got the first possession for the Elite team, Jake received the ball and began to advance to organize the Elite team''s first attack in the game. After advancing a bit Jake passed the ball to Nathan which was open on the right, Nathan advanced until after the three-point line and passed to Carter on the right, Carter received the ball and got rid of the mark and made a mid-range shot to Make the first 2 points for the Elite team in the game. Everyone besides Jake was very excited after the start of the game, even the quieter Carter was trying his best to score some points to help the Elite team win this game, after all for part of the team this would be the penultimate game if they won at high school. Nathan and Lucas were still starting and had 3 more years to go, but they were also excited to play well and take the chance to beholders in the final game if they won that game. Only Jake was calmer because there was still so much to play, but he didn''t think it was a bad thing for the whole team to be more excited and make a better game today. Sam picked up the ball and began to advance to the attack and organize his team''s first attack in the game after passing through the middle of the court Sam passed the ball to his team''s SF which was open on the right. SF advanced ahead of the three-point line and passed the ball to Thiago ahead, Thiago managed to get away from Mark''s defense and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points and tie the game for the Foxes team. Jake received the ball and went into the attack, before going through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Nathan who was open on the right, Nathan advanced until after the three-point line and held even after Joe arrived in defense. Nathan passed the ball to Jake who was behind him, Jake received the ball and made a feint and could easily pass by Sam and drive to the basket to lay up and 2 points for the Elite team. The game was very much the same between the teams and although the Elite team had more skill both teams were able to take advantage of their chances of attacking, so at the end of the first period, the Elite team was ahead by only 2 points. Jake was playing well as usual and only scored 6 points because the moves were slower with the opposing defense being good, yet everyone was calm because this game was expected to be more difficult. At the beginning of the second period, Jake was much more active in the game and made a more individual play to score more points and so the lead also increased Mark also seemed eager to participate more in the attack and always tried the moves to make the points above of Thiago''s defense. Jake advanced with the ball until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Lucas on the left, Lucas held the ball a little and passed to Nathan who was open on the right, Nathan received the ball and quickly passed to Mark who was asking for the ball again. Mark received the ball and after a spin made a dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team in the game, the fans in the stands were enjoying this game played and the many plays of Mark in the game. Sam received the ball and began to organize another attack for the Foxes team, he advanced and stopped before the three-point line and passed the ball to Joe on the left so as not to lose the ball in Jake''s defense. Joe got the ball and tried to make a shot on Nathan, but Nathan was firm in defense, so Joe passed the ball to Thiago again, Thiago used his strength and turned to make a dunk and 2 points for the Foxes team. Mark was very excited about the attack and was always asking the ball to score points with some dunk too, but Thiago was trying too hard and the dispute between the two excited the crowd in the stands, At the end of the second period, the Elite team was ahead by 8 points, this was thanks to Jake who was working harder on the attacks and scored 12 points in this second period, Mark had also done well in the second period and so the Elite team was more lively. Only Jake could not cheer up even after playing the entire game to an advantage, the more the advanced game the greater Jake''s feeling that something bad could happen, but he thought the Elite team was playing very well and had many chances to win. No player was playing poorly in the game and he himself was playing normally without any performance problems, Jake was all the time between the second and third period trying to understand this feeling, but failed. He also couldn''t ask for the game to stop just because he was having a bad feeling and so the third period started, Jake was playing even more seriously and everyone got more serious seeing the captain acting like that. Jake advanced with the ball and after passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to Lucas on the left, Lucas received the ball and advanced before the three-point line and passed to Carter, Carter held the ball and returned the ball to Jake soon after. Jake received Carter''s pass and feigned Sam, then Jake stepped back and attempted a shot from outside to score 3 points for the Elite team in the game. Chapter 227 Last National High School Championship 5 After that, the game continued with both teams playing well and the Elite team increasing the lead with Jake and Mark''s plays and the firm defense of the team that made the opponents make more mistakes. After half of the third period having passed Jake received the ball again to organize another attack for his team, in this third period as he was concerned that something bad might happen Jake didn''t pass the ball as much as before and scored the points in most plays. Before reaching the three-point line Jake passed the ball to Lucas on the left, Lucas received the ball and after holding a little passed to Nathan who was on the right, Nathan saw Jake asking for the ball again behind. But even though Jake could score the points if he got the ball he decided to pass to Mark who was also asking inside, Mark received the ball for the first time in the third period and made the turn after trying a dunk to make 2 more points for the Elite team. But Thiago was close in defense trying to prevent Mark from making another move on him again, so after making the dunk, Mark ended up landing after making the jump over Thiago''s feet. Mark in addition to tall was also heavy, so he fell with his 115 kg and soon both fell to the ground, Thiago was just in pain because Mark had stepped on his feet, but Mark seemed to have suffered an injury from falling wrong on landing. So the game stopped to serve both, after a time of service and tension Thiago raised apparently well-receiving applause from the crowd that was happy that he was fine, but Mark had to leave the court quickly to be served and the game continued. Coach Mike was worried about Mark as well as all the players, but the game would restart and he could not leave the team with one less, yet he knew that the team''s reserve center was much worse than Mark. So Coach Mike decided to improvise Carter in the Center position for now and Lucas who had already played as PF went to play in Carter''s place, Harrison was put in place of Mark who was being served in SF''s position. The game continued and the Foxes team took advantage that the Elite team had embezzlement and began to push trying to reduce the Elite team''s advantage by 12 points at the time of the third period. Jake realized this was what he was worried about and having a bad premonition, but there was no way he could do anything to prevent it and he kept playing the same way and working harder in defense to help his team after Mark left. At the end of the third period, the Elite team had only a 4-point lead. In addition to the defense that showed several loopholes for the opponents, the attack was also worse than before, Nathan who felt guilty for Mark''s injury ended up missing some attacks. After all, if Nathan had passed the ball to Jake and not to Mark this play would not have happened and Mark would not be injured, in defense besides Carter who was playing improvised was holding tightly Thiago. Lucas, who was always good at defense, played well in his original PF position, but Harrison could not stop the attacks of the opposing SF and Nathan was also playing poorly in defense giving more room for Joe to attack. Jake had scored 12 points in this third period and had 30 points throughout the game now, just him scoring so many points and playing well in defense that the team continued to maintain the lead, the coach decided to take Nathan who was playing badly and put David After all, even though David couldn''t help much in defense he could help more in the offense, now the Elite team had to try to play well in the latter period and hope that luck helps them qualify for the finals. The doctors attending this emergency semifinal match examined Mark and saw that he had a sprained foot during the fall after doing the dunk, it was no one''s fault it was just a gambling accident. Even if it wasn''t a serious injury it would take Mark at least a few weeks to recover, so he was out of this game and the final if the Elite team qualified, Mark was taken to hospital for more thorough exams and Coach Mike decided not to talk about it until the game is over. In the fourth period Jake again made even more individual moves and even attempted several 3-point shots to secure victory and the spot in the final, in defense David was doing better than Nathan at the end of the third period and Jake resumed playing as before and made some steals to prevent enemy attacks. David and Harrison were playing well too, just like Lucas so the Elite team had many ways to attack besides Jake, so by the end of the fourth period they still managed to win with a 5-point lead at the end. Jake had scored 45 points in the entire game and also had 11 assists plus 8 steals and 6 rebounds, in the end, he had to play with everything he had to ensure victory and qualifying for the team final. But even with the victory nobody from the Elite team celebrated, Thiago came to apologize at the end of the game after learning that Mark had gone to the hospital, even though it wasn''t his fault it was because of him that Mark was injured. As Captain Jake soothed the team that was all worried, Jake was also smart and realized that Coach Mike should know something he didn''t say to the other players, so Jake took everyone to talk to the coach. "Coach, we want to know what happened to Mark." "I don''t know just like you guys, he was taken to the hospital for more tests before we can know anything else." "Then we go to the hospital where Mark was taken, I take some in my car and whoever has a car also takes others who want to come, where he was taken, coach?" After knowing the name of the hospital through coach Mike they went to the hospital to find out about their friend''s situation, after all, they knew each other for 5 years and even Jake was worried about it. Jake knew Coach Mike should know something, but it was true that without a full hospital checkup all the doctors could do at the scene was to speculate about what happened. But Jake couldn''t rest until he knew what happened to Mark, after all, he felt a little guilty because he knew something wrong could happen, but he can''t stop his friend from getting hurt. Arriving at the hospital Jake asked his teammates to wait at the hospital reception to not cause any turmoil after all almost 10 people came together and could not walk blindly in the group. So Jake wouldn''t be waiting at the front desk as he should and went into the hospital to find a doctor to ask, even though he knew he shouldn''t, luckily after walking for a while in the hospital corridors Jake ended up meeting Mark''s mother. Jake had known her before once Mark introduced her to him in a state championship final game in the past, as he had a good memory it was impossible for him to forget his friend''s mother and that was helpful today. "Excuse me, would you be Mark''s mother?" "Who would you be?" "And I''m a friend of his and captain of the school basketball team, Jake." "So you''re Jake, I''ve heard a lot about you from my son, he considers you very well and says you''ll be a great NBA star." "Exaggeration of him, I came here with my teammates as soon as the game ended as it is?" "He''s pretty fortunately, it was just a slight twist when he fell, but I don''t think he can play in this national championship anymore." Jake had expected this, but he felt very bad for Mark now, Jake had also realized that his friend''s mother didn''t seem to like him very much and didn''t want Jake to stay long. She even looked relieved now that she knew her son''s injury was not serious and that Mark would no longer play basketball, even if she was quite discreet Jake realized that she didn''t even introduce herself to him. "So I''m going, for now, tell Mark that we won the game and that his teammates came here to wish him a good recovery." "I tell him." After that Jake told his teammates that Mark had sprained his foot and could not play with them anymore in this national championship, then decided to take everyone out, he and his teammates wanted to see Mark, but Jake knew that his mother just made excuses for not allowing and decided to just leave. Jake was Mark''s best friend on the basketball team, Mark said his mother didn''t like him playing basketball and just wanted him to study after all his mother thought the chance to study at a private school was one of the best for him teaching, was Mark''s chance. Mark was very smart and with Jake''s help he got good grades, he was able to keep playing high school basketball because he told his mother that the school required him to play to keep the scholarship and also that if he played well could get a scholarship to the university. So Mark just wanted to play basketball until he went to college and then got a good job as his mom hoped and quit basketball as a hobby, but Jake eventually changed his fate and Mark began to improve his skills as a player. So he got a college scholarship as promised to his mother and his mother chose him a university that was not so good at basketball but was good for his studies, Mark knew so maybe he couldn''t keep playing after college and wanted to make the best of him in this national championship. But it looked like he had no luck and got injured in the semifinal, so now Jake wondered how Mark must be feeling bad about not being able to play in that national championship anymore. Chapter 228 Last National High School Championship 6 Jake returned home after that and told his mother that his team had won and also that a friend had been injured and could no longer play with them in this national championship, Eva just as Jake could not be happy with his son''s victory knowing that someone had been injured. Jake also found this a pity, but he knew he had no chance of his friend recovering in the remaining two weeks before the game, even though it took Jake almost that time to recover from a much milder injury Mark had sustained. That''s because Jake''s body was so much stronger and had the system''s help to recover faster, and after recovering from the injury would still take time for Mark to recover his ideal form, it was very different from Jake''s situation. As Jake couldn''t see Mark for a while until his friend went to school he had to think now what to do for the national championship final in two weeks, without Mark in the game he had to think of a solution not to lose the game. After all, in Jake''s view, the most important person on the team after himself was Mark, even if the whole team played badly if he could play the best and Mark also played well they might have a chance to win. The reason for this was not so much Mark''s talent as Center but his friend''s ability to catch rebounds when the team missed the attacks and defensive rebounds, which was what guaranteed the team''s victory. So much so that at the end of the last game Jake missed some attacks trying to score more points and without Mark to catch the rebound the lead did not increase, and although Carter seemed to have played well improvised as Center the reason was that the opposing team had no time to prepare a strategy to capitalize on the weakness of the Elite team. But there were still two weeks to the final game, it was obvious that the opponents would prepare for it, but Jake didn''t want to think about it today and decided to sleep, but before he had a doubt to ask the system. "Fate, what was that premonition I felt in the middle of the game before Mark got hurt?" [So you felt a premonition that something bad could happen huh, this is unexpected.] "What''s unexpected, don''t you even know what happened?" [I didn''t realize this happened in the middle of the game, but I think I know what happened, as you know even though I''m kind of a system to help you, I''m both a part of the fate of this world.] [In addition, you came from the future, and even though only a part of me has gone back to helping you and also correcting the mistakes that were made, it still caused a small change in universe karma.] [Of course, it''s nothing serious and I was expecting this before I went back to the past with you, even though as I am a piece of fate I know what will happen in the near future thanks to this change in karma.] [At the same time after going back to the past I merged with a part of your soul, so it seems that after so many variables in your life happened and I had to warn you so many times you could have taken a small part of my abilities.] So Jake understood why the system could warn before he was injured and so could avoid before he thought the system only knew well about his body and so could warn before an injury. But now he understood that it had to do with the system''s ability to predict the future, at the same time many things went through Jake''s mind after discovering it. "So you mean you knew my house would be overrun by bad guys and my friend would get hurt and didn''t warn me?" [Yes, I did, but I can''t warn you anything that doesn''t pose any serious danger to you and your mother, as your friend Mark was just a normal gambling injury, I couldn''t warn you of something ordinary like that.] Even if he didn''t agree with the system that it was better not to warn him about breaking into his house and his friend''s injury, he understood that the system was already doing a lot for him, just that he was back in the past it is changing and much to the natural order of the world. It was because Jake was so perhaps one of the reasons he was chosen to go back to the past, after all as the system itself said fate wanted to go back in time anyway to correct some mistakes Jake didn''t know about. Even so, Jake knew he was just lucky to be the one to go back to the system if there was any other reason why not even Jake knew for sure. "So from now on, I''ll also have some premonitions or visions of the future when something serious happens?" [I really don''t know about that, even if I was hoped that going back with you could cause some small change I didn''t expect you to have premonitions about the future, I hope this "skill" of yours doesn''t get any stronger, otherwise, it can end up driving you crazy.] Jake shivered with fear when he heard the system say that, he himself knew it must be true, even though in many stories predicting the future was often shown to be a cool skill Jake didn''t think so. The human mind can''t handle that much stress and even a premonition that something was wrong ended with his friend''s injury already leaving Jake feeling guilty about it, what happened was not Jake''s fault, but knowing it made him feel that way. If he always had premonitions like that he would go crazy trying to take care of everyone not to feel guilty later and if something happened, he would feel guilty for not helping the person, Jake didn''t want such a power. At least he knew that if something serious could happen to him and his mother, the system hinted that it would warn Jake of it, just as it warns before the injuries, so Jake knew that he and his mother were protected if something could happen. "Can''t you stop me having these premonitions in the future?" [No way, only the fate of this world could be powerful enough to do that, but I know that if I and the fate of this time get too close something even worse can happen, then nothing can be done.] As nothing could be done Jake decided to rest, in the coming days Jake just focused on training, whenever he could he ran the 60 km and increased his confidence for the upcoming Olympics, so he would make sure he could run quietly 15 km less in the marathon. In the training of the basketball team coach Mike told everyone the day after the game that Mark would be out of the national championship because of the injury, everyone felt bad about it and even those who didn''t care about Mark were sad because it meant that Elite team could lose in the final. Coach Mike could do nothing about it and began training more with the makeshift team that played in the last period of the semifinal game, Jake in PG position, Nathan in SG position, Harrison in SF position, Lucas in the position of PF and Carter in Center position. Jake was concerned that if the team played like this they would lose in the final after all the team they would face in this year''s final would surely be stronger than the Fox team they faced in the semifinal. Jake knew that even if he played the game trying to do everything himself would not work out as before, after all, he could do it only if Mark was there to secure the rebounds, after all, Jake knew that rebounds were key to winning a game, more than make several points. After coming home Jake kept thinking about it, he had to think something to change in his team, otherwise they could end up losing in that final, if he thought something would be great for his team, after all, he was sure the opponents would do strategies thinking of exploiting the failures of the Elite team without Mark in the team. The defense was not that important in Mark''s absence, after all, he and the other players could cover it, the problem was the rebounds, even though Carter could catch some offensive and defensive rebounds, it wasn''t even close to what Mark did. Only who could get more rebounds on the Elite team besides Mark was Jake, but Jake couldn''t do that ¡­ Or could he? When that thought came to Jake''s mind he couldn''t stop thinking, he could actually play defense even better than Mark and catch rebounds better than Mark if he really struggled. Not to mention that thanks to his imagination training space he has played hundreds of times as Center since he learned to play with Mark, so in training he had theoretically more experience than Mark, not to mention that he was the second tallest player in staff only a few inches less than Mark. So Jake understood what he should do in the next game, he would play as PG in attack and defend as Center in defense, so he could cover the space left by Mark and catch the rebounds for the team, in attack he would also fight more for offensive rebounds. So the substitute for the team would be David instead of Harrison, after all, David was much better at offense than Harrison, so David would defend against the opposing player who was worse at offense, so Jake thought about it and found a great idea to tell the coach the other day he would make the decision. The other day Jake arrived earlier than his other teammates and called Coach Mike in for a private conversation, Coach Mike was curious about what was so important but even agreed to talk to Jake. "What happened so important to you wanting to talk to me before Jake training?" "Coach, I think I figured out a way for our team to play that would be better than what we are doing now and still catch our opponents in the surprise final as they must be preparing a strategy to take advantage of Mark''s absence from the team." Chapter 229 Last National High School Championship 7 Coach Mike was excited to hear this, he was worried that this time his team could really miss this national championship final, and without Jake next year would be even harder. But at that moment Jake came up saying that he had a solution to the team problem, Jake was certainly the player Coach Mike trusted the most, and Jake wasn''t a joker either when he knew the problems the team faced. So Mike knew that if Jake said he had a solution, it must be something Jake had thought about several times before talking to him. "If you have a solution to this situation that can help the team you can tell me." "I was thinking about the next game taking on Mark''s role in defense, in the offense I would still play as usual, but in defense, I would play as Center and defend in addition to fighting for rebounds." "Do you think you can do that, Jake?" Even though Coach Mike was still surprised, he still knew Jake should have some confidence to say that, and Mike had seen Jake training with Mark several times, Jake was as tall and as good at defense as Mark. For rebounds Coach Mike always knew that Jake was better than Mark in catching rebounds, even in the last game Jake caught several just in the second half of the game, so he just had to ask if Jake was confident of that. "I have confidence coach, in fact, the most important will be the rebounds, even if the opposing Center scores several points will not interfere with the outcome of the game, but the rebounds have decided victory and defeat in a difficult game." "That''s true, so we''ll have to think we can put David in the starting lineup and David will defend against who is worse off the other team''s attack. Coach Mike thought of the same thing as Jake, he was also more concerned about the rebound, it was impossible that all 5 of the opposing team would be good in attack, and even if any of them had to be the worst. Also, even if Jake said it didn''t matter if the opposing Center scored multiple points, Mike knew that Jake was even better than Mark in defense and something like that wouldn''t happen. When Coach Mike told the team how they would play the players were very surprised by this, even though they also trusted Jake who was the team captain they knew how different it was to play in PG position and Center position. But no one said anything against it after a few practice drills everyone was calmer when they saw that Jake was doing the defensive part at least in training. So everyone could relax more with that, Coach Mike was glad that next year a skilled Center would come from Middle School, otherwise, it would be hard to think about playing well with the reserves he had in the team now. Now that he had decided to play Center in defense of his team in the final game in almost two weeks, Jake would now play Center position in all the training he had at that time in his imagination training space. Usually Jake puts his opponents in the same skill rank as him to train better, since at the moment there was no one in high school who was of the same level as him in skill, so his current training could already be considered difficult as his opponents of the same Skills rank are at college level basketball. But now he has increased the skills of the opposing team''s Center one rank higher than his own and has also left opponents a few inches higher, so Jake was sure that his opponent in the imagination training space would be much harder than his real opponent in the final. After a few more days Jake was called by Emily, so Jake had no choice but to shorten his training routine on the day to talk to Emily, after all, he had warned her to talk to him only when needed. "What happened Emily?" "The place where it will be the company office was ready, I wanted to let you know if you want to see it." Jake had even forgotten about this office, he had Emily buy one of the places he had set aside for his mother''s restaurant to be the company''s new office, after all now JK Investing was working with hundreds of millions in investments. So even to preserve the reputation of the people who invested in your business you had to have a new office before only Jake''s money was invested so it wasn''t necessary, but now they worked with other clients and had employees. Even Emily who would always receive 1 percent of the company''s profits would not accept that the company would only work with Jake''s money, even if it was too much in the future. So Jake was curious to know what the office Emily had decorated was like and went to see, the office was big as it should be after all was to be built a restaurant so there was no way to be small. It was quite different from the office Jake had worked in much of his past life, it seemed to be more elegant, in place it had only three offices, one from Jake the largest, another from Emily and the third Jake didn''t know who it was for. Soon the other employees would also come to work here, they were all getting good salaries and were happy with the company, and Emily and of course a long time ago had received a raise, only Jake wasn''t getting a salary yet despite being the owner. Emily suggested that Jake receive a salary to encourage other employees, but Jake declined as he knew it could be considered fraud, especially now that the company has other people investing. "Whose other office is Emily?" "This is the company''s accountant office." "Did you hire an accountant? But we work with the accounting firm, don''t we?" "Yes, but I think as we are working with a lot of money it is better to have an accountant in the company before passing the data to the accounting firm, so we avoid the risk of being misled." Jake then understood why she had hired an accountant for the company, Jake knew this was not necessary because he knew that the accounting firm was reliable using his second job skill, but he didn''t want to upset Emily because it was he who had said that Emily would be responsible for everything in the company. Besides, he could understand why she was worried about that, so many companies that worked with Jake''s accounting firm also did something similar, so they had more confidence after the accounts were double-checked. "I really enjoyed how you decorated the office, I leave it all in your hands now, any problems you can call me." "Never mind, we''re always watching the stock markets and I''ll let you know if there''s any change." Jake trusted Emily a lot after working with her for a few years, and in the future, Jake would know that he would have a lot of money to take care of and might be a partner with several companies like him from Amazon. So it was essential to have someone reliable and talented like Emily to take care of business for him, after all, Jake was above all a basketball player and an athlete, so he would not have time to take care of all the business he would have. In several of these partnerships Jake might have to interfere if he saw that something could go wrong, he told Jeff Bezos that it would not interfere with the management of the company, this was because he knew how Amazon would develop in the future, but if he saw that the company If he was going astray he was sure to get involved and could even sell all the stock he had to avoid future losses. He was thinking that he could find more talented people to work with him in the future, even if he knew he couldn''t convince famous geniuses to work for him, it wouldn''t be difficult with his charisma and financial capital to convince some talented people to work for him. After saying goodbye to Emily, Jake had to go back to training, even if the Elite team was stronger this year, the opponents were tougher as well, with Mark out of the team in the final Jake was not so confident about winning. Even so, Jake was someone who was challenged, even though the situation seemed much more difficult than in other years he would try his best to break his limits and bring the team victory in this final match and also in this year''s national championship. On one day he had to run out of body rest training after several days of total training, Jake went to his mother''s restaurant after lunchtime, as he was busy and his mother was coming home every day more early Jake wasn''t going to the restaurant lately. So he decided to go on a day off to talk to Anna and Lola at the restaurant too after he was thinking of stopping by Mark''s house to see how he was after leaving the hospital, Jake knew that Mark must be bad for not being able to more play with your teammates and help the team win the national championship this year. Jake arrived at the restaurant shortly after lunch just as employees took time to rest before dinner after all the restaurant didn''t serve breakfast either, so they had time to rest after lunch and before dinner Lola was the first one who met Jake and went to talk to him happily. "Hi Jake, how are you?" "I''m fine Lola, how about you?" "I''m fine too, I didn''t think you''d come to the restaurant right now when you''re so busy thinking about the final game." "I decided to take a day off, overtraining can end up causing me an injury, I don''t want to hurt myself before the final game." "I hope you can win this final and be champion again, I''m trying to ask for a break to go to the final game, but your mom has decided to watch this game so I don''t know if I can make it." "I hope to see you there too Lola, but if you can''t go, just knowing that you''re rooting for me makes me happy." Lola was embarrassed to hear what Jake said, over time she was liking Jake more and more and with Eva and Anna''s support she was gaining the courage to approach him even if she worked for Jake''s mother. Chapter 230 Last National High School Championship 8 After hearing Jake and Lola talking Eva and Anna came out of the kitchen to call Jake to talk, they found it odd that Jake was calm while Lola looked embarrassed, but they knew Lola liked Jake and just called Jake not to embarrass Lola anymore. "Son, you didn''t tell me yesterday that you would come here today." "I decided today to get some rest from training today and I came to see Anna and everyone at the restaurant." "Glad you learned how to rest, I remember a few years ago when I found that you, besides training so much at school, still wore those weight machines at home, I got so pissed." "If I found out that you hurt yourself from training so much I would forbid you to do that again, but it looks like you have a strong body and luckily it never hurt." Hearing this Jake sweated cold with fear, he knew it was a good idea to hide from his mother who had been injured after the marathon, luckily she had not seen on television, otherwise Jake would have problems. Jake remembered how mad Eva got when she found out he was doing bodybuilding even though he was so young, but he managed to convince her that it wasn''t dangerous for him, Jake thought it over and knew that he relied heavily on the system risking getting hurt when it was new doing this. Fortunately now he realized that it was good to give his body a rest, but he did not regret having trained so much when younger, only because of that he saved many years and now could be stronger than others his age. "So you''re really going to watch the final game, aren''t you, Mom." "Of course I will, I promised I would, after all, I will also take Lola with me, after all, she supported you in several games this year, it''s only fair that she can see the final too." "I agree with that, she''s been working very well lately, besides, Julius sees working a lot in the last few months at the restaurant and can almost never take time off, he would be happy if his daughter could at least come out in his place." "In the next menus we have to get some dinner prescriptions that depend on Julius, so he will be able to rest more, Jake, enjoy that you came here today to the restaurant and try some of our new dishes." "I came here for that mom." "I''m sorry I can''t go to your game this time too Jake, I have to work here and it''s better if your mom goes, instead of me we can''t close the restaurant." "I know Anna, thanks for everything you''ve been doing for my mom in the restaurant if it worked out it was mostly because of you." "No need to say that Jake, I really enjoy working here too and I''m very happy to go back to a kitchen again in a restaurant after so many years, and as you said when you invited me to work here, I consider you and Eva part of my family." After that, Jake ate several dishes from the new menu and gave his professional opinion and as a customer, Anna knew that Jake knew a lot about cooking too and accepted Jake''s advice to change some details on the menu. After all, even though Anna was an experienced professional and had experience running a restaurant by herself for many years, the restaurant she ran had a very different menu from Eva''s current restaurant menu that had dishes from various countries, yet she wasn''t completely confident in making a perfect menu. After spending time at the restaurant Jake went to Mark''s house, Mark lived in a simple Miami home because he was actually from another city in another state and came here only to enter Elite school because of his sports bag that He managed to play basketball. This house wasn''t even theirs at first, it was a rented house that was bought just a few years ago by Mark''s family when Mark''s father got a job in Miami, Mark was an only child and his father didn''t hesitate to sell the house in the other city ??and the whole family moving to Miami for the sake of Mark''s future. That''s why Mark''s mother didn''t like basketball, she thought it wasted her son''s time she could enjoy studying for a better future, Mark''s father didn''t think so and he knew basketball was what gave him the chance Mark a scholarship at a good school and now a scholarship at a good university. Luckily when Jake came to visit Mark, Mark''s mother had left, after all even though Jake knew she had reason to dislike basketball didn''t mean he accepted being despised because of it. "Hi Jake, thanks for coming to see me at home today, I know you must be very busy training for the final." "You''re my friend, of course, I would come, the most important thing now is for you to improve so you can play at university after a few months." "I feel bad for hurting myself in the middle of a big game, if you lost, I''d feel guilty forever." "Don''t say that it wasn''t your fault getting injured in the game, something that happens even to the pros, we wouldn''t blame you if we ended up losing the game." "Even if you say that I know it was my fault, I was very excited about the game and in every move I just thought of doing dunks or other risky moves, so I got hurt by trying a lot of reckless moves, I thought you guys they were mad at me and so they didn''t come to visit me after I got hurt. " "We went to the hospital as soon as the game was over, but as we didn''t want to bother you I just told your mom we sent you some improvements and we left." Jake realized that it had been all Mark''s mother''s frame, she didn''t say that Jake and the others on the team came to visit because she should want Mark to give up basketball, but even knowing that he didn''t get angry and just calmly explained what happened. Of course, Mark was not naive and realized what Jake was implying and realized that his mother had lied to him, after all, he knew his own mother well and knew she would be able to do that. Normally he would have suspected she was lying when he said no one had come to visit him, but after getting hurt he was weak and was also feeling guilty about the team, so he eventually believed in his mother. Jake and the others didn''t come to visit Mark again because they knew the injury was not serious and that if Mark wanted he could just go to school and talk to them, Jake decided to come thinking that maybe something serious had happened, luckily he came without Mark''s mother was at home, so the misunderstanding was dispelled. So Jake decided that he would talk to Mark for a while and then leave before Mark''s mother arrived to avoid an unpleasant situation, the two decided to avoid talking about the misunderstanding and continued talking. "How is the team doing without me? Do you think we can win in the final?" "Without you, on the team, we have no confidence to win, it will be a tough game and we will have to try different things to try to surprise the opponent and try to capitalize on the team''s strengths in the final game." Mark did not feel good to know that without him the team was bad, he would rather just be a reserve and win than the main star in an injured situation, luckily Jake was still on the team, Mark was the one who trusted Jake the most and I knew that after entering high school Jake never played as much as he could. "How is it going to be? Will Carter play in my makeshift position in the final?" "No, we have decided to surprise our opponents in this game and we will have no one in Center''s position in the attack, and David will take his place in the final." Mark was surprised by that, Coach Mike was really bold deciding to play without someone in Center''s position in the final, of course, Mark knew the team well and knew that Coach Mike had no one to play for Center in that game, not even Carter could do well and would only play worse in that position. "But how are you going to do in defense? Without a Center on our team to defend the opposing Center will play quietly, I don''t think David can help that much, everyone in the final is great players." "I will play in Center''s position in defense, David will defend against the worst opponent if we play well the opponent could have to make changes to not lose the game." Mark was very surprised to learn that Jake would play in his defensive position, but after some thought he saw that it was really the best, Mark knew that what the Elite team thought was important was not necessary to defend against the opposing Center but to catch the rebounds. Mark knew better than anyone that Jake was much better than him in catching rebounds, he was now eager to watch this game of the final to know what kind of game Jake would do, something would tell him that this game would be so amazing that he He would be lucky to get hurt so he could see that. Thinking back he could never guess that one day Jake could end up playing even in his position even if it was just the defense, Mark remembered that Jake asked to learn how to play in Center position, after some time Mark realized that Jake could be better than him in that position and stopped teaching Jake. Mark was impressed with Jake''s prediction, had it not been for him to learn how to play Center at that time this final game could have been much less likely to be won, of course, Mark couldn''t imagine that Jake had learned everything from him and played hundreds of times in this position in your imagination training space. After talking to Mark a little more, Jake left before Mark''s mother came home, so he was glad he had avoided an unpleasant situation, it was funny that Mark''s mother who was his best friend on the basketball team was the only one who didn''t like Jake. All the other moms and dads of his teammates liked Jake a lot and admired him a lot, especially after Jake taught his kids a lot at school and raised everyone on the team. Chapter 231 Last National High School Championship 9 After a day of rest Jake returned to full strength training, the days went by and everyone on the team was much more confident of the possibility of victory with Jake playing better and better in training in the Center position. Nathan clearly had completely recovered and was even better than before the last game, he was young but always had a stronger mindset than another of the same age is natural that he did not feel guilty for an accident that no one expected. In addition, he wanted to pay off the confidence that Coach Mike and his teammates put in himself by having played badly in the latter part of the last game, he would show that he was trustworthy and would help the team win at this difficult time with injured Mark. Lucas and David were also training full force for the final game, David wanted to do his best in his last high school game and be champion once again, and Lucas wanted to experience the feeling of being a national champion for the first time in high school He knew it would be much harder next year without Jake on the team. Carter seemed the least affected by all this, he didn''t have much hope of continuing to play at university with his limited talent, so he would try his best as he always did in the final game. Harrison was also training hard hoping to have a chance to play in the last game of the national championship, he knew this was no time to play position after what happened to Mark, but he thought he had more chance to play in the final instead of playing David or Lucas. Tiffany and Clara said they would go to Jake''s high school final game, Alan and John would also go, Matthew, Oliver, and Joseph would also go to the game, Eric also wanted to see Jake''s last high school game. Mark would see if his team would be champions again, after all, he would also win a medal if that happened and Eva and Lola would go too, everyone Jake knew would go to this game if they were available. So a few more days passed and it was already the night before the game, Jake had dinner with his mother and now was lying thinking a little before bed, even he was anxious before such an important game. Jake found himself thinking about everything that happened in his school time that was ending now, he went back to the past at the age of 10 so it''s been almost 7 years since he came back. Many would think it would be better to go back in time at an older age and not have to go through childhood again, but Jake didn''t think so, after all, he did so many things this year that could only be resolved with a long time. If he had gone back to the past he would have missed the opportunity to have friends and help Matthew''s company and more importantly he would have let his mother suffer working at that restaurant longer, now she had a restaurant of her own and was much happier. Not to mention that Jake would have lost his precious training time to play better basketball and even have a chance to excel in other sports, and he would have missed out on a lot of money-makings and getting rich in the future. Thinking about it all Jake was just grateful to the system for giving him a great chance to improve his life all this time, in those early years he was putting his life on the right track and preparing for the future, now he could really start living fully. Jake also thought about the time he spent devoting himself to basketball and how he changed the way he saw the sport several times over the years, at first he thought he didn''t need a team to get good at basketball and go to the NBA that was always his own Goal and dream. Then he joined a weak basketball team just to train some system skills that needed him to play with other people, then he realized that his ability alone could not lead to the team victory and decided to join a better team. So he learned the joy of winning and struggling with his teammates, then he learned the importance of tactics and teamwork in basketball to win, for a while he stayed out of basketball because the coach didn''t like him. Now he was trying the second trophy of the national championship after returning to the team, he could not help thinking that he was very excited for a life of only 7 years, for all that he went through he had to give the best in the next game and win. After thinking and reinforcing the determination to win Jake was finally getting tired and close to falling asleep when the system decided to talk to him at that time. [Jake, I have a council to give you at tomorrow''s game.] "Advice? Which is?" [I don''t know if just talking like that will help you understand what I''m trying to say, but tomorrow I feel that if you don''t play the best you have you can lose, and this defeat could become a regret in your future as a player.] Jake didn''t know what kind of advice the system had for him, but he knew well that the system could predict the future related to him, just as if the system said that if Jake didn''t change the team would surely lose. [You are certainly able to play in the same position as Mark in this game, and I have to say that you can be even better than your teammate, the system you have makes everything you think possible come true with much effort.] [And yourself with your talent and having the system trained harder and harder than anyone in those years, so it''s impossible that you''re not as good as you are now in every position.] [What''s happening is that you''re holding on so much these past few years, you never play your best so as not to outshine your teammates, even when you scored over 100 points you haven''t tried your best.] [But in tomorrow''s game you have to give it your all, don''t care about anyone and just play your best, your team is not complete and they will feel insecure without Mark on the team, so you have to play well enough for your teammates are up to you.] [The opponents of tomorrow''s game are strong if you don''t do what I''m telling you you will lose, just do your best and try everything you can to score and defend successfully, don''t forget that you is able to beat opponents better than you in the space of imagination training.] Jake understood everything the system said, but since the system had said not even he knew what the problem was, it was the same when he had the psychological problem, he understood that he had set a limit on himself, but didn''t know how to get that limit. But he would really try everything tomorrow if he couldn''t, he wouldn''t regret it at least after that Jake ended up sleeping after relaxing. So the day of the final game of the national championship had finally arrived, it had been a long and stressful week for all Elite players, even if they trusted Jake they could not help worrying about the next game. Especially the younger ones who had never personally seen Jake playing at their best, they didn''t know that if Jake struggled he could lead the team to victory in almost every situation, for them it was a difficult situation. The opposing team was just the opposite, they were more confident than ever that they could win this game, even before they were not afraid of the Elite team, now they spent the whole week thinking of moves to win more easily. The difference between the moods of the two teams was completely opposite, coach Mike was concerned that with low morale they would lose this game of the final which would be terrible for him. Jake woke up very early and went down to eat breakfast that was prepared by his mother, as it was a late Eva had done a basketball and she and Jake ate a lot and have not even finished a portion of the prepared food. "I think you made a mistake, Mom, we''re home and not in the restaurant for you to make breakfast so much Hahaha." "You always say I prepare a lot more after the game you end up eating everything, we''ll eat later, don''t worry." "Not really this time around, I don''t think if I call the whole basketball team here they can eat it all today." "That''s a good idea when you win the game you can come here and eat it all to celebrate another title." "We''ll have to win first to think about coming here to celebrate." "Aren''t you confident, son?" "Until yesterday I was, but my friend of mine said I had a bad premonition about this game, so I was worried." "These premonition things don''t exist, trust yourself that you''ll win." Jake just smiled and said nothing about it, if it wasn''t for the system who had said it he wouldn''t have believed it either, but after this amazing thing happened to him and back in the past Jake didn''t doubt anything else existed. So Jake packed things up and then went to the game site with Eva, he was much more confident of winning with his mom watching the game again, plus he knew there would be several people in the stands who came to cheer for him. This time Jake arrived early and was one of the first to arrive, he did the warm-up exercises and watched his teammates and the opponents that would play in this game, it was the first time he saw a situation where his team was the discouraged and opponents who were confident of victory. Mark who was in the stands also saw this and was very worried about it, only Jake seemed calmer, but Mark who knew him well realized that Jake was much more serious than usual and seemed nervous too if even Jake who was always confident I was nervous the game would be really hard. After all Elite team players arrived and warmed up Jake decided to act as captain and talk to his teammates before the game. Chapter 232 Last National High School Championship 10 "I know you are all nervous about this national championship final game, especially since our colleague Mark won''t be playing with us today, I have to confess myself that I''m nervous today." "For some of you this is the last game in high school and the chance to win the second national championship, and for others, it''s just the beginning and the first chance to win the national championship." "We have to do our best in today''s game, Mark himself still hurt came to see us win this game for him, and he will also receive this medal after we win you don''t want your friend to feel guilty for getting hurt because we lose today isn''t it? " "I am going to play in a different position today, you all just have to do what you always did in previous games, but try your best today so there will be no regret later." "I am the captain of this team and I ask you all to calm down and play as best you can because even in a different position I will take responsibility and lead the team for this victory, trust me in this game and we will win. " Jake made no very exciting speech and just was sincere and said what he wanted from everyone, it was true that he would be doing the hardest in today''s game so no one had any excuse to play badly. Everyone felt calmer after hearing Jake''s confidence and seriousness and also the pressure of responsibility, they just had to do the best they could do, Jake would do the hardest. The Elite team for this game today was Jake in PG position, David in SG position, Nathan in SG position, Lucas in SF position and Carter in PF position in a false position David would play as Team Center but he would really play as SG as he always did. In defense, Jake would be what he would play as Center and he would take care along with Carter to catch the rebounds in attack and defense, Coach Mike gave an order that no one should fire many shots outside Jake who was free to try as much as he wanted had a high percentage of hits. Everyone gets ready for the start of the game and Jake was feeling even more pressure when he remembered what the system said the day before, Jake could play even better than he usually did and guarantee the team victory, he just had to find out how to do this. The opposing team in this game of the national championship final was the Dogs team, just as the system warned the day before that this year''s players were the strongest and most talented of the Dogs team in decades, even though they have won the national championship a few times in that year time. There were no major players in the team, but that was because they were all very high level and could not stand out from their teammates, the weaker player in the attack was the opposing PG, but in compensation this PG was what always organized the team''s moves with quality and was the best team in defense. Thus the Dogs team relied on the team''s PG to stop Jake''s attack in the game, as this PG was the weakest in the attack would be he who David would score when the Elite team was in defense. The opposing team''s coach was trying to guess how the Elite team would play in this game in order to give their players more instructions, but from what he could see it was Carter even playing as an improvised Center, he didn''t even think the Elite team would play without any Center and Jake who would make that position in defense. The Dogs'' PG was named Juan and was weak on offense but more in defense and organization of play, the team''s SG was Ivan and he was good at three-point shots. The Dogs'' SF was named Ashton and he was good at defending and also trying to play in the attacking area and drive to the basket, the opposing team''s PF was also medium in attack and a little better than Juan. The Dogs team center was called Rowan and he was the best player in the defense team and was also good at offense, much of the Dogs team''s attacking moves were concentrated on Rowan, Rowan was also good at rebounds not at Mark level, but it also helped the Dogs team a lot. After a few more minutes the game of the national championship final finally began, the high ball this time was played by Carter and Rowan of the Dogs team got the first possession of his team. Rowan passed the ball for Juan to start organizing the Dogs team''s first attack in the game, Juan advanced slowly for the attack while the Elite team positioned themselves in defense, after a few seconds everyone realized that Jake was inside the defense against rowan. This positioning of Jake took everyone by surprise, only Mark who was in the stands knew it would be so in the game, Juan was also surprised by this and realized that it was David who was defending against him. Juan didn''t think that was an offense and understood very well that as he didn''t score many points it was normal that he was not well marked in defense, he also dared not underestimate Jake who was defending against Rowan, after all, Jake was the MVP last year and everyone, They knew he was excellent at defending and brilliant at attack. Before reaching the three-point line Juan passed the ball to SF Ashton on the right, Ashton received the ball and held while Lucas appeared to defend, so after attempting a feint Ashton passed the ball to his team''s PF on the left. The Dogs team PF did not hold the ball and went to Ivan behind, Ivan took the ball and took advantage of having more space and tried a mid-range shot to make the first 2 points for the Dogs team. From this play Jake can see that the Dogs team was really strong and well organized, it seems that the Elite team defense will make little difference in this game, after all, they worked the ball well before trying to score, so without many individual plays, Elite team defense could not do much. Jake received the ball and slowly advanced to organize the Elite team''s first attack in the game, so everyone realized that Jake would still play as PG in the attack as usual, so everyone could see how the Elite team positioned themselves in the attack. Nathan was wide open on the right and Carter was also more open on the right near the bottom of the court, David was open on the left and Lucas was also on the left closer to the bottom of the block. Elite team players formed a square with attack position, Jake was the only one who would move as he wanted without the ball and when players received the ball the team positioning varied with the player''s decision to attack with the ball. The Dogs team''s PF and Rowan were excellent in defense, but they were more prominent in defending the internal area, so the Elite team''s attack formation without any Center would make these two defenders uncomfortable while defending. After going through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to David on the left, David was excited to have the opportunity to start as a starter in the final game, yet he knew he needed to stay calm to do his best and help the team. David advanced and before the three-point line passed Lucas the ball to the left, Lucas received the ball and held for a while and when Ashton reached the defense Lucas passed the ball to Jake behind. Jake received the ball off the three-point line and attempted a shot from outside to make the first 3 points for the Elite team, even if Mark was not on the team to catch the rebounds Jake would not hesitate to attempt three-point attacks to ensure the victory. Juan took the ball and advanced, after passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to Ivan on the left, Ivan advanced and Nathan came to the defense before Ivan crossed the three-point line. Ivan was known for good three-point play, so Coach Mike arranged for Nathan to always press on the defense before Ivan even entered the three-point line, especially today that Mark was not in defense to catch the rebounds. Seeing that Ivan passed the ball to his team''s forward PF, Carter came to the defense by pressing and the PF returned the ball to Juan again, Juan was freer to work the ball with only David on defense after hold on a little he passed it to Rowan inside. Rowan received the ball and was alert with the balls in his hands worried about Jake in defense, Rowan tried to use force with his heavier body to push Jake before trying the play, but Jake was much stronger than Rowan expected and was Rowan that was pushed out. So Rowan, who saw he was running out of possession, used the ability to spin and attempted a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Dogs team. Jake received the ball again and advanced to the attack slowly, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Nathan on the right, Nathan advanced to before the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter ahead. Carter managed to fake a shot and fooled his opponent and tried a mid-range shot to get 2 more points for the Elite team, the Dogs team manager did not like what he was seeing, the Elite team seemed to play as usual without Mark on the team. Worse, Rowan was now almost useless in defense, he had only Lucas to defend against, but Lucas after entering high school also changed his style of play and now only tried mid-range shots. So no one else on the Elite team thought of trying to play inside, so the Dogs team was having trouble defending. Chapter 233 Last National High School Championship 11 After a few more moves the game seemed to be very much the same between the two teams, it seemed that the Dogs team had more skilled players, but their defense was becoming useless in this game. On the other side without Mark playing the Elite team was with less skilled players, but Jake compensated for the team''s skill level, even though he was able to put more pressure than the opponent Dogs Jake was analyzing the game the same way everyone in the first half of the first period, everyone thought that Jake could do nothing in defense in this game, but Jake was actually analyzing in every move the Dogs team''s playing style. He had to understand how he could help more in defense playing as Center, in PG position he knew the right times to get out of position and intercept passes and steel balls, but in Center position, he knew that if he missed the time to leave would leave Rowan alone to make the points. The others were doing a great job, with this constant pressure on defense the opposing attackers will feel the pressure over the course of the game and ended up losing some attacks. Juan advanced with the ball again until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Ivan, Nathan in defense was Ivan who had more difficulties in the first period, he had no room to try the three-point shots. Ivan advanced from the left and passed the ball to Ashton which was open on the right, Ashton held the ball for a while and passed to Rowan inside, as the game passed Rowan learned that playing against Jake he could only use his skills and not strength or speed. So he was able to spin again and tried the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Dogs team, which Rowan didn''t know was that he was doing exactly what Jake wanted and Jake was taking advantage of this time to fully analyze the style Rowan''s game. Jake received the ball and began to organize another attack for the Elite team, after passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Nathan on the right, Nathan received the ball and advanced until after the three-point line and passed the ball to David farther back on the left. David received the ball and held for a while until Ashton reached the defense, David tried a feint and then failed to pass the ball to Nathan on the right, Nathan had space and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the team. Juan received the ball and advanced again to attack, before reaching the three-point line. Juan passed the ball to Ivan, Ivan used his speed and advanced to the back of the court on the left. Ivan tried to pass the ball to his team''s PF, but Jake stepped forward and made the steal, all of the Dogs team were impressed with it, even Ivan who tried the pass was impressed. That''s because before he made the pass he saw that Jake was close to Rowan in defense, a moment later Jake advanced a few meters to intercept his fast pass, everyone knew that Jake was skilled at steals, but his speed of reaction surprised everyone. After a few more plays the first period of the game came to an end, the Dogs team were ahead by 4 points, Jake was doing well and had scored 9 points in a tough game like this, plus Jake had 4 assists and 2 steals in the game, plus 3 rebounds that he got in both offense and defense. Even though the Elite team played well in the attack they still missed a few mid-range attempts and even though Jake rebounded the attack missed more, yet they were losing just because the Dogs team got lucky and missed less. At the beginning of the second period, Jake had the ball advanced until after mid-court and passed the ball to David on the left, David advanced and passed the ball to Lucas on the left front. Lucas was out of space and tried a mid-range shot to get 2 more points for the Elite team, even though Lucas, Nathan, and David wanted to show off their skills they still followed the team''s style of play and passed the ball until someone was free to try the mid-range shot. Juan advanced with the ball to the offense, after passing through the middle of the court Juan gave Ashton the right pass, Ashton advanced to before the three-point line and passed the ball to his team''s PF. The PF held the ball for a while and when Carter began to press in the defense he passed the ball to Ivan who was behind, Ivan was on the three-point line and with space and so tried an outside shot to get 3 more points to the Dogs team. Both teams were still very evenly matched at the beginning of the second period, but as in all games after studying the Dogs'' first-half moves now the Elite team would increase the defensive pressure against the opposing team to try to force the opponent to mistake or steal the ball. Jake advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Nathan on the right, Nathan advanced until after the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter ahead, Carter made the feint and as the opponent was still firm in defense passed the ball to Jake further back. Jake made a feint and then a crossover and took Juan out of play and then attempted a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Elite team, Jake also thought of becoming more active in this second period. Jake was playing well but couldn''t figure out why the system gave him that warning, after all, he wasn''t doing his best in attack yet and the Elite team was just behind the scorecards. Juan advanced for the attack and after passing through the middle of the court passed the ball to Ivan who was on the left, Ivan advanced until before the three-point line and when Nathan reached the defense he passed the ball to Ashton on the right. Ashton received the ball and felt the pressure of Lucas''s defense increased a lot in this second period, so Ashton passed the ball to the Dogs team PF, the PF turned away from Carter and tried the mid-range shot and missed, Jake went up to catch the rebound in defense. At the end of the second period the Dogs team still led the scoreline with 1 point in front, the Elite team tightened the pressure on the defense and forced the Dogs team to make some mistakes. But the Elite team also missed the attack a couple of times and failed to pass the lead, Jake was trying more and more play, but he was holding on to the three-point shots because he had no one to catch the rebound. Jake scored 11 points in this second period and now had 20 points throughout the game, he also had 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals, you could tell that the Elite team was still in the game just because Jake was playing very well. In the third period, Jake finally understood what the system meant they would lose if Jake didn''t excel and try his best in the game, the Dogs team''s true risky strategy began to be shown in the third period. In fact, not even the opposing team''s coach expected their team to be in front of the scorecards when they started, but that was even better for their team. The strategy they had for this game was simple, taking advantage of the Elite team lacking a quality center and betting more on indoor play, in the first two periods I could see that Jake had a hard time stopping Rowan''s attacks It was the player who had scored the most points for the Dogs team in the game after Ivan with the three-point play. It was actually that Jake was analyzing Rowan''s style of play and would begin to defend correctly from now on and thus nullify part of the opponent''s attack, but he did not expect the whole team to underestimate him. Jake knew he would have to do his best to keep his team from losing the game at the beginning of the third period almost every time the Dogs team decided to attack from the inside area. So the opposing coach was sure that his strategy was right for this game and his team had the possibility of being champion, on the side of the Elite team coach Mike did not expect this concentrated domestic game and could not blame Jake, maybe neither Mark could do something. Juan advanced to organize another attack, after passing the middle of the court Juan passed the ball to Ashton on the right, Ashton was skilled and after making a feint and a dribble managed to pass by Lucas and invaded the inside area to layup while disregarded Jake. The Elite defense began to fail after seeing their opponents skill and the gap in score increased, they knew that without Mark this game would be difficult and now the team''s morale was low, fortunately, they could still play correctly in attack and The advantage on the scoreboard was just 4 points. Jake advanced to attack with the ball, before the middle of the court he passed the ball to Nathan on the right, Nathan advanced and before reaching the three-point line passed the ball to Lucas, Lucas tried the shot on Ashton, but failed. So Lucas passed the ball back to Jake, Jake received the ball and attempted a shot from outside to make 3 points for the Elite team, yet it didn''t make the Elite team players more excited. Jake didn''t know what to do, but he knew he had to try something that would motivate his teammates because alone he couldn''t win the game, even though he didn''t know how to unleash his potential as the system said. So Jake remembered the system talking about how he played against opponents in the space of imagination training, the opponents were there at the college level and yet Jake could win. Chapter 234 Last National High School Championship 12 After playing basketball for many years at High School Jake came to understand that the players in his imagination training space even with better statistics played worse than the real players. The reason for that was simple, it was because the players in the imagination training space just having too many plays were all programmed like a computer, which meant they didn''t have the ability to improvise as humans did. So Jake thought that the high school students on the strongest teams played better than the players in his imagination, even if those players had college skill ranks. But since the system that knew everything had suggested it Jake decided to play as he practiced in his imagination training space, after all, he had few choices in a game like this, even if he hits all attacks and scores several points if opponents do The same is no good. Juan received the ball and began to arrange another play, after passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Ivan who was on the left, Ivan advanced before the three-point line and passed the ball to his team PF. The PF held the ball a little and passed it to Rowan who was inside, Rowan was no longer afraid of Jake''s defense, even though knowing the opposing PG was excellent in defense Center''s position was not easy for anyone to play. Rowan spun again using his ability and tried to finish the play with a layup, this time Jake stood still and with his incredible speed of reaction climbed along with Rowan to make the block and end the play of the opposing team. Rowan was shocked that Jake got a block on him, because Rowan was six inches taller than Jake, even if he was unaware it wouldn''t be that easy for Jake to do that. The crowd applauded this move and cheered for the Elite team again, this was a much more boring game than usual for the fans, they expected to see a show from both teams, but there were not many dunks or beautiful moves being made. All of Jake''s friends who came to watch this game were excited too, and they waited again for Jake''s victory in the game, Tiffany and Clara as Eva and Lola were the tensest about this game. After all, they were the ones who most understood how important this game was to Jake and also understood basketball enough to realize that even Jake playing this game very well was hard for the Jake team to beat. Eva was mostly being the most emotional in the crowd, she could still remember how Jake told her that he thought this game would be too hard to win, Eva wanted to see her son happy and came to see the game for Jake to win again. Mark was another cheerleader who was deeply emotionally involved in this game, he was just like the players almost giving up waiting for an Elite team win in a game played like this if the third period ended with more than 6 points lead for the team From Dogs the game would be over. Even though it was not his fault that he was injured, Mark suffered when he saw that the strategy that was killing his team was to attack in the area he was usually responsible for defending. Eric was also apprehensive, even though as a journalist he should remain neutral in a game like this and not cheer for anyone, Eric has been following Jake for many years now and they are friends. So it was impossible for him to remain without bothering to see his friend''s team losing, but unlike the others in the crowd, he hoped Jake could do something amazing and change the outcome of the game, and it looked like it could start happening now. After Jake''s block, the Elite team again felt like winning the game, realizing that the Dogs team decided to strike the same way again to show that what Jake did was a lucky move. So after Juan commanded another attack the ball passed Ashton until it reached Rowan''s hands again, in a similar move Rowan tried to layup again, but this time he was alert to Jake''s attempt to intercept the move. Jake again reacted quickly and climbed along, Jake was playing just as he did in his system space drills and as a move, he made hundreds of times he was quick and decisive in moving his hands and making the block again. When Rowan can react Jake had already taken the ball if his hands with a touch, so the same block play was repeated again for the cheer of the fans and to raise the cheer of the players of the Elite team. At the end of the third period, the Dogs team was ahead by just 1 point again, it was amazing to think that the difference in the scoreboard reached 8 points in this game period, Jake made all the difference by making 15 points. In addition, Jake made 4 blocks in this period of play, so in total Jake had 35 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 9 steals, and 4 blocks, he already had a triple-double and was going to further improve his statistics in the game. The Dogs team coach could not believe what was happening, a game that was practically won changed completely because of only one player, even worse was that Jake was a PG and was playing better than his team''s Center in position from Center. In the fourth period the Elite team returned to play well and missed much less in the attack, it seemed that they had confidence in Jake who was the captain and could play with less pressure and miss fewer attacks. The Dogs team was in a dilemma, with Jake''s incredible plays in defense. The defense of the entire Elite team improved a lot, so they were even less likely to attack with mid-range shots and outside shots. Even though knowing that Jake would get several blocks the Dogs team had no choice but to attack inside, of course, it was impossible for Jake to block every move, if he tried always would end up making many fouls and being sent off. After a fourth period played again the Elite team finally managed to win the game by 4 points, with a minute left before the end of the game. Jake made a steal and got a three-point shot, so the Elite team eventually won. First, they complimented the opponents for playing very well, if it wasn''t for Jake on the Elite team the outcome of the game would be another for sure, then they finally celebrated, Jake and Carter went to the stands and brought Mark to celebrate the title too and catch the medal. Jake went to the stands again and gave his mother a hug near Lola, then Jake stayed close to Eva until they called him to the court again, Lola got a little jealous of Eva and also wanted a hug, but Jake just He smiled at her before returning to the court. After all Jake already knew that Lola liked him and did not want to act with her doing things that could generate misunderstandings and give false hopes to Lola, even though after a few years Jake intended to date her if Lola still wanted nothing was definitive. Jake returned to the court and celebrated with his teammates again, as the awards went on, some players like Mark, Harrison and David were crying to hear it was their last game together. Carter didn''t cry and Jake just smiled, he had been through a lot to cry for something like that, he understood the emotion well, but everyone would still play at university so it wasn''t like they were saying goodbye to basketball. And they could meet again in the future, with the emerging internet Jake knew well that people just wouldn''t talk if they didn''t want the distance would no longer be a problem, Jake received the national champion trophy again and celebrated again with his colleague''s Team. After Jake received the MVP prize of this year''s national championship too, in this final game he made 51 points, 16 assists, 15 rebounds, 12 steals, and 11 blocks, it was a quintuple Double that just for that Jake deserved the prize. After the awards, everyone from the stands left and Jake didn''t have time to say goodbye to his friends who came to watch the game, not even Eric had stayed after the game, after all, Eric was no longer responsible for interviewing high school players nor College players. Jake made a brief interview with the reporters nearby, again for the photos he tried to show his various sponsors along with the school uniform, after this game Jake would go back in history as one of the only players to score a double quintuple. Jake invited all his teammates to his house, eat his mom''s breakfast feast, Eva just laughed when she saw Jake invite his friends, after all, she was just kidding earlier when she told him to do it. All were less Mark was injured and had promised his mother to come home soon after the game, everyone was impressed with Jake''s new home, they still didn''t know that Jake was rich now as at the beginning at school he was a scholar and middle class like all of them. Luckily everyone was smart and no one talked about it, otherwise Jake wouldn''t know how to explain how he had so much money, after all, Jake now made money in many ways, only the marathon he won this year could pay his employees'' salary for a few months. Not to mention the 10 million that Jake still had in the bank, after everyone had eaten there was still food left, seeing that Eva had to assume she had actually overreacted for breakfast after everyone left Jake can finally rest. This game ended happily with the Elite team''s victory, and also marked Jake''s farewell to high school basketball, even though he lost 2 years in which he could have played it was a good experience those 4 years at Elite school. Maybe after a few years, Elite school becomes famous like many others for being where it studied one of the NBA basketball stars, but that is still just a possibility in Jake''s life as an athlete. Chapter 235 Preparations For The Olympics 1 After that game, Jake went to the basketball court saying goodbye to everyone, as there would be no more competitions this year. Jake saw no further advantage in continuing to train with the basketball team. He had already talked to this with his teammates the day before and was just warning Coach Mike, Jake could always train basketball at home and in system space as well. The physical training that was most important to Jake would continue to go on sometimes in the training of the football team or at his own home gym, in a few more weeks the court and the athletic field would finally be completed at Jake''s house. "I''m glad to have been your coach Jake, you are sure to become an NBA star in the future, and it will be a pride for me as it is now." "I also really enjoyed training with you Coach Mike, hope I can come here to talk to you sometimes." "For sure, you will always be welcome Hahaha." After that Jake would only have the classes to go to school, Jake already had the grades he needed to enter university, he knew that even if he took too much of his time school was an experience he would miss in the future, just as he had in the past. At the end of the day, Jake returned home and took his shower and went to the bedroom to rest before his mother arrived, with the maids at home Jake no longer had to do homework as he had before. He had run the 60 km again on the school''s athletic field, if others knew of Jake''s training routine would think he was preparing for the Ironman instead of the marathon. But that was the only way Jake knew how to prepare for the Olympics, after all, he didn''t need the race time to win better, so he could only increase the training distance to make it easier at race time. When he lay down to rest Jake recalled yesterday''s game, Jake himself thought that this was the best game he had ever played for his opponent''s results and difficulty, Jake felt he had climbed another wall, but the system said nothing. "Fate, what did you think of my performance in the final?" [You played very well, what happened in the game is that you were able to make the most of your skills after you stopped holding back, it was smart to get my tip on space training from imagination training.] "So you''re telling me that I didn''t really cross any of my limits and just did what I should with my ability?" [Exactly, to be exact if you crossed a line was the barrier you put yourself in your way, yet it was amazing that you were able to do it alone in times of need.] Jake was a little disappointed by that, in fact, what the system was saying was that he was incompetent before because he couldn''t use his own resource as a player, the only thing he did in this game is to get back what was his own. [Don''t underestimate yourself so much Jake, you did it because it was necessary, you shouldn''t always play your best against your teammates and weaker opponents than your team, otherwise, you can stand out and make people unhappy.] [The important thing is that you now know how to make the most of your skills when you need them, at university, you will never have to hide your skills because there are still a lot of people who are better than you now.] Jake knew that too and was excited for the new challenge, just as when he entered high school and was excited to face opponents who were better than him, unfortunately, he didn''t get that opportunity because the coach didn''t like him. But on the college team, Jake knew that the coach could give him the opportunity to play with stronger opponents than him, it''s exciting for Jake to start out weaker than others and fight to become the best in a few years. He knew that after college he would no longer have this opportunity, as the system said he would now be entering the world of professionals when he had enough skill to be the best at university he would be considered good in the NBA. That was a difference Jake had from other talented players his age, Jake knew why he had the system that wasn''t the best and wasn''t arrogant even though he was almost always the high school national championship MVP. So he never tried to stop improving, very skilled young people thought that being the best in high school would be enough to get into the NBA and become a superstar, so the coaches liked Jake who didn''t have that arrogance. In fact just as the system said Jake was different from others and thanks to the system could also be considering a great genius so if he went straight into the NBA with a few years playing he could become a star just the same. That was the difference between Jake and others, yet Jake still chose the best way to improve his college basketball skills, since what Jake needed most now was time to improve his skills. Even though this was an important year for Jake in his life in general because it was the beginning of college and also the Olympics, this time after the national championship was surprisingly a time where Jake had nothing to do. He didn''t have to worry about basketball games to play and didn''t have a business to take care of, Emily was watching the stock market, and even that wasn''t necessary for Jake who knew about the future. His partnership with Amazon was a success, and Jake knew that if he didn''t get involved with the company even though it had its tough times, it would grow to be one of the world''s biggest companies in the future, and Matthew''s company was just bothering to sell digital cameras and earn the profit. Of course, several people in the company were busy finished developing the new digital camera for sale next year and also in the technology to prepare digital cameras for placing on a computer and future smartphones. With Jake''s huge profit last year on the advice of Jake, Matthew gave great incentives and bonuses as well as raising the salary of all his technology development experts. That plus the company''s non-disclosure agreement would help prevent big companies from trying to steal their experts, Matthew also promised them that after this year their salaries would rise again. The advantage of Matthew''s company to the other big companies in the market was that they only specialized in selling digital cameras and developing this technology while other big companies had to share their investment with other electronics. This plus Jake''s knowledge of the right way forward would help the company become one of the leaders in the international market. Since Jake had nothing more to worry about, he decided to start preparing for the Olympics first, even though he said that all he had to do was continue training as he did every day. After all, they were still in March and there were a few months left to think about the Olympics, surely for Jake, the preparation for the Olympics was probably the simplest of all athletes in other sports. Of course few could run 60 km every day like him at Jake''s speed, Jake tried to increase the distance but realized that currently, 60 km was his limit, in physical training Jake was also getting close to his body limit. That''s because Jake remembered the system saying that it would only have 2 more years for his body to stop developing as it did now if now he needed 7 months of hard training to get a 2-year physical statistic it took almost 2 years to increase each statistic. So Jake decided that he had given up on such intense physical training after these two years, he would still do like other athletes, but it would not be as much as now because Jake understood that he could earn statistics points slowly now because his statistics were below 50. But next year Jake was thinking of fighting to win all 4 other major marathons, this year he would still try to win in New York to redeem himself from defeat last year, and after doing so he would earn 5 more stats points in agility and Resistance. So in those two years of physical training, it would be hard to even get 1 extra stat, of course, Jake also knew that after reaching 50 statistics he would be stronger than the others and no longer needed physical training and just skill. In fact, even the system was amazed at how fast Jake improved, and the system was estimated to take Jake about 10 years to reach the level it was now, with a number of statistics rewards Jake didn''t receive. The system still knew that next year Jake would further improve his physical stats, after all, Jake could only win the marathon because he had trained very hard and increased endurance very fast. So Jake could increase stamina by winning the major marathons, for the system that wouldn''t be possible before Jake was 20, as that was all merit of Jake who knew how to use the system well was just that he was better than the others your age. In early June Jake would have to go to the Olympic center, so it was still four months away if it wasn''t for his determination before Jake could still try to run the Boston Marathon as well. But that could end up drawing a lot of attention to him who would still compete in the Olympics, just as he was criticized after getting hurt by the media last year for competing in the New York marathon after a few months of winning in Chicago. While thinking he had plenty of free time Jake received an unexpected invitation, John had called Jake informing him that a movie director had invited Jake to a party at the Miami Beach hotel. It seemed that this director had met Jake when he was doing the commercial for John and Alan''s companies earlier this year, Jake naturally accepted the invitation. Chapter 236 Preparations for the Olympics 2 Jake was very fond of movies and also always wanted to act if given the opportunity, of course, he preferred many things before acting, but after suffering the accident that left him unable to walk in his past life and lose his mother, acting was one of few things Jake thought he could do. But that didn''t change the fact that he enjoyed acting and even trained for many years in his past life, so he had an easier time recording commercials that didn''t require a skill. Besides, it looked like this Miami beach party would have some Hollywood stars, as Jake had nothing to do It wasn''t a bad idea to meet maybe some of his idols. Jake had been invited by Cameron Crowe a Hollywood director who in addition to acting also wrote, Jake vaguely remembered him but was glad to have been invited no matter what the director wanted. In fact, since Jake hardly ever left home if it wasn''t for training or going to his mom''s restaurant or school, besides, wherever he went it was by car, so Jake didn''t know he was famous all over the country. And that was even more so for Miami who always had Eric and other reporters talking about him, when Jake was younger he was just a very talented child, but in recent years he has recorded three television commercials and still appeared after coming to the first few two major marathon placements and tests for the Olympics this year. Besides, Jake was very handsome and his friends even joked that he looked like a Hollywood actor, so it was impossible that he was not recognized, so it was appropriate for him to come to this party even more with the director''s invitation. So after two days, Jake went to the party, he was wearing a suit he had bought a few months as soon as he got the money from Matthew''s company, after all, someone with millions of dollars in the bank account not having a decent suit was a disgrace. Jake also thought of buying a better car, but eventually gave up on this idea, after all, he had his car less than a year and buying another was unnecessary, after all, no one knew that Jake was rich yet and an athlete usually did not earn much. When Jake left home with the same suit Eva thought her son was very handsome, even more so than her husband from whom Jake inherited some of his looks, she was proud of her son being so and was glad Lola didn''t see Jake in suit, otherwise, she would fall in love with him forever. Jake came to the taxi party and when he entered the party everyone looked at Jake at least once, the women looked over and over and sometimes didn''t even look away from him, Jake had arrived very early at the party so just stood in one corner from the hall and waited for others to arrive. Jake, who was very shy with people he didn''t know, felt a little lost in such an environment, even though it was a party, in fact, it looked more like a cocktail party where the music was just for accompaniment and the waiters carried trays everywhere. Even though he was invited by director Crowe, Jake didn''t really know what he was like despite knowing him by name, so Jake would have to wait until the director came to him while he waited. Jake tried to find someone famous at the party. After all that was what he came to the party for, unfortunately, it didn''t look like anyone famous had arrived at the party yet, thinking that it was normal for the most famous to arrive later at this party. After a few minutes Jake had understood the purpose of this party, he had heard that many people here were directors and filmmakers and also had some business owners as well as young actors and actresses who were looking for an opportunity to become famous. Jake wasn''t interested in any of this, if he really wanted to he could become well known for being a director or writer of dozens of movies over the next 20 years just using his knowledge of the future. But Jake thought that could be a lot of dishonesty, especially since he didn''t need it and could get rich just by making the right investments in the stock market, but he wouldn''t mind playing in some of these very successful movies. Thinking about it he remembered that Titanic had started production now, it would be very nice if he could participate in a movie like this, it was impossible for him now because he could not spend several months shooting. After a few more minutes Jake was having fun even though he didn''t talk to anyone, many women here were interested in him, but most were married or were accompanying someone. The young actresses were also more concerned with pleasing some producers and directors than talking to Jake even though he was handsome, so lucky for him that he wanted to be alone as soon as someone came near him with a glass of champagne in his hands. "Not many beautiful women here? But these are not good places to meet someone, these women are often much more tempted by interests than by people." Jake looked at the man who approached him, and just nodded and then looked away, this man was young and didn''t look ten years older than Jake, so Jake thought he might be the director. "I''m glad you came with my invitation." "I appreciate the invitation, Director Crowe." "I saw you that day when you were shooting those commercials, even though it wasn''t very complicated scenes, I was impressed that you did everything at once." "As you said the scenes themselves weren''t that complicated, and I have a good memory not to forget the little details." "This is another good quality for an actor, with your looks you could be successful in Hollywood, too bad you chose the sport, with your talent I think you have no interest in anything else." "That''s not true, I really love sports and basketball besides running in marathons right now, but I still do other things and think about doing even more if it can fit my schedule." That''s what Jake thought, he would do anything that interested as long as he had time for it, after all, he had priorities too, basketball was the most important and deserved prominence in his agenda for example. But Jake knew that there could always be opportunities to do something else, only when he entered the NBA that he wouldn''t have time to do anything else, before that he wanted to take any opportunity he had. Director Crowe was happy to hear Jake say that if Jake had an interest in the cinema everything could be arranged, even if a director couldn''t make the entire movie shooting schedule around an unknown actor some scenes would not be a problem. "This year are you competing for the Olympics?" "Yes, I qualified to run the marathon, I plan to bring another gold medal to our country." "After that, you''ll be much more famous than now." "I don''t know about that, nowadays nobody remembers many athletes who won important medals for our country, so I just want to do my part." "But you can still get famous for playing basketball, can''t you?" "If I win, I will be known for it, this year our team won the national championship, now I''ll see if I can win at university too." Headmaster Crowe nodded in agreement, he knew Jake was gifted by what he saw on sports television, so it seemed like it was really worth inviting a talent like that to work with him. If Jake really got a gold medal in the Olympics would be a big promotion for his movie, after all, it was directly sports-related, and he saw that Jake was talented and good looking, so he saw only advantages for that. "I called you here Jake because I think you''re very talented and can be a hit in Hollywood, unfortunately, I don''t have any characters in a movie of mine for you to play in the near future." "But this year we will release a movie that has something to do with sports, so I would like to invite you to make a cameo with some scenes." "What is the name of the film?" "The name of the movie is Jerry Maguire, it''s a movie that tells the story of a sports agent who after a while gets tired of dishonesty in the sports business and decides to have fewer clients to be more efficient¡­" Then director Crowe kept talking about the movie with great enthusiasm, but Jake didn''t listen to anything else because he knew the story of the movie well and had even watched it several times, It was a movie that he liked a lot and was very successful critically and also at the box office. "So what do you think?" "I accept if I have a role that needs a test to try I am willing too, after all, I am playing few various sports, a while ago I played quarterback on the school football team for a friendly." "If it was another year I would call you, but unfortunately this year you have to participate in the Olympics and so we would have less time to film if you weren''t available with a bigger role, but if you get the chance I''ll talk to you." Jake understood that well, he was just excited, it was hard for him who had no acting experience to play a major role in an important movie like this one. Jake knew well that actors played a key role in the film''s end result. After a while, Tom Cruise showed up at the party and Jake cheered up and went along with the director to greet one of his idols, after all, he knew that Tom Cruise played the main character of the movie that director Crowe invited him to. The director also went along with Jake when he saw that the person who had arrived was Tom Cruise, so the director introduced Jake to Tom Cruise and Jake had to control himself not to ask for an autograph, after all, he would just embarrass the director by doing so. After Jake stayed a little longer at the party and left, he was wondering if he could really get a chance to participate in such a big movie, after all even if the director invited him it was hard to know if the director couldn''t change his mind. When he returned home late at night and told Eva who he met his mother reprimanded him for not asking her for an autograph. Chapter 237 Preparations For The Olympics 3 Jake was very excited about becoming an actor in a well-known movie, but the other day he went back to his routine normally as if nothing had happened. After all, the Olympics were approaching and he didn''t even know if the opportunity to actually appear in the movie could actually happen, but his training was real, that''s what he could count on to improve both in marathon and basketball. With his daily training of 60 km, a day he gained more and more in his running ability, proof of this was that in the last race he had managed to maintain a steady running pace with the help of the system. Many of these things he could only learn after running for many months or years, at some time he thought that he might not even need the system panel to know the right pace of running. He also spent part of his time every day in the school library teaching his classmates who had the worst grades, Joseph and Liza were not in this group because his grades were already enough. In the last semester of high school Jake became one of the most beloved students in both class and teachers after showing kindness by using his time to help many classmates, they regretted ignoring Jake in recent years. Unfortunately, they no longer had time to become friends with Jake that even though he was still kind he was hurt by all of them, it was normal for that to happen even if Jake had a more experienced mindset they couldn''t have cold enough blood not to suffer from the pain. the treatment he suffered from his colleagues. The players on the American football team were also very fond of Jake as a person and as a friend this past semester, but they didn''t have time to form a deep friendship with Jake either. But Jake was still happy about it because it was a sign that when people got older and without such prejudice, it would be easier for him to make friends, so maybe at university, he has the opportunity to make several friends. Jake also felt that Liza finally seemed to be maturing and maybe really changing to be with Joseph, Jake was curious how the friend who seemed so shy some years ago now had the charisma to make his girlfriend improve for his sake. So the only person who was still at this school that had disappointed Jake so much was precisely his ex-girlfriend, he was very sad that she didn''t even try to talk to him after the breakup, even more, when he had his house invaded and she didn''t even have to appear to hear from him. Jake had previously been heartbroken over his problem in his past life of having spent more than 20 years without a relationship, now it''s even closer, Jake knew that if it wasn''t for that he might already be dating Lola now. So a few weeks went by and Jake''s routine still hasn''t changed, Jake was still talking to some friends a few times at the time, just Tiffany and Clara he didn''t talk too much, after all, Tiffany was always busy right now and even though Clara improved she didn''t It was more like before. Just as she had told Jake until she could regain the actions that were in Robert''s hands she could no longer be happy as before, and she knew she could do nothing about it with Tiffany''s help for at least a few more years. Jake had thought that if he could get Matthew''s company profit share again, he would at least buy the stock from Robert''s hands to see Clara happy again. The same day thinking about his friends Tiffany had called Jake asking to have dinner with him, Jake naturally accepted but didn''t know why this time was a dinner as they usually talk about business at lunch. The place was a restaurant Jake had gone to only once, it was an interesting place to talk about business because it had too few tables and the places were isolated from other restaurant customers, so everyone had more privacy to talk to. When Jake arrived at the restaurant, it was still a few minutes to the time Tiffany had agreed with him, but when Jake said Tiffany''s name that he had reserved a table, it seemed that the receptionist had seen his savior. Jake was a little confused by this but saw that even the waiter who led him to the table in the closed room seemed nervous, as soon as the waiter opened the door to the room Jake smelled incredible alcohol from inside. "What is it? You must have brought me into the room with the wrong table." "No sir, this is the right room, it''s reserved for Mrs. Tiffany." "Then switch the room reserved for another without the smell of alcohol, this is not a service that a respected restaurant should offer, when Tiffany arrives, she''s sure she won''t be satisfied." "That''s not it sir, the lady who booked this room is already in there for a few hours." Hearing this Jake didn''t understand what the waiter meant at first, but soon understood why everyone seemed so uncomfortable, it seemed like Tiffany had been drinking here since a few hours ago. Jake knew that this restaurant was very strict in politics that although the rooms were private and offered a more private environment, it was just for business, it didn''t allow any kind of intimacy between customers nor what was happening with Tiffany now. But since Tiffany was an important customer for the restaurant they didn''t want to kick her out of the restaurant and lose an important customer and were waiting for Jake who was the guest to arrive to sort it out. Jake understood the waiter''s intent and didn''t care, he quickly walked into the room and closed the door and went to see how Tiffany was and why she was doing it, surprisingly despite having several open and empty wine bottles Tiffany had not yet passed out So much to drink. "Tiffany, what happened to you?" "Jake, you''re here, so it seems like my drinking time is over, at least I could relax a little." Surprisingly Tiffany wasn''t quite drunk yet and could talk to Jake, Jake was impressed by her ability to handle such alcohol. "Tell me what''s going on and you''ll feel better than drinking." "Oh, you talk like you''ve been through this without being old enough to drink." Jake just smiled bitterly without answering, in his past life he went through very difficult times and drinking was the only thing he could do as he had no friends to forget about the problems. But it never worked out no matter how much he drank, so he found that it was best not to forget the problems but to accept them, but only after suffering for many years alone. "I really intend to tell you what I''ve been holding in my heart for years, that''s why I drank before you arrived." "Then tell me." "You know I''m 31 now don''t you? I reached the peak of my career a few years ago, now I''m just trying to keep what I have, you ever wondered why I''m still single after so many years?" Jake had really thought about it, usually, working women got married a little later after achieving some of their professional goals, but even getting married later they still had some relationships in the meantime, but Jake never knew Tiffany had any relationship at all being as beautiful and successful as she was. "You may have wondered that too, just like everyone else, no one knows why I did what I did. My family doesn''t comment on it thinking I want to achieve something else in my life." "The truth is, I fell in love many years ago, I fell in love after I turned 21 and stayed in love until recently." Jake wasn''t surprised to hear that Tiffany was in love, after all, that would be the only explanation for her staying so many years without a relationship, which was odd was that Tiffany never even talked about it to Clara, and Jake only heard Tiffany talk about Clara when they talked. "Not even you should have imagined who I liked even being that clever, but earlier this week I decided to finally declare myself and end this romance at once, or the person I loved would accept me or I''d give up at once." "You must imagine now why I''m drinking so much today, aren''t you?" "You were right to at least try, otherwise you would be stuck in a hopeless relationship for several more years without knowing if you could be with the one you love." "You''re beautiful Tiffany, I have no doubt that if one day you fall in love with someone again that person will not reject you, just choose carefully." "You surprised me by saying that, I thought you would ask me who the person I liked or would tell me to keep trying to win over the one I love." "I''m not very good at giving advice on feelings, but I know that if you were as decisive as you are, you wouldn''t spend 10 years liking someone without saying anything if you didn''t have a very sensible reason for it." "Now you have declared yourself and been rejected, and you don''t seem to want to love this person anymore, so I hope you do what you have decided and don''t listen to others'' opinions about it." The more Jake spoke the more he curled up with the words, he really didn''t understand anything about the affairs of the heart, he was just saying anything to try to cheer up Tiffany and comfort her. Tiffany noticed this and also smiled, she was right to look for Jake to talk to him about it, she intended to tell him everything because it was important that Jake also knew about it and because Tiffany knew that Jake would never tell about it anybody else. But she ended up being comforted even though Jake was clumsy, because she felt the sincerity of the words he tried to say, so she decided to really forget about everything and just leave things as it was now. "I''m sorry to call you to dinner and not eat anything Jake, but I''m in no condition to eat and I won''t be good company for you today." "No problem, the important thing is that you get well, I eat at home with my mother later, after all there and better than the food of many restaurants." Chapter 238 Preparations for the Olympics 4 "That''s true, so could you take me home? I''m in no condition to drive or walk, to tell the truth." "Sure, I''ll take you, but without drinking like that again, you almost ruined the ''nice girl'' picture I had of you if you have problems just call me to talk." "Hahaha, so I was a nice girl to you." "Still, just don''t drink like that anymore." After playing a little to lighten the mood, Jake set a large amount of money on the table that should pay for all this wine and then supported Tiffany out of the room and they walked to the exit of the restaurant. Jake took Tiffany in his arms after apologizing and put her in the car slowly, then he did the same when he arrived at her house while traveling on the way to Tiffany''s house she fell asleep in the car and Jake saw her crying while dreaming. After leaving Tiffany on her couch Jake left, he couldn''t take her to her bed because it would be disrespectful and didn''t think he was that close to staying at her house taking care of her, so he could just put a blanket over she gets warm and then leaves. On the way home Jake couldn''t stop wondering who this person might have rejected someone like Tiffany, he didn''t know the circumstances, but he didn''t think there would be many people who were better than her in Miami. Of course, Jake didn''t ask Tiffany to say who it was because clearly, she was still suffering from it, just as he felt bad after seeing Clara frail after breaking up, he thought the same about Tiffany now. But at home, he stopped thinking about it, after eating with his mother he went to rest to return to his training routine the next day. A few more weeks passed with Jake focused on training, Jake received from Emily some reports on the stock changes Cisco had had in those months, unlike before the company now had hundreds of millions of dollars invested. So even if the report didn''t have to be monthly, she decided to do a half-yearly, it was much more exciting to see how stocks had appreciated at that time when profits were shown in the millions of dollars. Jake asked Emily to send a copy of the report to investors, Jake even put an estimate of expected stock growth in a year, which for him was actually growth as he already knew the future. Investors and Matthew were very pleased when they saw the profit and partly believed Jake''s estimated earnings on the stock, Matthew was mostly beaming so that it was possible for him to earn a 100 percent profit on that investment. A $ 300 million profit was something he did not even expect before seeing these reports, of course, he would have no way of knowing that it would actually appreciate more than 5 times his initial investment. Jake was now talking to Tiffany more constantly after dinner that day, Jake was glad to hear that Tiffany''s company had made a big profit last year, even though it had stopped investing in the company earlier this year she was getting the return from those more 3 years of constant investment. Company directors pointed out that Jake''s popularity last year in winning the marathons has also helped his company make big profits like that. This year Jake was even more on display after recording two more commercials, if Jake could really win a medal Tiffany''s company will still make a lot of profit even without investing anything. Tiffany also commented that Clara''s company also had a lot of profit last year, with Clara handling things carefully that didn''t make the value of the company further, and that profit made everyone happy. Even Robert saw no reason to complain even if the company was not investing anymore, after all in this way in five years he would receive part of the value of his shares in profit sharing. The competing company that had a high percentage of the stock and also received good profit-sharing money, but they were not happy because they realized that Clara''s company had made more profit than they would in proportion to the size of the companies. Of course, the competing company received a lot more money, but they also had tens of years in the market and a valuation dozens of times higher than Clara''s company, which made them more decisive in buying Clara''s company. With that money, Tiffany and Clara received they were able to narrowly replenish the money Tiffany took from the company to lend Clara that she had to buy more stock, of course, Jake also strongly recommended that Tiffany never do something like that again. Jake was very pleased to receive these reports, he wanted to advise Jeff Bezos not to spend money to buy companies that would go bankrupt a few years later but eventually did not risk risking the future even more. After all, sometimes mistakes like this make the company cautious not to make similar mistakes in the future, and besides, a company that would be the most valuable in the world could not know what it was doing. Jake was doing the training very willingly and was very exhausting because there was no apparent improvement in his training, he knew naturally that these things needed years to have apparent results. But in recent years Jake got used to seeing immediate results in his training thanks to the system, it was hard for him to do such hard training without seeing immediate results. Jake was also waiting for a contact from director Cameron Crowe, it was exciting the opportunity to appear in a Hollywood movie if he could act in just one movie he would be happy enough about it. In the midst of his training, he was again asked for a seat that was unexpected to him, the coach of the football team had called Jake while he was doing his training with the football team as he always did. "Coach Jim, did you want to talk to me?" "Yes Jake, you''re really my lucky star, I need your help again, we have 1 game again the other week." "How can I help?" "Both of our team''s quarterbacks are injured again, this year we didn''t have much luck and even with the defensive line around QB being very good they ended up getting injured in the few Sack they got in the games." "Fortunately all is not lost and as you said you needed to use our field for physical training this past semester I registered you like our team''s reserve QB so now if you can play we can still play for the title this year." Jake was shocked by this coaching revelation, he thought that using the team''s football pitch just to do physical training had no problem, he didn''t expect Coach Jim to have to register him as a player for that. "But I thought the team was out of season now?" "Yes, but as we are a relatively new and unfamiliar team we need as much training as possible, and we are also taking part in a small tournament made by the city to give prestige to the school." Jake knew that there were rules for the number of games players played in the year, this was to avoid possible injuries and other problems, especially for the high school students who had the future ahead. Clearly, the Elite school was not very respectful of these rules and they were playing too many ''friendly games'' to train the team and build a new reputation for the school, the result being that the team''s QB had been injured again. Luckily Jake didn''t have to worry about injuries, the system said the Resistance statistic he had also helped prevent injuries from external factors, so he was much harder to get hurt by others in games. So Jake was thinking of accepting the coach''s request and helping the football team again, after all, he was a little tired of just training for months before the Olympics, it was better that he just did this game to train a little. "Alright coach, I''ll play this game." "Great, I knew I could count on you, so let''s go to team play training starting today as well." Jake accepted and went to play training again, the football team players already knew Jake well and were happy to play with him again, especially since they knew that Jake was not a rival for them to get a sports scholarship through the football Jake still remembered all the tactics he had studied at the time he trained while on vacation while doing physical training several times a week Jake also paid close attention to his teammates from other positions. Now he was more aware than last time who was the best WR and RB on the team, one of them being the tallest Jake had used as bait to win the friendly match during the holidays. It looked like he was one of the best on the team and so Jake can fool both teammates and opponents by using him as bait, after all completely believed that Jake would pass the ball to him at the most important moment of the game. Jake did simulated game training every day like last time, now it was much simpler as he had more familiarity and rapport with his teammates after spending several months training with the team. Jake wouldn''t let go of his normal training and ran the 60 km every day even when he was tired of training, he felt that at least the strength statistic could increase after a few more days. This was the one Jake most trained alone, after all, he would be left behind as he would gain some agility points and Resistance winning the competing marathons, Jake even asked the system what weight limit he could use as training without risk suffers no injury. Jake was confident of increasing his strength stat for at least 3 in two years of training, and that was also helping with his passing and throwing skills in football training. So the days passed and the day of the game had come different from basketball the game was later, so Jake left home without telling his mother that would play again. Chapter 239 Preparations for the Olympics 5 Coach Jim was a lot less worried this time than Jake''s first game on vacation, after which the team was just going back to training and everyone wasn''t excited to be playing on vacation. In addition, the opposing team was weak and the players were not very motivated, Jake was also just a bet for Coach Jim at the time and even he didn''t know if Jake could do as well in the game as he was in training. Fortunately just as Coach Jim thought Jake was a talented born athlete, he could probably play well in any sport with proper training as he had the fitness to do so, so Jake led the team to an easy win. This time the opposing team was much stronger Miami was a very big city and American football in the city was very important, so all teams had very skilled players. But with that Coach Jim was more comfortable because his players were well trained and motivated for this game and Coach knew Jake was skilled enough, and even if they lost it would not be a shame as it would be in the friendly holiday game. After the two teams were already set up and ready the game started the crowd that had come to see a game like this was much bigger than the crowd that would see a basketball team game, this showed how football was more important to Americans. This time it was Jake''s football team that would start attacking, so Jake was to start the first play, even though it was only his second game Jake was much more relaxed and confident this time around. Just as before the team''s first attempt was a race, Jake passed the ball to his team''s RB on his right, RB ran into a space that his teammates opened for him and slide managed to advance 3 yards. Quickly the team rearranged for the second attempt, Jake again tried the race with the RB, this time he tried out from the left, after advancing 5 yards he was knocked down. The third play was a race again, the RB managed to advance 3 more yards and secured the first down for the Elite team. Jake was impressed by the change in the attitude of his teammates to today''s game, he had heard in training that in addition to the team with the best defense in 4 years in a row the Elite team had not a strong attack. But the best players in the Elite team attack were the RBs, Jake didn''t believe him when he heard that, after all, he didn''t think the RBs were very good on this team and even on television he thought very badly of the players in the RB position. Jake thought that in addition to some very talented RB who could make unexpected plays and had the skill and the times the opposing defense failed, the RB was only used to gain a few yards. Of course, it was because Jake didn''t follow football very well to understand the game well enough, especially in high school that QBs weren''t always the team highlights and some lacked the strength and precision to make good passes during games. So the RBs were very important for the team''s attacking moves, as Jake had no problem making the longer passes he preferred to rely on the team''s WRs that also had quality. After a few more plays the WR failed to hold the ball and the Elite team missed the first attack of the game, Jake was making the passes correctly, but the opposing defenders also had the skill and disrupted the WR who could not receive the pass. After his second game, Jake finally realized that being a QB wasn''t as easy as he thought, the player in addition to strength and precision had to have a lot of intelligence and ability to understand the possible development of the move quickly. Having some agility was also important, above all QB was too dependent on his teammates to show his talents, even though for Jake as PG it was similar, he could still with his ability score several points and show his skills. But if all the teammates of a great quarterback were bad, no one could figure out his talents, in that team, Jake now saw that while the WRs were talented, they weren''t as good as he thought during the friendly holiday game. The best players were the ones who protected him long enough for him to think about the moves he had to make, fortunately for today''s game Jake could also count on the RBs who were performing well. Coach Jim naturally knew this better than Jake, the football team''s problem was just that, although the WRs were talented the team quarterbacks were very weak so the team could not properly train the WRs to receive passes with a defense difficult. So the offensive team left and the defensive team entered, everyone was resting and talking about something while the opposing team attacked only Jake and a few more players accompanied the opposing team''s attacking move. Jake was following and realized that this team they were facing this time was much better than the team they faced in the friendly, even with the good defense of the Elite team the opposing team advanced 70 yards. But the Elite team managed to prevent the attack of the opposing team that advanced 6 more yards with only 3 chances, so in the fourth attempt they tried a field goal and ended up missing. The game was very similar and Jake was not trying to invent much as the quarterback in the attacks and just tried the moves that the assistant coach recommended, the opponents could not get past Jake''s protectors once to try Sack. So Jake really believed that the previous QBs were just unlucky to get injured, yet the Elite team couldn''t advance more than 60 yards and couldn''t even try the Field goal. In the third period of play only that the opposing team got a touchdown and made the first 6 points of the game, it was a quick pass from the opposing quarterback when there was a defensive failure this time leaving a WR left free to receive the pass and run 25 yards and touchdown. The crowd was delighted to finally see the score go from scratch, but Jake was not happy to lose this game, he probably cared more than the coach for the win, yet he could not play alone and the opposing defense was destroying the goal Elite team attack. At the end of the third period the opposing team got 3 more points increasing the lead to 9 points, some of Jake''s teammates seemed to have given up the game but Jake was still trying to find a way out. If he thought it possible he would run the ball himself to attempt the touchdown, but Jake never saw enough room for him to attempt a race, he could win a maximum of 1 or 3 yards but could do no more. So Jake didn''t even risk and tried to find an opportunity to catch the opponent by surprise, at the beginning of the fourth period Jake had an opportunity but did not try the race and made the pass to just down and continue the attack. Jake felt he could not get the touchdown in this race and he could be being tested in this play, in the next few moves Jake always saw the opportunity to run and even did one without much enthusiasm to win 2 yards. After all, even a bad quarterback would try a few runs if the opponent always had that opportunity, reaching 60 yards in one attack. Jake started to cheer up, he asked to be placed 3 WR again and yet ran with RB in the first two attempts advancing 7 yards. On the third try, Jake was in the Shotgun position and pretended to try a race with the RB, again Jake saw room to run but did not try it because this time the WR on the pass route recommended by the assistant cut right and was free. Jake made a 15-yard pass and the WR received and still tried the race, after advancing a little further he was knocked down just 4 yards from Endzone. Jake and the whole team moaned so little that was missing, Jake kept the 3 WR for the first try, Jake was in Shotgun position and tried the race on the right, two Safeties seemed to be expecting it and tried to intercept Jake 2 yards away to Endzone. Before being knocked out Jake made a long side pass for the WR that had not advanced, it was a rehearsed move that Jake saw between plays and trained during the week, WR was alone and after receiving the pass advanced the final yards and made the touchdown quietly. Jake trained this move because he thought he could fool his opponents and because he was confident of making a good side pass after playing so many years of basketball, even if it''s different, it just required his adaptation. Soon after they still converted the extra point and were just 2 points behind on the scoreboard, after a few more moves the opposing team almost made a touchdown and the final pass was intercepted by the defender who still recovered a few yards into the attack before being knocked down. This time Jake returned to the original lineup with just two WRs and advanced the first few yards with a few RB races, Jake was convinced they were really skilled at being able to win several yards at important times. When they were running out of time the RB made a beautiful race with a Juke and a Hurdle and advanced 28 yards before being knocked down to gain precious time for the last attack at the end of the game. Jake also managed with a 20-yard long pass to get the team under 30 yards for Endzone, so if they hit a touchdown or even a field goal they could win this game and win that title. The opposing team took advantage of all the times they had and tried to delay the game as much as possible and end the final momentum of Jake''s team, Jake was calm on the last move because he had a lot of confidence in himself. Unfortunately the same could not be said for Coach Jim, even if he thought Jake could be a great player he would not risk a great chance of winning by putting the game in the hands of a player who did not even play frequently for the team. Chapter 240 Preparations for the Olympics 6 So at one time Jake was called by coach Jim to talk, Jake naturally respected the coach very much and rushed to hear what instructions he had for this endgame. "Jake you were doing very well in this game, I honestly didn''t expect us to get so close to victory and you contributed a lot to us getting here." "I said I would help coach so I am trying my best so the team can win." "I believe that but you don''t have much experience in football, so I want this last attack to just follow what the assistant coach says." At first, Jake didn''t understand, he was doing it from the beginning of the game, he just followed the assistant''s recommendations and only changed the moves when he saw a better opportunity or if he saw that the recommended play would not work. "I don''t understand coach, I''m following the assistant''s recommendations whenever I can in this game." "Exactly, what I mean to you is that in this final attack it''s not recommendations, it''s ordered, what he tells you to do you do, after all, we''ll pick the best option." So Jake finally understood, the coach meant that for the final play of an important game he didn''t trust him to make the decision, after all, he wasn''t really on the team after all and the coach feared that Jake would ruin everything. In the last game, the coach gave Jake full authority to make the decisions because it was just a friendly game, but now Jake was just following the team''s order. Jake felt a little offended by the lack of confidence but told the coach that he understood, Jake thought he had made good decisions and that is why the team came up with the last play with the possibility of winning. But he wasn''t really a player on this team and today could possibly be the last time he played football, so he would obey the coach''s orders and not care about the outcome of the game. Coach Jim knew he might have damaged Jake''s pride with that order, but he had his own priorities and would not choose to please a player who would not even continue his football career. If he won this game the Elite school would gain more reputation and the president promised coach Jim a prize, but when the second quarterback was injured he understood that against a strong opponent he would not have a chance to win. So he called Jake and left everything to him and said the game was unimportant not to put pressure on the young man, now that he saw the opportunity to win could no longer trust Jake who had no experience. Jake put on his helmet and returned to the field had started the first attempt for the down, the assistant told Jake to try a race and Jake did it and with a handoff handed the ball to the right-hand RB. The first attempt advanced just 1 yard for the team, Jake understood well that the opposing team had strengthened the defense and were determined to win this game, in the second attempt Jake tried the race again for RB to advance only 2 yards. On the third play, the assistant again recommended a run and Jake did it, the RB this time advancing just 1 yard and was knocked down. Jake was very disappointed by Coach Jim, in these 3 plays he saw an opportunity to make a pass and another opportunity to make a run, both plays could guarantee at least one more down. On the fourth attempt the kicker entered the game, they wanted a field goal that was recommended with Endzone less than 25 yards away. Jake looked down at the bench and saw that the coach and assistant looked very pleased, so Jake understood that they were thinking of betting on the Field goal from the start, so he was not allowed to try any different play. Unfortunately while Jake just watched he saw the kicker go wrong and the Elite team missed the chance of victory, Jake could see that everyone was disappointed to lose, the opponents cheered happily. Jake wasn''t happy about that, he hated losing, especially when he knew he had the chance to win, soon after Jake changed and after saying goodbye to the players he left home unhappy. Coach Jim thought Jake should be more sympathetic to the coach''s decision and was being irrational, of course, he didn''t know that Jake had two chances to maybe win the game and because he lost was even angrier. After all Jake was very busy with training, even though he had nothing to do officially, he still trained every day, so he agreed to do the coach a favor because he thought he could win and out of consideration for the coach. But he ended up losing because the coach who invited him ended up not trusting him at the most important moment of the game, Jake didn''t even want to complain about that respect for the coach as he knew the coach had a right to demand it and also because he thought he could be held responsible for the defeat if the coach were unreasonable. This was normal, after all, Jake was a winning athlete who always had good results in the most disputed marathons and would still compete in the Olympics and besides, was a captain of the basketball team that was respected by the coach, it was impossible that Jake was not a little proud and arrogant later and conquer it all. After arriving home Jake forgot all this when he had dinner with Eva, Jake wondered if there was still something his mother wanted in this life, she probably wanted to see Jake graduated from college and married. But Jake didn''t know if she wanted anything for herself, he realized her dream of having a restaurant and Eva had friends and a good home, Jake didn''t know if Eva ever thought of remarrying. Anna said she already talked to her about it and Eva said she never thought and didn''t want to do it, but he wasn''t sure about it, even though his mother always had it, Jake knew from experience how bad it was not to have a mate to love. Unfortunately, he didn''t have the heart to talk about it to her, maybe if Eva had contact with any man Jake could comment on that, but Eva didn''t talk to anyone but Julius and Jake knew for sure that, his mother didn''t like him. After a few days Jake returned to training normally, he would still sometimes train with the football team, but did not try and even refrain from talking again with Coach Jim, in a few more days the court and the athletic field would be ready in the house from Jake and he would no longer come to train at school. Jake also learned that Mark had recently recovered and Jake waited to meet his friend at school, but Mark, as well as all the players in the last year, would not come training with the basketball team after a few weeks that Jake left. Some really wanted to leave and so Coach Mike decided to say goodbye to everyone and enjoy the rest of the semester to train the new players who will be the pillar of the team next year, fortunately he still had Lucas and Nathan who improved a lot in that first year and would be the main players of the team in the coming years. Knowing this Jake had no choice but to call Mark and call him to talk at a mall dinner, after all, Jake didn''t even want to think about visiting Mark''s house and meeting his mother who must hate Jake now after he visited Mark when She was not at home. After a few hours, Jake took advantage of the fact that he had arrived earlier at the mall and besides buying a souvenir for his mother took the opportunity to go again to the music store to see if he could find any new album from Kate. After meeting her for just once Jake never forgot Kate again, just as he Jake is also very successful in the music world and has done many advertising campaigns that Jake saw on television. Jake knew that she probably should have forgotten him, after all, they only saw each other once and Kate was much more famous than Jake and in a different way, now Jake suspected she was one of the people the system said had an Unfair fate like him. The system said that when he went back to the past with Jake it would change their lives for what it should be, it was impossible that Jake had never heard of such a famous singer that she almost won several music awards even though she was just a little older than Jake. After seeing that there was nothing new about her in the music store Jake was the diner where he had scheduled to talk to Mark when Jake arrived Mark was already waiting. "Mark my friend, how are you? Have you fully recovered?" "Hi Jake, yes I am fortunately recovered, but it will still be a while before I can play again, fortunately, we are far from university entrance time and I can recover completely." "Glad to hear it, I hope you keep playing basketball at the university, I know you''re going to a university that is better at studying than at sports, but you have to enjoy this time well." "I will believe me." Jake knew well that Mark was a little disappointed by that, with the fame he made being one of the best players on the team who was a three-time national champion in four years, it was impossible for him not to receive university proposals with better basketball teams. But this university Mark was going to had a deal with the Elite school a few years ago and through the school, they spoke to Mark''s mother and convinced her that education was more important to Mark and Mark''s mother accepted the university''s generous offer. Mark knew he wasn''t so talented at basketball to become a pro, but he wanted to play and try to win some titles with a strong basketball team and then if he was lucky enough to get into a professional basketball team even if he went to Europe. But it seemed that Mark''s mother realized that her son was thinking about it and killed his dream by choosing a university that would not give Mark a chance to develop, Mark also knew it and gave up on becoming a professional. So Jake just wanted his friend to have fun playing over the next 4 years, at least it was certain that Mark would be the starting lineup from the first year and could perhaps improve playing with stronger opponents from stronger teams. Chapter 241 Preparations for the Olympics 7 "And you Jake, go to a good university now, do you think you can get a place in the starting lineup from the first year?" "I don''t think so, maybe if it''s the same way Coach Mike did with Lucas and Nathan, maybe I''ll go into some reserve games and then start later if I play well." Jake knew it would be hard to become a starter playing at a university with a strong basketball team as it was the University of North Carolina; he was not arrogant to think that the coach would trust him right away. But as he talked to Mark the question was not whether he could become the team owner but when that would happen, Jake had a lot of confidence as his target was the NBA and Mark also believed that this would not be a problem for Jake. "If I can I''ll see you playing on television, I want to see how many titles you will earn at university, it won''t be as easy as playing with weaker opponents in high school, I''m sure some are even better than you." "I have no doubt about that, but I am confident that I will be able to improve until the end of university, as for winning the titles you know that it is not just up to me." "I know that, but Jake, we all want to see you in the NBA one day, my dream is that you will become MVP in a few years and I can be proud of my coworkers that I played with you, that I taught you playing as Center and you''re my friend." After finishing talking Mark eventually started crying, it must be hard for someone who loves basketball as much as Mark knew he couldn''t be a player if he decided on his own it wouldn''t be so painful. But he was pretty much obliged, Jake didn''t know how to comfort his friend, after all, Mark could be happier in the future having a good job than spending a lifetime trying to become a player. Jake also knew that knowing that Mark had practically given up on being a player broke the spirit of all of Jake''s teammates who were going to college this year. After all, Mark was the best after Jake, if neither Mark could become a pro they also thought that unfortunately, they could not be the reality of thousands of young people every year. Many high school basketball geniuses did not even have the opportunity to enter a good university to showcase their talents, and many at the university did not have the opportunity to become professionals. Of course, this wasn''t everyone''s basketball dream, but many saw his dream of falling apart after years, Jake knew Mark wasn''t that skilled, he was good at rebounding and was improving fast. But if even Jake didn''t currently have the ability to stand out, his friend Mark and his other teammates much less, then Jake thought it might be better if they quit early as Carter and Harrison did. Of course, Jake didn''t know if Mark could get the chance to become a pro if he kept trying this way, so Jake had the best thing to do was back whatever decision they made. Jake knew he was lucky to have such an understanding mother as if his mother were like Mark''s, he might not have the opportunity to go back and everything would be different. "Are you going to race at the Jake Olympics?" "Yes I will, I didn''t think you knew." "Of course we knew, we all have a television at home, we saw your television commercials too, I didn''t expect you to be good at running either, that explains why you can play a whole game full of energy." "Hahaha that''s not true, all of us on the team can play an entire game without being replaced." "True, but seriously I hope you can win, so we''ll be much more proud to talk about playing with you." "I will try." After crying a little Mark seemed much more relaxed, they talked much longer before saying goodbye and Jake going home, Eva was happy to receive more chocolate from Jake. After a few more days Jake was still going through his training routine and finally got a call to record, but it wasn''t director Crowe to talk about the movie, but NBC asking Jake to help with making some recordings for the station to make some calls to the Olympics. After all Jake was one of the main subjects of this Olympics, unfortunately, it was not about his talent although he won the Chicago Marathon and came second in New York, it was more because he was young and also playing basketball besides participating in the marathon competition in the Olympics. Luckily, they now only gathered some information about him in school and sports, but didn''t get too deep into it if everyone found out about the sponsorship he received or even his various investments would be problematic for him. After all, a genius athlete in two sports and being young was already drawing too much attention, if it turned out that he was also a talented young millionaire and investor it would often be more complicated for him to get out of the media focus. What''s more, the sports media didn''t favor Jake''s chances of getting a medal, they thought that a lack of focus on a sport would make Jake stand out in neither athletics nor basketball. It was all too normal that even seasoned athletes would lose after getting nervous in competitions at the Olympics, it was perfectly normal for everyone to expect Jake to fail as well. Marathon competition would also take place only at the end of the Olympics, so they did not want to focus too much on an athlete who was unlikely to win and would not compete at the start of the competition. Jake was very happy that this happened, he didn''t want to stand out before the competition started, even though Jake liked to receive respect for his victories was only after he won. Jake was one day at one of the NBC studios and took several pictures and made some videos he didn''t even know would be used, Jake expected an interview too, but it seemed that the station didn''t think it was necessary. They just asked Jake to confirm some information about him that would be spoken on the broadcast and after that, he was dismissed, even though Jake didn''t expect much he didn''t think he would be so despised. It seemed that people thought very little of athletics athletes, Jake remembered seeing an old athlete saying that, only those who won the competitions and got a gold medal were a little respected. After all, US athletics was known to be the strongest of all countries, so if American athletes beat everyone they thought it was normal and if they came second they would often be considered losers. After that Jake continued his training for several weeks, the month of April had arrived and was almost over just as Jake''s high school time, in just over a month his last semester would end and Jake would go to university. Jake told his friend Joseph that he was much calmer after securing a good university for him and Liza, after all with good grades and the money the two families had, it was not difficult to secure a place. But Joseph seemed to have matured and was no longer so arrogant as in recent years, Jake found it interesting to see how his friend changed so much in his teens, of course, he knew this was normal, Jake just did not go through it because his mind was no longer young. Even though Jake also underwent some personality changes after going through adolescence for the second time, now he also slowly returned to his old personality, Jake spent many years trying to pretend that he was young was an important experience for him to train acting. "Jake, I know you''re busy with your training and the Olympics are coming for you too, but you''re not going to miss the school prom, are you?" "I don''t think I''m going to Joseph, it''s not for me after all the prom is nothing more than a dance party and I have no one to dance with me." Jake had already missed his first ball after suffering the accident, so he wasn''t interested in the second ball either, if he could invite someone outside he would take Lola to the ball, but Elite school was a private school and had several rules, One was that only people at school could attend the ball. So Jake had no interest in that anymore, after all, even though he''d made a lot of colleagues this past semester, everyone would be with his peers, and Jake didn''t want to hold sail for anyone. "Don''t say that Jake, you can invite any of our class, girls won''t reject you if they don''t have any partners so far." "I''ll think about it, if I feel like it, I''ll show up." Jake didn''t really want to go to the prom, for him the high school time was over after the national championship was over now Jake just had to stay and wait for the semester to end because of his student responsibilities. Even though after a few years he might miss high school it wouldn''t be now, and maybe he wouldn''t even miss it after a few years, after all, he had the opportunity to go through it twice. The university got Jake''s attention much more, besides basketball he wanted to know what the envy would be like, so jealous so many years after suffering the accident and missing the opportunity to study. He hoped he wouldn''t be too disappointed, after all, he would just go there for the moment, to play basketball and get his degree, after all, Jake didn''t think there was anything else to learn at university after reading books on economics and business administration for over 10 years. Also, Jake wanted to take his time at university to see if he could find some business talent to work with him in the future, even if he couldn''t find it at his university he was sure he could find someone at the other top universities. such as Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. After all Jake is past the time to worry about how to make money, he already had a lot of money and also secured his future, he just had to think about how to manage his money in the short term to make the most of it. Chapter 242 Preparations For The Olympics 8 Even though he didn''t have to worry about making more money Jake wanted to take advantage of the opportunities that came up before the 2000s there were still plenty of opportunities for Jake to make money from his future knowledge. After 2000 they would also have plenty of opportunities, so he needed to have business talents near him to make the most of the fortune he would receive and invest, even though he knew that in more than 20 years Amazon''s stock would appreciate, to become the company most valuable in the world didn''t mean so much to investors. After all, the company would not distribute its dividends to investors, so apart from selling Jake shares it could do nothing at this time of wealth, so even if he could not make that much money and invest in other companies he would need to earn something from it. It was a pity that the world''s most valuable internet-related companies didn''t pay dividends before 2000, the ones that paid would not return nearly as much as Jake invested. It would be much more profitable just to sell the stock after a few years than to invest a lot in low-return companies just because of dividends, so Jake was now even more determined to invest a lot in companies like Matthew''s. They were companies that could value a lot in a short time and Jake could make a large percentage of profits to offset the low total value of the company, surely it would be worth having 30 percent of an average company than 1 percent of a giant company market that paid no dividends. That''s why Jake decided to invest so much in Cisco''s stock even though he knew the company would devalue long after the bubble broke, so he could sell all the stock he invested without having any regrets that could have valued more. For the next few days Jake continued to train hard in preparation for the Olympics, Jake could now feel that his training was beginning to yield more results if he tried Jake believed he could increase the daily running distance to 65 km now. But he didn''t want to push his body a little over a month before the Olympics, his daily training could be shocking to other athletes at the moment, and Jake knew that once he got better now he couldn''t improve again until the Olympics. So forcing yourself to increase training would not be a smart decision, after all, if he did as he normally did in daily training he would guarantee victory, with this routine even if he is in poor condition on marathon day he would still win because he was used to running almost 20 km more every day. Jake was always someone who tried to be safe in everything he did so he scolded himself so much for losing in New York for being rushed, so he was giving the utmost importance to make sure he would win the Olympics this time because the marathon in New York was every year, but the Olympics was only every 4 years. So Jake couldn''t accept defeat knowing that he could win, even though he was still young now in another 4 years he planned to be at another point in his life, Jake was thinking that in the upcoming Olympics he would at least try to compete for 3 medals of gold. Jake hoped that after 4 years of training and winning 5 more major marathons, he could greatly increase his Resistance stats and so long-distance racing would no longer be a challenge for him. Fortunately, he would also gain 5 agility points which would further increase his chances of competing in competitions that demanded as much speed as Resistance, Jake was expecting a lot from the training he could do in the coming years with his new coach. The other day while Jake was getting ready to go training he finally got a call from director Crowe, Jake thought the director had already given up inviting him to make a cameo in the movie. After all, it was only a few months before the Olympics, and after the Olympics were over, the director''s movie would be close to release, but it seems that the director wanted to shoot some early scenes and call Jake only when it was time for the director to prepare the scene for him. Jake went to where the scenes would be shot, the director seemed to be shooting some scenes near Miami and thought it was the right time to call Jake to film. Jake met with director Crowe at a restaurant near Miami to talk before the movie, as they had no studio in Miami and the scenes they would shoot would be in the open The recording crew was in a nearby hotel. The crew would do some scenes with Tom Cruise who was in town too, so Jake was curious to know what kind of scenes he would do, he already knew the director didn''t give him any major roles, but Jake hoped to have some scenes with at least lines. "Hi Jake, thanks for coming when I called." "I appreciate the director opportunity, I always wanted to play a Hollywood movie, but after I started playing basketball I thought I wouldn''t have that opportunity until I met you." Jake was being modest of course, he couldn''t say that he was thinking of financing a less well-known movie to play in Hollywood, after all, Jake also knew about low-investment films that became famous. In a few more years Jake would even be able to finance such a movie to be able to act after all this movie had less than 60 million invested, Jake could finance 10 percent of the movie and have a chance to act and would not lose money on that movie yet which raised more than 4 times the amount invested. But he was glad he didn''t have to do it and had found an opportunity before, after all even if he could act he would be slighted for paying to have a chance to appear in the movie rather than receive like the other actors. "That''s good so you must be curious about what you''re going to do, aren''t you?" "Yes I am, I''m a little apprehensive about whether I will be able to perform correctly on such a great movie." "I trust your skills, in fact, the scene you''re going to do was not in the script and I thought about it after I met you." "And how are you going to be a director?" "I''ll give you the script for you to study, then there is the information of what you are going to do on the scene, if you do it well you will be remembered even if you have only a small part in the movie, but if it doesn''t look like I think I''ll have to cut in editing. " "Believe me, director, I won''t let you down." After that Jake went to a nearby hotel where he would be staying in the next few days, after all, he had money to pay the hotel did not make sense that he would come and go home every day, it was a very long distance that could disrupt the filming. Jake had never participated in any movies before so he didn''t know how it would be done or how many hours the crew would have to work every day, even if his scene wasn''t particularly big he would have some talk with Tom Cruise, that was enough to leave he excited. Over the next few days Jake watched some filming while he waited for his turn, most of the filming they were doing was with Tom Cruise, but Jake didn''t remember many of those scenes. Maybe they were all cut into editing, Jake remembered seeing somewhere that the best movies sometimes had more than 10 hours of footage to be edited for less than 2 hours, in the end, Jake knew this would be a great movie so maybe it was the case. As a guarantee he brought one of Matthew''s cameras that were camcorders as well, so he would leave a copy of what he did in case the scenes were cut and he didn''t appear in the movie, so he would post the movie on youtube after a few years. Since he was just a small character he didn''t have to sign any confidentiality terms, so it was not forbidden for him to record a scene he did, at the end of the recordings he wanted an opportunity to talk to Tom Cruise. But it was hard to find the right time to talk to the actor, after all when he wasn''t recording he was talking to someone on the film crew or the director, it seemed to be true that he took the job very seriously. But Jake knew he would have a chance to talk to him the day he was recording with Tom Cruise, he had seen that Cruise was very polite and talked to all the actors opposite him, even the ones he didn''t talk to much. Jake had decorated his lines and the lines of other actors while waiting for it so he was the only actor on the set without a script in his hands, the others just as Jake always watched when Cruise acted, after all, it was like a class for new actors. After a few days, everyone''s scenes were almost over and they got some rest and the principal took the opportunity to call Jake to do the scenes he had to do it because Jake''s scenes would be done at a school that allowed filming. So the headmaster had to be fast on recordings and it would take fewer people not to bother the students who were in school yet, thankfully the headmaster had Jake to shoot the scenes quickly. The first scene was in the athletic field, and Jake just had to do a run as he did in training and the cameraman would choose a part of the shoot to put a small part in the movie. Then Jake went to the court and in the school basketball team''s uniform would have to make a few plays with other extras for a small scene to be chosen. Normally the actors knew nothing about what the movie would look like so they just recorded the scenes as the director told them and had to replay the scenes several times, but Jake knew these scenes would be edited to form the scene that took place at the beginning of the movie. It would be a scene in the beginning when the character Jerry played by Tom Cruise would tell a story about several talented young athletes from many different sports, Jake understood why the director said he decided to rewrite the script after meeting him. That was because Jake would probably be presented by the character Jerry as someone who played two sports if Jake won the Olympics would be even better for director Crowe''s movie and in the future even more if Jake excelled in basketball. Chapter 243 Preparations For The Olympics 9 If Jake could ever win several gold medals and win some NBA awards, the director would be considered a visionary for talking about it in the movie, of course, the director was probably not thinking about it. In fact, Director Crowe didn''t even count on Jake being able to win the marathon at these Olympics, he just knew that Jake was really talented and that they would compete at this Olympiad and perhaps several other Olympics. So the director was thinking more about the short-term impact that Jake could have on the movie if Jake was good at the Olympics the director could use Jake as part of the movie''s marketing and attract more people to watch the movie. After all Director Crowe didn''t know about the future like Jake, he had no way of knowing that his movie even without Jake helping in marketing could become one of the box office champions that year 1996, if that happens after Jake appears the director might even relate Jake''s appearance with the success of the movie. Jake hoped something like this would happen, so he could have more invitations to perform in other movies in the future, so Jake could choose to appear only in movies where he knew the movie would be a hit or had good reviews. So Jake could be known for only acting in hit movies which would be good for his image as an actor, Jake was only 17 now and could still stay in the movie business for another 25 years with his looks. On the first day, Jake spent a few hours shooting the scenes that director Crowe wanted as the director hoped Jake had great acting skills and went through exactly what the director wanted in a few tries. It was impossible for Jake to get it all at first, even knowing what the director wanted him to do after all This was not just a regular commercial but a Hollywood movie that was known for its quality. After a few hours Principal Crowe and the film crew left school, the principal did not have time to check on the video if the scenes had turned out well, but the time they had asked for the recording school was over. As a guarantee, the director had asked for three days, but he didn''t think it would be necessary after Jake was acting after they returned to the hotel the director checked the recording and saw that they got better than he expected so the recordings of these scenes with Jake were closed. Jake still had one more scene to record and then his participation in the movie would end, after all the movie was more about American football than other sports, and Jake could not participate in those scenes. Jake was thinking that he could play Frank Cushman the "Cush", Cush was a quarterback that would be the number one pick in the NFL Draft, but even that Cush didn''t have many appearances in the movie. After checking Jake''s recordings for the day, director Crowe called Jake to dinner with him at the hotel, after all the director was also a big sports fan and hoped that Jake could really succeed in sports not just because of the movie. Because the director thought Jake was very talented and could also add a lot to the sport in the coming years, Jake didn''t know what director Crowe was thinking but accepted dinner with the director because he thought they would talk about the movie. "You were very good at recording today Jake, I thought you had talent when I saw you recording those commercials, but the way you performed today it seemed like you had taken drama classes before." "I''ve never done any of this in my 17 years of life, not because I didn''t want to, but because I never had time, having to go to school all these years I found it hard to have time to train for basketball games." Crowe also agreed with what Jake was saying, someone who played basketball and studied should not have time for anything, let alone do some drama classes, if that still showed Jake had a huge talent and potential for film. Prior to this movie director, Crowe just considered inviting Jake to his movie on a whim, but now it seemed that in the future he might give Jake a chance to play a bigger role in one of his future films. "You must have spent many years training to be so good at marathons too, haven''t you?" "Not really, I''ve started working hard for athletics in the last 2 years, but I was so successful because I''ve been training my body for basketball since I was 10, so I was over 4 years old before to start training." Crowe was impressed by this, he had heard that basketball and football were the most demanding sports and training in the world, especially in the United States that had the NFL and the NBA. He even once heard that a player who can excel in the NBA or NFL could compete at a high level in any sport, now he had to believe that because Jake was proof that this was true. "Do I have to shoot any scenes, tomorrow director?" "Yes, luckily you did very well today so we could get our work done a few days, so let''s try to shoot this scene in the next few days so you can get back to your training." Jake was happy to have more scenes to shoot the other day, even if he wanted more scenes he knew this was impossible, so it was better to get it over with quickly and so Jake would be totally focused on his training until the start of the Olympics. Even if he had been expecting so much Jake knew he had a good chance he might not even appear in the movie after director Crowe was edited, but he would be happy to have recorded for that movie just the same. Not to mention that he had today''s recordings on his camcorder as well, after that they talked about a few more things before Jake left for his hotel, the next day he would record with Tom Cruise, so he was anxious. Arriving at the hotel Jake thought of sleeping early to wake up well-rested, but was very eager to sleep, he knew he had done well on the day of recording because he was alone and so could just do the way he knew. But he did not know how the scene would be recorded the next day, after all in the script just said he would have a dialogue with Tom Cruise, but did not say exactly how it would be done, Jake knew more or less in which scene this speech could happen, but that it was impossible to happen in Miami. Jake tried to calm down because he knew that being nervous and insecure could cause him to fail to act properly the next day, so while he was thinking about how to calm down and sleep the system spoke to him again. [If you are not confident that everything will work out of course why not make acting as your fourth job?] "You yourself said that having too many jobs could affect my focus, even if you said that for sports I think this goes for all my jobs, after all, I am trying to increase the statistics of my second job after I got it." [If that''s what you''re worried about, you can rest easy, this work won''t create any new statistics and can still give you some useful skills.] Jake was excited after hearing this, he knew that when the system said something was good that thing could help him a lot in the future, so Jake decided not to hesitate anymore and accept the councils of the system as he always did. "Alright then, Fate, I want my fourth job to be an actor." [So that''s done, do you want to see your statistics window?] "Yes, show me." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Actor] [Intelligence 59] [Luck 99] [Charm 39] [Eloquence 39] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [Emotion Control D] [Communication Skills B] [Photographic Memory B] [Positioning B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was happy to see his new statistics window for his fourth job, just as the system had already said no new statistics were created and just as Jake had thought before the charm and eloquence statistics were the most important he had received from the system. in your second job. In addition, the skills he had received were as important as the system had said, in terms of maximum utility and rarity they lost a little to the skills of his second job that were the most useful he could have for his life. But even if those skills were put in his fourth job, they could also be used in basketball games, even more, positioning was a fundamental skill for a Center and for him who was fighting for rebounds. Jake could also know that if he raised these 4 skills to the S rank he would be the best actor in the world, but of course Jake knew well that raising his skills to the S rank would be much harder until the skills of his third job and just a little easier than basketball. [I''ll explain these skills to you Jake, Emotion Control must be a skill you understand as it works the higher the rank of this skill the more you can control your emotions, you can hide the sadness or start crying suddenly.] [With the rank of this skill increases you will also be able to perceive the true emotion of others as well, so something that happened to your mother in her past life of hiding that she was depressed can never happen again.] [Besides, you can also express your emotion much better by your facial expression, so you could even act in a silent movie.] Jake was surprised that this Emotion Control skill was more useful than he thought before, he could literally control his emotions and know all about it, along with his See Through ability from his second job no one in the world could lie or hide anything anymore for him. With that Jake could start working as a detective or police officer and even get into the FBI, most importantly that he could better understand his mother and women in general, it would be much easier for him to find a girlfriend now. If the system knew what Jake was thinking he would go crazy if the statistic of charm and eloquence increased further with his current skills he could win any woman he wanted and would be the ideal man for many who expect to be understood by their husbands. Chapter 244 Preparations for the Olympics 10 [Communication Skills is the strongest skill for you in those you received with a fourth job, a skill that will make you much more sociable and will increase the efficiency of all your second and fourth job skills.] [The higher this skill rank increases the more your communication skills increase, so you can always find the best words to use in important conversations and also the best time to speak, even the right tone of voice to use in a conversation.] Jake could also understand how this skill would be extremely useful to him, and if used with the leadership statistic or policy would be even better depending on the situation, he could cheer up his teammates a lot and boost their morale even losing the game by dozens of points. [Photographic Memory is a skill you should be well aware of what you can do, it will improve your memory and further accelerate the speed of thinking you have.] [You thought you had an excellent memory before, but if this skill gets to the top rank you will be able to remember everything you see after one time, if you pick up a book and just skim through the pages you will remember of content.] [Of course, remembering the content does not mean that you will learn everything you read, but you will be able to slowly try to understand in your memory after seeing things, not to mention that you can also choose what you want to forget about the top rank of that ability.] Jake could also understand how useful this skill was, but for him, it was the least useful skill he had received in this fourth job, after all, Jake already thought his memory was very good and didn''t need to improve further. It would be different if he could learn all things just by looking, but it was not so, as the system said, he would only ever remember what he saw, there were things he might never learn even after memorizing everything. [Positioning is a skill you can understand well too, so knowing how to position yourself on scenes that you have to shoot instinctively in basketball just might not seem important, but you know better than anyone what that means.] Just as the system said this was an extremely useful skill for Jake, he could play basketball much more easily, having good positioning is considered a talent in many sports. In addition to basketball, American football and normal football were good examples of the importance of this skill, a good center forward in football would score hundreds of goals if it had a skill like that at most. After seeing the skills he had gained Jake was much calmer for the recordings of the other day, even though the rank of those skills was not high yet, Jake knew that just having those skills would greatly improve his acting skills and confidence as well. The other day later they started shooting Jake''s scene, Jake was in a hotel room that was the scene of the scene, just as he thought after remembering the movie, he would be in the scene where Jerry was played by Tom Cruise had just been fired after writing a ''goal plan'' and sending it to his colleagues at the company. He was fired because in his goals plan Jerry said that the company should have fewer customers and care more about them individually, so it went against the company''s interests. After being fired Jerry wants to take revenge on the company and leave the company with all the clients he has worked for several years, so in his office, Jerry calls several clients trying to convince them to continue working with him instead of the SMI company where he was fired. On one of these calls, he calls Jake and unlike the other calls he doesn''t ask Jake to work with him but says Jake doesn''t have to work with anyone to succeed and money and suggests that Jake leave the company too. So Jake says he''ll take Jerry''s advice and no longer have a sports agent, which is what Jake does in real life, but in Jake''s case, he doesn''t work with any sports agent because he thinks he doesn''t need to. After all Jake doesn''t think about playing basketball just to make money but to do what he likes so he doesn''t care much about having the best deals or sponsors paying him tens of millions of dollars a year. Jake is well aware that he no longer has to earn money to live or get rich, he can count on his investments for that, of course, he will want to earn a fair wage at least, if he is the best player on the team he will not accept having lower staff salaries for example. Jake really thought this might be the scene he was shooting, but in this scene, Tom Cruise wouldn''t need to talk to him, after all, Jerry would be sitting in his office talking to his clients and not personally, just a few that he talks to himself. After director Crowe explained to Jake that he would just have to hold a phone while pretending to be talking to Tom Cruise that he would not show up at the scene and would stand aside just talking as if he were actually talking on the phone. This would make it easier for Director Crowe to see what it would look like after editing, so Jake understood and prepared to record the scene, he was standing near the couch in the hotel with his phone in his hands as he prepared to start playing with Tom Cruise. After getting the fourth job Jake was no longer nervous, especially now that Tom Cruise would just talk to him and not appear on the scene, plus the director said that Jake would play him even in the movie so it could be natural. "Hi Jake, it''s Jerry speaking." "Jerry, how are you?" "Not well, I just got fired and I''m calling my clients to find out who will leave SMI with me." "But you, I''m not trying to take with me, Jake, I wanted to tell you that you no longer have to work with anyone to have a lot of money and success, you can count on your talent and you can do it." "If you''re going to leave SMI then I won''t work with anyone else, you know I only accepted working with an agent because it was you, Jerry." "Hahaha so that''s fine, I''ll have to talk to other clients." "Good luck to you Jerry." "Good luck to you too, Jake, see you around." It was just a few lines and Jake was very calm and relaxed, he looked worried when he heard that Jerry had been fired and showed gratitude when he heard Jerry''s advice, it was simple and this time Director Crowe thought it was perfect, but he still asked to Jake and Tom Cruise do the same scene a few more times to have more options at the time of editing. After the recordings were over Jake finally relaxed, he seemed calm thanks to his new skills and his confidence, but he was still tense with the pressure of responsibility while shooting the scenes, especially since director Crowe asked the scene to be remade several times. Jake knew that only a small piece of this scene would be left in the final edition, that if the scene was put into the movie, so he was happy and went off the camcorder that had recorded all the scenes he did and with Tom Cruise appearing in the scene. Tom Cruise was also surprised by Jake''s acting ability and the calmness of his recording, it was difficult for an actor to show empathy on the scene as Jake did as if he really knew some Jerry. Once the scenes were done he knew that the first time it was perfect, the director just remade the scene a few times to have more material for editing, he knew it as it was in the movie world a long time after the scene was over he decided to talk to Jake. "Jake!" Jake was a little surprised by Tom Cruise calling him, but he turned around after being called. "I meant that I thought you did very well in the scene you did, I even thought you were an experienced actor." "Thank you so much, this compliment from someone like you means so much to me." "I was just telling the truth." "Would you mind giving me and my mom an autograph, we are very fans of you." "Sure, no problem." Jake was very happy to be able to talk to Tom Cruise like that and still be praised, Tom Cruise was already very famous now and would be even more in the future, this year besides this movie he would be starring in the movie Mission: Impossible. After that Jake fired the camera crew and returned home, after all he had to train and had nothing more to do with the camera crew, not to mention that the team would leave town the other day. Before Jake left, Director Crowe still approached him for a message and an invitation. "A few months from now when the movie is finished we''re going to have a little celebration, but you should be at the Olympics when we do it, so I''ll invite you to a party if the movie succeeds at the box office or is nominated for some award." "So I''ll definitely go to this party, I have a feeling that this film will be a success at the box office and also will be successful among film critics and will compete for several awards, maybe even win some." "I hope you''re right, Jake." "I''m confident in my luck." After saying that Jake left home, this was the first time he had been away from Eva so long in his second life, he had to admit that he missed his mother, Jake was a little sad to realize that it would be even worse when he went to university. In a few months, he would also have to leave home long enough to stay in the Olympic village, it was like preparation of what was coming for the second half, Eva said he would watch the marathon competition on the last day, but before that he would not be doing anything. Luckily he could watch some Olympics competitions as a right, after all, he was an American athlete in an Olympics that was in the United States, it would be absurd if he didn''t have some rights. Chapter 245 The Olympics 1 Eva was very happy when Jake returned home and even more so when she received Tom Cruise''s autograph, she was very proud to know that her son would be in a movie with Tom Cruise. She didn''t have to wait long to see, Jake showed her the camcorder footage, the picture quality was much lower than the cinema, but Eva was happy to see her son performing with Tom Cruise. Of course Jake explained that if this was put into the movie he wouldn''t appear with Tom Cruise in the scene, yet she didn''t care, it was cool enough to see her son playing a great actor. Over the next few weeks Jake spent his training, he was focused on winning for sure at the Olympics, the school also ended after a few weeks and Jake didn''t attend prom as he said he wouldn''t. He wasn''t a party-keeper, and besides the people in his room and some people on the basketball and football team, he had no one he knew at this ball, and even if he does, it wouldn''t hurt everyone''s ball. Everyone closest to Jake who studied with him got great grades and went to the universities that took the test, of course, he still had to know if they would be accepted by the universities. Basketball and football teams would have the help of the school as promised to them when they all transferred to Elite school, of course not everyone would receive a scholarship. But just the opportunity to go to university would be something many young people would fight for, so everyone was pleased, having entered the elite school that had a good reputation helped all students get a chance at university. Jake had a party at his house after the prom and called all his classmates, his teammates in basketball and football, everyone who was invited to the party showed up and was surprised to see Jake''s mansion. Few students outside the basketball team knew that Jake was rich, many were prejudiced and also thought that Jake was poor for getting into the school through a scholarship, but now they realized how foolish they were, Jake never needed a scholarship with how he had as much money as he was smart. That was a happy day when they would meet maybe for the last time, some let it slip that Jake would attend the Olympics and everyone promised they would watch and cheer for Jake, Jake thought he was lucky not to say he had participated in the Tom Cruise movie. At the end of the party Jake stayed with only his closest friends, he talked much more with his basketball teammates, after all even though Jake intended to keep in touch with them was not something that could be guaranteed. He also wanted to keep in touch with his teammates he had before moving to Elite school, but now he couldn''t find anyone else to talk to, Jake didn''t even know if they entered a university or started work. That''s why Jake had the idea of ??having a party like this, he didn''t like the ball and so he had to create a similar event to have good memories of all his friends after everyone left only Joseph had been left behind. Joseph would later go to Princeton University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and Liza wanted to help Joseph after college if she was to marry him, but as they were not even engaged she decided to do journalism at Columbia University. So they would be separated for 4 years while studying, that would be a good test to know if they would really love each other even after 4 years without being able to spend much time together, Jake would also have to separate from his best friend. But their friendship was harder to break, after all, Jake would still always keep in touch with Matthew and Oliver, plus he would have 5 percent of the company stock that Joseph would have to take on in the future. Even though Jake felt emotional about having to part with a friend who stayed with him for 7 years, after those years apart Jake wanted them to remain, friends, Joseph felt the same way. "Our school time is over, isn''t it?" "At least high school is over, we still have university and a few more years to study and say it''s really over." "Are you going to be okay staying so long away from Liza?" "I will miss her, fortunately, we can see each other several times in those 4 years, after that we will be ready to think about marriage." "Study well over the next few years and you''ll be ready to take over your grandfather''s company." "I will, luckily I''ll still have you to help me when the time comes." "You can count on me." "I hope you succeed in college basketball at the university you are going to, and also in the Olympics this year if you have time to get a girlfriend for you too." They continued talking for some time and Joseph left later, so Jake knew it was official, high school was over, in a few days Jake would have to go to the Olympic Village and after that to the university in North Caroline. When Jake had to go to college he would have to separate from his mother too, it was hard for Jake to do that, luckily Eva would still have Anna and the restaurant not to be alone in those years. Jake had to think about how to get new friends at university, luckily he knew he wouldn''t suffer any bias for being a scholarship holder, and if he did well at the Olympics and basketball he would be easier to find new friends too. It was still a few weeks before the opening ceremony of the Olympics, so Jake continued with the training and stayed with his mother while he waited; he could go to the Olympic Village in Atlanta, Georgia in a few days. But he would be in no hurry to go there, after all, Jake would compete only at the end of the Olympics, Jake didn''t have many people he would like to meet at those Olympics, he didn''t follow those competitions very much in his past life and much less before this year He was very young. So Jake started to become a fan of some athletes only after a few years, and some of the athletes he was a fan of were even from other countries who took major US medals in various Olympics. Michael Phelps whom he liked best would not be in the Olympics this year yet, Jake greatly admired Michael Phelps because he knew he was one of the best Olympians of all time. In fact, Jake started thinking about competing in various competitions and trying to win several medals because Michael Phelps started it, of course, this is almost impossible for Jake to beat his idol in athletics, he could win 10 medals for Olympics if he didn''t try other things than running. So Jake wasn''t very greedy about it, after all, Jake had basketball too and Michael Phelps didn''t have that, if he could win more than 10 gold medals he would be very happy about it. After spending a few more weeks at home training and staying with his friends Jake went to the Olympic village in early July 1996, he arrived at the place and went unnoticed by the other athletes. After all, not even the youngest he was, Jake was glad not to be recognized and found the place where he would be for the next 2 months, after arriving at the Olympic village Jake did not intend to leave until near opening day. Jake decided to go early to settle in with the place and the weather and also to get away from the reporters, he had decided that he would leave these next months to rest well and be ready for the day of the competition. After a few weeks of rest Jake had gone out a few times to talk to other athletes, luckily he could speak other languages ??and thus talk to many athletes from various countries. Jake met some people he knew would win competitions or be medalists after he got Photographic Memory skill he could remember many things he had forgotten in his past life in detail. So he worked especially hard to remember who had gotten good positions at the 1996 Olympics, he talked to Antonella Bellutti from Italy, Laura Flessel-Colovic and Marie-Jose P¨¦rec from France. Marie-Jos¨¦ P¨¦rec won two gold medals at these women''s and women''s 200m and 400m Olympics, so Jake had especially more to talk to her, these athletes from other countries were happy to talk to Jake in their languages ??even while in the United States. Jake also spoke to the German athlete Isabell Werth of whom he was a fan too, he took all his language skills to talk to these people, of course, Jake also spoke to American athletes that he was a fan. Jake also spoke to Michael Johnson who would win two gold medals in the 200 and 400-meter races, and also spoke to Amy Van Dyken who was a talented swimmer who would win 4 gold medals at these Olympics. Jake was very fond of her for her talent and took the opportunity to give her some tips to take care of herself after a few years, Jake remembered that she would have an ATV accident in over 17 years, but he couldn''t say something like that clearly. Even though it was hard for that to change anything, unfortunately, the system had prevented Jake from interfering with any accident that had nothing to do with his life directly. So Jake had to accept, he really wanted to warn the world of many accidents that would cause many deaths, so he was sad to be stopped, but already expected it when he returned in time. In fact, Jake had already changed the future a lot with all the things he was doing, at these Olympics he knew that there would be a terrorist attack that would kill a person, but he couldn''t interfere with that. After a few more weeks the opening day of the Olympics finally arrived, Jake was getting anxious to wait so long, he received the clothes he would have to wear at the opening ceremony and went to prepare to enjoy the show and parade with the other athletes. The opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics took place in the evening on Friday 19 July in the Centennial Olympic Stadium. This was the hundredth Olympics to be held in the modern age, a milestone that would also be the first time Jake would compete. Chapter 246 The Olympics 2 Jake was very nervous as the opening took place, nor could his Jake''s Emotion Control skill take away the excitement and pride he felt as he watched the opening of the Olympics that was held in his country. Seeing this only increased the desire to win a gold medal in the marathon, Jake remembered seeing the opening of these Olympics on television, he thought it was very beautiful and just complained about taking too long. But being in the stadium personally watching everything happening, he understood that it was a much more wonderful spectacle than watching it on television, the other athletes also seemed to be feeling the same emotion as him. After a while, it was time for the parade of the countries to participate in these Olympics, as the host country the United States would be the last country to parade and so Jake would have to expect all over 10,000 athletes from 196 countries competing in 26 sports pass before your turn came. Of course, probably not everyone was present at this opening ceremony, Jake personally would never think of missing such an event, when he paraded with the American athletes Jake felt much more proud. After Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic cauldron and the opening ceremony was over, even if Jake could participate in other Olympics he could not forget that moment. Then in the next few weeks, Jake followed the swimming and gymnastics events that he enjoyed most, and then also followed the events he knew the United States would win a medal. Later when the athletic events started Jake never left Centennial Olympic Stadium where he had competitions where he was most interested and could learn many things as well. Jake didn''t even watch the television and just follow everything he could personally, he knew that the United States would be first in the medal table with 101 medals including 44 gold medals. So the Olympics passed quickly, on the day of the accident Jake couldn''t even sleep thinking he could have prevented this accident, as the system knew it was his fault that helped Jake erase that feeling from him. Jake was a little afraid after learning that the system could only erase his memories and feelings at will but soon calmed down thinking that if the system wanted to do him any harm he didn''t even have to give him a second chance to live. Jake felt very good to see the American athletes and their idols from other countries winning the medals, he managed to gain some friendship from Amy Van Dyken and Isabell Werth from Germany. They both found Jake very kind and charismatic when he said they were great athletes, Jake told Amy that she would win several medals at this Olympics and next after she won when he was watching she was quite happy about it. For Isabell Werth, Jake said this was just the beginning and she would still be one of the great athletes in Germany and the world for the next 20 years, which made her happy after winning the medals. Everyone liked compliments and Jake was speaking with sincerity and calm, not to mention that not many athletes respected them at these Olympics before Jake, in a few more years they would be recognized for being great athletes, but not yet. So finally came the day when Jake would compete, it was the end of these Olympics and some athletes even left the Olympic Village at that point, Jake was happy that his mother and friends were watching and cheering for him. The friends he made at this Olympics were also rooting for him, Amy would be happy that Jake won another medal for the United States and Isabell had no hope that the German athletes would win and was also rooting for Jake. The marathon was on Sunday, August 4, 1996. The race started at 07.55 local times to avoid excessively hot and humid conditions, Jake didn''t care much about the temperature or the weather. After training for over a year and training over 3 months running 60 km a day just to be fully prepared Jake was not worried about anything else that day, he knew that only he himself could hinder the victory of this Olympics. Many did not think so, but American commentators felt that Jake was certainly a favorite for this marathon, after all, he had three great results in the marathons he has completed so far. It showed that if he was in good shape Jake could end up winning the marathon and winning the forty-fifth gold medal for his country, who knew Jake during the Olympics and his old friends knew that Jake was very confident of winning this marathon. This was known as the most disputed marathon in the history of the Olympics, but that didn''t make Jake afraid it was even better for him, for the first 30 kilometers he could keep up a slower pace and in the final kilometers leave everyone behind. Jake was just worried about getting knocked out by other athletes, so he would have to run carefully so that didn''t happen as in training he could run 60 km he was not afraid of not finishing the race. At the beginning of the race, Jake did exactly what he planned, he managed to be much calmer after getting the Emotion Control skill that he used several times to calm down after he received. At the 1996 Olympics he saw in his past life he knew that South Africa''s Josia Thugwane had won and South Korea''s Lee Bong-Ju was second, this time they would be second and third if Jake won. In the first 10 km of the race, Jake was always in the top 20 and never in first, he kept a much lower running pace than he usually did so he was also getting tired much less than usual. "I think Jake may be able to win this race for our country, he may be young at just 17, but he has already raced high in two major marathons and took first place in this year''s qualifiers." "I also think he is certainly a favorite to win, the problem is that as the sports media said he is very young and an Olympic competition has a lot more pressure than a normal race." "Jake is really a young genius who besides competing for a marathon medal still plays basketball very well, he won the high school national basketball championship again this year." "In addition to winning the championship he also won the MVP award in the two years, he also has a record of more than 20 consecutive triple-double games and in this year''s national championship final game he made a quintuple double in the game to ensure the victory for your team." "I think he should give up basketball and focus only on athletics, he''s already one of the biggest marathon names in the world even though he''s so young, but in basketball, he''s just in the beginning, he has college before he even tried the NBA. " "It looks like he doesn''t think about giving up, he goes to the University of North Carolina basketball team, so clearly he went there to win titles." "He''s pretty smart having one of the best grades in the whole country, so I think he knows what he does." NBC commentators, as well as the others, did not think that Jake could really win at this early marathon all athletes were less than 30 seconds away from the first place so everyone could win. But after a few km of the marathon, some would start falling behind and others would open a good lead, so they thought Jake would be left behind after a few more km of competition. They were commenting to the American public so it was normal for them to say that Jake who was the best runner in the country could win even thinking otherwise, not to mention that they had no recorded interviews with Jake unlike the other athletes because they thought that He could not win. After 20 km of the race, many were still very close to the first place and some stayed behind just as the commentators thought, but Jake was still in the front and didn''t even look tired in the race. When everyone passed the 30 km marathon Jake was one of the first to realize why he had the system to show him the time, just as he planned he began to take advantage of the other runners ahead. "See, this is the first time Jake has been in the lead since the start of the marathon, he seems to want to take advantage of the other runners, do you think this could be his racing strategy?" "I think it''s quite possible, he has been growing in experience and performance since the first marathon he won in Chicago, in New York he was much faster than in his first marathon and ended up hurting himself by straining himself, but in that year he was first with a good time in qualifying for the Olympics." "Now that you have spoken he has a test time in Chicago of 2 hours and 9 minutes, in New York his time was 2 hours, 11 minutes and 45 seconds because he got injured and his time before that was for the world record." "In this year''s marathon he had a time of 2 hours and 8 minutes and 30 seconds and in this race, he seems to be much slower than he usually runs." A marathon is a competition that takes more than 2 hours to complete, so commentators have to prepare a lot of interesting things to talk about beyond the race, so they end up saying a lot of things they don''t even believe in just to get the audience excited. So they said Jake was among the first to say that he could win even though he didn''t really believe it could happen now they took advantage that Jake came first and started to take advantage to show that he could be planning this and going for the win himself who didn''t believe it. But after taking Jake''s data from previous marathons they realized that this time they might be right, Jake was actually known for always taking advantage at the start of the race or after 30 kilometers of a marathon. And he was really getting faster in the last marathons, so they really started to believe that this was Jake''s strategy to be the winner of this marathon that was so balanced from the start after all the commentators were Americans too. Chapter 247 The Olympics 3 This cheered not only the commentators but also all Americans watching the race, the United States had taken first place in the medal table for the first time after many years, many athletes stood out in this Olympics. This was the last competition and everyone wanted an American to win to close this gold-key Olympics, and Jake was the hope of all Americans if he were just an ordinary athlete they would not be very hopeful, but he was a winner two marathons, so they believed him. After another 5 km of marathon Jake opened a big advantage of second-place that was still close to third and fourth place, Josia thought he could really win this marathon and become a hero of his country. After that, he would be respected as an athlete and was in great shape to run today, but he realized that unless Jake got hurt or tired he could no longer dream of first place. Lee Bong-Ju of Korea also thought the same of Josia, he thought it would be difficult to pass competitors who were on the same level as him and were all running close, but he wanted to win another medal for Asia. But he also realized that he couldn''t get past Jake in this marathon even if he gave everything he had after Jake went through km 40 he had a huge lead for second place. "It looks like it''s already decided, after entering the stadium with this huge advantage for second place Jake comes to win this gold medal for our country." "Jake really seems to be another of our athletics pillars for the next few years, he was winning this 17-year-old Olympics, it will be his third marathon victory." "That''s true, at this age he could still compete in 6 more Olympics until he can''t run anymore, so he''s another big hope of medal for our so strong athletics." "In recent years African athletes have begun to stand out more and more in sports, especially in long-distance races, it''s good to see an American athlete being able to compete with them." NBC commentators had forgotten that they didn''t believe in Jake before the marathon, now they as well as everyone knew the young man would win this marathon. In the final meters of the race, Jake was no longer even worried about competitors, from the system dashboard he could see the time he was doing in this marathon, so according to his memories of his past life, Jake knew he had a big advantage for him. the second. After the middle of the race, Jake calmed down completely and just focused on his running pace and breathing so he finished this first marathon easily and managed to win the gold medal he wanted so badly. Jake finished the marathon in 2 hours and 9 minutes, it was a worse time than he did earlier this year, but he ran this marathon to win safely, after a few moments he was very happy to have won as he wanted and had trained so much for that. Jake looked at the people at the stadium who were applauding him a lot and he was very happy and waved to the audience calmly, after a few minutes the second and third place came together to win the silver and bronze medal. "Really amazing feat of Jake winning this marathon and getting this gold medal in the end, he seems to have done it easily and celebrated quietly with the crowd at the stadium, it looks like he really was prepared and confident for the win." "True, I sincerely hoped that this final would be decided in seconds and it was very exciting as was the run for second place, but Jake was clearly much better than all the competitors and deserved to win this gold medal." Jake managed to hold on, but in fact, he was very thrilled, it was a unique feeling to win these Olympics, he felt a lot of pride and satisfaction after winning, now he understood why many athletes cried after competitions ended. Jake greeted the athletes who came in second and third and then waited on the track not knowing what to do, Jake did not know that he had won the approval of commentators and fans for greeting the other competitors. Also, everyone could see that Jake didn''t even look tired and was breathing normally after winning and the other athletes were exhausted and trying to recover this clearly showed Jake''s advantage over other competitors. After a while, the medals were handed over and Jake received the gold medal with an audience of thousands in the stadium and millions of people in the world, all were waiting to see the closing ceremony. When they saw Jake received the medal everyone at the stadium cheered him again, the friends he had made at these Olympics also applauded Jake a lot and were surprised to see him win, even though Jake looked confident before he was not arrogant at any time. Then there was the closing ceremony and so the end of these Atlanta Olympics in 1996, Jake was happy with the gold medal but was not satisfied with it, he knew it was just the beginning and that in the next Olympics he hoped to win. 3 more gold medals besides this one at least. Jake said goodbye to his friends at this Olympics and went to meet Eva who had waited for him after the closing ceremony, Jake was thinking of leaving with her as soon as the Olympics were over. The NBC film crew looked for Jake after the marathon and after the closing ceremony, but Jake wasn''t interested in talking to them now, they might have interviewed him before but disregarded him. Now Jake thought it was fair that he wouldn''t do any interviews either, next time maybe, mainly because he wanted to leave home soon to be with his mother before going to college that would be very soon. But even though he didn''t appear in any interview after getting a gold medal, Jake was now much more famous than before, now he was on par with some lesser-known actors in the movies. This big showing that was the Atlanta Olympics for Jake helped, even more, to identify with Jake''s commercials earlier this year and even remember Jake''s commercial for Tiffany and Clara''s companies. So besides Jake, the ones who got the most out of it were their sponsors who now had companies known internationally, when the internet became more popular in a few years these companies would gain even more prominence with what Jake did. Director Crowe was also attending these Olympics, he was very happy and surprised to see Jake get this gold medal, even though he called Jake for his movie because he would compete in the Olympics. The director didn''t expect Jake to win so he felt very lucky after that happened, on filming he realized that Jake was a great actor that could be used in his other films, and with Jake getting this gold medal would be a great advertisement for the movie to have a gold medalist. Jake came home with his mother and no one realized that, even though he was well known after winning this Olympics his house was totally safe, Jake decided to buy this mansion in this place with good security just thinking that something like this could happen. When Jake needed to pass the address to someone he would pass the address of his old house, so only his friends knew where he lived and could not visit Jake without going through security. Few also knew that Eva was Jake''s mother, so it was only good to raise the reputation of her restaurant, Jake had already provided the security guards who had always accompanied Eva since moving to the new home. Jake had only a few days to enjoy at home before going to college, just as he had said goodbye to almost all his friends so he no longer needed to spend a lot of time saying goodbye. The other day Jake passed the restaurant at a time when they were preparing for dinner time and so there was no one there when Jake arrived the first person he met as always was Lola. Lola was feeling very sad because she thought she would no longer have a chance to be with Jake if she couldn''t make it by now, after all now Jake was going to college and so it would be very difficult for them to see each other. If it was hard for her to conquer Jake before, now it was even harder Lola cried for a few days when she was home and took care that her father didn''t notice anything, only Eva and Anna knew what was going through her heart. They both tried to help Lola get closer to Jake, but they realized that Jake didn''t seem to really like Lola, if Jake was like other men he would surely pretend to like Lola to date her, after all, Lola was very pretty. Lola could be happy about this for a while longer would suffer much more in the future and Anna and Eva would be disappointed with Jake if he did so they didn''t interfere with Jake''s decision when they realized that he was just being honest with Lola. Jake didn''t tell anyone he wasn''t thinking about dating anyone right now because he still felt his heart closed after what happened to Jenny, nor did he tell anyone he thought about dating Lola if she still liked him after a few years. After all, if he did that was like leaving Lola stuck with him for those years waiting for something that might not happen, it was something Jake decided only for himself. "Hi, Lola, how are you?" "I''m fine Jake, congratulations on getting this gold medal at the Olympics, I was very happy for you." "Thank you, I was very happy about it, I trained a lot for several months to get this gold medal, I''m glad I did it." "When do you plan to go to university, Jake?" "I''m going for a little over a week, but I''ll be back whenever I can, by the end of the year I''ll be here for sure." "I hope everything works out for you there, both with classes and basketball." Chapter 248 The Olympics 4 Jake just said he''d come back whenever he could just to comfort Lola for some reason if Jake was really a 17-year-old he''d never stop dating a girl like Lola who was beautiful and affectionate. But Jake had a mindset of over 45 now, so he knew that if he did that he would be a scoundrel and would end up hurting Lola even more now, in fact, what kept Jake from trying to stay with Lola the most was that she was Pure of heart. He didn''t love Jenny either, but she was a girl who wouldn''t be heartbroken even if Jake broke up with her, so he tried to have a relationship with her, of course, he wasn''t just playing with Jenny and was really thinking about taking the relationship of them the serious. He didn''t expect it to be Jenny who would eventually break his heart, so Jake didn''t want to do the same to Lola, he quickly went out to meet his mother and Anna so as not to embarrass Lola who was almost crying. "Hi mom, hi Anna." "Jake, I didn''t know you would come here, congratulations on winning that gold medal, I was very proud of you, if you were in another country or even another city I''m sure you would ride the fire truck, you''re in Miami, the people here are used to champions." "Hahaha I''d say I was lucky then, I didn''t want to be ashamed of that, I know it''s an honor for some, but I''d be very embarrassed to do that." "My son is too shy to do something like that, but he looked like a proud peacock waving and celebrating with the stadium of thousands after winning the marathon." "Of course I would be proud of it, I trained a lot to win such a victory." "You didn''t bring me any autographs from Tom Cruise, Jake, you should get one for me too besides your mother." "You didn''t ask for me, I can give you an autograph instead, it''s not worth that much, but it''s a mix of an actor''s autograph and a gold medal winner at the Olympics." "So give me your autograph, that''s what I really wanted." After that Jake talked to Anna and Eva a bit more and left the restaurant, Anna wasn''t that sad about Jake going to college, after all, she knew Jake would come back whenever he could, and a city like Miami wouldn''t be home forever of Jake, Jake would be someone who would travel across the country after joining the NBA. The other day Jake wanted to talk to his sponsors, but Oliver called Jake to his house, he said Matthew would be there too, so Jake decided to say goodbye first of both, he knew he would still have to see Matthew a lot because of the company, but Oliver he wouldn''t see that much. "Hi Jake, sorry for calling you suddenly, I don''t know if you were busy with anything." "No problem Oliver, I''d come here after any way to say goodbye before I go to university." "I thought you wouldn''t come here, Joseph already went to New Jersey to see the university, I just wanted to say goodbye to you and thank you for helping Joseph so much in those years, if it wasn''t for you, he wouldn''t get this vacancy at Princeton." "He''s my friend, of course, I would help him out, besides, he''s smart and would get this vacancy on his own with a little more effort." "Glad to hear it, my dad is there in the office, you can go talk to him." So Jake went to see Matthew in the office, Jake believed he could still see Oliver many times in these upcoming semesters while Oliver still lived in Miami, after all, Oliver always helped Jake a lot when he could. "Hi Matthew, Oliver said you wanted to talk to me." "Jake, first congratulations on winning this gold medal, I watched that marathon and was very happy to see you win." "Thank you." "I called you here to talk about the company, with you at university it will be difficult for us to talk about the company easily like that." "Whenever you have something important to talk to me you can talk to Emily or to myself, I can come here or you go to college." "I know that I mean I can''t talk about things that aren''t that important, so it''s always good to hear your advice about the company''s products." "I invested some of that profit last year on factory improvements and building a new factory, and I hired a few more employees and definitely hired those who were temporary last year." "I also increased the salary of those working on digital camera technology development and to shrink and refine the camera to be placed on cell phones in the future as you suggested." "Part of that money I left for product inventory and part of that I invested in advertising and new product developments, the camera we were expecting is ready and much better than what we''re selling now." "So early next year we will put this new digital camera on the market, and in the coming years we will start trying to talk to some mobile companies to partner with." To others, it might seem funny that Matthew who was the oldest and owner of more than 75 percent of the company was reporting the company''s progress to Jake who was much younger and had only 5 percent of the shares that were given by Matthew himself. But Matthew didn''t think it was wrong, Jake had saved the company and made their value so high in recent years, so Matthew believed everything Jake said until something could go wrong. Jake also knew that Matthew was very competent and so the company can improve so much with just a few councils he gave Matthew, it was always important to invest in technology and product development. How Jake helped the technicians who were developing the technology by guiding them on the right track, Matthew''s new digital camera was already far superior to other competitors and different from the camera currently on the market. "I think you are doing everything right Matthew, but tell the techs to continue and develop this new digital camera, we have almost 6 months for it, this camera that we are currently selling has served to open the doors of the market and put the name of your company to the international market." "But the next digital camera that your company puts on the market will have to be far superior to all competing companies, so that will be the pillar for you to negotiate with the mobile companies over the coming years for a partnership agreement." "Unfortunately, I did some research and I think it will be difficult in the next few years to partner with computer companies, Apple has already developed their own digital camera and a contract with Microsoft could end up bad for your company." After improving memory Jake realized that it would be much harder than he thought to partner with a cellphone or laptop company, the companies that started putting cameras into laptops after 2000 were the ones that had started producing cameras before. Even smartphone companies at first didn''t care so much about camera quality, they just cared about having a basic camera on their cell phones, so Jake knew it could be problematic for Matthew''s company to find a suitable partner. Not to mention that although Jake helped Matthew''s company he didn''t want to change the future, so Jake would have to have a partnership that would be worth it to Matthew''s company like Samsung or Apple. Matthew also understood that it would be difficult to exploit a new market and they would have to have a good business partner to secure a good future for the company, so for now, they would have to keep focusing on digital camera sales. "So you think we have to keep investing in this technology even if we don''t know if it can work?" "The technology is sure to work, the problem is just finding a handset company that has good sales and that won''t betray us by starting to develop its own technology while having an exclusive contract with your company." That was really the biggest problem Jake had with the new technology, it could easily be stolen and researched, so they had to have a partnership that would guarantee the company billions of dollars and thus finance their company''s future technology development forever being in the lead. Jake had the advantage of knowing the market by 2019 so unless they are not able to create the technology Jake knows it shouldn''t be too much of a problem to stay ahead of the rest of the market. Matthew also trusted Jake a lot, so he would continue to invest a lot in this technology, in the future they could at most sell what they developed to recover the money invested. Not to mention that developing this technology also helped Matthew''s company to better develop the technology of his new digital cameras, so none of this was lost, nor would Matthew have to spend much on an investment after the initial investment he had already made. "I had an idea, Matthew, your company is currently focused only on digital camera sales which made a lot of profit last year, but what do you think about taking advantage of this ready-made technology you developed to start selling a webcam?" Matthew was a businessman who always wanted to know everything about the tech industry, so he knew what a webcam was, he had a QuickCam in his office himself. But he didn''t have such a broad view of the market and hadn''t even thought he was developing a webcam-like technology, in fact, Jake had given him several insights into a technology that was ahead of QuickCam. "It''s okay if you don''t understand how Matthew can be done, just have one of the technology developers we were investing in for cell phones to do reverse engineer and disassemble QuickCam, so they immediately understood how to produce and file a patent if their company hasn''t done it yet." Jake knew that a webcam would be one of technology''s best inventions for years to come, so it was much easier for Matthew to dominate this market and do even better than Apple that would try to dominate this market in a few years. Chapter 249 The Olympics 5 Jake knew, of course, that webcam sales could not come in even a portion of digital camera sales, but it was only for webcam sales to fund future development for smartphones. Matthew understood this and agreed to do so and had this technology immediately researched, so Matthew''s company would have more products to sell, after which Jake left Oliver''s house and prepared to visit his sponsors. Since the technology that was better than the current webcam was ready, Matthew had only to worry about the cost of production if it would be much lower because Matthew had an excellent factory for production. When he got home, Jake began to think about the things he had said to Matthew, after he gained his fourth job skills. Jake''s memory improved a lot and he remembered one of the technologies he could leverage after his time back. Jake didn''t write famous movies of the future as his own because that would be a big change in the future of cinema and it would also be like stealing a person, but he just didn''t start a tech company before 2000 to take advantage of this great time for investments in the movie because he had neither financial capital nor the ability to run a business. But he remembered a great idea that just needed a bit of technology development and a patent to make Jake very rich in the future, so he couldn''t see why he didn''t take that chance. So Jake talked to some people who worked as developers of Matthew''s product technologies and asked them to recommend to him a group of university geniuses they attended for Jake to hire them. Jake just wanted to start a small tech company to develop this technology and didn''t need to hire these people for long if they didn''t want to if they wanted to keep working for him, Jake didn''t mind paying a good salary for a few years. After a few days, Jake asked Emily to register a technology company in his name, Emily didn''t ask the reason and just did what Jake asked, she really needed to talk to him about the yield on the company''s stock investments. Jake didn''t mind buying a building for the new company, after all, he would ask the young people to develop the technology at their own university, after all, Jake only imported the patent. After a few days 3 men showed up to talk to Jake, they were doing Ph.D. at Stanford, Jake thought it was very coincidental that they studied at the same place the google founders would study. The three seemed curious about the work, they knew that Jake, although younger than them, was very rich and intelligent, after all the friends who called them said that Jake was the one who gave the ideas for the technologies they developed. So the three who were very close friends decided to accept if it was a well-paid job like their friends at Matthew''s company, the most responsible of the three was named Charlie and he was going to talk to Jake about the job. "Hi Jake, my name is Charlie and I will represent my friends in this conversation, we want to know which technology you want me to develop for you and what is the salary." "Well Charlie, I want you to work for me at least until after the technology is developed, you''ll get the same as your friends at Matthew''s company for as long as you work for me." "Once the product is developed until it is enough for me to be able to file several patents on it, we''ll see if you want to continue working for me or if you want the freedom to work elsewhere." Charlie and his friends thought it was really best for them, so after they finished Ph.D. at Stanford they could decide if they wanted to stay employed or want to go to another company, the salary their friends earned from Matthew''s company was great for them too. Jake was pleased when he saw that Charlie and his friends liked the proposal he made so he first showed what the rewards were before telling them what restrictions they would have. "When the patents I want are authorized I will give you a bonus, but if you agree to work for me you will have to sign some confidentiality and intellectual property agreement agreements." The three of them didn''t get bored because they needed to sign a contract for that, but they understood what the contracts meant and figured out what they had to create was very important for Jake to create these restrictions. Jake was just being cautious, he really had a lawyer as an assistant and wouldn''t waste much time creating those contracts that would guarantee his rights, Jake was very pleased when he saw that they accepted. After that Jake asked Emily to have someone bring the contracts for them to sign as soon as she could so Emily saw that Jake must be doing something important and set the investment firm aside to take Jake''s requests quickly. "The technology I want you to develop actually already exists, so I believe it will be much easier for you, I want a product that this technology can be used with, the technology is Multi-touch." In fact, they didn''t know this technology and so Jake explained what the technology was and what he wanted to be created from it in detail, the three of them were impressed with Jake''s knowledge and insight into explaining a product that didn''t even exist. So they could understand why Jake could help his friends develop Matthew''s technologies and products faster, after all, having a clear picture of a product of a technology that already existed was so much easier. Unfortunately, unlike Jake''s idea for this patent to be created, Charlie said they needed somewhere to work and more money to buy the components that needed to be created. So Jake understood that he was being very naive after all even though he wasn''t trying to create a smartphone he was trying to create the technology that was the fundamental part of the smartphone. Jake was also smart and just explained how the touchscreen worked and not what it could be used for, so it could stimulate their interest and not tell the most important application of the product. Jake was also thinking that if the three of them did a good job he could keep them in business by developing a prototype smartphone and android operating system that was the future of technology. But he was not in a hurry because he knew it would be many years before this technology was fully developed and patented, the android operating system could be a good contribution for Jake to buy Google in the future. Even though he had many plans Jake had to wait for the things he started now to be done before thinking so far into the future, Charlie and his friends stayed in Miami while they waited for Emily to organize the necessary things. Meanwhile Jake talked to Charlie about where they could open a place so they could develop Multi-touch technology more easily, after all, Jake said he wants to see it in at most 1 year ready to apply for the patent. After a few days, Emily arrived with the contracts ready and also with the company registration that Jake asked her to create while Charlie was studying the contract Jake went with Emily to another room because Emily wanted to show him the results of those months of investment. Jake wasn''t that excited because he already knew the future, but Emily was thrilled to see that the money invested had almost doubled with the stock price increase, it was normal for her to get excited, after all, she would receive 1 percent of everything Jake earn after these shares are sold. Jake said Emily would have to meet him at the university from now on if she wanted to talk business, and Emily understood that the least important things could be said over the phone. Charlie and his friends had already read and signed the contracts and so were officially hired by Jake after Emily left Jake began to fully explain the product he wanted to see and what functions the touchscreen would have to perform. So they finally began to see Jake''s ideas and visions and surprisingly found the idea viable and were excited, but they said that for the patent to come out they would have to plug the screen into something to be more valid. This was a bit more complicated in their view, but Jake quickly worked out what a smartphone would look like, so to get the patent he just asked for a calculator and could write some texts. After all, the biggest problem with creating a smartphone was making the connections with the signal, the battery, the memory, and the internet, so just using the touchscreen to make small texts and a calculator would allow Jake to get the patent on the touchscreen and Multi-touch. Charlie and his friends were impressed by Jake''s imagination and intelligence, probably in the future, they would say that the world''s first smartphone prototype had been imagined by Jake in 1996, but cannot be created by the limitations of technology. Jake was excited to see if his patent would be approved, even though in the future the original patent creators and Apple could exploit a patent loophole it was impossible to use this technology without paying Jake anything. They decided to start the company in Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, California, even though it was never one of the technology giants just because of the patent they would create would make them worthy of having a company in this place with so many companies. Not to mention that in the future Jake would often have to go to this place if he could invest in big business in the next few years as he planned, it would also be much easier to try to find the components needed to build a prototype smartphone. So Jake thought it better to start a business there now, after many years it would be much more expensive to buy a property when big companies came up, so Jake told Charlie to find a good place and then Jake would send Emily to buy the property. It was necessary to be quick and decisive in this kind of business, even more, when Jake already knew it could work, yet he impressed Charlie for being so decisive. Chapter 250 The Olympics 6 After resolving all of this, Jake had a few days to go to college, so he first called John and Alan to talk to the same restaurant they always met, Jake had to talk to them because he hadn''t warned them that could have sponsors at the university. These companies had signed a 4-year contract with Jake, so it was still just under 3 years before this contract ended, but John and Alan had already asked him to record the commercial earlier this year because if Jake couldn''t have university sponsors this The contract had a clause that could be canceled. The contract with Tiffany and Clara was longer and was still over 4 years old, Jake had told them that he was trying to continue this contract at university too, but they didn''t believe in Jake after all no one ever got it before. At lunchtime, they met at the restaurant and John and Alan didn''t seem sad even though the Jake deal would end this was because they also earned so much more than they thought even though they didn''t pay long after Jake won that gold medal in the Olympics. "Hi Jake, congratulations on winning that gold medal, everyone at the company is very happy for you and us too." "Thank you, John." "It really was surprising to me too, Jake, congratulations, we were so glad we made that sponsorship deal with you." "Thanks too, Alan, so I get to the point, I got a deal with the university and the college basketball organization so I can continue my sponsorship at the university." John and Alan heard this and had no reaction in a few seconds, they thought Jake was lying or playing with them, but knowing Jake''s character and the fact that he had a reputation for caring, they knew Jake wouldn''t play with something serious like this. "Are you serious Jake? This is very hard to believe." "Yes, this is a problem for thousands of athletes in tens of years and you say you just got a deal with them?" "Even though it''s hard to believe it''s the truth, I''ve been talking to them about it since last year, and now that I''m sure of it I''m communicating to you." "How did you get this, Jake?" "I wouldn''t like to go into too much detail about this, but we have some restrictions, in no basketball team game or activity I can do any advertising, just not basketball related." So John and Alan were confused for a while, but soon understood what Jake was saying, but they could still have their marks on Jake''s uniform when he competed in marathons and could still do television commercials. They were both very happy and surprised by this news, so they could enjoy the fact that Jake had a gold medal in the Olympics that had just ended a little longer. Soon they thought of a problem they had to solve if Jake could have sponsors while on the basketball team and after winning a marathon gold medal for sure, many other companies would like to hire Jake. So their company would have to think about how much to increase the amount they paid Jake to make sure they had a contract with him at least until college, so they would have to think about how much more they could pay Jake at that time. In fact Jake had another deal with the university, he could not have any new sponsors at the time he was at university playing on the basketball team, nor could he renew any contract with the companies he sponsored him now. But Jake didn''t tell John and Alan because they were just his business partners and not close friends like Tiffany and Clara that he would do his best to help, of course, Jake figured they would think of increasing the amount they paid for sponsorship him now. The university said nothing against it in the restrictions and Jake also felt that now it deserved to receive much more, after the end of the year he would appear in a major Hollywood movie, he was also the only sponsored college basketball player. What''s more, he was now an Olympic gold medalist, so even big companies like Nike and Adidas would want to pay a few million to someone like Jake who can reach several different consumer groups. Not to mention that Jake wanted to use John and Alan''s companies to show their advertising value to big companies as soon as he joined the NBA, after saying everything he needed for them, John and Alan left saying they needed to talk to their companies to know how much they could pay the most for sponsorship. After talking to them Jake arranged with Tiffany and Clara to talk, but only Tiffany said she would talk to him, it seemed that Clara was busy and Tiffany would represent both companies. Jake also knew that Clara was in a lot of trouble and Tiffany who had shares in Clara''s company was really well suited to represent both companies, probably both of them were also waiting for Jake to talk about terminating the contract. It had been months since Jake had been talking to Tiffany in person, they had been talking a lot over the phone, but Jake had been busy over the last few months with preparations for the Olympics and it had been a long time since he had spoken to Clara in person. "Hi Jake, congratulations on winning the gold medal, Clara and I are very happy for you." "Thanks, Tiffany, how are you?" "Well, I recover quickly for these things, the companies are doing very well too, we hope this year we can make a lot more money after you won this gold medal, it will surely have more effect than any advertising campaign that other companies do." Tiffany''s company was the one that made the most of it, after all, they had a product line that was natural sports drinks, Jake also knew that they were very tasty despite having no sugar in the ingredients of the drink. So all audiences could consume Tiffany''s product, then it was John''s company that made the most profit, but that was because in addition to the energy drink being widely consumed worldwide they had invested more with the commercials and their company was much older and reputable in the market. Otherwise, it would be Clara''s company that was trying hard not to increase market value and still make a profit, this year it was impossible for Clara to achieve this without some investigation into sabotaging the company, but surely the company would still profit a lot this year. That would make Clara gain more than lose from it since as long as she could regain the stock she could still develop the company much more easily, in the end, it was Tiffany who made the most of it. Her company is valued at 260 million this year in 1996, but with the repercussion of Jake''s gold medal increasing further in the next few years, Clara''s company would also value even more in the coming years. "So Jake, you called me here to talk about your sponsorship, didn''t you? We understand that you are going to university now and you will no longer be able to get any sponsorship, even if you could still our companies pay a lot less than you deserve to receive." "I want you to know that even without this sponsorship agreement we will still be friends anyway, Clara also said the same, we want you to be very successful at university." Before Jake could say anything Tiffany said what she thought from her heart, after all, she really thought they were paying too little for Jake if for the other situation they would think about paying more for Jake, but the company was in development and was now stagnant without being able to invest. Not to mention that anyway after Jake entered college their company would have to terminate that contract anyway after all a star-like Jake would get millions a year from each sponsor at least a year. Jake knew that too, but he still believed that Tiffany''s company and Clara''s company were above all his friend companies, so he would keep these sponsorships as long as he could even receive little just to help his friends. "Calm down Tiffany, you didn''t even wait for me to say what I meant, do you remember what I had told you that I would try to negotiate with the university and the committee?" "I remember, of course, but this is impossible, I know you wanted to comply with our contracts, but they would make no exception to anyone." "They made an exception for me, I will continue with all my sponsorship contracts even playing basketball at the university." Unlike Alan and John, Tiffany knew Jake wouldn''t lie about such a thing, so she was just surprised and happy about it, Jake told her all the restrictions just as he told John and Alan, but when she asked how he got Jake explained this time. "How did you get this, Jake?" "As I said to you, I have a lot of restrictions even though I have achieved this, and I used as a request to maintain my sponsorship contracts the fact that I am also an athlete and I won some marathons last year." "And what does it have to do?" "I said my sponsorship was because I''m an athlete who competes in marathons and not basketball, and I also used the fact that I was trying to get into the Olympics this year." That was Jake''s secret, and Tiffany understood why the university made an exception for Jake, for anyone getting the same treatment as Jake and having a sponsorship while playing college basketball was competing in another sport. It could have even higher standards, such as having to win one international competition and qualify well in others, after Jake actually qualified for the Olympics and still won Jake knew it was impossible for the university to change its mind. So Tiffany was delighted to still be able to keep a sponsorship deal with Jake and Clara would also be very happy when she heard about it, at university Jake had entered the story before he even started playing for the basketball team. Chapter 251 The University 1 After that, they continued talking for a while and Jake left home, in the next few days Jake packed his bags to the university, he would ask a carrier to come to take his car and go by plane. Even if he didn''t buy a new car just because he might not want to drive to the university for a few hours either, at first Jake planned to stay in a dorm and see if he would rent a house while he was at university. In the next few days even though she was still going to work, Eva would always come home early to spend more time with Jake in his last week, after all, they would be separated for at least a few months until Jake was organized at university. Not to mention that to return home Jake would also have to first check the schedule of games and with trained Bill to see if he could after all the university was not equal to high school, even if he was a good player Jake would have no perks on the basketball team of the university. So even if I didn''t need the basic training Jake would have to train with the rest of the team whenever he had training unless the coach released him before, of course, Jake was already prepared for it. After a week at home Jake finally got ready to leave the next day, he wanted to spend all day with his mother, but John and Alan wanted to talk to him, it seemed their companies had decided how much they would increase sponsorship agreement for the remaining 3 years of the agreement. Even though he didn''t want to, Jake knew he needed to sort this out, so he was determined to get things done quickly, and by then John and Alan had luckily arrived and had the new contract in hand. "So you decided with the companies?" "Yes, Jake, I talked to my company and we decided to increase the sponsorship amount for the next three years of the contract to 125,000 per month, 1 million and 750,000 a year." "Our company decided for the same value, Jake." Jake laughed when he saw that both companies decided for the same amount, it seems that they learned from what happened last time and had combined a value they thought was fair and decided between the two companies to pay the same. He really didn''t care how much the two companies would pay him a year, after all, he was determined to continue with them for the next three years, he just wanted to increase his business value when he joined the NBA. Now he would receive $ 4 million and $ 200,000 a year, much more than many athletes currently receive a salary in the NBA and more than some athletes receive sponsorship even though he won a gold medal like him. Jake thought that was fair value, maybe the two companies were trying to please Jake by paying more than they thought it was worth because they didn''t know Jake had been in a movie too, and maybe in others in Hollywood. Jake was preparing for a brighter future by getting these contracts now when he entered the NBA he would demand at least that amount per year from every sponsor he had, otherwise it was better that he didn''t even get any sponsorship for how much money he would have. After all, it would be amazing if Jake were the only NBA star in the future who got no sponsorship, that would be an advertisement for him as a person, but he himself thought something like this was impossible to happen. One thing Jake knew well was that it was not wise to sign a long contract with any brand of shoes, he would sign for a maximum of 5 years if the total value was high, because in 2003 Jake remembered a millionaire contract. LeBron James signed a contract of more than 80 million with Nike, so Jake wanted to be without a contract at that time to ask for even greater value if he had confidence in playing better than LeBron this year. Often the amount he earned was directly related to the player''s credibility, so Jake didn''t want to earn less than anyone who had the same ability as him. Sponsors will pay not only because Jake is an NBA player, but also because he is an athlete who will keep trying to win gold medals and win marathons and will also work as an actor whenever he could. It was only fair that Jake asked for a bigger sponsorship than the other NBA players, after all, he could not ask for a higher salary because of CBA restrictions if no one could give what Jake wanted he would rather not receive anything. After signing the contracts with John and Alan, Jake returned home and stayed with his mother the last day before going to college, Jake would catch a plane in the morning, so after dinner, neither left the table. "So you really go to university tomorrow, Jake." "I promised you would, Mom, after all, you always wanted me to graduate from a university so I will be doing that university so you are more proud of me." "If you really don''t want it you don''t have to, Jake, you''ve done a lot of things for me these last few years." Jake knew that his mother was not being honest at that time, he remembered in his past life that his mother had several wishes that could not be fulfilled before she died, he did not even know about the subject of the restaurant she wanted to open. Maybe also after working more than 20 years in that restaurant where she suffered so much in her past life, she gave up the dream of having a restaurant of her own, but he always remembered her saying that she wanted to spend more time with Jake and that he had been. graduated from a university. Luckily on his second chance, Jake can accomplish all the things he knew his mom wanted and many things he didn''t even know she wanted so he wanted to make that dream come true at college too. He also knew that even if he didn''t go to university he couldn''t go to Miami with his mother, he would have to go play in the NBA and travel all over the country, so it was better for Jake to stay a few years at university and realize Eva''s dream while improving his basketball skills to enter the NBA. "I want to go to university too, Mom, no need to worry." "I''ll miss you, son." "Don''t worry, Mom, I guarantee I''ll be back whenever I get a chance." After that, Jake stayed with his mother for a few more hours and they went to sleep later, the next morning Jake had a breakfast made by Eva and left to take the taxi to the airport, but he remembered seeing his mother crying when he leaves. This past year Jake has had to be away for several weeks sometimes, but now that Eva knew he was really leaving, she couldn''t stand it and cried. Jake was sad too but knew that fortunately in this life his mother would be fine even without him always around, Eva had the restaurant and Anna to keep her company while Jake was away. After a few hours Jake arrived at the UNC, he was the university secretary and confirmed his enrollment details and then went to the Old East dorm to find where he would have to stay for at least the first year. Jake''s car would arrive the next day as he overpaid for the carrier''s urgency, it was important for Jake to have his car where he would stay for at least a few years, after he left university he would give that car to someone. After all, if he could enter the NBA as he expected a car would be just a symbol of prestige, after all, he would earn a high salary and hardly use the car, so that car would have to stay with him for university time. As soon as he arrived he called his mother as he had promised, Eva was only relieved when she got the call from Jake, even if it wasn''t Jake''s first time traveling away, Eva was worried this time. "Hi, Mom, I just settled into the dorm and I''m calling you as I promised you would." "Glad you remembered, I was worried after you left, now I can calm down." "I don''t know why you''re so worried, it''s not the first time I''ve left home." "When you are a father you will know." Eva had forgotten that Jake had a problem before when talking about having children or getting married, that was because he had spent more than 20 years alone in his past life, but now Jake no longer felt so bad about talking about it. He went through an important milestone that was the age he had an accident that left him handicapped in his past life, so Jake began to forget about past traumas and was excited about his second chance. "How are things at the university, son?" "I don''t know, I didn''t have time to see anything, I just arrived and I called you, I don''t even know where I''m going to eat today." "Already missing my food? Now you don''t have your mom''s restaurant and food at home while you''re at university." "Even while I was in Miami I wasn''t going to eat often at your restaurant, but from your food at home, I''m really going to miss it." "Alright then, I''ll hang up now so you can find a place to eat, tomorrow tell me what the university is like." Jake was glad that his mother didn''t look so sad anymore after he made it clear that she wouldn''t recover so quickly, it would take a few weeks for her to adjust to a routine without him at home. Most importantly, she was not sad that he left, after all, Eva was not alone in Miami, she had Anna and other friends with her, not to mention that she would be too worried about the restaurant all day to worry about Jake. After he took a break to rest after the rush of change he became anxious about what his years at this university would look like, he was excited to have begun a new phase in his life. Not to mention that this time was something he hadn''t experienced in his past life, so everything at university was new to Jake, he hoped to play well and make friends like high school on the basketball team. Chapter 252 The University 2 That would be very difficult to happen in Jake''s opinion, first because his teammates would all be talented players and people who would have confidence in playing in the NBA if they made the most effort. It could be different for other universities, but at UNC things would be like this after all this was the university that had the basketball team Michael Jordan played and has one of the teams that won the most NCAA tournament. Jake remembered that many times this team had many players in the NBA draft, few universities were like that across the country, Jake chose this university even though he knew it would compete with the position on the team because he wanted to get this big university to have several. titles in a few years. Jake had confidence that he had the ability to do that, even if in the first year it was harder next year would be easier, it was important for Jake to earn the confidence of the current team coach Dean Smith. Maybe only Jake knew in the team that this was Coach Smith''s last year on the team, so he wanted to earn his trust this year because as he already had the confidence of the future team coach Coach Guthridge would be easier for him to receive. an opportunity in the team. Another problem for Jake to adapt to and befriend his teammates was jealousy, after all, he was the only player on the team who would be sponsored by this team, even if he was a Freshman and many of the more experienced players would think they deserved more than him. Of course, everyone would know that Jake only got this exception by winning a major marathon and a gold medal in the Olympics, yet it was impossible that they would not be jealous and unfair about the difference in treatment. This was something Jake would have to try to solve during the first few weeks of training, after all, it was important to have a good harmony with the team, maybe Coach Smith would leave Jake out of the team just to keep the team together. After thinking about it for a while Jake began to feel more hungry and remembered that he told his mother that he would look for a place to eat while he thought about going out to look for food two people entered the room. These two people seemed surprised to see Jake too, so the taller of the two began to laugh and closed the door after pushing the shorter one into the room. "You must be our roommate this first year, my name is Zack and this short one here is William, let''s share this room here the first year with one we don''t know yet." "Don''t call me shorty, you guys who are very tall and introduce us correctly, I''m sorry friend, my name is William Thompson and this ignorant is named Zack Roberts, nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too, my name is Jake Smith, I''ll be counting on you for years to come." "I don''t know why presenting the full name, this is no business meeting, so we''ll all be calling each other by the first name, right Jake?" "I guess so." "Did you see that? I''ll get along better with him. " "Don''t give him a lot of room, Jake, Zack is too nosy, we met a few days ago and he wants to drag me everywhere now, who sees us thinks we''ve known each other for several years." Jake was surprised by what William said, he also thought that the two people who were so close should be friends for several years, but it looks like Zack has a lot of social skills. Jake was also very happy about that, he wanted to get a new friend at this university as he was no longer with Joseph for years to come, but he was always bad for making friends. Now he had 3 people living in the same dormitory as him, and one of those 3 was very sociable, Jake felt that if he became friends with Zack he could get a lot more friends in his college days if he had his 3 roommates as friends he would be very pleased already. "So Jake, did you look like you were going somewhere? Where are you going?" "Saw? You gave him the freedom and he''s already being nosy, what do you care where he was going, Zack?" "I just wanted to help, I came a few months ago to get to know the university campus and the city better, so why you complain that I take you everywhere, William is because you don''t know how to go anywhere alone." Jake saw that William was embarrassed after what Zack said, so it seemed to be true that Zack knows a lot about the city. "I just arrived and I really don''t know anything, so I would go out looking for a place to eat before it was too late." "You''ll eat? So we''ll go with you, I''ll show you the places I know around here." "You go, I''ll stay here." "No need to be shy William, we go back to the room just to take a shower and change clothes to go out to eat right? I say we''ll have to live together for a year at least, have to be friends quickly to avoid embarrassment. " So William gave up arguing with Zack and went to take a shower and then everyone went out to eat, Jake found the two very fun, he was happy that it seemed that he would not be alone in this time of college. That way he didn''t mind continuing to live in the dorm until the end of his college years, they left and Zack found a place with really good food, Zack also seemed to know a lot of people at the university and several people greeted him as they passed. As they ate, they talked about a lot of unimportant things and didn''t talk about their personal lives or about college, it seemed that Zack wanted Jake and William to be comfortable first before broaching them. Jake noticed these things because he was given some skills that made him more sociable, a pity that even those skills didn''t help Jake''s natural shyness much, so it was important for him to have someone like Zack around. In a few more days the classes would officially begin, yet their other roommate hadn''t shown up yet, but Jake knew he would have to come in the next few days, it would be nice if he could be friends with that person as well. William was 1.64 m, was white and had black hair and eyes, was 18 years old and was thin with just a little belly, his face was quite common and so he had no girlfriend before college. Zack was 1.72 m, was white and had blond hair like Jake, Zack had blue eyes and was thin too, was uglier than William, Zack was more sociable than both, but also had no girlfriend. The fact that the three had no girlfriend made them sympathetic, it was interesting to see the three walking together, after all, Jake was over 1.93 m, Zack was 1.72 m and William was 1.64 m, so the three had big differences tall and looked quite different walking the streets. William wasn''t very small, but he was a little complex with his height, so Zack played with him, so probably if Zack wasn''t with him he wouldn''t walk with Jake, after all, he looked like a child near Jake. Jake left a message for Coach Guthridge to meet him as soon as he could, after all, Coach Guthridge told Jake to talk to him when he got to university, and Jake wanted to do that a lot more now. After all, he was afraid that he might feel left out of the basketball team if Coach Guthridge didn''t bridge that gap between him and the other players, Jake was sure the coach would be willing to do that. Over the days he got even closer to his two new friends, so he found that William was in the same class as him and would have the same classes at the same times, Jake felt that his luck was helping. So Jake no longer had to look where he would have classes and could only follow William, Jake now had an excellent memory, so after only following William he would remember the way to class and also the schedules and teachers. Jake felt that university classes should be easier than classes at the end of high school, after all in high school classes in recent years there were a lot of subjects to study and some difficulty to learn. But these economics classes and everything related to Jake''s business spent more than 13 years studying the same subject, he read every book he found on this subject when he went back to his 5 years of study. Prior to that, he spent even more time studying with much more advanced study material and a much easier to understand teaching methodology thanks to several video lessons. Jake had not yet met his new dorm buddy and Coach Guthridge before school started, Jake and his dorm mates did not want to get involved with any fraternity if they could in this time of school. Even though Jake wanted to make the most of this new experience of studying at a university and making many friends, a fraternity and parties were not the kind of atmosphere Jake wanted and liked to attend. His roommates thought the same as Jake, so they decided to try to avoid these fraternities or just nominally enter in any case they needed, they didn''t want to participate in any of the activities. For Jake who didn''t even attend his own prom could be imagined how he disliked parties, at business dinners or cocktails where it was only necessary to talk and socialize how was Clara''s party or the hotel where Director Crowe invited Jake, he didn''t mind participating. On the first day Jake went to his class with William and Zack went to his class, Jake found the teacher very normal and also thought that there were too many people in each class that was given, Jake had to sit deeper because even with the layout from the living room he was still very tall and disturbed the classmates behind him. William, who had a tall complex was very happy to see Jake having trouble being tall, but still went to sit next to him in the back, thankfully Jake had good hearing and vision and can usually follow the class in the back. Chapter 253 The University 3 The lessons, as Jake hoped, were very easy for him, and Jake was very pleased because it seemed that as he was deep down no matter what he did the teachers didn''t care about him as long as he didn''t disturb the classes. That way, Jake knew that he would have no problem with the teachers just because he was a scholarship holder, he had already determined that if something like what happened at the Elite school would happen again, he would drop out of school and start paying tuition. He only accepted the scholarship because it was easier to get into university like this and was also indirectly proof of his basketball skills, but if he caused any problems he would not hesitate to start paying university fees. Unfortunately, even though classes only spoke of things he already knew Jake had no interest in reading other books during his classes, after all, Jake had no plans to continue studying after this university. He thought if he could do an MBA at Harvard after a few years, but now he didn''t think about it, Jake definitely wanted to join the NBA after finishing college, in fact, he was wondering which teams he could join the NBA in and what year. By the end of class, he and William had returned to the dorm, they had arranged with Zack to go out for dinner after a few hours, Jake wanted to enjoy before Coach Guthridge appeared to be closer to his friends. When they returned they saw that the other dorm bed was finally occupied, which meant that their last dorm mate had appeared just in time for the first day of school, Zack who arrived later realized that too. "Looks like our fourth dorm roommate has finally arrived, what do you think we wait a while to see if he shows up and so are we 4 going to eat something together?" Jake thought it was a good idea, after all, he was also very happy with the consideration of his roommates when he arrived, so he wanted his new colleague to feel the same, William also agreed with that. Even though their intention was good the reality was not quite so, after waiting for several hours no one had appeared and William wanted to go out to eat soon, so they decided they would not wait anymore and just left the three. When they returned it seemed that no one had arrived the entire time they had left, so they were relieved that they had decided to go out to eat only the back, otherwise they would have been without food for hours. The three slept very early and when they woke up the other day this new roommate seemed to have arrived quietly after they slept and left before they could wake up. "Now I''m really curious to know who our new roommate is, let''s do it like this, when we get back to the dorm we''ll bring food out and so we wait until he comes back, I don''t think he''ll take so many hours to come back today either." Jake and William agreed with Zack''s idea, they were also curious to know who this mysterious new dorm mate was, Jake realized that Coach Guthridge would not show up that day either, so he wanted to discover this mystery. Jake''s second day of class was with a teacher who taught a very interesting class, the subject itself was not so interesting, but the teacher had a good teaching dynamic that made the class more interesting. William thought so too, especially since unlike Jake he had come to university to really learn, and it was not like Jake who already knew everything the teachers said. Jake hoped more classes would be like this, yet knowing the subject he wouldn''t mind listening to the teachers talk for a few hours, after a few hours the classes were over again. Jake and William went to buy food at the place where Zack had shown before, they bought some more food and some drink to share with the new roommate when they arrived at the dorm Zack had already arrived and also seemed to have bought extra food. When they realized this, the three of them laughed that they had the same idea, at least they knew there would be no shortage of food, and after a few hours of waiting the dorm door opened and a tall man entered. Upon entering he was surprised that the three roommates were all looking at him as if they were already expecting him, so he did not know why and also faced the three, so inevitably the mood of the room tensed, realizing that Zack decided to undo any misunderstanding. "Hi, we were just waiting for you to let everyone in the dorm know each other, so we can be more comfortable later, my name is Zack Roberts, the taller blond over there is Jake Smith and the short one is William Thompson." Zack realized that this new roommate didn''t seem to have much of a sense of humor and introduced himself by speaking their full names out of respect, after all, he didn''t want to get in trouble. After introducing the three of them, they waited for the other to introduce themselves, but it seemed that he had no such intention and said nothing and just stared at the three, after a while, he finally spoke unwillingly just to get it over with. "My name is Aaron Williams." After introducing himself he just sat in his seat and picked up a book to ignore Jake and the others, William was annoyed by it, but Jake stopped him when he tried to complain, after all even though they were trying to be friendly, Aaron had no obligation to like them. Jake was also upset because he looked like he couldn''t get another friend, Aaron seemed to be six foot four, he''s black and had a face that looked angry, Aaron was also very strong and had more muscles than Jake. "See Aaron, we were expecting you and we wanted to invite you to dinner with us yesterday, but you came too late, just as we wanted to meet you we all bought more food, if you want to eat with us we have here for you." "I don''t want to eat with you, just leave me alone." So even someone like Zack didn''t know what else to say, but Jake realized that Aaron seemed to have some personal problem, in which case as they were not known it was better to wait for Aaron to solve this problem before trying to talk to him again. Jake just took the food he had brought and started eating, Zack and William saw that they had nothing to wait and started eating, in a few minutes they chatted excitedly while eating. As for now they couldn''t approach Aaron without irritating him, only the three of them talked in the dorm while Aaron always read when he was in the dorm with them, the other day, they had classes normally. Jake saw that Aaron was not in the same class as he and William, after classes on day Jake was coming back with William to wait for Zack to eat together again, but Coach Guthridge seemed to be waiting for him on the way, so Jake said goodbye to William and went to talk to the coach. "Hi Coach Guthridge, how have you been?" "I''m fine, do you seem to have forgotten to talk to me after you got into college?" "That I didn''t want to bother you when I had nothing important to say." "I was joking, congratulations on winning the national championship and MVP prize and also the gold medal in the Olympics, you made things a lot easier for us by making an exception for you." "Thanks, it was a good year for me." "I kept waiting for you to appear on the court a few days ago, yesterday I got your message." "It''s like I said coach, I''m worried that I might have problems with my teammates for getting this exception for sponsorship." "I think you did well to call me before you came, we and we had not thought about it, it shows that you are really worried about the team, I''m happy about it, now come on I''ll introduce you to the players." After a few minutes, they arrived at the Dean Smith Center for Jake''s first training on the team, by the time he arrived on the court they had all arrived at a while and were doing training exercises. Coach Smith also got closer as soon as he saw Jake come, after all, he had never talked to the player in person, the other players also knew Jake through television, after all, they knew that Jake would join the team a few weeks ago. Just as Jake hoped they were really feeling jealous that Jake had sponsors and they weren''t, but they could understand that Jake got it because he was an Olympic medalist. As much as they wanted a sponsorship they knew they would not have the ability to perform well in both basketball and other sports, yet they were still very jealous of Jake who could do that. "Well tube, come over here and listen to me, this is the new player for our team, Jake, some of you should know him, some of you should also know that he got an exception and will get sponsorship even playing on our team." "But this has nothing to do with basketball, he has sponsorship contracts since over 4 years ago, and mainly because he is one of the best athletics athletes in our country, he will not mix his sponsorship contracts with our university." "I was the one who invited Jake to our university with the support of Coach Smith, so Jake wants to make sure that everyone will be teammates and have no disagreements over jealousy." "Coach Smith and I support this attitude, you are all the most talented players in this country, I don''t want a disagreement over money if we realize something like that the perpetrators will be punished." With this warning everyone understood that they should not continue with this subject, after all, no one there had problems with money and even though they thought they were better than Jake in basketball, they knew they could not do Jake does. Seeing that everything looked good Jake was relieved, so Coach Guthridge introduced all the team players to Jake, Jake was thrilled to see some well-known people like Vince Carter and Shammond Williams among others. Jake was very humble talking to them and everyone accepted him more easily seeing that he was not arrogant even having so many achievements and just coming from high school where he was a star. Chapter 254 The University 4 So he trained normally with his teammates, Jake didn''t know how to mingle with them, Jake wasn''t like Zack and so just did the training normally, in fact in the middle of the training few spoke to respect the coach. Only in the warm-up and when they had mid-range and 3-point shooting training, probably in play training or game simulation, they also talked, but at the beginning of the semester, they only had fitness training. They were in September now and Jake remembered that the first official game was in November, so they had almost 3 months to adjust the team before the first game, Jake knew it was almost impossible for him to be the team owner. So he had to show that he was able to play as a substitute in the games, his biggest rival in the team for a spot was Ed Cota and Shammond Williams if the coach decided to put him as PG. Jake knew that Shammond Williams was one of the coach''s favorite players and a junior who was in his third year on the team, and Jake knew that Vince Carter should be the starting man in SG position, so Jake had to fight to have 10 minutes of play in that first year. What Jake didn''t know was that thanks to Bill Guthridge who had spoken very well of him, in Coach Smith''s view he had the same game opportunity as Ed Cota who was also a Fr, Jake thought he was at a disadvantage because he came from the future and knew what Ed could do. Even so, he was confident that he could lead the Tar Heels to win the NCAA Tournament, which is why he chose this university, and Ed Cota couldn''t do it, even though he was so talented. The hardest fact was that Ed Cota had an incredible record of having made over 1,000 career assists, even though Jake had the confidence to do the same he thought he couldn''t unless he played all four years at university. Jake had more confidence in the steals record made in university time, only in his triple-double records in high school had he almost broken that record, and that was less than 30 games, with over 100 games he would do much more than that. At first, Jake wanted to beat all records in-game statistics in his time at university, after a while, he realized that it would be difficult for him to get a place in the team, let alone try to break the records. Not to mention that for Jake it was much more important to win than to try to break some kind of record, so if he could win the NCAA Tournament he wouldn''t mind coming in as a substitute for the games of the season. After training Jake considered talking to some of his teammates and idols, but the other players seemed to be ignoring him, so Jake realized that his teammates had not yet accepted the special treatment Jake was receiving. Even if they didn''t try to cause any confusion or problems because of the coach''s order they could still just ignore him. So Jake gave up trying to find someone to talk to in the early days when he showed his skills he believed he could receive acceptance from his teammates. Jake returned to his room again to talk to his friends, his car had already arrived in the city and Jake left the car at the university, but as they only went to nearby places he did not use the car normally. In the early weeks, Jake was trying to get closer to his friends, because after a few more days he would have to resume his normal training routine when he resumed training he would not have so much time to talk to his friends. In a few more weeks Jake would have to go to Chicago to run the major marathon again, even though he could no longer gain statistics even if he won the race it was important to try to win out of respect where he won the first marathon. Even though Jake was overflowing with confidence after winning the marathon at the Olympics he couldn''t relax and stop training, the reason Jake became more relaxed was the great system reward he received. Jake can''t check in until a few days after winning the Olympics, but this gold medal had increased all his physical stats by 2 points! Jake didn''t really expect that he could get such an incredible reward, the system said the Olympics were the most important competition for any athlete and far more important than a major marathon, so it was normal that he could get it. So Jake understood that this was really the case, and after this reward on every unpublished gold medal he could get at the Olympics, he would earn an additional 1 point on each physical stat as a bonus. This made Jake much more excited and determined to continue his plan to participate in a number of different competitions at the Olympics so that he could get 10 more points from each physical stat in the next competitions. It also temporarily solved Jake''s problem to try to earn more points in the strength stat, the other training would have no effect on Jake after winning in New York. He was now 36 points in agility and 39 points in Resistance, so Jake who wanted to earn 1 more Resistance point to improve his training could not be happier to have gained 2 more points. Now he finally had the confidence to increase the intensity of his physical training to improve his marathon race time, after all, he had gained 3 points in Resistance since the last time he failed and ended up with an injury because of it. Now he has more confidence that he could run 10 km in 29 minutes and 10 seconds, so he could finish a marathon in less than 2 hours and 3 minutes, it might not seem like much of a difference, but that could guarantee Jake the world record for a few years. If he could do that now he could surely win the next major marathons and earn more Resistance and agility points and further improve his running time. Even though Jake was thinking of getting a new coach quickly for him this year, it would be difficult for him to get one, after all, he had to improve his basketball skills a lot and secure a starting position on the team. So he had to show dedication to training and was also planning to get closer to his new friends, next year he was thinking of competing in several major marathons so he could start with a new coach next year. The other day Jake took classes normally with William and then did his training normally with the basketball team, even though in the trainings they were doing you couldn''t know for sure the skills of the players could all see that Jake was very talented. Jake can also shake off his prejudices and realize that in fact, this college basketball training could improve his slowly improving skills with just the games in the imagination training space. It was several times higher than his high school training, Jake should have realized that one of the best college basketball teams that had Michael Jordan playing for them should have the best training. So Jake could train with real enthusiasm knowing that he could improve the rank of his skills, the coaches and players of the team also realized that Jake was training much more willingly than his teammates. Coach Guthridge was delighted to see that Jake was really the person he was looking for to help the team win again, Coach Dean Smith was also pleased to see that Jake was training hard. The other players saw the coaches impressed with Jake''s performance and also began to train more willingly not to lose to the new player, they did not know that this just made the coaches even more satisfied with Jake who encouraged his teammates. After training, Jake got a call from Emily informing him that the property he wanted to buy for the company in Silicon Valley in Palo Alto had been bought, and the three he had hired began to develop the technology and product Jake wanted for the patent. That made him very pleased, Jake was thinking he was lucky to have someone like Emily as his assistant because even though she was an assistant, Emily was the lawyer for Jake, president of his hundred-million-dollar investment firm even his representative sometimes. He''d been very smart to keep paying Emily in the early years even though he didn''t need her much at the time, Jake was also glad Emily had been with him for all these years. In the next few years, Jake would have to do several things and need her even more, so he decided that he would give Emily 1 percent of the profit the company would make would let Emily stay in the company for many years beyond her very high salary this year. Of course, it was still far from what big CEOs earn around the world, but at the moment not even Jake gets that much, and the investment firm doesn''t produce or sell anything, just invests, so she can make more with 1 by percent after they receive it. Not to mention that all of the company''s investments are driven by Jake and not Emily, so he who has the merit for the shares being valued and the investments multiplying, Emily understood that too, so she didn''t mind working as Jake''s assistant even now. Over the next few days the training routines were still the same and Jake was still attending classes and going out with William and Zack every day, sometimes a week Jake would also call his mom to tell her how things were going at university. It seemed like Jake''s life was finally going back to routine and he liked how things were, the only thing he missed was his mother and his friends in Miami, but Jake knew nothing could be done about it. Chapter 255 The University 5 After another day of classes and training with the basketball team, Jake returned to the dorm again, after Jake started training for the basketball team no one asked him what he was doing and they always expected him to come back for dinner together. The good part of the universities was that you could set up your daily schedule, Jake wanted a full training and so did a lot more classes and fit perfectly into the training time and coincided with having the same schedules as William. As classes were easy for Jake he intended in the future maybe the graduate and maybe more in the future, so he would make his mother more proud, that day when they went out to dinner Zack started talking what he was thinking a few days ago. "I think we''re already friends after spending so much time together before I decided we wouldn''t talk about personal matters to make you more comfortable but to be true friends we have to get to know each other better." "Of course one can choose what to say and what to keep to oneself, as I suggested it I''ll talk about myself first." "I was born in this very state of North Carolina, my family lived in a city not far from here, so I could come to university and that city first to know the best places to eat and where to go." "I have a living father and mother and they live in the city where I lived since it''s near here, I have a brother who is a year older than me and studies at this university since last year." "I''m doing this university just because my parents want it, I like to run sometimes, but just for fun." Zack was very honest and talked about almost everything in his life, so he left Jake and William in a situation that they had better say as much as they could to share so they wouldn''t look bad, it was William who spoke later. "I came from New York and wanted to study here because I''m a fan of Michael Jordan, I have a living father and mother and I have a little sister named Lili, I came to study here because I want to be a great businessman one day and make millions on the stock market. of values ??when I get back home." William talked less about him, but said things necessary for Jake and Zack to know a little more about his life, after the two of them it was Jake''s turn to talk more about his life, Jake was probably the one who had more to talk about and decided to talk only about things that people already knew. "I''m from Miami, I just have my mom with me named Eva, I''m on the basketball team here at school and I also run marathons professionally." "I came to this university to fulfill my mother''s dream to see me graduate from a university and also from the basketball team she has at that university and also to gain more knowledge about business and economics." The two just looked at Jake and said nothing, Jake knew they didn''t believe him, but it was the truth so he was calm about it, in time they would know everything anyway. "So you were going to basketball training after school every day, I confess I didn''t expect it, it''s normal for some people to come to that college for basketball." "Me and William here are also basketball fans and with your height, you can really get a spot, but what do you mean by running marathons professionally? I ran some marathons too, I didn''t finish, but I ran." "I say I''m a pro because I won a major marathon in Chicago last year, I came second in the New York marathon and got the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics that year." Zack was trying to make Jake''s statement more real by slightly diminishing what he said he was doing, but after what Jake said about his achievements as a pro he couldn''t say anything anymore. "Actually, I didn''t expect it to be so hard for you to believe that, didn''t you watch the Olympics this year?" In fact, neither of them had attended the Olympics this year, William was busy organizing things to come to college and never really enjoyed watching sports competitions like basketball and football and baseball. Zack hadn''t attended for the same reason as William, he sometimes came to the university to get to know the campus and the city and not feel lost when classes started, so he didn''t have time for that. Even though Jake was famous on television, it was only when he was in a competition or on a television show that no one watched the marathons or knew about Jake. Maybe some with better memories might recognize Jake because of the television commercials or the Olympic broadcast, but usually, people didn''t expect to see someone on television right in front and think it''s just like. Zack and William then had to believe that Jake was telling the truth, even if they didn''t quite believe that being on the basketball team was easier to believe and confirm. "If you''re a professional marathon competitor, why did you decide to join our university''s basketball team?" "I got a sports scholarship for being a two-time national basketball and high school MVP champion, and as I intend to become a pro in the NBA I chose a school with one of the best teams to win." That was another surprise for Zack and William, they thought Jake had signed up for the basketball team after entering college and because of the height and some basketball skills he had joined the team. They thought Jake wouldn''t even play on the basketball team and were just saying that because it was cool to be on the UNC basketball team even without playing any games, but it looked like Jake was chosen by the university for the team and would definitely play in the games. After a while they recover, it was better to believe him first and then if they found out it was a lie they would walk away from him, in fact, the most shocked was William who had come to university because of Michael Jordan and for being a basketball fan. They both thought Zack was very clever in deciding not to talk about his personal life when they first met, otherwise it would be hard for them to talk to Jake normally after learning that he was famous. Seeing how they reacted Jake thought it best not to comment that he had a few million dollars in investments and that he was being sponsored, otherwise it would be harder for them to believe him, the fact that he was an actor would also be discovered when the movie was released at the end of the year. After that, they really got a lot more comfortable talking about some more personal matters, Zack was always the one who led the conversation telling funny stories about his family and his brother. He seemed to be very close to his brother and very fond of him and was upset because his brother said it was better that they didn''t talk much inside the university, because his brother was tired of Zack always being the center of attention and stealing your friends. Jake might understand a little how Zack''s brother felt, but as Zack''s friend, Jake found Zack''s personality very pleasant, they always avoided talking about Aaron in the back, even though William didn''t like to be ignored he didn''t comment either about this. Jake thought it was cool that his friends had this attitude of not talking behind Aaron''s back, about his brothers they talked a lot, so Jake listened more than talked about how he had no brothers or many friends before. Jake sometimes observed his roommate, he had realized before that his roommate seemed to be having some kind of problem, not having too much proximity between them Jake decided not to intrude. After a few days, Jake realized that Aaron seemed to have solved some of his problems and was more relaxed in the dorm, so Jake thought about telling Zack that soon so they would try again to be friends with Aaron. The other day Jake also realized that his teammates were gradually accepting him, they no longer ignored Jake and did not exclude him from conversations, everyone was training harder because Jake began to show enthusiasm in training. Only after a few days when they realized that Jake never got tired of all the heavy training and they got exhausted at the end of the day, did they remember that Jake was someone who had a marathon gold medal in the Olympics. It was obvious that Jake had a lot more energy and stamina than all the players on the court, but they couldn''t talk to the coach who wanted the training to be lighter so they wouldn''t be embarrassed. So they decided to send Charlie McNairy who was the senior of the team and didn''t have so much trouble with Jake being the only one with sponsorship, so Charlie accepted that and went to talk to Jake after training because he didn''t want to have to train harder. Hi Jake, I''m Charlie McNairy, I''m a senior in college, do you mind if we talk a little bit about a diner near here?" "OK let''s go." Jake was very happy to finally have someone from the basketball team to talk to him, he needed to get in touch and befriend his teammates quickly to have a better chance to play and also have a better time at university. After they changed everyone left and Jake and Charlie went to the diner, the other players knew Charlie well and knew that he could settle the matter quietly, then they came to a diner that Jake didn''t know and Charlie as senior made the orders and paid to himself that Jake didn''t have to. "So Jake, what do you think about university so far?" "I''m really enjoying this place, I always thought about this university very well because I''m a big fan of Michael Jordan after I came here I really liked the university environment, I also made a lot of friends in my dorm." "Glad to hear it, you''ll like the university even more in the next few years, what did you think of the basketball team?" Chapter 256 The University 6 "I really liked the coaches, Coach Guthridge who invited me to come here and I also respect Coach Dean Smith a lot even though I didn''t talk to him." Jake avoided talking about the players because it would be weird no matter what he said because of the current situation he was in after all he knew he was being ignored and excluded from the team because of sponsorship. But they also had a lot of respect and were even a fan of some players like Vince Carter, so if he spoke badly it would be normal for the situation he was in and Charlie would not enjoy listening, and if he spoke well as he thought it would look like he was just being fake. Luckily Charlie understood Jake''s dilemma and didn''t press the issue anymore, after all, he knew the team wasn''t doing something right either and luckily everyone had already forgotten about it. "I know we haven''t been very nice to you these past few days, but some of you really get upset about this injustice in the NCAA and have come to discount you having nothing to do with it." "I apologize for my colleagues and I will talk to them so we can all be friends and play together." "Alright, I understand, I would probably do the same as you if I were in the same situation." "It''s good that you understand something else I wanted to talk to you about was training, we know you have almost infinite stamina and can play basketball and then run a marathon later." "But the rest of the team can''t keep up with your training pace, we are finding the training very difficult right now and I ask you at least not to increase the training load." Jake understood what Charlie said, he didn''t expect the other players to try to follow his training, he was just excited because he found that training could help him improve his skills. In his past life, he often saw that the top performers did a separate team training and stronger because they could take it longer, so Jake thought he could do the same, but now he understood that he had better stop. "I understand Charlie, I won''t do so much in training anymore, I can make my individual training later heavier." Charlie was delighted to see that Jake was very understanding and didn''t really seem arrogant like other players who don''t have humility. Even though sometimes the hierarchy was not highly respected at the university, those who respected it were appreciated by the more traditional ones like Charlie, so even if the other players didn''t talk to Jake during training he would do that. Charlie wanted to keep talking to Jake, but he had to talk to the other players that everything had gone well and he also wanted to give Jake some space, so the two broke up and Jake returned to the dorm. Jake was delighted to know that his team situation would improve after this conversation, even if he understood the indignation of his teammates he was not happy to be treated unfairly. He arrived at the dorm and was reprimanded by Zack and William who had been waiting for him, Jake had not warned that he had gone to the cafeteria with Charlie after he left training, it was difficult for Jake to get used to having people waiting for him in a place that was not at home. And so the days went by normally, Jake had gotten used to his class routine and fortunately liked most teachers, so even if he didn''t have much to learn he wouldn''t be bored at all. Jake at this university was thinking of doing the reverse of what he did in high school, he would do his best in every game so that he could improve his skills quickly and gain recognition when he joined the NBA. But in class he would try not to look so smart and stand out so much, he would help William and his friends in the dorm and just do enough to get the best grade in the room and get a degree. In training, the players no longer ignored Jake and even talked and joked with him, but no one approached him as Charlie did, only Charlie still talked to Jake several times and even called his other friends to get Jake into the team faster. Coach Smith was watching everything going on in the team, he was someone who valued the team''s unity and rapport to win the games, he believed it was better to have a team-playing game than someone who was like Michael Jordan in skill and didn''t know how to play in a team. So he still wouldn''t let Jake play if the situation continued as he was right now knowing it wasn''t Jake''s fault, of course, he intended to step in and demand that the players be jealous and accept Jake. But seeing how things were now he realized that the situation was improving and soon would be quiet, so Jake was a player that Coach Smith thought to give game opportunities. After all the team had recovered form and was ready to begin play training because Jake encouraged other players to train harder, the players themselves did not realize, but ignoring Jake they were already starting to respect him. So Coach Smith thought Jake just had to perform well in a game in order to gain acceptance from all of his teammates and fully engage with the team. As for Jake''s ability Coach, Smith was already convinced of that, he seemed to have a lot more hits in mid-range shots and 3 point shots, Jake also missed no Free Throw in training, this shows how good he is offensive. He also realized that Jake had a lot of ability to pass his teammates and control Jake''s ball, so his dribbling must be very good, as they had not done play training the coach didn''t know if Jake was well in defense either. The coach needed more than one player who could play both defensively as well as set up and score points, with Jake''s steal statistics that was so high for any player he was probably the player Coach Smith needed. The team had a lot of talents, veteran Center Serge Zwikker, a player who was good at both attacking and defending and catching rebounds with Antawn Jamison, was skilled but had no prominence in either defense or attack, just played well. Shammond Williams was the highlight of the team and very good offensively, scored several points and still helped in the defense doing the basics, helped with assists too, but did not show their full potential in games. Antawn Jamison was another big highlight on the team, the one who got the most rebounds and scored the most points in the games was very good at offense and helped in defense as well. Vince Carter was good at both offense and defense, was a very important player for the team this year, helped by scoring a lot of points, rebounds, and assists, another important player for the team. Ed Cota was a player that Coach Smith thought very well and would be a key player if Jake didn''t have the team, so Jake was the outstanding player the team needed to win. The only question was how he could play in college basketball if he kept an average of over 35 points per game and 13 assists the team would already enter as a favorite to win the NCAA Tournament. Not to mention the average 7.1 steals per game Jake had in his senior year of high school and the average of 8.7 he had in all of high school, even if Jake did half of that on the Tar Heels team would be the enough for them to fight for titles. Jake didn''t know that Coach Smith trusted him so much even though he never came to talk to him, but even without that confidence, Jake was thinking of winning every game he could and winning the NCAA this year. The truth was that Jake had already decided to finish this university ahead of time, he wanted to get into the NBA and earn as many titles as he could, after all, he just wanted to earn playing at the university and have a degree to show his mother. It didn''t matter that Jake spent four years in college, so every year it mattered for Jake to be able to earn as many titles as he could and also to beat every record he could, he wanted to enter the NBA as a bigger star than LeBron James would be. In over 7 years he wanted to become the highest-paid athlete in the NBA and have several titles to get a better deal with the shoe companies, so he had to play the best he could. Even though Jake wasn''t so confident in his overall ability to be better than the others, he had to dominate all of his opponents with his physical stats, with those 2 points in all statistics he earned as a reward for the Olympic gold medal He was more confident. Jake was sure his statics were the same as many top-level NBA athletes and second only to the biggest stars, but next year after winning a few major marathons he would have more stats than anyone in the NBA for agility and endurance. So by next year, he was sure to dominate all his opponents at the university that was a level below the NBA, in fact even at high school Jake had games that made the most of his skills. But he never made the most of his stats for fear of hurting his opponents, he held on too tightly to contests and didn''t come close to using his agility to the fullest, so this year his agility would be even higher he would show what speed was to your opponents. He was already doing several tests in his imagination training space, in this space even with opponents a skill rank above him, Jake could still pass all easily, it was a pity that he would not do so many 3-point moves. In addition, Jake was prepared for tougher games where opponents would not hesitate to make fouls to stop play, it is in these plays that Jake will be able to show his physical superiority and get 3 or 4 point play after suffering a foul. Chapter 257 The University 7 After spending two weeks at university Jake finally decided to return to marathon running training, he had already completely adapted to the new university routine and the mood with the basketball team was very good. By that day Jake would be changing the way he normally trained, his system-strengthened body could be saying that Jake had a huge advantage over other athletes, his physical statistics being distributed to every muscle in his body. So Jake didn''t need to do any specific weight training, while his statistics improved he would be better than others who spend hours at the gym doing various types of training. For long-distance races such as the marathon, Jake has always used Agility and Resistance statistics more often, but in short distances, he would need more agility and strength statistics. After all, strength was what would generate the initial momentum when he competed in the 100 meters, for example, of course, all statistics were important for a race, but some were more important than others. Also, the more strength the muscles usually have the athlete loses flexibility and elasticity of the muscles to make the movements easier, this was a problem that Jake would never have, so he could compete for both short and long-distance . The problem for Jake was that sprinting required a lot more technique than sprinting, so Jake wasn''t so confident of achieving it in a few years. With a coach, Jake could improve his technique, but he would not have much time to devote to training, so Jake could count on competing in these short distance competitions in another 8 years, not the next Olympics. In eight years, Jake would have had time to learn how to master general racing-related athletics, by which time he too would probably have accomplished a lot in the NBA and the business world. At that time Jake could spend a lot more time thinking about the medals, of course, that''s just the most optimistic scenario Jake had for the future, yet he thought that with much training was a viable goal. Jake''s current training would be pretty much the same, the difference being that he wouldn''t run 60 km a day anymore, but would only run 45 km a day, but with a faster running time when he got used to the new riding time race, he could increase the overall speed. Jake knew he could because he had run at a close time last year before the New York Marathon and now he has had 3 points more stamina and agility since that time, so Jake had a lot more confidence. Jake no longer had to run 60km because his body''s physical fitness through the system had already registered his peak state, so unless he got injured he didn''t need to redo that training. The reason Jake continued with this training was to increase Resistance and Stamina, but after increasing so much and continuing to increase when he gained more stat points would become temporarily useless training. So better if he tried to improve his running time, Jake preferred to rent an athletic field from a gym that was unused for his university training. When he was in high school as the Elite school did not have a good athletic team the athletic field was little used and few knew that Jake was a marathon runner at the time he was training. So few people tried to bother Jake in his training, but after winning the Olympics and at the UNC who had a strong track and field team he didn''t want to risk training at the UNC track and field. In the first 10 km of running Jake felt no problem increasing his running speed at a faster pace, he made that 10 km in 50 seconds less than normal, which gave 5 seconds per km less running time. When Jake reached the 30km race he was surprised to feel that he was not tired yet, he was surprised to realize that these 2 stat points he earned in Resistance and agility greatly improved his race. It was the first time he had run after winning the gold medal in the Olympics, and it had been almost a year since he had been trying to train at a faster running speed, yet he was surprised how easy it was. Jake continued his run and easily passed the 45 km, Jake was much more tired now, but he knew he could keep running, so Jake decided to complete the 50 km as he used to train so he wouldn''t lose his running pace. When he finished the 50 km he felt much more tired, Jake felt that he could continue running, but would not finish the 60 km as he did before, yet he was surprised at how easily he ran that speed. Normally this would be reasonable considering that Jake always ran 60 km every day and had gained 2 statistic points since the last time he was training his 60 km. But one must consider that increasing one second per km could be a huge challenge for any top runner, and Jake did much more than that and cut his running time per km by 5 seconds. Without getting those two statistics points, Jake would probably complete the under 43 km with great difficulty and risk even getting injured, after the New York Marathon his time was much longer than that. Before New York, he trained running 10 km in 29 minutes and 20 seconds which was 10 seconds slower than he did now, with time taking 4 seconds for 1 km he couldn''t stand the pace of the marathon race and got injured. Of course, a lot of it also had to do with the fact that Jake was having a little psychological problem at the time, yet it was a time that was hardening Jake''s muscles at the time. But 1 year after that he had achieved several Resistance and agility points and was trying a faster time than this in the marathon, in today''s race he made a time of just under 2 hours and 3 minutes at 42 km. With that time Jake could break the world record in many world competitions, only after 20 years would anyone be able to run below that time, in another 20 years Jake would probably approach 70 in statistics and would have run below 2 hours long. Jake felt that he could shorten his running time even further, so he decided to further shorten his running time the next day, Jake wanted to find out what his running speed limit was in training. That''s because Jake needed to decrease daily running training time and be more productive, Jake spent more than 4 hours on his training before running the 60km every day and with warm-up exercises. Aside from being a long, hard training that tired him both physically and mentally, after all, Jake still had training with the basketball team and classes every day, so at university, he couldn''t go on like this. After all, his training with the basketball team was very intense now and Jake still had classes and wanted to spend some time with his friends, a useless training of more than 4 hours was not acceptable to Jake now. Before the Olympics, Jake was still unsure of his performance and so did this safety training, but now Jake was even better than a few months ago when he won the gold medal and also had more confidence. By decreasing the running time and increasing the speed he could do more necessary training and also decrease the daily time he spent running, he could finish in less than 3 hours all his training. In addition, Jake had already stopped doing his personal bodybuilding training, so he would spend just over 5 hours training with the basketball team training, which was an acceptable time for Jake at the moment. Jake would have to do his marathon training every morning in the morning to have more time in the day, with his stronger body thanks to the system he could sleep a few hours a day and get enough rest. So Jake would wake up shortly after 4 am to run and after training takes a shower and change his clothes to go to the morning classes, then later he would do the training with the basketball team and go back to the dorm to talk with his friends and dinner. With this routine Jake could enjoy the whole day and still rest as long as he had classes at university before training the basketball team, he found that it was good to have this rest, but could not do with his schedule before. In-game days with the basketball team Jake would not do his running training, after all, sometimes the games would be in other states or cities, and also he could rest more for the games. The other day Jake came back in the morning to do the training, he would try to take another 1 second for 1 km and so would run in 2 minutes and 54 seconds for 1 km, in 10 km he could take 1 minute of his time at the Olympics. So he would take 4 minutes and 12 seconds out of the 42km marathon and finish in just over 2 hours, 2 minutes and 20 seconds, it would be harder for him to achieve, but if he could, he could keep up for a few more years until getting more Resistance and agility stat points. So Jake began training, in the first 20 km he ran without tiring almost the same as the day before, but after 30 km he began to feel the tiredness that his slightly faster speed caused. After completing the 43 km Jake was feeling much more tired than the day before and had to work harder to continue when he completed the 50 km Jake was breathless and very tired as he did not feel for a long time. So Jake finally figured out what his running speed limit was, he felt he couldn''t run faster than that and still make sure he completed the race or worse could get injured. Chapter 258 The University 8 Having discovered the limit that he could run in training Jake was motivated again to do his training, in a few more weeks he would have the Chicago marathon to run and ensure his fitness by then. Their training on the basketball team was going well and they would start in a few days doing the play drills and game simulations to decide the holders for the new basketball team season. With that decided everyone was very anxious and just Jake didn''t expect much of it, he knew he probably wouldn''t be the starter and wanted to secure the spot during the games this season, yet he would still train as hard as the others. The only problem with that was that he couldn''t get any closer to his teammates at this time, who would be tense with position disputes, after training Charlie stopped to talk to him. Charlie was closer to Jake than the others on the team, and he didn''t want to run for the starting lineup either because he was aware that he wasn''t as skilled as his teammates. "Hey Jake, do you think you''re going to get a starting position on the team?" "I don''t think so far, I have this problem with the team and Coach Smith wouldn''t risk putting me on the team in this situation, not to mention that Ed Cota and Shammond Williams could play in the same position as me." Charlie was surprised that Jake wasn''t expecting to become the starter at the beginning of the season like the others, it shows that he was more mature than the others and knew to wait for the right opportunity. "Even if you can''t play on the team starting the game, for now, you will be able to do it in the future with your skill, and even though it doesn''t seem like it now everyone was very grateful that you slowed down your training, so you''ll be fully integrated with the team." Charlie knew that Jake could have a much better chance of joining the starting lineup early in the season if he showed far better performance than others in training, but that would make the team players even farther away from him. After all, it was as if Jake was a supermarket owner who started his business in a city with several supermarkets that all had the same quality products and started selling much cheaper than his competitors. Customers would be very happy and start buying more at their supermarket, but competitors would be dissatisfied with unfair competition and would do their best to affect Jake''s supermarket sales. Jake knew this and was confident of getting a place in the starting lineup without having to cause problems to his teammates, he knew that his skills would stand out in the games, that was the difference between a talented team star and a star who He was a problem player. When Jake returned to his dorm Zack and William were waiting for him again, they went out to eat and left Aaron who was reading behind, Zack and William didn''t want any problems and so they learned to ignore Aaron because they didn''t want to bother their roommate. Only Jake thought differently and intended to talk to Aaron when he had another opportunity, Jake had realized that Aaron seemed to have overcome his problems and seemed to be shy and had no courage to start a conversation with either of them. After all, Aaron knew that despite having problems he had been rude to his roommates who just wanted to be kind, now he didn''t seem to know how to apologize. At the restaurant where they ate William and Zack were talking while Jake was distracted thinking about several things he had to do in the coming weeks, so Zack saw Jake distracted and started talking to him. "Jake, where have you been going early in the morning?" "I already told you to stop being nosy like that, Zack, if he doesn''t want to talk about it leave Jake alone." "No problem, William, it was no secret at all, I''m leaving in the morning to do my running training for the next marathon in a few weeks." After they talked about themselves in the conversation William and Zack asked several people and were able to confirm that Jake had indeed won the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics, they also confirmed that Jake was on the college basketball team. They couldn''t confirm if Jake really was that good at high school or if he really had won a marathon in Chicago and came second in New York, but they figured Jake wouldn''t have to lie about that. "Which marathon will you compete in?" "In Chicago, I won my first marathon there last year, I want to run there again." They were both impressed that Jake spoke so calmly about doing something amazing like winning a marathon with the best runners in the world, they weren''t used to Jake''s humility yet. "Can I run with you too, Jake?" "You can come, Zack, but we won''t be able to run together because you can''t keep up with my training pace, you can run at your pace." "I understand, so I''ll come with you on some days of the week to run." Jake knew that Zack was very fond of running, but his training was at a very high pace of running speed, not even other professionals could keep up, Zack might want to try training an Olympic champion to improve his race. Unfortunately Jake did not have very effective training, he was different from other athletes and just used the system to take advantage of others, after all his training could not be done without him having such high statistics and the system to recover his body. Still, he couldn''t just say no to his friend, not to mention that his ineffective training was better than no training for an amateur like Zack, if Zack ran every day with Jake even at a slower pace he could easily complete one. marathon in a few months. Since Zack wasn''t a pro, just completing a marathon could make him happy, not to mention that Zack had tried a few marathons before, even though he hadn''t completed one was a good experience. William was a little unhappy because he would be left out, but he didn''t want to do any kind of sport so he couldn''t complain, Jake could talk to William about business too and Zack didn''t bother with that. Of course Jake didn''t tell him about the investments he had, after all, he knew William for a short time and couldn''t talk about such important things, not even Joseph knew about all of Jake''s investments. The next day Jake and Zack were in the morning to run, Jake was surprised how excited Zack was even having to wake up at 4 am, so he was determined to help his friend get better. "Zack, like I said we can''t do the same kind of training, so first let''s understand your limits, take this time and run 10 laps on this track so we can see how you are doing your race, do your best." Jake always trained on a race track with official dimensions, the track was 400 meters so 10 laps would be 4 km, as Zack intended to run a marathon of over 42 km he deduced that 4 km would be easy for him. Unfortunately, he could not pay attention to Zack and would have to finish his normal run before knowing how his friend had fared, not to be discouraged Zack Jake started running first so Zack would make no comparison. After almost 3 hours Jake finished the race and was very tired again, he had realized that Zack was lying down while Jake ran so he went to talk to his friend. "How was Zack?" "I''m very impressed with the crazy training you make you have run for 3 hours at a very strong running speed, so you did more than one marathon in your training?" Zack was no quarrel on the marathon issue, so he recognized how fast Jake''s running speed was, so by the time Jake ran he deduced that Jake had run at least 40km. "Yes, I run like this every day, sometimes I can''t train for some reason, but most of the time this is my training." "I had never heard of any pro training like that, and you still do training with the basketball team later, isn''t that dangerous? Aren''t you afraid of over-straining your body and getting injured?" "I know my body well and I know I can handle this training, not to mention that this is the only way I can guarantee that I can win a marathon." "I thought you were lucky to have talent winning at the Olympics and still playing basketball, but after today I see that you deserve to win with all this training." "Thanks for acknowledging, but you haven''t said yet how your race time was." "I thought you would forget if I complimented you, I couldn''t run the 4 km, I''m out of shape because I haven''t been training for a while, I only completed 8 laps on the track and this is my time." Jake was surprised by this but didn''t show it, even though he was out of shape he should be able to run at least 4 km unless he didn''t train for years and was overweight. Not to mention that his running time was horrible, he ran for almost 9 minutes by 1 km, if he competed in the marathon even if he could finish he would take almost 7 hours to finish the marathon. "So we have to change this training, Zack, you''re going to run with me 2 km a day every day, and in the afternoon while I''m training with the basketball team you have to go to the gym to do a treadmill and weightlifting to recover your physical form." Hearing Jake says that he Zack regretted asking to train with him, a few months ago that he did not train at all and even when he trained it was just a light training. But Zack didn''t have the heart to quit now, because he really liked to run and would be embarrassed to quit even though he knew that Jake did so much training every day, at least a little training he should be able to do. Jake didn''t know he had inspired his friend to train, he thought this training was too light and it was only for a few weeks until Zack was back in shape, he didn''t think this was the heaviest training Zack had ever done. Chapter 259 Starting the Season for Sports 1 For the next few days, Zack followed Jake''s training routine and got tired every day, seeing that William was no longer jealous of Zack and didn''t want to talk about it with Jake anymore. In fact, William was surprised by this, it was obvious that Jake did much stronger training than Zack, but Jake arrived well every day in the dorm and didn''t even look tired and Zack looked exhausted every day. After a day of training, Jake got a call from John, it seemed that his sponsoring company representative wanted to talk to Jake, Tiffany and Clara were busy with the company as they were the president and so John was assigned to talk to Jake about the marathons. John had come to Chapel Hill to talk to Jake and so Jake went to the dorm to warn his friends that he could not dine with them and went to talk to John, after a few hours Jake finally arrived at the restaurant where John was waiting. "Hi John, how have you been?" "Very well, thanks to you, our sales this year promise to break our previous record for a long time, after that commercial and the Olympics your media exposure has further helped our company sell more." After seeing the sales reports, the directors of John''s company were delighted to renew their sponsorship with Jake, while Jake was at university they could earn a lot from Jake while he was at university. In fact, they tried to pay Jake a higher amount of sponsorship by thinking of gaining his trust and perhaps getting a sponsorship contract renewal when Jake joined the NBA. After all Jake was now a college athlete which would be worth a lot of sponsorship only if he could wear something of the brand in uniform, and a marathon athlete wouldn''t be worth as much as they were paying, just because Jake did the two sports worth the sponsorship. But after seeing the increase in sales they no longer thought so and we''re glad they could renew sponsorship, a contract of more than $ 5 million over 5 years was a high-end contract even for professional athletes. They also knew that Jake had a $ 13 million sponsorship-only contract in 3 years if they counted all 4 sponsors, yet all of Jake''s sponsors would be willing to renew this sponsorship. "So Jake, we got an invitation from the Chicago Marathon organization to compete there this year, so I wonder if you plan to be there in the coming weeks?" "I''m going to participate yes, I already organized a regular registration, I didn''t think I needed anything like this." "You won last year and got a gold medal in the Olympics, so it''s normal for them to want you to participate in the marathon this year." "You can count on me, talk to Tiffany so you guys share ads in this year''s marathon, will you be there?" "Yes, I will be there, I will organize everything personally, if you need a registration for a marathon you can talk to me too, do you want to participate in any more this year?" "Yes, I will participate in New York too, this year I will win." John was glad to hear that Jake was still competing in two more marathons this year, which was best for his company, of course, it would be nice only if Jake had the intention to win, otherwise he would lose the spotlight he won at the Olympics. After that Jake and John talked for a while longer before John left, fortunately in a short period of time John and Alan didn''t plan on doing another sponsorship commercial, because they spent so much this year on advertising. As they thought it would be the last year of sponsorship with Jake the company spent a lot on the commercial earlier this year, thanks to Jake''s advice they were able to save a little and spend less on producing the commercial. Of course, they had an excellent return on that investment, but they didn''t plan on doing another commercial next year, maybe another 2 years in the last year of their contract with Jake they thought of doing that. In the next few days, things were going well for Jake, the team started doing the full training preparing for the first game in November, as the play drills started so everyone could see more of Jake''s skills. The most remarkable fact was that Jake did not miss a pass in training, even though not knowing well the style of play of his colleagues Jake could still read the moves well and be without any mistakes. Coach Smith could see that it was Jake''s experience that allowed him to play so well without knowing his teammates'' playing style, but it was impossible for Jake to have much more experience than his teammates who also played every game in high school. Not to mention that Coach Smith learned that Jake had been left out of the team in the first two years of high school, so it was normal for Jake to have less experience than his teammates, only Ed Cota had a similar skill to Jake and also missed a few passes. Jake had a lot of advantage over his teammates because he played over 1200 games in his imagination training space, it was very difficult for anyone to get over it, in saying that now that Jake was used to it he could train twice a day in his imagination training. This gave Jake more than 700 games a year of experience, it was essential for him in his quest to become the best NBA player, in fact, Jake already thought he was improving very slowly with all the training resources he had. Of course, the reason for this was that Jake wanted to split his training to play in all positions, so it would take him 5 times as long to have experience in all positions, which was what made Jake give the best passes knowing all the positions on the court. With that Jake got even more respect from his new teammates, they realized that maybe Jake was better than them in some parts of basketball, after training Vince Carter came to talk to Jake. "Hi Jake, I thought you played very well today, maybe you could become a team owner if you kept playing like that." "Thanks, Vince, coming from you is a big compliment, I think you play very well too, will be one of the highlights of our team this year." "I would rather win than be recognized, if we could win the ACC Tournament in a few months I would be very pleased if we win the NCAA Tournament I will be even happier." "I agree with you, I came to UNC because I believe we can win this year, the NCAA Tournament is a little harder, but I think we can win with more effort." Vince had hoped to win these Tournaments, but Jake knew they would win the ACC Tournament and reach the final four of the NCAA Tournament, with Jake on the team he thought they could win these two games and be champion. They talked some more and then broke up. Jake was happy to talk to an idol he had in his past life, he was already thinking about how he could ask for an autograph from Vince Carter as if it were a joke. Jake called his mother after training to tell the good news, Jake talked to Eva whenever he could and Eva was very happy whenever she knew Jake was fine and making more friends at the university. In high school, besides Joseph and the basketball team players Jake did not have many friends and even among the basketball team players, only a few were actually more friends of Jake. So Eva hoped her son would enjoy this time at university to make more friends and enjoy life more, after all, she knew that Jake already had a lot of money and that didn''t worry her anymore, just the fact that Jake didn''t have many friends and no girlfriends It made Eva sadder. After another week Jake was doing daily morning training with Zack, after a week following Jake''s training for him every day, Zack no longer tired running 2 km every day. Jake, who realized this too, took no pity on his friend and doubled Zack''s running routine to 4 km per day, the fitness training at the gym was still the same, Zack wanted to refuse this training and spoke to Jake. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to increase my training routine now Jake, I''ve just gotten used to this 2km distance per day, so maybe I better adapt before increasing the distance again." "I don''t think so, you can''t get used to a weak training routine like this one you have to force your body until you get what you want so after you move to 4 km and get used to it will increase to 6 km." "This way your body will always get better and you won''t stop until you can run a whole marathon smoothly." "If I do this I cannot end up suffering an injury? At some point, I will reach my limit." "I do not agree if you always increase the distance by 2 km and one day you reach your limit the most that will happen is you fall on the track without power, only after you reach the extreme that can happen your body can not stand before your stamina." Jake knew what he was talking about, with this training method only when Zack reached the 20km run a day he would reach the limit, at which point Jake would have to make Zack run one day and rest the next. 4 km of the race is impossible to make a healthy person injured without forcing his body, and Zack doesn''t look like someone who would force his body to complete the 4 km, not to mention that Zack was running at a very low speed, so tired even less. "So at least let''s increase just another 1km, so I run 3km every day." "So you won''t feel any challenge, I want you to run a distance you can''t to the satisfaction of when you can, just so you will notice your improvement in the race." Jake''s training method might not be the best, but to finish a marathon was the right one after Zack wanted him could hire a professional trainer to compete. Chapter 260 Starting the Season for Sports 2 The other day with a rested body Zack managed to run the 4 km, but he was exhausted after running and ran slower than before, yet Jake didn''t interfere as long as Zack could. As it was, it would take a few more weeks for Zack to move on to 6 km training, when Zack''s fitness improves faster and he can complete 42 km. So next month Zack would improve much faster if he didn''t give up on training, it also served to show Jake the difference between him and another of his age, at 14 Jake could easily run that distance with the speed that Zack was running. And because Zack was supposed to have more than 14 on average statistics and had the advantage of being adult and having developed body that Jake did not have as a child, yet it was obvious what Jake could do better than others thanks to the system. Not to mention when Jake started training in just over 2 months he had greatly improved his time even running faster than Zack, it would probably take 7 months before Zack could run a marathon with Jake''s training. That''s because even if Jake''s training was much more inefficient than others, he could ensure that Zack''s body developed and when Zack could run a marathon once he could run several whenever he wanted to. In training with the basketball team, Coach Smith performed several different play drills after pass training, in dribbling and ball control drills Jake was among the best but did not surpass Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Shammond Williams. This showed Jake that there is always someone who can be better, of course, this is because Jake chose one of the best NCAA teams, if it was a weaker team he would be the best for sure. In attacking moves Jake outperformed his other teammates in mid-range and 3-point shots, not to mention that he was only slightly worse than his teammates in indoor moves such as layups and dunks. That with players with Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Shammond William who were considered skilled even in the NBA, surprised all of their teammates and Coach Smith. Impressed even Coach Guthridge who invited him to college, the coach had never seen Jake play at a high level and just heard what others said about him, so he thought Jake was good only at mid-range plays and shots from out. But that wasn''t really true, Jake just preferred to score mid-range shots and 3 point shots because it was so much more efficient and his opponents didn''t have the ability to hinder their shots. At Jake University he knew it would be different, so many teams would have defensive and strong players that even if they couldn''t block, they would still get in the way of their shots, so now Jake would have to use his skills much more to do inside scoring. So Coach Smith was thinking that even if Jake could not start as a starter, he could still go into the spin in the match and play for several minutes, just because he didn''t have a lot of rapport with the team. Maybe in more games, Jake could become the starter if he had good performances, it was the same situation in the high school Elite team, Nathan and Lucas were clearly better than David and Harrison and would still be the future of the team. Even so, Coach Mike couldn''t take David and Harrison out and leave them as starters because he had to think about how the two veterans had a relationship with Jake and his teammates. Just at the end of the season last year that Nathan and Lucas were able to play as starters, Jake was in a similar situation, but even more, complicated because his teammates were of the same skill level as him so the coach could leave Jake in reserve. Even though after these weeks of training, the basketball players talked more often with Jake and he was gradually getting in touch, Charlie was still talking to Jake more and Vince also talked to Jake more and more often. That day when Jake returned to the dorm his friends hadn''t arrived yet, Zack had gone off as he often did to talk to his brother, and William was in the library studying to do better in class. So only Jake and Aaron were in the dorm, Jake thought this was a great opportunity to try talking to Aaron again, if he was wrong and Aaron still didn''t want to talk to him, Jake would give up. "Hi Aaron, we tried to talk the other day and I realized you seemed to have some problems that day, but we''re in the same dorm so how about we go out to dinner and try to talk again?" Aaron who was reading his book looked at Jake surprised after more than 1 month of classes and he still couldn''t talk to his roommates, Aaron was shy and had already rejected Zack that day and so expected an opportunity to talk. He didn''t think Jake would understand his problems and try to talk to him first, so Aaron agreed with Jake and went out to the restaurant where Jake and the others would normally go, Aaron found it more comfortable talking to Jake than the three of them together. "So Aaron, I don''t know how to be as sociable as Zack and hope you have time to talk, can you tell me something about yourself?" "I lived in New York before coming to university, my father owns a transportation company and my mother died many years ago." "I have two older sisters who don''t have much contact and an older brother named Terrence and he works with my father in his company, I should also go to work in the company, but I had the opportunity to study and came to UNC. " Jake had realized that despite having a face that always seemed to be angry Aaron was actually quite calm, so he spent all day reading when not in a class, Jake was glad to have decided to talk to Aaron again. Just as Jake told a little about his life and family as he did with Zack and William, Aaron was also surprised to learn that Jake played basketball and still ran marathons, but did not doubt Jake as much as Zack and William had. After they talked about many other things and Jake learned that Aaron also enjoyed sports a lot and remembered that Jake had won the marathon at the end of the Olympics, he had not recognized Jake because he did not care much about the marathon winner. They also talked about various things that happened to them in middle school and high school, Aaron also got angry when he learned what the teachers did to Jake in middle school and what the coach did to Jake in high school. In a few hours of conversation the two found that they had many things in common, Jake said he played some high school football games and Aaron was impressed and a little depressed before talking about what happened to him. "I also played American football in high school, I always had a strong body and was pretty fast from a kid, so early in high school, I decided I would try to play football like I always saw my idols playing in the NFL." Jake really thought that Aaron had a lot of muscle for someone normal, so he was an athlete, many play American footballs in high school, a shame that most do not have enough talent to enter the university as a player. "I always trained my body at the gym and took care of my fitness, I didn''t want to end up suffering an injury for not taking care of my body, when I was a Sophomore I finally got into the starting lineup in the WR position." "As the years went by I secured my starting position on the team and made several touchdowns during the seasons I played, in the last year of high school I was the best WR on my team and I received scholarship offers from various universities." When Aaron kept talking Jake understood that he had misunderstood the situation Aaron was in, it seemed that he really had a talent unlike most and even got a scholarship to play with. But Jake understood that something must have happened for Aaron to tell this story without a smile and seems to be hurting to speak. "I ended up choosing to study and play here at UNC because I''m a big fan of Michael Jordan, besides, I knew I wasn''t that good at football and wanted to play on a team that I could play in." "My father was not very happy to hear that I did not decide to work at his company as my brother and I decided to study, but he also liked football and knew that studies could just do me good, besides, as his company is his I can work there anytime I want. " "Unfortunately on my vacation before I came here I went to play a football game with my high school teammates and ended up suffering a rupture in my Achilles tendon." "So my father warned the university that he said that as the injury was caused out of an official game they would not help and that I would lose my scholarship as I could not play on the football team." Jake could understand why Aaron was so angry and nervous when they met him at the beginning of his semester at university, even though Aaron was wrong to end up hurting himself by playing outside of an official game they could be more supportive at such a time. "Fortunately my father was able and paid for part of the surgery that was not covered by my health plan, so I was just over 2 months unable to walk normally and fully recover." "Also, my father had to pay tuition and tuition here at the university as I had lost my scholarship, luckily my father can support me, otherwise my future would be lost, so I was having physical therapy before coming here and I''m still doing it." "I was angry at the beginning of the semester when you came to talk to me about everything that happened to me on vacation and I was also very angry with the university that can''t support me at the moment I needed it most and with the physiotherapy that was difficult to transfer sessions here and still bothers." Chapter 261 Starting the Season for Sports 3 "The new physiotherapist told me that it would take at least another 8 months for me to recover, which means that I would lose the first year of chances to play, not to mention that it will take longer for me to regain my fitness to can play again." "Actually, I don''t have any motivation anymore to keep playing football at this university, but I know that if I want to have any chance of joining the NFL I have to play there even if I don''t want to." "That''s why I ended up being rude to you at the beginning of the semester, I apologize, I know I had no reason to do that, but I ended up stressing over the situation." So Jake can understand why Aaron was like this at the beginning of the semester, he had already apologized and sympathized with Aaron, he didn''t know if Zack and William could understand and be friends with Aaron normally, but Jake was optimistic that the 4 would be great friends. "Don''t worry about it, Aaron, I think when you explain your situation to Zack and William they''ll understand your circumstances and forgive you and we''ll all be friends soon." "I hope so, I''ve missed my chance to play football at this university, if I can''t make friends either, I see no reason to stay at this university." Jake saw that Aaron seemed really mad at the university, Jake would probably be just as angry if something like that happened to him, luckily Aaron''s dad could afford the surgery, otherwise, the situation would be even worse and his career would be even worse Aaron as a player would be lost. "I understand you use anger at what the university did to Aaron, but I think you shouldn''t think about quitting football because of that, you should use this first year to do your physiotherapy and fully recover from your injury." "Then you have to take the rest of the time to fully regain your ideal physical strength and maybe even get stronger than before, so next season you''ll be back playing without any risk of injury." "I think it may even be a good thing that the university dropped you and took your scholarship, otherwise you would have more pressure to play again and could end up injuring yourself again if that happened your career would really be over." Jake advised Aaron with what he thought was really the best solution for his friend at the moment, even if Aaron didn''t listen to Jake he would at least remember that advice and could follow in the future. They would be friends after that and so after a while, Jake would gather everyone from the dorm for dinner so maybe everyone would become friends, that was what Jake wanted most and the others seemed to want the same. In the next few days, Jake went to train his race with Zack every day, just over a week before the Chicago Marathon and he couldn''t relax if he wanted to win. Jake had already gotten used to the new race pace and could run the 50 km without getting too tired, he was very happy to have taken those 5 minutes in the 50 km race time, Zack thought Jake was a monster and Jake never I would say that I ran 50 km and no less as Zack thought. Zack was also getting better at training and was not getting so tired running the 4km every day now, but Jake didn''t decide to increase his friend''s daily running routine to 6km for now, because Zack''s body hadn''t strengthened so much quickly like that. Zack''s stamina and energy improved a lot in these training weeks, but his training at the gym couldn''t keep up with his improvement in running, Jake couldn''t suggest further training at Zack''s gym because he knew it was his friend''s limit. Zack also realized that even though having managed to run the 4 km Jake had not increased his training again, he thought that Jake was giving him time to get used to it and was happy about it. Some might run a marathon even without training before if they had a good physique, and with a few weeks of training Zack could try, but Jake didn''t think that was right. Many did not know it now, but Jake had lived at a time several years in the future in his past life, with the internet and curiosity. Jake may know that several people so lacking in fitness eventually suffered serious injuries and sometimes they ended up dying. Running over 42 km is not something an average adult can achieve with training alone and can protect his body from having repercussions after the race, so Jake has always been so cautious about his training taking several months even though the system strengthened and strengthened. protected his body. Still, when he didn''t have a fully developed body, Jake nearly suffered several injuries if the system had not warned it shows how running without sufficient training could be dangerous. Jake didn''t want Zack to end up having an accident because of his training and was meticulous in scheduling his friend''s training, so if Zack followed Jake''s training he could even finish a marathon before 3 hours of the run. In training with the basketball team, they also had defense training and Jake stood out again, he was not the best in defense but was among the best and certainly was the best among them in intercepting passes and steal the ball of the opponents. Jake also lost only in rebounds, his teammates were far superior to him in that sector, yet when Jake had the advantage in positioning he could always get the rebound, with this year''s Tar Heels team being one of the best in rebounds Jake It was still fine. So Coach Smith thought that Jake was just left to do what to do in training in games and he would earn the respect of teammates, who might also get the position of team holder. So the days passed again and only two days before the Chicago marathon, Jake warned Coach Guthridge that training would have to be missed these days, Coach Guthridge had talked to Jake before about it. He talked about this with Coach Smith who allowed Jake to take a few days off training, they knew they couldn''t just ask an Olympic champion to stop running, so he allowed Jake to miss those few days. That day Jake still trained normally and went to Chicago in the evening after advising his friends, so the other day Jake would rest well so he could run in 2 days, Jake can rest peacefully in the hotel he had chosen. The other day Jake had all day to rest and kept remembering the race track last year to run more efficiently this time, in the last 3 marathons Jake had learned a lot about how to make the most of his energy in the race. Because of that, he can win more easily at the Olympics this year, Jake was very confident this time because he had gotten 2 points in Resistance and Agility stats and also because it was the first time Jake had ever run a track again. With his photographic memory, he gained from fourth job skill Jake could remember perfectly every detail of the track, even if he didn''t have the help of the Jake system he could still do some imagination training after doing it hundreds of times. So Jake can imagine the best route to use and also where he would have to increase and decrease his pace to save energy, after this marathon Jake would have even more experience running in New York just the same. In the afternoon of that day Jake was just resting normally, he had made all the preparations he could for the marathon the next day, in the afternoon John who was in town to support Jake in the marathon showed up to talk to him at the hotel. "Hi Jake, how are you doing? Ready for tomorrow''s race?" "Yes, I don''t think I will have problems running and I will try to win again." "Well, I''ll be at the finish line for you, I hope you can win too, but don''t try hard to have no risk of injury." If it was Tiffany or Clara he might think they were thinking of him and taking care of him, but as John was talking Jake understood that he didn''t want Jake to get hurt because he still had the basketball games and the New York marathon for Jake to try. "Did you talk to Tiffany and Clara to send someone to advertise for today''s marathon?" "Yes, I said, Tiffany, said she would send the same people last year to do this work for her and Clara." Jake didn''t care about Alan because the way he advertises a razor company was different, just commercials and having the company''s brand name in uniform can have some impact on them. The one who was making the most of it was John''s company, it was an energy drink company that was popular with young and amateur athletes, not to mention that despite his shared attention with Tiffany''s drinks company. John''s company was bigger and so it had a lot more sales, the one that profited most was Tiffany''s company, but John cared about that because they weren''t direct competitors, if it was Jake wouldn''t have a contract with his company. Many companies in the market partnered with other brands just to increase target audiences without losing customers, which is what John''s company was doing with Jake''s other sponsors. The other morning Jake was getting ready for the marathon, October 20, 1996, Jake was getting ready to run the Chicago marathon again, this time, however, he was trying to win for the second time and was no longer an unknown marathon runner. In fact Jake was the one who drew the most attention in this marathon, he was the absolute favorite after winning the Olympics and this year''s race, everyone knew that Jake knew the track well and should be very confident for this marathon. Also, the fact that Jake was a 17-year-old was remembered by everyone who saw Jake waiting for the start of the race, if nothing bad happened everyone knew that Jake could dominate athletics for many years to come. Chapter 262 Starting the Season for Sports 4 Everyone considered Jake a rival in this race, but still expected to have many chances to win, a marathon is a race that can always have an unexpected result, the weather of the day, the temperature and even the condition of the athletes had to be taken into account to the result. Rarely did an athlete dominate the marathon events for many years without any rivals, it showed how unpredictable the sport was in its results, Jake also knew it and so always made such a hard training routine. The winner of this event in Jake''s past life was Paul Evans, this was a special year in which two UK athletes won this event in men and women, a result that has rarely happened in history. Paul Evans was the toughest opponent Jake faced in a marathon, after all, Paul''s final time was less than 2 hours and 9 minutes, only 1 time Jake managed to run in less than 2 hours and 9 minutes in his previous marathons. Of course, the reason for this was that Jake always slowed his running pace when he secured first place and therefore finished the race in a long time, which was the biggest reason Jake decided to start training before the Chicago Marathon with a speed fastest race. So Jake would be sure to finish the race first even if he decided to slow down the final kilometers after all Jake knew well that a race time in training could not always be repeated in the official marathon because of the pressure of the race. Jake was also thinking that if he is in good physical shape in the final kilometers and is confident he would try to race to set the current world record, it was a possible time for Jake after his new training and his strongest physical stats. After a few more minutes the 1996 Chicago Major Marathon officially started, Jake decided to run at a slower pace at first to keep up with the other athletes and after a few kilometers, he could take advantage of them. So Jake knew his first kilometers would be slower and he would have to push a little harder in the second part of the race, but it was worth it as long as he didn''t waste much time on those first kilometers. "The annual Chicago marathon has officially started and after a few hours we will know who will be the winners." "Do you have any favorites for today''s race?" "I think the favorite for this race is for sure Jake, he won here last year and is trying again this year." "I also think he''s the favorite, Jake ran his first official marathon here last year at just 16 and nobody expected anything from him, this year is completely different, he took second place in New York after winning here this year past and still won the Olympic gold this year. " "No doubt he''s a favorite, plus his running time has only been improved since New York so far, Jake also seemed to have learned to choose the best path to run without wasting energy." "Yes, that comes with experience, this is Jake''s 5 official marathon, amazing to have those numbers with only 17 years and 1 year as a pro." "And in the last 4 marathons he came in the top 2 in all and won 4 of those events, that data really shows why he won a gold medal." Unlike other times commentators just praised Jake who had won so soon, a talented young genius is nice for anyone to see, and Jake is still an American who hasn''t had good athletes winning in marathons for a few years. Maybe it was Jake who could positively influence young people to compete and get more people to know and appreciate marathons if that happened these commentators would only gain from it as the Chicago Marathon broadcast. This time they didn''t mention the fact that Jake also played basketball for a university, many didn''t even know which university Jake was at because everyone thought Jake had decided to become a pro marathoner instead of basketball. It was what any normal person would do, it was impressive to compete in two sports when they were younger, but when you grow up you have to choose one of them, it was common sense for everyone to make that choice. Also, after Jake won a gold medal at a major event like the Olympics no one else could deny his talent as an athlete, even if Jake never won anything in his life from now on he would always be remembered as one of the top names of the sport. Of course, Jake didn''t care about common sense and wanted to do even more than that, he wanted to become an NBA star and win multiple titles, and also wanted to win many more gold medals and other athletics modalities as well. In the first few kilometers of the marathon, Jake just like everyone else was still running along with other athletes while taking turns leading the group, so they wasted less energy, in Jake''s group he was the leader among the athletes. Even when not leading the group they all followed the same racing pace as Jake because they knew it was the best thing to do, Jake didn''t care about that because he didn''t consider any of those in his group to be rivals. Fortunately, this was ideal for Jake who ran at his running pace as he did in training, so the group of 8 was the first platoon in this marathon, everyone realized that Jake''s running speed was too strong for them. But everyone in this group was professional and intended to reach the top 100 at least, so they thought it best to follow Jake''s pace in the first few kilometers and then slow down in the second half of the race. After 15 km of running the group was still far ahead of other competitors, with just this distance nobody felt tired and everyone followed Jake in the support stations to hydrate. They were still running at a much faster pace than they usually did, but as this was a steady pace they didn''t get tired that much, so this group of 8 people staying together was unusual in the races. Especially for everyone besides Jake they didn''t want to try to win, the reason for that was that Jake always kept the same running pace and didn''t try to speed up just to leave the others behind. Jake felt a little pity for the people who competed in his group, he knew this was good for them and wanted to help those people who were not his competitors have a good time. Unfortunately, they were unlucky to try to follow Jake when he was running at a much faster pace than he usually did so they couldn''t keep up with him for long. "Jake is in the first platoon leading the marathon, this group is a bit different and has no runner who has good placements in previous marathons, the best of this group managed to reach thirtieth in a past marathon." "Maybe they may have improved a lot and have a chance of winning this year, they are competing with Jake who is the first favorite." "I don''t think it''s like that, it seems like Jake is leading this group and setting the pace they run, I think the others can''t keep up like that for a long time." Just as the commentators talked, the athletes who knew their bodies well realized this problem close to 18 km of running, so they started to fall behind and Jake kept running at the same pace. The other 7 in the group slowed down together and knew they had to stay together, after all, they were almost 3 minutes ahead of the second platoon that was far behind, this second platoon also came at a fast running pace and the 7 had to slow down further your racing pace. Only then did they realize how strong their running pace was following Jake, they also realized that this was an excellent opportunity for them to be in the top 50 if they kept a running pace a little less than they normally ran they still had a very big advantage. Washing at least 10 km more for the top 10 runners to pass them if they slowed down their racing rhythms, Jake no longer cared about the athletes in the group he ran with. As he passed the 20km race the commentators were surprised again, Jake was running at a steady pace like a clock thanks to his experience and the system dashboard he had. "Jake has passed the 20 km mark and leads with a lot of lead to the runner-up, he''s running at an incredible pace of fewer than 3 minutes every 1 km, so he''s gone 20 km in 58 minutes." "He is really running fast, less than an hour and he has reached almost half of the marathon if his pace continued so he could beat the marathon world record." "Really, but it''s almost impossible for him to keep that pace, in New York he was running at a slower pace than that and suffered an injury in the final kilometers of the marathon and struggled to reach second, it was his worst time in a marathon. " "An injury happens to marathon runners, that was a coincidence and proves that Jake is able to run at this pace, not to mention that he''s much more experienced now after the Olympics." The commentators seemed to disagree about it, but both were concerned that Jake was running at a very strong pace and could end up getting hurt by it, after all, Jake winning would be very good for the organizers of this marathon and also for the commentators. Jake was over 25 km and still keeping the same running pace, in fact, he was having the best race of his life, the weather on this marathon day was very good and Jake knew the track well as he ran for the second time and did the Imagination training before the marathon. In fact Jake thought he was better now than in his everyday training, elite professional marathoners prefer to train on the regular road rather than on an official track like Jake did because running always in circles could slow down an athlete. Chapter 263 Starting the Season for Sports 5 That meant running a normal road depending on the weather could be better than running on a professional track, and Chicago was a great track to race, proof of which was that the world record had been broken four times in this marathon. After Jake had passed the 35 km he had not yet slowed down, Jake was feeling good and just a little tired, as he trained every day he knew his own body well and knew he could keep running like that. "He has already passed the 35 km race, still maintaining a strong pace, now just over 7 km to finish this marathon, even if he slowed down he would still win this marathon." "That''s true, it''s amazing to see how Jake can keep a steady pace of running, it''s like he''s looking at a watch, he has little difference in his average running speed." "He just seems to slow down on the toughest stretches on the track to saving energy, he''s not wasting too much time on the back-up, that''s the benefit of being first in a marathon." "Jake is over 3 minutes ahead of the runner-up, I think it was better for him to slow down his running pace." "The problem is that he doesn''t know how much advantage he has for his opponents, Paul also comes at a fast pace." "I think Jake may also be trying to break the world record in this marathon if he''s trying to do that with his current time he can really do it." This commentator spoke only of the possibility, but soon they saw that it was really possible. Jake had just over 7 km of marathon and clearly seemed to be comfortable with his current running pace. Even if he slowed the race too much he could still break the WR, so they were excited about that possibility and the viewers watching at home would be too. Jake was really trying to break the world record in this marathon, he saw that his running pace was good and he was comfortable running for over 50 km at this pace, yet to be cautious he slowed down the running pace. After all, it was just over a month since he was running at this pace and he didn''t want to push himself too hard and risk repeating what happened in New York, commentators realized that Jake had slowed his pace. After Jake passed the 38 km he had clearly slowed his running pace a lot, it was still too fast, but it was too big a difference to be a common thing, anyone who expected Jake to break the world record began to get worried. After all, it was really amazing to see someone breaking a world record, it would be a time for history even if Jake''s record was ever broken, and commentators, even more, wanted it to happen. "Just over 5 km to the end of this marathon, Jake suddenly slowed his running pace a few kilometers back and we don''t know why." "Jake always has this tendency to slow his pace in the final km of the race, but he seemed to be very comfortable with his previous race pace and he was noticeably slower." "He lost almost 30 seconds of time compared to the pace he was running normally, it''s a little worrying and we hope it''s just a running tactic." "If it''s a tactic it''s too risky, he may lose the chance of breaking the world record like that, breaking a record like this is something that can''t be done just skillfully and has to be very lucky." "As I said before, he may not know he has a chance to break the record and if he slows his pace this way he can safely win, maybe that''s the best winning strategy he has ever thought." Jake didn''t know what the commentators were talking about, he knew very well what he was doing, he also knew the time it took to break the world record and also knew Paul''s total race time was second. So he consciously slowed down and was prepared to win by breaking the world record when he can relax his tense muscles by slowing down the race he felt he would surely get what he wanted in this race, this year''s marathon was in the hands of Jake. By the time he crossed the 42 km he was still a huge advantage to the runner-up and was in the final meters to finish this marathon, he saw that he had a great marathon time and was celebrating the victory internally. "It''s amazing, who''s at home is seeing this amazing feat of Jake that is breaking the world record, he''s only 17 years old and breaking that record he puts his name among the top marathoners in history." "I''m excited to see that too, the current world record belongs to Ethiopian Belayneh Dinsamo, and was set in 1988 on April 17 at the Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands, with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 50 seconds." "It''s been 8 years since this record was set and today it will be broken by Jake by a few more meters, 33 years since an American broke the record last time." "This year is historic for Jake, he broke the Atlanta Olympic record this year of Carlos Lopes of Portugal in 1984, and now breaks the world record a few months later." "He must also be the youngest to break those two records at just 17, this year he has to win the AIMS World Athlete of the Year Award if Jake doesn''t win anyone he deserves." "And now Jake finishes this Chicago marathon in 1996 that''s going to be history, he finished the race with the time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 2 seconds, he officially breaks his now WR." "Really amazing, he''s going to be the future of athletics and already a great athlete at the present, he''s still attending college and should still be playing basketball, plus I think he''ll try to win again in New York in less than 1 month." "See, Jake already has some fans in today''s marathon, they have a banner written saying Jake is Captain America, Hahaha I think this nickname suits him, he''s not even tired after such a marathon." "For the few who don''t know, Captain America is a comic book hero from Marvel, an American soldier who was physically improved in a lab and got super strength and other powers, except in the comic he is Steve Rogers and not Jake Hahaha." "So Jake is the American Super Soldier who came to win a lot of marathons for our country, I have to admit it makes sense, if he really gets into the NBA he''ll already have a new nickname." Jake didn''t know he had been given a new nickname that would stay with him forever in the future, he was very happy to have broken and broken the world record, all the training he did was worth it when Jake won. After a few minutes, the other runners were arriving, the other 7 who ran with Jake in the group managed to finish all in the top 50, the fastest of them finishing fifteenth in this marathon. They were impressed when they saw that Jake had won the marathon, they knew how hard it was to run at the pace Jake was running, then they were more surprised when they learned that Jake had broken the world record, now they could tell this story to their children in the future. John who accompanied Jake in Chicago and was hoping that in the crowd near the finish line was so happy that his eyes sparkled, he expects a chance that Jake could really win in Chicago and that was very good for his company. But neither could he expect Jake to break the world record in this race, so Jake would surely make the list of the best marathoners in history, and Jake was only 17 so he could enjoy a lifetime of glory and make even more of the sport. After a while Jake went to the podium and received the prize for being first place and $ 150,000, $ 100,000 for victory and $ 50,000 for the world record, the organizers treated Jake very well for winning a second time next time year they would call him again. After taking some pictures and answering some reporters Jake went to talk to John, all this time Jake had a huge smile on his face and was very happy to have won, this was just the beginning of Jake''s winning season in sports. By the middle of next year''s vacation, Jake would still have plenty of basketball games and still participate in many other marathons, if Jake could win anything that played this time would really be history. "Congratulations on beating Jake, amazing you could break the world record, I always trusted you would win, but I didn''t expect a record." "Thanks, John, I appreciate your support coming here, now I''m going back to the hotel if you need anything to talk to me." "Of course, good rest for you." They weren''t friends even if they worked together, Jake had won and even talked about John''s company, so John was pleased with that and could come back with a smile to report the good results to the board. Jake went back to the hotel and picked up the phone to tell the good news to his friends he wasn''t tired after the marathon because his training was so much harder than that, and mentally he got used to the pressure after the Olympics. "Hi Tiffany, I''m calling to let you know I''ve won the marathon." "I already knew from my employees, congratulations Jake, congratulations on the world record too, you were the best thing that has happened in my life in recent years." "Hahaha you say that because your company is doing well to sponsor me, I want all the best for you and Clara, you guys supported me at my hardest time, thanks to you guys that I took my mom out of her horrible job and I could start making money." "You''ve paid everything we did for you a long time ago, Jake." "I know I already paid, but now that you are in a difficult situation that you cannot invest in the company I want to help, in a few more years I will not be able to continue with the sponsorship agreement, I hope to help now." Chapter 264 Starting the Season for Sports 6 Jake was continuing this sponsorship deal just to help Clara and Tiffany''s company as they helped him a few years ago, most of all for the friendship they had. Right now Jake had to be very careful not to disclose his contract with Tiffany and Clara''s company, otherwise, John and Alan''s companies wouldn''t want to know that they were paying 5 times what Tiffany and Clara''s companies were paying. When Jake left college and joined the NBA that would be even truer, after all any Jake contract he got from the NBA would be at least $ 4 million a year, so he couldn''t keep getting so little from Tiffany and Clara''s companies. In fact, it would come to a situation where it would be better for Jake to give them both money than to continue with the sponsorship deal, Tiffany and Clara knew very well what Jake was in and understood very well and were grateful to him. "I understand that and I''m sure Clara also understands, we are very grateful for what you have been doing for us, if we are unable to greatly increase our profit in that time you still have to contract with our companies and buying those stocks would not deserve your help. " The sponsorship deal with Jake was the same as several television commercials and a lot of advertising that the company could invest, it was a worldwide ad with the visibility that Jake had now, and they spent the least on it paying Jake. So in the next few years they would have to secure enough profit to buy the stock from Robert''s hands, this year they had to use the money to repay Tiffany''s illegal loan to Clara by taking money out of the company, so in the next few years, they had to secure it close to 50 million to buy these shares. Tiffany and Clara regretted an agreement that they could not use their shares to make a personal loan, otherwise, Robert''s shares would have been bought long ago. "How is university life, Jake?" "Okay, I''m making a lot of friends these months, I''m also fighting for a spot on the Tar Heels starting basketball team and the classes are as easy as ever, you know me." "Hahaha I know well, they should have given you the diploma by now." "And how are you and Clara?" "I''m fine, as I promised you I never drank like that, I''m still recovering emotionally, it''s not easy to forget a love of several years, and Clara is fine too, as she always says she can''t really be happy until she buys the stock from Robert." It had been a long time since Jake had talked to Clara in person after they had a nice chat last time whenever he tried to talk to Clara about something she sent Tiffany to talk to Jake. Jake then thought that Clara should be bad because of the problems she had faced in recent years, and no longer tried to talk to Clara and always preferred to call Tiffany who always talked to him. After talking about a few more things Jake called his mom, he talked to Eva whenever he could and so allied a little to the longing he missed her, Eva said he''d watch Jake''s marathon on television and Jake wanted to hear her voice mom. "Hi son, you were slow to call me, I''m here at the restaurant with Anna, we watched your marathon on television, congratulations on winning and breaking this world record." "Thank you mom, I''m very happy about that, tomorrow I have to travel to university again." "I miss you, when you can come home, you said you would come whenever you could and you haven''t come yet." "I''m getting ready at university yet, so it''s going to be long before I can go out for many days like this to get home to Miami." "I understand, rest now so Jake, I''ll call you in a few days again." "See you later, I love you mom, send Anna a hug for me." After talking to everyone Jake decided to get some rest, the other day he would have to travel to Miami and get tired again, he could still remember the adrenaline he felt after winning the marathon, as he hoped won no reward this time even for victory and not for the world record. This was normal, if he earned one statistic point in each world athletics record he would have to earn another 10 points after beating everyone at the Olympics. After winning Jake felt that in this marathon was much easier than in the Olympics, it shouldn''t just be the 2 statistics points he earned in all for all physical statistics, so Jake decided to look at his statistics window again after so much time." "Fate, show me my third job statistics window." [Here it is] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 1.95 m] [Weight: 97 Kg] [Force 35] [Agility 36] [Resistance 39] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung A] [Iron Body A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake finally understood why he improved so much, and while 2 points in all physical stats improved his two skills also improved, Jake knew how important those two skills were to him, so he earned much more than he expected from the rewards of the Olympics. That would probably be the maximum for Jake too, maybe in another 4 or 5 years, he could raise the rank of these skills again, at which point he would be the best in the marathon and other track and field history. Jake can also see that his height and weight had increased again, he was 1.95 m now, he didn''t know how much the system would help him grow in the next 2 years he still had, after all, he was much taller than in your past life. Being tall wasn''t such a good thing, but for Jake who wanted to be the best in basketball that was a sport where height mattered he wanted to be as tall as he could, maybe no more than 2.10 m, but wanted to pass from 2.00 m, so he could compete with everyone for a rebound and make several blocks. At the beginning of his basketball training Jake had decided to be a PG because he had very good passing skills and knew how to organize play, but most of all because he knew he could not be very tall and was not very good at defense. After more than 7 years of training Jake felt these reasons no longer mattered, he corrected his weakness in defense, even if it could not be a Center he could play defensively in any other position. The system also did what Jake found impossible again and increased his maximum height so Jake had no more limitations in basketball, in high school he wanted to improve with PG and so fought not to play in another position. But he always thought that after entering university he would play where the coach asked him to play, he wanted to continue as PG but knew he had no ability to demand it yet, after becoming an NBA star he could choose where to play. Jake also saw that his intelligence statistic had finally increased after so many years, initially increased by over 5 in a short time and Jake thought it was easy to increase, now he realized why the system said it was random. Most worrying to Jake was his strength statistic which had only increased by 2 points with the system reward, was falling behind the other statistics and this difference would only increase over time. He could not easily increase his strength now and could no longer train with the football team, so Jake just had to accept seeing his strength statistic falling behind, thinking that was what he had always struggled to train at the beginning for the cause of the accuracy of your shots outside. Jake had finished this marathon early in the morning as he started before 8 am, before lunchtime he was at the hotel and called all his friends, so even though he wanted to rest he had to have lunch and couldn''t think of sleeping in the afternoon. So after launching at the hotel he got the call saying that someone was waiting for him in the hotel lobby, this was the same hotel he stayed in when he last won last year, so he thought John was the one waiting for him. But as he went downstairs to the first-floor hotel lobby, Jake remembered what happened last year, he remembered the reporter who came looking for him asking for an interview after winning last year. So Jake thought it might be her again, after all, John had his cell number and could just call him, thinking about it Jake went back to his hotel room and changed his clothes, he had showered as soon as he arrived, but wearing a regular outfit to relax. After slowly getting ready Jake was finally satisfied and headed for the lobby when he arrived and saw the same woman who came to him last year, she seemed bothered by Jake''s delay in appearing in the lobby. "Hi Miss Chloe, I hoped it was really you looking for me again with the same trick as last year." "Jake, how inelegant to call it a trick, it took you a lot longer than last year to show up after I called." "I had not arranged anything with you, so I knew a beautiful woman was waiting for me and I had to dress better." "I will forgive your delay for your compliment and consideration, just as you hoped I came again to request an interview, will you accept?" "Of course I accept, I won''t be so rude and reject an interview when you came here and showed me so much respect." "I heard you denied the interview with NBC after the Olympics, I thought you were arrogant after the success." "It''s because you don''t know the full story, but let''s not talk about it, I accept the interview, however, it has to be today because tomorrow I have to go back to university." "Today is fine with me, but it won''t be a live interview but a recording, do you mind?" "That''s fine with me, let''s go?" "Yes let''s go." Jake had already gotten ready because he intended to do this interview the same day and didn''t want to delay, after all, he had his responsibilities at university the other day and could not delay. Chapter 265 Starting the Season for Sports 7 After a while they were in a car that was asked of the station while going to the station, Jake didn''t care much about the car they were in and Chloe was making some calls to prepare the interview, then she hung up the phone and started talking to Jake. "You look a lot more like an adult now after just a year, how was that year for you?" "It was all right for me, I had a lot of marathons that I participated in and some basketball games, my personal life also had a lot of situations, and there were the Olympics and the university, it was a busy time." Jake gave a summary of everything that happened to Chloe, she was amazed at how many things Jake went through in just one year, especially the fact that Jake''s house had been broken into, of course, he asked her not to comment to anyone about what he said. Jake was someone who always liked to be honest whenever he could so he felt bad when he had to hide something for his mother or for his friends, but life is so everyone has their secrets. "I''m curious what you said happened between you and NBC, I promise I won''t tell anyone about it, I didn''t expect anyone young like you to have a problem with them." "I had exactly one problem with them, in fact, I think it was because I was young that I just had some kind of problem with them, my pride is so great sometimes." "You still haven''t said what happened." "Before the Olympics started NBC I called on a number of athletes who would be competing in the races if they didn''t call everyone representing the United States." "As you well know I do not refuse invitations like this from the broadcasters and went there, they took several photos with me and recorded some videos, then confirmed some information about my life and sent me away." "I had seen some athletes who had short interviews with them, almost all if not all of the athletics were called in to do short interviews and tell a little about their lives." "But they didn''t ask any questions or interview me, so I understood that because I was young they didn''t expect me to win a medal, so they decided not to waste time doing an interview with me." "So after I won a gold medal no one came looking for me after the closing ceremony, so I decided to go home with my mom and didn''t want to talk to anyone anymore." Once Chloe understood what Jake was feeling, he had gone to talk to the NBC team when they called and paid no attention to Jake who was young and thought he would not win, so of course Jake would not be happy about that. It turned out that it came to stand out as the only medalist who didn''t do an interview with NBC, as the closing ceremony was soon after the audience didn''t find anything strange, but Chloe and those who understood sports journalism knew this wasn''t normal. "Like you said it was just a small matter because of your pride, but they sure were wrong in that situation and you weren''t irrational in what you did our station would never do something like that." Chloe wasn''t trying to please Jake and really thought that she understood that maybe because there are 646 athletes representing the American team at this Olympics, a broadcaster might not have time to talk to everyone. But Jake was different, he was a marathon athlete who was only 17 years old and had won the Chicago Marathon and was second in New York and had still won the marathon qualifying for the Olympics. Someone like Jake clearly had a good chance of winning in Atlanta, and even if it wasn''t just his age, it was worth an interview, especially since Jake had already been called to the station. It was their failure not to expect Jake to win or Jake to be so proud, a news crew has to hope that anything could happen to make no mistake, even more so she understood that even if she asked for the interview later they did not personally go to the press Jake''s house to apologize. After a while, they arrived at the station and everything was ready for the interview, Jake realized that unlike last time people looked at him with respectful eyes for what he did and everyone knew him that made Jake happy. After Chloe gave Jake some questions she was going to ask and what she was going to talk about and Jake agreed to everything, once again Chloe admired how easy Jake was to interview unlike others and was still handsome which was good for the cameras. "Hi Chicago, I''m Chloe and I''m here for an interview with one of the new stars of national sport, the Olympic gold medalist and winner of two consecutive Chicago marathons, Jake." "Say hi to Chicago Jake." "Hi Chicago, I appreciate the invitation to be here again." "We thank you for 17 years now and are one of the biggest names in the sport in the different world from last year that was just starting out, how do you feel about that, Jake." "I''m very happy with that, I''ve always trained with the goal of winning, I''m not so confident thinking I''m better than my competitors and that''s why I train so much, and when I can win I''m very happy with that." "Even if you are modest, this is your fifth official marathon and the fourth victory, surely any marathon you participate in will be a favorite." "A marathon is very unpredictable, I''ve lost a marathon myself for hurting myself, and a lot of things like that can happen." "That''s true, the experts thought you would not try to compete this year Jake, after all, you won the Olympics which is the pinnacle of any athlete in the world just 2 months ago, why did you decide to compete this year?" "I wanted to run in Chicago again, I love this city and I have a special fondness for this marathon which is the first one I participated in as a pro, so I decided to race here as I was in good physical shape and rest and was rewarded for it." "I''m so glad you said you really like Chicago, and it''s true that you were rewarded for your decision to race here again, Jake here in addition to winning broke the world record with the fastest marathon time." "Jake''s time was 2 hours, 6 minutes and 2 seconds, almost 1 minute faster than the previous record, and Jake had broken the Olympic record a few months ago, as it was to win the Olympics, Jake." "It was really amazing, one of the most special moments of my life, even more breaking the Olympic record, was almost as good as winning here for the second time and breaking the world record." "The pressure of running at such an important event as the Olympics where I not only ran for myself but also represented my country is a unique feeling, I hope to be able to participate again after 4 years." Jake knew that Chloe was taking the opportunity to talk about the Olympics because she knew that Jake had not done any interviews after winning, and Jake really wanted to talk about how he felt after winning the Olympics. "It was a special moment for all our country I''m sure, it ended with a gold key this Atlanta Olympics that our country managed to lead the medal table with Jake winning the last gold medal." "It was so unforgettable for so many people that after Jake won and broke the world record today here in Chicago he had a lot of fans cheering for him and one of them had a poster calling Jake Captain America, what do you think of that nickname Jake." Jake was surprised by this nickname, he didn''t expect to be called that and didn''t even know it had happened in the crowd when he won today, Chloe was smart to hide it from him before the interview. "I''m going to confess that I''m a big fan of this comic book hero, it''s one of my favorites and I''m very honored to be compared to him thinking about what he represents for our country in comic book history, but I don''t think I deserve that nickname." "I think you deserve Jake, many athletes have won many competitions and won many gold medals in history for our country, some have won several gold medals in the same competition." "But a test of endurance like the marathon is hard to see someone win so many times, especially you who are still young and in college and still playing basketball besides running." "By the way, tell us Jake, which university did you decide to go to?" "I was lucky to be accepted at UNC, I''m very happy studying there for a few months ago." "The UNC? So you decided to go to the same university as NBA star Michael Jordan, it seems like you still dream of playing basketball even though you have achieved so much in athletics with so many marathon victories." "Yes, I chose UNC for a variety of reasons, I''m a big fan of Michael Jordan and I also think teaching there is very good, it''s not that far from my house and the UNC basketball team Tar Heels is one of best basketball teams in history at universities." "I know that too, now that you''ve joined this team after winning so much at high school should you be going to win again?" "Yes, I hope to win a lot of Tournaments with this team, there are great players on our team this year, I think a lot will have a great NBA career in the future." "That''s a very high rating, who are you talking about?" "There''s Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Antawn Jamison, and others as well." "A lot of people then, we can expect a lot from the Tar Heels team this year, do you naturally expect to join the NBA with those names you said?" "Of course, my goal is this, after finishing college I want to be on a team in the NBA." "So we see that Jake really wants to be Captain America, besides being in the elite of athletics winning several marathons and still wants to play in the NBA, we hope you get everything you want thanks for talking to me Jake." "I really enjoyed it, who knows next year I may be here again." After the end of the interview, Jake said goodbye to Chloe and got a ride in the station car back to the hotel, this may be the only time Jake can stay for 3 days for a marathon, usually, he would only have two days at most and would have to go back to university. Chapter 266 Starting the Season for Sports 8 In addition to his mother and Anna, it seemed that his friends at the university were watching Jake in the marathon, Jake had already said a few things about what happened to Aaron so Zack and William had no problem with him anymore. As the three watched Jake''s marathon they got closer and even talked and ate together and celebrated when Jake won and broke the world record, so things would be easier for Jake when he returned to approach the three. When Jake returned nothing different had happened, some who liked marathons and followed the news about the evidence would know that Jake won in Chicago, but these people would probably already know Jake from other marathons. Those most affected by this were the basketball team, Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge were impressed when they learned that Jake had won a big marathon again. Especially when he learned that he broke the world record, this was not something that was easy to do even for the best athletes, it seemed that Jake would continue to go out of training to compete and they could not complain because he really competed to win and brought more advertising for the university. His teammates watched the marathon because they knew Jake would be running, and were surprised to see him winning and breaking the world record, they understood that he was really different from them and deserved sponsorship just for what he did in marathons without regard to basketball. Everyone found it funny when they remembered trying to compete with Jake in training intensity a few weeks ago if he could break a world marathon record you could imagine how strong stamina he was. Vince and Charlie who were closest to Jake were the happiest with their friend''s conquest, all teammates were even happier when they saw him talking well about them and the university in an interview. When Jake arrived at the university he went to tell Trainer Smith that he had arrived and was soon to his classes, Jake had come to the first flight of the day, but had still missed some classes. He can''t even talk to William in the room so as not to disturb his classmates, so after class, Jake had to go to basketball team training and was happy when everyone came to talk to him about the marathon Jake had won. Even if everyone was basketball skill and some could join the NBA, it wasn''t every day that they knew someone they knew played well and could still participate in another high-level sport. Jake was happy to join the group, in another two weeks he would have to go to New York to participate in the marathon, so it was good that his coach and his teammates were not angry that he missed training, Normally it would be crazy to take part in a marathon two weeks after running one, John and his sponsors were not really specialists in the competition and so just followed what Jake wanted to do. So few believed that Jake would try this and only commented on it as a joke that he missed it last year, even Chloe said Jake chose Chicago because he thought he would rather run in Chicago than in New York. Jake would run because he had no problem with that, in fact, the day before he was in Chicago he had recovered after the marathon, he was just a little tired from the plane trips he had to do in addition to the marathon. But the next day he intended to train with Zack again in the morning, so running in two weeks would be no problem for him, after the lighter training he went to the dorm to talk to his friends. "Congratulations, Jake, for winning this marathon and breaking the world record." "Congratulations, we all watched your marathon on television and saw how well they spoke of you, even called you Captain America Hahaha." "Thank you all, I was very happy to have won." Afterward everyone chatted happily and even Aaron joined the conversation sometimes saying a few things to Jake, with Zack making some fun comments it was a nice conversation, Jake also saw that Aaron was talking more with Zack and William and so Jake decided to make the celebration dinner of his victory as a place for everyone in the dorm to be friends. At dinner everyone performed again and Zack and William understood what happened when they heard about Aaron''s story, everyone soon agreed to be friends and so Jake achieved his goal of making the dorm a nice place and making 3 friends. The other morning Jake went running again with Zack in his daily training, Zack took advantage that Jake went to Chicago and missed training in recent days, so he had to run the 4 km today to regain his running pace. Jake still did the same training as before, he ran the 50 km and at a much faster-running pace and speed than he did in the marathon breaking world record, Zack was impressed by Jake''s tenacity in his training. If he ran a marathon and just finished he wouldn''t think about reigning for the next two weeks, but Jake was still training every day whenever he could even win a marathon. With this commitment easy to understand because Jake could win multiple marathons in a short period of time, Zack began taking Jake as his goal and decided to train with him and stronger until at least he could finish a marathon. Zack always suspected that Jake ran more than 40 km every day, but never thought about the speed Jake could run, he thought Jake ran slower and so it took almost 3 hours, he could never imagine that Jake ran faster than its time in the world record and for 50 km. So after Jake finished training he went to talk to Zack, Jake was thinking it was maybe time for Zack to increase his training to 6km race every day, so before the mid-year break, Zack could run a marathon. quietly. "Jake, I want to increase my daily training, I think I can handle running more than 6 km every day." "I was thinking of telling you exactly that, but what happened to you suddenly deciding to come to talk to me about changing training?" "I realized I was being very relaxed in my training even though you were taking your time to help me when you were in Chicago, for example, I didn''t train any day." "I really love running, but I didn''t think of being a marathon runner, so I thought your training could be very hard." Jake really thought his training was too hard and would get even harder over time, Jake didn''t tell Zack but hoped his friend wouldn''t train when he was in Chicago and it might be good to relax Zack''s muscles. "But I don''t think so anymore, I saw you training with me every day and much more willingly than me to finish a marathon in the first place and still break the world record." "So I understood that I was actually missing out on an incredible opportunity in life to improve, who else can say they do the same training as the best marathoner in the world?" "I don''t think I have the talent or the desire to try to win marathons, but at least I''ll follow your training and finish a marathon and then I decide what I can do, I mean I''ll do my best in training going forward." Jake was very pleased with his friend''s change of mind, often a person''s will and attitude can influence the outcome of training and run, so as discouraged as Zack was Jake couldn''t do much for him. Now he would try to give the best training possible so that Zack could take it and in a few months to finish a marathon, Jake couldn''t give Zack a very heavy training that did not think of becoming a pro. If Zack decided to become a professional marathon runner like him after the first marathon, it wouldn''t be too late for Jake to improve his friend''s training, not to mention that Jake was first trying to improve Zack''s fitness and train him in a way that runs a marathon It was normal for him. So Jake told Zack to increase his daily training to 6 km and also reinforced the physical training that Zack had to do at the gym, Zack accepted the change of training and seemed excited to try. Over the next few days, Jake''s routine was back to normal, there was nothing Jake thought of doing other than attending classes and training with the basketball team, classes were as easy as ever for Jake. Zack had also been exhausted every day from the change of training, but he was still eager to continue with this difficult training, William and Aaron found it amazing that Zack was holding the training without complaining this time. In training the basketball team Coach Smith was more satisfied than ever, several players he already knew the skill well, but the newcomers were a pleasant surprise for him, Jake and Ed Cota were competing for the same spot in the team. In this match, Jake had the advantage in terms of overall skills and the coach realized that Jake had improved in skills since he began training with the team. It showed how strong his potential was, Ed Cota was the same and also improved after he arrived, but Jake was more complete in skills than Ed, Jake was much better in defense and in making points beyond passes. Even though the coach''s favorite was Ed to start playing, the reason for that was still Jake''s rapport with the not-so-good team, but that had changed a lot last month and Jake had already been accepted by his teammates. Even though the coach considered putting Ed in first because he thought he was the best for the team, Jake would definitely be in the game and could play many minutes even though he was not the starter. From the mentality of both, Coach Smith realized that Ed fought a lot more for a starting position and Jake didn''t seem to care much about starting out or not. Chapter 267 Starting the Season for Sports 9 The truth wasn''t that Jake didn''t expect to become a starter, it was that in his past life he remembered how well Ed Cota played, so it was normal for him to think that with his current skill level he was the team''s reserve. Also, Jake was very confident that he could get a place in the team after a few games, he could see that Coach Smith seemed pleased with his performance and that his teammates accepted him over time. So Jake thought that if they played multiple games scoring high points and playing very well, it was impossible for him to be left in the team reserve for long, it was because he was confident he didn''t care. In the team who had the most contact with him among the players, he was a fan of before was Vince Carter, what happened was that Vince had a very good personality and so he was liked by almost every player so Jake couldn''t get close to Jake for now. So the player on the team he was talking to most was still Charlie who was the first player to have a proper conversation with him, they both had a lot in common and after a while, they talked a lot about business too. Charlie never intended to become a professional basketball player, he had a talent in basketball, but he also had a lot of responsibility for his family business, in that respect Charlie was very similar to Joseph. So at the end of a training day, Charlie decided to call Jake to a diner so they could talk, Jake naturally accepted and warned his friends not to eat with them that day. "You''re really an interesting person, Jake, I think it''s our teammates who are missing out on making friends with someone like you." "Hahaha you''re very kind, I''ve been through a lot of trouble, that''s why you find me interesting." Jake told some of his stories like when he got his first sponsorship and that he used that money to get his mother off the bad job where Eva was. Jake also told how he raised money and earned money from other means to build a restaurant for his mother and that this restaurant was a success, also told some stories about his playing high school basketball. Jake just didn''t comment on some of his personal life and his investments, yet they talked about which companies might be better off investing at this time. Knowing the Future Jake spoke quietly about companies that he knew investors could earn a lot from by investing if he knew the right time to sell his stock, Charlie thought all these tech companies were too risky to invest. Jake also knew a little about Charlie''s life who had gotten a college scholarship as well, Charlie always worked in his family business that was related to agriculture. What Jake didn''t know was that Charlie was a very successful investor in the future and that he would be CEO of a large agricultural investment company, if he knew that he could give Charlie some more investment tips. "I didn''t know you had entered this university with such high grades, you''re also very smart, it looked like you really didn''t need a sports scholarship and could get a scholarship like me." "I didn''t know you were that smart and had good grades either, I confess I thought everyone on the basketball team could be smart, but they wouldn''t have good grades." "It''s good that you learn to put bias aside so you won''t be so surprised at what happens, you said you haven''t joined any fraternity yet?" "Yes, it''s not my way to join a fraternity, I don''t like parties very much and I don''t like meetings with a lot of people, my roommates think the same." "I don''t agree with that, you have to go to a university to make the most of your university time, you said yourself that you wanted to enjoy your university time." "Yes, but I don''t think it suits me to be in a fraternity." "You have to learn sometimes how to do what Jake doesn''t want, maybe you can get closer to your teammates if you have a fraternity and you will belong to a group, this is very important for your social and professional life afterward. to finish college." Jake started to think and saw that what Charlie was saying was true, he himself knew that sometimes people knew each other or started to relate just because they attended the same fraternity, even though they knew each other after college was over. It was like cheering for a football team and other well-known sports teams, sometimes people became friends just because they cheered for the same team after all the world as a society. "Come to my fraternity then, Jake, so you will already have an acquaintance in that fraternity and because I am a Senior I will have no trouble facilitating your incoming baptism and even allowing you not to attend any meetings you do not want." "Won''t that cause you problems?" Fraternity entrance ceremonies were a very important ritual for many fraternities, Jake had never heard about anyone having any kind of exception, so he was worried that Charlie would have trouble because of him. "Don''t worry, the fraternity I belong to is the Phi Beta Kappa you know for sure, it''s one of the most respected in the whole country, but this fraternity has a very tight grade restriction that someone has to have to be invited to. " "But for you, the grade requirement was easily fulfilled, besides, you have a lot of important achievements like winning multiple marathons and even a gold medal in the Olympics so I think they would want someone like you to increase credibility for my fraternity." Charlie really thought so, he was very proud to be in this fraternity and one of the points that interested him most when he decided to enter was that many US presidents and many Nobel laureates had attended this fraternity. So he thought the achievements were very important to the image of a fraternity, and Jake had and could have many more achievements in the future, he did not say that only a few could join the fraternity in the first year. Jake was tempted by Charlie''s offer, he really thought he had to live his university time to the fullest, so a fraternity was important, not to mention one of the best-known fraternities, and Charlie was promising him so many facilities that it was hard to refuse. "Alright then, Charlie, I accept your invitation to the fraternity, let''s see if I will actually be accepted and if you will get some of those things you said to me." "You can count on me, I''ll do my best." So Jake went back to the dorm and told his friends that he was considering joining a fraternity at the request of a basketball senior, his friends understood that and even got jealous of Jake. They had agreed not to join any fraternity because they had no interest in joining any fraternity since the most interesting ones had very difficult entry requirements, so Jake was lucky to be recommended by a Senior. Charlie was quick to do what he said and after a few days, Jake had received a letter saying he had been accepted and was invited to a fraternity integration ceremony, as Jake requested it was just a few formal procedures and Jake joined the Fraternity Phi Beta Kappa and learned the secret handshake among other things. Jake was pleased after joining the fraternity, even though he was never interested he had to confess that he was jealous of some of his friends in his past life who always had fraternity friends and went out to eat together. When Jake told his mother about this, Eva was very happy to see that Jake was really enjoying his time at university, she missed him so much when he was home, thankfully she spent a lot of time in the restaurant and had Anna and other friends to keep company with. One person Jake couldn''t talk to after he went to college was Lola, the times he called the restaurant he talked to several people in the restaurant, but Lola never showed up to talk to him. He also didn''t think about calling Lola personally because he didn''t want to give her false hopes while they had no relationship, Jake would be happy to know if Lola met someone and could move on, he knew he hadn''t been fair to her in his time in Miami. When he left college Jake thought he might relate to Lola if she still wanted to be with him, but by that time he would probably be in the NBA and wouldn''t have much time to be with her either. Eva and Anna never talked about Lola either, so Jake didn''t mention her in conversations either and so they got farther and farther away from Jake''s time at college, Jake could only know about it on vacation when he went home. Over the next few days, the basketball team''s training got more and more intense and they always did play training and even several game simulations during the week, when Jake played on the reserve team the game got exciting and he always did on average 30 points in the training games. That''s because these games had less time than the official university games, he also made several passes and steals, as well as catching rebounds, yet he always lost the games when his team was fully in reserve. Even if it was only for a few points and the reserve team players were also skilled, they could not match the starting team with Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Antawn Jamison, Serge Zwikker and Ed Cota. Even though Coach Smith was impressed with Jake''s performance in the simulation games, in fact, he just didn''t merge teams to increase competition because Jake was on the reserve team and so the game was played. When Jake joined the starting lineup instead of Ed Cota, the game became even more uneven, the starting lineup won by dozens of points, not only the coach but the other players also noticed the difference. Chapter 268 Starting the Sports Season 10 The other week training continued to be more intense because it was a few weeks before the team''s first game, unfortunately for Coach Smith, Jake had applied for another two-day license to compete in the New York marathon. This eventually broke the team''s pace of training, but Coach Smith had to accept it because he knew Jake was competing for the win and even the university would want Jake to compete. But this assured the coach that Jake would not be in the starting lineup in the early games as a punishment, after all, he could not set up a stable group if a starting player missed training a lot. Jake also knew he wasn''t right and promised that this was the last time he would do it at the end of the year, he just wanted to win all major marathons once to get the bounty and help even more in his training and also in the games themselves of the basketball team. After all with these extra statistics on Resistance and agility, even his basketball performance would be much better, but he had no way to explain it to Coach Smith and had to accept the consequences of his decisions. In the few days before the New York Marathon, Jake didn''t even think about resting and always did his daily training with Zack, after those weeks of training it was much easier for Jake to run the 50 km at a speed of 2 minutes 54 seconds for 1 km. Jake was not confident in increasing his training at all, after all he could not increase his speed and also do not want to increase the distance he ran per day, with 50 km that was more than the distance of a marathon he was almost over 3 hours in training, if he increased the distance would have to run longer. By the time Zack''s increased training intensity was almost accustomed to a distance of 6 km a day, this wasn''t hard to do even for amateurs, so with more training at the gym, he could soon run longer. Zack himself had not noticed any of this, but Jake with the help of the system had realized that Zack''s physical condition was improving every week, he was much more physically prepared than the people who do basic exercises. So by the end of the year, Zack would have a physical condition to run 12 km every day which was the same intensity as some elite runners, that was Jake''s goal when Zack could run 32 km every day without tiring him would be ready for a marathon. Maybe early next year when Jake had a new coach to run another track sport Zack would also have a better method of training, after training another day Jake and Zack returned to the dorm. William was also waiting for both of them, after all, he had to wait for Jake to go to classes with him, as William was not training with both of them and was not jealous when he saw Zack''s suffering, he can realize that Zack was much better physically than before training. But who most noticed this change from Zack besides Jake was Aaron who was also training to play American football before getting hurt, he can see that Jake''s training was very effective. After attending classes with William Jake got a call from John before coming to basketball team training, it was no coincidence that Jake passed the times he could answer the phone for John and Emily. "Hi Jake, I just wanted to call to see if it was all right for the New York Marathon?" "Yes, I''ve already spoken to Coach Smith and will arrive a day earlier in New York." "That''s great, the folks at the New York Marathon organization have also sent you an invitation, they might be one of the few who thought you''d accept to run after a few weeks." After winning the Olympics, marathon organizations began to show interest in inviting Jake to compete in marathons, this was especially true for Chicago and New York where Jake had competed before. That was a respect that they could show to the best runners and even more to Jake who was an American, these were really the marathons Jake thought most about competing, after all in other countries it was harder for Jake to compete having to come back in a few days. After a few days as planned Jake went to New York the day before the marathon after training with the basketball team in the evening, so he would compete for the next day in the marathon and return to the same day the university, so he would only lose 1 day of training. Knowing that Jake would try to do something like this Coach Smith himself said that Jake didn''t have to work hard and could take 3 days to rest better, but Jake assured that he didn''t need to. After all, he had to get used to this training routine if he really wanted to run after becoming an NBA pro, he didn''t think NBA coaches who paid a huge million dollar salary would allow Jake to skip training just to run. He came to town tired and went straight to the booked hotel to rest, luckily New York was near the university where he studied and so the trip was less tiring, Jake had a much stronger body than usual and knew that after a few hours of rest would be fine. The other day he woke up early in the morning and went to the marathon start, John showed up and said he would be waiting for Jake at the finish line, after doing the warm-up exercises Jake again was the center of attention in the running. Some of the professional athletes hoping to win were even mad at him who was trying to compete again a few weeks after winning in Chicago and breaking the world record, it was obvious that everyone felt pressured by Jake competing. Normally athletes would participate in a maximum of 3 marathons during the year, so if they had to live on the prize money, they didn''t know if Jake needed the prize money, but they knew this was Jake''s fourth marathon in the year. Of course, even if some didn''t like it they wouldn''t have the courage to say anything to Jake, after all, he was an elite and the best marathoner in the world today after achieving what he got. Jake didn''t care what others thought, he was too focused for today''s marathon, he had rested for two days before that marathon without doing his daily training with Zack, and just did the training with the basketball team that was a light training for Jake. What made Jake happy was that Zack was doing his daily training running the 6 km even without Jake having participated, which showed that he was serious about trying to improve to run a marathon. After a few minutes of preparation the marathon for Jake began, he started running normally with the starting group in the race and hoped to continue like this for a few kilometers, the only competitor he thought was Giacomo Leone who won this marathon in Jake''s past life with the time of 2 hours, 9 minutes and 54 seconds. This was an easy time for Jake to normally do in training in just over 2 hours and 2 minutes, but after what happened last year Jake learned to never underestimate a marathon. "The 1996 New York Marathon officially starts, the weather today looks good for a race, only after a few hours can we know who of those runners can win this marathon." "Even if we have to wait a few hours to know who is the winner, we can know that we definitely have a favorite to win this marathon." "Oh, we have someone like that? Tell us who it is then." "This year''s highlight is 17-year-old marathon runner Jake Smith, after his debut last year this will be his sixth marathon." "So Jake will be competing this year too? I don''t know if he can be a favorite for this race, last year he ventured like now in running a marathon less than a month after winning in Chicago and wounding himself, the same could have happened today." "I don''t think so, even though he was injured by bad luck last year he still came second in this marathon, this year he is much more experienced and got the gold medal in the Olympics and broke the Olympic and world record this year." "I still think he may end up hurting himself again after forcing his body." Jake did not care about the commentators arguing and ran with the first platoon at a normal race pace, after 5 km he still continued with the first platoon, after so many marathons Jake was much more experienced and learned to save energy in these races. Many competitors who heard rumors about Jake joined him in the first race squad, some elite runners pulled off and moved away from this squad in the first place and others slowed down, no professional wanted to have their racing pace dictated by Jake. But the elite runners who had no hope of winning followed Jake because they heard the rumor that everyone who ran with Jake nearly half, finished in the top 50 in Chicago. Of course, no one in that group was running today because they were still recovering from the Chicago Marathon, but they told this information to several people, so always in this race, a group of almost 14 people was near Jake. The rumor was that Jake didn''t try to get away from the other runners and always kept the same running pace, even if that pace was too strong all professionals could run at that pace for a few kilometers. After all, what was most important to runners was the steady pace of running that kept an athlete from getting tired more than necessary, all 14 of those people were elites and could take Jake''s pace. "Look at the group of runners around Jake, something like that happened in Chicago, everyone who could handle almost half of the marathon with him finished in the top 50." "Some experts have already analyzed Jake''s marathon, for the first few kilometers he always maintains a very strong and steady running pace and so doesn''t lose much stamina." Chapter 269 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 1 "This may be the key to Jake''s success in marathons, so others learned from him and decided to accompany him in that squad until the end of the marathon." "Yes, but this is just one of the things that makes Jake the best marathoner today, few can keep up with him for more than 30 km, and if they try recklessly they may not even finish the marathon." "That''s true, the stamina and stamina he has also determine how he can win several marathons in a row." Just as the commentators were saying the reason Jake didn''t mind having several people running with him was that his running speed was too strong, keeping his pace steady was important to a marathoner. But having his own running pace that matched his abilities was the most important thing, Jake didn''t have to strain to run like this, but those who ran with him in the same platoon had to strain to keep up. This group also did not disturb Jake in the support stations to get water and also took turns leading the group without Jake having to lead once, Jake just slowed the race in the most difficult parts, so everyone won with that. After 15 km of the marathon as in Chicago, Jake''s platoon was again leading the race, many rushed ahead of them for a few kilometers, but no one could stay in the lead for more than 15 km. "This is really amazing, it looks like I''m seeing a repeat of the Chicago Marathon, after 15 kilometers Jake''s platoon leads again, and everyone looks like they''re in good shape and can continue." "Their race time is almost the same as Chicago too, so Jake always runs at a high level, unlike last race also the runners who are with Jake are all elite and all finish at least thirtieth as the best time they have done, one of them even came in the eighth position in a marathon." "True, it may then be that they can continue with Jake for more than 18 km like last time." Just like in Chicago, this was the second time Jake had run in New York, even though he hadn''t won this marathon last year, he still remembered the ride, so he did a marathon imagination training and knew the best places to run without getting tired so much. Even if it didn''t make much difference to Jake who had enough stamina to run 50 kilometers, it was the effort he could make to ensure the best race possible, who made the most of it were the other runners who were in the same platoon as Jake. After passing the 22km more than half of the marathon had passed and only at that point did the Jake platoon decide to move away and run at a slower pace, which greatly benefited Jake who didn''t have to race against the wind for more than half of the test. Unfortunately, the weather and temperature were not ideal as it was in Chicago, yet Jake felt he could try to break his own world record in this race, he would not do it just because it was not smart to try so hard. After all, he already had the marathon world record and it made no sense to break his own record, and after winning the New York marathon he would earn 2 more stats, 1 Resistance, and 1 agility. That meant that next year Jake would be even better off running if he could win a few more major marathons he could break a world record much more easily, so he had no reason to risk injuring himself to win. After going through the 30km race Jake wasn''t feeling too tired yet, but still decided to slow down his race to make sure that this race was over, Jake was thinking of trying to run a little longer than in Chicago for this marathon. "It''s really amazing how much he can run at the same pace and speed for 30 km, there may never be a runner who has this kind of control over his pace, some may be faster than him, but this control is hard to break." "That''s true, and we can see that he doesn''t even take a watch for the race, that is to say, he keeps that pace with intuition, now we see that he''s slowing down his running pace." "It''s already become a habit of Jake in the marathons he runs, he keeps a pace well below the world record for much of the marathon and then slows in the final kilometers of the race." "He was expected to do something like this, Jake doesn''t seem to be trying to break the world record today either, it''s normal because his body must not have fully recovered from the Chicago marathon." "We hope he doesn''t get any injuries like last year and can win this marathon." "He''s now called Captain America, a hero doesn''t hurt running Hahaha." "Hahaha it''s true, I liked that nickname, if he wins here in New York this year he will also find that nickname suits him." No marathon expert doubted Jake''s ability to win a marathon anymore, commentators were only apprehensive because they were afraid Jake would be injured again. There have been several big names in the sport of having a kind of curse to run in one place and not being able to win, some soccer players with the world cup, some baseball players with the world series, and some athletes with the Olympics. Jake naturally didn''t believe that and knew that the reason he lost in New York last year was his wrong preparation and his psychological problem, but today everything was perfect for him to win this time. After just missing the 42km race Jake was near the end of the race and his condition was great, he was just a little tired but still thought he could run another 10 km quietly. "And Jake is reaching the final stretch of this New York marathon, he''s really winning again this year, this is the fourth marathon he wins in 1996 that will be a historic year for the world of athletics." "It''s really amazing, Jake is still young at 17 and doesn''t have the problems that some older professional runners have, after a few weeks of breaking the world record in Chicago he''s winning again here in New York." "Now we can see that what happened last year here was just an accident and a piece of bad luck for Jake, yet he doesn''t seem to mind it and is winning again." "There you go, Captain America Jake crosses the finish line and wins the New York Marathon in 1996." "And with very good time too, he ran this marathon in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 55 seconds, he broke the record of this marathon that belonged to Juma Ikangaa from Tanzania which was established in 1989 with the time of 2 hours, 8 minutes. and 1 second." "This year was really special for Jake and for the whole American sport, he broke the records of all the marathons he has run this year, and it looks like he''s still holding on, see how he doesn''t even look tired after running today." "He should just protect his body by doing that, that''s right for someone his age, see Jake''s fan posters again saying Captain America, it looks like that nickname really got it." "It''s great to see young people taking an interest in marathons, Jake can be important to that as he is young too." Jake was very happy to win again, he wasn''t really tired just as the commentator noticed, it had been several months since he needed to eat a stamina bar that he got from the system. So he had a lot more than 100 saved again, he always did his 3-point shooter training and so several times got the reward of doing a thousand 3-point shoots, in basketball games he didn''t need to either. But he didn''t know what it would be like after joining the NBA, he knew a basketball game could tire as much as a marathon, so if he had to play several times a week and still do daily training running 50 km he could need to eat a stamina bar. The 14 other marathon runners who ran with Jake in a large part of the marathon were also in the top 50, it seems that in the upcoming marathons other runners would consider doing the same, in fact, some were among the first. Jake waved to the fans shouting his name, he was happy to know that he already had fans after just 2 years running, he was happy to win this marathon because he lost last year, so it was like taking revenge on him. Of course with last year''s defeat he learned a lot of things he was doing wrong and so he could win every other marathon he ran, but he would rather not learn anything if he had to lose for it, Jake learned that he hated to lose. After a few minutes, he went to the podium and received $ 125,000, $ 100 for winning and $ 25,000 for breaking the marathon record, $ 275,000 in less than a month running in two marathons, which was just under 1 month he received sponsorship. After Jake went to talk to John who had been waiting for him all this time, John was smiling as usual and didn''t seem to mind appearing in all of Jake''s marathons, his company made a lot of money this year with Jake being his sponsored athlete. Even if next year Jake wasn''t going to have any marathon competitions to run, they would still win big just because he existed, Jake didn''t even have to participate in any marathon next year. And John still knew that the good part hadn''t even started, when Jake started playing basketball at university games on the Tar Heels team that was the same team as the legendary Michael Jordan, that would be big publicity for them. If Jake could win the NCAA Tournament and the ACC Tournament would be even better for them, winning it all John learned not to be so greedy and even sharing advertising exactly with the other sponsors. So he inadvertently ended up earning a little more of Jake''s goodwill who saw it after the marathon, Jake was most grateful to John who always organized Jake''s marathon stakes and showed up in all competitions and didn''t take all the credit for the race his company. Chapter 270 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 2 "Congratulations on beating Jake, another broken record this year, this year was amazing for you, should this be the last marathon you''re going to run this year?" "Yes, it''s my last marathon this year, thanks for helping me out so much this year." "It''s just my job, I have to thank you for always winning marathons, as I was the one who came up with the idea of ??hiring you for our company to sponsor, I''m gaining a lot of recognition for that." "I''m glad to hear that, I don''t think we''ll see each other again this year, have a happy holiday season and wait for some good news from me at basketball games." "Thanks, I''ll see you next year." Living together can make a new friendship come to life, even though they never really liked John because their contract was just about business, after receiving his goodwill and help for so many months Jake began to want to be friends with John. Maybe their relationship could never be as good as it was between Jake with Tiffany and Clara, but they could at least talk friendlier, not to mention that after a few years they might not even talk to each other anymore. Jake had lost several friends in this time he lived after going back in time, even though he always appreciated friendships things just happened that way, everyone he studied with Jake had no more contact. It had also been several months since he''d had any conversations with Eric who always sought to talk to him, maybe he could meet his school friends when the internet-connected more people and meet Eric when he joined the NBA. After talking with John, Jake decided to go back to the hotel and get some rest before catching the plane at the end of the day for university again, the other day even if he didn''t do his daily running training he would still have to train with the Basketball team. After all, it was only a few weeks before the day of the first game, so, Jake, the team would have to be ready by that day, he didn''t want to end up losing that game for lack of training, it would be an important game to decide Jake''s future in the basketball team. In New York Jake had no interest in doing an interview to talk about his marathon victory, he did the interview in Chicago because he knew Chloe and had free time this time, however, he knew no one and was in a hurry to return to the university. Unfortunately, Jake''s desire to just rest while waiting for his travel time didn''t come true, after a few hours at the hotel when he had already changed and eaten and was preparing to rest the hotel said someone was waiting for him. Even though he knew it wasn''t someone Jake knew it had to be someone with contacts to find out where he was when Jake came down he saw a man who looked to be thirty-four and wearing a black suit. "Mr. Smith, thank you for coming down to talk to me if you didn''t know me." "No problem, I was just resting, who would you be?" "My name is Martin Hans, I am a representative of the Nike company, I was sent to talk to you about the possibility of a sponsorship agreement of our company with you." Jake was a little surprised that he wasn''t expecting it at the moment, but after thinking a bit he realized that it was very normal for something like this to happen, Nike has always been known to compete with other shoe companies to sponsor the best athletes in the world from many different sports. While currently, they do not have most of the basketball players, soccer and football, they''ve had many contracts with athletes, and in the future, Nike just grows and further dominates the footwear market. Even though not all athletes were sponsored by them, Jake had already won several major marathons and the Olympic gold medal, as well as breaking the world record, thinking that it was normal for a company like Nike to look for him with a contract. Currently Jake could not have any new sponsorship contracts because he was at university and had made a deal with them not to have any new contracts while playing on the basketball team. But he could talk some details with Nike until after he left university, if the contract was good he could make a deal with them and when he entered the NBA he would sign this contract with Nike. "You don''t have to call me sir, you can be less informal and call me by my name." "I''ll do it so, you might be wondering why our company hasn''t contacted you before, that''s because you suddenly came across as an athlete and we didn''t have time to prepare a contract proposal for you." "When you won in Chicago last year and then came second in New York, the directors just got to know your name and so decided to wait and see." "Unfortunately we ended up missing our opportunity to get a contract at that time, after all this year you qualified to race at the Olympics and eventually won, after which as you would go to university we thought we had missed the opportunity and would have to wait." "But right now while you are at university you still have some sponsorship deals, so we realize we missed another chance." "It''s true, unfortunately right now that I have some sponsorship contracts I can''t have a new contract in my university playing period." "Yeah, we know that and so we decided to wait until you finish college to talk about a contract, but after you won in Chicago and New York this year we decided to talk to you at least." The company''s marketing people realized that they missed a lot of opportunities to make a contract with Jake this year, he''s a brilliant young man who has accomplished a lot in athletics and may also have a chance to get into the NBA. In fact, Nike knew they already had teams that wanted to talk to Jake right after he left high school, so it''s almost certain he could join an NBA team, so a contract with him would just be more valuable. Jake was also interested in that, if it was a good deal he would accept now, after all, it would only be for a few years, in 2003 he would want a much better contract for him, or he could just run out of any contract. "What is your company''s proposal?" "We have a $ 5 million proposal for a 4-year contract. Every major marathon you win would get you another $ 50,000 and every world record you break would earn you another $ 50,000." That had been a very thoughtful contract by the marketing team, and in a few more years when Jake left college they wouldn''t know whether or not he would play in the NBA and if he would still have a high level of track and field performance, it was a risk to them, but for an athlete it was a very good contract, the best they could offer today. It might seem like a great contract for an average athlete, but Jake thought this contract was very bad, had the least consideration for being one of the best for athletes they could offer, but Jake knew it was too little. This contract was even smaller than Alan and John''s companies paid, he sincerely expects a lot more from a company like Nike, maybe they would have thought of getting a great deal if Jake became a professional basketball player. But Jake knew he would surely become an NBA player and with the help of the system he could even become a star as the best players in history, so this contract was a joke for Jake If he entered one more type of athletics as he thought this contract would no longer be worth it. It was better than Jake just renewed the contract with the companies that were with him now, and Nike hadn''t even offered a shoe line by his name which was the wish of every athlete in the world. "I''m sorry Martin, but I will have to decline this proposal, it''s far below what I sincerely expected." "Could you say what made you dissatisfied with this contract?" Martin sincerely thought it was a great contract for a marathon runner, and Nike was a big company that every athlete wanted to be associated with, so he didn''t understand what made Jake dissatisfied. "This is a great contract for a regular marathon runner, but you are forgetting that I am also a basketball player, this contract shows that you are not confident enough in my future as I am." "You had to work out a contract thinking of me as a basketball player as well as a marathoner after all this contract is after I leave college, if you have a good view you can even profit from an early contract." "We are considering that you can become an NBA player, so the value is higher than an average marathoner, but we can have no guarantee of that, so it''s a risk and if you are a big player this contract is just for the first 4 years, then we can renew with a higher value." "If you think it''s a risk I''d rather wait until I leave university to talk about it again, I have confidence in myself, not to mention that I won''t get the value now anyway." "And for you to know how I think the value you offer is low even a sponsor of mine currently pays me more than this contract." After saying that Jake went to his room and went to rest until he had to go to the airport at night, he was a little disappointed with what Nike offered, he would accept a minimum of $ 4 million a year to sign now." Jake had always heard that the Nike company was smart and so they always made the best deals, but that didn''t seem true to Jake, maybe if he was someone who needed the money and didn''t have confidence he could sign the contract. After a few hours he left the hotel and arrived at the university after a few hours, after winning again he was certain that Coach Smith would not be angry that he missed a day of training. Now he needed to focus on basketball and forget about the marathons, in a few weeks it would be his first game at university and he was anxious. Chapter 271 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 3 When Jake arrived at the university everyone was asleep, he also went to sleep when he felt tired, when he woke up in the morning it was almost time to go to classes, Zack had left to run in the morning and William and Aaron praised Jake for winning more a marathon. After attending classes with William, Jake went to basketball training to do the training and warn Coach Smith that he had returned, the coach had to know that he could count on him for the rest of the pre-match training. For Jake and the team, this marathon stop was great before the first game, Jake had received the same statistic reward he received the first time he won in Chicago, with 1 more Resistance point and 1 agility point better for the first game. In addition, this would make Jake''s 50 km high-speed running training much easier, and basketball training was not a problem for Jake at the moment, but it could be when the basketball team games started. Jake also talked to his mother about the race victory and Tiffany who was very happy, after basketball training he can talk to Zack who also congratulated Jake on winning. After that Jake focused only on his training with the basketball team, Coach Smith decided to leave Jake in reserve and play with Ed Cota as a starter, Shammond Williams would play part in the position of PG and part of the game in position of SG. So Ed Cota and Vince Carter who would spend a few minutes taking turns, Jake would also play PG taking turns so Shammond William would probably play more in SG''s position and Vince would have to stay a few minutes in reserve. Makhtar N''Diaye would play in PF position and so with Antawn Jamison playing as SF the team was complete, Coach Smith also planned to let Jake play as SF and put Antawn Jamison as PF at some points in the game. So Center Serge Zwikker would be the least likely to have to take their position in the game and could play longer on the court, Coach Smith had problems with how to scale players but was happy to have those skilled player problems left in the team. This was the team decided for the first game, after forming this team Coach Smith organized more specific training to train players for the first game of the season. Usually, the first games of a new season at university were more complicated, because sometimes some players were still out of shape and the team would have to get used to the new players. After a few weeks, the day of the first game had arrived, on November 22, 1996, the first opponent was the Arizona Wildcats team, the Wildcats had won the NCAA National Tournament after eliminating the Tar Heels team that Jake was now. So you could see how strong the opponents of the first game were, in this game in Jake''s past life the Tar Heels team had lost that game, so this time probably the same would happen if Jake didn''t play in the game. Even though Jake wasn''t worried about that, the opposing team was strong and if Jake couldn''t play many minutes he knew it wouldn''t make much difference in this game, the game would be at Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, MA. The whole team was excited for this first game, even if the opponents had tradition no one was afraid because the Tar Heels team also had the tradition, of course, if they knew what Jake knew would probably be different. Coach Dean Smith did a great job of motivating and encouraging the players, for the most talented players often working with the confidence of the players was more important than the tactics that had already been put into training. College basketball rules were different from high school, the games had two 20-minute strokes each and a 15-minute break, so Jake''s Resistance would make a lot more difference if he played a full game. Everyone knew on the day of the game what position they would play in or if they would be in reserve, Jake naturally as he hoped would be in reserve, but he did not expect Ed Cota to stay in reserve either. It would be Shammond Williams who would play in PG position and Ademola Okulaja would play as PF, Vince Carter would start in SG position and the others were the same as training when the game started Jake was very excited to finally be playing his first game in university. Jake knew the skill of his teammates very well and so was paying more attention to the opposing team players in the first half of the game, Michael Bibby was the opposing team''s PG and Jake knew him a little. He played in the NBA for 14 years as a pro and then became a coach, never managed to win an NBA champion ring of the season, but took his team to some playoffs, earning some NBA All-Rookie honors in 1999. He was not a player Jake considered very good, but had a stable performance usually averaging over 12 points per game and 5 assists plus a few rebounds, yet managed to play for 14 years in the NBA which was impressive. Michael Dickerson was playing as SG and sometimes switching positions with Miles Simon and playing as SF, Michael did not play in the NBA long after leaving university because of an injury, he was a player who scored many points in the game. Miles Simon started playing as the team''s SF and made a great pair with Michael Bibby, Miles didn''t play long in the NBA after college either, he was along with Michael the team''s top scorer. Bennett Davison was the team''s PF and didn''t play in the NBA either, he averaged less than 10 points per game and caught a lot of rebounds with A. J. Bramlett who was the Center who played the NBA for a short time. Jason Terry was an SG and played as the team''s sixth player entering important moments, Terry played many years in the NBA over 19 years, won the NBA championship with Dallas in 2011 and was a great sixth player and also very good at the shooting of 3 points. The reason Jake chose this team besides being a fan of Michael Jordan was that it was a very strong team that didn''t win titles, he could play with the legendary coach Dean Smith and several players he was a fan of. The biggest weakness of this team oddly enough was that they didn''t score much with 3-point shots, the players didn''t risk much and missed a lot in important games, even though Ed Cota who debuted in the games was a big PG with In his assists he did not make many points. So most points were scored by Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, and Antawn Jamison, and the three did not have many games with more than 20 points which made the situation of the team complicated. Jake''s strength was the 3-point shots and he made more than 30 points per game on average, so Jake thought he could be the player this team needed to be a champion, not to mention that he could make multiple assists and defend well too. At the beginning of the first half, the two teams were very much alike in the game, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison were playing better and creating more moves besides making a few points, the commentators were also excited about an equal game like this. "The game is very popular here at Springfield Civic Center, in those first 5 minutes of the game Vince Carter scored 4 points and Antawn Jamison scored 6 points, we received information that both are a classmate and so has a lot of rapport." "Yes, even though Shammond Williams is not as talented as PG as he is in SG position he is making a great game too, yet the opponents are equally talented." "The Wildcats team is playing a great game with Michael Dickerson performing well and freshman Mike Bibby doesn''t seem to be debuting today and is playing very well." "Speaking of freshmen, Jake is also a freshman who had a great time playing very well in high school being MVP for two straight years and also getting a sponsorship even though he was in college after winning several marathons and a gold medal in the Olympics." "Yes, but we have never seen him play so we can''t say he plays that well, and Coach Smith doesn''t seem to trust the freshmen so much and has left everyone on the bench, even Ed Cota who also got the spotlight is on the bench." "Especially with such a game, I don''t think Coach Smith would risk a change that would break the balance of the game in favor of the opponent." Just as they said Coach Smith did not think of putting anyone in early in the game, yet he had thought of a tactic and after a few minutes put Ed Cota in place of Ademola Okulaja and Vince Carter defended the opposing PF when Ed was on the court. Shammond Williams played as SG when Vince moved in defense and Ed Cota was the team''s PG, so Shammond Williams had more freedom to drive to the basket or shoot from outside. "Both teams have different playing styles, while Wildcats try more from outside and mid-range shots, Tar Heels tries to score more in the opposing area, both tactics have their advantages, but if the Wildcats have a good aim they won this game." In the first half of this game the two teams remained very much the same, only Ed Cota, who was in reserve, entered the game for a few minutes while coach Dean Smith rotated the players. By the time the 20 minutes into the first half were over, both teams were tied for points, Ed Cota was making good plays and assisting as he entered the court, which pleased Coach Smith. Jake didn''t look like he''d have a chance in the first half, maybe it was a coach''s punishment for missing training in marathon competitions, even if he had won and the university was happy with that, the coach wasn''t happy to split his player with another sport. Only Jake was more apprehensive because without him on the court the game ended the way he saw in his past life, if it went on they would lose. Chapter 272 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 4 The game was tied and in the 15 minutes of the break the coaches just encouraged the players more, it was just the first game of the players of the season and the game was tied so there was no reason for the coaches to complain. If there was any difference between the teams it was that Michael Bibby who was a freshman was getting more confidence from the coach and was excelling more in the game, Ed Cota just helped with assists and had little defensive presence. When the second half started again Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison excelled in attacks, Shammond Williams was not having a good game and missed a lot of shots from outside, so in the first minutes of the second half, he could not do much. After 10 minutes had passed in the second half the game was already different, Mike Bibby started to play much better in the second half and neither Ed Cota nor Shammond Williams was able to score it because they did not expect him to play so well. Michael Dickerson was also playing very well in the second half and soon they opened a lead of 5 points on the scoreboard, and you could see that the Wildcats team was better prepared for this game. Coach Smith naturally realized this and decided to give Jake a chance to play a few minutes in this game when he was called in by coach Jake was very happy and took off his jacket getting ready to play. "The Wildcats team is dominating in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as the two teams are very much equal in the game a 5-point lead when only 10 minutes left can decide the outcome of the game." "Really, Dickerson is playing especially well in the game and has already scored 3 three-point shots in 4 attempts, it seems that after seeing that he is fine he is gaining confidence for this endgame." "Both teams are among the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament this year, I know it may be too early to speak, but as a freshman like Mark Bibby and a player like Dickerson they can be champions this year." "It seems that Tar Heels coach Dean Smith has decided to make a change to try to regain the game''s balance, he''s putting on this year''s freshman sensation Jake Smith, he''s an Olympic medalist only in another sport." "Hahaha, all the scouts gave Jake''s top rating, he averages over 30 points per game and over 9 assists plus 6 steals, if he can do half of that at university we''ll see a new genius." Even though Jake always had good professional ratings many were skeptical about his basketball skills, Jake seemed to everyone to be devoting most of his time in marathons, so he has won almost everything and broken several records. The experts were just reporting what they saw, Jake managed to lead an average team to two national championships in a row, proof of this was that he could be twice followed MVP championship. Jake ended up replacing Ed Cota, Shammond Williams was having a bad game and was left in reserve, so the team was Jake as PG, Vince Carter in SG position, Antawn Jamison in SF position, Ademola Okulaja in PF position and Serge Zwikker in the position of Center. Jake was defending against Mark Bibby who had already scored 16 points in the game and wanted more, Dickerson had scored 19 points and had hit 4 shots out of 5 attempts, so the end of the game would be much harder for Jake''s team. When Jake entered the opposing team was having another attack on Bibby with the ball, so Jake soon prepared to defend against Bibby, in the whole game Bibby was having more freedom to play and did not expect to face the pressure of Jake''s defense. Still, he didn''t worry because, with 30 seconds of possession, Wildcats liked to circle the ball until someone had a chance to try the Field goal from any position. Bibby passed the ball to Dickerson open from the left, so Dickerson protected the ball and dribbled into the three-point line and passed it to Simon who also played very well and was only overshadowed by the performances of Bibby and Dickerson. Simon tried to force his way through Jamison''s shot, but Jamison was defending well against Simon in that game so Simon passed the ball to Dickerson who was open from the left, Vince Carter was away from Dickerson and couldn''t make it in time to block the attempted shot from outside Dickerson who was full of confidence. Luckily this time Dickerson missed the shot and Jake went up to get the rebound, Jake protected the ball and then passed Carter on the right, Carter advanced to the attack line as Wildcats retreated to defense. Carter advanced and passed the ball to Jake on his left side, Jake received the ball and accelerated while Bibby was fumbling for Carter, Jake quickly passed Bibby and when Simon tried to stop his advance Jake passed Jamison who was unmarked. Jamison did not miss the opportunity and advanced to layup and 2 points more for the Tar Heels team, so with a rebound and assistance from Jake they reduced the advantage to 6 points, the advantage was 8 points before Jake came in when Dickerson hit Another shot from outside. Coach Smith applauded Jake''s ability in the play, even though he was an amateur he showed personality and led the play, it seems that it had been the right decision to bring Jake into this game, he wasn''t sure of Jake''s abilities as he had not personally seen in-game. Coach Guthridge who brought Jake from high school was delighted to see Jake playing so easily at an important moment in the game, he went against the idea of ??Coach Smith putting Ed Cota instead on him, both were freshmen and Jake was clearly superior even in training. After this play the opponents became more cautious with Jake in the game, they knew Bibby was a freshman and could play so well so they had no intention of underestimating Jake''s skills. After a few moves Dickerson had hit another three-point shot and now had 7 attempts and 5 hits, so the lead increased to 9 points and was now the attack of the Tar Heels team. Jake broke off with the ball dominated and soon passed to Carter on the right, he and Vince Carter were closer in training and so made several plays together in training, Carter soon passed the ball to Jamison forward with who also had a lot of rapport. Jake broke off with the ball dominated and soon passed to Carter on the right, he and Vince Carter were closer in training and so made several plays together in training, Carter soon passed the ball to Jamison forward with who also had a lot of rapport. Jamison set off for individual play on Simon, after a feint he managed to get past Simon and tried to move inside, Dickerson had returned to assist in the defense with the intention of making Jamison back off, Bibby was defending against Carter who was more important. So Jamison did not hesitate to pass the ball to Jake who was behind free, Jake received the ball off the three-point line and did not hesitate and tried a shot from outside and the ball went in to increase the score by 3 for Tar Heels and return the difference in the scoreboard to 6 points. Soon after the Wildcats team made a quick and organized move through several players and stopping at Dickerson''s hands again who tried another shot from outside to make three more points and increase the lead to 9 points again. "This season-opening game for these two teams is very exciting, one attack after another and the Wildcats team retain the 9-point lead, Dickerson has been making a historic game and has 6 hits out of 8 3-point shooting attempts." "Indeed, after Jake joined the Tar Heels team, he has found the right way to react, but Dickerson is taking all chances of the Tar Heels team reacting." "Jake really got on very well, he made an assist and 3 points with a shot from outside, plus a rebound in just 3 minutes of play, Bibby couldn''t make any points after Jake came in." "It''s really a shame for Tar Heels fans that Jake didn''t get into this game before, another result could be showing right now." "We couldn''t predict either Coach, Dean Smith, that even though Carter was so good at the attack so far his defense left a lot to be allowed allowing Dickerson the freedom to hit so many 3-point shots." "See what an engaging play from team Tar Heels now, after the ball goes through many players Jake got an excellent pass for Carter to make 2 more points with a dunk and thus narrow that gap to 7 points again." "With less than 7 minutes to go, we''ll see if we have a reaction from the Tar Heels team at the end of the game." After Jake made the pass for Carter to make 2 more points he returned to defense, Wildcats seemed to be in no hurry to attack, they had to spend 30 seconds of possession to find an opportunity and increase the lead again. After a few exchanges, the ball went back to Mark Bibby who was full of confidence after having a great debut as a freshman, unfortunately, in that debut, he also made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of turnovers. Bibby tried to pass the ball quickly at the end of possession, and Jake intercepted the pass that would go to Simon, Bibby could not imagine that Jake was leaving a purposeful opening so he could intercept the pass. So Jake was in no hurry and returned the ball with Jamison who was behind him, Jamison advanced with the ball and passed to Carter when he reached the court, Carter advanced and passed to Jake again. Jake again used his agility to slip past Bibby easily into the inner area, the defense tightened and Jake passed the ball in style to Center Zwikker. Zwikker was free and did not miss the opportunity and made the layup to make 2 more points for Tar Heels and reduce the lead to 5 points. Chapter 273 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 5 It seemed like a reaction was going on, just Jake wasn''t that quiet, he could have changed a few things coming into the game but he couldn''t stop Dickerson from making his points. While defending against Mark Bibby was already tiring and difficult for Jake, he again understood that university games were different from high school, only by using his agility that had greatly improved since high school that Jake could have some advantage in that game. So Jake couldn''t help anyone in defense while scoring Bibby, as Bibby was the PG of the team he was the one who set up the moves, yet Jake defending against him couldn''t help much in the game. In another Wildcats attack with an engaging play again Dickerson was left free and tried another 3-point shot to miss this time, Jake again was alert and managed to catch another rebound. Jake passed the ball to Carter who advanced while Jake went to position himself in the attack after Carter advanced without the opposing defense disturbing he passed to Jake the ball again, Jake pretended to make a pass for Jamison and Bibby was tricked. So Jake seized and stepped back and tried another shot from outside to make Tar Heels 3 points further and reduce the lead to just 2 points, all quickly rearranging themselves in defense and Wildcats was no longer calm and advanced to the attack. "What an amazing game my friends, from a lead that reached 9 points dropped to just 2 points, only one attack can bring the upset to the Tar Heels team." "It looks like the Wildcats team is relying a lot on freshman Mark Bibby and Michael Dickerson, they are having a great match, but everyone can go wrong and in two mistakes the Tar Heels team made the difference." "We have to give a lot of merit to Jake who got into this game very well, he was directly responsible for this turnaround and in these two errors of the opposing team Jake got a steal and a rebound in addition to an assist and 3 points made." "It''s really amazing what he did with just 6 minutes on the court, now the game is over, let''s keep watching to see if a historic turnaround can happen." In the next attack by Wildcats, Jamison made a mistake in the defense and left Simon with a chance to score, Jake had to abandon Bibby''s defense to prevent Simon from making the move freely. So Simon saw that Bibby got free and passed the ball quickly behind when Jake was getting in the cover, so Bibby was free to try an outside shot and make 3 more points and return the lead to 5 points. Tar Heels struck again shortly after, this time Jake only touched the ball twice and it was Jamison who eventually made the pass for Carter who made a feint and drive to the basket to make a layup to make 2 more points and decrease the difference to 3 points. In the other play, Simon could advance again on Jamison''s defense and made 2 more points bringing the difference back to 5 points, the game was coming in the final minutes and the advantage was not diminishing. As the players from Tar Heels became impatient and Jake received the ball less, Jamison passed the ball to Zwikker who was heavily marked, so Zwikker turned the ball over to Carter who was off the three-point line and attempted the shot. Unfortunately, as he was not well-positioned, he missed, so Jake was far behind and could not fight for the rebound with Bennett Davison, so they missed the chance to lower the score again. With less than 2 minutes left, Jake''s teammates became even more impatient and attempted a foul on Bibby to stop the clock, soon after another foul was committed by Carter on Simon. That was the seventh collective foul, Simon easily converted the free throw and the lead increased to 6 points, coach Smith shouted at the edge of the court to stop the fouls, this would not help anything the advantage had in the game. Jake took the ball and moved forward to arrange another move for the Tar Heels team, After advancing he passed the ball to Carter who was on the right, Carter advanced and passed the ball to Jamison who was on the left. Jamison tried a feint in Simon who was in defense but Simon was alert and steadfast in defense so Simon passed the ball to Okulaja who was in front, Okulaja couldn''t make the move and turned the ball back to Jake. Jake used his agility and with a crossover and was able to pass by Bibby easily and went inside, Simon tried to stop Jake on the move and Jake managed to pass by Simon as well and drive to the basket and ended the move with a dunk to score 2 more points to Tar Heels and decrease the lead to 4 points. In the next play the Wildcats attacked and after the ball went through several players ended up again in the hands of Dickerson who tried again the tenth outside shot to make 3 points for the Wildcats team. Then in the last seconds of the game, Vince Carter still managed to score 2 more points, but the Wildcats team still came out with victory just as Jake remembered in his past life, he can prevent Mark Bibby from making some points, but can''t change the end result of the game. Arizona Wildcats won 75-70 against UNC team Tar Heels, the score was different from what Jake remembered in his past life and Jake felt his team only lost because he can only play for 10 minutes and Michael Dickerson from the opposing team made a great game. Jake didn''t like to lose any games, but he couldn''t do anything about it and just consoled himself into thinking that the outcome of the game could be different if he played longer. "This was a really great game, a season-opening game being so good is a sign showing that the season for college basketball this year is very good." "It is true, even though the difference in the final score was only 5 points the game was not so disputed, in the first half the two teams were very balanced and even ended the first part of the game tied." "But the Wildcats were rewarded for their coach betting on freshman Mark Bibby who may be one of the top names for this team next year." "On the other hand, Tar Heels lost this game as a result of Coach Dean Smith''s indecision to trust younger players." "Only Ed Cota had more playing time than Jake and clearly Jake could make the outcome of this game completely different." "In the few minutes he was on the court he could give Tar Heels a real chance to lead the scoring, with more time on the court he could definitely do that." After the game was over the commentators criticized coach Dean Smith for having no confidence and putting Jake in the game, the reason being that a freshman like Mark Bibby was a major contributor to the Wildcats'' victory. Even though Coach Dean Smith didn''t think he was wrong and didn''t bother with the criticism he received, he thought it might be lucky that Jake had played so well in this game, one of the reasons the team lost was that Shammond Williams was the holder in PG position had a poor performance in this game. So in the early games at least he intended to keep Jake still in reserve but would give him more minutes of play, after all, if he had a player who could do so well in a few minutes it would help a lot in the team games. Everyone came back upset that they lost the game even though they played so well, but they didn''t bother much because they knew it was normal to lose a few games this season and the Wildcats team played very well in that game. As soon as they arrived at university everyone returned to their dormitories and Jake talked to his friends about the outcome of the game, everyone felt bad for Jake who had lost the game but understood that this was normal in a basketball season. Jake also called her mom to tell her about the game, Eva was surprised and sad that Jake had lost the game, even though it was normal for others it was not normal for Jake, for over 5 years Eva had not remembered hearing that Jake lost some game. "I think your coach is wrong Jake, how can anyone who plays as well as you miss out on a game like this." "I didn''t stay out, Mom, I played for 10 minutes." "Still, doesn''t this coach know how many universities wanted you to go to play as the team star? Now that he has you on the team not letting you play at least 30 minutes is a waste." "That''s normal, mom, he still doesn''t know how I can play at university, games are much harder than at high school, if I played for 10 minutes in a high school game I could easily score 16 points and still make 5 assists." Jake was honest in what he was saying, in a high school game in 10 minutes he could do what he said, but in that game, he only scored 8 points and got only 3 assists, which served to show how much more difficult it is. That''s because Jake has been able to greatly increase all of his physical stats and abilities in recent months, otherwise he could achieve even worse performance in this game, Jake could feel that perhaps in the next few years of college he could not reach a level of skill that made it superior to all other players. After talking to Eva, Jake was much more comfortable even after losing a game after so long, which comforted him was that with more playing time he could do more and change the results of the games he remembered in his past life. Not to mention that since this was an ordinary game it didn''t matter whether it was lost or not if it was an ACC Tournament or NCAA Tournament game he might not accept defeat so easily, so what Jake could do was play the best he could something like that wouldn''t happen again. Chapter 274 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 6 In the next few days, Jake returned to training routine normally, in the morning he had daily running training with Zack and later he did training with the basketball team. After two days he knew he would not be starting again the next day''s game, he was a little disappointed by that, but he understood that this was Coach Smith''s decision, Coach Guthridge tried very hard to convince Coach Smith to allow Jake played and failed. Jake wanted to secure a place in the team using his own skills and he was sure that in a short time he could end up convincing Coach Smith if he went to another university that the team was not so strong Jake would never have this problem, but he wanted just one university with a strong team to win many Tournament. The other day Jake didn''t do his daily training running as usual and just woke up at the normal time to attend classes because he had to be rested to play the game in a few hours. Jake spent time with his friends after school and then had to go to the Dean Smith Center to prepare for the game, after some time the whole team had done the warm-up exercises and was ready for the game. After the last game, Jake was much more in tune with the whole team, Vince Carter mostly helped Jake get a lot closer to his other teammates, especially Antawn Jamison who was a close friend of Carter got closer to Jake. This made Jake very happy even with the defeat and still remaining in reserve, Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge passed some tactics and positioning to the players before the game. Before the last game as the team, in debut was Coach Smith only worked on the confidence of the players, but after the defeat Coach Smith passed on in detail what mistakes they made in the last game so they could learn and not make the same mistakes in Upcoming games. After a few minutes, the opposing team arrived and they began to prepare to start the game, the opposing team in this game would be Richmond Spiders, they had a weaker team this year and so it would not be a big challenge for the Tar Heels team. But as they had missed the debut game this eventually put pressure on the players, Coach Smith did not want to calm the players down and put more pressure on them to win the game. Jake was pretty calm about it all, Coach Smith had praised his performance in his debut game while criticizing all the other players, and as he would start in reserve Jake didn''t feel the same pressure from the other players. Especially when he remembered that the Tar Heels team had won this game in his past life if he could play longer and the team won as he remembered it would be the best result for Jake. After a few minutes, the game started in the early minutes of the game the Tar Heels team that had much more skilled players began to dominate the game when the team led by 4 points for a few minutes everyone started to calm down and played even better. Everyone was fine in this game and just 6 minutes into the first half that Coach Smith decided to put Jake into the game, Jake replaced Shammond Williams who was playing well in that game. In 3 minutes playing in the first half, Jake managed to make 5 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound and was soon replaced by Ed Cota, it seemed that Coach Smith wanted to put several players to play a few minutes and gain experience with a weaker opponent as was the Richmond Spiders team. At the beginning of the second half, Okulaja eventually started on the bench and Shammond Williams was more advanced in his position, Ed Cota continued playing for another 2 minutes and Jake joined the game again. This time Jake played 11 more minutes and made 8 points, 4 assists 3 rebounds and 2 steals, he managed to make fewer points but helped the overall team more, Shammond Williams came in his place and played the last 7 minutes of the second half. Team Tar Heels dominated the entire game and won with a score of 90 points against 71 of team Richmond Spiders, Vince Carter was the best in the game and scored 25 points and got 6 rebounds, after the game everyone returned to their dorms and Jake counted To your friends the good news. His friends were very happy for him after Jake called his mother who was very happy to know that Jake''s team had won, but was angry again to know that Jake played a few minutes in the game, Jake thought differently. He knew that in his past life Coach Smith and even Coach Guthridge had a difficult time casting the team with Ed Cota playing so well, so Shammond Williams had to play a few minutes in Vince Carter''s position and a few minutes in Ed Cota''s position. And Shammond Williams has always been a big player in Jake''s memories, so this time the coaches still had more Jake to make that decision even harder to make in a short time. Even so, Jake could play longer in this game and played even better, while Ed Cota played a lot less time than Jake and less than in the last game, which showed that Coach Smith was deciding to use Jake as the team''s sixth player. Jake felt bad for Ed Cota, but he wanted this place in the starting lineup to help his future as a basketball player, if he ended up in reserve and didn''t have much time to play, he would have to try to transfer to another university with a more weak team to have more playing time. In the following days, Jake continued his training routine until the day of the third game of the season arrived, the game would be again at the Dean Smith Center, playing at home was always better for the Tar Heels team. Jake felt the difference from high school having to play several days a week, he could see that those who played the longest or had the worst fitness were a little tired before the third game. Before that, Jake found it strange how the most skilled players who made a big difference in the outcome of a game like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James were replaced in games several times. For him, a 48-minute game with a break of several minutes was not so tiring for several of these players sometimes having to rest for 13 minutes, but going through it personally he understood why this was happening. In addition to playing the 48 minutes with a lot of pressure for the result of a high-intensity game with peers, players often had to play several times a week and sometimes had to travel long distances between these games. It was even worse when some games came in at halftime, so even the best-fit players would have to rest at least 7 minutes to avoid the risk of muscle strain injuries. Good thing the university game season was only for 6 months, otherwise many players could end up hurting themselves with so many games, players like Vince Carter who played for over 20 years at both the university and the NBA were even more amazing. The day before, Jake knew he would not play as a starting man, so when he heard that he was a little disappointed, but he still understood Coach Smith''s position, he remembered that even playing so well Ed Cota often started reserve games in his first year even though it played almost 30 minutes every game. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the game to begin, this third game was with the Pitt Panthers team, the Pitt Panthers team was not a particularly strong team this season either. They got a better campaign by trusting Vonteego Cummings and Mark Blount who played in the NBA and were very good players, Jake also remembered that the Tar Heels team easily won in their past life. Again Jake started the game on the bench, Shammond Williams started as a starter and could feel the pressure of competition with Ed Cota and Jake for his position, if he could not play as SG he would have less and fewer minutes to play. In the first 7 minutes he played well and scored 6 points but was still replaced by Ed Cota, Ed Cota different from Shammond Williams thought more about the collective game and made only 2 points and made 3 assists in the 5 minutes he played. Jake took the place of Ed Cota and was playing for 8 minutes until the end of the first half, Shammond Williams still played another 5 minutes in place of Vince Carter in that first half, Jake had a great performance. Jake made 7 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, he played thinking of the team and also made his points, could you say he had the best of his competitors for PG''s position in the team. Ed Cota started the second half and played for 3 minutes before being replaced, Shammond Williams played for 8 minutes before being replaced and Jake can play for another 9 minutes in that second half. Jake had 12 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals playing in those 9 minutes in the second half of the game, this time Antawn Jamison was the best player in the team scoring 26 points and getting 5 rebounds. But everyone could say that actually the best player on the team was Jake who played just over half the time Jamison played and did a lot more for the team in general after that game everyone had accepted Jake on the team and knew he was really talented as they. With Jake playing basketball so well and still winning several marathons and breaking records, no one else on the team could say he was jealous of him being the only sponsored player on the team. Clearly Jake was a better athlete than them, some might still think they were better at basketball, but Jake did a lot more than all of them overall, Jake still had great grades in school and everyone knew he was smart. So it could be said that Jake was greatly easing the situation for the university and the basketball organization that allowed Jake to be an exception and receive sponsorship, he did everything so well that if used as a reference no one else could get sponsorship. Chapter 275 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 7 In this third game, Team Tar Heels won even more easily by 91 points against just 58 points from Team Pitt Panthers, Jake could play longer and knew that at least he had secured the spot as a sixth player and could play longer in the next games. Jake went back to the dorm and told his friends about the win, then called his mother to tell him about the win, Jake was someone more modest, and although he always told his win friends he didn''t talk about how many points he made at the games. So for a while, his friends thought that maybe Jake wasn''t even playing games and so didn''t count what his performance was like, but after the third game, they found that even though Jake wasn''t a starter he still played many minutes and scored several points. Just as they were their friends, they decided to watch Jake games that were played at the Dean Smith Center, so many already watched those games so they thought they had to do it for Jake at least. Jake didn''t know that and really missed seeing someone he knew in the stands, fortunately in those early games he was so focused on trying to play well and doing his best in the minutes he couldn''t remember staring into the stands. The days passed and Jake continued his training routine, he had only 2 days to train while his teammates rested because he had a game every 3 days. The fourth game was against the Bethune-Cookman team at the Dean Smith Center, again Jake would start in reserve and enter the game when Coach Smith thought the time was right, Coach Guthridge always tried to convince Coach Smith to put Jake in the starting lineup, but could not. The Bethune-Cookman team was also considered weak for this season, they had no players to stand out either, so the Tar Heels team that was coming from a 2-win sequence was very confident in this game. Jake wasn''t blindly confident like the others and just remembered that in his past life the Tar Heels team easily won this game by a large number of points, in fact, he thought these victories could be more dangerous for the blind team confident even winning against weaker teams. In this game Jake played 22 minutes, he scored 22 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, this was one of his best games at the university and the team won the game by 112 points against 60 points from the Bethune-Cookman team. In this game, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison scored 25 points each and were the best of the team in the game, but again Jake was the most efficient in enjoying the time he had in the game, after this game he would have scored 62 points, 22 assists, 17 rebounds, and 10 steals in 63 minutes played in 4 games. He was already the third player to score the most and was the most assisted and steals player in the team even playing on average half the time of his teammates, this is the report that Coach Guthridge made to convince Coach Smith letting Jake play as a starter. This report was different from seeing a player play in person, it showed accurate performance data, so comparing Jake with his teammates it was impossible for Coach Smith to keep leaving Jake in reserve. He didn''t mind the criticism of others as he decided what was best for the team, but if he didn''t put Jake in the starting lineup he could now be called blind and be doing something that would hurt the team. So unbeknownst to Jake he had been placed as a starter for the next game, Shammond Williams would have to play sometime in the positions of Jake, Vince Carter and Ademola Okulaja, so he could play a few more minutes and help the team. Unfortunately, Ed Cota had lost this match and would have to stay most of the games in reserve, coach Smith put Ed Cota to play because he was confident he could play very well and do great things for the team. But with someone like Jake on the team, Coach Smith could not place someone as a starter who played less than Jake himself, now he had to wait for Jake to respond positively to his expectations. Jake realizes during this game by chance that his roommates came to watch his game, it made Jake very happy, his roommates were also very surprised to see how well Jake played in this game. They thought Jake played better than the team stars this year that was Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, after all even though they were better at some things, Jake was someone who played for the team and with quality. Jake called his mother again to tell him that he had won, Eva was very happy for him and thought that this winning streak was normal for Jake as a player, of course, it didn''t depend on Jake and it was the team''s ability. But the media did not think so and had already made Jake one of the best newcomers of the year, Jake was not the best at the moment because he had no opportunity to play as a starter in the team as other newbies already did in other teams. For the next few days Jake kept training hard without knowing he would be a starter, so the day before the game it was Coach Guthridge who personally called Jake to talk, as this had not happened many times before Jake was curious why he had been called. "Jake, I have good news for you, Coach Smith has decided to put you in for the next game." "Thank you so much, coach." Jake was delighted to know that he could play as a starter in the next game, he knew that did not mean that he could always play as a starter nor that he could play a whole game, but he would try his best to take advantage of this opportunity. "It''s good that you''re happy with that, but know that these upcoming games will also be a test for you." "What do you mean, coach?" Jake naturally knew that his starting games would be a test, if he didn''t play well in some games he could end up going back to the team reserve and getting back into the starting lineup after losing coach confidence would be much harder. But Jake felt that Coach Guthridge was mentioning something else when he said that Jake would have a test, it was not about the games themselves, but something else that Jake didn''t know what it was. "This is a time of great pressure for the players, classes are over and the team will have two games in two straight days with no rest days, and after these two games with the tired players you will have the tests in school to worry." Now Jake understood what Coach Guthridge meant by hard testing, really for other players this would be the worst time to come in as a starting lineup, after all for players like them who always have to play and train and travel often don''t have time to study. And the grades are also important for the player to stay in the team, not to mention that many players were tired after this game and will have to play for two games in a row, it could be said that this was the worst time to play as a starter. "Thanks so much for the advice, Coach Guthridge." But it wasn''t like that for Jake, so far as he was playing only half the game he had no problem with his stamina and could still play a lot more games, and classes weren''t a problem for Jake who had learned almost everything. So what would be a fire test for other players would be just a normal game for Jake, if he could perform well even with the coach thinking it was a tough test for Jake, it would be even better to ensure the coach''s confidence. Jake was also very grateful to the coach Guthridge who had given these councils to him, after all, many players would not think about these things too much and would just be happy to have the opportunity to play as a starter. So the Tar Heels team with a 3 straight winning streak came full of confidence for this game, everyone knew this was an easier game and the next one that would be more complicated because of tiredness. On the day of the game, everyone knew that Jake would be the first starter in the team and he received the sincere congratulations from the whole team, everyone who saw Jake''s last games knew he was very talented and at some point would get the place as a starter. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the game, the team''s opponent Tar Heels for today''s game was USC Trojans, this was a team that had a good team for this year''s season, it wasn''t a favorite team to win But it was a good staff. In the first half Jake played for 14 minutes and was replaced by Ed Cota, in that first half Jake scored 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals and helped the team a lot in the defensive part. In the second half, Jake played for another 15 minutes and scored 13 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals and even helped the team in defense too, in this game Jake was deservedly the best player of the game and made a double-double in his game debut which is amazing. Team Tar Heels won the game with 110 points against 75 points from the USC Trojans team, all celebrated this fourth straight victory a lot and served to take some of the stress out of some players who were stressed out for the week if evidence was coming. Jake was highly praised by everyone and even Coach Smith who didn''t think Jake could play that well, scoring more than 20 points was normal in college basketball, but scoring over 30 points and still getting a double-double was harder to achieve, and Jake had played less than 30 minutes. So with this performance, Jake confirmed that he deserved a place as a team starter, yet Coach Smith''s test was not over yet, the next game would be the next day, and the team would play even more tired than today. Chapter 276 The Beginning of the Season at College Basketball 8 After the game, that day he celebrated with his teammates on the phone and then did not forget to call his mother to tell about the victory as always did Anna also I was glad Jake was winning. The next day the team had another game if it were in another situation the coach Smith could even think of putting only a reserve team to play and save the holders, but as the team afterward would have a rest of a week until the next game he decided to Play with the team normally. Even so, he would have to do more rotation among the players in today''s game, for coach Smith This would be the hardest game they had since the debut game, the opposing team was South Carolina that this year had a very good team. The next day the players were already ready for the beginning of the game, Jake would again be on the initial team as the holder and he was determined to do his best in today''s game, different from the worries of coach Guthridge he remembered that the team Tar Heels would win again today''s game. Even though the result that Jake had seen in the past meant nothing to the game today, he was confident that with him on the team they could only have an even better result than in his past life. In the first game Jake can play for 16 minutes before being replaced, he did 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake again led the team score in the first part of the game and always had more than 60% hit in the Field goals. In the second part of the game, many players were tired so Jake can play for another 16 minutes in the game, in that second time Jake made 14 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, after playing again so well he won the confidence of the coach. The Tar Heels team won for 94 points against 73 points of the South Carolina Team, it was an easy win considering the situation in which the team was Antawn Jamison again made a great game and Vince Carter too. It seemed that with Jake playing as PG the whole team was playing much better, with Jake the moves were more easily worked on the attack court and also the defense was stronger, so far all the PG of the opposing teams were annulled by Jake. Jake also made more three-point shots which helped the team to do more points in fewer plays, in addition to making several passes, catching the rebounds and making several steals preventing many opponent''s attacks. All the team''s productivity went up with Jake''s entry into the team, with Ed Cota playing less time in the game the team would theoretically have fewer assists, but Jake also did what Ed Cota and Shammond Williams did. So it was difficult for coach Smith to try to keep Jake in the reserve team, he had the best qualities of the two players and still had qualities that the two had not, now that Jake was on the team and doing well the coach was Satisfied. Coach Guthridge was also very pleased with it because he was the one who brought Jake to the team, he failed to see Jake playing the best he could at the high school, but still trusted Jake. After the game ended Jake celebrated with his friends, was the fifth win followed in 6 games and Jake had already become the team''s holder what was the reason to celebrate, Jake also did not forget to call his mother to say that he had won the game. In the next few days was rest for the players and Jake was no different, he was mentally tired by this sequence of games, of course, he could keep playing because he had no problems with his stamina, the game routine was Harder than he expected. Jake wanted to take this one-week break to go home, but it wasn''t possible because he still had to do the tests this week even if he had no trouble taking the best grades. This week also all his roommates were concentrated in the studies, Zack would also stop running for a week to have more time studying, in the early days Jake also decided to rest his body and would not do any kind of training. So while resting in the dorm Jake stopped to think about the last few months, after winning the gold medal in the Olympics he stayed home a little while and then had to go to college. He still ran into two marathons that can win and break the world record in Chicago and finally win in New York, at that time also Jake had to spend a lot of time in his training both to run marathons as to play on the basketball team. Fortunately, he had several friends in his dorm in this first semester of university and even Zack still ran with him, his training in the basketball team also gave results, he felt he improved a lot in skill and got a vacancy as the Tar Heels team holder. So time passed quickly and it was more than 4 months since he was at the university, even though he thought he could go home more often this semester he couldn''t go home once. Even always talking to her mother on the phone and knowing that she was happy working at the restaurant and with several friends like Anna taking care of her, Jake still couldn''t let her miss her mother. He was seriously thinking of going home when the College Games had a stop in January, he wanted to spend his birthday at home, as he will not take classes in that time he will be free to go to Miami. While I was thinking about life Jake decided to take a look at his stats that he hadn''t seen since a few months ago, he knew he had improved because he can see the results in training and on the court. "Fate, show me my first job stats." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 17 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: College Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.96 m] [Weight: 99 Kg] [Force 35] [Agility 37] [Resistance 40] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Basketball Skills [Ball Handling A] [Body Control B] [Man to Man B] [Dribble B] [Layup A] [Set Shot S] [Block B] [Pass A] [Rebound B] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal A] [Dunk B] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was surprised to see how his skills improved since the last time he had seen him, he thought he was better than when he left high school had improved a lot but didn''t think the ranks of his skills would improve either. Now all his skills were at least in rank B, even the defensive skills and the ones he wore less in the games improved, his shooting skills that were always easier to increase reached as much as possible at the College level. For Jake it seemed that all his skills that were without much improvement for nearly a year at the high school suddenly improved when he joined the Tar Heels team, now he knew he had no way of improving his skills so much in the coming years in the College. "Fate, what happened that my abilities have improved so much in these months?" [That was what I had already explained to you a few years ago, your skills greatly improve with training and especially with real games, you have done all the training possible by training almost twice a day in the space of imagination training.] [The other way to improve your skills in both rank and the overall level was naturally with your advancing age, so you managed to get to College level even while you were at high school and trained a lot at that time.] [So when in addition to the training you also had the correct age and still disputed games your skill naturally improved, I thought you would have already noticed this when your skill level was similar to your teammates who will be stars in the NBA.] When Jake stopped to think about it he found that the system was right, he was very focused on the information that the system had given that many players didn''t even reach the top of the skill rank at the college level before graduating or going to a league of Professional basketball. So he didn''t think he could get to the top of his skills so early, but he was just thinking of the normal college-level players, the high-level teams like the Tar Heels where he was currently playing naturally would have players with level Higher skills. So if he could play with players of the same level as his team he should also have high-level skills, Jake was more excited because that meant he had skill to play in the NBA even though at a basic level. [I wanted to remind you that it will not be so easy to increase your other skills to the highest rank of the college, mainly because you are a complete player who seeks to improve all your skills.] [These players usually strive more to improve on a defined game style and so they can improve faster, so even if you take more time to get to the same level, it will be even better for you.] Jake naturally did not expect that he could overcome all players quickly, he was accustomed to improving his skills quickly, but now that he was approaching the professional level would be increasingly difficult, so he was surprised to improve his skills quickly this time. After talking to the Jake system decided to rest, he wanted to relax well this week before the game sequence began again, but that Jake''s desire could not be satisfied so easily. The next day Jake who had no morning training woke up later and just made his proofs of the day, it was easy as expected for him, Jake still tried to teach his friends in a few hours, but it was impossible for everyone to learn the matter so easily. After the evidence he received an unexpected call, only a few people had his current phone number, so he answered quickly. "Hello, I''d like to talk to Jake Smith." "It''s me, who''s talking?" "I am from the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), I would like to inform you that you have won this year''s prize." "What prize?" "It is the AIMS World Athlete of the Year award, this award is given to the best athletes of long-distance competitions, with their various victories in many marathons and in the Olympics and Your world record we decided to give you the prize that year, congratulations." Chapter 277 New Stage at College Basketball 1 Jake was very happy to know that he had won this award, even though he didn''t know much about the world''s athletics awards it was obvious that this award was very important to long-distance athletes like him. He had never won any awards in the years he played basketball, prizes like Mr. Basketball or was selected for McDonald''s All-American Game, he never thought his first prize in the sport would be by Run in the marathons. The only thing that consoled Jake was that not even Michael Jordan who was his idol had won prizes while playing at the High School, so Jake could console himself that he was following a different path from the others. "Thank you very much for the prize, How do I receive?" "We will have only one reception in a hotel in New York and you must go to receive, in fact, this award took longer than expected that year, the winner among women has already received the prize." "Why did it happen?" "Because we planned to give this award to someone else, after you won the gold medal at the Olympics we decided to wait to make another assessment, but soon after you won the Chicago marathon and broke the world record and so won the prize." The person on the phone ended up summarizing the situation, but Jake understood that the situation had been much more complicated than this person was talking about, the important thing was that he had won in the end and would receive the prize. So the following night Jake traveled after making the proofs for New York to receive the prize, he hoped that this reception at the hotel would be very lively and that many people would be present. But it turned out that only the people of the AIMS were present at dinner, Jake received the prize and was applauded and then took some photos and talked to a staff of the association, as already Had come to New York Jake stayed for quite a while and chatted with several members of the association before leaving. Still, he was very happy to have won the prize and even asked for some copies of the photos at the dinner in which he received the prize after all this was the first international prize he won since he started running. Some members of the press were also present in this award and so this award would also be published in the newspapers, Jake also asked them to send some copies of the paper to him when they published. Everyone liked to talk to Jake who had a very good personality and was humble when he talked to everyone, all the members of the press knew that Jake was now a college basketball star beside a great athlete. Reporters asked some questions about the games and the team, as well as asking about the marathons that Jake had won, Jake was very polite and answered all the questions, even the most personal. Sports reporters were happy to have come to this award because they had the opportunity to ask several questions that Jake had not responded to anywhere before, so Jake decided to stay in New York and go away just the other day. The next day while Jake thought of a good time to leave he received another invitation, it seemed that the news that Jake was in New York had spread to the middle of sporting News. "Hello, I''d like to talk to Jake Smith." "It''s me, who''s talking?" "I am Joe, a representative of Sports Illustrated, we have learned that Mr. Smith is here in New York and we would like to invite you to take some photos and do an interview for our magazine for the month of January." This was not an invitation to receive a prize, but it was also a great honor for an athlete, even though it was not for the cover of the magazine it was still very cool to be in a great magazine like This, not to mention that it would be another great Advertising for their sponsors. Jake did not know this because he was too busy with the Games, but his fame climbed on another level after this sequel of 5 victories on the Tar Heels team, now he was widely recognized for being talented and succeeding in two different sports. Before when he was younger he gained some fame by participating in competitions in two different sports, but he was still at the high school and had won only one marathon. Now things were different, he was participating in a high level of two different sports, he won several marathons and managed to break a world record in athletics, and in basketball was on a college team that had a history of several Tournament won. So his feat was much better and difficult to repeat, so Jake was having more visibility than ever, if he could beat this NCAA Tournament would be even more surprising, so of course, the great magazines would want to interview him. "I accept yes, you can send me the address I go there." After a few hours, Jake had arrived where Joe gave the address, Jake had said on the phone that he had to travel to the university, so the magazine staff quickly organized the photo section and the interview that would just be written. The photos were with Jake holding a basketball and a replica of the gold medal he won at the Olympic game, of course, the real medal was in Miami and Jake would not have time to catch. Jake took just a few pictures as he wouldn''t be on the cover of the magazine, but the photographer found Jake very photogenic and the photos were all great, so the photographer spent almost 1-hour taking several photos. The photographer just stopped when the reporter who would do the interview said it was already good, the photographer was unhappy with it, he thought that if Jake were on the cover of the magazine with his appearance the women would be the most who would buy these magazines for their Husbands. Shortly afterward was the interview, Jake received a list of the questions that would be asked to prepare him, the only question that Jake refused to answer was about his sponsorship, after all, he had overcome this matter with his teammates and was not good Touch the subject again. "Today, we will have a special interview with Jake Smith, the basketball player of the UNC team Tar Heels who has been playing a very important role in this impressive sequel for as long as 5 consecutive victories." "Smith is also a great athlete who has been dazzling the world of athletics this past year, began to race by winning the Chicago Marathon with only 16 years and has since won a total of 5 marathons in 6 disputed." "Being one of those marathon-won marathons in this year''s Atlanta Olympics with the Olympic record and another of these victories in their second time running in Chicago where he broke the world record." "Thank you for accepting our invitation, Mr. Smith." "I appreciate the invitation, you can call me Jake, I feel more comfortable like this." "All right then, Jake, How did your interest in sports come about?" "When I was 10 years old I always liked to run, I ran just for fun often, so I kept running whenever I could." "But I was too small yet and there was no one my age who could run with me, so I started and play basketball alone too." "I had never learned basketball before the age of 10 and knew that at high school they didn''t teach basketball to anyone who didn''t know, so I decided to train alone for a while." "In my neighborhood, I didn''t have many open basketball courts, and the courts they had were occupied by the older boys." "What I liked most about coaching when I was alone were the mid-range shots and the three-point shots beyond the free throws, after many months of training alone with my mother''s support that even rode a block in the basement for me I attended a tournament of Street basketball and ended up winning the competitions with young people up to 15 years. " "So I thought I was ready to play basketball on the team at my school, and that''s how it all started." It seemed that the reporter did not expect Jake to tell the whole story of how he became a basketball player, but he still wrote every word and saw that it might be interesting to put that story in the interview. Jake told the truth about how he was interested in sports, but he mixed up what happened in his past life and what happened in that second chance, in his past life he really enjoyed running and never found anyone to run with him. Jake also didn''t have the guts to try to run a marathon because he was very young, so he started practicing other sports besides running, but he never had much enthusiasm for any. What he least liked to play was basketball because he was as bad as Center and PF that were the only two positions that let him play, what he liked most about playing was American football. "So what made you like basketball was actually athletics, this is unexpected, I thought you liked basketball more, but it looks like you just started playing basketball because there was no one to run with you." "It''s basically this, but I''ve always loved basketball so even if I started competing running I''d probably still play basketball." "If you had to choose between basketball and athletics which would you pick?" "I can''t answer that, I love them both and I''ll try my best not to abandon any of the two sports." These questions could seem complicated to answer, but before the interview Jake already knew what questions would be asked and so could think long before in what answers would like to give, not to mention that when he didn''t want to talk about something the interviewer didn''t press. "What was the most special moment for you in sports?" "This is also hard to answer, I was very happy the first time I won a trophy when I was still a child, I was also happy when I won my first national championship in both Middle School and High School." Chapter 278 New Stage at College Basketball 2 "I was also happy when I won my first MVP award, I was very thrilled when I won my first marathon when I won the gold medal in the Olympics too, I was happy when I broke the world record, there were several moments." "You can see that you''ve had a lot of exciting moments and so you can''t decide." "It''s true, that''s because every time I conquer something I feel that all the hard training I''ve had has been rewarded, so there''s no way I''m not happy at all my achievements." "This year you have entered your college life too, what you have found so far." "I really liked the university, the classes are interesting and as everyone has to stay in the dorm I ended up managing to make new friends, the basketball team is also very good and all the other players and coaches are very kind to me." Of course Jake did not talk about the uncomfortable situation that he stayed with the basketball team at the beginning of the season, he was determined not to talk about his sponsorship in this interview, he did not want to create an uncomfortable situation with his companions of Team. "At the beginning of this interview we talked about your basketball team Tar Heels that has a sequence of 5 victories followed at this beginning of the season, you also had a lot of importance in this sequence of victories." "You have 122 points in these first 6 games, with an average of over 20 points per match and still starting the first games as a reserve, how do you feel about it?" "I''m finding everything amazing, I was lucky to be in good condition to be able to make so many points in these first games and my teammates also supported me, it is natural that as a freshman I start in the reserve in the first games." "When I got the best results on the team the coach gave me the opportunity to start playing as a holder, I think our team is very strong that year and so we have this sequence of victories." "Do you think this sequence of victories will continue?" "I think so, this winning streak can be even greater and our team is struggling for that year to win the NCAA tournament." After answering several questions The interview ended, the reporter was very happy because Jake was very open and answered all the questions he did even when he responded evasively on some question that could cause problems for him. After doing the interview Jake returned to the hotel and soon went out to catch the plane back to the university, the next day he would have more evidence and could not waste time strolling, Moreover, he wanted to return to his normal training after resting for a few days. Returning to university Jake told his friends that he had won a prize and would appear in a magazine, his friends were very happy for him and were impressed by Jake leaving so quietly at the university when the week of evidence was Happening. After all, usually this is the tensest time for students, even for athletes who need to have good grades to keep playing, even the most confidence did not think to travel during the week of proofs as Jake did. Jake also told his mother about the prize he won and that he would appear in the magazine, Eva was very happy to know it, also was proud to know that his son had been recognized for his achievements even internationally. Eva was also very homesick for her son, it was the first time Jake spent so much time away from home, she wanted all of Jake''s games to go on television and so could see the son even though not personally. She naturally knew that Jake was busy at the university and so could not go home, he could not just leave the university for no reason saying that he missed his mother, Eva just hoped that Jake could have time at the beginning of the year and Spend your birthday at home. In the coming days Jake returned with his normal training routine, he ran all the moves alone because Zack was still focused only on the week of evidence, and in the training of the basketball team, all appeared to train even with the week of evidence. It was different from Zack''s case because they had an appointment with the basketball team and Zack just did the training because he wanted to, and right after the week of evidence would have new games, so the Tar Heels team couldn''t stop training. Jake was now a holder and was respected by all his teammates, even by Shammond Williams and Ed Cota who lost the seat of headlines to Jake, so the environment was very good for the team to train. On the basketball team Jake was still closer to Charlie Mcnairy and Vince Carter, besides Antawn Jamison who approached him more thanks to Carter''s help, unfortunately, on team Charlie did not have many minutes of play. So Jake, Carter, and Jamison often joined up to train together, a few moves and even tactics that they could work together, Carter and Jamison also trained like this before and so they had so much rapport in the games, but with only two of them Could not make many moves in the training. With Jake training together with them it would be easier to do several pieces of training of different moves, even if these pieces of training do not bring immediate results still helped in the hardest games where sometimes a play can decide the result of the game. Coach Smith was also very pleased to see the three coaching together, they were undoubtedly the most important players of the team and besides being friends also train more time together, it was good for the team as most of the plays pass by them. Training with Carter and Jamison, Jake also discovered that his friends had a great physical preparation and so they could play for so long, so Jake found it a pity that Carter had injured himself in his past life playing in the NBA, it was a pity because he could play much better if you were never hurt. After a few days had passed half the week of evidence, so Jake received a call from director Cameron Crowe, a few months ago that they did not speak, the director Crowe was very happy to have invited Jake to Participate in your film. He thought Jake could do a little promotion for the film after participating in the Olympic Games, but in the film besides acting very well, Jake still won a gold medal in the Olympics and would do marathons after that and was playing very well in the Team Tar Heels in college basketball. That''s still because the director didn''t even use Jake''s name in the film''s publicity and just said that Jake would make a cameo as well as many other famous players, yet Jake''s popularity in the country was very high. Basketball is one of the most beloved and followed sports nationwide, athletics in the Olympic competitions have also always been proud of the country and hope for medals, and Jake managed to participate in a high level of the two sports gaining the affection of a part of the American public. He even got a nickname from Captain America that shows how he is representing the American people that year, not to mention that with Jake''s appearance he can win the favor of the feminine audience much more easily. So Jake''s sponsors were all very happy and we''re earning a lot and saving on advertisements, Tiffany and Clara mostly who did not pay a high sponsorship value to Jake and were taking advantage of the same as the big companies had to Advertising. Their case could portray perfectly because companies sometimes gave a percentage of the company''s stock as payment to have some sponsored players because sometimes a sponsored athlete is worth a lot more than several advertisements on television. "How have you Been, Jake?" "I have been very well, I can say that by taking some things that were the best year of my life, both professionally and personally." Jake just couldn''t say that this had been a perfect year because he was very sorry to have to get separated if his mother for several months, but he was happy to see that she was being independent as she liked and was happy working at the restaurant. "Glad to hear it, I called to tell you that today will be the premiere of the film, soon I go to a premiere section, the premiere already happened, I did not invite you because I knew you were busy." When director Crowe said this Jake finally remembered that the premiere of the film should even be at this time of the end of the year, this left Jake excited again, he had accomplished his dream of acting in a Hollywood movie and was still a great film. Now he could finally see himself in a Hollywood movie, so Jake couldn''t stop going to the movies and watch his movie personally and he would also invite his friends to watch the movie with him, and he would have to tell his mother that the film would be in the movies. "Thanks for telling me director, I had forgotten to check it out and could end up losing my movie debut." "Hahaha, of course, I would tell you, having you participating in my film helped a lot to attract the audience to watch the movie." "I thank you, but as you''re saying this means you let me appear at least for a few seconds after editing, don''t you?" "Hahaha this you will have to see personally, but surely you appear in the film, who knows we can work again together in the future." "I would also love for this to happen, director, do not forget that you promised me that if the film succeeds you would make a great celebration party, then I will appear." "Of course I haven''t forgotten that, but for that to happen we will have to be a success in theaters all over the world, so it will take a few months for this party to happen if we make a great success." "Then you can start preparing the party, I guarantee that we will have more than 150 million dollars in all of America and more than 250 million in total income worldwide, will be among the 10 movies with more box office this year." Chapter 279 New Stage at College Basketball 3 "I really hope you''re right, every director wants your film to be a success, then you can charge me for a big party." After talking a little more with director Crowe he hung up the phone and then called his mother, she''d be mad at him if he lost that premiere. "Hi Mom, I called to tell you some good news." "Good news, great then, you can tell me what it is." "I just talked to director Crowe who directed the film that I attended a few months ago, he called me to tell me that the film debuts today, so I called to tell you to go watch the movie with Anna." "That''s really great news, Jake, you can be sure that I''m going to go watch the movie with Anna and some more people from the restaurant, I''ll even close earlier today, we don''t have many reservations anyway." "So tomorrow you tell me what everyone thought of the film and my performance." After talking to Eva, Jake told the news to his friends who had just returned from the evidence and was preparing to rest, all, of course, they are happy for him and said they went with him to watch the movie. "So you had made a movie and didn''t even tell your friends." "I wanted to surprise you, and I didn''t know if the warden would cut my scenes in the movie, if that happened I''d be ashamed to tell you I made a movie." "I''m not even surprised, I don''t know anything you can''t do, Jake." "It''s true, let a little space for normal people also have a chance, you''re doing 3 things that everyone would dream of doing." "Has anyone famous participating in this film?" "There is yes, the main character is made by Tom Cruise that I met in the filming of the film, has also Cuba Gooding Jr and Ren¨¦e Zellweger, plus several famous people. When Jake told who was participating in this film, Jake''s friends were finally shocked, they were impressed when they heard that Jake had made a film that would debut that day. But they thought it was a common film or at least with unknown actors and so Jake had been called to participate in this film, but now they realized that this film was more incredible than they thought. If Jake were invited to make a movie like this now they wouldn''t be too surprised because he''s very well-known all over the world after doing so many things, but from what Jake told this film was recorded several months ago even before the Olympics, so it''s difficult not to be surprised how Jake managed to participate in a film like that. Jake did not know that his friends were impressed with him and went out to invite Charlie, Vince, and Antawn to go with them to watch the film, those were Jake''s best friends on the basketball team. They were also surprised that Jake had acted in a Hollywood film and yet another film with many stars, so they accepted the invitation to watch the film and after the 7 went to the movies together. Jake confirmed with director Crowe and asked for 14 debut tickets for him, it wasn''t because he was greedy and couldn''t pay for the tickets, but because he thought it was possible that he and his friends couldn''t find available tickets. Director Crowe was very efficient and organized the 14 tickets to be withdrawn at any cinema in the country in the name of Jake or Eva, so he could watch with his friends and his mother could watch in Miami, he hoped that she would not go with more than 6 people to watch the movie. After a few hours, all came out of the movies satisfied and went back to the university, Jake had appeared in 2 different scenes, he stayed more than 1 minute on the scene and was very pleased with it. Just as he hoped to have watched the film before he appeared at the beginning of the film and after Tom Cruise''s character had been fired and talked to his clients on the phone, Jake had to confess that it was much cooler to watch the scenes he had Feit In the movies. Mostly in the scene where he talks to Tom Cruise''s character on the phone, when he recorded the two if he spoke in person and so he didn''t know how the scene would look after Tom Cruise recorded his part of the scene and got pretty cool after that Tom Cruise off IGA The phone he keeps whining about losing Jake as a client. And even the sporting agent who fired him gets annoyed when he calls Jake and he doesn''t answer the call and he realizes that he lost a client, it was a lot of fun watching it in the movies, Jake knew he didn''t have much talent to act and so just characters that n They demanded much work for him. So maybe a movie like this might be the most he can do in the movies, even more with great actors as he worked this time, only if he could get it with help from director Crowe or Tom Cruise getting other films to participate. His friends also liked the film and found that Jake''s participation in the film had been up long, after all, he was only making a cameo and was not really an actor. After arriving at the university with his friends Jake did not forget to call his mother to know what she had found of the film, Eva naturally liked the film and especially the participation of Jake in the film, even Anna said she liked it. So Jake was very happy to know that, he liked to act and liked, even more, to see himself on a movie screen and know that millions of people would also look, it was a pity that for many years he might not have the opportunity to act anymore. After all, in his first year at the university he almost had not even time to go home to visit his mother, he made some trips, but just because the situation demanded urgency and he can stay only a few days in other cities. Maybe he could make a quick visit to Miami if he wanted to see his mother, but he knew well that Eva was busy with the restaurant and so could not just make her close the restaurant to spend a day or two with him. In the coming years either at university or in the NBA, if he gets a team to play, he sure would have less time, maybe when he''s out of season it would be time for him to do his thing. But he has to schedule himself to spend time with his mother and his family in the future, besides, Jake is organizing several trades, he is involved with four companies directly, not to mention his investments in stocks. Jake is in a situation where a year is a very little time for him, so it would be very difficult for him to find time to find a good film to act, even more so that the filming team would have to organize an agenda just so that it would be more comfortable for Jake Act. So after a few more days the week it was to be a lot of rest ended up being very agitated for Jake, yet he was very happy and satisfied with everything that happened that week and was prepared to return to play. It was a pity that Jake could not visit his mother, but shortly after a few more games they would have a break for a few more weeks and Jake wanted to spend all this time at home, now it was time to concentrate on the games again. The team now came from an incredible sequence of 5 consecutive victories and after returning from this one-week stop had to continue with this pack of victories, coach Smith was not so confident and was concerned that team players would end up Underestimating opponents because of the current sequence of victories. In fact this 5-track sequence was unreliable in the vision of Coach Smith, in those 6 games they faced two teams just that he considered strong and lost in the debut game for one of these teams, so much so that the NCAA also considers the level of opponents to send invitations to teams to play the national championship. Jake did not bother with the thoughts of the coach, these first 6 games were great for him, even though in the first game he could not play enough he can analyze as well as played the team that was the champion of this year''s season in his past life. And in the other games, he managed to have a stable performance by what he could play and with that, he got a vacancy from the starter on that team what he knew was hard to get as a freshman playing on a team of coach Smith. So came the day of the seventh team game in the season, they were in a sequence of Vitorias, but we''re also in a long sequence of games as a visitor, so it was even harder to continue winning. The team also looked tired even after a week without playing, this was because several players did not dedicate time to study in the first months of the semester and took advantage of this week of proof to see if they could study and go well in the exams. The smartest people who ever studied how Jake and Charlie were quieter, even though coach Smith would put the same full-time team together and that the weariness that the players were feeling could serve as a lesson so they wouldn''t let Further studies aside. After a few hours, the two teams were ready for the game, Jake was the most tranquil among the starters as he did not need to spend much time studying in these last days, so he would have to take responsibility in the game. The opposing team had some good players but had some problems adjusting on the court and so they lost most of the games this season, on the contrary, the team Tar Heels was much more intertwined and Jake, Carter, and Jamison were even more Comfortable in making moves together. Chapter 280 New Stage at College Basketball 4 In addition, the team Tar Heels was strongest in terms of the individual skill of the players, with this the favorite team was obvious, coach Smith was concerned for nothing because the players of the team Tar Heels did not underestimate the opponents and prepared To play seriously. In the first time the game Jake can play for 16 minutes, the team was in good shape and Jake was playing as always, so he did 18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals, after him Jamison made 12 points in that first time playing a little longer than Jake. In this first game time the team Tar Heels had already made 58 points and opened a big advantage in the scoreboard against the opponent, yet the team did not relax and just felt less pressure by the result. In the second game time Jake played for 16 minutes and had a great performance too, he did 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal so the team Tar Heels can easily win by making 114 points against only 63 points of Team VMI Keydets. With this performance Jake stood as the main player and star of the team, this because the role of Jake was to arm the plays and he did it very well also, usually 16 points of the team at least come out of assists Jake, so he usually directly participates in half of the team''s points. After this game, coach Smith went on to trust Jake even more and was more confident in leaving Jake as a Tar Heels team starter, after all, he needed talent players to lead the team not only to make good games but also to win titles. And often teams with 3 talented players can lead the team to victory, coach Smith believed he had this with Carter, Jamison, and Williams, but Shammond Williams, despite being good at scoring many points, was not such a good point guard these days. Just a player like Jake or Ed Cota who had the skills needed to make players like Carter and Jamison could play their best, between the two Jake was infinitely better and a complete player who though not Is great at all could do a lot of things. Proof of this was that Vince Carter was not the player who made the most points on average of the team, he was only third among the best punctuators, this was because he did not have enough support from the team''s PG. Now Carter was the second-best in scoring on the team almost tied with Jamison, but even if it looks the same as before the difference was that his average points per game increased, which showed that the team with Jake was attacking better. Not to mention that Jake also added a lot of defense to the team, with his defensive majority rebounds and his steals he helped the team stop many attacks from opposing teams and could still gain more attacks for the Tar Heels team. After three days the team was playing again as a visitor, would be the fourth game followed as a visitor which made the games more difficult and wore even more players, only Jake did not feel the fatigue of the game sequences. Still, with a cheering sequence of 6 victories the Tar Heels team was on very high morale, the opposing team of this eighth game of the season was the LSU Fighting Tigers team, the LSU Fighting Tigers team was another opponent who had a weak team for this season. That was what worried coach Smith, the team was in a great sequence of victories, but they were gaining only against weaker teams which were essential for the Tar Heels team to win these games to be able to think of winning the NCAA tournament. In this first game time Jake played very well as always, he played for 15 minutes and managed to make 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, the rest of the team, on the contrary, was not doing their best performance. Many attacks were lost and so even with Jake making more assists his companions could not make so many points, the team would happily rival also was not having such a good game so, then the team Tar Heels was still with the advantage. In the second game time, Jake can play for another 14 minutes and made 12 more points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, with the whole team making mistakes and not playing as well even Jake ended up having a performance below normal. Another reason that Jake failed to play as well as it normally was that even though he was the best player in the team during the game, coach Smith decided to let Jake play for less time in the second half of play, maybe even coach Smith wouldn''t mind that the Team was playing poorly. Even so with the good performance of Jake the team ended up winning with a score of 81 points against only 44 points of the team Lsu Fighting Tigers, was a game in which the opposing team was playing very good and the result could be much better if the team was playing normally. After the game, everyone was happy for this seventh victory followed, but soon the animation cooled when Coach Smith gave a scolded in the whole team, he used this game to show that players could not relax and had to take every opponent seriously and play as best they could. No one knew how to explain why the team was playing poorly in this game, fortunately, with the good performance of Jake the team can also play a little better in part of the game and they ended up doing many points in the final score of the game. So Jake understood much less why coach Smith decided to let him play almost 3 minutes less than in the last game, as he was improving the overall performance of the team he should be able to play more time as he had physical conditions for it. Even though not understanding Jake did not complain and just accepted that this game had been different from the others, and playing 29 minutes was much better than in the time he was in the team reserve, Jake''s goal was for the team to win the games and the tournament that would come to. After the game ended and they went back to university Jake called his mother after talking to his friends about the win, Eva was very happy that Jake would continue winning, but she had gotten used to Jake playing for several games without losing, his friends, on the contrary, they were very excited about it. As basketball fans, they naturally understood that a college basketball team have a sequel of 7 consecutive victories was an amazing thing to achieve, so they were very happy for Jake and hoped that the Sequence of victories continued. Even basketball critics were praising the Tar Heels team campaign, they naturally understood that the team was facing many opponents who could be considered weak and who had more chance of winning, yet have more Advantages and winning the games were different things. This sequence of games was not so tiring so for the team because the classes had finished and were only 4 games before another two-week break for the players, Jake just felt a lot that could not do his pieces of training normally with so many games like this. Before he did his daily training run 50 km every day at a speed of 29 minutes for every 10 km, he still continued with his training whenever he could, but on days of games, he did not do his racing training to save energy for the game. So he ended up losing a day of training every two days with this sequence of games, fortunately, thanks to the system he did not even need to train if he did not want to maintain the physical condition for the marathons. But without training he also could not improve his statistics in that last year he had before his accelerated development ended, he would soon be 18 years old and with 19 years the system had said that he could not improve more as quickly as now. This sequence of various games also helps Jake much more than training in general, even his basketball skills improve slowly in every game he makes, but what he even needs is more intensive training to improve his endurance and Your strength. Especially his strength that was now Jake''s lowest physical statistic, and that would only get worse after winning a few more major marathons and getting the rewards, so he has to seize this time to improve his strength as much as he could. While preparing for the next game Jake received a call from Charlie in Palo Alto, California, a few months ago since Jake passed his idea to Charlie and his Ph.D. Friends at Stanford. "How is the development of the technology and the product that I asked for you, Charlie?" "I would say that you are doing very well, with the resources you gave us and with our contacts here at Stanford to get the components of the products in which we are testing, we are optimistic about getting a prototype of the product in just over 1 year." It was a much bigger time than Jake had previously talked to Charlie, but Jake knew that this time was still not what it would really take, he was prepared for it to bring 2 years more, even so, he wanted to negotiate a lower deadline to press the 3 to work harder. After all, even though Jake had talked all about the technology and what he hoped to see happen, he was talking about a technology that was actually much later than he described. So Charlie''s team would have to practically create a whole new technology from older technology and would still have to optimize it to fit only on a small screen. It was not for nothing that all of the technological worlds were impressed with the first iPhone, after all, it was a technology that no one thought to use with such efficiency and that greatly facilitated the life of consumers and established the Empire of Apple. "And what are you working on now?" "We are still working on the development and study of the touchscreen, we have to develop a little more before we advance to the multi-Touch, then we will have to develop even more the multi-Touch." Chapter 281 New Stage at College Basketball 5 Jake understood that the most important part was to develop the touchscreen technology because it was the basis of the entire product and what would ensure its patent, and how he thought the work was almost at the beginning and so it would take even more almost 2 years to get ready. But the important thing was that Charlie''s team could do a great job in this product and technology development, so he could in the future maybe start a smartphone company, the next step would be the development of the Android system. But that would only be possible if Charlie''s team could quickly finish this product, fortunately, Charlie and his friends signed a contract that protected Jake from the possibility of Charlie and his friends developing technology with other companies. "Very well, work well in this part and do not fail backward, the touchscreen will be the basis for our product, try to work as much as possible to put this on a small screen and that is very efficient using almost all the screen space as a touchscreen." Charlie liked to talk about it with Jake because it looked like Jake talked about the product as if he had used it before, so it would be easier for him to continue the product development, and as Jake had said the part of the technology development and the product was much more important. Even if they took the longest time it was better not to have many flaws in the product, otherwise, it would be much harder to fix the flaws after the product almost ready, Charlie was happy to work with Jake who understood that they had to take to do a good job. "Keep Me informed of the progress of your work." Jake had had some ideas in these months about several ways he could use touchscreen technology before even trying to make money with the patent if Apple still decides to make the same product. Jake was planning to invest a lot in this project and wanted to have some returns of this, after all after he had the patent in hand he could create the product he wanted without having to worry about his product being copied without him receiving any money that. After all, from the beginning he thought of making money with the patent of this and not with the product itself, he could end up earning a lot of money with the sales of products with the Multi-touch, but he would not bother to gain anything from it. It''s been a while since Jake talked to Emily too, he had let her take care of all his investments and projects and asked not to be disturbed unless something very important had happened until he returned to Miami. Because if he didn''t do that, Emily would almost always disturb him by talking about the profits he had made with his investments, he already knew very well how much he could win and when the time was right to sell the shares for example. So, he didn''t need Emily to always talk to him about how the stocks surrendered in just a few months, he understood how incredible all this could be in her vision, but for him, it was something natural. When he returned to Miami to be with his mother in a few days he was sure that Emily would go there to talk to him, Jake also had to talk to Matthew, he was curious to know how the company would come out with this year''s profits, it was expected to be more than last year. The other day the Tar Heels team had their ninth game, they would be playing as a visitor again and that would be the penultimate game before the end of the year parade, the Tar Heels team was now running a 7-player sequel and wanted to further improve that sequel to today''s game. The opposing team was the UMarse Minutemen team, they had an average team that year and were well compared to some previous opponents of the Tar Heels team, they came from a defeat in the previous game and so far, didn''t have a good season. Taking all this into account in this game the team Tar Heels was with an advantage in both player skills and morale for the results this season, coach Smith was still uncomfortable with this excitement of the team, but believed that after the sermon he had given to the players after the last game they would not underestimate the opponent. In the first game time, the entire team played well and although they did not show an incredible performance was very good for the coach, Jake can play for 16 minutes in that first time and did 19 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, was a great performance that led the team. In the second time, they still led with ease the score and Jake can play for 16 minutes achieving 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals, was one of Jake''s best performances this season and the game he made more points. Thus, the team Tar Heels won the game for 91 points against 66 of the team UMarse Minutemen, this was the eighth win followed by the team and coach Smith was also beginning to be satisfied with this result. Even Jake who already knew it would be so was getting excited about this sequence of victories, when he was at the high school it was easy to maintain a much larger sequence of victories than this and still be the national champion. But he knew that the games at the university would be more difficult and even with his skills he could not make so much difference in the toughest games, fortunately, he had now a team that could be champion even without him on the team, so Jake was confident of winning the NCAA tournament this year. The other day Jake was resting after his daily racing training, he had much more ease in making the 50 km even running faster after winning the 2 points of reward statistics by winning the New York Marathon. Of course, it was far from enough that he could get enough physical preparation to further increase his running speed, but after gaining a few more points of statistics he could try again. If Jake could increase his running speed and lower his current time by km in 3 seconds he might be able to break the 2-hour barrier at the final time of the marathon, with a time like this he would be the fastest runner in history by dozens of Years old. Of course, with his current stats if he ate a stamina bar in the middle of the race he could easily break this barrier from 2 hours and get even 2 minutes below that time, but he couldn''t bear the shame of using it to break the record. Not to mention that he had all the time in the world, usually elite runners who win marathons can run up to 40 years old and Jake was still 17 at that time, who knows until then he could earn another 30 or 40 points of statistics and become a superhuman for sports. Zack was also running every day, he now trained more times in the week than Jake who could not train on game days, all his roommates decided not to come home and would be at the university until Jake went to Miami. Jake was very happy with the consideration that his friends had with him, yet he recommended several times that they would go home to spend more time with their families and not just stay for him. Unfortunately, even if some of them had a good relationship with their families, they didn''t want to stay longer with their families and preferred to travel or stay with their friends, none of them had the same close relationship that Jake had with Eva. Even so Jake couldn''t say anything to them as counsel, because if he hadn''t seen his mother die in his past life after she suffered so much to take care of him, he might as well be the same as his friends. As his friend Zack was running every day, Jake saw that his physical form was getting much better after a few months of training, after all, Zack also did a training routine at the academy last night by Jake. So, Jake decided to increase the intensity of Zack''s training at the Academy daily so that he would improve even faster and reach the pinnacle of his physical form, as for the 6 km per day race training was enough for Zack today. Zack wanted to just do training to run a marathon, but Jake was trying to create an elite athlete and improve the health and physical quality of his friend, even Zack could do his daily training in much less time than when he started running. In his training with the basketball team, he still did more training of plays with Carter and Jamison, Jake could learn several things while playing with both, after all, Carter and Jamison were excellent players in their positions as SG and SF. As they played in the NBA for many years although, in the present, they did not have the same skills and experience they will have in the coming years, they still had enough skill to show several useful moves for Jake to learn. Jake also watched Serge Zwikker and Ademola Okulaja, they were excellent players in their positions, Zwikker knew to use his height and strength very well to fight for many rebounds in the games, Okulaja was also good at the rebounds. In fact, after Jake joined the team, they hardly lost a defensive rebound, the offensive rebounds were also often achieved by Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, coach Smith was also clever and always took some players out of court at different times. So Shammond Williams who was also very talented could play more time in various positions, the same happened with Ed Cota, so the team was certainly stronger and more efficient that way. Jake had learned a lot from his teammates at the high school and with all his experience in the imagination training space, but the level of the players at the university was something that Jake could not compare in other positions. Just in the position of PG and SG that Jake always put more effort to improve that he could even be better than his teammates, he could also play as well as SF, but had no way to compare to Antawn Jamison of his team. Chapter 282 New Stage at College Basketball 6 After a while finally came the final game of that year, then the players could rest for two weeks before the next game, Jake was also eager for it, he liked to play basketball and his friends at the university, but he missed of your mother after so many months. In that last game, the coach Smith was very worried and anxious to know if the team could win, the opponent of this game was the team Princeton Tigers who despite not having a very strong team in the individual skill of the players was very strong as a team. This was one of the best seasons for the Princeton Tigers team, and the team''s defense was very strong even if their attack was not too strong, so they kept a low average of points in their games and could win the victory several times. The Tar Heels team arrived early at Princeton to compete in the game, so Jake decided to take a walk around the university and see if he was seeing Joseph who was studying at Princeton, but soon he knew that his friend had left shortly after the end of the holiday classes. Jake so deduced that Joseph had gone out to visit Liza who was his girlfriend and had not gone home to see Oliver and Matthew, he got a little upset in not being able to see his friend after so long, but he had not arranged anything with Joseph and if it had been he would have gone on vacation to go home too. So he went back to where the team were to prepare for the game in a few hours, Jake was not so worried about the next game because he knew in his past life the Tar Heels team had won this game, but the opponent was very difficult and the result of the game was very close at the end of the game. Even the team players not having many points individually the school is known to adopt the offensive strategy called ''Princeton offense'', this is a strategy where players do not have positions predetermined in the attack. So even the opposing teams studying this game strategy was very hard to beat them using strategies, the best way to win this team was to rely on a better offensive, and that was exactly what the Tar Heels team did, with an offensive Strong using Jake, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison they were always trying to make more points than the opponent. Even if it seemed simple needed talented players and if any of the three had a bad performance in the game the points that the team did also diminished, this was something that did not greatly affect the Princeton team that did rotations in the whole game. The luck of the Tar Heels team was that the opposing coach was new and was under pressure to replace one of the biggest names in the university, so the team was undergoing minor changes at the beginning of the season. In this game coach Smith emphasized much that they had to be careful with players entering the inner area in the plays, he also said that it was for players to use all their individual skills in the attack and not be annulled by the defense of the opposing team. Coach Smith had easily analyzed the important points of the opposing team, this was really a season in which the Princeton Tigers team would have a great series of games losing few and would still have many players in the best defense of the season. Fortunately, the Tar Heels team had the right players to make these kinds of plays, Jake, Carter, and Jamison, the three had the individual capacity to score points even in a tight defense and had the rapport to cross the defense of the Princeton Tigers team with Jake''s assistance. At the beginning of the game was a tied game as coach Smith said it would be, in the few opportunities that the Tar Heels team had to make the shots they were fumbled by opponents, and the Princeton Tigers team was also erring quite the plays. In a play, Jake received the ball back near the three-point line and with game vision managed to make a pass that crossed the defense of the team Princeton Tigers and Jamison received the pass to make the layup and make two more points for the team Tar Heels. In another move for the first time, the Princeton Tigers team was rapidly passing the ball as it circulated in the attack waiting for an opportunity to cross the team''s defense Tar Heels and make the points. After more than 4 minutes of game Jake had already analyzed part of the play style of the Princeton Tigers team, so when Brian Earl found that he found an opportunity he passed to Steve Goodrich who was entering the internal area of the defense of the Tar Heels team after getting rid of the mark of Serge Zwikker and was ready to receive the Earl pass and make the layup. But Jake had also noticed this move and intercepted Earl''s pass to Goodrich, Jake used his superior agility and soon accelerated to counterattack, when the Princeton Tigers team players tried to get back to mark Jake found that they couldn''t keep up with Jake''s speed. So Jake ran up close in the painted area and made the dunk to cheer up his teammates, all were accustomed to Jake''s speed in training, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison currently had skill levels similar to Jake, Anyway because of Jake''s speed he always gained the advantage in the plays. In another move, Jake made one feint in Mitch Henderson and seized an opening in the opposing defense and drive to the basket, but Goodrich tried to stop Jake who was faster and made a sudden stop and passed the ball to Vince Carter who was entering the painted area behind Goodrich. Vince Carter received the pass and did not squander the chance by making a dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, so at the end of the first time, Jake played for 16 minutes and made 12 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. This was the hardest game for Jake so far playing on the Tar Heels team, so he failed to make many points as in other games, but his quick and precise passes could cross the hard defense of the Princeton Tigers team. In the second time the game remained the same, even Carter and Jamison had difficulty attacking efficiently playing against the defense of the Princeton Tar Heels team, it was incredible that a high-level team that did not offer sports scholarship could play equally To the same with the Tar Heels team. Fortunately, Jake was doing an excellent defensive game and the opposing team was also having difficulty attacking, yet with Jake making full use of his agility to make precise attacks the team Tar Heels still led quietly the game score. The two teams were having difficulty finding good opportunities to make three-point shots, even Jake did not risk any shooting from outside in this game, as it was a risky move, he preferred to make individual moves to get the points for the team. In the second game time Jake continued making precise passes for Carter and Jamison who could make the points with great difficulty, Jake also made precise attacks and took advantage of the steals he did to arm counterattacks and use his speed to make more points. So, Jake played for another 15 minutes in the second game time and made 16 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals, was a great performance in other statistics that were not the points that in this game was below average. The result of the game was a comfortable win of the Tar Heels team thanks to Jake''s performance, but it was not an easy victory for opposing defense performance, the Tar Heels team made 78 points against 56 of the Princeton Tigers team. With this difficult victory of this game the team came to an incredible sequence of 9 victories followed this season against only one defeat in a total of 10 games, after winning a strong and difficult team to face as the team Princeton Tigers coach Smith was satisfied and more confident in the performance of the team this season. Mainly Jake who had been a talent discovered by coach Guthridge was the most important player for the team now for coach Smith, he did not know how Jake had not been awarded several times in his time at the same high School Playing it that well. Usually, the coaches of the university teams relied greatly on the judging of the experts who gave the prizes and always sought to recruit these players, Vince Carter was a great example of this. But Jake was one of the best but the best freshman in all of this year''s college basketball season and not even received any nomination for the high School players'' prizes. This was a mystery that coach Smith would never know about the answer, Jake didn''t know either, but he thought it might be because he didn''t play the first two years or as a reserve for his basketball team. Or the fact that his team has fewer games than other teams in other states during the season, maybe it could be by slander from coach Philips when he was the coach of the Elite school at the time that Jake was off the team. Jake had naturally been upset about it, but he cared only for the most important NBA prizes that were what could give more glory to him in his professional career in the future. Coach Smith did not mind losing some games as well since they ended up being champions at the end of the season, after all, he knew that his whole team had to lose in some time and had no way to maintain a sequence of such great victories in the season. But what he did not want to see was that by the inattention of his players or by underestimating the opponents they ended up losing the games, but he would have to wait for the players to return from the holidays to work in their mentality for the upcoming games. After returning to the university Jake celebrated with his friends for victory and soon started packing to travel home, he did not want to waste time and wanted to stay at least a week at home. Chapter 283 Small Vacation at Home 1 "I''m coming home, this year''s games are over and next year we''ll have a sequel of over 3 months of nonstop games and I won''t have a chance to visit my mother." Jake had to tell his roommates that he would be coming home even though it wasn''t for long, that''s because they were his friends who stayed at the university to keep him company, even though some just didn''t want to go home he Liked the consideration of his friends. "Of course we knew you''d go home when you had the chance, you only talk about your mother and how much you miss her Hahaha." "Zack''s right, we all knew you''d go home in less than two weeks you''ll have to come back even, bon voyage." His friends naturally knew Jake well and knew that he did not see the time to have time to return home, In fact, Jake even says that he regretted not missing a week of classes at the beginning of the semester to go to Miami before starting the games with the basketball team. Of course, everyone knew that Jake was just joking, he would really miss classes if he could and just go home, but he can''t do that this semester because he wanted to show commitment and gain the confidence of coach Smith to play more time. It turned out to work and now Jake played more than 30 minutes per game, but he can''t go home ever since he arrived at the university as he had previously promised his mother, so Jake sacrificed a few things to have more game time. "I know you guys already expected me to go home as soon as I had a chance, but I wanted to say that you guys should take advantage of going home for a few days at least, I''m sure your family will like it." Jake still wanted to convince his friends to spend more time with their families while they had the chance, but their friends said they didn''t want and that a few days did not make difference, just Zack who did not care because he could see his family whenever he wanted how his parents lived nearby. So Jake ended up quitting convincing his friends and packed his bags, he''d travel to Miami on the first plane in the morning in a few, hours, even if the coach got mad he was determined not to come back in at least 1 week and a half. He knew that it was now important to the team and wanted to just spend more time at home even if it ended up irritating coach Smith because of this, after all, Jake could not even spend his birthday with his mother because of the games. The other day Jake left early to travel and was soon in Miami again, he ended up even missing the city after a few months out, so he asked for a taxi and went to the restaurant. He knew that Eva should not be at home as he had not warned that he was going home, so it would be a good surprise for his mother and the others at the restaurant when Jake entered the restaurant the first person he saw was Lola. It''s been a long time since he''d seen or talked to her, the many times he called the restaurant or his mother Lola never showed up, Jake thought it was better for them not to have any kind of misunderstanding between them. "Hi Jake, how have you been?" "I''ve been fine, a little homesick for my mom and my friends these months, but it went well at university, and with you?" "With me is fine too." The two were staring at each other while they were in awkward silence, Jake did not know what to say to Lola that he hadn''t seen in a long time and Lola did not want to lose more pride trying to show Jake that he liked him. In those months she tried to forget Jake, she tried not to talk or think about him and even when she knew that Jake was communicating with Eva, she didn''t even come near the kitchen, she couldn''t forget Jake these months, but at least she didn''t feel another Feeling so strong, until he saw him again that day. When Jake suddenly appeared in front of her Lola felt as if she had gone back four months before he went to college, she felt a dereliction at that moment as if everything she had gone through was for nothing. Jake didn''t understand what Lola was feeling at the time, he also thought that Lola was trying to forget him and so he didn''t want to talk to her much, so in this situation, the two could only remain silent. Fortunately soon Julius came to talk to Lola and realized the situation in which the two were, Julius was very happy working in the restaurant of Eva, at first he was very tired of both making sweets and cakes besides several desserts. He was very happy that his work was being recognized and soon he and the restaurant were popular and were always crowded, besides the hotels that were the place where they received most customers the restaurant also began to have frequent customers of the city of Miami. So Julius naturally thought that his work would always be the hardest as he the main reason for the success of the restaurant, even tired he did not care because he was happy with the work and liked to cook and see satisfied customers eating the desserts he made. But he was wrong about that, after a few months Eve and Anna organized and divided the schedules and some employees could work less time, even if Anna hadn''t arranged a right time for Julius at that time because he was very important to the Restaurant she managed to organize a timetable that Julius could rest much more hours than before. Julius was already satisfied with it, but just as Anna had promised she succeeded with a few more changes in the menu to maintain the quality on the menu and give more time for Julius to rest and an almost fixed time to work. While he worked almost all the time he still had time to realize the situation in which his daughter was, as a father he naturally hopes for Lola''s happiness, but as a man, he understood and respected Jake''s attitude. It was clear that Lola liked Jake and even Jake had noticed this a long time ago, but he had no feelings for Lola and so did not give up hopes and even diminished the interaction between the two. Even though he was a father, Julius naturally knew that his daughter was a very beautiful woman, so if someone without character could lie that she was also in love with Lola just to take advantage of her fragility, but Jake wouldn''t do that. "Lola, I want to talk to you about something, can you come with me for a moment?" "Sure, Dad, I''m coming." "Welcome Jake, Eva is in the kitchen talking to Anna, I''m sure the two will love your surprise." "Thank you, Julius, good to see you after so long." So Lola went out with Julius and Jake can finally breathe relieved to get out of this troubling situation, it was even more uncomfortable than it was justly Julius who was Lola''s father who ended this embarrassing situation. Soon Jake went to the kitchen to meet with his mother and Anna, he hoped his mother would like the surprise when he entered the kitchen Anna was the first to see Jake coming in and making a sign that Anna did not deliver what he had arrived to surprise. Anna smiled and nodded and returned to pay attention to Eva who had her back to Jake while developing a new recipe for the restaurant menu, she was so focused she didn''t even realize that Jake was right behind her. Even though Eva was the owner of the restaurant, she and Anna always talked about the next plans to improve the quality of care and customers in general, Eva had been Anna''s student and even now she always lets Anna make the final decision for An To take. Anna naturally likes it because it showed the confidence that Eva had in it, so Anna suggested that Eva also participate in the development of new recipes that next year would enter the menu. Eva at first did not want to prepare new menus because she was afraid to present something less quality to the customers, but after a while, she got excited and began to work seriously on it. Jake realized that maybe Anna was trying to prepare Eva for when she could no longer work in the restaurant because of her age and was passing her experiments to her, Jake hoped that Anna would still be well enough to do what she liked for many years. After a few seconds still explaining about the new dish for Anna, Eva realized that someone was standing behind her a long time ago, she had noticed this before when she was explaining, but she thought it was someone from the kitchen that always passed through there. "Jake, you''re here, what a surprise I didn''t really expect you to have time to come yet this year." When he turned and saw that he was his son, Eva soon got emotional and gave Jake a hug with tears in her eyes, she was really missing her son after staying 4 months without seeing him, so when she saw him again she couldn''t stand it and cried. "I came as soon as I had a week off, I''m sorry it took me so long to come home, I said I''d come before, but I didn''t have time, I wanted to surprise you, but if I knew you were going to cry you wouldn''t have done it." "She''s crying for joy, Jake, Eva has always missed you, but she didn''t want anyone to be worried about her and so she held on and didn''t talk to anyone about it." Jake always felt bad about seeing women crying near him, especially when this woman was his mother, in his past life even having died of depression he never saw Eva crying near him, in this life, on the contrary, he was getting used to seeing. At least this showed that Eva was also different in this life and trusted Jake more to show the feelings near him, which would leave Jake more relaxed because it seemed that he had no more possibility that his mother would get sick without him to know. Chapter 284 Small Vacation at Home 2 "Anna is right Jake, I''m just glad to see you after so many months." "I also missed you, Mom, I hope that next year I may have more time to get home, after the basketball season is over I will definitely stay here a long time." Jake was even thinking about it, as he more than three months straight playing nonstop he knew he would have to stay a long time without coming home, so he had to enjoy it after the basketball season ended. Not to mention that he had a lot to do right now and these things would just get more complicated to solve if it took many months to solve, so he at least had to better organize his time since from here to front his life would always be so. Then they talked for over 1 hour and Jake took the initiative to go home so as not to bother his mother that he had to start working at the restaurant, He knew that if Eve could, she would stay home only and not work at the restaurant during this week when Jake would be home. But Eva also had her responsibilities and couldn''t do it the same way that Jake couldn''t just drop the training and classes to go home for missing his mother. After a few more hours Eva would finish her hours at the restaurant and go home, so Jake went quickly home with the taxi and just left his stuff before entering the taxi again and going to Matthew''s house. He wanted to talk to Matthew because he was sure that they had a lot to talk about after almost 4 months, he didn''t have time to know the business progress of the company, but he knew that before he went to university the sales of digital machines already Had surpassed the value of the previous year. As soon as he arrived at Matthew''s house the housekeeper opened the door and let Jake in to go out to warn Matthew that he was here, Matthew had already warned his employees to treat Jake as they treated his own family. "Jake, what a pleasant surprise, I didn''t expect you could still come that year, I''ve been hearing about how you''ve been busy at the university, it looks like you''re really going to be an NBA player from here a few years." "Oliver, I''m glad you''re here at your father''s house, I was going to spend later in your house, you seem to have been doing well in those months." "You also look very well." Oliver was really impressed with what Jake had done that year, he used to think that Jake was going to pursue a career as an entrepreneur and just play basketball and run for a hobby while he was studying. But that year the things Jake did change Oliver''s thought, Jake had totally shown his talent running in marathons winning many marathons that year and even won the Olympic gold medal and broke the world record. After that Oliver knew that Jake would not stop running even after graduating from the university and would continue as a professional runner, this was normal after all he was already at the height of the sport even being so young, so he could continue his whole life Running and winning and creating a legend. Shortly after Oliver learned that Jake was also playing very well basketball at the university, and still played well on the UNC''s Tar Heels team that was where Michael Jordan played a few years ago, so Oliver understood that Jake could actually also become a professional and get into the NBA if you want. This made Oliver quite confused, other people did not know, but Oliver knew well how successful Jake was in the business world even before he was 17, now with almost 18 years Jake could be considered a successful entrepreneur. In addition to the stock market investments that Jake''s company made that had given many profits, Jake still had a 5% stake in his father''s company that thanks to Jake''s counties not only fled from bankruptcy as he also gained more than 2 billion of sales last year and won, even more in that year. So it was normal for Oliver to think that Jake would follow a career as an entrepreneur, he was even doing a course at the university related to administration and economics, now Oliver was confused about what Jake wanted to do when he was successful in everything he did. "And Joseph? Did you come home for the holidays? " "He showed up at home for a few days just to visit, but then went on a trip with his girlfriend, I didn''t like any of this because they''re not married yet, but even Liza''s parents didn''t care so I couldn''t say anything against this trip." "I went to Joseph''s university to play a game a few days ago, but they said he had gone out for the holidays, so I thought he might be here." It was like Jake thought, even though Joseph spent some time at home on vacation he was now traveling with Liza, Jake knew that Liza was not with Joseph because he was interested in his family''s money and really liked Joseph. But her family was more interested in the money that had Joseph''s family than in his personality, so they wanted Liza not to lose the opportunity and stay as much as possible with him, after all, they wanted Liza to have a good marriage and had an easy life after getting married. As Liza also loved Joseph it was clear that she would not refuse what her family was thinking to her, Joseph was not dumb and should also know about it, but how he loved Liza he did not care and wanted to stay with her on this vacation after spending a few months long and hers. Even though Jake was a little sad about not being so close to his childhood friend he knew that after a few years they would have to get close again anyway because they would work together for Matthew''s company. After Joseph mature and married Liza, he would think more of his friends and see what he had only Jake as a close friend, so naturally, they would be close again. As they walked into Matthew''s office they talked about several things, it seems that in those months Oliver was working more with Matthew in the company than in his own law firm that he left in the hands of some competent officials. After all, Matthew''s company was also a client of Oliver''s law firm, and after Jake gave some advice and Matthew''s company was growing and selling a lot in those months it was natural for Oliver to be busier. After Jake warned him about the time that Matthew''s company was at risk of failing, Oliver was more concerned about the company''s progress that his son would assume in the future, and Matthew was happy now that Oliver was a lawyer, because Oliver''s firm helped Matthew in many judicial matters that Matthew understood nothing. This included some patents on the company''s new products that they were creating after Jake''s tips, this digital camera business was a market that Jake had not researched much in his past life. So he could give only a few counties about technology and product development, Jake also talked about future market projections as he knew well the future was very useful to Matthew. But Jake did not know who owned the patents of the products he suggested that Matthew''s company would develop, so he gave a county so that Oliver would try to get as many patents as they could to prevent competitors from imitates them and also to win some money in case the competitors broke their patents. Incredible that it was many things that Jake had given counties and the company Matthew had developed had no patents about it, and the few things that had patents did not affect the United States, so they could produce their products quietly. "Jake, what a great surprise you were showing up around here, I didn''t expect you could still come that year. " "Hahaha Many said the same thing as you Matthew, it seemed that no one expected to see me that year, and how have you been?" "I have been good thanks to you, you should also be very well, I heard everything you conquered in that no, I was very impressed to see how you have grown since you were a child, your mother must be very proud of you." "Thanks for the compliment, so Matthew, I''ve come all the way here because I''m curious as to the sales of the year, you should be almost closing the financial statement this year, I have to go back to college in a few more days, so tell me Sales that year. " "Hahaha I imagined that you would be curious about it, it was all better than we expected, it seems that these two years were the turning point for the fate of our company, already gave to pay the shares that I rewarded you dozens of times." Matthew was really happy to have trusted Jake, he was selling this digital camera just to take care of the company for a while and Jake always said that what they could earn more and longer was when they sold the cameras along with the companies that make mobile phones. Not to mention that these cameras that they were selling were just a pre-sale to gain more resources, it was the most modern in the market because Jake passed a very advanced technology to them. But the next camera that was already ready is that it would truly be the most modern digital camera, so Matthew had much more hope for the sales of this new digital camera. "I''m seeing that you''re really curious to talk about sales so I''m not going to do any more mystery, first I''ll talk about the sales of the webcams you recommended we do." "We started only a few months, with higher quality than the webcam that is currently best sold in the market we achieved some good results in sales." "We still sell for a price similar to the current camera, we got 100 million dollars in sales in those few months, and nearly 40million dollars in profit in those sales." Chapter 285 Small Vacation at Home 3 Were really good sales figures, analyzing that the internet was not well known yet and only a small part of the population had computers at home, the first camera sold in the world had only 500,000 sales in almost 3 years. Matthew had already achieved twice that in just a few months, of course in 1996 many more people had computers compared to three years ago and the webcam of Matthew''s company had much more quality than the competitor in the market. Especially since Matthew''s company began to become internationally known as a quality camera brand after these two years of digital camera sales, it was normal for them to get more sales. "It''s really good Matthew, this webcam can continue to be sold for up to 4 years, close to the 2000 years we have launched another line of webcam with better quality in the market, at that time the number of people with computers here will overcome 50%" "The important thing is to try to make the public aware of our product, do some propaganda, the ideal is that the sale of webcams can pay for the development of technologies that we will work with mobile companies." "Let''s try to do this, now let''s talk about the main point, our sales with digital cameras in 1996 reached 4 billion dollars, with more the 2 billion in 1995 we sold 6 billion with this camera." Jake was very happy about it but knew that this was just the reality of the time, a camera costing a thousand dollars could yield this much, but they would have to sell two or three times as much as they sold now to win that much in a few years. Not to mention that the profit would be much lower because the cameras would need the constant development of technology, so Jake told Matthew that partnering with a mobile sales company would be much more profitable. After all, when smartphones start selling hundreds of millions of people can buy, even billions of people in a few years, after all, the smartphone will serve people to talk on the phone, access the Internet and still take pictures and even play games. If with a partnership they get $20 of profit per smartphone sold they would get more than 14 billion if the phone has good sales, with 14 billion profits even if they are with 10 different mobile models would be worth it. The hard thing is to convince the company not to start producing the cameras themselves, so a long contract of several years with a fine millionaire resizable could make it happen. After more than 20 years the sales of all companies would fall a lot, so he could promise that Matthew''s company would grow and improve from the beginning of 300 million that was worth a few years ago. In the future, it can be worth more than that, many of the big companies of the future would be worth 10 billion at least, Matthew''s company could be worth up to half that value if it continued with those sales. It would already be much more than 10 times the current value of the company, not to mention that the profits would be high every year like this, the Canon, for example, came to be worth almost 70 billion at the height of the company, so if Matthew managed to manage the company he would have much to gain. Still, it was incredible to sell 4 million digital cameras in a year even though it was sold worldwide, so in total the first digital camera sold by Matthew''s company sold 6 million units worldwide. "Of course these were the approximate values, in profit, we achieved 2,095,300,000 dollars for the company, again we will invest half the value and the rest will be given as profit share for the shareholders here a few months ago." For a company like that of Matthew so much investment would not have felt, they produced few products and were not prepared for such a big growth, even if the company had increased in value and in profit, the company itself had little change plus a few more assembly lines, machines, and employees. The reason for this was that Matthew was cautious and did not expect the company to sell billions of dollars every year, a few years ago if the company sold could get a few million dollars would be great. Jake thought that Matthew was right in doing this, he always invested half of his profits in the company and so had a lot of cash flow if he didn''t invest in many things, so the company wouldn''t have trouble lacking money to produce more machines to sell it. In addition, the company of Matthew increased so much in the value of shares because the shareholders were receiving dividends that exceeded the value of shares in many times, if Matthew wanted to invest after a few years he could simply sell his The actions. After all, he still had more than 70% of the company''s shares, he could sell over 18% and still have the absolute majority of the company and raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the company, it was the best time for Matthew''s company. This time Jake would receive more than 104, 7 million dollars in his shares, as Matthew would invest half of that value Jake would get 52.3 million dollars, it was more than double what he received the last year. Jake still had over 10 million dollars that he had left out of last year''s earnings share plus the sponsorship he received in those 4 months and that profit share Jake had now 62,982,500 dollars in the bank. Apart from all the money he had invested in the stocks, it was a lot of money even thinking normally, but the amazing thing was that Matthew was much richer thanks to Jake''s counties, with this profit share that each would receive half Matthew would have more than 785.7 million dollars. More than twice as much as he could with the sale of his company two years ago, the most incredible was that he had almost the same both in shares of the Cisco company that Jake invested last year he had now 717 million dollars After having invested only 300 million dollars in the beginning. Taking away his shares of the company Matthew had a patrimony of more than $1 billion after listening to Jake''s counties in just a few years, Matthew even believed that this value would still multiply in the coming years. "I just have to thank you, Jake, I saw that my investments had almost doubled in value in just 1 year in the stocks that your company invested, I won almost the same as half the profit received from the company." "Then you should invest the same much that year, in a few years you would be much richer." Jake was thinking of Matthew''s good when Jake sold all the shares he had and that the investment company had they would often get the amounts invested, if not for Jake investing in Amazon that in more than 20 years would be worth billions of dollars he would have invested in the company. "I think better not, do not need to get too rich, the money I have invested already makes me very happy." Matthew refused with this excuse, but Jake knew well why Matthew did not want to invest more, he relied heavily on Jake and Oliver and so gave them 300 million dollars to Jake''s company investing in stocks, but Jake insisted that they could not sell before they Jake wanted to. Matthew at first did not care and accepted this as well as Emily''s father and the other investors a few years ago, but after little has these actions valued twice the value if it were not for this agreement Matthew would have sold his shares right now. Emily''s father and the businessmen who invested first also wanted to sell the shares they had, but the deal didn''t allow it, they even tried to talk to Emily privately to convince Jake to sell the shares. Fortunately for Jake, Emily was very honest and totally believed in Jake and even told what the entrepreneurs were wanting, Jake had made this deal for their good and for them not to lose money and even for the bubble not to burst Before the hour if they sold billions of dollars in stocks ahead of time. They were not afraid of losing a few million, but when that value was valued for hundreds of millions of dollars they were increasingly afraid of losing, the same happened to Matthew. Another point that neither Matthew nor the initial investors were happy was that Jake would stay with 10% of the stock sale, at first they accepted it and found it fair, but the more the stocks valued less they liked to divide 10% with Jake. Jake knew that and would not insist on this matter anymore with Matthew, he found it a waste that his friend stopped earning billions of dollars for fear but also understood how risky the stock market looked to people who did not know the future as Jake. And Matthew was right to think so, after 2000 he would have billions of dollars in stocks and would be too rich to spend all his life, he probably would regret not investing more with Jake when he had the chance. "And when will the new camera be sold next year?" "It will be sold in February, the price will be only 100 dollars more expensive than that was, but the overall quality of the camera will be much better, we can also better fix the display screen of the photos, the zoom, and the memory of the camera will be better." The digital camera of Matthew''s company was already the best in the whole stock market, with these new improvements and many others that Matthew did not need to say the camera sold next year would be much better. While the other companies were studying Matthew''s cameras to create a better product, Matthew''s company would launch another much better camera on the market, just as Jake said this was the time to make money and leave the company brand well known. After all, in a few years, they can no longer be in the market leadership of digital cameras, if they could possibly enter the smartphone market too, but it would be a risk that Jake would not advise Matthew to take. Chapter 286 Small Vacation at Home 4 "Matthew, you know well that I have little time here in Miami before I have to go back to university, so if you can get me the money I have to get, I appreciate it." "Of course, I know you''re busy this time, I''ll deposit it to your account today. "Thank you, then." It wasn''t normal to do something like that, but Jake knew that Matthew could do something for him, not to mention that it would be Matthew''s company that would pay the profit share anyway, he just had to send the money to his own account later. After talking a few more things Jake left home, he wanted to be with his mother today because the week would be very busy for Jake. Jake stayed up later talking about everything that happened at the university in those 4 months, they talked on the phone, but speaking in person was different, Eva was happy to hear that Jake had made several friends. She was worried about Jake who usually didn''t have many friends, he only had Joseph at school as a friend of his age, he was also friends with the players on the basketball team and on the American football team. But it was different from the friendship he had with Joseph, not to mention that Jake since his last life when it was easier to communicate with people wasn''t much of a telephone or internet talk. Jake was the kind of person who believed that just face-to-face conversation was a real conversation, so when his friends traveled far away they usually stopped being friends, in this life, it would probably be the same. Eva was also happy to know that Jake was playing normally on the basketball team and was happy there, she knew Jake had the ability and could choose from several universities to go to play in one so she could not accept if the coach did not give opportunities to Jake play. As for the marathons she can watch Jake''s races on television, she was thinking of setting up a television in the restaurant just so that customers could watch her son''s races, Eva also learned that some of Jake''s basketball games would be televised. The other day Matthew had already sent the money to Jake, so he wasted no time and took advantage of his had to go to the restaurant to call Clara with whom he had not spoken for many months. He thought about calling Tiffany too but thought it better to talk to Clara first and if things went well it wouldn''t be too late to call Tiffany, Clara said she was busy for Jake, but when he said it was important she had to go to the restaurant. As it was Jake who invited him he first arrived at the restaurant, so he saw when Clara arrived, she was much better than before and didn''t look any pale and looked the same way he first saw her. Even though Jake could see that there was something different about Clara, she didn''t look as happy as she was before, even though she had recovered from the shock of separation and what Robert had done to her, Clara''s heart didn''t seem to have recovered from it. "Jake, how long we haven''t seen each other." "Yeah, it seemed like you had ignored me in the last few months, did I do something you didn''t like?" "No, you didn''t do anything wrong, I really have been really busy trying to sort out the company situation and I''m not as excited to talk anymore." The situation of the company to whom it saw the reports seemed great since Clara was avoiding investing in the company in those years and yet the company''s revenue kept increasing, they sold a lot more since Jake became known across the country. Even though she was having a lot of problems because she didn''t want the value of the company to increase but the revenue could increase, by the end of the year she was finishing the balance sheet, even if they had the biggest profit in the company''s history in 1996. not even close enough to buy Robert''s stock. She didn''t have a company like Matthew''s where she could just have a popular product that with new technology and high-profit margins could make her a millionaire, the most expensive products she had were gym equipment. But even with this equipment, she had to pay most of it to the company that creates the product and she couldn''t put the price she wanted because her company had several competitors selling for the same price margin. So business was different between companies, she had to rely on a line of tens or hundreds of products that had to sell hundreds of thousands of units for her to make a good profit as she had this year. It was as Jake had thought before, maybe in her past life, the same thing had happened with Clara''s company, as she wasn''t sponsoring someone like Jake even though paying so little Clara must have given up on her company and sold it to the competitor. After all, right now having such good sales, Clara seemed to be starting to get discouraged about her business situation, of course, Jake couldn''t question Clara''s willpower, many in the same situation she was in would have given up and sold the company. After all, she would be profiting a lot if she sold only her share of the company compared to how much she initially invested and over the years, not to mention that in those years she was receiving her share of the company''s profits. "That''s why I thought I had done something you didn''t like, it''s usually during the tough times you can count on more friends, you can always come to me to let off steam." "Thanks, Jake, I know that you and Tiffany have always been my great friends and are helping me a lot in my difficult time, it''s thanks to your support that I can keep fighting, but this is a subject you can''t help me." Jake couldn''t say anything about it, Clara''s company really was in a situation where only money could help her, and Clara thought Jake couldn''t raise that money on her own in the next 4 years until the deadline to buy her actions are over. Also, with the profits that Clara and Tiffany''s companies made this year, they knew they could raise enough money to buy the stock from Robert''s hands in a few years, so Clara was tired but motivated to keep working if she didn''t see no hope could have given up. Jake naturally knew what situation Clara was in and after so many years finally had another opportunity to help her, so he had asked for this advance to Matthew, Jake knew that could end up losing hundreds of millions with this act, but he would just be pleased doing this. "So I think now I can help you, Clara." "What do you mean, Jake?" "I received my share of this year''s Matthew company profit distribution and I don''t intend to do anything with that money, so I thought about buying those shares from Robert''s hands." "So you can re-invest in the company without having to worry about losing most of the company''s equity stake, it won''t solve the whole problem because the competitor will still have part of your shares, but you will no longer be in one such a difficult situation." For a while Clara had no reaction because she didn''t expect Jake to talk about it, she even thought Jake was joking, but knowing his personality she knew it was impossible. She never thought it would be Jake who would eventually help her buy these stocks, she even thought her father would end up doing something about it even if it annoyed his brother, but never thought Jake would buy those stocks. "Jake you know I need at least $ 32 million to be able to buy that 10 percent stock from Robert''s hands." "Of course I know, I''ve talked about this several times with you and Tiffany, I have the necessary money." Clara trusted Jake but was worried that something like what happened to Robert would eventually happen to Jake, with Robert she was lucky that his father had placed a restriction that she had 5 years to buy the stock. But with Jake she couldn''t do the same as she knew he was doing her a favor, so she had no choice but to accept that Jake bought these shares so that her company and Tiffany''s company that was also impaired could invest and develop again. Jake also knew what Clara should be thinking, so much so that he noticed how Clara just lent Tiffany''s money to buy the stock and never suggested that Tiffany buy the stock, it was only natural that she was suspicious after her own husband cheated on her. He would only be annoyed if she suggested that he lend her the money or suggest a restriction, but it seemed that even thinking about it would rather trust Jake than suggest something like that, it made Jake more relaxed and pleased with Clara''s actions. "Don''t worry Clara, I wonder what you''re worried about, I had thought of signing an agreement that I will not sell the shares to anyone other than you and give you all the voting rights." Jake had suggested making a similar deal when he invested in Amazon, but Jeff Bezos eventually said it wasn''t necessary, of course, because he didn''t know what the company would look like in the future, or he would regret that decision. Clara was embarrassed by Jake suggesting what she thought, she was suspicious of everything in the last few years after what Robert did to her, so when Jake suggested it she realized that her friends had already realized she was suspicious of them and realized that what was Doing was wrong. Of course, she didn''t know about Jake''s investments, if she did, she wouldn''t think Jake would be interested in hurting a small business like hers, after all, Jake would only have 10 percent of the stock and couldn''t hurt the company in a few years. Chapter 287 Small Vacation at Home 5 "You don''t have to sign any such deal, Jake, I know you''re just doing it to help me, I just ask that when I can afford to buy the stock you can sell it to me." Clara understood that it was not right to do a friend who was doing her a favor by signing any kind of contract, yet she was determined to buy all the stock she could back to not have that kind of problem. Even though she understood that she would first have to raise money to buy her rival''s 34 percent, it would take her many years to succeed, not to mention that after this crisis had passed she would have to re-invest in her business properly. Also, she can''t keep asking Tiffany''s help to buy that 34 percent from the rival company, after all, Tiffany also had to take care of her company for years to come, she knew well that her friend lost two years of potential company growth and even risked being arrested to help her buy these stocks. "Fine, I''ll invest in your company just so you no longer have to worry about Robert selling the shares to the competitor, but I don''t have much interest in continuing to be a shareholder if you can buy those shares would be better for me." Since Clara was his friend, Jake decided to be honest with her and to tell him that he was not interested in her company stock, after all, he would surely be losing money that could be made quickly if he invested in stocks. Clara was really surprised by Jake''s lack of interest in her company, she knew that her company could not compare with Matthew''s company that Jake had invested in, but she was proud of how her company was developing. What she forgot was that even though Jake had 5 percent of Matthew''s company stock, in fact, he had not invested in it but had gained the shares, and Jake had to do some work so that Matthew''s company would make the profit that it had now. If Jake owned a larger percentage of Clara''s company he could even advertise for free even after joining the NBA, so Clara''s company would save hundreds of millions of dollars in a few years. With that 10 percent he had bought himself, Jake certainly wouldn''t do free advertising, otherwise, he could end up lowering his own marketing value and other companies wouldn''t want to give millions of sponsorship. After that, they talked about a few more things and Clara called her lawyer to immediately contact Robert to sell the shares as stated in the contract that said Robert''s father, knowing that somehow Clara had gotten money to buy his shares, Robert didn''t like it. In fact, he thought that in those years Clara and his father had helped him, after all, he would have sold these shares a few years ago for less than 28 million to Clara''s rival company just because he needed money to invest in his own company. With his father''s contract, he didn''t know, Robert would have to wait 5 years to sell the shares he had and couldn''t make any money on it when he knew that he was very angry with his father and Clara. But it turned out that in those two years he received $ 7 million from his profit share and his shares had appreciated, so he made a lot of money on that if he continued to receive that money he would not have thought of selling Clara''s company stock. If it took 3 more years to buy his shares as stated in the contract he could receive at least 10 million more and sell his shares for much more money, unfortunately, he was forced to accept what was in the contract since deciding to sell his shares. In fact, Robert can''t even see Clara and Jake and just got his lawyer''s contract and signed in to later receive the money, at the current quote he received 33 million and would soon receive his 1996 profit share. Seeing this much money Robert was happy again, now he could invest in his company quietly and not have to get involved in these problems with Clara anymore, as he had promised Robert called the company that had thought of selling his shares and reported that Clara had bought his shares. The other company then realized that they would no longer have the opportunity to acquire Clara''s company, but they were already expecting it when they could not buy Robert''s shares, anyway, they would not be losing money on it. Just like Robert they had also made a lot of money in those two years, $ 24 million was as much as they had made in those two years, it was almost 10 percent of the stock they paid two years ago. Even if they would no longer receive their profit share if Clara''s company went back to investing, they would still receive a lot in selling their shares back to Clara in a few years, so they would only profit from that business. Jake thus received 10 percent of the shares of Clara''s company and had as much as Tiffany, he would still receive his sponsorship agreement for a few years and then no longer renew and at that time it was better than Clara could invest more in the company and prepare to keep up the good sales without Jake. He thought about having a celebration dinner with Clara, but she had to go back to work to finish organizing the financial statement as the year was ending and start planning the investments that would be made next year. Jake understood that Clara wanted to make up for a lost time in those two years and Clara had been very grateful to him and even wept with relief when she saw that she would no longer have this problem to think about for years to come, it was a huge relief to her. Now she had finally severed the ties she had with Robert and never wanted to have any contact with her ex-husband again, she now had to keep working to be more successful with her company. So Jake called Tiffany to tell her the good news, he considered calling Tiffany during the negotiation, but things have happened very quickly since Jake decided to buy the stock and he bought from Robert. He didn''t tell Tiffany what it was, but she accepted dinner with Jake because she thought he just wanted to talk to her since he hadn''t come to Miami in a long time and they couldn''t talk in that time. "Hi Jake, how many months we haven''t seen each other, how have you been?" "Very well, things at university have been going very well for me, even better than I expected, and with you, all right?" "Yes, with me everything has been great, especially in the company since you did so much this year sales have been better than ever, luckily our company sells sports drinks so even without much investment as long as we have stock we can meet market demand." Tiffany was really very happy with all this, her company can''t invest in the last few years because she was trying to help Clara, but even without investing in the publicity that Jake gave her company they had sold a lot in those years. Because of this her company had almost reached Clara''s market value even though it had a much smaller initial investment, investors were very excited about her company and so her company shares were very traded in the market. Especially because in the last two years she had paid dividends, and they were values ??even higher than the value of the shares because she was not holding the valuation of the company as Clara did, so this year her company would value even more. Jake was very happy to hear that, he knew well that in the beverage market and even across the food business it was very difficult for smaller companies to grow and develop without being under pressure from the larger companies. Luckily Tiffany''s company had chosen the sports drinks market that went a little out of the way of the biggest brands in the market and had a lot of market and consumer attention because of Jake. So it was as if they had protection to grow in the market, after a few more years they could end up becoming a billion-valued company like Matthew''s. "Glad to hear you and your company doing so well these months, I have some good news to give you, Tiffany." "Oh, so you didn''t just call me here to talk, what''s the good news?" "I received money from Matthew''s company profit-sharing this year and as I had nothing to do with the money I decided to buy the shares of Clara''s company that were in Robert''s hands." "Today I went to talk to Clara and already bought Robert''s stock, now Clara is free of her ex-husband and your company and your company can go back to investing again without having to worry." Tiffany was shocked for a while and only then understood what Jake was saying, she couldn''t describe what she was feeling, it was so hard in those two years to have to stop investing in the company and suffer some shareholder pressure to help Clara not lose the company. Now all of a sudden all the problems were resolved in no time, it was great news for her and Clara, but Tiffany felt for a moment that everything she had been through these past two years was for nothing. "I thought I''d call you to the negotiation, Tiffany, but it all happened so quickly and I didn''t even have to meet Robert to buy the stock, then Clara had to go back to work and I decided to tell you the good news." Jake didn''t understand how Tiffany was feeling, he just helped because he could and didn''t want to see Clara and Tiffany companies wasting precious time growing in the market just to buy stocks he could easily buy. Even if he had to lose hundreds of millions of dollars if he had invested his stocks, it was worth it to have a clear conscience that his friends were doing well and to be able to play basketball quietly. Chapter 288 Small Vacation at Home 6 Jake always had trouble understanding women''s feelings, so maybe he couldn''t get a relationship even though he had so many qualities, thankfully his fourth job skills Communication Skills and Emotion Control helped him understand that something was wrong with Tiffany. "Aren''t you very happy about it? I understand that you went through a lot to help Clara with these stocks, but I did it just because I didn''t want to see you guys struggling so hard to succeed having difficulties and seeing your companies stagnate even though I can help." "It''s not that, I''m very happy that everything went well and this problem is solved, I''m happy for Clara and me too that now I can focus again on the development of my company." "I was just thinking that since you solved everything so easily, everything I''ve done in the last two years has been kind of useless, you know?" "I''ll be honest and say that I don''t quite understand what you are feeling right now because I''ve never been through anything like that, but you have to understand that since I knew about the problem Clara was going through and that you were also having trouble help I''ve always been thinking of helping." "I always said you could count on me, so once I had the opportunity I helped as I said I would, I don''t want to have any regrets in this life, so of course I would." Jake knew that Tiffany must be feeling helpless that he couldn''t do things as easily as Jake, he understood that and knew what it felt like to do nothing when he saw Eva dying in his past life and it was because he didn''t realize she was sick. But he understood that life was like that, as you fight your whole life to achieve some things, some luckier people get it in a few months, people might be jealous of it, but have to accept the situation, Jake was still trying to use them that he had to help his friends before thinking only of himself. Tiffany just laughed when she realized she was being very immature, after all, she was being comforted and receiving advice from Jake who was only 17 years old, she couldn''t put her feelings in order at the moment. "I don''t think you''re in the mood to celebrate, so I think you better go home and rest, take time off from work and get your feelings in order, and then work well for your company to make up for the lost time and grow even more." "I think you''re right, Jake, I''m going then and another time we can celebrate." After Tiffany left Jake was alone for a while smiling bitterly, he did something he thought was right and helped his friends the way he wanted, but he just can''t celebrate with Clara and Tiffany. He even wondered if what he did was really right, after all, no one seemed to be very happy about it, but Jake soon comforted himself that he did what he thought was right and he felt better after doing it, at least he was sure it didn''t hurt Clara and Tiffany with that. After that Jake went home to spend more time with his mother which was what he had come to do this week he was here, he would not say what he did today to his mother because he did not like to talk much about stocks and investing with your mother. After all, it was a business that for many people was a risky investment, only Jake knew it was safe because he knew the future, yet he had to be careful not to end up losing everything if the future changed with him here. The day after Eva went back to the restaurant, Jake called Emily, he had only one week in Miami and wanted to work out what he could before he went back to college and had to focus on basketball games again. Emily didn''t show up because she didn''t know Jake was in Miami, otherwise she herself would have come to sort out some important matters with him, in the office, she organized the important documents Jake had to see and then went to Jake''s home. Since Emily was her assistant on behalf of Jake, she didn''t have to leave home to talk to her, so Emily also preferred a quieter business environment and went quickly to his house. "I didn''t know you were home, Jake if I had known I would have come before." "I arrived a few days ago and was doing other things, so even if you came before I couldn''t talk to you, did you bring the reports?" "Yes, I had already separated them all, as you read I''ll summarize the important points for you." So Emily recounted the things she considered most important to Jake, first she reported changes and forecasts to the stock market, especially to the Cisco company they were investing in. Jake knew what had happened and what was going to happen better than analysts had predicted, but he still listened to Emily who had the trouble of organizing all the information for him. After Emily told Jake what was going on with the Amazon company too, they reached 180,000 customer accounts that month and her revenues were $ 15.7 million, she wasn''t very excited about it because it was little considered what had been invested. What Emily had not considered was that the company had been started recently and was still growing, Jake was not concerned about the company, he could simply forget that he had these shares until more than 20 years later. "Even though sales are not doing so well, it seems that the company''s IPO is expected to be very well, who owns company stock may end up with millions after the company enters the stock market." Emily was so excited that she said it incorrectly, after all, Jake had invested more than 12 million in the company, so it was normal that he was a millionaire when the company went to market, she should be referring to who had invested little in the company. By the time the company goes to market Jake''s 12 million will soon be worth 120 million, so Jake would have made a lot of money since then, of course, Jake expected his share of the company to fall because of the company''s IPO. But with his contract he would have no less than 12% of the shares, that would be great for him anyway, of course, Jake didn''t want his share percentage to go down, but he was prepared for it. She then talked about the Palo Alto company spending on developing Multi-touch technology, it was a lot of spending adding up what they used for electronics and plus the salaries of Charlie''s team, but it wasn''t much for Jake at the moment. Jake''s own investment firm spent much more than that every year, of course, it was important because they were taking care of hundreds of millions of dollars in investments. After receiving all the reports, Jake signed some necessary documents and finally settled everything he needed on this trip to Miami, but before Emily left Jake had to take care of more investments. Last year he had received a 25 million profit share, had to repay the 12 million loan he made to buy Amazon stock and another 3 million to buy his current home with the renovation and another building for his company of investments. The rest of the money he did not invest because he was saving to buy those 10 percent of Clara''s company stock or for an investment, he was considering making in some companies in a few years. But now he had already bought Clara''s stock and still had over 30 million to invest again, so he decided to invest more money in the Cisco stock and leave the rest for emergencies and future investments. He would invest $ 23,900,000 and leave $ 7 million without moving, next year he would probably receive more profit share from Matthew''s company and maybe also from Clara''s company. With more of the money he would receive from the sponsorship he could think about how to invest this money again later next year, Emily received that money and thought for a moment and decided not to say anything and just go out to make this new investment. "Are you thinking of anything? You can tell me, I want to hear your opinion." "I was just thinking that it is very risky to keep hundreds of millions of dollars invested in just one company, I have made some market research and have dozens of companies that are growing as attractive as the Cisco Company." "But when I was thinking of suggesting this to you, you decided to invest even more money in this company, so I realized that you wouldn''t listen to my advice and might even think I''m doing it because my dad asked." Emily thought her father and Matthew were a little right to be concerned that their stock was appreciating so much and might lose everything at once, so she was in favor of selling at least some of it and giving it back to investors because so their company and their investments would only work with the profit. Jake couldn''t answer what Emily said, everyone who works on venture capital stocks knows that it is better to diversify his investment portfolio into dozens of companies, so if some of those stocks were to devalue other stocks could rise and discount that loss. But Jake was just investing in one company, so if the stock depreciated they would lose all the money invested, it was very high risk and not recommended and could only increase the bigger the investment. Jake even in his past life made his money in the stock market by diversifying his investments in various stocks, he lost some more money made much more so, of course, he regretted not investing more money in some companies as well. But now he was just choosing the company he knew would make the most money instead of unnecessarily diversifying money into several companies, not to mention that it would be easier for him to sell in the future. "I understand what you''re saying Emily, the stock market is a high-risk investment like you said, sometimes higher risk investments can make you earn more, that''s what I''m doing right now." Chapter 289 Unhappy Beginning of Year 1 Emily naturally didn''t agree with Jake''s point of view, but as she''d said before she knew something like this could happen and so didn''t want to talk from the start, even if she didn''t agree with Jake, Emily trusted Jake''s vision a lot and hoped for the company to make more profits from these riskier investments. Jake respected Emily very much and knew he was lucky to have her working for him, unfortunately maybe he couldn''t use all of Emily''s investment talents, yet he wanted her to know that she helped him a lot. "Emily, I know you want only the best for the company and are concerned about investments, but I want you to know that I have complete confidence in my vision for investments." "I think I always review and choose the best investment option and it''s impossible for you or anyone else to change my mind about it, maybe if one day I could make a mistake I won''t take your opinion of it anymore." "Still you help me a lot and it''s critical to the company, I trust you and all administrative and employee management decisions of the company are yours, you are also my personal representative and lawyer." "So the best way to help me is to keep doing what you have been doing, especially since over the next few years I will be very busy with basketball and marathons." Jake knew he might sound arrogant saying something like that, but since he couldn''t tell anyone he knew what would happen in the future, he better say he didn''t want to hear other people''s opinions because he was overconfident. So even if he seemed arrogant no one could criticize his decisions unless he made a mistake, after all, he really would need Emily''s help in the coming years to handle his business. This time she might not have been very upset that Jake hadn''t listened to her advice, but in the future, she might be dissatisfied thinking he didn''t trust her, so it was better that he looks arrogant now and make Emily give up advice. After that Emily left her house to make the investments Jake requested, she didn''t seem bothered that Jake heard him, but it seemed she found it unpleasant that Jake was arrogant like that. Jake was very fond of Emily as it would work and even with a friend, but he always tried to keep a distance and treated her as his assistant and business partner, he learned from his experience in his past life that keeping some distance with employees was important. The fact that Jake always tried to be humble even with everything he achieved could make others think he was very easy going, so for Jake a bit of arrogance was necessary to look natural. After talking to Emily, Jake had finished all the business he had to settle in Miami, so for the next few days he spent plenty of time at the restaurant to talk and spend more time with Eva. After another week Jake said goodbye to his mother again and went to college, he wanted to spend more time at home, but coach Smith asked the players to return before the end of the year. Jake naturally refused and only came back on January 2 when two days left for the first game of the year, Jake knew he might end up angering the coach, but he was willing to face the coach''s anger to spend both holidays at home. When Jake returned he went first to the dorm and talked to his friends who were all still in college, just as Jake though none of them ended up deciding to come home for a few days as Jake did. Only Zack went home before Christmas because he had no excuse not to spend the holidays at home when he lived so close to the university, yet he managed to take William and Aaron home with him. "Jake, you had to see what Zack''s brother was like, he''s called Brett Roberts, he''s taller, a year older and prettier than Zack and even nicer, now we understand why Zack never introduces his brother to ourselves for him to study at the same university." "It''s not true, he''s no cuter than me and I''m not jealous of him, I don''t call him because he always likes to tease me." Jake had heard about Zack''s brother himself, Zack said he didn''t have a good relationship with his brother who always told his parents about the confusions and problems that Zack caused his parents. From what Jake understood this Brett was the typical older brother and even though he was only a year older he was forced to mature early to take care of Zack who was the younger brother, but it seemed that Brett had a lot of affection for Zack and was much more responsible after taking care of Zack for so many years. But if Zack didn''t want to introduce his brother to him, Jake would never force it and didn''t want to ruin the good friendship he had with Zack because of it, after all, Jake was very unsure about his friendships, William and Aaron were different and didn''t care about what Zack thought before they tried to be friends with Brett. After arranging all things Jake went to the court to train with the basketball team, he happily greeted his teammates and talked with Carter, Jamison, and Charlie, they were closer and talking while doing the warm-up exercises. Even though Charlie didn''t have so much playing time he always came on the court at every game and was respected as a senior student, not to mention that Charlie was more skilled than normal players at other universities, he was a reserve in this star-studded team. Then he had normal training as he had before the start of the season to regain the shape of the players who had a little break at the end of the year, naturally, even though he arrived 4 days later Jake was the best fit. Even though throughout the training Jake realized that coach Smith seemed to be looking at him a lot, Jake figured it was because he had disobeyed the coach''s orders and arrived a few days later. Jake naturally hoped something like this would happen and didn''t care much, he knew he was wrong in this situation and thought the coach was unreasonable in asking players to come back before the end of the year. Many, like their roommates, preferred not to travel home and had no problem retraining before the end of the year, but Jake had gone to Miami and wouldn''t be back after just a few days at home. After training coach Guthridge, who always liked Jake very much, called him in to talk, Jake knew it should be something important, so he didn''t even warn his roommates that it might take time and went to coach Guthridge''s office. "Did you call me coach?" "Yes, Jake, you can sit there." "I called you here to ask why you didn''t come back for training 3 days ago like the other players?" "I''ll be honest, coach, I just wanted to stay home longer with my mom, I went to Miami the day after our last game, and after just over a week the coach has asked me to come back." "I understand there are players who couldn''t even go home because they lived farther away and training was important, but I didn''t want to go back to university after such a short time, after all, I don''t have classes." Coach Guthridge only sighed after hearing what Jake had to say, he understood what Jake meant and even hoped that he didn''t have any reason not to come when he was called by Coach Smith. But he also knew that Coach Smith had not done so badly and had to prepare the team for the first game of 1997, so it was only natural that he had to call the players a few days earlier. So you had to look at the players'' commitment and their need, if you were a player who didn''t care much about college basketball you would arrive later just as Jake had. But if it was someone who loved basketball and college or needed it to join a team in the NBA surely would have come a few days earlier, Jake was halfway between the two. "I understand, Jake, you made your choice, now you should know that probably in the next games you might not even play them if you are going to stay in reserve and come in for just a few minutes." "I understand and accept Coach Smith''s decision, but I have to say that if I don''t play at least 30 minutes like I was doing in these last games, I think we could seriously lose those next 3 games, and put myself in less than 20 minutes will change the outcome of the game." "You can leave now, Jake." Coach Guthridge was annoyed and nearly kicked Jake out of his office after hearing what he said, the coach knew that Jake was a great player and could change the outcome of a game and had helped the team win a lot in recent games. But now he was talking like it was indispensable and that the team would lose the next three games without him, that was a lot of arrogance, coach Guthridge now agreed with coach Smith and thought that Jake had to stay a few games in reserve to learn some humility. After all even a few games ago Jake was still doubtful if he would play more time in the games, he was playing starter position with Ed Cota and Shammond Williams, Jake was managing to play longer because he had more skill and was better for the team, but coach Guthridge didn''t think Jake was indispensable to the team. He was so annoyed that he ended up talking about his conversation with Coach Smith that he was also annoyed by Jake''s arrogance and even laughed in anger, even if the team was in a losing streak he wouldn''t hear it from a freshman, yet but now that the team came from a 9-win streak and had such a strong team this year. He wouldn''t let Jake play as a starter after hearing this and really wanted to see if the team would lose if Jake didn''t play this game. Chapter 290 Unhappy Beginning of Year 2 After Jake left the basketball court he regretted saying that to coach Guthridge, he always liked the coach very much and was liking the Tar Heels team and the university, so when he knew he wouldn''t play he decided to say it because it was the reality he knew in his past life. So he said it without thinking why maybe coach Guthridge could warn coach Smith and the team would have a chance not to lose this game, but he understood after saying that and seeing coach Guthridge furious that he shouldn''t have said it because it seemed too much arrogant. It was a shame, but as he had already said it was no use going back, the team could lose that game if he didn''t play and what Jake said would be on coach Guthridge''s mind, he hoped coach Guthridge and coach Smith wouldn''t be resentful of it and their teammates didn''t know. The other day before the start of training he apologized to coach Guthridge and coach Smith, he said in apologies that he spoke without thinking, he was not forgiven, but the coaches were no longer so angry. Jake made a point of saying in his apology that he "spoke without thinking" and not that he made a mistake and told a lie, so the coaches didn''t forgive him, yet he didn''t want to lie saying he didn''t think what he said because it was the reality. The next day was the day of the first game of the year, it was another visitor game from the Tar Heels team and all the players were used to it, they had a straight 9 wins in 10 games and were rested after spending almost two weeks without playing. Everyone was in top form, it was ACC''s first Regular Season game, and everyone wanted to win to get well, Jake talked a lot with his friends who, although they found it odd that Jake didn''t start playing, didn''t think much about it. While they prepared coach Smith repeatedly emphasized that they would not underestimate their opponents even though they were in a 9-win streak after all the opponent also came from a 9-win streak without losing a game in the season. Even though coach Smith and coach Guthridge did not like Jake to say that without him on the team they would lose this game, they could not deny that the opponent was really too difficult. The opposing team in this game would be Wake Forest Demon Deacons, it was a team with whom Tar Heels had a rivalry for playing at the same conference, as coach Smith had already warned this was one of the best seasons starts for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons team. The main player and highlight of this team are Tim Duncan who would be a great star and one of the best players in NBA history for years to come, 5-time NBA champion and 2-time NBA MVP of the season. Duncan was a versatile player who could play as Center and as PF, in games like this, he would play as PF so Loren Woods who was expected to replace Duncan could play as well. After all this year Tim Duncan would go to the NBA, so Jake was so sure that the team would lose this game without himself if the future could change, both teams were very confident of having a winning streak, but Duncan could do a lot. difference in a game like this. Coach Smith probably underestimated the importance of Duncan in this game as he did not know the future of this NBA star, this would probably be the reason for the team''s defeat, as both teams had the same offensive style of play. Both teams preferred the internal attack taking advantage of their players'' ability to attack and catch rebounds if they could make a mistake, and in such a game this would certainly favor the Wake Forest Demon Deacons team that had Duncan in attack and defense. Meanwhile, the weakness of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were the outsiders and the team''s PG and SG, of course, they had the skill and made many points for three-point play attempts. But in a high-level competition playing was usually the same as a flaw, so if coach Smith considered Duncan to be an elite player he would have switched the team to a three-point play strategy as well. If it had been in Jake''s past life this could also be considered a weakness of the Tar Heels team who only relied on Shammond Williams as their top scorer on the outside shots let alone Carter and Okulaja. However, this season was different because the Tar Heels team could count on Jake who had an average of 72 percent in the hit rate of three-point shots because the team played in an internal play style. If coach Smith asked Jake he could try 9 or more three-point play in this game, not to mention that he guaranteed 65 percent of hits, along with Shammond Williams they could use a different style of play to try to beat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons team. Even so Jake couldn''t guarantee they would win, without him on team Jake saw no chance for team Tar Heels to win this game that was not won in his past life, just a few months after fully adapting to college basketball Jake could guarantee victory. After a few more hours the two teams were almost ready for the game, the Tar Heels team had a different starting lineup before the end of last year, Shammond Williams was PG, Vince Carter SG, Antawn Jamison SF, Ademola Okulaja as PF and Serge Zwikker as Center. The Wake Forest Demon Deacons team came with Jerry Braswell as PG, Tony Rutland as SG, Ricky Peral as SF, Tim Duncan as PF and Loren Woods playing as Center, the coach decided on this lineup to better defend against attacks by Team Tar Heels and gain an advantage in attack. Everyone was confused as to why Jake, who had been the star of the team, was out of the starting lineup in this difficult game, yet the crowd and the audience were expecting a good game and soon they would find out which of those teams with excellent campaigns this season would continue with victories interrupted. What everyone expected was the favoritism of the Tar Heels team that had both Carter and Jamison attacking inside as well as Jake and Williams attacking outside, in this game this versatility would be very important. In the early minutes, Wake Forest led the game and the score with relative ease, they attacked very well and efficiently without making a lot of mistakes, and in defense, they managed to block some attacks from Team Tar Heels. Duncan was being the name of the game and was controlling the rebound by winning in both offensive and defensive contests, he was winning in disputes against Jamison and Zwikker who were the most rebounding players after Jake. "If more than 4 minutes have passed and the lead is entire with the Wake Forest team, they dominate both attacking and defending, Duncan instead playing an incredible game and using his height to win rebounds." "It''s not just the height advantage, it''s a talent test to catch so many rebounds like that, Tar Heels''s Jake is nowhere near the top of the team and has the average rebounding advantage in games." "You''re right, talking about Jake I miss him in this game, with Jake the Tar Heels team could make much better use of the ball in offense and would be strengthened in defense." "Soon I think coach Smith will put him in this game, see it looks like Williams will be replaced." Willians wasn''t having a good game that day because he didn''t get many balls to try the shot on and off and he had to organize the plays, so after more than 4 minutes he left but it wasn''t Jake who came in is Ed Cota In his place coach Smith wanted to insist on internal strikes and Cota was better on the pass. Even though in the next few minutes the result of the match did not change with the entrance of Ed Cota, the team could not make good plays and even if he hit the passes his teammates still failed to score points against the strong defense of Wake Forest. In addition to Tim Duncan, Woods and Rutland were also having a great game, even though Carter and Jamison were also playing well they were missing compared to the opposing defense in that game. Serge Zwikker and Okulaja were even worse off in both attack and defense, it should be said that Wake Forest was doing very well in this match, so just after 13 minutes, Jake entered on the court. "Coach Smith put Jake Smith in the game after 13 minutes, I don''t know what the coach was thinking, I even suspected Jake was injured and couldn''t play in today''s game." "I confess I thought the same, I don''t know the cause, but putting the best player of the team in these last games just after 13 minutes is inexplicable for me, now the Wake Forest team is almost 9 points ahead on the scoreboard, I don''t know if Jake can make a lot of difference." Jake also did not expect coach Smith to be so radical in his punishment and to put Jake in just 13 minutes of play, and coach Smith clearly gave the message that he wanted to keep trying the inside game and it wasn''t for Jake to just insist on shots from 3 points. Jake didn''t know what coach Smith was thinking, but he was a pro and would play his best at this game and do what the coach asked, if the team lost that game he would leave with the quiet conscience that he did his best. After a play with a mistake by Wake Forest, Jake received the ball to work on his first play in the game, he soon passed the ball to Carter who did not seem so excited about that game, Carter advanced and passed the ball to Okulaja who had to leave the three-point line to get out of Duncan''s defense and receive the pass. Okulaja soon felt the pressure of Duncan''s defense and passed the ball back to Jake further back, Jake received and made a feint and tricked the opposing defense and passed, when another defender left Jake passed the ball to Jamison who ripped the defense. Chapter 291 Unhappy Beginning of Year 3 Jamison received the pass entering the inside line and soon finished the play with a layup after protecting the ball, the opposing player risked committing a foul and thus Jamison scored the 2 points for the team Tar Heels. Only quick plays like this bypassing Duncan in defense were most effective for Team Tar Heels, and soon after Wake Forest made another move that ended with Duncan pulling the defense for Woods to enter alone and lay up to score 2 more points. This was the most common type of offense for the Wake Forest team, they were inside and if there were two players defending Duncan the ball would go to Woods if there was only one player scoring Duncan the ball would go for him. It seemed simple, but it was a move that always had to be worked out and trained and depended on Duncan''s talent to make it work, Jake couldn''t say anything because it was the right move against Duncan. Zwikker was a good Center, and Okulaja also did his job well as a PF, but neither had the ability to score Duncan alone in defense, so players like Duncan, Jamison, Carter, and Jake were more likely to score at the university. In the NBA there would always be players who could take care of Duncan''s defense individually and the opposing team would not have as much advantage as in this game, not to mention that the other players in the Wake Forest team also did a good job in this game. In another move Jake was organizing the attack for the team to have Heels, after moving to the attack court he went to Jamison which was more open on the right, Jamison advanced and pass by Peral easily. When another player arrived in defense Jamison went to Okulaja who had left the painted area to receive the ball, Duncan soon arrived in defense and Okulaja moved to Zwikker inside, Zwikker tried the mid-range shot and Woods fumbled. Jamison tried to catch the rebound, but Duncan was quicker and took another defensive rebound for the Wake Forest team, Duncan tried to get out quickly and Jake took advantage of his careless moment to steal the ball. Duncan did not expect to have the ball stolen on his defensive court and when he recovered he saw Jake making a dunk to score 2 more points for the Tar Heels team and the cheering crowd, soon after the game restarted again. Jake played for the end of the first half and did what Coach Smith asked by focusing only on the two-point play, so Jake can only make a three-point play in that first half, in 7 minutes he made 9 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound. Even though not playing, as usual, Jake was the best player at the end of the first half and brought more confidence to the team that missed the least in attack and played better in defense, yet they finished the first half 7 points behind on the scoreboard. Even though Jake played well he did not have much time to change the score of the game and Duncan was also playing well the same way, if they were playing in the same position one could restrict the other, but in different positions the two played quietly. In the second half, Jake hoped to start playing so he could make more plays and maybe reverse the difference in the scoreboard, but Coach Smith decided to start with Ed Cota playing as PG and Williams playing as SG. "I don''t really understand what team coach Tar Heels is thinking, Jake clearly played very well in the few minutes he can play, but is he out of the team early in the second half?" "Maybe it could be a game strategy change? Carter seems to be starting in reserve by the second half." "What change could be effective in this game? They could change their strategy to make more three-point play, but Jake was clearly better than Ed Cota." "This we will have to see in the next few minutes." Maybe if Jake hadn''t said that to Coach Guthridge the day before, Coach Smith would have realized that this game was headed for defeat and would have let Jake play longer, but after what Jake said he couldn''t stand to let him have more than 20 minutes in this game. If it were another player who said something like that, perhaps Coach Smith would have removed that player from the team, but since Jake was one of the best players on the team, the coach could give a few punishment games at most by playing for less time. This change made even the players of Tar Heels confused, the opponents with the full team decided to take this chance to further increase the lead on the scoreboard, was again seen the team Wake Forest dominating the game. After 5 minutes Coach Smith took Shammond Williams to put Vince Carter in the game, but Jake didn''t join him as the commentators had hoped, Jake can only come in after 10 minutes of the second half in place of Ed Cota. At that point, the team was losing by 14 points and even the Tar Heels players were starting to get discouraged in the game, when Jake came into the game the Wake Forest players started paying special attention to him. That''s why in several plays Jake had no opportunity to go inside to score, yet he took advantage of this difficult situation and made more assists when the defense on him had more than one player. Even though Jake had a tight defense he didn''t make a turnover and could always continue the play, so Carter and Jamison who was suffocated the whole game had more freedom to make the play. When Jake was given a lot of space he found an opportunity to try the shot from outside, in 3 more attempts in the second half he could hit two of them and thus help the team a little to recover the score. In another move, Jake received the ball out of the three-point line, as he had already scored 6 points from that position in the second half of the game when opponents were paying more attention to him when one left the inside area to press Jake and another player was waiting. the conclusion of the play. Jake was quick and passed to Carter who was entering the indoor area, Carter soon received another player''s marking and passed the ball to Jamison who had been free, Jamison ran and made a dunk to score 2 more points for Tar Heels. Jake took full advantage of the attention he was getting from the Wake Forest team defense and even failing to score more points he made room for his teammates to have more freedom. So after a few more minutes, the game ended with the Wake Forest team winning by 14 points, even though Jake played well they could not diminish the Wake Forest team advantage before Jake entered the second half. In that second half playing for 10 minutes Jake scored 8 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds, was a good performance considering he was very well marked and thought more of assisting than making points. "This was another big game from Tim Duncan and the Wake Forest team that won their tenth straight game and a bad game for the Tar Heels team who lose their second game of the season and finish their winning streak." "I also didn''t understand why Coach Smith let Jake play only 17 minutes in this game, the time Jake was on the court were the best moments of the Tar Heels team in this game, more plays could be made, the team gained more quality in the shooting of outside and Carter and Jamison had more freedom to make the moves." Like commentators, everyone realized that it was a wrong decision to give Jake so little court time in this game, many even associated that Jake''s absence for most of the game had to do with the team''s defeat. Even though Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge came to think of this several times from the warning Jake had given before the game, in the next game Coach Smith was still undecided about whether to leave Jake out of the next game as well. After the game, the players were not very excited about the outcome of the game and hoped that in the next game the team could win again, everyone was smart not to mention why Jake was out of that game because Coach Smith was so prestigious in that team. Fortunately, everyone was happy to remember that in the next game they would play at home and this was the last game as a visitor, so playing at the Dean Smith Center they were more confident in winning. After returning to university Jake didn''t even have to tell the bad result to his teammates who had watched the game on television, his friends just said losing was normal and that the Tar Heels team would win in the next game. Jake called to talk to his mother and learned that she had also watched the game and was very annoyed that Jake had not played long enough and said that Coach Smith was to blame for the team''s defeat. Jake knew his mother was like that and didn''t argue and just listened to her talking on the call, then she comforted Jake just saying that they would win in the next game, which Eva didn''t know was that would make Jake even sadder because he hoped the team lost again in the next game. The next day Jake returned to his daily training running 50 km, as usual, Zack seemed to be running the 6 km much more easily and asked Jake again if he should increase his distance traveled every day. Jake agreed and so told Zack to run 8 km every day, which Zack didn''t realize is that after a few weeks he was running the 6 km daily in much less time than before, that was Jake''s goal for Zack, after all. Finishing the most disputed marathons has to be run in the shortest time possible. Later the basketball team had their training normally, the players were saddened by the defeat the day before and the training mood was not very good, yet everyone trained hard so they would not lose again in the next game. Chapter 292 Unhappy Beginning of Year 4 And so it was for the next two days, Jake did his training every morning with Zack and the afternoon trained with his teammates, none of the coaches came to talk to him and Jake didn''t want any more problems either and wanted to play again as soon as possible. On January 7 which was the day before the team''s second game of the year, Jake had one more surprise, Eva had arrived in the morning and Anna was with her too, they had come from Miami and closed the restaurant that day to celebrate Jake''s birthday. Jake was very happy with this surprise and that he could spend his birthday together with his mother again, they decided to throw a small party for Jake in a restaurant near the university, all players of Jake''s basketball team and his roommates were called. Even though some of Jake''s classmates had been invited, this was Jake''s 18th birthday which was an important date for anyone, everyone laughed a lot and most of the party Jake had spent with Eva and Anna who didn''t know anyone. After the party Eva and Anna left for Miami again, they did not like to spend the night in hotels and in the morning had to open the restaurant again so decided it was better to travel back at night. After going through this celebration Jake was excited again even trying an unfortunate start of the year, even though the team could miss these next two games when Jake resumed playing normally he had to make sure they wouldn''t lose anymore. Even if they lost a few more games at least in the NCAA tournament games he had to make sure they didn''t lose any games and be champions, another thing Jake worried about was whether he could continue to participate in marathon competitions this year. After all, he would have to miss training or even games during the season, with Coach Smith''s personality it was hard to think that the coach would accept that Jake lost any games in the season. These were concerns Jake had for the season, in fact, he honestly had to admit that he had underestimated the difficulty of college games, he thought he would have more freedom and could do more things than in the NBA, but it seemed he had even more things to do than in the NBA. On his birthday several of his friends called to congratulate him during the day, so Jake can be even happier feeling dear to his friends, even Joseph called congratulating Jake and apologizing for eventually falling out during the holidays. It looked like Joseph had gone back to college earlier this year and said that if Jake was going to play again there they could talk again, Jake knew they wouldn''t meet, but said nothing about it and just agreed. After spending the whole day happily celebrating the birthday the other day Jake had to worry again about the team''s next game in Regular Season, after the first loss everyone wanted to win the second game, only Jake wasn''t excited about that game. He hoped he didn''t have the opportunity to play many minutes in this game either, so it would probably be his team''s second straight loss, yet he would still do his best while on the court. Unlike the game against Wake Forest that had Duncan making a difference in the game, his next opponent had no player who would make such a difference, meanwhile, they had a very strong team. The other day later the Tar Heels team went to the Dean Smith Center to prepare for the game, all the players did the warm-up exercises and the players wondered if Jake would play normally in today''s game. The opponent did not look as strong as Team Wake Forest in the previous game, they would face Team Maryland Terrapins who also came from a sequence of over 11 straight wins earlier this season. They also lost a game, but it was a tough game against the Georgia Bulldogs team that was also having a strong season this year and that game was even for overtime. This was the Maryland Terrapins team''s only defeat this year, so Jake thought it was only fair for the Tar Heels team to lose this game in their past life, surely Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge had the same opinion of him. After a few more hours the two teams were ready for the game, the Maryland Terrapins team came with ?ar¨±nas Jasikevi?ius as PG, Laron Profit as SG, Rodney Elliott as PF, Keith Booth as SF and Obinna Ekezie playing as Center. Four of them played for some time in the NBA and the best player of this team this year was Keith Booth who had almost 20 points average in all games and 8 rebounds as well, Booth was playing very well and was compared to Jamison this season by the experts. Just like Team Wake Forest this Maryland Terrapins team played more attacking inside, the difference is that the Maryland Terrapins team did not have a player like Duncan as a reference in the attack and the team Tar Heels could defend better. If they changed their attack style to attack more with the three-point play they could win this game more easily, it was the same solution as the last game, but as the Tar Heels team would have the same initial formation as the previous game it didn''t look like Coach Smith thought of doing this. In the first minutes of the game, the team played much better than in the previous game, yet the Maryland Terrapins team had the advantage in control of the game and in the scoreboard, even with the whole team playing better lacked a differential to bring them control. about the game. Shammond Williams was playing well and hit two three-point shots, but he couldn''t organize the team as well as Ed Cota and Jake, so in the attack Carter and Jamison''s plays were limited. After 6 minutes Coach Smith decided to put Ed Cota into play, but the team lost in three-point play even though they gained more momentum with Carter and Jamison and without Williams bothering with a three-point play the Maryland Terrapins defense came back to focus on internal defense. "Ten minutes have passed in the first half, the game is still very close, but the Maryland Terrapins team has clearly taken the lead in that game." "I can see what happened in the past game repeating itself in that game, if the Maryland Terrapins team had someone like Duncan on the team they would be more advantageous, clearly Tar Heels'' offensive strategy is wrong." "True, in this game it was a mistake to take Williams off the team, one player was missing to set up the moves, so Jake would have had to come in and Carter would have to leave for Williams to play as SG." "It''s like you said, again we don''t understand why Jake isn''t playing in this game unless he''s injured. These two games were perfect for him to make a difference and bring victory to the Tar Heels team." Coach Smith seems to have realized this was the case and put Jake in place of Ed Cota and let Williams play in place of Carter, so he had done what the commentators thought. Unlike the past game, coach Smith told Jake that the strategy of the game was to make more three-point play in that first half, so Williams had joined that game with him, when Jake came in the defense didn''t care about him and continued defending in the internal area. So after two minutes in two plays, Jake had fired two shots off and hit both of them with 6 points, so Maryland Terrapins'' lead on the scoreboard dropped to just 2 points. After this move, Maryland Terrapins decided to score Jake more closely in the three-point play, so in another play Jake passed the ball to Williams who tried another three-point play and missed. But Jamison caught the rebound and passed to Zwikker to make the 2 points with a layup, so the game was tied again, the Maryland Terrapins team reacted by making 2 points with Booth, but the advantage was only 2 points. After a few more minutes, both teams finished the first half with Maryland Terrapins ahead by 2 points, but the Tar Heels crowd was still looking forward to a second-half turnaround. In that first half, Jake had played for 10 minutes and made 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and steals, clearly, he had been instrumental to the Tar Heels team keeping the slight difference in the score. "Again the team Tar Heels changed completely with Jake''s entry into the game, from an 8-point lead to just 2 points in the first half." "In that game, Jake came in long enough to change the tempo of the game, we hope Jake can start playing in the second half and play longer." "I think Coach Smith is aware of the team changes and knows that it is important for Jake to start playing and they continue this three-point play strategy." Coach Smith naturally understood that in this game Jake could be the key to victory, he also remembered what Jake had said to coach Guthridge and had to assume that he respected Jake''s game vision at a time when the whole team was excited about the winning streak. So in the second half, Jake started playing and Williams also took the place of Carter, the Maryland Terrapins team noticed the Tar Heels offensive strategy change and also changed their defensive play. So in the early minutes, Jake was not having opportunities to try out plays and was having to leave for inbound play and make the 2-point play, Jake also had more freedom to pass the ball to Jamison and Zwikker to make more points. Williams was having the hardest time making the moves, so Coach Smith put Carter in place of Williams, yet the team''s attack strategy didn''t change, they still tried the three-point play with Jake and Okulaja and even Carter. That way any countermeasure that tried to use Maryland Terrapins would still leave room for Tar Heels to attack, in another play Jake received the ball from the left and as the defense approached it passed to Jamison ahead. Chapter 293 Unhappy Beginning of Year 5 Jamison received the ball, but did not attempt the move into the inside area, when the defense arrived he passed to Carter on the right, Carter made the feint and invaded the inner area and when the opposing defense arrived he passed to Okulaja. Okulaja passed the ball back to Jake who was free, Jake waited for the defense to arrive and made a pass tearing the defense for Jamison, Jamison received the ball with freedom and advanced to layup and 2 points for Tar Heels. With Carter joining the Tar Heels team, they were now with more options in offensive moves, Jake and Okulaja could try more outsiders and Carter and Jamison could continue trying in-house moves. "In that second half Coach, Smith made the right decisions by leaving Jake on the team from the start and shifting the offensive tactic to three-point attacks." "True, early in the second half he put Williams in to focus more on the three-point play and Maryland Terrapins defender began to defend more outside the box and Jamison had more room to attack." "Then Coach Smith noticed this change in defending Maryland Terrapins and put Carter back in play to further explore this opening in defending Maryland Terrapins." "It''s all because Jake is on the court that the Tar Heels team has won several attack options, perhaps we can see the Tar Heels team gaining the lead on this match." After a couple of plays, Tar Heels got the lead after 2 minutes, which was when the Maryland Terrapins coach decided to give up three-way play and defend more inside. That was the right decision because at that point in the game, Team Tar Heels had the strongest offensive inside with Carter, Jamison, and Zwikker, and the Maryland Terrapins defense was stronger inside. Jake was still tagged, but only one player remained in defense, even though the tactics were set by the Tar Heels offensive lineup being stronger in the inside plays Coach Smith did so because he trusted Jake. So it was in another play when Jake organized the attack after taking a defensive rebound, it was the chance for the team Tar Heels to increase the advantage that was 2 points, Jake passed to Okulaja who left to receive the pass. Okulaja received Jake''s pass and then advanced to the back of the court on the left when the defense came to press him, Okulaja moved to Carter inside, Carter managed to get rid of the player who was marking him and advanced into the inner area. The way he advanced had two players from the Maryland Terrapins team and his fellow attackers Jamison and Zwikker were well marked in this defensive formation on the Maryland Terrapins team, so Carter moved to Jake who was off the three-point line. Jake received the ball and easily got rid of the player who was scoring him and tried the shot from outside to score 3 points for team Tar Heels, the defense of Maryland Terrapins did the right thing, but using the individual skill of the players Jake managed to make 3 more points and increase the lead on the scoreboard to 5 points. "What a great move from Team Tar Heels this time, after getting a rebound even with the Maryland Terrapins defense well assembled they managed to find a space to make the 3 points. "This is Jake''s 4-point three-play in this 5-game game, he''s been getting a good average of hits in the last games and this game is clearly better." "Jake has confidence in his three-point play, we can clearly see that he only shoots off when he is sure he has a chance to hit, not to mention that he trusts his teammates to catch the rebound if he misses." It was just as the commentators said, Jake firing only when he thought he could get it right and he could always firing with confidence when he knew his teammates could get the rebound. In the game against Wake Forest, he had no such confidence because he knew that Duncan could end up catching rebounds, yet he ended up not missing so many three-point moves in that game. After a few more moves Jake got a steal in anticipation of the opposing team pass, he used his speed to advance to the attacking court but had two players on the Maryland Terrapins defensive court reacting in time and Jake had to wait for his teammates. Luckily Jamison and Carter were quick and the fast play turned a three on three attacks, this was a chance to increase the lead to 7 points and Jake didn''t want to miss this opportunity. So Jake ran farther to the right where Jamison was attacking and near the three-point line he seemed to make the pass for Jamison, the opponents also thought the pass would go to Jamison and shifted the defensive to the right. At the last moment, Jake made his move unique that he created ''elastic pass'' and with his fingertips changed the direction of the pass to Carter, this move took everyone by surprise and Carter almost let the ball slip out of his hands. Luckily he recovered quickly and finished the game with a dunk to make 2 points for the Tar Heels team, the game was 15 minutes into the second half and 7 points ahead Tar Heels practically secured the victory. "Another incredible move from Team Tar Heels, Jake started with a steal and advanced with speed, he was smart to wait for his teammates to appear to continue the attack." "So he tricked his opponent with a different play and Carter got the free pass to make the 2 points." "What an amazing move from Jake, let''s see in the replay¡­ see what an interesting move, he totally fooled his opponents and even his teammates, his whole move was to pass the ball to Jamison, even though his body was adjusting from that way to give the pass." "But in the end with his fingertips, he managed to change the trajectory of the pass for Carter to receive the ball, Carter was surprised by that and almost lost the play." "I don''t know if I''ve ever seen a similar move in basketball before, but I''m sure no one can do something like that at speed and fooling opponents even with body movements." After another 2 minutes, Coach Smith still decided to take Jake out at the end of the second half, yet Jake was applauded by the crowd at Dean Smith Center, clearly Jake was responsible for that win. Jake played in this second half for 18 minutes and scored 22 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, so he practically guaranteed the team''s victory in this tough game, Jake knew this more than anyone else because in his past life his team I had lost. The game ended with Tar Heels winning at home by 88 points against 83 points for Maryland Terrapins, it was the first game Jake could change the result he had seen in his past life and knew he could continue to do so and secure the win at the NCAA tournament. Coach Smith was very happy to win but was upset when he admitted that Jake was right, without him in this game they would have lost again and maybe after a two-game losing streak the team would get discouraged and lose the next game as Jake said. Even though he was proud he was not stupid, he realized that Jake was right and not arrogant and had to accept it and let Jake play again, originally he thought of leaving Jake out of the team just for a few minutes in the wake forest match as punishment because Jake was late for training. Coach Smith coached basketball teams for many years and coached the team that had Michael Jordan playing too, he knew that sometimes there were some great players who did different and special things without being arrogant and he had to accept that Jake was a genius like this. After the game Jake celebrated with his friends who had gone to watch the game in person, Jake saw them when they were in the break from the first to the second half, everyone was happy to see the Tar Heels team winning this game and Jake being happy about it. After Jake called his mother who was very happy when she watched Jake win in the restaurant, she said on the phone that the team only won because Jake played longer in this game and if Jake had played so long in the last game they would have won again. Jake did not know what to answer because he himself did not know if the outcome of the game would be different if he were playing, he knew that they would have lost with fewer points, but did not know if he could have changed the outcome of the entire game. He could know if it would be any different the next time they faced the Wake Forest team, so Jake went to rest happily after winning this game over. The next day he did his daily training with Zack as he did every day and later went to basketball team training, everyone was very happy to have won this game and seemed to accept that Jake was really a special player. Some still wondered if Jake was the best player on the team because they still had Carter and Jamison who played very well in different positions, but how PG Jake was certainly the best player with his assists and how he controlled the game. None of the coaches came to talk to Jake in training and it seemed like they wanted to forget about the subject that Jake talked to Coach Guthridge, Jake really wanted to forget it and was happy that Coach Guthridge didn''t seem to be mad at him anymore. Jake respected Coach Smith a lot, but he cared more about what Coach Guthridge thought because Coach Guthridge was the one who brought him to the team and he was the head coach next year. The team had to focus on the next game because they had lost from what Jake remembered in his past life, he thought it was because they lost two games in a row, but there could be another reason he didn''t know, so it was better to train harder for them change the outcome of this game too. Chapter 294 Unhappy Beginning of Year 6 So this week besides training Jake did nothing different, some asked about the move Jake had made in the last game and were impressed when Jake said it was no accident and that he had trained a lot to make that move. After another two days of training they traveled to play the next game as a visitor, it was the third game of Regular Season and they had a win and a defeat, it was better to win this game and not lose more to get a good NCAA tournament ranking. After a few hours, they arrived and went to do the pre-game warm-up exercises, just as the previous game Jake would still start on the bench, but no one doubted that he would still come in during the game to help the team. The team they would be facing today was Virginia Cavaliers, it was a team that was not having a good season even though they had a well-balanced team, they had a three-point attack strategy with internal attacks. So depending on the opponents they could have the upper hand or be dominated, perhaps in this game where Jake remembered that the Tar Heels team lost, they got lucky using the three-point attacking tactic and ended up winning. But with Jake on the court, this was harder to do because he would nullify the opposing team''s PG and could still make some three-point plays, that was if he had enough time on the court that would depend on Coach Smith''s strategy. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the game, the team opponent Tar Heels was the Virginia Cavaliers team which this year had a much weaker team than the previous opponents they had. Even though Jake was apprehensive about this game, Coach Smith and Coach Guthridge were apprehensive because of Jake''s advice before the game, they hoped this could be an easy game, but it was better to be careful and not underestimate the opponent. That''s why Coach Smith said several times in training for players to stay focused on this game, as Jake was also very serious in training the other players also began to feel an unknown pressure. The Virginia Cavaliers team came with the team formed by Harold Deane as PG, Courtney Alexander as SG, Jamal Robinson in SF position, Norman Nolan in PF position and Colin Ducharme playing as Center. In the early minutes of this game, the Tar Heels team played cautiously and worked the attacking moves well as the players struggled in defense, perhaps due to the caution of the team they eventually realized that the Virginia Cavaliers players were playing very well in the match today. So much so that even playing as in training they could not open any advantage on the scoreboard and were equal with the team Virginia Cavaliers, if in other games they might not care about it and just go for the attack. But from the unknown pressure caused by the coach and Jake in training, they became even more cautious and just did as in training, this continued until almost 7 minutes from the first half. "We''re seeing an unexpected game here at University Hall today, the Virginia Cavaliers team has had a shaky season with some great games and other stumbles, but today they''re playing very well." "The Tar Heels team that has had a great season with just two losses have not rushed either and have played a calm and well-controlled game, so we have an even game so far." "True, in terms of individual talents, the Tar Heels team clearly has the upper hand, but as a team, today Virginia Cavaliers players are in great shape to keep the game that way." "Maybe if the Tar Heels players did as in other games, it would be Virginia Cavaliers who would have the upper hand and then it would be hard to recover." "I think the Tar Heels team is right not to hurry because Coach Smith still has Jake on the bench who can probably get in at any time in this part of the game." Just as the commentators said Coach Smith was aware of what was happening on the court right now, he wondered what this game would be like if it wasn''t for Jake telling Coach Guthridge that. They would probably have two losses in two Regular Season games and players would be very agitated thinking about winning the first game against a weak team like Virginia Cavaliers and losing the game. So after 7 minutes of the first half, he decided it was finally time to put Jake on the court, Williams left after scoring 4 points and having a normal game and didn''t care because he would probably take Carter''s place again. Jake was analyzing the game and the opponent while on the bench and saw that Virginia Cavaliers had no special strategy for that game, only that in this game their overall strength of their team was slightly stronger than the team Tar Heels. As the Virginia Cavaliers team, this season was known for having a good defense, they would naturally win this game if it continued as it was, so Jake just had to do as in training. Jake was soon to mark Courtney Alexander who was making the most three-point moves and Carter was to mark Harold Deane who was stronger on the inside plays, this was the way to disrupt the Virginia Cavaliers attack in that game. After a few moves, Zwikker caught a defensive rebound and then passed the ball to Jake to set up the counterattack, Jake this time not accelerating the play but just waiting for the team to go normally for the attack. When the team was all in attack Jake passed the ball to Carter who was behind him, Carter received the ball and attempted a feint on the opposing player and managed to pass through the left, inside the three-point line Carter passed the ball diagonally to Jamison on the right. Jamison received the ball and then passed it back to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and made a deep throw for Zwikker who made his free-kick inside, Zwikker received the pass and then dunk to make 2 points for the team Tar Heels. In another move after making the move, Jake received Jamison''s pass further back and feigned an outside shot to count in and drive to the basket to lay up and 2 points for the Tar Heels team. At the end of the first half, Jake landed a steal intercepting an opponent''s pass and making a counterattack that ended in a Carter dunk after receiving Jamison''s pass when Jake drew all the opposing defense. In the first half of this game Jake played for 13 minutes and scored 12 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, it was a great game where Jake worked harder to assist his teammates when he was well scored. After all Jake was the team''s top scorer with an average of over 22 points per game, it was normal for him to get special defense attention, as Jake was a PG he took advantage of that special defense attention to create more opportunities for his teammates. "This first half was completely dominated by the Tar Heels team, especially after Jake came in before the first half." "True, it was a well-balanced game played between the two teams until Jake came in and broke the balance completely bringing the advantage to the Tar Heels team." "It''s interesting to see how Jake uses the opposing defense to create more opportunities for his teammates, he''s a PG that all teams would want to have." "We hope Coach Smith will keep Jake early in the second half to have a more exciting game and we''ll see if the home team can react to that game." "I find it hard to do that, the difference is 6 points after the end of the first half and the Virginia Cavaliers team is already playing the best they can in that first half." "We''ll have to keep watching to see what happens, which is why I say college basketball is so exciting, anything can happen before the end of the game." Coach Smith naturally realized how important Jake was in this game and didn''t think for a moment about taking him off the team, after a few minutes of the second half Jake got another steal and used his speed to counterattack. This time he was alone against just one Virginia Cavaliers defender, so he bet on his speed and after the three-point line was just behind the defender who couldn''t find the right time to try the steal. When Alexander thought of missing Jake to stop the move Jake tried a high-speed crossover to fool Alexander, as Alexander thought of missing, he was not fooled by Jake''s dribbling and didn''t get the foul. Jake was surprised that his dribbling went awry, but soon recovered and made the unstoppable Spin Move which was LeBron James'' special move and after turning on Alexander ended the move with a dunk. "What an amazing move we saw now, Jake''s wonderful move scoring 2 points for the Tar Heels team after a steal." "Really an amazing play that just happened by luck as Alexander tried to foul and didn''t fall on Jake''s quick crossover." "It was a powerful move, after a high-speed play and a failed crossover. Jake made the turn and soon finished the dunk, this is a game that requires a lot of the player''s knee and requires a lot of strength in addition to agility." "I''m sure the home audience loved the play as well as the people who came to watch the game here in Charlottesville, Virginia while cheering for the Virginia Cavaliers team are standing up for this amazing move." After this move while Jake was praised the game continued, after a few more moves Jake caught a defensive rebound and after making the move went to Jamison who came in alone to score 2 points for the Tar Heels team. Just when the game was 3 minutes to end, Coach Smith took Jake to put Ed Cota, in that second half Jake played for 17 minutes and scored 26 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. An amazing double-double that brought applause in the stands in the game, seeing that Coach Smith decided that while Jake was playing well and not behaving badly he would keep playing. Chapter 295 Using a Coach as an Assistant 1 "And we came to the end of that game, a game that was supposed to be normal as it was just the third game of Regular Season, but it turned out that the Virginia Cavaliers team played surprisingly well today and the Tar Heels team played even better." "With Jake performing flawlessly throughout the game and making a double-double with 38 points and 12 assists plus 8 rebounds, 6 steals and a few more incredible plays leading the Tar Heels team to an easy win in a tough game." "That''s right, we have to keep watching to see if freshman Jake keeps playing so well by becoming the team star instead of more experienced Carter and Jamison." Tar Heels ended up winning 85 points against 71 Virginia Cavaliers points, Jake led the team in a good game and Carter and Jamison still played well, so the team was starting well with two wins in 3 games of the season. Jake was also very happy and called his mother and talked to his friends after returning to university, after all, it was the second game that Jake knew the Tar Heels team should have missed and he managed to change the result with his ability. So now Jake knew that he had the ability to change the bad results and keep the best results, it remained to know if it would continue like this all season and they could win the NCAA tournament. Now he knew that he had complete confidence from Coach Smith, in the coming months the team would have more than 10 games in which Jake could earn even more coach confidence and so maybe he could get a release to run in marathons this year. Even if he only got one day off he could make a sacrifice and strive to run this year''s major marathons, so he knew he would get more statistics and could have more chances to win the next games. The other day Jake continued his normal training routine, the things he had to do every day just increased now that classes had started again, Jake was still careful not to stand out too much in class and even getting good grades couldn''t get attention. Luckily he was in a good university now and many students besides him were able to get the best grades with a lot of studies, even Charlie from the basketball team got the best grades even playing basketball, Jake respected him a lot. After all their circumstances were different, Jake got the best grades easily because you had a lot of skills and his system stats and had many more years to study in his past life and high school, but Charlie had none of that and could still stand out. After more time passed even though Jake was getting closer to Carter and Jamison during training outside of him, it was with Charlie who he talked to most, Jake even talked about investing with Charlie and tried to give some tips. But since Jake couldn''t say he had already made a few million investing, he couldn''t convince Charlie to invest while he had time, it was a pity, but he couldn''t easily expose his secrets just to help his friends, in time Jake could help his friends in other ways. During those days before the next game who spoke to him was Tiffany, she said she would talk to him in the coming weeks and Jake thought that was impossible because he had to go back to university, but it seemed like Tiffany had not forgotten what he said and decided to come to Jake''s university to talk to him. Tiffany said she would be coming to college after a few days, but Jake had no way of knowing exactly when that day would be and so far he could have a lot of games, so he ended up dropping the subject and refocused on his training. In recent games Coach Smith found that the weakness of his team was that they had only attacks inside to focus on the current formation of the team, they could do a formation for much three-point play, but it would be with many more players weak individually. In the lineup that Jake remembered in his past life, they would put Williams, Carter, and Okulaja to try for more three-point plays, so Coach Smith had to normally try in-field play which was the specialty of the team''s strongest lineup. But now Coach Smith had Jake on his team if he put Jake and Williams into the three-point play they would be as strong as the teams that usually did the most three-point play. And since Jake the team could also stand out more in the indoor moves because the passing quality and the organization of plays were much better with Jake on the team, so Coach Smith decided he would no longer leave Jake out of the team. Even more so after the last game, Coach Smith began talking to Coach Guthridge about their ability to play a strategy for the stronger teams like Wake Forest that required more attack and defensive versatility. Coach Smith was thinking of a strategy where they could keep the fort in domestic and three-point attacks, of course, that would only be possible with Jake playing, but if it worked out the team''s disadvantage would no longer exist. So the days went by quickly and the Tar Heels team had more games at that time, they had a game against the NC State Wolfpack team that had an average team this year, Jake started playing for the first time since the last 3 games. He was 16 minutes before being replaced in the first half, Jake managed to score 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals in the first half and led the whole team to have a better game and to perform well. In the second half he played for another 16 minutes and scored 16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, so the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning by 74 points against 58 points from the NC State Wolfpack team. This was a game that the Tar Heels team had also won for what Jake remembered in his past life, but it was a much more difficult and close game in which the Tar Heels team won by a few points lead. This showed how they were playing much better with Jake playing as team PG, unfortunately in this situation, Ed Cota had an average of only 8 or 9 minutes per game, luckily everyone could see his skill within the few minutes he played. Ed Cota''s predicament in Jake''s past life was also saddened by his skill, Ed Cota was someone who had everything to be one of the NBA big names playing as PG, but because of his height, he was eventually left out. from the NBA and never had a chance. Even so, he had a successful career for a few years playing in European basketball, even though he was 1.83 m tall and was considered small by NBA standards even when playing PG. Maybe that''s why the system decided to raise Jake''s height compared to what he had in his past life, with Jake''s current height he would have no problem even if he wanted to play in positions other than Center. With another double-double with 33 points and 11 assists Jake had another incredible performance and was once again the highlight in the team, as well as in the other games with his multiplayer passes also had an excellent performance. Of course, everyone was overshadowed by Jake''s performance in the game, if it was in high school Jake would fight for the team to score more points or he would score fewer points to give more opportunities to his teammates. But in this situation, he would have to show the best performance he could to be sure to get an NBA seat when he left college, even though they were friends the team players were also competitors. After the game Jake didn''t forget to call his mom to celebrate and celebrate with his friends who had watched this game in person as it was a home game, the next game would also be at home. Such a sequel could help players relax for a while without having to travel to play, the next day beyond their daily running training with Zack and training with basketball team Jake also went out with Zack to do some things of brotherhood. Jake was interested in various philanthropic actions and the good of the community, usually the sport-related things to raise funds for some sympathetic action was the kind of activity that Jake and Charlie were almost always together. Even in some cash donations, Jake always thought that after spending his time when he needed to invest a lot of money in investments that were until 2000 he would participate in many donation campaigns. But in his time at university and especially in the fraternity he learned that he did not need to donate tens of thousands of dollars to help in some solidary causes, he could help with small contributions and with thousands of people coming together for one cause it was possible to help many people. Sometimes Jake also showed up at some university parties not to be too antisocial and even though it was fun, he always refused to drink any alcohol, he was not yet old enough to drink and never really liked drinks. Jake still enjoyed some wine or beer on social occasions, but parties weren''t the kind of place where Jake liked to drink, especially now that he wasn''t old enough for that, he knew that as a basketball player he should be careful if his image social and try not to break any rules or laws. Luckily with Charlie as a Senior, it was much more reassuring for Jake than anyone would care even if he didn''t drink, yet there were few opportunities he had to go to these parties. Now the team had a 12-win streak and only 2 losses in the season and in the regular season of the conference they had 3 wins and only one loss if things were as Jake remembered in his past life this would already be one of the best. team seasons in history. But that was unimportant without a title at the end of the season to top off this performance, Jake wanted to win as much of a tournament as possible to get satisfied from his time at university. Chapter 296 Using a Coach as an Assistant 2 After a few days Tiffany had not yet appeared at the university and Jake concentrated only on training, on the 18th the Tar Heels team soon had another home game, this was a game that inevitably the whole team was relaxed and even Coach Smith it was like this. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start the game, Jake would be starting the game again and the opponent was the Georgia Tech Yellow team which this season was with an especially bad team. They were having a rough season, and from what Jake remembered it would be a bad season for the team, another thing Jake paid attention to was that it could be his reality if he didn''t decide to join the UNC that had the Tar Heels team. This team had Matt Harpring who was an NBA player and a skilled SF, he is a good player and has had good seasons in the team, but the whole team is weak and his individual ability can''t make much difference. If Jake had gone to another university with a weaker team thinking of being the absolute leader of the team something like that could happen to him, so he chose a university with a stronger team even if he had to stay in reserve. Even though the opponent for this game was weaker Jake still didn''t relax and was careless and focused on the game, so the team ended up getting a little more excited seeing Jake trying his best. Jake can play for 17 minutes in this first half, he scored 24 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, with a good first half Jake can lead the team to an absolute lead on the scoreboard. The team cheered on Jake''s performance and even the players who started as a reserve played better, only Jamison was having a harder time with Harpring in defense on his side. In the second half Jake continued playing in the game that could be his best offensive performance, Coach Smith approved the team playing as well and decided to just let the players play as they would like the team to win. In the second half Jake played for another 17 minutes and can make 27 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, thus leading the whole team in a good performance, Carter can also make 16 points, Jamison scored 13 points and Zwikker 9 points. At the end of the game Jake ended up with a double-double of incredible 51 points with 11 assists, plus 8 rebounds and 7 steals, the Tar Heels team ended up winning the game by 112 points against just 42 points from the Georgia Tech Yellow team. That was the second game in the year that the team scored the most, but the amazing thing was that it was almost 40 points more than this game had in Jake''s past life, Jake can hit 9 three-point shots in just 12 attempts in the game. Jake had always had a great hit rate this season so far, an average of more than 63 for sure on his three-point attempts, in 15 games of the season Jake had made 53 right-score plays making 124 points in less than one-third of the season. When Coach Smith and the commentators thought of this hit rate they found it incredible, especially since Jake had an average of less than 6 three-point attempts per game, which showed what Jake said only trying when he was sure he could hit. And it couldn''t be said that Jake had such a high hit rate because he tried fewer shots because if he keeps that average he can even break the record for most points made with three-point shots this season. After all Jake had a current average of a few minutes per game for spending the beginning of the season in reserve, so if he continues to play for 32 minutes every game he can make even more three-point plays. Also, this was the game where Jake scored the most points this season, he took advantage of the team''s good momentum and his opponent''s weakness to have a game as he did in his high school days. After a few days, Jake took advantage of the good phase of the team and in which he himself was facing another tough game against the Florida State Seminoles team, this was a game against the team that had beaten the Tar Heels team in Jake''s past life. The Florida State Seminoles team was having a good season and had a well-balanced team with two future NBA players, plus it was the university team where Jake was considering studying in his past life. Of course, he didn''t plan on playing basketball there and just went to study, so they weren''t good memories of what happened, nor was it the only university he thought of studying in his past life as there were others in Florida, but it was most likely for him. Jake knew that Coach Guthridge had confidence in him again for what happened in the last games and also that the team could have even lost all three games just as Jake had said, so he told the coach that he thought they had to be careful to Don''t miss this game. This time was different from the last time and Jake was already starting at the games, so Coach Guthridge understood that Jake was giving a warning to the coach to remind the team to be careful, after all, he was not the high school captain. In the days before training Coach Smith said the Florida State Seminoles team was a dangerous opponent and it was better than the players were careful, so Jake knew that Coach Smith had been careful. On game day the team was again focused and focused on the game, so in the first half even having a difficult game they managed to dominate the opponent, Jake played for 17 minutes and scored 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 5 steals. The first half was not easy for the Tar Heels team and the Florida State Seminoles attack was very strong in this game, luckily the players were focused and Jake had a great defensive performance for the team to take the lead. In the second half, the game remained difficult, but the Tar Heels team gradually gained control of the game with a good advantage which diminished the spirits of the Florida State Seminoles team, so they got the victory. Team Tar Heels scored 89 points against 84 from Florida State Seminoles, Jake played for 16 minutes in the second half and made 14 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals, he focused more on defense and developing plays. So much so that in 6 steals he made in the game in which he managed to keep possession he only scored points in one of those plays and assists in another two plays, 3 of the plays in which he caught the steal he did not participate directly in the play. In this game, Jake also played an important role and was instrumental in winning even though not scoring as many points as in the last game, Jake showed all his versatility in these two games by scoring many points in one and being critical in defense in the other. Jake was the name of the game not only for the points as well as the 30 points and 11 steals double-double, Jake knew that he had changed the outcome of the game he knew in his past life again, so he was very happy about it. In the next few days the Tar Heels players would have a little more days between games and a little more rest, Tiffany seems to have figured that out and appeared the next day of the Tar Heels game against Florida State Seminoles. Jake already knew the city better after spending a lot of time with Zack and can recommend some restaurants for them to eat, Jake knew naturally that Tiffany had not come to thank him for buying Robert''s stock, but it should be something important for her to come from Miami "Hi Tiffany, I didn''t expect to see you anytime soon, and more here at the university." "You talk like you don''t want to see me." "You know that''s not it, so what''s the reason you came here." "Alright, you''re right, but I also came to thank you for helping Clara buy those stocks, so you helped me too as my company can''t grow in the last two years." "I came here too because finally, I could find someone to be your coach after so long, I''ve been looking a lot these past few months, but you asked me several times to stop looking because you were busy and it took too long." "That''s right, actually right now I don''t have time to commit to athletics training, on several days I can''t even do my daily training for running marathons on game days." "I understand you are saying that you don''t have time to commit to training and coaches usually seek commitment and results from their athletes." "That''s right, so I guess now is not the best time for me." "That''s why I said it was good news, you asked for a coach who had experience in various modalities of athletics and only knew the specific training of each sport, and the coach would have to have a description to not tell his secrets right?" "Yes, that''s more or less what I asked for." "The truth is that when you asked me to stop looking I had already found several candidates to be your coach after you won the Olympics and broke the world record, so I just decided to look further for a coach who could fit your tight schedule." "Luckily I found a coach who has all the requirements you are looking for and you shouldn''t mind much even if you delay your training or even do your training." When Jake heard this he was surprised, being a champion he could have one of the best coaches if he wanted to, but he didn''t demand it because he knew that without commitment to competitions and training no winning coach would want to coach him. So he decided he just needed a coach who knew how to train an athlete and wasn''t very famous, so the coach could accept that Jake trained for less time on days when he had to play basketball. But he never thought he could find a coach who didn''t even care if he trained or not or if he competed. Chapter 297 Using a Coach as an Assistant 3 Listening to Tiffany talk about someone who didn''t care about training his own athletes, the first thing Jake thought was that this coach had no integrity and could be a fake pretending to be. "I know what you must be thinking, it''s not a scam or someone with no integrity, the situation is that this coach has some people issues that make him really need a job." "He is not a famous coach and tried to train some athletes who out of luck eventually failed and he needs a higher salary than a university or school can afford for him, so he must have been included in this list that I asked to do by mistake." So Jake understood what Tiffany was thinking, a coach usually dedicated to coaching an athlete to win multiple competitions beyond a salary he can receive depending on whether a player is affiliated with a professional team or even the state. Even if a coach ended up working at a very good university he would receive an average of $ 45,000 a year, it would be different if he coached an American football team or an NCAA team. If he needs a bigger salary than that he would need a lot of luck and could probably make some exceptions even if he was a very good coaching person, Jake was one who could, of course, pay far more than a university paid. "So you''re saying if I pay him well may not care even if I don''t do my training?" "Yes, that''s what I think, besides, you miss some training because your circumstances are unique and everyone knows that you are an elite athlete even doing it for years, so paying well I think this coach can accept training you even without the commitment of other athletes." "It''s great news really if I meet someone like that I won''t have to worry about my training being ineffective, you can talk with that coach, Tiffany." "So as soon as I get back to Miami I''ll call him to come here to talk to you." After that they talked a lot more and celebrated talking about how all things worked out at Clara''s companies, Tiffany even said that she was quite happy to have someone like Jake partner with the company. She also said how life was full of unexpected things, because of Matthew''s recommendation that she herself had been against in the beginning she and Clara ended up meeting someone like Jake who had helped them so much. After the conversation, Tiffany returned to Miami to settle the affairs of the company, just as she had said she had gone to college more to celebrate and talk to him because the subject she had could be said over the phone. It was really good news she gave Jake, after all, he was starting to give up his idea of ??having a coach, after all, he knew well that his future days would be increasingly complicated and only for a few months in the year could he have more freedom. So Jake thought it would be hard to find a qualified coach who would agree to work with him just because of a better salary, of course, he would still have to know that coach to know if he was really qualified. Of course, he trusted the information that Tiffany was right, so he just had to wait for this coach to come to know what he really was like, so Jake decided to forget about it for now and focus on his training. The Tar Heels team had 16 games this season in which they won 14 and lost only 2 games, at the ACC conference they lost only one and had 5 wins and came from a 5 win streak. In this good season, the Tar Heels team was very strong and already considered one of the favorites to win the ACC tournament, after all, there were still a few months left to think about the NCAA tournament. After a few more days they get ready for the next game, after a day more rest and having a home game the team Tar Heels was in high spirits for that game, after a few hours both teams were ready for the game. The opponent of this game was the team Clemson Tigers that had been having a good season this year and had a strong team, they had a strategy of attack in the internal area as the team Tar Heels. Even though they had good players there was no player who could unbalance in this game, so the Tar Heels team was confident in stopping the attack of the opposing team, Jake also preferred to score players who attacked inside than players who made three-point plays. That''s because it was easier for him to be able to defend and even get a steal against a player who made three-point plays, it was much easier to end up foul while in defense. Just as Jake thought the Clemson Tigers team attacked more with in-house plays and thus made it easier for Tar Heels to make the save, in attack they had the advantage in individual confrontations and had Jake to make the three-point plays. Jake can play for 16 minutes in this first half of the game, he had no qualified player to defend against him and it was harder to get an attack on the inside so he scored 19 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. So Tar Heels had the lead and in the second half continued the same way, Jake could play for 16 minutes and made 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, performing well in a simple game. Team Tar Heels can easily win by 84 points against just 50 points from the opponent, it was again a much bigger score than Jake remembered that team Tar Heels won last year. Jake had a great offensive performance in this game and hit 7 three-point shots from 9 attempts in this game, it was a high hit rate in a game where the opposing team did not have a player who could score Jake properly. This was the sixth straight win of the Tar Heels team that came strong this season, it was still more than half of the season and so many did not know if the Tar Heels team would continue to win the games. After this victory everyone was even more excited for the next game in a few days, they were in a 6-win streak and would play against a great rival for team Tar Heels and team Duke Blue Devils. It was a historic rivalry between the two universities in all sports, and this time the Duke Blue Devils team came from a defeat against the strong Maryland Terrapins team, so even if they were playing as a visitor they were confident of victory. For this game everyone was very confident of victory, even knowing that the team Tar Heels had lost in their past life from the results in the last games Jake was confident of victory just like all his teammates. Even the coach was excited for the victory of the team Tar Heels, so after a few days of training, the team went to the next game, even playing as a visitor they were not intimidated by the pressure of the opposing crowd and just thought of winning. Just as Team Tar Heels was confident of victory, Duke Blue Devils players were being cautious and worried about the next game, so everyone could see that Team Tar Heels had a stronger team and Jake as a star. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start this game, Jake was starting again playing as in the last games and they had the same initial formation of the last games. The Duke Blue Devils team came with Steve Wojciechowski playing as PG, Trajan Langdon playing as SG, Roshown McLeod playing as SF, Ricky Price playing as PF and Greg Newton playing as Center. This year''s Duke Blue Devils teams were having a great season, they were one of the strongest teams at the conference, but they didn''t have a strong individual team, no player was so prominent, and even though some of them played in the NBA after a few years they still haven''t very successful. This team used a lot of strategy and a lot of game reserves, they tried a few three-point moves, but they also attacked more than mid-range in 2-point moves, this was a team that relied on coaches to coach a competitive team. After a short while the game began, Jake was playing as usual in the first few plays and realized that his teammates were feeling the pressure of Duke Blue Devils defender, they were not so easy to pass and missed a few attacks. Jake was still playing well but did not get the ball so much because of the opposing defense''s position, yet they still had a slight lead on the scoreboard, yet Jake felt this was a strangely comfortable game for the opposing team and problematic for them, but thought it must be because they are playing at home. "In those first few minutes of the game, the Tar Heels team has had a small advantage in the game, but it''s a harder game than expected." "It is natural that it is a difficult game after all the two teams have a strong rivalry between them, so we cannot expect a normal game, moreover, even if the team has the advantage in the ability of the players they are playing as a visitor." "Even though Jake is playing well it seems that he is having difficulty making moves or even receiving passes with Duke Blue Devils'' play strategy, Steve Wojciechowski, though small, has a good defensive ability." After a few more plays the first half ended with Tar Heels ahead but it was still a game played between the teams, Jake played for 16 minutes and scored 14 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block. He made a first-half very well considering other games but felt that it was not good enough, his whole team also scored fewer points than normally, in the second half he would have to see if he could do differently. Early in the second half the game continued the same way and Jake started playing again, he tried more plays but his teammates were being hampered by the opponents and only Jake had more freedom to attack even being separated from his teammates. Chapter 298 Using a Coach as an Assistant 4 Meanwhile, the Duke Blue Devils team also had a normal game attacking efficiently and trying not to be far behind on the scoreboard. In the second half while finding the game strange the team Tar Heels was always ahead in the scoring, the advantage was always only 2 or 4 points and never passed that, yet the team Tar Heels was confident that could win the victory. After halfway through the second half Team Tar Heels still won and the two teams looked like they didn''t care if the score went on, Team Tar Heels just wanted to know about the win and Team Duke Blue Devils seemed to have accepted defeat and not I wanted to lose so badly. "It''s not really the game I expected to see considering the rivalry of the teams, I expected a tougher and tougher game, but it looks like Duke Blue Devils have given up on the win completely since the start of the second half." "The two teams don''t have such a different season, team Tar Heels has 15 wins and only 2 losses and team Duke Blue Devils have 15 wins and 5 losses, they lost more because they played more games." "We can understand that the Tar Heels team is stronger considering the player''s ability, Jake seems to be being forgotten by the opponents and is not getting many passes." "It seems like a Duke Blue Devils team strategy where they are isolating Jake from the rest of the team, they let him do more points, but they can keep him from doing what he normally does as PG is to arm the moves well." "It could be a good strategy, but the Tar Heels team is winning this game." The game continued like this until 16 minutes into the second half when Jake came out of the game, the Duke Blue Devils team who seemed to have given up the game started to react and the Tar Heels mood had cooled. Without Jake on the court, Duke Blue Devils team played with a strategy in which they focused fully on the defense inside and placed two players when Jamison or Carter caught the ball. After another two minutes they had turned the score around as when Jake left they were just 2 points behind on the scoreboard, so with only 2 minutes left the Tar Heels team was losing 2 points. Jake thought Coach Smith would put him on the court again and soon got ready, but contrary to what he expected Coach Smith didn''t do that, he saw that Ed Cota was better helping the team than Jake. So Jake just had to watch and hope his teammates did something for them to win, so in the next minute, each team made a move and scored 2 points each, so the last-minute difference was still only 2 minutes. In another play, Ed Cota was with the ball and even with Wojciechowski firm in defense he tried to advance and went to Okulaja which was open on the right, Okulaja tried the individual play and could not move and can only pass to Jamison. Jamison made a feint and went to the back of the court with the ball in his hands, yet a two-point move would not change anything, so he saw Carter free across the block, Carter thought the same as Jamison and stepped back and tried the three-point shot. Unfortunately, Carter''s shot went wrong and Duke Blue Devils got the ball missing 42 seconds and with 2 points in front of the score, yet being anxious about the result Tar Heels returned to defend. The Duke Blue Devils team was smart and held the ball as long as they could, they had 30 seconds to spend and end the game, after 26 seconds Langdon went to make the mid-range shot and Carter missed it. It seemed that this was planned because Trajan Langdon was the one who had the best average free throws hit, in the first attempt Trajan Langdon made the shot calmly and made another point increasing the lead to three points. On the second attempt he calmed down and then fired again, but this time the ball didn''t come in and Zwikker was quick to catch the rebound, so Coach Smith soon called for time, even though Trajan Langdon didn''t seem to believe he missed the second attempt. Asking for time for the Tar Heels team to begin the midfield attack, the referees reviewed the video and saw that the game was stopped with 14 seconds left to the end of the game, so the Tar Heels team had plenty of time to make the move. Jake was prepared to come in and didn''t know why Coach Smith hadn''t put him up so far, after all, he could have made two three-point plays in those last minutes and secured the advantage. But this time it was obvious that he should join the team after all the best players on the three-point line was him for sure and he showed that the coach could trust him for those important moments. "What a thrilling game this one is at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a whole game that was very warm and seemed won for the Tar Heels team, but in the end, we had a turnaround and Duke Blue Devils almost won that game." "Now we only have a few seconds left and Duke Blue Devils is 3 points ahead, we can still see Duke Blue Devils win this game or Tar Heels can try the three-point play and take the game for the extension." "Whatever the outcome, the Duke Blue Devils team made an unexpected and decisive endgame that took them to their advantage in the game today." "It may have been a strategy of the Duke Blue Devils team from the beginning of the game to win this game where the Tar Heels team had the advantage from the start." "After Jake left the second half that Duke Blue Devils team started pushing harder and took Tar Heels by surprise and turned the game around in just two minutes." "I realized that too, I don''t think it''s a coincidence and was surprised that Coach Smith didn''t put Jake back in the game at that difficult time." "I also find it strange, it seems Coach Smith doesn''t trust Jake, yet Jake today has scored 28 points so far so of course, he''s doing great even though he''s not as good as his last games." "True, and even though he is isolated by Duke Blue Devils team tactics he still made 6 assists, of course, Jake is one of the best college players in the world today." "Now is definitely the right time to put Jake in the game, just one move and he''s best suited to hit this three-point move with this late-game pressure." Even though everyone said that Coach Smith put Shammond Williams in place of Vince Carter, but didn''t put Jake in the game even with time that he asked for almost over, so Coach Guthridge called him and said something to him. Clearly everyone was expecting Jake on this last move and it was not logical for him to miss out on such an important three-point move, at the last minute Coach Smith put Jake in place of Ed Cota after saying something to Williams and Jamison. Early in the possession of the ball no one was inside Duke Blue Devils and had two taller players defending where Jake was, there was one more player over Williams and one player over Okulaja. Clearly no one expected this final three-point ball to be attempted by Jamison or Zwikker, the last player of the Duke Blue Devils team was trying to hinder Jamison from making the initial pass. Antawn Jamison moved to Zwikker and soon everyone moved closer to the three-point line, no player entered the Duke Blue Devils internal area if anyone wanted to make a 2-point play could make and lose the game. Time passed quickly and Jake kept moving to get rid of the two players defending against him, he tried to use speed but he had little room to move and still get the pass and try the three-point shot. With only three seconds left Jake was not yet cleared and expected to receive the ball the same way and try the three-point shot, but to everyone''s surprise, Zwikker made a screen, blocking the defender of Shammond Williams who received the ball. No one expected this and Williams was free to make the three-point shot and hit to tie the game with only half a second to finish, so the game was almost over and overtime. "What a move from Team Tar Heels, nobody expected Williams to attempt this three-point shot in this final play, everyone paid special attention to Jake and so with Zwikker''s screen Williams was free to score all three." "A really good and ambitious move, everyone hoped that Jake who had an average hit of over 70% would try this final move, even the Duke Blue Devils defense put two players in to score him." "Shammond Williams is also a great player who has a lot of skill in the three-point play, so he seems to have the confidence of coach Smith and we will see this game go into overtime." While the players waited for the game to start Jake wondered what happened, he admitted that it might be a bit arrogant and was sure the ball would be passed to him on this last play even if there were 3 players scoring it. But he thought this because he knew he had the ability to do it and they were more than 50 percent sure that he would hit the three-point shot even if he had three players scoring it, yet Jake had to admit that Coach Smith''s planned move was smart. Not even did he expect it to be Shammond Williams who would get the ball to try the last three-point shot, but he wondered if that was proof that Coach Smith didn''t have as much confidence in him as Jake had thought before. This was not only because of not receiving the last ball and also because in the last 2 minutes of the game Coach Smith did not put him on the court, so he stopped thinking about it because it would not help anything in the game. After all, even if that were true, it was undeniable that Jake would still have to keep playing on the Tar Heels team for his college years, but that meant that if he did, Jake would never be loyal to the team. Chapter 299 Using a Coach as an Assistant 5 The game then as nobody expected was for overtime, now there were 5 more minutes for the outcome of the game to be decided, the biggest problem was that the teams were tired after playing for 40 minutes. Even if neither player played the full 40 minutes they would still be tired the same way, of course even tired they could still keep playing, but both teams could probably make more mistakes. Jake was an exception to this because he was fine to play another 5 minutes and Vince Carter as well as Shammond Williams also because they took turns in court time, Coach Smith naturally let Jake start playing in overtime. No one knew if the coach had any idea what was going on in Jake''s mind or maybe he didn''t even care after all the most important thing now was to win this game against the Duke Blue Devils team. Many said the advantage was all with Team Tar Heels because Team Duke Blue Devils only got upset because the strategy in them had worked now, however it was different and Team Tar Heels would do their best in those 5 minutes. Jake was not distracted by his thoughts and played the best he could, as in the whole game Team Tar Heels was clearly stronger than Team Duke Blue Devils in this game, this time they took the opponent seriously and Jake even if tried harder in this game. So after 5 minutes, Tar Heels ended up winning the game as expected, in that second half with extra time Jake played for 21 minutes, he made 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. In the extra 5 minutes, Jake played as he wished and with the most tired opponents, he managed to score 11 points and a few more assists, with 3 shots of 3 points in a few plays in a row. It seemed that Jake really wanted to ensure the team''s victory in those few minutes and almost did the same points of the entire second half in a third of the time, the team Tar Heels won the game by 104 points against 98 points of the opponent. By that score few would think it was such a close match that it was even for overtime, it showed how Jake struggled to secure the team win, Jake got a double-double with 39 points and 10 assists. "What a game we could see today, a game that seemed easy for the Tar Heels team eventually went into overtime after a surprising Duke Blue Devils end game and ended in an easy win for the Tar Heels team again." "If we can summarize the game we could say that the Tar Heels team underestimated their opponent, at the end of the game they almost lost by carelessness and even Jake played an average game in normal time." "It can''t be said like that, Duke Blue Devils'' strategy seemed to isolate Jake in the game so he couldn''t play his best performance unless he passed the ball to his teammates." "But it really looks like he was underestimating the Duke Blue Devils team during normal playing time because he scored 11 points and hit three three-point shots without missing any overtime if he did something like that during the game Team Tar Heels I would have no difficulty winning." "This is the first time I''ve seen a genius perform amazingly and still get criticized, even though he has an overtime Jake hit 9 three-point shots out of 11 attempts in the game, an average of 82% on 27 points, I can say that went down in history as one of the best performers in the three-point line." Everyone praised Jake and was surprised by his numbers, yet Jake was less praised than Stephen Curry at the same time at university even though he had better results on the three-point line. That''s because even with these results Jake was not a player who made many attempts at three-point play in a game, usually players who had three-point records averaged 9 attempts per game while Jake has averaged 6 so far. It was rare to have an overtime game where Jake tried more than 10 shots of three while the best in three-point shots usually tried 15 times or more in the best games, so Jake averaged over 60% while the best had 44% of hit average. By the end of the year if Jake could win a championship he would surely have more reputation than Stephen Curry had, the difference was that Jake would probably not only be known for just the three points but for getting a lot of points and having high average statistics on the box score as it had now. After all, more than half of the games of the season were left, if the team could keep advancing in the NCAA tournament they would have only more games, so it was too early to talk about the final stats Jake would have. After an exciting game like this everyone went back to university tired, luckily the next games would be a sequence of three home games so players would get less tired. In addition, the team came from a sequence of 7 straight wins in which they were approaching the sequence they had earlier this year before losing to the Wake Forest team, even though they almost lost the last game as it was against a strong rival no one surprised that it was so hard. Reporters now said that the current Tar Heels team could be one of the best players in history, being recognized as one of the best teams in history would surely be great for everyone. From what Jake remembered Team Tar Heels after this game against Team Duke that was lost in his past life would have an incredible winning streak by the end of the season because Ed Cota had started playing longer in the games and the team it got better. This time, however, Jake joined the team much earlier and scored more points than Ed Cota, so the team must have started this winning streak before, but Jake didn''t blindly trust that as he knew he had changed that story. After a few days the Tar Heels team soon returned to play, the game was at the Dean Smith Center and the two teams began to prepare for the game, even though coming from a game in overtime against a rival the Tar Heels team had strong players and had almost completely recovered. Jake hadn''t spoken privately to the coaches and neither of them bothered to explain his decision at the end of the last game to Jake, he didn''t care as long as he kept playing, but in his heart, he didn''t forget that. The team they would face today was the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders team, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders team had a good team this year and even losing several games they had a good season so far. Even though the opponent was strong, the Tar Heels team was doing very well today and all the players were in good shape, Jake can play for 17 minutes in that first half and scored 16 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. It was a game in which he realized that his teammates were in great shape and made more assists, because of that the team ended up missing more and he got more rebounds, compared to he scored fewer points than in other games. In the second half realizing this Jake tried even more assists in his court time, in another 16 minutes he made only 11 points, but in comparison got 11 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. It was the first triple-double he had since entering college and Jake was very happy about it, the key to doing so was to slow down his attempts to get more points and try more assists. After all, for every 10 assists he tried in the game his teammates sometimes missed 2 or 3, and that is because Jake''s passes were always accurate, so it was harder for him to have 10 assists than to have more than 30 points. This was not exactly the problem with rebounds, but many players always wanted to fight rebounds either on their team or the opposing team, so sometimes the luck of having the right position can guarantee more rebounds for one player. The Tar Heels team won by scoring 111 points against only 42 points from the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders team, this showed how this game was dominated by the Tar Heels team, Carter scored 22 points and Jamison scored 26 points. So only the three scored more than 70 points, this is considered the strongest attack of all college teams, and this was considered Jake''s best game of the season, even better than the game in which he scored 51 points. With the Tar Heels team continuing their winning streak, everyone on the team was very happy and even Coach Smith was very pleased, he had not told anyone he intended to leave the team after this season. Nothing would be better for him than his team winning the NCAA tournament in his senior year coaching the team, so he had to admit that it was Jake who was leading the team to perform well. After this game they would have another 4 days rest until the next game, Jake as always celebrated with his roommates and called his mother to talk. The next day Jake did his daily training running the 50 km, he himself thought that maybe he could decrease his total time a bit further by increasing his running speed, but it wouldn''t make a big difference in the upcoming marathons and Jake was waiting for his trainer to see if he would change his training style. After running with Zack who had already gotten used to running five miles every day, Jake soon believed that Zack could run a marathon, but he wanted to train him longer and so said nothing. Not to mention that with his new training method something could change in Zack''s training as well if his trainer had a better training method he would surely pass on to his friend Zack. Jake was not arrogant to think that his current marathon training method was the best, for he who had the system was more appropriate, but for ordinary athletes, it could end up being harmful and less effective than other training. Chapter 300 Using a Coach as an Assistant 6 After returning from classes Jake did the training with the basketball team and got a call from Tiffany, he perked up thinking it should be about the coach he was expecting. "Hi Jake, I called to let you know that I was able to talk to that coach I told you about, he said he would get to university today to talk to you." "So fast, did you check him for me?" "Yes, all is well with him, this coach has trained several universities without complaint and seems to have traveled around the state and even abroad to improve his coaching skills." "How does someone so qualified need money?" "I checked that too, his reason is legitimate, but it''s very personal so I''ll let him tell you in person, but I think it''s very likely that you will eventually decide to hire him unless you are very picky." After talking to Tiffany, Jake didn''t have to wait long hours to see this coach she spoke so well, he appeared to be a healthy 5-foot man, black hair with a few white strands, was probably wearing a social shirt because he knew that He would find Jake, black eyes and a common face. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith, my name is Frank Davis, I spoke to a woman named Tiffany on the phone and she told me that I should come here to talk to you in person." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Davis, I think we''d better go to a restaurant to talk better." After a few minutes they formed a restaurant near the university, Jake had not eaten anything early and Davis also did not seem to have eaten and seemed tired from the trip as soon as they ordered the food to the waitress again. "What you said is right, I asked you to come here through Tiffany, I''m looking for a qualified coach and I think you might be the right person, but I know you have some personal situations that may be involved, so I would like to know some things about you." "That''s right, I''m 40 years old, I have a degree in physical education and I did some muscle recovery massage courses, then I did a few more specializations and even sought to improve my ability abroad." "I worked at some universities for a few years, but I was not satisfied with their investments in athletics and athletes, in many places athletes had difficulty even paying for travel to compete and even for basic living expenses." "So athletes had to look for sponsorship to compete, they had a lot of problems with that, so I decided to open my own gym with the money I had received." "In that time I coached a lot of athletes, but none achieved outstanding performance in sports, the best ranking was eighth in a marathon that didn''t have good athletes competing." "But I could still support my family and have a good standard of living, and I knew it would take years to prepare good athletes and had to be lucky to find someone talented, so I was pleased." "The problem was that my 6-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, the disease could end up killing her and there was no cure, so we had to pay for a series of emergency surgeries." "After she was out of danger we found that we had to pay for expensive medicine every month for her to stay healthy and have a normal life when she grew up." "But at that point, I had sold the gym to pay for surgery costs and my wife had quit her job to take care of our daughter, now I need a job that pays better than I can expect to earn to pay for my medicine daughter and support my family." "This situation continues for a few months, I have a job and I still have money left from the sale of my gym, but I don''t know how many years we can afford my daughter''s medicine, and I found out from a coach friend that you were looking for a coach." Just as Tiffany hoped Jake felt touched by the life story of coach Frank Davis, someone capable but unlucky in life, he remembered him in his past life who also went through some such situations. Also, just as Tiffany had said Mr. Davis was more than qualified to be his coach, so Mr. Davis also needed money so he should accept some demands from Jake. Jake had no problems with money, in fact originally the money he received from sponsorship was precisely for him to pay a coach and devote himself to the sport, Jake never needed it and was always successful and so his sponsors never charged anything like this. "Well then, Mr. Davis, I was really convinced that you may be the person I''m looking for to train me, but I first need to know how much you need to pay for these drugs to get an idea of ??how much you need to get paid." Even if Jake had a lot of money he could not pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a month as salary for a coach, so he should know how much he could offer a salary for coach Davis. "My daughter''s medicine has a monthly dose that costs $ 10,000." A monthly dose for $ 10,000 meant that he would have to pay $ 120,000 a year, which was not too high for Jake, but for a lifetime remedy it was a considerable amount, and Coach Davis would have to receive more. $ 15,000 a month to support your family and still pay for the medicine. "I understand your situation, I can offer you a salary of $ 20,000 a month, should be enough for you to take care of your family." "Thank you, Mr. Smith, I appreciate the opportunity very much." "But before we agree to that, I have some conditions involving the training." "Sure, you can tell." "As you may know I''m studying at UNC University and playing basketball on the Tar Heels team, so I play once every two or three days for several months a year, and in the future, I plan to join the NBA so it will be harder to find time available." "Still, whenever I can, I do my private training, but even if you are my trainer, I probably won''t be able to have any training schedules and you will have to adapt to my free time to organize my training." "I know it seems weird to think like that, but I managed to get everything I have in marathons by doing things that way, so it''s a reality you''ll have to accept." Frank Davis thought for a while what Jake was talking about, that would mean that he would have no coaching authority and would only have to follow through with his training plans when Jake was available. Normally this would be unacceptable for a coach who had to have authority over his athletes in training, but he understood that Jake''s situation was different as he had many things to do and was still a basketball player and intended to continue as a professional basketball player. Also, just as Jake had said he was only 18 now and already an elite and best marathoner in the world, so it was clear that Jake didn''t need to change his training, so it seemed that Jake just intended to improve his training methods and not the time he spent training. "I understand, I agree with that." "Great, there''s one more thing, everything that goes through our training including my physical condition, my training method, my physical and medical exams has to be kept in secret, I want a confidentiality contract for that." "Of course, I have no problem with that." "Another thing is that we will not have a normal coach and athlete contract, so you get no commission from my sponsorships or from the rewards of the competitions I win." "I agree with that too." Jake was doing this to make sure there was no way his secrets could be uncovered. Athletes usually take several exams of all kinds so that coaches can do the best training programs that fit only the athlete and the athlete to have the best enjoyment. Jake knew that well, but he usually shied from taking these full exams, he just took the exams to prove that he had not ingested any substance that would improve his performance in official races. But Coach Frank Davis would definitely ask for all sorts of exams often, and once he won a few more major marathons he would greatly improve his overall stats and surely something would change. There was no way anyone could be suspicious that he was back in time or that he had a system in his body, and even if they were suspicious no one would believe it and they would have no way of proving it, but the more accurate exams and performance tests would surely have big changes with these improved statistics. So to avoid problems it was better to ensure the secrecy of coach Frank Davis, as to why the coach was not entitled to participate in sponsorships and the rewards of competitions he wins in the coming years was another situation. The sponsorships Jake received were more from basketball than from athletics, and when he joined the NBA he would receive tens of millions every year from basketball, so it was normal that he didn''t want to mix things up with his athletic coach. While participating in the rewards of competitions he won was because he didn''t want coach Frank Davis to keep insisting that he participate in multiple marathons during the year just to receive a commission from the races Jake won. That was a reality so it was better to be forewarned, for Coach Frank Davis it just seemed like Jake was being stingy if it went on like that he would not be a coach but an assistant to Jake who was just taking orders. But as he needed the money he had to accept all the demands that Jake made, besides training Jake he would be training the best marathoner in history, for sure in the future he could work elsewhere and get a good salary to take care of his life daughter in a few years. "So it''s all settled, from now on Mr. Frank Davis will be my athletic coach, after you sign the contracts my lawyer gives you, you can come here to talk to me again." "Call me Coach Davis instead of Mr. Davis, in a few days I''ll be here." Chapter 301 Using a Coach as an Assistant 7 Emily soon came to university with contracts prepared for Frank Davis, Coach Davis was also very decisive and as he knew he would work with Jake for many years under the conditions Jake imposed, so he sold his house in Austin, Texas. Soon he found a hotel to host his family, he didn''t know where Jake would live in a few years so it was better to wait until he bought another house for his family, with his salary they could easily live in a hotel and wait for Jake to leave college to see where they would buy a house. His wife Zoe had quit her job to look after their daughter, and since they had nothing to hold them somewhere, it was better than the family always lived in a comfortable hotel than in Austin, Texas, just the two of them living alone. That way things were easier for Coach Frank Davis who soon returned with his family to Jake University, then he met Emily and signed the contracts, so Emily returned to Miami and Coach Davis was hired. Jake was kind enough to pay his first upfront salary as a kind of bonus and soon they started preparing for Jake''s training, first Coach Davis followed Jake''s daily training to learn how he prepared for marathons. After all, Jake was a multiple marathon winner and had the world record, it was normal to hope that his training could help Coach Davis improve his training routine to pass to other athletes in the future. So in the morning, Jake went to do his daily training as usual accompanied by Zack, Coach Davis went with them and took a timer and notebook to take notes, after doing the warm-up exercises Jake started running the 50 km. After training was over Coach Davis was still calm and writing down some things in his notebook, after they got back to university and walked away from Zack they started talking. "What did you think of my training?" "Do you do this training every day?" "No, I did before, but now at least twice a week I don''t do this training because I have to conserve my stamina on days when I have games with the basketball team." "If you were doing this training every day before and have never had any injuries while still playing basketball, I think this training may be very good for you." Jake was surprised by this, in fact, he found his training routine very intense himself, this training only served him because Jake had the system and would not easily get hurt and his body recovered quickly. He knew it was possible for elite athletes just like him to run 50km every day, but not at the running speed he did that was below the world record, so he didn''t expect Coach Davis to say that this could be a good training method. "I understand that you expected me to say something else, and I understand why you demanded that I sign a confidentiality agreement, and I was honestly surprised when I saw that you run below your own world record for 50 km." "But it''s not that weird as training, it''s just your running speed, and I suppose at the time of the competitions you don''t want to risk it and so slowed your running pace." "But I think you are very careful, if you run every day at this pace you can surely run just over 42km at this pace and finish the marathon smoothly." "If you''ve never had any injuries even training so intensely this shows that your body is incredibly tough and your stamina is amazing too." "So before deciding how to improve your training routine I want to ask you to do several exams at the clinic and then let us rent an elite gym and test your physical limits." Just as Jake hoped he would have to take some exams before he actually started training with Coach Davis, but just because he hadn''t neglected the training method he had been using since a few years ago, Jake had already liked Coach Davis more. Knowing this Jake took some exams in the coming days before the next team''s Tar Heels game, the exams were tedious, but Jake still did all the tests at the academy were more complicated because Jake wanted a secret about the test results. So it took longer to achieve, but since Jake was famous for being a great marathon runner and having the world record in the marathon he got a guarantee of secrecy about his tests, few people were present at the test sites. Several tests were done on the most modern machines of the time and Jake tested for various sports, just as expected Jake''s results on the performance tests were shocking. In many sports, Jake almost achieved the same results as the Olympic champions other than the marathon, and in some reflex tests, Jake was also impressive. In endurance tests then everyone was shocked to find out the limits of Jake''s stamina, several hours on a treadmill race were needed to reach the limit, and this with a considered fast test speed. In part their stamina and lung capacity were better than Olympic swimmers, the people who were collecting the results regretted signing a confidentiality agreement, otherwise, they could publish some of these results to shock the sporting world. After that no one doubted why Jake could compete in marathons and still play high-level basketball, after that they returned to college, Coach Davis needed to wait for the results of Jake''s clinical exams before preparing his training. So while waiting for Jake to refocus on basketball, the next day came the next game for the Tar Heels team, it would be another home game and the players were more rested after four days of rest. That was the number 20 game of the season and the Tar Heels team had an 8 straight winning streak and only lost 2 games all season, it was for sure one of the best seasons in the team''s history. The last match between the two teams this year the team Tar Heels came out with the victory after a difficult game with a small points advantage, so all players were concentrated for this game that should be difficult. Jake started playing again and had another good performance to help his teammates, in the first half he played for 16 minutes and made 12 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, again he saw that his teammates were having a good game and took the opportunity to improve his assist statistic. So with Jake being well-marked and not trying to make too many plays his teammates had more opportunities, Jake didn''t know that because he was thinking of making more assists, but he also won the favor of his teammates and Coach Smith. Everyone liked a star player, but for the team, it was much better to see a talented player who did a lot of assists like Ed Cota than a player who just scored dozens of points. In the second half the team continued to dominate this game, Jake can play for 17 minutes and made 13 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals, so the team can easily win this game. Team Tar Heels won by scoring 97 points against 64 points for Florida State Seminoles, Jake made another triple-double with 25 points, 21 assists, 11 rebounds, and 6 steals, it was another good team game and 9 consecutive wins. The players were also excited about this sequence and were waiting for the next game, the team mood was very good with all the animated and calm players, it was good to have a winning streak to calm the player''s mind. For the next few days Jake continued training with the basketball team, he talked even more with Charlie, Jamison, and Carter, yet normally the 4 didn''t usually get together in training. Charlie trained for a different position and had his own training partners, and they both talked more about business and fraternity, with Jamison and Carter he talked more about sports and general affairs. But in training he spent more time with Jamison and Carter as the three often practiced plays together, they could be considered great friends after spending several months together. The three of them had goals of joining the NBA and so it was normal for them to enjoy talking about the future, Jake felt strange because he saw the two of them play in the NBA for a long time on television. As they talked about the future Jake couldn''t stop thinking that he knew what their future could be, luckily both of them would have good careers, Jamison played as well as he could for several years and Carter even with some injuries played for over 20 years. The one with the most uncertain future among the 3 was himself, Jake was very confident that his future would be bright and that he could achieve more important things and fulfill all his dreams, he was satisfied with the things he had now and just wanted accomplish a few more things. Of course, that wasn''t why he would stop after a few years, he would always want to achieve more and more, but the pressure of being successful would no longer exist in his heart. Chapter 302 Using a Coach as an Assistant 8 Jake was happy with his performance on the basketball team Tar Heels, he was known as one of the best college basketball players and the best freshman of the year, was likely until he could win this year''s awards. But he was also unhappy because of his year as a marathon runner, this is a pivotal year for Jake in basketball, it was his first year on the Tar Heels team and even as he started the games he didn''t know if he had the confidence of Coach Smith. So he predicted that he would have to miss a few races this year to get the coach''s approval, so on February 1st he missed the first marathon he intended to participate in the year. It was the Tokyo marathon, the truth was that although the system had given a reward to every major marathon that Jake won the concept of major marathon at that time was still different from the future, these marathons were not yet recognized by the athletic association and did not give Special rewards. So much so that the Tokyo Marathon, for example, did not have the same format it would have 10 years later, yet Jake knew that if he won he could achieve both statistics points in stamina and agility. But this marathon was the same day as Team Tar Heels against Team Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders a week ago, so it was impossible that Jake could lose the game to run this marathon. Whether it was a day earlier or a day later he could get a permit from Coach Smith, but the same day was impossible, luckily Jake was an American runner who never ran out of the country so no one could know he intended to run earlier this year. So Jake didn''t know if he could race in Boston or London, maybe after the NCAA tournament final was over he had a chance to race in those marathons, but if it was like Tokyo he would have to lose. So he would have to postpone until next year his plan to win all 6 major marathons, which might take a few more years, luckily Jake was still young and had many years to try these races. After just a day of rest and training, the next Tar Heels game came, it was another home game with a winning streak, so the Tar Heels team was confident of victory. Fans were also excited about this game and even came early to watch, Jake''s friends also came to watch all of Jake''s games to support his roommate. William was improving his grades and getting investment advice from Jake, meanwhile, Aaron was hoping his leg would fully recover, it was much better now and he might even run, but it would take a while for him to play again. Both teams prepared and were ready to start the game, the opponent in today''s game was team Virginia Cavaliers, in the last game team Tar Heels could win easily, yet it was an opponent that Jake was careful to have beaten the team Tar Heels from what Jake remembered in his past life. Only Jake was more careful in this game and his teammates were more relaxed, even Coach Smith who was pleased with the team''s performance just talked about the game strategy and didn''t ask for any special care. What the coach used to cheer up the team was that they had a 9-win streak just like at the beginning of the season before they lost to the Wake Forest team, so the coach wanted the team to increase that streak to 10 games. No one wants to lose again, especially when the team could outperform their best performance of the year, only Jake didn''t get excited about Coach Smith''s speech and focused on playing well. Jake would again start playing and the Virginia Cavaliers team was prepared to defend against Jake especially, after all in the first game he was the main cause of the team''s defeat in that game. In the first half, Jake not only struggled to play for the team as in the last games and made more individual plays as well, so the team Virginia Cavaliers did not know how to defend against Jake. It was hard to find a team that could stop the attack of the Tar Heels team that had Jake, Carter, and Jamison to make the offensive moves, the three of them were players who could do all sorts of attacks and combinations of moves together. In that first half, Tar Heels took the lead easily and Jake played for 17 minutes and managed to make 15 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, it was a good first time for him as in the last games. In the second half, team Tar Heels continued to dominate the game and Team Virginia Cavaliers was having difficulty defending, after what happened in the game against Team Duke they no longer relaxed until the end of the game. Jake played for 17 minutes in the second half and scored 16 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, so he got another double-double in this game and the Tar Heels team secured another win easily. After getting used to the whole team''s style of play Jake can play more easily and a few games in a row had always managed to make at least one double-double, yet Jamison and Carter have also been having good games. Some games are Jamison and others are Carter which performs well, besides them Williams who has been playing for a few minutes in place of Carter and Okulaja has also been performing well in many games. Defensively Zwikker and Okulaja have also played well and even in offense they have an important performance in Coach Smith''s playing strategies, with the whole team playing well they have been increasingly considered among the favorites to win the NCAA tournament. Even from the university and coach background that often make a difference in the toughest games, Jake has always been shown a special performance for a freshman player. He has been playing so well that even the fact that he is the only sponsored player has been overlooked by reporters and the media at large, even his marathon victories and world record are coming second in comparison to his performance at the University. It is also mentioned that Jake had a smart choice to choose to play at university rather than directly to the NBA since if he entered the NBA directly from high school he would most likely stay at least two years in reserve before having a chance to play. Unless he joined a low-level team, but then his chances of winning an NBA title would be very low for a few years, so after staying for a few years and showing what he can at university he could even play as a starter since your first year. That was just what Jake thought, of course, the main reason for him to go to college was to fulfill his mother''s dream and graduate from some degree, so he could also have a college background and gain more visibility. Tar Heels won this match 89 points against 56 points of Virginia Cavaliers team, this was the tenth consecutive victory of the team and would probably continue without losing, the crowd was even happier. Tar Heels'' next match would be as a visitor so they could not watch the games at the Dean Smith Center for some time now, yet they expected the team to continue winning in the away games. In the next few days, players would have a few more days to rest before the next Regular Season game, they wouldn''t really rest as they would still have the training, but training was much less tiring for players than games that had a lot of pressure. Jake more than anyone would have no time to rest, on the day of this match against team Virginia Cavaliers Coach Davis had already received the results of Jake''s clinical examinations, so he can see that, of course, Jake was in perfect health. He had no muscle problems, no blood, bone, or any part of his body, his training also left no injuries hidden, even the one Jake had a few years ago had been completely recovered. Seeing this Coach Davis found it impressive and was even happier, he finally had an athlete who was very talented, willing to train and was physically very strong too, so Coach Davis was convinced that Jake''s current training could do no harm. Jake naturally knew and expected these results, after all, he had the system that always took care of his body and strengthened his body every time he gained new statistics, otherwise, Jake would have injured himself several times as a child and had no developed body and tried to exercise heavy. Knowing this Coach Davis was pleased and knew that he could create a suitable training plan for Jake, so the day Jake played Coach Davis spent the whole night creating a training plan for Jake to start the next day. So the next morning Coach Davis woke up early and went to the place where Jake and Zack always trained, Jake had finished warming up and started running when Coach Davis arrived. Seeing that Jake had started training Coach Davis decided to wait for Jake to finish his race before talking to him about the new training plan he had made, after all, it would have to be approved by Jake before they started. Chapter 303 Using a Coach as an Assistant 9 Jake did not actually expect to see Coach Davis anytime soon, he hoped that after the exams arrived the coach would spend several days preparing to create a suitable training plan for him. Shortly after Jake had finished running Zack returned to university alone while Coach Davis and Jake went to a nearby diner to talk, Jake had seen a stack of papers in Coach Davis''s hands and knew what the matter was. "I received the results of your exams yesterday, as you have no health problems or with your body, I decided to make a training plan for you that I had already thought a few days ago." "After seeing how you have been training now I''m sure you have very big stamina and a natural talent for being a marathoner, which means a lot of the problems other normal athletes have that you don''t have." "This is a big plus and can also be a disadvantage, even if other athletes don''t train as much as you can still finish the marathon in a shorter time, you have to adapt to a quick time to win." "Fortunately for you, this does not seem to be a disadvantage as you can still get better, maybe just someone like you can try to break the barrier and run a marathon in less than 2 hours." Jake knew that it wasn''t really his natural talent but the system that did it for him, but he was surprised how Coach Davis realized that quickly, to Jake''s relief it could be considered a ''talent''. Jake was a little embarrassed looking at Coach Davis''s well-made training plan, he was waiting for the right moment to tell the coach about his ambition, but Coach Davis ended up working faster than he was. "Coach, I''m sure your training plan is very good, but I have something I didn''t tell you about my expectations for the next few years in athletics." "You should know that I always enjoyed running and so I started training for marathons on my own, but that was because I thought it was easier to compete in marathons without good training, and then I found that I had the talent for it." "In addition to running I had another dream that was getting a lot of Olympic gold medals, so I think I can try to compete in other long-distance and even short distances." "But I know that for these modalities it is important to have proper training, so I was looking for a multi-modal trainer to at least try so I wanted a training plan that involved other modalities of athletics." Coach Davis''s first thought of hearing this was that Jake was very greedy and wanted so much from athletics, just specializing in one sport could take several years and needed training and talent to keep up. Besides, Jake, though very talented, was not only training in athletics and also training in basketball, so it was harder and hoping to compete in various sports, but after thinking a little he decided not to say that. It wasn''t just because he knew Jake had hired him just because he planned to compete in various sports, but because of the physical exams and fitness tests, he had done with Jake a few days ago. In these tests, Jake achieved better results than all athletics champions in long-distance competitions and slightly lower than athletes competing in short distance modalities that required more technique and speed. Even though these exams didn''t show everything a coach needed to know, at least it showed that Jake was much more likely to compete in those competitions than someone who has never competed in any sport before. So he thought it wouldn''t hurt to do some tests for a few months to see if Jake had the ability to fight for medals in these competitions or not, to do that he would have to change his training plans. "I will be honest, Jake, I don''t think you have a chance to win multiple medals in different modalities after all long-distance modalities have very different talent requirements than long-distance athletes." "But we can do some tests over the next few months to see if you can do it or not, but I think for long-distance competitions like 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters you might be able to compete to win now." Coach Davis wasn''t just trying to appease Jake and really thought that for 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters competitions Jake had a lot of chances to win, after all, Jake had a lot of talent for long-distance running. Most important for these races besides fitness and training was knowing how to run at the right pace, so Jake could win in several marathons in a row while other elite athletes had fickle results. As Jake easily ran 10 km in 29 minutes he didn''t have to increase his running pace so much to have a chance of winning, so if Jake had stamina and endurance to run for 50 km every day it should be no problem running faster at a distance smaller. If Jake could run 12 seconds faster per minute he could guarantee a winning time which should not be too difficult for Jake to get with a few months of training, for the 5,000 meters would be a little harder but it was not impossible. If he could do that would make history and win three gold medals in one competition, his training would not be much different from the current one and only a few months of some competition he should focus more on. "If you get enough time to compete in these 3 modes, let''s try and see how you do from 1500 meters and 800 meters, and so on, I don''t think you have the talent to try the 100 meters, but let''s see with the time." For training he used logic even when he thought Jake could be very greedy in trying to win various sports, it made Jake satisfied and convinced that Tiffany had found the right coach for him. "I know I''m trying to do something seemingly impossible coach, let''s try to focus first on the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters modalities, then we have time to try the other modalities." "But I want to be ready for the upcoming Olympics to compete in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters, if we can we will try more modalities as well." So Coach Davis just nodded, he thought that 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters in more than 3 years would be a reality for Jake if he had the talent, otherwise, Coach Davis would try to get Jake to give up on that idea. After that Coach Davis returned to the hotel where he lived to redo the training plan, luckily it would not be much different as Jake was not thinking of competing in short distance modalities for years to come. What Coach Davis didn''t know was that Jake wasn''t in a hurry to start short-range competitions because he knew he would get a lot of statistics over the next few years, so it was only natural that Jake wanted to wait until he was in top physical condition. With 4 more agility points Jake did not believe that he would not approach the natural talent of the best athletes in the world, maybe he could even become faster than some, after all, Jake would pass the 40 agility points with those 4 points more. After speaking with coach Davis Jake, he focused back on his basketball training, of course, he continued his daily training with Zack, but for Jake at the moment basketball was more important. A few days later came the day of the next game of the team Tar Heels, after resting for a few days but the team was very excited even if the next game was as a visitor after all the team was in good time this season. With a winning streak of 10, they were behind the eleventh against a team they had beaten earlier this season, after a few hours both teams were ready for the game. The opponent for this game was again the NC State Wolfpack team, the last game ended with an easy victory of the team Tar Heels even if it did not perform very well of the players of the team Tar Heels. And it looked like it would be the same in that game, in the first half the players of the Tar Heels team were performing far below what they had in the last games, the NC State Wolfpack wasn''t good offensively either so they focused on defense further disrupting the Tar Heels team to make points. Even though Jake was affected by the poor performance of the team and even getting some points made less than in other games, in the first half he could play for 16 minutes and made 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. In the second half the game remained very still and was difficult to watch for the people who were present or even for those who were at home, the two coaches seemed to expect such a game and made no change in strategy. So in the second half, Jake played for 16 minutes and made 12 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake himself was not satisfied with the game he had, but the important thing was that the team Tar Heels came out with the victory. The Tar Heels team won by 62 points against only 42 points by the NC State Wolfpack, it was a game with a lot of advantage, but with only 62 points made by the Tar Heels team. Chapter 304 Using a Coach as an Assistant 10 Even though Jake was not satisfied with his performance and the rest of the team were all happy to have won this game, they now had a winning streak of 11 and were more confident about the next games. Now there were only 5 games left until the end of Regular Season and they saw that they had a good chance of finishing with an amazing winning streak and so an excellent season, at the conference they had only one loss and every season just two losses and against two teams strong. At this time of the season, they were leading the Atlantic Coast Conference, and if they won 5 more games as well as remaining conference leader they would have much more confidence for the upcoming ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. All media that talked about college basketball always highlighted the performance of the Tar Heels team this year, the whole team seemed to have a lot of strength in every position, even though in some positions the players didn''t stand out so much they were still fundamental to the team. The biggest highlights were Jake, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison who accounted for much more than half of the team points in all games and most of the rebounds as well, even the reserves like Ed Cota, Shammond Williams who had even more time. of the court were also spoken. "I think the Tar Heels team is definitely the favorite to win the NCAA tournament this year, they come very strong with two very good winning streaks and just two losses all season." "It could have been said before that it could still be too early to talk about favorite teams, but now there are only 5 games left for Regular Season, then we go to the ACC tournament, so I think it''s time to see who''s favorite." "I agree with that, the Tar Heels team lost only two games this season, and those two defeats were for teams that can also be considered favorites and have a very strong team for this year." "Wake Forest is definitely a favorite with a very good season so far and with Tim Duncan on the team who is an excellent player and should go to the NBA draft this year and is a favorite to win several top player awards of the season." "The other team they lost to is the Arizona Wildcats team that for the past 10 years has been showing their strength in college basketball and is a favorite to win this NCAA tournament with a good team making a good season." "That''s right, besides, we have to point out that Jake is one of the best freshmen of the last 30 years or so in college basketball and comes with scary statistics this season fighting even to be the best player of the year." "He has an average of fewer than 30 minutes per game, playing the position with Shammond Williams who has been playing very well this season and Ed Cota who was one of the hopes for a great season this year." "Jake averages over 30 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals per game, plus an average of over 60 percent on both the three-point and field goal average." The commentators who were talking about Jake were impressed by this average box score statistics for this season''s games, not nearly the biggest names in history, but in that, much more competitive 90''s basketball was hard to even for players'' geniuses score 30 points per game in a season. "That''s because this season in more than 5 games Jake played for less than 20 minutes, in the two games that Team Tar Heels lost he played less than 20 minutes in the whole game, so I think with him playing more 30 minutes these two defeats would not have happened." Jake''s confidence in this commentator was surprising, but the others had to admit that the dice matched that description, so if Jake had played for more than 30 minutes the result could really be different. Everyone knew that at this time of the season it was almost impossible for Coach Smith to leave Jake out of games, so they could know if that was right in the next games, which was certain with Jake on the Tar Heels team they were stronger. "Also, let''s not forget that Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison are still on that team, these two are excellent players that are highly anticipated on NBA teams in the coming seasons." "Even though Jake averaging nearly 30 points per game these two also maintain an average of more than 15 points per game, the three usually make more than half of the team points in all games." "Serge Zwikker and Ademola Okulaja have also been having a great season, both with more than 10 points per average game, even though Okulaja playing less time than the others he is still important to the Tar Heels team strategy." "Not forgetting coach Dean Smith who has been leading this team for several seasons, he''s one of the most successful coaches in history and knows how to organize a good team." With all this, they had to admit that this year surely the Tar Heels team was a favorite to win this year''s NCAA tournament, in the next 5 games the Regular Season would end and they could see what it would be like afterward. Over the next few days, the Tar Heels team continued to do hard training to continue the winning streak, Jake also continuing his daily training while waiting for Coach Davis to finish his training routine. So as soon as the day of the next game came, it was a game with the weak Georgia Tech Yellow team against whom they easily won this season with the Tar Heels team making double the Georgia Tech Yellow points. So along with the 11 game winning streak, it was normal for players to be confident about this game, even though Jake didn''t believe this game would be any problem, yet he would concentrate on playing the best he could. It was another away game so the opponents were confident in this game even though they lost so much in the last game, so at least in confidence, both teams were equal for this game. In the first half, Jake was playing well as always and so the whole team had a good first half, yet Georgia Tech Yellow was unexpectedly playing well in the attack and gave some problems to the defense of Tar Heels. Even though they finished the first half with a big lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 17 minutes in that first half and made 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, thus leading the team in a good first half. In the second half, Tar Heels continued to dominate the game and so Georgia Tech Yellow started attacking less and trying to defend more, but with Jake having a good game it was difficult for the defense to stop him. Thus the game ended with a comfortable victory for the team Tar Heels, Jake played for another 17 minutes in that second half and made 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, with another good game led the team to victory. Team Tar Heels win by 89 points against 68 points from Team Georgia Tech Yellow, with another double-double scoring 44 points and 11 assists Jake brought Team Tar Heels for another easy win. The Tar Heels team now had a 12-win streak and their next game would be at the Dean Smith Center, the perfect setting for a rematch game against one of the only teams that defeated Tar Heels this year. This upcoming game against the Wake Forest Demon team was a much-awaited game by all the media and players of the Tar Heels team, everyone was confident that with Jake on the team they could beat the Wake Forest Demon team even if their opponents had Tim Duncan on the team. Jake was also confident of victory in the next game, after all the same time the two teams were different from the beginning of the season, the team Tar Heels was the leader of the conference while the team Wake Forest Demon was second. Even if they expected to win this game in order to have a chance to finish Regular Season first, the Tar Heels team would play this game at home, so the Tar Heels team was considered a favorite for the next game. So in the next few days the Tar Heels team spent preparing for the next game after a few days game day arrived, the Dean Smith Center bleachers were full that day and Jake''s friends were present to watch this exciting game. After a couple of hours, both teams were ready for the game, the Tar Heels team had the same initial formation as the other games with Jake playing as PG, Vince Carter playing as SG, Antawn Jamison playing as SF, Ademola Okulaja playing as PF and Serge. Zwikker in Center position. The Wake Forest Demon team came with the same team from the last game they beat Team Tar Heels, Jerry Braswell as PG, Tony Rutland as SG, Ricky Peral as SF, Tim Duncan as PF and Loren Woods playing as Center. This was to be expected after all as they had won the last game they did not need to change the initial lineup, yet the opposing team coach was more concerned with the change in the initial lineup of Tar Heels. After all unlike the last game between them, Jake was starting in the game, it showed that the team Tar Heels hoped to win this game and would not give the team Wake Forest Demon chances to do as in the last game. Chapter 305 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 1 Before the game began Coach Smith assembled the team and made a speech to motivate the players, he did not do it in every game and only in the most important games, it gave even more pressure to the players. "9, 12 and 0, do you know what these three numbers represent this season?" "At the beginning of the season we had a 9-win streak, and we lost to the Wake Forest Demon team and our winning streak dropped to 0 and our losing streak went to 1." "In today''s game our winning streak is 12, does anyone want to see that number turn 0 again? If you don''t want to see this don''t think about losing this game." "With that only 4 games left until the end of Regular Season, and we are in first place at the conference which is a great honor, I want to continue like this and have no defeat for the next games." After Coach Smith finished talking the whole team was much more excited and excited for this game, they knew they were favorites again and didn''t want to miss this game either, plus there was one more thing Coach Smith didn''t have the heart to say. In the last game Coach Smith had left Jake in reserve and did not put him to play for many minutes, this game was different and Jake was from the beginning of the game and this gave more confidence to his teammates. Everyone had to admit that Jake was very important to the team even though he was just a freshman, after all, Jake helped by making points, assisting, and still defending, so they were not ashamed to say that they were somewhat dependent on Jake''s good performances. This game was no different and if the Tar Heels team won everyone knew that part of the merit would be for Jake who made the difference, so after a few minutes the game began. In the early minutes the Tar Heels team started strong, they pressed harder on defense and put more effort into attacking moves, yet Coach Smith put no special defense against Duncan. Unlike Coach Smith, the opposing coach left two players to defend in Jake''s position, which was because the coach was confident that Duncan could put pressure on the defense even though he had one less player in his defensive area. After a few minutes Jake received the ball and advanced to the attacking court, after passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to Carter, Carter advanced to the left and after the three-point line went to Okulaja which was more open. Okulaja received the ball more freely because Duncan did not want to risk leaving the inner area to defend against him, but so another player who was responsible for marking Jake had to leave his position and defend against Okulaja. Okulaja seemed to expect something like this and passed it to Jake who was behind him, Jake received the ball and easily got rid of his marker, with space he tried to shoot three points to make 3 more points for the team Tar Heels. This was the second time a move like this had happened, with only one player defending against him, Duncan was easily able to make individual plays and points, while with two players defending against Jake the Tar Heels team was freer to make the plays. So Jake had some opportunities to make 2 three-point plays for the Tar Heels team attack, so the Tar Heels team had the advantage in the first half, the game continued like this for a few minutes. With Duncan inside, the Tar Heels team did not attack much in the indoor pitch, so Carter and Jamison were getting more balls, just as Okulaja didn''t risk three-point shots because Duncan could almost certainly get the rebound. Seeing this Coach Smith risked and put Williams in place of Okulaja and so wanted to see if that would give the team more chances to attack while weakening their team''s defense, this made the players of team Tar Heels more excited. "With more than 9 minutes into the game, Coach Smith seems to want to risk more than at the start of the game, putting Shammond Williams in place of Ademola Okulaja the three-point attack plays strengthen as the defense weakens." "From the beginning of this game we can see that Coach Smith wants to compete to see which attack is stronger, normally I would say it''s the safest attack with Tim Duncan that has only one player scoring him, but with Jake in the plays of three points, I can''t say that." "It''s true, from the start of this game we can see that team manager Wake Forest Demon is very concerned about Jake putting two players in, yet Jake has scored 8 points so far 6 points in two three-point plays." "That''s why I understand what Coach Smith is trying to do, after all, Okulaja has been going out for several unmarked plays and has only made 2 points having missed two shots off with almost no marks." "We''ll see the rest of this first half if Coach Smith''s bet pays off." As it was said with Williams joining the team, the defensive force of the team dropped a lot, in another game almost after Shammond Williams joined, Jerry Braswell charged forward and passed the ball straight to Duncan. Duncan was being tagged by Zwikker after Williams entered the game, yet Duncan was not intimidated by the new player on defense and after a spin made a dunk to score 2 points for Wake Forest Demon. This was Wake Forest Demon''s most played move in this game and so Duncan had 8 points in the first 10 minutes of the first half, he fears the ball with his back to the basket and either passed the ball or spin and made the points. Still, team Tar Heels had the most points leading the scoreboard, after a few more free runs Shammond Williams was able to hit 2 shots out of 3 making 6 points in 4 attempts and Jake hit 1 more shot from outside in two attempts. So when the first half was over Jake had played for 18 minutes and scored 17 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 4 steals, twice Jake managed to steal Tim Duncan''s ball after offensive rebounds. With this, the team Tar Heels finished the first half with great advantage and although Duncan scored many points his teammates were well scored and did not perform well in the first half. "With the end of the first half we can see that Coach Smith''s strategies are working more in this game, the Tar Heels team had the advantage in the whole first half, but after Shammond Williams took the place of Ademola Okulaja the Tar Heels team further opened up the lead." "True, even allowing Tim Duncan to play more freely on Team Wake Forest Demon he could not make so much difference on his own doing just two-point plays, on defense Duncan can''t help much either because Team Tar Heels attacks just far from where he defended." "And they were right, everyone knows that Duncan is very good at offense, but plays much better at defense, just as Team Wake Forest Demon did not hesitate to send two players to mark Jake, team Tar Heels also did not hesitate to give up many attack rolls to avoid Duncan." "Surely if at the beginning of the season the Tar Heels team had played like that they would have won, one still doesn''t understand why Jake didn''t play that game since his games before that game had been with Jake''s great performances." In the second half, team Tar Heels continued the same style of play and still had the biggest advantage on the scoreboard, after a few minutes the coach of Wake Forest Demon decided to take one of the defenders against Jake to mark Williams. He thought that this way team Tar Heels would make a change and put Okulaja in the game and team Tar Heels would lose the three-point play, but Coach Smith wouldn''t do something like that and kept Shammond Williams in the game and Jake had more freedom to play. So Jake was told to keep trying outside shots to make more three-point plays, Jake naturally accepted that and with only one player in defense, he was much easier to attack. When the second half ended, Tar Heels team won more easily than anyone expected, Jake played for another 18 minutes in that second half and scored 25 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. "What an unexpected game we had here at the Dean Smith Center, we all came to see a rematch between two strong teams and favorites to win the NCAA tournament, but what we saw was an easy win for the Tar Heels team." "At the beginning of the season Duncan was still very underrated and with two Centers playing together the Wake Forest Demon team took advantage of that to win many games early in the season, but later in time everyone understood that only Duncan played so well on that team." "So either teams put more than one player to score Duncan or let him play just like the Tar Heels team did, so many times the Wake Forest Demon team ended up losing like today." "What defines how opponents face this Wake Forest Demon team is how much confidence that the team has in attack and Coach Smith had full confidence in Jake Smith and Shammond Williams in the attack." "And so we saw this game with the Tar Heels team winning easily and Jake having a great game hitting 10 three-point shots in 15 attempts and scoring 42 points at the end of the game." Chapter 306 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 2 As commentators have said with Coach Smith''s strategy at work, the Tar Heels team easily won by 89 points against just 66 points from the Wake Forest Demon team. Tim Duncan still had a great game and got a double-double scoring 26 points and 13 rebounds, but did not score more than Jake so Tar Heels team won with Jake winning the star clash with more points but helping less to the team. This showed many media people the strength of the Tar Heels team in this clash between favorites and what many thought if Jake played more time in the first game this season the Tar Heels team would probably have won. After this game, the Tar Heels team reached an astonishing 13-win streak and players were confident of winning the remaining three games of Regular Season and arriving with more confidence for the ACC tournament. Even though they were confident everyone knew that the next games would be difficult because they would face two opponents who were having a great season and had two very strong teams and would play as a visitor. Also, with all of these games in the season the team was starting to feel tired and only players like Jake didn''t look tired, so in the next games Coach Smith would have to make more rotations in positions and let the reserves play longer. Only Jake coach Smith intended to keep playing for a long time in every game, the team''s fitness coaches have often said that Jake had a lot of stamina and stamina and had no risk of getting injured or getting tired in matches. This was better for the team, and Coach Smith believed that because he knew that outside of Jake''s basketball team training he was still training for the marathons he played, which showed how much stamina Jake had. After a few more days the day of the next game came, team Tar Heels traveled to face the next opponents that were team Maryland Terrapins, in the last confrontation between them was a difficult game with only 5 points difference. But that was because Team Maryland Terrapins was very strong and had a great season, and the last game this season was right after Team Tar Heels lost to Team Wake Forest and Jake didn''t even play 30 minutes in that game. So in this game, as Jake would start playing and play longer Team Tar Heels was not worried about the game, if the team had a good game Coach Smith would use more reserves to rest the main players besides Jake. After a few hours both teams were ready to start the game, as the last game was won by the Tar Heels team by a few points and today they would play at home the Maryland Terrapins team was confident of trying to win. In the first half, the two teams were very equal, Jake could make some smart moves and so the Tar Heels team still had the advantage, but the Maryland Terrapins team also had a strong team and made the game difficult. In the first half Jake played for 19 minutes and scored 18 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, with a great first half he could get the Tar Heels team to take the lead, but the points difference was not much. Just as Coach Smith thought some players were removed from the starting lineup a few minutes earlier and let the reserves play longer, on the contrary Jake had more playing time if it wasn''t for Ed Cota having more difficulty playing in other positions Coach Smith could Let Jake play longer. In the second half, the game remained balanced, the Maryland Terrapins team playing well and Coach Smith giving more time to the reserves, so even with Jake playing very well the Tar Heels team never got a big advantage in the game. After the game was over the team Tar Heels still got a good win, in that second half Jake can play for another 19 minutes and made 22 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, so playing was critical to the team''s victory. "A great game for the Tar Heels team, in fact, it should say it was a great game for Jake, the whole team of the Tar Heels team played today, both early players and the reserves." "Still with the performance of Jake who managed to organize the plays and score several points with the starting team and the reserve team the team Tar Heels still got the victory." "True, Jake is the typical player who can be said that the longer he plays the better the performance, today he played for 38 minutes and almost quadruple-double in that game, he scored 40 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds and 8 steals, it took Jake more time to go down in history for this game." "With his performance, this season Jake has certainly entered history as one of the best players on the Tar Heels team." "Coach Smith is lucky to have him in the team, we can clearly see in this game that he intended to make a rotation in the team formation to rest the key players and Jake supported the team well for them to win." "But doesn''t Jake have to go into rotation either? He has been playing for a long time and always doing well if he has a player who has to be protected from fatigue and injury it is for him to have a chance to win the ACC tournament." "If it was another player I would agree, but don''t forget that Jake is also known for being a very successful marathon runner who has won Olympic gold medal and has the current world record, I would not doubt his stamina to play these games." Team Tar Heels won the game by scoring 102 points against Maryland Terrapins'' 85 points, Jake getting a double-double this season, now they had a 14-game winning streak with two games left before the Regular Season finale. Coach Smith was very successful with Jake''s performance and have been able to rest the top players longer, he would do that in the next game as a guarantee and so would have the team rested for the last Regular Season game and the entire ACC tournament. After a few more days was the day of the next game, it was the penultimate game of Regular Season and they had to travel again to play another game as a visitor, the early players like Carter and Jamison were more rested. They were looking forward to playing even though they were tired to see the team win, but with Jake on the team, they knew they could rest for a few minutes in the games after all the next games were more important and they wanted to win the ACC tournament. Even though everyone was excited to have a winning streak of 14, they all expected a tough game against the fourth-placed team at the conference, all the more so because they were a strong team and they were playing as a guest. The opposing team for this match was Team Clemson Tigers, in the first game between the two teams this season Team Tar Heels easily won by more than 20 points difference, but nothing could guarantee that this game would be equal. Still, the Tar Heels team had a better season and a better team in that game, and the Clemson Tigers team came from a losing streak over the last few games, so it seemed that they were favorites to win. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the start of the game, Coach Smith would also rotate the team during the game so Jake would play longer and have more responsibilities during that game. In the first half, both teams had a well-balanced game with the Tar Heels team with a slight advantage, it was a similar game to the last one, but the Clemson Tigers team seemed to want to take advantage of the rotation of the team Tar Heels players. So they tried to let more players defend against Jake, but even then the early players and the reserves also had quality and even playing less time could still make a lot of space to make the moves. In that first half Jake played for 19 minutes just like in the previous game and can make 15 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, even with more than one player in defense against him, Jake can still make the moves. In the second half, the Tar Heels team was still maintaining the lead on the scoreboard even though the rotation, even with more than one player defending against Jake the overall result of the game did not change. In that second half, Jake can play for 18 minutes and made 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, even though scoring fewer points being better scored Jake still managed to make a good game and a triple-double. They might hinder Jake''s individual result in the offense, but in defense and as PG Jake could still play very well even with two players in defense against him, so the Tar Heels team can win. Team Tar Heels won by scoring 84 points against Team Clemson Tigers 71 points, all who entered the game did their part and so with another good performance from Jake Team Tar Heels won the game and Coach Smith successfully rotated the team without losing any games. For the next games, the Tar Heels team would be with all their most rested players and would still have a 15 win streak this season, they would go all out for the last Regular Season home game with the support of the fans. After these games, Coach Smith was convinced that what the fitness coaches said was true and he could use more Jake in the next games longer and so the team would be stronger. Chapter 307 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 3 Before the match against the Clemson Tigers team Coach Davis finished the new training plan for Jake, so he sought out Jake the day before the match against the Clemson Tigers team. Coach Davis knew naturally that Jake should be busy for the next day''s game, but his job was just to create the training plan and see how Jake was executing that training plan. It was Jake who decided which day to train and if he agreed to follow that training plan, Coach Davis also followed up some Jake training with the basketball team that also included training at the university academy. Even though Coach Davis was required to be flexible and did not add any gym training to Jake and just ordinary training, he also decided to maintain Jake''s 50 km of training and just added some aerobic and cardiovascular exercises. That was Jake''s daily training routine and some training would also have to be changed a few weeks before competitions or when Jake was on vacation, with that training enough for Jake to be able to run in the three modalities he wanted to try for a gold medal at the Olympics. With more time Coach Davis would also add some positioning training and other techniques needed to run shorter distances, with the lack of training time that was what he could prepare for Jake. If Jake was a full-time athlete he could prepare for training at various times of the day and even elsewhere besides the track where Jake was currently training, unfortunately, Coach Davis knew that Jake was trying hard to take some time to train. So Coach Davis made sure to give Jake this training plan and explain why it was so similar to his current training, Jake understood what Coach Davis was saying and was happy with the coach''s consideration. Jake agreed with the coach that on his vacation he would have more time to know what Coach Davis''s full training was like, after all, Jake still had the classes he attended every day and another month of games with the basketball team before the holidays. If the team reached the NCAA tournament final there would still be 10 games left by the end of the season, so naturally Jake wanted the team to reach the NCAA tournament final, the reason Coach Smith is rotating the team now is the ACC tournament. If the team reaches the final they would have to play 3 games in 3 straight days without any rest, Coach Smith naturally had confidence in his team and hoped they would reach the ACC tournament final. After the last game the Tar Heels team spent the next few days training for the last game of Regular Season, they now came from a sequence of 15 straight wins and already had one of the best seasons in history for the Tar Heels team. This last Regular Season game would be even more special, it was a game at Dean Smith Center against their rival team Duke Blue Devils, in the last game they had a tough game even with Jake playing the whole game and doing a double-double. So everyone hoped that even though the Tar Heels team had the advantage would be a difficult game, Jake was glad to hear that his friends would be watching the game and the Dean Smith Center should have the bleachers full of fans waiting to see the Tar Heels team win. On the day of the game players were nervous even though they were playing at home, even though Jake was a little nervous about this game, Coach Smith didn''t even need to cheer up the players because everyone knew how important winning this game was. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the start of the game, Team Tar Heels was the favorite to win this game, but Team Duke Blue Devils was the second team in this conference. At the beginning of the game contrary to what everyone expected Jake didn''t have a double mark and only one player was placed to defend against him after all the team coach Duke Blue Devils knew that the whole team was strong and not just Jake. With an average of over 30 points per game and several double-doubles, everyone was thinking that only Jake led the team in victory, but if it was well observed the rest of the whole team was having a great season in Jake''s shadows. Antawn Jamison averaged over 20 points per game and took just slightly fewer rebounds than Jake, Vince Carter also with his dunk and good indoor moves had more than 15 average points per game because he played less time sharing his time on the court with Shammond Williams. In addition to them, Serge Zwikker and Ademola Okulaja were also having a great season and even Charlie McNairy and Ed Cota with less court time also played very well at the time they were on the court. Only by having such a team could they have 24 wins in 26 games of the season, only Jake alone could not do that if he was on a weaker team, so team coach Duke Blue Devils knew that if they couldn''t stop Jake with just one player in defense they could not win. It was a bet by team coach Duke Blue Devils based on trust in his players, so in the first half different from what happened in other games Jake was performing well and his colleagues were having a hard time playing. So in the first half, the game was more equal between the teams, yet Jake could more freely find the ways to get his teammates to receive the passes and he scored several points himself. In that first half, Jake played for 19 minutes and managed to score 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, so Tar Heels team managed to open a small lead on the scoreboard at the end of the first half. In the second half of the game, both teams made some changes in strategy, but the focus of the game was still on Jake, he was a good player and playing in PG position what he did determined if the team played well. Also, even though Jake had the freedom to play, he never forgot to make moves so that the team scored the points and not that he had more points, so Coach Smith trusted Jake to be the PG, otherwise Coach Smith would already have placed Jake as SG. In that second half, Jake can play for 18 minutes and managed to score 20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, so he made another double-double and led the team to another victory, the Duke Blue Devils team played a lot well, but the Tar Heels team was simply superior. "And so we see another amazing game to crown the end of this Regular Season, we follow the top two teams from this conference, Duke Blue Devils team made a good game, but Tar Heels team still came out with a comfortable win." "This was expected, the Tar Heels team has had a better season and their players are better, even some of the Tar Heels team reserves could play in other teams in the initial lineup." "Also, Coach Smith has been doing a great job with this team, we can see that they have a lot of different ways to score the points on each move, so it''s hard for a team to defend against them." "That''s true, and there''s Jake who can become the leader of any team at all universities, this is just his freshman season and he''s been doing that, I hope to see for years to come." "With Jake as an opponent it is difficult for a coach to organize the defense strategy in the game if the Tar Heels team were weak it would be easier, but with such a strong team if two players were placed to defend against Jake the rest of the team can play quietly." "Soon we will be watching the ACC tournament games, and these teams can meet again, and at that moment we''ll see if the Tar Heels team can win again." "I think the Tar Heels team is a favorite to win the ACC tournament, no team rivals them this season, only the Duke Blue Devils team they lost today and the Wake Forest team can threaten them, but I think this year the team Tar Heels will be champion of the ACC conference." Team Tar Heels won the game by 98 points against Team Duke Blue Devils'' 87 points, so Team Tar Heels ended this year''s campaign in Regular Season with ACC''s # 1 conference team with 16 wins and a loss in 17 games. With all this, it was impossible to say that the Tar Heels team was not a favorite to win the ACC tournament and even the NCAA tournament, after which game players would have four days to rest before the first ACC tournament. With the rest, the players had in the last games with Coach Smith''s rotation they would have to be at maximum physical strength after that rest after all the ACC tournament would be in 3 straight days of games. Only someone like Jake would be comfortable with this sequence of games, Jake was confident of victory because in his past life the Tar Heels team had won and this year he would also be playing. Over the next few days, the team had only rest without any training before the first ACC tournament game and Coach Guthridge came to talk to Jake personally banning him from running in the next few days. Jake knew he would have no problem even if he trained, but as the next few days were important to the team he agreed to be without any training, after all, it would do just fine for him to be the next few days without any training. Chapter 308 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 4 Since in the coming days there would be no training Jake took the opportunity to go out and spend some time with his roommates, they have become very friends in these last 6 months, almost whenever Jake was at university the four went out to eat together. Jake trained every day with Zack and always talked to him about the marathons he ran, they also talked about other things and got very close, with Aaron that Jake became friends last he also talked a lot. They always talked about various things about American football that Jake was very fond of watching, Jake didn''t have many stories on the high school football team as he played only twice with them. But Aaron had several stories about his high school years and the expectations he still had to play at university in the year 1997, Aaron also talked a lot about his father and the older brother who lived in New York. With William, he always went to class every day, in these two semesters they had all classes together, so it was normal for them to always talk, William had much better grades with Jake teaching him. They also talked about the stock market, Jake didn''t mind giving William his knowledge of market movements in the coming years, but unfortunately, William''s family couldn''t afford to invest in stocks now. So Jake gave the advice hoping William would gain some understanding of the stock market, Jake looked at the stock market now just as given as he knew what would happen in the coming years. But for William who knew nothing about the future he could study how the market worked and use Jake''s tips to understand how to invest, Jake always reminded William that the stock market situation was now special and something like that would not happen again. Jake also said that the market was now forming a stock bubble, where people could make a lot of money by investing, but they had to know the right time to exit before losing everything. He hoped that with these tips William would realize his dream of becoming a great wall street investor if William wanted to become a manager he could work with Jake after a few years. Jake needed someone with a talent to help Emily take care of his investments, he just didn''t think about calling William now because clearly William had no thought of just working in a joint venture and wanted to work with the stock market. When everyone was sitting together eating lunch and William seemed to be waiting for someone, only Jake realized that and the others were just worried about eating, Jake was curious to see if it was any woman William was looking for. After a few minutes who appeared was a tall, elegant man, when this person arrived William gave a strange smile as if he was up to something and Jake thought he might know this person who soon walked to the table where they were. "Hahaha, you finally got Brett, I wanted you to meet Jake for a few months ago." "William! I told you several times not to call my brother when we went out to eat." So Jake finally knew who it was, it was Brett Roberts Zack''s brother, so Jake thought he knew him from somewhere, Jake had seen a picture of him on Zack''s desk in the dormitory and they looked a bit too. Clearly it was a kind of revenge William was plotting for Zack, William was always annoyed by some Zack jokes and knew that only Brett could stop Zack and so William became friends with Brett. "Don''t be like that Zack, your brother wanted to meet Jake who is the only one in our dormitory he doesn''t know, you said you would introduce Jake to him, but several months went by and nothing." "This has nothing to do with you, this is a matter between me and my brother, Jake has been busy for the last few months after we get back to the dormitory you''ll meet me." "Zack, don''t be like that with your friends, so I always have to keep an eye on you, I thank you, William, for inviting me today." After talking to Zack and William, Brett looked toward Jake, he seemed to be quite calm and cool, but Jake felt that he was also very serious and strict. "It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, Jake, my brother always speaks well of you to my parents when he goes home, I knew you helped him in marathon training, I appreciate always taking care of my brother." "It''s natural to help a friend, and Zack always keeps me company in my morning training, it''s nice to have someone to train with, it''s nice to meet you too, Brett." "I know you are very busy with basketball games and studies and you have also been showing your training to Zack, with an elite athlete like you teaching him Zack will easily improve." Jake liked Brett, he seemed to be very sociable even though he was more serious, Jake knew it wasn''t just because he was a year older because he himself had a mindset of someone over 40 and didn''t act so different from Zack and from others. "So to thank you guys for taking care of my brother, I was thinking of taking you to a batting cage to relax a little." "Great idea, I haven''t been in a batting cage in years." William quickly nodded enthusiastically and Aaron also seemed excited about it, even though Zack who was angry before was happy with the idea, Jake had not been in a batting cage for many years but also liked the idea. They went somewhere far from the university that even Zack shouldn''t know where it was, everyone rented safety equipment to play with because they didn''t want to buy it just to play this time. As it was monday the place was emptier, everyone had played in the batting cage before and so no one had to go to the 50mph batting cage or lower. Everyone talked for a while and decided to choose the 70mph batting cage, one that everyone could hitch and no one would be ashamed of, Zack and Aaron wanted to go to the 90mph batting cage, but Brett said it was best to stay together. 70 miles was not at all slow and William who was first able to hit only 1 ball out of 20 attempts, Aaron did not want to be ashamed as he had previously asked to go to the 90mph batting cage. Even so, he missed the first 4 hits, only after the fifth ball he hit and then hit a total of 12 of the 20 hits he tried, even though it went well he was ashamed to have asked for faster balls before and everyone laughed at him mercilessly. Zack was also afraid that they would laugh at him and so Brett was throwing first, he missed the first and then started hitting, even though he missed a few he still hit 15 of the 20 hits. Even so, he didn''t say he was good at batting and just said he came here many times over the last few months, everyone knew he was being modest, yet Aaron and Zack used that excuse that they didn''t hit long and everyone laughed at them again. Zack was still scared to hit and so Jake passed in front of him, Jake was not very good at batting in his past life and he always stayed in the 60mph batting cages and still missed a few. The first ball Jake just let go and saw if he could hit, so on the second ball Jake moved quickly and hit easily, then it was a sequence of 18 straight hits without missing a single one. Jake didn''t want to stand out, but with a machine just throwing the ball at the same speed, it was impossible for Jake with 37 agility stat points to miss, with that agility if he took a formula 1 car, in just 10 laps he could catch the way to ride. His reflexes and speed of thought were much faster than normal people, of course, thanks to the system, and not that anyone who was fast also had these benefits. Zack regretted letting his brother and Jake go in front of him, yet he actually got 14 hits in 20 attempts, better than Aaron and worse than his brother, as they were just kidding and not competing all kept beating. After a while, more people arrived and Brett told them to get out of the batting cage as they had been for a long time, but before leaving they all went to the 90mph batting cage for Jake to bat down. Jake knew they were going to do it so it was just like it was just for fun, the first ball Jake again just let it go to catch the rhythm, the second he hit the ball, it was pretty fast and his hands got a little cushioned with the impact. The ball came again and Jake hit again, Jake felt that if the non-metal bat would break with him bouncing at that speed, William and the others were amazed at how easily Jake hit the ball. He would start bouncing just as the ball came out of the machine and did not swing the bat very fast, yet every time he bounced the ball he would always hit the machine back hard. Seeing this his friends thought they would never have the courage to throw some balls at Jake, if the machine wasn''t protected they thought Jake would have hit them a few times, of course, they didn''t know that Jake had control over what he was doing. But if they knew that he had control in hitting at that speed and with such force, then they wouldn''t have the courage to hurl Jake who could hit them whenever he wanted. Chapter 309 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 5 After Jake hitting the 90mph hitting cage without missing a beat Brett told Aaron and Zack to try, the two didn''t want to be ashamed of the 70mph hitting cage. But Brett insisted and everyone realized he was doing it on purpose, Zack knew well what his brother was like and gave up and went to try to counter, he just regretted trying to show off before, Zack still managed to hit 5 hits from 20 attempts, but if embarrassed anyway. After Zack went Aaron also had to go and try to hit the 90mph batting cage, he hit 7 out of 20 attempts and came out a little less embarrassed, yet everyone had fun thanks to Brett. Even though Zack spoke so badly of Brett he was one of the most fun and was like a kid, after going to the batting cage they went to a mall in Jake''s car to watch a movie. They went to see the movie Jerry Maguire in which Jake appeared again to Brett who did not watch being able to watch, seeing for the second time they could enjoy more of the movie and even laughed at the scenes where Jake appeared. To their surprise after the movie, two girls who appeared to be high school age turned up to ask Jake for an autograph, he was well known to people after appearing so often on television and in commercials. Also, these girls had just seen Jake appear in the movie and with him being so tall it was hard for them not to recognize him, then his friends joked that Jake was so famous that he had to wear glasses. It had been a few months since Jake had been shopping, so he went to the music store and bought several new Kate CDs and even gave her friends a gift, his friends knew her too because now Kate was known all over the country, even more, famous than Jake. After they still stopped at a diner in the mall to eat and talk some more time, it was hard for them to have some free time to hang out with friends to talk to so they had to enjoy it. "So we find out today what Jake Smith''s future is in sports, he''s going to be a great baseball player and win the world series." "True, with that batting talent you can win any game you want Jake." "I thought he would play American football like me, Jake already played in high school so it''s more possible than baseball." "Don''t forget that there is still football, we have to go to some field and see Jake kicking a ball to see Hahaha." "You say that because you''re jealous, I can play a lot of sports and you none, Hahaha." "Oh so Jake knows how to be arrogant too, then we''ll see how you fare in boxing." Everyone joked because they knew Jake''s talent was so great, only Brett didn''t joke much because he didn''t have much intimacy with Jake, Jake was happy to see that everyone was joking and no one was jealous. Of course, it wasn''t because he could easily hit a fastball thrown by a machine that he would be a baseball genius, in fact of all sports Jake was least interested in baseball. That''s because he always thought baseball was the sport where it was hardest to become a star and to be the team''s highlight, there are over 160 games in a season and each team has several hitters who can do the same for the team that is making home runs. Defensively the player can only cover a small part of the field, pitchers can do more than others and have highlights, but pitchers are most likely to get hurt in games and can become heroes or villains with a single pitch. So just having a lot of talent one could think of standing out in baseball and would have to have a good mindset to withstand the criticism that would surely come, then came American football which also has a lot of risk for players to get hurt and few games in a season. And there was basketball, which was the sport that Jake had heard from his past life that he had the talent of many people, it''s a sport Jake loved and even though he has over 80 games a season there is no risk of injury if he is not very unlucky. That''s why since his last life Jake thought that if he had a sport he wanted to play it was basketball and he wanted to win various awards and NBA rings, while athletics Jake didn''t think it was possible and just enjoyed running. Of course, he wouldn''t tell this to his friends and just treated it all as a joke, Jake also knew that if he was a talented player throwing the ball to himself even if it was slower than 90mph he would still not be able to hit. Not to mention that baseball was not just about hitting and had many fundamentals to be a good player, Jake could do well in baseball if he tried today, but that''s all because he gained so many running and training statistics in basketball. If Jake wanted to start playing baseball from the age of 10 and trained for many years he couldn''t even join a normal team even with the help of the system with his lack of talent, so Jake always remembered how basketball and Athletics helped him with basketball being the main one. After relaxing with his friends for a day Jake spent the other days doing nothing and just relaxing his body, he thought of doing various things before entering university, such as running multiple marathons or even making movies. But just a few months after entering college Jake found that he had no time to do anything he thought, fortunately after the NCAA tournament final he would have several months to rest and do whatever he wanted. Even if Coach Smith didn''t like it he would only re-train with the team after the start of next semester in late August, by then he would have four months of freedom. In those days when he was resting, Jake wondered how Matthew''s company was doing this early in the year and whether Tiffany and Clara''s companies had already started investing better for their company. But Zhang Yi knew that if he started thinking about business he would be very busy and couldn''t solve all the problems that would arise until the first game of the ACC tournament began. So for the next few days Jake was really just resting and hanging out with his friends and even with the basketball team''s Charlie, Jamison and Carter they found time to go out and talk. After all, this rest finally came the day of the first game of the ACC tournament, the day before this game on day 6 the NC State Wolfpack team beat Georgia Tech Yellow in the first round. No one cared about this result and only Jake knew that the NC State Wolfpack team would surprise and become the first team to leave the first round and reach the final of the ACC tournament, of course, they would lose in the final to Team Tar Heels as Jake wanted. So on Day 7, while Team Tar Heels faces Team Virginia Cavaliers, Team NC State Wolfpack will beat Team Duke Blue Devils if everything happens as Jake remembered in his past life. Even though none of this happens Jake had the confidence to beat the Virginia Cavaliers team and any opponents they had in the final, after a few hours both teams were ready to start the game at the Greensboro Coliseum. Since the game was in North Carolina, the Tar Heels team felt they were playing at home, from the first minutes of the game the Tar Heels team pressed their opponents into attack and defense. Team Virginia Cavaliers this year was not that strong and Team Tar Heels was having one of the best seasons of recent years, they were coming to that game with a 16-win streak. In the first half, Jake could play for 18 minutes and managed to score 15 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals, so he helped the Tar Heels team to have a good lead at the end of the first half. Even though it was not an easy game, the Virginia Cavaliers team knew they would not have much opportunity to win the NCAA tournament and so the ACC tournament was their last chance to win something this year. At least they didn''t want to be eliminated in the first game, so Virginia Cavaliers were making a lot of effort in defense and were determined to have a difficult game. Even in the second half the Tar Heels team had difficulty setting up plays and players had to use individual skill to gain space to make the move, so with Jake, Jamison, and Carter playing well the Tar Heels team had the advantage. In addition, Team Tar Heels had the most restful and stamina players in this game, as Team Virginia Cavaliers did not have the opportunity to rotate the starting team because the reserves did not have the same strength. So throughout the game Team Tar Heels always had the lead on the scoreboard even though Team Virginia Cavaliers was trying hard to win, in that second half, Jake played for 17 minutes and scored 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jake can do one more double-double and Tar Heels team won 84 points against 69 points Virginia Team Cavaliers was a good start and the other day they would have another game. Chapter 310 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 6 Just as Jake expected the NC State Wolfpack team beat Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals and would soon advance to the next game and will likely beat Team Maryland Terrapins by surprising everyone and reaching the final. As for the Tar Heels team would face the equally strong team Wake Forest Demon and Jake hoped that his team would leave with the victory, but since the opposing team had Tim Duncan, Jake did not dare to despise the opponent. So the next day they had the second game of this ACC tournament, of course, the favorite team to win this game was the Tar Heels team, so all the players on the team were relaxed in preparing the game. After all, they were more rested and the team season was better, on the individual side the players of team Tar Heels also had the advantage, Jake had even more confidence because he knew that in his past life the team had won this game. His friends were also watching this game in the stands and Jake was sure his mother was watching this game on television, so he had to give his best of it in this game. After a couple of hours, both teams were ready to start this game, Team Tar Heels knew the strategy to beat Team Wake Forest Demon, it was just to let Tim Duncan freer and focus on defending the other players of the team. It was the strategy they used in the last game and it had worked, after all the Tar Heels team was confident of their players'' offensive capability but had no confidence to stop Duncan in that game. Wake Forest Demon had no way of stopping Jake in this game, they couldn''t leave Jake free to play because if they did Jake would make several three-point plays and still find a way to pass the ball to his teammates. In the first half of this game everyone realized that this game would not be played as much as everyone expected, Jake was playing very well and so was Duncan, but the rest of the Wake Forest Demon players were not playing that well. On the side of the Tar Heels team, the players were all having a good game and so naturally the Tar Heels team had an advantage in this first half of the game, Jake played for 18 minutes and scored 20 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals. With such a performance the players near the three-point line had difficulty playing near Jake, and inside was Carter, Jamison, and Zwikker in defense, as well as Okulaja who despite defending against Duncan still hampered other players. Duncan managed to score 12 points and 6 rebounds in the first half, yet he alone couldn''t make much difference in this game. In the second half Team Tar Heels continued to play well and dominated Team Wake Forest Demon, everyone was playing well and Team Coach Wake Forest Demon did not know what he could do to reverse the difference on the court. In that second half Jake played for 19 minutes and scored 22 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 5 steals, with this triple-double and 42 points in this game Jake led the Tar Heels team to great advantage against Wake Forest Demon. Duncan also had a great game and did a double-double again but couldn''t change the situation on his own, besides Jake Jamison also had a great performance in both games so far, besides the two other players of the team also played very well. Jake was happy with the triple-double, he hoped maybe to get another double with the rebounds, but playing against Duncan that was impossible for now, at least the team went to the ACC tournament final. In this game the Tar Heels team scored 98 points against just 69 points from the Wake Forest Demon team, everyone who expected a difficult and exciting game was disappointed, but at least they saw a game with several good plays from the Tar Heels team. Just as Jake expected the NC State Wolfpack team beat the Maryland Terrapins team and would face Jake''s team in the final, so Jake can be more relaxed about it because in many ways against the NC State Wolfpack team they were more likely to win this ACC tournament. After a night''s rest the other day the Tar Heels team had another game again, it was the 1997 ACC tournament final, the Tar Heels team opponent in that game was their rival NC State Wolfpack. This was an unexpected game for everyone but Jake who knew the future, yet while Team Tar Heels was tired of playing for two days in a row, Team NC State Wolfpack played for three days in a row. In addition, the team''s season Tar Heels and the players were much better than the opponents, Jake intended to play everything he could again to secure his first trophy at university, they would be the champions that day. After a few hours, both teams were ready for this game, the Greensboro Coliseum was full of fans and most were Tar Heels team fans, Jake was more excited about this game. The favorites were the Tar Heels team, but in the last three games the NC State Wolfpack team was not the favorite and they still won in the end, so no Tar Heels team player looked down on their opponents. The initial formation of the Tar Heels team was Jake playing as PG, Shammond Williams playing as SG, Antawn Jamison playing as SF, Ademola Okulaja playing as PG and Serge Zwikker playing as Center. In the last two games, Zwikker and Okulaja were playing very well and Williams was also joining the team as a reserve and playing better than Carter, so Coach Smith decided to make that change in that game. The initial formation of the NC State Wolfpack team came with Jeremy Hyatt, Ishua Benjamin, Danny Strong, Justin Gainey, and Clint Harrison, with this team they didn''t have much strength to fight for rebounds and seemed unwilling to. The NC State Wolfpack team didn''t make much three-point play even though their players didn''t have the time to try hard for indoor play, so Coach Smith decided to try to attack more with the three-point play with Jake and Williams to try to win with more easily this game. In the first minutes of play, the things were exactly as planned, the team''s defense of the Tar Heels team was very strong in the painted area and gave more space outside the three-point line, so they made the NC State Wolfpack try more plays of three points. On the other side was just the opposite, the NC State Wolfpack defense was stronger off the three-point line and weaker within the painted area, so in the early minutes Jake had a lot of time in the ball in several plays. He worked well several moves with Zwikker and Jamison and the two also knew how to cooperate and so the team Tar Heels made many moves in the painted area, Jake also attacked well and when the opposing defense came with two players he passed to Williams to make the moves. So in the first half, the NC State Wolfpack team missed many three-point attacks and could not make moves in the painted area, while the side team Tar Heels missed much less with Jake in charge of the attacks and organizing the moves. In that first half, Jake had 22 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals, with this Jake performance Tar Heels team led by many points towards the end of the first half. "The Tar Heels team has been dominating the game in the first half and has a great advantage for this second half, dominating the three-point balls, dominating the plays in the painted area and dominating in rebounds." "It''s true, the NC State Wolfpack team looks like they have given up on painted area rebounds and rebounds, but you can''t give up one of the fundamentals of basketball without paying the price for it." "We can see that the Wake Forest team, for example, had a great season because they dominated in rebound statistics, which means that the Wake Forest team could attack more in games." "Another thing that has been going on a lot in this game is that the NC State Wolfpack team has been making a lot of mistakes, they missed more than 12 three-point shots, if they hit half of those attempts the game would be different in the first half." "Not to mention the great game that Jake, Jamison, and Zwikker are playing, Zwikker scored 13 points in the last game and it looks like he will repeat the performance in that game and Jamison has been playing very well too, with Jake they have been catching almost every rebound of that game." "A lot of this has to do with the fact that NC State Wolfpack is trying to stop Tar Heels''s team three-point play, so Jamison and Zwikker have the freedom and ability to make more points with Jake''s assists." "And the NC State Wolfpack team couldn''t quite defend the three-point play because Jake still scored more than 20 points in the first half, let''s see if we''ll see another triple-double from Jake in this game." What the commentators were saying was right and it was obvious that the coach and players of the NC State Wolfpack team knew this too, but unfortunately, they could do nothing to change the situation in this game. The scoring on Jake was already very strong and yet he still managed to score 22 points in the first half plus many assists, if they changed the defense to the painted area it was not guaranteed that they would achieve for the attacks of Jamison and Zwikker. And if they did that Jake and Williams would be even easier to make the plays in the second half, and even if they wanted to fight for rebounds they had no ability to face the Tar Heels team players. Chapter 311 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 7 In the second half of the game with no choice to change the style of play the NC State Wolfpack team came to try to change the outcome of the game and come out as champions, so they knew that if they missed the three-point move less they could change the outcome of the game. But it was easier said than said, they never had players who used to have a good hit rate on three-point plays, so to hit more they would also have to try harder and make more mistakes. Since the rebounds were from the Tar Heels team in this game they would be giving the opponents plenty of counterattacking opportunities, but they had no other options than trying to make such moves. Jake remembered watching this game in his past life, the team Tar Heels also dominated the game he watched, the problem was that they missed many moves and had many turnovers and therefore lost several chances to make more points. So in this game Jake was keen to own the ball and control and organize the plays for the Tar Heels team, Jake also said he would do that for Coach Smith and received the coach''s approval. After all Jake rarely had a turnover in games, so he was the one who had the most security with ball possession, so by the end of the first half Tar Heels team had a big lead on the scoreboard. And the second half continued the same way, the NC State Wolfpack team tried more three-point play and missed more and rebounded the Tar Heels team, on the other hand, the Tar Heels team had the three-spot and three-point moves balanced points. The Tar Heels team also missed much less and so by the end of the game, everyone knew who the ACC tournament champion team was. In that second half, Jake played for 18 minutes and made 17 minutes, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals, with this brilliant performance of Jake the Tar Heels team easily won this game. Jake had made a quadruple-double with 39 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, and 11 steals, after the game all just gathered in the center of the court and celebrated a lot, Jake was congratulated by his teammates for quadruple-double. Even though everyone was happier to be ACC tournament champions, it was great to win that way because they knew they would not leave without any championships won this season and would try their best to win the NCAA tournament. Team Tar Heels won this game and became champion by scoring 87 points against only 49 points by Team NC State Wolfpack, Jake remembered that this game in his past life was much harder and Team Tar Heels won with fewer points. "What an amazing game we saw today here in this final game that decided who is the 1997 ACC tournament champion team, this time the NC State Wolfpack team failed to perform another miracle and their cinderella tale ended today, the Tar Heels team is the champion." "All merit goes to Jake who got a quadruple-double that will go down in history, and to Antawn Jamison and Serge Zwikker who dominated the game in the painted area in both offense and defense." "Shammond Williams also played very well today, but his performance was overshadowed by Jake''s quadruple-double, Jake hit 9 three-point shots and Shammond can only hit 3 in that game." "If the NC State Wolfpack team had someone with the same percentage of three-point shooting hits as Jake or Williams they might have won this game." "True, total merit for Team Tar Heels, for Jake, for Zwikker and Jamison and even for Coach Smith who organized this incredible team, but we have to accept that part of the reason for the defeat of the NC State Wolfpack team was the very low achievement. of the three-point shots." "That''s right, but it really can''t even be said that the three-point shootout was very bad because it''s actually average for normal teams, is that comparing to the team Tar Heels'' hit rate is really a difference huge in performance." "That''s not what I mean, their performance can be considered normal for a team that is bad at three-point shots, what I mean is if the team is that bad at three-point shots because they tried harder 50 shots of three points in one game!" "The coach must know the quality of his players, so if he knew that the team was bad on all three points to try no more than 50 times! It''s an ACC tournament final game and not a training joke!" As the other commentator was saying, this commentator just realized the error of the NC State Wolfpack strategy because the Tar Heels team played so much better than them in every way. As far as Jake remembered no one criticized the NC State Wolfpack team for attempting several three-point shots even though they had missed so many as in today''s game. "Think about it, Jake had an average of 60% three-shot hits today, which is considered a poor performance for him this season if he were on the NC State Wolfpack team and tried 50 three-point shots as they tried him would make 90 points alone! Now, do you understand why I think the difference is absurd? And that was a bad day for Jake." With such a comparison even the people watching at home thought it was really a bad game for the NC State Wolfpack team, they were very bad for the opportunities they had in the game. "But you can''t use the performance of a player like Jake as a comparison, so look, he made a quadruple-double with 39 points on a day you said he had a poor performance on three-point shots." "How many players in college basketball history do you think did what Jake did?" While the commentators discussed what had happened in the game, the Tar Heels team players were celebrating the victory a lot, the NC State Wolfpack players seemed to be completely convinced later and see the performance of the Tar Heels team. They weren''t even sad about losing this game, everyone was already proud to have reached this final after starting in the first round, this NC State Wolfpack team had already made history. As the players celebrated the players began to be interviewed by reporters and went to the live television broadcast, shortly after some of their teammates were interviewed Jake was called in for an interview as well. "Hi Jake, first congratulations on winning the championship and for your amazing performance in the game today." "Hahaha, thanks, the victory today is thanks to the effort of the entire team and the organization of Coach Smith." "How do you feel about winning the ACC tournament in your first year playing at university?" "I''m very happy, I have to thank my teammates who helped me better integrate into the team and adapt to the college level basketball game, I also have to thank Coach Smith who gave me the opportunity to play in those games." "Jake, tell us your secret to having such a high three-point hit rate?" "The secret is a lot of training, a lot of training and strength too, sometimes in games like today luck also helps the ball get in more often, and it is my teammates who help me get the chance to shoot three points with more freedom." "And how does it feel to quadruple-double in such an important endgame like this?" "I was very happy, I''ve had opportunities to do things like today, but in such an important game and with a strong opposing team like NC State Wolfpack is much more significant." "One last question, what do you expect from the NCAA tournament after winning the ACC tournament?" "This has not changed since the beginning of the season, our team has always been working hard and training to reach the NCAA tournament final and win at the end, after winning the ACC tournament what changes is that our team''s confidence will increase." While Jake was talking to reporter Serge Zwikker was taking down the nets to celebrate the victory, Jake naturally also took a piece of the net and left the rest with his teammates. After they received the ACC tournament champion trophy and took the photo for a souvenir, everyone was very happy about it and the prizes continued, Jake was naturally chosen for the first team of the ACC tournament. Lastly, Jake was chosen as the ACC tournament MVP, this was normal thinking about his performance in the last two games and today''s game mainly, he celebrated with his teammates and was very happy with today''s game. After all the celebration the team returned the same day to university, they would have a week rest after today''s game before the start of the NCAA tournament, if the team played well as Jake hoped they would play 6 more games after that. Jake hoped this season would end with the team also winning the NCAA tournament, Jake had to admit it was much better to win the ACC tournament than the national high school championship. So he was eager to know what it would be like to win the NCAA tournament which was much more important than the ACC tournament, he could only hope for it, for now, he would wait another week to rest before the next game. Chapter 312 1997 ACC Mens Basketball Tournament 8 One thing Jake had discovered and taken aback at this game now had to be taken into consideration, he thought would never tire of his much larger stamina even than marathon athletes. But in this game, he realized to his surprise that after playing for three days in a row just not feeling he was tired, he realized this because his average hit of three points dropped so much in this game. Even though he already had a much higher average than other players with the help of the system he could get a lot more three-point shots, and he always tried to shoot three points when he was confident he could hit the three-point shot points. "Fate, do you know why I ended up making more mistakes in this game?" [What happened was that after three straight days of playing you got mentally tired, your stamina was normal, but your mind was tired after so much pressure from important games.] [This will happen many times yet and this is also one of the reasons why coaches sometimes leave their top players more time on the bench several times during game periods.] [The more important a player is to the team, the more pressure they end up feeling, you''re no different, but you don''t have to worry because it happens rarely and even if your accuracy drops a little, you''ll still play better than the others on your team.] Jake did not expect this, of course, he knew that everyone could get mentally tired, it happened to him several times in his past life when he slept briefly and when he studied too much, but in this life had not happened once. Knowing this Jake can be relieved because just as the system said was normal and very difficult to happen, not knowing why was much worse for him, he was lucky to always be able to ask things he had doubts to the system. "Fate, show me my statistics window of the first job." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 18 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: College Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 1.98 m] [Weight: 99 Kg] [Force 37] [Agility 37] [Resistance 40] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Basketball Skills [Ball Handling S] [Body Control A] [Man to Man A] [Dribble S] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block B] [Pass S] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal S] [Dunk S] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was glad to see that several of his strength statistics had improved in recent months, the other statistics would hardly improve with training after earning so many reward statistics. Several of his skills have also risen in rank after these months playing on the Tar Heels team, he has played this season so far more than he had in two years at high school and was always up against skillful opponents. So it was normal for his skills to improve quickly, after all, he already had more experience than many NBA lifelong players, but he could always gain more experience playing with people with intelligence than with system-controlled players in his space of Imagination training. Once again Jake thought he had made the right decision by coming to college instead of going straight to the NBA, otherwise, he would have to spend at least two years playing very little time until everyone recognized his ability. After all, he can quickly get better than his college basketball teammates after a few months, but in the NBA he knew he still had a lot of players who were better than him. He felt it was a shame he didn''t get any attribute points as a reward after winning the ACC tournament, but he already expected it as the system said he would have to become a pro before earning more attribute points. Also, the ACC tournament was something like a regional tournament, so maybe if he could win the NCAA tournament he would get some attribute point as a reward, so he would have to work even harder. As he would have a week before the start of the NCAA tournament Jake decided to go to Miami to stay with his mother in the coming days before returning to rest to play again, he would have his own training ground at home to do the daily training that Coach Davis prepared for him. So the day after the final game Jake went home and arrived at the restaurant to surprise his mother, this time he didn''t meet Lola as he always did when he entered the restaurant. Jake went straight to the kitchen and saw his mother talking happily with Anna, it looked like they were talking something to put on the restaurant menu, Anna was the first to notice Jake and then went to talk to him. "Hi Jake, I didn''t think you were coming anytime soon, just yesterday we saw your game in the final, congratulations on becoming the champion, you deserve it." "Thanks, Anna, I came here to see you, hi mom, I miss you." "Jake, I didn''t expect you to come either, aren''t you going to have a game in a few days?" "Yes I will, so as I enjoyed coming today, our team gained a few days off from Coach Smith before the first NCAA tournament game." "You should have stayed at university resting these days, son, in less than a month the games will be over, aren''t you?" Since she had complete confidence in Jake, Eva was counting the games until the NCAA tournament final, so in less than a month the final would happen. "That''s right mom, but I still have classes until two months from now, so I enjoyed coming here this week." Eva was so involved with Jake''s basketball games that she had even forgotten that he had gone to college to study, after all, Jake had never had a problem getting the best grades in college. This week the teachers wouldn''t even miss Jake because they knew the players must be tired, and even if Jake had this week of fouls would be his only in the semester. Jake missed his mother after several months, and took the opportunity to come this week because on vacation he could not spend all his time at home, he would have several marathons to compete in his vacation months. In addition, soon he would have to sort things out with his investments and the companies he was involved in. Matthew''s company had started selling the new digital cameras in February of this year and this year Jake could expect more profits. Jake didn''t know if Clara and Tiffany''s companies had already started investing, but he was just worried about them and didn''t expect to receive profits from those stocks, so if they don''t come to talk to him, Jake won''t ask about anything either. Jake also hoped that by the end of next year Charlie''s team would be able to fully develop a smartphone prototype and Jake would try to get as many patents as he could, then he would have Charlie''s team start developing a prototype of the Android system as well. Jake knew many things that could give him a lot of money in the coming years, but he had no energy and no time to invest in these products, so he chose these two products that would be the world''s most lucrative future market. If he could successfully invest in Google, he wouldn''t even have to worry about the Android system and would just wait for a few years to start selling his shares, and so would have money for a lifetime. If he had shares in Google and Amazon he could become the richest man in the world in another 20 years, but those shares paid no dividends, so Jake would not hesitate to sell his shares to have real money on hand. So Jake could make donations to those he needed as he always wanted and could invest back in other companies that would pay dividends and still have growth in the future. After all, according to Jake, he knew that the smart thing to do with stocks was to sell when they were valued and still worth it, he didn''t want to continue with stocks that wouldn''t be worth holding unless it was to help a friend as he was doing with Clara''s company. Jake also knew he couldn''t count on Emily showing up in the next few days because he''d let her see what was going on with Amazon that soon this year would have the IPO. For the next few days Jake stayed home training and talking to Eva every day so he rested his tired mind and prepared for the NCAA tournament games, Jake hoped his team would win, but no one could know what would happen. Not even he who had come from the future could know what would happen in the coming days since just being playing on the Tar Heels team in those years had already changed the future he knew, he hoped that nothing bad would happen in the coming days. After three days at home he returned to college, he did not want to challenge Coach Smith and risk missing out on the initial team formation of the Tar Heels team in the early NCAA tournament games. At university, he continued his daily marathon training as he shared part of the training with Zack who was already running 14km every day, in the coming months Jake would continue to increase Zack''s training for him to run a marathon in a few months. After all, after these more than 4 months of training, Zack was already in good physical shape and could start increasing daily running intensity without risking injury, in fact, if he ran slower, Zack could run for more than 20 km every day. Jake also returned to daily training with his basketball team, everyone was much more rested after a few days and was very excited for the first NCAA tournament games. Chapter 313 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 1 After a few more days of training the first game day the NCAA tournament arrived, the game would be at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum which was where Wake Forest team normally played, if Team Tar Heels won they would play the next game there too. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the game, Team Tar Heels was the first seed in this NCAA tournament and would face Team Fairfield Stags who were not having a good season so far. So it was only natural that everyone expected the Tar Heels team to win this game very easily, everyone expected it and even Coach Smith was not worried about this game, Jake who knew that the team would win with some ease was not worried either. But he remembered something that could end up changing the outcome of this game if he wasn''t careful, Greg Francis who was one of the highlights of this team would be playing very well that day and would hit 8 shots from three points. So Jake didn''t know what position he would play in this game but made a point of asking Coach Smith to personally score Greg Francis, Coach Smith trusted Jake as a defender and accepted Jake''s request. That made Jake very happy, so he would defend Greg Francis the entire game and at least not allow the opposing player to score so many points in that game, as Coach Smith was confident in the team he decided to change the initial lineup for that game. Jake, Carter, Zwikker, Williams, and Jamison were playing very well in the attack of team Tar Heels and Jake, Jamison and Zwikker also stood out in defense, so Coach Smith decided to let the five players in the initial lineup and leave Okulaja on the bench beginning of the game. Coach Smith believed that in this game if they scored more points with this team the defense would not matter so much and they would still win, plus he was confident in defending his team for this game. "Today all our viewers will be watching home the first round of this NCAA tournament, a first seed game from East Regional North Carolina Tar Heels against team sixteenth seed team Fairfield Stags." "Everyone looks forward to an easy win for the Tar Heels team in this game for the great phase the team has had 28 wins and only 2 losses to that match and comes from a winning streak of 19." "It''s normal to think that in addition to winning a lot of games they have great players like Jake, Jamison, Carter, and others, and still managed to win the ACC tournament." "But we all know how unpredictable basketball can be and nothing is decided before the end of the game, the Fairfield Stags team can surprise us all in today''s game." In the early minutes of the game, Fairfield Stags seemed to be in for the win and soon a very strong and unexpected attack began in the early minutes, only Jake expected it and was like a shadow defending closely against Francis. Just in the first two minutes of play, Jake gave some space on purpose and soon saw Francis receive the pass when Francis tried the three-point shot Jake was already prepared and approached quickly and went to the block. Francis was 1.90 m and did not expect the block, so Jake can easily take the ball off his 1.98 m, a few minutes later Jake again got a block against Francis. After these two plays, Jake was sure that Francis''s confidence was shaken and that he would hesitate to try the outside shot with Jake around, Coach Smith was very pleased with that on the bench and thought Jake was particularly good today. In the first 5 minutes Jake also managed to score 5 points and 2 assists so Tar Heels team had the lead, Jamison and Zwikker were a little distracted at the start of the game so it was still a difficult start. "Good start to the game for Jake in this game, it looked like the Fairfield Stags team was planning to start pushing in those early minutes and maybe open up some advantage, but Jake broke their hopes." "These two blocks at the beginning of the game were unexpected for the Fairfield Stags team and maybe even for the Tar Heels team, after all, Jake had only 3 blocks in the whole season and made over half of it today going to 5 blocks this year." "The most amazing thing is the detail of these plays, Jake defends closely against Francis and only for a few moments moves away from the defense, but is still watching closely Francis when Francis leaves the three-point line and receives the ball Jake still does not move." "Only when Francis starts the move to try the three-point shot that Jake quickly advances and still jumps after Francis to get the block, that''s both." And that went on, the whole first time Jake realized that Zwikker and Jamison were not playing well so made more moves with Carter and Williams, the two matched by scoring a few points. Jake also calmed the team and valued each time before completing the play, Jake still hit 4 shots from 3 points in 7 attempts and was therefore unable to support the team with several steals and rebounds as in other games. In compensation by the end of the first half, Jake had made 6 blocks, 5 of them in Francis and yet Francis managed to make three points in that first half, it did not look like he had lost confidence even after several blocks of Jake. In the first half, Jake played for 19 minutes and managed to score 18 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 6 blocks, with this excellent first-half performance of Jake the Tar Heels team was winning easily. "What an incredible first half Jake has been leading the Tar Heels team in this game, a normal performance for him in offense considering the other games, but in defense, he has been saving the Tar Heels team from perhaps finishing behind in that first half." "You say normal, but he was directly 34 points out of the 42 points that the Tar Heels team scored in the first half, we can''t treat that as normal even if he does the same every game." "He seems to be really paying attention to Francis in this game, Jake made 5 blocks in Francis in the first half, we don''t know if any of these three-point shots would hit, but Francis certainly has the team''s confidence in this game." In the second half, the Fairfield Stags team played at the same pace trying to win the game, but the Tar Heels team improved a lot in the second half, Jamison and Zwikker who was not playing so well began to show a great performance. Especially Zwikker who was taking several rebounds and doing more than double the points in the first half in that second half, Jake still controlled the game calmly and always defended against Francis. In the second half, Jake made another 5 blocks and 4 more of them in Francis, yet Francis still scored 6 more points in this second half of the game, even though Jake could feel that Francis could have a better average hit than him in this game if Jake allowed. Before halfway through the second half everyone knew that the Tar Heels team would win this game, Coach Smith was calm and even smiling when talking to the players, it was completely different from the difficult game that Jake saw in his past life. In that second half, Jake played for 18 minutes and managed to score 15 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 5 blocks with another triple-double. Jake secured an easy game for the team and he disrupted the best player of the team Fairfield Stags in this game. Team Tar Heels won 94 points against 61 points for Fairfield Stags, it was a difficult game that was made easier because Jake was on the court, yet Jake did not perform so well and even missed a lot of three-point shots. Even though he was pleased with the triple-double and being able to make 11 blocks in this game, it was shameful for him to have made only 3 blocks this season, so he took advantage of knowing that a player from the opposing team would have a great performance and even made several blocks. "And so ends that first round of the NCAA tournament, a great game and an easy win for the Tar Heels team, Jake Smith as always controlling the game and Serge Zwikker having another great game as well as Vince Carter." "Defensively Jake did exactly what he set out to do and so the Fairfield Stags team failed to play so well and lost by so much difference, just by those 9 points that Francis did even with Jake in defense already showed how he was inspired by this game. " "Hahaha, that''s true, I''m sure Francis will have nightmares with Jake after this game, a player who had only 3 blocks in the whole season decided to play very well in this game and made 9 blocks in it, Francis must be very angry." "This is another game that perfectly illustrates Jake''s versatility as a player, I''m sure he will make history in the NBA as he is already making history in college basketball." "That''s right, a few games ago Jake made a quadruple-double and now he shows that one day maybe he can make a quintuple-double playing like that." Commentators naturally praised Jake for the great game and because the Tar Heels team seemed to be doing well to win this year''s NCAA tournament, so reporters came to interview the players. The first interviewee was Greg Francis who had made an interesting dispute with Jake who was the best of the game in this game, reporters were curious about what Greg Francis was thinking. "What did you think of this Francis game?" "I thought the Tar Heels team played very well and deservedly won, our team did what we had trained to do and yet we lost by a large margin of points." Chapter 314 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 2 "What did you think Jake Smith marked you all this game and made 9 blocks?" "Was it 9? I didn''t think it was that many, I can say that neither I nor the team was prepared for it, Smith didn''t have a history of blocking this game, our team had planned that I would have more three-point play attempts." "I was feeling very good and confident in my ability for this game, proof of this is that I still scored 9 points even with Smith making 9 blocks, I can say that Coach Smith and Jake Smith are to be congratulated for coaching this." They expected to see Francis more nervous, but he was just sad to have lost and admired Jake''s skills, so soon someone went to interview Coach Smith to find out why he had Jake defend against Francis in this game. "Congratulations on winning Coach Smith today." "Thank you so much, I am very pleased with my players'' performance in today''s game and happy with the win." "Coach, I''m curious what you thought when you told Jake to defend against Francis in this game? Francis is the best player on the Fairfield Stags team, but Jake doesn''t usually play as well in defense as he does today." "Actually, I didn''t order Jake to defend against Francis in this game, he asked for it before this game, and since Jake is one of the best players in the defense of the Tar Heels team and never asked for anything like that I just agreed." "Even though I was a little surprised by Jake''s 11 blocks in this game, I always knew about his potential in defense, he''s one of the best players in the team''s defense and can do more than he usually does in games." "From the 9 points that Francis still scored in three-point shots even though Jake made several block defenses against him, I can see that Francis was in great shape today, so I''m glad Jake stopped him." Everyone was surprised to find out that it was Jake himself who asked to defend against Francis in this game, but by the time they considered interviewing Jake, he had already entered the locker room. So it was Charles who asked Jake why he had decided to defend against Francis in this game and made 11 blocks in this game, when Charles asked about it all the other players paid attention to Jake''s answer. "In fact, I asked Coach Smith to let me defend against Francis because he is the best player in the Fairfield Stags three-point play." "And I managed to block this game because Francis tried more three-point shots, it''s hard for me to find a three-point player playing against our team who tries so many three-point shots." When Jake said this everyone accepted that it must be true because he had logic, Jake had naturally thought of it before even asking Coach Smith to let him defend against Francis. After all Jake could not say that he asked to defend against Francis because he had come from the future and knew that Francis could get 8 shots of 3 points in this game and could harm the team and that''s why he had the easiest to block Francis. After that everyone went back to university because in two more days they would have their second NCAA tournament match at that same venue, the coach was happy with the whole team at that game and hoped they would continue to do so. Jake also talked quietly with his roommates and still did his daily training for athletics, it could be said that Jake did much more than any player on the Tar Heels team. Coach Davis was already receiving his salary after signing the contract with Jake and was quiet even after he had prepared Jake''s daily training routine, every morning he followed Jake''s training at university. He also knew that Jake was very serious with his training and had trained even while in Miami visiting his mother, so he could just oversee Jake''s training and teach the correct running positioning for short and medium distances. Coach Davis had no problem because Jake was very talented and did everything he said, plus Jake''s training was considered too heavy even for other elite athletes so Coach Davis couldn''t even think of increasing the heavy training until Jake is on vacation. After a few weeks training Jake he could well understand why Jake could win multiple marathons and break the world record while playing basketball and studying at university, it was because he was very dedicated to training and talented. In classes after nearly two semesters studying Jake could not hide his intelligence either, as they say, that even hidden gold is still the same, everyone realized that even playing basketball and doing other activities that did not know well Jake still always got high marks. Jake, even trying to sneak around, still taught some classmates how he used to do in high school, and these friends he taught got excellent grades too, even in a room of over 50 people Jake still stood out. Luckily everyone thought Jake was just humble and he had no problem even standing out in class, Jake was glad that at university things were different and so he could rest easy. Many also found that in addition to playing on the basketball team Jake had been an actor, with Jake''s current fame it was difficult for him to go unnoticed anywhere, much less at the university where he played who had many fans of the basketball team. Jake didn''t know, but the movie in which he appeared a few minutes ago was earning more box office because almost everyone at UNC watched Jake''s movie at least once, at university the fans were much more intense than normal fans. Of course, the companies that sponsored Jake were also getting a lot of attention and the products were selling better, the university and the college basketball association pretended not to realize this because Jake never advertised the companies that sponsored him at the university. At Jake''s request even the companies they sponsored kept description and did not talk about college basketball, which of course greatly enhanced UNC''s prestige too with Jake being so talented. After a few days came the day of Team Tar Heels''s second game in the second round, the opponent was Team Colorado Buffaloes who beat Team Indiana Hoosiers in their first game. The Colorado Buffaloes team was having a great season and had a great player who was Chauncey Billups, Billups played for 17 seasons in the NBA and played in several teams and even won an NBA championship. But as far as Jake remembered Billups didn''t play so well in this game and so Jake didn''t take much interest in him, yet Jake would probably be sent by Coach Smith to defend against Billups. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start this game, everyone expected it to be a much more closely match than the previous game and so were excited, only Jake knew it would not be so. Zwikker and Carter who had a great game a few days ago would not be playing very well and it would be Okulaja and Ed Cota who would perform well in that game, but Ed Cota would not play if Jake was on the team and Shammond Williams would play well in that game either. Coach Smith seemed to have realized something like this and put Williams playing SG and took Carter out to put Okulaja in the initial line-up, even if Zwikker wasn''t quite offensive, he would still catch a lot of rebounds and play well defensively. It was very good for Jake to remember what it was like in his past life because this way he could know who to pass the ball to and who he could tell the most in this game for reliable play. In the first half of the game, Jake was playing well as usual and made more plays with Williams and Jamison than Okulaja, the Colorado Buffaloes team was playing well defensively, but in the attack, there was no player featured. So in the first half Tar Heels team managed to open a good lead by playing well, Jake played for 19 minutes and managed to score 20 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, Williams and Jamison also received some assists and managed to play well. In the second half the team Tar Heels continued to play well and was opening more and more advantages and thus the willingness to attack and defend the team Colorado Buffaloes diminished and the game became easier. Jake was well on the three-point shots in this game and the defense could do nothing against him, and his assists found the players of Tar Heels team in the best position, it could be said that in a different way from the last game Jake led the team to the easy victory. So after a game that was under Jake''s control the Tar Heels team could win, in the second half, Jake played for 19 minutes and managed to score 22 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Team Tar Heels won the game by 88 points against just 48 points for Team Colorado Buffaloes, with another triple-double Jake managed to lead the team for another easy win and Team Tar Heels advanced to Sweet Sixteen. Jake was happy that the team would continue to win the games they won in their past life and hoped they could win the semifinal and the final as well and so the Tar Heels team would be the champion in the NCAA tournament. After this game the team Tar Heels returned to university to rest before the next game in a few days, even Jake was a little worried about the next game and was happy that the team would have almost 1 week to rest before the last game. At university, he called his mother who watched the game and celebrated with his friends who were excited about the Tar Heels team advancing so far in the NCAA tournament in those years and Jake leading the team in the victories. Chapter 315 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 3 Jake was happy to have a week to rest and just doing his training that was easy for Jake, he wouldn''t risk going home even though he had almost a week to rest before Sweet Sixteen, it was obvious that Coach Smith would not like it at all. For the next week Jake was planning on just hanging out with his friends and relaxing beyond training, but the next day Tiffany called saying she wanted to meet him at a restaurant near the university. Jake naturally accepted and was glad Tiffany came to the university to visit him again, only she and John came to visit him at the university in almost a year he was studying, of course speaking of people Jake has some business with. Last time Tiffany had come more to talk than to tell Jake about Coach Davis, so this time Jake hoped Tiffany had just come to talk to him this rest week. So after classes and training with the basketball team, Jake went out to meet Tiffany, she was beautiful with always wearing a very elegant suit made for business women like Tiffany. "Hi Tiffany, you look beautiful as always." "Oh thanks for the compliment, Jake, you''re also looking like a grown man now after you are 18, it''s amazing to see how you grew up these last few years since the first time I saw you." "It''s normal for me to grow a lot since before I was 14 if I didn''t grow up I couldn''t become a basketball player, maybe I''ll keep growing." "You can''t keep growing, I''ve always hated wearing high heels and have to wear when meeting you, now just sitting at a table I can look you in the eye, Hahaha." They both laughed for a while, it was fun to remember the past when two people had known each other for several years like Tiffany and Jake, especially in this situation where Tiffany met Jake when he was just a kid. "I''ve been watching your games this season Jake, you have been doing very well this year, since I met you and saw you playing I always thought you had a basketball talent, but I''ll admit that until this year I found it hard to imagine you playing in the NBA like the pro gamers, but now I can imagine you being very successful." "Thank you, I was lucky to choose such a good team as the Tar Heels team, only in that team I think I would have the opportunity to play my best and play so many games, I hope we keep playing until we win the NCAA tournament." "I hope so, I''m rooting for you and your team, but honestly seeing your team in the last few games I can''t imagine you losing." Tiffany was honest, unlike Eva, she was someone who knew basketball well after following Jake for a few years, yet she also thought that Jake played at university as he played at high school. Of course, she knew that college basketball games were much harder than in high school, but even though it was harder the results were still the same, especially this string of multiple wins that the Tar Heels team had. "What do you think about the coach I found for you, Jake?" "I found Coach Davis very good, he has some difficulties with his family and so accepted my demands, but he still does his job very well and doesn''t interfere with my plans for the year." "And you plan to run a marathon this year?" "Sure, I''m going to compete in some marathons until the Chicago marathon later this year, I don''t plan on running in New York that year again, and I plan to win every marathon I run." "That''s great, I hope you win a lot of marathons this year, you have the world record now, you can''t start losing this year." Jake naturally did not intend to lose any marathon nor did he think it was possible to lose any marathon, but just as happened in New York a few years ago unforeseen events can happen. "I came here to talk to you Jake, and because I want to tell you to prepare a few days for us a few months from now on your university vacation, my company and our company plan to make a commercial this year for our companies." "So you decided to make a commercial? That''s good, I''ll prepare some time so, I hope sales will increase even more, but you remember you can''t make any implications for basketball in commercials, right?" "Of course, we remember that your agreement with the university does not allow, we hope to enjoy your popularity with basketball and the movie you made at the end of the year, by the way very good your acting in the movie, I watched, you did well in keeping a secret from me." "Depending on when the commercials come out, it may end up using some popularity of the marathons I''m going to participate in mid-year." "It would be nice, at the end of the year we will send you a report of the investments that our company will make, if you want to give some idea you can talk to Clara." "No, I left everything in her hands, if she wants to buy me the shares I''ll sell to her anytime, I''m too busy this year and don''t understand much of sporting goods to give Clara any advice." After that, they talked some more time and Tiffany soon left for Miami again, after all, she was president of her company and couldn''t just go out and walk around whenever she wanted. Jake had hoped Clara would want to make a new commercial this year because soon their contract would end and Jake said he would not renew again. After that, he went back to college and talked to his friends all day, after that day in the batting cage Zack''s brother would almost always come to talk to them. Just as William had said Brett was very nice and even though Zack said he didn''t like his brother he always had fun when Brett was with him, Aaron who also had an older brother said he should be just jealous. The other day before Jake went to training with the basketball team he got a call, he answered naturally as only his closest acquaintances knew his number and hoped it was some friend. "Hello, is this Jake Smith''s phone?" "Yes, I''m Jake Smith, who is it?" "It''s a great pleasure talking to you Mr. Smith, here is David Falk, I''m a sports agent and I got your number from reporter Eric, I''d like to meet with you today to talk." "So it''s Mr. Falk, I have some time later after basketball training and I can meet you." Jake then arranged a dinner with David Falk, one of the greatest sports agents of the time. Jake didn''t expect to meet anyone like this but soon realized that it was normal for skilled basketball players to be approached by sports agents. Jake had never thought of hiring any sports agent before, but seeing how busy he was he realized that he probably wouldn''t have time to talk to sponsors and NBA team managers about contracts while playing. Jake also wanted time to run marathons and spend time with his mom and maybe even make some movies, and no one better than Michael Jordan''s sports agent to get him a great deal. A few years ago Jake didn''t think of having a sports agent so he wouldn''t have to give anybody part of the money he made, but after the meeting, he had with the Nike representative he realized that it wouldn''t be that easy in the future. Plus, with his investments and shares in various companies, Jake probably didn''t even have to mind the few million that could be paid at most from commission to David Falk, it was the same with his investment company. Clients like friends of Emily and Matthew''s dad might find 10 percent too much for Jake to receive from commission for hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, but if it weren''t for Jake they wouldn''t have made those investments and made that money in the first place. The same was true of a sports agent, it was the sports agent who got the sponsorship deals and best deals from the NBA managers, if Jake as an NBA novice wanted to negotiate a contract the NBA managers would probably laugh at him. But if it was David Falk who was a multi-star agent like Michael Jordan surely an NBA manager and a Nike representative would respect a lot more when negotiating a contract. Not to mention that David Falk had several contacts with companies that could pay a good sponsorship deal for Jake in his early years, so it seemed that having a sports agent was the best choice for Jake''s career at the moment. Later that day he went to meet David Falk, Jake hoped the conversation was just as Falk was not trying to hire Jake but to work as his sports agent and Jake was also interested. "Hi Mr. Smith, it''s a pleasure to meet you in person." "It''s a pleasure, Mr. Falk, you can call me Jake." "Call me David then Jake, I''ll confess I became your fan after this season of yours on the Tar Heels team, I hope you can win the NCAA tournament this year." "I hope you can too, it''s always good to win and I hate to lose." "I realized from this great winning streak of your team, Hahaha." "So what did you want to talk to me about before these important games, David." "You can already imagine Jake, after seeing you playing this season I couldn''t help but think that you could become the future NBA main player in a few years, and playing PG as your style no one will compare you to any player , you can create your own style and master the NBA with it." Chapter 316 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 4 Jake had to admit that he was a little excited after hearing the great David Falk saying that he could become the future NBA lead character in the coming years, especially since he was someone who had always been close to Michael Jordan. Since his past life, Jake had a dream of being a great basketball player, in this life he was having this opportunity and didn''t want to waste it so he trained so much and even lost marathons to playing college basketball. Jake was already in a situation where he had the money to live the rest of his life from the investments in Matthew''s companies and the investments his investment company made that he would have a part beyond the investments in the company Amazon that would guarantee billions of dollars to Jake in the future. He could also dominate a sport like athletics if he kept pushing himself the way he was and maybe even getting other gold medals in different sports, but Jake still struggled in basketball and wanted to become a star and leave his name on history. Still, Jake knew how difficult it was to realize this dream even with all his talent and the help of the system, so hearing David Falk saying something like that after playing a great season on the Tar Heels team made Jake more confident. "I''m glad to hear you say that David, to be honest, I really am very ambitious with my career as a basketball player, I say nothing to others not to sound arrogant, but I really want to become an NBA star." "I don''t really care much about money, but I want to get paid just as much for my skills and achievements playing basketball, so I really want someone to find several companies to sponsor me." "Besides, I want to get good contracts where I win what really reflects my value and in the contract I find possibilities to compete in marathons and maybe do other things like acting." "After all, I know that only if I can really make a lot of money and make my team make a lot of money can I really be considered a basketball star." Jake decided to say everything he really thought to David Falk, he knew very often that being too modest can cause a negative result, what David Falk was looking for was a star who had confidence in his abilities and had high ambitions. Jake said he didn''t need any money, but he still wanted to have a lot of advertising deals and great contracts with NBA teams, so he would let David Falk know that he could do his best to get Jake better and get a good commission. Just as Jake thought David Falk was very pleased that Jake was ambitious because Jake had the ability to be arrogant if he wanted to, so David hoped Jake still wanted to run marathons even playing in the NBA and he could get it for him on contracts. A team plays over 80 games a year and wouldn''t mind if Jake lost 3 games a year to run and still bring more publicity to the team, as Jake didn''t care about money but still wanted several sponsorship deals and the best contracts in basketball. David didn''t believe it at all, but he agreed with Jake''s view that only a player making a lot of money and making a lot of money for the club would really be recognized as a basketball star. "I can make sure that in your contract with your future NBA teams you have permission to lose some games if you need to compete in marathons." "I myself believe this is very good for your image as an athlete and as an American citizen winning multiple marathons and continuing to win gold medals in the Olympics." "Companies may not want to pay a lot for an athlete who only knows how to run, but you will be an NBA star who is also an athlete, this is unique and maybe it will be unique forever, so we have to use it to value your brand." "You Jake Smith, you have to make your name a brand, you will have to become a brand, I know it is not very easy to do that, but we will have to preserve as much as possible your reputation and both social and professional life." Jake wondered why David was saying this, many basketball players have hectic people lives and have fights with their teammates and coaches, but sports agents can''t rule the basketball stars. So some sports agents have to rush around to clean up the mess players make and try to protect the public image of the players, Jake could guarantee it wouldn''t be because it wasn''t his personality. But even he could not deny that in the future he could end up having problems with other players and even with coaches of the basketball teams he passes, after all, something like this has happened in the past. "I can say that I don''t like doing things like this and my personal life will be pretty quiet, but I can''t guarantee that I don''t have problems with other players or coaches, it will depend on a lot of things, but I will try not to cause too many problems for you." "It will be great if you try not to cause me too much trouble, some minor problems I can solve for you myself, after all, it''s part of my job." "Just like I told you, Jake, I think you''re very talented and have a unique basketball style, besides, you''re a marathon runner and a great one at that." "So I think you can start out in the NBA with star status, in the first year you won''t be so recognized, but in a few seasons I think you can be a major player and an NBA symbol like Michael Jordan is now." "Also, it''s great that you decided to go to university instead of going straight to the NBA, you could go to the NBA directly last year and get a good salary." "But even with your talent, it would take you a few years to become a respected player and even longer become one of the top players on your team." "It''s like Kobe Bryant, a great player who decided to join the NBA directly instead of going to college, missed a great opportunity to gain much more recognition at the university and create a legacy and decided to join the NBA directly." "I''m sure that in the next few years he will be on the bench at the beginning and only after a few years he will be able to play like the other players, but if he had spent those next few years at university he would receive much more recognition and improve his skills." "I think he has the talent and could be one of the best NBA basketball players in a few years, but even if that happens I''ll still think he missed that opportunity." Jake was surprised by what David Falk was saying, Kobe Bryant was starting in the NBA now, and David Falk was talking exactly what would happen to him in the NBA, of course, Kobe Bryant must not have regretted joining the NBA before. And in a few years, LeBron James would do the same as Kobe Bryant did, and just the Nike contract he would make would be worth going straight to the NBA, and LeBron James started playing in most games of the season since the first year. But in reality today Jake himself knew that it would be a better option to play college first before joining the NBA, and with the help of the Jake system he could play up to 45 years old if he wanted to. "I''ll tell you something, the next few years will be complicated in the NBA and a lot of things will change in that time, even a few years later the situation may take a while to get back to normal." "Maybe in just a few years even Michael Jordan and some great players will decide to retire, so it will be the end of an NBA era and no player can replace Michael Jordan today." "So I think the coming years are the best time for newcomers like you to join the NBA, so you could build a legendary career and even become the new NBA head player just as Michael Jordan is now." "It will all depend on the end of your talent and how much you are able to make in your NBA seasons, but I''m sure you''re unique and it will get you critics'' attention in the coming years." Jake knew that David Falk was talking about the NBA stoppage that would take place in the 1998-99 season where for the first time in history the season would have less than 60 games, David Falk would be indirectly involved in that and so warned Jake. After a few seasons earning more than $ 30 million a season, Michael Jordan has decided to retire on high than earning less than half in the next few years. And David Falk was suggesting to Jake that maybe this would be a great opportunity for Jake to become one of the best and top NBA players while the whole NBA had the lowest audience attention. So Jake thought David Falk might be looking for a client like Michael Jordan to keep earning a lot and feel motivated to work for the next 20 years, and Jake could be maybe that player or at least Shaquille O''Neal''s level of skill and ability to make money. "After saying all this I think we''re pretty much already working together, don''t you, David?" "I hope so, as soon as you decide to leave university and join the NBA Draft I sign a contract with you, meanwhile I will talk more superficially with some sponsors and when you decide to join the NBA you may already have some proposals. " Chapter 317 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 5 "A Nike representative has already talked to me and offered me a very bad proposal a few months ago." "So you don''t want to work with them anymore? That''s a shame, I have good contact with some Nike directors after a lot of deals I''ve done with them, but I can try to get a good deal with Adidas and Reebok." "You got me wrong David, I want to work with Nike, in fact, I''m not interested in what other companies can offer before you try to get as much as possible from Nike." David was confused about why Jake seemed to like Nike more than other companies, Nike has grown a lot in recent years thanks to the influence of Michael Jordan, but Adidas and Reebok were also big companies. "I thought that because they had underestimated their value by offering a bad offer you wouldn''t want to work with Nike, or would prefer Adidas or Reebok unless Nike offered an indispensable offer." "That''s because you don''t know me, David, this is business and it''s nothing personal, more than offended I''d say I was disappointed with Nike''s offer, I thought they''d be smarter." "After all a few months ago I had achieved a lot of things in the marathon and was playing very well at the university, with a decent offer I could sign with them and they could say they had signed with an Olympic champion and world record holder." "Especially because I''m an American and they currently have more clients in the United States, and in the future at least it was almost certain that I would join the NBA, but they offered less than my other sponsors paid." "You even know how fearful they are to make new contracts, even with Michael Jordan they asked for several clauses in case it didn''t work out they could terminate the contract." "And Michael Jordan wasn''t annoyed at being underrated and renewed his contract with them a few years later." David was amazed that Jake could calm down and think about it alone without having any unnecessary pride or arrogance, after all, Michael Jordan had him to advise making the most rational decision. Also, times were different and even Michael Jordan thought it was normal for Nike to doubt that this deal could have worked, of course, he was glad he made that deal and lost a little at the time because he would continue to receive royalties for life by Nike for the shoe brand with his name. "I think you''re right and did well not to hold a grudge, which I don''t understand is why do you prefer Nike over other shoe companies?" "It''s partly because of you, David, I believe Nike will make many billions in the future and win a lot of basketball market because of you and Michael Jordan, because of you the Nike brand will be much better known." "For you too, many new talents will want to sign with Nike and they will grow even more so it will be good for me to associate with this growing brand." David thought for a moment and realized that Jake was right, Nike had grown and gained a lot of market in recent years even though it was a less influential company than the other companies because of Michael Jordan. Even after Michael Jordan retired he would still be an idol for many athletes, and other talented players might want to sign with Nike to try to replicate Michael Jordan''s success just as Jake wanted to do. "And like David yourself, with your Nike contacts and their trust in you, it will be easier to get a better contract with Nike for me, everyone believes that if you think I''ll be a star then I''ll probably be a star." "I think you''re right to think so Jake, so I''m going to talk to them too, looking like I''ll try to convince you to sign a contract with them for my friendship with Nike." "I will also say that you are much more interested in signing a contract with Adidas or Reebok, so they will have more pressure to offer a better offer if they believe you are talented as I believe." Jake thought David''s idea was great, he even remembered to warn David that his current annual sponsorship was over $ 4 million, so companies that wanted to renew with him would have to offer at least the same each year to get a contract. Otherwise, it would be better for Jake to just renew his contract with the companies he works for now, David was impressed to see how much Jake received even though he had never had a sports agent and to convince himself even more of Jake''s potential to make money. After that meeting Jake wouldn''t see David Falk for a while, after all, David had many clients in the company besides Jake who couldn''t even pay him for now, but Jake believed David would keep looking for better sponsors for him as soon as he finished college. So Jake now just had to concentrate on playing well and winning more marathons in the coming months to have a better chance of getting a contract, so in the next few days, Jake and the Tar Heels team continued to train while resting before the next game. Everyone was looking forward to the next game and confident, after all, they came from a great winning streak that lasted for months and everyone felt that the team had been performing better in recent games. So after a few days, the day of Sweet Sixteen''s game came, if they won this game the Tar Heels team would have only three games to win the NCAA tournament, but the opponent of that game would not be easy and even Jake was worried about the outcome of the game. The opponent was the California Golden Bears team who also had a great season this year and a very strong team, Jake remembered that this was a game where no one performed well and the team Tar Heels won by few points of advantage. This was also because the best players of the California Golden Bears team were in this game without the best player of the team and the main responsible for the team has had this great season and reaching this stage of the NCAA tournament. This player was Ed Gray who this season had an incredible average of over 24 points per game that was higher than Antawn Jamison''s average, so Jake even thought that if Ed Gray played in this game the Tar Heels team could have lost. So with Ed Gray not playing this game, Jake had to focus and do his best to ensure another easy win for Team Tar Heels, after a couple of hours both teams were ready for the game. In the first half, Jake realized that only Jamison and Carter were better at this offensive game and Zwikker was catching up with Jamison, the rest of the team seemed to have difficulty playing well even though they were rested. Knowing this Jake concentrated on making a few individual plays trying three-point shots, plus he always tried to play with Jamison and Carter, it was harder this way because within minutes of the first half the California Golden Bears team soon realized what Jake was doing. That made it even harder to play with Jamison and Carter, yet with Jake''s effort the Tar Heels team opened up more advantage in the first half, in one of the plays Jake received the ball after Zwikker caught the defensive rebound and advanced to the back attack. Jake was always trying to make good use of the ball in every play of this game after all the team Tar Heels was winning and the team California Golden Bears was without the best player and so the players became more agitated and rushed to try to reverse the score as Time passed. Jake advanced with the ball and after the middle of the court passed Jamison on the left, Jamison could not advance long before a player of California Golden Bears arrived in defense. So Jamison moved to Williams who was playing in Okulaja''s place for most of the first half, Williams was also getting the California Golden Bears marking because he wasn''t playing badly in that game. Williams tried to advance with a feint and speed, but the California Golden Bears defense was very good, so Williams passed the ball back to Jake, the plays went several times that way in the first half. Over time the Tar Heels team players learned to trust Jake for most plays and especially in the most difficult times, as did Ed Cota for what Jake remembered in his past life. But Jake got even more confidence from his teammates because even if he couldn''t make the assist he could still score the points, Jake got the ball and made a foul by taking the California Golden Bears player off the pitch. Soon another California Golden Bears player came to the defense and Jake made an alley-oop pass for Carter who took the ball high to make the dunk and 2 points for Tar Heels team, this move in a game like this was more a feature to make points than to give a show. So in the first half with Jake having a good performance and being able to organize the plays even with the defense of the most difficult opponent team Tar Heels got a good advantage and was calmer in a difficult game like this. "What a great first time for Jake in this game again, it''s amazing how well he always performs, we can clearly see that this is his normal performance, his great performances are when he gets over 40 points or gets a triple-double." Chapter 318 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 6 "Jake may not be performing well, but it''s not his fault, after all, Jake plays PG and if the team is not performing well he also can''t stand out without making individual plays." "I really don''t understand, you can tell by seeing this game that the California Golden Bears team is working harder on defense because they are without their best player, but the Tar Heels team is complete." "Even though the California Golden Bears defense is fine, it''s hard to understand why the Tar Heels team is having such a hard time making the moves, only Jamison is performing well and Carter is playing only moderately." "This is certainly something we cannot understand, but the Tar Heels team fans can rest assured that Jake is doing his part very well and is thus leading the Tar Heels team to an easier win." Jake was really struggling to make moves involving his teammates to see them gain more confidence in the game and make a better match, in another move Jake made a steal intercepting a pass from the opposing team. Jake decided not to run as in other plays and held the ball waiting for his teammates to advance to the attacking court, Jake advanced and after passing through the middle of the court passed the ball to Williams on the right. Williams advanced and continued to advance on the left even after receiving pressure from the California Golden Bears defense, Williams passed the ball to Jamison who was on the left. As soon as Jamison received the ball, he could see that California Golden Bears'' defense was stronger in the painted area, so Jamison chose to step outside the three-point line and restart play. Jamison wanted to pass to Jake, but soon a defender appeared in the path of his pass, so Jamison passed the ball back to Williams who was more to the left, Williams received the ball with some freedom. In that first half of the game, the right side of the Williams He and Zwikker Tar Heels team attack was not enjoying Jake''s passes, so when he received the ball more freely Williams stepped back and then attempted a three-point shot. Unfortunately, the ball didn''t come in and Williams missed the three-point attempt, Zwikker jumped and got the rebound and tried to push in to make another 2 points, but he also missed and then had to jump again to catch the rebound. Zwikker did not attempt another attack and passed the ball to Carter on his left, Carter caught the ball and left the painted area and passed the ball back to Jake, Jake naturally had no problems with Shammond Williams and Serge Zwikker. His reason for not passing the ball to them is because he knew they were not having a good game, so Jake held the ball to pass the time and thus made the opposing team more nervous as they were more than 6 points behind on the scoreboard. When the time of possession was nearing its end Jake advanced into the three-point line, Jake made a quick crossover and took his defender off the pitch with this dribble, Jake took the speed boost and found a place to advance. With speed and agility, Jake drove to the basket and made a dunk to get 2 points more for the Tar Heels team, after this play that spent almost 1 minute the first half soon ended. "A first half that looked more like a two-team defense attack and had no good times ended with the Tar Heels team to great advantage thanks to the good performance of Jake and Jamison." "Carter has also had a good first half, but even he missed a few plays in that first half, and Williams was the wrongest in the attack along with Zwikker and the two almost didn''t get many Jake passes." "Jake knows his teammates very well and has never been selfish in the plays, he is often criticized even for not trying more individual plays, but if in this game he didn''t pass the ball to Zwikker and Williams it was because he felt that his teammates were not having a good day." "I understand who criticizes Jake for passing the ball too much, he should not even be a PG and should play SG for his box score statistics, he has over 65% hit rate on three-point shots and over 72% hit in the attempts total shots in the game." "With such a performance I can understand why some people say Jake should try more than 15 shots of at least 3 points per game, so in fact, he would help the team a lot more." "But if he did that he wouldn''t have so many triple-double and a double-double in the games, moreover, just because Jake is like PG who can help the team so much in the games." "But Ed Cota could also be a good choice for PG in this team, even playing a short time he has always made more than 2 assists in every game that comes in." "But between leaving Jake as SG and taking Carter out to put Ed Cota who makes a lot of assists and doesn''t score points and leaving Jake as PG who makes a lot more assists and still can always make more than 30 points per game the decision is obvious." "Also, Jake himself says that if he made more than 16 three-point shots per game he would probably have a much lower hit rate in the games, so it''s not worth it in the end." Commentators talked about Jake''s chances on the team with always in the break, the first half was over and Jake had played for 18 minutes and scored 18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals. Jake wasn''t able to assist much in this game with his teammates missing so much, but in defense, he was doing very well and thus further ensured the team''s advantage. What happened was that even with many steals, Jake had no way of knowing if the moves where he steals the ball or intercepts his opponents'' passes would really prevent them from scoring or if his opponents would miss the attack anyway. After all in several games, Jake made more than 7 steals or more and his opponents had as many points as he remembered to see in his past life, of course, that''s not why he would stop stealing. Coach Smith was unsure of what to do in the half-time but spent a few more moves and encouraged the team to play better, after all, he also realized that Williams and Zwikker were not well in the first half. But Zwikker still helped a lot in defense and rebounds, and Williams struck two three-point shots in that game and was not playing so badly in addition to drawing attention from the opposing team''s defense thus making room for his teammates to make the plays. Defending the team was not a problem and when he put Okulaja in the game the team''s attack didn''t improve either, so Coach Smith could only hope that Jake would continue to play well. In the second half of the game, the California Golden Bears team was losing by many points the game and so had to stop defending so much and try to attack more, this ended up giving Tar Heels more opportunities to attack. Also, while attacking the Tar Heels team with Jake so well was very good in defense as well, it was almost impossible for opponents who didn''t have a player like Tim Duncan to get offensive rebounds against the Tar Heels team. When Ademola Okulaja was on the court the team''s defense of the Tar Heels team was even better even though the team''s attack usually got weaker, but against teams like California Golden Bears that were not attacking well in the game, Shammond Williams was a better choice. In another play Jake had got another steal in the game to the desperation of team California Golden Bears, Jake as in the whole game preferred not to attack in a hurry and took advantage of the ball possession and the attack time. Even though the Tar Heels team also had fewer attack opportunities this was the NCAA tournament''s Sweet Sixteen game, and even scoring fewer points it was much better to secure the win. After the team advanced Jake also went to the offensive court and after the middle of the court passed to Carter, Carter also did not hurry and calmly advanced from the left until before the three-point line. Carter passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams had been given a little scolding by Coach Smith for attempting too many individual plays and stopped risking more shots, Williams passed Jamison further left. Jamison received the back pass to the basket and soon saw the defense arrive and had to move back to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and held for a while before attempting another crossover. The opposing player in defense did not risk and went back in the painted area to not let Jake advance further, so Jake made a step back and was totally free to try the three-point shot. So the game went on with Jake calmly leading the team to an easy win while the whole Tar Heels team also played very well in defense, with several three-point shots and many dunks and layup Jake also scored many points. In the second half, Jake played for 19 minutes and scored 19 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals, with this Jake performance Tar Heels team, won the game very easily by scoring 82 points against just 49 points. "So the game ends with the expected victory of team Tar Heels in a game that had a big difference in the final score between the teams, but team Tar Heels was not playing that well." Chapter 319 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 7 "As well as Jake''s excellent performance that ensured victory for the Tar Heels team and the good performance of Jamison and Carter also the Tar Heels team secured that easy victory today." "I think you''re being very tough with your assessment of the performance of the Tar Heels team players in today''s game, everyone had a great defensive game and Williams scored 15 points hitting 5 three-point shots." "Zwikker also got 9 rebounds in this game both defensive and offensive rebounds, I think this team has always played very well and that''s why they have come so far in this NCAA tournament and it''s a favorite to win." "But of course if you compare Jake to his teammates it wouldn''t be fair, even Jamison with 27 points would seem to have played poorly compared to Jake." "I agree that this team has been playing very well this season and comes from a 22-win streak with today''s game and could reach 25 wins if they win the last three games and are the champions of this NCAA tournament." "But it''s precisely because it''s an elite team that I have to be so picky to judge if it wasn''t for Jake on that team I''m sure they wouldn''t have that big winning streak this season." "Speaking of Jake it''s a shame he didn''t get a triple-double in today''s game, with 2 more assists and 1 rebound he could get one more Quadruple-double even though it was a great performance." As they did after every game the commentators spoke very well of Jake''s performance in the game, the other players were not very upset that everyone said it was thanks to Jake that they won so much. That''s because, with such a big winning streak and the real chance of winning the NCAA tournament they had no reason not to be happy, it was the same with Jake''s high school team as long as they kept winning nobody cared if everyone said it was just because of Jake. Of course, it was different because the Tar Heels team also had great players who could win many games even without Jake on the team, but it was undeniable to all of them that Jake was important to the team. In addition, they were confident that if they performed well the NBA team scouts would know their real quality in the games, and if they won an NCAA tournament that would surely greatly enhance their performance at the university. So all the players just had to thank and be happy Jake was on the team, his teammates had even forgotten that at the beginning of the season they were jealous of Jake is the only one with a sponsorship. With Jake''s performance, this season as a freshman and the world record plus all the victories he had in the marathon it was certain that it was only fair that Jake was an exception at university, to complete Jake was always the best in his class in grades. If someone wanted to use Jake''s example to also get a university sponsorship loophole they would have to play very well and excel in two sports just like Jake and still have good grades, it was almost an impossible mission. From returning to college Coach Smith asked everyone to rest until the next game, it would be in two days then the team would have only one day to rest before the next game, even if the players were not tired it was better not to risk it. Jake spoke to her mother who had watched the whole game over the phone upon arrival at university, Eva was very happy for Jake and as the weeks went by watching television she began to realize how different games at university were in importance from games at the high school. So she was even happier knowing that her son was winning even though the games were more difficult and important, Eva always had confidence that Jake would become a pro and play in the NBA as he had always wanted since the age of 10. His roommates were also happy to see Jake being so successful on the Tar Heels team at the university, the strange thing was that since they were Jake''s friends they couldn''t see him as one of their idols who played on the Tar Heels team a few years ago. It was normal if it was thought that it is often difficult to see people close to each other differently even when they become famous or suddenly rich, after all, people do not change suddenly and remain the same as their closest friends and family. After two days the day of the next game soon arrived, this was the game between the teams that qualified for the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, this was an honor that all players wanted to spend at least once at the university. The opponent of this game was the strong team Louisville Cardinals who had a very strong team and had a great season too, the players of team Tar Heels were nervous to have come so far in the NCAA tournament. Coach Smith did not require any training but instead asked the players to think hard about the strategies and formations the team would use in this game, only Jake was more relaxed in this game. As far as he was concerned, the Tar Heels team easily won this game contrary to what everyone expected, even though with Jake this team was different it was possible to have as a reference that the team would be well in the game and the Tar Heels team attack was effective against the Louisville Cardinals team. From what Jake also remembered, the Louisville Cardinals team''s defense wasn''t very good this season and they always tried to score more points than their opponents with their players who were good at three-point shots. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the start of the game, with Jake playing the Tar Heels team was a favorite for this game and everyone expected another easy win for the Tar Heels team again. In the early minutes of the first half unlike previous games Jake decided to accelerate the attacking pace of the team, the team Tar Heels was strong in attacking Jake did not want to take advantage of possession and worked with his team to reach the points. In one of the first plays Jake advanced into the attack quickly and only passed the ball to Carter before the three-point line, Carter attempted a feint and managed to get past the opponent to the painted area. The Louisville Cardinals defense soon adapted and tried to stop Carter''s breakthrough, so Carter passed Jake back again, Jake passed the ball quickly to Williams who was free in the back of the court on the left. Williams received Jake''s pass and was clear off the three-point line, so he did not hesitate and tried the outside shot to score three points for the Tar Heels team. William was surprised to receive the pass early in the game because in the Last game Jake made few assists for him. For everyone on the Tar Heels team, Jake''s style of play was a mystery and no one could know who he would pass the ball to, only Jake knew he chose who he knew was good at passing the ball. In another move, Jake advanced with speed again and his teammates followed because it had been the whole game that way, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter on the left. Carter quickly advanced too and held the ball even before the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison received the ball and soon received the strong defense from Louisville Cardinals, so Jamison had to pass to Williams on the right. Williams received the ball and had the opposing defense very close and had to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and just walked off the three-point line while having only one player in defense. Jake made a feint using speed and took his defender off the pitch and advanced into the three-point line when team defender Louisville Cardinals broke up to defend against Jake he made an alley-oop for Zwikker who jumped and caught the high ball to make the dunk and two more points for the team Tar Heels. "What a great first half start for the Tar Heels team, they have been hitting almost every attack and thus managed to open the lead for the Louisville Cardinals team, if continuing this will be another victory for the Tar Heels team." "True, Jake has been playing as well as ever, he has been instrumental since the first game of the ACC tournament, with Jake the whole team can play the best in the game safely and ensure the outcome." "Sure enough, Jake has been doing great in these knockout games, but all season Jake has been performing consistently and we''ve never seen a game where he''s been bad." "The whole Tar Heels team this season is made up of great players, but in many games, we see Williams, Zwikker, Jamison, and Carter having ups and downs and some great and bad performances, but Jake always maintains a minimum standard which gives more security to the team." The commentators spoke what the NBA team scouts also noticed, even though many criticized Jake for sometimes trying to pass when he could simply shoot the three-point himself. It was undeniable that Jake was the kind of player that all NBA teams needed, scored high points, was good at defending, knew how to organize the team and pleased all fans which could improve the ticket sales of the team he played. Chapter 320 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 8 The first half continued and as time went on, everyone would realize that the Tar Heels team was doing very well in today''s match, so by the end of the first half, the Tar Heels team had a very comfortable lead for that game. In that first half, Jake played for 19 minutes and managed to score 24 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals, with this excellent performance especially in the three-point shoots Tar Heels team was quiet in the game at the end of the first half. On the other hand, the more time passed the more anxious the Louisville Cardinals players became if the Tar Heels team attack was fast with Jake the other side the Louisville Cardinals attack was slow. The biggest reason besides the excellent defense of Team Tar Heels was that the coach of Louisville Cardinals asked the players to avoid passing the ball near Jake, the coach was concerned about the many steals and interceptions that Jake made in the games. So the Louisville Cardinals team took longer to attack, but they didn''t miss too many passes and didn''t miss as much attack unless they missed mid-range and three-point shots. Even so, when the Louisville Cardinals team did not try to dodge Jake he got 3 steals in the first half, after which the Louisville Cardinals players became more cautious and tried to avoid Jake. So in the second half, the Louisville Cardinals players tried even harder to make moves away from Jake, but the moves only slowed down and the Louisville Cardinals players still scored. "This was already happening in the first half of the game, but it seems that players of the Louisville Cardinals team are avoiding attacking and passing the ball where Jake was defending, I''ve seen it happen with big Centers, but rarely with a PG." "I think it''s a good decision for the Louisville Cardinals team to do that, taking off the rebounding and blocking abilities Jake is the best defender of the Tar Heels team, and we all know that he can take several rebounds and block if he wants to. in another game." "So I think it''s valid for the Louisville Cardinals players to try to avoid making plays near Jake in this game." "I don''t agree, that way they lose space to attack her and a player in the attack being defended by Jake, if he always made multiple blocks in games I could accept it too, but just for some steals it''s not worth it." "You may not have looked at the statistics on Jake''s box score this season, but he made 191 steals before this game, with the three of them today he reaches 194 steals this season and may still have two more games after today, he has already broken the previous record." The other commentator did not know this information and was surprised, he saw Jake always making multiple assists and over 30 points in most games, but did not know that Jake had already become the player with the most steals in a season, and this is the season of him as a freshman. "And even though some might imply that he did it because he played more than 32 games this season, we can''t forget that for at least 4 games Jake didn''t play for 20 minutes and in some, he didn''t play for 15 minutes." "Knowing Jake''s statistics on steals is normal for team coach Louisville Cardinals to avoid Jake in offensive plays." Jake didn''t know they were talking about him and kept playing normally, in fact, he didn''t even know he had broken this record that the commentator was talking about, after all in many games he couldn''t even make 5 steals. In addition, the NBA steal statistic was not much appreciated by players and even fans, many players hardly ever average 1 steal per game in their career and the highest average players only have 2 steals per game. Jake could not know the reason for that for sure, but it could be related that against more skillful opponents steal attempts can end up being fouls, so a player cannot often try the steal so as not to end many fouls. Jake didn''t have this problem because his reflexes and speed of thinking were so fast, so he could act much faster and even give up trying to steal if he could be missed in a few moves. Also, most of the steals that Jake got in games were intercepting passes and not really steal the ball in the opposing players, this he could continue to do without risking a foul even in the NBA. The game continued in the second half with the Tar Heels team maintaining the lead and the players became more confident and seemed to get more right while the Louisville Cardinals players seemed to get more anxious as time went on. In one of the plays, Jake was passing inside the painted area after losing the fight for the defensive rebound and managed to intercept a pass that would go to the Center of Louisville Cardinals. The player who missed the pass was annoyed to see this, it was hard for the Louisville Cardinals team to get an offensive rebound in today''s game and they ended up losing the attack with Jake whom they were avoiding by stealing. Jake took advantage of this move and used his speed to attack, but no player on the Louisville Cardinals team could keep up with Jake''s speed so he could finish the move with a dunk to score 2 points for Tar Heels team. In another play after Louisville Cardinals scored 2 points Jake received the ball to start the attack for Team Tar Heels, he advanced quickly and passed the ball to Jamison after passing the middle of the court. Jamison received the ball and advanced until after the three-point line and with a feint and a crossover managed to get rid of the opponent, Jamison advanced and passed the ball to Carter when another player arrived for defense. Carter went free into the painted area and when he went up to layup he suffered a foul, but still managed to score 2 points and still got a try for Free Throw, everyone was excited about this move could be a three-point play if Carter hit the Free Throw. In games, Jake was rarely missed because his body was too strong and Jake was too fast, only rarely did this happen in games and it happened more when the Tar Heels team were few points in front of the scoreboard and the opposing players wanted to stop the clock. That''s why Jake had a 100% hit rate on Free Throw, as he didn''t have many Free Throw to try and commentators didn''t talk about it, yet the whole Tar Heels team had high hit rate being the season average of 70% average. Carter converted Free Throw and scored 1 more by making it a three-point play, with the fast pace of the Tar Heels team being more common in this game seeing plays like this were only 3 players touched the ball before the team scored the points. Jake was making more quick plays because all the players on the Tar Heels team were performing very well in today''s game, so Jake also had more opportunities to make three-point shots. In that second half, Jake played for 20 minutes, Coach Smith let Jake played for the entire time of the second half as the team would play again just after almost a week of rest. In these 20 minutes of the second half, Jake managed to make 29 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, with this incredible performance of Jake doing a triple-double Tar Heels team won the game much more easily than anyone thought. The Tar Heels team managed to win the match by making 133 points against just 68 points from Louisville Cardinals team, Jake alone made a triple-double with 53 points, 18 assists, and 11 rebounds. "What an amazing game that Team Tar Heels played today, almost double points than Team Louisville Cardinals, exactly 65 points more than their opponents in a game at the NCAA Elite Eight tournament is something no one expected." "Jake also had another game to go back to history, another triple-double and his second game scoring over 50 points this season, scoring 53 points is really amazing." "And it can''t even be said that this was Jake''s best performance this season, after all, he had a game in which he made a quadruple-double." "True, the important thing was that not only did Jake have a good game and the whole team played well, so they are sure to be very confident in the next game." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team had a great season this year and especially in the last few games and now the team is in the NCAA Tournament Final Four, and even though this is a great achievement for the Tar Heels team I''m sure with Jake on the team they will try to win the NCAA tournament." Just as commentators said the Tar Heels team players returned to university very excited after this victory, so Jake was very happy because he had a great performance and the whole team played very well. Jake celebrated a lot with his mom on the phone and his roommates, in the next few days everyone could rest well before the next game and Jake wanted to train well this week because after the end of this season with the basketball team he would still have to run some marathons. Thanks to the system and his year-round training, Jake felt he was still better than last year''s race, yet he couldn''t relax because he knew he was competing with the best runners in the world. Chapter 321 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 9 Jake also felt that Coach Davis''s training routine was making a difference, he was training briefly and he still had to miss several days of training because of the games, so he would only know for sure in a few months. That meant Jake wouldn''t have a vacation like the other players on his team, fortunately even though he had to run marathons Jake would still have time to stay in Miami with his mother, after all, he wasn''t used to being months without seeing Eva yet. Especially since Jake had seen Eva die in her past life, and even after spending more than 7 years with her and knowing she was fine in the restaurant, it was hard for him to forget the feeling of knowing his mother was dead. Jake even thought of taking Eva and opening a new restaurant for her in the city where his NBA basketball team is, but he would have to talk to his mother because even if she was in the same city as him, Jake would still spend most of the year traveling to play. Even though Jake was pleased with his current life, after all he thought he was very relaxed for almost 15 years in his past life just working and doing what he wanted, in this life he wanted to make every effort to fulfill all the dreams and wishes he had. Also, Jake found out in this life that he was really very competitive and didn''t like to lose, so he was still very happy even playing for several months if he didn''t lose and in marathons, he almost always won and Jake also enjoyed running. Jake had already increased Zack''s running training to almost 20 km a day with a rest day after a day of running, Jake also spent part of the training that Coach Davis did for him for Zack. What Jake intended was that after a few more months Zack would be able to run a full marathon and with Zack''s previous training it would take almost a year for him to run a marathon. Aaron was also fortunately completely recovered from the injury he had, so Aaron had already started doing some light physical training to regain his fitness, after all after the injury Aaron eventually gained some weight from being depressed. As Aaron plays as WR he had to be in great shape to handle the races and the race to receive QB passes, it seemed that early next year he could try to get a seat on the university''s football team. For him who was nearly two semesters injured was a joy to be able to retrain, Jake hoped that Aaron could really play again, fortunately, Aaron''s physiotherapist said that as he spent more time in recovery he had no sequelae of the injury and his body I was totally healthy. Over the next few days, Jake did his marathon training and had no training with the basketball team, but after three days of rest, Jake advised Coach Smith to train for the next few days even if it was a little. "I don''t know why you''re asking for it Jake, our team is at the end of the season and all the players are tired, I know you have more stamina than other players, but the others need these next few days to rest and be well for this important game." "I know that coach, but I have a feeling this next game will be very difficult for our team, even though I don''t have confidence that our team can win the game for sure." "It''s the same as what I felt in the games against Team Wake Forest when you said I wouldn''t play for missing training, but this time with me playing I''m worried that our team might lose." Jake was really worried after resting for a few days, just after the excellent game that Team Tar Heels had Jake was full of confidence and so didn''t even think about the next game and just wanted to rest and do his marathon training. But after a few days when the excitement of victory passed Jake began to worry, after all in his past life his team lost the next game, so far he was very confident because his team would win this game even in his past life without him playing. In addition, Jake had more confidence that with him playing Team Tar Heels could win games that would normally lose without him playing, proof of this was that after the game against team Wake Forest the Tar Heels team have not lost any games, even though in his past life they had lost another 4 games. But despite being confident Jake couldn''t help but worry, because the other games were normal games, but this next one would be a game in the NCAA tournament Final Four and if the Tar Heels team lost they would be eliminated and the season would be over. Still confident Jake decided to try to do a few more things before the next game, and the only thing he can think of was to talk to Coach Smith for the team to train a little more before the next game even though it probably made no difference. Coach Smith saw that Jake was really serious and worried about the next game, which was not good because Jake was the main player of the team and should be calm and confident before the next game. In addition, Coach Smith recalled that sometimes this season as well as the Wake Forest team match where Jake said that Team Tar Heels could lose and Coach Smith had to acknowledge that in those games if it wasn''t for Jake to team would lose. So after some thought he decided to do some more training before the next game, so that could calm Jake more and give him more confidence before the next game, and training more would not hurt the team. "Alright then, Jake, in the next few days we''ll have some more training." Jake was very happy about it and was more relieved to think that he had done everything he could before an important game like this, now he just had to focus on making the best performance in the next game, Jake remembered one more thing and told to Coach Smith. "Coach Smith, in the next game I will personally score Mike Bibby and recommend that the coach send some players to watch out for Miles Simon, I think they will be the most dangerous in the next game." "That''s right, you can defend against Mike Bibby and I''ll tell the other players about Miles Simon." After Jake left Coach Smith was thoughtful for a while, he remembered that the last time Jake asked to tag someone he had made 11 blocks in the game, he didn''t expect anything like this to happen again, but if Jake could play better than which in other games would be great for the team. Coach Smith brought the team together to inform them that everyone would have training in the next few days before the next game, to his surprise no player was upset and on the contrary, it seemed that everyone wanted more training before the next game. So Coach Smith told the players about Miles Simon and warned everyone to be careful in the next game against the Arizona Wildcats team, Jake was also training seriously and so all players started to feel the pressure of the next game and began to train more seriously. After a few more days the day of the Final Four game finally arrived, contrary to what Jake was thinking everyone thought the Tar Heels team was a favorite to win this game. Especially because of the team''s excellent winning streak and better season than the Arizona Wildcats team, besides, what was being talked about everywhere in the country was about Jake''s great freshman season. Jake had already broken a number of records this season and impressed everyone with a unique style of play in which it looked like he could play in every position on the court and could do everything. In addition, three-point shots averaging over 60% were the highlight of the season and in recent years in college basketball, many said Jake should go to the NBA draft this year after this season. The RCA Dome was packed with people who came to watch this game, plus those who came to cheer for both teams had many who came just to watch Jake play, everyone was talking about whether Jake would do another triple-double, or a quadruple-double, or another game of more than 50 points. After a few more hours the two teams were ready to start the game, the Arizona Wildcats team came with the initial lineup with Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, A.J. Bramlett, Michael Dickerson, and Bennett Davison. The Tar Heels team came with the initial line-up with Jake Smith, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Ademola Okulaja, and Serge Zwikker, before the game Jake advised that it was better to put Okulaja in the game in place of Williams to improve the team''s defense. Jake''s opinion as the best player on the team was very important to Coach Smith before such an important game, so Coach Smith did what Jake suggested, only Jake knew he recommended it because Williams was playing so badly in that game. In this game Jake could only count on Carter and Jamison in the attack, the two would be playing well in this game and the others would be bad in the attack, it didn''t affect Jake much because he always trained more with Jamison and Carter throughout the season. In rebounds he would count on both Zwikker and himself to get more attack for the team and prevent the team from Arizona Wildcats having more chances to score points, so soon the most important game for Jake so far would begin. Chapter 322 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 10 "Soon we will see another exciting game this season, the Tar Heels team playing against the Arizona Wildcats team in an NCAA Final Four game." "The Tar Heels team has been having a great season with just two losses and Jake playing very well and being a revelation like we haven''t seen in college basketball for a long time." "Arizona Wildcats has been having a very good season as well, but they haven''t won as much as Tar Heels, however, one of Tar Heels''s only two defeats this season was in the first game of that season for Arizona Wildcats." "Will Team Tar Heels'' third defeat this season be another for Team Arizona Wildcats? Or will team Tar Heels advance to the final and get a rematch against team Arizona Wildcats?" "We''ll see all this in the game that will start next." Soon the game began and the Tar Heels team started to take the lead, Jamison and Carter were fine and Jake was also, in the first 5 minutes the Arizona Wildcats team scored just 2 points and the Tar Heels team had 21 points. It was the same as Jake remembered in his past life, it was as if the Arizona Wildcats team had not really entered the game in those first 5 minutes, but the Tar Heels team missed more and then lost control of the game by what Jake remembered in your past life. However in this game, Jake knew well how to use these minutes to open a great advantage, now he would have to be careful to maintain and increase that advantage that would be enough to win the game. In one move Jake received the ball after Zwikker got a rebound, Jake advanced calmly with the ball, the Arizona Wildcats coach had asked for a time after Tar Heels had 19 points lead in 5 minutes. So Jake wanted to save more time for the Arizona Wildcats players to start getting anxious after going through the middle of the court. Jake passed the ball to Carter. Carter was excited about this early start and had already scored 6 points, Carter advanced to pass the ball to Okulaja on the right, Okulaja advanced and held the ball a little before moving to Zwikker, Zwikker felt the pressure from Arizona Wildcats defender and passed it back to Jake. Jake made a feint and took Bibby out of play and made a pass for Jamison that crossed the defense, Jamison received the ball with freedom and advanced to layup and get 2 more points for the team Tar Heels. In another play shortly thereafter, the Arizona Wildcats team worked the play well and the ball went through several players until it reached Simon, Simon attempted a three-point shot and Carter lost time and could not defend. So Simon scored his first three points in the game and was happy, but he did not know that his points alerted all players of Team Tar Heels and Coach Smith of the warning that Jake had made. Another similar move came soon after and this time Carter was more attentive and managed to hinder the attempt to shoot from outside of Simon and Jake caught the rebound calmly, Jake advanced with the ball calmly and can already perceive the players of the team Arizona Wildcats beginning to get agitated. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison, who was also playing well having scored 6 points early in the game, advanced with ease, after advancing further he passed the ball to Okulaja on the right. Okulaja tried the trick and when he failed to hold the ball and passed back to Jake, Jake made a crossover and tricked Bibby who was in defense, but instead of stepping forward Jake stepped back and tried an outside shot to make three more points for the Tar Heels team. After a few more minutes the game was halfway through the first half and was much quieter, but the Tar Heels team led by 24 points and the Arizona Wildcats team became increasingly agitated by this difference. The game was similar to what Jake remembered in his past life, but the Tar Heels team gave a lot of space after the first 5 minutes and so after the 10 minutes the Arizona Wildcats were just 2 points behind on the scoreboard. "A very good start for the Tar Heels team, the game started at a very fast pace and after 5 minutes we saw the Tar Heels team with a 19 points lead, then unexpectedly Jake slowed down and the Tar team Heels started to enjoy almost all the time of possession." "This seems to have worked very well because with that the Tar Heels team did not make many mistakes and the advantage only increased now after we got in the middle of the first half." "I thought Jake took control of the game at the right time, with 19 points already enough to ensure victory at the end of the game, so Jake decided it was time to just manage the advantage even if it was just at the beginning of the game." "Now over time the Arizona Wildcats team will have to push harder to try to recover in the game and reduce that lead on the scoreboard, but I don''t think Jake will allow it." "Another thing we have to talk about at the beginning of the game is that the defense of the Tar Heels team is very good, which is why Coach Smith decided to put Okulaja in place of Williams in the initial lineup." Just as the commentators said Jake just decided to keep up the pace and manage the result, in other games he would not try to do that and would just try to make even more points to win more easily, but he was very concerned and unsure about this game. Coach Smith realized what Jake was trying to do and I supported his idea, after all the important thing was for the Tar Heels team to win, and with Jake''s three-point shots it was more assured that Jake could control the outcome of the game. At the end of the first half due to nervousness the Arizona Wildcats team made a lot of mistakes and Jake used most of those mistakes to make more points, he always wanted to arm every move so that his team didn''t make mistakes. So the game continued and at the end of the first half Tar Heels ended up winning the game with a big advantage of 28 points, Jake played for every 20 minutes of the first half and made 21 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 6 steals and, 2 blocks. "What a great first half for the Tar Heels team, at the beginning of the game both teams attacked quickly and in the first 5 minutes the Tar Heels team already had 19 points ahead, then Jake held the pace and made sure that almost all thrown at his hands." "This turned out very well because with that great advantage and with a slower pace of play the team Tar Heels were just having more advantage, Jake played very well in defense and took advantage of the Arizona Wildcats nervousness in the second half of the first half to make 2 blocks and most of him 6 steals." "The Tar Heels team played very well, Carter and Jamison played very well, but surely Jake was primarily responsible for this great advantage of the Tar Heels team in the first half." "We could see that both teams were very anxious in the early minutes and it was amazing to see Jake deciding to just calm down without coach Smith asking for a time, clearly Jake had control over that first half." At half-time Coach Smith asked all players to listen to Jake in the game and pass the ball over to him to pitch, everyone understood that Jake had a great decision early in the game and knew they could rely on this freshman. One thing Coach Smith meant was for Jake to stop trying to defend against Bibby, because Bibby only tried two three-point shots in the first half and Jake made the block in one of them, but it was Simon who was playing better in that game. Even with Coach Smith''s warning to the players Simon still managed to score some points in the first half and was the Arizona Wildcats team''s main player in that game offensively. But in the end, Coach Smith decided to rely on Jake''s judgment, after all the team was winning with a lot of advantage and with Jake in the game he could say the game was practically won by the Tar Heels team. In the first 10 minutes of the first half of that second half the Tar Heels players were playing poorly, even Carter and Jamison were not playing well and even in the defense that was the highlight of the team was going badly. Jake realized that too and saw that it could be a turning point for this game even with the advantage of 28 points, so in those first 10 minutes of the second half, Jake was fighting for all the balls in defense. He always tried to catch the rebounds and not allow the opposing team to score as many points while still defending against Bibby, so at the beginning of the second half he scored 15 points hitting 5 three-point shots in 7 attempts. In addition, he made 4 blocks, 3 of them in Bibby and one of them in Simon, plus some steals, yet he couldn''t stop the lead from falling to 24 points, but Jake was happy because he knew the hard part of the game had finished. "What a bad start to the second half for the Tar Heels team, with such an advantage they shouldn''t play that bad at any point in the game, if it wasn''t for Jake in that early game the advantage they accumulated in the first half could have diminished or to vanish." Chapter 323 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 11 "Just as you said the Tar Heels team played very poorly at the beginning of this second half, it could be said that besides Jake it was the worst game of that team this season and what''s worse in the Final Four game against a strong team like Arizona Wildcats team." "True, it can''t happen to either team playing a part of the game as badly as the Tar Heels team has been playing, but we have to also say about Jake''s 15 points in those first 10 minutes of the second half." "Anyone who hears about this thinks he''s playing quietly, but no, sometimes there are two players in defense against him, and Jake can find space to try the three-point shot, even though he missed two shots off, the moment the team lives in the game, Jake''s 15 points is even more important." Coach Smith called the whole team to talk after asking for a break, only Jake received no scolding from the coach, after which the players seemed to have cheered up a bit. Jake knew that in the second half the Tar Heels team could not play very well, so he just tried to make the right plays with Jamison and Carter who were playing better in today''s game. In another move Jake received the ball and advanced calmly, after passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to Carter, Carter advanced the ball and passed to Okulaja, Okulaja held the ball and passed to Jake behind the three-point line. Jake made a feint that deceived Bibby and made an alley-oop for Carter to catch the ball in the air and make a dunk to score 2 points for Team Tar Heels, the end of the game was coming and Jake made 2 alley-oop with Jamison also in this second time. Thus at the end of the game the team, Tar Heels won by 92 points against 52 of the Arizona Wildcats team, Jake played for 20 minutes in that second half and made 22 points, 4 assists, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, and 6 blocks. Coach Smith did not want to risk a difficult game like this and let Jake play the 40 minutes of the game, and it was the right decision because Jake was the one who ensured Tar Heels''s victory in that game. "What an exciting game, even though not playing well, the Tar Heels team managed an easy win with a great performance from Jake and a good game from Carter and Jamison." "This was certainly a game in which the team Tar Heels only won because Jake was in the team, he made a quadruple-double in that game with over 40 points scored, so what Jake did in the first half of the first half we can see how he led the team to this victory." "After this game where Jake led the team alone to the NCAA tournament win and final, I think there''s no doubt that he deserves the best player of the year at the university and the NCAA Tournament MVP award." "True, we hope that the players from the Tar Heels team will play better in the next game, only if all players perform well will the Tar Heels team have a chance to win this NCAA tournament." After this end of the game the team Tar Heels returned to university, all the way Coach Smith said nothing to the players and with that everyone was more nervous, even with that win and the team going to the NCAA tournament final, no one was happy about it for the team''s performance. Only Jake was more relaxed and was quite happy with the team going to the NCAA tournament final, he naturally knew that the team would not perform well in this game and just hoped that because of it they could play better. So he was undecided about whether the team could win this game even with him playing, which is also why he told Coach Smith to ask the players to defend against Simon after all the team played this game well and helped to win. Jake was already preparing well before to have to take responsibility and play very well in this game, he made another quadruple-double and the most important was that the team won. Also, with Carter and Jamison playing very well in today''s game it made it much easier for Jake to play so well and for the team to win, Jake always thought that with two other players besides him playing well they could win almost any game. As soon as everyone got to college Coach Smith found everyone at the Dean Smith Center to talk to the players, everyone on the team besides Jake was nervous, even Carter and Jamison who had made a great game were nervous about this conversation. "I''ll have to say, after this game I couldn''t help but be disappointed with our team, even if I didn''t expect much from you in this game I would still be disappointed, so imagine how I was even more disappointed when I expected you to were the champions of this NCAA tournament?" The players were all quiet and ashamed as they listened to what Coach Smith was saying, the worst for them was that they had betrayed the coach and fans'' confidence in this game. "I''ll assume that I have some fault with that too, the team had been playing so well and in the last game we had maybe the best performance this season that I thought didn''t need to talk to you guys to play well in this game." "I just didn''t think it was the same team as the last game, it looks like in a week off you got worse than you were before, I didn''t expect that." "Defensively at least you had a good performance on this game, Carter and Jamison also played well and especially Jake who saved our team from losing this game even when the whole team was playing poorly." "Our next game is this season''s final and the NCAA tournament final, I don''t even have to say how important this game is to your basketball career or even to the life of those who don''t want to go pro." "If you win the next game all of your names will be in history as is the name of Michael Jordan and many other players, in two days we will have this game so I will let you rest, don''t let me down again in this final." Jake was the only one more relaxed with this conversation, he just sat down and pretended that Coach Smith wasn''t talking to him, after all, he knew he had done very well in this game and all season, but he had to admit that the coach Smith knew how to motivate players. He showed his dislike for this last game and criticized the team while praising who had a good game and the team''s good defense, which is why he has managed to coach the team so well for many years and win several titles. Jake was perhaps the only one who knew this year would be Dean Smith''s last year as coach of the Tar Heels team, so even though it seemed that Coach Smith didn''t like him very much, Jake was still trying to learn as much as he could from him, especially in training. Jake later celebrated with his friends who also went to watch the game and with Eva, Eva had said that if Jake was the NCAA tournament final she would definitely go with Anna to watch the game even having to close the restaurant for a day. In fact, Jake didn''t know, but Eva had already refused months of reservation at the restaurant for the day of the NCAA tournament''s final game, showing how confident she was that Jake''s team would reach the final. Jake was much more relaxed about the next game that hadn''t happened in his past life, so he didn''t have to worry about a lot of things and just play the best he could. The downside to this was that he couldn''t know who was playing well before the game began, but with Jake''s intelligence and his familiarity with his teammates within minutes he would know who was playing well or not. Jake''s roommates were even more excited than he for this game, they were surprised to learn that Jake was on the college basketball team, but they could never imagine that Jake would become the team''s first player in his first year and that Tar Heels team reached the NCAA tournament final. The Tar Heels players were already like idols to the other college students who followed and liked basketball, Jake especially that even trying to be humble drew a lot of attention in the classes he attended, especially for the good grades he had. William and the others naturally also had more friends and some even had a few girlfriends for a short time just being Jake''s roommates and friends, only Jake in the class had no relationship this year. The other day while the players rested Tiffany and Clara, as well as John and Alan, appeared as Jake''s sponsors to watch the game the other day and to congratulate Jake on this great achievement. Knowing this Jake first scheduled lunch to talk with John and Alan earlier and a dinner to talk with Tiffany and Clara, after all even though they were his sponsors, Jake treated them differently. Jake hoped everyone would come right before the final game, even if Jake had a contract prohibiting him from relating his sponsors to college basketball, it was obvious that Jake was playing so well and his team was in the NCAA tournament final is very good for his sponsors. "Congratulations Jake, it was a great debut season you had at college basketball this year." "That''s right, coming to the NCAA tournament final and winning the ACC tournament is an amazing start." Chapter 324 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 12 "Thanks, I''m glad to see you both here, John and Alan." "Of course I would come, you are one of the best college basketball players and also one of the players who have the most potential to become an NBA star, plus you still have your marathon achievements, it was very lucky for me company to sign a contract with you." "I agree, my company just wanted to know what it was like to have a sports rep of ours, after all, a razor company doesn''t have much to do with athletes, but after having this contract with you our company is selling more than ever." "Of course I know that we are selling so well because we are sponsoring you and it wouldn''t work out so well with other athletes, but it was the best investment our company has made in recent years and I got a lot of promotions from my work for it." Jake was also very happy to have John and Alan as representatives of his sponsors, even though he didn''t need that money was very supportive and Jake received a lot of confidence getting so much money even though he is not an NBA player. "Plus, with our investment in last year''s commercials we won''t have to make any new commercials over the next two years, so we just have to keep the commercials being broadcast on television." "Do you think your team is likely to win the NCAA tournament this year?" "I think our team is a favorite for this final if the players on my team play well and it doesn''t happen like yesterday''s game I have confidence that we will be the champions." Jake was very confident because in his past life the team they defeated in the last game would be the winning team, just as Jake playing the Tar Heels team was a favorite to win this final. This made John and Alan more reassured and confident about the victory of Team Tar Heels because everyone who cheered for Team Tar Heels became more worried after the last game, but they knew that if Jake was confident it was quite possible that the team Tar Heels won because Jake led the team to the victories. "And are you ready for the marathons you will have on your vacation? Just give me a list of which marathons you will want to attend that I sign you up, I have already received several important marathon invitations inviting you to participate, but as you told me to just refuse during the season I am just refusing." "I do intend to participate in several marathons, after all, I am also a marathon runner and I love running and I am not just a basketball player, if I do not run even this year I am in college I can not even think about continuing to compete when I am in the NBA." John was very happy to hear that, he could imagine how tiring it was to play a whole season like college basketball which is so much more intense and more games than in other sports. Alan didn''t care much about that, but John knew that besides the incredible talent Jake was most special about was that he could compete at a high level in two major sports like basketball and athletics, so if Jake gave up running because he really didn''t need to he would lose part of what made him special. After that Jake talked to them for some time and returned to university, the evening he went to meet Tiffany and Clara who also wanted to congratulate Jake who reached the NCAA tournament final. After they talked about the commercials Jake was going to record after a few months and about Clara''s company, Jake found it interesting that Clara was really thinking of doing like Matthew and giving half of the profit share to the shareholders and investing in the company only half. Even though Clara didn''t like Robert very much she realized how he and the other shareholders were happy to receive a good profit share as dividends and not just have to wait to see the company''s stock appreciate in order to increase assets. Jake understood that well, but he was also not against Clara''s previous method of investing all the company''s profits again and not delivering dividends to shareholders, after all, that was what Amazon was doing for over 20 years and so she was has become one of the largest companies in the world. Jake thought that a company only paid dividends when it no longer intended to develop much or if the entire structure of the company was developed and the company did not need all the profit to continue developing. Typically top tech companies were an example of this or could continue to invest in other media and find other ways to increase the company''s influence and sell more products as Amazon does. After they talked for a while before Jake left to prepare for the game the other day, they had a nice conversation, but it was much less comfortable talking the three together than when it''s just two people, many subjects can''t be talked about. Even though Jake was happy to have Tiffany and Clara watching their final game, he would also have his roommates and Eva along with Anna, almost all of his friends and closest people who could come to watch the game. Matthew and Oliver couldn''t come because they were busy with their jobs, who Jake hopes would come and didn''t come was Eric, even though a few years ago Eric said he would no longer cover high school and university games as a reporter, as a friend Eric could appear in some Jake games. He understood that Eric might be busy with his work and might not be able to come watch the game, but at least as a friend he could have called Jake to wish him good luck, Joseph didn''t expect it because his friend didn''t like it and basketball The other day came the day of the Tar Heels team final at the NCAA tournament, it was Jake''s first university final and well into his freshman year, even though he expected it when he decided to play for the Tar Heels team he was still looking forward to it. Jake wanted to win this year because, in addition to adding a lot to his career and the fact that he didn''t like to lose, he found it important to take the pressure off him to win an NCAA tournament, he would be much more relaxed next season and he was sure that with the whole team would be the same. Coach Smith said a few more things to the team before the game and highlighted how important this game was to the Tar Heels team and to all the players, after which everyone was more excited but nervous about the game. After a few hours, the two teams were almost ready for this final game, Jake could see where his mother was with Anna, but couldn''t see Tiffany and Clara as well as their other sponsors. Seeing that Eva came for this game Jake was much more thrilled and motivated to win this game, he hoped his team would be a favorite because they beat the team that should have won this game. But the opposing team was also very strong and had an almost better season than the Tar Heels team, the opposing team in this game would be the Kentucky Wildcats team, in Jake''s opinion this was the team with the best cast of players having 6 players who would play in the NBA in the future. The Kentucky Wildcats team came with an initial lineup consisting of Ron Mercer, Anthony Epps, Scott Padgett, Nazr Mohammed, and Cameron Mills, players Wayne Turner and Jamaal Magloire would also play, but for a shorter time and didn''t score much. For this difficult game Coach Smith decided to use a more offensive initial formation putting Williams in place of Okulaja, in the past game as Williams did not play long and did not have many opportunities to shoot off Coach Smith did not know he could play very bad. Jake was fine with that because he knew nothing of what could happen in this game, so he would have to rely on his teammates to help him lead the team to win Heights and become champions of the NCAA tournament after today''s game. Everyone was determined to do their best because this was the last and most important game of the season, after this game everyone would be on vacation so they could play until they were completely tired. "And finally we are here, the last game of this season and the NCAA tournament final, two great teams have come to this game with incredible seasons, the Tar Heels team had 35 games and won 33 games losing only 2 of them." "In addition, the Tar Heels team comes from an incredible 24 straight streak, they don''t lose well over half of the season and even with an amazing team, they have a key highlight for this campaign which is the freshman Jake who has been doing one of the best debuts in college basketball history." "Jake has been breaking a number of records and in this game is the player who gives the most security for the team Tar Heels to win today''s game." "On the other side we have the Kentucky Wildcats team who have also had a great season so far, they have had 39 games so far and have 35 wins and 4 losses so far, they lost more than the Tar Heels team, but just because they had more games." "It''s true I rarely saw two teams coming to the NCAA tournament final as a favorite and with great seasons like them, plus the Kentucky Wildcats team cast is also very good and if it wasn''t for Jake could be the best cast in the game of today." "I also think the Tar Heels team is a favorite because Jake is on the team, but if the Tar Heels team players play as badly as they did last game, it will be hard to know who will win today''s game." Chapter 325 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 13 "True, the last game was the worst game of the Tar Heels team if you take into account team performance, but Jake, Jamison, and Carter played very well and so with a solid defense they were the winners of the last game." "Now we''ll see in the upcoming game who will be the 1997 NCAA tournament champion." Jake was confident because the Tar Heels team beat the Arizona team that should have won this year''s NCAA tournament, but even if the Arizona team won, it was only over time and Jake had already changed that reality by beating Arizona team. So he hoped that his teammates were playing well in today''s game, because only then could he do everything he could to ensure the victory of team Tar Heels in that game. The game soon began and Jake began making several plays in the early minutes while testing his teammates to see if anyone was playing poorly in today''s game, Jake advanced with the ball and after passing through the middle of the court went to Carter. Carter advanced calmly with the ball, no one could see him or the other players of the Tar Heels team nervous in this important game because everyone had confidence in Jake and knew they played well. Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison held the ball for a while and tried to feint at the opponent and failed, so Jamison passed the ball to Jake behind, Jake received the ball and then passed to Williams it was open on the right. Williams received the ball off the three-point line and understood that it was for him to try the three-point shot, so William who was free tried the outside shot to make the first three points for the Tar Heels team. Everyone on the Tar Heels team was happy and went back to defense while the Kentucky Wildcats players were surprised, everyone hoped that Williams would not be given too many attempts to shoot them off because in the last three games only Jake had tried harder and Williams was put aside. But with this move early in the game everyone started to doubt if Jake would pass the ball to Williams more often, after all, they knew that Shammond Williams was a player who had a lot of quality in the three-point play. Kentucky Wildcats managed to make the 2 points for the next play and Jake received the ball to organize another attack, this time Jake advanced faster and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison advanced with the ball as well, keeping pace with Jake. Jamison passed the ball to Williams on the left and Williams passed the ball to Zwikker ahead, Zwikker held the ball for a while and passed the ball back to Jake further back, Jake quickly passed the ball to Zwikker again ahead. The defenders did not expect this and Zwikker was free to move forward and score 2 points for the Tar Heels team, Jake was pleased with that and in the following moves made attacks with Jamison and Carter who also made the points easily. So more than 5 minutes into the game had passed and Jake had no points and had 6 assists and 1steal in that game, after which time Jake could be relieved to see that his teammates were at least playing well. He had no way of knowing if anyone was great at the game to help him much as Jamison had been in the past game, but he at least knew he could make the moves more smoothly with the support of his teammates. "We have a well-balanced start to the game with Jake playing PG and making 6 assists so far, but that''s not enough to have a smoother game, Jake has to get the ball more and try three more shots and plays painted area to make more points." "Only with Jake scoring as many points as he has done in the last few games that Team Tar Heels can open a big lead to try to win, even though they are now ahead can be a matter of time before Team Kentucky Wildcats turn the game and lead the scoreboard." "It''s true, we see a few players do like Jake and not many get double-double because everyone who has the ability to score more points than their teammates does." "After all scoring is the most important thing in basketball, I''m not saying that teamwork and defense are not important, but at the end of the game it is the number of points that determines the outcome of the game." "Even more players like Jake who have the ability to hit more three-point moves, in more than 5 three-point shots the team earns more points than they would in two more normal 2-point plays." In the next few minutes, Jake had already taken the tests he needed and can see that his teammates were playing well and so can continue to play normally with much more freedom to play with his teammates and thus have more attack options for the Tar Heels team. So by the time halfway through the first half, Jake had already scored 5 points and the Tar Heels team opened a small lead, on the Kentucky Wildcats side was different because the players were making a lot of mistakes in the attacks. Especially since Derek Anderson who was one of the team''s top players could not play in this game, besides, the defense of the Tar Heels team was very strong and Jake and his teammates dominated the defensive rebounds and some of the offensive rebounds. In another play Jake began to organize another attack for the team Tar Heels, after passing the middle of the court he passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter advanced slowly and held the ball for a while. Team Tar Heels played slower after the second half of the first half because Team Tar Heels had a slight lead and in several games when it was so Jake controlled the pace of the game while gradually increasing the lead. Carter passed the ball to Jamison who was before the three-point line, Jamison tried the feint and failed and so held on to Jake behind, Jake made a feint and then stepped back to try the three-point shot. But when Jake went to try the three-point shot the player who was defending against him fouled to prevent Jake from hitting the three-point shot, Jake was taken by surprise and so missed and missed the three-point shot. Team Kentucky Wildcats seemed to have a strategy of making several fouls taking advantage of the team''s rotation with reserve players to hold the game, Jamison and Carter had already fouled and now it was Jake. But what surprised him was that it was very rare for an opposing team to decide to foul when a player is attempting the three-point shot, because Jake would now have three free throw attempts. Jake hit all three attempts and so scored all three points the same way and was unsure why the Kentucky Wildcats team decided to do so, in another move the Kentucky Wildcats team was advancing for another attack. It was almost the end of the first half and the Tar Heels team had already increased the lead by now 10 points and the Kentucky Wildcats players were getting more anxious about it. When possession time was almost over Nazr Mohammed screened and prevented Jake from continuing in defense, so Anthony Epps was free to go before the three-point line and attempted a shot from outside. The ball didn''t come in and Nazr Mohammed managed to get the rebound, Mohammed who caught the rebound tried to make the 2 points and Jake appeared to make the block, Epps got the ball and tried to make the 2 points again and Zwikker made the block this time. Ron Mercer got the ball and tried again, but before that Jake made the steal and got the ball, after this thrilling play in which the defense of Tar Heels team was better Jake advanced quickly on the counterattack. After rapidly advancing the defense of Kentucky Wildcats failed to keep up with him, so Jake advanced until he finished the game with a dunk and made 2 more points increasing the advantage to 12 points. After that Kentucky Wildcats managed to score another 2 points and reduce Tar Heels''s team lead to 10 points, but it was clear to everyone that the Tar Heels team had a great leader throughout the game, the whole team was fine and Jake was too he was making a good game. "What a great game we saw in that first half, the team Tar Heels played very well and unlike the last game the whole team was playing very well, so much so that Jake made more assists and fewer points." "The defense of the Tar Heels team that has always been the strong point of the team is doing very well in this game and securing Tar Heels''s team advantage in the game." "But that does not mean that the Kentucky Wildcats team is playing poorly, the attack is making a lot of mistakes in the painted area and they have been losing plays against the defense of Tar Heels team, but the team''s defense has also been doing a good job and disrupting the team Tar Heels with some fouls." "We will still have to see what the second half will look like, Jake had a slow start making more assists that helped the team a lot and in the second half of the first half he has been improving and getting more points." "If in the second half Jake starts to score more points as he has in the last few games, the Tar Heels team is sure to win this game and win the NCAA tournament." Chapter 326 1997 NCAA Division I Mens Basketball Tournament 14 Jake was not playing really worse than in the other games, but just as the commentators said the Kentucky Wildcats defender was fine and in the first few minutes Jake was testing his teammates. In that first half, Jake played every 20 minutes and scored 16 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, in an excellent game that showed all of Jake''s versatility in basketball. In the first half, he made more assists because he realized that all of his teammates were playing well so that he could pass the ball more instead of fighting head-to-head with Kentucky Wildcats'' strong defense. Earlier in the second half, Jake decided to try to increase the gap further, as it was a decision he made because of the confidence that Coach Smith had in him and so he could decide what plays would make in the game no one else knew about. So in the first 7 minutes, Jake scored 12 points hitting 4 shots from 3 points out of 6 attempts, plus Jake made those moves while passing the ball quietly and making the points as if it were just a momentary decision to end the play. When the Kentucky Wildcats players realized something was different, Jake got the team back to play as it was in the first half, but at that point, the lead increased to 17 points. Team Kentucky Wildcats was behind the scorecard and yet made many mistakes while attacking, so it was only natural that the advantage would only increase even if the players of Team He He also made mistakes. In another play Jake advanced quickly and passed the ball to Carter, Carter who was having a good game today made a feint and advanced to the inner area, when another player arrived in defense Carter moved to Williams behind. Williams held the ball a little before moving to Jamison ahead, Jamison tried to spin and score 2 more points but missed and he himself rebounded by passing the ball back to Jake. Jake held the ball and calmed the team down, after passing a few seconds of possession he made a feint and an alley-oop for Carter who jumped and caught the ball in the air to make the dunk and get 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. "What a great start to the second half for the Tar Heels team, they enjoyed a great start from Jake who made a completely different start from the first half and scored 12 points in a few minutes." "Team Tar Heels also knew how to take advantage of the Kentucky Wildcats second-half bad start and so increased the lead on the scoreboard to 17 points, with half of the second half last time Kentucky Wildcats will have to play very well and hope that Tar Heels team makes a lot of mistakes trying to turn this around." "That''s right, I think it''s very difficult for the Kentucky Wildcats team to win this game and it looks like the Tar Heels team is already well underway to become the champions of this NCAA tournament." "Also, with Jake on the team, I find it hard to imagine that Team Tar Heels will allow Team Kentucky Wildcats to turn around and win this game, this big advantage is something Jake is very good at managing." Just as the commentators thought the Tar Heels team supporters thought so and were already celebrating the victory in advance, Tiffany and Clara were also happy to see that Jake would win this year''s NCAA tournament. John and Alan were also excited and could imagine sales of their companies increasing with Jake''s victory at the NCAA tournament, Eva and Anna were also celebrating as well as Jake''s and the Tar Heels team''s victory. Even if there were still 10 minutes left Eva wasn''t afraid to celebrate her son''s victory, because she had been thinking for many months that Jake would win this NCAA tournament as well as all the other games he won, everyone could say she was very optimistic, but It ended up happening as she imagined. For the rest of the game Jake slowed the game even more and tried to spend all the ball possession and score on all attacks, Jake was wanting the Kentucky Wildcats to try to make more fouls because some players from the opposing team already had 3 or 4 fouls and would be expelled from the game. Coach Kentucky Wildcats also realized this and could not begin to foul all Tar Heels team ball possessions with 10 minutes left to finish the game on the other hand Coach Smith was very pleased with Jake''s performance at that game. Earlier in the season, he thought Ed Cota would be the best for this position and with Williams also playing in that position a few times, but over the course of the season, Jake showed that he deserved a prominent place in this team and after that started leading the team to several victories. At the end of the season with the most decisive games, all players had some bad games and only Jake kept the great performance in all games becoming the main player of the team. Coach Dean Smith was thinking of leaving the Tar Heels team this season if the team won or even lost, but he was very grateful and happy to see that he could leave the team as an NCAA tournament champion. As time went on and nearing the end, the Kentucky Wildcats team began to make many fouls to speed up Tar Heels''s team plays, most players had 70% hit in free throws and so the score has not yet decreased much. Especially since Jake and Williams sometimes hit a three-point play and so the advantage only increased with the errors of the Kentucky Wildcats attack, by the end of the game some Kentucky Wildcats players had already been sent off for making the limit of fouls "Now there are only a few minutes left to finish this game, a final that was not as exciting as everyone expected and had no show from the players of both teams." "But those who support the Tar Heels team will leave here very happy after this game because they will be the champions of this year''s NCAA tournament." "Everyone will also be delighted to see Jake perform an excellent game and will be a future NBA star, this is the fourth NCCA tournament won by the Tar Heels team that last won in 1993." "An excellent Tar Heels team game where all the players were doing very well both in attack and defense, Kentucky Wildcats played very well and had only a few problems in attack so they lost today." So after a few more minutes the game was over and the Tar Heels team won the NCAA tournament, the players began to celebrate a lot on the court and everyone looked very happy, while the Kentucky Wildcats players looked sad even if they accepted defeat. Team Tar Heels scored 92 points against just 69 points for Kentucky Wildcats, it was a huge lead that Jake had controlled since the end of the first half and increased in the final minutes of play. Since mid-season, many have said that the Tar Heels team was a favorite and had the best players and today they were the winners. Jake was very happy and celebrated with his teammates because he knew he couldn''t go to celebrate with his mother. All of Jake''s friends who came to see the game were very pleased, especially John and Alan who knew how the companies that sponsored Jake could make a lot out of it, it was really lucky that they sponsored Jake. After a while, the Tar Heels team could lift the NCAA tournament trophy and everyone celebrated a lot again, even though many thought the game had been easier than they expected it was because Jake controlled the game from start to finish. In that second half, Jake played again every 20 minutes and scored 21 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks with a triple-double. Jake was certainly one of the best first seasons of any professional basketball player. By the end of the season, it would be announced that Jake won almost every single award except for the best defensive player who went to Tim Duncan, in fact, Tim Duncan would have won several of those awards that Jake won, but after all Jake did was an injustice don''t give the prizes to him. The list of awards he received was MVP ACC tournament 1997 John R. Wooden Award NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Oscar Robertson Trophy Naismith College Player of the Year Adolph Rupp Trophy Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year NABC Player of the Year Sporting News Men''s College Basketball Player of the Year NCAA Men''s Basketball All-Americans ACC Rookie of the Year USBWA National Freshman of the Year After everyone went back to university and Jake called Eva and Anna to go to university too, Jake wanted to talk to his mother, but he also wanted to celebrate with his teammates. Eva naturally agreed and on championship day Jake can celebrate with the whole team this amazing achievement for the team, Jake was happy to win and was even happier that this long season was over, now he would have more time to run the marathons and do more things. The other day Jake stayed almost all day with his mother and Anna and showed them various places in North Carolina, at the end of the day they had to go back to open the restaurant again and soon Jake could come home to see Eva and Anna. He had not seen Lola and felt that something had changed after this semester between them, Jake would be glad to know if Lola could forget about him and maybe even fall in love with someone else. Chapter 327 The Major Marathons 1 Jake was very happy with everything that happened in the previous days and the victory in the NCAA tournament, all the newspapers were talking about the Tar Heels team and Jake and the best players of the Tar Heels team. Jake did not give any interviews and only said after winning how happy he was to win the NCAA tournament, this was because many of the questions were strange and suggested that he was solely responsible for the team winning the NCAA tournament. He knew well that this was not right after all his teammates were very skilled and many would-be stars of NBA teams, and even without him, the team would reach the final four in the NCAA tournament. In the last two games, he could accept being told that he was responsible for the team''s victory, but for the rest of the season, he only added his skills to a team that was already very good. Jake knew he had improved a lot this season because even if his skill ranks didn''t change he knew that this season he was getting used to basketball style and getting better and so towards the end of the season he could play a lot better. One thing that made Jake very surprised and happy was that he had received a system reward after winning the NCAA tournament, it was such a good reward that he was very surprised. Jake had received as a reward that all his basketball skills would reach the next rank, it made him very happy and a little sad, he felt that many skills had already improved this season and were close to reaching the next rank, other skills he knew it would take at least another year to reach the next rank. Either way, it was a very good thing and so he was just one step closer to getting the skill needed to level up with his skills to know what the NBA players look like, with that he would reach the peak of basketball. That was the reward that most improved his basketball skills, the other was something that made Jake very thoughtful for a few hours, he received 4 attribute points as a reward for winning the NCAA tournament. But unlike before these points came as free points and he could put in any attribute he wanted, this made Jake very confused because he could put the 4 points in strength and thus improve his basketball accuracy and improve a little on other things. He could also put the 4 points in Resistance so that he would be much easier with basketball and the marathons he would have to run, and this statistic could more easily cross the 50 statistic barrier. Jake could also decide to put those 4 points into agility so he could start training in the other athletics modalities more easily and so maybe compete in some more races in the upcoming Olympics. Another thing he could do was put the 4 points in the strength stat and thus balance the difference he would make more and more after he won a few major marathons. In the end, he decided to put those 4 points in strength statistics to improve in basketball and because it was harder for him to get strength statistics, he could wait another time to compete in the other athletics modalities. And Jake didn''t think he needed Resistance anymore at the moment, he could finish a marathon in almost 2 hours and could play the games of the season quietly, and Jake knew he could get more points in agility and Resistance with the marathons. After doing this he was very pleased because after he won a few more marathons his stats would be more balanced, he was pleased that the next season would be so much easier for him. That didn''t mean it was guaranteed that the team would easily win the NCAA tournament as it did this year because it would depend much more on the whole team''s work than just him, but it would be much easier for him to make the moves he was used to. "Fate, show me my statistics on my first job." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 18 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: College Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 41] [Agility 37] [Resistance 40] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Basketball Skills [Ball Handling SS] [Body Control S] [Man to Man S] [Dribble SS] [Layup SS] [Set Shot SS] [Block A] [Pass SS] [Rebound S] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal SS] [Dunk SS] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª It was amazing to see how he had improved in just one season, he knew it was because he had already greatly improved in training in the imagination training space, but it also had to do with him facing more skilled opponents and with him playing a lot more games in the season. Now besides the block ability, he had all S-rank skills and was close to being able to improve his level to the NBA level so that he could finally know what the NBA players'' skill was like. He was also surprised that his height was already over 2 meters, he never expected it to be so high in his life, he was already much taller than in his past life, with his current height Jake already had confidence in play in the NBA without being harmed by lack of height. [You did well to choose to increase your strength stat, Jake, this is the only way your physical stats will be more balanced after you win a few more major marathons, otherwise, your stats would always be unbalanced and that could hurt you a little.] "What do you mean I would be harmed? Why did you never tell me anything about it?" [I didn''t say anything before because this is not something you can do something to change if you just decided to continue with the marathons you would not need your strength statistic and the statistics would be out of balance.] [Your physical statistics getting out of balance is not such a serious problem, what happens is that you won''t be able to use your statistics so easily, if your Resistance statistics were much smaller you couldn''t, for example, use all your strength for long. time and not run too fast.] [If your agility is much lower you will react slower and you may not be as efficient at using your strength if your Resistance is much higher than your strength you will not be able to use all of your Resistance because your muscles will not hold.] [That''s why it''s best to always keep your stats balanced, especially for you looking to do more than one sport at a time, so you''ll better use your stats.] Hearing this Jake finally understood how statistics were so much more important than he thought, it wasn''t like an RPG game where it was better to just improve a stat as much as it could to be more useful. [Now, though I think it will be difficult for your statistics or skills to improve before you leave college, your statistics can only improve if you get more rewards.] [Your body has fully developed now too and you will not increase your height further, but with your current height it should be enough for you to play high in the NBA in PG position.] Jake understood that now it would be harder to increase his stats through simple training and his height would not increase anymore either, now he could be considered totally an adult. Even though he was pleased with everything the system did for him, Jake wanted to increase his Resistance stats and his agility a little more because of the other track and field modalities he would have in one NBA season. But if it wasn''t for this balance of statistics that the system said Jake wouldn''t care more about increasing his strength statistics, after all, he realized that even if he had 90 strength statistics it didn''t mean he would hit all three-point shots to try. So that''s why Jake thought the strength statistics were good enough, but now that he knew the balance he would try to improve the strength statistics he received from rewards. What he would have more trouble finding was ways to earn more stats on strength as a reward, he knew that marathons could help him improve his Resistance and agility stats, but he knew nothing he could do to increase his strength. Jake hoped that after he entered the NBA in professional basketball he would find many more opportunities to improve his stats with rewards as he received by winning the NCAA tournament. He didn''t even think about increasing his stats with just ordinary training, after all, he already had more statistics than most professional basketball players, he managed to increase a statistics point this year by training because his body was developing as the system said. In the coming days, contrary to what Jake imagined, Coach Smith did not release the team and would continue training until the players went on vacation, the only difference was that the training was not so heavy and if the players needed it they could miss training. In the team''s first training several days after the NCAA tournament final everyone noticed a strange situation, Jake who had improved by a whole level in basketball decided to train with everything he had to see how he improved. So after this training, all players of the Tar Heels team could not help thinking that Jake had not played the best he could in the final, he scored over 50 points in a training game and completely dominated the opposing team''s defenders in training. Even though Coach Smith thought Jake had not tried his hardest in the final, the problem was that no one could complain about this to Jake because even without trying his best he was certainly the best player in that game and led the whole team to victory. So players from the Tar Heels team could only be happy that if they have a tougher game next season they could count on Jake at that time. Chapter 328 The Major Marathons 2 Coach Smith was also happy to see that Jake could play even better than he did in the final because in training all players were training to their maximum and improving all season. Without Jake on the team the best players could be arrogant because they are already skilled and do not put so much effort into training, but seeing how Jake was so much better than them in games and training the most talented players wanted to train even more to overcome Jake. That would make the whole team even better during the season, it was a shame that coach Dean Smith knew he could not continue coaching this team of geniuses, he was glad his last year as a coach ended as an NCAA tournament champion. He had already started talking slowly with Coach Bill Guthridge, after all, Coach Bill Guthridge would be his successor to coach Tar Heels next season, if the team didn''t win he thought of staying longer but with the team winning It was the best time to leave. Of course, he decided not to say anything to the players so as not to hinder their training, after the holidays when everyone came back he would not be the team coach anymore, only Jake knew that among the players. So it turned out that Coach Guthridge''s favorite player was Jake, because Jake was the player on the team who most respected him and even talked to him more than Coach Smith, so next season Coach Guthridge was already thinking about using Jake as the main player of the Tar Heels team since the beginning of the season. Maybe even Coach Smith decided to do the same thing after all Jake had a great season even though he didn''t play all season as a midfielder, at first he didn''t play much time in the games. Jake showed all of his skill and even if he thought about entering the NBA draft this year he would definitely be the highlight, so everyone could say that it was already worth it for Jake to go to university instead of joining the NBA directly. Even if Jake decided to enter the NBA now with the grades he had, it was almost certain that the university would somehow arrange for Jake to still get his degree even while playing in the NBA. But Jake wanted to spend some more time at the university which was where he had a lot of fun with his teammates, besides, Jake already had some plans when he entered the NBA and for that, he needed more time and his sports agent David Falk. David just called Jake to congratulate him on winning the NCAA tournament, but he didn''t want to talk to Jake while he was still at university so they wouldn''t have unnecessary rumors. After this season David was even more convinced that Jake could be the next player to be the main NBA star just as Michael Jordan was now, even though there were players with similar skills that Jake became known earlier and had David Falk as his agent. But this was all for next year, now Jake wanted to focus on his training to run the marathons he would have in the coming months, Jake had decided to run 4 marathons this season. Two of those marathons would be this April, he warned after the final game for John to organize his entries, he would first run the London marathon in over a week and then run the Boston marathon. When they heard this his coach Frank Davis and John thought Jake was crazy, after all the difference between the two marathons would be only 8 days, no runner in the world would try to run these two marathons to winning in that short time. Besides, one of those marathons would be in another country and he would have to make a long trip and get tired even more, but Jake didn''t care what they thought because he wanted to win every major marathon he could this year. Unfortunately, he had lost the Tokyo marathon, but the other three were still possible for Jake to win, this year he wanted to win these three marathons and thus secure three more statistic points which would help him in next year''s basketball season. Plus, Jake had something no elite marathoner in the world has, if he could beat this London marathon he would get a Resistance stat point and an agility point, so he would be even better off running in Boston. And early next year he would race and win in Tokyo even if he had to lose a game with the basketball team, after all, Jake knew that after joining the NBA it would be even harder for him to take time to run these marathons. If Jake could win the four marathons he intended to race this year he was sure he would have even more fame and stand out even more in the sports world, after all, he didn''t know anyone who could win 7 different marathons. In addition, he had already won 2 times in Chicago and this year he would race again in Chicago, so this year he would have won 9 marathons in total if he counted 3 times in Chicago, few marathon runners in this world or none would be able to do that. So when he negotiated upcoming sponsorship contracts as soon as he entered the NBA he was sure he would get a great deal early on because of what he did at university and in marathons. Frank Davis and John couldn''t even imagine that Jake intended to win these 4 marathons, after all, they thought that even though he was talented Jake had been lucky to win so many marathons after all even elite runners have days when they perform poorly. Jake continued training with Zack who could already run 25 km every day after Zack got in shape he could already be considered a great amateur athlete, so how much he ran easily increased as it was with Jake in the beginning. In addition, Zack already ran that 25 km every day in a good time for an amateur athlete, so he could run a half marathon quietly, Jake suggested that Zack try a half marathon just to gain more confidence. But Zack didn''t want to, his dream was to run a full marathon and not a half marathon, knowing that Jake told Zack he would run the Chicago marathon with him, the Chicago marathon was just after their vacation so Zack would have time enough to prepare. Frank Davis said that in fact, Zack was already able to run a full marathon, but Jake didn''t think that was a good idea, he trained for over 6 months with Zack and can realize that his friend really loved running and so he would have to train Zack to have a marathon result that could boast for a lifetime. As Jake had already said the training he was doing might not be the fastest way to prepare someone to run a marathon, but after that training, Zack would be almost a complete athlete and if he ran from time to time for a few km he would still be in good health for all life. Even more, after Jake had gone through some of the training that Coach Davis had given him, the training had gotten even better and so Zack had improved faster in recent months, Aaron had recovered too and was training to get back in shape and fitness he was doing a good job. While Jake was training a week quickly, Jake warned Coach Smith that he would not go to training and went to London to run the marathon, John was already in London and had prepared the hotel for Jake. Jake asked if Coach Davis would like to go to London to accompany the marathon, but Coach Davis said that Jake was already well prepared and ready to win this marathon if he only ran as he did every day. It was easy for John to sign up Jake for this marathon because the organizers sent Jake an invitation this year, the London marathon was one of the most important in the world and the most important in England. So it was only natural that they wanted to have Jake participate as he was the current Olympic champion and have the current marathon world record, yet the London Marathon organization itself did not expect Jake to participate because everyone knew he had just finished the Basketball season as the champion. So they were very happy to know that Jake was going to participate in this marathon, John was sent by the company that sponsored Jake to accompany Jake in every marathon he participated in this year, after all, Jake was the best investment the company had made in recent years. John''s company today was the one that profited the most from sales after making the contract with Jake, this was because Clara and Tiffany''s companies hadn''t been investing in companies in recent years because they had Robert''s stock to buy. That''s why John''s companies that had a sports-related product and younger audience, as well as a much larger production, gained a lot in those years with Jake''s achievements and sponsorship. The other morning Jake was ready to run the marathon and went to where the race would start, in a few hours Jake was ready for the marathon and John stayed where the race would come to be there if Jake won this time too. "This year we are here again for the 1997 London Marathon, some of the best marathoners in the world are attending this year''s marathon, we all look forward to another exciting race and perhaps a record being broken to make this race historic." Chapter 329 The Major Marathons 3 "That''s right, we always hope that maybe a record could be broken in a big marathon like this, and this year can really be possible because the best marathoner in the world today is participating in this marathon today." "With Jake Smith taking part in this race today we can expect him to perhaps win this marathon like almost every marathon he has participated in the last few years, this year Jake is 18 and still very young as an elite athlete so maybe he can still dominate the world of marathons for many years." "He sure is the best marathon athlete today, but I don''t expect him to win today''s marathon, not even two weeks since he participated and won the NCAA tournament final at college basketball." "Plus, with college basketball season being so hard and so many games I don''t think he had time to train for marathons, so I think this time he could lose." "We''ll have to follow today''s marathon to see what will happen, after all, we have several talented athletes participating in today''s marathon who can win even if Jake is running well." Soon the marathon started and Jake started running at his pace and tried to find several athletes who were running at the same pace as him at the start of the race to save his stamina and use less energy. The winner of this marathon in his past life was Ant¨®nio Pinto from Portugal with a great time of 2:07:55 which is less than 2 minutes from the world record that Jake achieved at the end of last year, so Jake would have to go well if he wanted to make sure the victory. Jake was confident because his stats were better than the last marathon he ran in with a great time and contrary to what commentators said he didn''t stop training even while playing several games in the season. Over the past few months, Jake has learned a few things from Coach Davis, how he should move his arms and breathe while running to save more energy and some tricks for him to use in marathons. Since Jake ran a marathon every day he trained, it was much easier for him to learn these things while training almost every day. In training, Jake had already confirmed how these things helped him after running many km. The pace of the runners in London was good for the first few km and Jake could always find athletes near him so that he could save some stamina unlike US marathons, but there were no runners who wanted to run along with Jake in this marathon. Runners in America did this to help him in the marathon and because everyone knew Jake always had a great running pace and elite athletes just had to gain by running along with him, but in London, it wasn''t like that and Jake had to always find other groups to run. After 15km of running it was harder for Jake to find groups of athletes running at the same pace as him and having to run more alone, Jake didn''t know the race route either because it was his first time running in London and so he lost a lot of energy in the wrong places running alone. "Jake has been running at a strong and steady pace as always and in this marathon, he can''t find many athletes running at the same pace as him, plus this is Jake''s first time running in London so he may not get a good one time and win." "That''s right, these are problems he doesn''t normally encounter running in America and Jake comes from a tiring season of over 35 basketball games and may not have the stamina to finish this marathon in a good time in today''s marathon." Jake and Eva''s friends were also watching this marathon to follow Jake''s marathon and had the same concerns that commentators had, everyone was worried that the same thing happened in New York and Jake finishes the hurting race. Only Coach Davis and Zack who accompanied Jake''s daily training were quiet watching the marathon and not caring what the commentators said, Jake ran a greater distance than this one day faster after the games, so it was. It was impossible that he could not bear to run in London. Jake wasn''t worried about any of this either and just ran quietly trying to do everything he could to keep going well, what happened in New York was many years ago and since then Jake had a lot more stats and had no problem finishing a race like this same with all the odds. But Jake was already thinking as he ran that he probably wouldn''t race in London again for many years, maybe many years later he could race again, but after earning the rewards of the system if he won this marathon he would rather keep running in America. After passing the 25km race Jake was already leading this race and those running in front of Jake before had already lost a lot of stamina and we''re getting further behind during the marathon. Jake learned from his mistakes before and whenever he could stop at the watering stations, Coach Davis told Jake several times how important it was to stay hydrated during such a long run. After passing 30 km Jake was still running at the same pace and was already far ahead of second place in this marathon, at this point Jake didn''t even look as tired as he was in every marathon he ran. Anyone who saw Jake running might have thought it was easy to run a marathon at this speed, as it had been a long time since he had been running. Jake forgot to slow down and kept running fast. "Jake still keeps the lead running at a very strong pace, he doesn''t even seem to be trying very hard to run this marathon and it''s been 30 km, honestly, I don''t see him as a tired person who has just been through a whole intense season of basketball." "He really is the best athlete today and that no one can deny, so he can participate in such a high level of two different sports and still win shows that he is different from other athletes around the world." "That''s right, the Resistance that Jake has been showing these last few years is amazing and I think that''s the best gift he has, with this Resistance he can keep doing all that and maintain that top-notch performance." "Let''s hope he keeps running well like this in today''s marathon and wins well and maybe can break some record as we''re hoping." After driving the 33 km Jake had finally realized that he was still running at his normal pace, if he went on like this he would break his own world record and he didn''t want to do it in this marathon, so Jake started to slow his running pace a lot to finish this marathon at the time he wanted. But for all that was left to finish the race everyone could see that Jake slowed his racing pace too much and even those watching on television could see, only Coach Davis and Jake''s friends knew he did it in every marathon and not They were very worried. Jake was lucky to have the help of the system to calculate his running pace and the time he needed to run to finish the race at a certain time because it was because of this that Jake could control the way he ran and also run better keeping up a steady pace of running. After passing the 41km race Jake was still right in front of the other runners and only Antonio Pinto was closest to him in this marathon and yet everyone could see that Jake would still win this marathon quietly. "What a great race Jake has today, we can see that he has already won this marathon and even though he has slowed his racing pace a lot over the last 10 km he can win much more easily because of that." "That''s right, Jake really has to save on the marathon for the last few km because he''s tired of all of his game season games that ended just two weeks ago, this is Jake''s first marathon this year and he''s winning after winning the NCAA tournament this year too." "Many said that because basketball was so much more important and could give Jake a lot more money, he would stop running marathons now that he was starting to get more prominent in basketball, but this victory shows how Jake never abandoned his training this year." "True, it''s great to see a great athlete like him winning this marathon today because this marathon will be a piece of the story that Jake is building as an elite marathoner." "We don''t know if Jake will keep running in other marathons this year, but we all hope he will continue and win some more." After winning the London Marathon with the time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 5 seconds Jake celebrated a lot because he was really happy when he won and even more so when it was a marathon he had never participated in before. So when Jake received the trophy for winning the marathon and the $ 100,000 prize, Jake talked to John for a while after that he was much happier than Jake with another marathon won. John could even imagine Jake winning the 4 marathons this year after winning the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, sales of Jake''s sponsoring companies will increase a lot this year and Jake''s fame will also increase a lot. Jake thanked John for the work he did in this marathon and asked John to prepare everything for the upcoming marathon in Boston. Chapter 330 The Major Marathons 4 After winning the London Marathon, Jake returned to university the same day because he preferred to rest at the university than stay in London and have to travel the other day, after all, Jake still had the basketball team training and classes to attend. His friends congratulated Jake for winning one more marathon and Jake can rest well to start training and classes the next day, in just over a week he would have another marathon to run in Boston so Coach Davis said it was better not Jake train until after the next race so he can get some more rest. Jake was very happy after receiving the reward after winning this marathon, now he had gained one more stat point in agility and one point in Resistance and so was much more prepared to win the next marathon. Jake can also see that the newspapers from the United States and some countries around the world were talking about one more victory of him in this marathon, everyone wondered when Jake would run again and no one could expect Jake to run shortly after in Boston. This made Jake much more excited to win all major marathons and win all the rewards and be much better known in the future, after winning those marathons Jake felt he would be ready to race in more track and field. After all, after earning all these reward statistics, Jake would be much better prepared for the next track and field modalities he would have to train, which Jake knew would take a long time and hoped to be ready for it in 7 years. However, over the next few years Jake hoped to be prepared for at least the long-distance modalities and thus participate in 4 different modalities at the upcoming Olympics and make history, of course even if that was Jake''s goal, he knew well how it could be hard to happen. The week went by and Jake just focused on training with the basketball team and classes as he was not training the daily runs to rest before the next marathon, Jake was already thinking about the Boston marathon during the week. One day before the Boston Marathon Jake again excused himself from basketball team training and traveled to Boston, Jake had already warned all his friends that he would be participating in this marathon so that none of them would be surprised. Those who understood more about how marathons worked told Jake not to try to run another marathon so soon after running in London, everyone knew how marathon could be stressful for the body and usually a week was not enough for someone to rest. Even more so for Jake who had won in London and so had certainly worked harder than anyone in the last marathon, of course, Jake said he knew what he was doing and would run the same way, that was because he had a different body than the others because of the system. Jake rested peacefully in the hotel that John had already prepared in advance, John was already in Boston the day before Jake and was preparing the last details for Jake before the marathon. The Boston Marathon organizers were pleasantly surprised when they learned that Jake would run in Boston shortly after running the London Marathon, yet John made a point of saying that Jake was very happy to run this marathon in America. This was true, even if this was the first time Jake had run the Boston Marathon since many years ago. Jake had thought about running that marathon, maybe in the next few years, Jake would always be in that marathon. After all, Jake would much rather run in Boston than run in London, and this was a major marathon, the only problem was that this was not the best opportunity for Jake to break a record because this marathon has had problems with world records several times. The other early morning Jake went to the spot where the Boston Marathon would start, when Jake arrived at the venue he soon caught the attention of everyone he knew and even some sports reporters. The other athletes who would participate in the marathon were also surprised to see Jake participating in this marathon, after a week ago Jake was participating in the London marathon and had won there. Jake didn''t care much about the attention he was getting because he was used to it if it wasn''t because he wanted to get the reward of major marathons this year he wouldn''t risk running two marathons in such a short time. But Jake knew well how important his timing was and how he didn''t know if he could participate in these marathons in the coming years was better that, he did all of them this year and so would also get the statistics he needed. After doing the warm-up exercises Jake was finally ready to start this marathon, Jake was very fond of the city of Boston and thought that maybe after a few years he could live there if he was on an NBA team. After a while the marathon officially began, just as in London Jake started the race at the pace he always ran and soon found a group to run along and save stamina. However, unlike the London marathon, this marathon was in Boston, America, and several athletes who were participating in this marathon were Americans and Jake fans, so soon a group of professional athletes who did not intend to win the marathon began to run at the same pace of Jake. "I''m surprised and impressed to see Jake participating in this Boston marathon, as it''s a major marathon I think Jake should not just be running for fun and thinking about winning as he did in Boston." "I worry the same thing might happen in New York and Jake finishes this marathon wounded, but the same was said by my fellow commentator in London and Jake seems to have easily won the race in London, so I think Jake could be Special." "That''s right, I also think Jake is a special athlete who is now an adult and no longer a young man like a few years ago when he was injured, so it''s normal to think that your body is much better prepared to participate in various marathons." "But even if that''s the case I hope Jake Smith doesn''t overdo it and run a lot of marathons just because he knows his body can handle it, because even if he can handle it it''s a fact that he''s going to strain his muscles a lot and I''ve seen a lot of talented athletes ending their careers by trying too hard." In fact, Jake was feeling very good in this marathon, even though his Resistance has improved since the last race. Jake understood a little of what the system meant by balance, Jake could feel that he could run the same as before and his muscles no longer tense. After the first 10 km of running Jake was still running with the same group of athletes, Jake could see that almost all athletes in this group were elite athletes other than previous marathons and everyone could fight for the top 20 positions in this marathon. The group of this marathon was 9 athletes besides Jake and sometimes as they ran other athletes would join the group for a while before falling behind when the fans were following the marathon they saw the group they knew it was Jake in that group. After nearly two years as a pro, Jake had already become an idol of Americans and many marathon fans around the world, even the people who only followed the marathons in the cities cheered for Jake like everyone else. Especially because marathons in the United States were usually won by athletes from other countries, which was a bit of a shame for some Americans who believed that country was the best in athletics. In Jake''s past life who would win this marathon was Lameck Aguta from Kenya who beat this Boston marathon for a few years in a row, fans of the sport celebrated anyway because it was natural for people to enjoy seeing the best in the world winning. But they were much happier to see that Jake wants to be an American winning marathon in the United States, Jake was also very proud to win and so he considered running marathons only in America after winning all major marathons. After 22 kilometers in this marathon Jake''s group was already leading the marathon and those running in front of them were already behind, this was normal because Jake ran this marathon at a faster pace than his current world record, so if someone ran faster he couldn''t stand the pace for the rest of the marathon. The athletes running in Jake''s group were elite and still fine even after 22 km and want to keep running with Jake as long as they could, after all, they were experienced and could understand how they would only win by running with Jake who always ran at the same pace. Jake was happy about that too so that he could save more stamina and run better in the rest of this marathon, Jake also knew that even though they were elite runners they couldn''t stand running with Jake much longer. "We are already over 22 km and Jake still seems to be running smoothly leading this marathon along with the group he has run since the first km." "That''s right, that''s what is different from the London marathon and that''s one reason why Jake enjoys running marathons so much in America, a group has naturally formed near him and they are all elite athletes." "I''m sure after seeing Jake''s latest marathons in America that none of this is arranged before the race and these athletes didn''t even know that Jake would participate in this marathon today after running just a week ago in London." "They are athletes who sincerely admire Jake and know how talented he is, and so they run with him while helping Jake save energy, it doesn''t happen in marathons in other countries." Chapter 331 The Major Marathons 5 "I agree, I''m sure this is one reason why Jake likes to race more in America than other countries and another reason that happens is that it''s so much easier for Jake to race in America than to travel to other countries just to run." "There is also the crowd at the venue, in America everyone is sure to cheer more for Jake than for the other athletes and that''s an excellent motivation for an athlete." All the reasons the commentators said were things Jake thought before running, for all these reasons he realized that it was much better to race in America than in other countries, but he would still run sometimes if he wanted to and had time. After 27 km the other athletes in Jake''s group decided to slow down and move away from Jake who was in the lead, they could run longer with Jake, but if they did they would get very tired in the final kilometers of the marathon and could lose positions. Now that they separated from the leadership group all 9 of these athletes were rivals for the top positions in this marathon, everyone knew Jake was first, but they could try to compete in the top 20 positions. Jake''s friends who were watching at home cheered for Jake and were happy that he was first again, they learned never to hear the negative things commentators said about Jake because he always surprised at marathons. It was amazing to think that Jake could win this Boston marathon after a week of winning in London, and these two marathons were unusual and were hotly contested marathons around the world. Besides, Jake had already won everything he could win in basketball season this year, so everyone could know that it was true what Jake said he hated losing, which made him always win. It was strange how something as surprising as winning such a big marathon became expected when Jake participated, no one could doubt that Jake was one of the best marathon runners of the last decades. After reaching 31 km of running Jake slowly began to slow his racing pace, he already knew he should not break any records in this marathon and agreed that it was better to save more stamina if he could. Everyone who knew Jake already knew that he always did something like this at the end of every marathon and so they were quiet, some experts didn''t know why Jake did it because it seemed like he could take a few miles longer if he tried. But no matter how much they thought they would never guess that Jake did it on purpose so as not to push himself and excel in marathons, Jake thought he was still too young and so should show others that he was slowly improving. And that was working so far, so many experts showed Jake''s incredible progress in the last marathons, even now that he wasn''t running at such a fast time as last year''s last marathons the experts said it was because Jake was tired of the season of basketball That''s why Jake liked these sports reporters so much, they all wanted to get the audience''s attention by telling fans about their theories and saying that was what happened to Jake, so Jake just had to pick what he wanted and give the credits to this reporter and no one would suspect him. After going through the 41 km race Jake was already calmer with this marathon and saw that contrary to what everyone said he was not that tired and could still run several km. "Really impressive, yet another marathon won by Jake Smith here in Boston, and just over a week after winning the London marathon, Jake shows how truly the best in the world in marathons today is." "That''s right, many questioned whether it was right or possible for Jake to win two marathons in such a short time, but today we''re seeing Jake really achieve what many thoughts were impossible." "This has been an amazing year for Jake as an athlete after all he won, he could wrap up this year with this marathon and everyone would still say he was great, but we are still at the beginning of the year in April, I''m sure Jake will try other marathons this year." "That''s right, I just hope he rests for a while before the next marathon and doesn''t try to keep proving that he has excellent Resistance, after all, Jake is still studying at university this month." "Hahaha, it''s true, I hope Jake gets a little more rest now because he has achieved incredible achievements this year and is only 18 years old, he can relax because he is very young and can still win many more marathons in the coming years." Jake won the Boston marathon and soon after ate a stamina bar, he felt that he didn''t need to and could even run further after that marathon, but it was better to prevent any injury and eat a stamina bar since he has so many in history. After eating the stamina bar Jake felt every muscle in his body relaxing, he felt great and relieved about it, it had been a long time since he had eaten a stamina bar because he didn''t think he needed it after 40 Resistance points. But it seemed like it was good for him to relax the muscles that were always tense after all the daily training, Jake was very happy to win and celebrated a lot while sitting a little to feel the muscles relaxed. Jake didn''t know that a picture of him sitting with a relieved smile on his face would be the cover of many sporting magazines in the coming months, from the scene it looked like Jake was tired and under pressure and could relax after winning this marathon. Jake won with a time of 2 hours 7 minutes 24 seconds, it was a little longer than in London and Jake felt it was a good time for such a marathon, he didn''t need to break the records of all the marathons in the world as I earned no reward points for it. After a while, the marathon organization called on Jake to lift the trophy and receive the prize for winning that marathon, Jake received the $ 150,000 prize and celebrated well after this marathon. The same day Jake returned to university in the next few days earned a break from Coach Smith and was practically obliged to take a break from his daily marathon training by his mother. Coach Smith and Eva saw the photo in Jake''s newspapers looking relieved after winning in Boston and decided he needed to rest, Jake still had a handsome, photogenic face and so the newspapers and magazines that published these photos were very much bought by American women. Jake couldn''t explain why he seemed relieved and had to go a week without training again, that wasn''t really a problem for him who was always training, but Jake didn''t like feeling that he was doing nothing. One day, while Jake was having a lecture at the university on economics William, was not around because it was the teachers who chose the groups to foster friendship among the students. In Jake''s group, there was a boy who didn''t seem interested in studying and a student who looked like he just wanted to get away from this lecture, and the last member of Jake''s group was a young man of Asian descent. This last young man seemed interested in the lecture and sometimes also looked at Jake a lot, Jake realized that and found it a little strange and just hoped that this young man was a fan of his and not interested in him any other way. After a while the students had a break from talking to their classmates about what they heard, the woman and the other guy left and only Jake stayed with the guy who seemed interested in him. "Hi, my name is Haruto Watanabe and Watanabe is my family name." "My name is Jake Smith." "I know that I''m a big fan of yours, I like basketball a lot and I think the way you''re already amazing, I''m sure in a few years you''ll be one of the best players in the NBA, can you give me an autograph?" "Sure, so you''re a fan of mine, I hope what you say happens and I can play well in the NBA after a few years." After that the two talked for a while, but not about the lecture as the teachers wanted, Haruto was Japanese and his family had moved to the United States a few years ago. Haruto''s father is named Eiji Watanabe and is the manager of one of Toyota''s factories in Charlotte, North Carolina not far from the university, Haruto is 20 and a sophomore studying at the university. Haruto''s older brother will take his father''s place in the factory in the future, so Haruto''s father wanted him to study to have a good job in the United States, so Haruto said he wanted to study at UNC because it was close to home and his father accepted it. In fact, Haruto wanted to study at this university because he was a big basketball fan and wanted to see the team he played Michael Jordan in so that he might see some future NBA star play and luckily in his sophomore year of college he saw Jake playing. Still, Haruto was a responsible man and was studying hard to get a job in the future, after talking with Haruto for a while Jake realized that he was very smart and could work with him in the future. Jake no longer thought about inviting William to work for him because William wanted to work on wall street in the future, but he could call Haruto to work with him in a few years. Chapter 332 The Major Marathons 6 It seems that Haruto was also a movie fan as well as a basketball fan and was such a fan of Jake because he saw that he was also a good actor, was the first person Jake knew that was really his fan and became his friend for it. Jake had a good memory and so still managed to talk about the talk with Haruto and the two did well in the report at the end of the talk unlike the other two who didn''t even pay attention to the talk. So Jake and Haruto became friends because Haruto was a fan of Jake and because Jake wanted to hire Haruto to work with him in the future, after returning from the lectures Jake returned to his dorm to rest. After a week since the Boston Marathon Jake could finally return to training, he himself felt that after resting for almost 3 weeks between these marathons he was much more rested. Now he would just have to train normally because he would have no marathon to run until September, Jake had been asked to do an interview with ESPN to talk about basketball and marathons. Jake had already become a sports star after being able to do all this at the age of 18, in the NBA many teams have already shown an interest in having Jake play on their team. Jake was already seen among teams the same way as some current NBA stars because Jake had high-level skills that could help lead any team to victory and had infinite potential that all teams wanted to see in a young player. Some NBA team managers and big companies also knew that David Falk was Jake''s sports agent and would negotiate his NBA contracts, which made many teams respect Jake even more. Jake naturally accepted and went to one of the ESPN stations that would be broadcast to commentators at ESPN''s sports center, he was naturally very happy about it and was already used to doing interviews. "We''re talking to Jake Smith today who is one of the new college basketball and marathon stars in the world, Jake emerged in the sports world over two years ago in his third year at high school and shortly after winning the Chicago Marathon with 16 years." "After that, we just saw Jake in sports news winning several high school basketball championships and winning multiple marathons and even the Olympics." "In that 1997 year that is not even halfway through, Jake has had several impressive achievements, he won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament with the Tar Heels basketball team and won the London Marathon and the Boston Marathon." "Jake, what do you feel after you got all of this at the age of 18 and convinced everyone in the sports world that you''re already a big star?" "First of all I would like to thank you for the invitation to speak here on ESPN, I have always enjoyed this channel." "I feel that even though it seems that things happened quickly and very early, everything happened with a lot of work and preparation over many years, I ran into Chicago two years ago when I thought I was ready and so I won." "As for basketball I always train a lot and this season I was lucky to be part of an amazing team like the Tar Heels team that has great players, it is thanks to a lot of hard work and my amazing team that I could win so many things this year and last years." "Of course, I''m sure you had to train and work hard to achieve everything you have today and win so many competitions." "Let''s talk a little about your first season in college basketball, what was it like having such an impressive season with just 2 losses in 36 games and winning every tournament this year?" "I am very happy with that, as I said I am on a team that has excellent players and an excellent coach, I learned a lot during the season and could perform better in games." "This is my first season and as a freshman, I''m happy and couldn''t expect a better season than this one, next season I hope that the experience I got this year will help our team win several games and maybe have a season as good as that was it." "That''s right, I could say for sure that this must be the best freshman debut season of a college basketball season." "In addition to winning all the individual awards, he could in addition to the best defensive player award, Jake broke many individual records and helped the Tar Heels team break a few more records." "I''ll show you some records that Jake broke this freshman season." Jake''s 1996-97 Season Records Jake tied Shaquille O''Neal with 11 blocks in a single game in the 13 Mar UNC 94 x 61 Fairfield Stags game. Jake broke Mark Wade''s record of 18 assists by making 21 assists in a single game in the 6 Feb UNC 97 x 64 Florida State Seminoles game. Jake broke the record with more steals making 12 steals in one game in the 29 Mar UNC 92 x 52 Arizona Wildcats game. Jake has done 8 triple-doubles and 13 double-doubles this season and 2 quadruple-doubles. More steals in an NCAA tournament final four-game with 12 steals in the 29 Mar UNC 92 x 52 Arizona Wildcats game. More blocks in an NCAA tournament final four games with 8 blocks in the 29 Mar UNC 92 x 52 Arizona Wildcats game. More assists in an NCAA tournament final four games with 20 assists in the 31 Mar UNC 92 x 69 Kentucky Wildcats game. "These were just a few and we will talk during the interview about a few more records, we also have the records that the Tar Heels team broke this season." With Jake, the Tar Heels team broke some records this season. More assists in one game with 41 assists in 6 Feb game UNC 97 x 64 Florida State Seminoles. More blocks in a game with 16 blocks in 13 Mar game UNC 94 x 61 Fairfield Stags. More steals in a game with 21 steals in the 29 Mar game UNC 92 x 52 Arizona Wildcats. "After seeing these records that Jake broke this season, I''m sure many who doubted before will agree that Jake had a great season that will be in college basketball history." "With these records, you can even do a triple-double that Jake made 8 this season, and Jake has done something that had never been done twice a quadruple-double in a game." "What do you think about these Jake records?" "I honestly didn''t even know I had broken any records this season, I just played the best I could and took the opportunity." "But knowing that I was very happy to hear that this great season of mine will be remembered in history because of these records." "With these records, I think it''s only fair that you won almost every single award this season, what do you think about that, Jake?" "I didn''t receive many national awards at the time I played in high school so this is all new to me, but I have to say that it is very gratifying to know that my work was recognized in this way." "I think you deserve these awards you received this year, let''s pass some more records that you broke this season." The highest number of right field goals in a 501 season. More points made in a single season with 1170 points. A best percentage field goal in a season with a 75% hit. Highest 3-Point Field Goals in a season with 205. Best 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Single Season with 70%. Fourth with more assists in a season with 373 assists. Most steals in a single season with 217. In fifth with the highest average assists per game with 10.4 assists. First with more steals per game with 6 steals per game. In seventh with the most points per game with 32.5 points per game. "These records are very hard to break, remembering that even though Jake doesn''t have number one number of records this season Jake did it all just this season while other players focused on just scoring or assisting." With all that doubting Jake''s talent has to agree that he was the most important player to win this NCAA tournament on the Tar Heels team and deserved to win all the prizes he got. None of the television channels were allowed to talk about Jake being the only one sponsored in an interview with Jake, so commentators and reporters never talked about it, but when Jake wasn''t he was just praised with everyone saying he deserved to be an exception. "Jake, many have said when the Tar Heels team won the NCAA tournament this year that you could go straight to the NBA draft this year without waiting any longer than you would surely be one of the stars of that draft and next NBA season." "But it looks like this year you still don''t intend to participate in this NBA draft and maybe wait in the coming seasons, why do you think that?" "I think it''s just not the right time for me, I still want to enjoy this amazing university environment a little more, it''s a unique experience in life that I want to spend more time here before going to the NBA." "Also, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that I''m on such an amazing team as Tar Heels this season to try to win the NCAA tournament next year too, I know it''s tough and a lot of good teams want that too, but we have the opportunity to try." "That''s right, as a talented player and an amazing team like the Tar Heels team I think it''s right that you think about winning the NCAA tournament next season too, and if the Tar Heels team succeeds you will surely enter into very prominent history." Chapter 333 The Major Marathons 7 "Now that we''ve talked about basketball let''s talk a little bit about marathons too, which is something Jake also stands out a lot about, you said you prepared well for marathons since before running in Chicago, how was that?" "The first sport I enjoyed when I was a kid was athletics, I liked running more than basketball, but I still loved basketball almost the same way." "But in the neighborhood where I lived in Miami I couldn''t play basketball with my friends even if I wanted to because they didn''t have courts, so I always liked to run in the city squares." "I didn''t know that it''s nice to know you were interested in sports since you were a kid, and why did you decide to play basketball and not keep running?" "As you may well know, basketball is one of the most beloved sports in our country, and I was very fond of basketball myself, and my family was in a complicated situation with just my mom working and she seemed to have health problems at the time." "So I was a child just thought it was easier to get money for my family through basketball than through athletics and running." "Even though it was a decision I made as a child I took my training seriously and trained on my own for almost a year before attending my first basketball tournament." "I played against children who were several years older than me when I was 11, and yet I won that tournament and knew it could really be good at basketball." "My mother always supported me playing basketball not knowing I was doing it thinking of making money for my family, so after many years I got a sponsorship and I could help my family before I even entered high school." It was the first time Jake had spoken in an interview more directly about the difficulties he had as a child, he said he decided it because he was a child not to mention that he had an adult mentality and already knew basketball was the way to go right for him. But in the rest, he said everything that really happened and because he first chose basketball over marathons first when he was younger, Jake could feel that some people who were participating in the recording were thrilled to hear about it. "It''s really an inspiring and exciting story, many in sports came from a humble background and had financial difficulties before finding the sport to change their lives." "True, part of my basketball training has always been running, because I loved running and because I knew it helped improve athlete stamina, so I never had a hard time participating in a whole game and even now I don''t have this difficulty." "Also, I''ve always had good fitness and could have stronger training than other basketball players, when I already had sponsorship and still had time before college I decided to start training more seriously for marathons that to me because of my Resistance was the easiest of athletics for me." "Of course after I started training I realized it was not easy at all and I suffered a lot because of it, but when I continued training at my school''s athletic field alone and when I saw that I was running well and at a good pace I decided to run in Chicago." "I really enjoyed the marathon there and managed to win even though I wasn''t fully prepared, then I lost in New York for running the marathon wrong and then that''s how you all know well." "After that, you won all the marathons you participated in including the Olympics winning a gold medal for our country, I have to say it was great talking to you Jake, I hope you continue to be very successful in your career." "I thank you very much for coming here and hope to be back here again one day." Jake really enjoyed the interview and said a few things he wanted that had not been arranged before the interview, yet the commentators and the recording crew seem to have enjoyed the interview with Jake quite a lot. After that Jake returned to the university to continue his classes and training, after a week the classes were finally over and Jake took all the exams, the classes were very easy for Jake who got the high grade again. So the training with the basketball team was over and Jake was getting ready to go to Miami, Jake said goodbye to coach Dean Smith who wasn''t coming back next semester, Jake attended a frat party with Charlie and had a great time being careful to do not drink. So Jake had a little party with his roommates before everyone left home, so Jake got an idea and rented a big house for two nights near the university to have a party with the basketball team before everyone left home Coach Dean Smith was also invited as was Coach Guthridge. It was the way Jake thought to throw a farewell party for Coach Dean Smith who would leave without saying anything to anyone, Jake spent good money on that party and organized very well to be fun for everyone. The players were less comfortable because the coaches were at the party too, but Jake knew that everyone would remember this party fondly after Coach Smith did not return next season. Jake even prepared a tribute for Coach Smith by preparing a video of the best moments of the Tar Heels team in recent years with the help of the university, in this video Coach Smith was the one who appeared most. So naturally Coach Smith was very much applauded by the other players because he was the only one in the video, so Coach Dean Smith looked at Coach Bill Guthridge as if wondering if he had said anything. Coach Bill Guthridge had said nothing and Coach Smith believed he could never expect Jake to come from the future and knew what would happen to him when no one else knew. Even though it was a great time before the holidays Coach Smith said nothing that was leaving the team, even when Jake asked Coach Smith to say a few words about the team winning the NCAA tournament that year. Jake secretly recorded the whole party and would send a copy to everyone after the party, he might have had a complicated relationship with Coach Dean Smith, but he knew Coach Smith just wanted the best for Team Tar Heels this season that was so important for him. After that Jake returned to Miami and arranged a place for Coach Davis to stay with his family, as Jake''s athletic coach Coach Davis insisted on getting as close to Jake as possible to help his training more, and Jake didn''t care with that and can organize everything. Unlike other times the first thing Jake did when he arrived in Miami was to go home and not go to the restaurant, Eva and Anna knew that Jake had arrived in Miami and closed the restaurant for a few hours to meet him. They didn''t say why they did it, but Jake could imagine, it seemed like they just like Julius were now trying to leave Jake separate from Lola, everyone could realize how Jake didn''t like Lola as she liked him. Jake was very kind and never rejected her directly, but everyone would realize that this relationship would not work, Jake never said of the decision he made that would date Lola if nothing happened until he left college because it would leave Lola unchanged nothing in her life and Jake found it unfair to her. So Eva and Anna thought that this time Jake was at university and spending little time in Miami was a great time to make Lola forget about Jake, and to make it even better was better that Jake didn''t go to the restaurant at that time. Jake didn''t care about that because he had a lot of respect for Lola and Julius and would be short on Miami anyway, if Lola could be happy because Jake would be very happy, feeling things were hard to explain, Lola was beautiful and yet Jake had no strong feelings for her. Even though Jake spent a few hours with his mother and Anna, Eva told Jake how much she had been thrilled when she saw Jake''s interview with ESPN, she knew nothing about it and was a little sad to learn that Jake realized how she was having trouble and was glad to hear that Jake had done it for her. After all, Eva knew that because of this decision everything had worked out well for Jake and he was very rich right now that Eve didn''t know how much money he had, no mother could be unhappy knowing that her son was succeeding. Anna was also thrilled to see this interview, maybe a lot of people were thrilled like them watching this interview, but Anna even more because she knew Eva personally and remembered how Jake told her to be careful that Eva was not depressed. So in the next few weeks, Jake spent a lot of time with his mother while also training with Coach Davis for the other athletics modalities, they had already talked about it and thought it was a great opportunity for Jake to start some different training. For the short-haul modalities like the 100m or 200m Jake just trained the correct positioning and how to make the correct starts, the hardest things to learn on his own that he didn''t know. Even someone like Jake made a lot of mistakes in these things, but Coach Davis could imagine that Jake could have a talent for at least 200m and was quite surprised at that, at 400m so Coach Davis thought it was only a matter of time before Jake could run. Chapter 334 The Major Marathons 8 Coach Davis had always thought Jake had only the talent for long-distance sports, and it was hard to find anyone who could run the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter marathon in an Olympics. Jake could soon be able to run even the 1,500-meter race, so he could win in 4 modalities in just one Olympics and would surely go down in history and become a track and field legend, but if he could compete too Between sprints he can also try to beat the other 4 modalities by winning 9 medals in total. Of course, Coach Davis was thinking in the best scenario that was impossible for him, which he could not imagine was that this was exactly what Jake was hoping for and so wanted to train for it. To train more seriously during this vacation, Coach Davis suggested only the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters that were races that Jake was more likely to run at the next Olympics if he trained more. Jake wanted to try the 1,500 meters and 800 meters, but Coach Davis told him to take it easy if Jake got the 800 meters the 400 meters would be possible as well as the 200 meters, so it was better to train in parts. Jake understood that Coach Davis wanted to see first what he was capable of and hoped, after all, he knew he had time and in the coming years would impress Coach Davis to be able to run at least 1,500 meters at the next Olympics as well. For the 10,000 meters, Coach Davis was very confident that Jake would make it because Jake was an athlete who had a lot of speed as shown in his basketball games, and he could already run at 2 minutes 54 seconds per km currently for 50 km. Jake would have to run just 10 seconds faster than that for miles to be considered a great 10,000-meter runner, knowing Jake Coach Davis knew that would be easy for him. In the early days, Jake focused on learning the right way to run as he had been doing for several months and now with more time with coach Davis, Jake''s only defect as an athlete having the system to help was the technique and what the athletes learned of professional coaches. So now that he had a good athletic trainer, Jake first wanted to learn all the technical stuff correctly because he was confident of doing the modalities training thanks to the system he had. Coach Davis didn''t understand Jake''s calm, he was eager to know how long Jake could have in the 10,000-meter race, he had a feeling Jake would have a good enough time to participate in the upcoming Olympics, but Jake who was the main interested didn''t seem to care. What Coach Davis could not know was that Jake was in no hurry because by the next Olympics he would get at least 2 Resistance points and 2 agility points if he won the remaining two major marathons and could run those modes much more easily. After more than a week spending time with his mother and training with Coach Davis, Jake received an invitation he had been waiting for a long time, it was the invitation of director Crowe who made the movie Jerry Maguire. Just as Jake had expected the movie had now come out of theaters after several months and had raised a lot of money at the US box office and international box office, Director Crowe had promised to throw a party if it went over $ 100 million and Jake was just waiting. He didn''t know how much the box office had grossed correctly, he just remembered that in his past life had gone over $ 250 million, it was an excellent box office for a movie that was very good and much praised by movie experts. Jake didn''t know, but who was happiest about it was director Cameron Crowe who expected this movie to be a hit because of Tom Cruise and many other renowned actors, but didn''t expect it to be such a hit because of the theme. sportsmanship that was usually not so successful at the box office and the fact that the movie is not for all ages. So there was no way he wouldn''t be happy to see that this was the biggest success of his career even being such a young director, director Crowe couldn''t help but think that this success had anything to do with Jake''s small part in this movie. This movie premiered well when Jake had his best time in both marathons and college basketball, so some of Jake''s fans definitely decided to go to the movies to watch this movie. Also, Director Crowe realized that Jake had a talent for acting and was already thinking of inviting him to participate in other films of his own thinking that Jake would not accept at this time because he was so busy. Even though Director Crowe was very fond of Jake, he can''t have this party in Miami because most of the guests lived in Los Angeles, so he had to have this party in Hollywood, Jake didn''t mind and took a plane to go. Jake was even given a gift Armani suit that he personally went to the store to take measurements before leaving for the party, Jake could buy one if he wanted, but did not have time to think about which suit to buy and a gift like this helps in choosing his future. Jake had rented a hotel room for a few days to stay in Los Angeles and so asked for a limo to go to the party, he thought about renting a car, but it would be more complicated to return the car after so renting for a night was much better. Not many people at the party knew that Jake would attend the party, and even if they did, they probably wouldn''t care much, because at that party other sports stars who had more fame than Jake were invited to attend the movie. Many movie stars and singers were also attending this party that even someone like Jake would be forgotten if he attended such a party, at least that''s what Director Crowe thought. Jake arrived at the party and many pictures were taken of him, he just waved at the cameras and quickly walked into the hotel where the party was taking place, he knew that everyone who entered these parties had photos being taken and so did not care. As soon as Jake came in many looked at him, Jake just paused for a moment until he saw where the director Crowe was and so went to the director, he knew many people here were famous and if it was another time Jake would not hesitate to ask for an autograph to a lot of them. "Congratulations on the success of the movie, director Crowe, since I saw you talking about the movie I knew it would be a big hit." "Hahaha, thanks, Jake, I think part of the success of this movie has to do with you too, your success in these two years in the sport has made you part of the movie something special." The two exchanged accolades and director Crowe led Jake to the table where he was sitting with Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr, and Renee Zellweger, the film''s top Oscar-winning stars were at that table. Meanwhile, other sports stars were sitting at another table like NFL players Art Monk and Kerry Collins, as well as others who participated in the movie and were invited to this party. "So, Director Crowe, you still haven''t told me what was the total box office of the movie that was the reason for this party." "Hahaha, I knew you had not heard from anyone yet, we got $ 330 million in the worldwide box office and $ 190 million in national box office alone, our movie was fifth in the total box office and third in the national box office with 190 million of dollars. " When he heard that even Jake was surprised, he remembered that this movie was ninth in the total box office with just over 270 million dollars, it seemed that in this life this movie had almost 60 million dollars more and almost 40 million of those 60 were in America. So even Jake had to accept that his participation in this movie had greatly increased the total box office of the movie, thinking that the budget of the movie was 50 million only that increase paid the initial costs of the movie. Jake was happy because the first movie he appeared in was a bigger success than he expected, it was no wonder director Crowe said so many times that the increase in the movie''s box office was related to his achievements in sports, the directors usually they knew what they were talking about and some research must have been done to know that. Jake congratulated Cuba Gooding Jr for the Oscars and they talked for a while Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger talked to other people at the party, then for a few more hours at the party, Director Crowe talked about his upcoming film projects. Jake listened attentively because he thought about participating in some movies by director Crowe or another Hollywood director in the future, after all, Jake has always enjoyed acting, but in the next few months, there will be no movie to shoot in the coming months. could not think of participating. He didn''t have to think about how much he could get with these movies because he didn''t need that money to live well, but it had to be some good movie like this and a movie he could shoot at the time he had free. While everyone was talking a young girl entered the party long after the party had started, at parties in Hollywood this was very common so few people noticed who entered. Chapter 335 The Major Marathons 9 Anyone who saw the young lady who entered realized that another very famous person had come to this party, was a young singer who was very famous in the music world in recent years and almost won some of the top music awards in recent years winning the attention of all the world. Kate Annesley had arrived at the party, Kate Annesley was the singer Jake met several years ago while recording some commercials, this had been the only time they had ever met, but since then Jake has always bought all the CDs of the new works from Kate. Jake even tried to find Kate when he recorded other commercials a few months ago, but unfortunately couldn''t find her in the same recording studio where they first met. Kate walked into the party venue looking around as if searching for something, she looked toward where Jake was and started walking over to the director''s desk smiling, everyone thought she would just talk to the director to congratulate on the success of the movie. But Kate walked towards the other side of the table where only Jake and Renee Zellweger were sitting, Jake also noticed that someone was walking towards where he was when Jake saw Kate was very surprised and was even more surprised when she approached and hugged him as he cried. This took everyone by surprise and even those who knew Jake and Kate did not know where the two knew each other or that they were so close, and the most discreet all looked toward the two embracing young people. Jake didn''t know what to do in this situation but still hugged Kate and waited for her to stop crying to explain what was going on, the director Crowe who was talking to Jake wasn''t quite sure what to do in this situation and just waited to see if Jake explained to him later what was going on. After a while, Kate kept hugging Jake, but she was no longer crying, after so long even the most curious did not look at the two young men hugging each other and even Principal Crowe began talking to other people. "I wanted to try to see you, Jake." Jake felt his heart flutter when he heard Kate say that, he was going to be more polite and call her Miss Annesley, but after that, he had no way of realizing that there was anything different about Kate he had known for several years ago. He also missed Kate, and even though he didn''t want to admit, he had to say that he had liked her since the first time they met, maybe that''s why he can never match Lola''s feelings for him. "Kate, I missed you too, but now I was wondering what happened to make you cry like that." Only after Jake said that did Kate remember that she was hugging him in the middle of the party while crying, did Jake help her get away from the party a bit and they sat at a table away from everyone''s eyes so they could talk more calmly. "It''s been many years since the last time I saw you, I knew you would be at this party and that''s why I came here when I saw you I couldn''t control my feelings and ended up crying." "That day we met in that studio while you were shooting those commercials I felt something for you, something different, a kind of connection." "That''s why I followed you to see your recording even though I arranged to meet my parents elsewhere at that time." "After I left I went to the place I had to go the other way because my parents had already left at the time we had scheduled before." After saying that Kate stopped talking and started crying again, Jake already thought that something bad had happened to Kate and that''s why she was so thrilled since they met. "I got to the place where I had to go, but my parents weren''t there, then I found out that halfway through my parents had a car accident and died." "After learning about it I was very sad and almost stopped singing, whenever I was sad I remembered you and when we met that day, so I realized that if I hadn''t stayed in the studio for a while of you I would have died along with my parents in that accident because I wouldn''t have been late." "Even though still sad because of my parents'' death I decided to keep singing and enjoying my life that I''m still lucky, and always wanted to meet you to thank for saving my life." Now Jake knew why Kate was so thrilled when she met him, it seemed that since her parents died she had always remembered him to keep well, Jake believed that Kate really would have died in that accident had she not met him. "I''m glad you didn''t die in that accident and I''m sorry for what happened to your parents, I know it must have been difficult and I wonder what I would do if my mother died." Jake could really feel what Kate was feeling after all he really knew what it was like to see his mother die, he was glad that Kate was fine thanks to what happened to him that day, it seemed like he wasn''t the only one who felt anything special about that day. After that Jake was talking to Kate for a long time about quieter things and about their career, so she managed to calm down again and so they talked until the party was over, Jake got Kate''s mobile number and she got her number his cell phone. The party was over Jake arranged to meet with director Crowe the other day, as well as several other actors Jake wanted to talk to, but what happened to Kate was very striking for Jake. After returning to the hotel Jake still thought about it, he knew he might have changed the future a bit, but the system said several things would not be changed even if Jake interfered. He was very happy that Kate had escaped the accident and had not died just because she met him, but so Jake was a little confused if more such things would happen and how much it could interfere with the future he knew. [You don''t have to worry so much about that Jake, as I told you, fate judges, what you will or won''t change in the future based on your actions, but none of that will greatly change the future you know.] "What do you mean, Fate?" [Fate must have felt that this Kate was important to you and also that she would not have much interference in the future and so because of the meeting between you she should have died ended up living.] Seeing the system confirming what he was thinking Jake even had to take a moment to think, he figured that if he didn''t meet him Kate would die just because in his past life he didn''t remember any singer named Kate who was so famous. He found it strange himself several times and even though it was he who had changed it, then he thought it had nothing to do with it and that his memory was too bad and he didn''t remember Kate being famous. "You say that doesn''t change things, but Kate is a well-known singer and can win many awards from other major singers and thus change the future I know." [These things only you consider important, fate doesn''t change things that much, you also won this year''s NCAA tournament and will win some NBA championships that should be won by other teams.] [These things will change naturally just because you exist, just like the marathons you win and the actions you invest, a few million adjustments have to be made by fate not to affect the future each time you do such a thing.] [So you don''t have to worry too much about these things because there is no way that you or Kate, or who you know changes anything, you won''t even realize what has changed.] So Jake can finally be relieved, he was glad to know that he had saved Kate even if it wasn''t on purpose, so Jake went to sleep relieved, the other day Jake returned early to Miami to train early in the morning. Jake did all the training he did at the university because he hadn''t warned Coach Davis that he would be back early to do the training, he knew he had to train his technique with Coach Davis, but sometimes he just missed running without having to worry about the time. When Jake came home later Eve had already returned because she left the restaurant early when Jake was home, Jake went to take a shower and when he returned to the room he saw his mother sitting with a magazine in his hands. Jake found it odd that Eva wasn''t making dinner like she always did at this time, but he thought she just wanted to get some rest and so got up to make dinner after he came back to see his mother still sitting with the magazine in the hand. "Mom, I''ve already prepared dinner, leave this magazine there and come eat with me and then you come back to read the magazine." "Do you know why I''m reading this magazine, Jake?" "Because you like it? I don''t know what you mean mom." "I was working at the restaurant today because I knew you''d be back today, and I saw some of the restaurant customers looking at me strangely, it wasn''t just the restaurant customers and even the staff were looking at me differently." "When I asked Anna what was going on, she just gave me this magazine." Chapter 336 The Major Marathons 10 Jake didn''t understand what his mother had today that she was always talking about this magazine, he didn''t even read magazines and newspapers unless his friend said he had something about him, like someone from internet time Jake had lost his custom of reading newspapers. "I don''t understand, Mom, what this magazine has to do with the fact that customers and restaurant staff are looking at you in a different way." "Look at the magazine yourself and you will know why." Jake was curious and took the magazine from his mother''s hands and understood what she meant when she saw the cover of the magazine, somehow someone took a picture just as Kate hugged him and started crying. On the cover it still said ''reunion and youthful love between stars'', not far from the truth what it said in the magazine aside from the love part, Jake understood that customers looked at his mother strangely because they knew she is the mother him and the employees knew that Lola liked him. "Luckily Lola wasn''t working today, so I didn''t know what I could do to talk to her." "Who is this woman, Jake?" So Jake explained the whole situation of how they met and what had happened to Kate for her to hug him like that in the middle of the party, so Eva was no longer so angry with Jake and knew how to understand the situation. "I understand the situation well, but of course, after all, that has happened this woman must like you very much, Jake." "I think it may be so too, to be honest from the first time I spoke to her I felt something different as well." So Eva didn''t know what to do, she knew well that Jake had done nothing wrong and was a right and single man, but she felt sorry for Lola''s situation, after learning of Kate''s situation she felt even more sorry for Kate and understood what she felt. After all, Kate was someone who had lost her parents the same day she first fell in love, she must have felt very bad for a while after she lost her parents and it was thinking about Jake that made her better overcome the loss of her parents. Besides, Eva knew that Jake was the dream man of many women in America, he was intelligent, good at two different sports, handsome, nice, famous and still rich. Eva couldn''t imagine a better quality in a man who was missing on her son. And Kate had fallen in love with Jake when he was young and not even that famous, so in those years with the death of her parents, this love just increased as Jake looked even better in other years. Maybe what made Kate not fall in love with Jake completely at that time was the fact that she didn''t know if Jake remembered her, but at the meeting, they had this time Jake said he always thought of her too, that must have further strengthened that love. Luckily some time ago she and the others in the restaurant were trying to make Lola forget about Jake, so after a semester with Jake at university, they might feel that Lola had forgotten about Jake a bit. What happened this time Lola was going to suffer a lot, but it would be even easier for her to forget about Jake after that happened, as a mother, Eva had to support Jake and what he wanted to do as long as it was right and made him happy and seem that Kate was the one that made Jake happy. In fact, Jake didn''t even think about it that much, he knew he liked Kate a lot, but since he''d never felt it and didn''t know exactly how Kate felt about him, Jake didn''t think about it as much as Eva. After that Eva calmed down and the two had dinner together and then Jake went to rest, as someone with many things to do Jake did not think much about this event and the other day returned to focus on his training. Jake and Kate were very busy and if they didn''t agree days in advance could never have time to meet, Kate still got a scolding from her business for doing what she did at the party and so the two would not see each other for a while let the public forget that. Kate was still a pop singer, but she was more successful with young audiences who would not accept her boyfriend well, she had received a lot of support from her fans a few years ago when she lost her parents and so Kate decided to do it for her. her fans, but she wouldn''t forget Jake not easily. Jake can focus on his training more easily because Coach Davis just like he didn''t read magazines or newspapers either, he still continued his positioning training and did what he could to improve his running technique for all forms of athletics. Coach Davis had to admit that he found Jake''s dedication to training inspiring, after all, he didn''t even know if Jake would participate in all forms of athletics, in fact he found it impossible for Jake to participate in all forms of athletics. Even so for many weeks, Jake was very keen to learn everything completely as if he was sure everything would be useful in the future, as Jake had many points in intelligence statistics he was practically a sports genius and learned everything much more easily than the others. If it wasn''t because Jake wanted to learn only once and never forget, he would have learned everything he had to learn a long time ago, in a few days they would learn everything they had to learn and could start training more seriously for others modalities. The other day after much training Jake got a call from Tiffany who wanted to talk to him over lunch, Jake was a little tired of learning how to position himself in training and agreed to have lunch with her and gave Coach Davis time off. Jake hoped it was something important for Tiffany to call him on the phone, Jake knew that Tiffany and Clara were busy improving their companies, and soon Jake knew he would have to record a commercial for their companies and was ready for this. "Hi Jake, thanks for coming, I knew you were training on this vacation, you have to get some rest too and enjoy spending time with your mom." "I''m resting well, I''m training positioning only in recent weeks." "That''s good so, I saw your picture with that famous singer, I didn''t know you started dating while you were in college, she''s really pretty, congratulations." "No, she''s not my girlfriend, just a friend, it was just a misunderstanding because she was thrilled about something that happened to her a few years ago, but what you wanted to talk to me about, Tiffany, is about the commercial I will record?" "That''s not it, so we''ll be doing the commercial in a few weeks too, I wanted to talk to you about something John passed on to me yesterday." "It is what it is?" "It''s usually him who talks to you about marathon issues when you''re at university, but as you''re on vacation he asked me to pass this on to you, our country''s athletic organization invited you to participate in a qualifier for this year''s Athletics World Championship in Athens." Jake had really forgotten about this year''s Athletics World, he didn''t care about these Athletics competitions because he usually didn''t have marathons, but this year he had, the Athletics Worlds was the second most important competition for marathon competitors, so it was obvious that Jake wanted to participate. Everyone expected him to participate because he had won the marathon at last year''s Olympics, but Jake had said nothing about it and so the organization decided to talk to John who was responsible for Jake''s entries in these competitions. "I''m going to participate yes, thanks for reminding me, with so much going on this year I had even forgotten, apparently I won''t be able to just rest until September as I thought before." "Good then, in two weeks will be the recording of the commercial, will be in that same studio you like here in Miami." "Alright, I''ll be there in the day." Jake was excited to participate in this year''s Athletics World Championship, he thought he could only participate after he started running in the other athletics worlds, so he would have one more marathon to participate in this year. But nothing would really change for Jake, because this year''s Athens Athletics World Championship would only be August 1-10, 1997, so there were still almost 3 months left to go and nothing would change in Jake''s training. He didn''t have time to focus on the marathon training he was confident of winning, he had to keep training the positioning for the next few days and then train for the other athletics while training for the marathon. After all Jake would train now only for 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters, so the training would not be much different from what he did now, it would only change in the running pace and also the distance he would have to run at each different pace. The other day Jake told Coach Davis about this year''s Athletics World Championship the coach was also surprised that he had forgotten about this important event, he had problems with his family and was also paying more attention to what Jake was doing than he was the sport in general. But he wasn''t surprised when Jake said he didn''t want to train anything especially for this World Cup and wanted to continue with their training plans, Coach Davis also thought Jake was ready to run any marathon anytime. Chapter 337 Busy Holiday 1 In addition, Jake''s training over the next few months would only further help him participate in this marathon, would be intense training for a number of different sports and to improve on the few weaknesses that Jake still had in long-distance running. Meanwhile contrary to what everyone thought Lola was working normally even after hearing about the news about Jake, everyone could see that she had cried a lot the day before, but she didn''t let down and went to work normally. This relieved everyone in the restaurant and made Eva and Anna proud of Lola''s strength of mind even though she was so sweet and young Eva and Anna really liked Lola because she was such a strong woman. Eva wanted her to be with Jake, but since it hadn''t worked out, it was better for Lola to meet someone in the future to be happy and they would continue to be friends, after all as a mother, Eva had to root for Jake''s happiness. Who was happiest with all this was Julius, while this problem happened and everyone was worried about Lola, Julius was secretly thinking about maybe secretly leaving the restaurant with his daughter. If Lola couldn''t seem to get over his love for Jake and continued to suffer at Julio''s restaurant, he would have to resign and look elsewhere, he didn''t want to because he was so happy working at this restaurant and was so grateful to what Eva did for him when he needed work. Julius knew that while in Miami Jake did not come to the restaurant out of respect for Lola and at Eva''s request, Julius could not even imagine a restaurant that the owner could not enter just out of consideration for an employee''s feelings. Luckily it seemed that Lola was stronger than he thought and would be able to get over it, Julius was not angry with Jake because he knew he had no fault in this whole situation. Jake also didn''t know that because of a misunderstanding his mother''s restaurant had almost lost two of the best employees and was just focusing on his training, for the next few days Jake just kept training the positioning and finished his training and learned everything that could with Coach Davis about the techniques of track and field. Now it was time to go back to marathon and long-distance training, as Jake didn''t have much training time before having to stop recording commercials for Tiffany and Clara''s companies, Coach Davis went through another training session off the training track for Jake. It would be a training session since they were in Miami, they went to a beach that was less frequented for Jake to do various resistance training, aerobic exercises and cardiovascular exercises. Knowing how great Jake''s stamina and stamina was, Coach Davis took advantage of them being on the beach for the next few weeks and decided to prepare one triathlon a day for Jake to train as much as he could. The goal was to train Jake''s body to handle the longest runs and not the speed, so the time Jake would have to swim in the sea and ride the bike didn''t matter, to make it harder Jake would swim in the sea and run in the sand. Coach Davis was responsible and even made Jake pay some lifeguards to stay on a jet ski in case Jake drowned while swimming, Jake swam very well in his past life before suffering the accident so Coach Davis had him swim 500 meters since the first day. Jake had a hard time swimming in the sea and going through the waves and the way to swim was different, even to breathe it was difficult to find the right way, but with the stamina, Jake had no problem swimming the 500 meters. After swimming with no time to rest Jake started the bike ride, it was 15km because Coach Davis knew that Jake would have no problem with that, Jake really had no problems and pedaled slowly while catching his breath at sea. After quietly doing the 15 km Jake went for the sand race, running in the sand without stable terrain for 8 km was the hardest for Jake, even though he was used to running Jake almost fell several times and had not done the drills heating properly could have been injured. But Jake can finish this weird triathlon done by Coach Davis, even though doing less than he normally did. Jake felt tired from this activity that day, he felt many muscles that he normally did not use sore and felt it was an interesting experience. Jake didn''t think it was that hard to swim in the sea even at such a short distance, after all, 500 meters was swimming 10 times round trip in a pool, cycling for so many km despite not being tiring was a different experience for Jake too. Coach Davis and the lifeguards were only impressed that Jake wasn''t so tired after doing such a triathlon for the first time, he''d done a sprint triathlon even though he swam a shorter distance and walked less on the bike''s path. On the other hand, it was his first time doing this and Jake had run more than usual and still run on the sand, it was his first time swimming in the sea and Jake didn''t use any special clothes or shoes to do this triathlon. Jake''s performance made Coach Davis excited, the coach thought that after this triathlon training that was perfect for Jake, many of his failures would end, after the lifeguards he hired found out who Jake was they were less surprised by it. Jake didn''t know that, but the Captain America nickname he had received at the marathon had become well known, all his fans and many people knew Jake as Captain America, so to see Captain America doing a lot of high-level triathlon sports It wasn''t that hard to believe. For the next few days Jake continued to do Coach Davis''s triathlons, in a few days he got the hang of swimming in the sea and it was easier for him to ride his bike, just running in the sand was more complicated because he couldn''t get used to running in uneven ground. An interesting fact that happened 5 days after Jake started training on the beach was that he had an accident of a yacht almost 800 meters away from the beach, this yacht was going to a party and had 22 people inside. Because of the drinks and other party stuff, this yacht had only one lifeboat which was forbidden for the yacht to have, something happened and the yacht caught fire and the people inside had to go out to sea drunk. When this happened Jake was close to swimming the 250 meters in the sea and was coming back, for safety reasons Jake always hired two lifeguards on a large jet ski that could seat up to 6 people. The lifeguards no longer had to worry about Jake swimming very well in the sea after 5 days of training, they both saw the yacht on fire in the distance and warned the coast guard and beach lifeguards on the safety radio. Even doing so both lifeguards thought there would be no time for the rescue to reach the yacht and they did not know the situation the yacht was in that had not yet started putting out the fire, because all the yachts had a fire extinguisher. So they called Jake who was nearby to see what they could do, after all, it was Jake who was hiring them and they had a jet ski and were closer to help the yacht in time. "What happened that you called me?" "There was an accident with a yacht near here Mr. Smith, that side has a yacht that is on fire, we think to take advantage of jet skiing and go to help those who need it, after all the rescue may not arrive in time." "I see, let''s go there." After saying that Jake climbed on the jet ski too and without saying anything one of the lifeguards started guiding the jet ski towards the crash site, they arrived quickly and saw chaos there, some people were on objects while others were swimming to stay on the surface of the water. The two lifeguards quickly took the jet ski lifeboat and threw it into the sea and soon 7 people climbed into the lifeboat, while Jake had already seen that almost everyone in this accident was drunk, he sought someone soberer and called a man to talk. "What happened here?" "I don''t know, we were having a party and the yacht started to catch fire, we all jumped into the sea and the yacht owner is too drunk to talk." Jake told what happened to the two lifeguards who soon understood what was going on, one of the lifeguards continued to help the others while the other climbed into the far yacht to look for some more lifeboat to help the others who were still in the water. "How many people were on the yacht?" "There were 22 people, I remember that." Jake stopped talking to the man after that and started counting how many people they had, he found only 17 people counting those at sea and lifeboat, so he told both lifeguards and dived into the sea to see if anyone was found. One lifeguard opened the only lifeboat he found and started putting some people in while the other dived with Jake to see if anyone was found, Jake diving saw some people drowning, luckily they had been quick to rescue, otherwise he could not have time to save no one. Jake rescued two women who were almost unconscious and left those who were better off for the other lifeguard because he knew it might be riskier to save the conscious and drown himself trying to save someone desperate. When Jake went up to the sea surface with the two women the other lifeguard had also risen and the other plunged into the sea, Jake put the two women in the lifeboat, and the others were rescued gradually. Chapter 338 Busy Holiday 2 If they hadn''t been quick, maybe some people had died, mostly because no one knew how to open a lifeboat and almost everyone was drunk. Jake left the two drowned women''s help for the professional lifeguard and went back to jet skiing. The two women were successfully saved by the lifeguard and the other three who were drowning were saved and were fine too, Jake was surprised by the speed of the two lifeguards who saved them all quickly and he can only help a little. 8 people were placed in each lifeboat and 3 people were left in buoys that were taken from the yacht, after rescuing the lifeguards suggested that lifeboats and jet skiing be carried further because the yacht could explode at any time. Jake agreed with that because he didn''t want to risk seeing if the blast would happen or if it could hit them, with Jake and the two lifeguards the jet ski had 6 people so they could get away with everyone saved. The owner of the yacht that was primarily responsible for this accident was fine, but was fainted from drinking and was taken from the yacht by his friends, was an unexpected situation that Jake did not imagine could happen to him. A while later the beach lifeguards arrived with the jet skis so that everyone could go back to the beach while waiting for the coast guard to arrive when everyone arrived at the beach many people were seeing what was happening. Coach Davis was concerned that Jake had not returned after swimming to the lifeguards at sea, he was also surprised when he learned what happened, Jake left quickly and left only the two lifeguards who had to testify to the coast guard about what It happened. Jake was just helping and didn''t understand any technical terms so he left quickly before anyone recognized him, Jake hadn''t done anything wrong and had even saved some people, but he didn''t want much media attention on his vacation. Jake knew well how the media was and were always wary of everything he did because of it before he wasn''t so famous and so didn''t have to worry about it, but now he was very famous and especially after what happened to Kate, he didn''t have a good relationship with the non-sports media. Jake returned home after what happened and said goodbye to coach Davis, today he had no way to continue with training so he thought it was better to wait for another day at home. Unfortunately, things were not as simple as he expected and he had to be summoned to give testimony of what he saw to the police later, the case got more complicated because it looked like the yacht owner would be sued for the security breaches he made that almost killed the 22 people in the yacht. After Jake gave the police testimony he was told to wait and then even one of the Miami Alderman appeared to compliment him on what he did for the Miami people in this accident. Indirectly Jake was responsible for saving the lives of these 22 people, if he was not training on the beach and hired lifeguards with jet skiing and went with them to help people in this accident the 22 of the yacht would surely die. After that Jake was invited to receive a medal along with both lifeguards for their rescue, everything was organized the same day and Alderman seemed to want to take advantage of Jake''s fame to win some votes in the next election. Fortunately, as everything was organized quickly few people were in place and only a few members of the sports media attended this ceremony, Jake did everything as fast as he could to go home. When Jake came home again it was night and Eva had already made dinner, he recounted everything that happened on the day and Eva was very proud of what Jake had done but fought him for taking the risk of doing so. Jake was happy saving those people and couldn''t help thinking that he had changed the future somehow again, luckily he was calmer because the system said it wouldn''t cause too much trouble if he did. Fortunately the other day the beach was the same as the previous days and Jake can train quietly, next week Jake continued with his training doing a triathlon a day and could feel that he was somehow improving even if little with that training. In the next few days Jake couldn''t train because he had so many things to do, he had to meet with Tiffany and Clara to do the commercial for their companies, and then talk to Emily and the others about his business. So Coach Davis and the lifeguards would have more than a week off, Jake went with Tiffany and Clara to the advertising company studio to record both commercials, as this time the two were more experienced, Tiffany and Clara had already spoken to the company prior to organizing the new commercials. They had already talked about what the commercials would be like, so Jake just had to get ready to record and record the commercials, Jake didn''t care about that because he was participating today only as a sponsored athlete of company and he left everything that happened at Clara''s company for her decision and didn''t interfere just because it had 10 percent of the company''s stock. The commercial for Clara''s company was simpler this time, Jake would participate in various sports in this commercial except basketball because of Jake''s deal, and in every sport, he would appear in the video he would use the sporting goods of Clara''s company. It was simple, but it said that when Jake played sports he trusted Clara''s company to do quality physical activity, he didn''t need a very obvious message because everyone knew that Jake was known for high-level basketball and marathon practice. Tiffany''s company commercial was more creative, but it was also more complicated to do, Jake would run down the road and the scenes would show Jake running down the roads in several cuts, then Jake would take a rural path and keep running down the dirt road. At the end of the commercial, Jake would run to an orange field and grab a bottle of Tiffany''s sports drink, then run back, the commercial would show that Jake would run to the field to get the bottle of liquor. Jake liked the Tiffany company commercial better, but he didn''t say that and just made the recordings, Clara''s commercial was done faster, but Tiffany''s took almost two days for the advertising company to get the best images. After that when the two commercials go to television, Jake would be appearing in 4 television commercials, the public would even get sick of Jake who appeared so much in the commercials, it would also help to promote the 4 companies that helped each other with advertisements. This was only possible because the 4 companies were small, if they were large companies they would not want to share customers with other companies even if it was good for everyone, after which Jake talked with Clara about her company for a while. Clara and Tiffany went back to investing in the company a lot this year, the money they were saving to buy Robert''s stock was all invested back in the company in the form of a loan that they would receive in profit shares over the next few years. They did so because the company had not invested for many years and urgently needed money, the two would not make loans to banks that would endanger the company being able to invest their own money. As Jake knew now, Tiffany and Clara''s companies would always pay half of the profit share to the shareholders and invest the rest back in the company, with the investments made this year expected that the company''s sales this year would be the best. Because Jake had accomplished so much in sports and would continue to do so this year, it had a very positive impact on the sales of the companies sponsoring Jake, both of them were excited to see the company grow. As for Clara''s company competitor who had too many shares of the company, she decided not to care about it anymore and just treat them like ordinary investors, because she would have to take a lot of money every year just to buy those shares from the rival company. But it was necessary money to invest in the company, if it were possible in a few years Clara would surely buyback not only those shares but also the shares that were with Jake and her father. Only the shares that were with Tiffany, Clara did not think to buy even in the future, because it was Tiffany who helped her the most in difficult times even putting her own company at risk. Jake thought that in a few years Clara would no longer even think about buying Jake''s stock again, because in a few years with the internet age and Jake playing in the NBA just because Jake was a shareholder of her company would make many people want to buy the products from Clara''s company. Jake was very pleased with how Clara was investing in the company, he always trusted her because he knew how well Clara was a competent woman just like Tiffany who made her company grow out of nowhere. After that Jake arranged with Emily to talk to her about how his investments were going, Emily seemed to be a lot more tired and stressed when Jake met her at the restaurant. He could imagine how busy Emily was working for him, now Emily took care of the company-wide investments, which included Jake''s personal investments and Matthew and her father''s investments as well as her father''s friends who were already over one billion of dollars in total. Chapter 339 Busy Holiday 3 In addition, Emily was now overseeing Charlie and his team who worked at the company in Silicon Valley in Palo Alto, California, which Jake had just created for now to develop multi-touch technology. As someone who didn''t know about the future and what the internet would mean in the future Emily thought it was a huge waste of money that Jake was doing, she could just see a smart calculator that would cost a lot to be worth it. And there were a lot of other investments that Jake had that Emily was responsible for taking care of, of course. To do that Emily had authority and respect given, she was president of Jake''s investment company and received a huge salary directly from him. Plus she would get some of the profits from all Cisco stock when they were sold, Emily estimated that the 1 percent she now had was worth at least $ 10 million. "Hi Emily, you look pretty tired." "Of course I''ve been tired, you know how many things I have to take care of, I''m responsible for billions of dollars and I''m doing my best not to disturb you while you''re busy playing or training." "I know, I''m just kidding, it''s a shame you''re very busy right now, but in a few years I''ll hire a few more people to help you, and the investment company won''t do anything for a few years after that either." "I understand, this can be hard to come by because a few years with the investment company closed means a lot of money will be lost, I need only a few months of rest when this phase passes and I will be fine again." Emily didn''t complain much because she knew Jake was very talented and even busier than she was, and she was so happy to work with so much money, even her father had never had so much responsibility and it was all thanks to Jake. Even if someone offered her some quieter job that paid her better she wouldn''t accept it, she felt she would make a lot of money when Jake decided to sell all the stock that the investment firm cared for. She was no longer so stressed because she knew it was impossible for investors to lose money even if the bubble burst as many investment analysts said because investor money was already more than double invested. Also, thanks to the contract that Jake made with those who wanted to invest in the company, besides complaining who invested money could only trust that Jake knew the right time to sell everything, it was a contract she didn''t know for sure, but she knew no one would risk contesting this contract. Her father would also make a lot of money when Jake decided to sell these stocks, which showed how much better it was for her to work with Jake because there might be more opportunities for her and her father to get rich after that. "I told you to hire more people for the investment company to relax, but I know you keep going the same way as before checking the market, you don''t have to do that Emily, that''s what tires you the most." "You know how impossible this is, our company takes care of over $ 1 billion in investments, anything that happens in the stock market can make our company lose several million, me and I don''t know how you can be so calm about that." "Alright, let''s not talk about that anymore, tell me the investment company reports." Just as Jake asked Emily said the investment firm reports, with Matthew''s investments alone over $ 900 million, even Matthew was surprised to learn how much money he had and regretted not investing more at the end of last year. Even so, Matthew still wanted to just sell the stock and take all the money he was afraid of losing more money after, but Matthew knew that Jake didn''t care about his investment opinion, so Matthew just had to keep trusting Jake. The entrepreneurs who invested with Emily''s father had over $ 90 million at the time as well, it was three times as much as they had invested, so they also wanted to sell the stock if they could. Jake didn''t care what they thought because he knew that this money now was nothing compared to what they would earn over the next 3 years, that money would still multiply sometimes and they would complain in the future if Jake sold it all now. What also made investors sadder was the fact that 10 percent of the money they would earn would be given as a commission to Jake''s investment firm, at the moment was a lot of money, over $ 66 million, and would be even more in the future. After Emily said about the investments Jake had, Jake currently had over $ 40 million invested in equity, it was less than the others had because Jake also made other investments that would earn him hundreds of times that amount in the future. One such investment was the silicon valley company that Charlie and the others were working on to develop multi-touch technology, with nearly a year of investment and a lot of work the touch screen technology had already been developed. Jake received the test product and saw that it was very similar to what he used in the future, which gave him confidence that Charlie and the others were on the right track, maybe later this year or early 1998 Jake could apply for a patent that would make him a multimillionaire in the future. Just investing in the development of this product would make Jake have more money than with all the actions he invested, another investment, the best he had done so far was the Amazon company that would make him a billionaire in the future. "Amazon company as you may know officially made the IPO this year, you invested $ 12 million for 25 percent of the company''s stock, after the IPO you have just over 20 percent of the stock." "Jeff Bezos has asked to reassure you that his shares will not fall below 20 percent in the future of the company, his shares that have been further diminished, he has just over 35 percent of the shares." Jake knew Jeff was saying that because he still hoped Jake would support him in all his decisions as he had promised and not just decide to sell the shares now that they were much more valued as some investors had already done. "You can tell Jeff that I would still fully support all of his decisions and not sell my shares no matter what happens for at least 12 years." Jake could promise that because he knew what the future would be like and also needed to calm Jeff down so that he would work as Jake remembered in the future, that 20 percent of the stock would be worth over $ 80 billion. When the company is worth more than $ 1 trillion, Jake would have $ 200 billion worth of these shares, investing only $ 12 million a few months ago, so Jake didn''t regret not making any more money with Cisco shares. Of course Jake thought he could also help Amazon in a number of things in the future that would make him and Jeff Bezos even richer, Jake also knew it was only a matter of time before the media knew he had tens of millions of dollars invested in it only 18 years old. He hoped he had just finished college before that happened, Jake was using Emily''s name for the investment firm for the time being and hiding his stake from Amazon, so the media didn''t know he was the one who had so much money. After that Jake already told Emily some more details before leaving, the next day Jake went to meet Matthew, he had to talk to him if he could help anything in the company before he could go back to training. This time the conversation would not be in any restaurant, but in Matthew''s house, when Jake saw that Oliver was also in the house, and to his surprise Joseph was also in Matthew''s house. Of course Jake knew Joseph was on vacation from Princeton University, too, but he didn''t expect to see Joseph in Miami and hoped his friend was enjoying his vacation with Liza somewhere. "Joseph, how long I haven''t seen you, I thought I''d see you only when I finished college." "Jake, I missed you too, you''re very overdone, it''s been less than a year since we last met, with you working with my dad and grandfather on some holiday we were going to meet." "You say like this is a bad thing, as my friend I want to see you at least every month, it''s good to see that you''re fine and came to visit your family." "He came to visit the family because I sent him, it''s good to see you, Jake, you''ve been doing great things these past few months, me and Oliver have been following your games and your marathons." "Thanks, Matthew, I came here to talk to you and was expecting to see Oliver here, but I didn''t expect to see Joseph here really." "It''s like I said, if I didn''t order him to spend this vacation here in Miami he would be traveling around with his girlfriend, I should have broken up while Joseph was still in high school." "Stop talking about it, Grandpa, I''ve come here as you said and I really love Liza, you can''t separate us." "Because of this girlfriend of yours you don''t care about your family or your best friend anymore, Jake is much busier than you and yet whenever you can come to see his family and even us here." "That''s because he works with you." "You don''t know anything, Jake didn''t even have to come here because he''s a partner and not an employee of mine, he sees just because he wants to help, and you? The company will be yours in a few years and you don''t even mind coming here." "You see in the magazines, Jake has a much better girlfriend than his and yet see Miami every vacation and still works hard." Chapter 340 Busy Holiday 4 Jake was uncomfortable seeing Matthew fighting this much with Joseph, he hoped that meeting his best friend would be more enjoyable after so many months, but it turned out to be that way. Oliver seemed more used to it and seemed quiet and agreed with everything Matthew said, seeing that Jake was uncomfortable he guided Jake discreetly into another room so that Jake wouldn''t be in the middle of this fight. "Sorry you had to see this Jake, my dad has long been very unhappy with Joseph whenever they might end up arguing like that." "Alright, you''re in the family and it''s normal for everyone to fight, I shouldn''t be here, next time I''ll warn you before you show up." "Don''t say that Jake, you know we consider ourselves to be part of our family, that''s why my dad fought Joseph even though you were around." "Don''t worry about how Joseph treated you, he''s angry because my father made him come here on this vacation, it seems that Joseph is in a rebellious phase and is doing everything wrong, only his studies that are fine can calm me and my dad." "This rebellious phase of his started when he met Liza and that''s why my dad thinks she''s guilty of everything, the truth is that we''re very disappointed with Joseph." Oliver didn''t say anything, but they were so disappointed in Joseph because they had only Jake as a comparison of a young man of the same age, to all Jake seemed like a perfect young man who was talented, responsible, stayed with his family and still good at school. Compared to Jake who was all right, Joseph''s mistakes seemed far more serious than they normally would be, but even so, Oliver told Jake not to feel responsible, because it really wasn''t his fault. Jake was just disappointed because Joseph looked like he didn''t care about him anymore, for someone like Jake who had few friends and always valued relationships he didn''t expect Joseph whom he considered as a best friend didn''t care about him. After a while, Joseph had gone to his room and Matthew called Jake and Oliver to talk, Matthew still looked agitated and didn''t look like someone older having so much energy to fight with Joseph. "Sorry for making you see this Jake, I fought with Joseph around you because I consider you part of my family, Joseph has to improve a lot to have the ability to take over my business someday." "I understand, you have your reasons for being mad at Joseph, I came here today to talk about what has happened to the company in the months I was at university." "The company has been doing very well, as you know in February of this year we started selling the new camera we have been developing for many years ago." "Even though only a few months have passed since the start of sales, it seems that sales have been a success, many who knew our company expected a quality camera and were impressed by how our camera is superior to others in the competition." "Anyone who didn''t know our company is getting it right now because of this camera, some even said that if we sold this camera in Asia we could have great sales because they know good quality products." "I don''t think that''s a good idea, not good for a company that is still developing as ours wants to compete with the biggest companies in Asia, we better just keep trying to sell from Europe and America and spread the brand and name of the company with this product." Matthew agreed with Jake and didn''t want to challenge the best companies in the market yet, not to mention that they wouldn''t make so much money from having difficulty getting distributors and partners to sell cameras and still making a profit. "I agree with you, in these months we have also begun to prepare the development of our next digital camera on the market for a few years from now, with their councils we have already started the development and improvement of technologies." "Very well, as I said to you, it may be that the next camera of ours that should be ready in 1999 will be one of the last ones we will do before mobile phones become better known, then we will have to cut production costs a lot to keep selling and profiting." "Yes, I believe you, even though we don''t see any evidence of this happening we are preparing to reduce costs as much as we can, with our company getting better known we are getting great deals with suppliers." Matthew was someone with a vision and could see that cell phones were getting more and more popular in recent months, he could also see that the internet was getting popular too, so he could imagine that if a cell phone had internet and a camera it would sell much more than that his company''s cameras. That''s because Jake didn''t say that this phone would also have something more advanced than a Walkman, that should be hard to imagine today, but Jake was developing touchscreen and multi-touch to have a patent and then would develop the Android system. Just as Jake himself was preparing the technology that would make it all possible, Matthew even suggested that they create this modern phone themselves, but Jake knew that the costs to make it happen would be tens of billions of dollars. Maybe if Matthew''s company sold a lot in the next few years and Matthew decided to invest everything they would gain from selling Cisco company stock, maybe they could think about starting such a company. But Jake himself knew that he didn''t have the ability to run such a big company, not to mention that Jake would already be rich from Amazon''s stock without such a risk. But he would support Matthew if that was what he decided to do in a few years, maybe if other investors decided to go into this business it could be much more possible, but their gain would also be greatly reduced. But this was something that could only be seen after several years, the important thing was to earn as much as they could with this camera right now if Jake didn''t have a deal with the university and the basketball association he would make a television commercial Talking about the new camera. Now he would have to miss this opportunity and hope the company is strong enough to make sales of this camera better than the last camera and secure a few billion dollars for the company. Admittedly, they would earn more than their last camera sales, after all even if they didn''t understand technology, they could see that Matthew''s company products were of superior quality to others on the market, and this camera was much more superior than the camera that was sold a few months ago and only for a small extra price. Matthew suggested that since this was a much larger camera they could sell for a few hundred dollars more, but Jake was against it because even though it was superior to other cameras on the market, Matthew''s company already made more than half of its profit value. And this camera should have an attractive cost that would compete with the digital cameras of other companies in the market, so Matthew''s company would gain much more credibility in the market, in a few years the price of the camera would fall a lot and the quality would continue to improve. Also with the rise of camera phones, people would continue to buy digital cameras from Matthew''s company because they would know it is a fair price for a very high-quality product. After that Jake spent some time talking with Oliver and Matthew before returning home, after this conversation with Matthew he had temporarily settled all the business he had during the holidays. So he stayed at home with his mother for a while because in the coming months he would have to focus on training before the World Athletics, even if he didn''t need to train for marathons he had to enjoy all the time he had to train and improve to compete in more modalities at the next Olympics. The next day Jake went to training normally at the beach and Coach Davis went with him as well as the lifeguards who had been warned the day before that Jake was coming to train today, before Jake paused to record the commercials and take care of business, he was already getting used to Coach Davis''s triathlon training. Even though it wasn''t directly related to long-distance running, Jake understood that this was the best training for someone like him to do, Jake already knew how to keep pace in the race and everyone knew he had good stamina, he had also learned all the techniques you could learn from Coach Davis several weeks ago. So before training directly for the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter races, it was smarter to train the few weaknesses Jake had, in Coach Davis''s view, Jake already had enough to be able to run the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters races in a good time. But if Jake wanted to win the upcoming Olympics he would have to be as good at these races as he was with marathons, and just running was not enough, of course, if Coach Davis knew that Jake had the system he might not create such training. Even so, Jake was very pleased with this training that was clearly beneficial to him, even though he had the system and could push himself a little harder than other athletes to perform better. At the end of the day, Jake swam easily into the sea, rode his bike for several miles without tiring, and ran more than 8 km in the sand, seeing that Coach Davis saw that this training was no longer a challenge for Jake and that the next day they could increase the difficulty of training. Chapter 341 Busy Holiday 5 When Coach Davis said this to him, Jake agreed that he needed more difficult training, he had realized how good this training could be for him, and he also knew he could do more than that. After Jake had become accustomed to swimming in the sea, these trials were no more difficult for him, he also enjoyed a challenge and thought it might be better for him to make more training gains. Seeing that Jake had agreed to increase the difficulty of training, Coach Davis greatly increased the training load, swimming was 1 km at sea, cycling was 25 km and running in the sand 15 km. Coach Davis trained to be harder for Jake instead of being more evenly balanced to compete in the triathlon that was not the goal of this training, running was the easiest for Jake who normally ran 50 km at a pace to break the world record every day. So the 15km slow-moving sand wasn''t a real challenge for Jake, it was harder because it was just unsteady terrain and after swimming and cycling, so Coach Davis thought it was right to Jake. Riding the bike would be Jake''s easiest and swimming would be tricky, even though Jake had become accustomed to swimming in the sea that didn''t make swimming against the waves any easier, so swimming twice as far would be more challenging. Seeing this training load that was almost double what the lifeguards had once again looked out to help Jake if needed, Coach Davis who knew what Jake was capable of did not think Jake would have trouble doing this triathlon. Jake also went confidently to the sea because he knew he would only get tired when running on the sand, Jake had a harder time swimming the 1km in the water, even though he was used to swimming in the sea these past few weeks he tired his arms swimming in the sea. After all, it was different from running and even though he was still too stamina it was tiring for him, after leaving the sea Jake had no trouble doing the 25 km bike ride, even if it was the 180 km ironman Jake didn''t think he would have problems. So the coach did not even insist on increasing the bike path, after all, Jake''s daily training would only take longer on the beach and would not have much gain, when it came to the race part was much harder to run the 15 km on the sand. Even though Jake managed to finish all the running in the sand and so ended all the triathlon training, Jake found it tiring, but not so much when his daily training running the 50 km, the sand running and the swimming part was the most difficult and the cycling route was the easiest. While not striving for the best times Jake still managed to do the 1 km in 12 minutes at sea, 25 km in cycling in 30 minutes and 15 km running in the sand in 52 minutes, he didn''t push himself to the sand and nor in cycling, but gave the best he can in swimming. Jake thought he could run at a better time than this one on the sand, but he was in danger of getting injured if he tried to run faster and would get a lot harder to run faster on the sand. Even though he thought this training was better than before, he asked Coach Davis to increase his running and sand swimming and to reduce the part of his cycling path so that he would have the best training possible. Coach Davis told Jake to get used to this training first and then they would increase further, Jake accepted and was patient because they were still early June and had almost two months until the World Championships in Athletics. Jake hopes that before that they would start training for the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter modalities because after World Championships in Athletics Jake would have little time before he had to go to university. Jake was well aware that he could have more time next year and years to train before the next Olympics in 2000, but he wanted to see what he was capable of running, Jake knew he could win, but even really running he wouldn''t be comfortable with that. Over the next few weeks Jake continued with the training and besides staying at home with his mother did nothing else, Jake wanted to hide a bit from the media after what happened with Kate and she didn''t try to call him either. Jake knew he would have to wait several months before he could talk to Kate again because of what happened last time, he just hoped it wouldn''t take several years like last time. As sports and normal media forgot about Jake, his fame was growing more and more popular among the public, the news of Jake helping in the Miami Beach crash made people have a better opinion of Jake. Some people also remembered Jake because of his picture with Kate and others because of the various commercials in which he now appeared on television, Tiffany and Clara''s companies have already started promoting the ads they made a few weeks ago on television stations. All this plus the news about Jake in the sport meant that the audience couldn''t forget him, many movie directors like Director Crowe were already thinking of inviting Jake to appear in their movie next year. After a few weeks Coach Davis increased Jake''s training as he had requested, it was 2km of swimming and only 13km on the cycling path along with 30km of running in the sand. Taking the cycling path was more than half an ironman triathlon, after doing this training Jake finally felt he was struggling, the lifeguards thought Jake really deserved to be called Captain America because he was almost a superhuman. Several athletes were able to do an ironman triathlon and perhaps even more difficult races than that, but the lifeguards came to Jake doing almost half of the ironman in just over 2 months of training, which meant that if he had a few more months Jake could Compete in an ironman. This is because Jake wore no special clothes to help him perform and still ran the 30 km in the sand, meaning that if he had all the right equipment and clothes to do the triathlon and would run normally he could even finish an ironman normally. That was right because the normal run time for athletes in Ironman was just under 3 hours, Jake could run in just over 2 hours and 30 minutes even after swimming and cycling. It wasn''t that Jake thought cycling was an easier sport than the others, but he tried to make the 180km route himself and didn''t get too tired, that should be the equivalent of a running marathon as it was more than triple the distance. But for Jake, this was very easy for some reason, perhaps because of the system that improved all his physical statistics and stamina he was much easier with cycling than the other modalities of triathlon. Just as swimming for Jake was more difficult even though it was only a few km away, many athletes preferred swimming over cycling and running, while Jake preferred running and cycling over swimming, so much more challenging for him. After a few more weeks Jake had finally finished coach Davis''s different training, he had to prepare for the World Championships in Athletics, in those nearly 2 months of training Jake had felt that he had greatly improved his stamina and other things he wasn''t sure what. Soon after he ran the 50 km again as he always did before and still managed to run easily without any problems, but this time he felt that he was less tired after finishing running. Mainly because he was running on a track and not in the sand like before, so it was much better to run without fear of injury, after seeing that it was okay Jake began to prepare to run the other modalities. It would be almost the same as he normally ran, but he would have to run at a faster pace and for many fewer km, he would run a maximum of 12 km to do this training instead of 50 km so that the training would work out he would just have to run every km in 9 seconds less. So Jake would run the 10,000 meters in 27 minutes and 30 seconds, that was just over 29 seconds from the Olympic record, not a great time, but it was enough to be in the top 10 in this World Championships in Athletics he would participate for example. For starters Coach Davis asked Jake to try running at a pace of 4 seconds less than he normally did, Jake thought that would be very easy and really it was, he managed to run the 10,000 meters with ease and ran up to 12 km before be stopped by coach Davis. Coach Davis had hoped that Jake would be able to do that, but still, he couldn''t be surprised, with that time Jake ran the 10,000 meters in just over 28 minutes, in 28 minutes and 20 seconds, was a great time to an amateur athlete for example. With this Jake''s time done naturally, he would be able to finish tenth of the 10,000-meter race at the World Championships in Athletics, which means that Jake was already a high-level athlete in all long-distance races without ever having trained to this before. Chapter 342 Busy Holiday 6 From what Coach Davis saw Jake was able to do a much better workout than that, so he had Jake run again at a pace 2 seconds faster than the last time per km. Jake did it too, but with more difficulty, perhaps because it was the second time he made the 10,000 meters at this race pace, but that has already surprised coach Davis who was excited to see Jake perhaps win two gold medals at the next Olympics. Jake was also excited to be able to race at that time, he also had some knowledge of race times in the 10,000 meters race and knew he had a great time, it could be said that Jake never trained in this race. But in fact he had a great base for starting training, he was the best in the world in marathons and even in training, he had a great time besides having the system to help him, only the many years he trained already prepared him to start training. In addition, Jake knew that the system not only improved his endurance but also improved the agility that greatly helped him run faster than most athletes, so Jake could run at a great time even though he had never run at this pace before. This year he still had the opportunity to gain another point in endurance and agility by getting better for endurance events, meaning that this training would be even easier for Jake. This made him more excited instead of getting relaxed and quitting training, Jake was excited to know that after all this training this year and in the coming years he would be more likely to win more gold medals in the upcoming Olympics. Not to mention that Jake loved to run and the feeling of winning the races, whenever he won a marathon he felt very happy, so he had decided that he would run at least one marathon a year if he could for several years even though he was in the NBA. When Jake came home he was very happy and Eva was happy for him knowing that something good should be happening to her son, it was good to know that everything was fine, the restaurant was at peace again after Lola got used to the fact that Jake had a girlfriend. Eva knew that Jake didn''t really have any girlfriend, but she as a mother felt it was only a matter of time if this Kate really liked Jake, because she realized that Jake really did like Kate even if he didn''t realize it himself. Jake didn''t talk much about his training to Eva because she probably wouldn''t understand how he was getting better at training and if she did, she would be shocked like Coach Davis, so if Eva didn''t ask Jake wouldn''t say anything about it. After getting a good rest Jake resumed running the next day, he would do the 10,000 meters twice again because he and Coach Davis realized that Jake couldn''t stand running at his best. In training that day Jake would run twice the 10,000 meters at the same time he had done in the last training of the day which was 2 minutes and 48 seconds per km, with that time he would run the 10,000 meters in 28 minutes. In that time Jake could be considered an elite athlete in the 10,000 meters even if it was hard to win running at that time, but for the start of training was a very good time, Coach Davis wanted Jake to run in that time to get used to the pace of 10,000 meters. In training yesterday day Jake said he got tired of running at this pace the second time, so Coach Davis thought it was better for Jake to run at this time twice than at a faster time only once. Jake agreed with Coach Davis, but Coach did not know that Jake had a way of regaining stamina after running a long-distance training, running at a faster pace, leaving Jake powerless, but his muscles could handle more than 50 km race quietly. So just for training he could eat a stamina bar and regain energy and relax his muscles a bit, so with a 30-minute rest he could run up to three times the 10,000 meters. Coach Davis didn''t believe Jake would be able to do that because he knew how the 10,000 meters spent more stamina on athletes and running twice was already very impressive, but as Jake insisted he decided to do as Jake suggested. The first time Jake ran the 10,000 meters in 28 minutes much more easily, just as Coach Davis thought the second time he ran out of stamina and so lacked energy at the end of the race and Jake became more tired. After the first run, Jake went for a drink and asked for 30 minutes to rest, Coach Davis thought it was a good idea because Jake was training for the 10,000 meters and not training his resistance that needed to run without rest. So Jake did not save the stamina bar and already ate one not being so tired, Jake can already feel the tiredness fading and his energy coming back and so rested much better 30 minutes. As Jake had 41 points in the resistance statistic his body functioned differently from normal people and even his body recovery was faster than others, after 30 minutes he felt completely rested. Jake ran the 10,000 meters again in 28 minutes and was not tired at the end of the 10,000 meters, so Coach Davis had no choice but to believe that Jake was actually able to run the 10,000 meters 3 times. But since the training would be very fast with just 1 and a half hours max with Jake running 3 times Coach Davis suggested that Jake have a 1-hour rest each time, so in 3 and a half hours they could do all the training and Jake would have more time to rest. Jake didn''t think it was necessary, but he thought it was better to have 30 more minutes to rest, with 1 hour to rest each time. He would be much more sure that he could run 3 times the 10,000 meters at the best time he could eat the stamina bars. After an hour''s rest, Jake ran the 10,000 meters again in 28 minutes and began to feel tired even though he had eaten two stamina bars and rested for an hour and a half, but Jake and Coach Davis were already happy to have those three times run and train. Coach Davis agreed with Jake that now he should do marathon training one day and the 10,000-meter training the next day, on Jake''s next vacation next year they would try to improve the time on the 10,000 meters and start training also the 5,000 meters. Jake agreed with Coach Davis that it was best to wait and see what was the best time he could do at 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters because that would make him more willing to continue training. Not to mention that until next year on holiday Jake would run the Berlin and Tokyo marathon he could earn two more points in the resistance and agility statistics and be much better prepared for the marathon, the 10,000 meters, and the 5,000 meters. So with the World Championships in Athletics almost two months away Jake already had his training routine set and plenty of time to rest, at that time Jake also did the imaginative training to train basketball and spent a few hours on his court almost every day. Even though he spent no more than 5 hours in training every day, he spent the rest of the time spending with his mother or just relaxing, Jake could try to do other things. But at university, he would spend a lot of time with his friends and studying as well as training and playing a lot of basketball, so in those months before the World Championships in Athletics, he just wanted to spend his rest time. He might have wished he could try to meet Kate at this time, but he knew that was not a good idea because after what happened a few months ago she may have had more problems than him with the media and her fans and was better to her if they didn''t meet. Joseph was annoyed that he had to come home on this vacation and stay away from his girlfriend and so didn''t even try to talk to Jake, Jake was also angry about that and didn''t want to look for Joseph on this vacation. While he was thinking about what to do, he got a call from Emily saying he had someone who wanted to talk to him, knowing Emily Jake knew it should be important and decided to meet these two people. But first he needed to know who these people he had to meet, after all even if he had nothing important to do, he couldn''t just find anyone. "It''s some directors who are brothers, it looks like they had a project for a movie that will be shot next year and they wanted to see if you were interested in participating in that movie." "I would normally refuse this call, but it seems that these brothers have many contacts in Hollywood, and they seemed to be really sincere in presenting this proposal to you, as I know you have some interest in an acting career I thought you could at least talk about it for you." Jake really thought that was right, he was very interested in having a film career and he had already told director Crowe that he could only participate in a movie that was filmed during his vacation. So if these directors still wanted to talk to him about this movie, he at least wanted to know what this movie was. Chapter 343 Busy Holiday 7 The other day later after finishing daily training, Jake went to have lunch with these directors, he was so interested to know which movie it was that he even forgot to ask Emily what the directors'' name was. If it was a good script Jake didn''t even mind investing himself in the movie just to participate in another movie that was filming during his vacation, after all, it shouldn''t be a movie like Jerry Maguire he knew. After a while two brothers showed up and soon sat at Jake''s front table, so he knew they were the directors, they had a familiar face, but Jake couldn''t remember who they were. "Hi Jake, my name is Larry Wachowski and this is my brother Andy Wachowski, we are making a movie and when we saw you at the movies and commercials and decided to call you to participate in this movie." So Jake finally remembered where these managing brothers were and why he couldn''t remember both of them, that was because both of them, especially Larry Wachowski, looked different from what Jake remembered now. It was the Wachowski brothers who many years later became the Wachowski sisters, known as the Wachowskis They were both very famous directors in the future even though they were not so famous at the moment because their first big hit movie The Matrix ''had not even been filmed. Jake was a big fan of this movie and can never expect to meet the directors of this movie in person, and by the time he was excited thinking that maybe the two of them came to invite him to participate in the movie The Matrix, he would only refuse to be invited to play the role from Neo because he was a big fan of Keanu Reeves. "I saw the Bound movie you guys made, very good movie with very good social criticism, I had never seen a movie that talked about the lesbian relationship like that, I don''t know if I said it right." "No, that''s right, the movie talks about that and I''m glad to hear you liked it." "The next movie we are going to work on has a different style, it''s an action, science fiction movie and a story with a different point of view from society, it has a lot of visual effects that make the movie different." After the Wachowskis brothers began to tell the story of the movie that soon it was clear that it was The Matrix that Jake liked so much, they talking showed a movie a little different from what he remembered and part of their point of view about the film. Having seen the movie several times Jake can understand very well and even comment a few times after the Wachowskis brothers talk about a scene that could be made, to the Wachowskis brothers it would seem that Jake was excited about the movie and interested. Jake was really interested and excited about the idea of ??participating in this movie if it wasn''t for the character Neo and other main characters he didn''t even care about making a small appearance in the movie. "So this is the proposal for the movie called The Matrix, we haven''t picked all the characters yet, but we wanted to talk to you because we know you have a few months left to shoot." "This movie will be shot between March 1998 and August 1998, your part of the recording can be scheduled for months you can participate in that time." "I thought this movie was great and I''m sure it will be a great success, it''s exactly between these months that I can participate in the recording and then we''ll see the right dates, I just wanted to know what my character will be in this movie?" "Yes, I don''t think any of the characters in this story are right for you, but before you give the final script to Warner Bros. Pictures authorize, we had to create a storyboard." "And on this storyboard, a lot of our ideas were taken to show how the movie would look, one of those ideas was a character from Morpheus the Nebuchadnezzar''s hovercraft who would be friends with Neo." "This character ended up being cut short before the storyboard because it wasn''t so relevant to the story and because we couldn''t think of an actor who would be suitable for playing this character." "But when we saw you in the movie Jerry Maguire and in the commercials, we saw that you were the actor we thought of for the character, and you have a great appeal to movie fans as well as acting very well." "So before talking to you we talked to Warner Bros. Pictures and we said that if you participated in the movie we would have more fight scenes and more action scenes without changing the main story and the studio authorized you to participate if you wanted to participate." So Jake understood what was going on, but from what his talent for acting he was called because of him the box office of the movie Jerry Maguire increased so much, as they didn''t have a character in the movie that was his profile as an actor they decided to bring a character that had been deleted before. But Jake didn''t care about that because it was impossible for him to be called to a movie because of his ability to act because he only participated in a few minutes of the movie Jerry Maguire and many actors were called to movies just because the directors wanted to ensure a good box office and audience. "Could you then explain to me what my character would do in this movie?" "Yes, the character''s name would be Jev, Jev is someone from the Matrix who was rescued by Morpheus as well as Neo and other crew members of the ship, in the movie Jev would be a friend of Neo and would believe that Neo was the chosen one from the beginning." "Jev''s role on the ship was like a front-line soldier to help the team getaway should the agents show up, Jev is the best fighter on the ship and the only one who could fight the agents for a while before Neo appeared." "So he is an important character who will appear a lot in the movie?" "Yeah, sure, most of the fight and shooting scenes he will be in the scenes, and some scenes can be added with him in the movie to bring more action to the movie, it was just taken because we didn''t think of anyone suitable for the character before and why his story doesn''t change the story of the movie." Jake liked this character a lot and liked it even more because he would see a different The Matrix movie than he remembered, it would be better for sure because the main story was the same and would only have a character that would not change the story and would just bring more action to it. the film. "So I definitely agree to participate in this movie, it will be a huge pleasure for me and I''m sure this movie will be a success." "We can offer you a contract that will be $ 2 million as a fixed salary or 2 percent of the total box office." Even Jake was surprised by the high salary, even though they didn''t expect much from the box office, giving 2 percent to an inexperienced actor was too much for Jake, but in fact, the Wachowskis thought it was fair, that came from Jake''s current high fame as an athlete copy and the trades he made on television. Especially after the news that Jake could be dating famous singer Kate Annesley after that who didn''t know Jake came to know and many became fans of him even though he didn''t date Kate for his talent and his character after he saved those people. So it was true to say that Jake had great appeal to the audience and could increase the movie''s box office, after all an actor''s salary was often related to how much box office or awards he could bring to the movie, so in that case Jake could bring more box office than other more experienced actors. Jake, who knew how much the movie box office would be, accepted the 2 percent of the final box office, so he would make more than $ 8 million, a great salary for a first movie, the directors were also happy about it because Warner''s own studio Bros. Pictures had suggested this to the directors. "We are very happy to work with you Jake, we hope you do some martial arts training a few months before the movie, you will be the one who will have to train more than the others because you will fight more during the movie." So Jake knew it could be a problem because he would probably be playing while the others would be rehearsing the choreography for the movie fights, just as he knew that Yuen Woo-ping was the one who would teach the actors he could ask to spend a few months earlier with him to train. Before that Jake could even learn something from martial arts to learn things faster before shooting the movie, he knew that with his physical statistics and intelligence he could learn much faster than the others. If the actors took 4 months he could do in 2 months or less so he told that to the directors who said they would help Jake with that, they already knew it would be harder to work with Jake because he was not just an actor but he was the only one suitable for the character. So they got all the details right and the directors said they would talk to Jake later if they needed him for something, after all the movie would be shot only next year, Jake was excited about it and decided that he would strive to participate in the film and do the role well his. The directors also gave Jake some materials to study because he would need to know how to explain Matrix if needed, Jake had no problem with that because he was good at studying and also knew how to explain Matrix for watching the movie before and several reports about the movie. So Jake returned to the house very happy normally and Eva was happy about it thinking that her son was very happy lately for some reason. Chapter 344 Busy Holiday 8 After arranging his participation in Matrix Jake was very happy, even though he did nothing after that he could say he was a successful actor after making just this movie, and it was a movie he liked a lot. It seemed that everything was working out for him again, he was fine with basketball, with marathons, and he was already preparing to surprise the world again when he competed in other sports as well. His mother was fine with her friends as well as the restaurant and Eva was very happy, the businesses Jake was investing were all very successful that after a few years when he sold these stocks he would no longer have to worry about money for all life. His personal life was fine with all his friends Jake was able to make at university, and now with Kate who had everything to work out this relationship in the future, now even his dream of acting was coming true by making one of his favorite movies that It was The Matrix. The time had gone by since the accident in his past life and everything seemed to be going very well in this second life, Jake was very grateful for the system that helped him achieve all this and would also continue to strive to keep going well. The other day Jake resumed his normal training with Coach Davis as if nothing had happened, Jake knew he had to take his time before the break to train daily because when the basketball season resumed he would have to miss training on match days. On this vacation Jake also had a special gym training done by Coach Davis that drove Jake to his limits and focused only on athletics and not basketball, Coach Davis came up with this idea because he knew that in the months he was at university he had training that was just for basketball. Jake trained for a few more weeks and then July came and went, with less than one month left for the World Championships in Athletics maybe just Jake was more relaxed with his normal training every day. He knew and Coach Davis knew that even if he didn''t train Jake he could still easily win this World Championships in Athletics, Coach Davis was impressed that even though he was training at a faster pace than his own world record, Jake looked like he had improved a lot in the year he trained with him. Especially on the technical side, which for Jake had been almost nonexistent before, now he had greatly improved his posture in the race and even if it did not improve his time it still helped to lower his energy expenditure in the race. Coach Davis even suggested that Jake could improve his daily training time by increasing his running pace, but Jake denied it and said it was better to focus on 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters training before thinking about improving his own record his. Coach Davis was impressed by Jake''s dedication to track and field and realized that Jake was right, but in fact, Jake refused because he wanted to first win the two remaining major marathons and get 2 points in endurance and 2 points in agility before improve his time in marathons. After all, after these two major marathons, Jake no longer knew where he could get the most statistics points, he figured that ordinary marathons might not get any points like these six major marathons in the world gave. Of course, even if I didn''t get any more statistics points in the marathons Jake would still be satisfied with what he had and would keep running, after all, Jake knew well that with the more than 41 stamina points he would have after those marathons he would no longer need statistics to be the best in the world in long-distance races. Not to mention that he hoped to get more statistics from basketball games when he entered the NBA, Jake''s current goal with statistics was to have 50 points in each of his physical statistics. He''d be pretty close to that after earning his resistance points as a reward for major marathons, if he did that, Jake would surely have physical advantages over everyone else in any sport he played. Jake was just thinking about training nonstop until the World Championships in Athletics, but he can''t do that because after a few days of training two unexpected guests showed up at his house. It was Mark and David, Jake''s two former high school teammates, even though Jake matched everyone''s remaining friends, he didn''t expect anyone to show up before the internet age where it was so much easier to find anyone. "Mark, David, I didn''t expect to see you, it''s a nice surprise." "Hahaha, of course, we would show up here at one time or another, we played together on the same high school team and we were always good friends." "True, even more so now that you''re so famous, you''re appearing in almost every newspaper and magazine, a famous girlfriend, winning the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament and breaking a lot of individual records, we''re proud to have played with you." "Hahaha, thank you. I said you don''t expect us to meet anytime soon because I know you lived in other states before you came to play in Miami and now you are at university." "Yeah, but we got used to living in Miami after so many years since middle school, and my university is actually in Miami too." "Yes, mine is not in Miami, but this city is much better than my family and I used to live, my parents also got good jobs here in the city." Jake was glad to hear that, he didn''t know David went to a university in Miami, he must have made up his mind in recent years, and Mark was a different story, he remembered that Mark''s family preferred him to go for a good college than playing basketball on a good team at the university. "It''s good to know you''re going to be near Miami, you know that as long as my mom lives here and has a restaurant where I''ll always consider this place my home." "Yes, it was she who told us you were here during the holidays, we thought you were traveling or with your girlfriend." "Kate is not my girlfriend, it''s a more complicated story than you might think, but who knows what might happen in the future, but let''s stop talking about me, how was your first year at university?" "For me, it was very good, I did very well with my classes and my grades, in basketball my team is only in NCAA Division II, but at least I can play as a starting player, my team is very offensive just the way I like of play." "We did well in the conference championship, but we didn''t win or qualify for the NCCA Division 2 championship." "I also did very well in my classes and my basketball team is also from NCAA Division II like David''s, I played as a starting player and I''m the main player of my team, we haven''t had such a good season, but my style of game was highly praised." Jake understood that Davis must be really happy because he realized that he would never have the ability to play in the NBA one day, so he would rather play as a starter on an NCAA Division II team than always be a spare on an NCAA Division I team. But Mark didn''t look that happy, he had the talent and ability to play as an NCAA Division I team starter like Jake and even if he didn''t become an NBA player he would still be happy to do what he could. But because of his family, Mark had to choose a university that had better classes than one with a stronger basketball team, he even tried to get into Princeton, but they didn''t want him there because this season''s team was so strong. Jake felt sorry for his friend but didn''t know if Mark really had the talent to be a pro, but he hoped that Mark could do what he wanted and then see if it was right, now what he could do was support Mark in his decision. After that they were talking for a few hours about the year at the university, in fact, much of the conversation both asked what was going on at the UNC and Jake''s team that was the NCAA tournament champion. In fact, they were both very surprised when they saw on television how well Jake played well on the star-studded Tar Heels team and yet became the team''s best player and had such a great first season. They even thought to see that Jake couldn''t play as well as he could because the team was bad and he couldn''t play the best he could, that wasn''t true because Jake improved when he faced tough opponents. "I have a basketball court here at my house, if you wanted to play we could play some games to relax." "No, I don''t even think about playing like you are so good now, instead we go to a court near here that always has young people playing, we can make a three against three and win easily." Jake and Mark liked David''s idea and so they went to a place near the Miami beaches that David knew always had young people playing, it would be a little cowardly Jake who was almost professional and David and Mark who also played on college teams. But they just wanted to have fun and the other players were unlucky enough to face these three college players, they got there in David''s car because Jake''s car was in college. Chapter 345 Busy Holiday 9 Jake even considered buying another car to use when he was in Miami, but then decided to wait until he had more money, because he wanted to buy an even better car later, maybe when he got into the NBA he could buy an ideal car without moving in his investments. But it was better to go to the court in David''s car which was more common, Jake didn''t want to be recognized if possible, he wore sunglasses and a bandana to hide his hair, David and Mark laughed at Jake, but had to admit that He disguised himself very well. Jake was very famous after becoming a winning college basketball player and well-known marathon athlete, but in Miami, he was much better known than anywhere in America, it was much easier for someone to recognize Jake in Miami than in his own. his university. It wasn''t everyone who knew him, but if he just walked a street for a few minutes someone would surely always recognize him, on a basketball court that was almost certain to happen. Amazingly on the court was the place he didn''t stand out so much because of his height, many basketball players were tall and Jake could disguise himself better than in a mall. David soon went looking for people who wanted to play with them, soon three men showed up to play against Jake''s team, two of the men were tall and only one was smaller, but Jake and Mark were bigger than their opponents. Even though the opponents were not intimidated and soon spoke to start the game, Jake had brought one of his balls from his house to make sure they had no trouble playing, Jake agreed with Mark and David that he would pass the ball more than he would point to disguise. David said that was not right and it was better than Jake at least did some layups to disguise and Mark agreed, so Jake had to accept that, David would not play with the best Tar Heels scorer and allow Jake not to make any points, It was a waste. In a short time the game started and the opposing team started with the ball, the lower one was called Rick, he looked like a PG, the others were Joe who looked like a Center and Paul who looked like a PF. Just for this game Jake would mark Paul who was taller and David would mark Rick who was the smallest, Mark would mark Joe who was of the same height and position as him, Rick tried to feint at David, but David would not allow and defend well every time. David could play on a more offensive team, but he had to train hard on defense and of course he would improve this year at university playing, seeing that he could not pass by David, Rick passed the ball to Joe, Joe got a spin with speed and Mark followed Joe''s movement. Joe pulled back and attempted a hook shot to make the first 2 points for their team, Mark did not expect it and was a little embarrassed to have allowed his opponent to score. David didn''t care about that and then passed the ball to Jake to restart the game, Jake moved slowly to pitch and went to David again, David held the ball and made a quick feint to pass Rick and advance to make the 2 points with a layup. Rick took the ball to make another play for his team and Mark seemed determined to defend this time, Jake was calm and Rick realized this and passed the ball to Paul, Rick thought that Jake was calm because he didn''t care about the game and wanted to enjoy it. Paul tried to get past Jake a few times and realized that even though Jake was taller than he was also faster, so he tried a feint and Jake naturally didn''t fall, so Paul tried to get past Jake protecting the ball. Jake let Paul pass and Paul tried the layup to make the two points, Jake reacted quickly and made a block on Paul taking his chance to make the points, Jake advanced slowly and passed to David again. David tried to make a feint and failed and so passed the ball back to Jake, Jake made a quick pass to Mark who received the free ball and made a Dunk to make 2 points, Mark looked excited and David also to play with Jake again. So the game went on and Joe scored a few more points using the hook shot and Rick also managed to score a few points by getting rid of David''s defense, only Paul couldn''t score any points over Jake who made two blocks and one steal. So the opposing team gave up making moves with Paul to leave Jake alone, David and Mark realized that incredibly Jake had done much better in defense and was not even trying hard to defend against Paul. They were glad they decided not to play against Jake at his house, they would lose even if Jake didn''t play seriously against them, David was just having fun and Mark was annoying that Joe had made several hook shots on him and he couldn''t defend. Jake realized that Mark wanted to defend on his own to show what he was capable of, so he didn''t help Mark in defense, and Jake thought this Joe was very skilled even though he was just an amateur player. Jake played slowly and did not attempt any three-point shots, who saw that he really was a PF in this game, without doing what he normally did in games no one would think that Jake was that Tar Heels PG. As he was just having fun Jake made his signature moves he had created, the Ghost moves and the Elastic pass, even though his signature moves Jake didn''t use much in college games and so no one would recognize him. The Elastic pass was mostly used by Jake because sometimes a pass was needed that the opponent expected, but the Ghost dribbling was unnecessary against the university opponents, currently only with his agility and crossover Jake could easily pass the opponents. Jake didn''t want to use the moves he created so much that his opponents didn''t find a way to stop those moves, it was better to save them when needed or for the NBA, but for a game like that he liked to use. After a while, the game was 18 for Jake''s team and 12 for the opposing team, who scored the most points on the other side was Joe with 8 points were all making a hook shot that Mark didn''t know how to defend against. Jake saw that Mark was annoyed by it and decided to do something against it, he advanced the ball and passed it to David, David understood that Jake wanted to do something and passed it to Jake when he went inside. Jake stood with his back to the basket and used his strength to advance, Paul could do nothing to stop Jake who was much stronger, when he got close to the basket Jake pulled away and made a Skyhook Shot make 2 points. This Skyhook Shot which was the move that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar created when done well was impossible to defend against this move, Jake naturally had the necessary talent and was bigger than his opponent and can easily make the move. Joe who saw this understood that Jake was telling him that this was how to make a good hook shot, he was a little embarrassed to be proud of the hooks he made before, they would lose the game anyway. The others even wondered if Jake was any Center or PF from some professional or college team to play that well, but they couldn''t remember anyone like that and after Rick scored 2 more points, Jake made another Skyhook Shot and ended up with the game-winning. David and Mark had fun playing again with Jake and had to say that Jake was much better than a year ago, Mark was embarrassed because most points were made against him, but after a while, the three were laughing and they forgot of this. They played again before the three broke up and Jake returned home alone, who knows when they would meet again, but Jake was glad to see his former teammates. Being calmer Jake trained in the coming weeks with Coach Davis just as they had arranged before, one-day training for the 10,000 meters and the other training for the marathon. Jake was already running quietly three times a day the 10,000 meters with the best time he could that was 28 minutes, but as it was better for him to get used to running at the 10,000 meters pace was better than for a few months he keeps running at that pace. With a few days to go before World Championships in Athletics, Jake flew to Athens, Greece to join the US team to wait for the start of World Championships in Athletics and wait until the last day to compete. This time Jake was no longer an unknown novice but one of the biggest names in athletics in the world and was very well received by the other athletes, he can talk to Maurice Greene and Michael Johnson who were great names in athletics without being uncomfortable. Jake remembered that this was one of the worst years for the United States in this decade''s World Athletics World Championship with only 6 gold medals won, he could perhaps win one more gold medal for this team. He had the confidence to do that, but he had to wait for anything to happen so that he would not be disappointed after that, the American team seemed excited and hopeful to get many medals in this world. Chapter 346 Busy Holiday 10 On August 1, 1997, the 6th World Championships in Athletics officially started, Jake was not as excited here as he was at the Olympics, it was a great and incredible event, but something the Olympics lacked. Jake wasn''t as nervous as he was in the Olympics anymore because he knew he was the favorite to win the marathon, Jake just wanted to follow the finals that he knew the United States would win a gold medal and also the 10,000 meters and the 5,000-meter test. He would like to see the events that the United States would win and also the events he would play after a few years, as soon as the World Championships in Athletics began the days passed quickly. Zhang Yi can accompany the United States by winning some gold medals, he followed the proof that Maurice Greene won his first gold medal in international competitions in the 100 meters and also saw the 400 meters proof that Michael Johnson won the gold medal. He also saw the women''s 100-meter event that Marion Jones won the gold medal, after which he saw no further evidence that the United States won and only waited until it was his turn. Of course, he also saw the 10,000-meter race that Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia easily wins and saw the 5,000-meter race that Daniel Komen from Kenya won, these were the most important events Jake saw because it could be him winning at future. Since Jake already knew his current time was enough to win the seventh place in this 10,000-meter race, of course, he wouldn''t want to run just to finish seventh, but that already showed how he had a great time already proof. If Jake did as Coach Davis wanted he could have some training time to easily win this race in the future, but Jake wanted time to break the world record and be one of the best athletes in the world. After all, he could relax in the marathons he was running at the Olympics and in the worlds because he could break the world record where he wanted in official marathons around the world, but in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters he could not do that because he would only run in World Cups and Olympics. The days passed and soon came the day of the last day of the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, this time just as Jake knew it would be the United States was not as well as in other worlds, so the excitement of the American team athletes was no longer so big. But this day was different and everyone was excited because they knew it was marathon day and Jake was the favorite to win this marathon, as Jake had won this year two marathons a few months ago was almost certain that he was in great shape to win today too. So in the morning before the marathon began when athletes were warming up for the marathon Jake was the center of attention, Mart¨ªn Fiz who was the current champion of this world championship having won in 1995. But even the best time of Martin Fiz''s career was not close to the time Jake ran this year, everyone knew that Jake had not missed a marathon that had competed since New York a few years ago. And he had won several since then, which gave more pressure to the other marathoners who were competing in this marathon when the marathon started everyone rushed to try to win and maybe only Jake was calmer. "We are now starting to follow this marathon in this World Championships in Athletics here in Greece, in a little over two hours we will see who will win and win another medal in this event." "There are many who can win this marathon like the Spanish athletes who are doing very well in the last world championships, we have Abel Ant¨®n and the champion in 1995 Mart¨ªn Fiz, but the biggest favorite for sure is Jake Smith who is the current Olympic champion and who has the world record in marathons." "Sure enough, Jake Smith is the favorite in this marathon today, he''s doing very well this year beating the Boston and London marathons even competing in both marathons in the same month and right after leaving a tiring college basketball season." "After more than three months of rest I think he''s in great shape for today''s marathon, and the two marathons he won were under 2 hours and 8 minutes, a really amazing result." "He is certainly one of the best athletes in the world today and only 18, he is also the hope of the American people to win another medal in this World Championships in Athletics that has been having one of the worst performances of the American team." As Jake had always started at the same pace that he ran in training, this steady pace was the key to winning marathons without wasting much energy, in the first few km he still encountered other athletes running at a pace more similar to his. But after the 4km incredibly, the athletes began to slow down since the start of the marathon and Jake took the lead by running alone, with no athletes to run along Jake knew he would spend a lot more energy. Still keeping the same pace was the most important thing for Jake and he was used to running much faster in training for 50 km and alone, after the 10 km race, Jake had already opened a big advantage of the second group and kept running. "Jake is already well ahead in the lead running at the pace he normally runs in other marathons, the other athletes seem much slower than usual and so Jake had to run alone from the first few km, which could hurt him at the end of this marathon and lack of energy." "He probably knows that well and yet decided to run at the same pace he''s used to, we all know that pace is much more important in a long-distance race even to conserve energy." "That''s right, winning a lot of marathons Jake has already proven he has a lot of stamina and that he can beat this marathon even running alone from the start. Jake didn''t really care about that, all the elite athletes had their own race pace and the final time of the race winner for what Jake remembered wasn''t that bad, but he would run at the pace he knew was the way to go that he always trained. In the last km, Jake could preserve his stamina by running more slowly, but in the first km it was important for him to maintain a strong running pace, after the 20 km marathon Jake was 58 minutes long and was very much in the lead. The runner-up was over 5 minutes behind him which was well over 1km, the other athletes who knew Jake was already getting anxious because they knew that Jake should be far ahead in the race. Normally Jake only slowed down the last few km of the marathon, by then the other athletes would be many km behind him and even Jake''s slower pace was the normal pace of the other athletes. They could only hope that Jake would run out of energy for the last few km so that he could lose the first place, but that was hard to come by, Eva who was watching the race at home and Coach Davis were already quiet waiting for Jake to win in that race marathon. After the 30 km, Jake had run in 1 hour and 27 minutes, the runner-up was 9 minutes behind which was almost 3 km away, realizing this and having expended a lot of energy in this marathon Jake began to slow his running pace slowly. "Jake now, as in other marathons is already slowing down to manage the lead until he wins, he is almost 3 km ahead of second place, with an incredible advantage he can slow the pace at ease." "Jake really is the best marathoner in the world today, it''s amazing what he can do at just 18 years old, he wins the marathon at the last Olympics and is winning this marathon at the World Championships in Athletics, are the two main competitions for athletes and Jake is winning." "He is also the current world record holder and has won 4 of the world''s top marathons, and he has won in Chicago twice, no one can doubt that he is the best marathon player today." "In this marathon, the other elite athletes from other countries have run at a very slow pace and so since the start of this race Jake has been leading the lead on his own from the start." "This is something that does not happen in the marathons he competes in America, where athletes who know they have no chance of winning know that Jake has a very strong excellent pace and so they run with him for more than half of the marathon." "It started a few marathons ago and in the last marathons that happened in New York and Boston the athletes who ran in Jake''s group got great finishes at the end of the marathon." "This could have happened in today''s marathon, all athletes running today are the elites of the countries and can run up to 50 km at a fast pace with the right control, so athletes who know they had no chance of winning could try to keep up Jake''s pace and maybe in the top 3." "It''s true, I don''t know if anyone thinks about it, but if I was an athlete who didn''t think about winning I would definitely run with Jake, everyone knows that running with him is to guarantee a stable race." Jake didn''t know what the commentators were saying and just kept running slowing down he enjoyed running in groups because it could save a lot of energy and stamina, and also because he had confidence that even running with a great athlete could win over the last few km by increasing the pace of racing. Chapter 347 Back for the Sophomore Year 1 Of course, the commentators couldn''t know that Jake could run faster than his own world record when he wanted to, so it was natural for them to think that way, Jake kept running smoothly. After running the 40km marathon Jake still had a big lead in second place, at this point, it was clear that Jake would win this marathon, Jake was running at a slower pace just to make sure he wasn''t even tired after running these 40 km. After earning two resistance points this year by winning both major marathons and gaining strength points, he had no problem winning a marathon even running at the pace he was training. Even more, after he went through Coach Davis''s resistance training that was preparing Jake for long-distance running, even though he tired more running alone he had spent less stamina for running using some techniques he learned from Coach Davis. When Jake crossed the 42 km and entered the Olympic Stadium it was certain that he would win easily, American fans and sports fans applauded Jake who was winning one more marathon and one more gold medal at the World Championships in Athletics. "And Jake wins this marathon at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, it''s certainly well deserved for what Jake has been doing in the last few years in marathons." "It''s true, Jake wins another gold medal for the American team that underperformed the World Championships in Athletics one year." "Let''s wait and see if Jake will run another marathon later this year or now focus on college basketball again, I''m sure he''s bringing a lot of pride to UNC by winning that gold medal." Jake received one more gold medal later and was proud to receive just as he did after the Olympics, Jake hoped that in the next few years he could win many more medals like this and maybe other medals as well. Jake eventually found a reporter who was interviewing the other athletes who won and who performed well at this World Championships in Athletics, Jake usually did not give interviews after marathons, but as the reporter was in front of him Jake could not just leave. "Mr. Smith, may I have an interview with you?" "Yes of course." "Thank you so much, what did you feel after you first won a gold medal in a world cup?" "It is very good, it is a great pride to win such a marathon with the best runners from various countries, especially since today I am representing my country which makes this victory more special." "How do you feel when you''re just 18 and already having major achievements such as a gold medal in the Olympics and World Championships in Athletics and winning several of the world''s top marathons?" "I think age is not very important in sport, anyone at all ages can win a race if they have the best performance on marathon day, I''m just happy to think that for my current age I can go on and on for several years running for more marathons." "And this year do you plan to participate in any other marathon or will you focus on basketball again?" "I plan to participate in one more marathon this year at least, maybe I can do another one before I focus fully on basketball." "One last question, what did you think of the American team''s performance at the World Championships in Athletics this year?" "I thought it was a very good performance, the athletes from my country worked as hard as I did and we couldn''t win more gold medals this year because the competition was so tough and the athletes from other countries were better." "Thank you for your time and congratulations again for winning the gold medal." "Thank you." Jake didn''t like these interviews very much because sometimes reporters might ask a question that made the athlete uncomfortable and might give the wrong answer, as well as the question of what Jake thought about the performance of the American team. Even though Jake has relieved the American team and praised athletes from other countries which might be a good answer, he may have offended athletes from other countries who have competed in the World Championships in Athletics in other years that the American team won several medals of gold. But he was happy for the victory and so didn''t care much about it, at the end of the day Jake went to a dinner party with some of the American athletes who won medals to celebrate this World Championships in Athletics. Jake couldn''t drink, so he stayed for a short time at dinner so as not to disrupt the fun of the other athletes, the next day Jake would return to Miami to spend time with his mother until it was time to return to university later this month. Jake wanted to see what the other players on the team would be like when they found out that Coach Dean Smith had left the team, he figured it would come as a surprise to everyone, but it wouldn''t be a problem for the team''s performance because he remembered that the team would have a great performance this year. He hoped that by what he did last year on the team and with coach Guthridge in charge of the team he could play much longer and thus achieve better personal results than last year. At the hotel resting Jake was happy in the room because he got the news from the system that he had received 1 statistic point in each physical statistic for winning the marathon at the World Championships in Athletics. Jake didn''t count on those statistic points, but he thought he might end up getting to be a major international competition for athletes, even after a few years that points to win the major circuit counted, the points in the World Championships in Athletics also counted. "Fate, show me my statistics on my third job." [Here it is.] Statistics Jake ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 18 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 42] [Agility 39] [Resistance 42] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung A] [Iron Body A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Seeing his stats Jake was happy to see that he was improving a lot because he could gain 1 more stat point in resistance and 1 stat point in agility after winning another major marathon. That would help Jake a lot in marathons, and also when he needed his agility to run in close-ups, even the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter events could be easier with more agility points. Strength was important for Jake in basketball as well, even though he thought he had more strength than even the strongest Center and players from other positions in the NBA, it was important for him to play and also to increase accuracy in the three shots points. Jake always trained hundreds of three-point shots every day he could to get a few more stamina bars that he gets as a reward for making many three-point shots, so he could see that after hundreds of tries his accuracy was better now than before with 4 points less strength. But in the game, he didn''t know if this minimal improvement in accuracy could make such a difference, after all, Jake already had an incredible accuracy rate of over 70 percent in games, and that was an average of 8 shots of three points per game. So he didn''t think this accuracy could improve much with just a few strong points, he realized that when the system said it could have nearly 80 percent hit rate with more than 50 strength points it was more or less correct. After all, 4 strength points didn''t make much of a difference in accuracy, so maybe 8 more strength statistics could increase some hit rate points, and the accuracy also depended on his three-point shooting skills and some of his lucky too. In the NBA he knew that his accuracy would only be lower because the opposing players in defense would only be better and the pressure for him to hit would only be higher, so the strength statistic was just one of the factors for Jake to hit more. Even so, Jake was pleased because he knew that thanks to the system he had a big advantage over other basketball players, proof of that is the 70 percent hit rate with 8 out of three shots per game. That number this season could increase to as much as 11 per game and the hit rate would decrease, but Jake would be happy if he scored more points for the Tar Heels team even if he had a lower hit rate. The other day Jake returned to Miami and celebrated again with his mother and Anna when he got home, Jake still avoided going to the restaurant because in less than 15 days he would go to university again and did not want to cause unnecessary trouble for anyone. Maybe by the time he got back early next year Lola had already forgotten about him and everything was going to be the same as before, his mother and Anna were so grateful that Jake understood that and didn''t bother with it. They were amazed at how Jake had become arrogant after all he had achieved even though he was so young, he was very rich, handsome, famous, and achieved a number of achievements to make anyone arrogant, but still humble around people. Also, even though she was excellent as a child, Anna and Eva realized how Jake matured and became a responsible adult over the years, he didn''t make many mistakes before. Jake wouldn''t be proud if he knew his mother and Anna thought that of him, because he always had an adult mentality and only his age as a child, so it wasn''t for him to have matured with a few years. Chapter 348 Back for the Sophomore Year 2 But if it was to say he got any better Jake could be happy about it, it could be true that his young body might have affected his personality a little in those years, also had the fact that Jake had suffered so much in his past life and have been very antisocial. Everything about this life of his was very different from what he experienced in the past life at the same age, he had other opportunities and had another mindset to make different and more correct decisions, not to mention that with his mother not working and happy it was all different. Jake also had more friends, more money, more work, and even in love relationships he had more experiences than in 40 years of his past life, it was a different and happier life than Jake had. That day Jake received calls from all his sponsors who were very happy with Jake getting this gold medal, now Jake was even more beloved in America as a sports hero than before. Jake''s nickname was spreading and his fame as a winning athlete was also increasing, because Jake was different at just 18 years old, winning so many times and still playing basketball, even people''s interest in marathons and athletics, in general, It was increasing. The television audience of this World Championships in Athletics was the largest in history and by far the difference, as Jake was running in the marathon the world audience at the World Championships in Athletics peaked. This was good for everyone, and even the athletic associations in the United States and the world were spreading more about Jake''s achievements in promoting the sport in general, which was great for Jake''s sponsors. If the internet were more used in these years this disclosure would be much greater, who was happy with it was also the sports agent of Jake David Falk and who was sad about it was Nike who missed the chance to reach an agreement with Jake before offering a better offer. Now Jake was a sports idol and was sure to star in the NBA, so Nike''s next offer to Jake would have to be a few times bigger to get a deal with him if they didn''t lose that chance to the other sports companies of shoes. Many companies were also thinking about how to get a sponsorship deal with Jake, some even had some unofficial conversations with David Falk about it, but he was clever and didn''t confirm anything. That''s because David was confident that Jake''s value would increase greatly in the coming years until he entered the NBA, at least he could wait until the end of next college basketball season if the Tar Heels team won again Jake''s value would increase even more. Of course, this was all a hypothesis and none of this could happen, but if Jake played worse this season even if he had a contract signed earlier the company could just forget about that deal when Jake joined the NBA. Unbeknownst to Jake and David, Alan''s company and John''s company also planned to offer a new sponsorship deal with Jake in the NBA, even though Jake said he would not renew this NBA contract, they intended to offer Jake a millionaire offer and also appeal to Jake''s loyalty that has already been proven in those years of contracting with Tiffany and Clara''s companies. In those years that they had a sponsorship deal with Jake, they had more sales than ever before. Last year the company sales increased by almost 50 percent, so for a big company like theirs that was too much for them to miss out on. Big companies like theirs usually had to invest millions a year in sponsorship just to stay in the market with competitors as rich as the leading companies in the market, even if they spent more than 10 million to increase their sales by hundreds of millions of dollars would be very worth it. But that would be hard to come by because the biggest companies in the industry in this area had already realized this and could offer an even bigger offer than they did to Jake, this was something neither Jake nor David Falk could expect. After all this Jake can spend the next few weeks with his mother just relaxing and talking, he talked to Joseph and Matthew a few times in those weeks, the sales results had not come out, but Matthew already knew it was better than the sales of the last year which excited him and Jake a lot. So Jake was much more relaxed than anything that happened this year and last year, so by the end of the month Jake was ready to go back to university, this time he knew everything he had to go through that he could hardly relax until the month May of next year. Eva wasn''t so sad about Jake going to university this time either, she knew this was best for Jake and that soon Jake would be back again to spend a few months with her, in fact, Eva was a little relieved because with Jake at university Lola would be quieter. When Jake returned from university Eva hoped that everything would be resolved and that Lola could finally accept that she couldn''t be with Jake anymore, because Eva had a feeling that a lot would happen next year in Jake''s life. She felt that Kate who seemed to be far away, for now, would go into Jake''s life at once next year and would not go out anymore, as a woman Eva understood what Kate felt more than Jake knew and even though she wasn''t famous as Kate was she knew the heart was the same for everyone. When Jake returned to university he could meet friends in the dorm who had already returned, they no longer had to stay in the dorm this year because of a university obligation, but they all got so close that no one in the room wanted to leave the dorm. In fact, they thought it would be Jake who could come out of the dorm because they had already heard that Jake received millions of dollars a year of sponsorship and so should be very rich, but when Jake said no, no one else thought about leaving. Zack was the most relaxed after returning to college because even though he had stayed home on this vacation he didn''t have to travel because his home was close to the university. So for Zack, nothing changed in this vacation, Jake was very pleased because it seemed that Zack ran almost every day in those university vacation months, even without Jake to inspect Zack still ran because he found he loved it. Now Zack could run up to 30 km a day if he worked hard and in very good time for an amateur runner, this was much more than other amateur runners needed to do to run a marathon just thinking of completing the marathon. Jake had promised that if Zack had a satisfactory training time he would take him to run a marathon, so this year he thought and saw that he couldn''t take another date to run a marathon in North Carolina. "Zack, you did very well in your training this year, you may have done more preparation than was necessary because of my training, but even if you ever think about giving up running this training will be great for your health." "I know that Jake, I appreciate everything you did for me, I know how busy you are and yet you took some of your time to talk to me and bothered to prepare this training for me and encouraged me to run." "Even though at first it was hard to have you running with me it gave me the strength to carry on and now I know I can say that I love running and have no difficulty running up to 20 km a day without getting tired." "It''s true Jake, if Zack can get a girlfriend even though he''s ugly like that is because he has an athletic body for training with you." Listening to what William said, the three of them laughed together, Zack always played with each other and now didn''t even care much that Jake and the others played with him that way, that''s how their friends were. "As I promised you if you want you can go with me to Chicago to run the marathon this year in October, I think you are prepared and this is my gift to you, it is my favorite marathon and I think you will enjoy running there too." "Of course I want, you can count on me to go there with you, thanks, Jake." "You deserve this, and you William, want to go with us there?" "No, I''m not even going to run with you, I''d rather watch on television you win and Zack be ashamed to go to Chicago and not finish the marathon." The three of them played some more and then went to rest, Jake had not yet returned to training with the basketball team and just the next day would return to do the daily training with Zack. Aaron was not in the dorm because he was training hard now, after completely recovering from the injury and doing the physical therapy exercises Aaron felt he was doing as well as before the injury. Now he was training harder because soon the university would be testing to recruit more athletes for the university''s American football team, so from what Jake saw from Aaron''s training he didn''t think he would have trouble joining the team again. Jake highly respected Aaron who after a year away from football had returned after an injury and what the university did to him, Jake didn''t think he could do that and would definitely go to another university after recovering. Jake was thinking that he might help Aaron with training a few times, after all with his physical statistics and his training, Jake was better than some university quarterbacks. Chapter 349 Back for the Sophomore Year 3 By the end of September Jake would still have to go to Berlin to participate in this marathon, this was a marathon that Jake wanted to participate even if he didn''t have to run all 6 major marathons. Besides being in a country that has a great history, it was considered the fastest marathon in the world ever, if it wasn''t because the Chicago marathon was Jake''s favorite he wouldn''t mind breaking his own world record in that marathon. Maybe if he had an interest in doing that and if he was feeling well that day he could break his own world record in Berlin, but it was something he would have to see at the end of the month. What Jake knew was that he would have to break his world record this year again to shorten his time, because even though he remembers that his record should stay for a few years next year in Berlin a Brazilian athlete named Ronaldo da Costa will only run 3 seconds above this record. And in 1999 someone will run almost 1 minute below his current record, so by that year that Jake had gotten a lot of stamina and agility stat points, he was thinking of improving his current record. He could slightly lower the record this year and next year do it again, or he could run at a time that guaranteed his world record would hold for several years, that was the only doubt he had because Jake had the confidence to break his record when he wanted to. This year at the World Championships in Athletics Jake had finished the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 2 seconds, because he knew he could win even by slowing down and also making time above 2 hours and 8 minutes. So when he broke the world record he would impress everyone running more than 2 minutes faster than his time, but that was only for the end of the year and there was still a long time before that happened. After a few days at the university, classes had started and Jake was finally called to the Dean Smith Center for the basketball team to meet for training, he hoped it would be now that Coach Guthridge would take over the team and say that the coach Dean Smith had left. Coach Dean Smith''s retirement was different from what Jake remembered in his past life, it happened well before and Coach Smith should have decided to retire after winning the NCAA tournament last season. So Jake who was very discreet received no question from any reporter about Coach Smith''s retirement as Jake remembered that several players were asked in Jake''s past life. Just as Jake expected Coach Guthridge and Coach Smith were on the court and the mood seemed to be tense on the court, the rest of the coaching staff were present and even some representatives of the university administration were. "Well, today you were called because I have a very important announcement to make, after coaching this team for 36 years I decided that I would retire before this year''s season started." When coach Dean Smith said these many players were shocked and few expected it, after that some players were more thrilled and seemed to be almost crying. Jake knew that some players like Shammond Williams and Antawn Jamison were very fond of Coach Smith and treated him like a father, Vince Carter and even Ed Cota were like that, other players were thrilled as well. Although Jake had some problems with Coach Smith, he also respected and liked him very much, he was just not shocked and not too sad because before entering university he had expected to train with Coach Smith for only 1 year. But if he didn''t know that before he would be shocked too, other players like Ed Cota who hoped to play the four years with Coach Smith should be more shocked by this, everyone knew he was a great coach who was legendary across the country and not just at UNC. "Don''t be so sad, I had decided that after winning my third NCAA title last year, it was the best retirement gift you could have given me, I''m already 66 years old and I want some time with my family now." "I already talked to the university while you were on vacation and they agreed to leave Coach Guthridge as a coach for this season at least, I would like to thank you and all of you players who have given me so much joy in my last years as a coach." "Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Antawn Jamison, Ademola Okulaja, Ed Cota and Jake Smith, thank you very much for your victories last season and all the other players as well." After that Coach Smith spoke a few more words and was so thrilled with the players and even Jake was thrilled to hear Coach Smith saying goodbye, it was time for the retirement of one of the best college coaches and all American college basketball. So the players were excused from training until after another 10 days and Jake learned that the other day Coach Smith would hold a press conference announcing his retirement, the university would be very busy this year with the family of players who would call the university. After all many of the parents agreed to enroll their children at this university because Coach Smith was on the basketball team, it would now be difficult to prove that Coach Guthridge could do a great job as well. Jake even called his mother to tell her not to worry and rest assured that Coach Guthridge was very good too, in fact having Jake on this team would help a lot to tell the athletes'' parents to trust that the team would play well this year. Jake remembered when he had dinner and a farewell party at the end of last season for Serge Zwikker and his friend Charlie McNairy, they both graduated from university last season and Jake made sure to organize something to say goodbye to them. Zwikker was one of the best players on the Tar Heels team last season and the rebounds he took helped Jake and the whole team win a lot of games, and Charlie McNairy has become a good friend of Jake since the beginning of the season. Charlie was also the one who took Jake into the fraternity and helped Jake get along better with the team, so Jake intended to remain his friend after graduation, of course in the coming years this was hard to come by, but Jake knew about the internet and I counted on that. In these conversations Jake ended up saying what they both thought would happen if Coach Smith retired, they spent many years with Coach Smith and couldn''t even imagine Coach Smith who had been coaching the Tar Heels team for 36 seasons to suddenly retire. Now Jake saw how shocked all the players were about this, he thought it was good that he was prepared for it and so didn''t shake as much as the other players, the other day Jake saw Coach Smith''s retirement press conference. It was amazing to see how many newspapers, magazines and television shows just talked about it in the next few days, Jake saw the university students and alumni thrill about it and even his former player interviews with Michael Jordan. Coach Smith was a legend in the sport and had an incredible winning record, thanks to Jake too he can wrap up his career with a 34-season finale and just 2 losses and ACC tournament champion and NCAA title. So it was his third NCAA title in his career, something that was amazing in all college basketball, so it was not wrong to say that perhaps the best college basketball coach of today was retiring. Coach Dean Smith was also important in the college basketball social issues and was respected by everyone so having lived close to coach Jake could understand more and respect that coach. Jake was also called in to talk about Coach Dean Smith''s retirement by a reporter, as many players in the current team and former players said it was not right that Jake would not talk about it being the main player of the Tar Heels team and college basketball at present. "Mr. Smith, you knew about Coach Smith''s retirement before this announcement." "They never said any of this to me and Coach Smith didn''t say anything to me before the holidays." Jake had to be careful with that answer because he already knew about it, but since no one had ever talked about it to him it looked like he could be lying if he said he already knew. "And what are you feeling knowing about this news?" "I think it''s a shame I can''t have him coach this season anymore, he''s a great coach and was instrumental in winning the team last season, it was an honor to be able to play with the team he coached last year and still be able to win the NCAA title." "Are you worried about the team this season?" "No, it''s certainly a big loss that Coach Smith has retired and great players have also left the team like Serge Zwikker, but our team is still going strong this season and I trust Coach Guthridge can do a great job too." "So you are confident that the Tar Heels team can win the NCAA tournament this year?" "I''m confident about that and I think my team has the ability to do it again like we did last year, but anything can happen in basketball." "Thanks for the answers, Jake." Jake''s interview was very good showing the confidence he had in him and the team and especially coach Guthridge, he also said only good things about retiring coach Smith who spoke well of Jake also in an interview. Chapter 350 Back for the Sophomore Year 4 This calmer Jake interview helped the university calm down the players'' family and show that everything would be all right, the other star players on the team were very shaken by the revelation that Coach Smith was retiring and seeing calm Jake helped the university. This was natural because Jake already knew about it, but it showed people that he had better control over his emotions, in the next few days Jake was calmer with all this and continued with his marathon training with Zack. They also interviewed Eva about Coach Smith''s retirement and she was neither shocked nor worried about it, she had rarely seen and spoken with Coach Smith because it was Coach Guthridge who spoke to her more often and Jake told her that everything was fine. Coach Davis had also returned from Miami and was at the hotel where he had previously lived with his family, he just had to supervise Jake''s training because temporarily he had nothing more to teach Jake. When his basketball team training resumed Jake would stop the current training he was doing at the gym and start using only basketball player training just like the whole team did. After more than a week of training with the basketball team returned just over 10 days before Jake''s marathon, he had already talked about it with Coach Guthridge after everyone learned about Coach Smith''s retirement. Coach Guthridge was the one who took Jake to the team and knew how well Jake was dedicated to training and an excellent player, so he would naturally allow Jake to miss a few days of training to run a marathon. After all, it was almost certain that Jake would win this marathon and it would only further improve the image of the university and the Tar Heels team, Coach Guthridge had hoped that the team could win the NCAA title this year as well. That would be great for the university and it would be even better for him as a coach this year, he did not intend to have a long career as coach of the Tar Heels team and if not well could leave even before the end of this season. But if he could, he would like to win an ACC tournament and maybe also an NCAA tournament, so when he left the team he would be more proud of what he did, and he knew he would have to rely on Jake to do that. Just as Jake had told Serge Zwikker that it was the team''s Center graduated and now the team had no Zwikker-level players for that position, Coach Guthridge was perhaps considering using Makhtar N''Diaye to play as Center if needed. But upon further thought he decided to do something bolder with the team formation, the Tar Heels team last season was one of the teams that took the most offensive and defensive rebounds. It was often Zwikker who caught the most rebounds, but that was because he was taller and better positioned most of the time, the other players like Jamison, Carter, Okulaja, Williams, and Jake also being great at rebounding. Because of Jake on the team and the team having great players many skilled players sometimes had to take turns to play, only Zwikker, Jamison and Jake stayed on the court almost all the time for the extreme quality they had. But with Zwikker out of the team maybe Okulaja could play longer on the court and Williams, Carter and Ed Cota could take turns in two positions to play longer on the court, Williams and Carter would play longer just like last year and Ed Cota could have more time to play than you had last year. In games that the team needed to attack more Okulaja could come out and the team would be more offensive than ever with Jake, Jamison, Carter, Williams and Ed Cota playing together, Jake was an excellent PG and was what organized the team, but Coach Guthridge, I knew Jake could play as PF and Center for a few minutes if needed for defense. Those were the thoughts Coach Guthridge had, and he thought it might work, with Ed Cota on the court playing PG sometimes Jake would have more freedom to score without worrying about positioning. He had no problem with that last season, but this season Jake would be the most marked player and would have many teams with opponents that could hinder Jake to make the plays. Of course, this was just a thought of Coach Guthridge, because with the initial formation he thought was Okulaja, Jamison, Carter, Williams, and Jake the team would already be very offensive and would have no problem winning most games for lack of power offensive. Several positioning and tactical drills were done without coach Guthridge telling the players what he planned to do, even Jake wasn''t sure what coach Guthridge could do with the team at the time of the game. Just like every year some players came back a little out of perfect physical condition, the holidays were a relaxing time for the players and that was normal, naturally just as everyone expected Jake had come back even better than at the end of last season. Some players realized that Jake was much stronger and faster than at the end-of-season games, which was too terrifying to think about analyzing Jake''s incredible season last year. Players just thought they were lucky to be on the same team as Jake, coach Guthridge was pleased with that and was much more confident for the season with Jake getting even better. Coach Guthridge knew it was because of the marathons that Jake was in such good shape even though he had just returned from vacation, so he even liked Jake to take part in some marathons to get more excited. After several days of training with the basketball team at the end of September Jake had to stop to go to Germany in Berlin to run this year''s marathon, John was already in Berlin and had already arranged a hotel for Jake to rest a day before the marathon. Coach Guthridge was kind and let Jake rest 3 days to participate in the marathon in Berlin, Jake accepted only two days and would return to university after running the marathon and resting for some time. This Berlin marathon was special to many people in different ways, it was Jake''s first time running this marathon and being a major marathon he could gain 1 point in endurance and 1 point in agility if he won this marathon. Another thing John was so excited about that Jake also knew was that an American athlete never won in the Berlin marathon, that was amazing if it was thought that a long time ago American athletes won many marathons around the world. For a country that was known to be very good at athletics in general never having won a marathon in a country that had one of the world''s leading marathons was a source of shame, as was the Tokyo Marathon, but the Berlin marathon was known for a long time much longer as one of the world''s leading marathons. So if Jake won this marathon he would go down in history for a different reason than other marathons, Jake trusted John so he can just rest quietly in the hotel and just wait to run the next day. The next morning Jake went to the race site to prepare to race in the Berlin Marathon when they saw Jake many were surprised that no one expected him to decide to participate in the Berlin Marathon this year. He had already raced in London and at the World Championships in Athletics this year and as it was near the time of the new basketball season everyone expected that if Jake was going to run a marathon it would be in Chicago or New York. Even more so now that everyone following the sport knew that team coach Tar Heels Dean Smith had retired and now Bill Guthridge was the new coach, this was a sensitive moment for Team Tar Heels. Everyone had realized from his interview that Jake was very calm about Coach Dean Smith''s retirement and trusted Coach Guthridge, how Jake had come to Berlin to participate in the marathon was proof that he had confidence. This was bad news for the other athletes thinking of winning the Berlin Marathon, after a while, the 1997 Berlin Marathon had officially started, Jake was still wondering whether or not to try to break his own world record in this race. "And another Berlin marathon begins in 1997, the weather is very good today for the marathon and we can expect to see a quick marathon." "Yes, to everyone''s surprise too, Jake Smith is an American athlete and the world''s best current marathon athlete came to run this marathon in Berlin, no one ever knows that Jake marathons are going to run this year and this is the fourth marathon Jake participates in." "True, he has run three marathons this year that are important to the whole world, in Boston, London, and also in Athens now at this year''s World Championships in Athletics." "After winning the gold medal at the World Championships in Athletics and having won the gold medal at the Olympics last year and several major marathons around the world, Jake is more than recognized for being the best marathon player in the world today." "Jake also has the current marathon world record and can try to break here in Berlin this year." "I find it hard for him to try to break the record in this marathon, if he tries, I think it will be in Chicago the next time he runs there." Chapter 351 Back for the Sophomore Year 5 "And why do you think that?" "It''s because he broke the current world record in Chicago last year, it''s a path he knows well and has run twice and is much better for him, here in Berlin is the first time he''s going to run this marathon and I think hard for him to try to break the world record." While the commentators talked about him and this marathon, Jake was already running the first few kilometers, he found groups of athletes to run along and ran with them while the other athletes ran at the same pace as him. Jake was already well known in the marathon world and everyone knew that his pace was very strong at the beginning of the race, so only amateur athletes and those who didn''t think of winning ran with him in the beginning. The other athletes who hoped to perform well watched Jake not to run faster than him in the first few km of the race, after all, if Jake who had a fast pace was behind them it was because these athletes were running far above the pace they intended. Jake didn''t care about that and already expects him to have to run alone in this marathon again, after all, he wasn''t running in America and it was hard to find athletes who wanted to run at such a strong pace since the start of the race. Most usually wanted to start slower and then increase their running pace over the last few km of the marathon, but for Jake who could run the entire marathon at a fast pace if he wanted to, he would rather take advantage of his opponents before finally controlling his final time would have in the marathon. After 5 km of the marathon, there were still some people trying to run in the same group as Jake, but they were not elite athletes and these people might not even finish the marathon, but at least in the first 5 km, they were in the lead. Beyond the first 10 km of the marathon, Jake could already feel that this marathon was actually easier to run at a faster pace, had not many turns and was flatter as well as the running track where he trained. The weather on this day was also very good and Jake could feel that even running alone he was not as tired as in other marathons, of course, he had gained more statistic points since the last marathon, but Jake felt it was really the marathon that was better to run faster. Seeing marathon conditions this year Jake felt that he could break his world record in this marathon and then if he wanted to break his own record again in the Chicago marathon where he intended to run several times over the next few years. After running the 20km marathon Jake could feel that it really was better to race in Berlin and he could easily break his running record at a faster pace without getting too tired. "We have reached almost half of this Berlin marathon and we see Jake again in the lead, this is the racing style he has been doing in various marathons and almost every time he runs at this pace with that advantage of the other runners he wins." "True, this is the style of running he created as a great stamina athlete like this at the end of the marathon so he can control his energy expenditure by slowing down and winning comfortably." "He ran that 20 km in less than an hour as he always does in other marathons, it''s amazing how much he has control of the running pace, even stopping a few times to hydrate he still keeps up the pace, and as many have noticed Jake didn''t even know wears a watch in the marathons he participates in." "I don''t know if he''s being a basketball player who has a different training interferes with his running style, but if it''s like other marathons Jake can win again today and be the first American athlete to win this Berlin marathon." Jake went on like this at a strong pace and passed the 30km marathon without slowing down, just after passing the 35km Jake began to slow his running pace slowly, Jake already had a time of 1 hour 41 minutes 40 seconds If he continued at the pace he was running he could finish the race while training which was far below his world record. Commentators were seeing how Jake came from a fast time, but as they tracked several marathons he ran they knew that at this point in a marathon he slowed his running pace and ended the marathon well below his world record. "Up to 35km from this marathon Jake has kept up the great pace since he started this marathon, but now as well as in the other marathons he''s slowing down and we''ll see how soon he will finish this Berlin marathon." "See how the runner-up Elijah Lagat and the other athletes are also running at a great pace and yet they are not even close to Jake and are over 1km behind him in this marathon." "This is his racing style, I personally think that if he pushed harder he could finish a marathon at a time well below his world record, but he''s the one who knows best the energy he has and how he gets tired in those marathons." "I''ve heard some expert theories on athlete mentality that Jake can always slow his marathon pace even though he''s doing well in the marathon for what happened in the second marathon he ran in New York." "He was at first running at a great pace below the world record that was not his at that time and well after the 30 km I don''t remember exactly how far he suffered an injury and so this was the only marathon he ever lost in his career coming up in second." Jake had heard about these theories and found it just funny, he had no trauma and if he wanted to could run at the pace he always ran in training, but he knew it would be at a time far below his world record and Jake thought not It was time for that. He planned whenever he could improve his race time in training to improve his official marathon time by breaking his own world record, he just thought of improving his record now because he feared that someone would break his current record. And also because on his next vacation Jake intended to improve his training time after getting all the statistics points in the major marathons, he wanted to run as fast as he could without getting exhausted. Jake''s goal for marathons was to break the 2-hour barrier and to be the best marathoner in the world for many years, Jake thought he was very capable of achieving this with the system helping him. But one thing about this theory was true because it was after the New York marathon that Jake decided to run the entire marathon at a very fast pace and only in the final km of the race slow down so as not to tire and risk any injuries. Jake slowed his pace for this marathon, but not much and continued fast because he wanted to break his world record in this marathon, he wanted to be the first American athlete to win in Berlin and mark this marathon breaking the world record and getting the best of this marathon for a few years. Running in this marathon he personally realized that it was indeed true that this marathon made it easier for athletes to run faster, Jake was starting the time for marathon athletes who would only run faster until the running time was less than 2 hours and 4 minutes would be normal. After passing the 40km with a strong running pace and a few kilometers to go before the Berlin Marathon was over, commentators finally realized that Jake intended to break his own world record in this marathon, and by the time he ran, it was quite possible that he would succeed. Almost reaching the 42km race it was almost certain that Jake would break his world record and the commentators and the cheering crowd were celebrating because they also realized what was going on. "Jake has been running at a very strong pace on the last few meters of this Berlin marathon, it looks like he wants to break his own world record here in this marathon this year." "It''s really amazing to see such a talented athlete, we were talking about how Jake had the ability to break his world record if he wanted to and keep his pace strong, right now slowing down his race is still breaking the world record." "True, Jake had not been performing very well this year, even though last year broke the world record by running in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 2 seconds this year despite having won the three marathons he ran this year his best time was 2 hours, 7 minutes and 5 seconds." "It''s more than 1 minute longer than his best time, of course, he made it after running in the London marathon being tired after finishing his first season in college basketball, then winning less than 10 days later in Boston even slower time." "Last month he won the World Championships in Athletics marathon with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 2 seconds which was 2 minutes longer than his best time last year and today we are seeing Jake running over 2 minutes faster than last month and breaking the world record itself." "And Jake just won the 1997 Berlin Marathon, he broke his own world record, that''s amazing!" "He finished in 2 hours, 5 minutes 55 seconds, 7 seconds faster than his best time at the Chicago Marathon last year, it''s the new marathon world record." Chapter 352 Back for the Sophomore Year 6 "Great time for this marathon, Jake breaks the world record and also the Berlin marathon record, he is the first athlete in this men''s marathon to break the world record." "Jake is for sure the best marathon athlete in the world today and I think he will stay that way for many more years, he is only 18 this year and is already his second time breaking the world record." "He''s been winning a lot of marathons in the last 3 years and won 6 different marathons besides the Olympics and the World Championships in Athletics, just this year this is Jake''s fourth marathon, I think it''s already clear it''s not luck and he''s really talented and will keep it that way." Jake was very happy to have won this Berlin marathon even though he was already very confident of winning and breaking the world record, he personally saw why this would be known as the fastest marathon in the world in a few years. If Jake wanted he felt he could finish this marathon in less than 2 hours and 2 minutes if he wanted to, it was certainly a good marathon to break his world record of fewer than 2 hours in the future. But Jake didn''t intend to race anymore in Berlin even though he could win a few more seconds running in this marathon, because it was in Germany that was too far from the United States for him to come running with 3 of the world''s largest marathons in America. Also, Jake found the prize too small to lure him here to race, in Boston the prize was almost 3 times the value, even though he didn''t care much for marathon prizes it was clear that he preferred to race where he could win more. John was also very happy to see Jake break the world record in this marathon, he thought the same as Jake and thought it was more remarkable that he was the first American athlete to win the Berlin marathon and still break the world record in this marathon. For the companies that sponsored Jake to see him winning another marathon and breaking the world record once again was very good, Eva was also very happy to see Jake win the Berlin marathon and break the world record. Being Jake''s mom who was the best marathon runner in the world Eva sure knew a lot more about marathons now, so she knew how amazing Jake was doing winning the fourth marathon of the year and breaking the world record. She also knew that Jake still intended to race in Chicago because he told her before going to college, so Eva expected Jake to win the fifth marathon after a few weeks. Jake received his medal and the $ 110,000 prize because he had broken the world record, if he broke this world record in London he would have received more than $ 300,000 and if it was in Boston he would receive $ 225,000. But since his goal was not money Jake was just as happy and then went to his hotel and later returned to college, he could go the other day, but he didn''t want to get Coach Guthridge in trouble anymore. Certainly with Jake winning this Berlin marathon which was special to the Americans because he was the first and still breaking the world record took a bit of media focus on coach Dean Smith''s retirement and would make the players of Tar Heels more relaxed to train. Coach Davis was also proud because he was known as Jake''s coach and even though he didn''t help much it was still special to see Jake winning the marathons, now they had to keep on training because next month Jake would have the Chicago marathon to run. He was going to race with Zack in this marathon and of course, no one but Jake''s friends knew about it, John was even more excited knowing that Jake would run another marathon, Coach Guthridge knew about it too and accepted after seeing Jake breaking the world record. Admittedly, Jake was in great shape for college basketball season this year, and the next month of training was just to improve the fitness of the other players on the team and regain rapport among the players of that team who played last year. Even though Coach Guthridge thought of this new way of playing with a different lineup, it was actually a tactic that had already been coached by this team in Coach Smith''s time, only they never thought they would use this tactic with Zwikker on the team. Now the team would just have to train this tactic more and learn how to use it in the game, Coach Guthridge relied on Jake''s talent and versatility as a player to organize the team''s attacks and still defend well. If the team could defend against the opposing team''s Center would not be a problem to use this tactic, they needed to get more total rebounds as well, both in defense and offense. Jake celebrated with his roommates the break in the world record he got at the Berlin Marathon, Zack was even more excited to race in Chicago after seeing Jake winning that marathon. After going out with his colleagues to celebrate Jake returned to rest in the dorm, before bed he wanted to see the rewards he had earned for winning the Berlin Marathon. "Fate, show me my statistics on my third job." [Here it is.] Statistics Jake ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 18 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 42] [Agility 40] [Resistance 43] [Intelligence 60] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Second Lung A] [Iron Body A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª So Jake can see that his agility and resistance increased after this Berlin marathon, now Jake had all the stats above 40 points and his agility was even higher. Even if it wasn''t enough for him to take advantage of the short-haul modes he would certainly have the advantage of long- and medium-distance racing, but most importantly his strength was well over 40 points and for a while, Jake would have the advantage balance between his physical statistics. Jake also saw that his height really had not changed anymore and nor would it change as the system had said, yet by that time he could have a successful NBA career without having problems because of the height. Michael Jordan was even smaller than Jake is now and yet became one of the best basketball players in the world catching a lot of rebounds and doing great dunk, Kobe Bryant also got great rebound statistics. This showed that height would no longer be a problem for Jake and physical statistics would not be a problem for him to fight for rebounds either, so it all depended on Jake to become an NBA star. So Jake was very grateful to the system that had changed his life and in addition to bringing him to a second chance and giving him every opportunity to get what he wanted even helped to improve the body he had in his past life. Jake had already gotten everything he wanted at university and knew after this year he could get the training his mother dreamed he would have at university, then he would just have to keep studying differently after talking with the university. Jake had also developed fully as a player and improved all the way in his first year in college basketball, he would still have this season to improve even further, and Jake had already won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. This year he would try to win again, but if he couldn''t, he wouldn''t be too upset about it, early next year Jake would also run the marathon in Tokyo and so if he won he could win all major marathons. So Jake had already made up his mind to enter the NBA draft after this season in mid-1998, he would go to the NBA with his teammates Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Shammond Williams. He would still have to talk to David Falk''s sports agent to try to get a deal and so play on the team he wanted, to do that he just had to get the team he wanted to trade him with the team he drafted and so he could play on the team he wanted. If it wasn''t possible Jake would play on the team that he did the same draft, but he knew how hard that would be because even if he had a great performance it would be almost impossible for his team to win the NBA title. Maybe he couldn''t make it to the playoffs playing with a bad team, NBA tuning wouldn''t be like high school basketball so he could lead the team to victory with his skill, even at university if Jake wasn''t on such a great team as it was Tar Heels he could forget about trying to win the NCAA title. But Jake would start talking to David Falk only after a few games this season because if such a rumor started it could disrupt the team''s spirits to win the NCAA tournament this season. Jake didn''t plan on earning a great salary in the NBA from the start and just wanted to win great sponsor contracts to make more money, but Jake didn''t intend to have a long starting contract with any team for a low salary. But these were things for after this college season that had not even started, Jake continued training calmly with his teammates and working hard to get the team to play well this season. After a few days of coaching the team, everyone was regaining their ideal condition and the players'' match was coming back quickly, Jake didn''t need any time to mingle and was still assisting as if the last NCAA tournament game was a few days ago. Chapter 353 Back for the Sophomore Year 7 With Jake playing so well in training the whole team was getting excited and was also recovering fast, the players were also more confident that the team could perform great this year with Coach Guthridge. With Coach Smith leaving the team no one expected them to win the NCAA title again this year, which was good because the pressure on the players was so much less so, only Jake still hoped they could win this year. That''s because Jake remembered that in his past life the Tar Heels team performed better this season with Coach Guthridge than last season even though they had more games, they also won the ACC tournament and reached the final four of the NCAA tournament losing in semifinal. Jake hoped that with him on the team they could play even better or at least perform like this, Jake was confident he could play much better now than in the final NCAA tournament game. Because he has been able to greatly improve his physical stats since that game, he has gained 5 strength points, 4 agility points, and 4 resistance points, this has greatly improved his physical condition and the other players have realized this. He had also improved his basketball skills at least a little because he trained every day in the space of his imagination training, in this space he always faced taller and more skilled opponents than himself. Even though these players'' skills were inferior to the best players at the university because they couldn''t think well of the moves, playing more than 300 times in this space could only make Jake even better. Jake was also confident that his teammates were also better this year and more confident after winning the NCAA tournament last year, so they had everything to win again this season. In the coming days, Jake was still news on sports programs for breaking the world record and because college basketball season was about to start again, everyone was debating whether Jake and the Tar Heels team would play as well as last year after retirement from coach Dean Smith. Meanwhile Jake was still training with the Tar Heels team and also with Zack for the nearest Chicago marathon, no one expected that this year after breaking the world record Jake still wanted to participate in another marathon. Especially because it was so close to the start of the new college basketball season, but Jake had already made up his mind to participate in every Chicago marathon he could because he liked this marathon so much. This year he had still promised to run this marathon with his friend Zack, even though the two of them had quite different performances in this marathon and could not even run side by side. Maybe when he went to the NBA he could no longer participate in marathons like these and had to run only when he was on vacation outside of the NBA basketball season, if that happened he would have to choose another marathon to run forever. If everything happened as he hoped, maybe next year he was on an NBA team and could no longer run the Chicago marathon, Jake really hoped he could get into the NBA so it was quite possible that it would happen. Jake continued training in the coming weeks and so the day he went to Chicago with Zack arrived, he had talked to John before and two plane tickets were already prepared for them and hotel reservations too. Just like last time Jake would rest a day earlier in Chicago and after the marathon, he would leave, but Jake had already talked to Zack and his friend would have to stay in Chicago for more than two days after the marathon. This was for safety reasons as this was the first marathon Zack would run and a plane trip right after finishing the marathon was not recommended for anyone, Jake had a very strong body because of the system and feared none of it, but cared about his friend. Zack understood Jake''s cause for concern, and since Jake was practically his coach for this marathon he decided to wait these two days before returning to college, it was for his safety and that was never too much. Of course, the two hoped that Zack could finish this marathon in a good time after all this training, Jake had no doubt about it and even Coach Davis believed that Zack could finish this marathon easily. Zack''s goal for this marathon wasn''t too bold and he just wanted to finish before 4 pm, not a time for elite athletes, but for those who would run the first marathon was a great time. The time limit for this race was 6 1/2 hours so Zack was quiet to finish this marathon without having to worry about the time, his main goal was to finish this marathon and then finish in less than four hours. So anyway they were going to celebrate after the marathon that it was almost certain that Zack could complete those more than 42 km, they both went to Chicago and Jake arrived at the hotel discreetly as usual. The hotel now dared not disclose Jake''s address to anyone and even if he had it in town, they were glad Jake stayed at the hotel again after what happened the first time a reporter asked to speak with him at the hotel. With Zack by his side no one would expect it to be Jake since he always participated in marathons and stayed at the hotel alone, Jake knew he could rest easy that night, but Zack would not sleep because of the nervousness of having his first marathon. "Zack, you didn''t have to be nervous because I guarantee you are prepared for this marathon and it will end for sure." "Yes, I believe you and I also have confidence that I will be able to finish this marathon, but I still can''t be more relaxed." "It''s normal to get nervous before running a marathon which is what you always wanted to do and now it''s close to being able to finish your first marathon and it''s still Chicago that is one of the most important marathons in the world." "If you keep talking like that you''ll make me even more nervous." "That''s why I''m saying this, you are sure to be able to finish this marathon and be proud to tell everyone that your first marathon was in Chicago, but if you get nervous and can''t get enough sleep it can make it harder for you." "So I suggest you calm down and try to sleep, because you will also try to reach your goal of finishing this marathon before 4 hours, imagine how amazing that would be." Jake knew well what Zack was like and so he said that to make his friend more excited and get to sleep, just as Jake expected Zack got more excited and went to try to sleep in his room to be rested for the marathon the other day. Jake had to do this to sleep in his room quietly and be fine to run the next day, he was also nervous before running a marathon, but it was far less than the confidence he had with the daily training he had. He knew that if he just ran, as usual, he could win a marathon easily, so he just had to calm down and run what he trained to be able to win, the helping system also made him calmer by watching his pace in the race. The next morning the two of them went to where this year''s Chicago Marathon would be, Jake can see that Zack had been able to rest well for this marathon and so thought that his friend was ready to perform well in that marathon. After a while, the two were ready for the start of the marathon and just before the marathon began that other athletes realized that Jake was running in that marathon too. No one expected it, but no one was too surprised because Jake always did it in running marathons that nobody expected, at least in Chicago everyone could expect him to show up for running two years into that marathon. Zack was ignored by everyone for being unknown and because Jake wasn''t talking to him to let Zack focus before the start of this marathon, Jake and Coach Davis had already given all the tips they could to him and now it was just time to run. The marathon started and Jake soon ran ahead and left Zack behind, that would have to be done because Jake''s pace was too strong for Zack to finish this marathon almost twice as long as Jake. "And began the 1997 Chicago Marathon, one of the largest marathons in the United States and the world, which this year expects to have the largest number of athletes competing in history." "Yes, there will be the largest number of athletes competing and the largest number of foreigners as well, and one of those responsible for that happened came by surprise to participate in this marathon." "It should come as no surprise that Jake Smith is participating in this marathon for the third year in a row since making his debut in that marathon in 1995, but after running less than a month in Berlin and breaking the world record by winning that marathon no one expected him to be here this year again." "Jake already said he loved to run this marathon and is proving this year again, and we know this marathon also loves him who has won in the last two years and could win this year again." "Jake is for sure the biggest favorite, we''ll have to see after two hours if Jake will leave the Chicago marathon as a winner again for the third time." Chapter 354 Back for the Sophomore Year 8 Jake started running at a strong pace after leaving Zack behind at the start of this marathon, soon as if agreed in advance several athletes started running in the group formed to run along with Jake. That was one of the reasons he liked to race in Chicago and America, he didn''t expect it to be, but he always did when he met people who ran with him. Jake was also surprised to see that two well-known American athletes who would be in the top 20 were running in the same group as him, was Jerry Lawson who had already won the California Marathon in 1993 and Todd Williams who participated in two Olympics and two World Championships. in Athletics. They both knew well how Jake was running at a perfect running pace and wanted to run with him all through this marathon, they didn''t know if they would keep up with Jake until the end, but if they could hold on until he slowed it was almost certain that they would be in the top 5. Jake was happy about it and also a little nervous, he hoped the two athletes could run this marathon at the same pace as he ran, if he kept that pace throughout the Chicago marathon he knew he would win and they couldn''t keep up with him. But to do that he would have to break the world record again in this marathon and make much better time than in the last marathon in Berlin, so he hoped the two would just run at his pace and not try to beat him in the final kilometers. Of course Jake didn''t expect them to simply stop running and let him win because the marathon was a competition and not a friendly race for everyone to run together, having other athletes running at the same pace as he was a valid tactic to win the marathon. With a group running along with him Jake could save as much stamina and energy as he could in this marathon after he learned some techniques with Coach Davis and running with other athletes he could keep pace running smoothly. The athletes running with Jake were also elite athletes and with this steady pace even running faster they could easily follow, after the 10km of this marathon, Jake''s group was the leader of the race and far ahead of the other athletes. "Jake has been running at a strong pace in this marathon as is his characteristic in marathons after 10km of the race his group is the leader and I can recognize some elite athletes running in his group." "Yes, this has happened several times when Jake ran marathons in America, in the United States. Jake as the best athlete in the world and being an American is a kind of idol to other athletes and well respected even by other American athletes." "Everyone knows that Jake is known for running at a strong pace and also for the great stamina he has, so in these races the other elite athletes who didn''t think about winning marathons ran at the same pace as Jake for more than half of the time the marathons." "But some elite athletes running with Jake in this marathon may be thinking of winning and not just keeping up with Jake''s pace for more than half of that marathon, we can see for the first time in a long time Jake having a hard time winning a marathon." The weather was great in this marathon and not tiring the other athletes of this marathon, it was great weather to break various types of records, while Jake was leading this marathon as always running with a group of elite athletes, Zack was far behind in the marathon running as it had trained. Zack''s pace was just under 5 minutes 42 seconds per km, that''s the average Jake and Coach Davis told him to run, but they knew Zack would be unable to keep up a steady pace like Jake could do. So they told him to try to analyze his time every 5 km of race and adjust to knowing how his race pace was, so in the final kilometers of the race if he realized he still had a lot of energy he could run as fast as he could. he could and try to finish the Chicago marathon before 4 o''clock. This was quite possible because Zack was already running more than 20km a day running at a much faster running pace than this, so he should have enough energy to run this marathon at a slower pace than he normally did. Jake and Coach Davis knew that in the marathon the athlete got more energy because they knew they were participating in a marathon and because of the crowd, so it was certain that Zack could easily complete this marathon even if he could not do it in 4 hours. Another strategy that Jake and Coach Davis came to him was to run along with other athletes in groups to save energy and hydrate when he could, as Zack ran at a time when most athletes ran close he could always find a group to run. Running with Jake he learned a little how-to keep his running pace and having a watch he could always control himself, when he went through the 5 km running he saw that he was running at the right pace and so was happy. In the leadership group, Jake still ran with the other athletes and felt great even though he ran more than 15km in this marathon, the other elite athletes didn''t look tired even running at the same pace as Jake. After running for many km he stopped thinking about what he would do at the end of the marathon and just controlled himself to run normally, even if he had to break his world record to win was not a bad thing for him. After all Jake was already thinking of increasing the pace of his training on his next vacation, and Jake was already sharing the focus of his training with other long-distance modalities besides marathons. After winning the 6 marathons major Jake would have already won everything he could in the marathon world and would only have the records to break that could cheer him up, of course, the Olympics and World Championships in Athletics would also make him excited to win a medal of gold for his country. Jake had already started his training to run the 10,000 meters and soon would start training to run the 5,000 meters and maybe before the next Olympics he started training to run the 1,500 meters, he already had the agility to achieve this. Even after passing the 20km in this marathon the other athletes in the same group of Jake did not look tired and were already several minutes ahead of the other athletes of this marathon and could be in the top 20 that was their goal, this good weather for Running also helped everyone. "Almost half of this Chicago marathon is over and Jake''s group is still leading the way quietly, it''s great weather here in Chicago so these athletes can take many more km before they get tired." "True, with this climate and great athletes running in this group we could be seeing the top 10 of this marathon and maybe some of these athletes will make Jake have to work harder to win and maybe break the world record again this year." "Okay, a lot of marathon experts and commentators like me think Jake actually has the ability to run far below what he''s been running, even in Berlin a lot of people realized that after winning breaking the world record Jake didn''t even look like being tired." "Yes, if you think he ran very close to that when he was 16 at the first marathon in Chicago, it is natural to think that after more than two years of training and also developing his body because we realize how Jake grew so much taller in those years he can run much lower than in that marathon." "Admittedly, Jake is the best marathon runner of this decade and now and many think this is just the beginning and that Jake can keep winning for another 20 years if he wants to, so Jake is perhaps the best marathon runner ever." Many really hoped that the athletes running in Jake''s group would endure racing with him up to 35km and so focused on Jake keeping a strong pace and breaking the world record again. While Jake was running nearly halfway through the race Zack was about 10 km from the marathon, he still easily found running groups that ran at the same pace as him, but the groups lagged behind or would go forward and he just focused on keeping up with him. Like Jake, Zack trained on an athletic track and so always ran alone and was used to it, plus the better marathon weather and the crowd just helped Zack run better and use up a lot less energy. So when he could run with the groups he saved a lot of energy and knew that he could run much more than he normally did in training, as Zack was used to running a lot more than 20 km every day at a faster pace than this he was running smoothly after 10 km. After the 30km marathon, Jake''s group was even further ahead in the lead, after so many kilometers of marathon some athletes from Jake''s group were already tired and thinking of leaving the group to slow down the running pace. But the best athletes could still take a few more km if not so many, seeing that Jake was still thinking he might have to break his world record, but he would win this marathon easily nonetheless. If he broke the world record a little too soon he wouldn''t have to worry about it for years to come and so Jake just wanted to know about winning this marathon. Chapter 355 Back for the Sophomore Year 9 "More than 30 km of this marathon has passed and Jake''s group is still in the lead, but we can see that some athletes in this group are already thinking of leaving the group and are very tired, others are tired but they can take it for a few more kilometers." "I think the image of this group of Jake in this marathon shows how Jake is the best marathoner in the world today, in this group all are elite athletes and some are already very tired and will leave the group." "Others are elite athletes who have already reached several marathons in the top 10, Jerry Lawson who has already won a marathon 4 years ago, and Todd Williams who has had 2 Olympics." "These athletes are the best athletes in the world and any one of them can win a marathon if it''s on a good day or a lesser-known marathon, and these athletes are very tired too and can handle running at a pace for just a few km." "And in this group, there is Jake who is running smoothly with no sign of fatigue, looks like he''s running the 10km race and is still in the beginning, and Jake finishes the marathons like that without looking tired." Jake didn''t know that the commentators were analyzing his tiredness to know if he could run faster, but he didn''t care that the others knew he could run faster. One day Jake would still try to run under 2 hours to break his world record again, by which time everyone would naturally know that running in less than 2 hours and 6 minutes was very easy for himself in training. After passing the 35km race almost all the athletes in his group were already behind and running at a slower pace, but Jerry Lawson and Todd Williams were still in his group. They were both very tired and could be left behind at any moment, but they were resisting waiting for Jake to slow his running pace, everyone who saw Jake''s last marathons would never expect to see that two athletes were running at the same pace as him afterward of 35 km. Jake had expected it and slowed his running pace just as he had in Berlin, both of them relieved when they saw that Jake had slowed down before they got too tired. Unlike Berlin Jake slowed his running pace even more because he did not intend to break his record if it was not necessary, they also slowed at the same pace as Jake and saw that they could continue running like this. Jake thought that if they could keep up with him to the final kilometers he would just accelerate his race pace again and he was sure he could win, it was their merit to be able to race along with Jake in this marathon and he had to agree not to win with a great advantage. as in the other years. "That''s amazing, Jake has already slowed his running pace as he has done in every marathon he has run, in that 35 km he slowed down to run until the end of this Chicago marathon." "And even at this point Todd Williams and Jerry Lawson are still running in the same group as him, it''s a historic moment for this Chicago marathon where three American athletes are running for first place and we can have the three American athletes in the top 3 at this marathon." "Yes, even though Jake had been running at a much higher than normal pace before, after that 35km he slowed down to less than the other athletes in this marathon are running, and that''s what the two American athletes were expecting." "With just over 7 km to finish this marathon, I think it''s quite possible that the three will continue to run together until the end." The two American athletes who were running with Jake didn''t think that way, they just wanted to keep running at that pace until the end, but they didn''t think that would be possible because the pace they ran for 35 km was so intense. So they didn''t even think about trying to beat Jake in this marathon that was still running smoothly even after 35km of the marathon, Jake noticed it too and kept running quietly. He would be happy if they and the other two American athletes were in the top three in this marathon, Jake was practically doing the work of setting the pace for the other two athletes by the end of the marathon in which he would win. While Jake was already getting ready to race the final kilometers of the marathon, Zack had not even reached halfway through the marathon, yet he had already been through the 15km for some time and was very happy with the pace he was running up to that time proof point. Unlike Jake, Zack not only had a group of people running with him throughout the race, but he also had to switch between groups while preoccupying with maintaining his running pace, naturally several times he lost his pace following someone in a group. But he could always recover in the next few kilometers, so even if he lost energy doing that he could run as scheduled, because of the training routine he had Zack had not tired running to the 15 km of this marathon because he was running at a slower pace than he trained. Also, Zack followed Jake''s tips for running in the best places in this marathon and running with the groups helped him save energy, Jake and Coach Davis said that if he could run more than 30 km without being too tired, he was sure would end the marathon. Zack kept running at his pace up to 20 km, at this point in the marathon he knew that Jake should be close to finishing the marathon because almost two hours had passed, he hoped that Jake would win easily. After running the 40 km marathon Jake was already running alone in this marathon final, the two American athletes almost managed to follow Jake to the 40 km, but got tired before and decided to slow down even more to try to secure the second and third place. The two athletes knew that without Jake they probably couldn''t make it into the top 5, so they didn''t want to keep giving Jake more pressure and letting him run smoothly. Even though Jake knew he would win this marathon and the other two athletes were tired, he was still nervous because he was not used to running with other athletes in the final km of any marathon. As soon as he was alone in the lead he could relax and keep up his pace to arrive at a time he had planned to finish this marathon, as he ran in a group for almost the entire marathon Jake was still full of energy in the final kilometers of the marathon. Near the 42 km, Jake was already calm that this marathon was almost won by him, so he wondered only if Todd Williams and Jerry Lawson were still in the top three and if Zack could keep up his running pace for this marathon. "We are nearing the end of this Chicago marathon, Jake has already crossed the 42 km and is in the final meters to win, it was a different marathon than we are used to with Jake participating." "He ran almost the entire marathon with a group of elite athletes who are still in the top 20 in this marathon and up to nearly 25 km with American athletes Todd Williams and Jerry Lawson." "The two are still vying for second place with athlete Khalid Khannouchi coming in fourth to compete for those first places with them." "And at that point, Jake Smith finishes the 1997 Chicago Marathon in the first place, another marathon won for Jake in his short and brilliant marathon career, and his third straight victory in Chicago." "Jake finishes this marathon with a time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 58 seconds breaking the marathon record of himself last year, 3 seconds close to the world record." "Jake''s great performance in less than a month after the last marathon in Berlin, I think after this marathon he will focus on college basketball so hopefully next year we can see Jake winning more marathons." "Now Todd Williams finished third in this marathon and Jerry Lawson came in second for Todd in the final meters, Khalid Khannouchi almost got third, but still finished fourth in that marathon." "It''s been a long time since we''ve seen American athletes getting in the top three places of a major marathon like this, and Jake was the one who set the right pace for them to be in the top three." Jake was delighted to see that the other American athletes had been in the top three along with him who had won, he had been hoping for a while and this marathon was great for him after all. John who was following Jake was happy to see Jake win and was tense throughout the marathon seeing two athletes competing with Jake for first place and only relaxed when he saw Jake taking advantage. He knew well that this was Jake''s last marathon in 1997 and now Jake would focus only on the Tar Heels team and college basketball, this was a great year for Jake and also his sponsors such as John''s company. Jake and Eva''s friends were also nervous seeing the end of this marathon that was different than in the other years and were happy to see that Jake had won in the end like every year. Jake received $ 125,000 in prize money for winning and breaking the Chicago Marathon record of his own after celebrating and snapping a picture with the other two American athletes who took second and third place. Chapter 356 Back for the Sophomore Year 10 However unlike the other marathons, Jake did not leave soon after receiving the prize for the hotel, he asked John who had saved him a chair he had brought and just sat in a place he asked to stay for the marathon organization. The marathon organization naturally liked Jake to stay longer and arranged a place for him near the finish line and safely so that no accidents would happen. Jake was naturally waiting for his friend Zack to finish his marathon, he had to support his friend and because he also trained along with Zack and was almost a coach for him, Jake knew that Zack would complete this marathon, which he was hoping for was that Zack could finish before 2 hours as he intended. So Jake just intended to sit around waiting for Zack, he wasn''t even too tired and after having a natural drink from Tiffany''s company he was relaxed, then he would have to go back to university and couldn''t stay with Zack for the next few days. But they couldn''t do what they wanted, unlike the other normal marathon athletes. Jake was very famous and beloved by the public, he played in college basketball that was the goal of thousands of young people and still participated in movies besides winning many marathons and win gold medals representing the United States. So after seeing the fans asking him for an autograph, Jake got up and went to where the people who were watching the marathon were and spent several minutes signing autographs for anyone to ask him, luckily the smartphones had not been invented otherwise Jake would have to spend a lot more time taking pictures with others. Some fans were still taking pictures of him with Matthew''s company digital camera and Jake found it interesting that he was seeing so many people using Matthew''s new and old digital camera proving how he had changed the time he knew and his success from Matthew''s company. Zack kept on running very hard and after 30 km he started to get more relaxed because he wasn''t very tired yet and if what Jake and Coach Davis said was true he would surely have the energy to finish this marathon. A few km back he had already heard that Jake had won by listening to the fans talking about it, Zack was very happy to hear that Jake had won another marathon and it gave him even more energy. Zack knew better than anyone how Jake trained hard to run these marathons and always win beyond his basketball team training, so Zack always thought Jake deserved everything he had achieved and should achieve much more. So Zack had more confidence to achieve his personal goal because he also trained every day like Jake and still had Jake''s help in his training, so he didn''t think he was missing anything compared to other amateur athletes running in up to 3 hours all marathons. Even more, than in this marathon, he was not tired after the 30 km and was managing to maintain a medium pace similar to what he had agreed with Jake before this marathon, Zack could still find groups to run with himself at this point of the marathon. After the 40 km marathon, less than 4 hours had passed, it was still 11 minutes to the 4 hours of marathon and Zack was already feeling very tired, even training every day for over a year Zack still could not compare to the other amateur athletes who had been running for several years. Plus it was the first time Zack had tried to run a full marathon before 4 hours, so even though running at a pace below training he felt very tired. But Zack knew what it was like to feel this tiredness several times that he got so tired in training, so Zack knew he could finish this marathon easily even though he was tired. But Zack''s goal a little over 2 km away was not just to complete the marathon but to finish this Chicago marathon before 4 hours, so he couldn''t just keep running like this and had to increase his running pace a bit finals. He had already arranged this with Jake and Coach Davis who if he felt he could run faster over the last few kilometers he could try, after reaching 42 km Zack was feeling much more tired from having increased his pace. Even though he was feeling happy because it was still a long time before 4 hours and he was about to finish this marathon, Zack felt proud and thought it was worth the many tiring workouts he did waking up very early every day. It was just the first marathon he participated in and was soon the big marathon in Chicago and he was finishing before 4 hours, was certainly a source of pride for any amateur athlete. Zack gained even more energy when he saw Jake getting up to wait for him, it was Jake who had encouraged him to participate in this marathon, training with him and teaching him various things, now Jake brought him into this marathon and was even waiting for himself Jake was very busy. Zack managed to finish this marathon before 4 hours and everyone finally knew who Jake was waiting for nearly 2 hours in this marathon, after Zack arrived he was exhausted and couldn''t even breathe properly and Jake gave his friend a break before talking to him. "Congratulations Zack, I''m very happy to see that you managed to finish your first marathon and still did what you wanted and finished this Chicago marathon in less than 4 hours." "Thanks, Jake, if I got it it was thanks to you, I''m very happy and never expected to feel such a thrill after completing a marathon." "I know how it is, I''ve always loved running too, you are feeling it because you did something you wanted and worked hard to achieve that goal, that sense of accomplishment is proof that you love running too." "Yes, I will continue training and I will run in other marathons, I hope we will continue training after that, and congratulations on winning this marathon, you deserve it." After Zack had finished the marathon Jake had nothing else to do at this place and left after saying goodbye to everyone, he had already spoken to John a few hours earlier and John left because he had nothing else to do after Jake finished the marathon. Before leaving John said he had taken care of Jake''s and Zack''s return tickets as well, John taking care of Zack was just a favor of his company to Jake and Jake insisted that Zack wear the same uniform he always wore with corporate brands who sponsored him. After this marathon, Jake rested for just a few hours at the hotel before flying to college and letting Zack recover from this Chicago marathon, now less than a month before the Tar Heels team''s first game in the new college basketball season. The players of the team had already practically recovered their perfect form and were ready to play the first game, this was normal because even though the players were resting and celebrating the great season they had, they did not neglect their fitness so much because they knew who had to play in November. Unlike last year when new players were preparing to play as starters, this season the players would be the same as last season, so their rapport was very good even before the season started. Everyone on the team already knew that Jake was a great player and recognized his talent and that Jake was a better player than they currently, besides playing in the position of PG Jake was the team leader of course. Even though Jake didn''t want to be the team captain and let Coach Guthridge decide who he was, he was just his sophomore year as a team player and would soon leave college so there was no point in him being the team captain this season. In addition, Jake had to admit that he was unable to be a good team captain, all he could do to help the team as captain he could do just by playing normally and without having to be the captain. He would still be the team leader and still strive for the team to be united and well into the games, after all, Jake and the whole Tar Heels team hoped they could be the champions this season as well. The team training went on well and Jake continued training as he had arranged with Coach Davis every day, two days after the marathon Zack had returned very happy and proud of what he had achieved and all of Jake''s roommates congratulated Zack as well. Even his brother Brett showed up to say he was proud of Zack and that made him very thrilled, after that as he had promised Zack continued training with Jake every day, Zack''s goal was to finish the next marathon before 3 hours. So after several weeks of training came the day of Jake''s first game this basketball season, all of the Tar Heels players were very excited and nervous about this first game, especially when they remembered that the Tar Heels team lost their first game of the last season. So they didn''t know if they should expect to win this game as they should do or just lose to maintain good luck, of course, this was a team joke because no one would lose just because of superstition and even if they wanted Jake and Coach Guthridge they wouldn''t accept. Chapter 357 College Basketball Season Begins 1 Luckily the first game of this season would be at the Dean Smith Center in North Carolina, playing at home was much easier for the Tar Heels team who were the current champions to have more confidence to win the game with the full support of the fans. Before long both teams were ready to start the game, the opposing team for this start of the season was the team Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, was a good team that had been having a good season for the last two years and this year too would have, Jake remembered. The Tar Heels team had played against this team last season and easily won, making the players of the Middle Tennessee team nervous before this game, especially since the Tar Heels team won the NCAA title last season. On the other hand, the players and fans of the Tar Heels team were nervous because they had a responsibility to play well this season because they are the current NCAA title team, especially because coach Dean Smith had retired. Only Jake was cool because from what he knew of his past life the Tar Heels team would play very well this season even if he wasn''t on the team, with him on the team would be just better. So soon the game started and the Tar Heels team got the ball, this was the first game with the Tar Heels team testing the new formation with no Center in the starting team, the starting team was Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja and Jake Smith. It was a very offensive team even without Coach Guthridge daring to put Ed Cota in place of Ademola Okulaja, in that first game Coach Guthridge preferred a more balanced team defensively and offensively. Jake and Jamison would be primarily responsible for the team''s rebounds in attack and defense, so Coach Guthridge hoped to see how the team would do this way and he was relying on Jake and the other players to bring victory to the team. "Welcome to everyone watching at home, this is the first game of these two teams in this 1997-98 college basketball season." "The Middle Tennessee team has had good seasons in recent years, but they haven''t achieved anything at the end of those seasons, while the Tar Heels team won the ACC tournament and NCAA tournament last season and is the favorite to win this game today." "Of course, the Tar Heels team is the favorite to win today''s game and maybe win this year''s NCAA tournament again at the end of the season, but with the departure of coach Smith from the team many think that the Tar Heels team will not play as before." "But the team still has the same players from last season just missing the athlete Serge Zwikker who graduated this year, and the team Tar Heels has Jake Smith who is arguably the best college player today." "Sure, there may even be players who perform better in other positions and that''s why it''s hard to argue who is better, but Jake is a PG who practically plays SG and scores a lot and also makes a lot of passes." "Jake is also great at rebounds and steals which is something that basketball is missing a lot these days, plus he has broken several records last season for players from other positions as well, so he''s the most complete player." While the commentators were talking about how Jake was the best college player, Jake was making the first Tar Heels team attack of the season, he advanced with the ball and after midfield passed the ball to Shammond Williams. Williams was playing as second PG or second SG in that lineup, depending on the situation of the game, so Jamison would have to come back less to get the passes and could concentrate on trying to score or catch the offensive rebound. Williams passed the ball to Carter from the left that advanced and paused holding the ball, Carter tried the trick, but the opponent was not fooled, so Carter passed the ball to Jake who was behind. Jake received the ball and with speed got rid of the opponent''s defense and advanced to the painted area, when another defender player arrived Jake made an unexpected pass to Okulaja that was still marked. Okulaja had already trained with Jake several times and hoped for it and could easily pass and tried the layup making the first 2 points for team Tar Heels, Jake''s assistance was unexpected because when he took out another defender Jamison who was the best offensive player of the team was left without defense. The Middle Tennessee team didn''t break down and soon went into the attack to equalize the game quickly, Jake quickly returned to defense and stayed after the defensive three-point line, PG opponent Richard Duncan refused to try anything against Jake and passed the ball to Freddie Martinez on the right. Freddie Martinez was being defended by Vince Carter who was focused on defense, Martinez tried to pass Carter and when he saw that he could not pass to Aylton Tesch who was the best offensive player of this team on the left. Tesch managed to easily pass Williams and advanced to make the mid-range shot to make 2 points and tie this game, in the beginning, this game was well balanced because the two teams were still without pace. But after 7 minutes of the first quarter, Jake began to make more attacks and the game balance was over, in 5 minutes Jake made 3 shots of 3 points and hit the 3 and so after the Middle Tennessee team missed a play the advantage was of 6 points for the team Tar Heels. Jake knew that after these more than 7 months of rest he had greatly improved on the three-point shots because of the increased statistic he had and much training in those months. But Jake thought he had improved his basketball skills even more overall because he didn''t have much to improve on his three-point shots and his other skills that still need to improve a lot for Jake to play well in the NBA. After that, the Tar Heels team players were able to calm down more and the main players like Jamison and Carter began to hit more and more moves and the team''s attack improved even more. After the end of the first quarter, Tar Heels team had a big lead and Jake had played for every 20 minutes and had 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake was playing very well but still didn''t think that it was good enough. "What a great first quarter for Team Tar Heels in this game, the game was balanced until Jake started trying his three-point shots and since then Team Tar Heels has gained the advantage." "It''s true, Jake shows in this game how he showed last season how the moves if three points that many years ago didn''t even exist in college basketball became important to change the direction of a game." "A good player on the three-point line can in a good game give his team up to 6 points more than normal 2-point play, and Jake who has the best hit averages can change the course of a game in a few minutes as you did in that game." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team is in a moment of adaptation early this season playing without Coach Smith in charge and trying to play without a Center on the team which affects both offensively and defensively." "True, I think Coach Guthridge decided to do that because he doesn''t have a lot of options for players playing as Center and the Tar Heels team also has great players that allow him to make that change." "Now we will have to follow up on this game and the next games if the Tar Heels team can keep winning by playing like that." In the second quarter, the advantageous Tar Heels team could play quietly as always while still being very strong offensively and the Middle Tennessee players were more nervous to try to win the first game of this season. Jake kept attacking as well as ever and was slowly catching up and trying to get more steals, so he wasn''t playing the same games as last season, but in a few games, Jake thought he would play even better than before. Meanwhile the Middle Tennessee players began to feel more tired at the end of the second quarter, clearly, the fitness of the Tar Heels team players was better than Middle Tennessee. Jake was not even feeling tired with more than 30 minutes of play, and with this difference in the physical condition, the Tar Heels team players increased their lead further. So after a few minutes, the game was over and the Tar Heels team had easily won by making 93 points against only 51 points from the Middle Tennessee team, in that second quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. "And today''s game ends with the Tar Heels team winning as expected with a comfortable win, a great start for the Tar Heels team who needed that win to bring confidence to the team with a new coach." "Okay, a great start for the Tar Heels team who is the current NCAA tournament champion, but today''s game was not ideal yet and Jake was the one who led the team to victory, the Tar Heels team just won with all this advantage because the physical condition of the players was better than the players of the Middle Tennessee team." "Let''s see if the Tar Heels team continues to delight us in the games with this amazing team and amazing winning streak with this new coach." Chapter 358 College Basketball Season Begins 2 After the game was over everyone celebrated and Jake also celebrated after returning to his dorm with his friends, Jake also called his mother who said she watched the game and was very happy. After that first win, Jake could feel that the mood at the Tar Heels team training was much better, the players were still nervous about Coach Dean Smith leaving, and they were worried about what it would be like to play with Coach Bill Guthridge leading the team. But after this first win the players realized that everything was as it was before, Jake thought that if the team continued to win the players would be more comfortable and play even better. After this first game, the very competent coach Guthridge realized the mistakes the team made with the lack of a player in the Center position and used the next few days of training to correct it. One good thing that everyone noticed in this game was that the physical condition of the Tar Heels team players was very good, not many teams would have the players so well prepared for the new season. By those days Jake and his roommates were already adjusting to the university routine again, Jake was very happy because it looked like Aaron had been able to join the football team again. Unlike basketball, the College football season started in August and ended in December, so Aaron could just start playing for the team and officially enter next season. Even though Jake was happy for his friend who could still play third and fourth year on the university football team, Jake had heard that Aaron was really very talented in football and just before the start of season one he got hurt which annoyed the university that took his sports bag. But Aaron''s dedication to fully recovering from his injury and continuing to college even without his sports scholarship and still being able to recover his best condition in a year left the team coach moved and so he sent Aaron back to the team. Now Aaron would keep striving and training alone until the team resumed normal training after this season was over, he couldn''t go back to training now because the season was almost over and that could affect the rest of the team in some way. This made Jake very happy for his friend who might now have an opportunity perhaps someday to play in the NFL by playing two seasons on the college football team, of course, Jake knew this was very difficult to happen, but it was possible. William was also struggling hard in class, and in the past two semesters he had good grades with Jake''s help and his effort, Jake believed that if William kept striving this way and had opportunities he could make a lot of money working on stocks. Jake just thought it was a pity that William had no interest in working in companies, otherwise Jake would even give him an opportunity, after all, Jake didn''t need anyone to work on stocks with him, after all, he only invested when he knew the stock could have an excellent result. Who Jake was betting for after college was Haruto he met at a lecture late last semester, Haruto was very smart and hardworking and was looking for a job after finishing college. Besides, he was a big fan of Jake because he is a basketball player and also working as an actor, so Jake hoped he could work with Haruto after college. They also became more friends and even went out to dinner sometimes when Jake couldn''t be with his roommates, Haruto was studying a course related to Jake''s and was in a year longer at university. Zack still continued training with Jake every day and now had more calm and confidence to do the daily training, he ran 25 km every day and would continue to do so until again to the 30 km every day. He was happy too because women were more interested in himself than Zack being very handsome after he got in great shape by running so much with Jake, so all was well with all of Jake''s friends at the university. Jake also continued his alternating training on one day running the 50 km at the fastest pace he was used to and on another day running the 10,000 meters 3 times with a time that was comfortable for Jake. Coach Davis knew that Jake was able to improve his running pace in these two workouts, but he was concerned that Jake''s body would not be able to withstand a more intense training routine. Coach Davis did not know that Jake had a system-enhanced body and thought it was unnecessary to force more on training since Jake was already able to easily win marathons today and was not even competing in the 10,000 meters. So next year''s vacation after the end of the basketball season Coach Davis could calmly consider whether Jake was able to improve much more and support the new, more intensive training routine. Jake didn''t know what Coach Davis was thinking, but he agreed that it was no hurry to improve his training further before he received the Tokyo Marathon reward next year. So after a few more days of training came the day of Team Tar Heels''s second game of the season, Team Tar Heels would have to travel that day to play a game as a visitor, yet everyone was excited after the first game. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start the game, the opposing team in this second game was the Richmond Spiders team, it was another team that the Tar Heels team had faced last season even though it was another conference and easily won the game too. Jake also remembered that the Richmond Spiders team had almost the same team as last season and yet had a very good season this year just putting the reserve players from the previous year to play. Jake remembered that very well because he found it all the more interesting because these reserve players weren''t all freshmen last season and just weren''t put in because the coach decided to put the senior players on the team. "We are going to follow Tar Heels'' team second game this season today, after winning the first game everyone still wants to see how the Tar Heels team will play in the second game." "It''s true, surely the Tar Heels team is being watched the most this season because it''s a very strong team that has been in the NCAA tournament almost every year and even won the NCAA title last year." "And this season this team gets even more attention because they are without coach Dean Smith and there is still Jake Smith who is the best college player today." "That''s right, and from what we saw in this first game in addition to the different formation the team is playing the same way with Jake controlling the creative part of the team and helping out on points and defense and Jamison and Carter playing very well too." "We can say that the team is playing almost the same way because Coach Guthridge who took over the team this season has been Coach Dean Smith''s assistant coach for all these years." In this game from the start, the Tar Heels team wanted to press into the attack to take advantage and make the Richmond Spiders team more nervous, and with Jake, Williams, Jamison, and Carter the team could easily do that. Jake advanced with the ball past the middle of the court and passed Carter on the left, Carter advanced quickly and stopped the ball before the three-point line, Carter got the feint and got rid of the defender and advanced to the painted area. Another defender followed and Carter passed the ball to Jamison who was in front, Jamison held the ball and when the defense approached he passed to Jake who was in the middle, Jake faked the mid-range shot and managed to fool the opponent and drive to the basket to make 2 points with a dunk. Since Jake was known for his ability to do three-point and mid-range shots, he was more likely to go to the painted area and do the dunk or layup, and even if he didn''t get the feint he could use his speed to pass by the defenders and make the points for the team Tar Heels. After scoring the first points, Team Tar Heels stood firm in defense to prevent Team Richmond Spiders from attacking freely and making points, yet Team Richmond Spiders managed to score points with difficulty. But the game continued at this pace until the 10th minute of the first quarter, with pressure from Team Tar Heels and players from Team Richmond Spiders failing to stop Jake from scoring and assists Team He He got a 10-point lead and then decreased the offensive intensity in the game. "What a strong start for the Tar Heels team in this game, almost 10 minutes of intense offensive intensity from the players and with a team with talented players like the Tar Heels team they got 10 points in the middle of the first quarter." "Not only is there strong pressure on the attack, the Team Tar Heels also put a lot of pressure on the defense and thus forced Team Richmond Spiders to miss more plays and rebounds were controlled by Team Tar Heels with Jamison and Jake." "Jake also got 2 steals in those 10 minutes and the Tar Heels team missed a lot less in those early minutes giving them that advantage." By the end of the first quarter, Team Tar Heels still managed to increase their lead even further on the scoreboard, even if Team Richmond Spiders didn''t get too nervous, they still missed more than Team Tar Heels who were quiet with the lead. Chapter 359 College Basketball Season Begins 3 In the first quarter of the game the team Tar Heels played very well and had a good lead, Jake played for every 20 minutes in that first quarter and scored 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals, Jake was not able to catch many rebounds because he wasn''t used to doing that in games yet, and because Jamison was taking a lot more rebounds than he was. In the second quarter the team Tar Heels still played calmly and seemed to be in no hurry and still continued to hit offensive plays and Jake and Williams sometimes hit three points shots and so the advantage just increased. The Richmond Spiders players seemed a lot more nervous being behind the score with such a big difference, so the Richmond Spiders started to look forward to making more rapid attacks and at that point, the Tar Heels team also increased the pressure on the defense. As the second quarter passed, the other reason for the Tar Heels team to make that offensive 10-minute pressure began to appear was because of the physical condition of the players, the physical condition of the Tar Heels team players was better and so after that pressure the players could still hold on until the end of the game. But the Richmond Spiders players could not stand all the excitement at the beginning of the game and still had energy until the end of the game, and the Richmond Spiders team had to press even more into the attack to diminish the advantage that the Tar Heels team had and try to win the game. Thus at the end of the second quarter of the game, the players of the Richmond Spiders team started to get tired and the coach had to put in some substitutes and the team Tar Heels took the opportunity to attack further at the end of the game. Jake and Williams attacked before the three-point line, and Jake always assisted Jamison and Carter to score points from the painted area, Okulaja was also always available to assist in attacking moves. Even though Shammond Williams did not have a hit average as high as Jake on the three-point shots, he still had more than 40 percent hit on the three-point shots, while the Jake drawing the attention of the other teams'' defense was even higher. Thus the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning 91 points against 60 points of the Richmond Spiders team, in this second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes made 15 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. "A great game for the Tar Heels team who once again played with the same formation as the first game and could win again, it looks like we can see the Tar Heels team this season winning just as they did last season." "Undoubtedly, all players on this team are very talented and could play in the NBA in the future or in basketball leagues around the world, with Jake being a distinguished player that team is certainly strong enough to win the NCAA tournament this year." "I think so too, Coach Bill Guthridge seems to be running this team very well having worked for many years with Coach Dean Smith, and he managed to put some of his coaching styles on that team and even changed the lineup, now we hope to see this team will continue to delight us all." "Jake played very well in this game as did Williams and Jamison too, if it goes on like this I see that the Tar Heels team will be the team that makes the most points this season as it was last season." With this victory in an away match the team players got even more confident, Jake was playing well as always and Jamison looked even better this year, with the whole team playing the sports media well and fans expected the Tar Heels team could be champion again. The families of the players who were caught off guard when Coach Dean Smith retired also calmed down realizing that Coach Guthridge also had quality just as Coach Smith had. So Coach Guthridge finally had a calmer environment to work with and prepare players for this long game season, after this third game physical condition would no longer be a problem for any team so the Tar Heels team would only depend on their ability to win the games. Jake intended to try more three-point shots this season and thus score more points in the games, but with Shammond Williams joining the starting team and with him playing longer, Jake had to give up on that idea for now. He already intended to maintain the good rebound average he had last season and wanted to try to get more blocks and steals, so now he could think of further improving his assist average this season. As he thought of joining the NBA after this season he knew he couldn''t break his scoring and assisting records, but he could further improve his average and break his steal record in his entire college career at least. The most important thing for him was to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, Jake was confident that the team could do it and would try his best to do it, Jake knew the team was capable of it and he could just play even better to try it get. After a few more days of training, the day of the third game of the season arrived, this third game was back home at the Dean Smith Center so the Tar Heels team fans came to watch the team play again. After winning in the first two games the crowd began to get used to coach Guthridge and were excited again that the team continued to win many games this year as well. In a few hours, both teams were ready for the game, the opponent in that game was the California Golden Bears team, it was a team that the Tar Heels team faced last season in the NCAA tournament and won. Even though this team had a great performance last season, this season the California Golden Bears team would not play that well and have a bad performance for the fans. In the first quarter, the team Tar Heels was playing with Jake still controlling the pace of the game, although in the last game they put offensive pressure since the beginning of the game was because of the opponent''s physical condition. But as it was still early in the season the players were still getting used to the pace of the game and could not yet play their full skill so Jake played calmly for the Tar Heels team to have more control of the game. They were lucky so far not to face any Center on the opposing team that was too strong offensively, yet without a Center, they could defend well, after all, one of the strengths of that team with Jake was the defensive part as well as the offensive part. By the end of the first quarter, the Tar Heels team was winning by a good lead, but it wasn''t quite like in the last games, Jake had played for every 20 minutes and had scored 14 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. As the team was playing at a slower pace the players were not getting many points, but the opponent also had difficulty scoring points, and not all players were doing well in this game which made it even more difficult. In the second quarter, the two teams continued this slow pace of play, the California Golden Bears team even losing did not despair and tried to press hard in the attack, so they posed no danger to the defense of team Tar Heels, but also gave no chances of receive counterattacks from the Tar Heels team. Jake also only sought victory in this game to increase player confidence and knew how to control the entire team by setting up the game, so the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning by 83 points against just 40 points from the California Golden Bears team. It was a great win for the Tar Heels team with more points in the scoreboard than in the last game, and even not trying so many exciting moves for the fans was still a victory for the Tar Heels team which made everyone happy. Jake controlled the team well and even though the team did not have many opportunities to score points he was still the best player of the team, in this second quarter he played for 20 minutes and made 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. Jake came home and celebrated with his roommates as he did after every game and called his mom to talk about the win, Jake was happy with how this new season was going for him. This time he was playing in every game the 40 minutes and having more opportunities to score points and lead the team to victory, he was also very relaxed with the team playing as well as he thought they would play. Jake was also doing daily workouts with Zack and even though he didn''t feel he was getting as much better as before he still felt good running every day, after earning so many resistance points he no longer got tired of those workouts. With everything going so well Jake was wondering what next season would be if he really went to the NBA, next year would be very hectic for him with the recording of the movie he had, the games of the season and the tournaments to play. Besides, he could still have the draft to join some NBA team, with his NBA debut season he could even imagine how things would be hectic, fortunately, next year with the marathons would be much quieter. For now Jake was only thinking of running two marathons next year and only in 1999 with World Championships in Athletics would be more hectic for him, Jake wanted to run more marathons, but figured that if he entered the NBA he would have to take time to adapt before to be able to participate in more marathons. Chapter 360 College Basketball Season Begins 4 If Jake were really going to join the NBA he would have to talk well with his mother too, Jake would have to move to the city where his team would play and would have to travel all year round in several different cities to play in the season. So Jake figured Eva wouldn''t live in the city where he would live and would continue to take care of the restaurant that was what she always wanted, Jake wanted to see his mother happy and after that first year at university Jake was no longer worried about Eva getting depressed without him around and he also thought his mother was living well without him around. But there was a possibility that Eva might want to move to live in the same city where Jake lived, Jake could imagine that happening and so he knew he would have to talk to her about it before deciding. Sometimes Jake also thought of Kate and what she looked like after they met last time, even though he wasn''t sure what it was he had to admit that he thought of her whenever he had no concern. Especially after he knew that in fact, Kate had thought of him too when they were apart, as she had thought of him after meeting only once even Jake understood that she felt something for him. The truth was, Jake had often thought of looking for Kate to talk to her after the last time they met, but as someone who lived on the internet and smartphones, Jake knew how gossip could end an artist''s career. So he could just hope she really liked him as he thought and call him when she was prepared to deal with the media and the fans if that didn''t happen Jake could only regret it. But after the system said that Kate would actually have died if she didn''t know him, Jake always thought that somehow the fate that sent him back in time was helping him to have a good wife that was one of his dreams when he would die in the past life. Jake was also thinking that he would have to prepare for the next few years in business, maybe he would have to interfere with Amazon to help Jeff Bezos as he approached the 2000s. Jake also had to prepare the money to make a few more investments in the coming years that could make him even richer if he could, the smartphone project and touch and multi-touch technologies would probably be completed next year. Jake would then have to fight to get as many patents as he could on this prototype to earn much more in the smartphone era, he would also have to start developing the Android operating system as soon as he could. He would also have to try to help Matthew prepare to move from one of the world''s largest digital camera companies to technology providers for smartphone and notebook companies around the world. On top of that, he would have to prepare and find the best dates and ways to sell all his and his investment firm''s stock before the bubble burst in the stock market, so only he and investors could make the most out of it. He already had a great company that Emily hired a lot of specialists to buy and sell the stock, these specialists all these years just managed the stock and did almost nothing, but when the time came every year that Jake paid them it would be worth if he could sell all the stock. It showed how Jake''s coming years would be hectic, he would have to work on billions of dollars and be careful not to lose everything while playing basketball and running without neglecting his personal life. Beyond all this after 2000 or perhaps even earlier, his fortune would surely be revealed and discovered by trade magazines like Forbes, while Jake was clever and used the names of Matthew, Oliver, his mother, and Emily to undiscovered, but after 2000 it will be impossible to hide it. Once this has happened his already hectic life will be fully exposed in the media and perhaps he will become one of America''s best-known people after the movie The Matrix was released. No one close to Jake knew or even imagined that something like this would be possible in the future, so Jake just wasn''t stressed about it all because it was good for him and lately everything was working out in his life. He was even excited for all this to happen because it would be proof that everything was going the way he wanted in his past life, even if he didn''t join the NBA next year he sure could in the next few years. After a few more days of training came the day of the next game for the Tar Heels team, this was the first game they considered really difficult, in the last game everyone expected a difficult challenge, but the opponent did not make a good game. But the team they would face in this game was the UCLA team that was one of the biggest winners of the NCAA tournament, so it was a team always respected by all College basketball teams. So Coach Guthridge prepared more and the players trained more willingly this week, Jake knew that in his past life the Tar Heels team would win this game easily, but not even he relaxed in training and was also nervous about this game. Another thing that bothered players was that in the next 3 games they would play in a different 4-quarters format than they were used to, 4 quarters of 10 minutes each. Jake hoped to play the best he could as well as the other players, after several games last season Jake had more confidence from coach Guthridge and therefore suggested that in this next game Shammond Williams would not play and coach put Makhtar N''Diaye to play. Jake remembered that Williams would not be playing well in this game and Makhtar N''Diaye would be very well, Coach Guthridge thought it was because the UCLA team had an excellent Center that was Jelani McCoy and so agreed. Jake didn''t correct the coach because he got what he wanted because Jelani McCoy wouldn''t even be playing this game, after a couple of hours both teams were ready for this game, both teams had to travel to this game so the fans were the same for both sides. "Today we will follow another game that promises to be exciting between these two teams, the UCLA team is the biggest winner of the NCAA tournament and has a glorious history." "The Tar Heels team also has a great history, but it is only after coach Dean Smith has been in charge of the team for many years that the titles have come in recent years, and it is one of the best teams today." "That''s right, the UCLA team has a big draw in this game because this is just their first game this season and the Tar Heels team already comes from 3 wins and gets more confident in that game." "In addition, the Tar Heels team has Jake Smith who has always been performing well since he started playing and is currently the best college player." The game started with both teams studying and being careful, Jake controlled the pace of the game and did not let the opposing PG attack when he was in defense, with N''Diaye playing as Center the team defense was much more stable. From the history of the UCLA team, the Tar Heels team players were being careful in attack and putting a lot of effort into defense, as a result of this first quarter, the Tar Heels team got a slight advantage after Jake made a steal and the team got some offensive rebounds and Defensive. Jake was still studying the pace of the game and so only made a three-point move and was making more plays with mid-range shots and layups, he was also counting on Jamison and Carter who were playing very well and thus making more assists. By the end of the first quarter, the Tar Heels team was winning by a 7-point lead, which left the players excited to play even better in the second quarter to try to secure a win in the first half of the game. "Great first time for the Tar Heels team, in a tough game like this with the two teams balanced the defense of the Tar Heels team that decided to put N''Diaye in Williams position got a lot better and that was what guaranteed this 7 point advantage to the Tar Heels team." "Jamison and Carter were also playing well in this game and Jake seemed to be studying his opponents more, so in this second quarter when he starts trying more three-point plays we will see how the UCLA team will react." In that first quarter, Jake had played for 10 minutes and had only scored 7 points, with 3 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 steals, which is what he always did in the first 10 minutes of his college time, at least against opponents who he found it more difficult. In the second quarter the team Tar Heels was excited about the advantage and thus attacked much more so the players could see the fragility of the UCLA defense in this game in a few minutes with Jake scoring 6 points and an assist, the defense of the team Tar Heels was also able to nullify part of the attacks of the opposing team. This gave more confidence to the Tar Heels team who attacked harder and put more pressure on the defense, so by the end of the second quarter the Tar Heels team was already winning by 31 points and that was only the first half of the game. Jake played for another 10 minutes in this second quarter and can score 16 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake took advantage of the space he got in the attack and landed 4 shots of three points in this second quarter. Chapter 361 College Basketball Season Begins 5 "What an incredible second quarter for the Tar Heels team, they came more focused and missed no attacks and the players seemed to be inspired, Jake scored an incredible 16 points in those 10 minutes." "Scoring 16 points even in an entire game would be a good result for any player and Jake did it in just one quarter, it already shows how he plays differently from the others." "True, but even with Jake scoring so many points Jamison, Carter, Okulaja, and N''Diaye also scored a few points, it shows the strength of the Tar Heels team this season under coach Guthridge." "On the other hand the UCLA team had a second-quarter far worse than their first quarter, the players didn''t have the ability to beat the defense of team Tar Heels and scored a few points in that quarter and were still very poor in defense." "That''s right, we see the coach fighting with the players for having such a bad performance, but with 31 points on the scoreboard I see nothing more than the UCLA team can do in this game." While Coach Steve Lavin fought with the UCLA players, Coach Guthridge praised the great game the Tar Heels team players were having that day, everyone was playing well and focused throughout the game. Coach Guthridge could see how the players he had could have a great future in the NBA or other professional basketball leagues, and he was lucky to coach those players in his first year as a coach after Coach Smith left. In the third quarter the UCLA team returned to play much better, it seemed that coach Lavin''s scolding worked, but the Tar Heels team players were really fine in this game and focused and did not give much space for the UCLA team to make the plays. Jake kept trying the three-point shots and setting up the shots so that Jamison, Carter and the other players had more freedom to score, yet with the UCLA team playing well the Tar Heels team continued to increase the lead. By the end of the third quarter, the Tar Heels team increased their lead even further and the UCLA players had already given up on winning that first game, Jake played for 10 minutes and scored 11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals. In the last quarter of this game, the UCLA team returned to play poorly because the players gave up on winning the game, but the Tar Heels team continued playing as in the other quarters of this game and performing very well. Thus the Tar Heels team won the game to the great advantage and further showing the strength of this team for this season, the Tar Heels team won by 125 points against just 57 points from the UCLA team. Jake played for 10 minutes in the last quarter and scored 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, this was Jake''s first triple-double this season and the best team match of the season by Tar Heels team as well. Such a victory further increased the confidence of the entire team and coach Guthridge and the fans, especially because they had won against a strong team like the UCLA team. "What a great game for the Tar Heels team in this game, against a strong team like the UCLA team they managed to win with double the opposing team''s score and great offensive and defensive performance as well as a great performance of all players." "Antawn Jamison made a double-double on this one and Vince Carter also had a great offensive game, and Jake Smith was amazing in this game making his first triple-double this season scoring 46 points, it looks like we can see Jake winning all of the prizes again in this season." "Undoubtedly, on the other side the UCLA team had a bad second quarter and fourth quarter, in the last quarter the players were discouraged because the game was already lost, but the second quarter was a complete inattention of the team." "In the first quarter the UCLA team players played very well, and in the third quarter after the coach''s scolding the team returned to play well, but the game was already lost after the bad second quarter." "I think this game was an exception and the UCLA team will still have a great season, but the Tar Heels team play the same way since the first game of this season, it''s the fourth straight win and it looks like we can see the team making a great season just as it was last year." Jake and the other team players were very happy after this game, Jake celebrated again with his teammates, he also called Eva to talk to his mother as he always did after games . The team didn''t have time to train and rest because the next day they had to play another game, they were in a kind of preseason tournament and so they played in four quarters and three days in a row at the Sullivan Arena in Alaska. This second game would be against the Seton Hall team, which this year would not have a good season despite having some quality players, so the players of the Tar Heels team were not so excited to try hard. Still, everyone was excited after the victory against the UCLA team in the last game and Jake also wanted to play well in that game, just as in the last game Coach Guthridge decided to leave Williams out of the team. But in this game as Jake had said nothing, Coach Guthridge decided to let Ed Cota play in place of Shammond Williams to test a different starting lineup, Jake said nothing about it and just prepared for the game. The truth was that Jake thought that with him playing as PG and setting up the plays and assists the team didn''t need another player in that position, but it seemed that Coach Guthridge thought differently from him and so put Cota in this game. In the first quarter of the game you could clearly see that the players didn''t have the same excitement and concentration in the game, Carter didn''t seem too excited to attack as much as in the last game and Okulaja was as usual. Even so Jake, Jamison, and Cota were playing well in offense and defense and so the Seton Hall players were having difficulty making the moves, as Cota was in the team Jake left him to make some plays as the point guard and just made the assists teammates score points. Everyone could see that clearly after all Ed Cota even though he was a great player didn''t have that much quality to play in other positions and only had the best performance as SG, since Jake could play wherever he wanted on the court and not fall in quality. It seemed that the quality of the gameplay was still the same, and Seton Hall''s defense had a harder time defending against Jake and Cota who could assist Carter, Jamison or Okulaja at any moment, or they could just try to shoot from mid-range and the three-point shot. Even though Team Seton Hall playing well in the first quarter Team Tar Heels still had the full advantage, Jamison still scored as many points as in the last game and even Cota was still hitting more mid-range moves. Jake played for 10 minutes and made 9 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, even though Jake was still playing as PG and doing some assists with Cota on the team he had fewer opportunities to make assists. "What a good game we are following today, Team Seton Hall is working hard on defense and attack to beat Team Tar Heels, but players from Team are making a great game today as well." "This change from Coach Guthridge made the Tar Heels team play differently than all games this season and last season took the Seton Hall team by surprise." "It just shows how Coach Guthridge has more freedom to change the lineup without losing quality because that team has great players in both the start and reserve." "This game also shows Jake''s incredible adaptability sometimes playing as PG, sometimes as SG and sometimes as SF in this game without disturbing the players who are in that position and so Ed Cota who plays better as PG can do better than he can." In the second quarter, the team Tar Heels continued to attack well and defended even better, while the team Seton Hall missed much as the team UCLA did in the last game and therefore the advantage of team Tar Heels only increased. Unlike the last game, however, it was not unexpected that with Team Tar Heels putting more pressure on the defense Team Seton Hall missed more in this second quarter, Jake played for 10 minutes and scored 8 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. In the third quarter, Team Seton Hall returned to play better and Team Tar Heels kept attacking a lot but did not press the defense because they already had a lot of advantage in the scoreboard, with three games in three days Team Tar Heels could not overreact to not have players very tired or injured. In the third quarter, Jake played for 10 minutes and scored 9 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, even though he didn''t score as many points and assists as in the last game Jake still focused on defense and got a lot of steals in all quarters. From the last game Coach, Guthridge had this concern and so besides Jake, the players didn''t play more than 30 minutes, Coach Guthridge already knew that at the beginning of the season Jake would have no problem playing three straight games all the time without getting tired. In the last quarter, Team Tar Heels was still attacking with a will and not relaxing just because they had almost guaranteed victory, Seton Hall also did not relax in the last quarter and kept trying to play well despite knowing that they had already lost the game. Chapter 362 College Basketball Season Begins 6 Tar Heels team won this match by scoring 105 points against 59 points for the Seton Hall team, in this last quarter Jake played for 10 minutes and scored 11 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 3 steals, so Jake made the first double-double in this quarter. season. After this victory, even slightly tired Tar Heels team players were still excited about the great start of the season, the next day would still have another game before returning to normal games of the season. The great performance of the Tar Heels team this early season was receiving a lot of praise from the media and even coaches from other teams for Coach Guthridge and the team, some hoped that the Tar Heels team might not have a good season and these games were the answer. Even though the whole team was happy about this great start to the season, many players were nervous because they didn''t know if they could continue in Coach Guthridge''s initial lineup this season. Only Jake, Jamison and Carter have confirmed players on this starting team, Okulaja had a position in every game but knew that he could go out to N''Diaye to play anytime, Williams who thought the chance of him being a player in the initial formation had arrived almost did not play in these last games. And Ed Cota who had almost given up hope of having more playing time got excited again after playing almost the entire last game, this was good for the team as players would not settle in and would train harder after those games to secure a seat on this team. This was making Coach Guthridge happier and the whole team also because of this competition for team positions they kept winning, even though Jake, Jamison, and Carter who had the positions secured always struggled in every game for the best of the team. After everyone rested for just one night the other day had the last game in a row that they had to play, the players were tired for that game because even though it was just the beginning of the season they still didn''t have the ideal fitness they would have after Halfway through the season. So in this game, Coach Guthridge had to rely on Jake to lead this team more than usual, before the game Jake told Coach Guthridge to put Williams back in the team and take Carter out to put N''Diaye in this game. The coach trusted Jake''s vision and decided to do so, all the more so because this game would be harder than the others because it faced another team that had great players and was doing well this season in a game where players were more tired. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start this game, the opponent for Team Tar Heels in this game was the strong Purdue Boilermakers team, the Purdue team would have a great season as Jake remembered. Last season of this team was not very good, but even with the same players with more experience this year''s season would be much better for this team, one of the best players of this team was Brad Miller who played in several NBA teams and was very talented. So Jake recommended that N''Diaye who could play as Center play in place of Carter who would play poorly in today''s game so that they could strengthen the team''s defense, Williams would play very well in that game and so had to go back to the team. Jake was expecting a very difficult game and so wanted the team to be careful and to put pressure on the defense and to work hard on attack, but that was hard to ask when the players were tired. That is why Williams, who was rested for almost not playing in the last games, would be important for the attack of the team Tar Heels and N''Diaye could help more in the defense, yet Jake remembered that in this game Brad Miller would be playing very well and that is why It would also help in defense. "We''re here to follow another College basketball game this season between Team Tar Heels and Team Purdue Boilermakers, which we hope is another easy win for Team Tar Heels as in the last 5 games." "Sure enough, last season we saw the Tar Heels team win most games and lose only 2 games and end the season winning the NCAA tournament, and we have almost the same team with Jake who is the best player on that team." "One of the only players that the Tar Heels team lost this season was an important player for the team and for the NCAA title conquest Center Serge Zwikker, in this game we will once again see how the Tar Heels team does without a quality Center to playing against the Brad Miller Purdue Boilermakers team." "That''s right, I''m sure Brad Miller will be very active in this game against the Tar Heels team precisely because the team is trying to play some games without a Center in defense and attack." Coach Guthridge was also worried about this and thought that maybe N''Diaye couldn''t stop a talented player like Miller in this game, but he agreed with Jake that N''Diaye was the best for this game. In the first minutes of the first quarter the Purdue Boilermakers team started attacking, they did not hurry and attacked calmly to try to get the points, Jake was focused on defense and Jamison was also. Only the most concentrated players were playing in this formation and everyone wants to win even if they did not think their opponent was strong, the Purdue Boilermakers team knew how to play well and the ball was passed to Miller who can make the 2 points even with the N''Diaye''s defense. Jake wanted to help N''Diaye, but could not simply abandon his position in defense, he would have to find the right opportunity to steal the ball in the other plays, Jake received the ball and went to attack to tie the game. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams on the left, without Carter playing in this game Williams played as SG normally and the positions were better defined. Williams advanced with the ball and then felt the pressure of the Purdue Boilermakers defense, Williams tried no further and pass the ball to Okulaja, Okulaja held the ball and then passed to Jake behind. Jake saw that the Purdue Boilermakers team was trying to pressure the Tar Heels team attack and so started attacking himself, Jake made a feint and the opposing PG was not fooled but was shaken so Jake made the quick crossover and passed him. Purdue Boilermakers PG managed to recover in defense because Jake was not so fast and Jake took the opportunity to step back and back off the three-point line to try an outside shot. Jake got it right and scored 3 points for the Tar Heels team and so passed the lead, Purdue Boilermakers tried to attack again and with pressure from the defense of the Tar Heels team missed the attack, but Brad Miller caught the rebound and made 2 more points. In another attacking move by the Tar Heels team, the ball went to Okulaja who missed the attack and Brad Miller caught the offensive rebound again, Jake realized he could count more on those attacks with Jamison, Williams and himself. But Jamison and Williams were well defended in this first quarter and so Jake was having difficulty making assists, so he had to attack himself to get the Tar Heels team to finish that first-quarter upfront. Thus at the end of the first quarter, Team Tar Heels ended up leading on the scoreboard with Jake scoring 9 points hitting three three-point shots in that first quarter as Purdue Boilermakers tried to press Jake with more players in defense Jake was assisting. In that first quarter Jake played for 10 minutes and made 9 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal, it was a tough first quarter for the whole Tar Heels team, but Purdue Boilermakers also failed to attack easily. Before the start of the second quarter coach Guthridge spoke briefly as the players, he spoke more to N''Diaye and Okulaja asking them to try to further upset the Purdue Boilermakers team''s defense for Jamison and Williams to have more opportunities to make the plays. Jake was playing very well and just needed the right opportunities to assist his teammates, coach Guthridge was also worried about Miller and asked N''Diaye to be more careful in defense. In the second quarter, Jake had more pressure from the Purdue Boilermakers defense, but with the movement of the Tar Heels team players Jake had more options to assist, he preferred to move to Jamison and Williams, but he would move to Okulaja and N''Diaye if they are free to make the points. So in the second quarter the game was more disputed and both teams attacked and defended with quality, Jake still found opportunities whenever he could to make the assists, but if not could create a chance to make the points. In the second quarter, Miller was still fine and even though N''Diaye struggling was hard to defend against Miller that day, Jake could only find two opportunities and so made 2 steals to retrieve the ball and prevent Miller from scoring more points. Williams and Jamison were much better in this second quarter as well and scored a lot of points that helped the Tar Heels team finish ahead in the second quarter as well, so Tar Heels team had a bigger lead, but Purdue Boilermakers still had a chance to look for them the victory. "Good game so far for both teams, the Purdue Boilermakers team has been surprised by putting a lot of difficulty into the Tar Heels team to attack and playing very well so far with Brad Miller making a great game so far." "But even with Jake playing very well as always and Jamison and Williams scoring several points in this second quarter, the team has a good lead before the third quarter." Chapter 363 College Basketball Season Begins 7 "That''s right, the Purdue Boilermakers team has been the toughest opponent for the Tar Heels team this season, they managed to stop the Tar Heels team''s strong attack in the first quarter and so almost managed to finish the first quarter ahead on the scoreboard." "But with Jake''s great first half Tar Heels team ended up ahead in the first quarter, in the second quarter both teams attacked more and with N''Diaye and Okulaja bothering the defending opponent Tar Heels team can score more points." "True, Miller is playing very well taking advantage of the defensive defenses of the Tar Heels team to score more points, but we have seen that against this very strong offensive team Tar Heels the best way to play against them is to defend." "Almost every player in the Tar Heels team attack has to stop, so Jake can still score and the opposing team just has to score more points than Jake and win." The commentator said this and everyone interpreted it as a joke, he said that the opposing team would have to focus completely on the defense and even then it would do no good because Jake would still score the points and besides focusing on the defense the attack would have to make more points than the opponent Jake who excels at three-point play and has an 80% average hit rate this season. Of course, this was not true because if a team attacked very well without losing too many attacks they could still easily beat Team Tar Heels, which happens to be hard to find a team that can easily pass Jake and Jamison who was in the defense and make the points in almost every attack. In the second quarter, Jake played for 10 minutes and scored 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, a good second quarter of Jake that made it possible for the Tar Heels team to finish this quarter with even more advantage. Even though it was a good advantage, it wasn''t good enough for Team Tar Heels and it was too small to make Team Purdue Boilermakers discourage, players from Team Purdue Boilermakers were realizing that they could put pressure on Team Tar Heels in this game and that was leaving everyone animated. Since they were losing the game, the Purdue Boilermakers team decided to attack with everything in this third quarter instead of just defending what they were thinking of doing, Miller was the focus of that team in the attack because the other players in the attack were having a hard time attacking. After the first 2 quarter Jake already knew how the Purdue Boilermakers team attacked and was prepared to help N''Diaye further in defense to disrupt plays with Miller, the Tar Heels team also wanted to attack a lot in that last quarter to ensure victory. Shammond Williams was playing well in the offense, but didn''t seem to want to try too much of three points and had missed four shots that he tried, so Jamison had already scored a lot with Jake and Williams had not even scored 10 points by the end of the second quarter. So Jake called him before the start of the third quarter and told Williams to try more three-point shots because he trusted him to win, which made Williams more excited to try. In defense early in the third quarter, Purdue Boilermakers tried to make the attacking move and Jake managed to intercept the pass, he used his speed to run to the attack side of the court and the opponents could not keep up with him and Jake finished the play with a dunk. With that, the Purdue Boilermakers team had to be more careful when attacking so that Jake did not intercept the passes, in another attacking move Jake went to Williams who was free to the left, but Williams was so excited to make the three points that ended up stepping in line of three points and thus the play was worth only 2 points. But with that he was more confident of making more moves like this in the third quarter, in defense Jake seized a moment that Miller was distracted and made a block on him, this was Jake''s first block of the season. In this third period the team greatly increased the advantage because the offensive part went very well and the defense, even more, thanks to the confidence that Jake gave to him, Williams made 2 plays of 3 points and 8 points in this quarter just missing 1 move. In this third quarter Jake played for 10 minutes and made 8 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals, was one of Jake''s best quarters of the season, he was already fully recovering the pace he had at the end of last season. Even with much difference in the scoreboard and the victory already almost guaranteed for the team Tar Heels, the Purdue Boilermakers team still returned to play well in this last quarter of the game, they did not give up and played well as in every game. Even with Jake helping the defense, Miller still managed to score several points in this game, in the last quarter Jamison was attacking well and Williams hit two more three-point shots and scored eight more points in this last period. So the Tar Heels team won this game very well even with the Purdue Boilermakers team also playing very well, in this fourth quarter Jake played for 10 minutes and made 9 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block, and 3 steals. Tar Heels team won by 89 points against 67 points by Purdue Boilermakers, it was the hardest game for the Tar Heels team and Shammond Williams was the one who helped Tar Heels team to win more than Jake in that game. "We had a great game here today, Team Tar Heels and Team Purdue Boilermakers played very well and Team Purdue Boilermakers was a nice surprise in this game, with Miller making a good game they fought for victory and in the first quarters of the game." "But with Jake playing very well as always Tar Heels team always got the lead on the scoreboard, after the third quarter the Purdue Boilermakers team kept fighting, but Jake made 3 blocks in that game and 9 steals prevented several major Purdue Boilermakers attacks." "In addition, Jake made another double-double with 37 points and 10 assists that helped the Tar Heels team win in this game." "That''s right, what we saw in this game is the strength of the Tar Heels team even when a defensive problem arose, Coach Guthridge worked well with the team and from the second quarter onwards the whole Tar Heels team was already reacting better to the team attacks Purdue Boilermakers." "Even if the Purdue Boilermakers team got an advantage in the first two quarters the team could still react before the end of the game and win." "True, but I still think Jake is very important to this team and makes everything easier, with Jake on this team I find it hard for them to lose if the other players play normally." After this game the Tar Heels team had a 6-win streak and could not be a better start for a team that needs confidence with a new coach, the crowd was also excited and Jake had already become a fan idol in less than two years playing in the team. So everyone came back happy to the university and could rest, after three games in three days in a row the players were tired for the first time this season, everyone knew that the season had not even officially started and had many months for this team to play. Jake called his mom to talk about the games of the last days and they talked about other things like the restaurant, Jake sometimes called Anna secretly to know how Eva was in the restaurant and it showed how he cared about her. Anna said everyone in the restaurant was fine and that they were starting to change the menu again, a long time ago since the last time the restaurant changed the menu and customers needed new things. Jake knew well how to cook that he even received compliments from Anna, but he tried not to comment on the restaurant menu because he had confidence in Anna''s wisdom and wanted his mother to try to create something too. Jake also celebrated with his roommates and so can rest peacefully, the other day Jake returned to normal training with the basketball team and also returned to daily training with Zack racing. Jake had already talked to David Falk and after a few months they would talk about Jake''s willingness to get into the 1998 draft, Jake already had the ability to do that and could even be number one this season but Jake wanted more than that and maybe wanted to try to talk about the team he wanted to play in the next few years. David Falk was very excited to be the sports agent after Jake''s excellent last season, even though Jake competing in marathons was a reason for David to get excited because it would only increase Jake''s market value. So maybe this was just the right time for Jake to join the NBA, so the NBA would have a big change in both business and retirement of major players, and it was important that Jake could settle in the NBA before this storm to become perhaps the player who made the fans keep watching the NBA for years to come. Not to mention that the sponsors will be looking for a new star player to invest in and Jake has already confirmed his ability to bring profits to the companies he sponsors, David Falk was already negotiating some excellent contracts that would have yet to be approved by Jake, but himself was happy about that. The hardest thing for David was Jake''s request for contracts not to be longer than 4 years, this could hurt himself with market instability, but David tried to do so because he had confidence that Jake could only improve in the coming years. Chapter 364 College Basketball Season Begins 8 In the coming days, the players were doing lighter training to regain energy for the next games, taking advantage of this light training and still having 4 days between games Jake decided to help Aaron as he had promised. Next season Aaron would start training with his team, but until he could train with the team he would have to train alone to keep fit, Jake called Aaron to run with him and Zack. But Aaron was used to doing one more explosive run than the long run as Jake and Zack did, and to improve stamina and stamina Aaron had another kind of training. Aaron''s biggest problem training on his own was his skills as a Wide receiver, he had no way of training his ability to receive passes alone, so he asked Jake for help knowing that he played time on the high school football team. Even though Jake said he played for a short time Aaron knew that Jake was not a liar and if he can play as the team''s initial quarterback without training in the team he should at least know how to pass well. Jake naturally agreed to help Aaron because he also enjoyed playing football at times and had confidence in making dozens of passes for Aaron without getting tired of his current strength and endurance statistics. Aaron took advantage of these days that Jake helped to do all the training he needed a quarterback to do and so made the most of Jake''s help, he can see in person how Jake was really talented as a quarterback being able to make several accurate passes at a distance of many Yards. If Aaron had not seen Jake playing basketball he would say it was a pity that Jake did not play football, but Aaron knew that Jake was doing what was best for himself and was also safer. Jake, not enough of the football world to judge, but he knew Aaron was at least better than all the Wide receiver he played in high school, of course, Jake knew that the Wide receiver needed to have more skills than Jake could not seeing in such a simple training, but just being on the college football team showed how talented Aaron was. After a few days of training, the day of the next game for Team Tar Heels came, it was another away game and Team Tar Heels would have some more before returning to play at the Dean Smith Center. Even though as 6 straight wins the team was very confident for this match, coach Guthridge could also work more smoothly with the team without anyone charging him for anything with the team having great results. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start this game, the opponent in today''s game was the team Louisville Cardinals, Jake remembered that this season would not be very good for this team as it was last season, but the players of the team Tar Heels did not know said and were preparing for a difficult game. For this game the starting team would be what Coach Guthridge considered the top without N''Diaye on the team, Shammond Williams, Carter, Jamison, Okulaja and Jake would play in today''s game on the starting team. But that didn''t leave the early players at ease and the reserve team players were still waiting for an opportunity, everyone knew that the 7 players could play in any game and maybe only Jake and Jamison were guaranteed on the team. This was a game of only 2 quarters as the Tar Heels team players were used to playing, but the strategy used had to be different than it was in the last games, so both teams had to be careful. Jake knew that Jamison would be playing well in this game as in all this season and Williams would be playing well again, even if Carter was not so good in this game Jake still trusted that he could score more points and help disrupt the opposing team''s defense. In the first quarter the team Tar Heels started attacking well and also pressing in defense, Jake was not afraid of the opposing team and so made quiet moves and this made the players calmer as well. In the first 10 minutes of the first quarter, Jake was trying some three-point shots to increase the lead and his teammates were also performing well. So in the rest of the first quarter with a good lead, Team Tar Heels could play more smoothly and this put more pressure on Team Louisville Cardinals, Jake also got some steals and hindered several moves from the opponent. By the end of the first quarter, the Tar Heels team had a good lead, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 17 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jake had a good first quarter and made the Tar Heels team more comfortable for the second quarter. In the second quarter, Louisville Cardinals became more agitated to try to win and the Tar Heels team increased the pressure on the defense, the Tar Heels team attacked calmly so they could quietly play in the second quarter and further increase the lead. At the end of the game, Tar Heels team won 94 points against 74 points of Louisville Cardinals team, in this second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes and made 18 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Another good game for the Tar Heels team and that was making the fans happier, but it also made the coach and the players more nervous, after all with a sequence of 7 victories the fans always wanted more and the players too and that was a concern more at game time. Only at the end of the season when tournaments started did the team''s winning streak no longer make so much difference because if the team lost they would be eliminated from the tournaments so winning was a must. After just a day''s rest, the Tar Heels team soon had to travel to do another two-game sequence in two straight days away from home, it was a tiring game sequence for players and Jake knew that this season they would hardly have time to rest. After a while both teams were ready for the start of the game, the opposing team in this game was the Chattanooga Mocs team, it was another team that Jake remembered that had a good last season, but that this season would not play very well. The expectation of everyone in this game was the victory of the team Tar Heels and perhaps a more exciting game with many points, Jake knew that this would not be a game of many points and was already prepared for it. In the first quarter, the Tar Heels team players were excited to play, but within minutes everyone realized that the Chattanooga Mocs players were not playing very well in this game. Maybe it was a difference between players'' ability, but the game wasn''t as exciting as the Tar Heels team players expected, yet they still struggled in defense and made the play as usual. Coach Guthridge also noticed this and asked the players to still work hard and Jake tried to get the Tar Heels team players to save energy on attacking plays. Jake understood and slowed the attacking pace of the team and just wanted to attack with who was more willing, Jamison was playing well as always and Okulaja also seemed to want to attack, and Carter still wanted to make some moves. So Jake decided that he would play more with them and not pass the ball to Williams who was playing poorly in this game, Jake also wanted to make the moves and even at a slower pace the team still attacked well in that game. By the end of the first quarter, the Tar Heels team had a great lead and had virtually secured a win against Chattanooga Mocs who was not doing well in this game, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. In the second quarter, the Chattanooga Mocs team returned a little better in the game, but the Tar Heels team''s huge advantage and strong defense took Chattanooga Mocs''s willingness to play, Jake kept attacking at a slow pace and took advantage of the seconds to attack in every move. So the players from Team Tar Heels didn''t get tired and Team Tar Heels could still attack effectively, Jake played well in the second quarter as well and relied on Jamison and the other teammates to secure another win. The game ended with the victory of team Tar Heels who scored 84 points against 31 points of team Chattanooga Mocs, in this second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes and made 16 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. It was another good game for the Tar Heels team that was clearly playing so that the players could save energy for next day''s game, Jake and Jamison were again the best players of the team and were the best players of the season so far. Carter was falling a little behind in the best-attacking trio of this team, but Jake couldn''t do anything because Jamison was really playing very well and it was easier for Jake to assist with Jamison. The Tar Heels team crowd was much more excited with this 8-team winning streak and excellent performances from Jake who was the best player on the team and from all universities in recent seasons. It was interesting that when Jake played on the Tar Heels team he played so well that everyone forgot he was a marathon runner, but when he was running and winning several marathons breaking world records everyone forgot that he played basketball too. Chapter 365 College Basketball Season Begins 9 The other day the Tar Heels team already had another game this season, thanks to the last game with a slower pace the players did not spend much energy and were prepared for that game. Jake had already talked to Coach Guthridge that after this game he would go to Miami to spend a week with his mother, he wanted to take advantage of these opportunities to stay home because this season would be very crowded and players would never have more than a week to relax. So he would go this time and around Christmas again, because then only in February would the players have some time to rest and spend with their family and then just after the end of the season. Jake had to enjoy it because he regretted not doing it last season and Coach Guthridge gave Jake more freedom because he knew how great he was in every game and training of the season. He also wouldn''t have time to talk to Matthew and Emily this holiday season and couldn''t talk to David Falk, so he would have to delay all the things he had to work out for February next year. The worst thing for Jake was that he was going to spend his birthday this year at university and couldn''t go home as he always did, but he was expecting it when he decided to become a professional basketball player. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start the game, the opponent in that game was the Virginia Tech team, the Virginia Tech team had a last regular season and Jake remembered that this season would not be very good for this team. The fans and the media hoped that this was also an easy game for the Tar Heels team because Jake kept playing very well in every game and Jamison also always showed that he deserved to be one of the best players this season. Jake remembered that Carter and Williams would also be playing well in this game, so he wasn''t very nervous about the Virginia Tech team game either, so the team could play willingly because the players would have a week to rest after that game. In the first quarter, however, the game was different from what Jake thought with Team Virginia Tech trying to pressure Team Tar Heels into both offense and defense, even though Jake could still make the moves his teammates had a harder time making the points. In defense, Tar Heels managed to hold on well with Jake and the other more focused defense players, so Jake decided to make a few more individual plays until the team could make the attacking moves better. The opposing defense tried to hinder Jake in the plays, but Jake was skilled and could always get space to make the three-point shot or dribble to layup, but even the opponent knowing it was hard to defend against Jake they couldn''t let go. him alone and had to at least try to disturb him. And that was right because with the pressure of defense even Jake could miss a few shots of three, luckily Jamison helped catch some rebounds and so the Tar Heels team did not miss the attacks. Even with a tougher first quarter Tar Heels can still attack and defend well and finished the first quarter with a good lead, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 21 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. The Virginia Tech team also missed more while trying to attack more willingly to try to beat this first quarter, so Jake and Jamison had more opportunities to catch the rebounds in defense. At half-time Coach Guthridge made some changes and gave some advice to the players, the players were not tired yet and in the second quarter, it was time for the Tar Heels team to put pressure on attack and defense. This strategy took Virginia Tech by surprise because they were thinking of slowing down the game so that they could re-press Tar Heels later and try to win, the Tar Heels attacks were much more accurate and strong and the defense then It was even stronger. Jake started making more assists for Jamison and Carter in the attack and for Williams when he was within the three-point line because in this game Williams was poorly on a three-point play. Jake continued to attack well in this second quarter and this made the Virginia Tech team have a harder time defending having to worry about Jake, Jamison, Carter, and Williams, so the advantage was only increasing. At the end of the game, the team Tar Heels won with a great advantage in this game, in the second quarter the team Tar Heels was very well in attack and gave no chance for the team Virginia Tech to react. Team Tar Heels won by scoring 97 points against just 51 points from Team Virginia Tech, in this second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes and made 19 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, this was one of the few games Jake ever made the most. 40 points in the season. The whole team was fine offensively and so Jake couldn''t get many moves to score more points, but he was hoping for a special game to try to maybe score 60 points in a game this season which was what Jake wanted. After this game, the Tar Heels team now had a 9-win streak, the same sequence that the team had last season before losing, so after that week of rest, the players had to come back willingly to try to win the next game. After the team returned to university Jake celebrated with his roommates and warned everyone that he was going to Miami the next day, he would drop off at university and catch the plane that had already bought tickets before. Jake had also warned Coach Davis that he could rest with his family this week, it was difficult for Coach Davis to live with his family in a hotel, but even when Jake offered to buy a house Coach Davis said it would only be a waste. After all Jake would leave college after this season or maybe after another year, so buying a house for such a short time was a waste, but Coach Davis was happy because he was giving a good life to his family and was still able to pay the medicine for his daughter to live a normal childhood without pain. Not to mention that Coach Davis''s job wasn''t too difficult because Coach had almost nothing to teach Jake during the year and just a few times that Jake needed help, Coach Davis could even bring his daughter sometimes to accompany Jake''s training. His 9-year-old daughter named Lara was very fond of Jake as well as the coach''s wife, so their working relationship was very good and Coach Davis was pleased to be coaching one of the greatest athletes in history like Jake. It would be after winning more gold medals in different modalities of athletics. The other day Jake returned to Miami to spend a few days with his mother before the next game, Eva didn''t know Jake would come this time and that would come as a surprise, but Jake was wise and even if he wanted to make a surprise he still didn''t go to the restaurant not to disturb Lola and stayed at home waiting for Eva to return. After doing his normal training routine, Jake thought of having a special dinner for his mother as it had not been long since she started working at the restaurant, Jake knew that Eva liked to have dinner at home and rarely ate at the restaurant since she started back home early. Eva knew well that Jake was a great cook and she thought he learned to cook on his own, but the truth was that Jake was an excellent cook after learning how to cook for many years in his past life. But how strange it would be for someone as young as he was a few years ago to just cook very well. Jake still held back and didn''t make the best dishes he knew using all his skills. In fact, a few months ago Jake had the opportunity to cook at home when Eva was in the restaurant and wanted to make one of the best dishes he knew, and he saw that he cooked even better than in his past life, perhaps because of his increased agility which also increased his dexterity. As Jake was unsure what he could do he decided to make two dishes that although not the best he could do could please Eva a lot, the dishes he would make were Poutine which was a Canadian dish and Paella that Jake knew that his mother liked it when she ate in Spain. Jake already knew how to make this dish well, but after going to Spain for the second time with his lighter-hearted mother without the worries he had in his past life, Jake improved even more after eating this dish a few times during the trip. When Eva got home after working at the restaurant she was very tired but was soon excited to see that Jake was home, she didn''t really expect it because she saw Jake''s game the day before, but was very happy with that surprise. After talking for a while, Eve realized it was because Jake wouldn''t have time to come to Miami next year, at least he could spend Christmas at home, she understood well how Jake was busy at university and was happy just to find Jake time to come home. After that Eva and Jake had dinner and she was impressed again to see how Jake had improved as a cook, it was hard to understand why he had almost no time to do anything, but Eva had to admit that the food Jake made was better than everyone else her restaurant dishes. Chapter 366 College Basketball Season Begins 10 Eva can''t say anything but eat the food happily and compliment Jake''s talent, because those two dishes were once on the restaurant menu and it was Anna herself who cooked, so the restaurant had no problems with the recipe. Also, after working so long at the restaurant Eva learned that anyone who prepared the dish with the same recipe made all the difference, she couldn''t even cook all those years better than Anna or even some cooks at her restaurant. So she could only admire Jake who was talented in everything he did, she was proud to have a child so that even though she had achieved so much at such a young age she was still humble and striving to get even better. As Jake had come by surprise few people knew he was in Miami, Eva decided to just say that to Anna at the restaurant, Jake also didn''t tell almost anyone he was in Miami, only Emily knew he was home. Nothing important could happen in the week he was home, and if it happened people could look for his mother or his friends at the university who knew where he was. There was no way he could talk to Matthew about the company because the official sales report would come out only early next year and it was better for him to settle it only in February when he had another week off. His sponsors were also busy with the company''s reporting and accounting at the end of the year, Jake just knew that John''s company hoped to break their company''s sales record again this year. They were smart and only invested advertising money in Jake-related stuff, the rest of the profits and even new investments were concentrated on their product quality, they greatly improved the product so that customers would buy their drink because of Jake and then continue to consume the product because they liked the drink. This seemed to be working because the company''s sales only increased, Jake didn''t expect to renew the sponsorship agreement with John''s company and so wanted to know what their profit would be next year when their contract would probably end in the middle of the year. He hoped that the companies that worked with him would continue to profit even after he was no longer sponsored by these companies, these companies helped Jake when he needed it most and he wanted to help if possible. Just as Jake wanted in the next few days he stayed home relaxing and enjoying time with his mother, so Eva this week was coming home early to spend more time with Jake and he was training at home while his mother was at the restaurant. He wouldn''t be without training just because he was home and he had nothing else to do, the training center that Jake set up at his house was better than some things he used at the university because they were more suited to him. But after 2 days Emily called Jake saying she wanted to meet him at lunch, Jake knew that Emily was very busy running the investment company so she knew it should be something important and went to meet her. "Hi Emily, you look very good today." "Thank you, I''m happy for what has been happening with the company, I never expected these actions to appreciate so much, it makes me feel that everything we worked on was worth it." "Did you come to report on the company''s investments?" "No, that''s what I called you for, but if you want I can tell you how the company is doing." "Of course, you can give me a report." "Your stock has appreciated a lot in recent years, mainly because of the investment you made last year, this year you have stocks worth $ 44 million." Jake had hoped for that when he invested last year, he knew that in fact the stocks had not even started to appreciate much, in the next 3 years these stocks would appreciate more than 10 times the current value, but of course as soon as he could invest more he would earn. If he had invested the $ 33 million he used to buy Clara''s stock to help her, he would have doubled that now and more than 10 times that over the next 3 years, so when Jake said he wanted help Clara he was being more than sincere. "The shares that my father''s group has now are worth $ 98 million, I never expected them to make so much, I told my father that if he sold those stocks as he wanted to do last year he would have lost a lot of money." "Still he told me it''s too risky and keeps saying to ask you to sell his shares." "Matthew''s shares are worth $ 987 million, not long after reaching $ 1 billion when he received this report he no longer told me that he wanted to sell the shares he had invested." Jake was glad that Matthew finally trusted him again, after seeing the stocks valuing Matthew who was a smart businessman and knew well Jake decided to let Jake take care of his investments. If Matthew sold his shares last year as he wanted, he would have lost more than $ 200 million and regretted it for a lifetime, after which he thought it was better just to trust Jake to take care of his investments, but Matthew would not. would invest more money in stocks. On the other hand, Jake was very upset with Emily''s father and his group''s investors, Jake hoped that this group would keep these investments because in the coming years it will appreciate almost 10 times more. Also because it was Emily''s dad''s group and Jake wanted Emily''s family to make a lot of money, but it had been years and Emily''s dad was just charging Jake more and more to sell his shares. In addition, Jake knew from Oliver that Emily''s father and other investors complained that Jake charged a high management fee to invest and also gave clients no freedom to sell the products. Jake didn''t plan on continuing with this investment company after 2000, but it wasn''t good to hear others complain about Jake''s company to help people make more money from his knowledge of the future. Also, this was the best time to sell these shares without negatively affecting the market, in the coming years Jake could not sell nearly $ 90 million without having any reaction on the value of Cisco shares. "I''m sorry Emily, but your father and his friends have already pissed me off about their investment, which is not a tenth of what the company has invested, I wanted to help them make more money, but after all that he did, I''ll ask you to sell his shares and give them the money." "No, Jake, let me talk to my dad, I know how much he will lose money if he sells his shares now." "There''s no way, Emily, he''s been defaming me and the company these last few years, if you want to invest I help you, but your father''s investments are no longer in my company." Emily felt it was a pity, but she knew well enough that Jake had already endured too much because of her, she also knew what her father and the other investors were doing and could do nothing about it. "Get them to sign a liability statement that they want their shares to be sold and then you can sell." "I''ll do it, my dad will be happy about it now, but will regret it in the future, well, I wanted to tell you that Charlie and his group have finished developing the smartphone as you requested and also a tablet, as you asked." "They are coming to Miami and tomorrow they will be here to show the finished product, Charlie said it was just the same as you said and it is ready." Jake was very happy to hear that, he didn''t expect Charlie to actually finish this product later this year, so Jake had better take a little longer for Jake to get a lot of patents. But as the process was really slow it was better to go now and in a few years when the patents came out he could have the best gains, now he had to develop a strategy to get many patents in order to get many royalties for this product in the future. "Very good, after you ask the company to sell the shares of your father''s group, come back here and we''ll start organizing how we will apply for patent applications to earn even more in the future." "Very well." Jake was very happy because he thought he might actually sell smartphones in the future, he was able to assemble the smartphone and everything needed, then he would ask Charlie''s team to develop the Android operating system if they could just missing the components to assemble the smartphone. The cameras he could get from Matthew''s company and he could even partner with Matthew''s company and Amazon to create a richer company than Apple for smartphones. Matthew would soon become a billionaire after Jake sold the stock in a few years, in many years Amazon would also become one of the largest companies in the world, with Jake''s patents and operating system they would have the capital and resources to create the largest Company of the world. But that was something to see in the years to come, before thinking about this partnership Jake had to secure product patents first, only later would he have more ability to negotiate with Matthew and Jeff Bezos so as not to lose out on this deal. Chapter 367 Business and Basketball 1 The other day before Charlie arrived in Miami, Emily called sadly to tell Jake that her father and the other investors quickly accepted and were very happy that the shares they had would be sold, they would sign the liability and in the coming days, they would sell the shares. By selling the shares they would get $ 98,746,215, and $ 6,874,621 was from the investment firm, in Jake''s case, yet they would receive $ 61,871,593 having invested $ 30 million, thus having more than 2 times the profit amount invested. It was something they could not complain about giving 10 percent of the profit to the investment firm after earning so much, Emily''s father earned $ 83,043,307 in profit and as promised gave half of that to Emily which is $ 4,021,653. Jake gave Emily another $ 68,746 of her share for this investment and so she earned her first money in addition to her salary for the work done, that was pretty much her bonus for working at Jake''s investment firm. She would earn more than 10 times that value if Jake sold Matthew''s shares now, and if Jake expected that value would increase even more in the next few years, so Emily thought it would be worth working for this company in the coming years. Even though many CEOs of other companies could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars she knew she had no competence to do the same as them, this investment firm could only take care of billions of dollars and still make more profit because it was Jake who took care of all the investments. Emily knew she was actually an assistant to Jake and could help him get things done, so she was pleased with Jake''s respect and confidence in letting her handle all his business. Later that day Charlie went to the restaurant Emily had booked to be able to talk to Jake and show Jake the full products, Charlie was also excited about it and thought this idea of ??Jake could be great in the future. As someone who understood technology, Charlie naturally understood that such a touchscreen and multi-touch technology made so advanced and in a smartphone size could be used for many things in the future. Charlie understood this by seeing digital cameras and computers and the internet, things that had become inaccessible to the general public became increasingly popular, Charlie still didn''t have the ability to see what this could be used for, but knowing that Jake thought In trying to create so many patents this should be something important someday. Charlie was not someone who thought of getting rich and just wanted to work on projects that would be remembered in the future, and he felt that working with Jake was the right way to go, of course, he was pleased to receive a big salary from Jake and beyond having too much investment for the products had no one rushing his work. "Hi Charlie, I was very happy to hear you were coming to Miami." "Hi Jake, I was very excited after my team finished this project, I had to bring this product personally to know if it was really what you thought." So Charlie handed Jake some smartphone and tablet prototypes that Jake had ordered for him, Jake received and was a little impressed with the work of Charlie''s team, they were only 3 people and managed to create something very close to a smartphone. It was much heavier than a regular smartphone even though it had almost nothing useful inside, had a system to make the screen light up and also a simple calculator, plus it had a test system showing that it could touch everywhere until then. Also, a simple, useless thing cost thousands of dollars to do, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars Jake had invested to develop this technology, but Jake felt that this was what he needed to get major design patents. smartphone and tablet as well as touchscreen and multi-touch. When Charlie and his team could create the Android operating system, Jake could use this smartphone to connect to the operating system so that he could get almost every patent he thought of creating. "It was really great, Charlie, that''s how I thought and I know you guys did a great job with current technology, try to keep checking the technologies to make this smartphone even lighter with its components." "I was pleased to see how you were able to create this product and develop both technologies in a short time." "We achieved this because the technology already existed and we just had to find a way to develop further and with your clear ideas of what the product would look like and the foundation you gave us where to look for the technologies to do it made it easier and cheap too." It was as Charlie had said, just as his friends who worked at Matthew''s company said, Jake, saying exactly what the product should look like and what they needed to do to do the project made it much easier to develop the products. "We try to talk to Arm Holdings, Qualcomm and TSMC, but so far we haven''t got anything concrete from them, it seems they want to see what our projects are and our financial ability to know whether or not they will work with our company." Jake had expected something like this to happen, he had no known company and his financial strength was still unknown and so these companies didn''t even want to think about working with Jake''s company that had only 3 employees so far. But before getting several international patents for the products he was developing, Jake did not want to show the smartphone design to these companies, and for the next few years, the technology would not be ready to make a smartphone or look like what it was thinking. The important thing was to start contact with these companies and thus show that since 1997 they were developing a technology product, so in the future, Jake would surely be much easier to talk to these companies. Being a partner with Amazon and Matthew Jake''s company would make it even easier to get a contract with these companies, Jake would need the semiconductors, chipsets, chip systems, microprocessors, memory, and software that would be more easily partnered with. With Qualcomm, besides many of these things, he could enter the telecommunications business more easily if he needed to, it was something he didn''t even want to think about in the near future. "I want you to develop another product that is related to this smartphone, it will be much harder to create and you will have to hire more employees than you will have to sign confidentiality contracts." "Of course, we were already waiting for you to call us to do something else, I want to work on a project that will make this smartphone an even more revolutionary product." "That''s good, I''m thinking of creating an operating system for the smartphone, it''s something like Windows 95, the difference is that it''s made for small applications and needs a lot less micro-sized components to fit this smartphone." After that Jake spent a few hours explaining his view of operating systems like Android, not the first of the time because there would be Symbian that had already been released this year. But the operating system that Jake thought was Android many years after it had a completely different operation than Symbian, this was a project that for current technology would take several years even with the help of Jake telling how it should work. Even though Charlie, who had studied hard, wasn''t sure how he could do what Jake was suggesting, he could do something for a desktop computer, but couldn''t imagine anything that could be done with micro components, so Jake had asked him to talk to all of these semiconductor and microprocessor companies. It would be a lot easier if Jake said it was like a regular cell phone, but Jake didn''t want to say it was because it would make things so much more complicated, over the years and so much investment Jake knew that Charlie''s team could do that. So Charlie returned to California excited about another project of many years that could change the future of technology, after doing so Jake thought he had done everything he could in product creation until many years later. Now he just had to focus on creating multiple patents for the touchscreen and multi-touch smartphone and tablet, Jake still had a lot of investment ideas and so had more than 7 million dollars saved. With the money he received from the sale of investment company Jake''s stock he had 6 million more to invest, now he needed to know how much he would receive from Matthew''s company this year to invest in Cisco stock again. He had not invested everything he had in Cisco stock because he decided that he would always leave some reserve money for possible investments if Matthew''s company decided not to make a profit share and Jake''s investment company didn''t receive those nearly 7 million Jake would have no money if he had invested all his money in Cisco stock. In addition, he couldn''t know how much he had received until February of next year when he talked to Matthew in person if Jake hadn''t received a few million in sponsorship and marathon prizes he couldn''t even pay the salaries of his corporate employees and his employees Charlie''s company investments. After Charlie left Jake called Emily to meet her again the other day to talk about the patents, Jake didn''t have much time in Miami so he had to sort things out quickly before the next game. Chapter 368 Business and Basketball 2 The other day after training in the morning Jake went to meet Emily at the restaurant, he took some prototypes of the smartphone and tablet and several sheets he had written with some explanations about the technology and also the patents he wants to get. "Hi Emily, I''m sorry about selling your father''s shares, I really just wanted to help you and your family, but with your father really wanting to sell the shares and yet the accusations he made to the company left me no choice." "It''s okay, I understand what you are saying because I know how well my father''s and other investors'' complaints hurt the company, other investors who were interested gave up trying to invest by listening to these rumors." "No problem, even if other investors showed up I would not accept any more investment in the company, we will take care only of my shares and also of Matthew and we will earn enough from it." "If you want you can invest the money you received from your father, I''m hoping that the stock will still value almost a thousand percent over the next 3 years, those 4 million you have could turn into 40 million by 2000 and I won''t charge you anything to take care of your investments." "I appreciate it, but I don''t have the courage to invest those 4 million with so many rumors that the bubble can burst at any moment and investors lose millions, and if I invest and my dad see how much I made it might feel even worse." Emily didn''t have the heart to say it, but she was also suspicious if stocks would really value that much in the coming years, she knew well that investing in the stock market was a high-risk investment in which everything could be lost. Even more so in a situation as unknown and different as that of overvaluing companies that were connected to the internet, everyone who understood the market knew that these companies were overvalued and therefore hesitated to invest. Jake''s investment firm had a number of stock market specialists, and especially the stock of the Cisco company, which was the company''s only invested stock, and any investment firm that saw it would find it crazy not to diversify and invest in a number of companies and invest in just one. This could maximize profit, but it also greatly increased the risks of this investment, no one knew how Jake did these calculations saying that Cisco''s stock would still appreciate more than 10 times because analyzing the company''s accounts made no sense. Jake didn''t want to explain to anyone why he did it because he couldn''t, he already knew that this was the company he would value most and so he invested all the stock in Cisco and Jake also knew exactly when to sell so as not to lose money. "Alright then, wait until February and then I''ll tell you how much it is for you to invest in stocks again, we will invest every year until 1999, we have to earn as much as possible so that your stake is even bigger." "I see, anything else?" "Yeah, actually the reason I called you here, as you may know, is because Charlie''s team finished the products I asked him to develop." "Now I want you to find a group of very good and reliable lawyers to work with them on to get as many patents as you can get for these products." After that Jake explained to Emily some technical terms lawyers could use to get the patent, some of those terms were sent by Charlie and their team when Jake asked and others were from Jake coming from the future. Because Jake''s tech company was small, it was much easier and cheaper for them to get a patent on a product approved, especially with the reports Jake had prepared knowing exactly how a smartphone would work in the future. Emily was a little upset at first that Jake asked her to ask a team of patent attorneys to work with her, but after hearing Jake saying all the technical terms and how many patents he wanted for these products she realized she wouldn''t be able to get it that. These patent processes usually took many years and needed a lot of research, especially when it was a patent using a technology that already existed. Jake wanted lawyers to show that the use of patents he was applying for was commercial and for a product he developed. and greatly improved a technology that already existed. And it was true knowing that this was a technology that would only appear in another 7 or 8 years in the future, so after many hours with Jake explaining the future uses of this smartphone and tablet he let Emily and the lawyers handle it. Even if he couldn''t get all the patents he wanted, Jake knew he could get a lot of money in the future if only some of the patents he thought were approved, once the Android system was ready he could get many more patents. Jake''s biggest goal was not to stop the biggest companies from creating the smartphone, he would only do that if he really decided to start a smartphone company, what he wanted was to partner with the biggest companies in the world and make a lot of money by letting them. companies would use his patents. He was a partner at Amazon today and would still look for more big companies of the future to become a partner, so what Jake thought was that with big partners he would be able to easily create new products. Also, it was easy for Jake to do as he already knew how these products worked because they came from the future if it was complicated as many products he wouldn''t even bother trying to get a patent. After that Jake spent some more time talking about all the business matters he had to talk to Emily before returning home, after this meeting he wouldn''t see Emily for a few more months. Having resolved all work matters Jake still spent one more day with Eva in Miami before returning to college, even though I tried to resolve so many issues Jake still spent most of his time with his mother because while he was talking about business Eva was in the restaurant. Jake came back just a day before the team''s next game of the season, but neither Coach Guthridge nor his other teammates complained about it, everyone knew that Jake always played well at the games and was the most trained of the whole team. Besides, Jake had used this week to spend with his family and that was something everyone respected, after a good rest the whole team was focused and ready for the next game. The opponent for this game was the Princeton Tigers team that Jake wanted to play this game away from home to talk to Joseph, but this game would be at home at the Dean Smith Center, was good for the team and Jake also enjoyed playing near the home crowd of the Tar Heels team. Besides, this was always a tough game, especially in those years that the Princeton Tigers team has always been doing great seasons just like last year and this season as well as Jake remembered. The Tar Heels team came from a 9-win streak in 9 games and so players were more confident, but the Princeton Tigers team came from a great 7-win streak in 7 games, so it would be a tough opponent. In his past life, Jake remembered that this was one of only two games that the Princeton Tigers team would miss this season being the other game in the elimination of their NCAA tournament team. And that victory would only come out in a tightly contested game with few points, so if Jake wasn''t careful the Tar Heels team could end up losing that game, this was also one of the only games that Jamison can''t score many points. The other day came the day of the game, in a few hours both teams were ready for the start of the game, the crowd was very excited waiting for another victory of the team Tar Heels, even though the opponent was difficult the fans thought that with Jake in the team was difficult for team Tar Heels to lose the game. "Today we are going to follow another exciting game this season, we have the Tar Heels team that has been having a great season and it''s the team that won the NCAA tournament last season." "Team Tar Heels will play at home against Princeton Tigers who are having a great season too and had a great last season too." "And what would you say are the highlights of these two teams?" "The highlight of the Princeton Tigers team is the coach and the style of play of this team that has been very successful in recent seasons, unfortunately, has not brought any NCAA title, but who knows this season." "The Princeton Tigers team is a great team with good players, but their highlight is their training and great team play." "The Tar Heels team also has a great team and great players, coach Guthridge has also been doing a great job replacing coach Smith who retired this year." "But there is no way not to say that the highlight of this team is the player Jake Smith, maybe I even say that Antawn Jamison is also having a great season, but Jake is undoubtedly the highlight of this team." "The best player of last season even being a freshman, and this season has been doing very well since the first game of this season and we hope it will stay that way until the end of the season." "So who do you think is the favorite to win in this game." "The Tar Heels team, playing at home, are definitely the favorites." As commentators have said the two teams were doing very well this season, but one team would have to lose in this game and Jake would not allow the losing team to be the Tar Heels team. Chapter 369 Business and Basketball 3 The game started with both teams being cautious, team Tar Heels had the first attack, but Jake didn''t want to hurry and so end up losing the initiative of the game, he could soon feel the strong defense of team Tar Heels and his teammates having difficulty. Jake knew he had to make more individual moves to break through the opposing defense to make it easier for the Tar Heels team to win, but even if Jake was talented and had a good hit rate of three, he couldn''t just do the points whenever he wanted. Jake had the ability to find space to get the three-point shot, but against such a great defense as the Princeton Tigers team, if he tried many individual moves he would just miss and waste the attacks. Jake knew he could count on Williams and Carter in this game and that Jamison would not be playing well, but even Jamison not playing well in this game still attracted a lot of attention from the opposing defense. After holding the ball Jake threw Carter from the left, Carter failed to pass by the opposing defender and passed it to Jamison, just as Jake thought as soon as Jamison received the ball the defense of the Princeton Tigers team focused on him. Jamison had no choice and passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake quickly passed to Williams who was free to the right and tried the mid-range shot to make the first 2 points for the Tar Heels team. The Tar Heels players knew this was going to be an important and difficult match and so they were also putting pressure on the defense, for the defense Jake was also counting on Jamison that even though he was not well in attack he was still doing well in rebounds. The game remained difficult and well played with Jake even finding it difficult to make the plays and try the three-point shots and even the layup moves, yet the Tar Heels team was still superior and managed to finish the first quarter by winning with an advantage in the scoreboard. Jake played for 20 minutes and made 13 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, Jake year managed to make many points and assists in that first quarter, but in defense, he managed to play much better than in other games. While not having a chance to make any block without risking fouls, Jake still managed to excel more in defense than in many games, so the Tar Heels team got a good lead that was important in a game like this. "What a great defensive game we are following today, the Princeton Tigers team that has a great team and plays very well defensively is bringing a difficulty to the great attack of team Tar Heels." "The players of the Tar Heels team are also doing a great defensive game and in this game, we saw the least points Jake and Jamison stand out in the team defense." "That''s right, I think in a game like this one of two great teams that come from a season without losing a game, opening to attack is not the best option, so both teams are more focused on defense." "Also, if both teams tried to play offensively it is almost certain that the team of Tar Heels that has the best offensive players of the season will have a big advantage." In the second quarter of the game, the Princeton Tigers team kept betting on the defense that as commentators said seemed the only way to tackle this strong offensive team that is the Tar Heels team. In this second quarter Princeton Tigers couldn''t keep up the pressure on defense all the time and that gave Jake more freedom to make the moves, Jake and Tar Heels continued to press on defense and so the lead kept increasing. So the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning 61 points against 37 Princeton Tigers, in that second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes and made 11 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. "And so the game ended with the victory of team Tar Heels with a good lead on the scoreboard, but the game was not so easy to explain this big lead on the scoreboard, both teams had a very disputed first quarter and with both teams putting a lot of pressure on the defense." "In the second quarter Princeton Tigers couldn''t keep up the pressure on defense for the entire game and so gave Tar Heels space to attack and with Jake and Williams playing very well we had that difference in the score." "Jake also had a good defensive game getting 10 rebounds and Jamison also though he couldn''t make many points as he usually did well in defense and managed 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in that game." "So the Tar Heels team now has a 10-win streak this season and the Princeton Tigers team lost the first game, let''s see how far the Tar Heels team goes this season without losing any games." The Tar Heels team was very happy with this victory and the fans also realized how good the opponent was and the game was more difficult, Jamison could not score many points in this game and be excited to do even better in the next game. After three days the Tar Heels team went to another game of the season, the game was against the Hampton Pirates team again playing at home at the Dean Smith Center, after a difficult game with a satisfactory win the crowd was excited and the players were excited about this game. Jamison who had not scored many points in the last game was also excited to make a great game that day, Jake trained a lot with him and Jamison said several times that he wanted more assists from Jake for this game. Despite seeing that Jamison was taking advantage of his friendship to ask for more assists, Jake knew that Jamison would be fine for this game and would pass the ball over to Jamison who always played well helping at least in the defensive and offensive part with rebounds as in last game. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the start of the game, the Hampton Pirates team that was the opponent of this game would not have a good season for what Jake remembered and came from an even worse last season. Thus the Tar Heels team had the advantage since before the match began, early in the game the Tar Heels team attacked with great will and Jake wanted to try a good advantage in the first minutes pressing the opponent taking advantage that the Tar Heels had the advantage be playing at home. As he had promised in the early minutes Jake passed the ball to Jamison whenever he had the opportunity, even though the Hampton Pirates defense tried to defend against Jamison, he was fine in this game and hit most of the plays that received Jake''s assists. When Jake saw that the Hampton Pirates defense began to pay more attention to Jamison than to other players Jake began to pass the ball more to Carter and Williams and even to Okulaja. Jake also attacked whenever he saw the opportunities and made a few moves if three points, so the hard-pressed Hampton Pirates team could not defend with quality to keep the game up. In the first quarter, the team Tar Heels got a good lead and Jamison was more relaxed after scoring more than 10 points in the first quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 16 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 5 steals. With such a strong first quarter of the Tar Heels team that ended with a good lead on the scoreboard, the Hampton Pirates team had no choice but to attack further in the second quarter to try to win the game. Team Tar Heels was playing at home and the players were rested and would have another match in just 4 days, so the players of Team Tar Heels continued with a fast pace of play and continued to attack while still being strong in defense. Jamison still wanted to score more points and kept asking Jake for more assists which left other players with less defense pressing them, so the Tar Heels team kept attacking and further increasing the lead. Jake also took the opportunity to score more points and so after the middle of the second quarter the Hampton Pirates team''s desire to win was gone and they returned to try not to lose too many points. So the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning with a big lead on the scoreboard making 109 points against 53 points of the Hampton Pirates team, it was another game with the Tar Heels team doing more than double the opponent''s points which showed the strength of this team. In this second quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 7 steals, plus a triple-double for him in a good game where the Hampton Pirates defense was weaker than the last game and with Jamison wanting to attack led the Tar Heels team to a good win. The next game would be the first against a team from the same Tar Heels conference and would be the last game before a week-long break for Christmas, after that game Jake would go home again for Christmas with his mother and then If he returned to university, he would have no rest until February. So also in this game players would be rested after 4 days and could play with everything because then they would have a week of rest, and it was good for the Tar Heels team to win this game and increase the winning streak to 12 games and not lose before Christmas. With that in mind, the players didn''t relax and decided to train even harder this week before the next game, they would have to keep winning so to show that Coach Guthridge was doing a good job and also because they wanted to win again the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. Chapter 370 Business and Basketball 4 Jake had even more training because he had to do his daily training with Zack and Coach Davis for marathons and 10,000 meters, but Jake didn''t care because he thought his training was getting too easy lately. Since he greatly increased his statistics he did not change his training for marathon racing and the 10,000-meter training was no longer a challenge for him after Jake got used to running 3 times a day. Jake had regretted not asking Coach Davis to increase his training before the holidays were over, now he had committed himself to train like this until the next vacation in the middle of next year. Even if he still had one more point in resistance statistics and one point in agility next year, it wouldn''t change much even if he changed his training now, next year Jake was already thinking of breaking his world record again with a much longer time faster than the current one to ensure his record was not threatened for a few But to do that he needed to further improve his training time to make sure he was able to do that in marathons if he wanted to, next year would be a lot busier for Jake with the recording of The Matrix and also the possible draft for the NBA. With that, Jake thought that possibly his marathon training would be impaired on this vacation, and that was bad for his plans to break more records, as Jake had already decided that he hoped he could do what he planned for next year. Maybe it was even good that the next basketball season was shorter with only 50 games because of the block, so Jake would play for less time and have more time to adapt to his new NBA routine. But what Jake already knew was that if they could always reach the finals, he would have only 4 months to rest at home, and that was the goal of all teams always reaching the final and perhaps always being the NBA champions. What Jake knew was that he did not want to abandon the marathons and at least the Olympics would ensure that he would always find time to compete, at the Olympics, he could win the marathon and other sports such as the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters he would be prepared for competing in 2000. Thinking about the intensity of the NBA basketball season showed that it had been a great idea for Jake to get into college and play for two seasons, at Jake University he even though it was intense to have 38 games like the Tar Heels team would have this season. But in the NBA there would be more than 80 games a season and that would test almost all of Jake''s resistance after winning so many marathons, so Jake figured he wouldn''t have so much time to practice marathon racing. The stamina bars that Jake hardly ate anymore would be used again so that he could avoid injury even though he was willing to play games, that was what Jake wanted and he was naturally prepared for it. But Jake would have to think about it only after the current season ended, after 4 days of training came the day of the next game for the Tar Heels team, the players were rested and wanted to win this game for Christmas without losing any games. After a few hours, both teams were ready for this game, it was the first game against a team from the same conference team of Tar Heels and it would be a game as a visitor, so it was better to win this game because team Tar Heels would still have to play for least once again against the Florida State team. Last season the Florida State team had a very good season coming in second in the NIT tournament, and this season even if the team wasn''t going to play so well it was still a good season. Even so, they couldn''t expect the Tar Heels players to be so eager to win this game even with an 11-win streak, but the Florida State team also wanted to win, so it wouldn''t be an easy game. In the first quarter of the game, Team Tar Heels pressed in attack and also put pressure on the defense and left Florida State with difficulty playing both defense and attack. Jamison had not enjoyed playing that game badly and so still wanted to score a lot even in that game, it also encouraged Carter who had been doing a below-average season in those early games. Carter had only a few good games this season and other games he just scored over 14 points and was already satisfied, even Williams who stayed a few games out of the team and was having difficulty in the three-point shots was making more points than him this season. Seeing as Jamison who had several games making more than 20 points annoyed by playing just one game badly made Carter also want to play better, after all, he was friends with Jamison and Jake too and last season the three had great games. This season he was not taking advantage of Jake who was a great PG on the team to assist him and was pleased to play normally and seeing the team win, Jake had already told him and Jamison a few times that they had to stand out in all the games to show that they had the ability to become team stars in the NBA. With Jamison and Carter playing well in this game Jake decided to take advantage and make more assists to further show his qualities as PG as well, with the three playings so well at the end of the first quarter Tar Heels was winning with a big lead. Jake played for 20 minutes in this first quarter and made 14 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, with this great first quarter of the Tar Heels team they had accomplished their goal in that first quarter. So in the second quarter, team Tar Heels could slow down the attack and keep up the pressure on the defense, the Florida State team needed to win the game, and players would be more anxious and give more freedom for the team to attack. Just as Coach Guthridge said the Florida State team tried to press the offense from the start and the Tar Heels team increased the pressure on the defense as well, so Jake was playing well in defense as in other games and stealing in some plays that could end in points for the Florida State team. Jamison and Carter still wanted to keep scoring in the second quarter and even though Jake had slowed the game he was still assisting both of them, sometimes he would still move on to Okulaja and Williams who had a lot more freedom to attack with the defense all concentrated. in Jamison, Carter, and Jake. Just as the experts said Team Tar Heels was a very strong team offensively and if there was no team that attacked better than them or it was better to defend the whole game, others said Team Tar Heels would only lose if some players were playing. bad in the game. But even so, it was hard to see this happening as this season it was hard to find a game where the team Tar Heels scored less than 70 points in a game, Jake also despite making the great game as PG making many assists was for sure the player who scored the most points. In addition, the Tar Heels team was a team that also played very well in defense which made it even harder to play against them, Jake had a very high average of the tail and steals and Jamison also had an average of over 9 rebounds per game. So at the end of the game, the Tar Heels team managed to win by scoring 98 points against the Florida State team''s 65 points, a game that was supposed to be more difficult ended up with a great advantage in the great game of Jake, Carter, and Jamison as well. In that second quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 16 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals with one more double-double Jake was playing very well and making many assists with the help of Jamison who was having a great season. Just as the players wanted they could spend this happier Christmas with a 12-win streak and no losses this season, even if it was even more pressure on them it was good to show how the team was doing well this season. Coach Guthridge was very happy and pleased with the performance of the Tar Heels players, especially with Jake and Jamison who had been showing why they had the best team of the season. The sports media was already talking about the possibility that the Tar Heels team could again win the NCAA title this season, many thought it was difficult but still had confidence because Jake was on that team. It had been a long time since a player had been that prominent in a college team, maybe just Kobe Bryant brought that much attention, but decided to go straight to the NBA and was playing well in the Los Angeles Lakers team even though he wasn''t as prominent as Jake had currently. Many players had great seasons at the university and then failed to maintain the same performance in the NBA, but Jake was on another level keeping since the freshman season an average of over 32 points per game in the season and still winning the NCAA title along with the prize of the best player. The next day Jake went back to Miami to spend Christmas with his mother, this time Eva already knew that Jake would go home and made the decision to close the restaurant after the 23rd until the 26th when Jake would return to university. Chapter 371 Business and Basketball 5 The restaurant was a huge success since opening and never had any problems, Eva didn''t need any money knowing that Jake was a millionaire and only worked at the restaurant because he liked it, so he decided to close for Christmas and let the employees rest with their family. So Anna could also spend Christmas with them as a family, Jake was very happy when she heard that his mother did it and thought it was very good for the other employees too, as she can do it in advance customers already knew the restaurant would be closed a few days earlier. Even so, when Jake came home on the 21st Eve still had to stay at the restaurant for the next 2 days, so Jake could also continue training on those days to get even better this rest week. Jake didn''t want to bother Matthew and Oliver that they should be busy with the business of the company that had to close the balance sheet by the end of the year, this time Jake didn''t need money like last year and didn''t want to bother Matthew before he had the company''s official earnings report. He also knew that Tiffany and Clara were very busy with their business this holiday season, in fact, they were busy with their business all year long, having lost several years without being able to invest and just keep selling well because of Jake''s popularity, this year was much busier for them. The truth was that even Clara often thought that the company would eventually be sold to the competitor because of her incompetence and Tiffany who always supported Clara felt bad about it too. Jake knew this and so decided to help themselves out having to lose a lot of money for it, but after that Jake felt that Tiffany and Clara were no longer as close to him as they were before, maybe they saw him as a business partner and not as just a friend as it was before. Jake had heard that actually Tiffany and Clara didn''t really like having male friends and even with Matthew and Oliver they had only professional contacts and not as friends, so now that Jake grew up and was no longer a child, like before they no longer had one. quiet relationship with him. Of course, this was just a theory Jake thought after hearing a lot of things and seeing that it seemed like they were ignoring him last year, it could also be that they were so busy after he recorded the commercials that they didn''t have time to talk to him. Jake hoped his theories were wrong, or else he would lose two of the best friends he ever had, by the middle of next year the sponsorship deal would end if Jake joined the NBA and after that Jake would see if they were still friends as before. For the next few days Jake spent a few quiet days just doing his training in the morning, on Christmas Day Anna came with some people from the restaurant, Matthew, Oliver, and Joseph also just came to enjoy Christmas. It seemed that Joseph was much calmer this time and understood that he had done wrong on his last vacation, and he himself talked with Jake for a while about what had happened at his university. Joseph was doing very well in class even though he didn''t get as good grades as when Jake helped him with his studies, it seemed like he was really fine with Liza and even they studying at different universities made them less in love. It seemed that Oliver had spoken to Liza honestly about the idea of ??her doing therapy and surprisingly Liza agreed with Oliver that she needed it and started therapy to become a better person to be with Joseph. This was an idea that had been suggested by Jake a few years ago because he really thought it would be the best, and it seemed that he was right because Oliver said Liza was really improving her personality and even encouraging Joseph to improve as a person. So everyone made money on it and so Matthew and Oliver now started to like Liza very much and approved her to stay with Joseph because with her he was really getting better, so the two also thanked Jake who came up with the idea. Joseph told Jake that he was also able to make some friends at the university and was spending his time there, Jake was very happy to know that Joseph was doing so well at the university and that they were still friends after that. Jake was very happy to spend Christmas and these days at home with family and also his friends, he was sad because Tiffany and Clara did not accept the invitation to appear at this party because they were busy with work, but it was still a great day to him. After that Jake spent another day at home and went back to college again and had a little party with his friends after Christmas, even though Jake had offered to buy their plane tickets to visit their family for Christmas no one accepted and they spent Christmas at Zack''s house. Because everyone studied away from home, Zack''s family who had great people became their family, Jake always went home on holidays, but sometimes he would go to Zack''s family home on weekends. Zack''s family was very fond of Jake because everyone realized that Zack was happier and healthier after he started running with Jake, as Jake still helped Zack study he was the perfect friend that anyone''s family liked. After a week of Christmas and rest for all the players the next day they were ready for the next game, this was a game that Jake remembered would be tricky for the Tar Heels team to win. Jake didn''t know if the team was more relaxed after a week of rest and Christmas, but the Tar Heels team would win this game only in extra time, so he didn''t underestimate his opponent and was prepared for a tough game. Jake spoke with the team the day before the game and with Coach Guthridge also for them to expect a tough game and prepare to do their best in the next game, Coach Guthridge and the players knew that Jake wasn''t someone who exaggerated and by they worried about the next game. After a few hours, both teams were ready for the game to begin, the opponent for this game was Georgia Bulldogs, this team had a great last season and did not do so well at the end of the season. This season they would not play so well this season despite having a good result at the end, everyone expected the Tar Heels team to win this game easily, especially after the last game with a good performance by Jake, Jamison, and Carter. "Welcome everyone, let''s follow another game this season, it''s the game between the Tar Heels team and the Georgia Bulldogs team." "It is expected that in this game the Tar Heels team will achieve an easy win and further increase this 12-win streak, but only after the game can we know if this will happen." "What do you think about this game?" "I think the Tar Heels team have the advantage, the team has been doing well since the last season they won the NCAA title, this season the team has been playing as well or even better than last season." "In the last game the offensive team Tar Heels trio had another good game with Carter playing well again, but the Georgia Bulldogs team also has a good team and has a lot of ability to surprise in that game and beat the Tar Heels team." The game started in a few minutes of play everyone would realize that the game would not be as easy as everyone expected before, the Tar Heels team attack was fine with Jamison, Carter, and Jake playing well. The problem was that the defense of team Tar Heels was a little weaker in today''s game, and the Georgia Bulldogs players were playing very well in attack and also in defense. Even if they didn''t stop the Tar Heels team from scoring points like other teams with better defenses, they could still hinder Tar Heels''s attacks, so much was also merited by Georgia Bulldogs. In this game Jake could not relax and had to work harder in defense and also make the three-point shots when he had the opportunity, if he could Jake did not want to take this game over time and if he could it was better to win the game normally. To do that Jake had to do more than he normally did in defense and continue to perform well in attack, seeing Jake''s effort the other players of the team Tar Heels also began to work harder to press defense and prevent the attacks of the team Georgia Bulldogs. Jamison and Carter were also good at offense and along with Williams and Okulaja gave Jake more play options and made it difficult for Georgia Bulldogs to defend, it could be said that even though the team was poor defending, it was still recovering from the attack. At the end of the first quarter, Tar Heels ended up winning the game with a slight lead on the scoreboard, which made the Georgia Bulldogs players more excited for the second quarter having the opportunity to win the game. In that first quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 16 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks, with a more defense-focused first quarter Jake managed to prevent Georgia Bulldogs from making some plays that could end in points. Even though Jake still performed well on attack relying more on the three-point play as in recent games, Jake had a not very high average of 10 shots of three points per game but hit more than 70 percent of off shots in all games. Chapter 372 Business and Basketball 6 "What a great game we had in this first quarter, Georgia Bulldogs has been surprisingly having a strong offensive game taking advantage of the defects of the Tar Heels defense, and with a good defense that has been disrupting one of the best attacks of the season." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team that comes into this game with a 12-win streak has achieved this with an excellent defense even playing without a Center in most games, with good defensive players like Jamison and Jake defending very well while doing some steals." "So it''s weird to see a game like this that the players are striving for but still make some mistakes, we have to say it just seems like a bad day for the Tar Heels team." "Yes, Georgia Bulldogs tried to take advantage of this weakness of Team Tar Heels in this game, but Jake has been playing very well again and excelling himself in defense in this game, Jamison also getting defensive rebounds so that Team Tar Heels can maintain the advantage." "True, I see what happened to Michael Jordan happening to Jake, Michael Jordan was great at three-point shots and assists, but his defensive ability and the many points he made with dunks made fans forget a few times that he was such a versatile player." "Jake is a great player doing three-point shots and an incredible average of points and assists, but he''s also very good at defending with an amazing average of steals that is often overlooked by fans." "I agree, sometimes seeing Jake''s games I think he just doesn''t have time to do everything he can on the court and has to choose between scoring or defending." After this very difficult first quarter and the players realizing their defenses in defense, they realized that Jake was right to say that this would be a difficult game, so in the second quarter they had to play much better to secure the defense. In the second quarter, the Georgia Bulldogs team came more willing to try to win the game, but Jake''s performance in this game still intimidated them, yet if they wanted to get more points they couldn''t give up trying to get past Jake in that game. Coach Guthridge realizing the defenses of the defending team asked everyone to try to take every chance of the attack to score more points than their opponents and thus win the game, so the second quarter would be a much more open game. After the first few minutes of the game, the Georgia Bulldogs team realized that the Tar Heels team was giving up defending with more pressure to make better attacks and that was what they wanted to try to win this game. Risking team coach Georgia Bulldogs decided to put two players to be close to Jake and prevent him from attacking quietly, as a good PG Jake was not selfish and took advantage of these opportunities to make further assists for his teammates. Jamison and Carter were fine again in the attack and Williams, despite making a big mistake in the attack, was doing a good game, the opportunities Jake found sometimes ended in three-point play almost giving up the two-point play. Team Georgia Bulldogs also took advantage of this second quarter that had more freedom to attack and tried to beat Team Tar Heels by scoring more points, but Jake was still doing very well in defense and disrupted many attacking moves from Team Georgia Bulldogs. The game ended with Team Tar Heels winning this game with a more comfortable advantage and without this game going into overtime, Team Tar Heels scored 97 points against Team Georgia Bulldogs 84 points. Jake instead made a great defensive game in the second quarter too, he played for 20 minutes and made 12 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, so Jake got the first quadruple-double of this season. Also, Jake got a five-by-five for the first time in a game at the university, for sure Jake''s great performance in that game meant that the team didn''t have to go into extra time even though the players were so bad at defense. After the end of the game the fans of the opposing team applauded the Tar Heels team and especially Jake after this excellent game, Jake''s great performance would be in the history of both universities. "What a great game we saw today, the two teams very well offensively and the Tar Heels team playing poorly in defense with the exception that it was Jake''s excellent five-by-five and quadruple-double in the same game." "True, this is Jake''s third quadruple-double at the university, but the highlight was this five-by-five that shows how important Jake is in attack and defense, especially in this game where the defense of the Tar Heels team it was good." "Both teams had a very even game and the Georgia Bulldogs team had a great game pushing the best team of recent seasons which is the Tar Heels team, but the Tar Heels team had a great offensive performance and Jake unbalanced that game and brought the victory for the Tar Heels team." "A game like this is a great justification for awarding the best college player at the end of this season if the Tar Heels team continues to play well this way." After this difficult game, the Tar Heels players were able to go back to college knowing that they had not missed the first game after the Christmas break, everyone knew that Jake was instrumental in winning, but what they really had to think about was what had done wrong in this game. Now the Tar Heels team was on a 13-win streak and the players wanted to keep going like this to finish first in the conference at the end of the season and have confidence for the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. The next day the players trained hard not to make a mistake like in the last game, even with this mindset no one was really worried about the next game and it was a rest after such a difficult and great game to finish this year well. The next day the Tar Heels team went to the third away match they would have followed, it was the last game of the year that was very good for the whole team and especially for Jake who achieved a lot of things. After a few hours, both teams were ready to start this game, the opponent of this last game was the team Bethune-Cookman, the team Bethune-Cookman had a bad last season, but the current season would be one of the worst in the history of this team. As far as Jake remembered the Bethune-Cookman team won only one game in this 27th season that would be played, it was impossible for Jake to be tense for this game that had everything to be an easy win for the Tar Heels team. Even though after the last difficult game that Team He He had players were looking forward to playing well in that game which would only further ensure Team He''s victory, Jake felt it was a pity he could not have a great defensive game as the last. In the first few minutes of the game following what Guthridge coach asked the team, everyone attacked with a great will to get a good advantage, knowing that Jake did not contain himself and accelerated the pace of the game making attacks with a few seconds of possession and using well the strengths of his teammates. The Bethune-Cookman team did not expect such a strong start from the Tar Heels team and even if they were prepared for it would still not be enough to stop the best attack of all universities today. Jake also made the three-point moves and also some layups in this first quarter, and Jake took every opportunity to steal the opposing players while in defense. With this pressure, Tar Heels got great advantage in the first quarter practically guaranteeing victory, with Jake playing well in defense and Bethune-Cookman had difficulty attacking as well. In that first quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 24 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 4 steals, and Jake had a great game. Jamison and Carter were also fine and that brought more problems for the Bethune-Cookman team. That big advantage in the first quarter left the Tar Heels team more relaxed to play the second quarter calmly and to continue attacking as coach Guthridge had commanded, the Bethune-Cookman team also had to take more risk in the attack which would make it easier for team Tar Heels attack. In that game, the defense of the team Tar Heels came back to stand out and Jake continued to perform well even if it did not stand out as much as in the last game, the team Bethune-Cookman had difficulty defending against Jake, Carter, and Jamison in the attack. Chapter 373 Business and Basketball 7 In the second quarter, team Tar Heels began pressing in on attack just as coach Guthridge had commanded, team Bethune-Cookman also had to attack to get the victory which gave even more room for team Tar Heels to attack. After the middle of the second quarter, the Bethune-Cookman players had already lost their will to win and it made it even easier for the Tar Heels team to continue attacking, Jake was doing very well in the three-point shots which helped further increase the advantage on the scoreboard. The game ended with the Tar Heels team winning the game by scoring 113 points against 36 by the Bethune-Cookman team, with the Tar Heels team scoring more than three times the number of points of the opponent the Tar Heels team ended well in 1997. In this second quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 23 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, plus this double-double Jake was also increasing his average assist per game making more than 10 assists in 4 straight games. Jake''s goal this season was again to have an average of more than 10 assists per game and more than 30 points per game and if he could get more than 10 steals per game, with rebounds he knew it would not be possible because Antawn Jamison was the best in the rebound of the team. After this game, the team Tar Heels returned to the university where they would have almost 5 days to rest before the next game next year, yet the players did not just want to rest and wanted to train more defense so as not to happen against the team Georgia Bulldogs. Coach Guthridge was also pleased with the players and the work he had done so far, with this difficult mission to replace Coach Dean Smith that many thought he could not do so well. Even without a Center, the team had not lost any games yet and when the team was not well they still had Jake to make great games and take the team to victory, he did not expect to win the ACC tournament or the NCAA tournament again and just wanted that his work was not criticized. The truth was that the team players and the media did not expect the Tar Heels team to have a good season let alone win tournaments like last season. Maybe only Jake thought this team could possibly play even better than last season and win the NCAA tournament again this season, but he didn''t have to talk about it with anyone and just had to play to win the games until he won the NCAA tournament. While training for the team at the end of the year Jake was also spending Zack''s turn of the year as well as all his roommates, he couldn''t go to Miami whenever he wanted and New Year''s Eve wasn''t such an important date to Jake. 1997 was a great year for Jake in basketball winning his first NCAA tournament and winning almost every major individual player award, it was also important in marathons where he won more major marathons and improved his world record. In business this was also an important year with the smartphone prototype that could guarantee him billions of dollars in the future getting ready, the stock also started to appreciate much more from that year and Jake had more than 100 million dollars after Amazon shares entered the stock market. 1998 promised to be even better in basketball if Jake really joined the NBA even if he didn''t play that year because of his lockout this season, but just entering the NBA would make Jake have one of the best years in his career. So in the second half of this year, Jake could focus on marathons and still try to win again the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, this year Jake would also start filming for the movie The Matrix. So this year would have everything to be very important to Jake and that made him very excited, Jake spent the New Year''s Eve at Zack''s house and soon came the year 1998, so Jake had to continue training with the basketball team and with the races. Zack was still training with Jake and was getting better and better at training, just as Jake had thought after an athlete could improve his physical condition, it was much easier to improve in any sport. Zack spent more than a year training for marathons while training for an athlete''s fitness, now that he had managed to run the 25 km every day was easy for Zack, this year his goal was the Chicago Marathon with Jake at the end of the year, he wanted to run under 3 hours and maybe get in the top 50. After a few days of training and rest the Tar Heels players were ready for the first game of this year, it was another visitor game and so they had to travel back to that game. It was the second game against an ACC conference team this season and it was important to finish first at the conference at the end of the season, after a few hours both teams were ready for this game. The opponent of this game was Team Clemson Tigers, Team Clemson Tigers had a good last season and this season would only regulate the team''s performance, yet the Team Tar Heels did not underestimate the opponent. With a 14-game winning streak it was normal for players on the Tar Heels team to have more confidence, but with the good performance also came the pressure to continue winning which made the players more focused. Early in the game, the Tar Heels team started pressing in on the attack as they had in the last game and it worked, of course against Clemson Tigers Jake didn''t play at such a fast pace while organizing the team attack. Clemson Tigers ''defense was clearly much stronger than their last opponent''s defense, but with Jake, Jamison, and Carter in the attack, it was difficult for Clemson Tigers'' defense to resist. Jake had found the rhythm he had at the end of last season when he always made at least one double-double in every game and the opponents had noticed it, so Jake''s close defense had increased which only gave more room to he does the assists. Also, this season Jake had an average of nearly 80 percent hit on three-point shots even though he tried more than 10 shots on average per game, which made things much harder for opposing teams. After a few minutes of the first quarter, Clemson Tigers tried an attack that ended with a steal made by Jake, in this play Jake did not try a fast counterattack and just kept the ball. So far this had been a balanced game with Tar Heels taking the lead, Jake advanced with the ball and after passing through the middle of the court passed the ball to Carter on the left. Carter had performed well in recent games and that gave him more confidence, even though Jake and Jamison were still the top players of the team this season. Carter was happy with his good performance and the victories. Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams held the ball and then passed to Okulaja farther on the right, the defender then pressed Okulaja who passed to Jake behind. Jake received the ball near the three-point line and soon two players approached him while still watching Jamison on the left, Jake made a feint and then with a crossover managed to move left. One of the defenders was left behind and another opposing player who was scoring Jamison came to defend against Jake, with the Clemson Tigers defense messy. Jake passed the ball to Carter who had gotten rid of the player who was in defense, Carter received the ball and advanced to make the Dunk and make 2 more points for the team Tar Heels. What made Jake happier on this team was that all his teammates were very talented, so he was free to make the play he wanted and so he had an average of over 10 assists per game even playing against good teams in the university. In another play at the end of the first quarter Jake advanced the ball to the three-point line and passed to Williams, Williams advanced and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison passed back to Jake behind. Jake received the ball with space to attempt the three-point shot and two opposing players came to defend against him, Jake passed the ball to Carter again, Carter advanced and passed the ball to Jamison who made the 2 points with a layup and increased the advantage of team Tar Heels. Chapter 374 Business and Basketball 8 In this first quarter, the Clemson Tigers team had a hard time defending because Jake and Jamison were the most dangerous players who needed the most defense attention, these players could easily score points if they had only one player in defense against them. But the other players of the Tar Heels team were also high level, so it was difficult for the Clemson Tigers defense to stop them, so the first quarter ended up with a good lead on Tar Heels. In that first quarter, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, the good defense of Team Clemson Tigers still made the team Tar Heels to score less even though getting a good lead. "What a great game we have been following so far, the Clemson Tigers players have been playing very well so far and can put pressure on the Tar Heels players." "But the Tar Heels team this season is very strong with great players and even with the good defense of the Clemson Tigers team, Jake can still find plenty of opportunities to make assists and score a lot as well." "True, Jake is for sure one of the best college players of recent years and perhaps one of the best ever, and Jamison has also been doing one of his best seasons in college every year." "Carter and Williams are also great players with different strengths and Okulaja who is also a good player and is overshadowed by these teammates." "In the second quarter, Clemson Tigers who are well behind the scoring will have to give up some defense and risk more attack to try to win this game and will give even more space for Tar Heels to attack." Just as the commentators said the Clemson Tigers team was having a very good game and it made it difficult for the Tar Heels team to gain the lead, but in this second quarter they would have to give up their style of play a little more to win. That would give Tar Heels more openness to attack, Jamison, Carter, and Williams were fine in this game and Jake was having an easier time assisting even though they had a strong defense against him. After a few minutes of the second quarter, the Clemson Tigers team attempted a hasty three-point strike that Jake could disrupt, and Jamison caught the defensive rebound, Jamison passed the ball to Jake, who advanced slowly for the attack. After several games at university, Jake had a lot more experience than when he came from high school and saw that it was not a good idea to always keep a fast pace or a slow pace but to better analyze the situation of the game and the opponent. In the first quarter, he organized the moves at a faster pace in attack to put more pressure on the Clemson Tigers defense, but in that second quarter, the Clemson Tigers seemed to be destabilizing and losing the game so he preferred to attack at a slower pace and spend more time in possession. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams on the left, Williams advanced with the ball before the three-point line and passed the ball to Okulaja on the left. Okulaja passed the ball to Carter from the far right and Carter quickly passed to Jake who was behind the three-point line, Jake received the ball freely and then attempted the shot from outside to score three more points for Tar Heels. After that, the lead in the team''s Tar Heels score continued to increase even if it didn''t get in a way that made the Clemson Tigers team lose hope of winning, even though the Clemson Tigers team gave up defending as in the first quarter the team''s defense still continued strong and with that the team Tar Heels also missed some attacks. Thus the game continued intense and Jake was able to further disrupt the Clemson Tigers team by making steals and getting assists and hitting three-point plays increasing the advantage for the Tar Heels team. So the game ended with the Tar Heels team winning with 85 points against Clemson Tigers team''s 67 points, this was the last game of the visiting team He had two home games so they wouldn''t have so much difficulty winning the games. In this second quarter Jake played for 20 minutes and made 19 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals, he got another double-double and with that he and the Tar Heels team started very well this year. "So one more game ends this season, in the first game of this year the team Tar Heels gets a victory that was not easy even if there was a big difference in the score." "Team Tar Heels has a great offense and a good defense, if the defense plays regularly even if the opposing team manages to defend as well as the Clemson Tigers team they will still get the win." "Also, since playing for the first time on the Tar Heels team Jake hasn''t had any games that could be considered bad, he''s had a few games that were below his very high average, but he''s still one of the main players by the Tar Heels team victories." "It''s true, with one more double-double Jake got another game with more than 30 points and 10 assists, if it goes on like this and with Jamison also playing so well I think the Tar Heels team is again the biggest favorite to win the NCAA tournament this year." "That''s right, after that victory the Tar Heels team comes from a 15 straight winning streak and no losses this season, it''s half of the games that the Tar Heels team will have before the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, so it''s hard not to mention the favoritism of this team and the great work of Coach Guthridge. " As commentators had said the Tar Heels team was already one of the biggest favorites to win the NCAA tournament, not only for the great season so far but also for winning the NCAA tournament last year and having Jake as the best player university student today. After this game, the players returned to the university where they would have another 5 days of rest and training until the next game, late 1997 and early 1998 had plenty of time for players to rest between games in preparation for a large amount of games that were left over the next 3 months for the team to reach the NCAA tournament final. While the team was getting ready to train a lot over the next 5 days, something else was also making everyone anxious this week, after a few days it would be Jake''s 19th birthday. Jake''s friends were preparing a small party for him at Zack''s family home because Zack''s parents asked to do so, after all besides Jake''s three roommates the basketball team and some friends from his university certainly saw on His birthday and the university room wouldn''t be enough for so many people. How Zack and his family insisted on doing so Jake had to accept the good intentions of their friends, and that was the right decision because Eva and Anna also came the day before Jake''s birthday by surprise. The idea was that they would come on Jake''s birthday day for the surprise to be bigger, but Anna was already older and it would be very exhausting for her to do so many things in one day, so she and Eva would be almost 3 days in one hotel near the university. In addition to these people, Jake was very happy to see on his birthday his new friend Haruto also came to the birthday as did Coach Davis and his family, with the people from the basketball team until Zack''s family house had gotten small for this party. Matthew, Oliver, Emily, Clara, and Tiffany couldn''t come to Jake''s birthday because they were busy running the balance sheet companies that had been done at the end of last year. Still, Jake was happy because more people he thought came to his birthday, after the end of the day he was very happy when he returned to his university dorm. Jake couldn''t help but think that this year would be 9 years since he went back in time for his second chance, a lot of things had happened and he knew that had changed the lives of many people besides his in those years. Chapter 375 Business and Basketball 9 With the help of the system he had completely changed his and his mother''s future and everyone who worked with him, now Jake was the best college basketball player who had enough skills to be one of the best players in the NBA. Jake was also able to do something else that he loved to run and became one of the best athletes in the world by winning the most important marathons in the world and winning important gold medals like at the Olympics. With that, he managed to get his mother out of the bad work which was one of the things that caused her death in his past life, and now she had a restaurant that was her dream and was very happy working with her friend Anna. Thanks to the system Jake can also meet Tiffany and Clara who helped him a lot in his early years as a player before he even developed his skills, they also became important friends of his and even though in the future their path parted, Jake never would forget the friendship they had. On this second chance of him, Jake also had the opportunity to make a great friendship with Joseph and even though they had gone away now Jake was sure they would be friends for a lifetime. With this friendship he met Oliver and Matthew and using his future knowledge can help Matthew change his future as someone who would almost go bankrupt or have to sell his company to one of the most successful men with the digital camera company. With that Jake also saw that he could use more of his knowledge of the future and what he had learned before going back in time, so he was able to work on a movie as an actor and use his knowledge to make great investments that would make him a millionaire in the future. So after almost 9 years, Jake could say that he realized most of his dreams before turning back in time for his second chance, and maybe the other dreams he had could come true with the relationship between him and Kate becoming closer. The next three years were now very important in Jake''s future anyway, he would sell the shares, try to settle in the NBA and maybe start dating Kate and could still be on top of athletics at the upcoming Olympics and would be an actor of success. These were Jake''s wishes for years to come, and if those wishes came true, he could say that he had achieved everything he had dreamed of for his second chance, of course, Jake would not forget to continue to see to it that his mother would stay well for her that his life was perfect. After this rest of almost 5 days and his birthday party, Jake felt much better for the next game that would be the next day, it was good that this game was a day after his birthday or could not make this celebration. The next day came the day of the second team of Tar Heels this year, this would also be the first game of team Tar Heels this year playing at home at the Dean Smith Center, with the great season that the team had been having was sure that the fans would attend to support the team in this game. The players of Team Tar Heels were rested too and ready for today''s game, the opponent of today''s game was Team Georgia Tech, Team Georgia Tech had a terrible last season and this season was much better. This team had three very good players, but the team was not very strong thinking about attack and defense, so neither Coach Guthridge nor the players were concerned about this opponent. "Today we will be following another game from the Tar Heels team this season, their first game at the Dean Smith Center this year and it all indicates another easy win for the Tar Heels team." "It seems that the Georgia Tech team has some good players, but after a bad season with the new good players they couldn''t make such a good team in just one season." "And the Tar Heels team has been together since last season with multiplayer in the third year, and who joined the team last year was Jake who soon adapted to that team and helped them win the NCAA tournament last season." "So we could say that the Tar Heels team has all the advantages for this game and with Jamison and Carter playing very well it will be difficult to hold back that team''s attacks." While being the favorite team to beat Coach Guthridge was careful that the players did not relax in this game, he asked Jake to attack well, but not with a very fast attack rate, and in defense was to focus on defending against the 2 best players on the Georgia Tech team and so they could disrupt the opponent''s attacks. Jake had more freedom in defense to try the steals to further disrupt the Georgia Tech team attack, with a player like Jake who was skilled at steals and the Tar Heels team always hampered his opponent''s attacks more. In the early minutes, Coach Guthridge asked Jake to organize the team to press into the attack without speeding up too much. Jake understood that Coach Guthridge wanted Team Tar Heels to open a good lead in the early minutes without risking too much. Jake did something he normally didn''t do in games so the opposing defense didn''t expect that, instead of trying more assists to see how his teammates were doing, Jake tried a few three-point shots whenever he was free in the early stages minutes So after 10 minutes of games, Jake already had 12 points and had attempted 5 shots from three points, plus Jake got 3 assists and 2 steals and the only play he missed ended with an offensive rebound from Jamison that made the 2 points. So at the start of the game, Team Tar Heels already had a big advantage and Team Georgia Tech didn''t even know how to react to that that had a little luck and skill, with this advantage on the scoreboard Team Tar Heels pressed more defense while kept attacking. So by the end of the 1st half of the game, Tar Heels was winning with a good lead on the scoreboard, Georgia Tech''s game strategy ended Jake''s multiple three-point shots in the opening minutes. Coach Guthridge was very pleased with this and now hoped the team would continue to attack while pressing on the defense so that when Georgia Tech tried to attack further, Tar Heels would have an easier time increasing the lead. In this 1st half, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals, with the good start of the game he had the Tar Heels team made it easier for the entire 1st half and now had the advantage in the game. "What a great 1st half for the Tar Heels team, a very strong offensive and strong defense as well, with Jake scoring 12 points in 10 minutes with some assists and the Tar Heels team opened up an advantage on the scoreboard that left them comfortable to take control of the game." "It''s true, and Jake doesn''t usually do something like this usually at the beginning of the game even though he has the ability to do it, so it took the Georgia Tech defense by surprise, a bad surprise for them." "Now Georgia Tech will have to attack more to try to win and it will be difficult because the defense of the Tar Heels team was very good and Jake especially is very good both in attack and defense." Just as the commentators said the Georgia Tech team had to try to attack more, but they haven''t done that since the beginning of the 2nd half, they started with the defense still strong and trying to attack at a faster pace. But it was not easy to pass through the defense of the Tar Heels team and even with a strong save the Tar Heels attack could still score, so after a few minutes Georgia Tech had no choice but to go all out to try to win. In another move, Georgia Tech managed to score two points and Jake started with the ball from the backcourt before passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Carter on the left. Carter and Jamison were good at this game and even though Williams was not so good at three-point shots he was still good at mid-range plays, Carter advanced with the ball and went to Okulaja on the right. Okulaja held the ball for a while and then moved to Jamison farther left, Jamison caught the ball and then got rid of the opposing defense and ran it to layup and score 2 points for Tar Heels. With Jake and Jamison playing so well they both drew the defense''s attention even though they were directly involved in the play, just as in this play where two players were close to Jake and one was defending against him directly even though Jamison didn''t even pass the ball to him. In another move, Jake got a steal and ran quickly to the frontcourt when Georgia Tech players realized that Jake had caught the ball and tried to get back to defense quickly, but Jake was faster and finished with a dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 376 Business and Basketball 10 The game went on like this and Team Tar Heels managed to further increase their lead with errors in the Georgia Tech team attack, so Georgia Tech failed to recover and eventually lost the game. Team Tar Heels won the game by scoring 112 points against 71 points for Team Georgia Tech, the fans were very happy with this victory from Team Tar Heels in their first home game of the year and they were looking forward to the next game in a few days. In this 2nd half Jake had played for 20 minutes and scored 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals, as well as a good start and a triple-double, to help Tar Heels win more. After the end of the game, Jake can see several posters in the crowd wishing him a happy birthday that was the day before, which made Jake very happy and thrilled, which made Jake want to play even better to bring joy to the fans. "One more game ends with the Tar Heels team win, after that game, there are 16 straight wins, with last season''s games 41 straight wins, the Tar Heels team haven''t lost a game since January 4, 1997." "It''s very rare to see a team go so long without losing, and with Jake and Jamison playing that way it''s hard to find a team that can beat Tar Heels before the NCAA tournament." "This data shows how after Jake joined this team they got even stronger, after this game of January 4, 1997, Jake started playing more minutes in the games and the Tar Heels team didn''t lose anymore, now Jake plays 40 minutes in all the games." "Sure, Jake is very important to the Tar Heels team and we''ll see how long this team can continue without losing." What commentators said became news in many sports media over the next few days, unnoticed by the change in coaches, the Tar Heels team reached 41 games without losing. This was a great achievement for college basketball teams in recent decades where basketball has become more popular and because it is more lucrative for teams and players to attract far more talent than other sports. This season there were 23 more games to play, and if the Tar Heels team lost no games and were NCAA tournament champions again, they would have a 64-record winning streak, which would be the second-highest record in a men''s basketball team history was from the San Francisco Dons team with 60 games without losing. And the biggest sequel was the UCLA Bruins team with 88 unbeaten games that ended in 1974, in modern basketball nobody expected anything like that to happen again so getting 41 games unbeaten was incredible for the Tar Heels team. In the expert analysis, Jake Smith''s presence was certainly the most important reason for the Tar Heels team to achieve this, a high-level player who was a team player and not alone doing many assists. In addition, Jake had an incredible average of over 30 points per game making many three-point plays, in defense Jake also had a great performance with an average of 7 rebounds per game and 8 steals, Jake broke several records in the debut season his and kept playing even better this season. Of course, besides Jake other players of the team were also very important, Serge Zwikker last season and Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Ademola Okulaja, Shammond Williams and Ed Cota also kept this team performing well. With such a good team even the change of coaches between seasons did not hinder the team''s performance because even though Dean Smith was an excellent coach and a legend, Coach Bill Guthridge was also very good. With this news, the Tar Heels team soon had another game two days later still playing at home at the Dean Smith Center, this sequence of many losing matches gave a lot of pressure to the Tar Heels players. But it also gave a lot of pressure to the opposing team to play against this strong Tar Heels team, and besides, as players who would be future NBA stars, Jake and his teammates were not so affected by that pressure. The opponent for this match was the Virginia Cavaliers team that would not have performed well this season, but it was still a difficult team to face due to having two great players who were Norman Nolan who would have averaged over 21 points this season and Curtis Staples who also had a good average scoring over 18 points per game and was one of the best players in the three-point shots. "Welcome to everyone who will be watching this game with us, we will see another game from the Tar Heels team that has come to the fore in recent days as the team that has not lost for over a year at College basketball." "And the opponent is the good team Virginia Cavaliers who has Curtis Staples who is a player who is also good at three-point shots and will give Tar Heels trouble in defense." "I don''t think it''s going to be like this, Curtis Staples is good at three-point shots, but with Jake on defense he won''t have many opportunities to make the points, and Jake is much better than Curtis Staples in many ways." "Who I think can cause problems for the Tar Heels team is Norman Nolan who has a great average point in games and can play in a space in defense of the Tar Heels team that has no one to defend against." "This is not going to be a problem, it seems that for this match Makhtar N''Diaye will play and Shammond Williams will be in reserve for today''s game so Jamison can help Makhtar N''Diaye defend against Nolan in that game." Just as the commentators had said N''Diaye would play in the starting team and Williams would be in reserve, Coach Guthridge trusted Jake to defend against Staples and he would focus on Virginia Cavaliers'' Nolan defense. The other players were not a threat to the defense of Team Tar Heels, and Coach Guthridge knew that if he could stop both of them, the Virginia Cavaliers attack would be much weakened. In the early minutes of the game the two teams pressed into the attack, Jake organized the plays calmly and had the ability to move to Jamison and Carter at the right time to assist or try the shots outside. In a move by the Virginia Cavaliers attack they tried to move quickly to get the Tar Heels defender unprepared, but the Tar Heels players were quick and Jake was a great deal of trouble as he returned to defend. In this play after a careless attack by Virginia Cavaliers the ball was left for Curtis Staples who tried the shot outside with Jake close to him, Jake reacted quickly and got the block and even caught the ball to start the counterattack. Tar Heels had a couple of points ahead in the first half of the game, so Jake was calm in organizing another attack, so it was important not to keep up with a fast pace when you didn''t need to, as it would make Tar Heels players more tired. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter advanced until the defense of Virginia Cavaliers arrived and thus passed the ball to Jamison on the right, Jamison advanced and passed to Okulaja who was ahead. Okulaja got a feint and got rid of the Virginia Cavaliers defender and advanced to the painted area, other Virginia Cavaliers defenders came to mark Okulaja who passed Carter on the left which was free. Carter stepped forward and attempted the layup to score 2 more points for Team Tar Heels, Staples was very hasty trying to shoot from outside when Jake was so close defending, on Team Tar Heels the most skilled player on the block was Jake. Jake just didn''t make many blocks because he needed the right opportunity to try and the opponents are clever to avoid attacking when Jake was in defense, and Jake would rather try to steal than a block. The game continued in the 1st half with Tar Heels always having a good lead on the scoreboard, Jake was defending well against Staples and Norman Nolan had difficulty attacking Jamison and N''Diaye''s defense. So by the time the 1st half ended Tar Heels had a good lead on the scoreboard, Jake, Jamison, and Carter were well on the offense and Tar Heels was also well on defense and was not giving Virginia Cavaliers opportunities to play. In this 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 14 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, Staples still wouldn''t give up trying a few three-point shots when Jake was in defense and so Jake can make some blocks in that game. "What a great game from the Tar Heels team so far, the attack is working very well with Jake, Jamison, and Carter playing well and taking most of their opportunity on the offense." "And the defense of team Tar Heels is also doing very well, Nolan and Staples who are the main players of team Virginia Cavaliers are not able to play well and have managed to score few points in this 1st half." "True, Coach Guthridge was not afraid to change the initial team that was playing very well to put N''Diaye to defend against Nolan and that has been working because he with Jamison has been blocking many moves from Nolan to the Virginia Cavaliers team." Chapter 377 Continuing the Winning Streak 1 "And in the personal dispute between Jake and Staples, Jake has been winning easily by scoring 14 points with 12 of them in three-point shots, and Jake got 3 blocks and 3 steals against Staples." "It was clear from the start of the game that unless Jake was playing poorly in this game Staples would not have had a chance to score too many points, and not because Staples is a bad player but because Jake plays very well in defense and even better in the offense." In the 2nd half, Coach Guthridge did not ask Tar Heels to change anything in defense and they let Jake control as he thought it was right, Tar Heels had a good lead on the scoreboard and even though they had not yet secured victory it was hard for the Virginia Cavaliers team to win this game. As Coach Guthridge asked Team Tar Heels to start the game with caution in defense and it was the right thing to do because Team Virginia Cavaliers began to press harder on offense, it was what they had to do if they wanted to win. In another play, Virginia Cavaliers tried the offense and after Nolan missed the move Jake managed to catch the defensive rebound when the ball fell into Jake''s hands the game slowed and thus the players of Tar Heels relaxed from the pressure opponent was doing. Jake advanced slowly and before the middle of the court passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison advanced slowly too and before reaching the three-point line went to N''Diaye who was further left. N''Diaye held the ball for a while and passed the ball to Carter on the right, Carter passed the ball to Jake who came in the middle behind the opposing defense, Staples had lagged behind and Jake used his agility and drive to the basket to make the dunk and increase the advantage of team Tar Heels by 2 more points. No one on the defense of Virginia Cavaliers expected Jake to try an inside play and Tar Heels increased their lead further. The Virginia Cavaliers team this season was not very good and was very dependent on Nolan and Staples in the attack to make the points, with the defense of the Tar Heels team and the other ACC conference teams knowing that they could not win many games. Even so, the players of Team Tar Heels were being very careful in this game so as not to give Virginia Cavaliers a chance to try to win the game, especially as the players wanted to win even more to maintain the winning streak. Team Tar Heels continued to dominate the game and with good attacks and defense stopping the best players of team Virginia Cavaliers, so at the end of the game, Team Tar Heels secured another victory. Tar Heels won the match 94 points against Virginia Cavaliers 66 points, it was a good game for the defense of Tar Heels and another good game for the attack with Jake, Jamison, and Carter. In this 2nd half of game Jake can play for 20 minutes and get 17 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, so he managed to do another double-double with more than 30 points and 10 steals as well. "And so the game ends with another victory for the Tar Heels team, the game sequence is further increased and the Tar Heels team favoritism is most evident this season to win the NCAA tournament." "That''s right, this season alone is 17 straight wins and that shows the strength of this current team without Zwikker and with coach Guthridge, Jake today made another double-double and a five-by-five, that shows how he improved even comparing last season when he broke several records." "Certainly, and Coach Guthridge showed how he understands the team he has and how strong even the players of Tar Heels are, he put Makhtar N''Diaye in place of Shammond Williams and the team''s defense improved and the attack was well too." "True, we will continue to watch the matches to see how many games the Tar Heels team can stay without losing." After that victory the players were happy and relaxed going back to the dorms, the next game would be only in 4 days, but it would be a guest game so players had to recover before the next game to perform at their best. Only Jake was more worried after the next game, even though he wasn''t as worried as the others in the game because of the great losing streak and had confidence that with him on the team they wouldn''t easily lose, Jake couldn''t help but worry about the next game. That''s because this game would be the team''s first defeat this season from what Jake remembered, of course with the Tar Heels team winning the NCAA tournament everything was different, but he still had to be more prepared for it. Especially since it would be a game in which Team Tar Heels would lose overtime after equalizing for 40 minutes, it showed the strength that Team Tar Heels had even without Jake playing. So Jake went to Coach Guthridge to tell him that the Tar Heels team had to be careful in the next game, Coach Guthridge took Jake''s warnings seriously and decided that the Tar Heels team would have to train harder in the coming days. Of course, the players wouldn''t know it was because of Jake''s warning, but no one would even care if they did because they all knew that Jake wanted only the best for the team, and they also knew that Jake also did his racing training almost every day. Coach Guthridge would also continue with N''Diaye in the team because the next game''s opponent would also have a skilled Center who would take advantage of this failure in team Tar Heels, Carter could play in the next game part-time and Williams another part of the game if necessary. Another thing Coach Guthridge asked was for Jake to attack with everything at the beginning of the game and try to make several three-point plays and thus increase the team''s advantage early in the game. Jake naturally accepted, he really wanted to win this next game because he felt that if he won this game the sequence of games would be easier to win too, the team Tar Heels trained a lot of defense and attack with Jake. So after a few days of training came the day of the next game, this game would be with the visiting team Tar Heels making it even harder, yet they would have to try to win this game. The opposing team in this match was the Maryland Terrapins team who had a great last season and this season would be great for them too, the Maryland Terrapins team was of the same style as the Tar Heels team and had a great team so they could win more. When a team had only one or two very good players that team would not be a tough opponent if the opposing team had a good defense, but when a team like Maryland Terrapins had good players who could make a difference it was harder to beat such a team. "Welcome to everyone who followed this game with us, another great game today with two very good teams and with an uncertain outcome." "The Tar Heels team comes from a 17-win streak this season and has been without a game for over a year, while the Maryland Terrapins team comes from some wins and losses this season, but they have a very good team." "The Tar Heels team is the favorite to win today''s game because it comes from a great winning streak and Jake and Jamison are considered the best players today." "But I wouldn''t be surprised if the Maryland Terrapins team won this game and ended up with the Tar Heels team winning streak, because they have a good team and play at home in that game." No one knew what this game would be like, but everyone was waiting for an exciting game, so early in the game, the Tar Heels team seemed to want to put pressure on the attack, the defense at Jake was strong enough to keep him from firing from the outside. It seemed that Maryland Terrapins coach hoped that Jake would be more used in this game to increase the advantage for Team Tar Heels, but even with a strong defense against him Jake made a feint and soon got rid of the player who was defending against him. Jake stepped forward and pretended to go forward using speed and stepped back out of the three-point line and tried an outside shot to hit and make the first 3 points for the Tar Heels team. The Maryland Terrapins team advanced to attack and try to reduce the score quickly, but after a passing error the ball was passed to Jake again and he quickly advanced, no one could run as fast as Jake and he made 2 points more with a calm dunk. Following the Maryland Terrapins team missed the attack again and Jamison got the defensive rebound and went to Jake to arrange the counterattack after the ball passed through some players of the team Tar Heels returned to Jake''s hands off the three-point line. Jake made a feint and made a high pass for Jamison who hoped for this and jumped to catch the ball in the air and make a dunk and complete the alley-oop and score 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 378 Continuing the Winning Streak 2 After that, team coach Maryland Terrapins asked for a break from scolding the team that he was not doing a good job in defense. On the side of team Tar Heels, coach Guthridge said the team was doing well and they were supposed to do more pressure on the defense. So, Maryland Terrapins didn''t make as many mistakes as at the beginning of the game and Tar Heels continued well in defense and without failing in attack, those 7 points in the first minutes of the game would greatly help Tar Heels to play more calmly in that game. The defense in Jake increased a lot and it didn''t hinder him that he could use his speed and get rid of the defense if needed and could assist with Jamison who was playing very well in this game and for Carter who was also well in the game. After 10 minutes with Jake hitting 2 more three-point shots and getting 2 steals, Tar Heels''s lead increased even more, so Jake began to take more of the defense''s attention on him and started making more assists. Even coach Guthridge put Williams in place of Okulaja to further increase the strength of the Tar Heels attack, it was for a few minutes but increased pressure on the Maryland Terrapins defense. At the end of the first half of the game, Tar Heels had a good lead on the scoreboard taking advantage of Maryland Terrapins'' mistakes early in the game and with Jake not letting the Tar Heels attack go awry. In this 1st half, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 18 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, knowing that the team could have difficulty. Jake was giving as much as he could for the team and was seeing the advantage in the score that the team Tar Heels finished in the 1st half. "Good 1st half for the Tar Heels team, a very strong start to the game by Jake and the Tar Heels team who took advantage of the Maryland Terrapins defense and attack errors and managed to open a small lead." "After the team Tar Heels continued strongly in the attack with Jake and Jamison playing very well and putting a lot of pressure on the defense, so the team Tar Heels finished the 1st half with a good advantage that will give greater tranquility in the 2nd half of the game." "Yes, Jake and Jamison are doing very well in offense and Carter also scored 9 points with Jake''s assists and taking advantage of rebounds, and the defense of Tar Heels was fine with all the players." "Jamison already has 16 points in the game and seems to be doing very well in that game too, Tar Heels''s attack is concentrated on those 3 and yet the Maryland Terrapins defense is having difficulty." In the 2nd half Maryland Terrapins was behind on the scoreboard and had to try to attack more to try to win the game, but the Tar Heels players were focused on defense and after the Maryland Terrapins players began to tire Jake had more freedom to make the moves. Maryland Terrapins went for the offense and in the middle of the pitch Jake steals the ball from Laron Profit and held the ball calmly, Jake was hindering many attacking moves by Maryland Terrapins and being careful about Tar Heels don''t miss the attacking moves so much. Jake stepped forward and before passing the middle of the court passed the ball to Carter, Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed to N''Diaye who advanced a little and had to stop under heavy pressure from Maryland Terrapins defense. N''Diaye passed the ball to Jamison on the left and Jamison made a nice feint getting rid of the defender and running and running to try the layup and score 2 points for the Tar Heels team, with N''Diaye and Okulaja playing near the painted area Jamison had more freedom to make plays like this without having multiple players defending against him. The Maryland Terrapins defense was doing a great job in this game, they were making a defense in which everyone within the three-point line ran out of space to make the move and anyone outside the three-point line had difficulty getting in on the three-point line. But Jake didn''t have to be inside the three-point line to make the points and most of his points were shot off, so the Maryland Terrapins defense had a hard time dealing with Jake if another player came to defend against Jake, he passed the ball to Carter and Jamison. Jake, Carter, and Jamison were very close friends at the university and trained a lot of time together, so with Jake''s talent it was normal for him to do some assists in unexpected situations and Jamison and Carter easily got those assists because they had a good rapport. After half of the 2nd half, Jake felt Jamison was a little tired after running so hard to make more than 20 points in a difficult save like Maryland Terrapins, so with a good lead, he decided to slow down the attack. team and focus more on defense. This made the Maryland Terrapins team further increase the pressure on the attack and made it difficult for Tar Heels to defend, even though the Maryland Terrapins team scored the attack points they could not prevent the Tar Heels team from scoring too. Coach Guthridge also noticed that Jamison was tired and made some changes to the squad and Shammond Williams stepped in for him, which caused Tar Heels''s attack to change and the quality of the defense to decrease. So, in a few minutes Tar Heels'' lead in the scoring diminished, seeing that Coach Guthridge called for time to stop the game and get the team together, Jake already had an idea of ??attacking him and Williams with only three shots points. Jake had a good hit average and Williams also had a good average and so Team Tar Heels could scare the defense of Team Maryland Terrapins, returning to the game was what Team Tar Heels did by taking Team Maryland Terrapins by surprise. Thus in a few minutes, they tried several three-point shots and even if they missed some could still further increase the lead after the Maryland Terrapins defense failed to block the players from attack. Team Tar Heels ended up winning a game that would have been lost without Jake in the team in another situation, Team Tar Heels scored 92 points against Team Maryland Terrapins 71 points, the game also did not reach over time and thus the team''s winning streak Tar Heels increased. In this 2nd half, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 21 points, 5 assists, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block, making 39 points. Jake landed another triple-double and was instrumental in this Tar Heels team victory for the points in shots of three points and for his good defense in the game. "What a great game we saw today between these two teams, Maryland Terrapins was perhaps the team that came closest to beating Tar Heels this season." "A great game from Laron Profit and Obinna Ekezie, but that was not enough to beat the Tar Heels team who also relied on Jamison and Jake''s great performance to get that win over." "True, even though Profit and Ekezie had played very well it was still not enough because Jake and Jamison also played very well and together scored over 60 points in that game." "It seems that with Jake and Jamison playing so well this season it will be hard to find another team that can beat this team, so let''s keep following how far this Tar Heels victory sequence goes." That was perhaps the hardest game they had this season, but this was the kind of game Jake liked the most and that''s why he worked harder at this game and managed to play so well, this game that Jake knew the team losing without him on the team was what he wanted to play best to ensure victory. Coach Guthridge also saw that Jake was right and that was a tough game indeed and would have been hard to beat without having Jake on the team In that game Okulaja and N''Diaye hardly received Jake pass to try to score and even Williams had just a few minutes just like Carter to try to make the points. But everyone could understand if it was to get the win in a tough game like this when Jamison was tired and playing badly in the attack at the end of the game Jake didn''t pass the ball to him either and that was what he had to do to get the victory. Fortunately, the next game would be much easier for the Tar Heels team and they would have 3 more days to rest and Coach Guthridge wouldn''t even give training so players could recover. Only Jake wasn''t tired and even though he didn''t have basketball training he still had the running training he always did, for Jake that running training was now very easy and he couldn''t wait for the holidays to start for him change the training. He had to start with Yuen Woo-ping martial arts training for the movie The Matrix that would also hinder Jake''s training for the marathons that would be on his vacation. Chapter 379 Continuing the Winning Streak 3 Jake was going to shoot in May 1998 and stay until September 1998, where he would be almost 5 months and that would change the film''s official schedule slightly, so Jake remembered Keanu Reeves was also injured and so was better than the movie started filming a little later. The Wachowskis brothers could also start shooting some scenes in which Jake''s character would not appear before, many things could be done so that Jake arriving almost 2 months after filming began was not a problem. And Jake would still have to leave for a week or so if he really decided to join this year''s NBA draft on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This showed how Jake''s vacation would be a lot busier than the basketball season, after which he would have much more time with the NBA standstill that would make the basketball season begin only in 1999. When Jake considered starting training the day after the Tar Heels game, he got a call and a number that was unknown to him, but how few people could get his number Jake decided to answer the call. "This is Jake, who''s this?" "Hi Jake, this is Kate speaking." "Hi Kate, how long, I''m sorry if I caused any trouble talking to you at that party." "No, you''re not to blame Jake, the media always do these kinds of things, I have to apologize for taking so long to call you." "I was glad you called, I know you must be very busy with the shows." "Yes, I called because I''m in Durham to talk business and I know your university is close to here, so I was wondering if you''d like to have lunch with me today?" "Of course, you give me the address that I''ll be there soon." Jake was very happy to receive a call from Kate after so many months, he sometimes thought of looking for her to talk to, but he knew well that Kate had to take care of her image as an artist and so couldn''t meet Jake without preparation before. Besides, he thought that if she didn''t look for him it was because Kate didn''t really like him that much, thankfully Jake got that call and after getting the restaurant address went getting ready to go out in his car. He soon went to the address Kate passed, and soon Jake was in the restaurant, just as he hoped it was a simpler but also very discreet restaurant, a place where paparazzi couldn''t easily find her. Kate was 19 now and would be 20 this year, Kate was white and fair-skinned, Kate''s face was simple, but in a way that was very beautiful and pure, she had green eyes and a very good body. proportionate and beautiful. It was hard to describe Kate''s face, but if Jake tried he would pick a few models and actresses that could form a Kate-like face, she looked like a mix of model Tanya Mityushina, and actresses Sarah Gadon, Grace Kelly, and Rachel McAdams. As a famous pop singer, Kate had already recorded 2 albums and had 2 songs on Billboard, even though she was considered a successful singer she was going through a difficult time in her career. She had to make a transition in the style of her music and also the image she was giving her audience, as Kate was most successful after losing her parents and while she was a teenager, the songs she wrote were about losing and youth in the sense they conveyed. That, according to the media and her manager, was most of the reason for Kate''s success, but now she was almost 20 and older, and her feelings of loss were diminished by the image of Jake in her life. Thinking about it Kate decided to make a change in her music style and also in her image showing that she had changed and that was the identity she would have as a singer in the future now that she was an adult. And she was sure of that decision when her fans reacted wrong when they knew she could be dating Jake, so she thought that if fans accepted this change from her it would be easier for them to accept future relationships she might have. But if they didn''t accept it could be the end of her career, Kate talked it over with her manager who after hearing Kate''s story decided to support her in this fundamental change for her career. Of course, the biggest reason was that her manager had confidence in Kate''s talent and also agreed that a change was needed if Kate wanted to continue succeeding in the future. Now that Kate was thinking of making a career change that might take away all the fans she had, she decided to meet Jake again without much fear of being discovered, if she was seen multiple times with Jake in the future would make it easier for fans her to accept Jake. The truth was that a magazine survey showed that Kate''s female fans liked and supported her to stay with Jake, so having set her fears aside she decided to call Jake to talk again. Of course Jake didn''t know that Kate was in a lot of trouble because when she met Jake she forgot all her problems, after all, it was something she would have to do anyway and she was prepared in case she lost her reputation. "You look very pretty today, Kate." "Thanks, you''re fine too, Jake." "And how has it been for you in recent months?" "It''s okay, I keep on the shows with the songs from my last album that will continue for a few more months and then I''m thinking of making a new album with a new style after these shows, I hope it''s good." Kate said it all naturally as if she really hadn''t worried about it, but Jake knew she wanted to change the style of the songs and her image as a singer because now she was an adult and had different thoughts than when she was a teenager. But Jake knew this was a hard thing to do and many singers lost their fans with the change of image, in fact, not many were able to do that and keep the same fans and have the same success as before. Singers who succeeded after becoming adults when they started their careers in adolescence or childhood actually lost most of the fans they had when they were younger and then got new fans who liked their new style of music. Jake understood that because he lived in the time of the internet and where information was accessible to everyone, so he knew a lot about the music world, the problem was that even though he knew the future he couldn''t give Kate good advice about music. "This must be something very hard for you to do, but I listen to your music and I know you are very talented, I believe you will succeed even with a new style because you make up your music very well." "If I had a tip to give you would be to make some songs with a style similar to what you do now with more mature lyrics, and along with those songs you could put the songs in your new style of music." "So you can have your fans keep up with your change without any drastic changes like a new album with no music in your current style that everyone likes so much." Kate was surprised to see that Jake knew all about music and liked the county he had given her, she really thought of making a new album with only songs with a different style to see what her fans would think. But hearing what Jake said she saw that it really made more sense to do things calmly and not scare her fans that way, but her personal image would change completely so that her fans would get used to it. "I think it''s a very good idea, but let''s not talk about my problems, I watched some of your games on television and saw the news about you in sports, last year was very good for you." "Yes, I did a lot of things I wanted to do last year like winning a few marathons, I broke some of my records and I had a great debut season in basketball too, it was much better than I expected." "This year will be even better, I hope, it would be nice if you won the NCAA tournament again, and maybe you could keep winning more university titles in the next few years and even break that team record with the most victories." "It would be nice, but it will be hard to win so many games, there are a lot of good teams in the same conference as our team and the NCAA tournament as well." Jake had to talk indirectly to Kate because he couldn''t say he was considering joining the NBA this year, so it was impossible for him to win more NCAA tournament titles in the coming years and break that winning record. But he felt bad about it because she had just told him about the changing style of songs she would have that could be very bad for Kate if Jake said that to anyone else, it showed that she trusted him so much. But Jake couldn''t say that not because he didn''t trust Kate, but because he wasn''t sure if he would be joining the NBA draft this year. Chapter 380 Continuing the Winning Streak 4 If Jake told Kate he might be joining the NBA this year and not doing it would be much worse than hiding something from her, but not to feel too bad Jake decided to tell Kate about the movie he was shooting this year. When Jake said about the movie he was filming this year with Keanu Reeves she was surprised because she realized that this was another really great movie just like what she had seen Jake do, and this time Jake said he would have a real character in the movie with a lot of appearance time. Kate didn''t expect Jake to really continue his acting career, let alone when he was so busy with basketball and marathons, but she naturally understood that Jake really wanted this and that seemed like a very good job opportunity. Kate didn''t want to be an actress and she didn''t think she had any talent for that, but she really respected the actors because she knew some actors and party actresses she attended and she knew how difficult their lives were. Of course, Kate didn''t understand why Jake was really happy with this movie because she didn''t know the future as he knew this movie would be a huge success, after participating in this movie Jake could already be considered a successful actor even if he did only a supporting character in the movie. After that, the two talked for a few hours about life and what they liked, only when Kate''s manager called that they realized they had been together for a few hours and Kate had to leave. But she promised that she would call Jake soon so they could talk more often. After spending an afternoon with Kate, Jake felt that he was fine and more relaxed than if he had rested for many days. He really enjoyed spending time talking to Kate, it was in a way just like what he felt only when he was with his mother, Jake felt that he could spend several hours talking to Kate every day that they would never be without a subject. In the coming days, the Tar Heels team had no training and Jake was just training for the races with Coach Davis and Zack, Jake even stopped training for the 10,000-meter races because in less than a month he would have a marathon to run. It was the Tokyo Marathon that took place in February and it was also the last of the major marathons Jake had to win, he had already won the other 5 and thus gained 5 points in resistance and 5 points in reward agility. Once he won this marathon more he would gain one more point in agility and one point in resistance, which was good for Jake who would get even better after that, but it was also a problem because after this marathon Jake didn''t know when he could win another point in agility and resistance. Of course, as far as Jake knew he no longer needed any agility and endurance statistics to be able to win marathons for many years, nor for the other athletics, Jake thought he just needed training now. But Jake had some goals like running a marathon in less than 2 hours and also breaking world records in other racing modalities, to do that he needed more points in statistics. Now Jake just had to focus on winning the marathon in Tokyo and then he would think about how he would earn more stats points, after a few days the day of the upcoming Tar Heels game came. The Tar Heels players were much more rested and relaxed after a few days without training and even Jake was more relaxed even though he did his running training. This game would be at home what made things even easier for the Tar Heels team that would play with the fans, the opponent of this game was the Appalachian State team, it was a team that would have a good season, but was in a conference where the teams were weaker than other university teams. So it was expected to be an easier game for the Tar Heels team after such a difficult game a few days ago, yet Coach Guthridge told the players not to be careless and focus on the game. In the first minutes of the game, Jake began the attack of the team Tar Heels calmly and did not increase much the pace in the attack, the players got tired a lot in the last games and came from some days without training. Also, this was supposed to be a quieter game and there was no reason for Jake to make his teammates get tired of anything, yet the Tar Heels team was still competent in the attacks and scored a lot of points early in the game. The Appalachian State players knew this was going to be a difficult match and they tried to attack willingly even as they focused on the defense, but the Appalachian State attack didn''t have much strength to overcome Tar Heels''s strong save. They had to try hard to get a chance to score, Jake was taking advantage of that to make some steals in the game which further upset the opponent, so the Tar Heels team finished the 1st half with a good lead on the scoreboard. In this 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 22 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals, a great 1st half for him and also for the Tar Heels team, even though it''s a game with the Tar Heels team dominated the game and not an exciting game The crowd was happy with that. Team Tar Heels was winning by a big advantage and the Appalachian State defense could not stop the opposing players, so in the 2nd half, the Appalachian State team decided to attack with more pressure. But even though the year is focused on defense, the Tar Heels team still had a very strong defense, so even though the Appalachian State team managed to score more points it was much less than the Tar Heels team. Jake was doing very well in this game and Jamison was doing just as well as the other attacking players who were scoring a lot while Tar Heels''s lead increased. So the game ended and Tar Heels won easily by 112 points against 57 points by Appalachian State, with Jake controlling the team''s pace and coach Guthridge making some player substitutions during the game. Jake was the only one on the Tar Heels team who could play an average of 40 minutes per game and not get tired in the other games, which was another reason that Jake was the leading and most reliable player of coach Guthridge on the Tar Heels team. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 20 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals with one more triple-double Jake helped the Tar Heels team to win another win and further increase the winning streak team''s. The Tar Heels team won this game well and it further increased player confidence for the next games, the media still kept talking about the Tar Heels team''s great winning streak and how Jamison and Jake were the best players of the season until the time. It wasn''t just from the Tar Heels team but from all the college teams, even Carter and Williams who were playing well couldn''t compare to Jake and Jamison''s performance of the season and Carter was known as the best offensive trio of recent times. The sports media even said that if a team had these three players on the team in the NBA, they could have a team that could win the NBA title if they had a good Center and a good PF. Of course, even though the Tar Heels team was a favorite because of their last season and this great season so far, but a lot of teams appeared to be strong names to win the NCAA title this year as well. Everyone was very focused on the next game against a team that even if they were not playing well this year was still a team that was always difficult to face, so in the coming days, the team Tar Heels returned to training preparing for the next opponent. So after a few days, the team Tar Heels went to the next game, it would be a guest game which made things even more difficult for this game, the opponent for this game was the team NC State Wolfpack. Even Jake wasn''t too quiet for this game because even if Team Tar Heels was the favorite to win, in a game like this, anything could happen, but he was confident that Team Tar Heels would come out with the win. Chapter 381 Continuing the Winning Streak 5 The game started with the NC State Wolfpack team looking for the attack, as they had no confidence in stopping the Tar Heels team attack with their defense the only way to attempt victory was by attacking. But Team Tar Heels was not praised for good defense for no reason, the strong start of Team NC State Wolfpack was halted by pressure from the defense of Team Tar Heels who attacked calmly with Jake controlling the pace of the team. But in this game, the defense of the NC State Wolfpack team was also doing a good job and the players of the Tar Heels team were not doing as well in attack as in the last games. Even so, Jake was getting good assists and making some three-point plays, so by the end of the 1st half Tar Heels ended up winning with a slight lead on the scoreboard. Coach Guthridge realized this and tried to change some things in the team''s tactics of play, and this evil 1st half of team Tar Heels made the NC State Wolfpack team have more hopes to win this game. In that 1st half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 14 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals, this was a game that even Jake was not doing very well and was lacking the confidence to try many individual and three-point plays. Luckily the defense of Jake and Tar Heels was still good and could stop the pressure of the attack by NC State Wolfpack, it was one of the worst games of team Tar Heels of the whole season. Even though Jake had good results in the game, compared to what he had been doing this season this was the worst game for him, yet the Tar Heels team was much better than the NC State Wolfpack team and so they managed to win by one good advantage. The Tar Heels team won by scoring 82 points against the 54 points of the NC State Wolfpack team, if the Tar Heels defense were not so good in this game could be the team''s first defeat of the season. In the 2nd half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and scored 13 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, it was a good defensive game compared to the offensive game and Jake just got so many points relying on the 3 point shots. The Tar Heels team won well, but the players knew it was not such a good game, even though Jake was disappointed with his performance, scoring 27 points and doing what he did during the game would be considered the ideal game for many players. But Jake knew what he could do and how he had the system to help him, his results would always be better than other players, and it was always thinking that he kept improving even though he had the stats he had and played so well how he played. Even though Jake and the Tar Heels players thought they had not played so well, all the media cared more about the victory than the way they managed to win, because with that victory they increased the winning streak even more. It was hard to find a college basketball team in the modern years that managed a sequence of over 40 games without losing, and the Tar Heels team still had a strong appeal to the media for having players like Jake, Jamison, and Carter who played very well and they had high hopes of being stars in the NBA. The other day the Tar Heels team got a day off because they would have the next game in 4 days, Jake thinking about focusing on his training for athletics, but he got a call that changed his plans for the next few weeks. "Hi Jake, this is David Falk speaking, you said you wanted to talk to me a few weeks ago and I''m here at a restaurant near your university." "Alright, I''m going over there." Jake had called to talk to Falk in late 1997 because he realized that he wouldn''t have that much time to talk to him and the draft season was coming and if Jake wanted to get a better deal he had better talk to David Falk in advance. Jake knew it was normal to just join a team for the draft and stay with that team for a few years before moving, but he knew the history of the teams that had a chance to get him out of the draft if he was first overall pick and he didn''t. I wanted to lose a few years without a chance to win. Jake soon arrived at the restaurant and David Falk had been waiting for him, long time since they last saw each other, David Falk was increasingly famous in the NBA and he had been spending a great deal of time trying to get Jake''s new contracts in the NBA. But David Falk didn''t get as easy as he expected because even though many thought Jake was really a star he might not play that well in the NBA, and as David didn''t know when Jake would join the NBA it was even harder to get a good one. sponsorship agreement. "Hi Jake, good to see you again, you did very well in your debut season on the Tar Heels team, showed that you really have a star, this season I think you will win all the individual awards again." "Hi David, thanks for the compliments, I was happy with the Tar Heels team winning the NCAA title last season, I was also happy to be able to win several individual awards last season as well." "I hope this year our team will be able to win the NCAA title again, if that happens I''ll be happy." "True, if your team wins this season again and breaks the second place winning record, you will win all the individual awards and will still go down in history, but let''s talk about reality now, which you said wanted to talk to me?" "I''m going to join the NBA draft this year, so I called you to organize what we can do in the coming months and to make it happen as I hope." David Falk didn''t expect Jake to want to join the NBA this year, next season would be a tough time for Jake to join the NBA, and David wanted Jake to wait at least another year. "Look, Jake, I think this year will be a bad year for you to join the NBA, some things will happen and the reputation of the NBA players and teams will be shaken after that." "As the Tar Heels team is playing so well I think it''s best that you stay for one or two seasons and try to win 4 NCAA title in a row and make history or break that winning record." "I already thought about it, I think this is the best year for me, this problem that will have in the NBA may be a good opportunity for me, the debut years of the NBA players do not get many opportunities to play and next year I can become an NBA star after this mess." "Also, in the coming seasons I find it harder for the Tar Heels team to break this winning record or even win the NCAA title, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, and Antawn Jamison will be joining the NBA draft this year and the team will be much weaker next season." Hearing this David Falk had to agree with Jake and he realized that Jake had thought a lot about it if the best players of the Tar Heels team left after this season next season the team will have to adapt to the new players. This will make it difficult for the Tar Heels team to win the NCAA title again next season, so if the Tar Heels team won the NCAA title and Jake left he would emerge as a hero at the university and with much more impact to enter the NBA. It was being difficult for David Falk to get endorsements for Jake when he entered the NBA without a set date, and after the NBA shutdown next season it would be much harder to get another good contract for Jake for a few years. After Jake got all the individual prizes with more than 30 points per game and winning the NCAA title it was much easier to negotiate with companies about endorsements, this season Jake kept playing well and if he said Jake would join the NBA this season It would be easier to close endorsement agreements a year. "I agree with you so if you have ever thought about it then I will organize everything for you, I am already talking to 9 different companies that are thinking of closing an endorsement agreement with you when you join the NBA." "Now I was wondering if you have any conditions for these endorsement contracts and which shoe company do you intend to sign with?" "I have some conditions, I''ll tell you, David, because I trust you and because it''s something you need to know." "In those years after making a lot of money from my endorsements as a child, I made some investments, at that time I am a shareholder of 3 different companies and owner of two companies." "So in assets, I currently have over $ 100 million worth of stocks that are valuing a lot, so I don''t need a bad endorsement contract." David Falk heard this and was shocked, he knew few NBA players who were stars who had more than $ 100 million, many earned it in their career, but spent most of their money. But Jake was saying that he had it in stock and David felt that Jake was telling the truth and might even be hiding the real values ??so as not to scare him. Chapter 382 Continuing the Winning Streak 6 Knowing this David Falk understood what Jake was saying, he didn''t need to make sponsorship money because he could get rich otherwise, so he had better focus on the best contracts than getting any contracts for him. "I get that Jake, so you just want the most lucrative contracts, it helps me a lot because I can deny many smaller companies." "Yes, tell companies I only accept a contract of up to 4 years, and it has to be worth over $ 1 million a year, if they think it''s not worth it, say I win with two companies endorsements $ 3 million, gives more than $ 1 million a year and I signed this contract in 1996." David Falk was going to say that Jake was asking a lot for an athlete who was debuting in the NBA, but after hearing that Jake currently earns more than $ 3 million a year he understood why Jake didn''t want bad contracts. "I understand, I''m going to say that to companies, and to the shoe company, which one do you prefer to sign with?" "Just like I said before with Nike, but I want a $ 52 million contract for 5 years, if they think it''s too much, say you''re going to talk to Adidas, name Kobe Bryant that received almost $ 8 million a year from his contract." "Nike hated losing the endorsement with Kobe Bryant a few years ago, and I managed to win an NCAA title and won some individual awards, so you might get a deal with them." David Falk naturally knew these negotiating tactics and how he had many years of contact with Nike and everyone knew of his good talent vision, so maybe Nike would accept this deal that David had no doubt would be profitable for Nike. But David was really surprised at how Jake had already thought of these negotiating techniques, so he could understand why Jake was able to earn over $ 100 million in a few years because he was talented at negotiating. "I want to ask you to try to do something for me, David." "You can tell what it is." "I want you to try to make a deal with one of the NBA teams so they can trade some players for a draft pick, so I can go to that team in my debut season." "This is very hard to get Jake, you''re very good and you''re sure to be a star in a few years, but it''s a big risk for a team to bet on a rookie, especially when we don''t even know if that team will choose you." "I know, but I''m asking you to just try, I want to play on the Lakers team and they already have a history of doing something like that." "It will be very difficult, they risked a lot to do that with Kobe Bryant, and in this team, you are not going to be the main player, you better stay as the main player of a weaker team for a few years and then go to a winning team when I have more experience." "I''m asking you to just try, I know Lakers general manager Jerry West dreams of having an offensive trio to get the Lakers to win an NBA title, they already have Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal with me on the team. they will achieve that." "Tell him that with me on the team I guarantee they will win 3 NBA titles over the next 4 years, and negotiate a contract for me that allows me to lose some running marathon games so my salary may be lower." "It will be a good marketing move for the Lakers and they will save on salaries, I know they want to hire Glen Rice for a salary that will be over 5 million dollars a year, I can do better than him for 5 million dollars in 3 years." David thought it would be very difficult to negotiate with the Lakers for such a contract, and even though David did not know that the Lakers intended to hire Glen Rice, he also thought it was very dangerous for Jake to guarantee that he could win 3 NBA title in 4 years. Few players have been able to do that in all of history and the Chicago Bulls team have been able to do that because they had Michael Jordan and many other good players, Jake could be a star and a very good player, but he could not compare with Michael Jordan. But David felt it was just worth trying to talk to Jerry West about it, Jerry West had already done it with Kobe Bryant and it worked and he really wanted a team with 3 talented attacking players. It was much better to bet on Jake who was good for team marketing and was very talented and spend a few million dollars than hiring an older player who might not stay long on the team if it worked the merit would be all his and the team The Lakers really needed a talented PG. Since Magic Johnson retired, the team has not had such a talented player in position, and Jake had a similar playing style to Magic Johnson and could make the Lakers team win games again. With that in mind, David thought it might be quite possible that Jerry West would decide to risk hiring Jake for the team, so he would have perhaps the best NBA team paying the lowest wages. After that David left to try to get Jake''s endorsement deals, and he would also take the opportunity to try to make a deal with Jerry West, if Jake really joined the Lakers and managed to win an NBA title in the years he stays there he will become one of the most important players in the NBA even being a novice. If he could win an NBA title it would be worth having a low salary and spending a few years not being his team''s main player, after that contract was over Jake could go to another team where he would be the main player and could win many NBA title. After talking to David about what he wanted to do when he joined the NBA, Jake could refocus on his training with the basketball team as well as the races for the next upcoming marathon. After the last game that was not very good in the players'' view, they put a lot of effort into training before the next game, the players were under a lot of pressure because of the great winning streak. Even though Coach Guthridge was under great pressure because of this winning streak, everyone had already forgotten that he wasn''t even the team''s official coach and was just replacing Coach Smith until the Tar Heels team hired another. Coach Guthridge no longer had to worry about whether Tar Heels would have a good season after switching coach, but how long they would be able to keep up this sequence of many games without losing. For that, Coach Guthridge had Jake and Jamison who were the best players of the Tar Heels team, especially he would need Jake who was certainly the main responsible for the team to achieve this. Jake had already warned that he would have to run a marathon soon and so would lose a team game, Coach Guthridge had agreed to that and knew that Jake running the marathons was what helped him get so much resistance to play the 40 minutes in all the games. But with this team pressure to maintain the winning streak if the Tar Heels team continues to win until Jake has to lose this game to run the marathon will be the most difficult game of the Tar Heels team. Everyone trusts Jake and a game without him on the team would be a completely different game, and if the Tar Heels team lost that game the whole team would blame Jake for that defeat because he would not have participated in that game. That''s why Coach Guthridge tried to change Jake''s mind, but Jake didn''t change his mind and was still convinced to run this marathon in Tokyo, the reason being that maybe this was Jake''s last chance to participate in this marathon. Always in February, there would be NBA games, and Jake wasn''t sure if he would get a deal with an NBA team that would allow him to miss some marathon games. Jake found this point of endurance and agility very important to him when it was so difficult to get opportunities to improve his stats, so even if the Tar Heels fans started to loathe him, Jake would still run in this marathon. If Tar Heels won the NCAA title, the fans would forget that they had lost that record because of Jake, and that would even leave players with much less pressure to continue winning all games. So soon the day of the next game of the Tar Heels team came, it would be a home game at the Dean Smith Center and so players were more relaxed with today''s game after training for several days players were eager to perform well in this game. The opponent of this game was the Florida State team that the Tar Heels team had already defeated this season, which was an even bigger reason for the players to be able to be more relaxed for this game even with all the pressure for the team He Tar to win this game. "Welcome to everyone who is following this match between ACC conference teams, this is the second match between these teams and it is also an important match because of the great unbeaten sequence of games of team Tar Heels." "Because of this even being a home game at the Dean Smith Center, the pressure of the need for victory can affect the Tar Heels players." Chapter 383 Continuing the Winning Streak 7 "The Florida State team has no pressure to win that game and came to try to beat the Tar Heels team and take revenge for the defeat in the game a few weeks ago." "It''s true, for sure the Tar Heels team is the biggest favorite to win this game, the whole team is having an excellent performance this season, Jake and Jamison are playing to be the best players of the season among all the teams." "So if they play normally they already guarantee victory in that game." Just as the commentators said the fans and the players of the Florida State team also thought, they didn''t have much motivation if the team was better this season they could even be excited to be the team that defeated the Tar Heels team. But in the current situation, the chance of them winning this game was minimal and they had to hope that the players on the Tar Heels team had a bad performance so that they had the opportunity to win this game. The Tar Heels team decided to start putting pressure on the attack, Jake increased the pace of the Tar Heels game and the Florida State team had to work hard to defend themselves, Jake also wanted to stand out in this game because of the poor performance he had in the last game. In the first minutes of the game, the Tar Heels team was hitting all the attacks and Jake was drawing attention from the Florida State team''s defense and making great assists, so the Tar Heels team got a small advantage on the scoreboard. In another play the Florida State team advanced after the ball passed almost all the players, LaMarr Greer tried the shot and missed and Jake managed to catch the rebound, Jake quickly advanced to attack. He did not intend to move forward to try to make a dunk after getting a counterattack, but he wanted to move quickly with his teammates to try to greatly increase the lead on the scoreboard so that the Tar Heels team players could relax. Before going through the middle of the court, Jake passed the ball to Jamison on the left, Jamison advanced and soon the opponent players arrived pressing in defense, Jamison and Jake were the players who received the most attention from the Florida State team defense. So Jamison had no choice but to pass the ball to Williams who was behind him, Williams received the ball and held the ball before passing it to Jake who was further behind, Jake received the ball and tried to make a feint pretending he was going to advance to the area painted. Jake did a step back and was free to try the shot from outside, when he tried the shot from outside the opponent player came suddenly and tried to make a block, Jake made a fadeaway and hit the outside shot making the three points and still got a foul and can make 1 more point. The crowd was excited by this move and started to make it even louder at the Dean Smith Center, Jake hit the Free Throw and scored another point making a four-point move, he was surprised in that move because he did not expect the opponent defender to try the block. Jake did not like to do the fadeaway because doing so he knew it lessened the chance that he would hit the shot from outside, but just because he didn''t used to do the fadeaway multiple times didn''t mean he wasn''t good at it. In another move, a player from the Florida State team tried to make a layup when Jamison was defending and he was not well-positioned, seeing this opportunity Jamison made the block and Carter got the ball. Carter advanced slowly to the attack and passed the ball to Jake, Jake continued to advance and before the three-point line held the ball, Jake looked at the pass options and when no one expected he made a high pass. Jamison hoped for this and jumped to receive assistance from Jake at the top and do the dunk to complete the alley-oop and get 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, this move started with Jamison''s block and ended with Jamison doing the 2 points with a dunk after an alley-oop. Jake knew that the Tar Heels team players were frustrated with the team''s performance in the last game and just as he was trying to make a great game, so he kept a fast pace in attacks until more than half of the 1st half of the game. This tired the players of the Tar Heels team, but even more tired the players of the Florida State team who could not stop the players of the Tar Heels team and even in the attack were not able to pass through the defense of the Tar Heels team. Jake was getting a lot of assists and steals and was also hitting several three-point plays when the Florida State team''s defense gave him freedom, so this was a satisfying 1st half for Jake. The Tar Heels team ended the 1st half winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard thanks to the great performance of the players, this made the players of the Tar Heels team more relaxed and forgot a little the pressure of having to keep winning. In this 1st half, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 27 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals, this was perhaps being Jake''s best game of the season so far and Jamison, Carter, and Williams were also playing well. "What a great game for the Tar Heels team in this 1st half, the whole team is playing well and Jake is playing an excellent game that may be his best 1st half of the season, Jake did just that first half of the game that many would be happy with to achieve in an entire game." "It''s true, in the last game Jake also played well but compared to what he was doing during the season, he was slightly below his great performance, in this game he is doing what he wanted in this game and also in the last game." "The Florida State team''s defense has no choice but to make a more focused defense on Jake, but with that, he managed to make great assists and the other players had more freedom to score." "In the 2nd half, the Florida State team has to try to go more into the attack if they want to try to win in that game, and the players of the Tar Heels team will no longer have as much pressure for the victory and the pressure will be all over the Florida State team that is playing as a visitor." As commentators said the Florida State team would have to try to attack if they wanted to win the game, but at the end of the 1st half the advantage of the Tar Heels team was already very large and this discouraged the players from the Florida State team. So contrary to what everyone expected, the Florida State team decided to focus more on defense in the 2nd half to try not to lose with such a big advantage in that game, seeing that the Tar Heels team was not afraid and Jake decided to keep pressing in the attack. Jake already knew that the defense of the Florida State team could not stop the attack of the Tar Heels team, and this was a good game to increase the confidence of his teammates achieving a victory with a great advantage on the scoreboard and thus continue the sequence of victories. In another move Jake managed to make a steal and advanced the ball with speed to the attacking court, there was only one player who had been further behind in the attack of the Florida State team who could still follow Jake on the counterattack. Jake continued at speed and was advancing in a way that the Florida State team player who was on defense could not find the opportunity to try the steal or even make the foul. Jake advanced with speed and close to the painted area the opposing player managed to turn to try to make the foul on Jake, Jake advanced with speed and took a second long step to the left and soon made a turn that the opponent did not expect and ended this move with a dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. This was the unstoppable Spin Move that was a LeBron James dribble that Jake had used several times and was a known move of him in basketball, with this move the crowd became more animated and the players of the Tar Heels team more confident. Even with the Florida State team playing the 2nd half trying to defend more than attacking the Tar Heels team, it was very good in that game and increased the advantage on the scoreboard much more and that discouraged the players from the Florida State team. So the game ended with the team Tar Heels winning the game making 131 points against 48 points of the Florida State team, the team attacked willingly until the end of the game and the Florida State team gave up trying to win the game after 10 minutes of the 2nd half. In that 2nd half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 25 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, and 6 steals, it was one of Jake''s best games of the season and he made his second quadruple-double of the season. "What an amazing game we are watching today, the Tar Heels team achieved a great victory against the good Florida State team, and it was a very convincing victory with the Tar Heels team doing more than double the opponent''s points." "The Tar Heels team had a great defensive game as well that really got in the way of the Florida State team that failed to score many points in that game." "But the main point of this game was the 131 points of the Tar Heels team, all the players of the Tar Heels team were fine Jamison, Carter, and Williams had a good game and managed to score a lot of points and even Okulaja can score some points in that game." "But the highlight of the Tar Heels team in that game was certainly Jake with 52 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds, and 12 steals, his second quadruple-double of the season and playing very well." Chapter 384 Continuing the Winning Streak 8 "It''s true, Jake has been playing very well this season and surpassing what he achieved last season that gave him all the individual prizes, he averages more than 30 points per game and more than 10 assists per game." "But what makes it special even though it has more than a 70 percent hit rate on three-point shots, is the incredible average of 9 steals per game." "This is incredible thinking that the previous record was less than 5 steals per game, last season Jake already broke that record by averaging 6 steals per game and 217 in total." "And this season there are still 18 games left until the end of the season, and Jake already has an average of 9 steals per game and has made 194 steals so far and is almost breaking his own record, a player who gets so many steals change the result of the games and will be welcome on any team in the NBA." After this excellent victory, the Tar Heels team players started to relax again knowing that they were on the right path, the next game would be in a few days and everyone wanted to train to get another victory. Jake and the Tar Heels team became news again for the sports media, it was rare to see a player score more than 50 points in a game and still make a quadruple-double, with the Tar Heels team having a sequence of games without losing so big it was normal for this to become news. Who was most happy about this was perhaps David Falk, as Jake had asked he had spoken to the sponsors again and was trying to talk to Jerry West about the possibility of Jake playing in the Lakers. The situation was not very good because two companies had already given up sponsoring Jake when they learned that the minimum was $ 1 million a year, and the others asked for time to consider, but it was likely that most would decline. For companies that were considering the proposal, David said that Jake earned $ 3 million from two companies before he even joined the university of endorsement, which was what made the companies think better. So Jake making this great game with more than 50 points and 17 assists in one game would help him to convince companies that Jake was worth that amount, and David had managed to after a few days a meeting to talk to Jerry West. David wanted to take advantage of this favorable moment and asked that when Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan could speak well of Jake to the sports media, few knew that he would be Jake''s sports agent and this would further increase Jake''s popularity. So Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan spoke highly of Jake and how they hoped to play with him in an NBA game one day, and also talked about how talented Jake was and could improve even more in the future. Luckily for David, even Magic Johnson spoke highly of Jake when the media asked about him, so other players also talked about Jake and the Tar Heels team and that made the media and fans even more excited. Jake who had seen this on television imagined that David was behind it, Jake thought that if it was at the time of Twitter and Facebook he would get millions of followers after these interviews with NBA stars. This made companies that were thinking about refusing David''s proposal decide to think about it longer and research more because it could be a great deal for them, when more large companies the player had endorsements it increased the player''s popularity and the reach of the advertisements. Some had researched that after the companies had signed an endorsement contract with Jake, these companies increased sales significantly, the smaller companies multiplied sales and the larger companies increased sales revenue by more than 20 percent. And these companies were also able to save on advertising expenses by betting only on Jake, which made the beverage companies more interested in Jake and other companies as well. Of course, David did not expect to get any contract promises until the NBA draft was a few months away, perhaps these companies would even wait for the season to end before accepting a deal. It was too risky to spend so much on endorsement for Jake that he was a novice player, but these companies could bet because of Jake''s talent and because he was also a very famous marathon athlete and the best marathon runner in the world today. This was a differential that could be worth their investment and also seeing how famous Jake was even though he did not enter the NBA made these companies consider a contract of $ 1 million a year that would not even affect their revenue so much. Jake was very happy to be praised by so many famous NBA players, he was always a fan of these players and even when he was depressed about having suffered the accident in the past he still liked to see them playing. The last game managed to make the players confident and excited again, everyone trained hard to be able to continue winning, a sequence of victories like this can lead all the players on the team to go down in history. Jake was also training very hard and was committed to helping the team as much as he could to win the next 3 games because after 3 games he would have to lose one game to run the Tokyo marathon and win the last remaining Major marathon. So it was likely that the Tar Heels team could lose this game that he was not in, Jake thought that with Ed Cota replacing him the Tar Heels team could still win this game without him, but he had to prepare for the worst. So after a few days of training, the day of the next game came, it was another home game at the Dean Smith Center and the players were prepared and confident to win. The opponent for this game was the Clemson Tigers team, the Tar Heels team had already beaten that opponent this season in a difficult game, so all the players were focused on that game. The Tar Heels team started the game by attacking as usual, in the last game the Clemson Tigers team had already proved that their defense was very good and therefore Jake did not want to speed up the pace of the game and preferred to work better on the moves to hit more attacks. For this game, the Clemson Tigers team also wanted to put pressure on the attack and not just on defense, but the Tar Heels team''s defense was one of the best of the season and it was difficult to score easily. In another play Jamison managed to rebound after the mistake of the Tar Heels team attack, just as Jake had been doing, Jamison did not rush and slowly advanced until passing the ball to Jake. Jake and Jamison were excellent rebounds players, Okulaja and Carter were also good rebounds and with that, the Tar Heels team got the advantage in many games by not losing in the second ball. The opponents could not get a second chance to attack and the Tar Heels team could try again if they failed in attack if they managed to rebound, this was something praised in the work that did coach Guthridge who had a good team in rebounds without playing with a Center. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter who was on the left, Carter advanced with the ball and before the three-point line he passed the ball to Williams on the right. Williams tried to get rid of the player on defense and when he couldn''t pass the ball to Okulaja up front, Okulaja received the ball and soon passed it to Jake who was further behind, Jake received the pass and went to the left. Jamison made the screen and prevented the player who was defending against Jake to continue, so Jake was free and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team in a team play. Jake, Carter, and Jamison were very close friends and trained more time together even when the other team players were resting, so plays like this, although rarer on the Tar Heels team, were often trained among them. Carter was well on the attack in that game and Jake took the opportunity to make a lot of assists, Williams also always played a good game and had a good average of points per game, sometimes he managed to make more than 25 points in several games. Jamison was performing slightly below normal in this game, but Jamison was still helping with rebounds and also drawing attention from the opposing defense, so Jake was counting more on Williams and Carter in the attack. At the end of the 1st half, the Tar Heels team was getting a good advantage with the team doing well in attack and defense, Jake was not making as many points as in the last game, but he was helping in defense and still getting some assists. In that 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and had 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals, it was a good performance for him and due to the difficulty of the game Jake was more satisfied, Jake could make more points, but Williams was fine too and Jake could do more assists. The Clemson Tigers team was now behind the scoreboard, but the advantage that the Tar Heels team had was not that great and the players of the Clemson Tigers team could feel that they were making a good save in that game. So in this 2nd half, the Clemson Tigers team would try to win against the Tar Heels team by going more to the attack while prioritizing defense, in that game Coach Guthridge also decided to let Jamison and Carter play less time to be rested for the next game. Chapter 385 Continuing the Winning Streak 9 This made it harder for the Tar Heels team to keep up the pressure in the attack in the 2nd half when Jamison was out of the Jake team, he would have difficulty with the defense more on top of him and less choice for assists. So at the beginning of the 2nd half the Clemson Tigers team started to put more pressure on the attack, Jake had to put more effort into the defense and even then it was more difficult to prevent the Clemson Tigers team from getting the attacks right. In the attack Jake tried more three-point shots and had Williams to score when Carter and Jamison were not on the court, luckily Williams was rewarding confidence by making a good game. The Clemson Tigers team seeing this was also doing a lot of fouls in that game, luckily all the players on the Tar Heels team had a good hit average in the Free Throw when the foul was against Williams or against Jake the points for the Tar team were almost certain. Even with a complicated game in the 2nd half, the Tar Heels team still managed to win by making 101 points against 73 points of the Clemson Tigers team, even so, it was a victory with a good advantage on the scoreboard and increasing the winning streak of the Tar Heels team. In that 2nd half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, with another double-double even though the game got more complicated in the 2nd half, the Tar Heels team still managed to win. It was a good game that was even difficult and the Tar Heels team players had to work hard in attack and defense to guarantee victory, with Jamison and Carter playing less time it was more difficult for Jake to organize the attack. But with that they would be more prepared for the next game after a few days, the media now followed all the games of the Tar Heels team, so either they followed this historic moment of the team or they would be around to see their defeat. The players were free to do interviews, but Jake always tried to avoid the interviews because he didn''t want to say anything unnecessary and in many interviews, the reporters hinted that he was the one responsible for the Tar Heels team that was winning the games. Jake knew well that this was not true and that the Tar Heels team was able to win the games even without him on the team, only in a few games in which the team would lose that it could be said that Jake was instrumental in the victory. So Jake just spoke a few words to reporters and avoided answering questions, he liked to do interviews at high school because he could advertise the companies that sponsored him, but at university, he was forbidden to talk about it. But the next day when Jake was going to focus on his training, he got a call he couldn''t help but answer, it was from someone who hadn''t shown up in a long time that Jake was even starting to forget about him. "Hi, Jake, how long ago, I thought you wouldn''t take my call." "Hi, Eric, really long time ago, I thought you forgot how to talk to me after so many years." "Hahaha, I knew you were going to say that, Jake, but I told you that I wasn''t going to cover high school games or college team games anymore, which is why I didn''t have a place for you for so long." "I remember you saying that you would not work with it anymore and that is why you would not do interviews with me anymore, but I thought we were friends and there is no reason for a friend to spend so many years without calling." Hearing Jake say that Eric had nothing to say, it was true that he and Jake were friends and also helped each other even when Eric didn''t have to interview him, so going several years without talking to Jake was something he did wrong. Eric managed to become successful in his work because of his talent, but the opportunity came when he decided to follow Jake''s basketball career since he was younger. So they became friends and Jake gave him some exclusive interviews and Eric helped when Jake was out of the high school basketball team, with everything that happened Eric gained more attention for his talent and started to have more opportunities. He has worked at major sporting events like the Olympics and NBA basketball games all these years, with his talent Eric managed to become a respected reporter and the players liked to talk to him too. Having so much work and starting to live in another environment Eric who had stopped covering high school and university games lost contact with Jake, then he actually forgot everything he had been through with Jake, got other friends and just worked. But in recent years things have changed, even if Eric wanted to forget about Jake he couldn''t because little by little Jake started to become news in all sports media with an incredible performance in the Tar Heels team winning all the individual awards and winning the NCAA title. And Jake was also well known for winning several important marathons and even gold medals at the Olympics and the Athletics World Championship, Eric thought about calling several times to talk and congratulate Jake on his success. But after having spent so many years without talking to Jake he was embarrassed and decided not to try, but this time he had no way to escape, his boss knowing that Eric was friends with Jake and got several exclusive interviews in the past asked Eric do an interview with Jake for the newspaper. Just as his boss sent Eric had no choice but to accept the shame and seek out Jake to see if he could get an exclusive interview with him, Jake was smart and of course, he knew it must be when Eric called. He was very disappointed in what Eric had done, but he understood that this was Eric''s job too, and Eric helped him a lot in the last few years to increase his popularity and also put some advertising ads that Jake wanted in the newspaper. Eric also helped when Jake needed an opportunity to return to the high school basketball team after being 2 years off the team, so if Eric asked he would do an interview with him. "I''m really sorry Jake, I have no excuse to say about it, it was my mistake and I know I shouldn''t have done that." "Okay, this is now, what do you want to call me?" "You have been very successful in college basketball and have been breaking all records, so my boss knew that I already had contact with you and asked me to try an interview with you." "I can do an interview, but it will only be one because I don''t like doing interviews and I will not answer any questions that I think may harm me." "Okay, thanks for that, Jake, we can meet later at a restaurant to do this interview." "Okay, I''ll see you later." Jake wasn''t too surprised after talking to Eric even though so much time had passed, he knew it would be because Eric was a reporter and they would meet someday, Jake hoped it would be after he joined the NBA because that''s where Eric worked after they stopped talking. After a few hours, the two met in a restaurant that was not far from the university and which was a good place for them to do the interview, even if Jake didn''t answer many questions in this interview it would still be an important interview because of the great season of the team Tar Heels and Jake''s impressive performance. "Thank you for accepting this interview, Jake, I''m going to ask the questions and you answer as many questions as you can." "It''s all right." "You are 19 years old now and you are considered very young in the world of sports, yet you have won more than 10 international marathons and you have broken your world marathon record twice and won some important gold medals in the sport even though you are running less 4 years old, I wanted to ask how you feel about it?" "I always loved to run, since I was a kid I liked to run in the square that was close to home, after 10 years old I started running longer until I got tired and I think it helped me when I started in basketball to have more resistance." "I liked to run and also to play basketball and my family did not have a very good financial situation with only my mother working, and one of my mother''s dreams was for me to go to university." "So I decided to start training in basketball because in basketball I knew that I would have more opportunities to get a scholarship and could perhaps become a professional player." "After many years I finally managed to play on the high school basketball team and after it performed well I knew my training had paid off and so I could get a scholarship at a university if I continued to perform well." "Knowing this, I decided to try to fulfill my dream of running a marathon, I was already training to run for several km because of basketball, but I wanted to try to run more than 43 km to make sure I could run a marathon." "Fortunately, after training in basketball for so many years, I already had the necessary physical preparation and the talent to run for a long time because I had good resistance, so it didn''t take me many months to be able to run 43 km." "Then I tried to aim to run the 43 km in less than 3 hours so as not to be embarrassed in the marathon, and always without trying my best because I had to do the training with the basketball team." Chapter 386 Continuing the Winning Streak 10 "After I managed to run under 3 hours on the 43 km I knew I was ready to run a marathon, so I decided to run in Chicago which was a marathon that I always liked and was in an offseason basketball season." "I prepared a lot to run my first marathon and I tried my best and to my surprise, I managed to win the first marathon that I ran officially, after that I knew I could have a talent and I continued to strive in training and running several marathons." "So you asked me how I feel about having conquered so many important things and winning several marathons running less than 4 years old and being 19 years old, I feel happy and grateful for that, but I also think it''s something natural for me." "I was lucky to have a talent with a lot of resistance, but I also trained a lot for almost 6 years before running my first marathon, and I continued training even though I had basketball, so I think anyone who trains so much can achieve something if have a talent for it. " Eric didn''t expect a question from him to have such a complete answer from Jake, it seemed that Jake loved running a lot more than he thought, Eric wanted good answers like that from Jake, but he had to be careful with the questions he asked. "And what about your team''s great winning streak, what do you think is the reason why the Tar Heels team has achieved a 47-game streak without losing despite facing so many tough opponents." "I believe that the cause of this is our environment, it is the players, the coach, the fans, all of these influences for our team to have this great sequence of games without losing." "When I joined this team at the beginning of last season almost two years ago, the team already had almost all the teammates I have, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Serge Zwikker, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja, Makhtar N''Diaye between other players had been on the team for a year or more." "So coach Dean Smith had already organized the team and had trained a lot with these players before Ed Cota and I joined the team that was already formed." "In my debut season, we lost just 2 games, one at the debut and the other after a 9-game winning streak against our team and it was against the Wake Forest team, and that was our last loss." "It means that if we had not lost that game we would have a streak of 57 wins, it shows how well we played in those two seasons, Coach Dean Smith did very well and Coach Bill Guthridge has also done as well." "It shows how our entire team and the support of the fans has been instrumental in our team achieving this." Eric was also pleased with this answer, it seemed that Jake was helping him a lot by giving very generous answers for him to use in his interview, with that he thought to ask me just two more questions that he had prepared and so he could finish this interview very well. "Jake, in your debut season you won almost every individual award for your excellent performance, you broke several records for your university''s performance and even for all college basketball." "You have averaged 32 points, 10 assists, and 6 steals per game, and this season you have done even better than that, what do you think about everything that is happening to you in basketball today." "I really think everything that is happening to me is impressive, I am lucky to have the trust of my teammates, I have an average of 18 attempts of Field goal per game and my team''s Jamison has only 14." "So this confidence that allows me to score so many points, assists only happens because I have excellent talented teammates who score when I pass." "I am lucky to have a good ability to hit three-point shots and I also have my agility that helps me both in my attack and in my defense, it is incredible and I feel grateful every day for what I have." "I understand, one last question, what do you hope to achieve in the future that you have not yet achieved?" "I hope to achieve many things, I have many dreams and goals in various things related to the sport, in relation to other things and in relation to my personal life." "But in the sport, I hope in the future to win many gold medals for me and my country in the Olympics that I will participate in the future, and I hope to one day win an NBA title and become the MVP of a season in the NBA." "Well, thank you for this interview Jake, sorry for having spent these years without trying to talk to you, who knows in the future we may be friends again, and we will still have a lot of interviews like this in the future when you join the NBA." "Yes, we will meet again in the future and see how things go, it was nice to see you again Eric." After that Jake went back to the university to train, he had been happy to see Eric again after so many years, even though he was disappointed that Eric didn''t try to talk to him in those years, Jake knew these things were happening. He could have been only 19 now, but before going back to the past he lived for 40 years and it was not in the world of sports like now but in the normal society where all kinds of things happen, at 40 Jake saw a lot happening while he worked at the company. Many of these things didn''t happen to him because Jake didn''t have many friends and he never tried to have romantic relationships, but he saw a lot of things happen to other people. Jake had agreed to do this interview because he wanted to help Eric for the things Eric had done for him in the past, but it was also because he thought that with this interview David''s job would be easier to get endorsements and to get a place for Jake on the team Lakers. After a few days of training came the day of the next game for the Tar Heels team, this was a game long-awaited by the sports media these last few days after all the opponent was the team that had been the last to defeat the Tar Heels team before starting this long streak of 47 games without losing. It was the Tar Heels team''s first game against the Wake Forest team this season, it was a difficult game in many different ways for the Tar Heels team, it was a visitor game and it had all the pressure from the media. Even though the Wake Forest team was not having a good season because they were still getting used to playing without Tim Duncan who was the team leader for many years, it was a dangerous team to face. "Welcome to everyone who will accompany us in today''s game, this is a long-awaited game in the last few days because it is the first game between the Tar Heels team that has not lost 47 games and the Wake Forest team that was the last team defeating the Tar Heels team." "The Tar Heels team is definitely the favorite to win this game, Jake and Jamison have been the best players of the season, and the team still has Carter and Williams who have also been having great performances in recent games." "But a game against the Wake Forest team can have a very big psychological effect and the Wake Forest team can take advantage of that to win, they have been trying another style of play after Tim Duncan went to the NBA, and they can win that game." "It is true, but one thing has to be remembered when the Tar Heels team lost to the Wake Forest team, Jake did not even play 20 minutes and even today many think that this is the reason the team lost this game." "After this game, Jake has almost always played for more than 30 minutes and the Tar Heels team has not lost anymore, with a player of his quality I find it difficult to imagine the Tar Heels team losing if they play normally." Just as commentators had said with Jake on the team the fans did not believe that the Tar Heels team could lose, the problem was that the next two games for the Tar Heels team would be very difficult and the team needed that victory. The Wake Forest team also had good players in three-point shots and the Tar Heels team players were prepared for that, and the Wake Forest team was unable to prepare to play against Jake. In the first minutes, the Wake Forest team decided to try to attack and take advantage of the psychological pressure from the Tar Heels team players and the advantage of playing at home to try to get an advantage on the score against the Tar Heels team. But it was not as they expected and they were having a difficult time passing through the defense of the Tar Heels team, in the three-point line Jake was ready to try to block anybody who tried the shot from outside and Williams was also close by. In the defense of the painted area, the Tar Heels team was very good even without a Center, but it was in the three-point line that the opponents had more difficulty making the points because of Jake and Williams. In one of the plays Robert O''Kelley of the Wake Forest team tried a three-point shot after moving away from Jake, but he missed and Jamison easily managed to get a defensive rebound, Jamison also took it easy and advanced slowly until he passed the ball for Jake. It was unexpected that the Tar Heels team that was always so strong would start a game by defending more and not attacking with speed, for many it showed how the players of the Tar Heels team were feeling the pressure to win. Chapter 387 The Last Major Marathon 1 But that was not what was really happening, it was Coach Guthridge who asked them to start the game cautiously against the Wake Forest team, it showed how the Tar Heels team respected the opponent and tried their best to achieve victory. Jake advanced with the ball and after passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Williams from the left, in that game Coach Guthridge asked Williams not to try too many three-point shots and stay more within the three-point line. This was not because the coach did not trust him, but so that Jake had more freedom to try the three-point shots and had more space to get rid of the opposing defense, Williams understood that Jake was better than him in the three-point shots and accepted that. Williams advanced the ball to the three-point line and passed it to Carter who was on the left, Carter received the ball and held it a little before passing it back to Jake who was further behind. Jake received the ball from Carter and he was the only player on the Tar Heels team outside the three-point line and only one player on the Wake Forest team was defending against him, Jake made a feint and managed to get rid of the opponent with ease by going to the right. Jake tried the shot from outside and scored 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, that was the strategy of Coach Guthridge who trusted Jake who had the skill and speed to get rid of the defending opponents. After 10 minutes had passed in the 1st half, the Tar Heels team had already achieved a small advantage on the scoreboard, but the Wake Forest team was also very well and was having a game played against the Tar Heels team. In another attacking move by the Wake Forest O''Kelley attempted a three-point shot again, but this time Jake was close and got the block, it was already Jake''s second block in the 1st half and the Wake Forest team understood how it was difficult to make three-point plays against the Tar Heels team. In another attacking move by the Tar Heels team Jake received Carter''s ball behind the three-point line, Jake had already hit 3 shots from three points and so two players from the Wake Forest team came to defend against him. Jake was quick and made a pass to Okulaja later that had been free, when a defense player tried to defend against Okulaja he passed the ball to Williams who entered the middle, Williams received the ball and advanced until he made the layup to get more 2 points for the Tar Heels team. Williams was not attempting many three-point shots, but he was doing well in layups and mid-range shots, as well as with the Wake Forest team making a little mistake, the Tar Heels team still finished the 1st half ahead of the score. In that 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, it was a good 1st half of game for Jake, but the Wake Forest defense was fine and even Jake was with difficulty making stitches. "What a great 1st half we had in that game, the Wake Forest team as everyone expected comes strong and the players are very confident, their defense is doing a good job and the attack also doesn''t have many mistakes." "The Tar Heels team managed to finish this 1st half by winning with a small advantage on the scoreboard, but despite Jake''s good defensive game, the Tar Heels team players seem timid in this game and are not going to attack at all." "That''s right, the pressure of being in so many games without losing is affecting the performance of the Tar Heels team players, but I think that the Tar Heels team will still win that game." "Jake and Jamison see having great performances throughout the season and even when they don''t play very well they still score a lot and help the team to win, and the whole team is also in a great phase, so I think they will win this one game." "It''s true, and Jake has been showing along with Williams how the defense of the Tar Heels team is good against teams that attempted three-point shots this season, Jake managed 2 blocks in that game and they and Williams hindered several players on the Wake Forest team." In the 2nd half the Wake Forest team came back playing the same way as in the 1st half, even though they were losing the advantage of the Tar Heels team it wasn''t that big and they thought that if the opponent missed more they could win. Unfortunately for them, the Tar Heels team had come back differently, they started slowly because they were being careful with the opponent, but after 20 minutes of play, they no longer needed to be careful in this 2nd half of the game. So the Wake Forest team would have to pay more attention to the defense if they didn''t want to lose the game quickly, Jake also started to speed up the game, the players of the Tar Heels team were rested and had to win this game. In another move, the Wake Forest team was attacking and Jake was quick and managed to intercept an opponent''s pass and started the counterattack, there were only two players from the Wake Forest team in front of him preventing Jake from running directly to make the points. Even so Jake decided to accelerate and try to gain speed to make those points in this play, O''Kelley who was one of the two players in the defense realized that Jake was faster and would pass him and tried to delay Jake in the play. Jake reacted quickly and made a quick crossover when O''Kelley tried to defend against him which caused O''Kelley to fall to the ground, even so, Jake lost a little speed making this dribble and could not make the points without passing the last defender of the team Wake Forest. The last one in defense was Tony Rutland who also tried to hinder Jake to prevent him from making the points, Jake saw that the rest of the defensive players on the Wake Forest team were coming back and he would have to set up the play quickly. So he decided to use the dribbling movement that he himself had invented and used a few times, it was the Ghost move that was a move in which he moved the ball in a way that the opposing player in defense could not see the ball for a moment and Jake would pass him. Jake did this and for a moment Rutland could not see the ball anymore and thought that Jake had missed the move, only after he saw that Jake passed him and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Rutland couldn''t understand how Jake did it, but everyone in the crowd and his teammates had seen what Jake had done with the ball, the Ghost move was a dribble that Jake didn''t use often even though he had invented it because opponents would expect this. The defense of the Wake Forest team was very good, but the intensity of the pressure that the Tar Heels team was putting on the attack was very great and little by little the advantage increased on the scoreboard. In another move, Wake Forest had hit a three-point shot and Tar Heels was attacking soon after, Jake stepped forward and passed the ball to Williams who was on the right before going through the middle of the court. Williams wanted to redeem himself because it was he who failed to defend and gave Rutland the freedom to score three points from an outside shot, Williams came forward and passed the ball to Carter who was on the left. Carter was not performing well in the attack in this game, but he still helped the team a lot, after holding on a little he passed the ball to Williams again, Williams received the ball and tried a mid-range shot. Williams missed his shot and Jamison managed to catch the offensive rebound, Jamison didn''t even catch the ball and just touched it to make the 2 points for the Tar Heels team, Jake asked Williams to have more patience and the team went back to the defense. With the Tar Heels team pressing in the attack in the 2nd half the Wake Forest team was unable to recover and so the Tar Heels team won the game making 88 points against 69 points of the Wake Forest team. In that 2nd half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block, as well as another double-double by Jake, the Tar Heels team won a difficult opponent and kept the sequence of games without lose. "What a great game we are watching here today, an exciting game in which the Wake Forest team, as expected, played very well and made it difficult for the Tar Heels team to seek victory." "At the end of the 1st half the difference in the score between the two teams was not very large, but the Tar Heels team put more pressure on the attack in the 2nd half and thus managed to win after an exciting and disputed game." "The Wake Forest team did very well in that game, but the Tar Heels team is very strong this season and even managed to hinder many Wake Forest team three-point plays." "Jake also played well in defense and had a good performance in this difficult game and even made 3 blocks in the game, Jamison had a good performance and Williams too, just Carter who was not doing so well and left Jake with fewer attack options." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team''s next game will also be a challenge for the players, we hope that Jake and Jamison continue to play well and that the Tar Heels team can continue this incredible winning streak." The players were relieved after that victory, even though they were good players, the pressure of having to win with this winning streak was hindering their performance in some games. Chapter 388 The Last Major Marathon 2 After this game in which the media expected the Tar Heels team to lose so that they would have a good story, Jake''s interview with Eric finally came out in the newspaper, this caused the media''s attention and the public to continue on the Tar Heels team and on Jake. As Jake did not do many interviews after the games, this interview left everyone interested in what Jake had said about the current situation of the team, everyone was satisfied because Jake did an interview giving complete answers that answered several questions. The truth was that Jake had already given some interviews with similar answers before, but they were at another time and Jake was not so famous and so many still wanted to know what Jake thought about these things. Jake thought that this was perhaps the maximum moment of fame that he would have, after all, he would have another difficult game and then he would be out of the next game because he would run the marathon in Tokyo, for someone like Jake who was very important for the team and I always played every minute in games, resting for a game was not uncommon. Even more when the Tar Heels team was the leader of the conference and had not lost any games in the season, the opponent was also weak and so it would not be so prominent that Coach Guthridge let Jake rest for a game with few games left for the ACC tournament and soon after for the NCAA tournament. The biggest problem was that the Tar Heels team was trying to break a historic game record if they lost and Jake was the most important player on the team, and he would not lose this game to rest but to run a marathon. This could make the team and the media criticize Jake and Coach Guthridge a lot, especially if the Tar Heels team lost that game because Jake wouldn''t be playing after that Jake would only regain his popularity if he won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament at the end of the season and get several individual prizes. Jake, of course, had already talked to David Falk about it, so David wanted to take advantage of this opportunity when Jake''s fame and prestige was at its maximum to be able to close some verbal contracts. He was about to close the deal with Jerry West who thought it was worth the risk to bring Jake to the team and still be able to save on salaries and have the offensive players he wanted. After David spoke to him, Jerry West started following Jake''s games and old recordings too, so Jerry West saw that Jake was excellent in defense as well and in assists, he was the type of player that any team would want. With more research, he even knew that Jake could play in all positions if it was necessary, of course putting him as Center could be an exaggeration because of his height, but the other 4 positions he could do very well. Jerry West also analyzed the marketing power that Jake''s name had, a player who was also a marathon athlete and an actor was something that was never seen before, with that and more Jake''s natural charisma and his talent brought many fans and fans for Elite School and North Carolina University. This for a 19-year-old who theoretically could still have the potential to improve a lot was very encouraging, Jerry West already considered Jake better than Kobe Bryant when he arrived on the Lakers'' team. David was also very close to closing with 7 companies that wanted to sponsor Jake, all agreed to pay 4 million in 4 years of the contract, two of these companies were shoe companies that were negotiating Jake''s millionaire contract. Jake said he wanted to sign with Nike and that was what David Falk also wanted, so David made the strategy that Jake said and talked to all shoe companies, David also told Nike about the amount Jake asked for. Naturally, at first he was rejected, so David talked about Kobe Bryant and how he could try to make a deal with Adidas that he was interested in and that he was talking to Nike because he was very considerate of the company and Jake too. But after that something unexpected happened, Adidas somehow heard about the value David offered to Nike and also agreed to pay that amount for a 5-year contract with Jake, Adidas just as David said he wanted to win Nike''s place as number 1 footwear brand in the world. They signed a great deal with Kobe Bryant and were very pleased with the repercussions this brought, so they were naturally interested in signing a contract with Jake Smith that could be the next Michael Jordan or the next Magic Johnson. Even more because Jake was very popular with fans in Europe where Adidas dominated the sale of sports equipment, they were also interested in Jake, who was an Olympic champion and the best marathon athlete today. So Adidas wanted Jake because he was very popular in Europe and naturally he was also very popular in the United States, in a short time Nike should also accept the offer that David made, because if they did not accept this offer then David would tell Jake to close a contract with Adidas. Meanwhile, David called Jake to ask for his opinion to see if he would agree to sign a sponsorship deal with Adidas, Jake replied that if Nike did not accept what he asked for he would close a deal with Adidas. Jake wanted to strike a deal with Nike because he knew they were the best-selling shoe company in the world and the players who earned the most from selling shoes had an agreement with Nike. But just as Jake had told David he had confidence in his ability and didn''t have to worry about money, so the only thing he wanted was for companies to pay what he knew he was worth. So if only Adidas agreed to pay for this 5-year contract he would accept, Adidas also had a lot to gain from it because they would virtually dominate all fans if they had Jake and Kobe Bryant as athletes. Having received confirmation from Jake, David now had more strength to negotiate with the companies knowing that if Nike did not accept the deal he would close a verbal deal with Adidas, so David would have to wait a while before deciding. But the agreements with the other companies he could easily close, even if a verbal agreement did not guarantee anything and the companies could break a verbal contract if they wanted to, but with David Falk who had a lot of influence and was an agent for many important players, no one would want to break a verbal agreement with him. He signed a verbal contract with 5 companies, 4 of which were guaranteed that they would close the formal contract with Jake when the time was right and another company that could break the verbal contract in the future. The companies that were guaranteed were Gatorade, Chevrolet, Pepsi, and Gillette, three of which were impressed by the success of the Tiffany companies and the company that John and Alan currently represented were drinks and razors. For these companies it was easy to get a contract using examples from the past, David got a contract with Chevrolet also because many of their customers liked basketball and athletics. And it was a risk that the company wanted to take, these verbal contracts were practically guaranteed because David already had contracts with them through other players and they would not risk breaking that contract, the other company could break it because it was not afraid of David. So David had already guaranteed that Jake would receive more than he currently receives from his sponsorship companies, and David had secured almost $ 2 million in his fee for getting those contracts over the 4 years. But that would not be even half of what Jake would receive with the contract with the shoe company that was already guaranteed with Adidas at least, even with the salary that Jake would receive in the first ones it would not be higher than that. Now David needed to hear Jerry West''s final answer and also Nike''s answer, there were other companies that were in having a contract with Jake too, but David was not very optimistic with these companies after Jake didn''t appear in a game so these companies would end the talks. David thought that if Jake managed to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament then it was possible that until he entered the NBA the companies would decide to sign a contract with Jake, but David did not count on that. Meanwhile Jake was training hard with the basketball team for the next game that was very important and also training for the next marathon that was very close, Jake was confident of winning the marathon with his training. He had to win this marathon because maybe it was the last chance he would have to win this marathon in Tokyo, which is why he was risking losing a game to run this marathon. The Tar Heels team players were very anxious for the next game and were training excitedly, it would be one of the most difficult games of the season against the team that was considered the Tar Heels team''s biggest rival. Jake also wanted to do the best he could and was even doing extra training with Jamison and Carter, and was also doing extra training with Williams for the next game, he had to make sure they won that game, like that in the next game when he didn''t play even if the team lost they would still have an incredible record of games without losing. Fortunately, that game was only 5 days after the last game and so the players could train a lot and still be rested before the next game. Chapter 389 The Last Major Marathon 3 Coach Guthridge was thinking the same thing as Jake because only he on the team knew that Jake would not play the next game, so they had to ensure that they would win that game and thus ensure the leadership of the conference even if they lost the next game. So the days went by quickly and just a day before the next game David called saying he had great news, Jerry West accepted his proposal and would already talk to the Los Angeles Clippers team and exchange two players for their first choice in the draft of this year. The players would be Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell who would be irrefutable for the Los Angeles Clippers team, which had a very bad team and almost always finished last during the season. That way Jerry West would be able to guarantee Jake and still be able to release a bit of the high salaries he would have to pay if he decided to hire Glen Rice or keep Eddie Jones who would no longer have many chances to play with Kobe Bryant as the team owner. The team''s only flaw was that they would not have a quality SF, but with Jake, Bryant, and O''Neal the Lakers'' team would have no shortage of players to score points, in addition, the three were also excellent players in defense. So Jerry West could already imagine the Lakers winning several NBA titles if Jake played only half of what he did at university, the truth that just the fact that a genius player like Jake who was wanted by all the teams say he would accept a lower salary just for playing on the Lakers team has already made Jerry West want him for the team. Now he would have to speak to the other executives on the Lakers'' team to get authorization to do this, as he had a lot of respect and authority it was almost a certainty that he would be able to do this. That alone made Jake very happy because it was almost guaranteed that he could win 3 NBA title with the Lakers team in his early years, after that he could go to a team with fewer stars to get a higher salary and try to win another one NBA title using his skill. But Jake wanted to ensure that he wouldn''t spend his entire career without winning an NBA title as it has done several times in history with great players if David knew about the future as well as Jake he would also think that Jake was right to think about ensuring the victory of three NBA title. Another good thing that happened was that Nike had also accepted the offer of $ 52 million for 5 years of the contract, it would be a verbal agreement and therefore David could not guarantee that the two teams would still fulfill the contract in the end. Jake already expected this to happen, yet he was confident that something like this would happen, but he understood that David was certain that such a big contract was no guarantee of being fulfilled. So Jake told David to wait for the game that Jake would lose that might cause some change in the minds of the companies, while it was better if David tried to talk to Adidas to offer more value. Jake also said that they could try to secure a 4 percent share of the profits that companies would make from selling the shoes that would be because of him, all to pressure them and see if anyone would give up. What Jake didn''t want was a guaranteed verbal contract and thus losing another company that could offer a contract and in the end, receive less than had been agreed, it was better to establish that value that they had already accepted as a basis and ask for more until the draft of the NBA happened. David didn''t agree with Jake''s thoughts, but he admitted that Jake was a little right about that and they could try to negotiate a better contract and thus indirectly have a contract like that secured. It was risky, but David believed that one of the companies would accept it in the end and David was confident that after these 5 years of the contract the companies would be satisfied and offer even more money for renewal. Jake was sure that some companies would change his mind after he lost a game to run the Tokyo marathon because in the future something like this could happen again in the NBA and it really would happen. Of course, it was not because Jake would have a contract agreement allowing him to miss games to run the marathons that he would definitely do that, the truth was that Jake intended to run only 1 or more marathons in the year and out of the basketball season. As David prepared for a negotiation that was almost certain he would not make it, one day passed and it was the Tar Heels game day and it was Jake''s last game before running the marathon. The Tar Heels team players were excited and even with the pressure of having to win they really wanted to beat an important rival like the Duke Blue Devils team, so the enthusiasm of the Tar Heels team was even greater. The players of the Duke Blue Devils team were also looking forward to this game, they had a great season having also lost just one game and this one was almost tied with the Tar Heels team in the first place of the ACC conference. Even with the excellent season, they were having, his team was not as talked about as their rival, the Tar Heels team that had won the NCAA tournament last season and haven''t lost a game for over a year. "Welcome to everyone who is here to follow one of the best games of the season with two of the best teams of the season, we have the Duke Blue Devils team that is tied for the first place of the season with only one defeat in the entire season and one season bright." "And on the other side, we have the Tar Heels team that is also tied as the ACC''s number one team, no defeat not only this season but also for more than 1 year without losing a game." "The Duke Blue Devils team has one of the best defenses of the season and a good team that has guaranteed them an excellent season so far, everyone was waiting to see if this team is going to defeat the Tar Heels team." "And we also have the Tar Heels team that has one of the best attacks of the season and has Jake and Jamison who are the two best players of the season so far." "It will certainly be an exciting game between two great rivals and that is why ACC is considered the most disputed conference and with the best teams in the entire country." Just as commentators have said this is one of the most anticipated games of this season, after the Wake Forest team failed to defeat the Tar Heels team, everyone hoped that perhaps only the Duke Blue Devils team could defeat this incredible team. As the Tar Heels team was playing that game at home at the Dean Smith Center and had Jake who had never lost a game in which he played more than 20 minutes, the Tar Heels team was the big favorite to win that game. Just as in the game against the Wake Forest team, Coach Guthridge had asked the Tar Heels team players to start slowly in the attack and observe the opponent in the first minutes and focus on defense. Of course, this did not mean that the Tar Heels team would not attack, so Coach Guthridge asked Jake to try to hit some three-point shots so that the Tar Heels team would not be behind the score. Jake understood and was confident in the victory of the Tar Heels team in that game, he knew that even with him appearing the past was strangely similar to what happened now, the system told Jake that it was because he was helping Jake not to affect the future when he didn''t want to. Knowing this he could say that Carter and Williams would be playing very well in that game, but Jamison was going to have one of his best games of the season and so Jake would count on them to make the points. But he would listen to coach Guthridge who helped him so much and in the first few minutes he would try to make some three-point moves and try harder in defense, Jake had decided that he would defend against Trajan Langdon and also try some steals to help the defense. In the first minutes of the 1st half, the Duke Blue Devils team started the attack because they had confidence in the defense, and the Tar Heels team was struggling in defense and with a slow pace of play when they went on the attack. So the Duke Blue Devils team took advantage of those first minutes to try to create an advantage on the scoreboard against the Tar Heels team, but even if the Tar Heels team was not pushing in the attack they could still attack well. In a move after the Duke Blue Devils team scored 2 points, Jake moved forward to organize the attack for the Tar Heels team, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams who was on the right. Williams was playing better in these last games, adapting to try to make more moves within the three-point line and not try as many three-point shots, he did it because the team had Jake and because he didn''t hit as many three-point shots this season as did last season. Even so, he was happy to still be able to make good games and the teammates were supporting him, Jake mainly told Williams not to give up on the three-point play which gave Williams a lot of support. Williams advanced even before the three-point line and passed the ball to Okulaja further on from the right, Okulaja held the ball and the Tar Heels team defense soon came in pressing, so Okulaja passed the ball to Carter from the left. Carter tried to advance using his speed, but the opposing player in defense managed to stop him, so Carter passed the ball to Jake who was further back who made a Set shot from outside and managed to make three more points for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 390 The Last Major Marathon 4 With Jake in the Tar Heels team, the Duke Blue Devils team could not relax in defense and focus only on the attack, so in the first minutes, the Duke Blue Devils team could not have an advantage on the scoreboard even though the Tar Heels team was slower in the attack. In another move, Jake managed to get ahead and intercepted a pass from the Duke Blue Devils team to get a steal, but this time he didn''t advance quickly to the attack and waited for the teammates to advance to the attack and the Duke Blue Devils team managed to organize the defense. Many had already understood that the Tar Heels team was starting slowly in this game and would start to put more pressure on the attack for the rest of the game, so the team coach Duke Blue Devils asked the team to put pressure on the attack to take advantage of this moment. But with Jake hitting 4 shots from three points and making some assists, the Duke Blue Devils team did not get any advantage on the scoreboard, the Tar Heels defense was also very good. Jake calmly advanced the ball and before passing the middle of the court passed the ball to Carter on the left, Jake had not made any assistance to Jamison yet and so only Williams and Carter had scored points in that game. Carter advanced with the ball and before crossing the three-point line he passed the ball to Jamison who was further ahead on the left, Jamison tried to advance to make his first points in the game and failed and passed the ball to Williams further back through right. Williams received the ball with the freedom to attempt the shot from outside, so the defense soon pressed him to try the block, but Williams did not attempt the three-point shot and passed the ball to Jake in the middle. Jake was quick and after catching the ball he made a high pass to Carter who caught the ball in the air and made a dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team and complete the alley-oop, this move cheered the crowd even team losing the game. After almost 10 minutes of play, Jake already thought that they had sufficiently analyzed the Duke Blue Devils team and it was time to start putting pressure on the attack and thus try to finish the 1st half by winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard. In another play, the Duke Blue Devils team was attacking and Langdon tried to make a three-point shot, Jake was close by and managed to make a block, the ball went to Williams who held the ball and passed it to Jake. Jake moved quickly against what the Duke Blue Devils team''s defense expected, the other players on the Tar Heels team had also received Jake''s signal and knew it was time for the Tar Heels team to attack. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter from the left, Carter quickly advanced past the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison, Jamison tried a feint and when he saw that he could not move forward passed the ball to Okulaja. Okulaja held the ball and passed it to Jake who came quickly through the middle, Jake surprised his opponents by entering the middle of the defense, receiving the ball he managed to advance on the right and when another defender of the Duke Blue Devils team came to pressure him, Jake passed to Jamison. Jamison received the ball from Jake and made a quick move and managed to make the layup and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, it was Jamison''s first points in the game and the defense was leaving him a little aside because of that. So this was the opportunity for the Tar Heels team to take advantage and Jake started to pass the ball a lot to Jamison and when the Duke Blue Devils defense tried to predict the move Jake passed it to Williams and Carter. In the last minutes of the 1st half, Jake scored only 5 points and only made several assists for his teammates, but by the end of the 1st half of the game Jamison already had 19 points, and other players like Carter and Williams had also scored almost 10 points each. In the 1st half of that game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 17 points, 13 assists, 3 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake didn''t score as many points because he took advantage of Jamison''s excellent game and decided to make more assists, like this almost all the plays went through Jake''s hands. "What an incredible 1st half we had here in this game, an electrifying game worthy of the two best teams at the ACC conference and that together have 45 games this season and just one defeat, what an exciting game." "At the beginning of the game, the Duke Blue Devils team seemed to be dominating the game and was almost always in front of the scoreboard, only Jake managed to make some moves that left the Tar Heels team alive in the game. "But in the last 10 minutes of the game, Jake accelerated the pace of the game and led the Tar Heels team to a major turnaround in the game and managed to turn the game around and ended that game with an incredible 22 point advantage." "This game is unexpected and can happen for the Duke Blue Devils team to return well in the 2nd half as it did at the beginning of the game and manage to reverse the score to win the game, but I find it difficult to see that happen. "Jake, Carter, and Williams are playing very well, but Jamison is incredible and is having his best performance this season and has already scored 19 points and managed 7 rebounds before the 2nd half even started." "That''s right, it''s amazing to see Jamison''s performance and this is only the second game this season that I see someone on the Tar Heels team finishing the 1st half with more points than Jake." "But Jake is certainly the main responsible for this result so far with a great defensive game, in the first minutes he was responsible for keeping the Tar Heels team in the game by making several shots from three points." "And in this 1st half Jake made 13 assists, this is much more incredible than the games where Jake had more than 25 points at the end of the 1st half, maybe in this game Jake will break his record for more assists in a game that is of 21 assists last season." Everyone was excited about Jamison''s excellent game, who forgot that Jake was also having a great performance as a PG, but this time with assists and not many points, Jake finished the 1st half ensuring a double-double. Coach Guthridge was also very pleased with the performance of the team and especially Jake who commanded the team''s attack and increased the pace of the game at the right time which allowed them to have such a big advantage at the end of the 1st half. The coach of the Duke Blue Devils team was very angry because he was seeing that the team was losing the game because the defense was not working very well in that game, in several minutes the players of the Duke Blue Devils team gave Jamison a lot of freedom to make the points. Defending against Jake he knew it was difficult because he was a very skilled player, but against Jamison, it was possible if the team managed to prevent him from playing, of course, the coach did not know that the Duke Blue Devils players were already trying to do this and Jake used it to attack. When the defenders of the Duke Blue Devils team focused on Jamison, Jake passed it to Carter and Williams or made the points himself, and when the defense didn''t try to defend against Jamison, Jake used that moment to pass the ball to him. At the beginning of the 2nd half, the Tar Heels attack continued to press and the players were being quick to attack, in another move after the Duke Blue Devils team managed to score 3 points, the Tar Heels team went on the attack. Jake advanced the ball quickly and after passing through the middle of the court passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams advanced quickly and before crossing the three-point line passed the ball to Okulaja further ahead. Okulaja passed the ball to Carter who tried to play inside and missed the layup, Jamison went up and caught the rebound and passed the ball to Jake who was further behind, Jake received the ball and soon advanced too. When the first player of the Duke Blue Devils team came to defend Jake he passed the ball with a perfect diagonal pass to Jamison who was coming from behind in the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team and after receiving the ball he made a dunk to liven up the crowd more. The truth was that in this game the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team was still doing a great job, but with Jamison playing so well, Jake had everything he needed to organize the move and give the Tar Heels team several assists to score points. The Tar Heels team made no mistakes in defense and neither in attack with Jake leading the team on the court, the players could miss several attacks and make fouls, but there was no mistake that could give the Duke Blue Devils any chance. In addition, in this game, Jake was very well in defense and had managed to get some blocks and steals hindering the attacks of the Duke Blue Devils team, with that the Duke Blue Devils team was unable to react and the Tar Heels team won the game with a big advantage. So the Tar Heels team won the game with 115 points against 66 points for the Duke Blue Devils team, it was an exciting game at the beginning, but the Tar Heels team ended up dominating in the end, Jamison certainly had his best game of the season and made 41 points and got 13 rebounds. In that 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 12 assists, 5 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks, with another triple-double Jake was the best player in the game and breaking his record for most assists in a game. Chapter 391 The Last Major Marathon 5 "Another game that ends and another victory for the Tar Heels team, now the Tar Heels team reaches an incredible 49 straight victories, more than a year without losing a game and now guarantees the 1 place in the ACC conference." "This game ended with an unexpected result I would say, the victory of the Tar Heels team is not a surprise because it was naturally the favorite team, but winning with such a big difference in points nobody expected it." "It''s true, in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Duke Blue Devils team was still winning the game, the Tar Heels team''s attack failed to score and only Jake''s three-point shots that kept the Tar Heels team alive in the game." "After that, the attitude of the Tar Heels team changed completely, the team increased the pace of play and was more willing to attack and Jamison who had not made any points in the first 10 minutes ended the 1st half with 19 points." "Jamison showed in this game because together with Jake he is the best player in college basketball, he ended this game with a double-double and making 41 points, it is the first game of the season in which someone finishes a game with more points than Jake in the team Tar Heels." "That''s right, Jamison played very well, Carter and Williams also played well, but for me, Jake was still the best player in that game with a triple-double and breaking his record with 25 assists, a game to go down in history in many ways." "It''s really incredible, with 25 assists and 32 points, it shows that Jake was responsible for at least 82 points for the Tar Heels team out of the 115 points of the team, not to mention that several points were from Free Throw plays." "We will wait for the next game and keep track of when the Tar Heels team continues without losing a game." Just as commentators said Jake had played one of his best games of the season, Jamison also had a lot of prominences and Jake took advantage of Jamison''s great performance to break his record for assists in just one game. In fact, it was almost certain that Jake would break the record for assists made in one season, Jamison was very happy and all the other players on the Tar Heels team too, the other day Coach Guthridge would say that Jake would not participate in the next game. Jake would also train the other day and talk to the players to support the team in playing the next game that Jake knew would be difficult for the Tar Heels team to win because on the 6th he would have to travel to Tokyo to run the marathon. If the trip wasn''t so long and tiring, Jake would try to get back in time to play the next game, but no doctor would advise Jake to run a marathon and play a game of basketball on the same day. Even Jake, who had excellent resistance, did not know if he would be fully recovered before the game even if he ate a stamina bar, after all, besides the marathon, he still had a long plane trip and the game would still be as a visitor. Of course, probably not even Coach Guthridge would allow Jake to participate in the next game after running a marathon, but until the next game, Jake and the Tar Heels team''s fame was greater than ever. Other companies were approaching David to talk about endorsement contracts, but David was not counting on that because in a few days everyone would know that Jake would not participate in the next game and those contracts could not be closed until that day. But the good news continued, after this game by Jake showing more of his ability as PG Jerry West got approval to negotiate with the Los Angeles Clippers team to be able to switch to their first draft choice. And Jerry West had already told the Lakers executives that Jake wanted a contract to missing some games to run in marathons, so even if Jake lost the next game, the Lakers team would not change their minds and continue the negotiation. The company Nike and Adidas had also received another proposal from David and were studying to see if it would be worth accepting, even if they would not accept if the previous offer was already guaranteed would be very good. So Jake and David had done everything they could and now Jake had to run this marathon and after that marathon, he would have one more game and Jake would have a week off to go home, so he wouldn''t recover the fans so soon and media attention. It was now less than 2 months before the end of the season and Jake wanted to finish winning the NCAA title, the other day the Tar Heels team players were still excited when in training Coach Guthridge said that Jake would not participate in the next game. The other players were slow to understand why Jake would lose this game just to run a marathon, only Jake knew how important that marathon was for him to win two points of statistics. Even so, they did not show that they were disappointed with Jake, the team needed to continue winning and without Jake, it would be much more difficult, during training Jake told Jamison, Williams and Ed Cota that he trusted them to achieve this victory for the team. Jake knew that Williams and Jamison would mainly play very well in that game and Ed Cota would have to make assists just like Jake did, only if that happened, the Tar Heels team could achieve victory. After training with his teammates Jake returned to his dorm, the same day he traveled to Tokyo to participate in the marathon, it was over 16 hours of travel and Jake understood why it was impossible for him to play after running the marathon and returned by plane the same day. Even though he slept on the plane he still arrived very tired and would only have a few hours to rest before the marathon, if it weren''t for him it would be impossible to achieve this, luckily John had already organized everything and the hotel was prepared for him. John had also come to Tokyo a few days earlier to follow Jake''s marathon, Jake felt sorry to think that this was perhaps the last marathon that John would organize for him because the contract with John''s company would end after that season. Jake could finally use the Japanese he had studied so much to learn, he naturally talked a lot to master this language that he used so little, people were impressed to hear Jake speaking Japanese. Much more impressed than when Jake used German in Berlin, the sports media would naturally never expect Jake to participate in this Tokyo marathon that was the same day as the Tar Heels team game that was at such an important time. Jake can still walk around the city the day before the marathon and then went to sleep at the hotel to get ready for the marathon, the next day Jake woke up very early and soon went to the place where the marathon would take place. When Jake arrived at the place where the marathon would soon take place many people already recognized him, after all, who was an elite athlete or was very fond of marathon knew Jake who was the best marathon runner in the world. As everyone recognized him, the athletes had no doubt that Jake had actually come to run this marathon in Tokyo, but they wondered what Jake was doing running that marathon in the middle of the basketball season. The Tokyo marathon at that time was not yet one of the most famous marathons in the world, it was certainly one of the best known in the world for being one of the most important marathons in Asia, but that was no reason for Jake to come to Japan to run this marathon. Naturally, nobody could know Jake''s motives and they didn''t care much either, the most important thing was that Jake would run that year''s marathon and that marathon would become better known as an important marathon after that. It was normal after all if Jake who was the most important athlete in the world of marathons decided to lose a game in the middle of the season to run the Tokyo marathon was because he had something special. After a while, the athletes did the stretching exercises and prepared themselves and the 1998 Tokyo Marathon officially started, Jake was one of the ones who were most concentrated because he had risked a lot to run in that marathon and was determined to win the marathon. "Hello to everyone who came to accompany us with this Tokyo marathon in 1998, this is the first major marathon on the world circuit this year." "Great athletes participate in this marathon every year, and this year a big surprise happened and Jake Smith the best athlete in the marathons today came to participate in the Tokyo marathon that year." "Jake Smith has won 10 marathons in his short career of fewer than 4 years and between those marathons, one was at the Olympics where he won a gold medal and another was at the athletics world where he also won a gold medal." "A few months ago he won the Chicago marathon for the third time with a time just slightly above his current world record, it''s a surprise we have Jake here because he''s in the middle of college basketball season and I think he''s going to have a play today too." "But for us who are lovers of marathons, it is a very good time Jake running in that marathon and we hope that he will perform well." This was a marathon that Jake had never run before and the climate in Japan was quite different too, even so, Jake would still run at the same pace he trained for the first km, even his current training was easy so running those over 42 km would be easy for Jake. The other athletes knew that Jake was the best marathoner in the world and so they decided to do what the other athletes did in the Chicago marathon and would run in a group with Jake for the first km. Chapter 392 The Last Major Marathon 6 Jake naturally didn''t care, he looked around and didn''t see any of the athletes who were first placed in this marathon in the past and it became more peaceful if good athletes ran in the same group as him and could keep pace Jake would have to break his record in order to win. Jake felt that he was not in his best physical condition to run this marathon, even though he had almost a full day after the plane trip to rest he still hadn''t fully recovered. This was something that had never happened to Jake, luckily he decided to come two days before the marathon, so he can rest a little longer before the marathon, so if several athletes ran with him it would be good for Jake to save energy. Even so, the first 10 km were easy for him and for the other athletes running with him, even though his pace was fast, it was not so fast that the other athletes could not follow the first km of the marathon. Everyone could see that Jake was the most comfortable with this race pace and that he came to win more of this marathon for his career, unfortunately, part of the crowd did not know him and only supported his group because he was in the first place. "A good start to the marathon for Jake, he managed to find a group that is running with him and even though he has no experience in that marathon, Jake is doing very well." "So he will be able to save energy for the final part of this marathon, and in the final part of the marathon that Jake normally slows down his running pace a lot, this is an interesting strategy that seems to have worked for him." "It is usually in the final part of the marathon that athletes who have more stamina decide to accelerate the pace to try to finish the marathon in a better position or just with a better time." "But it is in the final part of the marathon where the athletes are most tired so it is not a logical strategy, for Jake who knows his resistance well, he runs at a strong and steady pace in more than 30 km and in the final part of the race, it decreases his running pace." "As Jake is currently number one in the world in the marathons, who knows in the future we will see more athletes running like that." Many asked Jake why he ran like that and he just said it was his style of running because he couldn''t say that the pace he ran in the first 30 km is his normal pace and in the end, he slows down the race to not break the world record in the entire marathon. He didn''t even know if his strategy was the right one and didn''t expect other athletes to run like him, Jake ran like that because he had a lot of physical statistics that helped him run better and not have the risk of getting hurt, but the other Jake didn''t know. Even though Jake was not in his best physical condition, running a marathon at the pace he ran every day in training was not difficult for him, it was precisely what Jake trained so hard every day, for his body to get used to. After going through the 20 km marathon some athletes who were running in Jake''s group were starting to get tired and were thinking and leaving the group to be able to finish the marathon. Few in Jake''s group still did not feel tired after 20 km as well as Jake, this was expected because if they could keep up with Jake up to 30 km they could get a place in the top 20 even if they slow down the race pace a lot. The good thing about running with elite athletes was that they could keep up with Jake until after 30 km and the downside was that sometimes some athletes could keep up with Jake until he slowed down like in the last marathon. Jake knew that maybe in the other marathons that would not happen anymore because when he changed his daily training Jake would also start to change the pace he ran in the marathons, he wanted to prepare himself for one day to be ready to run a marathon in less than 2 hours. Jake also knew that in the next few years in many marathons running under 2 hours and 6 minutes would become normal for the winners, at that time Jake''s world record had to be 2 hours and 2 minutes for him to be at ease. Even more because Jake didn''t know when he could earn more points of resistance and agility stats, so if he wasn''t able to run in less than 2 hours after winning this marathon and training hard he didn''t know if he could ever do it. When Jake reached 30 km of the marathon he was already running alone, the other elite athletes who were with him decided to leave a few km behind even though they were not so tired and could still continue. Jake didn''t know it was because of him that he sometimes ran at this pace until 35 km and the athletes didn''t know how far Jake would continue to run like that, Jake was not tired, but he was starting to feel some difference after running 30 km. "It has already been 30 km from the Tokyo marathon we are following, Jake remains in the lead, but now he is running alone because the group that was with him did not support Jake''s intense running pace." "Jake is still looking good and not being tired even after running for more than half the marathon, we''ll see how far Jake can continue at this fast pace of running and whether we''ll see Jake winning another marathon his first in 1998." Jake still kept running at this pace for another 3 km and decided to slow down the running pace when he started feeling tired, his physical condition was even worse than he thought and if he didn''t start to control the running pace it was possible that he couldn''t finish this marathon in a long time. Jake remembered that Alberto Juzdado who won this marathon in the past managed a time of just over 2 hours and 8 minutes, so Jake had to do a lot less time if he wanted to win that last major marathon that he needed to win the 6. Even though it was harder to run in the marathon, Jake was still able to keep up thanks to the things he learned from training with coach Frank Davis, Jake was happy to have decided to hire a professional coach to help him. Jake knew that Coach Davis didn''t think he had helped him so much because when he started working with him, it was when Jake had won several marathons and managed to be recognized as the best in marathons. But in fact, Coach Davis taught Jake everything he needed to know to be even better and not just depend on his physical stats, and Coach Davis''s main job was still to help Jake win several gold medals in the next Olympics. Jake was different from other athletes and did not always have time to train and many trainings could not be done because of his basketball games or because of other commitments, so Jake was grateful only because Coach Davis agreed to coach him. After Jake slowed down his running pace he stopped feeling the fatigue he was feeling and managed to run more comfortably in the marathon, with the pace he was running he calculated that he would win easily with more than 1-minute advantage for the second place. After going through 40 km of the marathon Jake was still running comfortably with his pace and it was only a few kilometers before the marathon was over, Jake was happy because he saw that he could win this marathon which was the last of the 6 major marathons he had to win. It was one of the most difficult marathons for him to run in recent years because his physical condition was still very bad, the atmosphere in the marathon was different and it was a new route, so Zhang Yi felt even better for winning this marathon. "Jake is in the final part of the marathon, this is the eleventh marathon he has won in his four-year career, we don''t know why Jake decided to run in that marathon even though he had a game with his basketball team, but we hope that this victory will leave he satisfied." "After this surprise that Jake came to run in the Tokyo marathon, who knows, we can expect to see Jake participate in several marathons during this year, we all know that Jake loves to run and we also like to see him win." "And now Jake finishes the 1998 Tokyo marathon first, he finished with a time of 2 hours, 6 minutes and 11 seconds, this is the new record for this Tokyo marathon, an excellent time for Jake who is running the first his marathon this year." "The runner-up is still not even close to getting there, we will continue to follow this year to see if Jake will continue to win the marathons." Jake finished the comfortable marathon because he was used to running more than 50 km in training at a faster pace than that, but Jake felt tired and really wasn''t feeling as well as he normally did after the marathons. Jake did not hesitate and ate a stamina bar as the marathon was over and started to feel much better, he had not decided if he would return that day to the university or if he would return the next day, but after that marathon, Jake realized that he had no choice, but travel only in the other day. So he would have to follow his team''s game in Tokyo and hope his team won, Jake received the prize for first place and also received for the record he broke. Jake talked to the representative of the marathon who gave the award in Japanese and dismissed the translator, this impressed everyone and left an impression on Jake''s best Japanese audience. Chapter 393 The Last Major Marathon 7 After that, Jake talked to the marathon representatives for a while and went to thank John who had organized this whole marathon for him, then Jake had to say goodbye and go back to the hotel. Even though he was more tired than after the other marathons he was not really in the mood for sleep and he recovered very quickly from his fatigue and had recovered a lot by eating the stamina bar. So Jake still decided to walk around Tokyo for a few more hours and eat in some restaurants with local foods and buy some souvenir gifts for his friends at the university and for his mother and Anna too. Jake got to know some places he always wanted to go to, like Tsukiji Market where he ate sushi, Jake also went to Ueno Park, Meiji Jingu Shrine, Jake ate ramen too and it was to Tokyo Skytree, there were a lot more things that Jake wanted to do that he wasn''t possible because of the time. He would still have to sleep to be awake when the Tar Heels team game started, he had to look in some hotels until he found one that would broadcast the game and for that, he had to change hotels. But as he couldn''t be playing he wanted to at least hope for his team to win that game, Jake had a lot of confidence in his teammates and knew that they had the ability to win. After winning this Tokyo marathon, Jake had won all 6 major marathons and saw that he had gained one more agility point and one Resistance point, he didn''t know how he would get more statistical stats points after that, but he was happy to be able to complete his goals before joining the NBA. Maybe if he managed to win other important marathons in the world even though he wasn''t Major marathons he could get more stats points, but Jake would wait until he had time to do that without having to lose games. And Jake didn''t think that he still needed more statistics to run in marathons or other athletics, he knew that his statistics were already higher than that of several athletes who won several gold medals in the Olympics. What Jake thought was missing was just the training he was starting to do so that he could make the most of his statistics, Jake didn''t know if he would have time to train to run in short distance too, but if he could win even the 800-meter race he could win 5 gold medals per Olympics. He had to sleep to be able to watch his teammates'' game, but before he was really curious to see how his stats window was that he hadn''t seen in a long time. "Fate, show me my statistics window for my third job." [Here it is.] Statistics Jake ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 19 years] [Job: Runner] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 42] [Agility 41] [Resistance 44] [Intelligence 63] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Techniques [Acceleration D] [Sprint C] [Full Speed ??A] [Flexibility S] [Speed ??Endurance S] [Poise S] [Second Lung S] [Iron Body S] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was thrilled to see how his stats had changed in a short time, his height had been set at 2.01 m, it was very good for a basketball player, Jake had the ability to get the most out of his height. The two skills he had reached the S rank after winning all major marathons and many hidden statistics he had appeared after he started to further train his skills with Coach Davis. Now 6 new techniques have appeared and 4 of them were in rank A or rank S, Jake understood why Coach Davis said they had skills that he had to learn to run better than he was lucky enough to be able to use the base he learned in basketball. The more specific for short distance races the skill was lower was her rank because Jake had just started to learn this from Coach Davis not long ago and hadn''t even learned much because Coach David said Jake wouldn''t need it now. But he was happy to see that because before Jake thought he had few skills in his third job, now he really could feel like a professional athlete, he didn''t even want to see his skills in the statistics window of his first job because he couldn''t move on to the skill level of the NBA. Jake deduced that he would only achieve this when he actually arrived in the NBA, it was a shame because he wanted to do his imagination training against NBA-level opponents, so he could be more prepared for when he entered the NBA. After a few hours, it was time for the game to begin and Jake was already watching on television, after the last game in which the Tar Heels team won and took first place in the ACC conference by easily winning a game that everyone expected would be very difficult, everyone was confident that the Tar Heels team would win. The opponent of that game was the Georgia Tech team that was not doing very well this season and was at the bottom of the ACC conference, yet Jake often warned his teammates not to underestimate the opponent. Even more, because the Tar Heels team would play as a visitor and the Georgia Tech team had dangerous players that the Tar Heels team needed to watch out for, especially in the three-point play because Jake would not be in that game and that would be a weakness of the Tar Heels team. "Welcome to everyone who came to follow today''s game with us, we will follow the game between the ACC conference''s number one team and also the season''s Tar Heels team, against the Georgia Tech team that seeks this victory to increase their placement at the conference." "Even before the game starts, we already have a big surprise, which is the absence of Jake Smith, who has been the main player of the Tar Heels team, this took everyone by surprise and we recently learned that Jake won the Tokyo marathon in Japan today." "We all know that Jake is also a marathoner in addition to being a basketball player, and it is also incredible that he won the Tokyo marathon, but because of that he will not play in today''s game." "The Tar Heels team is in an excellent sequence of games without losing that is close to making history this season and today they as a visitor and without the main player of the team who was not even out for a minute is much more pressure." "It''s true, I''m really a big fan of Jake and I think he''s one of the best college players of recent times, I also think it''s incredible that he can be the best marathon runner in the world even though he is a basketball player, today he was the eleventh marathon he won." "But I don''t think it''s right that he misses an important game like this for the Tar Heels team and for all the fans, we have several marathons during the year and he ran the last 3 years without ever losing a game, so I don''t know what he''s thinking." "Let''s see how the Tar Heels team can play without Jake leading the team as in all games of the season, it seems that Ed Cota will play in his place, a lot of pressure for Ed Cota who is very talented and also very good in assists, but he will have to lead the team to victory today." Not only commentators but all Tar Heels fans and basketball fans found it strange that Jake chose to run a marathon rather than participate in this important game, the media that didn''t know about it was also taken by surprise. But the players and coach Bill Guthridge clearly knew about it, it left fans very disappointed and if the Tar Heels team lost that game it would be Jake''s fault that he hadn''t even participated in that game. What was most impressive was that the fact that Jake did not play in that game mainly took the Georgia Tech team by surprise because they trained the last few days thinking about various ways to defend against Jake and Jamison. Everyone knew that Ed Cota was an excellent player who assisted as well as Jake, so their training to defend against Jamison would not be wasted, but Ed Cota was nowhere near as skilled as Jake to score. Ed Cota''s normal was a quarter of a point that Jake averaged per game, so any defense that was made at Ed Cota would be a waste, and that was what the Georgia Tech team had trained more after the last game. Of course, coach Guthridge had already thought that something like this could happen and so he put Ed Cota and not Makhtar N''Diaye and play in a different style, even if Ed Cota was good in assists like Jake, their playing style was different and that would take the Georgia Tech team by surprise. From the start of the game, the Georgia Tech team started pressing in the attack because they knew that the Tar Heels team would lose a lot of quality in defense without Jake, especially in the three-point line. The Tar Heels team players were prepared for this and tried to defend, but the team managed to make some three-point games with Matt Harpring and Michael Maddox who were doing very well in that game. In the attack the team Tar Heels was also good because Ed Cota attacked in a different way which left the Georgia Tech team without being able to defend well, Ed Cota took the opportunity to make plays with Jamison and Carter and so the two teams were very equal in this game. In training before Jake went to Japan he talked a lot with Ed Cota and Shammond Williams, he was friends with Jamison and Carter and just spoke normally with them because he was confident that the two would play normally even without him on the team. Chapter 394 The Last Major Marathon 8 Jake spoke to Ed Cota because he wanted him to play as he always did and not worry about trying to play as Jake did, in the past Ed Cota was one of the main players with his assists and even though he didn''t score much. So Jake wanted to give confidence that Ed Cota would just play as he normally did and that would make the team more likely to win, and he told Williams to try several three-point plays like he hadn''t done in the last few games. With Jake on the team, Williams was no longer making as many three-point shots and in some games, he had to stay within the three-point line to get Jake more freedom to make the three-point shots. That''s because Jake had a 70 percent higher average on three-point hits and Williams had 40 percent, 40 percent still made him one of the best on the three-point line, but compared to Jake he was actually much lower. But Jake knew that in that game Williams would be very good at three-point shots and only if he gave Williams the confidence to try that the Tar Heels team could win, for coach Guthridge, Jake just said to make the team train more to not have too many turnovers in that game. At the end of the 1st half of the game, the Tar Heels team ended the game in a draw, it was the first time that the Tar Heels team did not finish the 1st half by winning, Ed Cota was doing very well with the assists, Jamison and Carter were also fine. But it was different than when Jake was on the team, Ed Cota had not made any points and had done some turnovers which Jake never did in the games, only that showed the biggest difference between them, not to mention that Ed Cota could not get the steals that Jake could do it. Williams didn''t get much confidence and even though he scored 14 points in the 1st half he was still very shy about what Jake was seeing, even though with the unexpected change between Jake and Ed Cota the Georgia Tech team was having a hard time defending and so Jamison and Carter were getting freedom to make the stitches. "This 1st half ended in a draw, the Tar Heels team played well, but much less than playing normally when Jake is on the team, we know well that Ed Cota has a different style of play than Jake, but that''s why Jake is the main player of the team and takes them to several victories." "The Tar Heels team is playing very well and Shammond Williams is doing very well in the three-point shots, but Harpring and Maddox from the Georgia Tech team are also doing very well in the three-point shots and so the game ended in a draw." "Certainly if Jake was in that game the result of the end of that 1st half would have been completely different, we hope that the Tar Heels team will play better in the 2nd half and the Georgia Tech team will not be able to hit the defense, because if they succeed it will be the first defeat of the Tar Heels team in over a year." Coach Guthridge told Williams just as Jake had told him to try more three-point shots in the 2nd half, and also for players to try to defend better on the three-point line because the Georgia Tech team was managing to score a lot of points in three-point shots. The Georgia Tech players were confident they would win and the Tar Heels players felt more pressured to win after that 1st half. At the beginning of the 2nd half, the Tar Heels team started to attack more, trying to press more on the defense outside the three-point line, this gave more opportunities for the Georgia Tech team to make plays within the three-point line. Fortunately, in that game Carter and Okulaja were well on the defensive within the three-point line, Ed Cota continued making several plays with Jamison and Carter in the attack and Williams followed what Coach Guthridge said and more confidently made more three-point shots. Even so, the Georgia Tech team was very well in that game, especially in the three-point line with Harpring and Maddox who were doing well in this game as well as Williams and even with the pressure on defense they were able to attack. This was really an exciting game and Jake was in the hotel very focused on the game cheering for the Tar Heels team, when he saw the failures of his teammates he was even more nervous and if he could he wanted to be on the court. But even though he had not traveled by plane and had already rested for a few hours Jake was still very tired and was not in his best physical condition, in a few hours he would take the plane back to the United States and it would be more than 16 hours of travel. Jake hoped he was recovered by the next game that would be 3 days later because he saw how long it took him to regain his ideal physical condition after a long plane ride like this. Jake wanted the 99 statistic points of luck he had to help the Tar Heels team to win this difficult game, he didn''t want the team to lose this game in which he had to lose by something very important which was to win the last of the marathons major and earn the statistic points that would help his career. With less than 2 minutes left to the end of this game and the Tar Heels team was losing by 5 points, even with the good game of the Tar Heels team and with Williams had 24 points the Georgia Tech team were also playing very well and Harpring and Maddox from Georgia Tech team also had more than 20 points each. The Tar Heels team started the attack and Ed Cota had the ball to organize the play, he was playing very well in that game, but just as Jake feared he had a lot of turnovers and also scored 2 points only in the whole game which hurt a lot the team. Ed Cota passed the ball to Carter who left the three-point line while Williams had entered the three-point line, they made this move to get rid of the defense, Carter passed to Okulaja who returned to Ed Cota. Ed Cota found an opportunity and passed it on to Jamison who was coming from behind the Georgia Tech team defense, Jamison received the ball and made a spin to make a layup and narrow the score difference to just 3 points. It was just over 1 minute and the Georgia Tech team decided to spend the ball possession time to guarantee the victory, the Tar Heels team players put pressure on the defense and tried to hinder and steal the ball. But they failed, in the last seconds Matt Harpring passed the ball to Dion Glover who tried to shoot a mid-range shot to make the 2 points and guarantee the victory, but he ended up missing and Jamison caught the rebound. So the Tar Heels team had more than 40 seconds to make the move and could try a three-point shot to tie the game, and that''s exactly what they did, Ed Cota passed the ball to Shammond Williams who even with a close opponent defending still tried the shot from outside and scored 3 points to tie the game. The Georgia Tech team still had a few seconds to try to win and ended up failing to score and the game went to the extra team, Jake who was at the hotel can breathe easy when he saw that the Tar Heels team got the tie in the end as well as all the fans. He would have felt very guilty if the Tar Heels team had lost that game just because he was not participating, he knew that the Tar Heels team had the ability to win even without him on the team, but maybe he has played on the team changed that. "The 2nd half of the game ends with a three-point shot by Shammond Williams who was the best player on the Tar Heels team in that game and they got a draw in the last seconds of the game." "The Georgia Tech team really played very well in that game and especially on the three-point line, so I think they deserved to win and can still do it after the extra team." "But the Tar Heels team really has excellent players and with the great game from Jamison and Williams so far, the Tar Heels team still managed to draw and still have a chance of winning and maintaining this sequence of games without losing." "Now we are going to follow these 5 minutes of overtime to see which team will win this game or if we will have another overtime." The Georgia Tech players felt sorry for having missed this opportunity to win the game, they knew that the Tar Heels team was a dangerous opponent even without Jake on the team, but they were careless and allowed the tie. The good thing was that they had gotten used to defending themselves against players from the Tar Heels team, with the two teams tired they could manage to defend better and try to win this overtime. The Tar Heels team players were under even more pressure after almost losing the game, they had to get that win to prove that they were good players and that the team was good even without Jake on the team. Williams was tired, but he was also much more confident after that game, coach Guthridge said he trusted him to make more three-point shots and try to bring victory to the Tar Heels team in that overtime. Ed Cota was also trying to show that he was also an excellent player even though he was much inferior to Jake, for that he had to help the Tar Heels team to achieve victory in that game. Chapter 395 The Last Major Marathon 9 In the first minutes of the overtime, the two teams were being very aggressive in attack, they were doing some turnovers because of that and the Georgia Tech players were still very good in the three-point shots and the Georgia Tech team managed to open an advantage on the scoreboard by because of that. On the side of the Tar Heels team, their attack was with Cota making assists for Jamison and Carter, the Georgia Tech team''s defense was defending well against Williams and so Cota preferred to make the most correct plays to get the points. Because of this, the Georgia Tech team opened an advantage on the scoreboard, but they also lost a lot of attacks because they tried only three-point shots and missed too, so in the last minutes the two teams were almost tied and Coach Guthridge asked for time to talk to the players. He wanted to win this game and even though he thought that Ed Cota''s strategy was not wrong trying to score points in all attacks and not just try 3-point shots, to achieve the victory he thought the team depended on three-point shots Shammond Williams points. "You are playing a great game today, we are under a lot of pressure because of this winning streak and in this game, we have no Jake and we are playing as a visitor and I know that you are now tired after playing for more than 40 minutes." "But I need one last effort from you so that our team can achieve this victory, everyone is waiting to see our team losing this game, so they will say that without Jake our team cannot win. "But I know that this is not true and that we have a whole good team and we don''t depend on just one player to win, it''s because of the whole team that we came to this incredible winning streak and not just because of Jake." "So we''re going to win to prove it, I want to see you press on the defense so that the players on the opposing team get it wrong, and Ed, pass the ball to Williams that I trust he will bring victory to our team." After hearing the words of motivation from Coach Guthridge, the players came back more motivated to guarantee victory in those last minutes, the Georgia Tech team was just one point ahead of the scoreboard and the Tar Heels team had everything to win. The ball was with the Tar Heels team and so after a play, Williams was free to receive the ball and try a three-point shot and thus turn the score and put the Tar Heels team ahead with 2 points advantage. The Georgia Tech team tried to retaliate soon after, but the Tar Heels defense was very good, putting pressure on her, so Maddox tried a three-point shot and missed, Jamison, caught the rebound and passed it to Ed Cota. Ed Cota did not bother to spend time in possession and soon went on the attack, Shammond Williams again got freedom and tried another shot to hit and make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team and increase the advantage to 5 points. It was less than a minute before the game was over and now the pressure was on the Georgia Tech team, they again attacked and tried a three-point shot and missed and so they became more anxious and the Tar Heels team attacked again. Ed Cota held the ball to spend possession and at the end of the play Williams had the defense over him and so Cota passed to Jamison who tried to score and missed close range. The Georgia Tech team attacked quickly and managed to hit a three-point shot and thus the advantage decreased to 2 points, but the playing time was over and the Tar Heels team won that game even without Jake on the team after overtime. Jake celebrated a lot at the hotel and only after seeing his team winning that he can be really happy after winning the marathon, in the next game he would be playing and would not let the Tar Heels team lose again until he won the NCAA title. "What an incredible game we are watching today, the Tar Heels team managed to win another game after arriving until the overtime in an exciting game against the Georgia Tech team, the star of Shammond Williams shone and with 34 points he was the best player of that game." "Yes, it was really a very close game in which the Georgia Tech team also deserved to win the game with the excellent performance of Matt Harpring who scored 27 points in that game and Michael Maddox who scored 35 points in that game." "But the Tar Heels team showed that they have an excellent team and even without Jake on the team they had the excellent game of Williams and Jamison who scored 26 points in that game, great game, and a deserved victory." "For sure, in the next game, we hope that Jake Smith will be back on the team after winning a Tokyo marathon which is incredible and that the Tar Heels team will continue to win." The Tar Heels team players were also happy with the victory and were not even upset that Jake lost that game, now they had confidence as well as Jake that they would not lose any game until they won the NCAA tournament After a few hours of the game it was already a day in Tokyo and Jake took the plane to go back to the university, he would only know what would happen after he lost that game to run the Tokyo marathon when he returned to the university after 16 travel hours. While Jake was on the plane it dawned in the United States after the victory of the Tar Heels team against the Georgia Tech team, just as Jake hoped the media just talked about it with criticism of Jake Smith and praise for the Tar Heels team. The fans were very angry with Jake who lost a game to run a marathon which they thought was insignificant close to the game, luckily the Tar Heels team won and so their anger was less than Jake expected. But the repercussions this had on companies negotiating an endorsement contract with David Falk were not small, Nike and Adidas seemed to be rethinking the whole deal and didn''t even want to talk to David again. All companies that were thinking about talking about a deal with David gave up on the deal and said that in the future they would talk about it again if they were interested, and of the 5 companies that had made a verbal deal with David 1 of them officially gave up on the contract. The other 4 would not give up because they had already made several deals with David and knew that it was not a good idea to break a verbal contract with him, besides, they were happy to know that Jake had won the Tokyo marathon because they were not interested only in Jake because of basketball. All of these companies were interested in Jake''s fans at the marathons and looked forward to the next Olympics that Jake would participate in which they would get more advertising for having an endorsement contract with Jake that would likely win a gold medal. So David was having a headache because of this, but he was already waiting for these problems when Jake said what they thought to do for him, David knew that Jake didn''t need that money and he didn''t need that much to despair because of it of this. David Falk was confident that in the future he would get a lot more contracts with Jake and those contracts would pay him a few million dollars, now the ideal way to find the right companies to make endorsement contracts because in the future these companies would be Jake''s partners. Fortunately, the Tar Heels team had not lost that game so if the Tar Heels team won the ACC title and the NCAA title the popularity would return again before the NBA draft, not to mention that Jake was in no hurry, even after the beginning of the basketball season they could get a much better sponsorship contract. After a long trip Jake arrived at the university even more tired than before, this time it was better because he was already used to traveling for so many hours by plane, but he still had to rest well and just the next day he might be able to train. When Jake arrived at the university the training of the basketball team was over, coach Guthridge was concerned when he saw that Shammond Williams who had been playing very well in the last games and was the main responsible for the victory in the last game was very tired and his physical condition his was not the best for the next game. Coach Guthridge didn''t care about Jake because he already realized that his body worked differently from normal people and recovered faster, but Williams not, Coach Guthridge was already thinking about leaving him out of the next game. After sleeping very well Jake was already much better the other day, he was still far from his ideal physical condition, but he still had another day before the next game which was also as a visitor, even if he was not in his ideal physical condition it was enough to play at least 30 minutes in his best condition. Coach Guthridge also realized that Jake was not in the best physical condition during training, even though he knew that Jake would be better the other day it was impossible for him to be fully recovered. This made him very stressed because he could no longer count on William who was playing very well if he did not have Jake in his best physical shape it would be difficult for the Tar Heels team to win this next game. Jake''s teammates were also concerned to see that Jake was not doing as well as he normally was, but they knew they would have to rely on Jake in the next game where Williams would not play. Chapter 396 The Last Major Marathon 10 The media was also interested in knowing what the environment for the Tar Heels team was after Jake lost an important game as it was the last one, they expected Jake''s teammates to be nervous and stressed about him. In addition, some sports experts said that Jake would not be in the best physical condition to play the next game, they knew well that having 32 hours by plane and running a marathon was not easy for anyone. Even if someone did that, they would rest for more than a week before going back to exercise, so they thought that if Jake didn''t play in the next game the team''s environment would be even worse. But contrary to what everyone expected, the team''s environment hadn''t changed because of Jake, he didn''t play in the last game and the team still winning made the media realize that Jake wasn''t the only one responsible for this winning streak and they were also instrumental in this achievement. Jake was a friend of everyone on the team and if Coach Guthridge allowed Jake to lose the game to run that marathon, no one would question about it, besides, everyone knew how hard Jake was and had played 40 minutes in every game and that was what he struggled more in training. They knew well that without Jake on the team they probably wouldn''t have this winning streak, Jake was also friends with all the players on the team and didn''t act differently from other players even though he was considered by the media the best College basketball player in his first season and also in the current season. After a day of light training for Jake and the team, the day for the next game came, Jake was not in his best physical condition, but was in a position to play most of the game at a high level until he got tired. Even so, his teammates were a little anxious about this game, in addition to the pressure of victory that they were already used to, there was Jake who was clearly not in his best condition and Williams who would not play in today''s game because Coach Guthridge saw that he could get hurt if he played. In the last game, Shammond Williams had been the best player and for many games, he was always important for the team to win, so being out of that game made players uncomfortable. This game was also as a visitor and they knew it would be a difficult game, luckily they were more confident because even if he was not in the best physical condition Jake was back in the team. The opposing team in that game would be the Virginia Cavaliers team, the first game against that team this season had an easy win, in addition, the Virginia Cavaliers team was not having a good season and would feel a lot of pressure in that game too. "Welcome to everyone who came to follow this game more from the ACC conference, the Tar Heels team comes from a victory in a difficult and very tiring game for the players in which Jake was not playing." "Maybe that''s why Shammond Williams who was the best player in the last game is not on the team today, after an incredible game like that he can be very tired." "Jake is back on the Tar Heels team for today''s game, but from what we''ve heard from some experts it''s impossible for him to be in perfect physical condition after his trips to Tokyo and also from the marathon." "So Jake may not be able to play well in this game and his teammates are sure to be tired after the last game, it could be the chance for the Virginia Cavaliers team to win today''s game against the team that is first in the conference." Just as commentators said, Jake realized that his teammates were tired after the last game, so he knew he had to take responsibility for that game and lead the team to victory. Even though he wasn''t in his best physical condition as it was with the marathon, it didn''t mean he couldn''t perform at the game, it just meant he wasn''t doing as well as he normally did. Jake knew he had to defend against Curtis Staples who was the best player in the Virginia Cavaliers team''s three-point shots, he could score multiple points with the three-point shots and he could count on Jamison and Carter for the team to score more points. The Tar Heels team started pressing in the attack from the beginning of the game, even though they decided to press in the attack Jake did not increase the pace of the game so that the players would not get tired. In the first 10 minutes of the 1st half Jake managed to make some three-point shots and got a good advantage for the Tar Heels team at the beginning of the game, Makhtar N''Diaye was playing in place of Shammond Williams who was resting, and even though he didn''t could help a lot in attack he was important in defense. Jake defended against Staples outside the three-point line and also defended well within the three-point line by helping with steals, in another move Jake managed to intercept a Virginia Cavaliers pass and advanced to the attack with speed. He was faster than his opponents, especially now that he had gained 1 more point of agility after winning the Tokyo marathon, so he managed to get to the painted area and made 2 more points for the Tar Heels team with a dunk. In another move, Jake landed a block in an attempt by Staples to make a three-point shot and held the ball instead of running for the attack again, after a move in which almost all the players on the Tar Heels team participated. Carter who made a dunk and 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. With Jake running all over the court in the 1st half and playing very well as always, the Tar Heels team players were also excited and they managed to end up winning the 1st half with a good advantage against the Virginia Cavaliers team. In this 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 18 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake had a great performance and even though he was in poor physical condition he still did the best he could in this 1st half. "What a great 1st half for Jake so far, he didn''t seem to be in a bad physical condition as they said and is having a great performance in that game and is leading the Tar Heels team to victory." "This is not an easy game because the Virginia Cavaliers team is also trying to win by taking advantage of the failures of the Tar Heels team, without Williams being important to the team in the last games, the Tar Heels team has to play more cautiously." "Even more after a game in which the team had to go through overtime to get the win, so getting a good advantage in the 1st half is very good for the Tar Heels team." "If Jake continues to perform well in the 2nd half, victory is almost guaranteed for the Tar Heels team." The truth was that Jake had played very well even though he was in poor physical condition because he played without caring how he would play in the 2nd half of the game, even though everyone praised Jake for his performance so far many could see how breathless he was and very tired. For Jake, who usually managed to play an entire game without looking tired, it was not normal and his teammates noticed, but no one said anything about it because it was clear that Jake was trying his best for the team. At the beginning of the 2nd half of the game, the Virginia Cavaliers tried to press on the attack and increase the pace of the game to pressure Jake and the Tar Heels players to get more tired, this really made it difficult for the Tar Heels team to defend. Fortunately Jake was an experienced PG and when the ball was with the Tar Heels team he attacked at a slower pace again which hindered the players of the Virginia Cavaliers who were not used to playing like that. Jake continued to defend against Staples who was unable to hit many three-point shots because of this, after 6 minutes in the 2nd half the Tar Heels team was winning with a big advantage on the scoreboard. Jake began to feel tired and saw that he could no longer perform at his best in the game, yet he did his best to hide his tiredness and asked Coach Guthridge to replace him for a few minutes. Coach Guthridge was actually preparing Ed Cota to play in Jake''s place if he realized he was very tired, but he didn''t expect Jake to even ask to be replaced. But he replaced Jake quickly and saw how Jake didn''t look too tired he should rest for a few minutes and then go back to the court, as soon as he sat down Jake took a bottle of water to drink and then ate a bar of stamina. He didn''t do that in the marathons because it was a resistance sport and he felt like he was stealing, but he had no problem using it in basketball because that''s what he won over the system. And basketball had a lot of things besides the resistance and he didn''t think he was stealing if he ate a stamina bar, after eating the stamina bar he felt the energy coming back to him and his tiredness lessened. His muscles had no problem because his problem was different because of the long plane trips, yet all his muscles relaxed, he still rested for a while. As Jake knew how to pretend well, nobody noticed that he had recovered all his energy after sitting for a few seconds, Jake stayed 2 minutes on the bench and in that short time the Virginia Cavaliers team managed to reduce the lead and the Tar Heels team lost two attacks. Chapter 397 Rest and Business 1 So Jake soon returned to the game and his teammates and Staples he was defending against realized that Jake looked faster and better as he was at the beginning of the game, but the difference was not so great that they thought it was because he had rested for a while. No one had realized that the only weakness that Jake had for this game was gone and in the 12 minutes before the game was over Jake would be playing with the best he had, the Tar Heels team players were more tired now. But the players on the Virginia Cavaliers team were also more tired from playing at such a fast pace throughout the game, so in the final part of the game, only Jake was getting the maximum performance out of him. In another play Staples tried to make a three-point shot and Jake hindered him and so he missed, Jamison managed to catch the rebound and held for a while before passing the ball to Jake, Jake advanced slowly and after passing through the middle of the court he started to ball to Carter from the left. Carter received the ball and advanced slowly, he was also tired after trying so hard in the last game and in that game too, the last three games were tiring for the Tar Heels team and he and Jamison who were important to the team were very tired after that. Carter advanced the ball to the three-point line and passed the ball to Okulaja who was on the right, Okulaja tried to advance, but the Virginia Cavaliers team''s defense soon started to press him, who passed it to Jamison on the left. Jamison received the ball with two players in defense against him, so Jamison passed the ball to Jake who was further behind, Jake was quick and took advantage of being free to make the shot from outside to make three more points for the Tar Heels team. In the final part of the game, Jake made a lot of defense and also helped the Tar Heels team to increase the advantage on the scoreboard, so the game ended and the Tar Heels team won with 81 points against the Virginia Cavaliers'' 49 points. In that 2nd half Jake played for 18 minutes and managed to score 17 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, it was another double-double and excellent performance for Jake in that game and after that, the crowd would be happy with him again. "And so the game ends with another victory for the Tar Heels team, it was a good game that ended with the Tar Heels team winning quietly, but that game was more difficult for them because the players were tired." "Jake came back very well for the team after being criticized for not having played in the last game even though he had no problems, he was instrumental in the Tar Heels team having achieved this comfortable victory." "The team still missed Shammond Williams who cannot play in this game and the team''s defense was weaker than expected, in the next game all the players on the Tar Heels team must be in the best physical condition and these problems will not exist." "That''s right, now there are only 4 games left to finish the conference games, then the ACC tournament will start, and the next 4 opponents are very difficult to face and the Tar Heels team will have a hard time." The game luckily ended well with the victory of the Tar Heels team, after which the team would have a sequence of 3 games playing at home at the Dean Smith Center, in addition, after the next game the players will have a week of rest before the final 3 games of the conference. Jake was very tired after the game and would have to take the next few days to fully recover before the next game, he had already decided that he would never run a marathon in Asia again without having many days to rest in the city before and after the marathon. Shammond Williams would also surely be rested in the next game and they would have the full team, contrary to what everyone expected the sports media did not comment much on the Tar Heels team game and Jake''s good performance. It would be very strange if they spoke well of Jake again after speaking so badly of him during the last few days, the sports media was not like the entertainment media that can make up lies and change a person''s opinion several times just to gain more audience. The next day the players did not have training so that they could recover completely before the next game, Jake was also resting and had been running and training for the marathon for almost a week. He wanted to recover completely before training and Coach Davis knew that yet Zack was still training every day and after so long training he looked more and more like an elite marathon runner. Running a full marathon was easy for him to do and Zack''s next goal would be to run a marathon in less than 3 hours, now Zack had the support of Jake, his friends, and even his family who were seeing how Zack had improved after more than a year of training. Even Coach Davis was impressed with the perseverance and improvement that Zack was experiencing, and anyone could run a marathon as long as he was dedicated enough and had a little talent for long-distance sports. Of course, Zack would never be as good as Jake or even as elite athletes, but he could be proud to call himself an elite athlete if he continued training and hopefully he might even win a marathon someday. Jake was happy with that too and wanted to run that year''s marathon with Zack and see his friend manage to finish a marathon in less than three hours after all this could be their last year together at university. Jake also sometimes played football with Aaron, the football team had already started training again, but Aaron still liked to train with Jake because Jake was an excellent quarterback because his accuracy was very good in passing. Of course, that did not mean that Jake was better than the university quarterbacks because they knew a lot of techniques and had much more experience than Jake in football, but for only passes Aaron thought Jake was better. In the last few months, Jake was talking more with Williams and Haruto, Jake had not yet told anyone that he intended to enter the NBA this season and thus leave the university. He knew that Eva would accept whatever he decided to do, and the university friends who would be most impressed with Jake''s decision, but they also knew that Jake could leave the university after any season because the sports media talked a lot about who Jake was one of the most anticipated players in recent years for the draft. All the teams would like to have someone like him on the team who could lead the team with assists and points and still help a lot in defense, so it was just up to Jake to decide when he would go to the NBA. Jake was also saddened by this and hoped that this time he would be able to maintain that friendship after he left university, he didn''t have much contact with his friends from the basketball team in middle school and rarely saw his friends from high school. Jake understood that it was because they lived in different places and using the phone and the internet to keep in touch with friends was not that common, but he wanted to keep in touch with the friends he made at the university if possible. With Haruto it would be easier because they talked about business several times and Jake already suggested that Haruto work for him when Haruto graduated, Haruto said he would have to see what job he had to do and if it was good he would accept it. Jake thought Haruto was very intelligent and it was the truth because Haruto had already scored perfect grades in difficult tests several times, Jake thought that Haruto was the most academically intelligent person he knew besides himself. In that semester Jake had introduced Haruto to his other friends in the dorm and Haruto became very friendly with Williams too, so Jake was trying to convince Haruto''s help that Williams would also work with him in the future. But it seemed that Williams was determined to work in the stock market after college, Jake couldn''t say he didn''t understand why this was a time when many people were lucky enough to become millionaires if they invested in the right companies and knew when to sell their actions. Jake himself was investing almost everything he earned in stocks, but it was because he knew exactly when he would win and when he would have to sell his shares in order not to lose money, but no one but him could possibly know that. When Williams was leaving the university it would be when the internet bubble would burst and no one would want to buy stocks and many would lose millions of dollars, At that time Williams might change his mind and decide to work with Jake. Even more when it was revealed that Jake was one of the wealthiest and most successful young investors in the stock market out of poverty into a one billion dollars estate in just 10 years, when that happened, no one could say that Jake didn''t know about the business. Jake hoped to be able to work with his two friends from the university because they would be trusted people that he knew of their ability, of course, he would never replace Emily who was always with him, she would still have as much authority as he did in the companies that Jake had. When Jake said he needed to rest his roommates were the most impressed, in their nearly two years at university there were few times that Jake really took a rest. They went out together several times to do something fun or to eat, but even on those days Jake always had morning marathon training or basketball training, even when he didn''t do anything he went out to do business meetings or at least went to the academy. Chapter 398 Rest and Business 2 Many thought that Jake was very talented and was lucky to have achieved everything he had, that might even be true, but only his friends and Eva knew how much effort Jake had to make to achieve everything he had in life. Because Jake was like that his teammates were not angry even though he knew that Jake didn''t go to the game because he went running the marathon, because he was doing something that was important to him and Jake always tried harder than anyone and was one of the most responsible for the victories of the team. So when his friends heard that he wanted to rest Zack soon started thinking about things they could do to help Jake relax, he could think about a lot of things, but it had to be something Jake would like and also not to tire him too much. After thinking for a while he decided to take Jake and the other roommates to play a Paintball game, it was fun and even though it was tiring it was nothing more than a joke compared to what Jake normally did. Jake and the others naturally liked that a lot, Zack''s brother had to be called because he was the one who knew the places best, besides with Brett participating they would have 6 people playing. For justice reasons Jake and Zack who were the fastest had to be separated, the problem was that Aaron was also very fast and if a team had two of them it would have the advantage, so Jake said that one group would have Zack and Aaron and the other there would be him and two other people. So the strongest group, in theory, would stay with Zack and Aaron, Zack and Aaron who knew how fast Jake was accepted that easily because they still thought they were at a disadvantage, if Jake wanted to play seriously they would have no chance of winning. Other people might think this was overkill, but everyone knew it was true because Jake seemed to be good at everything he did, especially when it came to physical activity. Jake was not as confident as his friends, he could be faster, have better balance and have a better view, but he didn''t think he had much more advantage than his opponents. Fortunately, Brett was on Jake''s team with Williams, it was good because Brett was the only one who had ever played that game and so things were more balanced, in this field that they reserved spending more money the rules were made for this to be more fair. As only 6 people would play in two teams of 3 players and 3 people were much faster and more athletic, it was decided that they would have no flags and the rules would be eliminations, the team that was eliminated first would lose. That way, nobody would have that much advantage, everyone put on the protective equipment and received the game''s gun, it was called a paintball marker, to be even more fair Brett chose a paintball field that was in a house, so there was no way for anyone to run a lot during the game indoors. Of course, even if it was a house it was actually like a very big building that should have been a factory, so the players still had to run a lot, and it was not just a building but 2 where there was plenty of space for players to strategize. They decided to make a game better than 7, so whoever got 4 victories would win, Jake had never played that game and of course, he had never picked up a gun before, even if the paintball marker was different he still had to learn to use it. Jake''s team strategy was for Williams and Brett to go one way and Jake to go alone on the other side, Jake decided that because as soon as he saw someone he would shoot and he didn''t want to shoot his teammates. Jake went slowly and shot the wall a few times to learn how to use the paintball marker, in the first game Zack and Aaron came together on the same side as Jake, he still hit Zack but was eliminated by Aaron. After that Aaron eliminated Brett and so Jake''s team lost the first game, Williams was eliminated first or his team could have won, but after that first game, everyone knew how to play. Jake also realized that he didn''t need to worry too much about accuracy with the paintball marker because his opponents'' bodies were a very large target that was difficult to miss, so he just needed to be quick and aim quickly to hit. In the second game, Jake knew how the game worked and sought cover on the walls and moved quickly between the walls so as not to be exposed, this time Jake was even less lucky and three opponents tried to face him. Using the cover of the walls to avoid being hit by the opponent''s paintball marker he still managed to eliminate Zack and Haruto before being hit and eliminated, Jake saw that with his agility he thought faster and reacted faster to shoot. So they won the second game when Aaron eliminated Williams and Brett eliminated Aaron, so the game was a draw and the three realized that they shouldn''t risk taking everyone to face Jake. Brett saw that Williams was very bad at the paintball game and saw that Jake was very skilled, so he decided that they could go together side by side and so the chance of them winning was very big. In the next game, only Aaron went to the side where Jake was and was eliminated before he could see Jake and Brett, the two soon realized that the opponents were trying to eliminate Williams and would succeed, so the two moved quickly to where William had stayed. By the time they arrived, Williams was already being eliminated and the opponents were close, so Jake and Brett moved quickly using the cover of the walls so they wouldn''t be hit easily. Luckily they managed to get Zack and Haruto on their backs and thus eliminated them and won for the second time, now Jake''s team was winning 2 against 1 against the opposing team, they continued with this tactic and won another 2 games and won by 4 at 1 against the team of Haruto, Aaron, and Zack, they saw once again how unfair playing Jake was. After that they still went to eat in a cafeteria and had a lot of fun, it ended up helping everyone to relax and not just Jake, after all, everyone had responsibilities and classes at the university to be stressed. The only one who was more relaxed in class was Jake who knew almost everything during the subjects and so the tests were easy for him, Haruto was the smartest after Jake, but he had to study hard to get his good grades. What was more relaxed after Jake was actually Williams who was smart too and had Jake to help him understand the lessons and so he got good grades in the tests without having to study hard. After what happened they went back to the university because Jake would have to train the next day, he was almost recovered and would do a light training the other day with the basketball team, but Jake still wouldn''t be back with training for the marathons until he completely recovered. After winning this marathon in Tokyo, Jake no longer had to train for the marathons until the next Olympics that would be just over two years later, of course, he would continue training and even increase the difficulty of training him by running at a faster pace for improving. But that was because Jake loved to run and wanted to continue in the marathons for years to come, but he had no reason to take chances and train when he was tired and he didn''t need it, Coach Davis understood and supported Jake''s thinking. He even sometimes told Jake to take a few days off without training to let his muscles breathe and relax, but Jake didn''t do that and as he had no problem in those years the coach stopped saying that. After all, he more than anyone knew that each athlete was different and had a different body and metabolism, some needed more rest to get a better time and Jake stressed his body to the maximum to be able to improve. During training, neither Jake''s teammates nor trainer Guthridge knew that Jake was not yet in his best physical condition, they thought Jake had already recovered before the last game. Jake also saw no need to say that and just trained normally, the training was light because all the players were tired and also because Shammond Williams had not played in the last game and was returning to his ideal condition as well. The next day came the day of the next game for the Tar Heels team, Jake felt he was completely recovered and would have no problems in that game to have his best performance without needing a stamina bar. The players were also fine and were determined to give the best that they had in this game, after all after that game they would have a week of rest, Jake had already told the coach that he would go to Miami during that week. So with a week of rest ahead of them, the players were not afraid to get tired in this game, even so, they had to be careful with the opposing team in this game that was looking for victory too. The opponent in that game was the Maryland Terrapins team that they had already won this season, even though the Tar Heels team had beaten them, it was a team that was third in the ACC conference and was having an excellent season. They had great players and a good team and they beat Team Tar Heels this season in the past before Jake went back in time when he wasn''t on the team, so Jake knew he had to focus more on that game. Chapter 399 Rest and Business 3 "Welcome to everyone who is here to follow this game more in the basketball season, the Tar Heels team that comes from an incredible sequence of 51 victories in a row who will further increase this record by winning the game today." "But to achieve this they will have to beat the Maryland Terrapins team, which has also been having a great season and was one of the most difficult opponents for the Tar Heels team this season." "That''s right, this is definitely going to be a very difficult game for the Tar Heels team, but I think they are the favorites to win today''s game and they are unlikely to lose, this team has gone through many things and the players have even won a game in which Jake was not participating proving the strength of this team." "In this game, they have all the players and the will to win, Jake and Jamison have been the best players of this season for me among all College basketball teams, and also Carter and Williams who have been having incredible games and are fundamental to Tar Heels team keep winning." "We will follow this game to see if the Tar Heels team will achieve this victory and continue with the sequence of games without losing, or if the Maryland Terrapins team will win and end the domination of the Tar Heels team before the ACC tournament." This was a game where the Tar Heels team would play at home at the Dean Smith Center, the fans were still mad at Jake who hadn''t played a game to run a marathon, but how the team hadn''t lost if he continued to play so well they would forget. The players on the Maryland Terrapins team were thinking that maybe the players on the Tar Heels team felt pressured by this winning streak and almost lost the last few games and maybe they were tired. But early on in the game, the Tar Heels team started to press on the attack with Jake making the team play at a strong pace, so it was clear that the Tar Heels team was just thinking about winning the game. In a play Jake received Carter''s ball in defense and went on the attack, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams who was back in the team, Williams advanced and before the three-point line, he passed the ball to Carter on the left. Carter tried a feint and soon passed to Jamison, Jamison got rid of the defense before receiving the ball and then managed to advance easily and made a layup to increase the advantage of the Tar Heels team by 2 points. This was another game in which Jamison was playing very well and Williams too, so Jake could count on Jamison and Carter to make the points in the painted area and Williams to help him with three-point shots and mid-range shots. In defense the Tar Heels team started pressing to try to open an advantage in the scoreboard from the beginning of the game preventing the attacks of the Maryland Terrapins team, Jake was defending against Sarunas Jasikevicius who was a skilled player in the shots of three points. In another move, the Maryland Terrapins team was attacking and Jake managed to intercept an opponent''s pass and quickly advanced to attack, this time Jake did not use all his speed and just waited after passing through the middle of the court for his teammates to support in the attack. Jake always made different plays to try to surprise his opponent and because he had confidence in his teammates, he only advanced directly after steal the ball to try to make the points if he was sure he could make it. Jake passed the ball to Williams on the left before passing the three-point line, Williams held the ball and passed and tried a feint, as the opponent was not fooled he passed the ball to Okulaja who was further ahead on the left. Okulaja held the ball for a while and passed the ball to Carter further back on the left, Carter quickly passed the ball to Jake who was further back in the middle, Jake received the ball and two players from the Maryland Terrapins team soon came to the defense against him. Jake quickly passed the ball to Williams who was at the bottom of the court on the left, Williams received the ball and tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, with this move everyone realized that the Tar Heels team really wanted guarantee victory quickly. During the last two seasons whenever the Tar Heels team finished the 1st half by winning the game with an advantage on the scoreboard they won the games, the opponents knew this and therefore tried to prevent the Tar Heels team from doing this. But with the team all right and Shammond Williams confident after the last games, the Tar Heels team was a difficult team to defend against in that game, Williams had a bad start to the season and with Jake, Jamison, and Carter playing so well he had a hard time to regain his confidence. But in the last few games, he showed why he was one of the top players on the team last season and it was instrumental in winning the NCAA tournament, with him gaining more attention from defending opposing teams. Jake had more freedom to score. So Jake managed to hit a lot of three-point shots in that 1st half of the game and that helped the Tar Heels team to increase the advantage on the scoreboard, with Jake playing so well that the crowd was excited again and even forgot that Jake had not played an important game for the team. After a very strong start to the game, the Tar Heels team slowed down in the last minutes of the 1st half, yet they managed to end up winning with a good lead on the scoreboard to play the 2nd half. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 19 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake played very well in the 1st half of the game and managed to defend well against Jasikevicius and even managed to make 2 blocks. "And so the 1st half of the game ends, the two teams played very well, but the players on the Tar Heels team seemed determined to achieve that victory and played very well and put pressure on both the attack and the defense." "The defense of the Tar Heels team was very good and Jake had a great 1st half of the game defending against Jasikevicius, so neither the attack nor the defense of the Maryland Terrapins team managed to stand out in today''s game." "That''s right, Jake and Jamison are doing very well in today''s game as they have done all season, Carter and Williams are doing very well and with such a team it is difficult to find a team that wins the Tar Heels team unless the players perform poorly." "But the Tar Heels team players will still have to be taken care of in this 2nd half after all the Maryland Terrapins team is the third-best team at the ACC conference, they are one of the only teams that have the quality to beat the Tar Heels team." Coach Guthridge said the same to the Tar Heels team players, they would have to keep pushing and attacking hard if they wanted to guarantee victory in a difficult game like this. In the first minutes, the Maryland Terrapins team started to press in the attack to try to win, in this game in which the Tar Heels team was an opponent that they would have much more confidence if they won they had to risk everything. But the defense of the Tar Heels team was also well in the game today and Jake continued to defend well in the three-point line, in another move the Maryland Terrapins team was trying another attack and Jasikevicius tried a three-point shot and Jake got the block. Carter still managed to catch the ball and calmly held it waiting for the Maryland Terrapins team players to move away and then passed the ball to Jake, Jake advanced at a slower pace and after passing through the middle of the court passed the ball to Carter again. Carter advanced and before the three-point line passed the ball to Jamison farther to the left, Jamison tried again to advance to make the points, but the defense pressed close and Jamison had to pass the ball to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and the Maryland Terrapins team defense soon put pressure on him and Williams paying attention to Jamison and Carter too, Jake passed the ball diagonally to Okulaja on the right, Okulaja received the free ball and advanced to make a layup and 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Even with the Maryland Terrapins team trying to diminish the advantage on the scoreboard and trying to turn the game around, the Tar Heels team was very well and the attack was mainly very strong with Jamison trying another great performance in his career. Jake was taking advantage of this to get more assists and also with Jamison playing so well he had more freedom to make the plays and try the shots from three points, Williams was also being well defended. So Jake wanted to have a good team when he entered the NBA when he played with great players the opponents did not know that they had to defend against and so there was always someone with freedom to make the points. Even though Jake was the one who scored the most points on the Tar Heels team and so it was normal for him to be the best defended, opponents could only hinder Jake in the plays and he had only a few turnovers this season. He had more than 74 percent accuracy on three-point shots and field goals in general as well, so it was better to defend against other players who could be defended and who scored points than against Jake. But if he were the only skilled player on the team he could never perform as well because all opponents would try to defend against him. Chapter 400 Rest and Business 4 The Tar Heels team continued to press in defense and attack while the Maryland Terrapins team still tried to press in the attack to get a turn in the game even though it was almost impossible due to the advantage that the Tar Heels team got after a few minutes of the 2nd half. In another move, the Maryland Terrapins team managed to score 3 points in their attack and it was the turn of the Tar Heels team to attack, the players of the Tar Heels team were not concerned with these points because they knew they were playing well. Jake advanced the ball until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter held the ball and passed it back to Jake who was closer behind. Jake received the ball and made a beautiful feint that tricked the opponent and advanced, another opponent came to defend and Jake pretended that he would advance and made a step back and tried an outside shot to make three more points for the Tar Heels team. The Tar Heels team continued to play in the same way while the players were calm and increasing the advantage on the scoreboard because of the mistakes of the Maryland Terrapins players who were in a hurry to try to recover in the game. So the 2nd half ended and the Tar Heels team won the game with 109 points against just 61 points from the Maryland Terrapins team, with this victory the players of the Tar Heels team could rest this week before the next game without losing any more games. one year. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, with this triple-double Jake helped the Tar Heels team to get another victory and could relax when he went home knowing that next week he would have to dedicate a lot to the next game knowing that in the past the Tar Heels team lost. "And so we follow the victory of the Tar Heels team in today''s game, another victory for the Tar Heels team that is on a winning streak that looks like it will never end." "Another great game for Jake who made another triple-double and from what I saw at the end of the game the fans forgot that they were mad at him and shouted Jake''s name at the end of the game." "That''s right, it really was an excellent game for the Tar Heels team that won another one even if the Maryland Terrapins team tried to win too, Jamison also played very well in today''s game, making over 30 points in a game again." "But again the highlight of the Tar Heels team in that game was Jake who managed to further improve his defense this season which could be his only weakness, even though last season he was already one of the best defensive players in college basketball." "Jake made 5 blocks and 10 steals in that game, so he has an incredible average of 1.3 blocks per game this season that is bigger than most of the best defensive players from all universities." "There are now only 3 games left before the start of the ACC tournament and we will see two difficult games after an easier game that will be next week, we will see if the Tar Heels team continues without losing any games." The players were tired after that game, even if they were tired they were happy for this good game and were happy to have increased their winning streak, even more, all the players on the Tar Heels team wanted to continue this sequence and go down in history. Coach Guthridge was not so excited about this, he was a coach who was only in his first year as the head coach of the Tar Heels team, but he has accompanied Dean Smith for over 30 years. So he could see how the players were under a lot of pressure because of these games in a row without losing, in addition, there was pressure from the media and the fans, because of that the fans were even angry with Jake who was the main responsible for this achievement because he did not participate in a game. So Coach Guthridge preferred the Tar Heels team to lose the next game, so the players could get rid of that pressure if they won the next 3 games the pressure would increase even more because they definitely couldn''t lose after the ACC tournament started and the NCAA tournament started. So he preferred the Tar Heels team to lose before the ACC tournament started, of course, he couldn''t ask players to lose the game to relax or let Jake out of the game for the team to lose. If he did that it seemed like he had no confidence in his players and that would greatly decrease the confidence and morale of the team, in addition, he also wanted if it was possible to win all the games and that the team won the NCAA tournament again this year. After that, the players went back to the dorms and Jake soon prepared to go to Miami, he would travel at night to get home early and have more time to stay home that week, if he went the next day he would see his mother only later in the afternoon after she returned from the restaurant. Jake was going home to see his mom because he missed her, but he had a lot more to do besides talking to his mom, he had to talk to Matthew and finally have the report and get the money from the profits from the company in the last year. He had to talk to Clara also because it seemed that this year she would also give part of the profits to the shareholders as a share of the profit, he had 10 percent of the shares so he could receive a few million dollars. After that he still had to speak to Emily because he wanted to invest some of the money he would receive in shares of the company Cisco again, especially the money he received from participation after Emily''s father and his friends sold their shares. He had a lot to work out in just a week and still wanted to make the most of his time to be with Eva, after which Jake could return to Miami only after school was over. Not to mention that Jake would still have the film to start shooting and so he would have much less time to be with his mother if he went to the NBA after the basketball season started it would be almost impossible for them to have much time to talk. This time as he would arrive home very late at night Jake told Eva that he was going home, so she was the one who picked him up by car at the airport when Jake arrived, Eva was very happy to see Jake home after a few months. She had been very nervous about having to watch the media people who always spoke well of her son to start criticizing Jake, she didn''t understand why the media people criticized Jake if they knew well that Jake always ran marathons and would ever have to lose a game in order to compete. And it was not because Eva was his mother that she thought so, for her it made sense since Jake missed several marathons because he cannot compete for being at the time of the basketball season when he decided not to participate in a game to run an important marathon everyone criticized him. Of course, the biggest reason was that Eva couldn''t understand why the Tar Heels team''s winning record was so incredible, for her it was normal for Jake''s team to always win because he also almost missed any game in high school. As it was very late and Eva had to sleep to go to the restaurant in the morning, Jake went to sleep and they would leave to talk more with his mother in the morning or when she returned home. Jake had already decided that he would tell Eva that he was going to the NBA after this season, but to do that Jake would have to leave university before he got his degree, he had promised his mother that he would go to university and that he would finish. And he would not break that promise, Jake had already gone to university and stayed for two years, he got great grades and even advanced some subjects and credits he needed to graduate, so he could easily finish university even entering the NBA. Jake had learned little at university after reading and almost decorating dozens of books on economics, financial affairs, and administration, so he would keep his promise to his mother, yet Jake thought he had to tell him what he intended to do to Eva. Jake thought that nothing would change after he said that, but he felt he had a chance that she might want to change with him when Jake moved to the city where he had his NBA team he would most play. For now, it looked like he would have to move to Los Angeles, the deal had already been made and if all went well the Los Angeles Clippers team would choose the first draft and select Jake and then he would go to the Lakers team. The deal between the Lakers ''team and the Clippers'' team had already been completed and when Jake was chosen everything would be decided, so he had to tell Eva where he would go after college. The other day in the morning they talked about various things before Eva went to the restaurant, an important matter like this Jake could not speak to his mother before she went to work, otherwise, she could be worried and distracted at work. Jake called Emily to let her know that he was going to be in Miami for a week and that he had to talk to her, Emily had been busy for the past few months and even Jake had to let him know before he wanted to talk to her. Chapter 401 Rest and Business 5 Of course Jake was Emily''s boss and if he asked she would have to abandon what she was doing to talk to him, but Jake didn''t want to do that because it would be bad for himself and it was he who had put so many responsibilities on Emily to do and so he had to tell them beforehand to talk to her. After Eva left to go to the restaurant Jake also decided to go to Matthew''s house, Matthew was a man who didn''t like offices and was almost always at his house, so Jake never had to call beforehand to let him know when he was going. When Jake arrived the maids soon took him to the living room to wait until they let Matthew know that Jake had arrived, in a few minutes just as he expected who had arrived was Oliver who was now much closer to Matthew and almost spent all his time in this house. "Hi, Jake, how long, I thought you would come here at the end of last year, so we were waiting for you." "Hi, Oliver, I didn''t come here at the end of last year because I didn''t want to bother you again, I didn''t need money like last time and I was able to wait for you to close the balance sheet and prepare the profit-sharing correctly." "So this is what happened, if you need, you can look for us at the end of the year, we already have the values ??prepared long before the end of the balance sheet." "I have been watching your games at the university, your team really played very well, even though I don''t understand basketball so much I was impressed that you are close to breaking a game record without losing." "I am very happy with this, my team is really doing well and I hope we will continue to win the games until we win the NCAA tournament this year." "You are playing very well, I saw that you were the best player in all of the college basketball last season and this one too, I always knew you were a basketball genius, but not even I expected you to be so amazing." "Thanks for the compliments, but I think I still have a lot to improve if I really want to become one of the best players, there are still a lot of players who are much better than me in many ways." "That''s right, I think you may be able to play as well as Michael Jordan in the future, so you''ll be better than him because he won several marathons and gold medals too, Hahaha." Jake and Oliver talked about several things that happened in that time when they didn''t talk, the two were friends besides talking about business, sometimes Jake thought he was more friends with Oliver and Matthew than Joseph, maybe it was because he was almost 50 years of mental age. In addition, they had known each other for over 8 years and now that Jake was older there was a lot that Oliver talked to him that he couldn''t talk about a few years ago, they also had a lot of topics for them to talk about. After that, they went over to where Matthew was, while they were talking Matthew was solving some of the company''s problems and was also remembering about the report he had to tell Jake about sales of the new digital camera. "Hi, Jake, I thought you wouldn''t be coming to talk to me about the company anymore, Hahaha, I''m sure you''ll be happy when you hear the sales were good last year." Jake was excited when he saw how happy Matthew was to talk about the company''s sales, Jake hoped they would actually be able to sell more digital cameras this time, because the first time they sold the digital camera, Matthew''s company didn''t have much recognition with one of the best camera manufacturers. So the company had to invest a lot in marketing and advertising and most people were suspicious of the company and did not buy the camera because they were not confident if it was really the best digital camera. So some people started to buy the camera believing and then saw that the camera was really good, the television programs also spoke with professionals in the field who confirmed the quality of the camera that was better than all the professional cameras on the market. So they managed to have a good sale after three years, this time the advertisement said that this digital camera was much better than the previous digital camera, so some bought it and saw that it really was sometimes better than the previous camera. So whoever bought before and had financial resources would certainly buy again, and whoever didn''t buy because they still had doubts would buy because a company with more than 1 successful product was a respectable brand. "Hahaha, I know you''re curious, okay I''ll say, our company achieved the sales record last year, we sold just over 9 million digital cameras, as we sell at a price of one thousand and one hundred dollars, we had a total over 9 billion and $ 900 million in sales." Jake was really shocked by this much sales, he knew that currently, the digital camera market was at its best and that Matthew''s company digital camera was the best on the market for sure. But not even he imagined getting almost 10 billion dollars in sales, in the last year he had been impressed with the 4 billion dollars in sales of their company, now they have sold more cameras than in almost three years with the latest model of the camera. That way Matthew would continue to make more money from his company than from the shares that even Jake hadn''t thought it would be, but that was very good too, the money that Matthew has earned in the past few years has exceeded what he has earned since opening the company and what I would gain in another 20 years. "In addition, we were able to earn an additional $ 220 million in sales with the other digital camera and webcam sales, so in total, we earned $ 10 billion and $ 120 million from sales in 1997." "As we spent less on advertising this time and didn''t have to invest in production like we did last time and sold more, we made 60 percent profit from those sales, so we received a profit of $ 6 billion and $ 72 million." Jake was even more impressed by this, he had talked to Matthew and heard that Matthew intended to get a higher percentage of profit this time because the company was already developed and was able to meet the demand for the products. But Jake could never expect that they managed to increase by more than 10 percent of profits, Jake knew that part of it was for the amount that was 100 dollars more expensive and it cost the same as the last camera to produce. He naturally knew how they achieved this value, normally a camera like this would cost much more to develop the technology, to arrive at the final product and also to buy the electronic components from the suppliers. But since it was Jake who said exactly what they needed to do and also Matthew''s own company that manufactured the components that were more expensive, the final value of the camera was much cheaper. In addition, their company manufactured only a few products and did not have as many employees to pay wages, and they got a discount for buying a lot from suppliers and selling the product at twice the price it cost to produce, which is why their profit was so big like that. Matthew would receive more than 4 billion and 500 million with his profit share and Jake would receive 303 million and 600 thousand dollars with the participation he had in the company, as Jake had received the shares he had of the company for free, he actually I was very happy to earn so much without investing anything. "As you know we have to invest a lot in the company again, so again we are going to take 25 percent of the value of the profits and reinvest in the company and 75 percent as a share of the profits." Jake naturally understood this and agreed with Matthew, in addition, his share was not very large so he would not have to invest much, but Matthew would invest more than $ 1 billion in the company again for the next products. The truth was that an investor would think it would be a waste to do so, they did not do it because even with all that profit the company''s stock market valuation was only 5 billion dollars, thinking how they got more than that amount in profit could be seen as that value was not correct. So maybe Matthew didn''t think about investing half of what they had earned again, a lot of the money invested in the last year hadn''t been used yet, they didn''t intend to further expand the company and increase the maximum production capacity that they haven''t yet had been used. For investments in technology that Jake had already explained how much less investment was needed than normal, moreover, Matthew was preparing because Jake said that in the future they would have a hard time surviving in the market just by selling digital cameras. They had to keep investing in technology to put digital cameras in their cell phones as Jake had said, just so the company''s market value would increase a lot and their future was guaranteed. But the truth was that Matthew was already prepared for future failure of the company and that sales would decrease, when that happened he could simply sell the company and so they would earn several times more than they could before Jake helped. Jake was very happy because after receiving his profit share he no longer had to worry about money, he would soon enter the NBA and also receive millions of salary and endorsements. But he was happier because he had more money to invest in the Cisco company because he knew he could still earn a lot in those next two years before selling all the shares in 2000. Chapter 402 Rest and Business 6 They would receive 75 percent of that amount in profit sharing and the rest would be reinvested in the company, so Jake received $ 227 million and $ 700,000, and Matthew would receive $ 3 billion,415 million and $ 500,000. Jake thought it a shame that Matthew was not confident in investing everything he had in Cisco stock like he would if he did that he could earn even more than $ 100 billion. Of course, if he did that, they would have a significant percentage of the company''s shares and that could interfere in the company''s future when they sold everything, even so, Jake never intended to invest in Cisco again and just wanted to know how to earn as much as possible in 2000. The biggest problem for Jake was that he couldn''t just invest all that money in Amazon, otherwise, in the future, he would be guaranteed more than 60 percent of the company''s shares because if he did that, the future he knew would change. "So let''s talk about the future of the company, we are developing the next digital camera putting the improvements you suggested, Jake, but this camera will not be as superior to the current one and sales will not be that good." "That''s right, in fact, the first camera that our company sold was just to let the market and consumers know about our company, this current camera is what we know how to do best." "The technologies used in this camera were developed by our company and many components that are used to make this camera are also manufactured in our company." "So the next digital cameras cannot be much better than the one we are currently selling, we have to improve its quality little by little and we have to be careful not to be overtaken by competitors." Jake explained what he had already thought to Matthew and Oliver who thought it was true, after all, it was Jake who helped the company to have all these technologies much more easily, so it was reasonable that they could not improve much. But that was not really true, Jake had the knowledge to greatly improve the technology of the cameras several times still until the quality of the camera is 8k, but many of these things were not possible with current technology. So Jake thought it was best that they add things to the cameras that would make the customers they buy find interesting and that it was worth what they paid for, the real quality of the images would improve only slightly. "Besides, I already said that we will probably sell just two more different models of cameras that will have such good sales, after that the camera technology in cell phones will start to appear and we have to be involved in that." "This year, the current camera we have will still have a good sale, so at the end of next year, if possible, we can launch the next camera for a slightly lower price than the current one and warn in advertisements that the quality of the cameras is almost same." Matthew and Oliver agreed with Jake, they had already talked about the business strategies they had and they knew that perhaps this was the digital camera that they would gain most from her sales. In the next sales, it would not be so interesting anymore and those who already bought would not want to buy the new camera if the quality was almost the same, so they would have to depend on the company''s brand to be able to sell a few billion dollars. The other companies have not yet managed to make a digital camera that is as good as the previous camera they were selling, so they knew it would take several years for them to outperform their technology company. In addition, Matthew had already submitted several patent applications and some had been approved on the components they created to make these digital cameras, so other companies will have to worry about making their cameras in a way that would not violate any patent or earn less by having to pay a commission to Matthew''s company. Jake was thinking about how to help Matthew in the future so that they could continue to earn even when smartphones started to be used, he already had several ideas that could keep Matthew''s company leading the market for many years. The problem was that some of these technologies were from companies that Jake wanted to be a partner in, so he would be stealing technologies from himself to help Matthew being that he would always have a 5 percent profit. But that was something to think about in the future because for the next 5 years Matthew''s company would still have products to keep making billions of dollars, after talking for a few more hours Jake came home. Jake had raised more than $ 227 million with his profit share, with the money he received from selling shares of Emily''s father and their friends and with the money he had before Jake had more than $ 242 million. Seeing this with all the money Jake had invested in stocks he was proud of what he had achieved in the last 9 years, he worked hard to achieve all this and thus managed to accomplish almost everything he wanted before returning. He managed to get his mother out of that bad job and made sure that she fulfilled her dream next to Anna who was a friend that Eva didn''t have in Jake''s past, and so she was happy in a way that Jake never saw in the past before to go back in time. He had fulfilled his dream of running and still managed to win some marathons which were something he did not even expect, and soon he would fulfill his other dream of going to the NBA, having all that money was something he did not expect to achieve. Jake just did the things he could do and didn''t want to miss out on the opportunities he had, but he really hadn''t thought what he would do with so much money after selling his shares in Cisco in 2000. He certainly would not invest everything again because it would be very greedy, he would already have billions of dollars with Amazon guaranteed and would also earn billions of dollars by investing a few million dollars in future companies. Even more, because he knew that money invested was something he could earn more in the future, but he could not spend and use what he wanted, it was the case that he wanted to buy a better car and could not because he was saving the money for the future investment. So he would invest the current money in stocks and then take advantage of the money he earned from sponsorships and wages to do what he wanted, after 2000 he would not invest anymore unless he found an excellent investment in companies that were starting in the market. Jake set up a meeting with Clara the next day to talk about the business he had and after that, he would have to talk to Emily the other day to tell her how much money he would invest in Cisco shares and how much money he would save for an investment that he had been planning for many years. The year 1998 would be the year that another of the biggest companies in the future would start, the company Google would start that year and Jake planned to meet Larry Page and Sergey Brin that year and thus befriend them. In early 1999, when they failed to sell the company to Excite''s CEO George Bell, Jake would offer a large million-dollar investment in exchange for most of the company''s shares. He knew that if he bought the company or did something different the development of the company would be different, so when they thought about selling the company and Jake offered to invest for most of the shares it was obvious that they would accept. Even more because Jake was someone very famous and the two would certainly recognize him, Jake would also say that he had invested in Amazon and so it was almost certain that this deal would be a success and Jake would guarantee a few billion more dollars. So Jake always had to save a few million dollars without being able to use it, so he wouldn''t have to sell his stock to make that investment, and the profit share of Matthew''s company was not certain how Matthew could decide to reinvest everything in the company. He would talk to Clara because she said that this year her company would also make a profit share for the shareholders, Jake wanted to know how much he would receive, he knew that this year Clara''s company should have made a big profit because she was not trying to invest in company after Jake bought Robert''s shares. But before that he was waiting for Eva to come home because he had decided that he would talk to her about going to the NBA that year and leaving college, he was sure his mother wouldn''t care about that because he would still finish college as had promised. Jake made dinner because he knew that Eva didn''t eat at the restaurant when he was home, he always worked hard in the kitchen when he was home because at university he never cooked because they lived in the dorm. Jake prepared a four-cheese lasagna because he didn''t want to do anything very special as they would have to talk about a serious matter after dinner, Eva arrived and was happy to see that Jake had made lasagna. After a nice dinner talking about good things that happened at the restaurant with Eva and at the university with Jake, they went to the living room to talk about the most serious matter, Eva knew Jake well and knew that he had something important to say and was curious to know what it was. Jake didn''t normally talk about serious matters with her and always dealt with his own affairs, so whenever Eva got serious, she knew it was something very important for Jake to decide to discuss the matter with her. Chapter 403 Rest and Business 7 "Mom, I made a decision after thinking about it a lot and what would be better for me in the future, I will leave university after the end of this semester and I will enter the NBA draft, this year I want to become a professional." Jake said directly what the subject was without making many laps on the subject and it surprised Eva, she knew that Jake was doing very well at the university and was close to breaking a record with his team. From what Eva had seen on television, Jake had a real chance of breaking almost all individual performance records if he stays 4 years at the university, besides, Eva knew that Jake didn''t need money because he had sponsors so she thought he would be more two years at the university. But hearing that Jake had already thought about it a lot and had already made a decision Eva understood that there must be a reason why Jake decided to do this, she knew that Jake had gone to university mainly because she had asked for it. "If you ever thought about it and made that decision, I''m just going to support what you decided, but can you tell me why you decided to do that?" "I decided to join the NBA this year because I think it will be the best for me, I have been at the university for two years and I played well on the Tar Heels team, we won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament and I managed to break several individual records." "I was also able to improve a lot in those two years and I intend to help the Tar Heels team to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament that year as well." "So I think I already achieved everything I had to win playing for the Tar Heels team in these two years, what I have to win in the coming years will not make up for what I would lose if I didn''t enter the NBA this year." "I am negotiating to join the team I want and this year something will happen in the NBA that will be favorable for me to play my first year as a freshman, not to mention that I will continue in university to get my diploma, I just won''t do it like I''m doing now." "In those years I have already obtained all the credits I needed and I also obtained good grades, so I got everything I wanted at university." Listening to Jake explaining Eva realized that it was true that he had already thought very carefully about what he wanted to do, she was happy to hear that he intended to finish university even entering the NBA and get his diploma. She understood that Jake wanted to enter the NBA this year because he wanted to take advantage of an opportunity and because he had no need to stay another 2 years at the university, so Eva was relieved and proud of Jake who spoke to her about this important decision. After that, they talked normally and Jake was relieved that his mother was not angry that he decided to leave university, it showed that she trusted him and that was something that made Jake very happy. Jake was also happy because it seemed that Eva did not think of living in the same city as him when he entered the NBA, Jake would be very happy to have his mother living with him again, but he was concerned because she had Anna in Miami and also the restaurant that Jake knew she loved. He knew it must be very difficult for someone to live without doing what he likes and that is why he bought the restaurant to make his mother''s dream come true, and Jake would visit his mother whenever he could just like he was doing now at university. The two talked for many hours until Eva had to go to sleep to work at the restaurant the other day, Jake also went to rest because he would have to talk to Clara the other day about business. So the next day Jake went to lunch to meet Clara at a restaurant she had recommended, Jake could have talked over the phone about it with her and Matthew, and he could also deal with his business with Emily. But unless it was impossible to do that Jake preferred to talk about important business like that personally, these business matters were very important and involved millions of dollars, personally Jake could receive reports to see in more detail about how companies were doing during the year. Maybe when Jake was in the NBA and a very important subject came up and he couldn''t travel to settle in person he would use his cell phone right now, but it was something he preferred to avoid. It had been months since Jake had seen Clara and he was happy to talk to her again, even though he felt that maybe she wanted to make their relationship as friends into a business-only relationship Jake would always remember the help he received. "Hi, Clara, you look very good, but you look very tired too." "Hi, Jake, I''m really tired, Tiffany and I had a lot of things in the company to solve in the last few months, our company had lost a lot of opportunities to invest and get better, but because of the situation I was in, it was impossible." "Fortunately, I always wrote down all the ideas that I had and all the opportunities that the company missed so that I could invest when possible, so in this last year I managed to do a good part of what I had prepared." Jake knew what Clara was talking about, at other times when they talked Clara always talked about how she had to increase the production capacity of the company''s factories and also get more stores and partnerships to sell more. It should have been what Clara had done that year as the matter that concerned her had been resolved, but another thing Jake heard was that Clara intended to buy a company so that her company could take advantage of factories and stores and sell more quickly. That opportunity had been lost and unless she invested her personal assets it would be difficult to be able to buy this company as she wanted, and even if she wanted to do that the competing company that also owned shares in her company would not allow the company to Clara grew so much and that she had more shares in the company. Jake had talked to Emily and knew that sales for Tiffany''s company had improved a lot after she invested in the company again and increased manufacturing capacity and opened more stores, but Clara''s company hadn''t gone so well. "In the last year we made some investments and even though our sales had increased it was very little because the cost of the products increased and the profit decreased because of the readjustment in prices." "So we had fewer profits than we had in 1996, but this year it is possible that we will still be able to sell more and almost have twice the profit, the company''s profits were 50 million dollars." "I plan to invest half of the profits in the company again, so you will receive $ 2.5 million in profit sharing, I hope that next year that amount will be almost double." Jake could feel that Clara was ashamed of the sales that her company had achieved that year because all the other 3 companies that sponsored Jake had achieved a huge increase in sales with Jake''s performance in the first season of college basketball. Like the advertisement that Jake had recorded for her and Tiffany''s companies, Tiffany''s sales grew the most in all companies, so Clara was ashamed of having to deliver a result that she considered bad. Jake was not at all angry or nervous, and Tiffany''s company always made a profit similar to Clara''s company even though her company was smaller, now that she had the opportunity to invest again after a few years she just adjusted the production capacity of her company and so she sold everything she could. The products from Tiffany''s natural drinks company were of very high quality and also had a sales appeal for being healthier, with Jake endorsing the company sportsmen and sports fans bought her products whenever they could and liked the product. The companies that John and Alan represented had well-developed companies and were better known in the market, so they managed to sell more, especially the company that John represented, which was also a beverage company and so consumers always bought. Clara''s company made sporting goods which were not so easy to sell and even with Jake promoting her products, her company had many competitors that consumers thought had a better product than her company. But with Clara''s investments, the company could sell as much as it could and also increase the total value of the company and so the shares that Jake had in the company would appreciate, Clara in the future would want to buy the shares that Jake had in her company. back and so Jake would gain something from it. Clara was happy to see that Jake was not disappointed with the results of the last year of her company, Clara was still traumatized by Robert''s complaints whenever the company''s results were not good or when she did not make a profit. This time nobody complained, not even the rival company complained, in fact, Clara thought that the representative of the competing company had been happy to see that Clara''s company had not had a good result in the market. Even so, Clara was proud and would not accept to continue making such a low profit, this year she could lower prices again and hoped that she would be able to sell more to get a better profit. They talked for a while longer and then Jake left, they talked about business, but they didn''t talk about anything like they talked in the past as friends, it made Jake even more sure than he thought before. Chapter 404 Rest and Business 8 Jake couldn''t tell Clara that their sponsorship contract would have to end this season, it was not yet final and Jake had only told his mother for now, so it was better than Clara could have great sales this year because next year they would not have it to help improve sales. Jake could say that he would join the NBA only after the end of this basketball season when he had no problem that nobody knew about, the companies that negotiated with David knew that Jake would enter the NBA, but they would never say anything about it so as not to spoil their reputation. If in the future Jake could help Clara''s company in any way even if he didn''t receive sponsorship he would help, the problem was that his future contract with the shoe company would probably prevent him from doing so. Jake and Clara split up after lunch was over and Jake went back to his house, Jake had already talked to Emily and the next day he would talk to her about the next investments Jake would make, then he would spend a few more days relaxing and coming back to the university. When Eva came home after working at the restaurant she brought Anna with her, they had closed the restaurant earlier because Anna wanted to see Jake as they hadn''t talked in a long time as Jake didn''t go to the restaurant anymore. Even though they saw each other sometimes it was always when they had other people around and they couldn''t talk easily, in fact, Eva and Anna already thought that Lola had accepted that she would not date Jake and that she didn''t think about it anymore. But with Jake going to the restaurant again everything could change and that could make Lola suffer again, besides, Jake was at the university and after that, he would become a professional and go to another city, so Jake didn''t mind not going to the restaurant and he was only in Miami for a few days. "How are things at the restaurant, Anna? I ask my mom, but I don''t think she would tell me if the restaurant had a problem." "Hahaha, no need to worry, Jake, things in the restaurant are very good, almost all year the restaurant is always full and as you know the employees do their job well and so we have no problem with the inspectors or with culinary critics." "We are making a good profit even by charging a lower price for the dishes on our menu, so taking the fatigue out of having a lot of work, we are doing very well, soon we will make another menu renewal and customers are looking forward to it." Jake was happy to hear that things at the restaurant were really good if they always had a crowded restaurant it was normal for them to make profits even by charging less and with his mother giving great salaries to employees. With the menu being renewed again they would have no problems with customers getting tired of the restaurant and most of the customers were people from the hotels who came to eat, these people came a few times a year or just after several years to eat again at the restaurant. "Anna, or do you think about a restaurant renovation? We can buy an even bigger place for the restaurant to have more customers, or we can buy some neighboring buildings and use it to increase the size of the restaurant." Jake had received a lot of money after that profit-sharing from Robert''s company and would also earn even more when he made the contracts when he entered the NBA, so he was thinking he could try to improve his mom''s restaurant. He had given up on the idea of ??building restaurant branches because to do that Eva would have to choose people to work at the other branches of the restaurant and that would make Eva even busier and Jake felt that she didn''t want that. "I don''t think it''s a good idea, Jake, you know that your mom doesn''t care much about money and doesn''t intend to be a millionaire at her restaurant, so she doesn''t charge that much for the dishes on the menu and pays good salaries to the employees." "So there is no need to increase the size of the restaurant or create branches, after all this is not what your mother wants, if the restaurant increased in size, your mother and I would have more work and we would have to hire more employees to receive a little more Of money." Hearing what Anna said Jake realized that he was thinking things wrong really, he got used to getting involved in the business, with the companies that sponsored him and with the companies that he owned or owned. All he ever had to think for the good of these companies was to increase their profit and increase the value of the companies, that was his job and if he did that it was because everything had worked out. Because Jake thought that his investments were doing so well and that''s why Matthew''s company was improving so much and making so many profits, but his mom''s restaurant was different, it was for Eva to fulfill her dream and be happy working that was what Jake always wanted for his mother. So always thinking about what they could do to get more profits or make his mom''s restaurant a successful company was not what Eva wanted, so Jake decided he would give up thinking like that. After that they had dinner with the food that Jake had prepared and then talked for several hours, Anna wanted to leave and Jake suggested that she sleep at their house, after all, Anna lived alone and it was too late to leave the car. Jake''s house, which was actually Eva''s house, could be considered a mansion, so naturally, it had several rooms and the employees tidied up when Eva was not at home. Eva agreed with Jake and asked Anna to stay and so after thinking for a while Anna decided to sleep in one of the rooms at Jake''s house, the very next day Anna and Eva went to the restaurant and Jake was alone again. In that week that he was at home Jake was not running as he always did, even though he had already recovered completely he was surprised after being in such a bad physical condition because of an airplane trip. Jake understood that it could be because he tired his body and muscles too much because he trusted the system, after what happened Jake decided he would rest more and would not always overdo the training. Even so, Jake still went to the gym at his house every day and coached a few hours of basketball as he always did, at lunchtime Jake went to the restaurant he had set up with Emily to talk to her. As it was Jake who had set lunch he arrived earlier this time and was waiting for her, after a few minutes Emily came and saw Jake and went to him, Jake thought Emily was very beautiful and didn''t look so tired. "Hi, Emily, thanks for coming over here." "It''s okay, I know it must be an important issue and you also want to know the reports from the last year, as you are only going to be in Miami for a few days we have to resolve things quickly." "Yes, you can give me business reports last year and then I''ll tell you what we''re going to do." After saying that Emily started talking about Jake''s 1997 profit and expense report, taking out the nearly $ 7 million that Jake received from him in the sale of shares that Emily''s father and his friends they had, all Jake''s companies had only losses. The investment firm had no profit other than the invested shares, and those shares did not make much money for his company, and Jake had to pay Emily and the other employees'' salaries in addition to paying for the building. Jake''s other company that Charlie and his friends created the products that Jake asked for had even more losses than Emily''s companies, but Jake knew that this was an investment he had to make to have the smartphone prototype and also from the Android system that Charlie and his friends were making now. When Jake got the patents he had already asked Emily to get together with more lawyers, the future would be guaranteed, even if he didn''t need more money he still wanted to get as much as he could by investing. These companies were an investment that Jake was making for his entire life, after the 2000s he would step away from the business world and just help Matthew, he would leave Emily running his companies. Of course, with all the money he would receive from NBA sponsorships and also with the shares he would have to be worth billions of dollars he would still have to have a company and trusted people like Emily to help him. The taxes he already had to pay amounted to millions of dollars and it was Emily and the accounting firm that Jake worked in that took care of these matters, the money he currently received from awards in the marathons and also from his sponsors went to Emily to manage. "Emily, I want to invest in the Cisco company again, I received 227 million dollars from Matthew, I want to keep a few million dollars with me for a future investment that I will make, so I want to invest 214 million dollars in shares of the Cisco company." That amount really surprised Emily, she knew that Jake had earned only part of that amount in the last year and as she didn''t have access to Matthew''s company reports she didn''t know that she had done so well in the last year. She was not surprised that Jake would again invest so much money in the Cisco company, Emily knew that Jake trusted his instincts and that it was worth risking and investing everything in the Cisco company than doing as other investors and investing in other companies. Chapter 405 Rest and Business 9 As she worked at Jake''s investment company she knew how good this year was for Jake and Matthew''s investments, the estimate was that they would receive at least double because of the appreciation of the shares of the company Cisco. Emily was certainly afraid that Jake would continue to invest like that and end up losing all of his money and also all of Matthew''s investment, but she trusted Jake and hoped he knew what he was doing. It would take Emily a few days to make that $ 214 million investment, she believed the stock price would rise after she bought so many shares, that was better for Jake and Matthew. After that, Jake talked to Emily for a while about what she had done at the investment company and also what else would be invested in the technology company so that Charlie''s team could create the Android system that Jake wanted. After that meeting Jake had nothing else to do in Miami and could just rest and stay with his mother, he would have a few more days to stay in Miami and then he would have to go back to university the day before the game to train with the team. So Jake spent the next few days at home and flew out at night to go to the university two days before the game, so he would sleep at the university and train with the team the day before the game day. Jake didn''t know when he could spend time with his mother in Miami because as soon as classes at the university were over, Jake would have to travel to Australia to shoot the film The Matrix and stay there until he had to return to the United States to the NBA draft that year. So it was possible that Jake didn''t even have time to go to Miami on his vacation, and even if the next NBA season was going to start only next year because of a problem between the NBA and the players, Jake knew he would have to be training on the team until it was time for the team to play. Under the contract, he had asked for he might even miss games and training to run a marathon, but he couldn''t do that to visit his mother unless all the players could go out to visit the family too. The other day Jake had already slept in his dorm at the university and went to where the team was to do the training, the next game worried Jake a lot, it was a game in which in the past the Tar Heels team had lost this game without Jake on the team. With him on the team it was much more possible for the team to win that game, so he had already talked about it with Coach Guthridge just as he always did before an important game, so while Jake was in Miami the other players on Team Tar Heels had to train a lot after resting. In this game, the Tar Heels team would not play as well and the best players would only have a regular performance which was not enough to achieve victory, so the players trained even though it was not necessary because they were confident of winning the next game. Even so, coach Guthridge spoke several times in training that it was not for them to be so confident and it was important to respect all opponents when Jake trained on the last day before the game everyone realized that he was also worried about the next game. Jake was really concerned about the next game and was thinking that maybe he would have to do a good performance and try harder the individual moves to guarantee victory for the Tar Heels team. The other day came the day of the game that worried Jake so much, the teams soon arrived at the Dean Smith Center to prepare for the game, with a home game it would be easier for the Tar Heels team to get the victory. And everyone thought that this would be an easy game for the Tar Heels team and that they would be able to increase the winning streak, after that game they would have two more difficult games and it would be in these games that everyone thought that the Tar Heels team would be more likely to lose. "Welcome to everyone who came to accompany us with another ACC conference game, the Tar Heels team plays this game trying to increase the winning streak for the Tar Heels team to go down in history." "The opponent of the Tar Heels team for this game is the NC State Wolfpack team that has been having a bad season, but still has a good team that will try to win in that game." "With the Tar Heels team having an excellent season so far and having excellent players and playing this game at home it is quite possible that they will win this game more." "But it is possible that, to everyone''s surprise, the NC State Wolfpack team will win by having an excellent game." "That''s right, this is a game in which the Tar Heels team has the full advantage playing with Jake and Jamison who are the best players of the season together, I don''t think the NC State Wolfpack team has the strength to win that game." Everyone hoped that the Tar Heels team would win that game and the players were still relaxed before the game started, they were more attentive because of the warnings from Coach Guthridge and Jake. Right at the beginning of the game Jake increased the pace of the game and went for the attack, it was not as fast as Jake normally organized the plays, but his teammates stayed a week without playing and therefore they would have difficulty to endure the whole game if Jake picked up the pace a lot. After a few moves Jake could see that Jamison and Williams were playing well even though it was not as good as in the other games, the biggest problem was with Carter who seemed to be not doing as well as in the last games. Jake also shot from outside to score three points for the Tar Heels team, this made the Tar Heels team a small lead on the scoreboard and made the NC State Wolfpack players feel the pressure. Jake knew that Clint Harrison would play very well in that game in the three-point shots and so he decided that he would defend against him to secure the advantage on the scoreboard, seeing Harrison being scored by Jake the NC State Wolfpack players knew that it would be difficult to win this game. In another move the NC State Wolfpack team was on the attack and Harrison received a ball and Jake was a little further from him, Harrison tried the shot from outside and hit with three points for the NC State Wolfpack team. This made the NC State Wolfpack players more confident that Harrison was performing well, then Jake took the ball and started another attack for the Tar Heels team. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter advanced and before crossing the three-point line he passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams held the ball and passed it to Jake further back through the middle. Jake received the ball and quickly passed it to Jamison who was free from the right ahead, Jamison took the ball and advanced to make the layup and get 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Even though the Tar Heels team had the advantage at the beginning of the game, the NC State Wolfpack team was also playing well and therefore the Tar Heels team could not increase the advantage on the scoreboard. So Jake realized that the Tar Heels team would have a hard time winning the game if they continued that way, in one of Coach Guthridge''s timeouts Jake said it was best that they put pressure on defense and attack as well. Coach Guthridge was seeing how much more difficult the game was than he was and the players expected and agreed with Jake and told the team to press on defense and attack, the Tar Heels team players did not underestimate the opponent and just wanted to win. So the players of the NC State Wolfpack team were surprised to see that the Tar Heels team increased the pressure in attack and defense, they expected the game to continue as it was until the end of the 1st half as the Tar Heels team was winning. Another thing that changed in the last 10 minutes of the 1st half was that Jake was trying more shots from three points, in a few minutes he had already tried 3 shots from outside and hit the three with 9 more points for the Tar Heels team. This made the NC State Wolfpack team difficult to defend, they still had to defend against Jamison, Carter, and Williams who were playing well, and in the attack, the NC State Wolfpack team was having difficulty playing against the strong defense of Team Tar Heels. In another move Harrison tried the three-point shot and Jake appeared to make the block, Williams still got the ball and advanced slowly while the Tar Heels team went on the attack as well. Before going through the middle of the court Williams passed the ball to Jake who was on the right, Jake slowly advanced the ball and soon went to the middle of the court while Williams went to the right. Jake stepped forward and passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter passed the ball to Okulaja on the right ahead, Okulaja held on a little and passed the ball to Jake who was further back in the middle. When Jake received the ball, two players from the NC State Wolfpack team saw to defend against him, after all, Jake had already made 15 points in three-point shots in that 1st half of the game, when the defense came Jake took advantage and passed the ball to Williams who had left free by the right. Williams did not miss the opportunity and tried the shot to score another 3 points for the Tar Heels team, with this move the advantage of the Tar Heels team was much greater and Jake was more relaxed about it. Chapter 406 Rest and Business 10 The Tar Heels team continued to play well and ended up winning the 1st half with a good advantage against the NC State Wolfpack team, Jake was playing very well as were Jamison and Williams. In this 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 21 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake was playing well in defense, but he was unable to help the team much in rebounds because he was playing away from the painted area. "As expected, the Tar Heels team has been winning the game today with a good advantage, the NC State Wolfpack team seems to be playing better than expected and was bringing some problems to the Tar Heels team." "But with the good performance of Jake and his teammates, the Tar Heels team managed the advantage nonetheless, Jamison and Williams also played well." "It is true, Jake had a great performance just as he has done in the last games, and that makes the opponents defend more against him and that leaves his teammates more freedom to make the points." "But the NC State Wolfpack team has really had a good game and still has an opportunity to win that game, Jake has been defending well against Harrison, but the NC State Wolfpack team has other good players in the three-point line that has been having more freedom." Jake knew that what the commentators were saying was true, even though he defended well against Harrison the NC State Wolfpack team still had other good players on the three-point line. But he knew it was more dangerous to leave Harrison alone in this game because he couldn''t defend against the three players on the NC State Wolfpack team anyway, he had to rely on Williams and Carter to help defend against these players. The players of the NC State Wolfpack team realized that they could achieve victory against the Tar Heels team, the players of the Tar Heels team were not having the best performance and this could be their chance. So at the beginning of the 2nd half of the game the NC State Wolfpack team started to press in attack and defense as well, Jake continued to defend against Harrison and helped the defense by trying some steals. In another move, the NC State Wolfpack team was on the attack and after a good move by the players, Archie Miller received free and attempted a three-point shot and hit with three more points for the NC State Wolfpack team. Jake was defending against Harrison and that gave Miller the opportunity to make that three-point shot, the game continued and even though Jake was playing very well the NC State Wolfpack team continued to diminish the lead. When it was 4 minutes before the end of the game, the NC State Wolfpack team had managed to take all the advantage and had turned the game around and were winning, even though Jake was playing well the NC State Wolfpack players found that Carter was not performing well and even Jamison and Williams were just playing regularly. So when Jake received the ball, two players were always against him on the three-point line and even if Jake made assists, his teammates did not hit every attack. Even so when the end of the game was coming the players of both teams were getting more anxious and were also getting tired because of the intense game they had, so Jake was able to make the plays again at the end of the game because he was not tired. In the next few minutes, it was a dispute between the players of the NC State Wolfpack team and Jake, he who was well defended by almost the entire 2nd half managed to attack again and still managed to get more blocks and steals. Jake could still count on Jamison and Williams if the defense against him was too difficult to overcome, even if they did not perform better they could still score a lot and bring headaches to the NC State Wolfpack team defense. With less than 1 minute remaining, the NC State Wolfpack team was winning by 1 point difference, Okulaja passed the ball to Jake who started what could be Team Tar Heels'' last attack in the game. He advanced to the middle of the court and passed the ball to Williams on the right before passing through the middle of the court, Williams and all the players on the Tar Heels team were nervous about this stressful end of the game. As the NC State Wolfpack team was winning by just 1 point, nobody knew if the Tar Heels team would try a 2-point play or risk and try a 3-point play, Williams advanced to the 3-point line and passed the ball to Carter on the left. Carter tried to get rid of the defender by making a feint, but the opponent was firm in defense and Carter passed the ball to Jamison further on the left, Jamison received the ball and tried to advance. Soon the defense of the NC State Wolfpack team put pressure on Jamison and so he was unable to advance and passed the ball to Jake who was at the bottom of the court on the right, Jake was free and after receiving and the ball tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team with a few seconds to go. In this play, the defense of the NC State Wolfpack team was careless, for a moment when Jamison was with the ball they forgot to defend against Jake, but they stayed close to the place where he normally stayed. But this time Jake went to the back of the court and the defense that did not expect it did not follow the play, now the NC State Wolfpack team would have only one play to try to win. The Tar Heels team players were focused on defense, if the NC State Wolfpack team scored 2 points with this attack they would tie the game, if they scored 3 points they would win. With that in mind, Carter and Williams came to defend on the three-point line against Miller and Ishua Benjamin who were the best players on the three-point line besides Harrison that Jake was scoring. In this last attack by the NC State Wolfpack team, everyone who was watching the game was nervous to know if this time the Tar Heels team would finally be defeated, the Tar Heels fans at the Dean Smith Center were supporting the team that was playing at home. The NC State Wolfpack team made the attack move very smoothly and with only a few seconds left to start trying to define the move, Jake was concentrating on defending against Harrison and therefore did not even think about trying to steal that move. After a good move by the players of the NC State Wolfpack Miller team ended up being free and received the pass, Williams realized his mistake and tried to go to defense, but Miller still managed to try the shot from outside. Everyone stopped to see if that ball would enter and the NC State Wolfpack team would win the game, luckily for the Tar Heels team the ball did not enter and Jamison caught the rebound for the game to finally end. Miller couldn''t believe he was wrong in that move and the NC State Wolfpack players were frustrated that they didn''t win the game, Jake and the Tar Heels team players celebrated their victory in that difficult game. The Tar Heels team won the game making 93 points against 91 points for the NC State Wolfpack team, Jake was very important for this victory making so many points when his teammates didn''t perform well and Jake was responsible for making Harrison scoreless even though the NC State Wolfpack team managed to score more points otherwise. In that 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 22 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 1 block, with this double-double Jake helped the Tar Heels team to win and can finally relax. "What an exciting game we are watching today, the Tar Heels team was the favorite to achieve victory in that game, but surprisingly the NC State Wolfpack team was doing very well and the poor performance of the Tar Heels team players made this game more exciting." "Jake was decisive for the victory by making 43 points and getting a double-double, he defended well against Harrison and also hindered other players on the NC State Wolfpack team by making 10 steals." "But even so the players of the NC State Wolfpack team were right on the three-point line and that made the game decide in the last seconds with a three-point shot from Jake and then the mistake of the NC State Wolfpack team." "The Tar Heels team still has two more difficult games before the start of the ACC tournament, if the players of the Tar Heels team play so badly it will be difficult for them to continue with this sequence of victories and win the ACC tournament just like last season." The Tar Heels team won the game, but neither the fans nor coach Guthridge were satisfied with this difficult victory against the NC State Wolfpack team, Jake was not happy with that either, but he did not criticize any teammates. After the players returned to the dorms, Jake began to think that maybe Miller had missed the last three-point shot because his luck had helped, he saw that Miller was free and was playing well to make that last move and bring victory to the NC State Wolfpack team. Jake would never know if it was really his luck that helped the Tar Heels team to win, but he was sure that the NC State Wolfpack team deserved to have won that game, he had to have a good performance like that game and hope that his teammates team also played better so that the Tar Heels team could win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. Chapter 407 Training for the Movie 1 The other day Jake was training even more willingly and had also returned to running training for marathons and also for the 10,000 meters sport, as he was in his best physical condition he trained as well as before traveling to Tokyo. If Jake had not told Coach Davis that he had not trained since the marathon, Coach David would have thought that Jake had trained while in Miami, after all, Jake went almost two weeks without training and should have performed poorly. That way he could understand why Jake wanted to increase the intensity of his training and why Jake didn''t mind trying to train when he was in Miami, he knew it wouldn''t make much difference and so he didn''t even try. In the training of the Tar Heels team Jake also tried harder than in other training and this encouraged his teammates to train more, Jamison and Williams even played well in the last game, but Carter failed to perform well and hindered the team. This left Coach Guthridge more relaxed because he realized that the players were becoming inattentive in the games, he was also happy to see that he could count on Jake again and would have no problems until the end of the season. Even though Tar Heels fans and the media had already forgotten that Jake had not participated in a game, the companies that negotiated to sponsor him had not forgotten, with the Lakers'' team David Falk had already closed a verbal agreement. The Lakers were also close to closing the deal with the Los Angeles Clippers team, Nike had no longer responded to David Falk''s request for a better contract, but Adidas was still negotiating and was close to agreeing with Jake''s requests. This made Jake happier with Adidas, he remembered that many times players had career crises and needed the support of sponsors at that moment to be able to recover more easily. This time Jake had not participated in just one game in which his team had won and yet several companies gave up on having an agreement with him, only the companies David had contacted before they continued with the verbal agreement. If the Tar Heels team won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament Jake was sure that these companies would try again for a contract, at that moment Jake would ask for a contract with a much higher value to accept those companies that had given up. Jake knew he had the skills and when he arrived in the NBA, the companies that trusted him and bet on him would have a lot of return in the few years of the contract, and Jake didn''t need the money and just wanted to be recognized for his work as a professional player. While Jake thought about concentrating fully on training his racing and basketball team, something he had forgotten came back to take him by surprise, one of the members of the film he was going to participate in a few months had come to the university. Because of university and also the games with the Tar Heels team that basketball season Jake had to join the film crew for The Matrix a few weeks later, and because of that and because his character had many martial arts scenes that required training to make the film''s directors the Wachowskis asked to send someone to teach him martial arts while he was at university. Jake had naturally accepted it because the Wachowskis were already making an exception by accepting that he later joined with the other actors on the film crew, so fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping was sent to train with Jake. Jake knew many films that Yuen Woo-ping participated in, after all, Jake was a fan of many martial arts films, but Jake didn''t know exactly what he would learn, he knew that it was not any real martial arts but only to fight in the filming. This did not mean it was easier to learn even if it wasn''t an original martial art made for self-defense, then if Jake spoke to Yuen Woo-ping a little he learned that it would be more difficult than he thought because he would have to train with cables wires and he would have to do stunts in the air with safety equipment. Talking to Yuen Woo-ping, Jake learned that many actors ended up getting hurt when doing training in both fight training and cable acrobatics, Jake was confident that his body was much stronger than normal actors, but he still would be careful. Because of that, Jake would have to stop doing running training again because he couldn''t stop going to classes and neither could go to training with the basketball team, as they didn''t have the necessary equipment to do the stunts and training in Corporal Jake would learn all the technique and fighting movements before. Later, when he could leave the university, they would train what Jake had learned in the cables and learn the necessary stunts, as Jake would be the one who needed to fight more in the film, his training would have to be more intense. The other actors had already been trained by Yuen Woo-ping and so he was worried about what Jake''s training would be like, it was usually supposed to be easier because Jake was an athlete, but Jake was too tall and that could make it difficult for him to learn the skills techniques. After all, Jake was 2.01 m and was 15 cm taller than Keanu Reeves, in addition, Jake with 19 years old had a body with many muscles and even if he was not exaggerated it could affect his agility and balance. The other actors have been through martial arts training for more than 3 months with him and worked hard, but he would have less time to train with Jake because he still had to play basketball games during training. In the early days, he would just teach Jake some martial arts moves, so he could learn the moves that would be used in the fights, the moves were real martial arts even if the fights were choreographed. So after a day of training with Jake, Yuen Woo-ping totally changed his mind and started to think that training with Jake would be much easier than he thought, Jake also concentrated and devoted himself a lot to learn the movements as well as the other actors. But Jake learned the movements much more easily than the others, in a few hours he could do almost the same thing as Yuen Woo-ping who was teaching him and with the same agility as him. This left Yuen Woo-ping pleasantly surprised and so he managed to teach Jake even more things from day one, on the second day of training Jake continued to learn quickly, Yuen Woo-ping realized that this way Jake would take less than 2 months to learn everything that the other actors learned over 3 months. Jake also enjoyed learning martial arts with Yuen Woo-ping and was excited about the film, but they had to stop training the other day because the Tar Heels team''s next game had arrived. Jake had also put a lot of effort into training with the basketball team for this game, his teammates were also dedicated and were more confident for this game. This would be another game at home at the Dean Smith Center which gave a great advantage and confidence to the players of the Tar Heels team, the opponent of that game was the Wake Forest team which, even though it was not doing so well in the season, was a difficult opponent for the Tar Heels team. The media spoke again before the game as Team Wake Forest had been the last team that managed to defeat Team Tar Heels last season if Team Wake Forest won that game the media would be very excited about the reports they could do. Of course, Coach Guthridge and not even the players on the Tar Heels team wanted to lose this game, besides Jake and Jamison Coach Guthridge was also one of the most praised, at the beginning of the season nobody believed he was able to replace Coach Dean Smith with the same quality. But in his first season as head coach, the Tar Heels team had not lost a game and they were the favorites to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament again. "Welcome to everyone who came to follow this game of the basketball season at the ACC conference, today the Tar Heels team will play against the Wake Forest team." "The Tar Heels team has been getting better and better with an incredible streak of victories for over 1 year without losing a game, Jake and Jamison have been playing very well this season too and they are the favorites to win again today." "But the Wake Forest team came to win in this game, they are the last team that defeated the Tar Heels team before starting this sequence of victories and they want to win today again." "It''s true, the Tar Heels team is the favorite to win that game today, but if the players on the Tar Heels team perform as badly as they did in the last game it will be difficult for them to win again depending on Jake." Just as commentators said everyone''s concern was the performance of the Tar Heels team players, but Coach Guthridge was confident that the players would perform well because they trained hard in the past few days. Shammond Williams, who was playing well in the last few games, was sent to defend against Tony Rutland, Jake was defending against Robert O''Kelley, so the two main players of the Wake Forest team on the three-point line would be scored. Right at the beginning of the game, Jake took the Tar Heels team to press on the attack, in the last game he had already seen that they didn''t lose because they made a very good 1st half and the opposing team took a long time to recover and so Jake managed to guarantee the victory for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 408 Training for the Movie 2 Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Vince Carter on the left before passing through the middle of the court, Carter did not play well in the last game and was not satisfied with his performance this season. He didn''t have any games this season when he had a great highlight making many points just like Antawn Jamison and Williams had, with Jake so he couldn''t even compare himself. Carter praised her for his performance in several games that helped the team win and in defense too, but he still wanted to have a game scoring more than 35 points as his teammates. Even if he didn''t succeed, he at least wanted to play well for the next games until the end of this season, after all, he was thinking about joining the NBA draft this year and this would be his last season for the Tar Heels team. Carter came forward and passed the ball to Jamison later on the left, Jamison tried to get rid of the opposing defense, but had to stop and pass the ball to Okulaja on the left, Okulaja received the ball and passed it to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and pretended he would try a shot from the outside and advanced with the ball, Jake used his agility and drive to the basket by doing a dunk after passing through all the opposing players on the way and making the first 2 points for the team Tar Heels. Jake was considered a complete player because he could score points on three-point shots and he could also make dunk and layup move with ease, Wake Forest team players were not intimidated and tried to attack. Jake and Williams were defending against the best players on the Wake Forest team outside the three-point line, and Jake was still on the lookout for players who were inside the three-point line if he had the chance Jake would try a steal. After a good move, the ball went to Rutland who was being defended by Williams, Rutland made a feint and managed to take a step back and was free to make the shot from outside to make three more points for the Wake Forest team. After 10 minutes of the 1st half everyone had already realized what was going on in the game, the Tar Heels team players again were not performing well and only Williams was playing better. But the players of the Wake Forest team were also not playing well and the defense of the Tar Heels team was putting pressure, so the players of the Wake Forest team were having trouble getting the points. Jake was playing as well as ever and had already scored 11 points and was helping the Tar Heels team to be winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard, in another play Jake managed to make a steal intercepting a pass from the Wake Forest team. Jake did not use speed and advanced slowly so that his teammates could move forward, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams on the right. Williams advanced the ball to the three-point line and passed to Okulaja further on, Okulaja passed to Jamison on the left and Jamison tried to advance to make a layup, but the Wake Forest defense pressed against him and Jamison had to pass the ball to Jake further back. Jake held the ball and made a high pass to Carter who took the ball high and made a dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, no one saw Carter coming behind the defense of the Wake team Forest and he managed to dunk easily. Jake trained a lot with Jamison and Carter in the basketball team''s training because the two were his best friends on the team, but in the game, he did most of the assists for Jamison who was playing better. Carter was not upset because he knew Jamison was playing better than he was, but to make up for Jake he just made plays like this with Carter who was better at dunking, so the most beautiful moves Jake made with Carter. With the Tar Heels team pressing in attack and defense, the 1st half ended with the Tar Heels team winning with a good advantage against the Wake Forest team, the best players of the Wake Forest team failed to score much with Jake and Williams defending against them and Jake still got a lot of steals. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 17 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 6 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake got 2 more blocks in that game defending against O''Kelley, in his last 5 games Jake got blocks in all games playing against good opponents. "And so the 1st half of the game ends, the Tar Heels team is winning the game with a good advantage as expected, Jake is playing well in attack and also in defense, but not as well as in the last game." "The players of the Tar Heels team are not performing as well as in the last game and that worries the fans and coach Guthridge, soon the ACC tournament will start and the Tar Heels team will not be able to lose any more if they want to become the champion." "Fortunately in this game, the players of the Wake Forest team are not playing as well as the last opposing team of the Tar Heels team, so I find it difficult for the Tar Heels team to lose that game with an advantage like that in the 1st half." Just as commentators said, fans were not too concerned after seeing the 1st half because the Wake Forest team players were not playing very well and Jake was doing well as always. Coach Guthridge was concerned about the upcoming games as well as commentators and sports media, but he saw how the players trained hard in the past few days and were not relaxing at the games. It looked like it was just bad luck that the Tar Heels team players were going through, Coach Guthridge just hoped that this bad luck would end before the ACC tournament started. The Wake Forest team that was losing the game started pressing in the attack against the Tar Heels team, the players of the Tar Heels team were focused on the defense and Williams was defending against Rutland. Jake was defending well against O''Kelley who managed to make only 6 points in the 1st half, but Williams was not so well and the Wake Forest team started trying to attack more with Rutland because of that. In another play, the Wake Forest team made a good play and Rutland received the ball, he made a feint and Williams was deceived, but Rutland did not attempt the shot and passed it to O''Kelley who was far from where Jake was. O''Kelley attempted the three-point shot and Jake arrived quickly and hindered O''Kelley''s attempt, so he missed and Jamison caught the rebound for the Tar Heels team, Jake was always aware and was at a distance that he could try the steal and also hinder O''Kelley. Jamison passed the ball to Jake who advanced for the attack, after passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams was playing well in the game and had already scored 9 points in the 1st half and hoped to help the team more in attack as he was having difficulty defending. Williams passed the ball to Carter from the left before crossing the three-point line, Carter advanced and tried to get rid of the defense and managed to get past one until another opposing player appeared to defend. Carter stopped and passed the ball to Jamison who was on the left, Jamison passed the ball to Jake further back, the Wake Forest defense came to defend against Jake who was free. Jake passed the ball to Williams, who was more open on the right, there was no one defending against Williams who had time to make the shot with ease and make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. With Jake organizing the attacks of the Tar Heels team they managed to increase the advantage on the scoreboard even though the players of the Tar Heels team did not perform well, in defense they had to try harder to guarantee the victory. Jake continued to play well in the 2nd half and defended well against O''Kelley and so the Tar Heels team got the win by making 84 points against 48 points of the Wake Forest team, it was an easy victory in which the two teams don''t play very well and Jake highlighted as always. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 17 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, with another double-double Jake can help the Tar Heels team to win and increase the sequence of games without lose. "The game is over and the Tar Heels team easily wins again, 84 points against Wake Forest team''s 48 points, so the Tar Heels team''s winning streak increases again." "That''s right, in this game the players of the Tar Heels team were not very well and only Jake and Williams performed well, but unlike the last game the players of the Wake Forest team did not perform well either." "So with Jake playing well in attack and defense, the Tar Heels team achieved an excellent victory like this, this is good to give more confidence to the Tar Heels team before the next difficult game that will be the last game before the start of the ACC tournament." "The next opponent is the Duke Blue Devils team, which is the biggest rival of the Tar Heels team, it will be a game as a visitor without the support of the fans and the players of the Tar Heels team will have to have an excellent performance if they want to win." "It is true, even if Jake has another excellent performance it will be difficult to achieve victory if the players of the Tar Heels team do not perform very well, perhaps in the next game we will see the end of the winning streak for the Tar Heels team." Chapter 409 Training for the Movie 3 Coach Guthridge and the Tar Heels team players had the same concern for the next game, but they could do nothing but train hard to get the win, everyone knew they could trust Jake and if everyone worked hard they knew they could win. The Duke Blue Devils team really was the toughest opponent that Jake thought he had in both seasons, it was very difficult games and Jake always had to work hard to get the victory for the Tar Heels team. After returning to university Jake celebrated with his roommates that they were very happy about it, they cheered for the Tar Heels team and were basketball fans, studying at North Carolina University and still being in the same dorm as Jake who was the best player on the Tar Heels team that would go down in history was exciting. Certainly, this would be known as one of the best teams of all time just for this sequence of victories and for having won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament last season and having Jake on the team. They will be able to tell their children in the future about what had happened, Jake also talked to his mother who watched all the games that were on television, Eva had even put up television to watch the games in the restaurant. After this tiring game against the Wake Forest team, Coach Guthridge gave players a day to rest and then it would be two days of intense training before the next game to see if the players would perform better in the next game. Jake was not tired and would use that day to train more with Yuen Woo-ping, Jake continued to learn the movements he would have to use when he was on the cables to do the fights in the film. Arriving in Australia where they would shoot the film Jake and Yuen Woo-ping would join everyone to make the scenes in the fight cables that would be edited for the incredible scenes in the film look as if the characters were flying while fighting. As Yuen Woo-ping knew that Jake learned new moves very quickly he decided to teach Jake several things so he could speed up Jake''s preparation in a few days, just as he hoped Jake really learned everything he taught quickly and Jake can repeat almost perfectly. Jake knew that this was possible because of his intelligence statistics of 63 and also because of his agility, even the technique that gave him a photographic memory helped a lot in learning new things. Jake was patient and just learned everything and repeated what Yuen Woo-ping did and didn''t ask to try to use it as fighting moves, but after classes ended because Yuen Woo-ping was tired Jake asked Yuen Woo-ping if it was possible that he learn some techniques and movements of kung fu or any martial arts. So Yuen Woo-ping taught Jake something he didn''t know, the movements he was learning could be used for self-defense if they were used well because they had elements of martial arts. But it was impossible for Jake to try to casually learn any type of martial arts because it took a long time to train his body to use fighting techniques, it was important to train his hands, arms, and legs to be able to start fighting without having the risk of getting hurt even without being hit. So basically Jake would have to spend a few months training his body before he could start to learn some movements and fighting techniques, the martial arts that use safety equipment or are professional competitions that can be taught without long body training. Yuen Woo-ping even gave examples like in kung fu that masters could defend themselves from strong kicks and blows using only their hands, kung fu masters had to train their hands for years to do this, otherwise, they would break hands when defending themselves of a kick, in addition to the techniques necessary to do this. Judo was a martial art that could be used without body training just to learn a few moves, but to become a master you would have to train your body the same way, and time to do that was something Jake didn''t have. Jake thought that because his body was stronger than ordinary people because of his statistics and because of the system he was embarrassed to underestimate the martial arts, of course, if Jake trained like the others did he would get better results more easily. After two days Jake started doing some training with Yuen Woo-ping, Yuen Woo-ping said that this way Jake could learn more easily how to do the movements he had learned and that he would have to do hanging on the cables afterward. During the training sessions between the two Jake missed several moves he had learned and if it was a real fight he would be attacked several times by Yuen Woo-ping, but just as Yuen Woo-ping said, Jake felt he was learning better the moves he had seen in the past few days training with Yuen Woo-ping. What Jake didn''t know was that Yuen Woo-ping was really impressed after training with him, just doing a light Sparring that Yuen Woo-ping can see the strength and agility that Jake had. Yuen Woo-ping saw that Jake was not only quick to make the moves but also had very fast reflexes and his reaction speed was very fast, so Jake was not hit by several strokes that he should have hit. And Jake just deflected what was more difficult than defending using techniques, as Yuen Woo-ping had said Jake could already defend himself from someone who didn''t know how to use martial arts only with what he learned in the last few days and using his reflex. Of course, next month Jake still had a lot to learn and Yuen Woo-ping was excited to see what Jake''s character in the movie The Matrix would look like, after all, Jake should be one of the ones who fought the most after the main character, and by the training, it would seem that Jake fought better than the main character. After training with Yuen Woo-ping and also two days with the basketball team, the day of the last game of the season came before the ACC tournament started, this was the last game that the Tar Heels team could lose without being eliminated from a tournament. After that, the Tar Heels team would have the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament and could not even lose any more games, that would be good because the other teams would have the same pressure as the Tar Heels team to not be able to lose any games. The players of the Tar Heels team were no longer so confident even though they had trained a lot since the last game, in the last two games the players were rested and focused on the game and yet some players did not perform well. Williams and Okulaja were not so concerned about that because Williams had played well in the last games and Okulaja was doing well in defense which was his biggest responsibility on the team, Jamison still had good performances in those last games. Carter was the one who was most concerned about this even with Coach Guthridge and Jake saying that he still helped the team a lot by making more than 10 points per game, yet everyone besides Jake was concerned. In this game they would have to worry about the defense also because the Duke Blue Devils team knows how to take advantage of the plays outside the three-point line, even though in the last game between them Jake and Williams had defended well, it was still a risk that they had to worry about. With that game as a visitor still and against the Duke Blue Devils team that was second in the ACC conference with just one defeat it would be a difficult game to win and Jake was concerned about that. "Welcome to another game here this season at the ACC conference, this is the second game between these great rivals, the Tar Heels team and the team Duke Blue Devils." "In the first game the two were almost tied for first place at the ACC conference and the Tar Heels team had this winning streak, everyone expected a difficult game to happen and the Duke Blue Devils team could win and stay in first." "But what happened was that Jake and Jamison had an excellent game and it was an easy win with a big advantage for the Tar Heels team at the Dean Smith Center, so this game here Cameron Indoor Stadium could be the rematch for the Duke Blue Devils team." "Another important detail is that the Duke Blue Devils team has not beaten the Tar Heels team since 1993 when they won that year''s NCAA title, 5 years ago from that game and there were 10 straight victories for the Tar Heels team." "But the Tar Heels team also doesn''t want to lose in this game, Jake and Jamison have been playing well all season and will try to guarantee the victory for the Tar Heels team in that game and further increase their winning streak." Just as Coach Guthridge asked the team they started pressing on the attack, even though their defense was praised, Tar Heels'' strength was the attack, Jake could score more than 30 points in almost every game and the team still had Jamison, Carter, and Williams who were also incredible attacking players. So with Jake commanding the team at the beginning of the game they were willing to attack, in a play Jake passed the ball to Carter from the left after passing through the middle of the court, Carter was eager to make a good game that day and advanced with the ball. Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison from the left, Jamison did not hold the ball back to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and then attempted a shot from outside of the three-point line and making 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 410 Training for the Movie 4 The Duke Blue Devils team did not expect the Tar Heels team to start putting so much pressure on the attack playing as a visitor and knowing they needed to win, and even if they knew it was difficult to stop the Tar Heels attack this season. So, in addition to reinforcing the defense, the Duke Blue Devils team knew they needed to attack if they wanted to have a chance to win in that game, the strength of this team was the three-point play and the fact that the whole team attacked together and everyone had the quality to attack and defend. They had no main players that stood out much more than the others and even those in the reserve could decide an important game, it was because of that style of play that everyone was important that the Duke Blue Devils team always had a team strong. So the Tar Heels team was also prepared to defend this game against this difficult opponent, Jake was not defending against anyone in this 1st half of the game and was just watching if someone would perform better and so he would defend against that person. Jake only defended against the best players in the three-point line, but the truth was that when he didn''t defend against anyone he sometimes played better because he could defend against more opponents even if he couldn''t block by playing like that. In another play the Duke Blue Devils team was attacking, after a good play in which the Tar Heels defense could not keep up with the left ball for Roshown McLeod, Jake was defending on the left side and so McLeod was free to try the outside shot to making 3 more points for the Duke Blue Devils team. The Duke Blue Devils team still tried to react by making a good game in the attack, but with Jake and Jamison leading the attack of the Tar Heels team it was difficult for the Duke Blue Devils team to defend or lessen the advantage on the scoreboard. In another move Jake advanced the ball even before the three-point line and passed to Williams on the right, Williams was also fine in that 1st half of the game, but he couldn''t score much because Jake was attacking more with Jamison and Carter. Williams passed the ball to Okulaja further down the right, Okulaja tried to advance the ball to try to enter the painted area, but the Duke Blue Devils team''s defense was strong in the painted area. So Okulaja had to stop and pass the ball farther back to Jake in the middle, when Jake took the ball the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team went to defend by the side of Jamison and Carter, Williams was open on the right and Okulaja was more in the middle. Seeing this, Jake made a feint and tricked the opponent by advancing on the almost empty right, the defense players of the Duke Blue Devils team realized this and some players on the left went to the right trying to defend against Jake. Jake moved forward with speed and when he found Trajan Langdon he did a quick crossover and managed to get rid of Langdon going through the middle, Jake made a mess in the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team who sent another player to defend against Jake. Jake didn''t try to go any further when he saw that more players from the Duke Blue Devils team came to defend against him and passed the ball to Carter further down the left, with the players who came to defend against Jake and the player who was defending against Jamison, Carter can receive the ball freely and make a dunk to cheer up teammates and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. With Jake''s leadership in the strong attack of the Tar Heels team they ended the 1st half by winning the game with a big advantage on the scoreboard, with that advantage unless the players of the Tar Heels team made a mistake they would easily win that game. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and had 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 6 steals, Jake was satisfied with the performance of his teammates in that game and everyone was trying as hard as they could to bring victory for the Tar Heels team. "What a great performance from the Tar Heels team players in this game, everyone is playing well and Jamison returned to playing well with 12 points until that point in the game, Jake is having an easier time organizing the attacks in that game and he himself scored 16 points in the 1st half of the game." "The players on the Duke Blue Devils team also performed well, but they made a lot of mistakes and Jake even hindered the Duke Blue Devils team by making 6 steals, so they scored fewer points than the Tar Heels team." "It is true, but this result does not decide the game, I could see that some players on the Tar Heels team ended up tired this 1st half because of the intensity of the last games and because of the pressure as well." "The Duke Blue Devils team still has a chance of winning the game even with the Tar Heels team having such a great advantage at the end of the 1st half, the players of the Duke Blue Devils team have the skill and because the reserves play well in the game the initial players they''re not that tired." "I don''t think so, from what we are seeing in this game if Jake continues to play well and the defense of the Tar Heels team plays well the victory is guaranteed, Jake usually has more than 30 points in all games, so he should get another 14 points at least and there are his teammates." The commentators were divided in that game as well as all the sports media were, this was because some wanted to see the Tar Heels team lose to the Duke Blue Devils team before the start of the ACC tournament and others wanted to see the Tar Heels team continue to win until they won again the NCAA tournament this season. It would be a very good story for reporters to see the defeat of the Tar Heels team and the end of their winning streak without achieving the record that they so wanted to be the second team with the longest winning streak in history. That''s because both fans of the Tar Heels team and fans of other teams and basketball, in general, bought the magazines and newspapers with this news, after all, everyone in the media knew that a story of failure had more impact than a story of success. And there were other members of the media who wanted to see the Tar Heels team win until the NCAA tournament, because then they would have an exciting story about one of the best teams in the history of college basketball who would have managed to win two ACC tournaments and two NCAA tournaments in a row and with a sequence of more than 60 games without losing. Of course, Jake and the Tar Heels team players wanted to see the Tar Heels team win and so they intended to continue with that advantage on the scoreboard until they won this important game, and the Duke Blue Devils players would love to win that game and end that rival record. At the beginning of the 2nd half, everyone could see that the Duke Blue Devils team returned to try to win by pressing in the attack, the players of the Tar Heels team recovered in the interval, but were still much more tired than the opponents. What impressed everyone was how Jake defended on the three-point line by putting pressure on three different players from the Duke Blue Devils team and because of that the three always remained in different positions in the attack so that Jake could not defend against the three. In another attacking move, the Duke Blue Devils team managed to make a good move and again the three players on the Duke Blue Devils three-point line separated so that Jake could not defend against all of them. But the defense of the Tar Heels team was not only Jake and also had Williams and Carter defending on the three-point line against the three opposing players, but this also hindered the Duke Blue Devils attack move and made them lose time in possession ball. So with a few seconds left the ball was passed to McLeod, Jake went to defend against him so as not to risk being caught by surprise, so McLeod passed the ball to Langdon who had Williams defending against him. Langdon used the skill to get some space to try the shot and hit to make 3 more points for the Duke Blue Devils team, the players of the Tar Heels team were not affected by these three points of the opponent and continued the game smoothly. This great advantage that they had on the scoreboard helped them to be able to play more calmly with less pressure even with everything that was happening to them and playing as a visitor, on the contrary, the Duke Blue Devils team had to make three-point plays because only then they had a chance to win the game. And because of that more than half of their attacks ended up being wasted, the players of the Tar Heels team also started to miss more moves in the 2nd half and so the Duke Blue Devils team saw the opportunity to try to win. The biggest problem was that Jake hardly missed attacks and the Tar Heels team also had very good players in catching offensive rebounds, so some of his mistakes could come back for another chance with a rebound. In another move Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Williams from the right, Williams was performing well in that game too and was satisfied with his team''s victory so far. Williams slowly advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Okulaja further on the right, Okulaja held the ball and passed it back to Carter on the left, Carter passed the ball to Jake quickly through the middle. The Duke Blue Devils players pressed the defense against Jake and Jamison too, Jake signaled and Carter returned to make a screen and hinder the Duke Blue Devils player who was on defense. So Jake can go to the left and calmly try the shot from outside to hit and make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, with Jake and Williams hitting the three-point shots it was more difficult for the Duke Blue Devils team to win. Chapter 411 Training for the Movie 5 Because of the defense of the Tar Heels team that was well in the game and with the good attack of the Tar Heels team, the Duke Blue Devils team was having difficulty to diminish the advantage that the Tar Heels team had in the game. Even so with the good game in the 2nd half of the Duke Blue Devils players and several mistakes by the Tar Heels team players they managed to diminish the advantage, but with less than 10 minutes left in the game they realized they would not be able to win any more in that game. The players of the Tar Heels team also realized this and were able to relax even more and managed to play even better without so much pressure, the only problem was the fatigue of the players and also because the Duke Blue Devils team did not give up the victory. Even so, the Tar Heels team players continued to run really tired because they knew they would have more than 5 days to rest before the next game in the ACC tournament, so the game continued to be exciting even though the Tar Heels team had a good lead on the scoreboard. In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed the middle of the court and passed the ball to Carter from the left, Carter was playing well in that game even though he couldn''t score as many points as Jake and Jamison. Carter advanced until after the three-point line and passed the ball to Williams on the right, Williams was open on the right and the defense did not press because Williams did not try so many shots from outside when he played with Jake. Williams passed the ball to Jamison on the left and the Duke Blue Devils team''s defense immediately put pressure on him, Jamison tried the play and seeing that he couldn''t move forward, he passed the ball to Jake who was coming back in the middle. Jake was within the three-point line and had freedom because he had tricked a defender before receiving the ball, other players on the Duke Blue Devils team soon came to defend against Jake and he signaled to Carter. Carter understood that Jake wanted to make the same move as the 1st half and came to make the screen, Carter hindered the player who was defending against Jake, so he can advance to the right and soon some players approached Jake to prevent him from making the mid-range shot. What nobody expected was that Jake made a high pass for Carter to take the top and make a dunk and complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, after making the screen the defender who was defending against Carter went to defend against Jake so that Carter can enter the painted area alone and Jake did alley-oop with him. This was a move that they trained a lot in the training of the basketball team, both knew that sometimes the opposing players would prefer to defend against Jake and so Carter would be free to do the dunk, in the 1st half it didn''t happen and Jake took advantage of the space and hit the three-point shot. With Jake playing so well and the Tar Heels team players were also performing well even though they were more tired, with the team so they managed to win this game more. The Tar Heels team won the game by making 82 points against Duke Blue Devils'' 72 points, with this victory the Tar Heels team had a sequence of 55 victories in a row, the players celebrated this a lot because they thought the greatest pressure they had decreased. The Tar Heels team still had to win all the remaining games to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament, but all the teams had the same pressure on them and that would no longer be a problem for the players. In that 2nd half, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 14 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 6 steals, with Jake''s triple-double in that game he helped the Tar Heels team win this game that they would have lost if he didn''t was playing like he did before Jake went back in time. "And so another game of the season ends this year, the last game at the ACC conference before the start of the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels team achieved another good victory in this difficult game and thus managed to increase the sequence of victories for their team." "This is very good because after this game all the opposing teams will also have the pressure of having to win because they will be eliminatory games and a defeat means the elimination of the ACC tournament." "Players on the Tar Heels team will have more than 5 days to rest before the first game of the ACC tournament, so players can recover completely and if they play as well as today it is possible for them to win that game." "It''s true, the players of the Duke Blue Devils team played very well in that game and made it one of the most difficult games for the Tar Heels team to win this season, but with Jake''s defense very strong and also Jake, Jamison, Williams, and Carter in the attack it was difficult for them to win this game." "But we can see how the players on the Tar Heels team have a problem with their physical condition after several games in a row except for Jake, so if those teams face each other in the ACC tournament, another exciting game that the Duke Blue Devils team can achieve can happen. the victory." Everyone could see that in this game even the players of the Tar Heels team performing well had it not been for Jake they would have lost this game, the physical condition of the players was a problem because everyone had to play many minutes in every game because the coach Guthridge was unable to place the reserves and risk the team losing the game. In the reserve they had Makhtar N''Diaye who could be considered one of the main players of the team, the team also had Ed Cota who played very well and the young Brendan Haywood who had a good performance in training. The problem was that N''Diaye and Haywood were players who had more defensive characteristics and that was contrary to the Tar Heels team''s playing style this season, and Ed Cota who could be a starting player on any team couldn''t get in because his highlight it was the assists that Jake did even better than he did. If Ed Cota was still a player like Shammond Williams who scored a lot of points he could join Jake to help the team by making assists and points, but as he was not very skilled at scoring a lot of points he had no place on the team this season. What Coach Guthridge thought was the same as Jake thought that these players would be very important in the next seasons with Team Tar Heels when Jake, Jamison, Williams, and Carter left. Brendan Haywood would be one of the best players on the Tar Heels team for the next seasons and Ed Cota would also lead the team for his next two years at the university, the problem was that on this team they had no place to play. Coach Guthridge was concerned that the Tar Heels team would have three games in a row if they reached the final of the ACC tournament and they thought the players would not be able to take those games in a row. When Jake was considering joining the Tar Heels team to leave Cameron Indoor Stadium for them to return to the university, a reporter stopped Jake and asked to do a quick interview with him. Jake usually didn''t accept doing interviews, but after a good game and before the ACC tournament he was in a very good mood and agreed to do the interview with this reporter when Jake accepted he realized that the reporter didn''t seem to expect him to accept, but soon prepared the questions. "Mr. Smith, the Tar Heels team has been having one of the best seasons in the team''s history and after that game, there are 55 games without losing, what do you feel about being part of a team that will surely be known in history?" "I am very happy with this, it is an important moment in my career and I am happy to be in this team with my teammates, we always make our greatest effort in the games and that is why we are achieving this sequence of incredible games." "Many members of the media and even basketball fans say that you are the best player on the current Tar Heels team and one of the best college basketball players in history, what do you think about that?" "I''m happy when I get compliments from the sports media and Tar Heels team fans and basketball in general, but I don''t think I can say I''m the best player on my team, we have a good team and I have good teammates that if they can''t play a game for some reason the game would be much more difficult." "I myself could not participate in a game and my team still managed to win showing that they do not depend on me to win, I believe that I am the best of my team and maybe in the whole College basketball playing as PG, but my teammates stand out in other positions as well." The reporter was intelligent and asked questions that everyone wanted to know and that he knew Jake would not refuse to answer and also always asked the question indirectly so that Jake could easily give an answer that would not offend anyone as he was doing. "And what do you think the Tar Heels team can achieve this season? Do you expect to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament again?" "For sure, I believe that our team has the quality to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament and we will do our best to win, our goal is to win and I believe we are able to achieve that." Jake did a quick interview and the reporter thanked him several times for his attention, Jake had said some things that could irritate some players and some teams, but he really had confidence that they would win and if the Tar Heels team really won he wouldn''t be called an arrogant. Chapter 412 Training for the Movie 6 The Tar Heels team players went back to the university and nobody had seen Jake doing that interview, Coach Guthridge knew that the team was prepared for the ACC tournament and so he gave everyone a two-day rest. Afterward, they still had three more days to prepare before the first game of the ACC tournament, Jake would naturally not come home on those rest days and would only train with Yuen Woo-ping and also train with the basketball team after the rest. Jake still had a lot to learn before the movie started, even if he learned all the martial arts moves that he would have to use in the movie he would take a long time to train using that move so he wouldn''t make mistakes when using the cables. So Yuen Woo-ping taught Jake the movements for a few hours and then trained with Jake for a few hours so that he could better learn what Yuen Woo-ping had taught him. The most important thing was that it was difficult for Jake to do a Sparring with Yuen Woo-ping? because the most important thing was not just to make the movements correctly and use the strength he had, Jake had to learn how to fight with Yuen Woo-ping using movements really hurt Yuen Woo-ping. After all, he was an actor and the moves were more to pretend to the audience that they were having an exciting fight, but Jake couldn''t really hit a blow because he could hurt the other actors. At most, they could use some moves that could be easily defended and would not hurt much and these blows Jake could hit to bring more realism to the film, seeing this Jake discovered the truth about some of the films he liked most and saw that maybe learning arts martial arts were not as cool as he thought before. What Jake didn''t know was that Yuen Woo-ping was really impressed by his talent, Yuen Woo-ping was thinking that in other films that he participated in as a director he could invite Jake to participate in the film because Jake was able to make a film as if he were a martial arts master. There were some films that they had a hard time using foreign actors because foreign actors who knew how to fight couldn''t fight the same martial arts that Yuen Woo-ping used in his films, so someone tall and talented like Jake was an excellent candidate to do one antagonist and a villain someday. Of course, he knew that it was impossible for Jake to go to China or other places to participate in the filming of a film without the director of the film making a good plan beforehand, but to have Jake in the film he could organize part of the recording for being in the United States and in a few months that Jake had time. After all, there were many fight films in which the film''s villain did not appear until the end of the film and only fought the main character, of course, they would have to wait a few years for this to happen and Jake would have to train more because it would be difficult find a double that looks like him. So Jake continued training with Yuen Woo-ping and it looked like he could easily join the film crew in Australia and not have to worry about the fight scenes he would have to do. After two days of rest, the Tar Heels team players went back to training, that day also came out the article that showed the interview that Jake had done, Jake read and was pleased to see that the reporter had written everything exactly as he said and did not distort his words. Even though Jake tried to make only statements about things that were reality trying to show his humility, many basketball players and teams did not like the part of the story that Jake had talked about them. He naturally hoped that there were people who would not like what he had to say, the most important thing was that Tar Heels fans who were concerned about the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament were able to relax more after watching this interview. The players had also been happy to see in the story that Jake really trusted the team, they had less pressure with the ACC tournament starting and those two days of rest can prepare players for the next games. The players did not do any intense training in the next few days because they would have three games in three days in a row without a day off and everyone knew that it would be difficult to maintain their best physical condition. So in the next few days, Jake continued training with the Tar Heels team and also with Yuen Woo-ping, in a few more weeks they would finish training for the cable fights and also train for the fights they would normally have. After all, it was not in all the fight scenes in the film that Jake and the other actors would be put on a cable to make movements impossible to make without this equipment, they would also have scenes of struggles as in any action film and Jake would have to learn to do these scenes correctly. After almost a week of training came the day of the Tar Heels team''s first game at the ACC tournament, just as last season would be three games on three consecutive days and the games would be at the Greensboro Coliseum. The opponent of that game would be the NC State Wolfpack team that was a tough opponent in the last game between them, in addition, it was the NC State Wolfpack team that was the opponent in the final of the ACC tournament last season. Even though the Tar Heels team players were confident in this game because they were in great physical condition, they still respected their opponents and knew that this was going to be a game and that they had to concentrate. The Tar Heels team had to win this game if they wanted to win the ACC tournament and continue with the winning streak, Jake was very focused and knew that in this game he had to have a great performance if he wanted to guarantee the victory of the Tar Heels team. "Welcome to everyone who is here to follow this incredible game this season at College basketball, today''s game is the first game of the most disputed tournament of all the ACC conferences." "The Tar Heels team that won last season has been doing an impressive season and is breaking records with this current team that has incredible players like Jake Smith and Antawn Jamison who are vying to see who is the best player this season." "The opposing team in this game is the NC State Wolfpack team, it is the third game between these two teams that played in the final of the ACC tournament last season that the Tar Heels team won, in the last game the NC State Wolfpack team also impressed by making the Tar Heels team suffer to win." "We will follow this game to find out which team will win and continue in the ACC tournament." The Tar Heels team soon started strong in the game by pressing in the attack, Coach Guthridge did not underestimate the opponent and asked the Tar Heels team to press in the attack from the beginning and that Jake organized the plays to try to keep the players from getting too tired. Coach Guthridge''s idea was that if the Tar Heels team played a good game in the 1st half, they would place the reserves to play for longer and thus let the starting players rest for the next game that would be the next day. Naturally, if the game was difficult he would leave the team complete, after all, they had to win this game against the NC State Wolfpack team in order to play the next game in the ACC tournament the next day. In the first few minutes of the game, Jake realized that Carter was not performing well in that game and could not score, so Jake decided that he would talk to Coach Guthridge about it at the end of the 1st half. In the 1st half, Carter could still help the team by attracting the attention of the defensive players of the NC State Wolfpack team, in another play Jake advanced the ball and passed to Carter on the left before the three-point line. Carter did not know that Jake had decided not to make assists for him and thought to help the team, Carter tried the feint and could not get rid of the opposing player, so Carter passed the ball to Jamison who was further ahead on the left. Jamison also tried to get rid of the defense and advance to the painted area, but as he couldn''t pass the ball to Jake who was further back in the middle, Jake received the ball and soon stepped back and tried an outside shot to make three more points for the Tar Heels team. Jake had decided that he would try his best performance in all games to guarantee the victory of the Tar Heels team until they won the NCAA tournament, so he did not hesitate to try the three-point shot when he was free. In this game the players of the NC State Wolfpack team were not playing very well as they did in the last game against the Tar Heels team, Jake was defending against Clint Harrison just in case and was also defending against other players in the three-point line. In another move the NC State Wolfpack team was trying another attack and after a good move the ball went to Harrison, Jake was away from him to defend against other players and he tried the shot from outside and Jake moved quickly and still managed the block. What the basketball experts always said was that Jake''s strong point was that he was very talented, it wasn''t his three-point shot, but his speed, that speed helped him defend well and attack quickly without adversaries could not prevent. In that move Jake was far from where Harrison was when he attempted the shot from outside, but when Harrison started the three-point shot Jake approached quickly and still managed to block and end the NC State Wolfpack team''s attack. Chapter 413 1998 ACC Tournament 1 In another attacking move by the NC State Wolfpack team, Jake also took advantage of his speed when he landed a steal by intercepting a pass from the NC State Wolfpack team and advancing into the attack. Everyone knew Jake''s speed and his passing interception was known to all teams since he had an average of more than 10 steals per game, so when Jake ran for the attack with full speed only the player who missed pass tried to come back to defend. Jake ran very fast and when he reached the painted area on the NC State Wolfpack team to score the points, the NC State Wolfpack player was not even close to the three-point line, so Jake went forward and dunk to score two more points for the team. Tar Heels. Without Jake needing to say Coach Guthridge had also already realized that Carter was not doing well in this game, he knew Jake very well and knew why Jake was not passing the ball to Carter in the 1st half of the game. Even so, Coach Guthridge was satisfied with the performance of the rest of the team, the Tar Heels team had a big advantage on the scoreboard and Jake was controlling the pace of the game so that the players of the Tar Heels team did not get tired in the game. With the good performance of Jake and also Jamison who was well in that game, the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half of the game, winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard, with the NC State Wolfpack team not playing well they had more confidence to win this game. In this 1st half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 17 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals, as the NC State Wolfpack team was not playing so well and Jake was keeping the game pace slower he didn''t do that much points even though he was mainly responsible for the advantage on the Tar Heels team score. "So the Tar Heels team ends this 1st half by winning the game with a good lead on the scoreboard, the Tar Heels team clearly had the upper hand in the 1st half of the game and so they can win that game much more easily." "The NC State Wolfpack team is not able to perform as well as it did in the last game against the Tar Heels team, in this game the defense of the Tar Heels team is preventing the players of the NC State Wolfpack team from attacking correctly." "Jake Smith is playing very well again and it seems that as soon as the Tar Heels team got the advantage he kept on attacking, but he made the plays more slowly so that his teammates wouldn''t get tired." "It''s true, coach Guthridge has already let the other players besides Jake rest for a few minutes in the 1st half to be in good physical condition in the next games if the Tar Heels team wins." "This could be the opportunity for the NC State Wolfpack team to try to win, the way things are they have no chance of winning this game, so they could try to put pressure on the offense and defense when the reserve players of the Tar Heels team were on the court." The coach of the NC State Wolfpack team had realized that Coach Guthridge was trying to preserve the Tar Heels team players and told the NC State Wolfpack team players to press forward and attack. Coach Guthridge decided to leave Carter in reserve for most of the 2nd half and put Ed Cota in his place, Brendan Haywood and Makhtar N''Diaye would also enter the 2nd half so that Jamison, Williams, and Okulaja could rest. Naturally, the players took turns and so the Tar Heels team did not have many reserve players on the court at the same time, so they returned to play in the 2nd half and the Tar Heels team still defended and attacked the same way. The players on the NC State Wolfpack team pressed on the attack and defense, but even if they managed to defend several times they also wasted a lot of attacks because the players on the NC State Wolfpack team were not performing well. And even if the defense of the NC State Wolfpack team put a lot of pressure, the players of the Tar Heels team had the quality to attack even with the defense of the opposing team putting pressure, as well as Jake''s three-point shots and the points of the other players in the team. Tar Heels continued to maintain a good advantage. In that game, Ademola Okulaja was having a very good performance and so Jake was passing the ball more to him, in another play the NC State Wolfpack team had managed to make the points and the Tar Heels team started the attack. Jake advanced with the ball and passed the ball to Ed Cota on the left, Cota advanced with the ball and before the three-point line he passed the ball to Jamison further on the left, Jamison received the ball and tried the individual play. The opponent pressed well in defense against Jamison and so Jamison had to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball with freedom and tried the three-point shot and missed, so Okulaja managed to catch the rebound and made the 2 points for the Tar Heels team. So the game continued and the lead did not diminish much, it seemed that the players of the NC State Wolfpack team were waiting for Jake to leave the court to attack, but Jake did not want to leave the court and Coach Guthridge would not take him away in this important game. The game continued like this until the end of the team Tar Heels won the game making 85 points against 40 points of the NC State Wolfpack team, the coach Guthridge was satisfied with this comfortable victory in which he had managed to spare the players who were not so tired. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals, in that game in which coach Guthridge let the players rest Jake was unable to a double-double, but he played very well. "The game is over and the Tar Heels team gets one more victory of the season and moves on to the second phase of the ACC tournament, the next phase can be called the semifinal and if the Tar Heels team wins the next game they will go to the final again." "The Tar Heels team players performed well in that game and managed to attack and defend well, Jake played very well and as he always led the team to victory, only Carter did not perform well in that game, but he was the starting player who played less time in that game." "The players of the NC State Wolfpack team did not perform well and the difference in skill between the two teams is very large, so the NC State Wolfpack team had no chance of winning that game." "We will continue to follow the next games to see if the Tar Heels team can win the ACC tournament this season again." After that victory the players of the Tar Heels team were much more confident, even Carter who did not perform well was even more motivated to play well in the next game against the Maryland Terrapins team. Jake was concerned about this game that would be very difficult for the Tar Heels team, but he didn''t think he needed to let Coach Guthridge know about it because everyone knew how important this game was for the Tar Heels team. Jake only knew that in this game it was impossible to let some players rest thinking about the game in the final, they had to work even harder in this game to have a chance to go to the final and try to win the ACC tournament. As the game would be the next day they would not have time to train or rest after that game, so they would not even return to the university until the ACC tournament was over. After resting for one night the day of the next game in the ACC tournament had arrived, luckily the players of the Tar Heels team were not that tired and the opposing teams could not be much better than they were in physical condition. The players of the Tar Heels team were confident to achieve victory in that game, everyone had forgotten the pressure they felt about having to keep winning just because of the winning streak and just thought about winning the game and then winning the ACC tournament and they knew it was the same with their opponent. The opponent of that game was the Maryland Terrapins team that was doing very well this season and was in third place in the ACC tournament, because of that the players of the Tar Heels team and the coach Guthridge knew they could not underestimate the opponent. Coach Guthridge didn''t even talk about letting any player rest and just told the players to do their best and win the game, Jake was thinking about how he could play in that game to win more easily. "Welcome to everyone who will follow this ACC tournament game with us again, it will be a game between the Tar Heels team and the Maryland Terrapins team, two strong ACC conference teams that will make a great game." "The favorite to win this game is the Tar Heels team, with 56 victories in a row and without losing a single game in the season, the Tar Heels team that has Jake Smith and Antawn Jamison is certainly the favorite to win this game today." "But the Maryland Terrapins team also has a lot of chances to win in that game, as the team that came in third at the ACC conference they are one of the teams that few would be surprised if they won that game." "That''s right, I think the Tar Heels team will win this game, if Jake has a great performance as he has been doing all season and the other players on the Tar Heels team play well the victory will certainly be on the Tar Heels team." Soon the game started and the Tar Heels team started putting pressure on the attack, they knew this was going to be a difficult game so Jake thought it was better to start attacking well to get the advantage on the scoreboard in this 1st half and thus have an easier game later. Chapter 414 1998 ACC Tournament 2 This was actually the strategy that the Tar Heels team used in most games this season, but as they had won all games this season it showed how good that strategy was. Even so, it looked like the Maryland Terrapins players expected the Tar Heels team to do that and they pushed on defense too, so if the Tar Heels players were playing well in that game Jake would have it easier. Jake advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Williams from the right, Williams received the ball and the Maryland Terrapins team''s defense soon pressed, so Williams passed the ball to Jake who was in the middle. Jake was quick and as soon as he got the ball and made a quick pass to Okulaja who received the ball with freedom inside, so Okulaja just advanced and made the layup and made the first 2 points for the Tar Heels team. The defense of the opposing teams used to ignore Okulaja in attack during the games because Okulaja was one of the players who scored fewer points in the Tar Heels team, so they defended more against Jamison and Carter within the three-point line. But Jake thought of moving to Okulaja because in the last game Okulaja had a good offensive performance and so Jake felt that he could count on him in the attack and further complicate things for the defense of the Maryland Terrapins team. After a few minutes of play, Jake could see that the Tar Heels team players were performing well in that game and he was more relieved, so he was more confident of victory even if the opponent performed well. And this was also happening, the players of the Maryland Terrapins team were playing very well both in attack and defense, it seems that they had made a special strategy to play against the Tar Heels team because the ball did not pass very often near Jake. As the opponent had no player who was playing so well Jake was on the three-point line without defending against just one player and only defending against who could attempt the shot from outside. But with the Maryland Terrapins team playing like that Jake knew he wouldn''t make as many steals as he did in the last few games and so the Maryland Terrapins team would be able to score more points, of course with the players playing far from where Jake was, their attack options were limited. In another move, the Maryland Terrapins team made a good attack and the players were far from where Jake was, only one player was in the middle for Jake to defend against him, of course, Williams still defended outside the three-point line and inside the line of three points, the defense of the Tar Heels team was even stronger. Laron Profit received the ball from the left and advanced after getting rid of Okulaja''s defense, he tried a mid-range shot and scored 2 more points for the Maryland Terrapins team, the Maryland Terrapins team players had the quality to make plays like these and manage to make the stitches. After that move, the Tar Heels team attacked again, Jake advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Carter from the left, Carter seemed quite excited to have a good performance in that game. Carter was very upset by the poor performance he had in the last game and knew that maybe he had been left in reserve for longer because Coach Guthridge could be starting to lose confidence in him. Jake could feel that Carter was thinking like that and he also saw that Carter seemed to be performing well in that game, so he decided that he would make more plays with Carter to make more assists and help his friend gain confidence for the next games. Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Williams who was on the right, unlike Carter, Williams was very confident at this end of the season, in almost every game he had a good performance and knew he was an important player in team now. Williams passed the ball to Jamison on the left ahead, Jamison tried to make the move getting rid of the defense and failed, so Jamison passed the ball further back to Jake in the middle. Jake moved forward and made a quick move getting rid of the player who was defending against him, Jake advanced and the Maryland Terrapins team''s defense was to try to defend against him, when two players went to defend against him Jake passed the ball to Carter from the left. Carter received the ball and advanced quickly to make the dunk and get 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, in this game the defense of the Maryland Terrapins team, even though he was strong, had difficulty defending against the Tar Heels team because all the players were having a good time performance. Jake was a great PG because everyone knew that he could easily score more than 30 points in a game himself, so whenever he got the ball outside the three-point line or within the three-point line the defense of the opposing team had to defend against him. Most of the time they had to have more than one player defending against him, Ed Cota was as good as Jake in assists, but Cota wasn''t good at scoring a lot of points in games, so he didn''t attract many players to defend against him and he had more difficult to get assistance. The two teams continued to play very well, but with Jake organizing great attacks, the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half by winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard, if the game continued like this the Tar Heels team would go to the final of the ACC tournament again. In this 1st half, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake took advantage of the good performance of his teammates to make many assists and because of the Maryland Terrapins team avoiding attacking near him, he didn''t do many steals. "Thus ends the 1st half of the game, so far this has been a very exciting game with both teams playing very well and having a game played, the Tar Heels team was winning with a good advantage because with Jake organizing the plays the team Tar Heels does not miss many attacks." "The Maryland Terrapins team seems to have done something to try to avoid Jake''s steals and blocks, they did it well in the 1st half, but because of that the players got more tired and they lost some attacks because the defense of the Tar Heels team has others players besides Jake." "If the game continues as it is, the Tar Heels team has a good chance of winning that game and they are really the favorites to get the win, with Jake playing well it will be difficult for the Maryland Terrapins team to get a reaction." "But the Maryland Terrapins team has also played a good game and they have a lot of chances of winning the game and ending the winning streak for the Tar Heels team." The players of the Tar Heels team were more confident after finishing winning the 1st half well, so they continued to attack since the beginning of the 2nd half, but the Maryland Terrapins team that had to attack started to press on the attack to try to win. So the two teams started to attack without thinking about defending so well, in other games this could be dangerous for the Tar Heels team, but with the players of the Tar Heels team having a good performance, this made the advantage on the scoreboard not diminish. In another attacking move by the Tar Heels team Jake advanced until after the middle of the court and passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter advanced with the ball and passed to Jamison on the left. Jamison did not try to advance and held the ball until he passed back to Jake, Jake received the ball and soon saw that he had some space, so Jake stepped back and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for Team Tar Heels. He was far from the three-point line when he stepped back and so he tried to shoot from very far from the three-point line and that took his opponent by surprise, so it was difficult to defend against Jake in the games. When the opponent was very close to him, Jake made a move using speed and advanced to make the layup or dunk, and when the opponent was a little far away he found a way to get the three-point shot. Even so, the Maryland Terrapins team was really good in that game and even until half of the 2nd half the advantage on the scoreboard did not increase or decrease even the Tar Heels team making many points. In another play the Maryland Terrapins team managed to make a 2 point play and the Tar Heels team would attack to react, Jake received the ball and advanced and before passing through the middle of the court he passed the ball to Williams on the right. Williams advanced with the ball and before the three-point line he passed the ball to Okulaja ahead, Okulaja soon received pressure from the Maryland Terrapins team''s defense because he was playing so well. So Okulaja had to pass the ball back to Williams again, this time Williams tried a pass to Jamison further down the left, but Profit from Maryland Terrapins managed to make the steals by intercepting the pass. Soon Laron Profit and Rodney Elliott used all their speed to try to take advantage of this opportunity to diminish the advantage that the Tar Heels team had on the scoreboard, the two ran very quickly and left all the players of the Tar Heels team behind, only Jake who was further back he was approaching them. Jake was very fast, but there were two players from the Maryland Terrapins team who were on the attack to make this move, entering within the three-point line of the Tar Heels Profit defense passed the ball to Elliott to score the points. Elliot saw that Jake was very close to him and so he tried to make a layup to make sure he would make the 2 points, but Jake was waiting for that moment and was quick to jump and block on the basketball backboard just as he saw LeBron James do in several games. Chapter 415 1998 ACC Tournament 3 With Jake doing this unexpected block the crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum got excited and started cheering more for the Tar Heels team and applauding Jake''s move, some reporters who were more lucky to try to photograph Elliot''s layup managed to photograph the block on the basketball Jake''s backboard. "What an incredible move by Jake in defense we could see now, a turnover by Shammond Williams whose pass was intercepted by Laron Profit ended in a dangerous counterattack by the Maryland Terrapins team." "Laron Profit and Rodney Elliot were on the attack in this quick counterattack by the Maryland Terrapins team, only Jake who is the fastest player on the Tar Heels team managed to come back to defend." "But against two players it was difficult to defend and so everyone thought it was almost certain that the Maryland Terrapins team would score both points." "But when Elliot got the ball and tried to lay it out, Jake seemed to be expecting it and quickly jumped together to block on the basketball backboard and stop the Maryland Terrapins team from scoring." "This was certainly one of the most incredible defensive moves I''ve seen in recent years at College basketball." After this good defensive play by Jake, the Tar Heels team was more excited to attack and the Maryland Terrapins players were a little discouraged, after all, in almost the whole game they had to make moves to escape Jake''s defense and in a play with this Jake got a block. In another move the Tar Heels team was on the attack and Carter advanced the ball to the three-point line, Carter held the ball and passed it to Jamison who was further on the left, the Maryland Terrapins defense soon pressed in defense against Jamison and he passed the ball to Jake further back through the middle. The defense of the Maryland Terrapins team soon paid more attention to Jake in the attack and a player went to defend against him, Jake did not try any feints and passed the ball to Williams who was more open on the right. The player who was defending against Williams was further away to defend if Jake managed to get rid of the player who was defending against him, so Williams was free to try the shot from outside and score 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. With the Tar Heels team playing so well they managed to win at the end of the game with the Tar Heels team making 85 points against 66 points of the Maryland Terrapins team, in the final part of the game after that block of games the Tar Heels team managed to increase even more plus the advantage. In this 2nd half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and had 17 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, even though Jake trying to defend well the Maryland Terrapins team did his best to avoid where he was defending and so Jake had few defensive moves like that block. "What a great victory for the Tar Heels team in this game that was very disputed and the two teams did their best to achieve the victory, but the players of the Tar Heels team were playing very well and Jake managed to lead the team to another victory." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team was very good in that game, Carter, Jamison, Williams and even Okulaja were well in the attack in that game and Jake was fine too and even not being able to stand out in defense because of the Maryland team''s game strategy Terrapins even managed to make that incredible block that gave the Tar Heels team more confidence to win the game." "The players of the Maryland Terrapins team were playing very well in this game too, it was a more intelligent risky strategy to make attacks far from where Jake was defending, with that they managed to avoid several steals and blocks that Jake could make in that game and still press the Tar Heels team." "But the Tar Heels team has great players and since last season they have been the best team in College basketball and so they have this sequence of 57 straight wins, now let''s see if the Tar Heels team can win the ACC tournament again this season." After that victory, the Tar Heels team players were very happy and excited, they were in the final of the ACC tournament and could win again and they would play against their biggest rival who was the Duke Blue Devils team that had not won against them in over 5 years. Certainly against a rival like this the players would be more willing to win and would play even better, Coach Guthridge was not so excited about this because he knew the players were very tired after that game. This was the first ACC tournament that the Tar Heels team would play with him as the head coach, so it was only natural that he would be a little insecure and expect a weaker team in the final, but of course he knew that the players on the Duke Blue Devils team too they should be tired and so they had a good chance of winning that game. Jake was confident that if his teammates played as well as they did today they would win that final for sure, Jake had confidence in that and hoped to win the ACC tournament and then the NCAA tournament. The players couldn''t even sleep well that night and the day of the final game had arrived, everyone was looking forward to winning that final against the Duke Blue Devils team and winning the ACC tournament. Before Jake went to the game site he received a call from his mother, Eva said she had closed the restaurant and would go to the final game with Anna to hope for Jake''s victory, he was very happy to know that and could play with more happiness knowing that there would be support in the crowd. Jake soon told this to his teammates, Carter and Jamison who were very close friends with Jake, knew well that he liked his mother very much and was not ashamed to say that to others and Jake was respected by friends for being like that. This was a team full of good players and leaders like Jamison, Carter and Jake was also one of the leaders of this team and their support for always having good performances in all games, as well as seeing Jake happy and excited to play even better in this game they also gained more confidence. Jake was always excited when his mom watched his final games in middle school, but as she was busy and couldn''t see many games from him at university it was even more special, while Jake was excited he got another call. "Hi, Jake, how are you?" "Hi, Kate, I''m doing great, we''re going to have an important game today, the final of the ACC tournament." "I know that, I''ve followed a lot of your team''s games whenever I have time, I know you play really well and you''re the best college basketball player this season and also last season and your team won the NCAA tournament last season." "I didn''t expect you to like basketball that much, it''s really cool to see that you follow the games of the Tar Heels team, so I can play more willingly knowing that I have you rooting for me." Jake was really surprised to learn that Kate watched the Tar Heels team games, even though many Americans were in the habit of watching College basketball games he didn''t expect Kate who was so busy watching the games. "I''m not that much of a basketball fan, I started watching the Tar Heels team games when I heard that you played on that team, I called to say I had some time today and came to watch your final game here at Greensboro Coliseum." Jake was really surprised to hear that, he was surprised to learn that Kate watched the Tar Heels team games just because of him and even more surprised to learn that she had come to the Greensboro Coliseum to watch the Tar Heels team final game. He was already happy to know that his mother had come to the Greensboro Coliseum to watch the game and now he was even happier, he always wanted to meet someone who could follow his games just like his mother did and Jake knew how Kate she was busy and had to cancel several appointments to watch that game. "I''m really happy to hear that you came to watch my game in the final, my mom also just called me saying she came to watch the game and I was already happy, now I''m even happier and more excited to play well in this game and win." "I know how hard it must have been for you to find time to come and watch the game, Kate, really thanks." "I had already decided some time ago that I would watch your game in the final of the ACC tournament, luckily as your team has a great winning streak your team was already expected to reach the final and I was able to prepare myself a long time before coming watch that game." Then Jake talked to Kate for a while and then he had to hang up because he had to get ready for the game, he couldn''t tell his teammates that Kate had come to watch that game because Kate wasn''t his girlfriend yet. But everyone could see that Jake was more focused and excited than usual for this game, they still thought that Jake was like that because his mother had come to watch the game, everyone knew that Jake was the most important for the team to achieve victory and that''s why everyone was more confident too. The opponent of this game was the Duke Blue Devils team, who hoped to win this game anyway, so they would break this shame of not winning for more than 5 years and win the ACC tournament in addition to ending the Tar Heels team''s winning streak, any rival would want to win that game. Chapter 416 1998 ACC Tournament 4 The Duke Blue Devils team also had great players, they had a great starting team and good players on the reserve who were also important to the team, so the Duke Blue Devils team was always one of the best teams in college basketball and not just of the ACC conference. They were behind only the Tar Heels team that had a perfect season, so if they won that game and won the ACC tournament they would have more confidence to play the NCAA tournament. "Welcome to everyone who came to follow this incredible ACC tournament game, a historic final between two rivals, the Tar Heels team against the Duke Blue Devils team, and only one of these teams will win the ACC tournament after that game." "On the one hand we have the Tar Heels team that comes with an incredible streak of victories and also that won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament last season." "The Tar Heels team is a favorite because of that, but also because it has the best players from all over college basketball, there is Jake and Jamison who are the best players of the year, and great players like Carter who put on a show at every game, Williams who has been playing very well and is great at three-point shots and Okulaja who has been very important in recent games." "On the other side we have the Duke Blue Devils team that has great players too, even though they are not as good as the Tar Heels team players individually, they are still great on this team." "The Duke Blue Devils team comes second in the ACC tournament with a great season too and wants to win that game to win the ACC tournament and have the confidence to win the NCAA tournament." Just as commentators said this had everything to be another exciting game, before the game Jake spent time looking at the crowd to find his mom and Kate, he found Eva and Anna easily and it took him a little longer to find Kate who looked have put on a discreet cover. So Jake was more excited to play well in that game, he knew well that the Duke Blue Devils team would play well, but he was confident that the Tar Heels team players would perform well and he would also do the best he could to achieve victory. In the first minutes of the game, the two teams were putting a lot of pressure in defense and also trying hard in attack, the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team was better than the defense of the Tar Heels team, but the attack of the Tar Heels team was better and therefore this beginning of the game was interesting. Seeing the situation like this Jake would not let the Duke Blue Devils team do what he wanted and in the first minutes, Jake hit two shots from three points and soon made 6 points for the team Tar Heels putting the team at an advantage. Jake intended to do as in the other games and help the team win without making all of the attacking moves alone, but at least at the beginning of the game, Jake soon showed that the Duke Blue Devils defense would not work against him. After that the two teams started to press more in the attack and the defenses of the two teams started to have some flaws that were taken advantage of by the attacks, Jake controlled the attacks of the Tar Heels team so that they would miss as little as possible. For what happened in the last game did not happen Jake was defending against Steve Wojciechowski and was paying attention to Trajan Langdon too, in another play by the Duke Blue Devils team after a good move the ball was left for Langdon who was away from Jake and tried the outside shot to make 3 more points for the Duke Blue Devils team. The Tar Heels team did not care about these points and soon reacted by attacking, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left, Vince Carter was much more confident after the last game in which he had a good performance. Carter advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Williams from the right, Williams held the ball waiting for Jake to approach and passed the ball to Okulaja later on, Okulaja played well in the last games and the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team pressed against him too. Okulaja passed the ball to Jake further back in the middle, Jake quickly made a pass to Jamison on the left, Jamison went forward and got rid of the defensive player and made the layup to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. After almost half of the 1st half passed, Jake can already see that the Tar Heels team players were performing well and that made him and the whole team more confident of victory. Jake was also scoring more points than usual and so the lead on the scoreboard started to increase and the pressure on the Duke Blue Devils players also increased, they knew that if they continued like that, the Tar Heels team would surely win that game. In another play, the Duke Blue Devils team was attacking and Jake was defending against Wojciechowski, so again the Duke Blue Devils team used this and the ball was passed within the three-point line to Roshown McLeod who advanced to make a layup and so 2 more points for the Duke Blue Devils team. Jake was having a hard time defending in that game because the Duke Blue Devils team was playing very well and the players on the Duke Blue Devils team were very skilled and were performing well. Even so, the Duke Blue Devils team made more mistakes in attacks than the Tar Heels team and so the advantage on the scoreboard continued to increase, the game continued like this and the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half by winning the game with a good advantage. In that 1st half Jake played for 20 minutes and made 21 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake was making more points in that game because he wanted to help the Tar Heels team win and also because he had Eva and Kate rooting for him. "The 1st half of the game ends, the Tar Heels team is doing very well in the game and the players are having a good performance and so that 1st half ended with the Tar Heels team winning with a good advantage." "Jake is leading the attack for the Tar Heels team who are not making too many mistakes in this 1st half of the game, Jamison, Carter, and Williams are well on the attack as well and Okulaja looks like he will have another good offensive game." "From what we have seen this season whenever the Tar Heels team finishes the 1st half by winning they end up winning the game more easily, but the Duke Blue Devils team can change that today." "The players of the Duke Blue Devils team are playing very well and even though they have some mistakes in the attack they are still attacking very well and making Jake not be able to defend so well, if they press more in defense and make less mistake in the attack the Duke Blue team Devils can still try to win that game." The commentators said so, but even they did not believe that the Tar Heels team would lose that game, Jake looked excited to have made 21 points and 6 assists in the 1st half and his teammates were also performing well. Eva who was watching the game with Anna was happy because it looked like Jake''s team would win again and Jake was doing very well in that game, she had realized that Jake had found her in the crowd. Anna was also happy to see that Jake''s team was winning, she had heard from Eva that Jake might not play at the university next season and so she convinced Eva to close the restaurant today and come to watch Jake''s game. If Jake made it to the NCAA tournament final they had already decided that they would also watch his game, and since Jake''s team was playing well it was quite possible that they would go to the NCAA tournament final game as well. Kate was also happy to see that Jake''s team was winning and that Jake was playing very well in that game, she understood a little basketball and could understand what it meant for a player to score 21 points and 6 assists only in the 1st half of the game. From what she watched from Jake''s last games he always played well and scored a lot so that she could understand how talented Jake was, and Jake still ran in marathons and won many marathons in addition to having already participated in a film. The two listened to Tar Heels fans calling Jake Captain America, it seemed that Jake''s nickname when he was running was already starting to arrive at his basketball games, this showed how much the team liked Jake. The 2nd half started with the Duke Blue Devils team trying to put pressure on the attack and defense, they had to try the best of them to try to win the game and win the ACC tournament. Realizing this Jake held the game a little bit, the rush would only help the Duke Blue Devils team and also make it easier for the opponent to get the defense, in another move the Tar Heels team was attacking and Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Williams through right. Williams was playing well in this game as well as a long time ago and he was important for the Tar Heels team to have made it this far, this was Shammond Williams'' last season on the Tar Heels team and he wanted to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament and still play well to get well into the NBA draft. Williams advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter from the left, Carter tried to advance and the Duke Blue Devils team''s defense pressed and Carter had to pass the ball to Jamison, Jamison held on and passed the ball to Jake more behind. Jake soon passed the ball to Carter who came free from the right, Carter had made the back turn in the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team and received the ball from the right behind the three-point line and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. Chapter 417 1998 ACC Tournament 5 The Duke Blue Devils team continued to press to see if they could still win, the defense of the Tar Heels team also started to press and hinder the Duke Blue Devils team''s moves, Jake also stopped defending only against Wojciechowski and hindered the attack much more. from the Duke Blue Devils team like that. In another attacking move by the Duke Blue Devils team, they made a good move and the ball was passed to Wojciechowski who was further behind, Jake was away from him and tried to approach using his speed, but Wojciechowski soon tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Duke Blue Devils team. Jake was doing it on purpose and making the Tar Heels team push in defense because of that too, the Tar Heels team still had a big advantage and that advantage had only increased in the 2nd half. Then Jake realized that for some reason the Duke Blue Devils team was trying to attack more in just three-point shots, the players on the Duke Blue Devils team were good, but they weren''t as good as Jake and Williams and so naturally they made a lot of mistakes more than they hit. That way the Duke Blue Devils team wasted attacks and Jamison and Jake just had to fight for the rebounds, the Duke Blue Devils team coach seemed to approve of this and Jake thought they could use it to not get so tired. Even so, the Tar Heels team continued to attack and Jake tried a three-point shot whenever the Duke Blue Devils team pressed hard on defense and he had already made many points in that 2nd half as well. In another move, the Tar Heels team was on the attack and Jake received pressure from the Duke Blue Devils defense just after the ball, so Jake passed the ball to Williams and managed to move forward. Williams advanced the ball for a while and passed it back to Jake in the middle, Jake continued to advance slowly and soon reached the three-point line and passed the ball to Carter from the left. Carter held the ball for a while and then passed it to Jamison later on the left, Jamison was playing very well in that game too and had scored more points on the Tar Heels team after Jake. Jamison soon received pressure from the Duke Blue Devils defense and passed the ball to Okulaja on the right, Okulaja also received pressure from the defense and passed Jake further back through the middle. Jake received the ball and soon the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team sent two players close to him, Jake did not delay and passed the ball to Williams who was free from the left, Williams came out behind the defense of the Duke Blue Devils team to receive this ball and tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. The game went on like this and the Tar Heels team ended the game by winning 106 points against Duke Blue Devils'' 60 points, the Tar Heels team''s lead advantage increased when the Duke Blue Devils players started to miss more shots from three points and Tar Heels team players did not miss many attacks. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 23 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 steals, with this triple-double Jake secured the victory for the Tar Heels team and was happy because the team won another ACC tournament. It was Jake''s best game in the ACC tournament and he was happier to help the Tar Heels team win and can also show his skills to his mom and Kate who had come to see the game. "What a great game we had here today, the Tar Heels team won with a big advantage in this game full of rivalry and thus won for the second year in a row the ACC tournament." "This victory for Team Tar Heels is well deserved for everything they did this season and also in that game against the Duke Blue Devils team, the first title for new head coach Bill Guthridge." "It is true, I also think that the Tar Heels team deserved that victory, even if they had been out of the game without losing a game if they lost in that game the fans would not have been happy." "The Tar Heels team currently has perhaps the best team in college basketball, with Jake Smith who made a triple-double today with 44 points, and with Antawn Jamison who made a double-double today with 22 points and 14 rebounds." "The team also has good players and played a good game today, but they were unable to beat the team Tar Heels, who are champions of the 1998 ACC tournament, after that victory the team Tar Heels will try to win the NCAA tournament again and continue with the sequence. of victories." Everyone celebrated a lot to win the ACC tournament and Jake was more relieved because one of his goals had been fulfilled, Jake was elected the best player in the ACC tournament, the best player of the year and also had the best conference averages. Jake, Jamison, and Carter were chosen for the first team of the ACC tournament and Okulaja and Williams were chosen for the second team of the ACC tournament, this year Jake also joined the first defensive team of the ACC conference. After celebrating a lot with his teammates Jake wanted to talk to his mother and Anna and also to talk to Kate who had come to watch his game, but the team had to go back to the university and Jake didn''t want to ask too much for Coach Guthridge and so he just called them thanking and explaining what had happened. They all understood why Jake couldn''t meet them and was happy that Jake won the ACC tournament, Jake had to go back with the team because they would have 2 days to rest and then another day of training just before the next game. If the Tar Heels team managed to reach the NCAA tournament final again, there would only be 6 games left until the end of this season, if they managed to win the NCAA tournament they would win the NCAA tournament for the second time in a row and enshrine this perfect season in history and still be able to break the record for second place victories. The second record of undefeated games was for the San Francisco team that was 60 games without losing, the first place was impossible for them to achieve because it was 88 games without losing for the UCLA team. The Tar Heels team was already 58 games without losing and with 3 more games it would break the San Francisco team record, so it was important that Jake was back with the team and that they were united in this important moment for the team. Coach Guthridge was getting even more stressed than the players because this was his first year as a head coach and he could never have imagined that something like this could happen, he won the ACC tournament and now the team could win the NCAA tournament. Bill Guthridge also thought that this record was not just theirs and was also that of coach Dean Smith who coached the team last season when that record of undefeated games had started, so he didn''t want the team to lose. Those two days of rest would help the players a lot, even though Jake, who had excellent resistance, had grown tired after playing three games in three consecutive days without resting, Jake had played 40 minutes in all games and was therefore very tired. So he apologized to Yuen Woo-ping but said that he would not train this week at least, then he would have a few days of rest and he could train again not to be doing anything too. Yuen Woo-ping naturally understood and knew that Jake had stopped his marathon racing training just to train with him, Yuen Woo-ping couldn''t ask Jake to harm basketball either. While Jake and his teammates rested the sports media only talked about them, the Tar Heels team had had an excellent season that had not been seen in a long time and they had won the ACC tournament and were close to breaking the record they wanted to break. Even though the sports media always talked about how good the Tar Heels team was and how they hoped they could win the ACC tournament and break the game record without losing when it was really happening everyone realized how incredible it was and difficult to happen. Players like Billy Cunningham, James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan who were excellent basketball players and played on the Tar Heels team talked about the current record-breaking team and talked a lot about Jake Smith, Antawn Jamison, and Vince Carter. So the whole country was watching the Tar Heels team again to see if they would win the NCAA tournament again and continue to break records, of course, they would still have to beat excellent teams if they wanted to win the NCAA tournament again. Jake was less nervous now that he had won the ACC tournament and also knowing that he had the support of his mother and also the support of Kate, he would do his best to win the NCAA tournament, but if he didn''t win he knew they would break the record games without losing and you wouldn''t feel bad going to the NBA draft. As Jake also expected after his excellent performances in the last games and winning the ACC tournament being chosen as the best player and with the record of games without losing being close to being achieved by the Tar Heels team, the companies were looking for David Falk again. Everyone who was negotiating and even the company that had decided to break the verbal agreement was looking for David again to try to get a new contract with Jake, everyone understood more in recent days about Jake''s potential as a player and his commercial potential as well. Chapter 418 1998 ACC Tournament 6 The companies that sponsored Jake like Tiffany''s company and also Clara''s company had excellent sales in the last few days, many fans who liked the Tar Heels team, who liked Jake or who simply liked basketball started buying products that they knew had an endorsement contract with Jake. These companies even renewed some agreements with television companies to show the commercials that Jake had recorded again, this made the companies that had a verbal agreement with David happy to have continued and the other companies that were negotiating wanted a contract again. Just as Jake had said before, if these companies really wanted a new deal with Jake they would have to pay twice what the deal was a few weeks ago, they had to pay $ 2 million a year for a maximum of 4 years. Naturally, these companies questioned why the contract hadn''t even started and some companies that agreed earlier would only pay half of what they did, but David didn''t care. After the Tar Heels team won the ACC tournament David had a new respect for Jake and thought he could get things done faster than he thought, maybe in another month the Tar Heels team would break that record and win the NCAA tournament again. When that happened, Jake''s NBA contract as a rookie would have to be even better, when these companies saw that David was decided they decided to wait a little longer, if Jake won the NCAA tournament maybe that new contract would really be worth it. The company that most regretted was the one that broke the verbal contract with David on impulse, they could wait until they were close to the NBA draft to break that verbal contract, they didn''t have to be so quick, because of that the situation was more complicated now. What disappointed David was that Nike had not yet responded to the deal he had asked Jake for, it was the $ 52 million deal for a 5-year contract and another 4 percent of the profit for Jake-related shoes that were sold. It was really a very demanding contract for a novice player, but it was a bet that they would have to make if they wanted to get a contract with Jake, even though they knew that Adidas was interested and could steal another player as they did with Kobe Bryant it seemed like the Nike had no interest in paying that much. The good news was that Adidas had sent an official agreement that they had accepted Jake''s requests, so David knew that he couldn''t go any further and had to close a verbal agreement with Adidas. David would get 10 percent anyway so he had no reason to care that Nike had lost an excellent contract again, David knew that Jake was resting before the next game, but that was an important decision and Jake had to decide. "Hi, Jake, so I received a final proposal from Adidas to make a verbal agreement, they accepted your requests, Nike has not yet answered whether it would accept or not." Jake was also disappointed with Nike just like David, he knew that in the future Nike would be the biggest sports shoe company, but Jake didn''t really need the sponsorship money to earn his income. So he just wanted a contract that paid what he knew it was worth, that contract might seem like a lot of money to a newbie, but Jake had a deal to play in the Lakers and in the next few years he could win 3 NBA title. If that happened, Nike would have a new player who was NBA champion 3 times, for Adidas, it was even better because they also sponsored Kobe Bryant and so the main Lakers players would not be sponsored by Nike. "You can accept the deal, David, we showed goodwill and Nike was not interested, we are going to have a good deal with Adidas that has always shown interest and respect." With Jake having decided David soon sent a message to Adidas that Jake accepted the deal, there was little time left for the end of the season and the Tar Heels team could even win the NCAA tournament and thus it was difficult for that contract to be canceled. The companies that had made a deal for Jake paying $ 1 million a year for 4 years would be very happy if Jake won an NBA title with the Lakers, and even if those companies agreed to pay $ 2 million they would be happy. The media continued to talk about the Tar Heels team and about Jake and about the record they could break in the next games, this was to get the attention of basketball fans who did not follow college basketball games. But with the attention that the media paid and seeing that it was Michael Jordan''s team and with Jake''s incredible performance this season, basketball fans started to become interested in watching the Tar Heels team''s games. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels team was having training after two days of rest before the next game that would be the next day, Coach Guthridge can relax seeing that the players seemed to be rested after that rest. He knew how intense and tiring the game against the Duke team had been in the final, especially after a 3-game streak in 3 straight days, so the Tar Heels team did light training to regain the game and the next day he had to hope that the players would perform well. So soon the game day arrived and the Tar Heels team went to travel to where the next games would play, the next game would be against the Navy Midshipmen team, the Navy Midshipmen team was good and was having a good season. But the Patriot conference teams were not very good and so Coach Guthridge expected an easier game if he could he wanted to let the starting players rest for the next games. After all, they were already at the end of the season and the Tar Heels team had a lot of games that season, he said this to Jake who soon understood what Coach Guthridge meant and would play at a slower pace. The first two games of the Tar Heels team, if they won, would be at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, the players of the Tar Heels team hoped to win that game and were, therefore, more confident after winning the ACC tournament. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this first game of the NCAA tournament, the Tar Heels team is the favorite to win this game after winning the ACC tournament in an excellent game against the Duke team." "But the pressure to get a good result can get in the way of the Tar Heels team players in that game, the opponent of that game the Navy Midshipmen team also wants the victory to advance further in the NCAA tournament." "That''s right, I believe that the Tar Heels team will win this game, they are favorites to win the NCAA tournament again this season and with Jake and Jamison playing so well I find it hard to imagine this team losing." "So I think that if the Tar Heels team players perform well in that game, victory is practically guaranteed." Just as commentators said everyone thought this victory was almost certain for the Tar Heels team, so early on in the game the Tar Heels team started to press forward with Jake trying to attack at a slower pace of play. The defense of Team Tar Heels was also firm to prevent the Navy Midshipmen team from attacking so that Coach Guthridge could let the players rest for a while. So whenever the defense of the Navy Midshipmen team didn''t defend against him Jake would soon try a three-point shot, so in the middle of the 1st half of the game Jake had already scored 12 points in the game, the opponents thought that the Tar Heels team would start slowly at Jake''s slow pace, but soon they had a big lead on the scoreboard. So for the remainder of the 1st half, the defense players of the Navy Midshipmen team had to defend more against Jake which gave him space to pass the ball to his teammates. Coach Guthridge was very pleased with Jake''s performance because he had more freedom to replace the players in the 1st half, it seemed that Ed Cota and Makhtar N''Diaye were also playing well which made things easier for Coach Guthridge. At the end of the 1st half of the game, the Tar Heels team was winning with a good advantage in the game even though the coach Guthridge was putting the substitute players to play too, so the players of the Navy Midshipmen team started to get discouraged. In that 1st half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 19 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals, with Jamison leaving the game for a few minutes Jake could pick up more rebounds and also scored a lot of points in that 1st half of the game. "Thus ends the 1st half of the game and the Tar Heels team has dominated this game and has been winning easily with the great performance of Jake and also of the entire Tar Heels team, Jamison scored 10 points and played only 11 minutes in that 1st half of game." "Clearly the Tar Heels team is easily winning that game and coach Guthridge seemed to be thinking of saving players for the next game since the middle of the 1st half, with Jake''s good performance he played the 20 minutes in the 1st half of the game." "Coach Guthridge seems to have confidence in his players and knows that Jake has the strength to play all 40 minutes of the game, after all, Jake played the 40 minutes in all 3 ACC tournament games that were three days in a row." "It''s true, I find it difficult for the Navy Midshipmen team to still win the game, but we will have to follow the 2nd half to see if the Tar Heels team can win another game." Chapter 419 1998 NCAA Tournament 1 Just as commentators had hoped the Tar Heels team continued to dominate the game at the start of the 2nd half, Coach Guthridge let the starting players play the first few minutes to further increase the advantage and soon started to replace again. Jake was really playing very well and also hit a lot of three-point shots, which left the players of the Navy Midshipmen team with no hope of winning that game and the Tar Heels team can dominate the game even more. So the Tar Heels team won with 112 points against the Navy Midshipmen team''s 48 points, it was a great victory because Jake didn''t need to rest and still scores several points in three-point plays. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 21 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, with this triple-double Jake ensured an easy victory for the Tar Heels team and his teammates were able to rest more in that game. "Another victory for the Tar Heels team, a really dominant game that was an easy victory for the Tar Heels team that moves on to the next game with many chances to win with the rested players." "Jake made another triple-double making 40 points again, this is not surprising anymore because we are used to it, but it is incredible for a player to make 40 points easily in an important game like this, Jake hit 10 shots from three points in that game to achieve this." "Jake certainly has the record for the Tar Heels team and perhaps all the college basketball teams with the most points in an NCAA tournament game this season, what was the maximum he achieved in an NCAA tournament game anyway?" "It was a game last season against the Louisville Cardinals team in which he had 53 points and 18 assists, he sure has the record for points, assists, and steals in games, Jake just doesn''t have the record on average for points because of Austin Carr. " "The Navy Midshipmen team had no chance of winning this game even though they played well, now we will continue to follow up to see if Team Tar Heels wins the NCAA tournament this season again." After that first game, the players on the Tar Heels team were more confident to win this NCAA tournament, Jake was concerned about the next game, but he was confident that the Tar Heels team would win more easily. The Tar Heels team had only light training the other day to not tire the players and Jake can see that everyone was fine for the next game, Jake hoped that the opposing defense would put more pressure on him in the game so that his teammates would have more freedom to make the stitches. Coach Guthridge called Jake after training to say he had some concerns for the next game because of the next opponent and Jake spoke what he remembered that could cause the team''s defeat in the next game. It was Coach Bill Guthridge who chose Jake for this Tar Heels team, so Coach Guthridge had a lot of confidence in Jake, especially now that the Tar Heels team was having such a good season and Jake was primarily responsible for that. If the Tar Heels team won this season, Coach Guthridge knew that Jake would be responsible for that, Coach Guthridge knew that Jake thought about leaving the team this season even though Jake didn''t say anything. But Coach Guthridge thought Jake was right to do that, after that season the whole team would almost go to the NBA or some players would end their time at university, Jake had already won two ACC tournaments and an NCAA tournament, no one could say that he was unimportant and helped the university. So another day passed and the day of the next Tar Heels game in the NCAA tournament came, the players were confident, but did not underestimate the opponent because of that and were focused to win. The opponent in that game was the Charlotte 49ers team, that team was also having a good season and played in a conference with strong teams which made them a more difficult opponent. Jake told Coach Guthridge that they had to be especially careful with Sean Colson, DeMarco Johnson, and Diego Guevara, he himself would defend against Sean Colson and defend against Diego Guevara when he was playing. If the two were playing it was for Shammond Williams to defend against one of them, the other players had to put pressure on defending against DeMarco Johnson so that they could hinder the Charlotte 49ers team''s attacks. "Today we are going to watch another NCAA tournament game this season, the Tar Heels team that has been having an incredible season and is fighting to win the NCAA tournament again this season plays against the Charlotte 49ers team." "In the last game, the Tar Heels team had an easy win with an excellent performance by Jake who made 40 points, in addition, the players of the Tar Heels team were able to rest because the coach Guthridge put the reserves to play longer." "So with the excellent season that the Tar Heels team has been doing and with the best players they have the advantage to win this game." "But the Charlotte 49ers team also want to seek victory and continue advancing in the NCAA tournament, to achieve this they have a team with good and experienced players." "So we are going to monitor which team will win and continue in the NCAA tournament." The Tar Heels team started strong in the attack against the Charlotte 49ers team, Jake knew this was going to be a difficult and tiring game and so he wanted to try to start winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard to make his teammates more confident and send the pressure for the Charlotte 49ers team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left, Carter quickly advanced to the three-point line and passed the ball to Jamison who was ahead, Jamison tried to advance and soon the defense pressed on the defense preventing his advance. So Jamison passed the ball to Carter in the back, Carter soon passed the ball to Jake who was in the middle, Jake received the ball and the Charlotte 49ers team defense immediately pressed, Jake was not nervous and passed the ball to Williams who was more open on the right. Williams received the ball and received the signal from Jake and thus tried the shot from outside to hit and make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, Shammond Williams had an agreement with Jake that depending on the play Jake had to warn Williams to try the shot of three points. It was Coach Guthridge who had thought about it because there were games that Williams would try 13 shots from outside if not controlled, he was very good on average at three-point shots, but there were games that he tried too hard. After Coach Guthridge did that, Williams'' three-point hit average had improved a lot, and Williams had more respect for Jake who had an average of 78 percent hit on three-point shots. The Tar Heels team really started to push forward as opposed to the last game and soon everyone could see that all the players on the Tar Heels team were performing well in that game, so the Charlotte 49ers team was forced to be on the defensive early in the game. Jake was well in the game too and together with Williams and Carter they were dominating the three-point line and in the middle of the 1st half, the Tar Heels team was winning with a good advantage in the game and Jake already had 9 points. So the Charlotte 49ers team had to react and started to attack more, in another move the Charlotte 49ers team was on the attack and Jake was defending against Colson and the Tar Heels team was defending against Johnson, even so, the Charlotte 49ers team tried to force the move. Johnson received the ball and tried to make the turn against Okulaja''s defense, Johnson made the quick turn and tried the layup and managed to make the 2 points and still missed Okulaja, then Johnson hit the Free Throw and made 1 more point for the Charlotte 49ers team. The defense of the Tar Heels team was good in the three-point line, but against more skilled and tall players in the painted area, the Tar Heels team was not able to defend very well, that was the problem of not having a good Center in the team. The Charlotte 49ers team started to react and the advantage that the Tar Heels team had on the scoreboard began to diminish, even so with the good plays of Jake, Williams, and Carter the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half winning with a good advantage on the scoreboard. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 16 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks, Jake was still managing to defend well against Colson and from what he remembered the Tar Heels team could win more easily the Charlotte 49ers team like that. "What an exciting game in that 1st half, the two teams pushing forward and playing well in defense too, Jake, Williams and Carter managed to hit a few shots from three points and so the defense of the Charlotte 49ers team failed to react that well." "The defense of the Tar Heels team was not able to defend well against DeMarco Johnson and so the Charlotte 49ers team managed to diminish the advantage in the Tar Heels team on the scoreboard, Jake defended well against Sean Colson and managed 3 blocks in this 1st half helping the Tar Heels team." "The players on the Tar Heels team seem to be performing well in this game and also seem to be in good physical condition, if they continue like that I see another victory for the Tar Heels team." "The Charlotte 49ers team needs more attack options and Colson needs to get rid of Jake''s defense to get more three-point shots, and they need to defend better against the Tar Heels players on the three-point line." Chapter 420 1998 NCAA Tournament 2 Coach Guthridge praised the Tar Heels team players at halftime and asked them to continue attacking and defending so he also asked the Tar Heels team players to try not to make too many fouls while defending against Johnson of the Charlotte 49ers team. Jake was also praised for controlling the Tar Heels team''s attack well, Jake, Williams, and Carter attacked well on the three-point line and Jamison, Okulaja and even Carter did not have the opportunity to attack that much within the three-point line. So in the 2nd half, Jake planned to attack more with moves within the three-point line and only sometimes try a few three-point shots and also count on Williams for that, so the Charlotte 49ers team''s defense would be confused by that. Jake also complained to his teammates who did not defend well against Diego Guevara when he entered the game, in the 2nd half the players in the defense had to defend better against him. Everyone wanted to win and Jake knew how the Charlotte 49ers team could be a dangerous opponent in this game, they had to win and not get too tired to continue well in the NCAA tournament, so overtime would be terrible for the Tar Heels team in that game. The 2nd half started with both teams pushing forward, the Charlotte 49ers team had a harder time attacking and had to rely on Johnson or another player who could get rid of the Tar Heels defense. In another play, the Charlotte 49ers team was attacking and the ball was passed to Johnson again, he tried to make the play and failed to hit and Jamison got the rebound, he passed the ball to Jake who advanced for the attack with speed. After passing through the middle of the court Jake passed the ball to Williams from the left, Williams advanced with the ball and after the three-point line he passed the ball to Okulaja later on, Okulaja had played well in the last games and so the defense Charlotte 49ers team soon pressed against him. So Okulaja had to pass to Carter who was further back on the left, Carter received the ball and soon passed to Jake further back, the Charlotte 49ers team''s defense soon prepared to defend against Jake, Carter, and Williams who were outside the line of three points. But Jake did not attempt the shot and passed the ball to Jamison on the left in a long pass, Jamison received the ball and soon got rid of the player who was on defense to make a dunk and 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Just as Jake expected the defense of the Charlotte 49ers team, he didn''t expect a move like that, so Jamison managed to make the dunk easier, so the Tar Heels team managed to increase the lead a little. In another move, the Charlotte 49ers team was attacking and Colson and Guevara were playing, the Charlotte 49ers team seemed to have realized that Guevara was playing well and besides Jake, the other players on the Tar Heels team did not defend well. So Jake was more focused on defense, Colson received the ball and Jake was not close to him to prepare to react, but Colson did not attempt the shot because Jake had already managed to make 4 blocks on him in that game. So Colson passed to Guevara who was free on the left after passing behind the defense of the Tar Heels team, so Guevara did not hesitate and tried the shot from the outside, Jake was attentive and reacted quickly and even managed to jump and block. Guevara did not expect this because Jake was away from him and defending against Colson, but now the two have become more cautious against Jake to try the three-point shot in that game again. The game continued and the Charlotte 49ers team was on the attack again, this time Colson and Guevara were wide apart and Jake was defending against Guevara so Colson tried the shot and missed. Johnson still managed to catch the rebound, but before he tried to layup Jake did the steal and advanced to the attack at speed, Jake always fought for the rebound and when he saw that Johnson won the rebound against Jamison he took the opportunity to make the steal. Jake moved forward using all his speed for the attack, Colson and Guevara were still further behind and managed to react and returned to defend, but Jake was clearly faster than them and Guevara tried to hinder Jake before. Jake made a feint and then a very fast crossover and Guevara ended up falling to the ground trying to react to Jake''s speed, so Jake continued to advance with speed and Colson who was within the three-point line of defense tried to defend too. So Jake who was away from the painted area decided to make the special move that was created by him, Jake made the Ghost move that made the ball disappear in front of the opponent and Colson was unable to see the ball for a moment. So Jake passed easily and then did the dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, this Ghost move was the movement that Jake had created and was really very useful and easy to do, but it could be done only when he was in 1 on 1. That''s because the other players and the crowd could clearly see what Jake was doing with the ball, only the opposing player who was in front of him didn''t see the ball for a moment and couldn''t defend unless he made a foul on Jake. So when Jake made this move, the crowd and commentators did not celebrate the dribble and just thought it was strange that Jake could easily pass the opponent. That would only change once the opponent who received the dribble told the media that Jake had made a dribble that he was unable to see the ball, but no opponent would want to praise the player who tricked him. The game continued with the Tar Heels team maintaining the advantage even with the Charlotte 49ers team playing well, so the Tar Heels team managed to win the game by making 94 points against 70 points of the opponent. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, with this triple-double, Jake helped the Tar Heels team to achieve another victory and without the players if they got so tired. "And so the game ends with another victory for the Tar Heels team that advances to the next game in the NCAA tournament, a game in which the players of the Tar Heels team played very well and even though the Charlotte 49ers team was well off the team Tar Heels still won with a good advantage." "Jake led the Tar Heels team in that victory by making another triple-double, with Jake organizing the attacks and defending the Tar Heels team well and managed to win without the players getting so tired." "Jamison, Carter, Williams, and Okulaja also played well in this game and all of this helped the Tar Heels team to secure the victory and match the record of 60 games without losing that they want to break this season." "That''s right, the Tar Heels team drew with the San Francisco team with a record of 60 games without losing, so in the next game, the Tar Heels team may have managed to complete one of the team''s goals for the season and gain more confidence to win the NCAA tournament for the second season in a row." "I am confident that the Tar Heels team will manage to win the next game, with a team with excellent players like Jake Smith, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison I think it is difficult that they will lose the next game." After this victory, the players of the Tar Heels team celebrated this important victory a lot in this difficult game and went back to the university before the next game, the players were not so tired and the next game would be only after 5 days. So the coach Guthridge decided to let the players rest for 2 more days and train only for 2 days before the game after all the players were playing well and the biggest concern of the coach Guthridge was that the players would get tired before the next games. With so many days before the next game Jake told Yuen Woo-ping that they could train in the next few days, after all, they would soon have to go to Australia to join the film crew and Jake had to have learned everything by then. Jake had to stop running training because he had the responsibilities to the basketball team and the movie he was going to participate in soon, and also because Jake knew that even without training he would not lose his fitness and time did it in marathons. What made Jake very happy was that Zack continued with the training every day even without Jake to keep him company, Jake had arranged with Zack and intended to fulfill that he would run the Chicago marathon or one that was before her. In this marathon, Zack would try to run the entire marathon with time below 3 hours, which was a challenge for amateur athletes, after running below 3 hours an athlete could be considered an elite athlete with chances of winning a marathon. To achieve this with the help of Coach Davis he continued to try Jake''s suicidal training, now Zack ran 20 km every day and once a week he ran 30 km, after almost two years of training every day and going to the gym Zack was able to do that. Once every two months Zack also ran a complete marathon as training, he already knew he was able to do that so it was great training for Zack to gain confidence. This could be called suicide training because running so much if Zack continued for many years he could have several problems in his knees and also in his hip bones, so Jake would ask Zack to change training after running this marathon that year. Chapter 421 1998 NCAA Tournament 3 Another thing that was happening was that Aaron continued to train with the American Football team, with the training he did with Jake while he was away from the team helped Aaron to get a prominent place on the team. Aaron hopes he could play this season and the next one together with the team and if he went well who knows he might have a chance to go to the NFL, Jake hoped for Aaron a lot even though he knew it was difficult for his friend to go to the NFL because he hasn''t played in the first two seasons. In the next few days while Jake trained with Yuen Woo-ping the sports media just talked about the Tar Heels team again, everyone was excited after the Tar Heels team managed to match the San Francisco team record of 60 games without losing. With Jake on the team, everyone knew that the Tar Heels team had a good chance of breaking that record and many even talked about the possibility of the Tar Heels team breaking the UCLA team''s 88-game record without losing. This was not impossible because there were still 4 games left for the end of this season and then the Tar Heels team had to win just 25 more games without losing in the next season, of course, few thought this was possible, but the media also thought it impossible that the team Tar Heels broke the San Francisco team record of 60 games without losing earlier this season. In addition, all the broadcasters that broadcast the games were excited about this because the latest games by the Tar Heels team broke the broadcast records at College basketball, this was normal because the Tar Heels team was doing an incredible thing that was difficult to see in modern times. Several basketball fans who didn''t use to follow College basketball and even College basketball fans who didn''t watch other teams'' games were looking to see the Tar Heels team making history. The UCLA team record was unbreakable, so seeing the Tar Heels team break the San Francisco team record of 60 victories was the maximum they would see, and many broadcasters thought that these fans would continue to follow the Tar Heels team until the NCAA tournament final. if the Tar Heels team went to the final. So as the broadcasters saw this as an opportunity, they talked about the Tar Heels team''s next game whenever they could, the other sports media also wanted to talk about it to sell more to fans. The NCAA was happy to authorize Jake to be the first sponsored player to play at College basketball, after all, Jake was instrumental in bringing even more visibility and fame to College basketball at a time when several players were considering joining the NBA directly. Of course, not everyone could do like Jake who received sponsorship because he was also an athlete who ran marathons and won several marathons and even an Olympic gold medal, but that helped a little to solve the problem. The Wachowskis brothers were happy with this situation because when everyone knew that Jake was making a film as an actor again and this time he would have an important character in the film, many basketball fans would definitely go to the cinema to see The Matrix. Of course, they thought Jake was a great actor and so they invited him into this film, but his fame would only help publicize the film, if Jake knew about it he would laugh because he knew how successful the film would be even without him. In the coming days Jake continued to learn a lot from Yuen Woo-ping and also doing Sparring with him every day, it was only a few weeks that they trained, but Yuen Woo-ping thought Jake had already learned more than the actors who spent months training with him. Of course, Jake really had to learn more because he would have to fight in the movie and also Jake hadn''t learned to fight using cables yet, it would be more difficult to fight to be in the air hanging by cables. In addition, Jake was an athlete and could learn more without tiring and the actors did not have this facility and took more days to learn, even so, Yuen Woo-ping had to admit that Jake was very talented. While training with Yuen Woo-ping, Jake also trained with the basketball team after everyone rested for 2 days, the players were all much better after that rest and much more excited because of the record they could break in the next game and also because the season was ending. So the day came for the next NCAA tournament game, the next two games for the Tar Heels team if they won would be at the Greensboro Coliseum again, it was the place where they played the entire ACC tournament this season and last season, so the Tar Heels team I was more comfortable playing at the Greensboro Coliseum. The crowd was much greater for the Tar Heels team that was close to breaking the San Francisco team record, which made the Tar Heels team players more confident and more excited to achieve victory. The opponent for this game was the Michigan State team, the Michigan State team was playing very well this season and was in a good conference too, so this had everything to be a difficult game. But the pressure on that game was greater for the Michigan State team and it was impossible for them to have such confidence in playing against the Tar Heels team that they wanted to win to have a streak of 61 straight wins and had the best players of the season. In addition, the Tar Heels team was the current NCAA tournament champion and was the favorite team to win this season again, so it was impossible for them not to feel the pressure with everyone in the stands cheering for the Tar Heels team. But Jake knew that in the coming years this team would have a great season and would win the NCAA tournament in the 1999-00 season, in addition, they would arrive in the NCAA tournament semifinal in the next three seasons. It showed how strong the Michigan State team was and would be even stronger, so even though Jake was confident he still knew he had to be very careful against this opposing team. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this NCAA tournament game, this game could be historic if the Tar Heels team wins again because of the Tar Heels team wins this game they broke the San Francisco team record of 60 games without lose." "So the Tar Heels team will have a record of 61 games without losing and will be the second team with the highest record after the UCLA team that has an unbreakable record of 88 games without losing." "That''s right, I believe that the Tar Heels team is the favorite to win this game with a team that has Jake Smith, Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter, but the Michigan State team is also doing very well this season." "So I think this can be an exciting game that the Tar Heels team players will have to do their best to achieve victory." The game started with the Tar Heels team attacking very hard in the first minutes pressing in the attack, the players were very rested and the opponent was difficult, so Jake wanted to take advantage of the fact that the opponent would be feeling the pressure to increase the advantage on the scoreboard at the beginning of the game. Just as Jake expected the Michigan State team backed off when he realized that the Tar Heels team would press on the attack, everyone knew that the Tar Heels team had the best attack of the season and the Michigan State team had a good defense and preferred to rely on that. In this game Jake did not intend to have anyone from the team on the three-point line to play with him, only he would do the three-point shots and the rest of the team would stay within the three-point line to make the points, so Jake thought he could make things more difficult for the opponent. In another move the Tar Heels team was attacking with speed and Jake passed the ball to Williams from the right before passing through the middle of the court, Williams advanced with the ball and passed ahead to Okulaja who was playing well in the last games. The defense of the team Tar Heels soon pressed Okulaja who had to pass the ball to Jamison on the left, Jamison received the ball and passed back to Williams, Williams received the ball and tried a feint and managed to get rid of the opponent, then Williams drive to the basket and made the layup to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. In this move, the Michigan State team''s defense expected Jake to receive the ball and did not defend well against Williams who managed to advance and lay up in a good move, that was another thing that Jake had discussed with the other players, the attack moves they didn''t need to go through it for players to score. This was the opposite of what Jake normally did and what Coach Guthridge asked the team, so he could take the Michigan State team''s defense by surprise at the start of the game and thus increase the lead. Just as Jake had said in the first minutes, the Tar Heels team managed to score a lot and increase the lead, when the Michigan State defense managed to straighten the defense, Jake also made more three-point shots. So the Michigan State team decided to attack with more intensity so as not to give freedom to the players of the Tar Heels team to worry only about the attack, Coach Guthridge expected this to happen and had already given the instructions for the defense. Jake would defend against Mateen Cleaves who was the best player on the Michigan State team and Williams would defend against Charlie Bell, so the Michigan State team could not attack smoothly even if he wanted to. In another attacking move by the Michigan State team, after a good play the ball was left for Cleaves, Jake did not approach to defend, but Cleaves knew it was more dangerous that way and he did not think about trying a shot from outside. Chapter 422 1998 NCAA Tournament 4 Cleaves thought about making a move with Bell and tried the pass, Jake anticipated the pass and managed to intercept making the steal, so Jake wasted no time and advanced with speed to attack. Cleaves who saw Jake doing the steal tried to run after Jake, but soon saw Jake entering the painted area and doing the dunk making 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, so Cleaves realized how difficult it was to play with Jake defending against him. In another attacking move by Tar Heels Jake passed the ball to Carter from the left before the three-point line, Carter was playing very well in the last games and was regaining confidence with the victories. Carter passed the ball to Jamison later on, Jamison was also playing well in the last games, but it was not as good as in the regular season, so in this game, he wanted to be one of the highlights and help the team to win. Jamison tried to advance twice by deceiving the opponent who was defending against him, seeing that he couldn''t Jamison passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball with freedom and then stepped back and tried the shot from outside. This time Jake missed the three-point shot and Jamison managed to catch the rebound and went up again to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, with this move the players of the Tar Heels team showed how well they were even when they missed an attack. So the Tar Heels team continued to play like that and dominated the 1st half and ended up winning with a good advantage, the players of the Michigan State team defended well and tried to attack, but failed to stop the Tar Heels team. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 14 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block, in this 1st half Jake played very well, but not as well as in the last games because his teammates had more prominence. "And so the 1st half ends, the Tar Heels team is winning with an excellent performance from all players, Jake also stood out in defense and was the best player in that 1st half, so the Tar Heels team is closer to victory after getting that big advantage." "Most of the people here at the Greensboro Coliseum are rooting for the Tar Heels team to win and break the San Francisco team record, it certainly helps the players to perform better." "It''s true, in addition to helping the players on the Tar Heels team, it also puts more pressure on the players on the Michigan State team, the players on the Michigan State team are playing well, but they are no better than the Tar Heels team in this game." "We will continue to monitor whether the Tar Heels team continues to play well and will achieve victory against the Michigan State team and break the record." Coach Guthridge spoke to Jake at the break asking how the players were in the game and how their opponent was doing, Coach Guthridge was thinking of putting the players in reserve and letting the starting players rest more if the game was easy. Jake said the game was not easy and they were just winning with a big advantage because the Tar Heels team players were playing well, so it would be a mistake to place the reserve players and take out the players who were playing well because the opponent was difficult. Coach Bill Guthridge trusted Jake a lot and so decided to give up on letting the players rest and just asked Jake to slow down the attack, Jake said he understood and so the Tar Heels team went back to the 2nd half. Just as Jake had said the Michigan State team had not given up on winning the game and started the 2nd half by putting pressure on the attack, as Coach Guthridge asked Jake to slow down in the attack it looked like the Tar Heels team was being pressured. In another attacking move by the Michigan State team, after a good move Cleaves who was being careful with Jake passed the ball to Bell more open on the left, Williams pressed the defense and Bell passed the ball to Jason Klein who was open on the right. Klein received the ball with freedom and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Michigan State team and to diminish the advantage of the team Tar Heels, seeing this the coach Guthridge understood why Jake said that the game was difficult. But that did not make the Tar Heels team players worried, in another play after a good play the ball went back to Jake further back, Jake was quick and made a high pass and Carter took the ball high to make the dunk and complete the alley-oop making 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Jake had to reorganize the attacks and made more attempts to shoot from three points and thus managed to maintain the advantage on the scoreboard even with the Michigan State team attacking well in the 2nd half, Jake also stopped defending only against Cleaves and got more steals. So the game continued to be exciting until the end and the Tar Heels team won making 85 points against 62 points of the Michigan State team, even with the pressure of the Michigan State team the Tar Heels team still managed to win. In that 2nd half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake had to organize the Tar Heels team attack in the 2nd half and helped in the attack, so he still got a double-double. "End of the game, the Tar Heels team wins once again and breaks the San Francisco team''s historic record, it was a record made in 1955 and that was broken only by the UCLA team that won 88 games in a row." "Even if the Tar Heels team did not break the UCLA team record, to be able to break the San Francisco team record is already incredible, so the Tar Heels team advances to the next NCAA tournament game with more confidence." "It''s true, there are only 3 games left this season if the Tar Heels team reaches the final, having won the NCAA tournament last season, the Tar Heels team is the biggest favorite to win the NCAA tournament this season." "Today all the players on the Tar Heels team played well and Jake couldn''t even score as many points as in the last games, the Michigan State team played very well in that game too, especially in the 2nd half, but with the support of the crowd, the Tar Heels team won and starred in history once again with this incredible team." "We will continue to follow the Tar Heels team on this incredible record that continues and also to see if they win the NCAA tournament again." The Tar Heels team players celebrated as if they had won the NCAA tournament, even though the players did not show the pressure to stay so many games without losing trying to break the San Francisco team record put a lot of pressure on the players. Even more with favoritism for being the current champions of the NCAA tournament, so after finally breaking that record the pressure on them would be much less, they would just continue to win the NCAA tournament again this season. The players had no pressure to break the UCLA team record because many players knew that this was their last season on the team Tar Heels, Shammond Williams, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Jake Smith would leave the team this season and they didn''t need to care more with the record. Many reporters wanted to do an interview and ask questions of the Tar Heels team players after that victory and that record break, but Coach Guthridge already knew this would happen and denied all interviews claiming that the players were tired. The players had only 1 day of rest and would have a difficult game in 2 more days, but Coach Guthridge knew that if he just refused he could irritate the NCAA and the sports media who wanted to know about it and use it as a promotion for College basketball. So before that game, he had already made an agreement with some sports media and broadcasting stations to organize the players ''interviews the next day when the players were more rested and only some media could participate in the players'' interviews. It would be something like a press conference, but it would be just some sports media in the hotel room that the Tar Heels team players would stay in so that the players could celebrate quietly and then rested until the next day. Jake even called his mom to talk to her about the game and talked to Kate too, after Kate showed up at the ACC tournament final game, Jake was talking to her on the phone and Kate''s manager had already approved this possible dating in the future. Kate''s manager thought it was better for her to always talk to Jake on the phone than to set up meetings with him that it was riskier for the media to know about it, so after talking a few times they were getting even closer. Jake always had to think about what he said to avoid telling him some secrets like the fact that he was going to the NBA this season, but Kate didn''t seem to care and said several things that Jake felt was supposed to be a secret. Kate had told Jake that she was recording a new music album that would be released in a few months and Jake can hear Kate''s manager fighting with her because of that, the only thing they didn''t talk about was when they were going to meet because the two were too busy in the coming months. But Kate was making a surprise for Jake and would go to the NCAA tournament final game that she was sure Jake''s team would be there for, so she had to plan her schedule since the end of the ACC tournament and was her manager who suffered from it. Chapter 423 1998 NCAA Tournament 5 The other day after they were more rested and relaxed, Coach Guthridge prepared the interview for the players, the hotel allowed them to use a special place in the hotel prepared for the press and the reporters went there. The deal was with four sports media that accepted Coach Guthridge''s conditions, which had many questions forbidden, reporters from ESPN, TNT, CBS and Sports Illustrated were allowed. Many questions were forbidden such as talking about whether players would go to the NBA draft or continue playing at the university, Coach Guthridge thought that this could be misused by the media to disrupt the relationship between players and fans. So the reporters would stay in the hotel''s press room and the players would enter individually and so the reporters could ask several questions to the players individually, all the players would go and the reporters would ask the questions if they wanted to. Coach Guthridge would naturally also answer the reporters'' questions, for security reasons he would answer the questions first and then be the players on the starting team with Jake being the fifth player to speak. So if reporters asked something that was not allowed he would be expelled and the interview would continue, so after everything was organized the reporters first interviewed Coach Guthridge who was also very important in this interview. After all, it was Bill Guthridge''s first year as head coach and Team Tar Heels have already had one of the best seasons in team history and won the ACC tournament and was close to winning the NCAA tournament. In addition, along with trainer Dean Smith, he led the team to break that San Francisco team record and Team Tar Heels now had 61 straight wins, so naturally, he would have a lot of questions for Coach Guthridge. The first question was how he felt when he learned that he would have to replace the legendary coach Dean Smith with whom he worked for over 30 years, and how he felt having one of the best debut seasons of any college basketball coach. "Coach Dean Smith has been the head coach of the Tar Heels team for 36 years, he was the best coach the Tar Heels team has had in my opinion and has led many teams to make great seasons and is respected by everyone." "A lot of what I know as a coach I learned from him and this team that managed to break that record was formed by him and started winning games with him, I only coached this team after Serge Zwikker left." "I am very happy with my work so far as the head coach of the Tar Heels team, much of the credit for this excellent season is the incredible players who are on the team now, I see 7 players who can be starting players on any team." "Jake, Antawn, Vince, Ademola, Makhtar, Shammond, and Ed are incredible players, Jake and Antawn are competing for the best player of the season award, it proves that we have an incredible team." "If the Tar Heels team wins the NCAA tournament this season I believe it will be their merit, that of coach Dean Smith and the greatest glory of my career." Coach Guthridge was experienced in talking to the media, he said what he really thought and was careful not to say anything that could be misinterpreted, the reporters asked a few more questions and the last question was the most interesting of the interview, as the coach Guthridge thought it would be the professional future of the Tar Heels team players. "This is difficult to say, a player''s professional career depends a lot on luck and opportunities beyond skills, many excellent players and NBA stars have never won an MVP award and never won an NBA title." "I think a lot of players on the Tar Heels team today have the capacity to be professional players in the NBA or another basketball league, Shammond Williams who finishes college this season has a good chance of going to the NBA." "With his ability if he can play on a team that is strong and with players from other positions very skilled he has a chance to win many awards and win the NBA title one day perhaps." "Antawn Jamison also has the ability to play in the NBA in the future, he is a very skilled player who has a lot of ability to score a lot and get rebounds, so if he plays on a strong team with good players he can be very successful." "It is the same with Jake Smith and Vince Carter, they are excellent players, but if they did not have a good team with good players in the other positions it is impossible for them to win prizes and win the NBA title." "What I can say is that everyone has the ability to play on a strong team to win an NBA title, everyone has the ability and will depend on luck to achieve that." Coach Guthridge said a standard answer to that question and in addition to praising the players, he did not highlight any players as the best of them, he really felt that everyone had the ability to play on a strong team to win the NBA title. After that, the other players were interviewed and only Coach Guthridge was present at the other interviews to make sure that the reporters would not ask questions that could harm the players and the team. One question everyone received besides Coach Guthridge was about what players thought of Jake Smith, everyone said as expected by reporters who thought Jake was the best team player and team leader on the court and one of the main responsible for the current great team season. It was as if everyone said that Jake was the best player on the team just as everyone knew it without anyone saying, after all, Jake had broken several records in several different areas, he had the record for points, assists, and steals in a single season. The next interview would be with Jake, all the reporters were waiting for this and had already prepared the questions they would ask Jake, after all, Jake gave few interviews which made his answers even more valuable. Naturally, the reporters were smart and would not ask any questions that might compromise Jake to not risk being expelled from the press conference, the first question for Jake was what he felt about having the opportunity to win his second NCAA tournament in his second season. "I am very happy with this, it is an honor and a dream for any basketball player to win an NCAA tournament, I was lucky to win in my freshman season and I was also lucky to be able to win two ACC tournaments." "Winning a second NCAA tournament would definitely be a great honor and a great achievement that I will be proud of forever, I hope our team wins the next games to achieve this." Jake answered that question carefully so as not to accidentally say that this was his last season at university, so if he won this second NCAA tournament it would be the last he would win. The reporters couldn''t guess that and soon prepared the next question, they asked if Jake felt that he was the most important player on the Tar Heels team in these two seasons and to break that record because of the data that in games that when he played for more 20 minutes the Tar Heels team always won. "I believe so, just as the numbers said I scored more points and more assists so in my team I was the most important in these 61 victories, but as I said this is just seeing the numbers and this team." "Without my teammates, I wouldn''t be able to get those numbers, without the training of Coach Dean Smith last season and Coach Bill Guthridge this season the team wouldn''t win and I couldn''t do that well." "So I believe the team was responsible for this and not just me, just as Coach Guthridge said without a good team with players in the right positions we couldn''t win the games, let alone the NCAA tournament." Jake and the players had talked several times and Jake was friends with everyone, just as everyone said he was the best player on the team he could also say that without causing any problems with the other players because the numbers say so. But it was the first time that Jake said it clearly to the media because he gave few interviews, and Jake only said it because there were only 3 games left in the NCAA tournament, so it wouldn''t cause any problems for the team. After that, the reporters asked Jake some more questions about basketball and were careful not to ask any more compromising questions, and finally asked Jake if he thought he would miss another game because of some marathon he had to participate in. "No, I don''t think this will happen anymore, the Tokyo marathon is a very special marathon for me and I always wanted to participate in this marathon, when I became a marathon runner I always thought about participating in 6 marathons in the world." "And these were the Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, and Tokyo marathon, these are for me the most important and main marathons in the world, the other marathons I had the opportunity to participate in." "But to race in Tokyo I had to lose an important game for my team, I just did it because I believed in my team and because it was my dream to race once in Tokyo, so I think it will be difficult for that to happen again." This could be a tricky question for Jake, but in fact, Jake always wanted to talk about it because he knew that it worried a lot of sponsors and fans that he might miss an important game to run a marathon. So Jake was happy to answer that question, even though he had problems with the other big marathons in the future because he talked about the major marathons that were not yet called that, he had gained more support from those marathons. Chapter 424 1998 NCAA Tournament 6 Coach Guthridge didn''t like some of the questions, but he was still happy with how those press conference interviews went, reporters didn''t miss out on this opportunity and asked several questions to reserve players as well. So the interviews ended and the players had not been tired or stressed because of that, now the reporters had an interview to do about the Tar Heels team record of the 61-game winning streak and also an interview to talk about the NCAA title later a few weeks. Coach Guthridge decided to let the players rest for the next day''s game and they would have no training, if the Tar Heels team won the next game they would have a week to rest before the next game and could train a lot. So soon the day of the next NCAA tournament came, after a day of rest the players were almost recovered for the game, after breaking the record and thus relieving the pressure that the players felt they were much more confident in the victory. The opponent in that game was the UConn Huskies team, the UConn Huskies team was having a great season and had a good team with great players, for not even qualifying for the NCAA tournament last season, many thought that the Tar Heels team would win with assurance. But Jake knew that next season the UConn Huskies team would be the champion of the NCAA tournament, that was strange for Jake because the Michigan State team that they won in the last game would be the champion of the NCAA tournament after two seasons and the UConn Huskies team would win the NCAA tournament next season. It showed how the Tar Heels team had faced tough opponents if they could win the NCAA tournament this season, so Jake would do his best in that game to guarantee victory. "Welcome to everyone who is watching another NCAA tournament game this season, the Tar Heels team plays today trying to increase the winning record and continue in the NCAA tournament to try to win the second NCAA title in a row." "After the last game where all the players on the Tar Heels team performed well, the opponent in that game is the UConn Huskies team that has been having a great season and can win this game and end the winning streak of the Tar Heels team." "That''s right, the UConn Huskies team has been playing very well this season and has great players, I think in the coming seasons they can get a better result." "But in the last few games they won very hard and in that game, I think the Tar Heels team will win again, with Jake Smith and Antawn Jamison playing so well I find it difficult for the Tar Heels team to lose." The game started with the Tar Heels team pressing in the attack as it did in the last few games, the players were confident and the Tar Heels team was better in the attack, moreover, the players didn''t have to worry and get tired because the next game would just be a week later if they won. But the UConn Huskies team was known for their good defense for letting their opponent score more than 79 points in just 2 games this season, so Jake knew it would be a tough game where he had to prepare to score fewer points and try more shots out. The UConn Huskies team''s attack was not very strong because of that and Coach Guthridge just told the players to focus on defending against Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin. Jake would defend against Hamilton who was better at three-point shots in that game and the other players had to defend against El-Amin, so with the good defense of the UConn Huskies team, the Tar Heels team was unable to open a good advantage against the UConn team. Huskies at the start of the game. Jake would play a key role in this game and if he defended well he could help the Tar Heels team win because his steals would be important in a game with fewer points, so he was more focused than usual in defense. In another play, the UConn Huskies team was attacking and after a good play Hamilton received the ball, Jake was further away from him and was waiting for a pass or for Hamilton''s three-point attempt. Hamilton attempted an outside shot and Jake quickly approached to block and prevent Hamilton''s outside shot, the ball went to El-Amin after Jake''s block and he attempted an outside shot and made 3 more points for the UConn Huskies team. Williams who should have been defending against El-Amin was distracted after Jake got the block and did not continue defending against El-Amin who scored, Jake was upset because the team lost the chance to increase the lead, but said nothing for Williams. In another move the Tar Heels team was on the attack and the UConn Huskies defense was pressing, Carter advanced the ball and passed the ball to Jamison on the left, Jamison received the ball and the UConn Huskies defense soon pressed against him. Jamison tried a spin, but seeing that he was not going to make it he passed the ball to Williams further back on the right, Williams received the ball and passed it to Jake in the middle, Jake saw that he had no good passing options and tried the individual play. He tried to feint, but he did not deceive the opposing player, so Jake tried to use speed and got rid of the opposing player, another UConn Huskies defense player came to defend against Jake and he stepped back and tried the shot from outside. So he got it right and made 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, Jake still managed to hit some three-point shots, but the UConn Huskies defense was very strong, it was difficult for him to have to use more than three attempts to get rid of an opponent. The game continued like this with the Tar Heels team pressing in the attack and the UConn Huskies team very well in defense, the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half winning with a small advantage because Jake got some three-point shots and helped in the defense. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks, Jake was really playing well in this 1st half both in attack and defense, he managed to find spaces to make good assists and help his teammates score against UConn Huskies'' good defense. "What an exciting 1st half we had in that game, the two teams are trying to win and the players from both teams are playing very well, the Tar Heels team is currently winning, but in the 2nd half everything can change." "It is true, the UConn Huskies team is playing very well and is using strong defense to try to prevent the Tar Heels team that has the best attack from College basketball from increasing the advantage on the scoreboard." "But Jake is also playing very well in this game and has been the highlight of the Tar Heels team in this game also with 6 steals and 3 blocks, moreover, in the attack Jake is organizing the Tar Heels team well to find spaces and so they can do it the points against the UConn Huskies team''s strong defense." "We will monitor whether the Tar Heels team can continue to attack and defend in order to guarantee the advantage on the scoreboard and achieve victory at the end of the game." The game was really difficult and the Tar Heels team players who were very confident before the game started were starting to get worried, Jake remembered that in the past the Tar Heels team won this game, but in this game, some key players from the UConn Huskies team they were a little sick in that game. And Jake could clearly see that the players on the UConn Huskies team were healthy in this game, almost everything was happening as Jake remembered it, but some things still changed like that. So this game was much more difficult than Jake thought it would be and even defending against Hamilton was difficult, Jake was having difficulty making the plays and so he only made assists or shots from three points, it was because he couldn''t move forward to make a layup or a dunk in that game. In the 2nd half, the game remained difficult to play and Jake was really trying his best to make the Tar Heels team continue with the lead on the scoreboard, in another move the Tar Heels team was on the attack and Jake passed the ball to Williams on the right. Williams advanced with the ball and passed to Okulaja ahead before crossing the three-point line, Okulaja tried the play and failed and passed the ball back to Williams further back, Williams tried to pass the ball to Jamison later on left. But Hamilton managed to intercept the pass and make the steal, he took the opportunity and started running for the attack, so Hamilton and El-Amin were running to try to make the points on the counterattack. Williams took a while to react to the turnover he did and only Jake came back using his speed to defend, Jake was very fast and was ahead of Hamilton and El-Amin preventing them from moving forward. The two realized this and decided to use the numerical advantage and Hamilton opened on the left and El-Amin opened on the right, Jake was not anxious and stayed in the middle so that he could try the block on whoever tried to make the points or the steal. Near the painted area Hamilton who had the ball realized Jake''s intentions and went to try the mid-range shot, Jake realized this and advanced close to Hamilton and jumped along with him to try the block. But Hamilton was smarter and was not trying to shoot the mid-range but wanted to trick Jake and passed the ball to El-Amin who was free and can advance to make the layup and 2 more points for the UConn Huskies team. Chapter 425 1998 NCAA Tournament 7 Jake felt very irritated for being cheated, but in this situation, it was difficult for him to defend against the two alone, so the advantage of the Tar Heels team was only 7 points and had greatly diminished because of the attack errors of the other players in the team. Tar Heels team. A few minutes had passed from the 2nd half of the game and the Tar Heels team could still win, but this play irritated Jake who used to be calm, in the same play he was tricked he received the ball from Carter and advanced for the attack. This time Jake went forward for the attack alone and did not pass the ball as he always did, but sometimes he did it and no one found anything strange, still being a little far from the three-point line Jake didn''t even think twice and tried a shot from outside by far. So he got it right and made 3 more points for the Tar Heels team, the defensive players of the UConn Huskies team didn''t expect Jake to attempt the shot from so far and didn''t even think about defending and so the crowd that was rooting for the team Tar Heels at the Greensboro Coliseum started to cheer even more. The game continued and Jake was defending more willingly and hindered the UConn Huskies team who missed the attack for Jamison to catch the rebound, so after a few minutes, the other players from the Tar Heels team and the UConn Huskies team began to notice that something strange was happening. Jake tried 6 shots from three points in a row without passing to any player on the Tar Heels team once, he hit 4 shots from outside and had already scored 12 points in those few minutes, the advantage of the Tar Heels team greatly increased with that and the attacks were quick because Jake didn''t use the ball possession time for the Tar Heels team. So the coach of the UConn Huskies team had to ask for technical time to talk to the players, Coach Guthridge naturally realized that Jake was awkward in the last minutes, but as the Tar Heels team was increasing the lead on the scoreboard he said nothing. But now that team coach UConn Huskies had asked for time, that move would no longer work and coach Guthridge had to call Jake to a more isolated place to talk to him about what was going on. "What happened in the last few minutes, Jake, was it a strategy to further increase the lead? But if you were to do that, you could enjoy a little more possession time." "I''m sorry, Coach Guthridge, I was a little irritated and didn''t think about it properly." "Riled up? Was it with the UConn Huskies team move that you were tricked? Don''t worry about it, you can''t always defend well against two players." "It was not that, in several plays, in the 2nd half our team was often making mistakes in the attack and the advantage was decreasing, so for some plays, I didn''t want to pass the ball to anyone." So Coach Guthridge can understand why Jake was apologizing, it was good that he decided to talk to Jake separately from the rest of the team, Jake was very good at three-point shots and he almost never had a game where he didn''t play very well. In addition, Coach Guthridge had never seen Jake become very nervous or anxious in a game and he was always the player who helped others to control themselves, so Coach Guthridge didn''t realize that Jake was acting strangely in those last few minutes. "Look, Jake, I know you can often play alone because you have a high average three-point hit, but you do this only because opposing players are concerned with defending against their teammates who are great players too." "So when you go forward, there are often not even two players defending against you, but if you still want to do all the moves yourself there will be two or three players defending against you in that game." "If I see that you are getting in the way of the Tar Heels team from getting the win because of that I will have to replace you." Coach Guthridge didn''t want to be too hard to reproach Jake for this, but he couldn''t allow it to affect the team in an important game like this, otherwise, the Tar Heels team would be eliminated. Jake was smart and naturally understood that he was doing something wrong and in the other move he passed to Williams again and the opposing players returned to defend normally, the Tar Heels team had regained the advantage on the scoreboard, Jake was calm again. But because of that, the Tar Heels team was lucky because when Jake received the ball the UConn Huskies defense had two players defending against him, with all his teammates playing well it meant more space for Jake to assist. In another play Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Carter before passing through the middle of the court, Carter received the ball and continued to advance and passed the ball to Jamison further ahead before reaching the three-point line. Jamison tried to move forward and the UConn Huskies defense was pressing against him, so Jamison passed the ball to Williams who was further back on the right, Williams received the ball and held it up a little before passing the ball to Jake again. Jake received the ball and two players from the UConn Huskies team soon came to defend against him, so Jake passed the ball to Okulaja who was open from the right, Okulaja had come from behind the defense and was free, so Okulaja tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. The game continued with the Tar Heels team pressing in the attack until the end, the coach of the UConn Huskies team tried to change the defense again, but the Tar Heels team managed to win the game making 89 points against 60 points of the UConn Huskies team. In that 2nd half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 21 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 blocks, after 10 minutes of the 2nd half when Jake talked to Coach Guthridge he started making more assists than points, so he got another quadruple-double at College basketball. "So the game ends and the Tar Heels team got another victory and continues in the NCAA tournament to try to win the NCAA title again this season." "This was a difficult game for the Tar Heels team and the UConn Huskies team that has a good defense gave the Tar Heels team a lot of difficulties, but at the end of the game the Tar Heels attack managed to find a way to break the defense of UConn Huskies team and the game ended with Tar Heels team winning with a good advantage." "Okay, the players of the UConn Huskies team were playing very well in that game and so their team''s defense made a very good 1st half, but the players of the Tar Heels team were also playing well and so the Tar Heels team managed the victory." "Jake was the highlight of the game making in a few minutes of the 2nd half 6 shots from outside and hitting 4 of them making 12 points in a few minutes which increased the advantage for the Tar Heels team and also made the UConn Huskies defense have to defend better against him and thus give space to other players on the Tar Heels team." "Jake got another quadruple-double in that game and also got 6 blocks, it was certainly one of his best games and he was very important for the victory of the Tar Heels team in that game, I''m sure Jake Smith deserves to be the best player in a year." "So with this victory, the Tar Heels team increases the record of victories in a row and we will see if they win the next games and thus the Tar Heels team will be champion of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year." The Tar Heels team players celebrated a lot of being able to play again in the final four of the NCAA tournament, of course, everyone hoped they could win the next game and make it to the final of the NCAA tournament. Jake was happy about it, but he was ashamed of what he had done in that game, even though it worked well to break the UConn Huskies team''s strong defense, he knew well that he hadn''t done what he did think about it. Jake decided that at the next team training he would apologize for what happened and explain exactly what he did, he had to be honest with his teammates so that everyone could believe him. Coach Guthridge gave 2 days for all players to rest and then they would train for 4 days before the game, after that game everyone was really exhausted and needed those days off. The sports media kept talking about the Tar Heels team because just as they expected everyone who came to watch the games, they were curious to see the Tar Heels team break the San Francisco team''s winning streak followed by watching to see if the Tar Heels team would win the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. The Tar Heels team would have time to rest before the next game, so Jake would continue training with Yuen Woo-ping, after all, he would have 6 days before the next game and would take the opportunity to train with Yuen Woo-ping because he had a responsibility with the film crew. The next day the players were resting and Jake went to train with Yuen Woo-ping, in fact, Jake found this martial arts training very relaxing and very good, even if the wire-fu was more for acting there were many things about the martial arts that Jake wished he could hurt someone. Yuen Woo-ping continued to train Jake to do the best he could in this film and even taught things that Jake wouldn''t even need to use in the film, after all, he thought Jake was already ready for the film, but they could use the time to train even more. Chapter 426 1998 NCAA Tournament 8 Yuen Woo-ping wanted Jake to do very well in this film to be praised for his effort to learn the fight scenes, moreover, if he could teach Jake a lot of things he could invite him to a fight film in the future in Hollywood or even Hong Kong. The truth was that for Jake''s character in this film, his fighting skills would be more important than his acting skills, Jake had a lot of acting skills also because of the years he trained in his life before going back in time. Jake naturally knew that and his goal was not to be recognized as the best actor in the film, in fact, he was very concerned that his character could disrupt the story he knew and thus the film would not be that good. Jake just wanted to have an important character in a movie that would be a success, so he would be proud and could be called an actor even if he did not make any more films in the future, Jake knew that with NBA games it would be almost impossible for him to find time to participate in the films. But his career as a professional basketball player would not last forever, after the age of 45 he would certainly not be playing anymore, so Jake could continue working as an actor while running the marathons and running his businesses. Of course, no one knew that Jake thought about it and Yuen Woo-ping thought that Jake''s goal was to be a famous actor and wanted to help him with that, the directors who worked with him also thought about it and were counting on Jake in the future. After a few days Jake continued training with Yuen Woo-ping and the basketball team went back to training for the next game, the Tar Heels team players were confident and excited for the next game. Everyone thought that the Tar Heels team would go to the final of the NCAA tournament this season and win again and that enthusiasm was affecting the players too, Jake was the most concerned about it and Coach Guthridge too. Before the first day of training after the break, Jake decided to speak to Coach Guthridge about his concerns, after all in the past the Tar Heels team lost to the opposing team of that game when Jake did not play. Jake told Coach Guthridge that he was very concerned and thought that the Tar Heels team might not win the next game, so he thought it was better for the players to train more before the next game. Listening to this made Coach Guthridge even more concerned, he really thought the next game against the Utah Utes team would be very difficult, listening to Jake he was sure of it now after all the Utah Utes team had an even better defense than the UConn Huskies team which caused many problems for the Tar Heels team''s attack. The Utah Utes team had a very strong defense that had taken over 70 points against just two opponents in the entire season, the next opponent the Utah Utes team was having a great season losing few games and even winning against the Arizona Wildcats team that he lost to the Tar Heels team in the semifinal of the NCAA tournament last season, but he would have won the NCAA tournament had it not been for Jake on the team. This showed the strength of the Utah Utes team that they lost last season to the team that played in the final against Team Tar Heels, because of that Coach Guthridge changed his mind and decided to do intense training with the team in the next few days. Before that Jake told what really happened in the last game that he made 6 shots out of 6 strokes in a row without passing the ball to anyone because he was angry at the poor performance of his teammates in that game. He apologized and his teammates were surprised by this and accepted the apology and liked Jake''s honesty, they knew that Jake was not arrogant and normally didn''t do that and that he should be suffering from the pressure like all of them. But what nobody knew was that Coach Guthridge would agree with Jake that the team played poorly at the beginning of the 2nd half of the last game and said that the team had to train harder if they wanted to have the chance to win in the next game and also in the final game if they won against the Utah Utes team. So over the next few days, the training was really intense with the coach taking care not to make the players tired too much, coach Guthridge told the team to be careful with Michael Doleac and Andre Miller from the Utah Utes team. He also said that in the next game Jake would have to make more three-point moves to try to break the Utah Utes team''s defense, and they too would have to defend very well if they wanted to have a chance to win. To defend against the Utah Utes Doleac Center, Coach Guthridge decided to take Williams out of the starting team and put N''Diaye to strengthen the defense, N''Diaye had already been in many games as a reserve to help the defense of the Tar Heels team and that it had worked very well. After many days of training came the day of the semifinal game that would be a very important game for the Tar Heels team, that game would be at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It was a long way from Chapel Hill, North Carolina and the team had to travel the day before and miss a day of training to be able to arrive rested for game day, yet the biggest crowd was for the Tar Heels team which gained a lot of popularity afterward to break the San Francisco team record. "Welcome everyone who came to watch another game of the NCAA tournament, this is a game of the final four, a semifinal between two of the 4 best teams of College basketball this season, this is one of the most important games of this season." "The Tar Heels team tries to win this game to further increase the incredible winning streak and also try to reach the final again and try to win for the second year in a row the NCAA tournament." "The Utah Utes team has had an incredible season and has excellent players that make this team have one of the best defenses in college basketball, the Utah Utes team wants to win the NCAA tournament again after more than 50 years since the last victory." "Okay, I think the Tar Heels team is definitely a favorite to win this game because of the players, Jake Smith, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, and the other players have done an excellent season and I think this NCAA tournament is going to be won by that team." "But I wouldn''t be too surprised if the Utah Utes team won that game and then won the NCAA tournament." Many of the media thought as the commentators thought, everyone cheered and hoped that the Tar Heels team would win this game, but if they lost it would also be an interesting thing for them to put in the reports. The game started with the Tar Heels team attacking normally, Jake decided not to increase the pace of the game early in the game and leave his teammates tired, Jake knew that the Utah Utes team defense was very good and was not using the speed that they could make the stitches. Fortunately, the Utah Utes team''s attack was also not very strong so if they managed to have a good game they would be able to win that game, the most difficult would be to defend against Doleac and it would be N''Diaye who would have to try harder in that game. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left, Carter advanced with the ball and passed to Jamison who was on the right, Coach Guthridge decided to leave Williams out of that game following Jake''s recommendation and for the plays, he would leave Jamison and Carter more behind. When Jake advanced to the attack the two would enter the area too and so only Jake would be out of the three-point line, this could help the Utah Utes team to defend more easily, but it was also part of the Tar Heels team strategy. Jamison passed the ball to Okulaja further on and the Utah Utes team''s defense soon pressed against Okulaja, so he had to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Miller came to defend against him. Jake managed to deceive Miller with a feint and tried the shot from the outside and thus the first 3 points against the Utah Utes team, that was the main strategy of the Tar Heels team at the beginning of the game, to count on Jake to make several shots from outside and to try to make the most points like that. It seemed like a weak strategy, but with Jake''s average of 78% on three-point shots it was actually the best strategy against a team that had such a strong defense within the three-point line. And the strategy didn''t end only with Jake making several shots from three points, the Utah Utes team would have to defend better against Jake and thus get some players out of the three-point line, so Jake would have more freedom to make assists and the team Tar Heels could attack better. And luckily for the Tar Heels team, Jake was very good in the three-point shots at the beginning of the game of the six three-point shots he tried he hit 5 three-point shots making 15 points and missing only 1 of them. It was different from the last game because the Tar Heels team spent the ball possession time and so 6 minutes had passed since the beginning of the game, the Utah Utes team also managed to score 11 points, but the Tar Heels team went through the most difficult time 1st half and it was the Utah Utes team that had to do something to stop Jake in that game. Chapter 427 1998 NCAA Tournament 9 Just as Jake and Coach Guthridge expected the Utah Utes team coach had to ask for technical time to organize his team''s defense, Coach Guthridge didn''t even need to explain to Jake what he had to do. The other players on the Tar Heels team who thought it strange that they hadn''t scored any points in 6 minutes of play and didn''t even try to score any points, but they understood Coach Guthridge''s strategy and could see that it was working. Coach Guthridge just spoke to N''Diaye who seemed to be having a difficult time defending against Doleac from the Utah Utes team, the coach understood how difficult it was for N''Diaye to defend against such a good Center, but it was important that he try to hinder Doleac and not doing too many fouls to avoid being kicked out of the game. Jake wanted to defend against Miller, but Coach Guthridge said that Jake could defend against Miller, but he had better try some steals and not just keep defending against Miller. The Utah Utes team came back after this time-out from their coach pressing more in the attack, they had to finish this 1st half by winning the game because they knew that the Tar Heels team did not lose games that they finished the 1st half by winning. In another attacking move by the Utah Utes team, the ball went through all the players and returned to Miller, Jake soon went to press on defense against him, Miller could not get rid of Jake and had to pass the ball to Doleac. Doleac received the ball and managed to spin quickly even with N''Diaye defending against him, so Doleac managed to make the layup and 2 more points for the Utah Utes team and N''Diaye did not try the block to not make the foul which was the decision right in that move. The players of the Utah Utes team were doing well in this game and were able to put a lot of pressure on the Tar Heels team that was in the attack, luckily Jake managed to get some steals and was getting in the way of the Utah Utes team''s attack. The Utah Utes team''s defense began to defend more against Jake and sent two players to the three-point line to defend against him, so Jake and the Tar Heels team finally had more space to make plays within the three-point line. In another move the Tar Heels team was attacking, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left before passing through the middle of the court, Carter advanced with the ball and passed the ball to Okulaja on the right before reaching the three-point line. The Utah Utes team defense soon pressed against Okulaja who had to pass the ball to Jamison who was further behind, Jamison passed the ball to Jake who was further behind, the Utah Utes team defense came with two players to press against Jake. At that point, Carter and Jamison had entered within the line of three points and Jake passed the ball to Carter ahead, Carter advanced with speed and managed to make the dunk to make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. This encouraged, even more, the fans who were rooting for the Tar Heels team, the Utah Utes team coach knew that the Tar Heels team would do that, but he couldn''t let Jake continue making so many three-point shots and just rely on luck. The Tar Heels team can attack with more freedom and thus ended the 1st half by winning with a small advantage on the scoreboard, the Utah Utes team was also playing well and was slightly behind the Tar Heels team in that game. In that 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and had 23 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals, even Jake was having a difficult time defending against the Utah Utes team and was only able to make 2 steals and catch some defensive rebounds. "End of the 1st half of this exciting game, the Tar Heels team finishes the 1st half of the game by winning with a small advantage and achieved this with great difficulty and a strange attack strategy with Jake trying 6 shots from three points in the first 6 attacks of the team Tar Heels." "It was the same thing that happened in some part of the last game and it helped to break the defense of the Utah Utes team that had to defend better against Jake who scored 15 points and that gave freedom to the other players on the Tar Heels team." "The Utah Utes team also had an excellent 1st half defending very well and attacking very well too, if it weren''t for Jake Smith they would certainly have won that 1st half with a good lead on the scoreboard." "Michael Doleac is playing very well and scored several points even with Makhtar N''Diaye from the Tar Heels team defending against him, and other players from the Utah Utes team were also very good at the beginning of the game making several three-point shots and hitting not letting the Tar Heels team to get an even bigger advantage at the start of the game." "Even though the Tar Heels team is the favorite to win this game because they have a small advantage, the Utah Utes team can win this game if they continue to play well." The Utah Utes team continued to press in the attack in the 2nd half because they wanted to win that game and advance to the final of the NCAA tournament, but with Jake who forced the Utah Utes team''s defense out of the three-point line to defend against him left the Utah Utes team''s defense opened. In another move Jake moved forward and passed to Jamison on the right before passing through the middle of the court, Jamison advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left before reaching the three-point line. Carter tried to get rid of the opponent to advance, but the Utah Utes team''s defense was very well within the three-point line, so Carter had to pass the ball to Jake again, Jake received the ball and this time only one player came to defend against he and the others stayed inside the area. It seemed that at halftime the Utah Utes team coach asked the players to return to their normal defensive style, so Jake didn''t hesitate and tried a shot from outside and hit to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. In the next few minutes, Jake tried for three shots in a row from an outside shot and hit all three and scored 9 points, further increasing the Tar Heels team advantage on the scoreboard, so the Utah Utes players again tried to defend against Jake and the Tar team. Heels had room to attack within the three-point line again. The Utah Utes team continued to attack well, but Jake, who spoke to coach Guthridge at half-time, started to defend better against Miller who could no longer play freely. So the Utah Utes team had only Doleac to attack well, but it seemed that after making several difficult plays fighting against the defense of the Tar Heels team practically alone Doleac was getting tired. Okulaja was also helping to defend against him which made the situation even more difficult for him, in another move he received the ball and N''Diaye soon arrived to defend against him, Doleac with difficulty managed to get rid of N''Diaye and Okulaja arrived to defend too. So Doleac had to do a spin and when he thought about trying to layup Jake suddenly appeared and did the steal with speed, Doleac had not even realized that Jake was around and thus lost the attack to the Utah Utes team. Jake advanced with the ball and waited for his teammates to go on the attack and passed the ball to Carter on the left, Carter advanced slowly and stopped at the three-point line and passed the ball to Okulaja further on the right. The Utah Utes team defense soon pressed against Okulaja and he passed the ball further to Jamison, Jamison soon passed the ball to Jake in the middle and advanced into the three-point line, Jake received the ball and two players from the Utah Utes team approached him. Jake received the ball and went further to the right and soon passed the ball to Carter who was free on the left outside the three-point line, no Utah Utes defense player followed Carter out of the three-point line and he received the ball alone and can make a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. With Jake drawing more attention from the defense the other players on the Tar Heels team had more freedom to attack, Vince Carter was playing very well in that game and Jamison was also helping a lot in the attack. Team Utah Utes still tried to win, but at the end of the game Team Tar Heels won again with 87 points against Team Utah Utes'' 59 points, with Jake making more than 40 points and Coach Guthridge''s strategy Team Tar Heels won this game more. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and made 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, with this triple-double Jake helped the Tar Heels team to win the toughest game of the year and he was very important in the team''s strategy for victory. "And so this NCAA tournament game ends, in this exciting semifinal game in the final four, the Tar Heels team once again won the victory and thus increases the winning streak and is in the NCAA tournament final for the second year in a row." "With an excellent performance by Jake Smith again in the attack and today is important to the Tar Heels team''s strategy to break the Utah Utes team''s strong defense, the Tar Heels team managed to win with a good advantage even though this was the most difficult game that they had in the season." "The Utah Utes team played very well and the players performed well in that game, Michael Doleac and Andre Miller played an excellent game that helped to keep the Utah Utes team still with chances of victory." Chapter 428 1998 NCAA Tournament 10 "Okay, the Utah Utes team really played a great game and deserved a chance to be in the final of the NCAA tournament this season, but the Tar Heels team was better and goes to the final for the second year in a row with a chance of winning the NCAA tournament for the second time this season." "We were able to see from this strategy by the Tar Heels team chosen by Coach Guthridge the confidence that the coach and the other players on the Tar Heels team have in Jake, which was rewarded by this victory where Jake scored 43 points." "After two days we will have the championship game here at Alamodome, and the Tar Heels team is favorite to win again, we will follow up if the Tar Heels team closes this incredible season with yet another victory, increasing the sequence of victories and ending this season without losing no game." The Tar Heels team players were very happy to win, it was a very difficult game in which Shammond Williams who was one of the main players on the team was not playing very well and so most of the game was left in reserve. Fortunately, N''Diaye played very well and helped the defense of the Tar Heels team to withstand the Utah Utes team attack, but everyone was happy that the Tar Heels team would go for the second season in a row to the NCAA tournament final, that would put the name of all of them in history. Of course, the only thought on everyone''s mind was to win the final game and win the NCAA tournament again, the players were more confident because they came from a winning streak that now had 63 wins in a row. And also because they knew they could always count on Jake who was instrumental in the Tar Heels team winning the last two games and it was important in all Tar Heels games if the Tar Heels team managed to win everyone knew it was because Jake was on the team in those two seasons. The fans of the Tar Heels team had completely forgotten that Jake had not participated in a game to run the marathon, especially since after that game against the Utah Utes team the media that participated in the interview on the day that the Tar Heels team broke the record and was organized by coach Guthridge decided to publish the report with the responses of the players. The fans saw Jake''s answer as to why he hadn''t participated in a game to run the Tokyo marathon and with the Tar Heels team going to the final with Jake''s excellent performance everyone understood what he said. The fame of the Tar Heels team now in the United States was even greater than that of some NBA teams with this doubt that everyone had a possible NBA lockout, everyone wanted to see if the Tar Heels team could win again and win for the second year in a row. NCAA tournament and increase the sequence of games without losing for a few more months until the next season. Coach Guthridge gave the day after the game against the Utah Utes team to rest for the Tar Heels team players, it was a very intense game and the game of the final would be even more intense, Coach Guthridge thought it was no use training one day before the final game. Because of that game, Jake again asked for a short break from training with Yuen Woo-ping, naturally, Yuen Woo-ping understood how important the NCAA tournament game was to Jake and let Jake rest. The one who had no rest was David Falk, who had to talk to many companies again, Jake''s performance convinced all companies that Jake was a future NBA star and could even be the new NBA No. 1 player in the coming seasons. The attention that Jake and the Tar Heels team was getting was very great and these companies wanted to sponsor Jake, but the problem was that Jake had asked David to increase the amount that the companies had to pay for sponsorship to 2 million dollars a year, so a 4-year contract would be $ 8 million. Naturally, companies thought it was too much to pay for sponsorship for a player who was debuting in the NBA even though he was a future genius, even Kobe Bryant didn''t have such big contracts in his debut year. But Jake was different because he had some contracts secured and he had also secured a $ 52 million contract with Adidas, in addition, Jake was also a marathon runner who had won an Olympic gold medal and also won many marathons and had the record current world. So no matter how much the companies wanted to negotiate, David wouldn''t accept anything less than Jake had already set as a minimum, naturally, these companies knew what David was like as a sports agent and so they gave up on having Jake endorse their company. Jake knew these companies would regret it when he appeared in The Matrix and when he won some NBA championships with the Lakers'' team in the coming years, Nike had also finally responded that it accepted the deal that Jake had asked for, but they had some conditions. This further disappointed Jake and David who had good intentions and so David said that the Adidas team had already signed a contract with them a few weeks ago, which greatly surprised Nike representatives who thought that Adidas would not accept this agreement because they already had a contract with Kobe Bryant. Even though Adidas wanted to lead the basketball market in the United States, they knew it would be difficult for them to beat Nike, which had several athletes and mainly Michael Jordan, so they didn''t expect Adidas to bet that much on Jake. This just showed how Nike representatives were not studying the market properly, Jake was very prominent in Europe for reasons that Adidas did not know well, and also had many fans in Asia, even more after winning the marathons in Europe and Asia. Adidas also bet on the athletics market and with Jake, they would have the main athlete of the marathons in the world, in addition to Jake''s full potential in basketball to be one of the biggest stars in the NBA. Adidas representatives really thought that Jake would be as good as Kobe Bryant was when he went to the NBA, they had gained a lot of market after the contract with Kobe Bryant and hoped to win even more with Jake. Only with the fame that Jake had in Europe and Asia did they know that they would gain a lot from this contract, maybe they could create a shoe representing Jake and so they could take advantage of his fame in the world. Even if Jake didn''t become a star for years to come, they knew that at least he would be one of the top players and that in a few years there would be other Olympic games, and for sure Jake could win another marathon and win another gold medal. Thinking about all this, Adidas decided that it would be important for them to get this contract with Jake for the next few years, even with that decided David was still busy because many companies wanted to keep trying to get a contract paying less than Jake and David wanted. On the day of the rest of the Tar Heels team players Jake talked to his mother and confirmed that Eva would come again to watch the final game, but this time Anna would not come with her because they did not want to have to close the restaurant again. Jake was already thinking about it and asked for 3 tickets for Coach Guthridge, he imagined that the team that was in the final would be entitled to some tickets for the players'' family, he didn''t know if that was the case, but Coach Guthridge got some tickets for the game of the final and handed it to Jake. So Jake told his mother that he already had a guaranteed ticket for her, Eva was happy with that because even though she was prepared to go to the final game she still had to buy the ticket for the final and because of the team record Tar Heels this season a lot of people wanted to watch the final game. Jake also spoke to Kate because he suspected she would watch the game too, just as Jake hoped Kate would watch the game anyway, but she had to refuse the ticket that Jake separated for her because it was possible for the broadcaster to broadcast the game knew about the tickets Jake asked for and filmed to see where his family was in the stands. Jake hadn''t even thought about it, but he had to admit that it could happen because he had already seen several games where the broadcasting station filmed the family of the players on the teams that were playing. But Kate, who was famous, had to think about it and had already secured a ticket for her before, in the future she wanted to be able to appear in the media watching Jake''s games, but now they still didn''t have a relationship and so it would be very complicated. Even with Kate taking care, she knew that some gossip magazines said she had been dating Jake since they were photographed together, it was bad for Kate with her fans, but it could be good if she really started dating Jake in the future because the fans would not be so surprised by this. When Jake thought he had to return tickets for Coach Guthridge to give to the other players he received several calls from friends saying they would come to watch his final game, Matthew and Oliver called first and so Jake gave the tickets to them. But Tiffany and Clara also called saying they would watch the game, Eric would also watch the game, but he would see it in the press area, his university friends would also watch the game and Joseph called apologizing because he couldn''t watch his game. Jake was happy to know that many people important to him were going to watch his final game at the Alamodome, and they didn''t even know it was an important game for Jake because it was his last game at the university. Chapter 429 End of Time at the University 1 So the other day came the game day of the 1998 NCAA tournament final, the players were more rested and very confident for this game that would be very important for all of them. In a final game like this, it didn''t matter who was the favorite team or which team won the most games of the season, both teams would have the same chance of winning the game and the team that had the best players and that the players had the best performance would win. The players'' families would be in that game and if the Tar Heels team won they would make history not only for North Carolina University but also for the entire College basketball, after all, few teams won two NCAA tournaments in a row. Only the Duke Blue Devils teams, Cincinnati Bearcats, UCLA Bruins, Oklahoma State Cowboys, San Francisco Dons and the Kentucky Wildcats team that would be their next opponent, this was a very important game for the players, for Coach Guthridge, for the university, and for the fans too. The team that would be the opponent in this final was the Kentucky Wildcats team, the Kentucky Wildcats team had another great season and even if it wasn''t the favorite to win, no one would be surprised if they won that game. After all, this was the Kentucky Wildcats'' third consecutive final in three years, which meant that the Kentucky Wildcats team was among the top two teams in the NCAA tournament for three seasons. In 1996 they won the NCAA tournament and last season they lost that game to the Tar Heels team in the final, so this season they were, even more, wanting to win that game to win the NCAA tournament again and also to get the rematch against the team Tar Heels for last season. Jake was really confident that the Tar Heels team would win that game because the Tar Heels team had more difficulty against teams that had the best saves and the Kentucky Wildcats team didn''t have that good defense and so it would be an open game. This would also be a very important game that could change history, after all before Jake went back in time the Kentucky Wildcats team had won 8 NCAA tournaments and the Tar Heels team had won 6 if the Tar Heels team won in that game the Tar Heels team would have won the fifth NCAA tournament and in the future would have won 8 NCAA tournaments and the Kentucky Wildcats team only 7. The players of the Tar Heels team were very excited and confident that the Tar Heels team would win this game, Jake was looking into the stands to find his friends, he can find his mother easily because he knew where she was. He found Matthew and Oliver who were sitting next to Eva too, then he found Tiffany and Clara and can also find Eric, the hardest thing was for him to find Kate because she was in disguise again. What was a surprise to Jake was that he met David Falk and NBA Lakers general manager Jerry West, he didn''t expect David to come because David hadn''t said anything, but soon Jake understood that it wouldn''t be weird if he came with Jerry West for an NCAA tournament final game. Jake felt more confident seeing that there were so many people rooting for him in this game, he really wanted to give everything he could to win this game that was his last game on the Tar Heels team. Coach Guthridge asked players on the Tar Heels team to be careful of many players on the opposing team, Jeff Sheppard who had not played last season and was one of the main players on this current team. Nazr Mohammed, Scott Padgett, and Wayne Turner, because of Nazr Mohammed coach Guthridge decided to put N''Diaye in the game instead of Okulaja, he had to do that because he didn''t want to take Williams out of that game in the final. But if someone played badly in that game Okulaja would join the team again, everyone knew that the Kentucky Wildcats team was also a very offensive team and therefore Coach Guthridge had to bet on the attack of Team Tar Heels that was stronger than in defense. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game from the final of the NCAA tournament, in this championship game the two teams meet again just as it was last season that the Tar Heels team ended up winning the NCAA tournament." "The Tar Heels team is the favorite to win this game because it has the best players, Jake Smith who has been doing his second season and with these seasons his name will go down in history as one of the best players in the history of college basketball." "Jake has an incredible average this season of 35 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 9 steals, and 1.5 blocks, this is his game''s average of 38 games so far." "The Tar Heels team also has Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja, Makhtar N''Diaye and Ed Cota who form one of the best teams in the history of the Tar Heels team and this season achieved a record of 63 straight victories with last season." "The other team in this NCAA tournament final is the Kentucky Wildcats team that is making the third consecutive final, three years in a row as one of the two best teams in college basketball." "The Kentucky Wildcats team won in 1996 and lost last season to Team Tar Heels, and this season they try to win again with an incredible team with great players." "The Kentucky Wildcats team has Jeff Sheppard who did not play in the last game of the final last season when the Tar Heels team won and he wants to win that game and win the NCAA tournament for the second time." "The two teams have something else in common that the two teams are in the final even though they changed coaches this season, team Tar Heels had coach Dean Smith last season and this season coach Bill Guthridge and team Kentucky Wildcats had coach Rick Pitino last season and have Tubby Smith in that season." "So we will see which of the two teams will win the NCAA tournament this season." Just as commentators said these two teams had the best players and the best teams in the last two seasons of the NCAA tournament if Jake, Carter, and Jamison remained on the Tar Heels team they could play another season with a strong team. In that game Coach, Guthridge asked the players of the Tar Heels team to try their best in defense and put a lot of pressure on the attack, even though the Tar Heels team did not need Jake to make the same strategy that in the last game Jake still had to try many outside shots in that game. Coach Guthridge also hoped to count on Jamison and Carter''s good performance within the three-point line and Williams as well, so the Tar Heels team could win more easily. Right at the beginning of the game Jake received the ball and made a shot from outside and hit, making the first 3 points for the Tar Heels team, this showed that the Tar Heels team came to win this game, in the next plays the defense was stronger in Jake and Williams also tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. Jake and the other players hoped that Williams could have another great performance in that game and thus help the Tar Heels team to win more easily against this difficult opponent who was the Kentucky Wildcats team. The Kentucky Wildcats team also put pressure on the attack just as Coach Guthridge thought, in another move, Sheppard put the ball forward and when the Tar Heels defender pressed it he passed the ball to Turner, Turner soon received pressure from the defense and passed the ball for Mohammed ahead. When Mohammed received the ball N''Diaye soon pressed in defense, Mohammed still managed to spin and lay up to get 2 more points for the Kentucky Wildcats team, at the beginning of the game the defense of the team Tar Heels could not stop the attack of the team Kentucky Wildcats that didn''t miss an attack. So in the first few minutes of the game, it was an exciting game for those who were watching because both teams were very good at attacking, the Kentucky Wildcats team missed a few attacks and Jamison and Jake was ready to receive the rebounds. When the Tar Heels team missed attacks Jamison and Jake were still able to catch the offensive rebound because the players on the Kentucky Wildcats team were not so good at catching rebounds, it started to give the Tar Heels team an advantage and more confidence for Jake and Williams make three-point shots. After 10 minutes of the 1st half of the game, Jake had realized that Sheppard was playing well and making three-point shots, so Jake decided to start defending more against Sheppard, that''s when the Tar Heels team started to defend better and increase the advantage in the scoreboard. In an attack move by the Tar Heels team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Williams on the right before passing through the middle of the court, Williams who was playing well in that game advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left before reaching the line of three points. Carter held the ball a little and the Kentucky Wildcats team''s defense came to press, Carter passed the ball to Jake who was behind when Jake received the ball the Kentucky Wildcats team''s defense was soon to defend against him. So Jake passed the ball further to Jamison on the left, Jamison received the ball and stepped forward to make the layup even with Mohammed in defense and made 2 more points for the Tar Heels team. Jamison and Carter were also very well in this game and knew that this was a very important game and were trying their best to help the Tar Heels team in the attack, so Jake was more confident to get the victory. Chapter 430 End of Time at the University 2 In another attack by the Kentucky Wildcats team after a good move the ball was left for Turner, Turner held the ball and Williams soon came on the defense, so Turner passed the ball to Sheppard who was free in the middle. When Sheppard received the ball Jake who was nearby was prepared, Sheppard saw that he was free and tried the shot from outside because he had already scored 6 points in three-point shots in that game, but this time Jake approached quickly and made the block rejecting the shot. Sheppard and the other players on the Kentucky Wildcats team did not expect this, but Williams who took the remaining ball was waiting for it and soon started the counter-attack for the Tar Heels team. Williams slowly advanced the ball so that his teammates could move forward, before reaching the three-point line Williams passed the ball to Jake who was in the middle, Jake took the ball and made a high pass. Carter took the ball high and made a dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, the players of the Kentucky Wildcats team did not expect this and so the Tar Heels team further increased the lead on the scoreboard. The game continued like this and the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half by winning the game with a good advantage, little by little the Tar Heels team was controlling the game and the players of the Kentucky Wildcats team were getting more anxious. In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake was playing very well and his teammates were playing too, so he had more freedom in attack and after the middle of the 1st half, he can better help the team defensively. "And so the 1st half of the game ends, the Tar Heels team is winning the game in the final of the NCAA tournament that started very much between the teams, the players of the Tar Heels team and the Kentucky Wildcats team are playing very well and so the game it is very exciting and with many points." "But after half of the 1st half of the game, Jake started to play better in defense and with the Tar Heels team dominating most of the game''s rebounds they managed to increase the lead on the scoreboard." "The Kentucky Wildcats team is still able to attack well with Mohammed because N''Diaye is not able to defend very well against him, but N''Diaye still helps in disrupting Mohammed''s attacks in the game, that''s one of the problems with the Tar Heels team not having one good Center on the team." "But with Jake and Williams hitting so many three-point shots for the Tar Heels team that advantage will only increase, so the Kentucky Wildcats team will have to defend better to be able to hold off the Tar Heels attack." "For the time being, the Tar Heels team is winning this game and is closer to winning the NCAA tournament this season for the second year in a row, let''s see if the Kentucky Wildcats team gets a reaction." Just as commentators said the Tar Heels team was winning the game, Coach Guthridge was very pleased with the players and praised Jake for his good defense and praised Jamison who had more rebounds in the game. If the game continued as it was with the Tar Heels players having a good performance, they would win the NCAA tournament again, on the other side, the Kentucky Wildcats'' coach Tubby Smith was worried about the game. He had to ask the players to increase the pressure on the defense and try to press more against Jake and Williams and also within the three-point line, that was difficult for the Kentucky Wildcats team and the players would get more tired doing this, but he was the only one way to achieve victory. Jake''s family and friends were rooting for him in the stands and everyone could feel that the Tar Heels team would win this game, the crowd at the Alamodome was greater for the Tar Heels team because of the team''s record of victories and the greater coverage of the media. Eva and Kate were still nervous because they really wanted Jake''s team to win this game and knew that Jake would be very sad if he lost that game, Jerry West who was watching this game with David Falk was very pleased with Jake''s performance and had high hopes for him on the Lakers'' team if all went well. The Kentucky Wildcats team returned for the 2nd half of the game by pressing in attack and defense, the players were tired after the semifinal game and also because of the pressure. The Tar Heels team had to defend better in the 2nd half, but the players were less tired because Jake knew how to control the team''s pace of play so the players wouldn''t get tired that much, but the pressure was the same for both teams. The Kentucky Wildcats team went on the attack and Turner received the ball and soon received pressure from the Tar Heels team and Williams came to defend against him, so Turner had to pass the ball to Sheppard who was free in the middle. Even though Sheppard was free he knew Jake was around and so he didn''t risk the shot from the outside, Sheppard passed the ball to Padgett who was ahead, soon Jamison arrived to defend against him and so Padgett had to move away and Jamison did not go on defending. So Padgett took advantage of the space to try the shot from outside and score 3 more points for the Kentucky Wildcats team, the Kentucky Wildcats team was better organizing the shots and trying not to try three-point shots or passes close to Jake. One of the advantages of the Kentucky Wildcats team was that all the players on the team could attack well if necessary, and not everyone on the Tar Heels team defended well, but the players on the Tar Heels team expected this and thought it would be a challenge between attacks. The Tar Heels team soon gave the answer and Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Carter on the left, Carter was playing very well in that game as well as Jamison, in the decisive games he was one of the players who always performed well and was one of the most important players on the Tar Heels team because of that. Carter advanced with the ball and passed to Jamison further to the left, Jamison tried to advance and the players of the Kentucky Wildcats soon pressed in defense, so Jamison had to pass the ball to Carter further. Carter passed the ball to Jake in the middle and also advanced into the three-point line, the Kentucky Wildcats team''s defense started to press Jake who made a signal and N''Diaye came to make the screen and so Jake was free to try the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Tar Heels team. The game continued and the two teams kept pressing in the attack and the Kentucky Wildcats pressed in defense trying to prevent the Tar Heels team from further increasing the lead. In another attacking play by the Kentucky Wildcats team, the ball went to Turner who advanced and soon saw the defense of Team Tar Heels pressing, so Turner had to pass the ball to Sheppard who was in the middle. Sheppard was free as in many moves because Jake was defending against him and was making room for him, Sheppard did not risk the shot from outside and tried to pass the ball to Mohammed later on. But Jake foresaw that move and managed to intercept the pass by making the steal, with the ball Jake advanced to the attack with speed, Sheppard was the player who was further behind and had missed the pass and ran to defend against Jake. When Jake continued running using all his speed Sheppard was left behind and the crowd began to celebrate the points that the Tar Heels team would do, Jake continued running and entering within the three-point line decided to make a show for the crowd. After crossing the free throw line, Jake jumped to do a 360-Reverse Dunk and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, normally Jake used to make the simplest dunks just to cheer up the crowd, but as was the final and the last game he thought he could do something special. Just as Jake thought the crowd and the players who were on the Tar Heels team reserve began to shout excitedly by the move, even his teammates who were on the court approached Jake to greet him for the move. With this move and the advantage that the Tar Heels team had on the scoreboard, the Kentucky Wildcats players were losing their desire to play because they knew that the Tar Heels team was getting closer and closer to winning this game. Even so, this was the last game of the year so they kept attacking to try to win, in another move the Tar Heels team was attacking and the ball was with Carter on the left, Carter advanced and passed the ball to Jamison ahead. Jamison tried to advance to make the layup and Turner got the steal and so the Kentucky Wildcats team had the counterattack, Turner advanced quickly with Sheppard and Mohammed, the Tar Heels team players who managed to react and came back to defend were Jake, Carter, and Williams who were further back when Turner steal. Jake was naturally the fastest and was the last defender of the Tar Heels defense when Turner arrived on the Tar Heels three-point line with the Carter ball behind and Sheppard was more to the right being defended by Williams. Turner came with the ball and Mohammed was advancing quickly too, Jake had not yet reacted to the move and waited, Turner stopped to try the mid-range shot and Carter managed to recover and pressed Turner who passed the ball to Mohammed. Mohammed received the ball and tried the layup, Jake was waiting for it and went up after Mohammed and in time made the block preventing Mohammed from making the points, after that play the victory of the Tar Heels team was almost guaranteed. Chapter 431 End of Time at the University 3 The game continued with the two teams attacking, and the Tar Heels team managed to maintain the advantage and won the game in the final of the NCAA tournament and thus became the champion team again for the second year in a row. Team Tar Heels won the game with 105 points against Team Kentucky Wildcats'' 81 points, all players on Team Tar Heels and even Coach Guthridge started to celebrate their victory and the NCAA title. In this 2nd half of the game, Jake played for 20 minutes and had 22 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 blocks, with another triple-double he helped the Tar Heels team to win another NCAA tournament and thus could leave of the Tar Heels team happy with what he did. "End of the game, the Tar Heels team again wins the Kentucky Wildcats team and wins the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row, now the Tar Heels team has 5 NCAA titles and comes close to the Kentucky Wildcats team that has 6." "It was a good match between the teams with the Tar Heels team being ahead on the scoreboard the whole game until the end, the players of both teams had good performances and the attack of the two teams was very strong, but the Tar Heels team defended better and got more rebounds in that game and got the win." "Okay, the Kentucky Wildcats team played very well in that game and it proves that they have a strong team is that this is the third year in a row that they reach the final of the NCAA tournament, they won and 1996, but they lost the last two finals to the Tar Heels team." "But the Kentucky Wildcats team was really bad at rebounds against the Tar Heels team that has players who got a lot of rebounds all this season, Jamison made history in College basketball making 389 rebounds and joining the list of players who got the most rebounds in just one season." "Jamison averaged more than 10 rebounds per game and Jake was also not far behind making 323 rebounds this season and achieving an average of 8.5 rebounds per game." "In this game of the final Jake managed to catch 13 rebounds, make 9 steals and also managed to make 6 blocks, Jake Smith was instrumental in defending the Tar Heels team and was primarily responsible for the victories as in almost all games this season." "That''s why the Tar Heels team managed to win the NCAA tournament again and Jake Smith will again win all of the individual awards for that season including the MVP of the season, the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player award and the Naismith College Player of the Year." "We also have to remember the coach Guthridge who won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament in his first year as coach of the Tar Heels team and along with coach Dean Smith the Tar Heels team managed to win 2 NCAA tournaments in a row and still maintain a record of 64 straight victories that will continue for the next season." Jake looked into the stands to see the people he knew who had come to watch the game celebrating as well as the Tar Heels fans, he looked at Eva who was very happy and looked at Kate who was happy too. As the Tar Heels team had won, he couldn''t talk to all his friends, only Eva who was his mother Jake can talk a little and celebrate before going back to the university with the Tar Heels team. The Tar Heels team celebrated a lot while the players received the prizes and the trophy, then on the way back to university the team celebrated again, somehow the players felt more emotional than last season when they won the NCAA tournament for the first time. Jake was highly praised by his teammates and Jamison was also, the two were certainly the most important for the Tar Heels team to win the NCAA tournament this season and last season as well. The players were not called again to do an interview because they had already done it when they broke the record and the reporters could not be angry about it, of course, if the players wanted to do an interview they could since the season was over. But the players didn''t want to do that for the time being, some players had already said they would go to the NBA draft this season, Jake also said that, but David managed to keep it a secret until after the NCAA tournament final game. So it would soon be announced that Jake would be leaving college and going to the NBA draft that year, many said that Jake would break all individual records in the coming seasons and would soon know that it would not happen. So Jake decided to do an interview only after it was announced, so he could speak openly to the media and do another full interview, other players were not like Jake and would do the interviews in the next few days. The media also wanted to talk to Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Shammond Williams, the three were also stars of the Tar Heels team and the fans wanted to know about them, Jake would relax in the next few days before returning to training. Jake still had to think about the university because his classes were not yet over, his classes ended in May and after that, he would have finished the most important classes at the university, Jake would still return to finish university in the next semesters, but it would be just a few weeks of classes. Jake always thought about leaving the university before 4 years and so he chose a course that he always wanted to study and that he could finish sooner if he wanted, especially because Jake always got high marks in tests and was certainly the best student at university may be tied only with someone who also got top marks. If in the future other players wanted to use Jake as an example to get sponsorship they would have to be professionals in other sports like Jake was and still have the best grades from the university. One thing Jake had to do right after winning the NCAA tournament at the end of the season was to let his friends at the university know that they would no longer be roommates at the university because he would be leaving. This was something surprising for his roommates, they couldn''t imagine that Jake was thinking about joining the NBA this season as he had such a great team and was in the middle of a historic winning streak and had won 2 NCAA tournaments and could break all individual records. They knew that Jake was different from other players and had sponsorship and still had his business while he was at university, so Jake had no problem with money even though he was 4 years at university. They also knew that Jake liked to study and was one of the best students at the university, so they could not understand why Jake wanted to leave the university, Zack and Aaron were shocked, but they could accept that it was more difficult for William who went to class with Jake and spent more time with Jake at the university. Jake wanted to talk to his friends, but Brett told him it was best that he waited a few weeks before talking to his friends, after all, it was normal for students to leave the university in the middle of the course, especially for basketball players. Jake agreed with Brett that his friends were just surprised and would talk to them later, but one thing Jake couldn''t leave until later was to talk to the sponsors that their contract would end in a few months. They would have no problem with the contract because there was a clause that the contract could be canceled because of the university and the NBA, after all, if anything happened everything would have to be renegotiated. First of all, he called Tiffany and Clara who were friends with him and also with whom he had more time on contract, surely with both of them it would be easier to talk because Jake received only 600 thousand dollars from the two companies a year. The companies that John and Alan represented paid $ 1.5 million a year to Jake each, the two companies paid $ 3 million, so Jake knew that Tiffany and Clara would accept the end of the contract between them. If Jake could he would continue with those contracts in his time in the NBA, but David would never agree with that because Jake''s image would be related to the companies he endorsed, so it was better for great athletes to only have contracts with big companies with a good reputation. To prevent Jake from changing his mind, David even made a verbal deal with two beverage companies and one of the razors to make sure Jake didn''t ask to renew his contract with the smaller companies. Naturally, John, Alan, Clara, and Tiffany knew this well and understood that the contract with Jake was temporary, moreover, for those who had smaller companies having Jake was a great help for them also in those years, especially for the companies of Tiffany and Clara that grew the profit in several times what it was before. Luckily for Jake, they still hadn''t returned to Miami and the city where their company was, so they could fly to where Jake was and talk to him before returning to where they lived. Jake thought it was better that way because he could speak to them in person, especially to John and Alan who had to tell their company about the end of the contract after that meeting. As it was an important subject Jake decided to speak to each one in private, first he called Clara to talk because she was the first to meet him and sponsor him with her company, and also because Jake had shares in her company. Jake arrived first at the restaurant he had booked and Clara arrived later in a beautiful blue dress, Jake felt that Clara was almost the same when he met her many years ago. Chapter 432 End of Time at the University 4 Clara would turn 34 years old in 1998, but Jake thought she still looked very young and after getting a divorce and not having to worry about losing the company anymore Jake thought she was much better in those years. "Hi, Clara, you look beautiful today in that blue dress." "Thanks, Jake, you look great in that dress shirt too." "Thanks, sorry for calling you suddenly after you went to watch my game in the final of the NCAA tournament." "No problem, congratulations on winning the NCAA tournament for the second time, I saw that you won almost all the individual awards this season, this was a really great season for you and your team." "Thank you, I am really very happy with everything that has happened and I think I got everything I wanted from my team at the university." "Clara, I called you here because I want you to be one of the first to know, this year I''m going to leave university and join the NBA draft, I think I got everything I wanted at university and most of my teammates team also left the team, so I think it''s not worth staying another season at the university." "Just as you may know, our sponsorship contract will have to end when I enter the NBA draft, I''m sorry I didn''t warn you before, but no one could know before the NCAA tournament final." Clara who hoped Jake wanted to talk about it with her when he asked her to talk, just as Jake said she knew Jake was making an exception for her and Tiffany by continuing the sponsorship contract with her even though she paid only a part of what the other sponsors paid. Clara hoped that Jake wanted to win a few more NCAA tournaments and break his individual records, but it seemed that Jake knew what the best time to leave was, just as he said without the other players on the team it would be difficult to win the NCAA tournaments in the coming seasons. Her company had grown a lot in the last few years and a lot of it was thanks to the help of Jake who became very famous in the last few years, Clara lost some years that could have made the company grow more, but because of the problems she had this cannot to happen. Fortunately, in the last year and at the beginning of that year, she had managed to recover much of the loss she had and Clara had made all the investments for the company to continue growing in the coming years even without sponsoring Jake. "I expected this, even without knowing so much about basketball, I can see that you could have been playing in the NBA with the pros for a long time, thanks for letting me know a few months in advance, so I can do some marketing campaigns before the end of our contract." "I don''t know if that will be possible this year yet, but after a few years you can use the fact that I have shares in your company as an advertisement showing that I still trust a lot in the growth of your company even if I am no longer sponsored." "Probably after 2000 something big will happen and everyone will know about my investments, so if the public knows about it they will know that I still have contact with your company." Clara thought Jake''s idea was a very good one, certainly, if she showed that he invested in her company it would be an even better advertisement than saying in television commercials that Jake used her company''s product. "I liked that idea, I will continue to send our company''s products to you for years to come as you are a shareholder so that you can use some of our company''s products and if anyone sees it, it will be a small advertisement." "Since we are talking about the company, I wanted to give you another good news, after last year''s investments the company has grown a lot and has gained a lot of value in the market even with the lowest profit." "At the end of 1997, our company was valued at 480 million dollars, it has increased a lot since the last few years, and this year it will increase even more." Jake was happy for this news because it showed that Clara''s company was no longer a small company in the market, it couldn''t compare itself with the big companies, but now all Jake''s fans knew the company and could use their product in the future even if Jake was no longer sponsored by Clara''s company. So with this meeting, Clara and Jake realized that nothing bad had happened because they would still continue to work together and Clara''s company had valued a lot and would be even better in the future. After finishing the conversation with Clara, Jake asked Tiffany to have dinner so that the two of them could return the next day to Miami and the next day he could talk to John and Alan, Jake thought that the conversation with Tiffany would also be quiet and so he wasn''t nervous. Tiffany showed up at night in a more modern outfit made for meetings and not a dress as Clara wore, but she was also beautiful and seemed happier with the good results of her company in the last year. "Hi, Jake, congratulations on winning the NCAA tournament with your team and winning several individual awards, you deserve it for all the effort you have put in these past few years." "Thank you, Tiffany, congratulations on the great results of your company last year, I am sure that with the new investments and the quality of your product in a few more years you will be a great competitor to the other beverage companies." "Thank you, I am very happy with the good results because then the other shareholders will stop criticizing my decisions at the company if I did not have the majority of the shares I could have been fired from the company." Tiffany said this because she knew that Jake understood the reason that she made the wrong decisions in recent years for the company''s growth, even so, the analysis of sales staff the company recovered everything that could have grown that year. Fortunately, they never had problems with out of stock even with their limited production and in recent years their stores have sold very well, with Jake''s popularity his commercials have made more people want to consume her company''s product. So in the last year and also that year after building new factories for the company, they entered into agreements with large distribution networks that included large stores of natural products and a contract with Walmart. With the great profits that her company made in the last year, she could continue to invest in new factories if her products continued to sell as they were, her company''s suppliers were also growing along with her company and so the costs would remain low for many years. "Tiffany, I called you here to tell you that this year I''m going to leave university and join the NBA draft, so our contract will, unfortunately, have to end, I''m really sorry." "It''s okay, Jake, I''ve been waiting for this since before you started university, I know you did me and Clara a favor by keeping this contract until this year, I think now my company is no longer at risk to close and can continue to sell well." "I''m sure of that, I always drink the drinks from your company myself, my roommates and teammates also like your products, whoever bought it once and liked it will continue to buy and continue recommending to people they know even if I am no longer sponsored by your company." I think the only concern that your company and Clara''s company will have to have is to invest well in advertisements and commercials if you can continue to attract the attention of the public I am sure that you will be successful." "Thanks, Jake, I hope that even with the end of our contract we will continue to be friends, you will always be very dear to me, after all, we have known each other for over 7 years." "For sure, I consider you to be one of my best friends and who knows in the future we may be able to work again if your company is a great success." Jake was happy that the conversation with Tiffany went well as well and he was happy that they would continue to be friends, Jake would be further away from Tiffany and Clara, but he would be away from all his friends having to play in the NBA and travel all year to making games all over the country. Jake went back to college and his friends were still mad at him, especially since Jake hadn''t told them he was going to go to the NBA this season, they felt Jake didn''t trust them. And Jake thought they were right, but he couldn''t risk telling others about something that important, after all, if anyone told the Tar Heels team unintentionally, they could lose the NCAA tournament and he would lose a friendship. Jake was one of the people who believed that a secret was only a secret if nobody knew about it, he told David because he trusted David to be professional and to his mother because he knew that Eva would never tell this to anyone, not even Anna. The other day Jake went to lunch to talk to John this time, the conversation with John was a little tenser because it involved more than anything business and money, moreover, it was difficult for Jake to explain why the contract had to be broken with his company paying $ 1.5 million a year, which was more than the companies that Jake would contract this season. Jake knew that this could happen and as he had already agreed with David, he said that all of this was David''s decision and not his, Jake said that he had a sports agent who would decide these things in his career and had the final say about his contracts. Chapter 433 End of Time at the University 5 Of course, this was not really a lie, Jake sought to hire David Falk because he realized that he would not have the time or prestige to negotiate contracts with companies and basketball teams. Even if Jake was a great player he would just be a rookie when he entered the NBA, he would have to enter the draft on any team that chose him and could not negotiate a contract as good as David managed with Adidas. So Jake learned that it would be better for him in the future if he just delegated tasks to the qualified people, so he had Emily who would forever be his right hand in business, he also wanted to hire Haruto to help him and Emily, and also to help look after his businesses in the future. Jake also counted on Frank Davis to take care of his training for marathons or any type of athletics, and if Jake really decided to become an actor he would count on a professional to help take care of his career. Because of that he trusted David Falk to get the sponsorship contracts for him in the future, Jake no longer needed that money and just wanted to be recognized for his work and it helped David a lot to choose the best contracts for him. John''s company paid very well and could pay even more for a contract with Jake in the NBA, but Jake knew it was a problem that he had an endorsement contract with a company not very big on the market. If the company committed a crime or did something wrong, the image of Jake and the other sponsors would also be greatly affected and this could even alienate other companies that attempted a contract with Jake who was just an NBA rookie. David was happy when he realized that Jake already knew this and so he said that Jake could blame him for any decision related to his endorsement contracts when John realized that he also calmed down. The contract that John''s company made with Jake might seem unfair and that his company was paying too much for a contract with a college player, but Jake was also a marathon athlete who won every race he participated in and had the world record o that helped a lot the company that John represented. The company that John represented greatly increased sales and achieved record sales after making a contract with Jake and John had managed to get some promotions in his work and even increases by getting that contract with Jake for the company. So John could not accept when Jake just said he would join the NBA draft, after all, John, like the others, could never think that Jake would leave his team this season. After all, the Tar Heels team had won the NCAA tournament for the second time and was in the midst of a winning streak record, in yet another season Jake could break all individual records as a player and go down in history and enter the future with more prestige in the NBA. But Jake knew what he was doing, John still tried to ask Jake to negotiate, but Jake was smarter and asked John to set up a meeting with David to talk about a new endorsement contract. John understood that Jake would no longer talk about contracts in person and went to try to arrange a meeting with David without knowing that he had no chance of getting a contract because David had already found replacements for his company. At dinner, Jake had to talk to Alan and as their relationship was not so close he soon said that he had a sports agent and that it would be David who would decide if their contract could be renewed. Alan was also surprised by this situation, but he realized that Jake would no longer negotiate contracts and went to set up a meeting with David too, it was a stressful day, but necessary for Jake who just had to prepare for when the announcement that he would leave the university left. Shammond Williams, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison already said they would leave the Tar Heels team this season, Carter and Jamison took longer to make that decision because of the great phase the Tar Heels team was having. But they didn''t have many records that could break with another season on the Tar Heels team, nor did they have sponsorship contracts like Jake had to study smoothly, they had achieved everything they wanted on the Tar Heels team and needed to get into the NBA to start winning money. So fans of the Tar Heels team were disappointed with this because that way Shammond Williams and Makhtar N''Diaye would leave the team because they had ended their 4 years at university, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison would leave the team because they wanted to enter the NBA. The fans started to worry about how the team could continue winning next season without almost the entire team, they were happy that they could count on Jake, of course, they could never hope that Jake would also leave. Jake had already spoken to Coach Bill Guthridge and had thanked him for the support and confidence that Coach Guthridge had in him in those two seasons, Coach Guthridge had already hoped for this and just wished Jake luck because in these many years at Tar Heels University he had already as many players come in and out of the team. Jake decided that he would speak to his teammates only after it was announced that he was going to the NBA draft, luckily for Jake the university was taking too long to announce that Jake was leaving the university and that was better for him. While Jake waited for the right time to talk to his teammates and the media about his leaving the university, he could finally get back to his training for the marathons and also with Yuen Woo-ping for the film The Matrix. Jake''s top priority now was recording the movie The Matrix, after a few months, he would go to Australia to join the film crew and make the film recordings and would only go out for a few weeks to go on the NBA draft. Even while he was taking classes he would still continue training with Yuen Woo-ping to perform better in the film, almost a month had passed since they started training and Yuen Woo-ping could see that Jake improved a lot in his training. For Yuen Woo-ping, Jake had learned almost everything he needed to learn before the film and his biggest problem would be learning how to make the same moves he learned while hanging on the cables. Thinking about it Yuen Woo-ping decided to call some acquaintances of him who were also from the cinema to help Jake train other types of techniques and martial arts that could help him perform better in this film and in other action films in the future. Yuen Woo-ping only decided this because he realized that Jake was very talented and learned very fast and so he realized that he could give more training to Jake before he returned to Australia. Jake was unaware of Yuen Woo-ping''s plans and returned in the morning before classes to do race training together with trainer Davis and Zack, Zack was no longer angry with Jake because he knew that Jake would leave the university in some time. But he had agreed with his other roommates that he would not speak to Jake for the time being, but Zack had forgotten that Jake should return to training for the marathons after the end of the basketball season. Coach Davis was already used to how Jake''s body worked differently and told him to do the same training he did before he stopped training for over a month. Just as Coach Davis hoped Jake was able to finish training even more easily, this was because Jake had the system, but the other reason was that Jake had received a reward after winning the NCAA tournament again. This time he received 1 point in agility, 1 point in strength, and 1 point in resistance, so he received 3 points in statistics that were distributed by the reward and were not free points that Jake could decide how to invest. As this was unexpected, Jake was very happy with it, he had a hope that he could receive a reward because he received it after winning the NCAA tournament last season and he didn''t know how the system worked. Fate also did not seem to want to explain to Jake exactly how the system worked, perhaps to prevent Jake from exploiting the system and gaining many statistical points that would make him much better than the others. Even so, Jake was happy to earn those statistic points and that would help him even more in the NBA and also for the next Olympics in which he had to compete in more athletics. Zack was surprised to see how Jake looked like he could run more easily right now after more than a month without training, now that he trained 30 km and sometimes a complete marathon he can know that Jake''s daily training was to do a marathon in a great time that was in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes. Realizing this Zack can see why Jake could easily win all the marathons he ran, his training was certainly more intense than almost all athletes in the world, it made Zack admire Jake even more and wanted to be able to do like Jake someday. After this training Jake took a shower and went to university and saw that William was still avoiding him in class, Jake didn''t care much about it and after classes, he went to the place where Yuen Woo-ping normally did his training. Yuen Woo-ping did not tell Jake that he had called other people to help with his training for the next few days, knowing him Yuen Woo-ping knew that Jake would just accept it calmly. Chapter 434 End of Time at the University 6 In the next few days, Jake created another routine for him, did the running training in the morning, went to classes, did training with Yuen Woo-ping and also did three-point training sessions every day as usual. Also, as Jake always did his imagination training every day and so he didn''t need to train with the basketball team every day to keep improving, Jake was just irritated because he had reached the maximum in all of his skills at basketball and had not yet reached NBA level. If Jake could advance to the NBA level he could know exactly what his skills would be like in the NBA and he could still train with more difficulty in training his imagination because his opponents could have the maximum NBA skill level. When that happened, Jake knew he could get better at basketball as he felt he hadn''t improved much this season, Jake was close to achieving all his dreams in the past before going back in time. In basketball Jake wanted to win an NBA title and also become an NBA season MVP, but now that he was close to achieving it Jake decided to have new dreams for the future, those dreams would be more difficult to achieve and Jake would not be disappointed even if I couldn''t. But these new dreams would allow him to continue striving in his training and career in basketball even after achieving what he wanted in the past because as Jake no longer needed to play basketball to earn money he had to look for another motivation to continue playing beside his love for basketball. Jake wanted to ask Coach Davis to change his training for the races, but soon he would have to go to Australia and Coach Davis could not go with him, even so, Jake intended to train his races in Australia when he had time. When Jake returned from Australia he would have to go to the city where the team that chose him in the NBA draft was, Jake was almost certain that he would go to the Lakers, but he was prepared for it to go wrong and he had to be in another team. After that, Jake was going to participate in the marathon in Chicago with Zack and after that, he had to concentrate fully on training him with the basketball team, with NBA games Jake wasn''t sure if he could do his training for the races. So Jake was wondering if he could use the stamina bars that he was keeping, Jake had thousands of stamina bars in store for a few years and he could use that to train more. What worried Jake was how the games would be in the NBA season, he knew that sometimes he would have 3 games a week and if he wanted to play every 48 minutes he would have to use all his resistance in basketball and not get tired doing the training his racing. Even more because Jake didn''t need to train to maintain his physical condition to get the best records, Jake''s goal was to win a marathon a year and participate in the Olympics whenever he could as an athlete in the United States. If possible he wanted to try to run in a variety of disciplines at an Olympics, but all of that would depend on the NBA''s game schedule, Jake would lose a few games to qualify for the Olympics if that was necessary. The Lakers'' team knew this and knew about the possibility of Jake losing a few games because of the marathons and had accepted that it was rare for a player to play every game of the NBA season, and if with the resistance they knew Jake had it was possible to let him play most games. In the next few days Jake continued with his racing training and with Yuen Woo-ping, Jake felt it was more rewarding to train with Yuen Woo-ping because he felt that he learned and improved more each day. Yuen Woo-ping was more impressed because he was already teaching Jake more advanced techniques that he would not need to use for this film after Jake learned everything he would use for the film. Fortunately the friends he called arrived and so Jake would have more to learn even before they went to Australia, in fact, the training that Yuen Woo-ping was giving Jake was more to be a great dub than to be an actor. But the principle was the same and so Jake could do his own scenes more safely because since Jake was 2.01 m, it would be more difficult to find someone with the same height as him to become the double for him. So Yuen Woo-ping''s friends were teaching Jake to fight Taekwondo, Aikido, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in addition, Jake was learning fights with Sword, dagger, rapier, quarterstaff and knives and even Firearms. Jake was also learning gymnastics and acrobatics, and learning skills to safely fall from heights, Jake at some point thought he was learning to become a secret agent. And just as Yuen Woo-ping the others thought Jake would be great to be double and be in an action and fight movie, Jake learned fast and also had a lot of agility and good reaction and thought fast and so he could guarantee better safety him and not hurt the other actors. Yuen Woo-ping felt it was a pity that he didn''t have the equipment to do the cable training for Jake if he did that Jake would be ready for the film even before he went to Australia. The truth was that even though Yuen Woo-ping knew that Jake was a talented athlete and was very good at learning everything they were teaching, he didn''t think Jake really was a good actor. Because of this, as Yuen Woo-ping knew that Jake would have little time in Australia to learn about the script that hadn''t been delivered to him yet, he thought it was better for Jake to learn just how to fight suspended on the cables and be able to concentrate on the texts that he had to decorate to act. What Yuen Woo-ping didn''t know was that Jake had a photographic memory and also knew how to act well, that meant that Jake would be ready after studying the script for a few days, especially since he had seen the movie The Matrix before and did not thought that his character would change the story of the film. So Jake''s biggest concern was actually learning the fighting moves in the movie because he had never learned martial arts before and knew how hard it would be to learn to fight suspended on cables, and Yuen Woo-ping never praised Jake directly for being good at learn and Jake was still tense about it. In these training Jake was really lucky to have greatly increased his reaction speed because in this way he avoided being attacked by the instructors and thus had no injuries, Jake also knew the right time to stop the attacks before hurting the other stuntmen. Jake really learned to pretend he was run over and the right technique to not get hurt in this situation and in falls too, Jake just didn''t want to try to get burned, even with all the protective devices Jake didn''t want to risk that much and didn''t even think about doing it something like that in a movie. A few weeks went by with Jake doing his intense training, with that time and the end of classes coming up Jake''s roommates finally decided to stop getting into a fight with him. After so long they were no longer angry with him, they were angry with Jake because they expected to spend another 2 years at the university with him and also because they were fans of the Tar Heels team and knew that with Jake''s departure it would be very difficult for the team will continue to win the NCAA tournament for years to come. But now it was only a few weeks before the end of classes and after that, they knew that Jake would go to Australia, so Jake had lunch with all his friends at the university, even Brett and Haruto were invited. Jake wanted to talk because he decided to leave the university and also that they would continue to be friends even after he left the university, Jake knew that this was possible because with the internet talking to people at a distance would be much easier. "I still can''t understand why you would want to leave university after winning the NCAA tournament a second time, Jake, you are so close to breaking your records and putting your name in university history." "It''s true, many players who are NBA stars stayed 4 years or at least 3 years at the university, you could stay at least one more season at the university and break your records and then leave the university." "I understand that you can''t understand what I''m thinking, I really enjoyed spending my 2 years at university and I was lucky to win 2 NCAA tournament and break some individual records too." "But I think there is no reason for me to stay another season or two at the university, I have no ambitions to break all individual records as a player at the university, what was more important I managed to win the NCAA tournament 2 times and win the Naismith College Player of the Year award twice." "Also, as you know almost all of the players on the Tar Heels team this season will be leaving, including my friends Vince and Antawn, so next season it will be difficult to win the NCAA tournament again." "My dream is to play in the NBA and win the NBA title several times and become the MVP of a season in the NBA at least once, if possible I wanted to break some individual records in the NBA too because winning achievements as a professional for me it will be much more important than winning at college basketball." Chapter 435 End of Time at the University 7 Jake''s friends were surprised to hear his ambitions to play in the NBA in the future, they didn''t remember seeing Jake being ambitious and talking so confidently about his dreams in the future. In fact, they thought Jake was even too humble for someone as talented as he was, it was normal for talented people to be arrogant and say what they really wanted at times, but at university Jake always talked more about the team than his skill. But hearing Jake say that they realized that he always knew the talent he had and in fact always thought about becoming an NBA star, they thought that Jake should stay at the university to break individual records at the university because Jake was close to achieving that. But they agreed that it was much better to dream of breaking individual NBA records over several seasons with great teams and great players than at university if Jake managed to break just one NBA record he would go down in history as one of the best players in basketball history. Listening to Jake talking about the Tar Heels team, they had to agree that if all the players on the current team left, it would be very difficult to win the NCAA tournament next season even if the reserve players were very good. That''s because the team needed time to learn to play together and play as well as the current Tar Heels team, even though Jake was very good without a good team they knew he couldn''t win the NCAA tournament alone. Of course, Jake who knew the future knew that this was not really true if he wanted he could play as SG next season and let Ed Cota play as PG, with Ademola Okulaja and Brendan Haywood on the team they would have a strong team that could fight for the NCAA tournament. The team would depend much more on him to win but would have a better defense with Brendan Haywood, it was very risky, but it was possible, but nobody knew that Jake knew about the future and so he could still use it as a justification that this season all players of his team would leave the team. Jake couldn''t say that he wanted to leave university to play for the Lakers because he was sure the Lakers'' team would win 3 NBA titles in the coming seasons and Jake wanted to be on that team. If any player were asked whether he wanted to break all individual records for College basketball or win 3 NBA titles, it was certain that players would prefer to win the NBA title. "Okay Jake, it''s your career and your life and we as friends have to support you in whatever you decide, we hope you will be successful in your NBA career even if you play on a weaker team." "We will root for you and hope that we can really continue to be friends in the future even though we will all live in different cities." "Thanks for understanding, I''m sure we can keep in touch, who knows in the future our work will allow us to make it easier for us to meet if Aaron becomes a professional American football player, William will be able to work with stocks on the stock exchange of values ??and Zack may become a professional marathoner in the future." "Even if that doesn''t happen, I feel that with the internet and cell phones we can talk in the same way that we''re talking now, not to mention that when I''m playing in the NBA I will travel all over the cities to play and I can send you a ticket always and we will meet at the games." With Jake talking like that everyone had more hope that this friendship between them could continue even after the end of the university if they knew that Jake would be very rich in the future they would not doubt it because Jake could send a helicopter in the future to pick up his friends. Things always happened together for some reason, when Jake settled with his friends it was finally revealed that he would be in the NBA draft that year, it naturally meant that he would leave the Tar Heels team this season and leave the university as well. This news took his teammates and almost all Tar Heels fans and basketball fans by surprise, even the media couldn''t wait for Jake to leave college this season to try to get into the NBA. The first thing Jake did was to talk to his teammates who would remain at the university next season, he met Ed Cota, Brendan Haywood, Ademola Okulaja and the others to tell them why he made that decision. Of course, Jake talked different things to his teammates and said nothing that he thought the team had no chance of winning the games without the players who left, he said to their teammates that he trusted them to increase the as long as they could the Tar Heels team record of victories. Jake also said that he trusted that they would still make it to the final four of the NCAA tournament in the coming years and could win even without the players who left, Jake said that Okulaja would be the new leader of the team and that he trusted Ed Cota to do as well as him as the team''s PG. Jake also said that he trusted Brendan Haywood to be one of the stars of the Tar Heels team for the next few seasons, Jake didn''t know if they believed him, but what he said was the truth. After Jake made an appointment to chat with his friends Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter, he wanted to talk to them who would also leave the team this season because he wanted to remain friends with them even in the NBA. "I really didn''t expect you to consider joining the NBA this season too, Jake, if I knew that my decision to go to NBA draft this season would be much easier." "It''s true, I could never hope that the three of us would join the NBA in the same year, now we will have to try to be as successful as possible, win the NBA title and the MVP award should be our goal." "For sure, in fact, I decided to go to the NBA draft because I hoped you would also leave the team, if you decided to remain on the Tar Heels team I would also stay for another season, I always enjoyed playing with you." Jake was telling the truth to Vince and Antawn, even though he thought of going to the NBA to play for the Lakers and winning 3 NBA title, he was going one season before the NBA, he could wait another season if the two of them still stayed on the Tar Heels team. Vince and Antawn were surprised by this because they had not thought that their departure from the team was one of the reasons Jake left the Tar Heels team that no one expected, but they were happy that Jake had this regard for them. "I also hope that the three of us will be successful in the NBA, we have to meet for several years in the NBA all-star game, Hahaha, I really hope we all managed to win an NBA title and an MVP award of the season." "You will definitely win the MVP at least once, Jake, but to win the NBA title we will have to be lucky to play on a good team too, but we cannot play on that team''s reserve, we have to have a lot of playing time." "You two are really talented, I''m sure your skills will be recognized by the teams and I hope you will be recognized by the fans too, we won the NCAA tournament twice, our name is already in history." The three were talking and Jake couldn''t help remembering what he knew, he played personally with Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, he knew he could always count on games with Jamison for attacking and rebounding because Jamison is a very talented player. With Vince Carter, he also knew he could count, especially for the more complicated plays like making an alley-oop, but between the two he counted more in games with Antawn Jamison. But Jake knew that in the past only Carter was recognized as a talented player and was chosen 8 times for the all-star game, this showed that Vince was recognized as a very talented and beloved player by the fans. But Antawn did not have that recognition from the fans, Jake thought that this was a great injustice, certainly, he thought that Carter deserved everything he got as a professional, but Jamison also deserved more recognition from fans and basketball fans. He was like Carter, a player who scored more than 20,000 points and still managed 8,000 rebounds in his career, that made Jake sad thinking about the future of his friend, in fact, the future of the two made him sad because Jake thought they deserved to win an NBA title. Jake didn''t know if with his knowledge and talent he could do something about it, but seeing his friends so talented that they didn''t get the recognition they deserved, Jake decided that he would try to do something about it in the future. "I think a lot of things matter a lot to a professional NBA basketball player, getting good stats like scoring a lot, catching a lot of rebounds, making a lot of assists." "Earning a good salary is also important for a basketball player, winning the MVP award for the best player can also be important, being recognized by fans as well, but the most important thing for me is winning an NBA title, what do you think about that?" "Hahaha, I don''t know if it''s the most important, I still wanted to have a good salary and get good statistics than to be a reserve to win an NBA title, but I think it''s one of the most important things and what I want most for me." "Antawn is right, I think we have to have a good salary, recognition from fans, good statistics too, but I also think that winning an NBA title is really important." Chapter 436 End of Time at the University 8 "I''m not saying that we have to abandon a good salary or get good statistics if you could have a good salary, but not the highest possible salary, play in a good team, but without you being the main star of that team." "Would you be on the starting team and also have the recognition of the fans, almost like it happened with the Tar Heels team, but with a good salary too, would you accept playing on such a team to win one or more NBA titles?" Jake thought that maybe in the future if he became an NBA star and one of the best NBA players he could have enough influence to organize a team just as LeBron James can do to win his first NBA title. But for him to think about doing something like that he had to know if Antawn and Vince would accept playing on the same team as him in this situation, if they said that earning higher salaries or being the best players on the team was more important Jake would have to give up making one team like that. "For sure, if I were to win my first NBA title I would accept to receive a lower salary and not be the main player on the team since I had many minutes of play in the games of the season." "I would also accept it, my dream in the NBA first is to win a championship and then to become an MVP, but being an MVP is easier playing on one of the best teams in the NBA, my dream at the end of my career is to enter the hall fame, and winning an NBA title is important to achieve that." Jake was overjoyed to hear Vince and Antawn accepting his idea, the two were just talking without thinking because something like that would be hard to imagine in the future of the NBA, but Jake would remember said and could use this conversation to call them to play on his team in the NBA if it were possible in the future. If Jake really managed to win 3 NBA titles with the Lakers'' team as he thought, he certainly wouldn''t be as criticized as LeBron James was for making a team that could win the NBA title. The biggest challenge Jake would have that LeBron James didn''t have would be that for the next 12 years it would be difficult to find a team that could pay the salaries of players like him, Jamison, Carter and other players that would be needed to win the NBA title, even if Jake accepted to receive a salary much lower than he deserved. "So who knows in the future in the three of us we could play together in an NBA team and win at least one NBA title with our team, surely with all three of us we could have a strong team to win the NBA title." Carter and Jamison just laughed as if they didn''t believe it would be possible, the NBA currently had 29 teams and they knew it was the teams that chose the players and also had the restriction on the players'' salaries. So they just thought about playing on the best teams and if they could become NBA stars they would try to play on a better team that could win the NBA title, but they didn''t think they could play together again unless it was all-star game. They kept talking for a while and Jake said he would go to Australia after school ended and so they would only see each other again on the night of the NBA draft, Jake also said he thought the three could be among the first 5 draft choices and they laughed again. After Jake was able to chat with all of his friends and his mother as well, Jake finally set up an interview with ESPN who asked to speak to him about the NCAA tournament win and the individual prizes he had won. Jake accepted the ESPN interview because he liked the channel more and he also liked sports Illustrated, but as he received no contact from the magazine he decided to accept the ESPN invitation. A reporter would speak to Jake at a hotel he chose because Jake thought it would not be appropriate to do this interview at the university and it was not so important for Jake to go to ESPN headquarters to be interviewed. Jake naturally warned that he would not answer any questions that could adversely affect his career and ESPN did not want to do something like that and damage their relationship with Jake who could be an NBA star in the future. "Good afternoon, Jake Smith, thanks for the interview, I''m going to ask you some questions and if you don''t want to answer any questions, that question will be cut in the edit, you can rest easy and think about it." "OK Alright." "Jake, this season the Tar Heels team that you were playing had one of the best seasons in history after the Tar Heels team won the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament last season." "The Tar Heels team managed to win the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament again this season and without losing any games and thus achieving a record for a sequence of 64 victories, what do you think about that?" "I am certainly very happy and satisfied with this, our team has always trained a lot and we have also worked hard to get the win, fortunately, we managed to win 64 straight games and as a result, we won the NCAA tournament twice in a row." "It''s hard to explain, we know that our team achieved something historic that few teams in the history of the NCAA tournament have achieved, and we won the Kentucky Wildcats team twice that reached the final in three straight years and won in 1996." "It shows that our team played well and we faced some of the best college basketball teams in the past few years to be able to win this NCAA tournament twice." "I see, and you have managed to win almost all of the individual awards in those two seasons that you have played on the Tar Heels team, including the Naismith College Player of the Year award, you are the third player in history to achieve this, what do you think about it?" "I can only say that this is a great honor, in those years there were many players who could have won this award besides me, last season Tim Duncan deserved to win that award and this season my teammate Antawn Jamison deserved to win that award." "Thinking about it makes me feel even more honored to win this prize knowing that so many players could win this prize too, I can say that it was thanks to my teammates and my coaches that I achieved this." "In two years as a player at College, you have managed to break many records, some per season and other records that other players have made playing for 3 or 4 years." "You broke the record for most points made in a season this season by making 1345 points, you are the forty-seventh with the most points in your playing career with 2515 points." "You are fourth in the average of points per game in a season with 35.4 points and the second in the average of points per game in the career with 33.9 points, the first with more assists in a season with 407 assists, and the fourteenth most assisting career with 780 assists." "You are the fourth average of assists per game in a season with 10.7 assists, you are the second average of assists per game in your career with 10.5 assists, you are the first in steals per season with 346 steals that is more than double the runner-up has." "You are the first with the most steals in the career with 563 steals, you are the player with the highest average steals per game in a season with 9.1 steals, and you are also the first with the highest average steals per game in the career with 7.6 steals." "These are just some of your statistics people who broke records in your two seasons at College, what do you think about those records and what do you think knowing that if you play for another season at College you could be the first in all of those statistics?" "I honestly didn''t know about all those records, thanks for telling me a few things that I was able to achieve in my two seasons on the Tar Heels team." "I can only say that I am very proud to see these records that I achieved in two seasons, to be first in some of them and to be at least in the top 100 in several of them is something that any college player would want." "Seeing that I see that I can leave the Tar Heels team that gave me the opportunity to achieve these things with my teammates with pride in what I did in my time at the university." "Just like you said if I stayed a season or two on the Tar Heels team I could break all those records, but in fact, my goal was never to break those records, I always played the best I could to help the Tar Heels team to win and that''s how we managed to win 2 NCAA tournament." "So I would never stay at the university just thinking about breaking more individual records, if I stayed it would be to try to help the Tar Heels team win another NCAA tournament and if I managed to break the records it would be a bonus." Jake had thought of all the answers he could give in this interview in questions that could harm him if he answered wrong, none of that was really a lie and he just couldn''t tell the real reason he was going to leave university that would be to win 3 NBA title in the coming seasons. "Can you tell the Tar Heels team fans why you decided to leave university this year to enter the NBA draft?" "I think I had two great seasons playing on the Tar Heels team with my teammates, I had two great coaches in that time and I was able to win two ACC tournaments and two NCAA tournaments in addition to getting my team a 64 win streak." "I also achieved a lot of individual records and awards and I was fortunate to achieve more than many players who played 4 years at College basketball." Chapter 437 - End of Time at the University 9 "For all that I have achieved, I will always love the Tar Heels team and my university, but I think that after achieving so many things, it is time to leave." "I plan to finish my university course later while playing in the NBA, and this season almost all of my teammates left the team, Okulaja, Cota and many others are still going on, but I think this is the right time for me to leave." "I want to play on the best NBA teams against the best players in the world to learn a lot from them in the years to come and have more challenges as a player so that I can continue to improve." "The university players are great, but I want to play against the best players and be one of the best players in the future who knows, only the future will say if I can become an NBA star or I will regret not staying 4 years on the Tar Heels team." Jake was very honest in saying what he thought, he couldn''t say the real reason for going to the NBA, but he said what he really thought to decide to go to the NBA, Jake knew he could wait for a season if he was unsure, but with the system and the experience he had in basketball he thought he was ready to play with the best players in the world. The reporter who was interviewing Jake was excited too, he knew Jake was smart, but it seemed like Jake knew how to answer questions better than many professional NBA players. And even with him asking some questions that could harm Jake, he was answering all the questions without leaving any unanswered as he had agreed before the interview. "Jake, could you say what you expect from the NBA draft and your first NBA season?" "Yes, I hope that I will be chosen in the draft by a team that really needs a player in my position who is from PG, I would not want a team that would choose me just for what I did at the university, but a team that really think about putting me in the games to help the team win." "From my first season in the NBA I know that I''ll probably play a few minutes in the first season, I''ll have to prove my skills to my future coach to have the chance to play and so maybe hopefully become an important player for the team in my first season." "That''s why I preferred to be chosen by a team that really needed a PG, so it was more possible that I would have more playing time in my first NBA seasons." "Thanks for the great responses, Jake, I hope you succeed in the NBA and become one of the best players in history." "Thanks." After doing the interview Jake can be more relaxed, he liked the interview and thought that he had answered all the questions that someone could ask him in the coming months, now he could return to focus on his running training and his training with Yuen Woo-ping and his friends. Jake just had to worry about finishing classes at the university and then going to Australia, he was fine with his friends and his teammates, Tar Heels team fans were disappointed in him, but as college fans basketball they were used to great players leaving the team. Since Jake helped the Tar Heels team win 2 NCAA tournaments they couldn''t be mad at him, as Jake had won the Naismith College Player of the Year, the number 7 shirt he wore at the university would be retired from North Carolina University. So Jake could finally have peace until the end of his classes at the university and the trip to Australia, the race training with trainer Davis and Zack was easy because it was the same as always. But his training with Yuen Woo-ping was much more intense, Yuen Woo-ping knew that soon Jake would have to go to Australia, getting there Jake would have to train the movements suspended on the cables and then he would have to study his lines at script and film. So it was less than two weeks before he taught everything he could to Jake in that time, of course, if it was for Jake to learn everything Yuen Woo-ping even with his intelligence it would still take a few more months. So Yuen Woo-ping taught Jake just what he might need to use in action films and martial arts films, Jake even learned to shoot to better train his movements with Firearms. Even though Jake had not done any proper training to learn martial arts, he could defend himself even from a skilled fighter for a while using his speed and what he learned. If it was an armed fight Jake would be even more prepared to defend himself even though he hoped that with his luck it would never be necessary, in these teachings Jake learned why he needed the photographic memory skill when he learned his job as an actor with the system. Jake thought that to be a good actor he just needed to be able to express himself well, using his speech and expressions to pass on the emotions he was feeling to the audience, but after learning from Yuen Woo-ping he realized that in today''s cinema it wasn''t even close enough to be a good actor. If Jake couldn''t learn things just by watching a few times and being taught he couldn''t learn enough in the short time he would have in filming a movie. Thinking about it Jake realized that his role in this film The Matrix would really open up new doors and give him more opportunity to have more roles in the cinema, Jake thought that playing in the NBA he would not be able to act in films. But Yuen Woo-ping said that if he became a good actor and a director liked him, it was quite possible that the director could organize all the film footage in the time that Jake could shoot his scenes in the off-season of the NBA. But even though he knew that Jake knew it was almost impossible for him to receive so much recognition for a film director to go through so much difficulty just having him as the actor in the film, Jake knew that almost everyone he knew in Hollywood had more skill and more time available than him. Not to mention that a lot of shooting in other settings and countries would be harmed because Jake would have a few months out of the basketball season to participate in the recordings, but for the future when Jake left the NBA he might have more opportunities to act. So in the next few weeks, Jake went out more often with his friends from the university that he wouldn''t see for a while, even if he could meet them in the future it wouldn''t be a meeting with everyone together as it was at the university. They stayed together until Jake''s classes ended, after taking the exams Jake could say that he had finished his time at the university even though he was going to come back in the future to finish his course. Jake needed to do only a few subjects because of the great grades he always had and would get his diploma, Jake had three parties after his exams, one of them was with his friends at the university and mainly his roommates and classmates that he had. This was a lively party even though Jake had banned alcoholic beverages at his parties because he and his friends were not of legal drinking age and it could damage his reputation, his friends understood and then they would have other parties with a lot of alcohol. Another party Jake had with his teammates and even though this party wasn''t that big it was very important because Jake had spent a lot of time with his teammates, even Coach Guthridge showed up at the party and as he had no alcohol players were not intimidated even by coach Bill Guthridge at the party. Another party that Jake had was with his fraternity people at the university, Jake did several activities with the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, mainly in his first year at the university when he had Charlie McNairy to accompany him, but because of the grades Jake had and the several sporting achievements he had on the Tar Heels team and even in the marathons he had become one of the most important members of that fraternity at North Carolina University. Jake managed to make many friendsh.i.p.s in the fraternity that he would remember for many years, Jake did not break the rules because he had the mentality of a 49-year-old man, but he really enjoyed his time at university and if he did not regret having spent those two years at North Carolina University. Jake could understand why players who went to universities sometimes stayed 4 years even though they had the chance to enter the NBA before, that was because the university environment was great and it was an experience that everyone had to have. After the exams, Jake was out of college and had to go to Australia soon, but before that, he asked for a week to go to Miami to spend that time with his mother before going to the shoot with Yuen Woo-ping. Fortunately for Jake, Yuen Woo-ping had told the directors that Jake had learned everything he needed and that another week would not delay filming and so Jake could go to Miami, Jake would stay in Australia until the NBA draft and then return to Australia again. Only after that could he spend more time with his mother because Jake knew that the NBA season wouldn''t start as it normally does every year and Jake would have more time before he started training with his team. Eva was very happy when Jake came home because she was also prepared to go another month without seeing Jake until the NBA draft, the truth was that Jake didn''t even want to go to Australia to have to return in a little over a month for the NBA draft, but Yuen Woo-ping said that Jake would be able to do several cable scenes this month. Chapter 438 - End of Time at the University 10 So he had to accept to go to Australia because he knew he was already delaying the recording of the film a lot, the actors in Australia started filming in April and they were expected to finish in August. But because of Jake, they would shoot until September and Jake would shoot until October if necessary, maybe Jake was one of the only players who would like the NBA lockout, the other players would not like it because with fewer games they would not get paid and would lose popularity. But Jake didn''t mind losing wages or sponsorship money if he could have a few more months to adapt before the NBA season started, he could shoot the movie, run the marathon and stay home more because of this. Arriving in Miami, Jake again did not go to Eva''s restaurant, even though everyone said that Lola had already overcome the situation and had forgotten about Jake, he felt that he had to respect her and not go to the restaurant since after that he would stay a few more months before heading back to Miami again. Now Jake even knew that soon it was very possible that he would start dating Kate, he liked her and Jake knew that Kate liked him too, the problem was that they hadn''t yet had a chance to meet even though she had been together with his game. After filming in Australia Jake thought he would have time to have some dates with Kate and he thought about asking her to date when that happened, he was a basketball player who had a lot to do and Kate was a singer who was busy in the year all. So Jake thought about starting dating Kate now and in time the media would know it and accept it before they even had time to be together when they had time for it, after all, it was bad for Jake to have a vacation and not be able to be with Kate just to escape the media. More than that, Jake wanted to start dating Kate well before the 2000s, because it was now known to the media that Kate had more money than he did even though it was far from true because the media didn''t know about Jake''s business. But after 2000, all of Jake''s and Matthew''s businesses would certainly be revealed, because they would receive billions of dollars after the sale of shares in the company Cisco, so Jake wanted to be dating Kate for a long time so that no strange rumors start as the media loved to do. Since Jake was at home Eva wanted to close the restaurant that week to stay with him at home, but Jake said that was not necessary, Jake knew it was not good for the restaurant''s reputation to close for no reason many times. The problem was that Eva and Anna were the chefs and also the ones who ran the restaurant, but Anna was getting older and Eva didn''t want her to run the restaurant alone when she had to leave. Anna was already 62 years old and that''s why Eva was worried about her, of course, fortunately, Anna was in very good health and would still live more than 25 years with the health she had and could even continue working at that time. Eva did not think about hiring more chefs in the restaurant because normally it would take no more than two chefs and that would cause problems in the authority they had under the cooks if they had a lot of people to send. The best part was that the restaurant had a lot of profits even though it hadn''t changed prices in the last few years, because of inflation and market changes the restaurant''s profit decreased every year, but as they always had a full restaurant this wasn''t a problem. Jake thought about increasing the size of the restaurant, but Eva said that in order to do that they would have more work and would have to hire more employees, Jake thought a lot about the business side, but Eva knew she was not taking care of this restaurant to get rich but to do it her dream. She already had a successful restaurant and considered the restaurant staff to be members of her family, so Eva was satisfied with things as they were and didn''t want to change anything at the restaurant. Of course, Jake knew that, but he had to ask why sometimes people can change their minds and have new dreams, who knows if Eva might want to create a restaurant chain or increase her restaurant to serve more customers. His job was always to ask what his mother wanted and if Eva wanted to change anything Jake would do to make her happier, Jake could invest all his money and live a simpler life because of that. But he knew that if it was necessary he could spend millions of dollars in a few days after Jake started receiving his salary on the NBA team and sponsorsh.i.p.s, Jake could start spending more money to make him more comfortable and for his mother. Meanwhile Jake cooked every day while in Miami for his mom and they went out on a few days to go to the beach to relax after Jake joined the NBA he thought about taking his mom on some trips, even though he had to hire some chefs to run the restaurant while she was away. The relationship between them was very good, but there was a problem and that problem was that Eva trusted Jake too much and that is why they didn''t talk about almost anything about Jake''s decisions, whether at work or in his personal life. Of course, seeing the success that Jake had, it could be said that Eva was sure not to worry, but that ended up driving away a little bit them who didn''t talk about subjects like that and lived most of the year apart. Thinking about it Jake always talked to Eva about all his decisions, Jake just didn''t talk about his investments because that way he would have to say he knew the future, Jake told Eva why he decided to go to the NBA draft this season and also said that would probably play for the Lakers'' team. Jake also said that he intended to start dating Kate that year if it was possible, and Eva was very happy to see that Jake trusted her and told people about him even without her asking. Eva was very proud to have Jake as her son and didn''t know that Jake was like that because his mental age was even greater than hers and Jake was extra careful to talk to her because of what happened before Jake had the second chance his. Jake spent his week at home very well and the media didn''t have so much time to think about Jake that he would just be an NBA newbie with the problem of a possible NBA lockout by the owners that could even end this NBA season. With such a serious problem and also rumors that Michael Jordan might not play next season made fans very concerned and Jake wouldn''t have mattered until NBA draft day, and Jake was happy with that because he would have peace to film his movie. This was really one of the most different seasons that happened in the NBA and Jake wanted to use a 50 game season like this to debut in the NBA, so even if he didn''t have many minutes to play in the debut season he could still show his skills. So Jake could take advantage of this season to convince the coach that he was able to become a starting player on that team, good players usually had no problem getting a spot as a starting player after a season. It would all depend on the team''s coach, Jake knew that if he played with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, he would definitely have a great debut season even if he scored an average of fewer than 10 points per game. That''s because with the skill that Jake already had he knew that he could do a lot of assists for these two players and also get some steals and rebounds for the Lakers ''team, with that he could help the Lakers'' team to win the games. Jake knew well that the stars of this Lakers team would be Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, and because of that he was prepared to help both of them play well for the Lakers'' team to win, after playing a few seasons with these two Jake had I''m sure he would be able to play much better after getting experience and becoming an NBA star. The days passed quickly and the last day that Jake would stay at home arrived, for that day Eva decided to close the restaurant, Anna said that it was not necessary and that she would take care of the restaurant and close earlier. Knowing that Eva was not going to work at the restaurant Jake decided to go out with his mother to a different place that he wanted to go with his mother, what Jake had prepared was a different tour so that the two could volunteer for a day in a center of children with cancer. Jake was very sensitive to this because he had an accident in his past life and was unable to walk because of it, even Eva ended up dying of depression because of it before Jake went back in time, so Jake always thought about doing something to help others, people, if he had the financial means to do that. So he found a center that helped families that had children with cancer and decided to stay a day as a volunteer and make a donation of 100 thousand dollars, Jake thought after 2000 that he would win his shares of the company Cisco in making a donation very more generous, but for now, he wanted to help with $ 100,000. With Jake saying he would make this donation, the cancer center made it easier for both of them to volunteer, Jake called Eva because he knew his mother would like this and he was right because Eva was happy when she knew she would help take care of the children. Chapter 439 - The Filming in Austrália 1 So the two spent the whole day taking care of the children as volunteers, some of these children were from poor families and needed centers like these to survive, some children came from families that were able, but would go into debt if they paid for the treatment of their son. Seeing this situation with children so good that they needed help, Jake was happy to be able to help because of his work, Jake thought again that in the future he would make even bigger donations, but only to institutions that he trusted. Of course, even though making the donation Jake asked not to reveal that he had made this donation so as not to appear that he was doing it just to get the media''s attention, even though Jake was well known, the children could not recognize him and so Jake stayed with Eva the last day of him with the kids. Eva liked it a lot and was much happier after spending the whole day with the kids, Jake knew she would like it, he wanted to see someplace where there were people with paralysis in his legs just like he did, but Jake imagined that Eva didn''t I would like to spend a day volunteering in a place like this. So Jake would go alone and make donations to help people who were like him, of course, a good part of people who suffer accidents can continue with their normal lives and could even work as he did, but some people couldn''t and needed help. Jake wanted to help people because he wanted to see the people he helped be happy and also because he was happy to do that, Jake in a few years would have billions of dollars and if the businesses he invested and planned to invest in the future were right he would have hundreds of billions of dollars in shares. Jake actually just kept investing because he knew he could make a lot out of it, but in fact, he didn''t even know what he could do with that much money, Jake still didn''t think about having children, but when he only had the shares of Amazon a lifelong heritage for his children. So Jake thought that donating part of that money could be something that would make them happy and help a lot of people and maybe even save lives after they came home Jake thought about talking to Eva before the day was over. "Thanks for the idea you had, son, it was great to spend time with the kids, I hope they get well soon because they have a beautiful future ahead of them." "I hope they will be fine too, if you want in the future we can make a few more visits when I come to Miami." "I think it''s a good idea, we''ll do this more often." "Okay, mom, tomorrow as you know I''m going to Australia to participate in the filming of the movie The Matrix, I''m sorry I can''t spend this vacation with you, but this is a good opportunity for me to fulfill my dream of becoming one actor and make a successful film." "I really think this film will be a much bigger success than the people participating in the film are expecting and if I have an important character in this film part of my dream will be realized." "I understand that Jake, I know you always make your decisions with the best in mind, I wish you could spend more time here at home because after you join the NBA it will be difficult for you to have time to come home during the season." "It''s true, but it is possible that this NBA season may take longer to start than last year, I cannot be sure of that, but if it happens after the film is over I will try to spend a few more weeks here at home before to start training." "Also, in just over a month we will see each other again in the NBA draft, you have to be there and hope that I find a good team." Eva didn''t know why, but she believed that Jake was right that the season was going to take even if she knew it had never happened before, maybe Eva just wanted to believe it, or maybe it was because of the incredible things that Jake has achieved in the last few years. Before Jake left Anna came to their house after closing the restaurant earlier and Jake can talk to her a lot and then they had dinner and Anna stayed at Jake''s because it was too late. The other day very early in the morning Jake said goodbye to his mother and Anna and went to the airport to meet Yuen Woo-ping for them to go together on the plane to Australia, Jake was excited to start filming, but was nervous about the long day trip like Jake had to do once going to Tokyo. Jake thought that maybe when he had to arrive in Sydney he would have to spend a day or more resting before he could start shooting, but he didn''t say anything to Yuen Woo-ping and would wait to see how he would arrive before saying he would have to rest. After a long trip that Jake slept on the plane, they arrived in Sydney, contrary to what he expected the impact of the flight was not so great for Jake that he arrived just a little tired. Yuen Woo-ping was actually more tired than Jake and as the two arrived later in the afternoon they went to the hotel room where the film crew was resting to meet with the directors and the rest of the travel team the next day. Jake was not recognized at Sydney airport because no one in the sports media he knew the most could imagine that Jake would go to Australia after school ended, for many Jake was still in Miami. So the film crew would have the peace of mind to continue filming and there was a lot for them to do now that Jake had arrived, the idea of ??the directors the Wachowskis brothers, was to record some scenes with Jake that were delayed while Jake still had to train to learn how to fight on the cables. Then they would shoot the action scenes and cable fights with all the actors and so they could continue shooting normally and finish on time if something delayed the actors would have to stay another month and Jake could stay up to 2 months beyond the end of filming because the scenes in which he could record alone he would do after all. Jake and Yuen Woo-ping were able to rest well and the next day the two went to talk to the directors, the directors knew that Jake had arrived and had to organize the scenes that would be recorded in the next few days, they were talking to the rest of the staff movie and they saw Jake and Yuen Woo-ping coming. "Jake, you finally arrived, we have been waiting for you for the past few weeks, I hope you have learned all the fight scenes in these months with Yuen Woo-ping." "Thank you for giving me that time, I know I couldn''t make it when filming started because of the basketball season, but I will do my best to record the delayed scenes and not delay the shooting." "Yuen Woo-ping taught me everything I needed to learn for this film, now we will have to see how I''m going to do while I''m struggling over the cables, I think in a few weeks I can learn." The Wachowskis were happy to see Jake''s willingness to shoot the scenes, they risked a lot by bringing Jake who was not a very experienced actor for this film, especially since Jake couldn''t be on the film for several months like the other actors. Even so, they thought Jake had talent and could call several fans of his to see this film, the Wachowskis were happy when they learned that Jake was learning the fighting moves well if Jake could fight well the film would be more successful. "Now that you are here, we are going to record the scenes where you appear that was late with the other actors, you can meet them later when you learn to fight on the cables we can do this scene too." It seemed like a simple thing to shoot some scenes without an actor and make that actor appear later, but for the actors to better show their feeling in the scene it was better that they did the scene with the other actors. Mainly because sometimes the director likes to use multiple cameras and shoot in different ways and so they shot from different angles, so the actors in animation films were respected because they only saw the scene and had to start several times to decide. "Here is your script Jake, the scenes that are marked are the ones that will be recorded today and for that reason, you should focus more on memorizing, we will pass on the scenes that you have to record in the next few days, you can go meet the other actors if you want." Jake received the script and saw that just as he expected he had many lines, neither in the day nor in the entire film, and Jake hoped for that because even the main characters didn''t have so many lines in this film that there was a lot of action and fights. Jake was just as important as Cypher in this film and they were indirectly related in the story of The Matrix, Jake had heard about the character he would play from the Wachowskis brothers before, but seeing the script he could see the difference his character would have in the original story he knew. Jake was feeling better after sleeping and the long trip hadn''t affected him as much as before, as he wouldn''t be running a marathon he could also recover faster than last time and so he didn''t need to say anything to the Wachowskis. Jake was very excited when he went to meet the actors in the film, he was very easy on Keanu Reeves who was not yet so famous because the movie The Matrix would bring him more success, Jake also liked the other actors and really wanted to meet them. Chapter 440 The Filming in Austrália 2 Jake soon went to where Keanu Reeves was because he wanted to talk to him more, Keanu Reeves was famous even before the movie The Matrix, Jake watched some of his films Bill & Ted''s Excellent Adventure, Bram Stoker''s Dracula and Speed. But the films that Keanu Reeves made that Jake liked the most were the Matrix, Speed, Constantine, The Lake House, and John Wick franchise, even so, Jake watched almost every Keanu Reeves film and in the future, he would be one of the most beloved actors in the world. "Mr. Reeves, it is a great pleasure for me to meet you in person, I am a huge fan who has watched several films that you have made and I really enjoyed." "You must be Jake Smith, I heard a lot from you too, you don''t have to be so formal with me and you can call me Keanu, did I hear that this is your first supporting character in a movie?" "Yes Mr. Reeves, this is the first film that I will have a character that is important for the film, I am very happy to work with you, I am sure that this film will be a success." "It is good to see that you are excited, you learned in the last few months with Woo-ping, so if he said that you are prepared you will have a good performance in this film, don''t be nervous and do what the directors say and everything will be fine." "Thank you, Mr. Reeves, I will speak to the other actors and then we will meet at the scene of the shooting." Jake was happy that Keanu Reeves was as nice and kind as he had heard in the media, Jake admired Keanu Reeves for many things, one of which was because he was filming this movie and doing fights even with a spinal injury. After that Jake told Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving that he was also a fan for their work on The Matrix and also in other films, the two had a very successful career and Hugo Weaving mainly for being part of The Lord of the trilogy Rings, V for Vendetta and part of the Marvel films. Jake was also happy to meet Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano who had outstanding characters in this film, the other actors did not know that Jake was a fan of them because of the film The Matrix and just thought he was polite and excited and liked him. The other actors were not bothered by Jake coming to Sydney after them for filming because they knew that all of this was the directors ''decision and the actors normally did not question the directors'' decision unless they were big names in Hollywood and so they could pressure the director. Jake was calm because he already knew the film very well and seeing his script Jake can see why the character he would play did not exist in the movie The Matrix he watched because his character would only change the story of the film a little, but the end of the film would be the same. Jake''s character could make the story more realistic and acceptable to the audience, the name of the character Jake would make was Jev, some critics said the story was meaningless because the crew of Morpheus'' ship to Nebuchadnezzar always survived by escaping from the agents. But in the film, it is shown that not even Morpheus can fight the agents and so there was no logic that they could survive so long by invading the Matrix, even more, because they had other ships that could also enter the Matrix without problems. So Jake''s character would be the only one of the ships that could fight against the agents to help his team escape in the most dangerous missions, of course, Jev could not dodge bullets and always had to be taken care of in fights. So also when Neo who was Keanu Reeves'' character appeared as "The One" and Cypher decides to betray them, the crew would suspect that in fact, Jake''s character could be the traitor because Jev always fights the agents and finds a way to escape alive. So even though Jake''s character was important, it didn''t have much relevance to the story and was cut to make Neo more special as the only one who can fight the agents. Even so in the changed story, Jake would have an important character who would have a highlight and would be one of the few who would survive Cypher''s betrayal at the end of the film, Jake''s character would not die in the first film. But Jake worried about that because he remembered that the second and third films would be shot together and he would not have time to participate in the other films so the story could have a problem in the future. But Jake wasn''t going to talk to the Wachowskis about it because they could just change their mind and make the two films in two separate years outside the NBA season and Jake would definitely be on the record. Or the Wachowskis could simply give Jake a small part in the next film and kill his character so as not to cause trouble for the shoot, anyway Jake was happy to be in that first film. As Jake''s part was more in the fights and in the action scenes he didn''t have many lines in one day of recording and with his photographic memory, he could decorate after reading a few times, as Jake knew the film well he had to train the speaks a few times to look like the other characters in the film. After that Jake trained how to speak and trained his diction, Jake didn''t know how the directors would want his character, so he could just train as he normally did and then he would change to the way the directors wanted. But the afternoon that day they went to shoot some scenes that Jake''s character had and that was late, in those early days, Jake would do the scenes that were in closed scenarios and then he would do the scenes of open scenery. It was a good thing that the place where they were filming was in the Fox studio so that they could have more time to shoot the scenes, everyone expected Jake to make mistakes in the first scenes because he didn''t even know what his character was like. The first scenes that Jake would have to shoot were on Morpheus'' hovercraft, Nebuchadnezzar, Jake entered just before the film crew and looked like a fan inside Nebuchadnezzar, he saw the film The Matrix many times and that was one of the most important scenarios of the movie. Of course, the coolest things were done in computer graphics and Jake could even see some green screens inside the Nebuchadnezzar, over time the actors were positioning themselves and the film crew as well. Jake was already wearing one of the clothes that Nebuchadnezzar crew members wore and the makeup had already been done, Jake could feel the makeup in the neck of the hole where the cable to enter the Matrix was placed. Jake still felt like a fan as the sound crew and camera crew positioned themselves, Jake was called in by the Wachowskis brothers to work out the last details before they started shooting the scenes. "Jake, this scenario is the Nebuchadnezzar hovercraft, much of the film will be shown in this scenario and most of the characters in the film will also be here, your character is a man who is serious whenever he does the missions and relaxes a little when he is away of the Matrix." "You have to try to talk like the other characters and when you talk to Neo and the other characters you have to look kinder, remember that your character is one of the only ones who believe that Neo is "The One"." "I see, in these next scenes on Nebuchadnezzar I have to look kinder even though I am serious, and I also have to speak and act like the other characters." "Okay, did you manage to memorize your lines for today''s scenes?" "Yes, I think I managed to decorate and I hope I won''t delay filming." "No problem, you arrived yesterday from a long trip and you don''t have much experience, I just want you to get your lines right and try to get into the character." Jake knew that in fact the directors and the other actors expected him to miss him several times before he started getting it right, but Jake didn''t care about that because it was true that he had no experience and with no one expecting much from him Jake had less pressure to do the scenes. Because Jake was not in the first weeks of filming, the directors decided to make the scene that Neo woke up from the Matrix and his body was rescued, so the first scene would be of Jake''s character talking to the character of Keanu Reeves. So contrary to what everyone expected, Jake did well on his first attempt, he looked serious and even so he welcomed Neo and still talked in a similar way as the other actors talked. Of course, Jake still didn''t get it right the first time and the directors corrected some mistakes he had made for not knowing the character, with Jake acting so well the other actors started to respect him more and the directors were more demanding. So Jake managed to record the first scene much faster than everyone expected, then it would be a scene where Mouse arrived to talk to Neo and so the three talked a little, these scenes were fast, but took a few hours to be recorded and so The day''s recordings ended and the directors were happy with that. The Wachowskis were happy with Jake''s performance on his first day and were happy to have made that bet if Jake knew how to fight as well as Yuen Woo-ping said they knew they would have no problem putting Jake in that movie. After the first day of filming that Jake participated, the members of the filming had a dinner at the hotel to talk and socialize, the most incredible thing was that almost none of the actors knew Jake about basketball or even the marathons he won. Only a few who followed sports watched the NBA and other major competitions, but as several actors were not American they did not follow College basketball or marathons. Chapter 441 The Filming in Austrália 3 But that did not stop Jake from being able to talk and other actors and film crew from enjoying what he was like since he was a child Jake knew how to talk to people and make new friends easily. And social situations like this dinner helped him a lot because people became more open and kind and made friends more easily, Jake can talk a lot with the other actors who did not have much participation in the film and even talked for a while with Keanu Reeves. But it was more difficult for Jake to talk to Keanu Reeves because even though he was very kind, Keanu Reeves was a famous actor and so it was more difficult for Jake to talk to him having so many people who also wanted to talk to Keanu Reeves. Even so, Jake can relax a little more and talk to most of the actors and even with the film crew after that Jake went to rest early because early in the morning he would have to train the cable movements to prepare for the film. The other day Jake woke up very early and went to prepare for training, in the afternoon they would have more footage to do, so Jake went to the place where he was told to go and there were Yuen Woo-ping and his assistants and Jake you can see the cables and the place where he would train. Jake already imagined what the cable training would be like, but seeing it in person even he was surprised how they had equipment and machines to help them have more movement and safety too. "Hi Jake, today we are finally going to be able to start your cable training, I am sure you will not take long to learn everything you need to learn, after that, you will be ready to do the fight scenes." "The most important thing for you in this training is to learn how to balance yourself while being suspended by cables after you learn to balance yourself you will have to learn to move freely and then we will train the fighting movements." "Some of the dubs in the movie will demonstrate how you need to move and then they will fight so you can see how you have to do it." After Yuen Woo-ping said that the machines lifted the stuntmen by the cables and in a short time they managed to balance themselves, after that some started to show what the fight scenes would be like. Even if it was difficult to train most fights it would not be off the ground but on the ground itself and the cables would only serve to simulate scenes with blows to appear that the opponent had attacked with more force than it was in reality. Some simpler scenes had already been done, but they needed Yuen Woo-ping to help organize the most important fight scenes, one of the scenes was Neo and Morpheus in training, Neo and Neo''s struggles with Agent Smith. The scene in which Trinity fought with dozens of policemen and ran away from the agents had also been filmed, even if it was a complicated scene to do, Jake''s character would participate in few fights, but the fights he participated in would be important and had to be well choreographed. Jake would fight in the scene where Morpheus would be captured and he would also fight in the scene in which Neo''s group fled after Morpheus had been captured, in that fight Jake''s character would be injured after helping everyone escape and he would be the one who would kill Cypher to save Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. So Jake''s character would be important in the film even if it didn''t take away the importance of the other characters and besides some scenes that would be changed the rest of the film would be the same, the only difference was that it would be longer because of those scenes. After Jake saw the dubbing demonstration he started to learn how he had to move when he was suspended on the cables to gain balance, just as Jake had thought it was much more difficult than he thought. After a few hours of training Jake had learned to gain balance and could now move better by hanging on the cables, but Yuen Woo-ping realized that Jake had learned better than he expected, even so, they would need a few days of training before they could start filming the fight scenes with the actors. In the meantime the recording of the scenes from the movie that didn''t need a fight happened, even when I didn''t have to record Jake, I would go to the scenes to see how one of his favorite films was recorded, because of that the other actors and directors praised Jake because they thought that he was watching to learn. In fact, Jake was a good surprise for the directors because he made fewer mistakes than the actors who had much more experience than him, it seemed that Jake knew the film and the characters well and therefore he had an easier time doing the scenes. So after another week, Yuen Woo-ping realized that Jake had also learned to move while hanging from the cables and he told the directors that the fight scenes could start to be recorded. The directors hoped for this because the scenes that didn''t need to be recorded outside the studio were ending, now they could do several fight scenes and then make the recordings that needed to be done in the city and that was more complicated. For a film like A Matrix the fight scenes were very important and very difficult to do, so it was one of the most complicated things in the film and so the directors asked the actors to do several months of training with Yuen Woo-ping. The fight scene that would take place after Neo went to see the oracle where Morpheus would be captured would be one of the most important scenes in the film and it would be this scene that they would record now that Jake had already trained on the cables. In this scene the mouse character would be killed after Cypher''s betrayal and then Neo''s group would try to escape and Morpheus would sacrifice himself for the group to escape, in this scene Jake''s character would be fighting the other agents while Morpheus would be captured by agent Smith. After Morpheus is captured, Jake''s character thinks about rescuing Morpheus, but he has to fight to help Neo and the others to escape and after that fight, he is shot and has to go back to the ship before and even wounded he still takes the gun and kills Cypher to save Neo. Some changes would be made in this scene to make it happen and this scene would have more fights and more emotion, Tank also survives Cypher''s attack in this scene and because Jake remains injured only Neo and Trinity return to try to rescue Morpheus. Most of the fight scenes in this movie involve Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity, so Jake''s character would not have as many scenes to fight, but with the few scenes he would fight Jev would be remembered in the film and if the audience liked him he there would be even more fight scenes in the next films where the secondary characters had to fight more often. As soon as the fight scenes started, the actors and the Yuen Woo-ping brothers realized that Yuen Woo-ping spoke the truth by saying how Jake fought very well, the other characters had a few months to learn and because of the lack of physical training and training. martial arts their fight scenes seemed very fought. But with the efforts of the actors and the fights being well choreographed, it still pleased the audience and the critics, but Jake was an athlete and quickly learned what Yuen Woo-ping can teach and so he really looked like a professional fighter fighting the other actors. Jake had even greater control than the others and so the scenes became more realistic and Jake didn''t hit anyone in the recordings and avoided being hit, this made the scenes where Jake''s character fought to be recorded more easily because the agents were actors more trained in fighting. The Wachowskis brothers were even happier and knew that they had been right to invite Jake to participate in this film if this film even had sequences that even they didn''t think Jake''s character would have even more importance in the next films. After a few more weeks, part of the fight scenes had been finished, even though the actors were talented the scenes had to be choreographed and the actors had to fight using the cables so that some blows seemed to send the opponent away. But Jake had to stop recording again to go to the NBA draft this season, he had already warned the Wachowskis brothers about it and in his absence, other fight scenes that Jake''s character would not appear in could be done. Thanks to Jake''s good performance, the recordings were early and they wouldn''t have to stay in Australia any longer to finish filming, Jake went directly to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada just as he had agreed with David Falk and his mother who was going there too. Jake went to Vancouver a few days earlier because he had arranged with David Falk to speak to him prior to the NBA draft, just as Jake hoped the Clippers'' team won in the NBA Draft lottery the right to choose the first pick. So everything would be easy because the agreement between the Clippers and the Lakers had already been completed and the Lakers just had to tell the Clippers'' team to choose Jake for the first pick, then they would make the switch and then everything would be fine. In this situation, Jake was still concerned because maybe the Clippers ''team didn''t really expect them to get the right to choose for the first pick and if they did, they might not close the deal with the Lakers'' team because Jake knew they wanted to choose Michael Olowokandi. In addition, after the NBA draft, Jake could officially sign the contract with the sponsoring companies that David had already made a verbal agreement with, especially Adidas, which would pay a few million in that contract and was very important. Chapter 442 The Filming in Austrália 4 Jake had asked the directors for two weeks to be able to sort out everything he had to do after the NBA draft and be able to go back to Australia, Jake knew that a few days after the NBA draft the teams would announce the NBA lockout and so Jake could quietly return to filming. So without giving too many details, Jake had already asked David to speed up the signing of contracts with the sponsoring companies and even with the Lakers'' team, so as not to have any problems and delay his schedule. David did not know the real reason and thought that Jake was concerned about the filming he was doing, David was not so excited about it because he was concerned that the team that selected Jake would not like him to be gone for a few more weeks. So David agreed that it was better to speed up the signing of the contracts because later it would be more difficult for these companies to withdraw from the agreement, with David urgently organizing the meetings the companies that had already prepared for it a few months ago agreed to sign the official contract quickly. David couldn''t ask the Lakers ''team to do this because until Jake was selected by the Clippers'' team their deal was not going to happen, moreover, David represented the side of many players who were against the NBA owners and that was one of the reasons for the NBA lockout. Fortunately, Jerry West''s interest in Jake was great and he had the authority to sign the contract with Jake quickly, in the next few days before Eva arrived in Vancouver, Jake and David were scheduling several meetings and resolving the final arrangements for the deals. So the two could see a sports program on television that was talking about this year''s NBA draft that would take place in 2 days, naturally, that caught Jake''s attention because it was known to everyone that Jake would be in that draft. "In the coming days, we will have the NBA draft for this season, with the discussion between NBA players and owners the future of this season is uncertain and may even be canceled which has never happened before." "Few players who are big stars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O''Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, and others are paid very high salaries and only the biggest teams can pay those salaries." "In the meantime, ordinary players are paid very low wages and the teams want a salary cap for the teams to try to maintain a more competitive season in the coming NBA seasons and for them to pay fewer wages of course." "But even in this situation the players who came from universities, high school, and other countries are wanting to enter the NBA and so this year''s draft has to happen, this year''s draft seems to have big names who can be NBA stars in coming seasons." "It''s true, I also think that the draft can be one of the best in history and so more teams can have good players to try to get a place in the playoffs for the next seasons." "So today we''re going to try to decide who the players are most likely to be the top 10 choices in this draft and which players the teams might want more and need more of." "Yes, I think the player who could be first in this NBA draft is Vince Carter, he has performed very well in the last three years playing for the Tar Heels team and won two NCAA tournaments and has the style of play that all teams want." "It really is possible, Vince Carter is a very skilled player who scores a lot and is still improving and is also the type of player that fans like and can help teams regain popularity." "But if you think about it like that Antawn Jamison has a better chance of being the first pick in this draft, he was one of the best players on the Tar Heels team in recent seasons and had a great rebound and point average in games too." "Thinking about it Larry Hughes can also be a good choice if the team needs an SG, he will definitely be in the top 10 in this draft." "If the team needs a Center this season they don''t have many options, there are Raef LaFrentz and Michael Doleac who can play as Center and as a PF also in games, we also have Robert Traylor and Michael Olowokandi who can be chosen." "That''s right, but we don''t really have a big name that everyone expects to be an NBA star like Shaquille O''Neal and Tim Duncan in recent years, as a strong player we also have Dirk Nowitzki who comes from Germany and can be a star the NBA for the next few seasons." "We have other players like Paul Pierce who is an interesting player for several teams in this draft and playing as PG we have Jason Williams and Mike Bibby who can also be the first pick of this draft." Jake was watching this program and was secretly impressed because the commentators hit almost every player who would be in the top 10 in what Jake remembered before he had his second chance. But one thing he was surprised about was that his name was never mentioned by commentators, he knew that he might not be the favorite among commentators to be the first pick, but he should be in the top 10 for having won the NCAA twice tournament and the Naismith College Player of the Year. "And we have perhaps one of the most important players in this draft who is Jake Smith, we know which teams will have the choices in this draft, and Jake is perhaps one of the only players who would be among the top 3 choices of all teams in this draft." "Jake is a PG who can play as SG as well and even as SF if necessary, Jake has an incredible average of over 33.9 points per game and 10.5 assists per game, a great player in three-point shots It is very fast." "In addition, Jake was the College Player of the Year twice and helped the Tar Heels team win the NCAA tournament for two seasons, in addition, Jake is a great defensive player and averages 7.6 steals per game, 1.2 blocks per game and 8.1 rebounds per game." "Even so, I don''t think the Los Angeles Clippers team will think of choosing Jake as his first pick, the Clippers team should choose Michael Olowokandi because they want a Center and believe in his potential." "The Vancouver Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings teams can choose Jake because they need a PG, so Jake can be the second pick in this draft or the seventh pick, I''m sure Jake will be an NBA star and any team that chooses him will be doing it right." "But these are just our speculations and in the next few days we will see which players will be chosen in the 1998 NBA draft." Seeing the commentators speaking well of him Jake was very happy, he knew that the negotiation of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers team is a secret, there were not many times that these rival teams from the same conference did negotiations like this. So everyone would be surprised when that happened and many commentators would criticize the Lakers team for exchanging three players for a new player, Jerry West would be highly criticized and Jake would be lucky that the NBA lockout would attract media attention and he would go to Australia after that NBA draft. The other day very early Eva arrived at the hotel where Jake was and a room was already reserved for her, naturally Jake spent the whole day with Eva while David was still talking to the companies, Jake realized that Eva was a little nervous about this NBA draft and decided to talk to her about it. "What happened, mom? Is there anything that worries you?" "You know well what is worrying me, I know that you are very talented and can be successful on any team, but I am nervous to know which team you will play on." "You don''t have to be nervous, mom, I''m going to tell you a secret to calm down, it''s very likely that the team I''m going to play is already decided." "What do you mean, Jake? Wasn''t it a lottery chosen by the teams by luck?" "Yes, it was a lottery and no one is doing anything wrong, but a few months earlier my sports agent, David, who you know well, negotiated with the Lakers team for me to play there this season." "So the Lakers team made an advance negotiation with the Clippers team that if the Clippers team chose me in this draft they would change some players so that I can play for the Lakers team." "Luckily the Clippers team got the opportunity to choose the first pick in this draft and so it is almost certain that they will choose me to make this exchange with the Lakers team, it is not certain yet because the Clippers team may change their mind at the end and choose another player taking advantage of their first pick." "But it is very difficult for something like this to happen and that is why I am more likely to play for the Lakers team in the coming seasons." Listening to Jake talking like that Eva can be more relaxed, if Jake had had all this work and asked his agent to choose the Lakers team then it should be the team that Jake wanted to play and that was what mattered to her. Even Eva, who didn''t understand basketball well, knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team was a very good team and had chances to win several games and she thought that having a good team Jake could show all his talent. So that day passed quickly and David Falk continued talking to the companies that were sending representatives to sign the contracts with Jake when everything seemed to be right the day of the 1998 NBA draft arrived. The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and would be broadcast on TNT, Jake well remembered that this was one of the most striking drafts because of Michael Olowokandi, so it was called one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. Chapter 443 1998 NBA Draft 1 Jake and Eva sat at a table next to Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter and their family, it was a request from them to be together and the organization saw no problem with that, they talked a little and the three were very excited for the NBA draft. After the order of the teams that would choose the players in the draft was defined, sports commentators began to make guesses as to who would be the 10 chosen first, in these choices Jake was the second pick, Carter being the fourth pick and Jamison being the fifth pick. With so many commentators saying that Carter and Jamison remembered that Jake said that they would be among the 5 first picks of that draft, that day they just laughed, but now it could be a reality, anyway it was certain that their dream of playing in the NBA would be accomplished. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch the 1998 NBA draft here at TNT sports, today it will be decided which NBA teams will have 58 young players, we will see who will be the 10 first pick of this draft. "I''m Ernie Johnson and I''m talking about General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia." "With me here today we have sports commentators Hubie Brown, John Thompson, and Rick Majerus who will comment on the chosen players and the teams that will choose them in this draft." "Young players are the stars of today and everyone wants to know which teams they are going to, but we must not forget to talk about the possible NBA lockout that could happen on July 1 because the team owners and the players will not reach an agreement." "If this happens even this season it can happen with fewer games or in the worst scenario we may not have an NBA season if this happens these young players will not have a debut season this season." "That''s right, Ernie, because of this situation this NBA season could be canceled and that will be bad for team owners and players, but especially for fans." "What is being offered by team owners may harm players and more than that, players fear that if they accept bad conditions another NBA lockout may happen in the future when the owners are not satisfied and want to pay less to the players." Sports media members and basketball fans were really concerned that this NBA season could be canceled or at least there would be fewer games, players and owners already knew it would happen and were preparing for it. Media members and fans alike were saddened by this lockout because the NBA was the only major sports league in the United States that had never lost a game because of a work stoppage, and that would change after that season. "Let''s stop talking about the NBA lockout because this NBA draft is about to start, let''s listen to the NBA commissioner David Stern." "Good night everyone, and welcome to the 1998 NBA draft, I thank all the fans who are following this draft, everyone knows the rules and so let''s start this draft with the Los Angeles Clippers team who will have 5 minutes to say who will be the first pick of that 1998 NBA draft." "Now the Los Angeles Clippers team will have 5 minutes to decide who will be their chosen player and the first pick of this NBA draft, who do you think they will choose Hubie Brown?" "I think they can choose Jake Smith or Michael Olowokandi, analyzing the needs of the Los Angeles Clippers team for sure Jake Smith could be the main player for that team in the future." "But most likely they will choose Michael Olowokandi, he is a player with a lot of potential and is the Center they want and can be important for the defense and attack of the Los Angeles Clippers team." "I agree with that too, Michael Olowokandi is the player who seems to best fit the needs of the Los Angeles Clippers team, but I would definitely choose Jake Smith because he can change the future of any NBA team." Eva was nervous even though she knew that Jake had an agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers team and the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake was relaxed because if David hadn''t said anything it was because of the Los Angeles Clippers team hadn''t changed their minds. After a while David Stern came back to announce who the Los Angeles Clippers team had chosen, everyone was tense waiting to see who they would choose, the other teams also had 3 players chosen and awaited the Los Angeles Clippers team''s decision. "With the 1998 NBA draft first pick, the Los Angeles Clippers select Jake Smith." With the official announcement, Jake and Eva celebrated a lot and the fans who were at the General Motors Place in Vancouver also applauded and liked that Jake had been chosen as the first pick of the 1998 NBA draft, the fans of the Los Angeles Clippers team were very pleased to have Jake as chosen. Eva was very happy with this and was thrilled because she knew how Jake loved basketball, she knew that Jake didn''t need to be a player because of the money because he would earn a lot more by becoming an entrepreneur with so many deals that he did. Jake''s friends were also naturally watching this NBA draft, Matthew, Oliver, Joseph, Clara, Anna, Tiffany, roommates, Kate and many others stopped what they were doing to watch the moment that Jake would join the NBA, and everyone was proud when they saw that he was the first pick of this draft. Jake put on the Clippers cap and knew it would be for a short time, all the cameras were focused on Jake who was smiling a lot and was even thrilled to make one of his biggest dreams come true before he got that second chance. Jake went up to David Stern and greeted him and the two took a photo together, it wouldn''t be on that day that the Lakers ''team would make the switch with the Clippers'' team, they were already thinking about completing the agreement in Los Angeles on Following. "Contrary to what we expected, the Los Angeles Clippers team made the safest choice and chose Jake Smith in the first pick, everyone expected them to choose Michael Olowokandi for what the Clippers team needed, but Jake''s choice was right." "For sure, Michael Olowokandi has an exciting history in basketball of playing for just 2 years at the University of the Pacific and already becoming one of the most important players in College basketball." "He may become one of the biggest stars in the NBA like Shaquille O''Neal, Michael Olowokandi may be one of the biggest names in basketball, but for now he''s just a bet on that draft." "Jake Smith is already one of the players that we all know will be a great NBA star for years to come, he is a complete player great in attack and good in defense, if he does half the points, assists and steals he did helping team Tar Heels to win the NCAA tournament twice it will already be a good choice for the Los Angeles Clippers team." The Clippers team general manager Doc Rivers was in Los Angeles and spoke to Elgin Baylor, as Baylor knew that Jake would not be a player on the Los Angeles Clippers team for a long time he decided to just praise Jake. "Now Doc Rivers is with Los Angeles Clippers team general manager Elgin Baylor." "Yes, Ernie, I''m here in Los Angeles with Los Angeles Clippers team general manager Elgin Baylor, Elgin, how difficult was it for you to decide to choose Jake Smith in this draft?" "It was not very difficult, it was a decision that the team had already decided a few days ago that if it were possible we would choose Jake Smith in this draft, he is an excellent player and will be important for our team." "It was thought by all commentators that the Los Angeles Clippers team would choose Michael Olowokandi as the first pick in this draft, what has changed for you to choose Jake Smith?" "We really had a great interest in Michael Olowokandi for our team, but the situation for our team changed and we decided that choosing Jake Smith would be better for our team." This change that Elgin Baylor was saying was that the Los Angeles Lakers team offered three players who could greatly improve the Los Angeles Clippers team if they chose Jake Smith and switched with the Lakers'' team. In this situation, it was much more sensible if they got these 3 players than betting on Michael Olowokandi, in addition, it was possible that they could still choose Michael Olowokandi because they had the twenty-second pick yet. "Craig Sager has the number one pick now, let''s go to them." "Thanks, Ernie, I''m here with Jake who was expected to be among the top 5 picks in this draft, because of the excellent season you had in your two seasons on the Tar Heels team." "But the Los Angeles Clippers team was not expected to choose you as the first pick, what do you think about that Jake?" "I am very happy to have been chosen as the 1998 NBA draft first pick with so many talented players, I am very happy to have entered the NBA which has always been my dream and I hope I can play well for my team in the coming seasons." "You have a very different style of play being a PG who scores a lot of points in three-point shots and often prefers assists and also defends well with steals, do you think that your style of play can help deceive opponents or do you think about defining an attacking style in the NBA?" "I don''t think much about it in games, I''m PG and I organize my team''s attacks according to the team''s coach''s instructions, if I have freedom in the attack I''ll choose the best way to score and get my team to victory." "If the defense is putting a lot of pressure on me, I can try assistance if a teammate is better able to score or I can get the dribble to get rid of the opponent." Chapter 444 1998 NBA Draft 2 "I prefer to try the three-point shot in which I am more confident than trying to steal or dunk because I can get more points for my team by shooting from outside, and in defense, I do my best to help the team." "So it will depend on the coach of my team if I play in a team that has Michael Jordan or Shaquille O''Neal I would prefer to do assists rather than attack alone." "One more question, you had two great seasons on the Tar Heels team winning the NCAA tournament twice and being chosen as the College Player of the Year twice, many say you should stay at the university for two more seasons, what do you think about this?" "I''ve said it before, I loved playing for the Tar Heels team and I had great teammates, I had coach Dean Smith and coach Bill Guthridge who taught me a lot, I accomplished a lot of things that several players wanted to achieve and I think my time in university is over." "So I want to enter the NBA this season to have new challenges and improve, even more, I want to win the NBA title and become the MVP of a season, I want to break several records in the NBA and for that, I have to risk entering the NBA as soon as possible." "Thanks, Jake, good luck to you in the NBA." After the interview Jake came back to celebrate with his mother and rarely did he feel as happy as he was now, Jake knew that the next day the Lakers ''team would complete the deal with the Clippers'' team and he could sign the contract with the Los Angeles Lakers team before the NBA lockout. The NBA draft continued and Jake wanted to see if he had changed anything else in this draft besides helping the Clippers ''team that didn''t choose Michael Olowokandi as they would, Jake didn''t know if another team would choose him or if the Clippers'' team would still choose Michael Olowokandi in the twenty-second pick. "The next team to choose in this draft is the Vancouver Grizzlies team, before the start of the draft it was clear their intention to choose Jake Smith in this draft because they need a PG and they also thought that the Los Angeles Clippers team would choose Michael Olowokandi." "But with the Los Angeles Clippers team choosing Jake Smith, they should choose Mike Bibby who was another name that was spoken by the Vancouver Grizzlies team in recent days." "That''s right, Ernie, the Vancouver Grizzlies team can also choose Vince Carter and Paul Pierce to suit their needs, but Mike Bibby is most likely to be chosen by the Vancouver Grizzlies team." With the change in the Los Angeles Clippers'' team selection, everyone''s draft list changed, but commentators already had an idea of ??what the other teams would choose, so it was time for David Stern to announce the second pick. "With the second pick of the 1998 NBA draft, the Vancouver Grizzlies select Mike Bibby." Jake saw that Bibby was still selected in second and the scene he saw at General Motors Place in Vancouver the same as he remembered seeing on television with Bibby and his mother celebrating. "Mike Bibby is the second pick to be selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies team as expected, Mike Bibby is a talented PG who can shoot from three points and get smart assists as well as being able to fight opponents to get the layup if necessary." After Mike Bibby''s choice, commentators were unsure whether the Denver Nuggets team would even choose Raef LaFrentz as they were supposed to do before or choose Michael Olowokandi who could still be chosen. "I think the Denver Nuggets team should choose Raef LaFrentz as they thought to do before, even though Michael Olowokandi can become a good player he may not be ideal for the Denver Nuggets team as LaFrentz is." Just as commentators said, the Denver Nuggets team chose Raef LaFrentz for the third pick, after that the Toronto Raptors team and the Golden State Warriors team chose fourth pick Antawn Jamison and fifth pick Vince Carter and then switched players. To everyone''s surprise, Michael Olowokandi still took a long time to be chosen and besides Jake, the other picks in this 1998 NBA draft were the same as it was in Jake''s past life, only in the twelfth pick that the Orlando Magic team chose Michael Olowokandi. So in the twenty-second pick, Michael Doleac that would have been chosen by the team of the Orlando Magic was chosen by the team of the Los Angeles Clippers that was disappointed for not being able to hire Michael Olowokandi. Apart from Brian Skinner who ended up not being chosen by any team the rest of the draft was normal but probably Brian Skinner would enter the NBA in the future and everything would be as it was before, the Los Angeles Clippers team got rid of getting one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history for having made one of the biggest drafting mistakes by exchanging Jake Smith with the Lakers team. At least for one season, they would have better players on their team that could be exchanged for other players or at least give some money to the Los Angeles Clippers team. Jerry West knew he would be criticized for switching three players to Jake, but he thought that in the future he would be praised as he was for getting Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers team. After the end of the draft Jake and Eva went to dinner with Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison and their family, Jake invited them because the next time they met they would be on different teams and would-be opponents. They all talked happily even though their families didn''t know each other. They knew that Jake, Vince, and Antawn were friends after dinner Jake asked Eva to stay with him until he went to Australia, but Eva said she would stay only one day because to come back to help Anna run the restaurant. Jake arrived in his hotel room and was finally able to relax when he lay in bed, it had been a lively day and many things had happened that year, he won almost all individual awards and managed to win the NCAA tournament with the Tar Heels team. Jake also started filming for the film The Matrix which was sure to be a big hit and he would be closer to his dream of becoming a successful actor, now he had been chosen by the Los Angeles Clippers team and would play on the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. All his dreams were gradually coming true, his mother was already very happy and he was already rich as he wanted, there was little to fulfill his dreams in basketball and as an actor and his relationship with Kate was progressing and this year they would start dating if everything went well, thinking about it Jake decided to talk to the system. "Fate, thank you very much for this second chance, everything that I wanted and always dreamed of is coming true and I am achieving much more than I expected, I really appreciate it because I know that if it weren''t for you none of this would be happening." [You deserve everything that is happening Jake, I helped you because you deserved it and you are using the skills you have well and intend to even help others and do not forget your gratitude and what you went through.] [You will continue to have the things you want because you have the capacity and can still improve, just be careful not to forget what is most important to you.] "I''m not going, Fate, can you show me my stats for my first job?" [Yes, here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 19 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: NBA Pro Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 43] [Agility 42] [Resistance 45] [Intelligence 63] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control B] [Man to Man B] [Dribble A] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block B] [Pass S] [Rebound A] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal SS] [Dunk S] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake for a moment thought that nothing had changed after the draft, but soon realized that his job title had changed to NBA Pro Player, his skills had also changed even though his skill levels had not dropped as he expected before. It made Jake very happy because he didn''t have to spend a lot of time trying to improve his skills for the SS rank, and it also gave Jake more confidence because he trusted the system and knew that it meant he was able to perform well in the NBA also. [Your skills are like I told you if you got the S rank in all your basketball skills you would be a good player in the NBA, and how you got SS in various skills means that you kept improving even while playing at university.] [Some of your skills have dropped to rank B because you haven''t trained so much on those skills and the skill standard in the NBA is higher, but many of your skills are already worthy of the S rank.] [Another thing I have to tell you is that you have reached the maximum skill level that a basketball player can have, this means that your skills that have an SS rank are already the best and can be called the skills of an All-star the NBA and may make you an MVP in the future.] Hearing this Jake managed to understand a few things, the system was saying that his mid-range shooting skills and also outside shooting skills were those of an NBA All-Star player, which meant he had a skill close to Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and Stephen Curry. This might seem logical seeing that Jake managed to hit 549 three-point shots in two seasons at College basketball, he had an average of 73.8 percent hits on his 3-point shots, but Jake couldn''t think he was that good like Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and Stephen Curry because he always admired them. Chapter 445 1998 NBA Draft 3 [Another thing that you have to understand is that even if your skills are in the SS rank they can still improve a lot, your skill in the three-point shot and the mid-range shot has already passed a lot of other players who also had SS rank in these skills.] Jake understood that too, even if he had SS rank in Layups one day, he wouldn''t be as good as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was, even if he had SS dunk rank he wouldn''t be as good as Michael Jordan, even if he had rank Blocked SS he wouldn''t be as good as Hakeem Olajuwon and even if he had SS rank in rebounds he wouldn''t be as good as Wilt Chamberlain. Of course, Jake had no intention of being better than these basketball legends in all his skills, but he wanted to be the best of the three-point shot that was what he was always best at, Jake also saw the possibility of being the best in steals in his career. Jake also didn''t think he could be considered the best player in NBA history, he knew that even if he scored more points and won more NBA titles than Michael Jordan he still wouldn''t be a better player than him. Maybe after leaving the NBA, someone could say that Jake Smith was just like Michael Jordan and that would be the greatest honor that Jake thought he could have in his career, especially since Jake would know he got what he had thanks to the help of the system while these other players did not. After talking to the system Jake understood his skills more, even so, he couldn''t help but be excited about having such good stats, he was more confident about his debut season in the NBA. Jake spent the next day with his mother until Eva had to go to Miami in the afternoon, Jake told her that he would go home if all went well after finishing the film shoot in Australia, while Jake was happy negotiations were going on NBA. As agreed on the next day of the draft, the Los Angeles Lakers team general manager Jerry West concluded Jake''s exchange agreement with Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones, and Derek Harper, thereby the Los Angeles Clippers team general manager Elgin Baylor was happy because he thought he had made a great deal for his team. Jerry West had already spoken to Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones, and Derek Harper before the negotiation and the three accepted the change, Elden Campbell was a young and skilled player and knew he was the type of player that the Los Angeles Clippers team wanted. So he would have more playing time and also have more prominence on the team and with the other players who would go with him the Los Angeles Clippers team would improve a lot, Eddie Jones could play only one year on the Los Angeles Clippers team and then leave for another team. And Derek Harper was thinking about retiring this season, but he could play another season for the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring, they didn''t care that they would be traded in exchange for a new player because they knew the NBA was like that. So Jake traveled to Los Angeles the same day with David Falk, David had already told the sponsorship companies that they would be in Los Angeles next week and that there would be signing of endorsement contracts, the companies were more excited and confident knowing that Jake would be playing for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Naturally, everyone in the sports media heard about the news of the exchange of three great players who were featured on the Los Angeles Lakers team to have newcomer Jake Smith, most of the media criticized Jerry West''s decision and said he went crazy after the success of the hiring Kobe Bryant. Of course, many who were smarter realized Jerry West''s intentions and secretly praised him, the Lakers'' team had Shaquille O''Neal and wouldn''t have much room for Elden Campbell to play. Derek Harper was close to retiring and having a young player like Jake was much better and they wanted to sell Eddie Jones to have more time for Kobe Bryant to play games, moreover, they would free up a lot more space to pay a higher salary for Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant. Even so because Jake had been the first pick, his salary would be very high and would only increase in other years, but Jerry West was right and Jake Smith was one of the best players on the team in the coming years, it would be worth paying a high salary. Even with a high salary, the Lakers'' team would save 6 million dollars with this exchange and that amount would only be higher if Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones received the salary increase this season. Jake arrived in Los Angeles and soon went to Jerry West''s office to sign the contract, even though David Falk said that Jake could be paid less because of exceptions to his contract, Jerry West decided to pay the salary that Jake would receive as the first pick of that draft. It was interesting that for at least 1 season Jake would receive a higher salary than Kobe Bryant who would renew the contract only next year, Jake was happy with the respect that the Lakers'' team had with him. "Jake, I am very happy to have a great player like you on our team for the next few seasons, we have hired you because we have a lot of expectations that you will be an excellent player as soon as you make your NBA debut." "In this team of the Los Angeles Lakers we have Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant who are excellent players, I hope you can help them make more points, as PG we hope you organize the team''s attacks and make the points when you think it is necessary." "Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers and I hope you can bring some more NBA titles to our team with the team we have." "Thank you, Mr. West, if I''m a bit as good as you were as a player, I know I will succeed." Jake''s first year of contract with the Lakers team would be $ 2.7 million, and in the possible 5 years of the contract he negotiated with Jerry West he would receive $ 23.5 million, Jake thought it was good because he remembered which was similar to the contract that Mike Bibby would receive in 5 years. So Jake was officially hired by the Los Angeles Lakers team and knew where he would play for the next 5 seasons at least, with the situation of the possible NBA lockout coming up in the next few days. Jake still wouldn''t report to the team for training. But he would still remain in Los Angeles to sign his sponsorship contracts until the NBA lockout was confirmed and the players were released by the teams and so Jake would go to Australia. The media continued to talk about the bad business of the Los Angeles Lakers team, but the truth was that fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Los Angeles Clippers team were satisfied with this exchange. Fans of the Los Angeles Clippers team were happy to have Jake on their team, but they were more than happy to welcome Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones and Derek Harper on their team because even though Jake was a genius he couldn''t change the team. Los Angeles Clippers alone. But with three good players, the Los Angeles Clippers team could improve already this season, and the team had a star who was Eddie Jones who was missing before, and fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were upset that Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell would leave. But they understood that with that Kobe Bryant would have more time to play in the games and with the success of Kobe Bryant, they had more confidence that Jake Smith would be an equal success and so they would have three excellent players to try to win an NBA title. On Jake''s second day in Los Angeles, an Adidas representative had come before the other sponsors to sign the official contract with Jake Smith, perhaps the one who was happiest with Jake going to the Los Angeles Lakers team was Adidas. Of the best players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, one was Kobe Bryant who had a contract with them and the other was Shaquille O''Neal who had a contract with the Reebok company, so if Jake played as well as they thought he would become the third main player of that team and he had a contract with the company Adidas. If the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title in any of the coming seasons with two players on contract with them, it would be the glory of Adidas and they would gain an advantage over Nike. The only thing Adidas regretted was not trying to negotiate a bigger contract with Jake even if they had to pay more money, even so, some directors were against it, they thought to pay a 52 million dollar contract for 5 years to a novice player was taking too many chances. Even more because Jake would receive 4 percent of the revenue from selling shoes that were related to Jake, that was a large part of the money the company could receive back from the $ 52 million that they would pay in 5 years. But the company''s salespeople didn''t care about that because their goal was to sell the shoes but even more was to get a more prominent place in the world of basketball worldwide, and Jake was already very popular in Europe and Asia too. The Adidas representative was called Mike Morris and he was 1.70 m tall and looked elegant wearing a suit with black hair and eyes, Mike had not negotiated Jake''s contract with David, but he was chosen as the company''s representative Adidas because he knew how to be polite and David would negotiate deals directly with the company anyway. Chapter 446 1998 NBA Draft 4 Usually, endorsement contracts were made at Adidas with a presentation by the company on the marketing proposals they had for the player they would sign, but David had already seen it all and it was Jake who had asked to sign the contract. In Los Angeles. Jake would rather have signed with Nike because he knew the future, but he actually liked Adidas very much and wanted to do his best to help the company over the next 5 years that the contract between them would last. In the meantime he would leave everything to Adidas and David Falk to take care of a tennis brand using his name and also the advertisements, Jake trusted David for this and knew that David was happy because he would receive 10 percent of those 52 million dollars. contract dollars. "My name is Mike Morris, it is a pleasure to meet you, Jake Smith, I will be the representative of Adidas company to talk to you for years to come and if you have any questions you can call me and I will do everything I can to help." "We at Adidas expect a lot from you in basketball and also in marathons, so if you need any help in the next marathons we can help and if you think about an advertising campaign we will also listen to you." "Thanks, Mike, I also hope that we will work together for many years, I already left my coach taking care of the next competitions in the marathon for me, but he will let you know when I am going to compete and so you can prepare." "Okay, how are you going to play here in Los Angeles so you will probably find a place to live here in the city when you do that we will send you some of our company''s products for you to use whenever you want." "Okay, I''ll let you know." After that the contract that had already been made by David and the Adidas company was handed over to Jake who signed it after reading it carefully, he was happy that David had already negotiated the contract with the sponsoring companies so that they could do things faster. In the next few days, the other companies came so that Jake could sign the endorsement contract, in the end, no new company decided to sign with him after David increased the contract to $ 2 million a year. So Jake signed with 4 other companies a 4 million dollar contract for 4 years, the companies were Gatorade, Gillette, Pepsi, and Chevrolet, so Jake managed an additional 16 million dollars in 4 years with these companies and would receive 4 corn of dollars a year. David Falk was satisfied with these contracts that Jake had signed and knew that Jake did not intend to sign any new contracts that did not pay more than he had asked for before the NBA draft. Jake knew well that the way to be successful in the NBA was not always to negotiate millionaire contracts with the teams but to negotiate millionaire contracts with the endorsement companies, Jake got Pepsi, Gatorade, and Gillette because of the old contracts sponsorship and because of David''s help. Jake was sure that in the coming years these companies would be happy if he really won 3 NBA titles and he would get new contracts and renew those contracts with much higher values. Even after signing the contracts, Jake did not leave Los Angeles because there was still one day left before the NBA lockout that would be on July 1, Jake had to wait for the teams to release the players and so Jake would go to Australia. With all the sponsorship contracts and the Los Angeles Lakers team signed, Jake didn''t care about the NBA lockout, even though this season he knew the players would be paid less than he did. Just as Jake expected in the next few days the NBA lockout actually happened and the Los Angeles Lakers team had to release the players, the same day Jake managed to schedule a flight to Australia and after saying goodbye to David he went to Sydney. Jake was no longer suffering from the long 1-day trip on the plane and after resting for just one day he was much better and ready to re-shoot the scenes he missed in those weeks. While Jake was away the actors did more fight scenes than Jake''s character would not participate, Jake really wanted to see the footage of those scenes in person, but he couldn''t ask the directors for it and had to settle for seeing the footage later. Some more complicated scenes took days to shoot and some stuntmen were actually injured during the shoot, Jake suffered no injuries because he had a better physique than many stuntman''s and also had faster reflexes. Of course, Jake was lucky that his character didn''t have to be thrown away in any scene, the scenes like when Neo was thrown into the phone booth the stuntman could get hurt, of course, part of that was the directors'' consideration knowing that Jake was a professional basketball and did not have a stuntman. While filming Jake can befriend Keanu Reeves and also Laurence Fishburne, Keanu and Laurence were not basketball fans, but they knew that Jake had been the first pick of the 1998 NBA draft and would play for the Los Angeles Lakers team and so they naturally they were more interested in him as a player because it was clear that if Jake did that he was a talented player. Jake also couldn''t help looking at the two of them as a normal fan would do, luckily he was a calm person and the two didn''t bother with it, as the filming went on for weeks, Jake can calm down and treat them like friends himself. Filming continued and Jake did all the fight scenes very well and also his performance was highly praised, so the Wachowskis brothers enjoyed working with Jake very much and intended to work with him again in the future if they were able to schedule the filming for the vacation of Jake in NBA. Soon more time passed and the month of August had arrived, the filming was close to the end, but they would not end in August because Jake delayed the recording a little, but it was also because with the entry of his character in the film they had more scenes for the record. Jake was fortunate enough to follow the scene where Neo and Trinity invade the agents'' building to rescue Morpheus and they have one of the coolest shooting and fighting scenes that Jake had seen in which the two fight with dozens of policemen and win. This scene took 10 days to be filmed because the visual effects were practical and not done by the computer, it was interesting for Jake to see how the scene was actually filmed and he was praised by the directors because his character was not in that scene and even then Jake was there every day to follow the recording. Perhaps seeing the scene like this only the Wachowskis and Jake brothers could know what this scene would be like when going through post-production, Jake had brought one of Matthew''s company digital cameras and whenever he could he took pictures of the actors and places of Australia that were close to where he was filming. That was how after a little over 1 month the last scene was finally recorded and they had officially finished the recording period before the post-production started, a party was prepared to celebrate the end of filming. At this party, they had farewells from the actors who would have different jobs and they weren''t even sure if they would meet again, especially Jake that for everyone would go to the NBA games, only Jake knew it would still be a few months before the season really started. "You did a great job, Jake, I confess I didn''t expect you to be such a good actor, in the action and fight scenes you were also very good, I hope to work with you again." "I have to thank you, Director Larry Wachowski, I appreciate this opportunity that you and your brother gave me and I also hope to work with you again, if you can organize the filming period for the season that does not have NBA games, I would certainly I will participate." "Yes, I am confident that this film will be a success and so we will see each other in the recording of the sequence of this film, if there is an upcoming film I guarantee that you will have many more fight scenes to show your talent, Hahaha." "I am also sure that this film will be a success, I hope to have time to watch the film premiere together with all of you." After talking to Larry Wachowski, Jake went to talk to Keanu Reeves, just as before Keanu was surrounded by people because besides being a famous actor Keanu showed that he was very kind and charismatic in these months of recording and made friends with many of the film crew. But this time Jake had an easier time approaching Keanu Reeves to talk to him because they became friends after filming, Jake thought that maybe they would have to shoot one more movie together at least if the sequel to The Matrix really happened. "Keanu, it was a great pleasure to work with you these past few months, I am a big fan of yours before this film and seeing your dedication to the recordings I admire you even more." "Hahaha, thank you, Jake, you also did an excellent job in this film, you were better than me in the fight scenes and in the action scenes, and for your first film without having an experience you did as well as the other actors in the scenes and did not make a mistake." "This is nothing, I may have been better in the action scenes because you just had surgery, I''m sure in the future you will be one of the biggest names in cinema in action films like this." "I hope we can work together again, and good luck to you at the NBA games." Chapter 447 1998 NBA Draft 5 "I also hope that we can work together again, I hope that you are very successful in your next films and that everyone knows more about your talent, I also hope that you are going to watch some game on my team, I send the tickets to you on the front row." "For sure, if you send the tickets and I''m not working, I will watch your games." Jake was very happy to befriend one of his idols Keanu Reeves, he can also work with Tom Cruise, but he was unable to be as close to Tom Cruise as he was able to with Keanu Reeves, afterward Jake still spoke with other actors and especially with Laurence Fishburne who became friends with him too. Jake also talked to Carrie-Anne Moss, she was very kind, but Jake was shyer around her because he was also a fan of her because of the movie The Matrix, but Jake didn''t know how to make friends with beautiful women. He befriended Tiffany, Clara, and Emily because he worked with them and met them when he was a child, but with Carrie-Anne Moss, he was unable to talk as well as he talked to others. Jake would try to solve this problem because otherwise, he would have a hard time making friends in society, luckily it seemed that it was only with her that he was most famous, because he managed to talk to the other women on the film crew who were also beautiful. After filming Jake had finished his work, he would have to do the audio recording of his scenes in the film after editing because when recording the scenes the audio of the actors was very noisy, but this he could do in Los Angeles. Jake has not yet been to Miami or Los Angeles after finishing filming, Jake had to go to the Silicon Valley in San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, because after the end of filming Emily asked Jake to go there. Jake naturally accepted it because he had things he wanted to do in this region anyway, it seemed that the technology company that Charlie''s team ran there was in need of more employees and more resources to do what Jake had asked. Of course, even though Jake trusted Charlie and his friends who made the prototype of the smartphone with the touch screen, Jake still asked them to sign some confidentiality and intellectual property contracts. That''s because even if they were the ones who developed the technology it was at Jake''s request and the idea for the products was Jake''s and the most important points for development were passed on to Charlie''s team by Jake. In the past, Jake invested a few million dollars in the company they worked for and equipment to develop touchscreen and multi-touch technology, but although Jake accepted that they had some temporary employees he did not want anyone else to work on the development of the product. But this time just money wasn''t enough and Charlie''s team needed more programmers to create the new technology''s algorithms for creating the Android system, as that was an important subject Emily who knew Jake had finished filming decided to ask that he himself decided. "Hi, Emily, how long have I not seen you, are you all right?" "Yes, Jake, I have had a lot of work taking care of your companies, but all of this is very rewarding seeing the growth in the value of the shares and also the patent processes that you have requested that are progressing well and without much competition in the market and neither many barriers." "This is good, thanks for the work you are doing, Emily, I can only go to the shoot and also soon go to Los Angeles because I trust you and your work." "Thanks, I called you here because of Charlie''s request, he says that to make the Android system he needs more employees and more developers." "I understand, I was hoping for that when I asked him to create this operating system, you can let me talk to him, you can prepare more restricted contracts for the employees who will work at my company." "So you will allow the hiring, I understand, I will prepare everything, you have to ask Charlie to take care of the hiring because I don''t have time for that, then I will send you the budget." "Okay, I''ll see you soon Emily." Jake naturally hoped that Charlie''s team would not be able to create the Android system easily, he hoped that Charlie needed help because there was still no smartphone that the system he had to create. So Charlie''s team had to do this on computers that weren''t quite that powerful and the operating system that Jake was asking for was more advanced than the system Apple and Microsoft used for computers. The worst was that with Jake saying the most important points and how it worked Charlie realized that it was possible and the way Jake spoke it seemed even simple, but he had no idea how to do it without help. "Hi, Charlie, it''s good to see you, I came because Emily said you need to hire more employees?" "Yes, Jake, it''s good to see you too, I can''t even begin to create the codes for the Android system you told me, it''s very complex and it seems more difficult than creating an operating system for a computer." "That''s right, it''s really more difficult than creating an operating system for a desktop, after all, it''s the same principle, only that it has to work with fewer components, I came here to approve that you hire employees." "But you have to do an interview and choose only the best and everyone has to sign the exclusive contracts and they cannot sell this idea to other companies." "Thanks, Jake, I will be able to successfully do what you want with more help." "I believe in you, but I came here to better explain to you how you can start creating this operating system." So Jake started explaining to Charlie that he had now studied much more about operating systems after those months, Jake explained that he needed hardware to make the Android system work. He needed a RAM memory, a smaller motherboard the size of a smartphone, BIOS, battery, a small microprocessor like the cache memory, data storage device and the other things that were important for a smartphone to work and the system Android would have to make this work. Now that Charlie understood a little more about what Jake was talking about he understood how much work they would have and how difficult it would be to do what Jake had asked for, luckily he knew a few things after making the smartphone and he understood a little of what Jake was thinking. Jake told Charlie in the future to think about putting a Sound Card and a video card that would be very important, but now he wanted him to create a smartphone that would work as a regular cell phone and had it work with a touchscreen. And for that he had to create a Software using the Linux kernel and the C and C ++ language, Jake explained that he wanted only simple things and with that Charlie finally knew what he and his team could do to start. After that conversation, Charlie said that for now he would not need employees and Emily knew that, Jake was confident that Charlie could do this with his team and so he was willing to invest a few million dollars. "Charlie, you and your friends studied at Stanford University, can you arrange a lunch with some of the students at that university? I need to talk to them about something." "Sure, I can do that, what''s their name?" "It''s Larry Page and Sergey Brin." Jake knew since he hired Charlie that he had studied at Stanford, so he had thought for many years to meet Larry Page and Sergey Brin who were the creators of the Google company with Charlie''s help. Of course, Jake thought about meeting with them a few years earlier, but Jake knew he would be very busy and would not have time to do almost anything, Larry Page and Sergey Brin had already created the Google company and started a business. So Jake thought that this could be the ideal time to talk to them, after all, he knew the story that the two tried to sell the company Google in 1999 to the CEO of Excite, George Bell for 1 million dollars. So Jake, who was smart, thought about investing a few million dollars right after they failed to sell the company, so they would certainly accept it because they were even thinking about selling the company, and Jake would get a large percentage of the company. Of course, Jake would not ask for much and would still make several deals to ensure that Larry Page and Sergey Brin always continued with many shares in the company and thus he would ensure that the future he knew for that company happened. If Jake achieved this he could even pass on the development of the Android operating system to Google in the future as it was originally, but of course, it would always be his patent and his idea. In a company like Google, helping to develop the company was sometimes more important than just investing money in the company, so Jake would ensure that he would always have some authority in the company even if he didn''t think about doing anything to change how things were. So Jake went to a hotel near his company, Charlie was very prestigious at Stanford University because he was always a good student and was working on developing important products. In the future Charlie''s team would be known for developing touchscreen and multi-touch technology, creating the prototype of the smartphone and also developing the Android operating system that would be the most used by smartphone companies worldwide in the future. Just as Jake hoped Charlie got the meeting Jake wanted with Larry Page and Sergey Brin, he said that Jake was a very important businessman who invested in various areas of technology which was true and so the two agreed to come over to where Jake was to find with him. Chapter 448 1998 NBA Draft 6 Jake had to be careful because first, he wanted to make friends with the two and make them understand that Jake was able to invest and also understood technology, Jake didn''t need to meet Larry Page and Sergey Brin many times because next year he could do the investment and become their partner. Of course, even though Jake planned it all out calmly and just talked to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two could never imagine that Jake knew what would happen in the future and was just waiting for them to try to sell the company to invest. Naturally, Larry Page and Sergey Brin did not expect Jake to know their company and just hoped that Jake was looking for opportunities to invest, but they were looking for an investor now that their company was starting. The truth was that Jake always saved a few million dollars thinking about making this investment that he knew would be more important in the future than investing in shares of the company Cisco, it was the same when he decided to invest in the company Amazon. After getting this investment, Jake would no longer have to worry about saving money, especially since he would start receiving money from his NBA contract and sponsorships that would give him over 16 million dollars a year. Especially since the year 2000 was approaching and Jake could sell his shares of the company Cisco and would have a few billion dollars to receive after that Jake would not have to worry about making any more investments. Of course, Jake still intended to make some millionaire investments that he knew would make a profit just to keep his investment company and maintain his employees'' and Emily''s salaries. Emily was already receiving a salary of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and Jake intended to further increase her salary after he sold his shares in the Cisco company, she was always by his side helping him with all his investments and would always be she wanted to continue working with him. So Jake would hire Haruto who was his friend at the university, so Emily would have fewer responsibilities and be less stressed about her responsibilities, Jake had intended to give her some well-deserved vacations for some years. So the other day Jake went to the restaurant to meet Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the two had arrived before him at the restaurant and had some reports that could be from their company. "Good afternoon, my name is Jake Smith and I asked you to meet with the two of you." "Yes, Mr. Smith, it is a pleasure to meet you, they called us from the university and said that you wanted to talk to us, could I ask what it would be about?" "I heard you were doing a doctorate at Stanford University, I have a technology company that has Stanford University students as its main developers." "So knowing how great they are at computing, I was curious when I found out, did you create a company based on your research project?" Larry Page and Sergey Brin were surprised when Jake appeared in front of them when they heard that the head of one of the most important students at Stanford University and that he was a major investor wanted to speak to them, both thought it was an excellent opportunity. But seeing how young Jake was if they didn''t know the information that he was an investor before they probably wouldn''t believe it, even if Jake was really wealthy and wanted to invest they just needed money and an investor who didn''t get involved in the development of their company. What happened was that as Larry Page and Sergey Brin were very busy with the university and their company, they didn''t keep up with the news and sports and didn''t know who Jake was, if they knew he was an athlete who won a gold medal and several marathons and was an NBA player they would not be surprised that Jake was so young. Jake also didn''t want to explain who he was and didn''t intend to invest after this conversation with them, he just wanted to make friends with them and show that he was interested in the company, so after they tried to sell the company they wouldn''t be surprised that Jake invested a few million dollars suddenly. Jake wanted to guarantee making an investment of $ 1 million to earn a percentage of the company that was developing now, but he feared that it would change the future a lot if he made that investment and Larry Page and Sergey Brin might not think about selling the company for Excite CEO George Bell for $ 1 million. If that happened, Jake could miss the investment opportunity and could own more than 25 percent of the company without changing the company''s future too much, after all, Larry Page and Sergey Brin would get a few millions of dollar investments a few months after failing to sell the company for George Bell. "Yes, Mr. Smith, we have a company whose main product is a search engine, it is a search algorithm in which when you type something to search the internet it shows the most searched and accessed sites and the most used search words." "It is based on the PageRank algorithm that we created, and we realized that this search engine based on PageRank produces better results than the existing techniques." "We are against the use of advertising pop-ups on a search engine and we think that after we have more active users on our website we can create several methods to earn revenue even without using pop-ups." After that, the conversation continued and the two said several things that were important to explain the use of the search site that Jake actually knew better than they did, then Jake said some opinions of him about the search site that he had studied in the future that very impressed Larry Page and Sergey Brin. "I was really impressed with your company and the proposal you have for the internet, as you know I am investing in an electronic product development company and I have invested in some technology companies." "But probably next year I can invest in your company if the site shows better results, I cannot make a promise, but I will look for you when I decide to make the investment." When Jake said that Larry Page and Sergey Brin thought for sure that Jake had decided not to invest in their company and they were upset about it, of course, if Jake really wanted to invest he would give some time or say some amount to make a commitment. But Jake was happy with this conversation and if the future didn''t change he could make his investment next year and thus secure another society that would be worth billions of dollars to him in the future. Jake was also sure that if they ever saw him in the newspapers or on television they would recognize him and at the next meeting they would know exactly who he was, Jake knew that they had received an investment from Jeff Bezos and so it would be easier for him to negotiate when he revealed that he was an Amazon partner. After talking to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Jake said goodbye to Charlie and traveled to Los Angeles, soon Jake would have to come to Los Angeles again to start training, so he wanted to buy the house now so he could stay home with his mother until the Los Angeles Lakers team called him. Jake had a house in Miami that was actually the house that Jake gave to his mother, but Eva didn''t accept it so Jake didn''t tell her that that house was hers, so Jake thought that this house in Los Angeles would be the first house of himself that he would buy. Jake received, after signing the sponsorship contracts, the annual value of all the companies, so Jake received 14 million dollars, David Falk received 1.4 million commission and thus Jake got 12.6 million dollars. With more money that Jake had already saved after making the investments he had $ 43 million in the bank, thinking about the investment he would have to make next year in the Google company, Jake still had a lot of money that he could finally use as he wanted. So he spent two days looking for a mansion for him in Los Angeles in upscale neighborhoods, Jake didn''t think it would be a bad investment even if he happened to not be in Los Angeles too long because he could change teams. After all, in the future, he knew that because of inflation and other things, real estate would appreciate more than 100 percent in value, so it was a good investment even if Jake wasn''t going to use the house in the future. Jake hired a real estate agent just to close the house deal and show him the houses he wanted, the real estate agent happily knew Jake and knew he would play for the Los Angeles Lakers team. As the agent was a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers team he thought that since Jake was buying a house in Los Angeles it meant that he intended to play for many years on the Los Angeles Lakers team. As the agent knew Jake was rich he had no hesitation in taking Jake to the neighborhoods with the most luxurious mansions in the city just as Jake had asked, he knew that players liked to spend millions of dollars buying houses when they started playing in the NBA. "Mr. Smith, we have several wonderful houses that are for sale in several upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles, I will show you these mansions first and if you don''t want to I can show you the mansions that are not for sale, but then you will have to pay much more for them." What the real estate agent wanted to say to Jake was that there was no house that wasn''t for sale, he just had to offer a lot more for the real price that the house was worth to buy it, many rich people didn''t like to hear that they couldn''t buy one House. Chapter 449 Jake Vacations 1 And Jake was like that too, he was not arrogant, but he didn''t like it when he had to buy a house in Miami and they said to and showed him only the cheapest houses for him, of course, Jake wasn''t picky and would probably choose one of the houses that were for sale. The real estate agent showed Jake homes in Beverly Hills, Beverly Park, Hidden Hills, Malibu Colony Beach and many other neighborhoods, Jake saw incredible homes and also saw smaller houses and very expensive and small apartments just because they were in a prestigious neighborhood. So Jake made it clear that he just wanted to buy mansions and didn''t want small houses and apartments, Jake was not against buying apartments, but for him, it wouldn''t do because he wanted to buy a mansion in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood just for the sake of security. He didn''t want to live in a place that had little security so as not to risk that what happened in Miami would be repeated again, and he knew that the most prestigious neighborhoods were safer. So after two days of a lot of searching, Jake found the house that was perfect for him, it was a mansion in Bel Air that the real estate agent just showed Jake to impress him because this was one of the most expensive mansions in Los Angeles. But he didn''t expect Jake to be enchanted by this mansion and ask to see it, the real estate agent luckily was really a man with many contacts and got the keys to the mansion to show the land to Jake. It wasn''t just the mansion that was big, the lot was also very big and that''s why the mansion was so expensive, after all, it was in a prestigious neighborhood in Los Angeles and was even on a lot that was a kind of condominium with high security. But Jake wanted this mansion precisely because of that, it was much bigger than in Miami and Jake thought what he wanted to do with this mansion as soon as he saw it, as the real estate agent saw that Jake was really interested in the mansion he decided to say the price of the mansion. It was a Mansion in Bel Air, 73,000 m2, 15 million dollars, the house had 7 large rooms with one bathroom in each room, 13 bathrooms throughout the house, the house had an elevator and a garage for seven cars. Seeing this Jake started to imagine how he could use all this land for him, Jake saw that he had a house for employees and a large area, Jake also looked inside the mansion that was as big as it looked and started to think about what he would do. On the ground, there were two houses for employees, an office, a swimming pool and a free area that Jake would order to build a basketball court and an Olympic running track just as it was at his home in Miami. The house would still have a cinema room, library, and gym, in addition to a soundproofed musical studio and completely assembled like the professional, Jake naturally thought of Kate when he thought of buying this house. Even if he didn''t end up dating her, Jake could return to playing the piano and the instruments he enjoyed playing in his past life and had no opportunity and time to play on his second chance. $ 15 million could certainly seem like a lot of money, but Jake didn''t think so because he remembered looking at house prices in the future and a mansion like this would cost close to $ 40 million in 2019. "I am going to buy this mansion, if you can prepare the mansion purchase contract and the land deed as soon as possible I would appreciate it, I need to travel in a few days and I will hire some companies to prepare some renovations in the house for the next months." The real estate agent was even more shocked when he heard that Jake said he would buy the mansion, but he was smart and realized that Jake had the money to buy the mansion and was not kidding. If this mansion were to be sold he would not receive a large percentage of commission because of the high value of the house, but would still receive 5 percent which was $ 750,000 on the sale of this mansion. Because of that, the real estate agent was very efficient and in a few days he was able to prepare the sales contract and Jake paid to receive the contract for the house, the real estate agent was very happy with this because he had guaranteed an income to make him well for two years until. So he was smart and left his contact to Jake in case he wanted to buy another mansion in the future, Jake would definitely buy other houses in the future, especially when he had billions of dollars that he was not sure where to spend. After buying this mansion Jake still had one more thing to do, he always wanted to buy a great car, but he always had to save money to invest, but this time Jake didn''t have to worry about it because he knew he would still receive the money NBA and Matthew''s company profits. So Jake didn''t want to hesitate any longer and decided to buy a car that he always wanted, but Jake had a problem that he didn''t find almost any car from that time really beautiful, and a car other than a house was not a good investment. Unless he wanted to buy an old car that always appreciated, but Jake didn''t think about doing it, so Jake thought that in the future he would have to buy some cars that he really dreamed of buying. Luckily for Jake one of the cars he liked the most even in the future was still sold, it was the McLaren F1 that was always one of the fastest and most praised cars of that time, it was one of Jake''s favorite cars that were very beautiful. In addition to being beautiful, it was fast because it could easily reach 221 mph (356 km / h) at full speed, it could reach 0¨C60 mph (97 km / h) in 3.2 s, in addition, it was practical because it had three places different from others cars that reached that speed. Of course, Jake wasn''t going to accelerate much because of what happened to him in the past, he was lucky to have overcome his trauma with cars, so he didn''t intend to go over 80 mph even in places that it was safe for him to accelerate more. But a man''s pride was a strange thing because even though he knew he couldn''t accelerate, a man sometimes liked having a car that he knew could reach 221 mph. Jake really liked that car and didn''t think about selling it or thought of the car as an investment, but he knew that this car would become a collector''s dream and could be worth up to $ 20 million at auction. This was the last year that this car would be manufactured because it was too expensive even for the wealthy who liked a car, but Jake didn''t think it was expensive because in the future a $ 3 million car would not be considered as expensive. Jake was lucky to be in Los Angeles and easily found a place of imported cars that had contact with McLaren, Jake didn''t take long and chose a yellow McLaren F1 that he liked a lot. In a few hours, Jake bought the car for 1.2 million dollars, so Jake had a car that he always wanted and also had a house that he always wanted to have, it was two more dreams that had come true in just one day. Jake would have to wait a few months before he could receive the car and be able to drive with him, but he was in no hurry and asked them to leave the car at the import store and he would come back to get the car right there. After solving his house and his car Jake still had $ 24.4 million and had to save that money to make the investment next year in the Google company, next year Jake would receive the money from the NBA and also from the company from Matthew even when it was to invest in the Google company, so Jake was cool. The other day Jake finally traveled to Miami and would stay with his mother until the day of the Chicago marathon would be in October, so Jake had less than a month to stay home, but after the marathon, he intended to stay home until that he be called to start training on the Los Angeles Lakers team. Eva was very happy when she saw that Jake had come home, it was almost 3 months since the last time they saw each other, Eva didn''t think Jake would still come home that year, she thought that after filming he would go to Los Angeles to play in the NBA. Jake had said he would come home and did as he promised, Jake told Eva that maybe he would still be there for another 3 months and she was happy with that, Jake had called Coach Frank Davis to say he was in Miami and would be in Miami for a few months. Jake had to train before the Chicago marathon in which he would run with Zack, otherwise, he would be suspicious if he won the marathon even though he had not trained for almost 6 months after the marathon Jake would ask to improve his time in training the marathons and also for modalities of 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters. Jake would not allow Davis to deny his training again, after all, he almost missed his chance in the last year because Coach Davis thought it was better to wait a little longer, Jake didn''t even know what could happen in the next few years. If a director asked him again to shoot another movie he liked or a movie he thought could be a success then Jake would do it, so Jake had to enjoy this end of the year which would probably be his last chance to improve his training. Jake was concerned because they were almost at the end of 1998 and he was less than 2 years old until the Sydney Olympics in Australia that Jake wanted to at least compete in the marathon, in the 5000 meters, and in the 10,000 meters. Chapter 450 Jake Vacations 2 Fortunately for Jake, the Olympics would begin just before the NBA season began, so Jake didn''t have to worry about losing any official games and could easily compete in athletics competitions. Jake had no hope of being chosen for this Olympic basketball team in 2000, after all, he knew that a young player had little chance of being chosen on a team that had Jason Kidd and Gary Payton he would not be chosen to play. After all, besides the two being excellent players who played for many years in the NBA, they had experienced in the Olympic basketball team and that is why Jake didn''t think it was fair that he should be chosen. But he would try to be chosen in 2004 and was confident that he would be chosen if he won the NBA title by the Los Angeles Lakers team, until then if Jake managed to win 3 gold medals at the 2000 Olympics he would be an athletics legend. In the early days in Miami Jake told his mother everything that had happened in the last few months and said his expectations for the film he had participated in, he also told her about Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne with whom he had befriended during filming. Eva also told Jake several things about the restaurant, in fact, Eva''s life in Miami was a routine of going to the restaurant every day and with a lot of work, luckily she and everyone who worked with her loved it and so they could continue happily. Eva said that they changed the menu again that year just as she had already told Jake that she would, and as always the new menu was approved by customers, as always Jake was happy if Eva was happy. After that Jake said he had bought a house in Los Angeles where he would play in the NBA and also that he had bought a car, Eva just said she wanted to see his house and his car in the future and Jake promised that he would take her to Los Angeles to see his house. Eva believed in Jake and knew that he knew how to take good care of the money he had, even though she didn''t know when money Jake had she knew it was tens of millions of dollars and she had never seen Jake spend it irresponsibly. After Jake joined the NBA Eva knew that Jake would never again have money problems with the investments he had, she was proud to know that Jake was finally having a better life after working so hard. Jake just stayed home with his mom resting a little at home where he could be at peace, but after two days Jake knew it was no longer time to rest when Coach Davis arrived in Miami. Jake had already told Coach Davis that he would live in Los Angeles and Coach Davis intended to buy a house to live with his family there, after all, he had been living with his family for the past few years in a hotel that was close to Jake''s university. Jake had offered to buy him a house near North Carolina University and now he had also offered to buy him a house in Los Angeles or the coach''s family could live in one of the servants'' houses that Jake had in his mansion. Even though it was called a house for employees it was much bigger than an ordinary house and had 3 bedrooms and was very good for Coach Davis'' family to live in, after all, Jake could move and buy another house in another city when he changed teams and the Davis coach could not buy a home in several different cities. But Coach Davis said it wouldn''t be a problem because he had talked to his wife and he would buy a house in Los Angeles and then live in hotels elsewhere where Jake played in the NBA, the important thing was that his family had a home to stay in. So Jake suggested that he buy a house in Miami because Jake himself would return to live in Miami in the future, but Coach Davis denied it because he knew that Jake would at least stay another 4 years in Los Angeles and after that, his daughter Lara who already had 10 years would be 14 years old and they would have no problem living in hotels. Not to mention that with the salary Jake paid he could save to buy another house in another 4 years if he wanted to, Jake felt bad for Frank''s family, but as Coach Davis had decided that there was nothing Jake could do about it. Coach Davis had also already talked to the organizers of the marathon in Chicago and the registration of Jake and Zack was decided, after all, Jake had won in the last 3 years and even people in the sports media knew that Jake would be there. Zack was studying at the university, but he always talked to Jake just like his other friends and so Zack said he was still training even after Coach Davis who helped him out. Coach Davis said that Zack had a good chance of finishing the Chicago marathon in less than 3 hours and could even surprise and get a great time in that marathon, Jake was very happy to know that because he knew the effort that Zack continued to have in training. "Coach Davis, as you well know we were lucky to get those next few months to train before the Chicago marathon and maybe we have a few more months before the NBA season starts." "So I wanted to do that training to improve my time in the marathons because I know that I have improved a lot and I can improve my time in the races even more, and this may be the last chance to improve my training before the 2000 Olympics because I don''t know if I have time to train for the next vacation." Coach Davis knew that Jake was upset that he had not improved training when he asked last year, but Coach Davis could not have imagined that besides basketball and marathons Jake would still try to be an actor thereby wasting training time on vacation that he could have. But since Jake decided to train, he knew he would have to agree with Jake''s increase in training, and after spending so much time with Jake, Coach Davis learned to accept that Jake''s body was different from other athletes. Even though Coach Davis knew that Jake had a lot of resistance and so he was able to run 50 km every day in an average time to break the world record, he was afraid that Jake would try too hard and end up with an injury that would end his career in athletics and also in basketball. But now he trusted that Jake had a much stronger body than all the athletes in the world he knew, so he would help Jake improve his training in the coming months and so he could follow Jake''s training to make sure he didn''t. could get hurt. The biggest reason that Coach Davis wanted to deny that Jake tried was that he was trying to do what was considered impossible in marathons, running in less than 2 hours a 42.2 km marathon, was impossible because it required a lot of effort from the athlete to run up the limits for so long to break that record. Jake thought he was capable because his stats have improved a lot since he managed to run for the first time in his current time, in addition, Jake had trained for many months to get better. Jake''s resistance statistic was now 45, his strength statistic is 43, and his agility statistic is 42, because of the conversation Jake had with the system he might not have the greatest stat in agility and strength, but already had achieved in resistance. Certainly Jake had a much bigger statistic than big names in athletics, Jake thought he was able to run a marathon under 2 hours because he had the system and also because he trained a lot, Jake was sure that one-day champion athletes would also succeed run under 2 hours even without the help of the system. In Jake''s training, he was already running much faster than his current world record, so he runs 42.2 km in 122 minutes and 21 seconds, it was a great time and Jake was still over 50 km running at that speed average and thus ran 50 km in 145 minutes. For an elite athlete to run a 42.2 km marathon in 145 minutes it would be excellent and Jake did that every day running 50 km, so Jake was sure he would be able to improve his training. Even if he couldn''t run in less than 120 minutes to break the limit, he could close that gap and hope to get more statistic points until he can run at that time. After talking to Coach Davis, Jake started on the first day to try to run the 50 km in the time he normally ran, Coach Davis wanted to see if Jake had not really lost his ideal physical condition even though he had not been training for more than 6 months. Jake would naturally not forget the techniques he had learned and running for him after training for over 2 years was very easy after 50 km Jake managed to run at the same time he was used to 6 months earlier and Coach Davis thought until Jake managed to run more easily. So Coach Davis had no choice but to admit that Jake''s body worked differently than other athletes, he approved that the next day Jake would try to improve his running time, to run a marathon in less than 2 hours Jake had to run 4 seconds faster per km and so he would take more than 160 seconds of the final time he could now. Chapter 451 Jake Vacations 3 But even Jake didn''t want to try the madness of trying to run with 4 seconds less time than before for km, he would try to decrease 2 seconds per km to see what he could do, so the other day very early after Eva left to go to Jake''s restaurant went to the race track at his house and Coach Davis arrived shortly after. "Jake, I didn''t approve of this because you can''t understand what you''re trying to do, we can say you''re almost at the general limit of marathons if you decrease 1 second per km you have to decrease more than 42 seconds in a total time of racing." "So, as you are in the elite of runners, you can manage to do that, what you have to understand is that 1 second less per km makes a lot of difference at the end of the marathon, which didn''t make much difference before." "What you are trying to do is run 4 seconds less per km and so you want to decrease your total running time by more than 168 seconds, this is very dangerous for you." "As we still have three months I will let you run 1 second less in 43 km in today''s training, you will not run 50 km as you normally do, and if you can easily do it tomorrow we will try to take another 1 second per km." Jake had to agree with Coach Davis because he knew Frank was doing it for his sake, besides, even slowing it down by just 1 second per km Jake knew it would help him run even faster. So after getting ready and having managed to run the 50 km in the best time he had before he was more confident of achieving that, Jake had to use the system to control his running pace and his time. So it was not difficult for him to take exactly 1 second of each km of running, thinking normally taking just 1 second of each km should be a very easy thing, but only an athlete who ran knew how difficult it was. Jake controlled his pace well in the race and he managed to get through the 20 km with ease, Coach Davis hoped that Jake would be able to run the first 20 km easily because of his good resistance, after the 40 km that Jake would feel the difference more in the race. Jake continued calmly and passed the 30 km and then also passed the 40 km, Jake had high control over what happened to his body and he can see that after 40 km he felt much more tired than the day before. He could feel that the tiredness was bigger, but he still wasn''t tired because normally he still had another 50 km to run, Jake continued and ran the last 3 km still not feeling tired and can finish the 43 km that he had combined with Coach Davis. Even running 1 second per km faster than the day before Jake was much less tired because he had run 7 km less than the day before, seeing that Coach Davis could not deny that he was really surprised because he thought Jake would have a lot more difficult on his first day. Jake managed to finish the 43 km in a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 59 seconds, that time excited him and Coach Davis too, because Jake had run almost 1 km more than the 42.2 km that the marathon usually had and got a better time than his current world record. So Coach Davis allowed Jake to run a second faster the next day, so Jake was excited that he would get half of what he wanted, and Jake was confident that he could slow down 1 second more on the next race day. Jake made dinner every day that they were at home and Eva came home to have dinner with him, Eva realized that Jake was excited and realized that Jake should be training again and had managed to improve and so he was happy. Eva was happy to see how hard Jake was at training himself even though he had reached the height of the marathons and had the money to live his whole life, many would surely give up on the marathons and try to just play basketball in the NBA and still be praised if they had the talent that Jake had. The other day Jake went running the 43 km again after doing the warm-up and trainer Davis arrived Jake went running thinking about taking another second for km from the time he had managed the day before. Jake had to improve his time because he no longer knew when he would have time to do such long training, so he could be his last training in many years, in this next Chicago marathon Jake intended to break his world record again. That''s because honestly, he didn''t know when he could run another marathon again, he intended to run the Chicago marathon every year if it was possible, but that could irritate the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers team. His current world record was 2 hours, 5 minutes and 55 seconds that he achieved in 1997 at the Berlin marathon, and that record would be broken next year if Jake did not improve him. So Jake wanted to run to create a world record that would not be broken for many years, so Jake could lose a few years without running in the marathons until he broke his world record again. Thinking about it Jake was even more willing to run and did 1 second less per km than the day before, Jake ran 1 km in 2 minutes and 52 seconds this time and that time was really fast. Again, Jake had no difficulty running until the first 20 km, but after that, he started to feel that he was trying harder and getting more tired, Jake knew he had the resistance to run in that faster time. But what he felt was that he was straining his muscles in that race and that was something he hadn''t felt since the marathon he got injured in New York, of course, he didn''t feel he was pushing his limits and all athletes should feel this normally after 20 km running a marathon. After reaching 30 km Jake started to feel like he normally felt only after running 43 km in his previous training time, Jake hoped for this and even though the day before it was easier to run Jake knew he would suffer to be able to run 50 km as he usually did in training. Even so, it was a running pace that Jake would normally manage and so he kept running and passed 40 km, after going through 40 km of marathon Jake felt more tired than he felt running the 50 km normally, which is why since the beginning he wanted to start training by being 2 seconds faster. Even so Jake managed to run another 3 km and thus complete the 43 km he had to run, Jake certainly felt very tired as he normally did not feel after training, of course, Jake thought he could still run a few more kilometers and still you wouldn''t need to use the stamina bar. Jake ran this 43 km in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 16 seconds, Jake didn''t know that, but with him running like that he managed to shock Coach Davis again, that time running in 43 km was already well below Jake''s world record and it seemed like Jake could still take his time better. Coach Davis was impressed that he had already coached other athletes with less talent than Jake, so he knew that normally after a few months of training it was normal to see the younger and slower athletes having minute improvements in their time in racing. long distance. This was normal for talented athletes who had no training time until it reached the time that an elite athlete can achieve, that time for athletes who dream of winning marathons are running in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes in a marathon. Until that time, the athletes'' improvement is very fast and it is normal to see athletes like Zack improve his time by more than 1 hour after a year of training if they are compromised. But in Coach Davis''s experience after 2 hours and 20 minutes, the athlete''s improvement slows a lot, even the geniuses take months to improve a minute in their time and it wasn''t something stable and in some marathons, they could have better times or worse. But Jake managed to improve his time which was already faster than the time of the world record that was his own in almost 2 minutes in just 2 days, things that would take months of training for athletes who were training with a time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. And it was even more shocking because Coach Davis knew as Jake''s coach that he hadn''t coached his races for more than 6 months before that, so after that, Coach Davis learned that Jake''s body really worked differently than other athletes. Seeing that Jake was not feeling exhausted or in pain even though he ran 43 km, Coach Davis thought that if he wanted to help Jake achieve better results he had to find out what was Jake''s limit. "You did very well today, Jake, with this race time you can certainly guarantee the world record for many years, but as you said we don''t know when we will have time to do training like this again." "So I was thinking that before this Chicago marathon as we are just going to train you to run the marathons, we could see what your limits are, so tomorrow you will run 1 second less per km, I believe you can do it with this pace faster." Chapter 452 Jake Vacations 4 Jake was thinking that this running pace was good for his new training, if he could run 50 km a day at that running pace he would definitely feel like he was training for real. But listening to Coach Davis saying that Jake thought it was true, he didn''t know when he could train like that again and it was a good way for him to find out what his limit was after winning so many physical stats. After the marathon, they would train the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters also already thinking about winning the Olympics, so Jake would not have time to further improve his pace of running the marathons. If Jake could even manage to run in less than 2 hours he would be very happy and feel that he had realized a dream, after all that was one of the main goals for Jake in the future. And Jake knew that he was really close to achieving this if he slowed down just 2 seconds per km in his running time he would be able to achieve that dream even if it was not official. Shortly after Jake decided this and arranged with trainer Davis Jake came home to rest and got a surprise, Adidas representative Mike Morris had come to visit him in Miami. Jake had told Mike to send some of their products like clothes, sneakers so that Jake could actually advertise the company as he was very well paid to do, Coach Davis had also warned Mike that Jake was going to run the Chicago marathon. But he never expected Mike to appear in Miami at his house, especially since there were no NBA games going on and Jake was training for the Chicago marathon while on his vacation. In fact, while Jake was in Australia, a lot of things happened in the United States and in the sports world, mainly because it was confirmed that Jake Smith would play on the Los Angeles Lakers team with Kobe Bryant who was another young NBA genius at that time and Shaquille O''Neal. But after Jake went to Australia it was revealed that Jake had signed one of the biggest shoe contracts with Adidas, many thought Jake would sign with Nike and that was surprising to many, especially since Adidas had already managed to hire Kobe Bryant with another multi-million dollar contract. Luckily the values ??of the contract were not revealed because of the efficiency of the representatives of Adidas and David Falk, for sure in a few more months the values ??of the negotiation would be revealed. But that was what they wanted because when everyone forgot about this story in a few months when the values ??are revealed to Adidas it would be news again, Jake''s other contracts were also surprising making him one of the highest-paid players in the NBA since his first season. But not all of this was good for Adidas and other companies, normally Jake would have already done a commercial campaign or a television commercial for Adidas and these other companies, but as NBA lockout the companies thought wisely that it would not be a good idea to do something like that. But Jake knew through David Falk and that it was confirmed by Mike that Adidas was preparing a great marketing strategy and a product line with his brand for the next few years, Jake even had the idea for sneakers and decided to use his brand. to avoid having copyright issues in the future with Adidas. Jake learned that Adidas was already making a shoe that would be his trademark with Adidas, there would be two shoes, one for basketball and one for running, the running shoe would be called Adidas JKS Velocity, and the basketball shoe would only be Adidas JKS 1. The sneakers would be black with blue and purple details, the two sneakers were almost the same and very beautiful, but one was for elite runners in marathons and the other was for playing basketball or just walking with them on the street. Jake had the number 7 of the shirt that was his favorite and would be his brand in the NBA, so Adidas would make a jacket with Jake''s brand called Adidas JKS 7, Jake wore the number 7 by his own choice in the Tar Heels team and would use the same number on the Los Angeles Lakers team. After all, the shirt 7 he wore on the Tar Heels team had been retired and he wanted to continue wearing it on the next teams he played, Jake was happy with his two sneakers and hoped they would sell well. "Sorry for coming to see you, Jake, but I needed to talk to you and I took advantage of the fact that I had to deliver some Adidas products and brought them to you." "It''s okay, Mike, I appreciate you bringing the products to me." Jake asked Mike to enter his house and also helped to carry the boxes he had brought, inside one of the boxes he had the sneakers he had ordered, in the 90s among the best-selling sneakers most were from Nike and few were from Adidas. Of course, Adidas wouldn''t give Jake a Kobe Bryant sneaker if he didn''t ask, so Jake received some of Adidas''s most popular sneakers and also had it for his mom, Mike said that when Jake was in Los Angeles they would send a lot more sneakers to him. Jake received jackets, blouses, T-shirts, pants and many other products just as he had requested, he did not mind his training and also the next marathon to go with some of the Adidas products. He would also go to the city with some of these clothes and if he was photographed he would advertise as he should, Mike said which shoes he should wear in the Chicago marathon and Jake accepted the shoes and found it comfortable. "So, as I said to you before I came here to say something important, your coach told me that you are going to race in Chicago, so I wanted to ask if you could also run the Athens Classic Marathon." "Surely you must know and know that it is one of the most difficult marathons and has an important historical value, so the company wanted you to run there if it was possible after running in Chicago because we want to promote the company and you also in Europe where you have the most fans." Jake didn''t know that most of his fans were from Europe and he only went there a few times, but if that were true he really thought he could be sure he would have to go there to participate in a marathon, especially since the Adidas was a European company. Jake had his current world record made in the Berlin marathon that was in Germany where Adidas was headquartered, and he didn''t really think about participating in more marathons in Europe, but with an invitation from the Adidas company he would accept." "It''s okay for me, I can recover before the Athens marathon and go running there, I didn''t know I had a lot of fans in Europe." "Okay, thanks for that Jake, you seem to have a lot of fans in Europe and Asia too, you played basketball in some cities in Europe when you were younger and also won some important marathons there, so it was natural for you to receive more attention of the audience there." "Furthermore, it seems that it was known that your mother was of Spanish descent and that is why you received more attention from there, you certainly have a lot of fans in the United States too, but as the United States has many stars in basketball and athletics for while your fame is not as great as theirs." "And the fans you have in Asia are because you won an important marathon in Tokyo and Asians are very fond of basketball too and have a greater identification with you too." After hearing Mike''s explanation he can understand, surely Adidas had done research with fans to find out where Jake was popular before they decided to sign with him, it was true that his mother was of Spanish descent and so Jake didn''t care to say that he had European descent as well. And Jake also knew that in the future because the economy in China has become so strong, basketball fans there have started buying a lot of NBA products and many players have become popular in China because of that. After that Mike talked to Jake for a while before he left, Mike was not like John and could not be in all of his marathons and would only be in Athens because Adidas asked Jake to run there. But Jake knew that some Gatorade representatives would naturally be at the Chicago marathon, they were an athlete drink company and supported the marathons and sponsored Jake mainly. The other companies would also send representatives, but they would not advertise there because they did not sponsor the marathon and therefore could not hinder the sponsors of the marathon. Gatorade sponsored many of the big marathons and it wouldn''t be a problem for them to advertise, for them to sponsor an athlete like Jake would be much better than just sponsoring the marathons. Adidas and other companies also planned to start sponsoring marathons in the coming years and all of this was related to Jake, for sure these companies intended to renew sponsorship contracts with Jake if he had no problems with scandals and played well in the NBA as everyone expected. When Jake thought that the surprises were over a good surprise that happened to him, the Chevrolet company had sponsored Jake too and naturally had to get something from Jake, but with this NBA situation, they couldn''t just like other companies do a new commercial with him. So they had the great idea to send Jake two Chevrolet corvette zr1 1990, which was one of the good cars that Jake thought to buy, so Jake asked to deliver one of them in Miami and another one in his house in Los Angeles. Chapter 453 Jake Vacations 5 This car that would be sent to Miami Jake would give it to his mother and only use when he was in town and so he would advertise, Jake was happy to receive this car because he knew it would be strange to ride the McLaren F1 to some public places in Los Angeles. Also, even though the McLaren F1 was an amazing car it still wasn''t a good car when you had to ride with other people in the car, so the corvette zr1 would be good for him to use and if someone asked why he was driving the car he could say it was because of the sponsorship. Jake was happy that a lot of good things were happening to him this year and especially in the last few months, he hoped he could win in Chicago and Athens because afterward he probably wouldn''t have time for marathons until the next Olympics. Later that day Jake told his mother that he had received some Adidas products and that he would receive two Chevrolet cars and Eva was very happy for Jake, Jake had also asked Mike for some products for women and handed over one of the boxes for his mother. The other day Jake waited for Coach Davis to continue training on the track that was in his house, for someone who had a lot of money as Jake had certainly helped to have an athletics track, a court and a gym in his house so that he could train better with more comfort. That''s why he had the same thing done at his house in Los Angeles, other athletes didn''t have the opportunity to do that and Jake had to take advantage of this advantage that he had, so he hoped to become the best in marathon history. After Jake finished the warm-up exercises, Coach Davis arrived and Jake started his race from that day, Jake knew it would be more difficult and was determined to get even if he suffered more. Jake was wearing the Adidas sneakers and clothing that he would wear on the day of the Chicago marathon to get used to the outfit, Jake used the company''s sneakers before if they were good but not as good as the elite sneakers for athletes. Even so for Jake, it was not a big difference and it only brought more comfort to his body while he ran, just like in the previous days Jake had no difficulty after passing 20 km. Naturally, he felt that he was pushing the muscles in his legs a lot more and the fatigue was a little greater, but the 20 km was not even half the marathon and Jake could not get tired at this distance if he wanted to have a chance to finish the marathon in the right time. Coach Davis, unlike other days, was also closely monitoring Jake''s performance for this training, if he felt Jake was at risk of getting hurt he would ask Jake to stop. After driving 30 km Jake really started to feel tired and more pain in his legs, it was the pain of the effort that his body was making to keep up with the pace that Jake wanted to run, but Jake still felt he could finish the marathon. After passing 40 km Jake clearly realized the strong fatigue he was feeling and the pain in his legs was stronger, Jake was not used to trying so hard and reaching that limit, but as he was determined he kept running. Coach Davis can also clearly see that this running pace was the maximum limit that Jake could reach today, it was admirable how Jake improved in just three days if training and knowing Jake as he knew after a few weeks Jake would be able to run up to 50 km all the days at that running pace. Jake continued running without fear because he knew that his body was much stronger than before and he had confidence in the statistics that he had achieved with a lot of effort, besides, he knew that if his body really couldn''t take it he would be warned by the system before getting hurt. Fortunately, Jake managed to run another 3 km and finished his training of 43 km and fell on the track exhausted, Jake had managed to run at a pace of 2 minutes and 51 seconds per km and finished that 43 km in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 33 seconds. This was an incredible time that was just a little bit longer than his previous time running 42.2 km, and Jake did that time in 43 km, which meant Jake did the 42.2 km in this training in 120 minutes and 16 seconds. So Jake did it in 2 hours, and 16 seconds, that was just 17 seconds slower than the time he wanted to break, it cheered Jake and Coach Davis even more who thought this effort and training had been worth it. This was a running pace that Jake wanted to train until the Sydney Olympics in 2000, if Jake managed to run 50 km in daily training running at that pace he would feel that the training was really paying off. After training Jake felt his leg muscles aching, he felt very tired too, but he didn''t eat the stamina bar because he knew he had the rest of the day to rest and with the natural recovery his body had the other day he would be fine to run again. Jake also thought that if he felt this pain he could maybe improve his endurance and muscle strength and maybe even increase his stats if he trained hard, neither Jake nor trainer Davis talked about trying to improve this race time and they decided that this would be Jake''s training until the Chicago marathon. After that marathon, he would still have the Athens marathon, but Jake had to train before the Chicago marathon because he intended to try to break his world record again, but after the Chicago marathon, he would train to run the 10,000 meters and 5 thousand meters. It was only 2 years until the Sydney Olympics and Jake had to be ready to run there, he needed at least two years of training to have more confidence, luckily he had already trained the 10,000 meters and would try to improve his time for a break at least the Olympic record and thus try to win at the Olympics. With the NBA and basketball games, Jake didn''t think about participating in international athletics competitions anymore if he didn''t have time for that, so the Olympics were the focus of Jake''s training. If he managed to break the Olympic record in all his training he was more likely to win in both modalities in the next Olympics and thus break another record and maybe come out of the next Olympics with 4 gold medals in total as long as the gold medal that he won in Atlanta. Coach Davis said nothing to Jake not to make him vain, but he was sure after those last few days of training that Jake would be able to run in time to break the Olympic record in the 10,000 meters. After all Jake was currently able to run 43 km at a pace of 2 minutes and 51 seconds per km, for the 10,000 meters Jake needed to run only 10 km and he had to run at a pace of 2 minutes and 36 seconds per km to break the record worldwide in this modality. And he could run at a pace of 2 minutes and 42 seconds per km to break the Olympic record that was his goal, Coach Davis thought that for just 10 km Jake could calmly run at a pace of 2 minutes and 42 seconds without getting tired. Of course, at this rate, Jake could only train once a day for 10,000 meters and not train 3 times a day as they did that year, but knowing how Jake''s body was different from an ordinary athlete, Coach Davis thought Jake could train only once a day and still be prepared for the Olympics. It was different for the 5,000 meters, but Coach Davis had already trained athletes of various modalities and knew that Jake had the necessary agility that was more important to run the 5,000 meters and was not so important for the other long-distance races. Even if Jake didn''t manage to run the 10,000 meters sport, only the two sports he would run would already guarantee a special place for Jake in the history of athletics, he certainly would already be known as the best athlete in the marathons in the history of athletics. So Jake had already set his training pace for the next training until the Chicago marathon, Jake knew that his university roommates would go to Chicago to cheer for him and Zack too, so Jake was excited about it. Jake came home in pain, but happy to get what he wanted and feeling again that his training was being useful to him, Jake rested for a few hours to prepare to make dinner for Eva. While he was getting ready he received a call that was expected by him a few days ago, it was Kate who was calling him as she often did when Jake was in Australia, they were getting very close and talking a lot on the phone while Kate and Jake were busy working. Kate had agreed with Jake that she would call him because she would choose a time when she wasn''t working and didn''t have her manager around, which usually worked because Jake could almost always answer his cell phone and if he couldn''t he would text her she. "Hi Jake, how are you?" "Hi Kate, I''m fine, happier because you called me today." "Hahaha, you always say that you said you were going to leave filming in Australia the last time I called you, are you in Los Angeles now?" "No, I''m in Miami at my home right now, I took advantage of the fact that I wouldn''t have games in the coming months to be with my mom and also to train for the next marathons." Chapter 454 Jake Vacations 6 "You never really rest, do you, I also had a break after doing so many shows and recording my musical album this year, I think in the next few months I will rest before I go back to doing shows." Jake always heard Kate say what her work routine was like and he was impressed with so much work that the singers had to do, sometimes Kate said she had to do 7 shows in a week in different cities and still had to participate in shows. radio and commercials. Luckily it looked like it was having a good result because she had achieved her first song by being in the first place on the Billboard, she already had some songs in the top 100 a few times, but it was the first song that stayed a week in the first place. This was incredible because she had changed her style of music a lot and her fans also just increased, especially since she was considered a new singer who had a chance of winning the 41st Annual Grammy Awards as Best New Artist. After all, currently, only she had a song on Billboard''s top spot that year among new artists, but Jake knew it wouldn''t be so easy because Lauryn Hill who would win the prize would also have a song on Billboard''s top spot. "Since you are thinking of resting in the coming months, come here to Miami, it is a great place to rest and that way we could meet for lunch more often, I miss you." Jake took courage and said what he was thinking and it surprised Kate that she didn''t say anything on the phone for some time, Jake knew that he actually loved Kate and was thinking about asking Kate to date him this year. But it was difficult for them to have time to meet and next year it would be even more difficult with Jake playing in the NBA, so he had to be more honest with his feelings talking to Kate so that they would have a chance. "I really wanted to go to Miami on my vacation, I love the beach and I like Miami a lot, I think I''m going to be there in the next few days and we can go out to lunch." "For sure, you can call me as soon as you get here that I will meet you, I will wait for you." With this good news Jake was even happier, with Kate coming to Miami he could finally ask her to date him, he would prepare this for lunch, Jake was happy that this year was really one of the best in his life. At dinner Eva realized that Jake was much happier than usual, she realized that Jake was more tired and excited because of his training, but today she could feel that it was something different and not just because of training. "You look very happy today, Jake, did anything special happen?" "Yes, good things happened today, I was able to improve my training for marathons even more and I came close to my goal that I always had when I started running." "So it could happen that I break my world record again in the Chicago marathon and win another gold medal at the next Olympics, even though I am very tired I am very happy." Eva saw that Jake was speaking the truth and was also very happy to know that, few times she saw Jake confidently asserting that he could win a marathon or win a gold medal at the Olympics. But this time Jake did even more and guaranteed that he could break his world record which naturally meant that he could win the marathon, yet Eva still thought it wasn''t just that and that Jake was hiding something. "This is really great son, congratulations, but it seems that there is something else that is also making you happier today." "I really can''t hide anything from you mom, I talked to Kate today on the phone and she told me that she was thinking of taking a vacation in the next few months, so I suggested that she come and spend the holidays here in Miami." "And she said she would come and so I am going to invite her to lunch and we can meet several times in the coming months." With Jake saying that Eva can understand why he was so happy, she knew that Jake was really in love with Kate by the way he talked about her and how he always talked about her even when they saw each other so rarely. She was naturally happy for Jake and would support her son to live that love for him, but she couldn''t help but worry about Lola after hearing this, Lola had been trying to forget Jake for almost 3 years and had seen him a few times. In the restaurant, it was difficult to do that, but Eva and Anna and almost nobody in the restaurant spoke about Jake''s name out of consideration for Lola, of course, in the kitchen Eva and Anna talked a lot with the cooks about Jake and even watched his games at the university. But that was because Lola was the receptionist at the restaurant and didn''t often enter the kitchen and she naturally had to get used to Jake''s games being broadcast in the restaurant that he was practically the owner. Eva and Anna thought that Lola had already forgotten about Jake and even her father J¨²lio said that her daughter had already overcome this relationship that never really happened, but Eva still worried about Lola and until she knew that Lola was dating her she didn''t he would know even if she had forgotten about Jake. That''s because Eva knew that when Jake started dating Kate for sure after a few weeks all the magazines and various television shows would talk about it because even though Jake and Kate were not the most famous and well-known in the country when they started dating, they would be one of the best known young couples. Even more with Jake participating in a big movie and joining the NBA and Lola gaining more and more fans in the music world and having a song in the first place on Billboard, even so, Eva wouldn''t say that to Jake because she knew Jake was not to blame in this situation and has already had too much consideration for Lola not going to the restaurant almost once for almost 3 years. "Mom, as I said to you when Kate comes to Miami I intend to ask her to date me if she accepts I want to bring her here to have dinner together so I can introduce her to you." "Sure, son, if you start dating I will fully support your relationship and you can bring her here and I will love meeting your girlfriend." Having talked about it with his mother, Jake was even happier that everything in his life was going well, even though he was tired Jake was still very agitated and decided to go to the court after dinner to do some three-point training to relax. Even though Jake hadn''t been doing any basketball training for the past few months and was just using his gym after returning to Miami, he still did imagination training every day as usual. Jake could do this training twice a day and did it every day even when he was tired and when he was filming in Australia, and now Jake was even more excited about doing his imagination training. That''s because after the NBA draft when he became a professional player and he leveled up in his first job in the system, Jake could play against better players than he did in imagination training. And Jake had to say that finally, this training was very useful for him, it seemed that the problem of lack of intelligence of his opponents in the training of imagination had almost disappeared, his opponents thought about the plays and so the training was never the same. Also, when Jake put his opponents in the SS rank like he always did, he really regretted doing it, the players in his imagination training were much better than his teammates Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison. They were better than many of the toughest opponents he had at university like Mike Bibby, Jake had to believe that they really were better than most of the NBA players he would play for years to come. Of course, players like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal, and Michael Jordan had many things that were better than these opponents that Jake had in his imagination training, but not even these geniuses had SS rank in all abilities. So Jake could see how a skill rank made a big difference when he reached the NBA level, it wasn''t like that at other levels, but he realized that difference and how he put the height of all his opponents being taller than him, Jake had a hard time even hitting three-point shots. After all, with opponents having SS rank in the block they seemed to know what was the right time to hinder blocking when Jake tried the three-point shot, that was good because Jake trained more for when he joined the NBA and also I learned how he would have to try three-point shots in the NBA playing against opponents who could get the block. Fortunately, his skill rank in the three-point shot was also SS rank and he was more agile than his opponents in training and thus still managed to hit more than 50 percent of his three-point shots. His steal and passing skills still worked well in his imagination training, but Jake didn''t even want to try to layup and dunk with so many higher opponents and SS block rank, it was almost suicide to do that. Fortunately, his teammates were also SS rank in skills and Jake was still smarter than his opponents and so they managed to almost win some games, the problem was that all opponents also had SS rank in three-point shots. Chapter 455 Jake Vacations 7 Jake thought it would certainly be a big nightmare if it were really like that in reality, playing with opponents who were better than him in almost every skill and knew how to use their skills better. But it did a little to take away all the arrogance that Jake had being the first pick in the NBA draft and winning several individual awards at College basketball, Jake had to learn that even if he had good skills he would still start as an NBA rookie. It was certainly difficult for other talented players to learn this lesson in humility as Jake learned before he even joined the NBA, but it would probably make teammates find him more enjoyable if he was humble in the beginning. Of course, Jake still had the same dreams and still thought he wanted to win several NBA titles and be the MVP in several seasons, but he didn''t need to think about getting it in his first NBA seasons. So for him to spend more than an hour doing three-point shots on his court it was much more relaxing than the training he normally did, Jake was also developing another special move for when he had to play in the NBA. It was a special three-point shooting movement that was different from the way he normally did, but if Jake managed after a lot of training to have the same hit percentage as he had to do the three-point shot it was usually very good. This was a move he thought after doing this imagination training with opponents who were very good at blocks, and with this move, it was impossible for an opponent to block without missing Jake. But Jake thought that this move could only be done better if he had more stats points in strength, even so, he could use it in games against opponents who were very good at blocks and were defending against him. After relaxing with the three-point shots, Jake can go home and sleep peacefully, the other day Jake went too early to do his normal training that he had to continue, especially now that he felt he was really getting better with this training. Jake had already recovered completely from the tiring run he had done on the last day just as he thought and after doing the warm-up exercises Coach Davis arrived, Coach Davis was also excited after Jake''s training on the last day. He couldn''t help thinking that he was Jake''s trainer who could win several gold medals in the marathons and in the 10,000 meters in the next Olympics and Jake could still run under the 2 hour time and break the world record that would be harder to break in history. Even so, he still asked if Jake was fine and if he could try to run the same way as yesterday, after all, Jake could not try too hard and end up getting injured, otherwise it would be better to train more lightly and not take the risk. Jake said it was okay and after doing the warm-up exercises he started running again, Jake would try to run at the same pace as on the last day and would do it until he didn''t feel exhausted and the other days he would try to increase the total training distance. If Jake managed to run the 50 km at this pace every day, he could guarantee that he could run at that pace in an official marathon and only then would he explore his limits and be able to improve even more in the coming months or years. Jake was not in such a hurry anymore and didn''t mind not improving his running pace until after the Sydney Olympics in 2000, after all, even though Jake had a dream of running in less than 2 hours in an official marathon, he didn''t have to work too hard to train to achieve this in the coming months. After managing to win in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters and once again winning a gold medal in the marathons, Jake would try once again to improve his race pace. Without the stress of the challenge and having more confidence, Jake managed to run the 43 km at the same pace as the previous day and was much less tired, but he still wouldn''t risk running for more km than that. Jake analyzed his physical condition and saw that he could run a maximum of 45 km at this pace and he would be exhausted if he did, and Jake thought that in the coming months he probably could not run more than 45 km. After all, Jake had 45 points in the resistance statistics and was running very close to the pace to be able to run a marathon in less than 2 hours, so Jake didn''t think it would be easy to increase his resistance to be able to run more kilometers. But he was already satisfied with that so that he could break his current world record smoothly and still continue training to improve even more in the years to come, Jake continued to train with great effort in the next few days and one day Jake received a new call from Kate that he was waiting. "Hi, Jake, I arrived in Miami a few hours ago, I will be staying at a hotel in the next few months and if you want to tomorrow we can go out to lunch as you had invited me." "For sure, I was looking forward to your arrival and if you want I can stop by your hotel to take you to the restaurant." "Okay, tomorrow you will call me when you arrive." Jake was very happy to know that Kate had arrived and even more so because they were going to meet for lunch the other day, Kate actually had a house in Miami, but she would probably stay at the hotel because of her manager who should have come with her and to hide from paparazzi in magazines. So Jake was excited again, and the next day after his training he soon ate a stamina bar so he wouldn''t get tired all day and dressed up for lunch and took the red corvette zr1 car that arrived in Miami. For Los Angeles, he had ordered a blue zr1 corvette, but he asked for a red one to stay in Miami because he knew his mother liked red cars, but it was a beautiful car and it was also discreet and would not attract the attention of others. Jake arrived at the hotel where Kate was and called her to say that she had arrived, Kate had also dressed up for lunch and was wearing high heels and a beautiful blue dress, she was surprised by Jake''s car, but she thought it was beautiful. Even though Jake was afraid of cars in the past with the agility he had now with the help of the system, he became an excellent driver, especially since he did not like to race too much with the car for more safety. Jake and Kate talked about what had happened in the last few months while Jake drove to the restaurant, he was very interested in her stories because it was all different from what happened in the past that he knew. Of course, Jake didn''t really follow the music world at the time and just knew about the songs that were on Billboard and who would win the Grammy, but he knew that everything Kate did was different than what he knew because she hadn''t been one. singer in Jake''s past. When they arrived at the restaurant that Jake had already made a reservation with, they kept talking, Jake had VIP status at several Miami restaurants because he always had a lot of business lunches, so it was easier for him to get a table available to book. Jake told what had happened on the shoot from Australia and told about the martial arts training he had to do and also about the other actors and the friends he made, of course, Jake was careful not to tell Kate about how it would be the film not to spoil her. After all, Jake intended to take Kate to watch The Matrix with him at the cinema, so she could watch the scenes he had participated in, Jake also talked about the NBA draft that Kate had watched and what happened there that was not broadcast by the TV. "I''ve been listening to your songs, Kate, I think they''re all great, do you think you can win the Best New Artist award?" "I don''t know, from what my manager said it is almost certain that I will at least be nominated, but it is difficult to know if I can win because there are many talented singers competing like Andrea Bocelli, Dixie Chicks, Backstreet Boys and Lauryn Hill." Jake agreed that it would be difficult to imagine Kate winning if he were to think about what these great artists she mentioned did in the future of the music he knew, but Jake really liked Kate''s music and thought she would also be one of the biggest names in music in the future. Kate also told Jake that her birthday had just passed and she was now 20 years old, her birthday was in September and Jake didn''t know that before because she hadn''t told him that. They talked about various things and stayed for a few hours in the restaurant before Jake realized how much time had passed and took Kate to her hotel, even though they had known each other for more than 3 years they had talked in person a few times in those years. So Jake decided that he would treat Kate with the respect she deserved and would still meet her a few times in the next few months before asking her to date him, so they really would know each other well before Jake asked her to date him. Jake took Kate back to the hotel and saw that she too was happy with their lunch so Jake can be more relieved, Jake returned home and on the way, he went to a flower shop and chose flowers for them to send to Kate at the hotel. Chapter 456 Jake Vacations 8 So Jake''s next days were a lot of training with trainer Davis, in which Jake increased his daily training to 45 km which was the maximum he could handle today, even so, he was very happy with the satisfactory training he was having. On those days Jake also invited Kate to go out with him almost every day and as long as he felt that she enjoyed meeting with him, Jake would continue to ask almost every day, and it seemed that Kate enjoyed these meetings as much as he did. Jake took Kate to several restaurants that had different menus and always for lunch, Jake also always sent flowers, chocolates, and stuffed animals as gifts to Kate''s hotel, and it seemed that she liked that too. After a few weeks, Jake started taking Kate to other types of dates like going to the movies, to the theater, to the park to have a picnic, to the beach and to various places that Jake knew and wanted to share with Kate. After several weeks of dating, Jake thought he liked Kate even more and also knew her a lot more than before and so Jake thought he made the right decision to go out on several dates with her before asking her to date with him. Jake''s strategy was that even though he asked Kate to meet him several times, he never asked her to go to dinner with him, and he thought of asking her to go to dinner with him only when he intended to ask her to date him. But before that the day of the Chicago marathon was approaching, Jake trained every day and no longer suffered from running at this intense pace the 45 km, of course, it would not be at this pace that Jake would run the Chicago marathon and therefore missing a week to the Jake marathon returned to his old training pace by running 50 km. Running at his old pace Jake found it much easier and had almost no fatigue for himself running 50 km, but of course Jake knew it was necessary, Jake warned his mother and Kate that he was going to Chicago to run the marathon there and the two understood. This time as he had time Jake went to Chicago two days before the marathon at a hotel he had booked for himself because it was the same hotel he went to compete in the marathon every year and Jake had become a VIP customer at that hotel. Jake also made reservations at this hotel for Coach Davis who went with him from Miami and also for Zack and his former roommates who would come from the university to see Jake and Zack running in the marathon. Jake missed his friends William and Aaron and of course Zack too, Jake invited Zack''s family too, but everyone was busy and said they would go when Zack ran in a marathon closer to where they lived. Zack could already run any marathon and finish, but his goal that year was to run a marathon in less than 3 hours, and since he had already agreed with Jake that he would go again to the Chicago marathon, he didn''t want to risk running in another marathon that year to get tired. But in the next few years, Zack didn''t intend to go back to Chicago anymore and he would just run in cities in North Carolina and force his family to watch his marathons, Jake didn''t think it was that serious because he didn''t even ask his mother to watch his marathons. This time, unlike in recent years, everyone expected Jake to participate in this marathon in Chicago because Jake had done it in recent years and now the NBA season was rarely happening. Jake had just run the Tokyo marathon that year and had won well and everyone expected Jake to win that marathon again and perhaps break the world record, Adidas and Gatorade had sent sponsors to Chicago and so everyone was even more sure that Jake would run in Chicago. Of course, the Chicago marathon organizers already knew that Jake was going to participate, but they wanted to keep it a secret because they knew that Jake didn''t normally announce when he would run any marathon. Jake was running for the first time with Adidas sneakers and Adidas clothes, as Jake was committed to sponsorship he was even wearing an Adidas bandana, this was also the first time he was free to talk about his sponsors. That''s because in his time at university, Jake was forbidden to speak on behalf of the companies that sponsored him because he could only receive sponsorship because the university had specifically allowed this for Jake. With one day left before the Chicago marathon, Zack and the others finally arrived and met Jake at the hotel where they would stay, his friends were impressed with the hotel where they would stay. "Hi my friends, I missed you in the last few months." "Hi Jake, we saw the NBA draft this year, congratulations on being the first pick and still playing for the Los Angeles Lakers." "It''s true, it is said that the Los Angeles Lakers team had already negotiated with the Los Angeles Clippers team to choose Jake in the first pick, this is even more incredible." "Yes, it''s a shame that the NBA season has been postponed and maybe it won''t even happen, I miss watching the games." "It''s true, I miss the games too, I''m so sorry Jake that this happened in his first season in the NBA." "It''s okay, I had more time to do my thing thanks to that, and I believe that we will still have this NBA season, but we will only have games next year if these discussions continue." With Jake saying that his friends started to wonder if Jake had inside information because he was a professional player and they were excited, of course, Jake had inside information, but it was because he knew the future and not because he was a professional player. "But let''s change the subject, Zack, do you think you''re ready for this marathon?" "Yes, I am confident that I will be able to run this marathon in less than three hours, because I did it once in training with Coach Davis before he left for Miami, so I am confident." While Jake was in Australia filming he asked Coach Davis to stay at the university and continue teaching Zack until Jake returned to Miami, as Coach Davis was paid by Jake on a monthly basis and also liked Zack he accepted and helped Zack a lot in the latter months. Coach Davis had even praised Zack saying he had the potential to become a professional marathon runner, of course after watching Jake run a marathon in just over 2 hours, it was difficult for Coach Davis to remain impressed with Zack. After that they continued to talk about things that happened in the last few months, Jake talked about filming in Australia and they were all interested in watching the movie, Jake said he had bought a house in Los Angeles and invited them to see it in the future. Of course, Jake didn''t say about his business in Silicon Valley or about Kate, after all, Jake didn''t want to expose Kate and they hadn''t started dating yet and Jake didn''t want to take any chances or tell his friends. Another subject they talked about was the Tar Heels team, after all, even though Jake and almost all the players had left the team this season, the record of games being lost by the team would still continue next season. Jake said he was confident that the current team would still be able to maintain that record until completing more than 70 games without losing which would make that record even more exciting, the others were not as optimistic as Jake and thought that the Tar Heels team would lose after two or three games. They still talked at night and then everyone went to sleep because Jake and Zack had to run the marathon the next day and so they had to rest well to be prepared for the marathon. The other day in the morning everyone woke up and left the hotel early to go to the place where the marathon would take place, as soon as they arrived the others went to where the crowd was and only Jake and Zack went to where the competitors were. As soon as Jake arrived in the competitors'' area there were athletes who started to recognize him because they expected Jake to participate in this marathon, some said that he would no longer run in marathons after entering the NBA because he already had a very high salary. But most did not believe it because he had already won a gold medal at an Olympics and athletics world and would not give up just because he no longer needed the marathons to make money. And that almost became true, of course, Jake still wanted to run the marathons and didn''t really care about the money, but it was because with NBA games he normally wouldn''t have time to compete in several marathons a year. Maybe Jake wouldn''t even be able to participate in this Chicago marathon any more if the Los Angeles Lakers team coach didn''t allow it, of course, Jake would still run another marathon during the year and would run every Olympics. "Good luck with that marathon, Zack, I trust you will be able to run that marathon in less than three hours." "I also believe, to achieve this I am going to do something I always wanted to do and I think I am capable of that now." "And what is this?" "I will do like everyone else and run in the same group like you in the marathon and thus follow you for more than 15 km and then continue the marathon at my pace and so I will finish in less than 3 hours." "If you really think you can follow my pace for 15 km and still finish the marathon at your pace, I approve of your idea." Chapter 457 Marathons and Business 1 Jake really trusted that Zack was able to run that marathon in less than 3 hours, and thought until he was able to run in a time of close to 2 hours and 30 minutes, and if Jake was right it meant that Zack could run in the group of elite in the marathon and still finish the marathon without getting exhausted. Zack had really asked Coach Davis this before, the biggest difficulty for Zack and other athletes in the marathon was keeping a steady running pace so they wouldn''t get too tired, and that was the biggest benefit of running in Jake''s group who was a master of running at the right pace, even if Jake''s pace was very fast. And after running 15 km in Jake''s group he just had to run at a slower pace than normal and continue as soon as Zack could finish the marathon before 3 hours, and if in the final part of the marathon he still had breath I could try to get an even better time. After a while, the 1998 Chicago marathon finally started and Jake and Zack were going to run for the first time together and from the beginning, a large group of athletes stayed close to Jake because they thought the same way as Zack. "Welcome to everyone who came to follow the 1998 Chicago marathon, and just as everyone expected one of the biggest champions of that marathon to come back this year to try to win again." "Okay, Jake Smith is the current record holder for victories in this Chicago marathon having won three times and the most amazing thing is that it was three years in a row, so naturally Jake is the favorite to win this marathon for the fourth time in a row and who knows maybe breaking his own world record again." "We hope that happens, let''s see if Jake continues to run at a high level even after becoming an NBA player." Jake was surprised at the start of the marathon because there were never so many athletes running in the same group as him during that marathon, many were Americans, but some were from other countries and wanted to run with Jake so that they would keep a good running pace. Everyone knew the rules for running in Jake''s group that was created by other athletes and so the other athletes took turns to lead the group while everyone followed Jake''s pace and so Jake and most of them didn''t have to face the wind resistance. Jake also felt that in this marathon as well as in training his clothes were more comfortable and his shoes were more comfortable, so he found it easier to maintain his running pace, especially after training normally at a pace of 3 seconds less for km. Jake stopped at the fuel points and always took a drink to hydrate himself, with Gatorade he felt it was better than before, Jake didn''t necessarily need to stop at all the fuel points, but he wanted to do that because of the other athletes who were running with him. And Jake trained every day to do this and did not lose his race pace making these detours, Jake also knew the course well and that was why it was easier for him and that is why Jake trusted this marathon to break his world record with ease. After 10 km of the marathon the athletes of the group of Jake still did not feel very tired even running at such an intense pace, not even Zack felt tired and everyone felt confident knowing that they were running correctly with Jake. Jake hoped for this because, in addition to Zack, all the other athletes in his group were elite and wanted to finish this marathon in the top 50 of the marathon, so in addition to Zack, he expected everyone to accompany him up to 25 km at least. Jake continued running with his group and so he passed the 15 km and looked to see how Zack was doing, Zack still looked good and knew he was going to endure more, but thinking about his goal for the marathon he warned Zack that they had reached us 15 km. Zack was a little shocked because he never ran 15 km in such a short time and he decided not to be greedy even though he was not tired and was the first to leave Jake''s elite group and started to slow down his running pace. Zack knew that that 15 km had changed all the running pace that he normally had to do, after all, he normally ran half the marathon in 1 hour and 30 minutes and in the final part of the marathon he increased the pace a little more to try to run in less than 3 hours. But now Zack had passed the 15 km and not even 44 minutes had passed, luckily he had combined a running pace with trainer Davis and soon he slowed his running pace, Zack mainly intended to run in less than 3 hours in that marathon and not to have the best time possible. Meanwhile, Jake''s elite group went through 25 km and the other athletes in Jake''s group started to leave the group and slow down the race, Jake was still calm and in this marathon, he didn''t care who would be the second and only with his race. "Jake Smith''s elite group continues to lead the race, even though Jake is never leading the group we can say that he was the first in this whole marathon and he continues running smoothly after 25 km while several athletes left his group and the others are very tired." "After this 25 km we can see that Jake continues to run very well in this marathon and still has the same physical conditioning as the other marathons and he can certainly win this marathon if we have no other surprises." "I don''t think we will, I think some of the athletes who remain in Jake''s group want to do like the American athletes who accompanied Jake until he slowed down his running pace and so they were able to finish second and third in that marathon." Jake didn''t think about it, but if he knew he would say that if the other athletes in his group intend to do that they will have two results in the marathon, or they will be able to finish the marathon with the best time in their career, or they will not be able to finish the marathon. That''s because Jake would run at a different pace than the other marathons because he intended to break his world record, so he asked Zack not to stay with him for many miles or else he could be harmed. Jake reached 35 km and continued running at the same pace as he had done a few times in other marathons, of the 6 athletes who continued to follow him after 30 km, 4 had already given up and only 2 followed because they knew Jake would slow down his. But those two who were accompanying him had never even been in the top 10 in other marathons and were thus suffering to accompany Jake, who had not yet slowed down the running pace. With 37 km of running Jake slowed down his running pace and the other athletes relaxed but realized that they might not be able to finish the marathon because they were too tired and had worked too hard. "In that marathon, Jake kept his pace for 37 km and just started to slow down, the athletes who were running with him took it well, but now they look very tired and will have to run much more slowly to try to recover their energy to finishing this marathon." "The athletes who left Jake''s group after the 30 km marathon are far behind, but they have the energy to run at a good pace until the end of the marathon and these two athletes will pass." "That''s right, Jake has a very intense running pace that only he can handle and in this marathon, Jake has a great time to be able to break the world record, so these athletes should not have followed him for 37 km." "Who knows, one day we will see Jake run an entire marathon at this incredible pace that he does in most of the marathon, so it will be a hard world record to break, we hope that Jake does not slow down his running pace and break the world record in that marathon." At the time that Jake was running, commentators would normally celebrate that the athlete would break the world record, but they knew that Jake had a habit of slowing down his running pace a lot in the final km of the marathon and so they didn''t know what Jake intended. While Jake was in the final part of the marathon Zack had still just passed the 30 km, unlike last time he passed the distance that was a barrier for normal athletes with ease, Zack felt just a little tired and still hoped to finish this marathon before 3 hours. Even though he was doing well in that marathon, Zack still did not know if he could finish the marathon before 3 hours because he ran the initial 15 km at the same pace as Jake and then had to change his normal running pace so as not to get too tired. Zack spent half the marathon in a much shorter time than 1 hour and 30 minutes as he had calculated at the beginning of the marathon when he approached the end of the marathon if he did not feel tired he would increase his running pace to finish in the best possible time. But as Zack didn''t have the system to help him as Jake did he didn''t know if running at the pace he was going to be able to finish this marathon before 3 am as it was his goal. Meanwhile, Jake had already passed the 41 km marathon and was just over 1 km to finish the Chicago marathon that year, at that point, everyone could see that Jake was still running at a fast pace and his time was much lower than his old world record. So unless Jake got hurt or slowed down his running pace until he was almost walking he would break his world record in that marathon. Chapter 458 Marathons and Business 2 The commentators as well as all the fans of the marathon and Jake realized this and started to cheer up, the fans hoped to cheer up Jake for him to keep running at this pace and thus break his world record again in this Chicago marathon. \"We are reaching the last km of this marathon and Jake Smith continues to run at a very fast pace, this way he will break his world record again and he will decrease his previous time by many seconds.\" \"It is true, it seems that this is what Jake really intends and he does not look very tired even after running 41 km, it seems that the sports media was wrong and Jake continued to train a lot for the marathons and that is why he is going to break the world record today.\" \"Yes, he is coming in the last few meters of this Chicago marathon and can already see the track that is at the finish line, Jake Smith is still fast and we cannot even see where the second place is.\" \"And so Jake Smith finishes the 1998 Chicago marathon in the first place and breaks the world record that was his own made in Berlin and with an incredible time, Jake finished that marathon in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 50 seconds.\" \"It''s really incredible, he broke his last world record for a long time, his last world record was 2 hours, 5 minutes and 55 seconds and he cut that time by more than 1 minute in that marathon and he doesn''t even look very tired.\" Jake was very happy to break his world record again, he ran in such a fast time because as far as he knew his current record could only be broken in 2007, by then Jake would have been able to train to run in less than 2 hours and will have improved his current world record again several times. Jake had to do this because after starting games in the NBA he didn''t know when he could run another marathon, he would definitely run in the Olympics, but he couldn''t run that fast because he had to run several sports in the Olympics. Jake went to do a test for the organizers to prove that he was not using drugs to break that world record and then he went to celebrate and received his award for the track record, the world record and the victory. Jake received 175 thousand dollars for the victory and was happy to take another medal and trophy to his house that was already full, Jake greeted one of the representatives of Adidas who was in the marathon and took a photo with him, after all, Jake was using several products from Adidas when he won that marathon. Jake also received a Gatorade from the Gatorade representative and took a photo with him too, both were very pleased with Jake breaking that world record and having such a good time, it was a good start for their sponsorship. Just like in the last year Jake warned the organizers that he would be near the finish line waiting for a friend and they organized a chair and table for Jake who was comfortable sitting there. Certainly, Jake was an athlete different from the others and did things that other athletes didn''t and for that reason, he was a star in the marathon world and brought a lot of visibility, the stations that were broadcasting the marathon still didn''t know, but many Los Angeles fans Lakers were watching this marathon. Los Angeles Lakers fans naturally researched Jake who would play on their team and was first in the draft this year, so they knew that Jake was also someone running in the marathons and had already won a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics and in an athletics world. They also knew that Jake had only missed one marathon since he started running and won all others even though he ran in more than 10 major marathons around the world, so as the NBA season was suspended some fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team decided to watch that Chicago marathon that Jake would run to see him win. And that''s exactly what happened and Jake even broke the world record in that marathon, some of those fans might have started watching other marathons after watching this one and everyone was happy that Jake had won. After a few minutes waiting for Jake to finally see Zack and he was close to finishing the Chicago marathon, Jake could see that Zack was trying his best after seeing that the marathon was over. Seeing this, Jake was very happy because he was less than 200 meters away and the marathon time was many minutes below 3 hours, which meant that Zack had broken his personal record and would be able to finish this marathon with a time well below 3 hours that it was what he wanted. Zack ended the marathon with a time of 2 hours, 46 minutes and 12 seconds and broke his personal record and managed to run in time below 3 hours and actually finished just under the first 100 of that marathon. This was incredible for the second marathon just that Zack participated and showed that he had the potential to be an elite athlete and maybe one day become a professional who could win a marathon. Jake went to where Zack was and celebrated with the friend who had managed to break a personal record of him, Zack was very happy and did not know that Jake had broken his world record in that marathon. \"Congratulations Zack, you managed to break your personal record and finished this marathon in a lot less than 3 hours, you really have a talent for marathons.\" \"Thanks, Jake, I''m really happy, I feel like it was worth all the training I did in over 2 years, I want to continue training after that and run more marathons.\" \"Thanks a lot, Jake, it was you who showed me how fun it could be to run marathons and I was healthier and happier because of that, and it was because I ran that 15 km with you that I managed to finish this marathon in less than 3 hours.\" After Zack finished the marathon Jake said goodbye to the marathon organizers and left to return to the hotel, his friends who were watching the marathon came to celebrate with Zack and Jake. As soon as Zack learned that Jake had broken the marathon world record again and was a little embarrassed, he said congratulations to Jake and his other friends laughed, Jake wanted to take everyone to a restaurant, but Zack was still very tired after that marathon. So everyone went back to the hotel as they had agreed and the next day they would go to the restaurant, after all, Zack would stay in Chicago for two days to recover from the marathon and Jake would have to return the next day. After a few hours that everyone had arrived at the hotel and even Zack had rested some more, the hotel called Jake''s room saying that someone was looking for him in the hotel lobby. Jake already imagined who he was and asked them to wait a few minutes, he had already showered as soon as he arrived at the hotel and was wearing comfortable clothes and had to change clothes to talk to the person he was thinking about. But Jake didn''t put on his social clothes like he always wore and put on an Adidas shirt and pants and an Adidas sneaker before coming down with a bottle of Gatorade, Jake always liked to show off his sponsor''s products and he couldn''t before because the university wouldn''t let it. So Jake went down to the hotel lobby and just as he expected whoever wanted to talk to him was Chloe who was a reporter for WBBM-TV, Chloe was surprised because she didn''t think Jake came to talk to her in an Adidas outfit, but how she came to ask to interview he had no way of asking Jake to change his clothes. \"Hi Jake, sorry to come like this without telling you before, but I don''t know your phone number and I just knew the hotel where you normally stayed.\" \"Chloe, it''s good to see you again, it''s okay for you to show up here at the hotel to call me, what did you want to talk to me about?\" \"I wanted to do an interview with you, after all, you just broke the world record again in that marathon, and a lot of fans of the marathons and the sports media have some questions that you could answer.\" \"Okay, I''m going to do this interview with you, Chloe, but watch out for the questions or I won''t answer.\" Chloe hoped that Jake would actually accept the interview, after all, he was never afraid to speak the truth, but what Chloe could not imagine was that Jake expected her to come to do this interview because he wanted to say a few things about the marathons. So the hotel arranged a separate place for them to talk, even though Chloe saw that Jake was wearing Adidas clothes, she was a reporter for the broadcast station and couldn''t just write what Jake was saying. So the hotel made the press room available for them, and the reporting team came in to organize the filming, normally that couldn''t happen, but Jake was an important customer of the hotel and he was also important to the broadcaster that sent the reporting team. \"First, Jake, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on winning once again in the Chicago marathon and still managing to break the world record.\" \"Thanks, Chloe, my first marathon was in Chicago and I have a very special affection for this marathon and this city and I am very happy to have won 4 times here.\" \"That was my next question, Jake, this was your fourth victory in the Chicago marathon and so you became the athlete who won this marathon the most and also the one who won 4 times in a row and I think it will be difficult for someone to break this remember, what do you feel about it.\" \"I feel very happy, I never expected anything like this to happen when I decided to run my first marathon here in Chicago when I was 16 years old, it is a great honor for me to have achieved this.\" Chapter 459 Marathons and Business 3 Jake was being sincere saying he was very happy and proud to have won 4 marathons in Chicago, he couldn''t say that, but in his past life as Jake was very fond of marathons he watched the Chicago marathon many times and always thought about what it would be like winning. Now he had won 4 times and if he could he wanted to win that marathon more times, but he didn''t know if the Los Angeles Lakers team coach would allow Jake to do this every year just before the season started. So Jake wanted to break his world record in that marathon that he liked so much because in the future he might have to run other marathons when the Los Angeles Lakers team was out of the game season. Chloe looked like she realized what Jake was thinking and soon decided what the next question would be, the problem that Jake had was what everyone in the sports media also thought that Jake could no longer run in marathons. \"Jake, many in the sports media comment that you are going to stop running in the marathons now that you have joined the NBA and become a professional player, is this really going to happen?\" \"I heard it a lot in the last few days, and I have to say that this is really something complicated, from what I heard they said that I would not play anymore because I am rich now because I entered the NBA and I have to say that this is a lie.\" \"But I think in the next few years I''m going to compete in fewer marathons, just like I''ve been in the past few years, and that has to do with the fact that I entered the NBA, but the reason is because of the long season of NBA games.\" \"I have a duty to be in every game of the Los Angeles Lakers team in the NBA for the next few seasons, and even before the seasons start like the next Chicago marathons I may not be able to participate because of that.\" \"I do intend to continue participating in all the Olympics and I am training to run in the 10,000 meters competition and in the 5000 meters competition in the next Olympics.\" \"Also, I''m going to look for another marathon I can start running every year that''s out of the NBA game season, and I''ll continue to love the marathons and push myself, so I tried so hard to break my own world record today here in Chicago, because it may take time for that to happen again.\" Chloe didn''t expect Jake to answer her question so completely, after that there would be no more rumors as to why Jake might not be in the next few seasons and the sports media would know that was true. In addition, this news that Jake would compete in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters modalities was very shocking in the world of athletics, historically athletes who ran well in the marathons also had good results in the 10,000 meters modality. And if Jake said he would do that since he was the best athlete in the marathons and even had a world record, it meant that he was confident that he could win the competitions in the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters, otherwise, he wouldn''t risk it just to be ashamed. \"It''s a shame that you don''t think about running here in the Chicago marathon anymore because of the NBA game season, but do you already know which marathon you plan to run annually if you''re not going to run in the Chicago marathon?\" \"I haven''t thought about it yet, but in November of this year I will run the Athens marathon, it is an interesting challenge for me and I will try to win this marathon which is one of the most difficult in the world.\" \"Thanks for the interview, Jake, and good luck with the upcoming marathons and your NBA career.\" \"Thank you, Chloe.\" Chloe had to close because she didn''t get much time from her station to do this interview and was not prepared for the direction the interview took, she hadn''t prepared questions because she didn''t know that Jake would reveal that she would participate in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters. Still, she was satisfied with this interview with Jake which could be her last interview with him if Jake no longer planned to run other Chicago marathons, yet she hoped that Jake would continue to be successful. The other day Jake had lunch with his friends and they talked about various things that could happen in the future and kept saying that they wanted to keep in touch and remain friends even after the end of the university. After that, Jake had to go back to Miami and Aaron had to go back to university because of the football team, and just the other day that Zack and the others would go back to university. After Jake returned to Miami things continued as they were before, Jake still went out with Kate several times during the week and continued with his training, and the rest of the day Jake stayed with his mother after she returned from the restaurant. After Jake recovered from the Chicago marathon he was ready to start training him for the 5,000 meters and improve his time in the 10,000 meters training, and Jake would continue training for the marathons. In less than 1 month Jake would have to go to Greece to run the Athens marathon, but until then Jake wouldn''t just focus on training for the marathons because after seeing the performance he had in Chicago Coach Davis and himself they didn''t think it was necessary. Even more because Jake didn''t intend to break any records and just wanted to win this marathon, even if it was more difficult than the others Jake was confident that he could slow down his running pace and with his strength and endurance statistics a marathon more difficult it would not disturb him. Even more, because Jake was used to running 50 km at a very fast pace, so if he ran at a normal pace to win the Athens marathon, Jake could run up to more than 60 km if it was a normal marathon. Coach Davis arrived at the track behind Jake''s house to start training, he couldn''t deny that he was excited to start training for the 10,000 meters with Jake because he was prepared to be surprised after testing Jake''s limits. Before Jake stopped his training for the 10,000 meters because of the Tokyo marathon earlier this year, Jake was able to do the 10,000 meters in 27 minutes and 30 seconds, at a pace of 2 minutes and 45 seconds per km. With that time Jake could have taken fourth place at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, so it was already an amazing race time that showed why trainer Davis and Jake were so confident of winning a gold medal in the 10,000 meters. Running at this pace Jake could run 3 times a day in his training, thinking about it and as Jake could have different training, trainer Davis wanted to test Jake''s limits and asked him to run at a pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds per km. If Jake could run at this pace he could run the 10,000 meters in 26 minutes and 40 seconds, if Jake could run at this pace he could win the next Olympics for sure because this was a faster time than the current Olympic record and it would be a record Olympic who would never be broken by what Jake remembered. The 10,000-meter world record that Jake remembered before going back in time was the world record that Kenenisa Bekele managed to make in 2005 with 26 minutes and 17 seconds, and that record was no longer broken. So the time Coach Davis wanted Jake to achieve was close to the current world record, but Jake was not afraid of that if he was to run at that pace just once a day, Jake thought he was capable. The biggest difference of the 10,000 meters for the marathon was that the athlete had to have a lot of resistance and agility to achieve this, and in all those years in basketball and marathons the system had given Jake a lot more statistics of agility and resistance than all 10,000-meter athletes had. So even if Jake hadn''t tried for several years to train in the 10,000 meters he could still start running at a very high level because of his years of training in basketball and marathons. It was only because of the help of the system that Jake had the courage to try to win a gold medal in various sports in athletics, even so, Jake was prepared to train in the coming years to have a chance to win in the next Olympics. Jake didn''t know that, but his statement in the report with Chloe that he would try to participate in the 10,000-meter sport had had a lot more impact, just as Chloe thought the others also thought that Jake would only risk trying another sport if he thought he had many chances to win. And this was very important for the sports media and even for the American athletics association, after all, the United States did not win many medals in the 10,000 meters modalities and in the marathons in the last Olympics. And Jake, who was very young, suddenly appeared bringing a gold medal to the United States at the last Olympics, and now he was saying that he could also compete in the 10,000 meters sport. If Jake also won in the 10,000 meters at the next Olympics he could bring 2 more gold medals to the United States, that was something that the Olympic committee wanted very much and was good for the sport in general. The only thing that wasn''t that good was that Jake was also a great professional basketball player who was in the NBA if he were just a young athlete they would have a much easier time making sure he had the support to focus only on athletics. Chapter 460 Marathons and Business 4 But in fact, those who were most happy with this announcement by Jake were his sponsors, mainly Adidas and Gatorade, after all, they were two companies very related to sports and athletes and that was a pleasant surprise for them. Of course, these companies would never pay such a huge sponsorship contract to Jake if he was just a marathon athlete and 10,000 meters, but since they already had a contract with Jake because of the NBA, that was just a bonus for him. On the first day of training just as Jake did with the marathon, Coach Davis asked him to run at the pace Jake did before 2 minutes and 45 seconds per km to see how he was doing at that pace. Jake still remembered trainer Davis''s tips on positioning and pace that was different from when he ran in the marathons, just as expected. Jake managed to run at that time easily and was not too tired. This was normal if it was thought that Jake used to do the 10,000 meters 3 times a day at this pace for training, thinking about it Coach Davis talked to Jake who also agreed with this and so after resting for 1 hour, he ran the 10,000 meters again and then a third time. This was the training that Jake did before going to Tokyo and then stop with normal training, the difference was that this time Jake did not need to eat a stamina bar to run the third time and was not yet exhausted. This showed how Jake had improved his fitness a lot after gaining more stats in resistance, strength, and agility after that first day of training Jake was much more confident to run the 10,000 meters at the pace that Coach Davis had spoken. The other day Jake was prepared to run at a pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds, he had to get it at least once so they could know what his limit was if Jake''s limit was not that he could try to run even more another day. Jake started training by running at a pace of 2 minutes 40 seconds per km, it was a faster pace than he had tried the day before and it was 11 seconds faster than his pace to run the entire marathon. As expected Jake managed to run 5 km with ease and still did not feel tired, after all, Jake had good resistance and managed to keep his body in a constant effort for a long time. Jake kept running and so he passed the 7 km and was still not very tired, contrary to what they thought Jake was maintaining this pace with ease, it seemed that they had underestimated the resistance and agility that Jake had. After a few minutes, Jake went through the 10,000 meters and was much more tired than the day before, but he did not feel that he had tried his best in those 10,000 meters and was not as tired as when he finished the marathon. Coach Davis also realized that Jake didn''t try as hard as they thought, so he asked if Jake wanted to run again after 1 hour of rest and Jake accepted, he wanted to see if this could be a good time for training. If after 1 hour Jake managed to run the 10,000 meters again at this pace it was certain that he would be able to run at that pace in the Olympics and win the Olympics for sure, and that was a good time for Jake to run in the coming years. Of course, they still wanted to know what the limits of Jake were in the 10,000 meters after all this could help to know what the initial training time for the 5,000 meters could be. Jake relaxed and rested 1 hour just as they had thought and after doing the warm-up exercises he started running again, Jake had a different body from the others so in that 1 hour he managed to recover a lot. Of course, that was because he hadn''t been exhausted and he hadn''t had any muscle in his 10,000 meters the first time, otherwise, he wouldn''t have recovered so quickly, but that meant he might have been able to run the 10,000 meters at this pace again. Jake managed to run the 5 km again, but this time he was much more tired than the first time he tried and he started to feel his muscles ache because of the effort that he expected the first time he ran the 10,000 meters. After Jake passed the 7 km he felt a lot more tiredness and pain in his muscles, it looked different than when he ran the marathon at the fastest pace he could, but Jake knew he could run the 10,000 meters without difficulty the way he was. Just as Jake thought he managed to run the 10,000 meters, but he was much more exhausted than he thought he would be and with a lot of pain in his muscles, it was different than when he tried too hard to run the marathon at his current pace. Jake decided not to eat a stamina bar even though he knew he would be in pain all day because Jake knew that this was the best for his training and also that the next day he would recover. \"Okay Jake, I know you must be feeling very tired right now, but if you managed to run the 10 meters at this pace twice in one day I think this could be a good training time for you.\" \"And it also means that you can with great chances win the next Olympics in the 10,000 meters modality running at this pace, after all, the time you achieved in the 10,000 meters is much better than the current Olympic record.\" This made Jake very excited because being able to run in that very fast time meant that he could also be able to run the 5,000 meters in a great time, after all before Jake went back in time in 2019 who had the Olympic and world records in the 10,000 meters and us 5,000 meters was Kenenisa Bekele. As Kenenisa Bekele managed to do this, Jake thought he could also do it because he had the help of the system naturally, this gave much more confidence to Jake who had the dream of winning several gold medals in the Olympics. Of course, Jake knew that Kenenisa Bekele was the greatest long-distance athlete in history and Kenenisa Bekele''s best time in one of the marathons he won was slightly longer than the time Jake currently had in his training. And currently, Kenenisa Bekele was a little younger than Jake and in another 3 years he would start running in various athletics modalities, so Jake wanted to win in this next marathon because in the next he would have a lot of competition in these two modalities. \"As you managed to run at this pace twice today, we will try tomorrow with a pace of 2 minutes and 38 seconds which I think is your current limit, if you do that you will have the time to break the current world record.\" \"If this is really your limit, we will train at a pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds twice a day so that you can soon exceed your current limit.\" Jake agreed with what Coach Davis was saying, for sure if he knew he could run in time below the current world record he would have a lot more confidence in winning the Olympics in 2000. Jake came home to rest, he would not go out with Kate and so he risked not eating the stamina bar and so resting all day at home, Jake''s focus now was to adjust his training for the next Olympics. After he was able to guarantee that he would win the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters he could train in peace, at least before the start of the NBA season when Jake thought he probably could no longer train for the races. Jake would have to use his vacations wisely to do the training and so he would be prepared to win in the next Olympics that was in less than 2 years, Kate and Eva who knew how Jake was training and have already seen how tired he was after all the effort they felt even more admiration for him. Especially his mother, who knew that Jake already had money to spend his whole life well and had his career as an NBA player, even so, Jake continued training for the marathons until he was exhausted. Even though Kate didn''t know that Jake was that rich, she knew that Jake was in the NBA and had great sponsors and so he certainly made a few million dollars a year, so she also admired Jake who worked so hard even when he could rest. The truth was that Jake had a mentality that as he had a disability in his legs in the past life that prevented him from walking, Jake thought he had rested too much when he could neither walk nor run and this second chance was for him make his dreams come true with a lot of effort. The other day Coach Davis arrived at the track that was at Jake''s house and saw that he was already doing the warm-up exercises, Jake was fully rested as he expected and was ready to run again today. Jake knew that he would suffer even more by running 2 seconds faster per km, after all in this 10,000 meters mode with those 2 seconds per km he would take 20 seconds out of the time he did the day before, which was a lot in this mode. Jake started running and Coach Davis was following, he found it amazing how fast Jake adapted to changes in pace in training, many athletes took several days to run constantly when changing pace. But Jake adapted quickly as if he were a machine, which of course was something that coaches thought was great because Jake saved a lot of training time to see if he could run at a faster pace. Chapter 461 Marathons and Business 5 Jake was able to do this with the help of the system that showed him the distance covered in the run, the pace per minute he ran and the race time too, but after a few years Jake''s body also adapted to the system and he didn''t make more mistakes than he did when he started running. Now Jake just used the system to make sure his running pace wasn''t wrong because his body knew how to change the pace for a few seconds faster or slower, this was also a talent that Jake had that was greatly enhanced thanks to the system. Jake ran the first 2 km and realized that he did not try as hard as he thought in this training, it was almost the same as he felt when he ran the second time the day before, this meant that Jake would achieve more would also suffer a little. Of course, as his muscles were rested he would not feel as much pain as the day before that he had to run twice, just as Jake thought after passing the 5 km he felt a little tired as he felt when running for the second time in Last day. But his muscles were not so sore and he just felt that he was trying too hard, so Jake kept running and at 7 km he already felt that he was very tired and he had to control his breathing. Jake also felt stronger pain in his muscles and even though he knew he could easily run the 10,000 meters he knew that this should really be his limit, just as Jake hoped he completed the 10,000 meters. But he felt pain in his legs and felt very tired, it was not compared to what he felt after running the second time the day before, but Jake knew that he could not run at an even faster pace without risking suffering one lesion. Of course, Coach Davis had also realized that this must be the limit Jake could reach, the 10,000 meters runs were different from marathons, in the marathon if Jake was on the limit he could clearly see why Jake would finish the marathon exhausted and with muscle pain. But in the 10,000 meters, it could often seem that the athlete could try to run even faster and because of that, he ended up teaching himself seriously, so it was important to have an experienced trainer nearby to tell what the limit was. \"Okay, Jake, you put in a lot of effort and now we can know what your current limit is, with this pace that you run for 2 minutes and 38 seconds per km, you could be able to run the 10,000 meters in 26 minutes and 20 seconds.\" \"With that you can break the current world record at 10,000 meters, if you run at your previous pace in the next Olympics we can guarantee a gold medal and you can train at the pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds per km.\" \"When you feel more comfortable running at a pace of 2 minutes and 38 seconds we can try to break the world record, but as you will not be able to train much until the next Olympics I suggest you run at this pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds per km.\" Jake agreed with Coach Davis'' analysis and intended to run at a pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds per km, after all for the 10,000 meters and for the 5,000 meters Jake had a different mentality and just wanted to win the gold medals at the Olympics and don''t break any records. Who knows in the future when Jake had more resistance and agility statistics Jake might risk improving his time even more and breaking his world record, but that was not a priority for the 2000 Olympics. After Jake defined his training for the marathons and for the 10,000 meters, he just needed to define his training for the 5,000 meters and after that Jake could just continue training for the next years until the Olympics. The only problem they had was that Jake still didn''t know if he would be able to get enough time to stand a chance of winning the 5,000 meters in the next Olympics. Theoretically Jake knew this was possible because Kenenisa Bekele got it and Jake had the system to help him get it too, but Jake knew by seeing the best NBA players that some athletes were able to overcome what the system could do. Of course, when Jake got even more stats on strength, agility, and resistance, it would be impossible for him to find someone he couldn''t overcome, but that was because he would become a superhuman when he got over 60 stats. Jake knew for example that athletes like Michael Jordan in basketball, Michael Phelps in swimming, and Usain Bolt in athletics in the 100m and 200m modalities were people that Jake knew he needed more than 60 statistic points to achieve with just the help of the system. Of course, if Jake trained as hard for it as he did in basketball, Jake could outperform these athletes even without having the 60 stats points, but it showed how incredible these athletes were and that only the system couldn''t help him achieve everything he wanted to without much effort. After a lot of training later that day Jake still went out to spend the rest of the day with Kate, after doing several things in the first few days, they now spent the entire afternoon together going to the restaurant and going to the park and doing various things together. Jake heard that Kate''s manager wanted her to come back to do the shows, but Kate said she wanted to at least stay in Miami until the beginning of 1999 and naturally her manager knew why Kate wanted it. But thinking about how much work Kate had in the last few years and how much work she would still have in the coming years, her manager decided to let Kate rest for a few months, mainly because she knew that Jake would also be very busy in the coming years when the NBA seasons returned to the normal. Jake was very happy with this and it had already been decided that he would ask Kate to date him after the Athens marathon that he had to participate in, that was because after that Jake would have nothing else to do until the end of the year and could leave often with Kate. Of course, even though Jake was going out with Kate a lot, he was still very polite and respectful of her, and he didn''t forget his mother and came home every day to prepare dinner before Eva got home after returning from the restaurant. The other day Jake came back excited to do his training for the Olympics, Coach Davis arrived and soon spoke to Jake about what training would be like on the first day and Coach Davis was very excited after Jake''s training the day before. After all, the time that Jake got the day before for the 10,000 meters with the pace of 2 minutes and 38 seconds per km, was the pace necessary for Jake to start his training for the 5,000 meters, that meant that Jake would run at the 5,000 meters by 10,000 meters. Running at a pace of 2 minutes and 38 seconds per km Jake could make a time of 13 minutes and 10 seconds in the 5,000 meters after all the current Olympic record was 13 minutes and 5 seconds, so Jake almost achieved the Olympic record of 5,000 meters running in the 10,000 meters. So on that first day, they would not try the initial time that Coach Davis had thought, they would try with a time of 2 minutes and 36 seconds per km, with this pace Jake could break the current Olympic record and Coach Davis thought that this would be easy for Jake. Knowing the pace he had to run Jake did his warm-up exercises and started running, Jake was very excited for this 5,000 meters training, after all, from what he had seen the previous day, the 5,000 meters were easy for him. Jake started his running training and easily passed the 3 km, he just felt a little pain in his muscles, but he couldn''t feel tired from that short distance he had run. Jake continued running and soon finished the 5,000 meters in 13 minutes, he was very tired and with pain in his muscles, Jake thought it would be much easier as he had to run half as much as he did the day before and with a little time smaller. But it looked like it was more difficult than Jake thought, Coach Davis was already expecting it and was excited because it looked like Jake could still improve more in this training, if Jake could improve even more it meant he could easily break the Olympic record at the Olympics 2000. Jake also realized this and was excited to know that he could improve his running time even more, especially since Jake knew that this training was only for the 2000 Olympics and that after that it was almost certain that Jake could improve his time at all the modalities. \"You did very well, Jake, you can see how it is not necessarily easier and less tiring to run a shorter distance at a faster pace, you will be able to run like that at 5,000 meters because you can run at 10,000 meters in a very long time fast.\" \"For 1500 meter races you will need more strength and agility than resistance, so as you are a great runner in long-distance races I would not recommend that you try this, not to mention that the shorter the distance the more athletes have interest in competing in the modalities.\" \"The most popular and disputed athletics modalities are 100 meters and 200 meters, after that they are 400 meters and so on, so I suggest that you focus on these three modalities than trying to train to win in other modalities.\" Chapter 462 Marathons and Business 6 Coach Davis had realized that Jake seemed to have an impossible dream of running in various sports at the Olympics to win several gold medals, and Coach Davis knew that Jake was talented, but that was impossible to achieve. Even though the shorter distance runs did not require so much resistance, they did require a lot of muscle effort, and also a lot of agility and strength, not to mention that if Jake wants to participate in various modalities he will not have time to rest. Jake was also realizing that he had been very innocent thinking that he could one day win all athletics in track racing, he had never tried to run 100 meters and 200 meters and thought it would be easy because it was a short distance. But now Jake realized that it would be impossible to do that, not to mention that like Coach Davis, the best athletes in the world want to win 100 meters and 200 meters, maybe when he had more than 60 points in all physical statistics he could take it to compete in all modalities. Even so, if it was possible, Jake still wanted to try the 1500 meters and 800 meters, so that he could at least fulfill part of his dream and win 5 gold medals in just one Olympics if he did that Jake would be satisfied. \"I saw that you still had the ability to run at this pace, so tomorrow we will increase your training intensity and you will run at a pace of 2 minutes and 34 seconds per km.\" \"I think you can run at that pace and so you can guarantee that you can reach the Olympic record, and I also think that this is currently your maximum limit, after the next Olympics we can train to try to break the world record in this sport too.\" Jake agreed with Coach Davis that maybe that was his current limit, after all, he was feeling a lot of pain in his leg and was very tired after running the 5,000 meters for the first time, so Jake didn''t think he could take much more. What made Jake happy was that after just over an hour he had almost completely recovered from running the 5,000 meters, that''s where Jake''s strong resistance helped a lot if he further improved his agility and strength, Jake thought that these 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters modalities would not be so difficult anymore. Now it was a few weeks before the Athens marathon and Jake had to finish the 5,000 meters training the next day because after that he would start changing the training, he would run the 45 km one day, the other 10 thousand meters twice and on another day run the 5,000 meters 2 times too. And Jake planned to continue this training until the NBA games returned and so he would know that he would have to save his resistance for NBA games that were 48 minutes long and sometimes happened 3 times in a week. Jake kept training every day in his imagination training against much better opponents than he did, in these training sessions Jake was testing different types of ways he could play in a game. In some training sessions, he only made three-point shots and made many assists, in other training he hardly tried three-point shots and only tried mid-range shots and layups in addition to the assists. The hardest thing was when he tried to just do layups and dunks, even with his superior agility, the opponents managed to do the steal and block in several moves, but in all his training there had to be a lot of assists that was much easier playing with quality teammates. Jake knew that he would shine on the Los Angeles Lakers team as a PG having teammates like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, he could make several assists and his teammates would definitely score. Not to mention when Jake did three-point shooting training at night on the basketball court that was at his house, Jake did this training almost every day because that was how he got the stamina bars and it was also good for that he could relax. The other day it was Jake''s day to know if he could train at the pace that Coach Davis suggested for him, Coach Davis arrived early because he was also excited about it, a few years after becoming Jake''s coach he could feel that he was finally managing to teach Jake some things. He taught Jake several techniques to run correctly and helped him with various training to increase resistance, of course, Coach Davis thought he had helped Jake improve his resistance because he didn''t know Jake had the system. After doing the warm-up exercises Jake started running, he was excited because if he could run at this pace he could say he was ready for the next Olympics, then he could just train normally and have more confidence that he could win. After running for 3 km Jake could feel that he was trying too hard and he could feel the muscles in his legs hurting, Jake was feeling tired, but he could still keep running because he had high resistance. Just as they expected Jake managed to run the 5,000 meters at a pace of 2 minutes and 34 seconds per km, so Jake ran the 5,000 meters in 12 minutes and 50 seconds, it was a time still above the world record, but it was good to enough to win the Olympics. Jake was exhausted after this training and feeling a lot of pain in his leg muscles, but now Jake was prepared to win 3 different sports at the next Sydney Olympics in 2000. Just as Jake, Coach Davis was impressed and thought what was happening was unbelievable, Jake was running at 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters in a time that could be enough for Jake to break the Olympic record. And he also ran the marathon at a time when he could break his own world record, and he could almost run in less than 2 hours someday and that was not far from happening, it was a dream for any coach to train a great athlete what Jake was like. \"Okay Jake, with that we don''t need to make any changes to your training until after the Sydney Olympics in 2000, you will train these three modalities alternately, first you will train for the marathons running at the pace of 2 minutes and 51 seconds per km for 45 km.\" \"The next day you will train the 10,000 meters at a pace of 2 minutes and 40 seconds and you will do this training twice that day, and the next day you will do the training for the 5,000 meters, you will run in a pace of 2 minutes and 36 seconds twice that day.\" \"I am very confident that in the next Olympics in Sydney you will be able to make history and thus win 3 gold medals in these 3 sports, congratulations, Jake.\" \"Thank you, Coach Davis, without your help none of this would be possible, you can be sure that I will continue training to win these 3 gold medals in the next Olympics.\" With Jake saying that Coach Davis was also confident, this time Jake took more than 1 hour to recover and this training were important for him to understand more the complexity that had the modalities of athletics and that it would not be as easy as he thought to win several gold medals even with the help of the system. After that Jake was prepared to start his new training routine, with training for the next Olympics and going out several times a week with Kate, and at night he stayed at home with his mother talking about various things. After Kate had been on vacation for over a month and still she didn''t think about going out and continued to meet Jake several times, Kate''s manager really believed that the two were in love because in the time she was dating she couldn''t stand being that much with her boyfriend. And the worst was that she knew that Jake and Kate hadn''t even kissed even though they had been dating for so long, so it was certain that they enjoyed each other''s company, what Jake and Kate thought was that they knew they wouldn''t have much time to be together for years to come so they were enjoying this vacation. Jake planned to continue with his routine until he had to go to Los Angeles to start training with the Los Angeles Lakers team, but a week after Jake had finished organizing his Olympics training, Adidas representative Mike Morris had come to speak to him again. Jake naturally knew why Mike had come to talk to himself even a few weeks before the Athens marathon where they would meet, it was because of the interview he gave Chloe after the Chicago marathon. It was really shocking that Jake said that he intended to run in the 10,000 meters and 5000 meters, if Jake, who was the best marathon runner today, said it was because he really thought he had a chance to win, otherwise he wouldn''t try to run in other ways just to lose. \"Hi, Mike, you could have waited a few more weeks, we could have met in Greece to talk.\" \"You are right, Jake, but you know why I came to your house even though you are busy with your training, it is because of the interview you gave after the Chicago marathon.\" \"We knew that after the NBA game season started you would have less time to run other marathons and that is why we asked you to run in Athens in a few weeks.\" \"But I''m more curious about what you said about thinking about running in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters, is that true?\" Chapter 463 Marathons and Business 7 \"Yes, Mike, of course, it is true, I would not lie in an interview that I knew was being recorded, I intend to start running in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters.\" \"So how are you saying this is that you are confident that you can stand a chance of winning the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters?\" \"I would not say that I am confident, I am certainly training to run in the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters, and from what my trainer and I saw in my training I certainly have the possibility of winning running in these modalities.\" \"What complicates things a little is that because of the NBA game season I decided that I''ll just try to run the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in the next Olympics, I''ll do the qualifiers and try to get the time for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.\" \"So I''m just going to be able to find out if that''s possible when I participate in the qualifiers and I''m going to take advantage of my NBA vacation to train more for the next Olympics.\" Hearing this Mike understood that Jake and his coach were really confident that Jake could win in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, otherwise they would not think about competing in the Olympics where the best athletes in the world are trying to win. If that really happened it would be great for the Adidas company, Jake could win up to 3 gold medals at the next Olympics and that would be very good for the company and of course, it would be even better for Jake. \"David Falk really should have said that when he was negotiating the sponsorship contract with our company, if he did that we would agree to that contract much faster.\" \"He couldn''t have said that because I hadn''t spoken to him, that contract was negotiated more because I''m a basketball player going to the NBA than because of athletics, so it was just relevant to talk about the marathons that I won and about the Olympic medal I won than talking about things that can happen.\" \"I think about trying several things in the future and I can''t say everything I think about trying until I have some confidence that I can do that.\" Mike realized that Jake was telling the truth, he knew well that the main objective of Adidas was the NBA and not the marathons that Jake could win or he won the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters. So much so that even if Jake won 3 gold medals in the next Olympics and played badly in the NBA they might even think about renewing his contract, but it would be with a much lower value than it was. But this conversation with Jake made him curious about what Jake thought about trying to do that he couldn''t talk about right now, it didn''t help Mike to think about it because he could hardly imagine that Jake still intended to run in the 1500 meters and 800 meters and also intended to run a marathon in less than 2 hours. After talking to Jake for a while, Mike left to confirm the information for the company, it was good news for them at a time when the NBA game season hadn''t started yet and it could only start next year what it was too bad for them. The teams could negotiate with the players to pay a lower salary because they played less, but the sponsors still had to pay the entire contract year even though the players only played half the season. So over the next few weeks, Jake continued his routine by training hard and getting less and less tired after workouts that were now much more difficult, Jake was happy because that meant he was improving a lot. So soon the month of November arrived and Jake had to go to Greece to participate in the Athens marathon, Jake went two days before to Athens because he wanted to rest before the marathon, after all, Jake knew how more difficult this marathon was than the others with so many ups and downs. Jake knew about the importance of the Athens marathon taking place in the country of the first marathon that took place, Jake knew the story of Pheidippides who died after running from the Battle of the Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. Jake even thought about running at a slower pace in this marathon because of the difficulty, but then he thought it wouldn''t be difficult for him to run the entire marathon at his old pace and he would slow down the run in the final part anyway. The sports media were excited for this marathon because this time Jake had announced a long time ago that he would participate, but this time there were not many athletes who planned to run in the same group as Jake in that marathon. After all, everyone knew that this marathon would be very difficult, but the sports media knew that Jake had many chances of winning in that marathon because although it was the first time that Jake had run in the Athens marathon, he had already run in Athens at the World Championships in Athletics in 1997 and had won. Of course, Jake wouldn''t say that it was the Adidas company that asked him to run this marathon, Jake liked to run marathons and if he could run more than 5 marathons a year, he accepted, and Jake also wanted to run the official marathon of Athens. After resting for two days at the hotel that Coach Davis booked for him, the day of the Athens marathon came, Jake went very early in the morning to the place where the marathon would begin, when Jake arrived at the marathon site many athletes recognized him. Many of the athletes who were there admired Jake who was currently the reference in the world of marathons and was already considered one of the best marathoners in history, some did not like Jake out of envy and others did not like him because he was also a basketball player in addition to being a marathon runner. But even though everyone knew that Jake was the favorite to win this marathon, there were still many people who thought that Jake had no chance of winning that marathon, because most of the athletes who won that marathon until this year were athletes from European countries. The athletes from Greece had already won 16 times before this marathon started, so many thought that Jake didn''t have much chance of winning this marathon, Jake also remembered that the athlete who would win this marathon was Nik¨®laos Poli¨¢s who before he went back in time he had won that marathon four times. Until that year Nik¨®laos Poli¨¢s had won the Athens marathon twice, and this would be the third time that he would win if Jake did not participate in that marathon, of course only the other athletes and part of the sports media thought about it, the marathon fans who were at the marathon site they cheered a lot for Jake. Mike had also arrived the night before the marathon, he should have arrived earlier to talk to Jake before the marathon, after all, it was the Adidas company that asked Jake to run that marathon, but he had other things to do and ended up being late. Mike still wanted to talk to Jake when he arrived, but he didn''t know what hotel Jake was in and Jake had hung up on him during the night because he went to sleep early to prepare for the marathon. Jake had come to Greece alone because Coach Davis preferred to stay with his family than come to Greece knowing that Jake didn''t need him, so Mike was unable to speak to Jake the day before. After a few minutes, the athletes were already prepared and the Athens marathon officially started, even if this was one of the most difficult marathons, the difference in time when the athletes finished this marathon was not that big. When Jake started running differently from other times, no athlete wanted to run in the same group as him, and it was not because they thought Jake couldn''t win, it was because they knew Jake was running at a very fast pace up to 30 km. And in this marathon running at a very fast pace for the first 30 km that was the most tiring part of the marathon was not a smart thing to do, Jake didn''t have to worry about that because he could easily achieve that with the resistance he had. \"Welcome to everyone who came to accompany the Athens marathon, this is one of the most important marathons in the world and certainly the one with the most historical importance, in addition to being one of the most difficult marathons in the world.\" \"Running in this marathon are several marathon runners from Greece and the European region who are veterans, and also the current best marathon runner in the world Jake Smith who is running for the second time here in Athens.\" \"Yes, not long ago he declared that he would not be competing in so many marathons after joining the NBA, and that is a shame for the world of marathons, but he declared that he would continue training and that he would try to compete in the Olympics in the marathon and also in the 5,000 meters and in the 10,000 meters.\" \"This is certainly a very good thing for athletics in general and Jake Smith is still young and can compete in several marathons in the future, but the important thing is this marathon, will Jake win here in this Athens marathon?\" \"I think it is certain that he will win, I myself have doubted several times whether he could win in other marathons and he always won, we have to understand that normally if Jake Smith participates in a marathon he will win.\" \"Proof of this is that he lost only one marathon that he ran in his career and it was his second marathon that he came in second just because he got injured in that marathon, so seeing that we can see why many say that Jake Smith is the best marathon runner in every time.\" Chapter 464 Marathons and Business 8 As in this marathon nobody wanted to run at the same pace as Jake, he did as in the first marathons he ran and in the first km, he found small groups that were running at a pace similar to him and ran with them for a few hundred meters. In the first 5 km, he always found small groups of athletes to run with them, but after that, they didn''t have many groups anymore because few ran at a pace equal to or greater than Jake in this marathon. Those athletes that Jake ran with at the start of the marathon would probably be athletes who would not even finish the marathon or who would arrive after 3 hours of the marathon, Jake didn''t really need to run with other athletes to be able to finish the marathon. But he learned from Coach Davis to save his stamina as much as possible to ensure he could win the marathon with ease, but how difficult it was to find a group that ran as fast as he did Jake decided to run alone. Jake continued running in the lead of the marathon and soon passed the 20 km, even though he almost reached the middle of the marathon Jake still did not feel a bit tired and did not feel much difficulty even with this marathon being more difficult than the others. \"Jake Smith is already over 20 km, he is still in first and unlike the other marathons he is not in an elite group because the other athletes did not want to risk running at the fast pace that Jake Smith runs.\" \"But it looks like it didn''t really matter to Jake Smith who is still running alone and doesn''t look tired even after 20 km of the marathon.\" \"That''s what I said, Jake Smith seems to have great stamina and stamina and running a marathon even at a pace to break the world record doesn''t seem so difficult for him, for sure in this marathon he won''t try to break the world record, so it will be even easier for him to finish that marathon first.\" Jake continued running smoothly without worrying about anything else, concentrating on running in the best possible way and in a short time he reached 35 km from the Athens marathon after 30 km Jake started to feel a little tired. So in the 30 km, Jake slowed his pace to run more smoothly, so after 35 km he was not very tired and was still far ahead of the other athletes in that marathon, Jake did not want to break any record and just wanted to win quietly. After the 41 km marathon, Jake was already feeling much more tired and starting to feel pain in his muscles, but he knew he would win smoothly and that he could run another 10 km without being exhausted. \"And so Jake Smith goes over 41 km, it''s another victory for Jake Smith and he will officially win the Athens marathon, he has a lot more advantage over the runner-up and he doesn''t look too tired.\" \"That''s right, this may be the most difficult marathon in the world, but Jake Smith is certainly the most endurance and stamina athlete in the world and does not seem to have any difficulties even after running 41 km.\" \"And now Jake Smith passes the finish line and wins the Athens marathon, Jake Smith ended that marathon with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 12 seconds, it is the best time for that Athens marathon.\" Jake was very happy to have won the marathon and the people at Adidas and Gatorade were also happy, Jake was also happy to see that many of the people who came to watch the marathon had been rooting for him since the start of the marathon. Jake won his medal which meant a lot to him and he didn''t care about the money, he participated in this marathon because Mike said Adidas asked and because he also wanted to participate in this marathon. If Mike had told Jake to run another marathon that he had no interest Jake would definitely refuse, after finishing the marathon Jake quickly spoke to Mike that he didn''t have much to say because he knew Jake would rest until the start of the NBA games. So Jake went back to his hotel because he was going to stay in the city that day to rest and would go back to Miami the next day, after a night of rest Jake went back to Miami very early, but when his mother arrived he had already gone to the restaurant. Kate also said that she was going out to go to some work appointments that she had left for later because she was on vacation, luckily for Kate, her songs were doing well and her CDs were selling well even though she was on vacation. It was normal for singers and artists to take a vacation after several years of work without rest, luckily for her also the media had not yet discovered that Kate was in Miami, they went to her house and found no one and did not suspect that she was in a Hotel. So Jake took the opportunity to rest all day and when Eva came home Jake told his mother how the Athens marathon was and that he had won again, Eva was also happy to see that Jake had won again because she knew how much he had trained the past few months. After that marathon Jake would return to his normal training routine until he had to go to Los Angeles next year, Jake was happy to have more time to be with his mother and also with Kate. But Jake had to recognize that he missed playing basketball a lot, even if he did imagination training every day and also trained with three-point shots, it was a difference that really playing with teammates and opponents. Jake thought it was great that he could stay home until after his birthday, but he really wanted to play basketball again, thinking about it Jake had an idea that he thought could be very good. He could use some of the money and influence he had to organize a charity game in Miami, Jake knew that David Falk wanted to make a game in December that would be like an All-Stars, so Jake thought about making a game just for the novice players. His idea was that the younger players who didn''t have the opportunity to debut in the NBA this season and the players who debuted in the NBA last season played this game, Jake thought about it just because he really wanted to play and that game could give him more fame for the other young players. Of course, from the beginning, this game would be charitable and the proceeds would be donated to charities, Jake could also look for a broadcaster to broadcast this game and donate the proceeds to needy institutions. He himself would make a donation of 1 million dollars to this institution that would be chosen for everyone to know that the players did not really think about the money, Jake was not afraid of the owners of the teams or of the veteran players. Jake was confident that he would be able to do this because he was a close friend of Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison and also had a friendship with several players who joined the NBA in this draft with him. Jake would also ensure that the plane ticket and hotel for all players were paid for by him, of course, he would pay all bills with the income that the game would give and only afterward would he make the donation or he would have to spend a lot more million dollars. But as this was a charity game if he managed to sell it to a broadcaster he could raise a lot of money for a charity even after paying all the costs. As Jake decided he would do this he called David Falk to see if he could get any help from him to do this, he needed David to help get the phone number of the other players he planned to invite. If David could help Jake to rent the Miami Arena for the game, it would be good, and if it were possible for him to also help talk to the broadcasters to see if anyone was interested in broadcasting the games. This was all just things that Jake could do to help convince other players to participate in this game, after all, it was a game that might not attract many fans and it might not be as exciting as the other game that David Falk would organize. \"Hi David, I''m sorry to call you right now that you must be very busy, I wanted to ask you a favor.\" \"Hi Jake, I''m really busy right now, but if it''s something I can help with, I''ll do my best.\" \"I heard that players are thinking of making a game in December of this year and you are helping to organize.\" \"How did you know that?\" \"I heard some rumors, but knowing you, I knew you should be helping to organize this, I was thinking of doing something like that, but only with the rookie players, it will be here in Miami and it will only be to donate the income to institutions of charity.\" \"I don''t think this is a good idea, the players are doing this to get some money on this game and also to pressure the owners who are thinking about taking the game they would have for Christmas and are also thinking about taking the All-stars.\" \"I know that, but I''m thinking of making a game just to give more recognition and fame to the players who were going to debut this season and some players who debuted last season.\" \"I will pay the gambling expenses myself if we don''t get more income, but if we do I will organize to pay for the plane ticket and the hosting of the players here in Miami until after they return home.\" \"I just wanted you to get the number of all the players that I''m going to tell you about, and if you could also talk to those responsible for the administration of the Miami Arena which is where the game is going to take place and also a broadcaster that wants to pay to do the game broadcast.\" Chapter 465 Marathons and Business 9 David Falk listened to what Jake said and was impressed when he heard that Jake wanted to pay for all expenses before the game if they didn''t get an income from sponsors and a broadcaster interested in broadcasting the game, the costs before the game for bringing all the players and renting the Miami Arena was very high. David estimated it could be over 1 million dollars, he sure knew Jake had that money, but in this situation where many players who made millions of dollars were thinking about organizing a game to make money, Jake who was a newbie I was thinking of organizing a game to raise money for a charity. Thinking about what Jake asked David realized that it would not be difficult for him to achieve this in a few hours, and if the purpose of this game was to give more fame and publicity to the new players, David did not think that Jake would have any problem with the team owners and with veteran players because of that. \"Okay then, Jake, I''m going to help you organize some things, but it''s up to you to talk to the broadcasters and sponsors to get more income for this game to happen.\" \"Thanks, David, this is enough for me, but before talking to the broadcasters get me the number of players please.\" With David having agreed to his idea, Jake became more excited, he now had to convince the players to come to the game because without them he would not be able to convince the broadcaster and the sponsors or even the fans to come and watch the game. On the same day David sent Jake the contact details of all the players he had put on the list, David did not understand why he did not put several names that could make this game even more successful, but Jake already had everything in mind when he invited the players. First, because he thought that several of the names he was going to invite would not want to come to that game, and Jake also knew which players were playing in Europe or intended to play in Europe during the lockout until the beginning of the NBA games. Jake''s goal was to make a game in which the coaches would be him and another player on the opposing team, on his team Jake did not want to have another PG because he intended to play the 48 minutes, but as he could not do that he would invite another player to his team, but he would warn that this other player would not play for long in the game. Jake started by calling Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, the two quickly agreed to participate in this game if it was really going to happen, Jake said the game would be in Miami and it would be December 17th if everything worked out as he planned. Jake also asked Vince Carter to invite Tracy McGrady to this game because he knew that Tracy McGrady was dissatisfied with his debut season in the NBA and also that Vince was very close to him. So Jake had invited 3 more players and his friends had confirmed, of course, that Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Tracy McGrady would be on his team if everything went well, after that Jake decided to call some people he played against when he was on the Tar team Heels. Jake called Mark Bibby and told how he planned to make this game and that if the players accepted everything it was confirmed, so luckily Mark Bibby accepted Jake''s invitation and Jake said that Mark would be the coach of the other team and of course he would be the captain of the opposing team too. Jake was happy to get 3 players and so he called Michael Doleac, Michael Dickerson, and Matt Harpring, the more players who accepted his invitation the easier it was to invite others and so Jake called only who he knew they would accept. Jake also called Paul Pierce and Bryce Drew to play on his team and so he had 6 confirmed players for his team and 3 confirmed players on the opposing team, after confirming with so many players it was easier to convince the others. Jake also called Raef LaFrentz, Robert Traylor, Jason Williams, Pat Garrity, and Larry Hughes who also agreed and knew they would play on Mark Bibby''s team, Jake also invited some players who were chosen in last season''s draft. In addition to Tracy McGrady that Jake had asked Vince Carter to invite, Jake also called Ron Mercer and Tim Thomas, and with great courage, Jake also called Tim Duncan to this game after inviting everyone. Jake said it was a game for charity and he had no purpose other than this game and so he would not have to accept the invitation of the other players who wanted to make a game with all-stars, Jake invited Tim Duncan because he knew him from the games from the university and hoped that Tim Duncan would accept. Luckily for him Tim Duncan really accepted and Jake said he would play for his team, of course, Jake did not want to have Tim Duncan as an opponent in such a game and if Tracy McGrady accepted his team he would be much stronger than the opponents'' team. The same day later Vince Carter called saying that Tracy McGrady had agreed to go to that game and Jake was very happy about it and told Vince Carter about all the players who had accepted and so the game could happen regardless of anything. One day Jake had talked to the players and organized an important game like this, now it was just a matter of waiting for David Falk to organize the Miami Arena and then Jake could call the sponsors and the broadcasters. Jake would call his sponsors first to see if anyone wanted to support this game that would have the proceeds sent to the charities, those sponsors could even talk to the broadcaster who would broadcast the game later to have their commercials in between games. When David got the call from Jake saying he had already found 17 other players besides him to participate in that game, David had to say that he was really surprised, especially when no real benefits other than fame were promised to the other athletes. Even more when Jake said that Tracy McGrady and Tim Duncan had agreed to participate in the game as well, so David decided that he would help Jake to rent the Miami Arena for December 17th and get the telephone numbers of the stations. Even so, David still doubted that Jake would get many sponsors for this game because the sponsors might not have commercials broadcast on television, but it was a benefit game and only with the money that Jake would get from broadcasting the game and game tickets already could donate more than $ 1 million to a charity. But again David underestimated Jake''s ability, the first person he called the next day was for Matthew, Jake thought Matthew''s company was making millions from digital camera sales. But even selling so much they didn''t have much advertising for the company, thinking about it Jake thought that this game could be a good opportunity to advertise Matthew''s company. Since it was Jake who helped his company to be as successful as it was today even before it was a company that was at risk of going bankrupt, Matthew trusted Jake a lot and couldn''t imagine how bad it would be for his company to sponsor a game like the one the income was for a charity. As it was for just one game Jake asked for $ 50,000 in sponsorship, that would also be a good value to attract other companies to sponsor that game, after confirming with Matthew, Jake called Mike and quickly got Adidas support for that game since that they could make the teams'' uniforms and everyone wears their shoes. Jake just thought that it would only help him to have fewer things to do, Jake also got support from Gatorade and Pepsi, so Jake would get drinks and a lot of things that the players needed. Jake also talked to his mother and all the players would eat at her restaurant so that the restaurant would get free publicity, Jake did not want to try to get sponsorship from any hotel and would also pay for the players'' airline tickets. Jake also called Jeff Bezos and asked if Amazon was interested in being one of the sponsors of this game, it was the company that Jake was also a partner in, but he promised that he would leave all decisions to Jeff Bezos. The company was not yet as big as it would be in the future and had not made a profit yet, but for $ 50,000 to do something new and still help a charity Jeff held a quick council meeting and agreed to sponsor this game. So in just 1 day Jake had managed to get $ 250,000 to pay all the costs of the game as sponsorship and he got uniforms for both teams and drinks for everyone, so Jake knew he had a lot more influence than he imagined. After achieving all of this, Jake was much more relaxed and excited because for sure everything would work out now that he had already obtained almost everything he needed, he just had to wait for David to confirm the rental of the Miami Arena and after that, he could start talking to broadcasters. While Jake did all this, he didn''t forget to do his training for the marathons every day, and the most important thing was that Kate had returned to Miami after her work commitments. Jake decided it was time for him to take courage and ask Kate to date him, Jake was very confident that Kate also liked him as he liked her, and after the marathon, he had no more commitments before the game he would organize. So Jake thought it was the right time to start dating Kate and they could still spend almost two months together dating before they had to go back to work next year. Chapter 466 Marathons and Business 10 ake called Kate and asked her to dinner, Kate was a little surprised because she remembered that in these months that she went out with Jake for several dates they never met for dinner, but she also wanted this very much and accepted the invitation. Jake told Kate that he would take her to dinner at a restaurant they met for the first time, it was a very elegant restaurant and Kate had really enjoyed this meeting, as it was an elegant restaurant she put on the best dress she had. It was a white dress that she had gotten from a stylist she worked with, she put on some jewelry that she had also bought that matched the dress and a high heel that was also white, that was the style she liked the most and also it made Kate even more beautiful. Jake also put on the best suit he had bought that was an Armani, Jake also bought a bouquet of roses and put it on the corvette zr1 and went to get Kate, even if it wasn''t the car that Jake liked the most, it was considered a luxury car at that time. When Jake arrived at the hotel before the scheduled time he could see Kate who was in the hotel lobby coming and so he was a little mesmerized by the beauty of Kate wearing a dress and all the white clothes which made Jake look like an angel to Jake. \"Hi, Kate, you look even more gorgeous today, stunning.\" \"You look better today too, Jake, I thought you didn''t like wearing suits.\" \"Today is our first dinner, I thought it was a special day.\" Kate smiled because she also thought it was a special day because their first dinner, Jake took the flowers and handed it to Kate who was very happy, then he opened the car door for her, Kate had to put the flowers in the behind the car and so they went to the restaurant. While they were going to the restaurant Kate told Jake what she was doing in the past few days while he was in Greece, and Jake also told him about the marathon and what Greece was like. Arriving at the restaurant even with many people from high society having already entered Jake and Kate drew a lot of attention, the two were very beautiful and even though Kate was tall, Jake was much taller having more than 2 meters. Of course, the two were used to having the others looking at them and went quietly to the table that Jake had reserved, Jake ordered the wine he liked best and the two started talking. As time passed at dinner Jake became more anxious to say what he had to say to Kate, so he couldn''t wait for the end of dinner to say what he wanted to say to Kate, she had also realized that Jake was looking forward to some reason. \"Kate, I actually called you here for this dinner because I have something to say to you.\" When Kate heard this her heart started to beat faster, this was the restaurant where they had their first date in Miami and it was also the first time they went out to dinner since they started going out in Miami, realizing it Kate knew what Jake wanted to say. \"Kate, I love you, I liked you since the first time I saw you, after that time I was never able to forget you and I always thought if you remembered me too, just like when we met again and I knew you remembered me too, I realized that it really love what I felt for you.\" \"I''m sorry if it took me a long time to say this to you, but I never had a relationship that really worked, so I was afraid, but I wanted it to be perfect this time and that''s why I waited to have this dinner with you to say what I feel.\" \"Kate, do you want to date me?\" Jake took the courage he needed and had to say everything he felt at once to Kate, Jake was happy when Kate got emotional and smiled after he finished saying everything he felt to her. \"Yes, Jake, I want to date you, I also liked you since the first time we met and I was also afraid of that feeling, but today I know that I really love you and I was happy that you said you love me even though I have to wait for it.\" Jake was very happy and as they were in a restaurant he just held her hands, but it was enough for Kate to know what Jake was feeling, after that the two were finally dating and they still had to continue dinner because Jake was rushed. Even though they were dating they kept talking the same way and the only thing that had changed was that they knew how they felt about each other, Jake would wait to talk about the game he was planning after David called saying he managed to rent the Miami Arena and after he had managed to speak to the broadcaster. But he decided to tell Kate about this game because he was really excited about it, so much because he was going to play against the NBA players who were the best players at the university until a while ago. So Jake told the idea that he had and said that the income that this game would get would go to a charity, he did not say that he would donate 1 million dollars of himself to that institution after the game because he thought Kate might think he was just showing off. Kate was really surprised by Jake''s initiative and the influence he had to be able to call all these players even though he was just a new player in the NBA when Jake told everything he had to say Kate gave him an idea. \"Jake, if you want I could sing in this game that you are going to organize, I could sing the national anthem before the game and it could help to get more income for the charity.\" \"Are you sure about this, Kate? The paparazzi will know where you are if you decide to appear in that game to sing.\" \"I know that, but I would go to watch you play anyway, so if I sing in the game the paparazzi might think I''m a guest artist and I can watch the game.\" \"So if you want you can sing the national anthem before the game and sing some songs at halftime, you can sing some of your new songs.\" Kate thought this was a good idea, she had her band and her dancing team that the manager had hired to do the shows, this would be a good chance for Kate to present her new songs and it was also good for her image to sing in a charity game. \"I have to talk to my manager, but I think at least to sing the national anthem before the game is certain that I will be able to do it.\" Jake was happy to know that Kate could participate at this moment that would be important to him, so if she participated in this game Jake would have an easier time negotiating with the broadcasters to get more money for the charities. Jake had also called the accounting firm that worked for him now to organize the expenses and income for that game so that everything was transparent and no one could accuse him of taking the money that would go to the charity. After dinner was over Jake and Kate were very happy because they were now boyfriends, Jake took Kate to the hotel where she was living and this time different from the other times Jake got out of the car and entered the hotel with Kate. Jake went with Kate to the elevator and took her to the door of the room where she was staying, Kate was a little embarrassed because Jake was her first boyfriend, but from what she had talked to her manager this was normal. \"Thanks for bringing me here, Jake, I loved the dinner and the flowers.\" \"I am happy to know that you liked it, I was also very happy with everything that happened today and also with everything that has happened in the last few months.\" After saying that, the two stood looking at each other for a while until Jake moved very slowly and kissed Kate on the mouth, she was prepared for this and knew what would happen, Jake gave a kiss because he knew that was Kate''s first kiss, then Jake said goodbye and went home. Jake was very happy with everything that had happened, everything had happened as he planned and now he was finally dating Kate, even though others thought it took Jake a long time to ask him to date her, Jake thought it was the right time. In these last months, they got to know each other better and so now they were sure they really loved each other and could continue with this relationship with confidence, as Jake said to Kate he was afraid that this relationship would not work because he had lived more than 49 years single. But after spending these months with Kate he knew he loved her and so Jake was not afraid to ask Kate to date him, now they could continue this relationship slowly once Jake knew it would be all right. This time as Jake had gone out with Kate for dinner he told his mother before he had eaten at the restaurant, Eva was not worried about Jake because she knew he was responsible and just as she expected before 11 pm Jake was at home. When Jake arrived Eva soon realized that something very good had happened because she saw that Jake was smiling very happily as soon as he got home, but seeing that he was wearing his suit Eva wanted to wait for Jake to change clothes before talking to him. Chapter 467 Basketball and Business 1 But Jake didn''t want to wait that long to talk to his mom, so when Jake saw that Eva was still awake he went over to the couch where she was and just took off the suit he was wearing to get more comfortable with his dress shirt. \"Hi, mom, I didn''t know you were going to stay up until this hour.\" \"I was waiting for you, I knew you wouldn''t belong in coming back.\" \"I see, it''s good that you''re awake because I have some good news to tell you.\" \"Tell me then.\" \"As I said to you, I went to dinner with Kate today, and at that dinner, I finally took courage and asked Kate to date me, and luckily she accepted.\" \"This is very good, Jake, I''m happy for you.\" Eva hoped it could be something like this when she saw that Jake was so happy after going on a date with Kate, in fact, Eva hoped that Jake had already started dating Kate long before and maybe he hadn''t told her because of so much of times they went out together. Just as she said to Jake, Eva was happy to know that he was finally dating the woman he loved, but she also couldn''t help feeling sorry for Lola who had now lost all chances of ever dating Jake. Of course, Eva knew that Jake was not to blame for this and he was having a lot of consideration because of Lola, Eva knew Jake and knew that he wanted to take Kate to her restaurant someday, but maybe he would never do that because he had respect for Lola. Eva also couldn''t help but like Kate who seemed a very independent and intelligent woman and also who really liked Jake, after all, she met Jake before he was an NBA basketball player and when he was not very famous. \"So, Mom, I was wondering if I could invite Kate over for dinner so you could meet, she always wanted to meet you, but here is the only place where you can meet.\" \"Of course, Jake, I would love for you to bring your girlfriend here, I also wanted to meet Kate.\" \"This is great, as soon as I sort out the details of the game, we arrange this dinner here at home, so you and I can prepare some special dishes and surprise Kate with better food than the restaurants we went to, Hahaha.\" After that busy day, Jake can sleep peacefully and happily, the next day Jake woke up very early to go to his daily training, after a few weeks in that training Jake was no longer tired running the 45 km of the marathon or even in the 10 training sessions. thousand meters and 5,000 meters. Coach David said this was a good thing because it showed that his resistance was improving and his muscles were gaining more strength with this new training after the Olympics Coach Davis was sure that they could improve this training even more. Today Jake was not going to meet Kate because he wanted to give Kate a day to get used to the fact that they were dating, after all even though Jake was inexperienced Kate was even more so because Jake was her first boyfriend. So Jake planned to rest for the rest of the day, it was good for him to rest his body and mind sometimes, from time to time Jake called to talk to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, they talked about technology and the future of the internet and they talked too about the Google company that the two had. Jake had already become friends with them and they both knew that Jake was a millionaire NBA player and also a marathon runner who won the gold medal at an Olympics, so they knew he was able to invest in their company if he was interested. They didn''t know that Jake was a partner with Jeff Bezos on Amazon and also that he had money invested in the Cisco company, Jake wouldn''t say that either, and he just wanted to remind both of them that he was interested in the company, so when he invested a few million they wouldn''t be surprised very. While Jake was resting he got a call from Davis Falk, Jake thought it was time for David to get him to rent the Miami Arena, so Jake could start talking to broadcasters before December. \"Jake, I have good news for you, I was able to rent the Miami Arena for December 17th, I was late because I negotiated a lot with them saying this was a charity game and I was able to rent for 40 thousand dollars for a day all.\" Jake was very happy with this, he hoped it would cost a lot more than that, after all, it was for a whole day and he knew that before he went back to the past some rich people rented big arenas for 100 thousand dollars or more. \"Thank you very much, David, with this I can finally call to confirm with the players and already buy tickets and organize the hotel for all of them, now I just have to call the stations with the number you gave me.\" \"Good luck with that, I''m sorry, but I''m not going to be able to help with your game anymore, but I know that you will be able to make a good game.\" \"Okay David, thanks for all the help you gave me, I hope the game you are going to organize will be a success too.\" Now that Jake already had the Miami Arena confirmed he could call the players again, he called all 17 other players and said the missing details, he said where the game would be and the day and also said he would have Adidas and other companies as sponsors. So the players who didn''t expect that much from the game was much more excited and realized that Jake really wanted to make a great game as was the NBA games, Jake also said he would talk to the television stations to broadcast the games. When the players confirmed again Jake asked Emily to send one of her assistants to contact the hotel and make reservations and buy tickets as well, Jake talked to the players and they agreed to come to Miami 3 days before the game to make a training between teams to play better. And they were leaving the day after the game, so Jake had to book the rooms in a 5-star hotel for 5 days, and as he said that would be more expensive than renting the Miami Arena, to pay everyone''s airfare and for 5 days of the 5-star hotel would be almost $ 40,000. Still, Jake didn''t care about that because he had raised $ 250,000 in sponsorship for the game, so the sponsorship money would still go to the charity even after paying all the costs. Jake sought to hire some NBA referees for that game and succeeded easily, he also paid for a team that organized events to help the stadium team to take care of parking, game day sales and all the red tape. With that, everything was fine for the game and Jake was just waiting for Kate''s call saying whether or not she could sing on the day of the game after that Jake would call the broadcasters with much more confidence in getting a lot of money for a charity. After a few hours Kate called saying she would sing on Jake''s game day, she would sing the national anthem and two songs at break time, Jake thought it was great and thanked Kate because he knew that her manager would not easily agree thereby. With everything he needed to be confirmed Jake started calling the broadcasters, Jake already had three broadcasters that he thought could buy the rights to that broadcast, Jake called CBS, ABC, and NBC first because he wanted millions of people could watch that game. But the three broadcasters did not seem very interested in this game because they were new players and it was not like the All-Stars that naturally attracted the public, moreover, most players had not even debuted in the NBA. But because they didn''t have any games to transmit and also because the income was for a charity, they made a proposal, but it was a really bad proposal that Jake thought they shouldn''t even have offered. So Jake ended the contact with these stations and did not even say that Kate would sing during the game break and before the game the national anthem, so after thinking a bit Jake decided to call TNT. He already had a good friendship with this broadcaster and knew that in the future they would be one of the big broadcasters that broadcast NBA games in the future, in addition, they had problems with the audience and had a lot of money too. In addition, they already had contact with the NBA because they showed the NBA drafts every year when Jake told the representatives that David had passed the number they soon became interested in the game. \"It will be a charity game organized by me in Miami, it will be a game among NBA newbies, most of them are players who haven''t even debuted in the NBA like me, and there are some players who came from last season''s draft.\" Then Jake said the names of all the players who were going to participate and also that the game would take place at the Miami Arena, unlike what happened at other stations, the TNT representative seemed really interested in the game. Realizing this Jake also said that Kate would be on the day of the game singing the national anthem before the game and at halftime, Jake also told the sponsors of that game and that they could try to contact them to get their commercial to appear on the interval of that game. After hearing everything Jake had organized, the TNT representative realized that Jake already had a lot of influence in the NBA and also among businessmen even before his debut in the NBA, as it was a benefit game, even if it did not attract a lot of audiences it would be good for the company''s image. Chapter 468 Basketball and Business 2 \"Jake, we are really interested in broadcasting this game, but before that I will have to have a brief meeting to find out if we have free time to broadcast this game on December 17th, if everything goes well I will call you in a few minutes.\" \"Okay, I''ll be waiting.\" Jake was very confident that this time he would get the sponsorship because the TNT representative seemed genuinely interested in buying the game broadcast, as this money was for charity Jake didn''t mind receiving less than he expected, but he wouldn''t accept either with the other three broadcasters offered. After almost an hour waiting for the TNT representative to finally call again, Jake had already thought of a value that might be acceptable, in the future a common NBA game would be worth an average of 6 million dollars to be broadcast by a broadcaster, Jake wanted a lot less than that. \"Jake, I talked to the directors of the broadcaster and we have time to broadcast the game on December 17th, are we really interested in broadcasting this game, but just to make it clear, will we have the exclusivity to broadcast this game?\" \"Of course, we just want fans to see this game and also help a charity, you can even say that the income you paid for the game also goes to the charity, the costs of the game are already paid by the sponsors.\" \"This is great, so we want to buy the broadcast of this game, as it is for a charity we are thinking of buying for 1 million dollars, what do you think of that?\" \"I think it''s a good value, the charity that receives this will thank you, so we have an agreement, I will send one of my assistants to send the signed contract to you.\" \"Okay, we hope it''s a good game.\" Jake was really happy with the amount he got for that game, it was even more than he expected to get and thinking about inflation it was a value very close to what would be paid in the future for a normal game. Jake was very happy to have managed to set everything up for the game he decided to do on a whim, he wanted to set this game closer to the date they were on, but Jake knew that some players were not yet in perfect physical condition to play 48 minutes. But even though it was almost 1 month before the day of the game Jake was already excited to know that he could play with his friends, Jake asked Emily to send her assistants to solve the last details of the game and he returned to his normal routine. Jake had already done the most difficult and with the teams, he hired to organize events the rest would be organized, Jake called Kate to tell her the good news first because his mother was still at the restaurant. \"Kate, luckily everything went well and I managed to organize everything for the game on December 17th, it will be broadcast on TNT.\" \"How great, Jake, I was hoping that everything would work out, you already know which charity you are going to donate that money to?\" \"I am thinking of an institution that I have already donated before and went there with my mother, it is an institution that helps children with cancer, it helps mainly needy families who cannot afford treatment.\" \"That''s great Jake, I''m sure a lot of people can be helped with that money.\" \"I also hope, that I wanted to ask if you need any help with the show that you are going to do on game day? If you have any equipment, dancers, clothes, or anything needed for the show, you can tell me. \" \"I don''t need many things, I have my dancers and my team that helps me with my shows, but I will need equipment and some things for the show, after all, it will have to be organized quickly at the break.\" \"Can you tell me a company that takes care of that and I''m going to hire them to organize it all.\" Jake also told Kate that she would not be able to do a stage to sing and she and the dancers would have to perform on the court, Kate said she understood this and so they talked about more subjects of the show, Jake used the knowledge he had at other events like this to talk to Kate. So the doubts she had about how she was going to do a show at the break were resolved and it would also help when she had to talk to the companies that would organize the equipment for the show. After talking to Kate, Jake had to call the other players again to tell them about the good news, everyone was happy to know that the game would be broadcast on TNT, Jake even said that he offered it to other companies that didn''t offer fair value and the players agreed with it. Jake didn''t know, but in doing so he gained more respect from all the players he invited to this game, after all, Jake was a novice player who was playing on the Los Angeles Lakers team and was not afraid to organize a game like this that could be misinterpreted by team owners. The night when Eva came home Jake said excitedly to her that he had managed to organize everything for the game and that everything had worked out, Eva was very happy also because she knew how Jake was committed to it and was dedicating himself to organize this game. Even more because Jake was still training every day with Coach Davis, even though Jake was tired less than he used to be, he still got tired a good part of the day when he did the marathon and 10,000 meters training. After that the days passed quickly and Jake continued with his routine, he continued to go out with Kate as many times as he left before they started dating, but after they started dating they had dates in more private places where they could kiss. By the end of November, the preparations for the game were complete and TNT started making commercials between programs announcing the game on December 17, it was also announced that Kate would sing in this game in which the NBA rookies would play. At the same time, tickets began to be sold in the Miami area, tickets costing between $ 50 and $ 200, for a game that was a special event it was cheap and $ 200 was the cabins and best seats. Jake did this because they had raised more than $ 2.1 million for charity with the money Jake would personally donate, so the value of the tickets would not increase that much. Even so, if all the tickets were sold they would collect over 1.2 million dollars, Jake also thought that maybe Kate fans could buy the tickets to watch her sing two songs on match day. That month the college basketball games had also started, and to Jake''s happiness, the Tar Heels team had yet to miss a game this new season just as it did in Jake''s past life. If this continued so they could get closer to the UCLA team record, Jake had heard that Vince Carter was at university studying and helping the basketball team while training to be ready for when the NBA arrived. If Jake didn''t have so many things to do these months he could have done it too, luckily for Jake he was almost graduated and just needed to attend classes when the Los Angeles Lakers team was out of season to get his diploma. The problem was that when other commitments arose for Jake at that time he would not have time to take classes to get his diploma, Jake thought that when the film The Matrix came out and was a success the continuation of the film would be approved and maybe the Wachowskis would want to make the recordings with Jake in those months that the Los Angeles Lakers team didn''t have games. With the end of the month has arrived, Jake decided it was time to make dinner at his house and invite Kate, so Kate could finally meet his mother, Jake was taking a while because they started dating very recently. But Kate even talked about the times she wanted to meet Eva and Jake had already talked about it with his mom, so it was time for them to talk to his mom so they could prepare this special dinner for Kate. \"Mom, I think the time has come to prepare that dinner so Kate and you can finally meet and talk, she talks about you always and you also said that you wanted to meet my girlfriend.\" \"Okay, Jake, if you think this is the right time we can do this weekend, what do you think?\" \"I think it''s a good idea, let''s prepare a great dinner for Kate, with you and me cooking she will be in for a surprise.\" \"Hahaha, you cook better than me Jake, if only you cook it will be even better, but since you want it I will also make some dishes that are praised in the restaurant.\" Jake wasn''t kidding when he said that he intended to surprise Kate with this dinner, he cooked better than some chefs, especially now that he had gained more system agility and thus he had more skill with his hands. And Eva''s restaurant was always packed and was praised by all the city''s food critics, so it wasn''t wrong to say that with Jake and Eva cooking they could make dishes better than some restaurants. The other day Jake had another date with Kate where he took her to an amusement park, after that date he told her that they would have dinner at his house at the end of the week and just as Jake expected Kate was very happy to know about that. Chapter 469 Basketball and Business 3 \"I am happy to know that I will finally be able to meet your mother, Jake, you talk about her so much that I was really curious to meet her.\" \"She is also curious to meet you, after all, I also talk a lot about you to my mother, you can expect to eat there at my house the best food you have ever eaten in Miami.\" \"I know, you told me that your mom has a restaurant that is very popular here in Miami, I wanted to go to her restaurant sometime.\" \"My mom really has a restaurant and she cooks very well, but I will also help to prepare this dinner and you will know about my culinary skills.\" \"I didn''t know you knew how to cook, of course, it must have been your mother who taught you how to cook.\" Kate was very excited knowing that she was going to dinner at Jake''s house and could meet his mother, she didn''t even realize that once again Jake deviated from the subject of her wanting to go to his mother''s restaurant, Jake didn''t want to talk about Lola to Kate because she could be jealous of her. So Sunday arrived and Kate took a taxi to Jake''s house this time, he wanted to pick Kate up at the hotel, but since dinner was at his house Kate didn''t accept Jake to do that, Kate put on a nice dress, but no very festive because she had to look good because it was the first time that she would meet Jake''s mother. It was Jake who opened the door for Kate and he was also wearing a dress shirt that was Jake''s normal style and he had met Kate so many times, Kate entered Jake''s house surprised by the beauty of Jake''s mansion. Not even she who was successful with her music had a house like this, of course, she had the money to buy a house like this, but Kate didn''t know where she wanted to live and so she only saved money for when she decided, and she had the house that was of her parents in Miami to stay if she wanted to. Jake and Eva had already prepared dinner and changed clothes before the time they had scheduled with Kate, now they just needed to wait for some dishes to come out of the oven and dinner was ready. Jake took Kate to the living room where his mother was, so for the first time Eva and Kate met in person, Eva already knew Kate through pictures in magazines and on television, yet she was surprised by Kate''s beauty. And Kate was even more surprised by the beauty of Eva, after all, it was the first time that she saw Jake''s mother and she did not know that Eva had a Latin beauty, especially because she knew that Eva was 37 years old and yet she looked very young. \"Good evening, Mrs. Smith, it is a great pleasure to meet you, Jake always speaks very highly of you, but he never said how beautiful you are.\" \"It is a pleasure to meet you too Kate, you can call me Eva if you want, after all with you dating Jake you are family.\" \"I had seen pictures of you and also commercials you did on television, but personally you are as beautiful as Jake had said.\" The two praised each other and showed that they wanted to become friends since they met, it was how Jake hoped it would happen after all his mother and Kate were very kind and wanted to be friends so that Jake would be happy and for the relationship between Jake and Kate worked. Jake left the room to get an orange juice that he had prepared for the three of them to drink and left Eva and Kate talking, the two had a good first impression of each other and so they started asking questions to get to know each other better. Jake knew this was an important moment so he decided to leave the two of them talking for a longer time and went to prepare cubes of cheese to put on sticks after the two met a little they started talking about the only common subject that the two had to it was Jake. Because of Jake''s personality, the two had only good things to talk about him and Eva was the one who had the most stories to tell about him, so when Jake came back with the appetizers and the orange juice the two were already laughing and had become friends. When Jake realized this he was relieved and so the evening continued pleasant and fortunately, Kate did not speak about Eva''s restaurant because she had realized that Jake did not like to talk about it and so everyone was very well. For dinner Jake had prepared a lamb shank, Ratatouille, and a risotto for the main course, while Eva prepared the desserts and side dishes, it was a lot of food for just the three of them and so Jake had more difficulty having to make the portions of the food so that it wouldn''t be leftover after dinner. Jake did this because he realized in the various restaurants that he and Kate went that she liked lamb and Ratatouille, Eva prepared a Petit gateau, and Cheesecake for dessert and various side dishes like salads. Kate was really surprised by the quality and quantity of different dishes that she had for this dinner, she knew that Jake was going to prepare dinner, but she thought he would make only one dish because of that, then Kate was even more surprised when she saw how everything the dinner menu was delicious. Jake had been smart and done different things than his mother and so Kate didn''t have to say who cooked better, but she was surprised when she learned that Jake had done the main dishes for dinner. At that dinner, Jake didn''t speak to Kate often and left only for his mom and Kate to talk and get to know each other better and maybe later they could be friends, after dinner Jake took Kate to her hotel and asked her what she thought about dinner. \"I loved everything, I really liked your mom and I think she liked me too, I honestly didn''t expect her to be as cool as you said she was, but she is even better than you said.\" \"And the dinner was really delicious, I don''t have the confidence to cook for you one day because I don''t know how to make that many dishes.\" \"Hahaha, I''m glad you liked it, I''m sure my mom loved you too, so we can make dinner like that again soon.\" \"I would love to, thanks for that great dinner, Jake, good night.\" \"It was a pleasure to make this dinner, good night.\" They said goodbye with a kiss and so Jake came home happy, coming home he asked his mother what she thought of Jake and just as he expected she said that she liked Kate very much and approved of this relationship between the two. After that Jake can sleep well knowing that everything was going well, after that dinner Jake and Kate became even closer and the relationship between them improved a lot, the days passed and soon the month of December arrived. The NBA lockout continued and the NBA had announced that the Christmas game would be canceled and David Falk announced the game between players that would be to benefit players and charity as well and that game would be as an NBA all-star. The media began to speculate that David had this idea because of the game that Jake was going to play, others said that David had also organized Jake''s game as a test to have the game among All-stars. But Jake and the other rookie players didn''t care about that because they realized their game was different because Jake did it from the start thinking about helping charity and played this game near his house which showed that he hadn''t planned much before. Jake would not give any more interviews to any channels until the NBA games returned, just as he had not given any interviews since he did the marathon, the players were free to speak, but Jake didn''t care much about that lockout because he always knew it would happen, after all, he knew about the future so it was something natural for him. Jake could understand why the owners were doing this lockout and he also understood that many players were suffering because they did not have salaries and wanted to play, but it was something that would not last long and several players would receive more than 200 thousand dollars a month and would forget about it. time without money. Jake knew that many players received millions and also spent millions of dollars every year, these players Jake felt no pity, after all, he had more than 1 billion assets in his account because he knew how to save and invest in the last few years. It was only now that Jake had a great source of annual income that he decided to start spending the money he earned, yet he still had his investments for a possible emergency. So several weeks passed quickly and the day of the game that Jake organized was close, in that time Jake trained every day with trainer Davis and it was much easier for him to do the training, even though Jake knew that his resistance had not increased. Coach Davis said that Jake had gotten used to running at this new pace and his body was naturally stronger than that of other athletes so he didn''t feel tired or sore in the muscles even with such intense training. Jake was also training more often on the basketball court that was at his house, in the last few months Jake had only trained on his three-point shots and his imagination training, even though Jake could improve his skills and increase his experience playing against skilled players, it was not real training. So even though Jake was alone, he had to do some training so that his body would not be uncomfortable on the day of the game, Jake thought about calling his friends from high school to play, but Jake remembered that everyone was at the university and so he continued training alone. Chapter 470 Basketball and Business 4 That was the problem with Jake not having many friends who played basketball, he thought that would change when he started playing in the NBA, after all, he could play with his teammates, after all, Coach Guthridge had told him that sometimes training with players with little skill could be more of a hindrance than a help. Jake started to train even more because since a few weeks before Kate started training with her dancers and her show team to sing on the day of the game, it had been a few months since Kate did the last show and even though she was still going to the gym to keep in shape she still needs to train. Kate was a pop music singer and even though she had changed her style of music in the last few months, she still sang and danced at her shows, this was normal for a pop music star, but to achieve this a lot of training was necessary. At the beginning of her training, Jake asked to go along to give some support while watching the training, so Jake could see the intensity of the training and how many times Kate and the other dancers had to repeat the choreography of the music, sometimes making small mistakes. But as soon as Kate''s manager learned about it, she forbade Jake to attend her training, after all, it could distract Kate from training and sometimes paparazzi and journalists would stay where she trained and so they would know that Jake was her boyfriend. Jake and Kate didn''t care that the paparazzi knew this, but Kate''s manager thought it was not yet the right time for them to find out, after a while if the paparazzi revealed that Jake and Kate were dating and they said they were together in secret for many months fans would more easily accept. Certainly, a lot of rumors have existed since Kate hugged Jake the second time they met at a party, the rumors were even bigger now that it was announced that Kate would sing on the day of the game that Jake was organizing. Jake understood that Kate''s manager was right and so he stayed at home training, Jake ever wanted to meet in person and talk to Kate''s manager and thank her for taking such good care of his girlfriend. So at that time, Jake had more time to train and realized that he had gotten better after training so many times in imagination training with players who had SS rank skills, so Jake had decided to join the NBA this season. When the games come back, players would not be so excited about the games because of the reduced game season and a lower salary, so Jake thought he would have more opportunity to play more time in the games just like the other players in this year''s draft had. This was the last day that Jake had to train alone because that day the players that would come to the game would arrive in the city of Miami, Jake had organized all the details for the game that they would have and even the company that Kate suggested that he hire to organize the equipment Kate would need to sing on the day of the game, she had already come to the Miami Arena and knew the equipment needed for the show. So the other day Jake had already agreed with all the players on his team that they would train at his home in Miami, which had a professional court and was a place that had no danger of having the media appear to ask questions of the players. The players of the opposing team could train in a court that Jake had rented for the next 5 days, Jake had prepared everything to have a good game, even though Jake had arranged for the players to eat in his mother''s restaurant, the hotel where they were also had a restaurant of course. But for the first day, he called Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter to dinner with him, after all, they were the best friends he had on the Tar Heels team and until now they were the best friends he had in the NBA. \"Hi, Jake, what a great game you organized for us, Hahaha, I thought we would still be a few months away from playing again.\" \"It''s true, I was already at North Carolina training with our team, I tried to help them with training and study for another semester, but I really wanted a game like that so I wouldn''t be out of shape.\" \"I also really wanted to play basketball again, I could just ask you to play, but I thought I could enjoy and make a game that could make us better known to NBA fans and we could also help a charity.\" Vince and Antawn thought that Jake had a great idea, in fact, others might have an idea like that, but they wouldn''t be able to organize a game like Jake did so quickly and even call a singer and have the game broadcast and even get sponsors. Of course, they didn''t know that Jake intended to pay for everything himself if he couldn''t get sponsors, plus Jake would donate $ 1 million which he would pay to pay for all the costs of the game and still help a charity. \"You said you were at North Carolina University with the Tar Heels team, so you can follow the team these past few months, it''s amazing how the Tar Heels team continued to win several games and took this game streak without losing to 75 games before they lose.\" \"Yes, it was a shame that the team lost, but it was really hard to break that UCLA team record, we know well the pressure we felt on having to keep winning without losing any game to try to break that record.\" \"Even so, I think it''s incredible what we helped to achieve, it will be very difficult for someone to break our record of winning streak, so we can enter the history of college basketball.\" So the three laughed, they were in the NBA right now that they still didn''t have the opportunity to play, but none of them regretted the time they spent at the university, the three talked more about the university and Antawn asked a question that left Jake without know how to respond. \"Hey Jake, Vince and I already talked about it, it was a coincidence that we have changed teams in this draft, now I''m in the Golden State Warriors and Vince is in the Toronto Raptors, do you think we will have a good performance in our teams and that are we going to play there for many years?\" Antawn was just kidding asking Jake this, but seeing as Jake was serious as if hesitating to say what he was thinking, Antawn knew what Jake was like, so now Jake should be thinking seriously about it. \"You can tell us what you think, Jake, we just want to know your opinion, it''s not like what you say is really going to happen.\" \"Okay, Jake, you can tell us what you think.\" \"Okay, I don''t think we will be in our teams for many years, 5 or 6 years at the most, after all in the first years we will not receive a big salary and then maybe the other teams will offer much better offers.\" \"I myself don''t think I''m going to stay in the Los Angeles Lakers for many years, that could change if the team becomes a united team as we were in the Tar Heels team, so I might want to continue.\" \"As for our first year in the NBA, I think that between you two it is Vince who will be most successful because the Toronto Raptors team needs a player in his position and also because they like his style of play.\" \"Also, in the Toronto Raptors team there is also Tracy McGrady who is very talented, so I think Vince is going to have a better debut year.\" Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison thought about what Jake said and understood what he was thinking, it was certainly true that Antawn would have to fight for a spot on his team and Vince would have a spot on his team. But it was strange for Jake to talk about it because Tracy McGrady didn''t even play long last season on the Toronto Raptors team, but it made sense, of course, they didn''t ask how Jake thought his NBA debut year would be. After all Jake was playing on the Los Angeles Lakers team that had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, in addition, the Los Angeles Lakers team switched 3 players to have Jake on their team so it was natural to think that Jake would have a lot of time to play. They even thought it possible that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the NBA title with Jake on that team with great players, after all, they knew Jake well and knew how he could help the team win in many ways. Jake could help by being put on defense because of the steals he made and the rebounds he picked up, he could be placed just to make assists and organize shots, or just to make points with three-point shots or speed shots. that he had. They were sure that Jake would be a big NBA star in the future, they realized that Jake had a different style of play than most of the players they knew and still managed to make an average of 30 points, 10 assists and 7 steals per game. So in the future when Jake started winning several NBA championships and becoming the MVP, his playing style would finally be praised, it was strange for them who played with the game and knew he was already a basketball genius and even so he kept improving during the season. If they realized that Jake has improved even more in the past few months even without playing or training hard they would have to admit that even they could not imagine what Jake would become for basketball in the future. They didn''t talk about it so as not to put too much pressure on Jake, but if he managed to maintain the average points, assists and steals he had at university playing in the NBA, he would definitely be the best player of all time. Chapter 471 Basketball and Business 5 The other day very early he sent some drivers he had hired for the next few days to take some rental cars to pick up his team players at the hotel, Jake would not rent a bus or order several taxis for his teammates. Jake had already called the players who were waiting in the hotel lobby, they were curious because they never saw anyone do this, but they soon accepted and got into the cars that followed one after the other until they reached the mansion where Jake lived. All the players were surprised by the mansion that Jake owned, they thought he managed to buy this mansion after getting his sponsorship contracts with Adidas and other companies, but they soon realized that this was a house that had existed for many years. \"Welcome, I wanted to thank everyone for coming to Miami for this game, I hope everyone will have fun in the game and know that you will help thousands of people from a charity with this game.\" \"Let''s go to the back of my house, which has the court and a locker room where you can change clothes.\" So the players followed Jake and went to the locker room where they had prepared uniforms, they were not the uniforms they would wear in the game, but they were from Adidas too, they had blue and red shirts to differentiate the teams. The players started talking while warming up and Jake went to talk to all the players a little bit, he spoke to Tracy McGrady to thank him for accepting the invitation, he spoke to Paul Pierce, and also to Tim Duncan to thank. So the players thought Jake looked very humble and spoke to everyone politely, many skilled players like him became arrogant over time, so they soon went to the court at Jake''s house. They were impressed with the quality of the court, Jake had done something as professional as possible, but without bleachers and without all the beauty of an Arena, so it didn''t cost millions of dollars as the Arenas did. \"I was thinking that we could do some team training to warm up a little bit and then we can do two teams of 4 players and have one player on reserve, whoever stays on reserve can play on both teams.\" \"So we can have a little training playing a game with 2 times of 10 minutes, what do you think?\" Everyone agreed with Jake and thought it was best to do it anyway, so all the players did exercises doing passing and dribbling training and then doing three-point shots and mid-range shots. Almost all of the players on Jake''s team were skilled at three-point shots, most notably Jake, Paul Pierce, and Vince Carter, all players had skills to catch rebounds, but Jake, Antawn Jamison, and Tim Duncan were superior to everyone. So after training and with everyone warm-up, the hardest part was putting together two teams balanced with these players, Jake knew how to put together the best team possible, but that would make the training boring. But Jake didn''t want to lose, so he wouldn''t send the best players to the other team, so after thinking a little, Jake decided to build a team to win, but that the game could be played too. The teams would be Jake, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, and Paul Pierce, the other team would be Michael Doleac, Tracy McGrady, Antawn Jamison, and Tim Thomas, Bryce Drew would play in reserve, Jake knew his team was much stronger, but at least he would be able to train like that. The players thought that the two teams were balanced after all in Jake''s team only Tim Duncan was a player that everyone knew he played well, the training game started and Tim Duncan won the contest at the top and passed the ball to Jake. Jake calmly advanced the ball remembering the feeling of playing a game with real teammates and opponents, it was great to do his imagination training, but it could never be like a real game. Jake advanced with the ball and soon passed to Vince Carter who was on the left, Carter advanced with the ball and soon Tracy McGrady arrived to defend, Carter tried to pass by McGrady and failed and had to pass to Paul Pierce on the right. Pierce advanced with the ball and managed to get rid of Antawn Jamison''s defense and ran to make the layup and get the first 2 points of the game, Jake could soon see that all the players were in good physical condition. Jake also realized that this game they were playing was different from what it was at university, Paul Pierce seemed to have much more skill and agility to get rid of his opponent''s defense than Carter and Jamison had. Jake also realized that he could just pass the ball to Tim Duncan because Michael Doleac would not be able to defend against him, so the attacks would be much faster, soon after it was the turn of Antawn Jamison''s team to attack. As they were not playing with a PG, Tracy McGrady was setting the shots, so it would be him who Jake would have to defend against McGrady stepped forward and tried to get rid of Jake''s defense, but Jake was faster and just kept his distance. So McGrady had to pass the ball to Jamison on the right, Jamison took the ball and Pierce soon appeared to press on defense, Jamison tried to pass through the defense and failed and had to pass to McGrady further back. McGrady observed the placement of his teammates and passed the ball to Tim Thomas, Carter was defending against Thomas, but Thomas could not try to get rid of the defense easily because Jake and Tim Duncan were watching him. So Thomas passed the ball to Doleac who was ahead, Doleac received the ball and turn to make the layup, but Duncan used his strength to hinder Doleac in the play that missed the attack, Duncan soon caught the rebound and passed it to Jake. Jake calmly advanced into the attack while his teammates advanced into the attack, reaching the three-point line, this time McGrady was defending against him and Tim Thomas was defending against Carter. Seeing this, Jake realized that McGrady was too far away and so he took advantage and tried the three-point shot to hit and make 3 more points for his team who already had a 5 point advantage. So Jamison''s team realized that Jake''s team was much stronger and they had no chance of winning, the training game ended with Jake''s team winning by 16 points. In this training it was easy to see the qualities and defects of almost all the players, Jake managed to defend very well against McGrady and for that reason McGrady had no opportunity to make any points. Jake made 4 steals in that game and 2 blocks and left the rebounds to Duncan, with Duncan catching the rebounds of Jamison''s team failed to catch any offensive rebounds, and Jake tried more to make assists than to make points to know how his teammates They were playing. Tim Duncan, Tim Thomas, and Tracy McGrady who already had experience in the NBA realized that Jake already had the quality to be a very good player in the NBA even though he didn''t debut, they knew that because the three wanted to have someone like Jake playing on their team. For the training to be fairer in the coming days the teams were changed with Tim Duncan always playing on Jake''s opposing team to make everything more balanced, but Jake''s team won in all training sessions. On those days, in addition to training the players of the two teams, they also made new friends, Jake became more friends with Tim Duncan and Paul Pierce as well, the two teams made two different groups of friends on those days. The players invited by Jake agreed to go to dinner a few times at Eva''s restaurant, but Jake didn''t accompany them once because he still wanted to respect Lola and didn''t want to cause unnecessary discomfort. The sports media in the United States began to gather more in the city and were able to interview the rookie players several times during these days, so basketball fans started to become more interested in this game. Tickets for the game had already sold out and so Jake managed to raise another $ 1.1 million for charity, players were excited to learn that 15,000 tickets had been sold to watch their game. The ticket price was not expensive, but it was also not cheap and it was basketball fans who decided to pay for tickets, Jake also knew that more people were subscribing to TNT just to watch their game. That was because TNT was doing good advertising and making it easier for more people to pay for the subscription, the fans liked it because it had a lot of good programming on the other subscription channels as well. Fortunately, Jake had already warned all players more than a month ago and so everyone managed to be in the best physical condition for this game, so it would depend on the performance of the players to gain the recognition of the fans. After several days of training, Jake''s teammates were confident that they would win this game because with Tim Duncan, Jake, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Tracy McGrady they had the confidence to win that game. Antawn Jamison would play as a PF in that game and thus the team would have more speed and with Jamison and Duncan they would get all the rebounds and many points inside the area, and in defense, they would have Jake and Tim Duncan to avoid the attacks of the opponents. So with only one day to go before the special game Jake can finally meet Kate, she had called him because her manager wanted to talk to him, Kate''s manager was called Lily, she was 31 and was already married to a lawyer. Lily was a beautiful woman who took care of herself, but she was a little overweight because she didn''t eat properly because she had to work a lot, Lily had black eyes and hair and her eyes were highlighted because of the glasses she wore. Chapter 472 Basketball and Business 6 Jake went to meet Kate and Lily at a more elegant restaurant that was more appropriate to talk business, this restaurant could also drive away from the paparazzi who were trying to find out if Jake and Kate were really together and wanted to take a picture of them together. This time Jake can''t take Kate by car and went to meet them at the restaurant, they were both dressed elegantly, Kate was wearing a simpler blue dress and Lily was wearing a green dress. "Good night to you, it''s nice to meet you in person, Lily." "It''s a pleasure to be able to talk to you too, Jake, I''ve seen you a few times, but we haven''t had a chance to talk." "I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of Kate for all these years, she always speaks very highly of you and I know you have always supported her and helped her career to succeed." "Thanks, even though I always liked Kate a lot it was my job to take care of her career and other singers too, it was Kate''s talent and effort that brought her success." "I certainly know that Kate is very talented and hardworking, and she deserves all the success she is having, but I also know that without a good businesswoman, her career would not have been so successful." "I know that a businesswoman for a singer is like a coach for an athlete like me or a good manager for a manager, I only succeeded in basketball and marathons because I had good coaches and I only succeeded in my investments because I have Emily who helps me with everything." Lily felt Jake''s sincerity in those words and was grateful to him for the compliments, Kate was also very happy that Lily and Jake were getting along, Lily was the most important person in Kate''s life after Jake now that she had no family. Lily was like an older sister that Kate always wanted to have and Kate knew that Lily spent a lot more time helping her than the other artists in her company, and just like Jake said, Kate thought that without Lily she would never have the success that had. Lily liked Jake very much and really thought he was the ideal boyfriend for Kate since she always needed to travel and could never be like ordinary women, Jake also always needed to travel and it would be easy for Kate to take a vacation when Jake was on vacation and they would have a few months together. But Lily knew how many men there were who just seemed to be the perfect man, but actually wanted to deceive women and just enjoy it, even though Lily thought Jake wasn''t like that because of the way he treated his mother, she had to know for the good Kate. So the three talked happily without talking about any more serious matter, when Kate had to go to the bathroom Lily didn''t go with her and stayed to talk to Jake more when Kate left Lily decided to ask Jake more serious questions. "Jake, I''m going, to be honest with you, I had a great first impression of you and I think you are a really great person by the way you treat your mom, but I''m still worried about Kate." "She met you the day her parents died and said that she had liked you very much since the first time you met, but my fear is that the shock caused by her parents'' death and the fact that Kate stayed talking to you saved her life may be misleading her feelings." "Do you really think that could be possible?" "I don''t know, I don''t think it''s possible because you guys saw each other again when Kate had already recovered from the trauma of her parents'' death, what may have happened is that the feelings she already had only intensified because you saved her her life." "So I have to tell you, I have been working in the world of artists for many years and I have learned to recognize when someone is lying, so I am going to ask some questions while Kate is not here." "Do you really love Kate?" "Yes, I can''t explain if it''s really love, but I can say that I never felt what I feel for Kate for anyone before, it''s a very strong feeling that I have felt since the first time I met her and it just increased. last months." Lily liked Jake''s response and felt that he really was honest saying that he thought he loved Kate, with that she can now be much more relaxed because it meant that Jake was not manipulating Kate''s feelings by taking advantage of her fragility. "I''ll ask you one more question, do you think about marrying Kate? Even knowing that because of her career she will never be able to live normally in the same house as you as other women normally do?" "I think, after the last few months I got to know Kate a lot better and I respect her a lot and I love Kate, that''s why I''ve been doing everything slowly in our relationship, this care is because I''m afraid of losing Kate, if I could I would ask her in marriage today." Lily was really surprised this time, she didn''t expect Jake to really think about marriage so seriously and from what she can see Jake could really ask Kate if he didn''t know it was too early yet. So Lily was no longer afraid that Jake would hurt Kate''s feelings, only if Kate wanted to part with Jake that they would part, what Lily didn''t know was that Jake already had a mentality of almost 50 years old. So he naturally wanted to marry Kate as soon as he was sure he loved her, even though she couldn''t live normally with him as an ordinary couple, Jake was prepared for that when he decided to enter the NBA. After a while, Kate came back to the table at dinner and saw Jake and Lily talking quietly and did not know the serious conversation they had involving her just a few moments ago, so dinner went on smoothly and after a while they said goodbye. Lily wasn''t going to tell Kate about anything she had talked to Jake about and she was going to let their relationship progress naturally, and Jake was just happy that Lily had liked him and it wouldn''t be against his relationship with Kate. At dinner, they naturally talked about Kate''s show and she was very confident that everything was going to be all right and she and her dancers were prepared to get ready in between games. The other day finally came the big game day that Jake had organized, the sports media and basketball fans who were interested in that game were looking forward to the game that would start at 7 pm, so fans at home and at the Arena could watch the game and go home quietly afterward. In the morning Jake was very excited when he woke up early to prepare his breakfast, Eva had gone to the restaurant and would stay there until 5 pm, then she would go with Anna to the Arena to watch Jake''s game. Jake invited several of his friends to watch the game, but the people who were in Miami were very busy with work and didn''t even like basketball very much, they just watched Jake''s important games to support them. His friends from the university decided to travel to their house to see their family, after all besides Zack who lived close to home his other friends did not see the family for more than 3 years. So only Kate, Anna, and his mother would watch this game, but Jake understood the situation of his friends and was not discouraged by it, the important thing was to play a good game and have fun knowing that he could help a charity with that. After a few hours, Jake went to the hotel in his car, the other players would go in the cars he had rented, Jake had heard reports that the opposing team had also trained a lot these past few days on the basketball court that Jake prepared. Jake spoke several times with the players of the opposing team to find out if they were well on their trip to Miami, so he knew they were well and prepared for the game, Jake wanted a game played even though he knew his team was stronger. Jake arrived a little earlier in his team''s locker room, he knew that Kate was also already at the Miami Arena with the dancers and the team that would prepare her show at the break, the Arena speakers and other speakers were arranged so that Kate to sing the national anthem before the game. Jake was the first to arrive at the Arena and can see the uniforms prepared for his team by Adidas and some drinks from Gatorade were placed in an icebox, this made Jake very happy, his bandana and his arm protector were also prepared to the game. Jake was very proud of the preparation he was able to do for this big game, this was the first big event he organized and everything was going very well, Jake started doing the warm-up exercises for the game. This game would be in 4 quarters of 12 minutes each as it was in the NBA, the break would have 20 minutes for players to rest and for Kate''s team to quickly prepare the court for her to sing two songs. Since it was Jake who was going to prepare the game and the referees were warned it would be no problem to have another 5-minute break, Jake also asked the company he hired to organize a place for reporters to stay and the sports media as well. Of course, for TNT reporters Jake ordered that the same access be given as it was on match days, as the teams would not have official coaches only the captains of the teams could ask for time and replace the players, and the captains would be Jake and Mike Bibby. Chapter 473 Basketball and Business 7 After some time the players'' cars arrived and they were entering the Arena to go to the dressing rooms that were prepared, the fans were already entering the Arena and going to their seats in the stands to watch the game. When the players of Jake''s team arrived they saw that Jake was already wearing the uniform and had the bandanna and the yellow arm protector that was the color of their uniform, Jake''s team would play in yellow uniforms and the opponents they would have blue uniforms. The players greeted each other and put on their uniforms and then started the warm-up exercises, then they would have to make some moves on the court to be more relaxed for the game, so Jake decided to say a few words to the players. "Once again I would like to thank everyone who came to this game that I organized, this will be important for children who receive help after we send all that money to charity." "As I said before, this game will also be important for NBA fans to get to know you more and how you play, of course, some do not need this game for this, but that way we will help others with this game too." "Everyone knows who will be the starting team for this game that was decided in yesterday''s training, everyone will have the opportunity to play, I want you to have fun and relax and play as you always do that we will win this game." After Jake''s speech, they and the players went to the court to finish the warm-up there, the opposing team had also arrived on the court and were in the left half of the court. The players looked at the stands and saw that they were full of fans who came to watch them play, of course, everyone was used to it playing at their universities, but they knew this was considered a game by NBA players, so it was special. In the crowd, the fans shouted more the name of Tim Duncan and some fans called the names of the other players who had already debuted in the NBA, of the players who had not yet played in the NBA the name most shouted by the fans was Jake. After all Jake was very famous in Miami for appearing several times in the newspaper and for playing in high school in Miami too, besides, Jake was known for his marathons and commercials too. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch the broadcast of this special basketball game among NBA rookies who haven''t made their NBA debut yet, and also some who made a good debut season last year." "This is a special game in which all the money raised goes to a charity, this game was organized by the number 1 draft pick of this season Jake Smith, and it is also for basketball fans who were longing for basketball games between NBA players." "That''s right, we only have new players today and many of them could become big NBA stars in the future, Tim Duncan, Ron Mercer, Tracy McGrady, Jake Smith, Vince Carter, Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, and many other players could be the stars the NBA." "The players have already warmed up and now everyone will stop respecting because the national anthem will be sung, the singer Kate Annesley who had a song in the first place on Billboard that year will sing the national anthem." Kate was very applauded by the basketball fans and the players were already waiting for the national anthem, Jake knew that Kate was very talented and the only advice he gave was for Kate to sing the national anthem normally using her talent and not try to be different. After all, Jake had already seen big names in the music being embarrassed for trying to sing the national anthem in many different ways, Jake thought that the national anthem had to be sung with respect and a lot of talent could be shown singing correctly. Kate listened to Jake''s advice and sang the national anthem normally with only a few differences in that she sang a few longer lines to show her talent, and the audience loved what Kate did and applauded a lot. "It was a beautiful presentation of our national anthem sung by Kate Annesley, she will still be back in the game to sing two songs, we can wait for that." "The players are already prepared for the start of this game between the yellow team of Jake Smith and Tim Duncan and the blue team of Mike Bibby and Ron Mercer." "The yellow team starts playing with Jake Smith, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Tracy McGrady, and Tim Duncan, and the blue team starts playing with Mike Bibby, Larry Hughes, Ron Mercer, Raef LaFrentz, and Robert Traylor." "They are two very strong teams of young players, but I think the yellow team is more likely to win this game with Tim Duncan, Jake Smith, and Vince Carter on the team, but we will follow the game to know the result." The game started and Tim Duncan soon won the ball for the yellow team to start the move, Jake received the ball and advanced slowly towards the attack, Mike Bibby was defending against him, but knowing how Jake played Bibby was a little distant to prevent Jake move quickly with the ball. Jake advanced with the ball and soon passed to Vince Carter on the left, Carter was being defended by Larry Hughes, Carter held the ball and soon passed ahead to Antawn Jamison who was playing as a PF in that game. Jamison was being defended by Raef LaFrentz and would have difficulty to attack calmly in that game, Jamison passed the ball to Tim Duncan who was on the right, Duncan received the ball and advanced to make the layup and the first 2 points for the yellow team. Robert Traylor who was defending against Duncan cannot do anything to stop him, Bibby took the ball and went forward to try to make the first points for the blue team, the defense of the yellow team was not so good with the defense of the blue team, but they still had Duncan and Jake to defend. Bibby knew that and was prepared not to score too much in that game, he went forward and passed the ball to Hughes on the left, Hughes advanced with the ball and quickly passed it to LaFrentz later on. LaFrentz received the ball and turn to lay up and get the first 2 points for the blue team, Jamison was unable to stop LaFrentz who made the points easily, both teams had players in the attack who could easily make the points. In the first minutes the two teams were seeing how they were doing and making safe plays, so the two teams were still tied in the game, the fans were excited to see a game played and the players attacked with skill. "Almost 5 minutes of play and the two teams are tied, it seems that the players are still trying to analyze the opponents and making the plays safer, neither team is taking risks in the attack nor putting pressure on the defense." "Duncan has already scored 4 points in the game and Jake has yet to attempt a three-point shot, so when players start to take more chances the game will be more exciting." Jake really wanted to give his teammates the opportunity to score and show their skills, in the attack the most guaranteed plays were with Duncan and Tracy McGrady, Jamison had difficulty winning the plays against LaFrentz and Carter had difficulty winning many plays against Hughes. And on the side of the blue team, the attacking players who had the easiest were LaFrentz, Hughes, and Ron Mercer, so the two teams were pretty much the same after Carter scored 2 points for the yellow team the blue team was attacking with Bibby. He advanced with the ball and passed it to Hughes, Hughes did not try to do the feint and passed the ball to Mercer on the right, Mercer tried to do the feint against McGrady, but failed and passed the ball farther back to Bibby, Jake was further behind analyzing the move and Bibby tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the blue team. Jake was surprised by this because he thought Bibby would assist, but he didn''t care and went on the attack after receiving Duncan''s ball, Jake passed the ball to McGrady on the left who advanced to the three-point line and went on to the ball for Carter. Carter received the ball and held the ball a little before passing it to Jake who was further behind, Jake received the ball and even far from the three-point line he tried the shot from outside and hit with 3 more points for the yellow team. Jake wanted to make more assists in that game, but he thought that Bibby had challenged him by making the three-point play and he had to respond, the crowd that had been excited about Bibby''s play was also excited by Jake''s play. So the first quarter ended with the yellow team winning by 3 points difference and Jake had made 6 points in that game, Jake decided to let Bibby make the shots from three points so that he could also show his skills in that game. After all, if the two tried 10 shots from three points Jake would hit 7 and Bibby would hit 5 at the most, so it would not hinder the yellow team from getting the win after all this was a friendly game and Jake didn''t need to show all his skills to the team yellow achieve victory. "The yellow team ended up winning this first quarter, it is being a balanced game in which the two teams are very offensive and the defenses are unable to stop the opponent''s attack." "That''s right, Jake and Bibby started trying the shots from outside as well and the game started to get more excited, the fans are enjoying this game and we are seeing the skill of the new players." In that first quarter, Jake had played the 12 minutes, made 6 points, and 2 assists, as was agreed in the second quarter the players who were in the reserve would enter and only one player from each team would remain on the court. Chapter 474 Basketball and Business 8 So the yellow team would play Bryce Drew, Tracy McGrady now playing as SG, Paul Pierce, Tim Thomas, and Michael Doleac, the blue team would play Jason Williams, Michael Dickerson, Matt Harpring, Pat Garrity, and Raef LaFrentz playing as Center. In this second quarter, the teams were more balanced and the yellow team had a small advantage in attack and the blue team was stronger in defense, unlike the first quarter also in the second quarter the players were playing more seriously wanting to play the best they could. In an attack by the yellow team, Bryce Drew was advancing with the ball, and reaching the three-point line he passed to Tracy McGrady on the left, McGrady managed to get rid of Michael Dickerson''s defense and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the yellow team. The blue team also attacked and after a good attacking move Jason Williams passed the ball to Michael Dickerson who tried the shot from outside and scored 3 more points to the blue team, that game was much more played in the second quarter. The yellow team attacked again and after a good attack play Doleac passed the ball farther back to Paul Pierce, Pierce stepped back and tried the shot from outside and scored 3 more points for the yellow team. With this game played the blue team got the advantage with LaFrentz''s plays and the whole team attacked well, Michael McGrady tried to make many attacks alone and the defense of the blue team pressed the defense against him and thus he lost many attacks. Pierce still made some good plays and made 6 points in that second quarter, Jake had promised that he would leave the team as it was for everyone to have the opportunity to play, but in the third and fourth quarter, they could regain the advantage and win the game. "The two teams changed almost all the players and we could see all the players of the two teams playing in those first two quarters, the blue team goes to the break with the advantage, but when the initial yellow team comes back the result of the game will be uncertain." "It''s true, Tracy McGrady who was left to play for the yellow team in the second quarter wanted to receive the ball and score points in several plays and so the defense of the blue team defended well against him and managed good plays with Raef LaFrentz." "Now that we are on break we are going to follow Kate Annesley''s show that will sing two songs, one of them is the song that was in Billboard''s first place for two weeks this year and the other song was in the Billboard''s top 100 this year too." The team recommended by Kate was very good and in a few minutes prepared a stage and everything for Kate''s show at the game break, some people who came to this game just wanted to watch Kate''s show. Jake also didn''t go to the locker room to rest and stayed in a hidden place to watch Kate''s show, Eva and Anna who came to watch Jake''s game would also have the opportunity to see Jake''s girlfriend sing. The first song that Kate sang talked about love and it was a romantic and lively song as well and it had been very successful that year to be able to enter the first place on Billboard, even those who didn''t know her who came to see the game liked this song and Jake was happy about it. Kate''s second song was a song that talked about how women were independent, but it didn''t offend men either, with a lively rhythm that song pleased women a lot more and men also liked it. Kate and her team of dancers had great choreography for the two songs and Kate danced well while singing what pleased the fans too, when the two songs ended at the Miami Arena they applauded her, and Jake went back to the locker room to wait for the go back to the court. With this show, Kate was very happy and Eva and Anna also liked Kate''s songs very much, TNT was also happy because there were millions of people watching this game broadcast by them and most people were watching Kate''s show during the game break too. It was their audience record for this game, so the directors of the network who were already thinking about starting to broadcast basketball and football games realized how good it could be for their network. Jake was happy with Kate''s success and had decided that he would return after the break to win that game, the two teams returned with the same players from the first quarter to the third quarter, Jake let Tracy McGrady remain on his team, but in the last quarter, he would make a change in the team. Early in the third quarter Jake moved forward with a faster pace, Jake passed the ball to McGrady on the right, and Mercer pressed the defense against him, so McGrady had to pass the ball to Carter from the left, Carter passed the ball to Jake in the back. Bibby was defending against him and Jake saw that Carter was free from the left after passing the ball to him, so Jake passed the ball back to Carter who tried the shot from outside and scored 3 more points for the yellow team. Carter seemed to be training more three-point shots from what Jake had seen, on the Tar Heels team he and Shammond Williams were very good at three-point shots, so Vince Carter didn''t try much, but Jake remembered that Carter would be an of the best players in the NBA three-point shots. In another play Bibby advanced the ball to organize the attack of the blue team, Bibby saw that Jake was away from him and tried to pass the ball to Mercer, but Jake was too fast and intercepted the ball making the steal, Jake advanced using his speed and Bibby who was further behind was unable to keep up. So Jake can easily do the dunk and 2 more points for the yellow team, Jake had returned to the third quarter thinking about winning the game so he would start playing seriously in defense. The players of both teams realized that Jake was playing seriously and started to work hard too, Bibby advanced with the ball and passed to Mercer on the right, Mercer passed the ball to LaFrentz who soon managed to get away from Jamison and went to make the layup, but Duncan understood the move well and went on to make the block. Jake picked up the ball after Duncan''s block and held the ball and didn''t try to move fast when Jake advanced to the three-point line Bibby started to press in defense, so Jake signaled and Duncan came and made the screen and Jake could pass freely on the right. But Jake didn''t try the shot and Robert Traylor who came when Duncan made the screen and Bibby tried to pressure Jake, he was smarter and made a high pass to Duncan who took the ball high and made the dunk to complete the alley-oop. Jake''s yellow team managed to tie the game and started to open the lead before the blue team managed to recover in the game, the blue team managed to press and attack too, but the yellow team already had the advantage. "What a great game we''ve been having so far, Jake and the yellow team''s starting players came back with a desire to win in that third quarter." "The blue team was unable to defend the great moves of Jake, Duncan, and Carter, and Jake started making more steals, and Duncan also started making more blocks and so the yellow team has a big advantage on the scoreboard." "We still have the last quarter and the blue team still has a chance to win, but if Jake and the other players on the yellow team continue to play well so the yellow team is closer to victory." In the last quarter of the game, Jake decided to put Paul Pierce on the yellow team in place of Tracy McGrady, McGrady cannot be upset because only he had played 36 minutes in the first three quarters of the game. The blue team did not replace anyone and still left Raef LaFrentz to play the entire game, LaFrentz had already been replaced for a few minutes in that game to rest and could play most of the 12 minutes in the last quarter. In the last quarter the yellow team continued to press in attack and defense, Jake talked to Carter and Pierce and they decided to make more three-point moves and so the blue team''s defense had to leave the inside area to defend. Even though they went out to defend Traylor, he was always defending against Duncan, but so Antawn Jamison had a lot of freedom to attack, Jamison had made few points in that game because Raef LaFrentz was playing very well in defense. But with Jake, Carter, and Pierce making several three-point shots, the blue team could no longer defend against Jamison and leave the other players free, with this change the blue team''s defense failed to adjust and the yellow team won the game. The yellow team won having 123 points against 102 points of the blue team, in that game, Jake had 27 points, 13 assists, 2 rebounds, and 6 steals, Jake only played for 36 minutes and in the first quarter he had only 6 points, but he was satisfied with his performance in that game. "And so the game ends with the victory of the yellow team, Jake Smith played very well in that game showing all his skills, Vince Carter also played very well and Antawn Jamison had his highlight in the last quarter." "Paul Pierce entered the team very well and performed well and Tracy McGrady managed to score 24 points, and the highlight of the yellow team in attack and defense was Tim Duncan." "In the blue team all the players also performed well, but the yellow team was better and so the fans were able to meet the new players and see a little bit of how they can do in the next NBA season." Chapter 475 Basketball and Business 9 The game ended and all the players enjoyed this game very much, even the players of the blue team who lost, the fans who paid for tickets were also happy with the high-level game they were able to see. TNT was also happy with the game and with the audience record, Kate''s show also made the station''s directors happy, Kate was very happy because everyone liked her presentation, and Jake and Anna''s mother was also happy that Jake''s team won the game. In a game where the money would be raised for charity, it was normal for everyone to enjoy the game and be happy with what happened, the players even did interviews with TNT reporters talking about their expectations for the next NBA season. Jake did not give interviews and after saying goodbye to the players left for the house after meeting Eva and Anna inside the Arena, Jake wanted to meet Kate, but he knew the paparazzi were waiting for this to start the rumors. The players would still stay another day in Miami and Jake had agreed to have lunch with all 17 players he invited, everyone was happy with the result of that game, and the next day Jake would announce in a newspaper all the amounts that were collected for that game. It would be reported the costs of the game, and the travel and lodging of the players and the money received by the sponsors and TNT, the money from the ticket sales and the additional 1 million dollars that Jake would donate, in total 3 million and 325 thousand were collected dollars that would be donated to the institution that cared for children with cancer that Jake had visited. The other day Jake woke up happy with the result of the game he organized, many fans of the sport and the sports media were surprised with the income that this game raised for charity and also with the additional donation of 1 million dollars from Jake. This took away any suspicion that Jake was thinking of making this game thinking about making money or having another type of win, Jake had published all the values ??involved in this game and even made an audit to anyone suspicious of him. So the other players had even more respect for Jake and many basketball fans became fans of Jake who was being a generous person at that time when the NBA was involved in a lockout that was a fight between the players and the team owners for seeing who could make the most money. Jake had lunch with the players and everyone became more friends after that, Jake was sad to have to say goodbye to his friends Vince, Antawn and Tim Duncan, because he knew they would meet again as rivals in the NBA. Jake said goodbye to the players and went to meet Kate, he can''t speak to her on the day of the game and I really wanted to congratulate her for the excellent show and her success that was praised after singing the national anthem. "Hi, Kate, congratulations on the success of your performance yesterday, you sang the national anthem very well and you were also great singing your songs at break time, I was watching in secret." "Thanks, Jake, I saw you watching when I sang the first song, I was really happy that everyone liked it, thanks for inviting me." "I am the one who thanks you, you suggested that you could participate and I could never imagine that there would be a great singer like you singing in the game, it helped a lot to increase the audience and made this game more memorable." "Congratulations on the success of the game too, I watched almost the entire game and I was happy to see your team win, I also saw in the newspaper your donation to the charity, you deserved to be successful for your generosity." "I had already made a donation to this institution and had promised to donate again, fortunately with this game, the opportunity arose for me to fulfill my promise, I hope this donation helps the children." Kate was even more impressed by Jake''s generosity for making this donation, she knew several basketball players and very few players thought so much about helping charity, even the highest-paid ones didn''t think about doing it. Jake and Kate talked for a while longer and then Jake returned home, a few days after Jake''s game, he had another game with much better-known players in the NBA, but because the game would be broadcast by subscription and the players said they wanted to be part of the game. income before the game, this game was not as successful as the newbie game that Jake organized. The end of the year passed quickly and Kate spent the Christmas parties at Jake''s house and they felt more like family, so in January Jake had a simple celebration of his 20th birthday. Only Kate, Anna and some of Jake''s friends were invited, and as the party was in Miami everyone was able to go, Clara, Tiffany, Joseph, Oliver, Matthew, and a few others went, Eva was very happy that Jake could spend the birthday in the home that year. After his birthday, Kate told Jake that she would have to end her vacation, which was too long, it was almost 4 months of vacation and if it weren''t for her participation in Jake''s game, her label would have called to complain. Jake was sad to know that Kate would have to leave, but he understood and knew that soon he would be called to Los Angeles because the lockout was close to ending, besides, Jake knew that dating Kate he would have to get used to staying long periods of time away from it. Kate had previously thought about making another musical album, but after the show at Jake''s game she got a lot of invitations and was going to organize a tour of the world, her musical album had been made in 1998 and it was still recent, so it was better than she does the shows to get more fame and money. After Kate left Jake decided to settle the deals he was late to do after his birthday, 1998 had ended and Matthew''s company and Clara''s company had finished the balance sheet and could pay shareholders for the profits they had. But before Jake thought about going to Matthew''s house to talk to him, Emily showed up at his home in Miami very excited to give reports on the earnings of Cisco''s stock in 1998. Jake knew why Emily was so excited because he remembered how the stock price had increased in 1998, in 1999 it would increase even more, and in 2000 when he sold the shares they would become billionaires. "Hi, Emily, calm down a little and sit down first." Emily was embarrassed to be more excited than Jake about this and sat on the sofa in Jake''s living room, he poured Emily a glass of water that managed to compose herself to speak with Jake more calmly. "I''m sorry, Jake, I was really excited, I was worried that the stock price might drop in the last year and that''s why I was surprised." "Okay, well, I understand your turmoil, I was also surprised at how much these stocks appreciated so much, I expected the stock price to increase, but not that much." "That''s why I told you to trust me, Emily, I know that many analysts are saying that it is dangerous and risky to invest in the current market situation and that we have billions of dollars invested, but for me, this is a calculated risk and the greater the risk the greater the gain." "I trust you, but it is my job to check all the possibilities, now I will tell you first how your actions have appreciated." "You have that year after investing in the last few years just over 659 million dollars, if next year the shares will appreciate like that again you can have more than 1 billion dollars." Even though Jake already knew everything, he was still excited to know how much he had in shares, if the value of his shares in Matthew and Amazon''s company were counted, Jake would have already invested 1 billion dollars. That was why he decided to buy him a house and a car last year because he already had enough money to live on for a lifetime if he wanted to, plus he would make a lot more money in the next few years in the NBA. Emily was a little disappointed to see how Jake was not as excited as she expected, Emily knew that Jake always knew he would earn a lot of money by investing in Cisco, but even she was excited knowing that she would earn 1 percent of that money that was currently 6 million dollars. Emily didn''t talk about the shares with her father anymore after he decided to sell his shares if her father continued to invest his shares they would be worth more than 3 times when he sold, but surely her father would know that in the future and would repent for a lifetime for giving up that opportunity. "Matthew''s shares also appreciated a lot and are now worth $ 2.5 billion, as our company has 10 percent of his shares as a commission we would receive $ 250 million if we sold those shares." Jake was happy that Matthew''s shares appreciated so much, Jake wanted Matthew to earn more from his shares than his company, but luckily Matthew''s company was selling so much that Matthew earned more than $ 2.5 billion per year in profit sharing. "Thanks for the report, Emily, you''re doing a great job taking care of the company''s investments, as soon as I receive my profit share in Matthew''s company I''ll invest more money in Cisco''s shares, I think in the next few years we''ll win much more money." "If I didn''t know you, I would think you are very greedy, but I saw how you donated $ 1 million to a charity." Chapter 476 Basketball and Business 10 "I think I should invest my money well and earn as much as I can from it, after getting a lot of money I can donate several million to charities without a second thought." "The only thing I will not do is to exploit others to make more money, but investing like everyone else is not a problem for me." After talking a little more Jake went to Matthew''s house, he was excited to know how much the company had made that year, normally they would have sold just over 1 million cameras because in the last year they sold more than 9 million cameras. But since this year they would start selling more in Asia, which was the world''s largest market for digital cameras, Jake had more hope that they could sell 2 million or more digital cameras. Arriving at Matthew''s house, Jake can see Oliver and Joseph in his office, after Matthew''s company started making a lot of money Oliver spent almost all day at Matthew''s house helping him solve the company''s problems. Joseph''s classes had not yet started so he was with his father and grandfather, they both saw Jake coming and had been waiting for him since Jake''s birthday was over. "Hi Jake, we were waiting for you, I''m going to call my dad here and we can talk more about the company." "No need Oliver, we can go to where Matthew is." "Today my father is off duty and is not resolving company matters, so talking here in the room is more comfortable." After saying this Oliver went to where Matthew was and left only Jake and Joseph in the room, the two had not talked much in the last few months and after spending so many months studying at different universities they were not as close as before. "Congratulations on the success of the game you organized, Jake, I couldn''t go in person, but I watched the game at the university." "Thank you, I was very happy that everything went well in this game, and how is your course at the university?" "Okay, I''m not one of the best students in my classes, but I get above average grades, I think the important thing is that I''m learning a lot of new things when I come home now and see my father and my grandfather talking about the company I understand everything they say." "Now I realize how amazing it was that in middle school you can talk to my grandfather about business and even give advice on his business and investments, so you don''t have to finish university to be a good manager." Jake can see that Joseph had changed so much in the last few months that they didn''t speak to each other, that was normal because Jake met Joseph when they were still children and Joseph went through adolescence and was now understanding what life really was like. "I''m happy to know that you can talk to your grandfather about the company now, after all, who are you going to be the president of the company after your grandfather retires, and how is Liza doing?" "She''s fine, Liza completely changed her personality, you wouldn''t believe it if you talked to her now, luckily she didn''t change what I liked most about her, let''s do 5 years of dating this year." "I am happy to know that you are well together, can you see her often?" "Yes, I bought a car, and several times when we don''t have classes I take my car and go to her university so that we can be together." "After the last semesters of the university, she doesn''t care that I come home as my grandfather always commands, in fact, she even advises me to come home and so she goes to her house." "Here in Miami, I can see her if we want to meet." Jake was happy that the relationship between Joseph and Liza seemed to be very well, Jake knew that Joseph liked Liza very much and if her personality was really better they could even be friends again. Now Jake and Joseph were more mature and had other friends so it was easier for them to talk quietly and they could be mutual friends again, the important thing was that after several things had happened they were still friends. Jake and Joseph continued to talk about various subjects because they had so much to say after many months of not talking when Matthew and Oliver arrived they were happy to see the two talking. "Jake, I was waiting for you, I knew you would be coming soon to hear the company''s sales report." "If I knew you were resting today, I wouldn''t have come, I didn''t want to disturb you." "Hahaha, you never bother, I already said that you are part of my family, now let''s talk about the company first." "As you know, I received an order from several large stores in Asia for our company to sell more digital cameras, we were concerned with the dam of the large camera companies in Japan, but with the order of the large stores we produced more cameras and took them to Asia." "Our sales in America and the rest of the world were not as good as we expected because of the large number of cameras we sold in the last year, but in a few months sales in Asia surprised us and we made a great profit this year too." "We sold approximately 4 million digital cameras this year, as it was not as much as last year I will reinvest 50 percent of the profit, so we will receive 2 billion and 640 million dollars in profit." Jake was impressed again, he hoped they would sell just over 1 million cameras, but they sold 4 times as many cameras, he could never hope that the Asian market was as strong as half the rest of the world. And as Matthew had said they only sold for a few months and Matthew did not produce as many cameras for fear of not selling all cameras in Asia, so until the next camera launch, they could still sell many more cameras in Asia. So Jake did a quick calculation and realized that he would receive $ 66 million more in his profit share, it was much less than in the last year, but it was because in the last year Matthew had paid 75 percent of the share to shareholders, and in that year was only 50 percent. After all, it was important to reinvest the money in the company because they were close to creating the camera and the whole system that could be used on cell phones, at Jake''s request, Matthew ordered the developers to make several models in different qualities. "And how are you planning to start selling the new camera?" "It''s like I told you it would be, the camera was already ready at the end of last year and we would start selling only in September of that year even though we had almost no profit that year, and we will continue with that period." "The camera will cost the same as the current camera and will have an improvement in the zoom system and in the resolution of the photo, we are using the technology that you developed from the touchscreen that makes the camera much easier to use." Jake allowed Matthew to use the new touchscreen technology he was close to getting the patent on, which was a strategy for them to get patent approval more quickly by showing that it really worked. Jake thought that this would help Steve Jobs think about creating the iPhone that was important to the whole world of technology, nobody could develop the touchscreen so quickly in time to produce it before Jake''s patent was approved. "And how is the development of cameras for cell phones?" "It''s going well, we have already managed to create a digital camera that could be used on a cell phone, but it will cost a lot to create just one and the resolution of the photos will be very low." "But just like you said, after we managed to create this first prototype, we started experimenting with what other cheaper components we could use, by the end of this year we will have the first product that can be sold and at an acceptable cost." Jake was very happy with this because they had been trying to develop this technology for many years and create the components that could be used, probably the way they found it was different than in Jake''s time. Of course, the camera for the cell phone would be much worse than the digital camera from Matthew''s company, and that was a request from Jake because as soon as sales of the digital cameras would stop, they had to find a cell phone company and get a profitable deal. and that would last for many years. Their biggest challenge was to create good sensors for these cell phone cameras, and that was important because in the future it would be the Sony company that would be the largest manufacturer of camera sensors for several smartphone companies. Jack was thinking about making Matthew''s company so much better than the others that whoever had a contract with his company would have the leadership in smartphones based on camera quality for many years. "Matthew, I have to tell you the report of your shares invested in the company Cisco, you now have just over 2.5 billion dollars, and I think these shares will still appreciate a lot in the coming years." Matthew, Oliver, and Joseph were very surprised to hear that, Matthew was so busy with his company''s business and the development of new products that he had even forgotten to keep up with his stock appreciation. Of course, Matthew didn''t need to be so attentive because he had full confidence in Jake and his company, after all, it was because of Jake''s encouragement that he had invested, but he heard the comments of analysts saying that they expected the stock value soon. fall too much. He could never expect his stock to appreciate more than 120 percent, that was certainly a good surprise and for the first time, his stock was worth more than the annual profit Matthew received from his company. Chapter 477 NBA Season Begins 1 With this great appreciation Matthew regretted not having thought about investing more money than he had saved in the bank when Jake suggested this, Matthew actually thought about selling his shares and did not think about investing more. But now he realized that he had missed an excellent business opportunity, he should have trusted Jake who saved his company from bankruptcy to become the leading company in the digital camera market. Jake did not know that Matthew thought that way, in fact, he understood well what Matthew thought before, Jake was so confident that the shares would appreciate because he came from the future, otherwise he would never invest almost all of his money in Cisco shares. And Matthew had been right to invest the money back in the company, now the future of Matthew''s company was guaranteed for many years by selling digital cameras and cameras to a cell phone company. Matthew received in profit share much more than the total value of his company and he would continue to receive a lot of profit because he continued to reinvest profits in the company again. This camera would be the last one they could sell for so much profit, the next ones would have to be much lower in order to keep having so many sales, even so, Matthew had a profit margin of 60 percent and could be reduced to just 20 percent cent and greatly lower the cost of the camera. This digital camera that was being sold cost 440 dollars, and it sold for 1100 dollars, Matthew could sell for 660 dollars and still earn 220 dollars and the camera would have a value that competing companies could not compete and still earn profits. Jake really admired Matthew and knew that Matthew just needed help to be one of the most successful men in the world, today if Matthew''s equity was calculated he would be 15th among the richest men in the world. After all, Matthew''s total fortune was over 11 billion dollars, that was because he still had 78 percent of his company and had 2.5 billion invested in shares and had gained almost 5 billion in profit share from his own company. always having reinvested in the company. Jake knew that Matthew was much richer than him and would be even more so when Jake sold the shares in 2000, but in the future, Jake knew that the richest in the world would be him because he intended to invest in 3 of the 4 largest technology companies in the world. "Jake, I confess that I didn''t trust your investment vision very much and that''s why I refused to invest more in the Cisco company, but I realized that I was wrong and I could have gained many billions to trust you more." "It doesn''t matter, Matthew, I understand why you did this and I confess I would do the same if I were you, the important thing is that your company has managed to grow and will continue to grow." "Yes, that is important, Jake, because now I am going to try to correct my mistake and invest almost all the money I earned with the company in shares of the company Cisco, and you will take care of that money for me." Jake, Oliver, and Joseph were shocked to hear this, at a time when the market was most uncertain and no one knew when the stock market bubble would burst and it was hard to believe that someone as conservative as Matthew would risk everything. "Dad, I don''t think it''s a good idea to do that, I know you trust Jake and I do too, but we''re talking about the stock exchange and not Jake, you can lose everything." "Oliver is right, Matthew, it is very risky for you to invest all that money, even because it will be difficult to sell all the shares in a short time if you have so many shares." "I trust you, Jake, I know you invested all the money you earned in the Cisco company, and you are not sure of earning that money again if the company you invested in goes bankrupt, so I will trust you." "I am going to invest 4 billion dollars in shares of the company Cisco, even so, I will still have money saved and it is impossible for me to lose all that money, at most I will lose a few million dollars." Jake did the calculations quickly and realized that Matthew would probably have 6 percent of the company if he invested that $ 4 billion now if it were that much Jake could sell before the stock devalued. Oliver and Joseph tried to convince Matthew but failed and Jake tried just a little before accepting this challenge if Oliver and Joseph knew that Jake had come from the future they would not be so concerned. Jake would receive more money with his profit share and if everything went well Matthew would make it into the top 5 on the list of the richest men in the world, so they agreed to this investment, and Jake went back to his house. He had to wait because the next day he would talk to Clara at lunch, after knowing how much he would receive from Clara''s company profit share he would set up a meeting to send Emily to invest Matthew''s money and his as well. Clara''s company had made 50 million dollars in profit in 1997, it was very much thinking that the company had made many investments in the whole year and was starting to make new agreements to sell even more in 1998. But in 1998 Jake had ended their sponsorship contract which did not help the company to earn more profits, of course, some people who bought the products because of Jake would continue to buy, but now was the time when Jake was becoming more famous in everyone after joining the NBA. Even so Jake expected them to earn more that year because it was the first profit after making all the investments, after that the company would depend on making new investments and the quality of the products to make more profit. Jake was waiting at the restaurant he arranged to meet with Clara to talk business, it was different from Matthew that Jake could come into his house to talk, Jake realized that Clara was happier than at their last meeting. Of course, on his birthday Clara was happy, but it was a party occasion so he hadn''t noticed any difference, so Jake can be more excited waiting for good news from Clara. "Hi, Clara, you look happier and more relaxed today." "Yes, fortunately, the company''s results in the last year were better than expected, they were not as good as they could be, but the company finished the improvements that were invested at the end of the last year, so we hope that this year will be even better." "This is good, I am happy for you, Clara, I know how you have fought for the success of your company for many years and I want you to know that I will always support you in any decision you make." "Thanks, Jake, but let''s talk about business, in 1997 we started a lot of investments and we were also recovering from the years of lost company growth, but we did not have a good financial result." "But in 1998, because of our investments, we were able to earn much more than expected, our company''s profit was 114 million dollars, much more than double the last year." "I''m going to have to reinvest half that money, but you will still receive $ 5.7 million for your 10 percent stake in the company." "It''s really good, Clara, your company is doing very well and I''m sure that in 1999 your company will have an even greater profit, you managed to recover the lost time that you could have invested and now it will improve your company even more." "Thanks for the support, Jake, I know that you and Tiffany have always supported me, and that gives me the strength to make this company grow even more." They talked for a while and then Jake went to meet Emily, in the conversation with Clara, he didn''t mention Tiffany''s company because he knew Clara was a little envious of Tiffany''s company even though they were friends. After all, Tiffany''s company had a much smaller investment than her company and started later and in the last year it made more profit than her company did that year, and in 1998 Tiffany''s company made 156 million dollars. The biggest difference was that Tiffany owned more than half of the shares in her company, and even by reinvesting in the company, Tiffany earned much more than she did, not to mention that Tiffany also owned 10 percent of Clara''s company. Of course, the two were still very friendly and supported each other, but Clara''s pride was very great and so it was better not to mention it near her, Emily was already waiting anxiously because she knew that Jake would invest even more in the Cisco company and she would win more with that too. "Hi, Emily, sorry to call so urgently, but you and your team are going to have a lot of work in the next few days and the sooner I speak to you the better." "It''s okay, Jake, I knew something like this was going to happen and I got everyone ready to work hard for the next few days." "Okay, well, I decided to invest an additional $ 66 million in shares of the company Cisco, and Matthew asked me to invest $ 4 billion in his name, so you''re going to have to work hard to get all those shares." Emily, who was concentrating on writing, was shocked and even stopped writing when she heard what Jake had said, she thought she had already gotten used to working with a lot of money after taking care of Jake and Matthew''s actions, she already took care of more than 3 billions of dollars. This put a lot of pressure on her and the employees of Jake''s investment company, but she could never hope that Matthew would still decide to invest more money than she currently cared for, with those 4 billion dollars she would look after more than 7 billion dollars. Perhaps only the biggest investment companies in the world worked with so many stocks and so much money, and it was crazy for any investor that they invest everything in just one company. Chapter 478 NBA Season Begins 2 "Are you sure it''s $ 4 billion?" "Of course I''m sure, you think I would be wrong talking about so much money, I know you will have a hard time buying all these shares, but in this moment of distrust of investors you may be able to buy these shares." "Okay, you can trust me and my team that we will be able to take care of everything before the stock price increases again, will this be your last investment? After all, you said you would sell the shares in 2000." "No, at the beginning of 2000 I will receive my profit share from Matthew''s company and I will also receive again in a few months this year''s money from the sponsors and the Los Angeles Lakers too. "Until a few months after the beginning of the year, the shares will still appreciate a lot and soon after we will sell the shares, but at the beginning of 2000 we will have to make a strategy to sell all the shares at once, we have to do this so as not to break the market." Emily didn''t know where Jake''s confidence came from, but she learned to trust him, and if they really wanted to sell the shares, even if they lost some money from it or broke the stock market the most important thing was that they didn''t lose money on it. This was good for Emily because Jake said he would give her and the rest of the company a break as soon as they sold all of the shares, in addition, Emily would receive 1 percent of Jake''s earnings from the sale of the shares. This counted on the shares that Jake had and the money he would receive on the sale of Matthew''s shares, that for Emily, who received a great salary to take care of Jake''s companies, would be very good and would make her an even richer person. After resolving all his affairs in the NBA, Jake was called to New York to vote on the deal that the players'' association and team owners had proposed. It was on January 10, a few days later than it normally would have been for what Jake remembered, it showed that he caused a small change in the events that should have happened with his game. Jake went over there and saw several players and a climate of tension in the place of the vote, Jake didn''t care much for what the sides said and voted for the deal to be accepted because he knew it would be accepted anyway. Jake returned to Miami because the Los Angeles Lakers team had not yet asked him to return to training, Jake was prepared to start playing as soon as the deal was decided, and after a few weeks as it had originally been signed. Jake said goodbye to Eva who was happier that Jake had spent many months at home this time, Jake would go to Los Angeles before the Los Angeles Lakers team had to call him. Jake warned Coach Davis before that and he had already bought a house in Los Angeles to live with his family, meanwhile Jake was training on his own because currently, his training was so much easier. Jake could feel that he was ready to compete in the Olympics that would be next year, and he wanted to compete to win all the disciplines that he would participate in, Jake knew that he would not get as much popularity in the NBA in the coming years with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant on his team. With Michael Jordan''s retirement, many NBA fans who were already frustrated with the NBA blockade would stop watching the games, and even if they didn''t stop watching the games they would not buy shirts and products from the teams they supported. After a few years, the NBA would regain some of its popularity because more fans would have access to internet games and more fans would have money to buy shirts and sneakers that they couldn''t before when the economy was weaker. Jake knew there would never be a player like Michael Jordan, but many talented players like Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Cury, and maybe even him, would make the NBA have several talented players and not just one who would rule. Jake arrived in Los Angeles and went directly to the house he had bought a few months ago, arriving at his home in Bel Air he saw his house differently than when he bought it after the renovation he had done. His house already had a house with the employees that he sent a trustworthy company to hire, had employees to clean the house, take care of the garden, take care of the swimming pool, sports facilities, to cook, and a housekeeper. All these employees lived in one of the employee houses and the other employee house was occupied by Jake''s security team, they would take care of the house''s surveillance and his protection as well. It was a different team than the security guards who took care of him in Miami and who took care of his mother for many years, Eva had even gotten used to having security guards protecting her in the restaurant and everywhere she went. Jake has done this since his house was invaded many years ago and just so he could be calm, he just didn''t hang out with his security anymore because when Jake went to university he had to live in the dorm for many years and so more security guards taking care of him. But in Los Angeles he would leave the security guards who could protect him from paparazzi too, his house already had the security of the condo and so he could rest easy, Jake saw that the basketball court and the Olympic track with the official measures were ready. His gym was also ready after the renovation and his pool was also bigger now, inside his house Jake can see the movie theater he had ordered, the library and the soundproof music studio that was the same as the record companies. Jake decided to do this because his house was very big and still had 7 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms and even had an elevator going to the second floor and to his garage that had space for 7 cars, going to the garage he saw the Chevrolet corvette zr1 blue color that he had gotten from Chevrolet. And there was also the yellow McLaren F1 that had finally arrived earlier this year and Jake had sent them to his garage, that was one of the advantages of having a security team, being able to have things delivered to his house. The housekeeper at Jake''s house was called Mary and she was 41 years old in 1999, she was an efficient housekeeper who knew how to organize the other employees of the house and still be discreet, she was the type of person that Jake looked for to receive guests and take care of the house while he was traveling. Jake was happy to have the house renovated and to buy all the necessary things several months ago, now he could just live peacefully in his complete house and wait to start training and games. After spending a few days in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles team coach Lakers Del Harris asked him for training, Jake knew that the team''s first game would be on February 5th and not be surprised with that even though he had little time to play. train with the team. Jake was the player who had been the first pick of the draft this season, and he was switched to three players to play on the Los Angeles Lakers team because the team needed a player like him to score a lot and to support Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant in the team''s attacks. But the Del Harris team coach didn''t want to put Jake as a starting player, he didn''t even intend to let him play for many minutes just like he did with Kobe Bryant who was on reserve in his first year and only started a few games. Even the other teams that didn''t have the first pick would let novice players play every game as was the case with Mark Bibby and Vince Carter on the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors teams. That was why Jerry West wanted to switch the other players in Kobe Bryant''s position so he could play more and it was one of the reasons why the Lakers'' directory disapproved of him, with pressure from the board Coach Del Harris would have to put Jake to play. This was something that Jake did not know, but he also thought he would play for the team after all the team had weaker players in two positions after this exchange so that he would join the Los Angeles Lakers team. For sure next season the Los Angeles Lakers team would buy players to strengthen those positions and also change the coach as Jake remembered, but he was happy to be able to play on the team and show his skills to be able to play next season too. When Jake arrived for his first training, he was thrilled to see so many players that he was always a fan in his past life, especially now when he was a player he was still a fan of those players and would have the opportunity to play with them. Jake saw Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, he also knew many other players, but he was more a fan of these two players, of course, Jake knew he shouldn''t go where they were because the team was going to start training. Who came first to talk to Jake was Rick Fox who was one of the players who would be starting this season with Jake''s entry, Rick Fox was a skilled SF and had previously been a player on the Tar Heels team as well as Jake. "Hi, you must be Jake Smith, I''m Rick Fox." "You can call me Jake." "Nice to meet you, Rick Fox, I know you naturally, I''ve seen you play and I know you played for the Tar Heels team, I''m happy to meet someone who played at the same university as me." Chapter 479 NBA Season Begins 3 "You can call me Rick too, I''m happy to know that you know who I am, Hahaha, I''m also happy to see someone from the same university as me playing with me." "Congratulations on helping the Tar Heels team to achieve this incredible record of more than 70 games without losing, I know how it is almost impossible to pass the UCLA team record, but the record you have achieved has already brought many glories to our university." "Even more after winning the NCAA tournament twice in a row, in my last year we almost managed to win, luckily you managed to bring that joy to fans of the team like me." "Thanks, Rick, I know you did great things for the Tar Heels team, and now we are playing together here at the Los Angeles Lakers, I hope that together we will be able to win an NBA title." "Hahaha, I like how optimistic you are." Jake and Rick soon became friends and Jake was more comfortable in the team, in the first training Jake showed all his enthusiasm and impressed all the other players and the team''s technical committee with his dedication to training and how much stamina he had. Jake clearly did the training with more intensity than other players and did not need to stop to rest, and that was on the first day of training after the end of the lockout where the players did not dedicate themselves so much to training. Even though Jake impressing them all knew that Jake was an athlete who was the best in the world in marathons so it was only natural that he had more stamina than the other players, this made Coach Harris happier to have Jake on his team. Even more because as the game season was less time and they would still have 50 games, the teams would have to play more games to keep the schedule and some players would not be able to handle this intensity. The first day of training was just for Coach Harris to see the physical condition of the players, Coach Harris saw that Rick Fox would not be able to play and also saw several players who were not in perfect physical condition. Fortunately, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal were in the good physical condition and could play in that first game, what the Los Angeles Lakers board and Jake didn''t even know was that Coach Harris was thinking about letting Jake play, but not as PG in the first games. He knew that Jake had the ability to play in various positions and so he would put him in the place of other players who were tired in the first games to see how Jake would do, after all, Derek Fisher was a player that Coach Harris liked. So if Jake made a good debut game, Coach Harris would have to put him in to play as PG if he received pressure from the Los Angeles Lakers team board, but he thought Jake was young and couldn''t handle the pressure of debuting playing in a different position. After training Jake couldn''t take it and went to talk to Kobe Bryant, he was a big fan of him and Jake was nervous when he went to talk to one of his biggest idols as a basketball player and as a basketball fan. "Hi, Kobe Bryant, my name is Jake Smith, I wanted to say that it is a great pleasure to talk to you personally, I am a fan of yours and I admire how you play." "I didn''t know I had a fan after playing for a few years, let''s be teammates now, you can call me Kobe." "It is true that I am a fan of yours, I also believe that just by working hard in training I can do better and I heard that you are like that too, I also just want victory for my team." "So you really know me well, I really believe that more effort can lead to victory and I really want to win, if you are like that then we can get along very well." Jake was very happy because it looked like he had become friends with Kobe Bryant, he didn''t lie saying that he liked to train a lot and also that he thought a lot about winning, but he said this to Kobe because he knew after seeing several interviews with Kobe that he thought so too. Afterward when the players were leaving the training site, Jake still went to talk to another of his idols Shaquille O''Neal, even though Jake was tall he felt small near Shaquille O''Neal, but Jake was not intimidated and went to talk to him. "Hi, Shaquille O''Neal, my name is Jake Smith, I wanted to say that I am a big fan of yours, it is a great pleasure for me to speak with you." "So you are the rookie who was the first pick in last year''s draft, I saw a few games of yours and I think you are very good, I hope you help me make a lot of points just like you helped your teammates at the university." "For sure, this is what I plan to do, with you playing on the same team as me, it is easier to make a lot of assists and I can do the three-point shots with confidence knowing that you can catch the rebounds." "Hahaha, that''s what I wanted to hear, you also have to make as many points as you can, if you can make at least 14 points per game and make assists our team can win the NBA title." Jake was happy to have a good first conversation with his two idols on the team, Jake knew that this season he would have one of the best opportunities to be the leader in NBA assistance and that was what he wanted. With the coach changes that the team would have and this reduced season, it would be difficult for the team to win the NBA title this season, so he just had to adapt to the team and have the best performance possible, and next season they would fight for the NBA title. Jake went home happy and called his mom and Kate to tell them how it was his first day of training on the Los Angeles Lakers team, that day Jake can rest easy knowing he had done well on his first day on the team the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other training day, the players were finally able to have a training game-playing among the team players that would be divided in two teams, in this training Jake played as PG and Derek Fisher was the PG of the other team. Jake admired Fisher too and knew his career as a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers team as Jake always was, but Jake knew that he was a better player than Fisher in almost every area of ??basketball. Even though Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant are in the Fisher team, Jake still took the ''reserve team'' to make a good game and narrowly lost, it was a two-minute 10-minute training and Jake managed to score 18 points and 3 assists. This impressed the other players and the members of the coaching staff, it was normal for Jake because he trained twice a day in training his imagination with much tougher opponents and always tried to win. The difference was that in his imagination training his teammates were as good as his opponents, so in the next few days the team did a lot of training, and Jake continued to show his talent. In that time Jake won the respect of his teammates and managed to talk several times with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal and his friend Rick Fox, Jake felt that he was becoming part of the team and the day of the game was coming. The day before Jake''s debut game in the NBA, coach Del Harris called Jake to have a private conversation with him, Jake thought the coach was calling him to say that he would play in the next game and try to make Jake less nervous for this one game. "Jake, you''re going to play on the starting team in the next game, but since Rick Fox is still not in his best physical condition and he won''t be able to play, I''m going to have to put you in the Small Forward position, is it okay for you?" Jake was surprised to hear that, he never thought he would not play as PG in his debut game, but hearing the coach say that Rick Fox was not in his best physical condition it was understandable that he had to play in another position. Even more, because Coach Harris would let him play on the team and Jake was prepared to play as SG or SF if it was going to help the team in any way, it was different from high school and university where he still had to prove to everyone that it was a skilled PG. Everyone knew that he knew how to play as a PG, so to help his team Jake didn''t mind playing in other positions, with his imagination training, Jake had experience playing in all positions in basketball. "Alright Coach Harris, thanks for the opportunity to let me start playing in the next game if you want I can play as SF, but I will not play as well as I play as PG." "Okay, I understand that you will be playing in a position that you are not used to playing, you are a good defensive player and you also score a lot and that is enough to help us win in the next game." Jake didn''t think Coach Harris was doing it on purpose and just thought he would have to play in another position to help the team, especially since the player who was like SF before was switched so he could come to the Los Angeles team Lakers. The other day Jake woke up very early excited because that was the day of his debut game in the NBA, it would be a game at the Great Western Forum that was the arena that the Los Angeles Lakers team used that year. It was the realization of another dream for Jake and it would be in this team that he could fulfill his other dreams as a professional player who was to win the NBA title, Jake would fight for it and wanted everyone to remember that he was fundamental for the team to achieve this NBA title. Chapter 480 NBA Season Begins 4 Jake arrived at the arena and went straight to the locker room to put on his uniform for the first time, Jake''s uniform on the Los Angeles Lakers team was his favorite number that was number 7, Jake asked for that number while David Falk was still dealing with the team. After a few minutes the other players arrived and put on their uniforms and so they started doing warm-up exercises before going to the court, Jake saw that there were a lot of fans at the Great Western Forum to watch that first Lakers game after the lockout. Jake didn''t know that well, but the Lakers team fans had high expectations for him because they said the team needed a good Point Guard for the team to win the NBA title, after all with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant on the team they should make many points. The opponent of that debut game was the Houston Rockets team, they had great players that Jake was also a fan of, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, and Hakeem Olajuwon, in addition, they had two players that he played in the game he organized between the newbies who were Bryce Drew and Michael Dickerson. But even though it was a team full of skilled players, there were a lot of players who were old now and didn''t have as much agility as in their main years, so the Houston Rockets team was not a favorite despite having so many good players. The players from both teams were eager to play after several months of not playing because of this lockout, the Lakers team players were surprised when they learned that Jake would play as SF, but as they saw that Jake didn''t care about it they decided to trust in the coach''s decision. "Welcome everyone who came to see the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets team''s first game after the NBA lockout, the team owners won a good deal and the NBA fans were the ones hurt." "It''s true, fans of many teams were furious about this lockout and after Michael Jordan''s retirement even more fans gave up basketball, at least temporarily, but what we see here are the fans of the Lakers team that almost filled the Great Western Forum to support the team." "Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team made it to the playoffs in the past two seasons with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant on the team, last season they made it to the West Conference Finals, and in the last two seasons they were eliminated by the Utah Jazz team." "This season, fans have even more expectations of perhaps the Lakers team winning the NBA title again with the arrival of the first draft pick of the 1998 draft Jake Smith which is a great PG that the Lakers team needs." "That''s right, but maybe the Los Angeles Lakers Del Harris team coach doesn''t think so after all this will be Jake Smith''s debut game on the Lakers'' team and he will play from SF and not from PG." "Maybe it was a coach decision because of the need for a player in that position, after all, Eddie Jones who could play in that position was switched with the Los Angeles Clippers team so that Jake Smith would come to the team." The Los Angeles Lakers'' starting team for that game was Derek Fisher playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Jake Smith playing as SF, Corie Blount playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. In the Houston Rockets team, the initial players were Matt Maloney playing as PG, Michael Dickerson playing as SG, Scottie Pippen playing as SF, Charles Barkley playing as PF, and Hakeem Olajuwon playing as Center. Even though Hakeem Olajuwon was 36, he was still a great player and Jake realized that Shaquille O''Neal was excited to play against him, after all, O''Neal had already praised Hakeem Olajuwon several times. The game started with the Houston Rockets team gaining possession of the ball, Maloney advanced with the ball to make the Houston Rockets team''s first attack in the game, Jake was anxious because he was defending against Scottie Pippen in the game, Jake was a fan of him, but I would defend with all his skill to have a good debut game. Maloney passed the ball to Dickerson who was being defended by Kobe Bryant and soon felt the pressure on the defense and had to pass the ball to Charles Barkley, Barkley used his ability to easily pass through Blount and make the first 2 points of the game for the Houston Rockets team. Shaquille O''Neal passed the ball to Derek Fisher who started the play, Fisher advanced the ball and passed it to Bryant from the right who was behind the three-point line, Bryant passed the ball to Jake who touched the ball for the first time in an official NBA game. Jake received the ball and noticed O''Neal''s movement and passed the ball to him in-depth, Shaquille O''Neal received the ball and advanced to make the dunk and the first 2 points of the Los Angeles Lakers team. Shaquille O''Neal passed close to Jake when he was returning to the defense and praised him for his assistance, even playing as SF Jake could still make some assists when he had the opportunity. In the first minutes, the teams were not putting much pressure on the defense and the two teams were well balanced, but the Los Angeles Lakers team managed the advantage with a rebound that Jake picked up after Dickerson''s mistake in attempting a three-point shot for the Houston Rockets team. Scottie Pippen was the one who was most feeling Jake''s dedication in defending against him, so in one play Maloney was setting up the game and passed the ball to Pippen, Pippen tried the feint to advance with speed to the inside area. But Jake was very focused and managed to make the steal and soon passed the ball to Fisher, Scottie Pippen was shocked by a rookie stealing his ball, so Pippen decided that he would not let Jake play anymore and would show why he was one of the best SF of all time and one of the best in defense too. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack and Fisher passed the ball directly to Jake this time, Jake received the ball and Pippen soon pressed in defense, so Jake had no option but to pass back to Fisher or try to get rid of the defense Pippen. A few minutes of the first quarter had passed and Jake had not made any points yet so he wanted to make his first points in the NBA, so Jake made a feint, but Pippen was experienced and was not fooled. Jake could see that the movement of his teammates had given him an opportunity to play, so Jake pretended he was going to try a feint and moved forward using his agility into the inside area. Pippen, who was fast, also reacted a little after trying to accompany Jake in the play, but Jake was very fast and entered the inside area through the opening that was in the Houston Rockets team''s defense when his teammates had formed, Pippen was unable to follow and Jake dunk to score his first 2 points in the NBA. Jake greatly celebrated his first points as he returned to defense and Pippen realized that Jake was a really talented player that he would have to work harder to defend against. As Pippen was defending against Jake, Kobe Bryant had more freedom to attack, so he and Shaquille O''Neal commanded the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, unlike other games, the main players were much freer to attack. Fisher had more freedom to organize the plays and Jake was the one who was having a hard time defending against Pippen and with Pippen defending against him, even so at the end of the first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a good lead on the scoreboard. Jake had played very well even playing in a position he didn''t have much experience and having Scottie Pippen defending against him, in the first quarter Jake played the 12 minutes and made 6 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. "What a good first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team is doing, Shaquille O''Neal is the player who scored the most points and is playing very well against Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant is also playing very well and is having more freedom to play and is making lots of points." "The most surprising thing is the good performance of Jake Smith who is debuting today playing improvised as a PF and against Scottie Pippen and is helping the team a lot, even in defense he can defend well against Scottie Pippen." "It''s true, and Scottie Pippen and Hakeem Olajuwon are not playing as well as they usually do, and the Houston Rockets team can only keep up well with the performance of Charles Barkley and rookie Michael Dickerson." "We will continue to follow the game to see if the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win or if the Houston Rockets team wins in the end." Los Angeles Lakers fans and other players on the team liked Jake''s first quarter and supported him to continue playing well, the Houston Rockets team realized that Jake was doing well in defense and so they started playing more with Charles Barkley. In another Houston Rockets move, Maloney had the ball and passed it to Pippen on the left, Jake soon arrived to press on defense and Pippen passed the ball to Dickerson on the right, Dickerson soon passed the ball to Charles Barkley. Barkley got rid of Blount''s defense and went inside to make the points, Shaquille O''Neal who expected Barkley to pass through Blount tried to press on defense, but Barkley was smart and passed the ball to Hakeem Olajuwon who was free to do dunk and 2 more points for the Houston Rockets team. Chapter 481 NBA Season Begins 5 After this attack by the Houston Rockets team, the game became more balanced and Pippen did not try so many more attacks in the game and make some mid-range shots when needed, in the attack the Los Angeles Lakers team was counting on Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal who were playing well like that Jake didn''t get many passes. Jake knew this could happen in a team with so many talented players, so he just played his part and made assists when he saw the opportunity, after a move by the Los Angeles Lakers team in the attack, the ball was left for Kobe Bryant. He was playing well in the game and tried to make the three-point shot, the shot was very short and Jake who was attentive in the play managed to catch the rebound, Jake caught the ball and then hooked to make 2 more points for the team Los Angeles Lakers. In another play, Fisher received the ball with a few seconds to end possession, and realizing these two players from the Houston Rockets'' team went to press Kobe Bryant and Hakeem Olajuwon pressured Shaquille O''Neal in defense as well. So Fisher passed the ball to Jake from the left, Jake received the ball and tried the shot from outside even with Pippen very close to him, Jake managed to hit the first three-point shot in the NBA and that was his seventh point in the second quarter that was ending. The Houston Rockets team still wanted to reduce the advantage to have a chance to win in the second half of the game, so Matt Maloney advanced with the ball and passed to Charles Barkley who was being the best player of his team in the game. Barkley easily passed Blount and tried to advance to make the layup, but Shaquille O''Neal appeared to try the block, seeing that Barkley reacted quickly and passed the ball to Olajuwon who was free in the play. Olajuwon received the ball and when he thought about making the dunk Jake appeared and did the steal with great skill, it was a move that Jake made several times in the training of imagination playing several times against Centers that were high and had SS in various abilities as Olajuwon should have. Jake couldn''t catch the ball after the steal and it was Kobe Bryant who took the ball and held the ball to calm the players, Bryant passed the ball to Fisher and everyone went on the attack, the crowd was excited about this Los Angeles team defense Lakers and Olajuwon still did not believe that Jake steal him. Fisher advanced with the ball and passed it to Jake before the three-point line, this time Pippen pressed on defense not to let Jake make the move, Jake saw that Kobe Bryant had got rid of the defense and passed the ball to him. So Bryant received the ball and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Bryant also thanked Jake for the good assistance after he made a steal. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with a good lead on the scoreboard that only increased in that second quarter, Jake managed to make 7 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal. Coach Harris also realized this was happening, but he didn''t say anything to the other players because Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were already making a lot of points for the team in that game. "Thus ends the second quarter of the game, Jake continues to make a great debut game and has already scored 13 points in the first half of the game, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team are not passing the ball so much to Jake and he is depending on the rebounds him to make the stitches." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is playing very well in this game with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant already making 33 points together, so it is normal that they would rather pass the ball to both of them than to Jake who is a rookie and is playing in an improvised position." "Of course, he would receive more passes at the end of the game if the Los Angeles Lakers team secured the victory, but he has already made 13 points despite receiving few passes, this shows the skills of Jake who is also very good in defense, not allowing Scottie Pippen make lots of points." Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were also enjoying Jake''s first game on the team, they had already realized that Coach Harris had put him to play as SF which was not his position, and even then Jake was having an excellent game. The Houston Rockets team coach was in a difficult situation, Pippen who was one of the best defenders on the team was defending against Jake and even though he had scored 13 points in the game, it showed that Jake really had the skills. In the third quarter, the Houston Rockets team tried to attack more to still fight for the victory, but even the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team was not very strong they still defended well with Jake, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O''Neal. And the Lakers'' team was also attacking and maintaining the advantage on the scoreboard with good plays from O''Neal and Bryant, Jake was never replaced after having a conversation with Coach Harris saying he could handle playing the entire game. Coach Harris really had no one to put Jake in position with Rick Fox or being on the Lakers team''s bench, and Coach Harris naturally had plenty of time to watch Jake''s games in that lockout and knew Jake was never replaced in almost every game of his second season on the Tar Heels team. The only thing that Jake''s coach and teammates didn''t understand was because he wasn''t trying to make three-point shots when he got the ball, he got few passes, but if he hit three shots from the outside he would make 9 points in few minutes. The truth was that Jake had a different thought for each position he played, as PG and as SG he would certainly try more shots from three points and receive more assists too, but as SF he was more within the three-point line. In addition, Pippen was a very good player in defense and Jake preferred in his debut game to make more assists than trying several shots from three points and could suffer Pippen''s block, even more, because he did not receive many passes and had O''Neal and Bryant playing so well. In another Houston Rockets attack move, Bryce Drew joined the team playing as PG and made a pass to Pippen, Jake was close to Pippen pressing on defense and Pippen passed the ball back to Drew. After passing the ball Pippen moved to get rid of Jake''s defense, but Jake did not continue defending against Pippen and realized that Drew was relaxed as Fisher was defending away from him. So Jake moved quickly and made a steal taking everyone by surprise, Jake took the ball and ran to the attacking court, Drew was the last player in the Houston Rockets team''s defense and tried to chase Jake. But Jake was very fast and ran up to the three-point line and jumped doing a reverse dunk to liven up the Lakers crowd at the Great Western Forum, the fans were excited to see that and Jake''s teammates greeted him. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a big advantage on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 6 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, even though he was not the player who made the most points Jake was being praised as the best player in that game. The other players were also realizing that Jake was much more skilled than they thought before and could be playing at the same skill level as them, in the NBA a player could only receive more respect by playing well. In the last quarter, the Houston Rockets team continued to press on defense and attack, but they already knew they could not win this game, even so, the players played well until the end. The Los Angeles Lakers team won that game with 115 points against 84 points for the Houston Rockets team, Jake played for 12 minutes in the last quarter and had 7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. "What a great game the Los Angeles Lakers team had, it was a great debut with victory and the good debut of Jake Smith who may be one of the main players in this team that already has Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant." "For sure, the objective of the Los Angeles Lakers team is to win the NBA title and with Jake Smith in this team they can achieve that, in this debut game he had 26 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds, and that was because he was playing improvised like SF." "Yes, he was one of the best players in this game if not the best, Shaquille O''Neal had 34 points and 14 rebounds so he was also very important and Kobe Bryant had 27 points and 10 rebounds, so the whole team played very well." "It''s true, as you said the three together scored 87 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and got 33 rebounds, that''s impressive and shows the strength of this young Los Angeles Lakers team." "The Houston Rockets team also played well, but Scottie Pippen ended up not having a good game because he had to defend against Jake Smith and Jake defended well against him, Hakeem Olajuwon also failed to play as well with Shaquille O''Neal playing so well." "But Charles Barkley had a great game with 33 points and 15 rebounds, this was only the first game and even though this team has older players, they are some of the best players in the NBA." Jake was also happy with his first game on the Los Angeles Lakers team, he managed to score more than 20 points which were his goal and made more assists than he expected to play as SF. Jake hoped that when Rick Fox was in a position to play he could debut playing as PG and so he could show all his skill, Jake hoped that Robert Horry would recover and be able to play soon or that Dennis Rodman would be hired to play. Because in that game it was clear that Corie Blount was not able to defend well or attack playing against the best NBA PFs, it is clear that against Charles Barkley he could not play as well, but Jake was sure that Horry or Rodman would play better. Chapter 482 NBA Season Begins 6 Jake called his mom and Kate to tell him about his first NBA game and they were happy that he won, the other day the media and fans were excited about Jake''s performance at the premiere and everyone was saying that he deserved to be the first draft of 1998. Coach Harris had to do an interview to talk about Jake, he praised Jake''s debut game and said he would have to play some games like SF until Rick Fox could play, and he also said he believed Jake had the quality to do that. That was not the initial intention of Coach Harris, but as Jake had played so well he started to have greater respect for Jake and the team management was happy with that, the players had a light training because the next day they would have another game. All teams would have to play more than 14 games that February and many games would be on straight days without rest for the players, so Jake had stopped training for the Olympics and was even thinking about eating a stamina bar if necessary. So the day came for the second game of the Los Angeles Lakers team and Jake''s second game in the NBA, the opponent was the strong Utah Jazz team, and in that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose so Jake could try to change the result of that game with his skills. The Utah Jazz team had great players that Jake admired a lot too, that player was John Stockton who was one of the best Point Guard ever in the NBA, John Stockton ended his career with an average of more than 10 assists per game and he was also sometimes leader in steal and assist in the seasons. In addition to Stockton the Utah Jazz team still had Karl Malone who was one of the best Power Forward of all time, Karl Malone would enter the NBA Hall of Fame along with Stockton and be the second player with the most points scored in his career in the NBA. This season even Karl Malone would be the MVP of the season doing one of the best seasons of his career even at the age of 35, so it was not strange that the Los Angeles Lakers team ended up losing to them. Jake really wanted to play defending against Stockton in this game, but he would have to play as SF in that game again, even so, Jake was happy to play his second game in the NBA, this was the second game of the Los Angeles Lakers team at home playing at Great Western Forum. It was another opportunity for fans to watch Jake play and so Jake wanted to help the Los Angeles Lakers team win that game, Jake again arrived at the Great Western Forum before the other players and Kobe Bryant arrived right after him and came over to talk to Jake. "Jake, congratulations on your great debut game, I confess I didn''t expect you to play so well playing in the SF position." "Thanks, Kobe, it was thanks to your good performance and the team that I had the opportunity to score so many points and get assists." "It''s good to be humble, but you don''t need to be underestimated because of that, you showed that you are a great player, I will pass the ball over to you and I hope this debut game is not the only good game of yours this season." Jake was happy to receive recognition from Kobe Bryant who was an idol for him, so he was even more determined that he would play well and help the team to win the game even if it was difficult. The opposing team had Stockton and Malone, but they both played as PG and PF, and on the Los Angeles Lakers team there was Kobe Bryant who played as SG, Shaquille O''Neal who was the Center and Jake who played as SF and they wouldn''t have one quality opponent to defend against them and could make several points. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this great game from this reduced NBA season, this season we will see more games this month and maybe the players will not be able to play all the games or the reserves will have more opportunities to play." "This is not such a problem for the Los Angeles Lakers team that has young players, Jake himself said he could play every 48 minutes in every game, we saw him doing it in last Friday''s game." "That''s right, Jake Smith made a great debut scoring 26 points and almost triple-doubling his debut game which would be historic, and that''s because Pippen was pushing in defense against Jake the entire game." "Yes, we can see in the next games Jake playing as SF which is not the position where he plays best, but seeing this debut game I think he can play more games in that position and that would perhaps help the Los Angeles Lakers team more." "It''s true, but due to his different playing style, we can see that Jake can play in various positions, like PG, as SG, and as SF that he''s been playing, of course in this Lakers team I think he could help the team more as PG, after all, he still had more than 30 points and 10 assists per game as a PG at the university." "The Los Angeles Lakers team needs a good PG to organize the plays for this team, we can see how John Stockton and Karl Malone make a good team, Jake could help Shaquille O''Neal to score his points without having to work so hard and I would still be able to assist Kobe Bryant." "I liked this comparison of Jake Smith with John Stockton, Jake also does a lot of steals and assistance and can score a lot which can help the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the NBA title." The Los Angeles Lakers team came with the same starting team as the last game, Derek Fisher playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Jake Smith playing as SF, Corie Blount playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center, the only difference is that Robert Horry was on reserve and could come in to replace Blount in that game. The Utah Jazz team came with the initial team formed by John Stockton playing as PG, Jeff Hornacek playing as SG, Bryon Russell playing as SF, Karl Malone playing as PF, and Greg Ostertag playing as Center. The game started and Ostertag won the ball for the Utah Jazz team to start attacking, Stockton got the ball and went to organize the attack calmly waiting for the other players on his team to go on the attack. Fisher and Blount were feeling the pressure of having to defend against Malone and Stockton, Stockton passed the ball to Hornacek and Bryant soon pressed in defense, Hornacek passed the ball back to Stockton who passed the ball to Malone. Karl Malone received the ball and then made a Power move and went towards the inside area to hook and the first 2 points of the game for the Utah Jazz team, Corie Blount didn''t even have the opportunity to defend and Malone made the first points of the game. The Los Angeles Lakers team players remained calm after that and Derek Fisher started to organize the first attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Fisher passed the ball to Jake from the left, Jake held the ball a little and passed it on to Kobe Bryant. Bryant received the ball and soon passed it to Shaquille O''Neal, O''Neal received the ball and Spin and drive against the defender and hooked to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and tie the game, Blount knew he would receive few assists in that game because he had Karl Malone defending against him. Coach Harris also asked Fisher not to try to make individual plays and just pass the ball so as not to risk that John Stockton could make the steal, Stockton moved forward and passed the ball to Russell. Russell received the ball and Jake was already pushing in defense, Russell tried to use force to get inside, but he couldn''t push Jake back using his strength and had to pass the ball to Stockton further back. Stockton received the ball and passed Fisher and tried the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Utah Jazz team, Stockton and Malone had already shown that they were playing well in that game, so the Los Angeles Lakers team would have to try harder. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, and Fisher passed the ball to Bryant, so Bryant passed the ball to Jake on the left, and as he had said Jake was getting more passes in that game. Jake caught the ball on the left side and Bryon Russell was defending against him, Jake made a feint and tricked Russell, soon after Jake crossed quickly and got rid of Russell''s defense, Jake drive from the basket and made the layup to do more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. This move cheered the Los Angeles Lakers fans at the Great Western Forum, Kobe Bryant praised Jake for the move, and Jake saw that it was better for him to try harder to make the moves and stand out. In another move the Utah Jazz team went on the attack and Stockton passed the ball to Russell and went inside the area, Jake who was defending against Russell realized that Russell was thinking of returning the ball to Stockton so he anticipated and managed to intercept pass it by doing the steal. Stockton realized that Jake had anticipated the move and therefore made the steal, Jake did not advance for the attack and passed the ball to Fisher and Fisher waited for the Los Angeles Lakers team to organize in the attack before starting the play. Fisher went on the attack and passed the ball to Jake on the left, Jake got rid of Russell easily and advanced into the area, the Utah Jazz team''s defense realized the move and tried to stop Jake from moving forward. Jake did not attempt the individual play and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant who was free from the right, Bryant received the ball and shot from outside to make 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the fans were excited about the Lakers team with so much advantage on the scoreboard. Chapter 483 NBA Season Begins 7 The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the advantage on the scoreboard, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake played this first quarter much better than the past game. Still, Jake was not scoring as many points as he still had to pass the ball to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal, but Jake realized that he had a lot more confidence from his teammates in that game. "What a great first quarter for the Los Angeles Lakers in that game too, in defense they are not doing very well, but the Los Angeles Lakers'' attack misses very little and that''s why they manage to finish the first quarter with a good advantage." "Jake is not intimidating himself because it is just his second game in the NBA and he is making all the moves correctly, he is doing dribbling and feints and Bryon Russell is having a hard time in that game." "It''s true, we can see that Jake is getting more passes from his teammates, that''s because he is showing that he knows how to play well as a team and that is making things more difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team." "The Utah Jazz team is also not defending well, but John Stockton and Karl Malone are playing very well in this game and we cannot say yet which team will win." The second quarter of the game started with the Los Angeles Lakers pressing on the attack, after all, as the defenses did not work well, the attacks had to score more points than the opposing team. Fisher advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant, Bryant passed the ball further to O''Neal and the defense pressed and Malone came to press it too, O''Neal passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake saw that Bryant was free and passed the ball. Kobe Bryant tried the shot and ended up missing, Shaquille O''Neal was quick and managed to catch the rebound and made the layup to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage in rebounds in that game and it helped them to keep winning the game. In another move, the Utah Jazz team was pushing forward, after a good move Stockton passed the ball to Russell, Russel was quick and passed the ball back to Stockton near the free-throw line. Fisher arrived to defend, but Stockton was quick and soon passed the ball to Malone who received the ball and made a dunk to make 2 more points for the Utah Jazz team, the game was played and both teams were strong in the attack which left the most animated game for fans to watch. The Los Angeles Lakers team attempted another attack with a few minutes left to finish the second quarter, Fisher held the ball and Stockton was defending well against him, so Fisher passed the ball to Bryant again. Bryant was not playing as well in that game and even though Hornacek''s defense was not as good Bryant did not play as well as in the first game of the season, so Bryant passed the ball to Jake who was on the left. Jake was playing very well in that game and was defending well against Russell who had only scored 8 points in that game and in other games he helped the Utah Jazz team to win, and Jake was also good in attack and assists. Jake made a feint and failed to fool Russell this time, Jake tried another feint pretending he was going to the back of the court and Russell stopped waiting for Jake to make the move, Jake realized this and stepped away from Russell and tried the shot. out to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Russell was tricked by Jake and didn''t even have time to react when Jake attempted the three-point shot, it was difficult to defend against a player who made good assists, was quick in individual shots and knew how to shoot with great skill. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes in that second quarter and had 9 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake was very well and hoped to get the first double-double in that game. "What a good game we have been following so far, a game in which the attacks of the two teams are very strong and the defenses are also very good, the Los Angeles Lakers team has the advantage because there are three players playing very well in that game." "Shaquille O''Neal is playing very well and got 8 rebounds and scored 20 points in the first half of the game, Kobe Bryant is also playing very well and has 5 rebounds, and 9 points, both of whom have been the main players of this Los team Angeles Lakers." "And we also have Jake Smith who has been playing another excellent game in his second game in the NBA, Jake had 17 points and managed to get 6 rebounds in addition to making 6 assists, and that with Jake playing improvised as SF." "It''s true, Jake Smith has been showing that it was the right time for him to leave university because he is ready to play in the NBA, in this game he is receiving more passes from his teammates and is playing better rewarding the confidence of his teammates." "Did Jake''s performances in the last few games make us wonder if he played as SF on this team would not be the best option for him in the Los Angeles Lakers?" "I don''t think so, playing as SF Jake Smith doesn''t have as much freedom in the moves and he can''t help that much in defense either, with Jake creating the moves the other players like Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal would receive more assists in a position to make the points and would receive less pressure from the opposing defense." Jake knew that playing as well as SF would put many people in doubt whether he should even play as PG, Jake really wanted to play as PG and he thought that with Rick Fox as SF and him as PG the Los Angeles Lakers team would be much better. Jack was very fond of Derek Fisher, but he thought that Rick Fox in the SF position helped the team much more than Derek Fisher playing as PG, after all, Jake was much better than him playing as PG. But it was not because he wanted to play as a PG that he would show a poor performance playing as SF on the team, he wanted to help the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, and thought that if it was necessary he would demand that he play as a PG on another team that he would play in the future in the NBA and play as SF on the Los Angeles Lakers team. What Jake didn''t know was that Jerry West and the Los Angeles Lakers team directors also wanted to see Jake playing as PG which was the position he was hired to play in, so they pressured coach Del Harris to put Rick Fox to play like that that was possible. Jake wanted to win as many games as he could to help the team and thought that would change something, but the truth was that Del Harris would leave the team even if they won all of the first 12 games. After all, the team''s stars didn''t like him very much and Coach Harris challenged the Los Angeles Lakers team''s board a lot, not to mention that Jake knew that the Lakers team''s board wanted Phil Jackson as coach next season. In the third quarter, the Utah Jazz team began to put more pressure on the attack and defense, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s advantage was more than 15 points in the game and therefore the Utah Jazz team''s attacks were intense. In an attack by the Utah Jazz Stockton team he came at a faster pace and passed the ball to Russel, Russel quickly passed the ball to Malone before Jake pressed the defense, Malone held the ball and then passed it to Stockton again. Stockton was on the free-throw line and had gotten rid of Fisher, so Stockton drive to the basket and scored 2 points for the Utah Jazz team, Stockton was very good in that game and Fisher was unable to defend against him. Jake was doing the best he could to defend against Russell, and that was forcing Russell to try the mid-range shot and he had a low hit rate in that game, and Malone was having a hard time playing because O''Neal was helping Horry in defense, Robert Horry came on for Corie Blount and Malone was having a harder time attacking. So Stockton was the best player on the Utah Jazz team and in addition to making assists he was still trying to score, Jake couldn''t help but think that if he were in that game he could disturb more Stockton in that game and so the Los Angeles Lakers team would have easier to win the game. In another attacking move by the Utah Jazz Stockton team, Russell passed to Russell again, Russell had to pass to Stockton again who tried to shoot out, but he missed and Jake was quick to catch the rebound. Jake took the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant and went on the attack, Bryant passed the ball to Fisher who went to organize the play for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Fisher passed the ball to Kobe Bryant who soon passed the ball to Jake on the left. Russell pressed the defense and Jake saw O''Neal getting free in Ostertag''s defense and passed the ball to him, O''Neal went up to hook to try to score, but Malone came to try the block and ended up missing O''Neal. Shaquille O''Neal was the most missed player in the Los Angeles Lakers team because he didn''t have such a high hit rate on his free throws, O''Neal hit the first free throw attempt, he tried the second and missed. The ball hit the backboard rim and went away from the inside area and close to where Jake was, Jake took the rebound from O''Neal''s second attempt and was close to the three-point line, but Jake did not attempt the shot from outside and made a high pass to O''Neal who noticed the move and caught the ball high to make the dunk completing the alley-oop plus making 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Chapter 484 NBA Season Begins 8 The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a big advantage and practically guaranteeing victory in the game, Jake played for 12 minutes in that third quarter and had 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. "The third quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the lead, the Utah Jazz team is playing very well in that game with John Stockton being the highlight of the team and Karl Malone playing as well as ever." "But they can''t defend the attack from the Los Angeles Lakers team that has Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Jake Smith, with Jake on that team the attack from the Los Angeles Lakers team is very difficult to stop, just another team with a strong defense you can manage to win against them." "Yes, it seems that the decision of the Los Angeles Lakers team to hire the rookie Jake Smith was correct, with Jake in the team the defense of the team improves a lot he also manages to catch the rebounds and helps in the attack making the defense not focus on O ''Neal and Bryant just like they did in other games." In the last quarter of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team remained strong, but Coach Harris decided to let Bryant and O''Neal rest for the next games that would be difficult and so the Utah Jazz team had to defend only against Jake and that made it difficult for he makes the points. The attack of the Utah Jazz team, which had not yet given up winning, pushed and the advantage diminished, Coach Harris knew it would happen and put O''Neal and Bryant in the game again, Jake had to try 3 shots from three points in that four-quarter and hit just two by missing his first three-point shot in the NBA. At the end of the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 109 points against 92 points of the Utah Jazz team, Jake played for 12 minutes in that four-quarter and had 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Jake managed to make his first triple-double on the Los Angeles Lakers team and in the NBA too, Jake went to celebrate and Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal, and the other Lakers team hugged him and praised him for the great game. "The second game of the season ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team won their second game at home, a game in which Jake Smith was certainly the best player on the team achieving his first triple-double in the NBA." "Jake Smith had 31 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds as well as making 6 steals, Kobe Bryant also played very well with 19 points and 12 rebounds and Shaquille O''Neal with 39 points and 14 rebounds." "O''Neal could be the best player in that game with his second double-double of the season and almost 40 points, but with the triple-double Jake deserves to be the best player in that game." "Sure, O''Neal, Stockton, and Malone have a lot of double-doubles in their career, but even for them it''s hard to get a lot of triple-doubles and Jake a 20-year-old man did in that game, he could be a big star in the future the NBA as these players are." "The Utah Jazz team lost that game, but the players played very well in that game and we will definitely see the Utah Jazz team in the playoffs this season, let''s see if the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to play well." Jake was happy with the praise from his teammates and the praise from the fans too, it was only his second game in the NBA and even though he performed well he knew that nothing would mean if the team didn''t win. Jake realized in that game that if Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant performed poorly in any game he alone would not have the ability to lead the team to victory, Jake realized better the importance of teamwork and teammates had for the victory. Of course, Jake already knew this and that is why he did not want to join the starting teams in the NBA draft, he had to have good teammates even if he received a lower salary or even if he was not the main player on his team. Jake was thinking about going home when he was called by Coach Del Harris to talk, Jake was excited because the last time he spoke to Coach Harris he knew he would play in the starting team in the SF position, so this time it could be that he would play like PG. "Good job in these last two games, Jake, I could see why the board of directors likes you so much, I know I left you in a difficult situation putting you to play as SF, but I wanted the team to have quality while Rick Fox I still couldn''t play." "You impressed me in those two games and played better than I thought possible, in the next game against the San Antonio Spurs team you still have to play as SF because Rick Fox is still not in ideal condition after all the first game was just 3 days ago." "But in the fourth game of the season against the Denver Nuggets team, Rick Fox will be able to play and you will have your opportunity to play as PG if you play as well in the PG position as you play in the SF position you will have your place on the team." "Thanks for the opportunity, coach, I will do my best in the next games." Jake was happy to know that he would have the opportunity to play as a PG in the fourth game of the season, with that promise from the coach he was even more excited to play the next day against the San Antonio Spurs team. This time the players would not have a day to rest before the next game and would not even have training because of that, luckily Jake was able to rest completely after a good night''s sleep. He did not know if at the end of the season he would have any accumulated fatigue, but for now, he saw no need to eat a stamina bar, he played for 48 minutes in the first two games and did not feel too tired after the game was over. This didn''t surprise Jake very much after all he had 45 points of resistance, he got tired at the university because he was still training with the basketball team and had training for the races that he had to do. So came the day of the third game of the season and the first game playing away from home, the Los Angeles Lakers team would have to play against the San Antonio Spurs team at Alamodome Stadium, they would have to travel to San Antonio in Texas to play that game. It would be Jake''s first trip with the Los Angeles Lakers team, he naturally knew about the difficulties that the players had to go through to play, the team had to catch a plane that had already been booked well in advance and then the players would take a bus to the hotel and then from the hotel to the Alamodome. This only increased the players'' fatigue when they had to play several games in a week as was the case with the teams now at the beginning of the season, Jake did not suffer so much after traveling a few times to Japan and Australia which were very long trips. His teammates also didn''t suffer so much because they had several seasons to get used to this routine, Coach Harris observed Jake during the trip because some rookie players had difficulty with the trips in their debut season, but seeing that Jake was fine he got calmer. Jake could feel when the team arrived at Alamodome that it was really different than playing at home, the fans were not rooting for them and it was the opposing team that had the most support from the crowd. Jake had experienced it at the university and so he hoped for it, but in the NBA the proportion of things was much higher, the other players were used to it and so the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the locker room to put on the uniform and make some warm-up exercises. The opposing team of the San Antonio Spurs didn''t have the best players, only Tim Duncan and David Robinson stood out in this team, Steve Kerr had a standout for having a good hit rate on his three-point shots, but he didn''t score many points in a game. But they were a very strong team that with Duncan and Robinson managed to win the NBA title this season, the San Antonio Spurs team only managed to win the NBA title again when Tony Parker and Manu Gin¨®bili were on the team. Even so, Jake had a lot of respect for this San Antonio Spurs team and knew that it would be difficult to win that game, in that game he and Kobe Bryant would have to perform better because Shaquille O''Neal could not score as many points as in other games. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game of the NBA this season, the third game of those teams this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team facing the San Antonio Spurs team." "The San Antonio Spurs team that never won an NBA title or any Conference title, but with the arrival of the 1998 rookie of the Year Tim Duncan last season, the San Antonio Spurs team got stronger with the Twin Towers Tim Duncan and David Robinson and this year they can try to win the NBA title for the first time." "Of course, the Los Angeles Lakers team also wants the NBA title this season with Superstars Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant and rookie Jake Smith who made two excellent games this season." "I certainly think the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win the NBA title this season, it is very difficult to imagine that the San Antonio Spurs team can beat the great teams this season and win the NBA title for the first time." "In this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team has the advantage even playing as a visitor, if the main players of the team Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal and Jake Smith play well the team Los Angeles Lakers will get the victory." Chapter 485 NBA Season Begins 9 Just as the commentators said everyone thought the same, the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage in that game and could get their third win in a row if they performed well. Coach Harris was also looking for victory and finally put Robert Horry on the main team, so the Los Angeles Lakers team had Derek Fisher as PG, Kobe Bryant as SG, Jake Smith as SF, Robert Horry as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The San Antonio Spurs team had as initial players Avery Johnson playing as PG, Mario Elie playing as SG, Sean Elliott playing as SF, Tim Duncan playing as PF, and David Robinson playing as Center. Certainly, the San Antonio Spurs team had a stronger team defensively and if they can stop the attack from the Los Angeles Lakers team they may be able to win that game, and Jake had to help in the attack so that it didn''t happen. The game started with the Sun Antonio Spurs team getting the first ball possession, so Johnson started to move forward to organize the first move for the San Antonio Spurs team. Johnson came forward and passed the ball to Elliott on the right, Jake already arrived to press in defense and Elliott tried to do the feint and when he saw that he could not deceive Jake passed ahead to Robinson. O''Neal was pressing in defense against Robinson and Robinson was unable to make the move and passed the ball to Tim Duncan, Duncan received the ball and Horry was well defending against him, but Duncan tried a hook and scored the first 2 points of the game for the San Antonio Spurs team. The crowd at the Alamodome was excited about the first points in Duncan''s game, the Los Angeles Lakers team players were already waiting for this and Fisher started to move forward, Fisher passed the ball to Jake on the left. Jake received the ball and managed to get rid of Elliott and advanced to the inside area when other players of the San Antonio Spurs team tried to defend against Jake he passed the ball to O''Neal later on, O''Neal received the ball and made the layup to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and tie the game. From the beginning of the game Jake has already shown that he would go more into the attack, he wanted to attract the attention of the defense to him so that Bryant and O''Neal would have more freedom to make the plays, only attacking that his team would be able to win against the team defensive of the San Antonio Spurs. In another play the San Antonio Spurs team went on the attack and Johnson passed the ball to Elliott on the right, Jake was pressing on the defense again and Elliott passed to Duncan on the left. Duncan received the ball and Horry was also pushing in defense, O''Neal was defending against Robinson, but if Duncan tried to layup again he would try the block, Duncan knew he couldn''t be the only one on the team to attack and made the pass to Mario Elie. Elie received the ball and tried the mid-range shot to hit and score 2 points for the San Antonio Spurs team, the San Antonio Spurs team realized that this Lakers team was much more defensive than in other games and it would be difficult for them to attack too. In another attack by the Los Angeles Lakers, the ball landed in the hands of Kobe Bryant, Bryant passed it to Horry who received the pass and Duncan pressed the defense, Horry passed it to Jake on the left who analyzed the move and passed it to Bryant who was free now. Bryant received the ball and attempted the mid-range shot and hit it with 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the sports media already said that Jake was doing a lot more assists than Derek Fisher even playing as SF. It wasn''t because Jake wanted to show that he was better than Fisher, but Jake knew how to take advantage of opportunities to make assists at a time when his teammates could already attempt the shot to score. Fisher did not have this vision of making the assists at the right time and when he made the assists, the Lakers players scored the same points, Fisher knew that and was not irritated that Jake had more assists than he. The San Antonio Spurs team went for another attack and after a good move Duncan passed to Elliott, Jake was close to Elliott who attempted the mid-range shot and scored 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team. It was close to the end of the first quarter and Elliott did not risk many plays with Jake defending against him, so Jake had only managed one steal in that game, but with this pressure from the Lakers team players, Jake had already caught 3 rebounds in that first quarter. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a small advantage, the defenses of the two teams got in the way, but the Lakers team had the advantage in rebounds and making less of an attack. In that first quarter, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 6 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal, it was a good game for Jake who was trying to leave the Lakers team with the advantage in the game and did not focus on making many points. "What a good game we have been following so far, we have the Los Angeles Lakers team that has one of the best attacks this season against the San Antonio Spurs team that has one of the best defenses." "For the time being, the two teams don''t seem to try their hardest to win, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack was not as strong and the defense surprised, even though they still have the advantage in the game." "The attack by the San Antonio team is not very strong and besides Tim Duncan, the other players seem to be having a hard time attacking, we will follow in the second quarter if the two teams try harder to achieve victory." Commentators said the two teams did not seem to want the victory, but the truth was that the teams were choosing the best path to attack, the Lakers team was not trying to attack with Horry and Fisher and the San Antonio Spurs team was trying more to attack with Duncan. The Los Angeles Lakers team had to put more pressure on the defense to make the opposing team''s players miss the attacks so that they could get the rebounds to attack and the San Antonio Spurs team had to try the same. But with Jake in the Lakers team, they had more of an advantage for making less of an attack and could also get more rebounds with him, in one play the San Antonio Spurs attempted the attacking play and Avery Johnson passed the ball to Sean Elliott on the right. Elliott caught the ball and Jake soon pressed in defense, Elliott tried to get away and managed, Mario Elis moved and Elliott tried the pass to Elis, but Jake was attentive in the play and managed to intercept the pass getting the steal and ran for the attack. Elliott who missed the pass and Johnson were further behind and went back to defense when Jake got the steal, Jake was quick and soon passed Elliott, so only Johnson was within the three-point line to try to defend against Jake. Jake continued to advance with speed and made his characteristic move at the university, he took a step to the right and made the body move that would go to the right to deceive the opponent, then Jake did the spin and ended the move with a dunk. That move was LeBron James'' unstoppable Spin Move, even fans of the San Antonio Spurs team had to applaud Jake''s beautiful play and dunk, Jake''s teammates also praised him as they went back to defense. Jake was fine in that game and after two games he was already drawing more attention from the opposing team''s defense and giving Bryant and O''Neal more space to play and score points, the San Antonio Spurs team still wanted victory and went on the attack again. Elliott was more attentive to making the moves so Jake would not make another steal, but that puts even more pressure on him to make the moves correctly, after a while of the game the plays were all with Duncan and Robinson. Elliott passed the ball to Johnson further back, Johnson received the ball and attempted the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team, Avery Johnson was also able to make some attacks because Fisher was unable to defend well against him. The Los Angeles Lakers team attacked again and Fisher passed the ball to Jake on the left, Jake received the ball and held it just before passing it to Bryant on the right, Kobe Bryant tried a feint and seeing that Elis had not been tricked he passed it on to Jake again from the left. Jake tried another speed shot and this time Elliott followed, so Jake did a crossover and a step back, and Elliott who was trying to follow Jake''s movements ended up falling to the ground, Jake tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the team Los Angeles Lakers. The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team again praised Jake for this beautiful move, they couldn''t imagine how Jake was not an SF after playing as well as other great NBA players. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the lead on the scoreboard, a good game from Jake, Bryant, and O''Neal who was making the game more difficult for the San Antonio Spurs'' defense. In that second quarter of the game Jake played for 12 minutes and made 9 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake was getting a lot more passes from his teammates and so he could make a lot more plays helping the team to win more easily. "What a beautiful game we have followed up until that break, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game so far and the Lakers players are clearly better than the San Antonio Spurs players." Chapter 486 NBA Season Begins 10 "That''s right, we can see that the players of the San Antonio Spurs team are having a difficult time playing in attack and defense, Tim Duncan, Avery Johnson, and David Robinson are managing to play well even with the strong defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team." "But Mario Elis and Sean Elliott are having a hard time making the attack and defense plays with Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith playing so well, and the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack has been better in that game too." "Jake Smith is making another great game with 15 points until the break of that game, he made two beautiful attacking plays and one of those plays came with a steal he made, Jake has an average in the two games he played this season of 5 steals per game." "Yes, if he continues like that he can break the record on average steals per game in one season in the NBA, and it has helped the Los Angeles Lakers team this season a lot." In the third quarter the San Antonio Spurs team wanted the victory so the players started to put more pressure on the attack and defense, Coach Harris also wanted the victory and asked that the team also put more pressure on defense and attack. In an attack move by the San Antonio Spurs Johnson team came with the ball and passed it to Elis, Elis quickly passed the ball to Duncan who moved away from Robert Horry who was defending very well against Duncan in that game. Duncan tried the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team, even though Horry played well in defense and O''Neal tried to help in defense it was difficult to stop Duncan''s attack. In this game, because David Robinson was being well defended by Shaquille O''Neal, it was Tim Duncan who had to work harder in the attack to score the points or try to get the rebounds over O''Neal, Bryant, and Jake from the Lakers team. The Los Angeles Lakers team quickly reacted and Kobe Bryant made one for the individual play and tried the mid-range shot and ended up missing, Shaquille O''Neal caught the rebound and saw that he was pressured by the defense of the opposing players and passed the ball to Jake through left. Jake received the ball and the defense concentrated on him, so he made a high pass for Shaquille O''Neal to take the high and make the dunk by completing the alley-oop and making 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. O''Neal praised Jake again for the pass and they soon went back to defense, Jake made a lot of assists for O''Neal and Bryant and everyone knew that was his style of play, so Fisher didn''t mind not being the player who he was making assists because he knew he would soon be no longer a starting player for the Lakers team. Coach Harris also knew he could leave the team and wanted to win several games before he had to leave the team, after all, he could coach other teams after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers. The San Antonio Spurs team went for another attacking move and after a beautiful move Johnson received the ball further back, Jake was pressing in defense against Elliott, Steve Kerr had taken over from Mario Elis. Kerr entered the game much better than Elis and Bryant were having difficulty defending against him, Johnson passed the ball to Kerr from the left, Kerr received the ball and tried the shot from outside and scored with 3 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers Fisher team, he came with the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant, Steve Kerr was defending against Bryant and O''Neal was resting on the reserve bench, so there was another player pressing in defense against Bryant. Bryant passed the ball to Jake who was on the left and already advanced to the inside area, Jake received the ball and this time he had two players defending against him, Jake made a bounce pass with the ball hitting the ground before reaching Kobe''s hands Bryant in the inner area and he dunks to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Bryant did not expect to receive a pass with the ball hitting the ground when Jake did not have a clear vision to make the assist, but that was better because the opponents did not wait for this move either. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning and Jake again being one of the best players in the game, in that third quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 9 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. "What a great third quarter for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the players on both teams had to rest for a few minutes and Jake Smith didn''t leave the court in that game again and played the 36 minutes so far." "In this game, Jake Smith has received more passes from his teammates and has made more good plays and it seems that he forgot that he is playing at the Alamodome which is home to the San Antonio Spurs team." "That''s right, I rarely saw a rookie playing so well in the first games of a debut season, and even more playing improvised like SF and on a team that has stars like Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant." "The San Antonio Spurs team is also doing a good game, Tim Duncan is playing as well as ever and the other players are also working hard, but the Los Angeles Lakers team looks stronger in that game." In the last quarter of that game, the two teams decreased the intensity of the game even though they were still trying to win the game, this was because the Los Angeles Lakers team had a big advantage on the scoreboard and all players would have another game after two days. Jake continued to play well and so the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 95 points against 69 points for the San Antonio Spurs team, Jake played for 12 minutes in that last quarter and made 7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Jake got another triple-double in that game and left all his teammates and the sports media surprised by his performance, with the first three games of this season being great and making a triple-double in two of them it was impossible not to recognize Jake Smith''s talent. "And so the game ends with another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the first of them playing as a visitor and the third this season, in a shorter season like this a sequence of 3 victories is very important for any team." "Jake Smith was once again the name of that game, he made another triple-double with 31 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds, this season Jake Smith has averaged a triple-double after that game." "This is certainly incredible for any NBA player and Jake Smith is a rookie and plays on a team with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant, many other rookies have been performing very well this NBA season, but Jake has been showing performance from another level." "The San Antonio Spurs team played well in the game today, but against the strong attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team they could not defend well, and being able to defend the San Antonio Spurs team did not win." "In addition to Jake Smith, Tim Duncan performed well for the San Antonio Spurs team, and alongside the Los Angeles Lakers team Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant played in that game too." "That''s right, Smith gets the assists more easily because he can pass the ball to Bryant and O''Neal, the three together had 80 points and 34 rebounds, which shows how important the three players are to the Los Angeles Lakers." "We will continue to follow the games of the Los Angeles Lakers team to see if they can win this season''s NBA title with this strong team." After this excellent game by Jake, the media started talking a lot about him, after all, Jake had an excellent debut in the NBA and his first games could make him the MVP of the season if he continued with these good averages in all games. Jake talked to all his teammates and was always very humble, so team stars Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were not bothered by Jake having more media attention than they were. Coach Harris also had no doubts and would put Jake to play as PG in the next game, after all, he was not so happy with the performance of Derek Fisher in the last games, for him Fisher was the player who helped less in the victories. Coach Harris liked how Rick Fox played and Fox was a player who helped in defense and had the quality to score more than 9 points per game, as the team didn''t have a lot of SF to put, it would be better to let Rick Fox play and Jake playing as PG he played better. Players would travel to Denver, Colorado to play the next game, the Los Angeles Lakers team would have a day of rest and training before the next game, and players needed that day of rest with the intensity of the games. Arriving in Denver the players went to rest at the hotel and Jake, who was not so tired, called his mother to talk, Jake talked to his mother every day after the games. After all, Eva wasn''t always able to watch the game in Miami and so Jake called her to tell her about the game and also to talk to his mother, after all, even though he was so busy, Jake still worried a lot about Eva. "Hi, mom, how are you today?" "Is everything okay here, Jake, and how was your game?" "It was great, we won that game and I did a triple-double, in the next game Coach Harris will put me to play in my PG position and if I continue playing well I can guarantee my place in the starting team." "I''m glad to hear that, Jake, I know that your dream since the age of 10 has always been to play in the NBA, and now you are making that dream come true even though you don''t need that money anymore." Chapter 487 A Great Deal 1 "Yes, I love to play basketball and I love to run and I like to win too, I am managing to make all my dreams come true, I was able to play in the NBA, I was able to be happy and you are also happy, mom, I know you suffered for many years and I think you''re happier now." "I''m very happy, having a restaurant has always been a dream of mine, I have great friends around me, and you''re happy what''s most important to me, Jake, I''m sure your dad would be proud if he saw the man you became." Jake talked to Eva for a while and went to sleep to get the rest he deserved, the next day Jake woke up very early and rested, that day the team would have no game and only have light training. Even though he was able to rest fully after a good night''s sleep, Jake knew his body needed a few days like this to rest, Jake needed to rest his mind also with the pressure of NBA games. Jake thought about just resting before going to train with the team, but he got a call from Emily saying that Charlie sent word that Larry Page and Sergey Brin had already tried to sell their company to Excite''s CEO, George Bell and had failed. Jake warned Charlie that if Larry Page and Sergey Brin tried to sell the company and couldn''t, it was for Charlie to tell him soon afterward, Charlie didn''t understand how Jake knew they would try to sell the company, but he kept watching to see what happened and when what Jake wanted happening he asked Emily to let Jake know. Jake was risking a lot by letting Larry Page and Sergey Brin tried to sell the company because Jake knew he had already changed the future he knew and so it could happen that George Bell decided to buy Google and that would be a disaster. Even so Jake decided to wait for everything to happen as it should, the only problem was that he didn''t know when the two would try to sell Google, he just knew it would be in early 1999 and before June 1999 when they were going to make a round of investments. So Jake asked Charlie to watch when Larry Page and Sergey Brin would try to sell Google and if they couldn''t, it would be an ideal time to make his offer, now it seemed like the right time for that. Jake was happy to hear that and thanked Emily and asked her to thank Charlie for the information, Jake had been waiting for it since the first time he met them both last year, Jake picked up the phone and called the number he talked to Larry Page. "Hi, this is Jake Smith speaking." "Hi, Jake, I didn''t expect you to call me so soon, you usually talk to me once in several months." "Hahaha, I know that, but I heard that you tried to sell the company and I was shocked to hear about it." "So you already know about that, we thought about selling the company to Excite, but we couldn''t, after thinking about it we thought it might be good that we were unable to sell the company." "Of course it''s good, you should have talked to me before trying to sell the company, I said I was interested in investing, I just didn''t have the money to invest yet, but seeing that you tried to sell the company for 1 million dollars I decided that I should invest in the company right now." "I want you to come to Los Angeles on the 12th of this month, bring your lawyer because I am going to make an offer you cannot refuse and we will become partners." Larry Page was quiet on the phone if it was someone else saying that he certainly wouldn''t go to Los Angeles thinking it might be a joke, but Jake had already told them several times about his interest in investing in their company. They thought that Jake didn''t really want to invest after going several months without making a proposal, but now Larry felt that Jake was really prepared to invest, at the very least they could talk to Jake and if they didn''t like the proposal they would refuse. "Okay, Jake, I''m going to talk to Sergey and we''ll be there in Los Angeles on the 12th, I hope your proposal is as good as you said." Jake was happy that Larry agreed to do this meeting in Los Angeles, he couldn''t go to California right now because he was at the beginning of the game season with his team and had trained almost every day. If Larry said he wanted to hear his proposal then it meant that they were interested, after all, they intended to sell the company a few days ago for $ 1 million and Jake would offer much more than that for only part of the company. But Jake had to focus on the games because the Los Angeles Lakers team would still have 2 games before the day of their negotiation, later on, the team did light training before the next game, and Jake was already in the PG position in training. Seeing this, everyone understood what was happening because it was expected by everyone, Rick Fox was happy too because he was finally going to play in that game, he was afraid Jake would continue as SF of the team and so he would never have the opportunity to play again. Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant spoke to Jake after training, they were happy that Jake would finally play as PG in the next game, in PG''s position Jake would have much more opportunities to organize plays and assist. Not to mention that it could disrupt the PG of the opposing team to organize the plays, they knew how a good PG could make an opposing team be much more dangerous than a team with a player who scores a lot of points. With that day of rest, the players ''physical condition was much better for the next game, so the next day came and that was the day of the Los Angeles Lakers'' game against the Denver Nuggets team. The Denver Nuggets team was the weakest opponent they would face this season, they got Raef LaFrentz who was an excellent player in the 1998 draft, but after a few more games after that LaFrentz would suffer a serious injury that would leave him out for the rest of the season. Even so, the Denver Nuggets team should not be underestimated, any NBA team could win a game if their opponents underestimated the difficulty of the game, of course, Jake would try his best in this game that would be his first as a PG in the NBA. After a few hours the Los Angeles Lakers team arrived at the McNichols Sports Arena for the game, basketball fans would fill the McNichols Sports Arena in that game because the opponent was the Los Angeles Lakers team that had Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and the rookie Jake Smith. The players put on their uniforms and went to the court to warm up a little more before the game, Jake was excited about this game and Rick Fox was also if he played well in this game he could be the starting player on the team throughout the season. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game of the NBA season, today''s game is between the Los Angeles Lakers team that won all three games this season and the Denver Nuggets team that lost the first three games of the season." "So the Los Angeles Lakers team is definitely the favorite to win this game after all this team has players like Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant who are making a great start to the season and the best rookie of this season currently Jake Smith who made 2 triple-double in three games." "Certainly Jake Smith is the center of attention in this game, mainly because he will play his first game as a PG on the Los Angeles Lakers team and in the NBA, he had played improvised as SF and had made excellent games, let''s see how he does on PG position." "I think he will play the same or worse than he played as SF, after all, PG doesn''t normally have as many chances to score points and rebounds as an SF has, only his assists and steals can increase in that game." "I don''t think so, Jake Smith seems to play differently than other PG we know, and we had NBA Magic Johnson to show that a PG can also score a lot and help the team win." The Los Angeles Lakers team came in this game with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center, that was the debut of Jake as the team''s PG and everyone was excited to see what it would be like. The Denver Nuggets team that was playing at home came in this game with the initial players'' Nick Van Exel playing as PG, Chauncey Billups playing as SG, Bryant Stith playing as SF, Raef LaFrentz playing as PF, and Antonio McDyess playing as Center. Antonio McDyess was the main player of this Denver Nuggets team and he was really a great player at that time before injuries hindered his performance in games, Nick Van Exel who was a player of the Los Angeles Lakers team was also one of the highlights of this Denver team Nuggets. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the first ball possession, Jake received the ball and was thrilled playing the first time as PG, now he could organize the plays and control the pace of the Lakers'' game. Jake advanced with the ball and Van Exel came to press on defense, Jake did not rush and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and easily got rid of Chauncey Billups defense and made the mid-range shot to make the first 2 points of that game. Kobe Bryant played well in the first three games of the season, but he thought he was not good enough as in all games Jake Smith and Shaquille O''Neal played better than him, so in this game, he wanted to take the opportunity to score more points. Chapter 488 A Great Deal 2 After the first attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Denver Nuggets team had to react, Nick Van Exel started to organize the attack and advanced to the attack with Jake defending against him. Van Exel passed the ball to Billups on the left, Billups tried the feint, but Bryant was firm on the defense and was not fooled, so Billups had to pass the ball to Raef LaFrentz later on, LaFrentz received the ball and Robert Horry pressed the defense. LaFrentz was quick and made a spin and managed to make a mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Denver Nuggets team and tie the game again, LaFrentz really was a great player and unfortunately, his career would be hampered by injuries like many players. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake started to organize the move and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Fox was not participating as much in the game because the Los Angeles Lakers team did not have so much trouble making points against the Denver Nuggets team. Fox received the ball and Bryant Stith soon pressed in defense against him, Fox held the ball and soon passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and two players from the Denver Nuggets team came to defend against him. So Bryant passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and soon got rid of the Van Exel defense and went inside, the Denver Nuggets team''s defense was open and Jake took the opportunity to advance. Antonio McDyess realized that Jake was going to make the points and tried to defend against him, Jake realized this and made an assist to Shaquille O''Neal who was free, O''Neal received the ball and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. O''Neal praised Jake for his assistance and Jake was happy with that, Jake thought it best to play as PG because he could defend better and organize his team''s plays, moreover, Jake participated in all plays and had more freedom to make assists or make the stitches. In another play by the Denver Nuggets team, the ball stayed with LaFrentz, LaFrentz held the ball and passed it to Van Exel further back, Van Exel received the ball and made a pass to McDyess further on McDyess protected the ball and O''Neal was defending against him. McDyess used his ability to position himself to hook to make 2 more points for the Denver Nuggets team, McDyess, LaFrentz was playing very well and were giving problems to the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that first quarter. Jake received the ball and began the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and felt the pressure of the Denver Nuggets'' defense and had to pass to Horry later on. Horry received the ball and LaFrentz was already defending against him, Horry passed the ball to Jake further back, Van Exel was not pressing in defense and Jake decided to try the shot from outside and hit it with 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. That was another difference that he had playing as a PG and playing as an SF, the three-point shots were easier for Jake to try and he would try less 2 point shots, so the tendency was that he had more chances to make assists and could also make more points. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers having a big advantage on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 9 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake can make assists and points more easily but had less chance of catching rebounds. "The first quarter ended, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning with a big advantage on the scoreboard and it seems to be an easy game for them even with the team playing away from home." "Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite in this game anyway, after all, the Denver Nuggets team hasn''t won a game this season yet, even with the good performance of Raef LaFrentz and Antonio McDyess they can''t stop the opponent''s attack." "And in the Los Angeles Lakers team we have the whole team performing well in that game, Jake Smith has been playing well and controlling the pace of his debut in his PG position in the NBA." "Kobe Bryant started trying to make several plays and made some points and realizing that the Denver Nuggets team''s defense was focusing on him, Bryant started to pass the ball more." "Shaquille O''Neal is playing as well as always scoring 8 points in that first quarter in 6 attempts, and even Robert Horry and Rick Fox who are debuting this season are playing well." Seeing Jake''s first quarter as PG, coach Harris can relax, basketball fans might not realize it, but the team played completely differently with Jake playing as PG than it did before with Fisher. Coach Harris realized that Rick Fox was not making many moves because it was not necessary with Jake, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O''Neal, and even Robert Horry playing well in the attack, the team''s defense was not so good, but even so, the Denver team Nuggets were unable to score points at all attacks. It didn''t make much of a difference in this game that was easier for the Los Angeles Lakers team, but in more played games and against tough opponents the pace and control of the game in Jake''s hands would help the team achieve victory. The second quarter started with the Denver Nuggets team pushing in the attack, with Raef LaFrentz and Antonio McDyess playing so well, the Denver Nuggets team manager decided to try to exploit that to get the win. In a good attacking move by the Denver Nuggets team the ball was passed to McDyess, O''Neal was pressing and Horry also approached to help in the defense, so McDyess passed the ball to LaFrentz who was free from the left. LaFrentz received the ball and tried the shot from outside to score 3 points for the Denver Nuggets team and cheer up the crowd at McNichols Sports Arena, even with that play going on Horry was playing well in defense otherwise LaFrentz would make even more points. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake started to organize the attack, he passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox tried to get rid of the opposing player on defense, but he couldn''t and passed it to Jake in the back. Jake received the ball and Van Exel pressed in defense, the Denver Nuggets team''s defense increased the pressure defending O''Neal and Bryant, so Jake made a long pass to Horry who was free in the attack, Horry went forward and hooked to do more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. As commentators said all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were well on the attack and so Jake had an easier time getting assists in his debut game, even so, Jake passed the ball over to Bryant and O''Neal to make the attacks. In another play by the Denver Nuggets Van Exel team passed the ball to LaFrentz, LaFrentz failed to deceive Horry in defense and passed it to Bryan Stith on the right, Kobe Bryant soon went to defend against Stith who tried to pass the ball further back to Van Exel. Jake, who had already noticed the move, anticipated and managed to intercept Stith''s pass making the steal, Jake did not run for the attack and held the ball until his teammates had time to go on the attack. Jake moved slowly forward because the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning and he didn''t want his teammates to tire of anything, Jake passed the ball to Fox on the left. Fox received the pass from Jake and held the ball before passing it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and with a feint, he got rid of Billups, Bryant advanced to the inside area and after a beautiful play, he made the layup and more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake was happy that the team did not lose the attack and that they increased the advantage on the scoreboard, in this game in which the two defenses were not playing very well, the steals that Jake managed helped to increase the advantage on the scoreboard. After another good play by the Denver Nuggets team Raef LaFrentz shot outside to make three more points for the Denver Nuggets team, Jake received the ball and started organizing another play for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox held the ball and passed to Bryant on the left, the Denver Nuggets team''s defense soon pressed against Bryant who had to pass to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and made a feint getting rid of the defense of Van Exel and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake had a large percentage of correct three-point shots, so he had no afraid to try whenever I had the chance. The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team got a good lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 7 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake had a great second quarter and almost got the double-double before the game break. "The second quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team increasing the points advantage, even more, it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers team will get another victory and the Denver Nuggets team will lose another game." "The Denver Nuggets team''s attack is fine in that game with a good performance by Raef LaFrentz, and Antonio McDyess, but that didn''t seem enough for the Denver Nuggets team to win." "After all, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack has been very strong this season and they are doing very well in this game too, Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Jake Smith, and Robert Horry have been playing very well and Rick Fox is also doing a good game." Chapter 489 A Great Deal 3 "Yes, today the entire Los Angeles Lakers team seems to be playing well, but in defense, they are making some mistakes that make the Denver Nuggets team still stand a chance of winning that game." "The highlight of the game so far seems to be rookie Jake Smith again, he was the best player on the Lakers team so far he is playing very well as a PG on the team." In the third quarter of the game, coach Harris started replacing some players for a few minutes so they wouldn''t get tired, but Jake was always on the court because he himself asked not to be replaced. For some reason the team coach Denver Nuggets also made some substitutions for a few minutes, he even replaced Raef LaFrentz who was making an excellent game and Nick Van Exel too. When Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were replaced, Jake had a few minutes when he decided to attack alone taking advantage of the weakness of the Denver Nuggets'' defense, in a few minutes Jake scored 9 points by hitting 3 shots from 3 points from 4 attempts. This showed one of the reasons Jake was chosen as the first pick of the 1998 draft, Jake also achieved a steal in those minutes and increased the Los Angeles Lakers'' lead by 5 points, so the Denver Nuggets fans realized they wouldn''t see the team of them winning that game. In another attacking move by the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake came at a fast pace for the attack, Kobe Bryant was still off the court and Jake passed the ball to Tyronn Lue from the right, Lue received the ball and the Denver Nuggets team''s defense pressed and Lue had to pass the ball to Fox. Rick Fox had made a good defensive game and helped the team with some points, Stith pressed in the defense and so Fox passed the ball back to Jake, Jake saw that Shaquille O''Neal was asking for the ball and passed it to him. McDyess pressed O''Neal in defense, but O''Neal did a Power move and passed McDyess and dunk using all his strength and held the hoop making the hoop swing, it was a good move by O''Neal who was annoyed with McDyess''s good defense in the game. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team being close to winning the game with a big points advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. "What a great third quarter of Jake Smith we could see, he scored 13 points in those 12 minutes and still got 3 assists, this is the fourth game of the season and Jake Smith has played every minute so far and this has been helping the Los Angeles Lakers team a lot." "It''s true, Jake Smith won several marathons and shows that he really has great stamina at the beginning of the season, his first game as PG shows that he has to stay in this position and help the Lakers team to continue winning." "With the big advantage in points that the Los Angeles Lakers team has in this game, we can say that they have already won this game, they are more than 22 points and the Denver Nuggets team has only 12 minutes to make that difference." Just as the commentators said in the last quarter of the game the two teams had already accepted the result and were not putting so much pressure on the attack and defense, so the last quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team won the fourth game this season and the Denver team Nuggets lost the fourth game. The Los Angeles Lakers team won with 118 points against 91 points of the Denver Nuggets team, Jake played for 12 minutes in the four-quarter and had 7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake made another triple-double, but this time with points, assists and steals. "And the game ends with yet another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team in a game that they won from start to finish, a great game from all the players on the Lakers team and the Denver Nuggets team had no chance of winning." "Jake Smith was once again the star of the game making his third triple-double followed by him and this time making 10 steals and not 10 rebounds, he got 9 rebounds and with one more rebound he would make a historic quadruple-double." "Yes, if Jake Smith continues to play like that he could be this season''s MVP in his debut season, and the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack remains unstoppable, Kobe Bryant had 23 points and Shaquille O''Neal had 31 points." "With a strong attack like this, the Los Angeles Lakers team is coming as a favorite to win the NBA title this season, we will follow in the next games if Jake Smith continues with these incredible performances." After another victory, the media started to say that the Los Angeles Lakers had a strong team to win the NBA title, Jake was the most talked about player of the moment because with 3 games in a row doing triple-double and with an average of more 7 steals per game Jake showed himself to be a different player than he was normally seen in the NBA. Jake was already mentioned together with the big stars of the NBA and the hopes of the fans in him increased a lot after those initial games, only Jake was realistic and knew that things would not always be like that, this triple-double sequence came because his teammates his team were playing very well. But when his teammates underperformed, the Lakers team would lose and he wouldn''t be able to stand out in those games, but it was undeniable for everyone that Jake would be the best rookie of the season if he continued to play well. The companies that chose to trust Jake and David Falk were very happy with Jake''s performance in the first games of the season, they thought it was good that they had not yet made a television commercial with Jake would take advantage of it after the season was over to enjoy the best Jake''s moment in the NBA. David Falk was also happy and he could not even expect Jake to perform as well as he did in his first NBA games, what nobody knew was that since the 1998 draft Jake was training every day with very skilled opponents in training his imagination and the real NBA opponents were usually not as good as the SS rank players in all the skills he faced. Without Jake knowing Adidas was accelerating the production of the sneakers that were created to be the brand that Jake represented, Adidas planned to wait a few months before thinking about selling that sneaker, but with Jake''s great performance in his debut year, they didn''t think they needed to wait any longer. Of course, it would still be a few months before it was possible to start selling these sneakers worldwide, so Adidas representatives decided not to tell Jake and David that, so Jake was just focused on the next game. For the next game, the Los Angeles Lakers team had to travel again, this time to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the third game as a visiting visitor, the opponent of their fifth game of the season was the Minnesota Timberwolves team. The Minnesota Timberwolves team was not such a tough opponent, but they had young star Kevin Garnett of whom Jake was also a fan, Kevin Garnett became one of the greatest players of all time and was an excellent defensive player. Jake remembered that the Los Angeles Lakers team lost that game and one of the reasons for that was that Shaquille O''Neal had not played in that game and this time again coach Harris said O''Neal would not play that game. Even though he was on the team, Jake didn''t know the reason for this decision by Coach Harris, Shaquille O''Neal was not hurt and even though he was tired he could play for at least 20 minutes in that game. So not even Jake could guarantee that he could change the outcome of that game, it was a certainty that the Los Angeles Lakers team currently depended on Shaquille O''Neal for good results, after all, he was the main player on the team and a reference in the attack. Kobe Bryant was certainly a genius and would be an idol in the future, but currently, O''Neal was the most important player for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jake was playing well, but without good teammates, he could not guarantee any victory. The day of the game came and the players were a little tired with so many trips in a row, so the team did not do any training and the players could not prepare well for the game in which Shaquille O''Neal would not be playing. The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the Target Center which was full of Minnesota Timberwolves fans, Jake was not anxious about it because he would try to make the best of him in this game and if the Los Angeles Lakers team lost he would have more peace of mind knowing that in his past life the Lakers team had also lost that game. Players put on their uniforms and did warm-up exercises in the locker room and went to the court to start the game, Jake''s teammates were also concerned about not having Shaquille O''Neal in that game, but with Jake and Kobe Bryant, they knew that could win. "Welcome that you came to watch one more game this NBA season, in that game we will have the Los Angeles Lakers team that comes from 4 victories in 4 games this season against the Minnesota Timberwolves team that had 2 victories in 3 games this season." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team, which is playing at home here at the Target Center, has a lot of problems this season after giving Kevin Garnett a $ 126 million contract for 6 years." "It is undeniable that Kevin Garnett is an excellent player and a young man who can be the star of the Minnesota Timberwolves team for many years, but with this contract, the team no longer has the money to pay for other good players." "Yes, the question is not whether Kevin Garnett is worth a contract of that amount, but that the Minnesota Timberwolves team is unable to pay." Chapter 490 A Great Deal 4 "The Los Angeles Lakers team doesn''t have that problem, even if the star of the team Shaquille O''Neal doesn''t have that big a salary, Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith still get low wages, Kobe Bryant will renew his contract this year, but Jake Smith will still receive the rookie salary for a few years." "With the exchanges made by the Los Angeles Lakers team, they still have a few million dollars to spend on wages if they want to sign more players." "What worries me is that Shaquille O''Neal is not going to play in that game, he is not even on the bench and did not know if he was injured or would have any problems not being able to play in that game." "We have no way of knowing that, now let''s see how the Los Angeles Lakers team can play without the team''s biggest star, after all, Shaquille O''Neal is an important player for the team''s attack." The Los Angeles Lakers team came with the starting players Jake playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Travis Knight playing as Center in place of Shaquille O''Neal. Playing at home, the Minnesota Timberwolves team came with the initial players'' Bobby Jackson playing as PG, Malik Sealy playing as SG, Sam Mitchell playing as SF, Kevin Garnett playing as PF and Joe Smith playing as Center. Even without Shaquille O''Neal playing the Los Angeles Lakers team still had the best players, but they had no training playing without Shaquille O''Neal on the team, and with the Los Angeles Lakers team playing as a visitor they didn''t have much of an advantage. The game started with the Minnesota Timberwolves team in the attack, Bobby Jackson started the move for his team passing to Malik Sealy on the left, Kobe Bryant tried to press the defense and Sealy passed the ball to Kevin Garnett later on. Garnett got rid of Robert Horry easily and went ahead to layup and make the first 2 points of the game for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the two teams did not have a good defense and without Shaquille O''Neal, in the Los Angeles Lakers team, Kevin Garnett would have it easier to make the attack moves. The Los Angeles Lakers team had to attack and Jake started to organize the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Sealy started to press in defense. Bryant easily passed Sealy and tried the mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and tie the game, in that game without Shaquille O''Neal it would be Jake and Kobe Bryant who would have the responsibility to score more points for the team. Both teams had good attacks and did not have good defenses, Jake helped with the steals in some games and some players defended well, but the NBA players were almost all very skilled in attack so the defense of these players looked bad. In another move by the Minnesota Timberwolves team, Jackson passed the ball to Sealy on the left, Bryant pressed the defense and Sealy had to pass it back to Jackson again. Jackson received the ball and paid attention to the movements of Jake who was defending against him, Jackson knew that Jake was skilled in defense and was good at steals so he didn''t try to make any bold moves. Jackson passed the ball to Sam Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and Rick Fox was defending against him, Mitchell managed to trick Fox with a feint and advanced into the inside area to try the layup and make 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team. In another attacking move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Fox from the left, Fox received the ball and Mitchell soon pressed in defense, Fox passed the ball to Robert Horry later on. Horry soon passed the ball to Jake later because Garnett was already pushing in defense, Jake received the ball with freedom and tried the shot from outside and hit to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jackson who was defending against Jake was careless and Jake tried the three-point shot before he could react, so Jackson understood how difficult it was to defend against someone who was good at three-point shots. At the beginning of the game the two teams were balanced hitting most of the attacks, so the first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with a small advantage on the scoreboard because of Jake''s three-point shots. In that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake was having to focus more on defense and did not find as many opportunities to do the steal and as Kobe Bryant made many individual plays Jake I didn''t have as many assists as in other games. "The first quarter ended with the two teams surprisingly balanced, the Los Angeles Lakers team is clearly feeling the absence of Shaquille O''Neal in that game, the attack is focused on Jake Smith who made a great first quarter with 11 points." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team managed to organize a good team considering the problems they had this season, with Kevin Garnett leading this team they can make it to the playoffs." "But for sure the Los Angeles Lakers team has a better team and if Shaquille O''Neal was playing in that game it would be difficult for them to lose that game, but as the game is I don''t know what can happen." As commentators said the team was not playing as well without Shaquille O''Neal on the team, Jake was playing well, but if the Minnesota Timberwolves team increased their defense against him and Kobe Bryant they would have more difficulty in that game. The Minnesota Timberwolves team returned to the second quarter thinking about winning this game, the Minnesota Timberwolves team coach realized that they should defend against Jake and Kobe Bryant and that is what the team started to do in the second quarter. Jake and Bryant had skills to get rid of the opposing defense, but with two players defending against them it was more difficult for them to make the moves, after all the players of the Minnesota Timberwolves team had a good defensive ability. It looked like the Minnesota Timberwolves team coach had trained this move because when Jake and Kobe Bryant were not with the ball they had only one player defending against them, only when they received the ball that another player approached them. In one of the attacking moves of the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Bryant, two players came to defend against him and pressed in defense, Bryant had to pass the ball to Horry who also had difficulty with Garnett defending against him. Horry tried a feint and failed to trick Garnett and had to pass the ball to Travis Knight, Knight received the ball and Joe Smith pressed the defense against him and Knight had no ability to try to make the move and had to pass the ball to Jake more behind. As soon as Jake received the ball two players came to defend against him, Jake could not get rid of the two players and had not trained with Knight to do a Pick and roll, of course, if Shaquille O''Neal was on the team it might not be necessary. So Jake passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left, the ball possession time was running out and Fox tried a mid-range shot and hit the Los Angeles Lakers team with 2 more points, with the Minnesota Timberwolves defense so Jake could rely only on Rick Fox to make the attacks. Jake and Kobe Bryant would have to push hard to make the attack with two players defending against them, but with the Minnesota Timberwolves'' defense so Fox was always free to try the move, but he made far more attacks than Jake and Bryant did. With the Minnesota Timberwolves team playing so they managed to tie the game at the end of the second quarter, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 5 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals, at least with the steals Jake helped the Los Angeles Lakers team not to end up losing that second quarter. "With the end of the second quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team managed to draw with their good defensive strategy and the pressure in the attack they made throughout the game, so the Minnesota Timberwolves team can see the chance of winning that game." "Certainly, with this defensive pressure from the Minnesota Timberwolves team Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith do not have much freedom to attack and make the plays, moreover, in this game only Jake Smith can count only Rick Fox to make the attacks." "After all, it looks like Jake Smith and Kobe Bryant always have to face two players in defense when they have the ball, Robert Horry doesn''t have that problem, but with Kevin Garnett defending against him, Robert Horry also can''t attack." "And Travis Knight also misses a lot of attacks, so Rick Fox has more freedom to attack, but he doesn''t hit as many attacks as Jake Smith and Kobe Bryant normally do." "Yes, and the Minnesota Timberwolves attack is working well in that game too, if Shaquille O''Neal was playing, the Minnesota Timberwolves team couldn''t do that, but now the Los Angeles Lakers team has to do something about it." Just as commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team would have to find some way to win that game, Coach Harris thought of replacing Jake Smith and Kobe Bryant, but this would make it even easier for the Minnesota Timberwolves to defend. The biggest problem was not the Los Angeles Lakers team playing without Shaquille O''Neal on the team, but that they had not done training without Shaquille O''Neal on the team, so they were not prepared for the opponent''s defensive moves. Jake couldn''t just try multiple three-point shots because he knew that against two opponents he would definitely suffer a lot of blocks if he didn''t end up missing more three-point shots in that game. Chapter 491 A Great Deal 5 The third quarter started with the Minnesota Timberwolves team in the attack trying to get the victory, Jackson advanced with the ball and passed to Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and passed to Joe Smith ahead. Smith received the ball and Knight arrived to defend, Smith managed to spin and hooked to make 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s weak defense also helped the Minnesota Timberwolves team to score more points. Jake advanced with the ball trying to win this game, Jake passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and tried the move and soon two players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team went to defend against him. Bryant tried to pass the ball to Horry ahead, Garnett came in defense and Horry still tried a feint and failed, Horry had to pass the ball to Fox from the left, Fox tried to advance and Sealy came to defend against him. So Fox soon passed to Jake behind who was only with Jackson defending against him, so Jake was quick and tried the shot from outside even with Jackson pressing in defense, Jake hit-making 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. When Sealy didn''t try to help defend two Minnesota Timberwolves players Jake and Bryant had a chance to make the move and the points, realizing that the Minnesota Timberwolves coach asked Sealy not to defend against Fox anymore. So Rick Fox was defenseless to try mid-range moves, but when he advanced Joe Smith came to defend against him and left Travis Knight defenseless, but Knight missed more attacks than Fox. Of course, Travis Knight still managed to score a lot if he got more assists, but Fox hit more attacks than he did, and even Knight didn''t expect to be able to play in that game until he was warned by Coach Harris. So the third quarter ended with the Minnesota Timberwolves getting a small advantage on the scoreboard and playing even better than at the beginning of the game, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. In the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team still tried to win the game, but with the good defense of the Minnesota Timberwolves team and the bad defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team they ended up losing that game. The Minnesota Timberwolves won the game with 92 points against the Los Angeles Lakers'' 84 points, Jake had 5 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal and ended that game this time without even a double-double. "And so the game ends with the Minnesota Timberwolves team winning, this is their fourth win in 4 games and the Minnesota Timberwolves team really got good players to be playing so well this season." "Yes, Kevin Garnett had a good game today with more than 20 points and Sam Mitchell also managed to make more than 20 points, with the Minnesota Timberwolves team''s good defense they managed to win." "The Los Angeles Lakers team had Kobe Bryant who managed another double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Jake Smith who failed to achieve another triple-double in that game with 26 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds." "Jake Smith played well in that game, but if Shaquille O''Neal the Los Angeles Lakers team failed to attack as well and the Minnesota Timberwolves team''s strategy of putting two players to defend Jake Smith and Kobe Bryant when they had the ball did that they lose this game." "This is the Los Angeles Lakers team''s first defeat this season in 5 games, so it''s not that bad, we hope Shaquille O''Neal comes back in the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win again." The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were upset about the first loss of the season, but of course, they already expected that the team would lose a few times in the season, what was worse was that this loss had happened because Shaquille O''Neal did not play in that game. Luckily after that game the whole team went back to Los Angeles because the next game would be just after 3 days and it would be a home game in Los Angeles, Coach Harris didn''t say much about the defeat and just said that they could rest the next day. The players were happy with that, even though Jake who had great stamina was getting tired after playing 48 minutes in every game, Jake would not be training the next day, but he would not have time to rest because Larry Page and Sergey Brin would come to Los Angeles to talk to him. Jake can sleep well at his home in Los Angeles and the next day he woke up excited to make a big deal, he had already called Emily asking her to prepare the contracts and come to Los Angeles. Jake was confident that he could close this deal because his offer was very good and he would invest a lot of money in a company that didn''t even have a million dollars invested yet, in addition, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were just rejected to sell the company. When Larry Page and Sergey Brin arrived in Los Angeles by plane Jake had already sent a driver in a rental car to pick them both up at the hotel where he had made a reservation for both of them, it was a kindness Jake had made for both of them before the conversation. The driver was waiting for them to get ready to take them to the restaurant where Jake was waiting for them, Larry Page and Sergey Brin knew that Jake was busy and so they accepted his request for them to go to Los Angeles. Even though the two had accepted Jake''s invitation for this negotiation, they still doubted whether this time Jake would really make a good proposal, they knew that Jake had the financial means to make an excellent proposal, but even they knew that this was a risky investment. Larry Page and Sergey Brin packed their things at the hotel Jake had prepared and changed clothes before going with Jake''s driver to the restaurant he had booked for them to talk business. "It''s nice to see you again Larry and Sergey, sorry to ask you to come to Los Angeles, but you know how busy I''ve been lately." "It''s okay, Jake, if your proposal is as good as you told me on the phone, we don''t mind coming to Los Angeles." "Actually, I wanted to make you a proposal after the end of this NBA season, but as you even tried to sell the company, I was a little anxious to talk to you." "We really thought about selling the company, but after we couldn''t do it, we thought better and decided to invest more time in it to make a great company." "This is great, if you had asked my opinion, I would also say that it is crazy to try to sell a company like Google that has such great growth potential, that is why I want to invest in that company." "And what is your proposal, Jake?" "My proposal is thinking about what the future of the company can be at best, if you do a great job the company can do what I am investing and even more, then I am investing in you too." "It is such a good proposal that there is no negotiation, you must accept or decline the proposal." Hearing this Larry Page and Sergey Brin realized that Jake really wanted to make an excellent proposal and they were excited about it, of course, if it was not a good proposal he would not emphasize it so much that there would be no negotiation. "Given the potential of the Google company, I am going to offer an investment of 25 million dollars and I want 50 percent of the company, but this proposal has some conditions." "I want 50 percent and you should have more than 45 percent of the company with the current valuation of the company after my investment, I want a contract saying that I will never take less than 35 percent of the company''s shares no matter how diluted they are." "In return, I will not have any decision power in the company with my shares, I sign a contract that I pass full powers that I have with my current 50 percent to you who will have 95 percent of the votes in the company." "What do you think about this proposal." Larry Page and Sergey Brin were really shocked by Jake''s excellent proposal at their company, even though 50 percent of the company was half of the company''s control, Jake said he would sign a contract giving up his voting power at the company and handing it over to them. And Jake was offering $ 25 million for that 50 percent, they were denied to sell the company for less than $ 1 million and a few days later they received a $ 25 million investment proposal. Their biggest fear was precisely to get a big investment in the company and thus lose control over how the company would grow, they wanted to keep their ideas and moral values ??in the company even with investment. "Jake, Sergey and I have to discuss your offer, can you give us some time alone to discuss?" "No problem, I''ll be out of here for a while and you will call me when you decide." Jake left the restaurant confident that they would accept his proposal, especially because he said he would not get involved in their decisions for the company, Jake had to trust them because he himself did not know how to make a technology company worth almost 1 trillion of dollars. Jake said he would not negotiate after making the offer, but if they refused he would ask for 40 percent as they did in their company''s first round of investment, the important thing was that Jake never cheated them and said he always thought the company worth what he was investing. After all, investing $ 25 million at 50 percent, Jake was increasing the company''s valuation to more than $ 50 million, and Jake would still accept that his shares be diluted by 15 percent. Chapter 492 A Great Deal 6 Jake had no doubt that Larry Page and Sergey Brin were smart businessmen, even with such a proposal from him, the two were still talking and discussing whether or not to accept Jake''s generous offer. Only after a long time that Larry Page went to call Jake at the entrance to the restaurant so they could give him an answer, Jake was not eager to hear their response, but Larry Page and Sergey Brin were anxious. "Jake, we decided to accept your proposal, it really is a very good and fair proposal and if you really pass your voting rights on to us, then it will be a great deal for us too." "This is good, I''m glad you decided to accept my proposal, I asked my assistant who is also my lawyer to prepare the contracts for us, you can ask your lawyer to come to Los Angeles so that he can review the contracts before you sign." "It''s okay, you can fax the contracts to our lawyers for review and if it''s okay we''ll sign right here." Emily was still a few hours away from arriving in Los Angeles, so Jake asked if Larry Page and Sergey Brin would like to go back to the hotel to rest, in the meantime, Jake asked Emily to send a fax to Larry and Sergey''s lawyers for the contract to be signed more quickly. Jake was happy to have closed this big deal, even if because of him the company Google did not become a company of almost 1 trillion dollars, it would still be a great company because of the quality of the unique search engine that the site has. Emily asked her trusted assistants to fax the contracts to Larry Page and Sergey Brin''s lawyers and before Emily arrived in Los Angeles their lawyers had already reviewed the contract and said it was all as Jake had said. Including the contract that Jake would pass the voting rights on his shares to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, seeing that it was all right the two could relax and were already decided that they would sign the contract with Jake. Emily arrived in Los Angeles and Jake sent the driver to pick her up at the airport and take her to a hotel in the city as well after all these costs were low for Jake to treat his staff and guests well. As soon as Emily packed her things at the hotel she already called Jake to ask when the contracts would be signed and Jake said it would be dinner, so she could rest for a few hours. Emily was surprised when she learned how much Jake was going to invest in a company she didn''t even know, but she learned to trust Jake''s decisions, especially when it came to investment, as she met him before Jake managed to earn more than 1 million dollars. In fact, Emily has repeatedly regretted not investing the money she had in Jake''s investment company, but now she did not have the courage to invest in the Cisco company with all the market analysts saying the bubble would burst and all companies would lose billions of dollars in stock value when that happened. So the driver brought Emily with the contracts to the restaurant where Jake was, soon after the driver brought Larry Page and Sergey Brin who were excited to sign the contract, they knew they were doing a good deal for Google. "So? Did your lawyer review the contract Emily sent them?" "Yes, everything is fine as you said it would be, we are ready to sign the contract." So Emily took the contracts she had brought and everyone signed the contract very happy, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were happy because they had made an excellent deal and could continue to invest in the company. And Jake was happy because he knew what it would be like in the future and how these actions could make him one of the richest men in the world having invested only 25 million dollars, with the shares he had invested in Amazon he could already become the richest man of the world in the future. "Very well, I said that I will not interfere with your decision on how you should take care of the company, but I know that the company needs more investment to start having some revenue without doing anything that is against your moral values." "So with this investment that I made the company is much more valued and with this investment you can further improve the company Google, even so, I suggest that in the coming months you look for Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield \u0026 Buyers." "Make a round of investment to raise a few million dollars, it maybe 25 million dollars or even more with the current valuation of the company, these are companies that provide initial investment in technology companies that can be very successful in the future." "How much they don''t invest doesn''t matter much, but you can negotiate for some of their employees to join Google''s board of directors just like they did with other big companies like Amazon and Yahoo." "This is fundamental to the development of our company, I am also a partner at Amazon and I know how good their work is, another thing that you will have to do is to hire a president for the company." "I''m not going to say when you should do this, but it is essential for our company to be even better, this is just advice that I am giving and you may not listen to me, but I have a good sense of investment." Larry and Sergey were surprised because they didn''t know that Jake was a partner at Amazon, and since Jake was saying that he was a partner, so he should have more than 5 percent of the company, they didn''t know that and was even more impressed with Jake. As Jake had given these councils they would go and search for these companies that he said Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield \u0026 Buyers, if they were really good for the company they would talk to them. So Jake talked to the two of them for a while and Emily also took part in this millionaires conversation and then Larry Page and Sergey Brin went to their hotel, Jake had booked a plane ticket for them the next day and they wanted to go back to work even more in the company now that they had a big investment. "Thanks for coming here Emily, this was an important investment for me, after this negotiation, I will be able to focus more on basketball until we have to start selling the shares of the Cisco company." "No problem, Jake, if you invested in this company they should make a big profit in the future, after all, the Amazon company you invested in has the company valued at billions of dollars, you will soon be a billionaire because of this company." Jake knew that Emily was right, in 1999 Amazon would appreciate a lot and Jeff Bezos would enter the list of richest men in the world, this time Jake would also enter that list with a few billion dollars. But Jake wouldn''t mind that because Matthew would be on the top of that list in 1999 and in 2000 too, Jake already knew that in the future he would be the richest man in the world so he would start thinking about how he would use some of that money to help others. Jake didn''t want to have more than 100 billion dollars just to be the richest man in the world, he took advantage of those chances to invest in more business and earn more to help people, with the money he would receive in his NBA career would be the enough for Jake to live with his mother his whole life without worrying about money. Jake waited until the driver came back to take Emily back to the hotel she was at and said goodbye to her, Jake went home because he would have to train with the Los Angeles Lakers team the next day and after completing this great deal he could relax. In that month yet another important thing would happen in Jake''s life, Kate had been nominated for the Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards, she had not been nominated for other awards just for her music to deserve because Kate''s producer wanted her to win this award. Jake remembered that Lauryn Hill had won this award and in that Grammy, she had won a total of 5 awards, so Jake believed that Kate could win this award with her company''s strategy. Currently, Kate was better known than Lauryn Hill, but that was not the most important thing because the Backstreet Boys were also very famous and did not win this award, unfortunately, Lily, who was Kate''s manager, prevented him from going to this award with Kate. After all, that would be the same as publicly assuming that he was dating Kate, Lily thought that this was not the right time to reveal their relationship and so Jake had to root for Kate watching the awards. The 41st Annual Grammy Awards would take place at the end of February so Jake hoped Kate could win, so Jake had to think only about basketball for the next few weeks, the next day Jake woke up well and went to train with the team. Arriving at training Jake was happy that Shaquille O''Neal was training with the team normally, but Jake soon realized that the other players didn''t look very happy, he soon approached Rick Fox and asked what had happened. "It looks like Robert has a health problem and is not going to be able to play the next games, he will lose at least the next 6 games, so we are not going to play with the full team in the next games." "What a pity, he was playing very well in the last games and helping a lot in defense, is his health problem very serious?" "I don''t think so, after all, he will be playing again this season, so there is not much risk to his life." Chapter 493 The NBA Season Continues 1 With this bad news from Robert Horry the Los Angeles Lakers team did not train as well, not even Jake remembered that Robert had been sick at that time, he just thought Robert Horry did not play because coach Del Harris chose another player. Without Horry on the team, coach Harris decided to put Travis Knight on the team, this time the team still had one day to train before the next game so Horry''s absence would not be so bad for the team. After the first 5 games of the season, Jake had won the respect of his teammates, now the other players on the team treated him like a professional player and as Jake talked to everyone politely, all the players liked him. The team managed to find a way to play even without Horry on the team, but the team''s defense would be weaker without Robert Horry, the attack would not be a problem because the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack was the strongest this season. The next day came the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team in the NBA, this would be a team game in Los Angeles at home at the Great Western Forum, with the team''s good start to the season everyone hoped the Los Angeles Lakers team would win that game easily. Of course, the Indiana Pacers team was a strong and difficult opponent, but after beating other tough opponents the fans had confidence in the Los Angeles Lakers team, the fans started to like Jake Smith even more, who seemed to help the Los Angeles Lakers team. winning the NBA title again. Jake and the other players arrived at the Great Western Forum and went to the locker rooms to put on their uniform and do warm-up exercises for the game, Jake could see that Shaquille O''Neal was very excited about that game after not playing in the last game. So the two teams soon went to the court and Jake could see the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers much happier than in the first two games of the team this season, after all the team Los Angeles Lakers managed to win 4 games of the 5 games that they played in that one season. "Welcome to everyone who will watch another game this season in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers team that has 4 wins in 5 games this season will face the Indiana Pacers team that won 3 of the 5 games this season." "The Los Angeles Lakers team lost the last game playing as a visitor, but in that game, Shaquille O''Neal was not playing and today he is back, but in this game who will not be playing is Robert Horry, it seems that in the next games he will not participate due to health problems." "Certainly without Robert Horry who performed well in the Los Angeles Lakers team in those early games, the team will be left with the weakest defense, but with Shaquille O''Neal, back on the team I think they will win this game." "Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team is the favorite to win this game, Jake Smith so far is the best rookie of the season, if he keeps playing well he can even be chosen for the All-NBA First Team like Tim Duncan did the previous year." Normally the media and fans would not be so excited about 5 good games by a rookie player because it was always good to wait and see how a rookie player would end the season, but with Jake it was different. In this season of just 50 games, Jake had already played very well in a tenth of them, moreover, after that lockout and the retirement of Michael Jordan, the sports media and basketball fans wanted to find another NBA idol. Jake had a big difference, which was that Jake was also an athlete who ran marathons and won more than 10 marathons and had a gold medal in the Olympics, so even if Jake Smith didn''t become a maximum idol in basketball, he would be a maximum idol in American sport. In the games of the Los Angeles Lakers team, there were many posters calling Jake by the nickname that was given to him in the races that were Captain America, this showed the great affection that basketball fans, in general, had for Jake Smith. The Los Angeles Lakers team came in this game with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing improvised as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center back for the team. The Indiana Pacers team came with early players Mark Jackson playing as PG, Reggie Miller playing as SG, Jalen Rose playing as SF, Dale Davis playing as PF, and Rik Smits playing as Center. Jake knew that the players on the Indiana Pacers team were good and this season they would be first in the Central Division, it showed how strong their team was this season, Jake also knew Reggie Miller well and even though Miller was not an idol for Jake, it was someone he respected a lot. The game started and the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first possession of the ball, Jake received the ball and started to organize the first attack of the game for the Lakers team, Jake advanced and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right. In the previous game, Kobe Bryant and Jake suffered a lot from the opposing team''s defense strategy, so in that game, Bryant wanted to make more moves, Reggie Miller soon arrived to defend against Bryant who soon felt the pressure of the defense. Bryant thought about trying the individual play to make the points, but decided it was better to pass the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Jalen Rose soon pressed in defense, so Fox decided to pass the ball to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and decided to try the shot from outside and made the first 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake thought it was good that the Lakers team started the game with the advantage on the scoreboard to pressure the Indiana Pacers team. The Indiana Pacers team tried to react and Mark Jackson advanced with the ball, Jake was a little far from Jackson in defense, but Jackson did not want to try the individual play and passed the ball to Rose on the right. Rose received the ball and advanced with the ball and Fox pressed the defense, rose passed the ball to Rik Smits further on, Smits received the ball and O''Neal soon pressed the defense, Smits tried to position himself to try the play and was unable. So Smits passed the ball to Miller further back, Miller received the ball and Kobe Bryant was defending against him, Miller got a good individual play by making a feint and cheating Bryant and then he tried the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the team Indiana Pacers. The two teams looked the same in the game, but the players on the court soon realized that the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage with Jake on the team, Mark Jackson was an excellent PG and had good game attendance statistics. But in this game, he had to be more careful when making passes because he knew that Jake was very skillful in making steals, so he could not make passes in the right moves at times thinking that Jake could intercept his passes. Jake didn''t have to worry about that and as he showed in the last few games, any opponent had a hard time defending against him, especially when Jake used his speed, so the Los Angeles Lakers team had a greater advantage in controlling the game. The Los Angeles Lakers team attacked again and Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox received and ball and held on a little and Rose soon pressed in defense, so Fox decided to pass the ball to Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and Miller soon pressed in defense against him, Bryant was having trouble making the move in that game and passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and saw Shaquille O''Neal''s good movement and passed the ball for him. Shaquille O''Neal received the ball and protected the Smits ball that was in defense, O''Neal protected the ball and can advance to make the layup and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake had realized that O''Neal wanted to make the points in that game so he would pass the ball over to him. The Indiana Pacers team went on the attack and Jackson was organizing the play, Jackson advanced with the ball and Jake was on defense waiting for Jackson''s move, so Jackson passed the ball to Miller on the left. Miller received the ball and Bryant soon pressed in defense against him, Miller tried an individual play and Bryant defended well against him, so Miller passed the ball to Rose from the left, Fox was pressing in defense against him, and in front O''Neal was defending well against Smits. So Rose had to try the pass to Jackson further back, but Jake was watching the move and was anticipating to intercept the pass and make the steal, Jake intended to hold the ball in defense until the team prepared to make the attack. But Kobe Bryant quickly advanced to the attack and in the defense of the Indiana Pacers team he had only 3 players, so Jake also ran for the attack and the defense of the Indiana Pacers team had to return. In the attack there was Kobe Bryant and Jake and in defense, there was Jackson, Rose, and Miller, Kobe Bryant was more ahead and Jackson was defending against him, with Jake''s speed in the race, Miller was unable to keep up and so was Jake and Bryant against the defense of the Indiana Pacers team. Jake advanced on the left and Bryant was on the right, near the three-point line Rose tried to hinder Jake in the play or even try to make the steal, Jake was quick and made a crossover that tricked Rose. Soon after Jake made his special move that was the Ghost Move, Jake made the Ghost Move and Rose could no longer see where the ball was and looked at where Kobe Bryant was thinking that Jake had made the pass and Jake easily passed Rose with the ball. Chapter 494 The NBA Season Continues 2 Rose stayed behind and Bryant and Jackson who were watching Jake''s move could not understand why Rose let Jake pass and stayed behind, Jake continued advancing to the inside area to make the layup. So Jackson went to defend against Jake, so Jackson came to defend against him Jake assisted Kobe Bryant by passing the ball behind-the-back, Bryant received the ball and just dunk to make 2 more points for the Los team Angeles Lakers. With this beautiful move, the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team at the Great Western Forum cheered a lot, Kobe Bryant praised Jake for this move, Bryant had thought that Jake would not make the pass and would try to make the whole move on his own. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, with Shaquille O''Neal playing again the entire team can play well and Jake had a good first quarter. "And so the first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning so far, the Indiana Pacers team is playing well so far, Reggie Miller has done a good first quarter and the rest of the team has also played well in attack." "But with Jake Smith''s great attacking moves in that first quarter and Shaquille O''Neal''s good game, the Los Angeles Lakers team also has the advantage in that game, Shaquille O''Neal seems to want to show what he''s capable of after staying out of the team in the last game." "For sure, with Shaquille O''Neal playing the Los Angeles Lakers team playing much better, Shaquille O''Neal is the most important player on the Los Angeles Lakers team, not least because he is more experienced than Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith and he plays as Center which is a very important position in the NBA today." "Yes, that''s also why the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win this game, after all, Shaquille O''Neal seems to be playing very well in that game and it''s been difficult for Rik Smits to attack." Just as commentators said Jake also knew that Shaquille O''Neal was the most important player on the team today, one of the reasons why Jake wanted to play on the Los Angeles Lakers team was Shaquille O''Neal. Certainly Jake had great admiration for Kobe Bryant too, but currently, he was not yet the incredible player he would be in the future, Jake also knew that he was not the most important player on the team. The second quarter started with the Indiana Pacers team pressing in the attack, Mark Jackson advanced the ball and passed to Reggie Miller on the left, Miller received the ball and Bryant soon pressed in defense. Miller did not want to try a move and passed the ball to Dale Davis later on, Davis received the ball and Travis Knight soon pressed in defense, Davis managed to spin and then tried a hook to make 2 more points for the Indiana Pacers team. Travis Knight was a good player in defense and also in attack, but unfortunately, they had many other players better than him playing in the same position as him in the NBA, so he couldn''t help the Los Angeles Lakers team much. In another move Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and managed to get rid of Miller''s defense and attempted a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant was also playing well in that game, but because of Miller''s pressure on defense he would rather pass the ball than attempt an attack that might not work, Coach Harris realized that and was satisfied with Bryant''s game that he was thinking more about in the team. In another attacking move by the Indiana Pacers team Jackson started to organize another attack, Jackson advanced the ball and passed to Miller on the left, Reggie Miller was the best player on the Indiana Pacers team in that game. Miller received the ball and Bryant soon pressed the defense, Miller passed the ball further back to Jackson, Jackson received the ball and Jake was pressing the defense, so Jackson decided to try a shot from outside, but Jake was alert and soon jumped to do the block and prevent Jackson from shooting. This block by Jake animated the Los Angeles Lakers team at the Great Western Forum, it was Jake''s first block in the NBA and he was proving to be more and more of a good defensive player, even with Jake''s block the possession of the ball still continued with the Indiana Pacers team. Jake''s good moves were putting a lot of pressure on the Indiana Pacers team, but they still wanted to win that game, so Jackson advanced the ball and passed it to Miller on the left, Miller received the ball and passed it to Rose on the right. Jalen Rose had the ball and managed to outwit Rick Fox with a feint and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Indiana Pacers team, the Indiana Pacers team was still alive in the game, but the pressure on the team players Indiana Pacers was increasing. The Los Angeles Lakers team started another attack with Jake advancing with the ball, Jake passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox was playing well in the games even though he didn''t stand out very much, he averaged 11 points per game and that helped Los Angeles Lakers team. Fox received the ball and soon passed it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and tried an individual play, Jackson tried to surprise Bryant and tried to make the steal, but Bryant reacted quickly and passed the ball to Jake who was free. Jake received the ball and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, he did not expect Jackson to leave him free to try to defend against Kobe Bryant, but that helped him got 3 more easy points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team having an even greater lead on the scoreboard, Shaquille O''Neal was playing very well and scoring more points than Jake in the game, and that helped Jake to have more assists. In that second quarter of the game, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 10 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, with this good second quarter Jake had more confidence that the Los Angeles Lakers team would achieve victory in that game. "The second quarter of the game with the Los Angeles Lakers team ends with the advantage of points, a great game so far by the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake Smith is playing very well in this game also helping in attack and defense." "Kobe Bryant is also playing very well and Shaquille O''Neal is the best player in this game so far, Shaquille O''Neal had 16 points and had 8 rebounds in this first half of the game, but Jake Smith also helped a lot with 18 points and 7 assists." "Really Jake Smith has been making a great start to the season, he averages over 29 points per game in 5 games this season, with Jake Smith the Los Angeles Lakers team being a favorite to win the NBA title this season." "The Indiana Pacers team is also playing a good game and they are not far behind on the scoreboard, Reggie Miller is playing well defending against Kobe Bryant and making the points in most of his attacks." "We will continue to follow the game to see if the Los Angeles Lakers team will win the game or if the Indiana Pacers team will still make the turn." The third quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing in the attack, they wanted the victory and did not want to have a second loss this season, even more playing at home. Jake advanced to the attack with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Rose soon came to press on defense, Fox tried to feint, but failed to deceive Rose, so Fox passed the ball to Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and with a good individual move, he passed Miller and advanced to the inside area, the defense of the Indiana Pacers team did not expect this move and so Bryant drive to the basket and tried the layup to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Indiana Pacers team soon went on the attack because they still wanted to win the game, Jackson moved forward and passed the ball to Rose through the right, Rose received the ball and Fox soon came to press on defense. Rose passed the ball to Smits further on, Smits received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal soon pressed in defense, so Smits passed the ball to Miller from the left, Miller received the ball and stepped back and tried the shot from outside make 3 more points for the Indiana Pacers team. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack and Jake was organizing the move, Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Bryant from the right, Bryant received the ball and held it a little while thinking about the next move. Miller pressed the defense and Bryant passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox received the ball and then passed it back to Jake, Jake received the ball and tricked Jackson with a feint and advanced into the inside area. The defense of team Indiana Pacers pressed in defense against Jake who soon passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal, O''Neal received the ball and advanced to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The third quarter of the game was more balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team could not open more advantage on the scoreboard, the Indiana Pacers team also could not reduce the advantage of points that the Los Angeles Lakers had. So the third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team maintaining the points advantage, in that third quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 7 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, in that third quarter Jake tried more to help his teammates than making the points. Chapter 495 The NBA Season Continues 3 "The third quarter ends now, those were 12 minutes in which the two teams were very balanced, but the Indiana Pacers team was unable to diminish the points advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers team had." "So for the last quarter of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team has the advantage and just have to defend well and keep the game balanced in order to get the win, in the meantime the Indiana Pacers team will have to put more pressure on the attack." "Yes, even with the effort of the Indiana Pacers team in that third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team is playing very well and it will be difficult for them to lose this game." In the last quarter, the Indiana Pacers team tried to put even more pressure in the attack, but this made their defense more open, besides, the players of the Indiana Pacers team got more tired even with the team coach making several substitutions. So the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game making 112 points against 98 points of the Indiana Pacers team, in that last quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake got a double-double in that game with 9 steals too. "And so the game ends, the Los Angeles Lakers team won their fifth game of the season, with just one defeat the team shows that it is really favorite to win the NBA title this season." "The Indiana Pacers team played well in that game and the players did a good second half of the game, but the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were very good in that game, Shaquille O''Neal played very well with 38 points and 17 rebounds making one double-double." "But for me, the best player in that game was once again Jake Smith with 32 points, 14 assists, 9 steals and 8 rebounds, even though Jake Smith didn''t score more than Shaquille O''Neal, he helped the team a lot more in that game." "I think Shaquille O''Neal was the best player in that game with those 38 points and 17 rebounds, but it''s amazing how Jake Smith, who is a rookie, can play at the same level as NBA All-Star Shaquille O''Neal." "For sure, Jake Smith has been very important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to achieve these victories in the first games of this season, and it has already been 6 games out of the 50 games that we will have this season." Jake was happy with his performance in that game and was happy with the victories that the Los Angeles Lakers team was achieved in those first games, of the three defeats that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have this season, Jake managed to avoid two of them. Even though Jake could see how Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant still didn''t like Coach Del Harris, Jake didn''t know if it was Coach Harris who had prevented Shaquille O''Neal from playing in the game that the Los Angeles Lakers team lost. Jake had nothing against Coach Harris, Jake didn''t like the coach very much, but he also didn''t want him to be fired, but Jake wanted Coach Phil Jackson to be hired next season and for that, Coach Del Harris would have to be fired. Jake admired Coach Phil Jackson who was one of his NBA idols, Jake also couldn''t help but wonder if Coach Phil Jackson could help him be an even better player as he did with Shaquille O''Neal, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant. Los Angeles Lakers team fans and the media talked a lot now about Jake and as he was the team''s new star, older fans couldn''t help but remember the times when Magic Johnson played as PG and team leader Los Angeles Lakers. Before Michael Jordan''s time, it was the Los Angeles Lakers team that dominated the NBA along with the Boston Celtics team, of course, they couldn''t expect Jake to help the Los Angeles Lakers team win another 5 NBA title as Magic Johnson did, but if Jake could help the Lakers team win an NBA title they would be happy. The sports media commented on the story of Jake Smith who was doing an excellent season as a rookie and also talked about how he was also currently the best marathon athlete in the world. What the media said and the fans agreed was that if this season he had an all-star game, Jake would certainly be one of the chosen ones because American fans liked him a lot, it was a pity that this season the game had been canceled. The Los Angeles Lakers team players were happy that they would have a day of rest before the next game, that day they would only have the training, in addition, the next three games of the Los Angeles Lakers team would be at home, so the players would get tired any less. The next day Jake woke up very early excited, he was very happy with the games he had this season, the training he did in his imagination training helped him a lot to adapt more quickly to the NBA level. Of course, Jake knew he still had a lot of things he could improve on to play even better, for sure when he was more used to playing with his teammates the next games would be easier. Jake rested at his house, he took the opportunity to see some films he hadn''t seen in a long time in the cinema that was at his house, Jake always wanted to have something like that and at that time it was much cheaper to build a cinema when he was already if you had a room big enough. In the future, Jake would only need to change the projector for something more modern when the films started shooting in better image quality, of course, Jake could still watch the movies at the cinema when he wanted to leave. After all, what Jake liked most to do at his house was sports, he used the pool, the gym, the basketball court, the athletics track, so the movie theater and library were the places that Jake would only go to when he had more time. Jake''s dream was that when the films he participated in were released he could receive a copy to watch in his cinema room, Jake had already obtained a copy of the film Jerry Maguire, and he would order a copy of the film The Matrix as soon as it was launched. The premiere of the film The Matrix was close, Jake was sure it would be a success after all the film was similar to what he remembered and the essence that made the film a success continued, he had to see if with him participating in the film could get better and maybe earn even more profit. When Jake was invited to participate in the film he was a famous person even though he had not yet made his NBA debut, so Jake could have asked for a higher salary than Warner Bros would still pay. But Jake was offered to receive a small percentage of the profits from the film and Jake naturally accepted that and had not received a salary, he would receive 2 percent of the profits from the film, it was little close to the salary of the great actors, but it was very good for his first salary since he did not receive for his participation in the film Jerry Maguire. Later on, Jake went to do training with his teammates, it was lighter training to correct positioning problems and to train players who were making mistakes in the games. So the day after the game came, that game was against the Charlotte Hornets team, the Los Angeles Lakers team would play at home and as Glen Rice would not be playing in that game, it was expected that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win with more facility. Jake went to the Great Western Forum and saw that it was packed because fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team came to support the team that was having a great start to the season, Jake went to the locker room and soon all the players arrived. Soon the players went to the court and could see the fans cheering for another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game, this made the players even more excited to win this game that would soon begin. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers team will play against the Charlotte Hornets team to try to get another victory." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is playing at home and has 5 wins in 6 games this season, a very good start to the season and with the debut of Jake Smith who has been playing well and the great players Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant they have won several games." "With the Charlotte Hornets team it''s the other way around, they have 4 losses in 5 games this season, with injuries from Anthony Mason and Glen Rice the team is struggling to win games earlier this season." "Yes, in this game the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win, even with the absence of Robert Horry, the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to win in the previous game and they can win that game too." The Los Angeles Lakers team came with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Charlotte Hornets team came with the initial players'' BJ Armstrong playing as PG, Bobby Phills playing as SG, and they were playing with two PF on the team, JR Reid and Derrick Coleman, Coleman could play as Center also in the game to help Charles Shackleford who was playing as Center. Team coach Charlotte Hornets decided to do this to improve the defense against Shaquille O''Neal and also take the opportunity to attack more because it was Travis Knight who was defending, even if Rick Fox helped in the defense they could attack with more intensity. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing in the attack, Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Bryant from the right, Bryant received the ball and Bobby Phills soon pressed in defense. Bryant soon passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Reid was defending against him, so Fox passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake realized that Reid was not defending against Fox and passed the ball to him again. So Fox took the opportunity and tried a mid-range shot to make the first 2 points of the game for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Reid did not expect Fox to receive the ball again, and so the Los Angeles team started with the advantage in the game. Chapter 496 The NBA Season Continues 4 The Charlotte Hornets team players soon felt the strength of the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack that had the best attack this season in the NBA, as the Charlotte Hornets team players were not good at defense, they had to try to attack more to try to get the victory. The Charlotte Hornets team went on the attack with B. J. Armstrong organizing the play, B. J. Armstrong came forward and passed the ball to Phills who was on the left, Phills received the ball and Kobe Bryant soon came to defend against him. Phills held the ball and passed it to Reid on the right, Reid received the ball and Fox soon came to press on defense, Reid managed to spin and tried a hook to make 2 more points for the Charlotte Hornets team and tie the game. Both teams had no strong defenses so they had to rely on the attack to win the game, so the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage in this type of game for having the best attack of all NBA teams this season. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack and Jake was organizing the move, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Reid was already pressing in defense. After the play in which Reid left Fox alone and he made the 2 points, Reid defended well against Fox in all plays, the Charlotte Hornets defense with Derrick Coleman and Charles Shackleford was managing to defend well against Shaquille O''Neal. Fox held the ball and then passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and managed to get rid of Phills'' defense and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move the Charlotte Hornets team was on the attack, Armstrong advanced with the ball and made a pass to Reid on the right, Reid received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Reid passed the ball further to Shackleford. Shackleford received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal came to press on defense, so Shackleford held the ball a little and passed it to Phills on the left, Phills received the ball and managed to get rid of Bryant''s defense and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Charlotte Hornets team. In another move towards the end of the first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team went on the attack again, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and tried to trick Phills with a feint, but failed. Thus Bryant passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox received the ball and Reid pressed again in defense, so Fox passed the ball to Jake who was coming from the left as well Jake advanced and Armstrong was defending against him. Jake did a feint and a step back and fooled Armstrong and managed to try a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers in that game, Jake was attacking more in that game because the Charlotte Hornets defense was defending better against Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with several points of advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake played well in that first quarter, but it was more difficult defend with the team thinking more about attacking. "The first quarter ends, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game with a good point advantage, both teams were thinking more about attacking and the Los Angeles Lakers team that has the best attack got the advantage." "Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team made fewer mistakes in attack with Jake Smith organizing the attacks well, in this game Jake Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Rick Fox are having a good performance, and Shaquille O''Neal also even though he was well defended by the team Charlotte Hornets." "If the Charlotte Hornets team continues to play just thinking about the attack it will be difficult for them to win that game, the only team that beat the Los Angeles Lakers this season used defensive tactics to achieve victory." "It''s true, the biggest problem is that the Charlotte Hornets team is without two major players who are injured, Glen Rice and Anthony Mason, so coach Dave Cowens is still looking for the ideal team for this season." "Yes, Jake Smith is having another great performance so far in this game, it looks like it will be another good game this season and with that, we can see that Jake Smith can be considered more of an NBA star." Coach Cowens of team Charlotte Hornets was really looking for the best team to have this season, moreover, he had to worry about the players'' fatigue and so he replaced some players for a few minutes in each quarter. This could be a good advantage for the Los Angeles Lakers team, but Coach Harris realized that the game was favorable for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win easily, so he decided that he would also start in the second quarter to replace the important players. Coach Harris thought about doing this so that the players would not get too tired from this intense sequence of games, but in doing so the team would be weaker in the minutes that the main players on the team had to leave. Fortunately, he didn''t think about taking Jake out of the team because after 6 games playing every 48 minutes of the games, Coach Harris believed that Jake had a lot more stamina than most other players. In the second quarter, the Charlotte Hornets team continued to put pressure on defense only against Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant, luckily Rick Fox was playing very well in that game so it was easier for Jake to make the attacking moves. In one of the Los Angeles Lakers team''s moves, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and held on with Phills pressing against him in defense. Bryant did not attempt an individual move and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Reid started to press on defense, so Fox had to pass back to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Armstrong was defending against him, but no so close to him. Jake advanced with the ball using his speed and managed to get rid of the opposing defense, Jake advanced with speed towards the inside area and took the Charlotte Hornets team''s defense by surprise. Coleman tried to defend against him, but Jake realized that and passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal who received the ball and soon tried a dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, that was a move that Jake and O''Neal had trained in team training. With Jake breaking the Charlotte Hornets defense with quick moves, the Charlotte Hornets defense couldn''t handle the Los Angeles Lakers'' attack, so they tried to attack more when Coach Harris replaced a starting player. In another move the Charlotte Hornets team went for another attack, Armstrong advanced with the ball and passed to Phills on the left, Phills received the ball and Bryant soon pressed in defense, so Phills passed the ball to Reid on the right. Reid received the ball and Fox pressed further in defense to hinder Reid in the attack, realizing this Reid passed the ball to Coleman, Coleman received the ball and Travis Knight was defending against him. Coleman managed to make a spin and tried a hook to make 2 more points for the Charlotte Hornets team, Knight could not defend well against Coleman and the Charlotte Hornets team was taking advantage of that in the attacking plays. In another attacking move by the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Bryant from the right, Bryant received the ball and Phills came to press on defense, so Bryant passed the ball to Knight later on. Knight received and the ball and Coleman were already pressing in defense, so Knight passed to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and with a feint, he deceived Armstrong and advanced into the area, this time it was Reid who tried to defend against Jake. Jake was quick and passed the ball to Fox from the left who was free, Fox received the ball and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers team was managing to increase the lead on the scoreboard. But after a few minutes in the second quarter that the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to increase the lead on the scoreboard, Coach Harris decided to make some substitutions at some points during the game, taking players out of the team. Fortunately, he took only one player at a time and didn''t affect the team that much, yet it was harder for Jake to make the attacking moves when Shaquille O''Neal or Kobe Bryant left the team. In one of the moves when Kobe Bryant had been replaced, the Charlotte Hornets team went for another attack, Armstrong came with the ball and passed to Phills on the left, Phills received the ball and Tyronn Lue pressed in defense and Phills was unable to deceive Lue this time and passed it to Coleman ahead. Coleman received the ball and held it up a little before passing it to Reid on the right, Reid received the ball and Fox soon pressed for defense, Reid decided not to attempt the individual play and passed it to Armstrong further back. Armstrong had only scored 4 points in that game because he knew Jake''s defensive skills, so Armstrong tried a pass to Phills, but Jake anticipated that move and intercepted Armstrong''s pass making the steal. Jake stole the ball and advanced for the attack, Jake ran for the attack and only Armstrong who missed the pass managed to accompany Jake in defense because he was further back in defense. Jake made a crossover and with a beautiful play he deceived Armstrong and continued advancing towards the inner area, Armstrong was unable to follow Jake after Jake''s move and so Jake dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Chapter 497 The NBA Season Continues 5 Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team who were at the Great Western Forum celebrated Jake''s beautiful move and points, with coach Harris replacing the starting players Jake had to make more attacking moves. The second quarter ended the Los Angeles Lakers team slightly increasing the lead, Jake played for 12 minutes in that second quarter and had 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. "The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team goes to the break with a big advantage in points, even though Coach Harris decided to replace the main players for the Los Angeles Lakers team for a few minutes." "Yes, Coach Harris seems to be trying to spare the main players so they don''t get so tired in a game in which they have a big advantage, but the Charlotte Hornets team also didn''t know how to take advantage of that because Coach Cowens also replaced the players from his team." "The Charlotte Hornets team has been doing this a few times in the last few games because Coach Cowens seems to be looking for an ideal team to play even with some players that he counted injured." "It''s true, and the Los Angeles Lakers team only managed to increase the advantage even more because Jake Smith had an excellent second quarter and scored 13 points, Jake Smith has been showing that he is an excellent player even in this strong Los Angeles Lakers team." The third quarter started and the Charlotte Hornets team started to press further in the attack to try to win, Coach Harris continued making substitutions because he saw that Jake could help the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. The Charlotte Hornets team went on the attack with Armstrong organizing the play, Armstrong was perhaps the only player who wanted to be replaced on the Charlotte Hornets team, he could not attack well with Jake defending against him. Jake had already managed to make 3 of the steals he got in that game by intercepting passes from Armstrong, all players knew that Jake was very different from other players with an average of more than 7 steals per game. So Armstrong soon passed the ball to Reid on the right, Reid was playing well in that game pressing in the attack on Fox, and Fox was also playing well in the attack in that game, so the two were defending badly in that game. Reid managed to trick Fox with a feint and advanced to the inside area, Knight realized that Reid wanted to make the layup and went to defend against Reid, Reid did not expect Knight to do that and passed the ball to Phills on the left. Phills who saw the play better than Reid tried to pass it to Coleman who was free, but Knight had already returned to defend against Coleman, and Fox managed to recover and was defending against Reid. Phills also failed to make the move with Bryant on defense and passed to Shackleford later, Shackleford received the ball and this time Shaquille O''Neal had been replaced and it was Corie Blount in defense. Shackleford managed to spin and tried the hook to make 2 more points for the Charlotte Hornets team, the two teams managed to attack well against the weak defense of the teams, only Jake was helping in the defense, and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal defended well when they were on the court. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake charged forward and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant, Bryant received the ball and tried to make a feint to get rid of Phills, but Phills was not fooled and so Bryant passed the ball to O''Neal later in the attack. Shaquille O''Neal received the ball and soon Shackleford and Coleman pressed in defense against him, O''Neal was unable to make the move with two Charlotte Hornets players defending against him. So O''Neal passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and saw that Fox was free from the left and passed the ball to him, Fox received the ball and took advantage that Reid was not defending against him and tried the mid-shot range to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Coach Harris also did not take Fox out for many minutes in that game and so Jake and he was playing well in attack, Jake continued to attack more when O''Neal or Bryant was replaced and Armstrong was unable to defend against him. In another move the Charlotte Hornets team was on the attack again, the players were trying to attack to diminish the advantage on the scoreboard that the Los Angeles Lakers had, but even if the Los Angeles Lakers'' defense was not so good, they still managed to defend in some plays. After a good attacking move, the ball was left for Phills on the left, Bryant was defending against him and Phills could not get rid of Bryant''s defense, so he passed the ball to Reid on the right. Reid received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Reid saw he could not make the move and passed the ball to Armstrong further back, possession was running out and Armstrong had to try the shot from outside. Jake was not close to Armstrong, but it did not take long to react and approached Armstrong and jumped with him, with Jake''s pressure, Armstrong ended up missing the shot and O''Neal caught the defensive rebound. The Los Angeles Lakers team failed to increase the advantage in the third quarter because of the good defense of the Charlotte Hornets team and their intense attack, but with the advantage they had in points, it was difficult for them to lose the game in the last quarter. Jake played for 12 minutes in that third quarter and had 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, in that game Jake was certainly the highlight of the team having the best performance, but at the end of the game, he would have more than 16 minutes to more playing than his teammates. As expected, the Charlotte Hornets team tried to push forward in the last quarter, but the Los Angeles Lakers team still won the game with 122 points against Charlotte Hornets'' 86. Jake played for 12 minutes in that last quarter and made 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, with that, Jake managed to a double-double and was the best player of the Los Angeles Lakers team being important in the game when Coach Harris replaced the main players of the team for a few minutes. "Another game ends this NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers team won another game this season, with this victory they have 6 victories and only 1 defeat in 7 games, the Los Angeles Lakers team has been showing more and more that it is favorite to win this season''s NBA title." "That''s right, the Charlotte Hornets team tried to attack a lot and they made a defensive strategy to defend against Shaquille O''Neal who is the best player of that team, but it didn''t work very well for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win with an advantage of more 30 points." "Their defense strategy was good, they tried to stop Shaquille O''Neal who is the player who scores the most points in the Los Angeles Lakers team, but in that game Coach Harris decided to let Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant rest for a few minutes." "So their defense strategy was avoided, even so, Shaquille O''Neal scored 20 points in that game playing for just over 25 minutes, Kobe Bryant scored 18 points playing for just over 30 minutes in that game." "It''s true, Rick Fox played more time in that game and managed to score 26 points and helped the team a lot, but the highlight was really the rookie Jake Smith who managed to double 39 points and 11 assists." "Yes, we will continue to follow the games of the Los Angeles Lakers team to see if they remain favorites to win the NBA title and whether Jake Smith will continue to play thus being very important to the victories of the Los Angeles Lakers team." After that game Jake was praised by his teammates, even though he was the main player in that game, it was because Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant had not played more than 30 minutes. Jake''s teammates couldn''t complain about this because Jake had more stamina than the other players, the other players were already a little more tired after playing 7 games that month. After the game was over the players were able to return to their home to rest, after all the next game would be the very next day and the players would not have time to rest, so Coach Harris decided to let the main players play less time in that game. After all, players would continue with this intense sequence of games that could make players more tired and even get injured because of that, the problem with the Los Angeles Lakers team was that they had no players to replace the top players at a high level. If Coach Harris could, he would replace the main players again if the team was winning, especially now that he knew they could count on Jake to play the entire game. Arriving at home Jake called his mother to tell him that his team had won this game more, Eva was very happy and she knew how in the NBA Jake would have opponents much more difficult than at university. Even so, Eva was happy because Jake continued to win most of the games he played, just like it was at university, of course, Eva knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team was very good and it was the basketball team that Jake had always been a fan of as a child. After Jake''s years at College Eva was used to going several months without Jake around, that year at least Jake can stay in Miami until the beginning of the year and could return to Miami in July of that year. Of course, Eva didn''t know that Jake was thinking of going to the 1999 World Championships in Athletics that would be in Seville, Spain in August of that year, so Jack didn''t know if he could go back to Miami or have to do other things before the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. Chapter 498 The NBA Season Continues 6 To participate in this 1999 World Championships in Athletics Jake still had to participate and win the competitions in the 5,000 meters and in the 10,000 meters and in the marathon in the 1999 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to qualify for the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. Of course, Jake didn''t need to participate in the marathon because as he had won the 1997 World Championships in Athletics he had a guaranteed spot, but he would still participate in the marathon too because he would have to run in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters anyway. Jake had not yet told his mother that he intended to participate, because he could give up if there was something else he was interested in doing on his vacation, but Jake would probably be running at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. And that was because he loved running and it would be important for him to reveal what he was capable of in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters for the next Olympics, Jake knew that Adidas would no longer pressure him to run in marathons because he already had started playing in the NBA and his contract was more because of the NBA. Certainly, Adidas and the other companies that sponsored them were very happy to see how skillful Jake was and was having an excellent performance in the NBA in those first games of this season. After a good night''s rest, the day of the next Los Angeles Lakers team game in the NBA came, Jake went to the Great Western Forum and can see that the Los Angeles Lakers fans were coming to watch another team game. The Los Angeles Lakers team was making an excellent start to the season and unlike what happened in Jake''s past life, they won 6 games and lost only 1 in 7 games this season, it was two more victories than in Jake''s past life. This intense sequence of games was only better for Jake, who had much more stamina than the other players, even though his teammates were also affected by fatigue, Jake could play better against opponents more tired than him. Jake and the other players went to the locker room and put on their uniforms and went to the court, this time the names of Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and now Jake''s name were called by the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team. "Welcome everyone to another game this season in the NBA, this is the game between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Dallas Mavericks team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team plays at home today and comes from a great start to the season with 6 wins in 7 games, with stars Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant and rookie star Jake Smith the team Los Angeles Lakers is definitely a favorite to win that game." "The Dallas Mavericks team has been having a bad start to the season, they are 6 losses in 7 games and their only victory was in a game that went overtime, it is a situation opposite to that of the Los Angeles Lakers team." "Yes, unlike this season''s star rookie Jake Smith, rookie Dirk Nowitzki has been disappointing for the Dallas Mavericks team, Dirk Nowitzki has been criticized for being a terrible defensive player in the last games of the Dallas Mavericks team." "This is a game that coach Harris will want to replace the main players of the Los Angeles Lakers team if they have the points advantage in the game." Jake remembered that at the beginning of Dirk Nowitzki''s career in the NBA he was very criticized for not adapting well to the NBA and not being able to defend or attack well against NBA players who had greater physical strength, especially those who played as PF. Of course, Jake knew that in the future Dirk Nowitzki would be one of the biggest supporters of the Dallas Mavericks team and an idol for European fans and NBA fans as one of the greatest players in history. The Los Angeles Lakers team came to this game with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Dallas Mavericks team came to this game with the initial players'' Steve Nash playing as PG, Michael Finley playing as SF even defending as SG, Cedric Ceballos playing as SF, Gary Trent playing as PF, and Dirk Nowitzki also playing as PF, but defending as Center. It seemed that the Dallas Mavericks team wanted to make a similar strategy like the one used by the last opponent of the Los Angeles Lakers team, but last time it didn''t work very well and this time it wouldn''t work very well either. Jake found it interesting how two of his NBA idols were playing on this Dallas Mavericks team and even though they were playing so badly this season, Steve Nash was one of Jake''s idols, especially since he was one of the best PG in NBA history. And Dirk Nowitzki was also one of Jake''s idols in the NBA, it was interesting to see how these great players also had moments when they were criticized and even called bad players even though they became NBA geniuses. Jake also knew that it would be a shame that he had to compete with Steve Nash to find out who would be the best PG in several seasons, with the points and assists that Jake normally had on average he thought he would win most seasons in the NBA in the future. The game started and the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first ball possession, Jake advanced with the ball and soon passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Michael Finley was defending against him. Bryant managed to get rid of Finley''s defense easily and tried a mid-range shot to score the Los Angeles Lakers team''s first 2 points in the game, Kobe Bryant knew he would have less time to play in that game, so he wanted to score more points while he was on the court. The Dallas Mavericks team''s defense was one of the worst this season in the NBA and the attack was also not that good and because they were losing so many games, the Dallas Mavericks team soon went on the attack trying to tie the game. Steve Nash had the ball and advanced for the attack, Jake was defending against him and he wouldn''t underestimate Nash because he wasn''t playing so well this season, Steve Nash was also only in his third season in the NBA and he knew it had to be careful playing against Jake. Nash passed the ball to Finley on the left, Finley received the ball and Bryant soon pressed in defense against him, Finley did not want to try the individual play and passed to Gary Trent, Trent received the ball and Travis Knight soon pressed in defense. Trent used his strength to force his advance and tried a hook to make 2 points for the Dallas Mavericks team and tie the game, the Dallas Mavericks team''s strategy was to attack from the side where Knight defended that was the weakest part of the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake charged forward and passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left, Fox was excited in that game because he had played so well in the last game and tried to trick Cedric Ceballos with a feint. Ceballos was not fooled and so Fox had to pass the ball farther back to Jake, Jake received the ball and then made a high pass and Shaquille O''Neal took the ball high and made the dunk to complete the alley-oop and do more 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and cheer on the fans. With the time of training, Jake had trained many plays with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant that served to cheer the crowd, but also served to break the opposing defense in more difficult games. In another play the Dallas Mavericks team was attacking, Steve Nash advanced the ball and passed to Ceballos on the right, Ceballos received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, so Ceballos passed to Finley on the left. Finley received the ball and Bryant came to press on defense, even so, Finley tried the individual play and after a feint, he tried the mid-range shot to miss, Jake managed to catch the rebound and waited for a little before advancing slowly for the attack. The Los Angeles Lakers team''s defense was not currently one of the best in the NBA, but Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal could be excellent defensive players and would improve a lot in defense in the coming seasons and Jake were already playing very well in defense. But the attack by the Dallas Mavericks team was also not so well this season and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team could defend well against them, of course, their goal was to attack more to increase the advantage in points. Jake moved forward after catching the rebound and passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox received the ball and Ceballos was pushing in defense, so Fox had to pass to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and passed to Bryant from the right who was asking for the ball. Bryant received the ball and managed to get rid of Finley''s defense by fooling him with a feint and moving forward using his speed, so Kobe Bryant drive to the basket and after going through the Dallas Mavericks team''s defense tried the layup to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Los Angeles Lakers team cheered up with Kobe Bryant''s play and celebrated, in the rest of the first quarter Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal tried to attack more, and Jake attacked less to help his teammates. So the first quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team had the points advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 5 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake played well again, but Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal played better. Chapter 499 The NBA Season Continues 7 "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, the Dallas Mavericks team was unable to attack well and defend in that first quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers team dominated." "Yes, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal played well both in attack and defense and Jake Smith played well too, but in that first quarter he seemed to want to help his teammates score more than he did more points himself." "We really still have to understand Jake Smith''s style of play as PG, we have already seen that he is very skilled at scoring with an average of 80 percent in Field Goal Percentage and an average of 82 percent in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage." "Just because of that we can see how Jake Smith is an excellent offensive player, in addition, he has an average of 11.7 assists per game in these first 7 games of this season, he is currently the highest average of assists this season and that is making an average 31.4 points per game." "We could see an average like that maybe if Jake Smith was on a weaker team wherein the entire game he ran his team on almost every point, but Jake Smith plays on the Los Angeles Lakers team that has players like Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant." "Yes, Magic Johnson got an average of assists like that, but in points, he was nowhere close to what Jake has been getting this season, John Stockton could also get more assists than him." "We have to note that we are talking about two players who were some of the best PGs of all time and we are putting a rookie on that list." After Michael Jordan''s retirement and the NBA lockout, the media really wanted to find a player to stand out and that basketball fans could really have as an idol, players like Shaquille O''Neal and Karl Malone would always be fans'' idols. Players who were SG like Michael Jordan could only be compared to him, but the media knew they could probably never get over what Michael Jordan represented to the NBA and basketball around the world. So what they could do was choose a player from another position who also had a great ability to be praised and placed for fans to say that that person could be their new idol and they would not compare much with Michael Jordan for being from another position. Of course, the sports media and basketball fans didn''t think that Jake would maintain this incredible average of points and assists throughout the season, they thought that when the games got tougher and Jake got tired he would start making more mistakes. The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team still pressing in the attack, in the first quarter Coach Harris took Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal for a short time, but from that second quarter, he would start to leave them out of court for longer. Jake advanced to the attack with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and tried to deceive Finley, but this time Finley was not deceived and was pressing on defense, so Bryant passed the ball to Fox on the left. Fox received the ball and Ceballos was pushing in defense, Fox had a good performance in the previous game and was also playing well in that game, he was one of the players who most liked Coach Harris to replace the main players. Jake did not need to be replaced and he still managed to play longer than the others, even though he was also replaced, Fox tried the move and Ceballos pressed on defense and so Fox had to pass to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and advanced using his speed, Steve Nash tried to keep up on defense, but Jake was faster, watching Jake move forward Finley approached to do double-team defense on Jake. Jake realized this and decided to pass the ball to Kobe Bryant who was free, Bryant tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Bryant was happy to see that Jake was passing the ball more and helping him to make the stitches. The Dallas Mavericks team went on the attack to try to diminish the advantage in points of the Los Angeles Lakers team, Nash advanced with the ball and passed to Ceballos on the right, Ceballos received the ball and Fox pressed in defense. Ceballos made a feint and tricked Fox and drive to the basket to make 2 more points for the Dallas Mavericks team, it was a good move by Ceballos taking advantage of an opening in the Los Angeles Lakers defense. After a few minutes Coach Harris removed Kobe Bryant from the team and added Tyronn Lue, Lue was happy to have more opportunity to play, so the Los Angeles Lakers team went on the attack. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Lue on the right, Lue received the ball from Jake and Finley already pressed in defense, so Lue passed the ball to Travis Knight ahead, Knight received the ball and soon passed to Jake further behind. Jake received the ball away from the three-point line, even so, he tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jake tried that shot from a distance of 35 feet and Nash did not expect it and nor tried to block. The Los Angeles Lakers crowd cheered they liked Jake''s long-range shots and also liked the three-point shots made when Jake tried the jump shot, the Los Angeles Lakers crowd was enjoying three-point shots more and more that gave the team more advantage on the scoreboard. What was more interesting was that many sports critics said that Jake only had a great average on three-point shots in the NCAA because the distance from the three-point line was shorter than in the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks team tried another attack with Nash organizing the play, Nash moved forward and passed the ball to Ceballos on the right, Ceballos received the ball and Fox came to press on defense. Ceballos passed the ball to Dirk Nowitzki, who was not participating much in the game, Nowitzki received the ball and moved away from Knight''s defense to try the mid-range shot and make 2 more points for the Dallas Mavericks team. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the points advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes in that second quarter and had 11 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake attacked more in that second quarter and also tried to help his teammates making assists. "The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team increased the lead even more, even though coach Harris replacing Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes, Jake scored more points and the opponent was unable to press so hard in the attack." "It''s true, it seems that the Dallas Mavericks team''s attack is not working very well and the defense too, we can see that in this game Dirk Nowitzki is not even showing up much, Cedric Ceballos and Michael Finley who are the main players in the attack are not getting score so many points in that game." "In the Los Angeles Lakers team Rick Fox is also playing well and even playing less time Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal are still playing a great game and getting a lot of points, so I think the Los Angeles Lakers team will really win this game." "We will follow in the second half of the game if the Dallas Mavericks team gets a turnaround and puts even more pressure on the Los Angeles Lakers team to get their second win this season." The Dallas Mavericks team wanted the victory in that game, but the players knew it would be difficult to beat the Los Angeles Lakers team playing at the Great Western Forum, in addition, all the other teams realized that the Los Angeles Lakers team had become very strong with Jake Smith joining the team. The third quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team in the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant tried a feint and failed to trick Finley, so Bryant passed the ball to Fox on the left. Fox received the ball and Ceballos arrived to press in defense, Fox made a feint and a step back and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Fox was playing well taking advantage of that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal were being replaced. The Dallas Mavericks team soon went for another attack to try to stay in the game, Nash advanced with the ball and passed to Ceballos on the right, Ceballos tried a move to deceive Fox, but failed and passed to Finley on the left. Finley received the ball and Bryant soon pressed on defense, so Finley passed the ball to Trent further on, Trent received the ball and Knight tried to press on defense, but Trent used his strength to advance and dunk and 2 more points to the Dallas Mavericks team. Coach Harris continued making substitutions and Jake had to change the pace of the game and who he would pass the ball to when the players on the court changed when Bryant left the game the pressure on defense against him also increased. In another move by the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and passed it to Lue on the right, Lue received the ball and passed it to Jake further back. Nash was lobbying in defense against Jake and Finley was also observed that he would play what Jake would do, so they could double-team, Jake held the ball a little and saw an opportunity, so he passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal. O''Neal had gotten rid of Nowitzki''s defense and Jake had realized that and passed the ball on to him, O''Neal received the ball and went forward to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Chapter 500 The NBA Season Continues 8 The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with a good point advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 10 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake was having a harder time stealing in that game because Steve Nash he didn''t try to attack often and knew how to pass the ball. In the last quarter the team tried to put more pressure on defense and attack, so the Los Angeles Lakers team scored fewer points, but even so at the end of the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team had achieved yet another victory. The Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 112 points against 82 points for the Dallas Mavericks team, Jake played in the last quarter for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, it was another triple-double for Jake in season. "The game ends with another Los Angeles Lakers team win this season, 7 wins in 8 games, a great start to the season showing the strength of the Los Angeles Lakers team this season." "Yes, even with Coach Harris again replacing the best players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Dallas Mavericks team is unfortunately having a very bad team this season and the players are not playing very well." "Jake Smith again was the highlight of the game playing all 48 minutes of the game and making another triple-double with points, assists, and rebounds, really Jake Smith has been showing that he is one of the best players at this beginning of the NBA season." "Yes, Jake Smith managed this triple-double and also managed 7 steals in that game, he has been showing to be an excellent defensive player in this Los Angeles Lakers team, and managing to play the 48 minutes in all 8 games of this season that took place in 12 days, shows the great stamina he has." "It''s true, Jake Smith is a key player in this Los Angeles Lakers team, just because of his steals and being able to play every 48 minutes in the game already makes him irreplaceable, and he still manages to do more than 10 assists per game and is an of the players who score the most points in games." With this victory, the Los Angeles Lakers fans were very happy with the team this season, they were sure that with all the players they could have a great chance of winning the NBA title this season. Some fans and media people criticized Coach Harris for replacing the main players for many minutes in the last games, but several teams were also doing it because this very intense sequence of games could cause injuries and decrease the performance of the players. The criticism just wasn''t greater because Jake was playing every minute in every game and it helped the team to always perform well even with the main players outside the court, as time went by Jake became more and more an idol for the fans. The next day the players could rest for a day because there would be no game, even Jake was happy with that day of rest, just playing in the NBA he can understand how difficult it was to play every minute in every game. Even more so for him to score points, defend, organize plays, make steals and still get rebounds, Jake had to run more than other players in all games to be able to stand out. On that next day, they wouldn''t even have a light training because coach Del Harris thought about letting the main players play as long as they could in the next game, the players would be rested and the criticism against him would decrease. Jake had overheard the players commenting that coach Del Harris could be fired in the next few days even though the team had won so many games, it seemed that it was not because of the team''s results, but because of what Harris did when the team was not there playing. Jack thought that the Los Angeles Lakers team wins that he helped the team achieve could leave Coach Harris longer, but it looked like it was something that the Los Angeles Lakers team''s management had long thought about. While Jake was thinking about staying home that day resting, Kobe Bryant called him so they could have lunch and talk, Jake talked a lot with Kobe Bryant on the team, but they weren''t very close because Jake respected Kobe Bryant a lot and saw him as an idol. Jake had gone to lunch with Rick Fox only once, Jake knew Kobe Bryant better from what he''d heard the media talk about him than meeting him in person, but Jake was sure the subject of this lunch would be basketball. Jake went to a restaurant he didn''t know taking his McLaren F1 this time, Jake had driven a few times with his new car just to try out the capacity of the car, but this was the first time he was driving the car to the city itself. "Hi, Jake, thanks for coming even though I suddenly invited you." "It''s okay, Kobe, when you want to talk, you can call me, I''m alone here in the city and besides training and playing I just stay at home." "I''m glad to hear that, Jake, do you know why I asked you to talk to me here?" "It must be to talk about basketball." "Yes, we are players and teammates, I wanted to ask what do you think of our team this NBA season?" "I think our team is doing really well this season, you and Shaquille O''Neal are excellent players, I think our team is a favorite to win the NBA title this season." "I agree, after you joined the team we really improved a lot, you are really an excellent player to be able to play so well even though you are still an NBA rookie." "Thanks, I was lucky to be on a team with you and with Shaquille O''Neal on the team, it''s a team that was already strong before and I can play with all my skills, I was lucky to go to university too and playing on the Tar Heels team, there I learned a lot of things that are helping me in my season as a rookie." "I wanted to ask you which teams do you think are favorites to win the NBA title this season?" "It is difficult to say, this is a different season because there are fewer games, so I believe that some teams can surprise and some teams that have more interaction between the players can be the favorites." "There''s our team that is a favorite, the San Antonio Spurs team, the Indiana Pacers team, the Portland Trail Blazers team, and the New York Knicks team that can surprise in the playoffs." Jake could confidently say these teams because he knew which teams would be the top four in the playoffs, but if he didn''t know the future he wouldn''t say these teams were favorites either. Kobe Bryant was also surprised by the teams Jake had chosen, of those teams he thought maybe the Indiana Pacers team and the Portland Trail Blazers team could be in the top 8, but the other two teams he wouldn''t even think about talking about. "What do you think our team is missing to win the NBA title this season?" "It''s hard to say, but I''ll be honest with you, our current team can really win the NBA title this season, but for that Robert Horry has to recover, he could help our current team to improve a lot." "But if I had to say what our team could improve, it was to have an SF who could score more and put more pressure on the opposing defense, to have a PF to help Shaquille O''Neal and to score and help in defense." "And also a change in the coach maybe, because I heard rumors that coach Del Harris may be fired after a few games, after that we will not find another coach better and one of the assistant coaches will have to become the main coach until the end of the season." Kobe was surprised to see the answer Jake had given, he thought Jake would try to avoid answering sincerely for fear that Kobe could tell other people what Jake was saying to him. But Jake had given an answer in all sincerity, there were things he thought of himself and Jake even talked about Coach Harris that he also suspected that the coach might actually be fired. So Kobe knew that Jake was sincere with him and so he decided to ask the most difficult questions for Jake to answer, because they were questions that were related to himself, and Jake might be afraid to annoy him. "I agree with you, I want you to be sincere in answering my next question, who is currently the best player on our team? Who do you think is the main player?" Jake didn''t answer quickly this time, he didn''t want Kobe Bryant to ask that question because he wouldn''t like the answer Jake would give him, but Jake learned to try to be always sincere, so he decided to speak the truth. "The best player on our team and the main player is certainly Shaquille O''Neal, he is an experienced player and an excellent Center, as PG I can say that I prefer to be on a team with a skilled Center, so I have a reference in the attack." "I think that the best NBA teams currently have a good PF or a good Center, teams that don''t have a good Center or a good PF don''t have much chance of winning an NBA title, even if that team doesn''t have a Center or an All-Star PF who scores more than 20 points per game." "At the very least a team has to have a Center or a PF that can defend well, catch rebounds or score a lot, so I think the San Antonio Spurs team that has Tim Duncan and David Robinson is the favorite team to win this NBA title beyond our team." Chapter 501 The NBA Season Continues 9 Kobe Bryant was not happy to hear that, but he had to admit that Jake was right in what he was saying, the best teams in recent years had a very good Center or PF to make them a good team. Even Michael Jordan''s team that was different from all the teams because they had Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson knew how to make a team that worked very well with Scottie Pippen, but even that team had Dennis Rodman to catch the rebounds that were a PF and before there was Horace Grant who was a great player. The Boston Celtics team in the past had Larry Bird, but it also had Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, the Los Angeles Lakers team in the past had Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Detroit Pistons team had Dennis Rodman and Bill Laimbeer. The Houston Rockets team that won recently also had Hakeem Olajuwon to help the team win, thinking about it Kobe Bryant had to admit that for the past 20 years Centers and PF have been instrumental in all the teams that have won major titles. So it wasn''t strange that Jake just thought the Los Angeles Lakers team had a chance to win this season because of Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe accepted that, but he still had some more difficult questions to ask Jake. "And who do you think is currently the second most important player on our team?" Hearing this, Jake understood that this was the question that Kobe Bryant wanted to ask from the beginning, once again he knew that being honest would not be the best for him, but Jake didn''t want to lie just to remain Kobe''s friend. "I think that I am currently the second most important player on our team, because I can play 48 minutes in every game, because of the steals I make, because of assists too, points and rebounds are the least important." "But to be quite honest, I think our team doesn''t need me, if I didn''t have it on the team we would still win most games this season and lose just 2 more games, our team just needs Shaquille O''Neal and more a skilled player to be a strong team." "But our team needs three skilled players to have a chance to win the NBA title this season without having to sign any players." Kobe Bryant was not surprised by this because he realized that even though Jake was modest and humble, Jake was very self-confident and knew his skills and the importance he had for the team. "I already expected you to think you were better than me, so I''m not surprised by that, so if you think that, what do you think I can improve to be an even better player?" Jake didn''t expect Kobe Bryant to accept it so well that and Jake was better than him, but it seemed like he was more interested in how he could improve than to care what Jake really thought. "I''ll be honest again then, I think what you need to improve the most on is your defense, you need in the future to become the best defensive player on your team if you want to be the most important player." "I don''t know if you noticed, but Shaquille O''Neal is improving a lot in his defense, I think next season if he works hard he could be one of the best defensive players in the NBA." "You are younger and you can certainly improve a lot more in this area, moreover, I think you need to learn to play more thinking about the team than about individual plays, I understood this as soon as I joined this team and that''s why I have more than 10 assists in most games." "Our team has good players, especially you, Shaquille O''Neal and me, so you don''t have to force individual moves when you can pass the ball, of course when you have confidence you can make the individual move because I know you have the quality to do that." "Another thing that you could improve on was to start trying more three-point shots and also improve your mid-range shot, you can''t miss many attacks for our team to win." "So above all, you have to understand that you need a team with good players to win, you alone can''t even score more than 50 points in all games, so you have to be more friendly with your teammates and also know to play better as a team." Kobe Bryant was really shocked to hear everything Jake said, he had already realized that Jake was sincere, but he didn''t expect Jake to think he had so many flaws even when he was one of the most praised young players. The problem was that all the criticisms that Jake had spoken were things that Jake was very skillful, Jake made few attacks in the game and knew very well how to play as a team, besides, Jake was currently the best defensive players of the Los Angeles Lakers team. "I was sincere with you, Kobe, I really admire you very much and I like you, I wanted to be your friend and I respect you too, I only did that because you asked me and also I think you can be a much better player than Shaquille O''Neal or other great players in the future." "I understand, Jake, I really felt that you were sincere with me in this conversation and you just said your opinion, of course, I would also like to remain your friend, what I like most is having sincere people at my side." "What do you think we go to some court to play a little and relax after eating?" "I think it''s a great idea." Jake suggested that Kobe go to his house which was nearby and had a professional court there, so they would not be disturbed by reporters and fans while they were playing, Kobe thought it was a good idea and it was better to play on a professional court. Jake was very happy to have Kobe Bryant who was an idol for him at his home, even though they could talk naturally Jake would never forget what it was like to see Kobe Bryant playing at his peak in the Los Angeles Lakers team. Kobe went to Jake''s house and can''t help but be surprised to see Jake''s McLaren F1 and the huge house he owned, Kobe couldn''t help criticizing Jake in his mind for spending so much money on a car and a mansion in his first year in the NBA. Of course, Kobe couldn''t have known that Jake actually had investments worth more than $ 1 billion, so Jake was spending his money because he had reserves and investments to spend his entire life with if necessary. Even so, Kobe cannot deny that Jake''s car and his house was really beautiful, the two went to the basketball court and Kobe was impressed again by seeing the pool, the athletics track and the professional court that Jake had at home. Arriving on the court, Jake took Kobe to the locker room so that he and Kobe could change into more comfortable clothes for playing basketball, Kobe had already brought his sneakers and clothes from home and Jake had several Adidas uniforms and sneakers from his locker room. Jake only wore Adidas shoes and clothes, which was the company that sponsored him, Jake had this ideal to respect more the companies that sponsored him, before he used most of the time sneakers and uniforms from Clara''s company. After that the two went to the court to start a one-on-one dispute in half-court, the game would be up to 11 points and each 2 point shot would be worth 1 point after a player scored 1 point he would have to give a ball for the other player to start attacking. "We will not have shots from outside worth 3 points, otherwise I will have a lot of advantage, we will only go with plays worth 1 point." Jake said that because it was true, he could hit a three-point shot from a distance of 35 feet, and Jake hit more than 70 percent of his shots from outside, so he would have an overwhelming advantage if shots from outside were worth 2 points, but Kobe Bryant didn''t like it because he thought Jake was belittling him. Jake realized that, but he didn''t change his mind because he wanted to have a one-on-one played against his idol Kobe Bryant, Jake got the ball from Kobe and he was the one who would start attacking, Jake took the ball and started thinking about how he would make the first point. Jake decided he would use his speed and after making a small feint he advanced with speed on the right, Kobe was not deceived by the feint, but he was slow to react and went to defend against Jake. Jake moved quickly to the right and Kobe was unable to follow and so Jake tried to layup to make the first point of this dispute, Kobe knew that Jake was very fast and so he was not surprised that Jake did that. Jake threw the ball for Kobe to make the next attack, Kobe received the ball and tried a feint too, Jake was not deceived and was concentrated waiting for Kobe to make the move, Kobe decided to make a speed move from the left. But Jake can easily follow Kobe''s attempted to move, so Kobe made a quick move that tricked Jake, so Kobe took the opportunity to crossover and move forward to make another point with a layup. Jake was happy to see Kobe Bryant''s skill move, he had a lot of agility stats and for that reason his speed of thought and reaction had increased a lot, which is why Jake defended so well and managed so many steals without ever making a mistake. Even so Kobe could still deceive him and it made Jake more excited about this training, Jake didn''t want to have shots from outside to not have many advantages and now he had to try harder. Chapter 502 The NBA Season Continues 10 Jake received the ball to start another attack, this time he pretended he would try a feint, but in fact, he really started running from the left, Kobe managed to follow and Jake made the fast crossover and Kobe was unable to follow, so Jake scored another point with the layup. The game got excited and after a while Jake was winning with 6 points against Kobe Bryant''s 4 points, in fact in some plays Jake thought he could do the steal and didn''t try to keep the game more excited. Kobe also realized that Jake didn''t seem to be working so hard in the game against him, Kobe had never played so many times in one-on-one against Jake in training, so he hadn''t realized how skillful Jake was. In another move Kobe tried to make another attack and decided to use force to make sure he made the next point, so Kobe started to protect the ball as he advanced and tried to use his shoulder to push Jake back as he advanced. Jake didn''t face that move often playing as PG, he just had to defend plays like that in his imagination training when he played in other positions to train, but in this one, he didn''t want to lose. Kobe tried to push Jake, but to his surprise, Kobe could not push Jake back using force, certainly one of Jake''s greatest advantages in basketball was his strength, after all, agility was normal that many players had a lot in basketball, but strength was something that was a top priority for the Center and the PF. So Kobe realized that Jake was stronger than him and moved away from him and tried a mid-range shot by making a fadeaway and scored another point, Jake wanted to force Kobe Bryant into trying one of his characteristic moves in this one-on-one to win. Jake took the ball and made a feint pretending he would go to the left and doing a step back and trying the mid-range shot to score 1 more point for him, Jake didn''t want to try the mid-range shots because he had a rate of more 80 percent correct and the game would be very easy for him. But he wanted to pressure Kobe to try to attack in every way he knew, Jake threw the ball to Kobe who started another attack, Kobe advanced with the ball and Jake gave him a little space. So Kobe finally started making one of his main moves which were the between the legs dribble move, it was the play in which Kobe bounced the ball between his legs to prevent the opponent from trying to steal and for the opponent not to know if after he would advance with the ball or attempt the shot. Kobe made this move because he really wanted to beat Jake who was winning by 2 points and Jake had 4 more points to win the game, Kobe made that move and Jake didn''t have a chance to steal until Kobe showed him what move he would do. Kobe did the between the legs dribble moves for a while and then did a feint that tricked Jake and he went on to make another 1 point with the dunk, Kobe made the point, but it was Jake who was excited that the game was getting more fun. Jake received the ball and Kobe was prepared to defend or at least hinder Jake to try to make him miss, Jake advanced with the ball slowly and realized that Kobe was focused on defense. So Jake smiled and made his own move this time, it was the Ghost move dribble that was never stopped by any opposing player, Jake did the Ghost move and Kobe didn''t see the ball for a while, he didn''t know what Jake had done. After Jake passed Kobe like he was no longer with the ball Kobe heard the ball hitting the ground and Jake scored another point with a dunk soon after, Kobe didn''t understand this move that Jake had made, but he knew Jake had made it 1 more point and was with 8 points now. Kobe tried again to do the between the legs dribble move soon after in another move, again he tricked Jake with a feint and advanced to try to make the layup, but this time Jake recovered quickly and managed to jump together and make the block preventing Kobe from doing the point. Soon after, Jake ran out of the three-point line and made an outside shot that was now worth 1 point also because of the chord Jake made before the game, with Jake winning by 3 points Kobe understood that Jake was not being arrogant when decided that the three-point shot would not be worth 2 more points. In a few more plays Jake won with 11 points against Kobe Bryant''s 8 points, Kobe didn''t like to lose, but he was happy with the good game he had with Jake, Kobe realized that his defense was really weak because he couldn''t make Jake miss any attack. After that good game Kobe went to his house and Jake stayed at his house happy with the good game he had with his idol, Jake thought that Kobe was not angry that he told him the truths, it would be good if they could be more friends after that day. That day as he had no game he decided to call Kate even though it might hinder her because it was less than a week before the Grammy Awards happened, Jake really wanted Kate to win an award, but he knew how Lauryn Hill had a great year at the world of music and was one of the best singers at the Grammy and not just among new singers. "Hi, Kate, sorry to call you even though you are busy, but I missed you and wanted to know how you are with Grammy being so close?" "Hi, Jake, you didn''t bother me, I''m always happy when I talk to you, I also didn''t call you because I know you''re busy with games, congratulations on your team''s victories in the last games." "I''m really looking forward to the Grammy being so close, I really want to win, but seeing how Lauryn Hill has done so well in the past year I don''t know if I have a chance." "You sure have a chance, Kate, your songs were great and I know how you''ve been trying to get this album, rest easy and wait until Grammy Day, I''ll be rooting for you." "Thanks, Jake, I am calmer and happier listening to this, it is a pity that I think we will not be able to see each other this year, because of those months that I stayed in Miami I will have to work all year." "I could have another vacation in November, but that''s when the next NBA season starts, so I''m going to expect to have my vacation in June next year." "I''m really sorry, Kate, I wish I could see you this year too, but with basketball, I''m going to be really busy." "I understand that Jake, I also have this same problem that you have to work all year, let''s try to combine our vacations so that we can spend a few months together." Jake was happy to talk to Kate for a while, he knew she was busy too and so he felt less guilty about being so busy too, next year he would have to go to the Olympics on his vacation, but he just needed a few weeks to stay at the Olympics. The next day after a good rest came the day of yet another game by the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake and Kobe hadn''t rested all day, but that one-on-one game wouldn''t make them any more tired. Jake went to the Great Western Forum for the last game of this sequence of games at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers team, after that game they would have a difficult sequence of 4 games playing as a visitor with the players traveling a lot and thus getting more tired. Jake saw the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team filling the Great Western Forum hoping for another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team this season, Jake went to the locker room and put on his uniform and went out onto the court with all his teammates. The opponent in that game was the San Antonio Spurs team, which was a very strong team that hadn''t started well this season, they had a lot of defeats in the first 10 games of this season, but after that game against the Los Angeles Lakers team, they would lose very few games in rest of the season. Tim Duncan and David Robinson already played well together and the other players would also improve so they could start winning more games, but for that game Jake thought the Los Angeles Lakers team was a favorite to win. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another NBA game this season, the game today is between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the San Antonio Spurs team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win this game, after all the Los Angeles Lakers team had 7 victories in 8 games this season, with Jake Smith joining the team they could improve a lot and are winning the games." "The stars of team Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were also very important in these games that the Los Angeles Lakers won, they are considered one of the favorite teams to win this NBA season." "The San Antonio Spurs team won 4 games and lost another 4 games this season, it''s a very bad start for the San Antonio Spurs team this season, but the interesting thing is that even in games where they lose the players of the San Antonio Spurs team they play very well." "It shows that the San Antonio Spurs team is playing well in the games, but something is missing for them to start winning the games, let''s see if they find what is missing and start winning more games." Chapter 503 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 1 The Los Angeles Lakers team would start this game with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Corie Blount playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The San Antonio Spurs team would start this game with the starting players Avery Johnson playing as PG, Mario Elie playing as SG, Sean Elliott playing as SF, Tim Duncan playing as PF, and David Robinson playing as Center. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing in the attack and the San Antonio Spurs team pressing in the defense, the Los Angeles Lakers team got the first ball possession and Jake advanced for the attack. Jake came forward and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Mario Elie came to press on defense, Bryant did not try to make the individual move and passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left. Fox received the ball and Sean Elliott came to press on defense, Fox held the ball a little and passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Avery Johnson pressed on defense, Johnson knew he couldn''t defend well against Jake, so he could at least press on defense to try to hinder Jake in that game. Jake tricked Johnson with a feint and passed him using his speed, Jake kept advancing towards the inside, Elie tried to defend and Jake passed the ball to Bryant from the right, Kobe Bryant was free and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The San Antonio Spurs team defended very well, so Jake had to do more than just pass the ball in a few moves if he wanted to help his team win, then the San Antonio Spurs team went on the attack to tie the game. Johnson advanced with the ball and passed it to Elie on the left, Elie received the ball and Kobe Bryant came to press on defense, Elie held the ball for a while and passed it to Elliott on the right. Elliott received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Rick Fox was happy that he was playing longer this season and was having good performance with Jake helping him make great assists. With Jake, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O''Neal drawing the attention of the defense he had much more freedom to attack, Elliott tried the feint, but Fox was not fooled, so Elliott passed the ball to Tim Duncan on the left. Duncan received the ball and Corie Blount arrived to press in defense, Duncan made a dream shake and tricked Blount, so Duncan just turned and hooked to make 2 points and tie the game. Jake didn''t understand why Coach Harris decided to put Corie Blount in that game and the team had gotten used to playing with Travis Knight on the team, after all, Jake didn''t think it was even good to give Blount an opportunity to play in a game he would play against Tim Duncan. The Los Angeles Lakers team continued to press in the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Elliott arrived pressing in defense, Fox still held the ball a little before passing to Kobe Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and Elie came in the defense, Bryant held the ball and passed it to Jake further back, Jake saw that Fox was freer and passed the ball to him, Fox was out of the three-point line and decided to try the shot from outside and made 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another attacking move by the San Antonio Spurs team, Johnson forwarded the ball into the attack, Johnson passed the ball to Elliott on the right, Fox pressed on the defense and Elliott still held the ball before passing it on to Elie on the left. Elie received the ball and Bryant was on the defense, Elie decided to try an individual play and tried a feint to deceive Bryant, Bryant was not fooled, so Elie tried a quick crossover and managed to move through the middle. Elie managed to advance and Fox came to help the defense, Elie realized this and tried to pass it to Elliott on the right, but Jake realized this move and anticipated and managed to intercept the pass making the steal. Jake advanced with the ball quickly and only Johnson and Elie managed to get back to defend before Jake advanced, Jake advanced and passed Elie using his speed and Elie was unable to keep up. So only Johnson was the last player in the defense of the San Antonio Spurs team, Jake continued to advance at high speed and approaching Johnson he tried a quick crossover and Johnson was out of balance. So Jake managed to advance on the left, but Johnson did not want Jake to make the points and still tried to defend, so Jake made a spin, and Johnson couldn''t keep up, so Jake tried to make a dunk and Elie who had recovered tried to make the block. But Jake managed to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team and Elie only managed to make a foul on Jake, the crowd of the Los Angeles Lakers team celebrated this play a lot, Jake was a player who almost never made fouls and also hardly suffered fouls. After all Jake tried most of his moves after getting rid of the opposing player who defended against him or he tried three-point shots and the players in the defense knew that if they tried the block and missed they would give Jake 3 free throw attempts. So Jake had a chance to score 1 more point and hit the free throw and scored 1 more point for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake had almost 100 percent use in free throws, so the opponents preferred not to miss him. The first quarter ended up with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a good point advantage, with Jake the Los Angeles Lakers team was very strong in the outside shots and got several steals which greatly improved their defense and made things difficult for opposing teams. In that first quarter, Jake played for 12 minutes and scored 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, it was a good first quarter for Jake who managed to help his teammates score and also scored a few points. "The first quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team is ahead on the scoreboard, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team are playing very well and even with the players of the San Antonio Spurs team also playing well, the home team has the advantage." "Yes, in the last games of this season it has been like that, the players of the San Antonio Spurs team have a good game, but the San Antonio Spurs team cannot win most games." "Maybe that''s the problem, some of the big teams lose when some players perform poorly if a team like the Los Angeles Lakers team has some players playing badly they lose, but if all the players are playing well the team wins." "So maybe the San Antonio Spurs team is not a team with such good players this season, so even if they play very well they end up losing games." "That may be, we will continue to monitor this game to see if the Los Angeles Lakers team wins." Jake would laugh if he heard what the commentators were saying, he also didn''t know why the San Antonio Spurs team performed so poorly at the beginning of the season, but he knew they had a team with good players who played very well and so they managed to win that season''s NBA title in Jake''s past life. For the second quarter, the San Antonio Spurs team wanted to put more pressure on the attack and keep pressing on defense, the two teams did not plan to replace the main players for a long time and so it would be a more disputed game between the teams. The San Antonio Spurs team went for another attack and Johnson was organizing the play, Johnson advanced to the attack and passed the ball to Elie from the left, Elie received the ball and Bryant soon pressed in defense. So Elie decided to pass the ball back to Johnson again, Johnson received the ball and Jake was close to him defending, so Johnson decided to pass the ball to Elliott on the right. Elliott received the ball and Fox soon came to the defense, Elliott made a feint and managed to deceive Fox and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team, Elliott and Duncan were playing well in that game and taking advantage of the weakness of Blount and Fox''s defense. The Los Angeles Lakers team soon went on the attack as well, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Elie came to press on defense, Bryant tried a feint, but Elie was not fooled. Thus Bryant passed the ball to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Elliott pressed in defense, so Fox passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal further ahead. Shaquille O''Neal was having more difficulty in this game because sometimes David Robinson and Tim Duncan double-teamed when he had the ball and it was very difficult for O''Neal to score. In this play Jake passed the ball when Duncan was further away from him and so O''Neal received the ball and used his strength to move closer to the hoop, Robinson was on defense, but he could not stop O''Neal''s advance, so O''Neal tried the hook to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In that second quarter, the San Antonio Spurs team tried to put pressure on the attack and defense, but the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack was very strong and even if they couldn''t hold on well in defense they still managed to increase the advantage in points. In another play by the San Antonio Spurs team, Johnson advanced the ball and passed it to Elliott on the right, Fox arrived pressing in defense so Elliott did not have space to make the move. Chapter 504 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 2 Elliot still tried to feint and outwit Fox, but Fox was not deceived and remained steady in defense, so Elliott passed the ball to Robinson later on, Robinson received the ball and O''Neal was pushing in defense. Robinson tried to hook and ended up missing, Duncan was quick and got the rebound and made the dunk to make 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team, the biggest strength of the San Antonio Spurs team was having two great post players who played in the paint area. So they were more likely to catch rebounds and teams that had only one Center or a better PF suffered playing against the San Antonio Spurs team, and those who had none of these quality players suffered even more. In another move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Elliott came to press on defense, Fox held the ball and passed it to Bryant on the right. Kobe Bryant received the ball and passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Johnson soon pressed in the defense, Jake tried a feint and managed to get rid of the defense, Jake did not try to advance and tried the shot from outside and made 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team maintaining the advantage on the scoreboard, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake performed well and helped the Los Angeles team Lakers to stay ahead in the second quarter. "What a good second quarter we had in that game, the San Antonio Spurs team really tried to recover in the game, the players defended well and attacked well, but they only managed to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from increasing their points advantage." "That''s right, the Los Angeles Lakers team is having a very strong attack after Jake Smith''s arrival, Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant have more freedom to play and with Jake Smith making the assists they have been playing even better." "Jake Smith is really doing a great rookie season so far, I don''t think we''ve ever seen a rookie start so well in the NBA, so the Los Angeles Lakers team really have a chance of winning the NBA title this season." "I agree with that, last season we had Tim Duncan doing an excellent debut season and this season Tim Duncan is already one of the main players in the NBA, now we have Jake Smith this season." With coach Harris deciding not to make substitutions during the game, the San Antonio Spurs team did not have much hope of recovering in the game, but they were really playing well as in the last few games. Kobe Bryant had also realized this after the conversation he had with Jake, if the San Antonio Spurs team learned to use Tim Duncan and David Robinson better in the attack they could certainly play even better and the Los Angeles Lakers defense couldn''t stop them. The third quarter started and the Los Angeles Lakers team still pressing in the attack, as the defense of the Lakers team was not so strong, attacking was their way of maintaining the advantage in the game, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right. Kobe Bryant received the ball and tried a feint and managed to trick Elie, Bryant advanced to the paint area and drive to the basket making 2 more points with a layup, Kobe Bryant was playing well in that game and as he was passing the ball more, his individual moves were more unpredictable. The San Antonio Spurs team did not give up and still wanted to win that game, Johnson advanced with the ball and Jake was on defense, with the steals that Jake made in that game and did in other games Johnson and the other players of the San Antonio Spurs team were worried every time they had to pass the ball. With that they lost several chances of attacks that they would normally do, and even so Jake still managed to make some steals in all quarters, Johnson passed the ball to Elie from the left. Elie received the ball and Bryant came to press on defense, so Elie held the ball and passed it to Duncan further on, Duncan was the best player on the San Antonio Spurs team and many attack plays were with him. Duncan received the ball and made the spin and so he got rid of Blount''s defense and advanced to the paint area, O''Neal saw that Duncan was going to make a layup and went to try to stop Duncan, Duncan saw O''Neal coming and passed the ball to Robinson who received the ball and scored 2 more points with a dunk for the San Antonio Spurs team. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team managing to slightly increase their points advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. In the last quarter of the game the San Antonio Spurs team still tried to win, but at the end of the game the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 118 points against 90 points for the San Antonio Spurs team. In that last quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake made another triple-double in that game, his fifth triple-double in his debut season. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team wins their eighth game this season, really the Los Angeles Lakers team is one of the teams that have the most victories this season, and with this game, the San Antonio Spurs team has 5 losses this season." "Yes, the San Antonio Spurs team played well in that game with Tim Duncan and Sean Elliot being the best players, but it seems that something is missing for them to be able to start winning more games and it is good that they find what is missing soon or they will be out of the playoffs this reduced season." "That''s right, the Los Angeles Lakers team is really doing well this season, Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant are playing very well in every game and Rick Fox has also been important in the games and is managing to score more than 12 points in almost All the games." "But surely the highlight of this game and of the Los Angeles Lakers team this season is certainly Jake Smith, in this game he got another triple-double, he got 5 triple-double in 9 games and he also has another 2 double-doubles." "With such a performance I have to say that we can no longer see Jake Smith as a rookie but as one of this season''s MVP candidates, Jake Smith played 9 games this season and played 48 minutes in every game." "In these 9 games Jake Smith has a Field Goal Percentage average of 81 percent, and in the 3-Point Field Goal Percentage the average is 80 percent, this is something incredible even for the best players in NBA history in shooting three points." "Jake Smith still has an average of 32 points per game and 12 assists per game, any of those statistics would be enough for Jake Smith to be one of the MVP candidates of the season and Jake Smith has them all." "I also agree, if Jake Smith continues to play like that and the Los Angeles Lakers team advance into the playoffs, I think it''s quite possible that Jake Smith will even be chosen as the MVP of the season." The commentators were excited after seeing Jake''s first games of the season, they used to wonder if Jake could be the best rookie of the season and now they were wondering if he could be the best player of the season. It was also noteworthy to see the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team at the Great Western Forum, with the passing of the games of this season more fans began to bring posters with the name of Jake and his nickname of Captain America. It showed how Jake was becoming one of the Los Angeles Lakers fans'' idols after only 9 games on the team, that was because Jake was playing very well and because the fans wanted to see the Los Angeles Lakers team win the NBA title again and they could see that Jake could help the team achieve that. After that great game, the players went home happy, the Los Angeles Lakers team had lost just 1 game this season and the team played well in all games, so the players knew it would stay that way throughout the season. The next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team would be in two days so players would have one day to rest before the next game, but as it was a game in which they would be the visitors the team would travel the next day. Jake could return to Los Angeles just the day before the Grammy where he had to attend to support Kate, he was still sad that he couldn''t go to the Grammy to cheer for Kate and had to attend at home. Only when he was most upset about not going to the Grammys did he receive an unexpected call, Keanu Reeves who had become friends with him in the filming of the movie The Matrix called him, Jake was happy and surprised by Keanu''s call. "Hi, Jake, how are you?" "I''m fine Keanu, we haven''t spoken for a few months already, I wanted to call you, but I didn''t want to disturb you." "You can call me whenever you want, Jake, congratulations on your excellent performance in the first games of your NBA debut season, when I saw that you wanted to become an actor I thought you didn''t play that well Hahaha." "But from what I''m seeing in the media, you''re the best rookie and can become an MVP candidate of the season, it really surprised me." "I am also happy with my performance and with the Los Angeles Lakers team if we continue this way we can win this season''s NBA title." "That would be really amazing, what are you waiting for next month''s premiere of our film?" Chapter 505 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 3 "I think it will be a huge success, the film is really good and it is an innovative film in action scenes and special effects, it will certainly be a worldwide success and you will be one of the best actors in action films." "I also hope that the film will be a great success, you know that I am a big fan of science fiction and I liked this film since I first read the script, I also thought that the work of the Wachowskis directors is brilliant and the Yuen Woo-ping''s work was also amazing." "I know that I really think it will be a success, we are going to have some more sequences of this film yet and you can participate in more films like this." It was difficult for Jake whenever he had to talk about the future because he knew what would happen so he had to try to say things without showing too much certainty in what he was talking about, he knew the film would be a success that Keanu Reeves would be one of the greatest actors in action films in the future. "Jake, I know you like music a lot and you are here in Los Angeles now playing basketball, so I got some tickets to go to the Grammy that will happen in a few days, but I won''t be able to go." "I heard that you have a friend who is going to be competing for one of the prizes and wanted to know if you accepted a ticket." Jake was really surprised to hear Keanu talking about it, he really talked to Keanu about music and talked about Kate too, of course, he said he was her friend which was not a lie because at that time they were still friends. Jake talked more about music because he knew that Keanu once had a band and also liked music, but now it seemed that the great luck he was having was helping him get a Grammy ticket. "I do want to, actually I really wanted to go to the Grammys, but because of the games I was unable to organize myself to get a ticket." "Great, I''ll send the ticket to your home, see you after the movie opens." Jake was very happy to receive a ticket to go to the Grammy, he could go and if someone asked how he got the ticket he could say that he had won the ticket from Keanu Reeves. The best thing was that it was not an ordinary ticket and Jake could sit together with the guests, so he could see and close if Kate won the prize as he expected, it would be difficult because the Los Angeles Lakers team would have a game the next day as a visitor and Jake would have to travel after the Grammy to go to the city where the team would play. Jake can sleep soundly after learning that he could go to the Grammys, the next day the players would have a day of rest, the Los Angeles Lakers team would still do light training, but they would be fine for the next game the next day. Jake started the day excited after the good news and he decided to call Kate to tell her about the good news, he thought about making a good surprise for her by appearing at the Grammy without warning before. But he thought Kate might be too surprised and look at him many times during the awards or try to ignore him which would make everyone even more certain that they had a type of relationship. Kate was happy and surprised to learn that Jake was going to the Grammys, Lily prevented Jack from going to the Grammies with her and had not forbidden Jake to attend the Grammys, with Jake winning the ticket it was even better. Jake chatted for a while with Kate and then had to go to training with the Los Angeles Lakers team, training that day was light for players not to get too tired, players talked normally and there was no dispute between players. The only thing that made the situation more complicated was that it was increasingly noticeable that coach Del Harris could be fired if it were like in the past when the team was losing several games and losing a sequence of games it would be understandable. But thanks to Jake being on the team the situation was different and the team had lost just one game this season, it was no secret that Coach Harris had problems with some players and had problems with the team''s board. But it was hard to fire someone when the team was winning a lot of games and the board didn''t have any better coach to put in place of Del Harris, the truth was that Del Harris was a good coach who helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to improve a lot in the last few seasons. The biggest problem was that the Los Angeles Lakers team board was demanding and after hiring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal they naturally expected the team to win an NBA title again. And Del Harris has not managed to get far in the playoffs of the last few seasons, so the board decided that Coach Harris would not agree to exchange Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, and Derek Harper for the rookie Jack Smith. Fortunately, this exchange had worked out and the Los Angeles Lakers team started this season well, and the board decided that to win the NBA title, the Los Angeles Lakers team needed a new coach. If Jake didn''t know that next season the Los Angeles Lakers team would hire Phil Jackson, he could say that it was better if Coach Del Harris remained on the team, if Coach Del Harris continued and the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title it was impossible that Coach Harris was fired. And Jake was not confident that with coach Harris and him on the team they could still win the NBA title in the next three seasons as the Los Angeles Lakers team did with Phil Jackson. After training the players went on the Los Angeles Lakers private plane to Seattle, Washington where they would face the next opponent the next day, with the team traveling the day before they would less tired for the game. The players went to a hotel that the team had prepared and would wait there until they had to go to the place of the game, the next day came the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the players went to the KeyArena and saw the cheers from the Seattle SuperSonics team excited about the game. The Seattle SuperSonics team was the team of one of the players who was Jake''s idol, that player was naturally Gary Payton, even though Gary Payton did not achieve as many achievements as Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Jason Kidd, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Steve Nash, and other great PGs, he was one of Jake''s references. Especially in the defensive game of Payton that Jake was very inspired and the characteristic of being able to play many games and many minutes in all games, Jake respected Payton even more because he achieved this with the help of the system and Payton had only his natural talent. This would be the second game that Jake would play against one of the great PG he respected, of course, he also played against John Stockton, but in that game, Jake was playing as SF and cannot defend directly against John Stockton. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another great game this NBA season, in this game we have the Seattle SuperSonics team playing at home today, they started the season well with 6 wins in 8 games." "The Seattle SuperSonics team has great player Gary Payton and also Detlef Schrempf and Vin Baker who are all-stars, so it''s a good team that struggles to make it to the playoffs this season." "And we also have the Los Angeles Lakers team that has had an excellent start to the season so far with 8 wins in 9 games, the Los Angeles Lakers team has all-stars Shaquille O''Neal who has been the most important player and young Kobe Bryant." "And we also have rookie Jake Smith, with an average of over 32 points and 12 assists per game Jake Smith is certainly the best NBA PG at the beginning of the season, he can even fight to be the MVP of the season if he continues playing like that." "This game will be a challenge for Jake Smith who will play against the great PG Gary Payton who managed to defend well even against Michael Jordan, if Jake Smith still plays well in that game, he will be considered an excellent player." Just as commentators said this was a big challenge for Jake, Gary Payton was still playing at a high level and was really great at defending, Jake managed to play well playing against Scottie Pippen defending against him, if he got it in that game again he would be really recognized as an excellent player. Coach Harris trusted Jake and asked him to play as he had been doing in the last few games, so Jake would pass the ball and score normally, Jake was excited about this challenge to play against Payton, but he would not hinder the team by because of that. Jake saw Payton as a player with SS rank in some defensive skills as well as players in his imagination training, the difference was that Payton was much more intelligent and would make the moves in the best possible way. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Seattle SuperSonics team would start the game with Gary Payton playing as PG, Hersey Hawkins playing as SG, Detlef Schrempf playing as SF, Vin Baker playing as PF, and Olden Polynice playing as Center. Even though the duel between Jake and Payton was perhaps the most important issue in this game, the most important player for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win was Shaquille O''Neal and the team also needed Kobe Bryant. Chapter 506 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 4 Vin Baker was a skilled PF and Olden Polynice played well as Center, but in that game, Shaquille O''Neal could play more smoothly and the defense would not bother him as it did in other previous games. In that game Coach Harris decided not to take any chances and put Travis Knight on to play again, Jake thought that this would be a difficult game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team lost in his past life. And the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team played well in that defeat, what happened was that the players of the Seattle SuperSonics team played even better, in this game Jake was confident to change that and bring victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game. The game started with the Seattle SuperSonics team pressing in the attack, Gary Payton advanced the ball and passed to Hersey Hawkins on the left, Hawkins received the ball and Kobe Bryant came to press on defense. Hawkins held the ball and passed it to Detlef Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Schrempf tried a feint and managed to fool Fox and advanced into the area and tried a mid-range shot and made the first 2 points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. Jake was skilled in defense, but what he was best at was steals and intercepting in defense, if the opponent tried to get past him using the force he would also defend well, but in a game like this if Payton tried to get past him using the skill would be difficult for Jake to defend. So in this game Jake would not try to make so many steals by intercepting the ball and would concentrate only on defending against Gary Payton, only then would he be able to defend better and hinder Payton in some plays. Jake picked up the ball and started organizing the Los Angeles Lakers team''s first attack in the game, Jake went forward with the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Hawkins came to press on defense. Bryant held the ball and managed to get rid of the defense and advanced into the area, Bryant advanced and Olden Polynice came to defend against him, Bryant was smart and passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal who made the first 2 points for the Los team Angeles Lakers with a layup. Polynice and the other Seattle SuperSonics defense players did not expect Kobe Bryant to pass the ball and his good move ended up making the Los Angeles Lakers tie the game. After Jake spoke to Kobe Bryant, he started to think things over and agreed to a little with most of the things Jake had said, of course, some of the mistakes Jake said he had Bryant didn''t want to admit he had because of pride his as a player. Kobe Bryant heard some advice from Jake because he realized that Jake had said all that with the intention of helping him to improve as a player, but he wasn''t going to change that quickly. Of course, Jake didn''t expect that when he said what he knew, Jake was just trying to get Kobe Bryant to understand what would make him one of the best players in the NBA when he got older and realized these mistakes alone. Jake was a fan of Kobe Bryant and could only imagine how he could be an excellent player if he had his maturity and experience when he was at his peak while Kobe Bryant was still in peak physical condition. In another move Payton started another attack for the Seattle SuperSonics team, Payton advanced with the ball, and Jake arrived to press in defense before Payton reached the three-point line. Jake was determined to defend Payton as he never did before playing with another player, Payton did not want to try the individual move and passed the ball to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Fox came to press. Schrempf tried another feint, but Fox was attentive and was not fooled, so Schrempf decided to pass the ball to Hawkins on the left, Hawkins received the ball and Kobe Bryant soon arrived to press in defense. Hawkins held the ball for a while and then passed the ball to Vin Baker ahead, Baker received the ball and Travis Knight soon came to press on the defense, Baker tried a feint and soon after made a spin and managed to get rid of the defense and advanced to layup and 2 more points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. The Seattle SuperSonics team was managing to press well in attack and playing well in defense leaving the game much more balanced than everyone expected, many hoped that perhaps the Los Angeles Lakers team could lose this game. The Los Angeles Lakers team went on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and Payton came to defend against him, Jake was concerned with defending against Payton and Payton was also concerned with defending against Jake who had an average of over 30 points per game. The two had already made some points in that first quarter, but they were careful with each other while attacking, Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Fox from the left, Fox received the ball and Schrempf soon arrived to press in defense. Fox held the ball and soon passed it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and wondered if he would make any individual moves, Hawkins also pressed in defense and Bryant decided to pass the ball to Jake further back. Jake held the ball and Payton soon approached to press in defense, Jake made a quick feint and then did a step back, Payton was distracted by Jake''s feint and so Jack managed to try a shot from outside and score 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Seattle SuperSonics team ended the first quarter by winning the game with an advantage of just 1 point against the Los Angeles Lakers team, it was a really balanced game in which the two teams were still trying to analyze the opponent. In that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake was having to work harder to score and defend, but he still managed to play well in that first quarter against Gary Payton. "What a great first quarter we had in that game, a game so far balanced and the Seattle SuperSonics team is winning by just 1 point, but this was one of the few times that the Los Angeles Lakers team lost on points in a quarter." "The Seattle SuperSonics team is really doing well this season, it''s a team with great players and they can perform well in games, with Gary Payton leading the team and the other star Vin Baker that team can make it to the playoffs." "That''s right, it''s a team with great players, four players who have been NBA all-stars in the past and that shows their quality, and with the Seattle SuperSonics team playing at home I think they can win this game." "Yes, but the Los Angeles Lakers team also played very well in that first quarter, Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Jake Smith, and Rick Fox did well in attack and they are the best attack of this season, so they can still win this game." "The Los Angeles Lakers team lost just one game this season and I think they can still win that game, the most important thing is that Jake Smith is still managing to play well even with Gary Payton defending against him." "Yes, Jake Smith was defending well against Gary Payton too, the two players respect each other and I think that in the next quarters of the game this dispute will be even more intense." "It''s still amazing how well Jake Smith still plays with even one of the best defensive players in the NBA Gary Payton, we will continue to follow this game to see what happens." The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team putting pressure on the attack, they wanted the victory in this game more and could use the strong attack of the players to try to put pressure on the Seattle SuperSonics team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Schrempf arrived pressing in defense, Fox held the ball and passed to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Payton arrived in defense attentive to prevent Jake from doing any move. Jake passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Hawkins came to press on defense, Bryant received the ball and made a feint and moved away, Bryant made the between the legs dribble move and Hawkins was unable to get close. So Bryant made a feint and attempted the mid-range shot and made 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, a compliment that the Los Angeles Lakers team received was that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal were making fewer mistakes and had an average of Field Goal Percentage higher after Jake joined the team. Before it was normal for them to have more than 18 Field Goal Attempts per game and to have less than 50 percent correctness, that was normal for many teams, in fact, so Shaquille O''Neal was several times first in the Field Goal Percentage with little more than 50 percent. That changed after Jake''s arrival and he got an average of 80 percent in the Field Goal Percentage himself, so for every 10 attempts, Jake made the points he hit 8 of them even though he averaged more than 30 points per game, so Jake was surprised so much. The Seattle SuperSonics team went on the attack shortly thereafter, Payton advanced the ball and passed it to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Fox arrived to press on defense, so Schrempf decided to pass the ball to Payton again. Payton received the ball and Jake arrived to press in defense, Payton tried a feint to deceive Jake, but Jake was not deceived and continued watching Payton, Payton tried to advance using speed, but Jake continued to press in defense and did not let Payton advance. Chapter 507 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 5 With the possession time gone Payton tried the mid-range shot and ended up missing and Kobe Bryant got the rebound, in another dispute between Jake and Gary Payton, Jake showed that he also knew how to defend well. Bryant advanced with the ball and passed to Jake further back after passing from the middle of the court, this game was well balanced and therefore Jake could not keep the game pace as slow as he liked and the Los Angeles Lakers team had to press on the attack to try to win the game. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Schrempf arrived pressing on defense, Fox held the ball and soon passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Hawkins arrived pressing on defense. So Bryant passed the ball to Jake further back who tried a feint against Payton, Payton was not fooled and kept pressing in defense, Jake made another quick feint and then advanced using his speed. Payton reacted quickly, but Jake was even faster and Payton could not keep up, Schrempf approached to do the double-team defense together with Payton, Jake realized this and passed the ball to Fox on the left. Fox who was free tried the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake had a very high basketball IQ and could always analyze the play and the position of all the players on the court. This could be a consequence of his high intelligence statistics, Jake once asked the system why Basketball IQ did not appear on his statistics list and the system said it was because Basketball IQ was something that was not possible to measure. It was almost like intelligence, but intelligence was something that the system could measure using all humans as a reference, but for basketball, only players had it, and even among the best players Basketball IQ was different. Payton was having a hard time defending against Jake who was smart, fast, strong, and didn''t try many moves going to layup or dunk, most of the points that Jake often made were three-point shots and Payton had a harder time defending against such a player. In another move the Seattle SuperSonics team went on the attack, Payton advanced with the ball and passed it to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Fox arrived to press on defense, Schrempf passed the ball to Polynice later on. Polynice received the ball and O''Neal came pressing on the defense, Polynice tried a strong shot, but O''Neal remained firm in defense, so Polynice made a feint and moved away from O''Neal and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to recover and ended the second quarter by winning by 2 points, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. "The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to recover in the game and are now winning by 2 points, the two teams remain balanced and the two teams are playing very well." "Yes, maybe this is the most difficult game that the Los Angeles Lakers team had this season, they lost a game, but it was because Shaquille O''Neal wasn''t playing, now they have the full team and they''re still having a hard time on the scoreboard." "Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant are playing very well as they have done throughout this season, Rick Fox is also performing well and mainly Jake Smith is playing very well." "Yes, even though he''s doing fewer steals in that game, Jake Smith is focusing on defending against Gary Payton who is one of the best PG the NBA has today." "Jake Smith is still playing as well as in other games this season, and he is defending very well against Gary Payton who is having a hard time making the shots and missed many mid-range shots in that game." In the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to push forward, in a game like this, Coach Harris did not think of replacing the main players of the team for a long time and only replaced when O''Neal, Bryant and the others were tired. The coach of the Seattle SuperSonics team also did not think about replacing the players, this made the dispute between Jake and Payton even more interesting since Jake always played in the 48th minute and Payton also endured playing for a long time. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Schrempf arrived pressing on the defense, so Fox passed the ball to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and held it for a while before passing it to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Payton already started to press in the defense not giving Jake room to try another move, so Jake tried a feint and Payton was not fooled, Jake saw an opportunity and made a high pass to Shaquille O''Neal who took the ball at the top and did a dunk completing the alley-oop and making 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move the Seattle SuperSonics team went on the attack, Gary Payton charged the ball forward and Jake came to press on defense, Payton did not attempt the individual move and passed the ball to Hawkins on the left. Hawkins received the ball and Kobe Bryant came to press on defense, Hawkins tried a feint, but failed to trick Bryant who was firm in defense, so Hawkins passed the ball to Payton further back. Payton received the ball and tried a feint to deceive Jake, but Jake was not deceived and continued in defense, so Payton tried to advance and Jake pressed further in defense, so Payton did a quick step back and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. Payton was quick and Jake was unable to react, but Payton still tried to shoot the mid-range shot, Payton also tried several shots from outside that he missed, luckily his teammates managed to get some rebounds and so the game was still balanced. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a 6 point advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes in the third quarter and had 8 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound. The three-point shots Jake was able to hit were helping the Los Angeles Lakers team to increase their points advantage in the game, but in defense, he was concentrating so hard to defend against Payton that he was unable to make any steal in that quarter. Payton''s attacking moves were so good that Jake remembered when he played one-on-one against Kobe Bryant, of course, Payton was not a player with offensive skills as good as Kobe Bryant, but in a multiplayer game, Payton was making it much harder for Jake to defend. "The third quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win and managed to increase the points advantage, Jake Smith continues to play very well and this is being fundamental for the Los Angeles Lakers team to achieve this advantage in points." "Even with Gary Payton''s good defense, Jake Smith has already scored 27 points in that game, and the opposite is also true because Gary Payton has managed to score 15 points in that game, the difference being that Jake Smith missed fewer attacks and can make more passes also." "Yes, we can see in this game that the two are excellent players and are very good in defense, of course, Gary Payton is a player with more than 8 years of experience in the NBA, 5 times an All-star player and was the defensive player of the year in 1996." "And Jake is a rookie player who debuted this season in the NBA, so it''s amazing what Jake Smith is doing to attack well even with Gary Payton defending against him and him managing to defend well against Gary Payton." In the last quarter, the Seattle SuperSonics team started to press both in attack and defense, they wanted to take advantage of playing at home to try to win, Payton advanced with the ball and passed to Schrempf on the right. In the expected duel between Jake and Gary Payton what happened was that the two were more intelligent and tried to score the points avoiding the opponent to defend, Payton didn''t do it so well because Jake pressed hard on the attacks and Payton tried several times the layup and the mid-range shooting what was his style of playing. Jake didn''t need this because his style of play was to try three-point shots, and Payton wasn''t able to hinder Jake in three-point shots, so Jake was able to attack well, Payton also had to be more careful when making passes because Jake was very good at steals. Jake managed to make assists with difficulty, but he did even better than Payton in that game, yet whoever was watching this game could see that Jake was playing very well against Payton and it showed that even though he was a rookie he was already one of the best NBA players. The last quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the win by making 100 points against 88 points from the Seattle SuperSonics team, in that last quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. "Another NBA game ends this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team won another victory in this difficult and balanced game, the Seattle SuperSonics team played very well in that game and all the players performed well." "All the starting players scored at least 10 points in that game and Gary Payton scored 22 points even though Jake Smith was defending so well against him, but the Seattle SuperSonics defense was unable to stop the strongest attack this season in the NBA and Team Los Angeles Lakers still won." Chapter 508 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 6 "The Los Angeles Lakers team also played an excellent game, all the players performed well, but unlike the Seattle SuperSonics team, the focus on the attack was Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, and Jake Smith." "Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant played an excellent game, Rick Fox has also been surprising and making more than 14 points in the last games, and Jake Smith was once again the highlight of the game." "Jake Smith played very well in that game and managed to score 35 points and 9 assists even with Gary Payton defending against him, Jake Smith showed all his skill in that game and also defended well against Gary Payton and made him miss many attacks." "Yes, Jake Smith played that game really well, even though it looks like he got fewer steals and rebounds than in other games, that''s normal thinking that Gary Payton was defending against him." "Jake Smith had the advantage in that game because of his three-point shots that helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to win and also play better than Gary Payton, but that is also his credit for training for so long to get that average hits on three-point shots." The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning once again, Jake was happy because he knew that in the past the Los Angeles Lakers team had lost that game, now he wanted to win as many games as he could this season. Jake thought that when he entered the NBA he was very good at defense after training for several years in his imagination training and playing at university, but in that game, he realized again that he was still far from being a great player in defense. Jake had already realized this when he played against Kobe Bryant, even though he could defend well and prevent the opponent from making some points, he couldn''t really prevent the opponent from making points in mid-range shots. Of course, Jake knew it must be natural, after all, Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton were two of the best players in NBA history and Jake was just a rookie in the NBA, but what made Jake think so was his system and physical statistics that it was what helped him most to get the steals in the games. But this game was important for Jake to realize that he still had a lot of things that he needed to improve in order to be a great player, Jake still had to improve his skills and statistics and also play better when he got more experience. After all Jake knew that even when he had all the skills in the SS rank he would just be on a par with the best NBA players, so he still needed to improve a lot to be able to beat them. After that victory, the Los Angeles Lakers team had a lot of time to rest because they would have to travel to Denver, Colorado where they would have to play the next game. It would be the second game of the Los Angeles Lakers team in Denver, Colorado to play against the Denver Nuggets team the second game as a visitor, the first game was very difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win and Jake was the main responsible for the good advantage on the scoreboard at the end of the game. But in that game Jake did not know if things would be like this again, the rumors of the possible dismissal of Coach Del Harris just increased and so Coach Harris did not seem to be very happy with this situation. The players made the trip on the team plane during the night and when they arrived in Denver they immediately went to the hotel to rest for the game the next day, the players were not so tired because they were able to rest a few minutes in the last games with the substitutions of Harris coach. So the next day Jake woke up completely rested and ready for the next game, that day the players heard two rumors that could be good things, but one of that news could be bad for the team. One news that was certainly good was that Robert Horry was recovering well and maybe in 3 more days he could play again, the Los Angeles Lakers team was missing Horry in the team''s defense and also in the attack. The other news was that maybe the Los Angeles Lakers team could sign 5-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman in the next few days, Jake knew it could happen, so he naturally also knew what could happen in the future. Jake naturally respected Dennis Rodman, who was an important player in the 5 NBA titles he won, but his personal behavior was something Jake did not agree with and even found it difficult to understand. Jake played professional basketball and still ran marathons because he loved doing it and didn''t mind trying harder to do it, but Dennis Rodman, who also said he loved basketball even with his talent, still did a lot of things wrong. Jake thought that Dennis Rodman could actually be an important player for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the NBA title this season if he played seriously and worked hard in every game to win he could help a lot. Dennis Rodman was a type of player who got a lot of rebounds and defended well and didn''t score many points in games, but with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, and Jake Smith on the team they didn''t need anyone else who could score. What the Los Angeles Lakers team needed was a good defensive player, and Dennis Rodman was the type of player the Los Angeles Lakers team needed, in addition to Jake, other players were also concerned about having Dennis Rodman on the team. But in the afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the game to try another victory, arriving at the McNichols Sports Arena Jake can see the Denver Nuggets team crowd filling the Arena. Jake and the players put on their uniforms in the locker rooms and went to the court to get ready for the start of the game, the Denver Nuggets team needed this victory and they were determined to achieve that victory. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game of the NBA this season, the second game this season between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Denver Nuggets team, in the first game the Los Angeles Lakers team won." "And the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win this game too, the Denver Nuggets team that plays at home today had just 1 win this season and they have already had 8 losses, this is certainly irritating their fans." "The Los Angeles Lakers team already has 9 wins in 10 games and they want to get another victory in that game, if Jake Smith and the other players were playing well it wouldn''t be difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win again." "Yes, Jake Smith has been playing very well in the last few games, but Shaquille O''Neal has managed to make almost 1 double-double in every game and Kobe Bryant has also been helping to lead the team to victory." Everyone in the sports media and fans also hoped that the Los Angeles Lakers team could achieve an easy victory in that game, which is why the Denver Nuggets team achieving victory was difficult for everyone to understand. The Los Angeles Lakers team came with the starting players Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Denver Nuggets team came with the starting players Nick Van Exel playing as PG, Chauncey Billups playing as SG, Eric Washington also playing as SG and helping to defend against SF, Antonio McDyess playing as PF, Raef LaFrentz playing as Center. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team in the attack, Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team and passed to Jake, Jake advanced to the attack at a slower pace. Jake passed the ball to Kobe Bryant from the right, Bryant received the ball and Chauncey Billups came in pressing on the defense, so Bryant held the ball just before passing it to Rick Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Eric Washington came pressing on the defense. Fox tried to make an individual move, but Washington would not let Fox move forward, so Fox passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Nick Van Exel arrived pressing on defense, Van Exel was upset with the Los Angeles Lakers team after leaving. Nick Van Exel played well in his time on the Los Angeles Lakers team and did not understand why he left the team in an exchange with two players who were not as good as he was, especially in a time when the Los Angeles Lakers team did not have good PG on the team. So Nick Van Exel was even more upset with Jake who joined the Los Angeles Lakers team playing as PG and was now one of the best players in the NBA, so in that game, Van Exel wanted to show all his skill and help the Denver Nuggets team win the game. Jake held the ball a little and passed it to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and made a feint that tricked the opponent and Bryant tried the mid-range shot and made the first 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Soon the Denver Nuggets team went on the attack and Van Exel advanced the ball, Van Exel passed the ball to Billups on the left and Kobe Bryant was on the defense, Billups tried to make a feint, but Bryant was not fooled, so Billups decided to pass the ball to Washington from the right. Washington received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Washington managed to trick Fox with a feint and attempted a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Denver Nuggets team and tie the game. The Denver Nuggets team wanted to win this game and pushed in attack and defense from the beginning of the game, Jake was controlling the pace of the game and trying to help the defense so that the Los Angeles Lakers team could gain the advantage in points in the first quarter. Chapter 509 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 7 In another move Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Washington came to press on defense, Fox held the ball a little and passed it to Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and Billups came to press on defense, so Bryant tried a feint, but Billups was not fooled, so Bryant passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and with a feint, he managed to get rid of the opposing defense. Van Exel was able to react quickly, but Jake was faster and advanced into the area, Jake advanced and the Denver Nuggets team''s defense didn''t know how they could stop Jake, so Jake took advantage of that opportunity and passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal. Raef LaFrentz was not close to O''Neal in that play, so O''Neal advanced and scored another 2 points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, O''Neal was happy to score his first points in that game. Even though the Los Angeles Lakers team played so well Shaquille O''Neal thought he could score more points in the last games, in the first games of the season he scored more than 30 points in several games, but in the last games, he failed to score 30 points. Shaquille O''Neal knew that with the whole team playing well it was more difficult than he had so many opportunities to score more points, but Jake was scoring more than 30 points in every game, and in most games, Jake was trying fewer attacks than he was. Of course, the biggest reason for that was that Jake scored a lot on three-point shots, so Jake needed less attack than he did to score 30 points, Shaquille O''Neal was happy with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the games and also thought that Jake was doing a great job as a PG. For Shaquille O''Neal the most important thing was to win the NBA title at the end of the season, so he was more dissatisfied with his performance in the games than with the performance of his teammates. The Denver Nuggets team soon went on the attack, Van Exel advanced with the ball and went to Washington on the right, Washington received the ball and Fox arrived to press in defense, Washington held the ball a little and passed to Billups on the left. Billups received the ball and Bryant came to press on defense, Billups did not hold the ball and passed the ball to Antonio McDyess later on, McDyess received the ball and Travis Knight came to press on defense. McDyess managed to spin and tried the hook to make 2 more points for the Denver Nuggets team, the Denver Nuggets team was pushing in the attack and the game was balanced and this impressed the crowd that did not expect the Denver Nuggets team to play so well. The first quarter ended with the Denver Nuggets team winning by 2 points, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake started playing well in that game too. "The first quarter ends and the Denver Nuggets team is surprising everyone and winning the game so far with a 2 point advantage, due to the performance of the two teams in the season so far, everyone hoped that the Los Angeles Lakers team would be winning this game." "It''s true, but we also have to say that the Denver Nuggets team is playing very well in this game, it is a different game than the last one that the players of the Denver Nuggets team did and that is why they are getting this game balanced." "Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers team is also playing well, even though some players don''t seem to be playing as well as in other games, Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Jake Smith are playing well as in all games and are keeping the balanced game." "The players who are playing best on the Denver Nuggets team are Antonio McDyess and Chauncey Billups, on the Los Angeles Lakers team Rick Fox and Travis Knight is not playing as well as in other games." "It is good news for the Los Angeles Lakers team that Robert Horry may return in the next games, and the Los Angeles Lakers team is negotiating to sign NBA title winner 5-time Dennis Rodman." "I don''t know if hiring Dennis Rodman can be a good thing for the Los Angeles Lakers team because of the personal problems that Dennis Rodman has, but it will definitely be a good PF that the Los Angeles Lakers team needs." This was a tough game for the Los Angeles Lakers team and Jake knew he had to try harder in that game if he wanted to win, but coach Del Harris thought that in that game Shaquille O''Neal had to rest for a few minutes. So in this second quarter and in the other quarters, Coach Harris wanted to replace Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes, which would certainly make things more difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, luckily Coach Harris did not intend to replace other players. The Denver Nuggets team started in the attack in the second quarter, Van Exel advanced with the ball and went to Washington on the right, Washington received the ball and Fox came to press on defense, Washington tried a feint and got rid of the defense and tried a shot from mid-range to make 2 more points for the Denver Nuggets team. In another move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Washington came to press on defense, so Fox did not attempt a move and passed to Bryant on the right. Kobe Bryant received the ball and Billups came in to press on defense, Bryant decided to make an individual move and did the between the legs dribble move, so Billups didn''t know what Bryant was going to do and he stayed put. After that move, Kobe Bryant managed to advance to the inside area and Billups was unable to keep up well in defense, Bryant advanced and drive to the basket and made 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In this second quarter, the two teams were still balanced and it was being a game in which the two teams attacked well, the Los Angeles Lakers team was playing better and was increasing the advantage a little on the scoreboard. But when Shaquille O''Neal was replaced, the Denver Nuggets team was able to press again, Jake was playing as smoothly as in other games and was defending well against Van Exel who was not attacking much in that game. In another move the Los Angeles Lakers team went on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Fox on the left, Fox received the ball and Washington came to press on defense, Fox decided not to make any moves and passed to Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and Billups came to press on defense, this time Bryant did not try to make an individual play, Van Exel saw the play and moved even closer to Jake to try to prevent Kobe Bryant from passing the ball to him. Bryant realized this and decided to pass to Fox on the left again, Fox received the ball with a little more freedom this time and tried a mid-range shot, this time Fox did not hit and McDyess managed to catch the defensive rebound for the Denver Nuggets team. Van Exel called for the ball further and McDyess passed it to him, Van Exel received the ball and quickly tried to advance to get a counterattack, Van Exel and Billups advanced quickly in the attack. Jake and Kobe Bryant who were further behind managed to get back to defense, the Denver Nuggets team tried to make a quick counterattack, but Jake was even faster and managed to get back to defend quickly. Seeing this, Van Exel decided to pass the ball to Billups who was on the left, Billups received the ball and had already noticed that Bryant was approaching quickly to defend, Billups, advanced further. Arriving in the inside area Bryant had arrived to defend against Billups, so Billups decided to pass to Van Exel, Van Exel received the ball and advanced to try the layup, Jake who was in defense did not think that Van Exel would try the layup, so Jake waited the right time and jump to make the block. Van Exel and Billups did not expect Jake to be able to make the block, Kobe Bryant who already hoped that this could happen managed to catch the rebound, and passed the ball to Jake again, with this counterattack the players of both teams were on the side of the Los Angeles Lakers team court. Except for Shaquille O''Neal who had stayed on the side of the Denver Nuggets team, Jake realized this and made a high pass to Shaquille O''Neal, it was a long pass that crossed almost the entire court and O''Neal can easily catch the ball. So Shaquille O''Neal advanced alone to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, with this move the Los Angeles Lakers team did not lose the advantage they had on the scoreboard and increased the players'' spirits. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team recovering and ending the second quarter by winning the game with a good lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. "What an incredible game we are watching here today, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to recover and ended the second quarter by winning the game with the points advantage after finishing losing in the first quarter." "The Los Angeles Lakers team really played well in that second quarter, with a great performance by Jake Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O''Neal who attacked and defended well, that play in which Jake made a block after the counterattack of The Denver Nuggets team shows the dedication that the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team are having in this game." "It is true, we must also say that the Denver Nuggets team played very well in that second quarter as well, the players put pressure on the attack and defense and so the game remained balanced." "We cannot say which of the two teams will win this game, so we will continue to follow this good game to know which team will win at the end of the game." Chapter 510 Change in Los Angeles Lakers Team 8 In the third quarter, the Denver Nuggets team had to keep pressing in attack to try to win the game, but it was the Los Angeles Lakers team that started strong in attack and also in defense. Even with Coach Harris replacing Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes in all quarters, Jake was still able to organize his attacks well and Nick Van Exel was unable to defend well against him in that game. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Bryant on the right, Bryant received the ball and Billups came to press on defense, Bryant held the ball before passing to Fox on the left, Fox was not playing so well in this game, but he was still helping the team Los Angeles Lakers with several points and defending too. Fox received the ball and Washington came to press in defense, Fox tried a feint, but Washington was not deceived and stood firm in defense, so Fox decided to pass the ball back to Jake. Jake received the ball and Van Exel came to press on defense, Jake made a feint and step back and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers, Van Exel didn''t even have a chance to hinder Jake in this play. The Denver Nuggets team was not doing so well in the third quarter, the players were missing a lot of attacks and with the Los Angeles Lakers team realizing that they were putting even more pressure on the defense. The Denver Nuggets team went on the attack and Van Exel advanced to the attack and passed the ball to Billups on the left, Billups received the ball and Bryant pressed the defense, so Billups decided to pass the ball to Washington on the right. Washington received the ball and saw that Van Exel was free and decided to pass the ball to him, but Jake hoped for that and managed to intercept Washington''s pass, Jake took the ball and advanced with speed to attack. Van Exel was the last player in the Denver Nuggets team''s defense and tried to accompany Jake to defend against him, but Jake was faster and Van Exel was unable to follow, Jake advanced to the painted area and scored 2 more points with the dunk for the team Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver Nuggets team could not attack as well as in other quarters and the Los Angeles Lakers did not miss the opportunity to further increase the advantage in points that they had in the game. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a big lead on the scoreboard, Jake played for 12 minutes in that third quarter and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. In the last quarter, the Denver Nuggets team came back much better as it was in the initials quarters, but the advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers team was already very large and the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team remained good and the Denver Nuggets team was unable to reverse the score. The Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 116 points against 99 points from the Denver Nuggets team, Jake played for 12 minutes in the last quarter and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, thus achieving another double-double. "And so this great game that we had ended, the Denver Nuggets team played a great game surprising everyone, but the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed their tenth victory this season." "Really, the Denver Nuggets team played really well, but the Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack this season and has won 10 of the 11 games they have had this season." "It is even more amazing to remember that this season we will only have 50 games, so we have had more than 20 percent of the games this season and the Los Angeles Lakers team has only one defeat." "Yes, Jake Smith, Shaquille O''Neal, and Kobe Bryant played very well and it was important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to get another victory in that balanced game." The Los Angeles Lakers team had made a great start to the season and the sports media increasingly thought they had a team that could win the NBA title this season. After the end of the game, the reporters came to interview some players from the Los Angeles Lakers team, this time the players wanted to talk to the reporters, one of the reporters approached Shaquille O''Neal first to speak with him. "Hi Shaq, what do you think of the Lakers team''s performance so far this season?" "I''m very happy, we started this season very well with just one defeat so far, Jake''s entry into the team helped our team to achieve these victories, I think with more games the team will have the players even more in touch and we will play the games even better." "And what do you think about Coach Harris starting to replace you and the other players in the games so that you don''t get tired?" "I feel like I could play longer in that game and of course I don''t like being replaced, but this season is really having a lot of games and I and the other players don''t have that much time to rest." "I think Coach Harris knows what he''s doing and as long as our team gets the win I don''t mind playing a few minutes less." "Shaq, you talked about Jake, what do you think about his joining the Lakers team?" "I think Jake is an excellent player, he debuted this season and he adapted very well to the NBA and our team too, he is really an incredible player with that average points and assists he gets." "Jake has managed to do 5 triple-double this season which is quite impressive, I think he is the best rookie of this season and one of the best players in the NBA today." After the reporters spoke to Shaquille O''Neal they went to talk to Jake, it wasn''t at all games that players did interviews, and with these victories, the Los Angeles Lakers team was one of the most sought after media teams. "Hi, Jake, you have been making one of the best debuts as a player in NBA history, what have you thought of your debut season on the Lakers team so far?" "I am very happy with the season we have had so far, I have always been a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers team and have always dreamed of playing for this team, I am doing my best to help the team win and I am happy that this has happened." "Playing with great players like Shaq and Kobe has been very good, making assists have been easier playing with them, Rick is also playing very well and it helps me to perform better." "Jake, the game you had against the Seattle SuperSonics team was talked about a lot because you played against Gary Payton who is one of the best PG in NBA history, what did you think of this game?" "It was a great honor to play against Gary Payton in that game, he is one of my idols in the NBA, the game was very difficult because Payton defends very well, I had to work very hard to defend against him and I couldn''t even try many steals in that game." "Even with my efforts Payton still played very well and scored a lot, I was also happy to play against Scottie Pippen and against John Stockton who are also idols that I have." "The truth is that most of the games that I have this season will be against great idols that I have, and I will try even harder to perform well in those games." The reporters were satisfied with the interviews and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team left the Arena and returned to the hotel, everyone was tired and happy with the victory in that game, they were not playing away from home so they were facing teams that were not having a good season. But these games were surprisingly difficult, so players would not underestimate the next opponent after the players rested for a few hours, the Los Angeles Lakers team board decided to make the trip that night. So the players left the hotel and took the plane to Vancouver, British Columbia where they would play the next game as a visitor, arriving in Vancouver the players went to the hotel reserved to rest for the next game that would be the next day. The game happened the next day, the Los Angeles Lakers team came prepared for a difficult game, the game would be against the Vancouver Grizzlies team that had 6 losses and only 3 victories in the 9 games that they had this season. It would be Jake''s first official game playing against Mike Bibby who was a friend of his, in that game the Los Angeles Lakers team was not playing well, Coach Harris also looked different because this was perhaps his last game at the helm of the team. In the Vancouver Grizzlies team, Shareef Abdur-Rahim played very well and Mike Bibby also played a good game, fortunately with Jake''s great effort the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win the game making 94 points against 91 of the Vancouver Grizzlies team. Shaquille O''Neal also played very well defensively in that game and managed a double-double with 10 rebounds, O''Neal also made 6 blocks and 2 steals in that game, with which the Los Angeles Lakers team won 11 games in 12 games this season. After another victory the Los Angeles Lakers team was fine, but Jake realized that coach Del Harris would be fired, Jake was not happy about it and was worried about playing with coach Phil Jackson, because he might not adapt to the strategy to play in an offensive triangle. After the end of that game, Jake told Coach Del Harris that he would return to Los Angeles and head to the next game in Los Angeles, Coach Harris knew Jake was in the good physical condition and didn''t even know if he would continue to be team coach then allowed. Jake flew to Los Angeles the same day because the next day he would go to the Grammys to hope for Kate''s victory, Jake was used to flying and arriving at his house very late to rest. Chapter 511 The Grammy Awards 1 Jake woke up rested the other day in the morning, this was going to be a lively day for him and he was too excited to go to the Grammys at night, Jake called his mom to talk to her about the latest games and also to talk about the Grammys. Eva was very fond of music but did not understand very well about the awards they had, Jake had given all the CDs he had of Kate and Eva had also watched Kate sing in the game that Jake organized. After that Eva also really liked the way Kate sang, Jake had already told his mother that Kate was going to run for this year''s Grammy and with Jake reminding her, Eva said she would watch Kate''s show. "I think it''s cool that you go to the Grammy this year to cheer for your girlfriend, being there with her can support her a lot on that day that she must be nervous." "Yes, I think so too, mom, but I won''t be able to be with her, yet she knows that I''m going to be rooting for her." "Why can''t you be with her, Jake? Aren''t you going to Grammy with Kate?" "No, I''m going alone with a ticket I got from a friend, Kate''s manager thinks that revealing our relationship can hurt her career, which is undergoing a change right now." "At the beginning of next year we will reveal about our dating to everyone and say that we have been dating since the end of 1998, so the media will not be able to say that it is not a serious relationship." "I don''t know how to reveal that Kate is dating a successful man like you can hurt her career, you two are famous and make a beautiful couple." "I don''t care about that, mom, the important thing is that Kate and I are dating, I don''t need everyone to know about it, her manager knows what she does." "If you don''t mind I''m not going to say anything, I''m glad you are well together." When Jake called his mom the topic was often Kate and it wasn''t Jake''s games, Eva just needed to know that Jake was happy and that his team was winning to be happy about it. Jake tried to talk to Kate after talking to his mother, but Lily had taken her phone so Kate wouldn''t be too anxious on the day of the awards, Jake had the whole day to rest because Coach Harris had dismissed him. During the afternoon, his housekeeper brought Jake the newspaper that had important news about the Los Angeles Lakers team, the news that he already knew that Robert Horry was almost recovered and could already play in the next game and the news that the Los team Angeles Lakers had hired Dennis Rodman. Jake already hoped that these two things would happen and he also knew that Dennis Rodman would also be at the Grammys that night along with his wife Carmen Electra, if Rodman wanted to talk to him Jake would talk to him, but he wanted to remain discreet so as not to have rumors about him and Kate. The other news was something Jake expected, but he didn''t want it to happen, it was the news that Coach Del Harris had been fired, Jake hoped it didn''t happen because the Los Angeles Lakers team managers had said in his past life that reason for the dismissal of Coach Harris had been the bad start to the season with 6 wins and 6 losses in 12 games. This time the Los Angeles Lakers team had won 11 games and lost only 1 of the games, even if he had been fired it was because the Los Angeles Lakers team should have already started talking to coach Phil Jackson so he could be the coach of the team since the beginning of next season. For that, the team directors were willing to abandon the Los Angeles Lakers'' chances of winning the NBA title this season, interim coach Bill Bertka would take over the team in the next game, but Jake knew it would be for just one game and then coach Kurt Rambis would lead the team until the end of the season. Of course, Jake still intended to help the team try to win the NBA title this season, but without coach Del Harris it would be more difficult, it would depend much more on the players than on the team''s strategy. After hearing this news about his team Jake went to a hairdresser that one of his Hollywood friends had indicated, Jake had also ordered a suit, pants, and a set of social clothes so he could go to the Grammy Awards. The hairdresser made only a few adjustments to his hair, the suit and set of clothes to go to the Grammy was from the Armani brand, to the hairdresser and to the Armani store Jake said who he was so he could get the best treatment. Of course Jake intended to pay for everything, but with him saying he was an NBA player and an actor who would go to the Grammy, the hairdresser and Armani store would do their best to make Jake look great. For the suit and the social clothes Jake asked for a set of black color that was the color he liked most for suits, it was also a safe color to make him look good at the Grammy, as the people at the Armani store knew Jake they had already prepared a set of social clothes and just needed to make adjustments with Jake in the store. Jake was as handsome as the models and had an athlete''s body, so it was not so difficult to make the adjustments so that the clothes fit perfectly with Jake, the store attendants couldn''t help looking at Jake intensely after he put on the clothes and the suit. This was normal because in the media there was no news that Jake was dating Kate or anyone, so several women fantasized about having a loving relationship with Jake who was handsome, rich, and famous. After a few hours Jake left the Armani store ready to go to the Grammy, he went back to his house before to wait there until the Grammy start time, when the time came Jake put on his dress clothes and suit and got in the car that he had rented for that night. Jake didn''t want to go in the cars he had because it would get a lot of attention, so he chose a black executive car that was elegant, but not so flashy, Jake arrived at the Grammy and entered the Shrine Auditorium through an entrance that didn''t draw much attention. Jake arrived very early at the Shrine Auditorium, shortly after people were allowed in, but Jake''s place at the Shrine Auditorium was not so modest and was close to the front in the place for spectators and competitors to sit. Even though Jake didn''t want to attract attention, he attracted the attention of the officials who were organizing the Grammy, Keanu Reeves just said to those who gave him the invitations that a friend of his would go to the Grammy in his place but did not say that this person was Jake. After a long time everyone entered the Shrine Auditorium and sat down waiting for the Grammy to start, Jake was trying to be discreet so he didn''t look for Kate, this Grammy Kate hadn''t been invited to sing any songs, so only if she won she could see Jake. If she were to receive the award she would find Jake who was in the front rows and was one of the tallest in the entire Shrine Auditorium, Jake remembered few things about that Grammy he had attended. Jake remembered that Rosie O''Donnell would present this year''s Grammy, she also remembered that women would win most of the awards deservedly, Jake also remembered that Madonna would win more than 3 awards, Celine Dion would win 2 awards for the song My Heart Will Go On that would win 4 awards in this Grammy. Jake also remembered that Lauryn Hill would win 5 awards at this Grammy, so he thought that if Kate won one of those awards it wouldn''t affect Lauryn Hill so much, they were all amazing singers and so Jake and Kate were nervous because they didn''t know if she could win. At the beginning of the Grammy, Jake heard the song Nothing Really Matters that was sung by Madonna, Jake was not a fan of Madonna, but he knew she was an excellent singer and paid close attention to the show. Jake always watched these awards on his home television in his past life, he watched almost all the most important awards, it was really different to be in person at the awards venue. Before the awards started, Jake had already observed all the decoration of the place, the stage was prepared for a show and Jake knew that the Grammy team would set the stage for the different presentations of the singers like the presentation of Madonna in the beginning. The Grammy went on and Jake really liked almost everything that was going on, the Grammy was hosted by Rosie O''Donnell and she showed up several times to speak, Jake also liked her and found it very fun and different to see everything this time at the awards venue. At the beginning of the awards Madonna won one of the awards that would be just 1 of the 4 awards she would win, then the song Heart Will Go On which became very well known after the success of the movie Titanic, won the Song of the year award and the songwriters Will Jennings and James Horner went to receive the award. Then the Grammy had the rock performance of "There Goes The Neighborhood" by Sheryl Crow, which The Globe Sessions took home for Best Rock Album, then Alanis Morissette for "Uninvited" on the City of soundtrack Angels who won Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. Shania Twain also won two awards that night, but Jake who was a fan of hers thought she should have won four awards that night, she won the Best Female Country Vocal Performance award and the Best Country Song award. But Jake thought she should also have won the Album of the Year and Best Country Album awards, after all, much thought that her Album was one of the best of all time in Country music. Chapter 512 The Grammy Awards 2 Jake was enjoying the Grammy a lot, but he couldn''t help but be worried about the prize that Kate was competing for, the Grammy continued and Ricky Martin performed with a performance singing "The Cup Of Life", which would make him even more recognized in the world of music. Afterward, Ricky Martin also won the Best Latin Pop Performance award for "Vuelve", Celine Dion of whom Jake was also a fan won the Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance awards and sang along with Andrea Bocelli the song "The Prayer". Lauryn Hill who was the great Grammy star sang the song "To Zion" with Carlos Santana, Lauryn Hill also won Best Female R\u0026B Vocal Performance, Best Rhythm \u0026 Blues Music and Best R\u0026B Album, with the album The Miseducation. At the end of the Grammy, she would still win the Album of the Year award, being the first hip-hop singer to achieve that, but Jake was more interested in the Best New Artist award, so Kate could compete for that award, Natalie Imbruglia had left the contest for that Jake remembered. So the contestants for this award were the country music band Dixie Chicks that had won 2 awards that night, the group Backstreet Boys, Andrea Bocelli, Lauryn Hill and Kate, reason why Lily had spoken the Album and Kate''s music could compete with others awards that night, but the record company decided to put all its efforts into winning it. Jake was waiting for that moment and started to get anxious, soon the contestants were introduced, when Kate''s name was called, people at the Shrine Auditorium applauded quite like the favorite singers. "And the Best New Artist is Kate Annesley." When the presenter of the award spoke Kate''s name, Jake couldn''t resist and stood up to applaud, with Jake standing up to applaud some other people also stood up to applaud him. With Jake standing up to applaud first it was natural for Kate to see him, she was really beautiful in a white dress as she liked to wear with some parts of the dress is blue which made her even more beautiful. Jake didn''t want to stand out, but he ended up standing out too much to applaud, as Lauryn Hill would win 4 Grammy awards nobody would complain about if she didn''t win the Best New Artist award, Kate was very happy when she received the award and went to give a speech fast. "I''m really happy to have won this award, I didn''t expect it even if I really wanted to win, Lauryn Hill is really an excellent singer and deserves all the awards she won and I hoped she would win this one too." "I want to thank my fans who have always supported me at all times in my career, I also want to thank my manager Lily, and thank everyone who has supported me until today." "I wanted to thank my label, the musicians and producers who participated in my music and my albums." "I wanted to dedicate this award to my parents who cannot be here, thank you." While giving the thank you speech Kate looked several times at where Jake was, so if someone was watching them see if they were dating after this award they would be pretty sure. Jake was embarrassed because he was sure Lily would be mad at him, so at the end of the Grammy when Lauryn Hill won the Album of the Year award Jake was the first to get up again to applaud and again several people stood up as he did. The Grammy ended and Jake was very happy that Kate had won the award, Jake thought he was lucky that he didn''t know many people and he was one of the first to leave the Shrine Auditorium, some people would come looking for him to go to one of the parties he had after the Grammy, but Jake was not interested in participating. After all, besides having to be discreet, Jake had to rest because he had a game the next day, besides, he couldn''t drink even then he would have to stay at the whole party refusing the gifts of the other guests. When Jake got home he changed his clothes and called his mother to tell the good news, Eva was also watching the Grammy on television so she already knew that Kate had won, she also celebrated a lot like Jake and was very happy for Kate have won. "I hoped she really won, Jake, you know how talented Kate is and she deserved to win this award, I hope she still wins many awards like that in her singing career." "I expected it too, mom, but the other artists who were competing with Kate were so good that I was worried and anxious, even Kate wasn''t sure she could win." "I understand that I saw how anxious you were as you were the first to get up to applaud when they announced that Kate had won, Hahaha, you were filmed on camera and everyone saw it." Jake didn''t expect him to be filmed, now he was sure that Lily would be irritated with him, Jake didn''t care if they found out he was dating Kate, and with Kate winning this award they would have less trouble taking over the relationship that they had. Jake talked a little more with his mother and then went to watch some movies at the cinema he had at his house, Jake would wait a few hours because he wanted to try to talk to Kate on the phone. But Jake knew that Kate should have gone to one of the parties as most artists also had to go, she should have to go to her label''s party or the party of some more well-known artists. After a few hours Jake watched 2 movies and called Kate if she couldn''t answer he would have to go to sleep because he would have a game the next day, Jake waited awhile and luckily Kate can answer the phone. "Hi, Jake, I''m glad you called me." "I didn''t know if you were busy after Grammy, so I waited a few hours before I called you, I wanted to congratulate you for winning the Grammy, you deserved it, Kate, for your hard work." "Thanks, Jake, I was very happy to see you when I won the Grammy, I really wanted to say your name in my speech, but know that I spoke of you indirectly when I made my speech." "I understand, then, that this will be a motivation for you to win another Grammy in the coming years, so you can say my name in your thank you speech." "Hahaha, I will try to win another Grammy to say your name, but next time I want you by my side at the awards." "I will be there, I hope Lily is not too angry with me for what I did at the Grammy, I tried to be discreet, but I couldn''t do it when I heard that you won the award." "She was a little upset, but Lily knows the great effort you had and the understanding you had to not disrupt my career if everyone knows it can be better this way because we won''t have to hide it from anyone else." "I also don''t like to hide it, but I understand that it is the best for your career, don''t worry, at the beginning of next year Lily said that we can announce that we are dating, it won''t be that long." Jake talked a few more hours with Kate before he had to hang up because he had to sleep, Jake was very happy with everything that had happened that day, so if the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win the next day he would be very happy. The next day Jake woke up very early and ate well to prepare for the game he would have later, the game would be in Los Angeles so the other players were also able to return home after Jake asked for a day off to go to the Grammy. The housekeeper Mary brought Jake back to the newspaper from the previous day''s news, Jake searched the newspaper and saw the news about the Grammy that happened the day before, in the newspaper it said "The Night of Divas", it talked about Lauryn Hill, Madonna, Celine Dion and also talked just a little bit about Kate. Even so Jake was happy that Kate won the award and so maybe she could get even more fans, in the newspapers that Jake read nothing spoke about him, so he was happy that there were not many rumors about him. After that Grammy, Kate would go back to doing her shows and would be very busy for the rest of the year, Jake would also be busy with the NBA and they could just meet up and talk over the phone. Jake went to training with the Los Angeles Lakers team, when Jake arrived at the training place he saw that Dennis Rodman had already arrived, he would not play in that game, but would start training with the team because the next day he would play. Coach Bill Bertka was not annoyed that Jake missed training the day before because he was around when Jake asked the former team coach for permission to have a rest day, Coach Bertka didn''t imagine Jake already knew Coach Harris could be fired. Even if Coach Bertka knew that he still wouldn''t care because he knew that Jake was in great physical condition playing the 48 minutes in every game, so missing a day of training wouldn''t be a bad thing. Jake went to where Robert Horry was, Jake could imagine how bad it was to have a health problem and have to stay several games without being able to play, of course, Horry appeared sometimes in training and the players talked to him, but in games as a visitor that the team had they could not talk. "How are you, Robert? He recovered from his illness." "Not completely, I''m not in my best shape yet either, but I can go back to playing for a few minutes in that game." "It''s good to hear that, I hope you recover completely soon, the team needs you." Chapter 513 A Different Team 1 With Dennis Rodman joining the team and Robert Horry''s return the Los Angeles Lakers team was complete again, Rick Fox was playing very well this season and the only concern for Jake and the coaches was the position of PF. But now they had Robert Horry and Dennis Rodman to complete that missing position, Dennis Rodman could help the team more defensively and with rebounds, but because of the problems he might have, maybe it would be Robert Horry the main player in that position. From what Jake remembered the most difficult phase of the team at the beginning of the season had passed, then the Los Angeles Lakers team won 10 games in a row and went back to being one of the main teams in the NBA, with Jake in the team they had lost only one game, so these 10 victories would make the Los Angeles Lakers team even stronger for the playoff. After training Jake could see that Dennis Rodman was still in the good physical condition and could actually play in the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team, while Jake was getting ready to leave, Dennis Rodman came over to talk to him. "Hi Jake, I already talked to all the players and I wanted to talk to you too." "Hi Dennis, I''m a big fan of yours, I think it''s incredible the NBA title you managed to win and I think you''re an incredible player because of the rebounds you get" "I think you''re a good player too, I saw you at the Grammy yesterday, I thought I''d ask you to come to the party after the awards, but you left very quickly." "I didn''t know that I went to the Grammy with a ticket that I got from a friend, so I didn''t think it would be good to go to any party after the awards." "So you thought wrong, I''m sure you just weren''t invited because they didn''t know that you liked to participate in awards, but now that they know you''re going to receive several invitations to attend the Grammy, Oscar and other awards." Jake thought about it and thought Dennis was right, he hadn''t received any tickets because the people at the Grammy organization didn''t know he liked to attend these events, but now he would probably receive several invitations. Jake and Dennis talked a little more before Jake left, later in the afternoon, the players got together again at the Anaheim Arena which was where the game would take place, the Los Angeles Clippers team was one of the teams most affected by Jake''s coming to the NBA. In Jake''s past life the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose all 9 games earlier this season, but the Los Angeles Lakers team switched Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, and Derek Harper to have Jake on the team. So the Los Angeles Clippers team was unable to sign Michael Olowokandi and chose Jake, because of this change the Los Angeles Clippers team had won 3 of the 9 games they had this season. It was not a good result yet, but they did not lose all the games as they normally would have, with the experience of Derek Harper and Eddie Jones leading the team they achieved three victories and played well in most of the 9 games. The three players that were switched to Jake to go on the team were very talented, but because of the excellent season that Jake was making the crowd happy, he no longer cared about the players who left the Lakers team. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch one more game this NBA season, in that game the Los Angeles Clippers team will play against their biggest rival in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers team." "This is the fourth game in a row for the Los Angeles Lakers team playing as a visitor, the last three games that could have been easier have become very difficult games in which players have had to work hard for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win." "The Los Angeles Lakers team also has a lot of changes in the last few days, Dennis Rodman signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers team and will be able to play in the next game, Robert Horry has recovered from his illness and will play in that game." "The biggest news is that coach Del Harris was fired even after this excellent start to the season with 11 wins in 12 games, so assistant coach Bill Bertka will head the team today as head coach." "This is also the first game that Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, and Derek Harper play against the Los Angeles Lakers team that was their team, it is also the first game between the rookie Jake Smith plays against the team that selected him in this draft season." "So we expect an exciting game today between these two teams." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Los Angeles Clippers team would start the game with Derek Harper playing as PG, Eddie Jones playing as SG, Rodney Rogers playing as SF, Elden Campbell playing as PF, and Lorenzen Wright playing as Center. Coach Bertka decided to leave Travis Knight playing that game because Robert Horry was still not very well, but after the third quarter, coach Bertka would put Horry in the game, in the first quarter and in the second quarter Horry could still be substituted. In the next game when Dennis Rodman could play, he could put Robert Horry in for a few minutes and Dennis Rodman in the game and thus he would have qualified in the position of PF in every game, the truth was that coach Bertka did not think that the Los Angeles Clippers team could win that game and so he intended to replace the starting players for many minutes in the game. At the start of the game Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jake calmly advanced the ball and Derek Harper gave Jake space to move forward, Jake advanced further and passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right. Bryant received the ball and Eddie Jones came to defend, they were friends, but in the games, Jones and Bryant would still face each other as they did in any game, Bryant tried a feint, but Jones was not fooled, so Bryant passed the ball to Rick Fox through left. Fox received the ball and Rodney Rogers came to press on defense, Fox held the ball for a while and passed it to Jake further behind, Jake received the ball and quickly passed it to Shaquille O''Neal ahead. O''Neal received the ball and Lorenzen Wright came to press on defense, O''Neal made a strong move and managed to spin and tried the hook to make the first 2 points of the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move, the Los Angeles Clippers team went on the attack and Derek Harper came forward and passed the ball to Jones from the left, Jones received the ball and Bryant pressed the defense, Jones tried a feint, but Bryant was not fooled. Then Jones passed the ball to Rogers on the right, Rogers received the ball and Fox arrived to press, Rogers quickly passed the ball to Jones again, this time Eddie Jones received the ball and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Clippers team. Eddie Jones and Derek Harper were the players who stood out the most on this new Los Angeles Clippers team, perhaps with a few more new players on the Clippers team they could try a spot in the playoffs of the coming seasons. The Los Angeles Lakers team ended the first quarter by winning with a good point advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake realized that in this game Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal did not were performing well. Bryant was still replaced in the first quarter for a few minutes and had even less time on the court, it seemed that coach Bertka did not expect this game to be very difficult and so he decided to let Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal rest. In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to press forward and even with the Los Angeles Clippers team doing better they were unable to defend against the best NBA attack. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team won with 129 points against 95 points of the Los Angeles Clippers team, Jake played for 48 minutes in that game and had 43 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals. "The game ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team achieving another victory this season, the Los Angeles Clippers team played well, but could not handle the strong attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team." "Even with coach Bill Bertka replacing Kobe and Shaq for many minutes, the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to win with Jake''s good performance that made 43 points and 11 assists." "Yes, Jake was once again the highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team and those 43 points were the maximum points he made in a game this NBA season, with the top players on the Los Angeles Lakers team being replaced Jake had to try even harder to take the team to victory." "Rick Fox played very well in that game too and Robert Horry also performed well even though he played less time in that game, it shows that he can help the team even more in the next games." In this game Jake played very well and had a good performance, he did not let Derek Harper manage to attack a lot and still got many steals, in addition to the points he made in that game, Robert Horry also played well despite playing for only 20 minutes. Robert was certainly concerned about Dennis Rodman joining the team, everyone knew that Dennis was an excellent player and if he worked hard at the games Dennis could certainly be a starting player on that Los Angeles Lakers team. Even more, that the coach had changed, so Robert knew he had to prove that he was the best player to be one of the starting players on that Los Angeles Lakers team. Chapter 514 A Different Team 2 The other day after the players were able to rest, it was announced that Bill Bertka would no longer be the main coach of the team in the next game and would return to be the assistant coach, who is the main coach was Kurt Rambis who was also an assistant coach of the team. What was announced was that this time Kurt Rambis would be the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers team until the end of the season, this calmed the players who would be unsure if the team changed the main coach several times in a season. The next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team would be again in Los Angeles, with the Lakers team being the team that would play at home this time, it would be again against the Los Angeles Clippers team and the players would not underestimate the opponent in that game. That game would be the debut of Dennis Rodman and coach Kurt Rambis too, Coach Rambis said in his first training that he intended to replace the starting players again to save them for the next games. The Los Angeles Lakers team already had 13 games in the month of February and would have 2 more games before the month ended, so they would have an average of 1 game every 2 days, this month had fewer days and they had the first game on February 5th. So it was natural for players to get tired after so many games and even to risk injury, that''s why Jake was so impressive for being able to play every 48 minutes in every game. After a few hours, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the Great Western Forum, with the Lakers team playing at home the crowd was all around them in this game and that made the players more excited. "Welcome everyone to another game this NBA season, we will once again have the game between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Los Angeles Clippers team, in yesterday''s game the Lakers team achieved a great victory with a good performance of Jake Smith and Robert Horry. " "So in this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team is the big favorite, especially with this performance of 12 victories in 13 games, this game also has the debut of Dennis Rodman who won 5 NBA title playing in two different teams and hopes to win one more NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers team." "In addition to Rodman''s debut, we also have the debut of coach Kurt Rambis, the Lakers team changed coaches again after the victory in yesterday''s game, now we hope that coach Rambis will stay until the end of the season." The Los Angeles Clippers team would start the game with the same starting players as the previous game, Derek Harper playing as PG, Eddie Jones playing as SG, Rodney Rogers playing as SF, Elden Campbell playing as PF, and Lorenzen Wright playing as Center. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with only one chance in the starting team, Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. Robert Horry showed that he had recovered from his health problem in the previous game and would start playing, Dennis Rodman would come in to play as a substitute, so Robert could rest for a few minutes and Rodman would make his debut. Shaquille O''Neal won the first possession of the ball for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jake received the ball and advanced to organize the first attack of the game, Jake passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and tried a feint to outwit Eddie Jones, Jones was not deceived so Kobe passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Rodney Rogers arrived to press on defense. Rick managed to trick Rogers with a feint and advanced to the corner of the court on the left side, Rogers still tried to recover and come back to defend, but Rick tried a mid-range shot to make the first 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Los Angeles Clippers team soon went on the attack and Derek Harper was arranging the play, Harper moved forward and passed the ball to Eddie Jones on the left, Jones received the ball and Kobe came to defend. Jones tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled, so Jones passed the ball to Rogers on the right, Rodney managed to get away from Rick and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Los Angeles Clippers team. In this second game, the attack by the Los Angeles Clippers team was not as strong as in the previous game, but the attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team was fine, in this game Kobe Bryant wanted to play much better even though he had to play for fewer minutes. In the last game, Kobe did not perform well in attack or defense, in this game, he was much better in attack and defense, Robert and Rick were not playing so well in attack because the defense of the Los Angeles Clippers team was defending better against them. In another attacking move Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and Rogers came to press on defense, Rick held the ball for a while and passed it to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Harper came to press on defense, Jake made a quick feint and managed to trick Harper and move forward using his agility, Jake advanced into the inside area and the Los Angeles Clippers team''s defense tried to stop him. Jake was quick and passed the ball to Kobe on the right while the defense was paying attention to him, Kobe received the ball and drive to the basket and scored two more points for the Lakers team with a layup. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, in that first quarter only Shaquille O''Neal was replaced by more time, so the Lakers team still managed to attack well. In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to put pressure on the attack, coach Rambis started to replace the players seeing that the Lakers team had the advantage on the scoreboard. So in the second quarter Dennis Rodman made his debut on the Los Angeles Lakers team replacing Robert Horry, everyone knew that Dennis Rodman came to the Los Angeles Lakers team to help defend and also help catch rebounds. Jake knew that too, so he wouldn''t make as many assists for Rodman in the games, in another move the Los Angeles Lakers team went for the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right. Kobe received the ball and Jones came to press on defense, Kobe tried to trick the opponent with a feint, but Jones was not fooled, so Kobe had to pass the ball to Rick from the left. Rick received the ball and Rogers came in to press the defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and Derek Harris was pressing in the defense, Jake stepped back and tried the shot from outside to do more three points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake learned in his imagination training that against opponents who were good at defense, he had to be quick to try the three-point shot to avoid the block, so he was able to hit the three-point shots in his imagination training against opponents of rank SS and also managed in the NBA. The Los Angeles Clippers team wanted to win that game and had to start putting pressure on the attack too, the players were not doing so well in the game and were missing many attacks, so Coach Rambis decided to put Dennis Rodman in the game. Harper advanced with the ball and passed to Jones on the left, Jones received the ball and Kobe was pressing in defense, Jones tried a feint, but Kobe was not fooled and pressed further in defense. Jones realized this and passed the ball to Rogers on the right, Rogers received the ball and Rick also came pressing on the defense, Rogers tried to use his speed to get rid of the defense, but Rick continued to follow and was firm in defense. So Rogers had to pass the ball to Harper in the back, Harper tried a feint and managed to get away from Jake, so Harper had to try a shot from outside because the time of possession was running out. Harper missed the shot from outside and Dennis Rodman arrived to catch the defensive rebound, with Shaquille O''Neal being replaced only Jake and Kobe could catch the rebounds, and with Rodman coming in it helped the team. The Los Angeles Lakers team continued to play well throughout the game and ended the game with another victory, the Los Angeles Lakers team scored 114 points against 95 points of the Los Angeles Clippers team. In that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 15 assists, 7 rebounds, and 9 steals, it was another double-double for Jake and a good game for the Lakers team, Kobe returned to play well even though he was still replaced by a few minutes, and Shaq also played well with the little time he had in the game. "The game is over, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed another victory this season, Dennis Rodman also had a great debut catching 12 rebounds and making 6 assists, everyone knows that the Los Angeles Lakers team wants him to catch the rebounds and he worked hard to do this even while playing for less time in that game." "Kobe Bryant played well in this different from the previous game and helped the Lakers team, Shaq also performed well even playing for less than 25 minutes in that game, and Jake led the team to victory again with a great performance with 32 points and 15 assists." "The Los Angeles Clippers team did not play as well in that game, Eddie Jones still performed well and Rodney Rogers also played well, but they missed a lot in attack and were unable to stop the Lakers'' attack." Chapter 515 A Different Team 3 "From what I saw in that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team has an even stronger team with the return of Robert Horry and the entrance of Dennis Rodman, with the team even stronger the chance of this team winning the NBA title as well and bigger." "It''s true, we will continue to follow the Lakers team this season and see if they can win the NBA title again after so many years." After the game the reporters asked again to interview some players, they went this time to interview Kobe Bryant and Jake, Kobe didn''t give interviews at all games, but it was Dennis Rodman''s debut so he knew what the questions would be. "Hi Kobe, you performed poorly in the last game against the Los Angeles Clippers team, but in that game, your performance was much better, why do you think it happened?" "In the previous game I had less time playing, it happens in some games of a player to perform poorly, so in this game, I focused more and managed to make a better game." "What did you think of signing Dennis Rodman on the Los Angeles Lakers team this season?" "I think he can help the team a lot this season, we need a player to help more in defense and rebounds, and Dennis is an excellent player and has won some NBA titles and he can certainly help us." After the interview with Kobe, the reporters tried an interview with Jake who was also a difficult player to interview, Jake also knew he had to speak to the reporters at Dennis''s debut. "Jake, what did you think of signing Dennis Rodman on the Los Angeles Lakers team and what did you think of his debut in that game?" "I am a big fan of Dennis, I think he is an excellent player who proved this by winning 5 NBA titles, he is also a great defensive player and the rebounds he picks up can help our team win more games this season. " "With Robert''s recovery and Dennis joining the team, we have a stronger team now that can handle this difficult game sequence." "In this game, Dennis showed that he can help the team a lot by catching the rebounds, with him on the team, I and the other players will have more confidence to make mid-range shots and shots from outside." Jake said what he thought about Dennis, he didn''t talk about his concerns, but that was something he just needed to worry about if it really happened, Jake thought that with the Los Angeles Lakers team beating Dennis he could stay on the team in the playoffs and help team trying to win an NBA title. The fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were very happy with the team after this great sequence of victories at the beginning of the season, the players were also happy with that and the hope of winning the NBA title at the end of the season only increased. After that game the players returned home to rest, the next day the Lakers team would have no game and the players would just have to do a light training and that would give the players more rest. The coach Kurt Rambis was concerned with this sequence of games without rest for the players, the medical team was also concerned with injuries of the players, after all any simple injury that would take the player for 1 week would leave him out for 4 games. So coach Rambis had to replace players in most games, so coach Rambis was even more satisfied with Jake who could play the full 48 minutes in every game. Of course, the Los Angeles Lakers medical team was running tests on Jake to make sure he could handle this long streak of games by playing 48 minutes in every game, but the doctors said Jake had almost no muscle tension. It was very good for Jake that he could use his training for the marathons as an excuse to say why he had so much resistance, after all the real reason was the system that left his body improved because of the statistics. The next day the players had time to rest before the next game and their training was light, the biggest concern of the medical team was still Robert who had just returned from an injury. The players rested that day and soon the day of the next game came, the next game would be against the Houston Rockets team again, in the first game Jake of this season between these teams Jake was playing as SF. So this game would be different for Jake too, the Houston Rockets team was one of the favorite teams this season, the biggest problem was the advanced age of the main players, but these players were more skilled than most NBA players as well. Jake did not expect this to be a very difficult game, but he would have to try his best to help the Lakers team win another victory, Jake went to the Great Western Forum and saw that the crowd was excited about the game. "Welcome everyone to another game this season in the NBA, in this game we have two teams that are performing well this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team that won 13 games in 14 games this season." "Against the Houston Rockets team that had 8 wins in 13 games this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team is doing better, but it has changed coaches twice and coach Kurt Rambis plays his second game as head coach of the Lakers team." "It''s true, what makes the Los Angeles Lakers team win all these games is the great performance of rookie Jake Smith, Shaquille O''Neal, and Kobe Bryant, these three players have been performing well since the beginning of the season and so the Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack today." "On the Houston Rockets side, Scottie Pippen has been the highlight of the team with good performances in all games, he helps the team both in attack and defense, Hakeem Olajuwon is also another highlight in this team, even though in some games he did not perform well, he is one of the most important players." "Charles Barkley had an injury this season and will return to play in that game, maybe his absence could be the reason for these losses at the beginning of the season, now let''s see if the Houston Rockets team starts to win more games." Just as commentators said the two teams had problems earlier in the season, in Jake''s past life the two teams had a similar start to the season, so Jake was the one who helped the Lakers team win more games they would have lost. Coach Rambis did not intend to let any main player rest for a long time, but he would still have to replace the players for at least 12 minutes in the game so that they would not get too tired. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Houston Rockets team would start the game with Brent Price playing as PG, Michael Dickerson playing as SG, Scottie Pippen playing as SF, Othella Harrington playing as PF, and Hakeem Olajuwon playing as Center. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start with Dennis playing because coach Rambis still worried about Robert playing for a long time after returning from injury, Othella Harrington would start playing for the same reason, but Charles Barkley would still play in that game as a substitute. The game started with Hakeem Olajuwon won the first possession for the Houston Rockets team, Brent Price received the ball and advanced into the attack until he passed the ball to Scottie Pippen on the right. In the first game between these two teams, Jake was playing as SF and managed to defend well against Scottie Pippen and still scored a lot, in that game Rick Fox would suffer to defend against Pippen and still attack. But Jake knew it wouldn''t be like that, what would happen was that Scottie Pippen would defend against Kobe Bryant who was one of the best players in the Los Angeles Lakers team in the attack, Rick would still defend against Pippen and thus Pippen would have more opportunities to make the points. Pippen received the ball and Rick came in to press on defense, Pippen held the ball and moved away from Rick to try a mid-range shot to make the first 2 points for the Houston Rockets team. The advantage that the Houston Rockets team had was that more experienced players like Pippen knew how to make the right moves to score points, so the Houston Rockets team''s attacks were often quick and the opponent didn''t have time to defend. Jake received the ball and went on the attack to start another play, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Scottie Pippen arrived to press on defense just as Jake thought. Rick was playing very well this season, but surely the Houston Rockets coach would send the best player to defend against Kobe who was one of the best players in the Lakers'' attack. Kobe held the ball and did not attempt an individual move and passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and Michael Dickerson came to press on defense, Rick made a feint and tricked Dickerson and got space to try the mid-range shot for make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Both teams had a strong attack and started pressing on the attack, the coaches would not try to take away the main players for a long time in this game in which victory was important for both teams. In another move the Houston Rockets team went on the attack, Jake advanced the ball to organize the attack and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and tried another individual move, but this time Dickerson was not fooled and Rick had to pass the ball to Kobe from the right. Chapter 516 A Different Team 4 Kobe received the ball and Pippen came pressing on defense, Kobe tried a feint to outwit Pippen, but Pippen was not deceived and Kobe had to pass the ball to Jake who came in the middle. Jake received the ball inside the three-point line and advanced quickly for the attack, Brent Price and the Houston Rockets defense did not wait for this move and Jake managed to advance until Othella Harrington went to try to stop Jake''s advance. Jake continued advancing to the painted area and tried the tear drop even though Harrington tried to block and managed to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, it was a beautiful move that the Lakers fans at the Great Western Forum liked. In fact, Jake hoped that Hakeem Olajuwon would try to stop him from going forward and he would pass the ball to Shaq who would make the points, but as it was Harrington who tried to stop him from going forward, Jake decided to end the play with the points. In another move, the Houston Rockets team was on the attack, Price advanced with the ball and passed it to Pippen on the right, Pippen received the ball and Rick arrived to press on defense, Pippen did not attempt an individual move and passed to Olajuwon later. Olajuwon received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal arrived to press on defense, Olajuwon managed to make a spin and tried the layup to make 2 more points for the Houston Rockets team, in the dispute between Olajuwon and O''Neal the two could not defend well opponent and for that the two made many points. The two teams attacked a lot in the first quarter, but it was the Los Angeles Lakers that ended the quarter winning, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, it was a good start to his game and that of the Lakers team. "The first quarter ends, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning as expected, but it was a balanced game in which the Houston Rockets team is also strong in attack." "Kobe is having a hard time making plays with Scottie''s strong defense, yet Kobe still made a good first quarter and Scottie also did well in attack." "Jake got off to a good start in that game by making some infiltrations and good plays which is confusing the Houston Rockets team defense." In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to press in the attack, the Houston Rockets also continued to press in the attack and the game was very balanced between the two teams. In another move the Houston Rockets team was on the attack, Price advanced with the ball and passed to Pippen on the right, Pippen received the ball and Rick arrived to press on defense, Pippen made a feint and managed to trick Rick and go to the painted area. Pippen came forward and Rodman arrived to try to stop him from going forward, so Pippen passed the ball to Othella Harrington who was free in the painted area, Harrington went to make the layup, but Shaq was waiting for it and made the block. Shaq made the block and Dickerson managed to catch the ball soon after and tried the mid-range shot and ended up missing with Kobe pressing in defense, Rodman got the rebound and the Lakers team managed to stop the Houston Rockets attack. The two teams continued to put pressure on the attack, in this game the Houston Rockets team coach was replacing the players to let Olajuwon rest and to put Charles Barkley to play, so the Lakers team had a bigger advantage. Coach Rambis also made substitutions, but he only took the main players for a few minutes and put Dennis Rodman on the team, which only helped the Lakers team to get more rebounds and have a good defense. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Dickerson arrived pressing on the defense, Rick held the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and managed to deceive Pippen with a feint and advanced to the area painted. Pippen still tried to defend against Kobe, but Kobe was faster and advanced to make 2 more points with a layup for the Los Angeles Lakers team, even with difficulty Kobe still managed to make the plays with Pippen pressing in defense. The game continued with the Los Angeles Lakers team with the advantage on the scoreboard, until the third quarter the Houston Rockets team still managed to keep the game balanced even with the Lakers team winning the game. But in the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team started to dominate the game and the Houston Rockets team seemed to have given up on winning the game, so the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 118 points against Houston Rockets'' 86 points. In that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 13 assists, 7 rebounds, and 8 steals, Jake managed another double-double in that game and helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to win another victory. "Another game ends this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team get another victory and won against the strong Houston Rockets team." "The Houston Rockets team managed to keep the game balanced until the last quarter when the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to guarantee victory with a big point advantage." "That''s right, the Houston Rockets team managed to maintain a balanced game, but with Charles Barkley still not being able to play many minutes and the Houston Rockets coach also replaced Hakeem Olajuwon and that made it more difficult for the Houston Rockets team to win." "In that game, Jake played very well again and led the team to victory, Kobe performed well, but it seems that with strong pressure on the defense that Scottie Pippen made Kobe did not play as well as he could have played." "Shaq played well in that game and was replaced for a few minutes in that game and Rick played very well again with 25 points and hitting all three-point shots he tried in the game." Another game ended and the players were able to return home tired, this was the last game in February and the season of the Los Angeles Lakers team could not have been better, Robert Horry''s illness and the change of coaches was not a good thing, but the team''s performance was great. With the end of February, which was the first month of this NBA season, sports media journalists were talking in more detail about Jake''s NBA debut, especially since he was chosen as the rookie of the month and player of the month of February in the 1998-99 NBA season. Jake was expected to be chosen as February''s rookie of the month, but many did not expect him to be chosen as February''s player of the month either, but that was normal because Jake made the top 20 in the NBA in 4 different statistics. Jake was the player with the most points this season with an average of 33.4 points per game, in one of the players with the most assists with an average of 11.6 assists per game, and he was also one of the players that most steals with an average of 7.5 per game. In addition, Jake was also good at catching rebounds and certainly had the highest average of minutes played per game, with these excellent averages it was only natural that Jake was chosen as the player of the month. With almost a third of the games of this season has already taken place, Jake could already be considered one of the best players in the NBA, after all with an average of these points and assists playing in 15 games it was difficult to be just coincidence and showed the quality of Jake. Certainly, the 5 triple-double that Jake had and the 6 double-doubles also helped Jake to be the player of the month, many good players took years to make 5 triple-double, and Jake managed in less than 10 games in his debut season. The very next day the players had to travel to Phoenix, Arizona which was where they would play the next game, even though the month of February had ended and the month of March had started, the teams still had many games in a row to do. The players traveled to Phoenix and had a few hours of rest at the hotel before having to go to the America West Arena where the next game would take place, the opponent for that next game was the Phoenix Suns team. Earlier Jake received congratulations from his teammates, Shaq, Kobe, Rick, Dennis, Robert, and the other players spoke to him and they were also happy that Jake was chosen as the player of the month and rookie of the month. Jake can see that at the America West Arena, the Phoenix Suns fans came to cheer for the team and watch a great game, the Los Angeles Lakers team was the visiting team and would have some disadvantage in that game. The Phoenix Suns team had a good team that had a good attack and a good defense, it was a well-balanced team that brought difficulties to the opponents, but this season they won only 7 games and lost 6 games of the 13 games that they had this season. This was not a good thing for the Phoenix Suns team, the Phoenix Suns team did not expect to win the NBA title and if they managed to make it to the playoffs they would already be satisfied, of course in this game they would try to get the victory for playing in home. Jake was also excited about this game because he would face one of his great NBA idols, in the Phoenix Suns team he had the great PG Jason Kidd, Jason Kidd was an excellent PG who attacked very well and also defended very well. He was the second-best in NBA history in assists and steals, and Jason Kidd was also ninth in 3-point field goals made, it showed how Kidd was an excellent player, in addition, he was always known for being an excellent leader of the team on the court. Of course, in the current Phoenix Suns team, he didn''t have many opportunities to win the games and the NBA title, even so, Jake respected him a lot and would try his best to win that game. Chapter 517 A Different Team 5 The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the locker room and after some time they went to the court to prepare for the start of the game, the players of the Phoenix Suns team already looked at Jake in a different way after he was chosen as player of the month. "Welcome everyone who came to watch one more game this NBA season, today''s game is between the Phoenix Suns team that plays at home and the Los Angeles Lakers team." "The Phoenix Suns team had a bad start to the season winning 7 games and losing 6 games, in most games the players of the Phoenix Suns played well, what it seems is that the Phoenix Suns team needs some great players to have a team winner." "The highlight of the Phoenix Suns team is Jason Kidd who is one of the best PG in the NBA today, Jason Kidd has been playing good games with a lot of assists at the beginning of the season, Tom Gugliotta is also another good player on this team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win this game with a season with 14 wins and only 1 loss in 15 games, the Los Angeles Lakers team has a team with excellent players and has a chance of winning the NBA title this season." "There''s all-star Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman who joined the team recently and Jake Smith who was chosen as the player of the month and rookie of the month." "Certainly, the Los Angeles Lakers team is the favorite to win this game, and Jake being chosen as the player of the month was well deserved and a correct decision for the great performance he had at the beginning of the season." "We will see in this game two great PG playing in different teams, Jason Kidd who is one of the best PG in the NBA and has the experience, and Jake Smith who is a rookie who has made one of the best seasons starts in NBA history." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Phoenix Suns team would start this game with Jason Kidd playing as PG, Rex Chapman playing as SG, George McCloud playing as SF, Tom Gugliotta playing as PF, and Luc Longley playing as Center. As commentators said, the Los Angeles Lakers team was a favorite to win that game, but that could change because coach Kurt Rambis intended to replace the top players for a long time so they could rest. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake received the ball and went on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Rick Fox on the left. Rick received the ball and George McCloud arrived to press on defense, Rick held the ball for a while and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rex Chapman arrived pressing on defense. Kobe tried to make a feint, but Chapman was not fooled, so Kobe passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Jason Kidd came in to press on the defense, Jake made a feint and step back and tried an outside shot to make 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Kidd did not expect Jake to attempt a three-point shot early in the game and was not prepared to defend, Kidd received the ball and began to organize the attack for the Phoenix Suns team, Kidd advanced with the ball and passed to Chapman through the left. Chapman received the ball and Kobe came to press on defense, Chapman held the ball and passed it to McCloud on the right, McCloud received the ball and Rick arrived to press on defense. McCloud tried a feint, but Rick was not deceived, so he decided to pass the ball to Luc Longley later on, Longley received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal came pressing on the defense, Longley tried to advance using his strength, but Shaq pushed Longley away close to the painted area. Longley made a spin away from Shaq and tried a hook shot to score 2 points for the Phoenix Suns team, at the beginning of the game the two teams were balanced, Kobe was not playing well in that game and the Phoenix Suns team defense did not let the Lakers team attack make many points. In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Chapman arrived to press in defense, Kobe did not attempt an individual play and passed to Rick on the left. Rick received the ball and McCloud came pressing on the defense, Rick managed to trick McCloud with a feint and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Rick was playing very well in the last games and was helping the team Lakers winning games. Coach Rambis started to replace players for a few minutes since the first quarter, this would leave the Phoenix Suns team with more opportunity to try to win the game, in another move Kidd started to organize another attack for the Phoenix Suns team. Jake was having an easy time defending against Kidd because Kidd was not a player who scored many points in games, but it was difficult for Jake to get the steals by intercepting Kidd''s passes who, knowing Jake''s skill, were more careful. Kidd advanced with the ball and passed to McCloud on the right, McCloud received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, McCloud decided not to try the individual play and passed to Chapman on the left. Chapman received the ball and Derek Fisher arrived on defense, Kobe had been replaced and in the last games, the coaches started to put Fisher playing as SG when Kobe had to be replaced. Chapman passed the ball to Tom Gugliotta later on, Gugliotta received the ball and Robert Horry came up to press the defense, Gugliotta managed to spin and advance to make 2 more points with a layup for the Phoenix Suns team. With the substitutions of coach Rambis and Kobe not playing very well in that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to finish the first quarter by winning, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to finish that quarter by winning with a small lead on the scoreboard, the Phoenix Suns team performed well, but only Jason Kidd, Luc Longley, and Tom Gugliotta played better." "Jake was again the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team, Kobe was not playing well in that game and was replaced for a few minutes by coach Rambis, Rick is playing well in that game and Shaq is also performing well when he was on the court." "Jake is playing very well even with Jason Kidd defending against him, and Kidd is also managing to perform well with Jake defending, the two have not tried many infiltration moves, so we don''t know how it will be in the rest of the game." Just as the commentators said Jake and Kidd were playing very well, they respected each other a lot and didn''t try to infiltrate plays, yet both were playing very well in that game. In the second quarter the Phoenix Suns team started to put more pressure on defense and attack because they saw that they could have a chance to win the game, Kidd advanced with the ball and passed to Chapman on the left. Chapman received the ball and Kobe came in pressing on defense, Chapman passed the ball to McCloud from the right, McCloud received the ball and Rick came in pressing in defense, McCloud tried an individual play, but Rick continued to press in defense. So Chapman passed the ball to Kidd further back, Kidd received the ball and took advantage that Jake was not so close and tried the mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Phoenix Suns team, Kidd did not try many mid-range shots, but when he tried it was because he thought he had a chance to get it right. In another move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack and Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and tried a feint and managed to trick Chapman, Kobe tried the mid-range shot and ended up missing. Rodman managed to catch the rebound and passed the ball to Shaq, Shaq received the ball and scored 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Rodman was playing his best game for the Lakers team since his debut. The game continued with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning and with a good lead on the scoreboard even with the substitutions of coach Rambis and Kobe not playing very well, Jake was the highlight of the Lakers team and it was the game in which he scored the most points. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team ended up winning 119 points against 86 points for the Phoenix Suns team, Jake played in that game for 48 minutes and had 46 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. In this game, because Jason Kidd, Jake was unable to make many steals, and because his teammates were not playing very well he only managed 9 assists in that game. So even though this was the game where Jake scored the most points he was not happy with his performance, Jake broke the record that was his own this season of hitting 12 shots from three points in one game. "The game is over, another Los Angeles Lakers team win with Jake Smith making the most points of him this season and in the NBA, Jake scored 46 points and broke his own record of more shots of 3 points hit in one game." "Jake hit 14 3-point shots and made 42 points in that game with just three-point shots, and he only tried 19 3-point shots in that game, so in Jake Smith''s first game against Jason Kidd, Jake managed to score more points." "In that game, we also saw Jake making fewer assists and less steals too, with coach Rambis replacements the main players were replaced, Kobe Bryant did not play well and played for only 25 minutes in that game." Chapter 518 A Different Team 6 "Shaquille O''Neal played for only 34 minutes and performed well in that game, so the highlights of the Lakers team were Jake, Shaq, and Rick Fox again who performed well in that game." "Dennis Rodman also managed to stand out in this game with 16 rebounds which helped the Lakers team to get such a big advantage in points, Dennis has been performing well in the last games showing that he can help the Lakers team to get more wins." "The Phoenix Suns team started the game well, but then they could no longer handle the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack, the highlights being Jason Kidd who had 12 points and 11 assists, and Tom Gugliotta who had 20 points." The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team achieving another victory, the players were very tired after the game and still had to travel back to Los Angeles where the next game would take place. Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were not happy to be replaced in the last games and to have less playing time, but they understood that this was to prevent them from having injuries, Kobe was even more upset with the poor performance he had in the last game. They were even more upset seeing how Jake played each game better and always played the 48 minutes if Jake was just a PG they would understand that he could get tired less, but Jake scored a lot, a lot of assists, and still got rebounds and steals us games. So Jake got tired even more than they did in the games and was able to play 48 minutes every game, for sure if they could play 48 minutes every game they could score more points in the games. Fortunately, they would have a day of rest before having to play the next game, this reduced season with fewer games was tiring the players a lot more than the normal season they had in other years. The players arrived in Los Angeles and were able to go to their home to rest until the next day, Jake was also happy that he would have a day to rest, but the next day when he woke up very early he got a call from David Falk. "Hi, Jake, congratulations on the victories of your team and also for the excellent performance you had this season, making an average of 33 points and 11 assists per game is really incredible, and you were still chosen as the player of the month and rookie of the month." "I confess I didn''t expect you to be able to do that in your NBA debut season, especially when you said you wanted to play on the Los Angeles Lakers team, I thought that if you played on a team that wasn''t that good you would be the team star and could score more points and perform better." "Thanks for the compliments, Davis, I know that you are used to working with excellent players, after working with Michael Jordan you will not be surprised by any player." "I have to thank you too for getting me to play on the Los Angeles Lakers team and getting the great sponsors I have." "Hahaha, you deserved it, but let''s stop compliments, I called you because I wanted to know if you are not tired or busy today?" "No, I''m fine after sleeping well, what do you want?" "With the success, you are having in your debut season in the NBA, Adidas called me saying that they wanted to anticipate the launch and sales of the products that you will represent for them." "The project for both sneakers was already ready and they even started producing, they wanted to wait until the end of this season, but as you are playing so well they want to take advantage of your popularity to start selling the sneakers." "I have to say that they created two beautiful sneakers for you, you will be proud of your first brand as an NBA player and as a runner too." Jake did not expect the two sneakers to be ready anytime soon, of course, this was possible since he had already agreed on this contract for almost 1 year and had already signed the contract for more than 6 months. Jake recalled that Adidas representative Mike Morris said he had a lot more fans in Europe and Asia than in the United States, Adidas was a very strong brand in Europe and they could sell a lot of sneakers there. Jake naturally agreed to go to record the commercials for Adidas, after all, they had paid 52 million dollars for 5 years of contract and 1 year of the contract was almost lost because of NBA lockout. After a few hours Jake arrived at the advertising studio where the commercials would be recorded, it was several times bigger than the commercials Jake had recorded in Miami, of course, Adidas would not save on advertising if it had paid a 52 million contract. dollars with Jake. Jake arrived at the advertising studio and saw David and Mike talking to the director of the commercial that he was going to record and other people at the advertising company, as it was a commercial for Adidas Jake couldn''t say how he thought the commercial could be better. What Jake did as soon as he arrived at the filming location was where some Adidas sneakers were, he knew that some of those sneakers must be the brand that would be his, so Jake can see the two sneakers he would represent. The two sneakers had similar colors but were clearly different, the running shoes looked more comfortable and were black in color with some blue and purple details, the blue and purple details were metallic and stood out a lot. On the shoe, it said JKS Velocity 1 and it had the Adidas brand too, Jake had really liked the shoe and used it quickly and I find it comfortable, it was a shoe that he could use for his marathons, it looked like he had the best technology for tennis race that Adidas had developed. The other shoe was also black and had some blue and purple details, but the details were different from running shoes and also had no metallic color, moreover, it was similar to other Adidas basketball shoes. This other shoe called JKS 1 and had the Adidas brand, it seemed that Adidas already intended to make other shoes for Jake in the coming years, Jake had no way of knowing if the shoe would sell well because it would depend on the fame he had in the NBA. But he liked the two sneakers and wanted many so he could use them in his training, while Jake was looking at his brand shoes David and Mark had already finished talking and went to where he was. "I saw that you liked the shoes that our company made for you, Jake, everyone at the company went to great lengths to make this design and to get the shoes ready more quickly to be launched in the coming months." "I really liked the sneakers, I liked the colors and found them comfortable too, even if I had given my opinion I couldn''t suggest anything better." "Glad you liked it, we are sure that your fans will also like the two shoes, the ideal is that basketball fans also wanted to buy running shoes, that would be the best for the company." "We will talk about this later, Jake, you will have to record for a few hours here, we want to take this day to create at least 3 commercials, the 3 of which will be the same commercial that tells the same story told in three parts." Jake asked what would be the story of the commercials and Mike explained to him, in the commercial Jake would be in a block of a community center, he would be in the stands, and inside the court, some young people who were more popular were winning all the games. In the commercial there would be some women in the stands who were more interested in Jake who was in the stands than in the young people who were winning the games, so the young people in the stands who would be jealous would challenge Jake who was in the stands to impress women. Jake who was challenged would accept playing a game with the youth on the court, so he gets up and the youth on the court realizes that Jake is taller than he looked while sitting, only one of the players on the court was taller than him. Jake found it interesting and they went to the place where the commercial recordings would be made, it would not be at the advertising company, it would be elsewhere when Jake arrived everything was prepared for the commercial recording and the actors were prepared as well. The recordings started and everything was done as Mike said it would be, Jake had to record the first scenes a few times because the actors hired them to miss their lines when Jake was challenged by the young people who were on the court, he opened the sports bag he had at his side and his new JKS 1 sneaker was shown on camera. Jake put on his tennis shoes for the first time and the recording continued with Jake entering the court, the young men realized that Jake might know how to play basketball, so they chose the two best players in the group and challenged Jake to a one-on-one. In the history of the commercial the best player challenged Jake first for the one-on-one, Jake did what he knew and naturally, he easily won the actor in the recording, even though the author was also a skilled basketball player to bring more realism for the commercial, Jake was an NBA player so he naturally won easily. The youth on the court was annoyed that they lost and realized that Jake was much more skilled than they were, so they started challenging Jake to challenges that could be unfair to Jake. The first challenge was the one-on-one game that Jake won, the second challenge was that Jake could only try the three-point shots when he was on the attack and the youngest man who was the tallest could do the shots just inside the line three points, so Jake would naturally be at a disadvantage. Chapter 519 A Different Team 7 Jake accepted this challenge and he hit all three-point shots and when the tallest opponent attacked Jake got some steals and some blocks and also won the second challenge, so the young people realized they couldn''t beat Jake in basketball. Then one of the young men challenged Jake to a 10,000-meter long-distance run, the others understood that they couldn''t win in basketball and even forgot that they wanted to win the attention of women in the stands, now they just wanted to defeat Jake. Jake accepted this third challenge and took his sports bag and put on his running shoe that was the JKS Velocity 1, so the young people realized before the race that they were going to lose, and the commercial ended. Recording the commercial took a few hours because the other actors made a lot of mistakes, Jake made no mistake and the directors knew that Jake was an actor too, yet they were impressed by his talent. This commercial would be divided into three smaller commercials after the edition, the first commercial was with Jake winning the first challenge, the other commercial was with Jake winning the second challenge was with the young people giving up on challenging Jake in basketball and challenging him to the running of long-distance and with them realizing that they could not win. Jake thought the commercial was very simple, but it was interesting for someone to see, Jake remembered that the Adidas commercials at that time were that simple and they just wanted to get the public''s attention and show off the sneakers they were selling. Then Jake had to go back to the advertising company to take some more pictures that would be used as advertising by the company, Jake had never done such a big advertising campaign and he didn''t know it took that long. Mark seemed to understand what Jake thought and said that this recording for the commercial would only last a few hours because the company knew that basketball players were very busy and had a few days off to do the recording. That''s because sometimes some commercials they did could last a few days or even a few weeks, Jake returned to his house when it was dark, and David told Jake that maybe in the next few weeks the other companies he endorsed could ask him to record a commercial too. After all, the other companies also wanted to take advantage of this high popularity that Jake currently had in the NBA, Jake was happy because he knew that this recording of this commercial would also be good for increasing his fame in the world of sports. NBA fans knew that the biggest stars normally had big NBA sponsorship deals, if Adidas managed to finish this commercial quickly and start selling the sneakers, it could coincide and even help the popularity of the movie The Matrix that Jake would participate in. Jake asked Wachowski directors that he did not need to participate in talk shows to talk about the film, Jake thought it best that only the main actors worked to promote the film. Certainly just because he participated in the film, NBA fans and especially fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team might want to watch the film he participated in, Jake was sure of the success of the film because the film had become similar to what he remembered in the past and just his character who was different in the film. Now Jake already knew that he should expect several things in the coming weeks and the premiere of his film at the end of the month, the next day Jake woke up very early to prepare for the game that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have that day. It was the second game in a row that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have against the Phoenix Suns team, in the last game the Phoenix Suns team played at home and in that game it would be in Los Angeles, so again the sports media expected the Los Angeles Lakers team to have the advantage. When the game time was coming Jake arrived at the Great Western Forum which was packed again, he was one of the first to arrive and knew he had missed the training the team had the previous day to go and record the commercials. Of course, Jake asked Coach Kurt Rambis first, but Jake didn''t like to miss training, Coach Rambis and the other players didn''t care because Jake played 48 minutes in every game and was being the team''s main player in the last few games. After a few minutes, the two teams were ready for the game to begin. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Phoenix Suns team would start this game with Jason Kidd playing as PG, Rex Chapman playing as SG, George McCloud playing as SF, Tom Gugliotta playing as PF, and Luc Longley playing as Center. They were the same players from the last game, the Phoenix Suns team started pressing in the attack and they were also pressing in defense, it seemed that they wanted the victory in that game even though the Los Angeles Lakers team was playing at home. Because of that, the Phoenix Suns team ended the first quarter with a small advantage on the scoreboard, but in the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team started to press much more in the attack and managed to reverse the score and finish the second quarter by winning. In that game, Coach Rambis did not replace Kobe Bryant and did not replace Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe played very well in that game and with that, the Phoenix Suns team could not handle the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team. In the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to put pressure on the attack and further increased the lead on the scoreboard, and the game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with 114 points against 91 points for the Phoenix Suns team. Jake played for 48 minutes in that game and had 28 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds, and 11 steals, Jake managed to make another triple-double in that game and played a really good game even though he didn''t score more than 28 points in that game. In this game, Kobe Bryant also stood out a lot and played his best game this season, Kobe had 32 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds, this was the game where Kobe scored the most points, Shaq also made another excellent game with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Dennis Rodman had another excellent game and managed to get 17 rebounds, this was the game in which Dennis got the most rebounds and in the last game he had already managed to get 16 rebounds, Dennis was showing that it could be important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win more games. After that victory, the Los Angeles Lakers team had managed to win 16 games in 17 games that happened in the season, this season was being really excellent for the Los Angeles Lakers team and the fans and the sports media talked more and more about how the Lakers team was favorite to win the NBA title. The next day the Los Angeles Lakers team would not play and the players could have another day to rest, the team would only have a light training as it always did and the players did not care. Los Angeles Lakers team fans were happy with the team''s victories before they were worried about these coach changes that the Lakers team had, but coach Kurt Rambis seemed to be doing very well and since he started coaching the Los Angeles team Lakers didn''t lose any games. Of course, the fans of the Lakers team knew that the greatest merit was of the players who continued to play well throughout the season, but as long as the team continued to win, they did not care who the team coach was. The other day the players did just a light training and were able to rest even more before the next game, the day of the game came and it would be again in Los Angeles that made the players even happier. Jake went to the Great Western Forum again and saw that the Los Angeles Lakers fans had come to support the Lakers team again with many fans, Jake entered the locker room and in a short time, the players were out on the court ready for the game to begin. The opponent in that game was the Seattle SuperSonics team again, the last game this season between these teams was well balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win with a good performance by Jake, Shaq, and Kobe. This was a highly anticipated game by the sports media because of the dispute between Jake Smith and Gary Payton, in the last game the two achieved good performance and Jake got some steals in the game, but the two respected each other and managed to play well. In this game, the dispute was again awaited because this time Jake had been chosen as player of the month and was not just a rookie, the sports media even said that Jake could be chosen as MVP of this season. This could encourage Gary Payton to try to defend even more against Jake so that fans could see an intense dispute between the two players, of course, the most likely was that something like that would not happen. "Welcome everyone who came to watch one more game this NBA season, today''s game is between the Los Angeles Lakers team against the Seattle SuperSonics team." "The Seattle SuperSonics team has 9 wins and 5 losses this season and is one of the best teams this season, with Gary Payton and Van Baker this team has been performing well in most games." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has 16 victories and only 1 loss this season, one of the best starts of the season in the history of the Lakers team, with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and rookie Jake Smith the Lakers team is having an excellent performance this season." "Shaq and Kobe are playing well this season again, but Jake is a big surprise for everyone in the NBA, now he is one of the players who can win the MVP this season." Chapter 520 A Different Team 8 "Yes, it''s important to say that Jake had averages similar to these in the two seasons he played on the Tar Heels team at the university and was twice an MVP at the university before entering the NBA." "It shows that he played well for two seasons at the university before entering the NBA, with that regularity Jake shows that he will continue with this great performance throughout this season." The commentators didn''t even talk about the dispute between Jake and Gary because everyone thought the Los Angeles Lakers team would win that game, Gary Payton was certainly an excellent player, but the Seattle SuperSonics team didn''t have a very good team and the Lakers team had the best players. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Seattle SuperSonics team would start this game with Gary Payton playing with PG, Dale Ellis playing as SG, Detlef Schrempf playing as SF, Vin Baker playing as PF, and Olden Polynice playing as Center. Robert Horry was not going to play in that game because the doctors thought it was better for him to rest and stay a game without playing so that his illness wouldn''t come back, with Dennis Rodman playing longer in the games that were possible. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first possession of the ball for the Los Angeles Lakers, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Dale Ellis came in to press the defense. Kobe held the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Detlef Schrempf arrived pressing on the defense, Rick held the ball and passed it to Jake further on, Jake received the ball and Gary Payton arrived to defend. Jake held the ball and passed it to Shaquille O''Neal further down the left, Shaq received the ball and Olden Polynice came in pressing on defense, Shaq managed to spin and scored 2 points with a layup for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move the Seattle SuperSonics team was on the attack, Gary Payton advanced with the ball and passed it to Ellis on the left, Ellis received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense. Ellis held the ball and passed it to Vin Baker further on, Baker received the ball and Travis Knight came in pressing on the defense, Baker managed to advance to the painted area using his strength and tried the hook shot and made 2 points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. Both teams started the game by pushing forward and trying to defend too, even though the Los Angeles Lakers team had the strongest attack the game was balanced and the Seattle SuperSonics team players were playing well in the attack as well. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was in the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and Schrempf arrived pressing in defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and quickly passed it to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and made a feint that tricked Ellis and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move, the Seattle SuperSonics team was on the attack, Payton advanced with the ball and passed it to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Rick came pressing on the defense, Schrempf tried to make a feint, but was unable to deceive Rick. So Schrempf decided to pass the ball to Payton further back, Payton received the ball and Jake arrived to defend, Payton stepped back and tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Seattle SuperSonics team. In that first quarter, Jake realized that Gary Payton was trying to attack a few more times, in that quarter Payton tried some three-point shots and Jake just tried to hinder the shot from outside Payton. Kobe Bryant was well on the attack and Shaquille O''Neal was also playing well, so Jake was attacking as he did in other games just trying to defend well, at the end of the first quarter the Lakers team was winning, and Gary Payton approached Jake to say something to him. "In this game, I will show that you are not the only PG who can score more than 30 points in a game and still do assists." Jake was really surprised to see Payton saying this to him, in the first game they didn''t even talk during the game and the two respected each other, it seemed that it was true that Payton got more excited in this game now that Jake had been chosen as the player of the month. Jake was not bothered by what Payton said and would continue to play the same way he had thought before, in this game where Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal were playing well he wanted to take the opportunity to make more assists. But Jake could do a lot more defense and try to do some steals and some blocks to show the strength of his defense, Jake knew how to play 48 minutes in every game was tiring, so he just tried to do the steals and press the defense, but I didn''t try to press too hard or make blocks. Because if Jake tried to put a lot of pressure on the defense and make several blocks he might not be able to play for 48 minutes, so he also didn''t try his best in attack and preferred to make assists when he could. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning and getting a small point advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal. "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game so far with a small point advantage, the game was much more balanced than I thought and the Seattle SuperSonics players are playing very well." "Yes, Gary Payton is playing really well in this game, it looks like he''s really more excited to play against Jake after he was chosen as the player of the month, he''s not putting much pressure on defending against Jake, but Payton is attacking very well and he''s even hitting some three-point shots." "On the side of the Los Angeles Lakers team Jake is playing as well as ever, Kobe Bryant is also playing well and Shaquille O''Neal is playing very well, with the strength of the Lakers team''s attack they are winning the game." "Let''s see if the Seattle SuperSonics team can beat the Los Angeles Lakers team that lost just one game this season." The second quarter started with the two teams pressing in the attack, in another play the Seattle SuperSonics team was in the attack, Payton advanced with the ball and passed to Schrempf on the right. Schrempf received the ball and Rick arrived pressing in defense, Schrempf held the ball a little and passed it to Ellis on the left, Ellis received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing in defense. Ellis tried a feint and managed to outwit Kobe, so Ellis did a quick crossover and got space to try a mid-range shot and make 2 more points for the Seattle SuperSonics team, Ellis was also playing well in that game and Kobe was not defending well against him. In this game coach, Rambis decided that he would not replace the main players, after all, he knew that this could be a difficult game and did not want to risk losing, in addition, the players did not get tired much in the last days having a day to rest between games. The Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack and Jake was organizing the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and tried a feint to deceive Ellis, but Ellis was not deceived. Kobe held the ball and passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and made a feint and then stepped back and attempted a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Payton was tricked by Jake''s feint and failed to do anything in this play. In another move the Seattle SuperSonics team was on the attack, the second quarter had started a few minutes ago and Payton realized that Jake continued to play normally and was no longer pressing on defense or trying to attack anymore. Payton spoke to Jake to see if it made him more agitated and so he could try to attack more often so that he could defend better against Jake, but Jake looked like he didn''t care what he said. Payton advanced the ball and passed it to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Rick arrived to defend, Schrempf held the ball for a while and passed it to Ellis on the left, Ellis received the ball and then passed it to Payton further back. Payton received the ball and tried to deceive Jake with a feint, Jake was not deceived and started to put more pressure on the defense, Payton saw that he was unable to deceive Jake and tried to make a quick crossover and advance from the left. Jake managed to react quickly and continued to press on defense without letting Payton advance, with Jake doing this Payton realized that Jake was defending differently from the first quarter, it looked like Jake would not let him make the points easily. Payton tried another feint and did a step back, Jake realized that Payton would try to do that and was faster and managed to do the steals and catch Payton''s ball, Jake held the ball and passed it to Kobe on the right. Payton was surprised because even he didn''t realize he had left an opening for Jake to do the steal, Payton knew that Jake was good at stealing, but he thought Jake was better at just intercepting passes. After that move Payton became more careful in making the attack moves, his attacks continued, but Jake pressed on defense in every attack he tried to make, because of that Payton felt he was missing more attacks. Payton wanted to press on defense as well and prevent Jake from attacking many times, but Jake didn''t attack often and when he attacked he couldn''t react quickly enough to disrupt the three-point shots and mid-range shots that Jake tried. Chapter 521 The Season Continues 1 The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with an even greater advantage in points, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals. "The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win the game, in that quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack was stronger and the Seattle SuperSonics team''s defense failed to stop them." "Jake played very well in defense in that second quarter making some steals at Payton in more difficult plays and also pressing in defense, in attack Jake played well as he has done in recent games." "Payton was not able to attack very well because Jake was very well in defense, but in the third quarter he will have to attack more if he wants the Seattle SuperSonics team to win." "Jake and Shaq also played very well in that second quarter, and Dennis Rodman is not playing as well as he has in the last few games, but he did get some rebounds." In this game the Los Angeles Lakers team was playing very well, with coach Rambis not making many substitutions Kobe and Shaq managed to play well in that game, even though Robert wasn''t playing Travis managed to make a good game, even though he couldn''t defend against Vin Baker. In that second quarter, Jake started to press more on defense and try to steals after Payton spoke to him, but in the second quarter, Payton attacked less after seeing that Jake was pressing on defense. Just as commentators said in the third quarter, the Seattle SuperSonics team had to push harder in the attack if they wanted to win, so Payton would also have to attack more, and Jake was prepared for that. In a move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Ellis arrived pressing on the defense, Kobe held the ball and decided to pass to Rick on the left. Rick received the ball and held it for a while and passed it back to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Payton came in and pressed the defense, Jake held the ball a little and made a high pass to Shaq who took the ball high and made it the dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Lakers team. The crowd was excited by the good move of Jake and Shaq after the two played together for several games, they understood each other better and could make more moves like this without the opponent noticing. In this third quarter, the Seattle SuperSonics team was really trying to attack more, Payton also tried some attacks, but he no longer tried the individual play and tried more mid-range shots and three-point shots. Jake had more difficulty defending against Payton with him making those mid-range shots and three-point shots, in another move the Seattle SuperSonics team was on the attack, Payton advanced with the ball and passed it to Ellis. In this game Gary Payton, Dale Ellis, and Vin Baker were playing very well and were helping the Seattle SuperSonics team to keep their chances of winning the game, Ellis received the ball and Kobe came up to press the defense. Ellis tried to deceive Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived, so Ellis passed the ball to Schrempf on the right, Schrempf received the ball and Rick came in to press the defense, Schrempf decided to pass the ball to Payton further back. Payton received the ball and Jake arrived at the defense, Payton realized in this game that Jake was really good playing defense and that was why he was taking advantage in this game in which he was hitting a lot of mid-range shots and shots from outside so as not to try to challenge Jake in the plays. Payton tried a feint and did a step back as he did in several plays, so Payton tried a shot from outside, but this time Jake was prepared and he was quick and jump together to make the block and reject the attack and Payton. Kobe took the ball after Jake''s block and passed the ball to Jake again, Jake received the ball and moved quickly for the attack, Payton did not expect Jake to try to make the block and he had to go back to the defense when he saw Jake attacking. Jake was very fast and Payton couldn''t keep up, but Payton was further back in defense when Jake started the attack and so he still tried to hinder Jake to wait for the other defensive players to arrive. Jake got close to the three-point line and realized that Payton was doing this, so Jake took advantage of his agility to do a quick crossover to trick Payton, Jake managed to trick Payton, but Payton was quick to react and didn''t let Jake pass him. So Jake decided to play his signature play and did the Ghost move dribble, Payton could no longer see where the ball was and could not understand what had happened, Jake pass by him and Payton cannot stop Jake without making a foul. When Jake hit the ball on the court again he had already passed Payton and scored 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Payton understood that Jake had managed to trick him with the last few moves, but he did not know how. In the third quarter Jake continued to press on defense and Payton continued to attack without much to do, so at the end of the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with an even greater advantage in points. In the last quarter, the game continued in the same way with Payton and the other players of the Seattle SuperSonics team still trying to win, luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers team with Kobe and Shaq playing very well, Jake had an easier time playing even with Payton pushing hard on defense. So the game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning 116 points against 86 points of the Seattle SuperSonics team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 34 points, 14 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 steals, and 3 blocks. Jake managed to make another triple-double in that game and felt much more tired after doing that, with his current resistance, Jake knew he couldn''t take playing all games that way, but with Gary Payton''s provocation he had to try harder. At the end of the game, Jake was still to congratulate Payton for the good game and Payton did not answer anything for him, Jake still thought that Payton was his idol and he would continue playing with respect in the next games. "The game ends with another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the strong attack of the Lakers team once again guaranteed their victory in that game, especially with Jake Smith making his best game this season and defending very well against Gary Payton who I was playing very well in attack." "That''s right, Payton still played very well in that game even though Jake defended well against him, Payton still managed to make 22 points and 10 assists in that game and also defended well against Jake in that game." "I also agree that Jake played his best game this season, this was his seventh triple-double this season and was the first with him also making 3 blocks, even more in a game against Gary Payton who is one of the best players in the NBA currently." "It is true, with the good game of Kobe and Shaq, the Los Angeles Lakers team achieved another good victory even though Robert Horry did not play in that game, Rick Fox did not play as well and Dennis Rodman did not play as well as in the last few games." Jake also thought that this was his best game this season, he only intended to try so hard in the playoff games that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have, but he didn''t regret trying a little harder in that game. Even more so because the Los Angeles Lakers team was always having a day to rest between games which were enough for Jake to rest very well, once the game ended the Los Angeles Lakers team had to travel to the next game. The team traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah where it was going to be the next game, this was a strategy of the Los Angeles Lakers team board so that players would tire less, they would arrive at the game city overnight and have more time to rest before the game. The other day the players were more relaxed and the team did a light training on that day when the Los Angeles Lakers team would have no game, the rest of the day the players were able to rest for the game the next day. Soon the game day arrived and the players went to the Delta Center some time before the game, the opponent in that game was the Utah Jazz team that the Los Angeles Lakers team had already faced the beginning of the season. In the first game, Jake was playing as SF and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the win, the Utah Jazz team was a good team and Jake was excited about this game because he would play as PG and could play against another idol of his that was John Stockton. In the first game, Jake can play against Stockton, but he was not defending against him and so Jake cannot be satisfied, in that game Jake could play against Stockton and see how his idol really played. Of course, Stockton was already 36 years old and didn''t play as well as he did at his peak, but even at that age Stockton was still one of the best PG in the NBA and would still play for several years before retiring. In addition to Stockton, the Utah Jazz team still had Karl Malone who was one of the best players in the NBA, in that game Robert Horry could play and he with Dennis Rodman would have the difficult job of defending against Malone. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this NBA season, this is the Los Angeles Lakers game against the Utah Jazz team, it is one of the most awaited games of the past few weeks and the second game between the two teams." Chapter 522 The Season Continues 2 "The Utah Jazz team is having a good season with 12 wins and only 4 losses in 16 games this season, it is one of the teams with the most victories this season, this season with the least games the Utah Jazz team has won almost a third of the games that season." "In the first game, the Utah Jazz team lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in a well-balanced game between the two teams, in that game the Utah Jazz team plays at home and has John Stockton and Karl Malone who are two NBA stars to try to get the victory in that game." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is the team with the most wins this season with 17 wins and only 1 loss in 18 games, with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and rookie Jake Smith the Los Angeles Lakers team is the favorite to win this game." "That''s right, in this game we will also have the confrontation between Jake Smith who is the best PG of this season so far against John Stockton who is one of the 5 best PG of all time in the NBA." "In the last game Jake played very well and defended well against Gary Payton, so we are looking forward to seeing what he can do playing against John Stockton." This was a game in which everyone was looking forward to the dispute between the two teams, the dispute between Jake and John Stockton and also the dispute between Shaq and Karl Malone, two of the teams that were doing very well this season were facing each other. Many also expected a dispute between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman, after all the two faced each other several times while Dennis was playing on the Chicago Bulls team, so this was a game that many people who were not fans of these teams wanted to watch. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Utah Jazz team would start that game with John Stockton playing as PG, Jeff Hornacek playing as SG, Bryon Russell playing as SF, Karl Malone playing as PF, and Greg Ostertag playing as Center. The game started with Shaquille O''Neal winning the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the play for the Lakers team, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and Jeff Hornacek came in to press on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Bryon Russell came in to press in defense. Rick held the ball and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake got the ball and John Stockton came in defense, Jake made a feint and managed to go to the right, Jake moved away from Stockton and tried a shot from outside to make 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake scored 3 early in the game showing that he would attack normally even playing against Stockton, Stockton was not as good a defensive player as Payton, so he knew that in this game he might not be able to defend as well against Jake. In another move, the Utah Jazz team was on the attack, Stockton advanced with the ball and passed it to Russell on the right, Russell received the ball and Rick came pressing on the defense, Russell held the ball and passed it to Hornacek on the left. Hornacek received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Hornacek tricked Kobe with a feint and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Utah Jazz team, the Utah Jazz team was strong in attack too and so everyone expected a game more balanced. In another move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and managed to deceive the opponent with a feint, Kobe advanced to the inside area and drive to the basket doing more 2 points with a layup for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In this game, Kobe Bryant was playing well and Shaquille O''Neal also, it made Jake more relaxed to make the passes, Rick Fox was not playing so well in this game again and in this game, Jake did not intend to make many passes to Robert Horry because Karl Malone was defending against it. In another move, the Utah Jazz team was on the attack, Stockton advanced with the ball and passed Hornacek on the left, Hornacek received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense, Hornacek held the ball a little and passed it to Russell on the right. Russell received the ball and then passed to Stockton further back, Stockton received the ball and Jake came to defend, Stockton passed the ball to Karl Malone further on the right, Malone received the ball and Robert Horry came in to press on defense. Malone used his strength to move closer to the painted area and did a spin and tried a hook shot to make 2 more points for the Utah Jazz team, the Utah Jazz team''s moves with Malone were the moves most likely to end in points for the team. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a small points advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, it was a good first quarter for the Los team Angeles Lakers and to Jake. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game with a good performance by Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Jake Smith, the Utah Jazz team is also doing well in this game and keeping the game balanced." "John Stockton and Karl Malone were the highlights of the Utah Jazz team in that first quarter, for the rest of the game the Utah Jazz team will have to put more pressure on the defense if they want to win." "In the dispute between Jake Smith and John Stockton the two played normally and managed to organize the plays and attack in the same way as in other games, the two seem to be more careful in making assists and Jake is not trying as much to make steals as in other games." Just as commentators said Jake was not pushing as much in defense as in the last game, this was because Jake knew that Stockton would not score as many points as Gary Payton could do in the last game. Jake was not provoked and had realized how much more tired he had become in the last game, he would still press on defense, but if the Los Angeles Lakers team could win he would not press so hard on defense. In the second quarter the Utah Jazz team started to press more in the attack and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to press in the attack, both teams had strong attacks and wanted the victory. Stockton advanced with the ball and passed Hornacek on the left, Hornacek received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Hornacek tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled. Then Hornacek passed the ball to Russell on the right, Russell received the ball and then passed to Stockton further back, Stockton took the ball and Jake came to defend, Stockton stepped back and attempted a mid-range shot and scored 2 more points for the Utah Jazz team. With the experience Stockton was very good at making the mid-range shots, he was very fast when attacking and Jake had no way to get in the way, Jake could try the block, but if he missed the right time he could miss it. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Russell arrived pressing on defense, Rick held the ball and passed it to Kobe on the right. Kobe received the ball and Hornacek came pressing on defense, Kobe tried to make the individual move by advancing, but Hornacek kept pressing on defense and not letting Kobe forward, so Kobe passed the ball back to Jake. Jake received the ball and Stockton came to defend, Jake made a feint and managed to outwit Stockton and used his speed to advance to the inside area, Jake advanced quickly and only Greg Ostertag came to defend, Jake was quick and passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal who was free. Shaq received the ball and scored 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, with this move by Jake Ostertag had nothing to do, Jake was very fast and if he did not try to defend it would be Jake who would make the dunk. The game continued with the two teams playing well and with the game well balanced, the Los Angeles Lakers team still finished the second quarter with an even greater advantage in points, Jake and Stockton were attacking normally and were not defending well. Jake still managed to make some steals and was helping the Los Angeles Lakers team to continue with the points advantage, in the third quarter the Utah Jazz team tried to press further in the attack and most of the attacks was with Karl Malone trying to make the points. In that game, coach Kurt Rambis realized that he could not replace the main players for long, so only Shaq was replaced for a few minutes in all quarters of the game. Contrary to what many expected Dennis Rodman was not playing very well in that game again and he was unable to defend well against Karl Malone and still made many fouls in that game. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with 109 points against 85 points from the Utah Jazz team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 13 assists, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals. This was a balanced game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to increase the points advantage in every quarter and at the end of the game, they had an advantage of more than 20 points. "The game ends with another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team, even with the Utah Jazz team playing very well and with the good performance of Karl Malone making 32 points and the good performance of John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek, they did not get the victory." Chapter 523 The Season Continues 3 "The attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team is very strong and Jake made a double-double in this game with 32 points and 13 assists, Shaq also managed a double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds, and Kobe had 24 points in that game." "It''s true, the Los Angeles Lakers team is doing very well this season and after that game, we don''t know when the Lakers team will lose a game, they defeated some of the strongest teams this season and with this attack, it is difficult to find an opponent to defeat them." "Coach Rambis seems to have found a good way for the team to play and also found the ideal starting team for the Los Angeles Lakers team, with the good performance of Jake, Shaq, and Kobe, I think they will still win a lot of games this season." This victory against the Utah Jazz team left the players and fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team, this was a difficult game and it wouldn''t be strange if the Los Angeles Lakers team had lost, so it was an important victory. Even though Dennis Rodman and Rick Fox didn''t play these games so well, with the victories the fans didn''t care much about it and the sports media didn''t talk much about it either, Jack knew that this was until the Lakers team lost so journalists remember those games. The Los Angeles Lakers team players would have one more day to rest before the next game, luckily they were able to travel back to Los Angeles after the game so they could rest at home. Even if the Los Angeles Lakers team still had one more game as a visitor, it would be a game in Los Angeles and therefore the players would tire even less, after the players arrived in Los Angeles they were able to return to their home. Jake was happy that he could return to his home in Los Angeles, he lived a few months in Los Angeles in that new home, but Jake already liked it because it was a house that he chose and renovated. In the NBA, teams having multiple games during the week was a bad thing because it made players tired, but Jake thought it was good because even though the Los Angeles Lakers team had several games as a visitor, he could still return to his house in a maximum of two weeks. When Jake was in his childhood on this second chance he didn''t like to spend a lot of time away from home because he wanted to spend every day with his mother, after all, he knew how bad it was to spend several years without living with his mother in his past life. But the truth was that unfortunately Jake had gotten used to living alone after living alone for more than 15 years in his past life, so in addition to missing Eva many times, Jake didn''t mind living in a new home in Los Angeles. Jake thought that if he were married and had children this big game sequence would be bad, but Jake couldn''t imagine him getting married in the next few years, and even though he married Kate who was his girlfriend, the two traveled a lot because of from work and they would have no problems with Jake''s games in the NBA. The other day Jake woke up very early to get ready for another day, this time David hadn''t called him again to say that he had to record another commercial and Jake can rest until the Los Angeles Lakers team training that happened in the afternoon. It was a light training to not tire the players and they were soon able to return to their home, then the day of the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team in the NBA came, that was the game against the Los Angeles Clippers team. It would be the third game between the two teams this season and the Los Angeles Lakers team would face the Los Angeles Clippers team in the next game too, in the first two games the Los Angeles Lakers team got a good victory. Coach Rambis said that he intended to replace Kobe Bryant for many minutes in that game and intended to replace Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes in that game, this could make the game more difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning 115 points against 87 points from the Los Angeles Clippers team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and made 37 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, and 8 steals, with another double-double Jake helped a lot in this victory. In this game Shaquille O''Neal played very well and scored 31 points and had 12 rebounds, it was really great performance and helped the team a lot in that victory, Kobe Bryant played for less than 27 minutes in this game and played well with 16 points and 5 assists. Dennis Rodman was another highlight of this game with an excellent performance catching 20 rebounds, Dennis had performed poorly in the last games and in this game, he had the best performance of him playing in the Los Angeles Lakers team. This made the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team happy and managed to make the sports media forget the poor performance he had in the last games, with this good game the Los Angeles Lakers team won the victory. The next day the Los Angeles Lakers team played against the Los Angeles Clippers team again, Jake remembered that in that game in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team would have already hired Glen Rice and J.R. Reid. In that life these players would not be hired by the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers team could not hire Glen Rice and had no player to make the switch with the Charlotte Hornets team. This was another change that Jake''s entry into the NBA had caused for the teams, in that game the Los Angeles Lakers team achieved another victory making 114 points against 82 points of the Los Angeles Clippers team. In this game Jake played for 48 minutes and made 35 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, and 8 steals, Jake played very well in that game and managed to make another triple-double, Jake had difficulty making assists because some players from the Los team Angeles Lakers were not playing that well. Coach Rambis replaced the main players again in that game and replaced Kobe Bryant again for many minutes and Kobe played just 27 minutes again, yet Kobe underperformed and scored just 9 points. Shaquille O''Neal was also replaced for a few minutes but managed to score 31 points and get 13 rebounds making another excellent performance in that game, Rick Fox and Robert Horry had a regular performance in that game and Dennis Rodman played for a short time and still managed to catch 6 rebounds. With a strong attack, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed another victory and now had 20 wins and only 1 loss this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team had played almost half of the games and had only one defeat and was one of the favorite teams to win the NBA title this season. After that game, players would have a day to rest before the next game, it would be a game in Los Angeles and so players could rest at their home without having to worry about traveling. With the good performance of the team, this season the players were always excited, even coach Rambis received several accolades for the winning streak of the Los Angeles Lakers team. Coach Rambis decided to let the players rest the next day and decided to leave the team without the training they always had, Coach Rambis and the medical team were clearly concerned that the players would be injured and that in the last two games Kobe Bryant has not played more than 28 minutes. The players were excited that they could rest, Jake also thought a day of rest was a good one when David Falk called him again, Jake was waiting for that call and knew what David meant. "Jake, congratulations on the Lakers team''s victories in the last few games, you''ve been playing better and better." "Thanks, David, I was hoping you would call, it was a good time because Coach Rambis said the team will not be training tomorrow." "This is really good, a Gatorade representative called me and said that they want to record the commercial tomorrow, in fact, the other companies also called me, but Gatorade called first because they can earn more with the good performance you have had in this season." "But you can expect that this month you will have to record commercials for the other companies that you have endorsed." "Everything is fine with me, I expected you to call because our team will have to play the next 6 games as a visitor and I will be traveling for more than a week with the team." Jake hoped David would call him because of this, and also because David had said that other companies would want to record a commercial because of Jake''s success in the NBA, after that they talked for a while and arranged the time that Jake would have to go to the advertising company. Jake was able to rest well after sleeping and was excited to record the commercial the next day, Jake knew he might not be able to participate in many films in the coming years because of the NBA games, so recording the commercials was his chance to Act. After a few hours, Jake went to the advertising company, Jake already hoped that they would not record the commercial at the company and so he went quietly there, this time when Jake arrived everyone was waiting with him. It seems that this time David arrived at the company before and talked to the Gatorade representative and the directors of the commercials that Jake would do and they had already discussed all the details of the commercial and David went to speak with Jake alone. "Jake, I already discussed the details of the commercial with you, in fact, today two commercials will be recorded, in one, you will do the narration and record some scenes, and in the other commercial you will not do the narration, but there will be more scenes." Chapter 524 The Season Continues 4 "The commercial that you will have to narrate, gives the idea that you have a lot of resistance and can run the marathons and play 48 minutes in the games because you drink Gatorade drinks." "In this commercial, they will show some scenes of you playing in the games of the Los Angeles Lakers team and they will also show some recordings of you running some marathons." "For this commercial you will have to record some scenes training on the court, running on the athletics track and exercising at the gym." "You will say that to play 48 minutes in all games, and to run marathons over 42 km quickly, you have to train hard every day, and during games and training you need to hydrate and recover your energies drinking Gatorade." Jake liked the idea of ??the commercial, it was a positive message that someone had to strive for better results and spoke well of the Gatorade brand, of course, the idea of ??the commercial was to suggest that drinking Gatorade helped Jake to have more resistance, but that was normal in product commercials. It was really a creative commercial that used his skills to send a message that Gatorade was important for Jake to be a better athlete, David was calm to see that Jake liked it, many players were very proud and did not understand the marketing ideas that brands had. "In the other commercial, it will show you playing basketball training to hit three-point shots, you will train three-point shots, and then you will train with a player defending against you." "It will show you running on the athletics track looking like you are trying hard to run even harder, then you will stop and drink Gatorade and you will take a deep breath and keep running, and you will continue playing basketball." "The two commercials have a similar message and will be commercials with little time and they will sometimes put a bottle of Gatorade to promote their product." Jake did not find this commercial as creative as the other, but as David said the idea of ??this other commercial was to highlight the product and Jake would only help by attracting the attention of consumers. Jake agreed to this commercial as well and soon they started with Jake recording the narration for the first commercial, Jake was good at acting and needed to repeat the phrases just a few times so that the director liked it and the narration part ended. Then Jake took some pictures that would be used to promote Gatorade products in newspapers, magazines and other ways, that was normal and Jake would have to do that for other companies as well. After that they left the company with a film crew and went first to a gym that the advertising company had already booked, they knew they only had one day to record the commercial, so they had to be quick. The gym part was simple, Jake just had to do some exercises that he normally did and the team would film him doing the exercises and the director would choose the best scenes later. The most important scene was after Jake had started to sweat he would do it by taking a bottle of Gatorade and drinking, Jake did everything easily in 40 minutes and they were able to go to a court that was close to the gym to record the next scene. In the court that was in an Arena, they would record for the two commercials, first Jake did some things that he did in his normal training and the film crew was filming everything that Jake did. Jake recorded a drinking scene in a Gatorade bottle and one of the commercials had been recorded, after Jake changed his clothes to start recording the other commercial, Jake tried to hit the three-point shots for a few minutes. Then another hired actor came on the court trying to defend against Jake by hindering him so that Jake wouldn''t hit the three-point shots, and that was the scene, then Jake drank in a Gatorade grab, took a deep breath and continued training. There was nothing for the director to send Jake to redo the scenes that were just him doing his training, the director just had to order the camera operators and lighting personnel and after more than an hour, the recording ended on the court. After Jake went to an athletics track and started running, the camera operators had more difficulty making the recordings with Jake running around the track, after all the camera operators could not run along with Jake. Just like in other shops Jake drank from the bottle of Gatorade and changed his clothes and started running again, this time he had to act to look like he was very tired even though he had only run a few kilometers. To record this part of the commercial they had more difficulty because the camera operators and the film crew had to stop to rest and could not keep up with Jake''s resistance. Jake surprised everyone with his great resistance, even without any preparation Jake could run several kilometers without getting tired, after a few hours the film crew managed to finish recording the commercial. They were lucky because if they took a few more hours it would start to get dark, Jake still talked to David about some things and then went to his house as he had already finished his work. Jake was not tired even with all the things he did on the commercials recordings, he can still enjoy the rest of the day to rest, Jake was happy to record the commercials and even called Eva to tell her that soon she could see some of his commercials on television. Eva was already used to watching Jake''s commercials on television, but even so, she was happy to know that Jake had recorded more commercials and would record even more that month, Eva was proud to see Jake''s commercials on television. Eva still remembered the difficult times where she had to work much more than normal to earn just enough so that she and Jake could have a simple life, now she only worked because she liked her restaurant and all of that was thanks to what Jake did it. Eva was also happy that Jake had found a girlfriend he loved and who was also very talented like him, even though she missed Jake who spent most of the year away from home, Eva knew that this happened in all families. The next day came the Los Angeles Lakers team''s next game, Jake went to the Great Western Forum and saw the Los Angeles Lakers crowd that had come to fill the arena again. Many fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team had already bought the new shirt with the name of Jake and the number 7 that was his number this season, Jake was happy with the affection of the fans, his nickname was also shouted by the fans during the games. After some time Jake went to the locker room and the players went to the court to start the game, the opponent in that game was the Golden State Warriors team, this was Jake''s first NBA game playing against one of his former teammates on the Tar Heels team. Playing on the Golden State Warriors team was former teammate Tar Heels and Jake''s friend, Antawn Jamison was chosen by the Toronto Raptors team and was replaced by Vince Carter who had been chosen by the Golden State Warriors team. Unfortunately Jake knew that Antawn was not having many opportunities to play this season, Antawn would still play in most games, but he would not play more than 24 minutes on average, Jake thought this was a mistake by the Golden State Warriors team. Jake was well aware of Antawn''s skills, how he could attack well and catch a lot of rebounds, the only defect Antawn was that he was not very good at defending, but the Golden State Warriors team lacked one of the best defenses and needed an attack much better if they wanted to win the games. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch one more game this NBA season, today''s game is between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Golden State Warriors team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team plays this game at home and they have the best attack this season and also the team has done an excellent season with 20 wins and only one defeat in 21 games." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has all-star Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant, both of whom have played very well this season and have been important to these Los Angeles Lakers victories. "Rookie Jake Smith has been the main player on this team with an average of over 33 points and 11 assists per game, Jake is certainly the best rookie of this season and is one of the best players this season." "The Golden State Warriors team has had an average season, they have 9 wins and 10 losses in 19 games this season, they have no player who is the highlight of that team this season." "The current Golden State Warriors team can be happy if they make it into the playoffs this season." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Golden State Warriors team would start the game with Bimbo Coles playing as PG, John Starks playing as SG, Chris Mills playing as SF, Donyell Marshall playing as PF, and Erick Dampier playing as Center. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started to organize the attack, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and John Starks came in pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Chris Mills arrived to press in defense. Chapter 525 The Season Continues 5 Rick tried to deceive Mills with a feint, but Mills was not deceived and continued to defend, so Rick decided to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Bimbo Coles arrived to defend. Jake tried a shot from outside and made 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, in that game the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were not very well, Kobe would still make a good game, but it was nowhere near the best he could do as in other games. Rick also wouldn''t be doing very well in that game, luckily the players of the Golden State Warriors team wouldn''t play very well in that game either, so the Los Angeles Lakers team could still achieve victory without playing so well. In another move, the Golden State Warriors team was on the attack, Coles advanced with the ball and passed to Mills on the right, Mills received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Mills held the ball a little and passed to Starks on the left. Starks received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Starks tried a feint and managed to trick Kobe and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Golden State Warriors team. The Los Angeles Lakers team continued to push in defense and Jake was leading the attack for the Lakers team, so the first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good lead on the scoreboard. In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to push in the attack and the Golden State Warriors team was trying to defend how the players managed, in the third quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team had an even greater advantage in points. In that game, coach Rambis decided that the opponent was not too difficult and replaced Shaquille O''Neal who played only 30 minutes, in this game Kobe was not replaced and still did not have a great performance. Dennis Rodman played for a few minutes in that game because coach Rambis decided to let him rest for a longer time in that game, at the end of the game the Los Angeles Lakers team won the victory making 111 points against 74 points from the Golden State Warriors team. In this game, Jake played for 48 minutes and had 43 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 8 steals, and 2 blocks, in this game Jake attacked more than in other games, but even if he defended well, the opposing team did not attack much and for this, he failed to make more than 8 steals. Shaq had 20 points in that game and 17 rebounds playing very well even playing for fewer minutes, Kobe had 18 minutes and Rick had 14 points, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed another victory and that was what mattered most to the fans. "The game with the Los Angeles Lakers team ends with another victory, with the weaker performance of the Lakers team attack Jake standing out with 43 points in that game and leading the team to victory." "The Golden State Warriors team did not attack much and focused more on pressing in defense, it worked against some players like Kobe and Rick, but it was not able to stop Jake''s attack." "After this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team will have a difficult streak of 6 games as a visitor, if the Lakers team still continues with the winning streak then they will surely be the biggest favorites to win the NBA title." With this victory more the players were more excited, but the sequence of games as a visitor was something that worried the players and the coach Rambis too, Jake was also concerned about this because he knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose 3 games of those 6 games as a visitor. The next day the players would have a day to rest, the team board decided it was best for the players to travel to Sacramento, California, which was where the Los Angeles Lakers team''s next game would be. Fortunately, this would be a short trip for the Los Angeles Lakers team which would make players less tired, when the players arrived in Sacramento they went to the hotel chosen by the team''s board and the players were able to rest. The next day the players could have the whole day to rest and coach Rambis would not give any training to the team, this was because the next games would be very tiring and the players had to rest as much as they could in order to play well in the games. After resting well for a day, the day came for the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team, for that game Coach Rambis had already warned that Dennis Rodman would not even be a substitute in the game and would not play. Jake didn''t know if he had any reason for this to happen or if it was just so that Dennis Rodman could rest, but he didn''t talk to Dennis Rodman much in training and Dennis probably wouldn''t talk about it if he had a problem. After a few hours, the players went to the ARCO Arena to face the opponent in this game that was the Sacramento Kings team, the Sacramento Kings team had the second-best attack this season after the Los Angeles Lakers team. But unlike the Los Angeles Lakers team, Sacramento Kings had the worst defense this season in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers team had a good defense and with the best attack, they achieved many victories. In the Sacramento Kings team, there was also the rookie Jason Williams who was a great player, unfortunately, this season there was Jake who was a better PG than he and also Mike Bibby among the rookies, so Jason did not have the recognition he deserved. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch a game this NBA season, in today''s game the Los Angeles Lakers team faces the Sacramento Kings team, it is the confrontation of the two teams with the best attacks of this season." "The Sacramento Kings team has been having a regular season with 9 wins and 12 losses in 21 games, this team has good players like Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and rookie Jason Williams." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has had an excellent season with 21 wins and just 1 loss this season, the Lakers team has all-stars Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant and rookie Jake Smith who has been the best player on that team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has been playing better this season, but this is a game in which we cannot know that they will win, especially since the Sacramento Kings team plays at home." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Sacramento Kings team would start the game with Jason Williams playing as PG, Tariq Abdul-Wahad playing as SG, Peja Stojakovi? playing as SF, Chris Webber playing as PF, and Vlade Divac playing as Center. The game started with Shaquille O''Neal winning the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the attack, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and Tariq Abdul-Wahad came in to press the defense, Kobe held the ball and passed it to Robert Horry ahead, Robert received the ball and Chris Webber came in to press the defense. Robert protected the ball and passed it to Rick Fox further on the left, Rick received the ball and Peja Stojakovi? arrived pressing in defense, so Rick passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the free ball on the right and Tariq was not close to him. So Kobe tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers team started pressing in the attack even though they were the visiting team, the players knew they were better in the attack and the Sacramento Kings team didn''t have one good defense. In another play the Sacramento Kings team was on the attack, Jason Williams advanced with the ball and passed to Tariq on the left, Tariq received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense. Tariq held the ball and passed it to Peja on the right, Peja received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Peja tried a feint and managed to trick Rick and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 points for the Sacramento Kings team. Just as everyone thought the two teams started the game by pressing forward, so in that game, the team where the players had a better performance would win, luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers team Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were playing well in that game. But Rick Fox and the other players were not doing so well, Jake was playing very well too and would try to help the Los Angeles Lakers team achieve that victory that they did not achieve in Jake''s past life. In another move Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Peja came pressing on the defense, Rick tried to trick Peja with a feint, but Peja was not fooled and Rick passed to Kobe on the right. Kobe received the ball and Tariq came in pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and Jason arrived pressing in defense, Jake made a feint and stepped back and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake was paying a lot of attention on defense because Jason Williams was playing well in that game and Jake knew that Jason was a very skilled player, Jason also realized that Jake was pushing on defense and that made Jason tenser. In another play the Sacramento Kings team was on the attack, Jason advanced with the ball and passed to Tariq on the left, Tariq received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense, Tariq tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled. So Tariq passed the ball to Jason further behind Jason received the ball and Jake arrived pressing on the defense, Jason held the ball and passed the ball to Chris Webber further on the left, Chris received the ball and Robert Horry arrived pressing on the defense. Chris used his strength to move closer to the painted area, Robert could not defend well against Chris, so Chris moved forward and moved away to try a hook shot and make 2 more points for the Sacramento Kings team. Chapter 526 The Season Continues 6 The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a small points advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends, the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game with a small advantage on the scoreboard, as it was expected the two teams are having a balanced game with the two teams very strong in attack." "The Sacramento Kings team players seem to be doing better and all the players are helping in the attack and also trying to defend." "On the Los Angeles team Lakers Shaq and Kobe are playing very well, Jake is also playing very well, and the three are putting a lot of pressure on the attack, Rick is not playing very well in this game and Robert is trying to help more in defense." "Yes, the two teams are very balanced, so players like Jake, Shaq, and Kobe can make a difference and bring victory if they put more pressure on the defense, Coach Rambis looks like he won''t replace Shaq and Kobe and so the Los Angeles team Lakers have the advantage in that game." In the second quarter, the two teams continued to press on the attack, the Sacramento Kings team players were more excited about the chance to win seeing that they were performing well. Even so Jake, Shaq, and Kobe were playing very well in the attack even though the Sacramento Kings team tried to put more pressure on the three of them, in another move the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Tariq arrived pressing on defense, Kobe tried to trick Tariq with a feint, but Tariq was not deceived, so Kobe passed the ball to Rick on the left. Rick received the ball and Peja arrived pressing in the defense, Rick held the ball and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and passed to Shaq in the front, Shaq received the ball and Vlade Divac arrived pressing in the defense. Shaq made a forceful move to advance to the painted area, Shaq made a quick feint made a forward spin to make 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq was really skilled in the painted area and Vlade was unable to defend. In another play the Sacramento Kings team was on the attack, Jason advanced with the ball and passed to Peja on the right, Peja received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Peja held the ball and passed to Tariq on the left. Tariq received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Tariq tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived, so Tariq passed the ball to Jason further back, Jason received the ball with little time in possession. Jake was pushing in defense and he also knew that the possession time was running out, Jason tried to trick Jake with a feint, but Jake was not fooled, Jason tried to use speed to advance to the inside area. But Jake kept up with him and continued to press on defense, Peja got rid of Rick''s defense and gave Jason the opportunity to pass, so Jason tried to pass the ball to Peja before the time was up. But Jake was watching the move and he anticipated to intercept the ball and make the steal, Jake made the steal and ran with all his agility for the attack, Jason realized that Jake made the steal and tried to come back to defend. Jake was very fast and Jason was unable to return to defense and Jake advanced to the painted area and tried the dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers team was very well in attack and Jake was able to defend well a few times in the game. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals. "The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win with an even greater advantage in points, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack is very strong in that game and Jake was helping a lot in defense." "It''s true, the Sacramento Kings team is playing very well and is pushing forward, so we still had a well-balanced game in the first half of that game, but their defense is failing to stop the Los Angeles Lakers'' attack." "Jason Williams is playing very well in this game and with Jake defending well against him he helps the Los Angeles Lakers team to further increase their points advantage." In the third quarter, the Sacramento Kings team kept trying to attack to get the win, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Peja Stojakovi?, and Chris Webber is playing very well too and the Los Angeles Lakers'' defense cannot stop them in the attack. Peja Stojakovi? was managing to hit a few shots from three points and Rick was unable to defend very well, but with Jake pressing on defense and not letting Jason play so well it left the Los Angeles Lakers team with an even greater advantage. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Tariq arrived pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Peja arrived pressing on defense. Rick tried to trick Peja with a feint, but Peja was not fooled, Rick was not playing well in that game and Peja was playing very well in attack and defense, Rick passed the ball to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Jason came pressing on the defense, Jake held the ball a little and passed it to Kobe from the right again, Kobe received the ball and tricked Tariq with a feint and advanced into the area using his speed. Kobe advanced and Tariq was unable to accompany him in defense, so Kobe drives to the basket and made 2 more points with a layup for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Kobe was playing very well in this game and that gave Jake and Shaq more opportunities to attack as well. In another move the Sacramento Kings team was on the attack, Jason advanced with the ball and passed to Tariq on the left, Jason managed to play more calmly after he learned to attack avoiding Jake. Jason had still made several points with mid-range shots when he had the freedom to try, Tariq received the ball and held it for a while and passed it to Peja on the right, Peja received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on the defense. Peja managed to trick Rick with a feint and did a step back and tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Sacramento Kings team, Peja was playing really well in that game and Jake wondered if it would not have been better if he defended against Peja in this game. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team maintaining the points advantage, in the last quarter the game remained balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team began to put more pressure on the defense. So the game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with 114 points against 98 points for the Sacramento Kings team, Jake was happy that the Lakers team won this game that they had lost in his past life, which meant he was important for the Lakers team to win. In that game Jake played for 48 minutes and made 35 points, 12 assists, 9 rebounds, and 9 steals, Jake got a double-double in that game and almost got the quadruple-double that would be his first in the NBA. "The game is over, the Los Angeles Lakers team won another game this season, this was a balanced game in which the two teams have a strong attack, all the players on the Sacramento Kings team were playing very well in that game." "In the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaquille O''Neal had an excellent game with 33 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant was also playing very well and had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and Jake Smith who was the highlight of that game had 35 points and 12 assists." "But what made the difference in this game was that the Los Angeles Lakers team''s defense was better, Jake defended very well against Jason Williams, Shaq and Kobe also played well in defense in that game." "Even though the attack by the two teams was very strong, the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team was better, the winning streak of the Los Angeles Lakers continues and they already have a streak of 18 victories." The Los Angeles Lakers team got another victory and so coach Kurt Rambis and the players were very happy with this victory, they knew that this difficult game was only the first in the sequence of games that they would have as visitors. Jake was still concerned because he didn''t know if the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose any of the next games, in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team lost 3 games in that sequence of 6 games playing as a visitor. The first defeat did not happen because Jake helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, but if Kobe or Shaq did not perform well in any game he did not know if he could still help the Lakers team to win. After that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota which was where the next game would be, luckily the next day the Lakers team would have no games and the players could rest. The players arrived in Minneapolis and went to the hotel that the Lakers team board had booked, Jake was in his hotel room thinking a little about what had happened in the last few years. Many things he had dreamed of in his past life had happened, he became an NBA basketball player and was playing on the Los Angeles Lakers team which was always the team he was rooting for. Jake also managed to do something that not even he dreamed it was to start running marathons, he always loved running, but it was just a hobby for him, and in this second chance of him Jake had even managed to win an Olympic gold medal. Chapter 527 The Season Continues 7 Jake had also managed to get his mother out of that difficult life by having to work exhaustively to support him, now Eva worked in her restaurant with Anna because she loved to do that and that made many people happy. Jake was happy to have gotten a girlfriend he loved who was Kate, even though he couldn''t spend much time with her, just talking to her sometimes made Jake very happy, Jake was also happy to see Kate succeed with her career. Jake also managed to become an actor that was something he dreamed of, but he never really thought it possible for him to achieve that dream, just because he participated in the movie The Matrix, which was one of his favorite films, already made Jake very happy. In addition to all this, Jake also managed to get very rich using the knowledge he had of the future, he had millions of dollars guaranteed every year, next year he would sell his shares and keep more than 7 billion dollars. With the shares he owned of Amazon and Google Jake, his future was guaranteed with more than $ 100 billion to make, so money was something Jake would never have to worry about in the future. Jake just kept investing to make more money because he intended to make a lot of donations in the future, he wanted to help a lot of people since he had this second chance, and for that, the money would never be enough. Jake was thinking about how he traveled a lot with the Lakers team and yet he didn''t have the time or the desire to visit cities, Jake made trips to various countries in his past life to visit just because he decided to learn several languages. So Jake needed to create a reason to feel like traveling to other countries, he had fun talking to people from other countries in different languages, but Jake just really had fun visiting the same countries with his mother. With that Jake learned that the trips were only fun if done with someone he liked, a lot of the fun in the trips was seeing Eva happy, so in the future, Jake wanted to make the trips with Eva and Kate only, he didn''t want to be alone anymore travel. While thinking about these things Jake decided to speak to the system again who was the one who had helped him achieve all these things, Jake often talked to the system, after all, every day he did his imagination training. But the interesting thing was that Jake didn''t have so many subjects to talk to the system, after all, everything he did in his life was also seen by the system, so he didn''t talk about the things he saw daily. "Fate, I wanted to thank you again for everything you did for me, this second chance, everything I ever wanted has happened, in fact sometimes I wonder if all this is just a dream if in that car accident I maybe I was in a coma and just dreaming about it." [This is not a dream, I assure you that this is reality, going back in time may seem like a fantasy to you, but to me that I am the destiny of the world, I can do this and more.] [You sure are having an easier time getting things done with my help, but you tried really hard to get everything you have, if you didn''t train almost every day for the past 9 years you wouldn''t be such a basketball player good, even with my help.] [You got your wealth because you know the future, anyone who went back in the past could get it, but you just know all the things about the current stock market because you studied a lot in your past life.] [In addition, you were able to help save Matthew''s company and get the sponsorships that gave you the money to invest in the shares, even if other people could go back to the past, other people might not have got the money they needed to invest.] Jake knew that the system was right, of course, that even if he had achieved everything he has to strive for if it were not for the system he would not have this second chance to strive to achieve what he has. "Fate, I haven''t seen my job statistics for a while, show me the statistics window for my first job." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 20 years] [Job: Basketball Player] [Title: NBA Pro Player] [Position: PG, SG] [Height: 2.01 m] [Weight: 103 Kg] [Force 43] [Agility 42] [Resistance 45] [Intelligence 63] [Luck 99] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Skills Basketball [Ball Handling A] [Body Control A] [Man to Man B] [Dribble S] [Layup S] [Set Shot SS] [Block A] [Pass S] [Rebound S] [2 Points SS] [3 Points SS] [Free Throw SS] [Steal SS] [Dunk S] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake saw his statistics and already expected that his physical statistics would not increase in a few months, the system had already said that he needed more than 1 year of training to have any natural increase in his physical statistics. But his Skills improved after playing 23 games in the NBA, his Dribble increased from A to S after facing several players who were good at defending like Scottie Pippen, his Body Control also improved from B to A after playing with so many opponents using force. Skill Block also improved from B to A, that was important for Jake, Skill Rebound also improved from A to S, these improvements in his skills made Jake very happy and showed that he was really improving. Of course, Jake also remembered that his skills in the SS rank had also improved, but since they were at the top rank he couldn''t see through the system, Jake still had a lot to improve to be an even better player in defense. "Fate, show me my statistics window for my second job." [Here it is.] Statistics Jake ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 20 years] [Job: Businessman] [Intelligence 63] [Luck 99] [Charm 48] [Leadership 41] [Policy 34] [Eloquence 47] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [Business Administration] [See Through] [Business Vision] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake was even more surprised to see his statistics window on his second job, Jake had seen it a few times when he started investing that statistics window, the statistics that gave this job increased much more than the statistics on his first job. And Jake hadn''t won those statistics as he did in his first job winning the marathons, those statistics from his first job naturally increased without him even realizing it. His Charm statistic was high the last time he saw it and it was 42 and now it was 48, the Leadership statistic has also increased a lot before he had 33 Leadership and now he had 41. His Policy statistic was 24 and has now reached 34, his Eloquence statistic was 40 and now it has increased to 47, as these were not physical abilities he had not noticed the increase in those statistics in recent years. In addition, Jake realized that he had one more active skill that he didn''t have before, it was the Business Administration skill, the other skills were very useful for most entrepreneurs, but for Jake, these skills were useful only a few times. "Fate, why did my stats increase so much in this job and what new skill is that?" [You think these statistics have improved very quickly, but in fact, it has normally increased over time, after all, you are always using statistics from your second job while you are investing in the Cisco company.] [You have achieved many things in the last few years, you became a partner of Amazon and a partner of Google, which are two of the companies that will be the largest companies in the world in technology, you helped Matthew''s company to have a high valuation and also started to develop patents for revolutionary new products in the future.] [With you doing all of these things your stats would naturally improve quickly, plus some of your statistics for your second job have also improved with your fourth job.] [You managed to act in a big movie that is likely to have a large audience and it was also a success in your past life, that naturally increased your Charm and Eloquence statistics a lot.] [This new Skill Business Administration is an active Skill that makes sure you have accurate reports whenever you want about any business that you have an investment in.] [This can be a very useful skill for you who have investments in several companies, if any partner of yours or employee of the companies you invest in changes any report or steals money from the company, you can know the difference using this skill.] Jake did not expect that the Skill he had received would be so useful, it was a skill that many entrepreneurs would do anything to have, after all with this skill Jake could know if he was cheated and also save time that he would need to use to see the reports. With the system explaining Jake was able to understand why his statistics improved so much, he had certainly done many things that no entrepreneur would be able to do and guaranteed a billion-dollar gain even if he started from scratch. Besides, Jake hadn''t thought that making a big movie like The Matrix could improve some of his stats so much, that was an unexpected gain and naturally made Jake happier. "Fate, show me my statistics window for my fourth job." [Here it is.] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C [Name: Jake Smith] [Age: 20 years] [Job: Actor] [Intelligence 63] [Luck 99] [Charm 48] [Eloquence 47] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C Active Techniques [Emotion Control B] [Communication Skills A] [Photographic Memory A] [Positioning A] ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Jake saw his statistics window and remembered that his job had no different statistics than other jobs, but his skills were different, Emotion Control was a skill that was in rank D and was now in rank B. Jake knew that this was one of the most important skills for an actor to have, after all, he needed to show the emotions that the characters he was playing were feeling even if it wasn''t his emotions. Chapter 528 The Season Continues 8 Jake imagined that when he had this skill in the SS rank he could cry when he wanted to and no one could tell if he was faking or feeling real emotion, it was a skill that any actor would want to have. Jake''s Communication Skills skill was previously in rank B and now they were in rank A, this was a fundamental skill for the actors to have, he had to pass confidence and emotions in his voice and speak in a way that anyone could understand. This was an important skill for an actor and very important for anyone, with good Communication Skills a person would never have a hard time saying what he wanted to say in a way that everyone understood. The Photographic Memory skill also improved from rank B to rank A, this ability was already great for Jake in rank B, he did not forget the scripts he read and Jake also forgot a few things. With this ability in rank A, he would practically forget nothing, this ability was even more important to Jake because with this ability Jake was also able to remember several things he had seen in his past life. This was very important in business and basketball as well, Jake currently remembers all the games he saw only some news in his past life, so he would know when his teammates would be playing badly or when his team could lose. The Positioning skill was also in the B ranking and was in the A rank now, this ability improved a lot after the movie in which Jake had to make special moves to do the fight scenes that were choreographed. This skill could also help Jake in basketball to get more rebounds and make better plays, Jake was very happy with all of his skills that have improved a lot in recent years. Jake also asked to see his statistics window for his third job, but the system said these skills had not changed since the last time Jake saw him, after all, Jake was already one of the best runners in the world winning almost all the marathons he participated and his main skills were in Rank S. Jake improved his skills in basketball because he was not the best NBA player, there were many players who were much better than him in defense and other things, so Jake was still improving his skills. Of course, Jake would still improve his skills in his third job when he started running the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters and even short-distance athletics, but that would still take years to happen. After talking to the system and seeing his skills improve, Jake was more excited to continue working on the next NBA games and the other things he did. Jake managed to sleep well after being happy to see his stats and think about the past, that other day the Los Angeles Lakers team had no game and the players had only light training to do on the court and in the gym. With the players having a day to rest between games, the medical team and coach Rambis were no longer so concerned, so in these important games coach, Rambis could let the main players play longer. The next day came the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the players went to the Target Center to prepare for the game, the opponent in that game is the Minnesota Timberwolves team. This was the Los Angeles Lakers'' second game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the first game the Los Angeles Lakers won and they were expected to win again. Jake was still focused on that game because the opposing team had Kevin Garnett, Dennis Rodman would not play that game again and Robert Horry would not play either, so the pressure on defense was Travis Knight. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this NBA season, in the game today we have the Los Angeles Lakers team facing the Minnesota Timberwolves." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team has been performing well this season with 13 wins and 9 losses in 22 games, the star of this team is Kevin Garnett who has been playing very well this season." "In this Minnesota Timberwolves team, Joe Smith has also been doing a season, if the Minnesota Timberwolves team continues to win they may make it to the playoffs and even compete in the NBA title." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has been having one of the best starts of the season in the history of this team, so far there are 22 wins and only 1 loss in 23 games, this team has had three coaches this season and some problems with player injuries." "Stars Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were very important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to have a great start to the season, but it was the entrance of rookie star Jake Smith that the Los Angeles Lakers team got the best attack of this season and a good defense." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Travis Knight playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves team would start this game with Terrell Brandon playing as PG, Sam Mitchell playing as SG in that game, Kevin Garnett playing as SF in that game, Joe Smith playing as PF, and Dean Garrett playing as Center. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started to organize the attack, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and Sam Mitchell came in pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Kevin Garnett arrived pressing in defense. Rick tried a feint and was unable to deceive Garnett, so Rick passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Terrell Brandon came pressing on the defense, Jake saw Shaq''s good movement inside and passed the ball to him. Shaq received the ball and Dean Garrett did not follow Shaq''s movement and was far away, so Shaq took the ball and scored 2 points with the dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq made a good move and Jake passed the ball just in time. In another move, the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed it to Garnett on the right, Garnett received the ball and Rick came pressing on the defense. Garnett held the ball and passed it to Sam on the left, Sam received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing on the defense, Sam held the ball for a while and passed it to Joe Smith later on. Smith received the ball and Travis Knight came in to press the defense, Smith made the spin and tried the hook shot to make 2 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the two teams were balanced at the beginning of the game. The Minnesota Timberwolves team had a regular attack and defense this season, in the first games of this season they started by winning several games, but Jake knew they would start losing several games by the end of the season. Jake advanced to the attack and passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick was not playing very well in these last games, he had some tough opponents like in this game that Kevin Garnett was defending against him. Rick received the ball and Garnett came pressing on the defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Sam came pressing on the defense, Kobe managed to deceive Sam with a feint and advanced to the inside area. Some opposing players tried to defend against Kobe, but Kobe kept going and tried a layup to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, in that game Kobe and Shaq were well on the attack which made it easier for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed it to Sam on the left, Sam received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing on defense, Sam held the ball a little and passed it to Garnett on the right. Garnett received the ball and Rick came in to press the defense, Garnett tricked Rick with a feint and advanced into the area, Garnett advanced and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning and getting a small point advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter of this game ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a small points advantage, we had a balanced game so far between these two teams that had a good start to the season." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team is playing well this season with Kevin Garnett, Joe Smith, and other players performing well, and the Minnesota Timberwolves team has achieved 13 wins this season." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack this season and lost just 1 game this season, with Jake Smith joining the team and with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal playing very well, they are one of the strongest teams this season." "We will continue to monitor whether this game will remain balanced and whether the Los Angeles Lakers team will be able to continue with the incredible sequence of victories." In the second quarter the Minnesota Timberwolves team started to press more in attack and defense, they were the team that was playing at home and did not want to lose another game playing in the Target Center. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed it to Garnett on the right, Garnett received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense. Garnett held the ball for a while and passed it to Sam on the left, Sam got the ball and Kobe got on the defense, Sam didn''t try the move and passed it to Brandon further on, Brandon received the ball and Jake was on the defense. Chapter 529 The Season Continues 9 Brandon had the ball and tried a mid-range shot and scored 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, Jake still tried to hinder Brandon in that play and he couldn''t, Brandon was playing well in that game and Jake knew he had to press more on defense. Jake had managed to make a steal in the first quarter by taking Brandon''s ball and so Brandon was only trying mid-range shots, but now Jake realized that maybe he would have to press even harder on defense. In this balanced game, coach Rambis decided not to replace the main players, the players were not so tired because they were having 1 day of rest between games, in addition, coach Rambis knew that the opponent players were also tired. It was easier for Jake to organize the moves when Shaq and Kobe had been playing for more than 37 minutes and were playing well in the games, Rick was not playing very well in the last games, but it helped to prevent the opponents from making double-team defense against Shaq and Kobe. In another move, the Los Angeles Lakers team was on the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Sam came pressing on defense, Kobe tried to trick Sam with a feint, but Sam was not fooled. So Kobe passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and Garnett came pressing on the defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake tried a shot from outside the three-point line, so Brandon didn''t have time to react and so Jake scored 3 more points, in that second quarter the game was still balanced, but the Los Angeles Lakers team was managing to increase the advantage in points. So the Los Angeles Lakers team ended up winning the second quarter, in the third quarter the Minnesota Timberwolves team tried to press further in attack and defense, but with Jake, Shaq and Kobe playing the Los Angeles Lakers team very strong. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers won with 119 points against 97 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 11 assists, 11 rebounds, and 8 steals. Jake managed to make another triple-double in that game and with Shaq he was not well to catch rebounds and Dennis Rodman was not playing, Jake decided to try harder to catch defensive rebounds to help the team and not give more attacks to the opponent. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team has achieved another victory this season, with almost half of the games of this season already played, the Los Angeles Lakers team continues with just 1 loss." "This game was balanced like some games by the Los Angeles Lakers team this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves team played very well and the players performed well, but the Los Angeles Lakers team still won that game." "Shaquille O''Neal did not play as well as in the last games and scored 24 points, Kobe Bryant played very well and scored 21 points, and Jake was again the highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team." "Jake managed to make another triple-double this season, this was his ninth triple-double this season, Jake had 32 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds and played again every 48 minutes." "It''s true, I think Jake can really win the MVP award this season, after all, he has been the best player this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team is almost guaranteed in the playoffs and if the Lakers team advance further in the playoffs Jake can really be chosen as an MVP." The Los Angeles Lakers team managed another victory and Jake remembered that the Minnesota Timberwolves team had qualified for the playoffs with 25 wins, so with two more victories the Los Angeles Lakers team would be guaranteed in the playoffs. Getting to the playoffs was Jake''s first goal in his debut season, then he wanted to try to win the NBA title, if the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title Jake would really feel that he had changed the future of the Los Angeles Lakers team for the better. The players were excited about this victory and coach Rambis was also happy, the players were performing well in most games and when one player played poorly the team still had Jake who played well in all games this season. After 24 games Coach Rambis has already started to see Jake as the most important player for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaquille O''Neal was certainly a player who had to be in every game and the team could even win without Jake on the team. But that was because Shaq didn''t have a good substitute and Derek Fisher could play well as PG even if he wasn''t as good as Jake, so the team depended more on Shaq, but Coach Rambis thought Jake was the most important. Jake was the leading player in various game statistics on the Los Angeles Lakers team and just because he was able to play 48 minutes in every game already showed the importance he had for the Lakers team. After the end of the game the Los Angeles Lakers team traveled to downtown Cleveland, Ohio which was where the next game would be, the players arrived at the hotel and could rest well because the Lakers team would not have a game the next day. The beginning of this month of March was being very good for the teams that sometimes had 1 day for the players to rest between games, the teams still had a difficult and tiring sequence with many games, but it was better than in the month of February. The other day the players just did a short training and so they would be more rested for the next game, then the day of the next game came that would be against the Cleveland Cavaliers team. The Cleveland Cavaliers team was having a regular season with 10 wins and 10 losses in 20 games, even though the Cleveland Cavaliers team was playing at home, everyone thought the Los Angeles Lakers team would win that game. Jake remembered that in this game the Los Angeles Lakers team lost in his past life, so he would not underestimate the opponent, but Jake thought that if he played well the Los Angeles Lakers team would still win. The game started with the Cleveland Cavaliers team pressing in the attack and showing that they wanted to win, the Los Angeles Lakers team also pressing in defense as they did in every game and the game was even. At the end of the first quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers team was winning a small 2 point lead, in the second quarter Jake started trying more attacking moves and more steals too and he was helping in defense. So in the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team ended up winning, and in the third quarter too, at the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 108 points against 96 points of the Cleveland Cavaliers team. This game was more difficult because only Shaquille O''Neal and Jake were playing well in that game, Shaq had 37 points and 19 rebounds and 5 blocks and had one of his best this season, Jake double-double with 32 points and 10 assists. Dennis Rodman did not play again in that game and Coach Rambis seemed uncomfortable with it, Jake had a different contract that allowed him to miss some training and even lose some games and even then Jake did not use this benefit and asked Coach Rambis when he needed to miss training. Kobe Bryant was not playing very well in that game and had 14 points and Rick Fox was also not playing very well and had 12 points, even so, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed another victory and that made the players happier. After that game, the team traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they would play the next game, this time the players would not have 1 day off because the next game would be the next day. The other day the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the First Union Center to face the Philadelphia 76ers, the other players and even coach Rambis were not concerned with that game because the Los Angeles Lakers team had lost just one game that season. But Jake knew that the Philadelphia 76ers team was probably the toughest opponent that the Los Angeles Lakers team this season, the Lakers team would have lost 8 games this season if Jake had not been on the team. So even though they now had 24 wins and only 1 loss it was because Jake had joined the Los Angeles Lakers team, only Jake knew the real difficulty of the games and that game would be very difficult. The Philadelphia 76ers team had 13 wins and 9 losses this season which was already very good, and they had 3 games less than the Los Angeles Lakers team, in Jake''s past life these two teams had similar results in the season. The Philadelphia 76ers team still had Allen Iverson who was a great Jake idol in the NBA, Allen Iverson is one of the best players in NBA history, this February Allen Iverson would be the player of the month if Jake was not chosen. Allen Iverson would also be the player with the most points per game this season, Jake would probably be the player with the most points this season, so Jake was looking forward to this game and knew that all players would have to play very well for the team to win. Jake even talked to Kobe before the game to ask Kobe to let him defend against Allen Iverson in that game, Jake knew that Allen Iverson would score a lot in that game and only he could help in the defense to prevent Allen Iverson from scoring so many points. Ideally, Jake would suggest this to Coach Rambis, but Jake had a good friendship with Kobe and didn''t want to do that without talking to him before, unfortunately Kobe was very confident that he could defend well against Allen Iverson and did not accept Jake''s suggestion. Chapter 530 The Season Continues 10 If this dispute between Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant was in a few years in the future Jake would want to watch, after all, in the future, Kobe would be an excellent defensive player and would also attack even better, but in this game, Jake preferred to defend against Allen Iverson. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game this NBA season, in this game the Philadelphia 76ers team that is playing at home faces the Los Angeles Lakers team." "The Philadelphia 76ers team is having a good season with 13 wins and 9 losses, with Allen Iverson as the big star of this team they have been achieving good victories and can reach the playoffs this season." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is playing the fourth game as a visiting visitor, yet they haven''t lost any of the last 3 games, they have a great start to the season with 24 wins and just 1 loss in 25 games." "So half of this season is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team has just 1 loss, with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith the Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack that has worked very well this season." "The Philadelphia 76ers team has one of the best saves this season and with Allen Iverson, they can beat this Los Angeles Lakers team." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Robert Horry playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Philadelphia 76ers team would start this game with Eric Snow playing as PG, Allen Iverson playing as SG, George Lynch playing as SF, Tyrone Hill playing as PF, and Matt Geiger playing as Center. The game started with Shaquille O''Neal winning the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the attack, Jake moved forward and passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left. Rick was not playing very well in those last games, he knew that coach Rambis just did not replace him because he had no other good players in the SF position to play as his replacement and because Rick was scoring more than 10 points in most games. Rick received the ball and George Lynch arrived pressing on defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Allen Iverson arrived pressing on defense. Kobe tried a feint to try to deceive the opponent and made a crossover to try to advance to the internal area, Iverson was not deceived and managed to continue well in the defense, Kobe made another feint and managed to advance for the left quickly. Kobe drive to the basket and tried the layup to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Kobe didn''t play well in the last game and wanted to have a good performance in that game, especially because he wanted to show Jake that he was able to defend and attack. Of course, Jake knew better than Kobe how skillful he was and how he would be even better in the future, but Jake knew that although Kobe is currently a player who helps in defense he did not play as well against very skilled opponents in the attack. Soon the Philadelphia 76ers team went on the attack to try to tie the game, Erick Snow advanced with the ball and passed to Allen Iverson on the left, Iverson received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense. Iverson did not expect this intensity in defense since the beginning of the game, Iverson held the ball and passed it to Lynch on the right, Lynch received the ball and Rick arrived at the defense, Lynch made a feint and managed to trick Rick, so Lynch tried a mid-shot range to score 2 points for the Philadelphia 76ers. The two teams were pressing in the attack and the Philadelphia 76ers team were better in defense, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Iverson arrived pressing in defense. Kobe held the ball a little and passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick tried to make a feint to deceive the opponent, but Lynch was not deceived, so Rick passed the ball to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Snow arrived pressing in defense, Jake advanced with the ball and made a feint to deceive the opponent, Jake deceived Snow and advanced using his speed for the attack. Snow still tried to keep up with the defense, but Jake was faster and advanced with the ball, Jake advanced to the inside area and Matt Geiger tried to defend against him, Jake saw Geiger coming to defend and passed the ball to Shaq later on. Shaq received the ball without anyone defending against him, so Shaq advanced and scored 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq praised Jake for the good move and they went back to the defense. Even though Jake was the highlight of the team today and scored more points than all his teammates, Jake was highly respected by his teammates and no one was jealous of him. This was because Jake was not a player who didn''t know how to play as a team and just wanted to score and didn''t bother to pass the ball, Jake was the player with the most assists in the NBA today and it showed how he passed the ball in most plays. Everyone knew that Jake was the player who scored the most because he was the player who made the least mistakes in attacks and also played 48 minutes in every game while his teammates couldn''t stand to do that. For the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, it was normal for Jake to be the best player on the team because he was an excellent player who worked harder than the other players in training him. In another play, the Philadelphia 76ers team was on the attack, Snow advanced with the ball and passed it to Lynch on the right, Lynch received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Lynch held the ball a little and passed it to Iverson on the left. Iverson received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Iverson tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was attentive on defense and was not deceived, Iverson did not understand why Kobe was defending so intensely since the beginning of the game. Iverson tried another feint and made a quick crossover and advanced from the left, Kobe was unable to follow in defense, but soon he recovered and returned to defend against Iverson, Iverson made a feint and tried a fadeaway shot to make 2 more points for the team Philadelphia 76ers. The fadeaway shot was a move that Kobe made many times in games and it was difficult for him to see Iverson making that move against him, this was not the first move that Iverson made the points and Kobe began to realize that maybe he was not able to currently defend well playing against Iverson. The two teams were very balanced in the game, even so, the defense of the Philadelphia 76ers team was better and Allen Iverson was playing very well in that game, so the Philadelphia 76ers team finished the first quarter by winning with the points advantage. In that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals, Jake played well in that first quarter, but even he was having trouble attacking and assisting. "The first quarter ends and the Philadelphia 76ers team is winning with a small advantage in points, few times this season the Los Angeles Lakers team ended the first-quarter loss." "The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team are not playing very well, but that was not much different than in the last games, Jake Smith and Kobe Bryant are playing well in that game and Shaquille O''Neal is also playing well despite having played for fewer minutes." "Rick Fox and Robert Horry are not playing very well in the attack, but they help the defense and help in the attack as well as in the last games, even so, the Philadelphia 76ers still have the advantage in the game." "In the attack by the Philadelphia 76ers team, only Allen Iverson is having an excellent performance and scored 11 points in that first quarter, in defense the Philadelphia 76ers team is playing much better and all the players are helping in the defense." "We will continue to follow this game to see if the Los Angeles Lakers team will have their second loss of the season in that game or if they can recover and get another victory." Just as commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team was playing normally as it did in the last few games and it was the Philadelphia 76ers team that was playing better in defense and Allen Iverson who was playing really well. Coach Kurt Rambis had to replace Shaq in that game for a few minutes because the medical team had said that Shaq''s fatigue was too great and he could be injured if he played normally. Even though players had a day to rest between games, this Los Angeles Lakers team streak as a visitor was tiring the players with travel. The second quarter started with the Philadelphia 76ers team pressing in the attack, the Philadelphia 76ers team wanted this home win against the strong Los Angeles Lakers team to have more courage to continue winning the games. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Philadelphia 76ers team was on the attack, Snow advanced with the ball and passed it to Lynch on the right, Lynch received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense. Lynch tried to trick Rick with a feint, but Rick was not fooled and remained strong in defense, so Lynch decided to pass the ball to Snow further back, Snow received the ball and Jake arrived at the defense. Snow held the ball for a bit and passed the ball to Iverson on the left, Iverson received the ball and Kobe came up to press on defense, Kobe was still trying to defend better in this game and wanted to help the team win this game. Iverson tried to deceive Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived and continued to press in defense, Iverson tried another feint and pretended he was going to advance to the inside area and stepped back and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Philadelphia 76ers team. Chapter 531 Sequence of Difficult Games 1 Kobe tried to defend in that play and tried to recover after being tricked by the feint, but Iverson had already played with players who were much better than Kobe in defense and he knew how to take advantage of the opportunities. Jake was watching this and wondering if he could do better than Kobe in defense, Jake knew he could prevent Iverson from making some attacks, but Allen Iverson was playing very well in that game and would still score a lot. In another move Jake started to organize the attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing to Kobe on the right. Kobe received the ball and Iverson came in to press on defense, Iverson realized that Kobe was playing well in that game and he also had to press on defense to keep Kobe from scoring too many points. Kobe tried to deceive Iverson with a feint, but Iverson was not deceived and kept pressing in defense, Kobe tried another move doing a crossover, but Iverson kept pressing in defense. So Kobe decided to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and took advantage that Snow was away from him, Jake tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake was playing well trying to win in that game, but the Philadelphia 76ers team started to press on defense, even though Jake was having a hard time attacking, the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were also having a hard time attacking. So the Philadelphia 76ers team ended the second quarter by winning the game with an even greater advantage in points, Allen Iverson continued to be the highlight of the team scoring more points than Jake in that quarter too. In the third quarter, the Philadelphia 76ers team started to put more pressure on the defense and not attacking as much, when Shaq was replaced, the Philadelphia 76ers team attacked more with Geiger and all the players of the Philadelphia 76ers team also tied when the Los Angeles Lakers team defense was concentrated in Iverson. The game ended with the Philadelphia 76ers taking the win by making 103 points against 98 points of the Los Angeles Lakers team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and made 35 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, and 9 steals. "The game ends with the victory of the Philadelphia 76ers team, this was the second defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers team this season in this excellent game that we had, thus ending the sequence of 20 victories that the Los Angeles Lakers team had." "This was the fourth-longest winning streak for a team in NBA history, and the Los Angeles Lakers team has the longest winning streak with a streak of 33 wins, the most interesting thing is that Jake just left university with a straight incredible of victories also playing in the Tar Heels team." "This is certainly not a coincidence and shows the skill of Jake Smith who is currently the best player of the NBA season, in this game Jake played very well with 35 points and 10 assists." "The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team played well in that game, but the Philadelphia 76ers team played much better and defended better, which was very important for this victory." "Allen Iverson was the star of that game with 41 points and 10 assists, this was one of the few games where we saw a player performing better than Jake, so the Philadelphia 76ers team managed to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers." "Now the Philadelphia 76ers team will be more excited to continue winning this NBA season and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues with the streak of games as a visitor that is being tired for the players." The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were saddened by this defeat, they realized that they could win the game if they played a little better, especially Shaq who was replaced, of course, they were professional players and knew that losing was normal in the NBA. Everyone expected that the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose at some point and that''s why the Lakers'' winning streak was so impressive, Coach Rambis was not so upset about it because he knew he had to replace Shaq in that game. The one who was most upset and saddened by this victory was Kobe because Jake had talked to him before the game to ask that he could defend against Allen Iverson in that game and Kobe refused to say that he could defend well. At the end of this game Allen Iverson had 41 points and 10 assists, even though Kobe was struggling in defense he was unable to defend well against Iverson who was playing very well in that game, Jake realized this and called Kobe to talk. "I know what you''re thinking, Kobe, you don''t have to worry about the 41 points that Allen Iverson made in that game, I wanted to defend against him because I have more resistance and I knew he would be able to play many minutes." "But even I don''t think I would be able to stop Iverson from scoring a lot, he was playing very well in that game and you don''t have to worry about that." Kobe knew that Jake was just trying to cheer him up and that probably Jake would have defended better in that game and the Los Angeles Lakers team could have won, in fact, if Jake hadn''t asked to defend against Iverson before the game Kobe wouldn''t have cared so much about the 41 points from Iverson. Jake didn''t know that, but Kobe already thought that if in another game Jake asked to defend against a player, Kobe would stop not risking regret after the game, besides, Kobe was grateful that Jake only talked to him about it and not with Coach Rambis. After the game was over, players traveled to Orlando, Florida, which was where the next game would be, players arrived in Orlando and went to the hotel that was chosen by the team directors. The next day the players would have a rest day in which they would not even have the training to be able to rest more before the next game, after all in the past game Shaq had to be replaced in order not to get tired anymore. Kobe and the other players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were professional players and had already accepted the last defeat and were already thinking about the next game, Jake was even more relaxed because he knew the team would lose even without him playing. The next day the players used the day to rest before the next game, Jake was very close to Miami and Eva had even called asking if he wanted her to go to the game, but Jake knew that this trip would tire his mother and her I would have to close the restaurant for 2 days to watch that game. So Jake told Eva not to worry and just watch the most important playoff games if she could close the restaurant for a few days, after all, Jake also wanted Anna to go to his games with Eva. So soon the day of the game arrived, the players went to the Orlando Arena where the next game would take place, this was the first game of the Los Angeles Lakers team this season against the Orlando Magic team. The Orlando Magic team was very well this season with 18 wins and 7 losses in 25 games, another interesting thing in this game was that Michael Olowokandi who would be the first pick of the draft in which Jake participated had been chosen by the Orlando Magic team. Michael Olowokandi had been chosen as the twelfth pick and that naturally changed his status in the NBA and the Orlando Magic team where he couldn''t even play as many minutes as he normally would in Los Angeles Clippers team. Of course, Michael Olowokandi did not know this would happen and many in the sports media said that choosing Michael Olowokandi as a first pick had been a big mistake, with this change Michael Olowokandi could even have a longer NBA career this time around. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing in the attack, even playing as a visitor the Lakers team wanted to win this game after losing the last game, this was something that the Orlando Magic team did not expect and so the Los Angeles Lakers team ended the first quarter winning. Shaquille O''Neal would play much longer in this game after resting and he was playing very well, Kobe Bryant was also playing very well to forget the previous game, Rick Fox was not playing so well again. Dennis Rodman was back on the team and was not playing as well as before, but Coach Rambis took the opportunity to let Robert Horry rest in that game and Horry would play for less time in that game. With the strong attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team they managed to win this game making 129 points against 100 points of the Orlando Magic team, Jake made in that game 32 points 15 assists and 11 steals making another triple-double. Shaq also played very well and scored 31 points and had 13 rebounds, Kobe also had one of his best performances of the season and scored 38 points in that game showing that he was one of the best SG in the NBA today. Only Jake, Shaq and Kobe scored 101 points out of the team''s 129 points showing why they were the most important players for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, this victory left players excited again for the next games. After that game the players traveled to Dallas, Texas where the Los Angeles Lakers team would play the last game in that sequence of games as a visitor, the players arrived in Dallas and went to the hotel to rest. This time the players would have no day off and the next day they would play again, so it was expected that coach Rambis would let the main players rest for a few minutes during the game. The next day the players went to Reunion Arena to play against the Dallas Mavericks team that was not doing well this NBA season despite having two of Jake''s NBA idols who were Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. Chapter 532 Sequence of Difficult Games 2 As the Dallas Mavericks team was not doing very well this season, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were more relaxed in this next game, everyone wanted to win this game and end this sequence of games as a visitor. Dennis Rodman would be playing that game again and Coach Rambis decided to let Robert Horry rest in that game and Travis Knight would start playing, in the first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team started pressing in the attack. The Dallas Mavericks team also started to put pressure on the attack and to the surprise of the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Dallas Mavericks team started the game very well, so they started to focus more on the game. At the end of the first quarter, the Dallas Mavericks team was winning the game with a small points advantage, coach Rambis intended to let Shaq and Kobe rest for many minutes in that game, but seeing the first quarter of the team he changed his mind because he didn''t want another one defeat. In the second quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team played much better and started to put a lot of pressure on the attack, Dennis Rodman was also playing well, getting a lot of rebounds in that game and helping in defense. So the Los Angeles Lakers team ended the second quarter by winning, in the third quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team pressed again in the attack and Coach Rambis even started to replace Shaq and Kobe. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with 109 points against 89 points for the Dallas Mavericks team, in that game Jake played very well again and had 31 points and 12 assists. Shaq had a good game even playing for less time and had 25 points and Kobe Bryant had 21 points, Dennis Rodman returned to make a good game with 17 rebounds which helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to achieve this victory. After this victory, the players, the medical team, and the coach Rambis were very happy because of the victory, but also because the Los Angeles Lakers'' game sequence as a visitor had ended. The players were in better physical condition than the medical team expected and Jake surprised again by being able to play for 48 minutes in those 6 games after Jake played those 6 games they were sure he could play the rest of the season. After the game the players returned to Los Angeles and could sleep at their house for the next few days, now the Los Angeles Lakers team would have a sequence of 4 games at home and so the players would not tire so much. The next day the Lakers team would also have no game and so the players could rest and do just a quick training, Jake returned to his house after leaving for almost two weeks and was happy to be back. Jake had a lot of fun living in the dormitories at the university with his friends, but it was different when he lived in a house that was his, Jake just missed living with his mother in Miami. But Jake knew it wasn''t going to happen because he always needed to travel to the games and needed to live in the places where his team was, and Eva had her restaurant and Jake knew that his mother was happy making her dream come true. The other day Jake woke up rested and happy to be home, as soon as he woke up he got a call from David that he was waiting for, Jake just thought David would call later. "Hi, David, how are you?" "I''m fine, Jake, congratulations on the Los Angeles Lakers team''s victories, you''ve only lost two games this season and everyone in the sports media is saying that your team can win the NBA title." "I hope that happens, but we still have a lot of games this season and then we have the playoffs where anything can happen." "You are right, keep training and playing well so your team will be in the playoffs and can win the games in the playoffs." "I''m going to speak because I called you, I know you said you didn''t want to participate in this, but the directors the Wachowskis asked you to participate in an interview program to talk about the film." "I said I didn''t want to participate in this, David, I''m very busy with training and games, besides, I said that I think it is better that only the main actors participate in the promotion of the film, my character is not that important." "I know," said Jake, but it was actually a request for an interview program, the main actors already promoted the film that month, but one of the stations called the Wachowskis to say they wanted to interview you. " "Your story is very interesting, Jake, you are only 20 years old and you are already one of the highlights of the Los Angeles Lakers team, you have won a gold medal in the Olympics and won several marathons." "The talk shows are interested in players who participate in films, especially if you have an interesting story like that and are participating in a really big film." "Also, the film you participated in will soon open, so this is a good time to make people watching the interview program curious to watch the film in which you participate." Jake did not expect an interview program to invite him to participate, he knew that the best basketball players participated in these programs, but they were players like Dennis Rodman who always pleased the audience and Michael Jordan who was the best player in the NBA. Hearing what David said, Jake understood that it was true that his story was interesting, but Jake thought it was more normal for sports programs to ask him to participate in the programs, so he was called because of the film he was going to participate in. "What was the interview program that invited me to participate?" "It was NBC''s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the program is recorded in Burbank, California, so you won''t have to travel far to record the program." Jake was surprised that the production of Jay Leno''s show had invited him, it was one of the biggest talk shows in the world and was watched by a lot of people, Jake hoped maybe it was another show that needed more audience. "Okay, I''m going to be on The Tonight Show, but what day am I going to have to go to record the show?" "They know you''re going to be busy, so they left to be recorded today after 5 pm, your training should be in the early afternoon and you will have time to go to Burbank after that." "Then I will be there." Jake didn''t know what the regular time the show was on, but he knew the show usually had two guests and a musical attraction, so it was very considerate of the broadcaster to change the recording time because of him. After a few hours, Jake went for the light training of the Los Angeles Lakers team, after training he had to go back to his house to prepare his suit and after that, he went to Burbank. Jake managed to arrive at The Burbank Studios with a few minutes to go before the appointment, Jake took an ID card at the entrance to the Studio and was soon called by the makeup artists to prepare for the recording. The makeup artists didn''t have much work with Jake because his face was naturally beautiful and his hair was cut every week, Jake was wearing one of his best suits and he didn''t have to put on one of the suits they had prepared for the guests. Soon Jake knew that the other guest who would be interviewed and the musical attraction was singer Fiona Apple, Fiona Apple was a singer that Jake remembered and was well known in the 90s, Jake didn''t know Fiona and was never a big fan of her so he just he would talk to her if Fiona came to talk to him. Jake was tidy and saw that the recordings would soon begin, Jay Leno came over to talk to him a little before the recording of the program started and said he was happy that Jake had accepted the invitation. After that, the recording of the program started and Jay Leno recorded the beginning of the program with his jokes that Jake remembered that he liked to watch on television, Jake accepted this invitation because in his past life he already thought about participating in the program with Jay Leno. The recording took a while because they had to re-record some things and they had a break for a few minutes when they moved to start another part of the program, Jake was listening to everything while he waited and soon he was asked to go on stage. When Jay Leno introduced Jake the audience started to applaud him a lot, Jake didn''t expect it because he just saw the audience applauding the most famous artists like great basketball players, actors, and singers. Jay Leno stood up to greet Jake with a handshake and the two sat down to start the interview while the audience still applauded Jake, after a while everyone stopped and Jake felt lucky that he could control his emotions otherwise he would be too embarrassed. "Welcome Jake, this is the first time that you''re here on my show and I''m happy to have you here." "Thanks for the invitation, Jay, I watch your programs so it''s really cool to be here participating in your program." "Let''s talk a little bit about sports, which is where you stand out the most, you''ve already participated in 14 big marathons in your 4 years of competition as a runner, and you won 13 of those 14 marathons and came in second in the only marathon you didn''t win." "What do you feel about having achieved this brilliant career and having even won a gold medal at an Olympics in a few years?" "I always loved running, I started to enjoy sports running and it was always something that made me happy, but I never really thought that I would compete in marathons, so I started playing basketball which was always something I always loved." "I liked basketball and I knew I had a chance to make a better life for myself and my family if I played basketball well, and when I was younger I found out I was skilled at playing basketball." Chapter 533 Sequence of Difficult Games 3 "I started playing basketball only in middle school and at that time I didn''t know much about basketball basics, I was good at making mid-range shots and I scored a lot, but I didn''t know how to make good passes and I didn''t defend well." "I learned a lot of things in middle school and thanks to the help of some friends I managed to get two companies to sponsor me, I am a friend of the owners of these companies until today and so I managed to start dreaming of playing in the NBA." "After a few years of playing basketball and training a lot I realized that I had a lot of resistance, I always ran all these years as training to improve my resistance, so one day I thought about trying to run 40 km to see if I could do it." "After a few weeks of training I managed to run 40 km and I wanted to see if I could run 45 km, after a long time I did it too and so I wanted to know if I could run faster and in less time 45 km." "So I realized that I was able to run the distance of a marathon in very good time, but I was not sure if the time I set myself was right and I decided to run my first marathon, thinking only of completing the marathon." "I managed to enroll in the Chicago marathon and decided to run as fast as I could to get the best place in the marathon, in the end, I ended up winning and so I realized I had a talent for it." Jake told the story how it really happened that he started running marathons, of course, he really started running marathons because he had the system to help him and because of the system he knew he had a chance to run the marathon before even running. Jay Leno and the people in the audience who didn''t hear Jake tell this story elsewhere were impressed by this story, especially since Jake made it look like the things he did were easy to do. After winning the first marathon I started wanting to run more marathons and when the time for the Olympics came I managed to qualify for the Olympics and then I won the marathon and won my first gold medal." "After winning this marathon I had more confidence and ran many other important marathons and was lucky to win all the marathons that I participated in after the Olympics." "This is really impressive, Jake, you said you started running after realizing that you had a lot of resistance in basketball training, you played basketball very well at North Carolina on the Tar Heels team as we all know." "And now you''re playing well on the Los Angeles Lakers team at just 20 years old, what is it like for you to have basketball and still be a marathon runner?" "As I said I love basketball since I was very young, I wanted to play to give my mom and me a better future, I was lucky to have friends and get sponsorship from a very early age." "I always trained a lot to be able to play well, I naturally was not always a skilled player, I had since I was a young talent to do mid-range shots and three-point shots, but even with my talent, I trained thousands of shots three points every week. " "To improve in defense and to get rebounds, to make assists I trained a lot and continued training to be a better player, I am very happy to see that this training paid off and that I am in the NBA and fulfilled one of my dreams." Jake finished speaking and was applauded again by the audience, Jake was a little embarrassed about it and Jay Leno continued the interview by asking some funny questions and saying fun things as he did well. Jake also knew how to be funny and answered the questions in a funny way too, Jay Leno stopped the interview for the show''s director to take the break and after that stop, Jay Leno finally started talking about the movie. "Jake, last year you acted in your second film, this time as one of the main characters in the film, it is the film The Matrix that will open later this month, what did you think about acting in this film?" "I was surprised at the invitation to participate in this great film with excellent actors, the directors Wachowskis invited me and I was very happy because I had only made a cameo in a film before." "I was very happy to participate in this film, I always enjoyed watching films and acting as well, I had some opportunities recording commercials and participating in the film Jerry Maguire, now I had the opportunity to participate in the film The Matrix." "It seems to be a great movie, in the last few weeks I received here on the show Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne who talked about the film, but talk a little about the film." "This is the film about the world of the Matrix where things seem real, but they are not really, I don''t know if I can talk about more things because I can give spoilers for the film, it''s a film that has a great story, good characters, martial arts, science fiction and also excels in special effects." "So I think this is going to be a film that is going to revolutionize the way that action films are going to be made and the audience will like it too." "Talking about the fight scenes, Keanu was here and praised you a lot saying that you stood out in the fight scenes and that you had several months of training to be able to record the fight scenes, how was that?" "Yes, me and the other actors did several months of training with martial arts director Yuen Woo-ping, Woo-ping is a really good teacher and taught me a lot of things in a few months." "I was lucky to be an athlete and so I just had to start learning to fight, the other actors also had to improve their physical condition to endure the long fights." "But all the actors did very well in the fight scenes Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving were excellent, Woo-ping was able to create a different style for all the actors, you will see incredible scenes with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in that film." "Not to mention that Keanu did the fight scenes while having a health problem that prevented him from moving around so much, everyone struggled for almost 1 year to make this incredible film." Jake spoke very well of the film even though he did not prepare for it and without even saying much of the plot of the film because he did not want to give spoilers about the film to anyone who was going to watch, Jay Leno was also impressed how Jake looked comfortable in the interview as some artists who have been on his program several times. Jake could speak very well about the film because he had already seen the film several times in his past life, in addition, Jake had also read several comments about the film made by critics and fans of the film. So Jake could speak better of how good the film was than the directors who saw the film several times after editing it, so the audience that was watching the interview also started to have more interest in the film. After some more time the interview ended and Jake left the program applauded by the audience, Jake was happy to have participated in this interview and he hoped to have helped the film to be an even bigger success. One thing Jake didn''t know was that Warner Bros had some doubts about whether the movie would be a success before, so after Jake became one of the NBA''s biggest stars this season, Warner Bros decided to invest a lot more money in advertising. So the movie The Matrix would have a lot more publicity than it did in Jake''s past life, this could help attract an even bigger audience to watch the movie while the movie was being shown in the cinema. Jake knew this was possible because, in his past life, Jake remembered that everyone he knew had ever seen The Matrix and most people liked it, of course, that was why the film was shown on television afterward a few years. After Jake left Fiona Apple joined the program and Jake waited for the program to end to say goodbye to everyone and go to his house, the recorded program would air on television after two days. After a few more minutes the show ended and Jake said goodbye to Jay Leno, Fiona Apple, and the people in the show''s production and left, Jake wanted to go to his house to get a good rest for the game the next day. As soon as Jake got home David Falk called him asking how the show had been, David was happy to know that the interview had been good, Jake''s commercial with Gatorade was going to start showing on television and that interview would be a good one advertising. Adidas also had the commercials that Jake recorded prepared, but they would have to wait for Jake''s branded sneakers to be released to start showing the commercials on television stations. David told Jake that in the coming weeks he would have to record a commercial whenever the Los Angeles Lakers team had no games, Jake still had commercials for Chevrolet, Pepsi and Gillette to record in those weeks. Jake knew he had these responsibilities and agreed to do these commercials whenever he could, Jake didn''t like to miss the team''s training, so he would talk to these companies to start recording early in the morning. Jake knew that if he missed the team''s training for 3 days in a few weeks, coach Rambis would not like it, Jake knew that Dennis Rodman was heavily criticized for missing some training and being late sometimes. Fortunately, even though Dennis was still late in training and missed a few games, as the Los Angeles Lakers team was beating coach Rambis he didn''t care much about it, Jake also missed some training and this made Coach Rambis''s treatment of Dennis less rigid. Jake also thought it was better if Dennis Rodman could continue playing for the Lakers team at least until the end of this season, after all, Dennis was an excellent player who helped the team in several games. Chapter 534 Sequence of Difficult Games 4 Jake can rest well and soon the day of the next game arrived, Jake went to the Great Western Forum and saw that the Los Angeles Lakers team fans had come to see the game, Jake went to the locker room and met the other players and everyone went to the court. In that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team would return to play at home after the difficult sequence of games as a visitor, of the 6 games that the Lakers team had as a visitor were 5 victories and only 1 defeat. This was very good for the Los Angeles Lakers team that now had 26 wins and 2 losses in 28 games this season, Jake was also happy because he remembered that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have lost 3 games in that 6-game streak as a visitor. In this game Robert Horry would not play because coach Rambis decided to let him rest, Dennis Rodman would start the first game as a starting player with the confidence of coach Rambis after playing well in the last game. The opposing team in that game was the Phoenix Suns team that had one of Jake''s idols, PG Jason Kidd, the Phoenix Suns team had 13 wins and 13 losses this season in 26 games and they were having an average season. Jake was worried about this game because he remembered that the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose that game, so he had to play very well to try to prevent this defeat from happening, at the beginning of the game the Los Angeles Lakers team started pressing in the attack. In that first quarter, Jake realized that Shaquille O''Neal was more tired than in other games and was not playing as well as he normally played, yet he was still one of the players who scored the most points in the game. The Phoenix Suns team was also playing well, the Phoenix Suns team was a team with one of the best attacks of this season and that was bad for the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team that was not doing so well. Soon the first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a small advantage on the scoreboard, in the second quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to press in the attack, and the Phoenix Suns team was also pressing in the attack. It looked like this would be a game in which the team with the best attack would win, in the second quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team was playing very well and managed to further increase the advantage in points. Coach Rambis started to replace Shaq for a longer time in that quarter because he also noticed how tired Shaq looked, yet the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to play well and ended the second quarter by winning. In the third quarter the game looked very different, the players of the Phoenix Suns team came back with a desire to win and was playing much better and made much less in attack and the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team could not stop their attack. So at the end of the third quarter, the Phoenix Suns team managed to tie the game and in the last quarter, the two teams started with equal chances of winning the game, in that game Dennis Rodman was playing very well taking several rebounds and helping the Lakers team. Rick Fox was not playing as well, but he still managed to help the team in attack and defense as in other games, in the last quarter the two teams were pressing in attack and were balanced. Jake started to work even harder in the game by hitting several three-point shots and making steals and blocks trying to stop Jason Kidd, this helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to end the game with the victory. In this game the Los Angeles Lakers team won making 112 points against 101 points of the Phoenix Suns team, in that game, Jake scored 43 points and 10 steals getting another double-double, at the end of the game Jake was very applauded because the crowd saw how Jake struggled in the last quarter. In that game Shaquille O''Neal played less than 30 minutes and scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 25 points in that game and played well helping the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. Dennis Rodman also played well in defense and managed to catch 13 rebounds, these rebounds helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to prevent the Phoenix Suns team from having more chances to attack. After the end of the game the players were able to return to their home and Jake went to his home, David called Jake because he had asked David to do this after the game, Jake had asked David to try to organize the commercial recordings for very early in the morning and David said he would try. "Hi, Jake, congratulations on winning that last game, it seemed like a difficult victory." "Thanks, David, it was a really tough win, in fact, I expected it to be a tough game and with the fatigue of my teammates the game just got tougher." "It''s true, but you have to think that the players of the opposing teams are also tired and you who have a good resistance can take the opportunity to attack more as you did at the end of that game." After having worked with the best players for several years David learned a lot of things in basketball, so he knew that if the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team who were younger were tired then the opponents would be too. "I called to tell you that tomorrow you are going to record the commercial for Pepsi, they accepted your order and we are going to start recording in the morning, but you are going to have to come back at night to do the scenes indoors." "Thanks, David, I didn''t want to miss any more training, I don''t mind going back to the advertising companies to shoot more scenes after training." Jake was happy to know that the Pepsi representatives did not mind him recording the commercial early, Jake went to sleep and woke up very early the next day and went to the advertising company that David had given the address to on the call the night before. On that day the Los Angeles Lakers team would have no game and would only have light training, so Jake would leave the advertising company and go to training in the afternoon, and just at night, he would return to the advertising company. Jake arrived at the advertising company and everyone was waiting for him, Jake greet the directors of the commercial and the company representative Pepsi and David called him to tell him what the commercial would be like. "Jake, in this commercial you will be an athlete running a marathon, the advertising company has already prepared a place to record the commercial with several people who will be the audience for the race and the other runners." David told the rest of the commercial to Jake and he liked the idea, at that time it was normal for a beverage commercial to joke and compare it with other beverage brands if David didn''t think it would be a problem he didn''t either. Jake and the people from the advertising company went to the place where the commercial would be recorded, it was a road that would be used as a marathon route, Jake and the other actors would not run many kilometers and that was just to pass the impression on to the audience. In fact, they would run a few miles and Jake would have to splash his face with water to pretend he was sweating, soon the commercial started recording, Jake ran with the other actors while some hired people were the audience cheering for Jake and the other actors. The idea for the commercial was for Jack and the other runners to stop at the gas stations and drink water and other drinks, when Jake stopped at the gas stations to drink water he would show a face that he didn''t like what he was drinking. So Jake and the other runners would pass by various booths and Jake would show that he didn''t like drinking water and other drinks, Jake and the other actors had done the scenes and the commercial director liked it. In the final scene, Jake would pass the finish line first and win the marathon, but Jake would not stop to celebrate and receive the award and would keep running, so there was a scene with the camera showing Jake running out of the marathon location afterward to win the marathon. So Jake would continue running until he found a store and would go into the store to buy a Pepsi, he would drink an entire can of Pepsi and be satisfied finally drinking Pepsi, Jake recorded the commercial in a few hours because the film crew had to change the cameras and prepare the scenes before Jake could record. The director really liked Jake''s work and because he didn''t make so many mistakes he can go to the Los Angeles Lakers team training earlier and would have to go back to the advertising company to take the pictures for the commercials in the magazines at night. Jake, who knew a lot about business, asked David if it was okay for him to do this commercial because he realized that in the commercial he seemed to dislike the drinks he drank during the marathon. But one of the drinks he drank in the marathons was Gatorade, which was another company that sponsored him, of course, he didn''t show the Gatorade brand in this commercial, and everyone would understand that it was just advertising, but Jake knew that after a few commercial years, it wouldn''t be accepted. Jake found the commercial to be very creative and fun to do for the time he was in, of course maybe in the future a commercial like this wouldn''t be much fun for the audience to see, but Jake understood that he was in 1999 now. Jake went straight to his training and just put on his uniform to train so that the players wouldn''t get too tired they just did a little training and stayed in the gym for a while and then they were released. After training Jake went to his house to take a shower and change clothes, Jake got ready and went back to the advertising company to take the pictures and do what he had to do to finish the commercial. Jake arrived at the advertising company and everything was prepared for him to take the photos that would be used in Pepsi advertising in the coming months, Jake was used to taking the photos and finished it in a few hours. Chapter 535 Sequence of Difficult Games 5 The Pepsi representative and the people at the advertising company were satisfied with the photos and with Jake''s work that day, they had already worked with other artists who were much more annoying and had a lot of demands. Jake did everything the director of the commercial told and worked for hours without complaining once and also did not make mistakes in the commercials, David was also happy with that because Jake was building a good reputation among advertising companies and among sponsors. These companies that sponsored Jake were big companies in the market that wasn''t even spending a lot of money on that sponsorship, so if they liked Jake and if they realized that the public was buying more of their product because of Jake they could renew the contracts throughout Jake''s career and paying a lot more. David knew that Jake was not pretending and that was his real personality which made his job with Jake so much easier, David knew he didn''t have to worry about Jake''s personal life because Jake was the type of person who wouldn''t bring problems. After Jake finished doing everything for the recording of the commercial and the photos David reminded Jake that the next day of the next game Jake would have to record the next commercial, David already told Jake that the next commercial was with Chevrolet. So Jake can go back to his house and go to sleep because the Los Angeles Lakers team had a game the next day, then the day of the next game came and after a few hours, Jake went to the Great Western Forum. The game that day was against the Sacramento Kings team, the Sacramento Kings team had 11 wins and 17 losses before that game, Jake was worried about that game because in the first game the Los Angeles Lakers team was supposed to lose because of what Jake remembered his past life. In that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team also lost to the Sacramento Kings team because of what Jake remembered from his past life, that was the reason that Jake was very concerned in that game, in the last game if he didn''t try harder than normal to Lakers team would have lost again. Coach Rambis had to replace Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes in that game as well so as not to risk Shaq having an injury, Jake and the other players understood that, but it would be harder for the Los Angeles Lakers to win. At the beginning of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team started pressing in the attack, Jake knew that in this game he would have to try harder for the Lakers team to win, even so, the Sacramento Kings team also pressed in attack and defense. The Sacramento Kings team had the second-best attack this season after the Los Angeles Lakers team, but luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Sacramento Kings team had the worst defense. In the first quarter, the game was well balanced and Rick Fox was playing very well in that game which helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to put more pressure on the defense, Dennis Rodman who had played well in the last games was also helping on defense. On the Sacramento Kings team, there were Chris Webber, Corliss Williamson, and Vlade Divac who were playing really well too and that was making things difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team that was bad. At the end of the first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team ended up winning with a big advantage in points, it seemed that if the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to keep the game balanced they would get the victory. In the second quarter the Sacramento Kings team started to press more in the attack because they knew they needed the victory, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to press in the attack also because they knew that it was no use just defending against the Sacramento Kings team that had the second-best attack. Jake knew he would have to try harder in this game and so he started making some steals and blocks in the second quarter and that made things difficult for the Sacramento Kings team to attack, unfortunately, Jake couldn''t help much to defend because he had to defend against Jason Williams. So the game was very balanced again, but the Sacramento Kings team was losing the game by a big difference in points and the balanced game was not very useful for them in that game. So in the third quarter the Sacramento Kings team started to press hard in the attack and even try to press in the defense, Coach Rambis saw the advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers team and started to replace Shaq for longer and so the Sacramento Kings team also took advantage of that. The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were not playing very well in that third quarter and the Sacramento Kings team managed to greatly diminish the advantage, the players of the Sacramento Kings team were also making plays far from where Jake was to avoid him who was the best player in the defense in that game. So Jake can help by making several shots from three points and thus not letting the Sacramento Kings team tie, in the last quarter the Sacramento Kings team could not stand to press so hard in attack and defense and were more tired. The game was balanced again and the Los Angeles Lakers team was still winning and had the advantage in points, the game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team achieving another victory in yet another difficult game. The Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 118 points against 106 points from the Sacramento Kings team, in that game Jake was the highlight again and was applauded again by the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team. In that game, Jake had 45 points, 11 assists, and 10 steals, getting another triple-double this season, Jake was happy that the Los Angeles Lakers team won another game they would normally have lost. Shaquille O''Neal did not play very well in that game even though he played for only 31 minutes and scored 24 points, this was one of Shaq''s worst games this season and he was not very happy after the game ended. Kobe Bryant had a good game with 26 points and helped the team to win, Rick Fox also stood out in that game with 21 points, Dennis Rodman also helped the team with 9 rebounds. The next day the players would have another day of rest and the coach Rambis even released the players from the training that day after all the next two games would also be difficult, the Los Angeles Lakers team was in a sequence of difficult games. Jake was happy to have a rest day because he was going to record a commercial for Chevrolet the next day and with that rest, he didn''t have to worry about training and could record the commercial. The Gatorade commercial had already started to run on the television stations and the Pepsi commercial would also be ready soon, only the Adidas commercial had to take a while to go on the television stations because Jake''s sneakers had to be released together. Jake was close to bedtime when he got a call from his mom, Jake talked to Eva almost every day, but for the past few days, he knew she was busy organizing the new restaurant menu with Anna and so he decided not to. call her every day. Jake hadn''t realized it earlier because he thought Eva liked to get calls from him after his game was over, but in fact, there was a 3-hour time difference between Los Angeles and Miami. So when the game was over it was already very late in Los Angeles and it was even later in Miami, even in the morning Jake couldn''t call because when he woke up in Los Angeles it was the time that Eva had already entered the restaurant in Miami. "Hi, Jake, why haven''t you called me in the past few days? I was worried about you." "Sorry about that, mom, you said you were busy at the restaurant organizing the new menu with Anna and I know that when I call you it''s too late in Miami, so I decided not to call every day." "I''m glad to hear that you care about me, Jake, but you should have warned me of this decision you made, I''ve been worried for the past few days waiting for you to call me." "Sorry, I was also busy recording commercials and games and I didn''t think about it." "I called you to talk about it, you should have told me that you would be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you know I watch that show sometimes." "Fortunately I was lucky to have the television on that day when you participated in the program, but I couldn''t record it because there was no time, you also appeared in a Gatorade commercial." "I wasn''t sure when the program was going to be on television, I also wanted to watch it, I''m going to order a tape recording the program for the broadcaster." Jake didn''t really remember very well if David had spoken when the show was on television, he also wanted to watch to see if he made a mistake when he was on the show. "Did you say you are recording a lot of commercials? What commercials are you recording?" "I already recorded this commercial for Gatorade that you saw, I recorded a commercial for Adidas and Pepsi, tomorrow I will record a commercial for Chevrolet and in a few days I will record a commercial for Gillette." "Now that you''ve told me that, I''m going to start watching more television in the next few days, so I''m going to watch the commercials you recorded." Eva was proud to hear that Jake was going to record a commercial for these big companies, Jake had already done many things that impress and make her proud, but Jake still had things that he did that still surprised Eva. "And you mom, tell me how is the new menu at the restaurant?" "It''s fine, Anna and I have changed the menu completely several times, so we are thinking of bringing to the menu some dishes that were successful in the first years of the restaurant, we think that customers will like this." Chapter 536 Sequence of Difficult Games 6 "I am sure that customers will enjoy seeing a menu with the best dishes that have ever been made in the restaurant, I would just recommend that you do not use some dishes from the last menu." "Anna said that too, this is not going to be a problem, we just want customers to enjoy seeing these dishes on the menu again." Jake was happy to see that his mother was happy, the restaurant was already 5 years old that had been opened and since the first year the restaurant was always full, Jake was proud of his mother and was happy that Eva had Anna to help her. Jake talked for a few more minutes with his mother and went to sleep because he had to go to the advertising company early to record the commercial, the next day Jake woke up very early and after he ate breakfast and soon after David called him. "Hi, Jake, congratulations on your victory in the last game, you scored more than 43 points in these two games, I think you will be chosen again to be the player of the month." "Hahaha, it would be nice if that happened, but I don''t know if they would choose a rookie for two months in a row, the most important thing is that the Lakers team keeps winning." "Okay, I called to remind you that today you are going to record the commercial for Chevrolet and to give you the address of the advertising company." "I would not forget that today Coach Rambis released us from training, so I will have the whole day to record the commercial." "That''s fine, I''m already here at the advertising company and I''m going to let the commercial director know that he''ll have more time to do the recording, come when you''re ready." Jake hung up the phone and as he was ready he went directly to the address David had given, Jake was enjoying filming these commercials and was excited to know what the director would tell him to do. Jake was very fond of acting and so he agreed to stay several months in Australia to do the filming of the movie The Matrix, especially on this second chance of his that he had more acting skills that were given by the system. Jake arrived at the advertising company and greet handshake the director of the commercial, the Chevrolet representative and some people from the advertising company, Jake already had a reputation in Los Angeles for being a talented actor and so the advertising companies were easy to record a commercial with him. David was talking to the commercial director and they had some assistants who were discussing something on the phone, Jack didn''t know what it was, but he knew they wouldn''t shoot the first scenes at the advertising company because there was nothing from the Chevrolet company at that time place. Jake can see only a few things that were prepared for him to do the photos for the other advertisements in magazines and elsewhere for Chevrolet, after a while, David finally went to talk to Jake. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Jake, we were trying to organize the schedules for some actors and some equipment because we are going to finish the entire commercial without having to stop now that you are not going to have the training." "I didn''t know it would cause any problems if you want we can record the commercial the way it was agreed to before." "It wasn''t a problem, the sooner we can finish this commercial it would be better for everyone here, these companies are used to working with artists who have little free time to record commercials." "We are going to the place where we are going to start recording the commercial and when we get there I tell you what you are going to have to do." The whole team traveled for more than 2 hours until they entered a place that looked like a farm, they had already left Los Angeles and had entered a dirt road that was part of the farm. Jack saw the farm and was curious to know what commercial they would have to record, when the film crew arrived at the farm Jake realized that this was no ordinary farm, it was something like a hotel and even had a basketball court and a field of football. There were still animals on the farm and Jake saw crops before they arrived at the farm, so David who realized that Jake was curious finally told him what the commercial would be like, Jake liked the commercial and thought it was a lot of fun for him to do. After they have waited for some time the other actors who had not arrived appear in the forest and so the director says that everything is ready and that they can start recording the commercial, soon Jake and the young people go to the basketball court and the commercial begins. In the commercial, Jake and several young people were playing a game of basketball and in the commercial will show some scenes of them playing, the young people seem to be very wealthy and complain about Jake having chosen a farm for them to spend their weekend of rest. Even more so because some of the young people say that it rained a lot the day before and therefore the farm officials warned that the dirt road was not very good for them to leave the farm. This was their last day on the farm and the rich young people didn''t want to stay on the farm anymore and wanted to leave for the city even with the warnings from the farm people, so Jake naturally left with his friends too. So the scene changes and another part of the commercial begins in which young people arrive to get their car for them to leave, everyone has sports cars and luxury cars and Jake has his black Chevrolet Silverado. The young people laugh at Jake''s car and say that he had to choose a much better car like theirs, after all, they are friends and know that Jake also has money, and Jake replies that he prefers this more reliable car and that he has his style. So the young people take their cars and leave the farm in a hurry towards the city, Jake is still calm and gets into his Chevrolet Silverado, then the camera shows Jake driving and the dirt road with lots of mud because of the rain. After Jake has been on the road for a while he arrives at a place on the dirt road where his friends'' cars are stuck in the mud and can''t get out, the sports cars and luxury cars are dirty with mud and can''t get out of the mud. So Jake passes his Chevrolet Silverado easily through the place where his friends'' cars are stuck, after passing through the place where the cars are stuck Jake to his car and take a rope and help to pull the other cars out of the mud. This was the commercial and just like David said it took several hours for them to record the commercial because they had to find a hotel that was on the farm and rent it for a whole day, then they had to leave the dirt road with a lot of mud and not it had rained in the past few days. It was a difficult job for the advertising team and for the director to do this scene despite all these problems, Jake found the commercial cool and interesting, the commercial showed Chevrolet Silverado well and also showed the car''s capacity. Jake thought it might be better if he just drove the Chevrolet Silverado over to the place where his friends'' cars were stuck and left to get revenge for having laughed at him. But Jake understood that with the commercial the way the director put it showed a more positive message and showed, even more, the strength of the Chevrolet Silverado towing the other cars, after several hours they finished the commercial and everyone really liked how the commercial was. Chevrolet decided to do this type of commercial using Jake''s actor side rather than showing him as a basketball player and marathoner, so they could make a more normal commercial for their company and they would still use Jake''s popularity in the commercial. After the recording of the commercial ended they went back to the advertising company to take care of the photos, the photos took a long time and Jake greet all the people who worked with him and went back to his house. Jake recorded this commercial and then there would not be another commercial to record in the next few days, the Los Angeles Lakers team would have two games in two days in a row, after those two games the players would have 3 days of rest before the other game of the Los Angeles Lakers team. This would be great for players who were having a hard time continuing to play well in this intense sequence of games, at that time Jake would have no rest because he would record another commercial and would have to go to the premiere of The Matrix. Fortunately for Jake, the next commercial would be the last one he would have to record that year, the companies that sponsored him would not want to spend money making two commercials in the same year, so maybe next year he would record several commercials again, after all, his contracts were all at least 4 years old. The other day Jake woke up very early and was preparing for the next difficult game they would have, even though in the past life the Los Angeles Lakers team won that game, Jake would not be surprised if they lost this next game. After a few hours, Jake went to the Great Western Forum where the game would take place, Jake saw that thousands of people had come to cheer for the Los Angeles Lakers team and that the Great Western Forum could sell out again. The Los Angeles Lakers team was standing out a lot this season with 28 wins and only 2 losses in 30 games, that season had only 50 games and it was certain that the Los Angeles Lakers team would qualify for the playoffs. Jake''s entry into the team this first season could not be better with an average of more than 34 points per game and 11 assists per game, Jake was also the player who played the most time in games with 48 minutes in all games. Chapter 537 Sequence of Difficult Games 7 So it was normal for Jake to become one of the crowd''s favorite players, the people who criticized the Los Angeles Lakers team for swapping Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell and Derek Harper had disappeared and everyone praised Jerry West for yet another good choice for the Lakers team. Soon Jake and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the court for the game to start, the opponent in that game was the New York Knicks team, this was the first game of the Los Angeles Lakers team facing the New York Knicks team this season. The New York Knicks team got off to a good start this season with 16 wins and 13 losses in 29 games, even if they didn''t win many games Jake was very careful with the New York Knicks team that would surprise in this year''s playoffs reaching the final. So if the Los Angeles Lakers team reached the playoffs final this NBA season it was very likely that the opponent was the New York Knicks team, in the New York Knicks team there was one of Jake''s great NBA idols who was Patrick Ewing who was also one of David Falk''s best customers. Patrick Ewing was always an excellent player and stood out in the current team of the New York Knicks, this team New York Knicks had one of the worst attacks of this season, but also had one of the best defenses which would make this game more balanced if the team defense New York Knicks managed to stop the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this NBA season, this is a game between the Los Angeles Lakers against the New York Knicks, they are two great teams that will face each other today." "The New York Knicks team is doing well this NBA season and has one of the best defenses this season, with 16 victories and 13 defeats, the New York Knicks team wants to win this game more, the highlights of the New York Knicks team are the many times All-star Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston who have been playing very well this season." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is currently the best team with the best attack and a good defense too, with 28 wins and just 2 losses this season, the Lakers team is a favorite to win this home game." "With highlights from Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and Jake Smith, the Los Angeles Lakers team can win this game if the best attack overcomes the New York Knicks team''s strong defense in this game that promises to be balanced." The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The New York Knicks team would start the game with Chris Childs playing as PG, Allan Houston playing as SG, Latrell Sprewell playing as SF, Larry Johnson playing as PF, and Patrick Ewing playing as Center. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal got the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the first attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Allan Houston arrived pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball for a while and passed it to Rick Fox on the left. Rick played well in the last game and was more confident to help the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game, Rick received the ball and Latrell Sprewell came pressing on defense, Rick tried to trick Sprewell with a feint, but Sprewell was not fooled. Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and Chris Childs came pressing on the defense, Jake held the ball a little and passed it to Shaq further on the left. Shaq received the ball and Patrick Ewing came pressing on the defense, Shaq used his strength to advance closer to the painted area, but Ewing was very strong too and did not let Shaq go too far. Shaq managed to make the spin and tried the hook shot to make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake knew that in this game Shaq would have a lot of difficulty playing against Patrick Ewing and he would have fewer points even playing normally and not being replaced. In this game Jake and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team would have to think better about how to make the attack moves to overcome the strong defense of the New York Knicks team, achieving victory in that game was important for the Lakers team. In another move, the New York Knicks team was in the attack, Childs advanced with the ball and passed to Houston on the left, Houston received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Houston held the ball a little and passed it to Sprewell on the right. Sprewell received the ball and Rick came in to press the defense, Sprewell managed to trick Rick with a feint and advanced into the area, Sprewell advanced and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 points for the New York Knicks team. The two teams started pressing in the attack at the beginning of the game, the strong defense of the New York Knicks team prevented the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team to attack normally and with the weak attack of the New York Knicks team, even the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team not being very good I could still defend. So the game was balanced in the first quarter as many expected it would happen, they would be the best players of both teams who would decide the outcome of the game if they played well. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Sprewell arrived pressing on the defense, Rick held the ball for a while and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Houston arrived pressing on the defense. Kobe returned to play well in the last games and he was helping the Los Angeles Lakers team to win in the last games with Shaq not playing very well, Jake also realized this and started to pass the ball over to Kobe. Kobe tricked Houston with a feint and used his speed to make a crossover and move left, Houston managed to recover and tried to defend against Kobe, but Kobe did not try to advance to the painted area and tried a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move the New York Knicks team was on the attack, Childs advanced the ball and passed it to Sprewell on the right, Sprewell received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Sprewell held the ball for a while and passed to Houston on the left. Houston received the ball and Kobe came on to defend, Houston tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled, so Houston decided to pass the ball to Ewing later on. Ewing received the ball and Shaq arrived pressing in defense, Ewing made a feint and managed to spin and advance to the painted area, Shaq was deceived and tried to return to defend, Ewing advanced made 2 more points with a dunk for the New team York Knicks. Ewing and Shaq were excellent players in attack, but nowadays Ewing was much better defending than Shaq and that made Ewing have the advantage in that game, in the dispute between these two players nobody could help much. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a small points advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game with a small advantage in points, yet the game was well balanced between the two teams in that first quarter." "The Los Angeles Lakers team played better in that first quarter because their defense managed to stop the attack by the New York Knicks team, and the defense by the New York Knicks team failed to stop the attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team which is the best attack of the season." "It''s true, in the second quarter the New York Knicks team has to put more pressure on the attack and try to stop the Los Angeles Lakers team from making the points, I think this is difficult because Jake is playing very well and Kobe too." "Yes, Rick also seems to be playing well in this game and Shaq is managing to attack even with Ewing''s strong defense in the game, we will continue to follow up to see if the New York Knicks team defeats the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game." In the second quarter just as the commentators spoke, the New York Knicks team tried to put more pressure on the attack and defense, luckily as the commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team players were playing very well. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Houston arrived pressing on the defense, Kobe held the ball a little and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Sprewell arrived pressing on the defense. Rick tried to deceive the opponent with a feint, but Sprewell was not deceived and continued to defend, so Rick decided to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Childs came pressing on the defense. Jake made a feint and deceived the opponent, Jake stepped back and tried a shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers, Childs still tried to defend, but he was unable to hinder Jake in a move that Jake made several times in the game. In this game as the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were playing well, Jake was not trying as hard as he did in the last games that were difficult for the Lakers team to win, Jake was beginning to feel tired after the last games. In another move the New York Knicks team was on the attack, Childs advanced with the ball and went to Houston on the left, Houston held the ball and tried to deceive the opponent with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived and kept pressing in defense. Chapter 538 Sequence of Difficult Games 8 So Houston held the ball a little and decided to pass it on to Patrick Ewing ahead, Ewing received the ball and Shaq pressed on defense, Ewing tried to trick Shaq with a feint, but this time Shaq was not fooled and remained firm in defense. Ewing moved away from Shaq and tried a hook shot and ended up missing, Dennis Rodman managed to be quick and catch the rebound for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Dennis held the ball and passed it to Jake who calmed the Lakers team players and started to move slowly for the attack. The Los Angeles Lakers team managed to further increase the points advantage and Jake thought they did not have to rush to attack, the game remained balanced between the two teams and the second quarter ended. The Los Angeles Lakers team was playing better in attack and it was more difficult for the New York Knicks team to recover in the game, in the third quarter the game remained the same and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to win with a good point advantage. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 113 points against 87 points of the New York Knicks team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 8 steals. "The game with the Los Angeles Lakers team ends with another victory this season, the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game managed to win the defense of the New York Knicks team." "That was expected, the Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack this season and the New York Knicks team does not have the best defense, a strong attack will always defeat a team with a good defense." "Of course, if the New York Knicks had a good defense and a good attack they would definitely win that game and would be one of the favorite teams to win this season''s NBA title." "The biggest highlight of the New York Knicks team remains Patrick Ewing who played very well in that game and in addition to getting a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds and still defending well against Shaq in that game." "But the New York Knicks team needs more players like Ewing if they want to win the NBA title, in the Los Angeles Lakers team there are Jake Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O''Neal who are excellent players and so the Lakers team is winning so many games." "In this game, Rick also played very well and Dennis Rodman helped the team with 12 rebounds, with the Lakers team playing so it was difficult for them to lose this game." With this victory more, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were very happy with this victory, they would have no rest because the next day they would have another game, luckily after the next game the players would have 3 days to rest. The players went to their house to rest for the next day, Jake went to his house and can rest better as he had not tried so hard in that game, Jake hoped that the game the next day would be easy. Soon the day of the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team arrived, after a few hours Jake went to the Great Western Forum which was already starting to fill up again with the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team who came to accompany the team that was winning many games. Jake went to the locker room and soon went to almost with the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team who were ready to start the game, in this game coach Rambis plans to replace Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal for a few minutes and that would leave the game more difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. The opponent of that game was the Vancouver Grizzlies team, which for now was one of the worst teams this season, even so, Jake did not underestimate the opponent because in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team lost a game against the Vancouver Grizzlies team. The Vancouver Grizzlies team had 4 wins and 25 losses in 29 games this season, it was certain that the Vancouver Grizzlies team would not qualify for the playoffs so perhaps the team''s strategy would be to lose a few more games to win a better choice in the next draft. After all, this season the Vancouver Grizzlies team got Mike Bibby who was an excellent player and was helping the Vancouver Grizzlies team to play better, unfortunately, that was not enough to get more victories for the team. Soon the game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team putting a lot of pressure on the attack, the Vancouver Grizzlies team was bad this season and so even with the Los Angeles Lakers team replacing Kobe and Shaq for a few minutes, the Lakers team was expected to win. At the end of the first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a good lead on the scoreboard as expected, the Vancouver Grizzlies team''s players were trying to put pressure on the defense, but the Los Angeles Lakers team was stronger. In this game all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were playing very well, Kobe and Shaq were well on the attack even though they were replaced for a few minutes, Dennis Rodman was also helping the team with his rebounds. Rick was also playing well in this game as well as in the last games, Rick was gaining more confidence with good performances and coach Rambis who was previously dissatisfied with his performance also started to be happier. In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers continued to press in attack and also in defense and the advantage in points increased even more, in the third quarter, coach Rambis began to replace Shaq and Kobe for longer. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers team slowed down the game a bit and even so, they were still attacking a lot as was their style of play, Jake managed to control the pace of the game well and that made things even more difficult for the Vancouver Grizzlies team. So the game went on like this and in the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team attacked again and further increased the points advantage in the game, at the end of the game the Los Angeles Lakers team won making 131 points against 94 points of the Vancouver Grizzlies team. With everyone playing well, Jake felt less pressured to work hard on this game, even though the system helped reinforce his body with statistics. Jake still felt tired after so many games and with this week''s recording commercials. In that game Jake had 35 points and 14 assists and got another double-double, Shaq also played well and scored 26 points and Kobe scored 20 points, Rick also played very well and scored 22 points in that game and Dennis Rodman helped the team taking 17 rebounds. With these victories more the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were more relaxed to rest in the next days that the Lakers team would not have a game, Jake would not have so much time to rest because the next day he would have to go to record the commercial with the company Gillette. In addition, Jake had the other day to go to the Premiere of the film The Matrix in Los Angeles on the day of the premiere, in some places the actors have already made a preview, but Jake cannot participate, so in the premiere for the audience, he would participate. With the participation of Jake in this film that was currently very famous worldwide and with Keanu Reeves who already had fame even before the film The Matrix was released, the public was eager to watch this film. Warner Bros was happy to advertise more because with the age restriction to watch the film and with the film having more than 2 hours, the producers were afraid that the film would not be such a success or at least take longer to have great success. The players returned to their home after the game and Jake also arrived at his house, Mary was still awake waiting for Jake and had already prepared a bath for him and prepared dinner. Jake was happy to have hired Mary as his housekeeper, Mary was really efficient and so Jake hardly needed to talk to the other employees in his house, moreover, with Mary and the other employees Jake didn''t feel that much alone when he was home. Jake took a shower and then ate the food prepared by the maids who had already gone to sleep, after eating Jake went back to the living room and saw that Mary was still waiting for him, Jake knew that if he didn''t go back to the living room, Mary would be waiting for some hours. "Sir, do you need me to do anything else?" "Thank you, Mary, you can go to rest, I already said that you don''t have to wait for me on the days I play." "This is my job, Sir, I need to do my job properly, good night." Jake liked Mary''s work, but he thought she was very serious, in fact, at first, Jake asked Mary to call him by name, but Mary was offended by this and said she couldn''t do it and so Jake didn''t insist anymore. Jake was tired and wanted to sleep early because he had to record the commercial the next day and the players would have training in the next few days, but before going to sleep Jake decided to call his mother. "Hi, Mom how are you?" "Hi, Jake, I''m fine, and how are you?" "I''m fine too, I called to remind you that the premiere of the film I participated in is going to be in two days, I know you really wanted to watch it and I didn''t want you to miss it." "I know that Jake, I even set my date on my calendar to keep in mind, but thanks for reminding me anyway, I will definitely watch the movie, I want to see what you are like as an actor." "Hahaha, I hope you like it, I will not participate in many scenes because I have a secondary character, but in some fight scenes you will definitely see me, I recorded several scenes and even if the directors cut some scenes I still I will appear." Chapter 539 Sequence of Difficult Games 9 "I don''t really like fight scenes, especially when I see my son fighting, but this time I''m going to watch it and I''m going to take Anna with me." "I hope you like the movie." After that Jake talked to his mother for a while and went to sleep to be well for the next day, Jake woke up and went down to eat the breakfast that Mary had already sent the maids to get ready. Mary also liked to work at Jake''s house, Jake was always polite to her and the other maids and paid a good salary too, she and the other maids were concerned when they heard that a young man wanted to hire them to work. Even more because Jake hired only women to work in the house and live in the houses of employees, there were some men working in the house too, but none lived in Jake''s house and they only showed up a few days a week. Mary was even more concerned when she learned that Jake was a basketball player, she had previously worked in other homes in Los Angeles and knew about various rumors about how other players treated maids and various rumors of harassment. Fortunately, she soon realized that Jake was not like the players of the rumors, nor did he bring other women to his house, did not party, and was actually better than other bosses from other houses she worked for. As soon as Jake finished eating David called him, Jake found it interesting how David seemed to know the right time to call him, David passed on the ad company''s address and Jake went there. Arriving at the advertising company Jake waited awhile until he found David talking to the director of the commercial, Jake saw this and thought that the commercial must be too long or difficult to do for David to still be talking to him, so David went to talk to Jake. "Hi, Jake, I didn''t expect you to arrive anytime soon." "It is better that I come early to finish recording the commercial faster, the last commercial took several hours to be recorded and today I still have to go train with the Lakers team." "You don''t have to worry about that, Jake, I think recording the commercial won''t take too long." Jake didn''t expect David to say that Jake thought the commercial would be complicated or too long from the way he was talking to the director, but it looks like they were talking about something else. "How come the commercial won''t take too long?" "You may have seen some Gillette commercials, they like to do a short commercial where most of them don''t even have a conversation between the actors in the commercial." "It looks like this commercial will be no different, it will be recorded all here in the recording studio of the advertising company, you will not have lines and you will simply use Gillette''s razor several times in several different scenes." Jake was a little disappointed to hear that, he hoped that with this sponsorship he could do an interesting commercial with Gillette too, but it seemed like they didn''t think the same as Jake. Jake remembered that Gillette sponsored several tennis players and golfers, but Jake did not remember many commercials on Gillette''s television with basketball players. "Don''t worry about it, Jake, you have already recorded very good commercials with 4 big companies and even if this commercial is not so special you don''t care about it." "Ever since Gillette came to talk to me about a contract with you, I knew it was because you brought a lot of profits to the razor company that sponsored you for many years." With David saying that he understood, Jake didn''t really care if Gillette didn''t want to use his image a lot in advertisements, just as David said it was a deal and Jake knew that Gillette would gain a lot from it when he won the NBA title with Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake didn''t know yet if the Los Angeles Lakers team could win that year, but next year it was certain that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the NBA title, Jake knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team won in the past and could win with him in the team too. But maybe Jake would not renew this contract with Gillette when the 4-year contract ended, if Jake got 2 more companies to sponsor him in the coming years with a higher value than his current contracts, then he might not renew the contract with Gillette. After a few minutes, Jake started recording the commercial which, just as David said, had no lines and it was just Jake using the razor and other common scenes that would be placed in a commercial after good editing and good music. Jake took some pictures after that and just as David said the recording of the commercial had only taken a few hours and Jake could easily arrive at his training with the Los Angeles Lakers team. After Jake left he was happy that this was the last commercial even though he was a little disappointed, Jake knew that the other day he still had to attend the Premiere the next day and only after that, he could relax. Jake did more heavy training with the team as they would still have 2 days to rest, Coach Rambis was concerned because in the last games the Los Angeles Lakers team won with a small advantage in points. After training Jake returned to his house to take a shower and rest, Mary knew that Jake would be coming home and had already prepared everything for him and Jake just relaxed in the bathtub. Jake got out of his bath and thought it would be good to call Kate to tell her about the movie he attended that would open the next day, even if Kate was busy she could go watch it some other day when she had time. "Hi, Kate, how are you?" "I''m fine, Jake, I miss you, but I''m working a lot after Grammy, Lily is happy with that and so am I, but I still miss you." "I am happy to know that you are doing a lot of shows, I miss you too, but I am also busy with the games and the advertising work, I am much happier to know that you are also happy working." Kate understood what Jake said, they had talked about it and Jake said that he accepted Kate to continue her career and doing shows which made her very happy, Jake said that he would feel guilty if she had to stay home alone waiting for him while he was playing in the NBA. Kate liked Jake very much and it would be a big shock to her if he wanted her to stop singing if Jake wanted that Kate would probably choose her career because she always loved singing, but she would suffer a lot from it. Kate was an independent woman, but she remembered how happy her mother was even though she didn''t work and just took care of her and her father, but Kate wanted to continue singing because she loved singing and hearing that Jake supported her and that made her so much quieter. "I know you support me and I''m happy with it, Jake, I''ve seen your commercial on Gatorade several times in the past few days and I''ve missed it most because of it." "I called you to say that tomorrow there will be the premiere of the film I participate in, but hearing you say that I don''t know if you want to watch it." "Of course I''m going to want to watch it, I like to miss you, it makes me more anxious for when we meet, tomorrow I don''t have a show, so I''m going to watch the movie, unfortunately, I''m not going to be in Los Angeles. " "I hope you enjoy the movie, try to take Lily to see the movie with you, I think she will like the movie." "I''m going to try, but I don''t think Lily likes fighting movies very much." Jake talked for a long time with Kate until they had to hang up because the two of them would be very busy the next day, Jake had his training with the Los Angeles Lakers team and then would have the film premiere. And Kate had to rehearse for her show and also go to watch Jake''s debut, Jake knew that Lily wouldn''t let Kate go to the cinema if she didn''t do her training, Jake had seen Kate training a few times and knew how much it was difficult. Jake slept well that day and soon came the Premiere of the movie The Matrix, Jake had ordered a suit from Armani especially for this premiere and they had already delivered it to his house, so Jake asked Mary to leave the suit ready for when he returned home. At this Premiere in Los Angeles, only Jake would go, after all the other actors and directors of the film had already participated in other previews a few days ago in other countries and also in the United States. Even so, several photographers and reporters would attend this premiere for the public in Los Angeles just because Jake would participate, Jake wouldn''t have to say anything before the film and would just have to take a few pictures. In the same movie theater that Jake would watch, there would be many reporters and photographers and the normal audience too, so Warner Bros. prepared some security guards with the cinema''s authorization to give Jake some protection at this Premiere. Jake ate his breakfast and waited a few hours before going to the Los Angeles Lakers team training, it would be a lighter training because the next day they would do another light training and they were already going to travel to the next game. In training, Jake realized that Shaquille O''Neal and the other players already seemed more rested after those 2 days without games, with this intense sequence of games those 3 days of rest would be great for the players to endure until the end of the game season. Chapter 540 Sequence of Difficult Games 10 The players had to rest and the medical team was concerned that someone would get hurt by the end of the season after the season was over they expected players to try harder for the playoffs. After all, in the playoffs the intention was that the team played each game as if it were the last one because it could even be if they lost, the players knew that the Los Angeles Lakers fans expected them to win the NBA title and so the pressure was greater. Of course, this could be bad for players because if they won all games and advanced to the final they could play up to 26 games if they didn''t win all games, and at least they would play 15 games if they won all games. If they played as many games as they would have to play more than half of the game season to win the playoffs and win the NBA title, that also worried the team doctors and coach Kurt Rambis, after all, it was common for some player to get hurt in playoff games because of the intensity of the games. Jake was not worried about getting hurt during the playoffs and even if another player got hurt he could work even harder to get the Los Angeles Lakers team to the final. Jake didn''t mind eating the stamina bars to be able to play intensively in every game, his only concern was that his teammates were playing badly at the games. If that happened even if he tried, it was likely that the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose the game in the same way, the other players also thought about it and that is why they tried this training to play even better and for the Lakers team to have easier victories in the upcoming games. Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, and Dennis Rodman were working hard on training just like Jake so the Los Angeles Lakers team could continue winning, Jake no longer saw Dennis Rodman missing from training as he remembered his past life. Jake thought it was because this time Dennis Rodman could see that the Los Angeles Lakers team really had the ability to win the NBA title, as a professional basketball player Dennis also wanted to win an NBA title even though he had already won 5 NBA title in his career. From what Jake remembered in his past life, the situation of the Los Angeles Lakers team was not so good and even though many thought that the Los Angeles Lakers team was one of the favorites to win the NBA title, it was not at all certain. At that time Jake remembered that the Los Angeles Lakers team had 21 wins and 11 losses in 32 games this season, this time with Jake playing the Los Angeles Lakers team had 30 wins and only 2 losses in the season, that was a very big difference between the past and the present. With Jake on the team, everyone said that the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite to win the NBA title, Dennis also realized that and decided to work as he did on the Chicago Bulls team to try to win another NBA title. In addition, another important thing changed in the Los Angeles Lakers team that was that the players did not argue and fight anymore, Jake thought that in the next seasons that would not change either. After all, some of the reasons for the fights were because Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal wanted to be the main player on the team, Shaq was the main player on the team at that time and Kobe didn''t like that very much. But this time it didn''t happen and it wouldn''t happen because the player who stood out the most on the team was Jake, Jake was a PG who helped the team with assists and steals, also helped in defense and that''s why Kobe and Shaq were not jealous of him and they recognized that he deserved to be the best player on the team. Rarely did some players on a team fight or decide to change teams because PG was the best player on the team, this only happened when PG was too arrogant or his teammates were arrogant. This is because for a PG to play well he has to help the team to win by making assists and helping in defense if even with PG doing that he was still the player who scored the most it was because PG was excellent. So Jake was confident that Dennis could stay on the team at least until the end of the playoffs, next year with the signing of coach Phil Jackson it would be even more possible for Dennis to remain on the team and not cause any more problems. After the training was over the players were tired and were getting ready to go to their house when Jake called them to talk, Jake was a good team leader on the court like Shaq and Kobe were and he was praised for it. But outside the court Jake didn''t talk much with the other players, he talked a lot with Rick who was his best friend on the team, and also talked with Kobe and Shaq when they were training. Players did not know that Jake knew the future and knew of the achievements they would have, Shaq and Kobe would be remembered as one of the best players in NBA history on a list of the top 100. Even though Jake wanted to talk to them it was difficult for him who was always a fan of them to talk normally, so when Jake called them, Jake only called Shaq, Kobe, Rick, Dennis, Robert, and Derek who were the players he knew best and talked sometimes. When Jake was invited by Warner Bros to participate in the premiere of the film The Matrix, they prepared for Jake 10 tickets in the same movie theater that he would be watching the movie, these tickets were for him to invite friends and his family to watch the movie. Unfortunately, his mother and most of his friends were in Miami or at university, Kate wouldn''t be in Los Angeles either, so Jake didn''t know many people to invite to watch the movie with him. If Jake didn''t take anyone, they would return tickets to the box office and tickets would be sold for the public to watch, so Jake thought about inviting his teammates to go with him to this Premiere. Jake knew it was very likely that no one would want to go with him because some players had their family at home waiting for them, but he thought it was best that he at least tried to invite them. The players were not so surprised to hear Jake calling them, some had already seen Jake''s interview on television and others had seen advertisements for the film that were shown several times on television. Normally they wouldn''t think about going to see a movie like that on such a sudden invitation, but they knew this was Jake''s debut as an actor in a big movie and they were friends with him. Rick and Dennis agreed to go to the cinema to watch the movie with Jake, Robert and Derek refused because they had to go and stay with their family, so there was only Kobe and Shaq left to answer, the two were friends of Jake as well as Rick who had agreed to go to the movies. With that, the two also agreed to go to the Premiere with Jake to watch his movie, so the players from the initial team of the Los Angeles Lakers would go together to the Premiere of the movie The Matrix to watch the movie that Jake would participate in. Jake was sure that Warner Bros did not expect this when he asked Jake to be the Premiere of the film, that Premiere could be even more impressive than the Premiere that the main actors and directors were. So Jake and the other players went to their house to get ready to go to the Premiere, Jake arrived at his house and Mary had already prepared a dinner for him and his bath too, so Jake went straight to shower and then went to dinner. Jake was going to eat because there was no party after the Premiere and he just wanted to go back to his house after the movie, Jake was sure that his friends thought the same too. After Jake ate dinner he went to put on his suit that Mary had prepared, Jake tried it on and was happy that the suit was perfectly fitted even though he hadn''t been to the store many times to make adjustments. After putting on the suit Jake called the car he had rented and went to the Cinerama Dome which was where the film premiere would take place, the Cinerama Dome was a cinema known for many years and Warner Bros decided it would be a good place for Jake participate in the Premiere. Jake did not use the cars he had because they were both very flashy and Jake would only use them when he had private matters, it was better that he rented a more luxurious and simple car that would not attract so much attention in Los Angeles. Soon Jake arrived at the Cinerama Dome and was surprised to see a red carpet and several reporters, Jake had heard that no interview would take place and it would just be a simpler Premiere, he did not expect a red carpet and so many reporters. Of course, he knew that some reporters and film critics were invited to this Premiere to watch the movie, but Jake didn''t expect the red carpet, so Jake arrived at the security guards that Warner Bros prepared were there to protect Jake and accompany him into the movie theater. Jake was not used to it and was also surprised to see that there was a large audience that was shouting his name in front of the cinema, this was a film open to the public and they should want to watch the film and not act like fans. Of course, what happened was that in fact, Jake could not understand yet that he was as famous today as many famous actors and artists, Jake did not attend many Premiere and party parties and that was why he hadn''t seen so many fans besides when he was on the court. Chapter 541 The New NBA Star 1 Jake waved to the fans who were shouting his name while the security guards were protecting him and taking him to the cinema, Jake asked the security guards to stop because he still had to wait for his friends before entering the cinema. Jake saw the fans shouting his name and decided to go and sign some autographs for the fans who had just come to see him for a few moments, Jake was not a famous actor so all his fans liked basketball or athletics. Jake had arranged an hour with his teammates and he had come earlier, after all, he might have to do something before entering the cinema that Warner Bros wanted him to do and Jake wanted to guarantee. With Jake seeing how he was on the movie road he realized he was right, reporters realized that Jake had stopped walking towards the cinema and started calling him for an interview. They knew there was no interview scheduled, but only Jake had come to this Premiere and they thought that Jake would be the only famous person who had come to this Premiere and they had to try to talk to him. Jake didn''t mind talking a little bit about the film before the film started because he knew the film better than anyone, even though he still hasn''t seen how the film has changed with him participating, it shouldn''t be that different. "Jake, this is the first major character you play in a movie, how do you feel about that?" "I am a little anxious to know what the critics and the public will think about my performance, it is a dream that I realized by participating in this film and I hope that I have other opportunities in the future." "What do you think audiences and critics will think of The Matrix?" "I am confident that everyone will like this film very much, it is a story that has a very deep theme and that can make you think about it for a long time, but the directors did it in a way that you can understand it easily." "Keanu, Laurence, Carrie, and Hugo had excellent performances and that made the film more exciting, even more so in the action scenes and in the fight scenes, so I think the audience will really like the film." "Jake, a question about basketball, you were chosen as the player of the month this March and you had already been chosen as the player of the month in February, do you think you can win the MVP award this season?" "I don''t know what''s going to happen, I am happy that everyone can recognize my effort in the past few months and it is an honor to be chosen as a player of the month, but there are many players who have also had excellent performances." "My team even had Shaq and Kobe who played very well, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson, and many players could also have been chosen as the player of the month, so only at the end of the season can we know, but it would be a dream come true if I won this award." "Jake, the Los Angeles Lakers team had 30 wins and just 2 losses this season, do you think you can win the NBA title this season?" "I think so, of course, there are several teams that also have the opportunity to win, but I believe that our team has the ability to win and we will strive to achieve that." After answering that question, Jake decided to go to the cinema entrance to avoid having to answer several questions, he thought that reporters would only ask about the film, but it is not strange that there were also sports reporters waiting to interview him. After a few minutes Rick had arrived and the reporters who were paying attention to Jake didn''t realize that Rick had arrived until some fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team who were at the entrance to the theater to see Jake recognized him and started calling his name. Rick did not want to talk to the reporters and was quick to go over to where Jake was with the security guards, Jake noticed this and told the security guards to go help the other players who would come for them to enter the cinema. The security guards understood that this was important and understood that they had to help Jake''s other guests get into the cinema, especially if they were as famous as Jake was in basketball. Soon Kobe arrived and Jake ordered the security guards to come and help him, reporters and fans realized it was Kobe and security guards had a hard time again looking for Kobe who also did not want to speak to the reporters. Soon Dennis arrived too and the security guards had to work again, Dennis still stopped to sign some autographs for the fans, the gossip magazine reporters were very happy to see so many famous players like that, soon everyone realized that Jake was waiting for the other players from Los Angeles Lakers team arrive at the cinema. Shaq arrived a little later and he attracted more attention from fans and reporters, Shaq also went to sign some autographs for fans and he also didn''t want to speak to reporters, so Shaq arrived at the cinema entrance Jake entered the cinema with his friends. Jake realized that the time for the film was coming for reporters and the normal audience still had to enter the cinema before the film could start, the film administration people were anxious about it, but they couldn''t complain to Jake about it. Fortunately after Jake entered the theater with the other players in selected places that would be isolated, reporters and film critics were able to enter the theater and the audience could also enter filling the theater. After a few minutes the film finally started, some people were not so interested in the film and most wanted very much to see what this film would be like, the critics heard good things about the film in the preview, but they were expecting a bad performance from Jake as with other basketball players who tried to act. Of course, they were also curious because they heard other critics praising Jake''s performance so much, it made critics think they were paid to praise Jake''s performance, as a budding actor who never even did theater as much as Jake could get in the opinion theirs was an acceptable performance. Jake was also very anxious to see this film, he knew this film better than anyone, but he wanted to see what had changed in the film with his entry in the film, at the beginning of the film Jake was relieved to realize that everything was the same as what he remembered. After all, in the first scenes only Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and the agents appeared, Jake was thrilled again seeing Trinity''s fight scenes at the beginning of the film and showing her superhuman abilities. Jake was even more moved because he understood how the scenes had been done and the difficulty of making these scenes, Jake can also see that the audience was enjoying the beginning of the film very much and his teammates were also enjoying it. After Neo took the red pill and he woke up in that impressive scene with several people in liquid-filled pod among countless others attached to an elaborate electrical system, the audience was shocked by this scene and then Neo entered Morpheus''s hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar. It was at Nebuchadnezzar that Jake''s character called Jev, it was strange to see Jev being taller than the other characters and even stranger because everyone knew Jake. Soon Neo learned about the new reality of humanity and discovered that he spent his entire life dreaming of the Matrix and in fact never really lived, so everyone understood why Trinity had superhuman abilities and that defied the laws of physics. It was because she and everyone in Nebuchadnezzar were part of a group of rebels who wanted to protect the humans who lived in Zion, so Morpheus also talks about the agents and how very powerful they are and that death in the Matrix means death in the real world. Morpheus also finally talks about Jake''s character, he says how only Jev managed to fight the agents several times and still survive and that is how they all survived for many years. After that Neo begins his training that impresses the entire Nebuchadnezzar crew, some conversations are also shown between Neo and all the people who live in Nebuchadnezzar, several conversations between Neo and Jev happen and Jake''s character says that he believes Neo is "the One". Soon it is also shown that Cypher is actually a traitor who wants to return to the Matrix and he was willing to hand over Morpheus and kill all Nebuchadnezzar crew in order to get back to the Matrix. Neo and the rebel group enters Matrix to meet with Oracle who can give Neo the answer if he really is "the One", Cypher also started planning the betrayal, Neo hears from Oracle that he is not "the One" as he thought. Soon everyone tries to return to the real world and this is the moment that Cypher planned to betray everyone, soon one of the characters dies because of Cypher''s betrayal and they realize they are surrounded, in another scene Neo is almost captured by the agents and Morpheus tries to fight to save Neo and is captured. Soon the group tries to escape, but the agents and the police surround their group and Jev stays behind to protect them and fight with the agents and the police, this was a scene that was not in the film that Jake saw in the past because it was a scene of his character. In this scene it shows Jev fighting several policemen and agents in an emotional fight scene, even with Jev being strong he was hit by several blows and ends up getting very hurt by the agents. When he receives the information that the group has finally managed to escape, he also flees very badly and finds a phone before everyone else and returns to Nebuchadnezzar and will receive treatment. Chapter 542 The New NBA Star 2 While Neo''s group flees, they talk about how Jev always manages to fight the agents and always manages to escape alive as he did this time, and often Jev isn''t even hurt as he was this time. So the group argues that they think they may have been betrayed by Jev and that is why he always manages to escape, while they talk about it Jev is passed out in his room at Nebuchadnezzar and Cypher finds a phone and manages to get back to Nebuchadnezzar too. Cypher didn''t realize that Jev managed to get back to Nebuchadnezzar before him and starts planning on how he would kill everyone and complete his betrayal, so Neo and his group find a phone and are prepared to return to Nebuchadnezzar and leave the Matrix. At this point, Cypher betrays everyone and uses a gun to try to kill the two crew members who help everyone when they are in the Matrix, after which Cypher talked to Trinity on the phone about how he thought Morpheus had tricked them. While Cypher talks to Trinity he kills the other Nebuchadnezzar crewmen until only Neo and Trinity are left, when Cypher tries to kill Neo, Jev who was passed out woke up to the screams and picked up the gun that Cypher left on the ground killing him and saving Neo and Trinity. Jev saves them both and goes to see the two crew members Cypher tried to kill and realizes that Tank is still alive and Jev manages to wake up Tank who was just badly injured, Tank sees Cypher dead on the floor and thanks Jev for saving him and takes the microphone to talk with Trinity and tell what happened. So Tank brings Neo and Trinity back from the Matrix to the real world and Trinity apologizes to Jev for thinking he was the traitor and thanks to him for saving them, after which it is shown how Morpheus is being interrogated by the agents. Neo, Trinity, Jev hear what''s going on from Tank who can analyze the Matrix codes and was "seeing" Morpheus being tortured, Tank talks about the importance of Zion''s codes and says he would have to kill Morpheus to stop the agents from finding out this information. So Neo says he is going back to the Matrix to rescue Morpheus and Trinity says he is going with him, Jev couldn''t go because he was still very hurt and he couldn''t stand to enter the Matrix, so the other scenes happen to like the movie that Jake remembered. There is the scene of Neo and Trinity entering the building where Morpheus is being interrogated and they use various weapons to kill the security guards and agents who are defending the building after they kill them all they go to the roof. On the roof, Neo and Trinity meet an agent and the famous scene of Neo dodging bullets takes place, in this scene the famous special effect bullet time is used, then Trinity pilots the helicopter and they manage to save Morpheus. Meanwhile, Neo does several things that only the agents can do and he starts to believe that he is "the One", Neo saves Trinity after the helicopter leaves and Morpheus and Trinity manage to leave the Matrix and only Neo is trapped in the Matrix. After that happens the scene of Neo fighting Agent Smith as only Jev could do, Neo wins the fight and starts looking for the phone to leave the Matrix and return to the real world. When Neo finds the room where the phone for him to leave the Matrix is, Agent Smith is waiting for him inside the room and kills Neo with multiple shots, Trinity, Jev, and Morpheus who are watching everything that is happening at Nebuchadnezzar are shocked to see Neo dying. The sentries are also attacking Nebuchadnezzar and with Neo''s death, Tank thinks about using the electromagnetic pulse to disable the Sentinels and saving Nebuchadnezzar, Trinity talks to Neo and his heartbeats again and he starts fighting the agents and it even kills Agent Smith showing that he is "the One". The film ended with everyone in the theater having liked the film, Shaq and the other players praised Jake for his good performance and said that they liked the film very much, Jake also liked this film more because with the Wachowskis adding his fight scene and other scenes he appears in, the film was less monotonous and with more fight scenes. People who didn''t like this first film so much originally would like this film because of the fight scenes, the critics also liked the film very much and had to admit that Jake had an excellent performance. They heard that Jake had never done theater and never studied to be an actor, but with critics seeing Jake''s acting they were able to see many things that an actor normally learns in acting classes and many techniques that they didn''t know. But since Jake''s life had been known since the age of 10 for which reporters investigated, it was impossible for Jake to have time to study several years of acting techniques without anyone knowing it, that was most impressive. Of course, they could not imagine that Jake studied acting for several years in his past life and with techniques that would only be known a few years in the future when Jake studied, because of that Jake would be known as a genius. After the end of the film, Jake thanked his teammates for agreeing to come and watch the film he participated in, Shaq and the others said that they liked the film very much and after that, they ignored the reporters and took their car to leave for their house. Jake was in the car he had rented for his house and as he had already talked to reporters he knew that no one could be upset that he left, Warner Bros would definitely like Jake to bring famous NBA players to this Premiere and with the success of the film. Jake arrived at his house and after changing his clothes he remembered the fight scene he had in the film, naturally, after the film was edited and with the special effects it was completely different from when he recorded this scene with the cables lifting him up and with the choreographed fights. Jake was also happy to know that he had been chosen as the player of the month for the second time this season, Jake imagined that he had also been chosen as the rookie of the month and with that, he was closer to being the MVP of this season and making his dream. After some time Jake called his mother to ask what she thought of the movie, Jake waited a few hours because he didn''t know if Eva would be home for a while after seeing the movie, she could have stayed talking to Anna. "Hi, mom, did you watch the movie?" "Of course, I watched it, Jake, I thought the movie was great and you did really well, I heard in the cinema a lot of people saying your name and how well you acted, especially in the fight scenes, I was very proud of you listening to that." "Anna also thought you did really well in the movie and she was happy to hear other people talking about you." Jake was happy to know that his mother had watched the film and liked the film and his performance, Jake liked this film that he appeared in more than The Matrix that he watched in his past life. "I am happy to know that you liked it, mom, in the room where I watched the movie I also heard a lot of people praising the movie and my performance, but in that room, there were a lot of people who knew I was there and were my fans." "I also heard today that I was chosen as the player of the month again this month, so it may be that I will be chosen as an MVP at the end of the season." "What good news, Jake, I know how difficult it must have been to achieve that with so many skilled players in the NBA, I am proud that your talent and effort are being recognized." Jake was very happy after talking to his mother, when Eva praised him it was different than when others praised him, Jake wanted to give pride to his mother and see her happy in this second chance that he had and that Eva also had to live a long and happy life. After Jake spoke to his mother, he decided to call Kate too, he didn''t know if she had been able to watch the movie because she was normally very busy, but as she said she was going to watch his movie, Jake decided to call to find out that she found from the movie. "Hi, Kate, did I call to ask if you were able to watch the movie?" "Yes, Jake, I managed to watch the movie and I took Lily with me to the cinema as you suggested, congratulations on the great movie, I thought your performance was incredible, I got tense watching your fight scenes." "Thank you, Kate, I am very happy to hear that you liked my performance and the movie, I just spoke to my mom and she said she liked it too, your opinion matters a lot more to me." "So you can be happy because I liked it so much, Lily who went to watch it because I insisted that you liked the movie as much as I did and praised you, was it difficult to do the fight scenes in the film?" "It was not so difficult, the months of training I had with Master Yuen Woo-ping was difficult, but I had an easier time than the other actors because I am an athlete and I have a better physical condition for the martial arts." "It must be difficult to train for several months to record some scenes in the film, did you get hurt while training?" "No, I was very lucky and as I said because I was an athlete it made things easier for me, but the other actors got hurt many times while training, even while they shot the scenes after training they got hurt." Chapter 543 The New NBA Star 3 "It must be difficult, I always liked cinema and when I was a child I dreamed of being a singer and an actress, but now I don''t think about acting anymore, I prefer to just continue singing my songs." "If you are interested in this I think you should try it, Kate, you have to follow your dreams, you are very beautiful and with the fame that you have as a singer it would not be difficult for you to get a chance to act in a film." "No, as I said, I dreamed of two things and when I grew up I realized that I loved music so much that I became a singer, I really admire you who can be very good at doing many things, but I can''t." "Okay, I''m not going to insist, I wanted to maybe act in a movie with you someday." "I wanted to, too, but if I became an actress I might have to make other films where I kissed other men, you wouldn''t want that." "I certainly wouldn''t like it, but I would understand that it''s your job, I respect and trust you, Kate, so I know I shouldn''t be too jealous and let you be independent and happy." Jake was being sincere saying that he would respect Kate''s decisions, it was impossible for him not to be jealous watching her kiss another man, but if she did that as an actress he would try to understand, just as Kate would also have to understand if he made a film like this someday. "I am happy to know that you trust me, I would also be jealous of seeing you kissing another woman, but I also trust you and would understand if you did that in a movie." After that the two talked for much longer, Kate said she would be busy in the next few months with the shows and that she would be lucky if she had a few days off until the end of the year, Jake knew Kate was thinking of working until the end of his next NBA season. Only at the end of the season did she want to take a few months of vacation so that she could spend those months with Jake who would also be on vacation, of course at the end of the year she would have 1 month to rest because Lily thought it was necessary. After Jake talked to Kate he can sleep soundly, the next day Jake woke up very early on the first day of April, that day the players would have a light training and would travel to the next game. There were less than 20 games left for the reduced season to end and thus the great sequence of games that the teams had this season would end, players would still tire a lot in the playoffs, but with the chance of winning the NBA title the players would be more excited. Jake left home early because training would be in the morning, Jake greet his teammates and thanked them again for going with him to the Premiere of the film he participated in. Before going to training, Jake had seen several magazines and newspapers talking about this Premiere and about the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team going to support Jake at his cinema debut, Jake also saw many compliments he received for his first film. The players did a light training and Jake felt coach Rambis worried because even with these 3 days of rest Shaq was not fully recovered, luckily they would only have 1 game as a visitor and then they would play at home and thus the players would tire less. The afternoon after training the players traveled to Phoenix, Arizona which was where the Los Angeles Lakers team''s next game would be, they arrived in Phoenix and went to the hotel that the team had prepared so they could rest. They would have the rest of the day to rest because the next day they would play the next game, those 3 days were excellent for Jake who managed to fully recover from the fatigue of the entire season and was just as well as at the beginning of the season. Jake could play every game until the end of the playoffs without feeling as tired as he did this season, the reason for that was that in the playoffs they would not play 3 games or more a week as they did now. Soon came the day of the next game that would be against the Phoenix Suns team, in this part of the season the Phoenix Suns team was already much better with 15 victories and 17 defeats, if they continued like this they would reach the playoffs. This was the fourth game between the two teams and it was more of a confrontation between Jason Kidd and Jake Smith, this time Jake had been chosen twice as a player of the month and it was undeniable that he had the ability to be compared to Jason Kidd and currently was better than him as PG. The Los Angeles Lakers team went to the America West Arena and saw the Phoenix Suns fans excited about this game and waiting for the Phoenix Suns team to win, so the players got ready and went to the court to start the game. The Los Angeles Lakers team won that game with 111 points against 86 points for the Phoenix Suns team, Jake double-double with 32 points and 11 assists, the Los Angeles Lakers team was doing very well this season and the crowd was more excited. Soon another week went by and the Los Angeles Lakers team played 5 more games, there were 4 victories and just 1 defeat against the Utah Jazz team, it was the third defeat of the season which did not concern fans and players. This was one of the weeks with the most games of the season with 5 games and only 2 days of rest for players who were exhausted if Jake didn''t help the team they would have lost more games just as Jake remembered what happened in his past life. The Los Angeles Lakers team had 38 games with 35 wins and only 3 losses in the season, Dennis Rodman was also playing well in the last games and Jake did not think he would leave the team before the end of the season. After that game against the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the Los Angeles Lakers team would have another day of rest before the next game, Jake knew the next games would be difficult, so he called Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Rick Fox to go. to his house. Jake decided to do this so that his team''s players could relax at his house, of course, Jake knew that other players could have better houses than his, but with them together they could enjoy the cinema or the basketball court at the house his. As it was Jake who had invited them they accepted his invitation, only Rick told Jake that this time he could not because he would be busy that day, Jake understood and so only Shaq and Kobe would go to his house. The other day the Los Angeles Lakers team had no training and so Kobe and Shaq went to Jake''s house in the morning, this was the first time that they went to his house and were very surprised when they saw the beauty of Jake''s house. Contrary to what Jake thought Kobe had not yet bought a house that big even though he had received several million dollars in sponsorship, that was because he still received a small salary in the NBA before the renovation he would do this season. So Kobe wouldn''t think like Jake to spend more than 15 million dollars on a house, Shaq had a house as good as the one Jake had, but he was still surprised because Jake had a house like this, after all, Shaq had been playing for many years in the NBA before I could buy a house like this. Even more that they knew how a Mansion in Bel Air was much more expensive than a mansion in various places in Los Angeles, Kobe arrived at Jake''s house before and after some time Shaq also arrived. Jake spent some time showing Shaq and Kobe his home, Jake was proud of the home he owned and also wanted to show some options that they could make that day to relax from the stress of the games. Jake showed the cinema, the basketball court, the athletics track, and other things and so Shaq realized that Jake should have spent a lot more to add these things at his house, after some time they stopped for lunch and Shaq decided to say what he thought for Jake. "Jake, I thought your house was very beautiful and I thank you for inviting me, but I think that as your friend I have to say a few things to you." "You can tell, Shaq." "As I said, I thought your house was very beautiful, but I also know that it must have cost you millions of dollars to buy and put more things in your house, this is your first season in the NBA and even though you have won millions of sponsored dollars I don''t think you should spend that much money." "I understand that having a big house is something you''ve always wanted and I support that you buy a house like this, but I think you should wait a few years before you have any money before spending so much on a house." "I have a house like this and spend a lot of money doing what I want and buying cars too, but I do it because I know I have money saved in case something happens, you should do that too." Shaq gave this advice because he was more experienced than Jake and he wanted Jake to be very successful for many years in basketball and to be able to live well after he retired. Kobe also agreed with what Shaq had said, he was waiting a few years to buy a house like the one Jake had, Jake realized that Kobe also agreed and was happy to see that his friends cared about him. "Thanks for giving me this council, Shaq, just like you said, I also realized that with the salary I receive and even with the sponsorship I could not buy a house like this without any problems." Chapter 544 The New NBA Star 4 "What happens is that I don''t have to worry about the money I get from sponsors and the salary the Los Angeles Lakers team pays me." "I will tell you one of my secrets because I trust you, the truth is that I have already won with investments at least 3 times than I have already won playing basketball." "So when I received the sponsorship money and the money I already had, I decided to buy this house and I also bought a car, after all, I knew I had the financial means to do this and I was happy doing it." Shaq and Kobe were very surprised to hear Jake saying this, Shaq did not expect this when he tried to help Jake saying about the money, he could imagine that Jake had decided to spend everything because he would earn more or because he made a lot of money as an actor and as an athlete. But he didn''t expect Jake to say that he had already made a lot more money by investing than playing basketball, of course, that could be normal because this was Jake''s first year of NBA, but Shaq knew Jake had already won a few million dollars in sponsorship even before entering the NBA. "I confess I didn''t expect you to say that Jake, I didn''t know you were a big investor as well as being a good basketball player, but as an investor, you know the importance of not spending money and investing to earn more." "I know that, but as I said I already made a lot more money by investing, and I have more than 1 billion dollars invested in shares for the next year, in the future my investments can give me a few billion dollars." "I told you that I make investments because I think I can help you invest to make a lot of money next year, I offered this to all my friends and few took the opportunity." Kobe and Shaq were very surprised to hear Jake saying that he already had more than 1 billion dollars after investing, they knew that it was impossible for Jake to make so much money with sponsorship in the last few years, so he must have made investments and earned several times what he invested. Even an NBA player wouldn''t make $ 1 billion even if he made $ 30 million every year for a 20-year career, and it was almost impossible for even the best players to make that much money. They tried to believe Jake because they thought he would have no reason to lie to them, after all, that would be something that would be revealed to the media in a few years anyway, as to the investment opportunity they both thought differently. Kobe heard this and didn''t believe Jake, he could believe that Jake was really telling the truth about the investment opportunity, but Kobe didn''t believe it could be a really good opportunity. Shaq didn''t believe it either, but unlike Kobe, he also made investments, and even though he had lost money by trusting some investment companies he knew that the opportunity to win was great. Shaq knew a little about the stock market and had already seen some people who earned several times the amount they invested and few people really lost everything, but like Kobe, he wasn''t sure if Jake really knew such a good opportunity. "I believe you can be really lucky in some of the investments you made, Jake, but I know how risky the stock market is if you managed to make billions of dollars this is really good enough for you to be confident." "Say what you invested in or if a friend of yours really gained by investing in what you suggested." "I know that you also understand investments and also invest, Shaq, so I will say that I invested in the last 7 years in the company Cisco, you should know how the shares of this company have appreciated." As soon as Jake said that, Shaq was really surprised, whenever he saw the investment reports that his accountant and the investment company that handled his investments had a report on the Cisco company. After all, this was one of the companies that shares have appreciated more than 500 percent in recent years, Shaq did not remember the exact values, he also remembered that many investors said that this company was too risky because the values ??of the shares were much more valued than the real value of the company. Even so, if Jake really invested in this company in the last 7 years, then his investments appreciated several times, it showed that Jake really understood investments and was not lying. "The only friend of mine who accepted my advice and decided to invest was Matthew Jackson, you must know his company Focus and Flash that currently makes the best digital cameras in the world." "I am also a partner at Focus and Flash and helped him develop some products, he trusted me and invested 300 million dollars a few years ago and has already earned 8 times that amount and already has 2 billion and 200 million dollars in profit because of that investment." "Another company that I also invested in was Amazon before the company did the IPO, so you should know how much I earned." With Jake saying that Shaq and Kobe were impressed again, even Kobe, who had no investments, knew the company Amazon and Matthew''s Focus and Flash which was the largest digital camera company in the world. They both had digital cameras from Matthew''s company because they wanted to take quality photos and videos of the family moments they had, thanks to Matthew''s company the other big camera companies on the market were also developing products faster. Shaq, who knew about investments, knew how the company Amazon valued several times after the company did the IPO, after hearing this it was difficult for Shaq not to believe that Jake understood well how to make the investments. "I believe in you, Jake, what companies do you suggest I invest in now, Amazon?" "Amazon is a company that is certainly worth it for you to invest, but only if you want to wait at least 15 years until your investment is worth it and you earn several times what you invested." "We have to wait many years for computers and the internet to become more popular until a company like Amazon can show all its potential in online sales." "That''s why I said that I made investments to earn a few billion dollars in the future, I invested in other companies that will also show greater potential after 5 years at least." Shaq heard this and trusted Jake much more than he seemed to have thought about it before giving this advice, Shaq also imagined that if the internet and computers became popular companies like Amazon would really be more valuable. "I suggest that you invest in the Cisco company as I have been doing for the past few years, but this is very risky because I think that next year this company and many other companies will devalue a lot." "You should know that companies like Cisco are a great investment opportunity because they are valuing very quickly, but the value of these companies is already several times the natural value that these companies should have." Shaq and Kobe were confused to hear this, Jake was recommending a company so they could invest, but he was also saying that they could lose a lot of money if they didn''t sell their shares on time. "I will continue to invest in the Cisco company until next year and my friend Matthew also, I have an investment company that takes care of my investments and Matthew''s investments." "If you want, you can invest with my company and my company will sell the shares at the right time and you can earn at least 4 times the amount you invest and my company will keep 10% of the profit you get." With Jake saying that the two finally understood what Jake was saying, he said that the Cisco company was a risky company so they could invest and they could gain a lot from it. But only if they invest with Jake''s company can they safely invest and have to give 10 percent of the profits to Jake''s company and earn 4 times what they invest. Kobe thought that Jake talked about the investment just so they could invest with his company and thus earn more money, so Kobe lost interest in the investment that Jake was talking about even though he now believed in him. Shaq thought differently, even if they were friends it was normal for a quality investment firm to charge a fee to take care of client investments, and Jake said they would only charge 10 percent of the profits, which meant that Jake was confident that Shaq would have many profits. When Jake said that he owned a company and that his company was charging for the investments, Shaq was even more confident that Jake''s investment offer was really real that he could really gain from it. "Are you really confident that I can earn 4 times the money I invested in your company until next year?" "Yes, Shaq, I said that I only offer this to my closest friends and that is why in my company only Matthew and I have investments, if you want I will guarantee that you can win next year." "Okay, I will trust you and I will invest 10 million dollars with your investment company, if I win 4 times that investment I will be happy." Jake was happy to see that he would help another friend of his and that Shaq had trusted him, in fact, Jake was confident that Shaq could earn more than 4 times the amount he invested by 2000, so Shaq would earn more than 40 million dollars. Chapter 545 The New NBA Star 5 Of the more than 40 million dollars that Shaq would earn, Jake would earn only 4 million dollars for making that investment, compared to the billions of dollars that he would earn from his investments and the billions of dollars that he would earn from making the investments. Matthew''s 4 million was not much. Jake was really doing this just to try to help his friends as much as possible, Jake was sad that Clara and Tiffany missed the opportunity to invest with him and so they could earn much more than Shaq would. Kobe, who was listening to the conversation between Shaq and Jake, found it hard to believe that Shaq was really willing to risk $ 10 million on a company he didn''t know, he trusted Jake, but wouldn''t invest that much money in a company that Jake himself said it was too risky. Kobe had to admit that he was also interested in investing and thought it would be strange if only Shaq invested and he didn''t, but he wouldn''t risk investing that much money, besides if he saw after 1 year Shaq earning more than 40 million dollars and he won''t regret anything. "Jake, I trust you too and I also want to invest, but I can''t invest 10 million dollars, so I''m going to invest 1 million dollars and if I win 4 times that amount I will also be happy." "Okay, Kobe, I''m going to make you a lot of money, tomorrow I''m going to send someone to send my company''s reports showing how the Cisco company has appreciated and you can make this investment after talking to your financial representatives." Jake was happy to see that Kobe also trusted him and hoped to help Shaq and Kobe make a lot of money, after this business conversation they decided that they would start enjoying the rest day with a tennis game. Jake told them that maybe it was not a good idea for them to play basketball because they were in three people and they had to stop thinking about basketball on that day off, Jake knew well that having a good team was important to winning the games, but he thought that if Kobe and Shaq played well, the Lakers team could win. They played tennis and Jake lost both times because he had never learned to play tennis, but in his last loss, Jake had almost won the game after learning by playing both games. After all, Kobe and Shaq didn''t play tennis that well and Jake didn''t get much of an advantage because the two were also high-level athletes even though they didn''t have the system as he had, especially since they were playing just for fun. After that they had lunch and enjoyed time by the pool and then ended the day watching a movie at the cinema that was at Jake''s house, Shaq and Kobe left Jake''s house more relaxed and Jake was also happy to spend the day with two of his idols. As soon as Shaq and Kobe left Jake called Emily and asked her to prepare the reports and contracts for Shaq and Kobe, soon they would also invest and Emily was happy to see that the company would receive more money and she would also receive more money. Emily also told Jake that the lawyers who were working to approve the patents Jake applied for had good news, Jake was hoping that he would soon get those patents and so he would guarantee billions of dollars in the future. "Jake, the lawyers said they expect the patents you applied for will be approved by the end of the year, just as you suggested patents for using touchscreen technology and multi-touch technology for the smartphone model were approved." "The other patents for how the smartphone will be used have also been approved, only the patents on the touchscreen and multi-touch technology they hope will take until the end of the year." Jake was very happy to hear that, he knew that these patents on the touchscreen and multi-touch technology would take longer and so he asked lawyers to do more to approve these patents. But in fact, it was the other patents that seemed less important that mattered more to Jake, with those patents other smartphone companies would have to ask Jake for authorization if they wanted to use the smartphone as it will be known in the future with touchscreen and glass screen. Jake hoped that Charlie''s team would be able to finish the initial prototype of the Android operating system technology and if they did, Jake could get several more patents that would make him richer. Emily had already won contracts with ram companies, microprocessors, storage memory, and other important components, so Charlie''s team already knew what operating system limitations they could create. In fact, the operating system was already ready with the tips that Jake had given, but it currently only worked on larger computers with stronger components, now they had to optimize and weaken the Android operating system. Charlie even told Jake that their operating system was better than that of Microsoft and Apple, so they could sell this version that they had for current computers, but Jake was against it and didn''t want to face these big companies. What Jake really wanted to do was just create the operating system and get the patents, then he would create a partnership with Google in the future and let them develop Android as long as he gained a lot from it too. So Jake thought that if he didn''t try to sell this operating system, companies like Microsoft and Apple wouldn''t care about his small tech company when smartphones started being manufactured it would be different. Jake would have the first operating system and as he already knew the future and already had the contracts with the companies that made the components he could maintain the leadership in the market for many years if he wanted to. Jake was not afraid of big companies because he had a lot of support with Amazon and Google who would have to support him, after all, Jake was a partner in these companies and it would be bad for their image if companies like Microsoft and Apple put pressure on him. The other day the Los Angeles Lakers team would play again and Jake would focus again on the games, the next 12 games would be the most difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team and Jake remembered that they lost 6 of those 12 games in Jake''s past life. Jake would try to help the Los Angeles Lakers team not to lose any of those 6 games that they would normally lose, but he knew it wouldn''t be easy, at least he knew that Dennis Rodman would not leave the team until the end of this season as it did in the past. Soon almost 3 weeks passed and the Los Angeles Lakers team had played 11 games and only 1 game was left for the end of Jake''s first NBA season, just as Jake hoped those 11 games were the most difficult of the season. Even with Jake trying hard in those 11 games, the Los Angeles Lakers team still lost 3 games, it wasn''t as bad as losing 6 games as the Los Angeles Lakers team would lose, but they had only lost 3 games before those 11 games and now they had 6 losses in the season. The Los Angeles Lakers team lost to Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, and Houston Rockets, yet fans and media people praised the Los Angeles Lakers team who had 43 wins and 6 losses in 49 games this season. Even with these 3 losses, Dennis Rodman remained on the team and Jake had not heard anything about him leaving the team, Jake was chosen again as the player of the month for the third time this season. Of course, Jake was also chosen as the rookie of the month for the third time in a row and many said he would be chosen as the rookie of the year and had a good chance of winning the MVP of the season. If Jake won he would be the third player in NBA history to win the MVP award in his debut season and also be the youngest player to be chosen as an MVP, Jake couldn''t deny that he was excited about it. Jake remembered that Karl Malone had won the MVP award this season and many said that he did not deserve this award and that it was the weakest MVP award in history, so Jake thought he very much deserved to win this award with the average of 34 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 8 steals per game. Jake still had an average of 48 minutes per game and he certainly helped the Los Angeles Lakers team a lot to win many games, if he didn''t win this season it would be because he was a rookie. In the last game the Los Angeles Lakers team had won by making 131 points against 98 points by the Dallas Mavericks team, so fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team hoped that the Lakers team would win that last game at home. Soon Jake went to the Great Western Forum where the game would take place and saw the crowd of the Los Angeles Lakers team that was very happy with the team and the fans would fill the Great Western Forum, many had the shirt with the number 7 of Jake and the fans they shouted Jake''s name and his nickname, Captain America, too. Jake had become one of the idols of fans of the Lakers team and of basketball fans in general, Jake had arrived shortly after Michael Jordan retired again and was a player with a different style who won the affection of fans with his talent. Jake went to the locker room and soon went to the court with the other players of the Los Angeles Lakers team, everyone was excited about the team''s last game of the season, coach Rambis had already said he would replace the main players for a long time, even so, the players wanted the victory. Chapter 546 The New NBA Star 6 The opponent in that game was the Portland Trail Blazers team, who were a tough opponent in two games this season and beat the Los Angeles Lakers team once, the Portland Trail Blazers team was one of the best this season. The Portland Trail Blazers team had 34 victories and 15 defeats this season, the Portland Trail Blazers team had one of the best attacks and one of the best defenses of the season and that''s why they got those good results. Jake was not concerned about that because the Portland Trail Blazers team had also qualified for the playoffs as well as the Los Angeles Lakers team and would therefore also replace the top players for many minutes. Jake would play the 48 minutes in that game and he would have an easier time attacking and defending in that game, Jake knew that in the past the Los Angeles Lakers team won that game and so he was confident that the Lakers team would win with him on the team too. "Welcome to everyone who came to accompany what will be the last game of these two teams this season, in this game the Los Angeles Lakers team faces the Portland Trail Blazers team, the Portland Trail Blazers team was one of the few teams this season that managed to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers team." "The Portland Trail Blazers team had 34 wins and 15 losses this season, even in this season that had fewer games it was an impressive result, so the Portland Trail Blazers team qualified for the playoffs." "The Portland Trail Blazers team finished second in the Pacific Division and 3 in the Western Conference, it was a great result and that made the Portland Trail Blazers team more confident to win the playoff games and win the NBA title this season." "The Los Angeles Lakers team playing at home today had one of the best seasons in the team''s history that unfortunately cannot be compared to other seasons for having only 50 games." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has had 43 wins and only 6 losses in 49 games so far, with that result the Los Angeles Lakers team ranked first in the Pacific Division and first in the Western Conference." "With excellent players like Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman, Rick Fox, Robert Horry the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to be the team with the best attack, with a good defense, one of the teams that gets more rebounds per game, and also that he makes more steals per game." "In addition to these excellent players we also have Jake Smith who debuted this season as a rookie and became one of the biggest NBA stars, Jake was chosen 3 times as the rookie of the month and was chosen 3 times as the player of the month." "The other rookies like Vince Carter who also played very well had no chance of competing with a player who was also chosen as the player of the month every month of this season." "Jake will definitely be chosen for the NBA All-Rookie First Team and also for the All-NBA Second Team because he is a rookie, otherwise he would be chosen for the first team, and Jake deserved everything he achieved." "After that game, the Los Angeles Lakers go into the playoffs as the best team and as the favorite team to win the NBA title this season." Just as commentators said Jake debuted in the NBA this season and was now certainly one of the best NBA players today, Jake helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to be the favorite team to win the NBA title. If the Los Angeles Lakers team manages to win the NBA title this season it will surely be because of Jake''s entry and he will become one of the greatest idols in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Los Angeles Lakers team will start this game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Portland Trail Blazers team will start this game with Damon Stoudamire playing as PG, Isaiah Rider playing as SG, Walt Williams playing as SF, Rasheed Wallace playing as PF, and Kelvin Cato playing as Center. The game started with Shaquille O''Neal winning the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake received the ball and started organizing the first attack for the Lakers team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left. Rick received the ball and Walt Williams came pressing on defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came pressing on defense. Kobe made a feint and tricked Rider, Rider still kept defending and Kobe made a crossover to advance to the inside area, Kobe drive to the basket and scored 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Kobe and Shaq knew they would play for a few minutes and so they started the game trying to score, of course, they understood that the playoffs would soon start and these would be the most important games. Even the Portland Trail Blazers coach would replace the top players in that game because he wanted to advance in the playoffs, so Jake would be more important in that game where he would not be replaced and would play many minutes against substitute players. In another move, the Portland Trail Blazers team went on the attack, Damon Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Rider on the right, Rider received the ball and Rick arrived pressing the defense, Rider held the ball a little and passed it to Williams on the right. Williams tried to deceive Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived, so Williams passed the ball to Rasheed Wallace later on, Wallace received the ball and Dennis Rodman came in to press the defense. Wallace managed to outwit Rodman with a feint and stepped away to try a hook shot to score 2 points for the Portland Trail Blazers team, the Portland Trail Blazers team was a tough opponent with players who were good at attacking and defending. Coach Rambis knew this and also knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team had to rely on the strong attack to try to win by scoring more points than the opponent, that was something that the Los Angeles Lakers team had to resolve next season. Coach Rambis did not know if he would continue as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers team next season, he thought he would not continue as head coach even if the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title this season. In the sports media, there were already rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers team board was talking to Phil Jackson, with the Los Angeles Lakers team having excellent players could get Coach Jackson''s attention. Even so, coach Rambis was already thinking of hiring other players to improve the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team, of course, Shaq, Kobe and Jake had guaranteed places in the main team next season. In another move Jake was organizing another attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Williams arrived pressing on defense. Kobe tried to deceive Williams with a feint, but Williams was not deceived, so Kobe passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Stoudamire came pressing on the defense, Jake held the ball and waited to see how his teammates moved before making the pass, after a while, Jake saw the move he would make. Jake made a high pass to Shaq who took the ball high and made the dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were excited about this attack. In that first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team was dominating the game and putting a lot of pressure on the attack, Jake was playing very well and when the main players of the two teams were replaced he played even better in the attack. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a good point advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team is playing very well in that game and the Portland Trail Blazers are not playing well in attack and are not able to defend well." "Jake is being the highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that first quarter, Shaq, Kobe, and Rick are playing well, but they are playing for a few minutes and so they are not going to play as well as in the last games." "Dennis is also helping a lot with rebounds in that game as well and it can help the Los Angeles Lakers team get the win more easily." "We will continue to follow up to see if the Los Angeles Lakers team this season, so they can start the playoffs with more confidence." Just as commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team players were playing well in that game, the Portland Trail Blazers team coach knew this, but he needed to spare his team''s top players for the playoffs. The biggest difference between the two teams was that Jake who was the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team could play the full 48 minutes in the game and the best player on the Portland Trail Blazers team had to rest half that time. Even so, the Portland Trail Blazers tried to start the second quarter by pressing in the attack, Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed to Williams from the right, Williams received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing in defense. Williams held the ball a little and passed it to Rider on the right, Rider received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Rider tried to trick Rick with a feint, but Rick was not fooled and continued to press on defense. Rider decided to pass the ball to Stoudamire further back, Stoudamire received the ball and Jake was on defense, Stoudamire saw that Jake was away from him and attempted a mid-range shot and scored 2 more points for the Portland Trail Blazers. Chapter 547 The New NBA Star 7 Even with the Portland Trail Blazers team replacing the main players, they were still able to put pressure on the attack because the replacement players they had were better than the replacement players on the Los Angeles Lakers team. Of course, Derek Fisher and Robert Horry, who were substitute players, were very good, but substitute players in other positions were not so good, luckily Jake was always on the court to make the plays. In another move Jake was organizing another attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake passed the ball to Fisher from the right, Fisher received the ball and Jim Jackson came up to press the defense. Fisher held the ball for a while and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick was not replaced in that game because he had already rested a few minutes in the previous games, this season Rick was happy to play as a starting player for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Rick had an average of more than 14 points per game and in many games, he helped the Los Angeles Lakers team by making more than 22 points, he could not be compared with Jake, Shaq, and Kobe, but he helped the opponent''s defense not to focus a lot on Kobe. Rick received the ball and Bonzi Wells came in pressing on defense, Rick tried to advance to the inside area, but Wells was firm in defense, so Rick decided to pass the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Stoudamire arrived pressing in defense. Jake made a feint and outwitted Stoudamire and advanced on the right, Stoudamire tried to keep defending, Jake did a quick crossover and advanced on the left and left Stoudamire behind. Jake continued to advance and the opponents were unable to defend against him, Jake advanced and scored another 2 points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake was very good at three-point play, but when he advanced to make the individual play it was difficult for opponents to stop him. With the two teams replacing the main players, the Portland Trail Blazers team was able to put more pressure on the attack and defense, luckily with Horry, Fisher, and Jake on the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Portland Trail Blazers team only managed to score a little more points. Coach Rambis realized this and let Shaq play longer on the court, Jake had realized that Shaq was not playing very well in that game, but with him, on the court, the Los Angeles Lakers team was stronger. In another move, the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Rider on the right, Rider received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Williams on the left. Williams received the ball and Fisher came up on the defense, Williams tried to trick Fisher with a feint, but Fisher was not fooled, so Williams waited for a little and tried to advance from the right using his speed. Williams managed to move forward and Fisher was trying to keep defending against him, Williams managed to move forward and did not notice Jake getting close to him, Jake was quick and steal and caught the ball and Williams was unable to react. Jake took the ball and advanced using his speed for the attack, Williams and Stoudamire managed to follow Jake and came back to defend, Jake was very fast and left Williams behind and only Stoudamire left to defend. Jake didn''t think much and as soon as he approached Stoudamire he tried the Ghost move dribble, Jake made his move very fast and Stoudamire didn''t see the ball like the other opponents that Jake did this dribble. Jake passed by Stoudamire who did not see the ball until he heard the ball hitting the ground and Jake moving forward to make 2 more points with a dunk, Jake did this dribble several times and many still didn''t realize that this was a dribble move by Jake. For fans at the Great Western Forum and commentators Stoudamire just let Jake pass him with the ball and then Jake did the dunk, Jake also wouldn''t say this was his special dribble because opponents could learn how to defend. The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to win the game and managed to further increase the points advantage, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 12 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win the game, it is difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to recover and win this game, especially since this is not the priority for the Portland Trail Blazers coach." "That''s right, Jake is playing very well and the other main players are also playing well even if they are playing for less time, even with the Portland Trail Blazers players playing well, it is difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win this game." "The Portland Trail Blazers team is playing very well this season and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers team in one game and even losing the other games they still played well." "But these two teams can still face each other in the playoff conference final, so the game would be completely different." The Los Angeles Lakers team already had a big advantage in points in the game and it would be difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to try to win, even so in the third quarter the Portland Trail Blazers continued to press in attack and defense. With Shaq playing longer and with fewer substitute players, the Los Angeles Lakers team played even better, in the last quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team continued with the points advantage with a great performance by Jake. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with 131 points against 86 points from the Portland Trail Blazers team, Jake played for 48 minutes in that game and had 51 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals. This was the game that Jake made the most games in all season and it was the first game that Jake scored more than 50 points in his NBA career, Jake was very happy with his performance and even more for having achieved a double-double. "The last game for these two teams ends this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to finish this regular season with one more victory and so they managed 44 victories and only 6 losses in 50 games." "The Portland Trail Blazers team played well in that game, but with the substitutions, the Portland Trail Blazers team''s defense failed to stop the strongest attack of the season, especially with this being one of Jake''s best games of the season." "Jake Smith showed today because even though he is a rookie he is one of the best players currently in the NBA, Jake made a double-double in this game with 11 assists and an incredible 51 points, this was the first game in Jake''s career in which he did more 50 points." "Jake broke the record by currently being the youngest player to score 50 points in a game, Jake is currently 20 years and 4 months old, unfortunately, he debuted this season with reduced games, otherwise he could score much more in the season. his debut." "Jake was chosen three times as the player of the month and after that game scoring 51 points and with 11 assists Jake is a strong candidate to win the MVP award of the season, in fact, I think that this season nobody can compete with him." "With this victory the Los Angeles Lakers team will go with more confidence to play the next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves team in the first game of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team will be playing at home which makes them even more favorites to win this game." "The Portland Trail Blazers team will play against the Sacramento Kings team and will also try to win the victory to advance to the next playoff phase and perhaps win this season''s NBA title." The players were very happy with this victory of the Los Angeles Lakers team, many players congratulated Jake for having managed to make more than 50 games in the last game, everyone knew that Jake would help the team a lot in the playoffs of this season. Jake was also very happy to have managed to score more than 50 points in that game and he was also excited to play the playoffs, after the end of the playoffs Jake knew he might have a chance to win the MVP award in his debut season. Jake knew he could play the playoffs this season because he knew the Los Angeles Lakers team did it in his past life, but with Jake joining the team, things were different, the games were no longer the same and the Los Angeles Lakers team started to depend on Jake to win. Certainly, in the playoff games the Los Angeles Lakers team would depend on Jake to win, Jake was anxious about it and also a little afraid, after all these games in the playoffs would be different from what Jake remembered in his past life. In addition to the Los Angeles Lakers team having different players, the opponent would also be different, even so, Jake was confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win, coach Rambis and the other players were also confident of that. After the end of the game, the reporters went to interview the players, some players were happy for the victory, but they refused to speak to the reporters, Shaq and Kobe were stopped first by the reporters and spoke little to them. "Kobe, this is your third year in the NBA and the third time that you will play in the playoffs, last season the Los Angeles Lakers team reached the West Conference Finals before losing, do you think that this season you can reach the NBA Finals this season or even winning the NBA title?" "For sure, this season the Los Angeles Lakers team had one of the best seasons in the team''s history, I was able to play longer and my teammates also played well this season." "With the arrival of Jake, who is an excellent player, our team has improved a lot and I think we can win the games in the playoffs and win this NBA title if we continue to play well." Chapter 548 The New NBA Star 8 "What did you think of Jake''s debut season and how are the players'' relationship with so many stars on the team?" "As I said, I think Jake is an excellent player and he showed that by averaging 34 points and 11 assists in the season, Jake can play 48 minutes in every game and is an excellent PG that helps me and the other players." "I think Jake deserved to be chosen as the player of the month in 3 months this season, I think that I and the other players know that we are lucky to have a team with excellent players." "Even with great players on the team, we don''t compete directly for positions in the starting team, and the focus this season is on winning the NBA title, so we are very united and this is shown in the Lakers team games." Kobe answered some questions because he was happy with the victory, Kobe got used to the reporters always talking about Jake in the interviews, he was being sincere saying that he thought Jake deserved to be called the best player on the team and that he was happy about it. Of course, Kobe still wanted to be the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team and the NBA and so he thought about playing even better in the coming seasons and overcoming Jake, nobody knew how he would feel if he couldn''t overcome Jake after a few seasons. After interviewing Kobe, the reporters went to Shaq to talk to him, Shaq was also excited about the team''s victory and the playoffs that would soon begin, so Shaq also agreed to talk to the reporters. "Shaq, what do you think of this Los Angeles Lakers team ranking for the playoffs and with the team finishing first at the Western Conference and being the team with the best attack of the season?" "I am very happy with this, my teammates and I have struggled a lot and have worked hard to achieve this even with this short season and this difficult sequence with many games." "I can say myself that I tried my best and I''m happy with the result that our team has achieved, now we have the playoffs to play and times that we continue to play well to win the NBA title." Shaq was really happy with the team''s result this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team having the best winning campaign and being the best offense was proof of how well he and the other players played. "Shaq, in addition to your rookie season, you managed to qualify with the team that you played in all the years for the playoffs, you think that this is perhaps the best team with the best teammates that you are going to playoffs?" "This is difficult to say, I have played with excellent players in other seasons, especially in the 1994-95 season when we reached the NBA Finals, but I can say that if we win the NBA title this season, then I can say that this is the best team with the best players I''ve ever played." "Shaq, what do you think of Jake''s debut season?" "Sometimes it''s hard to remember that Jake is a rookie, he''s one of the best players I''ve ever played with, in this game today where he scored 51 points and even made 11 assists show his NBA season well" "Jake is the player in the entire NBA today and has the most points per game and has the most assists as well, Jake has an average of 8 rebounds and 8 steals per game also showing how he is also a great defensive player." "If Jake is not the MVP of this season I think that nobody should be chosen as MVP, Jake certainly deserves it and it is very good to know that he is on my team." The reporters were impressed with Shaq''s praise when he spoke of Jake, it was difficult to see Shaq praising other players so much, it showed that Shaq had really been impressed with Jake''s skill this season. After talking to the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, the reporters went to look for Jake to talk to him, Jake didn''t want to talk to the reporters, but he knew it was better to talk to the reporters after that game. "Jake, congratulations on your great performance in that game, and for the first time in the NBA that you scored more than 50 points." "Thank you." "Jake, now that the regular season is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team have won 44 games out of 50 games that season, what did you think of your debut season?" "I think it couldn''t be better, I had the confidence of the team coaches throughout the season and I also had the confidence of my teammates." "I was able to help the Los Angeles Lakers team by playing 48 minutes in every game, and I got that point and assist average which was very good, the average steals and rebounds were also what I expected." "The most important thing was the result of the Los Angeles Lakers team, I''m happy that the Lakers team has won so many games and qualified for the playoffs, now we have to continue playing well in the playoffs." "Do you think you deserve to win the MVP award after being chosen as the player of the month in the 3 months of this season?" "This is hard to say, I certainly played the best I was able to play and the Los Angeles Lakers team was the best team this season, I was also lucky to lead several statistics this season like average points, assists, and steals in every game." "So I''m not going to deny that I think I am one of the players who deserve to win the MVP award as well as other players who have also had an excellent performance this season, I hope the fact that this is my rookie season does not affect my chances of winning the MVP award. " Jake didn''t want to do the interview because he knew reporters would ask that question, he didn''t want to be arrogant saying he deserved to win the prize, but it would be false if he said he didn''t think he deserved to win the MVP award. So Jake said what he thought, that he was one of the players most likely to win this prize and if he didn''t win it would be because this was his rookie season, Jake tried not to be arrogant, but he had to say he deserved to win that award because it was the truth. "Jake, do you think the Los Angeles Lakers team can win the NBA title this season?" "I think so, I am confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team can win this season and if the team remains with the same players we may be able to win the NBA title in the coming seasons as well." The reporters were surprised by Jake''s statement, they expected him to try to deviate from the question and would not answer, but contrary to what they expected Jake clearly answered their question. In addition, Jake said that he thought the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the NBA title in the coming seasons beyond this season, that was something the team''s fans would definitely like to hear, but the other teams would not like to hear that. In recent times only the team that had Michael Jordan can win the NBA title for several years, they knew that Jake was an excellent player, but they didn''t think he was like Michael Jordan, but if they thought well with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant the Los Angeles Lakers team was very strong. After the interviews, the players returned to their home, the Los Angeles Lakers team would play only after 4 days and so the players would have 3 days to rest before the start of the playoffs. In those 4 days the players would have to train in the first 2 days they could rest on the third day and on the fourth day they would play, of course, this was expected by the players, after all, they would have decisive games in the playoffs, Jake thought that if the players wanted to rest they had to win the 3 games and they would already qualify and could rest. Jake went back to his house and called his mother to talk to her, Eva already knew that that day Jake would play the last game of the regular season and then the playoffs would start, Eva had already decided that she would close the restaurant on game days Jake''s and would travel to watch. "Hi, mom, I called to say we won today''s game, after 4 days the playoffs will start and our team will play against the Minnesota Timberwolves team." "How nice to hear that, Jake, I''m going to watch every playoff game that your team plays, I''m going to hope that the Los Angeles Lakers team wins and that you''re the highlight in every game." "You don''t need to watch all the games, mom, it will be very tiring for you to travel so many times in May to watch the games, besides, you have to take care of the restaurant." "I''m not going to discuss this with you again, Jake, I already decided that and since I can''t watch all of your games, I at least want to watch the decisive games." Jake would lie if he said that he was not happy to hear that his mother would watch all his games, Jake knew that Eva could not go to watch the regular games of the season, even so, he sometimes looked at the stands thinking about how good it would be for him to find his mother watching his games. So knowing that Eva would watch all his games in the playoffs would make Jake want to play even better to show his best performance to his mother, Jake had already prepared some things to give more comfort to his mother. "Okay, well, if you''ve decided you want to watch the games, I understand that, but I''ve prepared some things for you and you''ll have to do it if you want to watch my games in the playoffs." "Okay, what did you prepare." "When you have two games in one city you cannot travel back to Miami before the games are over, you will have to stay in the city of games until the games are over." Chapter 549 The New NBA Star 9 "I know that if I don''t do this you will want to go back to Miami between the days of the games to open the restaurant, but if you travel every day you will not be able to stand it and your health will get much worse, so you have to leave the restaurant in these next 2 months with Anna." "When there is a gap of more than 3 days between games I will let you go back to Miami until the next game happens, so at most you will be 2 weeks without going back to Miami." Eva didn''t expect Jake to say that to her, she really thought about traveling to Miami every day to help Anna with the restaurant on days when Jake didn''t have games, she knew she would tire more, but it was something she thought she could take. Jake knew his mother well and knew that Eva would try to do this and so he said this to Eva, after all, he knew that this was the best for her health, that was the only restriction he had for his mother to watch the games his. "Okay, I accept that, after all, it''s only 2 months and I know that Anna will understand if I have to stay away from the restaurant to watch her decisive games." "Very well, in the games where the Los Angeles Lakers team plays here in Los Angeles, you will stay at my house, in the games that will be in other cities I have already booked a hotel in all cities for you." "The hotel managers were really nice to me and so if the Los Angeles Lakers team is eliminated or plays with another team the reservation will be canceled automatically and I won''t have to pay anything, so the hotels are already reserved for you, mom." This was something that Eva was very happy that Jake did, she would try to book the hotels after going to the cities where the games would take place, but what Eva didn''t know was that the best hotels would be crowded on the days of the playoff games of NBA. That way she would be lucky if she found a 3-star hotel to rest on game days, even if Eva wasn''t too picky Jake didn''t want his mother to be uncomfortable because of him. Jake said the simplest things first and Eva accepted everything calmly because the biggest extravagance Jake left to speak last so that Eva could not refuse, of course, that extravagance would not even cost Jake much. "The third thing I prepared for you, mom, is a little different, but everything is already prepared." "What is?" "I rented a helicopter to take you to the cities where my team will play, that helicopter is rented to go in any state and in any city, in addition, there will be a rental car waiting for you in all the cities that will take you to the hotel." Eva didn''t know what to say when Jake said he rented a helicopter and a private car for her for 2 months, the rental car for two months was expensive and she could understand roughly how much it cost Jake. But renting a helicopter was something Eva couldn''t even imagine and she had no idea how much it cost Jake, Eva knew that Jake had won a few million dollars from basketball and his investments, but she didn''t even know how close Jake had really won. What Eva knew was that Jake was someone very responsible and she never heard Matthew or Emily criticizing Jake for spending too much money irresponsibly, so Eva didn''t know what to say and had to accept it because Jake had said he had already rented the helicopter and not that would rent in the future. "Don''t worry, mom, it''s not as expensive as it looks and you would spend a lot more time and tire a lot more if you had to use a plane every week to go to my team''s games." Jake thought about buying a helicopter for him to use in the future, but he didn''t have time to do that, Jake didn''t just have to buy the helicopter, he had to find a place to keep the helicopter safe and well looked after, hire a pilot and take care of the fuel. Jake had to take care of the helicopter maintenance which was essential because he could risk his life on each flight, so if he had to buy a helicopter he would spend $ 1 million, but he would spend that amount in a few years to hire a pilot and to take care of the helicopter and its maintenance. Jake would definitely have to buy a helicopter in the future, but he would do it only after receiving the money from the sale of the shares of the company Cisco after that Jake would receive several billion dollars that would give him to live peacefully until the shares of Amazon and Google give more profit. Not to mention that this year Jake would still receive more money from his sponsors and the Los Angeles Lakers team, it would be more than 12 million dollars and even if Jake didn''t decide to invest he would still have a lot of money. Jake talked to his mother for a while and then hung up the phone, Jake didn''t call Kate because he knew she was doing a show at that time and after the show, she would be very tired. The next day the media was still talking about the interview of Jake and the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, meanwhile, the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team went to train for the playoff games. In the next games, there would be no easy opponents and any mistake that the players made could mean the elimination of the Los Angeles Lakers team, each game was important, and if they could they should win the first 3 games to advance to the next stage and to get less tired. Coach Rambis and the players knew that, so they weren''t distracted by anything and just thought about training to win the playoff games, and it would continue until the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title or were eliminated. The players had 2 days of intense training without the players getting too tired and on the third day, they were able to rest, on that day of rest Jake called Kate and told her that the Los Angeles Lakers team had made it to the playoffs. "Hi Kate, I called to say that the Los Angeles Lakers team qualified for the playoffs and won the last game, tomorrow we are going to play the first game of the playoffs." "I heard about it, congratulations Jake, I know you guys put in a lot of effort and it must be a dream come true for you to make it to the playoffs." Kate followed the newspapers and watched the results of the Los Angeles Lakers team''s games on television and also looked for Jake''s news, when she could Kate watched the games, so she knew everything that happened to Jake in the NBA. "It''s really a dream come true, I hope I can make more dreams come true this season, I can win the MVP award and maybe even win the NBA title, even if I don''t make it this was a great season." "I''m glad you''re enjoying your debut season Jake, I heard some reporters saying it was a shame that you made your NBA debut this season with 50 games if it was another season you and your team would break a lot more records." "I don''t know if it would really be like that, what happened this season was inevitable to happen, and if it was another season I might not have had that much time playing games on the Los Angeles Lakers team." Jake said that because that was what he thought when he decided to debut in the NBA this season, next season the Los Angeles Lakers team would have coach Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal would be even bigger stars and the Los Angeles Lakers team would have others players. Jake knew it would be even more difficult for him to play on another NBA team that needed a PG and was able to win the NBA title, facing the Los Angeles Lakers team would be more difficult in other seasons. Of course, Jake couldn''t tell Kate or anyone else these things, but he himself had asked David to get him to join the Los Angeles Lakers team this season even though he knew everything that would happen. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan were some of the best players in NBA history and yet they didn''t break many records in their early years playing in the NBA, of course, some of them broke some records, but it was their career over the years that made them the best players. "I see, I was worried that you would feel bad about debuting this reduced season, I also think that your debut season was incredible, I will not be able to watch all your games in the playoffs, but if you make it to the NBA Finals I will watch all the games." Jake knew that Kate really wanted to watch all of his important games just as Eva would, but Jake understood that this was impossible in her career, maybe when they announced they were dating and her reputation was greater she could do that. So Kate said that if Jake made it to the NBA Finals she could convince Lily to let her go to the games to support Jake, surely Lily couldn''t deny it if Jake made it to the NBA Finals. In addition, Kate thought it was a motivation for Jake to work even harder at the games to ensure that the Los Angeles Lakers team reached the NBA Finals, Jake realized that and was happy with Kate''s concern. After that Jake talked for a while with Kate and hung up the phone, Jake rested well for the rest of the day and at night the rental car brought Eva to his house, the next day the playoff games of the Los Angeles Lakers and Eva team would begin waited until the last day before the game to arrive in Los Angeles. That was because Jake had said she couldn''t go back to Miami until the first playoff games ended, so Eva took advantage of Jake''s rented a helicopter and a car and left for Los Angeles just after leaving the restaurant. Chapter 550 The New NBA Star 10 Jake knew his mother well and hoped that Eva would do something like that, Jake didn''t care that Eva came only at the end of the day because he was already happy that she was away from the restaurant to watch his games. It was the first time that Eva saw the new house that Jake bought and she was very surprised, she already thought that the house they had in Miami was a big mansion, but Jake''s house in Los Angeles was much bigger and had much more things. Unlike their home in Miami, Eva noticed the various security guards and employees that Jake''s house had, it was something that Eva had only seen at Matthew''s house, so Mary who knew Eva was coming was to meet her at the door. "Good evening, ma''am, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Mary and I am the governess of Sir Smith''s house." "Good night, Mary, my son talked about you, thanks for looking after him for the past few months." "It''s my job, ma''am." Soon Mary took Eva to where Jake was and he was happy to see that his mother had finally arrived, unfortunately, it was too late and Jake knew that Eva must be tired after working at the restaurant all day. "Mom, I''m happy to see you again after so long, I thought I could only see you after the games ended this season." "Of course, I would come as soon as your team made it to the playoffs, you should know that." "It is a pity that it is too late, otherwise I would show you the house, but tomorrow we will have time before the game, dinner is ready, I was just waiting for you." Eva was happy to see Jake well and happy after the great games she knew the Los Angeles Lakers team was having, Eva was even more proud of Jake for being one of the best NBA players in his debut year. Jake and Eva had dinner and then talked for a while before Jake took Eva to the room he had prepared for her as soon as he bought the house, Jake chose one of the best beds and let Mary help with the decorating later. This was his house so naturally, it was also his mother''s, so Jake chose a room for Eva right after choosing his room and already asked the painters to put a feminine color in the room. Eva was surprised and thrilled to hear that Jake prepared this room for her shortly after buying the house, all the furniture and decor were better than the ones in her room in Miami that she herself had chosen from the best she found at the time. Of course, Eva did not think like Jake who had some furniture imported from other states and countries with the help of a decorator, even Mary who decorated the room did not know where Jake would buy the furniture from and she just chose the best one as Jake asked. Soon the day of the first playoff game came, the first 2 games would take place in Los Angeles because the Los Angeles Lakers team had ranked first and would always have the advantage of playing the first games at home. So the media and fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team hoped that the Lakers team would win these first two games and perhaps win the third game by also qualifying more easily. Jake woke up happy and relaxed even though it was his first playoff game, Jake ate his breakfast with his mother and then showed her the whole house, Jake showed the cinema, the gym and the other things he adapted at his house. Eva really liked the cinema and the pool and also liked the library she had at Jake''s house, the only things they didn''t have in Miami were the library and the cinema, that was normal after all it was Jake who prepared their house in Miami too. Jake didn''t want to make a movie in Miami because he didn''t know if Eva would like it, the only thing the Miami home had was the kitchen space that Jake prepared for Eva in case she wanted to try some dishes she wanted to make in the restaurant. "Mom, if you want I can ask you to make a cinema and a library in Miami too, it''s not difficult to do, I just didn''t think you would like it." "I don''t want to, I thought it was cool at your place and when I come here I can watch some movies with you and use your library to read a little, having it in Miami wouldn''t be good because I wouldn''t do it alone." Eva knew she liked to spend most of her time at the restaurant, so she thought it was useless to have it at the Miami home, Jake had bought several books and left it in the Miami office and Eva didn''t have time to read even a part their. The two talked for a while Jake showed the house to his mother, but in the afternoon Jake was totally focused when he went to the playoff game site, Jake knew how important that game was and he would not underestimate the opponent. The first opponent was the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the Los Angeles Lakers team played 3 times this season against the Minnesota Timberwolves team, there were 3 victories, but Jake remembered that in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team would have lost one of those games. The Minnesota Timberwolves team made a great start to the season with 7 wins and 3 losses, until afterward, the Minnesota Timberwolves team started losing several games, even so, the Minnesota Timberwolves team managed to qualify for the playoffs. Certainly, Kevin Garnett, who was the best player of the team this season, was mainly responsible for this, the fans couldn''t say that Kevin''s performance this season was worth the renewal of the millionaire contract he had, but at least it didn''t irritate the fans. At least this was Kevin''s best season on the Minnesota Timberwolves team, this season he averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, of course, the Minnesota Timberwolves team had other good players to qualify for the playoffs. Jake arrived and saw the fans coming to fill the Great Western Forum, Jake hoped that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the NBA title this season, which was the last season that the Lakers team would play at the Great Western Forum. Jake arrived in the locker room and waited some time until the players and coach Kurt Rambis arrived, all the players were fine for that game and Dennis Rodman was still on the team. The captain of the Los Angeles Lakers team was Shaquille O''Neal who was the most important player on the team and had more experience in playoffs and playing in the Los Angeles Lakers team, Dennis Rodman and Rick Fox had more experience than him, but Shaq was still the captain. Shaq was not a player who made many speeches on the Los Angeles Lakers team, so everyone expected Coach Rambis to say a few words before that first playoff game if the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title that moment would be important. "This is your first playoff game this season, even though this season has been reduced and there have been fewer games, no one can deny that you had a great campaign winning 44 games and losing only 6 games." "Your great performance this season has shown the media and the fans of our team your willingness to qualify for the playoffs, I am sure that now the will of everyone here and that our team qualifies for the NBA Finals and that we can win the NBA title." "This is my desire too, before the start of this season I could never hope that I would become the head coach of this team, this is a dream for me and for any coach." "I don''t know if I''m going to continue as the head coach of this team for the next season, so if possible I would like you to fight for our team to win the NBA title this season and so I will be proud of that for my entire life." Rambis'' motivational speech was with honest words and it touched the feelings of all the players who were most excited to play better, Kobe Bryant and Jake were young players and knew they would have other chances to win the NBA title. Shaquille O''Neal was not that young, but he also knew he would have other opportunities to win the NBA title, Rick Fox was excited to try to win the NBA title this season and Dennis Rodman had already won 5 NBA title in his career. But hearing coach Rambis say that made them all want to win the NBA title this season, of course, they needed to win that game and the next games against the Minnesota Timberwolves team. Soon the players of both teams went to the court, the players of the Minnesota Timberwolves team were called to the court and were not very applauded for being the opponents, soon the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were called. All the players that entered were very celebrated by the fans who shouted the names of the players, Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and in the end, Jake were the players that made the crowd more excited when they entered the court. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves team would start this game with Terrell Brandon playing as PG, Anthony Peeler playing as SG, Sam Mitchell playing as SF, Joe Smith, and Kevin Garnett playing as PF and Kevin defending against Shaq in that game. Both teams were with the initial players that they had in most games and this was probably the team that they would start all the games of this playoff, they would change if they wanted to try to play with a different formation. Chapter 551 The Playoffs 1 "Welcome to everyone who came to watch the first game between these two teams in this first phase of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team plays at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team had the worst performance of the Western Conference teams that qualified for the playoffs, yet in the first round games where a team needs 3 wins to qualify we can expect a lot of games between the two teams." "At the very least we will have 3 games between these two teams and thus the Minnesota Timberwolves team is much more likely to advance to the next phase of the playoffs with so many games." "Kevin Garnett has been doing the best season of his career and is making the fan better accept the millionaire contract that is being paid to him, even if the team''s budget was compromised because of Garnett''s contract, the Minnesota Timberwolves team has a team strong." "Even so, the Los Angeles Lakers team is definitely a favorite to win this game and qualify for the next phase of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win this season''s NBA title." "Even with this reduced season with 50 games, the Los Angeles Lakers team had one of the best seasons in the team''s history with 44 victories and just 6 losses ending the season in first place at the Western Conference." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack of this season with excellent players like 5-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Rick Fox on the starting team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team still has Jake Smith who debuted this season and was chosen in the three months of this season as the player of the month and is a favorite to be chosen as this season''s MVP." "Jake averaged 34.9 points, 11 assists and still has an average of 8 rebounds and 8 steals per game, Jake also plays the 48 minutes in every game, Jake plays every minute of the game which helped the team Los Angeles Lakers taking advantage in many important games." "With this team, it is normal for the Los Angeles Lakers team to be the favorite team to win the NBA title, we will follow this game to see which team starts these playoffs with a victory." Just as the commentators said what was expected in this game was for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the game, the players of both teams also knew this, and the fans who were at the Great Western Forum expected it. The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the first attack for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, this season Rick was having one of the best seasons of his career as a player, Rick played more than 44 games in this reduced season and won the affection of the fans with his good performances in the season. Rick played well in most games and with the Los Angeles Lakers team playing well and winning many games it was natural for Rick to be praised as well as the other players, Rick received the ball and Sam Mitchell arrived pressing in defense. Rick held the ball for a while and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Anthony Peeler came pressing on the defense, Kobe held the ball and tried to make a feint and deceive Peeler, Kobe tried to make a body feint and could not deceive Peeler. Kobe kept trying and dribbled pretending he was going to go left and going right, Peeler was tricked in that move and Kobe advanced to the inside area, Joe Smith tried to hinder the advance of Kobe who accelerated and drive to the basket to make the 2 first points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The fans were excited by Kobe''s beautiful play to make those first points, Jake hoped that in this game Shaq and Kobe would stand out as they always did in the important playoff games, if they played well it was certain that the Los Angeles Lakers team would win. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team went on the attack, Terrell Brandon advanced with the ball and passed to Peeler on the left, Peeler received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense. Peeler held the ball for a while and passed it to Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and Rick came in pressing on the defense, Mitchell tricked Rick with a feint and tried to advance from the right. Rick was not fooled and pressed in defense, Mitchell passed the ball to Peeler and Peeler went to the middle and the Minnesota Timberwolves team players changed positions in the play, Peeler passed the ball to Brandon on the right and Jake was on the defense. Brandon received the ball with the possession time running out and he attempted the mid-range shot and scored 2 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, at the beginning of the game the Minnesota Timberwolves team was playing well in attack and trying to press on defense. So, in the beginning, the game was balanced, this was expected for the Minnesota Timberwolves team to reach the playoffs meant that they had a good team with good players, but those who knew the Los Angeles Lakers team knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team started it was usually slower. This was not a recommendation from Coach Rambis, it was Jake''s style of play as PG, the Los Angeles Lakers team did not start slowly and just kept pace with the opponent''s game so that Jake could understand the opposing players. Coach Rambis and the other players didn''t complain because it was difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team to end the first quarter by losing the game, and with the team having just 4 losses in the season the confidence that the other players had in Jake was much greater. In another move Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Mitchell came pressing on the defense, Rick tried to make a feint, but Mitchell was not fooled and Rick passed the ball to Kobe on the right. Kobe received the ball and Peeler came in to press in defense, Kobe made no attempt to make any individual moves and passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Brandon came in to press in defense. Brandon knew that Jake was very good at making three-point shots and usually the opposing players just tried to hinder Jake, but this was a playoff game and Brandon thought he had to try to put more pressure on the defense to make Jake miss or even try block. Jake didn''t know what Brandon was thinking and made a feint pretending that he was going to the left and advancing on the right, Brandon, who was pressing on defense, couldn''t react when Jake advanced on the right and was tricked. What Brandon didn''t know was that the players who defended against Jake had a lot of difficulties, Jake was very good at three-point shots and if they tried the block in every move they could make several fouls and make some 4 point moves for Jake do. In addition, if the players who played against Jake tried to defend by pressing and were very close to him when Jake tried to advance to the inside area using his speed, the opponents would not be able to keep up and Jake would pass every time. Jake moved forward and Brandon was unable to keep up with him, Jake moved forward and this time Kevin Garnett tried to defend against Jake by preventing him from advancing into the painted area, Jake was quick and realized that Garnett came to defend against him and so Jake passed the ball to Shaq who was free. Shaq received the ball from Jake and advanced to score 2 more points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team, the Los Angeles Lakers fans celebrated this beautiful play by Jake, Jake thought very fast in the plays and was never a selfish player who he just wanted to score a lot, so it was difficult for opponents to guess what he was going to do. If Garnett didn''t try to defend against Jake, he would definitely continue to advance and score 2 points, so it was very difficult for opponents to defend against Jake when he decided to make a 2 point play. Even though Jake was very good at three-point shots, he was more likely to make a mistake trying to make a three-point shot than making a two-point shot, so opponents had to defend away from Jake to prevent him from moving forward. internal area. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack and Brandon advanced with the ball and passed it to Peeler on the left, Peeler received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Mitchell on the right. Mitchell received the ball and Rick came on to defend, Mitchell received the ball and managed to trick Rick with a feint and stepped back to try a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team. The game remained balanced with the Los Angeles Lakers team always winning the game, that did not make the Minnesota Timberwolves players happy because they knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team was controlling the game. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a small points advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game, the game looked balanced, but everyone could see that the Los Angeles Lakers team was dominating the game in that first quarter." "Garnett and Mitchell played well in that first quarter and we could see the Minnesota Timberwolves team struggling to score, and even so the Los Angeles Lakers still ended up winning that first quarter." "Yes, this is the Los Angeles Lakers team''s playing style this season that has only changed in the toughest games, Jake is an excellent PG and if he led the Lakers team to achieve so many victories this season playing like that, then this is the right way for the Lakers team to play." Chapter 552 The Playoffs 2 "The Minnesota Timberwolves team is also very strong and can still find an opportunity to win that game, moreover, this is only the first game of the 3 games between the two teams and the Minnesota Timberwolves team can find a way to win and move on to the next phase." In that game, Jake was much more relaxed and he knew he could save himself a little for the next games, with Shaq and Kobe playing very well it was easier for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. Jake realized that this game was easier, but he did not underestimate his opponent and he knew that the Minnesota Timberwolves team might surprise, but his biggest fear was that in the next games Shaq and Kobe would play badly and he would have to do the best performance that he could to ensure victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team putting more pressure on the attack, Jake had already seen how the opposing players were doing and so he started to better control the pace of the game. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler arrived pressing in defense, Kobe was doing the low dribble keep the ball bouncing low nearest to the floor, so Kobe prevented Peeler from trying to do the steal. Kobe had the ball and Peeler kept pressing in defense, Kobe jab stepped and Peeler retreated, so Kobe was free to try a mid-range shot and score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe was playing very well in that game and Peeler was unable to defend well against Kobe, so Jake tried to make more plays with Kobe on the right and with Shaq ahead too, so the Minnesota Timberwolves team was having trouble defending. The Los Angeles Lakers team started the second quarter pressing in the attack and the Minnesota Timberwolves team was having a hard time staying on defense, as this was not the only game between the two teams in the playoffs the Minnesota Timberwolves team players were calmer to try to achieve victory. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced the ball and passed Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and held it for a bit and then passed the ball to Peeler on the left. Peeler received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Peeler tried to trick Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not fooled, so Peeler decided to pass the ball to Garnett later on. Garnett got the ball and Shaq came up to press in defense, Garnett was playing well in that game, but Shaq was also playing well in defense and so Garnett couldn''t score as many points as in other games. Garnett protected the ball with his body and made a forceful move trying to advance to the painted area, Shaq was heavier and stronger than Garnett and was not pushed around and kept Garnett away from the painted area. Garnett pretended that he would advance from the right and did a spin and advanced from the left, Shaq still managed to stay in defense, Garnett advanced anyway and tried the layup and made 2 more points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team. After a few minutes in the second quarter, the game was not so balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team started to increase the points advantage, Jake continued playing very well and made more steals in the second quarter defending better too. The Los Angeles Lakers team really wanted this victory playing at home and all the players seemed motivated to achieve that, Dennis Rodman was defending well and managed to catch several defensive rebounds preventing the Minnesota Timberwolves team from having a chance to score more points. Rick was also well on the attack and even though he was unable to score many points, he still helped by not letting the players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team try to double-team Jake and Kobe. In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler arrived pressing on defense, Kobe held the ball and passed to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and went to the middle and Jake went to to the left. The players had to change positions to try to hinder the defense of the opposing team, in many plays the Los Angeles Lakers team did not need to do that, but in these playoffs, coach Rambis insisted that they make this move more. Rick passed the ball to Jake on the left, Jake received the ball and Brandon was again next to him pressing in defense, Jake remained calm even with Brandon pressing in defense. Jake made a feint doing the jab step and Brandon who let Jake pass him a few times stepped back, this gave more freedom to Jake who tried the shot from outside to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. With this 3-point move from Jake the crowd was excited again, Jake was currently the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team and he was for fans the most important player for playing every minute in every game and being the player who most he made points. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Peeler on the left. Peeler received the ball and Kobe came pressing in defense, Peeler was not playing so well in this game and that was because Kobe was defending very well in that game, so Peeler just tried to make the jump shot a few times and most of the times he tried to pass the ball. Peeler tried to trick Kobe with a feint and Kobe was not fooled, so Peeler tried to pass the ball to Garnett later on, but Jake had realized that Peeler was going to try that move and intercepted his pass and made the steal. After the steal Jake calmed his teammates and started the play slowly, the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a good point advantage with Jake''s steals and the Minnesota Timberwolves'' mistakes and they had no reason to rush. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The second quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team is much better in that game and the Minnesota Timberwolves defense cannot stop Jake, Kobe, and Shaq in that game." "The attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team is doing very well in this game with all the players on the Lakers team playing well, even though the Minnesota Timberwolves attack is playing well too, it is not enough for them to win the game." "In the last games of this season we see Kobe and Shaq playing much better in defense and that is why the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team is stronger, with the steals and Jake''s good defense the Lakers team has the advantage in this game." In the third quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team, which had little choice, kept trying to press in the attack and press in the defense too, but they knew that if the Los Angeles Lakers team kept pressing in the attack it would be difficult for them to win that game. Fortunately, as expected by the Los Angeles Lakers team coach Kurt Rambis, he realized that the Los Angeles Lakers team had a good advantage in this game and decided to replace the main players of the team so that they could rest and play better in the next games. This was normal for playoff team coaches to do and even Shaq and Kobe expected it, the Minnesota Timberwolves team could not replace the top players losing and they saw it as an opportunity for them to try to win the game. Even so, it was the Los Angeles Lakers team that started pressing in the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Derek Fisher on the right, Fisher took over from Kobe as he did several times this season and he could help Jake organize some plays. Fisher received the ball and Peeler came in to press on defense, Fisher held the ball for a while and passed it to Rodman ahead, Rodman received the ball and Joe Smith came in to press on defense. Rodman held the ball a little and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and passed it to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball freely and pretended he tried a mid-range shot, but it was actually a fake pump that tricked Mitchell, so Rick got free and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. At the end of the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to further increase their points advantage and it was almost impossible for the Minnesota Timberwolves to win that game, so the Minnesota Timberwolves coach decided to replace the main players for a few minutes in the last quarter. So in the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team had no more difficulty maintaining their points advantage and coach Rambis replaced Rick, Kobe, Shaq for even longer and only Jake remained on the court. The game ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the victory by making 112 points against 89 points of the Minnesota Timberwolves team, it was a great victory that was expected by the media and the fans of the two teams. In this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team played very well and even then Jake was the highlight of the game, Jake played for 12 minutes and made 37 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, and 8 steals, Jake managed to a double-double and won more confidence for the next games. "The game ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game as expected before the game, in this game all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team played well and it was natural that they would end up with the victory." Chapter 553 The Playoffs 3 "It''s true, the players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team still played well in that game, but with all the players from the Los Angeles Lakers team playing well it was expected that the Lakers team would win that first playoff game." "If the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to play well like that, the Minnesota Timberwolves team will not have a chance to win any of the next games, but this is difficult to happen and the Minnesota Timberwolves team still have 2 more opportunities to get the victory so that we have more games in that first phase of the playoffs." "On the Minnesota Timberwolves side, the highlight was again Kevin Garnett who played very well in attack and defense even playing against Shaquille O''Neal, when Shaq started to be replaced he started to make even more points making the Minnesota Timberwolves team don''t lose by such a big difference in points." "Terrell Brandon and Sam Mitchell also played very well in the attack and made an effort in defense, but that was not enough for the Minnesota Timberwolves to stop the best attack this season." "In this game, Rick Fox played very well scoring several points and attracting the attention of the Minnesota Timberwolves defense so that Jake and Kobe could attack more freely, Dennis Rodman helped the team by defending well and catching several important defensive rebounds." "Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant did not play for that long, but they still played very well at the beginning of the game and were important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to ensure victory." "Jake Smith was the main player of the Los Angeles Lakers team again playing every minute of the game and making a double-double with 37 points and 13 assists." After that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team was even more favorite to be on to the next stage and Jake was closer to winning the MVP award of the season, the Lakers team fans were excited about the team''s chance to win the NBA title later so many years. The players celebrated this victory a lot and the coach Rambis was also excited, after all the Los Angeles Lakers team got the victory and he managed to spare some players who were not so tired in this game. After the game Jake returned to his house with his mother who watched Jake''s first game in the playoffs, this was Jake''s first NBA game that Eva could watch and she realized it was different than when Jake played in college. Jake was happy to have Eva watching the game and can relax more and be more confident, Jake got one of the best places near the court for his mother and in many plays, he made the points he looked at Eva to see her celebrating. Jake managed to secure the best seats for his mother because he was the player on the Los Angeles Lakers team and also because he paid for tickets at every game, Jake could get tickets without having to pay for being a player, but he wanted to get the best places for his mother. Because of that Jake got the best seats even in the game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team would play as a visitor, Eva was still not as well known by the fans of the Lakers team and by some media people, but even so, she was very well received. Arriving home Jake talked to his mother for a while about the game and then he went to rest, the next morning Jake woke up and went to eat the breakfast that Eva had insisted on making. On that day the players had a rest before the second game the next day, coach Rambis told the players that they would have to do a lighter training that day, but they would not have the day to rest. The players already hoped they would not have so many days to rest when the playoffs started, after all, if the Los Angeles Lakers team had a few straight losses they could be eliminated. "Mom, did you like yesterday''s game?" "I enjoyed seeing your team winning, I don''t know much about basketball and I''m just happy to know that your team is winning and hearing the fans shouting your name." Eva did not like basketball very much and Jake knew that the truth was that Eva did not like sports very much, but Jake knew that his mother had started to enjoy watching basketball games after he became a professional player. Jake knew that this could happen because, in his past life, Eva watched NBA games several times with him after he started to love basketball after the accident, so in this life that Jake was a professional player it was normal for Eva to like even more watch basketball games. "Thanks, Mom, I was much more relaxed during the game knowing that you were watching, the next games are significant, and I am more confident knowing that you will be watching the games." "You don''t have to say that, Jake, I''m always going to support you, I''m going to take advantage of these games you''re going to have to take a vacation from the restaurant, I''ve never taken a vacation in all these years since the restaurant opened." ???This is a great idea, mom, when you go back to Miami you can give Anna a vacation too, I know she loves to stay at the restaurant, but she needs to rest too, if she doesn''t want to take a vacation you can say she can stay at the restaurant all her vacation time, but she''s not going to work." "That''s an excellent idea, Jake, Anna and I love staying at the restaurant, and I wouldn''t be taking my vacation if it weren''t for her playoff games, Anna also needs time for her to rest." Jake knew that Anna loved staying at the restaurant because she loved to cook and also because Anna had no contact with her family, so her new family was Eva and Jake, at the restaurant Anna could cook and could see Eva and her other friends if Anna took a vacation she thought she would have to stay at her house alone. Jake had never thought about it even though he knew that Anna was already 63 years old and was not too young to work at the restaurant every day without rest, luckily Anna''s health was as good as Eva''s and that''s why Jake forgot about it sometimes. After a few hours, Jake went to train with the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, everyone was happy with the easy win in the first game, Shaq and Kobe were not so happy because they played for less time, but they knew it was important for the team to win the games in the playoffs. Certainly, when the NBA Finals games arrived, players could not rest even if they wanted to, for professional players the injuries were the worst that could happen and nobody wanted that to happen. Soon the day of the next game came, the Great Western Forum was packed again with fans from the Los Angeles Lakers team, the last game was an easy win and fans and sports media expected it to happen again. The two teams started the game with the same players from the last game and the Minnesota Timberwolves team hoped to win in that game and then play the next 2 games at their home and it would be easier for them to win. The game started with the Minnesota Timberwolves team pressing in the attack, the Minnesota Timberwolves team''s idea was to press in defense and try to score more points than the opponent, but they knew it wouldn''t be easy. In that first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team started slowly as they did in all games, yet they continued to lead the scoreboard throughout the first quarter and ended up winning the first quarter. Jake noticed in that first quarter that all the players on the Minnesota Timberwolves team were playing well and only Sam Mitchell was not doing so well, on the side of the Los Angeles Lakers team Kobe was not playing so well. Fortunately, Shaq and Rick were playing well in the attack and that gave the Los Angeles Lakers team more chances to win, in the second quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team started to put more pressure on the attack and play better. As in the past game, the Minnesota Timberwolves team could not defend against the strong attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team, and the Lakers team began to increase the advantage in points. So in the third quarter, coach Rambis felt that he could replace the main players again and still achieve that victory, the Minnesota Timberwolves team could not replace the main players and they had to bet on getting the victory in that game. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Timberwolves team in that game, Jake was playing well in defense again and even made a few blocks, Dennis Rodman and Robert Horry who replaces Dennis for a few minutes also played well in defense and this hindered the Minnesota Timberwolves team. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team securing their second win in two playoff games, the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with 117 points against 86 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team gets another victory playing at home, the Minnesota Timberwolves team struggled to get the win, but the Los Angeles Lakers team was very good in that game and got the victory." "In that Shaq game, Rick and Jake played very well in the attack and secured the victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team, in defense Jake, Dennis and Robert played well and prevented the Minnesota Timberwolves from making important points." "The third game in this playoff phase is going to be at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, so the Minnesota Timberwolves team will have to win the next game playing at home to still get another game." "If the Los Angeles Lakers team wins the next game, the Minnesota Timberwolves team will be eliminated and the Los Angeles Lakers team will advance to the next playoff phase." After the end of the game, the reporters went to talk to the players, the players of both teams did not want to speak to the media, but Jake was more excited to have Eva watching the game and to have won the second playoff game and decided to talk one little with the media. Chapter 554 The Playoffs 4 "Jake, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first 2 games and if they win the next game they will advance to the next phase of the playoffs, are you confident of being able to advance to the next phase?" "We are certainly confident, the Minnesota Timberwolves team is an excellent opponent and they are certainly a good team for advancing into the playoffs, but we are confident in being able to win and advance to the next phase of the playoffs." "Jake, do you think that if you win the NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers team you will win the MVP award?" "I don''t know, a lot of the players who were chosen as the MVP of the season didn''t win the NBA title and some didn''t even make it to the NBA Finals, but I think I have a chance of winning that award this season." "The truth is that my teammates and I are going to strive to win this NBA title regardless of any prize, that is our priority." "Jake, do you think the Los Angeles Lakers team is the favorite to win the NBA title this season after those two victories in the first two playoff games?" "I think our team has been the favorite to win the NBA title since before the playoffs, we have the best attack this season and we are the team with the most victories this season, but we will still have to strive like all the other teams to win the NBA title." The reporters were happy with Jake''s responses in that interview, Jake did not deviate from the questions and the reporters realized that Jake had learned to talk better with the media to prevent his words from being misunderstood by others. After the end of that game, Jake returned to his house with his mother, the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team was in 2 days, so Coach Rambis decided to let the players rest the next day and only the next day the players would go travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The players who were already a little tired after those first 2 games were very happy about it and Jake was also happy as he played every minute in every game, Jake had prepared a reservation at a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota for Eva and had to warn that she would be late one day. Jake also called to tell the driver of the car he had rented and the pilot of the helicopter, Eva was anxious because it was her first time riding a helicopter and she didn''t mind delaying that trip by another day. Jake came home and had his dinner with Eva and after that, he went to his room, Jake didn''t go to sleep and called Kate to talk to her about the 2 games he had in the NBA playoffs, Kate couldn''t watch to the games and for the past few days, she was busy with her concerts. That day Jake knew Kate wasn''t too busy and called her, Jake talked for a few hours with Kate who was happy with the Los Angeles Lakers team''s victories and was also happy to know that Eva was watching Jake''s playoff games. Jake can rest well after talking to Kate and the other day he woke up very early to eat the breakfast with his mother, Jake took advantage of that rest day to take Eva to visit some places in Los Angeles. Jake himself did not know many places, but the main tourist spots he knew and Jake also knew many famous restaurants with typical foods from various countries, this was currently the thing that most interested Eva. Eva now had a restaurant that served typical dishes from all countries and to do that Eva had to know the dish she would make well, but after the restaurant opened Eva no longer had to travel with Jake and did not know any new dishes in countries many different. So Jake used his experience with cooking and looked for places that had dishes that Eva had not yet made in her restaurant, Eva liked that a lot and was very happy with this tour with Jake. After that Jake went to a movie theater to watch his movie with his mother, that was a request from Eva even though she can''t watch the movie premiere with Jake, Jake naturally accepted it because he wanted to see the movie he participated in again. Jake watched the premiere of the film, but he paid more attention to what had changed from the film he had seen in his past life than to the performance he had in the film, so this time Jake paid attention to the history of the film and his performance too. Watching the scenes Jake realized that the scenes he had done with the doubles who knew how to fight seemed more real than the scenes he did with other actors who did not have much training, that was because in the scenes of Jake with other doubles it was not much editing was required and the fight scenes were almost real. Of course, in the blows that hurt the most and when Jake attacked opponents, and they hit the wall afterward, it was all done with editing, but the normal fight scenes were much more ''real'' even so, Jake thought his performance in the debut film it was very good. Jake heard from the directors that if there was a next film, the character Jev that Jake would make would be much more important in the film and Jake would see how it would affect the films in The Matrix trilogy that he always liked a lot. Eva also enjoyed watching this movie a lot with Jake, so Jake said that in the future he would receive a copy of this film to watch at the cinema he had at his house, for the time being, he had not received it because the film was still in theaters. Jake remembered that for some reason this film would continue in theaters around the world until September 1999 even though in the past few weeks the film has hardly raised more than $ 100,000 worldwide. An interesting thing that Jake learned the other day talking with Keanu Reeves was that the film The Matrix had already raised 210 million dollars only in the domestic box office, that impressed Jake who remembered that the film The Matrix had until the end of September less of 172 million dollars in the domestic box office in his past life. This meant that in just over a month the box office of the film The Matrix was already bigger than what the film collected in all the time in Jake''s past life, this made Jake happier because it showed that the film was a bigger success than it was in the past. Jake also knew that he had more fans in Europe and Asia than in the United States, so the collection of the worldwide film could also be much higher with Jake''s participation in this film, even more, because Jake''s performance was highly praised by critics. Of course, Jake couldn''t know if the reason for this was that he acted well in the film or if it was just because of his fame as a basketball player, but Jake was very happy to have done more good for the film he always liked. Even more because Jake would receive 2 percent of the final income from the film as payment for acting in the film, so he would receive $ 2 million for recording this film which was much more than most actors received in their first film and Jake knew that that number would only increase. After doing all these things Jake went on a trip with the Los Angeles Lakers team to Minneapolis, Minnesota, Eva also went to Minneapolis, Minnesota by helicopter and Jake would just meet his mother at the Target Center. Jake arrived in Minneapolis, Minnesota and went to the hotel with the players and slept well waiting for the game the other day, soon the game day arrived and Jake saw that the players were very excited for this game. Soon it was game time and the players went to the Target Center, the players were excited after the two victories in the first 2 games and they hoped the Los Angeles Lakers team could win again and so they would qualify for the next playoff phase. and I could rest more. Jake knew it wouldn''t be that easy and the Minnesota Timberwolves team would try very hard not to lose this game, after all, they knew that if they lost they would be eliminated and it would be the end of this season for them. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start that game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves team would start this game with Terrell Brandon playing as PG, Anthony Peeler playing as SG, Sam Mitchell playing as SF, Joe Smith, and Kevin Garnett playing as PF and Kevin defending against Shaq in that game. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game this season, this is the third game between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the Minnesota Timberwolves team, the Lakers team won the first 2 games." "If the Los Angeles Lakers team wins this game more they qualify for the next round and eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves team, but this victory will not be easy because the Minnesota Timberwolves team plays at home in that game." "The highlight of the Minnesota Timberwolves team is Kevin Garnett who played very well in the first two games, but failed to bring victory to the Minnesota Timberwolves team." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has several players that can be called highlights, such as Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, but the biggest highlight of the team this season has been the rookie, Jake Smith." "Jake has been playing so well that he won this season''s rookie of the year award and is competing for the season''s MVP award, Jake will definitely work hard to bring victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team and ensure that the team moves forward third playoff game. " Chapter 555 The Playoffs 5 Just as commentators said and as fans of both teams knew, if the Los Angeles Lakers team played well and Jake played well it was certain that they would win that game, and Jake was determined to bring victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game. Soon the game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who held the ball and started to organize the first play of that game. Jake charged forward and passed the ball to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Sam Mitchell came in to press on defense, Rick held the ball for a while and passed it on to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and Anthony Peeler pressed in defense, Kobe made the low dribble and Peeler could not try to steal, Kobe made a feint and stepped back to try the mid-range shot and make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Los Angeles Lakers team started slowly as in all games, yet the players of the Minnesota Timberwolves team felt the pressure of the Los Angeles Lakers'' attack, after all, if they lost that game they would be eliminated. In that first quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team started to put a lot of pressure on defense and attack because they knew they needed the victory, with that pressure Kobe and Rick started to miss some attacks and Jake realized that they were not playing as well as in other games. With this pressure from the Minnesota Timberwolves team in the attack, Jake also realized that Sam Mitchell and Anthony Peeler were not playing as well in the attack, so the Los Angeles Lakers team would not be so disadvantaged in defense with Rick and Kobe playing badly. The Minnesota Timberwolves team went on the attack, Terrell Brandon advanced the ball and passed it to Mitchell on the right, Mitchell received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Peeler on the left. Peeler received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing in defense, Peeler decided not to try the individual play and passed to Kevin Garnett later, Garnett received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal arrived pressing in defense. Shaq was playing very well in that game and that made Jake happy because with Shaq playing well and with some players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team playing poorly, it was more possible for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the game. Garnett had already played two games against Shaq and knew that Shaq defended well and that it was useless to use force to try to advance to the painted area, Garnett made a feint and managed to deceive Shaq and advance from the right using his speed. Shaq still managed to keep defending even after being tricked, but Garnett was faster and so Garnett tried a hook shot and made 2 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves team, Garnett was also playing well in all games of that playoff. This showed how a team with an excellent player had more difficulty in winning if they did not have other good players, the Minnesota Timberwolves team had good players, but that was not enough to win several games in the playoffs. In another move Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler came up to press in defense, Kobe had also realized that he was not playing so well in the attack, so he did not want to make many individual plays so as not to risk miss many attacks. Kobe passed the ball to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Brandon came to defend, after the first 2 games Brandon understood that it was not very smart to press too much on defense playing close to Jake. So Brandon was playing a little bit away from Jake, and if Jake tried the shot from outside he would have to try to get in the way and wait for Jake to miss, Jake took advantage of Brandon being further away and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake really got fewer shots when trying to shoot three points, but even so, his average hit was 77 percent, so it was enough to guarantee Jake more than 30 points in most games and it helped the Los Angeles Lakers team a lot. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a small points advantage, the game looked very balanced and had fewer points than the last games, the Los Angeles Lakers team always did that in games, but only Jake knew that this game was different. Jake was unable to hold much and analyze his opponent and the Los Angeles Lakers team had to work hard to finish the first quarter by winning, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game, in that first quarter Jake Smith seems to have played better and Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox didn''t seem to be playing so well." "On the Minnesota Timberwolves side we could also see that Kevin Garnett was playing well, but Sam Mitchell and Anthony Peeler were not playing that well." "The Minnesota Timberwolves team will have to work harder if they want to win and take that decision to a fourth game and then try the fifth game." The Minnesota Timberwolves fans also became more discouraged after that first quarter, the fans realized that some players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team were not playing well and that perhaps the team would really be eliminated, especially because Jake and Shaq were playing well. Soon the second quarter started with the Minnesota Timberwolves pressing on the attack, the Los Angeles Lakers team coach realized that Kobe and Rick were not playing as well and he decided he would not replace them in that game. After all, if the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win that game they would qualify and could rest even more without having to play another game, that was even worse for the Minnesota Timberwolves team. Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it for a while before passing it to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Peeler came pressing on the defense. Kobe saw Jake advancing through the middle and passed the ball to him, Jake received the ball and continued to advance with speed, Brandon who did not expect Jake to do this was unable to continue defending. Jake moved forward and Garnett had no choice but to try to defend against Jake even though he knew Jake had already planned this move, just as Garnett hoped Jake passed the ball, but Jake was smart and made a pass over the top. Shaq took the ball high and made a dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Garnett who was thinking about intercepting Jake''s pass can just look at Jake and Shaq''s beautiful move. In another move the Minnesota Timberwolves team was on the attack, Brandon advanced with the ball and passed it to Peeler on the left, Peeler received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Mitchell on the right. Mitchell received the ball and Rick came in to press on defense, Mitchell tried to trick Rick with a feint, but Rick was not fooled and continued on defense, so Mitchell decided to pass the ball to Brandon further back. In this game, only Garnett and Brandon were playing well in the attack, but Brandon was afraid to make the moves because in the last game Jake made 2 blocks when he tried to attack, Brandon still tried some attacks in the first quarter, but he always worried when he had to attack. But in this play Brandon did not have much choice because the time of possession of the ball was running out, Jake also knew that, and even being a little far from Brandon he was attentive in the play. Brandon stepped back for even more freedom and tried a shot from the outside, Jake moved quickly as he realized Brandon was going to try the three-point shot, Jake was very fast and jumped right after Brandon and made the block. Dennis managed to catch the rebound after Jake made the block and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the ball, in a balanced game this play meant a lot, with this play Brandon would be even more afraid to attack. The second quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a slightly greater advantage in points, in that second quarter, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. In the third quarter, the Minnesota Timberwolves team continued to put pressure on the attack, after all the advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers team had was not so great and the players of the Minnesota Timberwolves team knew that if they lost that game they would be eliminated. So in that third quarter in addition to the Minnesota Timberwolves team pressing in attack and defense, they started making more fouls until they made more than 6 fouls and the Los Angeles Lakers team started having to make a free throw. The Minnesota Timberwolves team''s idea was that they would not let the Los Angeles Lakers team take too long to attack and also because players like Shaq could miss more free throws. The strategy worked and the players of the Minnesota Timberwolves team did a lot of fouls mainly in Shaq, even in Jake who had an average of 100 percent of hits in free throws was also a target in the opponents'' fouls, after all, they didn''t want Jake to attempt shots from 3 points. With that, the Minnesota Timberwolves team ended the third quarter reducing the advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers team had, that cheered the fans because in the last quarter the difference in points between the two teams was much smaller. The only problem was that because the Minnesota Timberwolves team made a lot of fouls in that third quarter, the players had a lot of fouls and couldn''t continue making the fouls because they could be expelled. So the only option for the Minnesota Timberwolves coach was to replace some players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team so that those players who entered could make more fouls. Chapter 556 The Playoffs 6 With that, the Minnesota Timberwolves team could continue with the strategy of making fouls to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from making many points, but with that, the attack of the Minnesota Timberwolves team that also had to make many points was harmed. The coach of the Los Angeles Lakers team had also realized this Minnesota Timberwolves strategy and so he replaced Shaq who was the biggest target of fouls for the Minnesota Timberwolves team and placed Robert Horry who was better at free throws and could still help in defense. So in the last quarter, the two teams remained balanced and the fans of the Minnesota Timberwolves team were excited at the Target Center because either team could win. Jake also realized this and realized that he had to try harder in the attack if he wanted the Los Angeles Lakers team to win that game, so Jake, who was the team''s PG, started trying three-point shots without passing the ball to prevent the opponent fouls. Jake tried 4 shots from outside and hit 3 of them, so the Minnesota Timberwolves team realized this and double-teamed Jake to prevent him from trying three-point shots, with that Jake passed the ball and the Minnesota Timberwolves team stopped making so many faults. With the Minnesota Timberwolves team having to double-team Jake, his teammates had a much easier time making the attacking moves and making the points and so the Los Angeles Lakers team increased the points advantage. Soon the Minnesota Timberwolves team managed to make another strategy causing Garnett to defend against Jake and press on defense as soon as Jake caught the ball, even before Jake arrived on the attack. This prevented Jake from attacking easily, in addition, the Minnesota Timberwolves team no longer needed to double-team Jake, but when the Minnesota Timberwolves team did that, the Los Angeles Lakers team had already opened up an advantage in points that would be difficult for the team Minnesota Timberwolves recover and achieve victory. So the game continued with the Minnesota Timberwolves team still trying to make the foul strategy and the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing more in defense, Jake who was not able to play well in the attack, started to try more steals and blocks to help the Los Angeles team Lakers to win. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team got the win with a good point advantage, which Jake did at the beginning of the last quarter helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to win and go to the next stage of the playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers team achieved the victory making 103 points against 95 points of the Minnesota Timberwolves team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and made 37 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 steals, and 3 blocks. "The game is over, the Los Angeles Lakers team got one more win and so they advance to the next phase of the playoffs and eliminate the Minnesota Timberwolves team, it was a great start to the playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers team." "This was the first game of that phase of the playoffs at the home of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers team won, but the game was much more difficult than expected and the Minnesota Timberwolves team almost won." "Kobe and Rick weren''t playing that well and the Minnesota Timberwolves team''s strategy of making many fouls towards the end of the game almost brought victory for them." "Unfortunately, some players from the Minnesota Timberwolves team were also playing poorly and so it was more difficult for the Minnesota Timberwolves team to win the game." "Jake was again the highlight of the game and made a triple-double with 37 points, 10 assists, and 11 steals and even made 3 blocks, at the beginning of the last quarter Jake hit 3 shots from outside and made 9 points and made the Minnesota team Timberwolves change the team''s way of defending and brought victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team." "With the Los Angeles Lakers team advancing to the next round with 3 wins, it will give greater confidence to the players and the fans in the next games." The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were very happy with the victory, in that game Jake and Shaq was more important for the victory and classification of the Lakers team and Kobe and Rick knew that. The Minnesota Timberwolves'' players were saddened to be eliminated from the playoffs, but they hoped they would lose those games against the Los Angeles Lakers team that was the favorite team to win the NBA title this season. Jake talked to his mother for a while after the game and Eva said she would return to Jake''s home in Los Angeles, after all, there was a helicopter waiting for her whenever Eva needed, Jake said he understood why after this game the Lakers team would return to Los Angeles waiting for the next game. After a few hours, Jake was at his house in Los Angeles and Eva had already arrived and was waiting for him, Jake took a grape juice he liked to drink and toasted his mother to celebrate the victory and celebrate that the team Los Angeles Lakers had qualified for the next phase of the playoffs. Jake didn''t like drinking alcoholic beverages very much, but he wanted to be able to drink wine and champagne with his mother at times of celebration like this, soon Jake would be 21 and be of legal age to drink again. Fortunately, Jake never really liked alcoholic beverages, so he can take all these years without drinking on his second chance, even Eva, who didn''t like drinking a lot, was still drinking wine with Anna at the restaurant. The other day Jake woke up early to eat the breakfast with his mother, Jake still didn''t know who the next opponent would be because the Los Angeles Lakers team had won in just 3 games, but he would probably know on the 15th or 16th of May. Either way, the Los Angeles Lakers team would probably play on the 17th or 18th of May, the Portland Trail Blazers team was playing against the Houston Rockets team and had won the first 2 games and lost the third game that happened yesterday, if the Portland team Trail Blazers won the next one they would qualify. The San Antonio Spurs team won the 3 games against the Phoenix Suns team and had already qualified for the next phase of the playoffs too, the Utah Jazz team won the first game and lost the second and third games against the Sacramento Kings team. Jake remembered that the same had happened in his past life and that the Utah Jazz team won the last 2 games and qualified for the next phase of the playoffs, if they qualified, the Utah Jazz team will play against the San Antonio Spurs team. Anyway, the Los Angeles Lakers team would not have training that day because Coach Rambis gave the players a rest day, only the next day they would train and could train and rest until the 17th or until the 18th of May. So the players would have at least 3 days of rest without games because they won the 3 games and qualified for the next phase, Jake thought that the San Antonio Spurs team would be their opponent in the next phase, and the San Antonio Spurs team had already ranked with 3 games too. Of course, Jake knew well that the Los Angeles Lakers team had to win against the Portland Trail Blazers team to move on to the next stage, Jake had hopes that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win because he had him on the team and because Dennis Rodman was very important for the Lakers team to win the 3 games against the Minnesota Timberwolves team. Dennis had more than 10 rebounds in all three games and was also important in defense, Jake knew that Dennis would be important in the playoffs, so he expected Dennis to remain on the Los Angeles Lakers team at least until the end of the season. If the Los Angeles Lakers team got another skillful Power Forward to replace Dennis, Jake wouldn''t mind that and he was sure that Dennis would leave the Lakers team more satisfied having won an NBA title. After Jake ate the breakfast with Eva he asked for a break and went to his office to talk to Kate, Jake can''t call after the game is over because he knew Kate was at a show that day, but in the morning he could call talk to Kate. "Hi, Kate, how are you?" "Hi, Jake, everything is fine with me, congratulations on the victory in the last games and for your team to qualify for the next phase of the playoffs." "Thanks, I didn''t call you yesterday because you were busy with your show." "I was at the show, I asked Lily to let me know about the outcome of your game, even though I knew you were going to win, I was still worried." Hearing Kate says that Jake just laughed, she and Eva were too used to the teams Jake played winning most games, but he knew it was possible that the team he played would be eliminated in those playoffs and in the next playoffs as well. Jake wondered if Eva and Kate would be disappointed if they saw Jake''s team being eliminated, after all they always expected him to win every game, Jake hoped that it wouldn''t happen. So in the next few days, Jake took the opportunity to relax and show his mother the city of Los Angeles, Jake had to train almost every day and hope that the next game would surely be in Los Angeles after all the Los Angeles Lakers team qualified in first. Just as Jake expected on May 15, the Portland Trail Blazers won the third game against the Houston Rockets team and qualified for the next phase of the playoffs and would face the Los Angeles Lakers. For Jake the Portland Trail Blazers team was the toughest opponent he faced this season, the Los Angeles Lakers team lost just one game and had other difficult games, but in his past life, the Los Angeles Lakers team had lost 2 games against the team Portland Trail Blazers in season. Chapter 557 The Playoffs 7 Jake remembered that the Portland Trail Blazers team reached the West Conference Finals in his past life, the Portland Trail Blazers team won the 3 games against the Phoenix Suns team and easily qualified for the next playoff phase. Then he had a tough game against the Utah Jazz team in which he lost 2 games and won the game with 4 wins after 6 games, then the Portland Trail Blazers team lost to the San Antonio Spurs team that won the NBA title 4-0. So Jake didn''t expect it to be easy to win all 4 games against the Portland Trail Blazers team to qualify for the next round, but Jake was confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team would win and qualify for the next round. Jake also hoped that the San Antonio Spurs team would win the games against the Utah Jazz team and qualify for the West Conference Finals and face the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake thought that only in this way could he try to win the NBA title with pride that he won the stronger teams. Soon more 2 days passed and soon the day of the first game came, it was on May 17 and the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite for playing better all season and also for not having lost 2 games against the same opponent throughout the season. In addition, the Los Angeles Lakers team would play the first 2 games at home, so if they won those games as expected they would put all the pressure on the Portland Trail Blazers. If the Portland Trail Blazers team won just one of the 2 games they would have at home, the fifth game would be decided in Los Angeles, so it was normal for the Los Angeles Lakers team to be the favorite to win those games. Jake left the house and Eva had left a few minutes earlier to go to watch the game, Eva left before Jake and always arrived at the Great Western Forum, Jake arrived at the Great Western Forum and the crowd was arriving and it was expected that the Great Western Forum was full of fans. Soon Jake arrived in the locker room and after a while, the players entered the court to see the Great Western Forum full of fans, Jake thought that the Portland Trail Blazers team would certainly feel pressure from the fans. The names of the players of the two teams were called and when the names of the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were called the crowd got very excited and started to scream even more. In that game the Los Angeles Lakers team would start with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Portland Trail Blazers team would start the game with Damon Stoudamire playing as PG, Isaiah Rider playing as SG, the Portland Trail Blazers team would have Brian Grant and Rasheed Wallace playing as PF, and Brian Grant would defend against Rick Fox, and Arvydas Sabonis playing as Center. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this season, this is the first game of the West Conference Semifinals of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team will face the Portland Trail Blazers." "The two teams will compete to see which team will make it to the West Conference Finals and try to make it to the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers team is the favorite to be playing at home and to have the best performance this season." "But in this phase, teams need 4 wins to advance to the next playoff phase, so the Portland Trail Blazers team has a chance of winning 4 games and advancing to the next phase." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has another advantage, which is having the best attack with Jake Smith, Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant playing, if the three of them play this and the next games, the Los Angeles Lakers team can certainly advance to the next one phase." "The Portland Trail Blazers team also has one of the best offenses and one of the best defenses this season, even though they are not stronger in the attack, they are a balanced team and managed to advance to the playoffs with the fourth-best campaign playing like this." The game started and Shaquille O''Neal won the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started to organize the attack, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick Fox on the left. Rick received the ball and Brian Grant came to press on defense, Rick held the ball a little and passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Damon Stoudamire arrived to press on defense. Stoudamire was one of the best players on the Portland Trail Blazers team and he always had a hard time playing against the Los Angeles Lakers because he couldn''t defend well against Jake and Jake managed to defend well against him. In the only game, this season that the Portland Trail Blazers team managed to beat the Los Angeles Lakers team was in a game that the Portland Trail Blazers attack was very good and they didn''t need Stoudamire to win. Jake had the ball and thought a little about what play he would do, Jake decided to pass the ball to Kobe Bryant from the right, Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came pressing on the defense, Kobe tried a feint and managed to trick Rider and advanced on the right. Rider was deceived, but managed to recover and came back to defend, Kobe continued to advance and did a fast crossover and advanced through the middle, this time Rider was unable to follow and Kobe advanced to make 2 points with a layup. The crowd cheered up with this move by Kobe, in the last game Kobe played very badly and in the last games he was not able to play as well as he should in playoff games, the fans and the media did not charge so much for Kobe because he was a player who was in the NBA a few years ago. But Jake charged Kobe because he knew that in the future Kobe would be one of the best players in the NBA and right now he already had the ability to help the Los Angeles Lakers team more easily win the playoff games. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed to Grant on the right, the Portland Trail Blazers team played several games using 2 PF and that seemed to have worked well after all the Portland Trail Blazers team stayed in fourth among West Conference teams. Grant received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Grant held the ball a little and passed it to Rider on the left, Rider received the ball and Kobe arrived pressing on defense, Rider started doing a Hockey Dribble so as not to lose the ball. Rider made a feint and pretending he was going to move forward and Kobe retreated, so Rider took this chance to shoot a mid-range shot and score 2 points for the Portland Trail Blazers, the Portland Trail Blazers was also attacking well and the Los Angeles team Lakers had a hard time defending. With the Portland Trail Blazers team also attacking well and having a good defense the game seemed balanced, but nobody knew if the game was evenly balanced or if the Los Angeles Lakers team was just analyzing the opponent. Jake knew that the game was really difficult, but with Kobe and Shaq playing well the Los Angeles Lakers team had no difficulty in making the points, so the game was just balanced because he was analyzing the opponent. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and Grant came pressing on the defense, Rick tried to trick Grant with a feint, but failed. Rick passed the ball to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and Stoudamire came pressing on the defense, Stoudamire learned by watching Jake''s games and was not defending close to Jake, Jake realized this and stepped back and tried an outside shot to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Stoudamire already expected Jake to make a move like that, but the Portland Trail Blazers team coach talked to him and told him not to try to stay close to Jake and if Jake tried the shots from outside it was for him to leave and just try to hinder Jake. Jake didn''t know that and was just playing normally, he was prepared for the Portland Trail Blazers to start making fouls just like the Minnesota Timberwolves did. If that happened, Coach Rambis would replace Shaq who was the target for opponents to make fouls, and Jake would have to try to hit even more shots from outside, if the Portland Trail Blazers team tried to send a player to defend against him in one on one, Jake would continue to attack. After all, the Minnesota Timberwolves team only managed to find one player to defend against Jake because they had Kevin Garnett on the team, the Portland Trail Blazers team had no such player and Jake would not be intimidated and would continue to attack. Jake hadn''t played a game in which he just tried to make as many points as he could after he joined the Los Angeles Lakers team, this was because he had great teammates and also because Jake knew if he did that the opponent would double-team and he would no longer be able to attack in the game in which he only tried to attack. Jake didn''t think it was necessary after all, even though he played the way he played normally, he managed to make more than 11 assists per game, Jake still managed to score 51 points in one of the games. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Rider on the left, Rider received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Grant on the right. Grant received the ball and Rick came in to press the defense, Grant advanced with the ball using his strength and Rick could not defend well against Grant, Grant advanced a little and tried to make a hook shot to make 2 points for the Portland Trail Blazers. Chapter 558 The Playoffs 8 Grant had the advantage of being able to use his strength in plays against Rick, but Grant also knew that he couldn''t try to move too close to the painted area, after all, Dennis Rodman and Shaquille O''Neal were always looking at him and they would stop him. The game remained balanced and at the end of the first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a small advantage in points, in that first quarter, Jake played for 12 minutes and had 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning the game, this start of the game seemed balanced, but it seems that the Los Angeles Lakers team can play better than that and is using the strategy we know." "It''s true, we could see that Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant are playing well in that game and when they are playing well the Los Angeles Lakers team get the win." "Jake Smith is playing as well as in every game, so in this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team will win if the Portland Trail Blazers team are unable to defend better and not press forward." "Damon Stoudamire, Isaiah Rider, and Rasheed Wallace are playing better in this game and Stoudamire will have a hard time attacking and defending against Jake, but if the Portland Trail Blazers win this game at the Lakers home they can win this playoff phase. and move forward." Before the start of the second quarter, Jake looked at the stands and you can see his mother watching the game in the place he had chosen for her, with Eva in the stands Jake was calmer to play and could play better that way. From what Jake realized in that game the Los Angeles Lakers team could easily win with Shaq and Kobe playing well, the Portland Trail Blazers team could not defend well against the Los Angeles Lakers attack in that first quarter and would have even more difficulty when Jake took the lead. Lakers team to press on the attack. The second quarter started with the Portland Trail Blazers pressing in attack and defense, they knew they had to work hard if they wanted to win that first game at the home of the Los Angeles Lakers. But the Los Angeles Lakers team also started to press on the attack and soon everyone realized that in the first quarter the Lakers team was just analyzing the opponent, with the Lakers team''s attack pressing on the Portland Trail Blazers'' defense barely managed to hold the opponent''s attack. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense, Kobe held the ball a little and passed the ball to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and already passed to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Stoudamire came in the defense, Jake advanced with the ball and Stoudamire got closer to keep Jake from moving forward, Jake made a feint and a quick crossover to advance from the right. Stoudamire was deceived and when he realized he tried to continue the defense, but Jake was faster and advanced into the area, Rasheed Wallace saw that Jake was advancing with the ball and came to defend. Jake did a fast Speed ??Dribble and advanced closer to the inside area, Wallace still continued in defense and Jake did the unstoppable Spin Move which was LeBron James'' move, so Jake did the spin and advanced to do the dunk hard and do 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The fans at the Great Western Forum were excited about this beautiful play by Jake, Shaq, Dennis and Kobe greet Jake for the beautiful play and this increased the spirits of the Los Angeles Lakers team in the game and left the Portland Trail Blazers players discouraged. Jake started this move thinking of passing the ball to Shaq, but as it was Wallace who came to defend Jake decided to score the 2 points, that was the problem that the defense of the opposing teams had when playing against the Los Angeles Lakers team. In another move, the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Grant was one of the best players on the Portland Trail Blazers team and so Rick was pushing hard on defense. Grant held the ball a little and passed it to Rider on the left, Rider received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense, Rider managed to trick Kobe with a feint and advanced to the left, Kobe still managed to react and continued on defense. Rider made another feint and stepped back and tried a mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Portland Trail Blazers team, the Portland Trail Blazers players were playing well in that game and were pushing forward. Even so, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack was stronger, and the Portland Trail Blazers team could not defend as well as it did in other games, with Shaq, Kobe and Jake playing well it was difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers team to reduce the team advantage Lakers in points. In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense. Kobe made the low dribble and tried to keep the ball away from Rider, in that play Rider was putting too much pressure on the defense and Kobe could not move forward, Kobe saw Shaq getting rid of the defense and passed the ball to him. Shaq received the ball and advanced to the painted area, Arvydas Sabonis still managed to recover and tried to continue defending, but Shaq was already advancing and used his strength to keep going and made the dunk and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In this game in which Shaq and Kobe were playing well, the Portland Trail Blazers players realized that it would be difficult for them to achieve victory, even so, they had to try because they knew that a victory as a visitor would be important in these playoff games. If the Portland Trail Blazers team could win 1 game as a visitor and 2 games at home, it would be easier for them to achieve their fourth victory and advance to the next stage of the playoffs. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team managing to further increase the points advantage, in that second quarter Jake played very well and had 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals. "The second quarter ends, and the Los Angeles Lakers team continues to win and manages to further increase the advantage in points, the balanced game at the beginning of the game was the strategy that the Lakers team played in almost every game." "In this second quarter we could see the strength of the attack by the Los Angeles Lakers team that is playing very well, the Portland Trail Blazers team is still trying to defend, but with Shaq, Kobe, and Jake playing well, it will be difficult to stop this attack." "The Los Angeles Lakers team further increased their points advantage and in this game Coach Rambis does not seem to have the intention of replacing the main players, so the Portland Trail Blazers team will have little opportunity to win." What the commentators said was what the Portland Trail Blazers players thought, they went into the third quarter knowing that it would be difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to achieve victory in that game. Even so, the Portland Trail Blazers team started the third quarter by pressing in attack and defense, they would not give up even though it would be difficult to win the game, coach Rambis realized this and decided not to replace the main players. With all the main players, the Los Angeles Lakers team remained under pressure in attack, Jake knew that the Lakers team had the advantage and started to slow down the game and take longer in attacking plays. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team still winning the game with an even greater advantage in points, so the Portland Trail Blazers team has already given up on winning the game and the Portland Trail Blazers team coach has decided to replace the main players so that they don''t get so tired. Seeing this, Coach Rambis also replaced Shaq and Kobe for a few minutes to save them for the next games, with these replacements the Los Angeles Lakers team dominated the game even more with Jake controlling the game. At the end of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 104 points against 77 points of the Portland Trail Blazers team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 32 points, 12 assists, 8 rebounds, and 10 steals. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team get another victory, winning this first game of this phase of the playoffs, the Lakers team has more confidence to play the next game at home." "The Portland Trail Blazers team played very well in that game and all the players played well, but the Portland Trail Blazers defense was not enough to stop the Los Angeles Lakers'' strong attack." "Brian Grant and Isiah Rider played very well in that game, Damon Stoudamire also played very well, but with Jake Smith playing in defense he was unable to score many points and neither did he make good plays as in other games." "In the Los Angeles Lakers team Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant played very well in the attack and also helped in defense, Dennis Rodman played well in that game also taking 14 rebounds and helping in defense." "Jake Smith was once again the highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that victory with another triple-double making 32 points, 12 assists, and 10 steals, Jake was very good in attack and defense and it was essential for the Lakers team to win this I play so easily." "Let''s see if the Portland Trail Blazers team can continue playing well to try to win if the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team continue to play well as in that game then the Portland Trail Blazers team has no chance of winning." Chapter 559 The Playoffs 9 Just as commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team was the big favorite to win the 4 games and advance to the next stage of the playoffs, even with the quality of the Portland Trail Blazers team it was certain that if the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team played well it was difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win a game. Jake played well in all games and Shaq played well in most games, so only Kobe was the doubt for the next games if Kobe played well as he did in that game then the Los Angeles Lakers team would certainly continue to win. After the end of the game Jake met his mother and left for his house with her, Eva was happy that Jake''s team had won that game and she hoped it would stay that way for Jake to win the NBA title. Eva had a lot of confidence in Jake and didn''t even expect it to be possible for the Los Angeles Lakers team to be eliminated from these playoffs, Jake knew that and didn''t want to disappoint his mother even though he needed his teammates to win. The next day would be in 2 days and the next day the players would have only light training and could rest a little after this difficult game, the Portland Trail Blazers team was a tough opponent and the Los Angeles Lakers team only won more easily because Jake defended well against Damon Stoudamire who was one of the best players on the opposing team. Jake ate dinner with his mother and then went to rest early, the next day Jake woke up very early to eat the breakfast with his mother, Jake was happy with Eva preparing the breakfast every morning, he remembered the past when only they lived in Miami. Mary brought the newspaper to Jake just as she did when she found some news that Jake might be interested in, Jake knew that and looked in the sports section and found the news talking about the Los Angeles Lakers team''s victory. The news talked about the great performance of Jake, Kobe, and Shaq in the game, the members of the sports media said that they hoped the Los Angeles Lakers team would win the next game too and be able to advance to the next one without much difficulty. Jake was also confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team could win even the games as a visitor, but if Kobe or Shaq didn''t play well it would be difficult for the Lakers team to beat the Portland Trail Blazers team that was also doing very well. After a few hours, Jake went to training and even with light training, he could see that the other players were also very focused and that they also wanted the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. Soon the day of the second playoff game came, Jake was focused on that game and he left the house after some time that Eva had left, Jake arrived at the Great Western Forum and saw the Los Angeles Lakers team fans arriving. Los Angeles Lakers fans were expected to fill the Great Western Forum to support the Lakers team, after all the Los Angeles Lakers team was a favorite to win with no playoff losses. Soon Jake and the players entered the court to start the game, the pressure in that game was on the Portland Trail Blazers team that needed the victory to have more chances to get 4 victories and advance to the next phase of the playoffs. The Portland Trail Blazers team needed to win that game and then win the next 2 games at home to have 3 wins and try to win the fourth game that would be in Los Angeles, if the Los Angeles Lakers team won that game, they would only need 2 more victories to advance to the next phase. The game started with the Portland Trail Blazers team pushing forward, the Portland Trail Blazers coach wanted to take advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers team playing the first quarter slower to try to finish the first quarter by winning. Of course, Jake realized that and he increased the pace of the game for the Los Angeles Lakers to attack more so that the Lakers team ended the first quarter by winning, Jake liked to analyze his opponent in the game, but he knew it was more important to have the advantage in points. Soon Jake realized that the Portland Trail Blazers team was attacking without relying heavily on Damon Stoudamire and the main players were Isaiah Rider and Brian Grant, so Jake knew the game would be more difficult than the last one because he would not help so much in the game defending. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a small points advantage, the game was even and only Jake and the Lakers players knew that the first quarter was really tough and the players were playing really well. In the second quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team started the game by pushing forward, after all the Lakers team was playing at home and needed this victory to advance to the next phase of the playoffs. Jake was more excited to see that Kobe was playing very well in that game and Shaq was also playing well, but Kobe was the highlight in the attack and Jake passed the ball over to Kobe to make individual plays. The crowd knew the Los Angeles Lakers team well and seeing Kobe and Shaq playing well they were excited because they knew the victory was more likely, even with the Portland Trail Blazers team playing better than in the last game, the Portland Trail Blazers players they knew that this game would be difficult. In this difficult game Dennis was not playing very well and Rick was not playing well either, realizing this, coach Rambis put Robert Horry to play and Jake did not make so many passes for Rick. The second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning and Kobe being the highlight of the team, but they didn''t get a big point advantage and the Portland Trail Blazers players realized they still had a chance to win that game. The third quarter started with the most disputed game with the Los Angeles Lakers pressing in the attack and the Portland Trail Blazers playing well in defense and also trying to press in the attack. Jake was playing well in defense, but Stoudamire was not getting as many passes, Jake was standing out in that game getting more rebounds as Dennis was not playing after Robert replaced Dennis. Jake was also playing well in the attack even though most of the passes he gave to Kobe and Shaq, this was making it more difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers to defend, even so, the Portland Trail Blazers team was attacking well and the game was balanced. Coach Rambis was concerned about this game and was also concerned because he could not replace Kobe and Shaq as he did in a sequence of games, Coach Rambis knew that this was a difficult game and he could not replace the main players, but he was still afraid that Shaq and Kobe would get hurt. At the end of the third quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team was still winning the game, but the Lakers team had a small advantage in points that had not increased in that third quarter, because of that the Portland Trail Blazers team would return to the last quarter still trying to get the victory. The fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were excited about this difficult game and hoped even more for the Lakers team to defend and attack willingly in the last quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers players were also trying hard to win this game and so the team had more chances to advance to the next stage of the playoffs. In the last quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team started to press further in the attack and started to make fouls in defense, with the Portland Trail Blazers team making fouls the coach Rambis took Shaq and had to put Rodman back in the game and put Horry playing as Center. So the Portland Trail Blazers team managed to defend much better against Kobe who was playing well and get Shaq out of the game, as Shaq was also playing well, but with the departure of Shaq, the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team was also better. With the fouls, the Portland Trail Blazers team was managing to diminish the advantage in points and saw the opportunity to win the game, Jake realized this and understood that he had to try harder to guarantee this victory. With Eva watching the game Jake was more confident, and the players of both teams were very tired from this difficult game, so Jake, who was not so tired, knew he had the advantage at the end of the game. In a play Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came pressing on defense, Kobe was out of the three-point line and tried a feint to advance it. Kobe wanted to move forward, but Jake called for the ball back again because he knew Rider would miss if Kobe advanced into the 3-point line, Kobe passed the ball to Jake further back and Stoudamire was on the defense. Jake was far from the three-point line, but he had confidence and tried a shot from outside 35 feet and hit to make 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team, with this move the Lakers team got another 3 points advantage and could breathe easier. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack trying to diminish that advantage in points again, Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed to Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and Rick arrived pressing in defense. Grant tried to advance the ball using his strength, but this time Rick was defending and wanted to prevent Grant from moving forward, the Portland Trail Blazers team did not have much time for Grant to use in the possession and so he passed it to Rider on the left. Rider received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Rider started to do low dribble preventing Kobe from trying to steal, Rider tried a feint going to the right and Kobe retreated, so Rider did a step back. Chapter 560 The Playoffs 10 Rider tricked Kobe and went outside the three-point line, in that game Rider was hitting a lot of 3-point shots just like Jake, after Jake''s move, he wanted to make 3 points to decrease the advantage in points. Rider stepped back and tried the shot from outside, but he didn''t know that Jake expected Rider to do that and stop defending against Stoudamire and try to stop this attack, Rider jump to try the shot outside and Jake came right after and did the block. Rider didn''t expect Jake to make that block at the end of the game in a quick move like that, besides, Rider didn''t even notice that Jake was approaching to try the block, Jake made the block and the ball went out. The crowd was excited at the Great Western Forum with this block by Jake and realizing that the victory was close, the Portland Trail Blazers team still had possession of the ball, but it was only 6 seconds away and the pressure was even greater after this block by Jake. Rider passed the ball to Stoudamire further back and the Portland Trail Blazers team had to decide to play before the end of possession, Shaq was playing again in that end game and Robert was playing as a PF. Jake was defending against Stoudamire and the players of the Portland Trail Blazers team were attentive with Jake in this play, Stoudamire passed the ball to Grant who was on the right, Grant received the ball and has already advanced to the inside area. Rick tried to defend and hinder Grant who was advancing, Grant advanced using force being careful not to make a mistake and passed the ball to Arvydas Sabonis later on, Sabonis received the ball and Shaq was pressing in defense. The ball possession time was ending and Sabonis made the spin and tried the layup, Shaq who was defending jump and made the block rejecting Sabonis'' attack, after this Shaq block the ball was still left for Jake who took the rebound and advanced with the ball to attack using his speed. The defense of the Portland Trail Blazers team was unable to keep up with Jake''s speed, who advanced for the attack alone, Jake advanced and scored 2 more points with a reverse dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team cheering up the crowd. With this sequence of 2 blocks made by Shaq and Jake, the Portland Trail Blazers players became discouraged, the game continued with the Lakers team attacking and ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the second game of this phase of the playoffs. The Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 108 points against 98 points for the Portland Trail Blazers, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 35 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 7 steals, and 1 block. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win that game and this is the Lakers team''s second victory in 2 games of this playoff phase, with 2 more victories the Los Angeles Lakers team advances to the West Conference Finals." "This game was much more balanced and the Los Angeles Lakers team only guaranteed victory at the end of the last quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team was playing very well in this game with the great performance of Brian Grant and Isaiah Rider and without relying heavily on Damon Stoudamire." "Throughout the season Stoudamire was the main player on the team and who has the most points, but with Jake Smith defending against him, Stoudamire did not play well in this game or in the last game, the Portland Trail Blazers team coach realized this and that game the attack was much better." "Jake still defended well with a lot of steals, but it didn''t help as much as in the last game and so the Portland Trail Blazers team almost managed to win differently from the last game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team won by almost 30 points." "In the last quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team tried to use the strategy of making fouls to disrupt the attack of the Los Angeles Lakers team and not give the opponent much time in possession of the ball." "With this strategy, Shaquille O''Neal, who was doing well in the game, was replaced so as not to be the target of the opponent''s fouls, so the Portland Trail Blazers team almost managed to win the game." "But the Los Angeles Lakers team was also playing very well in that game, Kobe Bryant was the highlight of the team in the attack with 32 points until the last quarter, at the end of the game Jake made a beautiful shot of 3 points from 35 feet and then managed a block." "Shaq made another block in the same play and Jake scored 2 more points with a reverse dunk, those 3 plays increased the Los Angeles Lakers team''s advantage by 5 points and it was the final blow against the Portland Trail Blazers team that was tired." "With the third triple-double in 3 games Jake Smith was again the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team despite the excellent performance of Kobe Bryant, Jake is being instrumental in these Los Angeles Lakers team victories." This difficult game ended with another victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team that the fans celebrated even more than the last victory, the fans were even more confident that this season the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the NBA title. The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team and coach Rambis were happy with this victory and knew that they had fulfilled their role in the 2 home games of this playoff phase, now the mission was to win 2 more games against the strong Portland Trail Blazers team. The next 2 games would be with the Portland Trail Blazers team playing at home and would be even more difficult, but if the Los Angeles Lakers team managed only 1 victory in those 2 games as a visitor they would play the fifth game of that phase at home and could have it easier winning the 4 games. Jake was excited about this victory and was excited because everything that was happening was different from what he remembered in his past life, the Los Angeles Lakers team had won both home games and needed only 2 more victories to advance to the next phase. At that end of the game, Jake had to try harder and only managed to play calmly because he knew that his mother was watching the game in the stands, in the next games Jake would also play with more confidence for what he did at the end of the game. Jake left for his house with his mother after the game, the next game would be only after 3 days and the players would have 2 days to rest before the next game, that was good because the Los Angeles Lakers team didn''t have to travel afterward of the game and could travel after 2 days. The other day Jake woke up very early and soon saw the news in the newspapers about the last game, the sports media was commenting on how the Portland Trail Blazers team played much better in this second game than in the first game. Even with Kobe Bryant doing his best in those playoffs and with Shaquille O''Neal playing well the Los Angeles Lakers team still struggled to win playing at home, Jake was important at the end of the game for the Lakers team to win. This showed that the Portland Trail Blazers team was able to beat the Los Angeles Lakers team even though all the players were playing very well, so in these next games if Kobe or Shaq are not playing well the Lakers team can lose. After seeing the news Jake called Kate to talk to her about the latest games, Jake didn''t call after the game because Kate was doing a show and he had to wait another day to talk to her. Jake was eager to be able to win the next games and advance to the NBA Finals so that Kate could watch his games together with his mother, so Jake would have even more confidence to have the best performance and be able to bring the NBA title to the Los team Angeles Lakers and for his career. After the start of the playoffs, all the companies that had a contract with Jake had published the commercials that Jake recorded a few months ago, even Adidas did not wait and launched the 2 sneakers with the Jake brand. Adidas'' sales and marketing team realized that this was Jake''s most popular moment in the NBA, so this would be a great time to launch the two sneakers he represented. Just as it was expected when the JKS Velocity 1 and JKS 1 sneakers were released they were sold quickly, the Los Angeles Lakers fans who became Jake fans this season wanted to buy some product that Jake represented and could not find. So with the launch of the JKS 1 sneaker, fans were finally able to buy a sneaker that Jake represented, many Tar Heels fans and NBA fans also bought these new sneakers that Jake represented. Even those who didn''t like basketball bought the JKS Velocity 1 because they were Jake fans, so Adidas was very happy with the investment of having a 52 million dollar contract with Jake, after all, the sales of these sneakers were just the beginning of the company''s profit. Because of Jake and Kobe Bryant, many fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team started to like Adidas more than Nike, this was significant for a big company like Nike to lose as many fans as the Los Angeles Lakers team had in the world. In Europe and Asia, sales were higher than Adidas expected even though the NBA was not so popular on these continents when Nike realized that they would regret even more for not having signed with Jake and Kobe in the past. Jake was happy that he had no commitment at the time of the playoffs when he needed to focus on the games, the deals he did were also settled and Jake didn''t have to worry until the end of the year. Even with the Los Angeles Lakers team not having to play in the next 2 days they would still have one day of training and another day of rest, Coach Rambis was concerned that Shaq and Kobe could be injured with this intense sequence of games. Chapter 561 West Conference Semifinals 1 Jake went after a few hours to do training with the Los Angeles Lakers team, Jake could see that his teammates were excited about the win, but they were also tired from the last few games. Of course, the players wanted to play all the playoff games as long as they could, after all, besides being important for the team, it was also important for their career, so the players were trying hard in training even though they were tired. Jake was not so worried because he thought that with those 2 days without a game the players would be able to rest well before the next game if Shaq and Kobe continued playing well, the Los Angeles Lakers team could win the 4 games and advance to the next phase. The San Antonio Spurs team was having more difficulty and lost the first game and won the second game against the Utah Jazz team, so regardless of which team progressed in that phase the Los Angeles Lakers team would have more time to rest if they won the 4 games without losing no game. Jake no longer knew what could happen in the next games because it was different from what happened in his past life, so Jake just hoped that Kobe and Shaq would continue to perform well in the next games. Not only Shaq and Kobe but also Dennis and Rick were important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win in the next games, Rick and Dennis were not playing very well in that last game and therefore the game was more difficult for the Lakers team to win. After training Jake returned to his house and the next day the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team could rest, the next day Jake and Eva left Los Angeles to go to Portland, Oregon. The directors of the Los Angeles Lakers team decided it was best for the Lakers players to travel to Portland, Oregon the day before the game so they wouldn''t get too tired, so Eva also went to Portland, Oregon by helicopter with a hotel room ready for her. The other day game day came and the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the Rose Garden to play the next game, Jake can see the Portland Trail Blazers fans coming to the Rose Garden waiting for the Portland Trail Blazers to win. In the last games, the Portland Trail Blazers team played very well and the games were balanced, as were all the games between the two teams throughout the season, just as Jake hoped the Portland Trail Blazers team was a tough opponent. Even more in this game that the Portland Trail Blazers team would play at home with the confidence of the last game that they almost managed to win, Jake hoped that the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were playing well and so he would try harder for the Lakers team achieve victory. In that game the Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Portland Trail Blazers team would start the game with Damon Stoudamire playing as PG, Isaiah Rider playing as SG, Brian Grant playing as SF, Rasheed Wallace playing as PF, and Arvydas Sabonis playing as Center. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game this NBA season, this is the third game of this phase of the playoffs and it is the first game here at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, so the Portland Trail Blazers team is more likely to win that game." "In the 2 games of the West Conference Semifinal, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the victory playing at home and having a great performance from the players of both teams, in the second game the Portland Trail Blazers team almost won." "Jake Smith is the main highlight of this Lakers team and also the highlight of this season, Jake performed well in all games in those playoffs, and it was very important for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win at the end of the last game." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack of this season, and besides Jake, they have excellent players like Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant, and in that, the Lakers team has the advantage because the Portland Trail Blazers team does not have such outstanding players." "The highlight of the Portland Trail Blazers team is all the players and the coach, without any highlight, the Portland Trail Blazers team arrived in these playoffs as one of the best teams because the players have a good relationship and achieve good performances." "We will follow in this game if the Portland Trail Blazers team wins the victory playing at home or if the Los Angeles Lakers team will win this game more and get closer to progressing to the next phase." As commentators said, even with the Los Angeles Lakers team having won 2 games, the advantage in that game was the Portland Trail Blazers team, after all in the last 2 games the Portland Trail Blazers team lost more players played very well. So playing at home, the Portland Trail Blazers team had a better chance of winning that first game, even with Shaq and Kobe playing very well, if the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team the chances of the Portland Trail Blazers team winning increase. The game started with Shaquille O''Neal winning the first ball possession for the Los Angeles Lakers team, Shaq passed the ball to Jake who started organizing the first attack of the game, Jake advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe Bryant on the right. Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came on to defend, Kobe was one of the best players in the Los Angeles Lakers team in the last game with 32 points and just wasn''t the best because Jake was more important at the end of the game and made a triple-double. So Kobe had more confidence in this game and he would not try so hard because he was more tired, Kobe held the ball for a while and passed it to Rick Fox on the left, Rick received the ball and Brian Grant came pressing on the defense. Rick tried a feint and Grant was not deceived and continued in defense, Rick was not playing very well in this phase of the playoffs because Grant was defending well against him, even though Rick knew he was helping the team by making more than 10 points per game and not allowing the Portland Trail Blazers to double-team Jake and Kobe. Rick gave up on the individual move and passed the ball to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Damon Stoudamire came in pressing on the defense, Jake advanced with the ball and did a quick crossover and advanced on the left. Stoudamire was not so close to Jake and managed to react after being duped and continued on defense, Jake change of pace and advanced with the ball on the right and this unbalanced Stoudamire who fell to the ground. Jake continued to advance with speed after the beautiful play and Arvydas Sabonis arrived to defend, Sabonis went to defend against Jake even though he knew he would pass the ball to Shaq, but different from what Sabonis thought Jake drive to the basket and made the 2 points with a dunk for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Sabonis still tried to defend, but he didn''t want to miss and Jake attacked too fast and Jake''s play was unexpected for him, and for Shaq also waiting for the pass, the Portland Trail Blazers fans did not like the play, but the fans respected Jake''s ability. Stoudamire was a little embarrassed after the ankle break play on the last move, but he tried to keep defending even though he knew Jake''s speed was higher and after 2 dribble he lost his balance and fell. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack and Stoudamire was organizing the attack, Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed to Rider on the left, Rider received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense. Rider tried to deceive Kobe with a feint, but Kobe was not deceived and Rider had to pass the ball to Grant from the right, Grant received the ball and Rick arrived pressing in defense, in the last 2 games Grant was one of the best players on the Portland Trail team Blazers and he was confident in that game too. Grant advanced with the ball using his strength and Rick couldn''t stop Grant, Grant made a feint and Rick retreated, so Grant tried a mid-range shot to score 2 points for the Portland Trail Blazers. The game started out balanced just like the last games, in that game Kobe and Shaq were playing well and so Jake was hoping to get the win, but Jake realized that Kobe and Shaq were not playing as well as in the last games and if the Portland Trail Blazers team played as well as in the last game they could win. Jake knew that the biggest weakness of the Los Angeles Lakers team was the coach Rambis, the Los Angeles Lakers team achieved several victories with the players having an excellent performance and achieving the victory for the Lakers team. When they lost it was when Shaq or Kobe were not playing well and the opponent was playing well, this was because the opponent knew the weaknesses of the Los Angeles Lakers team and Coach Rambis could not change the team''s playing style if Shaq and Kobe did not. were playing well. The Portland Trail Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy managed to do this very well this season and managed to get the Portland Trail Blazers team into the playoffs even though the team had no such prominent player. In another move, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense. Kobe kept the ball doing the low dribble and Rider continued in defense, Kobe jab stepped and Rider did not react, so Kobe took the opportunity to advance from the right using his speed and Rider was slow to react. Kobe advanced with the ball and nobody went to defend against him, so Kobe drive to the basket and made the layup and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Chapter 562 West Conference Semifinals 2 In that first quarter the Los Angeles Lakers team seemed to be playing better just like in the last games, with the good moves of Jake, Kobe, and Shaq it seemed that the game was balanced because it was the strategy of the Lakers team again. The Portland Trail Blazers players seemed to be playing just as well as in the last games, but it seemed that even with the Portland Trail Blazers team having one of the best saves of the season it was not enough to stop the Los Angeles Lakers attack. The first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a small points advantage, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team finished that quarter by winning, it was a balanced game again, but the strategy of the Lakers team is always to make a balanced first quarter to observe the opponent." "But from what we could see in that first quarter, the players from both teams are playing as well as in the last games, so with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant having a good performance, the Los Angeles Lakers team seems to have the advantage." "Jake Smith is also playing very well as he did in all the games this season, the beautiful play he did that was an ankle break play and that lifted the spirits of the Los Angeles Lakers team." "It''s true, yet I still think that the Portland Trail Blazers team can win this game, the players on the Portland Trail Blazers team are playing very well and they are playing at home." "In the last game the Portland Trail Blazers team almost got the win and with the Portland Trail Blazers team playing at home I think they can get the win in that game." Just as commentators said the Portland Trail Blazers fans still hoped that the Portland Trail Blazers team would win and if they won the next home game both teams would be tied and the Portland Trail Blazers team could advance to the next phase of the playoffs. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team started pressing in attack and defense, in that quarter they had to do their best to understand if the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage in that game or if they could win. Jake slowly advanced the ball and passed it to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense, Kobe held the ball for a while and passed it to Rick on the left. Rick received the ball and Grant came pressing on the defense, Rick tried to make a feint and managed to deceive Grant and advanced on the left, Grant managed to recover and tried to continue defending, but Rick was faster and advanced to the inside area. Rick advanced with speed and Sabonis came to defend against Rick, Rick knew he couldn''t go any further and passed the ball to Shaq further on, Shaq received the free ball and advanced to make the dunk and 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Rick made a beautiful move and Shaq made the 2 points, but in this game, Rick and Dennis were not performing well, even Kobe and Shaq who were making the points were also missing a lot of attacks and the Portland Trail Blazers team had several defensive rebounds. So in this second quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team managed to take the small advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers team and tied the game with 8 minutes of the second quarter, so the players of the Portland Trail Blazers realized that they could achieve victory in that game. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed to Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and Rick came pressing on the defense, Grant made a feint and managed to trick Rick and advanced into the inside area. Grant advanced with the ball and passed to Sabonis ahead, Sabonis received the ball and Shaq came pressing on defense, Sabonis tried to advance using his strength, but Shaq was strong too and prevented Sabonis from advancing to the painted area. Sabonis noticed this and stepped back a little and moved away from where Shaq was and tried to hook to make 2 more points for the Portland Trail Blazers team, in that game Sabonis was playing well and seemed to have learned to attack playing against Shaq. The Portland Trail Blazers team was attacking without passing the ball many times to Stoudamire who was unable to attack with Jake defending against him, with that they managed to finish the second quarter by winning the game with a small point advantage. The Portland Trail Blazers team finished that second quarter by winning the game and the Los Angeles Lakers team would have to try to turn the tables playing as a visitor, in that second quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 8 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. "The second quarter ends and the Portland Trail Blazers team managed to finish for the first time in these playoffs a quarter winning, in the last game the Los Angeles Lakers team won, but the Portland Trail Blazers team almost managed to win at the end of the game." "In this game, the Portland Trail Blazers team playing at home managed to finish the second quarter winning with a great performance from all players, it seems that the Los Angeles Lakers team will lose the first game in these playoffs." "It''s true, the Portland Trail Blazers team looks like they will be able to win this game and this could be the beginning of a historic turn and the Portland Trail Blazers team can win 4 games and advance to the next phase of the playoffs." "In this game, Shaq and Kobe are playing well which is usually enough for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, of course, Kobe was not performing as well as he did in the last game, but that could mean the Portland team Trail Blazers are better than the Lakers team." The commentators were excited to see the Portland Trail Blazers team finishing the second quarter winning the game because in that game the Portland Trail Blazers team could clearly win that game, in addition, the Portland Trail Blazers team was playing better even with Shaq and Kobe having a good time. performance too. This was exciting for commentators because everyone thought the Los Angeles Lakers team would easily win all 4 games and advance to the next playoff phase, in fact, everyone expected the Lakers team to win the NBA title this season. So with the Portland Trail Blazers team managing to win the game even with Jake, Shaq, and Kobe playing well, they saw the opportunity for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win the 4 games and eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers team in this phase of the playoffs. Jake also realized this and was worried, he wanted to play even better and win with his mother watching the game in the stands, but in this game, Stoudamire was playing well in defense and Jake couldn''t count on Rick and Dennis. Jake decided he would play better in the third quarter to try to help the Los Angeles Lakers team to win as they did in the last game, but he knew that the Portland Trail Blazers team could still make the strategy of starting to make fouls and if that happened it would be difficult for the Lakers team to win. This strategy of making fouls against the Los Angeles Lakers team could only be done by teams that managed to keep the game balanced and where the best teams, in addition, this strategy could only be done in the third quarter and the last quarter for the opposing team not risk having players kicked out. In this third quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team was pressing in attack and defense and the crowd was supporting the team, it was clear that they wanted the victory in that game, coach Rambis decided to put Robert Horry playing in place of Dennis who was not playing well. Jake was determined to try even harder in this game to help the Los Angeles Lakers team to win and so he started trying to get more rebounds and more steals, in addition to putting more pressure on the attack. In another move, Jake advanced with the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick received the ball and held it a little before passing to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense. Kobe tried to deceive Rider with a feint, but Rider was not deceived and continued in defense, Kobe thought about trying another move, but he saw Jake passing and passed the ball to him in the middle. Jake advanced to the inside area using his speed and Stoudamire managed to continue in defense, Jake made a feint and made a fake pump that tricked Stoudamire, so Jake advanced to the painted area and drive to the basket and made a dunk to make 2 more points. In this play neither Sabonis nor Wallace tried to defend against Jake and with that Jake went ahead alone to make the dunk, Jake was attacking more in that third quarter and with that when he made assists the opponent did not expect. Just as Jake hoped in the middle of the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team got the points advantage again and the Portland Trail Blazers team started making the strategy of making fouls, Coach Rambis could not take Shaq in that game because Shaq was important in the attack. of the Los Angeles Lakers team. So Shaq became the target of the fouls that the Portland Trail Blazers team did, with that Jake and the other players stopped making passes to Shaq in every play and Jake tried to keep the ball with him so that opponents avoided making fouls on him. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and held it a little and passed it to Rider on the left. Rider received the ball and Kobe came pressing on defense, Rider tried to trick Kobe with a feint and managed to trick Kobe and stepped back to try a shot from the outside, Jake realized this and was quick to try the block. Rider jump to try the shot from outside and Jake jump right after him to make the block, Jake reacted very fast and got the block, but the ball still went to Rasheed Wallace who caught the rebound and tried the mid-range shot and did more 2 points for the Portland Trail Blazers team. Chapter 563 West Conference Semifinals 3 Jake managed to make this block at an important point in the game when the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning the game, but it was the Portland Trail Blazers team that was playing best in that third quarter. So if the Los Angeles Lakers team prevented this attack from the Portland Trail Blazers team, they could still maintain the advantage in points, but in this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team was not able to gain as many rebounds as they normally did in games. So Wallace still managed to catch the rebound and make the 2 points even after Jake made the block, this again gave hope to the fans and players of the Portland Trail Blazers team and did not give the cheer to the Los Angeles Lakers team that Jake expected. The third quarter ended with the Portland Trail Blazers winning by a few points, the Los Angeles Lakers team could get the comeback in that quarter, but it looked like the Lakers players were out of luck. With the strategy of making faults in Shaq and other players, the Portland Trail Blazers managed to prevent the Lakers'' attack from working well, even Jake was the target of the faults not to make three-point shots. In the last quarter, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team seemed discouraged with the victory, after all in this game Kobe and Shaq were having a good performance, and even so the Lakers team was losing. Of course, they knew that if Dennis and Rick were performing well it could be decisive for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win, but in other games, only Shaq, Jake, and Kobe were enough for the Lakers team to win. On the side of the Portland Trail Blazers team, it was different, the players and the crowd were excited about this game and they wanted the victory to start a possible turn in this phase of the playoffs, coach Mike Dunleavy was also happy that his strategies in this game were working and he saw the hope of the Portland Trail Blazers team moving on to the next stage. The game ended with the Portland Trail Blazers team achieving the first victory in this phase of the playoffs, with that victory the Los Angeles Lakers team was still 2 victory over 1 victory from the Portland Trail Blazers team, but the next game was at the Portland team home. Trail Blazers and a tie could happen. The Portland Trail Blazers team won the game with 108 points against 102 points of the Los Angeles Lakers team, in that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 43 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, 10 steals, and 2 blocks, it was one of the best games of Jake in those playoffs and Jake managed another triple-double even with the Los Angeles Lakers losing. "The game ends with the Portland Trail Blazers team achieving the first victory in this phase of the playoffs, it was an important victory in which the players of the Portland Trail Blazers had an excellent performance and will give confidence to the team in the next games." "The Portland Trail Blazers players have already performed very well in the last game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to win, but in that game with the Portland Trail Blazers team playing at home they managed to win." "The Portland Trail Blazers team won that game even though Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant had a good performance and with Jake Smith having his best performance in these playoffs, this will give a lot of confidence to the Portland Trail Blazers team in the next home game." "It is true, in the first game of this phase of the playoffs all the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team performed well, in addition to Shaq, Kobe and Jake, Rick Fox and Dennis Rodman also performed well and that is why the Lakers team won with the facility." "But in this game and in the last game Rick and Dennis did not perform well and the Portland Trail Blazers players continued to play well, which is why even though Jake Smith had his best performance in those playoffs with the triple-double making 43 points a Los Angeles Lakers team still lost." Just as commentators said, this victory for the Portland Trail Blazers team was very important, especially since Jake had his best performance in the playoffs and even that was not enough for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. Even Jake, who was always excited, was saddened by this defeat, especially since his mother had come to watch this game, and even with him trying his best it was not enough for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win. With this Los Angeles Lakers team defeat, a fifth game was confirmed in Los Angeles, of course, the Lakers team still had the advantage for being the best team of the season and playing the fifth game at home, but for that, they needed to win the fourth game playing as a visitor. After the game the players returned to the hotel upset with the defeat, the worst was that the next game of this phase of the playoffs would be the very next day and the players had no chance to rest being replaced by a few minutes in these difficult games. Having a game the next day would be bad because the Portland Trail Blazers players were very confident after the victory and would continue to do so for the next game in which the Portland Trail Blazers team would play at home. Jake couldn''t talk to Eva who was at the hotel he rented for her after the game and would only see his mother in the stands for the next game, so Jake had to regain his confidence alone. Jake decided that in this game the Los Angeles Lakers team had to win and so he worked hard to score more points and to help more in defense, in the last game Jake made 2 blocks and 10 steals being the best player in the defense of the Lakers team too. Jake was thinking of working hard in the next game as well and taking the opportunity to score more points in the first quarter and the second quarter that the Portland Trail Blazers team could not use the strategy of making fouls. In addition, Jake was thinking that the players on the Portland Trail Blazers team should also be as tired as the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were, so he could take advantage of that to make more speed runs and score more points. The most important thing was that all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were performing well, Jake realized in this game that just Shaq and Kobe playing well wasn''t enough, in fact, if Dennis was performing well and catching several rebounds he could be even more important than Kobe in that last game. Jake went to rest, trusting that his teammates who were professional players would know how to motivate themselves even better than he did, after all a team losing a game in the playoffs was common for the most skilled players. The other day Jake woke up very early in the morning and went to eat breakfast with the other players at the hotel, Jake saw that the other players no longer seemed to be as discouraged and worried as they were after the defeat. After a few hours Jake was in the hotel room thinking about what the game would be like that day and he got a call on his cell phone, Jake thought it might be his mother calling from her hotel, but it was Kate who was calling him. "Hi, Jake, I called to see how you are doing, I heard about the result of yesterday''s game." "Hi, Kate, thanks for worrying about me, I''m already more excited now after sleeping well, I know that the Los Angeles Lakers team is still a favorite to win the next games and I''m more confident for the game today." "Good, I hoped you wouldn''t be discouraged after just 1 loss, the Los Angeles Lakers team won 2 games now and you can win today''s game too, I want your team to win so I can watch your games in the NBA Finals." "I also want to see you soon, Kate, I will not be discouraged and I will do my best to get the Los Angeles Lakers team to make it to the NBA Finals, how are your shows doing?" "They''re doing really well, almost all tickets have been sold at the last few shows and, I''m very happy with that, after the Grammy it seems like I got more fans, now I''m getting ready to stop only if your team makes it to the NBA Finals, otherwise I will have to schedule even more shows." Jake was happy to see that Kate''s success in music was increasing after winning a Grammy award, Jake didn''t know what Kate''s future would be like in the music world because she wasn''t alive in his past life, so Jake could only support Kate and hope she was successful. Kate also supported Jake very well in everything he did, she wanted him to do well in basketball, athletics, and his career as an actor because Kate didn''t know much about what Jake did as a manager too, which is why being apart they were still happy dating. Jake was even more confident after talking to Kate and was more excited for the game that the Los Angeles Lakers team would have that day, after a few hours Jake and the other players went to the Rose Garden Arena and saw that the fans would fill the Arena in that game. The Los Angeles Lakers team players could see how the fans were more confident that the Portland Trail Blazers team could win this game than in the last game, Jake and the Los Angeles Lakers team players were also confident that they could win this game and could try his fourth win playing in Los Angeles. The players went to the locker room and then went to the court to wait for the game to start, Jake can see that the Portland Trail Blazers players were also more confident in this game that they would win. Jake knew he would be a player who would change the outcome of that game and bring victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team, but for that, he had his teammates in that game. Chapter 564 West Conference Semifinals 4 In that game the Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Portland Trail Blazers team would start the game with Damon Stoudamire playing as PG, Isaiah Rider playing as SG, Brian Grant playing as SF, Rasheed Wallace playing as PF, and Arvydas Sabonis playing as Center. The two teams would start playing with the same players as it was in the last games, Coach Rambis still hoped that Dennis Rodman could help the Los Angeles Lakers team by catching rebounds and helping in defense. Robert Horry did well in the last few games, but if Dennis managed to catch more than 15 rebounds as he did sometimes he would make a difference in an important game like this, especially since Jake tried a lot of shots from outside in every game. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this game this NBA season, this is the fourth game in this phase of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers team won 2 games and the Portland Trail Blazers team won the last game." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is still a favorite to win that game, but with the Portland Trail Blazers team winning the last game, the Portland Trail Blazers players have more confidence in that game playing at home after an important victory." "It''s true, it''s clear that if all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team play well in that game they have a better chance of winning, in the last game we could see that just Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal performing well is not enough to the Lakers team win." "Another thing that is important to note is that the Los Angeles Lakers team coach Kurt Rambis does not have as much skill as coach Mike Dunleavy, so the Los Angeles Lakers team depends more on the individual performance of the team players." "Okay, let''s see if the Los Angeles Lakers team gets the third win and gets closer to qualifying for the next round or if the Portland Trail Blazers team gets the second win and ties that playoff stage." What the commentators said was what everyone in the sports media thought, Coach Rambis didn''t have as much skill as Coach Dunleavy on the Portland Trail Blazers, so the Los Angeles Lakers team lost when they didn''t have the best players performing well. The Lakers team players thought so too, but the truth was that everyone knew that Coach Rambis was being the coach because the Lakers team did not have time to sign another coach after 13 games in a reduced season. Next season it was very likely that the Lakers team board would hire another coach even if the Los Angeles Lakers team won the NBA title this season, after all in a team with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant and now Jake it was natural to expect the team winning the NBA title even with a bad coach. Coach Rambis certainly knew that the players and the media thought of him, he even knew that he did not have the capacity to coach one of the best teams in the NBA, yet he called the players to talk before the game started. "I wanted to say what you all already know, this is a very important game for our team if we can win this game we will only need to win the next home game for our team to qualify for the next phase of the playoffs." "I confess that I was very disappointed with our defeat in the last game, it was a game in which our team could win and we even finished the first quarter by winning the game, but it seems that the Portland Trail Blazers team found a way to defeat us." "The last two games have not been very good, and the Portland Trail Blazers team almost won these 2 games, what left me most disappointed is that even with you knowing how your opponent plays, you still played the same way." "At the end of the game you looked like you gave up the victory because of the Portland Trail Blazers team''s strategy of making fouls, only Jake played in those two games believing in the victory until the end and that''s why he had his two best performances in these playoffs in those last two games." The players were surprised to hear Coach Rambis saying this, after all with the Lakers team winning most games, Coach Rambis did not have many complaints with the players, but with this defeat in the playoffs, neither Coach Rambis was able to remain without complaint. "So just as the opposing team changed the strategy, we also have to play differently, in this game I want you to put pressure on the attack from the beginning of the game, in this first quarter we have to get a good point advantage." "If your opponents start using the foul strategy, use that in your favor and get a lot of fouls, there is no way that the Portland Trail Blazers players will foul all quarters and still have no players kicked out." The players were more confident having a different strategy for this game and Jake was even more surprised, after all, he thought about doing it even if Coach Rambis didn''t say anything, it showed that even if he thought about it it was normal that Coach Rambis would also notice that this was a good strategy. Of course, Coach Rambis couldn''t know that Jake tried harder in these last two games and would try even harder in that game since the beginning of the game, for Coach Rambis and for all members of the media Jake tried his best in every game that''s why I always had such a good point average. The game started with the Los Angeles Lakers team pressing in the attack, Jake talked to his teammates saying that in the first minutes he would try to make several three-point shots to scare the opponent. Everyone agreed with this because they knew that Jake had a very high hit average and that would certainly help to put more pressure on the Portland Trail Blazers team and open up a good point advantage. Jake slowly advanced the ball and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick Fox received the ball and held it for a while before passing it to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came pressing on the defense. Kobe and Rick were making the move normally only for players on the Portland Trail Blazers who didn''t realize that the Los Angeles Lakers team''s strategy was for Jake to attempt the three-point shot in several moves. Kobe held the ball a little and passed it to Jake in the back, Jake received the ball and Damon Stoudamire was on defense, Stoudamire was a little far from Jake as he did in the last games, Jake took advantage of that distance and tried a shot from outside and got it right by making 3 points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Even with these 3 points from the Los Angeles Lakers team, the players from the Portland Trail Blazers team were not bothered by this and went on to the next play, it was normal in many plays that Jake started making a three-point play. Stoudamire advanced with the ball and passed it to Brian Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and Rick arrived pressing on defense, Grant tried to trick Rick with a feint, but Rick was not fooled, so Grant passed the ball to Rider on the left. Rider received the ball and Kobe came in pressing on the defense, Rider held the ball a little and did a quick step back and tried an outside shot to make 3 points for the Portland Trail Blazers team, Kobe did not expect Rider to try to shoot so he didn''t try to put any more pressure on the defense. The game seemed balanced as the last games were and the Portland Trail Blazers fans were happy with that, in the other 2 plays Jake tried to make 2 more shots from outside and hit with 6 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The Portland Trail Blazers players didn''t notice anything strange even though Jake made 3 3-point plays in a few minutes of play, the Portland Trail Blazers team also managed to make 4 more points in another 2 attacks and so the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to have 2 points advantage. Jake moved on to the attack again and he had planned to make another three-point play and if he could get it right he would make 12 points in a few minutes and would further increase the pressure on the Portland Trail Blazers team. Jake came close to the three-point line and passed it to Rick on the left, Rick held the ball for a while and passed it to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and held it a little and passed it on to Jake again. That''s how the last three moves were and Jake tried the shot from outside afterward, Jake realized that in this move the Portland Trail Blazers players were already more attentive in the play waiting for Jake to try the shot from outside to find out if this was a strategy of the Los Angeles Lakers team. Jake saw that Shaquille O''Neal was freer and decided to pass the ball to him, Shaq received the ball and already realized that Jake decided to change the play in this attack, Arvydas Sabonis was quick and arrived to press in defense against Shaq. Shaq took advantage of the time he was free to adjust and when Sabonis approached Shaq did the spin and advanced to the painted area using his strength, Sabonis did not expect this and even tried to press on defense. Shaq went ahead and tried a layup and made the 2 points and even managed a free throw attempt, Sabonis tried to prevent Shaq from making the points by making a foul and was unable to prevent Shaq from making the 2 points and still made the foul. Shaq was the player of the Los Angeles Lakers team that suffered the most fouls in the last games, after all, he was the player who had the lowest average of hits in the free throws, this time Shaq tried and hit with 1 more point and so the Lakers team did another three-point play with Shaq. Chapter 565 West Conference Semifinals 5 Jake was smart in that play, and Shaq was also very good, and so the Portland Trail Blazers players still didn''t know about the Los Angeles Lakers'' strategy in that game, so the Lakers team had the advantage. Soon after, the Portland Trail Blazers tried to attack to reduce the advantage in points that the Los Angeles Lakers had, but Rider missed the mid-range shot and Dennis Rodman caught the first defensive rebound that was very important for the Lakers team. In the next play, Jake made another individual play and passed the ball to Shaq again who added 2 more points to the Los Angeles Lakers team, so the Lakers team increased the advantage by 8 points and the Portland Trail Blazers team would have to fight to be able to turn the game. Coach Dunleavy realized that the Los Angeles Lakers team had changed the strategy to attack more in that first quarter, but Coach Dunleavy knew that the Portland Trail Blazers team could not begin the strategy of making fouls early in the game. In another move Jake went forward and made another three-point shot and thus managed to make 12 points in 4 attempts and that in less than 8 minutes of play, the Portland Trail Blazers team still did not realize that Jake intended to make several three-point shots because he made 2 assists for Shaq. Even so, Stoudamire started to put more pressure on the defense so that Jake would not have so much freedom to try the three-point shots, Jake also realized that he had better pass the ball over to Shaq, Kobe, and Rick since he had already scored 12 points. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Jake told Kobe that he could start attacking normally now, Kobe received the ball and Rider came pressing on the defense, Kobe started doing low dribble trying to make the individual move. Kobe tried to deceive Rider with a feint, but Rider was not deceived and continued to press on defense, coach Dunleavy told the Portland Trail Blazers players that the Los Angeles Lakers team had changed their strategy and wanted to press forward and score a lot in that first quarter. Kobe decided not to try the individual play and passed the ball to Rick from the left, Rick was free when he received the ball and tried the mid-range shot to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. In that first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team put a lot of pressure on the attack and the Portland Trail Blazers team was not able to put pressure on the attack to balance the game, it seemed that in this game all the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were performing well. Soon the first quarter ended and the Los Angeles Lakers team was winning with a good advantage on points as coach Rambis planned, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and made 20 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. This was the best first quarter that Jake has had since debuting in the NBA and it was also the quarter that he scored the most points in, Jake scored more points in that first quarter than many players did in an entire game, it showed how he was trying in that game. "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a big point advantage, the Lakers team changed the strategy in that first quarter to try to win against the Portland Trail Blazers team and got a big advantage for the rest of the game." "It''s true, we can see that the Portland Trail Blazers players are no longer as confident of winning as they were at the beginning of the game, even the Portland Trail Blazers fans that filled the Rose Garden Arena are so confident of victory." "The highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team in that first quarter was certainly Jake Smith, making 20 points and hitting 6 shots from three points from 7 attempts, Jake seems to really want the victory in that game and is looking to make his best game in these playoffs this game." "In addition to Jake, the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team are also performing well in that game, Shaquille O''Neal had 8 points and 3 rebounds, and Dennis Rodman had 5 rebounds in that first quarter." "The Portland Trail Blazers team will have to put a lot more effort into defense and attack if they want to try to diminish the advantage in points that the Los Angeles Lakers have." Jake was happy with the first quarter that the Los Angeles Lakers team had and with his performance in that game, Jake received praise from his teammates and Jake can look more proudly at his mother who was in the stands, Eva was very happy with the compliments she overheard the Portland Trail Blazers fans doing for Jake. Coach Rambis was the happiest with the Los Angeles Lakers team''s start of the game, Jake and Shaq were very good in the game and even Dennis and Rick were performing well in that game, so the Lakers team would be more likely to win this one. I play as a visitor. The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team continuing to press on the attack, the players knew that they could not let the Portland Trail Blazers team reduce the advantage in points they had because in the last quarter they could start with the strategy of making fouls. Coach Mike Dunleavy had realized that Jake was performing very well in that game and so he ordered Stoudamire and Grant to double-team in defense against him as soon as they could. Even though Rick and the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team had more freedom to attack, the biggest problem in that game was Jake who had scored 20 points in the first quarter, so Coach Dunleavy thought the Lakers team would attack less if Jake didn''t have the freedom to organize the moves. Jake soon realized that the Portland Trail Blazers team was making a double-team defense on him if Jake wanted he could attack even though he had 2 players defending against him, but Jake knew he could count on his teammates and he didn''t want to tire in that game even more and risk being replaced. After a few minutes, Jake realized that Kobe was not performing well in that game, luckily Shaq was playing very well and Rick was also, in addition, Dennis was having a great performance catching the rebounds and this was better in this game for the Los team Angeles Lakers. Fortunately, it was the player who was defending against Rick who was defending in the double-team against him, so Jake was passing the ball over to Rick who was performing well, the Los Angeles Lakers team was managing to score fewer points than in the first quarter, but still managed to increase the advantage in points. Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and held it a little before passing the ball to Rick on the left, Rick received the free ball and stepped forward to try the mid-range shot and make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Rick was having a lot of freedom in that second quarter and Grant was more focused on defending against Jake than defending against Rick, certainly, Rick was more likely to miss the attacks than Jake, not to mention that if Rick tried to advance to the painted area, Coach Dunleavy ordered Rasheed Wallace to defend against him. Rick realized this in other plays and so he tried to make the mid-range shots, after all with the freedom he was more likely to hit than usual, besides, Shaq was also very well and Jake, Rick, and Kobe passed the ball to him. The Los Angeles Lakers team was very good in the attack and the Portland Trail Blazers team could not press the attack and diminish the advantage that the Lakers team had in the game, so the second quarter ended with the Lakers team winning the game. In that quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and even though he had 2 players defending against him he still had 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block, Jake attacked less often and only tried to attack when Grant went to defend against Rick. In the third quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team could finally start making the foul strategy, so at least they could prevent Shaq who was having a great performance from making more points. But at the beginning of the third quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team had a 14 point advantage, so even if they tried to make the strategy of making fouls they still would not be able to turn the result of that game. Even so, the Portland Trail Blazers team had to try to do this to try to win this game at home, otherwise playing as a visitor they would have even more difficulty winning against the Los Angeles Lakers team. So the third quarter was more balanced with the two teams attacking and not making many points, even using the strategy of making fouls the Los Angeles Lakers team still managed to make the points in most attacks. In addition, with Jake playing very well in defense and Dennis and Shaq catching a lot of rebounds, the Portland Trail Blazers team had even more difficulties in attacking, so the third quarter ended with the Portland Trail Blazers team reducing the Los Angeles team''s points advantage Lakers. In the last quarter the Portland Trail Blazers team could not make many fouls because many players could be expelled, Jake started to attack with even more intensity even though he had 2 players defending against him, and Jake also tried some shots from very far. Thus the Portland Trail Blazers team was unable to diminish the advantage that the Los Angeles Lakers team had and thus the Lakers team won the game making 125 points against 111 points of the Portland Trail Blazers team. In that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 46 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, 11 steals, and 3 blocks, Jake managed another triple-double in those playoffs, this was his fifth triple-double followed in those playoffs. With this performance of Jake in attack and defense when the Los Angeles Lakers team needed him most, he was being seen by the people who chose the player who would be chosen for the MVP award of the season, and with this performance, Jake was becoming an idol for the fans. Chapter 566 West Conference Semifinals 6 "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team got another victory, even though the Portland Trail Blazers team won the last game and playing at home, the Los Angeles Lakers team played a great game and won the third game of this phase of the playoffs." "Now the Los Angeles Lakers team has 3 wins and the Portland Trail Blazers team has 1 win, if the Los Angeles Lakers team wins the next game playing in Los Angeles, the Lakers team will advance to the next phase of the playoffs and will reach West Conference Finals." "In this game, the Los Angeles Lakers team changed the game strategy and started to press the attack with great intensity since the first quarter, Jake led the attack with 20 points only in the first quarter hitting 6 shots from 3 points in 7 attempts and also making 4 assists." "The Los Angeles Lakers team did this because in the last games the Portland Trail Blazers team was having the advantage by making a strategy of making fouls in the last 2 quarters and thus preventing the Lakers team from making many points." "It''s true, that was a smart strategy because the Portland Trail Blazers team can''t try to foul the entire game, so even if they decided to use the foul strategy in the first 2 quarters, the Los Angeles Lakers team would push the attack in the last few quarters and Portland Trail Blazers team players could not make fouls not to be expelled." "Shaquille O''Neal, Rick Fox, and Dennis Rodman had an excellent performance in that game too, Shaq had 32 points and 11 rebounds, Rick had 19 points and Dennis managed to get 17 rebounds helping the Los Angeles Lakers team a lot in defense." "Even so the highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers team was Jake who scored 46 points, 13 assists in that game helping a lot in the attack, Jake attracted 2 players from the Portland Trail Blazers team who had to make a double-team defense to prevent Jake from continuing making 3-point plays." "In defense, Jake was the best player also making 11 steals and 3 blocks, in that game Jake made the fifth triple-double in a row in these playoffs showing how important he was to this victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team playing as a visitor." "The next game will be in 2 days in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Lakers team will be playing at home and needs just 1 more win to get the 4 wins and advance to the next phase of the playoffs." The Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win this difficult game against the Portland Trail Blazers team and so they could advance to the next stage if they won the next game in Los Angeles, the players and coach Rambis were very happy with this victory. Even more, because they managed to find a way to win even with the opponent trying to use the strategy of making faults against them, so they would have more chances of winning even if the opponent tried to use a strategy of making faults in the next stages of the playoff. The players acknowledged that Jake was currently the best player on the team this season, it was very difficult to find a player who managed to make 5 triple-double in playoff games, even more so as Jake who always scored more than 30 points. If it weren''t for Jake the Los Angeles Lakers team knew they would lose that game and maybe even other games, Jake didn''t know what his teammates were thinking, he was just happy that the Lakers team got the win and that his effort was rewarded. Jake looked at the stands again at the end of the game and saw that his mother was looking proud of him after that victory, Eva was happy that the Los Angeles Lakers team had won and was even happier that she heard the Portland Trail crowd. Blazers praised Jake a lot in that game. Eva was also happy that she could finally return to Los Angeles, even if Jake chose a 5-star hotel Eva did not like having to stay in hotels for many days, she was much more comfortable at Jake''s home in Los Angeles. Jake returned to Los Angeles shortly after the game with the other players and Jake knew that Eva would also use the helicopter to go to Los Angeles because he had warned her that they could come home after that game. Jake worked hard in the first quarter for the Los Angeles Lakers team to get a good point advantage, because of that he got very tired at the end of the game, luckily he can rest a little in the other quarters because the Portland Trail Blazers team did double-team defense on it. Jake could still score a lot even though he had a double-team defense against him, but Jake came to the Los Angeles Lakers team this season because he wanted good teammates who could help the team win even if he couldn''t attack much. Jake didn''t want to be known as a player who didn''t know how to play as a team even though he could score more than 50 points in all games, that''s why he decided to be a PG and with his assists, Jake helped the Lakers team a lot more than doing 50 points alone and giving no assistance. Jake went to his house after arriving in Los Angeles and his mother had already arrived, Jake was happy with that and gave his mother a hug that he didn''t see personally in a few days, Jake also thanked Eva for her support in these games important. "You don''t have to thank me, Jake, I know that many moms of gamers watch most of their children''s games in the NBA season, I can''t do that because I have to take care of the restaurant, so the least I can do is keep up with all their playoff games." "I am very happy to see your games and even happier to see you and your team winning, I am also happy to see you being so praised, I know how you tried as a child to become such a good player, that makes me very proud." "Even so, I appreciate it, Mom, I know you''re worried about the restaurant while you''re here to watch the Los Angeles Lakers team games, you don''t know how seeing you in the stands gives me more confidence in the games." Jake was being sincere saying this to Eva, since he had his second chance in this life Jake''s priority was always that Eva lived a happy life and lived for many years, after all, Jake knew how his mother suffered in his past life before that she would end up dying. Now Jake could work happily, play basketball and think about Kate because he knew that Eva was living happily and that his mom had made her dream come true, so nothing made Jake as happy as seeing his mom watching his games and cheering for him. Eva was happy to hear Jake say that, she knew that Jake was being sincere saying that, Eva felt a little sad sometimes after Jake went to university and then with Jake going to Los Angeles to play basketball. Eva knew that normally after the children grew up they would move away from their parents, she was always close to Jake in his childhood and even after Jake turned 10 they became even closer and Jake was not ashamed to say that he loved her like the others young people normally did. So Eva was sad after Jake left their home in Miami because she thought they would never be that close again, but in those days she realized that Jake would never change and they would always be that close. Of course, Eva had no way of knowing that Jake already had the mentality of a 40-year-old person since he was 10 years old and therefore he had not changed and his mentality would not change in the next few years. Jake can sleep relaxed after such an important victory, the other day Jake woke up happily and knew that Coach Rambis had given that day of rest to him and the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team. Coach Rambis knew how tired the players were after the last few games, especially since he can''t replace the important players for a long time in the last few games, so Coach Rambis thought that the players needed a day of rest more than one training. Even Jake had to say that this day of rest would be good for him, who got tired a lot in the last two games that were in two days in a row, the other players should then be much more tired, in the last game Jake was tired in the last minutes of the last quarter, but he did not worry because the opponents were much more tired than him. After a few hours Jake called Kate to talk to her about the Los Angeles Lakers team win, Kate was waiting for Jake to call and they talked for a long time before Kate had to hang up because she had more work to do. Jake was very busy with basketball after the playoffs started, but he knew that sometimes he had more free time than Kate who had to work on her new songs, had to go to several meetings, and sometimes even had to do interviews for radio and television stations. Of course, Jake would be very busy after the playoffs were over, he would have to start looking more closely at the market to make sure he could sell Cisco''s stock only in 2000. After all the future had changed with the change that Jake had in his life, this was even more true for the business world where he invested in 2 large companies and had shares in the companies of Matthew and Clara. Jake also took care of an investment company that had billions of dollars invested in shares of the company Cisco, so Jake thought it was possible that the future would change and the bubble would burst sooner, and thus he would lose the chance to make more money. Chapter 567 West Conference Semifinals 7 Of course, if Jake sold the billions of dollars his investment firm had in shares of the Cisco company he could be the cause of the bubble burst in this life, so Jake had to start analyzing the stock market better and see the reports that Emily always delivered to him. In addition, Jake had to continue to monitor whether the lawyers he hired would get all the patents he wanted for the smartphone, and for touchscreen and multi-touch technologies, Jake wanted all patents to be approved by the end of 1999. That was because Jake knew that next year he would no longer be able to hide the wealth he had, so big tech companies like Apple and Microsoft would definitely investigate the patents Jake wanted to approve at a technology company he had. After all, everyone would know that Jake was one of the biggest partners of the company Amazon, which was one of the companies that had the most expectations of growth in the market in the coming years, besides, everyone would know that Jake had invested billions of dollars in the company Cisco. Jake also hoped that by the end of next year Charlie''s team, which was now bigger, could finish developing the Android operating system, Jake would ask for many patents for that operating system as well, but it was impossible for Apple and Microsoft to know the importance of this technology and the internet was still starting to become popular and even desktops still had to evolve a lot. Jake was not concerned with the Android operating system because he intended to share that technology with the Google company that Jake was a partner of and who in his past life created the Android operating system. In addition, Jake still had the track and field and after the holidays he would return to play basketball next NBA season, so Jake would remain busy for the rest of the year, so Jake knew he had to take advantage of all the rest days he had. After a few hours Jake drove his car to drive around Los Angeles for a while driving his car, Jake left alone this time because he wanted to enjoy the day driving the McLaren F1 he had. Whenever Jake left the house to walk with his mother, he had to use his other car because only the McLaren F1 was a car that had passenger seats, it was a sports car that was comfortable only for the driver. That was why Jake never took his mother and Kate for a ride with him in that car, so Jake wanted to enjoy that he had a day to relax and went to drive this car that was very fast and that''s why Jake liked it so much. The truth was that after being hit twice in his past life, Jake never thought he could continue liking cars, fortunately having the system in Jake''s mind was much stronger and those past traumas no longer affected him, unfortunately in this life, he could still have other traumas if he were careless. After walking his car for a few hours Jake went back to his house and called Eva to watch some movies, so Jake really enjoyed his rest day and went to sleep early to be prepared for the important game he would have the next day. The other day after a few hours Jake went to the Great Western Forum where the next game would be, Jake remembered that in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team had played their last game at the Great Western Forum after all the Lakers team was eliminated after 4 games for the San Antonio Spurs team at that stage. Fortunately in this life the Los Angeles Lakers team was close to qualifying for the next phase playing at home and would still have a few more games at the Great Western Forum, Jake thought this was important since next season the Los Angeles Lakers team would start playing at the Staples Center. Jake was happy to have the opportunity to play at the Great Western Forum last season that the Los Angeles Lakers team would play, just as Jake was also happy to play a season with coach Dean Smith while playing on the Tar Heels team. Jake can see that the fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team would fill the Great Western Forum to follow that game in which the Los Angeles Lakers team could advance to the next stage in the playoffs. The crowd counted on Jake and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team to win this game and advance to the next stage, of course, what the fans wanted most was for the Lakers team to advance to the NBA Finals this season and win the NBA title. Jake entered the locker room and after a while, he went out onto the court with the other players on the Los Angeles Lakers team, before that game Coach Rambis did not make a speech again and just told the players to use the same strategy as the last game and win that game. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another game this NBA season, this is the fifth game between the Los Angeles Lakers team facing the Portland Trail Blazers and this could be the last game of that phase." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has 3 wins after winning an important game playing as a visitor, the Portland Trail Blazers team has only 1 victory and has to win that game if they want to have a chance to advance to the next phase of the playoffs." "That''s why the Los Angeles Lakers team is a favorite to win that game at home and advanced to the next phase of the playoffs, in the last game the Lakers team changed their strategy, and Shaquille O''Neal, Rick Fox, and Dennis Rodman had a great performance." "In addition, Jake Smith has been having an excellent performance in these playoffs and made 5 triple-double in a row and was the best player of the Los Angeles Lakers team in all the games of these playoffs, Jake has been showing that he does not shirk responsibility and continues to lead the team Los Angeles Lakers to achieve more victories." "We will follow in this game if the Los Angeles Lakers team can win the fourth game and advance to the next stage, or if the Portland Trail Blazers team can win that game to try a historic turnaround." Just as commentators said the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite to win this game, Jake was performing well in all games, and in this game, he wanted to stand out again in the attack to help the Lakers team win. Jake thought about doing this and the other players also knew that this could be the best for the Los Angeles Lakers team, but it seems that the Portland Trail Blazers players also hoped that Jake would try to do this. In that game the Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake Smith playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The Portland Trail Blazers team would start the game with Damon Stoudamire playing as PG, Isaiah Rider playing as SG, Brian Grant playing as SF, Rasheed Wallace playing as PF, and Arvydas Sabonis playing as Center. Portland Trail Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy analyzed the last game well and realized that the main part of the Los Angeles Lakers team''s strategy for them to win was Jake''s 20 points in the first quarter. As soon as from the beginning of the game he decided to do a double-team defense strategy against Jake again, but different from what happened in the last game, who would be without defense would be Dennis Rodman, who was the player in the Los Angeles Lakers team that scored fewer points. in games. So Damon Stoudamire and Brian Grant would defend against Jake and Rasheed Wallace would defend against Rick Fox and thus Dennis would normally be free in the attacking plays of the Los Angeles Lakers team, of course, Coach Dunleavy knew that Dennis would also make some points by playing free, but even so, he thought it was better than letting Jake attack. So Jake cannot do as in the last game and start pressing on the attack and making several three-point shots, moreover, in this game of just having 2 players defending against him, Rick and Kobe were not free to attack and it would be more difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team attack. So in this game, Jake could only attack normally and had to find some chances to try to shoot three points, for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win Jake had to count on his teammates. Jake advanced with the ball and when he got close to the three-point line Stoudamire and Grant came to defend against him, so Jake decided to pass the ball to Rick from the left, Rick received the ball and Wallace came pressing on the defense. Rick performed well in the last game and helped the Los Angeles Lakers team win that important game, but he knew that if he had someone defending against him it wouldn''t be so easy for him to score so many points. So Rick wanted to wait to see in the plays if he could get better opportunities to score, Rick passed the ball to Kobe Bryant on the right, Kobe received the ball and Isaiah Rider came in to press the defense. Kobe made the low dribble and protected the ball for Rider not to try the steal, Kobe waited a bit and tried to jab step and Rider didn''t react, so he took advantage of that Rider didn''t react to advance to the inside area using his speed. Rider realized he was tricked and tried to keep defending, Kobe used his speed and drive to the basket to try a layup and make 2 points for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe managed to make a few more points in another individual play. Kobe had not performed very well in the last game even though he had still helped the Los Angeles Lakers team by making several points, in that game Kobe wanted to be one of the highlights of the Lakers team as Jake was being heavily scored. Chapter 568 West Conference Semifinals 8 After a few minutes of the first quarter has passed, Jake can see that in this game Kobe and Shaq were performing well, so he could be more relaxed and focus on assists and tentative three-point shots in some moves. Even though the Portland Trail Blazers team was making a double-team defense on Jake, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s strategy of pushing forward in the first quarter and second quarter continued. The Los Angeles Lakers team had the best attack of the season and with Jake drawing the attention of the Portland Trail Blazers defense it was easier for Rick, Kobe, and Shaq to attack, in addition, Dennis seemed to be performing well in that game too and was helping with some offensive and defensive rebounds. So in this game with all the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team having a good performance, it was difficult for the players of the Portland Trail Blazers team to defend the attack of the Lakers team. Jake knew this and concentrated on continuing to assist, if the Portland Trail Blazers team continued to do this double-team strategy they would not be able to stop the Los Angeles Lakers team from scoring a lot and opening up a big point advantage. If the Portland Trail Blazers team stopped making this double-team defense on Jake, he would start attacking as he was supposed to do at the start of the game and would make lots of three-point shots to make as many points as he could. The Portland Trail Blazers team was also trying to put pressure on the attack so as not to let the Los Angeles Lakers team increase the advantage in points, but the Lakers team was defending well in this game with Dennis taking several defensive rebounds and Jake helping with the steal defense and pressing on defense. With the support of the fans, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team really looked like they wanted to win this game to advance to the next stage, after all the San Antonio Spurs team and the Utah Jazz team also had to play the fifth game and they would still have to play another game to advance to the next stage. The Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack in another play, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Ryder on the left, Ryder received the ball and Kobe came pressing on the defense, Ryder held the ball and passed it to Wallace ahead. Wallace received the ball and Dennis came pressing on the defense, Wallace advanced using his strength and Dennis was unable to stop Wallace, so Wallace advanced and tried a hook shot to make 2 more points for the Portland Trail Blazers. Soon the first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good point advantage, only Jake being well defended with the Portland Trail Blazers making a double-team defense against him, the Lakers team still managed to do the same as in the last game. Jake played for 12 minutes and made 6 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 steals, Jake still managed to hit 2 shots from three points and made many more assists in that first quarter, if the Portland Trail Blazers team continued to make this double defense. -team against him the Los Angeles Lakers team would still be able to increase the points advantage in the second quarter. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is achieving victory with a good advantage in points, with the advantage of being playing at home the Lakers team is dominating this game even with the Portland Trail Blazers making a double- team in Jake Smith who was the best player on the Lakers team in the previous game." "It''s true, coach Mike Dunleavy tried to use this strategy of making a double-team defense against Jake Smith because Jake did very well in the last game and scored 20 points in the first quarter only and was very important in the defense too." "Furthermore, coach Dunleavy knew that he would have to stop Jake from scoring a lot if he wanted to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from making a big point advantage early in the game." "Unfortunately for the Portland Trail Blazers team, all the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team seem to be performing well in this game, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal seem to be doing really well in attack and Dennis Rodman is getting a lot of offensive and defensive rebounds." "Even with the Portland Trail Blazers double-team defense, Jake still managed to help a lot with assists and making 6 points and Rick Fox is also very good in attack." "What it looks like in this game is that the players on the Portland Trail Blazers team are not performing as well as in the last games, so it will be difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win." Just as commentators said the Portland Trail Blazers team players were not performing well in that game, it seemed that the defeat in the last game, the fatigue, and the pressure of having to win was affecting the Portland Trail Blazers players. The Los Angeles Lakers team players also realized this and were happy with the advantage of the good points they got in the first quarter, so they knew they had to keep pushing in the attack in the second quarter. Coach Dunleavy knew this was going to be a difficult game for the Portland Trail Blazers team to win, yet he knew he couldn''t change the strategy and would continue to leave Stoudamire and Grant to defend in double-team against Jake, after all even if Wallace returned to defend against Dennis who didn''t score in that first quarter would be worse for the Portland Trail Blazers. The second quarter started with the Los Angeles Lakers team putting a lot of pressure on the attack trying to increase the points advantage, even more, the Portland Trail Blazers team was trying to put even more pressure on the defense and attack to try to diminish the points advantage that the Lakers team had. Jake advanced with the ball and soon Stoudamire and Grant came to defend against him, Jake did not continue to advance and passed the ball to Kobe on the right, Kobe held the ball a little and passed it to Rick on the left. Rick received the ball and Wallace continued to press in defense, Rick tried to trick Wallace with a feint, but Wallace was not fooled and continued in defense, so Rick decided to pass the ball to Jake further back. Jake received the ball and Stoudamire and Grant were in defense, Jake waited for a little and made a high pass to Shaq who jump and took the ball high and made a dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Los team Angeles Lakers. The fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team were more excited about this beautiful play by Jake and Shaq, even with the Portland Trail Blazers team making a double-team defense against Jake it was impossible to prevent him from making assists, especially with Shaq and Kobe having a great performance in that game. In another move the Portland Trail Blazers team was on the attack, Stoudamire advanced the ball and passed it to Grant on the right, Grant received the ball and held it a little before passing it to Rider on the left. Rider received the ball and Kobe came pressing in defense, in this game the Portland Trail Blazers players were not performing well in the last games, even so, Rider and Wallace were performing well and even with Kobe and Dennis struggling to defend they still managed to make many points. Rider made a feint and pretended that he would advance from the left and advanced to the attack from the right, Kobe was deceived, but still managed to continue in defense, so Rider made another feint pretending that he would advance and did a step back. Rider stepped back and was getting ready to attempt a mid-range shot, but as soon as he stepped back, Jake came in and made a steal by taking his ball and moving forward, Rider didn''t see Jake and didn''t have time to react. Stoudamire saw Jake doing the steal and went back to defense to prevent Jake from making the points on the counterattack, Grant also tried to go back to defense, but Jake was faster and Grant was unable to keep up with Jake''s speed. Jake continued to advance and near the three-point line Stoudamire tried to prevent Jake from continuing to advance or Jake would pass him using his speed, Jake realized this and did a quick crossover and advanced on the right. Stoudamire was tricked, but still managed to recover and continue in defense, Jake jab stepped from the left and Stoudamire did not react so Jake advanced from the left, Stoudamire realized he was tricked and tried to make a foul on Jake to prevent him from making the points. Jake noticed this and did a step back and Stoudamire ended up unbalanced and fell to the ground, Jake saw this and just advanced and dunk to make 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. The crowd was excited by this beautiful move by Jake and Stoudamire was embarrassed by this ankle break play, Jake was also happy because this was the first steal he made that he managed to make the points on the counterattack. In the second quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers team continued to try to press in the attack to decrease the points advantage, but the Los Angeles Lakers team''s points advantage increased even more with Shaq and Kobe having a great attack performance. Even in plays where Kobe and Rick missed some attacks Dennis still managed to catch the offensive rebound and this helped the Los Angeles Lakers team to further increase the points advantage. So the second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning the game with a big advantage in points, this advantage was greater than the advantage that the Lakers team had in the previous game in which Jake scored 20 points in the first quarter, after all in that game the Portland Trail Blazers team players were not performing as well in attack. Coach Dunleavy realized that it would be almost impossible for the Portland Trail Blazers team to achieve victory in that game by playing as a visitor, even if they did the foul strategy, so Coach Dunleavy told the team members of the Portland Trail Blazers not to make fouls in the past. quarter and try to win by playing the best they could. Chapter 569 West Conference Semifinals 9 So in the third quarter, the game continued with both teams pressing in the attack and soon Coach Rambis and the Los Angeles Lakers team players realized that the Portland Trail Blazers team would not use the strategy of making fouls in that game. This meant that the Portland Trail Blazers team knew they could not win this game and would try to play normally, it left the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team more relaxed, yet they would continue to perform as best they could to ensure that victory. The Portland Trail Blazers team continued to make a double-team defense strategy against Jake, even though they realized that it would not help them win the game, at least they would prevent Jake from scoring as many points as in the last games. The third quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team only maintaining the advantage in points, in the last quarter the game continued with both teams in attack and pressing in defense as well. This was the kind of game that basketball fans who were watching at the Great Western Forum and also watching on television would most like to see, it was what they expected from a playoff game. The game ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team achieving the victory making 111 points against 82 points of the Portland Trail Blazers team, it was a victory with a great advantage in points of the Lakers team, but those who watched the game knew it was a balanced game. In that game Jake played for 48 minutes and had 28 points, 17 assists, 8 rebounds, and 10 steals, even with the Portland Trail Blazers team making a double-team defense strategy against Jake, he still managed to score 28 points and do more a triple-double. Even so Jake managed to make 17 assists in that game that was the game with the most assists since he started playing in the NBA, of course, although Jake was very happy to make 17 assists he knew it was nowhere near the record, John Stockton and Magic Johnson are tied for the most assists in a playoff game, with 24 assists. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team wins the game with a big difference in points, the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to win 4 games and now they will advance to the next phase of the playoffs and the Portland Trail Blazers team was eliminated with just 1 victory." "The Los Angeles Lakers team has managed to advance to the West Conference Semifinals and will face the opponent who wins the first 4 games that can be the San Antonio Spurs team or the Utah Jazz team." "That''s right, in that game the Los Angeles Lakers team won with an excellent performance from all players, Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were the most important players in the attack, Shaq had 29 points and Kobe had 27 points." "Rick Fox also helped a lot in the attack and Dennis Rodman had an excellent performance catching 15 rebounds in that game and helping the Los Angeles Lakers team in attack and defense." "The Portland Trail Blazers team tried to use a double-team defense strategy against Jake Smith, it worked because Jake scored 28 points and it was the first time in the playoffs that Jake scored less than 32 points." "Unfortunately in this game, the Portland Trail Blazers players were not so good in attack and Jake still managed to make 17 assists in that game and managed to help in defense by taking 8 rebounds and doing 10 steals thus making another triple-double in those playoffs." "Now let''s see if the Los Angeles Lakers team that is a favorite to win the NBA title this season can advance to the NBA Finals." All the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team and coach Rambis were very happy with this victory and the crowd was also celebrating the progress to the next phase, Eva who was watching the game was also watching Jake''s team winning. Jake was even happier with this victory because he knew that in his past life the Los Angeles Lakers team had been eliminated at that stage, now it seemed that it was more possible for the Los Angeles Lakers team to advance to the NBA Finals and win the NBA title this season. After the game ended the reporters wanted to try an interview with the Los Angeles Lakers team players, Rick and Kobe did not want to give the interview, so only Shaq, Dennis, and Jake stayed to be interviewed. "Shaq, in these last games you have been one of the highlights of your team in the attack, even with the opponent''s strategy that made the opponents make more faults on you, you still managed to be one of the highlights with Jake." "Do you think the Los Angeles Lakers are better this season and are more likely to win the NBA title?" "Yes, the last games were the most difficult for the Los Angeles Lakers team, this strategy of the Portland Trail Blazers team gave me more opportunities to score more points in free throws as well." "Fortunately, I was still able to make a lot of points even with the Portland Trail Blazers team making this strategy, and Jake attracted the attention of the defense and made a lot of assists for me which helped a lot for our team to win." "Just like I said before I think that with the entry of Jake and the entry of Dennis our team is more prepared to try to win the NBA title, we have to win the next stage and win in the NBA Finals to show that we have the best team." Shaq had a lot of difficulties in those last games, especially because when the Portland Trail Blazers team started this strategy of making fouls, Coach Rambis even took him off the team because he knew Shaq would miss more free-throw. That was why this strategy was known as Hack-a-Shaq because it was more effective against players like Shaq who had a low hit percentage in free throws, but with the change in the Los Angeles team''s strategy Lakers, Shaq was one of the most successful players. important in these last victories. Reporters asked Shaq a few more questions and after they went to Dennis interviews, Dennis was happy to be again one of the most important players on a team who had a chance of winning the NBA title. "Dennis, you have been one of the most important players in the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team, and the rebounds you get help both in defense and in the attack, as you feel being on a team that can win the NBA title after leaving a team that is often champion like the Chicago Bulls team?" "It''s good to know that I''m on a good team again, I was lucky to have played on the Detroit Pistons team and won the NBA title twice and also to play on the Chicago Bulls team and win the NBA title 3 times." "Now I feel that the Los Angeles Lakers team has the opportunity to win the NBA title this season, of course, that is also my merit in helping the teams I play to win the games in the playoffs and have the chance to win so many NBA titles." What Dennis said was true, it was his merit to have won 5 NBA titles on 2 two different teams, this season, if the Los Angeles Lakers team could win it, would be because Dennis was on the team helping with an average of more than 10 rebounds per game. Of course, Dennis had no way of knowing that because of his off-court behavior, Coach Rambis and the Los Angeles Lakers team board thought of expelling him from the team, and that''s what happened in Jake''s past life. Just because Jake showed up and also missed some training and always said that Dennis was very important to the team that the Los Angeles Lakers team director stopped thinking about expelling Dennis from the team and it seems like that was the right decision. After the reporters interviewed Dennis and Shaq they went to Jake''s interviews, Jake was happy with the victory and was hoping that the interviews would be over soon for him to return home with his mother and talk with Eva. "Jake, congratulations on qualifying for the next phase of the Los Angeles Lakers team, today was one of the toughest games for you this season because of that double-team defense strategy that the Portland Trail Blazers did against you?" "This was certainly one of the most difficult games for me this season, the Portland Trail Blazers team use a lot of strategies in these last games to try to win against our team and they won 1 game and the last games were very difficult for our team." "Fortunately, even though I couldn''t score as many points as in the last game, our team still won with the good performance of Kobe, Shaq, and my teammates." "The next opponent of the Los Angeles Lakers team has not yet been defined, do you have any opponents that you wanted to face in the next round?" "No, I wanted the opposing team to just advance to the next stage after playing 7 games and that way we would have more advantages, but whatever our next opponent, we will try our best to win the 4 games and advance to the NBA Finals." Jake answered two questions and left the court, he said goodbye to his teammates and went to meet his mother so they could go home, Eva praised Jake for the good game and she was happy with his victory. Jake came home with Eva and soon overheard her saying she wanted to go back to Miami to see how the restaurant was doing, Eva had heard from other fans that the next game for the Los Angeles Lakers team would be only after a few days and so she decided to go to Miami. Jake wanted his mother to stay with him for the next few days, but he knew he shouldn''t be selfish, after all, Eva was just watching his games and was far from the restaurant that she liked so much to support Jake. "Okay, mom, you can fly to Miami by helicopter, the next game should be on the 29th, so if you can get back to Los Angeles on the 28th it would be better." "Okay, Jake, I''m staying in Miami for the next 3 days, and then I''ll be back on the 28th." Chapter 570 West Conference Semifinals 10 So Eva went right after arriving home to Miami, Eva wants to sleep in Miami that day and the next day goes to the restaurant very early to see how Anna was doing, so Jake went to sleep to rest after the tiring game. The other day Jake woke up very early and then called his mother to see if she had arrived well in Miami, Eva said that she had arrived well in Miami and would go to the restaurant as soon as she ended that call. So Jake relaxed and went to eat his breakfast, that day he and the other players had a day of rest after winning the last game, Coach Rambis was very concerned that the players were very tired and could be injured in these playoff games. If Jake, Shaq, or Kobe got hurt it would be almost impossible for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the NBA title this season, that was the goal of Coach Rambis, the team''s board, and all the players. On the next day, they would have a training day and then they could rest on the 28th too, Coach Rambis said that if the game between the San Antonio Spurs team and the Utah Jazz team still had the seventh game the players could rest 2 more days. Jake did not expect the game between these teams to have a seventh game, in fact he did not even expect these teams to have a sixth game, after all, Jake thought that the San Antonio Spurs team would easily win the 4 games. Of course Jake knew how the Utah Jazz team was a great team and was a tough opponent for the season, but as the Utah Jazz team had lost to the Portland Trail Blazers team and the Portland Trail Blazers team lost to the San Antonio Spurs team in just 4 games Jake thought the San Antonio Spurs team would advance by winning all 4 games easily. Of course, it was better for the Los Angeles Lakers team that had to play 5 games that the opposing team in the next phase would play 6 games, so it was expected that the players of the opposing team would be more tired and so the Los Angeles Lakers team that would play the First 2 games in Los Angeles would have even more advantage. After a few hours Jake got a call from Kate, he didn''t call her because he knew she would be busy that day, but it looked like Kate had taken some time off to talk to Jake. "Hi Jake, congratulations on your team''s victory and for advancing to the next stage of the playoffs." "Thank you, I was very happy with this victory and because our team qualified for the next phase of the playoffs, even though our team has won 4 games and we only had 1 loss, all games were very difficult and the Portland Trail Blazers team it was a tough opponent." "I think the next opponent will be even more difficult to defeat, but I am confident that our team can win reaching the NBA Finals and win the NBA title." Jake hoped that the San Antonio Spurs team would be the opponent in the next phase of the playoffs, so the next games would be the most difficult of the season, this season the Los Angeles Lakers team won 2 times against the San Antonio Spurs team and lost only 1 game. But at the beginning of this season, the San Antonio Spurs team was not performing well and it was at the beginning of the season that the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first 2 games, in the last game that was at the end of the season the San Antonio Spurs team won. The Sun Antonio Spurs team lost only 3 games in the last 20 games and lost 8 games in the first 20 games, that showed the difference in the team''s performance, so Jake was concerned about the next games and was surprised that the Utah Jazz team was able to force a sixth game in the dispute against the San Antonio Spurs team. "I also think that the Los Angeles Lakers team will win the NBA title, so you have to win against the next opponent so that I can watch your team''s games in the NBA Finals." Jake was also looking forward to seeing Kate again, even though he couldn''t speak to her, knowing that she would be watching the games would make him more confident to perform better and help the Los Angeles Lakers team win. After that Kate told Jake that she would probably be doing shows until September and then taking a few months off until Jake''s vacation was over, after that Kate would go to work until June and finally finish the tour that Lily and the record company had booked. Jake knew that Kate had made this concert schedule to have her vacation together with his vacation, Jake was very happy because it meant that Kate also thought a lot about their relationship and so she did it. After that Jake talked to Kate for a while and after finishing the call he thought he could rest for the rest of the day, but soon he got an unexpected call, it was William who was calling Jake to let him know that he and his other friends had come to Los Angeles. William, Zack, and Haruto came from the university to visit Jake in Los Angeles after they went on vacation at the university after finishing their third year, Haruto had just finished his fourth year and had graduated from university. Of course, Jake knew that his friends were on vacation and he also knew that Haruto had already finished his senior year at university, but he didn''t expect them to go to Los Angeles as soon as they went on vacation. After a while the car Jake rented picked up his friends at the airport and they arrived at Jake''s house, the three were very surprised to see Jake''s mansion, they knew that Jake had a lot of money, but they didn''t know that he had stayed so rich after leaving university for just 1 year. "What a beautiful house, Jake, if I had known that you had such a nice house, I would have come before to pay you a visit." "It''s nice to see you too, William, I didn''t expect you to come and visit me here on your vacation." "I also didn''t know that we would be visiting you anytime soon, but now the Los Angeles Lakers team arrived at the West Conference Finals in its first season, we had to come here and cheer for you." "Unfortunately Aaron cannot come with us because he has to train for the American Football team games, we know that you are going to be very busy after entering the NBA, so we decided to come here." "I see, how was this semester at the university for you?" "It was more difficult to pass the exams without your help, Jake, I didn''t know that my grades would drop so much, luckily I still managed to pass after studying more." "William is right, even though I didn''t study in the same classes as you, you still helped me a lot, and this semester it was much more difficult, Jake." "Hahaha, I said that I helped you a lot, but you still thought you were very smart and that I didn''t help you much, now you have seen the truth." "How''s your training going, Zack?" "It''s harder to train now that I don''t have you to train with me or Coach Davis who came to Los Angeles, but I still kept training every day, I think I managed to improve this past year and the next marathon we''re going to running together I will show you this improvement of mine." Jake was happy to see that Zack had continued his training even after he and Coach Davis left the university, Jake thought about asking Coach Davis to stay at the university to train Zack. After all Jake knew he wouldn''t do any running training until the end of the NBA season, but soon Jake gave up doing it because he knew that Coach Davis wanted to buy him a house to live with his family in Los Angeles that would be where Jake the next few years would pass. After all, Coach Davis lived with his family in a hotel for the 2 years that Jake remained at university, so Jake thought it best to let Coach Davis buy his house and stay on vacation in Los Angeles during those months that Jake would be playing in the NBA season. In addition, Jake wants to see if Zack would still continue to train even after he and Coach Davis left the university, after all in the future Coach Davis could not continue training Zack, so it was better than Zack got used to it. "I am happy to see that you continued training and that you still want to run in the marathons, this year I think about running again in the Chicago marathon, I cannot guarantee that this will really happen, but I would be happy if you ran with me." "Of course, Jake, I''m going to run in Chicago again and I''ll be able to run in a much shorter time than last year." "Zack, I think that after this Chicago marathon you should start running some marathons during the year without me, you have to be independent if you want to be an even better athlete, who knows you will become a marathoner in the future too." "I had thought about it before, I still don''t know if I want to be a professional marathoner in the future, but I''m sure that I love running and I want to continue training to stay healthy." "You don''t have to become a professional marathon runner if you don''t want to, you can have another profession and just run 1 or 2 marathons during the year if you can continue training and it doesn''t hinder your work you can still run the marathons." "I think you have the talent to be a professional marathon runner, in just 3 years you trained hard to be able to run a marathon in less than 3 hours, so in the future, you may be able to be in the top 10 in several marathons and maybe even win one marathon someday. " Chapter 571 West Conference Finals 1 Jake really thought that Zack could be a professional athlete and maybe even win marathons someday, so Jake thought that Jake had to run other marathons to gain more experience on different marathons and on different routes. Of course, Jake thought that Zack knew that he could only win a marathon one day if Jake was not competing in the same marathon, otherwise it would be impossible for Zack to win him in a marathon. Jake''s goal in the marathons was no longer to win but to try to run in less than 2 hours, and Jake was very close to achieving that, of course, Jake still had to go back to training and he needed to gain more resistance stats and agility to be able to run the marathon in less than 2 hours. "How was your last semester at the university, Haruto?" "It was very good, I was looking forward to finally graduating from university and being able to start my life, now that I finished university I will be able to leave the house and I will be able to work with what I want." "This is good, as I already told you, I want you to come to work with me now that you have graduated from university, when your vacation is over I will ask Emily to talk to you, Emily is the person responsible for all my business and she will find something for you to do to gain experience." "Yes, as soon as my vacation is over I will talk to Emily, I will see with her what I will have to do at work, and then I will talk to my family before saying if I can accept the job, but I really want to work with you." When Jake became friends with Haruto he already thought about hiring him after Haruto graduated from university, after all, Jake needed more people to trust him to help him take care of his business. Jake was very lucky to have Emily to help him, Emily was nominated by Matthew and so Jake knew he could trust her, but after so many years Jake had a lot of business and had invested in many companies and Emily was no longer able to take care of everything on her own. So Jake thought Emily had to teach Haruto some things she knew and then she could share her responsibilities with Haruto, Emily still didn''t know about it, but Jake always thought about doing it. Jake didn''t know that Emily was already training some people she trusted, Emily thought about introducing these people to Jake in the future so that she would have people she trusted to help with her work. Even though Jake trusted Emily he wouldn''t trust anyone just because Emily recommended that person and Jake didn''t have time to look for talented people, so he was lucky to meet Haruto while he was at university. In fact, Jake also wanted to hire William to work with him, William wanted to work with the stock market, and Jake thought he could leave William working with Emily to take care of the stocks he invested. But William wanted to try to find a company in New York to work after he graduated from university and then William wanted to use the money he would earn to invest in stocks and in the future open his investment company. Jake didn''t know if William could make his dream come true, Jake knew that William only had that dream after seeing how the shares of many technology companies have risen many in the past few years and so many new millionaires have emerged, but Jake knew it would last only until 2000. After the bubble burst it would be much more difficult to find companies that would appreciate more than 100 percent in a few years, it was also difficult to find the right time to invest in these companies and some companies would also devalue and shareholders had to know the right time to sell. Jake himself would not risk himself in the stock market if he did not know what the future would be like, of course, Jake hoped that William would succeed as an investor and could fulfill his dream of opening his own investment company. But if William was unsuccessful for a few years, Jake thought about offering William a job again, so William could take care of Jake''s actions and Emily would have even more tranquility to work. William didn''t know that Jake had ever thought of that and in fact, neither he nor Jake''s other friends knew about the companies that Jake had and the investments he had and how much money Jake really had. Jake had worked hard to keep the media from discovering his true wealth, of course, all of this was possible because of Jake''s good fortune, but next year Jake knew that not even his luck would help him hide his wealth. Jake knew well that the people at Forbes magazine had tried to find out some information about him in recent years, but with Jake''s strategies of putting some companies on Emily''s and his mother''s behalf, they helped him not to stand out too much. The next year when Jake was going to sell the shares of the Cisco company, he would pass all of his investments and companies to his name so that everyone would know what his real financial assets were. Jake knew that Haruto wanted to work with him, but the truth was that Jake hadn''t told Haruto much about the investments and companies he had, so Haruto would have to find out when he went to talk to Emily. Furthermore, even though Haruto had no chance of taking the job that his father had, Haruto still had to talk to his father before saying that he did not want to work at the factory and that he wanted to work with Jake. "Okay, I''m sure you will enjoy the job and that your father will allow you to work with me, next year you will have to learn as much as you can from Emily, and only after that will you start working hard." After that, Jake talked to his university friends about various things that had happened at the university after Jake left, and Jake also told us a few things about the NBA and talked about some players he met. Jake spent the whole afternoon talking with his friends and he convinced them to stay at his house while they were in Los Angeles, after all, Jake had a very large house with many rooms that was not used by anyone. "Are you guys interested in watching every game on the Los Angeles Lakers team that I''m going to play?" "Yes, but we decided that we are just going to watch the games here in Los Angeles, we want to take the opportunity to visit the city and we don''t want to worry about getting plane tickets and booking rooms at various hotels to follow their games in other cities." "This is not a problem, my mom is staying here at home while the playoffs continue, so I rented a helicopter for her and booked a hotel room in all the cities that I will play when the Los Angeles Lakers team is visiting." "So you can go with her on the helicopter to keep her company and I can book more hotel rooms for you." William and the others were surprised to learn that Jake had rented a helicopter so that his mother could watch the Los Angeles Lakers team games in other cities, yet they still didn''t want to go because they thought they were taking advantage of Jake''s friendship if they did that. "Even so, we won''t be going, like I said, we''re going to stay here in Los Angeles and enjoy the city for a bit in the coming weeks. If you want us to stay here in Los Angeles for longer, you should make it to the NBA Finals so we can watch more. games of the Los Angeles Lakers team." Jake no longer insisted on inviting his friends and was happy because his friends had come to Los Angeles to support him, Joseph had also called Jake saying that if the Los Angeles Lakers team made it to the NBA Finals he would go to Los Angeles to watch to the games and cheer for Jake. Jake didn''t know if his other friends would have time to go to Los Angeles just like Joseph, but he understood if they couldn''t, after all, it would be at least 4 games and could even be 7 games if the opponent was too difficult. Jake talked to Matthew who was very busy and Matthew said that neither he nor Oliver could go to watch his games in those playoffs, Matthew also said that he talked to Clara and Tiffany and the two were busy with their companies. Even after the two companies stopped sponsoring Jake, customers who tried their products at the time their companies sponsored Jake still bought the products, so Clara and Tiffany earned more money to improve the companies'' products and production capacity. From what Jake talked to Clara, she intended after investing more in the company and improving the production line the company would start investing more in advertising to get more customers, of course, the amount that Clara and Tiffany''s companies could invest was much more than it was in the past. Jake can have a lot of fun with his friends and then he can sleep well, the next day Jake left his friends alone so they could visit more Los Angeles and Jake went to train with the Los Angeles Lakers team. The players were still tired after those 5 games against the Portland Trail Blazers team, yet they knew they still had another 2 days to rest before the next game, Coach Rambis also knew that and did an intense training even though the players were tired. Today the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team would know who the next opponent would be or would have to wait until the next game if the Utah Jazz team won, so Coach Rambis knew that the players had to train more intensively. Jake thought the next opponent would be the San Antonio Spurs team, fortunately, Jake knew that no player on the Los Angeles Lakers team underestimated the San Antonio Spurs team because they knew how the San Antonio Spurs team improved and was the second-best team of the season. Chapter 572 West Conference Finals 2 Coach Rambis was concerned that if the San Antonio Spurs team were the opponent team in the next game it would be a tough opponent, after all, Tim Duncan and David Robinson were excellent players and were having a great performance this season and in those playoffs. So coach Rambis was concerned that Shaq and Dennis would have a hard time defending against the best-attacking players on the San Antonio Spurs team, in addition, Shaq would have a harder time attacking in the next games. Coach Rambis was also concerned that the San Antonio Spurs team would also make the Hack-a-Shaq strategy of making many fouls to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from scoring more points with Shaq and Jake. So, coach Rambis decided to do more intense training for the players, in the next games the Los Angeles Lakers team would continue with the strategy of attacking intensely in the first two quarters to prevent the opponent from using the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. Of course, that would only work if the Los Angeles Lakers team could score a lot and open up a big point advantage, but luckily with Jake, Kobe, and Shaq in the attack, this was not difficult to do even playing against the San Antonio Spurs team that was a strong team in defense. The training ended with the tired players, the next day Coach Rambis had given the Los Angeles Lakers team another day of rest so they could rest for the next game. Jake came home and talked with his friends until later, Jake stayed awake because he had to know if the San Antonio Spurs team would win the sixth game against the Utah Jazz team and advance to the next stage. Just as Jake hoped the San Antonio Spurs team was playing better in that sixth game, in the other games that the San Antonio Spurs team lost it was because some players did not perform well and also because of John Stockton and Karl Malone who had a great time performing. Karl Malone was not performing as well as was expected in those playoffs, if he played so well maybe the Utah Jazz team would have already won all 4 games and advanced to the next stage. In that game Tim Duncan and David Robinson were the highlights of the San Antonio Spurs team, both were well offensive and on defense and defended well against Karl Malone and thus prevented the Utah Jazz team from attacking. The game ended with the San Antonio Spurs team achieving victory and advancing to the next stage with 4 victories, so the next game would be between the San Antonio Spurs team against the Los Angeles Lakers team on May 29th. So Jake knew that the next game would be in 2 days, he and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team could rest the next day to be ready for the game that would be on the 29th and they had to get the victory in the first game in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite to win because the players would be more rested and because the Los Angeles Lakers team played better all season, Jake hoped that the Lakers team would win that game and advance to the NBA Finals and so they would have the opportunity to win the NBA title. William and the others watched the San Antonio Spurs team play with Jake and then said everyone went to sleep, the other day Jake woke up early and he left with William and the others because Jake was going to show some things from Los Angeles to his friends. It had been a long time since Jake had gone out to have fun with his friends and so he took the opportunity to go to some places he couldn''t go with his mother and other things that William and the others wanted to do. Jake took William and his friends first to do a go-kart race, when Jake asked if William and the others wanted to, everyone agreed that it would be cool to do a go to a kart race. Jake was very fond of watching races and always wanted to go to a kart racing with his friends, but in his past life, he didn''t have the opportunity to do that when he was younger, much less after the accident. Fortunately, all his friends also liked to watch races and they liked cars, so they also wanted to know what a kart race was like, Jake knew a place he could go with William and the others even without booking anything before. As it was the first time for Jake and his friends, a kart instructor taught them how they could run, so they went running together with other people who went several times to go-karting, they did a race with several laps and Jake stayed among the first 3 even competing with several people who had a lot of experience. William and the others were in the last positions and they were happy to see that Jake had done well in the race, Jake was not so surprised because he had more dexterity and thought faster than the others because of his agility statistics. Even so, they had a lot of fun in the kart race, and afterward Jake took his friends to visit the Warner Bros. studios, this was something that not even Jake had done and so he had fun too. Jake preferred to visit Warner Studios after the Harry Potter films were released, but he still enjoyed the tour and knew he could return to visit London in the future, after which Jake took his friends to visit the stars on the walk of fame. Walking the walk of fame was not as fun as many imagined, but doing things together with friends always made things more fun, after they walked the walk of fame William started talking to Jake about his career as an actor. "Jake, we saw the movie The Matrix that you acted in, we were really surprised because you looked like someone else playing that Jev character." "It''s true, I also thought that you performed as well as the other actors, we didn''t know that you knew how to fight so well." "I''m happy to know that you liked it, I was very nervous because I thought I wouldn''t be able to play the character Jev as well, I don''t fight as well as you think, it was just choreographed fight scenes, the merit was Yuen Woo-ping who taught me and the other actors and also choreographed the fight scenes." Jake was being sincere saying that he didn''t fight as well as he looked in the movies, but the truth was that he learned how to fight really to be able to do those choreographed fight scenes, so he could with his strength and agility fight very well even with people trained. William and the others also thought that Jake was just being modest in saying that, they also knew that several film critics praised Jake''s performance in this film and they expected him to continue acting. "Jake, are you going to make more films in the next few years?" "I don''t know, I want to make more films, but with the NBA games and the other things I have to do, it''s hard to find a film that I can participate in because I have little free time to participate in the filming." Jake was only sure that he would be invited to participate in the sequences of the film The Matrix, his character had gained importance in the story and the audience very much liked to see Jake playing this character. The Matrix had been a huge success and raised a lot of money, the film was still going to be in the cinema for a few more months and the film was very popular, Jake thought that the Wachowskis brothers thought he was responsible for the success of the film. That was easy to understand, after all, one of the things the audience liked the most in the film was the fight scenes and Jake was the best in the fight scenes and in the next films he would be even more important, so Jake thought that maybe the Wachowskis brothers would try to schedule filming for the next movie when Jake could participate. Of course, Jake knew that it was possible for the Wachowskis brothers to decide to invite another actor to play the character of Jev because they knew that Jake would be busy, but neither Warner Bros nor the public would like this change. After visiting the city Jake went to a restaurant with his friends and they were able to eat a good meal before returning to Jake''s house, Jake took advantage of that day to go out with his friends because he wouldn''t have much time to do it in future with William, Haruto, and Zack. Even though his friends would be staying in Los Angeles at his place until the end of this season, Jake would be busy training and playing and would not have much time to hang out with his friends, after a few hours Eva arrived in Los Angeles too. Eva had gone to Miami to stay at the restaurant for the past few days to help Anna and Jake knew she would be back on the 28th which was the day before the next game, Eva would do that because Jake had already warned her that by the end of the playoffs she would have no way back to Miami. If the Los Angeles Lakers team won 4 games against the San Antonio Spurs team and advanced to the NBA Finals then Eva would not have time to return to Miami, and if the Los Angeles Lakers team lost in that playoff phase then Eva would return to Miami and Jake I could go back with her. "Hi mom, how''s Anna and the restaurant?" "It''s okay, Anna has a lot more experience than me and all I learned was she who taught me, luckily the restaurant is already full of reservations for the next month." "Anna is also fine and just more tired because of the restaurant, Anna said to tell you that she is rooting for you and is following the results of the Los Angeles Lakers team games." Chapter 573 West Conference Finals 3 Jake was happy to know that he was not disturbing his mother and Anna too much, he had the idea of ??calling Anna to help Eva with the restaurant, so Anna was no longer alone and Eva had gotten a great friend and a trusted advisor. "I''m happy to know that Anna is rooting for me, I know how tiring looking after the restaurant can be, it''s a shame that she can''t watch my games in the playoffs, but I know how she wanted to be here." "Yes, Anna wanted to be here too to watch your games, Jake, who are your friends that I saw when I arrived?" "These are the friends I was lucky enough to make while I was at university, William and Zack were my roommates in the university dormitory, and Haruto is a friend I met at the university and he will be working with me next year." "William studied at the same course as me at the university and Zack also likes to run and trained with me and ran some marathons with me, you met them at the university, mom." Eva didn''t remember Jake''s friends because she only saw them a few times, that was normal because she didn''t have as good a memory as Jake''s memory, besides, Jake didn''t remember, but at the university, there were always a lot of people around him when he played on the Tar Heels team. Even though Jake had told her who his friends were, Eva met hundreds of people every month at her restaurant, so she couldn''t remember Jake''s friends, especially since she didn''t see them often. Eva chatted for a while with Jake''s friends and she was happy listening to William and the others just praising Jake, Eva was also happy that Jake had more friends with him than Joseph who was the only friend Jake talked to after finishing school. Jake was smart and even more after he became famous he had many people who approached him, but it was only after a few years that Eva would know who Jake''s real friends would be who would continue talking to him after they were away. Jake was more relaxed after going out with his friends and seeing his mom coming home, he felt good and went to sleep early to be ready for the important game the Los Angeles Lakers team would have the next day. The other day Jake woke up early and when he went to the kitchen he saw that Eva had prepared breakfast for him, Eva had to cook for Jake knowing that he would have an important game that day, so William and the others also woke up and ate breakfast together with Jake. "You''re really lucky, Jake, you told us that your mom owns a restaurant, but I didn''t know that she cooked so well even though she made breakfast." "I told you that my mother is also a chef, in the beginning, her restaurant gained fame by making breakfast for customers, there are many hotels near her restaurant and so the people who stayed in the hotels went to my mother''s restaurant to eat." William and the others were curious and Eva told them what breakfast was like in her restaurant and how it still is, after all, they kept making breakfast every day, of course, Eva said that there was also Anna and Julius who made the desserts and was responsible for the loaves. "Jake, are you ready for today''s game?" "Yes, I have to be, after all, the game is in a few hours." "I know that, what I wanted to know is whether you think the opponent is going to be easy or difficult to win?" "It will be a tough opponent, you also saw the sixth game of the San Antonio Spurs team against the Utah Jazz team, with the Twin Towers Tim Duncan and David Robinson the San Antonio Spurs team has a very strong defense and attack." "They had the third-best defense of the season and that is because in the first 20 games of the season they were not performing well and lost 8 games." Zack could understand what Jake was saying, he also thought that this would be an easier game because the Los Angeles Lakers team won 2 games out of the 3 games that the two teams faced, but hearing Jake says that he understood that it was more complicated than he thought. William and Haruto also understood more about basketball after becoming friends with Jake and could understand what Jake was saying, even so, they thought the Los Angeles Lakers team would win that game and that Jake would be the best in the game again. Eva thought the same thing as Jake''s friends, Jake couldn''t even understand how the teams he played won the most games, of course, that was because he always chose teams with great players to participate, but he became a starting player in these strong teams showed how skillful he was. Jake was prepared for the game and he was confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team would win, if the Lakers'' team performed well Jake was confident that they would win because they had the strongest team. Although the San Antonio Spurs team won the NBA title this season, they didn''t have the strongest team this season, what happened was that the other teams didn''t seem to try very hard in this reduced season and so the San Antonio Spurs team that had everyone the players having a good performance managed to win the NBA title. Jake thought that the Utah Jazz team and the Los Angeles Lakers team were stronger than the San Antonio Spurs team in his past life, now that he was also on the Los Angeles Lakers team the team was even stronger. Eva and Jake''s friends went before him to the Great Western Forum and Jake left shortly thereafter, Jake many fans of the Los Angeles Lakers team arriving and thought they would fill the Great Western Forum that day again. Jake went to the locker room and after a while, the players went to the court to start the game, Jake saw that his teammates were also excited about this game and if they were well the Los Angeles Lakers team would win. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The San Antonio Spurs team would start the game with Avery Johnson playing as PG, Mario Elie playing as SG, Sean Elliott playing as SF, Tim Duncan playing as PF, and David Robinson playing as Center. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch another NBA playoff game, today is the first game between the Los Angeles Lakers team and the San Antonio Spurs team in this playoff phase, whoever wins 4 games in this phase will be the Western champions and will advance to the NBA Finals." "It is true, the next games will be the most important games of the season for both teams and I am sure we will see great games." "The Los Angeles Lakers team was the best team in the regular NBA season and so they will play the first 2 games at home and have the advantage in that game, the Los Angeles Lakers team has the best attack with Shaquille O''Neal, Kobe Bryant, and rookie Jake Smith." "The San Antonio Spurs team has been having a great game sequence and was one of the best teams in the second half of the regular season, with the Twin Towers Tim Duncan and David Robinson the San Antonio Spurs team has great chances of achieving victory in this game." "We will have to follow this game to know who will be the best team in that game and who will have the best chance of winning the 4 games in this West Conference Finals." Just as commentators said the two teams had a chance of winning that game, even so, Jake felt that the Los Angeles Lakers team had a better chance of winning because the players were more rested and because they had the best attack. The game started with the San Antonio Spurs team winning the first ball possession and going on the attack, the San Antonio Spurs players were excited and thought they had a great chance of winning this and the next games and advancing to the NBA Finals. After all, even though the San Antonio Spurs team had a hard time advancing to that stage and had to play 6 games against the Utah Jazz team, they thought they only had difficulty because they had games in which Karl Malone, John Stockton, and the other team players Utah Jazz had excellent performances when they won. But the players of the San Antonio Spurs team thought that if the opponent were the Portland Trail Blazers they would win much more easily, coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs team thought that if they could defend well against Shaquille O''Neal and not let the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team made plays in the painted area of ??the defense so that they could stop the attack of the opposing team. What coach Gregg Popovich realized was that the Los Angeles Lakers team depended on Shaq, Kobe and catching the rebounds to have a better chance of winning, and the San Antonio Spurs team had the ability to stop the Los Angeles Lakers team from achieving this. Of course, coach Gregg Popovich knew that the San Antonio Spurs team couldn''t do much to defend against Jake who was the best player on the Los Angeles Lakers team, but from what he realized Jake couldn''t bring victory to the Los Angeles Lakers team if Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant did not perform well either. Jake also knew that this was the weakness of the Los Angeles Lakers team, in fact, Jake knew that this season the San Antonio Spurs team would be the worst opponent that the Lakers team could face. Chapter 574 - West Conference Finals 4 If Jake wasn''t playing for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, the San Antonio Spurs team would be the favorite to win this game as it did in Jake''s past life, but with Jake on the team, it would be different. The Los Angeles Lakers team had a hard time winning against opponents if Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant were playing poorly when the opponents also had a good attack and even then the opponents had to have 1 great player or 2 players to defend against Jake. But in the San Antonio Spurs team''s strategy to defend they would have to focus on defending against Shaquille O''Neal and preventing opposing players from attacking in the painted area of ??their defense, so they planned to prevent Kobe and Shaq from making many points. With this strategy from the San Antonio Spurs team, they could not put more than one player to defend against Jake, so Jake would have more freedom to attack and was confident of making as many points as he could with three-point plays. The San Antonio Spurs team did not have one of the best attacks this season and so if Jake managed to score a lot in that game it could be important to guarantee victory for the Los Angeles Lakers team even if Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant could not make many points. Furthermore, Jake was confident that Shaq could still score many points even with David Robinson and Tim Duncan defending against him and Kobe could score many points even just trying mid-range shots without attacking in the opposing painted area. At the beginning of the game, the San Antonio Spurs team started well in the attack and pressed in defense as if they wanted to show that they were not afraid to attack at the opposing team''s home, this was what Coach Rambis expected and trained the Los Angeles Lakers to defend well from the beginning of the game. In one of the plays, Avery Johnson advanced the ball and passed it to Mario Elie on the left, Elie received the ball and Kobe Bryant arrived pressing the defense, Elie held the ball a little and passed it to Sean Elliott on the right. Elliott received the ball and Rick Fox came pressing on defense, Elliott tried to deceive the opponent with a feint, but Fox was not deceived and kept defending, so Elliott decided to pass the ball to David Robinson upfront. Robinson received the ball and Shaquille O''Neal arrived pressing in defense, Robinson received the ball with his back to the basket and turned away making a mid-range shot to make 2 more points for the San Antonio Spurs team. From the start of the game as in most games, the San Antonio Spurs team relied on Robinson and Duncan to do most of the San Antonio Spurs team attacks, Shaq and Dennis Rodman were trying to defend, but Duncan and Robinson were performing very well in that game. Fortunately, even though the San Antonio Spurs team managed to score a lot, the Los Angeles Lakers'' attack was also very good and the Lakers team had the advantage since the beginning of the game. In another play Jake advanced with the ball and passed to Kobe on the right, Kobe received the ball and Elie came pressing on the defense, Kobe tried to advance on the right with a feint, but Elie remained firm in defense. Kobe held the ball for a while and passed it to Jake further back, Jake received the ball and Johnson came to defend, Jake was quick and tried a shot from outside and made 3 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. It was the second three-point ball that Jake hit in that game and so he already had 6 points, just as Jake hoped the Lakers team was still fine in the attack with Kobe and Rick making some mid-range shots and so the Los Angeles Lakers team had the advantage in points even without trying to make layups and dunks. Coach Rambis of the Los Angeles Lakers team had already prepared the players for a difficult game like this and if Jake, Kobe, and Rick were performing well, the Los Angeles Lakers team had great chances of winning the game. The first quarter continued with both teams attacking and defending well and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued with the points advantage thanks to the three-point attacks that Jake was able to make. Soon the first quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team with a good advantage in points, in that first quarter Jake played for 12 minutes and had 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, Jake made a good performance in the attack and was having difficulty in defense because the San Antonio Spurs team attacked more with Duncan and Robinson who attacked far from where Jake defended. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning with a good point advantage, the Lakers team seems to be taking advantage of the support of the fans playing at home and Jake Smith, Kobe Bryant, and Rick Fox had a good performance in that first quarter." "The San Antonio Spurs team also tried to press in attack and defense, but they scored fewer points than the Lakers team and made more mistakes in attack, in defense they managed to prevent the Lakers team from attacking with Shaquille O''Neal and Dennis Rodman." "It''s true, even though Tim Duncan and David Robinson are performing well, the San Antonio Spurs team did not get the advantage in the first quarter because of Jake Smith''s 3-point play in the first quarter." "If the game continues like this, the Los Angeles Lakers team''s point advantage will only increase, but I don''t think the San Antonio Spurs team can do anything to change that, they are doing very well to prevent the Lakers team''s attack from to count on Shaq who has been the second-best player in the Lakers team and who scores a lot of points in every game." Just as commentators said the San Antonio Spurs team was doing a good job of defending in that game, they managed to prevent Shaq from scoring too many points and also managed to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from getting too many rebounds in that game. The San Antonio Spurs team couldn''t change their defense just to defend against Jake, Kobe, and Rick and prevent them from trying outside shots and mid-range shots, so they could just keep playing like that and hope that Jake, Kobe and Rick miss more attacks in the rest of the game. The second quarter continued in the same manner as the first quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to attack with mid-range shots and Jake''s three-point shots and they continued to increase their points advantage. Even with the San Antonio Spurs team''s good defense Jake still managed to make some assists for Shaq who also scored some points, the Los Angeles Lakers team also sometimes managed to prevent Duncan and Robinson from making the points and thus the Lakers team''s point advantage it just increased. Jake knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team was getting a good lead on points because Kobe and Rick were performing very well in that game and were hitting a lot of mid-range shots, but it would be difficult to expect that to happen in every game. Even so Jake knew that the San Antonio Spurs team would not change the way of defending just because of this game, after all, if they gave Shaq more freedom to attack it would also be even more difficult for them to win the next games. Soon the second quarter ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with an even greater advantage in points, Jake and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were more relaxed with this advantage in points and knew that they were more likely to win this game. The crowd that filled the Great Western Forum was also more excited to see the Los Angeles Lakers team winning, in the interval Jake could see where his mother and his friends were sitting and saw that they were happy to see the Lakers team winning the game. Jake was also happy to be performing well in that game and he was more confident knowing that Eva was watching the game, and Jake was more excited knowing that his friends could also see the Los Angeles Lakers team winning that game. The game continued and the Los Angeles Lakers team continued to win the game until the end of the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the game with 106 points against 82 points for the San Antonio Spurs team. In this game, Jake played for 48 minutes and had 52 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, and 6 steals, Jake double-double in that game and this was the game where Jake scored the most points in the NBA, this was also the game that Jake tried more three-point shots, Jake tried 21 three-point shots and that''s why he made so many points just missing 5 of the 21 three-point shots he tried. It was coach Kurt Rambis who told Jake that he would be very important in that game too and that he try as many three-point shots as possible whenever he got the chance, and the result was the best possible for the Los Angeles Lakers team. "The game ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team got the victory in that game with an advantage of more than 20 points, that was a great result for the Lakers team that won the first game at home and thus got the first victory and is closer to advance to the NBA Finals." "The players of the Los Angeles Lakers team had a great performance in that game and with Jake Smith having one of his best performances this season making 52 points, this was the second game of the season in which Jake scored more than 50 points and was the new record of Jake''s points in the NBA." "Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox also had a great performance in that game, Kobe had 22 points and Rick had 16 points, Shaquille O''Neal and Dennis Rodman who was well defended didn''t get many points in that game, but they also helped in defense and attract the attention of the San Antonio Spurs team''s defense." Chapter 575 - West Conference Finals 5 "In this game, the San Antonio Spurs team did well the strategy that coach Gregg Popovich prepared for the players, the San Antonio Spurs team lost because of the great performances of Jake, Kobe, and Rick from the Los Angeles Lakers team." "That''s right, I think Coach Gregg Popovich''s strategy may be the best strategy that the San Antonio Spurs team can use against the Los Angeles Lakers team, after all, they prevented Shaquille O''Neal who is one of the best players in the Lakers team score more than 10 points in that game." "If in the next games Kobe and Rick do not perform as well as in this game, I think the San Antonio Spurs team can win, but even this great strategy has a big flaw." "This failure is the best player of the Los Angeles Lakers team this season Jake Smith, in this game Jake had a lot of freedom to attack what he didn''t have in the last games, so in this game, he tried 21 shots from three points and hit 16 shots from three points and scored 52 points." "I think that no team can face the Los Angeles Lakers team without first trying to prevent Jake from being free to try to do so many three-point shots, the San Antonio Spurs team cannot expect Jake to perform poorly in the next games, if they keep doing it they can lose." Just as commentators have said, coach Gregg Popovich tried the best strategy the San Antonio Spurs team could do in this game which was to take advantage of the strong defense with Tim Duncan and David Robinson to prevent Shaquille O''Neal from scoring too many points. But that strategy would not work against the current Los Angeles Lakers team, coach Gregg Popovich had to find a way to prevent Jake from playing freely, otherwise, he could not prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from having the advantage. Perhaps in games that Kobe and Rick were playing badly, the San Antonio Spurs team could still win the victory even if they didn''t defend against Jake, but that was something very difficult to happen and the San Antonio Spurs team could not depend on luck in this phase of the playoffs. After the game was over the reporters came to interview the Los Angeles Lakers team players and the San Antonio Spurs team players, the first person the reporters were able to interview was the San Antonio Spurs team coach Gregg Popovich. "Coach Popovich, in that first game between the San Antonio Spurs team and the Los Angeles Lakers team, their strategy of defending more against Shaquille O''Neal and in the paint area to prevent the Lakers team from making points for layups and dunks and catching rebounds. it didn''t work out well, do you think about changing your strategy for the next game?" "I do not agree that our strategy in this game did not work, I think we were successful in preventing the opposing team from attacking in our painted area, the Lakers team also did not have many rebounds in that game." "What happened was what we already knew, Jake Smith has a lot of freedom to attack with our team defending like that, in this game he did as well as always and also Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox played very well and that''s why we lost that game." "A player like Jake who has more than 70% accuracy of three-point shots and is also fast and knows how to advance to the inside area needs at least two players defending against him, but unfortunately against the Los Angeles Lakers team that has Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant, I can''t put two players to defend against Jake." "So I have to continue with this strategy and hope that in the next games the San Antonio Spurs team will be able to score more points and that the opponents will not play as well as they did today." Coach Popovich looked sad after doing this interview, with the players that the San Antonio Spurs team had he knew he had no players who could prevent Jake from attacking by putting only one player to defend against him, but with Shaquille O''Neal and Kobe Bryant made it impossible for him to put two players to defend against Jake. The reporters also went to interview Jake who had scored more than 50 points in a game for the second time, in addition, it was in a playoff game and this was also the game in which Jake scored the most points since entering the NBA. "Jake, congratulations on your victory today and congratulations on scoring more than 50 points once again in the NBA and even more in a playoff game, what do you think about that?" "I think it''s a great honor to be one of the few players who have scored more than 50 points in a playoff game, I''m even happier because I did it in a victory, if the Lakers team can win I don''t mind not doing it no point in a game. " "In addition to making more than 50 points, which is rare, you also managed to a double-double with 10 assists, but speaking of the game, you are confident that the Los Angeles Lakers team will be able to continue winning and advance to the next stage?" "Yes, I am confident that we will be able to advance to the NBA Finals, I know that the next games will be even more difficult, but our team is prepared for those next games and I think we can win." Soon the interviews ended up showing that after that game the Los Angeles Lakers team was more confident and the San Antonio Spurs team was more concerned with the next games, so Jake went where the players were so they could leave. After the end of the interviews, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team celebrated this important victory at home, Jake went to where his mother and friends were, all praising Jake''s good game and talking about how they expected the Los Angeles Lakers team to continue winning. Jake was much more relaxed after the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first game, of course, he still felt that the Lakers team had an obligation to win the next game at home too if they wanted to have any chance of making it to the NBA Finals. The other day the Los Angeles Lakers team did light training for the players to be more prepared for the next game, but the coach Rambis did not give heavy training for fear that some players could be injured. Jake realized that the players on the Los Angeles Lakers team were focused on the next game knowing that they had an obligation to win that game at home, but Jake could also see that his teammates were more relaxed after the first victory. The other day, Jake went to the Great Western Forum after his mother and his friends had already arrived, Jake went to the locker room after seeing that the fans were filling the Great Western Forum again. The Los Angeles Lakers team had not won an NBA title for many years and fans were very excited that year because they knew that the Los Angeles Lakers team was the favorite this season with Jake joining the team. Some fans who knew the NBA well also knew that it was impossible for Jake, Shaquille, and Kobe to play together for many seasons because of the quality they had and the high salary that Jake and Kobe would receive in the years to come. So they wanted the Los Angeles Lakers team to win the NBA title this season and maybe win it in the coming seasons as well because they didn''t know how many years the Los Angeles Lakers team would stay that way. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake playing as PG, Kobe Bryant playing as SG, Rick Fox playing as SF, Dennis Rodman playing as PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing as Center. The San Antonio Spurs team would start the game with Avery Johnson playing as PG, Mario Elie playing as SG, Sean Elliott playing as SF, Tim Duncan playing as PF, and David Robinson playing as Center. The two teams would play with the same players from the last game, after all, they were the best players that the two teams had that were not hurt, so the fans were more excited waiting for another victory. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch the second game at this stage of the playoffs between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs here at the Great Western Forum." "In the first game between these two teams, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the victory with a memorable performance by Jake Smith who doubled up with 52 points and 10 assists." "The San Antonio Spurs team tried a strategy trying to prevent the Los Angeles Lakers team from catching rebounds and being able to make layups and dunks and that strategy worked because Shaquille O''Neal didn''t score much in that game." "But that strategy was not enough to bring victory for the San Antonio Spurs team, coach Gregg Popovich said in an interview after the game that he would not change the Spurs team''s strategy for this game, let''s see if in this game they can achieve victory." Just like the commentators said, the doubt in this game was whether Jake, Kobe, and Rick would play as well in this game as they did in the first one when the Los Angeles Lakers team won if they can''t play as well the San Antonio Spurs team can be more likely to advance to the next stage if you win a game as a visitor. Jake looked at his teammates and the San Antonio Spurs team players, Jake looked to see where Eva and his friends were watching the game at the Great Western Forum, so Jake concentrated again because he knew that victory in that game depended on him too. Chapter 576 - West Conference Finals 6 Soon the game started and the San Antonio Spurs team won the ball to make the first attack of the game, soon everyone could see that the San Antonio Spurs team decided to start the game under pressure in the attack. Just as coach Gregg Popovich said the San Antonio Spurs team had to do the defense team well and also score more points than the Los Angeles Lakers team if they wanted to win, so the more points the Spurs team managed to make, the easier it was for they get the victory. As soon as the Los Angeles Lakers team started to focus more on defense to try to prevent the San Antonio Spurs team from starting to dominate the game, Shaq and Dennis Rodman had to focus more on defense to defend against Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Jake also wanted to help in defense, but the San Antonio Spurs team knew that he was one of the best players in defending the Los Angeles Lakers team and so Avery Johnson was not participating in attacking plays much more than giving passes. So Jake could not approach Duncan and Robinson to attempt a robbery, it is clear that even so in the first game Jake managed a lot of thefts by intercepting Johnson''s passes and stealing balls. The San Antonio Spurs team continued on the attack and managed for a moment to open a small advantage on the scoreboard, but the Los Angeles Lakers'' team also attacked even if they concentrated more on defense. Just as coach Gregg Popovich said that the San Antonio Spurs team would continue with the same strategy as the first game, just as Shaquille O''Neal was not able to score many points and Kobe Bryant also did not make points in the painted area of ??the Spurs team. Coach Kurt Rambis seeing this decided to send the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team to attack only to do mid-range and with shots from outside, after all, it was Coach Rambis who asked the players to test whether a San Antonio Spurs team would continue with the same strategy as the first game. So Jake started trying more individual shots in the first quarter and realized that in that game only Avery Johnson was defending against him again, so Jake confidently started making individual shots and trying three-point shots. To the sadness of the San Antonio Spurs team players, it seemed that Jake was doing very well in that game too and he hit the first four shots from three points in the first quarter and thus caused the Los Angeles Lakers team to tie the game. Seeing this, Coach Popovich decided to take a chance and asked Sean Elliott to defend against Jake as well, so Rick Fox would be left with no one to defend against him, after all, Coach Popovich could not leave Kobe Bryant without anyone to defend against him and he could not change the strategy the painted area too. So Jake started passing the ball over to Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant too, luckily for the Los Angeles Lakers team in that game the two were very well too and managed to hit some mid-range shots, and thus the Lakers team''s lead on the scoreboard increased. "The first quarter ends with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning with a good lead on the scoreboard, the San Antonio Spurs team put a lot of pressure on the attack, but unfortunately for them, the defense of the Los Angeles Lakers team was very good in that first quarter." "It is true, the players of the San Antonio Spurs team also missed many attacks and this cannot happen in a game like this, coach Gregg Popovich decided to try the same strategy as the first game, and again they were unable to maintain the advantage on the scoreboard." "Jake Smith is playing very well in that game and managed to hit four shots from three points in a row in that first quarter, then coach Popovich decided to ask Sean Elliott to also defend against Jake, but with Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant having good performances the Los Angeles team Lakers still got the advantage. " "It seems that the Los Angeles Lakers team has a better chance of winning this game at home, the San Antonio Spurs team has to hit most of the attacks and hope that Kobe and Rick start making more mistakes." In the second quarter, the San Antonio Spurs team continued to press in the attack and trying to press in the defense using the same strategy as the first quarter, but Kobe and Rick continued to hit the attacks and so the Los Angeles Lakers team kept the advantage on the scoreboard. When Sean Elliott tried to go out to defend against Rick, Jake took advantage and tried more shots from three points and further increased the advantage of the Los Angeles Lakers team, so Elliott tried only when Rick was close to attempting the mid-range shot. In fact, Jake managed to keep attacking even with Elliott and Johnson defending against him, but Jake realized that it was easier for the Lakers team to score more points if he passed the ball, after all, Jake knew he was more likely to miss three shots points if two players were defending against him. The game continued like this and ended with the Los Angeles Lakers team winning, the Lakers team had 112 points, against San Antonio Spurs'' 95 points, with this victory the Los Angeles Lakers team will arrive with confidence for both games as a visitor. In that game Jake played for all 48 minutes and had 45 points, 14 assists, 6 rebounds, and 6 steals, it was another good game in which Jake was very important for the Los Angeles Lakers team''s victory, unfortunately, because of the team''s strategy, San Antonio Spurs Jake failed to steal and rebound. "The game is over and the Los Angeles Lakers team gets a second very important home win to advance to the NBA Finals, if the Lakers team gets a victory as a visitor they have to win just one more home game to advance to the next stage." "In this game, the San Antonio Spurs team tried the same strategy as the first game to prevent Shaquille O''Neal from scoring too many points and the Los Angeles Lakers team from getting too many rebounds, in addition, coach Gregg Popovich had two players defend against Jake in that game." "Unfortunately for the San Antonio Spurs team, Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant had another good performance and that is why the Los Angeles Lakers team got the advantage from the first quarter and the game remained the same in all quarters." "Now the Los Angeles Lakers team has two victories and needs only two more victories to go to the final, the next two games will be in the home of the San Antonio Spurs team, if the Lakers team gets one more victory in those two games they will be favorites to advance to the NBA Finals." After that game the players of both teams did not want to speak to the reporters, the players of the San Antonio Spurs team were disappointed with the defeat and the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team were very happy, but as they knew that the next games would be at home from the Spurs team, they thought it was best not to say anything. So right after the game was over, the players of the Los Angeles Lakers team left, Jake met his mother and his friends and they left for his house together, the next game would be in 4 days and so Jake knew that I had time to rest and stay with Eva and his friends before traveling to San Antonio. "Congratulations on your victory, Jake, I am very happy to see that you are very close to playing the NBA Finals in your first year in the NBA." "Thank you, William, I am very happy with this victory too, but it only happened because I was lucky to have great teammates, it was to play with Shaq, Kobe, and the others that I wanted to come to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. "It''s true, Jake, but without you, I don''t think your team had a chance to win the NBA title this season, I see how long the Los Angeles Lakers team hasn''t had a PG as good as you do." "That''s why I wanted to come to the Los Angeles Lakers team, I knew they needed a good PG this season, and I know I can be one of the best PG this season." It was hard for Jake to talk to his friends about what the NBA would be like if he weren''t playing, after all, he knew exactly what things would be like if he wasn''t on the Los Angeles Lakers team, but if he spoke up he seemed to be sure people could find him very arrogant. Eva didn''t know what Jake was thinking and was happy to see how humble Jake looked talking to his friends, even though she rarely saw Jake talking like he was the best even with many people in the media saying he could be this season''s MVP. After Eva, Jake, and his friends got home they were able to relax and Jake asked Mary to make a sandwich for all of them and so they talked for some more time before everyone went to sleep. The other day in the morning, Jake woke up and saw that Eva had already prepared pancakes for him and his friends, Jake went to read the newspaper while waiting for his friends and saw the news about yesterday''s game and also about the economy. Many economists already talked every day in the newspaper and on television programs about the stock market bubble, everyone who studied the stock market knew it was strange that the bubble had not yet burst, so they could just speculate what day the bubble burst. Of course, some also tried to warn ordinary people that they began to invest money in stocks even though they mortgaged their homes that it was not the time to invest and that it was better for everyone who had invested in stocks to sell the shares. Some economists only cared about fame and some feared the repercussions of what would happen after the market crashed, after all, dozens of companies could go bankrupt and this would greatly weaken the world economy. Chapter 577 - West Conference Finals 7 Jake wasn''t too worried about that because everyone who was close to him was out of the stock market and he himself knew pretty well when the bubble would burst, even Matthew who had billions of dollars invested gave up talking to Jake about selling the stock and just trusted him. Furthermore, Jake knew that even after the bubble burst if people understood the stock market well they would have time to sell the stock before it went bankrupt, only those who hoped the stock could rise again would get in trouble. Fortunately Jake knew that at that time when the internet was not so present in people''s lives it was difficult to find many ordinary people who would take risks in the stock market, so few people who didn''t understand the stock market would do something like mortgage their house to invest. Soon Jake''s friends arrived and everyone ate together and praised a lot the pancakes that were delicious, after eating, Jake went to his room to call Kate, Jake would call Kate after two games so he wouldn''t bother her and also so Kate wouldn''t be mad at him for not calling. "Hello Kate, how are you?" "Jake, I was waiting for you to call me, I saw that your team won again yesterday, it looks like you''re closer to playing the NBA Finals, with two more wins your team goes to the final." "Yeah, I''m glad the Lakers team managed to win those two games at home and we''re going to try to win at least one away game to advance to the NBA Finals." "And you Kate? How are you? Are the shows going as good as you expected?" "Yes, it''s ok with me, the shows are going better than I expected, the tickets are selling really well and many shows are sold out, my last musical album is selling really well too and the record company is satisfied with that." "I''m glad to hear that, I know how hard you work to get these great results and how hard you rehearse singing and dancing for shows, you deserve all the good that''s happening in your music career." Jake was really happy to see how Kate''s music career was going really well, he saw in the newspapers sometimes some news about how Kate''s fans were increasing, and that was one of the few things Jake didn''t know would happen in the future. Of course Jake already expected Kate to become more and more famous after she won an award at the Grammy Awards, but he was worried about Kate because he also knew a lot of female singers who had a great start in their careers and then ended up failing. Jake always thought about how he could help Kate if her music career started to deteriorate, Kate was known for writing a lot of the songs she was successful with, so if that didn''t work out well Jake would hire some composers who would be famous in the future to write some songs for Kate. Jake even knew some songs that would be successful in the future and he had no remorse about giving these songs to improve Kate''s success if that was necessary, he wouldn''t do it to make more money, but for the success that someone he loved, he would. "I believe you will become even more famous Kate, when more people listen to your songs, you will have even more fans." "I hope so, I want a lot of people to know me through my music, that I want to feel that my parents are proud of me in heaven and that they know they were right to support me." "I''m sure they''re already proud of you." Jake knew that Kate still missed her parents who died a few years ago, Jake could understand what Kate felt because he himself had already felt how bad it was to see his mother dying in his past life, and it must have been even worse for Kate who lost both her parents. Jake and Kate talked for a longer time and talked about how they expected to meet soon when the Los Angeles Lakers team made it to the NBA Finals, Kate hoped the Lakers team made it to the NBA Finals and Jake also thought that would happen. Jake spent the rest of his day talking to his friends and without Eva who was resting in her room, William, Zack, and Haruto told Jake what had happened at the university after he left. They joked with Jake saying that their love life had improved a lot in college after he left, after starting the third year at college, it was easier for men to get girlfriends who were younger in college, especially since they were known for be friends with Jake. Even though William and Zack were serious in class, they still found it hard to resist the sudden popularity, yet they still continued to respect women, but the 2 had changed girlfriends a few times over the past year. Haruto was more serious and continued with the same girlfriend after Jake left college, William and Zack told Jake that Aaron was the most popular of the group, after all, Aaron was also Jake''s friend and was in the third year of college and was still a player football player in college. But as with Jake, Aaron was the least interested in getting a girlfriend in college because he was too busy worrying about studying and training for college football games. Zack also told Jake that Aaron was already the longest-playing player on the football team as WR, but he was still worried because he lost too much time because of his injury, so Aaron still didn''t know if he would have a chance to go to the draft after college. Jake also worried because he didn''t know Aaron''s future and that could mean he failed to become a football player in Jake''s past life, but Jake still had hope because if Kate and Zack''s life changed, so did the life of Aaron, too, could change because of him. After they talked for a few hours, Jake decided he would take advantage of having plenty of time to rest and called Zack to do running training with him, after all, Jake had a place like he used to train at the university right at his house. Also, Jake wanted to know how Zack had gotten better after not seeing him run for so long, Zack was happy to see that Jake had asked him to train and William said he would just watch their training. Jack and Zack did some warm-up exercises and soon they started training, Zack knew well how insane Jake''s training was and so he decided to start running a little before Jake, Jake also knew that and hoped that Zack would start before. As Jake didn''t want to overdo it too much he decided to start training at a fast pace, but not that fast, Jake''s training for marathons was 50 km, and Zack didn''t run more than 30 km normally, so their training time had to be different too. Jake ran at a fast pace of 2 minutes and 54 seconds per km, so after 30 minutes of training he had already passed Zack who started training way before him, Jake ran the 50 km he would do in 2 hours and 25 minutes, after just over 10 minutes Zack also finished his training. William didn''t understand their training, after all, he couldn''t expect Jake to train to do a world record pace, William also didn''t know that Jake ran for 50 km and Zack ran for 30 km, so he just said he found the training of the two very good. Jake who knew very well what had happened praised Zack who had done training that before would have been difficult for him calmly, running 30 km at a good pace like Zack ran was very difficult for amateur athletes. Of course, who was most surprised was Zack who knew that Jake hadn''t trained for a few months because of the NBA and still trained the same way they trained at university and still wasn''t even tired. Jake just said that it was because training for NBA players was usually pretty intense and so he even improved his fitness, so Zack accepted because that would normally be true. Of course, it wasn''t true for Jake that he had the system to strengthen his body, and even if that was true, training an NBA player was completely different from training a marathon runner. Jake took advantage of the rest of his rest days with Zack, Haruto, William, and Eva also that after resting he spent more time with them, Jake also had to go train in two days with the Lakers team. Coach Rambis decided to do light training to let the players rest as much as possible before the next streak of games that could be tough, of course, the coach didn''t know that Jake had run a marathon in training on his rest day. So the day before the game the Lakers team players had to go to San Antonio, Texas to stay in town and rest before the game, just as they had arranged Jake''s friends stayed in Los Angeles at Jake''s house and Eva said that would go on helicopter game day. Chapter 578 - West Conference Finals 8 Jake was calm knowing that his mother would come on game day to watch, Jake had already ordered a hotel prepared for Eva who would have to stay a few days in San Antonio because the Lakers team would play 2 games in the city. Jake was very excited for the game that would happen the next day, he saw in the last training before the team game that his teammates were much more rested after these almost 4 days of rest. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal looked confident after so many comfortable wins they had, they knew that if the Los Angeles Lakers team won one more of those two away games they would have a great chance to advance to the next round. After all, players had finished dinner Coach Rambis asked all players to gather in the hotel''s meeting hall because he wanted to talk to everyone before the next game. "Conference Finals, very important for you to remember that we are in the Conference Finals, after this phase of the playoffs are champions, and if we are Conference Champions, we can go to the NBA Finals and we will try to become NBA Champions." "Of the 29 teams in the NBA, we are one of the top four, out of all the players, you are in the top 100, that''s something for our team to be proud of, but you shouldn''t be satisfied with just that." "You are playing for the Los Angeles Lakers team, one of the best teams in NBA history, the Los Angeles Lakers team was 11 times NBA Champion, it''s been 11 years since the last time, don''t you think it''s time for the Los Angeles team Lakers to be champion again?" "I look at this team and I honestly see the best team this season in the NBA, I see here some players who could be MVP this season, so I don''t see why we couldn''t be champions this season in the NBA." "The next 2 games will be the most important of this Conference Finals, if we win one game as a visitor we will have almost guaranteed our place in the NBA Finals." "So try to win tomorrow''s game so the pressure will all go on the San Antonio Spurs team, maybe if we win tomorrow we can win the next game too and we''ll go back to Los Angeles just to wait for the NBA Finals." Coach Rambis'' speech served to further cheer the players up and show how important the next game would be, if the Los Angeles Lakers team won the next game, they would only need one win to advance to the NBA Finals. If the San Antonio Spurs team lost the next game, they would need a miracle to win the next 4 games in a row to advance to the NBA Finals, so the pressure would all go on the San Antonio Spurs team if the Los Angeles Lakers team made it. Soon the game day arrived, Jake ate a reinforced breakfast along with Rick and Kobe, after a few hours Jake got a call from Eva that she had already arrived in San Antonio and was resting at the hotel before heading to the game. After a few more hours the Los Angeles Lakers team went to the Alamodome, the San Antonio Spurs fans came to support the team and fill the Alamodome, fans knew that if the San Antonio team lost it would be difficult to advance to the NBA Finals. Jake put on his uniform and then went with the Los Angeles Lakers team to the court to warm up, so soon it was time for the game to start, the Los Angeles Lakers team was calmer and the San Antonio Spurs players felt more pressured. The Los Angeles Lakers team would start the game with Jake playing PG, Kobe Bryant playing SG, Rick Fox playing SF, Dennis Rodman playing PF, and Shaquille O''Neal playing Center. The San Antonio Spurs team would start the game with Avery Johnson playing PG, Mario Elie playing SG, Sean Elliott playing SF, Tim Duncan playing PF, and David Robinson playing Center. The two teams were equal, after all these were the best players the two coaches had for this game, coach Gregg Popovich would have to keep the same strategy from the last game as well and hope that Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox had a poor performance in the game. After all, coach Gregg Popovich knew he couldn''t just defend against Shaquille O''Neal and the Lakers attacking plays near the painted area, the San Antonio Spurs team also needed 2 players to prevent Jake from having the freedom to try to make multiple attacks of three points. "Welcome to everyone who came to watch this third game of the Conference Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers team won the first 2 games playing at home, so if the Los Angeles Lakers team gets the third win today, it will be very difficult for the San team. Antonio Spurs advance to the NBA Finals." "It''s true, the Los Angeles Lakers team did what they were supposed to do and won the two home games, now with one win as a visitor, the Los Angeles Lakers team practically guarantees a spot in the NBA Finals this season and they can try to win again after 11 years old." "The Los Angeles Lakers team is favorite to advance to the NBA Finals and if they advance to the NBA Finals the Los Angeles Lakers team will be favorite to win the NBA title this season." "That''s right, the San Antonio Spurs team has an obligation to win at least this home game, if they lose the next game the pressure wouldn''t be as great as losing this first home game." "The San Antonio Spurs team couldn''t find a way to stop the Los Angeles Lakers team''s attack, and in this game, they must try to find a way to stop Jake Smith from scoring too many points and also stop the Los Angeles Lakers team from trying to make plays in the painted area." "So they have to count that Rick Fox and Kobe Bryant aren''t performing well in this game, just so they can try to get the win." Just as commentators told the San Antonio Spurs team knew it would be difficult to win this game, they would try to do the same strategy as in the last game and would have to hope that Kobe and Rick didn''t perform well. Soon the game started and the San Antonio Spurs team started pressing forward, coach Kurt Rambis already knew that the San Antonio Spurs team would do that and trained more the Los Angeles Lakers team players to defend better. With the pressure on the defense from the Los Angeles Lakers team, the San Antonio Spurs team had more difficulty attacking, but they still managed a good play and Tim Duncan scored the first 2 points with a layup for the San Antonio Spurs team. The Los Angeles Lakers team soon went to the attack to try for a draw and after a good play, Jake passed the ball to Shaquille O''Neal who made the hook and made the first 2 points of the Los Angeles Lakers team tying the game. Both teams were pressing on offense and defense and even so the attacks were managing to score points, so the start of the first quarter was well balanced with the game tied most of the time. Jake who saw this knew that if this kept happening it could be better for the San Antonio Spurs team, so Jake decided to start making more individual plays and trying more three-point shots. Jake started to use his speed and technique to move quickly outside the three-point line and when he got open a space he tried a shot from outside and scored three points, Jake managed to make 3 plays of three points and thus made 9 points and so the Los Angeles Lakers team was ahead on the scoreboard with a slight advantage. Jake''s good plays cheered his teammates up and left San Antonio Spurs fans at the Alamodome worried, soon after the first quarter ended, the Los Angeles Lakers team won with a slight points advantage. "The first quarter ends and the Los Angeles Lakers team is winning thanks to some good plays from Jake Smith, it really impresses the hit percentage Jake has on the three-point line." "It''s true, the game was balanced until Jake decided to try some three-point shots, even with two players defending against him, Jake still managed open space using his speed, and even so he didn''t miss any attempt and scored 12 points in this first quarter." "The San Antonio Spurs team will have to try to score more points and miss fewer attacks to try to regain the advantage in points, after all, they already have two players defending against Jake, the San Antonio Spurs team can''t defend even better against Jake." What the commentators were saying was true, Jake started trying to run harder to try to find open space to try the three-point shots, and with that, Rick Fox had even more freedom to attack without anyone defending against him. Also, Jake was still able to hit three-point shots from far away from the three-point line, so the 2 players who were defending against him couldn''t relax in defense even for a moment. The Los Angeles Lakers team still tried to put pressure on the defense, but Tim Duncan, David Robinson, and Jaren Jackson who came in during the game were very good in attack and the Los Angeles Lakers team''s defense, which was not so good, could not stop the attacks. of the San Antonio Spurs team. Chapter 579 - West Conference Finals 9 With the San Antonio Spurs team attacking so well they managed to lead the score again with a small points lead, Jake couldn''t do anything as he had to defend against Avery Johnson who only managed to get 2 points into the second quarter. The Los Angeles Lakers team continued to attack well, but Jake couldn''t make a lot of three-point plays using his speed, it was difficult to get rid of two opposing players and still have the precision to hit three-point shots. Rick Fox wasn''t performing as well as the first two games and even though he was free he still missed some mid-range shots, luckily for Jake, the other players were doing well and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O''Neal were making a lot of points. Even with Tim Duncan and David Robinson defending against Shaq, he was one of the best players on the Los Angeles Lakers team and still managed to find opportunities to score points with Jake''s good plays, after all, Shaq adapted to playing with two players defending against him after two games. Soon the second quarter ended with the San Antonio Spurs team winning the game by just one point ahead, Jake tried again to score several points on three-point shots, but with the good defense of Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott, Jake ended up missing 2 attempts and scored 9 points in that second quarter. In addition to several plays where Jake tried to shoot from the outside and failed and had to pass the ball before the possession time expired, with Jake''s ability to make three-point shots he knew when he had a chance to hit and if he didn''t have confidence he would pass the ball. "The second quarter ends with the San Antonio Spurs team managing to recover and now they are winning the game, the San Antonio Spurs team''s good defense is paying off and Jake is not having the freedom to try so many three-point shots in this quarter." "It''s true, the San Antonio Spurs team is defending very well and besides, it''s attacking very well and making fewer mistakes in attack than in other games, if they continue like this, the San Antonio Spurs team can win this game." "But it won''t be so easy for the San Antonio Spurs team to get the win, even if Rick Fox isn''t performing well in this game, Shaquille O''Neal is making a lot of points even with Tim Duncan and David Robinson defending against him." As commentators said, the game wasn''t that hard for the Los Angeles Lakers team to win again, even though Rick Fox was performing poorly, Shaquille O''Neal was performing well even with Duncan and Robinson defending against him. What really changed in this game is that the San Antonio Spurs players were doing great, it felt like the crowd was helping the players to play even better. In the third quarter, the game continued the same, but just as in every game there was a moment when Jake had more opportunities to attack, Jake played every 48 minutes in every game, but the other players couldn''t do it. So at least 9 minutes per game Jake was playing while Johnson and Elliott were resting, normally Jake also didn''t have many opportunities because when the reserves came in he became the main target of the opposing defense. But in this game, Jake was determined to win, so he took advantage of Duncan and Robinson resting and started making plays near the painted area using his speed. So in 3 minutes in the third quarter, Jake managed to get 8 points with layups in 4 attacks, plus, because the San Antonio Spurs team players tried to stop Jake from scoring they fouled 2 plays, so Jake got the 2 points with the layup and still got one more opportunity to make 2 more points in a free throw. In another play, Jake managed to get 2 more points with a dunk before Duncan and Robinson returned to the game, so the Los Angeles Lakers team managed to get back the advantage in points and was winning the game again. In that third quarter, Jake scored an incredible 18 points and the Los Angeles Lakers team finished the third quarter with 3 points ahead, even with Jake''s great performance in that quarter, the San Antonio Spurs team still had a way to win this game in the last quarter. In the last quarter, the San Antonio Spurs team continued to try to regain the advantage in the game, moreover, after what happened in the third quarter the San Antonio Spurs team players were taking turns when the reserves entered the court so Jake wouldn''t have as much freedom. As a result, the game was not decided until the last 30 seconds of the last quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers team was still leading the game by 2 points and still had 20 seconds of possession, so Jake kept the ball trying to spend possession. and the San Antonio Spurs players didn''t try to foul because they knew Jake would hit the two free throws. With a few seconds of possession Jake asked Shaq to do the screen, Shaq understood what Jake wanted and went to do the screen, when Shaq came closer to where Jake was, Duncan realized what Jake wanted to do and followed Shaq to stop letting him do the screen. When Shaq and Duncan got close to Jake, he understood he couldn''t make the move he wanted and motioned for Kobe to make a move they had rehearsed, Kobe understood and walked over to where Shaq and Duncan were to get out of the opponent. So Kobe managed to advance to the inside area and Jake made an alley-oop passing the ball over the top to Kobe who received the ball and made a layup to score 2 more points for the Los Angeles Lakers team. Unfortunately soon after Jaren Jackson missed the three-point attempt and Kobe caught the rebound and was fouled so that time would not continue, Kobe hit the two free throws and thus the advantage increased to 6 points with 2 seconds left to finish the last quarter and it was already decided that the Los Angeles Lakers team won that game. The Los Angeles Lakers team got the victory with 107 points against 101 points of the San Antonio Spurs team, the players of the San Antonio Spurs team left the court discouraged after this defeat at home. In that game Jake double-doubled with 51 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals, Jake once again managed to score over 50 points in one game and then another game in the playoffs, which was amazing considering that Jake was playing in his first season in the NBA. "The game ends, the Los Angeles Lakers team got their third win in this Conference Finals and needs one more win to advance to the NBA Finals, with the Los Angeles Lakers team getting that win even playing as a visiting team, they''re favorites to get the NBA Finals." "This was an amazing game and it was decided only at the end of the last quarter as it doesn''t usually happen when the Los Angeles Lakers team plays, it shows how the game was more favorable for the San Antonio Spurs team to win and the Lakers team sought the victory." "It''s true, the San Antonio Spurs players were having an excellent attacking performance in that game, the San Antonio team missed a lot fewer attacks than in the last few games and also defended well." "Also, in that game, Rick Fox didn''t perform well and that was what the San Antonio Spurs team hoped to win, but what caused the Los Angeles Lakers team to win was the good performance of Shaquille O''Neal even though he was good marked." "In addition to the good performance of Shaquille O''Neal, there was also the great performance again of Jake Smith who had 51 points in that game and a double-double, and a good performance by Kobe Bryant also which was fundamental especially in the last quarter." "It''s true, Jake this season broke the record for the player who scored the most points in three-point plays in a game with 16 hits, even though in that game he didn''t hit as many 3-point shots he still managed to get 12 points out of just 8 minutes showing why he''s favorite to win this season''s MVP award." On the other hand, the San Antonio Spurs players were feeling pretty bad after all they knew the Los Angeles Lakers team would have three games of chance to advance to the NBA Finals and the San Antonio team needed to win all the next 4 games to advance for the NBA Finals. After Jake arrived at the hotel where the Los Angeles Lakers team players were staying, Jake called his mother to celebrate with her one more victory, Eva was also happy because she knew Jake needed just one more victory to advance to the NBA Finals and get a chance to win the NBA title. Jake also called William and talked to his friends who had stayed in Los Angeles, and Jake also decided to call Kate to let them know that they would soon meet when the Los Angeles Lakers team made it to the NBA Finals. Kate was glad that Jake called her right after the game and she told him that Jake could always call after his games so if she was doing a show her manager Lily could answer the call saying that Kate was busy. After finishing the calls Jake could sleep more relaxed, the next game would be after 2 days and Jake knew he had to rest to help the Los Angeles Lakers team get their fourth win and advance to the NBA Finals. Chapter 346: From Awakening To Capturing (1) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul Loren did not know how long he had been unconscious for, but it had been night by the time he woke up. Looking up, he saw that he was in what appeared to be a tent, with lanterns hanging from the framework illuminating the interior. He seemed to be reclining in a chair, and as he looked around, he found Lapis and Gula sitting nearby, both of them staring at him. Looking further, he saw Yuri, with a smirk on his face. ¡°Not that it has been long, but you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that unusual, is it?¡± In his days as a mercenary, it was quite common for him to lose consciousness after a battle and be carried off by his comrades. Yuri seemed to have the same thought. But as he expressed his agreement, the smile disappeared from his face, and he bowed at Loren and the girls with a serious expression. ¡°I have already said this to the two girls, but let me say it again. Thank you.¡± Yuri said that the Empire army, which was surrounded by golems, was in a very dangerous situation. If the siege had continued, they definitely would have been caught up in the mass and wiped out. However, as Loren¡¯s team had managed to break through a part of the encirclement, they were somehow able to break free and escape by concentrating their forces there. Now, they had managed to shake off the slow-moving golems and formed a simple position at a spot where they thought they could take a breather, and Loren was laid out in the middle of it. ¡°Stop it, Commander. Feels bad.¡± Trying to move his somewhat heavy body, Loren waved his hand in a fluster, urging Yuri to raise his head, but Yuri did not respond and only looked up after a while. ¡°It would have been fine when you still called me ¡®Commander¡¯. But I am not your commander anymore. If you help me, I will thank you properly.¡± ¡°To me, you are still my commander. Nothing more, nothing less.¡± ¡°Even when said commander destroyed the group so ruthlessly?¡± ¡°I guess winning or losing is just a matter of fortune.¡± ¡°¡­Even if it was the result of a calculation?¡± Yuri was somewhat hesitant, but even so, his words were clear, and Loren looked puzzled. Lapis and Gula, who normally were likely to interrupt at times like this, were silent and simply watched the exchange between Loren and Yuri, as if they had already been told in advance to some extent. ¡°What do you mean, Commander?¡± ¡°The destruction of the mercenary group happened exactly as I had planned. I intended to minimize the sacrifices as much as possible, and I think that I was able to accomplish that, but even so, there is no doubt that I made unnecessary sacrifices.¡± Yuri spoke in a low, subdued voice without hesitation, and Loren stared at him sharply for a while. He then sat back down deep in his chair and asked Yuri, who was still staring at him, in a flat voice. ¡°Why are you suddenly bringing this up now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been exchanging information with the young lady over there.¡± Yuri pointed at Lapis. ¡°I¡¯m just telling him how things have been going so far.¡± Loren shook his head as if to say ¡®Don¡¯t worry about it¡¯ to Lapis, who looked somewhat apologetic, perhaps feeling guilty about having leaked the information without permission. Those was certainly not the kind of information he would want to blurt out to a complete stranger, but if it was Yuri, he thought it would not be a problem. ¡°I think you¡¯ve ripped off our troops quite a bit though.¡± ¡°I think it was a fair price.¡± Apparently, Lapis had slipped up a bit about where the goods left behind in the town were going when explaining about how they found the unoccupied Empire army¡¯s base. Loren turned his head away from Yuri, who was staring at him with half-lidded eyes, in a huff, but his voice did not falter as he answered. Instead, it was Gula, who was standing next to him, that laughed apologetically. Thinking about this, Loren suddenly realized that if Lapis had told Yuri about the destination of the goods they had swindled, she must have also told Yuri about Gula¡¯s true identity. As he was about to open his mouth, Gula, perhaps reading something from his expression, stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s useless. This old man knew about us.¡± ¡°About the Evil Gods?¡± It would not be surprising if Yuri knew something. After all, Loren¡¯s team had already made some reports to the Guild; it would not be surprising for that information to be circulated, and Yuri was in a position to gather such information. However, what Gula said next was something Loren did not expect. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not the kind of information that you report to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild though. I¡¯m trying to figure out how he knew.¡± This time it was Yuri who turned away from Gula, who was looking at him suspiciously. Gula and other Evil Gods were originally created by engineers belonging to a great country called the Ancient Kingdom when it still existed. When he was told that Yuri, who was originally simply the leader of a mercenary group, knew an astonishing amount about such existences, Loren felt compelled to question him, also about his earlier monologue. ¡°Please explain, Commander.¡± ¡°That lady asked me for an explanation before, but I thought it was too early to give one, so I just brushed it off and ran away. But after hearing this much, I just can¡¯t leave you with no explanation, can I?¡± ¡°Why in the world did you destroy the group?¡± Loren¡¯s tone of voice was filled with killing intent; it clearly showed his determination to not let Yuri get away with it, depending on his answer. Yuri¡¯s eyes narrowed as he looked at Loren¡¯s face, who was staring at him. There was no hint of hesitation in his expression. Lapis wondered if Loren might pull out his sword at this point and naturally turned her gaze to his shoulder, but the usual greatsword was not there. Looking around, she saw that the cloth-wrapped sword was propped up on one of the tent¡¯s frames, probably because it had been in the way when Loren was put on the chair. Impressed by the fact that the framework was safe from such a massive sword, Lapis gently changed the position of her chair to put her body between Loren and the sword. Lapis didn¡¯t know what Yuri had in mind as he had said they would discuss the details once Loren regained consciousness, but whatever plan the man had, she believed that she had to prevent Loren from cutting him off. ¡°It¡¯s because I was noticed by a rather troublesome person.¡± In the beginning, Yuri was hired to fight on the battlefield. As they became successful and established his reputation, adventurers and mercenaries who wanted to fight under Yuri gathered to form the mercenary company to which Loren belonged. Yuri had been raising Loren since before he became a mercenary. He had chosen the mercenary profession because he thought it was the only thing he could do. ¡°It would have been great if I could continue as a mercenary, or stay in the mercenary business.¡± An established mercenary group meant that its name was widely known. That meant information could reach someone who should not know it, and Yuri¡¯s name became known to someone he didn¡¯t want to know his name. ¡°¡®He really is still alive¡¯, I thought.¡± ¡°Who was it?¡± When a person like Yuri said there was someone to whom he didn¡¯t want to let his name be known, Loren¡¯s attention was drawn to that person. Yuri seemed to hesitate for a moment when Loren asked him about it, but then he seemed to regain his composure and speak that person¡¯s name. ¡°You¡¯ve already met Him. It was¡­ Magna.¡± Before he could question Yuri¡¯s tone, which made him suspicious, Loren was startled by the name that came out of his mouth. ¡°That guy?¡± He had never expected to hear the name of the black swordsman coming from Yuri¡¯s mouth during this conversation. Loren was surprised, but Yuri continued his story. Magna, who had heard Yuri¡¯s name spreading as the mercenary group grew, began to search for him in the mercenary groups little by little. Yuri realized this and believed that if the mercenary group continued to exist, it would eventually be subject to Magna¡¯s intervention. And so, he thought of destroying the group on the battlefield. ¡°Wait, just because he would intervene? You crushed the group just because of that reason, Commander?¡± It was true that Magna was a very powerful person in Loren¡¯s eyes. However, the fact that Yuri had destroyed the mercenary group simply because Magna was about to find out about his existence was something difficult to accept. ¡°Oh, yes. Only He could not know.¡± ¡°He?¡± Loren¡¯s eyebrows furrowed at the way Yuri addressed Magna, but as if oblivious to Loren¡¯s reaction, Yuri continued in a mumbled voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that He would still be alive¡­ It should have been over. But He was still alive. How unfortunate¡­¡± ¡°Commander?¡± ¡°I thought, ¡®He cannot know¡¯. If I continued to work as a mercenary, He would surely find His way to me. It was because of this thought that I¡­ decided to participate in that battle, which at first glance looked like a winning one, but in reality, I knew we would lose before we even started.¡± ¡°You sacrificed the guys in the group to save your own skin!¡± Loren¡¯s voice was, naturally, harsh. He did not know what had happened between Magna and Yuri, but if Yuri had sacrificed the mercenaries just to keep Magna from knowing about it, Loren had no intention of forgiving him, no matter how much he owed to Yuri. Loren reached for his shoulder, where the hilt of his greatsword had always been, and when Loren noticed that there was nothing there, Yuri said something unexpected. ¡°It would not have mattered if it were just me.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If it were only my existence, it would not have mattered if it had been known. I am sure that He would have demanded that I work for Him, but I had no intention of submitting to His will again, and it would not have mattered much even if He had killed me for it.¡± ¡°Even if he killed you¡­ So, what is it that you didn¡¯t want him to know?¡± Even though Loren had his doubts about why Yuri would be killed by Magna, he was overwhelmed when Yuri told him that it wouldn¡¯t matter at all, and he could not help but ask. What on earth did Yuri want to hide from Magna¡¯s eyes that he was willing to abandon the comrades who had been fighting for him, even though his own death would not matter? ¡°It was you, Loren. It was you.¡± At first, Loren had no idea what Yuri was talking about. However, as he slowly began to understand what Yuri was saying, the question of why arose, and Loren felt the blood that had been rushing to his head suddenly cool down. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, Loren, you. Your existence is the only thing He must never know about. That¡¯s why I planned and carried out my plan to destroy my mercenary group and make you disappear.¡± Yuri¡¯s gaze was filled with a strong will that said he did not care who would resent him for it. Loren, who was at a loss for words after seeing that gaze, could only stare at his face, utterly dumbfounded. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Chapter 347: From Awakening to Capturing (2) | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >> Proofreader: Xemul ¡°So, who the hell am I?¡± That was the first thing Loren thought about after recovering from the shock. Apparently, things would not end with Magna searching and finding him, and Yuri wanted to keep this matter hidden even if it meant destroying the mercenary group he had founded. No matter how he looked at it, Loren could no longer believe himself to be a mere mercenary. And yet, Loren had no clue what was so special about himself. ¡°I¡¯ve already met Magna many times, you know. I¡¯m aware that I annoy him a lot, but there¡¯s not the slightest indication that it¡¯s going to be a big deal.¡± If Loren meeting Magna was what Yuri was so fearful of that he did not want it to happen, then it was already too late, Loren thought. But Magna, even after seeing his face, did not seem to recognize him, and so far, nothing had happened that should make Yuri worry. ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ He doesn¡¯t know what you look like.¡± Yuri¡¯s calm words made the three of them flabbergasted. Then, the man followed with something outrageous. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know your name, by the way. It¡¯s not that He doesn¡¯t know you, just that He met you when you were still a baby.¡± ¡°When Loren was a baby? Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Loren is a human too, of course he must have been a baby at one point. I just can¡¯t imagine what it must have been like.¡± Loren silently thrusted his fist into the side of Gula¡¯s stomach, who waved her hand while saying something terribly rude. Gula was literally hit in the area where a hard-enough blow could stop her breathing temporarily, and she began to writhe in agony on the chair, bending over. ¡°With all due respect, how is he going to find Loren then? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a case of ¡®recognizing him as soon as they meet¡¯ here.¡± Lapis asked Yuri, ignoring the writhing Gula. If Magna knew neither Loren¡¯s name nor what he looked like, and if he didn¡¯t recognize him when they met, then Lapis thought that Yuri¡¯s worries were unfounded. However, Yuri shook his head gravely in response. ¡°He would have known if he had checked. Fortunately, He didn¡¯t recognize Loren, so He didn¡¯t bother to check. But as soon as his relationship with me comes to light, He will try to.¡± ¡°And how would he do that?¡± When asked by Lapis, Yuri pulled out a dagger from his inner breast pocket. It looked like a simple, commonplace object, but the sheath was elaborately carved, and a yellow gemstone of unknown type was inlaid into the hilt of the handle. ¡°It looks like a magical artifact, a quite old one. Is it from the Ancient Kingdom?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be. As long as it is a magical artifact that meets a certain criterion, it can be used to identify him.¡± Yuri answered and pulled the dagger out of its sheath, and the one-sided blade with a curved body glistened wetly in the light of the tent. ¡°This is a dagger for self-defense that meets a certain criterion. If I sold it, it would be worth about¡­ 30 gold coins.¡± When Yuri stated the price, Lapis and Loren simultaneously looked at each other. The amount of money was unimaginably large for its humble appearance. It was equal to the amount of money that Loren had borrowed from Lapis through a period of time. In other words, it was not an amount of money that could be earned nice and quick. ¡°It¡¯s more valuable for being an antique than for its function. The function is not that great. It¡¯s just that when you grip the hilt and channel magic power, it produces lightning on the blade.¡± As he explained this, Yuri gripped the hilt of the dagger and held it out slightly in front of him with the tip pointed upward so that everyone could easily see. Immediately, a thunderbolt emanated from the blade with a cracking sound. As Loren and the girls backed away slightly, Yuri, smiling as if satisfied with their reaction, removed his grip on the hilt, then held the dagger by the blade and presented it to Gula. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you try it?¡± Yuri said to Gula, who looked doubtful, with a fond smile. Gula looked at the dagger¡¯s hilt, then Yuri¡¯s face, and seemed lost for a moment. But then, perhaps thinking that the conversation was not going to go anywhere if she did nothing, she grabbed the hilt. Seeing that Gula had a firm grip on the hilt, Yuri gently removed his fingers from the blade, and in the next instant, there was a blinding flash of light. ¡°Eeek?!¡± Gula screamed, and at the same time, the dagger in her hand launched into the air, spinning around. After watching Yuri deftly and quickly catch the spinning dagger and return it to its sheath, Loren looked at Gula, who was sitting beside him. Gula was arching over in her chair, her eyes opened wide. Thin white plumes of smoke were rising from her body, and a smell that suggested that she had been burned was beginning to pervade the air. ¡°I am the owner of the dagger. When that ownership has not changed, if someone touches it while my hand does not, the anti-theft function will be activated.¡± ¡°H-hey¡­ Old man¡­ You¡­¡± Even though she was gasping for breath, Gula still managed to squeeze out some words while white smokes were still rising from all over her body. Thanks to this, Loren knew that she would not die, but he shuddered to think that if the anti-theft function was capable of damaging Gula, an Evil God, to this extent, it would have been powerful enough to kill a normal human being instantly. ¡°So, here, you hold it this time, Loren.¡± ¡°Do you want to kill me?!¡± ¡°I would never do anything to make you die.¡± Yuri answered in a tone of dismay, but Loren, who had just witnessed the damage Gula had sustained, could not fully trust the man¡¯s words that such a thing would not happen. It might be a function that would detect the opponent and inflict enough damage to render him incapacitated, if not deadly. In that case, Loren might not die, but he would be in a similar situation to Gula, and he would like to avoid that. ¡°Come on, just grip it.¡± Yuri unsheathed the dagger again, picked up the blade, and held out the hilt toward Loren, waving it slightly. Loren, looking at the swinging hilt, asked Yuri for confirmation. ¡°You won¡¯t kill me here just because you don¡¯t want Magna to see me, will you?¡± ¡°You have no trust in me¡­ If I were the kind of person who would think such a thing, I would have done it when you were a baby.¡± Loren agreed with that logic, but he was still unable to shake off the uneasiness he felt as he gripped the hilt of the dagger Yuri held out to him. At the same time, Yuri released his fingers from the blade, and Loren involuntarily closed his eyes in anticipation of the shock that was to come. But no shock came from his hand even after a while, and he cautiously opened his eyes to look at the dagger, which was still in his hand and not causing any trouble. ¡°Is the anti-theft function not working?¡± ¡°There is another setting, one for those who have higher ranking than the owner.¡± Yuri¡¯s explanation reminded Lapis of something: In the Ancient Kingdom¡¯s ruin, the trap reacted and worked when other people passed through it, but it did not work when Loren did. At the time, she was not sure about the cause, but now, after seeing it demonstrated as an experiment in front of her eyes and hearing Yuri¡¯s explanation, she understood why Loren was not caught by the trap. Traps were there to prevent unwanted people from entering, not to stop those who have the right to pass through them. In other words, there was a setting for someone of higher ranking, and Loren fell into that category. ¡°But if that is the case, it means Loren is recognized as a high-ranking figure in the Ancient Kingdom period¡­ So Loren is actually very old?¡± The Magic Kingdom of Noona, which had become known as the Ancient Kingdom, was a country that was destroyed several hundred years ago. If Loren existed at the time of the existence of such a kingdom, it was hard to believe that he was a human being, regardless of his appearance. ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Loren¡¯s denial did not sound very convincing. He was not sure of his origins to this point, after all. The fact was, when the possibility of it being true could not be completely ruled out, words inevitably become muddled. ¡°Loren is a human being, I can assure you of that. He is as old as he looks.¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s hard to judge from appearances, but whatever. If that is the case, what kind of person is Loren?¡± Lapis asked, her gaze became somewhat stern. But Yuri kept his head down and refused to meet her or Loren¡¯s eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t after saying all this?¡± Yuri stopped Loren, who was about to push for an answer, with a glance and continued. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s that I can¡¯t speak about it. I am sworn to not let it come out of my mouth. I can give out information that would be easy to guess, but I can never say a conclusive word, not a single one.¡± Lapis thought that it was possible to make a ¡®maybe¡¯-level guess based on the information so far. However, they would not be able to make a push for a final conclusion. This was because unless Yuri, who seemed to know everything, confirmed that their guess was correct, everything would remain a guess. Also, it was possible that what had happened with the trap and the magical artifact was just a coincidence of some combination of factors, and that Loren was not the only one they were not responding to. They could not find out the truth from that fact alone. The same might be true on Magna¡¯s side, but Lapis thought that with Loren being by Yuri¡¯s side and some information that Magna himself had, his guess could be a confirmed fact. ¡°In any case, that¡¯s all the information I can give you. If you really want to get information out of my mouth, there is only one way.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s torture, please leave it to me.¡± ¡°Loren¡­ You have a very troublesome young lady by your side.¡± Yuri said to Loren as he looked at Lapis, who pulled out a small knife, a drill, and other dangerous items out of nowhere, with a fearful gaze. Loren pulled Lapis back to her chair as she stood up to approach Yuri with those items in her hands. ¡°What¡¯s the method?¡± Loren cleared his throat and asked, and Yuri told him. ¡°You must command me in your full name. If it comes to pass, I will have to disclose everything I know to you.¡± ¡°Not just ¡®Loren¡¯, you mean?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only a part of it.¡± As he played with the dagger in his hand, Loren wondered if he was actually from someplace good since his name contained more words than just ¡®Loren¡¯. The information Yuri had given them was probably true, but even if it was, he wondered how much they had to refine their guess until it became a conclusion while watching Gula, who had recovered from the damage of the lightning strike, take a swing at Yuri. | The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary | >>